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BRITISH  MONACHISM 


<H 


OR, 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS 


OF   THE 


jHonits  anti  JEuns  of  €nglantL 


TO  WHICH    ARE   ADDED, 


PEREGRINATORIUM    RELIGIOSUM ;     OR,    MAN-  I        III.    SOME  ACCOUNT  OF    THE    CONTINENTES,    OR 

NERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  ANCIENT  PILGRIMS.  PERSONS  WHO  HAD  MADE  VOWS  OF  CHASTITY. 

:.    THE    CONST  '■■'".    SELECT  POEMS  IN  VARIOUS  STYLES. 
HERMITS 


By  THOMAS  DUDLEY  FOSBROKE,  M.A.  F.A.S. 

HON.    ASSOC.    R.S.L.    &C.    LATE    VICAR    OF    WALFORD,    HEREFORDSHIRE. 


THIRD  EDITION,  WITH  ADDITIONS. 


LONDON : 
M.  A.  NATTALI,  23,  BEDFORD  STREET, 

COVENT  GARDEN. 


843. 


ۥ'' 


J%? 


JSFEH 


A 


TO  THE  RIGHT  REVEREND 
THE  LORD  BISHOP  OF  GLOUCESTER  AND  BRISTOL.  &c.  &c. 

My  Lord, 

The  kind  and  courteous  manner  in  which  your 
Lordship  has  been  pleased  to  accede  to  my  request  for  permission  to 
inscribe  the  Third  Edition  of  my  late  Father's  Work  on  British 
Monachism  to  your  Lordship,  adds  to  the  many  favours  already  con- 
ferred upon  my  family, 

I  feel  assured  I  could  do  no  greater  honour  to  the  memory  of 
the  Author,  nor  one  more  congenial  to  the  sentiments  of  respect 
which  I  ever  heard  him  express  for  your  Lordship's  public  and  private 
worth,  than  by  the  dedication  of  his  favourite  Work  to  so  eminent  a 
Scholar  and  distinguished  a  Prelate. 

I  have  the  honour  to  remain, 

My  Lord, 

with  every  respect, 

Your  Lordship's  most  obliged  and  humble  servant, 

YATE    FOSBROKE. 

Vicarage  House,  St.  Ives, 
Jan.  23,  1843. 


ADVERTISEMENT 


THIRD  EDITION 


The  favourable  reception  of  the  original  edition  of  this  Work 
in  two  thin  8vo.  volumes,  1802,  induced  the  author  to  revise  and 
enlarge  his  composition,  (to  form  the  quarto  edition  of  18170  under 
the  circumstances,  and  the  manner,  described  in  his  own  Preface,  of 
which  a  copy  is  annexed. 

It  was  very  gratifying  to  its  x\uthor  that  this  enlarged  and  im- 
proved edition  was  respectfully  quoted  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his 
novel  of  the  "  Monastery ;"  and  it  was  also  favourably  noticed  in  the 
"  Quarterly  Review,"  and  in  the  other  literary  journals.  The  public 
generally  having  justified  this  favourable  opinion  by  the  work  again 
becoming  scarce,  Mr.  Fosbroke  was  induced  shortly  before  his 
lamented  death,  to  prepare  for  the  press  the  present  Edition,  which 
was  one- of  the  latest  acts  of  his  laborious  literary  life. 

This  present  Edition  has  been  printed  in  a  compressed  manner, 
as  a  companion  to  the  new  and  improved  Edition  of  Mr.  Fosbroke's 
"  Encyclopedia  of  x\ntiquities." 

J.  B.  N. 


VI 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION 


THE  first  Edition  of  this  Work  having  been  so  honoured  by  the 
public  approbation  as  to  be  advertised  in  sale-catalogues  at  twice 
the  original  price,  Mr.  Nichols  has  much  gratified  the  Author  by  a 
re-publication  very  considerably  enlarged,  enlivened  by  reflections, 
and  elegantly  embellished.  The  original  Work  was  from  various 
powerful  motives  almost  wholly  limited  to  Manuscript  Authorities. 
But  this  re-print  incorporates  the  important  and  copious  information 
to  be  found  in  the  admirable  Glossary  of  Du  Cange,  various  Chro- 
niclers, and  other  works  as  unknown  as  MSS.  except  to  some  pro- 
found Literati.  Some  dissertations  upon  collateral  recondite  subjects 
are  added.  As  a  new  Edition  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle  has  been 
announced,  by  a  competent  person,  the  Emendations  of  Bishop 
Gibson's  Version,  which  accompanied  the  first  issue  of  this  work, 
are  here  omitted. 

An  accurate  estimation  of  probabilities  being  a  chief  ingredient  in 
the  acquisition  of  judgment,  one  intention  of  the  work  was  to  give 
a  check  to  the  Morose  and  Superstitious,  to  morbid  propensities. 
Without  liberal  and  enlarged  ideas,  virtuous  zeal  will  generate  much 
useless  pain.  The  Author  however  has  been  misunderstood.  Mr. 
Aikin,  in  compliment  to  the  few  original  reflections,  in  the  first 
Edition,  regrets,  that  this  Archaeological  Dissertation  did  not 
appear  in  a  philosophical  form,  and  that  a  subject,  apparently  so 
ample,  has  been  thus  compressed.3  The  humble  domestic  nature 
of  the  materials  could  not,  the  Author  thinks,  be  generalized  ac- 
cording to  the  dignified  march  of  the  historical  style,  without  either 
diminution  of  interest  by  suppression,  or  an  enormous  waste  of  room 
by  a  vague  periphrastic  text,  overloaded  with  long  details  in  notes, 
and  extracts  and  translations  of  Manuscripts,  or  by  a  concentration 
of  the  whole,  which,  in  the  style  proposed,  the  motley  form  of  the 

a  Annual  Review  for  1802. 


PREFACE.  Vll 

matter  would  render  turgid  and  ridiculous.  Nor  could  it  be  eligible 
to  convert  the  work  into  a  Homily,  by  superannuated  confutations 
of  Popery ;  or  to  swell  it  by  stale  Philosophical  discussions  already 
familiarized.3  As  to  the  compression  of  it,  the  general  habits  and 
duties  of  all  Monks  are  so  analogous,  that  the  distinctions  of  each 
Order  consist  only  in  trifling  peculiarities,  which  do  not  extend  infor- 
mation. The  hint,  however,  of  Mr.  Aikin  is  gratefully  adopted  in 
two  new  ways,  at  least  suitable  to  a  Divine  and  an  Antiquary.  Phi- 
losophy, so  far  as  concerns  history,  is  only  a  superior  knowledge  of 
the  laws  of  Providence,  in  the  disposition  of  those  events  which  do 
not  originate  in  mere  physical  causes.  He  professes  to  illustrate 
mediaeval  customs  upon  mediaeval  principles,  from  a  persuasion,  that 
contemporary  ideas  are  requisite  to  the  accurate  elucidation  of  his- 
tory. In  the  Chapter  of  Love-Pilgrims,  a  construction  is  given  of 
speaking  low,  which  no  penetration  could  possibly  divine.  Caution, 
therefore,  in  the  use  of  reflections,  is  proper  in  a  work,  not  profes- 
sedly didactic. 

It  has  been  said,  that  the  Monks  have  been  too  unfavourably  re- 
presented :  but  here  again  the  Author  is  misconstrued.  Although 
he  is  sufficiently  vindicated  by  Dr.  Mosheim's  Ecclesiastical  History, 
he  begs  to  observe,  that  he  treats  Monks,  according  to  that  cha- 
racter, not  simply  as  men ;  and  that  he  gives  his  materials,  as  he 
finds  them.  As  those  which  refer  to  the  morals  of  the  Religious 
are  the  charges  of  contemporaries,  and  appear  in  the  solemn  statutes 
of  General  Chapters,  he  cannot  violate  the  fidelity  of  an  Historian,  or 
the  integrity  of  a  Protestant  Clergyman,  by  unnecessary,  perhaps 
dangerous,  and  silly  palliations  of  gross  inconsistency  in  Religionists, 
professedly  most  rigid.  It  is  undoubtedly  an  original  error  in  all 
censure,  that,  while  mankind  are  influenced  by  various  causes,  it 
condemns  from  pure  abstract  reason.  If  intention  be  regarded,  no 
one  is  foolish  ;  and  Monachism  is  wise,  if  the  rationale  of  it  could  be 
admitted ;  but  there  is  an  imbecility  as  much  the  effect  of  aera, 
or  circumstances,  as  of  organization  and  ignorance.  Although  many 
Monks  were  truly  good  Monks,  men  of  high  spiritual  abstraction, 


a  In  Mosheim,  Zimmerman  on  Solitude,  Edinburgh  Review  for  1813,  p.  186,  and  for 
1815,  p.  302,  &c. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

yet  their  virtue  was  negative,  except  in  acts  of  charity ;  a  although 
many  things  were  only  culpable,  as  deviations  from  the  Order,  still  it 
ought  not  to  be  dogmatized,  that  the  austere  Monastic  System  is 
possible,  in  an  universal  view,  to  be  correctly  exhibited,  in  union  with 
riches.  The  liberal  ideas  of  modern  Society  are  not  of  course  in- 
cluded in  this  question.  The  Monks  were  wealthy,  consequently 
luxurious,  and  frequently  debauched.  The  strange  means  adopted 
(and  in  the  Middle  Age  forsooth)  for  creating  models  of  ascetic  seve- 
rity were  independence,  celibacy,  and  luxury ;  but  luxury  and  inde- 
pendence have  never  had  so  corrective  an  operation  upon  the  Bat- 
chelors  of  any  age  ;  nor  will  they  ever  be  deemed  by  political  econo- 
mists, the  measures  suited  to  produce  that  bigoted  superstition,  or 
morbid  feeling,  which,  except  tuition  from  infancy,  can  alone  effect 
the  result  proposed.  The  complaint  is  grounded  upon  the  good  cha- 
racters which  occasionally  appear  in  the  Monastic  Annals  ;  and  the 
liberalized,  amiable,  and  benevolent  habits  of  modern  Monks,  who, 
influenced  by  a  better  state  of  society,  substitute  these  pleasing 
qualities  for  ancient  asperities.  This  is  all  in  their  power.  Modern 
thinking  only  could  have  emboldened  the  learned  Benedictines  of 
St.  Maur,  to  have  tried  the  experiment  of  commuting  certain 
tiresome  duties  of  the  Rule,  as  unworthy  the  reason  of  the  age 
in  which  they  lived,  for  learned  pursuits,  which  would  enable  them 
to  issue  frequently  some  valuable  publication. fa  The  dispensation 
was  refused,  for  Popery,  afraid  of  innovation,  must  of  necessity  be  a 
consistent  whole,  although  it  manifestly  implies  tenacity  of  obsolete 
barbarism. 

These  are  objections  to  be  treated  with  respect  by  the  Author. 
The  book  is  merely  professed  to  be  a  work,  filled  to  the  utmost 
of  its  dimensions  with  information,  upon  the  subject  of  which  it 
treats. 

The  public  having  also  kindly  received  the  Poems,  they  are  annexed 
for  the  sake  of  preservation. 

Waif  or  d,  on  the  Banks  of  the  Wye,  July  17,  1817. 


a  See  the  Chapter  of  Modern  Monachism,  p.  298. 

b  This  anecdote  is  taken  from  Disraeli's  "  Curiosities  of  Literature." 


CONTENTS. 


Chap.  I.  Principles  of  Monachism     . 
Chap.  II.  Asceticks—  Glastonbury    . 
Chap.  III.  Monachism  among  the  Britons, 
Scots,  Irish,  and  Anglo-Saxons,  till  the 
reign  of  Edgar 
Appendix  to  Chap.  III. — The  Egyp- 
tian Rule  of  Pachomius  followed   by 
the  Britons       .... 
Chap.  IV.  Benedictine  Monachism,  from  the 
reign  of  Edgar  to  the  Norman  Conquest 
Appendix  to  Chap.  IV.— The  Rule  of 
Fulgentius        .... 
Chap.  V.  Benedictine  Monachism,  from  the 
Norman  Conquest  to  the  Dissolution  . 
Appendix  to  Chap  V. — Decrees  of  the 

Council  of  Lateran,  anno  1215 
Constitutions   of  Benedict   the  Twelfth, 
anno  1336        .... 
Extracts  from  Barclay's  Ship  of  Fooles    . 
Chap.  VI. — Rules  of  the  Orders  which  ob- 
tained in  England 

I.  Benedictine  Rule 

1.  Clugniacs    . 

2.  Cistercians  . 

3.  Grandmontines 

4.  Carthusians 

II.  Three  Augustinian  Rules  : 

1.  Prsemonstratensians 

2.  Trinitarians 

3.  Dominicans 

4.  Knights'  Hospitallers 

Rules  blended,  or  unconnected  with  the 
Benedictine  and  Augustinian  : 

1.  Knights'  Templars  . 

2.  Gilbertines .... 

3.  Carmelites  .... 

4.  Franciscans 

5.  Franciscan  Nuns,    Minoresses,    or 
Nuns  of  St.  Clare     . 

6.  Brigettine  Nuns      . 

7.  Augustinian  Eremites 

8.  Nuns  of  Fontevraud 


13 


23 
28 
37 

39 

59 

60 
62 

65 
66 
68 
69 
70 
71 

72 
73 

74 
75 


76 

77 
78 
ib. 

79 
80 
82 
ib. 


9.  Bon  Hommes  (Augustinians) 
10.  Brothers  of  the  Sack 
Chap.  VII.  Monastic  Officers  : 

Abbot,  Abbess 
Chap.  VIII.  Obedientiares 
Chap.  IX.  Prior      . 
Chap.  X.  Cellarer 
Chap.  XI.  Precentor,  or  Chantor 
Chap.  XII.  Kitchener 
Chap.  XIII.  Seneschall       . 
Chap.  XIV.  Treasurer  or  Bursar 
Chap.  XV.  Sacrist  or  Secretarius 
Chap.  XVI.  Lecturer 
Chap.  XVII.  Almoner 
Chap.  XVIII.  Master  of  the  Novices 
Chap.  XIX.  Infirmarer 
Chap.  XX.  Porter 
Chap.  XXI.  Refectioner     . 
Chap.  XXII.  Hospitaler     . 
Chap.  XXIII.  Chamberlain 
Chap.  XXIV.  Other  Officers  of  the  House 
Chap.  XXV.  Officers  among  the  Friars 
Chap.  XXVI.  Nuns'  Confessor 
Chap.  XXVII.  Monks— Nuns,  &c. 

Order  of  St.  Victor  at  Paris 
Chap.  XXVIII.  Friars 
Chap.  XXIX.  Novices 
Chap.  XXX.  Lay  Brothers 
Chap.  XXXI.  Servants 
Chap.  XXXII.  Monastic  Buildings 
Chap.  XXXIII.  Church— Architecture,  &e 


Page 
82 
ib. 


83 
110 
112 
118 
120 
123 
124 
125 
126 
128 
130 
132 
135 
136 
138 
140 
141 
143 
145 
147 
148 
164 
168 
175 
191 
195 
197 
198 


Classification  of  Churches  and  Castles  : 

British  Castles — Anglo-Saxon  Castles  .  198 
Norman  Castles  .  .  .199 

Castellated  Mansions      .  .  .201 

British  Churches  .  .  .198 

Anglo-Saxon  Churches  .  .199 

Norman  Churches  .  .  .201 

Various  Peculiarities  in  Antient  Churches  ib. 
Altars— ThePix— Pall— Corporal— Perticoe202 
Lecterns — Candlesticks  .  .     203 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


Organ  —  Piscina  —  Lockers  —  Pensile 

Tables— Roodlofts,  &c. 
Confessionals — Gallilees — Lady  Chapels , 

or  Retro-choirs — Cripts 
Tapers— Saints'  Bells— Towers— Trifo- 

ria — Pulpits    . 
Painted  Glass    . 
Attributes  of  the  various  Saints 
Encaustic  Pavements 
Bells      . 

The  Nuns'  Church 
Music— Singing 
Sermons 
Chap.  XXXIV.  Churchyav 
Chap.  XXXV.  Refectory 
Chap.  XXXVI.  Chapter 
Chap.  XXXVII.  Dormitory 
Chap.  XXXVIII.  Cloister 
Chap.  XXXIX.  Infirmary 
Chap.  XL.  Guest-hall 
Chap.  XLI.  Locutory,  or  Parlour  . 
Chap.  XLII.  Almonry 
Chap.  XLIII.  Library — Museum    . 

Remarks  on  Monastic  Literature — Divi- 
nity— Philosophy,  Arts,  &c  . 
Natural  History — Medicine — Geography 
— History       .... 
Gothic  Architecture — Latin  Language  . 
Classics  and  Versification 
Works  of  Humour — Bulls — Acrostics — 

Poetry 
Museum 
Chap.  XLIV.  Scriptorium — Domus  Antiqua- 

riorum 
Chap.  XLV.  Studies  of  the  Monks 
Chap,  XLVI.  Prison 
Chap.  XLVII.  Monastic  Courts 
Chap  XLVIII.  Misericord 
Chap.  XLIX.  Sanctuary 
Chap.  L.  Dependant  Churches 
Chap.  LI.  Cells — Granges  . 
Chap.  LII.  Song  School     . 
Chap.  LIII.  Common  House 
Chap.  LIV.  Mints — Exchequer 
Chap.  LV.  Kitchen 
Chap.  LVI.  Bakehouse 
Chap.  LVII.  Garden 
Chap.  LVIII.  Abbey  Gate — Dovecote,  &c. 


204 

205 

206 
ib. 
207 
208 
209 
ib. 
210 
211 
213 
214 
222 
227 
229 
233 
233 
243 
244 
245 

247 

248 
249 
250 

251 

253 

254 

260 

261 

262 

264 

268 

269 

271 

273 

274 

275 

276 

278 

279 

281 


Page 
Chap.  LIX.  Sacristy— Vestiary— Costumes     282 
Articles  of  Clothing  belonging  to  the  va- 
rious Orders  ....     286 
Augustinian  Canons       .  .  .       ib. 

Augustinian  Eremite  Nun  .  .       ib. 

Benedictines       .  .  .  .       ib. 

Brigettine  Nuns  and  Friers        .  .     287 

Carmelites  ....       ib. 

Carmelite  Nun  .  .  .  .       ib. 

Carthusians        ....       ib. 
Cistercians         .  .  •  .       ib. 

Cistercian  Nuns  •  •  •       *&■ 

Clugniacks         .  .  .  .       ib. 

Dominicans        .  .  .  .       ib. 

Dominican  Nuns  .  .  .     288 

Franciscans  or  Grey  Friers        .  .       ib. 

Franciscan  Nun,  or  Minoress  or  Poor 

Clare  .  .  .  .       ib. 

Friars  of  the  Sacks         .  .  .       ib. 

Capuchin  Nun  ....       ib. 
Nun  of  the  Order  of  Penance    .  .       ib. 

Gilbertines         .  .  .  .       ib. 

Gilbertine  Nuns  .  .  .289 

Prsemonstratensians       .  .  .       ib. 

Trinitarians      '.  .  .  ib. 

Knight  Templars  .  .  .       ib. 

Knight  Hospitallers       .  .  .       ib. 

Chap.  LX.  Specimens  of  English  Ecclesias- 
tical Costume,  from  the  earliest  period 
down  to  the  sixteenth  century,  selected 
from  Sculptures,  Paintings,  and  Brasses 
remaining  in  this  Kingdom.  Drawn  and 
designed  by  John  Carter,  F.S.A    .  .     290 

Chap.  LXI.  Hospitals         .  .  .297 

Chap.  LXII.  Modern  Monachism  .  .     298 

Protestant   Nunnery  at   Gedding  Parva, 

Huntingdonshire        .  .  .       ib. 

Projected  Colleges  for  the  education  of 

young  women  .  .  ib. 

Lady  Mary  Astell's  College        .  .       ib. 

Modern  Monks  in  England        .  .     299 

Monastery  of  La  Trappe  in  Lulworth   .       ib. 
Nuns  of  Spettisbury       .  .  .     306 

Benedictine  Nuns  .  .  .       ib. 

-f  

Appendix.  Remarks  on  the  Dissolution  of 

Monasteries  ....     307 

The    Benedictine    Ceremonial    of    the 

Nuns  of  St.  Cyr  .  .  .     309 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


Page 
Peregrinatorivm  Religiosum  ;  or  Man- 
ners and  Customs  of  Ancient  Pilgrims      .     313 
Introduction — Costumes  of  Pilgrims      .     315 
Costumes  of  Crusaders  .  .     319 

Chap.  I.    Antiquity  of  Pilgrimage — British 

Pilgrims     .  .  .  .  .322 

Chap.  II.  Pilgrimages  of  the  Scots,    Irish, 

and  Anglo-Saxons  .  .  .325 

Chap.  III.  Consecration  of  Pilgrims  .     326 

Chap.  IV.  Preparatory  Steps  to  the  Journey    328 
Chap.  V.  Manners  and  Customs  on  Ship- 
hoard  .....     330 
Chap.  VI.  Manners  and  Customs    on    the 

Journey  hy  land    ....     333 
Chap.  VII.    The    Arrival     at    Jerusalem — 
Consequences  of  the  Crusades — and  Mis- 
cellaneous Observations  on  Crusaders        .     337 
Sir  Richard  Torkington's  account  of  a 
Pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  in  1517        .       ib. 
Chap.  VIII.  Return  Home — Palmiferi,    or 

Palmers     .....     344 
Chap.  IX.  Pilgrimages  of  Punishment  and 

Penance     .....     346 
Chap.  X.  Pilgrimages  to  Rome       .  .     350 

Chap.  XI.  Pilgrimages  to  Compostella       .     352 
Chap.  XII.  Provincial  Pilgrimages  to  Shrines, 

Wells,  &c.  ....     355 

Chap.  XIII.  Mourning  Pilgrimages — Incog- 


Page 
nito  Pilgrimages — Political  Pilgrimages — 
Pilgrims  Adventurers  ■ —  Pilgrims   against 
Heretics    .....     361 
Chap.  XIV.  Love  Pilgrims  .  .     363 

Chap.  XV.    The  Office  of  Pilgrims  in  the 
Church  of  Rouen  .  .  .369 


ConsuetuJinal  of  Anchorets  and  Hermits 
Hermits         ..... 
Hermitages  .... 

Continentes — Vows  of  Chastity 

Select  Poems  (in  various  styles)  by 
Mr.  Fosbroke  : 

1.  Economy  of  Monastic  Life,  in  the  man- 
ner of  Spenser       .... 

2.  Triumph  of  Vengeance ;  an  Ode,  in  the 
manner  of  Gray    .... 

3.  The  Red  Man;  or,  the  Address"  of  Buo- 
naparte's familiar  Damon  ;en  Ode,  in  the 
manner  of  Gray  and  Collins 

4.  The  last  Fifty  Years  ;  a  Parody  on  Col- 
lins's  Ode  to  the  Passions 

5.  On  a  Lady  Bathing,  in  the  manner  of 
The  Italian  Concetto 

6.  Epitaph  on  Charles  Hayward,  Esq.  in 
the  German  manner 

General  Index  .... 


370 
379 
381 

383 


389 


410 


414 


41' 


420 


421 
423 


LIST    OF    PLATES. 


Portrait  of  the  Author  ....  Frontispiece. 

Engraved  Title-page. 

Forms  of  British  and  Anglo-Saxon  Churches 
Costumes  of  Monks  and  Nuns 

Veil  and  Wimple,  and  Hermit's  Dress  (on  the  letter  press) 
Habits  of  Religious,  drawn  from  existing  Specimens,  by  John 
Carter,  F.S.A.  : 

Class  I.    . 

Class  II. 

Class  III. 

Class  IV. 

Class  V. 

Class  VI. 

Class  VII. 
Habits  of  the  Monks  of  La  Trappe,  at  Lulworth 
Pilgrims  .  .  .  .  -. 


Page 


198 
282 
284 


291 
%b. 
292 
ib. 
293 
294 
295 
306 
321 


MEMOIR  OF  THE   AUTHOR. 


The  Rev.  Thomas  Dudley  Fosbroke,  M.A.,  F.S.A ,  Honorary  Associate  of 
the  Royal  Society  of  Literature,  Honorary  Member  of  the  Bristol  Philosophical 
Institution,  &c.  was  descended  from  a  respectable  family  first  settled  at  Fos- 
broke, in  Staffordshire. a  Of  his  more  immediate  ancestors  many  were  clergy- 
men, it  having  been  a  custom  of  the  family  for  several  generations  to  have  one 
of  the  sons  educated  for  the  Church.  The  great-grandfather  of  the  late  Mr. 
Fosbroke  was  the  Rev.  William  Fosbroke,  vicar  of  Diddlebury  and  rector 
of  Aston  Scott,  both  in  Shropshire.  He  was  imprisoned  in  Hereford  Gaol  for 
praying  for  the  King,  during  the  Commonwealth  ascendancy,  and  otherwise 
injured  in  estate.  His  grandfather,  Thomas,  seems  to  have  squandered  the 
family  estates  at  Diddlebury,  which  had  been  in  the  family  at  least  200  years.  His 
father,  William,  was,  agreeably  to  the  family  custom,  educated  for  holy  orders, 
but  migrated  to  London.  By  his  second  wife,  Hester,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Lashbroke,  of  South  wark,  he  had  an  only  son,  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

He  was  born  May  27,  1770;  and  was  named  Dudley,  after  a  cousin,  a  squire 
of  Lebotwood  Hall,  Shropshire.  He  lost  his  father  in  1775,  and  his  mother 
married  a  second  husband,  James  Holmes,  Esq.  Ensign  in  the  Coldstream 
Guards,  and  afterwards  Adjutant  of  the  West  Essex  Militia.  His  mother  lived 
to  an  extreme  old  age,  and  died  at  Walford,  in  1831.  Her  great-grandmother, 
Mrs.  Dodgson,  was  cousin  to  Thomas  Guy,  Esq.  the  founder  of  the  Hospital  in 
Southwark. 

Mr.  Fosbroke  was  educated  under  the  Rev.  Mr.  Milward,  of  Billericay,  in 
Essex,  and  at  Petersfield,  in  Hampshire,  until  he  was  nine  years  old,  and  was 
then  removed  to  St.  Paul's  school,  London,  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Roberts,  from 
whence  he  was  elected,  in  1785,  to  a  Teasdale  Scholarship  at  Pembroke  College, 
Oxford,  where  he  proceeded  B.A.  178—,  M.A.  1792.  It  had  been  suggested, 
that  he  was  to  be  a  Special  Pleader,  but  it  was  his  father's  dying  wish  that  he 
should  be  placed  in  the  Church. 


a  Mr.  Fosbroke  has  given  accounts  of  his  own  family,  in  his  "  History  of  Gloucestershire,"  i.  407  ; 
in  "  Ariconensia,"  p.  168  ;  and  in  his  Autobiographical  Sketch,  prefixed  to  the  quarto  edition  of  his 
*'  Encyclopaedia  of  Antiquities."  A  more  enlarged  and  elaborate  history  of  the  early  branches  of  the 
Fosbroke  family,  is  appended  to  the  present  pages,  from  an  original  MS.  which  he  left  in  the  hands  of  a 
friend. 

b 


10  MEMOIR    OF   THE    AUTHOR. 

In  1 792  he  was  ordained  Deacon,  upon  the  title  of  his  scholarship ;  and 
settled  in  the  curacy  of  Horsley,  co.  Gloucester,  for  which  he  was  ordained 
priest  in  1794,  and  he  held  that  curacy  till  1810. 

In  1796  Mr.  Fosbroke  published  the  "  Economy  of  Monastic  Life/'  a  poem 
in  Spenserian  measure  and  style,  written  upon  the  doctrine  of  Darwin,  of  using 
only  precise  ideas  of  picturesque  effect,  chiefly  founded  upon  the  sense  of  vision. 
The  poem  is  again  reprinted  in  this  volume. 

In  1799  he  was  elected  F.S.A.  He  then  devoted  himself  to  archaeology 
(including  the  Saxon  language),  and  studied  eight  or  nine  hours  a  day.  Deter- 
mined to  publish  only  records,  MSS.  or  other  matters  new  to  the  public,  he 
compiled  his  "  British  Monachism,"  from  the  rich  stores  of  the  British  Mu- 
seum and  the  Bodleian  Library,  in  two  vols.  8vo. 

All  the  reviewers  were  flattering;  and,  the  work  soon  becoming  scarce,  the 
author  published  a  second  edition  in  18175  in  a  handsome  quarto  volume,  much 
enlarged,  and  enlivened  by  reflections.  The  original  work  was  almost  wholly 
limited  to  MS.  authorities  ;  but  the  reprint  incorporated  the  important  informa- 
tion in  the  Glossary  of  Du  Cange,  various  Chronicles,  and  other  authorities. 
This  work  was  respectfully  quoted  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  novel  of  the 
"  Monastery,"  and  was  favourably  noticed  in  the  "  Quarterly  Review."  A 
third  edition  of  this  valuable  work  is  now  presented  to  the  public. 

He  next  engaged  in  an  original  History  of  the  County  of  Gloucester.  Being 
possessed  of  a  copy  of  the  Inquisitiones  post  Mortem  completed  to  the  reign  of 
Richard  III.  he  was  enabled  sooner  to  perfect  his  collections  from  the  public 
offices  and  libraries ;  and  the  work  was  published  by  subscription,  under  the 
title  of  "Abstracts  of  Records  and  Manuscripts  respecting  the  County  of  Glou- 
cester; formed  into  a  History^  correcting  the  very  erroneous  Accounts,  and 
supplying  the  numerous  Deficiencies,  in  Sir  Robert  Atkins  and  subsequent 
Writers,"  2  vols.  4to.  1807. 

On  finishing  his  County  History,  he  engaged  with  Sir  Richard  Phillips  in  an 
Encyclopedia  of  Antiquities ;  but  the  work  was  never  published,  owing  to  the 
failure  of  that  bookseller  in  1810. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Fosbroke  removed  from  Horsley  to  Walford  on  the  banks  of 
the  Wye.  Soon  afterwards  he  had  the  honour  of  illustrating  the  unpublished 
statues  in  Mr.  Hope's  collection. 

In  1814  he  published  an  "Abridgment  of  Whitby's  Commentary  on  the  New 
Testament,"  for  which  he  received  the  unrestricted  praise  of  Dr.  Napleton,  Chan- 
cellor of  Hereford,  and  other  dignitaries. 

In  1819  he  published  "An  original  History  of  the  City  of  Gloucester,  almost 
wholly  compiled  from  new  materials ;  supplying  the  numerous  Deficiencies,  and 
correcting  the  Errors,  of  preceding  Accounts  ;  including  the  Original  Papers  of 
the  late  Ralph  Bigland,  Esq.  Garter  Principal   King  at  Arms."     On  this  work 


MEMOIR    OF    THE    AUTHOR.  11 

Mr.  Fosbroke  was  engaged  by  Messrs.  Nichols,  as  a  continuation  of  Mr.  Bigland's 
work;  but,  by  compressing  Mr.  Bigland's  numerous  but  uninteresting  lists  of 
epitaphs,  and  supplying  a  large  mass  of  the  latent  materials  concerning  the  city, 
and  by  a  judicious  arrangement  of  the  whole,  he  produced  a  work  highly  credit- 
able to  his  taste,  and,  what  used  to  be  unfrequent  in  topographies,  of  a  readable 
nature  throughout. 

Mr.  Fosbroke  published  at  least  three  editions  of  a  pleasing  little  work,  under 
the  title  of  "  The  Wye  Tour ;  or,  Gilpin  on  the  Wye,  with  picturesque  additions 
from  Wheateley,  Price,  &c.  and  Archaeological  Illustrations/' 

Asa  companion  to  this  Tour,  in  1821  he  produced  "  Ariconensia ;  or,  Archae- 
ological  Sketches  of  Ross  and  Archenfield:  illustrative  of  the  campaigns  of 
Caractacus ;  the  Station  Ariconium,  &c.  and  other  matters  never  before  pub- 
lished." 

In  1821  Mr.  Fosbroke  edited  the  "Berkeley  Manuscripts:  Abstracts  and 
Extracts  of  Smyth's  Lives  of  the  Berkeleys,  illustrative  of  Ancient  Manners 
and  the  Constitution,  including  all  the  Pedigrees  in  that  ancient  Manuscript.  To 
which  are  annexed,  a  copious  History  of  the  Castle  and  Parish  of  Berkeley,  con- 
sisting of  matter  never  before  published ;  and  Biographical  Anecdotes  of  Dr. 
Jenner,  his  Interviews  with  the  Emperor  of  Russia,"  &c.  4to.  Much  use  of 
Smyth's  MSS.  had  been  made  by  Mr.  Fosbroke  in  his  "  History  of  Gloucester- 
shire," where  that  collector's  accounts  of  property  were  incorporated.  In  the 
present  work,  the  principle  upon  which  the  selections  were  formed  are,  that  of 
preserving  every  thing  of  a  constitutional,  topographical,  archaeological,  or  genea- 
logical bearing.  The  Biography  of  Dr.  Jenner  was  at  the  time  novel,  and 
written  with  a  friendly  and  judicious  hand. 

Mr.  Fosbroke's  "  Grammar  of  Rhetorick "  was  surreptitiously  published, 
without  acknowledgment,  in  Pinnock  and  Maunder's  Catechisms. 

In  1824  Mr.  Fosbroke  published  his  largest  and  most  important  work,  the 
(i  Encyclopaedia  of  Antiquities,  and  Elements  of  Archaeology,"  in  two  vols.  4to. 
This  work  was  most  favourably  received  by  his  subscribers,  and  the  public  in 
general,  as  it  supplied  a  deficiency  then  much  wanted  by  all  aspirants  in  the 
study  of  archaeology.  A  second  edition,  with  improvements,  appeared  in  one 
very  large  volume  in  1840. 

It  was  followed,  in  1828,  by  a  uniform  volume,  entitled  "  Foreign  Topogra- 
phy ;  or,  an  Encyclopediack  Account,  alphabetically  arranged,  of  the  ancient 
Remains  in  Africa,  Asia,  and  Europe ;  forming  a  Sequel  to  the  Encyclopaedia  of 
Antiquities,"  4to.  and  abounding  with  a  large  mass  of  latent,  curious,  and 
instructive  information. 

In  1826  he  published,  "A  Picturesque  and  Topographical  Account  of  Chel- 
tenham and  its  Vicinity.  To  which  is  added,  Contributions  towards  the  Medical 

b2 


12  MEMOIR    OF    THE    AUTHOR. 

Topography,  including  the  Medical  History  of  the  Waters,  by  [his  son  Dr.] 
John  Fosbroke."  The  object  of  this  work  was  to  give  some  literary  character 
to  the  account  of  Cheltenham,  by  treating  the  subject  according  to  the  rules  of 
great  authorities  in  scenery  and  archaeology. 

In  the  same  year  he  produced,  "  The  Tourist's  Grammar ;  or  Rules  relating  to 
the  Scenery  and  Antiquities  incident  to  Travellers;  compiled  from  the  first 
authorities,  and  including  an  Epitome  of  Gilpin's  Principles  of  the  Picturesque/' 
12mo,  in  which  the  knowledge  requisite  to  form  a  correct  taste  upon  the  subject 
is  brought  into  a  cheap  and  accessible  form.  At  this  time,  also,  he  was  solicited 
by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  to  give  his  assistance  in  elucidating  some  difficulties 
in  the  Saxon  line  of  his  Grace's  pedigree ;  and  with  extraordinary  perseverance 
he  collected  sufficient  matter  from  various  sources  to  supply  a  continuous  bio- 
graphy of  the  very  ancient  noble  family  of  the  Clintons,  filling  three  large  folio 
volumes  of  MS.  which  are  now  in  the  possession  of  his  Grace,  and  highly  valued 
by  him. 

In  1827  Mr.  Fosbroke  had  the  gratification  of  being  elected  an  Honorary 
Associate  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Literature.  He  contributed  to  their  Transac- 
tions, "  Extracts  from  MSS.  relative  to  English  History,"  (vol.  i.  p.  36,)  and 
"  Illustrations  of  the  Constitution  of  our  ancient  Parliaments."  (vol.  ii.  268.) 

A  similar  acknowledgment  of  the  literary  merits  of  this  distinguished  Author 
was  paid  him  by  the  Bristol  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society,  who  elected 
him  an  honorary  member  of  their  institution,  and  communicated  the  honour 
conferred  upon  him  in  terms  expressive  of  their  admiration  of  his  talents  and 
services  in  the  cause  of  literature. 

In  1830  Mr.  Fosbroke  was  presented  to  the  vicarage  of  Walford  (where  he 
had  been  twenty  years  curate)  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Huntingford,  precentor  of 
Hereford  Cathedral,  and  nephew  of  the  late  very  learned  and  amiable  Bishop  of 
Hereford.  To  this  vicarage  is  annexed  the  parochial  chapelry  of  Ruardean,  co. 
Gloucester,  of  which  place  Mr.  Fosbroke  communicated  an  account  to  the  Gen- 
tleman's Magazine  in  June  1831,  p.  488. 

Mr.  Fosbroke  was  for  several  years  intimately  connected  with  the  Gentleman's 
Magazine,  and  contributed  largely  to  its  review  department;  in  which  office  he 
always  acted  towards  authors  with  a  fair  and  liberal  spirit.  His  notices  were  full 
of  original  observations.  The  connection  terminated  a  few  years  before  the 
commencement  of  the  present  series  of  that  Miscellany  in  1834. 

He  had  latterly  with  great  labour  prepared  for  the  press  a  new  work,  as  a 
companion  to  his  Encyclopaedia  of  Antiquities,  under  the  title  of  a  "  New  and 
original  Synopsis  of  ancient  English  Manners,  Customs,  and  Opinions,  derived 
from  old  Chronicles,  local  Histories,  and  other  authentic  Documents."  This 
may  hereafter  be  published. 

Mr.  Fosbroke  was  highly  distinguished  as  a  Freemason,  and  had  the  honour 


MEMOIR    OF    THE    AUTHOR. 


13 


of  being  appointed  in  three  successive  years  Chaplain  of  the  Provincial  Grand 
Lodges  of  Hereford,  Monmouth,  and  Gloucester.  The  MSS.  of  several  sermons, 
illustrative  of  the  ancient  History,  Arcana,  and  objects  of  Freemasonry, 
preached  before  these  Lodges,  are  now  in  the  possession  of  his  widow,  and  will 
probably  be  published  at  some  future  period. 

In  1796  he  was  married  to  Miss  Howell,  of  Horsley,  and  had  issue  by  her 
four  sons  and  six  daughters,  of  whom  seven  are  now  living.  His  eldest  son, 
John,  is  a  doctor  of  medicine,  and  author  of  several  works  and  essays  on  pro- 
fessional subjects.  His  second  son,  Yate,  is  a  clergyman,  and  vicar  of  St.  Ive's, 
in  the  county  of  Huntingdon.  His  third  son,  Thomas  Dudley,  is  First  Lieut,  in 
the  Royal  Marine  Corps,  whose  commission  was  presented  to  him  by  Sir  James 
Graham,  (at  that  time  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,)  through  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  as  a  mark  of  his  Grace's  favour  and  esteem  for 
his  father.  His  fourth  son,  Wm.  Michael  Malbon,  is  now  a  doctor  of  medicine 
of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  Of  his  three  surviving  daughters  one  only  is 
married,  Hester  Elizabeth,  to  Charles  Ransford  Court,  esq.  of  Wrington,  in  the 
county  of  Somerset. 

A  portrait  of  Mr.  Fosbroke,  "  setat.  46/'  was  prefixed  to  the  Encyclopaedia  of 
Antiquities,  and  is  also  given  in  this  volume. 

This  distinguished  antiquary  and  archeeologist  died  at  his  vicarage  at  Walford, 
Herefordshire,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1842,  in  the  72d  year  of  his  age. 

J.  B.  N. 


14 


MEMOIR  OF  THE  FAMILY  OF  FOSBROKE. 

BY    THE    REV.    T.  D.    FOSBROKE. 


Fortunately  for  me,  I  am  able  to  vindicate  the  pretensions  of  my  Family 
(for  whom  I  entertain  all  the  pieties  of  nature)  upon  the  best  legal  evidence, 
and  in  so  doing  to  add  some  illustrations  of  archaeological  interest,  which  may 
be  deducible  from  even  dry  records  and  pedigrees. 

Camden  says,b  of  local  surnames,  that  the  bearers  of  them  "  may  assure  them- 
selves that  they  originally  came  from  [such  places]  or  were  born  at  them." 
There  is  a  place  still  called  Fosbrooke  in  Staffordshire,  and,  so  recently  at  least  as 
the  year  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  there  were  persons  resident  at  it,  and  named 
from  it.  Of  the  place  and  them  no  more  is  known  to  me,  nor  is  it  to  my  purpose. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  in  the  Roll  of  the  Chancery,  or  Antigraph  of  the  Pipe- 
roll  of  the  3d  of  John  (anno  1201),  under  "  Staffordsh/'§  De  placitis  forest  e 
is  an  item,  "De  viii  s.  de  Rad  de  Dulvne  et  Osftro  de  Focebroc/,c  The  general 
opinion  is,  that  the  severity  of  the  forest  laws  originated  in  preservation  of  the 
game  ;  and,  under  that  presumption,  the  above  fine  might  have  been  levied  for 
poaching.  But  antiquaries  know  that  forests  were  existent  among  the  Britons 
upon  military  principles  ;  and  that  so  indifferent  were  the  people  to  conscien- 
tious ideas  about  the  game,  that  this  indifference  founded  the  archaism,  still 
prevalent,  that,  as  the  animals  were  ferce  natures,  poaching  violated  no  law  of 
property ;  nor  was  the  game  the  first  object  of  the  Norman  King,  and  his  suc- 
cessors, further  than  as  prevention  of  poaching  impeded  trespass.  The  inten- 
tion of  William  the  Conqueror  was  to  make  the  New  Forest  a  convenience  for 
landing  troops  from  Normandy ;  and,  besides  the  amusement  of  hunting,  such  a 
large  income  was  derived  from  the  Royal  woods,  that  they  were  objects  of  the 
first  moment  to  the  then  Chancellors  of  the  Exchequer.  So  minute  were  the 
regulations,  that  mere  "coppices  were  reserved  for  the  fencinge  and  incloseinge 
of  newe  woods  to  be  raised,  that  the  number  of  trees  sould  might  be  trebled  by 
plantinge."d  For  what  kind  of  offence,  therefore,  the  said  Osbert  was  fined,  is 
not  apparent ;  nor  are  all  similar  delinquents  in  the  Pipe  Rolls  to  be  deemed 
offenders  against  the  vert  and  venison.  It  is  presumptive  that  he  was  of  Anglo- 
ticall  brightnesse,  or  light  of  the  family/'  occurs  in  Asser  Menevensis;f  and  the 


b  Remaines,  125,  ed.  6th. 

c  Rot.  Cane.  3  Joh.  p.  49,  published  by  the  Record  Commission,  8vo.  1833. 

d  Lodge's  Life  of  Sir  Jul.  Csesar,  23—25.  e  Remaines,  82.  (  Camd.  Scriptor.  p.  5. 


MEMOIR  OF   THE    FAMILY    OF    FOSBROKE.  15 

name  of  Walter  de  Focebroc,  brother  of  Osbert,  is  also  a  derivative  from  the 
German  Waldher.  Who  and  what  they  were  does  not  appear,  further  than  that 
they  were  members  of  the  establishment  of  William  Basset;  for,  in  a  benefac- 
tion charter  of  his  to  the  Priory  of  Roucester,  occur  among  the  attestators, 
a  Osberto  de  Fotesbroc,  Johanne  fratre  ejus,  Waltero  fratre  ejus."  This  charter, 
as  published  by  Dugdale,s  shows,  among  other  instances,  the  inaccuracy  of  his 
scribes ;  for  Wodeford,  the  benefaction,  is  labelled  WoZ/eford ;  nor  can  there  be 
a  doubt  but  that  the  Focebroc  of  the  Pipe  Roll  was  the  Fo/esbroc  of  the  charter. 
John  being  the  favourite  Christian  name  of  my  ancestors,  it  seems  most  probable 
that  we  are  descended  from  this  John,  brother  of  Osbert,  and  the  continuation  of 
that  name  in  his  issue  implies  that  the  parents  wished  him  to  be  imitated  by  his 
posterity.11 

The  Basset  Northamptonshire  estates  descended  to  the  Staffords,  and  when 
our  pedigree  commences  regularly  in  1392,  the  family  are  found  to  be  feudato- 
ries of  those  hereditary  representatives  of  the  Bassets.  As  all  such  feudatories 
or  connectives  did,  they  bore,  of  course,  when  occasion  required,  the  badge  or 
cognizance  of  the  chief  Lord.  With  us  it  was  the  Stafford  Knot,  and  accord- 
ingly I  have  placed  it  above  the  shield  of  our  arms,  or  used  it  singly. 

How  many  generations  passed  with  the  preenomen  John  from  the  first  men- 
tioned John  I  do  not  know,  and  it  is  evident  that,  whatever  may  have  been  their 
private  worth,  they  could  not  have  had  any  historical  or  biographical  conse- 
quence. In  an  Inquisition  taken  upon  the  decease  of  Thomas  Earl  of  Stafford 
in  1392  (16  Ric.  II.)  Richard  Clowne  and  John  Fossebrok  are  found  to  hold  of 
him  two  knights'  fees  in  Barton  Segrave,  Raundes,  and  Cranford,  co.  Northamp- 
ton. Of  course  the  tenure  shows,  that  this  Richard  and  John  were  subject  to 
military  service,  as  Esquires.  This  John  presented  to  the  living  of  Cranford  in 
1391,  as  did  Margaret  his  widow  in  1403J  A  Clause-roll k  which  records  a  quit- 
claim from  John  Towers  of  the  purchase  made  from  Richard  Clowne  and  Agnes 
his  mother,  shows  a  curious  instance  of  the  caution  used  in  identifying  persons. 
It  is  made  to  John  Fossebroke,  who  succeeded  another  John,  and  the  son 
and  father  are  thus  distinguished :  a  Jones  Fossebroke,  pater  pdci  Johis  fiT 
Jofris."  This  John  the  son  was  presumptively  an  able  man  of  business- 
character,  for  in  1399,  as  a  trustee  of  the  Holt  family,  he  presented  with 
others  a  John  Depyng  to  the  living  of  Whilton,  co.  Northampton.1  If,  as  Ed- 
mondson  says,  in  his  Dictionary  of  Arms,  the  name  of  Fosbroke  was  aliased 
Fo/broke,  there  is  in  the  Agincourt  Roll,  among  the  retinue  of  Sir  de  Harington, 
a  John  Fo/broke,  Lance,  as  one  of  those  who  were  present  at  the  battle,*11  and,  as 


*  Monast.  ii.  269,  ed.  1st.  h  Camd.  Rernaines,  53. 

i  Bridges's  Northamptonshire,  ii.  227,  *  14  Hen.  IV.  m.  10  dors.  (Feb.  20,  1412.) 

1  Baker's  Northamptonshire,  i.  234.  m  Sir  Harris  Nicolas's  Agincourt,  p.  21 


16  MEMOIR    OF    THE    FAMILY    OF    FOSBROKE. 

the  same  arms  were  borne  by  both  names,  the  mere  variation  of  the  letter  I  for  s 
cannot  destroy  the  identity  of  family.  Such  was  the  unsettled  state  of  sur- 
names, that  a  testator,  in  his  will,  dated  Nov.  6, 1336,  says,  that  he  was  some- 
times called  Russel  from  his  complexion,  or  De  la  Clive  from  the  place  of  his 
birth.n  This  John  Fosbroke  died  Oct.  7th,  1418,  and  his  effigies,  from  a  brass 
plate  in  the  chancel  of  Cranford  Church,  is  engraved  in  the  "  Encyclopedia  of 
Antiquities/'  sect.  Monumental  Effigies,  Fig.  11. 

He  married  Matilda,  a  lady  of  the  noble  house  of  Stafford;  she  survived  her 
husband  many  years,  and  when  a  widow  was  dry-nurse  to  King  Henry  the 
Sixth,  it  being  the  strict  etiquette  antiently  for  royal  infants  to  have  a  nobly  de- 
scended nurse.0  Her  stipend  was  £\0  per  annum,  "for  decent  support  of  her- 
self about  the  royal  person  "  [pro  ipsa  circa  personam  nostram  honeste  sustent- 
anda.]  Of  this  sum  she  complained  as  insufficient,  and  it  was  accordingly 
doubled  6  Hen.  VI.P  Seventeen  years  [anno  1444]  afterwards,  when  she  is 
styled  in  the  writ  "quondam  sicca  nutrici  nostra"  1  she  had  a  grant  for  life  of  a 
dolium  r  of  red  wine  of  Gascony  per  annum.  The  same  formula  of  wine  (com- 
muted for  money)  was  recently,  perhaps  now,  usual  in  the  royal  household ;  and 
Mr.  George  Ellis  says  of  this  kind  of  donation,  a  In  the  reign  of  Edward  the 
Third  the  value  of  the  mark  in  our  present  money  may  be  estimated  at  £10,  and 
Chaucer's  original  annuity  at  £200.  The  grant  of  wine  was  of  the  same  value, 
because  it  was  afterwards  exchanged  for  an  annuity  of  20  marks." s  Her  will, 
dated  Dec.  21, 144 *J,  and  proved  27  Feb.  following,  is  still  preserved  at  Doctors* 
Commons.*  Some  things  are  noticeable.  She  leaves  to  Ann,  wife  of  her  son 
Gerard,  among  other  articles,  "  unam  zonam  de  serico  stripat'  argent'  et 
deaurat',  et  unum  primarium  "  [i.  e.  a  girdle  of  silk  striped  with  silver  gilt,  and 
a  primer].  It  is  singular,  that  this  word  primarium  does  not  occur  in  Ducange, 
Charpentier,  or  Lyndwood,  nor  primer  in  Tyrwhitt,  Cotgrave,  or  any  English 
Glossary  known  to  me.  But  as  ladies,  in  subsequent  ages,  carried  prayer-books 
pendant  from  their  girdles,u  I  think  that  some  liturgical  book,  perhaps  a  collec- 
tion of  psalms,  was  here  meant,  not  a  school  primer  in  the  modern  sense.  In 
the  legacies  to  her  grandchildren  John  and  Elizabeth,  she  limits  the  benefit  of 
survivorship  to  below  the  age  of  eighteen.x  Then  follows  this  clause,  "  Item, 
lego  et  volo  cjjd  pdca  Alic'  filia  pdcJ  Gerardi  habeat  unum  par  lintheam'  et  pro 
nutricione  sua  qualibet  septimana  per  unum  annum  ixd.  et  post  ilium  annum 

n  Owen,  &c.  Shrewsb.  i.  540.  °  Percy  Anecdotes,  part  iv.  p.  8. 

p  Pat.  6  Hen.  VI.  pars  i.  m.  15.  in  Rymer's  unpublished  Collections,  entitled,  "  Capitula  Actorum," 
MS.  B.  Mus.  (Ayscougb's  Catal.)  4605,  fol.  6.  i  Claus.  23  Hen.  VI.  m.  17. 

r  In  Charpentier  Dolium  is  rendered  by  cupa  major,  lacus  vinarius.  In  Seyer's  Bristol,  ii.  152,  the 
word  was  applied  to  shipping,  as  of  100  tons,  in  Latin  rendered  dolin. 

8  Ellis's  Old  Poets,  i.  204.  *  In  libr.  vocat.  Llufnam,  f.  34.  •      u  See  Prayer-book,  c.  ix. 

x  Ses  Cowel,  v.  Age,  and  Ducange,  v.  JEtas,  et  auctor.  ibi  citat. 


MEMOIR    OF    THE    FAMILY    OF    FOSBROKE.  tj 

habeat  qualibet  septimana  p  unum  quarterium  anni  vid.  Item,  lego  eid  Alic  ad 
inveniend  sibi  vestimenta  et  alia  necesaria  sibi  opportuna  xxs."  The  said  Alice 
was  to  have  for  board  and  nursing  9c?.  a  week  for  one  year,  and  6d.  a  week  for  the 
next  quarter.  The  testatrix  died  in  1447,  and  was  buried  at  Cranford  with  her 
husband.  A  brass  plate  with  the  figures  of  both  was  placed  over  the  slab,  and 
had  the  following  inscription :  "  Hie  jacet  Jones  Fossebrok,  armig,  qui  obiit  vii 
die  mensis  Octobris,  anno  Drii  Miftmo  ccccxviii.  et  Matilda  uxor  ejus,  quae  fuit 
sicca  nutrix  Dfio  Regi  Henric  (sic)  Sexti.  Quorum  aiabus  propitietur  Deus. 
Amen."  J 

The  figure  of  Ankaret,  wife  of  Thomas  Talbot,  Esq.  who  died  in  1436,  is  in 
similar  costume.2  Malliot  makes  it  a  frequent  practice  for  females  to  be  repre- 
sented on  their  tombs  attired  as  religieuses,  possibly  from  some  superstition,  like 
as  the  interment  of  men  in  monks'  cowls,  and  it  seems  likely  that  widows,  who, 
as  was  common,  had  taken  a  vow  of  chastity,  never  to  marry  again,  were  desig- 
nated by  this  surplice-formed  robe.  [See  figure  of  Matilda,  in  Plate  of  English 
Costume,  in  "  Encyclopedia  of  Antiquities,"  fig.  13.] 

She  left  a  son  named  Gerard  in  her  will,  whereas,  in  certain  old  pedigrees  a 
he  is  styled  Edward  or  Gerrard.  How  this  prsenomen  occurs  once,  and 
once  only  in  our  family,  may  be  thus  explained.  It  was  not  unprecedented, 
for  the  feudal  commanders  of  military  companies,  or  their  ladies,  to  become 
sponsors  for  the  children  of  their  retainers,b  and  this  name  of  Gerard  seems  to 
have  been  derived  from  Sir  Gerard  Ufflete.  In  the  Chapter  House,  Westmin- 
ster, is  preserved  a  presumed  Muster  Roll  of  the  Agincourt  Army,  previous  to 
embarkation.  That  able  antiquary  and  genealogist  Mr.  Stacey  Grimaldi,  F.A.S. 
has  kindly  communicated  the  following  extract :  "  Under  the  command  of  Sir 
Gerard  Ufflete,  chr,  are  Lionell  fra?ejus,  Nich'us  Fossebroke,  Johes  Harford,  and 
sixteen  others,  all  Lances,  i.  e.  Esquires."  What  relative  this  Nicholas  was  to 
John,  father  of  Gerrard,  I  know  not,  only  that  Mr.  Stacey  Grimaldi  says,  "  that 
in  the  Roll  the  companies  of  troops  are  arranged  under  the  leaders'  names,  such 
leader  being  presumed  to  be  the  great  man  of  the  district  whence  these  young 
knights,  squires,  and  men,  came/5 

"  This  Gerrard c  married  Anne by  whom  he  had  issue  John,  of 

Cranford,  whose  wife  was  Dorothy  daughter  of  Robert  Drewell,  of  Little  Ged- 
ding,  co.  Huntingdon.e  This  was  an  ancient  family,  for  a  John  Druell  was 
sheriff  of  Northamptonshire,  18  Ed.  I.  [a0  1290.]5,f 

r  Bridges's  Northamptonshire,  ii.  228.  z  Eograved  in  Owen  and  Blakeway's  Shrewsbury,  ii.  287. 

a  Visitat.  of  Northamptonshire  for  1566,  in  the  Coll.  of  Arms,  p.  39.  MS.  Harl.  1467,  fol.  27  b.  and 
1553,  f.  38.  b  See  Rot.  Pari.  ii.  292. 

c  Visitat.  of  Northamptonshire,  in  the  Coll.  of  Arms,  for  1566,  p.  39. 

d  Will  of  Matilda  Fosbroke,  ubi  supr.  e  MSS.  Harl.  1467,  f.  27  b. ;  1553,  fol.  38, 

f  MS.  Harl.  5171,  f.  22. 


18  MEMOIR    OF    THE    FAMILY    OF    FOSBROKE. 

As  if  some  superstitious  charm,  or  rather  an  advertisement  of  good  descent, 
attached  to  the  christian  name  of  John  in  the  family,  a  practice  which  still 
subsists  in  the  perpetual  preenomina  annexed  to  members  of  certain  high 
families,  Robert  the  son  of  the  last  John  was  aliased  with  a  John  by  the  Har- 
leian  Pedigrees  and  Bridges.  There  happens  to  be  in  the  Records  s  a  pedigree 
from  this  Robert  down  to  John  his  grandson,  and  it  states  that  a  marriage  set- 
tlement was  made  upon  an  Elena  Doveton  [not  Boveton,  as  the  pedigrees] 
upon  her  marriage  with  Robert.  This  Robert  died  in  1518,  having  had  issue 
by  Elena  a  John,  who  died  s.  p. ;  a  Robert,  brother  and  heir ;  a  Richard,  and 
others.h  Elena  survived  her  husband,  as  she  did  a  second  one  named  Ashton, 
and  was  living  when  her  daughter-in-law  Juliana,  the  wife  of  her  son  Richard 
(who  died  7th  Aug.  1541)  became  a  widow  also.1  This  appears  by  the  will  of 
Richard,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  Inquisition  taken  at  his  decease,  33 
Hen.  VIII.  (1541).  Juliana,  the  widow  of  Richard  (and  misnomered  Judith  in 
an  Harleian  MS.),k  was  the  daughter  of  William  Kynnesman  of  Lodington,  co. 
Northampton,  by  Joyce,  daughter  of  Thomas  Stokes  of  Stoke,1  co.  Warwick,  her 
grandmother  being  Isabella  daughter  of  Fasakerley  of  Warrington,  co.  Northamp- 
ton. Her  son  and  heir  John,  who  was  16  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  father 
Richard's  decease,111  married  two  wives,  and  by  Dorothy  the  first  wife  had  a  second 
son  Richard,n  who  settled  at  Diddlebury,  co.  Salop,  in  1584,  his  father  John  being 
then  alive.  In  their  time  a  circumstance  happened,  which  evinces  the  oppres- 
sive operation  of  Extents  of  the  Crown.  The  proceedings  in  Chancery  in  the 
Tower  of  London  [Ff.  8,  N°  27],  show  that  4th  January,  1583,  William  Fos- 
broke  of  Cranford,  co.  Northampton,  complains,  that  he  bought  of  Richard 
Gray,  son  of  Peter  Gray,  Receiver  General  of  Her  Majesty's  Revenues,  sundry 
cattle,  which  after  he  had  so  done  were  seized  by  the  crown,  the  said  Peter 
Gray  having  been  greatly  in  her  Majesty's  debt.     With  this  Richard,  the  son, 


e  Liberat.  Dom.  Cap.  Westm.  v.  iii.  p.  158. 

h  Inq.  p.  ra.  10  H.  VIII.  5  Id.  33  Hen.  VIII.  k  No.  1187,  f.  53. 

1  Of  which  very  ancient  family,  see  Dugd.  Warw.  p.  130,  ed.  1st. 

ra  Index  Hered.  Nobil  Famil.  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  C.  vin. 

n  MSS.  Harl.  1467,  1553.  This  John  Fosbroke  died  in  1602,  about  the  age  of  80,  and  upon  a  brass 
plate  in  the  church  of  Cranford,  embellished  with  his  figure  between  his  two  wives,  is  the  following 
epitaph  :  "  Here  lyeth  John  Fosbroke,  Esq.  who  departed  this  life  the  12th  of  March  anno  1602,  about 
the  age  of  80,  who  buried  before  him  two  wives  ;  by  the  first  he  had  issue  4  sonnes  and  4  daughters  ; 
and  the  last,  whos  name  was  Awdre,  [daughter  of  Robert  Lenton,  of  Woodford,  co.  Northampton. 
Harl.  MSS.  ubi  supra.]  died  in  anno  1589,  having  issue  by  him  four  sonnes  [John,  Parson  of  Cranford, 
inter  alios.  Harl.  MSS.]  and  12  daughters,  being  in  her  life-time  bountiful  to  the  poore,  and  esteminge 
no  time  well  spent,  wherein  she  did  not  some  good  either  to  poore  or  rich.  He  saw  issue  of  his  children 
by  both  his  wives  above  70  grand-children ;  to  18  of  his  children  he  gave  portions,  and  relieved  his 
grand-children.  Yet  he  was  zealous  of  God's  glorye,  loved  the  saints,  relieved  the  poore,  and  defended 
the  helples,  and  hath  laid  up  in  store  a  sure  foundation  in  Heaven." — Copy  made  by  the  Rev.  B. 
Hutchinson,  Rector  of  Cranford,  May  1820. 


MEMOIR    OF    THE    FAMILY    OF    FOSBROKE.  19 

terminated  our  connection  with  the  parent  Northamptonshire  line,  which  is  now 
represented  by  the  Fosbrookes  of  Ravenstone  Hall,  co.  Derby.0 

"  Stemmata  quid  faciunt  ?" 

One  answer  is  the  law  of  primogeniture,  entails,  and  a  soubriquet.  A  noble- 
man of  the  sister  island  having  had  many  poor  relations,  it  has  become  prover- 
bial to  designate  generically  these  mourners  by  that  Peer^s  title,  so  that  if  poor 
relations  have  no  legacies  in  a  will,  it  is  said  that  Lord  *****  gets  nothing. 
Money  however  among  our  ancestors  was  not  so  omnipotent  as  now;  and  the 
law  of  hereditary  succession  did  not  always  supersede  superior  qualifications  in 
younger  brothers.  Instances  are  known  in  our  early  reigns  [as  that  of  Edw.  I. 
See  Trans,  R.  Soc.  Literat.  v.  i.  p.  ii.  art.  iv.]  where  the  King  has  transferred 
the  descent  of  a  peerage  from  a  senior  to  a  junior  son,  upon  the  account  alle- 
gated ;  and  a  Lady,  writing  about  a  proposed  marriage,  says,  a  remembring  the 
wisdome  of  my  seid  Lady,  and  the  good  wise  stok  of  the  Grenes,  whereof  she  is 
comen,  and  also  of  the  wise  stok  of  the  Parrs  of  Kendal/'P  The  married 
couples  were  also  expected  to  be  sized  like  soldiers ;  for  Sir  William  Cecil  says 
in  a  letter  (Ellis,  ii.  299,  2d  ser.),  i(  Here  is  an  unhappy  chance  and  monstruous. 
The  Serjeant  Porter,  being  the  biggest  gentleman  in  this  Court,  hath  married 
secretly  the  Lady  Mary  Grey,  the  lest  of  all  the  court/5  and  they  were  impri- 
soned in  consequence. 

Blumenbach  says,  that  the  qualities  of  the  mind  are  hereditary :  so  too  our 
ancestors  thought,  and  there  is  reason  for  it ;  because  if  the  mere  bodily  consti- 
tution of  our  parents  decided  our  characters,  then,  Old  Parr  with  his  longevity 
would  be  superior  to  Alfred  with  his  wisdom,  and  duration  be  superior  to  con- 
struction. I  therefore  hope  that  I  do  not  philosophically  err,  if  I  think  well  of 
the  intellect  of  these  Northamptonshire  Fosbrokes,  because  two  authors  are 
found  among  them  of  meritorious  pretensions.^ 

The  aforesaid  John  Fosbroke,  Esq.  had  by  his  first  wife  "  four  sons  and  four 
daughters ;  and  by  his  second  wife  four  sons  and  twelve  daughters,  making  in 
the  whole  twenty-four  children.  He  lived  till  about  80,  buried  both  his  wives, 
and  saw  issue  by  their  children  above  seventy  grandchildren.  To  eighteen  of  his 
children  he  gave  portions,  and  relieved  his  grandchildren." 

How  John  Fosbroke,  Esquire,  the  last  of  my  ancestors  bearing  that  title, 
contrived  to  portion  seventeen  children,  and  relieve  above  seventy  grandchildren, 
without  depriving  the  eldest  of  the  manor,  advowson,  and  estate,  is  a  subject 


o  Burke's  Commoners,  ii.  626,  where  is  an  account  of  them.  p  Whitaker's  Richmondshire,  i.  387. 

i  Sermons  "by  John  Fosbroke,  B.D.  late  of  Sidney  College,  Cambridge,  Rector  of  Cranford,  co. 
Northamp.  4to.  Cambr.  1633.  A  Nathaniel  Fosbrooke  published,  in  1605,  "  Falshood  in  Friendship, 
or  Union's  Vizard,  or  Wolves  in  Lambskins,  &c.  &c."  See  Harleian  Miscellany,  x.  445.  See  more  of 
his  books  in  Moule's  Bibliotheca  Heraldica,  p.  70. 


20  MEMOIR    OF    THE    FAMILY    OF    FOSBROKE. 

which  presents  an  opportunity  of  elucidating  the  habits  of  our  forefathers  in 
regard  to  their  younger  children.  Shakspere,  in  his  "  As  You  Like  It/'  has, 
under  the  character  of  Orlando,  made  actual  representations  of  the  painful 
situations  of  such  post-opulent  members  of  a  family;  and  Mr.  Douce  has 
produced  instances  where  they  were  made  menials,  and  wore  the  livery  of  the 
elder  brother.  Any  other  mode  of  provision  for  them  was  in  fact  promotion 
above  a  servile  condition.  The  clown  in  King  Lear  (A.  iii.  sc.  3),  among  some 
prophecies  in  doggrels,  has  "  No  Squire  in  debt,  and  no  poor  knight  ?'  and, 
to  show  the  needy  state  of  country  gentlemen,  there  is  a  book,  "  The 
Mystery  and  Misery  of  lending  and  borrowing,"  which  contains  an  illustra- 
tration  of  the  Fool's  sarcasm.1" 

Sir  Robert  Naunton s  says,  that  the  ancient  mode  of  providing  for  younger 
children  was  to  send  them  to  the  City  to  learn  trade ;  and  this  was  done  with  my 
ancestor,  who  migrated  into  Shropshire,  where  others  of  his  family  were  also 
settled  ;*  and,  so  far  from  professions  being  preferred  to  trades,  Lord  Shaftes- 
buryu  mentions  a  Lady  who  was  going  over  to  Holland,  "  to  settle  her  son  at 
some  school,  where  he  may  be  best  taught  the  languages  and  rudiments  of 
a  trade ;  for,  though  as  the  eldest  child  he  will  be  entitled  to  a  moderate  estate, 
yet  it  being  not  such  as  to  maintain  him  properly  in  the  rank  of  gentry,  she 
prudently  resolves  to  bring  him  to  business,  for,  if  he  gains  little  by  it,  he  may  at 
least  learn  industry,  avoid  idleness,  acquire  a  good  habit  of  frugality,  and  learn  to 
improve  what  he  has  of  his  own."  I  omit  Fortescue's  well-known  account  of  sons 
being  sent  to  the  Inns  of  Court. 

Thus  does  it  appear  that,  in  conformity  to  the  passage  quoted  from  Whitaker, 
our  ancestors  took  great  pains  to  make  their  children  wise. 

As  to  daughters,  Sir  William  Dugdalex  sent  one  of  his  to  be  a  lady's 
maid,  and  yet  he  was  a  country  gentleman  of  independent  fortune.  My  great- 
grandfather portioned  his  girls  off  in  the  following  manner.     Being  an  Incum- 


r  Reprinted  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  June  1829,  p.  595. 

s  Fragm.  p.  104. 

1  In  two  Liberationes  in  the  Chapter  House  (Pars  xiii.  463,  3  Jac  I.  and  Pars  xviii.  18  Jac.  I.  p.  41 1) 

are  two  writs  of  livery  of  an  estate  belonging  to  the  Fosbrookes  at  Ticklarton  in  Eaton,  co.  Salop,  to  the 

last  of  which  is  annexed  the  following  pedigree  : 

William  Fosbrooke.=^=Anne,  ob.  May  12,  3  Jac.  I.  [1605]. 

I 

Thomas  Fosbrooke,  ob.  7  Sept.  16  Jac.  I.=pAnne,  dau.  of  Edward  Blackwey ;  mar. 
[anno  1618],  set.  30  3  Jac.  I.  |  June,  39  Eliz.  [1596]. 

I ' 

Francis,  aged  20  16  Jac.  I.  [anno  1618]. 

Q  ?   if  from  this  family  of  Blakeway  the  late  learned  and  ingenious  historian  of  Shrewsbury  was 

descended. 

u  Letters  of  Locke,  &c.  256.  x  Hamper's  Life  of  Dugdale,  226,  228. 


MEMOIR    OF    THE    FAMILY    OF    FOSBROKE 


21 


bent  of  two  livings,  he  says  in  his  will,  "  as  to  my  whole  parsonage  of  Acton 
Scott,  together  with  all  the  goods  and  cattle  thereupon,  I  have  long  since 
bestowed  them  upon  Mr.  Richard  Baldwyn,  as  a  portion  with  my  said  daughter 
Sarah,  upon  which  parsonage  (paying  taxes,  curate/  and  repairs),  he  is  to 
continue  until  such  time  as  a  portion  equivalent  to  what  he  deserves  be  raised 
out  of  it;*2 

The  pedigree  in  Burke's  Commoners,  concerning  the  Fosbrokes  of  Cranford, 
being  very  meagre,  I  shall  give  the  remainder  so  far  as  it  appears  in  the  Har- 
leian  MSS.a 


Dorothy,  dau.  of  Rob ert=f= John  Fosbroke,  Esq.=^=Audrey,  dau.  of  Robert  Lenton  of 


Drewell,   of  Little  Ged- 
ding,   co.  Huntingdon  ; 
1st  wife. 


ob.  Mar.  12,  1602. 


William  ,=y= Agnes,  dau. 

eldest  and  coh. 

son   and     of  Rob. 

heir.  Wolston,  of 

Burton,  co. 
Northamp- 
ton. 


n r-r— i 

Richard,  of    Margaret. 


Didle- 
bury  ; 
of  whom 
postea. 
Ralph,  mar. 
....  dau. 
of  Benja- 
min Cow- 
dry. 


Bridget, 
mar.John 
Paget,  of 
Walde- 
grave. 

Catharine. 


r~l — 
Eliza- 
beth. 
Osith. 


Woodford,  co.    Northampton,  ob. 
1589 ;  2d  wife. 


i -r—| 

1st  w.  Su-^John,  =T=2d  w.  Jane,    Sarah. 


san,  dau. 
of  Geo. 
Lynn, of 
South- 
wike,  co. 
Westmor- 
land. 


Par- 
son 

of 

Cran- 
ford. 


John,  of  Cranford.^Margaret,  one  of  the  nine 


son   and   heir  ;    he 
presented  to  the 
living  in  1641. 


daughters  of  Geo.  Lynne, 
of  Southwicke,  by  Isabel, 
dau.  of  Miles  Frost. 


I    I    I 

William, 

s.  p. 
Robert, 

s.  p. 
Thomas, 

ob.  at 

London. 


T~l 


dau.  of  Ann,  mar. 

Rev.  Wm.     Edw.  Top- 
sell,  orTap- 


Pelshant 
of  Market 
Bosworth, 
co.  Leic. 


hall,  Curate 
of  St.  Bo- 
tolph's,  Al- 
der sgate, 
both  bur. 
there. 


Margaret,  mar. 
to  Rob.  Monk, 
of  Thatcham, 
co.  Sussex.6 

Mary. 


Lydia,  ob.  inf. 
Margaret, mar. 
to  Francis 
Barret,  of 
Spatwicke,  co. 
Northampton. 


~T)    I    » 

William. 

John. 

Eusebius. 

Ann. 


i r 1 1 r r~ 

John.     Francis,     Henry,  15  years     Maud.     Catharine.     Martha. 
s.  p.  old  in  1618. 


— I 1 1 

Mary.     Lucy.     Sarah. 


Of  the  Fossebrokes  this  Manor  of  Cranford  was  purchased  by  the  family  of 
Maidwell,  from  whom  it  came  to  the  Walcots,  and  was  sold  to  the  present  pos- 
sessor, Sir  James  Robinson,  Bart,  by  Captain  Bernard  Walcot,  of  Oundle.c 


y  A  Mr.  William  Mansell  was  his  Curate  at  one  time,  whose  stipend  was  13/.  13*.  per  annum,  pay- 
able quarterly.     Tithe-booJc,  pen.  T.  D.  F. 

*  From  his  will  in  the  Registrar's  Office,  Hereford,  proved  Sept.  13,  1726.  B  Nos.  1467  and  1553. 
b  It  is  a  law  of  Heraldry,  that  where  only  the  same  Arms,  or  mere  variations  of  branches,  are  borne  by 

persons  of  the  same  name,  they  had  one  common  ancestor.     Thus,  according  to   Edmondson,  Heraldry, 

vol.  ii. : 

MonJce  bore,  Argent,  three  leopard's  heads  sable  ;  to  which  a  branch  made  alterations  thus,  Gules,  a 
chevron  between  three  lion's  heads  erased  argent. 

According,  therefore,  to  the  Heraldic  Law,  the  Monks  of  Orchard  and  Okehampton,  co.  Devon  (Esc. 
22  Edw.  IV.  n.  8),  the  celebrated  Duke  of  Albemarle,  the  present  Lord  Bishop  of  Gloucester  and 
Bristol,  and  others  of  the  name,  are  descended  from  the  same  common  ancestor. 

*  Bridges. 


22  MEMOIR    OF    THE    FAMILY    OF    FOSBROKE. 

Line  of  Richard  of  Diddlebury. 

This  Richard  settled  at  Diddlebury,  co.  Salop ;  and  married  there  Elizabeth 
Street,  June  16,  1584,  by  whom  he  had  issue  Juliana,  bapt.  at  Diddlebury 
April  3,  1585;  Michael,  baptized  there  February  27,  1587,  s.  p. ;  and  John, 
bapt.  April  11,  1591.  This  John  declined  a  Baronetcy,  when  James  I.  offered 
for  sale  his  Ulster  patents,  observing  that  he  had  rather  be  a  wealthy  yeoman 
than  a  poor  knight ;  and  the  yeomen  of  those  days  are  described  as  men  of 
opulence  by  Shakspere  and  Hollinshed.  The  latter  says,  "  Our  ancient  yeo- 
men were  wealthy,  and  sent  their  sons  to  the  University."  To  this  family  sys- 
tem of  one  member  being  always  a  clergyman  my  ancestors  have  scrupulously 
adhered ;  and,  by  a  singular  concurrence  of  circumstances,  I  had  no  opening  in 
life  left  for  my  second  son,  but  in  the  Church ;  and  he  is  now  the  family  repre- 
sentative in  that  profession  of  a  long  line  of  good  men,  Clerks  also,  for  centu- 
ries past.  This  John  had  issue  William,  matriculated  at  St.  Mary  Hall,  Oxon, 
March  31,  1671,  and  graduated  M.A.  July  3,  1677.  He  was  Vicar  of  Diddle- 
bury, and  Rector  of  Acton  Scott,  co.  Salop  ;  and  dying  July  10,  1726,  aged  75, 
is  commemorated  by  the  following  epitaph,  still  existing.  (i  In  memory  of  the 
Rev.  and  Learned  William  Fosbrooke,  M.A.  Vicar  of  Diddlebury,  and  Rector 
of  Acton  Scott,  who  departed  this  life  the  10th  of  July  1726,  aged  75."  He 
married  two  wives,  one  of  whom  was  a  sister  of  Admiral  Caldwell  (a  name  well 
known  in  the  Navy),  and  had  issue  three  sons,  viz.  I.  William,  incumbent  of 

Cold  Weston,  co.   Salop,  who  married  Frances,  daughter  of  Baldwin  of 

Diddlebury,  was  executor  of  his  father's  will,  proved  13th  September  1726,  and 
died  without  issue.  II.  Edward,  Vicar  of  Stirchley  and  Dawley,  co.  Salop,  who 
had  issue  John,  Vicar  of  Childerditch,  Essex,  and  others,  all  s.  p.  III.  Tho- 
mas, who  was,  by  the  partiality  of  his  father,  endowed  with  a  good  estate  at 
Diddlebury,  part  freehold,  part  leasehold  for  lives,  which  had  been  in  the  family 
for  at  least  two  hundred  years.  This  estate  he  squandered.  The  eldest  son 
became  tenant  of  the  father's  estate ;  the  second,  educated  for  orders,  who 
migrated  to  London,  was  my  father  :  and  the  only  attestation  of  former  note  in 
the  native  village  of  my  more  recent  ancestors,  is  the  communion  plate  of  the 
church,  which  was  the  joint  benefaction  of  the  Baldwins  (a  very  ancient  family, 
see  Collins's  Baronetage,  v.  43)  and  Fosbrokes,  who  had  more  than  once  been 
connected  by  intermarriages. 

The  Arms  of  the  family  are — Azure,  a  saltier  between  four  cinquefoils  argent ; 
and  seem  to  have  been  granted  or  taken  up  in  consequence  of  the  alliance  with 
the  Stafford  family  through  the  lady  mentioned ;  for  a  branch  of  the  Staffords 
bore  a  saltier  between  four  pears.  The  tinctures  of  blue  and  white  were  pro- 
bably derived  from  the  livery  of    the  house    of  Lancaster,  the  above  Maud 


MEMOIR    OF    THE    FAMILY    OF    FOSBROKE. 


23 


Fossebrok  having  been  nurse  to  King  Henry  VI.  The  name  is  and  ought  to 
have  been  spelt  Fosbroke,  for  such  is  the  orthography  in  Glover's  Ordinary  of 
Arms,  the  Cranford  brass,  and  the  early  Diddlebury  register ;  and  the  error  of 
amplifying  the  Anglo-Saxon  broc,  as  putting  Vembrooke  for  Vembroke,  alters 
the  accent,  from  Pembroke  to  Pembrooke,  whereas  the  English  always  lay  the 
emphasis  on  the  first  syllable  if  possible. 

"  Vixi,  et  cursum  quern  dederat  fortuna  peregi." 

T.  D.  Fosbroke. 


i^LHaJJ 


?^    a3All03M 


BRITISH    MONACHISM. 


CHAPTER  I. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  MONACHISM. 


Real  Christianity  consists  in  Pu- 
rity, Justice,  Contentment,  Self-com- 
mand, Philanthropy,  and  a  Faith  which 
produces  a  sublime  disregard  of  human 
events.  Its  virtues  and  its  benefits 
are  only  exhibited  with  justice  to  its 
exquisite  philosophy,  when  they  are 
exemplified  in  the  social  duties  of  the 
Parent,  the  Conjugal  character,  the 
Friend,  the  Neighbour,  and  the  Citizen. 
Prudence  and  Virtue,  "  the  wisdom  of 
the  Serpent  with  the  innocence  of  the 
Dove,"  are  the  real  methods  of  en- 
joying sublunary  happiness ;  and  the 
hope  of  a  superior  state  of  existence  is 
the  best  medicine  against  the  numerous 
evils  and  imperfections  attached  to 
material  animal  existence,  under  the 
stimulation  of  wants  and  passions. 
Unfortunately,  there  exists  a  perver- 
sion, resulting  from  inevitable  states  of 
society,  which,  on  one  side,  sacrifices 
the  Virtues  to  Pleasure  or  Convenience, 
on  the  other  to  Superstition.  Illustra- 
tions of  this  evident  truth,  by  anEccle- 
siastiek,  will  plainly  be  of  less  avail  than 
the  cool  philosophy  of  Adam  Smith. 

It  would  be  injurious  not  to  give  at 
length  a  passage  which  elucidates  the 
great  principle  of  Monastick  success. 

"  In  every  civilized  society,  in  every 
society  where  the  distinction  of  ranks 
has  once  been  established,  there  have 
been  always  two  different  schemes,  or 
systems  of  morality,  current  at  the 
same  time ;  of  which,  the  one  may  be 
called  the  strict  or  austere,  the  other, 
the  liberal,  or,  if  you  will,  the  loose 


system.  The  former  is  generally 
admired  and  revered  by  the  common 
people,  the  latter  is  commonly  more 
esteemed  and  adopted  by  what  are 
called  people  of  fashion,  The  degree 
of  disapprobation  with  which  we  ought 
to  mark  the  vices  of  levity,  the  vices 
which  are  apt  to  arise  from  great  pro- 
perty, and  from  the  excess  of  gaiety 
and  good  humour,  seems  to  constitute 
the  principal  distinction  between  these 
two  opposite  schemes,  or  systems.  In 
the  liberal,  or  loose  system,  luxury, 
wanton  and  even  disorderly  mirth,  the 
pursuit  of  pleasure  to  some  degree  of 
intemperance,  the  breach  of  chastity, 
at  least  in  one  of  the  two  sexes,  &c. 
provided  they  are  not  accompanied 
with  gross  indecency,  and  do  not  lead 
to  falsehood  and  injustice,  are  generally 
treated  with  a  good  deal  of  indulgence, 
and  are  easily  either  excused  or  par- 
doned altogether.  In  the  austere  sys- 
tem, on  the  contrary,  these  excesses 
are  regarded  with  the  utmost  abhor- 
rence and  detestation.  The  vices  of 
levity  are  always  ruinous  to  the  com- 
mon people;  and  a  single  week's 
thoughtlessness  and  dissipation  is  often 
sufficient  to  undo  a  poor  workman  for 
ever,  and  drive  him,  through  despair, 
upon  committing  the  most  enormous 
crimes.  The  wiser  and  better  sort  of 
the  common  people,  therefore,  have 
always  the  utmost  abhorrence  and  de- 
testation of  such  excesses,  which  their 
experience  tells  them  are  so  imme- 
diately fatal  to  people  of  their  condition. 


PRINCIPLES    OF    MONACHISM. 


The  disorder  and  extravagance  of  seve- 
ral years,  on  the  contrary,  will  not 
always  ruin  a  man  of  fashion :  and 
people  of  this  rank  are  ever  apt  to  con- 
sider the  power  of  indulging  in  some 
degree  of  excess,  as  one  of  the  advan- 
tages of  their  fortune  ;  and  the  liberty 
of  doing  so  without  censure  or  reproach, 
as  one  of  the  privileges  which  belong 
to  their  station.  In  people  of  their 
own  station,  therefore,  they  regard  such 
excesses,  either  very  slightly,  or  not 
at  all. 

"  Almost  all  religious  sects  have  be- 
gun among  the  common  people,  from 
whom  they  have  generally  drawn  their 
earliest,  as  well  as  their  most  numerous 
proselytes.  The  austere  system  of 
morality  has  accordingly  been  adopted 
by  these  sects,  almost  constantly ;  or 
with  very  few  exceptions,  for  there 
have  been  some.  It  was  the  system 
by  which  they  could  best  recommend 
themselves  to  that  order  of  people,  to 
whom  they  first  proposed  their  plan  of 
reformation,  upon  what  had  been  before 
established.  Many,  perhaps  the  greater 
part  of  them,  have  even  endeavoured  to 
gain  credit,  by  refining  upon  this  austere 
system,  and  by  carrying  it  to  some  de- 
gree of  folly  and  extravagance  :  and 
this  excessive  rigour  has  frequently  re- 
commended them,  more  than  any  thing 
else,  to  the  respect  and  veneration  of  the 
common  peopled* 

History  has  ever  confuted  the  pre- 
tensions of  Fanaticism  to  produce  the 
Golden  Age;  that  is,  a  race  of  men 
without  vice  or  misery.  The  approba- 
tion of  the  vulgar  can  be  no  standard  ; 
for  they  believe  in  quackery  and  for- 
tune-telling. Indeed,  who  can  judge 
correctly  of  what  he  does  not  know? 
But  Fanaticism  will  ever  have  success. 
It  treats  upon  a  subject  where  there  is 
a  general  feeling  and  interest ;  and  acts 
by  operating  upon  Passion,  which  is 
always  contagious  and  intelligible ;  be- 
cause the  sensations  of  all  mankind  are 
similar,  though  their  understandings 
may  differ. 

Without  a  common  interest,  unani- 

a  Smith's  Wealth  of  Nations,  III.  p.  202,  &  seq, 


mity  is  impossible ;  and  this  common 
interest  extends  only  to  religion  at 
large;  particular  modes  of  professing 
it  are  questions  unconnected  with  the 
feelings;  which,  therefore,  do  not  at- 
tract the  ignorant,  who  expect  the 
senses  to  be  roused,  by  the  inebriating 
pleasures  of  what  may  be  called  the 
spiritous  liquors  of  Divinity.  Provi- 
dence, however,  favours  the  liberal 
system  (if  it  be  not  abused  by  Vice  or 
Intemperance) ;  for  Wealth  of  every 
kind  must  inevitably  be  dispersed 
among  the  population  :  interest  of  mo- 
ney not  existing  without  a  profitable 
channel  of  expenditure  ;  and  vegetable 
or  animal  products  being  insusceptible 
of  accumulation  without  decay.  "  Lux- 
ury/' says  Gibbon,b  "though  it  may 
proceed  from  Vice  or  Folly,  is,  as  the 
world  is  formed,  the  only  means  of 
correcting  unequal  distribution  of  pro- 
perty, by  diffusing  comforts  and  plea- 
sures among  Artisans,"  &c. 

The  Monks  practically,  though  not 
scientifically,  understood  the  certain 
success  of  the  austere  system.  The 
Seecular  Clerks  were  men  of  family, 
and  worldly  consequence.  Therefore, 
the  only  method  of  ousting  them  was 
by  the  reputation  of  a  superior  sanctity, 
which  the  Monks  made  to  consist  in 
the  mechanical  offices  of  religion,  and 
personal  privations.  This  they  there- 
fore established  by  means  of  rules  upon 
a  military  principle  of  automatical  ac- 
tion ;  and  thus  abstracted  the  people 
from  their  rivals  of  the  day.c  The 
laity  was  then,  by  admiration,  attached 
to  ascetic  severities.*1  Pleasure  was 
destruction,6  because  mortification  was 
deemed  the  sole  means  of  acquiring 
the  favour  of  God,  and  avoiding  tem- 
poral misfortunes.*"  Aldhelm,  in  an 
epistle  to  his  pupil  Adelwold,  desires 
him  to  avoid  conviviality,  the  culpable 
exercise  of  riding,  or  any  "  accursed 
pleasures  of  bodily  indulgence.'^ 

Even  the  first  affection  of  nature, 
parental  love,  if  extended  to  the  indul- 

b  Gibbon,  I.  pp.  65,  66,  edit.  4to.  c  Eadmer 
(Vita  Dunstani)  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  213.  d  Angl.  Sacr. 
I. .797.  e  Id.  I.  213.  f  Anglia  Sacr.  II.  133. 
%  Id.  II.  p.  6. 


PRINCIPLES    OF    MONACHISM, 


gence  of  children,  though  only  in  the 
natural  appendages  of  station,  called  for 
the  vengeance  of  Providence  in  the  in- 
fliction of  future  misery  upon  such 
children.a 

Power  and  Benevolence  are  the  most 
perfect  and  conspicuous  attributes  of 
Deity ;  and  maxims,  which  represent 
Man  as  a  Criminal,  and  God  as  a  Ty- 
rant, as  in  truth  nonsense,  if  not  blas- 
phemy, would  in  vain  be  addressed  to 
an  enlightened  mind.  (The  gay  plumage 
of  birds  was  pronounced  contrary  to 
God's  commandment.  )b  But  the  igno- 
rance which  renders  Barbarians  incapa- 
ble of  conceiving  or  embracing  the 
useful  restraints  of  laws,  exposes  them 
naked  and  unarmed  to  the  blind  terrors 
of  superstition.0  It  has  been  affirmed 
that  these  superstitions  were  necessary 
in  the  early  ages  of  the  Church,  on 
account  of  the  ignorance  of  the  people ; 
at  least,  under  such  circumstances,  they 
were  natural,  and  therefore  excusable ; 
but  when  the  world  became  wiser, 
these  mummeries  should  have  been 
abolished.d  As  human  means,  because 
we  are  not  to  do  evil  that  good  may 
come,  such  palliations  are  not  tenable; 
but  they  have  a  different  aspect,  when 
considered  with  relation  to  Providence. 
The  ferocity  of  a  barbarous  age,  inclined 
to  war,  is  only  to  be  controlled  by 
superstition  ;  and,  in  the  earlier  middle 
age,  Christianity  was  very  considerably 
extended  by  means  of  the  sword,  by 
Baptism  exempting  the  Prisoner  of 
War  from  slavery  or  death.e  In  such 
an  age  pure  reason  would  have  been 
unavailing.  It  was  the  policy  of  the 
Papal  religion,  to  force  itself  into  every 
ramification  of  existence ;  and  the  su- 
perstition, which  prompted  these  daring 
innovations  upon  reason,  does  not  dis- 
gust the  Philosopher,  who  takes  human 
nature  as  it  exists  in  various  states  of 
society,  and  conditions  of  life.  When- 
ever the  spirit  of  Fanaticism,  at  once 
credulous    and   crafty,  has   insinuated 

a  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  696,  697.  b  See  Golden  Le- 
gend, cited  in  Chap.  III.  c  Gibbon,  I.  279,  Cb. 
37,  v.  vi.  p.  239,  ed.  8vo.  VIII.  320.  tl  Warton, 
Diss.  Gesta  Roman,  xvii.  e  Solorzanus  de  India- 
rum  Jure,  L.  ii.  Chap.  xvi.  p.  263. 


itself,  even  into  a  noble  mind,  it  inevi- 
tably corrodes  the  vital  principles  of 
Virtue  and  Veracity .f  Pious  frauds 
continued  to  the  days  of  the  well- 
meaning  Fox,  the  celebrated  Historian 
of  the  English  Martyrs,  who  published 
the  murders  of  persons  who  were  long 
after  living. 

That  historical  reasoning  can  never 
be  correct  which  is  not  founded  upon 
contemporary  ideas.  The  superstitions 
of  all  nations  were  incorporated  in  the 
religion  of  the  middle  ages ;  to  which 
were  added  the  temporal  judgments 
which  formed  the  Theocratick  Govern- 
ment of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the 
heretical  perversions  of  the  New  Cove- 
nant.    This  shall  be  shown  in  detail. 

The  progress  is  curious.  The  Barba- 
rians, after  the  conquest  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  were  admitted  to  a  share  of  the 
estates  possessed  by  the  Romans;  and 
Barbarian  and  Roman  were  classed  to- 
gether. Afterwards  those  were  called 
Barbarians  who  did  not  speak  or  under- 
stand the  Latin  or  Roman  Tongue;  as  all 
the  nations  beyond  the  Rhine,  especially 
the  Teutonick.  Lastly,  the  word  signi- 
fied those  who  did  not  profess  Popery .s 

Scecular  Misfortunes.  The  misfor- 
tunes of  Arthur  were  attributed  to  his 
loss  of  the  patronage  of  Saint  Dubri- 
cius.h 

If  a  man  died  a  sudden  death,  it  was 
thought  that  he  was  a  bad  man,  and 
taken  off  in  judgment.1 

Robert  Duke  of  Normandy  is  said  to 
have  been  unfortunate  from  the  time 
of  his  rejection  of  the  Kingdom  of  Je- 
rusalem, to  which  he  was  miraculously 
elected  by  the  spontaneous  illumination 
of  a  taper  which  he  held  in  his  hand.J 

A  tower  was  thought  to  have  fallen 
down  in  Winchester  Cathedral,  because 
William  Rufus  was  buried  near  it.k 

The  Scotch  took  the  plague  which 
raged  in  England,  for  a  judgment,  and, 
invading  the  country,  caught  it  them- 
selves.1 

Barrenness,  Famine,  and  other  evils, 

f  Gibbon,  II.  Cb.  22,  p.  14,  ed.  8vo.  e  Du 

Cange,  v.  Barbarus.     h  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  659.      'l  Id. 
I.  212,  213.  J  Angl.  Sacr.  I.  270.         *  Id.  I. 

270,  271.         1  Decern  Scriptores,  2600. 

B  2 


PRINCIPLES    OF    MONACHISM. 


were  supposed  to  proceed  from  disfi- 
guring an  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary.a 

The  appearance  of  a  Comet  foretold 
pestilence  or  famine,  or  war,  or  change 
of  the  kingdom.*1 

Temporal  good,  or  evil}ivas  respective- 
ly connected  with  good  or  evil  conduct 
towards  religious  persons. 

Whoever  shall  enrich  Monks  shall 
cause  his  progeny  to  prosper,  both  in 
this  world  and  the  other.c 

Robert  Fitzharding  is  supposed  to 
have  established  the  foundation  of  his 
Castle  at  Berkeley,  and  continuance 
of  his  family,  by  building  an  Abbey  at 
Bristol.d 

Gerard  Try,  a  Priest,  sent  Henry 
Lord  Berkeley  a  Letter  of  five  Texts  of 
Scripture,  respecting  retention  of  an 
estate  which  Gerard  claimed,  "lest  it 
should  consume  the  rest  of  his  sub- 
stance."6 

William  Rufus  says,  I  am  certain  that 
I  shall  go  to  Hell,  if  I  die  while  I  retain 
the  See  of  Canterbury  in  my  own 
hands/ 

III  usage  of  religious  persons  was 
thought  to  bring  down  Divine  hatred. £ 

Pope  Paschal  adduces  the  prosperity 
of  Henry  the  First,  and  his  having  a 
male  child  by  his  wife,  as  a  reason  why 
he  ought  to  be  quite  favourable  to  the 
privileges  of  the  Church.11 

It  was  believed  that  Henry  the  First 
obtained  a  victory  over  his  brother 
Robert  in  Normandy  because  he  was 
reconciled  to  Anselm.* 

Anselm  says,  that  money  extorted 
from  Priests  by  Lay  Authority,  not  to 
mention  injury  of  the  soul,  would  not, 
upon  expenditure,  be  of  such  worldly 
service  as  would  recompense  the  harm 
which  it  would  effect  J 

If  Kings  oppressed  the  Monks,  de- 
position and  loss  of  life  were  presumed 
to  be  the  Providentialk  punishments. 

Founders   or    Benefactors   were   to 


a  Script,  p.  Bed.  382,  b,  ed.  1596.  b  Dec. 

Scrpt.  961.  Scr.  p.  Bed.  512.  c  Dunst.  Con- 
cord. Regul.  Proem.  Spicil.Eadm.  156.  d  Smythe's 
Lives  of  the  Berkeleys,  MS.  penes  W.  Veel,  Esq.  p. 
62.  e  lb.  p  760."          f  Eadmer(Hist.  Novor.) 

p.  17.         *  Id.  42.  hId.74.  ;  Eadmer  90. 

i  Id.  85.         k  Eadgari  Constit. — Eadmer  157. 


expect  tranquillity,  plenty,  prosperity, 
and  longevity  here ;  and  future  happi- 
ness hereafter.  Spoliators  the  con- 
verse evils.1 

Tithes  were  paid  with  the  hope  of 
increased  crops.m 

The  ordinances  of  Religion  were  made 
to  supersede  the  moral  duties  ;  and  its 
influence  supported  by  the  most  visionary 
terrors,  and  curious  frauds. 

La  Tour,  who  wrote  a  book  (upon 
Education,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
daughters'.)  in  the  15th  century,  tells 
the  following  story  in  that  very  book  : 
A  knight,  who  had  been  three  times  a 
widower,  took  it  into  his  head  to  en- 
quire of  a  holy  Hermit,  what  was  the 
fate  in  the  other  world  of  his  three 
wives  ?  The  latter  after  various  prayers 
and  revelations,  informs  him,  that,  out 
of  the  three,  two  were  damned ;  one 
for  using  rouge,  the  other  for  having 
loved  dress.  The  third  only  was  in 
Paradise.  This  last,  it  was  true,  was 
in  the  constant  habit  of  committing 
adultery ;  but,  not  having  done  so  with 
a  married  man,  or  a  Priest,  or  Monk, 
or  had  a  child,  she  was,  through  confes- 
sion upon  her  death-bed,  let  off  for  a  few 
years  of  purgatory.0 

Death  without  confession  and  the  Sa- 
crament, was  deemed  disgraceful.0  A 
person  who  was  going  to  commit  a  de- 
liberate murder,  thought  fit  to  take  the 
Sacrament  first.P 

When  Prince  Edward,  son  of  Henry 
the  Third,  took  the  Castle  of  Glouces- 
ter, and  imprisoned  the  Burgesses,  who 
expected  to  be  hanged,  Robert  of 
Gloucester  thus  describes  their  distress, 
lest  they  should  die  without  confession: 

Prestles1  hom  was  wel  wo,  that  hii2  nere  issrive3. 
Robert  of  Caumpedene,  that  hosebond4  was  on, 
Tor  he  was  a  lute5  clerc,  he  shrof^hom  ech  on.i 

»  Without  Priests.     2  They.     3  Confess. 
4  Housekeeper.     5  Little.     6  Confessed. 

Clemency  and  Mercy  to  enemies  was 
alledged  as  a  reason  for  the  assassina- 
tion of  a  King.r 

1  Eadgari  Constit,— Eadmer  158.  m  XV  Script. 
379.  n  Notices  des  MSS.  dans  la  Biblioth.  Na- 
tional, Paris,  t.  V.  p.  163.  c  Matt.  Paris,  279, 
511.  v  Dec.  Scriptor.  2485,  b.  ■>  Vol.  II.  544. 
Ed.  Hearne.         r  Scriptor.  p.  Bed.  191,  a. 


PRINCIPLES    OF    MONACHISM. 


Edgar  says  of  Almsgiving,  "  Oh,  ex- 
cellent Almsgiving  !  Oh,  worthy  reward 
of  the  Soul !  Oh,  salutary  remedy  of 
our  Sins  P'a  It  was  usual  to  recom- 
mend this,  as  a  means  of  liberation 
from  Guilt.b  The  Sick  were  taught  to 
expect  cures  by  the  same  mode.c  It 
was  a  general  opinion,  that  persons 
who  had  no  issue  should  give  Alms 
and  found  Charitable  Institutions/1  The 
Papal  Bulls  often  prevented  Alms,  at 
last,  by  dependence  upon  pardons  for 
the  remission  of  sins.e  Thus  we  see 
that  the  Rich  had  no  necessity  for  re- 
pentance. They,  as  well  as  their  infe- 
riors, used  to  put  a  written  schedule  of 
their  Sins  under  the  cloth  which  cover- 
ed the  Altar  of  a  favourite  Saint, 
accompanied  by  a  donation ;  and  a  day 
or  two  after,  re-examined  the  schedule, 
which  the  virtues  of  the  Saint  converted 
to  a  blank.f 

The  decorum  attached  to  the  proper 
exercise  of  the  ecclesiastical  profession, 
was  not  suitably  regarded  by  the  Great. 
There  was  a  Jester  who  used  to  pelt 
the  King  (Henry  III.),  Geffrey  his  bro- 
ther, and  other  Lords,  with  turf,  stone, 
and  green  apples,  as  well  as  squeeze 
sour  grapes  upon  their  eyes  ;  yet  to 
this  man  the  King  gave  a  Church-living, 
and  he  was  by  profession  a  Clergy- 
man js 

The  Devil  and  Evil  Spirits  were  ac- 
tively introduced  to  prevent  the  opera- 
tion of  Reason,  lest  the  universality  of 
Religion  should  be  invalidated.  The 
delay  of  Anselm's  return  to  England, 
though  evidently  arising  from  opposi- 
tion to  the  King,  was  believed  to  be  a 
contrivance  of  the  Devil  to  destroy  all 
Christianity  in  that  nation.*1  Aymeric 
du  Peyrat,  Abbot  of  Moissac,  in  the 
14th  century,  pretends  that  Pope  Syl- 
vester was  given  to  the  Devil  for  be- 
coming Pope  ;  and  that  his  bones  made 
a  great  noise  in  the  tomb  every  time  a 
Pope  was  at  the  point  of  death.1      In 

a  Spicileg.  in  Eadmer.  163.  b  Dec.  Scriptor. 
1018, 1263,  2383.  «  M.  Paris,  61.  °  Smythe's 
Lives,  MS.  93.  e  Id.  MS.  429.  f  Golden  Le- 
gend, fol.  cxvi.  clviii.  e  M.  Paris,  733.  h  Eadm. 
Hist.  Nov.  80.  !  Chronique  MS.— Notices,  VI. 
83,  84. 


mischief  and  riots  the  Devil  was  sup- 
posed to  be  an  active  personal  agent.k 
Epidemical  Complaints,  if  they  affected 
the  senses,  were  attributed  to  the  in- 
fluence of  evil  spirits.  The  Patients 
were  bound,  and  brought  to  the 
Churches,  by  ten  or  twelve  at  a  time, 
and  left  there  till  cured.1 

Saying  the  Lord^s  Prayer  backward, 
was  deemed  a  part  of  Magick.m 

William  Bishop  of  Lichfield  and  Co- 
ventry was  publickly  defamed,  for 
having  done  homage  to  the  Devil,  kissed 
him  on  the  back,  and  spoken  to  him.n 

If  prayers  to  God  and  the  Saints 
were  not  granted,  the  Devil  was  in- 
voked.0 In  the  Romance  of  Robert 
the  Devil,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  had 
long  prayed  for  issue;  but,  having 
often  been  disappointed  of  a  child, 

"  The  Ladye  saide,  the  Devyll  now  send  us  one, 
For  God  will  not  oure  petycion  heare, 
Therefore  I  trowe  power  hath  he  none."  p.  6.p 

The  result  was,  that  his  birth  was  at- 
tended with  dreadful  tempests,  and  his 
early  life  very  wicked.  It  was  always 
understood,  that  when  a  man  was  on 
his  death-bed,  the  Devil  or  his  agents 
attended,  in  the  hope  of  getting  posses- 
sion  of  the  soul,  if  it  should  happen 
that  the  party  died  without  receiving 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist,  or 
without  confessing  his  sins.  In  various 
wood-cuts  these  Fiends  personally 
appear,  and  with  great  anxiety  besiege 
the  dying  man;  but,  on  the  approach 
of  the  Priest  and  his  attendants,  they 
betray  symptoms  of  horrible  despair  at 
their  impending  discomfiture.^  In  the 
prints,  the  Soul  is  represented  as  is- 
suing with  a  stream  of  breath  from  the 
mouth  of  the  dying  person,  and  caught 
by  the  Devil  in  his  arms;**  and  in 
other  old  cuts  of  Christ  expelling  a 
Devil,  a  Fiend  issues  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Dcemoniac.55  It  was  an  old  su- 
perstition ;  for  both  Greeks  and  Jews 

k  Decern  Scriptores,  2636.  '  Id.  2609.  m  Script, 
p.  Bed.  161.  b.  n  Bulla  Bonif.  VIII.      Ryiner 

II.  932.      °  Script,  p.  Bed.  358,  b. 

p  Parents  consecrating  their  children  to  the  De- 
vil was  no  novelty.  See  Golden  Legend,  fol.  clix. 
i  Douce  on  Shakspeare,  II.  19.  r  Notices  ut 

sup.  vol.  VI.  p.  63.  s  Postilla  Erasmi  Sarcerii, 
12ino.  1561,  p.  146. 


PRINCIPLES  OF    MONACHISM. 


supposed  that  the  soul  was  conveyed  to 
its  final  residence  by  Spirits.*1 

The  Monks  also  maintained  the  doc- 
trine of  Guardian  Angels,b  and  warped 
to  their  purpose  natural  and  other 
phenomena. 

Thunder   produced  astonishing  ter- 
ror ;c  and  if  it  happened  in  November, 
or  the  Winter,  it  was  thought  to  foretell 
famine,  mortality,  or  some  dreadful  evil.d 
Visions  were  a  pretended  mode  of 
conveying  information   to  the  Great.e 
The  most  coarse  and  clumsy  imposi- 
tions were  practised  in  this  form.     At 
the  College  of  St.  Omer's,  in  the  17th 
century,  was  placed  as  a  pupil  a  ce  Mr. 
Henry  Fairefax,  sonne  to  Sir  Thomas 
Fairefax,    who    not    yielding  to    their 
inchanting  allurements,  one  night  being 
asleepe  in  his  bed,  two  Jesuites,  clad 
in  gorgeous  white,  as    they  had  beene 
Angels,  approaching  his  bedside  with 
two  good  disciplines  in  their  handes, 
the  ends  of  some  stucke  with  wyery 
pricks  ;    having   uncovered  him,  they 
did  after  so  savage  a  manner  raze  his 
skinne,  that   hee  became  for  a  while 
sencelesse,  speaking  unto  him  in  Latine, 
that  they  were  Angels  sent  from  the 
Virgin  to  chastise  him  for  some  offences 
by  him  committed,  viz.  for  resisting  the 
power  and  reviling  the  proceedings  of 
his  superiors."     This  they  did  in  imi- 
tation of  the  two  Angels  who  whipped 
St.  Jerome/ 

If  a  person  lay  in  a  Trance,  an  idea 
was  always  entertained  that  it  was  for 
some  supernatural  communication,  as 
of  Heaven  or  Hell.s 

Great  attention  was  paid  to  Dreams, 
as  the  means  of  learning  future  events  ;h 
a  superstition  probably  much  assisted 
by  a  book  on  the  subject,  falsely 
ascribed  to  the  Prophet  Daniel.1  Nor 
was  this  the  only  means  adopted 
for  ascertaining  these.  Independent 
of  Judicial  Astrology,  and  brazen  heads 
formed  under  planetary  signs,  the  study 

a  Plat.  Dial.  p.  287,  ed.  2,  8vo.  Whitby,  vol. 
I.  p.  381,399.  b  Angl.   Sacr.   II.  195,  205. 

e  Script,  p.  Bed.  372,  b.  d  M.  Paris,  329.  e  De- 
cern Scriptores,  2395, 2410.  f  Wadswortli's  English 
Spanish  Pilgrime,  p.  20.  «  M.  Paris,  186.  Dec. 
Script.  2424.  h  Dec.  Script.  2426,  2530.  «  Du 
Cange,  v.   Somnialia. 


of  Divinity  was  supposed  to  be  reward- 
ed by  God  with  the  gift  of  Prophecy .k 
Vaticination  was  indeed  in  enormous 
vogue,1  and  the  most  respectful  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  it.m  Some  prophecies 
were  inscribed  on  Stone  Tables,  and 
much  valued.n 

The  influence  of  Omens  was  not  in- 
ferior.    In  1282,  the  City  of  Norwich 
was  laid  under  an  interdict ;  and  at  the 
publication  of  it,  it  is  noted  that  a  very 
fine  day  was  almost  turned  into  night, 
and  a  bell  in  the  Belfry  fell  down  and 
was  broken.0      Even  at  the  consecra- 
tion of  Bishops,  the  text  of  the  Gospel 
was  held  over  the  elect  by  the  assisting 
Prelates,  and  the  top  of  the  page  exa- 
mined afterwards,  as  by  Divine  inter- 
ference,   applicable    to    the    person's 
future  character,  or  actions,  or  mission.P 
Extraordinary  coincidences  were  deem- 
ed worthy  the  gravest  notice  of  His- 
tory.    In   the   year    1240,   while   the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  was  persecuting  his 
Canons,   one  of  them  in  a  querulous 
Sermon  on  the  subject  said  (possibly  is 
made  to  have   said),  "If  we  were  to 
hold  our  tongue^  the  very  stones  would 
cry  out  for  us."  The  stone-work  of  the 
New  Tower  happening  to  fall  at  the 
same  time,  it  was  deemed  a  sad  presage. <i 
Astrology  met  with  a  regard  which 
has  been  often  well  exposed.     In  the 
Acts  of  St.  Sebastian  is  mentioned  a 
Chamber  entirely  of  glass,  in  which  the 
whole  of  the  celestial  Globe  was  con- 
structed by  Art  ;r  indeed  Orreries  were 
not  rare.     Predictions  were  reduced  to 
writing  in  the  form  of  solemn  Epistles, 
and    circulated.8      Every  day  had  its 
particular   duties.      When   the   Moon 
was  in  conjunction  with  Venus,  it  was 
good  "  to  seek  the  love  of  women,  for 
now  they  be  tractable;"  and  on  the 
Sextile  to  u  take  a  wife,  for  women  be 
fond."     On  other  days  it  was  eligible 

k  XV.  Script.  515.  l  Dec.  Script.  2393,  2394, 
2541.  Scr.  p.  Bed.  160,  191,340.  m  Rous,  215, 
219.  n  Script,  p.  Bed.  386,  387.  °  Angl.  Sacr. 
I.  399. 

p  M.  Par.  15.  De  Foe  makes  Robinson  Crusoe 
always  practise  this  divination.  He  both  knew 
the  manners  of  early  Anchorets,  and  was  possibly 
indebted  to  this  source  for  some  of  his  materials. 

i  M.Paris, 468.  *  Du  Cange,  v.  Holovitreum. 
3  M.Paris,  1173. 


PRINCIPLES    OF    MONACHISM. 


"  to  sow,  plant,  and  take  phisicke,"  but 
"bad  to  journey  and  marry  a  widow. " 
Two  days  after  we  are  recommended 
"  to  buy  beasts,  and  seek  to  widows."*1 

With  Astrology  was  connected  Ma- 
gick.  Robert  Grosseteste,  Bishop  of 
Lincoln,  when  at  Oxford,  invented 
charms  for  expelling  diseases,  words 
for  exorcising  fiends,  and  mysterious 
characters  of  wonderful  power,  which 
were  inscribed  on  valuable  gems.b 
Pierre  de  Boniface,  a  great  Alchemist, 
and  much  versed  in  Magick,  who  died 
in  1323,  is  the  reputed  author  of  a 
manuscript  Poem  on  the  virtues  of 
Gems,  of  which  the  celebrated  Nostra- 
damus gives  the  following  pretended 
extract :  "  The  Diamond  renders  a  man 
invincible ;  the  Agate  of  India,  or 
Crete,  eloquent  and  prudent,  amiable 
and  agreeable;  the  Amethyst  resists 
intoxication ;  the  Cornelian  appeases 
anger;  the  Hyacinth  provokes  sleep ;c 
and  various  properties  are  in  similar 
manner  ascribed  to  other  kinds.  Gems 
were  valuable  presents,d  and  much 
esteemed  by  the  Anglo-Saxons.e  King 
John  was  a  great  admirer  and  collec- 
tor of  them,  and  with  good  reason,  for 
they  were  supposed  to  cure  diseases,  to 
render  a  person  invincible/  even  invi- 
sible ;S  and,  with  the  properties  of 
animal  life  only,  to  detect  poison  by 
change  of  colour.11 

The  Tmaginarii  were  Sorcerers,  who 
made  images,  which  they  were  said  to 
transmit  to  governing  spirits,  that  they 
might  be  instructed  by  them  in  doubtful 
matters.1 

The  speaking  Brazen-head  was  the 
united  effort  of  Alchemy,  Astrology, 
and  pretended  Magick  ;  is  said  to  have 
been  actually  made  by  Gerbert,  after- 
wards Pope  Sylvester  II.  ;J  and  traced 
by  Selden  to  an  imitation  of  Orpheus's 
head  in  Lesbos.  Conceding  that  the 
Lesbians  did  consult  this  head  as  an 
oracle,k   it   rather    appears    to   be   of 

a  Hopton's  Concordancie  of  Years,  b.  1.  75,  77. 
b  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  332,  333.  c  Notices  ut  supr.  V. 
704.  d  XV.  Script.  262.  e  Id.  302.  f  M.  Paris, 
187,  318,  1010.  s  J.  Rous,  206,  207.  h  Decern 
Scriptores,  2435.  'l  Du  Cange.  J  Malmsb. 

de  Gest.  Reg.  L.  ii.      k  Encycl.  des  Antiquites,  v. 
Orphee. 


Oriental  origin,  introduced  through  the 
Arabians  in  Spain.  Naudeus  thinks 
that  there  may  be  a  head  or  statue  so  in- 
geniously contrived  that  the  airwhich  is 
blown  into  it  may  receive  the  modifica- 
tions requisite  to  form  a  human  voice.l 
In  1287,  at  a  place  called  Bilebury, 
near  Wroxeter  (the  famous  Roman 
town),  the  Devil,  compelled  by  a  cer- 
tain enchanter,  appeared  to  a  boy,  and 
showed  him  urns,  a  ship,  and  a  house 
with  immense  towers. m  Here  we  see 
a  property  of  the  Devil,  evidently  bor- 
rowed from  the  Arabian  Genie.  There 
were  persons  accused  of  keeping  Devils 
in  the  form  of  cats  ;n  but  this  is  of 
Northern  origin,  and  refers  to  witch- 
craft, or  direct  communication  with 
Fiends,  chiefly  confined  to  Jews  and 
women,0  and  very  different  from  scien- 
tific magick,  mostly  brought  from  Se- 
ville, says  John  Rous,  who  adds,  "  that 
i  nothing  made  by  necromancy  can  de- 
j  ceive  the  sight  of  those  who  behold  it 
in  water/^P  a  perversion  of  specific 
gravity. 

Cups,  basons,  swords,  glasses,  mir- 
rors, and  other  smooth  substances,  were 
used  for  Divination  ;  and  this  supersti- 
tion was  fathered  upon  the  Patriarch 
Joseph,^  as  Dreams  were  upon  Daniel. 
The  ancient  Augury  was  also  studied.1" 
Medicine  was  mostly  professed  by 
Clerks,  because  they  alone  were  capable 
of  reading  the  Latin  works  on  the  art 
of  healing;  and  Physicians  were  not, 
till  1451,  allowed  to  marry,  the  age 
seeming  to  think  that  a  Father  of  a 
family  could  not  heal  so  well  as  a 
Priest.s  From  the  nature  of  some  of 
their  prescriptions,  there  appears  an 
evident  intention  of  confining  this  art, 
as  well  as  others,  to  the  dogmas  of 
the  existing  religion,  for  which  rea- 
son relicks  were  introduced  into  the 
Materia  Medica.  The  hairs  of  a  Saint's 
beard  dipped  in  Holy  water  were  taken 
inwardly.1  A  ring  taken  from  the  body 
of  Saint  Remigius,  and  dipped  in  water, 

1  Hawkins's  Music,  II.  40.  m  Angl.  Sacr.  I.  509. 
n  Decern  Scriptores,  2535.  °  M.  Paris,  128. 
p  P.  146.  i  Du  Cange,  v.  Specula.  r  Decern 
Scriptores,  940.  8  Notices  ut  supr.  V.  492,  507. 
1  M.  Paris,  554. 


8 


PRINCIPLES    OF    MONACHISM. 


is  said  to  have  produced  a  drink,  very 
good  in  fevers,  and  different  diseases. a 
Relicks  were  also  hawked  about,  and 
money  given  to  the  bearers  for  access' 
of  the  sick  to  them.b  This  pretended 
property  of  miraculous  healing,  no 
doubt  conciliated  the  vulgar  to  the  su- 
perstition in  a  remarkable  degree,  espe- 
cially as  there  was  one  very  convenient 
rule  upon  the  subject.  Limbs,  it 
seems,  were  as  valuable  as  whole  bodies, 
because  the  Saint,  knowing  that  he 
was  not  entire  without  the  limb,  would 
of  course  attend  to  that  as  much  as  to 
the  rest  of  the  body.c 

Saints  were  not  estimated,  unless 
their  lives  were  read  by  the  inhabitants, 
or  Miracles  recorded  of  them.d  With 
these,  and  a  Legend,  the  Monks  of 
course  invested  almost  every  religious 
man  upon  his  decease.  Publicity  was 
easily  given  to  Miracles,  for  they  were 
cried  and  proclaimed  by  Archi episcopal 
authority.6  Canonization  was  equally 
easy.  The  Holy  See  granted  to  the 
Bishop  or  simple  Prelates  the  faculty 
of  consecrating,  jointly  with  a  synod 
of  their  Priests,  altars  over  the  bodies 
of  persons  who  died  in  the  odour  of 
sanctity,  and  of  celebrating  Mass  there 
on  certain  days ;  and  thus  they  were 
in  fact  canonized/  Some  of  these  mi- 
racles were  merely  natural  phsenomena. 
Mandubnauc,  an  Irish  Monk  of  Rose 
Valley,  carried  off  the  Bees  of  that 
place  to  Ireland,  on  board  the  ship  in 
which  he  embarked.  This  Miracle,  as 
it  was  purposely  called,  was  no  doubt 
effected  by  secreting  the  queen  bee.s 
Hugh  Bishop  of  Lincoln  used  to  feed 
birds  out  of  his  hand ;  and  this  was  a 
celestial  attestation  of  the  sacredness 
of  his  character.11  Sometimes  Mira- 
cles were  real  absurdities,  originating 
only  in  the  mere  propensity  and  duty, 
as  conceived,  of  creating  them  for  the 
good  of  the  Church.  Peyrat  says,  there 
was  a  miraculous  fountain  at  Moissac, 
where  Lepers  came  in  crowds  to  bathe, 


a  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  416.  b  Script,  p.  Bed.  23,  b. 
«  Eadm.  Hist.  Novor.  p.  78.  d  Script,  p.  Bed. 
168.  b.  e  Du  Cange,  v.  Prseconizare,  Prseconi- 
zatio.  '  Notices  ut  sup.  VII.  61.  *  Angl.  Sacr. 
II.    636.       h  Decern  Scriptores,  2417. 


and  were  healed  by  the  merits  of  a 
Saint,  whose  relicks  were  deposited  in 
the  Abbey;  but  the  Lepers  communi- 
cated their  disease  to  the  Monks,  of 
whom  a  great  part  died ;  which  induced 
the  others  to  shut  up  the  fountain,  for 
their  repose  and  health.1  Now  is  it 
not  ridiculous  that  the  Saint  should 
not  screen  the  Monks,  while  he  saved 
the  Lepers,  or  that  the  former  should 
not  have  the  same  easy  method  of 
cure  ?  The  most  common  use  of  Mi- 
racles was  to  whitewash  the  reputation 
of  popular  criminals,J  by  pretending 
that  these  wonders  ensued  at  their 
tombs  after  death  ;  and  to  this  the 
women  were  very  prone.k  Legislative 
notice  was  taken  of  the  practice,1  which 
is  of  Classical  ancientry.  With  better 
ideas  Miracles  were  presumed  to  hap- 
pen in  proof  of  Innocence,  and  revela- 
tion of  Murder.m  It  is  to  be  doubted, 
however,  whether  Miracles  did  not 
sometimes  ensue  from  methods  by 
which  the  Apotheosis  of  Romulus  was 
established.11  I  shall  close  this  detail 
by  observing  that  Baptism  was  delayed 
by  the  Anglo-Saxon  Kings  and  Nobles, 
in  order  to  indulge  in  rapine  and  plun- 
der of  other  Countries,  until  Monastic 
retirement  was  resolved  on.° 

Nonsense  should  be  treated  with  the 
contempt  which  nonsense  deserves ; 
but  when  a  popular  character  said,  in 
the  event  of  a  contested  election,  that 
he  should  take  the  nonsense  of  the 
People,  and  leave  the  sense  of  it  to  his 
adversary,  he  spoke  truth,  so  far  as 
concerned  the  influence  of  certain  ideas. 
Dreams,  Ghosts,  Fortune- telling,  and 
Empiricism,  are  not  yet  expelled  ;  and 
th  e  Monks  were  determined  to  propagate 
Religion  by  means  which  could  alone 
prevail  in  the  ages  of  their  existence. 
Knowledge  is  of  no  general  avail  where 
Polytheism  exists ;  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  Religion  has  perpetuated  the 
customs  of  the  Heathens,  at  first  in- 


1  Chronique — Notices  ut  supr.  VII.  12.  i  De- 
cern Scriptores,  1591,  2402,2437.  k  Id.  2552. 
1  Pat.  16  Edw.  II.  in  Fosbroke's  Gloucestershire, 
I.  289.  m  Script,  p.  Bed.  166,  167.  b.  513.  b. 
"  See  Malmsb.  in  Id.  138.  b.  •  Script,  p.  Bed. 
192,  193. 


PRINCIPLES    OF    MONACHISM. 


evitably  adopted.  Existence  could 
alone  be  retained  by  such  compliances ; 
and  Providence,  which  does  not  deem 
it  necessary  to  act  by  Miracles,  knew, 
that  where  Christianity  exists,  civiliza- 
tion and  useful  knowledge  would  fol- 
low of  course.  Without  Miracles,  it 
could  never  have  been  effective  by 
means  unsuited  to  the  ideas  which  it 
had  to  influence.  It  seems  too  to  be  a 
method  of  Providence,  that  temporary 
evils  shall  produce  ultimate  good.  The 
state  of  ideas  at  the  first  propagation 
of  Christianity  was  evidently  to  under- 
go a  change;  and  the  Roman  power 
would  not  have  fallen  for  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  North  and  West,  if  the  di- 
version of  the  public  mind  to  Christian- 
ity and  controversy,  the  natural  result 
of  a  public  interest  on  any  subject,  had 
not  destroyed  the  military  spirit,  which 
has  a  tendency  to  Violence,  Luxury, 
and  Pleasure.  This  pacific,  lowering 
principle,  continued  to  operate  upon 
the  fever,  rapine,  and  debauchery  of 
the  rude  successors  of  the  Romans, 
with  great  comparative  success ;  for  in 
certain  states  of  disease,  alterative  and 
opposite  medicines  are  indispensable. 
Purity  of  mind  and  body  was  presumed 
to  result  through  insulation  from  the 
world  ;a  and  through  humility  and  ab- 
stinence, self-command  and  cheerful- 
ness were  deemed  easy  acquisitions.15 
In  a  vicious  and  rude  age,  it  was  justly 
conceived  impossible  for  any  one  who 
mingled  with  the  world,  to  lead  a  life 
sufficiently  conformable  to  the  character 
and  duties  of  a  Minister  of  Religion. 
Now  who  could  think  otherwise,  if  he 
were  to  reside  among  such  a  people  ? 
Rude  as  were  the  methods  for  pre- 
serving purity,  they  were  indubitably 
efficient  where  they  were  practised. 
Much  reading,  prayers,  scanty  food, 
confinement  to  the  Monastery,  and  im- 
mersion in  water  up  to  the  shoulders, 
even  in  the  most  rigorous  seasons,  till 
the  whole  Psalter  had  been  sung 
through,  were,  as  methods  to  preserve 
subjugation  of  appetite,  though  rude, 


a  Eadmer,  156. 


Ibid. 


yet  effectual  substitutes,  for  the  happier 
and  more  noble  methods  of  principle 
and  honour.0  Inducements  to  lust 
were  less  efficaciously  removed,  in  con- 
versing with  women,  by  singing  or  at 
least  conning  the  Psalter. d  The  inde- 
pendence of  the  Monks  in  point  of 
property,  was  founded  on  the  principle, 
that  otherwise,  for  the  greater  good  of 
the  Souls  in  Purgatory,  they  could  not 
serve  God  night  and  day  incessantly .e 
And  as  Man  is  the  creature  of  educa- 
tion; as  they  did  not  invent,  but 
received  their  system  of  Religion,  which 
dictated  deletion  of  the  vices  of  others 
in  this  form,  they  were  rather  passive 
agents  in  its  promotion,  than  knaves. 
If  they  limited  the  propagation  of  vir- 
tue to  mechanical,  rather  than  intel- 
lectual processes,  they  only  adopted 
methods  best  fitted  to  the  mind  of  the 
subjects  upon  which  they  were  to  act. 
Corporeal  punishments  have  ever  been 
indispensable  where  grossness  of  cha- 
racter prevails.  As  Providence  un- 
doubtedly permitted  Barbarism  to  exist 
(whether  Monks  had  ever  been  or  not), 
Luther's  reply  to  Melancthon  should  be 
considered.  The  latter  was  complain- 
ing of  the  times.  "  Do/5  says  he, 
"  brother  Melancthon,  let  God  govern 
the  World  as  he  thinks  best."  Unless 
Providence  chose  to  act  by  miraculous 
visible  interference,  the  argument  is  un- 
deniable, that  Religion  can  exist  in  no 
other  than  a  superstitious  form  among 
Barbarians.  The  Clergy  of  all  nations 
has  ever  fewer  vices  than  the  other 
classes  of  People  ;  and  their  faults  exist 
more  in  the  prevalent  states  of  society, 
and  bad  institutions, than  in  themselves, 
for  no  body  of  men  is  so  amenable  to 
the  public  for  their  well-being  and 
happiness.  In  some  parts  of  Spain, 
Abraham  is  represented  as  armed  with 
a  pistol,  with  which  he  is  going  to  shoot 
Isaac/  Is  such  an  absurdity  founded 
in  fraud  ?  Rude  ideas,  barbarous  so- 
ciety, Egyptian  superstitions,  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion,  solve  all  the 
errors  of  Monachism. 


c  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  13. 
f  Bourgoanne,  I.  183. 


Ibid.      e  Id.  198,  199. 


10 


ASCETICKS — GLASTONBURY. 


CHAPTER  II, 


ASCETICKS GLASTONBURY. 


In  the  controversy  concerning  the  an- 
tiquity of  the  two  Universities,  Anaxi- 
mander  and  Anaxagoras  are  affirmed  to 
have  studied  at  Cambridge,  and  Belle- 
rophon  to  have  been  an  Oxford-man. a 
Of  the  first  extraordinary  assertion 
John  Lidgate  was  the  author ;  and  he 
only  acted  in  conformity  to  a  mediaeval 
fashion  of  endowing  favourite  places 
and  persons  with  the  most  remote  pos- 
sible ancientry^  as  essential  to  their 
dignity.  It  was  a  received  opinion 
that  St.  Martial  did  not  come  into 
France  but  under  the  empire  of  Decius 
in  the  third  century :  this  was  too  re- 
cent a  date  for  the  Limousins,  and 
there  appeared  towards  the  end  of  the 
tenth  century  some  false  acts  of  St. 
Martial,  fabricated  on  purpose  to 
establish  the  position,  that  this  Saint 
had  been  one  of  the  seventy-two  disci- 
ples who  had  been  ordained  by  Christ 
himself,  and  received  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  the  Gift  of  Languages,  with  the 
twelve  Apostles.b  The  arrival  of  Jo- 
seph of  Arimathea  at  Glastonbury  is 
supposed  by  Archbishop  Usher  to  have 
been  a  similar  fiction,  invented  after 
the  Conquest  ;c  and  the  preceding  in- 
stances corroborate  his  opinion. 

Eusebius,  Tertullian,  Arnobius,  and 
Theodore  t,  however,  confirm  the  affir- 
mation of  Gildas,  that  Christianity  was 
introduced  into  this  island,  with  partial 
success,  at  a  very  early  period ;  but  by 
whom,  is  not  now  to  be  ascertained 
upon  authentic  evidence. 

Ammonius  Saccas,  who  taught  with 
the  highest  applause  in  the  Alexandrian 
School,  about  the  conclusion  of  the 
second  century,  laid  the  foundation  of 
that  sect  which  was  distinguished  by 
the  name  of  the  New  Platonists.     To 


a  Selden's  Encomium,  prefixed  to  Hopton's  Con- 
cordancie  of  Years.  b  Notices  ut  supr.  VII. 

400.         c  Antiq.  Eccles.  Brit.  c.  ii.  p.  7,  seq. 


a  monstrous  coalition  of  heterogeneous 
doctrines,  its  fanatical  Author  added  a 
sublime  rule  of  life  and  manners  for 
the  wise  :  it  was  to  raise  the  divine  and 
celestial  soul  above  this  world,  by  the 
towering  efforts  of  Holy  contemplation, 
and  the  extenuation  of  the  sluggish 
body  by  Hunger,  Thirst,  and  other 
mortifications.  To  this  doctrine,  under 
the  specious  pretext  of  the  necessity  of 
contemplation,  was  owing  the  slothful 
and  indolent  course  of  life  subsequently 
practised  by  the  Monks. d 

In  the  same  century  certain  Christian 
Doctors,  either  through  a  desire  of 
imitating  the  nations  among  whom  they 
lived,  or  in  consequence  of  a  natural 
propensity  to  a  life  of  austerity,  a 
disease  common  in  Egypt,  Syria,  and 
other  Eastern  nations/  were  induced 
to  maintain  that  Christ  had  established 
a  double  rule  of  Sanctity  and  Virtue 
for  two  different  orders  of  Christians  ; 
the  one  ordinary  for  persons  in  the  ac- 
tive scenes  of  life ;  the  other  for  those, 
who,  in  a  sacred  retreat,  aspired  after 
the  glory  of  a  celestial  state.  This 
double  doctrine  produced  a  new  order 
of  men,  who  considered  themselves 
prohibited  from  wine,  meat, matrimony, 
and  commerce,  and  obliged  to  observe 
solitude,  vigils,  abstinence,  labour,  and 
hunger.  These  persons  were  called 
Asceticks/  and  wore  a  peculiar  garb. 
At  this  time  (the  second  century)  they 
submitted  to  all  these  mortifications  in 
private,  without  withdrawing  from  the 
concourse  of  men.  But  in  process  of 
time  they  retired  into  deserts ;  and 
after  the  example  of  the  Essenes  and 
Therapeutse,  inhabitants  of  Egypt  long 
before  the   coming  of  Christ,  formed 


d  Mosheim's  Eccles.  Hist.  1765.  I.  p.  83—86. 
Ed.  4to.  1763.  e  Winckelmau,  Hist,  de  l'Art. 

I.  c.  2.  s.  i.  §  2.  p.  54,  ed.  Amstelod. 

f  Hitovlaioi,  ExXihtoi,  and  Philosophers,  besides. 


ASCETICKS — GLASTONBURY. 


11 


themselves  into  Societies.  The  obvious 
reason  of  the  origin  of  this  sect  was 
the  ill-judged  ambition  of  imitating  the 
Heathen  Philosophers,  whose  maxims, 
habits,  and  indeed  whole  plan  of  life 
and  manners,  procured  them  high  re- 
verence, especially  the  Platonists  and 
Pythagoreans. a  The  heat  of  the  cli- 
mate caused  a  natural  love  of  solitude 
and  repose  ;b  the  distracted  state  of 
the  Roman  Empire  produced  numerous 
fugitives,  to  avoid  military  conscrip- 
tion ;c  and  the  ancient  Philosophers  set 
the  example,  in  the  intellectual  luxury 
which  they  cultivated  by  elegant  re- 
tirement^ The  escape  from  a  state  of 
Slavery  was  a  further  powerful  means 
of  filling  the  deserts  with  these  De- 
votees.6 

By  the  early  Canons,  the  Asceticks 
are  forbidden  to  enter  a  public  house, 
or  to  bathe  with  women,  because  it 
occasioned  scandal  among  the  Hea- 
thens.f 

Upon  these  Canons,  it  is  fit  to  note, 
that  baths  of  the  two  sexes,  at  first  se- 
parate, were  latterly  mingled  together .& 
The  custom  does  not  appear- to  have 
obtained  in  this  country,  though  the 
Britons  and  Anglo-Saxons  had  baths, 
and  the  Monks  styled  them  poisoned 
hot-beds.h 

The  Gangran  Canons  observe  that 
the  Asceticks  used  a  particular  garment, 
called  PeribolcBum,  probably  from  in- 
vesting the  whole  body  ;  that  females, 
under  pretence  of  being  Asceticks,  put 


a  Moslieim,  I.  95,  96.  b  Id.  p.  141.  c  His- 
toric Augustas,  Script,  t.  III.  p.  630,  ed.  Sylburgii. 
d  Menagiana,   I.    338.  e  Chalced.  Canon.  4. 

f  Laod.  Canons,  24,  30. 

s  Pownall's  Provincia  Romana,  185.  We  hear 
of  double  baths  of  this  kind  in  the  Middle  Age. — 
Du  Cange,  v.  Geminarium. 

h  Seminaria  Venenata,  Dugd.  Monast.  I.  p.  88. 
We  do  indeed  find  in  their  later  seras  (MS.  Harl. 
913,  fol.  2.) 

"  Whan  the  somer  is  dai  is  bote 
The  zung  nunnes  takith  a  bote 
Whan  hi  beth  fur  from  the  Abbei 
Hi  maketh  hem  naked  for  to  plei 
And  lepeth  dune  into  the  brimme 
And  doth  ham  sleilich  for  to  swimme 
The  zung  monks  that  hi  seeth,  &c. 
A  cometh  to  the  nunnes  anon 
And  each  monke  him  taketh  one." 
Warton,  I  believe,  has  printed  this  extract ;  but  I 
copied  the  MS. 


on  male  habits,  and  utterly  deserted 
their  husbands  and  families ;  that  chil- 
dren did  the  same  with  parents ;  and 
that  it  was  the  custom  to  feast  upon 
Sunday,  and  contemptuously  neglect 
the  prescribed  fasts  of  the  Church.1 

The  Legend  of  St.  Margaret  says, 
that  "  soon  after  marriage,  she  kept  her 
from  the  companye  of  her  husbonde, 
and  at  midnight  she  commended  her 
to  God,  and  cutte  of  her  hayre,  and 
cladde  her  in  the  habyte  of  a  man,  and 
fledde  fro  thens  to  a  monastery  of 
monkes.^J 

Theodora  and  Eugenia  also  assumed 
masculine  habiliments  for  the  same 
purposed  The  abstinence  from  meat 
and  wine  on  festival  days,  was  founded 
upon  an  opinion  that  the  Creation  was 
evil,  and  that  the  world  was  not  made 
by  the  Father  of  Christ.1 

These  passages,  indispensable  to  the 
elucidation  of  the  habits  introductory 
to  Monachism,  properly  so  called,  shew 
the  heresy  of  some  Asceticks;  and  such 
must  have  been  the  first  Religious  of 
Glastonbury,  if  William  of  Malmesbury 
was  correctly  quoted,  as  to  their  follow- 
ing the  Egyptian  rule.m  But  William 
only  says,13  that  St.  Philip,  after  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  Stephen,  travelled  into  Eu- 
rope, for  the  purpose  of  converting  the 
Franks,  from  whence  he  sent  twelve 
of  his  brethren,  whom  he  previously 
ordained  (Asceticks  and  Monks  being 
in  those  ages  held  as  Laymen)  with 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  at  their  head,  to 
communicate  Christianity  to  the  Bri- 
tons; but  the  barbarous  King  of  the 
Country  withholding  permission,  only 
allowed  them,  from  the  sacred  ideas  of 
Hospitality,  the  uncultivated  tract  of 
Glastonbury,  or  Inis-witrin,  for  their 
residence  and  support.  Here  they 
erected  a  thatched  Chapel,  wattled  in- 
stead of  walls,  according  to  the  known 
method  of  the  Gauls  and  Britons,o 
subsequently  practised  by  the  Welsh.P 

1  Can.  12  to  19.  j  Golden  Legend,  fol.  clxxx. 
k  Id.  fol.  xxxvi.  ex.  l  Johnson's  Canons,  p.  ii. 

p.  27.   31.  m  Eadm.   Spicileg.   200.         n  XV 

Script.  292.  °  See  the  Gaulish  Houses  on  the 

Antonine  column  in  Montfauc.  Suppl.  v.  III. 
B.  ii.  c.  8.  p  Girald.  Cambrens.  inter  Canid. 
Scriptor.  p.  890.  c.  17. 


12 


ASCETICKS — GLASTONBURY, 


A  pretended  representation  of  this 
Church,  with  Gothic  Windows,  is  given 
by  Sammesa  and  Staveley.b  The  au- 
thority quoted  by  William  is  Frecul- 
phus,  an  Abbot  and  Bishop  of  the 
ninth  century,0  who  again  copied  Isi- 
dore, also  a  transcriber,  in  this  respect, 
of  the  Hieronymian  Martyrology,  It 
is  there  affirmed,  that  Philip  was  the 
Apostle  of  the  French,  and  both  Isi- 
dore and  Freculphus  join  in  asserting 
the  conversion,  by  means  of  this  Apos- 
tle, of  the  neighbouring  countries,  con- 
nected by  the  Ocean,d  but  do  not  men- 
tion Glastonbury  or  Joseph's  Mission  ; 
for  Archbishop  Usher  has  copied  the 
very  words  of  these  Authors,  and  thus 
proved  the  mis-quotation  of  William. 
No  genuine  writer  has  ever  brought 
Philip  or  Joseph  into  these  parts  of 
the  Globe.  The  charter  of  Patrick,  in 
which  he  mentions  the  names  of  the 
second  religious  of  Glastonbury,  is 
known  to  be  forged,  and  some  are 
Saxon  appellations. e 

The  age  of  Joseph  is  anterior  to  the 
Ascetical;  and,  if  the  fact  were  con- 
ceded, the  Glastonbury  Missionaries 
must  have  assimilated  other  itinerant 
priests,  who,  under  Apostolical  autho- 
rity, propagated  the  Gospel. 

Eddius,  who  wrote  in  the  beginning 
of  the  eighth  century,  observes,  that 
many  of  the  donations  to  Abbeys  were 
of  holy  places,  deserted  by  the  British 
Clergy  on  account  of  the  wars  with  the 
Anglo-Saxons/  This  passage  eluci- 
dates the  foundation  by  Ina,  whose 
charter  refers  to  traditions,  certainly 
not  of  coseval  invention;  and  all  the 
early  evidence,  concerning  Glastonbury, 


a   Britannia,    p.    213.  b    Churches,  p.  42. 

c  Fabricii  Bibl.  Med.  JEvi.  t.  II.  p.  603.  <*  TJS- 
serii  Antiq.  Eccl.  Brit.  p.  8.  e  Fuller's  Church 
Hist.  Cent.  5.  p.  34.         f  XV  Scriptor.  p.  60. 


leads  to  the  opinion,  that  it  was  used 
successively  as  a  place  of  refuge  by 
various  religious  persons,  on  account  of 
local  situation  (it  being  the  custom  of 
the  Britons  to  seek  retreats  in  marshes), 
which  colonization  produced  its  tradi- 
tional sanctity.  Alfred  sought  similar 
security  in  the  neighbouring  isle  of 
Athelney  ;  and  the  Tor  is  cut  into  Ter- 
races, exactly  resembling  the  fortress 
ascribed  to  him ;  both  being  adapted  to 
the  British  and  succeeding  methods  of 
defence. 

From  the  lives  of  the  Saints  in  these 
early  periods,  and  innumerable  autho- 
rities, it  also  appears,  that  it  was  custo- 
mary with  Devotees  to  migrate  from 
country  to  country,  until  a  situation 
for  settlement  was  found,  suitable  to 
inclination  and  convenience  :  and  the 
site  desired  was  to  be  solitary,  and  yet 
pleasant. 

The  Druids  are  affirmed  to  have 
been  divested  of  all  authority  by  King 
Lucius  about  the  year  177?»  by  whose 
means  Glastonbury  is  said  to  have  been 
re- occupied  by  twelve  new  Religious, 
who  resided,  as  Anchorets,  in  the  iden- 
tical situation  of  their  predecessors.11 

This  early  abbey  of  Glastonbury  was 
probably  a  Laura,  i.  e.  a  kind  of  Mo- 
nastery, of  which  the  name  is  derived 
from  the  separate  habitations  forming 
Xavpoi,  i.  e.  alleys  between  the  cells,  as 
in  towns.  These  Religious  led  an  ere- 
mitical life;  lived  for  five  days  upon 
bread,  water,  and  in  the  East  dates,  and 
remained  silent  in  their  cells.  On  Sa- 
turdays and  Sundays  they  took  the 
Sacrament  at  Church,  and  then  drank 
a  little  wine.1 


s  Strutt's  Horda,  I.  12. 
Du  Cange,  v.  Laura. 


h  XV.  Script.  295. 


MONACHISM    AMONG    THE    BRITONS- 


13 


CHAPTER  III. 

MOXACHISM    AMONG    THE    BRITONS,    SCOTS,  IRISH,    AND    ANGLO-SAXONS,    TILL 

THE  REIGN   OF  EDGAR. 


The  Mystick  Theology,  which 
sprung  from  the  Platonic  School  in  the 
third  century,  held  that  the  Divine 
nature  was  diffused  through  all  human 
souls ;  and  that  its  latent  virtues,  and 
power  of  instructing  men  in  the  know- 
ledge of  divine  things,  were  to  be  eli- 
cited by  silence,  tranquillity,  repose, 
solitude,  and  mortification.  This  pro- 
bably induced  Paul  the  Hermit  to  fly 
into  the  deserts  of  Thebais ;  such  a 
manner  of  life  being  common  in  many 
parts  of  the  East  long  before  the  coming 
of  Christ.  From  the  Oriental  super- 
stition concerning  Demons,  and  the 
powers  and  operations  of  Invisible 
Beings,  adopted  by  the  Platonists,  and 
borrowed  from  them  by  the  Christian 
Doctors,  originated  in  the  third  cen- 
tury the  use  of  exorcisms  in  baptism, 
spells,  frequent  fasting,  aversion  from 
wedlock,  discipline,  penance,  and  non- 
intercourse  with  unbaptized  or  excom- 
municated persons,  because  supposed 
to  be  under  the  influence  of  a  malignant 
spirit.  In  the  next  century  Platonism, 
and  the  fictions  which  it  occasioned, 
introduced  extravagant  veneration  for 
departed  Saints,  purgatory,  celibacy  of 
priests,  and  the  worship  of  images  and 
relicks.  At  the  same  time,  from  the 
preposterous  commixture  of  Paganism, 
arose  processions,  worship  of  the  Mar- 
tyrs, modelled  upon  that  paid  to  the 
Gods  before  Christ,  pious  frauds,  and 
sham  miracles  (tricks  practised  by  the 
Heathens),  lustral  water,  and  decora- 
tion of  churches  with  images.  These 
professors  of  Mysticism,  so  numerous 
in  the  deserts  of  Egypt,  from  an  opi- 
nion that  to  elevate  the  soul  to  a  com- 
munion with  God  it  was  necessary  to 
macerate  the  body  here  below,  Anthony 
and  his  disciples  formed  into  societies 
governed  by  rules,  who  took  the  name 
of  Coenobites.  There  still  continued, 
however,  Anchorets,  Hermits,  and  Sa- 


rabaites,  or  wandering  Fanaticks,  who 
gained  a  subsistence  by  fictitious  mira- 
cles and  the  sale  of  relicks.  From  the 
East  all  the  classes  travelled  to  the 
West,  where  the  ability  of  the  Orientals 
to  bear  a  rigorous  and  abstemious  mode 
of  living,  through  climate,  did  not 
exist ;  and  accordingly  differences  en- 
sued in  point  of  austerity .a  The  three 
orders  of  Coenobites,  Anchorets,  and 
Hermits,  obtained  in  Britain  from  the 
earliest  periods ;  and  we  find  imitators 
of  the  Sarabaites  (besides  various  no- 
tices in  early  national  councils)  in  the 
itinerant  Monks,  who  travelled  about 
with  an  ass  to  carry  the  books  for  ser- 
vice.b 

Collegiate  Institutions  existed  among 
the  Druids  ;c  but  with  these  History 
has  not  presumed  to  connect  the  Mo- 
nachism  of  the  Britons,  the  introduc- 
tion of  which  is  ascribed  to  the  fourth 
century.d  It  would  be  irrational  to 
think  that  the  British  forms  of  the 
Monastick  profession  varied  from  those 
of  contemporary  date  in  other  coun- 
tries ;  and  we  find  that  the  Egyptian 
Rule,  according  to  the  Institutes  of 
Pachomius,e  apparently  introduced  by 
the  simultaneous  coincidence  of  fre- 
quent pilgrimages  to  Jerusalem  and 
the  East,f  was  that  professed  by  the 
first  British  Monks. 

The  Monks  of  the  age  of  Augustine 
and  Jerom  professed  obedience  to  a 
superior,  and  division  by  tens  and  cen- 
turies, each  officer  of  the  last  having 
the  nine  deans  under  him.  They  had 
separate  cells,  but  no  property;  and 
performed  a  daily  proportion  of  work, 
which,  when  finished,  they  gave  to  the 
Dean,  who   carried   it   to   the    Store- 


a  Mosheim,  Cent.  3  and  4.         b  S.  Dunelm  (X 
Script.),  43.  c  Henry's  History  of  Great  Brit. 

I.  142—7.  d  Id.  I.  227.     Fifth  Pref.  Monast. 

&c.         e  Reyneri   Apostolatus  Benedict,    p.  119. 
f  Usseiii  Antiq.  Eccles.  Brit.  pp.  109,  110. 


14 


MONACHISM   AMONG    THE    BRITONS. 


house.  At  three  p.m.  they  assembled 
at  Church,  to  the  number  of  3000  at 
least ;  and,  after  singing  Psalms  and 
reading  Scripture,  and  praying,  they 
seated  themselves,  and  a  lecture  was 
begun  by  the  Abbot.  When  this  was 
finished,  every  Decury  put  themselves 
at  table  with  their  Deans,  and  took 
their  meal  of  bread,  pulse,  and  herbs. 
They  never  drank  wine.  After  grace, 
they  withdrew  to  their  cells,  and  con- 
versed till  evening.  What  remained 
was  given  to  the  poor. 

Martin,  the  celebrated  Bishop  of 
Tours,  introduced  the  Monastic  system 
into  Gaul,  and  was  imitated  by  his  re- 
lative Patrick,  the  Hibernian  Apostle.a 
Martin  (whose  rule  is  pronounced  by 
Reyner  to  be  Egyptian)  resided  in  a 
cell  made  of  twigs  interwoven.  Many 
of  his  disciples  occupied  caverns.  No 
one  had  any  property,  or  bought  and 
sold ;  but  all  things  were  common.  No 
art  was  exercised  but  writing,  in  which 
the  juniors  alone  were  occupied ;  the 
seniors  devoting  their  time  to  prayer. 
They  rarely  left  their  cells,  unless  to 
assemble  at  the  place  of  prayer.  They 
took  their  refection  together,  after  the 
hour  of  fasting.  None  but  the  sick 
drank  wine.  Many  were  clothed  with 
the  bristles  of  Camels,  and  a  softer 
habit  was  esteemed  criminal.  Among 
them  were  several  of  marriageable  age, 
who,  though  far  otherwise  educated, 
had  compelled  themselves  to  humility 
and  patience.  Some  even  of  these  af- 
terwards became  bishops.b 

The  dress  of  Camel's  hair  in  Gaul 
is  singular ;  but  Sulpitius  is  clear  and 
precise  in  his  words  (de  setts  Camelo- 
rumj.  JSlian  mentions  a  stuff  made 
of  such  materials ;  and  the  Monks 
certainly  wore  garments  of  this  kind.c 
Hats  were  also  formed  of  the  same 
hair;d  but  by  the  term  Camblet  was 
understood,  at  least  in  subsequent 
times,  cloth  made  of  Goat's  wool.e  As 
Chrysostomf  mentions  garments  worn 

a  Joscel.  c.  12. — Reyner,  118. — Mosheim,  Cent. 
4.  b  Sulpitius  Severus  in  vita  Martini,  L.  i.  p.  9. 
c  Du  Cange,  v.  Camelocum.  d  Du  Cange,  v. 
Camelaucum.  e  Id.   v.   Barracanus,    Camale, 

Camalius.  f  Lopez's  Epitome  Sacrorum  Sanc- 
torum, L.  15.  cli.  iv. 


by  the  Egyptian  religious,  some  of 
Goat's  hair,  some  of  Camel's,  the  ana- 
logy between  that  rule  and  the  Marti- 
nian  is  sufficiently  proved  either  way. 

KAcemarch,  a  Welsh  Bishop  of  the 
eleventh  century,  in  his  Life  of  David, 
says,  that  he  is  concise  in  his  account 
of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
Monks  of  Rose  Valley,  because  they 
were  similar  to  those  of  the  Egyptian 
Monks.s  Unfortunately,  the  Institutes 
of  Pachomius  consist  chiefly  of  prohi- 
bitions and  penalties;  on  which  ac- 
count the  conformities  of  the  British 
Monks  can  only  be  illustrated  partially. 

Persons  applying  for  admission  to 
the  order  were  to  stay  at  the  Gate 
many  days,  be  taught  the  Lord^s  Prayer, 
as  many  Psalms  as  they  could  learn, 
and  then  be  put  to  the  trial  of  fitness 
in  renunciation  of  the  world,  and  other 
ascetical  pre-requisites.  If  found  fit, 
they  were  to  be  instructed  in  the  re- 
maining ordinances.  Then,  after  being 
clothed  in  the  habit  of  the  Monks, 
they  were  to  be  consigned  to  the  Por- 
ter, who,  at  the  hour  of  Prayer,  was  to 
put  them  in  the  place  appointed.11 

This  denial  of  admission  to  Novi- 
tiates, founded  upon,  or  at  least  similar 
to,  the  prohibition  of  Catechumens, 
under  certain  circumstances,  from  en- 
tering the  Church,1  is  distinctly  marked 
in  the  establishment  of  David.  A  can- 
didate for  the  order  was  obliged  to 
remain  for  ten  days  before  the  Gates 
of  the  Monastery,  exposed  to  rebuke 
and  insult,  to  prevent  pride. J  If  he  en- 
dured it  with  patience  till  the  tenth 
day,  he  was  consigned  to  the  Senior, 
who  had  the  care  of  the  gate,  as  his 
servant,  and  there  for  a  long  time  con- 
demned to  hard  labour,  and  intellectual 
suffering,  which  probation  at  length  in- 
sured him  admission  into  the  society .k 

All  things  were  common,  according 
to  the  rules  mentioned  of  the  Fathers 
and  Martin ;  nor  did  any  one  dare  to 
call  a  book   or  other  thing  his  own, 

s  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  646.  h  Regula  Pachomii  ap. 
Stellartius  de  regulis  et  fund.  Monachorum,  p.  115, 
seq.  '  Johns.  East.  Canons,  52,  53.  J  Vita 
Bernardi,  L.  i.  ch.  ix.  See  Devoirs  de  la  Vie  Mo- 
nastique,  I   419 — 450.  k  Ricemarch  in  Angl. 

Sacr.  II.  646. 


MONACHISM    AMONG    THE    BRITONS, 


15 


without  immediate  subjection  to  severe 
penance. a  The  precise  similarity  of 
this  particular  rule  to  the  Benedictine,b 
favours  Rudborne^s  affirmation,  that  it 
is  the  same  in  substance  as  the  Egyp- 
tian, but  mitigated,  and  rendered  more 
efficacious.0 

After  the  Monastery  of  Rose  Valley 
was  finished,  David,  who  is  styled,  ac- 
cording to  the  Egyptian  rule,  Father, 
not  Abbot,  established  the  following 
consuetudinal :  "  Every  Monk  was  to 
pass  his  life  in  common  and  daily 
manual  labour,  according  to  the  Apos- 
tolical direction,  that  he  who  would 
not  labour  should  not  eat.  This  labour 
was  that  of  husbandry.  During  the 
employment  there  was  no  other  conver- 
sation than  what  necessity  required; 
but  every  one  performed  his  task,  either 
praying  or  rightly  thinking ."d 

These  are  regulations  plainly  conform- 
able to  the  Eastern  rules  before  men- 
tioned, from  Augustine  and  Jerom. 

"Upon  concluding  the  rustic  work 
they  returned  to  the  Monastery,  and 
passed  the  remainder  of  the  day  till 
evening  in  reading,  writing,  or  praying. 
(This  evening  was  three  o'clock  p.  m.) 
And  then  they  immediately  at  the  sound 
of  the  bell,  without  a  moment's  delay, 
proceeded  to  the  Church  in  silence. 
After  conclusion  of  the  Psalmody,  they 
remained  in  genuflexion  until  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Stars  proclaimed  the 
close  of  the  day.  When  they  were  all 
withdrawn,  the  Father  alone  prayed  in 
private  for  the  good  of  the  Church.'^ 

The  succession  of  the  ecclesiastical 
duty  to  that  of  manual  labour,  is  before 
noted.  None  of  the  Eastern  Monks 
were  allowed  to  eat  till  they  had  said 
nones,  which  were  then  assigned  to 
three  o'clock/  The  rule  of  Pachomius 
mentions  attendance,  without  delay, 
upon  Divine  service,  and  the  rejection 
of  any  excuse.  Aidan,  a  disciple  of 
David's,  when  occupied  in  reading,  left 
it  at  a  moment's  warning,  when  order- 
ed by  a  Prior  to  attend  two  oxen  and 

a  Ricemarch  in  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  646.  b  C.  xxxiii. 
Sanctor.  Patr.  Regular  Monast.  fol.  30,  b.  12mo. 
1571.  c  Angl.  Sacr.  I.  222.  d  Ricemarch, 

ubisup.  p.  645.  e  Ricemarch,  loc.  cit.  f  Johns. 
East.  Canons,  p.  109. 


and  a  cart,  sent  to  fetch  wood.s  In  the 
Monasteries  of  this  eera  it  was  not  un- 
usual to  have  unceasing  Divine  service, 
by  means  of  successive  choirs  ;h  and 
this  Oriental  practice  is  thus  alluded 
to  in  the  fictitious  Abbey  described  in 
the  legend  of  S.  Brandon,  "  and  always 
twelve  of  us  goo  to  dyner,  whiles  other 
twelve  kepe  the  quere."1 

After  this  service  in  the  Church,  and 
its  subsequent  offices, i(  they  assembled 
at  the  table,  where  the  refection  was 
adapted  to  the  age,  labour,  or  state  of 
health  of  the  parties.  Bread  and  herbs 
seasoned  with  salt  was  the  food  in  ge- 
neral, and  accompanied  with  a  mode- 
rate beverageJ  of  milk  and  water ."k 

Eusebius1  notices  the  subsistence  of 
the  Oriental  Monks  upon  bread,  water, 
salt,  and  herbs ;  which  last,  Chrysos- 
tom  adds,  as  a  luxury .m 

'•After  grace  was  said  they  returned 
to  the  Church,  and  there  passed  three 
hours  in  vigils,  prayers  and  genuflex- 
ions ;  during  which  time  they  were  not 
allowed  to  cough,  sneeze,  or  spit.  The 
nocturnal  recreation  of  sleep  followed ; 
but  they  rose  again  at  cock-crowing, 
and  prayed  till  day-light.^11 

Chrysostom  says,  (i  At  sun-rise  (nay 
many  before  day-light)  they  rise  from 
their  beds,  and,  forming  a  choir,  dili- 
gently praise  God  with  hymns/'0 

The  Father  (or  Abbot)  passed  the 
day  in  attending  the  sick,  schools,  visi- 
tors, poor,  widows,  orphans,  and  in 
other  offices  of  regulation  and  inspec- 
tion, and  in  prayers,  and  ascetical  se- 
verities. Among  these  was  the  conse- 
cration of  the  Eucharist,  and  a  succeed- 
ing immersion  in  cold  water,  "to  subdue 
all  carnal  provocations."? 

David  went  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  to 
Paulinus,  a  disciple  of  Germanus,  who 
received  young  persons  for  education  ;<i 
and  this  was  usual  in  these  ages. 

He  used  to  sup  in  the  refectory  ;  but 
had  a  scriptorium  or  study  in  his  cell,1' 

s  Angl.   Sacra,   II.    634.  h  As  of  Bangor 

in  Ireland.  Reyner,  151.  >  Golden  Legend, 

ccxxxi.         J  Ricemarch,  ubi  supra.  k  Cres- 

sey's    Church   History,   p.    236.  '  B.  II,  c. 

17.  m  Lopez,  ubi  sup.  n  Cressey,  ubi  supra. 
0  Lopez,   ubi   sup.  r  Ricemarch,    ubi  supra. 

i  Girald.  Cambrens.  Anglm  Sacr.  II.  632—655, 
662.         r  Anglia  Sacra,  II.  635. 


16 


MONACHISM    AMONG    THE    BRITONS. 


being  a  famous  scribe.  When  he  was 
a  boy  his  schoolfellows  declared  that 
they  often  saw  a  white  dove  teaching 
and  advising  him  ;a  and  in  this  age 
every  person  designated  for  a  Bishop  or 
Saint  was  so  attended  when  officiating, 
and  the  dove  continued  till  the  service 
was  finished.13  In  the  old  wood-cuts  of 
the  Golden  Legend  the  Popes  are  uni- 
formly distinguished  by  a  Dove,  whis- 
pering in  their  ears. 

We  have  a  few  further  scattered  par- 
ticulars of  these  Monks  of  Rose  Valley. 

The  situation  was  chosen  because  it 
was  solitary  and  pleasant.  Thus  also 
Dubricius,  contemporary  with  Arthur, 
set  up  a  school,  or  college,  in  a  spot 
which  abounded  in  woods. 

These  ancient  Monks  were  instructed 
from  childhood  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments ;  and  they  worked  very 
hard  in  manufactures  and  agriculture, 
even  in  road-making.c 

Very  superstitious  ideas  were  at- 
tached to  Bells  ;cl  and  the  opposition 
to  the  Pelagian  Heresy,  and  the  Drui- 
dical  Triads  united,  probably  produced 
that  singular  exhibition  of  veneration 
for  the  Trinity,  which  is  thus  recorded. 
Three  Clergymen  of  St.  Teliau's  three 
Churches  claimed  his  body  when  dead  ; 
upon  which  three  several  corpses  ap- 
peared, and  one  was  buried  in  each  of 
these  Churches. e  Thus  Giraldus  Cam- 
brensis  records,  that  three  persons  sat 
down  to  table  in  honour  of  the  Trinity 
long  after  this  age.f 

The  Abbot's  licence  upon  all  occa- 
sions, the  Benediction  before  a  journey, 
and  visitations  to  correct  abuses,^  occur 
in  these,  as  in  subsequent  ages. 

In  these  early  centuries  the  Monks 
were  not  deemed  of  the  Clerical  order.11 

Very  few  were  ordained  even  in 
the  most  numerous  houses  ;  but  some 
were  necessary  to  perform  ecclesias- 
tical offices,  and  these  were  distin- 
guished by  the  addition  of  Presby- 
ter, as  Jerom  Presbyter,  Beda  Pres- 


»  Anglia  Sacra,  II.  631.     b  Id.  II.  658.     e  Id. 
II.  629,    655,    662.  d   See  British  Pilgrims. 

«   Angl.  Sacr.  II.  665.  f  Ed.  Frankf.  c.  18,  p. 

892.         *  Angl.  Sacr.  IT.  629,  636,  658.       h  Cos- 
tumes de  Maillot,  &c.  III.  p.  5. 


byter.1  From  Saturday  night  till  the 
first  hour  of  Sunday,  these  Monks  were 
engaged  in  religious  offices,  except  only 
one  hour  after  mattins.  They  con- 
fessed to  the  superior ;  and  David,  like 
the  Oriental  Abbots,  held  "  divinity 
converzaciones  ;"J  of  which  we  have 
specimens  in  the  rule  ascribed  to  Basil. 

William  of  Malmesbury  says,  that 
stone  buildings  were  deemed  miracu- 
lous by  the  Britons  ;t  and  the  addition 
of  a  Choir  or  Chancel  was  a  great  or- 
nament to  the  Churches  of  this  age.1 
Thatched  and  wattled  work,  no  doubt, 
formed  all  the  offices  of  these  abbeys, 
as  long  afterwards. 

Costume.  It  was  a  peculiarity  of 
the  early  British  Monks,  that  they 
shaved  the  head  from  the  top  to  the 
level  of  the  ears,  and  thus  did  not 
use  the  tonsure  of  either  Peter  or  Paul.™ 
The  Egyptian  Monks  wore  the  short 
cloak  of  the  Greek  Philosophers  ;n  i.  e. 
the  Tribonium,  to  be  seen  in  statues 
of  Diogenes.  Ricemarch  says  that  these 
British  Monks  wore  common  leather 
jerkins,0  usual  also  with  the  Egyptian 
Religious.P  Reyner  adds  white  cowls.0* 
In  the  5  th  century  the  Monks  of  Gaul 
had,  besides  cloaks,  girdles  and  walk- 
ing sticks.1*  Chrysostom  mentions  the 
hair-shirt  as  part  of  the  Oriental  Mo- 
nastic habits  ;s  and  it  no  doubt  ob- 
tained here  at  least  for  penance,  as  in 
the  Egyptian  rule.  These  shirts  reached 
from  the  elbows  to  the  knees,*  and  were 
made  of  goafs  hair l  worked  into  fine 
threads,  and  woven  by  weavers  on  pur- 
pose.11 That  worn  by  Becket  was 
washed  by  his  Chaplain  ;x  but  it  was 
rare  if  there  was  no  vermin  in  themJ 
A  halter  and  hair  shirt  were  often  worn 
in  token  of  penitence  before  death.2 
The  feet  and  legs  were,  without  doubt, 
bare ;  for  visitors  were  received  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons  by  giving  them  water 
to  cleanse  their  hands,  washing  their 

V  Reyner,  129.  '  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  637,  646. 
k  Script,  p.  Bed.  155,  a.  1  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  659. 
m  Maillot,  16.  n  Jortin's  Remarks,  III.  25. 

0  Angl.    Sacr.    II.    646.  *  Lopez,    ubi  supr. 

*  P.  118.       r  Maillot,  ubi  supr.  s  Lopez,  ubi 

supra.  '  Hoved.  298,  a.  u  M.Paris,  554. 

x  Hoved.  ubi  supr.  J  Knighton,  2433.  x  Ho- 
ved. 354,  a. 


MONACHISM  AMONG  THE  BRITONS. 


17 


feet,  wiping  them  with  a  towel,  and 
inviting  them  to  dine  at  nine  in  the 
morning  ;a  and  the  rule  of  Pachomius 
orders  that  the  feet  of  visitors  be 
washed,  even  if  Clerks  or  Monks. 
Of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 


BRITISH    NUNS, 

I  can  give  little  more  than  analogous 
information  from  the  Eastern  customs, 
which  of  course  obtained  with  the 
Nuns  as  well  as  Monks. 

Winifred  was  sent  to  school  to  a 
Saint  named  Beuno,  who  instructed 
her  religiously,  and  afterwards  veiled 
and  consecrated  her  in  a  Nunnery, 
where  she  stayed  seven  years  ;  during 
which  time  she  and  her  fellows  made  a 
chesible  of  silk  work  for  her  holy  pa- 
tron. From  hence  she  went  to  another 
house,  where  Religious  of  both  sexes 
resided,  and  became  Abbess  over  the 
sisters.b 

Paulina,  a  noble  Roman  lady,  whose 
life  was  written  by  Jerom,  visited  the 
Monks  of  Egypt,  and  "founded  in 
Bethleem  an  Abbaye,  in  whyche  she 
assembled  virgynes,  as  well  of  noble 
estate  as  of  my  die  and  low  lygnage. 
And  departed  them  in  thre  congrega- 
cyons,  soo  that  they  were  depart- 
ed in  werke,  in  mete,  and  in  drynke.c 
But  in  saying  theyr  psalter  and  adour- 
ing  were  they  togydre  at  houres,  as  it 
apperteyned.  And  she  enduced  and 
enformed  all  the  other  in  prayer  and  in 
worke  by  ensample  gyvyng.  She  was 
never  ydle.  And  all  they  were  of  one 
habyte.  And  they  had  no  shetes,  no 
lynnen  cloth  but  too  drye  theyr  hondes. 
And  they  myght  have  no  lycence  to 
speke  to  men;  and  them  that  came 
late  to  the  houres,  she  blamed  debo- 
nayrly  or  sharply;  and  sufTred  not 
that  oony  of  them  shold  have  ony 
thyng,  save  the  livinge  and  clothinge, 


a  Decern  Scriptores,  788.  b  Golden  Legend, 
ccii.  c  The  dcoemiti,  Achimitenses,  were  Monks 
who  celebrated  Divine  service  without  ceasing,  the 
society  being  therefore  divided  into  three  compa- 
nies.    Du  Cange. 


for  to  put  away  avaryce  fro  them.   She 
appeased  them  swetely  that  stroof ;  and 
also  she  brake  and  mortefyed  emonge 
the  yonge  maydens  theyr  fleshely  de- 
syres   by   continuelly   fastinges.     For 
she  hadde  lever  have  them  good,  suf- 
fryng  sorowe  and  sekenes,  than  theyr 
herte  should  be  hurte  by  fleshly  wyll. 
And  she   chastysed  theym  that  were 
nyce    and    quynte,   sayen    that    such 
nycete  was  filthe   of  the   sowle,   and 
sayd  also  that  a  word  sowninge  to  ony 
ordure  or  fylthe  sholde   never  yssue 
out  of  the  mouth  of  a  vyrgine. — She 
that  so  spake  and  was  rebuked  ther- 
fore,  yf  she  amended  it  not  at  the  first 
warning,  ne  at  the  second,  ne  at  the 
thyrd,  she  sholde  be   dysseveryd   fro 
the  other  in  etyng  and  in  drinkynge,  by 
whyche   she  shold  be  asshamed;  and 
thus  shold  be  amended  by  debonayr 
correccyon :   and  yf  she  wold  not,  she 
shold  be  puny  shed  by  ryght  grete  mo- 
deration.    She  was  merveyllous  debo- 
nayr and  pyteous  to  them  that  were 
seke,  and  comforted  them,  and  served 
them  ryght  besely.     And  gaaf  to  them 
largely  for  ete,  suche  as  they  asked ; 
but   to   herself   she  was  hard  in   her 
sekenes  and  skarse.     For  she  refused 
to  ete  fie  she    how  wel  she  gaf  it  to 
other ;  and  also  to  drynke  wyn.     She 
was  ofte  by  them  that  were  seke,  and 
leyde  the  pylowes  aryght  and  in  poynt, 
and   froted    (rubbed)   theyr  feet,   and 
chaufTed  (boiled)  water  to  wasshe  them; 
and  her  semed  that  the  lasse  she  did  to 
the   seke  in   servyse,  soo  moche  lasse 
servyse  dyde  she  to  God,  and  deserved 
lasse  mercy :    and  therfore  she  was  to 
them  pyetous  and  nothing  to  herself. 
In  her  ryght  grete  sekenesses  she  wold 
have  no  softe  bedde,  but  laye  upon  the 
strawe,  or  upon  the  ground,  and  toke 
but  lytyll  reste.      For  the  most  parte 
she  was  in  prayers,  bothe  by  daye  and 
by  nyght;  and  she  wepte   so  moche, 
that  it  semed  of  her  even  a  fountayne. 
And    whan  we   said   to    her   oftymes 
that    she    shold    kepe  her    even    fro 
wepyng  so  moche,  she  said  the  vysage 
oughte  to  be  like  the  fowl,  by  cause  it 
hath  so  moche  be  made  fayr  and  gaye, 
agenst   the    comaundement   of   God ; 

c 


18 


MONACHTSM  AMONG  THE  SCOTS. 


and  the  body  ought  to  be  chastysecl 
that  hath  had  soo  moche  solas  in  thys 
world ;  and  the  lawhyngys  ought  to  be 
recompensed  by  wepyngis,  and  the 
softe  bedde  and  the  shetes  ought  to  be 
chaungyd  in  to  sharpness  of  hayer." 

This  good  lady,  a  genuine  friend  to 
superstition  and  misery,  understood 
Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  and  French ; 
"redde  coursably  the  Scryptures  in 
thys  foure  languages/'  but u  sholde  her 
more  to  the  spyrituell  understondyng, 
than  too  thystoryes  of  the  Scripture/' 
At  her  death,  "  anone  all  the  congre- 
gacyon  of  vyrgines  made  noo  crye  in 
wepyng  as  don  the  people  of  the 
worlde ;  but  redde  devoutly  theyr  psal- 
ter, not  only  unto  the  time  that  she 
was  buryed,  but  all  the  daye,  and  all 
the  nyghte."a 

Costume,  In  France,  during  the 
fifth  century,  the  widows  of  simple  in- 
dividuals took  nearly  the  costume  of 
Nuns,  This  was  a  hood  and  wimple, 
and  a  gown  resembling  a  surplice.b 

MONACHISM    AMONG    THE    SCOTS. 

The  Scottish  writers  consider  the 
Culdees  as  the  immediate  successors  of 
the  Druids. c  It  is  certain  that  the 
Clergy  were  called  Culdees  [Colidei, 
Cultores  Dei,  i.  e.  worshippers  of  God] 
as  soon  as  there  were  Clergy  among 
the  Scots ;  but  the  old  pure  Scottish 
Culdees  were  similar  to  the  inferior 
Clergy  in  the  primitive  Church — itine- 
rant preachers  under  the  Bishop,  not 
Monks.11  They  seem  to  have  been 
those  Religious  which  the  Topographi- 
cal Accounts  of  Ireland  call  Canons, 
in  foundations  long  anterior  to  the 
existence  of  that  order. 

Ninian,  the  Apostle  of  the  Southern 
Picts,  who  had  seen  Martin,  and 
lived  some  time  with  him,  founded  a 
Monastery  at  Whitehern,  according  to 
Martin's  rule.  Columba,  his  contem- 
porary, in  the  sixth  century,  was  the 
first  author  of  Monastic  Institutions  in 

"  Golden  Legend,  Ivii.  b  Maillot,  III.  p.  5, 

24,  32.  PL  iii.fig.  7.  c  Campbell's  Journey 

from  Edinburgh,  I.  190.  •»  Skinner's  Eccle- 

siastical History  of  Scotland,  Lett.  10. 


the  celebrated  lona,  or  Hy  ;e  one  for 
Monks,  the  other  for  Nuns;  the  former 
conformably,  says  Fordun,to  the  Bene- 
dictine, the  latter  to  the  Augustinian, 
rule.f  The  Rule  of  this  Columb,  or  Co- 
lumbkill,  was  similar  to  that  of  the  other 
Columb,  or  Columbanus,  Brendan,  Con- 
gall,  &c.  according  to  Fabricius  ;&  and 
Reyner  supports  Fordun,  by  observing 
that  Columb's  rule  resembled  the  Be- 
nedictine, except  in  the  modes  of  peni- 
tence and  silence,  and  the  addition  of 
the  practice  of  Bangor  in  Psalmody, 
which  was  that  of  unceasing  divine  ser- 
vice by  means  of  successive  choirs  ;  a 
division  of  Psalmody,  which  was  abo- 
lished by  the  Council  of  Aix  in  817, 
through  the  variety  of  practices  thus  in- 
troduced in  different  houses.11 

Columba  died  in  597  ;  and  Adamna- 
nus,  a  succeeding  Abbot  in  the  next 
century,  was  a  Benedictine.1 

Columba  is  called  the  founder  of 
the  Culdees  [a  mistake],  who  fixed 
themselves  in  isles,  upon  places  sanc- 
tified by  the  Druids.  It  is  known  that 
both  Druids  and  Druidesses  had  oc- 
cupied lona.  Parish  Churches,  from 
policy,  were  also  founded  upon  the  site 
of  Druidical  temj3les.k  The  Church  of 
Bennachie  in  Marr  is  built  within  a 
Druidical  circle,  probably  to  draw  off 
the  new  converts  from  their  old  super- 
stitions.l 

In  Incrallen  parish,  in  Murray,  is  a 
stone  circle  and  groves,  one  of  which 
was  in  the  last  age  a  burial-place  for 
poor  people,  and  is  so  still  for  unbap- 
tized  children  and  strangers.m 

In  the  parish  of  Duthell,  in  the 
county  of  Strathspey,  are  two  circles 
of  stones  called  Chapell  Piglag,  from 
a  lady  of  that  name,  who  they  pretend 
used  to  celebrate  there  (as  a  Druidess) 
before  the  Church  was  built  in  these 
parts  ;  and  within  half  a  mile  of  it  is  a 
small  grove  of  trees,  held  in  such  ve- 
neration that  nobody  will  cut  a  branch 

e  Skinner's  Ecc.  Hist.  I.  76,  77-  Lett.  15.  Usser. 
Antiq.  359.  f  Id.  361.  s  Bibl.  Med.^Evi,  1. 1125. 
ll  P.  151,  2.  Columb's  rule  is  printed  in  Hol- 
stein's  Codex,  Messingham's  Florilegium ,  Stenge- 
lius,  and  Usber's  Sylloge.  •  Fabric.  Bibl.  Med. 
Mx.    I.   14.  k    Ledwicb's   Ireland,  73,   115. 

1  Gough's  Camden,  1789,  III.  421.  *»  Id.  430. 


MONACHISM    AMONG   THE    IRISH, 


19 


of  it;  and  there  the  neighbouring  wo- 
men pay  their  thanks  to  God  after 
child-bearing.  In  the  middle  of  it  is  a 
well,  called  the  Well  of  the  Chapel, 
and  held  sacred. a 


MONACHISM  AMONG  THE  IRISH. 

One  of  Howard's  prisons,  if  the  re- 
ligious offices  be  excluded,  conveys  a 
clear  idea  of  ancient  Irish  Monasteries, 
in  habits  of  living  and  solitude. 

In  the  interesting  Legend  of  St. 
Brandon,  which,  for  ingenious  fiction, 
is  nearly  equal  to  the  admirable  Ara- 
bian Nights,  we  have  various  allusions 
to  the  ancient  Irish  Monks,  who  were 
of  such  holy  celebrity,  that  Paul,  the 
Egyptian  Hermit,  is,  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  learned,  made  to  say, 
"  somtyme  I  was  a  Monke  of  Saynt 
Patrikes  Abbey  in  Yrelonde,  and  was 
wardein  of  the  place,  whereas  men  entre 
into  Saynt  Patrikes  purgatory."b  Saynt 
Brandon  himself  was  "  Abbote  of 
an  hows,  wherein  were  a  thousand 
Monkes  ;"c  of  whom,  in  opposition  to 
Anchorets,  supported  by  others,  he  ob- 
serves, "  we  be  Monkes,  and  most  la- 
bour for  our  mete  ;"d  for  the  Irish 
Ccenobiarchs,  all  great  travellers,  vi- 
sited and  studied  the  institutions  of 
Rose  Valley,e  which  their  societies  fol- 
lowed; but,  through  Patrick,  mixed 
with  the  Martinian  system,  both  being 
Egyptian.  The  pretended  Monks  of 
Saint  Patrick's  Abbey,  however, " never 
spake  to  each  other ;"  and  this  is  the 
peculiarity  of  silence  alluded  to  in  the 
preceding  remarks  of  the  variation  of 
the  rule  of  Columban  from  the  Bene- 
dictine. We  also  hear  of  Mervoc,  an 
Irish  u  Monke  of  grete  fame,  whyche 
had  grete  desyre  to  seke  aboute  by 
shippe  in  divers  co'tres  to  fynde  a  so- 
litarye  place,  wherein  he  myght  dwelle 
secretely  out  of  the  besynesse  of  the 
world,  for  to  serve  God  quyetely  with 
more  devocyon.  And  I  conseylled  him 
to   sayle  in  to  an  ylonde  ferre  in  the 

*  Gough's  Camden, III.  432.  b  Golden  Legend, 
ccxxxii.  eId.ccxxx.  dId.ccxxxii.  *  Angl. 
Sacr.  II.  632,  seq. 


See.  And  thenn  he  made  hym  redy, 
and  saylled  theder  with  hys  Monkes/"*" 

These  institutions  of  solitary  silence 
account  for  the  frequency  of  Monas- 
teries in  the  small  islands  upon  the 
coast  of  Ireland,  and  the  peculiar  con- 
struction of  their  dwellings,  now  to  be 
described. 

[It  is  to  be  recollected  that  in  the 
second  Synod,  ascribed  to  Patrick, 
Monks  are  designated  as  solitary  per- 
sons, who  dwelt,  without  earthly  pos- 
sessions, under  the  government  of  a 
Bishop  or  Abbot.s  Hence  the  cells  in 
these  fabricks  were  indispensable ;  for 
in  fact,  these  monasteries  were  Colleges 
of  Anchorets,  or  Laura.] 

At  Inis  Murray  is  an  inclosure  of 
walls  from  5  to  10  feet  thick,  rough, 
and  built  of  large  stones  without  mor- 
tar. Within  are  cells  covered  with 
earth,  thrown  up  so  as  to  make  them 
in  a  manner  subterraneous  (some  are 
found  in  others  alike  horrid  and 
gloomy),  having  a  small  hole  in  the  top, 
and  another  on  the  side,  seemingly  to 
give  air,  not  light.  They  have  all  been 
vaulted  with  the  same  rude  stone.  A 
cell  at  the  entrance  is  lighted  by  the 
door,  and  appears  to  have  been  the 
place  where  the  candidate  remained 
before  admission  into  the  other  close. 
The  entrance  into  the  inclosure  is  so 
narrow  as  scarcely  to  admit  a  man  to 
pass.  Within  are  three  square  chapels, 
dedicated  to  St.  Melas  and  Colnmbkill, 
built  of  stone  and  lime  in  a  rude  man- 
ner, but  modern  compared  with  the 
rest  of  the  building.  An  altar  or  sin- 
gle stone  is  inclosed  within  another 
square  wall.11  Dun  Angus,  in  the  isle 
of  Arran,  on  the  coast  of  Galway,  is  a 
circle  of  monstrous  stones  without  ce- 
ment, of  which  the  Monastic  appellation 
is  Mandra.i  Within  one  of  these  Man- 
dree,  or  stone  circles,  stood,  among  the 
Orientals,  the  pillar  which  Symeon  Sty- 
lites  occupied  :  a  well-known  supersti- 
tion ;  for  St.  Luke  of  Stiris,  the  Greek 
Saint,  who  lived  in  the  earlier  part  of  the 


f  Golden  Legend,  cexxx.       s  Wilkins's  Concilia, 
I.  p.  3.  h  Gough's  Camden,  1789,  III.  596. 

'  Ledwich's  Ireland,  p.  141. 

C2 


20 


MONACHISM  AMONG  THE  IRISH, 


10th  century,  met  with  at  Petree  one  of 
these  living  statues,  then  not  unfre- 
quent,  minis tred  to  him  for  ten  years, 
fishing,  getting  wood,  and  dressing 
victuals  ;  preventing  him  from  starving, 
and  enabling  him  to  preserve  his  foot- 
ing on  his  pedestal.a 

Though  the  British  Pilgrims  to  Je- 
rusalem visited  Simeon,  this  ridiculous 
superstition  never  obtained  in  these 
Irish  Mandrae.b  The  appropriation  of 
them  to  the  early  Monastic  uses,  is 
proved  by  Bede's  description  of  a  re- 
ligious house  built  by  Cuthbert.  The 
building  was  constructed  around  four 
or  five  porches,  made  between  wall  and 
wall.  The  wall  on  the  outside  was  the 
height  of  a  man,  in  the  inside  higher  ; 
so  made  by  sinking  a  huge  rock,  which 
was  done  to  prevent  the  thoughts  from 
rambling,  by  restraining  the  light.  The 
Avail  was  neither  of  squared  stones  or 
brick,  nor  cemented  with  mortar ;  but 
of  rough  unpolished  stones,  with  turf 
dug  up  in  the  middle  of  the  place,  and 
banked  on  both  sides  of  the  stone  all 
round,  Some  of  the  stones  were  so 
large  that  four  men  could  hardly  lift 
one.  Within  the  walls  he  constructed 
two  houses  and  a  chapel,  together  with 
a  room  for  common  uses.  The  roofs 
he  made  of  unhewn  timber,  and 
thatched  them.  Within  the  walls  was 
a  large  house  to  receive  strangers,  and 
near  it  a  fountain  of  water.c 

This  large  house  was  the  Xeno- 
dochium,  mentioned  in  the  rule  of  Pa- 
chomius,  and  borrowed  from  the  Jews, 
who  had  such  places  near  their  Syna- 
gogues/1 The  fountain  of  water  was 
for  washing  the  feet  of  the  visitors  upon 
their  arrival.  At  the  pretended  Abbey 
of  St.  Patrick's  Monks,  "the  Abbot 
welcomed  Saynt  Brandon  and  his  fe- 
lawship,  and  kyssed  them  full  mekely  ; 
and  toke  Saynt  Brandon  by  the  honde, 


a  Chandler's  Greece,  6*2. 

b  It  was  attempted  at  Treves,  but  immediately 
suppressed.  In  the  East  it  lasted  till  the  12th 
century.     Mosheim,  I.  254,  255. 

c  Ledwich's  Ireland,  140.  <*  Whitby's  Para- 

phrase, II.  p.  700. 


and  ledde  hym  wyth  his  Monkes  into 
a  fayr  halle,  and  sette  them  down  a 
rewe  upon  the  benche  ;  and  the  Abbot 
of  the  place  washe  all  theyr  feet  with 
fayr  water  of  the  well,  that  they  s awe 
before/'*3  The  size  of  the  stones  may 
be  traced  to  the  Cyclopean  Architec- 
ture, which  prevailed  before  the  inven- 
tion of  the  orders ;  and  the  absence  of 
cement,  and  the  construction  of  the 
cells,  was  derived  from  Druidism.  The 
houses  of  the  Druids  were  without 
lime  or  mortar,  of  as  few  and  un wrought 
stones  as  possible,  and  capable  of  hold- 
ing only  one  person.  These  little  houses 
were  their  sacella,  sacred  cells,  to  which 
the  people  were  to  have  recourse  for 
divining,  or  deciding  controversies,  or 
prayers. f 

This  construction  was  not  the  only 
Druidical  or  Pagan  interpolation.  At 
Kildare,  where  once  stood  a  temple  re- 
sembling Stonehenge,  was  a  nunnery 
said  to  have  been  founded  by  St.  Bri- 
gid  before  484 ;  and  about  the  same 
time  an  Abbe)-'  was  also  founded  under 
the  same  roof  for  Monks,  but  separated 
by  the  walls  from  the  Nunnery.  In 
1220  Henry  de  Loundres,  Archbishop 
of  Dublin,  quenched  the  fire,  called 
unextinguishable,  which  had  been  pre- 
served from  an  early  period  by  the 
Nuns.  This  fire  was  however  re-lighted, 
and  continued  to  burn  until  the  total 
suppression  of  Monasteries."? 

In  the  first  synod,  ascribed  to  Pa- 
trick, it  is  enacted,  that  a  Monk  and 
Nan  from  different  houses  should  not 
lodge  together;  ride  in  a  chariot  from 
town  and  town,h  or  be  constantly  gos- 
siping ;  that  a  Nun  should  not  marry ; 
and  if  she  did  that  she  should  be  ex- 
communicated, her  husband  dismissed, 
and  neither  of  them  be  suffered  to 
dwell  together  in  the  same  house  or 
town.1      This  Synod  shows  the  inter- 


«"  Golden  Legend,  ccxxxi.  f  Borlase's  Corn- 

wall,  150.         s  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Tour,  161. 

h  Festus  mentions  two  persons,  sitting  together 
in  a  henna  or  car ,-  and  hence  they  were  denomi- 
nated Combennones.     Du  Cange  in  voce. 

1  Willdns's  Concil.  I.  p.  3. 


MONACHISM  AMONG  THE  EARLY    ANGLO-SAXONS, 


21 


course  betwixt  Monks  and  Nuns.  As 
to  the  Fire,  whether  it  was  Druidical, 
Vestal,  or  merely  Heathen,  is  not 
easily  decided ;  for  such  Fires  were 
kept  up  in  the  Temples  of  Jupiter/  and 
the  Pagan  Fires  continued  long  after 
the  introduction  of  Christianity .b 

At  Inismore,  or  Church  Island,  in 
Sligo,  in  a  rock,  near  the  door  of  the 
Church,  is  a  cavity  called  our  Lady's 
Bed,  into  which  pregnant  women  going, 
and  turning  thrice  round,  with  the  re- 
petition of  certain  prayers,  fancy  that 
they  shall  not  die  in  child-bed. c 

[Here  is  an  evident  commixture  of 
the  Druidical  Deasuil;  and  others 
might  be  found  ;  but  the  inquiry  is  not 
connected  with  Monachism.] 


MOXACHISM  AMONG  THE  EARLY 
ANGLO-SAXONS. 

The  Hypothesis,  that  Benedict  was 
the  last  Composer  of  a  Monastic  rule/ 
afterwards  so  amplified  by  Reyner,  and 
so  ably  supported  by  what  he  calls  ir-   j 
refragable   conjectures/  is  sufficiently 
confuted  by  the  silence  of  Bede,f  and  ; 
the  various  rules  which  were  composed  , 
long  after  the  age  of  Benedict  by  various 
British    and    Hibernian  Ccenobiarchs.   I 
i(  Probably/5    says   an    eminent  Anti-   | 
quary, Ci  no  particular  orderwas  observed 
in  the  Saxon  monasteries  ;  but  the  Ab-   ! 
bot  or  Abbess  prescribed  such  rules  as 
they  thought  best ;  and  were  directed 
in  their  choice,  by  regard   for   those 
they  had  been  used  to  in  the  houses 
where  they  had  received  their  educa- 
tion, or  such   as  were  practised   and 
most  approved  in  other  Monasteries  at 
home  or  abroad.'^ 

The  Anglo-Saxon  Monasteries  at  first 
consisted  of  mere  assemblages  of  re- 


a  Virgil,  ^£n.  IV.  line  200.  b  De  Valancey  in 
Collect.  Reb.  Hybern.  No.  II.  p.  165.  c  Gough's 
Camden,  1789,  III.  590. 

d  Sanctus  Benedictus  Abbas  nltimus  compositor 
regulse  Monachorum.  Tractatus  de  Preerosrativ. 
et  Dignit.  Ord.  Monast.  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv. 
p.  325.  e  P.  120.  f  Biogr.  Brit.  y.  II.  p.  133, 
ed.  2.        s  Bentham's  Ely,  p.  54. 


ligious  people,  around  the  habitation 
of  some  person  eminent  for  sanctity, 
who  led  an  eremitical  life,  and  presided 
as  Abbot.  He  often  acted  as  a  Preceptor 
of  Youth  to  obtain  subsistence.  Such 
was  Malmesbury  in  its  origin. h  Elphe- 
gus  refounded  the  Abbey  of  Bath  nearly 
in  the  same  manner.1  The  first  Mo- 
nastery of  Abingdon  in  the  latter  end 
of  the  seventh  century  was  one  of  this 
description.  The  building  was  round 
in  the  eastern  and  western  parts,  and 
in  the  circuit  of  it  were  twelve  habita- 
tions and  as  many  chapels,  in  which 
were  a  like  number  of  monks,  who 
ate,  drank,  and  slept  there.  They 
were  inclosed  by  a  high  wall,  nor  did 
any  one  go  to  the  gate  except  from 
manifest  necessity,  or  the  use  of  the 
House,  and  then  with  license  of  the 
Abbot.  A  woman  never  entered  the 
place;  nor  did  any  but  the  twelve 
Monks,  and  the  Abbot,  the  thirteenth^ 
reside  there.  They  had  a  house  at  the 
gate  for  a  Locutory,  where  they  con- 
versed with  acquaintance  and  friends ; 
and  on  Sundays,  and  the  principal 
feasts,  they  assembled  at  Mass,  and  ate 
together.1 

Alfred  founded  a  Monastery  with  dif- 
ferent orders  intermixed;111  and  Osbern, 
a  Norman  Monk,  says,  that  before  the 
Reformation  by  Dunstan  in  the  reign 
of  Edgar,  "  there  was  no  common  rule 
of  living,  and  that  the  name  of  Abbot 
was  scarce  heard  of:"n  but  that  de- 
votees, singly,  or  with  companions, 
emigrated  from  their  native  places,  and 
set  up  Schools  (as  before  observed) 
until  they  had  obtained  an  endow- 
ment."' The  first  Anglo-Saxon  Monas- 
teries in  the  eera  mentioned  (as  Whar- 
ton remarks  upon  the  passage)  were 
merelv  convents  of  Secular  Clerks,  who, 


h  Moffat's  Malmesbury,  36.  s  Osbernus  Vita 

^Elphegi.     Auglia  Sacra,  II.  124. 

k  "  For  threttene  is  a  covent  as  I  gues,"  Chau- 
cer, Sompnoure's  Tale.  See  too  M.  Paris,  413. 
Dec.  Script.  1307.  The  idea  was  borrowed  from 
Christ  and  the  Twelve  Apostles  ;  for  a  founder  as- 
signs this  reason  in  Marculfi  Formulas,  L.  ii.  c.  1. 
p.  12.  Tit.  de  magna  re,  Sec. 

1  Dugd.  Monast.  I.  p.  93.  m  Asser  Menevens. 
p.  29.         n  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  91.92. 


22 


MONACHISM  AMONG  THE  EARLY  ANGLO-SAXONS. 


though  they  were  bound  by  certain 
rules,  and  daily  performed  the  sacred 
offices,  yet  enjoyed  all  the  privileges  of 
other  Clerks,  and  were  even  married. 
Exceptions,  though  not  numerous,  may 
be  found  to  this  affirmation ;  but  it  is 
sufficient  to  observe,  that  the  Monastic 
orders,  over  every  quarter  of  the  globe, 
before  the  ninth  century,  when  the 
Benedictine  absorbed  all  the  other 
orders,  followed  various  rules  and  me- 
thods of  living,  altered  them  at  plea- 
sure, and  were  not  only  negligent  in 
observing  them,  but  were  licentious  and 
profligate  to  a  proverb,a  though  learn- 
ing and  study  received  encouragement.13 
These  premises  are  necessary  to  explain 
the  following  passages  of  Becle  and  the 
early  Synods.  The  former  observes 
that  it  was  the  fashion  in  his  days  for 
noblemen  and  others  to  purchase  crown 
lands  upon  pretence  of  founding  a 
monastery;  upon  which  they  made 
themselves  Abbots,  collected  a  Con- 
vent out  of  expelled  Monks,  and  their 
own  servants,  and  led  a  life  perfectly 
secular,  "  bringing  wives  into  the  Mo- 
nastery," and  being  husbands  and  Ab- 
bots at  the  same  time.  The  King's 
servants  also  adopted  the  fashion,  and 
the  same  persons  became  Abbots  and 
Ministers  of  State. 

The  following  enactments  of  the 
earlier  Synods  are  therefore  not  singu- 
lar. Bishops  and  Abbots  are  di- 
rected to  exhort  Abbots  and  Monks, 
to  set  a  good  example,  and  treat  their 
families,  not  as  slaves,  but  children  f 
to  provide  necessaries  for  them;  be 
vigilant  against  theft,  and  inculcate 
reading  both  in  Monks  and  Nuns.  The 
latter  were  not  to  be  contentious,  or 
wear  pompous  dresses.d 

Edgar  exclaims  against  the  Nuns  for 
wearing  ermine  upon  the  bosom ;  ear- 
rings, rings,  and  dresses  of  linen  and 
purple.6 

Monasteries  were  not  to  be  recep- 

a  Mosheim,  Cent.   V.  p.  2.  Ch.  ii.  §  9.  p.  245 
Cent.  VI.  p.  2.  Ch.  ii.  §  6.  Cent.  VII.  v.  2.  Ch.  i. 
§  1.  Cent.   VIII.  p.  2.  Ch.  ii.  §  13. 
.  ^r.VJ.ld'  '  Hutchinson's  Durham,  I.  p.  25. 

leg  wT  dlia'  h  95>  seq<    e  Eadmer.  Spiei- 


tacles  of  ludicrous  arts,  of  poets,  harp- 
ers, fiddlers,  and  buffoons,  whence  en- 
sued a  vicious  familiarity  with  laymen, 
especially  in  less  orderly  Nunneries/ 

There  were  itinerant  Musicians,  as 
now,  among  the  Anglo-Saxons  for  vo- 
luntary pay.?  The  abuse  mentioned  in 
the  Synod  existed  till  the  dissolution 
of  Abbeys.h 

Nunneries  were  also  not  to  be  houses 
of  gossiping  and  drunkenness,  and 
beds  of  luxury ;  but  of  sober  and  pious 
livers  ;  of  people  given  to  reading  and 
psalm-singing,  not  employed  in  work- 
ing fine  cloaths.* 

Small  Houses  or  Oratories  were  com- 
mon in  these  seras  for  reading  and 
praying  ;  and  the  Nuns  of  Coldingham 
used  them  for  feasting,  drinking,  and 
gossiping.  These  Nuns  also  employed 
themselves  in  working  fine  cloaths, 
dressing  themselves  like  Brides,  and 
acquiring  the  favour  of  strange  men.k 

They  were  not  all  of  this  description, 
for  we  hear  of  Anglo-Saxon  Nuns 
writing  the  Psalter  with  their  own 
hands.1 

Monks  were  not  to  get  drunk  :  or 
desire  worldly  honours.111 

Drinking  after  dinner  was  common 
with  the  Anglo-Saxons.11 

Abbots  and  Abbesses  were  to  be 
chosen  of  approved  life  :  not  irreputa- 
ble  for  fornication,  homicide  or  theft, 
but  leading  regular  lives,  prudent  and 
acute  in  speech.0 

Several  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Kings 
and  Nobles  were  notorious  for  the 
constupration  of  Nuns.P  But  over  all 
Europe  in  this  age  Monks  kept  con- 
cubines, or  were  married;  and  Kings 
conferred  Abbeys  even  upon  Soldiers, 
who  became  Bishops  and  Abbots.0* 
Concubinage  was  antiently  a  kind  of 
legal  contract,  inferior  to  that  of  mar- 
riage, in  use,  where  there  was  a  consi- 
derable disparity  between  the  parties  ; 

f  Wilkins' s  Concilia,  ubi  supra.  £  Script,  p. 

Bed.  26,  b.  h  Vvarton's  Hist.  Poetry,  II.  205.  III. 
324,  &c.  '  Wilkins,  nt  supra.  k  Sim.  Dunelm. 
L.  i.  ch.  xiv.  L.  ii.  ch.  vii.  l  Dec.  Script.  1907. 
m  Wilkins,  p.  97.  134.  n  XV.  Script.  542. 

0  Wilkins,  147,  170.  p  Malmsb.  de  Gest.  Reg. 
L.  i.  ch,  iv.  1  Mosheim,  Cent,  X.  p.  2.  ch.  ii. 
§  10. 


EGYPTIAN  RULE  OF  PACHOMIUS. 


23 


the  Roman  law  not  suffering  a  man  to 
marry  a  woman  greatly  beneath  him ; 
but  he  was  not  to  have  a  wife.a  In 
the  third  century  the  Clergy  took  con- 
cubines instead  of  wives,  the  people 
thinking  that  married  persons  were 
most  subject  to  the  influence  of  malig- 
nant daemons,  and  therefore  most  unfit 
to  instruct  others.b 

The  Danes  discouraged  conversion, 
and  especially  persecuted  the  Monks, 
lest  the  number  of  their  effective  troops 
should  be  thus  diminished,  and  the 
converts  refuse  to  fight  against  their 
ministers.0  By  this  means,  in  the  time 
of  Alfred,  none  but  boys  were  willing 
to  become  Monks,  and  Monachism  was 
extinct.d  Indeed  it  is  said  that  in  the 
tenth  century  there  were  no  Monks 
in  England,  except  at  Glastonbury  and 
Abingdon.e  But  I  presume  that  this 
remark  does  not  apply  to  Canons  of 
both  sexes,  who  occupied  the  Monas- 
teries, and  whose  saecular  habits  occa- 
sioned their  overthrow. 

The  immense  Abbey  of  Bangor,  with 
its  three  thousand  Monks,  continued 
long  after  the  Conquest/  Bede  informs 
us,  that  the  Britons  would  not  impart 
what  knowledge  thev  had  of  the  Chris- 
tian  faith  to  the  Angles ;  and  hence, 
among  other  reasons,  we  hear  of  no 
such  enormous  establishment  out  of 
Wales  and  Ireland. 

It  is  to  be  recollected,  that  Cloisters 
were  not  in  use  till  the  ninth  century, 
and  therefore  that  cells  were  not  till 
then  superseded  by  this  substituted 


a  Thus  Grose  (Antiq.  II.  17.),  who  hy  the  way    I 
has  borrowed  this  from  Du  Cange,  v.  Viceconjux,  a 
termed  used  in  Inscriptions,    and  alluded  to  by 
Julian. 

b  Mosheim,  I.  137.  c  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  132. 

u  Spelmanni  Vita  Alfredi  (by  Hearne),  p.  131,  note. 
e  Angl.  Sacr.  I.  165.         f  Eadmer.  Spicileg.  209.     J 

s  See  Cloister.  Note.  Many  interesting  par- 
ticulars of  Monachism  in  this  cera  will  be  found 
hereafter,  under  Anchorets  and  Hermits. 


APPENDIX. 

THE  EGYPTIAX  RULE  OF  PACHOMIUSh 
FOLLOWED  BY  THE  BRITOXS. 

The  punishment  of  speaking  or  laugh- 
ing during  Psalmody,  praying  or  speak- 
ing in  the  midst  of  the  lesson,  was 
loosing  the  girdle,  inclination  of  the 
head,  depression  of  the  hands  to  the 
lower  parts,  a  standing  position  before 
the  altar,  and  a  reprimand  from  the 
Chief  of  the  Monastery.  The  same 
was  to  be  done  in  the  Convent  when 
assembled  for  refection.  The  punish- 
ment of  tardiness  when  the  Trumpet'1 
sounded  to  convoke  the  congregation 
in  the  day  was  similar.  No  one  was  to 
leave  the  congregation  without  permis- 
sion. The  Monks  were  to  remember 
orders.  On  Sundays  no  divine  service 
was  permitted  without  leave  of  the 
Father  and  Seniors  of  the  House.  In 
the  morning,  after  prayers,  the  Monks 
were  to  study  the  weekly  disputations 
made  by  the  Prelates  in  their  cells.  If 
any  one  was  asleep  during  these  dispu- 
tations, he  was  to  rise  ;  if  asleep  in  a 
sitting  position,  he  was  to  be  compelled 
to  rise,  and  so  continue  till  the  Su- 
perior ordered  him  to  sit.  The  Monks 
were  to  assemble  at  the  signal,  but  not 
to  light  the  fire  before  the  disputation. 
At  the  dismissal  of  the  Congregation 
they  were  to  meditate  in  their  cells 
bareheaded, but  to  dine  covered.  When 
ordered  to  pass  from  one  table  to 
another,  they  were  to  go,  and  not  to 
hold  out  their  hands  before  the  Su- 
periors, nor  gaze  at  others  eating. 
Laughter  or  speaking  during  refec- 
tion, and  tardiness  in  coming  to  it, 
were  forbidden,  and  silence  enjoined. 
The  officers  were  to  have  only  the  com- 
mon food  of  the  brethren.   The  Monks 


h  Pr.  Stellartius  de  regulis  etfund.  Uonachoruin, 
p.  115,  seq. 

;  The  Jews  used  Trumpets  instead  of  Bells. 
Antiq.  Vulgar.  15,  ed.  Braud.  Tbe  Royal  Min- 
strels among  us  blew  their  trumpets  to  sapper. 
Hawkins's  Musis,  II.  291.  The  subject  might  be 
traced  much  further, 


24 


EGYPTIAN  RULE  OF  PACHOMIUS, 


were  not  to  strike.  He  who  gave 
dulciamina  (sweetmeats)  to  the  retiring 
Monks,  before  the  doors  of  the  refec- 
tory, was,  in  giving  them,  to  meditate 
something  from  Scripture. a  Presents 
were  to  be  divided.  The  sick  were 
not  to  enter  the  cellar,  kitchen,  or  take 
any  thing  from  thence,  or  dress  them- 
selves what  they  wanted,  but  to  have 
all  necessaries  from  the  Governors  of 
the  House.  The  Infirmary  was  only 
to  be  entered  by  the  sick ;  and  the  lat- 
ter were  not  to  have  access  to  the  Re- 
fectory, and  eat  what  they  liked,  unless 
brought  there  by  the  officer.  Nothing 
was  to  be  carried  from  thence  to  the 
cells.  Cooks  of  the  gruel  or  broth 
(pulmentaria)  were  to  send  it  to  the 
eaters  without  tasting.  Wine  and  Li- 
quamen^  were  not  to  be  eaten  out  of 
the  Infirmary.  Those  on  a  journey,  or 
the  sick,  who  desired  such  Uquamen, 
were  to  have  it  furnished  separately  by 
the  servants.  No  one  was  to  visit  the 
sick  without  leave.  [Then  follows  the 
passage  concerning  Novitiates  given 
in  §  British  Monks,  p.  14.]  No  one 
was  to  give  eatables  to  any  one,  but  to 
send  him  to  the  gate  of  the  Xenodo- 
chium, [explained  in  §  Irish  Monks,  p. 
20.]  When  any  person  came  to  the 
gate  of  the  house,  if  Clerks  or  Monks, 
they  were  to  be  received  with  greater 
honour,  and  after  their  feet  were  washed 
be  ushered  into  the  Xenodochium.  If 
this  happened  at  the  time  of  divine 
service,  the  officer  of  the  Xenodochium 
was  to  inform  the  father,  and  thus  they 
were  to  be  brought  to  pray.  [See  this 
rule  practised  in  the  Life  of  David,  Angl. 
Sacr.  ii.  638,  and  all  the  subsequent 
Monastic  rules.]  Infirm  brethren  and 
women  were  to  be  respectively  received 
in  different  places.  The  porter  was  to 
announce  the  request  of  visitors  to  see 
any  Monk,  and  such  Monk  was  to  see 
him  with  a  companion.     If  any  present 

a  This,  I  apprehend,  is  the  "  right  thinking  »  of 
Hice -march,  in  Angl.  Sacr.  II.  645. 

b  Stellartius,  in  the  margin,  renders  it  liquor 
*x  piscibus  ;  but  as  it  is  used  (I  think  in  Falle's 
Jersey)  for  cider  or  perry,  so  Du  Cange  quotes  the 
very  passage,  and  renders  it  polus  ex  liquore,  which 
corroborates  Falle's  definition, 


was  brought,  the  Porter  was  to  receive 
it.  If  any  thing  proper  to  be  eaten 
with  bread,  it  was  to  be  taken  to  the 
Infirmary.  When  the  sickness  of  a 
relative  was  announced,  a  companion 
was  sent  with  the  Monk,  who  was  then 
to  eat  only  in  consecrated  places,0  and 
no  other  than  the  usual  food  of  the 
house.  If  any  edible  was  given  him,  he 
was  to  use  only  a  sufficiency  for  the 
journey,  and  give  the  rest  to  the  In- 
firmary. The  Monks  were  not  to  at- 
tend the  funerals  of  relatives  without 
leave  of  the  Pater.  They  were  not  to 
go  out  alone  upon  business,  or,  when 
returning,  tell  what  they  did  or  heard. 
When  at  work,  they  were  to  meditate 
the  Seripture,  and  say  nothing.  They 
were  not  to  sit  without  leave.  They 
had  no  power  to  send  any  one  to  any 
place.  They  were  to  wash  their  cloaths 
with  a  companion.*1  They  were  not  to 
take  herbs  from  the  garden  without 
leave  of  the  gardener;  not  to  carry 
away  the  palm  leaves,  of  which  the 
baskets  were  made,  without  leave; 
not  to  eat  unripe  grapes,  or  ears  of 
corn,  or  any  thing,  before  it  was  fur- 
nished in  common  to  the  brethren. 
The  Cooks  were  not  to  eat  before  the 
others,  nor  the  Orcharders  or  Vine- 
yarders,  but  to  have  their  portions  with 
the  others.  The  wind-falls  of  the  ap- 
ples were  to  be  put  in  a  heap,  at  the 
roots  of  the  trees.  Bread  and  salt  were 
only  for  those  who  affected  greater  ab- 
stinence. Nothing  was  to  be  cooked 
out  of  the  common  kitchen.  They 
were  to  have  nothing  unallowed  in  the 
cell,  "a  little  money,"  nor  property. 
When  removed  from  one  house  to 
another,  they  were  to  take  only  what 
was  necessary  for  daily  use   in  their 


c  Taverns  were  brothels  (Suet.  Ner.).  A  similar 
prohibition  occurs  in  Apost.  Can.  46.  Laod.  24, 
&c.  In  the  middle  ages  travellers  rarely  used  inns, 
but  sought  hospitality  from  private  persons,  whe- 
ther1 acquainted  with  them  or  not.  X  Script.  910, 
1053.  M.  Paris,  966,  981.  Script,  p.  Bed.  439, 
a,  &c.  &c. 

d  This  was  done  by  the  lay-brothers  among  the 
Gilbertines,  when  there  were  no  fullers  ;  but  wash- 
ing then  consisted  in  treading  the  cloths  in  a  tub 
(Dugd.  Monast.  II.  739),  as  recently  in  Scotland, 
See  the  print  in  Birt's  Letters. 


FOLLOWED  BY  THE  BRITONS, 


25 


dress.  No  one  was  to  walk  in  or  out 
of  the  house  without  leave;  nor  to 
carry  tales;  nor  to  tell  what  he  saw 
done,  or  had  heard.  They  were  not  to 
sleep  but  upon  a  sloping  seat  [reclivam 
sellulam*]  ;  nor  to  speak  to  any  one 
when  they  laid  themselves  down.  If 
they  waked,  they  were  to  pray.  They 
were  not  to  drink,  though  thirsty,  if  a 
fast  day  was  at  hand.  No  one  was  to 
wash  or  anoint  another  without  leave. 
They  were  not  to  speak  to  another  in 
the  dark,  and  to  sleep  alone.  In  walk- 
ing, sitting,  or  standing,  a  cubit's  dis- 
tance was  to  be  observed  between 
each.  They  were  not  to  shave  their 
heads  without  leave,  to  make  exchanges, 
or  add  any  thing  new  to  their  dress. 
On  going  to  refection,  they  were  not  to 
leave  the  book  unchained.  The  pro- 
per officer  was  to  attend  to  the  books 
after  Nones.  They  who  were  weak, 
but  not  confined  to  their  beds,  were  to 
receive  what  they  wanted  from  the 
officer.  They  were  not  to  go  to  the 
town  unless  sent,  nor  to  ride  double 
upon  the  bare  back  of  an  ass,b  nor  up- 
on the  pole  of  a  waggon.  The  Priors 
were  to  go  alone  to  the  shops  of  the 
different  tradesmen.  They  were  not 
to  go  to  another's  cell,  to  receive 
presents,  or  hoard  any  thing  in  the 
cell  without  leave.  The  Prior  was  to 
delegate  his  office  to  another  when 
going  out.  When  making  bread,  they 
were  not  to  speak,  but  to  meditate  the 
Psalms.c     The   Bakers   only   were   to 

a  This  was  the  Scimpodium,  a  kind  of  chair  and 
bed  united,  the  feet  resting  upon  a  stool.  In  the 
Acta  S.  Triphillii,  Torn.  2.  Jan.  p.  681,  we  are  told 
that  when  he  mentioned  that  text,  "  Take  up  your 
bed  and  walk,"  he  used  to  say  "  take  up  your  seim- 
podium,''''  &c.  Bosius  exhibits  beds  of  this  kind  in 
his  Roma  Subterranea,  p.  83,  91,  101.  Du  Cange, 
v.  Scimpodium,  uoiplura. 

b  This  was  unknown  to  the  Romans,  "  Do  you 
think  that  two  can  ride  upon  one  horse  ?"  (Mart. 
L.  v.  Epigr.  39.  Uno  credis,  8fc.)  But  it  was  very 
common  in  the  Middle  Ages,  especially  after  battles, 
to  save  the  wounded.  Dec.  Script.  2518.  Two 
Templars  had  often  only  one  horse  between  them. 
See  "Watts's  Matt.  Paris,  §  Adversaria,  &c.  Stowe, 
&c. 

c  In  whatever  occupation  a  monk  or  any  reli- 
gious person,  clergyman,  or  layman  was  engaged,  he 
was  always  to  have  a  Psalm  in  his  mouth  or  thoughts. 
See  among  innumerable  authorities,  Angl.  Sacr.  II. 
361,  695,    The  Pgatter  was  thought  virtually  to 


stay  in  the  baking-place  when  the  flour 
was  to  be  mixed.  If  on  a  voyage  the 
other  brethren  resting  upon  the  benches 
and  decks,  in  the  inner  part  of  the  ship, 
no  one  was  to  sleep,  or  suffer  secular 
persons  to  sleep  with  him.d  Women 
were  not  to  sail  with  them  without 
leave  of  the  Pater.  No  one  was  to 
make  a  fire  in  his  house  but  for  the 
common  use.  Laughter,  whispering, 
talking,  or  tardiness  in  prayer,  was  to 
be  punished.  They  were  not  to  talk 
of  secular  concerns  when  at  home  in 
the  house,  but  to  meditate  on  such 
scriptural  matters  as  the  Prior  might 
have  taught  from  the  Scriptures.  There 
was  to  be  a  punishment  for  breaking 
any  earthen  vessel,  or  useful  necessary. 
If  a  Monk  went  to  sleep,  the  whole  fra- 
ternity were  to  attack  fprosequorj  him. 
No  one  was  to  go  out,  speak,  or  stay 
without  leave.  They  were  to  attend 
divine  service  at  the  signal  given  ;  not 
to  begin  the  Psalms  till  ordered,  nor 
to  join  another  without  leave  when 
they  were  finished.  They  were  not  to 
go  out  of  their  rank,  nor  walk  before 
the  Prior.  The  loss  of  any  thing  was 
to  be  punished.  On  finding  any  thing 
they  were  to  hang  it  up  three  days  be- 
fore the  congregation,  that  those  who 
knew  it  might  take  it.  No  one  was  to 
wash  his  house  but  by  direction  of  the 
Prior.  Lost  rank  was  not  to  be  re- 
stored without  the  order  of  a  Senior. 
If  any  one  ignorant  of  his  letters  en- 
tered the  house,  he  was  to  be  forced  to 

contain  the  substance  both  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  and  to  exceed  the  Scriptures  in  expel- 
ling Dcemons,  &c.  (Lyndw.  184.  Oxf.  ed.)  The 
Psalms  were  not  only  learned  by  children,  &c. 
(Malmesb.  148.  a.  X  Script.  136.  M.  Par.  98)  ; 
but  we  find  instances  likewise  of  saying  over  the 
whole  Psalter  before  eating  on  Sundays  and  Festi- 
vals (X  Scr.  2432),  and  Psalm- singing  the  common 
employ  of  the  devout  when  alone  (M.  Par.  401, 
818)  ;  sometime  the  whole  Psalter  sung  over  every 
night  (Id.  519.)  I  omit  many  curious  passages  in 
the  histories  of  Musick  ;  and  familiar  books.  See 
§  BaJcer. 

u  The  sailors  used  to  sleep  upon  the  benches. 
There  was  a  place  at  the  poop  where  the  Trierarchs 
slept,  on  their  stragulse  or  blankets.  Those  of  the 
steersman  (Gubernator)  were  merely  mats  (Casaub. 
in  Theophrast.  338.)  The  hammock  does  not  occur 
in  Lye,  Cotgrave,  or  Sherwood  ;  though  the  car- 
riage-hammock engraved  in  Stvutt's  Horda,  I.  pi, 
ix.  p.  45,  ig  Anglo -Saxon. 


26 


EGYPTIAN  RULE  OF  PACHOMIUS, 


learn  them.  They  were  not  to  pretend 
occupation  in  Psalmody  and  Prayer,  as 
if  they  could  not  go  ;  or  if  engaged  in 
any  journey  or  office,  to  omit  such 
Psalms  or  prayers.8  No  one  was  to 
see  the  Nuns,  unless  he  had  a  mother 
or  other  relative  there.  If  a  paternal 
estate  had  belonged  to  them  before 
their  conversion,  visitors  could  see  them 
with  a  man  of  approved  age.  When 
the  Nuns  had  renounced  it,  they  could 
be  seen  with  the  seniors  of  the  house. 
There  was  to  be  no  conversation  con- 
cerning secular  affairs.  Punishments 
were  to  be  made  of  negligence  of 
orders,  detraction,  anger,  false  testi- 
mony, perverting  the  minds  of  the 
simple  ;  murmuring,  disobedience, 
laughing,  playing,  and  intimacy  with 
the  boys  ;  contempt  of  the  commands 
of  the  officers  and  rule  ;  exciting  quar- 
rels ;  neglect  of  inquiring  the  cause  of 
vexation  in  an  Officer  or  Monk  ;  which 
Officer  or  Monk  so  injured  was  to  be 
satisfied  by  castigation  of  the  offend- 
ing party.  They  who  left  the  order, 
returned  upon  promise  of  penance, 
and  then  pretended  to  be  sick,  were  to 
be  put  among  the  sick,  and  fed  with 
them,  till  they  performed  their  pro- 
mises. Boys  given  to  play  and  idle- 
ness, if  incorrigible,  were  to  be  corrected 
for  thirty  days  successively,  until  fear 

a  Wulstan,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  as  soon  as  hehad 
mounted  his  horse,  began  the  Psalter,  and  added 
Litanies,  &c.  according  to  the  distance.  This  was 
done  that  they  might  nnlearn  the  vain  fables, 
which  chiefly  obtruded  themselves  upon  travel- 
lers (Angl.  Sacr.  II.  260),  for  pilgrims  used  to 
amuse  themselves  by  telling  tales  on  their 
journeys  (Wart.  Poetr.  I.  397);  and  in  1279, 
when  Roger  de  Mortimer  had  jousts  at  Kenilworth, 
he  set  out  from  London  with  one  hundred  knights 
well  armed,  and  as  many  ladies  going  before  singing 
joyful  songs,  a  practice  mentioned  by  Virgil,  Eel. 
ix.  64,  65.  (Smythe's  Lives  of  the  Berkeleys,  MS. 
160.)  Thus  the  intention  was  to  avoid  secular 
singing.  Sometimes  a  due  portion  of  the  Hours 
was  deemed  sufficient.  (Angl.  Sacr.  II.  306).  We 
hear  of  a  bishop  and  his  chaplain  singing  psalms  in 
turn,  when  on  horseback.  (Id.  311).  A  book  of 
prayers  was  commonly  used  by  travellers,  which 
began  with  the  song  of  Zachary  (Du  Cange,  v.  Iii- 
nerarium.)  In  some  religious  orders  those  who 
could  not  read  the  psalms  were  notwithstanding  to 
carry  tables  of  them  in  travelling,  and  meditate 
upon  them  (Id.  v.  Superpositi.)  This  was  called  a 
Tabula  Peregrinantium,   (Id.  in  voce.) 


was  excited.  Unjust  judges  were  to 
be  justly  condemned  by  others.  Con- 
senting to  and  abetting  the  vicious  was 
punishable  with  the  severest  reprimand, 
but  pardon  was  to  be  extended  to  igno- 
rance. Humility,  moderate  labour, 
peace,  concord,  and  mutual  deference, 
were  prescribed.  The  Patres  were  to 
correct  delinquents,  and  to  compel  ob- 
servation of  the  punishment  in  every 
point,  either  in  the  society  of  the  house, 
or  in  the  greater  congregation,  that  is, 
to  subject  them  to  the  sentence  of  all 
the  Patres.  The  next  in  rank  was  to 
take  the  office  of  the  Prior  when  absent. 
There  was  to  be  reproof  for  borrowing 
a  book  from  another  house  without  the 
knowledge  of  two.  The  Monks  were  to 
live  blameless,  and  to  do  all  necessary 
business,  even  without  the  order  of  the 
Prior.  They  were  to  make  the  six  even- 
ing prayers,  according  to  the  example  of 
the  greater  congregation.  There  was  to 
be  no  ennui  or  weariness.  If  any  one 
went  out  and  was  hot,  he  was  not  to  be 
compelled  to  go  to  church, if  the  brethren 
were  already  gone  there.  When  the 
Priors  taught  the  brethren  a  of  the  con- 
version of  holy  life,"  no  one,  unless 
extremely  sick,  was  to  be  absent. 
Whatever  brother  was  sent  out,  he  was 
to  have  the  rank  of  an  officer,  and 
command  accordingly.  If  any  dispute 
arose,  the  Seniors  were  to  settle  it,  and 
reprimand  the  offender.  If  it  was  be- 
tween an  Officer  and  Monk,  the  brethren 
of  approved  conversation  and  fidelity 
were  to  settle  it  between  them.  If  the 
"Father"  of  the  house  was  a  party, 
and  absent,  his  return,  if  his  stay  was 
not  too  long,  was  to  be  waited  for. 

Superfluous  garments  were  to  be 
brought  to  the  keeper  of  them,  and  be 
under  the  care  of  the  Prior.  If  a  Monk 
came  too  late  to  receive  his  portion  of 
work  for  the  next  day,  he  was  to  have 
it  in  the  morning ;  and  if  he  wanted 
work,  the  Senior  was  to  appoint  him 
what  to  do.  No  work  was  to  be  de- 
stroyed through  negligence  or  other- 
wise. Punishment  was  to  be  levied 
for  a  garment  spread  to  the  sun  on  the 
third  day;  for  contradiction,  conten- 


FOLLOWED  BY  THE  BRITONS. 


27 


tion,  lying,  hatred,  disobedience,  de- 
traction, and  other  crimes ;  for  losing 
or  "suffering  to  perish"  skins,  boots, 
and  girdles. a  There  was  to  be  a  penance 
for  theft,  part  of  which  was  beating  by 
thirty-nine  Monks  ;  expulsion ;  bread 
and  water ;  wearing  a  hair  shirt  and 
ashes  during  prayer-hours.  Fugitives 
were  to  be  punished  in  like  manner. 
The  Prior  was  to  be  reprimanded  if  be- 
fore three  days  he  did  not  inform  the 
Pater  of  any  thing  lost.  If  he  was  a 
simple  Monk,  and  did  not  mention  it 
before  three  hours,  he  was  to  be  guilty 
of  the  loss  unless  he  found  it.  There 
was  to  be  a  three  days'  penance  for 
causing  a  brother  to  elope.  If  it  was 
not  notified  to  the  father  of  the  house 
ef  the  same  hour  he  eloped,"  he  was  to 
be  guilty  of  the  crime.  The  Prior  was 
to  be  reprimanded  if  he  saw  the  fugi- 
tive in  his  house  and  did  not  notify  it. 
There  were  to  be  six  prayers  every  even- 
ing in  every  house,  and  the  psalmody 
to  be  completed  according  to  the  order 
of  the  greater  congregation.13  Disposi- 
tions were  arranged  by  the  Prior  every 
week.  No  one  was  to  have  any  thing 
in  his  house  but  what  the  Prior  ordered, 
who  was  himself  to  be  informed  against 
if  negligent.  The  Prior  was  not  to  get 
drunk,  nor  sit  in  the  meaner  places 
"near  the  utensils  of  the  house,"  or 
i<csleep  in  lofty  chambers"6 

The  Institutes  of  Pachomius,  accord- 
ing to  Palladius,e  were  these.  Work 
and  food  were  to  be  apportioned  to  the 
respective  powers  of  the  Monks.  There 


R  I  purposely  decline  entering  copiously  into  this 
ample  subject,  as  travelling  out  of  the  record.  We 
hear  of  an  Abbot  who  wore  a  brazen  girdle,  as  be- 
fore an  iron  one,  in  order  that  if  his  belly  projected, 
it  might  not  be  a  pleasure  but  a  torment  (Angl. 
Sacr.  II.  45.)  The  leathern  strap  was  chiefly  worn 
by  Monks.     Du  Cange,  v.  Mastigia. 

b  It  is  well  known  that  these  enormous  Societies 
were  divided  into  portions  of  two  or  three  hundred 
monks,  of  whom  one  portion  was  always  officiating 
in  the  church,  while  the  others  were  employed 
elsewhere. 

c  Non  inveniatur  in  excelsis  cubilibus.  Marg. 
Note. 

d  Stellartius  de  Regulis,  &c.  p.  115 — 133. 

«  Id.  p.  134,  seq. 


were  to  be  different  cells  in  the  same 
"  house, "  and  three  in  a  cell.  They 
were  to  take  their  refection  in  one 
place,  and  to  sleep  in  a  kind  of  sitting 
position  upon  sloping  seats.  At  night 
they  were  to  wear  lebitones  (linen  tu- 
nicks),  and  to  eat  and  sleep  in  a  Me- 
lotes,  or  white  wrought  skin.  They 
were  to  go  to  the  Communion  on  Sab- 
bathsf  and  Sundays  in  a  hood  only. 
There  were  to  be  soft  hoods  as  for 
boys,  with  a  purple  cross.  There  were 
to  be  twenty-four  orders  of  Monks, 
from  the  twenty-four  letters,  each  order 
being  denoted  by  A.  B.  r.  and  so  on ; 
the  more  simple  having  the  distinction 
of  an  I.  the  more  difficult  by  &.  and  in 
like  manner  to  every  order.  Visitors 
from  a  house  of  a  different  rule  were 
neither  to  eat,  drink,  or  have  entrance 
to  them.  No  one  was  to  be  admitted 
who  could  not  undergo  a  trial  of  three 
years.s  They  were  to  eat  with  their 
hoods  on,  that  one  might  not  see  the 
other.  They  were  not  to  speak  in  re- 
fection, nor  turn  their  eyes  beyond 
the  quadra  h  and  table.  There  were  to 
be  twelve  prayers  in  the  day ;  twelve  in 
the  nightly  vigils  ;  twelve  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  at  the  ninth  hour  three.  Before 
eating  every  order  was  to  anticipate 
every  prayer  by  a  psalm.1 


f  Saturday  in  the  ancient  canons  (Laod.  29,  49, 
51,  &c)  The  Communion  was  celebrated  on  that 
day  ;  Saturday  as  well  as  Sunday  being  anciently  a 
stated  feast.  (Johns.  East.  Can.  11.8.)  But  the 
elements  were  consecrated  on  the  Sunday  pre- 
ceding. 

s  Here  seems  an  allusion  to  the  hearers  in  the 
Primitive  Church,  or  to  penitents  after  transgres- 
sion without  necessity.  See  Nicene  Can.  11,  and 
Johns.  Note,  p.  52. 

h  A  Trencher  in  the  usual  acceptation,  but  this  is 
not  certain.  At  Herculaneum  (says  Winckelman) 
were  found  two  entire  loaves  of  the  same  size,  a  palm 
and  half  diam.  five  inches  thick.  They  were  marked 
by  a  cross,  within  which  were  four  other  lines  ;  and 
so  the  bread  of  the  Greeks  was  marked  from  the 
earliest  periods.  Sometimes  it  had  only  four  lines, 
and  then  it  was  called  Quadra.  The  bread  had 
rarely  any  other  mark  than  a  cross  (which  the  first 
Christians  constantly  used),  which  was  on  purpose 
to  divide  and  break  it  more  easily.  Encycl.  des 
Antiquit.  v.  Pains.  The  "  Heus  !  mensas  consu- 
mimus  "  of  Virgil  will  occur  to  mind.  See  Hot- 
cross  buns,  Chap.  V. 

»  Stellartius,  ut  supra,  p.  134,  seq. 


28 


BENEDICTINE  M0NACH1SM  FROM  EDGAR 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BENEDICTINE    MONACHISM    FROM    THE    REIGN    OF    EDGAR    TO    THE 
NORMAN    CONQUEST. 


The  Anglo-Saxon  Kings  were  remark- 
ably prone  to  Religion — even  pros- 
trated themselves  before  preachers  ;a 
and  virtue  among  the  Anglo-Saxons 
consisted  in  abstinence  from  pleasured 

It  was  objected  to  the  Secular  Ca- 
nons, that  they  deputed  indigent  Vicars 
to  officiate  for  them,  and  neglected  the 
services  for  the  dead,  who  were  thus 
supposed  to  suffer  in  purgatory;  and 
that  the  benefactions  of  pious  donors 
were  not  expended  upon  the  service  of 
the  Church,  nor  support  of  the  poor.c 

Desire  of  the  popularity  essential  to 
sovereigns  naturally  induced  Edgar,  a 
great  hypocrite,  addicted  to  low  plea- 
sures, to  favour  the  general  wish  for  an 
exhibition  of  religion  by  the  more  aus- 
tere Monastic  system,  suited  to  the 
ideas  of  the  age.  Accordingly  this 
Prince,and  a  noble  Anglo-Saxon  named 
Alfreth,  gave  a  manor  to  Ethelwold, 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  on  condition, 
that  he  should  translate  the  Rule  of 
Benedict  from  Latin  into  Anglo-Saxon, 
which  he  accordingly  did  ;d  and  such  a 
version  now  exists,  as  well  as  a  short 
tract  of  that  Prelate5 s,  "  of  the  Rule  of 
the  Monks/"e  From  its  contents  it 
might  be  inferred  that  the  Monastick 
offices  consisted  almost  wholly  of 
singing  psalms  and  the  rubrics  of  the 
times  and  services.  Among  these  were 
"  twegen  sealmes  for  tham  cynge  and 


a     Eddius,  XV  Scr.  46,  55.  b  Script,  p. 

Bed.  139,  b.    t  c  Angl.  Sacr.  I.  289,  290. 

*  Hist.  Eliensis,  L.  i.  c.  xlix. 

c  MSS.  C.  C.  C.  Cant.  Cott.  Tiber.  A.  iii.  Titus 
A.  iv.  &c.  Bodl.  Arcliiv.  Seld.  D.  52.  In  this 
MS.  is  the  Anglo-Saxon  Rule  of  Fulgentius  : 
whether  the  African  Bishop  who  died  A.D.  533,  or 
the  Spanish  prelate  who  lived  in  the  next  century, 
does  not  appear  from  the  enumeration  of  their 
works  in  Fabricius  (Bibl.  Med.  Mxi.  II.  655,  672). 
As  the  Rule  of  Benedict  was  followed  literally  only 
by  the  Cistercians,  that  of  Fulgentius  conveys,  in 
my  opinion,  a  better  idea  of  Benedictine  Mona- 
chism  than  the  institutes  of  the  founder  ;  it  is  there- 
fore annexed  to  the  conclusion  of  this  chapter, 


theere  cwene."  Two  Psalms  for  the 
King  and  Queen.  Oswald,  Archbishop 
of  York,  in  the  same  eera,  "  enlarged 
the  Rule  by  his  own  authority  "f  All 
these,  however,  as  Junius  observes,^ 
were  consolidated  in  the  u  Concord  of 
Rules  by  Dunstan,"  which  regulated 
the  practice  of  the  Monks  till  the  year 

1077-11 

For  the  due  understanding  of  the 
following  customs,  it  is  necessary  to 
premise  an  account  of  the  canonical 
hours  or  services  of  the  Romish  Church, 
a  division  originating  among  the  an- 
cient Monks.1  Because  the  Jews  se- 
parated the  day  into  four  quarters  or 
greater  hours,  each  containing  three 
lesser  or  common  hours,  so  each  canon- 
ical hour  was  presumed  to  consist  of 
three  smaller;  and  the  whole  night 
and  day  was  thus  divided  into  the 
eight  servicesk  of  Mattins,  Lauds, 
Prime,  Tierce,  Sext,  Nones,  Vespers, 
and  Completorium  or  Complin. 


duxstan's  concord  of  rules.1 

For  the  sake  of  perspicuity,  I  shall 
divide  the  day  according  to  the  inter- 
vals of  the  canonical  hours. 

From  Unthrang  (Mattins  and  Lauds) 
midnight,    till    Primrang     (Prime,     6 

A.M.) 

At  every  season  in  the  nocturnal 
hours,  when  the  Monk  rises  to  divine 
service,1"  let  him  first  sign  himself  with 


f  Malmesb.  Gest.  Reg.  L.  2,  c.  8.  e  MS. 

Bodl.  Arcbiv.  Seld.  D.  52.  h  Reyner,  208. 

•  Bingham's  Antiq.  b.  13.  c.  ix.  sect.  8.  k  God- 
win's Moses  and  Aaron,  103. 

1  From  Reyner,  p.  208  ;  where  it  is  printed  at 
large.  Selden  (Spicileg.  ad  Eadmer.)  has  published 
the  Proemium. 

'"  The  Monks  went  to  bed  at  8  p.m.  and  rose  the 
next  day  about  2  a.m.  Lauds  commencing  at  3 
a.m.  or  nearly  so.  "  The  order  of  nightly  hours" 
(says.  John  de  Turrecremata)  "  begins  from  Lauds, 


TO    THE    NORMAN    CONQUEST. 


29 


the  cross,  and  invoke  the  Holy  Trinity. 
Then,  after  certain  prayers, let  him  pro- 
vide for  the  bodily  necessity  of -nature, 
and  so  hasten  to  the  Church,  repeat- 
ing a  Psalm  with  such  care  and  reve- 
rence as  not  to  disturb  others  praying; 
and  then  on  his  knees,  in  the  usual  and 
suitable  place,  repeat  three  prayers. 
Let  one  bell  be  rung  until  the  Novices 
enter  the  Church,  who  from  reverence 
to  the  Trinity  shall  use  the  triple 
prayer.a  This  being  finished  by  the 
boys,  let  the  second  bell  be  rung,  all 
sitting  in  their  seats  in  order,  and 
singing  fifteen  psalms,  "  singly  in  a 
triple  division  ;  so  that  the  seven  supe- 
rior or  former,  kneeling  after  five 
psalms,  at  a  sign  from  the  Prior,  and 
after  the  remaining  bells  were  rung  and 
psalms  finished,  may  begin  Nocturns,b 
and,  these  concluded,  certain  psalms." 
After  these  psalms  let  there  be  a  very 
short  interval,  as  the  rule  requires,0 
and  in  summer  is  convenient ;  during 
which  the  Chantor  and  Choir,  and  those 
who  need  it,  may  retire  for  bodily  ne- 
cessities, and  the  rest  continue  in  the 
Church  praying.  Then  let  Lauds  fol- 
low; Lauds  for  the  dead,  and  other 
services. 

Duties  from  Prim  rang  ^ 
(Prime,  6  a.  m.)  to    Un-  I  On  common 
deprang  (Tierce,  about  9  i         days. 
a.  m.)  - 


winch  are  called  Martins,  because  they  are  celebrated 
atdaybreak"  (Comm.  hiReg.  Bened.  p.  180.  Tr.  69, 
in  C*  xii.)  ;  and  Hugo  a  S.  Victore  fixes  the  time  by 
observing,  that  "  morning  Lauds  claim  the  last  part 
of  the  night ;  viz.  the  fourth  watch,  which  is  ex- 
tended to  day-break."  (Erud.  Theol.  de  Offic. 
Eccles.  Lib.  2,  c.  x.  p.  1393.)  The  watches  from 
the  Jews  began  first  at  6  p.m.  ;  the  second  at  9 
p.m.  ;  the  third  at  12  p.m.  ;  the  fourth  at  3  a.m. 
(Godwin  ubi  supra.) 

■  In  Ethelwold's  Tract,  "  De  consuetudine  Mo- 
nachorum,"  all  the  prayers  and  psalms  are  specified. 
It  is  in  Anglo-Saxon.  (MS.  Bodl.  Arch.  Seld.  D. 
52.) 

bThe  nightlyhoxiTS  are  Martins,  Prime,  and  Com- 
plin ;  the  daily,  Tierce,  Sext,  Nones,  and  Vespers 
(Provinc.  Angl.  227,  ed.  Oxf.)  Thus  Lyndwood  ; 
but  others  make  their  Nocturns  to  be  Mattins. 
(Godw.  ubi  supr.) 

c  "  In  the  time  of  Martins  in  which  there  is  an 
interval  before  Lauds."  (Dugd.  Monast.  I.  952.) 
Carthusian  Rule.  The  Saxon  appellations  of  the 
Hours  are  taken  from  Lambard's  Archaionomia, 
p.  131. 


If  the  office  of  Lauds  be  finished  by 
day-break  as  is  fit,  let  them  begin 
Prime  without  ringing  ;  if  not,  let  them 
wait  for  day-light,  and,  ringing  the  bell, 
assemble  for  Prime.  This  service  and 
its  appendages  finished,  let  the  Monks 
attend  to  reading  till  the  second  hour 
(7  a.m.)  ;  and  then  at  the  bell-ringing 
(and  not  before,  the  officiating  ministers 
excepted)  return  and  put  on  their  day- 
cloaths.  Let  no  one  without  leave 
omit  this  duty.  Afterwards  let  the 
whole  convent,  silently  psalmodizing^ 
wash  their  faces  and  proceed  to  the 
Church.  Let  the  Sacrist  ring  the  bell, 
and  the  triple  prayer  being  finished  by 
the  seniors  first,  and  children  after- 
wards, let  every  one  take  his  place,  the 
bell  ring,  and  Tierce  commence,  to  be 
followed  by  the  morning  Mass. 

From  Unbenranr  (Tierce,~\  ^ 

1  Oncom- 


about  9  A.  M.J    to    GOibbceg-  >  , 

rang  (Sewt,  about.  12.)  j^ondays. 

After  Tierce  and  Morning  Mass,  the 
Prior  making  the  sign,  and  going  first, 
let  them  proceed  to  the  Chapter,  salute 
the  Cross  with  their  faces  to  the  East, 
and  bow  to  the  surrounding  brethren. 
Then  all  being  seated,  let  the  martyr- 
ology  or  obituary  be  read,  and  be  fol- 
lowed by  [a  certain  divine  service.] 
Then  let  the  Rule  be  read  to  them 
sitting  ;  or,  if  it  be  a  Saint's  day,  the 
Gospel  of  the  day,  upon  which  the 
Prior  shall  make  a  discourse.  After 
this,  let  any  one  who  acknowledges 
himself  guilty  of  a  fault,  humbly  asking- 
pardon,  request  indulgence.  Let  every 
Monk,  when  chidden,  before  he  speak 
a  word,  solicit  pardon ;  and,  when  in- 
terrogated why  he  made  this  solicita- 
tion, confess  his  fault,  and  afterwards, 
upon  command,  arise.  Let  him,  who 
upon  reprimand  does  not  immediately 
request  pardon,  be  subject  to  severe 
punishment.  After  this  let  them  sing 
five  psalms  for  deceased  brethren. 

The  Concordia  Regularum  here  com- 
mences the  exception  on  Festivals,  &c. 
hereafter  given ;  and  so  intermixes  the 
duties,  that  it  cannot  be  followed  regu- 


See  Pachomius's  Rule,  note  c,  p.  25. 


30 


BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  PROM  EDGAR 


larly  in  the  division  of  the  offices  of  the 
day  according  to  the  canonical  hours. 
The  custom,  however,  was  as  follows  : 

From  GDibbaegrang  (Sext,  7  r 
about  12)  to  Nonran5  (Nones,  [  ^°™mon 
about  2  or  3.)*  )  yS" 

After  Chapter,  the  Monks  went  to 
work  or  read  till  Sext,  when,  after  the 
service,  from  Easter  to  Holyrood  day, 
they  dined.  Then  followed  the  meri- 
dian or  sleep  at  noon,  unless  any  one 
preferred  reading.     Then  Nones. 

From  Nonrang  (Nones,~\ 
about  2  or  3  p.m.)  to  Myen-  i 


Common 
davs. 


rang.  (Vespers,  First  , 
Vespers,  Lucernarium,  i 
about  4  o'clock.^)  J 

From  Holyrood  day  to  Lent,  Wed- 
nesdays and  Fridays  in  the  summer, 
and  all  the  fasts  of  the  order,  the  Monks 
did  not  dine  till  Nones.  Then  reading 
or  work  till  Vespers,  if  there  was 
time. 

From  yEpenrarig  (Vesper  s,-\ 
4o' 'clock)  ;to  Nihrrang,  (Com-  (Common 
plin,     Second    Vespers,    7  (      days. 
o'clock.*)  J 

After  Vespers  followed  reading,  till 
Collation  ;  then  Complin  ;  confession 
of  sins,  evening  prayers,  and  retirement 
to  rest  at  eight. 


Exceptions  on  particular  Days  and 

Seasons. 

The  duties  (proceeds  the  Concord  of 
Rules)  which  were  to  be  performed 
after  Tierce  on  Common  Days,  were  to 
be  done  before  on  Sundays  ;  yet  so, 
that  there  might  be  time  for  confession 
to  the  Abbot,  or  in  his  absence,  his 

a  Bishop  Fox  says  (Rule  of  St.  Bennet,  bl.  letter, 
1516,  fol.)  "  at  Sext,  about  an  hour  before  noon,'' 
and  "  Nones  about  2." 

b  Vespers  have  been  placed  at  six  o'clock  ;  but  it 
was  after  dinner,  among  the  Monks,  about  four. 
A  visitation  injunction  says,  "  Item  quod  cuncti 
eant  ad  vesperas  ad  horam  quartam  et  non  ante, 
tarn  aestate  quam  hyeme."  Item,  that  all  go  to 
Vespers  at  four  o'clock,  and  not  before,  both  in 
winter  and  summer.  MS.  Ashmol.  Mus.  1519, 
p.  15. 

<•  Thus  Fuller,  (Church  Hist.  B.  G,  p.  278  ;)  but 
TDavies  (Rites  and  Monuments  of  the  Church  of 
Durham)  earlier. 


vicegerent.  If  the  Monks  were  too 
numerous  to  confess  on  that  day,  they 
were  to  do  so  on  the  following,  without 
excepting  even  the  Novices.  They 
were  to  confess  also  at  all  other  times, 
when  prompted  by  temptation  of  body 
or  inclination. 

But  on  Feast  Days,  on  account  of 
the  observation  of  silence  and  study,d 
Prime  was  to  be  so  extended,  that  the 
chapter  being  finished  [and  a  succession 
of  religious  services],  the  Monks  might 
after  the  Peace/  receive  the  Sacra- 
ment. When  the  Mass  was  finished, 
the  officiating  Ministers  were  to  take 
some  mi:ctusf  by  way  of  refreshment, 
while  the  rest  staid  in  the  Church;  and, 
at  the  bell  ringing,  Sext  commenced ; 
and  afterwards  the  Monks  went  to 
dinner. 

On  a  festival  day  a  solemn  silence 
was  to  be  observed  during  the  whole 
day  in  the  Cloister.  After  the  Chapter, 
let  certain  psalms  be  said  for  the  de- 
ceased; and  if  the  Monks  have  no 
work/  a    simple  Benedicite  from  the 

d  No  work  upon  holidays  of  course. 

e  The  giving  the  Peace  [the  peace  of  the  Lord  be 
ever  with  you]  was  instituted  by  Innocent  (Walafr. 
Strabo.  de  reb.  Eccles.  Ch.  xxii.  p.  683.)  A  kiss 
(prohibited  between  men  and  women)  immediately 
followed  the  above  words,  and  preceded  the  com- 
munion (Amalarius,  L.  3,  Ch.  xxxi.  xxxiv.  p.  433.) 
The  reason  was  to  shew  that  we  were  members  of 
his  body,  who  died,  was  crucified,  and  rose  again 
for  us  (Bab.  Maurus  de  Instit.  Cleric.  L.  1.  Ch. 
xxxiii.  (Additio  de  Missa,  p.  586.)  In  the  thir- 
teenth century  the  Queen  of  France  when  at 
church  happened  to  embrace  a  courtezan,  whom, 
by  her  dress,  she  mistook  for  a  lady,  (Maillot,  Cos- 
tumes, III.  107),  and  through  consecpiences  of  this 
kind,  the  pax-bord,  what  Bishop  Jewell  calls  "  a 
little  table  of  silver,  or  somewhat  else,'' with  the 
picture  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  was  substituted  in  sub- 
sequent seras.     See  §  Abbot. 

i  A  Little  bread  and  wine  by  way  of  breakfast  ; 
but  it  was  "given  here,  lest  there  should  be  any  re- 
mains of  the  Sacrament  which  could  be  spit  out 
(Du  Cange  in  voce.)  It  is  also  a  small  portion  of 
broth,  or  similar  thing,  but  not  here;  for  Davies 
mentions  an  Almery,  "  wherein  singing  bread  and 
wine  were  usually  placed,  at  which  the  Sacristan 
caused  his  servant  or  scholar  daily  to  give  attend- 
ance from  six  of  the  clock  in  the  morning,  till  the 
High  Mass  was  ended  ;  out  of  which  to  deliver 
singing  bread  and  wine  to  those  who  did  assist  and 
help  the  Monks  to  celebrate  and  say  Mass."  A 
Council  of  Mexico,  in  1585,  orders  Priests  not  to 
smoke  tobacco  before  celebration  of  Mass.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Picietunt. 

*  The  idle  and  infirm  had  work  given  them.  Reg. 
Bened. 


TO  THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST, 


31 


Prior,  and  the  reply  of  Dominus  ;a  but 
if  they  have,  certain  short  prayers. 
Let  the  work  be  clone,  till  the  bell  ring 
for  "  robing  themselves  for  Sext." 
When  Sext  was  ended,  the  Mass  com- 
menced, and  was  followed  by  the  first 
bell  of  Nones,  and  a  short  prefatory 
prayer,  as  usual  before  every  canonical 
hour.  After  this  prayer,  the  officiating 
Monks  of  the  week  took  their  mixtus, 
while  the  others  continued  in  psalmody, 
till  another  sound  of  the  bell  proclaimed 
the  commencement  of  Nones,  and  the 
prayers  appended.  Dinner  immediately 
followed ;  and,  after  this,  reading  or 
psalmody;  and  if  anything  remained 
to  be  done^  the  tableb  was  struck,  and 
it  was  directly  set  about. 

Vespers  were  expedited ;  and  after 
prayer  in  the  Choir,  while  the  bells 
were  ringing,  the  Juniors  were  em- 
ployed in  spiritual  reading,  and  the 
Seniors  in  divine  prayer,  sitting.  After 
Vespers,  they  retired  to  put  off  their 
diurnal  shoes  [Davies  calls  them  day- 
socks],  and  take  their  nocturnal  ones.c 
If  it  was  a  Saturday,  they  washed  their 
feet,  after  that  their  shoes,dand  emptied 

a  Houses  just  after  the  Conquest,  through  many 
of  the  nohle  Anglo-Saxons  flying  to  the  woods  and 
turning  thieves,  were  obliged  to  be  strongly  fortified 
and  secured.  Prayers,  as  in  a  storm  at  sea,  were 
said  by  the  master  of  the  house  ;  and  in  shutting 
the  doors  and  windows,  Benedicite,  and  the  answer 
Dominus,  reverently  resounded.  This  custom  con- 
tinued till  the  reign  of  Henry  III. ;  perhaps  later. 
M.  Paris,  999.  See  the  explanation  postea,  Chap. 
XXIX.  §  Novices. 

h  The  Tabula  was  a  wooden  hammer,  called  also 
Ferula,  struck  when  a  Monk  was  dying,  that  the 
rest  in  the  Infirmary  might  pray  for  him,  and  the 
others  hasten  to  it. — When  the  breve  or  obit  of  a 
stranger  deceased  Monk  was  announced — to  assem- 
ble the  Chapter — to  proclaim  the  arrival  of  a  strange 
brother  (among  the  Franciscans) — at  the  Maundy 
— for  work — for  licence  of  conversing  ;  and  also 
during  the  days  in  Passion-week,  when  bell-ringing 
was  suspended.  Du  Cange,  v.  Ferula,  Tabula; 
who  (v.  Matraturn)  makes  it  a  kind  of  rattle  like  a 
watchman's,  or  a  clapper. 

c  Mr.  Strutt  thinks  that  these  were  a  thick  kind 
of  shoes,  made  large  enough  to  receive  the  foot  with 
the  common  shoe  upon  it,  which  was  certainly  done, 
though  not  in  this  express  instance  perhaps. 
Dresses,  I.  p.  48. 

d  Many  people  observed  Saturday  for  a  fast  in  ho- 
nour of  the  Holy  Virgin.  It  was  also  usual  to  make 
every  thing  clean  on  that  day  (Boccac.  Decamer. 
D.  II.  Nov.  10.)  ;  but  Friday  was  also  among  us  a 
general  cleaning  day  (Harrington's  Nug.  Antiq.  II. 
270)  In  Bernardus  (de  ord.  Cluniac.)  it  is  said, 
11  on  every  Wednesday,  if  it  be  a  private  day,  and 


the  vessels,  at  the  ringing  of  a  bell  by 
the  Prior.  After  the  washing  was 
finished,  the  hammer  was  struck,  and 
the  Monks  went  to  the  Maundy. e  After 
the  Maundy  was  finished,  the  Collation1 
commenced.  At  another  sound  of  the 
bell,  they  entered  the  refectory  to  re- 
ceive their  charities  s  (cups  of  wine), 
while  the  Collation  was  reading  modi- 
fied in  length  by  the  time  and  inclina- 
tion of  the  Prior  :  and  when  that  was 
over,  the  Prior  said  a  certain  prayer ,h 
On  other  days  they  went  to  the  refec- 
tory after  changing  their  shoes. 

The  bell  was  then  rung  for  Comple- 
tory  ;i  after  which,  at  a  sign  from  the 
Prior,  they  mutually  confessed.k    The 

on  every  Saturday,  the  boys,  after  Vespers,  wash 
their  shoes  ;  they  wash  also  their  patini  by  custom, 
before  the  birth-days  of  Peter  and  Paul ;  but  they 
do  not  suspend  them  to  dry  upon  a  cord,  as  the 
other  brothers  do,  but  only  lay  them  on  the  grass- 
plat  of  the  cloister."  Du  Cange,  v.  Patini  (lighter 
shoes). 

e  "  The  Church,"  says  Rupert  Tuitiensis,  "  imi- 
tates that  woman  who  anointed  the  feet  of  Christ  ; 
i.  e.  refreshing  them  with  alms,  who  although  they 
are  his  lowest  members,  and,  as  it  were,  his  feet,  so 
tbey  are  esteemed  the  extreme  parts  of  his  great 
body."  (De  Divin.  Offic.  p.  951.)  In  some  monas- 
teries a  Maundy  occurred  on  every  Saturday,  and 
the  feet  of  as  many  poor  people  were  washed,  as  there 
were  monks.  Some  Abbeys,  after  washing  the  feet, 
gave  linen  to  the  poor.  Warm  water  was  used. 
(Du  Cange,  v.  Aceolum.  Mandatum.)  At  this  sera 
there  was  a  Maundy  for  washing  the  feet  of  three 
of  the  poor  belonging  to  the  house,  and  distributing 
refection  to  them  every  day  (besides  that  of  Maun- 
dy Thursday)  ;  and  this  is  the  Maundy  alluded 
to.  Augustine  is  first  quoted  for  the  custom,  ac- 
cording to  Du  Cange. 

f  "As  soon  as  they  shall  have  risen  from  supper, 
let  all  sit  in  one  place,  and  one  read  Collations,  or 
lives  of  the  fathers,  or  anything  else  edifying." 
(Reg.  Bened.  C.  xlii.)  Late  suppers  took  their 
name  from  hence.  (Du  Cange  in  litt.  C.p.  749,  ed. 
Bened.) 

s  Given  on  Festivals,  Anniversaries,  &c.  to  re- 
mind the  Monks  of  benefits  received  ;  and  first 
mentioned  in  Eddius's  Life  of  Wilfrid,  about  the 
year  700.     Du  Cange,  v.  Caritates. 

h  Let  the  Abbot  say  after  the  drinking,  "  Blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord."  After  this  drinking,  let 
the  hour  of  rest  take  place.  Abbas  dicet  post  po- 
tum,  sit  nomen  dominibenedictum  ;  post  banc  po- 
tationem  teneatur  bora  quietis.  Missale  de  Oseney, 
MS.  Arch.  A.  Bodl.  73,  §  .Depotu  Caritatis. 

1  So  called  because  it  completed  the  duties  of  the 
day ;  and  the  service  ending  with  that  versicle  of 
the  Psalms:  "Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  before  my 
mouth,  and  keep  the  door  of  my  lips,"  silence  was 
strictly  observed  till  the  next  day.  Fuller's  Church 
History,  Book  6,  p.  289. 

k  This  was  usual  in  all  orders.  "  Wulstan  at- 
tended the  collation  of  the   naonke,  that,  having 


32 


BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  FROM  EDGAR 


Complin  was  concluded  by  certain 
prayers ;  at  the  end  of  which  the  Hebdo- 
madary  (the  officiating  minister  of  the 
week)  sprinkled  the  Monks  with  holy 
water,  as  was  done  also  to  the  Dormi- 
tory. And  if  any  one  staid  longer  for 
private  prayer,  he  was  indulged  till  the 
bell  of  the  Sacristy  rung  for  that  pur- 
pose, warned  him  to  depart. 

From  the  calends  of  November  to 
the  beginning  of  Lent  access  was 
granted  (in  silence)  to  the  fire,  and  a  fit 
place  chosen  for  that  purposed  The 
same  customs  were  observed  here  as  in 
the  Cloister,  where  in  tranquil  seasons 
the  Monks  abode.  No  one  went  from 
hence  without  leave  of  the  Prior. 

At  this  season  the  Monks  rose  ear- 
lier to  Vigils  ;b  and  after  Mattins, 
Lauds,  Prime,  and  other  services 
finished,  attended  to  reading.  From 
the  feast  of  St.  Martin  c  the  bell  of 
Nones  rung,  which  Nones  no  drinking  d 
followed,  till  the  Purification  of  the 
Virgin  Mary.  This  was  done  on  all 
solemn  days ;  but  on  others  they  put 
on  their  shoes,  &c.  as  before  directed. 

In  Advent  let  the  fat  of  Bacon  e  be 
forbidden  except  on  holidays. 


made  the  general  confession  with  them,  and  given 
the  benediction,  he  might  retire  to  rest.' '  Knighton 
in  X  Script,  col.  2367. 

a  See  Chap.  LIN.  §  Common  House. 

b  These,  says  Linwood,  (Prov.  p.  102)  were  eves 
of  certain  feasts,  in  which  they  not  only  fasted,  but 
prayed  and  watched  the  whole  night.  There  were, 
however,  two  nightly  services  on  the  chief  festivals, 
one  in  the  beginning  of  night ;  and  this  seems 
to  be  the  Vigils  here  alluded  to.  Du  Cange,  v. 
Viffilice. 

c  The  Latins  observed  three  Lents  ;  the  greater 
Lent  of  forty  days,  and  the  two  others  of  St.  Mar- 
tin's and  John  the  Baptist  before  Christmas,  latterly 
compressed  into  one.  It  began  upon  the  octaves 
of  All  Saints  ;  and  Egbert  (De  Eccles.  Institut.) 
says,  that  the  English  nation,  in  the  full  week  before 
Christmas,  not  only  fasted  on  Wednesday,  Friday, 
and  Saturday,  but  spent  twelve  whole  days  before 
Christmas,  in  fasts,  vigils,  prayers,  and  almsgiving  ; 
which  practice  obtained  both  among  the  monks  and 
people.     Du  Cange,  v.  Quadragesima. 

(l  These  were  called  Biberes,  and  were  usual  in 
lummer  after  Nones.  Du  Cange,  v.  Biberes 
Nonales. 

e  Stocks  of  Bacon  were  laid  in  for  winter  provi- 
sion by  our  ancestors  (M.  Paris,  527) ;  and  this 
season,  being  the  smaller  Lent,  it  was  forbidden, 
as  being  a  luxury.  We  are  told,  that  none  of  the 
Monks  ate  meat  or  blood  till  the  time  of  Charle- 
magne, who  obtained  by  devout  prayers  from  Pope 


In  Advent,  Vespers  were  celebrated 
at  the  usual  time  after  dinner.  On  the 
Vigil  of  Christmas  day,  whilst  that 
event  was  recited  by  the  reader  in  the 
Chapter,  all,  rising  together,  kneeled 
down  to  thank  our  Lord  for  the  piety 
of  his  sacrifice.  On  Easter-day  the 
Gospel  was  read  by  the  Abbot.  Before 
Lauds  the  ministers  went  out  in  si- 
lence, to  shoe,  wash,  and  clothe  them- 
selves in  haste.  After  Prime  the  Chap- 
ter was  held  ;  and,  after  other  spiritual 
duties,  the  Monks  besought  indulgence 
of  the  Abbot  for  their  faults ;  and  the 
Abbot,  throwing  himself  at  their  feet, 
did  the  like  from  them.  After  the 
Chapter  they  robed  themselves  for 
Tierce. 

On  the  Purification  of  the  Virgin 
Mary/  they  went  in  surplices  to  the 
Church  for  Candles,  which  were  conse- 
crated, sprinkled  with  Holy  Water,  and 
censed  by  the  Abbot.  Every  Monk 
took  a  Candle  from  the  Sacrist  and 
lighted  it.  A  procession  was  made, 
Tierce  and  Mass  were  celebrated,  and 
the  Candles  offered  to  the  Priest. 

Palm  Sunday?  was  celebrated  in  a 


Leo  the  use  of  blood  ;  and  procured  for  the  Monks 
on  his  side  of  the  Alps,  the  fat  of  bacon,  the  others 
having  olive  oil.  Monachorum  nemo  carne  vel 
sanguine  vescebatur  ante  tempora  Caroli  Magni ; 
qui  devotis  optinuit  a  Leone  Papasupplicationibus, 
usum  sanguinis  Cismontanis  Monachis  impetrans 
eis  oleum  Lardinum,  qui  non  haberent  Laurinam, 
ut  Transmontani.  MS.  Bodl.  Wood,  II.  p.  213, 
from  W.  Mapes,  de  Nugis  Curialium.  Query,  J. 
Sarisb.? 

f  Candlemas  Day.  The  candles  at  the  Pu- 
rification, says  Alcuinus  (De  Divin.  Offic.  p.  231), 
were  an  exchange  for  the  lustration  of  the  Pagans  ; 
and  candles  were  used  from  the  parable  of  the  wise 
virgins.  Du  Cange  observes,  that  it  was  a  substitute 
of  Pope  Gelasius  for  the  candles,  which  in  February, 
the  people  used  to  carry  in  the  Lupercalia  (v.  Can- 
delaria.)  Another  reason  was,  that  the  use  of 
lighted  tapers,  which  was  observed  all  winter  at 
Vespers,  and  Litanies,  was  then  wont  to  cease  till 
the  next  All  Hallow  Mass  (Antiq.  Vulg.  221.) 
The  people  used  to  go  to  Church  carrying  candles 
in  their  hands.  In  the  ancient  Danish  calendars, 
a  hand  holding  a  torch  was  painted,  in  allusion  to 
the  day.     Du  Cange. 

s  Branches  of  box-wood  (Palms  not  being  to  be 
obtained  here)  were  carried  in  procession  in  me- 
mory of  the  Palms  strewed  before  Christ.  (Du 
Cange,  v.  Dominica  Dies.  Lignum  Paschale.)  The 
Host  was  carried  on  an  ass,  bushes  were  strewed 
in  the  road,  cloths  of  the  richest  kind  spread  and 
hung  about  (Antiq.    Vulg.  237,  ed,  Brand.),  and 


TO    THE    NORMAN    CONQUEST. 


33 


similar  manner  by  a  procession,  conse- 
crating, sprinkling,  and  censing  the 
Palm  branches,  which  were  immediately 
afterwards  distributed,  and,  at  the  end 
of  a  religious  service,  offered  like  the 
Candles  at  the  Altar. 

In  the  first  nights  of  the  Passion 
Week,a  if  Mattins  were  ended  before 
day-break,  they  retired  to  rest,  though 
it  was  more  laudable  if  they  remained 
watching.  After  Prime  on  these  days 
the  whole  Psalter  was  gone  over  in  the 
Choir :  after  that  the  Litany  was  sung 
in  a  prostrate  position  ;  then  they  read 
till  the  time  for  shoeing  themselves ; 
and  after  Chapter  unshod  and  washed 
the  pavement  of  the  Church  and  the 
Altar  with  holy  water.  No  Mass  was 
said  till  this  was  done  to  the  Altar ; 
after  which  they  washed  their  feet  and 
re-shod  themselves.  After  Sext  there 
was  a  Mass,  and  such  a  number  of 
poor  as  the  Abbot  approved  having 
been  collected  in  a  fit  place,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the   Maundayb  [which  was 


the  heads  of  children  and  adults,  become  dirty, 
through  Lent,  washed  in  preparation  for  confirma- 
tion (Du  Cange,  v.  Capitiluvium) .  See  the  next 
Chapter. 

a  The  weeks  of  Lent  had  their  several  denomina- 
tions from  certain  duties,  now  obsolete,  as  the 
Hebdomada  casta  (Chaste  week) ;  because  Chastity- 
was  to  be  observed  throughout  Lent.  Hebdomada 
Indulgentiae,  the  Holy  week,  when  penitents  were 
absolved  in  it.  Hebdomada  Mediana,  the  fourth 
week,  when  ordinations  were  held,  especially  of 
Priests  (Du  Cange,  v.  Hebdomada).  [This  con- 
tains Mid-Lent,  or  Mothering  Sunday,  imperfectly 
explained  in  the  Antiquitates  Vulgares.  It  is 
founded  on  the  Roman  Hilaria,  or  feast  in  honour 
of  the  Mother  of  the  Gods,  upon  the  8  Ides  of 
March  (of  this  see  Danet.  v.  Calendar) ;  which 
Mother  of  the  Gods  was  converted  by  Christianity 
into  the  Mother  Church,  whence  in  the  second  step 
the  Antiquitates  Vulgares  deduce  the  origin.]  Heb- 
domada muta,  when  the  bells  were  bound  up.  Heb- 
domada psenalis,  Passion  Week,  to  be  passed  in 
the  strictest  fasting  for  the  memory  of  Christ.  Du 
Cange. 

b  Bishop  Jewell  says  (in  addition  made  to  what 
has  been  before  said),  "The  bodies  of  them  that 
had  appointed  to  be  baptized  (at  Easter),  being  ill- 
cherished,  by  reason  of  the  Lenten  fast,  would  have 
had  some  loathsomeness  in  the  touching,  unlesse 
they  had  been  washt  at  some  time  before  ;  and  that, 
therefore,  they  chose  this  day  chiefly  to  that  pur- 
pose, xipon  which  day  the  Lord's  supper  is  yearly 
celebrated."  Bishop  Jewell's  Defence  of  his  Apo- 
logy, p.  87. 


done  by  washing,  wiping,  and  kissing 
their  feet],  and  giving  them  water  [to 
wash  their  hands],  money,  and  provi- 
sions, and  singing  suitable  Antipho- 
nars.c 

After  Nones  they  cloathed  them- 
selves if  they  chose,  and  the  Sacrist 
carried  to  the  Church  gate  a  spear  with 
the  image  of  a  serpent.d  A  light  struck 
from  a  flint  was  consecrated  by  the 
Abbot ;  and  the  candle,  fixed  on  the 
spear  like  a  serpent,  was  lighted  from 
it.e  The  Convent  then  entered  the 
Church,  and  a  taper  was  lighted  from 
the  candle.  In  the  same  ceremony  on 
Friday  the  Serpent  was  carried  by  the 
Dean,  on  the  Saturday  by  the  Prior, 
after  which  Mass  followed.  When  con- 
cluded they  took  Mioctus ;  and  the 
Abbot,  with  certain  of  his  Monks,  per- 
formed his  own  Maunday ;  after  which 
Vespers  commenced,  and  was  followed 
by  the  conventual  refection.  The 
Monks  had  then  their  Maundy,  This 
was  succeeded  by  the  commencement 
of  the  collation,  a  certain  part  of  the 
Gospel  was  read,  and  the  whole  Con- 
vent with  tapers  and  frankincense,  and 
the  Deacon  reading  the  Gospel,  went 
to  the  refectory,  and  sat  down  while 
the  reading  was  still  continued.  The 
Abbot  went  round  with  the  cup  of 
drink,  and  kissed  the  Monks5  hands ; 
then,  upon  his  being  seated,  the  Prior 
and  other  officers  drank  to  him  again. 

c  Alternate  chaunts  of  two  choirs.  They  origi- 
nated with  Ignatius  among  the  Greeks,  and  were 
introduced  by  Ambrose  among  the  Latins.  They 
were  taken  from  the  two  Seraphim,  and  intended  to 
represent  the  two  covenants  mutually  answeriug 
each  other.  Rab.  Maur.  de  Instit.  Cler.  L.  ii.  Ch. 
50,  p.  615.     See  too  Du  Cange,  v.  Aniiphonar. 

d  Du  Cange  says,  that  it  was  a  wooden  rod  made 
in  a  spiral  form,  from  whence  the  name  Serpent 
(v.  Serpens).  Zosimus  first  instituted  it ;  the  ta- 
per was  Christ,  and  expressed  the  column  of  fire 
which  preceded  the  Israelites.  The  new  fire  lighted 
from  it  was  the  new  doctrine  of  Christ  (Gemma 
Animas,  1281).  In  the  Holy  Church  of  Jerusalem 
a  pretended  Angel  descended  to  light  it  (La  Brec- 
quiere,  p.  12).  It  was  lighted  through  the  roof  at 
Durham.     (Davies.) 

e  The  flint  was  Christ,  the  fire  was  the  Holy 
Ghost  (Rup.  Tuitiens.  L.  v.  Ch.  xxviii.  §  de  novo 
igne).  See  more  in  the  next  Chapter  concerning 
the  Taper,  and  the  note  under  Agnus  Dei. 


34 


BENEDICTINE   MONACHISM   FROM   EDGAR 


When  the  Gospel  was  finished,  and 
the  cups  emptied,  they  unrobed  them- 
selves, and  went  to  Complin. 

At  Easter  Lauds  were  as  before. 
At  Prime  all  were  bare-footeda  till  the 
Cross  was  worshipped.1*  On  the  same 
day  at  Nonesf  the  Abbot  and  Convent 
went  to  the  Church,  and,  after  the 
prayer,  while  he  was  robed,  he  came 
from  the  Vestry,  before  the  Altar,  to 
pray ;  and  then,  silently  going  to  his 
seat,  the  Sub-deacon  began  a  service 
relating  to  the  Passion  of  Christ ;  and 
when  they  came  to  "  they  parted  my 
vestments  among  them/'  the  Dea- 
con stripped  the  Altar  of  the  silk, 
which  had  been  placed  under  the  Mis- 
sals, in  the  manner  of  thieves. d  This 
was  followed  by  prayers :  the  Abbot 
returning  to  the  Altar  began  others ; 
the  first  without  genuflexion ,e  Then 
the  Cross  was  held  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  Altar  by  two  Deacons/  and  a 
short  service  was  performed  in  Latin 
and  Greek.?  The  Cross  was  then 
brought  before  the  Altar,  and  an  Aco- 
lyte followed  with  the  cushion  on 
which  the  Cross  was  put.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  religious  service,  during  which 
the  Cross  was  exalted,  and  then  un- 


a  Of  this  see  §  Pilgrims. 

b  Of  this  veneration  of  the  Cross,  see  Angl. 
Sacra,  II.  316. 

c  Because  at  the  ninth  hour  Christ  cried,  "  Fa- 
ther, into  thy  hands  I  resign  my  spirit."  Rup. 
Tuitiens.  L.  vi.  Ch.  iv.  p.  959. 

d  Because  our  Lord  was  stripped  of  his  clothes. 
Rup.  Tuitiens.  L.  v.  Ch.  xxx.  p.  955. 

e  "At  what  hours  or  times  among  the  public 
services  we  are  not  to  pray  with  genuflexion,  the 
Canons  mention  :  i.  e.  on  Sundays,  and  the  greater 
feasts,  and  Quinquagesima  ;  according  to  which 
Canons,  the  public  penitents  are,  however,  always 
to  kneel.''  (Walafr.  Strabo  de  reb.  eccles.  Ch. 
xxv.  p.  686-7.)  Lyndwood  says,  genuflexions  are 
not  to  be  made  at  the  hours  from  Easter  to  Pente- 
cost inclusive,  in  sign  of  the  Resurrection  ;  nor  on 
any  Sunday  ;  but  it  was  otherwise  upon  Fast- days 
(p.  298.)    "See  too  Justin  Martyr,  p.  468. 

1  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  and  Nicodemus,  who 
begged  our  Lord's  body  from  Pilate.  Rup.  Tuit. 
L.  vi.  Ch;  xxxiii.  p.  967. 

k  There  were  Alleluias,  Osannas,  &c.  i.  e.  Greek, 
Latin,  and  Hebrew,  in  the  Mass;  because  our 
Lord's  title  on  the  cross  was  drawn  up  in  these 
languages.     Hug,  a  S.  Victore,  Ch.  ii.  12. 


covered.11  This  denudation  of  the 
Cross  continued  until  the  Sub-Deacon 
turned  to  the  congregation.  Upon  this 
the  Abbot  and  all  the  Convent  of  the 
right  choir  thrice  prostrated  themselves 
before  the  Cross,  and  said  the  seven 
penitential  Psalms,1  and  suitable  pray- 
ers. After  these  they  kissed  the  Cross,k 
the  Abbot  returned  to  his  seat ;  and 
the  left  Choir  and  all  the  congregation 
and  people  did  the  same. 

Further,  because  on  that  day  was  the 
burial  of  our  Saviour,  an  image  of  a 
Sepulchre  was  made  on  a  vacant  side 
of  the  Altar,  and  a  veil  drawn  around 
it,  where  the  Cross  was  laid  until  it 
should  have  been  worshipped  in  this 
form.  The  Deacons  bearers  wrapping- 
it  in  silk  in  the  places  where  it  had 
been  worshipped,  brought  it  back  to 
the  tomb,  singing  certain  psalms,  and 
there  laid  it,  with  more  psalmody.  There 
it  was  watched  till  the  night  of  Easter 
Sunday,  by  two,  three,  or  more  Monks, 
singing  psalms.1  After  this  followed 
the  Communion.  Every  one  sung 
Vespers,  as  Complin  afterwards,  si- 
lently,111 in  the  manner  of  the  Canons,11 
in  his  place,  after  which  they  went  to 
the  Refectory.     Other  matters  were  as 


h  This  signified,  that,  when  Christ  gave  up  the 
Ghost,  the  veil  of  the  Temple  was  rent  in  twain, 
and  from  that  time  all  the  Mosaic  law,  and  arcana 
of  the  Jews,  were  manifested  to  the  Gentiles.  Rup. 
L.  vi.  Ch.  xx.  p.  965. 

1  1.  Domine  ne  in  furore.  2.  Miserere  mei 
Deus.  3.  Miserere  mei  Deus  meus.  4.  Deus 
misereaturnostri.  5.  Deus  in  Adjutorium.  6.  In- 
clina,  Domine.  7.  De  profundis.  (Du  Cange,  v. 
Psabni.) 

k  They  bowed  as  low  as  possible  at  its  approach, 
and  then  with  extended  arms  took  it,  and  kissed  it. 
Aug.  Sacr.  11.316. 

I  Because  our  Lord  rested  that  day  in  the  tomb, 
and  the  Disciples  passed  all  the  following  night  in 
sorrow.     Rup.  Tuit.  L.  vi.  Ch.  xxii.  p.  966. 

m  Because  the  Apostles,  after  they  had  sung  a 
hymn,  and  gone  with  Christ  to  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
being  oppressed  with  sorrow,  were  silent  from  the 
common  praise.  Therefore  that  deep  silence  was 
begun  from  Complin,  because  about  that  hour 
when  our  Lord  said,  "  Behold,  he  is  at  hand  who 
shall  betray  me,"  they  began  to  be  sorrowful,  and 
slept  from  grief.  Rup.  Tuit.  L.  v.  Ch.  xxxii.  § 
Cur  boras  sub  silentio  cantamus. 

II  A  dictate  of  Gregory  in  his  Antiphonarium. 
Concord.  Regul.  p.  89. 


TO    THE    NORMAN    CONQUEST. 


35 


usual;  but  upon  any  vacant  time,  after 
the  veneration  of  the  Cross,  the  officia- 
ting priests  or  boys  shaved  and  bathed, 
if  the  Society  was  too  large  for  it  to  be 
done  on  the  morrow,  Saturday.  In 
the  Chapter  and  elsewhere  every  thing 
was  as  usual,  except  that  on  these 
three  days  all  matters  in  the  Refectory 
were  accompanied  with  benediction. a 

On  the  Sunday  the  same  ceremony 
followed,  as  before  described,  respect- 
ing the  Serpent,b  with  this  difference  : 
that  after  the  consecration,  two  Aco- 
lytes held  lights  at  the  right  and  left 
horn  of  the  Altar.  A  divine  service 
followed,  during  which  the  Abbot  and 
convent  singing  five  Litanies,  went  to 
consecrate  the  Fonts  ;c  and  upon  their 


a  Benedictions  were  taken  from  Moses.  Deut. 
xxviii.  Rab.  Maur.  de  instit.  Cler.  L.  ii.  Ch.  lv. 
p.  619. 

b  It  was  carried  before  tbe  Candidates  for  Bap- 
tism, because  tbe  fiery  column  preceded  the  Is- 
raelites to  the  Red  Sea,  which  prefigured  Baptism 
(Gemma  Animee,  p.  1281).  By  others  it  is  said, 
our  baptizates,  their  past  sins  being  extinguished, 
are  led  to  the  Church,  the  taper  preceding  them, 
whence  it  is  understood  that  it  ought  to  be  lighted 
for  no  other  purpose  in  any  place,  except  for  ex- 
citing a  recollection  of  the  illumination  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  whilst  they  are  going  to  the  Church  ( Albinus 
de  Div.  Offic.  p.  262). 

c  There  is  a  long  account  of  this  in  the  "  Ordo 
Romanus  de  Divinis  Officiis,''  pp.  80,  82  ;  and  a  for- 
mula in  MS.  Bodl.  Barl.  VII.  p.  32  :  but  I  prefer 
giving  matters  more  archaeological  than  ritual. 
The  greater  churches  had  rooms  adjoining  to  them, 
in  the  middle  of  which  was  the  Bason  or  Font,  into 
which  springs  flowed  by  pipes  and  aqueducts  often 
of  the  figure  of  stags,  sometimes  of  lambs.  We 
hear  of  Fonts  of  rich  work,  supported  by  twelve 
oxen,  and  "  Ecce  Agnus  Dei"  (Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God)  inscribed  upon  them.  The  Baptisteries  had 
Oratories  and  Altars  in  them,  and  were  adorned 
with  various  pictures  :  such  as  John  baptizing  our 
Lord,  Peter,  Cornelius,  &c.  There  were  also 
grottoes  in  the  middle  of  church-yards,  whence 
springs  burst  forth  ;  sometimes  mere  basons  (Du 
Cange,  v.  Baptist erium,  Deductorium,  Agnus  fun- 
dens  aquam,  Canthari  Fons,  Xymphcea.)  See  Ro- 
binson's History  of  Baptism.  Of  Luton  Font,  &c. 
&c.  I  decline  speaking  ;  and  proceed  to  matters 
connected  with  Baptism,  but  curious  and  little 
known. 

1st.  of  Godfathers. 

The  Ordo  Romanus,  above  quoted,  orders  God- 
fathers to  hold  the  children  in  their  right  arms, 
while  the  priest  said  the  baptismal  prayers.  Adults 
placed  one  foot  upon  that  of  the  Godfather.  A  cake 
was  given  every  year  by  the  Sponsors,  on  the  ATigil 
of  Christmas-day,  to  the  children,  until  they  were 


■i  return  to  the  Altar,  the  Chantor  cried 
|  "  Light  "  (accendite).  All  the  Candles 
|  were  instantly  lighted/1  the  Abbot  be- 
j  ginning  (e  Glory  to  God  on  high,"  and 
I  all  the  bells  were  rung.  After  this  fol- 
I  lowed  a  religious  service,  a  Maundy 
and  Complin,  as  above, 

On  Easter-day  the  seven  canonical 
hours  were  to  be  sung  in  the  manner 
of  the  Canons  ;  and  in  the  night  before 
Mattins,the  Sacrists  [because  our  Lord 
rested  in  the  tombe]  were  to  put  the 
Cross  in  its  place.  Then,  during  a  re- 
ligious service,  four  Monks  robed  them- 
selves, one  of  whom  in  an  alb,  as  if  he 
had  somewhat  to  do,  came  stealingly  to 
the  tomb,  and  there  holding  a  palm 
branch,  sat  still,  till  the  responsory  was 
ended ;  when  the  three  others,  carrying 
censers  in  their  hands,  came  up  to  him, 


grown  up  (says  Du  Cange,  v.  Pompa ;  whenever 
they  asked  a  blessing.  Cowell,  v.  Kichell.)  Ruf- 
finus  says,  that  he  had  a  Godfather,  who  was  to  him 
both  a  teacher  of  the  Creed  and  the  Faith  (Du 
Cange,  v.  Pater.)  We  hear  of  a  Godfather  sparing 
the  life  of  a  Godsonin  battle,  on  account  of  that  con- 
nexion (Chron.  Sax.  58.)  The  presents  of  Apostle- 
spoons  are  well  known.  It  was  the  custom  formerly 
for  one  name  to  be  given  by  the  parents  to  children 
after  birth,  to  which  others  were  sometimes  added 
in  Baptism  (Du  Cange).  The  names  were  often 
given  from  vows  of  the  parents  to  particular  Saints 
—  from  relatives — from  inclination— from  their 
own  names — but  mostly  from  the  first  cause  (M. 
Par.  97,  414,  480,  526,  575,  669.  Rous,  204.) 
As  to  surnames,  &c.  it  is  not  my  intention  to  give 
extracts  from  Camden's  Remains,  Du  Cange,  v. 
Cognomen,  &c.  &c.  Infants  for  eight  days  were 
clothed  in  white  ;  and  in  this  dress  they  were 
brought  to  Church  every  day  to  be  christened,  on 
the  Sabbath,  at  Easter,  or  Pentecost,  with  candles  : 
at  least  this  was  the  custom  in  some  places  (Du 
Cange,  v.  Capa).  Baptism  was  delayed  by  the 
Anglo-Saxon  kings  and  nobles,  in  order  to  indulge 
in  plundering  other  countries  ;  nor  were  they  often 
baptized  till  monastic  retirement  was  resolved  on 
(Scr.  p.  Bed.  192,  193). 

d  Upon  the  principle  of  illuminations,  it  was  uni- 
versally known,  that  the  joy  of  the  Church  was 
signified  by  the  light  of  tapers  and  lamps.  Upon 
this  particular  occasion,  "  all  the  lights,''  says 
Amalarius  [except  the  serpent  taper,  and  another 
lighted  from  it]  "remain  extinguished  till  the  last 
litany,  which  belongs  to  the  office  of  the  Mass  of  the 
Resurrection.  Then  the  lights  of  the  Church  and 
newly  baptized  [who  carried  candles  :  see  the  pre- 
ceding note]  are  lighted,  to  show  that  the  whole 
world  was  illuminated  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ." 
De  Ordine  Antiphonarii,  Ch.  xliv.  p.  541. 

e  Rup.  Tuit.  L.  vi,  Ch.  xxii.  p.  996. 

D  2 


36     BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  FROM  EDGAR  TO  THE  CONQUEST. 


step  by  step,  as  if  looking  for  something. 
As  soon  as  he  saw  them  approach,  he 
began  singing  in  a  soft  voice  (dulcisone), 
"Whom  seek  ye  ?"  to  which  was  replied 
by  the  three  others  in  chorus,  "  Jesus 
of  Nazareth/'  This  was  answered  by 
the  other,  "  He  is  not  here,  he  is  risen/' 
At  which  words,  the  three  last,  turning 
to  the  choir,  cried,  "  Alleluia,  the  Lord 
is  risen."  The  other  then,  as  if  calling 
them  back,  sung,  "  Come  and  see  the 
place;"  and  then  rising,  raised  the 
cloth,  showed  them  the  place  with- 
out the  Cross,  and  linen  cloths  in 
which  it  was  wrapped.  Upon  this 
they  laid  down  their  censers,  took  the 
clothes,  extended  them  to  show  that 
the  Lord  was  risen,  and  singing  an 
Antiphonar,  placed  them  upon  the  Al- 
tar. The  whole  was  concluded  with 
suitable  offices.  "On  these  seven  days," 
says  Dunstan,  "  we  do  not  sing."a 

From  the  Octaves  of  Easter,  and  all 
summer,  after  Mattins,  there  was  an 
interval  according  to  the  Rule,  and 
Lauds  followed  ;  after  which,  if  they 
were  finished  at  day-break,  as  they 
ought  to  have  been,  the  Monks  left  the 
Church,  put  on  their  shoes,  washed, 
said  their  prayers,  and  sat  in  the  clois- 
ter reading  till  Prime.  If  it  was  not 
day-break,  the  Prior,  if  willing,  allowed 
them  to  go  to  bed  again  until  morning, 
when  they  did  as  above  during  all 
summer,  except  Sundays  and  Festivals. 
After  Prime,  the  Morning  Mass  and 
Chapter,  they  did  what  was  to  be  done, 
till  the  first  bell  of  Tierce  rung.  After 
this  service  they  washed  their  hands 
and  went  to  dinner.  Having  dined, 
they  retired  to  bed  till  half-past  two 
[the  meridian,  or  sleep  at  noon,  com- 
mon with  all  ranks,  through  the  classical 
and  middle  agesb],  when  the  first  bell 

*  This  has  been  before  explained  ;  but  Mattins 
were  not  said,  like  the  hours,  in  silence,  because  the 
latter  signified  the  presence  of  Christ's  passion  ; 
but  the  nightly  vigils,  the  former  times,  in  which 
the  Prophets  foretold  the  approaching  sufferings  of 
our  Lord,  "who  were  not  killed  silent,"  non  ta- 
r-entes  interfecti  sunt.  Rup.  Tuit.  L.  v.  Ch.  xxxiii. 
p.  9o5. 

b  The  Romans  went  to  sleep  about  2  p.m.  after 


of  Nones  rang,  at  which  signal  they 
arose,  washed  themselves,  and  sang  the 
service.  After  this,  the  Biberes,  or 
drinking  followed  ;  and  then  they  were 
to  do  what  was  necessary,  for  the  re- 
maining hours  were  devoted  to  reading 
and  silence ;  as  "  from  the  first  bell  of 
the  evening  course^'  there  was  no 
speaking  till  the  conclusion  of  the 
Chapter  on  the  morrow,c  except  in  the 
Auditory  [Locutory  or  Parlour],  which 
was  so  named,  "  because  there  was  to 
be  heard  what  was  ordered,"  not  that 
idle  talk  was  to  be  indulged  there 
or  elsewhere.  Vigils  for  the  dead, 
psalms  for  benefactors,  and  litanies  be- 


bathing.  Lubin.  in  Juven.  p.  69.  Nott's  Catull. 
I.  88.  XV.  Script.  268.  Scr.  p.  Bed.  408,  b. 
Neubrig.  L.  i.  Ch.  3  ;  "  writan  in  my  sleeping  time 
at  afternone  on  Wytsonday."  Paston  Lett.  III. 
282. 

6  This,  and  the  concluding  duties  of  private 
prayer,  confession,  and  the  evening  prayer,  obtained 
in  all  orders.  Amalarius  says,  "  Complin  is  so 
called  because  therein  is  completed  the  daily  use  of 
meat  and  drink,  which  is  necessarily  taken  for  sup- 
port of  the  body,  or  common  conversation.  Whence 
the  custom  is  observed  among  the  Monks,  from  the 
Benedictine  rule,  that,  after  that  office,  they  are 
silent,  and  do  those  things  which  are  foreign  from 
common  conversation,  till  they  again  return  to 
their  labours."  (De  Eccl.  Offic.  L.  iii.  Ch.  viii.  p. 
458.)  Lan20,  a  Prior  at  Lewes,  had  never  spoken 
after  Complin  since  he  became  a  Monk  (Malmesb. 
Script.  p.  Bed.  97,  a.)  Among  the  Dominicans 
the  direction  is,  "  Ante  completorium  turn  legatur 
lectio  in  hoc  '  Fratres  sobrii  este  '  "  (/.  e.  the  colla- 
tion), et  facta  confessione  et  Deo  completorio  det 
benedictionem,  qui  prseest,  et  Ebdomadarius  asper- 
gat  aquam  benedictam  (Deer.  Lanfr.  Ch.  xiv.)  et 
cantent  fratres  "  Salve  Regina"  (MS.Cott.  Tvero  A. 
12,  Const.  Fratr.j  ;  i.  e.  Before  Complin,  let  the 
reading  be  in  this,  "Brothers,  be  sober;"  and 
after  confession  and  Complin,  let  the  presiding 
officer  give  the  benediction,  the  minister  of  the 
week  sprinkle  the  Friars  with  holy  water,  and  the 
Brethren  sing,  "  Hail,  Queen,  blessed  mother  of 
our  Lord."  This  Salve  Regina  (though  among  the 
Friars,  as  above,  the  prayer  was  different  at  different 
seasons),  which  Davies  calls  the  Salvi,  was,  says 
Du  Cange  (m  voce),  the  sequence  which  Peter 
Bishop  of  Compostella  composed,  though  in 
another  place  he  denominates  it  the  Antiphona  de 
Podio,  because  made  by  Audemar  Bishop  of  Podia 
(hi  voce :  perhaps  a  correction  of  the  Benedictine 
editors,  unless  it  alluded  to  its  being  sung  de  Podio, 
part  of  the  seat  called  Misericord).  Jordan,  a  ge- 
neral of  the  Dominicans,  introduced  it  about  1266 
(Hospinian  de  orig.  et  progressu  Monachor.  p.  393). 
However,  it  was  a  Gaudium,  or  common  song  (Du 
Cange,  v.  Gaudia),  especially  sung  by  beggars  at 
people's  doors,     (Hawk.  Music,  II.  89.) 


THE    RULE    OF    FULGENTIUS. 


37 


fore  Mass,  were  then  omitted,  because 
there  was  no  genuflection  on  account 
of  the  Resurrection.  At  the  Calends 
of  November,  the  Vigil  [Mattins  of 
the  dead]  was  done  after  Mattins, 
which,  through  the  short  days,  could 
not  be  done  on  the  evening,  except 
on  the  Festivals,  in  which  the  brothers 
were  to  sup.  Then,  after  supper,  they 
performed  the  Vigil,  the  officiating  mi- 
nisters supping  in  the  interim,  that, 
afterwards,  according  to  the  Rule,  all 
might  meet  at  collation.  This  order 
respecting  the  Vigil  was  to  be  observed 
till  the  beginning  of  Lent ;  and  then, 
and  during  the  whole  summer,  it  Avas 
to  be  said  after  supper,  or  if  there  was 
none,  after  Vespers. 

The  Sabbath  was  the  general  clean- 
ing day  ;  oiling  of  shoes,  washing  of 
clothes,  &c. ;  and  no  one  was  to  omit 
his  duty  at  divine  service,  or  do  any 
thing  without  leave  of  the  Prior. 

All  these  customs,  though  Anglo- 
Saxon  as  to  us,  but  really  foreign  in 
origin,  subsisted  till  the  dissolution, 
rather  enlarged  than  mutilated  by  sub- 
sequent repetitional  institutes.8 

APPENDIX. 

The  Rule  of  Fulgentius. — {Latin 
and  Anglo-Saxon — MS.  Bodl.  Archiv. 
Seld.  D.  52.) 

1.  Introduction. 

2.  From  the  calends  of  October  to 
Easter,  at  the  ninth  hour,  till  Tierce, 
eleventh  hour,  and  at  all  times  in  the 
Church,  silence. 

3.  Seniors  to  call  the  Juniors  breth- 
ren; the  Juniors  to  call  the  Seniors 
Nonnos  [equivalent  to  Uncle]  ;  the  Ab- 
bot Dominus  or  Pater. 

4.  To  use  no  oath,  but  crede  mild 
(believe  me),  or  plane  (evidently),  or 
certe  (surely). 

5.  Voluntary  penitence. 

6.  Obedience. 

a  See  MS.  Bodl.  Barlow,  7  ;  where  all  the  for- 
mulae  of  Passion  week,  &c.  ;  but  the  affirmation  is 
proved  by  Green's  Worcester,  I.  127,  Davies, 
Anglia  Saera,  &c. 


7-  Juniors  to  say  to  the  Prior  and 
Seniors  Benedicite,  whenever  they  met 
them,  and  to  rise  from  their  seats  when 
a  senior  passed. 

8.  The  punishment  of  envy,  malice, 
&c. 

9.  To  address  the  Abbot  and  Se- 
niors with  Benedicite  on  going,  or  re- 
turning, from  the  Convent,  beginning 
any  work,  &c.  [To  be  deprived  of  the 
Benediction  among  the  Monks  was  to 
be  sent  to  Coventry.  Du  Cange,  v. 
Benedictio.] 

10.  Voluntary  acknowledgment  of 
faults  on  losing  or  breaking  anything 
in  the  refectory,  kitchen,  cellar,  or  other 
place;  prostration  upon  the  ground, and 
holding  the  thing  broken  in  the  hand. 

11.  To  beware  of  laughter  and  fre- 
quent conversation  with  friends  or  re- 
latives ;  not  to  speak  with  any  one 
alone,  but  in  the  presence  of  others. 

12.  To  go  in  the  house  only  where 
ordered. 

13.  To  speak  low. 

14.  To  do  no  work  without  permis- 
sion or  benediction  of  the  prior. 

15.  To  give  or  receive  nothing  with- 
out the  Abbot's  permission,  and  to  have 
nothing  of  their  own  but  what  he  al- 
lowed. 

16.  To  have  no  more  of  meat,  drink, 
or  clothes  than  the  rule  allowed. 

17.  Not  to  return  to  past  vices. 

18.  Seniors  to  correct  small  faults 
by  private  reprimand,  large  ones  from 
the  rule. 

19.  To  be  lenient  and  cautious  in 
correction. 

20.  To  recur  to  confession  for  wicked 
thoughts. 

2 1 .  To  converse  humbly  among  them- 
selves. 

22.  To  attend  the  Church  at  the  ca- 
nonical hour,  on  the  bell  ringing. 

23.  Not  to  be  contentious. 

24.  Not  to  eat  or  drink  but  at  stated 
times,  the  sick  and  infants  excepted. 

25.  Not  to  calumniate,  or  notice 
those  who  did. 

26.  To  preserve  peace. 

27.  To  shun  saccular  gossiping  (fa- 
bulas). 


88 


THE    RULE    OF    FULGENTIUS. 


28.  To  attend  to  manual  labour  at 
the  stated  times. 

29.  At  other  times  to  read  silently 
in  the  Cloister. 

30.  In  summer  time,  after  dinner,  to 
retire  to  bed,  or  to  read. 

31.  No  Monk  to  call  anything  his 
own,  but  always  our,  except  in  faults, 
then  my. 

32.  Instant  obedience  to  the  Abbot's 
commands. 

33.  Unison  in  the  Choir. 

34.  When  the  hour  of  refection  came, 
after  the  service  was  ended,  to  wait  in 
the  Church  silently  psalmodizing  (ta- 
cites  psallentes).  [The  Monks  do  not 
seem  to  have  understood  the  real  He- 
brew meaning  of  Psallo,  which  is  to 
sing  to  an  instrument.  All  other  ac- 
ceptations of  the  word  are  corrup- 
tions.] 

35.  At  the  sound  of  the  bell,  having 
washed  their  hands,  to  enter  the  re- 
fectory, saluting  the  Cross  and  look- 
ing to  the  East. 

36.  At  the  second  sound  of  the  bell, 
all  together  to  say  the  verse  and  the 
Lord^s  Prayer,  kneeling. 

37.  At  the  Benediction  given  by  the 
Prior,  all  to  sit  in  their  seats  in  or- 
der. 

38.  No  one  to  take  any  meat  or 
drink  before  the  Abbot. 

39.  Each  Monk  upon  taking  the 
first  bread,  and  first  draught  of  drink, 
to  say  Benedicite  to  his  companion, 
who  was  to  answer  Deus. 

40.  The  reader  first  to  ask  for  the 


Benediction  before  the   Monks  began 
to  eat. 

41.  The  Prior  to  bless  the  meat  or 
drink  standing.  [Thus  Grace  was  said 
over  liquid  food.  One  Anglo-Saxon 
grace  before  dinner  was  by  signing  the 
dish  with  a  Cross.  Eddius  in  XV 
Script,  p.  77.  The  form  used  by  the 
Clergy  in  this  age  is  in  Alcuini  Poemata, 
146.  Du  Cange,  v.  Benedictio.  See 
the  preceding  remarks  upon  the  Psal- 
ter.'] 

42.  The  Monks  to  take  apples  or 
fruit  as  divided  by  the  Cellarer,  equally, 
whether  at  dinner  or  supper ;  and  they 
were  to  be  eaten  immediately  after 
other  food,  at  a  side  table.  The  read- 
ing to  cease  at  the  termination  of  the 
meal. 

43.  Upon  leaving  the  table  after  a 
verse  was  said,  the  left  Choir  go  out 
first,  the  Abbot  last,  singing  the  50th 
Psalm  ;  and  upon  entering  the  Church 
to  incline  themselves  and  kneel  to  the 
glory. 

44.  After  Vespers  to  meet  in  the 
evening  Chapter,  and  read. 

45.  The  reading  over  all  to  rise  at 
once,  and  the  Abbot  to  say,  "  Adjuto- 
rium  nostrum;"  and  the  rest  to  an- 
swer, i£  Who  made  Heaven  and  Earth." 

46.  Complin. 

47.  Silence,  prayer,  retrospect  (re- 
cordatio)  of  sins. 

48.  The  evening  prayer. 

49.  Caution  and  care  in  the  Church 
and  Dormitory. 

50.  To  remember  and  con  the  Rule. 


BENEDICTINE    MONACHISM    FROM    THE    CONQUEST. 


39 


CHAPTER  V. 

BENEDICTINE    MONACHISM    FROM    THE    NORMAN    CONQUEST    TO    THE 

DISSOLUTION. 


After  the  year  1077;  on  account  of 
failure  in  the  observance  of  Dunstan's 
Concord  of  Rules,  through  the  conse- 
quences of  Danish  Invasions,  Lanfranc, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  found  it 
necessary  to  issue  new  institutes.a 
Matthew  Paris  says,  that  the  Church 
of  St.  Alban^s  became  the  school  of 
discipline  and  pattern  of  the  rule, 
through  all  England ;  because  Paul, 
the  fourteenth  Abbot,  had  brought  with 
him  the  decrees  of  Lanfranc.b  These, 
Reyner  says  (erroneously),  were  pre- 
vented from  taking  firm  root  by  the 
peculiar  circumstances  under  which 
the  Norman  Kings  reigned  in  this 
country.  To  remedy  this  defect  of 
influence  in  the  decrees  of  Lanfranc,  a 
synod  of  Lateran  issued  emendatory 
statutes  in  the  year  1215.  Upon  the 
superannuation  of  these,  Benedict  the 
Xllth,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  pub- 
lished constitutions  which  biassed  Mo- 
nachism  till  the  Dissolution.  These 
are  printed  in  Wilkins's  Councils  (Vol. 
ii.)  As  the  two  last  codes  are  more 
visitatorial  than  novel,  the  Anglo-Mo- 
nastic Consuetudinal  is  rather  to  be 
sought  in  the  institutes  of  Dunstan  and 
Lanfranc,  which  the  most  indubitable 
evidence  attests  to  have  subsisted  till 
the  Dissolution,  with  few  or  no  varia- 
tions of  moment.0 

ORDINARY  OF  THE  WHOLE  YEAR,  OR 
DECRETALS  OF  LANFRANC. 

From  October  to  Advent, 

On  private  days,  till  All  Saints5  Day, 
Nov.  30,  the  Monks  were  to  return  to 

a  Reyner,  p.  208.  b  p.  1001. 

c  The  Paschal,  the  Maundy,  the  Burial  service, 
&c.  &c.  are  all  included  in  Davies's  Rites  and 
Monuments  of  the  Church  of  Durham,  published 
after  the  Dissolution. 


their  beds  after  Mattins ;  and  at  clay- 
break,the  brethren  in  their  night-clothes, 
and  infants d  and  youths e  with  their 
candles,  were  to  come  to  the  Church, 
sing  Prime,  and  afterwards  sit  in  the 
Cloister.  The  boys  were  "  first  to  read 
loudly  "  (primitus  altt  legant),  and  af- 
terwards, if  necessary,  sing;  and  be- 
fore they  read,  no  one  was  to  read  or 
sing  in  the  Cloister,  except  silently,  or 
go  to  confession.  Before  the  warning 
bell  of  Tierce,  no  one  was  to  put  on 
his  day-clothes  except  officers  engaged 
out  of  the  Cloister ;  nor  they,  before 
they  had  sat  there  and  waited  till  the 
children  had  first  read.  When  Tierce 
approached,  the  Sacrist  was  to  ring  a 
small  bell,  and  the  Monks  to  go  to  the 
Dormitory-,  to  put  on  their  day-shoes/ 
and  take  their  knives ;S  and  from  thence 
to  the  Lavatory,11  where  they  were  to 
wash  and  comb  themselves  ;  and  then, 
coming  to  the  Church,  take  holy  water, 


d  All  under  fifteen  years  of  age.  Fuller's  Church 
Hist.  B.  vi.  289. 

e  All  under  twenty,  I  infer,  from  Reyner,  Ap= 
pend.  165. 

I  See  §§  Chamberlain,  Vestiary. 

s  Every  Monk  had  a  table-book,  knife,  needle, 
and  handkerchief;  and  they  slept  without  their 
knives  for  fear  of  injury  (Reg.  Bened.  Ch.  lv.  Ful- 
ler, ubi  supr.  p.  288).  Men  used  to  carry  needle- 
cases  (cylindrical  and  hooped)  about  their  persons, 
to  mend  their  clothes  when  necessary.  The  Beau 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  just  risen  in  the  morning, 
before  he  has  completed  his  dress,  is  represented  as 
taking  a  needle  from  his  needle-case  on  purpose  to 
sew  or  baste  his  sleeves.  Stxutt's  Dresses,  11.292, 
and  plate  cxxxii.  As  Acta  is  sewing  thread,  and 
Aciarium  a  needle  case,  in  Du  Cange,  probably  the 
former  was  included.  The  needle,  according  to 
Cbaucer,  was  of  silver,  resembling  probably  a  bod- 
kin ;  but,  as  tbe  Encyclopaedic  des  Antiquitcs,  by 
the  way,  says,  that  no  needle  of  the  classical  age 
has  ever  been  found,  it  is  fit  to  note,  that  one  exists 
in  the  Hamilton  Collection  at  the  British  Museum. 
See  the  Catalogue  for  Visitors. 

II  Described  in  §  Cloister. 


40 


BENEDICTINE    MONACHISM    FROM    THE    CONQUEST 


and  lie  prostrate a  till  the  children  came. 
When  these  were  washed,  and  began 
to  comb  themselves,  the  greater  bell 
was  to  ring  for  the  hour,  and  the 
infants  to  come  and  take  holy  water. 
The  bell  was  then  to  cease,  and  all  to- 
gether to  begin  the  triple  prayer.  After 
this  the  smaller  bell  was  to  ring,  and 
Tierce  commence ;  and  when  the  psalm 
Miserere  was  begun,  they  were  to  rise 
for  the  celebration  of  Mass,  make  their 
antl  and  retroh  (a  bow  to  the  Altar  first 
ante,  and  to  the  Abbot  at  the  bottom  of 
the  choir  7%etro),  and  go  to  clothe  them- 
selves. After  the  Mass  they  were  all 
to  sit  in  the  Choir,  except  some  Con- 
verts,0 who  were  to  assist  the  Priest, 
and  those  who  served  at  Mass ;  and, 
when  they  had  done  this,  return  to  the 
Choir.  Then,  at  the  Abbot's  order, 
the  Prior  was  to  ring  the  least  bell, 
and  they  were  to  go  to  the  Chapter, 
two  and  two,  according  to  seniority, 
the  children  last.  After  the  Chapter, 
the  table  being  struck,  the  Abbot  or 
Prior  was  to  say  Benedicite,  and  the 
Monks  to  converse  in  the  Cloister,  and 
the  infants  hold  their  Chapter,  and  af- 
terwards go  to  the  refectory.  After 
Sext,   no    one   was    to    speak   in  the 


»  There  were  psahni  prostrati,  those  said  on  the 
ground,  the  same  as  the  penitential.  Du  Cange. 
See  further  on. 

b  The  ante  and  retro  was  a  method  of  bowing 
among  the  Monks  when  they  entered  or  left  the 
choir,  so  contrived,  that  the  back  was  lower  than 
the  loins,  and  the  head  than  the  back.  Du  Cange, 
in  voce. 

c  Persons  who  entered  into  religion  late  in  life, 
and  Lay-brothers,  were  both  called  Converts  (Du 
Cange,  v.  Conversi.)  "  In  the  Lanthorn,  called 
the  New  Work,"  says  Davies,  "  hung  three  fine 
bells,  rung  always  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  the 
Monks  going  to  Mattins  at  that  hour.  Four  men 
were  appointed  to  ring  these  bells  at  midnight,  and 
at  such  times  of  the  day  as  the  Monks  went  to 
serve  God.  Two  of  the  said  men  belonged  to  the 
Mevestry,  and  kept  the  copes,  the  vestments,  and 
five  pair  of  silver  censers,  with  the  other  ornaments 
pertaining  to  the  High  Altar,  and  lay  in  a  chamber 
over  the  west  end  of  the  Revestry.  The  other  two 
men  lay  in  a  chamber  in  the  North  Alley,  over 
against  the  Sacrist's  Exchequer  :  they  swept  and 
kept  the  Church  clean,  and  filled  the  holy  water 
stones  every  Sunday  morning  with  elean  water  be- 
fore it  was  hallowed,  and  locked  the  Church-doors 
every  night." 


Cloister  till  the  children  had  gone  from 
the  Church,  and  the  youngest  said 
"  Benedicite/'  Then,  after  a  space, 
during  the  ringing  of  the  skillad  for 
warning  of  Mass,  and  the  signum^  for 
Mass,  while  the  preparatory  prayer 
and  a  litany  was  performed  by  a  child, 
the  officiating  ministers  were  to  robe 
themselves.  On  Wednesdays  and  Fri- 
days,6 if  after  Sext  and  before  Mass, 
there  was  to  be  a  procession  through 
the  Cloister,  the  Sacrist  was  to  omit 
the  Mass-bell,  and  ring  another  when 
the  time  of  procession  approached ; 
and  upon  this  there  was  to  be  instant 
silence  in  the  cloister.  They  were  to 
unshoe  themselves,  wash  their  hands, 
go  to  the  procession,  after  Mass  say  a 
prayer,  the  hebdomadaries  of  the  kitchen 
and  reader  of  the  table  to  take  mixtxis, 
and  those  absent  from  Mass  through  the 
business  of  the  house,  with  the  Abbot's 
or  Prior's  consent,  to  have  bread  and 
beer ;  the  others  in  the  interim  sitting 
in  the  choir,  and  those  who  chose  it 
reading.  Upon  the  return  of  the  ser- 
vants to  the  choir  the  bell  was  to  be 
rung,  Nones  to  be  celebrated;  and, 
this  concluded,  the  Prior  to  go  to  strike 
the  cymbalum  /  and  the  hebdomada- 
ries of  the  kitchen,  and  others,  to  their 
respective  offices. 

d  The  names  of  bells.  See  Spelman's  Gloss,  v. 
Campana. 

e  On  the  calends  of  November,  at  midnight,  they 
were  to  sit  in  the  choir ;  the  children  with  their 
lights  to  remain  with  their  masters  in  the  Chapter 
singing ;  or  if  they  rose  in  the  depth  of  night  to 
rest,  "  jacentes  ad  sedilia  sua,"  lying  at  their  seats. 
At  this  interval,  the  Prior,  with  a  dark  lantern,  was 
to  go  through  the  choir,  to  see  how  regularly  they 
sat ;  afterwards  through  the  altars,  and  parts  of  the 
Church,  lest  any  one  should  be  asleep  there.  If 
any  one  was  praying,  he  was  to  pass  him  by  in  si- 
lence ;  if  asleep,  to  awake  him,  and,  by  a  sign,  order 
him  to  return  to  the  choir.  Then  he  was  to 
go  through  the  Chapter,  and  see  how  the  masters 
and  scholars  behaved.  Then  were  to  follow  Mat- 
tins  and  Prime  ;  at  the  former  of  which,  the  Sacrist 
was  to  take  care  so  to  arrange  the  hour  of  Lauds, 
that  all  should  be  finished  by  day-break  ;  but  if  he 
was  mistaken,  and  there  was  any  darkness  after  the 
Litany,  the  Monks  were  so  to  manage  as  above  di- 
rected, that  none  but  the  minuti  (those  who  had 
been  bled)  should  return  to  bed.  At  daybreak 
they  were  to  sit  in  the  cloister. 

f  The  name  of  a  bell. 


TO    THE    DISSOLUTION. 


41 


Festivals  between  October  and  Advent 
how  observed. 

All  Saints.  The  devout  visited  all 
the  Altars  of  the  Churchy  and  required 
the  suffrages  of  all  the  Saints.a 

All  Souls  was  to  be  passed  in  devo- 
tions for  diminishing  the  pains  of  the 
souls  in  purgatory .b 

§  From  Advent  to  Lent. 

On  the  Sunday  preceding  Advent  a 
sermon  was  to  be  preached  in  the  Chap- 
ter. On  the  Vigil  of  St.  Thomas  the 
Apostle,  if  it  was  a  Sunday,  the  Monks 
were  to  be  shaved ;  and  those  who 
wished  to  bathe  so  manage  that  two 
days  before  Christmas  they  might  all 
be  bathed.  If  necessary  they  might  do 
this  on  the  above  Saint's  day.  The 
day  before,  the  Abbot  or  keeper  of  the 
order  was  to  appoint  a  Senior,  whose 
office  was  to  give  the  Monks  notice  of 
the  time,  see  how  they  behaved,  observe 
whether  matters  were  duly  prepared, 
see  that  the  servants  were  men  ad- 
vanced in  years,  and  give  notice,  if 
any  thing  was  amiss,  to  the  Chamber- 
lain. After  this  he  was  to  return  to 
the  Cloister,  inform  the  Monks,  and 
take  care  that  the  Juniors  and  Novices 
did  not  go  with  the  Seniors.  The 
Monks  appointed,  after  they  were 
shaved,  taking  the  fresh  clothes  they 
were  to  put  on,  were  to  go  to  the  place 
appointed  for  bathing,  and  there  strip- 
ping, as  in  the  Dormitory,  enter  every 
one  where  he  was  told,  and  putting- 
aside  the  curtain,  which  hung  before 
them,  sit  silent.  If  they  wanted  any- 
thing they  were  to  make  a  sign  to  the 
servant,  who  was  to  lift  the  curtain, 
give  it  them,  and  instantly  retire.  They 
were  to  stay  no  longer  than  till  they 
were  washed,  and  having  put  on  their 
shoes,  and  washed  their  hands,  to  return 
to  the  Cloister.  The  children  were  to  go, 
and  return  with  their  masters.  The 
Monks  might  bathe  at  all  hours  from 
Prime  to  Complin,  but  no  one  without 
leave  of  the  superintending  Monk. 


»  Gold.  Leg.  cclxxxxix, 


Id.  ccii. 


Festivals  between  Advent  and  Christmas 
how  observed. 

Of  St,  Catherine's  and  St,  Clement's 
days,  see  Strut t.c 

The  Boy-bishop  was  elected  on  St. 
Nicholas's  day,  December  6.  It  is  too 
well  known  to  say  more  of  it.'1 

St.  Thomas's  Day.  On  this  day, 
called  Mumping-day,  the  poor  in  Here- 
fordshire go  around  the  parishes,  beg- 
ging corn,  &c.  Mumpers,  in  an  old 
Dictionary,  are  "gentile  beggars." 
Mumping  is  making  mouths  (see  Cot- 
grave,  v.  Mourd) ;  and  in  the  English 
Plutarch's  Morals,  III.  116,  we  have 
"mercenary  Gypsies,  and  mumping 
Charlatans."     Gypsies  in  Plutarch  ! 

On  Christmas  day,  after  the  Morning 
Mass,  the  bell  of  Chapter  was  to  be 
rung  later  than  usual ;  that,  laying 
aside  all  occupations,  they  might  as- 
semble at  Chapter,  and  when  the  Nati- 
vity was  announced,  fall  prostrate  on 
the  ground. e  Upon  the  President  of  the 
Chapter  (an  unfixed  officer)  having 
finished  his  prayer,  the  Gospel  was  to  be 
read,  and  a  Sermon  preached  upon  it. 

On  the  night  of  Christmas  day,  after 
Mattins  of  All  Saints  at  the  Altar  of  St. 
Mary,  they  were  to  repair  to  the  Dor- 
mitory. The  Monks  robed  to  celebrate, 
were  to  go  to  an  excellent  fire,  pre- 
pared by  the  Chamberlain's  servants, 
and  have  materials  for  washing  their 
hands.  For  this  time  only  they  were 
to  comb  their  heads  before  they  washed. 
Afterwards  they  were  to  celebrate  Mass. 
This  and  some  private  Masses  finished, 
they  returned  to  bed ;  and,  on  the  bell 
ringing  at  day-break,  all  were  to  rise; 
and  those  who  were  to  celebrate,  to 
wash  their  hands  and  faces,  and  robe 
themselves.  When  the  Mass  was  over, 
the  Monks  were  to  go  to  the  Dormitory 
to  put  on  their  shoes,  and  afterwards, 
having  washed,  to  say  the  usual  three 
prayers,  and  make  a  procession. 

c  Sports,  &c.  p.  270. 

d  See  Brand's  Popular  Antiquities,  4to.  &c. 

e  From  the  Shepherds  at  the  angelic  vision,  in 
the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke,  who  in  old  prints  lie 
prostrate. 


42 


BENEDICTINE    MONACHISM    FROM    THE    CONQUEST 


FESTIVALS   OBSERVED    UPON    CHRIST- 
MAS  DAY. 

After  the  nocturnal  office  of  Christ- 
mas (i.  e.  the  Vigil),  was  celebrated  at 
Rouen,  and  probably  here,  the 

Office  of  the  Shepherds. 

After  the  Te  Deum  a  stable  was  pre- 
pared behind  the  Altar,  and  the  image 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  placed  in  it.  A  boy 
from  above,  before  the  choir,  in  the 
likeness  of  an  angel,  announced  the 
Nativity  to  certain  Canons,  or  Vicars, 
who  entered,  as  shepherds,  through  the 
great  door  of  the  Choir,  clothed  in  tu- 
nicks  and  amesses.  Many  boys  in  the 
vaults  of  the  Church,  like  angels,  then 
began  the  Gloria  in  excelsis.  The 
shepherds,  hearing  this,  advanced  to 
the  stable,  singing  Peace,  Goodwill,  Sfc. 
As  soon  as  they  entered  it,  two  Priests 
in  dalmaticks,  as  if  midwives  (quasi 
obstetrices),  who  were  stationed  at  the 
stable,  said,  "  Whom  seek  ye  ? "'  The 
shepherds  answered,  "  Our  Saviour 
Christ,"  according  to  the  angelick  an- 
nunciation. The  Midwives,  then  open- 
ing the  curtain,  exhibited  the  boy,  say- 
ing, "  The  little  one  is  here,  as  the 
Prophet  Isaiah  said."  Then  they 
shewed  the  mother,  saying,  "  Behold 
the  Virgin,"  &c.  Upon  these  exhibi- 
tions they  bowed  and  worshipped  the 
boy,  and  saluted  his  mother.  The 
office  ended  by  their  returning  to  the 
choir,  and  singing  Alleluia,  &c.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Past  or  um  Officium. 

Upon  Christmas-day  was  also  cele- 
brated a  Feast  of  Asses  (there  being 
more  than  one  feast  so  called,  as  will 
appear  hereafter),  which  Mr.  Warton 
mentions,  as  obtaining  among  our- 
selves; and  his  account,  so  far  as  it 
goes,  corresponds  with  the  following, 
complete,  except  the  prayers.  (Hist. 
Poetry,  I.  249.) 

After  Tierce  the  Prophets  were  dres- 
sed according  to  order,  and  a  furnace 
was  prepared  in  the  nave  of  the  Church 
with  linen  and  towi  A  procession  then 


moved  from  the  Cloister,  and  two  clerks 
in  copes  from  the  second  seat,  directed 
the  procession,  singing  verses,  which 
were  repeated  by  a  chorus. 

Clerks.     Of  the  glorious  and  famous. 

Chorus.   Glorious. 

Clerks.     Whose  birth. 

Chorus.    Glorious. 

Clerks.     Who  was  about  to  be. 

Chorus.    Glorious. 

Clerks.     Of  the  impious  Jews. 

Chorus.   Glorious. 

Clerks.     But  the  Jews. 

Chorus.    Glorious. 

Cle?*ks.     To  unbelieving  Israel. 

Chorus.    Glorious. 

Clerks.     From  whence  the  Gentiles. 

The  procession  then  stopped  in  the 
middle  of  the  Church,  and  six  Jews 
were  ready  on  one  side,  and  six  Gen- 
tiles on  the  other.  The  latter  then 
demanded  the  Vocatores,  or  Callers. 
All  the  Gentiles  said,  "The  Lord  is 
made  man."  Here  the  Callers  turned 
themselves  to  the  Jews,  and  said, 

Vocatores.  "  Oh,  Jews  !  the  word 
of  God.     Your  laws  prove  it/' 

Jews.     That  we  are  to  govern  you. 

Vocatores.  (to  the  Gentiles)  a  And 
you  unbelieving  Gentiles." 

Gentiles.  The  true  King,  King  of 
Kings. 

Vocatores.  "  Call  Moses  first — you 
Moses,  the  Legislator."  Then  Moses, 
holding  the  tables  of  the  law  open, 
clothed  in  an  alb  and  cope,  and  a  horned 
forehead,  bearded,  with  a  rod  in  his 
hand,  advanced  and  spoke ;  after  which 
he  was  led  beyond  the  cauldron.  He 
was  followed  by 

Amos,  an  old  man  bearded,  carrying 
a  wheat-ear. 

Isaiah,  bearded,  with  a  red  stole 
across  his  forehead. 

Aaron,  in  a  mitre  and  pontificals, 
holding  a  flower. 

Jeremiah,  bearded,  robed  like  a  priest, 
and  holding  a  roll. 

Daniel,  clothed  in  a  green  tunick, 
having  a  juvenile  aspect,  and  carrying 
a  wheat-ear. 

Habakkuk,  a  lame  old  man,  in  a  dal- 


TO    THE    DISSOLUTION. 


43 


matick,  with  a  scrip  full  of  radishes, 
which  he  ate,  while  he  spoke,  and  long 
palms  to  strike  the  Gentiles. 

Balaam,  dressed  up,  sitting  upon  an 
ass  (whence  the  name  of  the  feast), 
spurred  (very  large  ones,  says  Warton), 
holding  the  reins,  and  spurring  the 
Ass,  which  a  young  man  with  a  sword 
opposes.  Some  one  under  the  Ass 
then  says,  "  Why  do  ye  hurt  me  so 
with  your  spurs  )"  the  young  man  then 
added,  "  Do  not  comply  with  the  com- 
mand of  Balak." 

Callers.  "Balaam,  Balaam,  pro- 
phesy." This  he  did,  and  was  followed 
by 

Samuel,  clothed  religiously. 

David,  in  royal  robes. 

Osea,  a  man  with  a  beard. 

Joel,  dressed  in  parti-colours,  and 
bearded. 

Abdias,  dressed  as  Joel. 

Jonas,  bald,  dressed  in  white. 

Micah,  dressed  as  Joel. 

Naum,  an  old  man. 

Sophonias,  bearded. 

Aggai,  an  old  man,  or  marked  as 
such  (senilem  vultum  gerens). 

Zacharius,  bearded. 

Ezehel  \^rQ  distinction  specified. 

Malachi  J 

Zacharias,  dressed  as  a  Jew,  husband 
of 

Elizabeth,  like  a  pregnant  woman. 

John  the  Baptist,  barefooted,  holding 
the  Bible. 

Symeon,  an  old  man. 

Virgil,  a  well-dressed  young  man. 
[Mr.  Warton  says,  that  he  spoke  Monk- 
ish verses.  Here  they  are,  "  Eccepolo 
demissa  solo."] 

Here  the  ceremony  was  interrupted 
by  the  appearance  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
dressed  like  a  King,  showing  an  image 
of  two  armed  men,  whom  he  orders  to 
exhibit  the  image  to  three  youths. 
They  refuse  to  worship  it,  and  make  a 
reply  of  "Deo  soli  digno  coli"  (God 
alone  is  worthy  to  be  worshipped). 
The  armed  men  then  led  them  to  the 
cauldron,  and  after  being  placed  upon 
it,  it  is  lighted  ;  but  the  youths  are 


immediately  liberated,  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  King.  The  calling,  and 
replies,  recommence  with  the  Sibyll, 
crowned  and  dressed  like  a  woman. 
All  the  Prophets  and  Ministers  then 
began  a  chaunt,  with  which  the  feast 
ended.  Du  Cange,  v.  Festum  Asino- 
rum, 

The  custom  of  ornamenting  the 
Church  with  boughs  is  variously  ex- 
plained, but  founded  upon  Evergreens.* 
In  the  West  of  England,  the  Churches 
are  dressed  at  Whitsuntide  with  deci- 
duous boughs.b  It  seems,  from  the  ear- 
liest seras,  to  be  no  more  than  a  com- 
mon token  of  rejoicing,  to  carry  or 
exhibit  branches  of  trees ;  and  there- 
fore the  explications  are  not  satisfac- 
tory. The  twelve  days  of  Christmas 
were  kept  with  great  festivity,  and 
without  limitation  of  meals  or  habits. 
In  the  Legend  of  St.  Brandon,  Judas, 
on  his  island  of  remission,  says,  "  Of 
ryght  my  place  is  in  the  brennyng 
helle.  But  I  am  here  but  certeyne 
tymes  of  the  yere,  yt  is,  fro  crystmasse 
to  twelfth  daye;  and  fro  ester  to  whyt- 
sontide  be  past,  and  every  festeful  daye 
of  our  lady,  and  every  satyrday  none 
tyll  sonday  ye  evening  ben  don.  But 
all  other  tymes  I  lye  still  in  Helle  in 
full  brennynge  fire  with  pylate,  herode, 
and  cayaphas."0  The  fifty  days  from 
Easter  to  Pentecost,  were  rejoicing 
seasons  from  memory  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion^ A  brother  of  the  order  of  the 
Temple  of  Syon,  writing  to  Sir 
John  Paston,  says,  "  in  which  place 
(Temple  of  Syon)  in  this  season  of 
the  year  (Christmas)  it  is  accustomed 
to  be  (have)  all  manner  of  disport  ;"e 
and  what  this  disport  was,  may  be  seen 
fully  in  Mr.  Nichols's  Progresses,  the 
Antiquitates  Vulgares,  and  Strutt's 
Sports.  Homicides  and  traitors  were, 
at  Christmas,  indulged  with  peace  and 


a  Antiq.  Vulgar.     Strutt,  &c.  &c. 
b  Flowers  and  Roses  have  been  used  upon  the 
vigils  of  Saints'  days.     Du  Cange,  v.  Galia. 
c  Gold.  Leg.  fol.  ccxxxii. 
a  Fuller's  Church  Hist.  B.  vi.  288. 
e  Pastoa  Letters,  III,  422,  433, 


44 


BENEDICTINE    MONACHISM   FROM    THE    CONQUEST 


joy.a  Ships  sailed  only  with  the  fore- 
mast, in  honour  of  the  season.13  Barons 
then  gave  their  annual  new  clothes  to 
domestics,0  and  feasted  the  whole 
country.  A  whole  boar  (whence  brawn 
at  this  season)  was  put  on  the  table, 
sometimes  richly  gilded.d  —  Without 
entering  into  well-known  matters,  it 
may  be  worth  while  to  explain  hvo  cu- 
rious customs.  Andrews  and  others 
note,  that  Christmas  was  represented 
by  an  old  man,  hung  round  with  savory 
dainties.  It  escaped  the  recondite  Mr. 
Douce,  in  his  elegant  Illustrations  of 
Fools  and  Clowns,  that  the  Bauble  is  a 
Phallus,  actually  represented  in  Bois- 
sard  (and  Montfaucon,  vol.  I.  p.  2,  b.i. 
ch.  28)  in  a  woman's  hand ;  and  that 
the  Cock's  head,  Ass's  head,  fyc.  are  re- 
licks  of  the  Priapeia.  In  the  same 
manner,  this  old  man  of  Andrews  is 
the  Priapus  of  Petronius,e  made  by 
the  baker,  who  held  in  a  very  large  bo- 
som all  kind  of  apples  and  grapes. 

Tire-lire  is  the  only  French  for 
Christmas-box,  or  money-box  cleft  on 
the  side.  Conceding  that  the  benefac- 
tions originally  were  for  servants,  to 
procure  masses  for  their  souls,  at 
this  season  of  joy,  Count  Caylus  gives 
a  tire-lire  of  pottery,  found  under 
Mount  Ceelius  at  Rome,  with  another 
of  similar  proportions  ;  and  exhibiting 
Ceres  seated  between  two  figures,  stand- 
ing. The  other,  much  more  finished, 
has  a  head  of  Hercules/ 

On  the  three  following  festivals  of 
Stephen,  John  the  Apostle,^  and  Inno- 
cents,^ the  Church  was  to  remain  orna- 
mented, as  at  Christmas  ;  the  bells  to 
be  rung,  and  candles  lighted}1  with 
all  other  ceremonies  usual  on  double 
feasts,  and  of  the  second  rank.1 

a  M.  Paris,  104.       b  Du  Cange,  v.  Trinchetum. 

e  M.  Par.  604.     X  Script.  2727. 

d  Smythe's  Berlceleys,  MS. 

c   I.  306,  ed.  Nodot.  i  Rec.  III.  pi.  liii. 

«  See  Strutt,  and  Antiq.  Vulgar,  of  the  popular 
customs  on  these  days. 

h  There  were  certain  feasts,  called  Feasts  of 
Candles,  on  which  candles  were  lighted,  as  Christ- 
mas, St.  John,  Stephen,  Innocents,  the  Circumci- 
sion, &c.  ;  but  there  were  limitations  of  the  lights 
at  some  of  the  hours.     Du  Cange,  v.  Festum. 

*  This  was  a  gradation  made  according  to  the 


The  Refectory  was  to  be  unorna- 
mented  on  the  fifth  day  of  Christmas. 
On  the  Morrow  after  the  Circumcision, 
after  Lauds  and  Mattins,  they  were  to 
return  to  their  beds,  and  do  so  till  the 
octaves  of  the  Epiphany,  unless  it  was 
a  feast  of  twelve  lessons.k  On  the  Vi- 
gil of  the  Epiphany,  there  was  to  be  no 
fast,  nor  procession,  unless  it  was  a 
Sunday  ;  but  at  Vespers,  Antiphonars 
and  Psalms  were  to  be  sung  till  the 
evening  Chapter,  as  at  Christmas. 

Mummeries  observed  at  or  about 
this  Season. 

The  chief  of  these  was  the  celebrated 
Feast  of  the  Calends,  called  by  us  the 
Feast  of  Fools  ;x  which,  though  so  far 
familiar,  as  Strntt's  pleasing  work  upon 
Sports  has  communicated  to  the  pub- 
lick,  is  yet  too  curious  not  to  be  de- 
tailed from  more  recondite  sources. 

FEAST  OF  FOOLS,  &C. 

Peter  Gregorius,  upon  the  authority 
of  the  Canonical  and  Civil  Laws,  lays 
it  down  as  an  axiom,  that  every  time 
has  its  own  manners,  to  which  the 
laws  are  to  be  accommodated;111  and 
therefore,  we  are  not  to  wonder,  that 


several  merits  of  the  Saints,  &c.  of  which  there  is  a 
full  explanation  in  Durandi  Rationale,  L.  vii.  ch. 
i. ;  and  a  liturgical  solution  in  Du  Cange,  v.  Festum. 
A  list  and  classification  of  these  feasts  is  in  the 
Portiforium  sec.  Usum  Sarum.  fol.  cxi. 

There  were  some  festivals  on  which  work  was  al- 
lowed. See  Lyndw.  (Ch.  de  Feriis) ;  but  on  the 
others  transgressors  were  to  stand  for  three  Sun- 
days in  their  shirts  and  breeches  before  the  Altar. 
In  some  statutes  the  rich  paid  five  shillings  to  the 
lights  of  the  Church ;  and  the  poor  followed  the 
procession  for  five  Sundays,  in  a  shirt  and  breeches, 
having  upon  their  necks  the  instrument  with  which 
they  worked.  The  festival  of  the  next  week  was 
given  out  by  the  Deacon  after  communion  on  the 
Sunday.     Du  Cange,  v.  Festum. 

k  One  in  which  twelve  lessons  were  read.  Du 
Cange.  Amalarius  (L.  ii.  ch.  i.  2,  p.  374.)  says, 
that  lessons  were  anciently  read  in  Greek  and  La- 
tin, from  the  congregation  consisting  of  both  na- 
tions ;  and  assigns  other  unsupported  explana- 
tions. 

1  Cowell  (v.  Caput  anni)  confines  it  to  New 
Year's  day. 

u»  De  Republ.  L.  x.  ch.  v.  n.  10. 


TO  THE  DISSOLUTION. 


45 


the  Saturnalia  were  ingrafted  into  Ec- 
clesiastical ceremonies,  though  it  was 
admitted  that  all  idolatrous  customs 
were  mere  inventions  of  the  Devil,  the 
Monkey  and  Fool,  ivhom  the  Almighty 
kept  for  his  amusement.*  Epicurus  re- 
commended princes,  who  were  lovers 
of  the  Muses,  to  entertain  themselves 
with  the  scurrilities  of  drolls  and  buf- 
foons ;  and  when  the  slaves  celebrated 
the  Saturnalia  the  din  was  intolerable.13 
Lucian  brings  in  Saturn,  speaking  thus : 
"  During  my  whole  reign  no  public  or 
private  business  is  to  be  done;  but 
only  to  drink,  sing,  play,  create  imagi- 
nary kings,  place  servants  with  their 
masters  at  table,  smut  them  with  soot, 
or  make  them  leap  into  the  water  with 
head  foremost,  when  they  do  not  per- 
form their  duty  well."0  These  con- 
formities to  the  Feast  of  Fools,  indis- 
putably prove  its  just  appropriation  to 
the  Saturnalia;  both  terminating  in 
the  innocent  exhibition  of  Twelfth-day, 
and  its  King  and  Queen  of  the  Bean, 
Cake,  &c. 

In  the  Calends  of  January  it  was 
usual  for  the  sexes  to  change  dress, 
even  assume  the  form  of  beasts ;d  and 
the  custom  was  so  prevalent,  that  it 
could  not  be  suppressed  by  Bishops, 
Councils,  &c.  Fasts  and  Litanies  were 
prescribed  to  take  off  the  guilt ;  but 
even  when  the  laity  had  left  it  off,  the 
Clergy  still  retained  it.  Hence  came 
the  term  Feasts  of  Sub-deacons,  not 
because  they  were  kept  by  that  body 
of  men  in  particular,  but  because  Dia- 
cres  sauols  signified  "  Saturi  Diaconi," 
drunken  clerks.e  Belethus  says,  "the 
Feast  of  Sub-deacons,  which  we  call  of 
Fools,  is  performed  by  some  on  the 
Circumcision,  by  others  on  the  Epi- 


a  A  Diabolo  summi  Dei  simia  et  iraprobo  his- 
trione  excogitata.  Solorzanus  de  Indiar.  Jure, 'p. 
110,  §  94.  This  version  has  been  blamed,  but 
Mstrio  is  the  word  used,  and  being  coupled  with 
simia,  vindicates  tbe  presumed  meaning. 

b  Plutarch  de  volupt.  sec.  Epicurum. 

c  Danet,  v.  Saturnalia. 

d  Du  Cange,  v.  Cervelus. 

e  Mr.  Douce  (Archaeologia,  XV.  227)  disputes 
tbis  etymon  of  Du  Cange. 


phany  or  its  octaves.  But  there  are 
four  (sic)  sports  of  Ecclesiasticks  in 
the  Church  after  Christmas,  of  the 
Priests,  of  the  Boys,  i.  e.  Juniors  in 
age  and  order,  and  the  Sub-deacon, 
which  is  an  uncertain  rank ;  whence  it 
happens  that  this  rank  is  sometimes 
accounted  a  holy  order  and  sometimes 
not,  which  is  expressly  signified  by 
this  :  that  it  has  no  fixed  period,  and 
is  celebrated  in  a  confused  manner."* 
Now  as  the  injunction  quoted  in  the 
article  Friars,  that  these  religious 
should  not,  on  St.  Nicholases  day  (the 
exhibition  not  being  limited  to  a  par- 
ticular day),?  put  on  masquerade,  even 
female  habits,  or  lend  theirs  to  seculars 
for  that  purpose,  certainly  alludes  to  a 
Feast  of  Fools,  there  is  no  reason  to 
admit  any  other  acceptation  than  that 
of  actual  Sub-deacons.  This  folly  of 
Bishops,  or  rather  of  Clerks,  seems  to 
have  been  taken  from  the  Greeks; 
among  whom  some  of  the  Laymen, 
who  altered  their  hair  into  the  form  of 
a  tonsure,  and  took  ecclesiastick  gar- 
ments, made  mock  elections,  promo- 
tions, consecrations,  &c. ;  sometimes 
sharp  calumnies  and  depositions  of 
Bishops.  From  a  passage  of  Anasta- 
sius  upon  this  subject,  it  appears  that 
these  mockeries  were  not  then  known 
in  the  West. 

Because,  therefore,  this  feast  took 
place  about  the  end  of  December, 
it  was  called  "  Libertas  Decembr'icaP 
Belethus,  who  lived  in  1182,  says, 
there  are  some  Churches  in  which  it  is 
common  that  even  Bishops  and  Arch- 
bishops should  play  with  their  sub- 
jects in  Monasteries  at  the  game  of  ball 
[the  equality  of  the  Saturnalia]  ;  and 
indeed  this  libertyis  therefore  called 
the  liberty  of  December  ;  because,  for- 
merly, it  was  the  custom  among  the 
Gentiles  ;  and  in  this  month,  the  slaves, 
and  maid  servants,  and  shepherds,  were 
privileged  with  a  kind  of  liberty,  and 
put  in  the  same  condition  with  their 


Divin.  Omc.  Explicat.  Ch.  lxxii. 
Strutt's  Gliggamena,  260. 


46 


BENEDICTINE   MONACHISM   FROM   THE   CONQUEST 


masters,  making  common  feasts  after 
the  celebration  of  Harvests  [the  Reader 
will  recollect  the  modern  Harvest-home] . 
But  although  the  great  Churches,  as  that 
of  Rheims,  observed  this  custom  of 
playing,  it  seems  more  laudable  not  to 
play.a  [A  King  of  Fools  was  prohibited 
at  Beverley  in  1391.] 

On  the  17th  of  December  (con- 
tinues Du  Cange)  all  the  petty  clerks 
assembled  to  elect  an  Abbot  of  Fools ; 
upon  whose  election  a  Te  Hewn  was 
sung,  and  then  he  was  chaired  upon 
the  shoulders  of  his  fellows,  and 
taken  to  the  house  where  the  rest  were 
assembled  to  drink  ;  and  put  in  a  place 
especially  ordered  and  prepared  for 
this  purpose.  At  his  entrance  all  rose, 
even  the  Lord  Bishop,  if  he  were  pre- 
sent ;  and  due  reverence  being  paid  to 
the  elect  by  his  fellows  and  companions, 
fruit,  spices,  wine,  &c.  were  given  to 
him.  The  drink  being  taken,  the  same 
Abbot,  or  elder  Sub-chanter  in  his  ab- 
sence, began  singing  in  a  ludicrous 
manner,  with  bawling,  hissing,  howl- 
ing, laughing,  clapping  hands ;  each 
party  endeavouring  to  conquer  the 
other.  A  short  dialogue  afterwards 
was  followed  by  a  sermon  from  the 
Porter.  The  Abbot  and  others  then 
rushed  out  of  the  Church,  followed  by 
the  younger  Canons,  Choristers,  and 
Bishop's  Esquires,  into  the  City,  sa- 
luting every  body  whom  they  met. 
In  this  visit,  which  lasted  every  day  to 
the  Vigil  of  Christmas  in  the  evening, 
the  Abbot  was  to  wear  a  dress,  feather, 
and  mantle  or  tabard,  or  cope,  with  a 
hood  of  vair.b  [Sir  S.  R.  Meyrick  now 
possesses,  by  bequest  of  Mr.  Douce,  a 
girdle,  reported  to  have  been  worn  by  the 
Abbot  of  Fools  upon  his  entrance  into 
office.  It  consists  of  35  square  pieces 
of  wood,  let  into  each  other,  upon 
which  are  carved  ludicrous  and  gro- 
tesque figures  of  fools,  tumblers,  hunts- 
men, animals,  and  indecent  representa- 
tions.0] Very  probably  also  the  indeco- 
rous carvings  upon  the  stalls  of  Churches 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Kalenda. 
c  Archseol.  ubi  supra. 


b  Ibid. 


have,  in  reality,  an  allusion  to  this  fes- 
tival; for  certain  it  is,  that  several 
carvings  on  stone  in  Anglo-Saxon 
Churches  of  a  bizarre  kind,  allude  to 
the  mummeries  of  our  ancestors. 

It  was  the  Abbot's  place,  if  any  thing 
indecorous  was  done  in  the  Choir, 
to  correct  and  chastise  it. 

On  the  Feast  of  Innocents,  a  Fool 
Bishop  was  elected  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  Abbot  of  Fools  ;  and  afterwards 
lifted  up  by  the  petty  clerks,  and,  with 
a  little  bell  before  him,  taken  to  the 
house  of  the  Bishop,  at  whose  arrival, 
the  gates   of  the  house,  whether  the 
Bishop  was  at  home  or  not,  were  to 
be  instantly  opened,  and  in  one  of  the 
windows  of  the  Great  Hall  he  was  to 
be  put  down,  and  standing,  give  there 
again     his    benediction     towards     the 
town.     The  Fool  Bishop,  at  Mattins, 
High    Mass,   and  Vespers,   with    his 
chaplain,  was  to  preside  for  three  days 
pontifically   on  the   episcopal   marble 
throne,  properly  adorned ;  from  whence, 
on  the  introit  of  the  said  hours,  he  was 
to  be  clothed  in  the  Vestiary  with  a 
common  silk  cope,  and  adorned  with  a 
mitre  and  silk  gloves.     The  Chaplain 
was  to  be  clothed  likewise  in  a  common 
silk  cope,  carrying  on  his  head  a  little 
cushion,  instead  of  the  cap,  or  birretum. 
Incense-bearers,   and    the    apparitor, 
preceded  the  Fool-bishop  to  the  epis- 
copal throne.    There,  with  his  chaplain 
sitting   at   his   feet,  having   always    a 
cross  in  his  hand,  he  sat  as  long  as  the 
above  hours  were  celebrating.  The  Sub- 
deacon,  who  was  to   sing  the  Epistle, 
or  the  Deacon  the   Gospel,  with  one 
knee  bent,  made  him  a  supplication, 
whom  he  marked  with  his  right  hand. 
Mattins,    Mass,    and   Vespers,   being 
finished,  his  Chaplain  said  with  a  loud 
voice,   "  Be   silent,  be  silent,  keep   si- 
lence."     The  Chorus  replied,  u  Deo 
Gratias."     The  Fool-bishop,  Adjuto- 
rium  nostrum,  fyc.      Chorus,  Qui  fecit, 
&;c.     Then  the  Bishop  gave  the  bless- 
ing, indulgences,  &c. 

The  Feast  of  Fools  was  celebrated 
as  before  in  various  masquerades  of 
women,    lions,    players,    &c.       They 


TO  THE   DISSOLUTION', 


47 


danced  and  sung  in  the  Choir,  ate  fat 
cakes  upon  the  horn  of  the  Altar, 
where  the  celebrating  Priest  played  at 
dice,3  put  stinking  stuff  from  the  lea- 
ther of  old  shoes  into  the  censer,  ran, 
jumped,  &c.  through  the  Church. 

In  a  MS.  of  the  Church  of  Beauvais, 
about  the  year  500,  it  is  said  that  the 
Chantor  and  Canons  shall  stand  before 
the  gates  of  the  Church,  which  were 
shut,  holding  each  of  them  urns  full  of 
wine,  with  glass  cups,  of  whom  one 
Canon  shall  begin  the  Canons  of  Ja- 
nuary. 

The  following  were  assimilations  or 
off-shoots  of  the  Feast  of  Fools.  The 
Council  of  Treves,  in  1227.  says,  u  Let 
not  the  Priests  permit  vagrant  scholars, 
or  Goliards,  to  sing  verses  upon  the 
Holy  Agnus  Dei  in  Masses,  or  divers 
services  ;  because  by  this  the  Priest  in 
the  Canon  is  very  much  hindered,  and 
the  hearers  offended.  The  Council  of 
Tours  speaks,  in  1231,  of  these  ribald 
Clerks  ;  and  the  Council  of  Cologn,  in 
1300,  forbids  them  to  preach  in  the 
Church,  and  carry  indulgences  to  sell. 
Matthew  Paris,  in  1229,  explains  this 
by  saying,  that  they  used  to  compose 
ridiculous  verses,  and  were  so  named 
from  one  Golias,  a  scoundrel  who  com- 
posed libels  in  this  kind  of  verse. 

In  the  Church  of  Roan  were  certain 
jesters,  calling  themselves  Conardi, 
who  elected  an  Abbot  by  a  majority  of 
votes,  for  which  he  canvassed  the 
others.  He  rode  dressed  in  a  mitre 
and  pastoral  staff,  once  a  year,  through 
Rouen  in  a  chariot ;  at  Evereux,  upon 
an  Ass,  surrounded  by  his  comrades. 
He  jested  upon  all  persons  whom  he 
met,  as  well  as  the  absent.  He  issued 
mock  letters-patent  electing  persons  to 
Cardinalships,  &c,  and  was  himself 
elected  upon  St.  Barnabas^s  day ;  be- 

a  However  horrible  was  this  profanation,  I  could 
quote  a  passage,  where  in  part  of  a  serious  penance, 
actions  most  indecent  were  to  be  publickly  per- 
formed upon  the  Altar-table  ;  and  therefore  our 
ancestors  had  plainly  not  the  ludicrous  ideas  of 
these  mummeries  as  ourselves.  They  were  the 
mere  coarse  festivities  of  the  age,  which  deligbted 
in  low  humour. 


cause,  as  Le  Beuf  supposes,  the  Gallic 
trumpeters  were  the  same  as  the  Co- 
nardi,  who  had  St.  Arnulph  the  Trum- 
peter for  their  patron,  and  his  day  was 
the  same  as  that  of  Barnabas.  Conardi 
are  elsewhere  called  fools.  Du  Cange 
thinks,  that  these  ridiculous  spectacles 
were  derived  from  the  Feast  of  Fools. 

The  above  are  from  Du  Cange,  v. 
KaJendce,  Goliardi,  and  Abbas  Conar- 
dorum.  except  where  other  authors  are 
specified. 

There  were  games  played  in  Churches 
abroad  with  BerteUi.  perhaps  the 
French  Bretilles.  Du  Cange,  v.  Ber- 
til/us.  Dancing  in  Churches  also  oc- 
curred.    Id.  v.  Choreare. 

Tumblers  used  to  attend  burials  of 
the  poor,  and  throw  somersets.  Id.  v. 
Cor  bit  ores. 

On  the  Feasts  of  the  Calends,  the 
people  gave  suppers  in  the  manner  of 
the  Romans.     Id.  v.  Festum. 

Upon  the  Epiphany  was  performed 
the  Office  of  the  three  Kings  ;  or,  Feast 
of  the  Star. 

Three  Priests,  clothed  as  Kings, 
with  their  servants  carrying  offerings, 
met  from  different  directions  before 
the  Altar.  The  middle  one,  who  came 
from  the  East,  pointed  with  his  staff 
to  a  star.  A  dialogue  then  ensued; 
and,  after  kissing  each  other,  they  began 
to  sing,  a  Let  us  go  and  enquire  f  after 
which  the  Precentor  began  a  respon- 
sory,  "Let  the  Magi  come/'  A  pro- 
cession then  commenced ;  and  as  soon 
as  it  began  to  enter  the  nave,  a  crown, 
like  a  star,  hanging  before  the  Cross, 
was  lighted  up,  and  pointed  out  to  the 
Magi,  with  "Behold  the  star  in  the 
East."  This  being  concluded,  two 
Priests,  standing  at  each  side  of  the 
Altar,  answered  meekly,  "We  are 
those  whom  you  seek;5'  and,  drawing  a 
curtain,  shewed  them  a  child,  whom, 
falling  down,  they  worshipped.  Then 
the  servants  made  the  offerings  of  gold, 
frankincense,  and  myrrh,  which  were 
divided  among  the  Priests.  The  Magi 
in  the  mean  while  continued  praying 
till  they  dropped  asleep  ;    when  a  boy, 


48 


BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  PROM  THE   CONQUEST 


clothed  in  an  alb,  like  an  Angel,  ad- 
dressed them  with,  "  All  things  which 
the  Prophets  said  are  fulfilled/'  The 
festival  concluded  with  chanting  ser- 
vices, &c. 

At  Soissons,  a  rope  was  let  down  from 
the  roof  of  the  Church,  to  which  was 
annexed  an  iron  circle,  having  seven 
tapers  intended  to  represent  Lucifer, 
or  the  morning  star  ;  but  it  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  Feast  of  the  Star.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Stella,  Stellce  officium. 

On  the  14th  of  January  was  another 

Feast  of  Asses,  intended  to  represent 
the  flight  of  the  Virgin  Mary  into 
Egypt.  A  very  pretty  girl  seated  upon 
an  ass,  elegantly  trapped,  and  holding 
a  child,  was  led  in  procession  to  the 
Church,  and  placed  upon  the  ass,  at 
the  Gospel  side  of  the  Altar.  Kyrie, 
the  Glory,  Creed,  &c,  were  then 
chaunted,  and  concluded  with  Hinham. 
At  the  end  of  the  service,  the  Priest, 
turning  to  the  people,  instead  of  dis- 
missing them,  said  three  times  Hinham; 
to  which  they  replied  Hinham,  Hinham, 
Hinham.  Du  Cange,  v.  Festum  Asi- 
norum. 

On  the  21st  of  January  was  the 
Feast  of  St.  Agnes,  on  which  it  was 
usual  to  make  presents.  Du  Cange,  v. 
Agnecten,  Festum. 

On  the  Purification,  after  Tierce,  a 
carpet  was  to  be  laid  before  the  Altar, 
and  the  candles  upon  it.  After  con- 
secration, one  was  to  be  given  to  each 
Monk.  A  particular  psalm  (Lumen  ad 
Revelationema)  was  to  be  sung  when 
they  began  to  be  lighted.  After  which, 
religious  services,  procession,  and 
Mass,  were  to  follow.  After  dinner 
they  were  to  sit  in  the  Cloister,  till  the 
servants  had  done,  and  then  sing  Nones. 
This  finished,  the  Prior  was  to  ring  the 
bell,  and  the  Monks  to  go  to  the  Refec- 
tory. This  custom,  except  on  fasts, 
was  to  last  until  Palm  Sunday.b 

H  See  eh.  iv.  Cowell,  &c.  say,  the  candles  im- 
plied the  light  of  the  Gospel,  from  old  Simeon's 
hymn. 

0  On  St,   Blaze's-day  (Feb.  3),  the  people  were 


§  From  Septuagesima  to  Passion 
Sunday. 

On  the  first  Sunday  of  Septuagesima 
they  might  eat  fat  (see  Ch.  iv.) ;  but 
were  afterwards  to  abstain  till  Easter. 
On  Ash- Wednesday,  after  Sext,  they 
were  to  return  to  the  Cloister  to  con- 
verse ;  but,  at  the  ringing  a  bell,  be 
instantly  silent.  They  were  to  unshoe 
themselves,  wash  their  hands,  and  go 
to  the  Church,  and  make  one  common 
prayer.  Then  was  to  follow  a  religious 
service  ;  after  which,  the  Priest  having 
consecrated  the  ashes,  and  sprinkled 
holy  water  on  them,  was  to  throw  them 
on  the  heads  of  the  Monks,  saying, 
"  Remember  that  you  are  but  dust, 
and  to  dust  must  return/'0  Then  the 
procession  was  to  follow. 

Festivals,  Fasts,  fyc.  Shrove  Tues- 
day and  the  Monday  before  were  days 
of  sport  and  pastime  ;d  but  the  Tuesday 
derived  its  name  from  the  confession 
usual  on  that  day,  preparatory  to  the 
Lent  Fast. 

Pancakes.  The  Norman  Crispellce 
(Du  Cange)  are  evidently  taken  from 
the  Fomacalia  on  the  18th  of  February, 
in  memory  of  the  method  of  making 
bread,  before  the  Goddess  Fornax  in- 
vented ovens. 

Ash-Wednesday.  The  ashes  were 
made  of  the  branches  of  brush-wood, 
properly  cleansed,  sifted,  and  conse- 
crated, and  were  worn  four  times  a 
year,  as  in  the  beginning  of  Lent.e  On 
this  day  the  people  were  excluded 
from  Church  ;f  and  husbands  and 
wives  parted  beds.g  The  ancient  pe- 
nitents wore  sackcloth  and  ashes.h 


accustomed  to  burn  lights  for  their  houses  and  cat- 
tle, and  bestow  alms.     Du  Cange,  v.  Festum. 

c  Rupert  Tuitiensis  adds,  "bare-footed ;"  be- 
cause, besides  creation  from  earth,  we  are  deprived 
of  our  glory  by  sin,  and  are  naked  among  enemies, 
wanting  the  grace  of  God.  L.  iv.  ch.  x.  p.  917. 
§  Cur  cineres  capitibus  imponimus. 

d  M.  Paris,  298.     See  Strutt. 

e  Du  Cange,  v.  Cinis. 

{  Eadm.  23,  XV.  Script.  262. 

e  Malmesb.  G.  Pont.  L.  ii. 

u  Antiq.  Vulgar.  285. 


TO    THE    DISSOLUTION. 


49 


The  Rule  says,  "that  on  the  first 
Sunday  of  Septuagesima  the  Monks 
might  eat  fat ;  but  were  afterwards  to 
abstain."  Upon  Camivora,  or  Mardi- 
gras,  the  Thursday  before  Lent,  the 
remains  of  meat  were  eaten,  and  the 
Septuagesima  Sunday  was  the  first  day 
of  Lent  fast,  according  to  William  of 
Newborough;  i.  e.  the  time  before 
Lent,  when  they  began  to  abstain 
from  meat.  Before  the  ninth  century 
Lent  began  upon  Quadragesima  Sun- 
day ;  but  afterwards,  to  fulfil  the  forty 
days,  four  days  of  Quinquagesima  were 
added.a  Elsewhere  we  have  Sexagesi- 
ma  Sunday  called  Carniprivium,because 
they  ceased  eating  meat  on  that  day : 
Quinquagesima,  when  they  left  off  eat- 
ing cheese  and  eggs.  On  the  first  Sun- 
day of  Lent  they  renewed  the  worship  of 
the  images.b  From  the  Sabbath  before 
Palm  Sunday,  to  the  last  hour  of  the 
Tuesday  after  Easter,  the  Christians 
were  accustomed  to  stone  and  beat  the 
Jews,  which  the  latter  commuted  for  a 
payment  in  money.c 

The  Lent  fast  differed  from  all  the 
others,  because  the  refreshment  was  not 
taken  till  after  Vespers ;  in  others  after 
Nones.J  And  we  find  instances  of  fast- 
ing everyday  but  Sunday  until  the  even- 
ing ;  and  then  eating  only  a  little  bread, 
an  egg,  and  some  milk  and  water  :e  but 
this  Fast  was  allowed  to  be  performed 
by  another  vicariously ,e  The  most  sa- 
cred ideas  were  annexed  to  Lent/ 
Froissart  says,  there  were  daily  deliver- 
ed to  the  Germans  in  the  army  ten 
tons  of  Herrings  for  Lent  and  S00 
Carp,  without  counting  different  sorts 
of  fish,  which  cost  the  King  immense 
sums  ;S  so  that  probably  the  dispensa- 
tions so  often  printed,  could  not  have 
been  obtained  even  by  royal  authority 
for  mere  convenience ;  or  it  was  not 
prudent  to  solicit  it. 

On  the  first  day  of  Lent  in  the  even- 
ing boys  used  to  run  about  with  fire- 
brands and  torches.11 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Carniprivium.  h  Id.  v.  Do- 

minica dies.  c  Id.  v.  Colaphi  Judceorum. 

d  Id.  inlitt.  J.  p.  1299.  e  Dugd.  Monast. 

I.  63.  f  Dec.  Script.  874,  2468.  e  XII. 

36.  Ed.  Johnes.  h  Du  Cange,  v.  Brandones. 


Absence  from  the  Church  and  mar- 
riage bed,  and  dereliction  of  the 
use  of  the  sword  and  horse,  occur 
during  the  whole  forty  days i  among 
the  laity. 

Because  the  Scripture  was  concealed 
in  the  Prophets  till  the  coming  of 
Christ,  therefore  the  Altars,  &c.  were 
veiled.  The  removal  in  the  week  be- 
fore Easter  was  the  manifestation  by 
the  veil  of  the  Temple  being  rent  in 
twain.k 

On  the  first  Sunday  of  Lent,  after 
Complin,  a  curtain  was  to  be  hung 
between  the  Choir  and  Altar.  On  Mon- 
day before  Tierce,  the  Cross,  &c.  were 
to  be  covered. 

Before  they  entered  the  Chapter  the 
keeper  of  the  books  was  to  have  the 
books  in  Chapter  laid  out  on  a  carpet, 
such  excepted  as  had  been  lent  to  read 
the  preceding  year :  for  these  the  bor- 
rowers were  to  bring  in  their  hands, 
according  to  a  notice  for  that  purpose, 
given  the  day  before  by  the  above  Li- 
brarian ;  then  the  sentence  of  the  Be- 
nedictine Rule  for  the  observation  of 
Lent  was  to  be  read  in  the  Chapter, 
and,  after  a  sermon  made  upon  it,  the 
Librarian  read  the  schedule  of  the 
books  lent  to  the  Monks  on  the  year 
past.  As  every  one  heard  his  name 
called  over  he  was  to  return  the  book 
lent  to  him ;  and  he  who  had  not  read 
it  was  to  solicit  pardon.  Then  the 
keeper  was  to  give  each  Monk  another 
book,  and  register  their  names  as  they 
received  them.  If  this  day  was  a  feast 
of  twelve  lessons  there  were  two  read- 
ings in  succession,  one  of  the  Gospel, 
the  other  of  the  observance  of  Lent. 
On  that  day  was  to  begin  the  peniten- 
tial or  prostrate  psalms,  and  the  car- 
riage of  a  lantern  at  the  second  lesson . 
On  the  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and 
Fridays,  till  Easter,  the  table  was  not 
to  be  struck  after  Chapter,  nor  were 
they  to  speak  in  the  Cloister.  On 
the   two   last  days,  after  Nones,  they 


1  Id.  v.  Carena. 

k  Rupert  Tuitiens.  L.  iv.  p.  916. 


50 


BENEDICTINE    MONACHISM    FROM    THE    CONQUEST 


were  to  sit  in  the  Cloister  ;a  and,  after 
an  interval,  at  the  bell  ringing,  unshoe 
themselves,  wash  their  hands,  and  go 
to  Church.  This  was  to  be  followed 
by  a  procession,  where  every  one  was 
to  be  bare-footed,  except  the  Priest  and 
Deacon ;  and  those  who  from  disease 
could  not  go  with  bare  feet,  were  to 
stay  out  of  the  procession.  When  they 
returned,  they  were  forbid  to  put  on 
their  shoes  without  leave.  After  the 
Mass  and  prayers,  antecedent  to  Ves- 
pers [and  every  service] ,  they  were  to 
wash  their  feet  and  hands,  and  perform 
Vespers.b 

If  a  festival  was  celebrated  in  Lent  ;c 
on  the  day  before,  the  curtain  was  ga- 
thered up,  and  the  forms  d  taken  from 
the  Choir.  After  Mattins  of  the  dead 
they  were  to  return  to  their  beds.  Af- 
ter Chapter  they  were  to  sit  silent  in 
the  Cloister  till  the  bell  of  Tierce ;  and 
the  children,  after  their  Chapter,  coming 
from  the  Dormitory,  sit  in  school,  and 
read.  After  Complin,  the  curtain  was 
to  be  extended,  and  the  forms  brought 
back  to  the  Choir. 

Passion- Week.  There  was  to  be  a 
procession  in  the  Cloister,  as  usual  on 

B  The  conversations  in  the  Cloister  were  after 
Chapter,  and  after  Nones  on  certain  seasons.  These 
conversations  were  very  licentious  (Thorpe's  Cus- 
tumale,  p.  235)  ;  and  therefore  the  visitors  of  Ed- 
mundsbury  ordered,  "  that  the  common  conversa- 
tions, which  were  sometimes  allowed  to  be  made, 
relate  to  the  Scriptures,  edification,  observation  of 
the  order,  and,  as  far  as  practicable,  in  the  hearing 
of  a  guardian  of  the.  Rule."  And  again,  "  Also  we 
forbid  discourses  through  the  Cloister  and  Infirmary, 
as  far  as  the  Prior's  chamber,  as  well  by  Monks  as 
others,  that  the  peace  of  those  in  the  Cloister  may 
not  be  disturbed."  Communes  locutiones  quae  in 
Claustro  aliquando  fieri  permittuntur  de  Scripturis 
sint,  et  edificatione  et  de  ordinis  observatione,  et  in 
quantum  fieri  potest  in  audientia  custodis  ordinum 
fiat.  'Item,  discursus  per  Claustrum  et  per  infir- 
marium  usque  cameram  Prioris  tarn  a  monachis 
quam  aliis  prohibemus,  ne  traquillitas  Claustralium 
turbetur.  MSS.  Cott.  Julius,  D.  II.  157,  a.  161,  b. 

b  On  the  Annunciation  of  the  Virgin  Mar.',  the 
bells  were  rung,  in  honour  of  the  Salutation  of  the 
Angel.     Du  Cange,  v.  Festum. 

c  Thomas  (2d)  Lord  Berkeley  used  to  feast  seve- 
ral Convents  in  Lent.     Smythe's  Berkeley  MSS. 

d  For  prostration  upon  "  jaceant  supra  formas, 
dicentes  orationem  Dominicam  (let  them  lie  on  the 
forms,  saying  the  Lord's-prayer.)  Missale  de 
Oseney,  MS.  Arch.  A.  Bodl.  73.  The  face  was 
downwards.  Osculantes  furmulas,  says  the  Porii- 
forium  sec.  usum  Sarum,  1540,  fol.  Ixiii.  b.  Of 
this  elsewhere. 


Sundays.  The  Abbot,  or  Priest,  was 
to  consecrate  the  palms,  flowers,  and 
leaves,  which  were  laid  upon  a  carpet 
before  the  high  altar,  sprinkle  holy 
water  on  them,  and  cense  them.  The 
Sacrists  were  then  to  distribute  the 
palms  to  the  Abbots,  Priors,  and  nobler 
persons,  and  flowers  and  leaves  to  the 
others.  When  this  was  done,  and  they 
made  a  stand  in  the  procession  which 
followed,  two  Priests  were  to  bring  the 
Paschal e  in  which  the  Crucifix  was  laid, 
and  stand  still.  The  banner  and  cross- 
bearers  were  to  file  off  to  the  right  and 
left  of  them,  and  the  boys  and  convent 
so  to  arrange  themselves,  that,  after  a 
short  service,  the  Priests,  with  the 
tomb,  headed  by  the  banner  and  cross, 
might  pass  between  the  Monks,  who 
were  to  kneel  as  they  passed.  When 
they  came  to  the  city-gates,  they  were 
to  divide  again  into  two  sides,  and  the 
shrine  to  be  put  on  a  table,  covered 
with  cloth.  Above  the  entrance  of  the 
gates  a  place  was  to  be  handsomely 
prepared  with  hangings.  The  boys 
then,  and  those  whom  the  Chanter  had 
appointed  to  be  with  them,  were  to 
sing,  "Gloria,  Laus,"   Glory,   Praise, 


e  The  Paschal  (see  Du  Cange,  v.  Sepultura 
Crucifixi)  was  a  tomb  for  the  burial  of  Christ  at 
Easter.  Davies  describes  one  ;  but  the  most  cu- 
rious is  that  at  St.  Mary  Redcliff' s  Church,  Bristol, 
which  I  give  from  an  original  MS.  of  Chatterton, 
when  very  young,  in  my  possession. 

The  furniture  of  Redclift  Church  in  1470. 

Memorandum.  That  Master  Cannings  hath 
delivered,  the  4th  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1470,  to  Master  Nicholas  Pelles,  Vicar  of 
Redclift,  Moses  Conterin,  Philip  Berthelmew,  and 
John  Brown,  Procurators  of  Redclift,  beforesaid,  a 
new  Sepulchre,  well  gilt  with  fine  gold,  and  a  civer 
thereto  ;  an  image  of  God  Almighty  rising  out  of 
the  same  Sepulchre,  with  all  the  ordinance  that 
longeth  thereto  ;  that  is  to  say,  a  lath  made  of  tim- 
ber and  iron  work  thereto.  Item,  thereto  longeth 
Heven  made  of  timber  and  stained  cloths.  Item, 
Hell  made  of  timber  and  iron  work  thereto,  with  De- 
vils the  number  of  thirteen.  Item,  four  knights  arm- 
ed, keeping  the  Sepulchre  with  their  weapons  in 
their  hands  ;  that  is  to  say,  two  spears,  two  axes  with 
two  paves  (pavaches,  shields.)  Item,  four  pair  of 
Angel's  wings,  for  four  Angels,  made  of  timber, 
and  well  painted.  Item,  the  Fadre,  the  crown  and 
visage,  the  well  (sic,  read  boll)  with  a  cross  upon 
it,  well  gilt  with  fine  gold.  Item,  the  Holy  Ghost 
coming  out  of  Heven  into  the  Sepulchre.  Item, 
longeth  to  the  four  Angels,  four  Chiveliers  (Pe- 
rukes.) [This  is  printed  in  Barrett's  Bristol,  578, 
&c.  &c] 


TO    THE    DISSOLUTION. 


51 


&c.  After  a  procession  through  the 
city,  they  were  to  return  to  the  Con- 
vent-gate, where  the  shrine  was  to  be 
laid  on  a  table,  covered  with  cloth,  and 
a  religious  service  to  be  performed. 
They  were  next  to  return  to  the 
Church,  and  make  a  stand  before  the 
Crucifix  then  uncovered.  Then  Mass 
was  to  be  performed ;  and,  after  they 
had  communicated,  the  Deacon  first 
and  the  rest  afterwards,  were  to  offer 
their  palms  and  flowers.  The  tables 
of  the  Refectory  were  to  be  covered. 
After  dinner  they  were  to  go  to  sleep, 
and  at  Nones  to  arise,  wash  their  hands 
and  faces,  comb  themselves,  and  go  to 
the  Choir ;  and  upon  the  entrance  of  the 
infants,  after  their  having  washed  and 
combed  likewise,  make  the  preparatory 
prayer,  and  sing  Nones.  After  this 
the  Prior  was  to  ring  the  bell,  and  the 
Monks  go  to  the  Refectory.  This  was 
to  be  the  rule  all  summer,  till  the  Ca- 
lends of  October,  except  on  Fast-days. 

The  Feast  of  the  She  Ass,  upon 
which  Christ  sitting  was  worshipped  by 
the  people,  was  not  kept  (says  Lind- 
wood),  because  the  praise  was  human, 
and  therefore  not  to  be  regarded.  P. 
102.  Ed.  Oxf.  [It  was  kept:  see  Note 
on  Palm  Sunday  before.] 

On  Tuesday  the  Monks  in  the  Clois- 
ter were  to  shave,  and  on  the  morrow 
to  bathe ;  on  which  day  there  was  to 
be  no  procession,  and  after  Complin 
the  curtain  was  to  be  removed. 

On  Thursday  [Shire-Thursday,  which 
was  a  general  day  for  communicating], 
as  many  candles  were  to  be  lighted  as 
there  were  antiphonars  and  responses  ; 
and  at  singing  each  of  them,  a  candle 
was   to    be   extinguished  ;a    the  last,b 

a  Extinction  of  the  lights.  Honorius  Gallus 
says,  "On  these  three  days  we  celebrate  the  burial 
of  our  Lord  ;  but  the  three  days  and  nights  we 
reckon  for  72  hours.  And  therefore  we  extinguish 
so  many  lights,  because  we  mourn  the  true  light  ex- 
tinguished on  these  days,  and  express  the  sorrow  of 
the  72  disciples,  which  they  had  on  account  of  the 
setting  of  the  eternal  day  and  sun  of  Justice,  whose 
hours  they  were.  For  three  hours,  to  wit,  from 
the  6th  to  tbe  9th,  there  was  darkness  when  Christ 
hung  on  the  Cross.  These  three  hours  we  repre- 
sent by  three  nights,  which  we  observe  by  extinc- 
tion of  the  lights.  By  the  day  illumined  by  the 
Sun,  Christ— by  the  night  illumined  by  the  Moon, 


when  the  Chantor  began  the  Antipho- 
nar  {Traditor  autem),  "But  the  Traitor/' 
At  one  psalm,  masters,  children,  young 
and  old,  were  to  mix  together  in  a  dis- 
orderly manner.  Then,  after  prostra- 
tion on  the  forms,  and  singing  certain 
psalms,  at  a  signal  from  the  Abbot  or 
Prior,  they  were  to  make  their  bow  to 
the  Altar  and  Abbot,  and  stand  in  their 
places  till  the  master  brought  lighted 
lanterns  and  gave  them  to  the  children. 
The  Sacrist  was  then  to  light  the  can- 
dles at  the  Altar  for  the  children  to 
light  theirs  at.  After  lighting  their 
candles  they  were  to  return  to  their 
beds ;  and  at  day-break,  that  the  boys 
and  youths  might  come  out  without 
lights,  the  sacrist  was  to  ring  the  bell 
late  (modicej.  The  Monks  were  im- 
mediately to  rise,  put  on  their  night- 
shoes,  and,  coming  into  the  Choir,  in- 
cline over  the  forms  till  the  children 
came ;  and  while  they  were  coming, 
after  the  prayer  of  preparation,  begin  a 
service  at  a  sign  from  the  Abbot,  which 
was  to  end  in  confession.  After  this 
they  were  to  sit  in  the  Cloister  till 
Tierce,  which  was  to  be  followed  by 
the  Chapter,  reading  the  sentence  of 
the  Rule,  the  sermon  made  on  it,  the 
correction  of  abuses,  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  customs  and  ordinances  for 
the  morrow's  Chapter,  and  the  whole 
day.  After  this  was  to  follow  an 
appropriate  service  if  any  Monk  was 
dead,  or  they  had  received  a  breve  or 

the  present  Church— by  the  twelve  hours  of  the 
day  or  night,  the  twelve  Apostles  are  signified  ; 
because  therefoi-e  the  hours  of  the  day  and  night 
are  24,  and  on  feast  dajs  24  Gloria  Patries  are  sung, 
therefore  the  24  lights  are  illuminated  on  these 
nights,  which  we  distinguish  at  each  canticum,  be- 
cause, like- the  Apostles,  we  mourn  the  setting  of 
the  true  Sun."  Gemma  Animse,  p.  1279.  Ama- 
larius  says,  the  extinction  of  the  lights  signified  the 
sorrow  in  the  hearts  of  the  disciples,  while  Christ 
lay  in  the  Sepulchre  ;  and  that  they  were  extin- 
guished when  beginning  the  chant,  that  in  every  arti- 
cle of  any  unforeseen  joy  we  might  be  affected  with 
sorrow.  De  Ordine  Antiphonarii,  ch.  xliv.  p.  541. 
Rupert  says,  the  darkness  signified  the  blindness 
of  the  Jews,  and  tbe  darkness  of  the  Crucifixion  ; 
the  lights,  the  saints  ;  the  extinction,  the  slaughter 
of  them.     L.  v.  ch.  xxvi.  p.  953. 

b  Our  Lord  himself.  Id.  ch.  xxxiii.  p.  955.  See 
further  Rup.  L.  vi.  ch.  xxix.  p.  970  ;  Albinus 
Flaccus  de  Divin.  Offic.  p.  247  ;  and  Amalarius,  L. 
iii.  ch.  xxii.  p.  472. 

e2 


52 


BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  FROM  THE  CONQUEST 


obit  from  another  house.   At  the  beat- 
ing of  the  table  they  were  to  talk  in 
the    Cloister,    and    after    Sext    again. 
Then  was  to   follow  a  Mass   for  the 
Poor  introduced  by  the  Almoner,  who 
were  to  take  the   Sacrament,  and  re- 
ceive  refection ;     after   which   Nones 
were  to  commence,  and  the  forms,  as 
then  usual,  to  be  removed.     On  these 
four  days  no  one  was  to  absent  himself 
from  the    communion  without  a  rea- 
sonable  cause ;   when  the  Mass   was 
nearly   ended,  the   forms  were   to  be 
brought  back,  and  Vespers  began  upon 
them.     In  the  mean  while  the  Priest 
following  the  procession  was  to  go  to 
the  place  where  the   body  of   Christ 
was  laid,  having  been  censed  both  be- 
fore and  after  its  deposition  there,  and 
with  a  light  constantly  burning  before 
it.     This    over,   they   took  a   mioctus. 
Upon  entering  the  Refectory  they  were 
to  bow  before  their  seats,  and,  sitting 
down,  take  a   mixtus   of  bread   only, 
and  drink,  which  was  to  be  put  ready 
by  the  Refectioners.     Then  the  poor 
(who  washed  their  feet  first)  were  to 
be  introduced  to  the  Maundy,     The 
Monks   who    died  that  year  were  to 
have  their  poor  in  this   Maundy  [see 
Infirmary],  as  well  as  those  whom  the 
Abbot   selected ;    in    this    service   no 
Monk,  but  those  deputed  to  the  office, 
were   to   interfere.     As    long   as   this 
office  of  washing  the  feet  and  hands 
lasted,  they  were  to  sing  ;  and  those  who 
wished  it  might  sit  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  it  was  usual  to  sit  in  the  Choir, 
namely,   one   between   two    standing ; 
but  when  the  drinking  commenced  they 
might  sit  how  they  liked.     Then  Ves- 
pers were  to  follow.     If  any  stranger 
from   without   sought  benediction    on 
any.of  these  three  days  [see  Hostrey], 
he  was  to  receive  it ;  the  tables  of  the 
Refectory  were  to  be  covered ;  at  the 
bell,  and  over  the  Abbot's  table  were 
to    be   placed   tables  with   hammers.a 

a  Bells  signified  the  Apostles,  the  heralds  of 
Christ,  and  were  not  then  rung,  because  they  de- 
serted him  ;  and  there  was  a  wooden  hammer  sus- 
pended in  a  table,  and  sounding,  ("  ligneus  mal- 
leolus in  tabula  suspensus  et  personans,")  because 
Christ  was  then  solum  torcular  calcans  (see  Isaiah, 
eh.  lxiii.  v.  3. J  solus  in  ligno  cruris,  alone  on  the 


The  verses  and  benediction  in  the  re- 
fectory were  to  be  omitted,  and  the 
Miserere  after  dinner  read  in  a  low 
voice.  The  reader  was  not  to  wait  for 
the  benediction,  and  to  end  without 
tu  autem  domine.h  Whilst  the  Monks 
were  in  the  fratry  the  Sacrists  were  to 
uncover  all  the  Altars,  and  get  ready 
two  reading  desks  (the  one  in  the 
Chapter  and  the  other  in  the  Church), 
which  were  to  be  carried,  before  col- 
lation, into  the  Refectory.  After  the 
Monks  rose  from  table,  and,  as  usual, 
returned  from  the  Church  and  Dormi- 
tory, they  were  to  wash  their  feet  as 
on  a  Sabbath,  and  preparation  was  to 
be  made  for  a  Maundy  in  the  Chapter, 
which  was  to  take  place  after  a  drink- 
ing in  the  Refectory.  This  Maundy 
over,  the  Abbot  and  others,  entering 
the  Chapter,  the  Convent  rising  as  he 
passed  to  his  seat,  were  to  go  to  their 
places.  When  the  hymn  was  over  the 
Sacrist  was  to  strike  the  table  for  col- 
lation, and  the  Deacon  to  enter  with 
the  Gospel,  preceded  by  three  converts, 
carrying  the  candlestick  and  censer. 
Upon  their  entrance  the  Convent  was 
to  rise  till  the  first  verse  of  the  Gospel 
was  read,  and,  at  a  proper  time,  the 
Abbot  nodded  to  the  Prior  to  strike 
the  table ;  upon  which  they  were  all  to 
rise,  and,  preceded  by  the  Deacon  and 
the  above  Converts,  go  to  the  re- 
fectory for  a  charity.  The  Deacon  was 
to  put  the  Gospel  upon  the  lectern 
brought  from  the  Church,  and  cense 
both ;  and,  at  a  nod  from  the  senior 
Prior,  who  then  officiated  in  the  Ab- 
bot's room,  to  begin  reading  in  the 
place  where  he  had  left  off.  The  Re- 
fectioner  was  next  to  strike  the  table, 
and  the  Abbot  and  brothers,  who  had 
assistedhim  in  the  Maundy,  to  go  to  the 
place  where  the  drink  of  charity  was 
prepared,  with  bottles,  or  the  cups  of 
the  Monks  in  their  hands.  When  these 
were  filled,  the  reader  was  to  be  silent, 


wood  of  the  cross,   and  the  sole  witness  to   the 
truth.     Rupert  Tuitiens.  L.  v.  ch.  xxix. 

b  Beginnings  and  ends  were  left  out,  because, 
"lam  alpha  and  omega,  &c.  ;  and  he  who  is  our 
head  and  beginning  Jesus  Christ  was  in  these  days 
taken  away  from  us."     Id.  L.  v.  ch.  xxv. 


TO  THE  DISSOLUTION. 


53 


and  they  were  to  go  to  the  step ;  and  till 
they  came  thither  theRefectioner  was  to 
strike  the  table  from  the  time  they  had 
received  the  drink  and  began  to  go ; 
and  upon  their  arrival,  three  or  four 
times  more  quickly,  and  then  stop. 
Then  was  to  follow  the  benediction  by 
the  Priest  of  the  week,  and,  after  this, 
the  Abbot  was  to  give  drink  to  the 
Prior  and  others,  according  to  seniority, 
kissing  their  hands,  those  who  assisted 
him  in  bringing  the  drink  to  the  step 
ministering  to  him.  When  all  the 
Monks  and  children  were  served,  the 
Abbot  was  to  go  to  the  Deacon,  who 
read  the  collation,  and,  when  he  had 
ended  the  verse  he  had  begun,  give  him 
the  drink,  and  so  afterwards  to  those 
who  carried  the  candlesticks  and  cen- 
sers. These  the  Abbot's  assistants 
were  in  the  mean  while  to  hold,  then 
to  carry  the  cups  of  the  Deacon  and 
others  to  the  Abbot's  table,  and  when 
they  came  to  the  step,  to  make  a  bow, 
and  sit  down.  Then  the  like  drink, 
and  kissing  of  hands,  was  to  be  done 
to  them.  The  Abbot  was  next  to  go 
to  his  seat,  the  Convent  rising  as  he 
passed,  and  the  Prior  to  administer  the 
drink  to  the  Abbot,  and  kiss  his  hands. 
A  nod  of  the  Abbot  was  then  to  ter- 
minate the  reading  of  the  Deacon,  who 
was  to  shut  the  book,  make  his  bow, 
and  lay  his  officiating  robes  upon  the 
desk.  The  Converts  were  to  carry  the 
candlesticks  and  censer  to  the  Abbot's 
table,  make  an  inclination,  and,  with 
the  Deacon,  sit  down  at  the  table  and 
drink.  The  Abbot  was  then  to  strike 
the  table  once,  and  as  many  times  as 
the  bell  was  struck  on  a  common  sab- 
bath at  the  charity  after  the  Maundy, 
and  the  Priests  to  carry  the  two  desks 
and  robes  to  the  Church.  Thither  the 
Abbot  and  Convent  were  to  go  in  pro- 
cession, and  the  wonted  confession  to 
be  made  and  Complin  said,  and  after 
this  the  three  usual  prayers. 

On  Good  Friday  the  table  was  to  be 
struck  before  Mattins  in  the  Cloister, 
before  the  cellar  and  infirmary,  to 
awake  the  sleepers,  and  the  service  to 
be  the  same  as  on  Thursday.  At  Prime 
the  table  was  to  be  struck,  and  they 


were  to  go  barefooted  to  the  Church, 
and  so  continue  till  the  office  of  the 
day  was  finished  :  when  it  was  very 
cold  the  Abbot  might  order  them  to 
put  their  shoes  on,  in  which  case  of 
extreme   cold   they  were   only  to   be 
barefooted  at  the  office.     Afterwards 
they  were  to  sit  in  the  Cloister ;  and, 
the  Abbot  beginning  to  say  the  whole 
Psalter,  after  which  those  who  chose  it 
might  go  to  confession.     When  Tierce 
approached  they  were  to  go  as  usual  to 
the  Dortour,  and,  being  combed  and 
washed,  to  the  preparatory  prayers  and 
Tierce.    After  these  they  were  to  go  to 
the  Chapter,  a  verse  was  to  be  said  in 
silence,  a  sentence  of  the  Rule  read  as 
on  Thursday,  a  discourse  made  on  it, 
and  matters  arranged  for  the  morrow's 
Chapter.     They  were  next  to  sit  in  the 
Cloister,  neither   talking,    singing,    or 
reading.     After  Nones  the  officiating 
ministers  were  to  robe  themselves,  and 
the  Priest  and  Deacon  go  to  the  Altar, 
covered  with  a  single  linen  cloth.    Du- 
ring the  service,  at  the  part  "  they  di- 
vided my  vestments  among  them"  two 
of  the  robed  ministers  near  the  Altar 
were  to    draw  out  two  cloths,  which 
before  the  office  had  been  sent  there, 
the   linen    still   remaining    under   the 
Missal.  Then  was  to  follow  a  religious 
service,  and  the  prayer  for  all  orders  of 
men,   except   the   Jews*     When   this 
was  over,  two  Priests,  appointed  by  the 
Chantor,  were  to  go  to  the  Cross,  pre- 
pared  and   covered   at   the    Morning 
Altar,  and  bear  it,  advancing  by  de- 
grees, and  singing  (as  well  as  the  Con- 
vent) to  the   High  Altar.     They  were 
then  to  uncover  it,  begin  the  Antipho- 
nar,  ecce  lignum,  and  bow  the  knee. 
After  more  religious   services,  carpets 
were  to  be  laid  before  the  Altar,  and 
the  Abbot  and  others  successively  to 
prostrate    themselves,   pray,   kiss    the 
foot  of  the   Crucifix,   and    afterwards 
return   to   the   Choir.     If  there  were 
any  clerks  or  laymen  who  wished  to 
adore  the  Cross,b  it  was  to  be  carried 


a  Because,  till  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  no 
manner  of  prayer  could  expel  their  blindness.  Rup. 
Tuit.  L.  vi.  ch.  xviii.p.  964. 

b  At  Durham  was  "  an  image  of  our  Lady,  which 


r>4 


BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  FROM  THE  CONQUEST 


to  another  place,  and  the  Monks  to 
kneel  as  it  passed.     When  this  Adora- 
tion   was    entirely    over,    the   bearers 
were  to  elevate  the  Cross,  and  take  it 
to  its  place  ;  the  Monks  seeking  par- 
don on  their  knees.     Then  the  Priests, 
&c.  were  to  go  to  the  place  where  the 
host  was  laid  on  Thursday,  cense  it, 
and  give  it  to  the  Deacon  to  carry.  As 
they  approached  the  Altar,  the  Monks, 
kneeling,  were  to  adore  the  host,  which 
was  placed  upon  the  Altar,a  and  wine 
and  water  mixed  in  the  chalice.    After 
confession  and  prayer  the  Priest  was  to 
cense  the  host  and  chalice.     Then  was 
to  follow  the  communion  without  the 
Pax,    and  the   preparatory   prayer    of 
Vespers.     These  ended  they  were  to 
go  to  the  Cloister,  wash  their  feet  with 
warm  water,  and  put  on  their  diurnal 
shoes.     Then  Vespers  were  to  be  said 
in  silence  ;  and  after  these  they  were 
to  take  their  refection  of  bread  and  wa- 
ter, and   raw  herbs  only,  though  the 
usual  viands  were  cooked,  but  distri- 
buted in  alms.     After  the  refection  of 
the  Convent,  the  Sacrists,  assisted  by 
as  many  priests  as  were  necessary,  were 
to  wash  the  Altars,  first  with  water, 
then  with  wine.b     When  the  servants, 
after  returning  from  the  Church  and 
Dormitory,  had  taken  their  refection, 
the  Monks  were  to  go  to  the  Refectory 
for  the  Rule's  sake,  but  to  drink  water 
only.      Upon    their   leaving  this    and 
sitting  in  the  Cloister,  the  table  was  to 
be   struck   for    collation;  after   which 


was  made  to  open  with  gimmers  (hinges)  from  her 
breast  downwards  ;  and  within  was  painted  the 
image  of  our  Saviour,  finely  gilt,  holding  up  his 
hands,  and  betwixt  his  hands  a  fair  and  large  Cru- 
cifix of  Christ,  all  of  gold ;  which  Crucifix  was  to 
be  taken  out  every  Good-Friday ;  and  every  man 
crept  unto  it  that  was  then  in  the  Church."  Davies, 
&c. 

Hot-cross  Bun^.  In  the  life  of  St.  Severus 
(Abbat.  Agath.)  ch.  ii.  we  hear  of  bread  sent  for 
presents  in  the  manner  of  Eulogies  [explained  in 
the  Chapter  of  Rules]  ;  which  bread  was  marked 
with  a  cross,  and  the  eating  of  it  so  marked  had  a 
mystical  allusion.     Du  Cange,  v.  Artona. 

a  By  the  host  left  on  the  Altar,  was  implied, 
that  Christ  lay  in  the  Sepulchre,  and  was  deserted 
by  his  disciples.  Raban.  Maur.  de  Instit.  Cleric. 
L.  i.  ch.  xxxiii.     Addit.  de  Missa,  p.  586. 

b  Because  blood  and  water  issued  from  the 
wounded  sides  of  our  Lord.  Rup.  Tuit.  L.  v.  ch. 
xxxi. 


they  were  to  go  to  the  refectory  "to 
drink  a  charity/' 

On  the  Saturday  till  Prime  all  was 
to  be  done  as  on  Friday.  In  the  Chap- 
ter the  sentence  from  the  Rule  was  to 
be  read,  and  all  things  arranged  till  the 
Easter  Chapter.  Before  and  after  Chap- 
ter the  Sacrists  were  to.  adorn  the 
Church  and  all  the  Altars ;  to  put  the 
tapers  where  they  ought  to  be,  and 
place  the  one  for  consecration  in  its 
proper  place c  [the  Serpent  Taper  in 
the  Concordia  Regularum].  In  this 
taper  was  to  be  written  the  year  of  our 
Lord  ;d  and  the  Cross  to  be  marked 
with  five  grains  of  incense  in  five 
places  [from  the  five  wounds  of  Christ] . 
Then  were  to  follow  the  censing e  pro- 
cession and  consecration  of  the  taper f 
(much  as  in  the  Concord  of  Rules)  ; 
and  a  candle  was  to  be  lighted  in  the 
lantern,  to  light  the  taper  if  it  went 
out;  and  this  lantern  was  to  be  carried 
by  one  of  the  masters  of  the  Novices. 
At  this  procession  the  candlesticks 
were  not  to  be  carried.  The  holy  fire 
which  remained  in  the  Cloister  was  to 
be  collected  by  the  Cellarer's  servants  ; 
and  from  this  taper  all  the  fires s  before 
extinguished  in  all  the  offices  were 
again  to  be  lighted.11  The  children,  if 
too  little,  were  not  to  stay  till  after 
Vespers  for  refection. 

c  At  Durham,  upon  the  Paschal,  besides  six 
branches  or  candlesticks,  three  on  each  side,  stood 
"  a  long  piece  of  wood,  reaching  within  a  man's 
length  to  the  uppermost  vault  or  roof  of  the  Church, 
upon  which  stood  a  great  long  squared  taper  of 
wax,  called  the  Paschal,  having  a  fine  convenience 
through  the  said  roof  of  the  Church  to  light  the 
taper."     Davies;  see  before,  ch.  iv. 

d  Because  Christ  is  the  acceptable  year  of  the 
Lord,  whose  months  are  the  twelve  Apostles,  whose 
days  are  the  elect,  and  whose  hours  are  the  children 
baptized.  Gemma  Animae  de  Antiq.  rit.  Missar.  L. 
ii*.  p.  1281. 

e  This  the  Deacon  did,  because  the  women  who 
came  to  the  burial  of  Christ  brought  spices.  Rup. 
Tuit.  ch.  xxxi.  p.  971. 

f  The  Deacon  consecrated  it,  because  the  weaker 
sex  .announced  the  Resurrection  to  the  Apostles. 
Ibid. 

s  The  fire  was  extinguished  at  Sext,  and  re- 
lighted at  Nones,  on  account  of  the  eclipse  of  the 
Sun  during  the  Crucifixion  at  those  hours.  Gemma 
Animae,  p.  1280. 

hAll  the  tapers  were  re-lighted  from"  the  new 
fire,  because  our  Lord,  on  the  day  in  which  be 
arose  from  the  dead,  though  it  was  late,  standing  in 
the  midst  of  his  Disciples,   and  showing  them  his 


TO    THE    DISSOLUTION. 


55 


Easter-day  and  during  Easter  there 
was  to  be  a  procession  to  the  Crucifix 
after  Lauds  and  after  Vespers  through 
the  whole  week;  on  Easter-day  in 
Cappis. 

Festivals  in  cappis  (rich  robes)  were 
in  general,  not  always,  the  most  grand 
of  all.  The  cappa  (or  cope,  says  Ho- 
norius,  is  the  proper  robe  of  singers, 
cantorum),  which  seems  to  be  substi- 
tuted for  the  acintine  tunic  of  the  law 
(pro  tunica  acintina  legis),  from  whence 
as  that  was  adorned  with  bells  so  this 
with  fringes.  By  this  robe  holy  con- 
versation is  represented,  therefore  it 
is  used  by  every  order.  It  has  a 
hood  above,  which  marks  the  joy  of 
Heaven.  It  reaches  to  the  feet,  because 
in  good  living  we  must  persevere  to 
the  end ;  by  the  fringes  the  labour  is 
denoted  by  which  the  service  of  God 
is  consummated.  It  is  open  before, 
because  eternal  life  lies  open  to  the 
ministers  of  Christ  who  lead  a  holy  life. 
Gemma  Animse,  ch.  ccxxviii.  p.  1238. 

On  Easter-day  was  performed  the 

Office  of  the  Sepulchre,  of  which  a 
slight  notice  was  given  in  the  preceding 
Chapter.  The  more  full  service  was 
this ;  previous  to  which  it  is  fit  to 
note,  that  Mary  Magdalen,  Mary  of 
Bethany,  and  the  sinner  of  Nairn,  were 
three  different  persons,  though  often 
confounded  :a  Three  Deacons  clothed 
in  dalmaticks  and  amesses,  with  their 
heads  in  the  manner  of  women,  and 
holding  a  vase  in  their  hands,  came 
through  the  middle  of  the  Choir,  and 
hastening  towards  the  Sepulchre,  with 
downcast  looks,  said  together  this 
verse,  (i  Who  will  remove  the  stone 
for  us  ?"  Upon  this  a  boy,  clothed 
like  an  angel,  in  albs,  and  holding  a 
wheat-ear  in  his  hand,  before  the  Se- 
pulchre, said,  "  Whom  do  you  seek  in 
the  Sepulchre  ?"  The  Maries  answered, 
"  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  was  crucified." 
The  angel  answered,  "  He  is  not  here, 
but  is  risen ;"  and  pointed  to  the  place 

hands  and  his  side,  breathed  upon  them,  and  said, 
"  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost."  Rup  Tuit.  ch. 
xxix.  p.  971. 

a  Menagiana,  II.  93,  99. 


with  his  finger.  The  angel  then  de- 
parted very  quickly,  and  two  Priests, 
in  tunicks,  sitting  without  the  Sepul- 
chre, said,  "  Women,  whom  do  ye 
mourn  for  ?  Whom  do  ye  seek  ?" 
The  middle  one  of  the  women  said, 
(e  Sir,  if  you  have  taken  him  away,  say 
so/5  The  Priest,  shewing  the  Cross, 
said,  a  Because  they  have  taken  away 
the  Lord."  The  two  Priests,  sitting 
said,  "Whom  do  ye  seek,  women  ?"  The 
Maries,  kissing  the  place,  afterwards 
went  from  the  Sepulchre.  In  the  mean 
time  a  certain  Priest,  in  the  character 
of  Christ,  in  an  alb,  with  a  stole,  hold- 
ing a  Cross,  met  them  on  the  left  horn 
of  the  Altar,  and  said,  K  Mary/'  Upon 
hearing  this,  the  mock  Mary  threw 
herself  at  his  feet,  and,  with  a  loud 
voice,  cried,  Cabboin.  The  Priest  nod- 
ding replied,  "Noli  me  tangere  "  (touch 
me  not).  This  being  finished,  the 
Priest  again  appeared  at  the  right  horn 
of  the  Altar,  and  said  to  them  as  they 
passed  before  the  Altar,  "  Hail !  do 
not  fear."  This  being  finished,  he 
concealed  himself;  and  the  women, 
joyful  at  hearing  this,  bowed  to  the 
Altar,  and  turning  to  the  Choir,  sung 
"  Alleluia,  the  Lord  is  risen.'5  This 
was  the  signal  for  the  Bishop  or  Priest 
before  the  Altar,  with  the  censer,  to 
begin  aloud,  "  Te  Deum."  Du  Cange, 
v.  Sepulchri  Officium. 

Another  office  was  the 

Burial  of  Alleluia.  The  observation 
of  this  ceremony  is  mentioned  in  Er- 
nulph's  Annals  of  the  Church  of  Ro- 
chester, and  by  Selden  in  his  notes  to 
Eadmer,  as  observed  just  before  the 
octaves  of  Easter.  Austin  says,  that  it 
used  to  be  sung  in  all  Churches  from 
Easter  to  Pentecost ;  but  Damasus  or- 
dered it  to  be  performed  at  certain  times, 
when  it  was  chaunted  on  the  Sundays 
from  the  Octaves  of  the  Epiphany  to 
Septuagesima,and  on  the  Sundays  from 
the  octaves  of  Pentecost  to  Advent. 
One  mode  of  burying  the  Alleluia  was 
this  :  in  the  sabbath  of  Septuagesima  at 
Nones,  the  choristers  assembled  in  the 
great  Vestiary,  and  there  arranged  the 
ceremony.     Having   finished  the   last 


56 


BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  FROM  THE  CONQUEST 


Benedicamus,  they  advanced  with 
crosses,  torches,  holy  water,  and  in- 
cense, carrying  a  turf  (Glebam)  in  the 
manner  of  a  coffin,  passed  through  the 
Choir,  and  went  howling  to  the  Clois- 
ter, as  far  as  the  place  of  interment ; 
and  then,  having  sprinkled  the  water, 
and  censed  the  place,  returned  by  the 
same  road.  According  to  a  story 
(whether  true  or  false)  in  one  of  the 
Churches  of  Paris,  a  Choir-boy  used  to 
whip  a  top,  marked  with  Alleluia. 
written  in  golden  letters,  from  one  end 
of  the  Choir  to  the  other.  In  other 
places  Alleluia  was  buried  by  a  serious 
service  on  Septnagesima  Sunday.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Alleluia. 

Another  ceremony,  though  probably 
practised  only  abroad,  is  given  here 
for  its  curiosity.  A  ball,  not  of  size  to 
be  grasped  by  one  hand  only,  being 
given  out  at  Easter,  the  Dean  and  his 
representative  began  an  Antiphone 
suited  to  Easter-day ;  then  taking  the 
ball  in  his  left  hand,  commenced  a 
dance  to  the  tune  of  the  Antiphone ; 
the  others  dancing  round  hand  in  hand. 
At  intervals  the  ball  was  bandied,  or 
tossed  to  each  of  the  choristers.  The 
organ  played  according  to  the  dance  and 
sport.  The  dancing  and  Antiphone 
being  concluded,  the  Choir  went  to 
take  a  refreshment.  It  was  the  privi- 
lege of  the  lord,  or  his  locum  tenens,  to 
throw  the  ball;  even  the  Archbishop 
did  it.  Du  Cange,  v.  Pelota  Percula. 
Anthony^  the  Egyptian  Abbot,  used  to 
play  with  his  Monks,  that  he  might,  as 
he  alledged,  be  afterwards  more  strong 
to  serve  God.  Gold.  Leg.  fol.  xlviii. 
But  the  above  was  taken  from  a  cir- 
cumstance recorded  in  the  Acta  Sanc- 
torum. 

Du  Cange  suspects  that  there  was  a 
horrible  custom  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury of  seizing  all  Ecclesiasticks  who 
walked  abroad  between  Easter  and 
Pentecost  (because  the  Apostles  were 
seized  by  the  Jews  after  Christ's  pas- 
sion) ;  and  making  them  purchase  their 
liberty  by  money,  v.  Prisio. 

In  the  Easter  week  the  Monks  were 
not  to  converse  in  the  Cloister  :  but 
till  the  Ides  of  September  on  private 


days,  unless  when  they  left  the  Refec- 
tory, they  were  to  go  to  the  Chapter, 
perform  a  very  short  service,  and  after- 
wards speak  in  the  Cloister. 

On  the  Octaves,  at  the  Lections, 
there  were  to  be  Paschal  Sermons.a 

At  the  Rogation  Days,  after  Mattins 
for  the  dead,  the  Monks  were  to  re- 
turn to  their  beds,  and  those  who 
wished  it  to  sleep  longer  than  usual ; 
for  in  these  days  there  was  to  be  no 
meridian  or  sleep  at  noon,  nor  were 
they  to  be  awakened  by  any  sound,  as 
usual  at  other  times  ;b  but  at  a  proper 
season  the  masters  were  to  awake  the 
children  as  quietly  as  possible ;  and 
while  they  Avere  reading  in  the  Cloister 
those  in  their  beds  were  to  rise  with- 
out delay.  After  the  Mass  de  jejunio, 
the  sentence  of  the  Rule  was  to  be 
read  in  Chapter,  and  the  procession  ar- 
ranged.0 After  Tierce,  the  boys  and 
infirm,  who  could  not  fast,  took  mixlus ; 
from  Sext  they  were  to  go  to  the  Dor- 
mitory, as  at  another  time,  when  they 
were  used  to  sleep  at  noon ;  then^  with 
naked  feet,  they  were  to  leave  the 
Dormitory,  wash  their  hands,  and. 
going  to  the  Church,  say  a  prayer. 
This  was  to  be  followed  bv  a  religious 
service  and  procession,  in  which  the 
Chamberlain's  servants  were  to  de- 
liver stavesd  to  the  Monks  to  support 
them  ;  and  when  they  were  to  come  to 
the  Church,  where  they  were  going,  and 

a  Because  our  whole  life  is  the  revolution  of 
seven  days,  the  eighth  or  octave  signified  eternity  ; 
and  this  was  the  mystical  reason,  why  octaves  were 
annexed  to  festivals.  Sparrow  on  the  Common 
Prayer,  232.  Du  Cange  adds,  because  our  Lord 
rose  on  the  8th  day  (including  Sunday  to  Sunday, 
says  Alcuinus),  the  octave  of  a  feast  was  the  day 
on  which  the  whole  solemnity  closed,     v.  Octavo.. 

Boys  used  to  claim  hard  eggs  or  small  money  at 
the  feast  of  Easter,  in  exchange  for  the  ball  play 
before  mentioned.     Du  Cange,  v.  Roulleta. 

b  Alluding  to  the  state  of  the  disciples,  between 
the  passion  and  ascension  of  Christ. 

c  The  Rogations  were  processions  for  the  good 
of  the  future  harvest ;  and  the  three  days  before 
were  to  be  spent  in  fasting,  that  the  purified  soul 
might  ascend  with  Christ  on  the  Thursday  follow- 
ing.     Sparrow,  p.  160. 

d  "  Sometimes  we  use  this  staff,  sometimes  not. 
When  we  have  Christ  at  hand  we  need  no  support. 
If  he  has  left  us  on  account  of  our  sins,  we  have 
need  to  seek  a  support ;  i.  e.  the  prayers  of  the 
saints.''  Ciampini  Vetera  Monumenta,  ch.  xv. 
p.  119. 


TO    THE    DISSOLUTION. 


57 


the  Chantor  began  a  chant  to  the  ho- 
nour of  the  patron  saint,  the  Monks, 
as  they  entered,  returned  the  staves  to 
the  servants,  to  take  them  again  when 
they  went  out.a  Then  there  was  to  be 
another  Mass  dejejunio,  a  single  prayer 
to  be  said  for  the  patron  saint,  and 
two  Monks  to  go  to  the  gate  of  the 
house  to  sing  an  Agnus  Dei,h  and  then 
to  come  back,  taking  with  them  some 
of  the  servants  to  sing  the  Litany,c 
which  the  Convent  was  to  do  upon 
their  return.  When  the  procession 
came  to  the  gate  of  the  Church,  they 


a  The  staff  was  human  assistance,  and  they  did 
not  need  it  when  Christ  was  present.  Expositio 
Missae  de  vetusto  Codice,  p.  2172.  "When  we 
make  a  procession  to  another  church,"  says  Hono- 
ring, "  we  go  as  it  were  to  the  land  of  promise  ; 
when  we  enter  the  church  singing,  we  arrive  as  it 
were  rejoicing  at  our  home  (patriam)."  Gemma 
Animae,  L.  i.  ch.  lxx.  p.  1200.  The  churches  to 
which  the  procession  was  made  were  sometimes 
the  Cathedrals,  see  Provinc.  Angl.  p.  9.  n.  1.  voc. 
minoribus  Ecclesiis ;  hut  not  always  these.  See 
Monast.  I.  p.  212. 

b  This,  besides  a  chant  in  the  Mass,  had  another 
signification.  Pieces  of  the  Paschal  taper,  conse- 
crated at  Easter,  were  given  to  the  people,  to  make 
perfumes  for  their  houses,  protect  them  from  sor- 
cery, &c.  This  custom  only  prevailed  out  of  Rome ; 
for  there,  instead  of  the  taper,  the  Archdeacon 
used  to  consecrate  some  wax,  mixed  with  oil,  and 
distribute  pieces  in  the  form  of  a  lamb  to  the  peo- 
ple. This  was  the  origin  of  those  waxen  images  of 
the  lamb,  which  the  Pontiffs  themselves  consecrated 
in  a  more  august  form.     Du  Cange,  in  voce. 

c  St.  Mark's  day,  says  Davies,  was  commonly 
kept  a  fast  through  all  the  country,  and  no  flesh 
eaten  upon  it.  Also  upon  this,  and  the  three  first 
days  of  Cross,  or  the  Rogation  week,  there  were 
processions  by  the  Prior  and  Monks  of  Durham  to 
one  of  the  Parish  Churches,  and  a  sermon  preached 
at  each.  Upon  Holy  Thursday  was  a  procession 
with  two  Crosses,  borne  before  the  Monks,  and 
each  in  rich  copes  ;  the  Prior  in  one  of  cloth  of 
gold  so  massy,  that  his  train  was  supported. 
Shrines  and  relicks  were  also  carried.  There  were 
two  Litanies  performed  twice  in  the  year,  the 
greater  and  the  less  ;  the  first  on  St.  Mark's  day, 
instituted  by  Gregory,  on  account  of  a  pestilence, 
*  called  also  the  black  cross  from  the  black  cloaths, 
worn  from  weeping  and  penance  ;  or  "  peraventure, 
because  they  covered  the  Crosse  and  auters  with 
blessed  hayres. ' '  The  smaller  Litany  was  sung  three 
days  before  the  Ascension,  and  was  called  the  Ro- 
gations, Processions,  &c.  ;  because  then  a  general 
procession  was  made,  the  Cross  borne,  bells  rung, 
and,  in  some  Churches,  a  Dragon  with  a  great  tail, 
filled  full  of  chaff,  emptied  on  the  third  day,  to  shew 
that  the  Devil,  after  prevailing  the  first  and  second 
day,  before  and  under  the  Law,  was  on  "  the  thyrde 
day  of  grace,  by  the  passion  of  Jhesu  criste,  put 
out  of  his  reame."  Gold.  Legend,  fol.  xvi.  a.  b. 
ubi  plura. 


were  to  end  the  Litany;  after  which 
the  two  selected  Monks  were  to  stand 
with  naked  feet  before  the  gates,  and 
sing  an  Agnus  Dei.  The  Litany  was 
to  be  followed  by  the  preparatory 
prayer  of  Nones  ;  and,  after  this,  they 
were  to  go  to  the  Cloister  to  wash 
their  feet,  then  return  to  the  Choir, 
and,  at  the  ringing  of  another  bell,  sing 
Nones. 

Whitsuntide.  This  week  the  fasts 
were  to  be  begun,  which  the  Rule  re- 
quired on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays, 
till  the  Ides  of  September,d  unless 
there  was  a  reason  why  the  Abbot  or 
Prior  should  twice  grant  a  license  of 
refection.e  On  a  Vigil  that  fell  on 
these  days  there  was  to  be  a  Mass, 
but  no  procession.  After  the  Chapter 
on  Fast  days  they  were  to  sit  in  the 
Cloister  conversing.  After  Tierce  the 
servants,  and  minuti,  and  sick,  were  to 
take  mixtus.  After  Sext  they  were  to 
go  to  sleep,  and  next  bring  their  shoes, 
barefooted,  to  the  Cloister.  Then  they 
were  to  wash  and  comb  themselves, 
and  go  to  Church.  In  this  season  to 
the  calends  of  October  they  were  only 
to  converse  once  in  the  Cloister,  from 
after  the  Chapter  till  Tierce.  After 
Sext  they  were  to  go  to  the  Dormitory, 
and  Mass  be  celebrated  after  that 
hour. 

Presents  of  roses  were  made  on 
Whit  sun  day  .f 

Festivals,  §*c.  how  observed. 

Whitsuntide.  In  some  Churches 
abroad  water  was  let  down,  afterwards 

d  Benedict  prescribed  fasting  from  Holy- Cross 
day  (Sept.  14.)  to  Easter,  and  from  Pentecost  to 
Holy-Rood  day,  every  Wednesday  and  Friday. 
On  the  fasts  prescribed  by  the  Order,  the  Monks 
were  to  make  but  one  repast  at  Nones  (3  p.  m.), 
and  on  the  Church-fasts,  not  till  the  evening  colla- 
tions. Reg.  ch.  xli.  This  fast  was  by  no  means 
observed.     Reyn.  Append.  165. 

e  The  dispensation  extended  to  growing  youths, 
the  sick,  weak,  minuti,  and  "  those  who  bore  the 
burden  of  the  day."  M.  Paris,  p.  1059.  Const. 
Cap.  Gen.  Northamp.  a°.  1225.  §  Hospitalitate. 
By  the  const,  of  the  same  place,  a*.  1444,  ch.  viii. 
the  Monks  were  not  to  sup  on  any  Friday  in  the 
whole  year,  except  a  Christmas -day  fell  then. 
Fasting  twice  a  week  was  borrowed  from  the  Pha- 
risees.    Pictet.  Serm.  sur.  Matt.  19. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Rosa. 


58 


BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  FROM  THE  CONQUEST 


wafers,  from  a  hollow  place  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  Churchy  in  commemoration 
of  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost.a 
The  Ordinary  of  the  Church  of  Rouen 
says,  "Whilst  Veni  Creator  is  begun 
some  of  the  Treasurer's  people,  being 
in  the  lower  deambulatories  of  the 
tower,  shall  throw  down  before  the 
Crucifix,  and,  as  far  as  they  can,  be- 
low the  Choir,  oak-leaves,  unconse- 
crated  wafers,  and  burning  tow,  in  a 
large  quantity  :  and,  at  the  Gloria  in 
excelsis  (Glory  to  God  on  high),  shall 
let  fly  towards  the  Choir  small  birds, 
with  unconsecrated  wafers  tied  to  their 
legs  \  and  continue  the  above  till  the 
Mass,  and  not  cease  till  the  Gospel  be 
said.  All  this  was  be  at  the  expense 
of  the  Treasurer  and  Chapter  in  equal 
proportions.b  Elsewhere  at  the  Feast 
of  Pentecost  we  find,  among  the  so- 
lemnities of  High  Mass,  unconsecrated 
wafers,  with  burning  torches,  thrown 
down  from  the  highest  vaulting  among 
the  Choir/'0  Lambarde  (after  de- 
scribing the  Office  of  the  Sepulchre 
by  Puppets,  in  which  was  one  watch- 
man, who  seeing  Christ  arise,  made  a 
continual  noise,  like  the  metynge  of  two 
sticks,  and  was  therefore  nick-named 
Jack  Snackes)  thus  describes  the  Whit- 
suntide-office:  "  I  myself,  being  then  a 
child,  once  sawe  in  Poule's  Church,  in 
London,  a  feast  of  Whitsuntyde, 
wheare  the  coming  downe  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  set  forth  by  a  white  Pigeon, 
that  was  let  to  fly  out  of  a  hole,  that 
yet  is  to  be  seene  in  the  mydst  of 
the  roof  of  the  great  isle ;  and  by  a 
long  censer,  which  descendinge  out  of 
the  same  place,  almost  to  the  verie 
grounde,  was  swinged  up  and  downe 
at  such  a  lengthe,  that  it  reached  with 
thone  sweepe  almost  to  the  West  gate 
of  the  Churche,  and  with  the  other  to 
the  quyre  staires  of  the  same,  breath- 
inge  out  over  the  whole  Churche  and 
companie,  a  most  pleasant  perfume  of 
such  swete  things  as  burned  therein. 
With  the  like  doome  shewes  also,  they 
used  everie  where  to  furnish   sondrie 


a  Coryatt's  Crudities,  I.  p.  3.        b  Du  Cange,  v. 
Nebula.         c  Id.  v.  Oblatce. 


parts  of  their  Church  service,  as  by 
their  spectacles  of  the  Nativitie,  Pas- 
sion, Ascension,  &c."d  In  some  Coun- 
cils of  Spain  it  is  enacted,  that  there 
be  no  representation  of  the  emission  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  at  this  season,  during 
Mass  and  Vespers,  nor  mock  thunders, 
which  had  done  much  damage. e 

On  the  principal  Feasts  every  thing 
was  to  be  done  usual  on  a  holy  sab- 
bath. On  the  Vigil  the  whole  Monas- 
tery and  all  the  Altars  were  to  be 
ornamented  to  the  best  ability  of 
the  place.  The  Offices  and  Cloister 
were  to  be  cleaned,  the  seats  of  the 
Refectory,  Chapter,  and  Cloister,  were 
to  be  covered,  and  rushes  strewed  on 
the  forms.  At  the  reading  of  the  Gos- 
pel the  Altar  was  to  be  uncovered,  and 
all  the  tapers  lighted.  Festival  cloths 
were  to  spread  upon  the  Refectory 
tables,  so  that  they  might  hang  before, 
besides  the  daily  ones  upon  which  the 
Monks  were  to  eat.  They  were  to 
have  towels  to  wipe  their  hands  with 
at  the  first  refection  only,  and  late  at 
supper. 

On  the  principal  feasts  of  the  second 
class,  the  Altars,  Presbytery,  Choir, 
and  members  of  the  Church,  on  both 
sides  the  Choir,  were  to  be  ornamented 
on  the  Vigil,  the  bells  rung,  as  on 
principal  feasts,  two  parts  of  the  tapers 
of  the  crown  of  the  Presbytery,  all 
about  the  High  Altar,  and  the  one  be- 
fore the  Crucifix  lighted.  On  Ascen- 
sion-day there  was  to  be  a  procession 
in  albs  (a  kind  of  surplice,  the  white 
garment  that  Herod  put  upon  Christ.)f 
On  the  Feast  of  the  Dedication  of  the 
Church,  the  tapers  lighted  at  the  Ves- 
pers preceding  through  all  the  Altars 
were  not  to  be  extinguished  before  the 
morrow's  Complin.  A  Mass  was  to 
be  celebrated  at  every  Altar,  if  there 
were  Priests  enough  ;  and  after  that  a 
procession  in  albs,  either  around  the 
Church,  if  there  was  a  proper  place 
for  it,  or  through  the  Cloister. 

On  Feasts  of  the  third  class  the  two 
Altars  of  the   Presbytery,  the  Presby- 

d  Warton's  Poetry,  I.  241,  &c.         e  Du  Cange, 
v.  Zamborio.  l  Lewis's  Thanet,  p.  154. 


TO    THE    DISSOLUTION, 


59 


tery  and  Choir,  were  to  be  dressed  on 
the  Vigil.  In  the  Exaltation  of  the 
Cross,  the  service  was  to  be  similar  to 
that  of  the  Invention,  except  that  on 
the  latter  the  Cross  was  to  be  worshiped, 
on  the  former  not.  In  the  latter,  after 
Tierce,  the  Choir  was  to  be  strewed 
with  carpets  up  to  the  High  Altar. 
Two  Monks  were  to  bring  the  Cross, 
covered,  to  the  step  nearest  the  Altar. 
It  was  then  to  be  uncovered,  and  at 
the  ecce  lignum  crucis  all  were  to  kneel, 
and  afterwards  prostrate  themselves 
before  it,  and  kiss  the  foot  of  it  accord- 
ing to  seniority.  This  ended  the  two 
bearers  were  to  begin  an  Antiphonar, 
super  omnia,  and  all  to  kneel.  The 
Cross  was  then  to  be  returned  to  its 
place,  and  Mass  performed. 

On  the  five  principal  Sundays  (1  Adv. 
Septuag.  1  Lent,  Midlent,  and  Palm 
Sunday)  the  ornaments  were  to  be  si- 
milar to  those  of  principal  feasts. 

On  all  the  feasts  of  twelve  lessons, 
and  all  days  within  the  octaves,  the 
Monks  were  not  to  converse  in  the 
Cloister. 

On  Trinity  Sunday  there  was  at  Dur- 
ham a  grand  procession,  and  especially 
on  Corpus  Christi  Day,  instituted  by 
Urban  IV.,  and  great  pardons  granted 
upon  it.  All  the  trades  in  the  city, 
with  banners  and  candles,  and  a  shrine 
containing  the  pix  (or  chrystal-box  en- 
closing the  host),  went  in  procession, 
and  were  joined  by  the  Convent,  who 
worshipped  it ;  and  had  a  service  in  the 
Choir.  Of  the  play,  &c.  &c.  upon  this 
day,  see  Weever,  Fun.  Mon.  405. 
Strutt,  Gliggam.  118.  Archaeological 
Library,  161,  et  alios.  It  was  abolished 
by  James  I. ;  and  the  citizens,  in  some 
parts  of  England,  to  make  themselves 
amends,  substituted  Show-days,  and 
erected  arbours  in  the  town-meadows, 
where  they  feasted,  &c.  Philips's 
Shrewsbury,  p.  202.  Upon  the  Trans- 
figuration of  Christ  (Aug.  6),  new  wine, 
if  it  could  be  found,  was  used  in  the 
chalice,  or  sometimes  a  ripe  grape 
squeezed  into  it,  and  the  branches  con- 
secrated. From  this  they  communi- 
cated.    Du  Cange,  v.  Festum. 

Among  the  iVnglo-Saxons,  at  least, 


every  Christian  of  age  fasted  three 
days  on  bread  and  water  before  the 
Feast  of  St.  Michael,  and  went  to  church 
to  confess  barefooted,  &c.  Leg.  Ethel- 
redi,  2,  ap.  Brompton.  Du  Cange,  v. 
Jejunium. 

APPENDIX. 

DECREES   OF  THE  COUNCIL    OF    LATE- 
RAN,  ANNO   1215.a 

It  enjoins  visitations  and  general 
Chapters — forbids  new  religions — or- 
ders no  Monk  or  Abbot  to  have  a 
place  in  more  than  one  house,  nor  to 
play  at  dice  or  draughts  —  prohibits 
players  and  jesters — mentions  Abbots 
spending  almost  half  the  night  in  su- 
perfluous talk  and  dissolute  habits, 
and  never  performing  divine  service 
four  times  in  a  year — enjoins  the  reli- 
gious not  to  be  bail  for  persons  with- 
out leave  of  the  Abbot  or  Convent — 
forbids  Abbots  invading  Episcopal 
Offices  by  a  meddling  with  matrimonial 
causes,  enjoining  public  penances, 
granting  letters  of  indulgences,  and  si- 
milar presumptions" — prohibits  the  re- 
ceipt of  tythes  from  lay-handsb — repro- 
bates persons  deputed  to  collect  alms 
stopping  in  taverns  or  other  unfit 
places0 — and  censures  simony.  Labbei 

a  The  Monks  cite  various  constitutions,  not  to 
be  found  in  Labbe.  Swapham  says,  "  it  was  de- 
creed in  the  Synod  of  Lateran,  that  the  Monks 
should  fast,  as  contained  in  the  Rule,  namely,  from 
Holy-rood  to  Easter.  The  Abbot  returning  home 
from  the  said  council,  made  it  known  to  his  Con- 
vent, and  obtained,  by  his  requests,  that  the  afore- 
said fasts  should  be  observed  for  the  above  time." 
Hist.  Ccenobii  Burgensis,  p.  111.  Matthew  Paris 
too  (p.  1063)  insinuates,  that  an  alteration  was 
made  in  the  burial  of  Abbots  after  the  Lateran 
Council.  But  the  printed  councils  are  notorious 
for  omissions.  See  Selden's  Titles  of  Honour, 
239,  ed.  2.     Tythes,  c.  viii.  §  4,  5,  10,  26,  &c. 

b  i,  e.  arbitrarily,  without  the  Bishop's  consent. 
See  Selden  on  this  passage.     Tythes,  c  6,  §  7. 

c  The  cynical  and  querulous  Barclay  is  bitter 
upon  this  subject.     He  says, 
"  The  Abbot  and  Prior,  and  also  their  Covent, 
Are  so  blinded  with  unhappy  covetise, 
That  with  their  own  can  they  not  be  content, 
But  to  have  more  they  alway  meanes  devise  ; 
Yea  in  so  much  that  some  have  found  a  gyse, 
To  fayne  their  brethren  taken  in  captivitie, 
That  they  may  begge  so  by  authoritie  ; 
They  fayne  miracles,  where  non  were  ever  done, 
And  all  for  lucre  :   some  other  range  about, 
To  gather  and  begge  with  some  fayned  pardon, 


60 


BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  FROM  THE  CONQUEST 


Concilia,  sub  anno  1215.  [See  §  Monks 
and   Nuns,  for  the  practices    alluded 

to.] 

CONSTITUTIONS   OF    BENEDICT    THE 
TWELFTH,  ANNO  1336. 

Common  and  Provincial  Chapters 
once  in  three  years — appointment  of 
visitors — general  Chapters  annually  to 
correct  abuses,  and  audit  the  accounts  of 
those  who  hadbeen  charged  with  an  office 
— aids  and  collections — daily  Chapters 
in  Abbeys  of  more  than  six  Monks — 
masters  to  teach  the  Monks — to  send 
students  to  the  University — to  grant 
pensions  to  them — against  waste  of 
the  woods  by  improper  sales,  and 
granting  pensions  for  life  —  against 
deceitful  contracts.  "They  also,  by 
themselves  and  others,  pretend  to  have 
made  loans;  sometimes  in  their  own 
names,  and  their  securities ;  and  even 
make  use  of  the  names  of  others. 
Sometimes  they  acknowledge,  by  pub- 
lic instruments,  to  have  borrowed  from 
a  father,  relative,  servant,  or  merchant, 
wine,  corn,  money,  cattle,  or  other 
goods,  for  the  use  of  their  houses,  when 
they  never  received  any  such  thing  *' — 
Abbots  to  take  an  oath  not  to  sell, 
alienate,  mortgage,  or  enfeoff  anew  the 
lands  destined  u  to  the  table  of  the 
house  " — not  to  appropriate  to  them- 
selves the  goods  of  vacant  offices, 
priories,  and  benefices —  inventories  or 
registers  ordered — places  not  to  be  let 
to  farm  unless  from  necessity — prelates 
and  officers  not  to  obtain  privileges 
6i  by  which  the  liberties,  possessions, 
property,  and  rights  of  their  offices  are 
strengthened/5   and  various  valuables 

And  at  the  Ale-house  at  night  all  drinketh  out. 
So  run  these  beggers  in  company  rowte, 
By  streetes,  tavernes,  towns,  and  villages  : 
No  place  can  well  be  free  of  their  outrages. 
Some  begge  for  buildinges,   some  for  reliques 

newe 
Of  holy  saintes,  of  countreys  farre  and  strange  ; 
And  with  their  wordes  fayned  and  untrue, 
For  cause  of  lucre  about  they  runne  and  range, 
But  in  a  simple  village,  farme,  or  grange, 
Whereat  these  beggars  most  simple  men  may 

finde, 
With  their  false  bones,  as  relickes,  they  them 

blinde. 

Ship  n/Fooles,  119,  b.  ed.  Seb.  Brandt, 


of  their  houses  transferred  to,  or  held 
in,  the  hands  of  relatives  and  friends — 
against  Monks  having  property,  scra- 
ping up  money,  buying  estates,  or 
causing  them  to  be  bought  in  other 
names,  or  their  own;  giving  others 
cattle  to  keep  to  produce  interest  or 
profit  to  themselves  or  another,  and 
driving  many  various  bargains  like 
tradesmen — against  money  being  given 
them  instead  of  victuals  —  no  secular 
clerks  or  laymen,  or  Monks  of  another 
house,  to  farm  the  kitchen — against  of- 
ficers keeping  women,  although  mo- 
thers and  sisters,  in  the  same  house — 
not  to  have  other  horses  or  servants 
than  office  required — suite  of  Abbots 
and  officers  limited,  except  in  case 
of  war  or  personal  danger — punctual- 
ity in  payment  of  the  funds  for  the 
necessaries  of  Monks  at  the  usual 
times — fit  persons,  or  those  likely  to 
be  so,  only  received  as  Monks — against 
deviations  in  dress — punishment  of  il- 
licit absence,  a  severe  beating  with  a 
ferula,  in  Chapter— against  Monks 
dwelling  alone  in  offices  or  priories, 
and  single  Monks  being  placed  in  towns 
and  parish  churches— the  usual  hours 
to  be  sung  in  the  priories,  and  the 
Monks  to  take  their  weeks  in  celebra- 
ting Mass  once  a  day  —  with  note 
where  three  or  four  more,  and  then 
one  Mass  at  least  every  day — to  lie  in 
a  Dormitory,  not  in  separate  chambers 
— to  obey  the  Prior — to  abstain  from 
flesh,  and  not  to  have  partitions  in  the 
Dormitory — Masses  to  be  celebrated 
once  a  week  at  least,  in  Priories  and 
Schools,  and  elsewhere  — persons,  not 
Priests,  to  confess  every  week,  and 
take  the  Sacrament  once  every  month 
— proper  provision  for  the  books  and 
necessaries  of  the  Church — no  person 
to  be  made  a  conventual  Prior  till 
twenty-five  years  old,  and  within  a  year 
after  such  promotion  to  be  ordained 
Priest — Claustral  Priorato  be  a  prudent 
and  discreet  man — Monks  not  to  hold 
offices  or  benefices  in  other  churches 
or  houses — ancient  number  of  Monks 
to  be  kept  up,  and  the  usual  procura- 


a  See  §  Prior. 


TO    THE    DISSOLUTION. 


61 


tions  paid — Presidents  of  Provincial 
Chapters  to  restore  decayed  discipline 
in  bad  houses,  by  sending  them  fit 
Monks  for  such  purpose — Monks  who 
had  injured  the  property  of  their 
houses  to  be  sent  to  others  —  Mendi- 
cants a  claiming  administrations,  of- 
fices, and  similar  privileges,  among 
the  Monks,  to  exhibit  the  papal  au- 
thority for  this  assumption— no  Monk 
defaming  his  superior  to  be  attended 
to,  unless  willing  to  sustain  the  punish- 
ment of  failure  of  proof — against  con- 
spiracies —  concerning  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  constitutions  in  the  pro- 
vincial Chapters. 

[For  the  Regular  Canons.  None  but 
fit  persons,  or  those  likely  to  be  so,  to 
be  received — to  be  instructed  by  a 
proper  person  during  the  time  of  pro- 
bation, "  in  a  place  where  at  least 
seven  canons  resided " —  creation  of 
them  to  belong  to  the  Prelate  and 
Convent ;  to  the  former,  with  counsel 
of  a  third  of  the  seniors,  if  the  Convent 
delayed  after  a  month's  warning — pro- 
fession, not  clandestine,  and  with  Mass 
— no  clerk  to  be  received  to  a  Prebend 
or  portion,  who  had  not  first  resigned 
se  §■  sua  (himself  and  property)  to  the 
house —  a  Claustral  Prior  in  every 
house  not  having  a  superior,  or  more 
than  twelve  Canons,  or  (though  usually 
fewer)  having  a  head — regular  Chapters 
at  least  once  a  week,  or  oftener — annual 
Chapter  of  superiors — provincial  one 
from  four  years  to  four  years  —  no 
large  suite  to  be  brought  there — office 
of  visitors — not  to  be  visitors  the  same 
year  of  those  who  had  visited  them — 
not  to  stop  above  two  days  unless  from 
urgent  occasions — not  to  extort  mo- 
ney by  themselves  or  others,  except 
for  expenses13 — collections  to  be  made 
— masters  to  be    appointed   to   teach 

a  Friers. 

b  In  the  Visit,  of  Oseney,byPeacham,  "procura- 
tionem visitationis — non  in  esculentis  et  poculentis 
ut  assolet  exigebat,  sed  in  pecunia  numerata  juxta 
consuetudinem  pristinam  ;"  i.  e.  he  required  his 
procurations  to  be  paid  not  in  eatables  and  drink- 
ables,  but  in  ready  money,  according  to  ancient 
custom.  MS.  Wood,  in  Mus.  Ashmol.  8563, 
pp.  2,  IS.  So  that  episcopal  and  conventual  visi- 
tors were  on  different  footings. 


the  Canons  in  the  primary  sciences, 
and  afterwards  in  the  divine  and  canon 
laws — one  out  of  twenty  to  be  sent  to 
study  at  the  university — number  to  be 
made  up  by  joining  dependent  and 
parent  houses  —  pension  to  doctors, 
lecturers,  scholars,  and  others — distri- 
bution of  books  among  the  students — 
government  of  them  by  a  Prior — Pre- 
sidents of  the  Provincial  Chapter  to 
manage  the  affairs  of  the  students  in 
pecuniary  respects — no  one  to  take  de- 
grees without  previously  engaging  only 
to  expend  a  certain  sum  —  Canons  in 
benefices  and  cells  as  the  Benedictines 
before — usual  number  to  be  preserved 
— excess  of  horses  and  servants  for- 
bidden— immoderate  feasts  of  superiors 
and  their  servants  prohibited  —  Reli- 
gious to  go  out  with  company — Abbots 
or  other  Prelates  to  have  two  compa- 
nions with  them — beneficed  men  or  of- 
ficers to  be  ordained  Priests — regula- 
tion of  dress — illicit  absence  punished 
as  among  the  Benedictines — no  aliena- 
tions of  property  without  licence  of  the 
Papal  See  —  fraudulent  and  deceitful 
contracts  forbidden  as  in  the  Benedic- 
tine Constitutions — recovery  of  debts 
from  them  only  after  a  consultation  of 
at  least  two  distinct  days,  with  the 
Chapter  or  Convent — against  unwise 
and  injurious  leases0  (locationes) — to 
have  registers  and  archives — punctua- 
lity of  payment  in  money  or  pensions 
for  aliments  and  revenues — no  flesh  to 
be  eaten  on  Sabbath,  and  all  Advent — 
on  Wednesday  and  Septuagesima  ac- 
cording to  local  statute — to  reside  in 
the  Cloister,  and  sleep  in  a  Dortour, 
not  private  chambers — privileges  and 
moveables  as  in  the  Benedictine  Con- 
stitutions— Mass  in  Convents  at  least 
twice  a  week — in  Priories  and  Cells 
once — in  schools  or  elsewhere  at  least 
once  in  fifteen  days — Confession  the 
same — Sacrament  every  month — Mass 
to  be  said,  not  by  running  it  over,  or 
shortening  it,  but  gradually  and  dis- 
tinctly [see  the  end  of  this  article  %%~] 

c  From  the  Bullarium  Roman um,  V.  I.  p.  242 — 

274.  The  deviations  alluded  to  in  these  and  the 
preceding  Constitutions  will  be  severally  discussed 
in  their  respective  places. 


62  BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM  FROM  THE  CONQUEST 


— care  to  be  taken  of  the  relicks  and 
Church  ornaments — not  to  be  forced 
to  secular  courts — against  hunting  and 
fowling,  "  unless  they  had  vivaria  a  or 
warrens  of  their  own,  or  a  right  of 
sporting  in  others,  in  which  case  it  was 


allowed,  so  that  they  did  not  keep 
dogs  within  their  precincts,  or  lent  their 
personal  presence  to  hunting " — not 
to  have  arms  without  leave — against 
detraction  and  other  crimes  as  in  the 
Benedictine  code.b] 


1F1f  The  abuse  of  the  service  in  Churches  under  the  Monks,  Canons,  and 
Clergy  is  delineated  in  a  very  curious  and  interesting  manner  by  Barclay : 

There  be  no  tidings  nor  nuelties  of  warre, 
Nor  other  wonders  done  in  any  straunge  lande, 
Whatsoever  they  be,  and  come  they  never  so  farre, 
The  Priestes  in  the  queere,  at  first  have  them  in  hande, 
While  one  recounteth  the  other  to  understande 
His  fayned  fable,  harkening  to  the  glose, 
Full  little  adverteth  howe  the  service  goes. 

The  Battayles  done  perchaunce  in  small  Britayne, 
In  Fraunce,  or  Flaunders,  or  to  the  worlde^s  ende, 
Are  told  in  the  quere  (of  some)  in  wordes  vayne, 
In  middest  of  Matins  in  steede  of  the  Legende, 
And  other  gladly  to  heare  the  same  intende. 
Much  rather  then  the  service  for  to  heare, 
The  Rector  chori  is  made  the  messanger. 

He  runneth  about  like  to  a  pursevant 

With  his  white-staffe  c  moving  from  side  to  side; 

Where  he  is  leaning  tales  are  not  scant, 

But  in  one  place  longe  doth  not  he  abide, 

So  he  and  other  themselves  so  lewdely  d  gide, 

Without  devotion  by  their  lewde  negligence, 

That  nothing  can  binde  their  tonges  to  silence. 

And  in  the  morning  when  they  come  to  the  quere, 

The  one  beginneth  a  fable  or  a  historie  ; 

The  other  leaneth  their  eares  it  to  heare, 

Taking  it  in  stede  of  the  invitorie. 

Some  other  maketh  respons,  antem,  and  memory, 

And  all  of  fables  and  jestes  of  Robin  Hood, 

Or  other  trifles,  that  scantly  are  so  good.e 

Ship  o/Fooles,  182,  183. 

The  behaviour  of  the  Laity  in  these  Churches  is  also  admirably  described  thus  : 

"  And  whyle  the  Priestes  also  them  exercise, 

In  mattins,  praying,  sermon,  or  preaching  devine, 

a  These  were  mostly  fish-ponds  or  stews,  but  they  mean  parks  here.     See  Lyndwood,p.  200. 

b  Bullarium  Romanum,  ubi  supra. 

e  Collins  mentions  this  (Peerage,  VI.  419)  ;  but  an  Angel  in  a  vision  uses  a  reed,  not  a  wand.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Arundinetum.     See  §  Precentor  hereafter. 

d  Lewdely,  licentiously.     Steevens. 

e  The  account  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  as  the  Mart  of  News7  in  Mr.  Douce  on  Shakespeare,  well  illustrates 
this  passage. 


TO    THE    DISSOLUTION.  63 

Of  other  due  thinges,  that  longe  to  their  service ; 
Teaching  the  people  to  vertue  to  encline  ; 
Then  these  fooles,  as  it  were  roving  swine, 
With  their  jetting  a  and  tales  of  viciousnesse, 
Trouble  all  suche  service,  that  is  said,  more  and  lesse. 

Into  the  Church  then  comes  another  sotte,b 

Without  devotion,  jetting  up  and  downe, 

Or  to  be  seene,  and  to  showe  his  garded  c  cote : 

Another  on  his  fist e,  a  Sparhauke  or  Fawcone,d 

Or  els  a  Cokow,e  and  so  wasting  his  shone  (shoes), 

Before  the  aulters  he  to  and  fro  doth  wander, 

With  even  as  great  devotion  as  a  gander. 

In  comes  another  his  houndes  at  his  tayle, 
With  lynes  and  leases/  and  other  like  baggage, 
His  dogges  barke,  so  that  withouten  fayle 
The  whole  Church  is  troubled  by  their  outrage, 
So  innocent  youth  learneth  the  same  of  age, 
And  their  lewde  sounde  doth  the  Church  fill, 
But  in  this  noyse  the  good  people  kepe  them  still. 

One  time  the  hawkes  bells  j angle th  hye, 

Another  time  they  flutter  with  their  winges, 

And  nowe  the  houndes  barking  strikes  the  skye ; 

Nowe  sounde  their  feete,  and  nowe  the  chaynes  ringes, 

They  clap  with  their  handes  ;  by  such  maner  thinges, 

They  make  of  the  Church  for  their  hawkes  a  mewe, 

And  canell  (kennel)  for  their  dogges,  which  they  shall  after  rewe. 

There  are  handled  pleadinges,  and  causes  of  the  lawe, 

There  are  made  bargaynes  of  divers  maner  thinges, 

Byinges  and  sellinges  scant  worth  a  hawe, 

And  there  are  for  lucre  contrived  false  leasinges  ; 

And  while  the  Priest  his  Masse  or  Matins  singes, 

These  fooles,  which  to  the  Church  do  repayre, 

Are  chatting  and  babling,  as  it  were  in  a  fayre.s 

Some  gigle  and  laugh,  and  some  on  maydins  stare, 
And  some  on  wives  with  wanton  countenance, 

a  To  Jet  is  to  strutt.     Steevens.     Cotgrave  (v.  Fringuer)  extends  the  meaning. 

b  Sot,  not  a  drunkard.  Sherwood  says,  "  A  sot.  Sot,  fol,  bedault,  badelori,  grue,  oison  bride,  jan^ 
gipon,jobelin,  micon,  minchon,  bedier,  bejaune.''     Here  it  means  a  vain  trifler. 

c  Laced. 

d  The  English  and  French  nobles  never  travelled  but  in  a  warlike  or  hunting  equipage  ;  the  bird  upon 
the  fist,  and  the  dogs  running  before.  The  bird  upon  the  fist  was  the  most  unequivocal  proof  of  nobility 
in  women,  and  those  not  yet  made  knights.     Maillot,  III.  67. 

e  Though  it  was  usual  to  carry  a  Hawk  upon  the  fist,  I  never  before  heard  of  a  Cuckow  :  only  that  rank 
was  distinguished  by  the  kind  of  Hawk. 

f  Cotgrave  has  lesse  ;  a  leash  to  hold  a  dog,  &c. 

s  In  the  reign  of  Henry  III.  a  law-suit  was  settled  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Bristol ;  and  each  party  took 
a  solemn  oath,  and  agreed  to  forfeit  ten  marks  for  every  article  of  the  agreement  which  might  be  broken 
(Smythe's  Berkeley  MSS.  119).  The  people  used  to  come  early  in  the  morning  on  law  matters,  begging 
to  have  Mass  first  said  by  the  Priest  (Sim.  Dunelm.  35).  This  business  was  mostly  done  in  the  Porch. 
Eadmer  (p.  26)  mentions  persons  assembling  there  on  business,  which  is  an  extremely  ancient  custom  ; 
the  aisles  and  bodies  of  the  Heathen  temples  being  expressly  devoted  to  such  purposes,  if  desired.  Godw. 
Rom.  Hist,  Anthol.  p.  21.     See,  too,  Livy,  I.  30,  &c. 


64  BENEDICTINE  MONACHISM. 

As  for  the  service  they  have  small  force  or  care, 
But  full  delite  them  in  their  misgovernaunce. 
Some  with  their  slippers  to  and  fro  doth  praunce, 
Clapping  with  their  heeles  in  Church  and  in  queare, 
So  that  good  people  cannot  the  service  heare. 

What  shall  I  write  of  maydens  and  of  wives, 
Of  their  roundinges  a  and  ungoodly  communing ; 
Howe  one  a  slaunder  craftely  contrives, 
And  in  the  Church  therof  hath  her  talking ; 
The  other  have  therto  their  eares  leaning  ; 
And  then  when  they  all  have  heard  forth  hir  tale, 
With  great  devotion  they  get  them  to  the  ale. 

Thus  is  the  Church  denied  with  vilany, 

And  in  steede  of  prayer  and  godly  orison, 

Are  used  shameful  bargayns  and  tales  of  ribawdry, 

Jettinges  and  mockinges  and  great  derision ; 

There  fewe  are  or  none  of  perfect  devotion  ; 

And  when  oure  Lorde  is  consecrate  in  fourme  of  bread, 

Therby  walkes  a  knaves,  his  bonet  on  his  head. 


a  Whispering,  A.  Sax.  jiunian,   "  called  than  to  him  a  clark,   and  rowned  with  him."     State  Trials, 
p.  36,  col.  i.  ed.  Fol. 


65 


CHAPTER  VI, 


RULES  OF  THE  ORDERS  WHICH  OBTAINED  IN  ENGLAND. 


In  the  13th  century  Guyot  de  Provins, 
at  first  a  Minstrel,  afterwards  a  Monk, 
wrote,  what  he  has  (oddly  to  us)  deno- 
minated a  Bible,  though  only  a  poem, 
religious,  moral,  and  satirical. a  It  con- 
tains some  curious  passages  of  various 
Monastick  orders,  which  he  often  ge- 
nerally designates,  as  does  James  de 
Vitry  and  others,  by  Black  Monks,  or 
those  who  follow  the  Benedictine  Rule ; 
and  White  Monks,  who  adopted  the 
Augustinian  Institutes,  or,  in  reform- 
ing themselves,  had  quitted  the  black 
habit  for  the  white. 

Cistertians.  "The  Abbots  and  Cel- 
larers have  ready  money,  eat  large  fish, 
drink  good  wine,  and  send  to  the  Re- 
fectory, for  those  who  do  the  work, 
the  very  worst.  These  Monks/'  he 
says,  "I  have  seen  put  pig  sties  in 
Church-yards,  and  stables  for  asses  in 
Chapels.  They  seize  the  cottages  of 
the  poor,  and  reduce  them  to  beggary/5 

Carthusians.  "T  know  the  Car- 
thusians," says  he,  e£  and  their  life 
does  not  tempt  me.  They  have  each 
habitation;  every  one  is  his  own  cook; 
every  one  eats  and  sleeps  alone ;  and 
I  do  not  know  whether  God  is  much 
delighted  with  all  this.  But  this  I 
well  know,  that  if  I  was  myself  in  Pa- 
radise, and  alone  there,  I  should  not 
wish  to  remain  in  it.  A  solitary  man 
is  always  subject  to  bad  temper.  Thus 
I  call  those  fools  who  wished  me  to 
immure  myself  in  this  way.  But  what 
I  particularly  dislike  in  the  Carthu- 
sians is,  that  they  are  murderers  of 
their  sick.  If  these  require  any  little 
extraordinary  nourishment,  it  is  pe- 
remptorily refused.  I  do  not  like  re- 
ligious persons  who  have  no  pity;  the 
very  quality  which,  I  think,  they  espe- 
cially ought  to  have." 


a  MS.  Bibl.  Nationale  a  Paris,  marked  La  Va- 
liere,  2707,  &c.  The  extracts  are  from  the  Notices, 
&c.  vol  V.  285,  seq. 


Grandmontines.  "  Besides  fondness 
for  good  cheer,  they  were  remarkable 
for  the  most  ridiculous  foppery.  They 
painted  their  cheeks,  washed  and  co- 
vered up  their  beards  at  nights  (as  now 
women  do  their  hair),  in  order  that 
they  might  look  handsome  and  glitter- 
ing on  the  next  day.  They  were  en- 
tirely governed  by  the  Lay-brothers, 
who  got  possession  of  their  money ; 
and  with  it,  buying  the  Court  of  Rome, 
obtained  the  subversion  of  the  Order  "h 

Regular  Canons.  "  Augustin,  whose 
rule  [i.  e.  the  Rule  composed  by  Ivo 
de  Chartres  from  the  writings  of  Au- 
gustin, says  Mosheim,  &c]  they  allow 
was  more  courteous  than  Benedict. 
Among  them  one  is  well  shod,  well 
cloathed,  well  fed.  They  go  out  when 
they  like,  mix  with  the  world,  and 
talk  at  table." 

Clugniacs.  "  When  you  wish  to 
sleep  they  awake  you :  when  you  wish 
to  eat  they  make  you  fast.  The  night 
is  passed  in  praying  in  the  Church, 
the  day  in  working,  and  there  is  no  re- 
pose but  in  the  Refectory  :  and  what 
is  to  be  found  there  ?  Rotten  eggs, 
beans  with  all  their  pods  on,c  and 
(boisson  des  bceufs)  liquor  fit  for  oxen. 
For  the  wine  is  so  poor  (mouille,  wa- 
tered), that  one  might  drink  of  it  for  a 
month  without  intoxication." 

Templars.  "They  are  honoured  in 
Syria,  much  dreaded  by  the  Turks,  and 
their  order  would  suit  me  well  enough, 
were  it  not  necessary  to  fight ;  but 
they  are  too  brave.d  As  to  me,  if  I 
die,  it  will  never  be,  I  hope,  through 
prowess  or  courage.  I  had  rather  be 
a  living  coward  than  have  the  most  il- 
lustrious death  in  the  whole  world. 
These  worthies  (preux)  of  the  Temple 


b  Of  this   Monastick  quarrel,  see  Fleurv,  Hist. 
Eccl.  XVI.  73. 

c  These  were  eaten.      Du  Cange,  v.  Go»ssa, 
d  They  were  never  to  fly.     M.  Paris,  374. 

F 


66 


RULES  OF  THE  ORDERS 


are  very  exact  in  all  -which  concerns 
the  service  of  the  Church;  and,  re- 
specting that  point,  I  should  yield  to 
them  in  nothing;  but  the  moment 
righting  commenced,  fyour  servant/ 
they  should  go  without  me.  A  battle 
is  not  wholesome  (serine).  I  willingly 
leave  that  honour  to  them ;  and,  please 
God,  I  hope  to  be  neither  killed  nor 
wounded." 

Hospitalers.  "  I  have  lived  with 
them  at  Jerusalem,  and  have  seen 
them  proud  and  fierce.  Besides,  since 
by  name  and  foundation  they  ought 
to  be  hospitable,  why  are  they  not  so 
in  reality  ?  A  Monk  in  vain  leads  a 
very  hard  life,  fasts,  labours,  chaunts, 
and  reads  the  Scriptures,  if  he  is  not 
charitable  ;  it  is  only  an  uninhahited 
house,  where  the  spider  weaves  his 
web.'5 

Converts  of  St.  Antony.  "They 
have  established  an  Hospital,  which 
has  neither  funds  nor  revenues ;  but, 
by  the  abundant  alms  which  they  have 
the  secret  of  amassing,  it  procures 
them  immense  riches.  With  a  bell  in 
the  hand,  preceded  by  relicks  and  a 
cross,a  they  run  over,  begging,  not  only 
all  France,  but  Germany  and  Spain. 
There  is  neither  fair,  nor  town,  nor 
oven,  nor  mill  where  they  have  not  a 
purse  suspended.  At  the  season  of 
the  vintage  they  go  into  the  country 
to  beg  wine.  The  good  wives  give 
them  linen,  rings,  hoods  (guimper), 
clasps,  girdles,  cheeses,  gammons  of 
bacon,  in  one  word,  all  they  have  got ; 
and  every  thing  comes  alike  to  them. 
This  year  their  pigs  will  bring  them 
5000  silver  marks  ;  for  there  is  not  a 
town  or  castle  in  France  where  they 
are  not  fed/'13 

"  In  their  Hospital  there  are  fifteen 

b  In  the  wood-cuts  of  the  Golden  Legend,  An- 
thony has  a  tau  cross  (called  from  him  Antonius. 
Du  Cange  in  voce)  ;  i.  e..  like  a  crutch,  with  a  bell 
hanging  from  one  of  the  beams,  a  book  in  his  hand, 
a  round  hat,  long  gown,  and  a  pig  by  his  side.  Fol. 
xlvii.  b. 

c  The  officers  charged  with  the  oversight  of  the 
markets  in  the  City  of  London  did  several  times 
take  from  the  market  people  pigs  starved,  or  other- 
wise unwholesome  for  man's  sustenance.  These 
they  used  to  slit  in  the  ear ;  and  one  of  the  Proc- 


C  on  verts,  fat  and  large.  There  they 
buy  and  sell;  they  are  tradesmen. 
There  is  not  one  among  them  who  is 
not  worth  500  marks :  some  even  a 
thousand.  Besides  (du  reste)  each  of 
them  has  his  wife  or  his  kept  woman 
(s'amie) ;  they  marry  their  girls  ad- 
vantageously, leave  a  good  property 
to  their  children,  and  keep  a  good 
house ;  but,  in  all  this,  Saint  Antony 
goes  for  nothing." 

In  the  manuscript  life  of  Gerard  de 
Sala,  we  have  the  following  anecdote 
of  the 

Nuns  of  Fontevraud.  Having  en- 
tered their  chapter  to  preach,  he  saw 
an  abomination  to  God  and  Man.  The 
Nuns  with  their  hair  dressed,  and  the 
horned  head-dress  [common  in  Strutt] 
above.  Having  beheld  these  reason- 
able beasts,  he  began  to  rave,  and  they 
were  all  soon  after  shorn.0 

I.    BENEDICTINE  RULE. 

Abbot  to  represent  Christ — to  call 
all  his  Monks  to  council  in  important 
affairs,  and  afterwards  adopt  the  ad- 
vice he  thought  best.  Obedience  with- 
out delay  —  silence,  no  scurrility,  idle 
words,  or  such  as  excite  laughter — 
humility,  patience  in  all  injuries  ;  ma- 
nifestation of  secret  faults  to  the  Ab- 
bot— contentment  with  the  meanest 
things  and  employment — not  to  speak 
when  unasked  —  to  avoid  laughter — 
head  and  eyes  inclined  downwards — 
to  rise  to  Church  two  hours  after  mid- 
night— every  week  the  Psalter  to  be 
sung  through  —  to  leave  the  Church 
together  at  a  sign  from  the  Superior — 
a  Dean  over  every  ten  Monks  in  large 


tors  for  St.  Anthony's  Hospital  (in  London),  having 
tied  a  bell  about  the  neck  of  one  of  them,  and 
turned  it  to  feed  on  the  dunghills,  no  man  would 
hurt  or  take  it  up  ;  but  if  any  gave  them  bread,  or 
other  feeding,  such  they  would  know,  watch  for, 
and  daily  follow,  whining  till  they  had  somewhat 
given  them.  From  whence  arose  the  Proverb, 
"  That  stick  a  one  would  follow  such  a  one,  and 
whine  like  an  Anthony  Pig."  If  one  of  these  Pigs 
grew  to  be  fat,  and  came  to  good  liking,  as  often- 
times they  would,  then  the  Proctor  took  it  up  for 
the  use  of  the  Hospital.  Mainland's  London,  845  ; 
from  Stowe. 

d  Du  Cange,  v.  Mantica. 


WHICH  OBTAINED  IN  ENGLAND. 


6/ 


houses.  Light  in  the  Dormitory — to 
sleep  cloathed,  with  their  girdles  on, 
the  young  and  old  intermixed.  Upon 
successless  admonition  and  public  re- 
prehension excommunication;  and,  in 
failure  of  this,  corporal  chastisement. 
For  light  faults  the  smaller  excommu- 
nication, or  eating  alone  after  the 
others  had  done — for  great  faults  se- 
paration from  the  table,  prayers,  and 
society,  and  neither  himself  nor  food 
to  receive  the  benediction — those  who 
joined  him  or  spoke  to  him  to  be 
themselves  excommunicated — the  Ab- 
bot to  send  seniors  to  persuade  him 
to  humility  and  making  satisfaction 
— the  whole  congregation  to  pray  for 
incorrigible,  and,  if  successless,  to  pro- 
ceed to  expulsion  (vide  §  Chapter). 
No  person  expelled  to  be  received  after 
the  third  expulsion.  Children  to  be 
punished  by  fasting  or  whipping.  Cel- 
larer to  do  nothing  without  the  Abbotts 
order,  and  in  large  houses  have  assist- 
ants. Habits  and  goods  of  the  house 
to  be  in  the  hands  of  proper  officers  ; 
the  Abbot  to  have  an  account  of  them. 
No  property.  Distribution  according 
to  every  one's  necessities.  The  Monks 
to  serve  weekly,  and  by  turns,  at  the 
kitchen  and  table.  Upon  leaving  their 
weeks,  both  he  that  left  it,  and  he 
that  began  it,  to  wash  the  feet  of  the 
others,  and  on  Saturday  to  clean  all 
the  plates,  and  the  linen  which  wiped 
the  others  feet.  To  resign  the  dishes 
clean  and  whole  to  the  Cellarer,  who 
was  to  give  them  to  the  new  Hebdo- 
madary.  These  officers  to  have  drink 
and  food  above  the  common  allow- 
ance before  the  others,  that  they  might 
wait  upon  them  cheerfully.  The  Heb- 
domadaries,  both  entering  and  retiring 
from  office,  were  on  solemn  days  to 
continue  till  the  Masses  ;  after  Mattins 
on  the  Sunday  to  kneel  and  beg  the 
others  to  pray  for  them ;  then,  those 
going  out  to  say  a  certain  prayer  three 
times,  and  receive  the  benediction ; 
the  one  coming  in  to  do  the  same,  and 
after  benediction  go  into  office. — Infir- 
mary. Its  officer.  Use  of  the  baths, 
and  flesh  for  the  sick  ordered.  Rule 
mitigated    to    children    and    old  men, 


who  had  leave  to  anticipate  the  hours 
of  eating.  Refection  in  silence,  and 
reading  Scripture  during  meals.  What 
was  wanted  to  be  asked  for  by  a  sign. 
Reader  to  be  appointed  for  the  week. 
Two  different  dishes  at  dinner,  with 
fruit.  One  pound  of  bread  a  day  for 
both  dinner  and  supper.  No  meat 
but  to  the  sick.  Three  quarters  of  a 
pint  of  wine^ye?'  day.  From  Holyrood 
day  to  Lent  dining  at  Nones ;  in  Lent 
till  Easter  at  six  o'clock ;  from  Easter 
to  Pentecost  at  Sext;  and  all  summer, 
except  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays, 
then  at  Nones.  Collation  or  spiritual 
lecture  every  night  before  Complin 
(after  supper),  and,  Comphn  finished, 
silence.  Loss  of  rank,  subtraction 
of  wine  or  their  allowance,  or  sit- 
ting in  the  place  of  disgrace,  for  tar- 
diness at  Church  or  table.  Prostra- 
tion with  the  face  towards  the  ground, 
without  the  Church-gate,  when  the 
Monks  went  to  prayers,  for  the  ex- 
communicated. Immediate  pardon  to 
be  sought  for  a  fault  in  the  chant; 
faults  in  other  places,  or  breaking  any 
thing,  to  be  spontaneously  acknow- 
ledged before  the  Abbot  and  congrega- 
|  tion.  Abbot  to  give  the  signal  for 
|  going  to  Church,  and  nobody  to  sing 
I  or  read  there  without  his  leave.  Work 
from  Prime  till  near  ten  o'clock  from 
Easter  till  cal.  Octob. ;  from  ten  till 
near  twelve  reading.  After  refection 
at  twelve,  the  meridian  or  sleep,  unless 
any  one  preferred  reading.  After 
Nones  labour  again  till  the  evening. 
From  cal.  Oct.  to  Lent  reading  till  8 
A.M.  then  Tierce,  and  afterwards  la- 
bour till  Nones.  After  refection  read- 
ing or  psalmody.  In  Lent  reading  till 
Tierce ;  doing  what  was  ordered  till 
ten ;  delivery  of  the  books  at  this 
season  (vide  Dec.  Lanfr.).  Senior  to 
go  round  the  house,  and  see  that  the 
Monks  were  not  idle.  On  Sunday  all 
reading  except  the  officers,  and  the  idle 
and  infirm  who  had  work  given  them. 
Particular  abstinence  in  Lent  from 
meat,  drink,  and  sleep  ;  and  especial 
gravity.  Monks  travelling  to  say  the 
canonical  hours  wherever  they  hap- 
pened to  be.     Monks  staving  out  be- 

f  2 


68 


RULES  OF  THE  ORDERS 


yond  a  day  not  to  eat  abroad  without 
the  Abbot's  leave.  No  other  use  than 
that  of  prayer  to  be  made  of  the 
Church.a  Strangers  to  be  received 
with  prayer  (by  them  and  the  Monks) ; 
the  kiss  of  peace,  prostration  and 
washing  their  feet,  as  of  Christ,  whom 
they  represented ;  then  to  be  led  to 
prayer,  the  Scripture  read  to  them, 
after  which  the  Prior  might  break  his 
fast  (except  on  a  high  fast).  Abbot's 
kitchen  and  the  visitors5  separate,  that 
guests  coming  in  at  unseasonable 
hours  might  not  disturb  the  Monks. 
No  letters  or  presents  to  be  received 
without  the  Abbot's  leave.  Abbot  to 
invite  his  Monks  when  he  had  no 
strangers.  Workmen  in  the  house  to 
labour  for  the  common  profit.  Novices 
to  be  tried  by  denials  and  hard  usage 
before  admission  ;  a  year  of  probation  ; 
rule  read  to  them  in  the  interim  every 
fourth  month ;  admitted  by  a  petition 
laid  upon  the  altar,  and  prostration  at 
the  feet  of  all  the  Monks.  Parents  to 
offer  their  children  by  wrapping  their 
hands  in  the  pall  of  the  altar,  promis- 
ing to  leave  nothing  to  them  (that  they 
might  have  no  temptation  to  leave  the 
house)  ;  and,  if  they  gave  any  thing 
with  them,  to  reserve  the  use  of  it 
during  their  lives.  Priests  requesting 
admission  to  be  tried  by  delays;  to  sit 
near  the  Abbot,  but  not  to  exercise 
sacerdotal  functions  without  leave,  and 
conform  to  the  rule.  Strange  Monks 
to  be  received,  and  if  of  good  intreated 
to  stay.  Monks,  ordained  priests,  to 
be  subject  to  the  rule  and  officers, 
or  else  expelled.  Precedence  accord- 
ing to  the  time  of  profession.  Elders 
to  call  the  juniors  brothers  ;  the  juniors 
to  call  the  elders  nonnos  ;b  the  Abbot 
domnus  or  pater.     When  two  Monks 


a  Thus  Theodulphus,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  after 
Rennet's  sera,  says,  "  Videmus  crebro  in  eeclesiis 
messes  et  foenum  congeri "  (we  see  corn  and  hay- 
often  stored  in  Churches).  Epist.  p.  263. — The 
canon  against  carrying  on  "  trades  in  Churches," 
in  Lyndwood,  is  well  known. 

h  There  is  no  satisfactory  definition  of  this  word. 
Cancellieri  (Lettera  sopra  Dominus  e  Domnus, 
Rom.  1808)  notes,  that  in  Italy,  children  use 
Nonno  and  Nonna  to  Grandfathers  and  Grand- 
mothers.    Magas.  Encycloped.  Tom.  V.  p.  204. 


met,  the  junior  was  to  ask  benediction 
from  the  senior  ;  and  when  he  passed 
by,  the  junior  was  to  rise  and  give  him 
his  seat,  nor  to  sit  down  till  he  bade 
him.  Abbot  to  be  elected  by  the 
whole  society  and  plurality  of  votes  ; 
his  life  and  prudence  to  be  the  qualifi- 
cations. Prior  elected  by  the  Abbot ; 
deposable  for  disobedience.  Porter  to 
be  a  wise  old  man,  able  to  give  and  re- 
ceive an  answer,  who  was  to  have 
a  cell  near  the  gate,  and  a  junior  for  a 
companion.  If  possible,  to  prevent  eva- 
gation,  water;  a  mill,  garden,  oven, 
and  all  other  mechanical  shops  to  be 
within  the  house.  Monks  going  on  a 
journey  to  have  the  previous  prayers 
of  the  house,  and,  upon  return,  pray 
for  pardon  of  excesses  on  the  way. 
Impossible  things  ordered  by  the  su- 
perior to  be  humbly  represented  to 
him ;  but,  if  he  persisted,  the  assist- 
ance of  God  to  be  relied  on  for  the 
execution  of  them.  Not  to  defend  or 
excuse  one  another's  faults.  No  blows 
or  excommunication  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  Abbot.  Children  might 
be  corrected  with  discretion.  Mutual 
obedience;  but  no  preference  of  a  pri- 
vate persons  commands  to  those  of  the 
superiors.  Prostration  at  the  feet  of 
the  superiors  as  long  as  they  were 
angry. 

Sanctorum  Patrum  Reguhe  Monas- 
ticae,  Louv.  12mo.  1571,  fol.  9 — 51. 
Joh.  de  Turrecremata,  Concordia  Re- 
gularum,  &c.  &c.  &c. 

From  this  Rule  proceeded  the 

1.  Clugniacs. 
Benedictines,  says  Bouthillier  de  la 
Ranee,  according  to  the  spirit  of  the 
Rule.  Their  peculiarities  were — two 
solemn  Masses  every  day  ;  on  private 
scored  days  no  labour  allowed,  except 
out  of  the  hours  of  divine  service. 
Every  day  each  alternate  choir  "offered 
their  hosts"  (singulis  diebus  suas  sin- 
guli  hostias  alterni  chori  offerebant), 
although  five  only  on  Sundays,  and 
three  on  common  days,  were  used  to 
communicate,  the  rest  taking  the  con- 
secrated wafers  before  their  common 


WHICH   OBTAINED  IN  ENGLAND. 


69 


food  in  the  manner  of  Eulogise.*  In 
solemn  masses  of  the  dead,  and  the 
three  days  of  rogations,  both  choirs 
made  an  offering.  In  greater  solem- 
nities the  Deacon  communicated  from 
the  wafer  of  the  celebrating  Priest,  the 
rest  from  the  other  wafers.  The  Com- 
munion was  extended  to  all  three  days 
before  Easter.  If  any  one  on  the  holy 
Saturday  (Sabbath)  wished  privately 
to  perform  divine  service  (sacrum  facere) 
he  did  not  use  a  candle, because  the  new 
fire  was  not  yet  consecrated  (see  Cone. 
Regul.  &  Deer.  Lanfr.),  (especial  pecu- 
liarities were  used  in  making  the  host.) 
Constant  silence  in  the  day-time ;  al- 
most death  to  violate  it  before  Prime ; 
hence  the  use  of  signs  among  them 
instead  of  words.  From  the  ides  of 
November  the  seniors  attended  to  me- 
ditation in  the  Church  after  Mattins, 
whilst  the  juniors  diligently  studied 
singing  in  the  Chapter.  Manual  la- 
bour was  accompanied  with  the  repeti- 
tion of  psalms.  The  proclamation 
of  crimes  was  usual  among  them. 
Strangers  were  not  admitted  after 
Complin,  nor  leave  of  refection  after 
that  time  granted  to  the  Monks  who 
were  absent  from  the  common  table. 
A  Monk  just  going  to  mount  his  horse 
to  go  out,  if  the  bell  for  divine  service 
happened  to  ring,  was  to  delay  his 
journey,  and  proceed  to  the  Church. 
In  the  fasts  they  nearly  observed  the 
Rule  of  Benedict.  From  the  ides  of 
September  they  ate  only  once  a  day ; 
but  in  feasts  of  12  lessons  and  the 
octaves  of  Christmas  and  Epiphany 
twice.  On  those  feasts,  after  dinner 
and  reading  in  the  Cloister,  Nones 
having  been  said,  they  went  to  the  re- 
fectory to  drink ;  but  on  private  days 
this  was  done  only  after  Vespers  and 
reading ;  and  when  that  was  over  read- 


c  These  were  loaves  offered  in  the  Church  for 
alms,  and  consecrated,  from  a  part  of  which  the 
host  was  taken,  and  they  were  given  to  those  who, 
from  any  impediment,  could  not  take  the  sacrament. 
They  were  given  after  the  Mass  by  the  Priest,  a 
little  before  the  dismissal,  and  were  kissed  before 
eating.  Eulogies  privates  were  loaves  consecrated, 
and  sent  as  presents,  by  Ecclesiasticks,  to  each 
other.  Du  Cange,  v.  Eulogies.  See  Hot-cross 
Buns,  Ch.  V. 


ing  again ;  then  the  spiritual  lecture 
or  collation  before  Complin.  The  re- 
mains of  the  bread  and  wine  were 
given  by  the  Almoner  to  pilgrims  pe- 
destrians. Eighteen  poor  were  fed 
every  day ;  but  in  Lent  an  amazing 
number.  The  manual  labour,  says 
Udalricus,  was  "  to  shell  unripe  beans, 
or  weed  in  the  garden,  and  sometimes 
make  bread  in  the  bake-house  "  (fabas 
novas  et  nondum  bene  maturas  de  fol- 
liculis  suis  egerere,  vel  in  horto  malas 
herbas  et  inutiles,  et  quee  bonas  herbas 
suffocabant  eruere,  et  aliquando  panes 
formare  in  pistrino).  Udalricus  Anti- 
quiores  Consuetudines  Cluniacensis 
Monasterii  in  D'Acherii  Spicilegium, 
IV.  39.  The  above  is  from  this  writer, 
and  Mabillon^s  Annales  Benedictini, 
III.  389,  seq.  The  abuses  and  dege- 
neracy of  this  order  may  be  seen  in  the 
Appendix  to  Reyner's  Apost.  Benedict, 
and  MS.  Cott.  Tiber,  b.  XIII.;  extracts 
from  which  MS.  (i.  e.  from  the  parts 
unpublished  in  Anglia  Sacra,  vol.  II.) 
are  given  elsewhere. — [The  Rule  is  ex- 
cessively voluminous,  and  defies  abridg- 
ment regularly  ;  therefore  the  learned 
must  go  to  the  original.  I  am  indebted 
principally  to  Mabillon.  Ceremonies, 
not  customs,  form  the  mass  of  the 
Rule.]  A  reformation  of  it  in  Bulla- 
rium  Roman,  vol.  1.  p.  101. 

2.  Cistercians. 

Benedictines,  according  to  the  letter 
of  the  Rule,  without  mitigation  ("  in 
quo,"  says  Mabillon,  "regula  sine  ulla 
mitigatione  ad  apicem  servaretur.") 
Their  peculiarities  I  shall  give  from 
Dugdale^s  Warwickshire,  which  I  have 
compared  with  Malmesburyand  Knigh- 
ton. "First,  for  their  habits  they 
wear  no  leather  or  linen,  nor  indeed 
any  fine  woollen  cloth ;  neither,  except 
it  be  on  a  journey,  do  they  put  on  any 
breeches,  and  then  upon  their  return, 
deliver  them  fair  washed.  Having  two 
coats  with  cowls,  in  winter  time  they 
are  not  to  augment,  but  in  summer 
if  they  please  may  lessen  them  ;  in 
which  habit  they  are  to  sleep,  and 
after  Mattins  not  to  return  to  their 
beds.     For  prayers,  the  hour  of  Prime 


70 


RULES  OF  THE  ORDERS 


they  so  conclude,  that  before  the 
Laudes  it  may  be  day-break,  strictly 
observing  their  rule,  that  not  one  iota 
or  tittle  of  their  service  is  omitted. 
Immediately  after  Laudes  they  sing 
the  Prime ;  and  after  Prime  they  goe 
out  performing  their  appointed  hours 
in  work.  What  is  to  be  clone  in  the 
day  they  act  by  clay-light ;  for  none  of 
them,  except  he  be  sick,  is  to  be  absent 
from  his  diurnal  hours,  or  the  Com- 
pline. When  the  Compline  is  finished 
the  steward  of  the  house  and  he  that 
hath  charge  of  the  guests  go  forth,  but 
with  great  care  of  silence  serve  them. 
For  diet,  the  Abbot  assumes  no  more 
liberty  to  himself  than  any  of  his  Con- 
vent, every  where  being  present  with 
them,  and  taking  care  of  his  flock, 
except  at  meat,  in  regard  his  table  is 
always  with  the  strangers  and  poor  peo- 
ple. Nevertheless,  wheresoever  he  eats 
he  is  abstemious  of  talk  or  any  dainty 
fare,  nor  hath  he  or  any  of  them  ever 
above  two  dishes  of  meat ;  neither  do 
they  eat  of  fat  or  flesh  except  in  case 
of  sickness  ;  and  from  the  ides  of  Sep- 
tember till  Easter  they  eat  no  more 
than  once  a  day,  except  on  Sundays, 
no  not  on  any  festivals.  Out  of  the 
precints  of  their  Cloyster  they  go  not 
but  to  work,a  neither  there  nor  any 
where  do  they  discourse  with  any  but 
the  Abbot  or  Prior.  They  unwearieclly 
continue  their  canonical  hours,  not 
piecing  any  service  to  another  except 
the  vigils  for  the  deceased.  They 
observe  the  office  of  St.  Ambrose, 
so  far  as  they  could  have  perfect 
knowledge  thereof  from  Millain;  and 
taking  care  of  strangers  and  sick  peo- 
ple, do  devise  extraordinary  afflictions 
for  their  own  bodies,  to  the  intent  their 

a  Their  manual  labour  was  as  follows  :  ''In 
Summer,  after  Chapter,  which  followed  Prime, 
they  worked  till  Tierce,  and  after  Nones  till  Ves- 
pers. In  Winter,  from  after  Mass  till  Nones,  and 
even  to  Vespers  during  Lent.  In  harvest,  when 
they  went  to  work  in  the  farms,  they  said  Tierce, 
and  the  conventual  Maps  immediately  after  Prime, 
that  nothing  might  hinder  their  work  for  the  rest 
of  the  morning  ;  and  often  they  said  divine  service 
in  the  places  where  they  were  at  work,  and  at  the 
same  hours  as  those  at  home  celebrated  in  the 
Church."     Dev.  Vie  Monast.  II.  Stf. 


souls  may  be  advantaged."  Hospinian 
says  thus,  De  Orig.  et  Progr.  Monach. 
p.  313,  of  them;  a  year's  probation — 
no  reception  of  fugitives  after  the  third 
time — all  fasts  observed  according  to 
the  rule — prostration  to  visitors  and 
washing  their  feet — Abbot's  table  al- 
ways with  guests  and  pilgrims — labour 
more  than  the  rule  required — delicate 
habits  exploded — obsolete  and  primi- 
tive fervour  endeavoured  to  be  revived 
by  them. — Avarice  was  the  great  vice 
of  this  order.  They  were  great  deal- 
ers in  wool ;  generally  very  ignorant ; 
and,  in  fact,  farmers  more  than 
Monks.  The  authors  who  have  writ- 
ten upon  this  order  (and  indeed  every 
other)  are  enumerated  by  Fabricius ; 
and  I  wish  the  learned  may  have  the 
good  fortune  to  find  them,  which  I  had 
not  (at  least  most  of  them),  though  I 
tried  the  best  library  in  the  kingdom, 
the  Boclleian.b 

3.  Grandmontines. 

Benedictines,  with  certain  exceptions 
directed  against  the  wealth,  luxury,  and 
secular  conduct  of  the  parent  Monks. 
By  these  exceptions  poverty  and  obe- 
dience were  especially  inculcated;  no 
lands  or  Churches  were  allowed  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  house.  They  were  to 
reserve  nothing  offered  for  Masses, 
nor  exercise  a  right  of  penance  over 
others.  On  Sundays  and  festivals  se- 
culars were  not  admitted  to  their 
Church.  Possession  of  cattle  was  for- 
bidden. If  oppressed  by  poverty  they 
were  to  have  recourse  to  the  bishop  ; 
and,  if  he  did  not  relieve  them,  after 
fasting  two  days,  two  brothers,  sturdy 
in  religion,  were  to  beg  alms  from  door 
to  door.  Fairs,  traffic,  and  trials  were 
forbidden.  Women  were  not  admitted 
into  the  order,  nor  men  of  another  or- 
der, nor  seculars  under  twenty  years 
of  age.  Silence  in  the  Church,  Clois- 
ter, Refectory,  and  Dormitory,  and 
from  Complin  till  after  Chapter.  Care 
of  temporals  in  the  lay-brothers  ;  even 
the   ornaments  of  the   Church  to  be 

b  The  Usus  Cisterciensium  is  the  main  book. 


WHICH  OBTAINED  IN  ENGLAND. 


71 


sold  for  alms.  The  flesh  both  of  birds 
and  quadrupeds  was  forbidden.  Re- 
fection twice  from  Easter  to  the  Exal- 
tation of  the  Cross.  From  Exaltation 
to  Easter  perpetual  fast  (except  Sun- 
days and  Christmas),  and  then  one  re- 
fection after  Nones ;  from  Lent  to 
Easter  after  Vespers.  From  All  Saints 
to  Christmas  only  Lent  food ;  but  on 
other  days  out  of  Lent  eggs  and  cheese 
were  allowed.  At  the  election  of  the 
Prior  of  Grammont,  two  brothers  from 
every  cell  assembled  at  Grammont, 
out  of  which  twelve  were  elected  to 
choose  the  Prior,  six  clerks,  and  as  many 
lay-brothers.  When  elected,  he  could 
not  leave  the  Cloister  of  Grammont 
but  from  urgent  necessity.  The  Rule 
in  short  turned  upon  three  points  :  im- 
prisonment in  the  house ;  perpetual 
silence ;  and  a  distinction  of  the  Her- 
mits, totally  absorbed  in  contemplation, 
and  Lay-brethren,  who  had  the  care  of 
the  Temporals,  and  of  course  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  others.  This  silly  Rule 
is  in  Martene's  Anecdota,  Vol.  IV. ; 
whence  extracts  are  given  in  this 
work. 

4.  Carthusians. 

Variety  of  superstitious  gestures  and 
ceremonies  ;  as  faces  totally  hid  at  the 
canon  of  the  Mass  (i.  e.  words  of  con- 
secrating the  Eucharist),  shewn  at 
other  times  ;  ringers  not  clenched ;  legs 
not  extended,  spread,  or  crossed.  Pri- 
vate prayer  at  the  Altar  once  a  day ; 
omitted  when  any  frailty  had  been  in- 
curred. "  In  the  time  of  Matins,  in 
which  there  is  an  interval  before  Lauds, 
no  one  left  the  Church  but  from  neces- 
sity. Between  Matins  and  Tierce  every 
day  spiritual  exercises  ;  from  Tierce  to 
Sext,  and  from  Nones  to  Vespers,  ma- 
nual labour;  to  be  interrupted  with 
short  prayers ;  from  Vespers  to  Com- 
plin manual  labour ;  reading,  however, 
not  excluded  at  these  times.  No  dis- 
ciplines, vigils  (not  of  this  institution), 
nor  abstinences,  except  those  of  the 
order,  allowed.  Hours  not  to  be  said 
in  another's  cell,  unless   the   brother 


was  there  at  work  with  the  inhabitant ; 
silence  in  the  cell ;  cell  door  not  open, 
unless  another  person  was  with  the  in- 
habitant. To  ask  for  what  they  wanted 
after  Nones  on  a  talking  day.  If  any 
brother  came  to  the  cell  he  was  inter- 
rogated, whether  he  had  the  Prior's  or 
his  substituted  licence ;  if  not,  the  but- 
ler or  porter  was  to  procure  it,  other- 
wise they  could  not  be  conversed 
with.  Departure  from  another's  cell 
or  elsewhere  after  Complin.  No  con- 
versation with  persons  coming  up  with- 
out the  Prior's  licence,  but  only  with 
those  they  were  working  with.  Not  to 
enter  the  cells  of  others  without  licence. 
No  letters  to  be  sent  or  received.  Not 
to  leave  the  cell  except  to  confession  or 
conference  by  the  Prior's  order.  No 
pottage  or  pittance,  only  raw  herbs 
and  fruits  to  be  kept  in  the  cell.  Every 
inhabitant  to  have  two  books  to  read, 
besides  other  writing  and  necessary 
utensils.  In  Chapter  no  speech,  but 
at  confession  or  when  the  Chapter  was 
held.  In  the  Refectory  dining  bare- 
headed; drinking  with  two  hands;  bow- 
ing to  those  who  brought  or  removed 
anything;  no  wiping  of  hands  or  mouths 
at  the  cloth.  Plates  not  uncovered,  nor 
cloths  turned  up  before  the  presiding 
officers.  No  speech  in  the  Fratry, 
Cloister,  or  Church.  To  go  out  to 
common  labour  only  thrice  on  three  days 
in  the  year  :  1.  In  the  second  week 
after  the  octaves  of  Easter ;  another 
in  the  second  week  after  the  festival  of 
Peter  and  Paul;  3d.  in  the  first  week 
after  Michaelmas.  A  Novice  to  be  re- 
commended to  a  senior,  who  at  suitable 
times  was  to  instruct  him  in  saying 
the  hours  and  other  observances,  which 
he  was  to  take  great  pains  about  for  a 
week,  or  longer  if  necessary ;  and,  till 
such  Novice  could  say  the  hours,  no 
one  was  to  visit  the  cell  but  the  Prior 
or  Proctor.  The  summer  meridian  or 
sleep.  Conversation  after  Nones,  from 
November  to  Easter,  of  the  customs 
of  the  order ;  afterwards  of  the  Gos- 
pels. From  Exaltation  of  the  Cross, 
eating  only  once  a  day.     General  con- 


72 


RULES  OF  THE  ORDERS 


fession  on  the  Sabbath ;  private  con- 
fession besides.  —  From  the  rule  in 
Monast.  Anglic.  I.  951 — 958. 


II.    THREE  AUGUSTINIAN  RULES. 

Rule  I.    PROPERTY  relinquished 
by  the  applicant  for  admission.     Pro- 
bation by  the  Prior.     Nothing  to  be 
taken  •  away  by  a  Canon  leaving   the 
order  from  necessity.  Any  thing  offered 
to  be  accepted  by  the  Prior's  approba- 
tion.    The  rule  to  be  observed  from 
the  Superior  downwards.    Punishment 
denounced  for  contumacy,  and  offences 
declared    to    the    Propositus,    before 
whom  disagreements  were  also  to  be 
laid.     Property  detained  through  ne- 
cessity as  above  to  be  delivered  to  the 
Superior. — Rule  II.  What  Psalms,  &c. 
to  be  sung  at  the  hours  and  nightly 
readings    immediately   after  Vespers. 
Labour  from    the    morning   till  Sext, 
and  from  Sext  till  Nones  reading.  After 
refection  work  till  Vespers.     Two   to 
be  sent  together  on  the  Convent  busi- 
ness.    No  one  to  eat  or  drink  out  of  the 
house.    Brothers  sent  to  sell  things  not 
to  do  any  thing  against  the  Rule.     No 
idle  talk  or  gossiping,  but   sitting   at 
work  in  silence. — Rule  III.  Union  in 
one   house.      Food   and   raiment  dis- 
tributed by  the  Superior.    Every  thing 
common.     Consideration  to  be  had  of 
infirmity ;  against  pride  on  account  of 
difference  of  birth.     Concord.     Atten- 
tion   to  divine   service  at  the  proper 
hours.     Not  to  make  other  use  of  the 
Church  than  that  it  was  destined  to, 
except  praying  in  it,  out  of  the  proper 
hours,  when  they  had  leisure  or  incli- 
nation.     When  psalm-singing  to  re- 
volve it  in  the  heart.     Not  to  sing  but 
what  was  enjoined  to  be  sung.     Fast- 
ing and  abstinence.     Those  who   did 
not  fast  to  take  nothing  beyond   the 
usual  time  of  dining,  except  when  sick. 
Reading  during  dinner.     Better  food 
for  the  sick,  not  to   make  the   others 
discontented.      Better  provisions  and 
clothes   for   those   of  delicate   habits, 
not  to  disgust  the  others.     Sick  to  be 
treated  in  recovery  as  suitable ;  return 
to  the  usual  habit  when  well.     Habit 
not  conspicuous.      To    walk  together 


when   going   out,  and  stand  together 
at  the  journey's  end.     Nothing  offen- 
sive in  gait,  habit,  or  gestures.     Not 
to  fix  their  eyes  upon  women.     Mu- 
tually to  preserve  each  other's  modesty 
when  two  together,  in  a  Church  where 
women  were.     Punishment  by  the  Su- 
perior for  such  offences.     Receipt  of 
letters  or  presents  to  be  punished  un- 
less  voluntarily   confessed.       Cloaths 
from    one    common   vestiary,  as  food 
from  one  cellar.     Labour  for  the  com- 
mon good.  Vestments  sent  by  relatives 
|   to  be  stored  in  the  common  vestiary. 
Same  punishment  for  concealment  as  of 
theft.  Clothes  washed,  according  to  the 
order  of  the  Superior,  either  by  them- 
selves or  fullers.     WTashing  the  body 
in  case  of  infirmity  by  medical  advice, 
or,  on  refusal  of  that,  by  the  order  of 
the  Superior.     Not  to  go  to  the  baths 
but  by  two  or  three,  and  then  with 
the  person  appointed  by  the  Superior. 
Sick  to  have  an  Infirmarer.     Cellarers, 
Chamberlains,  or  Librarians,  to  serve 
the  brethren  with  good-will.     Books 
not  to  be  obtained  but  at  the   stated 
hour.  Clothes  and  shoes  to  be  delivered 
when  needed.  No  lawsuits  or  quarrels, 
or   terminated   as    quick   as    possible. 
Satisfaction  to  be  made  for  offences, 
and  speedy  forgiveness  in  the  offended. 
Harsh    expressions    avoided,    and   an 
apology  made   when   uttered.       Obe- 
dience  to   the   Superior,    who,   if  he 
spoke  harsh,  was  not  to  beg  pardon. 
Obedience  to  the  head  over  them,  but 
especially  to  the  Priest,  who  had  the 
care  of  the  whole   house.      Superior, 
when  his  authority  was  not  sufficient, 
to  have  recourse  to  that  of  the  Elder 
or  Priest.     Superior  to  govern  in  Cha- 
rity ;  to  be  strict  in  discipline,  yet  aim 
more  to  be  loved  than  feared.     Rule  to 
be  read  in  the  presence  of  the  Monks 
once  a  week.     Monast.  Anglic,  vol.  II. 
&c.  &c. 

To  this  Rule  were  adapted  the  fol- 
lowing orders  : 

1 .  Pra&monsiratensians. 

Novices  to  be  of  a  proper  age ;  able 
before  profession  to  read  well,  under- 
stand grammar,  and  know  Latin.  Ille- 
gitimates not  to  be  admitted,  accord- 


WHICH  OBTAINED  IN  ENGLAND. 


73 


ing  to  the  decree  of  Sixtus  the  Fifth ; 
but  Abbots  might  dispense  with  this 
on  account  of  merit.  Novices  con- 
fessed to  the  Masters  :  not  to  be  pro- 
fessed before  eighteen.  The  object  of 
the  institution  pure  contemplative  life. 

The  Summer  regulations  were — Daily 
chapter.  Twice  refection  from  Easter 
to  Holyrood,  except  certain  days. 
From  Chapter  (after  Prime)  work.  Af- 
ter Tierce  great  Mass,  immediately 
followed  by  Sext,  then  reading,  then 
refection ;  after  this  sleep  till  Nones  ; 
after  Nones  drinking,  then  Vespers ; 
after  Vespers  reading  till  collation. 
On  Sundays  the  same,  except  reading 
instead  of  work.  In  fasts  Mass  after 
Sext ;  reading  till  Nones  ;  after  Nones 
refection  and  sleep.  In  harvest  times 
Mass  early  in  the  morning ;  same  in 
feasts  of  twelve  lessons  "  which  were 
not  observed  in  the  diocese''  At  this 
period  working  from  Prime  to  Sext, 
and  dining  out  of  the  house,  if  needful, 
and  sleeping,  if  not  above  a  French 
mile  from  the  Abbey ;  if  afar  off  to 
work  till  Vespers,  and,  after  singing 
them  in  the  fields,  to  return  home. 

Winter  regulations. — From  Sept.  14, 
to  Easter,  continual  fast  and  dining 
after  Nones,  except  Sundays  and 
Christmas  ;  Tierce  after  Chapter  with- 
out an  interval;  after  Tierce  mixtus 
for  the  boys  and  infirm,  after  Tierce 
work  till  Sext;  after  Sext  Mass;  read- 
ing till  Nones  ;  after  Nones  refection ; 
then  reading  or  work  till  Vespers  ;  after 
these  reading  till  collation.  On  feasts 
of  nine  lessons  and  Sabbaths  Tierce 
delayed ;  Mass  said  after  it,  and  im- 
mediately followed  by  Sext;  others 
the  same.  Sundays  same  as  in  Sum- 
mer, except  that  Nones  was  said  after 
refection,  because  there  was  no  sleep 
before  it.  On  all  festivals,  when  there 
was  no  work,  to  read  instead  in  the 
working  hours.  In  Lent  the  seven 
penitential  Psalms  were  said  by  the  Con- 
vent prostrate  ;  Tierce  followed  with- 
out interval ;  Mass  after  Nones  ;  refec- 
tion after  Vespers  ;  after  refection  read- 
ing, and,  in  case  of  any  necessity,  work. 
Bibliotheca  Preemonstratensis,  vol.  I. 
p.  24,  789,  90,  where  the  Rule,  filling 
nearly  a  folio  volume.     Their  Abbots 


were  never  to  use  any  episcopal  insig- 
nia. All  the  Abbots  to  meet  once  a 
year  at  Premontre,  to  consult  about 
the  affairs  of  the  order  :  penalty  for 
non-attendance  to  be  taken  off  only 
by  the  Pope  himself.  Abbots  to  have 
power  of  excommunicating  and  ab- 
solving their  Monks.  Differences 
arising  to  be  composed  among  them- 
selves, and  no  appeal  to  be  allowed  to 
secular  courts.  Not  to  keep  or  feed 
dogs,  hawks,  swine,  &c.  Exemption 
from  the  Bishop's  jurisdiction.  Ordi- 
nation upon  refusal  of  the  Diocesan 
from  any  other  Bishop.  No  schools 
for  the  education  of  youth  among  them. 
Id.  The  Presmonstratensian  Nuns  did 
not  sing  in  the  Choir  and  Church  ; 
prayed  in  silence.  Priests  and  Clerks 
dwelt  apart,  who  instructed  them  in 
Scripture  at  certain  seasons,  and  heard 
their  confessions.  Launoii  Opuscula 
varia,  III.  134. 

2.   Trinitarians. 

Government  by  a  minister.  Vow 
of  chastity  and  poverty.  Third  part  of 
comings-in  (the  properest  term)  to  be 
devoted  to  the  redemption  of  Christian 
captives  from  infidels.  Of  cloaths  and 
shoes,  and  small  matters  for  use,  the 
Convent  to  deliberate  whether  they 
should  be  sold  or  not,  in  the  Sunday 
chapter;  if  sold,  the  third  part  to  be 
used  as  above.  All  the  churches  to  be 
of  plain  work,  and  dedicated  to  the 
Trinity.  Three  clerks  and  three  lay- 
men in  the  house  besides  the  Minister. 
Sleep  in  their  cloaths  ;  no  feather  beds 
nor  counterpanes,  only  pillows  allowed. 
Gowns  to  be  marked.  To  ride  upon 
asses.  Wine  to  be  drank  so  as  not  to 
invade  sobriety.  Fasting  from  the  ides 
of  September  on  Monday,  Wednesday, 
Friday,  and  Sabbath  (except  festivals 
intervening  and  Sundays),  till  Easter 
on  Lent  food.  Usual  fast  of  the 
Church.  Minister  might  relax  it  from 
age,  travelling,  or  any  just  cause.  Flesh 
only  on  certain  Sundays.  To  buy 
nothing  but  beans,  peas,  pulse,  pot- 
herbs, oil,  eggs,  milk,  cheese,  and  fruit ; 
no  flesh,  fish,  nor  wine,  except  for  the 
sick,  minuti,  or  poor,  or  in  great  so- 
lemnities they  might  buy  and  bring  up 


74 


RULES  OF  THE  ORDERS 


articles  of  food.  Wine  allowed  spa- 
ringly on  journeys,  and  fish  in  Lent  if 
necessary.  The  residue  of  presents  to 
undergo  the  triple  division.  The  whole 
if  they  were  on  a  journey  to  redeem 
captives,  after  expenses  were  paid,  to 
be  devoted  to  that  purpose.  In  towns 
where  there  were  houses  of  the  Order 
to  eat  only  in  them.  Allowed  to  drink 
water  in  creditable  houses,  but  not  to 
sleep  elsewhere  than  above,  or  use 
taverns.  Same  food,  clothing,  dormi- 
tory, refectory,  and  table  for  Brothers, 
Clerks,  and  Laymen.  Sick  to  sleep 
and  eat  apart  under  a  lay  or  clerk  In- 
firmarer.  Sick  not  to  require  delicate 
food.  Strangers  to  be  received,  but  no 
oats,  except  to  poor  religious,  if  any 
was  to  be  bought  in  the  place.  Labour. 
Silence  in  Church.  Fratry.  Dormi- 
tory. Speech  of  necessary  matters  at 
fit  times,  in  a  low  voice.  Chapter 
every  Sunday.  Accounts  of  the  re- 
demption-money interchangeably  set- 
tled between  the  Minister  and  Brethren. 
Sermon  to  the  whole  establishment. 
No  accusation  without  proof,  or  the 
accuser  to  undergo  the  punishment  the 
accused  had  been  liable  to.  The  pu- 
nishment of  raising  scandals  or  striking 
in  the  breast  of  the  minister.  To  beg 
pardon  even  to  three  times  of  the  party 
offended.  If  it  should  become  public 
pardon  to  be  solicited  at  the  feet  of  the 
Minister,  who  was  to  settle  the  matter 
ad  arbitrium.  When  the  offence  existed 
only  between  brother  and  brother,  and 
no  other  person  knew  it,  private  admo- 
nition, to  repent  and  not  do  the  like 
again,  from  the  party  injured,  for  three 
times.  General  chapter  once  in  the 
year  in  the  octaves  of  Pentecost.  Debts 
about  to  be  contracted  first  canvassed 
in  Chapter.  In  case  of  violence  done 
to  the  property  of  the  house,  admoni- 
tion first  to  the  party  from  the  Convent, 
afterwards  from  the  neighbours.  Elec- 
tion of  the  Minister  of  the  order  by 
common  consent;  to  be  a  priest  or 
clerk  fit  for  orders.  Minister  of  the 
order  to  hear  the  confessions  of  all  the 
brothers  of  all  the  houses  ;  lesser  Mi- 
nister those  of  his  own  house.  Minis- 
ter to  see  the  rule  observed.     Deposi- 


tion by  the  greater  Minister,  and  three 
or  four  lesser  ones :  if  the  greater 
Minister  was  too  far  off,  by  lesser  ones 
deputed  by  him.  Greater  Minister 
deposed  by  four  or  five  lesser  ones 
authorized  by  the  general  Chapter. 
Year's  probation  of  Novices,  longer  if 
necessary,  during  wdiich  he  retained 
his  property.  Men  received  if  agree- 
able to  the  Convent,  and  there  was  a 
vacancy.  No  one  to  be  received  before 
twenty  years  old.  Profession  in  the 
will  of  the  Minister.  No  pledges  {piy- 
nora ;  I  am  not  certain  whether  it  may 
not  have  a  more  extensive  meaning), 
except  tithes  with  the  Bishop's  consent, 
or  oaths  allowed,  except  on  very  extra- 
ordinary occasions,  with  licence  of  the 
Minister  of  the  order,  of  the  Bishop, 
or  any  one  executing  apostolical  func- 
tions. Faults  in  things  sold  to  be 
notified  to  the  buyer;  no  deposits  of 
money,  &c.  to  be  received.  Sick  to 
confess,  and  communicate  the  first 
day  of  their  coming.  Every  Monday 
after  Mass,  except  at  certain  seasons, 
absolution  of  all  faithful  persons  buried 
in  the  cemetery.  Every  night,  at  least, 
in  the  guest-house  or  almonry  (hospi- 
talis)  in  the  presence  of  the  poor, 
prayer  for  the  holy  Roman  Church, 
all  Christendom,  pious  benefactors,  &c. 
Manner  of  St.  Victor  in  the  regular 
hours.  Tonsure  of  St.  V.  Laymen  not 
to  shave  their  beards.  Monast.  II. 
830,  1. 

3.  Dominicans, 

Followed,  according  to  the  "  Scrip- 
tores  Ordinis  Prredicatorum,"  vol.  I. 
p.  12,  the  Rule  of  Austin,  with  severe 
additions  in  food,- fasts,  bedding,  gar- 
ments, and  utter  dereliction  of  property. 
Of  the  first  Dominicans  (says  Surius, 
1.  VI.  v.  IV.  p.  544,  seq.  in  August.), 
the  Novices  were  perfectly  instructed. 
Silence  was  rigidly  observed  ;  and,  af- 
ter Complin  till  Tierce,  praying  100  or 
200  times  a  day.  Complin.  Salve 
regina,  &c.  Disciplines.  Confessions 
before  Mass.  Wonderful  abstinence,  as 
stopping  eight  days  without  drink.  Vast 
respect  for  the  Virgin  Mary.  Frequent 
preaching.     A  general  Chapter  yearly 


WHICH  OBTAINED  IN  ENGLAND. 


75 


(says  Hospinian,  de  Orig.  et  Progr. 
Monach.  392,3).  Long  fasts,  for  seven 
months  together,  from  Holyrood-day 
till  Easter,  and  at  other  times  on  Fri- 
days, with  some  other  days.  No  flesh 
except  to  the  sick.  Only  woollen  in 
dress  and  beds,  nor  even  with  counter- 
panes (culcitris).  No  intercourse  with 
women.  Silence  at  certain  places  and 
hours ;  that  at  table  first  founded  by 
Jordan  of  Paris,  general  of  the  order 
about  1226".  Buildings  low,  suitable 
to  their  poverty.  Cloister  and  in  it 
cells  accommodated  for  study,  and  in 
the  cells  an  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
and  Crucifix.  More  particulars  of  this 
order  may  be  found  in  the  citations  I 
have  given  from  MS.  Cott.  Nero  A. 
XII.  Constit.  Fratrum ;  which,  from 
the  single  term  fratreSy  should  belong 
to  the  Dominicans. 

4.  Knights  Hospitalers. 

Vows  of  chastity,  poverty,  and  obe- 
dience. To  have  nothing  but  bread, 
water,  and  clothes.  Clerks  to  serve  at 
the  Altar  in  white  dresses.  Priest, 
Deacon,  and  Sub-deacon,  and,  if  neces- 
sary, another  clerk.  Light  in  the 
Church  night  and  day.  Priest  with  the 
Host,  Deacon,  or  Sub-deacon,  or  other 
clerk,  with  the  lantern  and  a  sponge 
with  holy  water,  to  visit  the  sick. 
Knights  to  go  out  (not  alone)  but  by 
two  or  three,  with  companions  order- 
ed by  the  masters,  and  to  stand  to- 
gether at  their  journey's  end.  No  wo- 
men to  wash  their  heads  or  feet,  or 
make  their  beds.  To  ask  food  only  in 
begging  alms,  and  buy  nothing  else. 
Not  to  receive  either  lands  or  pledges, 
but  to  give  an  account  of  what  they 
received  to  the  Master,  and  he  to  send 
it  with  that  writing  to  the  house.  Mas- 
ter to  have  the  third  part  of  the  bread 
and  wine  and  food  (nutrimentum)  of 
all  obediences  ;  the  superfluity  to  alms. 
None  to  go  to  the  collections  but  those 
whom  the  Chapter  and  Master  of  the 
Church  sent.  In  their  collections  to 
put  up  with  such  food  as  the  other 
Knights  had  amongst  themselves,  and 
to  carry  a  light,  and  have  that  light 
burning  before  them   in  every  house 


(hospitales)  they  went  into.  Not  to 
wear  unsuitable  clothes.  To  eat  but 
twice  in  a  day,  and  on  Wednesday  and 
Sunday,  and  from  Septuagesima  to 
Easter,  no  flesh,  the  infirm  and  sick 
excepted.  Never  to  sleep  naked,  but 
clothed  in  camelot  (see  chap.  III.)  li- 
nen or  woollen,  or  some  such  dress. 
A  Knight  committing  fornication  to 
repent  privately  and  enjoin  penance 
upon  himself;  if  discovered,  he  was, 
upon  a  Sunday  after  Mass,  in  the  town 
where  he  had  committed  it,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  all  the  people,  to  be  stripped 
and  beat  by  the  master  and  brethren, 
and  then  expelled  :  if,  however,  he  did 
suitable  penance  for  a  whole  year,  in  a 
strange  place,  he  might  be  received 
again  if  the  Knights  chose  it.  The  pu- 
nishment of  altercation  was  seven  days 
dining  on  the  ground,  without  table 
and  cloth,  and  fasting  Wednesday  and 
Friday  on  bread  and  water.  Any  one 
who  struck  another  to  be  in  the  forty 
days'  fast.  If  any  one  eloped  from  the 
house  or  master  he  had  been  committed 

i  to,  similar  forty  days'  penance,  besides 
staying  in  a  strange  place  as  long  as 
the  time  of  his  absence,  except  it  was 
so  long  that  the  Chapter  thought  fit  to 
moderate  it.  Silence  in  dinner  and  in 
bed,  and  no  drinking  after   Complin. 

|  Brothers  incorrigible  after  a  third  ad- 
monition to  be  sent  to  Jerusalem  on 
foot.  Not  to  strike  the  servants.  If 
any  Knight  took  the  property  of  a 
deceased  one  (so  I  venture  to  render 
(i  in  morte  sua  proprietatem  habuerit, 
et  magistro  suo  celaverit,  ac  postea 
super  eum  inventa  fuerit"),  and  the 
money  was  found  upon  him,  it  was  to 
be  tied  round  his  neck,  himself  severely 
beaten  by  the  others,  and  the  forty- 
days'  fast  enjoined  as  above.  Trental 
or  thirty-days'  Mass  for  the  dead  :  in 
the  first  Mass  an  offering  of  a  candle 
or  money  by  every  Knight,  which  mo- 
ney was  given  to  the  poor;  Priest  who 
sung  the  Mass,  if  not  of  the  house,  to 
have  a  procuration ;  upon  the  end  of 
the  office  the  Master  to  make  a  charity 
for  him  ;  all  the  clothes  of  the  deceased 
given  to  the  poor ;  brothers  priests  to 
say  prayers  for  him  ;  the  clerks  to  sing 


76 


RULES  OF  THE  ORDERS 


a  Psalter,  and  laymen  say  150  Lord's 
prayers.  Chapter  for  deciding  on 
crimes,  business,  and  accusations.  Sick 
received  with  confession;  communion; 
afterwards  carried  to  bed,  and  then, 
according  to  the  ability  of  the  house, 
charitably  refreshed  every  day  before 
the  Knights  went  to  dinner.  Every 
Sunday  the  Epistle  and  Gospel  sung, 
procession  and  sprinkling  of  holy  water. 
If  any  obedientiary  (officer)  gave  the 
goods  of  the  house  to  secular  persons, 
for  the  sake  of  governing,  to  be  expel- 
led. If  two  or  more  Knights  went  to- 
gether, and  one  behaved  ill,  he  was  not 
to  be  exposed,  but  one  of  the  others 
was  to  reprimand  him  in  a  friendly 
manner ;  and,  if  he  would  not  amend 
himself,  to  get  two  or  three  others  to 
join  him  and  chastise  him;  if  this 
would  not  do  to  be  punished  as  the 
Master  and  Chapter  directed.  Not  to 
accuse  another  without  proof.  The 
cross  to  be  worn  upon  their  robes  and 
cloaks.  When  any  one  wished  to  be 
admitted  a  Knight,  he  was  to  come  to 
the  Chapter  on  a  Sunday,  ask  the  con- 
sent of  the  house,  and,  on  consent  of 
the  majority,  be  received  ;  after  certain 
exhortations  and  engagements,  to  take 
the  missal  in  both  his  hands,  make  an 
oath,  go  to  the  Church,  lay  the  book 
upon  the  altar,  and  bring  it  back  ;  the 
person  who  was  to  make  him  a  Knight 
then  to  take  the  missal  from  him,  and 
give  him  the  missal  with  a  suitable 
prayer.  Those  who  sought  the  frater- 
nity only,  to  take  a  like  oath  upon  the 
missal ;  to  promise  to  love  the  house 
and  Knights ;  to  defend  them  with 
their  utmost  ability  from  all  evil-doers 
(malefactoribus) ;  defend  the  property 
of  the  house,  and,  if  not  able  to  do 
this,  make  the  evil  known  ;  to  engage 
that,  if  they  took  any  religious  order, 
it  should  be  that ;  and,  if  they  died 
without,  to  be  buried  in  their  cemetery, 
and  make  an  annual  present  to  the 
house.  Upon  this  to  receive  the  peace ; 
and  their  names,  and  what  they  pro- 
mised to  give  annually,  to  be  entered 


in  the  register. 
493—7. 


Monast.  Anglic.   II. 


These  military  orders,  it  seems,  were 
augmented  by  the  entrance  of  many 
noble  persons  abroad,  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  two  kings  (Richard  I. 
and  Philip  of  France) ;  which  noble 
persons  bestowed  all  their  transmarine 
property  upon  them. — Unicum  tamen 
memorabile  hoc  tempore  contigit  quod 
multi  ingenui  et  nobiles  viri  post  regum 
et  principum  discessum  in  terra  sancta 
permanserunt,  atque  sese  militaribus 
ordinibus  adjunxerunt,  omnibus  suis 
bonis  transmarinis  iisdem  attributis. 
Pantaleon  de  Ord.  Joannitarum,  1.  II. 
p.  63,  anno  1193. 

Rules  blended,  or  unconnected  with 
the  Benedictine  and  Augustinian. 

1.  Knights  Templars. 

Rule  composed  by  Bernard.  Regu- 
lar service ;  so  many  Lord's  Prayers 
instead  if  they  could  not  attend.  Mass 
for  a  dying  Knight,  and  100  Lord^s 
Prayers  for  him  afterwards  for  seven 
days ;  same  allowance  as  to  him  when 
alive  to  a  poor  man  for  forty  days. 
Chaplains  only  to  have  food  and  rai- 
ment. Seven  days  of  support  to  a 
poor  man  for  the  brothers  deceased 
who  lived  with  them  only  for  a  term. 
No  offerings  to  be  made.  Not  to 
stand  immoderately  long  during  divine 
service.  Eating  in  one  common  refec- 
tory ;  reading  there.  Flesh  only  three 
times  a  week  except  on  certain  festivals. 
Two  meals  on  Sunday;  the  armigeri 
and  client es  only  one.  Refection  by 
two  and  two ;  wine  singly  in  equal 
portions.  Monday,  Wednesday,  and 
Saturday,  two  or  three  meals  of  escu- 
lents ;  Friday  Lent  food.  Grace  after 
meals.  Tenth  loaf  to  the  poor.  Col- 
lation before  Complin,  whether  of 
water  only,  or  water  mixed  with  wine, 
in  the  regulation  of  the  master.  Silence 
after  Complin.  Not  to  rise  to  Matins 
when  fatigued.  Same  food  to  all.  Three 
horses  to  every  Knight.  One  servant 
to  every  Knight,  who  was  not  to  be 
beaten  by  them.  Horses,  arms,  &c.  to 
be  found  for  Knights  who  staid  with 
them  for  a  term  ;    at  going  away  part 


WHICH  OBTAINED  IN  ENGLAND. 


77 


of  the  price  to  be  paid  by  the  Knight, 
the  rest  from  the  common  stock.  To 
do  nothing  from  their  own  will.  Not 
to  go  to  the  town  without  leave  of  the 
master.  Not  to  go  alone.  Not  to 
seek  what  they  wanted  by  name  (no- 
minatim).  Regulation  of  their  bri- 
dles, spurs,  &c.  Not  to  speak  boast- 
ingly  of  their  faults.  Not  to  keep  any 
presents  till  permitted  by  the  master. 
Not  to  make  or  use  bags  for  their 
horses  to  eat  out  of,  but  have  bas- 
kets. Not  to  exchange  or  seek  any 
thing.  Not  to  hawk.  Not  to  kill 
beasts  with  bow  or  cross-bow.  To  at- 
tend to  justice.  To  have  lands  and 
property.  Necessaries  to  be  given  to 
the  sick.  Not  to  provoke  one  another 
to  anger.  Married  Knights  to  be  ad- 
mitted, provided  they  gave  after  their 
death  a  portion  of  their  substance,  and 
whatever  more  they  had  acquired,  to 
the  society.  Not  to  have  sisters.  Not 
associate  with  excommunicated  persons. 
Secular  Knights  to  be  received  into  the 
order  if  after  probation  they  conformed 
to  the  rule.  All  the  Knights  not  called 
to  the  secret  rule  to  observe  silence  in 
their  praying.  To  receive  the  service 
of  servants,  except  they  behaved  with 
theft  or  indecency.  No  little  boys  to 
be  received  into  the  order.  Old  men 
always  to  be  respected.  Knights  tra- 
velling to  observe  the  rule.  Equal 
food  to  all.  Allowed  to  have  tithes. 
Expulsion  for  disobedience,  obstinacy, 
and  rebellion.  Linen  shirts  allowed 
from  Easter  to  All  Saints,  ex  gratia ; 
woollen  at  other  times.  Sleeping  in 
their  shirts  and  breeches.  To  avoid 
murmuring.  Not  to  give  kisses  to 
women.  Stellartius  de  Reg.  et  Fund. 
Monachor.  p.  469.  D'Emilliane  (Short 
Hist,  of  Monast.  Orders,  p.  279)  says, 
that  their  greatness  and  power  occa- 
sioning jealousy  in  the  Pope  and  seve- 
ral Kings,  their  destruction  was  re- 
solved on;  and,  before  execution, 
several  horrid  crimes  published,  none 
of  which  could  ever  be  proved.  Their 
guilt,  however,  is  very  strenuously  in- 
sisted on  by  the  Abbe  Barruel,  Mem. 
of  Jacobinism,  II.  372 — 387. 


2.  Gilber tines. 

The  rule  is  considered  generally  as  a 
compound  of  those  of  Bennet  and  Au- 
gustine ;  but  it  seems  more  accurate 
and  close  to  say,  that  the  Canons  were 
Premonstratensians,  and  the  Nuns  Cis- 
tercians. This  rule  had  Canons  and 
Nuns  separated,  but  under  the  same 
roof.  Master  of  the  whole  order ; 
chosen  by  thirteen  Electors  (four  De- 
puties, five  Priors,  and  four  Claustrals) ; 
had  two  Canons  for  Chaplains,  and  a 
Lay-brother  for  a  servant ;  received 
persons  into  the  order ;  heard  confes- 
sion ;  his  sanction  necessary  to  buying 
and  selling ;  disobedience  to  him  to  be 
considered  as  incurring  the  penalty  of 
excommunication ;  appointed  certain 
officers;  Scrutators  and  Scrutatrices  for 
visiting  Monks  and  Nuns  :  same  of- 
ficers in  the  Cloister ;  four  officers  in 
every  house,  called  a  Prior,  Cellerer, 
Proctor,  and  Grangiary,  for  managing 
and  distributing  the  goods  of  the  house. 
Novices  not  to  be  readers  nor  atten- 
dants at  the  table,  but  sometimes  at 
collation  and  chapter  :  after  Profession, 
under  custody  of  the  Masters  forty  days, 
or  a  little  more.  Canons'  garments 
washed  by  the  lay  sisters.  A  Canon 
inspector  and  superintendant  of  the 
work-shops.  From  cal.  Nov.  to  Eas- 
ter, sleep  or  reading  after  Matins, 
Prime,  then  Mass  and  the  private  ones 
before  Tierce,  if  possible,  if  not,  after  ; 
after  Tierce,  the  Chapter.  From  Eas- 
ter to  September  Chapter  after  Prime, 
and  the  conventual  Mass  after  Tierce, 
and  between  Prime  and  Tierce  labour. 
After  Chapter  reading  in  the  Cloister. 
Dinner.  After  dinner  reading  in  the 
cloister,  or  sleeping  in  the  Dormitory 
(during  Summer.)  Collation ;  Com- 
plin; Dormitory. — Of  the  Nuns.  Tith- 
ing of  lambs,  and  the  whole  substance 
of  the  house  under  the  care  of  the 
Nuns.  Three  Nuns  to  keep  the  com- 
mon seal  and  money.  One  to  cut  and 
distribute  the  cloth.  The  same  Nuns 
to  take  care  of  washing  the  clothes, 
and  patching  and  mending  them.  Ac- 
counts of  money  expended  before  it 
came  to  the  Nuns  to  be  notified  to  the 


78 


RULES   OF  THE  ORDERS 


Prioress.  Nuns  to  be  shut  in  by  a 
ditch  and  wall,  or  fence.  Entrance  to 
their  court  prohibited.  No  presents 
or  letters  sent  to  them,  No  conversa- 
tion allowed  between  the  Canons  and 
them.  Fire  not  to  be  begged  of  them 
at  night.  No  one  to  have  admission 
to  the  Nuns  whilst  they  were  singing 
the  hour,  or  were  in  the  Refectory  or 
Dormitory.  If  any  entered  on  business 
to  be  in  a  number,  and  to  take  care 
not  to  see  or  to  be  seen  by  the  Nuns. 
If  the  grand  Prior  entered  a  number 
of  them  were  to  surround  him  imme- 
diately, at  least  three  or  four,  and  none 
to  be  alone  with  him,  except  to  confess, 
and  then  with  others  in  sight.  One 
cellar  and  kitchen  to  all,  under  the  care 
of  a  Prioress  and  Nuns.  Shirts  or 
breeches  of  the  Canons  not  to  be  cut 
out  or  sewed  by  the  Nuns.  Place  to 
be  appointed  in  the  court  for  Nuns 
and  Sisters  to  talk  with  the  Prioress 
and  Cellaress,  standing,  and  two  only 
with  her.  Maundy.  Adoration  of  the 
Cross.  Lay-sisters  to  clean  the  area 
of  the  Church  at  Easter  while  the  Nuns 
were  at  dinner ;  Cloister  and  Chapter 
after  Complin.  No  Nun  to  be  re- 
ceived compulsorily.  Nuns  not  to  go  out 
to  labour,  or  to  receive  shoes  of  cord- 
wain,  to  use  or  "  ad  erogandum  "  (per- 
haps, let  out).  To  be  shaved  at  Easter, 
Mary  Magdalen's  day,  and  All  Saints, 
at  least.  To  wash  their  hoods  seven 
times  a  year.  Not  to  go  to  another 
house  ;  punishment  of  disobedience. 
Not  to  be  intimate  with  the  lay-sisters. 
Readings  four  times  a  year  by  the 
nuns  to  the  lay-sisters,  as  by  the  canons 
to  the  lay-brothers.  Discord  to  be  shun- 
ned between  the  Canons  and  Brothers, 
Nuns  and  Sisters.  Bath  prohibited. 
Monast.  Anglic.  II.  699-790.  Abridged 
in  the  Abridgement  of  the  Monasticon 
assigned  to  Capt.  Steevens. — It  is  sin- 
gular that,  notwithstanding  the  story 
of  the  poor  Nun  in  Alfred  of  Rievesby 
and  Bale,  Nigel  Wireker  says  nothing 
of  this  order  but  what  observation  of 
the  rule  implies  ;  but  it  was  yet  young 
when  he  wrote. — As  there  is  a  more 
copious   account  of  nuns  to  be  found 


here  than  elsewdiere,  I  shall  cite  largely 
from  this  long  rule  in  the  course  of  my 
work. 

3.   Carmelites. 

Rule  founded  upon  that  of  Basil ; 
but  even  that  is  disj^uted ;  for  Lynd- 
wood  and  others  say,  that  all  the  reli- 
gious followed  one  of  the  three  orders, 
Benedictine,  Augustinian,  or  Francis- 
can (p.  213).  The  rule  was — Prior 
elected  unanimously,  or  by  majority. 
To  have  places  in  deserts  or  elsewhere  ; 
separate  cells ;  common  refectory  and 
reading.  Not  to  change  their  places 
without  the  prior's  leave.  Prior's  cell 
near  the  entrance  of  the  house,  that  he 
might  be  the  first  to  meet  comers.  All 
to  remain  in  their  cells,  meditating  day 
and  night.  At  fit  hours  in  church. 
Cloisters.  To  stay  and  walk  freely  and 
lawfully  [libere  et  licite).  Canonical 
!  hours.  Paternosters  by  the  ignorant. 
i  All  things  common.  Asses  or  mules 
I  allowed,  and  nourishment  of  animals 
|  or  birds.  Church  in  the  middle  of  the 
j  cells.  Sundays,  or  at  other  times,  as 
necessary,  the  correction  of  abuses. 
No  flesh  but  to  the  sick.  To  carry 
with  them,  to  eat  on  journeys,  dump- 
lings (pulmenta,  a  very  equivocal  term 
among  the  monks)  drest  with  flesh. 
Fast  every  day  except  Sunday  from 
Holyrood-day  to  Easter,  except  the 
sick  and  infirm.  Chastity;  labour; 
silence  after  Complin  till  Prime ;  might 
talk  at  other  times  moderately.  P. 
Stellartius,  id  supra,  p.  461. — There  is 
a  mitigation  of  this  rule,  Anno  1247, 
in  the  Bullarium  Romanum,  vol.  I. 
p.  116. 

4.  Franciscans. 

Novitiates  to  be  received  by  the 
provincial  Priors,  and  no  others,  after 
a  year's  profession ;  dereliction  of  pro- 
perty and  wives.  Divine  service  ac- 
cording to  the  Romish  Church,  except 
the  Psalter,  of  which  they  were  to  have 
breviaries  (excepto  Psalterio,  ex  quo 
habere  potuerunt  brevia\  Paternos- 
ters by  lay-brothers  instead.  Fasting 
from  All  Saints  to  Christmas   (besides 


WHICH  OBTAINED  IN    ENGLAND, 


9 


Lent  from  Epiphany)  ;  another  till  the 
Resurrection  ;  at  other  times  on  Fri- 
days. In  times  of  manifest  necessity 
not  bound  to  corporal  fasting.  Not 
to  ride  but  from  manifest  necessity. 
On  journeys  to  eat  whatever  was  set 
before  them.  Not  to  take  money.  To 
receive  necessaries,  not  money,  as  re- 
wards of  their  labours.  To  have  no 
property.  To  beg  lustily  (confidenter) . 
For  penitence  to  go  to  the  provincial 
Priors  only.  If  these  were  not  priests, 
to  get  priests  to  enjoin  this  penance  for 
them.  General  elected  by  the  provin- 
cials and  wardens  in  the  chapter  of 
Pentecost  held  every  third  year,  or  a 
shorter  or  longer  term,  as  the  General 
thought  fit.  Provincials  always  to 
come  there.  General  removable  for 
insufficiency.  Not  to  preach  in  any 
bishoprick  without  the  Prelate*  s  leave, 
or  unless  examined  and  approved  by 
the  General.  Short  sermons,  because 
our  Lord's  was  such.  Ministers  to 
visit  and  advise  obedience.  Brothers 
unable  to  observe  the  rule  to  recur  to 
the  ministers.  If  unlearned  not  to 
learn.  Not  to  enter  houses  of  nuns, 
or  be  godfathers  of  children.  Mission- 
aries, with  license  of  the  Provincial,  to 
have  a  Cardinal  for  their  protector. 
Stellartius,  &c. — There  being  great  dis- 
putes in  this  order  about  property, 
and  vast  varieties  or  modifications  of 
the  rule  (at  large  in  Bullarium  Roma- 
num),  but  since  impossible  to  be  men- 
tioned here,  and  given  in  essentials  by 
Dr.  Mosheim,  it  is  sufficient  to  note, 
that  the  more  austere  Franciscans  were 
called  Observants. 

5.  Franciscan  Nuns,  Minor  esses,  or 
Nuns  of  St.  Clare. 

Novices  examined  at  their  reception 
as  to  their  Catholic  faith.  A  year's 
probation.  Divine  service  read  not 
sung.  Pater-nosters  for  the  ignorant, 
and  those  who  were  unable  to  attend 
the  hours.  Fast  all  the  year.  Christ- 
mas, every  Friday  refection  twice.  Dis- 
pensation of  fasting  in  favour  of  the 
young  and  weak.  Confession  twelve 
times  in  the  year,  Communion  seven  ; 
for  which  purpose  Chaplains  were  then 


allowed  to  celebrate.  No  one  to  be 
elected  Abbess  unless  professed.  To 
observe  the  order  of  the  society  (com- 
munitatem  servare)  in  all  things;  espe- 
cially in  the  church,  dorter,  fratry,  in- 
firmary, and  clothing;  in  a  similar 
manner  her  Vicaress  or  deputy.  Chap- 
ter and  confession  (private)  at  least 
once  a  week.  No  deposits.  From  Com- 
plin to  Tierce  silence  (service  excepted 
out  of  the  house),  always  in  the  church 
and  dormitory,  and  while  they  ate  in 
the  refectory ;  infirmary  excepted, 
where  they  might  speak  in  a  low  voice, 
and  briefly  insinuate  what  they  should 
find  necessary.  Not  to  talk  in  the 
parlour  or  at  the  grate  without  leave, 
and  at  the  former  in  the  presence  of 
two  sisters,  at  the  latter  of  three.  At 
the  grate,  a  cloth  to  be  put  on  the  in- 
side, not  to  be  removed  but  at  divine 
service,  or  when  any  thing  was  said  to 
any  body.  A  gate  with  two  locks, 
always  to  remain  fast  (in  the  night  es- 
pecially) except  in  time  of  divine  ser- 
vice. No  one  to  speak  at  the  gate  be- 
fore sun-rise  or  after  sun-set.  At  the 
Locutory,  the  cloth,  which  might  not 
be  removed,  always  to  remain  within. 
In  St.  Martinis  Lent  and  greater  Lent 
no  one  to  speak  at  the  locutory  but  at 
confession  or  in  urgent  necessity. 
Work  after  Tierce,  which  was  assigned 
in  the  chapter.  Same  public  disposi- 
tion with  regard  to  alms  sent  for  the 
sisters.  No  letters  or  receipt  or  gift 
of  any  thing  out  of  the  house  allowed 
without  leave  of  the  Abbess.  If  any 
thing  were  sent  by  parents  or  others, 
the  Abbess  might  have  it  given  to  her, 
and  take  it  to  herself  if  she  wanted  it, 
if  not,  she  might  give  it  to  one  who  did. 
Abbess  and  obedientiaries  to  dispose  of 
money  for  things  wanted.  Abbess  to 
see  into  the  infirmary.  Penitences; 
bread  and  water  in  the  refectory  for 
the  contumacious  after  admonition 
twice  or  thrice.  Chaplain  and  two 
lay-brothers  for  the  relief  of  their  po- 
verty. Chaplain  not  to  enter  the 
house  without  a  companion  ;  upon  en- 
trance to  be  in  a  public  place  where 
he  might  be  seen  by  others ;  might  en- 
ter for  confession  of  the  sick,  extreme 


80 


RULES   OF  THE  ORDERS 


unction,  absolution,  &c. ;  grave-diggers 
also  allowed. — From  the  rule  in  Bulla- 
rium  Romanum,  vol.  I.  pp.  123,  124. 

In  a  mitigation  of  this  rule  it  was 
enacted  as  follows.  Lay-sisters  allow- 
ed to  go  out  on  the  convent  business. 
All  and  the  Abbess  to  lie  in  the  com- 
mon dormitory,  and  separate  beds, 
the  Abbess's  so  placed  that  she  could 
see  them  all  around  her.  Allowed  to 
talk  from  Nones  to  Vespers  on  festivals 
and  certain  other  times.  From  Easter 
to  Christmas  sleep  till  Nones  unless 
any  one  preferred  prayer,  contempla- 
tion, or  quiet  labour.  Id.  152,  seq. 
[The  remaining  parts  of  this  rule  will 
appear  in  the  sections  Infirmary,  Por- 
ter, Dormitory,  and  Cloister.] 

6.  Brigettine  Nuns. 

No  property  whatever.  Beds  of 
straw ;  two  woollen  coverings  or  blan- 
kets, bolster  and  pillow  covered  with 
linen.  Veil  to  represent  the  form  of 
the  cross.  Speech  after  Mass  of  Vir- 
gin Mary  until  the  table  was  conse- 
crated (quod  mensa  consecratur)  ;  after 
the  grace,  reading  in  the  church  till 
vespers  began  ;  then  silence  till  after 
supper  they  had  given  thanks  in  the 
church ;  speech  again  till  collation ; 
after  that,  silence  till  the  Mass  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  on  the  day  following.  No 
secular  person,  male  or  female,  to  en- 
ter the  house.  Speech,  sitting  at  the 
window,  from  Nones  to  Vespers.  Fast 
on  the  proper  food  from  Advent  to 
Christmas.  Friday  before  Lent  till 
Easter  on  common  food.  Holy-rood- 
day  till  Michaelmas  fish  and  white 
meats  (lacticinia).  All  Saints  to  Ad- 
vent same.  On  certain  days  only 
bread  and  water.  On  all  other  days  of 
the  year,  flesh  on  Sunday,  Monday, 
Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  in  the  even- 
ing fish  and  white  meats.  Wednesdays, 
the  whole  year,  at  dinner  and  supper, 
fish  and  white  meats.  Fridays,  the 
whole  year, common  fast-food.  Sabbath 
fish  and  milk  food.  All  other  fasts 
according  to  the  rule  of  the  Church. 
Persons  requesting  admission  to  be 
sent  away  successively,  first,  for  three 


months,  then  to  return,  and  be  asked, 
whether  she  continued  in  the  same 
mind ;  the  like  after  a  longer  lapse  ; 
then  the  rule  to  be  proposed,  its  aspe- 
rities, contempt  of  the  world,  forgetful- 
ness  of  parents.  After  a  year,  profes- 
sion and  admission  ;  when  the  Bishop 
at  the  gate  of  the  Church  put  several 
questions  to  her;  whether  she  was  free 
from  matrimony,  from  any  tie  of  the 
Church  or  excommunication,  &c.  and 
whether  she  desired  entrance  there  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Vir- 
gin Mary.  Upon  her  affirmative  reply, 
the  Bishop  introduced  her,  when  the 
two  candles  were  lighted,  which  were 
carried  before  the  standard  that  pre- 
ceded the  Nun,  and  burned  during  the 
Mass.  The  Bishop  consecrated  the 
ring  and  put  it  on  her  finger,  and  con- 
crated  the  Nun,  after  which  Mass  was 
performed.  The  Bishop  went  to  the  Al- 
tar, and  began  the  Mass  of  the  Trinity, 
while  the  Nun  stood  at  the  Altar;  who, 
when  the  offertory  began,  went  there, 
and  afterwards  returned  to  her  place. 
Then  she  was  called  to  the  Altar  by  a 
priest,  when  they  were  barefooted,  and 
put  off  her  outward  garment  in  order 
to  put  on  her  consecrated  ones.  Then 
the  tunic,  hood,  veil,  &c.  in  which 
the  Bishop  fixed  a  pin,  were  severally 
put  on  and  consecrated.  She  returned 
to  her  place.  The  Bishop  began  Mass, 
and,  when  he  came  to  that  part  in 
which  the  priest  at  the  wedding  cere- 
mony was  used  to  bless  the  husband 
and  wife,  put  the  crown  on  her,  fixed 
the  pin  on  it,  said  a  prayer,  and  she 
returned  to  her  place  till  the  Mass  was 
over.  Then  she  came  to  the  Altar, 
prostrated  herself  upon  her  face,  and  a 
Litany  and  absolution  followed  ;  after 
which  she  took  the  Sacrament,  and 
four  sisters  brought  in  the  coffin 
(which  at  the  beginning  of  the  Mass 
stood  in  the  gate  through  which  the 
nun  was  introduced,  and  had  earth 
sprinkled  on  it)  into  the  house.  Then 
the  Bishop  went  to  the  gate,  and  com- 
mended her  to  the  Abbess,  who  made 
a  suitable  reply.  The  nun  was  then 
led  to  the  Chapter,  for  the  first  eight 


WHICH  OBTAINED  IN  ENGLAND. 


81 


days  was  exempted  from  discipline, 
and  stood  in  the  bottom  of  the  Choir. 
At  the  expiration  of  this  term  she  be- 
gan the  observance  of  the  order,  and 
sat  last  at  the  Choir  and  table.  There 
were  thirteen  Priests,  who  had  a  hall 
(aula)  in  which  they  resided,  from 
which  there  was  an  entrance  into  the 
Church,  the  lower  Choir  belonging  to 
them,  and  the  upper  (roof)  to  the  Nuns  ; 
four  Gospellers,  who  were  to  be  priests 
if  they  chose ;  eight  servants  ;  all  of 
whom  (with  the  nuns)  made  the  thir- 
teen apostles  and  seventy-two  disciples 
(See  Fuller's  Sarcastic  Remarks). 
There  never  could  be  more  than  twenty- 
five  brothers,  who  had  a  form  of  bene- 
diction similar  to  the  Nuns,  except  that, 
instead  of  the  ring,  they  laid  hold  of 
the  Priest's  hands,  and  used  a  similar 
ceremony  instead  of  the  veil.  Their 
hair  was  cut  in  a  circle  as  in  other 
monasteries.  The  Abbess  was  elected 
by  the  Convent,  and  the  Confessor  out 
of  the  thirteen  Priests,  who  were  obe- 
dient to  the  Abbess,  and  the  sisters  and 
Lay-brothers  to  him.  The  thirteen 
priests  alone  managed  divine  service, 
did  no  secular  service,  fasted  on  bread 
and  water  on  the  evening  before  the 
greater  festivals,  and  all  other  days  ce- 
lebrated the  vigil  by  preaching.  Con- 
fession three  times  a  year  at  least  by 
the  Nuns,  though  one  of  the  thirteen 
Priests  was  every  day  ready  to  hear  it. 
On  evenings  preceding  the  greater 
feasts  fasting  on  bread  and  water. 
Communion  on  Maunday  Thursday; 
at  Easter,  the  Ascension,  Whitsun- 
tide, Christmas,  and  every  Sabbath, 
with  advice  of  the  Confessor.  Chapter 
every  Thursday.  A  sick  sister  who 
had  property  was  absolved,  and  did 
penance  when  convalescent.  One  in 
health,  who  did  not  confess  it,  and  was 
convicted  before  three  witnesses,  on 
the  first  day  of  the  Chapter  had  the 
usual  allowance,  but  on  the  next  Fri- 
day had  bread  and  water,  at  the  time 
of  divine  service  staid  in  the  Church- 
yard, did  not  speak  a  word  to  any  one, 
and  prostrated  herself  at  the  feet  of 
each  passing  Nun.  When  the  evening 
of  Friday  was  over,  and  the  Convent 


went  out  in  due  order,  the  Abbess  raised 
her,  brought  her  to  the  Altar,  the  con- 
vent interceded  for  her,  and  she  was 
absolved.  If,  however,  any  one  died 
with  property,  her  body  was  placed 
on  the  bier,  brought  to  the  Church- 
door,  the  Abbess  pronounced  a  denun- 
ciation of  the  crime,  Ave  Maria  was 
said,  and  the  body  brought  into  the 
Choir,  after  Mass  carried  again  to  the 
Church-door,  and  buried  by  the  bro- 
ther. Neither  presents  nor  property 
allowed  the  Nuns  or  Abbess.  No 
Monastery  to  be  inhabited  till  fully 
built,  and  they  could  peaceably  and 
quietly  live  there.  No  fewer  sisters 
or  Priests  to  be  received  than  were 
necessary  for  divine  service,  and  the 
number  to  be  afterwards  completed. 
Those  who  entered  the  house  after  the 
first  foundation  to  bring  with  them  suf- 
ficient for  their  maintenance  in  good 
and  bad  times;  and  when  the  number 
was  full,  and  they  had  revenues  enough 
to  furnish  allowances  of  meat  and 
drink  annually,  no  more  necessary  to 
be  brought  in.  Vestments  of  the  dead 
and  her  daily  provision  given  the  poor 
till  another  was  chosen  in  her  room. 
All  surplus  money  or  food  given  to 
the  poor,  and  on  this  account  no  visi- 
tors allowed.  Deductions  were,  how- 
ever, made  from  this,  in  case  of  appa- 
rent necessity*  for  the  ensuing  year; 
but  as  far  only  as  seemed  sufficient. 
Old  cloaths  given  to  the  poor.  Abbess 
not  to  build  unnecessary  or  splendid 
buildings.  Presents  at  admission  not 
to  be  of  permanent  revenues ;  but  that 
they  might  not  come  with  empty  hands 
before  God,  it  was  fit  to  offer  something. 
Extreme  poor  received  gratis.  Such 
presents  not  to  be  converted  to  private 
use,  but  given  to  "  poor  Churches  " 
(egenis  et  pauberibus  ecclesiis) ;  ex- 
ception in  case  of  necessity.  Inquiry 
to  be  made  whether  these  gifts  were 
honestly  obtained ;  if  not,  rejected, 
provided  the  Convent  had  no  need  of 
them.  Nuns  not  to  be  admitted  till 
eighteen  years  old,  nor  to  enter  the 
house  before  the  year  of  probation. 
Priests  and  brothers  to  profess  at 
twenty-five  years  of  age.     Manual  la- 

G 


82 


RULES  OF  THE  ORDERS, 


bour  at  times  not  devoted  to  divine 
service,  and  the  fruits  of  such  labour 
given  to  the  poor.  Disciplines  re- 
jected and  reprobated.  Same  portion 
of  meat  and  drink.  Confessors  (and 
Lay-brothers)  not  to  enter  the  house 
unless  in  company  with  others  to  give 
the  Sacrament  to  a  dying  Nun.  If  she 
happened  to  die  all  the  Priests  and 
Lay-brothers  with  the  Confessor  enter- 
ed, and  carried  her  to  sepulture  with 
chanting  and  prayers  and  the  usual 
rites.  The  Bishop  was  to  be  the  visi- 
tor ;  the  Prince  protector  and  advocate ; 
Pope  a  faithful  guardian  (fidelis  tutor) 
over  both  Bishop  and  Prince.  In  the 
house  was  a  grave  constantly  open, 
which  the  Abbess  and  Convent  visited 
daily,  and  performed  a  divine  service 
at.  A  coffin  (whether  the  same  thing 
as  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  sentence, 
or  not,  appears  to  me  rather  dubious, 
I  think  not)  to  be  placed  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  Church,  that  the  persons 
entering  might  see  and  remember 
death.  Hospinian,  506-514.  There 
is  too  a  large  folio  volume  in  B.L.  with 
wood-cuts  of  the  "Revelation  of  S. 
Bridget." 

7.  Augustinian  Eremites. 

Of  this  order  I  could  find  nothing. 
In  MS.  Bodl.  Digby,  113  (Disquisitio 
Fratrum  Eremitarum),  it  is  said,  "il- 
lam  non  puto  fuisse  regulam  quee  com- 


muniter  apud  particulars  religiones 
legitur  et  tenetur ;  sed  alia  cujus  pars 
recitatur  in  canon e  n.  q.  p'ti  non  dicta- 
tis.5'  [I  do  not  think  that  to  be  the 
rule  which  is  commonly  read  and  held 
in  particular  religions,  but  another, 
part  of  which  is  recited  in  the  canon  n. 
q.  &c]  Notwithstanding  this,  it  is 
plain  that  Alexander  the  Fourth,  who 
concentrated  the  hermits  into  this  or- 
der, gave  them  the  rule  of  Austin, 
without  any  such  distinction,  as  all 
writers  agree. 

8.  Nuns  of  Fontevraud. 

Of  this  rule  too  I  could  obtain  no 
information.  All  I  know  of  them  is, 
that  they  followed  the  Benedictine 
rule  amplified :  that  the  several  Monas- 
teries of  Monks  and  Nuns  within  the 
same  inclosure  were  subject  to  an  Ab- 
bess ;  and  that,  according  to  Malms- 
bury  (s.  96,  p.  2.),  they  never  spoke 
but  in  Chapter. 

9.  Bon  Hommes  {Augustinians) . 

Their  peculiarities,  according  to  the 
Monast.  II.  357,  are  to  be  found  in 
MSS.  C.  C.  C.  Cant.  Miscell.  G. 

10.  Brothers  of  the  Sack. 

These  were  Tertiaries  of  St.  Francis. 
See  Bullar.  Rom.  I.  and  Maclaine^s 
Mosheim,  in  C.  xiii.  p.  2.  C.  ii.  §  40, 
n.  9. 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS.'— ABBOT,  ABBESS, 


83 


CHAPTER  VIL 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS.— ABBOT,  ABBESS. 


Abbot  is  a  Syriac  term,  signifying 
Father,  and  was  anciently  applied  to 
all  Monks,  especially  those  who  were 
venerable  for  years  and  sanctity.a  If 
authenticity  be  conceded  to  the  rule  of 
Basil,  it  should  seem  to  have  been 
first  used  in  the  scriptural  form  of  Ab- 
ba,13 a  mode  of  compellation,  by  which 
a  son  expresses  his  confidence  and  de- 
pendence on  his  father's  kindness,  or 
conveys  a  petition.0  Domnus,  or  pater, 
was  the  more  recent  mode  of  address.d 
Among  the  Egyptian  Monks  the  Abbot 
was  called  David;  whence,  perhaps, 
the  name  of  the  Welch  Saint.e 

Abbots  and  Priors,  as  heads  of 
houses,  are  usually  considered,  except 
in  Cathedrals,  where  there  were  no  Ab- 
bots, on  account  of  the  Bishop,  syno- 
nymous terms.  But  there  is  an  express 
injunction  of  a  founder,  that  the  Supe- 
rior shall  only  be  stiled  Prior  ;f  and  in 
another  place  it  seems  that,  if  the 
king  granted  his  charter  of  liberties 
and  protections,  the  superior  was  to 
have  the  style  of  Abbot.g  This  appears 
from  the  speech  of  Geffrey-Fitz-Peter 
to  the  Abbot  of  Walden, "  Oh,  my  Lord 
Abbot,  you  and  your  Monks  have  disin- 
herited me  and  my  heirs,  by  turning  my 
Priory  into  an  Abbey,  and  throwing  me 
off,  by  subjecting  yourselves  wholly  to 
the  royal  power :"h  The  king's  right  in 
Abbeys  was  considered  to  extend  to 
the  advowson  and  presentation  ;*  and 
as  Thomas  Lord  Berkeley,  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  bought  the  advowson 

a  Du  Cange  Gl.  As  also  to  Seculars,  who  had 
care  of  souls.  Lyndw.  p.  32,  whence  the  modern 
abbe,  abbate. 

b  Reg.  C.  33,  38,  &c. 

c  Hammond  on  Luke,  c.  8.  v.  15.  N.  a  p.  47.  b. 

d  Reg.  Bened.  c.  63.  The  term  was  at  first  pro- 
per only  to  Popes.     Du  Cange. 

e  Du  Cange,  v.  David.  f  Monast.  Angl. 

ii.  301.  s  Id.  328.  h  Dugd.  Monast.  i. 

455.  i   Eadm.24. 


of  the  Abbey  of  Kingswood,  of  Richard 
Chedder,  it  shows  the  loss  by  such 
practices. k  Upon  the  same  principle, 
we  find  only  Prioresses  appointed  in 
Nunneries,  that  obedience  might  not 
be  withdrawn  from  the  parent  house 
or  founder.l  Perhaps  in  allusion  to 
this  King  John  confirmed  to  William 
Marshall,  earl  of  Pembroke,  and  his 
heirs,  the  gift  of  a.  pastoral  staff  to  the 
Abbey  of  Nutley,  to  have  and  hold  for 
ever,  with  all  matters,  liberties,  and 
free  customs  appertaining  to  the  dona- 
tion of  such  pastoral  staff.m  The  Au- 
gustinian  Order,  says  Reyner  by  mis- 
take, had  no  Abbots  till  the  sera  of 
Eugene  the  Fourth  (cent.  15th.),  and 
then  with  very  small  authority.11 

There  were  anciently  Lay-abbots,0 
which,  it  seems,  was  owing  to  the  laity 
seizing  the  church  lands,  and  leaving 
only  the  altars  and  tithes  to  the  clergy .p 
Lay-abbots  were  also  called  AJbba- 
comites,  and  Abbates-milites,  noble  Ab- 
bots, and  knightly  Abbots.^  They 
were  great  persons,  under  whose  pro- 
tection the  Monasteries  voluntarily 
placed  themselves;  but  these  protec- 
tors became  their  oppressors.17  They 
had  another  title,  that  of  commendatory 
Abbots,  and  often  filled  the  first  offices 
in  the  court  and  army.s 

During  the  vacancies  of  Abbeys,  un- 
less the  right  was  purchased t  or  relin- 

k  Smythe's  Berkeley's  MSS.  424.  (  »  Angl. 
Sacr.  ii.  290.         m  Monast.  Angl.  ii.  156. 

n  Reyner,  101.  See  an  instance,  temp.  H.  II. 
Monast.  ii.  933. 

0  Spelm.  Gl.  v.  Abbas  and  Comorban.  Chron. 
Saxonic.  p.  67,  Concil.  Clovesho,  §  5. 

p  Gir.  Cambr.  in  Ware's  Ireland,  p.  42,1.  17. 
Bede's  complaint  above  might  be  an  additional 
motive. 

i  Du  Cange.         r  Notices,  vii.  13.  s  Mail- 

lot, iii.  52. 

1  W.  Thorne,  c.  34,  §  i.  Knight,  a0.  1363.  M. 
Par.  p.  745. 

G2 


84 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS 


quished,a  they  escheated  to  the  pa- 
trons,0 or,  in  case  of  their  minority, 
their  guardians,0  which  patrons,  at  this 
period,  according  to  their  respective 
claims,  placed  a  man  and  horse  at  the 
gate,d  presented  the  Superior/  or  re- 
served only  the  grant  of  the  conge 
d'elire,  and  confirmation,  fealty,  and 
homage  of  the  elect/  The  king's 
clerks  in  custody  committed  great  de- 
predation for  themselves  and  their 
master.^  In  Nunneries  subservient  to 
monks,  the  Prioress  was  elected  by  the 
Abbot,  and  he  appointed  a  guardian  in 
vacancies.11  In  houses  possessing  the 
right  of  election,  that  right,  where  the 
number  of  Monks  or  Canons  was  not 
sufficient,  was  resigned  to  the  Bishop.1 
Reading  abbey,  when  vacant,  was  to 
be  in  the  disposition  of  the  Prior  and 
Chapter,  because  the  Abbot  had  no 
separate  revenues,k  an  arrangement 
sometimes  made  on  account  of  the 
debts  they  often  contracted.1 

Vacancies  were  thought  to  leave  the 
Monks  room  for  secular  indulgences, 
and  occasion  them  to  die  without  con- 
fession."1 

The  inquiries  of  the  Roman  court, 
respecting  the  qualifications  of  the 
person  elected,  were  directed  to  his  age, 
profession  (monastic),  free  or  servile 
condition,  legitimacy,11  competency  of 
literature,  sobriety,  gravity,  prudence 
in  spirituals  and  temporals,  zeal  for 
the  order,  and  fair  character,  and  whe- 
ther before  his  entrance  he  was  a  cour- 
tier;0 but  it  seems,  that  science   and 


a  Monast.  ii.  1045,  1047. 

b  Since  the  reign  of  Rufus  ;  before  they  were  in 
the  Bishop's  hands. 

c  Monast.  ii.  326.  d  Id.  243. 

e  Lyttelton's  H.  II.  iii.  247.— Stat.  Provis.  25 
Ed.  III. 

f  Monast.  ii.  236.  «  M.  Paris,  751.  h  Mo- 
nast. i.  489. 

'  See  the  formula,  "Rev.  in  Christo  patri  hu- 
rniles  et  devoti  filii  et  legitimi  oratores  Williem. 
Whaddon  et  Joh.  Lambe  canonici  regularis  prio- 
ratus  de  A.  Ord.  S.  Aug."  &c.  in  MS.  Harl.  670, 
fol.  76. 

k  Monast.  i.  418,  471.  '  Sol  infer  from 

Reyn.  Append.  165.  m  Eadmer,  24.  n  From 
the  Canons. 

°  X  Script.  2185.  (Curialis.) 

"  Sed  et  alii  plures  de  Anglis  cau$idici  per  id 


noble  birth  were  frequent  considera- 
tions,? and  simony  more  than  any.H 
The  Celts  considered  beauty  and  dig- 
nity of  person,  as  characteristick  of 
nobility  and  family.1"  Indeed  person 
was  enormously  regarded  by  our  an- 
cestors ;s  and  deformity  deemed  a  pro- 
vidential denotation  of  crime,  as  in 
the  question  of  the  Jews  concerning 
the  blind  man,  put  to  Christ.  A  poor 
Abbot  afflicted  with  a  hernia,  and  having 
a  mutilated  finger,  is  thus  stigma- 
tized ;*  and  person  was  deemed  an 
important  consideration  in  electing  an 
Abbot.u 

The  form  of  election,  to  which  I 
have  found  most  analogies,  is  this. 
Licence  from  the  patron  to  elect  was 
readv — Hymn  of  the  Holy  Ghost  sung 
— all  in  the  Chapter  who  had  no  right 
in  the  election  ordered  to  depart — 
Patron's  letter  of  licence  read  —  votes 
taken  separately  by  three  Scrutatorsx — 
election  proclaimed  by  the  Chantor — 
all   approved,   except  the   elect,  who 


tempus  in  abbatia  ista  habebantur,  quorum  colla- 
tioni  nemo  sapiens  refragabatur.  Siquidem  regis 
officiales  illis  diebus  hominibus  in  ecclesise  posses- 
sionibus  diversis  locorum  manentibus  multas  infe- 
rebant  injurias.  Cui  abbati  Aldelmo  (he  died  a° 
1084)  plurimum  auxilii  ferebant,  duo  ecclesiae  hu- 
jus  monachi,  germani  quidem  fratres,  quorum  major 
natu  Sacolus,  junior  vero  Bodicius  vocabatur.'' 
Registr.  de  Abendone,  MS.  Cott.  Claud,  c.  ix. 

"  But  also  many  other  English  curiales  at  that 
time  resided  in  the  house,  to  whose  maintenance 
no  prudent  man  objected.  For  the  royal  officers 
in  those  days  did  many  injuries  to  the  residents  in 
the  different  possessions  of  the  Church  ;  and  to  this 
Abbot  Aldelm  much  assistance  was  rendered  by  two 
brothers,  Monks  of  the  house,  the  eldest  named 
Sacolus,  the  younger  Bodicius."  I  thought  fit  to 
note  the  above,  because  curialis  has  various  appli- 
cations.    See  Du  Cange  in  voce. 

p  Monast.  ii.  700. 

i  Vivebas  Simeon,  sed  tu  non  tempore  vivis, 
Subtractus  morti  vivere  semper  habes. 
Simeon  you  lived  ;    but  still  all  time  survive, 
Snatch'd  from  death's  claws  eternally  alive. 

MS.  Cott.  Vitell.  a.  xii.  fol.  129a.  de  Simone  Ab- 
bate. 

r  Macpherson  on  Ossian,  §  Sulmalla  of  Lumon. 

s  M.  Paris,  312,  414,  494.  Scriptor.  p.  Bed. 
192,  &c.     Rous.  196  et  alii. 

*  Du  Cange,  v.  Ruptvra. 

u  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  755,  ii.  195. 

v  For  the  election  of  Priors  a  verbal  consent  was 
sufficient.     Reyn.  125. 

x  If  each  Monk  voted  singly,  the  Pope  declared 
the  election  not  universal  or  inspired  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.     Angl.  Sacr.  i.  735. 


ABBOT,  ABBESS, 


85 


remained  silent — the  Monks  lifted  up 
the  elect,  and,  singing  Te  Deum,  car- 
ried him  to  the  High  Altar.  Here 
having  reclined  him,  they  said  the  usual 
prayer  over  him — the  election  was  pub- 
lished in  English  to  the  Clergy  and 
Laity  then  in  the  Monastery — and  an- 
nounced, and  accepted  in  form,  by  the 
elect,  next  day.a  At  St.  Alban's  there 
were  twelve  electors  deputed,  no  one 
of  whom  could  be  chosen.b 

In  Cathedral  Priories  (at  least  some) 
the  Bishop  appointed  one  out  of  a 
number  nominated,  and  at  Rochester 
was  besides  the  Scrutator.0  At  Ely, 
the  Prior,  after  election,  was  examined 
by  Doctors  in  Divinity.d 

In  these  elections  interest  was  often 
used/  and  sometimes  in  a  very  bois- 
terous form.  It  is  recorded  of  Cocker- 
sand,  that  "  for  as  moche  as  the  said 
howse  was  many  tymes  troublyd  at 
the  tyme  of  their  allecion  of  theyr  Abbot 
with  the  jentylmen  of  the  countre, 
theyre  neghbours,  they  mad  sewt  to 
the  kyng,  for  his  mantenance  to  have 
free  aleccion  amongst  theymselff,  and 
bound  their  sayd  howsse  for  that 
preveley  to  gyve  at  every  aleccion 
xxs.  to  the  kyng,  and  his  heyres 
kyngs."f  The  Abbots  so  elected  were, 
however,  deposeable  for  various  causes, 
by  the  ceremony  of  breaking  their 
seals/  as  was  done  at  their  natural  de- 
mise, by  a  hammer  upon  one  of  the 
steps  before  the  Altar,h  and  depriving 
them  of  the  stole  and  ring.  Some- 
times they  retired  upon  pensions,  or 
became  monks  daraigne,  quitted  their 
profession  and  married.i 

a  Barrett's  Bristol,  i.  259,  601.  »>  M.  Paris, 

1047.  c  Angl.  Sacra,  i.  372,  550.  d  Id. 

673.  e  Monast.  i.  275,  &c. 

f  MS.  Coll.  of  Arms,  D.  4,  North  coronat. 
Convents  were  very  liable  to  injury  from  their 
neighbours:  "Mylorde  attendant  dwellyng  nigh 
the  said  (Abbey  of  Harwolde) ,  iutyssede  the  yonge 
Nunnes  to  breke  up  the  coffer  wheras  the  Con- 
vent seale  was,  and  John  Mordaunt  then  present 
ther,  persuading  them  to  the  same,  causid  ther  the 
Priorisse  and  hir  folisshe  yonge  folke  to  seale  a 
wry  ting  made  in  Lattyn,  nether  the  Priores  nor  hir 
sisters  can  telle,"  &c.  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  p. 
131. 

s  Willis's  Abbies  in  Westm.     M.  Par.  406. 

h  Id.  1064.  Du  Cange,  v.  Stola.  This  was  not 
always  done  as  to  the  Seal.     X  Script.  1872. 

1  W.  Thome,  c.  23,  §  11.  Pennant's  White- 
ford,  &c.  34,  269, 


Of  these  Abbots,  so  elected,  some 
were  exempt  from  the  Bishop,  others 
not;  a  privilege  which,  says  a  most 
elegant  and  plausible  writer;  originated 
in  the  excessive  power  assumed  by  the 
Bishops,  whose  grants  of  exemptions 
from  temporals  had  opened  the  door 
to  this  privilege,1*  "  and  who,  by  the 
meanness  of  their  stile l  in  these  grants, 
seem  to  have  acted  under  that  fear 
of  emperors  and  princes,  to  whom,  says 
Mosheim,  the  Monks  fled  for  refuge 
from  the  odious  task  of  collecting  con- 
tributions, which  the  Bishops,  to  sup- 
port themselves  in  their  luxuries,  had 
imposed  upon  them."m  These  exempt 
Abbots,  after  the  decree  made  to  that 
effect  by  Innocent  the  Third,  in  the 
synod  of  Lateran,  were  confirmed  by 
the  Pope,n  and  for  their  journey  to 
Rome,  the  fees  of  which  court  were 
most  enormous,0  the  convent  agreed 
to  pay  their  expenses.P  The  penalty  of 
£10,000  was  levied  upon  a  Bishop, 
for  invading  the  privileges  of  exempt 
houses  •/  and  it  seems  they  occasioned 
u  disobedience,  hatred,  the  inflation  of 
haughtiness,  and  venom  of  pride/'r 
By  wits  they  were  derided,  for,  says 
Nigell  Wireker,  "  Mulus  et  Abbates 
sunt  in  honore  pares."  ("  Abbots  and 
mules  are  in  honour  alike/'s)  Those 
who  were  not  exempt,  made  protesta- 
tions of  canonical  obedience  to  the 
Bishop.1 

Upon  every  new  election  of  an  Ab- 
bot (of  Gloucester)  the  Abbey  was 
obliged  to  maintain  one  of  the  king's 
clerks,  whom  he  thought  fit  to  name, 
and  accordingly  a  corrody  for  life  was 
granted  to  him.  In  the  reigns  of 
kings  Hen.  VII.  and  VIII.  the  value 
of  those  corrodies  or  grants  was  £5  a 
year.u 

k  Jenkins's  Fra.  Paolo  on  Eccles.  Benef.  34,  35. 

1  Marculri  Formulae,  p.  4.  m  Eccles.  Hist, 

v.  i.  p.  321,  ed.  4to.  u  M.  Paris,  1063. 

°  Hutchinson's  Durham,  ii.  89.  p  Monast. 

i.  299.  *  Id.  291. 

r  "  Tumorem  elevationis  et  superbiee  venenum.'' 
Petr.  Bkes.  MS.  Roy.  Libr.  8.  F.  xvii. 

s  Spec.  Stultor.MS.  Hart.  2422,  &c.  fccandin 
print. 

1  Registr.  Hereford  in  Rudder's  Gloucester- 
shire, p.  449.  — Junius  has  a  satirical  passage 
about  exemptions  in  MS.  Bodl.  James,  No.  6,  pp. 
120,1. 

■  Archd,  Furney  in  Rudder's  Glouc.  p.  147. 


86 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


The  newly-elected  Abbot  received  a 
large  sum  from  the  monastic  tenants, 
under  the  name  of  providing  him  a  pal- 
frey^ for,  upon  doing  homage  to  the 
king;  the  MarshalPs  fee  from  Abbots 
or  Priors  holding  a  whole  barony,  was 
a  palfrey,  or  the  price  of  it  ;b  in  ade- 
quate proportion,  from  those  who  held 
only  a  part  of  a  barony,  and  from  those 
who  held  in  free  alms  nothing ;  a  rea- 
sonable fee  was  due  to  the  Chamber- 
lain also,  from  Abbots  or  Priors,  hold- 
ing an  intire  barony ;  from  those  that 
hold  neither  the  whole,  nor  part  of  one, 
their  upper  garment  or  its  price.c  On 
doing  homage  to  the  Patron,  Abbots 
omitted  the  form  of  Lay  men, d  The 
installation  feast  was  very  sumptuous, 
as  is  well  known ;  but,  to  spare  expense, 
he  sometimes  dined  with  the  Convent 
alone.e 

Between  the  election  and  benedic- 
tion, the  Abbot  (at  St.  Alban's)  used 
the  Prior's  chamber,  instead  of  the  ab- 
batial  great  lodgings.  No  one  upon  his 
rising  from  the  celebration  of  the  elec- 
tion in  the  Church,  as  had  been  some- 
times the  case,  was  to  solicit  the  mo- 
nastic habit  from  him  or  necessaries  of 
life,  as  a  test  of  his  future  liberality.  He 
chose  his  companions  or  Chaplains, 
appointed  the  messengers  whom  he 
wished  to  send  to  Rome,  and  invited 
those  whom  he  liked  to  dine  with  him, 
who,  however,  had  the  Prior's  pre- 
vious lea  ye:  nor  without  this  leave 
could  any  one  but  the  principal  Cel- 
larer, Chamberlain,  Infirmarer,  and  Sa- 
crist, go  out  on  horseback.  The  Elect 
dined  alone  in  the  Refectory  on  Was- 
tel  bread;  but  the  Prior  sat  at  the 
high  datsf  and  took  the  first  place, 
except  in  processions,  where  he  went 
last,  on  the  Abbot's  side/  like  another 
senior.11 


*  X  Script.  1921,  1939,  &c. 

b  5  marks  the  horse,  §  a  mark  the  harness.  Ed- 
mondson's  Heraldry,  i.  69,  ubi  pi. 

c  Stat.  13  E.  I.  c.  42. 

u  Only  saying  I  "  do  homage  to  you,"  instead  of 
11  I  become  your  man."     Spelm.  Archeeol.  357. 

e  X  Script.  2152. 

f  The  desk  or  canopy  over  the  high  table.  War- 
ton's  Hist.  Engl.  Poetry,  i.  40,  422. 

b  The  Abbot's  place  in  processions  was  "  di- 
rectly after  the  Content,  and  in  the  middle."  Mo- 
nast.  ii.  935.  h  M.  Paris,  p,  1069. 


The  affairs  of  the  Abbey  were  un- 
settled till  the  Abbot  was  confirmed.1 

The  form  of  the  benediction  which 
fixed  him  in  his  authority  was  this  : 
Mass  was  begun,  and  before  the  Gos- 
pel the  Elect  entered,  and  was  interro- 
gated by  the  Bishop,  whether  he  would 
"  he  well  "k  with  them,  refrain  his 
manners  from  evil,  keep  the  Rule,  pre- 
serve divine  affairs,  instruct  the  others, 
maintain  chastity  and  sobriety,  and 
obey  the  Bishop  and  his  successors. 
Then  the  schedule  of  profession  was 
read,  after  which  carpets  were  laid 
before  the  Altar,  the  Bishop  and  Elect 
lay  prostrate,  and  litanies  and  prayers 
were  chanted.  After  the  Litany  the 
Bishop  rose,  and  pronounced  the  bene- 
diction ;  at  the  end  of  which  the  Ab- 
bot rose,  and  the  Bishop  gave  him  the 
Rule,  with  a  suitable  exhortation  ;  then 
the  pastoral  staff,  and  if  he  was  to 
be  ordained  priest  the  sacerdotal  belt.1 
A  hymn  followed,  and  after  the  Gos- 
pel, he  offered  to  the  Bishop  two 
loaves,  and  two  lighted  tapers,  and 
communicated.111  Instances  appear, 
where  this  ceremony  was  invalid,  be- 
fore the  Abbot  had  sworn  that  nothing 
prejudicial  to  the  Royal  interest  was 
contained  in  the  bull  of  benediction,11 
and  others,  where  no  money  was  to  be 
extorted  for  it.° 

The  Sacrist,  however,  of  the  Church 
where  the  Abbot  was  confirmed,  had 
a  present  usually  of  the  copes  or  of 
vestments,  or  of  materials  to  make 
them.P  This  was  contrary  to  papal 
edicts  .<!     Fees  too  were  paid.r 

Eddius  says,  that  Wilfrid  was  bles- 
sed Abbot,  and  ordained  Priest  after 
that  period  ;s  but  Eadmer  makes  the 
ordination  indispensable  before  Bene- 
diction, and  adds,  that  the  latter  cere- 
mony alone  gave  the  Abbot  full  power 
over  the  conventual  affairs  ;  notwith- 
standing this,  even  prior  to  the  Synod 


*  Eadm.  93.  k  Bene  esse.  J  See  an  in- 

stance, Monast.  i.  288.  m  Rituale  Antiquum. 

MS.  Harl.  2866.        n  X  Script.  2152.  °  Mo- 

nast. ii.  937. 

p  Archd.  Furney,  &  Angl.  Sacr.  in  Rudder's 
Glouc.  143. 

i  X  Script.  253,  327.  r  At  least  sometimes. 
X  Script,  1798,  2152.  s  Vit.  Wilfr.  c.  8. 

P.  92, 


ABBOT,  ABBESS. 


87 


of  Lateral^  when  exempt  Abbots  were 
to  be  confirmed  by  the  Pope,  such 
confirmation  gave  the  Abbot  full  power, 
and  rendered  the  benediction  a  mere 
conclusory  ceremony.a 

The  next  ceremony  was  his  formal 
admission.  He  was  to  put  off  his 
shoes  before  the  doors  of  the  Church, 
and,  with  devotion  and  giving  of 
thanks,  proceed  to  meet  the  convent,b 
who  were  to  advance  in  a  procession 
previously  arranged  by  the  Chantor. 
After  his  entrance,  he  was  to  pray 
upon  a  robe  put  upon  a  carpet  laid 
upon  the  upper  step  of  the  Choir.c 
The  Bishop,  or  his  deputy,*1  then  in- 
troduced him  into  the  Choir,e  and  he 
was  placed  in  his  stall.  The  Monks, 
according  to  seniority,  even  those  of 
another  house,  kneeling,  gave  him  the 
kiss  of  peace  upon  the  hand,  and 
afterwards  rising,  upon  the  mouth/ 
All  this  time  the  Abbot  held  his  staff, 
which  he  did  not  either  in  his  admis- 
sion or  introduction.    He  then  entered 


R  X  Scriptor.  p.  1813. 

b  Abbas  calceamenta  amovebit ;  pro  foribus  eccle- 
siae  calceamentis  amotis  cum  devocione  et  gratia- 
rum  actione  convent  ui  obviam  debet  procedere. 
MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  183.  (Consuetud.  de 
Abendone.) 

c  Quo  introducto  ad  summum  gradum  chori  in- 
cumbet  orationi,  pallio,  ut  prius  tapeto,  supposito. 

d  Thus  a  commission.  "Thomas  permissione 
divina  Wygorniensis  Ep's  dilecto  nobis  magistro 
Jacobo  de  Cobeham,  doctori  decretorum  canonico- 
que  Wellensis  Ecclesise,  omnem  gratiam  et  bene- 
dictionem.  Ad  admittendum  nominationem  sep- 
tem  monachorum  nostri  capituli  Wygorniensis 
prions  solacio  destituti  nobis  juxta  formam  compo- 
sitionis  super  hoc  editse  tempore  bonse  memorise 
Will'i  le  Bloys  predecessoris  nostri  presentandi  ex- 
aininandique  eosdem  monachos,  et  ad  approbandum 
uuum  ex  illis  septem,  necnon  perficiendum  eunclem 
debite  inprioreni;  vobis  vices  nostras  committimus, 
cum  ad  id  vacare  non  possimus,  aliis  arduis  et  inevi- 
tabilibus  negotiis  impediti.  Dat'  London,  xi.  kal. 
Decembris  anno  D'ni  mill'o  c.c.c.mo  xlvii.  conse- 
crationis  nostra?  anno  primo."  (MS.  Bodl.  2508. 
p.  65.)  As  the  substance  is  expressed  above,  a 
translation  is  unnecessary. 

e  The  Decreta  Lanfranci,  sect,  de  abbate,  con- 
form to  the  MS. 

f  Postmodum  omnes  ex  ordine  post  priores,  etiam 
monachi  extranei,  osculum  pacis  et  amoris  porri- 
gent  abbati  primo  manui  genibus  flexis  reliquis  per 
ordinem  subsequentibus,  deinde  se  erigendo  oscu- 
lum porrigent  ori.  Abbasque  quousque  omnes  ei 
osculum  perrexerint  baculum  in  manu  sua  tenebit. 
Sed  in  admissione  abbatis  nee  introductione  abbas 
baculum  portabit,    MS,  Cott.  ut  supra. 


the  Choir  with  that  ensign  of  dignity, 
put  on  Ids  shoes  in  the  vestiary,  and 
the  vestments  being  laid  by  in  the 
Choir,  a  Chapter  was  held,  and  the 
Bishop  preached  an  appropriate  ser- 
mon. The  Abbot  retired  to  his  cham- 
ber, and  the  Convent  to  the  Cloister. 
At  the  feast  of  his  admission  the 
Convent  had  every  man  a  gallon  of 
wine,  a  whole  loaf,  and  three  handsome 
dishes  of  fish.s  The  day  after,  the  Obe- 
dientiaries laid  the  keys  of  their  offices 
at  his  feet.h 

The  Abbot,  say  the  Consuetudines, 
shall  sleep  at  night  in  his  chamber, 
with  the  Chaplains  whom  he  shall 
chuse  out  of  the  Convent.  The  Abbot's 
bed  shall  not  be  transferred  from  his 
chamber  on  account  of  any  one  under 
Royal  or  Metropolitan  rank.  One  of 
his  Chaplains  ought  always  to  be  with 
him.i  The  Abbot  shall  celebrate  Mass 
on  festival  days,  and  dine  in  the  Re- 
fectory .k  The  Prior  of  the  weekly 
Mass,  if  a  worthier  person  be  not  pre- 
sent, shall  introduce  him  to  the  great 
Altar.  If  the  Prior  be  absent,  his  own 
Chaplain.  It  is  in  the  disposition  of 
the  Abbot  to  celebrate  Mass  in  the 
profession  of  Monks ;  and  if  so,  he 
shall  give  the  benediction.1  On  Sun- 
days, as  often  as  he  is  disengaged,  he 
ought  to  be  in  the  procession,  and 
begin  the  antiphonar  in  the  entrance  of 
the  Church ;  if  he  is  indisposed,  the 
Chantor.     In  the  processions  he  shall 


s  i  galonem  viniunicuique  :  placentam  integram  i 
tria  fercula  piscium  honorabilia.  MS.  Cott.  ut 
supra. 

h  "  In  his  first  Chapter."     Dec.  Lanfr. 

'  Abbas  in  camera  sua,  noctibus  recumbet  cum 
capellanis  suis  quos  de  conventu  eliget.  [See  Athon, 
p.  150,  who  says,  that,  notwithstanding  his  sepa- 
rate apartment,  he  was  never  alone,  having  his  ba- 
julus,  i.  e.  domestick  monk  (Mabillon  Annales 
Benedictini,  iii.  244,)  always  with  him  at  least.] 
Nullius  auctoritate  et  reverentia,  cubiculum  Abba- 
tis transferetur  de  camera  sua.  nisi  prae  persona  re- 
gia,  vel  metropolitana, — ex  consuetudine  unus  capel- 
lanorum  debet  semper  cum  abbate  esse.  Id.  f. 
184,  a. 

k  The  Prior  and  sub-prior  were  often  put  in  his 
room  on  the  table  of  the  Higb  Mass.  Cap.  Gen. 
Northampt.  anno  1444,  Stat.  9. 

1  In  Abbatis  est  dispositione  in  professione  Mo- 
nachorum missam  celebrare — benedictionem  faciefc 
super  monachos  professuros.    f.  185,  b. 


88 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS, 


enter  the  Choir  with  the  Convent.a 
The  Abbot,  after  the  triple  prayer,0 
made  in  the  mornings  shall  visit  the 
sick ;  and  when  he  comes  to  celebrate 
from  afar  ;  in  like  manner  after  pray- 
ers for  excesses  in  the  way  he  shall 
visit  the  sick  upon  his  return  from  the 
Church.c  Three  days  before  Easter, 
and  other  festivals,  he  was  to  head 
the  procession  to  the  Chapter ,d  If  he 
made  an  error  in  the  pronunciation  of 
a  chant,  he  was  to  ask  pardon.  He 
could  reprove  and  accuse  a  Monk, 
which  was  not  allowed  to  the  Prior,  or 
any  other.  In  every  accusation  the 
Abbot  could  remit  the  sentence  except 
in  the  transgression  of  silence,  and  then 
he  could  modify  it.e  [It  was  his  duty 
to  attend  the  Cloister  in  the  morning  to 
hear  what  the  Monks  had  to  say.f] 
While  the  boys  conversed  with  the 
Abbot  or  Prior  in  confession,  no  one 
could  call  any  of  the  confessed  to 
confession.  If  any  Monk,  after  the 
Chapter,  spoke  with  the  Abbot  in 
confession,  the  Chapter  of  the  boys  e 
was  dispensed  with  that  day.h  All 
were  to  incline  to  the  Abbot  as  he 
passed  by.  In  every  conference,  when 
the  Abbot  was  present,  the  Prior 
alone  was  to  sit  by  his   side,  and  no 


a  Abbas  diebus  dominicis  quotiens  expeditus  fue- 
rit  ad  processionem  debet  esse,  et  in  introitu  eccle- 
sise  antiphonam  incipere.  Si  aliquo  incommodo 
corporis  prseoccupatus  fuerit,  cantor  debet  incipere, 
in  processionibus  cum  conventu  Cborum  intrabit. 
f.  186.  a. 

b  See  Concordia  Regularum. 

c  Abbas  post  tres  orationes  mane  factas  infirmos 
visitabit ;  et  cum  de  longinquo  canere  veniet ;  in- 
emptidem  per  orationes  pro  excessibus  in  via.  sub- 
ripientibus,  fratres  infirmos  visitabit  cum  de  eccle- 
sia  redierit.     Ibid. 

d  Anticipare  processionem  conventus  ad  capitu- 
lum. 

e  Abbati  licitum  est  monachum  reprehendere 
eundemque  clamare,  quod  nee  priori  nee  ahi  beet. 
In  quolibet  clamore  Abbas  sententiam  potuit  re- 
laxare,  nisi  in  silentii  transgression e ;  hoc  etiam 
erit  in  sua.  dispositione. 

1  Eadm.  8. 

8  Held  after  tbat  of  the  Monks.  See  Cone.  Re- 
gul.  and  Dec.  Lanfr.  supra. 

h  Dum  pueri  cum  Abbate  vel  cum  Priore  lo- 
quuntur  in  confessione,  nulli  licet  aliquem  confesso- 
rum  ad  confessionem  vocare  (i.  e.  a  second  time). 
Si  quis  monachorum  post  capitulum  cum  Abbate 
loquitur  in  confessione,  magister  puerorum  non 
teDebit  capitulum  illo  die. 


other  without  his  order.1  Adults  and 
aged  persons  were  to  sit  opposite  upon 
the  form  of  the  Cloister ;  the  younger 
at  his  feet.k  When  he  entered  the 
Chapter,  all  descending  one  step  were 
to  rise  and  bow  to  him,  and  stand  on 
the  same  step  till  he  sat  down.1  When 
he  was  in  the  Cloister,  neither  Prior 
nor  other,  without  his  leave,  was  to 
speak  in  the  Locutory,  or  elsewhere, 
for  any  business,  or  to  drink  in  the 
Refectory.  He  could  make  a  search 
whenever  he  chose;  and  whenever  he, 
or  a  Prior,  or  Monk,  except  in  scru- 
tiny, passed  through  the  Convent,  he 
was  to  move  his  hood.m  Before  re- 
fection, after  washing  his  hands,  he 
was  not  to  go  to  the  Lavatory ;  but  his 
Chaplains,  and  the  other  Monks  pre- 
sent, were  to  minister  with  basins  and 
towels.11  In  the  morning,  or  other 
times,  he  went  to  the  Lavatory.  He 
was  not  to  follow  the  Convent  after  re- 
fection, but  with  his  Chaplains  "  give 
thanks  to  the  Lord."  He  could  visit 
his  manors  without  benediction  if  for 
not  more  than  three  days.  He  was  to 
order  Monks  and  Officials  to  obey  the 
Prior  in  respect  to  the  admission  of 
visitors  and  external  and  internal  dis- 
pensations. When  he  went  out  with 
benediction,  the  Monks  were  to  meet 
him  on  their  knees,  and  give  the  kiss 
of  charity  to  his  hand  first,  and  to  his 
mouth  afterwards,  if  he  offered  it.  The 
monks  delivered  any  thing  to  him  on 
their  knees,  kissing  his  hand,0  if  he 
was  seated  ;  if  standing,  without  genu- 
flexion. He  was  to  give  orders  to 
the  Prior,  when  he  wished  to  be   let 

1  Dec.  Lanfr. 

k  In  omni  claustriloquio,  abbate  prsesente,  solus 
prior  sedebit  ei  collateralis,  nullusque  abus  sine 
prsecepto  abbatis.  Senes  et  maturae  persons  ex 
opposito  super  tabulatum  claustri  sedebunt ;  junio- 
res  pedibus  abbatis  se  humibabunt.     f.  186,  b. 

1  Ibid.  Omnes  uno  gradu  descendentes  cum  in- 
clinatione  ei  assurgent.  Eodemque  gradu  stabunt 
donee  abbas  in  consistorium  reclinetur.   f.  186,  b. 

m'  Quociens  abbas  vel  prior  vel  aliquis  fratrum 
transierit  per  medium  conventus  amovebit  capu- 
tium,  nisi  fecerit  scrutinium.     f.  186. 

n  Ibid. — Ante  cibi  perceptionem  post  ablutionem 
manuum  abbas  non  ibit  ad  lavatorium,  sed  capel- 
lani  sui  et  rehqui  fratres  praesentes  cum  pelvibus  et 
manutergiis  ministrabunt.     f.  186,  b. 

0  Deer.  Lanfr. 


ABBOT,  ABBESS, 


89 


blood.  When  present  in  the  Choir  at 
mattins,  he  was  to  shew  the  lantern 
to  the  Prior,  if  he  went  to  sleep.a  He 
could  speak  when  he  found  it  neces- 
sary^ as  could  his  Chaplains,  or  any 
other  with  him.  When  a  sick  man  was 
dying,  the  Inrirmarer  was  to  inform 
him,  and,  postponing  all  business,  he 
was  to  hasten  to  him.b  When  he  went 
to  foreign  parts, theleave  of  theChapter 
was  requisite.0  He  stood  first  at  go- 
ing from  Chapter,  and  received  the  kiss 
from  the  departing  Monks.  He  was 
admitted  upon  his  return  as  at  first, 
except  that  he  did  not  pull  off  his 
shoes.  The  Monks  too  then  gave  him 
the  kiss  of  charity."  In  the  comme- 
moration of  parents  he  was  to  sing 
Mass.e 

To  this  confused  detail  of  the  cus- 
toms respecting  Abbots  at  Abingdon, 
shall  now  follow  the  orderly  narrative 
(literally  rendered)  of  other  duties  and 
privileges    appertaining   to    Ensham.* 


a  Abbate  ad  matutinas  in  choro  prassente  lucu- 
brum  ostendet  priori  si  obdormierit.     f.  187. 

b  This  was  a  very  common  request  of  a  dying 
Monk.  The  Hebdomadary  and  certain  Priests 
were  to  go  to  him  in  Deer.  Lanfr. 

c  Of  the  King  at  St.  Alban's.  M.  Paris,  1051. 
Licet  abbati  ubicunque  viderit  expedire  loqui ;  lo- 
qui  licet  etiam  suis  capellanis  et  cuilibet  alii  exi- 
gente  necessitate  loqui  cum  abbate.  f.  187.  Quando 
infirmus  laborat  in  extremis  infirmarius  mature 
abbati  indicabit.  Abbasque  omni  negotio  postha- 
bito  ad  infirmum  festinabit.     Id.  188,  b. 

d  M.  Paris  (1051)  adds  to  this,  "  the  acceptation 
of  small  venice  or  pardons." 

e  In  commemoracione  parentum  abbas  cantabit 
missam.     MS.  Harl.  209,  p.  12. 

*  From  MS.  Bodl.  Barlow,  vii.  fol.  2—32.  Ab- 
bas in  vii  fest'  et  sollempni  processione  debet 
utrasque  vices,  tertiam  vel  sextam  pro  tempore  can- 
tare,  et  missam  si  vacaverit  celebrare.  In  tabulari 
etiam  debet  ad  matutinas  in  praedictis  festis,  etitem 
in  vigilia  natalis  domini,  et  dominica  palmarum,  et 
in  tenebris,  dummodo  in  partibus  cismarinis  existat. 
In  festis  vero  caparum,  in  voluntate  ipsius,  est  dic- 
tum officium  implere.  Sed  et  in  ceteris  festis  et 
in  feriis  interesse  poterit,  quandocunque  voluerit. 
Sciendum  item  quod  cum  missis  in  capis,  vel  in 
albis  interesse  voluerit  revestiat  se,  et  teneat  cho- 
rum.  Dum  abbas  vesperas  voluerit  can  tare,  ponatur 
in  vestiario  vestimentum  et  capa,  ad  opus  ejus 
aqua  inbacinis  argenteis,  et  manutergium,  pecten, 
et  mitra,  cirotecse  et  baculus.  Abbas  vero  pecti- 
nato  capite  et  lotis  manibus  in  vestiario,  revestiat  se 
alba,  capa,  mitra,  cirotecis,  annulo  et  baculo,  capel- 
lanis  ejus  in  omnibus  humiliter  ministrantibus. 
Eo  revestito  pulsetur  classicum  cum  omnibus  sig- 
»is.     Qui  ingredieng  chorum  superius  cantoribus, 


The   Abbot   in   the  seven  feasts  and 
solemn  procession  sung   both  seasons, 

et  priore  pro  tempore  indutis  proeuntibus  procedat 
ad  stallum  suum   inferius.      Et  notandum   quod 
quando  stallum  sive  sedile  abbas  incessurus  fuerit, 
semper  ornetur  quarello  sive  sit  revestitus  sive  non. 
Post  classicum,  abbas  stans  in  stallo  incipit  Dens  in 
adjutorium,  et  post  inceptionem  primi  psalmi  capiat 
senior   baculum   ejus,    osculata    ipsius   manu,    et 
reponat  juxta  eum.  Et  sciendum  quod  quandocun- 
que quis  aliquid  tradiderit  abbati  sive  ab  eo  aliquid 
accepit,  semper  osculetur  ejus  manus.      Sedente 
abbate,  capellanus  manitergium  ex  transverso  gremii 
sui  apponat,  sicut  semper  quum  est  revestitus.  Fi- 
nitis  psalmis  surgat,  thuribulum  sumat  seniore  tra- 
dente,  capellani  vero  ejus  ministrent  sibi  de  capi- 
tulario*  et  de  absconsa  pro  tempore  abbas   dicat 
capitulum  cum  mitra,  sicut  semper.   Item  in  vii  fest' 
et  in  sollempnibus  processionibus,  et  in  festis  ca- 
parum pro  tempore  abbas,  prsernunitus  apraecentore, 
incipere  debet  a  '  super  psalmum  Magnificat,'  vel 
psalmum  Benedictionem  pro  tempore,  et  notandum, 
quod  quicquid  abbas  can  tare  vel  legere  aut  incipere 
debuerit,  precentor  eum  praemunire.     Ad  inchoa- 
tionem  psalmi   Magnificat  vel  Benedictus,    abbas 
stans  in  stallo  suo  ponat  incensum  in  thuribulum, 
capellano  seu  priore  pro  tempore  ministrante  de  a'craf 
et  incenso,  et  ministro  seu  capellano  pro  tempore  de 
thuribulo,  et  sic  procedant  ad  altare,  priore  pro 
tempore  accepto  thuribulo  a  sinistris  abbatis  eunte, 
et  capellano  thuribulum  abbatis  a  dextris  deferente, 
dicentes  psalmum  Magnificat,  vel  Benedictus,  sive 
submissa  voce  psallentes  pro  tempore.     Et  flexis 
genibus  super  gradus  ante  altare  tradat  capellanus 
tburibulum  abbati,  et  sustentet  laciniam  capae  sua?  ; 
sicque  incensetur  altare  a  dextris  et  a  sinistris,  prop- 
terea  feretrum  S.  Egwini,  deinde  feretrum  S.  Wis- 
tani,  praeterea  tumba  S.  Wulsini  :   quo  facto  tradat 
thuribulum    capellano,   rediens  ad  stallum  suum ; 
capellanus  vero  ejus  et  item  prior  pro  tempore  in- 
censetur eum.    Item  capellani  ministrent  ei  de  libro, 
et  mitra,  et  absconsa  pro  tempore.     Post  Doniinns 
vobiscum  ante  Oremus  deponatur  mitra,  et  in  fine  ad 
Per  omnia  recipiatur ;  et  hoc  servetur  ad  omnes 
collectas.     Praeterea  quum  ad  collectas  super  horas, 
quae  semper  dici  debent  cum  mitra,  post  Benedica- 
mus  primee  collects?  det  abbas  sollempnem  bene- 
dictionem, sicut  semper  post  vesperas,  post  matu- 
tinas, post  missam  suam  cum  celebraverit  sive  ca- 
pellanus ejus,   nisi  fuerit   pro  defunctis,   et  post 
prandium  statim  post  gratias,  ante  ps.  De  profun- 
dis,  vel  si  sit  in  conventu  ante  ps.  Miserere.  Istud 
observet  abbas  ubicumque  fuerit,  nisi  legatus  fuerit, 
seu  archiep'  vel  ep'us,  cui  voluerit  deferre.  Forma 
sollempnis  benedictionis  primo  faciat  crucem  cum 
pollice  super  pectus,  dicens,  "  Sit  nomen  Domini 
benedictum ;"    postmodum  signans  se  subjungat, 
"  Adjutorium  nostrum  in  nomine  Domini.'''  Deinde 
erigat  manum  signando  populum,  "  Benedicat  nos 
omnipotent  Deus,  Pater,  et  Fi/ius,  et  Spiritus  ejus."' 
Si  processio  post  vesperas  facienda  sit  tunc,  finitis 
commemorationibus  procedat  abbas  ad  altare  ubi 
facienda  fuerit,  cantoribus  praeeuntibus  cum  cereis, 
et  conventu  processionaliter   subsequente.      Quo 
cum  pervenit,  sumpto  thuribulo  incenset  altare,  et 
incensetur  a  capellano  ;  et  dictis  dicendis,  redeatad 
vestiarium  cantoribus  praeeuntibus,  et  devestiat  se. 
De  officio  Abbatis  ad  collationemct  ad  completo- 
rium.     Si  contingat  abbatem  collationi  interesse, 

*  The  Gospel.  f  a'bra,  MS. 


90 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


Tierce  or  Sext,  according  to  the  time, 
and  celebrated  Mass,  if  at  leisure.    He 


procedat  in  medio  manicis  cancellatis  et  capite  dis- 
coopevto  inclinans  aliquantulum  usque  ad  gradus,  et 
facta  inclinatione  eat  sessum.  Adcujus  adventum 
omnes  surgant,  et  stent  super  inferiorem  gradum 
inclinantes  dum  transit.  Et  notandum,  quod  ubi- 
cumque  transit  abbas  per  omcinas  regulares,  preter- 
quam  in  dormitorium,  singuli  stando  inclinent  ad 
eum.  Sedente  eo  duo  juvenes  surgant,  et  discalcient 
cum  flexis  genibus  :  cum  autem  discalciatus  fuerit, 
incipiat  antiphonam  Mandatum  novum  cantore  pre- 
muniente  :  lotis  ejus  pedibus,  juvenes,  qui  prius, 
recalcient  eum,  et  sic  revertantur  ad  sedes  suas. 
Postea  surgat,  lavet  manus  suas,  ministris  mandati 
ministrantibus,  et  resideat ;  finitisque  omnibus  an- 
tiph'  et  lectore  dicente  .Tube  Domine  benedicere, 
det  benedictionem  Angelorum  custodia,  &c.  Ce- 
teris vero  noctibus  dicat  Noctem  quietam,  &c. 
Post  ea  cimba  percussa  surgat,  et  procedat  ad  re- 
fectorium  conventu  processionaliter  praseunte  et 
duobus  juvenibus  pro  tempore  cereos  coram  eo  de- 
ferentibus  :  cum  pervenerit  ad  refectorium,  proce- 
dat in  medio  capite  discooperto,  inclinans  usque  ad 
superiorem  gradum,  et  facta  inclinatione,  eat  ses- 
sum :  deinde  percusso  tintinnabulo  a  refectorario 
surgat  unus  de  capellanis  abbatis,  cum  cseteris  mi- 
nistrantibus de  potu,  et  sumpta  cuppa  stet  in  me- 
dio ante  caeteros.  Cetera  fiant  secundum  librum. 
Notandum  quod  duo  juvenes  stent  utrumque  ad  di- 
gitum,  et  ministretur  sicut  semper  quum  abbas  est 
presens.  Et  dumbiberit  unus  eorum  subministret 
ei  cum  cooperculo,  sicut  semper  ciphis  coram  con- 
ventu sufficienter  appositis.  Percutiat  abbas  men- 
sam  cum  palma  manus  et  terminetur  lectio,  et  mit- 
tatur  cuppa  una  lectori.  Deinde  facto  congruo  in- 
tervallo  tintet  tintinnabulum  semel.  Et  cum  con- 
ventus  sufficienter  potaverit,  tintet  vero  ter,  et 
surgat.  Et  stans  in  gradu  mediocri  in  medio  in- 
clinet  ad  crucifixum,  et  ereotus  dicat  Adjutorium, 
&c.  et  iterum  inclinet  et  exeat.  Notandum  autem 
quod  durante  collacione  inquirant  capellani  volun- 
tatem  abbatis,  si  velit  remanere  de  completorio,  vel 
item  interesse,  in  voluntate  enim  ejus  est  semper 
remanere.  Si  velit  remanere,  capellani  ejus  cum 
accensa  lanterna  divertant  sinistrorsum  extra  hos- 
tium  ;  et  notandum  quod  quandocunque  necesse 
fuerit,  quocunque  abbas  ierit,  preterquam  in  dor- 
mitorio,  capellanus  deferat  lanternam  accensam  co- 
ram eo.  Si  ad  completorium  ierit,  capellani  ejus 
procedant  cum  conventu  in  ecclesiam,  et  dicantur 
quae  dicenda  sunt,Priore  seu  custode  ordinis  faciente 
sign  a  quae  ad  ordinem  pertinent.  Et  notandum 
quod  abbas  nusquam  faciet  hujusmodi  signa  nisi  in 
refectorio  cum  sederet  ad  digitum.*  Finito  com- 
pletorio inclinet  abbas,  et  exeat ;  ante  trinam  ora- 
tionem  capellani  vero  ejus  praesto  sint  extra  chorum 
cum  lanterna  pro  tempore  ut  cum  ipso  divertant. 
Quod  si  trinse  orationi  voluerit  interesse,  inclinet 
solus  sicut  semper,  et  hoc  stando  vel  jacendo  super 
formam  pro  voluntate  sua,  postea  exeat  primus, 
ceteris  processionaliter  subsequentibus,  et  asper- 
gantur  aqua  benedicta.  Et  notandum,  quod  ubi- 
cumque  abbas  aspergi  debeat,  tradatur  ei  asper- 
sorium,  preterquam  si  interfuerit  completorio. 
De  Matutinis.     In  septem  fcstis  et  in  sollempni 

*  Digitus  is  a  certain  quantity  of  water  ;  in  this 
MS.  it  plainly  signifies  the  washing  of  his  hands  at 
dinner. 


was  in  the  table  of  Matins  in  those 
feasts,,  and  also  in  the  Vigil  of  Christ- 

processione  Abbas  si  vacaverit  debet  matutinis  in- 
teresse, et  in  primo  A0  secundam  vel  tertiam  ant' 
pro  tempore  inchoare,  octavum  respons.  cantare,  et 
ultimam  lectionem  atque  evangelium  legere.  Abbas 
det  benediction  es  ante  lectiones,  sicut  semper 
quando  est  praesens.  Cum  abbas  lecturus  sit  lec- 
tionem, procedat  aliquantulum  manibus  cancellatis 
et  capite  discooperto,  et  inclinet.  Cui  omnes  as- 
surgant  et  inclinet  dumintersit,  sicut  semper  quum 
intersit  per  medium  conventum  ;  post  lectionem 
praesto  sit  capellanus  suus,  qui  de  manu  ejus  ab- 
sconsam  accipiat :  ipse  vero  procedat  aliquantulum, 
sicut  prius,  et  capiat  parvam  veniam,  et  revertatur 
ad  stallum.  Post  ultimum  responsorium  sic  inci- 
piat Te  Deum,  &c.  semper  quum  est  praesens,  et 
inclinet.  Notandum  quod  cum  abbas  lecturus  sit 
Evangelium,  sic.  in  vi  fest.  et  in  process,  sol- 
lempn.  post  inceptionem  hymni  Te  Deum  praesto 
sit  capellanus  ejus  retro  chorum  cum  lanterna  ac- 
censa qui  ipsum  praecedat  in  vestiarium.  Et  posito 
manutergio  contra  humeros  abbatis,  pectinetur,  et 
lavet  manus  suas,  capellanis  ministrantibus  ;  postea 
induatur  qui  cantaturus  missam  exceptis  sandaliis. 
Et  accepto  baculo  procedat  ministris  preeeuntibus, 
capellanus  sequitur  in  frocco  usque  ad  gradus,  et 
accipiens  baculum  dextrorsum,  abbasque  inclinans 
dicat,  Da  michi  Domine  sermonem  rectum,  &c. 
Postea  erectus,  deosculetur  altare,  et  signet  se. 
Deinde  ponat  incensum  in  thuribulo,  etincens  (sic) 
altar',  ministro  laciniam  casulae  sustentante  ;  pos- 
tea minister  accepto  thuribulo  incenset  abbatem, 
Tpo  dico  inclinante  (q.  if  ipso  [et]  diacono  inclU 
nante.)  Sicque  vadat  ad  analogium :  subsacrista 
praesto  sit  cum  absconsa,  quam  tradat  abbati  deos- 
culando  ejus  manum,  libro  prius  super  analogium. 
Ad  GVa  tibi  Domine,  capellanus  prope  stans  depo- 
nat  mitram,  quam  reponat  dicta  oratione,  evatige- 
geiium  et  baculum  tradat,  sicque  incipiat  abbas 
Deus  in  Adjutor.  et  revertatur  in  vestiarium.  Si 
laudes  cantare  voluerit,  exutus  casula  stola  et  ma- 
nipulo  induatur  capa  mitra  cirotecis  et  baculo,  et 
ingrediatur  chorum  superius,  ciroferariis  proceden- 
tibus  usque  ad  gradus  chori.  Si  non  abbas  praesens 
fuerit,  et  non  legerit,  sed  laudes  cantare  voluerit, 
tunc  post  inchoationem  hymni  Te  Deum,  &c.  exeat 
ut  super,  et  revestiatur,  ingrediaturque  chorum 
superius,  et  eat  ad  stallum  suum  inferius,  lectoque 
evangelio  incipiat  ipse  Deus  in  Adjutor.  &c.  Et 
[si]  capellanus  vero  ejus  inter  ymnum  revestiatur 
ad  ministrandum  ut  supra  ad  vesperas,  alius  capel- 
lanus ejus  ministret  sibi  de  capitulario  et  de  ab- 
sconsa. Dictaque  oratione  et  data  bened.  si  velit 
exeat,  et  capellanus  revestitus  remaneat,  et  dicat 
dicenda,  aliter  capellanus  ipsum  sequatur.  Si  vero 
abbas  processioni  interesse  voluerit,  capellanus  pro 
voluntate  sua.  dicat  dicenda,  et  postea  cnm  abbate 
procedat.  Si  abbas  praesens  fuerit  matutinis,  et 
voluerit  interesse  laudibus,  exeat  post  inchoationem 
Deus  in  Adjutor.  capellanis  suis  cum  lanterna  extra 
chorum  praesto  exeuntibus.  Et  notandum  quod 
quotienscumque  abbas  revestitus  interesse  voluerit 
processioni  post  vesperas,  vel  post  matutinas,  seu 
ante  missam,  capellanus  deferat  ei  baculum  pasto- 
ralem. 

De  privata  missa  Abb'1  is.  Si  abbas  missam  pri- 
vatam  voluerit  celebrare,  capellani  ejus  ministrent 
ei  cum  omni  humilitate  et  reverentia  in  preepara- 
tione  calicis  et  replicatione  vestimentorum,  et  in 


ABBOT,  ABBESS. 


91 


mas  and  Palm  Sunday,  and  in  the 
tenebrae,*  if  he  was   in  inland    parts. 

caeteris  necessariis.  Et  unus  eorum  legat  episto- 
lam.  Si  capellanus  ejus  celebret,  abbas  dicat  Con- 
fiteor,  sicut  semper.  Ante  vero  Evangelium  ca- 
pellanus petat  benedictionem  ab  abbate,  missa  pro 
defunctis  dicens,  Jube  Dompne  ben.  &c.  Abbas 
respondeat  Dominus  sit  in  corde  tuo,  &c.  vel  aliud 
quod  voluit.  Post  evangelium  alter  capellanus  de- 
ferat  abbati  librum  ad  deosculandum  evangelii,  ni 
fuerit  missa  pro  defunctis.  Item  deferat  ei  Pacem 
post  Agnus  Dei,  ni  fuerit  Prior  praesens.  Post  ora- 
tionem  Placeat  tibi  Sancta  Trinitas  det  abbas  be- 
nedict, num  ipse  celebraverit  sive  capella'  ejus,  ni 
fuerit  missa  pro  defunctis. 

Be  sessione  Abbatis  in  Claustro.  Abbas,  quando 
voluerit  et  vacaverit,  sedeat  in  claustro  ante  nos- 
trum capituli,  et  deferatur  ei  liber  ad  respiciendum 
si  voluerit ;  maxime  autem  ibi  sedeat  diebus  domi- 
nicis  ante  primam,  vel  tertiam,  ad  audiendum  con- 
fessiones  fratrunt  et  precipue  novitiorum,  qui  in 
initio  suse  conversionis  diligenter  sunt  instruencli. 
Deputet  et  abbas  aliquos  fratres,  quos  viderit  sa- 
pientores,  qui  una  cum  Priore  confessiones  fratrum 
audiant  quando  ipse  non  vacaverit. 

Be  Capitulo.  Abbas  cum  voluerit,  et  aliqua  ex- 
pedienda  habuerit,  intret  capitulum,  conventu  ibi 
exeunte.  Intret  autem  ut  supra  ad  collationem  ; 
ad  ejus  adventum  conventus  iDclinet  ut  supra. 
Prior  etiam  seu  prsesidens  et  senior  abb'i  propin- 
quior  ex  alia  parte  accedant  ad  deosculandam 
manum  ob  paternam  reverentiam ;  et  notandum 
quod  licet -ad  collationem  vel  alias  quam  bora  sta- 
tuta  capituli  abbas  capitulum  intraverit,  non  deos- 
culetur  ejus  manus.  Posttabulam  lectam  dicatabbas 
' '  Animce  fratrum"  &c.  conventus  respondeat  Amen, 
et  ille  Benedicite,  et  ille  Dominus, iterum  ille  Loqua- 
mur  de  or  dine  nostro ;  ad  quod  omnes  inclinent  ei, 
et  postea  tractentur  quae  tractanda  sunt.  Et  ter- 
minetipse  capitulum  more  solito,  exiens  cum  capell' 
dicendo  Verba  mea.  Notandum  autem  quod  in 
vigilia  natalis  Domini,  die  coenae,  die  parascevse,  et 
in  vigilia  paschae  et  pentecostes,  Abbas  si  vacaverit, 
ante  capitulum  veniat  in  cborum,  et  precedat  con- 
ventum  in  cap'lum  ;  cap'lo  finito  abb'  inclinans 
versus  conventum  dicat  Confiteor ;  ceteri  incli- 
nantes  respondeant  Misereatur,  et  postea  Con- 
fiteor, et  abbas  dicat  Misereatur :  et  post  absolu- 
tionem,  et  omnes  flectant  genua  ;  postea  exeat  ut 
supra. 

De  Dominicali  jrrocessione.  Si  voluerit  abbas 
processioni  in  diebus  dominicis  interesse,  ingre- 
diatur  chorum  superius  dum  aqua  benedicitur,  et 
stet  ibi  in  stallo  suo,  capellano  a.  dextris  ejus  cum 
baculo  prope"  astante.  Sacerdos  vero  qui  aquam 
benedixit,  aspersa  tumba  sc'i  "Wulsini,  et  inclinans 
et  deosculans  manum  abb 'is,  tradat  ei  asper- 
sorium.  Qui  aspergat  seipsum,  et  postea  sacer- 
dotem,  et  retradat  aspersorium.  Quo  facto, 
capellanus  tradat  ei  baculum  pastoralem,  et 
fiat  processio,  Abbate  ultimo  in  medio  gradiente 
(sic)  cum  baculo.  Cum  perveniunt  in  ecclesiam 
fiat  statio,  abb'e  stante  in  medio,  subtus  fontes. 
Finite  (sic)  responsorio  vel  antipb.  procedat  cantor 
ad  abbat.  et  dedicat  (sic)  cum  eo  De  profundis,  et 
fiat  absolutio  animarum  abbatum  ibidem  quiescen- 
tium  et  omnium  fidel'  defunct'.     Ad  introitum  in- 

a  The  nights  in  the  Passion  week,  when  the 
candles  were  extinguished, 


In   the  feasts  of  copes  it  was  at  his 
option  to  perform  the  above  duty,  but 


cipiet  abbas  responsor.  vel  antipb.  pro  tempore 
praemuniente.  Et  notand'  quod  ejus  semper  inci- 
pere  an  tip.  vel  resp'  ad  introitum  quum  est  prse- 
sens. Introitu  ecclesie  abbas  divertat  dextrorsum 
capellanis,  unus  eorum  reponat  baculum  pastora- 
lem, et  alius  cum  eo  procedat. 

De  sollempniprocessione.  Si  abbas  in  aliquo  festo 
caparum  ad  horam  ante  missam  majorem,  vel  ad 
processionern  prsesens  esse  voluerit,  praemunitus  a, 
praecentore  ingredietur  vestiarium  cum  capellanis 
suis  ;  primo  pectinetur,  postea  lotis  manibus  in- 
duatur  alba  stola  capa  mitra  cirotecis  et  annulo, 
capellanis  semper  ministrantibus.  Deinde  sumpte 
(sit)  baculo  pastorali  ingrediatur  chorum  superius, 
et  stet  in  stallo  suo.  Interim  fiat  exorcismus  aquas 
benedictae  si  dominica  fuerit,  et  aspersio  ut  supra, 
hoc  adjuto  quod  abbas  teneat  baculum  in  manu  si- 
nistra, dum  aspergit  se  et  sacerdotum.  Aspersaque 
aqua  bened.  dicatur  oracio  dominica,  priore  faciente 
signa  sicut  semper  item  cum  sit  praesens,  et  inci- 
piatur  hora.  Si  abbas  praesens  fuerit  cantet  horam, 
et  capellus  ejus  ministret  sibi  de  capitulario  et  aliis 
necess.  Hora.  cantata  si  sollempnis  fuerit  proces- 
sio, fiat  thurificatio  a  Priore  more  solito,  ita  quod 
abbas  incensum  imponat,  sicut  semper  quum  est 
praesens.  Tunc  exeat  processio,  junioribus  praece- 
dentibus,  abbas  sequatur  ultimus  in  medio,  capel- 
lanus ejus  eat  post  seniores  cum  manitergio  ;  cum 
autem  processio  eat  per  coemiteria,  fiat  statio  in 
ccemiterio  monachorum  cum  ps.  De  profundis,  et 
absolvantur  animae  ibidem  et  ubicumquein  Christo 
quiescentium.  Cumque  pervenerint  in  ecclesiam 
fiat  statio,  et  absolutio  animarum  abbatum  ibidem 
quiescent,  et  omn'  fidel'  defunct.  Si  autem  re- 
sponsor'  cantand'  sit  ad  stationem,  sedeat  abbas 
J  usque  ad  repetitionem  retractus  post  versum,  vel 
j  prosam  pro  tempore,  et  tunc  fiat  sermo  si  fuerit 
i  habendus  ;  sin  autem,  fiat  absolutio  ut  prius.  Sta- 
tim  finito  retractu  abbas  praemunitus  a,  cantore  in- 
cipiat  ad  introitum  antiph'  vel  respons'  pro  tem- 
pore, et  tunc  fiat  sermo  si  fuerit  habendus ;  sin 
autem,  fiat  absolutio  ut  prius.  Statim  finito  re- 
tractu abbas  praemunitus  a  cantore  iiicipiat  ad  in- 
troitum antiph'  vel  sespons'  pro  tempore  sicut  sem- 
per quum  est  praesens.  Conventu  ingrediente 
chorum  abbas  divertat  dextrorsum  usque  in  ves- 
tiarium, et  praeparet  se  ad  missam  fuerit  celebra- 
turus.  Si  vero  missam  non  fuerit  celebraturus,  et 
inter  fuerit  processioni,  nihilominus  divertat  ut  su- 
pra, et  procedat  ad  altare  cum  quocunque  missam 
celebraturo,  ibidem  more  solito  Confiteor  et  cetera 
dicturus  ;  postea  regat  chorum  cum  cantoribus,  si 
velit  interresse  missae  ;  sin  autem,  revertatur  in 
vestiarium,  et  devestiat  se.  Et  notand'  quod  abbas 
semper  quum  est  praesens  procedere  debet  ad  altare 
cum  missam  celebraturo,  et  ibidem  dicere  Confiteor, 
et  caetera  ut  supra,  seu  sit  revestitus  seu  non. 

Qualiter  Abbas  prceparet  se  ad  Missam.  Si  mis- 
sam fuerit  vii  festum,  deposita  mitra  et  capa  sedeat 
et  discalcietur,  ac  sandaliis  cum  pertinenciis  recal- 
cietur.  Deinde  lotis  manibus  tunica  et  dalmatica 
induatur  capellanis  et  ministris  ministrantibus  et 

psallentibus  bos  ps'os Hac  oracione  dicta 

procedat  abbas  versus  altare,  Priore  eunte  a  dextris 
ejus  et  capellano  a,  sinistris.  Diaconus  vero  cum 
baculo  pastorali,  et  subdiaconus  cum  texto  procedat 
et  ceteris  ministris.    Ad  Gloria  vero  oflicium  in- 


92 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


in  other  feasts  and  common  days  he 
was  present  when  he  pleased.     It  is  to 


trent,  et  procedant  usque  ad  gradus,  et  diaconus 
tradat  abbati  baculum,  cseteris  circumstantibus,  ca- 
pellanoque  mitram  deponente,  dicat  abbas  Confite- 
mini  Domino,  &c.  postea  Confiteor,  &c.  Ad  ab- 
solutionem  et  remissionem  flectant  omnes  genua. 
Quo  dicta  deosculetur  abbas  [abbis  in  MS.]  tex- 
tum  apertum  sicut  semper,  et  reponatur  mitra. 
Postea  tradat  capellano  baculum,  et  ascendat  gra- 
dus coram  altari,  dicendo  "  Domine,  exaudi  ora- 
cionem  meant,  &c.''  Et  inclinet  dicens  oracionem 
"  Aufer  h  nobis,'*1  &c.  qua  dicta  erectus  deoscule- 
tur altare,  et  signet  se  in  erigendo  ;  dicat  Adjutor1 
nostr1  de  more  solito.  Et  notand'  quod  induatur 
sandaliis  solum  in  vii  fest.  et  tunc  solum  cantantur 
prsedicti  psalmi  cum  antiph.  Item  non  induatur 
tunica  et  dalmatica,  nisi  in  festis  cum  solempni 
process.  Csetera  vero  omnia  fiant  semper  ut  supra. 
Item  nullus  collateralis  cum  abbate  incedat  nisi  ad 
inissam.  Incepto  Kyrie  eleeson  thurificet  abbas 
altare  mitratus.  Ad  inchoandum  "  Gloria  in  ex- 
celsis  "  deponatur  miti*a,  et  statim  reponatur.  Post 
Dominus  voMscum  ante  Oremus,  iterum  deponatur, 
et  ad  Per  omnia  reponatur.  Ad  Epistolam  sedeat 
usque  ad  Evangel,  capellano  sustinente  laciniam 
casulse  ex  una.  parte,  et  diacono  ex  alia.  Capellanus 
et  diaconus  in  vii  festis  canant  submissa.  voce  co- 
ram abbate.  Item  abbas  semper  det  benedictio- 
nem  super  legentes  et  cantantes,  ad  gradus,  statim 
expletis  eorum  officiis.  Ad  inceptionem  Evangel, 
surgat,  capellano  juvante,  et  baculum  sibi  tradente, 
atque  mitram  deponente.  Post  Credo  in  unum  in- 
ceptum  reponatur  mitra,  facta  offerenda,  colioca- 
toque  calice  et  thurificato  deponatur  annulus  et 
cirothecse  :  lavet  suas  manus  Priore  ministrante, 
siprtesens  fuerit ;  et  notand'  quod  quociens  abbas 
missam  celebrat  in  capis,  Prions  est  conducere 
eum  ad  altare.  et  facere  offertorium,  et  ministrare 
in  ablutione  manuum,  tarn  post  offert.  quam  post 
perceptionem  si  praesens  sit,  sin  autem  praecentor 
debet.  Lotis  manibus  abbas  vertat  se  ad  altare 
dicendo  orationem  consuetam.  Ad  In  spiritu  hu- 
milit.  deponatur  mitra,  et  peragatur  totum  sine 
mitra.  Post  communionem  lotis  manibus  abbas 
cirotecas  resumat,  annuloque  digito  imposito  tiniat 
missam  more  solito.  Post  oracionem  Placeat  tibi, 
surnpto  baculo  vertat  se  ad  populum,  et  det  bene- 
dictionem,  ut  supra,  ad  vesperas,  nisi  fuerit  missa 
pro  defunctis.  Tunc  recedant  ab  altari  usque  in 
vestiarium  eodem  ordine  quo  prius  acceperant ; 
abbate  tunc  baculum  in  dextra  gestante  et  dicente, 
"  Benedicite  Sacerdotes,"  &c.  cum  priore  et  capel- 
lano, et  aliis  ministris  sicut  semper,  et  hoc  in 
capis. 

De  Prandio.  Cum  abbas  in  refectorio  comedere 
voluerit,  ponantur  sex  panes  coram  eo  ad  prandium 
de  proprio  silicet  pane,  et  tres  ad  coenam.  Sex  vero 
ad  eleemosynam,  et  duos  ad  s'cisiones  faciendas  in 
mensa.  Ponatur  etiam  coram  eo  magnum  potum 
cerviciae.  Et  quociens  fuerit  caritas,  vini  dimidium 
sextarium  ponatur  ad  opus  suum.  Tempore  igitur 
congruo  intretrefectorium,  etprocedat  ut  supra  ad 
collationem  iisque  ad  digitum,  ubi  lavet  manus  suas, 
Priore  fundente  aquam,  et  aliis  ministrantibus  de 
manutergio.  Et  notandum,  quod  refectorarii  est 
providcre  manutergium  et  bacinos  cum  aqua.  Ma- 
nibus lotis  faciat  inclinationem,  et  pulset  tintinna- 
bulum  aliquantulum  morose,  et  dicantur  gratia? 
more  solito,  ipso  item  dante  benedictionem  lectori. 


be  noted  also,  that  when  he  chose 
to  be  present  at  Masses  in  Copes,  or 
in  Albs,  he  robed  himself,  and  held  the 
Choir.  When  he  pleased  to  sing  Ves- 
pers, the  vestment  and  cope  for  his 
use,  water  in  silver  basins,  towels,  the 
comb,  mitre,  gloves,  and  staff,  were 
placed  in  the  Vestiary.  The  Abbot 
then  having  combed  his  head,  and 
washed  his  hands,  clothed  himself  in 
the  Vestiary  with  the  alb,  robe,  mitre, 
gloves,  ring,  and  crosier,  his  Chaplains 
numbly  attending  upon  him.  Upon 
his  being  robed,  a  peal  of  all  the  bells 
struck  up ;  and  entering  the  upper 
Choir  preceded  by  the  Chantors  and 
Prior  robed  for  the  occasion,  he  went 
to  his  stall  below,  which  whether  he 
was  in  pontificals  or  not,  was  to  be 
adorned  with  a  carrel. a  When  the  bells 
had  done,  the  Abbot,  standing  in 
his  stall,  began  Deus  in  Adjutorium ; 
and  after  the  beginning  of  the  first 
psalm,  a  Senior,  kissing  his  hand, 
took  the  crosier,  and  laid  it  near  him ; 
which  ceremony  of  kissing  his  hand 
was  to  be  always  used  upon  the  receipt 
or  delivery  of  any  thing  from  or  to 
him.  When  he  was  seated,  a  Chaplain 
was  to  place  a  towel  athwart  his  bosom, 
as  was  always  usual  when  he  was  in 
pontificals.  When  the  psalms  were 
finished,  he  rose,  and  took  the  censer 
from  a  Senior,  and  his  Chaplains  at- 
tended him  with  the  Gospel  and  lantern 
for   the    occasion;    he   then    said  the 

Duo  juvenes  stent  ad  digitum  ex  ima,  et  ali&  parte, 
et  ministrent  ei  sicut  quum  est  ad  digitum.  Capel- 
lanus etiam  ejus  ministrent  de  coquina  sicut  sem- 
per quando  praesiderit,  uno  de  ministris  digiti,  vel 
ambobus  cum  necesse  fuerit  ipsum  juvantibus ;  unus 
etiam  eorum  subministret  ei  cum  cooperculo  dum 
bibit,  sicut  semper.  Tempore  congruo  faciat  soni- 
tum  cum  cochlearibus  suis,  et  colligantur  cochlearia. 
Cumque  omnes  comederunt,  percutiat  ter  mensam 
cum  cultello,  et  colligatur  reievium.  Quo  collecto 
faciat  signum  cum  manu  super  mensam,  et  termi- 
netur  lectio.  Et  facta  inclinatione  a  lectore,  pul- 
set tintinnabulum  ut  supra,  et  dicantur  gratise. 
Post  Agimus  tibi  gratias,  statim  det  solempnem 
benedictionem,  ut  supra  ad  vesperas.  Conventu 
eunte  ad  ecclesiam  Miserere,  remaneat  ipse  cum 
priore  et  aliquibus  de  senioribus  in  refectorio  : 
finiant  gratias.  Interim  lavet  sibi  manus,  priore 
et  ceteris,  ut  prius,  ministrantibus ;  postea  ducat 
eos  in  cameram  suam  ad  potum. 

a  Pew.  There  is  a  similar  injunction  in  the 
Dec.  Lanfr.  §  de  abbate  (with  one  or  two  additions), 
given  in  Mr.  Tindal's  Evesham,  p.  178. 


ABBOT,  ABBESS, 


93 


Gospel  with  his  mitre,  as  he  always  did. 
Also  in  the  seven  feasts,  and  solemn 
processions,  and  in  the  feasts  of  copes, 
the   Abbot,    pre-admonished    by   the 
Chantor,  was  to  begin  the  Antiphonar 
after  the  psalm  Magnificat,  or  Benedic- 
tionem,  according  to  the  occasion  ;  and 
it  was  to  be  noted,  that  the  Abbot  was 
always  to  be  forewarned  by  the  Chan- 
tor  of  what  he  was  to  sing,  read,  or 
begin.     At  the  beginning  of  the  Mag- 
nificat, or  Benedictus,  the  Abbot,  stand- 
ing in  his  stall,  put  incense  in  the  cen- 
ser, the  Chaplain  or  Prior  for  the  occa- 
sion assisting  with  the  materials  of  the 
incense,  and  an  assistant  or  Chaplain 
for  the  occasion  with  the  censer ;  and 
thus  they  were  to  proceed  to  the  Altar  ; 
the   Prior  for  the  occasion,  with  the 
censer,  going  on  the  left  of  the  Abbot, 
and   the    Chaplain,  with   the  Abbot's 
censer,  on  the  right,  saying  the  Magni- 
ficat, or  Benedictus,  or  singing  with  a 
low  voice,  according  to  the  occasion. 
The  Chaplain  then  kneeling  upon  the 
steps  before  the  Altar,  gave  the  censer 
to    the    Abbot,    and    supported    his 
train :  and  thus  the  Altar  was   to  be 
censed  on  the  right  and  left,  also   the 
shrines  of   certain  saints :    after  this, 
the   Abbot  gave    the    censer    to   the 
Chaplain,  and  returned   to    his    stall, 
and  the  Chaplain  and  Prior  also  for  the 
occasion  censed  him.     The  Chaplains 
too    attended    him    with     the     book, 
mitre,  and  lantern  for  the  time.    After 
the     Dominus     vobiscum    before    the 
Oremus,   the   mitre    was    to   be    laid 
down,  and  in  the  end  at  the  Per  omnia 
resumed ;  and  this  use  was   to  be  ob- 
served at  all  the  collects.     Besides  at 
the  collects  after  the  hours,  which  were 
always  to  be  said  with  the  mitre,  after 
the  Benedicamus  of  the  first  collect  the 
Abbot  gave   his   solemn   benediction, 
as  usually   after  Vespers,  after   Mat- 
tins,  after  his  Mass,  when  he  or  his 
Chaplain  celebrated  (unless  it  was  a 
Mass  for  the  dead),  and  after  dinner 
immediately  next  to  the  grace  ;  before 
the  psalm  De  profundis,  or,  if  he  was 
in  the  Convent,  before  the  Miserere  :a 

a  Sung  upon  going  out  from  dinner. 


and  this  he  was  to  observe,  wherever 
he  was,  unless  there  was  a  Legate, 
Archbishop,  or  Bishop,  to  whom  he 
wished  to  pass  the  compliment.  In 
giving  the  benediction  he  first  made  a 
cross  with  his  finger  upon  his  bosom, 
saying,  "  Blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord/5  Then,  pointing  to  himself,  he 
added,  "  Our  help  is  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord/'  Then  he  was  to  elevate  his 
hand  as  a  token  to  the  people,  and 
say,  f*  Almighty  God,  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  bless  us/5  If  a 
procession  was  to  be  made  after  Ves- 
pers, when  the  commemorations  were 
finished,  the  Abbot  was  to  go  to  the  Altar, 
to  which  the  procession  was  to  be 
made,  the  Chantors  preceding  him 
with  tapers,  and  the  Convent  following. 
When  he  came  there,  he  censed  the 
Altar,  was  himself  censed  by  the  Chap- 
lain ;  and  having  performed  the  due 
service,  returned  to  the  Vestiary,  pre- 
ceded by  the  Chantors,  and  unrobed. 

Of  the  Office  of  the  Abbot  at  colla- 
tion and  completory.  If  the  Abbot 
happened  to  be  present  at  the  colla- 
tion, he  proceeded  up  the  middle  with 
his  arms  across]0  and  head  bare,  some- 
what bowing  as  far  as  the  steps,  and 
having  made  his  inclination,  went  to 
his  seat.  At  his  coming  all  arose,  and 
stood  upon  the  lower  step,  bowing  as 
he  passed.  And  (continues  the  ru- 
bric) "whensoever  the  Abbot  passes 
through  the  regular  offices,  except  to 
the  Dormitory,  every  one  shall  bow  to 
him  standing.  When  he  is  seated  two 
youths  shall  rise  and  pull  off  his  shoes 
kneeling.  When  he  has  his  shoes  off 
he  shall  begin  the  antiphonar  Man- 
datum  novum,  the  Chantor  forewarning 
him.  The  feet-washing  ended,  the 
young  men  shall  put  his  shoes  on,  and 
return  to  their  seats.  Afterwards  he 
shall  rise,  wash  his  hands,  the  servants 
of  the  Maundy  assisting,  and  sit 
down.  When  all  the  antiphonars  are 
done,  and  the  reader  says  i(Jube  Domine 
benedicere,"  he  shall  give  the  benedic- 


b  From  the  i  astorns  of  the  Monks,  I  follow 
Pliny's  sense  of  cancello  (See  the  Lat.  Diet.)  in 
which  sense  it  is  used  in  the  Carthus.  Rule.  Mo- 
nast.  Anglic,  i.  p.  951. 


94 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


tion  Angelorum  custodia,  &c.  if  it  be  a 
sabbath  ;  but,  on  other  nights,  he  shall 
say,  Noctem  quietam,  &c.  (Good  night, 
&c.)  After  this,  the  bell  being  struck, 
he  shall  arise,  and  go  to  the  Refectory, 
the  Convent  preceding  in  proces- 
sion, and  the  two  youths,  for  the  oc- 
casion, carrying  tapers  before  him. 
When  he  comes  to  the  Refectory,  he 
shall  proceed  up  the  middle  with  his 
head  bare,  bowing  as  far  as  the  upper 
step,  and  having  made  his  inclination, 
sit  down.  The  Refectioner  then  having 
struck  the  bell,  one  of  his  Chap- 
lains, with  the  attendants,  ministering 
the  drink,  shall  rise,  take  a  cup,  and 
stand  in  the  middle  before  the  rest. — 
It  is  to  be  noted,  that  the  two  youths 
shall  stand  at  either  side  the  digitus, 
and  the  service  shall  be  that  usual 
when  the  Abbot  is  present.  Whilst 
he  drinks,  one  of  them  shall  attend  with 
a  cover,  as  is  usual  with  the  cups  (when 
complete)  laid  before  the  Convent.  The 
Abbot  shall  then  strike  the  table  with 
the  palm  of  his  hand,  the  reading 
shall  end,  and  a  cup  be  sent  to  the 
reader.  Afterwards,  at  a  proper  in- 
terval, the  bell  shall  ring  once.  And 
when  the  Convent  has  sufficiently 
drank,  it  shall  ring  three  times ;  he 
shall  then  rise,  and  standing  in  the 
middle  step  in  the  centre,  make  a  bow 
to  the  crucifix,  and  then  standing  say 
"  Adjutorium,  Sec."  and  again  bow 
and  retire.  It  is  to  be  observed,  how- 
ever, that  during  the  collation,  his  Chap- 
lains shall  inquire  whether  he  chuses 
to  stay  from  Complin,  or  be  present  at 
it,  for  it  is  at  his  option  always  to 
stay  if  he  chuses  it.  His  Chaplains 
with  lanterns  shall  turn  to  the  left  out 
of  the  gate,  and  it  is  to  be  noted,  that 
whenever  it  shallbe  necessary,  wherever 
he  goes,  except  in  the  Dormitory,  a 
Chaplain  shall  carry  a  lighted  lantern 
before  him.a  If  he  should  go  to  Com- 
plin, his  Chaplains  shall  proceed  to 
the  Church  with  the  Convent,  and 
the  necessary  service  be  said,  the  Prior 
or  guardian  of  the   rule    making  the 


Add.  to   Dec.   Lanfr.  in  Tyndal's   Evesham, 


proper  signs.  And  it  is  to  be  noted  that 
the  Abbot  shall  never  make  signs  of 
this  kind  unless  when  he  sits  at  the 
digitus  in  the  Refectory.  At  the  end 
of  the  service  the  Abbot  shall  bow  and 
retire  ;  and  before  the  triple  prayer,  his 
Chaplains  shall  be  ready  out  of  the 
Choir  with  a  lighted  lantern  for  the 
occasion,  that  they  may  go  out  with 
him.  But  if  he  wishes  to  be  present  at 
the  triple  prayer,  he  shall  bow  alone 
as  usual,  either  by  standing  or  lying 
upon  the  form  as  he  likes,  and  after- 
wards shall  retire  first,  the  others  fol- 
lowing in  procession  ;  who  all  shall  be 
sprinkled  with  holy  water.  And  it  is 
to  be  noted,  that  whensoever  the 
Abbot  ought  to  be  sprinkled,  the 
sprinkle  shall  be  given  to  him,  unless 
he  is  present  at  Complin/" 

Of  Mattins.  In  the  seven  feasts,  and 
days  of  solemn  procession,  the  Ab- 
bot, if  at  leisure,  was  present  at  Mat- 
tins,  and  in  the  first  course  of  anti- 
phonars,  according  to  the  occasion, 
began  the  second  or  third  antiphonar, 
sang  the  eighth  responsory,  and  read 
the  last  lesson  and  gospel.  He  gave 
the  benedictions  before  the  lessons,  as 
always  when  present.  When  he  was 
going  to  read  the  lesson,  he  advanced 
somewhat  with  his  arms  crossed,  and 
head  uncovered,  and  bowed.  All  rose 
and  bowed  to  him,  as  was  usual b  when 
he  was  present  in  the  Convent  as- 
sembled. After  the  lesson  his  Chap- 
lain was  to  be  ready  to  take  the  lan- 
tern from  him ;  he  advanced  a  little  as 
before,  took  a  small  venia}c  and  re- 
turned to  his  stall.  After  the  last  re- 
sponsory he  began  TeDeum  always  when 
present,  and  bowed.  It  is  to  be 
noted,  that  when  he  was  going  to  read 
the  Gospel,  if  it  was  in  the  six  feasts 
and  in  solemn  procession,  after  the  be- 
ginning of  Te  Deurn,  his  Chaplain  was 
to  be  ready  behind  the  Choir  with  a 
lighted  lantern,  to  go  before  him  to  the 
Vestiary  ;  and  a  towel  being  put  over 
his  shoulders,  he  combed  himself  and 
washed  his  hands,  his   Chaplains  as- 

b  After  the  antiphonar  was  begun.     Dec.  Lanfr. 
c  Penitential  inclination,  or  genuflexion.      Du 
Cange, 


ABBOT,  ABBESS. 


95 


sisting ;  and  he  who  was  to  celebrate 
clothed  himself  for  singing  Mass,  the 
sandals  excepted.  Then  taking  the 
crosier,  he  advanced,  and  the  Minis- 
ters going  first,  and  the  Chaplain  follow- 
ing in  his  frock,  as  far  as  the  steps,  and 
taking  the  crosier  from  him  on  the 
right  side,  the  Abbot  bowed,  and  said, 
Grant  me,  O  Lord,  a  right  conversa- 
tion, &c.  Afterwards,  erect,  he  kis- 
sed the  Altar,  and  crossed  himself. 
Then  he  put  incense  in  the  censer,  and 
censed  the  Altar,  the  Chaplain  hold- 
ing his  train ;  who  afterwards,  taking 

the  censer,  censed  the  Abbot, 

Thus  he  went  to  the 

Lectern.  The  Subsacrist  was  ready 
with  a  lantern,  which  he  delivered  to 
the  Abbot,  kissing  his  hand,  the  book 
being  first  laid  on  the  Lectern.  At  the 
Gloria  tibi  Domine,  the  Chaplain  stand- 
ing near,  took  off  the  mitre,  which  he 
put  on  again,  when  the  prayer  was 
said;  and  delivered  the  gospel  and 
crosier.  The  Abbot  then  began  Dens 
in  adjutoriurn,  and  returned  to  the 
Vestiary.  If  he  wished  to  sing  lauds, 
putting  off  the  chesible,  stole,  and 
maniple,  he  was  robed  in  the  cope, 
mitre,  gloves,  and  crosier,  and  en- 
tered the  upper  Choir,  the  taper- 
bearers  proceeding  to  the  steps  of  the 
Choir.  If  he  was  not  present,  and 
would  not  read,  but  wished  to  sing 
lauds,  then,  after  the  beginning  of  the 
Te  Deum,  he  went  out,  as  above,  robed 
himself,  entered  at  the  upper  Choir,  and 
went  to  his  stall  below,  and  the  Gospel 
being  read,  began  himself  Deus  in 
adjutoriurn,  &c.  If  his  Chaplain,  du- 
ring the  hymn,  was  robed  for  minister- 
ing at  Vespers,  as  above,  another  at- 
tended on  him  with  the  text  and  lantern. 
After  the  prayer  and  benediction  he 
went  out,  if  he  chose,  and  the  Chaplain, 
robed,  remained  and  celebrated  what 
was  to  be  done ;  otherwise  he  followed 
the  Abbot.  If  the  latter  wished  to  be 
present  in  the  procession,  the  Chaplain, 
according  to  his  wish,  said  what  was  to 
be  done,  and  afterwards  joined  the 
Abbot.  If  the  Abbot  was  present  at 
Mattins,  and  wished  to  be  at  Lauds,  he 
went  out  after  the  beginning  of  the 
Deus  in  adjutoriurn,  his   Chaplains  at 


hand,  with  a  lantern  out  of  the  Choir, 
going  forth  [with  him].  And  it  is  to 
be  noted,  that,  as  often  as  the  Abbot  in 
pontificals  wished  to  attend  the  pro- 
cession after  Vespers,  or  after  Mattins, 
or  before  Mass,  the  Chaplain  brought 
him  his  crosier. 

Of  the  Abbot's  private  Mass.  If  he 
wished  to  celebrate  a  private  Mass, 
his  Chaplains  attended  him  with  all 
humility  and  reverence,  preparing  the 
chalice,  unfolding  the  vestments,  and 
performing  other  necessary  services; 
and  one  of  them  was  to  read  the  epis- 
tle. If  the  Chaplain  celebrated,  the 
Abbot  said  as  usual,  Conjiteor.  Before 
the  Gospel,  the  Chaplain  solicited 
benediction  from  the  Abbot,  saying,  in 
the  Mass  for  the  dead,  Jube  Dompne 
ben.  &c.  to  which  the  Abbot  replied, 
Dominus  sit  in  corde  tuo?  &c.  or  any 
thing  else  he  liked.  x\fter  the  Gospel, 
another  Chaplain  brought  him  the  texta 
to  kiss  if  it  was  not  a  Mass  for  the 
dead :  and  if  the  Prior  was  not  present, 
the  Pax  after  the  Agnus  Dei.  After  the 
prayer,  Placeat  tibi  Sancta  Trinitas, 
the  Abbot  gave  the  benediction,  whe- 
ther he  himself  or  his  Chaplain  cele- 
brated, unless  it  was  a  Mass  for  the 
dead. 

Of  the  Abbot's  sitting  in  the  Cloister, 
The  Abbot,  when  he  liked,  and  was 
disengaged,  sat  in  the  Cloister  before 
the  door  of  the  Chapter,  and  a  book 
was  brought  to  him  to  peruse,  if  he 
chose  it ;  but  he  sat  there  especially 
on  Sundays  before  Prime  or  Tierce, 
to  hear  the  confessions  of  the  Monks, 
and  especially  of  the  Novices,  who,  in 


a  A  book  of  the  Gospels,  with  the  image  of 
Christ,  or  the  Virgin  Mary,  on  the  cover.  The 
pax  was  of  like  use,  only  of  silver,  ivory,  or  even 
board.  Davies  says,  "  a  marvellous  fair  book, 
which  had  the  Epistles  and  Gospels  in  it;  which 
book  had  on  the  outside  of  the  covering  the  picture 
of  our  Saviour  Christ,  all  of  silver,  of  goldsmith's 
work,  all  parcel  gilt,  very  fine  to  behold,  which 
book  did  serve  for  the  Pax  in  the  Mass."  The 
Gospel  was  brought  to  the  Abbot,  and  the  Pax 
likewise,  to  be  kissed ;  for  they  were  distinct  things ; 
the  kiss  of  peace  at  the  Mass  was  instituted  by  In- 
nocent I.  in  the  year  407;  the  Pax  after  the  Agnus 
Dei,  by  Leo  II.  in  681.  The  kiss  of  peace  fol- 
lowed the  consecration  of  the  Host,  when  the  Priest 
said  u  The  Peace  of  our  Lord,"  &c.  but  the  third 
day  before  Easter  it  was  omitted  on  account  of  the 
Passion.     Du  Cange,  v.  Osculum  Pacts. 


96 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS, 


the  commencement  of  their  conversion, 
were  to  be  carefully  instructed.  The 
Abbot  deputed  some  of  the  more  pru- 
dent Monks  to  join  the  Prior  in  hear- 
ing the  confessions,  when  he  was  him- 
self engaged. 

Of  the  Chapter.  The  Abbot,  when 
he  liked  it,  and  had  any  business, 
entered  the  Chapter,  upon  the  Con- 
vent's retiring.  He  entered  as  above  at 
Collation  ;  and  the  Convent,  as  above 
also,  bowed  at  his  arrival.  The  Prior 
also,  or  President  and  Senior,  next  to 
the  Abbot,  came  from  the  other  side 
to  kiss  his  hand  from  paternal  re- 
verence ;  and  it  is  to  be  noted,  that 
whenever  at  Collation  or  not  the  stated 
hour  of  Chapter,  the  Abbot  entered 
that  place,  his  hands  were  not  kissed. 
After  the  table  was  read,  the  Abbot 
said,  "  The  souls  of  all  deceased  breth- 
ren and  all  believers  rest  in  peace  f 
to  which  the  Convent  replied,  "Amen.'5 
And  he  again,  "  Benedicite,"  again 
"  Dominus/'  and  then,  "  Let  us  speak 
of  the  order/5  All  immediately  bowed, 
and  the  business  commenced.  He 
finished  the  Chapter  in  the  usual 
manner,  by  going  out  with  his  Chap- 
lains and  saying  Verba  mea.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  that  if  he  was  at  leisure  on 
the  Vigil  of  Christmas  day,  Maundy 
Thursday,  Easter-day,  and  the  Vigils 
Easter  and  Whitsuntide,  he  came  be- 
fore the  Chapter  to  the  Choir,  and  pre- 
ceded the  Convent  in  going  to  the 
former  place.  When  it  was  over,  bow- 
ing to  the  Convent,  he  said,  Confiteor, 
to  which  the  others  bowing  answered 
Misereatur,  and  they  afterwards  Confi- 
teor, and  he  Misereatur.  After  the  ab- 
solution, and  all  had  knelt,  he  went 
out  as  above. 

Of  the  Sunday  Procession.     If  the 


Abbot  wished  to  be  present  at  the 
Sunday  Procession,  he  entered  the 
upper  Choir,  while  the  water  was  con- 
secrating, and  stood  there  in  his  stall, 
his  Chaplain  standing  near  on  his  right 
with  the  crosier.  The  Priest  who 
consecrated  the  water,  having  sprinkled 
the  shrine  of  Wulsin,  bowed,  kissed  the 
Abbotts  hand,  and  gave  him  the 
sprinkle.  He  then  sprinkled  himself, 
and  next  the  Priest,  to  whom  he  then 
returned  the  sprinkle.  After  this  the 
Chaplain  gave  him  the  crosier,  and  the 
procession  began,  the  Abbot  last,  going 
in  the  middle  with  his  staff.  When 
they  came  into  the  Church,  a  stand  was 
made,  the  Abbot  being  in  the  middle 
beneath  the  fonts.  The  response,  or 
antiphonar,  being  over,  the  Cbantor 
proceeded  to  the  Abbot,  and  said,  with 
him,  De  Profundi's.  Absolution  was 
then  pronounced  of  the  souls  of  all 
the  Abbots  there  lying,  and  all  faithful 
persons  deceased.  The  Abbot  began 
the  re  sponsor  y,  or  antiphonar,  accord- 
ing to  the  occasion  and  warning  of  the 
Chantor  at  the  entrance  of  the  pro- 
cession, when  he  was  present.  Upon 
entering  the  Church,  the  Abbot  turned 
to  the  right  with  his  Chaplains,  one  of 
whom  was  to  put  by  the  crosier,  and 
the  other  proceed  with  him. 

Of  solemn  Procession.  If  the  Abbot 
wished  to  be  present  in  any  feast  of 
capcE  at  the  hour  before  the  greater 
Mass,  or  at  procession,  according  to 
the  warning  of  the  Chantor,  he  entered 
the  Vestiary  with  his  Chaplains,  first 
combed  himself,  and  then  having 
washed  his  hands,  put  on  the  alb,  stole, 
cope,  mitre,  gloves,  and  ring,  his  Chap- 
lains always  attending  upon  him. 
Then  he  took  his  crosier,a  entered  at 
the  upper  Choir,  and  stood  in  his  stall. 


a  There  were  times  when  this  was  to  be  borne,  and  others  when  it  was  to  be  laid  aside,  at  least  in  the 
same  houses  ;  thus  the  customs  of  Abingdon  say,  among  other  instances  : — 


Abbas  si  missam  pro  defunctis  celebraverit  ba- 
culum  non  portabit.  Ad  matutinas  in  processuad 
altare,  nee  in  pronuntiatione  evangelii  baculum 
habebit.     MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  p.  184. 

Quotiens  abbas  in  conventu  celebraverit  vel  cho- 
rum  tenueritaut  revestitus  fuerit,  baculum  et  ciro- 
tecas  habebit.     Fol.  184.  b. 

In  processionibus  cum  conventu  chorum  intra- 
bit,  sed  per  medium  chorum  baculum  minime  por- 
tabit ;  sed  capellanus  sinister  in  introitu  chori  ba- 
lum  de  abbate  accipiet,  et  ad  locum  solitum  re- 
feret.     Fol.  186.  a. 


If  the  Abbot  celebrates  the  mass  for  the  dead,  he 
shall  not  carry  his  crosier  ;  nor  at  mattins  in  going 
to  the  altar,  nor  in  reading  the  gospel. 

As  often  as  he  celebrates  in  the  convent,  or  holds 
the  choir,  or  is  in  pontificals,  he  shall  have  the 
crosier  and  gloves. 

He  shall  enter  the  choir  with  the  convent  in 
processions,  but  by  no  means  carry  his  crosier 
through  the  midst  of  the  choir  ;  his  chaplain  on 
the  left  hand  shall  take  it  upon  entering  the  choir, 
and  carry  it  to  its  usual  place. 


ABBOT,  ABBESS 


97 


In  the   interim,   the  holy  water  was 
consecrated,  if  it  was  a  Sunday,  and 
sprinkled  as  above,  with  this  addition 
that  the  Abbot  held  his  crosier  in  his 
left  hand  while  he   sprinkled  himself 
and  the  priest.     After  the  sprinkling, 
the  Lord's  prayer  was  said,  the  Prior 
making  the  signs,  as  was  always  usual 
when  he  was  present,  and  the  hour 
was  begun.     If  the  Abbot  was  present 
he  sang  the  hour,  and  his  Chaplains  at- 
tended him  with  the  Gospel  and  other 
necessaries.     The  hour  being  sung,  if 
there   was   a   solemn   procession    the 
censing  was  made  by  the  Prior,  except 
that  the  Abbot  put  in  the  incense,  as 
he  always  did  when  he  was  present. 
Then  the  procession  went  forth,  the 
juniors  preceding ;  the  Abbot  followed 
last  in  the  middle,  his   Chaplain  next 
to  the  seniors  with  a  towel.     When 
the     procession     went    through     the 
Church-yards,    a   stand  was  made  in 
the  coemitery  of  the  Monks,  with  the 
psalm  De  profundis,  and  the  absolution 
of  all   souls   there   and  every  where 
sleeping  in  Christ.     When  they  came 
to  the  Church  a  like  stand  was  made, 
and  an  absolution  of  the  souls  of  Ab- 
bots there  resting,  and  all  faithful  per- 
sons deceased.     But  if  the  responsory 
was  to  be  sung  at  the  standing,  the  Ab- 
bot was  to  sit  till  the  repetition  of  the 
rctractus*   after    the   verse   or   prose 
according  to  the  occasion ;  and  then 
a  sermon  was  made,  if  it  was  so  to  be ; 
if  not,  absolution,  as  before.     As  soon 
as  the  retr actus  was   over,  the  Abbot, 
forewarned  by  the  Chantor,  began  at 
the   entrance   the   antiphonar,  or  re- 
sponsory, according  to  the  season,  as 
usual  when  he   was   present.     Upon 
the  convent's  entrance  of  the  choir,  the 
Abbot  turned  to  the  right  to  go  into 
the  Yestiary  and  prepare  himself  for 
Mass,  if  he  meant  to  celebrate ;  if  not, 
but  to  attend  the  procession,  he  still 
turned  off  as  above,  and  proceeded  to 
the  Altar  with  the  person  who  was  to 
celebrate,  to   say  there,  in  the  usual 
manner,  the  Confiteor,  &c.  and  after- 
wards lead  the  choir,  with  the  Chantors, 

a  The  retractus  was  the  return  of  Tractus  in  the 
chant. 


if  he  meant  to  be  present  at  the  Mass  : 
if  not,  he  returned  to  the  Vestiary, 
and  unrobed  himself.  The  Abbot  al- 
ways, when  he  was  present,  was  to 
proceed  to  the  altar  with  him  who  was 
to  celebrate,  and  there  to  say  the 
Confiteor,  &c.  as  above,  whether  in 
pontificals  or  not. 

How  the  Abbot  prepared  himself  for 
Mass.  If  he  was  going  to  celebrate 
Mass,  and  it  was  one  of  the  seven 
feasts,  he  laid  aside  his  mitre  and  cope, 
and  put  on  the  sandals  and  appurte- 
nances. Then  he  washed  his  hands,  and 
robed  himself  in  the  tunic  and  dalmatic, 
his  chaplains  and  servants  attending 
upon  him,  and  singing  certain  Psalms. 
When  this  prayer  was  over,  the  Ab- 
bot proceeded  towards  the  altar,  with 
the  Prior  on  his  right,  and  the  Chap- 
lain on  his  left.  The  Deacon  ad- 
vanced with  the  crosier,  and  the  Sub- 
deacon  with  the  text  and  the  other 
attendants.  At  the  Glory  they  entered, 
and  proceeded  to  the  steps ;  and  the 
Deacon  delivering  the  crosier  to  the 
Abbot  (the  others  stood  by),  and  the 
Chaplain  taking  the  mitre  off,  the 
Abbot  said,  "  Confess  to  the  Lord,"  &c. 
and  afterward  Confiteor,  &c.  At  the 
absolution  and  remission  all  kneeled. 
After  which,  the  Abbot  kissed  the 
Gospel,  which  lay  open,  as  usual,  and 
the  mitre  was  put  on  again.  He  then 
gave  the  crosier  to  his  Chaplain,  and 
ascended  the  steps  before  the  Altar, 
saying,  "Lord,  hear  my  prayer/''  &c. 
When  he  said  the  prayer,  "Aufer 
a  nobis,"  &c.  he  bowed,  and,  when  it 
was  over,  kissed  the  altar,  and  crossed 
himself  as  he  was  rising.  He  then 
said  the  Adjutorium,  &c.  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  And  it  is  to  be  noted, 
that  he  wore  his  sandals  only  in  the 
seven  feasts,  when  only  the  above 
psalms  and  antiphonars  were  sung. 
Neither  did  he  wear  the  tunic  and  dal- 
matic except  in  feasts  with  solemn 
procession.  All  other  things  were  done 
as  usual.  No  one  walked  abreast  with 
the  Abbot,  except  to  Mass.b  At  the 
beginning    of    the    Kyrie   eleeson   the 

b  Addit.  to  Deer.  Lanfr.  sect.   De  Abbate,  in 
Tyndal's  Evesham,  p.  178. 

II 


98 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


Abbot  censed  the  altar  in  his  mitre, 
which  was  put  off  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Gloria  in  excelsis,  and 
immediately  resumed.  After  the  Bo- 
minus  vobiscum,  before  the  Oremus, 
it  was  again  taken  off,  and  replaced 
at  the  Per  omnia.  At  the  epistle  he 
sat  till  the  Gospel,  the  Chaplain  holding 
his  train  on  one  side,  and  the  Dea- 
con on  the  other.  On  the  vii  feasts  the 
Chaplain  and  Deacon  sang  in  a  low 
voice  in  the  presence  of  the  Abbot. 
The  Abbot  also  always  gave  the  bene- 
diction to  those  who  read  and  sung,  at 
the  steps,  immediately  after  their  duty 
was  over.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
Gospel  he  rose,  the  Chaplain  assisting 
him,  delivering  the  crosier,  and  taking 
off  the  mitre.  After  the  Creed  was 
begun,  the  mitre  was  replaced,  and  (the 
offering  made,  and  the  chalice  placed 
and  censed),  the  ring  and  gloves  were 
pulled  off.  He  then  washed  his  hands, 
the  Prior  attending  upon  him,  if  pre- 
sent ;  and  it  was  a  rule,  that  as  often 
as  the  Abbot  celebrated  Mass  in  capis, 
the  Prior  should  lead  him  to  the 
altar,  and  make  the  offertory,  and 
minister  in  the  washing  of  his  hands 
both  after  the  offertory,  and  after  the 
communion,  if  he  was  present ;  if 
not,  the  above  duty  devolved  to  the 
Chantor.  When  he  had  washed  his 
hands,  the  Abbot  turned  himself  to  the 
altar,  and  said  the  usual  prayer.  At 
the  In  spiritu  humilitatis  the  mitre  was 
taken  off,  and  the  rest  of  the  service 
said  without  it.  When  the  Abbot  had 
washed  his  hands  after  the  commu- 
nion, he  resumed  his  gloves,  put  on  his 
ring,  and  finished  the  Mass  in  the 
usual  manner.  After  the  Placeat  tibi,he 
took  his  crosier,  turned  himself  to  the 
people,  and  gave  the  benediction,  as 
above,  at  Vespers,  unless  it  was  a  Mass 
for  the  dead.  They  then  departed 
from  the  Altar  to  the  Vestiary  in  the 
same  order  as  before,  the  Abbot  then 
carrying  his  crosier  in  his  right  hand, 
and  saying,  (i  Benedicite  Sacerdotes, 
Sec.'3  with  the  Prior  and  Chaplain  and 
other  attendants  as  usual ;  and  this  in 
capis. 


Of  Dinner.  When  the  Abbot  chose 
to  dine  in  the  Refectory,  six  loaves  of 
his  own  bread  (wassel,  the  finest  sort) 
were  put  before  him,  six  for  dinner, 
and  three  for  supper.  There  were  six 
for  alms,  and  two  for  cutting  from  at 
the  table.  Besides  these,  there  was  a 
great  jug  of  beer ;  and  as  often  as  there 
was  a  charity,  half  a  sextary  of  wine. 
At  a  suitable  time,  therefore,  he  enter- 
ed the  Fratry,  and  proceeded  as  above 
at  the  collation  to  the  digitus,  where 
he  washed  his  hands,  the  Prior  pour- 
ing out  the  water,  and  others  attend- 
ing with  a  towel.  And  the  rule  was,. 
that  the  Refectioner  should  provide  a 
towel  and  basons  with  water.  When 
he  had  washed  his  hands,  he  made  a 
bow,  and  rang  the  bell  somewhat  late. 
Then  grace  was  said  iir  the  usual  man- 
ner, himself  giving  the  benediction  to 
the  Reader.  Two  young  men  stood 
at  the  digitus  from  the  lowest  and  other 
side,  and  ministered  to  him  as  when  he 
was  at  the  digitus.  His  Chaplain  also 
ministered  from  the  kitchen  as  always 
when  he  presided,  one  of  the  servants 
of  the  digitus,  or  both,  if  necessary,  as- 
sisting him.  One  of  them,  too,  minis- 
tered to  him  with  the  cover,  when  he 
drank,  as  was  usual.  At  a  fit  time  he 
made  a  noise  with  the  spoons,  and 
they  were  collected.  When  all  had 
dined,  he  struck  the  table  three  times 
with  his  knife,  and  the  fragments  were 
collected.  After  this  he  made  a  sign 
with  his  hand  upon  the  table,  and 
the  reading  ceased.  The  reader  having 
made  a  bow,  he  rang  the  bell  as  above, 
and  grace  was  said.  After  the  Agimus 
tibi  gratias,  he  immediately  gave  the 
solemn  benediction,  as  above  at  Ves- 
pers. The  Convent  going  then  to  the 
Church  with  Miserere,  Ps.  51st,  he  re- 
mained with  the  Prior,  and  some  of 
the  Seniors  in  the  Refectory,  and 
grace  was  ended.  In  the  mean  while, 
he  washed  his  hands,  the  Prior  and 
others  assisting  as  before ;  after  which 
he  took  them  to  his  chamber  to 
drink. 

Besides  these  high  distinctions,  dis- 
cipline was  to  be  always  observed  in 


ABBOT,  ABBESS. 


99 


his  presence ;  and  in  reproof,  the  de- 
linquent was  to  stand  till  he  ordered 
him  to  sit,  and  repeatedly  solicit  par- 
don as  long  as  he  was  angry.  The 
Abbot  was,  however,  to  shun  this  be- 
fore Seculars.  When  he  was  in  the 
Choir,  no  one  was  to  discipline  the 
children  without  his  orders  ;  and  while 
he  was  a-bed  in  the  morning,  the  mas- 
ter was  to  wake  them  at  the  proper 
hour,  by  striking  the  rod  upon  their 
bed-clothes;  after  which  they  were  to 
wash,  comb  themselves,  say  their  pray- 
ers, go  to  their  school,  and  sit  silent  until 
the  Abbot  rose.  When  he  sent  letters 
to  the  Convent,  all  were  to  bow  and 
kneel,  as  to  those  of  the  Pope  and  King; 
for  other  persons  they  only  bowed.3 
If  he  gave  a  command,  the  Monk  who 
received  it  was  immediately  to  kneel. 
If  a  Monk  came  to  him,  he  was  to  say 
Benedicite,  and  then  tell  the  cause  of 
his  coming ;  nor  was  he  to  sit  in  his 
presence,  or  depart  without  his  leave ; 
after  which  he  was  again  to  say  Bene- 
dicite, and  go.  If  any  thing  new  was 
done  in  his  absence,  it  was  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  his  discretion  upon  his  re- 
turn ;  and  when  he  staid  out  a  whole 
night,  a  Monk,  penanced  with  absti- 
nence^ was,  upon  his  return,  ab- 
solved.13 

Abbots  had  separate  tables,  because 
living  in  penitence,  and  using  only  the 
common  viands,  strangers  would  be  no 
expence  to  them.  The  frugal  would 
there  see  an  example  to  confirm  them 
in  that  virtue,  and  the  bon-vivant  a 
condemnation ;  the  presence  of  the 
Superior  would,  too,  impress  respect, 
and  prevent  deviation  from  bienseance 
and  edification.  Very  different  conse- 
quences, however,  caused  the  Council 
of  Aix  in  the  ninth  century,  and  Dun- 
stan  after  them,  to  decree  that  the  Ab- 
bot should  dine  in  the  common  Refec- 
tory ;  and,  though  the  Cistercians,  who 

a  "When  their  (the  Barons')  letters  were  read 
upon  occasions  in  any  assemblies,  the  Commons 
present  would  move  their  bonnets."  Smith's  Lives 
of  the  Berkeley  Family,  MS.  270.  See  also  State 
Trials,  vol.  I.  p.  25.  Fol.  Ed. 

b  Deer.  Lanfr.  de  Abbate. 


professed  to  follow  the  rule  of  Bennet 
in  its  literal  strictness  in  reviving  the 
separate  table,  took  precautions  to  pre- 
vent the  consequence,  excess  and  good 
cheer,  these  precautions,0  whatever 
may  be  the  elegant  and  judicious 
Malmesbury^s  assertion/ were  useless.e 
Fastred  reproaches  an  Abbot  for  having 
himself  served  in  his  guesfs  hall  when 
he  had  no  company,  on  purpose  to 
have  more  means  of  satisfying  his  ap- 
petites, for  imitating  in  his  dress  and 
furniture  the  magnificence  of  Dives, 
for  having  exquisite  food,  fresh  fish 
seasoned  in  different  manners,  and 
bread  made  out  of  the  house  by  wo- 
men/ By  the  injunctions  too  of  the 
villains, whom  the  villain  Henrys  stiled 
his  visitors,  the  Abbot's  table  was  "  not 
to  be  somptious  or  full  of  delicate  and 
forayne  dishes,  but  honestlye  furnished 
with  comon  meate,  at  which  table 
the  said  Abbot,  or  some  Senior  in 
his  stede,  shall  sit  to  receive  the 
guests."*1 

Notwithstanding  these  accounts,  se- 
parate habitations  for  Abbots  are  men- 
tioned as  early  as  the  reign  of  Alfred 
the  Great  ;l  and  yet  ^Ethelstan,  Abbot 
of  Ramsey,  is  described  as  dining  with 
his  Monks  in  the  common  Refectory .k 
It  is  plain,  by  Lanfranc's  Decretals  or- 
dering the  master  of  the  novices  so  to 
wake  the  children  in  the  morning  as 
not  to  disturb  the  Abbot,  that  he  was 
supposed  to  sleep  in  the  common  Dor- 
mitory ;  yet  the  Synod  of  London, 
held  in  the  reign  of  Henry  I.  was 
obliged  to  order  that  they  should  eat 
and  sleep  in  the  same  house  with  their 
Monks,  unless  prevented  by  any  ne- 


c  Devoirs   de  la  Vie   Monastique,  vol.  II.  p. 
307-11. 

d  Who  says  they  never  had  but  two  dishes  for 
themselves  or  others.     De  W.  2.  p.  72. 
e  Dev.  V.  M.  ut  sup.  f  Id.  p.  312. 

s  Drayton  says,  that,  temp.  H.  VIII.  the  worst 
man  in  the  house  was  elected  Abbot ; 

That,  by  the  slander  which   from  him  should 

spring, 
Into  contempt  it  more  and  more  might  bring. 

Leg.  of  T.  Cromw.  E.  of  Essex. 
*  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  IV.  p.  22.  a. 
1  M.  Par.  992.  k  Hist.  Ramer.  c.  lxxxix, 

H  2 


100 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


cessity.a  These  passages  show,  that 
some  separate  abbatial  habitations  and 
tables  existed,  by  the  abuse  of  retain- 
ing the  primary  practice  previous  to 
the  revival  of  it  by  the  Cistercians. 

It  was  expected*  of  Abbots  that  they 
should  associate  with  their  Monks  in 
preference  to  Seculars .b  The  customs 
of  Abingdon  enjoined,  that  before 
Easter  the  Abbot  should  invite,  twice 
or  thrice  in  the  week  from  custom, 
sixteen  or  seventeen,  or  twelve  Monks 
to  his  table  alternately,  or  any  other 
at  a  different  time,  whom  he  should 
chuse  (though  boys  and  youths  were 
neither  to  go  there  or  elsewhere  at  any 
time  without  masters) ;  in  which  case, 
the  Abbot's  Chaplain  was  to  announce 
the  invitation  to  the  Refectioner,  and 
he  to  the  Prior,  presiding  in  the  Fra- 
try.c  At  Croyland,  every  principal 
feast  three  Monks  were  to  dine  at  the 
Abbot's  table,  every  second  feast  two, 
and  on  certain  days  the  Prior.  It  was 
also  enacted,  that  every  day  in  the 
year  two  Monks  should  dine  in  the 
Abbot's  hall,  whether  he  was  present 
or  not.d  This  invitation,  however,  the 
Abbot  was  to  extend  no  farther  than 
when  he  had  not  other  visitors.e  The 
Monks  thus  invited  used  to  absent 
themselves  from  celebrating  Masses 
on  that  day;f  and  the  preference  in 
point  of  precedence  s  at  the  table,  of 
juniors  to  seniors,  through  office,  or 
otherwise,  occasioned,  it  seems,   dis- 


a  Eadm.  68.  b  m.  Faris.  (2d)  1048. 

c  Abbas  quemcunque  de  conventu  ad  mensam 
convivarum  vocare  voluerit,  vocabit ;  pueri  autem 
et  adolescentes,  sine  custodia,  nee  ad  refectionem 
abbatis  nee  alibi  aliquando  debent  esse,  vel  incedere. 
Si  abbas  aliquem  vocabit  ad  mensae  convivium  ca- 
pellanus  abbatis  indicabit  refectorario,  refectorarius 
referet  priori  qui  ad  mensae  consistorium  sederit. 
MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  VI.  p.  187.  Abbas  ex  con- 
suetudine  bis  vel  ter  in  ebdomada  senos  vel  sep- 
tenos,  denos  vel  duodenos,  ad  mensse  convivium 
alternatim  vocabit.     Id.  188. 

d  Contin.  Hist.  Croyl.  499. 

e  Cap.  Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1444.  c.  vii. 

f  Ibid. 

b  The  Abbot  promoted  Monks  by  only  saying  to 
them  in  Chapter  "go  sit  next  to  that  person  /'after 
which  they  always  took  that  rank.  Dec.  Lanfr. 
There  was  a  promotion  called  Emancipation,  which 
released  Monks  from  Obedience.  Du  Cange,  v. 
Emancipatio. 


content.h  The  Monks,  too,  behaved 
ill:  (i not  abstaining  from  detractions, 
contentions,  and  vain  gossipings.1"  The 
guests  of  Abbots,  however,  no  doubt, 
consisted,  at  least  some,  of  their  secu- 
lar relatives,  whom  they  had  constantly 
on  visits  to  them.k 

The  power  of  an  Abbot  was  limited 
only  by  deviations  from  the  rule  ;1  and 
latterly  at  least,  there  was  no  appeal 
allowed,  because  it  would  be  to  appeal 
from  the  law  itself .m  But  whatever 
was  his  power,  if  he  or  any  officer  was 
too  rigid,  the  Monks  either  fled,n  or 
made  his  life  uncomfortable  ;°  accord- 
ingly, in  the  latter  seras  of  Monachism, 
in  case  any  dispute  arose  between  the 
Prelates  of  different  houses,  or  the 
Prelates  and  their  Convents,  it  was  to 
be  referred  to  the  visitors  of  those 
houses,  or  presidents  of  the  last  gene- 
ral Chapter ;  who  were  to  appoint  ar- 
bitrators, and  if  they  failed  it  was  to  be 
delayed  till  the  general  Chapter.P  But 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  it  was 
lawful  to  appeal  to  his  visitors ;  and 
the  Prior  of  Walsingham  says,  if  he 
offered  correction,  his  Monks  "would 
rather  appeal,  as  this  man  did,  to  the 
intent  that  in  so  doing  they  may  lyve 
in  great  liberty  ."^     The  Monks,  too, 

h  C.  G.  North,  ut  sup.  c.  x. 

1  Similiter  ita  cum  fratres  ad  mensam  abbatis 
vel  prioris  vocati  fuerunt,  vel  in  oriolo  comederunt, 
a.  detractionibus,  contentionibus,  et  vanis  confabu- 
lationibus,  omnino  abstineant.  MS.  Cott.  Claud. 
E.  IV.  f.  243. 

k  M.  Par.  1100.  The  number  of  the  Abbot's 
and  Convent's  visitors  was  sometimes  settled  be- 
tween them.  When  he  was  at  home  all  belonged 
to  him  ;  when  absent,  all  who  had  more  than  13 
horses,  if  they  were  religious  or  specially  invited 
by  the  Prior.  Monast.  i.  299.  (S.  Edm.  de  Burgo.) 
Whiting  of  Glastonbury  entertained  500  persons  of 
fashion  at  one  time  ;  and  upon  Wednesdays  and 
Fridays  all  the  poor  of  the  country  were  relieved  by 
his  particular  charity.  Collinson's  Somers.  II.  256. 
The  Prior  of  Durham  constantly  maintained  four 
old  women.  Davies,  &c.  The  master  of  the  song- 
school  too,  had  his  diet  in  the  Prior's  hall  among 
the  Prior's  gentlemen.     Ibid. 

1  Bernard  in  Dev.  Vie  Mon.  v.  I.  p.  226. 

m  Du  Monstier.  504. 

,n  Qui  cum  eis  arctius  frsena  teneret,  coepit  dis- 
plicere  aliquibus,  de  quorum  numero  iv.  a  fuga  non 
abstinentes,  i.  e.  being  too  strict  four  took  disgust 
and  fled.     MS.  Bodl.     Wood,  II.  p.  213. 

°  Monast.  from  memory. 

p  Reyn.  App.  130,  162. 

q  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  IV.  f.  101,  a. 


101 


had  other  modes  of  vexing  the  Abbot. 
He  had  one  key  of  the  place  where 
the  Convent  seal  was  kept,  and  the 
two  others,  or  more,  were  in  the  hands 
of  fit  persons  appointed  by  himself  or 
the  Convent.  This  seal  could  not  be 
applied  without  consent  of  the  Chapter; 
and  a  visitor  was  obliged  to  order, 
"  that  the  Abbot  should  diligently  ex- 
hort and  persuade  his  Monks,  easily 
and  lovingly,  to  give  consent  to  expose 
and  bring  out  the  common  seal  to  seal 
the  deeds,  which  the  Abbot,  with  the 
counsel  of  the  more  prudent,  thought 
good  to  be  sealed  for  the  benefit  of  the 
house."a 

Commensurate  with  the  power  of 
an  Abbot,  were  his  privileges.  At  one 
time  to  make  knights  b — to  confer  the 
lesser  orders  c — to  dispense  with,  irre- 
gularities in  his  Monks — to  give  the 
benediction  any  where — to  consecrate 
Churches  and  cemeteries,  and  other 
Ecclesiastical  appendages  d — to  appoint 
and  depose  Priors  of  cells  e — to  hold 
visitations  once  a  year,  and  if  there 
was  a  necessity  oftenerf — to  regulate 
the  reception  of  Nuns  in  subservient 
houses,?  and  to  give  the  benediction  to 
subject  Nuns.h — Besides  parliamentary 
honours,   they  were   sponsors  to    the 

a  Ut  abbas  diligenter  exbortet  et  inducat  fratres 
ut  facile  et  diligenter  consensum  prsebeant  ad  ex- 
ponendum  et  perducendurn  sigillum  suum  com- 
mune, ad  sigillandum  ea  quse  abbas  in  CGnsilio  sa- 
niorum  domus  pro  utilitate  et  necessitate  rnon. 
duxit  sigillandum.  MS.  in  tbe  Asbmol.  Mus. 
1519,  p.  26,  a.     See  too  §  Monks  and  Nuns. 

b  Hearne's  Antiq.  Disc.  I.  p.  82-90. 

c  Tbe  bisbop  of  tbe  diocese  conferred  tbe  greater, 
as  in  several  bulls  of  privilege  appears  ;  but  of  tbis 
see  Lyndw.  32.  Tbe  formula  for  Abbots  making 
tlerks  is  in  MS.  Bodl.     Barlow,  7. 

d  Chronol.  Augustin.  Cant.     e  M.  Paris,  1033. 

f  Ibid.  In  tbese  visitations  tbey  received  the 
bomage  of  tenants  (Monast.  i.  299),  corrected 
abuses  (id.  ii.  940),  and  enacted  statutes  for  tbe  re- 
gulation of  tbeir  subject  Nuns  and  Ecclesiastics 
(MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  369: ,  who  then  swore 
fealty,  i.  e.  not  to  appoint  or  depose  a  Prior,  receive 
a  Nun,  nor  grant  or  abenate  territory.  Monast. 
i.  353.  Accounts  were  then  also  taken  of  the 
Monastic  property,  dues,  &c  MS.  Harl.  1005. 
f.  69,  b.  As  to  fealty,  Abbots  also  made  it  to  one 
another.  See  Gutch's  Collectanea  Curiosa,  p.  53. 
33  Ed.  III.  Thomas  de  Brownal,  Abbot  of  Croy- 
land,  made  to  Robert  de  Camiley,  Abbot  of  Peter- 
borough, fealty  for  lands  which  he  held.  MS.  Harl. 
604,  f.  3,  a. 

e  Monast.  i.  489.  h  M.  Paris,  1035. 


children  of  the  blood  royal.*  Some  of 
the  higher  order  had  the  privilege  of 
coining,  but  that  of  impressing  their 
own  name  and  effigies  was  limited 
(Ruding  thinks)k  to  Archbishops  only. 
Bells  were  rung  in  honour  of  them 
when  they  passed  by  Churches  be- 
longing to  them.1  They  rode  with 
hawks  on  their  fists,  on  mules  with 
gilded  bridles,  saddles,™  and  cloths  of 
blood  colour,"  and  with  immense  reti- 
nues.0 The  noble  children,  whom  they 
educated  in  their  private  families, 
served  them  as  pages. p  They  stiled 
themselves  by  "  divine  permission/5 
or  the  "  grace  of  God/5  and  their  sub- 
scription was  their  surnames,  and  name 
of  the  house. q  They  associated  with 
jjeople  of  the  first  distinction,  and 
shared  the  same  pleasures  with  them, 
being  accustomed  to  visit  and  dine 
with  them.r  The  Abbot  of  St.  Alban's 
usually  sat  alone  at  the  middle  of  the 
table  of  the  great  hall,   [because  the 


1  Lodge's  Illustrations,  i.  27.  Monast.  i.  160-5. 
Mitred  were  not  consequently  Parliamentary  Ab- 
bots, the  summons  merely  depending  upon  the  te- 
nure.    Cowell,  v.  Mitred  Ablots. 

k  Coinage,  iv.  163.     Ed.  2. 

1  X  Script,  col.  1920,  1923. 

m  The  reformation  of  the  Clugniacs,  A0  1233, 
forbids  their  Abbots  and  Priors  riding  without  a 
saddle  and  crupper.  Bullarium  Romanum,  v.  i. 
p.  101. 

n  Warton's  History  of  English  Poetry,  ii.  330, 
395. 

0  M.  Par.  1101.  When  Abbot  Whiting  went 
abroad,  which  he  did  seldom  but  to  national  synods, 
general  chapters,  and  parliaments,  he  was  attended 
by  upwards  of  100  persons.  Collinson  (from  San- 
ders) ut  supra. 

p  Wart.  ii.  445.  Fiddes's  Wolsey  Collect.  23. 
Whiting  had  near  300  pupils  (credat  Judaeus),  be- 
sides others  of  a  meaner  rank,  whom  he  fitted  for 
the  universities  at  home.     Collinson  and  Sanders. 

i  Morant's  Colchester,  144.  Latymer  Wygorn. 
is  the  signature  of  the  Prior  of  Worcester,  in  MS. 
Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv. 

r  Brit.  Topogr.  ii.  461.— In  MS.  Harl.  913, 
fol.  8 — 10,  is  a  song  made  against  the  "  luxurious 
Abbot  and  Prior  of  Gloucester,  in  vile  Latin 
Rhythms  on  purpose.''  Here  are  a  few  stanzas, 
the  whole  being  in  my  History  of  Gloucester  City  : 

Quondam  fuit  factus  festus, 
Et  vocatur  ad  comestus 
.Abbas,  prior  Gloucestrensis, 
Cum  tota  familia. 

Abbas  ire  sede  sursum, 
Et  prions  juxta  ipsum, 
Ego  stavi  semper  dorsum 
Inter  rascabilia. 


102 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


Lord's  seat  was  there;  strangers  of  rank 
sitting  above  a]  where  he  was  served 
in  plate;  and  when  any  nobleman,  or 
ambassador,  or  strangers  of  eminent 
quality,  came  thither,  they  sat  at  his 
table  towards  the  end  of  it.b  Like 
the  nobility  too,  they  had  their  "  privy 


"Vinum  (obliter.) 
Ad  prioris  et  abbatis, 
Nichil  nobis  paupertatiSy 
Sed  ad  divites  omnia. 

Abbas  bibit  ad  prioris, 

Date  vinum  ad  majoris*, 

Prosit  esse  de  minorig 

Si  se  habet  gratizL 

Hoc  est  bonum,  sic  potare 
Et  conventui  nichil  dare, 
Quorsum  volunt  nos  clamare 
Dura  in  capitulo. 

The  Prior  then  proposes  going  away  for  a  time. 

Surge,  cito  recedamus, 
Hos'tes*  nostros  relinquamus, 
Pro  termino  jam  precamus, 
Ibimus  in  claustra  ; 

Post  Completumf  redeamus,  &c» 
Dixit  abbas  ad  prioris, 
Tu  es  homo  boni  rnoris, 
Quia  semper  sanioris. 
Mihi  das  consilia. 
Post  com  pie  turn  rediere, 
Ad  currinum  %  combibere, 
Potaverunt  usque  flere,  &c. 

That  is, 
The  Abbot  and  Prior  of  Gloucester,  and  suite, 
Were  lately  invited  to  share  a  good  treat  ; 
The  first  seat  took  the  Abbot,  the  Prior  hard  by, 
"With  the  rag,  tag,  and  bobtail  below  was  poor  I. 
[For]  Wine  [for  the  Abbot  and  Prior  they  call], 
To  us  poor  devils  nothing,  but  to  the  rich  all. 
The  blustering  Abbot  drinks  health  to  the  Prior, 
Give  wine  to  my  lordship,  who  am  of  rank  higher  ; 
If  people  below  us  but  wisely  behave, 
They  are  sure  from  so  doing  advantage  to  have  ; 
We'll  have  all,  and  leave  nought  for  our  brothers 

to  take, 
For  which  shocking  complaints  in    the   Chapter 

they'll  make. 
Says  the  Prior,  "  My  lord,  let's  be  jogging  away, 
And  to  keep  up  appearances,  now  go  and  pray.'' 
"  You're  a  man  of  good  habits,  and  give  good  ad- 
vice," 
The  Abbot  replies — they  return'd  in  a  trice, 
And  then  without  flinching  stuck  to  it  amain, 
Till  out  of  their  eyes  ran  the  liquor  again.  F. 

*  For  hospites — guests. 

f  Complin,  a  fine  piece  of  oblique  satire,  as  will 
appear  hereafter. 

%  i.  e.  till  the  return  of  day, 

a  Archaeologia,  xiii.  321. 
•  h  Brit.  Topogr.ii.  4G2.  See  Archeeol.  xiii. p. 321. 


councils"  of  certain  monks,c  called 
maturifr aires.  In  the  very  old  Rules, 
Seniors  were  deputed  (as  many  as 
twelve  in  large  houses)  to  assist  and 
advise  the  Abbot ;  and  they  were  to 
be  men  remarkable  for  probity  and 
science. d 

Their  secular  tenures  introduced 
them  into  a  variety  of  incongruous 
offices,  as  that  of  going  to  war,e  though 
substitutes  of  knights  were  mostly 
sent/  or  tenure  in  free  alms  pretended. & 
Some  of  them  were  justices  itinerant,11 
in  violation  of  the  Rule  ;*  and  till  the 
'dissolution  they  were  employed  to  col- 
lect the  dismes,  "a  shrewde  labor" 
(says  the  Prior  of  Bromholm)  "for 
us  a  grete  cost,  a  shrewde  juparde."k 
This  office  they  commonly  shifted  off 
upon  one  of  their  Monks;1  and,  to 
prevent  malice,  they  were  not  to  be 
appointed  by  any  Bishop  to  collect 
dismes  out  of  the  country  of  their  resi- 
dences."111 

Besides  skill  in  writing  and  illumi- 
nating, and  various  arts,  we  find  Ab- 
bots Physicians.11  I  apprehend  they 
were  in  general  good  agriculturists. 
Thomas  Lord  Berkeley  in  the  13th 
century,  when  part  of  his  pupilage  was 
spent,  was  endowed  by  his  father  with 
the  manor  of  Bedminster,  near  Bristol, 
not  only  for  his  expences,but  to  initiate 
him  in  husbandry,  where  he  continued 
till  he  married;  the  Abbot  and  Prior 
of  St.  Augustine's,  and  the  Master  of 
St.  Catherine's  hospital,  being  his  in- 
structors and  tutors  in  it.v°  Many 
of  the  large  number  of  pupils,  which 
Whiting,  Abbot  of  Glastonbury,  and 
others  had,  might  have  been  sent  for 
the  acquisition  of  similar  knowledge, 
if  not  intended  for  the  Church;  for 
arms  and  agriculture  were  in  these  ages 


c  Five  of  the  older  and  healthier  Canons  to  be  a 
council  to  the  Abbot  on  business   of  the  house. 
Barrett's  Brist.  265.     Du  Cange,  v.  Discretes. 
1  d  Du  Cange,  y.  Seniores  Monasteriorum. 

e  Dodechini  Append.  toM.  Scot,  sub  anno  1110. 
Du  Cange  in  v.  Hostis. 

f  Walt,  de  Whittleseye,  p.  172. 

e  Ayloffe  in  Edmondson,  i.  p.  72. 

h  Brinkeland  in  Hearne's  Antiq.  Disc.  i.  p.  64. 

>  M.  Paris,  770.  k  Paston  Letters,  Hi.  406. 

1  W.  Thome,  c.  37,  §  3.  m  Stat.  9H.V.C.9, 

u  M.Par.  242.       °  Sinythe's  Berkeley's  MS.  166. 


ABBOT,  ABBESS. 


103 


the  chief  branches  of  Baronial  educa- 
tion. 

The  public  dress  of  an  Abbot  is 
known  to  have  consisted  of  the  Epis- 
copal ornaments  of  the  Dalmatic  or 
seamless  coat  of  Christ,  signifying 
holy  and  immaculate  piety ;  of  the 
Mitre,  emblematic  of  Christ,  the  head 
of  the  Church,  whose  figure  Bishops 
bore  ;  of  the  Crosier,  or  pastoral  care ; 
of  the  Gloves,  which,  because  occa- 
sionally worn  or  laid  aside,  typified  the 
concealment  of  good  works  for  shun- 
ning vanity,  and  the  demonstration  of 
them  for  edification  ;  of  the  Ring,  as 
Christ  was  the  spouse  of  the  Church, 
and  Scripture  mysteries  were  to  be 
sealed  from  unbelievers,  and  revealed 
to  the  Church  :a  and  of  the  Sandals, 
because,  as  the  foot  was  neither  covered 
nor  naked,  so  the  Gospel  should  neither 
be  concealed  nor  rest  upon  earthly  be- 
nefits^ The  Mitres  appear  to  have 
been  worn,  like  those  of  Bishops, 
though,  it  is  said,  the  Episcopal  were 
gold,  the  Abbatial  argent  garnished 
gold,  all  of  them  with  Murrey  labels,0 
a  mere  distinction  of  the  writer  or 
painter.d  Their  parliament  robes  ["  a 
perlement  robe  of  quite  furry d  with 
lettese,^  says  an  inventory  e]  were  how- 
ever different  from  the  Episcopal,  for 
they  wore  gowns,  hoods,  and  cassocks. f 
The  inventory  adds,  "an  abbet  lynt 
with  quite  (white)  sattin ;  a  kirtill  of 
white ;  a  quite  abbet  furred ;  a  blak 
gown  furred  with  shanks  (the  shank  of 
a  kidde,  says  Minshew,  which  beareth 
the  fur  that  we  call  budge)  and  a  hood. 
The  pastoral  crooks  (called  the  staves 
of  justice  and  mercy  s)  were  sometimes 
barely  curled,  sometimes  more  orna- 

a  Gemvna  Animoe  de  antique*  ritu  Missarum,  c. 
211,  12,  14,15,  16. 

b  Rab.  Maurus  de  instit.  Cleric.  L.  i.  c.  22, 
p.  574. 

c  Fiddes's  Wolsey  Coll.  p.  113. 

d  In  the  MS.  Coll.  of  Arms  cited  above,  the  la- 
bel  is  in  fol.  28.  b.  Murray  ;  in  34  a.  Green ;  in 
37  b.  Or  ;  in  47  b.  White. 

£  MS.  in  Mus.  Ashmol.  1519,  p.  142,  a.  Let- 
tice  was  a  white  fur,  called  also  Lituit.  See  Biome's 
Heraldry,  p.  17. 

f  Fiddes,  ut  supra. 

s  Du  Cange,  v.  Investitura.  Some  were  of 
Ivory.     Id.  v.  Crochia. 


mented,  sometimes  like  beadles'  staves, 
more  like  maces  than  crosiers.  In  the 
9th  century  we  have  one  very  short, 
like  a  lituus^  but  as  there  is  mention 
of  a  choral  staff,  which  they  carried  in 
the  Choir,1  perhaps  there  were  two 
kinds  of  Crosiers ;  at  least  one  for 
state  only.  Though  the  ferula  Abba- 
tum  was  a  Crosier,  yet  a  Crosier  might 
not  be  a  ferula,  and  the  wooden  pas- 
toral staff,  often  found  in  the  tombs  of 
Abbots,  might  be  the  common  ferula, 
distinct  from  the  state  Crosier,k  which 
would  be  preserved  from  value,  not  bu- 
ried. The  rings  worn  on  various  fingers 
were  either  of  a  circular  or  oval  form, 
and  set  often  with  seals  of  arms  and  de- 
vices, and  antique  gems.1  The  Bull  of 
Honorius,  respecting  the  privileges  of 
St.  Alban's,  only  allows  the  Abbot  to 
use  his  pontificals m  within  his  own 
churches  and  cells  on  festival  days, and 
on  other  times  within  the  house  to  wear 
the  habit  conformable  to  the  rule;11 
and  they  did  so,  though  with  trifling 
uncanonical  variations.0  Some  Abbots 
of  Evesham  clothed  themselves  from 
the  Monks,  common  chamber.P  The 
foppish  prelate  who  wore  the  taberd, 
which  the  French  called  Canis^  de- 
spising the  common  round  robe  of 
Priests,  and  had  double  garments  of 
scarlet,  crimson,  and  party-coloured, 
scarcely  reaching  to  the  knees,  and 
boots  without  a  fold,  "  like  the  sign  of 
the  leg,"  is  a  singular  instance.1" 

Bishops  sometimes  did  not  choose 
to    appoint   Abbesses,  but   kept   the 

h  Maillot's  Costumes,  iii.  52,  pi.  13,  f.  2. 

'  Du  Cange,  v.  Baculus  Choralis. 

k  Du  Cange,  v.  Ferula. 

1  Gough's  Sepulch.  Mon.  vol.  i.  Introd.  cliii. 
clxxi. 

m  Of  respect  had  to  revenue  in  the  use  of  these, 
see  Wilk.  Concil.  iii.  142. 

n  Monast.  i.  180.  °  Reyn.  Append.  195,  6. 

p  Monast,  i.  p.  148. 

i  Or  Camis,  a  thin  gown.  See  Spens.  F.  Q. 
B.  ii.  c.  3.  st.  xxvi. 

r  Spreverat  in  sacerdotibus  rotundam  communis 
habitus  capam,  et  taberdam  quam  Gallici  canem 
appellant,  induerat :  vestes  ejus  ex  scarleta  moret& 
vari&  duplices  erant  vix  genua  contingentes.  Ocreas 
habebat  in  cruribus,  quasi  innatae  essent,  sine  plica 
porrectas.  MS.  Bodl.  James,  N°  6,  p.  121.  The 
last  sentence  is  in  print  in  Tyrwhitt,  and  Johnson 
and  Steevens. 


104 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


government  in  their  own  hands ;  or 
where  there  was  no  competent  Nun, 
would  commit  the  Temporals  to  one, 
and  the  Spirituals  to  another.  Ab- 
bessess  too  were  deposed  by  complaint 
of  the  Nuns ;  even  for  inattention  to 
repairs  of  buildings,  a  point  very  strict- 
ly impressed  upon  all  governors  of  re- 
ligious societies.51 

Abbesses  were  distinguished  by  the 
pastoral  staff,b  and  veil  of  prelacy  con- 
ferred at  sixty  years  of  age.c  The 
dress  of  an  Abbess  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury consists  only  of  a  long  white 
tunic,  with  close  sleeves,  probably  made 
of  linen,  and  a  black  surcoat  of  equal 
length  with  the  tunic,  the  sleeves  of 
the  surcoat  being  large  and  loose,  and 
the  hood  drawn  up  so  as  to  cover  the 
head  completely.*1  Elmston  Abbesses 
have  wimples  finely  plaited  and  com- 
ing upon  the  chin,  and  on  one  of  them 
it  covers  the  sides  of  the  face  like  a 
hood ;  both  have  the  mantle.  The 
Abbess  at  Goring,  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, has  very  little  of  the  appearance  of 
a  religious  ;  her  mantle  resembles  those 
of  Lay  ladies ;  her  gown  is  buttoned 
in  front  down  to  the  toes ;  she  wears 
the  mitten  sleeves  buttoned ;  her  head- 
dress is  reticulated  and  studded  ;  and 
her  tresses  fall  loose  upon  her  shoul- 
ders.6 

We  hear  of  learned  Abbesses/  In 
the  Anglo-Saxon  eera  they  attended 
Provincial  Synods.s 

The  great  duty  of  an  Abbot  was  to 
set  the  example  in  the  observation  of 
the  rule.h  The  Abbot  of  Feversham 
says,  "  The  cheyf  office  and  profession 
of  an  Abbot  [is]  (as  I  have  ever  taken 
it)  to  lyve  chaste  and  solytarilye,  to 
be  separate  from  the  intromeddlynge 
of  worldleye  thinge,  and  to  serve  God 
quietlye,  and  to  distribute  his  facul- 
ties in  refreshing  of  poore  indigent  per- 
sons, to  have  a  vigilant  eigh  to  good 
ordre,  and  rule  of  his  house,  and  the 


a  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  362,  364,  375.  ii.  287. 
b  Eadmer,  142,  3.  c  Lyndw.  202. 

<l  Strutt's  Dresses,  i.  p.  125. 
e  Gougb's  Sepulchr.  Mon.  vol.  i.  Introd.  clxxxvi. 
1  XV.  Script.  241.  *  Hutchinson's  Dur- 

ham, i.  31.  h  Reg.  Bened.  c.  65, 


flock  to  him  commytted  in  God/5i 
But  both  the  duties  and  virtues  of  a 
good  Abbot,  in  an  appropriate  view, 
will  be  amply  shown  by  the  following 
character  of  William  Abbot  of  St.  Al- 
ban^s  :  "  Whenever  he  returned  from  a 
journey,  he  had  all  the  poor  brought  to 
the  gate  to  receive  refection.  Every 
day  he  attended  the  duties  of  the  Chap- 
ter and  the  greater  Mass ;  present 
even  on  private  days,  he  stimulated  the 
others  by  his  spirited  chanting ;  and 
on  the  greater  and  simple  feasts  came 
to  Vespers,  and  to  Complin  daily.  He 
assisted  indefatigably  at  Mattins  of 
twelve  lessons,  by  reading  the  lesson, 
singing  the  response,  beginning  Te 
Deum,  standing  with  those  who  stood 
according  to  their  turns,  and  animating 
the  whole  Choir  by  his  example.  He 
was  always  present  mitred  in  the  midst 
of  the  Choir  at  the  Mass  of  Comme- 
moration of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and 
on  principal  feasts  always  celebrated 
the  Mass  at  the  great  Altar.  On  the 
double  feasts  he  held  the  Choir  in  his 
Mitre,  and  on  other  days,  standing  in 
his  stall,  led  the  band,  and  sang  the 
whole  service  with  spirit.  When  the 
Convent  was  in  copes,  or  albs,  he  sang 
his  response  in  the  Mass,  at  the  nod  of 
the  Chanter.  He  always  attended  the 
unction  of  the  sick,  not  far  from  his 
stall,  about  the  middle  of  the  Choir, 
and  performed  the  funeral  service  in 
his  own  person.  He  never  professed 
a  novice  but  at  the  great  Altar ;  at- 
tended all  processions  (especially  those 
of  Sundays),  and  never  anticipated  the 
hour  when  the  Convent  was  wont  to 
eat.k  He  lent  effectual  aid  to  the  fa- 
bric of  the  Church,  and  its  buildings 
and  ornaments.  He  studied  books, 
preached   in   the    Chapter,1    and  was 

*  MS".  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  IV.  f.  33.  b. 
* k  See  Watt's  Gl.     M.  Paris,  in  v.  Nona,  and 
Econ.  Monast.  Life,  p.  7. 

1  Samson,  Abbot  of  Edmundsbury,  used  to  preach 
English  to  the  people  in  the  Norfolk  dialect,  where 
he  was  born  and  bred,  for  which  purpose  he  had  a 
pulpit  in  the  Church.  Reyn.  Append.  143.  In 
the  receipts,  &c.  of  the  Priory  of  Huntingdon : 
"  Item,  for  our  master's  costes  in  Huntingdon  2 
Sondays  in  Lenton  after  the  sermons  to  drinke 
with  the  parishioners."  Nichols's  Manners  and 
Expenses  of  Antient  Times,  p.  292.  Of  this  else- 
where. 


ABBOT,  ABBESS, 


105 


kind  to  the  writers  and  their  masters. 
Both  in  doubtful  ordinances  of  the 
rule,  and  in  divine  services,  he  took 
the  previous  advice  of  his  Convent, 
and  even  instructed  the  old,  and  re- 
moved their  doubts.  He  was  always 
the  first  speaker  upon  arduous  busi- 
ness, and  an  efficacious  assistant  re- 
specting the  wine,  and  other  matters 
concerning  him ;  and  he  was  either  the 
donor  of  it,  or  a  brisk  and  faithful 
principal  agent  of  procuring  it.a 

This  Abbot  was  plainly  a  Monk  in 
se  ;  but  in  most  others,  Monachism  was 
the  mere  graft  of  a  profession  upon  a 
common  man,  as  will  appear  from  their 
vices,  detailed  in  the  inquiries  which 
the  visitors  of  Henry  VIII.  were  ap- 
pointed to  make.  To  prevent  the  ef- 
fects of  commiseration  in  the  public 
mind,  every  article  was  insidiously  con- 
trived to  have  its  existence  in  fact,  or 
to  imply  the  breach  of  a  Canon.  The 
inquiries  were, — Whether  the  Abbot 
fulfilled  the  injunctions  of  the  last  vi- 
sitation —  Whether  lawfully  elect  — 
Whether  simoniacally — Whether  born 
in  wedlock — Whether  of  sufficient  li- 
terature to  instruct  the  brethren — 
Whether  of  good  living  and  fame — 
Whether  he  had  the  companie  of  any 
suspect  person,  and  what  woman  was 
most  in  his  companie — What  was  his 
character  in  the  neighbourhood b  — 
Whether  he  preached  the  word  of  God 
sincerely  at  the  time  and  places  con- 
venient— Whether  he  came  to  divine 
service  daily  and  nightly,  as  bound  to 
do — Whether  he  caused  the  statutes 
of  the  house  to  be  declared  to  the 
brethren  — Whether  he  himself  kept 
them — Whether  he  looked  into  their 
being   kept  by  others  c — Whether  of 

a  Et  dator ,  vel  principalis  auctor  alacer  et  devotus. 
M.  Paris,  1064.  He  provided  it  for  feasts.  Id.  1008.. 

b  In  MS.  Harl.  913,  f.  4.  b.  MS.  Ashmol.  1519, 
fol.  23.  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  are  numerous 
passages  concerning  the  debauchery  of  Abbots,  but 
omitted  here  on  account  of  their  indelicacy.  The 
Abbot  of  Fountains  is  described  thus  by  the  visitors ; 
"  Pleas  it  your  mastershippe  to  understand,  that 
the  Abbot  of  Fontans  hath  so  gretely  dilapidated 

his  howse,  -wasted  the  woddys, defamed 

a  toto  populo,  &c."  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv. 
f.  114. 

c  Prelates  were  remarkably  negligent.  Reyn. 
Append.  195. 


temporal  wisdom  and  prudence  — 
Whether  he  spent  the  revenues  of  the 
house  ydelly,d  or  in  vaine,  as  in  dysing,e 
hun  tinge/ tavern  e  haunting,?  promoting 
his  kynne,n  purchasing  lands,  costly 
bancketing,  kepyng  many  ydell  ser- 
vaunts,   riding   furthe   to    oft   to   the 


d  In  courtliness,  prodigality,  or  liberality.  Reyn. 
Append.  16*8.  There  was  a  bull  at  St.  Aug.  Can- 
terb.  that  they  should  not  be  compelled  to  pay 
debts,  unless  contracted  for  the  use  of  the  house. 
Chrom  August.  Cant.  "As  for  the  Abbot  of 
Bury,  we  found  nothing  suspect  as  touching  his 
living,  but  it  was  detected  that  he  laye  moche  forth 
in  his  granges  ;  that  he  delited  moche  in  playing  at 
dice  and  cards,  and  therein  spent  moche  money, 
and  in  buylding  for  his  pleasure ;  he  did  not 
preache  openly.  Also  that  he  converted  divers 
farmes  into  copyholds,  whereof  poor  men  doth 
complayne.  Also  he  seemethtobe  addict  to  suche 
suspicious  ceremonies,  as  hathe  been  used  hereto- 
fore." Cotton.  MS.  ut  supra,  120,  b.  At  S. 
August.  Cant,  the  Monks  obtained  a  bull,  that  the 
Abbot  should  not  devote  the  revenues  of  the  sacrist 
and  almonry  elsewhere  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
Chapter.  Chron.  Aug.  Cant.  Similar  restrictions  at- 
tended the  kitchen  (see  §  Cook)  ;  for  there  are  com- 
plaints "  of  insufficient  bread,  not  of  corn  or  other 
grain;"  "  de  pane  insufficient!,  non  de  frumento 
et  aliis  granis."     MS.  Ashmol.  Mus.  1519,  126. 

e  The  Abbot  of  Welbeck  is  accused  of  spend- 
ing the  whole  day  and  night  in  games  "  tabularum 
et  aliorum  ludorum,''  draughts,  and  other  sports. 
MS.  Ashmol.  Mus.  1519,  286.  "Tesseras  qua- 
tere,"  (to  shake  the  dice)  says  Malmsbury  of  the 
Norman  Monks,  118. 

1  30  Edw.  I.  an  agreement  was  made  between 
Lord  Berkeley  and  the  Abbot  of  Kingswoode,  that 
the  latter  should  not  hunt,  nor  bring  bows,  arrows, 
cross-bows,  nor  other  engines,  or  dogs,  on  the  ma- 
nor of  VVotton.  Smith's  Lives  of  the  Berkeley 
Family,  MS.  210.  The  furniture  of  a  Prior's  ma- 
nor is  described  to  have  consisted  of  carpenter's 
and  agriculturer's  tools,  partridge  and  lark  nets, 
purses  with  counters,*  a  glass  of  steel  gilt,  and 
fox  nets  with  bellis  to  take  foxes.  MS.  Harl. 
604,  fol.  104,  a.  William  de  Clowne,  Abbot  of 
Leicester,  who  died  1377,  was  so  intimate  with  the 
king,  that  he  asked  permission  in  jest  to  have  fairs 
for  buying  and  selling  greyhounds  and  dogs  of  any 
kind.  Tbe  king,  thinking  him  in  earnest,  granted 
his  request,  but  the  Abbot  was  unwilling  to  urge 
it.  In  hare-hunting  he  was  the  most  famous  of  all 
the  noblity  ;  so  that  the  king  himself,  his  son  Ed- 
ward, and  many  noblemen,  were  retained  to  hunt 
with  him  under  an  annual  pension.  Knighton, 
col.  2631.  Hunting  was  a  science.  Dallaway's 
Herald.  Inq.  161. 

s  See  §  Monks  and  Nuns. 

h  The  foundation-charter  of  Waltharn  orders 
that  no  relative  of  the  Abbot  shall  have  the  steward- 
ship or  other  office.     Monast.  ii.  15.  v.  Mantissa. 


*  Which  the  Monks  used  to  cast  accounts  with. 
See  Pinkerton  and  Snelling. 


106 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


,  manors,  &c."a — Whether 
there  were  dilapidations b —Whether 
hospitality  was  kept,  especially  to  the 
poore,c  or  els  for  pompe,  pride,  and 
mayntenaunce  of  his  own  will— Whe- 
ther he  kept  up  the  doles  and  anniver- 
saries— Whether  he  kept  a  reckoning 
of  his  administration  d — Whether  he 
had  sold  or  alienated  the  conventual 
property .e  (Other  items  to  a  like  pur- 
port) —  Whether  he  was  sober  and 
modest  of  his  wordes  and  conversa- 
tion/ as  well  towards  the  brethren  as 
without  s — Whether  he  had  punished 
or  menaced  any  of  his  brethren  for  de- 
nouncing or  proffering  to  denounce  any 
thing  against  him  h — Whether  he  had 
made  a  covenant  with  any  of  his  brethren 
to  conceal  any  fault  in  him » — Whether 
he  kept  a  schoolmaster  for  the  Novices, 
&c.k — Whether  he  found  of  the  breth- 

a  The  general  chapter  held  at  Northampt.  1225, 
and  1444,  allows  them  to  be  absent  only  for  three 
months  ;  and  Wolsey's  decretals  for  the  Augusti- 
nians  but  for  one.  Reyn.  Append.  116,  17,  19, 
and  167.     Monast.  ii.  568. 

b  "  Resedincet  claustrum  suum,"  let  him  rebuild 
his  Cloister.  MS.  Ashmol.  Mus.  1519,  p.  33,  34, 
et  passim. 

c  See  Almonry. 

d  He  was  not  bound  to  this  if  his  revenues 
were  separate  from  the  Conventual.  Lyndw.  204. 
c  H.  Abbot  of  Buildewas,  finding  his  mother 
distressed  with  a  large  family,  granted  a  certain 
relative  "  a  certain  service,  with  livery  and  wages 
for  his  life.''     Monast.  ii.  915. 

f  Sub  quo  mundi  climate,  sub  quo  mundi  signo, 
Est  Abbas  vel  Pontifex  pectore  benigno. 
Under  what  climate  of  the  world  or  zone, 
Are  Priests  or  Abbots  with  kind  bosoms  known. 
MS.  Harl.  978.     See  too  §  Cells  and  Chapter. 

k  Piers  Ploughman  says  of  a  religious  : 
And  but  if  hys  knave   knele  that  shal  hys  cope 

brynge 
He   loured   on   him,    and    ask   who    taught   him 
curtcsic 

f.  50.  Ed.  Crowley,  2d  of  3,  2d  Ed. 
h  Thus  MS.  Harl.  913,  f.  10. 
Tunc  exinde  tu  cavebis, 
Malum  loqui  sic  tacebis, 
Prselatorem  non  spernebis. 
Juxta  tuum  regulam. 

See  §  Prison, 
i.  e.  And  if  I  tell  any  tales  they  taken  hem  together, 
And  do  me  fast  Fridayes  to  bred  and  to  water. 
Piers  Plowm.  fob  xxiii. 
'  Juramentis  si  qua  de  tacenda  veritate  Abbas 
extorserit   relaxatis   (the  oaths  which   the   Abbot 
may  have  extorted  to  conceal  the  truth  being  dis- 
solved.)    MS.  Bibl.  Reg.  8,  F.  ix.  (no  pages.) 

k  Ut  Juniores  insequantur  Grammaticam  satis  ; 
that  the  younger  may  sufficiently  follow  their  gram- 
mar. MS.  Ashmol.  Mus.  1519,  p.  37,  a.  See 
Cap.  Monks  and  Nuns,  §  Ignorance. 


ren  at  the  University1— Whether  there 
be  any  vertues  of  holy  write  kepte  or 
observed  in  this  house,  and  whether 
ther  ought  any  such  to  bee  by  the  fun- 
dacion,  ordinaunce,  or  custom  of  this 
house— Whether  he  provided  sufficient 
necessaries  for  the  house  and  sick — 
Whether  he  took  any  Novices  for  mo- 
ney, friendship,  affection,  before  suffi- 
cient age,  or  enticed  or  compelled 
them  against  their  free  willm — Whether 
he  distributed  offices  for  money,  friend- 
ship, or  favour11 — Whether  he  made 
the  officers  give  in  accounts  yearly  and 
quarterly  —  Whether  there  was  any 
faire,  market,  or  pedler's  shop,  kept 
within  the  precincts  of  the  house,0  or 
at  the  Church  door  on  Sundays  or  ho- 
lidays by  his  sufferance  p —  Whether 
the  doors  were  shut,  and  the  keys 
brought  to  him  every  night  1 —  how 
much  money  he  spent  at  his  table  and 
chamber. r 

M.  Paris  gives  regularly  the  faults  of 
each  Abbot  of  St.  Alban's.  Wulsig, 
the  third  Abbot,  changed  his  dress 
both  in  shape  and  colour ;  used  silk 
ones  ;  hunted  much ;  was  choice  in  his 
table ;  courted  the  favour  of  great 
persons  ;  invited  vast  numbers  of  wo- 
men of  rank  to  dine  with  him  in  the 
house  ;  married  his  female  relatives  to 
great  persons  at  much  expence,  and 
enriched  others  with  the  conventual 
property.  Wulnoth,  the  fourth,  besides 
hunting,  spent  much  upon  jesters  and 
similar  persons.  [There  is  a  civil  law 
MS.  in  Pembroke  College  Library, 
Oxon,  which  mentions  Abbots  spend- 
ing half  their  incomes  upon  players  and 
prostitutes.]  Eaclfrith,  the  fifth,  was 
always  in  his  chamber,  seldom  in  the 
Cloister,  never  in  the  Choir.  Paid, 
the  fourteenth,  was  careless  of  the 
conventual  property,  and,  as  did  his 

1  See  §  Novices.  m  See  id.  n  See  §  Obe- 
dientiaries.        °  See  Parlour. 

p  Trades  were  not  to  be  carried  on  in  the 
Churches,  unless  at  fair-times.  M.  Par.  1096. 
The  Monks  were  very  fond  of  fairs,  see  id.  724, 
and  kept  shops  at  them.  Wart.  Hist.  Engl.  Poetry, 
i.  p.  280. 

n  Fuller's  Ch.  Hist.  §  vi.  p.  291.  The  Prior, 
or  other  officer,  had  them,  as  will  appear  by  and 

by. 

r  MS.  Harl.  791,  f.  18,  19,  v.  Mantissa. 


ABBOT,  ABBESS. 


107 


successor,  enriched  his  kindred  with  it. 
Geffrey,  the  sixteenth,  besides  neglect- 
ing and  alienating  it,  portioned  his 
sister  with  one  of  the  manors.  Ralph, 
the  sevententh,  besides  carelessness  of 
the  conventual  property,  persecuted 
his  Prior  with  inexorable  hatred.  Ro- 
bert, the  eighteenth,  alienated  part  of 
the  estates  without  consent  of  the 
Convent,  and  wheedled  the  latter  into 
the  grant  of  others.  Symon,  the  nine- 
teenth, ran  his  Convent  into  debt ;  and 
cut  down  the  woods  to  enrich  his  re- 
latives. Robert,  the  twentieth,  fol- 
lowed his  own  will  exclusively  ;  perse- 
cuted and  dispersed  for  this  purpose 
the  senior  part  of  the  Convent;  exalted 
the  Novices ;  relaxed  the  rule  to  gain  fa- 
vour with  the  effeminate ;  and  cut  down 
the  woods,  for  which  purpose  he  had  an 
office,  where  twenty  timber-merchants 
were  more  or  less  every  Saturday  in  the 
habits  of  coming  to  deal ;  and  this 
money  was  raised,  not  for  erecting  edi- 
fices for  the  Convent,  but  to  gain  fa- 
vour with  the  king  and  queen  by  pre- 
sents, and  to  spend  lavishly.  Those 
who  blamed  him  he  sent  to  remote 
cells.  John,  the  twenty-first,  sent  the 
Monks  obnoxious  to  him  from  cell  to 
cell,  or  rather,  during  his  infirmity,  his 
parasites  in  his  name;  and  enriched 
his  relatives  with  the  Ecclesiastical 
property.  William,  the  twenty- second, 
was  complained  of  for  associating  with 
Seculars  in  preference  to  his  Monks. 
Besides  these,  they  used  to  turn  out 
the  Divines  the  Bishops  had  settled  in 
Churches/  and  employ  the  Monks  on 
out-door  business.^ 

The  inquiries  concerning  Abbesses, 
omitting  the  items  similar  to  those  of 
Abbots,  were,  whether  she  saw  divine 
service  duly  performed:0  whether  all 
ornaments  and  necessaries  appertain- 
ing thereto  were  duly  kept  and  repair- 

a  Sim.  Dunelm.  253. 

b  Prsecipimus  fratribus  tarn  senioribus  quam 
junioribus  quod  ad  exteriora  officia  non  deputeutur. 
We  order  that  neither  seniors  nor  juniors  be  sent 
on  out-door  offices.  MS.  Ashm.  1519,  f.  65,  b. 
See  too  Chaucer  in  the  Shipman's  Tale. 

c  To  do  divine  service  duly  nythe  and  daye.  In- 
junct.  to  the  Nuns  of  St.  Helen's.  Monast.  ii. 
895. 


ed— Whether  the  ladies  resorted  to  di- 
vine service  at  the  proper  seasons — 
Whether  she  taught  her  sisters  the 
rule — Whether  she  overlooked  them, 
and  set  them  to  work  in  some  honest 
exercise,  and  hearing  the  divine  ser- 
vices— Whether  she  punished  and  cor- 
rected them  charitably  and  impartially  d 
— Whether  there  was  convenient  ke- 
pyng  and  sustentacion  for  the  sicke — 
Whether  suspected  of  incontinency, 
and  with  whom — Whether  used  to 
lye  at  the  grange,  or  to  walk  abroad, 
and  with  what  company — Whether  she 
found  any  "  auncyent,  sadd,  and  ver- 
tuous  "  woman,  as  mistress  of  the  No- 
vices f— Whether  the  word  of  God  was 
preached  to  the  sisters,  and  how  often 
in  the  year — Whether  the  Confessor 
or  Chaplain  did  his  duty,  and  how 
many  of  them  there  were  }s 

It  seems  that  Abbots  of  piety,  while 
in  their  last  sickness,  used  to  be  car- 
ried into  the  Chapter  to  receive  disci- 
plines, or  to  absolve  and  be  absolved 
by  the  Monks  *  in  the  following  form  : 
"Wherefore  I  seek  absolution  from 
you,  as  much  as  appertains  to  you, 
and  benediction,  and  I  absolve  you 
from  obedience  to  me,  and  give  you  my 
benediction."*  The  last  Abbot  of  Per- 
shore  appears  only  as  a  simple  Monk 
upon  his  tomb,  perhaps  from  this  vo- 
luntary humiliation. k 


abbot's  officers,  and  offices. 

The  office  of  the  Chaplain  was,  it 
seems,  to  receive  at  the  Bowcer's  hands 
all  such  sums   of  money  as  were  pay- 

d  See  Nuns,  §  Quarrelling. 

e  Also  we  enjoyne  you,  Prioresse,  that  ye  kepe 
yowre  dortour,  and  lye  therein  by  nythe,  &c. 
Monast.  ii.  895.  ;  and  again  "  to  ordeyne  a  conve- 
nient place  of  furmarye,  where  the  seeke  sustres 
might  be  honestly  kepte  and  relieved."     Ibid. 

1  A  good  teacher  of  the  sustres  to  be  kept.  Ibid. 

s  MS.  Harl.  791,  f.  20,  b. 

h  W.  Malmsb.  M.  Paris,  &c. 
1  Quamobrcm  peto  a  vobis  absolucionem,  quan- 
tum ad  vos  pertinet,  et  benedictionem,  et  ego  vos 
absolvo  a  cura  mea,  et  do  vobis  benedictionem 
meam.  MS.  Bodl.  Fairfax,  17,  §  Lamentatio 
Gervasii  Abbatis.  Of  their  burials,  see  §  Infir- 
mary. 

k  Gough's  Sepulchr.  Monuin.  Introd.  i.  civ. 


108 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


able  by  him  to  the  Lord  Prior's  -use  for 
his  maintenance,  the  expence  of  his 
whole  household,  and  other  necessa- 
ries. He  was  to  provide  apparel  for 
the  Lord  Prior,  and  to  see  all  things  in 
good  order  in  the  hall,  and  the  furni- 
ture for  his  table  to  be  sweet  and 
clean ;  and  that  every  man  executed 
his  office  diligently  as  he  ought  to  do  ; 
and  that  no  debate  or  strife  should  be 
within  the  house.  He  had  in  his  cus- 
tody all  the  Lord  Prior's  plate  and 
treasure,  as  well  for  delivering  it  out, 
as  receiving  it  again.  He  was  also  to 
discharge  and  pay  all  the  gentlemen, 
yeomen,  and  all  other  the  servants  and 
officers  of  the  Lord  Prior's  house  their 
wages,  and  to  discharge  all  other  debts 
of  the  house  whatsoever.  His  cham- 
ber was  adjoining  to  the  Prior's  cham- 
ber :a  for  he  never  slept  in  the  Dor- 
mitory, but  in  the  absence  of  the  Ab- 
bot; of  whom,  as  stated  above,  he 
was  to  be  a  constant  spy.  Part  of 
the  service  in  the  Abbot's  chamber  at 
midnight  was  said  by  the  Chaplains 
by  heart,  without  a  candle,  a  small 
lamp  only  shining  through  a  glass 
window. b  "  He  was  to  attend  to  every 
conventual  service  when  unoccupied, 
as  well  as  to  take  his  turn  in  the 
weekly  service  of  the  Mass."c  The 
principal  Chaplain,  from  carrying  the 
Abbot's  seal,  was  called  Portitor  Si- 
gilli.6-  If  the  Abbot  had  two  Chap- 
lains, to  comply  with  the  constitution, 
which,  that  he  might  have  more  wit- 
nesses of  his  good  life  in  case  of  scan- 
dal,6 enjoined  an  annual  change  of 
them,  he  needed  only  change  one  ;  and 
where  the  Abbey  was  not  exempt,  the 
Bishop  could  make  the  requisite  change 
for  a  reasonable  cause/  His  privi- 
lege of  sleeping  out  of  the  Dorter  was 
not  peculiar  to  him  ;  for,  says  a  com- 
plaint, £i  Ther  be  certeyn  officers,  bro- 
clurs  of  the  howse,  whiche  have  all 
way  be  attendant  upon  the  Abbot,  as 

a  Davies,  &c.  b  M.  Par.  1042. 

c  Capellani  Abbatis  debent  ebdomadarii  ecclesiae, 
et  omni  servitio  conventus,  cum  expediti  fuerint 
interesse,  Abbate  absente  in  Dormitorio  iacere. 
MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  184,  a. 

d  M.  Paris.         e  Reyn.  App.  117. 

f  Lyndw.  S0G. 


his  Chaplyn,  Steward,  Celerer,  and  on 
or  two  officers  more,  if  they  shulde 
be  bounde  to  the  first  two  articles 
(dining  in  the  Miserecord,  and  sleep- 
ing in  the  Dormitory),  it  shulde  much 
disappoynt  the  order  of  the  house/'s 
A  council  of  Paris,  held  in  1212,  or- 
dered Abbots  not  to  have  irreligious 
Chaplains.11  The  Chaplains  were  also 
called  Monitores,  because  they  inform- 
ed the  Abbot  of  every  thing  done  by 
the  Monks.1 

At  Abingdon  there  were  two  Monks 
to  ease  the  Abbot,  the  Proctor  and  Cu- 
riarius.k  The  former  was  to  manage 
his  revenues.  The  latter  was  to  have 
the  whole  care  of  the  house,  and  always 
admit  visitors,  whose  arrival  was  to  be 
announced  to  him  by  the  porter,  ac- 
cording to  the  difference  of  their  rank. 
He  was  also  to  pay  particular  atten- 
tion to  the  parents  of  the  Monks  (who 
were  to  announce  their  arrival  to  him 
only),  coming  from  other  parts.1 

Because  the  care  of  souls  was  a  su- 
perior object  to  all  temporal  concerns,111 
the  council  of  Mentz  forbad  Abbots  to 
appear  in  secular  causes  without  the 
consent  of  the  Bishop,  and  enjoined 
them  to  appoint  advocates  or  agents, 
an  office  which  several  Canons  per- 
mitted a  religious  person,  with  the 
consent  of  his  Abbot,  to  undertake.11 
Accordingly  we  find  them  appointing 
their  Monks  attorneys.0  Several  sta- 
tutes exist,  allowing  the  privilege  of 
appointing  attorneys  to  Abbots/  and 
also  their  credentials.*! 

s  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  IV.  f.  39. 

h  C.  iv.  apud  Labbe.     i  Du  Cange,  v.  Bajulus. 

k  MS.  Cott.  Claud,  B.  vi.  f.  187,  b. 

1  Curiario  incumbit  ut  curarn  totius  curiae  agat, 
hospites  admittat  usque  secundum  personarum  dif- 
ferentias,  in  adventu  hospitis  janitor  indicabit  cu- 
riario. Parentibus  Monachorum  aliunde  venienti- 
bus  summa  cura  a  curiario  impendetur.  Et  paren- 
tum  adventus  per  monachos  ei  et  non  alteri  indica- 
bitur.     Id.  187,  b.  188,  b. 

m  Bened.  Reg.  24.         n  Dev.  Vie  Mon.  ii.  47,  8. 

0  X.   Script,  col.  2078. 
,  p  9  H.VI.  c.  10.    15  H.  VI.  c.  7. 

i  Attornatum  nostrum  ad  sectas  hundredi  tui 
pro  nobis  faciendas.  Alberto  de  D.  Domino  Se- 
nescallo  et  ballivis  hundredi,  &c.  MS.  Harl.  209. 
fol.  11  ;  but  it  seems,  that  the  Abbot's  consent  was 
not  alone  sufficient.  Faciet  abbas  attornatum  in 
praedicta  loquelaquemcunquevoluerit  coram  aliquo 
qui  ad  hoc  habeat  potestatem  per  breve  regis. 
Rot.  Pari.  6  Ed.  I.  No.  34.  Vol.  I. 


ABBOT,  ABBESS. 


109 


The  meaner  officers  appear  to  have 
been  the  Barber,  who  had  105.  per 
yere  wages  ;a  the  Cook,  who  used  to 
ride  sometime  before  them,  when  on 
journeys,  to  prepare  refreshment  for 
them,b  and  was  allowed  a  horse  ;c  the 
Porters  at  different  gates  ;d  and  doubt- 
less others  for  other  necessities ;  for  it 
seems,  that  their  number  was  so  great, 
that  the  houses,  after  their  decease, 
were  burdened  with  an  indefinite  ex- 
pence,  on  account  of  their  wages,  on 
which  account  it  was  enacted  that  they 
should  receive  fixed  and  annual  sti- 
pends.e 

Though  we  hear  of  Abbots  going 
out  to  sport  with  servants,  carrying 
bows  and  arrows/  yet  while  the  at- 
tendants of  Laymen  carried  bugles,  it 
was  deemed  indecent  for  an  Abbot's 
servant  to  blow  a  horn,s  however  com- 
mon. 

The  great  Hall,  which  was  ascended 
by  numerous  steps,  was  at  St.  Alban's 
adorned  with  tapestry ,h  at  Gloucester 
with  portraits  of  the  kings  of  England 
in  fresco  ;*  and  the  furniture  of  such  a 
place  appears  to  have  consisted  of 
four  fixed  tables,  four  forms,  one  table 
with  two  tressels  at  the  high  bench,  a 
cupboard,  a  chair,  a  chaffer .k  The  Study, 
or  Library,  was  adorned  with  curious 
painted  imageries  and  divers  inscrip- 
tions.! There  was  a  Gallery,  Chapel, 
and  another  ;  a  Fish-house  for  dry  and 
salted  fish ;  a  Brew-house,  and  Kitch- 

a  Nichols,  ut  sup.  288.  b  M.  Par.  1032. 

c  Monast.  i.  p.  7.         d  Davies,  &c.  e  Cap. 

Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1225.  f  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  511. 

«  Du  Cange,  v.  Coreizare.  h  Rous,  p.  64. 

1  Dallaway's  Herald.  Inq.  116.  k  Steevens's 
Monast.  i.  487.     l  Chauncey's  Hertfortshire,  445. 


en.m  Their  Chapels  were  not  only  for 
prayer,  but  celebration  ;n  and  Matthew 
Paris  mentions  an  Abbot  sleeping  in 
his  chamber  with  his  Chaplains,  while 
the  Monks  were  at  Mattins,  and  the 
Chaplains  awaking  to  perform  divine 
service  ;°  but  the  Chapel  and  Oratory 
were  distinct  apartments,  the  latter 
being  an  annexation.?  It  is  well  known 
that  the  nobility  had  what  were  called 
Secret  houses,  whither  they  retired  at 
certain  seasons  to  religious  privacy,  and 
declined  society  ;<i  in  like  manner  Wul- 
stan  had  an  Oratory  between  his  hall 
and  private  house,  known  only  to  his 
domesticks,  where  he  secluded  him- 
self, especially  in  Lent,  from  morning 
after  Mass,  till  dinner,  or  the  time  of 
the  hours.1"  Gundulf  had  a  little  Ora- 
tory attached  to  each  of  his  manerial 
habitations,  where  his  Chamberlain 
used  to  put  his  prayer-book  for  his  re- 
ligious exercises,  during  the  interval 
between  Mass  and  the  hours.s 

Ethelwulf,  speaking  of  an  Abbot  of 
Lindisfarn,  says,  that  while  the  Monks 
were  asleep  at  night,  he  was  singing 
psalms  and  hymns.1 

At  Canterbury,  over  the  Prions 
Chapel,  was  a  Library  for  the  use  of 
the  studious ;  and  next  to  his  cham- 
berwas  a  tower  called  the  Prior's  Study, 
it  being  the  fashion  to  study  in  towers .u 

Abbesses  had  a  maid,x  besides  as- 
sistant Nuns,  called  DiscretceJ 

m  Steevens's  Moaasticon,  i.  448. 

n  Lyndw.  234.  °  P.  1042.  p  Angl. 

Sacr.  i.  148.  i  Paston  Letters,  &c.  r  Angl. 
Sacr.  ii.  262.  s  Id.,  282.  *  Du  Cange,  v. 

Odare.  u  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  145.     See  §  Church. 

x  Id.  i.  364.  7  Du  Cange. 


110 


MONASTIC    OFFICEBB, 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


OBEDIENTIARIES. 


These  were  all  officers  under  the 
Abbot ;  to  be  appointed  to  which,  inter- 
est was  made,  to  a  great  degree,  as 
well  as  to  be  kept  in  them,  and  have 
out-door  employment  ;a  and  they  were 
often  conferred  by  the  Abbot  for  fa- 
vour or  money .b  The  consequence  was, 
that  very  unfit  persons  were  appointed  ; 
for,  says  Nigell.  Wireker, 

Istud  contingit  in  religione  frequenter, 
Quod  major  servit,  proficiturque  minor, 
Digna  sub  indignis  vivunt ;  quod  rosa  saluncis 
Lilia  sub  tribulis. 

Spec.  Stultor.  MS.  Cott.  Tit.  A.  20. 
This  evil  too  oft  in  religion  we  have, 
The  worse  is  a  ruler,  the  better  a  slave — 
The  worthy  to  unworthy  subject ;  as  grow 
The  rose  and  the  lily  wild  brambles  below. 

Walter  Mapes  says, "  that  the  Monks 
were  parasites  and  flatterers  of  the 
Abbot,  soothing  his  ears  with  honied 
words,  deceiving  those  above  them  with 
cunning,  making  presents  to  their  infe- 
riors, and  granting  every  thing  the 
Abbot  asked,  however  impossible ;  such 
men,  he  says,  in  whose  hearts  were 
found  deceit  and  guile,  with  honey  in 
their  mouths,  were  the  persons  who 
were  chosen  to  offices.  They  preten- 
ded to  be  simple  and  modest  in  the 
eyes  of  their  brethren,  till  they  gained 
their  purpose,  and  then  it  was  'Hold 
your  tongues,  wretches/  to  the  Monks, 
you  know  nothing ;  we  will  govern  the 
house ;  to  which  harsh  language  they 
were  in  the  habits  of  contemptuously 
adding  Thee  and  Thou.c  Without 
doubt,  continues  Walter  Mapes,  some 
of  the  brothers  are  prudent,  modest, 
and  moral,  but  find  no  favour  with  the 
Abbot,  because  they  cannot  flatter .d 


Cap.  Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1444.  c.  v. 

Cap.  Gen.  Northampt.  a0 1225.  ]VL  Par.  1096. 

Cap.  G.  North,  a0  1444.  c.  x.  De  Novitiis. 

En  adulatio  plena  fallaciis, 

Nares  prselati  lambentes  ambiunt, 

Verbis  et  mellitis  aures  reficiunt, 

Procaci  superos  fallunt  hastucia. 

Inferioribus  prcebent  munuscula, 


Among  the  Nuns  it  was  enjoined  that 
"no  sisters  be  admitted  to  any  office, 
unless  of  good  fame/'e 

It  is  not  to  be  admired  that  the 
Monks  were  so  ambitious  of  office ;  for, 
says  an  old  song : 

Altera  prsepositis,  altera  regula  nobis  : 
Nos  infelices  vini  nescimus  odorem, 
Propositi  vinum,  nos  digeramus   acetum  ; 
Nos  extra  claustrum  prohibemur  figere  gressum, 
Et  dominis  camera?  licet  ad  sua  tecta  redire  ; 
Fit  rogus  in  medio,  celebrantur  et  orgia  Baccho? 
Siccantur  cuppse,  spumanti  nectare  plense. 

MS.  Cott.  Vitell.  A.  xii.  129.  a. 
One  law  for  our  rulers,  another  for  us— 
To  us  wretches  the  smell  ev'n  of  wine  is  unknown, 
The  vinegar's  ours — the  wine  all  their  own — 
Not  a  peg  from  the  cloister  must  we  dare  to  roam, 
"While  the  lords  of  a  dwelling  withdraw  to  their  home. 
To  a  smoking  good  fire  then  sit  themselves  down, 
And  with  nectar  of  Heaven  their  blest  moments 
crown. 

It  seems,  a  that  they  were  dishonest 
persons,  who  were  guilty,  to  a  bare- 
faced degree,  of  illicit  and  fraudulent 
practices  ;  exercised  prohibited  and  un- 
just trades;  oppressed  people  with 
violence  or  unfair  exactions,  or  made 
their  servants  do  so ;  frequented  taverns 
and  other  indecorous  places ;  had  the 
company  of  women  in  private  places, 
and  to  eat  and  drink  with  them  in  cham- 
bers within  the  precincts  of  their  Mo- 
nastery or  Priory,  and  carried  bows, 
swords,  and  arms;  took  persons  in, 
in  buying  and  selling  ;  borrowed  money 
(for  which  abuse  they  were  limited  to 


Abbas  si  proferet  impossibilia 
Blandis  sermonibus  concedunt  omnia. 
Cor  dolo  plenum  est ;  os  profert  dulcia, 
Jacent  in  animo  fraus  et  fallacia, 
Hi  tales  digni  sunt  obediential. 
Fingunt  se  simplices  fratrum  conspectibus, 
Set  mutant  animum  susceptis  clavibus, 
"  Tacete  miseri"  dicunt  claustralibus, 
Vos  nichil  sapitis — nos  domum  regemus — 
Set  procul  dubio  quidam  de  fratribus, 
Prudentes,  simplices,  ornati  moribus, 
Omnia  non  vacant  adulationibus, 
Non  habent  gratiam  coram  pastoribus. 
MS.  Cott.  Vespas.  A.  xviii.  168,  b.  169.  a. 
and  Tit.  A.  20.  161, 
Monast.  ii.  895. 


OBEDIENTIARIES. 


Ill 


100s.) ;  pretended  to  be  engaged  in 
offices,  when  it  was  tlieir  duty  to  attend 
in  the  Church ;  kept  a  vast  number  of 
servants,  and  rode  out  to  the  manors, 
and  staid  there  when  they  liked  with- 
out a  companion,*1  obtained  letters  of 
confirmation  not  to  be  removed,  and 
offices  or  profession  in  many  houses.b 
The  inquiries  of  the  visitors  respecting 
them  were,  "how  many  officers,  and 
what  their  portion — how  many  tables 
kept  or  ought  to  be  kept — what  allowed 
to  each  of  the  officers  for  this  purpose 
—  whether  any  of  the  said  officers  be 
in  debt  or  arrears — whether  they  give 
in  accounts  yearly,  or  quarterly,  as 
bound  to  do — whether  they  have  spent 
or  pawned  any  jewels,  plate,  &c.  belong- 
ing to  their  offices — how  many  of  them 

a  Precipimus  ut  semper  se  honeste  habeant, 
prsesertim  in  conspectu  populi,  ab  illicitis  et  dolo- 
sis  contractionibus  omnino  abstineant ;  mercimonia 
prohibita  vel  inhonesta  non  exerceant.  Nullum  vi 
aut  injustis  exactionibus  opprimant,  seu  a  minis- 
tris  operam  faciant ;  tabernas  vel  alia  loca  inhonesta 
intrare  non  praasumant ;  consortia  mulierum  in 
omni  loco  penitus  evitent,  in  cameris,  vel  locis 
privatis  infra  septa  monasterii  vel  prioratus  non 
comedant  vel  bibant.  Inhibemus  et  ipsis  obedien- 
tiariis  et  quibuscumque  aliis  fratribus  nostris  ne 
arcum  (See  Lysons's  Env.  Lond.  i.  343,)  gladium 
(See  Fuller's  Ch.  Hist.  b.  vi.  285.)  seu  qusecumque 
arma  ubique  sine  nostra  speciali  licentia  tenere 
prsesumant.  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  IV.  f.  245.  a. 
In  empcionibus  aut  vendicionibus  et  aliis  contrac- 
tibus  nullum  studeant  decipere.  Nullusque  obe- 
dientiarius  nostri  monasterii  cujuscumque  fuerit 
status,  pecuniam  ultra  summam  centum  solidorum 
absque  nostra  spec,  licent.  mutuo  recipere  prsesu- 
mat.  Ibid.  Quia  monachi — quibus  officia  forin- 
seca  et  intrinseca  committuntur,  fingunt,  cum  pos- 
sent  et  debent  in  cboro  divinis  officiis  interesse,  in 
officiis  forinsecis  et  commissis  multociens  occu- 
pari.  MS.  Harl.  328.  p.  5.  b.  Thus  too  among 
the  Nuns.  "  Thus  done  oft  tymes  suche  remowers 
about,  yat  mow  not  long  rest  in  the  silence  of  the 
Cloister,  and  in  comune  praieries  of  the  quere,  but 
they  starte  aboute  from  one  office  to  another,  and 
whan  the  belle  ringith  to  houres  than  thei  begynne 
first  to  occupy  them  in  her  offices."  MS.  Bodl. 
Laud,  D.  52.  Alii  preterea  provecciores,  certis 
officiis  deputati,  ad  maneria  et  loca  alia  equitant 
quum  placet,  ibidem  manentes  nullo  commonacho 
itineris  in  socium  assignato.  Familiares  questum- 
que  quos  monachi  officiarii  et  alii,  in  numero  ex- 
cessivo  retinent.     MS.  Harl.  328.  p.  5.  p.  10. 

b  M.  Paris,  1096,  8,  Cap.  G.  Northampt.  a0 
1444.  c.  v. 


are  removable — how  many  not — whe- 
ther they  rode  forth  over-sumptuously 
with  a  grete  number  of  men  and  horses 
— whether  they  lye  in  granges  abroad 
very  oft  at  will,  and  indulge  in  banquet- 
ting,  and  women  resorte  to  them?"c 

When  they  were  extremely  sick,  they 
were  to  give  in  their  accounts  and 
resign,  because  if  they  died  unexpec- 
tedly, the  Monks  used  to  steal  the 
Ecclesiastical  property/1  They  were 
not  excused  from  Collation  and  Com- 
plin, but  from  imperious  necessity,  and 
then  with  the  Abbot's  leave.e  Certain 
constitutions  ordered  them  not  to  give 
or  receive  any  thing  without  leave  of 
the  Superior — denounced  frauds  on  the 
conventual  property — the  false  imposi- 
tion of  crimes  upon  others — confede- 
racy to  overthrow  emendatory  statutes 
— private  persecution  from  hatred 
or  ambition,  and  personal  property/ 
They  were  bound  to  find  the  students 
going  to  Oxford  their  travelling  money, 
and  lend  them  their  horses,^  which 
animals  they  kept,  it  seems,  beyond 
what  was  necessary  for  office.11  The 
subordinate  officers  among  the  Clugni- 
acs  were  only  persons  sent  from  abroad 
to  collect  money.1 

The  Priors  of  cells,  and  chief  Offi- 
cers, were  called  Master  Obedientiaries)^ 

The  Monks  observed  sometimes  a 
gradation  in  their  promotions,  with 
a  view  to  the  improvement  of  the 
officer.1 


c  MS.  Harl.  791,  f.  21. 

d  Cap.  North,  ut  sup.  The  Abbot  might  restore 
them,  when  well.     Ibid.  e  M.  Par.  1095. 

f  Id.  1096.  e  C.  North,  a0  1444.  c.  v. 

h  Nee  aliquis  obedientiarius  equum  in  stabulo 
teneat,  ni  eum  pro  administratione  sui  officii  equum 
habere  oporteat.     MS.  Cott.  Jul.  D.  2.  p.  160. 

1  Reyn.  Append.  147. — Certain  of  these  officers 
were  allowed  gloves  and  Christmas  stockings.  Isti 
debent  habere  glove-silver  contra  autumpnum, 
Prior,  hostilarius  exterior,  &c.  Isti  debent  habere 
Christmesse  stocke3  contra  natale  Domini,  Wel- 
lelmus  le  Wodward,  &c.  MS.  Harl.  1005,  p.  53. 
They  also  invited  friends  to  dinner.  W.  Thorne, 
c.  36,  sect.  1,  div.  3. 

k  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  753.  l  Ibid.  ii.  246. 


112 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


PRIOR. 


In  the  Rule  of  Pachomius,  a  disputa- 
tion (i.  e.  scriptural  lecture)  is  orderd 
to  be  made  three  times  a  week  by  the 
Propositi  Domorum,*  for  every  Monas- 
tery of  the  East  had  Patres  or  Abbots, 
Stewards,  Hebdomadaries,  Ministers, 
and  Propositi  Domormn,  or  Gover- 
nors of  houses,  because  those  large 
Abbeys  consisted  of  numerous  houses, 
each  containing  30  or  40  Monks,  under 
one  of  these  Propositi ;  and  from  these 
Propositi  descended  the  Prior  and 
Sub-Prior  (Secundus  in  the  Rule  of 
Pachomius)  terms  only  known  from  the 
Pontificate  of  Celestine  the  Fifth,b  A0 
1294.  This  officer  was  next  only  to 
the  Abbot,  and  had  the  first  place  in 
the  Choir,  Chapter,  and  Refectory. 
He  was  censed  after  the  Abbot,  could 
depose  malversant  officers,  and  could 
call  at  pleasure  a  chapter  of  the  ser- 
vants, and  punish  delinquents.0  He 
had  a  Chaplain,  two  servants,  two  pal- 
freys, a  baggage -horse,  and  two  others, 
at  Edmondsbury.d  At  St.  Albany's, 
says  M.  Paris,  they  were  provided  by 
the  Convent  with  an  apartment,  horses, 
retinue,  and  equipage.e 

The  greater  Prior  represented  the 
Abbot,  and  performed  all  his  offices, 
except  making  or  deposing  Obedienti- 
aries, and  consecrating  Novices.  Whe- 
ther the  Abbot  was  present,  or  absent, 
he  struck  the  cymbalum,  beat  the  table 
for  work,  and  monitum  in  the  Dormi- 
tory, as  well  as  corrected  the  faults  of 
the  readers  in  the  Church  and  Chapter. 
The  Claustral  Prior  was  his  Vicar,  and 
remained  always  in  the  Cloister/ 

a  Du  Cange,  v.  Disputatio. 

b  Du  Cange,  v.  Propositus.  Prior. 

c  Deer.  Lanfr.  sect.  De  Priore. 

d  Ad  stabulum  Prioris  habet  Prior  quinque  equos, 
vid.  Prioris  capellanus  duos  palefridos  et  summa- 
rium,  qui  est  tertius.  Item  duobus  armigeris  duos 
equos.  Lib.  Alb.  Edm.  de  Burgo.  MS.  Harl. 
1005,  fol.  44. 

'■  M.  Paris,  1094,  1144. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Prior. 


His  privileges  and  offices  at  Abing- 
don were  these:*     He  had  one  man, 


*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  179,  189,  seq. 
Prior  babebit  unum  bominem,  ad  corrodium  in  aula, 
et  prsebendam  ad  unum  equum.  Licitum  est 
Priori  equos  babere,  sed  Abbas  eosdem  equos  in 
negotiis  suis  potuit  accipere.  Sob  Priori  licet  in 
scola  puerorum  sedere,  per  scolam  transire,  lecti- 
onem  audire,  capitulum  tenere,  et  eos  csedere 
excepta  magistrorum  admissione.  Licet  Priori 
omnibus  boris  canonicis  sedere.  Priore  capitulum 
intrante  omnes  in  supremo  gradustantes,  sineincli- 
natione  ei  assurgent,  priusquam  sedit  nullus  sedebit. 
Si  Abbas  in  transmarinis,  vel  in  nimium  remotis 
partibus  fuerit,  Prior  secundum  modum  culpae 
extendet  disciplinam  in  carcere,  vel  in  gravioribus 
culpis,  excepta  ecclesiee  suae  quantulacumque  abali- 
enatione,  et  caputii  abscissione.  Quando  ecclesia 
pastore  vacaverit  licet  Priori  aliquem  monacbari. 
Licet  Priori  cuilibet  maturo  moribus  licentiam  dare 
uno  die  ire  eodemque  redire,  et  instantia  neces- 
sitatis transigere  spatium  unius  noctis.  Prior 
nusquam  proficiscetur  sine  uno  vel  duobus  mona- 
cbis.  Licet  Priori  ad  consistorium  sedenti  celle- 
rario  semel  vel  bis  cipbum  pro  impletione  mittere, 
nee  cellerarius  renuere  debet.  Si  Prior  in  ordine 
suo  discubuerit  unus  puerorum  sibi  ministrabit. 
Non  Priori,  nee  alii  alicui  in  ordine  suo  sedenti, 
licet  cipbum  cum  operculo.  Si  clerici  vel  laici  in 
refectorio  discubuerint  ob  consolationem  eorum 
Prior  remanebit.  Prior  post  conventum  cum  cle- 
ricis  vel  laicis  remanens,  quos  de  conventu,  unum, 
vel  duos,  vel  tres  evocare  voluerit,  vocabit.  Prior 
ad  bostium  claustri  apponet  caputium  capiti, 
idemptidem  omnes  alii.  Sicque  Prior,  et  omnes  alii 
a,  processione  non  declinaturi  procedent  usque  ad 
Dormitorium,  quo  secessum  naturse  sunt  petituri. 
In  reditu  suo  Prior  ante  lectum  suum  morose  sede- 
bit, donee  major  pars  conventus  discubuerit. 
Prior  primo  faciet  scrutinium  ad  locutorium  bos- 
pitum  ;  si  bospites  defuerint,  nisi  gratiam  monacbis 
quos  ibi  inveniet  conferre  voluerit,  ostia  obserabit. 
Si  hospites  praesentes  fuerint,  cum  clavibus  per- 
transibit  ad  monasterium,  et  in  cboro,  etin  circuitu 
cbori,  et  si  bostia  bac  aut  ilia  reserata  fuerint,  ut 
videat  quid  agatur,  faciat  scrutinium  postmodum 
ad  locutorium,  &c.  Si  aliqui  de  claustriloquio 
egrediuntur  ut  in  loquutorio  loquantur,  magna  est 
ordinis  transgressio  ;  ne  aliquo  ingruente  negocio, 
si  claustriloquio  defuerunt  quam  plurimi,  licet 
Exploratori  eos  prosequi.  Exploratori  incumbit 
explorationem  facere,  quociens  viderit  expedire. 
Abbate,  vel  Priore,  in  claustro  prsesente,  si  Sub- 
prior,  vel  tertius  Prior,  in  locutorio  loquuntur,  nee 
ipsi  Exploratori  verbo  indicaverint,  aut  signo  signi- 
ficaverint,  se  liceat  loqui,  clamabunt.  Si  Priori  in 
loquutorio  loquatur  Explorator  eo  viro  pertransibit, 
sic  Sub-prior  et  tertius  Prior,  nee  illi  qui  cum  illo 
sunt,  clamabuntur.  Ac  Exploratori  explorationem 
facienti  licet  signa  facere  ;  sed  nusquam  si  aliquis 
Priorum  prsesens  fuerit  sine  licentia  loqui.     Prior 


PRIOR, 


113 


who  had  a  corrody  in  the  hall,  and 
maintenance  for  a  horse.  He  was  also 
allowed  horses,  but  the  Abbot  might 
take  them  for  his  own  business.  He 
only  could  sit  in   the    school    of  the 


qui  in  ordine  erit,  si  in  locutorio  loquatur,  licet 
Exploratori  signum  non  fuei-it,  non  clamabitur. 
Prior  debet  cum  primis  primus  esse,  cum  ultimis 
ultimus,  &c.  In  tabula  positus  ministrabit.  In 
festis  quse  celebrantur  in  cappis,  si  Prior  terciam 
cantaverit,  post  terciam  cantatam  stola  amota,  si 
processio  fuerit,  cappam  induet,  et  in  ordine  suo 
iticedet.  Licet  Priori  ad  matutinas,  si  in  cboro 
fuerit,  alium  rogare  de  officio  suo  vice  sua  minis - 
trare.  Ubivis  Prior  venerit  in  loquutorio,  vel 
promptuario,  vel  ubi  licitum  fuit  Monacbo  loqui, 
omnes  assuvgent  ei,  etiam  collaterales  Abbati. 
Priore  in  cboro  prgesente,  nulli  licet  inter  eum  in 
formam  transire.  Prior  pro  voto  suo  clamorem  in 
prsesentiam  abbatis  differret,  sed  interventu  Con- 
ventus  Prior  potuit  reclamare  commissum  secun- 
dum modum  culpae  per  se  emendare.  Priori  licet 
Monachum  sentential  subdere  se  :  a  cibo  potuque 
abstinentiam,  lanternam,  custodiam,  ultimamque 
positionem,  ignorante  Abbate  ;  sed  sentential  car- 
ceris,  vel  gravioris  culpee,  nullum  potuit  subjicere 
Abbate  domi  prsesidente,  sed  res  referetur  ad 
Abbatem,  et  pro  voto  suo  frater  illse  sententise 
subdetur.  Abbate  praesente  Prior  potest  compe- 
tenter  clamari.  Abbate  peregre  profecto,  &c.  non 
licet  Priori,  nisi  ad  succurrendum  aliquem  in 
monacbatum  admittere  ;  nisi  pro  magno  commodo 
ecclesise.  Priore  in  locutorio,  vel  alibi  scrutinium 
faciente,  omnes  loquentes  assurgent,  et  dicent, 
quod  se  ipsius  licentia  loqui. — Prior  in  ordine  suo 
sedens,  si  sonum  fecerit,  vel  potum  fudit  ad  pran- 
dium,  puer  ei  ministrans,  ne  aliquid  malum  impu- 
nitum  videtur,  pro  ilia,  offensa  ante  consistorium 
veniam  accipiet.  Si  prior  cum  servitoribus  discu- 
buerit  in  ordine  suo,  cum  illo  quern  secum  discum- 
bere  voluerit,  discumbet,  nee  licentiam  discumbendi 
a  sedente  ad  consistorium  accipiet.  Quociens 
aliquis  abbas  ad  prandium  sederit  ad  consistorium, 
si  dies  jejunii  fuerit,  per  vesperas  ad  potum  prior  si 
prsesens  fuerit  in  refectorio  pulsabit  signum.  Prior 
pro  voto  suo  ante  lectum  suum  morabitur  ;  post- 
modum  de  dormitorio  egredietur,  quo  egresso 
donee  servitores  discubuerint  quo  voluntas  eum 
direxit  ibit.  Post  servitorum  refectionem  prior 
faciet  explorationem,  et  ostia  loquutoriorum  obse- 
rabit.  Postmodum  gratia  et  licentia  prioris  de 
meridiana  remanebunt,  cum  priori  ipsi ;  et  omnes 
alii  ad  meridianam  ibunt.  Si  hospites  cum  servi- 
toribus discubuerint,  gracia  prioris  per  refectionem 
sine  excessu  ;  et  minuti  etiam  remanebunt.  Prior 
si  expeditus  fuerit  ad  completorium  erit.  Prior 
post  completorium  scrutinium  faciet  cum  lucis 
appositione,  et  in  sestate  et  in  bieme  lucubrum  feret. 
Item  quociens  fuerit  necesse  lucubrum  feret  cum 
lucis  appositione. — Priore  absente  ad  lectum  prioris 
qui  fuerit  in  ordine.  Hoc  tantum  licet  prioribus 
post  completorium,  identidem  ad  meridianam. 
Si  prior  morbo  laboraverit  in  infirmitorio  recumbet 
et  discumbet  ex  consuetudine  set  alibi  gratia. 
Intuitu  enim  auctoritatis  ipsius  ipsi  est  condescen- 
dum,  et  ab  omnibus  deferendum.  Si  prior  infirma- 
tus,  aliquis  minister  notus  et  in  ecclesia  educatus 
pro  voto  suo,  preeter  ministros  inlirmitorii  priori 


Novices,  pass  through  the  school,  hear 
their  lessons,  hold  a  chapter  of  them, 
and  beat  them,  but  could  not  appoint 
the  masters.  He  could  sit  at  all  the 
canonical  hours,  [his  stall  was  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Choir,  opposite  the 
Abbot's.]  When  he  entered  the  Chap- 
ter, the  Monks  standing  on  the  upper 
step,?  rose  to  him  without  bowing,  and 
did  not  sit  down  before  him.  When 
the  Abbot  was  abroad,  or  very  far  off, 
the  Prior,  according  to  the  fault,  could 
extend  the  discipline  to  the  prison, 
or  greater  punishment,  amoved  from 
the  Church  and  deprivation  excepted. 
When  the  Abbacy  was  vacant,  he  could 
profess  Monks.  He  could  give  licence 
to  any  Monk  of  good  character  to  go 
out  and  return  on  the  same  day ;  and, 
upon  the  pressure  of  necessity,  to 
exceed  the  space  of  a  night.  He  could 
go  nowhere  without  one  or  two  Monks ; 
the  Abbot  found  him  his  expences, 
and  licence  was  not  to  be  denied  him. 
When  he  sat  at  the  table  he  could  send 
his  cup  to  the  Cellarer  to  be  filled  once 
or  twice,  and  that  officer  was  not  to 
deny  him.  When  he  sat  professedly 
in  office,  one  of  the  Novices  was  to 
attend  him.  He  was  not  allowed,  nor 
any  other,  to  have  a  cup  with  a  cover. 
If  clerks,  or  laymen,  dined  in  the  Refec- 
tory, he  was  to  stay  for  the  sake  of  the 
company,  and  to  ask  two  or  three  of 
the   Monks  to   do    so   besides,   those 


ministrabit.  Omnia  enim  respicienda  ad  ordinem 
debent  referre  ad  priorem  et  disponi  qui  fuerit  in 
ordine.  f.  192  a.  Ad  potum  per  vesperas  cum  prior 
vidit  conventum  competenter  transisse,  semel  cum 
manu  percutiet  tintinnabulum,  et  post  ilium  ictum 
nullus  praesumat  intrare  ad  potum.  Postmodum 
prior  sollicite  circumspiciat,  ut  videat  conventum 
perbibisse,  et  cipbos  reposuisse.  Deinde  trina 
percussione  in  tintinnabulo  facta,  de  consistorio  se 
eriget,  et  ante  tercium  ictum  nullus  de  tabula 
surget,  sed  post  tercium  ictum  omnes.  Identidem 
fiet  ad  potum  post  collationem,  et  ad  potum  post 
nonam,  benedictione  dicta,  antequam  aliquis  prae- 
sumat  bibere,  semel  debet  tintinnabulum  tangere, 
et  postmodum  omnes  licenter  potum  baurire. 
Si  quis  fratrum  abbatis  prrecepto  sententiee  cibi  aut 
potus  subditus  per  biduum,  vel  triduum,  aut  per 
majus  spacium,  prior,  si  ad  consistorium  discubuerit, 
ilium  fratrem  illo  die  pro  voto  suo  it  sentential 
relaxabit,  postero  die  frater  ille  sententiam  reitera- 
bit,  et  a  sententia  non  relaxabitur,  donee  in  capi- 
tulo  absolvatur,  ut  sententia  compleatur.  f.  192  b. 
k  Suppidaneis.     Dec.  Lanfr. 


114 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS, 


whom  he  chose.  After  Complin,,  he 
was  to  put  his  hood  on  at  the  gate  of 
the  Cloister,  as  were  all  the  others; 
and  thus  they  were  to  proceed  in 
procession  to  the  Dormitory  ;  the  Prior 
sitting  upon  his  bed  some  time,  till  the 
greater  part  of  the  house  were  in  bed. 
He  was  to  make  his  search  first  at  the 
guests'  parlour;  if  there  were  none, 
unless  he  wished  to  oblige  the  Monks, 
whom  he  found  there,  he  was  to  lock 
the  doors.  If  there  were  visitors,  he 
was  to  pass  by  with  the  keys  to  the 
Church,  to  see  what  was  done  in  the 
Choir  and  circuit  of  it ;  and  if  such  and 
such  gates  were  unlocked ;  and  after- 
wards make  a  search  at  the  locutory. 
If  any  left  the  Cloister-conversation  to 
talk  in  the  parlour,  it  was  a  great  breach 
of  the  Order;  if  in  urgent  business 
there  were  but  few  at  the  Cloister-con- 
versation, the  searcher  might  follow 
them.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  Explo- 
rator  to  make  a  search  whenever  it 
seemed  proper.a  When  the  Abbot  or 
Prior  was  present  in  the  Cloister,  if 
the  Sub-prior  or  third  Prior  were  talk- 
ing in  the  Cloister,  and  did  not  sug- 
gest to   the  Exploratory  by  a   word, 


a  The  Egyptian  Monks  had  an  officer,  similar 
to  the  Circa,  or  Circator,  who  went  round  the 
cells  of  the  Monks  silently,  and  listened  outside  for 
the  detection  of  abuses.     Du  Cange,  v.  Circa. 

b  In  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  Norman  institutes, 
there  was  a  peculiar  officer,  called  the  Circa,  or 
Circuitor.  His  duty  was  to  search  the  whole  house, 
and  to  proclaim  the  abuses  in  the  Chapter  of  the 
next  day  ;  to  which  also  he  was  to  bring  any  books 
or  vestments  he  found  in  the  Cloister,  and  to  put 
the  lantern  before  a  Monk  who  was  asleep  during 
the  lesson  ;  which  Monk,  when  awake,  was  to 
beg  pardon  kneeling,  take  the  lantern,  and  go 
round  the  Choir.  In  the  Norman  sera  (just  before 
Mattins  was  his  proper  time  for  scrutiny),  he  was 
never  to  speak,  but  make  a  complaint  in  the  Chap- 
ter of  the  next  day.  Those  whom  he  found  sleep- 
ing in  the  Dormitory,  he  just  made  a  sound 
sufficient  to  awake.  His  complaints  were  made 
first  in  the  Chapter,  after  the  Venice,  or  voluntary 
solicitations  of  pardon  for  offences.  The  Gilbertine 
Nuns  had  also  Scrutatrices.  The  duties  of  the 
Circa  or  Circator,  were  to  go  round  the  house  at 
the  hours  when  the  Monks  were  engaged  in  read- 
ing ;  to  the  officer,  to  notice  the  abuses  of  the  lay- 
brothers  ;  to  the  Cloister  if  any  Monk  should  be 
idle  ;  to  the  Dormitory  to  wake  the  Monks,  or  any 
where,  to  collect  the  Monks  for  the  canonical 
hours,  for  which  he  rang  the  signum.  In  the 
Rule  of  S.  Victor  he  is  ordered  to  be  chosen  from 
the  most  religious,  zealous,  and  impartial  Monks ; 


or  a  sign,  that  they  had  leave  so  to  do, 
they  were  to  be  accused  in  Chapter. 
If  the  Explorator  spoke  to  the  Prior 
in  the  parlour,  he  was  to  pass  by  that 
person,  and  thus  the  Sub-prior,  and 
third  Prior,  and  those  that  were  with 
him,  would  not  be  accused  in  Chapter. 
When  this  officer  was  making  his 
search,  he  was  allowed  to  make  signs, 
but  not  to  speak  any  where  without 
leave,  if  any  one  of  the  Priors  was 
present.  The  Prior  on  duty,  if  he 
spoke  in  the  parlour  without  making  a 
sign  to  the  Explorator,  was  not  to  be 
accused.  The  Prior  was  to  be  first  in 
rank  with  the  first,  and  last  with  the 
last :  if  absent  from  Mattins,  by  disease 
or  otherwise,  he  was  to  celebrate  at  the 
lectern  of  the  guests.  On  the  days  of 
Christmas,  Easter,  and  Pentecost,  if 
the  Abbot  was  absent  or  unable,  he 
was  to  be  put  in  the  table,0  and  cele- 
brate. In  the  feasts  celebrated  in 
cappa,  if  the  Prior  sang  thirds,  he  was 
to  put  off  the  stole,  when  the  service 
was  over  ;  and  if  there  was  a  procession, 
put  on  his  robe,  and  walk  in  his  rank. 
He  could  ask  another  to  officiate  in 
his  stead,  when  he  was  him  self  at  Mat- 
tins.  Whenever  he  came  to  the  par- 
lour, or  store-room,  or  wherever  the 
Monks  were  allowed  to  speak,  all  were 
to  rise  to  him,  even  the  Abbot's  officers.d 
When  he  was  in  the  Choir,  no  one  was 
to  pass  by  him  to  the  form.  If  any 
contention  arose  in  the  Chapter,  he 
could  (at  option)  defer  the  accusation 
till  the  Abbot  was  present ;  but  if  the 
Convent  interfered,  he  could  claim 
cognizance  of  it   himself.     He   could 


and  was  to  visit  all  the  offices,  and  note  breaches  of 
duty.  He  was  to  take  his  walk  in  so  silent  and 
solemn  a  manner,  as  to  strike  terror  in  the  specta- 
tors ;  but  not  to  speak,  or  make  a  sign  to  any  one. 
He  made  his  circuit  at  all  times,  except  during 
Chapter  and  Collation,  when  the  doors  of  the  Clois- 
ter were  locked.  It  was  his  especial  duty  to  see 
that  no  Monk  was  absent  from  the  hours,  or  spoke, 
where  and  when  he  ought  not.  Du  Cange,  v. 
Circa,  Circator. 

c  A  board,  where  the  names  of  the  ebdomada- 
ries,  who  were  to  officiate  during  the  week,  were 
set  down.     See  sect.  Church. 

d  Any  where  out  of  the  Cloister  or  Choir ;  when 
he  wished  to  sit  in  the  former,  those  only  near 
him.     Dec.  Lanfr. 


PRIOR. 


115 


subject  a  Monk  to  the  penance  of  fast- 
ing, carrying  the  lantern,  custody,  and 
last  rank,  without  the  Abbot's  know- 
ledge: but  he  could  subject  no  one  to  the 
sentence  of  imprisonment,  or  severer 
punishment,  when  the  Abbot  was  at 
home  ;  but  the  matter  was  to  be  refer- 
red to  him,  and  the  Monk  be  punished 
with  that  sentence  according  to  his 
award.  When  the  Abbot  was  present, 
the  Prior  could  be  accused.  When 
the  Abbot  went  abroad,  the  Prior 
could  not,  unless  for  succour's  sake, 
admit  any  one  a  Monk,  and  then  with 
advantage  to  the  Church.  If  the  Sub- 
prior  held  the  Chapter,  the  Prior  was 
not  to  enter,  unless  asked,  or  from 
urgent  necessity.*  When  the  Prior 
nade  a  search  in  the  parlour,  or  else- 
where, all  who  were  talking  were  to 
rise,  and  say  that  they  talked  by  his 
leave.b  If  the  Prior  sitting  on  duty 
made  a  noise,  or  spilt  the  drink  at 
dinner,  the  Novice  that  waited  on  him, 
lest  any  evil  should  seem  to  be  unpun- 
ished, was  to  receive  pardon  for  that 
offence  before  his  seat.  If  the  Prior 
on  duty  dined  with  the  servants,  he 
might  sit  with  him  whom  he  chose 
should  be  that  person ;  nor  was  he  to 
receive  licence  of  doing  so  from  the 
president  of  the  table.  When  any 
Abbot  sat  at  dinner  at  the  high  desk, 
if  it  was  a  fast  day,  the  Prior  at  the 
drinking  during  Vespers  was  to  strike 
the  bell  in  the  Refectory.  If  he  found 
a  journey  troublesome,  he  could  send 
the  Sub-prior,  and  release  him  then 
from  all  his  offices.  After  dinner, 
when  the  Convent  went  to  the  Dormi- 
tory, he  Was  to  sit  before  his  bed  until 
the  rest  were  laid  down.  There  he 
was  to  sit  as  long  as  he  liked,  and 
afterwards  go  away  where  he  chose,  till 
the  servants  had  dined.  After  this,  he 
was  to  make  a  search  and  lock  the 
doors  of  the  parlours.  Those  who  had 
licence  from  the  Prior  were  to  stay 
with  him,  and  be  absent  from  the 
meridian  •  but  all  the  others  were  to  go 
to    sleep.     The   Prior,  if  disengaged, 


a  Decret.  Lanfr.  sect.  De  Priore. 
b  Ibid.  sect.  De  Circuitoribus. 


was  to  be  at  Complin,  after  which  he 
was  to  make  a  search  with  a  lantern, 
which  he  was  to  carry  both  in  winter 
and  summer,  at  that  time,  and  every 
other,  when  necessary.  Whoever  locked 
the  gates  was  to  carry  the  keys  to  the 
Prior's  bed,  and  in  his  absence  to  that 
of  the  Prior  on  duty.  To  search  the 
Dormitory  was  allowed  only  to  Priors 
after  Complin,  and  at  the  Meridian,  or 
sleep  at  noon.  At  the  drinking  during 
Vespers,  when  the  Prior  saw  the  Con- 
vent had  sufficiently  drunk,  he  was  to 
strike  the  bell  with  his  hand  once,  and 
after  that  no  one  was  to  presume  to 
enter.  Afterwards  he  was  carefully  to 
look  round  and  see  whether  the  Con- 
vent had  all  drunk,  and  put  the  cups 
by.  Afterwards,  at  a  triple  blow  of 
the  bell,  he  was  to  rise  from  his  seat, 
and  all  the  Convent  with  him,  but  not 
before.  The  same  was  to  be  done  at 
the  drinking  after  collation,  and  after 
Nones ;  when  the  benediction  was 
given,  he  was  to  strike  the  bell  once, 
and  then  and  not  before,  the  Monks 
were  to  drink.  If  any  Monk,  by  the 
Abbot's  order,  was  penanced  with  fast- 
ing for  two  or  three  days,  or  longer, 
the  Prior,  if  he  dined  at  the  head  of 
the  table,  might  on  that  day  relax  the 
sentence :  but,  on  the  next  day,  it  was 
to  be  renewed,  and  there  was  no 
further  remission,  till  he  was  absolved 
in  chapter,  in  order  that  the  sentence 
might  be  executed. 

If  the  Prior  was  sick,  he  was  to  lodge 
and  dine  in  the  Infirmary  from  custom, 
but  elsewhere  by  favour;  for  respect 
was  to  be  paid  to  him  by  all,  on 
account  of  his  authority.  Any  servant, 
known  and  brought  up  in  the  Church, 
whom  he  chose,  was,  except  the  com- 
mon servants  of  the  Infirmary,  to  wait 
upon  him ;  and  all  things,  respecting 
the  Order,  to  be  referred  to  the  Prior 
on  duty.  Notwithstanding  these  regu- 
lations, it  seems,  that  they  affected  to 
be  second  Abbots,  and  did  not  look 
much  after  the  Cloister  and  care  of  the 
Order.c 

The  Sab-prior's  chamber,  says  Da- 


Reyn.  Append.  198. 


I  2 


116 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS, 


vies,  was  over  the  Dormitory  door, 
that  he  might  hear  if  any  stirred  or 
went  out.  His  office  was  to  go  every 
night  as  a  private  watch  before  and 
after  midnight  to  every  Monk's  cham- 
ber door,  and  to  call  upon  him  by 
name,  to  see  if  any  were  wanting,  or 
stolen  out  in  pursuit  of  any  unlawful 
business.  The  Sub-prior  also  sat 
always  among  the  Monks  at  meat,  to 
see  that  every  man  behaved  himself 
according  to  the  Order  he  had  betaken 
himself  to.  He  always  said  grace  at 
dinner  and  supper,  and,  after  five 
o^clock  at  night,  was  to  see  all  the 
doors  locked :  as  the  cellar-door,  the 
frater-house  door,  the  Fawden-gates,a 
and  the  Cloister  doors.  He  kept  the 
keys  of  these  doors  all  night  till  five  in 
the  morning,  and  then  returned  them 
to  the  porters  and  other  proper  officers. 

The  Sub-prior  (in  Abbeys)  had  the 
same  power  and  privileges  as  the  major 
Prior  in  his  absence.  When  the  Abbot 
was  also  away,  he  could  permit  the 
sick  to  retire  to  the  Infirmary,  and,  if 
necessary,  eat  meat.  The  visitation 
of  the  Infirmary  was  his  peculiar  care ; 
and,  like  the  Prior,  he  could  punish 
the  servants,  but  not  add  to,  or  turn 
them  away.  Every  day  after  Complin, 
having  received  the  holy  water  with 
the  others  from  the  hebdomadary,  he 
was  to  stand,  while  the  Convent  pass- 
ed, to  notice  those  who  walked  irreve- 
rently, and  without  their  hoods  on. 
After  this,  he  took  a  lantern,  and 
searched  the  whole  house.b 

At  Abingdon  he  was  elected  by  the 
Abbot  and  choice  of  the  Prior  and 
more  sage  of  the  Convent.  At  the 
four  days  of  Christmas,  Easter,  or 
Pentecost/  when  the  Abbot  or  Prior 
was  absent,  he  was  to  take  his  place. 
If  he  himself  was  absent,  the  Chan- 
tor.  He  was  to  search  the  Dormitory 
before  Mattins.  Before  the  Chapter 
he  was  to  observe  the  gates  of  the 
Locutory    and    other    gates.     If    the 


a  Falb,  A.  S.  a  sheepfold,  stable,  a  bishop's 
stall ;   viderint   Dunelmenses. 

b  Deer.  Lanfr.     Sect.  De  Priore. 

c  The  reader  will  recollect  Trinity  Sunday  in- 
cluded in  the  Pentecost  Terra. 


Prior   held  the   Chapter,   he   was   to 
sound  the  bell  in  his  stead.d 

Dean  was  the  old  appellation  of 
Prior  f  for  to  every  ten  Monks  there 
was  a  Prior.f  Instances  appear  where 
the  Deans  were  actual  Sub-priors  in 
office.^  "  The  rule  ordered  them  to 
be  selected  from  the  best  that  could  be 
found  ;  "h  and  the  licence  for  absence 
from  Chapter  was  to  be  had  from 
them.1  In  Nunneries,  says  B.  Fox, 
"  If  the  covent  be  great,  we  woll  that 
certeyne  of  the  susters  of  good  proufe 
and  holy  conversacion  be  made 
Deanes ;  "k  with  whom  agrees  the 
Anglo-Saxon  rule  of  Bennet,  adding 
that  they  were  "  to  divide  the  burden 
with  the  Abbess.  'n  The  Prior  and 
Deans  were  called  Guardians  of  the 
Orderamongthe  Cistertians;mbut  these 
Monks  had  this  peculiarity :  a  Monk 
who  presided  pro  tempore  over  a 
particular  study  or  office,  was  not  to 
be  called  Prior,  but  Provisor,  and 
every  where  out  of  his  office  was  to 
stand  in  the  right  Choir,  directly  after 
the  Abbot.n 

P7*ioresses.     Among  the  Gilbertine 
Nuns  there  were  three  Prioresses,  one 
of   which   presided  in   turn,  and  had 
then  the  first  stall,  one  of  her  coadju- 
|   tors  standing  on  the  right  hand,  the 
I   other  on  the  left.     The  presiding  Pri- 
j   oress  held  the  Chapter,  enjoined  the 
j   penances,  granted  all  the  licences  or 
allowances,  visited  the  sick,  or  caused 
them  to  be  visited  by  one  of  her  com- 
panions.    She  had  obedience  and  res- 
pect paid  to   her  by   all.     She  could 


d  Cimbam  vice  sua  pulsabit.  MS.  Cott.  Claud, 
b.  vi.  192.  b.  e  Du  Cange,  v.  Decanus. 

f  Wilkins's  Concil.  ii.  719.  "  Decanum  et 
monachos  quoscunque  ad  custodiam  manerii  et 
ecclesiae  (de  Leominstre  cellse  abbatise  de  Reading) 
deputatos  :"  (Monast.  Angl.  i.  25.)  I  render, 
"  The  Prior  and  Monks  deputed  to  the  custody  of 
the  manor  and  church,''  &c. 

s  Du  Cange,  v.  Norma. 

h  Nam  jubet  regula  decanos  fieri,  de  melioribus 
quipossunt  eligi.  MS.  Cott.  Vesp.  A.  xtiii.  169. 
a.  Reyner,  120. 

1  Cap.  gen.  Northampt.  a0  1444.  c.  3. 

k  R.  of  S.  Benn.  for  the  Mynchins  or  Nuns,  b.  1. 
1516,  c.  21. 

1  Abbatissse  partiantur  onera.  MS.  Bodl.  Ar- 
chiv.  Seld.  D.  52.  (no  pages). 

m  Du  Cange,  v.  Custos.         n  Id.  v.  Provisor. 


PRIOR. 


117 


not  depose  the  Sub-prioress  or  Cel- 
laress  without  consulting  the  gene- 
ral Prior.  The  food  was  distributed 
by  the  Cellaress,  but  the  vestments  of 
the  Nuns  cut,  sewed,  and  divided  by 
the  Prioresses.  No  Prioress  could  sit  | 
near  any  man  in  their  houses,  without 
some  discreet  sister  sat  between ;  nor 
elsewhere,  if  it  could  be  conveniently 
avoided.  She  could  send  the  Sub- 
prioress  into  the  Infirmary,  to  take 
the  Venice,  if  she  was  herself  engaged. 
The  Prioress  was  to  endeavour  to  visit 
the  Nuns,  unless  she  happened  to  be 
in  the  kitchen,  or  was  detained  by 
sickness.  If  any  one  wished  to  confess, 
she  signified  to  the  Prioress,  if  she  was 
in  the  Cloister  or  Church,  or  confessed 
to  her  or  any  person  she  ordered.  On 
holidays,  she  sent  some  learned  Nun 
with  a  book  to  her  sisters,  to  teach 
them  somewhat  of  the  profit  of  the 
soul,  and  rigour  of  the  Order.  She 
herself  presided  over  the  Chapter  of 
the  sisters,  and  one  of  her  coadjutors 
often  took  their  Venice  in  the  evening 
Chapter.  On  festival  days  she  visited 
them  if  she  had  time,  and  diligently 
inquired  of  their  Order  and  religion. 
If  she  left  the  Dormitory  after  dinner, 
or  after  Complin,  she  did  not  go  out 
without  Nuns.  She  was  obliged  to 
indicate  the  cause  of  her  departure  to 
the  Prior  of  all.  If  she  left  the  Church 
through  sickness,  she  confessed  in  the 
Chapter,  and  no  one  stood  in  her  stall, 
except  at  Mass,  and  necessity  required 
it.     If  she  was  in    the  kitchen,    she 


could  take  the  venice  of  others  in  her 
scapulary.  When  she  was  serving  in 
the  kitchen,  and  made  a  mistake  in  the 
Refectory,  she  begged  her  pardon  there. 
She  was  to  shun  conferring  with  the 
scrutatrices  (or  visitors)  of  another 
house,  deputed  to  her,  or  to  make 
search  of  any  thing,  except  in  the 
common  Chapter.  If  she  was  in  the 
Infirmary,  she  was  to  conduct  herself 
more  reservedly^  and  not  speak  with 
more  together  than  two,  and  that  in  a 
bounded  place,  unless  perhaps  neces- 
sity compelled  her  to  talk  with  more 
for  the  sake  of  consultation,  or  when 
she  happened  to  hold  the  chapter  of  the 
sick.  She  could  upon  great  necessity, 
hold  the  Chapter  of  the  Convent,  and 
receive  confessions.  If  she  was  con- 
fined by  extreme  illness,  she  could,  like 
the  rest,  talk  in  bed. 

Sub-prioress.  She  could  not  become 
Prioress,  unless  the  Prior  of  all,  or 
Scrutatrices,  judged  it  necessary.  She 
could  not  enter  the  chamber  of  the 
Novitiates  to  take  their  venice,  unless 
called  by  a  sign  from  their  mistress. 
If  in  the  absence  of  the  Prioresses  she 
spoke  of  any  thing,  except  of  labour, 
she  confessed  having  done  so  in  the 
Chapter.  If  it  happened  that  another 
spoke  in  the  absence  of  the  Prioress, 
the  Sub-Prioress  notwithstanding  took 
the  venice  in  the  Chapter  and  out  of  it. 
But  she  could  not  go  to  the  gate  of  the 
window  without  a  sage  companions 

a  Monast.  Anglic,  ii.  760,  1, 


118 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


CHAPTER  X. 


CELLARER. 


This  officer,  who  was  to  be  the  father 
of  the  whole  society,  had  the  care  of 
every  thing  relating  to  the  food  of  the 
Monks,  and  vessels  of  the  cellar, 
kitchen,  and  refectory.  He  was  to  he 
careful  of  the  healthy,  but  especially  of 
the  sick.  He  was  to  do  nothing  of 
greater  moment,  without  the  advice 
of  the  Abbot  or  Prior.  He  was  to  ask 
the  Chantor  some  days  before,  when 
his  sentence  of  the  Rule  was  read  in 
the  Chapter,  and  then  to  solicit  abso- 
lution, and  make  a  handsome  refection 
for  the  Monks,  which,  if  the  sentence 
of  the  Rule  fell  upon  an  improper  day, 
was  deferred  by  leave  of  the  Prior  and 
Chapter  to  another.**  He  was  allowed 
absence  from  Masses,  Completory, 
and  all  the  hours,  except  Mattins,  Ves- 
pers, and  Prime.  He  was  to  be  present 
at  the  great  Mass  upon  feast 
till  the  Gospel  was  read;   also 


days, 
every 


day  in  Lent,  till  the  verses  of  the 
offertory  were  sung.  He  was  to  weigh 
the  bread  daily,  and  in  collecting  the 
spoons  after  dinner  he  was  to  carry 
the  Abbot's  in  his  right  hand,  and  the 
rest  in  his  left.  But  if  there  were  two 
or  more  Abbots  at  the  high  table,  one 
of  the  Brothers,  invited  by  the  Refec- 
tioner,  and  attending  on  the  left  hand 
with  the  spoons,  was  to  take  the  spoons 
of  the  Abbots  in  his  right  hand,  and 
collect  the  rest,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  spoon-officer,  in  his  left.  He  was 
to  wait  upon  the  Visitors,  Minuti,  and 
Monks  returning  from  journeys.  He 
was  to  take  care  that  no  one  sat  down 
before  the  Abbot  or  Prior,  and,  when 
any  one  asked  for  bread  and  beer  in 
reason,   was   to  give  it  to  him.b     At 


B  Dec.  Lanfr.  sect,  de  Cellerario. 

b  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  201,  b.  Si  autem 
fuerunt  duo,  vel  plures  abbates  ad  consistorium 
discumbentes,  unus  fratrum  a  refectorario  rogatus 
leva  parte  de  cochlearibus  ministrans  abbatum 
cochlearia  dextra  manu  feret,  csetera  autem  coch- 


Edmundsbury  he  held  his  court  of 
thieves  and  robbers;  and  had  power 
over  the  highways,  so  that  no  one 
could  dig  chalk  or  clay  without  his 
leave.  He  or  his  agents  had  the  pre- 
emption of  all  food  for  the  use  of  the 
Convent  if  the  Abbot  was  not  at  home.c 
There  was  sometimes  a  Cellarer  for 
in-door  business,  and  another  for 
out-door .d  Davies  says,  "  His  office 
was  to  see  how  much  was  expended  in 
the  kitchen,  both  for  the  Prior's  table, 
the  whole  Convent,  and  for  all  stran- 
gers that  came.  It  was  his  office  also 
to  see  all  things  orderly  served,  and 
in  due  time.  His  chamber  was  in 
the  Dorter."  e 

The  Cellaress  was  to  see,  when  she 
came  into  her  office,  what  was  owing 
to  it  by  different  farmers  and  rent- 
gatherers;  to  receive  certain  sums 
yearly  of  the  different  collectors  on  the 
Nunnery  estates;  to  take  account  of 
all  the  ox-hides,  inwards  of  them, 
tallow,  and  every  mess  of  beef  sold ; 
to  charge  herself  with  the  hay  sold  at 
any  farm  belonging  to  her  office ;  to 
purvey  all  the  provision  for  the  house, 
and  pay  certain  offerings,  wages,  and 
gifts ;  to  hire  pasture  for  her  oxen,  and 
attend  to  the  mowing  and  making 
of  hay,  and  repairs  of  building/ 

The  Cellaress  of  the  Gilbertine  Nuns 
was  not  to  talk  in  private  with  the 
yearly  visitors  from  another  house, 
nor   with  any   other    concerning   any 

learia  cum  cocleatorio  manu  sinistra  colliget.  202. 
b.  Cellerarius  vigilanter  provideat  ne  ante  recu- 
bitum  abbatis,  vel  prioris,  aliquis  recubet.  Id.  201. 
b.  Nulli  panem  et  cervisiam  consideranter  petenti 
,  debet  renuere.  Id.  201.  b.— The  keys  of  the  cola- 
torium  or  strainer,  for  straining  the  beer,  were  also 
in  his  custody.     Ibid. 

c  Monast.  i.  300.  <*  M.  Par.  1096,  et  alii. 

e  A  secular  performed  this  office  at  Winchester, 
but  was  removed  by  William  of  Wickham.  MS. 
Harl.  328. 

f  Monast.  i.  80,  83.  For  the  reason  of  the 
agricultural  direction  of  her  office,  see  sect.  Nuns. 


CELLARER. 


119 


Canon  or  Nun  (de  aliquo  vel  aliqua), 
that  the  visitors  might  hear ;  nor  serve 
in  the  kitchen,  where  the  Sub-cellaress 
was  to  take  her  place.  She  was  to 
have  a  Lay-sister  associated  with  her 
to  help  her,  with  whom  she  might  talk 
of  necessaries  openly  in  the  cellar.  In 
the  cellar,  however,  no  one  was  to 
speak  except  the  Prioress  and  Cellar- 
ess,  and  Fenestraria,  or  Window-por- 
teress,  Lay-sister  of  the  Hostrey,  that 
of  the  kitchen,  and  the  assistant  of 
the  Cellaress.  The  Cellaress  was  not 
to  speak  in  the  Infirmary  of  the  Lay- 


sisters  sitting;  and  a  fault  of  this  kind 
was  to  be  examined.  The  bread  of 
the  sick  and  the  whole  society  was  to 
be  distributed  according  to  her  direc- 
tion. All  the  food  was  too  in  her 
disposal,  and  no  one  but  the  Prioress 
had  besides  any  controul  over  it.  When 
she  left  the  Dormitory,  after  dinner  or 
complin,  and  broke  silence,  she  was  to 
declare  the  cause  of  both  in  the  Chap- 
ter £*nor  was  to  go  out  without  more 
Nuns.a 

.  a  Monast.  ii.  761. 


120 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS. 


CHAPTER  XL 


PRECENTOR;    OR    CHANTOR. 


The    office   of   Precentor  was  one  of 
those  which  could  only  be  filled  by  a 
Monk  who  had  been  educated  in  the 
Monastery    from   a   child.8      He   was 
only  to  be  set  down  in  the  table  to  the 
lesson  and  responsory  in  the  Abbotts 
absence,  in  order  that  he  might  then 
take  his  place.     He  was  to  correct  all 
mistakes  in  the  choral  service,  which 
was  entirely  at  his  disposal,  to  distri- 
bute  the   robes    at   festivals,   and    to 
make   the  tables    of    the   Monks    for 
divine  service.     No  one  was  to  leave 
the  Choir  before  Mass  was  over  with- 
out his  leave.     His  place  was  in  the 
middle  of  the  Choir,  and  on  the  right 
side.      He   was   censed   next    to    the 
Abbot  and  Prior.     He  began  the  chant 
firsts  and  was  followed  by   the   right 
Choir.     In    all  principal  feasts  which 
fell  on  Sundays,  he  was  put  into  the 
table  of  office,  with  two  others  whom 
he  chose.     On  Sundays,  and  festivals 
of  that  kind,  another  held  the  Choir, 
and  made  a  sign  to  the  Chantor  when 
he   began   the   verse   of  the   offering, 
which  salutation  was    returned  by    a 
bow ;  and,  upon  the  beginning  of  every 
verse,  he  and  all  the  children  bowed. 
In  times  of  manual  labour;  he  either 
read   or    showed   the   master    of    the 
Novices  where  the  children   were   to 
begin   reading.      He   notified    to    the 
Abbot  all  the  chants  which  he  sang  or 
began.b 

At  Abingdon  he  was  elected  by  the 
Abbot,   Prior;  and  Convent.     *It  was 


*  Du  Cange,  v.  Nutriti. 

b  Deer.  Lanfr.  sect.  De  Cantore. 

*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  193.  seq.  Officium 
cantoris  est  officio  cantandi  et  legendi  omnes  ex- 
amussim  docere  etinstruere,  primo  abbatem,  deinde 
priorem,  postmodum  omnes  alios.  Si  quis  de 
accentu,  aut  pronuntiatione,  aut  alio  modo  hesita- 
verit,  cantor  illud  dubiuin  certificabit.  Si  abbas 
morbo  prseoccupatus  matutiuis  interesse  non  pessit, 
per  capelhnum  suum  cantori  mandabit,  et  cantor 
postmodum  officium  abbatis  procurabit,     In  pro- 


his  office  to  teach  all  the  Monks  to 
sing  and  read,  to  the  most  exact  degree, 
first  the  Abbot,  afterwards  the  Prior, 
and  then  all  the  others.  If  any  one 
hesitated  respecting  an  accent  or  pro- 
nunciation, or  any  thing  else,  the 
Chantor  was  to  rectify  that  doubt. 
[The  officiating  Monks  were  accus- 
tomed to  rehearse  the  services,  and 
receive  the  key,  &c.  from  the  Precen- 
tor] .c  When  the  Abbot  was  diseased, 
and  could  not  be  present  at  Mattins, 
his  Chaplain  notified  it  to  the  Chantor, 

cessionibus  in  monasterio  abbas  nichil  incipiet, 
nisi  cantor  prsesignaverit.  Cantor  a  nullo  officio 
ebdomadario  liber  erit.  Si  abbas  prsesens  fuerit 
monitu  cantoris  incipiet ;  et  si  abbas  expeditus  non 
fuerit,  et  in  festis  quos  abbas  non  incipit,  cantor 
succedet.  Cantor  negligentes  in  choro  corripiet — 
quando  alicui  innuet  ut  cantet,  frater  illi  inclinare 
debet.  Cantori  licet,  sine  reprehensione  horis 
canonicis  et  ad  missas  libros  inspicere,  exceptis 
libris  ad  officium  missse  assignatis.  Quociens 
cantor  chorum  tenuerit  quoddam  excepto  communi 
de  coquina  habebit.  In  festis  quae  celebrantur  in 
cappis  aliquis  fratrum  monitu  cantoris  bacula  festiv. 
in  chorum  deferet,  et  cantor  concantoribus  distri- 
buet.  Quisquis  tabulam  scripserit  cantor  ante  capi- 
tulum  providebit.  A  diebus  fratrum  anniversariis 
lector  martirologii  monitu  cantoris  prout  cantor 
disposuerit,  dispositionem  in  capitulo  pronuntiabit. 
In  precipuis  anniversariis  triduo  ante  pronuntia- 
tionem  cantor  cellerario  et  coquinario  intimabit 
[the  same  with  the  Abbot's  anniversaries].  Si 
quis  ad  missam  sederit,  monitu  cantoris  surgens 
inclinabit.  A  depositione  alicujus  fratris  nomen 
ispsius  in  martyrologio  providentia  cantoris  debet 
inscribi.  Arciva  cantori  debent  assignari,  per 
cantorem  eleemosynario  tradi.  In  omnibus  festis 
in  quibus  processio  fuerit  cantor  processionem 
ordinabit,  et  ad  ostium  chori  socium  socio  parifi- 
cabit  pro  ordinatione  processionis  monachos  de 
choro  in  chorum  transponet.  Qua;  ad  proces- 
sionem sunt  ferenda,  monitu  cantoris  ferentur. 
Cantoris  dispositione  annuee  disponenter  rasturse. 
Si  quis  morbe  preeoccupatus  licentia  capituli  infir- 
mitorium  adierit,  de  quocunque  ebdomadarius  fue- 
rit cantor  procurabit ;  idemptidem  procurabit,  si 
quis  quoque  cum  benedictione  ierit,  194.  b.  Can- 
tor pro  transgressione  mendacii  et  negligentia  in 
choro  officii,  puerorum  aures  eriget,  capillos  disti- 
net,  manu  csedet.  Cantor  almaria  puerorum  juve- 
num  et  alia  in  quibus  libri  conventus  reponuntur, 
innovabit,  fracta  praeparabit,  pannos  librorum 
bibliothecse  repperiet,  fracturas  librorum  reficiet, 
193.  b. 
c  J)\x  Cange,  Yi  4^9Gultar€i 


PRECENTOR,    OR    CHANTOR. 


121 


and  he  made  provision  for  supplying 
his  place.  In  the  processions  in  the 
Monastery,  the  Abbot  was  to  do 
nothing  unless  forewarned  by  the  Chan- 
tor.  The  Chantor  was  free  from  no 
weekly  office.  When  the  iVbbot  was 
present,  he  began  at  the  warning  of  the 
Chantor ;  and  if  the  Abbot  was  en- 
gaged, the  Chantor  took  his  place,  as 
well  as  in  festivals,  which  that  prelate 
had  not  begun.  He  reproved  the 
negligent  in  the  choral  service,  and 
when  he  nodded  to  any  one  to  sing, 
that  Monk  was  to  bow  to  him.  He 
could  inspect  the  books  at  the  canoni- 
cal hours  and  Masses,  those  only 
excepted  assigned  to  the  office  of  the 
Mass.  As  often  as  he  held  the  Choir, 
he  had  an  allowance  beyond  the  com- 
mons of  the  house.  On  the  feasts  of 
Copes,  some  Monk,  by  his  direction, 
brought  the  festival  staves  into  the 
Choir,  and  he  distributed  them  to  his 
fellow- chantor s.  Before  the  Chapter 
he  made  provision  of  the  person  to 
write  the  table.  Upon  the  anniver- 
saries of  the  Monks,  the  reader  of  the 
martyrology,  by  his  direction,  pro- 
nounced in  the  Chapter  how  he  had 
arranged  matters.  On  the  principal 
anniversaries  (and  those  of  Abbots)  he 
intimated  the  arrangement  to  the  Cel- 
larer and  Kitchener  three  days  before 
the  annunciation.  If  any  one  sat  at 
Mass,  he  rose  and  bowed  at  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Chantor.  At  the  decease 
of  a  Monk,  his  name,  by  the  provision 
of  this  officer,  was  registered  in  the 
martyrology  or  obituary.  The  archives 
belonged  to  him,  and  were  delivered 
by  him  to  the  Almoner. a  In  all  the 
feasts  in  which  there  was  procession, 
he  arranged  the  procession  and  paired 
the  Monks  at  the  door  of  the  Choir ; 
and  also  transposed  the  Monks  from 
Choir  to  Choir.  Every  thing  borne 
at  the  procession  was  under  his  direc- 
tion. The  annual  rastura  *>  were  dis- 
posed by  him.  If  any  sick  Monk,  by 
leave   of  the   Chapter,  went   to     the 


ft  To  make  out  the  brevia  from.     See  Almoner. 

b  Rastura,  in  the  Gilbertine  rule,  is  the  shaving  of 

the  head ;  but  rasura,  in  Du Cange,  is.  bread  raspings. 


Infirmary,  he  provided  who  should  be 
Ebdomadary;  and,  in  the  same  man- 
ner, when  any  one  went  out  with  bene- 
diction, or  for  a  time.  He  could  lug 
the  ears  of  the  boys,  pull  their  hair, 
and  chastise  with  his  hand,  the  Novices 
who  told  lies,  and  were  negligent  in 
the  Choir.  He  mended  the  presses  or 
almonries  of  the  Novices,  youths,  and 
others,  where  the  Convent  books  were 
deposited,  repaired  them,  and  found 
cloths  for  the  library  books,  and  repair- 
ed their  damages. 

During  service  the  Precentor  held  in 
his  hand  a  kind  of  musical  instrument 
I   made  of  bone,  called  tabula.     In  a  will, 
I   dated  837,  they  are  called  singing  tabu-. 
:   Ice,  prepared  (ornamented)  with    gold 
|   and  silver.0     Amalarius  says,  he  holds 
|   them  in  his  hands  as  a  substitute  for 
I   organs,  without  any  necessity  of  read- 
,   ing,   that  he  may   represent    that   of 
the   Psalmist,  "They  shall  praise  his 
name  in  the  Choir  with  timbrel  and 
psalter."^      Among  the    classical  an- 
!   cients,  the  Coryphseus,  or  leader  of  the 
|   band,  not  only  beat  time  with  his  foot 
I   and  the  scaltilla,  or  crupezia,  but  with 
|   the  hand  also,  putting  the  fingers  of  the 
!   right  hand  upon  the  hollow  of  the  left, 
j   for  which  purpose  they  sometimes  used 
i   oyster-shells,  the  shells  of  other  fish, 
I   as  well  as  the  bones  of  animals ,e  &c. 
The  roll  of  parchment  now  used,   is 
merely  a  copy  of  the  Contacium,  a  stick 
with  several  skins  rolled  round  it,  con- 
taining the  offices  to  be  recited  by  the 
Priest.f     Some  accounts  say,  that  the 
Precentor  held  a  silver  staff  while  the 
service    was   performed,    which    was 
taken,   says  Honorius,  from  the  staff 
held  by  the  Israelites,  who,  eating  the 
Paschal  lamb,  travelled  to  their  coun- 
try.s 

*  The  Subchantor  was  to  be  elected 
by  the  choice  and  request  of  the  Chan- 
tor, whose  place  he  was  to  fill.  The 
keys  of  the  lockers,  where  the  yearly 


c  Du  Cange,  v.  Tabula. 

d  L.  3.  c.  16,  p.  -111. 

e  Burney's  Hist,  of  Musick,  i.  75.  f  Du  Cange, 
v.  Contacium.     e  Id.  v.  Baculari  Cantorum. 

*  Succentor.  Dispositione  pnccentoris  et  peti- 
tions succentor  congtitu^r.      Claves  almariorum 


122 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


books  and  singing  books  were  locked 
up,  were  to  be  in  his  custody.  By  the 
constitutions  of  Walter  de  Wickwane, 
Abbot  of  Winchcombe,  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  house,  it  was  enacted,  that 
no  letter  with  the  Convent  seal,  what- 
ever might  be  the  emergency,  should 
be  carried  out  of  the  Cloister  before  it 
was  entered  by  the  Succentor,  or  a  per- 
son deputed  by  him,  in  the  Landbok, 
or  elsewhere,  as  the  business  required. 
The  Succentor  or  Subchantor  pre- 
sided over  the  left  Choir  5  the  Chan  tor 


in  quibus  libri  annualos  (sic)  et  libri  cantus  reclu- 
duntur  custodise  succentoris  assignabuntur.  194.  b. 
Et  quod  nulla  litera  sigillo  conventuali  (quodcun- 
que  contingat)  aliquando  extra  claustrum  deferatur 
priusquam  per  succentorem  aliumve  per  euro  depu- 


I  began,  and  the  Subchantor  answered ; 
sometimes  (the  Precentor  having  only 
that  one  appellation)  the  Succentor 
was  called  Chantor.a 

Precentric.  When  the  Precentrix 
served  in  the  Kitchen  (says  the  Gil- 
bertine  Rule),  her  companion  had  the 
key  of  the  Book-case,  which  was  locked 
always,  except  in  Reading-time.  She 
and  her  companion,  in  the  first 
Sunday  of  Lent,  when  the  Chapter  was 
over,  divided  the  books  at  the  Prior- 
esses order.  She  was  to  provide  the 
book  for  the  Collation.b 


tatum  in  Landbok  seu  aliis  locis  prout  negocium 
requirit  scribatur.  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  B.  n.  f.  225  b. 

a  Du  Cange,  v.  Prcecentura,  Succentor. 

b  Monast.  Angl.  ii.  767. 


— 


KITCHENER. 


123 


CHAPTER  XIL 


KITCHENER, 


At  Abingdon  he  was  free  from  every 
weekly  office,  except  the  great  Mass 
and  the  Virgin  Mary's.  He  was  never 
absent  from  Chapter  unless  engaged. 
He  might  leave  the  Dormitory  before 
the  bell  rang,  and  was  to  visit  the  sick 
in  the  morning  to  see  what  they  wanted. 
The  Abbot  could  not,  without  his  leave, 
contract  any  of  the  manors  assigned 
to  the  kitchen.  He  sat  on  the  left  of 
the  Prior  at  meals,  and  gave  the  licence 
to  the  reader  as  well  as  that  of  dining 
and  drinking.  *  After  dinner,  on  what- 
soever duty  he  should  be,  he  observed 
the  rank  of  the  Prior  by  walking  last 
after  the  servants.  When  he  sat  at 
the  table  of  the  servants,  any  Abbot 
coming  thither  might  dine  there  ;  and 
the  Kitchener,  notwithstanding,  dining 
according  to  his  duty,  attended  no  less 
upon  any  of  the  servants  with  a  meal, 
for  change  of  place  was  not  an  altera- 
tion of  rank.  A  consolatory  compa- 
nion, or  solatium,  was  allowed  him. 
At  dinner  time  he  went  round  the  ta- 
bles of  the  sick  to  see  what  they  wanted. 
The  Vacarius,  or  herdsman,  was  sub- 
ject to  him.  At  Winchcombe  it  was 
ordered  that  the  Refectioner  and  Kit- 
chener, for  the  time,  should  shew  them- 
selves ready  to  deliver  to  the  servants 
of  the  Minuti  what  was  necessary,  that 
they  might  not  be  obliged,  on  this  ac- 
count, to  decline  the  society,  or  com- 
mon table  of  their  brethren  .a     At  Eve- 


*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  p.  200,  a,  b.  Post 
prandium  cujuscunque  ordinis  fuerit,  ordinem  pri- 
ons postremo  post  servitores  incedendo  servabit. 
Cum  discubuerit  ad  consistorium  servitorum,  ali- 
cpais  abbas  superveniens  discubuerit  ad  consisto- 
rium :  coquinarius  in  ordine  suo  discumbens  non 
minus  quemlibet  servitorem  uno  ferculo  visitabit, 
loci  enim  mutacio  non  est  dignitatis  alteratio. 

a  Refectorarius  autem  et  coquinarius  qui  pro  tem- 
pore fuerit,  sic  se  minutorum  ministris  exbibeant 
paratos,  et  sibi  liberent  quse  debentur,  quod  non 
sit  necesse  cuiquam  de  minutis  pro  suis  necessariis 
perquirendis  a  contubemio  declinare.  MS.  Cott. 
Cleop.  B.  n.  p.  228, 


sham  he  had  a  horse  allowed  him,  and 
used  to  attend  markets.1*  It  may  be 
gathered  from  statutes,  that  he  was 
sometimes  in  the  habit  of  distressing 
the  Monks,  by  giving  them  always  the 
same  dishes.0  A  familiar  modern  says, 
the  office  of  chief  Cook  in  Monasteries 
was  never  conferred  on  any  but  such 
as  had  made  the  art  their  study  :d  and 
another,  more  antient,  says,  that  they 
had  Lay-cooks  able  to  please  the  pa- 
late of  Apicius  himself.e  I  find  that 
there  were  at  Abingdon,  besides  the 
Abbot's  Cook,  Bo,  the  Cook  of  the 
Monks,  and  Am,  the  Cook  of  the  house- 
hold, nicknames,  or  names  oddly 
spelt.f 

^Elfstan,  a  Monk,  who  afterwards 
became  a  Bishop,  was  Cook  at  Abing- 
don. Alone,  and  unassisted,  he  cooked 
the  viands,  gave  them  out,  lighted  the 
fire,  fetched  the  water,  and  washed  the 
dishes,  which,  as  well  as  the  pavement, 
he  kept  in  the  cleanest  stated 

Cooks.  Among  the  Gilbertines,  one 
of  them  was  to  assist  the  Cellaress  in 
carrying  bread  and  drink  into  the  Re- 
fectory ;  all  to  carry  the  remains  of  the 
pittances  into  the  Cellar,  and  them- 
selves serve  the  Nuns  at  supper.  They 
were  to  have  their  refection  after  the 
Nuns,  and,  as  well  as  the  servants,  take 
mixtus.Q 

b  Monast.  Anglic,  i.  p.  148. 

c  Cap.  Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1444.  c.  v.  De  Obe- 
dientiariis. 

d  Andrew's  Gr.  Brit.  vol.  i.  p.  2,  from  Croyl* 
Hist,  apud  Gale. 

e  Fuller's  Ch.  Hist.  b.  vi. 

f  Cocus  abbatis  ii  panes  parvos,  pro  companagio 
iii  ob.  et  cervisiam  in  aula..  Bo  cocus  monacho- 
rum,  &c.  Am  cocus  de  familia.  (MS.  Cott.  Claud. 
B.  vi.p.  178.;  I  am  inclined  to  think  from  the 
universality  of  soubriquets  in  my  own  parish  and 
elsewhere,  that  there  were  formerly,  notwithstand- 
ing baptism,  persons  who  never  were  known  by 
any  other,  because  the  family  denomination  was 
not  sufficiently  distinctive. 

s  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  165. 

fc  Monast.  Anglic,  ii.  761,  762. 


124 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


SENESCHALL. 


This  Obedientary,  often  a  Layman 
of  rank,  whose  office  was  held  by  fee, 
was  to  hold  the  courts,  to  do  the  Ab- 
bot's business  with  the  king,  by  pay- 
ing money  into  the  Exchequer,  and 
transacting  other  matters  of  a  like 
kind. a  For  all  this  he  had  certain  very 
valuable  fees,  and  privileges  in  hos- 
pitality and  other  respects.  There  ap- 
pears, however,  to  have  been  a  Senes- 
chall  of  inferior  dignity.  This  officer 
was  to  be  always  ready  to  do  the  Con- 
vent business  with  the  Prior  and  Cel- 
larer, which  was  to  be  done  out  of  the 
house  b  He  was  to  make  the  presents,0 
when  sent  to  persons  lodging  in  the 
town.  When  at  home  he  was  to  have 
the  corrody  of  one  Monk,  to  carry  a 
rod  in  his  hand,  and  to  arrange  the 
matters  of  those  who  sat  at  table  in  the 
guests'  hall.  His  annual  wages  were 
10/.  When  he  rode  out  with  the  Prior 
and  Cellarer  beyond  the  gate,  for  the 
business  of  the  house,  he  had  a  ser- 
vant, who  attended  the  guests  in  the 
hostrey,  drew  beer  for  liveries,  carried 
presents  at  the  direction  of  the  Cel- 
larer, and  received  every  clay  from  the 
cellar  bread  and  beer,  and  culinary 
fare,  as  persons  in  the  hostrey.  This 
Seneschall  had  also  the  Bishop's  habi- 
tations in  custody.d 

The  following  charter  of  the  Abbey 
of  Winchcombe  shows  the  office  and 
emoluments  of  an  inferior  Seneschal!, 


a  Monast.  i.  290,302,361. 

b  Curia.  e  Exenia. 

d  Thorpe's  Custumale  Roffense,  p.  29. 


eAs  long  as  he  continued  in  office, 
he  was  to  have  the  same  commons  in 
the  Hall  as  the  Cellarer,  or  even  the 
Abbot's  Chaplain. 

His  servants  were  to  fare  the  same 
as  other  servants. 

He  had  provender  for  two  horses  ; 
the  same  allowance  as  for  the  Cellarer's 
two  horses. 

He  had  also  a  robe  of  Clerk's  cloth 
once  a  year,  with  lamb's  fur,  for  a  su- 
per-tunick,f  and  for  a  hood  of  budge 
fur,s  and  an  allowance  for  his  servant 
the  same  as  the  Cellarer's  servant. 

He  had  also  40s.  sterling  every  year 
at  Michaelmas. 

For  this  he  was  to  hold  their  man- 
erial  courts  twice  a  year,  at  least ;  at- 
tend to  other  business,  and  even  go 
abroad,  if  required,  upon  affairs  of  the 
house,  in  which  case  his  expenses  were 
allowed  .h 


e  Videl.  quod  habeat  et  percipiat  quoad  vivit  in 
officio  Senescallatus  nobis  deservienti  de  nobis  et 
nostro  monasterio  in  victualibus,  sicut  nostro  celle- 
rario  etiam  capellano  deservitur  in  aula. 

Et  habeant  sui  garciones  sicut  cseteri  garciones. 

Habeat  insuper  duos  equos  pro  quibus  habeat  in 
prsebenda,  sicut  pro  duobus  equis  cellerarii  libera- 
tur. 

Habeat  insuper  robam  unam  de  panno  clerico- 
rum  annis  singulis  cum  forura  agnina  pro  supertu- 
nica,  et  pro  caputio  de  bogeto  :  Et  pro  roba  unius 
garcionis,  sicut  garcioni  cellerarii  liberatur. 

Et  quadraginta  solidos  sterlingorum  annis  singu- 
lis in  festo  S'i  Michaelis  percipiendos. 

f  In  the  Norman  sera,  a  dress  like  a  smock-frock, 
without  sleeves,  worn  between  the  tunick  and  gown 
(Strutt,  i.  94),  but  varying  in  subsequent  seras. 

s  See  Abbot's  dress,  Ch.  vii. 

b  Registrum  parvum  Abbatise  de  Winchcombe 
penes  prsenob.  Pomin.  Sherborne,  fol.  240. 


TREASURER;  OR  BURSAR. 


125 


CHAPTER  XIV, 


TREASURER,    OR    BURSAR. 


Davies  says,  "  His  exchequer  was  a 
little  stone  house,  joining  upon  the 
coal-garth  a  pertaining  to  the  great  Kit- 
chen, a  little  distant  from  the  Dean's 
hall-stairs.  His  office  was  to  receive 
the  rents  of  the  house,  and  all  other 
officers  of  the  house  made  their  ac- 
counts to  him.  He  discharged  all  the 
servants'  wages,  and  paid  all  the  ex- 
penses and  sums   of  money  laid  out 


a  A  yard  or  fold.     A.  S.  Seapb. 
den.     Watson's  Halifax,  Gloss. 


Hence  Gar- 


ahout  any  works  appertaining  to  the 
Abbey,  or  that  the  house  was  charged 
withal.  His  chamber  was  in  the  In- 
firmary, and  his  meat  was  served  from 
the  great  kitchen  to  his  exchequer." 
This  is  all  the  notice  I  have  seen  of 
this  officer,  except  a  denomination  of 
Capsarius  in  Du  Cange,  and  Bursar 
elsewhereb,  for  in  many  houses  the  ex- 
terior Cellarer  supplied  his  place. 

b  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  767. 


126 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS, 


CHAPTER  XV. 


SACRIST     OR     SECRETARIUS, 


He  was  to  uncover  the  Altar  after 
the  Gospel  in  feasts  of  twelve  lesson s, 
to  carry  the  text  to  the  Vestiary,  which 
the  Priest  bore,  as  in  his  robe  he  pro- 
ceeded every  day  to  the  Altar  ;  to  carry 
a  lantern  before  the  Priest  in  his  way 
from  the  Altar  to  the  Lectern,  and, 
after  the  collect,  put  the  text  upon  the 
Altar,  and  to  ring  the  bell,  or  tell  others 
to  do  it ;  for  which  he  was  to  ask  no 
leave,  unless  at  Prime,  or  Collation,  or 
at  Thirds  and  Vespers,  when  the  Ab- 
bot sat  in  the  Cloister  with  the  Monks 
conversing.  He  distributed  the  can- 
dles for  the  offices;  took  care  of  all 
burials;  washed  the  chalices  twice  a 
week,  or  oftener,  as  necessary ;  and  the 
corporals a  before  Easter,  or  when  ex- 
pedient, provided  he  was  a  Priest  or 
Deacon,  and  for  this  he  had  brazen 
vessels  used  for  nothing  else,  the  water 
of  which  was  thrown  in  the  piscina, 
or,  as  it  is  otherwise  and  there  called, 
Sacrarium.b  He  had  the  charge  of 
preparing  the  host,  and  of  washing  the 
ampulleec  for  wine  and  water  on  Thurs- 
days and  Sundays,  which  he  supplied 
every  day  for  the  officiating  ministers, 
and  furnished  the  wafers  to  the  com- 
municants. He  lighted  the  candles 
after  the  collect,  at  the  Lessons  and 
Lauds ;  and,  if  any  indiscreet  delay 
ensued,  he  lay  prostrate  before  the 
step  of  penance d  till  a  certain  part  of 
the  service  was  ended,  after  which  he 
departed  without  leave.  The  intricacy 
of  this  office  occasioned  a  recommen- 


a  Cloths  the  host  was  wrapped  in. 

b  Hist,  of  Hampton  Poyle,  by  Mr.  Ellis.  MS. 

c  Vessels  to  pour  the  wine  into  the  chalice  with. 
The  ceremony  of  preparing  the  host  is  given  at 
large  in  TindaVs  Evesham,  p.  185  ;  but,  though 
verbatim  the  same  as  in  the  Dec.  Lanfr.  the  officer 
is  there  the  Infirmarer.  If  the  host  happened  to 
fall,  an  appropriate  religious  service  was  performed, 
and  whatever  thing  it  touched  was  cut  oif  and 
thrown  into  the  Sacrarium,  or  Piscina  (of  the  va- 
rious uses  of  which  I  shall  speak  in  Sect.  Church). 
Dec.  Lanfr.  c.  ii. 

d  The  step  where  the  benedictions  were  received ; 
but  see  art.  Chapter,  sect.  Penances  and  Disci- 
pline. 


dation  that  it  should  be  committed  to 
a  master  and  servants.e 

At  Abingdon*  the  Sacrist  was 
elected  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Chantor.  When  unoccupied,  he  was 
in  the  order,  and  exempted  from  no 
weekly  office.  He  had  the  care  of  the 
vestments  of  the  Church,  bells,  and 
banners.  He  could  not  give,  sell,  or 
pawn  any  of  the  official  ornaments  of 
the  Church,  nor  even  pledge  any  small 
matter  for  a  short  time,  without  the 
witness  of  his  fellows.  He  could  not 
speak  at  any  time  with  a  Monk,  or  any 
other  in  the  Church.  As  often  as  any 
one  of  the  congregation  of  the  servants, 
or  persons  coming  from  other  places 
(not  a  respectable  person)  should  sit  or 

e  Deer.  Lanfr.  c.  6.  De  Secretariis,  &c. 
*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  19.5,  seq.  Eodem 
ordine,  eadem  dispositione,  qua  Cantor  eligitur  et 
instituitur,  debet  Secretarius  eligi  etinstitui.  Quo- 
ciens  secretarius  expeditus  fuerit,  in  ordine  erit,  et 
a  nullo  officio  ebdomadarii  absolutus  erit.  Orna- 
menta  ecclesise  nee  aliqua  sibi  assignata  sacrista 
dare,  vendere,  nee  impignorare  potuit,  autem  [aut] 
aliquod  modicum,  pro  modico  tempore,  sine  soci- 
orum  testimonio  impignorare.  Non  licet  secre- 
tario  aliquando  cum  monacho,  aut  alio  aliquo  loqui 
in  monasterio.  Quociens  aliquis  in  congregatione 
ministrantium,  vel  aliunde  venientium,  nisi  reve- 
renda  fuerit  persona,  in  conspectu  conventus  sede- 
rit,  aut  steterit,  sacrista  eum  amovebit,  excepta 
Nativ.  S.  Mar.  Homo  Sacristarii  cirpum  ad  or- 
natum  ecclesiae  in  dominio  abbatis,  et  militum,  et 
omnium  aliorum  accipiet ;  non  illato  damno  prate- 
rum  aut  segetum.  Quociens  matutinse  tarn  morose 
pulsantur  ut  collecta  ad  laudes  possit  sine  apposi- 
tione  candelae  vidi  et  pronuntiari,  sacrista  ad  preces 
ante  gradum  veniam  accipiet ;  et  ibidem  donee  in- 
choetur  collecta  prostratus  recumbet ;  postmodum 
surgens  ordinem  suum  adeat.  Si  hoc  fecerit  nee 
ab  abbate,  nee  ab  alio  clamabitur ;  sin  alias  moleste 
in  capitulo  reprehendetur.  Ne  via  cenulenta,  vel 
aquosa  [fuerit]  sacristalocumitineriscantoridenun- 
tiabit. — Sacrista  habebit  totam  ceram  totius  ydro- 
melli  in  promptuarium  monachorum  relati :  excep- 
tis  xx  secretariis,  abbati  assignatis.  Licet  secreta- 
rio  et  subsecretario  jacere  in  monasterio,  quod  non 
licet  aliis,  nisi  praecepto  aut  licentia  abbatis  vel  pri- 
dris.  Infra  septa  embrii  monachorum  nullum  con- 
stituetur  stabulum.  Sacrista  curabit  ut  urticse  et 
omnes  herbse  eradicandse  ab  embrio  radicitus  extir- 
pentur,  nee  equus,  aut  aliquod  animal  in  embrio 
frequentetur.  Sacrista  habebit  de  granario  cotidie 
prsebendam  suo  palefrido.  Licet  secretario  cum 
subsecretario  unum  habere    solatium    consolato- 


SACRIST  OB    SECRETARIUS, 


127 


stand  in  view  of  the  Convent/  the 
Sacrist  was  to  remove  him,  except  on 
the  nativity  of  the  Virgin  Mary.b  The 
Sacrisfs  man  was  to  take  rushes  to 
ornament  the  Church,  in  the  demesne 
of  the  Abbot  and  Knights,  and  all 
others,  so  as  no  damage  was  done  to 
the  meadows  or  corn.  As  often  as 
Mattins  were  rung  so  late  that  the 
Collect  at  Lauds  could  be  seen  with- 
out the  use  of  a  light,  the  Sacrist  was  to 
take  a  small  venia  at  prayers  before  the 
step ;  and  there  lay  prostrate  till  the 
Collect  was  begun  ;  afterwards,  rising, 
he  went  to  his  place.  If  he  did  this, 
he  was  not  to  be  accused  in  Chapter 
by  the  Abbot  or  any  other ;  if  other- 
wise, severely  reprimanded.  At  the 
procession  of  the  rogations,  lest  the  way 
should  be  dirty  or  watery,  the  Sacrist 
was  to  point  out  the  road  to  the  Chan- 
tor,  the  Chantor  to  the  Chapter.  The 
Sacrist  was  to  have  all  the  wax  of  the 
ydromelc  brought  into  the  store-house 
of  the  Monks,  except  the  twenty  Se- 
cretaries d  assigned  to  the  Abbot.  He 
was  to  appoint  a  Subsacrist,  who  was 
to  keep  the  keys  in  his  absence ;  to 
take  the  corn  necessary  for  the  guests, 
and  to  go  out  from  the  Refectory  be- 
fore the  Convent,  to  see  that  there  was 
no  negligence  in  the  time  of  ringing 
the  bell.  The  Sacrist  and  Subsacrist 
were  to  sleep  in  the  Church,e  which 
was  allowed  to  no  one  else  without 
the  order  or  leave  of  the  Abbot  or 
Prior.  The  Sacrist  was  to  take  care 
that  no  nettles  or  weeds  grew  in  the 
church-yard,  nor  horse  or  other  ani- 
mal frequented  it,  or  any  stable  be 
there.  He  had  from  the  granary  a 
daily  allowance  for  his   palfrey;    and 

a  See  Church,  sect.  Lady-chapel. 

b  This  was  the  grand  day,  for  an  obvious  mysti- 
cal reason,  on  which  the  parents  of  Monks  used  to 
visit  them.     See  Hostrey. 

c  Mead. 

d  The  Glossaries  have  been  tried.  The  Abbot, 
&c.  had  a  livery  of  wax  every  week.  Monast.  i.  298. 
I  think  them  candles. 

e  In  a  stall  (pulpitum).  X  Script.  1911.  1.  14. 
The  words  are  "lying  in  a  stall  I  saw  (watching 
or  waking)  vigilans." 


was  allowed,  with  his  deputy,  a  sola- 
tium,  or  companion. 

Besides  what  is  here  mentioned,  re- 
specting the  wine  and  candles,  Davies 
adds,  "His  office  was  also  to  lockup  every 
night  the  keys  of  every  Altar  in  the 
Church,  every  Altar  having  its  several 
almery,  and  some  two ;  to  lay  the  said 
keys  forth  every  morning  between 
seven  and  eight  o'clock,  upon  the  top 
of  the  almery,  which  was  of  wainscot, 
wherein  they  were  locked,  which  stood 
within  the  North  quire  door,  that  every 
Monk  might  take  the  key,  and  go  to 
what  Altar  he  was  disposed  to  say 
Mass  at.  The  Sacristan's  chamber 
was  in  the  Dorter,  and  he  had  his  meat 
served  from  the  great  kitchen  in  his 
exchequer/' 

In  the  Order  of  St.  Victor,  the  Sa- 
crist had  a  servant,  called  Matricula- 
rius,  a  poor  man  from  the  Almonry, 
who  rang  the  bells,  regulated  the  ho- 
rologe, wakened  the  Monks  in  the 
Dormitory,  shut  and  opened  the 
Church-doors,  and  answered  strangers 
who  knocked  at  the  Church-door. 
He  assisted  the  Sacrist  in  sweeping 
the  Church,  cleaning  the  lamps, 
and  other  duties.  He  slept  in  the 
Church,  as  did  the  Sacrist,  and  a  third 
man,  whom  the  Abbot  appointed.f 

Sacrist  of  the  Gilbertine  Nuns, 
When  the  Sacrist  rose  at  night  to  ring 
the  bell,  she  was  to  have  at  least  two 
Nuns  with  her,  whom  the  Prioress  as- 
signed. She  was  to  ring  the  bell  to 
Chapter,  and  all  the  daily  hours.  She 
and  her  companion  was  to  adorn  the 
area  of  the  church  in  the  Vigil  of 
Easter,  and  the  Altar  after  Sext.  She 
was  to  light  the  lamp  in  the  interval 
at  the  lessons  ;  to  prepare  the  coals  for 
the  censor;  to  receive  the  holy-water 
at  the  window ;  and  the  Pax-bord  (lapi- 
dem  pads),  which  she  was  to  carry 
round  to  the  Nuns  and  sisters,  begin- 
ning always  to  give  the  Pax  in  the  right 
Choir,  whether  the  Prioress  was  pre- 
sent or  absent.? 


f  Du  Cange,  v.  Matricularins. 
*  Monast.  Anglic,  ii.  763. 


128 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS, 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


LECTURER. 


In  a  visitation  of  Hales  Abbey,  in  the 
year  1270,  the  educated  Monks  are 
ordered  to  expound  the  Scriptures.a 
Among  the  mendicant  religious,  there 
was  first  in  one  place,  and  then  in  an- 
other, "a  due  exercise  weekly  of  the 
scholars  in  disputation;5'13  a  practice 
which  originated  as  to  the  thing  itself 
with  Lanfranc.c  The  Friars  Preach- 
ers too  of  Oxford  had  schools  within 
their  habitation,  where  Robert  Bacon 
and  Richard  Fishaker  read  divinity- 
lectures  ; d  and  Michael  is  recorded  as 
a  divinity-lecturer  of  certain  Fran- 
ciscans.6 In  the  fourteenth  century 
Peter  de  Dene,  Doctor  of  both  laws, 
Canon  and  Prebendary  in  several 
Churches,  was  admitted  a  Monk  not 
as  others  absolutely,  but  on  condition 
of  exemption  from  assembling  with 
the  Monks  in  Church,  Chapter,  Refec- 
tory, Dormitory,  or  Cloister,  or  per- 
forming any  other  service  whatever, 
but  to  retain  all  his  property,  and 
reside  with  his  family  in  a  mansion  he 
had  built  within  the  precincts  of  St. 
Augustine's,  Canterbury/  In  this  state, 
and  wearing  the  habit  of  the  professed, 
he  went  where  he  pleased,  and  read 
lectures  publicly  for  days  and  years  on 
the  canon  law  to  Monks  and  Seculars. s 


a  MS.  Bibl.  Reg.  12  E.  xiv.         b  J.  Rous,  74. 

c  Malmesb.  de  G.  Pontif.  118.  p.  2. 

d  Trivet,  p.  193. 

e  Archdall's  Monast.  Hybern.  i.  33. 

f  W.  Thorne,  c.  36,  sect.  1,  art.  2. 

s  A  constitution  of  Otho,  a0  1238,  forbids  secu- 
lar clerks,  resident  in  abbies,  to  interfere  in  any- 
monastic  concerns  or  offices.  M.  Par.  405.  In- 
gulphus  long  before  informs  us  of  several  literati, 
who  would  not  assume  the  Monastic  profession, 
for  whom  Abbot  Turketil  made  some  regulations 
in  respect  to  the  performance  of  divine  service  and 
uniformity  of  dress.  Hist.  Croyl.  500.  a.  Ed. 
Sav.  1599.  Lodging,  food,  and  a  pension,  was  a 
common  thing  granted  to  secular  priests,  who  offi- 
ciated at  altars,  or  did  other  duties  (H.  Knighton, 
col.  2GG6),  and  this  pension  was  made  from  the 
common  alms,  or  other  source.  Cap.  Gen.  Nor- 
thampt.  a°  1444.  c.  2.     De  Divinis  Officiis. 


The  names  of  Athon  and  Lyndwood 
confer  honour  upon  their  perform- 
ances in  jurisprudence;  but  the  ordinary 
lectures  of  John  Laurence,  Monk  of 
Worcester,  professor  of  divinity,  pub- 
licly read  in  the  divinity-school  in  the 
years  1448-9,  are  fantastic,  void  of 
mind,  and  full  of  point. 

"  In  a  gem,  he  says,  is  splendour, 
worth,  and  vigour  :  thus  in  a  prince 
who  governs  others,  ought  to  dwell 
the  splendour  of  exercising  virtue,  the 
worth  of  exhibiting  dignity,  and  the 
vigour  of  levying  punishment.5'11  Not 
much  to  blame,  therefore,  were  those 
Monks,  of  whom  Henry  Abbot  of 
Warden  thus  complains  :  "  Item,  That 
whereas  wee,  by  the  said  foundacions, 
be  commanded  to  have  dailie  lecture 
of  divinitie,  wee  have  non  :  and  when 
it  is  redde,  fewe  or  non  of  the  Monks 
com  to  it.  Item,  I  did  assigne  Dampne 
Thomas  Lomley  to  rede  the  divinitie- 
lecture,  and  he  in  discretely  unknow- 
inge  to  me  did  read  the  boke  of  Cain's 
(Wickliff's)  Omelies,  which  boke  be 
all  carnal,  and  off  a  brutal  understand- 
ing, and  entreat  of  many  things,  the 
which  are  anenst  the  determinacyon  of 
the  Churche  of  Englande;  and  so 
soone  as  I  had  knowledge  of  their 
premysses,  I  toke  from  him  his  said 
boke,  and  sent  to  Lomley,  to  be  deli- 
vered to  Master  Doctor  (Leghe  one  of 
Henry  VIII. 's  visitors),  and  discharged 
the  said  Dan  Thomas  of  his  reading, 
and  cawsid  mi  brother  to  rede  the 
lecture,  and  then  fewe  or  none  of  them 
wollde  com  at  him/'1 

The  following  letter  to  Cromwell, 
Henry's  Vicar  General,  explains  one 

h  In  gemma  vero  est  splendor,  valor,  et  vigor. 
Sic  enim  in  principe  aliis  praesidente  residere  debet, 
splendor  virtutis  exercendse,  valor  dignitatis  exhi- 
bendse,  et  vigor  punicionis  inferendae.  MS.  Bodl. 
2508. 

1  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  163,  a. 


LECTURER. 


129 


practice  of  the  Abbatial  visitors,  con- 
cerning this  office  of  Lecturer  : 

"Ryght  honurable  Mr.  Secretary, 
my  duty  premised,  plesith  it  yow  to 
be  advertized,  that  whereas  ye  have 
appoynte  me  to  rede  the  pure  and 
syncere  worde  of  God  to  the  Monkes 
of  Wynchcombe,  and  to  be  charged 
also  over  the  congregation  or  parische, 
beying  the  Abbot's  impropried  bene- 
fyce,  ther  likewise  to  prech  the  true 
worde  of  God,  to  scrape  the  sea?'  (Q,u.) 
of  Rome  out  of  the  harts  of  men,  and 
to  sett  forth  and  open  to  the  people 
the  true  and  just  tytle  of  our  Sove- 
reigne  and  Mr.  our  supreme  cyvill 
hedd  yn  yerth  of  this  his  politicke 
body  of  England ;  besyde  that  I  have 
small  favor  or  lesse  assestance,  chiefly 
among  the  more  parte  of  the  phary- 
saical  papists,  yet  among  all  other  the 
Abbot  of  Haylys,  a  valyaunt  knight 
and  sowdyar,  under  Antechriste's 
banner,  doth  moch  resyst,  fyting  with 
all  his  power  to  kepe  Christ  in  his 
sepulchre.  This  Abbot  hath  hired  a 
grete  Golyath,  a  sotle  Dunys  [a  great 
disputant  from  Duns  Scotus]  man,  yea 
a  great  clerk  (as  he  sayith),  a  bachlor 
of  dyvinitye  in  Oxfourth,  which  man 
obstruet  et  capiet  me  in  sermone,  and 
whereas  I  preach,  &c.  he  precheth,  &c. 
As  this  grete  clerke  prechethe  not  the 
worde  of  God  truly,  nithir  prechethe  in 
worde  for  to  prove  our  Princes  just 
auctoryte,  nor  yet  agenst  the  usurped 
power  of  the  Bishoppe  of  Rome,  so  he, 
lyke  a  sotte  (foolish  Fr.)  Sophyster, 
and  crafty  Dunys,  maingleth  and  by 
colour  speketh  all  that  he  may,  rather 


for  the  maintenaunce  of  his  usurped 
power.  Now  bycause  I  know  your 
worshipp  to  be  the  faithful  minister  to 
God,  and  our  most  christen  and  lovinge 
kinge,  therefore  I  am  so  bolde  to  cer- 
tify you  by  this  brynger,  of  two  ser- 
mons, which  I  and  thys  bringer  and 
many  others  did  hear  him  preche  lately 
at  Hayles.  Mythink  these  thinges 
sound  ill  both  to  God  and  our  soverain 
Lord,  therfor  I  nothyng  dowt  but  by 
your  discresyon  you  will  shortly  see 
thereyn  a  reformation,  and  moche  the 
sooner,  bycause  the  said  Abbot  of 
Hayles,  for  the  maintenaunce  of  this 
man,  saith  that  yr  worship  sent  him 
thither,  and  will  maynteyn  him,  by 
which  he  causith  a  tumulte  both  of 
gentilmen,  and  also  of  othir  people  of 
the  cuntre  hyred  thereto  (as  I  am  very 
sure)  of  the  Abb  at,  to  jake  and  force 
ayent  me  ;  and  wher  as  I  intende  not 
to  contende  with  them,  yett  both  I  and 
thys  brynger,  as  he  can  more  largely 
certify  your  worshippe,  stand  daily  by 
ther  procurement  in  jeopardy  of  our 
lives.  Furthermore,  as  concerninge 
my  lecture,  I  hartily  beseche  you  to 
appoynt  me  a  convenient  howze  to 
rede  to  the  Monks  in  the  forenone.  I 
cannot  brynge  them  therto  at  that 
tyme  in  a  due  houre,  they  sett  so  moche 
by  ther  Popishe  service,  &c. 

Anthonye  Sawnders/"3 
The  Carmelites  elected  Lecturers  in 
their  Synods.b 


a  MS,  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  47,  b. 
b  Bale,  ed.  i.  4to.  fol.  210. 


130 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS< 


CHAPTER  XVIL 


ALMONER. 


He  was  to  find  matsa  in  the  Choir,  &c. 
to  put  nnder  the  feet  of  the  Monks  in 
the  Vigil  of  All  Saints;  also  under 
those  of  the  boys  and  youths.  He 
was  besides  to  find  mats  in  the  Chap- 
ter, Cloister,  in  both  the  parlours,  and 
upon  the  stairs  of  the  Dormitory. 
This  he  was  to  have  strewed  with 
rushes  twice  a  year,  at  the  assumption 
and  nativity  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  and 
find  ivy  leaves  at  Easter  for  the  Clois- 
ter and  Chapter.  He  was  to  provide 
the  rods  for  the  Chapter,  Chapel,  and 
boys'  school,  and  brooms,  plates,  bas- 
kets, and  sweepers  for  the  Refectory. 
He  was  to  sweep  yearly  the  walls  of 
the  Dorter,  and  three  days  before  the 
assumption  of  St.  Mary,  clean  that 
place  with  a  small  circled     He  was  to 

*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  203,  4.  Sub  pedibus 
monaehorum  inveniet  mattas  in  choro,  &c.  in  vigi- 
\\k  omnium  sanctorum  ;  identidem  sub  puerorum  et 
juvenum ;  prseterea  inveniet  mattas  in  capitulo,  in 
claustro,  in  quolibet  locutorio  ;  super  ascensorios 
gradus  dormitorii ;  bis  cirpabit  dormitorium  per 
annum,  sc.  ad  assumpt.  et  nat.  S.  Mar. ;  inveniet 
folia  hsederse  ad  pascha,  in  claustro,  in  capitulo,  in 
scola  puerorum  procurabit  disciplinas,  in  refectorio 
scopas,  discos,  scoparios,  sportas.  Scopab it  annua  - 
tim  macerias  dormitorii,  et  triduo  ante  assumpt.  S. 
Mar.  mundabit  dormitorium  circulo  tenui.  Quo- 
ciens  abbas  vir  aut  alius  in  camera  discubuerit  unus 
ministror'  elemosynar'  presentiam  suam   exhibeat, 

ut  eleemosynam  recipiat Identidem  net  in 

coquina  cotidie. — Baculum  boxeum,  vel  alium 
magis  idoneum  de  manu  in  manum  sunt  assignaturi : 
idemque  ministri  cumjanitore,  vel  cumministro  suo 
processionem  buc  et  illuc  anticipabunt,  ut  viam 
hominum  impedimento  aliorumque  impedientium 
expediant.  Licet  eleemosynario  pro  negotiis  do- 
mus  uno  die  ire,  eodem  redire,  non  petita  licentisL 
Annuatim  contra  natale  domini  pannos  sotulares 
emit,  viduis,  orphanis,  et  maxime  clericis  quos 
precipue  egere  consideraverit,  distribuet.  Ex  con- 
suetudine  non  licet  eleemosynario  per  tabulas,  aut 
aliud  aliquid  colligere.  Si  quicquid  per  tabulas 
sibi  porrectum  fuerit,  licet  ei  recipere  et  ad  elee- 
mosynam deferre  :  post  prandium  autem  conventus 
de  egressu  refectorii  licet  ei  tabulas  ambire,  quic- 
quid potus  de  caritate  remanserit  eleemosynse  des- 
tinare.  f.  204  b. 

tt  Du  Cange  says,  the  Monks  used  to  sleep  on 
mats,  pray  on  them,  hold  their  collations  on  them, 
and  strew  them  under  the  dead,  (in  voce). 

b  Not  in  Du  Cange.  It  is  used  for  interval. 
See  sect.  Servants. 


make  out  the  breviac  (or  annunciations 
of  the  deaths  of  Monks),  and  give 
them  to  the  Chantor.  He  was  to  find 
the  necessaries  for  the  maundy;  to 
send  the  account  of  the  deaths  of  the 
brethren  to  the  neighbouring  houses, 
and  to  take  care  that  a  servant  con- 
stantly guarded  the  gates  of  the  Locu- 
tory,  and  honourably  to  admit  the 
visitors.  As  often  as  an  Abbot,  or 
other  person,  dined  in  the  chamber, 
one  of  his  servants  was  to  attend  to 
receive  the  alms ;  and  the  same  was 
daily  to  be  done  in  the  kitchen.  At 
the  Rogation  processions,  two  of  his 
servants  were  to  stand  at  the  gate  of 
the  house,  and  give  to  every  Monk  a 
boxen  staff,  or  other  more  suitable, 
from  hand  to  hand ;  and  the  same 
servants,  with  the  porter,  or  his  man, 
were  to  go  before  the  procession  this 
or  that  way,  that  they  might  clear  the 
way  from  people  pressing  in,  or  other 
hindrances.  On  business  of  the  bouse, 
he  could  go  out  on  one  day,  and  return 
on  the  same,  without  asking  leave. 
He  was  to  buy  annually  against  Christ- 
mas, cloth  and  shoes  for  widows, 
orphans,  and  especially  clerks,  and 
those  whom  he  thought  to  need  it 
most.  He  was  not  allowed  to  collect 
any  thing  through  the  tables.  If  any 
thing  was  handed  to  him  from  thence, 
he  could  take  it,  and  devote  it  to  alms. 
After  dinner,  when  the  Convent  had 
left  the  Refectory,  he  could  go  round 
the  tables,  and  destine  to  alms  the 
drink  which  remained  of  the  charity. 

At  Evesham,  it  was  his  office  to 
receive  half  a  mark  from  the  Abbot  on 
Maundy  Thursday,  to  be  distributed 
among  the  Monks  to  give  to  the  poor, 


c  See  MS.  Harl.  652,  f.  44.  b.  MS.  Cott.  Tib. 
A.  in.  f.  74  b.  same  in  substance  as  printed  in 
Cone.  Reg. 


ALMONER. 


131 


and  to  have  the  care  of  the  Monks5 
garden.a 

The  Almoner  was  to  reserve  the 
nice  pieces  which  were  left,  for  the 
sick  and  infirm  poor,  who  were  instruct- 
ed by  him  to  eat  them  privately  apart.b 

By  the  Norman  Institutes,  his  office 
was  to  find  out  poor,  sick,  and  infirm 
persons,  for  which,  when  he  went  him- 

a  Monast.  i.  148. 

b  Ord.  Vict.  MS.  Du  Cange,  v.  Eleemosynarius. 


self,  he  was  to  have  two  assistant 
servants,  to  send  all  women  out  of 
such  house  before  his  coming,  and  then 
console  the  sick,  and  supply  their 
wants  as  they  wished.  Where  the  sick 
were  women,  one  of  the  servants  per- 
formed this  office.  In  the  disposition, 
however,  of  his  alms,  he  was  to  give 
previous  notice  to  the  Abbot  or  Prior, 
and  attend  to  their  directions.0 

*  Dec.  Lanfr.  c.  9.     De  Cellario. 


K   2 


132 


MONASTIC   OFFICERS. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


MASTER    OF    THE    NOVICES. 


The  Prior,  say  the  Constitutions  of 
the  Friers,  shall  choose,  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  Novices,  a  diligent  master, 
who  shall  instruct  them  in  the  Order, 
stimulate  them  in  the  Church,  and 
where  they  behave  themselves  negli- 
gently, endeavour  to  amend  them  as 
much  as  he  can  by  a  word  or  a  sign, 
and,  as  far  as  he  is  able,  provide 
necessaries  for  them.  He  could  grant 
pardon  for  open  negligences,  when  they 
sought  it  from  him,  or  accuse  them  in 
Chapter.  He  was  to  teach  them  to 
be  humble  in  heart  and  body,  and 
endeavour  to  bring  them  up  to  this 
point  according  to  the  text,  "  Learn  of 
me,  who  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart ;" 
to  instruct  them  how  to  receive  disci- 
plines, and  not  talk  of  the  absent,  even 
that  which  was  good  ;  how  to  drink 
with  two  hands,  and  how  to  sit ;  how 
carefully  they  ought  to  guard  the 
books  and  vestments,  and  other  goods 
of  the  house ;  how  intent  they  ought 
to  be  in  study,  and  be  reading  some- 
thing day  and  night  in  the  house  and 
when  on  journeys;  how  they  should 
work,  how  they  should  meditate,  how 
they  should  endeavour  to  get  by  heart 
every  thing  they  could ;  how  fervent 
they  should  be  in  preaching  in  good 
time?* 


*  Prior  noviciis  magistrum  diligentem  in  instruc- 
tionem  eorum  proponat,  qui  eos  de  ordine  doceat, 
in  ecclesia,  excitet,  et  ubi  se  negligenter  habuerint 
verbo  vel  signo  quantum  poterit  studeat  eos  emen- 
dare,  et  necessaria  quantum  potest  debet  eis  procu- 
rare.  De  apertis  negligenciis,  dum  ante  eum  veniam 
petierint  veniam  potest  dare,  vel  eos  in  capitulo 
proclamare.  Humilitatem  cordis  et  corporis  doceat 
habere,  et  studeat  ad  hoc  ipsum  instituere  juxta 
illud,  "  Discite  a.  me,  qui  mitis  sum,  et  humilis 
corde."  Qualiter  disciplinas  suscipient,  et  non 
loquantur  de  absente  non  quae  bona  sunt.  Quod 
duabus  manibus  sit  bibendum  et  sedendum.  Quam 
diligenter  debeant  custodire  libros  et  vestes  alias- 
que  res  monasterii.  Quam  intenti  esse  debent  in 
studio,  ut  de  die  et  nocte,  in  domo  in  itinere,  legant 
aliquid ;  ut  operentur,  ut  meditentur,  ut  quicquid 
poterint   retinere    corde    tenus    nitantur.      Quam 


By  the  Norman  Institutes,  they  were 
to  shave  the  boys,  and  the  boys  them. 
The  latter  were  to  wash  the  heads  of 
the  boys  too  little  to  shave  themselves.** 
By  the  Benedictine  Constitutions,  a 
master  was  to  be  provided,  who  was 
to  teach  the  Monks  the  primitive 
sciences  of  grammar,  logic,  and  philo- 
sophy:15 but  there  were  Lay-teachers  ;c 
and  Monks  themselves  used  to  travel 
from  house  to  house  to  teach  music 
or  singing.d  Lyndwood  says,  the 
masters  of  the  Novices  were  to  be  old 
men.e 

In  the  Order  of  St.  Victor,  the 
master  is  ordered  to  instruct  the  No- 
vices how  to  unshoe  or  to  cover  them- 
selves, and  not  to  enter  the  Necessary 
unless  with  the  head  covered/ 

Davies  says,  "  There  were  always 
six  Novices,  who  went  daily  to  school 
within  the  house,  for  the  space  of  seven 
years  together ;  and  one  of  the  eldest 
and  most  learned  Monks  was  consti- 
tuted their  tutor.  The  said  Novices 
had  no  wages,  but  meat,  drink,  and 
apparel  for  that  space.  The  master,  or 
tutors  office,  was  to  see  they  wanted 
nothing ;  as  cowls,  frocks,  stamyne, 
bedding,  boots,  socks ;  and  as  soon  as 
they  needed  any  of  these  necessaries, 
the  master  had  charge  to  call  at  the 
Chamberlain's  for  such  things. 

The  satire  of  Nigell  Wireker,  a  Monk 
of  Canterbury,  upon  the  pupil  of  the 
middle  age,  under  the  figure  of  an  ass, 
is  so  piquant,  so  elegant,  and  exhibits 
so  fine  a  state  of  mind  in  its  author, 
that  I  shall  here  digress  to  give  it : 


ferventes   esse    debeant   in   praedicatione   tempore 
optimo.     MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xn.  f.  160. 

a  Dec.  Lanfr.  C.  12. 

b  See,  respecting  this  vague   term,  Mosheiin's 
Ecc.  Hist.  i.  569.     Ed.  4to,  1765. 

c  Wart.  Hist.  Eng.  Poetry,  ii.  429,  435. 
.     d  Lyndw.  210.  <*  Id.  144. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Necessaria. 


MASTER    OF   THE    NOVICES.  133 

Jam  pertransierat  Burnellus  tempora  multa, 

Et  prope  completus  septimus  annus  erat. 
Cum  nichil  ex  toto  quodcumque  docente  magistro, 

Aut  socio  potuit  discere  preeter  Ya. 
Quod  natura  dedit ;  quod  ssec'ium  detulit  illuc, 

Hoc  habet;  hoc  illi  nemo  tulisse  potest. 
Cura  magistrorum  multum  quum  diu  laborabat 

Demum  defecit  victa  lab  ore  gravi. 
Dorso  se  baculus,  lateri  se  virga  frequenter 

Applicat ;  et  ferulam  sustinuere  manus  : 
Semper  Ya  repetit :  nichil  est  quod  dicere  possit 

Afrectus  quovis  verbere  preeter  Ya. 
Vellicat  hie  aurem ;  nasum  quatit  ille  recurvum  ; 
Hie  secat,  hie  urit ;  hinc  solvitur  inde  legatur ; 

Intonat  iste  minas  ;  porrigit  ille  preces  ; 
Sic  in  eo  certant  ars  et  natura  vicissim  ; 

Ars  rogat,  ilia  jubet ;  h&ec  abit,  ilia  manet : 
Quorum  principia  constat  viciosa  fuisse 

Aut  vix,  aut  nunquam  convaluisse  valent ; 
A  primo  didicit  Burnellus  Ya :  nichil  ultra 

Quam  quod  natura  dat  retinere  potest. 

Spec.  Stult.     MS.  Cott.  Titus,  A.  xx5  &c. 

Now  a  very  long  season  Burnellus  had  past, 

And  the  seventh  of  years  was  near  ended  at  last ; 

When  of  all  that  his  comrade  and  master  had  taught, 

To  learn  nothing  but  Ya  could  Burnellus  be  brought; 

What  Nature  had  given,  what  Time  had  brought  there, 

That  he  had ;  and  that  none  could  away  from  him  tear. 

The  masters,  when  long  they  had  labour'd  in  vain, 

No  longer  the  burden  would  bear  to  sustain  : 

To  his  back  went  the  stick,  and  the  rod  to  his  side, 

And  the  ferula  oft  to  his  hands  was  applied. 

Still  Ya  he  cries  out ;  still  could  only  say  Ya, 

And  blow  upon  blow  nothing  else  could  outdraw ; 

This  pulls  at  his  ear ;  that  twists  his  nose  round ; 

This  cuts,  and  that  burns ;  now  he 's  loosed,  now  he  }s  bound ; 

This  menaces  thunders ;  that  stoops  to  request ; 

And  Nature  and  Art  both  the  matter  contest ; 

Art  begs ;  Nature  orders  ;  this  goes  ;  that  remains  : 

Where  the  foundacion  's  bad,  'tis  no  use  to  take  pains ; 

Nought  but  Ya  from  the  first  had  he  learned ;  nor  aught 

Could  poor  Burnell  retain,  but  what  Nature  had  taught. 


Of  the  absurd  sciences,  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  eeras  of  which  I  treat,  it 
is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say  more, 
than  that  the  tendency  of  such  was, 
and  ever  will  be,  to  create  not  a  man 
of  science,  but  a  mixture  of  the  puppy, 


to  be  formed  in  the  school  of  the  Clas- 
sics. 

The  Mistress  of  the  Novices,  among 
the  Gilbertines,  when  she  served  at 
the  table,  was  not  to  speak  in  the 
interim  with  the  Novices,  nor   enter 


pedant,   and   pettifogger,  a  pert,  liti-      their  cell.     She  might,  however,  look 


gious,  captious,  vain,  and  ostentatious 
character,  quibbling  but  not  able,  quick 
but  shallow.    Taste  and  mind  are  only 


through  the  gate,  to  see  whether  they 
behaved  in  an  orderly  manner.  She 
could  not  grant  them  licence  to  do  any 


134 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS. 


work,  nor  speak  in  their  cell  after 
Vespers,  lest  they  should  lose  the  time 
of  reading.  Nor  could  she  take  their 
private  pardons,  or  discipline  them 
without  the  Prioress's  order.  In  the 
winter,  when  it  was  required,  she 
explained  the  Rule  before  Tierce,  to 
the  Novices  going  to  make  profession ; 


and,  if  she  could  not  finish  it  before 
Tierce,  after  Chapter.  She  was  very 
seldom  to  grant  them  leave  to  sit  in 
the  parlour,  at  the  time  assigned  for 
their  instruction  in  the  Order.a 

a  Monast.  Anglic,  ii.  770. 


INFIRMARER. 


135 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


INFIRMARER. 


By  the  Decrees  of  Lanfranc,  he  was 
to  have  a  Cook  and  kitchen  separate 
(if  possible)^  that  he  might  have  every 
thing  ready  for  the  sick  in  its  proper 
season ;  to  administer  all  their  meals, 
and  sprinkle  holy  water  after  Complin 
on  the  beds.  After  making  the  triple 
prayer  before  Mattins,  to  go  round 
them  with  a  lantern,  to  see  if  any  able 
to  rise  staid  in  bed ;  to  proclaim  in 
Chapter  all  negligences  ;  to  order  his 
servants  to  warm  the  water  for  wash- 
ing the  corpse,  when  he  saw  a  Monk 
was  at  the  point  of  death.  Care  and 
management  of  the  bier  was  in  him 
and  his  servants,  as  well  as  of  the 
table  the  Prior  struck.  After  the  wash- 
ing and  removal  of  the  corpse,  he  was 
to  wash  the  place  where  it  lay  to  be 
cleaned,  and  have  it  fresh  strewed  with 
straw  or  rushes. 

At  Abingdon,#  after  the  daily  office 
was  finished  in  the  Infirmary,  he  was 
at  all  hours  to  be  present  in  the  Con- 
vent, nor  then  have  the  care  of  the 
sick.  Vespers  were  excepted.  In  all 
feasts  of  robes  he  was  to  be  present 
till  Lauds,  nor  be  absent  from  Vespers. 
He  was  to  lie  constantly  in  the  Infir- 
mary, and  those  who  lay  there  were  to 
receive  licence  of  being  bled  from  the 
Infirmarer.  He  was  to  attend  to  the 
sick,  with  two  brethren  to  assist  him, 

*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  p.  205.  Officio 
diurno  in  infirmitorio  expleto,  omnibus  horis  eritin 
conventu,  nee  curani  infirniorum  gerat  tan  turn, 
vesperis  exceptis.  In  omnibus  festis,  quse  celebra- 
buntur  in  cappis,  usque  ad  laudes  inierit  matutinis, 
nee  deerit  vesperis.  Jacebit  in  infirmitorio  conti- 
nue ;  in  infirmitorio  reeiibantes  licentiam  minuendi 
accipient  de  infirmario. — Si  quis  angistro,  qui  ab 
angendo  dicitur,  et  alio  nomine  ventosa  a  suspirio 
vocatur,  minui  voluit,  infirmario  indicabit.  Infir- 
marius  ministro  illi  administration!  deputato  opus 
suum  adimplere  precipiet,  candelamque  ad  illam 
administrationem  inveniet.  Abbas  assensu  capituli 
talem  infirrnariurn  constituat,  ut  infirmorum  con- 
fessionem  pro  inopinatee  rei  eventu  recipere  possit 
§t  debeat.  f,  205. 


and  to  take  care  that  the  Monks  under 
his  protection  went  to  their  beds  and 
rose  with  regularity.  There  was  to  be 
silence  after  Complin,  a  punishment  of 
sloth,  and  on  Sundays  the  Sacrament. 
The  alms  of  the  sick,  till  the  Prime  of 
the  next  day,  was  to  be  under  the  cus- 
tody of  the  Infirmarer.  He  was  to 
provide  provision  for  the  sick,  and  to 
find  a  light  for  the  Monks  who  lay 
constantly  in  the  Infirmary,  or  who 
dined  or  drank  there,  as  often  as  it 
was  necessary.  He  was  to  go  to  the 
kitchen  daily,  and  receive  what  he 
wanted  for  the  sick.  If  any  one  dis- 
eased with  the  agi strum,  so  called  ab 
angendo  (from  choaking),  and  by  an- 
other name,  ivindy,  from  short  breath- 
ing, wished  to  be  bled,  he  was  to 
announce  it  to  the  Infirmarer,  who 
was  to  order  the  servant,  to  whom 
that  office  belonged,  to  do  it ;  and  find 
him  a  candle  for  it.  The  Abbot,  with 
the  consent  of  the  Chapter,  was  to 
appoint  such  a  person  Infirmarer  as 
might  be  able,  in  case  of  sudden  ac- 
cident, to  receive  the  confession  of  the 
sick. 

The  Infirmaress  had  a  Lay-sister  as 
an  assistant,  and  neither  of  them  had 
an  office  out  of  the  Infirmary  when 
any  one  was  very  sick.  The  Infirma- 
ress was  allowed  to  be  present  at 
the  Mass  till  the  Post-communion, 
unless  any  necessity  of  the  sick  hin- 
dered her.  V  ^he  could  not  indicate, 
by  a  sign,  what  she  wanted,  the  Cel- 
laress  was  to  come,  and,  in  her  hearing, 
she  was  to  mention  her  necessities. 
She  never  served  in  the  kitchen  when 
she  had  persons  grievously  sick.  She 
gave  the  Peace  to  the  sick  when  the 
sick  said  Confiteor.3- 


a  Monast.  ii.  776. 


136 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


PORTER. 


The  office  of  Porter  was  for  the  most 
part  committed  to  men  of  mature  age, 
and  unblameable  life.a  The  Benedic- 
tine Porter  had  a  deputy,  who  was 
never  absent  while  his  master  took  a 
message  to  the  Cellarer.  He  only 
entered  the  Kitchen,  Refectory,  Infir- 
mary, and  residence  of  the  Superior,  to 
deliver  a  message  when  visitors  came, 
which  office  the  deputy  could  execute 
when  his  master  was  absent.  He  al- 
ways lay  at  night  at  the  gate,  and  had 
a  horse,  that,  as  often  as  the  Superior 
or  Cellarer  wished,  he  might  attend 
their  summons,  and  ride  with  them. 
He  had  always  a  boy,  who  lay  at  the 
gate  with  the  Sub-porter,  and  took  the 
key,  after  curfew,  to  the  Cellarer's  bed, 
which  he  fetched  again  in  the  morn- 
ing, sooner  or  later,  as  necessary.b  In 
some  accounts  we  find,  that  as  soon  as 
the  bell  rang  for  Complin,  the  Porter 
locked  the  gates,  and  carried  the  keys 
to  the  Abbot.c  We  hear  also  of  deaf 
and  dumb  Porter s.d  Of  the  Augusti- 
nian  Porter  Mr.  Steevens  gives  us  the 
following  account:  " Adjoining  to  the 
said  gate  (of  Oseney),  was  a  little  cabin, 
or  cell,  for  the  Janitor  to  lodge  in,  who, 
according  to  their  Rule,  was  to  keep 
the  gates  for  the  most  part  shut,  not 
to  let  any  in  without  leave  from 
the  Abbot ;  to  have  an  eye  towards  the 
young  Canons  in  their  wandering  to 
and  fro ;  to  keep  out  Lay-people  and 
young  women,  especially  men  bearing 
weapons,  or  suspicious  varlets,  who 
not  only  came  with  an  intent  to  filch, 
but  also  to  pry  into  the  actions  of  the 
Canons,  and  so  thereby  take  advan- 
tage to  slander  their  conversation,  and 
render  them  odious  to  the  vulgar ;  he 
was  also  to  receive  poor  people,  and 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Portarins. 

b  Thorpe's  Custum.  Roffen.  29. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Completa, 

*  Gold,  Legend,  lv. 


pilgrims,  with  love  and  in  the  name  of 
God  ;  not  to  let  them  abide  long  at  the 
gate,  to  the  disturbance  of  the  quiet, 
but  send  them  away  with  refreshment, 
for  which  purpose  he  had  several  loaves 
appointed  by  the  Cellarer  to  be  laid  in 
his  cell  to  distribute  to  them,  especi- 
ally on  fasting  days,  when  there  was 
no  offal  meat  from  the  Refectory.6  Be- 
sides this  bread,  the  Preemonstraten- 
sian,  i.  e.  Augustinian  Porter,  was  to 
sleep  by  day,  if  he  was  a  Canon,  and 
also  by  night,  if  he  was  a  Convert,  at 
the  gate,  but  not  alone.  As  soon  as 
he  heard  the  bell  for  the  Hour,  even 
though  he  was  a  Canon,  he  was  to  stay, 
while  the  Hour  was  celebrating,  con- 
ducting himself,  as  well  as  he  could, 
like  the  brethren  in  the  Church.  He 
was  to  be  present  at  the  Chapter, 
Mass,  Vespers,  and  Mattins,  especially 
if  he  had  a  companion ;  when  he  was 
absent,  his  deputy  was  to  watch  the 
gate,  distribute  the  alms,  and  perform 
other  his  duties/  The  right  of  appoint- 
ing the  Porter  was  sometimes  reserved 
by  the  founder,  in  right  of  dominion, 
which  Porter,  at  the  installation  of 
every  new  Prior,  was  to  receive  five 
shillings  only,  or  an  ox.?  He  had  also 
very  valuable  fees  and  privileges,  as 
"  two  corrodies,  a  Monk's  loaf,  ii  coro- 
nati,h  and  two  meals  a  day,  and  beer; 
an  allowance  from  the  Abbot's  store- 
room, and  another  from  the  Refectory 
cellar;  benefits  of  certain  lands;  an 
offering  of  4s.  id.  at  Christmas,  he 
and  his  man,  and  at  Easter  2%d.{     Du 

e  Steevens's  Monast.  ii.  120. 

f  Bibliotheca  Preemonstratensis,  v.  i.  p.  808. 

e  Monast.  i.  358. 

h  Du  Cange  has  Panes  coronati  (v.  Panis), 
loaves  in  the  form  of  a  crown. 

1  Petrus  portarius  duo  conredia  habet  ;  panem 
monachi  et  ii  coronatos,  et  ii  fercla  per  diem,  et 
cervisiam,  unam  mansuram  de  promptuario  abba- 
tis,  et  aliam  de  cellario  aula?.  Scepinga  ejus  iiii 
acras  (div.  in  div.  loc.)  et  habet  oblationem  iiiis.  et 
ob.  in  natale  Domini,  ipse  et  homo  suus,  et  in 
paschaii  ob,    MS,  Cott.  Claud,  B,  vi,  p.  178, 


PORTER. 


137 


Cange  mentions  various  Porters,  as 
one  at  the  gate,  where  the  poor  ap- 
plied for  alms ;  the  Porter  of  the  court, 
a  Lay-brother ;  the  Porter  of  the  Clois- 
ter, a  Lay-brother  also,a  who  was  to 
prevent  strangers  from  entrance  or 
inspection.  John  de  Northwolde,  in 
his  tract  of  Minor  Offices,  mentions  a 
Porter  and  his  boy,  as  in  the  service  of 
the  Infirmarer.b  The  White  book  of 
Edmundsbury  mentions  the  Janitor  at 
the  great  gate,  and  a  Portarius,  or 
Porter,  for  another  f  for,  however,  as 

a  In  voce  Portarius. 

b  In  obedientia  infirmarii  officium  janitoris   et 
garcionis  ejusdem.     MS.  Harl.  743.  f.  209. 


Tanner  notes,  the  terms  Janitor  and 
Portarius  might  be  confused,  Walafrid 
Strabo  justly  observes,  the  term  janua 
was  proper  only  to  the  entrance  of  a 
house.d  John  de  Northwolde  also 
mentions  a  Portership  of  the  Refectory, 
with  all  its  members  and  appurtenan- 
ces, with  an  annexed  serjeanty.e  Va- 
rious Porters  are  also  mentioned  by 
Davies,  of  which  notice  will  be  taken 
in  their  respective  places. 

c  Janitor,  1  ad  magnam  portam.  MS.  Harl. 
Portarius,  J      1005.  f.  44. 

d  C.  6.  p.  666. 

e  Quandam  serjantiam  spectantem  ad  custodem 
ostii  refectorii,  cum  omnibus  membris  et  pertinen- 
tiis.    MS.  Harl.  743,  p.  210. 


138 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


REFECTIONER. 


He  was  to  take  care  that  the  pots,  or 
noggins,  were  washed  at  certain  feasts  ; 
and  the  same  care  was  to  be  taken 
with  regard  to  the  cups.  The  tables 
were  to  be  wiped  daily.  He  was 
to  find  from  his  revenues,  cups, 
pots,  table-cloths,  mats,  basins,  double 
cloths,  candlesticks,  towels,  saltsellers. 
If  the  cups  were  broken,  they  were  to 


*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  202.  Obbsedebent 
ablui  prudentia  Refectorarii,  sc.  ad  festum  Oran.  S. 
ad  Nat.  Dom.,  ad  Purif.  S.  Mar.,  in  anniv.  Faricii 
et  Vincentii,  ad  Pasch.,  ad  fest.  reliqu.  Pentecost, 
assumpt.  et  nativ.  S.  Mar.  Identidem  omnesciphi 
debent  ablui. — Refectorarius  de  redditibus  sibi 
assignatis  inveniet  in  Refectorio  ciphos,  obbas, 
mappas,  mattas,  pelves,  duplomata,  candelabra, 
manutergia,  salina.  Si  ciphi  franguntur,  laminis 
argenteis  cura  Refectorarii  reparabuntur.  Die 
ccense  Domini  post  coinpletorium  prudentia  refec- 
torarii scopabitur  refectorium.  Quociens  poma 
distribuuntur  in  refectorio  pomarius  dabit  xxx  poma, 
excepto  communi  refectorario.  Hostilarius  hos- 
pites  in  refectorium  introducet ;  sic  refectorarius 
obbas  secundum  personarum  differentias  constituet, 
accubitusque  discumbendi  significabit.  Ter  in 
anno,  sc.  ad  festum  Omn.  Sanct.  ad  Nat.  Dom. 
ad  Pasch.  habebit  quinque  honera  stramentorum 
de  bertona  fratrum  pedibus  in  refectorio  supponen- 
dis.  5  honera  fceni  refectorio  jaciendi.  Quinquies 
in  anno  inveniet  cirpum  in  refectorio  sc.  ad  Ascens. 
D.  Pentec.  ad  fest.  S.  Joh.  ad  assumpt.  et  nativ.  S. 
Mar.  Si  monacho  per  tabulas  panis  apponatur, 
refectorarius  panem  et  caseum  manibus  suis  cuilibet 
monacho  proponet.  Si  abbas  in  conventu  discu- 
buerit,  pelves,  aquam,  manutergium  ante  prandium 
poni  procurabit  ad  lavatorium.  Identidem  in  refec- 
torio post  prandium.  Ad  caritatem  cum  idromelli, 
vel  aliusmodi  potus,  sono  signi  excitabit  fratres,  ad 
administrationem  caritatis,  pulsabitque  signum  ad 
benedictionem,  identidem  ad  collationem.  Provi- 
dentia  debet  refectorarii  vinum  in  promptuario  abba. 
tis  accipi,  quociens  in  conventu  vinum  debet  distri- 
bui,  et  mensurare  sc.  quum  viderit  necesse.  In 
restitutione  et  donacione  caritatum  supra  ferias 
semel  tacto  signo  excitabit  fratres  administration! 
potus,  sed  benedictio  non  dabitur.  Secundum 
temporis  exigentiam  refectorarius  de  prandio  surget, 
ut  in  cifis  caritatem  tenentibus  potum  infundet. 
Refectorarius  priest  aliis  una.  caritate.  Abbati, 
monachis  abbatis,  monachis  infirmariis,  monachis 
pocionariis  inveniet  caritatem  ;  Abbati  autem  duas 
caritates,  si  in  camera  discubuerit.  Minister  qui 
prseest  aliis  in  infirmitorio  habet  caritatem  idro- 
melli et  ne'nius  (f.  err.  pro  vini.)  Nulli  exteriori 
victum  de  promptuario  habenti  dabitur  caritas  idro- 
melli et  vini,  vel  alicujus  poculi,  nisi  in,  anniv. 
Faritii  et  Innocentii,    202  b. 


be  repaired  with  silver  plates.  On 
Maundy  Thursday,  after  Complin,  he 
was  to  have  the  Refectory  swept. 
When  apples  were  distributed  in  the 
Refectory,  the  Pomarius,  or  apple-offi- 
cer, was  to  give  thirty,  besides  the 
common  allowance,  to  the  Refectioner. 
As  the  Hosteler  was  to  introduce  the 
visitors  into  the  fratry,  so  the  Refec- 
tioner was  to  place  the  pots  according 
to  the  rank  of  the  persons,  and  appoint 
them  their  places  to  dine  at.  Three 
times  in  the  year,  at  All  Saints,  Christ- 
mas, and  Easter,  he  was  to  have  five 
bundles  of  straw  from  the  Barton,  to 
put  under  the  feet  of  the  Monks  in  the 
Refectory,  and  five  burdens  of  hay  for 
that  place.  He  was  to  find  rushes  for 
the  same  place  five  times  in  a  year.a 
He  was  to  weigh  the  cheese.  He  was 
not  to  be  absent  from  Mattins  nor 
Prime.  He  was  to  be  busy  at  morning 
Mass  and  Tierce  for  cutting  and  put- 
ting cheese ;  and  when  a  person  was 
wanting,  to  take  in  the  cheese.  Pre- 
sent at  great  Mass,  and  to  go  out  after 
the  gospel.  He  was  absent  from  Sext, 
and  also  from  Nones,  when  the  ser- 
vants happened  to  dine  at  that  hour. 
He  was  present  at  Vespers,  and  at 
Complin,  unless  hindered  by  the  pre- 
sence of  visitors,  to  whom  he  was 
silently  to  attend  with  his  hood  on. 
He  was  dismissed  from  the  service  of 
the  week  at  Church  ;  and  attended  on 
the  minuti  and  visitors  at  whatever 
hour  they  dined.  When  bread  was 
put  before  any  Monk  at  table,  the 
Refectioner  was  to  distribute  the  bread 
and  cheese  with  his  own  hands.  If  the 
Abbot  dined  in  the  Convent,  he  was  to 
cause  basins,  water,  and  a  towel  before 
dinner  to  be  placed  at  the  lavatory,  and 


a  In  the  Rule  of  S.  Victor,  the  Refectioner  is  to 
find  mats,  snuffers,  and  cocks  for  the  Lavatory,  and 
clean  the  Lavatory  as  often  as  necessary.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Mmcatoria. 


REFECTIONER. 


139 


in  the  same  manner  in  the  Refectory- 
after  dinner.  At  the  charity,  whether 
of  idromel  or  any  other  kind  of  drink, 
he  warned  the  Monks,  by  the  sound  of 
a  bell,  to  the  ministration  of  the  charity, 
and  rang  the  bell  for  the  benediction  ; 
in  like  manner  at  the  collation.  The 
Refectioner  was  to  receive  wine  from 
the  store-house  or  cellar  of  the  Abbot 
as  often  as  it  was  to  be  distributed  in 
the  Convent,  and  to  measure  it  if  neces- 
sary. In  the  restitution  and  donation 
of  charities  on  week-days,  he  warned 
the  brethren  to  the  ministration  of  the 
drink,  but  no  benediction  was  given. 
He  rose  from  dinner  according  to  the 
exigencies  of  time,  to  pour  the  drink  in 
the  cups  that  contained  the  charity. 
The  Refectioner  exceeded  the  others 
by  one  charity.     He  found  the  charity 


for  the  Abbot,  the  Abbot's  Monks  (or 
chaplains),  the  Monks  assisting  in  the 
Infirmary,  and  those  who  attended  and 
helped  at  the  charity  ;a  for  the  Abbot 
he  provided  two  charities  if  he  dined  in 
camera.  The  servant  who  presided 
over  the  others  in  the  Infirmary  had  a 
charity  of  idromel,  and  not  of  that  only. 
One  of  idromel  and  wine,  or  of  any 
drink,  was  granted  to  no  person  having 
allowance  from  the  cellar,  except  on 
the  anniversaries  of  Faritius  and  Inno- 
cent.13 


a  See  Dec.  Lanfr.  in  the  Charity,  ut  supra. 

b  Besides  the  Refectioner,  there  was  an  obscure 
officer,  called  the  Pittancer,  or  dispenser  of  allow- 
ances over  commons  on  festivals  ;  and  he  was  to 
distribute  the  charities  on  certain  feasts.  Monast 
i.  149. 


140 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


HOSPITALER.' 


A  lantern  was  found  for  him  by  the 

chamberlain,  and  candle  by  the  Sacrist. 
He  had  annually  the  taleaparia9-  of  the 
best  of  the  old  shoes  for  the  visitors  that 
wanted  slippers,  to  serve  them  in  a 
morning.  He  was  allowed  to  drink 
with  any  orderly  person,  for  the  sake 
of  sociality,  at  the  direction  and  request 
of  that  person,  without  asking  leave. 
But  he  could  not,  without  permission, 
dine  with  any  persons,  except  Abbots 
of  the  Order,  or  their  vicegerents.  By 
the  Norman  institutes,  he  was  to  have 
in  the  hostrey  beds,  seats,  tables,  tow- 
els, table-cloths,  cups,  plates,  spoons, 
basins,  and  similar  articles  ;  as  well  as 
wood,  bread,  beer,  and  other  viands 
from  the  cellar.     He  was  to  observe 


*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  207.  Habebit 
prteterea  vetustarum  crepitarum  quae  meliores  fue- 
rint  annuatim  taleapai'ia  ad  opus  hospiturn  crepitis 
carentium,  ad  matutinas  crepitas  calciatura.  Licet 
hostilario  cum  qualibet  ordinata  (perhaps  it  means 
"  in  holy  orders,")  persona,  gratia  consolationis, 
precepto  et  persona?  peticione  non  petita  licentia 
bibere.  Non  licet  cum  aliquibus  discumbere,  nisi 
cum  nostri  ordinis  abbatibus,  vel  vicem  abbatum 
gerentibus,  nisi  gratia  licentia?.  Perhaps  there  was 
an  officer  of  this  kind,  sometimes  created  for  extra- 
ordinary occasions  ;  for  I  find  in  MS.  Cott.  Cleop. 
B.  ii.  p.  221,  mention  of  the  hospitaler  who  should 
he  for  the  time  for  receiving  the  parents,  guests,  and 
friends  coming  to  the  Monks,  &c.  ,!  Hostilarius 
qui  pro  tempore  fuerit,  pro  suscipiendisparentibus, 
hospitibus,  et  amicis,  ad  confratres  monachorum 
venientibus,  &c." 

a  Talaria  are  shoes  even  with  the  ancles.  Du 
Cange,     Talus  and  Par  make  the  same. 


the  officers,  whether  they  had  proper 
servants,  and  regular  chambers,  and  to 
make  complaints  of  their  ill  behaviour. 
If  strange  clerks  wished  to  dine  in  the 
Refectory,  he  was  to  notify  it  to  the 
Abbot  or  Prior,  and,  upon  consent,  to 
instruct  them  how  to  behave  in  the 
Refectory ;  and,  after  ringing  a  bell, 
introduce  them  into  the  parlour,  where 
the  Abbot,  or  Prior  in  his  absence, 
was  to  give  them  water  to  wash  their 
hands,  and  afterwards  conduct  them  to 
the  Abbot's  table.  When  dinner  was 
over,  he  was  to  remain  alone  with  the 
Abbot,  or  Prior,  follow  the  procession 
of  the  Convent  with  the  visitors,  and, 
after  it  had  passed  the  Refectory  door, 
lead  them  out  of  the  Cloister,  singing 
a  psalm  in  a  low  voice.  He  was  to 
conduct  a  strange  Monk  through  the 
Cloister  into  the  Church  to  pray ;  and 
introduce  into  the  Chapter  Seculars 
who  sought  the  fraternity  of  the  house. 
He  was  to  shew  the  offices  to  those 
who  wished  to  see  them,  unless  the 
Convent  was  in  the  Cloister,  or  they 
were  booted  or  spurred;  or  barefooted, 
or  only  in  breeches.  He  was  also  to 
bring  Novitiates  at  their  first  entrance 
into  the  house  to  the  Chapter,  and 
instruct  them  how  to  make  their  first 
petition.b 

b  See  more  of  this  officer  in  Hostrey. 


CHAMBERLAIN. 


141 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


CHAMBERLAIN, 


By  the  decrees  of  Lanfranc  he  was  to 
find  every  thing  necessary  for  the 
clothes,  bedding,  cleanliness,  and  sha- 
ving of  the  Monks.  He  was  to  find 
the  glass  for  making  and  mending  the 
Dormitory  windows ;  shoeing  for  the 
horses ;  gowns,  garters,  and  spurs  for 
the  Monks  travelling;  and  once  in  a 
year  have  the  Dormitory  swept,  and 
the  straw  of  the  beds  changed.  At 
Abingdon*  he  was  to  find  annually  for 
every  Monk  a  pilch  before  the  feast  of 
All  Saints,  and  the  same  allowance  of 
gowns  and  hoods ;  and  two  pilches, 
a  hood  and  gown  for  the  Abbot.  He 
attended  fairs.  Three  times  in  a  year, 
at  Easter,  Christmas,  and  the  Nativity 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  he  was  to  provide 
the  use  of  the  baths  for  the  refresh- 
ment of  the  bodies  of  the  Monks.  He 
was  to  find  the  beds  in  the  Dormitory, 
and  straw,  pucas,3-  ropes,  and  stools. 
He  could,  to  repel  the  wants  of  the 
Monks,  search  the  beds  ;   and  no  one 


*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  198.  Annuatim 
inveniet  cuilibet  monacho  pellicium  ante  festum 
Omnium  S'ctor.  idemque  de  coopertoriis  et  caputiis 
inditium  ;  abbati  annuatim  duo  pellicea,  et  cucullam 
ettunicam.— Terinanno,  sc.  Pascba,  ad  Nat.  Domi- 
ni, ad  Nativ.  S.  Mar.  ad  recreationem  corporum 
procurabit  usus  balnearum.  In  dormitorio  inveniet 
cubilia,  et  cubili  stramina,  pucas,  et  funes,  et  sca- 
bella.  Licet  camerario  lectos,  ut  fratrum  indigen- 
tiam  expellat,  explorare  in  dormitorio.  Nulli  licet 
de  lecto  in  lectum  vestimenta  removere,  camerario 
ignorante.  _  Omne  inventum  a  camerario,  datum 
vel  dandum  in  capitulo,  repositum,  et  annulo  cog- 
nitum,  camerario  erit  depositum. — In  admissione 
noyitii  vestes  camerario  debent  assignari,  et  sub 
ipsius  custodia,  sine  distributione  aliqua  donee, 
professus  fuerit,  reponi.  In  amissone  cultelli, 
pectinis,   nova   dari.      Ex    consuetudine    novitiis 

novaculas^  et    manutergia    debet     invenire De 

coense  dominico  mandatum  pauperes,  cum  eleemo- 
synario  et  janitore,  introducet,  primo  parentes 
monachorum  egentes,  deinde  clericos,  et  peregrinos, 
unicuique  tres  prsebiturus  denarios.  In  usu  fratrum 
balneario  camerarius  conducet  quendam  ministrum, 
cui  pertinet  administratio  balneatoria,  cumministro 
ablutorum.  f.  199  a. 

a  PewJce  Angl.  is  a  gown.  Perhaps  it  should  be 
pertica,  a  beam  to  hang  things  on.  See  Dormitory. 
It  is  not  in  Du  Cange  or  Charpentier. 


could  remove  the  clothes  from  bed  to 
bed  without  his  leave.  Every  thing 
provided  by  the  Chamberlain,  granted 
or  to  be  granted  in  Chapter,  was  laid 
up  and  sealed  by  him,  and  in  his  care. 
At  the  Maundy  on  Holy  Thursday  he 
was,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Almo- 
ner and  Porter,  to  introduce  the  poor, 
first  the  necessitous  parents  of  the 
Monks,  afterwards  the  clerks  and  pil- 
grims, bestowing  upon  each  of  them 
three  pence.  In  the  admission  of  a 
Novice,  his  clothes  were  to  be  assigned 
to  the  Chamberlain,  and  laid  up  in  his 
custody,  without  any  distribution,  until 
he  should  have  professed.  Upon  the 
loss  of  a  knife,  or  comb,  he  was  to  find 
new  ones.  He  was,  from  custom,  to 
provide  the  Novices  with  razors  and 
towels.  Chalk,  at  his  order,  was  to  be 
brought  to  the  persons  employed  in 
mending.  He  was  to  hire  a  servant 
for  the  service  of  the  baths,  besides 
the  one  devoted  to  the  bathed.  His 
servants  seem  to  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  extorting  money  from  the 
Monks  for  making  their  clothes.b  He 
had  a  taylor  and  two  bathers  in  his 
service.0  The  Sub-chamberlain*  was 
to  be  conformable  to  the  will  of  his 
immediate  superior  officer.  He  was  to 
be  present  at  Mass,  and  the  hours  when 
the    Chamberlain   was.      The    Monks 


b  Injungimus  camerario  quod  provideat  ne  ser- 
vientes  sui  a  monachis  quorum  vestimenta  praepa- 
rant  invitis,  aliquod  pro  labore  suo  exigent.  MS. 
Cott.  Jul.  D.  11.  p.  161  a. 

c  In  obedientia  camerarii  officium  unius  scissoris 
et  duorum  balneatorum.     MS.  Harl.  743.  f.  209. 

*  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  198  b.  Pro  voto 
camerarii  fiet  instructio  subcamerarii. — Sonitu  sub- 
camerarii  ad  usum  balnearum  procedent  monachi. 
Camerario  absente,  licet  subcamerario,licentiapro- 
venta  a priore,  usum  balnearum  concedere.  Minis- 
ter ablutorum  feret  et  referet  vestimenta  fratrum  in 
dormitorium  comitante  subcamerario  ;  minister 
numerabit  vestimenta  in  prsesentia.  subcamerarii  cum 
feret,  identidem  cum  referet.  Nullus  ministrorum 
sartorum  prassumet  ire  in  dormitorium,  nisi  ductu 
subcamerarii.  f.  198  b. 


142 


MONASTIC   OFFICERS. 


were  to  go  to  the  baths  under  his 
direction ;  and,  in  the  absence  of  the 
Chamberlain,  he  could  grant  the  use 
of  them  with  the  Prior's  consent.  He 
was  to  accompany  the  servant  of  the 
bathed  in  bringing  and  carrying  back 
the  clothes  of  the  bathed  into  the  Dor- 
mitory ;  and  that  servant,  in  his  pre- 
sence, was  to  count  the  clothes,  both 
in  bringing  them  and  returning  them. 
No  servant  of  the  menders  was  to  go 
to  the  Dormitory  but  under  his 
guidance.  The  clothes  were  to  be  dis- 
tributed by  his  direction,  and  all  the 
old  ones  were  in  his  custody.  He 
was  allowed  to  give  out  girdles,  and 
other  matters  of  that  kind.  He  was 
to  prepare  the  beds  of  the  Novices, 
and  to  light  and  extinguish  the  can- 


dles in  the  Dormitory  at  twilight  or 
day-break. 

Davies  says,  "The  Chamberlain's 
office  was  to  provide  stamyne,  other- 
wise called  linsey-woolsey,  for  sheets 
and  shirts  for  the  Novices  and  the 
Monks,  for  they  were  not  permitted  to 
wear  linen.  He  kept  a  taylor  daily  at 
worka  in  making  socks  of  white  wool- 
len cloth,  both  whole  and  half  socks  ; 
and  making  shirts  and  sheets  of  linsey- 
woolsey  in  a  shop  underneath  the 
Exchequer.  This  taylor  was  one  of 
the  servants  of  the  house.  The  cham- 
ber where  he  laid  was  in  the  Dorter." 

a  The  Taylor's  shop  was  to  be  without  the  inner 
shops  of  the  Cloister  ;  i.  e.  in  a  place  where  the 
secular  servants,  if  necessary,  might  be  admitted. 
Du  Cange,  v.  Sartrinum. 


OTHER   OFFICERS   OF   THE   HOUSE, 


143 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

OTHER    OFFICERS    OF   THE    HOUSE, 


Terrier  of  the  House.  This  officer, 
mentioned  by  Davies,  was  to  see 
all  the  guests'  chambers  cleanly  kept, 
and  all  the  napery  in  the  chambers, 
as  sheets  and  pillows,  to  be  sweet  and 
clean.  He  always  provided  two  hogs- 
heads of  wine  to  be  ready  for  the 
entertainment  of  strangers,  and  likewise 
provender  for  their  horses,  that 
nothing  should  be  wanting,  when 
strangers  came,  of  whatsoever  degree 
they  were.  Four  yeomen  were  allowed 
to  attend  strangers.  His  chamber  was 
in  the  Infirmary. 

Granetarius,  or  Keeper  of  the  Gar- 
ners. "  His  office,"  says  the  same 
writer,  "was  to  receive  all  the  wheat 
and  barley  that  came,  and  give  account 
what  malt  was  used  weekly;  as  also 
what  barley  was  delivered  to  the  kiln, 
and  what  malt  received  from  it,  and 
how  much  was  used  in  the  house. 
His  chamber  was  in  the  Dorter/' 

Master  of  the  Common  House.  "  His 
office,"  says  Davies,  "was  to  provide 
all  such  spices  against  Lent,  as  should 
be  comfortable  for  the  Monks  under 
their  great  austerity  both  of  fasting 
and  praying ;  and  to  have  a  fire  con- 
stantly in  the  Common-house  hall,  for 
the  Monks  to  warm  themselves  at 
when  they  pleased;  and  to  provide 
always  a  hogshead  of  wine  for  the 
Monks  ;  and  for  keeping  his  O,  called 
O  Sapientia;a  and  to  provide  figs  and 

*  "Then  by  reason  of  these  antiphonars,  and 
others  which  begin  with  the  letter  O,"  says  Udal- 
ric,  in  D'Acherii  Spicileg.  iv.  p.  100.  Amalarius, 
in  his  chapter  of  the  Antophonars  which  begin 
with  O,  says,  "  By  this  O  the  Chantor  means  to 
intimate  that  the  words  following  belong  to  some 
wonderful  vision,  which  relates  rather  to  the  con- 
templation of  the  mind,  than  the  narration  of  the 
singer.  The  antiphonar,  which  is  the  first  of  the 
eight  present  in  the  text  of  the  antiphonary,  and  is 
inscribed  '  O  Wisdom,  which  proceeded  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Most  High,'  is  partly  taken  from 
the  book  of  Jesus,  the  son  of  Sirach,  partly  from 
the  Wisdom  which  is  commonly  ascribed  to  Solomon, 
for  that  wonderfully  commends  wisdom."  Amala- 
rius de  ordine  Antiphonarii,  C.  13,  p.  520. 


walnuts  for  Lent.  His  chamber  was 
in  the  Dorter." 

Firgultarius,  or  OrcharderJ0  He 
was  not  excepted  from  any  of  the 
Church  duties ;  was  to  have  straw 
from  the  Barton  to  lay  under  the 
apples,  which  he  was  to  deliver  to  the 
visitors  before  Complin,  after  Complin 
the  Refectioner,  or  the  same  fruit 
which  the  Convent  had  for  refection. 

Operarius.  He  could  talk  with  his 
workmen  in  the  Cloister,  Church,  and 
elsewhere,  without  exclusion  of  any 
place,  but  not  with  the  Monks  or 
others,  except  in  case  of  necessity. 
The  Collation  in  summer  was  to  be 
somewhat  delayed,  if  there  were  per- 
sons at  work  in  the  Church.  The 
Operarii  were  not  to  go  through  the 
Cloister,  cloked,  unshoed,  buttoned  up, 
nor  any  others.  A  part  of  his  office 
was  to  take  care  that  all  slippery  mat- 
ters of  the  glass-shops,  and  filth  of 
such  kind,  were  carried  out  of  doors. 
Other  filth  the  master  was  to  look  to.c 

Porcarius.  This  was  an  office  held 
by  serjeantry  at  Edmundsbury  ;d  he 
had  for  his  profit  the  fructus  de  cauda 
(perhaps  the  offal,  perhaps  the  dung) 
of  every   pig  fed  in  the  house  ;e  for 


b  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  207.  a.  Stramenta 
pomis  supponenda  et  proponenda  habebit  de  Ber- 
tona.  Ante  completorium  hospitibus  dabit  poma 
virgultarius,  post  completorium  refectorarius,  vel 
eundem  fructum  quo  conventus  reficitur.  f.  207  b. 

c  Licet  operario  cum  suis  operariis  loqui in  claus- 
tro,  in  monasterio  et  alibi,  nullo  excluso  loco,  sed 
non  licet  loqui  cum  monachis,  vel  aliis,  nisi  tem- 
pore necessitatis.  In  restate  collatio  aliquantulum 
morose  pulsabitur,  si  operarii  infra  septa  monas- 
terii  operantur.  Operarii  non  ibunt  per  claustrum 
palliati,  discalceati,  fibulati,  nee  aliqui  alii.  Procu- 
rabit  labinas  omnium  officinarum  vitrorum,  sordes- 
que  labinarum  ejus  cunt  et  prudentia  exterius  defe- 
rentur  ;  alise  sorde  (sic)  cura  magistri.  MS.  Cott. 
ut  sup.  f.  207  b. 

d  Scriptum  de  officio  custodis  porcorum  per  ser- 
jantiam.     MS.  Harl.  743,  f.  210. 

e  Idem  omni  porco  qui  nutritur  in  curi&  fructum 
de  cauda  habebit  porcarius.  MS.  Cott.  ut  sup.  f. 
178  b. 


144 


MONASTIC   OFFICERS. 


these  animals  were  of  great  regard 
among  the  Monks.  How  many  pigs 
the  Abbots  ought  to  have  in  Kinges- 
frid  was  settled  at  Abingdon  ;a  and 
there  are  clauses  of  this  kind  in  nume- 
rous edited  charters.  Walter  Mapes, 
ridiculing  the  Cistertians  for  their 
pretences  of  abstaining  from  fleshy  says, 
(i  Pigs  they  keep,  many  thousands  of 
them,  and  sell  the  bacon,  perhaps  not 
all  of  it;  the  heads,  legs,  and  feet, 
they  neither  give  nor  sell,  nor  throw 
away;  what  becomes  of  them  God 
knows ;  likewise  there  is  an  account 
between  God  and  them  of  fowls,  that 
they  keep  in  vast  numbers/515  Nigell 
Wireker  says  of  the  hermits  of  Grand- 
mont,  "that  they  sent  no  fat  pigs  to 
the  woods."0 


*  Quot  porcos  debeat  abbas  habere  in  Kingesfrid. 
Id.  173.  a. 

b  Porcos  tamen  ad  multa  millia  nutriunt,  bacones 
inde  vendunt  forte  non  omnes,  capita,  tibias, 
pedes,  nee  dant,  nee  vendunt,  nee  dejiciunt,  quod 
deveniant  Deus  scit ;  similiter  et  de  gallinis  inter 
Deum  sit  et  ipsos,  quibus  habundant  maxime.  MS. 
Bodl.  Wood,  II.  p.  216. 

c  "  Nee  faciunt  pingues  in  nemus  ire  sues.'' 
Spec.  Stultor. 


Besides  these  officers,  there  was 
sometimes  the  Cancellarius,  Registrary, 
Auditor,  and  Secretary  of  the  Convent, 
it  being  his  proper  business  to  write 
and  return  letters,  and  manage  the 
most  learned  employments  in  the  Mon- 
astery. The  Butler,  who  at  Abingdon 
ate  in  the  Refectory,  and  had  20s.  wages 
from  William  de  Cumbe,  and  a  ser- 
vant that  had  the  same  privilege  of 
dinner.d  The  Lardenarius,  or  keeper 
of  the  larder ;  Squelenarii,  keepers  of 
the  baskets ;  and  in  short,  for  every 
mean  employment,  proper  officers, 
who  had  again  secondaries,  or  assist- 
ants. Among  these  was  the  Baker, 
and  sub-bakers,e  who  in  the  manu- 
script Constitutions  of  the  Clugniac 
Order,  are  directed  not  to  sing  psalms, 
like  the  other  Monks,  when  at  work, 
lest  any  saliva  should  fall  into  the 
dough/ 


d  Dapifer  comedat  in  aula,  et  xx  sol.  habebit  pro 
stipendio  de  Will0  de  Cumbe,  famulus  suus  comedat 
in  aula.     MS.  Cott.  ut  sup.  178. 

e  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  343. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Breiare. 


OFFICERS    AMONG    THE    FRIARS. 


145 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

OFFICERS    AMONG    THE    FRIARS, 


General  of  the  Order.  His  election 
and  offices  the  Chapter  of  Rules  and 
next  article  shew.  Among  the  Domi- 
nicans, Hospinian  says,  that  they  had 
at  first  Abbots,  afterwards  Masters  of 
the  Order,  and  that  the  other  inferior 
prelates  were  called  Priors  and  Supe- 
riors. The  resignation  of  the  General, 
he  adds,  was  not  accepted  unless  on 
account  of  perpetual  impediments 
Armachanus  says  (i.  e.  Fitz  Ralph,  the 
famous  Archbishop  of  Armagh),  that, 
because  the  Rule  of  Francis  ordered 
that  no  brother  should  preach  peni- 
tence to  the  people,  unless  examined, 
approved,  and  licensed  by  the  General 
Minister,  that  the  Friers  obtained  pri- 
vileges to  get  rid  of  this  examination.13 
In  the  amoval  and  appointment  of 
Priors  General  of  the  Carmelites  bribery 
and  corruption  interfered.  "In  that 
Chapter,"  says  the  syllabus  of  them, 
"resigned  the  reverend  Master,  bro- 
ther John  Grossi,  a  most  worthy  doc- 
tor in  divinity,  and  he  governed  the 
Order  forty-two  years,  and  would  have 
continued  longer,  if  money  had  not 
interfered."0 

In  the  Heroi-comic  Poem  of  the 
Nouveau  Renard  (New  Fox),  written 
by  Jacquemars  Gelee  in  the  13th  cen- 
tury, the  Dominicans  perceive,  that  the 
poverty  which  they  professed  was  inju- 
rious to  them,  and  that,  if  they  were 
richer,  they  would  be  more  respected. 
In  consequence,  they  hold  a  Chapter  ; 


a  De  orig.  et  progr.  Monach.  p.  492,  3. 

b  Regula  Francisci  precipit  quod  nullus  fratrum 
populo  poenitentiam  audeat  predicare,  nisi  a  minis- 
tro  generali  fuit  examinatus  et  etiam  approbatus, 
et  ab  eo  predicationis  officium  sibi  concessuin 
[fuerit]  :  et  fratres,  ut  non  examinentur  a  miuistro, 
privilegium  procurarunt.  MS.  Bodl.  2737,  f. 
14,  b. 

c  In  illo  capitulo  resignavit  reverendus  magis- 
ter  frater  Johannes  Grossi  in  sacra  pagina  dignis- 
simus  doctor,  et  ordinem  rexit  annis  xlii.  et  magis 
rexisset,  nisi  fuisset  pecunia.  MS.  Harl.  1819,  f. 
108,  a. 


one  of  them  makes  a  speech ;  and 
after  having  advanced  that  without 
Reynardism,  they  should  be  always 
beggars,  they  propose  to  send  a  depu- 
tation to  Reynard,  to  induce  him  to 
take  their  habit,  and  become  General 
of  the  Order,  in  the  hopes  that  under 
such  a  chieftain  the  Society  would  not 
fail  to  extend  itself,  and  abound  in 
money.  Reynard  answers,  that  he 
cannot  accept  their  offer,  but  proposes 
to  them  his  eldest  son,  who  has  already 
exhibited  great  ability.  They  agree, 
and  renouncing  poverty,  go,  like  the 
other  Orders,  to  inhabit  the  castle  of 
Pride. 

The  Franciscans  come  to  Reynard 
with  the  same  request,  and  he  gives 
them  his  second  son.  In  vain  does 
their  Rule  oppose  innovations.  They 
allow  latitude  of  conscience,  and  miti- 
gate their  austerities. d 

From  this  passage  we  have  a  full 
idea  what  a  General  of  the  Order  was 
expected  to  be,  that  is,  a  skilful  Jesuit. 

Prior  Provincial  had  the  same  pow- 
er in  his  province  as  the  Ruler  of  the 
Order,  namely,  in  receiving  persons 
under  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  dis- 
pensing with  those  who  could  not 
competently  read  or  sing ;  and  that 
without  special  licence  of  the  Ruler. 
He  was  to  have  the  same  respect  shown 
to  him  by  the  brothers  of  the  province 
as  the  General  had,  who  was  not  to 
harass  his  Provincials  when  present. 
He  was  bound  to  visit,  either  person- 
ally or  by  deputy.  Persons  particu- 
larly able  and  likely  to  be  useful  he 
was  to  send  to  places  of  study,  and 
they  were  not  to  be  occupied  elsewhere.e 

d  MS.  dans  la  Biblioth.  Nation.  N°.  7615,  &c. 
Notices,  v.  326. 

e  Prior  provincialis  eandem  potestatem  babeat  in 
sua  provincia  quanti  est  rector  ordinis,  sc.  reci- 
piendis  minoribus  xviii  annis,  et  illis  qui  nesciunt 
competenter  legere  et  cantare  dispenset ;   et  sine 


146 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS, 


The  Friers  could  not  give  presents  to 
women,  nor  send  them  orally  or  by 
writing  without  his  leave.  A  Consti- 
tution of  the  Minors,  or  Franciscans, 
ordered  that  the  Friers  should  not 
take  orders  without  this  officer's  con- 
sents 

Diffinitors,  says  Hospinian,  were 
officers  "who  had  the  power  of  appoint- 
ing and  ordaining,  respecting  the  pre- 
sident and  whole  [general]  chapter 
during  the  sitting  of  the  same,  regard 
being  had  to  the  authority  of  the  Gene- 
ral. Theodoric  de  Appoldid  was  the 
author  of  them."b  The  Statutes  of 
the  Franciscans  ordered,  that  those 
should  not  be  Diffinitors  in  the  pro- 
vincial chapter  next  following,  who  had 


licentia  speciali  rectoris.  Et  eadem  reverentia,  i.  e. 
quae  fratribus  suae  provincial  exbibeatur,  quse  et 
rectori  exbibetur,  nee  rector  prsesens  exerceat  pro- 
vincias  suas.  Priores  provinciales  visitare  tenentur, 
quod  si  commode  non  valuerint  committere  pote- 
rint  vices  suas.  Curet  prior  provincialis,  ut  si 
babuerit  aliquos  utiles  ad  docendum,  &c.  mittere  eos 
ad  studium  ad  loca  ubi  viget  studium,  et  illi  ad 
quos  mittuntur  eos  in  aliis  non  audeant  occupare. 
MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xn.  f.  167. 

a  Munuscula  sine  licencia  prioris  provincialis 
mulieribus  non  dentur  a  quocunque,  nee  aure,  verbo, 
vel  Uteris  mandentur.  Id.  157,  b.  Item  fratres 
sacros  ordines  non  suscipiant  sine  suivicarii  provin- 
cialis licencia.     MS.  Bodl.  1882,  p.  52,  b. 

b  Of  tbe  Dominicans,  392. 


filled  that  office  in  the  one  preceding.0 
Among  the  Benedictines  and  Augusti- 
nians,  says  DuCange,  of  societies  lately 
instituted  and  reformed,  and  others, 
the  Diffinitors  are  nine  Superiors  elect- 
ed in  the  time  of  the  general  Chapter, 
who  have  the  principal  power  of  the 
whole  assembly,  whether  in  respect  to 
the  elections  of  Superiors,  or  to  enact 
and  constitute  whatever  affected  the 
Monastic  discipline.  In  certain  other 
orders  the  Diffinitors  are  called  assist- 
ants, or  advisers  of  the  Superior,  even 
out  of  the  time  of  the  general  Chapter. 
Wardens  (of  the  Franciscans) .  The 
general  Statutes  say,  "We  enact,  that, 
in  future,  the  wardens  be  elected  in 
every  place  by  the  Convents  of  such 
place.  Also,  that  no  one  shall  have 
a  vote  who  is  not  twenty-five  years  of 
age,  and  in  holy  orders;  but  where 
they  have  wardens,  the  custom  hither- 
to observed  in  the  election  of  them 
shall  be  retained."*1 

c  Qui  fuerint  diffinitores  in  provinciali  capitulo 
proximo  praecedenti  non  sint  diffinitores  in  cap0 
proximo  sequenti.     MS.  Bodl.  1882,  f.  65,  b. 

d  Statuimus  ut  deinceps  gardiani  in  singulis  locis 
elegantur  per  conventus  eorundem  locorum.  Nul- 
lus  vocem  babeat,  non  saltern  qui  25  suae  eetatis 
annum  attigit,  et  in  sacris  fuit  ordinibus  consti- 
tutus  ;  ubi  autem  custodes  babent,  fuerit  in  eorum 
electione  oonsuetudo  bactenus  observata.  Idem. 
61,  b. 


nuns'  confessor. 


147 


CHAPTER  XXVL 


nuns'  confessor. 


One  officer  remains  to  be  mentioned, 
peculiar  to  the  Nuns,  as  well  as  two  fe- 
males, the  Portress  and  the  Formaria.a 
This  officer  was  the  Nuns'  Confessor, 
appointed,  says  Lyndwood,  by  the 
Bishop,  and  who  was,  where  there  was 
no  particular  person  ordained,  the 
incumbent  of  the  parish  in  which 
they  resided.b  This  Confessor  did 
duty  in  the  Church,  in  which  he  was 
assisted  by  the  Chaplain  or  Chaplains.0 
Whether  the  Professor  was  a  man  of 
learning  and  discretion,  was  one  of  the 
inquirenda  of  Henry's  visitors.01 

Among  the  Nuns  of  Sempringham, 
as  soon  as  the  Confessor  came,  his 
arrival  was  announced.  If  the  Pri- 
oress then  found  it  necessary  that  any 
one  should  confess,  she  was  told  to  go 
to  the  place  of  confession.  When  the 
confession  was  made  in  the  house,  two 
discreet  sisters  sat  apart  from  the 
window  to  see  how  the  Nun  confess- 
ing behaved.  The  Confessor  too  was 
to  shun  talking  vain  and  unnecessary 
things ;  nor  ask  who  she  was,  whence 
she  came,  and  such  things ;  nor  to  talk 
to  her,  about  who  he  was,  and  whence 
he  came.  His  behaviour  too  was  also 
to  be  watched.  No  other  obedi- 
ence was  due  to  him  than  that  of 
confession^ 

The  Brigettine  Nun  was  to  confess 
at  a  latticed  window,  so  as  to  be  heard 
but  not  seen.f 

It  was  the  opinion  of  those  seras, 
that  "the  office  of  a  Confessor  and 
Preacher  was  that  of  a  midwife,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  entirely  eradicate  sin 
from  the  heart,  that  it  might  after- 
wards bring  forth  a  new  man  ;"&  but  the 

a  Aubrey  says,  that  the  last  priest  [at  the  nun- 
nery of  Kington  St.  Michael,  co.  Wilts]  was 
Parson  Whaddon,  whose  chamber  is  that  on  the 
right-hand  of  the  porch  with  the  old  fashioned 
chimney.     Britton's  Beauties  of  Wilts,  hi.  154. 

b  Lyndwood,  p.  211. 

c  Const,  ii.  Monial.  de  Sopewell,  &c.  &c. 

d  MS.  Harl.  791,  f.  21. 

e  Monast.  Anglic,  ii.  775.  f  Ex  Regula. 

«  Officium  obstetricuni  nil  aliud  est  quam  offi- 


Confessors  of  Nuns  often  attended  only 
to  the  latter  part  of  the  injunction  in  a 
corporeal  sense.  Amours  of  this  kind 
are  upon  record  concerning  very  ex- 
tensive powers  of  absolution  for  cer- 
tain vices ;  writing  love  letters  ;  inter- 
views at  grated  windows,  and  employ- 
ing smiths  to  remove  the  bars,  as  well  as 
holy  contemplations  in  the  Church  at 
night  between  two  lovers.h 

The  Porter  ess  of  the  Nuns  of  St. 
Clare  was,  during  the  days,  to  reside 
in  an  open  chamber  without  the  gate ; 
and  to  have  a  companion  to  take  her 
place  when  necessary.  They  were  to 
take  care  the  gate  never  stood  open 
when  it  was  improper.1  Among  the 
Gilbertines,  two  Nuns  attended  at  the 
Versatile  window,  who  went  to  Mass 
and  Chapter  alternately.k 

The  Formarius  was  a  Fugle-man,  or 
pattern  Monk,  who  instructed  the  rest 
by  his  example.  He  was  also  called 
Titulus} 

The  Formaria  was  the  Nun  men- 
tioned in  the  Benedictine  Rule,  "as  the 
senior  fitted  to  gain  souls,"  who  was, 
says  Du  Cange,  (as  the  Formarius 
among  the  Monks,)  "to  watch  and  in- 
spect them  curiously/5 

Thus  terminates  the  account  of  the 
Monastic  Officers;  and  such  was  the 
effect  of  Puritanical  principles,  that 
the  very  names  became  odious;  and,  at 
the  dissolution,  the  Dean  and  other 
officers  of  Exeter  Cathedral  requested 
to  be  styled  by  the  scriptural  appella- 
tions of  pastor  and  preachers.111 

cium  confessoris  et  prsedicatoris,  quorum  officium 
est  penitus  educere  peccatum  de  corde,  ut  postea 
pariat  novum  hominem.  MS.  Gardiner,  in  Pemb. 
Coll.  Libr.  Oxf.  (ancient  sermons.) 

h  Visitor's  letter  in  Fuller's  Ch.  Hist.  b.  vi.  315. 

1  Ex  Regula.  k  Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  758. 

1  Du  Cange. 

m  MS.  Harl.  604,  f.  135.  a.  This  was  one  of 
those  Genevese  Innovations  (see  Aerius  Redivivus, 
p.  208 — 14),  which  terminated  (as  all  religious 
zeal,  except  that  of  promoting  the  virtues  of  Chris- 
tianity, will  ever  do)  in  faction,  blood,  sedition, 
and  harassing,  if  not  overturning,  the  State, — a 
direction  it  instantly  assumes,  when  it  has  raised  a 
strong  party. 

L   2 


148 


MONKS,    NUNS,  &C. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


MONKS,  NUNS,  &C. 


The  duties  of  Monks  were  these,  "To 
pray,  groan,  and  weep  for  their  faults ; 
to  subdue  their  flesh ;  to  watch  and 
abstain  from  pleasures  ;  to  bridle  their 
tongues,  and  shut  their  ears  from  vani- 
ties ;  to  guard  their  eyes,  and  keep 
their  feet  from  wandering ;  to  labour 
with  their  hands,  exult  with  their  lips, 
and  rejoice  at  heart  in  the  praises  of 
God ;  to  bare  the  head,  bow  down, 
and  bend  the  knees  at  the  feet  of  the 


Crucifix ;  to  obey  readily,  never  to 
contradict  their  Superiors ;  to  serve 
willingly,  and  assist  speedily,  the  sick 
brethren ;  to  throw  off  cares  of 
the  world,  and  attend  to  celestial  con- 
cerns with  their  utmost  endeavours ; 
not  to  be  overcome  by  the  arts  of 
Satan,  and  do  every  thing  with  pru- 
dence/^ The  following  Leonines  form 
a  summary. 


a  MS.  Bodl.  Archiv.  Seld.  D.  52. 

INSTRUCTIO    PERBREVIS   PRO    NOVITIIS    IN    SACRA    LIRINENSI    INSULA. 

Attende  Tibi. 


Monacho,  ad  quid  venisti 
Quare  mundum  reliquisti, 
Cur  flocum  induisti 
Et  mundi  pompam  despexisti. 
Nonne  ut  Deo  servires 
Et  cor  tuum  custodires  ? 
Cum  ergo  sic  vagaris 
Et  vana  meditaris  ? 
Multum  peccas  evagando 
Tempus  perdis  otiando : 
Evagari  non  est  tutum 
Otiari  grande  vitium  ; 
Fabulando  perdis  prsemium, 
Operando  vitae  taedium, 
Orando  quaere  subsidium, 
Mane  ergo  in  ccenobio, 
Vive  caste  sine  proprio. 
Fuge,  tace  cum  Arsenio, 
Sede  solus  cum  Machario, 
Saepe  ora  cum  Antonio, 
Jejuna  cum  Evagrio. 
Vigila  cum  Hilario, 
Sustine  dolores  cum  Laurentio, 
Despice  honores  cum  Vincentio, 
Dilige  Jesum  cum  Ignatio, 
Fer  rerum  damna  cum  Eustachio, 
Confitere  Christum  cum  Tibnitio, 
Resiste  Draconi  cum  Honorato, 
Perfere  injurias  cum  Donato, 
Lege,  scribe  cum  Hieronymo, 
Canta  hymnos  cum  Ambrosio, 
Stude,  doce  cum  Augustino, 
Disce  mori  mundo  cum  Gregorio, 
Perseverando  in  Monasterio, 
Imitare  Sanctum  Benedictum, 
Serva  verbum  tibi  dictum, 
Bonum  est  laborare  manibus, 
Melius  orare  cum  fletibus, 
Quaere  Jesum  cum  Bernardo, 
Cum  Hugone,  cum  Richardo, 
Praemiaberis  cum  Confessoribus, 


Si  abnegaveris  te  in  omnibus 

Cave  curiosa  legere 

Quae  possunt  mentem  distrahere, 

Stude  vitia  cognoscere, 

Et  viriliter  eis  resistere  : 

Ambula  cum  simplicibus, 

Adhaere  innocentibus, 

Benefac  tibi  contrario, 

Supplica  pro  adversario, 

Et  eris  gratus  Dei  filio, 

Ac  dignus  sanctorum  consortio, 

Monachorum  est  orare, 

Gemiscere  et  plorare, 

Pro  suis  defectibus, 

Carnem  suam  castigare, 

Vigilare,  jejunare 

A  voluptatibus  ; 

Linguam  refraenare, 

Aures  obturare 

A  vanitatibus  : 

Oculos  custodire, 

Pedes  praemunire, 

Ab  excursibus. 

Manibus  laborare, 

Labris  exultare, 

Corde  jubilare, 

In  Dei  laudibus : 

Caput  denudare, 

Basse  inclinare, 

Genua  curvare, 

Crucifixi  pedibus  ; 

Prompts  obedire, 

Nunquam  contra  ire, 

Suis  majoribus; 

Libenter  servire, 

Cito  subvenire 

Infirmis  fratribus  : 

Curas  mundi  abjicere, 

Coelestibus  intendere 

Totis  conatibus. 

Ne  vincaris  a  Daemonio, 


MONKS,    NUNS,  &C. 


149 


Omnia  fac  cum  consilio, 

Et  non  facile  aberrabis, 

Nescis  enim  quarndiuhic  eris, 

Certum  est  quod  morieris, 

Nunquam  tamen  desperabis, 

Esto  internus  Deo  devotus, 

Mundo  ignotus 

Et  eris  semper  leetus. 

Multum  tibi  vibs  et  despectus, 

Fratri  tuo  pius  et  subjectus. 

Maturus  et  facetus. 

De  bonis  Deo  tribue  gloriam, 

De  malis  pete  veniam, 

Omnem  remittens  injuriam, 

Sicque  per  Dei  Gratiam 

Pervenies  ad  Patriam, 

Post  bujus  saecli  miseriam, 

Ubi  Jesu  et  Maria, 

Iu  summa  gaudent  Gloria 

Cum  tota  cceli  curia: 

Ad  quam  post  multa  pericula, 

Perducat  Agnus  sine  macula 

Cui  laus  per  aeterna  secula. 


Amen. 


To  Monastic  perfection  it  seems 
eight  things  were  requisite  ;  keeping 
the  Cloister,  silence,  no  property, 
obedience,  no  detraction  or  murmur- 
ing, mutual  love,  performance  of 
the  appointed  duties,  and  confession.3 
Besides  these,  they  were  to  be  imita- 
tors of  Christ,  love  an  abject  and  lowly 
habit,  be  cloathed  in  vile  garments, 
walk  simply  in  discipline,5  upon  rising 
to  Mattins  meditate  upon  their  ac- 
tions;0 to  bear  patiently  the  injuries  of 
others;  to  him  that  struck  upon  one 
cheek,  to  turn  the  other, — so  that  such 
a  change  of  character  would  be  pro- 
duced, "that  they  who  were  prone  to 
quarrels,  and  passionate,  would  now 
bravely  endure  the  curses  of  others ; 
not  be  broken  by  contempt  or  injury, 
but  bear  all  things  with  a  resolute 
heart,  and  preserve  their  peace  of  mind, 
and  rest  amidst  reproaches  ;"d  to  con- 

a  MS.  Roy.  Libr.  7.  A.  iii.  sect.  Quod  sint 
octo,  Sec. 

b  Christi  imitatorem  debetis  agere  ;  abjectum  et 
humilem  babitum  amare  ;  pannis  vibbus  involvatur ; 
in  disciplina  simpbeiter  ambulare.  MS.  Harl. 
209,  f.  19. 

c  Ex  quo  surgit  ad  vigilias  vitse  suae  tempora  per 
monita  singularia  debet  cornputare.  MS.  Harl. 
103,  f.  114. 

d  Quod  ab  omni  perfectione  longe  distat,  qui 
non  verbum  aliorum  pacienter  non  sustinuit ;  per- 
cutienti  te  in  maxillam  prsebe  ei  alteram  ;  non 
repunget  per  verba  contumeUosa,  &c.  MS.  Harl. 
1750,  f.  105,  b.  andf.  113,  b. 

Ad  lites  facilis  fuit  bic ;  ad  jurgia  praeceps  ; 

Fortiter  alterius  nunc  maledicta  feret ; 

Non  nunc  contemptus,  non  nunc  injuria  frangit ; 


verse  of  and  meditate  the  last  judg- 
ment, wait  for  the  Lord,  and  dread  the 
anger  of  the  judge;6  never  to  laugh, 
because  being  charged  with  the  sins  of 
the  people  as  their  own,  constant 
lamentation  was  their  duty  ;f  to  have 
no  private  friendships,  because  preju- 
dicing the  concord  of  the  community, 
by  generating  parties,  and  causing 
detraction  ;S  to  be  silent  and  solitary, 
because  dead  to  the  world  ;h  to  use 
private  prayer,  when  under  a  vicious 
impulse,  because  such  prayer  reminded 
them  of  their  crimes,  and  made  them 
think  themselves  more  guilty  ;i  to  have 
respect  for  their  habit  in  act,  speech, 
and  thought;  not  to  be  querulous,  an- 
gry, slanderous  ;  not  to  regard  rashly 
the  lives  of  their  Superiors,  nor  to  be- 
come rebellious,  by  beholding  their 
faults  ;  and  to  walk  with  their  heads 
down,k  a  custom  borrowed  from  the 
Pharisees.1 

"  Because,"  says  Bouthillier  de  la 
Ranee,  "the  Monks  inflame  themselves, 


Omnia  robusto  corde  molesta  feret ; 
Pax  animi  quies  inter  convicia  duret.* 

MS.  Bibl.  Reg.  8.  A.  xxi. 

e  "Expecta  Dominum,  formida  Judicis  iram." 
MS.  Bibl.  Reg.  ut  sup.  Dev.  Vie  Monast.  i.  542, 
543. 

f  Id.  i.  574,  5.  Bernard  reproacbes  tbe  Clug- 
niacs  for  calling  raillery  and  laugbter  an  bonest  and 
allowable  recreation.  CacJiinnatio  diciturjucundi- 
tas.     Dev.  Vie  Mon.  iii.  274. 

s  Dev.  Vie  Monast.  i.  339,  342,  and  Monast. 
Anglic,  ii.  783. 

h  Dev.  Vie  Mon.  ii.  20. 

1  Quociens  quolibet  tangitur  vitio,  totiens  adora- 
tionem  (sic)  se  subdat.  Smaragdi  Diadema  Mona- 
cborum.  MS.  Bodl.  2401,  p.  2,  b.  Cum  enim 
oramus,  ad  memoriam  culparuni  reducamur,  et 
magis  reos  tunc  nos  esse  cognoscamus.  Id.  3.  a. 
Admonendus  est  monacbus,  ut  reverentiam  babitus 
sui  in  actu,  in  locutione,  in  cogitatione  sua  semper 
circumspiciat.  p.  19,  a.  Qui  querulus  est,  mona- 
cbus non  est ;  qui  iracundus  est,  monacbus  non 
est ;  qui  fratri  suo  detrabit,  monacbus  non  est. 
Id.  33,  b.  Ammonendi  sunt  subditi,  ne  prreposi- 
torum  suorum  vitam  temere,  si  quid  eos  fortasse 
agere  reprehensibibter  viderint,  reprebendant  ; 
ammonendi  sunt  subditi,  ne  cum  culpas  prseposito- 
rum  considerent,  contra  eos  audaciores  fiant.  Id. 
37,  b. 

k  Reg.  Bened.  &c. 

1  Pictet.  Serm.  sur  Matt.  xv.  9. 


*  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  reproacbes  and  con- 
tumelies were  purposely  used  to  prevent  pride,  and 
create  fortitude.    Dev.  Vie  Monast-  ii,  20, 


150 


MONKS,  NUNS,  &C. 


and  grow  angry  by  discourses,  we  see 
very  rarely  honesty,  respect,  and  cha- 
rity among  them :  they  divide  by  dif- 
ference of  sentiment ;  they  contract 
friendships  and  intimacies  quite  human, 
which  are  the  ruin  of  holy  and  true 
charity ;  or  rather  they  canvass,  when 
conversing  together,  the  faults  of  their 
brethren,  which  renders  them  contemp- 
tible in  their  eyes,  and  hinders  their 
esteeming  them.^a  Upon  these  ac- 
counts silence  was  a  principal  duty  of 
a  Monk,  the  rule  of  which  obtained, 
during  divine  service,  meals,  mid-day, 
between  Mattins  and  Prime,  and  after 
Complin.  The  Prior,  Sub-prior,  Deans, 
Master  of  the  Novices,  and  Cellarer, 
had  a  right  from  office  to  speak.  On 
account,  however,  of  the  danger  of 
nightly  interviews,  to  speak  after  Com- 
plin was  subject  to  the  severest  punish- 
ment ;  and,  in  some  places,  the  law 
was  so  strict,  according  to  Bernard, 
that  it  did  not  permit  a  person  labour- 
ing under  blame,  to  excuse  himself, — 
or  one  who  entertained  suspicions,  to 
divulge  them.b  We  are  even  told  of 
persons  who  carried  stones  in  their 
mouths,  that  they  might  learn  to  ob- 
serve duly  this  injunction  of  silence.0 
Lindwood  gives  the  following  curious 
reason  for  silence  :  "  Silentium.  Quod 
est  justitiee  cultus."d  In  consequence, 
therefore,  of  this  prohibition  from  ex- 
hortation, advice,  and  every  kind  of 
communication,  it  became  necessary 
that  they  should  do  by  signs  what  they 
could  not  effect  by  words.e  These 
signs  were  not  optional,  but  transmit- 
ted from  antiquity,  and  taught  like  the 
alphabet  ;f  the  use  of  them  was,  how- 
ever, prohibited  when  silence  was  com- 
manded ;  for,  says  Nigell  de  Wireker, 
in  his  Monita  Moralia : 


a  Dev.  Vie  Monast.  i.  p.  336. 

b  Dev.  Vie  Monast.  ii.  220,  1,  2,  3. 

c  Qui  lapides  in  ore  portabant,  ut  taciturnita- 
tem  addiscerent.  MS.  Harl.  1750,  f.  105,  b.  "  Aga- 
thon  the  Abbot  (says  the  Golden  Legend,  ccxxxv. 
b.)  bare  thre  yere  a  stone  in  hys  mowthe  tyll  that 
he  had  lemed  to  kepe  scylence." 

d  Prov.  207. 

e  Dev.  Vie  Monast.  i.  308. 

f  Id.  ii.  221.  "  Signa  scire  studeant  omnes  ne- 
cessaria ;"  (let  all  endeavour  to  learn  the  necessary 
signs.)    M.  Paris,  403.    See  too  sect,  Novices. 


Si  jubet  ut  taceas,  statua.  taciturnior  esto, 
Nee  redimas  signis  verba  negata  tibi.s 
As  statues  still,  if  ordered  so,  abide, 
Nor  seek  by  signs  the  speech  that  is  denied. 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  Monks  did 
so,  for  they  were  perpetually  making 
unnecessary  signs  in  the  Choir,  Refec- 
tory, and  other  undue  places.11 

However  ridiculous  this  may  appear 
to  us,  signs,  to  a  given  extent,  have,  in 
relation  to  speech,  the  expedition  of 
short-hand  writing,  and  might  be  made 
in  part  to  supply  the  place  of  universal 
language.  With  relation  to  the  Monks, 
they  admirably  contributed  to  the  pre- 
servation of  order.  Du  Cange  has 
preserved  a  catalogue  of  them;  and 
the  following  are  extracts  : 

Fish.  Waive  the  hand  like  a  fish's 
tail  in  the  water. 

Book,  Extend  the  hand,  and  move 
it  as  a  leaf  is  moved. 

Milk.  Press  the  little  finger  on  the 
lips,  because  an  infant  sucks  milk.1 

There  were  signs  not  only  for  per- 
sons and  things,  but  actions  and  qua- 
lities, as  seeing,  hearing,  good,  evil,  &c. 

Crashaw,  who  seems  to  have  known 
that  the  felicity  which  is  so  rarely  at- 
tainable in  divine  poetry,  by  attempts 
at  the  sublime,  is  well  substituted  by 
blending  taste  and  elegance  with  fer- 
vour, thus  describes  the  duties  of  a 
religious  house  : 

A  hasty  portion  of  prescribed  sleep, 
Obedient  slumbers  that  can  wake  and  weep, 
And  sing,  and  sigh,  and  work,  and  sleep  again, 
Still  rolling  a  round  sphere  of  still  returning  pain  ; 
Hands  full  of  hearty  labours,  pains  that  pay 
And  prize  themselves  ;  do  much  that  more  they  may; 
And  work  for  work,  not  wages  :  let  to-morrow's 
New  drops  wash  off  the  sweat  of  this  day's  sorrows. 
A  long  and  daily-dying  life,  which  breathes 
A  respiration  of  reviving  deaths. 

The  state  of  reason  among  the 
Monks  may  be  ascertained  from  some 
Old  Rhymes  of  the  Monastic  Life, 
published  by  Fabricius.k  The  mecha- 
nical modes  of  avoiding  some  bad  ha- 
bits are  thus  pourtrayed. 

,«  MS.  Cott.  Jul.  A.  vn. 

h  Cap.  Gen.  Northampt.  anno  1225,  sect.  De 
Hospitalitate.     See  too  sect.  Refectory. 

'  Du  Cange,  v.  Signum.  See  also  the  signs  used 
in  the  nunnery  of  Syon,  co.  Middx.  in  Aungier's 
Hist.  of,Hounslow  and  Syon  Monastery  >  8vo.  1840. 

k  Bibl.  Med,  ^Ev.  y.  vii.  913,  geq. 


MONKS,    NUNS,    &C. 


151 


Omnem  horarn  occupabis 

You  shall  occupy  ever  hour 

Hyrnnis,  psalmis  ;  et  amabis 

In  hymns  [and]  psalms  ;  and  you  shall  like 

Ten  ere  silentium. 

To  keep  silence. 

Super  hoc  orationem 

Besides  this,  you  shall  love 

Diliges  et  lectionem, 

Prayer  and  reading, 

Nutricern  claustralium. 

The  nurse  of  cloisterers. 

Habens  vestitum  et  victum, 

Having  raiment  and  food, 

Ut  fert  Apostoli  dictum, 

As  the  Apostle's  saying  directs, 

Nihil  quseras  amplius  ; 

You  must  not  seek  any  thing  further  ; 

De  colore  ne  causeris, 

Do  not  talk  of  the  colour, 

Si  fit  vilis  tunc  lceteris, 

If  it  be  mean,  then  be  glad, 

Et  ficeris  sobrius. 

And  thus  you  will  be  sober  [minded] . 

Cave  ne  fis  curiosus 

Take  care  not  to  be  foppish 

In  vestitu,  nee  gulosus 

In  [your]  dress,  nor  dainty 

In  diver  sis  epulis. 

In  [your]  different  meals. 

Sic  non  eris  somnolentus, 

Thus  you  will  not  be  lethargick, 

Nee  in  potu  vinolentus, 

Nor  vinolent  in  your  drink, 

Nee  vacabis  fabulis, 

Nor  waste  your  time  in  gossiping  ; 

Nimis  est  periculosum 

It  is  too  dangerous 

Esse  claustralem  verbosum, 

For  a  cloisterer  to  be  verbose, 

Cum  silere  debeat ; 

When  he  ought  to  be  silent ; 

Joci  epiidem  sunt  ferendi, 

Jests,  indeed,  must  be  endured, 

Nunquam  tamen  referendi, 

But  never  repeated, 

Quos  proferre  pudeat. 

For  it  may  be  disgraceful  to  utter  them. 

Maxims  derived  from  the  Vulgate 
may  be  seen  in  detail  in  Stellartius,  p. 
351.  Some  of  the  Epistles  and  Gos- 
pels are  unnoticed,  and  Tobit  sub- 
stituted where  these  had  been  better 
quoted  instead. 

Monachism  was  an  institution 
founded  upon  the  first  principles  of 
religious  virtue,  wrongly  understood 
and  wrongly  directed.  If  Man 
be  endowed  with  various  qualities, 
in    order    to    be    severely    punished 


for  using  them,  God  is  made  the  temp- 
ter of  Vice,  and  his  works  foolish.     If 
voluntary  confinement,  vegetable-eat- 
ing, perpetual  praying,  wearing  coarse 
clothing,  and  mere  automatical  action 
through  respiration,  be  the   standard 
of  excellence,   then  the   best  man  is 
only  a  barrel-organ  set  to  psalm  tunes. 
Sleep,  according  to  this  plan,  ought  to 
be  virtue  ;  but  the  fact  is,  that  it  is  not 
possible  to  pursue  a  system  exclusively 
directed    to  suppress   faults,    without 
j  reducing  the  character  to  a  caput  mor- 
tuum.a     Mere  innocence  was,  indeed, 
the  qualification  for  a  Monk ;  and  the 
error  is,  that  all  its  merit  was  limited 
to  that.      The  result  of  such  system  is 
the  ruin  of  the    public  and  patriotic 
character,   and    the  elevation  of   An- 
thony and  Francis  over  Leonidas  and 
Socrates ;    for  the  consideration    was 
not  what  sacrifices  any  one  made  for 
the   good  of  society,  but  how   many 
dinners  he  could  go  without  in  a  week  ? 
what  aversion  he  had  from  matrimony? 
and  how  many  prayers  he  said  in  a 
day  ?  but,    alas !   superstition    has   its 
basis  in  the  will,  and  therefore  Mona- 
chism never    succeeded   but  when  it 
was  an  act  of  volition.     As  soon  as  its 
duties  became  mechanical  operations, 
the  work  was  performed,  and  the  prin- 
ciple disregarded,  while  the  heart,  left 
open    to   the    world,   was    constantly 
prompting    those    aberrations,   which 
naturally  result  from  the    opposition 
of  will  to  duty.     Shame  is  of  no  avail, 
where  security  is  to  be  gained  from  co- 
parceny, evasion,  or  secrecy.     Hence 
the  vices  of  the  Monks  :  gluttony,  their 
grand  crime,  is  the  natural  pleasure  of 
those  who  are  debarred  from  other  en- 
joyments, whether  by  physical  or  moral 
causes.     What  these  crimes  were,  in 
the  greater  part,  the  " Inquirenda  circa 
Convention"   of  Henry's  visitors   will 
show,     These  were, — of  what  rule  ?  of 
what  age  ?  what  vows  ?  what  local  sta- 
tutes ?  whether  of  good  companyb  and 
living?  whether  defamed  for  inconti- 

a  See  this  position  admirably  illustrated  in  the 
Edinburgh  Review  for  1313,  p.   186. 
b  See  sect,  Refectory. 


152 


MONKS;    NUNS,    &C. 


nence^  apostasie,  padarastiap  heresie, 
treason/  perjury,  or  any  noted  crime? 
Whether  possessed  of  property  un- 
known to  the  Superior  ?  Whether 
they  carry  on  any  bargaining,  chevi- 
saunce,  or  such  worldlie  business  for 
their  own  profit  ?d     Whether  they  use 


a  Very  indelicate  proofs  of  this  occur  in  MS. 
Harl.  913,  f.  2.  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  115, 
b.  The  principal  pretence  for  the  entrance  of  wo- 
men was  for  washing  the  clothes.  Monast.  Anglic. 
ii.  566  ;  and  there  is  a  visitation  injunction,  that 
they  should  not  take  any  women  to  carry  pots  into 
the  Infirmary,  Refectory,  or  place  called  Jordayn 
chamber',  "ne  aliquas  suinant  mulieresin  Infirmar. 
Refector.  vel  domum  vocatum  jordayn  chameram 
ollas  deferre."  MS.  Mus.  Ashmol.  1519,  f.  84,  a. 
Women  were  admitted  into  the  Dormitory.  Id.  97, 
a.  Mulieres  de  incontinentia,  seu  furto  suspectae 
(women  suspected  of  incontinence  or  theft)  are 
mentioned  in  the  same  MS.  25,  b.  By  the  order 
of  Henry's  visitors,  no  women  were  to  enter  but 
by  leave  of  the  king  or  his  visitors  ;  nor  no  entrance 
to  the  house  but  by  the  "great  forgate."  MS. 
Cott.  ut  supr. 

b  Hincmar  of  Rheims  (Epist.  600  b.  c.)  speaks 
of  "  negotiatorem  clericum  aut  inhonestis  aut  lucris 
turpibus  intuantem."  Of  superstition,  apostacy, 
treason,  incest,  adultery,  &c.  &c.  see  the  above 
MS.,  f.  147,  8,  9,  et  passim.  I  decline  giving  the 
passages.  Whatever  may  have  been  invented,  and 
much  was  so  no  doubt  by  Henry's  visitors,  still 
ancient  visitation  injunctions  (MS.  Ashm.  ut  supra, 
&c.)  say  nearly  the  same  ;  and  it  would  be  absurd 
to  suppose,  that,  in  so  large  a  body  of  men,  and  in 
the  middle  age,  instauces  of  vice,  in  its  most  gross 
form,  should  not  sometimes  be  found,  especially  as 
the  institution  made  no  provision  for  satiating  ap- 
petite ;  and  the  Monks  had  fastidious  ones,  as  will 
soon  appear,  which  occasionally,  we  know,  conquer 
all  restrictions. 

c  Yel  sunt  furatores,  -v  Or  they  are  thieves, 
Vel  faciunt  numismata  (  Or  fabricate  the  mo- 
regni,  >     ney  of  the  realm, 

Proditores.  j  Traitors. 

MS.  Cott.  Cleop.   B.  n.  p.  59.     Invectivum 
contra  Monachos,    &c.    t.   R.   II.     In  the 
Notices  des  MSS.  are  more  proofs  of  coin- 
ing. 
A  Monk  of  Peterborough  stole  jewels,  &c.  to 
give  them   to  women  in  the  town.     Gunton,   55. 
Thomas  Strutt  sold  privately  the  pix  of  the  Monas- 
tery of  Drax  (vendidit  clam  pixidem  monas.erii, 
&c.)    MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  154,  a.    Furtum 
(theft)  is  mentioned  in  the  general  confession  of 
crimes  which  might  happen  to  Monks  in  MS.  Cott. 
Calig.  A.  i.     Henry,  Prior  of  Tupholme,  was  very 
ingenious  in  making  false  money.     Monast.  Angl. 
ii.  629.     One  William  Pigun,   a  Monk  of  St.  Al- 
ban's,  forged   the  Convent  seal.     M.  Paris  (1st), 
1048.     Ed.  Watts. 

d  Quia  nonnulli  firmas  ecclesiarum  maneriorum 
et  aliarum  possessionum,  quse  mercatoris  instar 
obtinere  dicuntur,  recipiunt  indecenter.  (Because 
some  indecently  receive  the  farms  of  Churches, 
Manors,  and  other  possessions,  which,  like  a 
tradesman,  they  are  said  to  acquire,  &c.)     MS. 


any  unlawful  art,  as  nycromancye,  sor- 
cery e,  alchemistry,e  &c?  Whether 
they  leave  the  house  by  day  or  night 
without  leave  ?f  Whether  they  have 
any  children  lying  with  them  by  night, 
or  conversant  with  them  in  the  day- 
times, and  for  what  purpose??  Whether 
any  one  of  them  be  a  diser,  carder," 


Harl.  328,  f.  7,  a.     Whether  they  keep  any  bake- 
houses, or  farms  in  hand  against  the  statutes  ?  MS. 
Harl.  791,  f.  25.     Ne  aliquid  emant  seu  vendant, 
j    ni  quod  erit  abbate  mandatum,  necessitate  vesti- 
j    mentorum  excepts!  ;  i.  e.  let  them  not  buy  or  sell 
any   thing,    except   clothes,    without   the  Abbot's 
order.     MS.   Ashm.  1519,  f.  68,  a.     See  the  ar- 
I    tide   Obedientiaries.     Lyndw.    Const.   Othob.  tit. 
43,   and   Stat.   21    Henry  VIII.   which  mentions 
!    their  tan-yards,  dealing  in  wool  (the  Cistercians 
j    especially),  cloth,  &c.     They  used  to  sell  wine  at 
;    taverns,   by  deputy,   some  Lay-brother,  or  other. 
I    Monast.  Anglic,  ii.  746.     It  was  certain,  too,  that 
j    they  used  to  buy  corn,  wine,  or  other  moveable 
•    goods,  that  they  might  afterwards  sell  them  dearer, 
without  the  knowledge  of  their  superiors.     Biblio- 
theca  Praemonstrat.  i.  p.   835.     The  Benedictine 
Constitutions  given  before  say  more  on  this  head. 

c  W.  Thorne  (col.  2146)  mentions,  upon  some- 
thing being  stolen,  the  application  of  the  necro- 
mantic art,  to  discover  the  thief,  without  success. 
Chaucer's  Canon  the  Alchemist,  &c.  &c.  is  well 
known. 

f  Quia  nonnulli  monachi  etiam  juniores  oppor- 
tunitate  captata  extra  septa  monachorum  absque 
societate  honesta  evagandi,  etiam  nulla,  super  hoc 
obtenta  licentia,  se  gesserunt  pluries  indecenter. 
(Because  even  some  of  the  junior  Monks,  watch- 
ing their  opportunity,  have  rambled  alone  out  of 
the  precincts  of  the  house,  and  many  times  behaved 
themselves  indecently.)  MS.  Harl.  328,  p.  5. 
These  Charter-house  Monks  (say  Henry  VIII.'s 
visitors)  "would  be  called  solitary  ;  but  to  the  clois- 
ter-door there  be  above  xxiiii  keyes  in  the  hande  of 
xxiiii  persons,  and  it  is  lyke  many  letters,  unpro- 
fitable tayles  and  tydings,  &c.  comin  ther  by  reason 
therof ;  also  to  the  buttery-door  ther  be  xii  sundry 
keyes  in  xii  mens  hands."  Cott.  MS.  Cleop.  E. 
iv.  f.  35,  a.  The  Nuns  of  St  Helen's,  London, 
were  forbidden  to  have  keyes  of  the  posterne  door. 
Monast.  ii.  896.  To  punish  this  evagation  it  was 
ordered,  that,  after  their  return,  they  should  take 
the  last  rank,  lose  their  vote  in  chapter,  and  so 
continue  till  pardoned.  M.  Paris,  1096.  They 
were  not  to  leave  the  cloister  for  15  days  in  Cap. 
Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1444.  C.  10,  de  Praelatis  ;  by 
which  chapter  it  appears,  that  the  inferior  officers 
took  the  liberty  of  granting  this  licence  of  going 
out,  and  that  in  these  rambles  the  Monks  used  to 
call  upon  religious  or  sa;culars  by  the  way. 

s  Cohibendum  est  ei  pueros  nutrire  niei  conces- 
sum  fuit  episcopali  auctoritate.  "  He  (the  monk) 
is  ,not  to  bring  up  children  unless  by  episcopal  au- 
thority.*' MS.  Cott.  Jul.  A.  ix.  f.  12,  b.  (De 
vita  Reclusorum.) 

h  Barclay  says  (Ship  of  Fooles,  91,  a.) 
"  The  monkes  think  it  lawful  for  to  play, 
When  that  the  abbot  bringeththem  the  dice.'' 
In  the  Confessionale  generate  de  casibus  qui  com*. 


MONKS,    NUNS,    &C. 


153 


tavern-haunter/  or  hunter  ,b  or  resorter 
to  susj3ecte  places,  or  with  suspect 
persons?  Whether  they  sit  up  late, 
or  be  surfett  or  overlyen  with  drinke  ?c 

muniter  possunt  acciderc  monachis.  MS.  Cott. 
Calig.  A.  i.  f.  223,  a.  is  peccavi — in  ludo  taxillo- 
rum,  seaccorum.  "  I  have  sinned  in  playing  at 
draughts  and  chess."  Rob.  Holcot,  a  Dominican, 
wrote  a  book  of  the  game  of  Chess,  and  of  course 
played  at  this  game.  (Bale,  ed.  4to,  1554,  p.  148, 
b.)  But,  in  the  Statutes  of  the  Savoy  Hospital,  it 
is  enacted,  "  Statuimus,  &c.  quod  nullus  magister, 
vicemagister,  capellanus  perpetuus  vel  conductitius, 
aut  aliquis  alius  minister,  vel  servitor  hospitalis 
prsedicti,  pro  tempore  existens,  ad  talos,  cartas,  vel 
aliquos  alios  jocos  illicitos  et  prohibitos,  infra  hos- 
pitale  prsedictum,  clam  vel  palam,  quoquo  modo 
ludet.  Poterint  enim  omni  tempore  ludere  ad 
scaccos,  et  tempore  Nat.  Dominicee,  per  quadra - 
ginta  dies  ad  tabellas,  sine  fraude,  et  blasphemia, 
et  magna  pecuniarum  summa. ;  i.  e.  We  enact, 
&c.  that  no  master,  vice-master,  perpetual  or  tem- 
porary chaplain,  or  any  other  minister  or  servant 
of  the  aforesaid  hospital,  for  the  time,  shall  in  any 
manner,  openly  or  privately,  within  the  aforesaid 
house,  play  at  dice,  cards,  or  other  illicit  and 
prohibited  games.  But  they  may  at  all  times  play 
at  Chess,  and  at  Christmas  for  forty  days  at 
draughts,  so  as  they  do  not  cheat,  blaspheme,  and 
lose  much.  Cott.  MS.  Cleop.  C.  v.  xxiiii.  a.  In 
the  inquiries  touching  the  chaplains  and  other  mi- 
nisters of  the  Savoy,  It.  ii.  is,  "  Whether  any  of 
theym  be  a  fighter,  a  seditious  person,  a  drunkard, 
a  common  haunter  of  taverns  or  alehouses,  or  a 
dicer,  carder,  or  walker  abrode  by  night  ?"  MS. 
Harl.  791,  f.  33. 

a  The  Peterborough  monks^haunted  a  tavern  near 
the  house.  Gunton,  55 ;  and  in  MS.  Ashmol.  Mus. 
1519,  p.  70,  a.  is,  "Tabernasque  frequentando,  ad 
matutinas  cum  fratribus  saepius  non  consurgendo." 
(By  frequenting  taverns,  and  seldom  rising  to  mat- 
tins  with  the  brethren.) 

b  The  fondness  of  the  Monks  for  hunting  is  well 
known,  and  ancient,  for  it  is  reprobated  by  Am- 
brose (Lopez  Epitom.  ii.  p.  4.)  ;  but,  notwithstand- 
ing this,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  purchase  of 
freewarren  was  made,  sometimes  at  least,  on  a  dif- 
ferent account,  as  is  plain  from  the  Abbot  and 
Convent  of  Warden,  who  bought  this  right  of  the 
king,  because  the  servants  of  the  neighbouring 
noblemen  tore  up  their  fences,  run  over  their 
ploughed  lands,  and  beat  and  abused  the  brothers, 
who  were  employed  in  cultivating  them,  and  the 
keepers  (custodes).  M.  Paris,  740.  But  it  is  fur- 
ther to  be  noted,  that,  though  hunting  for  plea- 
sure's sake  was  a  mortal  sin,  even  in  a  Layman ; 
for  health  or  necessity,  or  need  of  body  (indigentia 
corporis),  it  was  allowable  in  a  clerk  (Athon.  147.)  ; 
and  accordingly  we  find  that  Bishop  Juxon  was  a 
keen  sportsman,  and  said  to  have  kept  the  best 
pack  of  hounds  in  England  (Acta  Regia,  787.) 
The  Monks  we  should  call  poachers;  for  "per 
noctem  venaciones  et  piscationes  "  (huntings  and 
fishings  by  night)  are  inhibited  in  MS.  Ashmol. 
Mus.  1519,  f.  71,  b.  ;  but  to  stay  up  all  night  in 
this  sport  is  mentioned  in  Xenophon's  Cyropse- 
dia(B.p.l35.),andSmythe'sBerkeleyMS.,asusual. 

c  In  MS.  Ashm.  Mus.  1519,  one  Wm.  Glou- 
cester is  described  as  staying  out  all  night,  "  biben- 


Whether  they  sleepe  together  in  the 
Dormitory,  or  eate  together  in  the  Re- 
fectory ?d  Whether  they  keep  silence 
in  the  Cloister,  Dormitory,  and  at 
meat/  and  observe  their  fasting  and 
other  ceremonies  ?f  What  shete  and 
shirte,  linen  and  woollen,  they  lie  in,  and 
what  bed,  whether  of  feathers  or  wool? 
Whether  they  attend  the  divine  ser- 
vices ?S  how  many  professed  and  not 
professed,  and  how  many  the  founda- 
tion required  ?     What  wages  eche  of 

do  et  rixando"  (drinking  and  quarrelling),  f.  39,  a. 
(See  sect.  Dormitory.)  In  MS.  Harl.  913,  f.  58, 
is  the  Passio  unius  monachi  secundum  Bacchum, 
where  mention  is  made  of  a  Monk,  who,  postquam 
incaluerat  mero  (after  he  had  got  warm  with  wine), 
timens  ne  per  continentiam  morbus  perrepat  ad 
vitalia,  '  fearing  lest  by  continence  disease  should 
creep  to  his  vitals/  went  out  to  find  some  one  to 
cure  his  languor,  and  at  length  meets  a  woman  sit- 
ting, &c.  To  the  same  purpose  is  the  Missa 
de  potatorilus,  or  parody  on  the  Mass.  (MS. 
Harl.  ut  supra.)  "  Intrabo  ad  altare  Bacchi.  Ad 
vinum,  quod  laetificat  cor  hominis.  Confiteor  Deo 
Baccho  omnipotent  et  reo  vino  coloris  rubei,  et 
omnibus  ciphis,  et  vobis  potatoribus,  me  nimis  gu- 
lose  potasse,  per  nimiam  nauseam  rei  (sic)  Bacchi 
dei  mei  potacione,  sternutacione,  oscitatione,  max- 
ima, mea  cipha,  mea  maxima  cipha.  Ideo  precor 
beatissimum,  et  omnes  ciphos  ejus,  et  vos  fratres 
potatores,  ut  potetis  pro  me  ad  dominum  reum  Bac- 
chum,  ut  misereatur  mei.  Misereatur  nostri  ciphi- 
potens  Bacchus,  et  permittat  nos  perdere  omnia 
vestimenta  vestra,  et  perducat  nos  ad  vivarn  taber- 
nam  ;  qui  bibit  et  potat  per  omnia  pocula  poculo- 
rum."  f.  11,  b.  It  does  not  admit  of  translation. 
Nigell  Wireker  says  of  the  Black  Canons  : 
Causa  datur  vino,  debetur  culpa  bibenti, 
Cum  caput  aut  membra  csetera  mane  dolent. 
The  fault,  due  to  the  drinker,  is  laid  to  the  wine, 
when  the  head  aches  on  the  morning. — Spec. 
Stult. 

tl  Aut  in  domibus  seecularium  edent,  aut  come- 
dent  infra  leugam  a  Monast.  [Or  eat  in  the  houses 
of  Saeculars  within  a  league  from  the  house.]  MS. 
Mus.  Ashm.  1519,  f.  93,  b.  See  Dormitory  and 
Misericord. 

e  Quia,  &c.  comperimus  evidenter,  quod  silen- 
tium  inter  vos  minime  observatur.  MS.  Harl.  328. 
f.  2.  i.  e.  "Because  we  find  clearly,  that  silence  is  by 
no  means  observed  among  you,"  &c.  It  was  owing 
to  the  negligence  of  Abbots.  Reyn.  Append.  195. 
Nigell  Wireker  says  of  the  Grandmontines,  «  Ab- 
dita  claustra  colunt,  et  nulla  silentia  servant." 
"  They  live  in  secret  Cloisters,  and  keep  no  silence.' ' 
Spec.  Stult.  MS.  Cott.  Tit.  A.  xx.  &c. 

f  The  book  of  Visitations  of  Abbeys,  in  MS. 
Ashm.  Mus.  1519,  is  full  of  items,  implying 
breaches  of  these. 

■  &  Nee  licet  alicui  de  conventu,  qui  horis  et  mis- 
sis  his  interesse  tenetur,  ab  eisdem  quomodolibet 
absentare ;  i.  e.  no  one  of  the  Convent,  who  is 
bound  to  be  present  at  these  hours  and  masses, 
ought,  on  any  account,  to  be  absent  from  the 
same.    MS.  Harl.  328,  f.  2,  but  see  sect.  Church, 


154 


MONKS,    NUNS,  &C. 


them  hath  a  yere  ?a  What  lyveries, 
or  allowances  of  meat  and  drink  ?b 
How  do  they  bestowe  the  surplus  of 
these  ?c  What  guests  resorte  to  the 
tables  ;  to  what  use  the  revenues  for 
these  tables  were  bestowed  ?  Whether 
the  Abbot  used  to  receive  the  revenues 
of  vacant  benefices  ?  What  portions 
were  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  house  ? 
Whether  inventories  were  always  kept 
between  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  all 
the  goods,  &c.  belonging  to  them  ? 

The  Inquirenda,  as  to  the  Cistertians 
and  Preemonstratensians,  were,  "  Whe- 
ther they  labour  and  till  theire  owne 
ground,  or  any  parte  thereof,  with 
theire  hands  ;d  what  procurations  they 
paid  ;  what  the  paternal  house  }"e 

Further  Inquirenda  were,  whether 
women  usith  and  resortyth  myche  to 
this  monastery  bybackewayes,  or  other- 
wise ?  (i  Whether  ye  cloo  were  your 
religiouse  habite  continually,  and  never 
leve  yt  of  but  when  ye  goo  to  bedde  ? 

a  Vesturse  Prioris  et  Convent.  Master  Prior, 
three  quarters  of  a  year,  40s.  Subpriorand  Monks, 
do.  205.  Noviciate,  10s.  Nichols's  Manners  and 
Expences  of  Ancient  Times,  288.  By  the  decre- 
tals of  Wolsey  (a0  1519),  "60*.  per  annum  was  to 
be  paid  to  every  Canon  Priest,  and  30s.  to  a  Canon 
Layman.''  Monast.  Anglic,  ii.  566.  The  reli- 
gious had  pensions,  or  money  (forbidden  in  the 
Augustinian  Rule),  from  their  parents  or  others, 
to  buy  clothes  ;  and  some  held  that  this  was  allow- 
able with  the  consent  and  knowledge  of  the  Abbot, 
(Athon.  205.)  Nor  could  he  dispense  with  a  sta- 
tute that  allowed  money  for  vestments,  unless  it 
tended  to  injury.  Lyndw.  205.  It  seems  that  the 
Chamberlain  was  in  the  habit  of  giving,  and  the 
Monks  of  taking,  money  in  lieu  of  vestments.  Cap. 
Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1225.  sect.  De  Vestimentis. 
The  general  chapter  of  1338  allowed  money  to  be 
given  and  taken  for  small  necessaries.  Reyn.  Ap- 
pend. 102.  (They  had  also  legacies.  Lowth's 
Wykeham,  391.)  But,  notwithstanding  these  al- 
lowances, there  was  a  great  want  of  punctuality  in 
the  payment  of  them  by  the  officers.  Cap.  Gen. 
Northampt.  a0  1444.  C.  v.  sect.  De  Officiariis. 

b  At  the  visitation  of  Peterborough  it  was  or- 
dered that  one  Reginald  Bray  should  have  a  due 
proportion  for  number  of  dishes.  Gunton,  55. 
Steevens's  Monast.  i.  485. 

c  See  Almonry. 

d  The  Cistertians  professed  to  follow  the  Rule 
of  Benedict  in  its  literal  strictness,  of  which  ma- 
nual labour  formed  a  part;  and  Nigell  Wireker  says 
of  them,  "They  make  every  body  work,  lest  any 
one  should  be  idle  or  at  leisure  among  them."  Om- 
nibus injungunt  operas,  ne  desidiosus,  aut  quando- 
que  vacans  inveniatur  ibi.  Spec.  Stult.  MS.  Harl. 
2422,  &c. 

•  MS.  Harl.  791,  f.  19,  23.    Often  in  print. 


Whether  any  of  them  have  left  the 
house  since  profession,  and  during  his 
absence  changed  his  habit  ?"f  The 
veracity  of  miracles  was  also  to  be 
strictly  ascertained.? 

Other  crimes  were  common,  as  quar- 
rels and  their  most  dreadful  conse- 
quences. Detraction  and  reproach  for 
faults,"  you  lie,  swearing  by  the  body 
of  Christ;1  and  striking  one  another 
with  their  fists  or  knives.k  Giraldus 
says,  u  One  thing  is  very  common ; 
whilst  the  Monks  indulge  themselves 
in  immoderate  drinking,  contentions 
ensue,  and  they  begin  fighting  with 
the  very  cups  full  of  liquor.1  In  a 
quarrel  between  an  Augustinian  Canon 
and  a  Carmelite,  the  former  cut  off  the 
hand  of  his  opponent  with  a  sword.m 
Two  Trinitarians  in  London,  having 
frequently  quarrelled  about  some  goat's 
wool,  one  murdered  the  other.11  Three 
murders  ensued  among  them  in  the 
year  1248.°  Monks  that  struck  one 
another,  were  to  be  punished  by  their 
respective  Abbots,  not  sent  to  the  Ro- 
man see.P 

Their  gluttony  was  excessive.  Who 
does  not  know  the  noble  institution  of 

f  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  146,  f.  22.  A 
Monk  of  Westminster  is  upon  record,  who,  hav- 
ing obtained  the  heirship  of  his  parents,  resided 
upon  it  like  a  Layman.     Monast.  Anglic,  i.  293. 

s  Two  Cistertian  Abbots  at  Canterbury  were 
boasting  of  the  miracles  of  S.  Bernard,  upon 
which  John  Planeta  told  a  story  of  Ms  attempt- 
ing to  cast  a  devil  out  of  a  young  man,  when  the 
event  was,  that  he  pelted  the  Abbot  with  stones, 
pursued  him  from  street  to  street,  and  at  last, 
when  the  people  had  caught  and  bound  him,  kept 
his  eyes  savagelv  fixed  on  him.  MS.  Bodl.  Wood, 
ii.  p.  219. 

h  Reyn.  Append.  190. 

'  Nomen  Dei  saepissime  in  vanum  assumpsi  (I 
have  very  often  taken  the  name  of  God  in  vain)  is 
(in  the  "  Confessionale  generale  de  casibus  qui 
communiter  accidere  possunt  monachis)  in  MS. 
Cott.  Calig.  A.  i.  p.  223. 

k  Cap.  Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1444,  ch.  x.  De 
Novitiis,  &c. 

1  Unum  plerumque  contingere  solet,  ut  dtmi 
potionibus  monachi  immoderatis  indulgent,  ad 
rixas  et  pugnas  persilientes  cum  ollis  ipsis  liquore 
plenis  se  invicem  percutiunt.  MS.  Cott.  Tiber. 
B.  13.  (Gir.  Cambrens.  contra  Excess.  Mona- 
chorum.) 

m  Manum  ense  fratris  Carmelitse  infortune  ab- 
scidit  dextram.  MS.  in  the  Ashrnolean  Museum, 
1519.  f.  99,  b. 

n  M.  Paris,  p.  799. 

0  Id.  653.  p  Id.  405. 


MONKS,    NUNS,    &C. 


155 


Monks  ?  says  an  old  poet :  the  fame  of 
them  has  pervaded  the  whole  world : 
they  consume  all  things,  and  yet  they 
are  not  satisfied  with  the  birds  of 
Heaven,  and  the  fishes  of  the  sea ; 
they  seek  many  dishes,  and  a  long  time 
in  eating  them.a  Another  adds,  "Feed 
them  but  well,  they  care  for  nothing 
else."b  Nigell  de  Wireker  charges 
them  with  hiding  many  things,  and 
pocketing  provisions  to  eat  on  fast 
days.c  And  one  of  their  own  body 
says,  "All  fowlowe  our  owne  sensya- 
litye  and  pleser;  and  thys  religyon,  as 
I  suppose,  ys  alle  in  vayne  glory /"d 

They  were  equally  remarkable  for 
the  fastidiousness  of  later  eeras.  C(  In 
this  present  age/'  says  Peter  of  Blois, 
iC  religious  men,  and  persons  of  the 
sacred  order,  contend  about  the  num- 
ber of  their  meals.  If  a  religious  finds 
that  he  has  a  quick  pulse,  or  an  in- 
flamed urine,  or  a  dull  appetite,  he 
consults  medical  men,  searches  out 
spices,  makes  electuaries,  and  uses  no 
salt-fish,  which  are  not  seasoned  with 
cinnamon,  cloves,  and  other  spices. 
Such  a  religious  is  rather  a  disciple  of 
Epicurus  than  of  Christ.  This,  he  says, 
hurts  the  head;  this,  the  eyes  ;  this  the 
stomach  ;this,  the  liver ;  butter  is  of  a  con- 
vertible nature;  beer  occasions  flatu- 
ence;  cabbages  are  melancholy;  leeks 
inflame  choler  ;  peas  generate  the  gout ; 
beans  excite  phlegm;  lentils  hurt 
the  eyes ;  cheese  is  worst  of  all ;  to  stand 
long  at  prayer  weakens  the  nerves  ;  to 
fast  hurts  the  brain  ;  to  watch  drys  it."e 

a  Quis  nescit  quod  monachorum  nobilis  ordo  ? 
In  omnem  terram  exivit  sonus  eorum  : 
Omnia  consumunt,  nee  eos  possint  saturare 
Volncres  coeliet  pisces  maris, 
Fercula  multa  petunt,  et  longurn  tempus  edendi. 
MS.  Harl.  913,  f.  55. 
b  Si  bene  pascatur,  monachus  nil  amplius  optat. 
MS.  Cott.  Titus,  A.  xx.  f.  86,  a. 
c  Multocies  carnes  et  pinguia  ssepe  vorare, 
In  feria  sexta  saepe  licebit  eis, 
Pellicias  portant,  et  plura  recondita  sumant, 
Quae  non  sint  sociis  omnia  nota  suis. 
Spec.  Stultor.  MS.  Harl.  2422,    and   Cott.  Tit. 
A.  xx. 

d  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  161,  a. 

e  Hodie  viri  religiosi  et  sacri  ordinis  professores 

de  ferculorum  numerositate  contendunt ;  si  invenit 

religiosus  circa  se  aut  pulsum  velocem,  aut  urinam 

iacensam,  aut  hebetem.  appetitum;  consulit  medi- 


"I  boasted  much  of  nourishing  my 
person,  the  bloom  of  my  countenance, 
and  whiteness  of  my  skin,"  f  is  one  of 
the  articles  of  Monastic  confession; 
and  Simon  of  Gaunt  complains  that, 
"  theo  thet  shculden  one  leenen  hore 
soule  mid  heorte  bereosunge?  and 
fleshes  pinunge  vorwurded  fisiciens 
and  becomes h  leche."  » 

Wicliff  charges  the  Monks  with  stu- 
dying the  constitutions  and  physiology 
of  women  in  books,  and  thence  teach- 
ing, that  to  lie  with  them  in  the  absence 
of  their  husbands,  was  very  wholesome 
against  various  diseases.k 

For  this  purpose,  as  well  as  for  pro- 
fit, they  studied  or  professed  the  medi- 
cal art;  "for  to  beon  so  angressful 
hereafter,"  says  the  last  ancient  writer, 
"nis  nout  god  I  wene,  and  God  and 
his  deciples  speken  of  foule  lechekrefte 
and  ypocras  (Hippocrates)  and  galien 
(sic)  of  licomes  hele  (bodily  health) ; 
the  on  thet  was  bett  ilered  of  jhu  cristes 
deciples  seid  that  fleshes  wisdom  is 
dead  of  the  soule."1  Giraldus  Cam- 
brensis  describes  "two  vagabond 
Monks,  who,  without  throwing  off 
their  habit,  yet  leading  a  beggarly  life, 
committed  various  enormities,  and  en- 
deavoured to  make  a  trade  of  the  me- 
dical art,  though  they  had  never  stu- 
died  Hippocrates  or  Galen,  or  heard 

cos,  examinat  species,  electuaria  facit,  nullis  utitur 

I    salsamentis  (salted  food,  I  suspect,  not  salt  fish) , 

!    quae  non  sunt  condita  ex  cinnamomo  et  gariophillo, 

i    et  nuce  muscata   (nutmeg).     Religiosus  talis  dis- 

!    cipulus  potius   est  Epicuri,    quam   Cbristi.     Hoc 

i    capiti,  inquit,  hoc  oculis,  hoc  stomacho,  hoc  epati, 

|    nocet ;   butirum  convertibilis  est  naturae  ;  cervisia 

ventos  facit,  caules  melancholici  sunt,  porri  chole- 

ram  accendunt ;   pisa  guttam  generant,  faba  con- 

stipat ;  lentes  exctecant ;   caseus  universaliter   est 

pessimus  ;  diu  ad  orationem  stare  nervos  debilitat ; 

jejimare  cerebrum  turbat ;  vigilare  desiccat.     MS. 

Roy.  Libr.  8  F.  XVII. 

f  Gloriabar  valde  de  rostro  colendo,  faciei  can- 
dore,  albedine  cutis.  MS.  Cott.  Caligula,  A.  i. 
f,  221. 

s  I  suspect  for  bereavinge. 
h  Body  doctors.     A.  Sax. 
1  MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xiv.  f.   202,  a.     Not  to 
indulge  his  person  too  much  is  among  the  duties 
of  Monks  in  MS.  Harl.  103,  f.  114,  b. 

k  De  Hypocrisi  ap.  Bale,  v.  i.  p.   475.     The 
well-known   story  of  St.  Louis  refers  to  this  pre- 
tended remedy  of  disease,  which  the  Monks  con- 
verted into  a  license  for  illicit  pleasure, 
»  MS.  Cott,  ut  sup. 


156 


MONKS,  NUNS,  &C. 


or  read  a  single  lecture  on  the  subject, 
either  in  the  schools,  or  elsewhere."8 

Avarice,  accompanied  with  villany, 
also  characterised  them.  A  certain 
knight  had  left  100  marks  by  will  to 
a  certain  house,  and  lay  there  sick; 
upon  getting  well,  the  Monks,  that 
they  might  not  lose  the  money,  plotted 
his  death  by  poison  or  suffocation.1* 
"  The  Churches  of  Wales,"  says  the 
same  writer,  "are  deprived  of  their 
parishioners  by  them,  both  living  and 
dead;"c  and  he  also  adds  instances  of 
a  small  house  of  Nuns  being  oppressed 
by  them/  and  of  an  Archbishop  cheat- 
ed out  of  his  books  which  he  had 
collected  from  his  juvenile  years.e 
Barclay  reproaches  their  avarice  for 
begging  alms  over  the  country,  though 
wealthy  ;f  and  Nigel  Wireker  says  of 
the  Cistertians,  who  are  elsewhere 
censured  for  singularity,  avarice,  and 
little  communication  with  the  world, 
that  u  they  wished  their  neighbours  to 
have  landmarks,  and  none  them- 
selves.'^ Nor  from  this  avarice  can  it 
excite  wronder,  that,  as  says  an  antient 
poet,  "they  neither  loved,  nor  were 
beloved  by  any  one."h 


a  Monachos  duos  domorum  suarum  desertores 
gyrovagantes,  efc  de  loco  ad  locum  circumeundo 
discurrentes,  nee  tamen  habitum  abjicientes.  Hii 
vero  inter  excessus  enormes  varies  et  multos,  qua- 
tinus  trutannicam  vitam  suam  victumque  lucro- 
sam  efficere  possent,  et  pecuniosam  artis  medicina- 
lis  peritiam  profited  non  minus  imprudenter  quam 
impudenter  prsesumpserunt,  cum  turn  Hippocra- 
tem  aut  Galenum  ceeterorumque  librorum  faculta- 
tis  illius,  nunquam  in  scolis,  aut  alibi  lectionem 
unam  audissent  aut  legissent.  MS.  Cott.  Tiber. 
B.  xiii.  (no  pages.) 

b  Quatinus  propter  pecuniam  tantam,  qua  domus 
illorum  per  ejus  convalescentiam  fraudaretur,  aut 
venenato  poculo  militem  extinguerent,  aut  subitis 
eundem  et  violentis  oppressionibus  subfocai*ent. 
MS.  Cott.  Tib.  B.  xiii. 

c  De  communi  ccenobiorum  Wallise  vitio  per 
quod  baptismales  ecclesie  parochianis  suis  sicut  vivis 
sicut  mortuis  per  monachos  destituuntur.     lb. 

lI  De  domo  monialium  exili  et  exigua  per  mona- 
chos opulentos  oppressa.  Id.  See  too  Monast. 
ii.  785. 

e  Thesaurum  librorum  suorum  quos  a  puerilibus 
annis  usque  in  provectam  setatem  tarn  studiose 
collegerat.     Id.  f  Ship  of  Fooles,  119,  b. 

«  Agrorum  cupidi  nunquam  metas  sibi  poni  ; 
Vicinis  vellent,  &c.  Spec.  Stultor.  Monast. 
Anglic,  ii.  61. 

h  ' '  Dum  vi vvint  monachi,  nee  amant,  ncc  amantur 
ab  ullo."     MS.  Had.  913,  f.  55. 


They  were  detractors,  disobedient, 
proud,  dissatisfied,  rebellious,  and 
otherwise  criminal.  Alas!  says  Alfred 
of  Rievesby,  I  am  ashamed  to  say  how 
they  get  together,  and  abound  in  de- 
tractions and  contentions.  For,  to  be 
silent  of  lovers  of  the  world,  whose 
whole  discourse  is  of  gain  or  baseness ; 
what  shall  I  say  of  them,  who,  having 
professed  to  renounce  the  world,  only 
dispute  and  converse  of  the  belly,  I  will 
not  say  the  delight  of  it,  but  burden.1 

They  were  in  the  habits  of  persecu- 
ting some  of  their  prelates  or  brethren, 
from  hatred  or  ambition,  or  of  malici- 
ously defending  others .k  They  used 
to  exalt  their  heads  above  their  Seniors, 
through  the  negligence  of  Abbots.1 
Acharius,  Abbot  of  Peterborough,  used 
often  to  say  in  the  Convent,  "  My 
Lords,  my  Lords,  if  some  of  you  had 
not  opposed  me,  I  should  have  done 
you  much  good,"m  and  visitation  in- 
junctions enjoin  obedience  to  the  Ab- 
bot.11 They  were  extremely  deceitful,0 
and  their  society  was  dangerous  through 
the  frauds  they  practised.P  Their  pride 
was  conspicuous  in  their  treatment  of 
the  clergy.  Roger,  Prior  of  Lantony, 
wishing  to  celebrate  Mass  at  Canter- 
bury, modestly  addressed  a  Monk 
whom  he  happened  to  meet;  the  other, 
turning  his  head  back,  and  looking  at 
him  scornfully  and  askant,  asked  him, 
if  he  was  not  a  secular  clergyman  ? 
Yes,  replied  the  Prior's  companion ; 
Go,  then,  said  the  haughty  Monk,  and 
hear  or  say  Mass  in  some  of  the  Cha- 
pels  of  the  town.q     This  shows  how 

1  Bibliotheca  Patrum,  xiii.  p.  16,  col.  2. 

k  Cap.  Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1225. 

1  Reyn.  Append.  195. 

m  Hist.  Coenobii  Burgensis,  p.  107.  My  Lord 
was  the  title  of  a  Monk  as  well  as  of  an  Abbot. 
Chaucer,  Gervas,  i.  415,  1.  44,  &c. 

n  U-t  fratres  sint  obedientes  mandatis  sui  proprii 
preelati.     MS.  Ashmol.  Mus.  1519,  f.  71,  b. 

°  Rara  fides  fratrum,  &c.  Nigell  Wirek.  Spec. 
Stult.  of  the  Cistertians. 

p  De  monachi  societate  dolosa.  De  librorum 
emptione  subdola,  seu  potius  ademptione  non  per 
abbatis  sz'mplicitatem,  sed  magis  monachorum  du- 
plicitatem  et  dolositatem.     MS.  Cott.  Tib.  B.  xiii. 

i  Qui  cum  monachum  quendam  loci  ejusdera 
sibi  tunc  obvium,  super  hoc  humiliter  conveniret ; 
ille  statim  caput  et  collum  cervicose  retorquens, 
eumque  superciliose  nimis  et;  valde  oblique  respii 


MONKS,   NUNS,   &C. 


157 


absurd  the  Monastic  maxim  was,  that  dif- 
ferent orders  were  instituted,  that  whilst 
the  lesser  paid  deference  to  the  greater, 
and  the  latter  returned  it  with  affection^ 
true  concord  might  ensue.a  They 
were  flatterers  of  the  rich,  and  gallant 
to  the  ladies.b  Sometimes  so  much  so, 
that,  says  Giraldus,  the  townsmen  of 
Lannaneveri,  on  account  of  their  wives 
and  daughters,  which  the  Monks  every 
where  and  openly  abused,  prepared 
themselves  for  leaving  the  place  en- 
tirely, and  departing  to  England.^' 
When  they  were  at  leisure  they  were 
always  revolving  temporal  matters.d 
<e  Sometimes,"  says  an  antient  sermon, 
addressed  to  them,  "when  a  Monk 
goes  into  the  country  under  pretence  of 
health,  he  returns  to  his  place  of  nati- 
vity, there  to  breathe  a  free  and  accus- 
tomed air  for  some  days,  and  perhaps 
bring  back  some  present  to  the  bre- 
thren from  their  friends.  When  a 
Monk  goes  out  under  pretence  of 
serving  the  Convent,  he  becomes  an 
importunate  suitor  to  great  persons, 
calling  profit,  however  made,  piety  ; 
and,  when  he  returns,  he  carefully 
inquires  the  hour  of  the  day,  lest  he 
should  be  obliged  to  go  to  the  common 
table  and  Church ;  and  though  he  pro- 
fesses to  do  all  this  from  public  good, 
the  true  cause  is,  he  does  not  like  the 
half-boiled  vegetables  of  the  Convent, 
and  wine  mixed  with  water,  and  thinks 
silence  and  sitting  in  the  Cloister  a 
prison.     He  wants  to  eat  better,  drink 


ciens,  Nonne  vos,  inquit,  Clerici  estis  ?  Canonicus 
respondit,  Utique  sumus  ;  et  ille,  In  villam  igitur 
ite,  et  in  aliqua  capellarum  exteriorum  inter  cleri- 
cos  missam  audiatis  vel  dicatis.  MS.  Cott.  Tiber. 
B.  xiii. 

a  Ordines  constituit  esse  distinctos,  ut  dum 
reverenciam  minores  pocioribus  exhiberent,  et 
pociores  minoribus  dilectionem  impenderent,  vera 
concordiafieret.  MS.  Roy.  Libr.  8  F.  IX.  (nopages.) 

b  Bernard  in  Dev.  Vie  Mon.  ii.  p.  18.  They 
were  often  attendants  upon  the  ladies,  and  rode 
about  with  hounds  and  a  servant.     Wart.  i.  282. 

c  Dicens  etiam  quod  Burgenses  hii  de  castello 
eodem  (Lannaneveri)  propter  uxores  suas  et  filias 
quibus  monachi  passim  et  palam  abutebantur,  vil- 
lam suam  ex  toto  relinquere,  et  in  Angliam  recedere 
jam  parabant.     MS.  Cott.  Tib.  B.  xiii. 

d  Pravse  monachorum  mentes  temporalium  rerum 
tumultus  intra  semet  ipsos  versare  non  cessant, 
etiam  cum  vacent.     MS.  Bodl.  2401,  p.  19,  a. 


more  savorily,  speak  more  freely,  lie 
more  softly,  watch  more  seldom,  pray 
less.  Thus  staying  in  the  Cloister,  he 
does  not  even  suppress  the  vice  of 
curiosity," e  a  term  which  among  the 
Monks  signified  restlessness,  and  in- 
vestigation of  the  lives  of  others,  a 
common  fault/  "  He  who  is  singular," 
says  the  same  antient  sermon,  "despises 
others,  and  conceives  himself  alone 
able  to  live  piously.  He  sows  dis- 
cord and  hatred  among  the  Monks  by 
whispers ;  from  some  he  detracts  ;  the 
advantages  he  openly  depreciates  ;  his 
hand  is  against  every  body,  and  every 
body's  against  him."s  Others  became 
negligent  in  the  following  manner : 
For  two  months,  three,  or  a  year,  they 
began  to  have  a  certain  boldness ;  after 
that  boldness,  security;  then  becoming 
negligent,  they  began  first  to  love  their 
own  will,  and  through  this,  unwilling  to 
follow  that  of  another.  This  caused 
them  to  ask  the  reason,  when  ordered  to 
do  any  tiling  against  their  will.  Then 
they  complained  of  the  heat  and  cold, 
and  how  they  should  fare  in  that  sea- 
son. When  any  thing  upon  an  urgency 
was  ordered  them,  they  began  to  mur- 
mur, or  asked  for  various  articles  of 
good  cloathing,  or  thought  others  had 

e  Quandoque  enim  sub  obtentu  sanitatis  egre- 
diatur  monachus  ad  provincias,  ad  natale  solum 
redit,  ut  ibi  liberum  et  consuetum  aera  bibat  per 
aliquos  dies,  et  forte  aliquam  refectionem  referat 
fratribus  ab  amicis.  Quandoque  sub  obtentu 
utilitatis  fratrum  egreditur  monachus,  ad  principes 
terrse  rogator  importunus,  questum  quocunque  fac- 
tum appellans  pietatem;  cum  redierithoram  ingres- 
sus  sui  diligenter  explorat,  ne  oporteat  eum  ingredi 
ad  communem  fratrum  mensam,  et  orationem 
communem ;  et  cum  obtentu  boni  hsec  se  facere 
proponat,  verior  tamen  causa  quod  olera  claustri 
semicocta  fastidit  et  vinum  aqua  mixtum;  silen- 
tium,  sessionem  in  claustro  carcerem  reputans. 
Appetit  enim  edere  cautius,  bibere  sapidius,  loqui 
licentius,  cubare  mollius,  vigilare  parcius,  orare 
tenuius.  Sic  nee  manens  in  claustro  vicium  curiosi- 
tatis  condit.     MS.  Harl.  1712,  f.  23,  a.  b. 

f  Nam  ille  monachus  alienum  agit  negotium, 
qui  curiositatis  vitio  suam  oblitus  vitiosam  discu- 
tere,  vitam  alienam  investigare  sollicite  curat. 
Inquietudo  ergo  quae  et  alio  nomine  curiositas 
appellatur.     MS.  Bodl.  ut  sup.  f.  56,  a. 

z  Qui  singularis  est  aspernit  cseteros,  &c.  Su- 
surro  in  fratribus  fomitem  odii  et  seminaria  dis- 
cordias  ministrans.  Quibusdam  latenter  detrahit, 
quorundam  beneficia  patenter  decolorat ;  manus 
ejus  contra  omnes,  et  manus  omnium  contra  eum. 
MS.  Harl.  ut  sup.  23. 


158 


MONKS,    NUNS,   &G. 


better  than  themselves.  They  were 
ambitious  and  intriguing.  An  ass  is 
introduced  into  the  Church,  says  Nigell 
Wireker,  a  silly  animal,  that  wishes  to 
have  a  different  and  larger  tail  than 
nature  has  given  him.  Thus  a  reli- 
gious, not  content  with  his  condition, 
no  more  than  the  ass  with  his  tail, 
scorns  the  claustral  life,  in  which  he 
ought  to  continue  to  the  end,  seeking 
by  every  method  to  be  plucked  away 
and  transplanted  from  it ;  that  he  may 
be  able  to  increase  himself  with  a  new 
and  long  tail,  lay  hold  of  a  Priory  or 
Abbacy,  and  insert  nearer  him  a  long 
suite  of  relatives;  who,  afterwards, 
wherever  he  goes,  may  rejoice  in 
dragging  his  tail  for  him.b  He  also 
adds,  of  Abbots,  with  an  allusion  to 
their  first  state,  that  they  are  harassed 
with  envy  and  ambition ;  that  their 
first  labour  is  to  rise ;  and  that  they 
are  next  tormented  with  worldly  cares, 
and  that  they  may  gain  wealth.0     Their 


a  Iste  aliquando  per  duos  menses  et  tres  et  per 
annum  incipit  habere  quandam  audaciam  ;  post 
audaciam  securitatem  ;  post  securitatem  devenit 
negligens,  discit  vel  incipit  experiri  quod  dicit 
sapiens,  qui  modica  spernit  paulatim  decidit. 
Incipit  prirno  amare  propriam  voluntatem,  et  per 
hoc  incipit  esse  piger  ad  sequendam  voluntatem 
alterius.  Inde  incipit  quserere  causarn  quum 
aliquis  ei  prsecipit  aliquod  contra  voluntatem  suam. 
Tunc  de  frigore  et  de  sestu  causatur,  et  per  quam 
se  nutrierit  in  isto  tempore.  Quum  aliquod  ei  pre- 
cipitur  propter  aliquam  necessitates,  incipit 
imrnurmurare,  aut  quserit  bonas  tunicas,  bona  pallia, 
bonam  cappam,  bonam  cucullam,  et  incipit  semper 
considerare  pannos  aliorum,  et  saepe  putat  quod  alii 
habeant  meliores  quam  ille.  MS.  Harl.  ut  supr. 
f.  34,  b. 

b  Introducitur  ecclesise  asinus  animal,  sed  stoli- 
dus,  volens  caudam  aliam  et  ampliorem  quam 
natura  contulerit  contra  naturam  sibi  inseri.  Qui 
non  contentus  condicione  sua,  sic  nee  asinus  cauda 
su&,  vitam  claustralem  in  qua  deberet  usque  in 
finem  perseverare,  ut  salvus  fieret,  omnino  fastidit, 
quserens  omnibus  modis  qualiter  ab  ea  evellatur  et 
transplantetur  :  ubi  nova  cauda  et  prolisa  possit  se 
accrescere,  ut  prioratum  vel  abbatiam  possit  sibi 
apprehendere,  ubi  parentum  suorum  sequelam 
copiosam  possit  proprius  inserere.  Et  postea  qui 
caudam  pro  se  quocunque  ierit  trahere  gloriantur. 
Prsef.  Spec.  Stultor.  MS.  Harl.  2422. 
c  Invidise  stimulis  vexantur  et  ambitiosis 
iEstibus  assiduis  precipueque  tribus  : 

Primus  ut  ascendant  labor  est ;  sequitur  peri- 
turum 
Indiscretus  amor,  cura  ;  quiete  carent : 

Msec  omnes  ardent;  hac  omnes  febre  laborant, 
Hsec  tenet  impium  postpositura  Deum  ; 


ignorance  was  so  great,  that  they  did 
not  often  understand  what  they  read, 
were  unacquainted  with  the  canonical 
hours  which  they  sung,  and  as  they 
were  reading,  put  short  accents  for  long 
ones.d  Among  Henry  Abbot  of  War- 
den's reasons  for  desiring  to  resign, 
was  the  following :  "  Item,  they  be  in 
nombre  xv  brethren,  and  except  three 
of  them,  non  understand  or  knowe  their 
Rule,  nor  the  statutes  of  ther  reli- 
gion/' Nor  did  they  wish  to  learn; 
for  he  says  before,  "Item,  forasmuch 
as  I  did  perceave  ignorance  was  a  great 
cawse  whi  that  theis  my  bretherne  was 
thus  farre  out  of  good  order,  and  in 
continuall  inquietnesse,  to  thentent 
that  I  wolde  somewhat  induce  them  to 
understanding,  I  caused  [a]  boke  of 
gramer  to  be  bowghte  for  eche  of  theim, 
and  assigned  mi  brother  to  instructe 
them  :  but  ther  wolde  com  non  to  him 
but  one  Richard  Balldock  and  Thomas 
Clement."6  They  were  fond  of  Law. 
Peter  of  Blois  says,  "There  is  not  a 
seat  of  justice  in  which  religious  men 
have  not  a  concern,  and  eagerly  obtrude 
themselves  ;  for,  deceiving  the  world 
with  a  specious  appearance  of  religion, 
they  are  wretchedly  deceived;  and, 
while  dead  to  the  world,  barter  for  and 
hunt  after  what  belongs  to  it."f  It 
seems  they  were  in  the  habit  of  attend- 
ing to  law  concerns  for  parents  and 
friends,  and  being  bail  for  Seculars.? 
Their  neighbourhood  was  dreaded 
much,  perhaps  on  account  of  this  liti- 
gious spirit,  since  they  took  the  pro- 
perty of  others  away.h      Pawning  was 

Hinc  ut  opes  habeant  summa  virtute  laborant 
Possideantque  brevi  tempore  parta  diu. 

Spec.  Stult. 

li  Item  quia  nonnulli  commonachi  et  fratres, 
non  intelligentes  quid  legant,  horasque  prorsus 
ignorantes  dum  psallunt,  ut  legunt  accentum  brevem 
pro  longo  ponunt.     MS.  Harl.  328,  f.  3.  b. 

e  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  163.  a. 

f  Non  est  hodie  aliquod  forum  judiciale,  aut 
venale,  cui  se  viri  religiosi  non  immisceant,  et  cui 
se  importunissime  non  imponunt.  Mundum  enim 
quadam  simulatoria  religione  fallentes  falluntur 
pessimal  et  mundo  mortui  negotiantur  et  venantur 
quse  mundi  sunt.     MS.  Bibl.  Reg.  8.  F.  XVII. 

s  Monast.  ii.  751. 

h  Voces  cunctorum  vicinia  quos  premit  horum, 
deflent  atque  gemunt  quod  eis  monachi  sua  demunt. 
MS.  Ashmol.  Mus.  8496,  p.  133,  b. 


MONKS,   NUNS,   &C. 


159 


not  an  uncommon  thing  among  them.a 
From  the  levity  of  indolence,  they 
indulged  themselves  in  writing  lam- 
poons,13 or  hunting  after  news;c  and, 
to  conclude  this  catalogue  of  faults,  that 
they  might  go  on  with  impunity,  per- 

De  his  qui  auguria  et  diviniationes  et 
sacrilegia  attendunt.e 

Nullus  sibi  percantatores  adhibeat. 
Nullus  ex  vobis  observet  qua  die  de 
domo  exeat,  qua  die  iterum  revertatur  : 
ridiculosas  sternutationes  considerare 
et  observare  nolite. 

Sed  quociens  vobis  in  quacumque 
parte  fuerit  necessitas  prosperandi,  sig- 
nate  vos  in  nomine  Christi,  et  simbo- 
lum  et  orationem  dominicam  ndeliter 
dicete,  securi  de  Dei  adjutorio  iter  agite. 
Et  quia  quando  supradieta  omnia  sacri- 
legia Deo  vobis  inspirante  contempnere 
et  despicere  ceperitis,  moleste  hoe  ac- 
cepturus  diabolus,  quod  vos  videt  de 
amicitia  et  societate  sua  discedere  et 
sacrilegia  per  quge  vos  decipiebat  con- 
tempnere,  ob  aliquas  nequitias  vobis 
factas  aut  infirmitatem  aliquam  inmis- 
surus  aut  aliquod  animal  aut  per  mor- 
tuum  aut  pervagationem  ablaturus,  quia 
ad  vos  probandos  hoc  fieri  permittit 
Deus,  ut  agnoscat  utrum  ad  ipsum  fide- 
liter  venistis.— F.  97-  a. 

Symbolum  et  orationem  dominicam 
et  ipsi  tenete  et  filiis  vestris  ostendite. 
— F.  111.  b.  Scitote  vos  fide-jussores 
pro  ipis  ad  Deum  exstitisse,  et  ideo  tarn 
illos  qui  de  vobis  nati  sunt  quam  illos 
quos  de  fonte  excipitis  semper  castigate 
atque  corripite. — Ibid. 

In  ecclesia  stantes  nolite  ssecularia 
expectare,  sed  lectiones  divinas  patien- 
ter  audire.      Qui  enim  ecclesia  verbo- 


a  In  dispositione  fore  prselati  ad  solutionem 
suoruni  debitorum  et  redemptionem  librorum  per  se 
impignoratorum.  MS.  Ashni.  Mus.  1519,  p.  15,  b. 
Wm.  Burton  pignorasset  et  in  vadum,  &c.  tres 
libros.     Id.  f.  25,  b. 

b  Nonvult  eum  (Benedictus)  ad  satiras  offensas 
in  ruga  nasum  contrahere.  Nonvult  eum  ad  sati- 
ras scribendas  studium  applicare  ; — transgressores 
dne  Bernarde  ejus  instituti  existunt  qui  talibus 
scriptis  ex  otio  intendunt.  MS.  Ashm.  Mus. 
1285,  p.  3. 

c  Hugh,  bishop  of  Lincoln,  soon  after  a  treaty 


secuted  those  who  led  better  lives  than 
themselves. cl  How  superstitious  and 
profane  they  and  others  were,  appears 
from  a  MS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library, 
marked  2401,  and  entitled  "  Smaragdus 
Diadema  Monachorum." 

Of  those  who  attend  to  auguries,  and 
divinations  and  charms. 

Let  no  one  apply  to  fortune-tellers. 
Let  no  one  take  notice  what  day  he 
goes  out,  and  what  day  he  returns  : 
do  not  consider  or  notice  ridiculous 
sneezings. 

But  as  often  as  you  have  any  neces- 
sity of  prospering,  mark  yourselves  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  and  enjoy  the 
Creed  and  Lord's  Prayer,  set  out  on 
your  journey,  secure  in  the  favour  of 
God.  And  because,  when  from  God 
inspiring  you,  you  begin  to  despise  all 
the  above  charms,  the  Devil  takes  it 
ill,  because  he  sees  you  depart  from 
his  friendship  and  society,  and  despise 
the  witchcraft  by  which  he  deceived 
you,  on  account  of  wickedness  com- 
mitted by  you,  may  send  some  disease 
or  take  away  some  animal  by  distem- 
per or  straying,  because  God  permits 
this  to  try  you,  whether  you  have  faith- 
fully come  to  him. 

The  Creed  and  Lord^s  Prayer  both 
learn  yourselves  and  teach  your  chil- 
dren. Know,  that  your  godfathers 
promised  this,  and  therefore  always 
chastize  and  correct,  not  only  your  own 
children,  but  those  whom  you  have  re" 
ceivedfrom  the  font. 

While  standing  in  the  church,  do  not 
attend  to  secular  matters,  but  patiently 
listen  to  the  divine  lessons,  for  he  who 

had  been  made,  upon  entering  a  Carthusian  mo- 
nastery, was  instantly  accosted  with,  "  What  are 
the  conditions  of 'the peace / '"  Gruteri  Spicileg.  ii, 
234.  from  Surius. 

d  And  if  that  one  live  well  and  virtuously, 
In  way  of  grace,  like  as  he  ought  to  go, 
The  remanent  assaile  him  with  envy, 
And  him  oppresse  with  grievous  payne  of  wo, 
Until  he  folowe  like  as  the  other  do. 

Barclay's  Ship  of  Fooles,  256,  b. 
e  It  appears  from  the  Fathers,  in  passages  too 
frequent  to  be  cited,  that  all  these  superstitious 
practices  were  derived  from  the  Heathens. 


160 


MONKS,    NUNS,    &C« 


rari  voluerit,  et  pro  se,  et  pro  aliis 
malam  redditurus  orationem  dum  ver- 
bum  Dei  nee  ipse  audit,  nee  alios  audire 
permittit.— F.  112.  a. 

Omnes  viri  quando  ascessuri  sunt  ad 
altare,  lavant  manus  suas,  et  omnes 
mulieres  nitida  linteamina  exhibent,  ubi 
corpus  Christi  accipiant. — F.  114.  a. 

Among  their  levities  was  a  fondness, 
quite  inconsistent  with  their  profession, 
for  sights  and  amusements.  Giraldus 
tells  a  story  of  a  Monk  who  ran  out  to 
see  a  whale,  and  who,  his  feet  slipping, 
tumbled  into  a  pit,  and  was  lugged  out 
with  ropes  and  poles  hooked  with 
iron.a  Minstrels,  whom  some  houses 
maintained  on  purpose,  contributed  to 
their  amusement  at  festivals  and  other 
times  ;b  though  it  is  said  they  were  dis- 
gustful to  the  severer  Orders,  particu- 
larly before  the  Norman  conquest, 
when  they  were  considered  as  brethren 
of  the  Pagan  Scalds.c  To  these  are  to 
be    added    Bearwards.d      The    Friars 


a  Ex  vapore  pinguedinis  monstrt  illius  lubrice 
magis  effecte,  lapsis  pedibus  utrisque  retro  cadens 
subito  totus  in  apercionem  illam  resupinus  intra- 
vit ;  a  qua  cum  funibus  et  perticis  longis  ferro 
aduncatis  vix  tandem  ferro  extractusemersit.  MS. 
Cott.  Tib.  B.  xiii.  sect.  De  Monacbo  ad  mon» 
struosam  belluam  inspiciendum  occurrente,  &c. 
These  exhibitions  were  probably  more  interesting 
than  now  ;  for,  in  the  wood-cuts  of  Ambrose 
Parey's  Works,  p.  619,  representing  the  manner  of 
cutting  up  the  whale,  a  drummer  and  fifer  are 
standing  upon  it  and  playing  ;  drum-beating  and 
bell-ringing  being  the  signal  given  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Aquitain,  at  sight  of  a  whale.  The  lard  was 
boiled,  and  eaten  with  fish  in  Lent,  that  gormand- 
izers might  have  something  to  serve  them  instead 
of  flesh,  then  forbidden.  The  houses  of  the  fish- 
eaters  were  built  with  their  bones,  and  orchards 
fenced  with  them.     Ibid. 

b  Warton's  History  of  English  Poetry,  i.  p.  92. 

c  Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry,  i.  xli. 
lix.  Ed.  2. 

d  War  ton,  ut  sup.  The  Romans  kept  bears 
tame  under  a  keeper,  and  upon  lamps  we  see  show- 
men leading  them  ;  one  among  others  is  mounted 
upon  a  ladder  (Encyclop.  des  Antiq.  v.  Ours.) 
Bearbaiting  is  alluded  to  by  Apuleius;  and  it  was  a 
pastime  in  much  vogue  here,  generally  upon  Sun- 
days after  service.  (Strutt's  Sports,  &c.  xxxix.) 
The  maintenance  of  bears  was  a  tax  sometimes 
imposed  upon  the  Feudal  Vassal ;  and  the  public 
ovens  paid,  at  every  baking,  each  a  loaf  to  the 
Ursarius,  or  Instructor,  for  which  the  tenants  were 
to  see  the  sport  upon  holidays.  (Du  Cange,  v. 
Ursarius,  Ursorum  pastus.)     Kings  made  presents 


likes  to  talk  in  the  church  must  give 
but  a  bad  account  both  for  himself  and 
others,  whilst  he  neither  hears  the  word 
of  God  himself  nor  permits  others  to 
do  it. 

All  men,  when  about  to  go  to  the 
altar,  wash  their  hands,  and  all  the 
women  put  on  clean  clothes  when  they 
take  the  sacrament. 

Minors  of  Francis  having  passed  into 
England.,  and  taking  their  way  towards 
Oxford,  stopped  at  a  Benedictine  Ab- 
bey, where  a  young  Monk,  thinking 
them,  by  their  ridiculous  habit,  to  be 
some  jugglers,  ran  immediately  to  give 
notice  of  it  to  the  Abbot,  who,  in  hopes 
of  having  some  good  sport,  bad  them 
come  in.  But  they  having  made  them 
to  understand  that  they  were  poor 
Friars,  who  came  to  implore  their  cha- 
rity, the  Abbot  and  Monks  commanded 
they  should  be  turned  out  of  doors. e 
There  were  even  Masquerades  in  Ab- 
beys, as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Gre- 
gory of  Tours.f 

The  Inquirenda,  in  the  visitation  of 
Nuns,  were  these ;%  whether  they  used 
to  have  intercourse  with  strangers,  men 
and  women,  without  licence,  especially 
in  secret  places,11  and  in  the  absence  of 
their  sisters ;  whether  used  to  go  any 
where  without  the  gates  ;i  whether  any 


of  them,  and  a  Lady  sent  one  to  a  Tournament, 
for  the  reward  of  him  who  behaved  best.  M.  Paris, 
113,  223.  Of  sports  with  bears,  see  further  Strutt's 
Sports,  182,  193,  194,  and  Horda,  iii.  150.  The 
bear  formerly  existed  in  Britain,  Archseologia,  x. 
162.  Our  taste  for  bear-baiting  and  boxing  was 
that  of  the  Roman  vulgar  : 

Media  inter  carmina  poscunt 

Aut  Ursum,  aut  Pugiles. 

Horat.  L.  ii.  Ep.  i.  v.  185. 

e  D'Emilliane's  Monastical  Orders,  p.  169. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Baroatoria. 

«  Items  similar  to  those  of  the  Monks  are  omitted. 

h  See  Monast.  Angl.  ii.  895.  "  Item,  that  non 
of  your  sisters  bring  in,  receave,  or  take  any  Lay- 
man, Religious,  or  Secular,  into  the  chambre  or 
any  secrete  place  day  or  night,  nor  with  thaiminsuch 
private  places  to  commune,  ete,  or  drinke,  without 
lycense  of  your  Prioresse."  Monast.  Anglic,  i.  910. 
It  seems,  from  the  7th  Item  of  the  Constitutions  of 
the  Nuns  of  Sopewell,  that  the  taylors  of  the  house 
were  the  persons  thus  invited  into  private  places. 

1  In  Monast.  Anglic,  ii.  896,  is  mention  of 
"  Nonnes  having  keyes  of  the  posterne  doore," 
and  "moche  comyng  in  and  owte  unlefulle  tymys." 
The  Capitularies  of  Charlemagne  say,   M  In  some 


MONKS,    NUNS,    &C. 


161 


do  not  use  her  habit  continually  out  of 
her  cell ;  whether  any  familiarity  with 
religious  or  secular  priests,  not  near 
kinsmen.  Item,  whether  any  of  them 
use  to  wryghte  any  letters  of  lovea  or 
[lascivious  fashions]b  to  any  person,  or 
receive  any  suche,  and  have  any  prevye 
messengers  comyng  and  resorting  to 
them  with  tokens  or  gifts  from  any 
maner  seculer  person  or  other  f  whe- 
ther they  talked  without  leave  with  any 
manner  of  persons,  "by  gratis  or  backe- 
windows  ;"d  what  sporte  or  game  they 
used  in  their  playing  days ; e  how  often 
they  were  confessed;  whether  any  of 
them  were  suspected  of  incontinence  ;f 


small  Monasteries,  where  the  Nuns  are  without 
Rule,  we  order,  that  their  Cloisters  be  well  locked* 
and  that  they  do  not  write  or  send  Love-letters. 
Du  Cange,  v.  Winileodes. 

a  The  Nuus  of  St.  Helen's  were  prohibited  from 
receiving  letters,  or  sending  them,  without  license 
of  the  Prioress,  and  witnesses  to  attest  the  pro- 
priety of  the  contents.     Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  895. 

b  Blank  in  orig.  but  filled  up  from  MS.  Cott. 
Cleop.  E.  iv.  p.  19. 

c  A  very  ancient  writer  says,  "Nuns  support 
and  exercise  their  bodies  in  woollen  work  (lanificio) 
(which,  and  cooking,  was  of  Egyptian  origin), 
and  deliver  the  garments  to  the  Monks,  receiving 
in  return  what  is  needful  for  their  support  (victui). 
Isidor.  de  eccles.  Offic.  L.  2,  C.  15,  p.  213  (a0  630). 
Hence  perhaps  the  custom  of  presents.  Secular 
women,  going  backwards  and  forwards,  are  forbid- 
den the  Nuns  of  Sempringham,  as  likely  to  be 
messengers  rather  of  evil  than  good.  Monast.  ii. 
699.  The  Gilbertine  Nuns  were  not  to  make 
purses  except  of  white  leather,  and  without  coloured 
silk.  Monast.  ii.  784.  See  Chapter  of  "  Ancho- 
rets," &c. 

d  "No  lokingnor  spectacles  owterwarde,  through 
the  wiche  ye  my  the  falle  in  worldly  dilectacyone. '' 
Monast.  ii.  805.  The  5th  Constitution  of  the 
Nuns  of  Sopewell  orders,  at  certain  times,  "  les 
fenestres  devers  la  cuysine  clos. ' ' 

e  "  Also  we  enjoyne  yow,  that  alle  dauncyng 
and  revelling  be  utterely  forborne  among  yow, 
except  Christmasse,  and  other  honest  tymys  of 
recreacyone  among  youreselfe,  usid  in  absence  of 
Seculers  in  alle  wyse."  Monast.  ii.  896.  Itine- 
rant players,  principally  boys,  used  to  be  admitted, 
and  play  mysteries  before  them.  Warton's  English 
Poetry,  iii.  324.  The  well-known  instance  of 
Juliana  Bernes  shows  skill  in  hunting,  hawking,  and 
field  sports. 

f  This  crime  they  committed  from  the  earliest 
periods;  (Charlton's  Whitby,  39.)  and  they  des- 
pised the  statutes  made  to  correct  it.  Athon.  155. 
A  visitor  at  a  Convent  of  Gilbertine  Nuns  near 
Lichfield,  "  founde  two  of  the  said  Nunnes  ;  one 
of  them  impregnant  (supprior  domus)  :  anothyr 
a  yonge  mayd."  Also  at  another,  called  Harwolde, 
"  wherein  was  iiii  or  v  Nunnes  with  the  Prioress, 
one  of  them  had  two  fake  children,  another  one, 


whether  stubborn,  incorrigible,  sedi- 
tious, a  brawler,  envious,  yrefull,  given 
to  voluptuousness  and  sloth  ;8  whether 


and  no  mo."     MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  131.     It 

is  well  known,  that  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  about 
1251,  in  his  visitations,  ordered  the  nipples  of  the 
Nuns  to  be  squeezed,  that  he  might  be  physically 
convinced  of  their  chastity.  Various  amulets  for 
pregnant  women  were  common  in  Nunneries  : 
thus  the  Nuns  of  Gracedieu  had  part  of  St.  Fran- 
cis's coat,  deemed  beneficial  to  lying-in  women 
(partem  tunicse  Sancti  Francisci,  quae  ut  creditur 
parturientibus  conducunt).  Nuns  of  St.  Mary  of 
Derby  had  part  of  the  shirt  of  St.  Thomas,  in 
veneratione  apud  multoties  pregnantes.  Those  of 
Wrelsa,  apud  Mewse,  had  the  girdle  of  Bernard, 
"  prsegnantibus  aliquando  vestitum,"  (sometimes 
worn  by  breeding  women.)  MS.  Cott.  ut  sap. 
147,  150,  &c.  &c.  The  Nuns  of  Yorkshire  took 
potacions  "  ad  prolem  conceptum  opprimendum." 
Cott.  MS.  ut  sup.  f.  115,  b.      Sometimes  the  chil- 


dren   were    murdered 


Hie    cum   juvenis    esset 


decorus  forma,  instinctu  antiqui  hostis  sororem  suam 
illico  amore  concupivit,  et  ex  ea  prolem  procreavit;" 
which  offspring  "  propriis  manibus  suffocavit  ne  ad 
homines  incestus  ipsius  perveniat  ;  et  reversus 
(sic)  ad  peccatum  suum  secundo  et  tertio  de  eodem 
fratre  concepit  atque  partus  suffocavit."  MS. 
Harl.  2385,  f.  56,  i.  e.  "  The  monk,  being  young 
and  handsome,  fell  in  love  with  a  nun,  and  had 
children  by  her,  which  children,  even  to  a  second 
and  third  parturition,  she  suffocated."  Some  of  the 
laws  against  this  were  as  follows  :  "  To  carry  off  a 
nun  was  1205.  fine — Leges  Aluredi,  1.  31,  in  Lamb. 
Whoever  indecently  handled  her  breasts,  if  she 
was  unwilling,  double  the  penalty  (5*.)  of  doing  so 
to  a  Lay-woman.  Id.  c.  33.  By  the  laws  of 
Edmund,  made  a0  946,  the  ravisher  was  punished 
like  a  homicide  with  the  fine  of  all  his  fortune  (74/.) 
In  the  penitentiary  canons  of  Edgar,  a  guilty  nun 
was  punished  with  a  twenty  years  penance  (Can. 
32.)  with  perpetual  penance  and  imprisonment 
among  the  Gilbertines  (of  which  Alfred  of  Rievesby 
relates  a  shocking  instance,  copied  by  Bale),  with 
severe  discipline;  (MS.  Harl.  ut  sup.  f.  55,  b.)  and 
by  the  13th  of  Edward  I.  it  was  three  years  impri- 
sonment for  carrying  off  a  nun,  besides  satisfaction 
made  to  the  convent.  Sir  Osbert  Giffard,  for  steal- 
ing two  nuns  out  of  Wilton  abbey,  was  ordered 
never  to  enter  a  nunnery  more  ;  not  to  be  in  the 
presence  of  a  nun  without  leave  of  his  diocesan  ;  to 
go  thrice  naked  in  his  shirt  and  breeches  to  Wilton 
church,  but  not  in  the  presence  of  the  nuns,  and 
be  each  time  beaten  ;  and  so  likewise  in  Salisbury 
market,  and  Shaftesbury  church  ;  not  to  wear  the 
insignia  of  knighthood,  but  russet  with  lamb  or 
sheep  fur,  and  calf-leather  shoes,  nor  use  a  shirt 
after  he  was  beaten  ;  and  this  until  he  should  have 
been  three  years  in  the  holy  land,  or  the  king  recal- 
led him.  Tit.  of  Honour,  p.  790,  and  Weever. 
s  Bertram  Walton  says  (Invective  against  Nuns)  : 
"  But  there  was  a  lady,  that  hizt  dame  Pride, 
"  In  grete  reputacion  they  her  toke, 
"  And  pore  dame  Meekness  sate  beside, 
"  To  her  unethys  ony  wolde  loke, 
"  But  all  as  who  seyth  I  her  forsoke, 
"  And  set  not  by  her  nether  most  ne  leste, 
"  Dame  Ypocrite  loke  upon  a  book,, 

M 


162 


MONKS    NUNS,    &C. 


they  do  understand  first  the  articles  of 
their  faithe,  and  then  the  Rule  ;a  whe- 
ther surfeit  with  drink  ;b  how  many 
howsholders  are  in  their  house,  and 
who   keepeth  them,c      Besides   these 

"  And  bete  herself  upon  the  brest : 
"  I  wolde  have  sene  dame  Devowte 
"  And  sche  was  but  with  few  of  that  route, 
"  For  dame  Sclowth  and  dame  Vayne  Glory 
"  By  vilens  had  put  her  owte. 
"  And  than  in  my  harte  I  was  full  sorry, 
11  That  dame  Envy  was  there  dwelling, 
"  The  which  can  selth  strife  in  eny  state> 
"  And  another  ladye  was  there  wonnyng 
"That  hight  dame  Love  inordinate, 
"  In  that  place  both  erly  and  late, 
"  Dame  Lust,  dame  Wantonness,  and  dame  Vyce, 
"  They  were  so  there  enhabyted,  I  wotte 
"  That  few  token  hede  to  Goddys  service." 
He  afterwards  complains  that  "  Dame  Envy, 
' '  In  every  corner  had  great  cure  ; 
"  That  another  lady  there  was 
"  That  hyzt  dame  Disobedient." 

MS.  Cott.  Vesp.  D.  ix.  f.  182,  3. 
"  By  this  hede  you  schall  understond  suche 
cloistereris,  the  whiche  thinken  that  thei  ben  more 
discrete,  more  witty,  more  kunning,  than  other ; 
and  therfor  alle  such  natural  witty  cloistereris  ben 
more  lothe  to  be  spoiled,  and  to  be  made  naked 
from  her  owen  willes  than  other  simple  cloistereris, 
ffor  ther  suche  live  witte  is  ther  is  ofte  moche 
indignacion,  and  ofte  tymes  conflicte  multiplying  of 
many  wordis,  and  pride  of  konnyng,  yei  have  gret 
indignacion,  whan  thei  ben  in  any  wise  withstond 
from  her  owen  willes,  thei  weine  that  thei  have 
grete  wrong  gif  other  ben  clepid  to  counseil  and 
not  yei."  MS.  Bodl.  Laud.  D.  52.  (Regulse 
inclusarum.)  "  I  forbede  not  wordis  of  recreation, 
yough  I  forbede  noyous  wordis."     Id. 

a  Monast.  ii*  895.  "  where  one  of  the  intelli- 
gent sisters  is  ordered  to  teach  the  other." 

b  The  drinking  after  complin  of  the  Prioress  of 
Rumsey  has  got  into  all  our  familiar  books. 
Among  the  injunctions  to  the  Convent  of  Appleton, 
a0  1489,  is  one;  "  Item,  that  non  of  your  sisters 
use  the  alehouse,  nor  the  water  syde,  where  course 
of  strangers  dayly  resorte.''  Monast.  Anglic,  i. 
910.  In  the  inquiries  touching  the  Savoy,  it 
was  inquired,  "whether  any  of  the  susters  do 
cherish  them  moste  that  hath  any  money,  and 
causeth  them  to  spende  the  same  when  they  be 
within  at  good  ale  or  otherwise,  wherby  the  same 
might  have  any  pleasure  or  profit  theymselff.  Item, 
whether  any  of  the  susters  be  comenly  drunke." 
MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  33,  b. 

c  MS.  Harl.  791,  f.  22.  "  Also  we  ordeyne  and 
injoyne,  that  nunnes  have  ne  receyve  noo  schuldrin 
with  hem  into  the  house  forseyde,  but  yif  that  the 
profite  of  the  comonys  turne  to  the  vayle  of  the 
same  house.",  Monast.  ii.  896.  In  the  injunction 
to  the  nuns  of  Appleton,  they  are  to  have  noe  per- 
hendinancers  or  sojorners,  but  children  and  old 
persons,  by  which  profit  may  come  to  the  place. 
Monast.  i.  910.  No  man  or  woman  in  a  secular 
habit  was  to  be  received  to  make  a  stay  in  the 
house  of  Nun-Cotun,  unless  any  one  slept  there 
for  the  sake  of  hospitality.  Monast.  i.  925.  Item, 
that  the  prioresse  suffer  no  man  to  lodge  under  the 


faults,  they  were  finical  in  their  hair- 
dressing^  fond  of  tales  and  gossiping  ; 
apt  to  give  the  lie,  and  strike  one  ano- 
ther. "Tide  of  her  tonges,"  says  Piers 
Plowman,  "and  must  all  secretes  tell;"e 
fond  of  flattering,  stroking,  and  smooth- 
ing themselves  ;f  receiving  male  visi- 
tors with  the  salutation  of  "my  love," 
and  adding  minstrelsy  and  dancing  ;g 
affected  ;h  used  to  adorn  the  walls  of 
their  chambers  with  pictures,  for  such 
are  mentioned  by  Alfred  of  Rievesby 
(see  Anchorets),  and  the  Rule  of  C&sa- 
rius  for  Nuns  orders  no  wax  tablets  or 
other  pictures  to  be  affixed  to  the 
walls  ;*  delighted  in  keeping  dogs,k  par- 
rots,1 and  geese,  hens,  and  other  birds  ; 
for  it  seems  they  used  to  stay  at  the 
grange  for  the  nourishment  of  animals, 
and  that  two  would  eat  from  one  loaf, 
that  they  might  keep  the  other  whole 
for  their  dumb  dependants.111  What- 
ever,  nevertheless,   the   faults   of  the 


dorter,  or  onn  the  backside,  except  such  sad  per- 
sones  by  whom  the  house  might  be  holpyne,  and 
secured  without  slander  or  suspicion.       Id.  i.  910. 

d  Ric.  Hagulstad.  p.  327 — tortura  capillorum  et 
compositione  capillorum. 

e  Fol.  xxiii.  Ed.  2d.  of  32d  Ed.  (See  Percy's 
Ball,  and  Herbert's  Ames.) 

f  MS.  Cott.  Nero.  A.  3.  f.  15,  b. 

s  Wart.  Emend.  V.  i.  p.  11. 

h  MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  3,  p.  19,  b.        s  C.  42. 

k  Chaucer's  Prioress  kept  a  number  of  small 
dogs;  39  loaves  of  coarse  bread  to  the  dogs  in  every 
manor  per  week.     Monast.  i.  498. 

1  Nigell  Wireker  mentions  an  unlucky  parrot, 
who  had  the  habit  of  telling  tales  :  he  says,  by 
poisoning  him  they  taught  him  to  die  earlier  than 
to  speak. 

Ssepe  mala 
Phittacus  in  thalamum  domina  redeunte  puellas 

Prodit,  et  illorum  verba  tacenda  refert ; 
Nescius  ille  loqui ;  sed  nescius  immo  tacere 

Profert  plus  sequo  Phittacus  oris  habens  ; 
Hinc  avibus  crebro  miscente  aconita  puella, 

Discat  ut  ante  mori  quam  didicisse  loqui ; 
Sunt  et  aves  alise  quae  toto  tempore  vitse 

Relligiosorum  claustra  beata  colunt. 

Spec.  Stultor. 

Ver  Vert,  or  the  Nunnery  parrot  of  Gresset, 
translated  by  Cooper,  is  well  known,  and  modern. 

m  Monast.  i.  925.  ii.  768.  The  rage  for  keeping 
domestic  animals  was  very  strong  among  our  ances- 
tors. Rob.  Betun,  Bishop  of  Hereford,  says  on 
his  death-bed,  "  I  had  in  my  house  a  black  white 
footed  dog,  a  domestic  tame  deer,  a  four-horned 
ram,  cranes  and  peacocks,  all  which  I  used  to  feed 
from  my  table."  (Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  318.)  We  hear 
also  of  a  tame  crane  who  stood  before  the  table  at 
dinner,  and  knelt  and  bowed  his  head  when  a  Bishop 
gave  the  Benediction.      (Id.  400.)     Tame  deer 


MONKS,   NUNS5  &C, 


163 


poor  Nuns  were,  says  Nigell  Wireker, 
"they  have  this  virtue,  which  wipes 
away  every  thing,,  incessant  tears,  that 
are  penitently  poured  before  the  throne 
of  God  :  whilst  they  are  thus  contrite, 
they  merit  pardon,  and  obliterate  every 
crime  they  commit. "ab 

Nuns  were  sometimes  styled  u  La- 
dies, Reverend  Ladies,'^0  but  burial 
entries  exist  where  they  are  called 
Dames,  as  Dame  Ann  Preston,  SlcA  In 
a  Monastery  at  Brabant,  the  Canon- 
esses  were  created  Knightesses  by  some 
noble  Count,  with  a  drawn  sword 
struck  upon  the  back,  and  the  usual 
words.e 

To  redress  these  evils  in  the  conduct 
of  the   religious/  the   expedient   was 


(as  in  Virgil)  were  very  common  among  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  and  sometimes  they  wore  a  collar,  and 
were  taught  to  bow  to  their  masters.  (Ibid,  and 
Dugd.  Monast.  i.  84.  ii.  120.)  There  were  some 
of  them,  at  least,  decoy-deer,  which  hunters  sent 
into  the  woods,  that,  mixing  with  the  others,  they 
might  draw  them  into  the  nets ;  and  they  had  col- 
lars, or  some  other  marks,  that  the  hunters  might 
not  shoot  them  with  their  arrows.  (Du  Cange,  v. 
Extellarius,  ii.  p.  276.)  S.  Gregory  kept  a  cat, 
and  was  very  fond  of  it.  Ugutio  calls  it  a  certain 
ingenious  animal,  viz.  a  mouse-catcher.  (Id.) 
Tame  ravens  were  kept  even  by  an  Earl,  and  were 
sometimes  supposed  to  be  spirits  in  that  form. 
(J.  Rous,  207.)  We  hear  too  of  weazels,  with 
little  bells  round  their  necks.  (Du  Cange,  v.  Pel- 
teolus.)  Parrots  are  of  classical  antiquity,  as  every 
school-bov  knows.  Singing  birds  were  artificially 
taught.  *(X.  Scr.  666.  M.  Par.  140.)  Both  par- 
rots and  monkeys  were  also  curiously  instructed. 
Du  Cange,  v.  Mammones. 

ft  Sed  tamen  illud  habent  quod  cuncta  refellit, 
Ante  Deum  lachrymas  quse  sine  lege  fluunt ; 
Hiis  dum  placent  semper  veniamque  merentur 
His  sua  cuncta  lavant  crimina,  quicquid  agunt. 
Spec.  Stult.  MS.  Cott.  Tit.  A.  20. 

b  The  Gilbertine  Nuns  were  not  to  talk  Latin 
unless  a  suitable  occasion  required ;  or  to  privately 
hide  or  steal  any  thing.     Monast.  ii.  766. 

c  Angl.  Sacr.  L  629,  654. 

d  Lysons's  Britannia,  i.  52. 

e  Du  Cange,  v.  Militissa. 

f  All  Monks  and  Nuns  were  not  of  the  above 
vicious  description.  Pensions  were  granted  at  the 
dissolution  according  to  the  characters  of  the  Monks, 
and  the  visitors  recommended  such  for  preferment, 
as  they  did  one  Randall  Wylmyston,  Monk  of 
Norton,  calling  him  "a  gud  religious  man,  discrete, 
and  well  grounded  in  lerning,  and  hath  many  gud 
qualities."  MS.  Harl.  604,  f.  54.  And  the  Nun- 
nery of  Legborne  petitioned  to  be  preserved,  saying, 
"  We  trust  in  God,  ye  shall  here  no  complaint 
against  us,  nether  in  our  living  nor  hospitalitie- 
keeping."     MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  270,  b. 


adopted  of  General  Chapters  and  Visi- 
tations. The  first  General  Chapter 
was  one  of  the  Cistertians  in  Burgundy, 
which  afterwards  became  annual,  and 
set  the  example  to  the  other  Orders.^ 
When  this  first  Chapter  of  the  Cister- 
tians was  held,  is  not  mentioned  by 
Mabillon  ;  but  it  seems  it  was  in  1116. b 
The  Benedictines  first  assembled  for 
this  purpose  at  Oxford  in  the  year 
1219.1  When  the  Friars  held  a  Ge- 
neral Chapter,  sustenance  was  found 
them  by  persons  of  high  rank.k  In  all 
Orders  provisions  were  laid-in  weeks 
before.1  These  assemblies  were  meet- 
ings of  the  Abbots  and  Priors,  or  their 
Proctors,  once  in  three  years,  when 
visitors  of  the  different  houses  were 
appointed,  and  emendatory  statutes 
enacted.™  The  forms  and  methods  of 
proceeding  in  them  may  be  seen  in  the 
Appendix  to  Reyner.n 

In  the  year  1232,  Gregory  appointed 
visitors  to  correct  abuses.  These  were 
in  the  exempt  houses,  not  Bishops, 
but  Abbots,  principally  of  the  Cister- 
tian  and  Prsemonstratensian  Orders, 
and  appointed  by  the  Pope0  or  the 
General  Chapter.  Their  harshness, 
insolence,  and  severity,  occasioned  fre- 
quent appeals  to  Rome ;  the  result  of 
which  was  the  appointment  of  others. 
Those  who  refused  to  admit  the  visita- 
tion were  to  be  suspended  by  the  visi- 
tors (pay  10/.  say  later  Constitutions)  ;P 
but,  upon  seeking  absolution,  were  to 
receive  it,  upon  condition  of  giving 
security  to  obey  the  judgment  of  the 
General  Chapter,  and  receive  the  visi- 
tation in  future.  Transmarine  Monks 
were  to  assign  reasons,  if  they  were 
unwilling  to  be  visited. i  The  visitors 
were  to  beware  putting  the  Convent  to 


s  Mabillon's  Annales  Benedictini,  v.  617. 

h  See  Fabricii  Bibl.  M.  Mvi,  iii.  559. 

1  Knighton,  2430.  k  M.  Paris,  677. 

1  Howes'sStowe,  284. 

m  Athon.  52.     Reyner,  Append.  &c. 

B  I  have  published  the  full  ceremonial  of  one  in 
the  Archaeological  Library,  p.  167,  from  an  Abbey 
Register.     It  is  not  important. 

0  W.  Thorne,  2114. 

p  Cap.  Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1444.  c.  12. 

»  M.  Paris,  1097. 


M   2 


164 


MONKS,    NUNS,    &C. 


superfluous  expence.  They  were  to 
order  delinquent  Monks  to  be  punished 
by  the  Abbot,  who,  if  remiss,  was  him- 
self punishable  by  the  General  Chap- 
ter ;  and,  till  such  Chapter  was  held,  if 
the  Abbot  was  not  exempt,  his  Dioce- 
san was  to  find  him  a  coadjutor.3  If 
one  of  the  visitors  could  not  perform 
his  office,  another  was  to  be  appointed 
by  the  Abbots  who  presided  over  the 
General  Chapter.b  No  one  could  the 
same  year  be  the  visitor  of  one  who 
had  been  deputed  to  inspect  his  own 
Abbey.c  They  were  to  be  suspended 
from  the  celebration  of  divine  service 
if  they  neglected  their  duty  ;  and,  if 
a  crime  was  rumoured  of  any  house, 
they  were  to  send  word  and  visit  it  as 
soon  as  possible.d  Informers  at  visi- 
tations were  not  to  be  vexed  or  perse- 
cuted afterwards  by  the  Abbot  or 
officer s.e  Visitors  were  to  reduce  to 
writing  what  they  had  discovered  in 
their  visitations,  where  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  the  advice  of  the  President 
of  the  Chapter/  The  ceremony  ob- 
served was  this,  Notice  was  given  of 
the  intended  visitation ;  an  agreement 
was  made  respecting  the  time ;  and  in 


the  mean  while  the  Abbot  promised 
the  declaration  of  every  thing  amiss 
before  their  coming;  all  which  he 
would  himself,  in  process  of  time, 
amend.  On  the  morrow  after  the 
arrival  of  the  visitors,  a  sermon  was 
preached  in  the  Chapter,  and  the  com- 
mission and  statutes  made  in  the  Pro- 
vincial Chapter  read.  Then,  if  after 
a  minute  scrutiny  of  every  Monk  no 
offence  was  found,  they  departed, 
having  made  only  a  stay  of  a  few 
days.s  These  visitations  gave  birth 
to  many  defamatory  libels  and  letters 
from  those  who  happened  to  pass  by 
any  house  and  heard  the  vices  of  it, 
and  from  malicious  persons ;  as  well 
as  to  confederacies  of  the  Monks  to 
overthrow  emendatory  statutes.11  Mat- 
thew Paris  says,  that,  in  consequence 
of  the  local  constitutions  thus  made, 
scarce  two  houses  were  found  alike 
in  their  rule  of  living ;  i  but,  as  the 
Canons  of  Ottoboni  were  uniformly 
enforced  by  them,  this  may  be  ques- 
tioned. Many  acts  of  successive  Ge- 
neral Chapters,  the  same  vices  conti- 
nuing, are  mere  transcripts  of  one 
another. 


ORDER    OF    ST.    VICTOR    AT    PARIS.1 


This  is  the  form  of  holding  a  Gene- 
ral Chapter,  according  to  the  man- 
ner of  the  Order  of  Saint  Victor  of 
Paris. 

The  convent  of  the  place  in  which 
the  general  chapter  is  celebrated,  shall 
rise  early  in  the  morning  of  that  day  ; 
and  the  signal  being  given  in  the  dor- 
mitory, the  brethren  shall  go  to  the 
church,  and  there  say  all  the  hours  of 
the  day  and  high- mass,  and  the  25 
psalms,  if  it  be  Lent,  except  the  last 
hour  of  nones,  and  the  service  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  which  all  the  brethren 
shall  say  by  themselves,  that  they  may 
all  be  present  at  the  general  chapter. 
When  this  is  finished,  they  shall  imme- 
diately ring  for  the    general   chapter. 


11  M.  Paris,  405. 

b   Reyn.  Append.  97. 

6  C.  North,  ut  supr.  c.  12. 

1  Wilkins'sConcil.  iii.  147- 


Id.103. 
«  Ibid. 


Hcec  est  forma  tenendi  Capitulum  Ge- 
nerate juocta  modum  ordinis  Sancti 
Victoris  Parisiensis. 

Conventus  loci,  quo  capitulum  cele- 
bratur,  summo  mane  surget  illo  die,  et 
dato  signo  in  dormitorio  fratres  ibunt 
ad  ecclesiam,  et  ibi  dicent  omnes  horas 
diei  et  missam  magnam  et  xxv  psalm os, 
si  quadragesima  fuerit,  excepta  ultima 
hora  none  et  horis  Ve  Marie,  quas  sin- 
gli  dicent  per  se,  ut  omnes  fr'es  inter- 
sint  capit'lo  generali.  Istis  completis 
statim  pulsabunt  ad  cap^lum  generale. 


e  M.  Paris,  713. 

h  C.  North,  ut  supr.  ' 

k  From  an  Abbey  Register  at  Berkeley. 


P.  322. 


MONKS,    NUNS,    &C. 


165 


And  when  all  the  brethren  have  entered 
the  chapter,  and  are  seated,  the  brother, 
before  he  begins  to  preach  the  word  of 
God,  shall  immediately  rise,  and  say, 
Jube  Domine  benedicere;  and  the  presi- 
dent shall  say,  that  all  may  hear,  Domi- 
nies sit  in  corde  tuo  et  labiis  ad  pronun- 
ciandum  sacra  Dei  eloquia.  In  noie  p. 
etfr.  &c.  and  all  shall  say  Amen.  The 
sermon  being  therefore  completed,  the 
president  shall  say  Benedicite,  and  all 
shall  answer  Dominus  ;  and  he  shall  say 
to  the  proctors,  "You  conventual  proc- 
tors have  somewhat  to  say,"  and  they 
shall  answer,  "Yes,  sir  f  and  one  of  the 
proctors  shall  say  first,  "Father,  we 
have  the  souls  of  our  brethren  and 
friends  first  to  be  recommended,  if  it 
pleases,"  and  shall  say  thus :  "  We  of 
the  convent  of  such  a  place  ask,  that 
you  have  these  souls  of  our  brethren, 
and  the  souls  of  our  friends  lately  de- 
ceased, to  be  recommended,  to  wit,  the 
souls  of  brother  N.,  and  brother  N., 
and  brother  N.,  our  special  canons 
lately  deceased ;"  and  afterwards  read 
our  intimates,  to  wit,  Will.  N.,  Rich. 
N.,  and  John  N.,  and  even  of  our  spe- 
cial benefactors  lately  deceased:  and 
the  president  shall  answer  to  every 
proctor,  when  he  reads  over  the  bro- 
thers and  friends,  "  Requiescant  in 
pace."  Each  of  these  being  read  over 
in  order,  they  shall  say,  De  profundis 
clamavi,  and  the  pater-noster,  and 
three  prayers,  to  wit,  Deus  venie  largi- 
tor,  Deus  indulgenciarum,  et  Jidelium 
Deus.  Afterwards  the  president  shall 
say,  in  the  name  of  all  the  presiding 
officers,  "We  enjoin  all  our  canons,  who 
are  able  to  celebrate  masses,  that  for 
the  souls  here  recommended,  they  each 
say  a  mass  ;  and  the  other  brethren 
not  celebrating,  a  psalter  ;  and  every 
one  of  the  convent  brethren  a  hundred 
pater-nosters,  and  as  many  Ave-Ma- 
rias."  Then  the  president  shall  say, 
"Ye  conventual  proctors,  where  are 
your  credentials?'5  and  they  shall  show 
and  deliver  them  to  the  president,  to 
examine  if  they  be  sufficient;  and,  after 
examination,  the  president  shall  return 
them.     Then  the  president  shall  say, 


Et  cum  omnes  fr'es  cap'lum  sunt  in- 
gressi,  et  in  sedibus  suis  collocati,  fra- 
ter  priusquam  ad  predicandum  verbum 
Dei  statim  surget,  et  coram  preesidente 
inclinabit  et  dicet :  Jube  D'ne  benedi- 
cere, et  preesidens  dicet  ita  ut  ab  omni- 
bus audiatur :  Dnus  sit  in  corde  tuo  et 
in  labiis  tuis  ad  pronunciandum  sacra 
Dei  eloquia.  In  noie  p.  et  s.  &c.  Et 
omnes  dicent  Amen.  Sermone  itaque 
complete,  presidens  dicet  Benedicite  et 
omnes  dicent  Dns,  et  dicet  procurato- 
ribus  :  Vos  procuratores  conventuales 
habetis  aliquod  dicere :  et  responde- 
bunt  etiam  Dne,  et  dicet  unus  de  pro- 
curatoribus  primo :  Pater,  habemus 
ai'as  fratrum  et  amicorum  primo  recom- 
mendandas  si  placet,  et  dicet  sic,  Nosde 
conventu  talis  loci  rogamus  ut  habeatis 
istas  ai'as  fratr'  nostror5  et  animas  ami- 
corum nuper  defunctorum  recommen- 
dandas,  sciP  ai'as  fratris  N.  et  frat.  N. 
et  fratr.  N.  canonicorum  nostrorum 
specialium  nuper  defunctorum,  et  pos^ 
tealeget  familiares,  sc.WiU'm  N.  Ric'm 
N.  et  Joh'nem  N.  et  etiam  benefacto- 
rum  nostrorum  specialium  nuper  de- 
functorum :  et  respondebit  preesidens 
unicuique  procuratori  cum  perlegerit 
fr'es  et  familiares,  Requiescant  in  pace, 
Quibus  per  ordinem  singlis  perlectis 
dicent,  De  profundis  clamavi  et  Pat. 
Nr.  et  tres  orationes,  sc.  Deus  venie 
largitor,  Deus  indulgenicarum,  et  fide- 
lium  Deus.  Postmodum  dicet  preesi- 
clens  vice  omnium  preelatorum,  Nos 
injurigimus  omnibus  canonicis  suis  qui 
missas  celebrare  possunt,  ut  pro  istis 
ai'abus  pie  recommendatis  dicant  sin- 
gli  singlas  missas  et  ceteri  fr'es  non 
celebrantes  unum  psalterium  et  unus- 
quisque  conversorum  fr'm  C.  pr.  nr. 
cum  totidem  ave-maria.  Deinde  dicet 
preesidens,  vos  procuratores  conventu- 
ales, ubi  sunt  vestra  procuratoria  ?  et 
ipsi  ostendent  procuratoria  sua,  et  tra- 
dent  preesidenti  ad  examinandum  si 
sint  sufficiencia.  Quibus  examinatis 
o'ia  eaclem  procuratoribus  restituet. 
Tunc  preesidens  dicet  o'ibus  assistenti- 


166 


MONKS,    NUNS,    &C. 


all  assisting,  "My  brethren,  lo  !  we  are 
here  summoned  and  assembled,  in  the 
name  of  our  Lord,  to  see  and  correct 
the  defects  and  excesses  in  divine  mat- 
ters in  persons  and  things,  and  to  set- 
tle, by  common  assent,  upon  these, 
what  may  please  God  and  profit  our 
brethren,  and  to  the  salvation  of  their 
souls  :  and  that,  in  the  present  general 
chapter,  we  may  be  able  so  to  do  and 
perform  what  must  be  done  to  the 
praise  of  God,  and  the  honour  of  all 
saints,  and  the  holy  church,  and  the 
edification  of  all  our  souls,  let  us  invoke 
the  holy  spirits  to  our  aid."  And  then 
they  shall  say  the  hymn  Veni  Creator ', 
&c.  after  which  the  president  shall  say 
the  prayer,  Deus,  qui  cor  da  fidelium  ; 
and  then  shall  say  to  all,  "Have  you 
any  legitimate  motions  to  make  upon 
defects  or  excesses  in  the  divine  offices, 
respecting  either  persons  or  things, 
which  can  be  emendated  in  this  chap- 
ter?'* And  they  who  have  any  thing 
to  propose,  shall  answer,  "Yes,  sir," 
and  then  shall  read  their  motions  in 
writing ;  and  a  president  shall  then,  by 
common  assent,  be  elected  for  a  future 
time.  Who  being  elected,  and  sitting 
before  the  tribunal,  the  past  president 
shall  rise  and  standing  before  the  pre- 
sident elect,  shall  resign  his  office,  say- 
ing, "  My  beloved  brethren,  I  beg  you 
to  make  allowances  for  me  if  in  the 
execution  of  my  duty  I  have  been  neg- 
ligent or  remiss  for  calling  upon  the 
name  of  God.  I  received  the  office, 
and  before  you,  brethren  and  witnesses, 
I,  reverend  father,  now  resign  it :"  and 
the  president  shall  answer,  "  God  be 
merciful  to  you/'  and  all  the  brethren 
shall  say  "Amen."  Afterwards  four 
persons  at  least  shall  be  elected  by  com- 
mon consent  to  examine  the  proposi- 
tions there  made  by  the  brethren,  which 
persons  may  be  approved  for  virtue 
and  religion.  Who,  after  due  delibe- 
ration, may  settle  and  define  upon  the 
propositions  by  common  consent,  what 
may  best  suit  divine  worship  and  the 
salvation  of  their  souls  :  and  let  those 
things  which  they  shall  approve 
according  to  God  and  the  canon  laws. 


bus,  fr'es  mei  ecce  in  no'ie  Dni  sumus 
hie  vocati  et  congregati  ad  vidend'  et 
emend'  defectus  et  excessus  in  divinis 
officiis  in  personis  et  rebus,  et  ad  statu- 
endum  per  communem  assensum  super 
eisdem,  quae  Deo  placeant,  et  fratribus 
ac  notis  proficeat  (sic)  ad  salutem  a'ia- 
rura  :  et  ut  in  prsesenti  Capitulo  gene- 
rali  possumus  sic  agere  et  perficere  ea 
quae  agenda  sunt  ad  laudem  Dei  et  ad 
honorem  oi'um  sc'orum  et  sc'ae  ecclie, 
et  ad  ai'arum  nostrarum  utilitatem 
s'ctum  spr'm  in  adjutorium  invocemus. 
Et  tunc  dicent  hymnum  Veni  Creator 
spr'us,  quo  dicto  dicat  praesidens  oracio- 
nem  scil.  Deus  qui  corda  fidelium,  et 
tunc  dicet  o'ibus,  Habetisne  aliqua 
motiva  legitima  proponenda  super  de- 
fectibus  et  excessibus  in  officiis  divinis 
aut  in  rebus  aut  in  personis  quae  per 
istud  cap'lum  poterunt  emendari?  Et 
respondebunt  illi  qui  habent  aliqua  pro- 
ponenda, dicendo  Etiam  Dne,  et  tunc 
legent  fr'es  praeponentes  sua  motiva  in 
scriptis.  Et  tunc  eligatur  unus  praesi- 
dens  per  communem  assensum  pro 
tempore  futuro.  Quo  electo  et  pro 
tribunali  sedente  surget  praesidens 
praeteritus,  et  stans  coram  praesidente 
electo,  officium  suum  resignet  coram 
o'ibus  dicendo  :  Fr'es  mei  dilecti  pro 
Deo  rogo  mihi  parcatis  si  in  officio 
mihi  commisso  negligens  extiterim  vel 
remissus,  nam  nomine  Dei  invocato 
suscepto  praesidentis  officio  coram  vo- 
bis  fr'ibus  et  testibus  illud,  pater  reve- 
rende,  resigno.  Et  praesidens  respon- 
deat, Indulgeat  tibi  Deus,  et  omnes 
fr'es  dicent  amen.  Postea  elegantur 
quatuor  personae  ad  minus  per  commu- 
nem assensum,  ad  via  motiva  per  fratres 
ibidem  proposita  examinanda  qui  reli- 
gions et  discrecione'  sint  approbati. 
Qui  habito  super  hiis  nactatu  diligenti 
statuant  et  diffiniant  super  propositis 
per  communem  assensum  ea  quae  magis 
cultui  clivino;  et  ai'arum  saluti  sibi  vide- 
rint  expedire,  et  ea  quae  secundum 
Deum  et  jura  canonica  approbaverint 


MONKS,    NUNS,   &C. 


167 


be  approved  by  them,  and  remain  per- 
manent according  to  the  chapter  de 
static  Monachorum,  and  the  chapter 
which  thus  begins:  In  singlis  provinciis 
[They  are  constitutions  of  Ottobon, 
and  are  printed  in  Lindwood]  and  be 
reduced  to  writing  in  due  form,  that 
they  may  be  held  for  authentic,  and  be 
sent  to  every  convent  of  the  province 
under  the  seal  of  the  president.  These 
things  being  done  in  due  form,  let  the 
visitors  of  the  past  time  be  called  to 
answer  for  the  office  committed  to 
them,  and  if  they  have  any  thing  to 
reveal,  let  them  relate  what  they  have 
to  say,  yet  by  no  means  exceeding  the 
bounds  of  their  office  :  and  if  the  above 
visitors  shall  have  been  found  negligent 
in  the  office  of  visiting,  or  have  exceed- 
ed their  duty,  they  shall  be  corrected, 
and  deservedly  punished  according  to 
their  merits,  so  that  their  punishment 
may  be  an  example  to  others,  because 
their  office  is  especially  dangerous,  if 
they  have  not  acted  in  a  proper  man- 
ner. After  these  things,  let  three  visi- 
tors be  elected  by  common  consent  for 
a  future  time,  who  may  know  how  to 
execute  the  office  of  visitation  in  a  due 
form,  as  is  fit,  so  that  no  one  may  visit 
in  their  own  houses,  but  be  visited 
among  the  other  brethren  by  their  two 
colleagues.  Afterwards  let  the  place 
and  day  of  the  next  general  chapter  be 
named,  so  that  they  by  no  means  be 
protracted  beyond  the  next  term,  and 
be  written  in  the  end  of  the  statutes, 
that  they  may  be  known  to  all  the  bre- 
thren, and  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  as 
often  as  a  necessity  of  visiting  shall 
exist,  it  shall  be  announced  by  letter  to 
the  visitors,  and  the  convents  of  the 
places  have  due  notice. 


ab  o'ibus  approbentur,  et  rata  debent 
permanere  secundum  quod  legitur 
capit'lum  de  statu  Monachorum :  et 
cap'lum  qui  sic  incipit,  In  singlis  pro- 
vinciis :  et  in  singlis  redigantur  mo  do 
debito  ut  pro  autenticis  teneantur,  & 
sub  sigillo  preesidentis  singlis  conventi- 
bus  provinciee  liberentur.  Hiis  cum 
deliberatione  peractis  vocentur  visita- 
tores  temporis  prseteriti  ut  de  officio 
illis  commisso  respondeant,  et  si  quid 
habeant  revel andum  revelent,  et  quod 
dicendum  est  referant :  Metas  tamen 
visitationis  minime  excedendo,  et  si 
iidem  visitatores  in  officio  visitandi 
negligentes  extiterint  vel  in  visitando 
in  aJiquo  excesserint  super  hoc  corripi- 
antur,  et  juxta  ipsorum  merita  condigni 
puniantur  ita  qd  poena  eorum  sit  cete- 
ris in  exemplum,  quod  eorum  officium 
est  diversimode  periculorum  nisi  debito 
modo  in  visitando  proceperint.  Post 
hsec  eligantur  hi  visitatores  per  coem 
assensum  pro  tempore  futuro,  qui  sci- 
ant  officium  visitandi  debito  modo  exe- 
qui  prout  decet.  Ita  vero  ut  nullus 
eor'  in  propriis  domibus  visitet  sed  inter 
alios  fr'es  a  duobus  collegis  suis  visiten- 
tur  ut  ceeteri.  Postmodum  no'ientur 
locus  et  dies  proximi  capitli  futuri.  Ita 
q5d  ultra  proximum  terminum  minime 
preengantur  et  in  fine  statutorum  con- 
scribentur  ut  omnibus  fratribus  valeant 
innotescere,  et  notand'  quod  quoties 
necessitas  visitandi  extiterit  per  prcesi- 
dentem  literatoriee  debent  visitatores 
excitari  et  conventus  locorum  suffici- 
enter  premuniri. 
Ex  Registro  Abbatice  Sancti  Augustini 

Bristollice  in  Castro  de  Berkeley,  p, 

ult. 


168 


FRIARS. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


FRIARS. 


The  sciences  of  Physiology,  Chemistry, 
Natural  Philosophy,  and  Astronomy, 
by  their  stupendous  deveiopements  of 
the  grandeur  of  Deity,  are  the  firmest 
friends  of  rational  Piety;  for  they  exhi- 
bit Fanaticism  in  the  light  of  a  Procu- 
ress, who  wishes  to  palm  off  a  painted 
Prostitute  for  a  blooming  Virgin.  They 
who  are  not  ignorant,  will  not  be  cre- 
dulous ;  and  only  because  the  multi- 
tude cannot  be  informed,  it  is  easy  to 
dupe  them.  Of  pious  harlotry  (for 
the  Scriptures  designate  false  worship 
by  the  term  Fornication),  the  most 
successful  agents  in  the  middle  age  were 
the  Friars.  They  differed  only  from 
Monks,  in  being  by  profession  beggars. 
This  voluntary  mendicity,  to  a  certain 
extent  infringed,a  produced,  of  course, 
the  practice  of  mean  arts.  Dread  of 
knowledge,  not  prejudice,  occasioned 
the  persecution  of  Galileo;  and  we  find 
from  Spain,  that  whenever,  as  Swift 
would  say,  a  country  is  over-run  with 
religious  vermin,  an  interest  is  created 
for  perpetuating  ignorance,  and  that 
grovelling  character  which  annexes  no' 
value  to  the  noble  and  useful  qualities 
of  honour,  ingenuousness,  bravery, 
patriotism,  and  high  reason,  as  the 
governing  principle  of  the  whole  man. 
"We  never  swear,  only  cheat  and  lie/' 
is  the  Jesuitical  adage  of  many  who  sup- 
port their  characters  by  abstaining  from 
pleasure ;  but  the  Friars,  more  clever, 
united  both  at  the  public  expence. 

Pontifical  edicts  restricted  the  Fri- 
ars to  the  four  Orders  of  Dominicans  : 
Jacobites,  or  Preachers,b  Franciscans, 
Carmelites,  and  Augustinian  Eremites. 

a  They  pretended  that  the  property  was  in  the 
Pope,  the  use  only  in  themselves.  Gutch's  Collec- 
tanea Curiosa,  i.  p.  80. 

The  Jacobites  were  so  named  from  the  follow- 
ing circumstance  : 

Quo  tempore,  1198,  fuitineadem  civitate  quidam 
famosus  Anglicus  de  villa  Sancti  Albani,  oriundus 
magistro    Johanne,    dictus    de     Sancto     Albano, 


The  evils  of  poverty  were  not,  how- 
ever, felt  by  the  mendicants.0     Neither 


physicus  praecipuus  et  regis  Francise  curam  gerens. 
Hie  cum  ditatus  fuisset  auro  Franciae,  sibi  quoddam 
hospicium  comparavit  in  civitate  prsedicta  (Paris) 
pene  dilapsum  et  dirutum,  in  quod  solebant  ex 
longinquis  partibus  venientes  causa,  peregrinationis 
versus  Sanctum  Jacobum  in  Hispania  divertere 
peregrini,  et  ibidem  per  dies  aliquot  exhiberi,  sed 
deficientibus  redditibus  et  eleemosyna  subtracts, 
est  et  hospicium  desolatum.  Emit  ergo  Johannes 
dictum  zenodochium,  et  exinde  fecit  sibi  hospitium 
correspondens  fortunse  suae.  Qui  cum  vidisset 
dictos  fratres  cotidie  missas  celebrare,  oracionibus 
instare,  et  prsedicationibus  invigilare,  motus  devo- 
tione  quam  pietate,  contulit  eis  prsedictum  zeno- 
dochium in  habitaculum  sempiternum,  ex  cujus 
hospitalis  vocabulo  nomen  traxerunt  preedicti  fratres, 
ut  Jacobite  vocarentur  ab  adjecto  nomine  hospi- 
talis.— Tractatus  de  ortu  ac  prioritate  ordinis 
Monachor.     MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv.  322,  b.  323.  a. 

At  which  time  (1198)  there  was  in  the  same 
city  a  certain  famous  Englishman  of  the  town  of 
St.  Alban's,  descended  from  one  master  John,  and 
named  from  St.  Alban's,  an  excellent  physician, 
who  had  the  care  of  the  King  of  France.  Having 
got  rich  with  French  gold,  he  purchased  in  the 
same  city  (of  Paris)  a  dilapidated  and  almost  ruined 
hospital,  where  the  pilgrims  going  to  St.  James's 
in  Spain  were  used  to  resort,  and  to  receive  refresh- 
ment for  some  days,  till  decay  of  revenue  prevented 
it.  The  above  John,  therefore,  bought  the  place, 
and  made  an  hospital  of  it  suitable  to  his  fortune, 
and  when  he  had  seen  the  said  brothers  daily  cele- 
brating Mass,  urgent  in  prayer,  and  diligent  in 
preaching,  from  instigations  of  devotion,  he  gave 
them  the  house  for  a  perpetual  dwelling  ;  and  from 
the  previous  name  of  the  house,  they  were  in  con- 
sequence called  Jacobites  [or  Preachers.']  * 

c  Some  writers  say  there  were  three  sorts  of 
poverty  among  the  Friars  ;  to  have  nothing  either 
of  their  own  or  in  common  {Franciscans,  true  only 
of  some  branches  of  them)  ;  another,  nothing  of 
their  own,  but  something  in  common,  as  books, 
clothes,  and  food  (Dominicans  ;)  the  third,  some- 
thing of  both,  but  only  necessaries,  food  and  clothes. 
Speed  remarks,  that  every  householder  paid  to 
each  of  the  five  orders  of  Friars,  one  penny  per 
quarter;  the  amount  of  which  contribution,  being 
,£43,333.  6s.  Sd.  per  annum,  is  equal  to  a  fourth 
of  the  gross  revenues  of  all  the  other  religious 
houses,  as  given  by  that  author.  Taylor's  Index 
Monast.  Pref.  viii. 


*  "  When  the  Pope  was  going  to  write  to  Domi- 
nick  on  business,  he  said  to  the  notary,  '  Write  to 
master  Dominick  and  the  preaching  brethren  ;'  and 
from  that  time  they  began  to  be  called  the  Friars 
Preachers.''1  Jansenius  Vita  Dominici,  L.  i.  C, 
vi.  p.  44.     Antw.  12mo. 


FRIARS, 


169 


King  nor  Bishop,  says  an  antient  poet, 
"have  any  thing  done  so  soon  as  these 
esteemed  religious;"8  and,  says  Barclay, 
"  the  Freres  have  store  every  day 
of  the  week."b  To  shew  how  they 
were  obtained,  Faustus  the  country- 
man says, 

We  geve  wool  and  cheese,  our  wives  coyne  and  eggs, 
WheD  freres  natter  and  praise  their  proper  legges  ; 

to  which  he  adds,  that  one  had  two 
or  three  cheeses  of  him  for  a  score 
of  pinnes,  and  two  or  three  needles, 
and 

Phillis  gave  coyne  because  he  did  her  charme, 
Ever  sith  that  time  lesse  hath  she  felt  of  harme.c 

Firing  was  given  them  by  grant,d  and 
clothing  sent  by  cart-loads  at  a  time.6 
If  an  estimate  of  their  conduct  may 
be  formed  from  that  of  foreign  religi- 
ous not  long  after  their  cera,  who  resem- 
bled them  in  other  respects,  denial  of 
their  requests  was  extremely  perilous, 
If  refused,  they  were  in  the  habits  of 
extracting  scandal  from  the  servants, 
dispersing  it,  and  sometimes  fabrica- 
ting a  charge  of  heresy,  in  case  they 
had  little  chance  of  injuring  in  the  for- 
mer way.f  They  had  rich  garments  or 
valuable  furniture,  and  delighted  much 
in  having  or  borrowing  moveables  of 
this  kind.?  They  took  persons  with 
them  to  collect  money,  because  they 
could  not  receive  it  themselves.11  Their 
taxes  were  paid  for  them  by  the  nobi- 
lity ;i  and  they  obtained  mansions  and 

a  Nee  Rex  nee  Episcopus,  ut  satis  est  probatum, 
Habent  opus  aliquod  tarn  cito  paraturo, 
Quam  qui  cotidie  vadunt  mendicatum. 

MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  B.  n.  p.  59. 

b  Barclay,  Egl.  i.  c  Id.  5. 

d  Morant's  Colchester,  152. 

e  M.  Paris,  p.  718. 

f  Buchanani  Franciscanus.  "  IlUus  ancillas 
famulosque  accerse  loqv.aces,^  &c.  Poemata;  268. 
Amstel.  12mo.  1637.     See  also  Notices,  v.  408. 

£  Non  habere  debent  apparamenta  aut  preciosa 
vasa  ;  et  fratres  in  hujusmodi  rebus  precipue  glori- 
antur.  MS.  Bodl.  2737,  p.  15.  Insuper  fratres 
non  habeant  nee  mutuent  vasa  aurea  vel  argentea, 
vel  utantur  eisdem,  vel  aliis  jocalibus  preciosis. 
MS.  Bodl.  1882,  p.  49,  b. 

h  Quod  secum  ducat  ad  colligendos  denarius 
receptores.     MS.  Bodl.  2737,  p.  14,  b. 

1  "  In  the  ninth  of  Edward  III.  when  the  houses 
of  the  Friars,  Carmelites,  and  other  houses  of  Friars 
in  Bristol  and  Gloucester,  were  taxed  to  pay  any 
15th  or  other  duty  to  the  king,  this  lord  sent  to 
them  either  all  or  most  part  of  the  money."  MS. 
Lives  of  the  Berkeley  Family,  292. 


dwellings  by  sending  messengers  to 
the  Papal  See,  to  cheat  the  Monks  of 
them,  in  which,  however,  they  received 
a  check.k 

Chaucer^s  Friar  is  a  pleasant  scoun- 
drel, a  religious  Falstaff.  He  was 
wanton  and  merry ;  full  of  dalliance 
and  fair  language ;  had  made  full  many 
a  marriage  of  young  women  at  his  own 
cost ;  was  intimate  with  yeomen  over 
all  the  country  and  worthy  women  of 
the  towns;  was  licentiate  of  his  Order, 
and  had  power  of  confession,  more 
than  any  Curate ;  instead  of  weeping 
and  prayers,  by  way  of  penance,  he  pre- 
scribed money  to  the  "poor  Freres;" 
could  sing  and  play  well;  knew  the 
taverns,  hostelers,  and  tapsters,  in 
every  town,  but  shunned  the  beggars  j1 
courteous  and  lowly  of  service  when 
any  thing  was  to  be  got;  gave  a  certain 
farm  for  his  grant ;  could  toy  like  a 
whelp ;  lisped  somewhat  for  wanton- 
ness, to  make  his  English  sweet  upon 
his  tongue ;  when  begging  at  the  bed 
of  a  sick  man,  he  asks  him  for  his 
money  to  make  their  Cloister,  and  pre- 
tends that  they  had  fared  a  long  while 
upon  muscles  and  oysters  to  raise  mo- 
ney for  it;  that  they  owed  forty  pounds, 
and  if  they  could  not  get  wherewith  to 
pay  it,  must  sell  their  books ;  that  the 
Friars  were  the  sun  of  the  world,  which 
must  go  to  destruction  but  for  their 
preaching,  and  that  Elisha  and  Elias 
were  Friars ;  at  last  he  pretends  that 
they  had  prayed  in  their  Chapter  day 
and  night  for  his  health,  and  adds 
that  a  trifle  is  nothing  parted  among 
twelve. 


k  M.  Paris,  354.  Hence  the  satire  "  Cur  vos 
Nudipedes,  ad  Papse  curritis  sedes  ?"  "  Why,  bare- 
foot Friers,  run  ye  to  the  Pope?"  in  JUS.  Cott. 
Jul.  D.  vii.  p.  128. 

1  And  how  the  Fryers  followed  folke  that  was 
ryche, 
And  folke  that  was  pore  at  little  price  they  set, 
And  no  cors  in  hir  kirkeyard  nor  kirke  was 

buried 
But  quik  he  bequeth  hem  ought  or  quite  part 
of  hir  dets. 

Piers  Plowman,  f.  lxi. 
They  had  standing  hearses  always  ready.     See  Lib. 
Cotid.  Contrar.  Garde  rob.  28  Ed.  I.  p.  46.      And 
compelled  splendid  funerals.      Bale,  i.  664,  5  Ed, 
Oporin. 


170 


FRIARS. 


The  Constitutions  enacted,  that  no 
one  should  become  a  General  Preacher 
before  he  had  studied  theology  for 
three  years.  Persons  fit  were  present- 
ed to  the  General  or  Provincial  Chap- 
ter, and  an  inquiry  was  made  into  their 
characters  from  the  brothers  they  lived 
with.  When  sufficient  attestation  was 
adduced  of  their  learning,  piety,  and 
fervour  of  zeal  in  purpose  and  inten- 
tion, the  decision  was  made,  whether 
they  should  stay  longer  in  study,  or 
whether  they  should  proceed  to  preach 
with  others  more  advanced  in  age,  or 
by  themselves.5  Thus  qualified,  they 
began  their  pernicious  office.  Matthew 
Paris  describes  them  as  expecting  to 
be  received  by  procession,  as  entering 
into  noble  Monasteries13  upon  pretence 
of  performing  their  duty,  and  depart- 
ing on  the  morrow ;  but  instead,  feign- 
ing sickness,  and  making  a  temporary 
wooden  super  altar,  receiving  the  confes- 
sion of  many  parishioners,  to  the  injury 
of  the  Parish  Priests.0  In  1246  the  Friars 
Preachers  obtained  the  Papal  licence  to 
hear  confessions  and  enjoin  penances 
any  where.     They  called  the  Secular 


Clergy  idiots ;  and  those  who  were 
restrained  from  committing  sin  by 
unwillingness  that  their  Parish  Priests 
should  know  it,  encouraged  themselves 
by  saying,  we  will  confess  to  some  Friar 
passing  this  way,  whom  we  have  never 
seen  before,  and  shall  never  see  again.d 
Erasmus  mentions  a  Parish  Priest  who 
refused  them  hospitality,  because,  said 
he,  if  you  should  see  any  poultry  in  my 
house,  I  should  be  traduced  in  your 
sermon  to-morrow.e  With  the  great 
they  were  the  favourite  Confessors ; f 
they  strove  to  be  inmates  at  the  houses 
of  nobles,  to  gain  favour  with  whom 
they  suppressed  the  truth,  taught  them 
fables  and  falsehoods,  and  often,  to 
extort  money,  preached  matters  con- 
trary to  the  true  faith.?  The  Pope 
ordered  them,  when  attending  dying 
people,  to  persuade  them  to  make  their 
wills  to  the  use  and  help  of  the  Holy 
Land,  that  he  might  extort  money 
upon  recovery,  or  from  executors  upon 
deceased  Nor  was  their  preaching 
practical  and  useful ;  for,  says  Robert 
Langland, 


Friars  and  fel1  other  masters  that  to  the  lewd  men  preachen 
Ye  moven  matters  immesurabie  to  tel  of  the  trynity 
That  ofttimes  the  lewde  people  of  their  beliefe  douten.k 


They  took  vows  of  chastity  from 
women,  or  induced  them  to  pay  obe- 
dience to  themselves;  became  judges 
and  arbiters;  and  on  St.  Nicholas's 
day,  about  the  time  of  the  Feast  of 
Fools,  put  on  secular,  clerical,  or  female 
garments,    and  lent  their  own  to  lay 

a  Statuimus  ne  ullus  fiat  prsedicator  generalis 
antequam  theologiam  audierit  per  tres  annos.  MS . 
Cott.  Nero,  A.  xn.  171,  b.  Post  hsec  qui  idonei 
ad  prsedicandum  ab  aliquibus  estimantur  prsesentes 
capitulo  generali,  vel  provinciali,  ubi  diligenter 
inquiratur  a  fratribus,  cum  quibus  conversati  sunt, 
&c.  de  studio  et  religione,  et  caritatis  fervore  in 
proposito  ac  intentione  ;  utrum  ipsi  fratres  adhuc 
in  studio  debeant  morari,  vel  cum  fratribus  provec- 
tioribus  in  prsedicatione  exeant,  vel  idonei  sint  vel 
utiles  per  se  prtedicatoris  omcium  exercere.  Id. 
168.  b. 

b  At  St.  Alban's  a  hostrey  was  built  on  purpose 
for  them  below  the  gate  of  the  court,  and  they 
came  there  almost  every  day  to  dine  or  preach. 
M.  Paris,  715. 

c  P.  354.  This  is  admirably  ridiculed  in  the 
Funus  of  Erasmus, 


persons  for  secular  games  and  sports.1 


d  M.  Paris,  p.  607,  8. 

"■  Colloq.  269,  §  Franciscani. 

f  "  For  sith  charitie  was  chapman  and  chefe  to 
shrive  hordes."     Piers  Plowm.  f.  i.  b. 

s  Tu,  Carmelita,  (Chaucer's  Friar  in  the  Sompn. 
tale  was  of  that  order,)  mundum  deserere  quseris, 
ac  nobilium  domos  frequentare  anhelas.  Favere 
magnatibus  divitibusque  cupiens  veritatem  taces, 
fabulas  et  fallacias  doces,  et  ut  saspe  pecuniam 
extorqueas  fidei  contraria  prsedicas.  MS.  Harl. 
1819,  f.  120,  b.     (Sermo  Johan.  Egidii.) 

h  M.  Par.  753.  They  were  very  reluctantly  the 
Pope's  agents.     Id.  696. 

1  Many.  k  F.  lxxviii. 

1  Item  nullus  frater  a  muliere  votum  continentiae 
requirat,  seu  oblatum  recipiat,  seu  ad  faciendam 
sibi  obedientiam  inducat.  Item  fratres  non  sint  judi- 
ces  nee  arbitri.  MS.  Bodl.  1882,  f.  54.  Caveant 
fratres  in  festo  S.  Nicholai,  &c.  ne  vestes  exeuntes 
religiosas,  seu  seculares,  autclericales,velmuliebres 
. . .  sub  specie  devotionis  induerent,  nee  habitus  aut 
vestes  ordinis  secularibus  pro  ludis  faciendis,  aut 
secularibus  velom'  accommodenter.  Id.  51 .  b.  From 
this  it  seems  most  probable,  that  the  Friar  in  the 
morris-dance  was  not  an  actual  Franciscan,  as  Mr, 


FKIARS 


171 


Erasmus  says,  that  he  had  seen  a 
Domestic  Fool,  who  wore  the  long  gown 
and  cap  of  a  Doctor  of  Divinity ;  ob- 
served a  grave  look,  and  disputed 
upon  subjects  with  as  much  enter- 
tainment of  great  men,  as  any  other 
Fool.a  Eating  with  Seculars,,  the 
Canonists  decided,  was  allowable  to 
them  as  a  fit  return  for  the  services 
rendered  to  them.b 

They  denied  that  their  Rule  pre- 
scribed labour,  obtained  Papal  letters, 
and  glossed  the  Rule  to  their  own  liking.0 
Admitted  murderers  into  their  society/ 
and  obtained  money  to  procure  par- 
dons for  condemned  criminals,6  were 
great  liars/  and  contentious,^  fraudu- 
lent, usurious,  simoniacal,  rapacious, 
proud,  and  domineering  over  others, 
epicures,  hated  long  prayers,  dreaded 
penances,h  haunted  suspicious   places 


Toilet  supposed,  but  a  Ssecular  to  whom  the  habit 
was  lent. 

a  Franciscani    Colloq.  277. 

b  Nam  qui  alterius  negotium  gerit  utilitatis,  et 
ignorantis  et  absentis  licite  recipit  expensas  ;  unde 
satis  videtur  per  hoc  quod  fratres  prsedicatores,  qui 
eunt  ad  rap  tores  ut  eos  inducant  ad  poenitentiam  et 
restitutionem  faciendam,  excusari  [debent]  si  come- 
dant  apud  illos  maxime,  si  non  possunt  invenire 
cibos  apud  alios.  Raymundi  Summula.  MS.  Pemb. 
Coll.  Libr.  Oxford. 

c  Dicunt  esse  errorcm,  illud  quod  in  sua  regula 
continetur.  Dicitur  enim  in  regula  isto  modo. 
Fratres  quibus  dedit  gratiam  laborandi  laborent 
fideliter  et  devote.  MS.  Bodl.  2737.  Regula 
Francisei  precipit  quod  verba  regulse  non  glosentur ; 
et  fratres  laborant  ut  verborum  sensus  tollantur, 
specialiter  de  Uteris  a  sede  apostolica  non  petendis. 
Id.  14.  b.  (This  was  the  grand  source  of  conten- 
tion between  the  mild  and  austere  Franciscans.) 

d  M.  Paris,  775.  The  motive  here  was  probably 
not  so  pure  as  the  Magdalen  principle  (Ecce  ovis 
errans)  upon  which  a  thief  was  admitted,  in  MS. 
Harl.  2385,  f.  517.  e  Id.  792. 

f  "  Falsenes  for  feare  then  fledde  to  the  Friers." 
Piers  Plowman,  f.  xi.  a. 

s  "lam  wrath,  quod  he,  I  was  continually  a 
Fryer."  Id.  fol.  xxiii.  Gravis  culpa  est,  si  quis 
inhonestum  (sic)  in  audiencia  sseclariorum  cum 
aliquo  contendit;  si  frater  cum  fratre  intus  vel 
exterius  lites  habuerit.  MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xn.  f. 
161 ,  a.  (It  is  a  great  fault  if  there  are  any  disgraceful 
contentions  in  the  hearing  of  Sseculars,  if  one  Friar 
quarrels  with  another,  either  in  door  or  out.) 

h  Ceteros  vero  terrenis  inhserentes  avaricise  stu- 
dio, fraudibus,  usuris,  symonia  rapinaque  loculos  et 
cor  (quod  insaciabile  est)  anxia  cum  solicitudine 
implere  concupiscere  vides.  MS.  Harl.  1819,  f. 
120,  a.  Alios  nempe  ambitione  superbos  videtis 
aliis  dominare  velle,  f.  120,  a.  Tu  vero  guise  deli- 
cias  quseris,  f.  120,  b.  Video  vos  prsestantissimi 
fratres  oratione,  longiore  affici  twdio,  f,  121,  a. 


to  enjoy  gossipping,  and  made  idle  and 
useless  visits  to  women,  and  received 
presents  from  some  of  them  of  bad 
character,1  for  with  the  women  they 
were  great  favourites  : 

For  when  the  godeman  is  fro  hame, 
And  ye  frere  comes  to  onie  dame, 
He  spares  nought  for  synne  ne  shame. 
If  women  seme  of  hert  full  stable, 
With  faire  behest  and  with  fable 
Yay  can  make  yer  hertes  chaungeable.k 

This  favour  was  additionally  gained 
perhaps  by  their  military  manners  and 
habit.  We  have  had  Bishops  famous 
Generals,  as  Peter  de  Rupibus,  Bishop 
of  Winchester;!  and  Knighton  de- 
scribes one  John  of  the  Franciscan 
Order  as  "brave  in  warlike  arms;"111 
and  John  Giles  reproaches  the  Car- 
melites with  dressing  like  soldiers  in 
the  same  stuff  and  like  particularity.11 
Hence  too  the  irony  of  these  lines : 

Prieste  ne  Monke  ne  no  Chanon, 

Ne  no  man  of  religion, 

Gyfen  so  to  devocion, 

As  don  thes  holy  Frers, 

For  some  gyven  ham  to  Chivalry, 

Some  to  riote  and  ribaudry, 

But  Freres  gyven  ham  to  grete  study.0 

On  the  favourable  side  there  appear 
instances  of  disinterestedness,  in  re- 
jecting a  royal  present  of  clothing 
criminally  obtained  ;P  of  their  religious 
zeal,  in  attempting  the  conversion  of 
the  Jews  ;<i  of  their  learning  in  being 


Multi  nempe  religionis  posnitentias  horrentes  nedum 
juvenes,  sed  et  setate  cani  ....  in  luxurias  laqueo 
capiuutur,  f   122,  b. 

1  Insuper  firmiter  inhibemus  ut  loca  suspecta, 
fabulaciones,  visitationes  mulierum  viciosas  et 
inutiles  penitus  caveatis  ....  Prohibentes  nihilo- 
minus  ne  munuscula  a,  suspectis  mulieribus  capian- 
tur.     MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xn.  f.  157,  b. 

k  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  B.  n.  f.  62,  63. 

I  See  Grose's  Military  Antiquities,  i.  69.  Anglia 
Sacra,  &c. 

m  In  bellicis  armis  strenuus.     Sub.  a°  1381. 

II  Tu  ut  miles  eodem  panno  eaque  curiositate 
vestiaris.  MS.  Harl.  1819,  p.  120,  b.  See  also 
M.  Paris,  630. 

"But  nothing  is  viler,  nor  moving  more  to  wepe, 
Than  a  Priest  a  rayler,  disdaining  his  honour, 
Or  clothed  as  a  Courtiour,  or  cruel  Soldiour, 
With  weapon  or  armour,  as  one  ready  to  fight." 

Barclay,  §  Preface  to  "  Mirror  of  good  Manners." 
0  MS.   Cott.  ut  supr.  f.  26.      Grete  study  is 

perhaps  mere  irony.     See  sect.  Studies. 
p  M.  Paris,  p.  718. 
?  Toyey's  Apglia  Judaica,  p,  216;  seq. 


172 


FRIARS, 


collectors  of  books  for  literary  Prelates/ 
and  referees  in  heretical  matters.b 

I  shall  conclude  this  account  with 
the  description  of  them,  given  by  the 
revered  Wickliff. 

i{  And  here  men  noten  many  harmes 
yat  Freris  doen  y  the  cherch;  yei 
spuyle  ye  peple  many  weies  by  ypo- 
crisie  or  other  lesyngis  [lies]  ;  and  bi 
these  lesyngis/  and  bi  this  spuylinge, 
yei  bilden  caymes  d  castels,  to  harm  of 
cuntries ;  yei  stelen  pore  mennes  chil- 
dren6 yat  is  worse  yan  stele  an  oxe; 
and  yei  stelen  gladlich  eiris.  I  leve 
to  speke  of  stelyng  of  wymen  ;  and  yat 
thei  maken  londis  bareyne,  for  wyth- 
drawing  of  werkmen  not  aloonli  in 
defaute  of  cornes,  but  in  beestis  and 
oyir  good;  for  yei  reversen  Goddis 
ordynaunce  in  preceptis  of  the  chirche, 
yei  maken  men  to  trowe  fals  on  hem, 
and  letten  almes  to  be  gomin  by  Goddis 
lawe  \i.  e.  hinder  their  being  given 
according  to  God^s  law]  ;  and  thos  yei 
letten  by  gabbingis  [idle  talk,  lies] 
office  and  luf  of  trewe  prestis,  for  hei 
letten  [hinder]  hem  for  to  preche/  and 
speciali  Christes  gospel ;  yei  move 
londis  to  batels  and  pesible  persones 
to  plete  ;  yei  maken  many  divorsis  and 
many  matrimonyes  unleeful,  bothe  by 
leesyngis  made  to  parties  andbipravy- 
leges  of  the  court.  I  leve  to  speke  of 
flzting  yat  yei  doen  in  oor  lond  and 
other,  and  of  other  bodili  harmes  yat 

a  Cave's  PJistoria  Literaria  Prolegom.  p.  111. 

b  Spenser's  Life  of  Chicheley,  75. 

c  Abbas  de  Bruereimplacitavitfratres  prsedicato- 
res  Lond'  in  Gwy  Aula  de  uno  mes'  ibidem  qui 
dixerunt  quod  non  debeant  respondere  sine  rege  qui 
eis  tenementa  sua  in  puram  eleemosynam  confir- 
mavit.  Et  quia  dominus  rex  dictum  mesuag'  eis 
non  dedit,  q\iod  respondeant  ulterius  eidem.  (i.  e. 
the  Abbot  of  Bruere  has  a  trial  with  the  Friars 
Preachers  of  London,  in  Guild  Hall,  of  a  messuage 
there ;  and  the  Friars  say  that  they  are  not  to  answer 
to  it  without  the  king,  who  confirmed  it  to  them  in 
pure  alms.  And  because  our  lord  the  king  did  not 
give  it  to  them,  that  they  answer  further  to  the  same.) 
Rot.  Pari.  18  E.  I.  N°  15.  (vol.  i.) 

d  Caym  is  Cain,  a  synonym  ;  and  by  this  term 
Wickliff  designated  the  four  mendicant  Orders, 
from  the  initials  C,  Carmelites,  A,  Augustinians,  J, 
Jacobites,  M,  Minors.     See  Fuller. 

c  There  were  laws  against  this.  St.  4  H.  IV. 
C,  17.  They  were  to  receive  no  infants  into  their 
Order  under  14  years  of  age,  without  consent  of 
parents.     Parliament.  Rolls,  4  H.  IV. 

f  Well  exposed  by  Erasmus  in  hjs  Colloquies. 


tung  is  sufficen  not  to  telle ;  for  as 
moche  as  yei  dispende,  as  moche  and 
more  yei  harmen  rewmes  ....  but,  as 
spyritual  thing  is  better  than  bodili 
thing,  that  Ihe  mai  see,  so  spiritual 
harm  is  more  yan  bodili  harm ;  yei 
dooen  him  gostth  harm  and  al  man- 
kinde;  whereof  yei  ben  and  is  thou  seist 
that  non  be  freris ;  but  if  yei  ben,  ye 
better  to  God;  for  holinesse  of  ther 
cumpany  maketh  many  goode  that  ellis 
wolden  be  schrewis;£  stryve  we  not 
when  this  may  falle;  but  graunteweon 
tothir  side  that  many  wolde  be  lesse 
yvel  out  of  these  ordris  than  in  hem ; 
and  sith  they  witen  not  who  is  beterid 
by  entryng  into  yese  ordris  they  doen 
as  a  blynd  man  castyth  his  staff  to 
bring  ony  to  ther  ordir.  Crist  seyth 
that  Pharisees  been  to  blame  for  this 
dede,  and  Scarioth  was  the  worse  for 
beeing  in  this  hooly  cumpany  he  hadde 
not  thus  traied  Crist  and  be  moost 
unkinde  traitour ;  and  sith  coven tis  of 
freris  ben  schrewis  for  the  moest  part 
or  moche  no  wonder  yf  thei  envenime 
men  that  come  thus  unto  them  for 
yhei  moven  to  oolde  errours  yat  thei 
h olden  among  them,  as  thei  tellen  to 
grete  avaunt  yat  thei  be  charioush  to 
the  peple  in  ther  synful  begging,  and 
zit  yei  blasfemen  m*  Crist,  and  seien 
that  he  beggide  thus,  to  maynteyne 
ther  owne  syne :  suche  blasfemyes  be 
founden  and  contynued  in  these  sectis, 
that  unethis  thei  be  evir  purgid  fro5 
servyce  that  thei  ben  browzt  in  as  Crist 
techyth  in  his  gospel.  Now  what  men 
shulde  snybbe  ther  britheren  in  their 
tymis  and  aftirward  forsake  ther  cum- 
pany as  venim  3  thes  sectis  han  fordo 
the  gospel ;  for  nether  thei  doen  thus 
snybbe  their  britheren,  ne  forsake  them 
at  the  farye  time ;  for  yf  yei  doen  yei 
schulen  be  deed  or  enprysoned  long 
tyme;  ellis  haastily  be  killed;  and 
whanne   synne    regneth    among   grete 

s  Persons  of  bad  temper  and  habits.      Tyrwhitt. 
It  is  a  loose  general  term  for  bad  people.     See 
Paston  Letters,  iv.  22.     State  Trials,  19,  col.  2. 
h  Of  some  poor  freers  is  made  more  curiously, 
Then  is  some  abbey  or  riche  monastery, 
The  first  hath  their  trust  in  God  our  creatour, 
.    The  other  trusteth  upon  their  vayne  treasour. 
Barclay's  Egloges,  Egl.  i, 


FRIARS. 


173 


men,  and  thei  dreden  of  worldli  harm, 
thei  doen  not  snybbe  men  of  thys  synne 
leest  ther  ordir  leese  worldli  helpe ; 
but  wher  is  more  heresie  than  to  love 
this  ordre  more  than  God,  or  to 
do  yvellis  for  hope  of  good,  that  Poul 
forfendyn  men  to  do.  Also  yese 
sectis  empugne  the  gospel,  and  also 
the  oold  lawe,  for  thei  chargen  more 
yer  owne  statute,  al  if  it  be  agens  God- 
dis  lawe,  a  yan  yei  doen  the  lawe  of  the 
gospel,  and  yus  thei  loven  more  ther 
ordre  than  Crist ;  al  if  it  were  never  so 
moche  nede  to  go  out  and  preche  God- 
dis  lawe,  to  defende  our  modir  holi 
churche,  zit  yer  ordir  letteth  this  but 
if  yei  han  ther  priour's  leve,  al  if  God 
bidde  to  do  this ;  and  communli  thes 
privat  priours  lette  ther  felowis  here  to 
go  out,b  and  so  be  thei  never  so  riche, 
thei  schulen  not  helpe  ther  fleshli  eldres 
(erased),  for  all  ther  goodis  ben  ye 
housis  sith  they  have  nowgt  propre  but 
synne,  and  thys  errour  repruveth  Crist 
in  the  Pharisees,  yat  sizen  the  gnat  and 
swallowen  the  camel ;  for  yei  chargen 
lesse  more  harm ;  also  thes  Pharisees 
chargen  moche  ther  fastyngis  and 
other  thyngis,  that  thei  han  foundun  ; 
but  kepyng  of  Goddis  mauntementes 
thei  chargen  not  halfe  so  moche,  as  he 
schulde  be  holden  Apostata  that  lefe 
ye  abite  for  a  daie,  but  for  levyng  of  de- 
dys  of  charite  schulde  he  nothyng  be 
blamed;  and  thus  yei  blasfemen  in  God, 
and  seien  whoso  dieth  in  this  abyte 
schall  never  go  to  helle,c  for  holynesse 

a  See  Menagiana,  i.  302. 

b  There  are  Limitours,  Friars  allowed  to  beg  and 
preach  within  limits,  and  Listers,  without  bounds. 

c  Quidam  monachi  dicunt  omnes  esse  monachos, 
qui  in  paradiso  erunt,  vel  potius  nullum  ibi  esse  non 
monachum.  (Certain  Monks  say,  that  all  are  Monks 
who  shall  gain  Heaven  ;  or  rather  that  there  is  no 
one  there  not  a  Monk.)  MS.  Royal  Library,  7.  A. 
III.  (No  pages. )  Accordingly,  it  is  no  wonder  some 
people  were  desirous  of  being  buried  in  their  habits; 
but  others  took  care  not  to  wear  it  while  living. 
Lewis  the  Landgrave  said,  "  As  soon  as  I  am  dead, 
put  on  me  the  hood  of  the  Cistertian  Order  ;  but 
take  very  diligent  care  not  to  do  it  while  I  am  alive." 
(Mox  ut  mortuus  fuero  cucullam  ordinis  Cister- 
ciensis  mihi  induite,  et  ne  fiat  me  vivente  diligen- 
tissime  cavete.)  Many  took  the  habit  in  sickness, 
and  afterwards  left  it.  MuratoriRer.  Italic.  Scrip- 
tores,  iv.  316.  The  Monthly  Reviewers  for  May, 
1801,  p.  77,  have  extracted  a  curious  passage  from 
Mr.  Gough's  Monuments  on  this  subject. 


that  is  therein  ;«l  and  so  ayens  Cristis 
sentence,  they  semen  an  oolde  cloute 
in  a  newe  cloeth,  for  yer  order  yei  sein 
is  gederid  of  the  old  lawe  and  the 
newe ;  and  zit  thei  han  founden  herto 
newe  thingis,  that  thei  kepon  as  gos- 
pel ;  and  thus  thei  chargen  ther  owne 
fasting  and  other  ritis  that  thei  kepen, 
more  than  biddyngis  of  Crist,  for  thei 
ben  no  newe  maundementis  to  them. 
Suche  hid  sinnes  among  freres  doen 
more  harm  to  christen  men  than  ben 
the  bodili  harmes,  which  the  world 
chargyth  more;  and  thes  errour s  in  the 
world  ben  hyth  maynteynid  by  freres, 
for  wynning  of  worldli  good  or  worldli 
worschip  that  thei  covetin,e  as  lettris 
of  fraternity/  and   dowring    of   other 


d  Sir  Thomas  More  said  to  his  Lady,  that  the 
consideration  of  the  time  (for  it  was  Lent)  should 
restrayne  her  from  so  scolding  her  servants;  "  Tush, 
Tush,  my  Lord,'1'1  said  she,  "■looke,  here  is  one  step 
to  heavenward,''1  shewing  him  a  Frier's  girdle.  "/ 
fearme,v  said  he,  "this  one  step  will  not  bring  you 
up  a  step  higher.''  Camden's  Remains,  276.  Thus 
it  appears,  that  Ladies  wore  Friers'  girdles  in  Lent. 

e  I  found  ther  the  fryers,  all  the  four  orders, 
Preached  to  the  people  for  profite  of  hemselves, 
Glosed  the  gospel  as  hem  good  liked. 

Piers  Plowman,  Fol.  i.  b. 
See  too  Maitland's  London,  i.  142.  Of  getting 
wills  made  in  their  favour,  see  Rapin,  iv.  437.  It 
is  well  known  they  were  great  instruments  of  sedi- 
tion. Wickliff  himself  (and  others)  says,  "  Yf  they 
seien  that  it  (the  host)  is  goddis  body,  and  many 
freris  seien  the  contrary.''  MS.  Roy.  Lib.  18.  B. 
IX.  f.  187,  b. 

f  For  while  Fortune  is  thy  friend,  Friers  will  the 
love,  [beseche 

And  fetche  the  to  their  fraternitie  and  for  the 
To  her  prior  provinciall  a  pardon  to  have. 

Piers  Plowman,  f.  liii.  b. 

There  were  letters  of  fraternity,  of  various  kinds. 
"  Lay  people  of  all  sorts,  men  and  women,  married 
and  single,  desired  to  be  inrolled  in  spiritual  frater- 
nities, as  thereby  enjoying  the  spirituall  prerogatives 
of  pardon,  indulgence,  and  speedy  dispatch  out  of 
purgatory."  Smith's  Lives  of  the  Berkeley  Family, 
MS.  iii.  443.  Those,  however  of  the  Friers  had  a 
peculiar  sanctity.  Piers  Plowman,  speaking  of  the 
day  of  judgment,  says, 

A  poke  full  of  pardon,  ne  provincial  letters 

Though  ye  be  founden  in  the  fraternitie  of  the 
iiii  orders.  f.  xxxviii.  b. 

These  letters  of  fraternity  are  of  the  most  remote 
antiquity,  and  several  of  them  have  been  published. 
There  were  also  letters  of  fraternity  between  diffe- 
rent Convents  for  mutual  defence  ;  for,  in  the  year 
1251,  certain  Prelates  and  Religious,  finding  that 
the  Popes  and  Bishops,  formerly  their  friends, 
became  their  persecutors  and  oppressors,  combined 
together,  that  bearing  one  another's  burthens,  they 
might  be  less  heavily  felt  (M.  Paris,  700  ;)  and  a 
similar  thing  was  enjoined  in  1444,  on  account  of 


174 


FRIARS, 


prestes  al  if  it  be  agens  himself,  is 
stifle  susteyned  bi  freris,  and  so  men 
sufficen  not  to  tell  insensible  errours 
that  thei  susteynen,  and  zit  for  privy- 
lege  of  the  Pope,  none  othir  man  dar 
blame  hem,  for  thei  ben  exempt  fro 
Goddis  lawe  bi  prevelygees  that  they 

general  dislike.  Cap.  Gen.  Northamp.  ejusd.  arm. 
cap.  ix.  It  seems,  that  by  letters  of  confederation 
between  different  houses  (it  is  not  precisely  men- 
tioned of  what  kind),  the  Monks  bound  themselves 
down  to  what  they  could  not  perform,  and  on  this 
account  a  remedy  was  to  be  found  by  the  General 
Chapter.  Reyn.  Append.  108.  W.  Thorne  men- 
tions agreements  between  different  houses  to  receive 
in  hospitality  each  the  other's  Monks  ;  also  if  any 
Monk,  not  convicted  of  a  notorious  crime,  came 
there,  he  was  to  be  charitably  entertained  till  con- 
signed in  peace  to  his  own  house  ;  and  if  an  Abbot 
was  elected  from  another  house,  the  brethren  of 
such  house  were  to  come  to  the  other  to  celebrate 
the  election  canonically.  C.  16,  sect.  9.  C.  23, 
sect.  4.  C.  28,  sect.  8.  The  object  of  some  of  these 
confederations  was,  that  the  Monks,  when  driven 
from  one  place,  should  have  a  refuge  in  another. 
Ibid.  They  lapsed  into  oblivion  in  many  places, 
though  preserved  at  St.  Augustine's,  Canterbury. 
W.  Thorne,  1924.  The  spiritual  privileges  of  the 
first  kind  of  letters  of  fraternity  were  also  extended 
to  Monks,  Clerks,  and  Canons  ;  and  such  perons 
were  called  Fratres  externi.  Du  Cange,  in  voce. 
The  form  of  admitting  a  Monk  into  fraternity  was 
this :  he  was  introduced  into  the  Chapter ;   and, 


hangetun;  but  Peter  was  not  exempt 
fro  scharp  snybbyng  of  Poul  theiling 
that  John  forfendide  hath  no  virtu 
among  these  freris ;  for  they  saluten 
often  fiendis  more  than  thei  doe  Cristis 
children."3 

after  Benedicite,  prostrated  himself  on  the  step  ; 
the  question  was  then  put,  what  he  wanted,  which 
was  suitably  answered  by  the  Abbot,  who  ordered 
him  to  rise,  and  he  received  the  society  of  the  house 
by  the  book  of  the  Rule.  The  Abbot  then  gave 
him  the  kiss  of  peace,  which  he  returned  by  pro- 
stration at  his  feet ;  then  he  returned  to  the  step, 
made  three  genuflexions,  and  the  Monks  continued 
bowing  to  him  till  he  went  to  the  seat  the  Abbot 
ordered.  To  an  Abbot  the  Convent  rose  when  he 
entered  the  Chapter,  and  he  sat  next  the  Prelate  of 
the  house,  and  kissed  the  Monks  when  they  left 
the  Chapter.  A  Secular  person  took  the  society 
upon  the  Gospel,  and,  if  male,  kissed  the  Monks  in 
circuit.  Dec.  Lanfr.  Wickliff  takes  another 
opportunity  of  censuring  these  letters  of  fraternity. 
See  Dialogi,  pars  4,  c.  30,  fol.  cxlix.  seq.  of  the 
Ed.  1525,  of  which,  as  being  excessively  scarce,  it 
is  necessary  to  note,  there  are  two  later  editions, 
and  perhaps  more. 

N.  B.  The  curious  reader  will  find  much  valuable 
information  of  the  Mendicant  Orders  in  one  of 
the  Chapters  of  Mr.  Warton's  History  of  English 
Poetry. 

a  MS.  Roy.  Libr.  18.  B.  IX.  f.  186,  7.  (Wickliff's 
Omelies.)  They  were  printed,  I  believe,  in  the 
16th  century  at  Leipsic. 


NOVICES, 


175 


CHAPTER  XXIX, 


NOVICES. 


The  profession  of  Monachism  was 
considered  as  a  kind  of  second  bap- 
tism :a  but  the  main  motive  for  being 
so  baptised^  was,  it  seems,  good  eating.b 
Except,  however,  in  the  Mendicant 
Orders,  who  stole  and  kidnapped  chil- 
dren, this  privilege  was  by  no  means 
easily  obtained.  The  difficulty  suffi- 
ciently appears^  by  the  king^s  some- 
times sending  letters  to  request  admis- 
sion for  certain  persons,0  and  founders 
and  benefactors  reserving  a  right  of 
having  a  Monk  or  Nun  of  their  own 
appointments  Instances  are  upon 
record  of  poverty  and  insufficiency, 
upon  examination,  being  respectively 
causes  of  rejection,  and  of  a  preference 
given  to  noble  or  at  least  legitimate 
birth  being  complained  of.e  John, 
21st  Abbot  of  St.  Albany  made  a 
statute,  that  the  number  of  Monks  in 
that  Abbey  should  never  exceed  100, 
unless  any  person  was  famous  for  rank 
or  science,  or  his  admission  requested 
by  a  powerful  man,  whom  it  might  be 
dangerous  to  offend.f  Richard  the 
First  complained  of  the  Monks  and 
Canons  of  his  sera,  that  they  associated 
to  themselves  tanners  and  shoe-makers, 
not  one  of  whom  ought,  with  propriety, 
or  his  knowledge,  to  be  made  a  Bishop 
or  Abbot  ;&  and  this  complaint,  which 
is  re-echoed  in  the  Plowman's  tale, 
erroneously  ascribed  to  Chaucer,  re- 
ceives further  confirmation  by  an 
injunction  [from  the  Augustinian 
Rule],  that  "suche  as  enter  power  into 
Religion  [should  not]  looke  with  hye 
contynaunce  because  they  be  associat 


a  Calvin,  Instit.  Theol.  451. 

b  Ut  bene  pascant  omnes  cupiunt  monachari, 

Moab  et  Agarem,  Gebal  et  Amnion. 

All  wisb  to  be  Monks  for  tbe  sake  of  good 
eating,  &c.  MS.  Harl.  913,  f.  55. 

c  Monast.  ii.  804.  d  Id.  i.  691. 

e  M.  Par.  268,  995,  996,  1016,  1019. 
*  Id.  (2d.)  1043.  k  Gervas,  1595. 


with  theym,  unto  whom  they  durste 
not  come,  when  they  were  abrode  in 
the  worlde."  h  Benedict  allowed  pre- 
sents to  be  made  at  admission  of 
Monks,  provided  that  the  use  of  them 
was  reserved  by  the  donors  for  their 
lives.1  Simony,  however,  was  common 
under  the  name  of  the  price  of  their 
clothes,  and  customs  of  the  house  ;k  and 
lands  were  frequently  given,  as  the 
purchase  of  admission.1  Sometimes 
only  mere  interest  was  used ;  "  Also 
she  had  two  doughters,  whiche  bothe 
were  made  Nonnes  at  Catesby  in  North- 
amptonshire, by  the  labor  of  theyr 
broder  Edmunde/'  m 

The  age  of  admission  and  profession 
it  is  not  very  easy  to  decide.  In  some 
Rules,  the  boys  offered  to  Monasteries 
were  not  to  be  younger  than  ten  or 
twelve  years,  because  they  did  not 
then  require  attention,  and  knew  how 
to  avoid  faults.11  Any  Monk,  say  the 
Clugniac  Rules,  can  offer  a  boy,  and 
the  Chamberlain  then  took  him  to  the 
Vestiary,  and  clothed  him  in  the 
habit  of  a  Novice,  except  that  he  did 
not  wear  a  stamin,  but  a  linen  shirt. 
He  was  then  offered  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  a  boy  presentedby  his  parents ;  and 
he  was  professed  at  fifteen  years  of  age. 
The  Monks  of  St.  Augustine^  Can- 
terbury, obtained  a  bull,  that  boys 
under  fifteen  years  of  age  should  not 
be  received  in  the  house,  because  seve- 
ral Abbots,  through  fear  or  interest, 
had  admitted  children  to  the  habit  who 
had  scarcely  left  the  breast.0  In  the 
Anglo-Saxon  period  four  infants,  not 
seven  years  old,  were  educated  under 


h  MS.  Bodl.  3010.  *  Reg.  C.  59. 

k  Cone.  Oxon.  a0  1222.  Can.  39.  Dev.  Vie 
Mon.  ii.  497,  501,  4. 

1  Monast.  i.  39,  42. 

m  Gold.  Leg.  cexvii. 

n  Du  Cange,  v.  Nutriti  Oblati. 

•  Chronol.  August.  Cant.  &  W.  Tho.  C.  12. 
sect.  13. 


176 


NOVICES. 


the  Rule  of  Religion.*1  Hugh  the 
Lincolne  Saint,  Ci  whan  he  was  ten 
yere,  was  put  into  a  Monastery  for  to 
lerne  the  rules  of  discypline,  and  there 
was  made  and  professyd  a  Chanon 
reguler ;  wherein  he  lyvid  so  devoutly 
that  when  he  was  xv  yere  olde  he  was 
deputet  for  to  be  a  Priour  of  a  certayn 
celle/' b  One  William  Pigun,  a  Monk 
of  St.  Alban's,  applied  to  his  Abbot  for 
the  admission  of  a  nephew;  but  the 
Abbot  declined  it  "because  he  was 
under  age,  and  therefore  unfit;"  but 
he  was  nevertheless  received  at  Peter- 
borough, c  The  Canons  ordered  no  one 
to  be  professed  a  Monk  till  eighteen 
years  old,  without  a  necessity,  as  a 
deficiency  of  Monks  for  divine  service, 
or  utility,  as  powerful  connections, 
skill  in  art  or  science,  or  temporal  wis- 
dom. This  statute,  Canonists  said, 
was  special  in  islands,  on  account  of  the 
superior  severity  of  the  climate  and 
religion,  but  they  confessed  that  they 
did  not  find  it  observed  even  there.d 
Alexander  III.  forbad  any  profession 
of  virginity  till  the  age  of  fourteen 
years;  the  council  of  Trent  till  sixteen; 
more  ancient  councils  till  twenty-five ; 
Gregory  the  First  not  before  sixty; 
Bellarmin  till  the  age  of  puberty, 
fourteen  in  males,  and  twelve  in 
females.43  There  was  a  statute  made, 
that  boys  under  twelve  years  of  age, 
should  not  be  received  by  the  Mendi- 
cants into  their  Orders ;  which  was 
opposed  by  William  Folville,  a  Fran- 
ciscan of  Lincoln.f  The  renewal  of 
the  Gregorian  statutes  ordered  no  No- 
vice to  be  professed  till  he  had  attained 
his  fifteenth  year,  and  the  Convent  of 
St.  A  man's  returned  "observed,"  to 
this  as  well  as  other  points  of  the 
Benedictine  Rule  on  this  head,  except 
that  they  were  admitted  to  profession 
before  the  terminations  of  the  year  of 
probation.11      A  General   Chapter1    of 

a  Hist.  Rames.  C.  lxvii.      They  did  not  become 
Monks. 

b  Gold.  Leg.  f.  ccxviii.  b.        c  M.  Par.  1048. 

(1  Lyndw.  202.     Fuller's  Ch.  Hist.  297. 

e  Le  Voeu  de  Jacob,  iv.  29. 

f  Fabric.  Biblioth.  M.  Mvi,  iii.  432. 

e  Deer.  Lanfr.  C.  18.       h  M.  Par.  1098, 1040. 

1  North.  ac  1225.  sect.  De  Proprietate. 


the  thirteenth  century  enacted,  that 
unless  from  commendable  utility, 
Monks  should  not  be  received  under 
twenty  years  of  age.  The  general  sta- 
tutes of  the  Franciscans,  in  the  recep- 
tion of  Novices,  prescribe,  that,  "they 
shall  be  legitimately  born,  and  sixteen 
years  old  at  least; "k  and  Henry's  visi- 
tors order,  " that  no  man  be  sufferyd 
to  professe,  or  to  were  the  habit  of  reli- 
gion in  this  house,  or  he  be  xxiiii  years 
of  age ;  and  that  they  entice  or  allure 
no  man  with  skeusacions  and  blan- 
diments  to  take  the  religion  uppon 
him.^l  The  lawful  age  of  profession 
in  Nuns  was  after  they  had  passed 
their  twelfth  year;  and  they  were,  ipso 
facto,  to  be  judged  professed,  after  they 
had  passed  more  than  a  year  in  the 
society,  though  they  were  to  be  con- 
secrated by  the  Bishop,  at  the  proper 
season,  when  twenty-five  years  old, 
and  not  before.™  However,  Alan, 
Canon  of  Beneventum,  was  nearly  five 
years  a  Novice  of  Canterbury.11  M. 
Paris  mentions  a  person  who  had  lived 
three  years  a  Novitiate.0  And  among 
the  Clugniacs  many  were  never  pro- 
fessed, and  others  forty  years  before 
that  took  place,  owing  to  their  being 
obliged  to  go  beyond  sea,  for  such 
purposed 

Novices  were  of  various  sorts,  as 
Clerks,  Laymen,  and  those  already 
Monks,  of  which  there  were  three 
kinds.  1.  Those  from  other  Monas- 
teries. 2.  Those  from  their  own  cells. 
3.  Those  from  a  Monastery  of  their 
own  Order.*! 

Certain  forms  of  the  habit  worn 
were  alone  sufficient,  among  other  spi- 
der's webs  equally  frivolous,  to  consti- 
tute, without  profession,  an  obligation 
to  remain  in  the  Order.1" 

It  appears,  that  women  were  much 


k  De  novitiorum  receptione,  setatem  attingens 
xvi  annorum  ad  minus,  legitime  natus.  MS.  Bodl. 
1882,  p.  44. 

1  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  24.  a,  See  Stowe, 
a0  1535. 

m  Lynd.  202. 

»  Gervas,  1456.  °  P.  1031. 

p  Reyner,  Append.  148,  9. 

i  Du  Cange,  v.  Novitii. 

r  Lyndw.  202,  203. 


NOVICES. 


177 


more  ready  to  take  the  vows  than  men, 
especially  when  in  trouble  ;  that  a  per- 
son under  the  age  of  puberty  could  not 
take  them  without  the  consent  of  the 
father;  nor  a  woman  after  cohabitation 
without  that  of  the  husband;  nor  a 
Bishop,  but  by  papal  permission  ;a  that 
old  persons  were  advised  not  to  do  it, 
lest  after  tonsure  they  should  wish  to 
withdraw  ;b  and  that  many  were  deter- 
red, by  dread  of  having  the  lives  of  the 
Saints,  and  divine  service,  to  get  by 
heart,  in  consequence  of  which  suita- 
ble dispensations  were  granted.0  As 
to  making  Nuns  by  force,  Peter  of 
Blois  loudly  declaims  against  it.d  The 
nobility  so  crowded  Nunneries,  that 
Papal  prohibitions  were  often  obtained.e 
By  the  Norman  Institutes/  persons 
coming  to  conversions  were  received 
where  other  guests  were,  and  the  arri- 
val announced  to  the  Abbot,  who,  or  a 
deputed  person,  spoke  on  the  subject 
with  the  applicant.  Then,  after  the 
opinion  of  the  Chapter  was  taken,  if 
the  Abbot  decided  upon  his  admission, 
the  Hosteler  introduced  him  into  the 
Chapter,  where  he  lay  prostrate ;  upon 
this,  some  questions  were  put  to  him,  and 
the  severities  of  the  Order  announced.11 
If   after   this    he   persisted,    the  Pre- 

a  Lyndw.  203,  4. 

b  Cumque  senex  fueris  non  debesclaustrasubire, 
ne  post  tonsuram  fortasse  velis  resilire.  MS.  Bodl. 
2159,  f.  207. 

c  Nonnulli  etiam  viri  hilares  religionem.  nostram 
ingiv,di  affectantes  cum  historiarum  multitudinem 
solicite  considerant,  timore  percussi  e  proposito 
recedunt ;  praedictasque  historias  una  cum  reliquo 
totius  anni  servicio  [cum]  omnes  inter  nos  religio- 
nem ingredientes  more  antiquitus  observato,  plene 
corde  tenus  reddere  teneantur  :  salva  dispensatione 
cum  viris  multum  babilibus,  seu  in  scolis  statum 
habentibus,  in  toto  vel  in  parte,  prout  abbas  indica- 
verit  facienda  :  considerantes  etiam  noctium  brevi- 
tatem  tempore  sestatis,  volumus,  et  ordinamus,  &c. 
[to  dispense  with  them  at  given  times.]  MS. 
Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  242,  a.  (Const.  Tho.  Abb. 
S.  Alb.  a.  1351.) 

d  Adelicia  neptis  vestra  quod  earn  in  monasterium 
detrudere  et  claustrali  vultis  invitam  et  renitentem 
custodise  mancipare,  &c.  MS.  King's  Library  3. 
F.  xvii.  sect.  Quod  non  est  mulier  monachanda 
in  vita. 

e  Parkin's  Norwich,  298. 

f  Deer.  Lanfr.  C.  18.     De  Novitiis  suscipiendis. 

£  Those  who  entered  adults.  See  Du  Cange,  v. 
Nutriti. 

h    A  person  newly  coming   to  conversion   has 


sident  of  the  Chapter  proclaimed  his 
admission,  and  the  Novice  kissing  his 
feet,  retired  to  the  Church,  and  sat 
down  before  one  of  the  Altars  out  of 
the  Choir  till  the  Chapter  was  finished. 
Then  followed  the  benediction  of  the 
tonsure,  shaving  of  his  head,  and 
robing  him  in  the  Monastic  habit,  all 
which  was  accompanied  with  suitable 
religious  offices.  Thus  prepared,  he 
was  led  into  the  Convent ;  and  went 
last  of  the  Clerks,  if  a  Clerk ;  of  the 
Laymen,  if  a  Secular ;  and  took  rank 
in  the  Processions,  Chapter,  and  Re- 
fectory, according  to  the  time  of  his 
conversion.  He  slept  in  the  chamber 
of  the  Novices,  or,  where  there  was  no 
such  appointment,  in  the  Dormitory ; 
he  did  not  read  in  the  Convent ;  never 
sung  alone ;  did  not  offer  at  Mass  ;  did 
not  take  the  peace ;  sat  apart  in  the 
Cloister  with  his  master  in  the  place 
appointed  for  the  Novices ;  and  no  one 
spoke  to,  or  made  a  sign  to  him,  with- 
out leave  of  the  Master;  but  when  any 
one  of  the  Monks  conversing  in  the 
Cloister  wished  to  reprove  or  advise 
him,  he  could,  by  leave  of  the  Master, 
do  so.  When  he  was  accused  of  a 
fault,  he  immediately  rose  and  solicit- 
ed pardon,  like  the  Monks  in  Chapter, 
nor  sat  till  his  Master  ordered  him  to 
do  so.  For  greater  faults,  he  was 
either  chidden  or  beaten  in  the  Chap- 
ter or  Chamber  of  the  Novices.  He 
went  out  daily  from  the  Chapter,  and 
remained  in  the  interim  in  the  Church, 
except  he  staid  for  punishment.  He 
made  frequent  confessions  of  the  faults 
he  committed,  both  before  and  after 
he  took  the  habit,  to  the  Abbot,  Prior, 
or  person  deputed  by  them.  After 
certain  days  the  Master  advised  him  to 
procure  the  Prior  and  some  Seniors  to 
intercede  with  the  Abbot  for  his  bene- 


not  an  easy  admission,  but  is  mocked  (deluditur), 
and  proved  in  various  ways  according  to  that  text 
of  the  Apostle,  "  Try  the  spirits,  whether  they  be 
of  God."  It  then  mentions  a  parent,  who  was 
ordered  to  throw  his  son  into  a  river,  in  order  to  try 
his  obedience,  who  was  however  restrained  by  the 
Monks.  After  this  he  was  treated  as  above.  (Of 
the  Cistertians.)      Monast.  Thuringianum,  p.  890. 

N 


178 


NOVICES, 


diction  and  profession.  Upon  a  fixed 
day,  after  the  reading  of  the  Rule  was 
finished  in  the  Chapter,  he  prostrated 
himself  at  the  Abbot's  feet,  and  made 
his  petition;  he  was  then  ordered  to 
rise,  and  the  severities  of  the  Order 
were  announced  to  him;  upon  his 
answer,  that  he  would  patiently  endure 
them,  the  Abbot  consulted  the  Monks 
upon  his  request,  and  if  they  consented, 
he  went  to  the  Abbot  or  presiding  offi- 
cer's feet,  then  returned  to  his  place, 
and  bowing,  thanked  the  Monks  for 
their  intercession.  Afterwards,  upon 
the  Abbot's  order,  he  retired  with  his 
master ;  and,  if  he  could  write,  wrote 
out  the  schedule  of  profession;  or,  if 
he  could  not  write,  another,  provided 
by  the  Chantor,  did  it  for  him ;  and  he 
only  made  a  cross.  Then,  till  the  time 
of  benediction,  he  took  off  his  hood 
from  his  gown,  and  remained  out  of 
the  Choir;  which  time,  whether  before 
the  beginning  of  Mass,  if  the  Abbot 
did  not  celebrate,  or  after  the  Gospel, 
if  he  did  or  not,  was  in  the  option  of 
the  Abbot;  though  it  was  his  duty  to 
celebrate  that  office  if  convenient. 
The  Gospel  then  being  read,  he  enter- 
ed the  Choir,  his  master  preceding 
him,  and  prostrated  himself  at  the  step 
of  the  Altar,  while  a  psalm  was  sung, 
upon  the  conclusion  of  which  he  rose 
and  read  his  profession  (or  his  master 
instead,  if  he  could  not  read),  and  then 
laid  it  upon  the  Altar.  After  this 
he  knelt  before  the  Altar,  and  request- 
ed pardon;  then  going  to  his  former 
place,  he  said  three  times,  kneeling, 
" Receive  me,  O  Lord!"  which  was 
each  time  re-echoed  by  the  Convent. 
At  the  Doxology  he  turned  round  and 
prostrated  himself  Then  followed  a 
religious  service ;  after  which  the 
Novice  arose,  and  the  Abbot  sprinkled 
him  and  his  hood  with  holy  water.  He 
then  took  off  his  gown,  as  he  knelt 
before  him,  saying,  "The  Lord  take 
away  from  you  the  old  man  ivith  his 
deeds;"  and,  putting  on  the  hood,  bade 
him  be  clothed  with  the  new  man ;  to 
all  which  the  Convent  returned,  Amen. 
Then,  after  a  prayer,  while  the  Novice 
kneeled,  the  Abbot  kissed  him,  and  put 


the  hood  on  his  head;a  then  he  was 
led  through  the  Choir  for  all  the  Monks 
to  kiss  him,  and  was  placed  last.  For 
three  days  he  took  the  Sacrament,  and 
on  the  third  the  hood  was  taken  from 
his  head.b  Before  that  time  he  pre- 
served a  constant  silence;  left  the 
Chapter  after  the  sentence  of  the  Rule 
was  read,  went  in  no  procession,  and 
slept  in  his  hood.  In  the  first  Chap- 
ter, in  which  he  was  allowed  to  speak,c 
his  master  solicited  licence  for  him  to 
read  and  sing  in  the  Convent  like  the 
others;  to  which  assent  was  given,  and 
he  could  then  perform  all  services 
except  Mass,  which  he  could  not  cele- 
brate till  a  year  after,  unless  by  especial 
commission. 

When  a  boy  was  offered,  after  his 
hair  was  cut  round/  he  was  presented, 
carrying  the  Host  and  Chalice,  by  his 
parents  to  the  Priest  celebrating  at  the 
Mass.  The  parents  then  wrapped  his 
hands  in  the  pall  of  the  Altar,  and  read 
a  written  promise,  that  they  would  use, 
directly  or  indirectly,  no  inducement 
for  him  to  leave  the  Order,  or  knowingly 
give  him  any  thing ;  which  promise 
they  laid  upon  the  Altar.     The  Abbot 


a  Novices  did  not  anciently  wear  hoods  at  St. 
Alban's.     M.  Paris,  1045. 

b  In  the  Capitula  of  Theodore  (Abp.  Cant.)  it 
is  ordered,  that  the  Abbot  in  the  profession  of  a 
Monk  should  say  Mass  and  three  prayers  over  his 
head  for  seven  days,  cover  his  head  with  a  hood, 
and  on  the  seventh  take  the  veil  from  the  head,  as 
the  Priest  did  from  that  of  infants  in  Baptism,  the 
susception  of  Monachism  being  considered  by  the 
fathers  as  a  second  baptism.     Du  Cange,  v.  Velum. 

c  Novices  were  to  leave  the  Chapter  immediately 
after  the  portion  of  the  Rule  appointed  for  the  day 
was  read  (though  some  Abbots  allowed  them  to 
stay),  lest,  taking  disgust  at  the  disciplines,  they 
should  decline  profession,  and  expose  the  secrets 
of  the  house.  Reyn.  App.  196.  However,  on 
the  third  day  after  profession,  they  took  their  first 
seat,  and  then  swore,  [at  S.  Aug.  Cant.]  to  the 
utmost  of  their  power,  not  to  suffer  the  house  to 
be  bound  for  other's  debts,  or  reveal  its  secrets. 
X  Script.  2062.  The  Friers  never  allowed  them  to 
attend  the  Chapter  at  all.     Speght's  Chaucer,  617. 

d  Cutting  off  the  hair  in  the  Monks  was  a  sym- 
bol of  servitude  to  God,  slaves  being  shorn.  When 
Monks  were  shorn,  the  first  locks  were  cut  off  by 
the  King,  or  great  men.  To  offer  a  lock  of  hair  to 
a  Monastery  was  to  become  partaker  of  its  prayers, 
&c.  In  697,  an  offerer  pulled  off  his  shoes,  went 
to  the  Altar,  and  offered  a  lock  of  hair.  (Du 
Cange,  v.  Capilli.)  The  beard  was  also  consecrated 
to  God,  when  they  became  Monks.  (Id.  v.  Bariam 
radere.) 


NOVICES. 


179 


then  consecrated  his  hood,  and,  after 
divesting  him  of  his  Secular  habit, 
put  it  on  with  a  preceding  prayer.  He 
was  then  taken  out  to  be  shaved  and 
robed,  according  to  the  Order.  Later 
eeras  used  this  supplication,  "Attend, 
O  Lord,  to  our  prayers,  and  deign  to 
bless  this  thy  servant,  upon  Avhom,  in 
thy  holy  name,  we  place  the  habit  of 
religion,  that,  by  thy  assistance,  he  may 
continue  devout  in  the  Church,  and 
deserve  to  inherit  eternal  life.^a  These 
Norman  institutes  formed  the  basis  of 
all  subsequent  English  Monachism, 
and,  like  a  great  Roman  road,  are  to  be 
conspicuously  traced  in  the  later  forms 
of  profession.  DAt  Abingdon,  when 
the  Abbot  said,  "  We  speak  of  the 
Order,"  the  candidates  for  profession 
rose,  and  went  to  the  reading-desk,  and 
solicited  pardon.  The  Abbot  then 
asked  them,  what  they  said  ?  to  which 
they  replied,  "We  ask  permission  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  and  our  master,  St. 
Benedict,  that  you  would  grant  us 
leave  to  be  professed."  Then  the 
A-bbot  spoke  what  was  usual  on  such 
occasions  ;  after  which,  they  advanced 
and  said,  "  By  the  Grace  of  God,  and 
the  blessing  of  you  and  the  Convent, 
we  will  behave  well."  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  prayers,  and  kissing  the  hands 
and  feet  of  the  Abbot;  after  which  they 
went  to  the  place  where  they  had  sat 
in  the  beginning  of  the  Chapter,  made 
their  inclination,  and  went  in  the  usual 


a  Ad pueros  sacro  liabitu  induendum.  Adesto, 
Domine,  supplicationibus  nostris,  ethunc  famulum 
tuuni  benedicere  dignare,  cui  in  hoc  sancto  nomine 
habitum  sacrae  religionis  imponinms,  ut  te  largi- 
ente  et  devotus  in  ecclesia.  persistere,  et  vitam  per- 
cipere  mei-eatur  seternam.  MS.  Cott.  Tiber.  B. 
viii.  f.  115,  b. 

b  Cum  dixit  abbas,  "  Loquimnr  de  ordine 
nostro,"  tunc  surgant  qui  petunt  professionem,  et 
eant  ad  analogium  ;  sibi  capiant  veniam  :  tunc  dicet 
abbas,  Quiddicitis?  tunc  dicet  prior  eorum,  petimus 
veniam  de  Sanctae  Maria?  et  nostri  magistri  Sancti 
Benedict!,  &c.  ut  vos  concedatis  nobis  benedictio- 
nem  monachatus.  Tunc  dicet  abbas  quae  dicenda 
sunt  :  postquam  perrexerint  dicent  ipsi  qui  petunt 
professionem,  per  graciam  Dei  et  vestram  benedic- 
tionem  et  conventus  faciemus  bene.  Tunc  dicet  abbas 
(prayers  to  which  the  Convent  answered  Amen)  : 
tunc  osculentur  pedes  et  manus  abbatis  ;  tunc  ibunt 
ad  locum  quo  prius  sedebant  in  principio  capituli, 
et  faciant  ibi  ante  et  retro  et  exeant  more  solito  et 
eant  ad  ecclesiam.     MS.  Cott.  Claud.  C.  ix.  f.  184. 


manner  to  the  Church.  The  ritual 
from  this  period  thus  takes  up  the 
ceremony.  The  Convert  was  led  into 
the  Church,  and  the  psalm  Miserere 
was  sung  ;  after  which  followed  appro- 
priate prayers,  then  such  as  were  suited 
to  the  consecration  of  the  habit ;  and 
to  putting  off  the  secular,  and  assuming 
the  monastic  one.  This  was  succeed- 
ed by  a  particular  prayer,  and  the  kiss 
of  peace  being  given  by  all,  the  Novice 
remained  silent  in  Albs  till  the  third 
day.c 

At  Ensham,d  when  the  Candidates 


c  Permaneat  cum  summo  silentio  in  albis,  usque 
in  tertium  diem.  MS.  Cott.  Tiber.  B.  viii.  f.  114, 
b.  Athon  says,  where  the  habits  of  the  Novitiates 
and  Professed  are  not  different,  the  habit  ought  to 
be  blessed  at  the  time  of  profession.     P.  143. 

d  MS.  Bodl.  Barlow,  7,  fol.  61.  Deprofessione 
Novitiorum.  Quando  novitii  facere  debent profes- 
sionem, inter  Evangelium  vel  ante  pro  tempore, 
ducantur  ad  altare  S.  Petri  in  vestiario,  ubideponant 
cucullas  suas,  indutique  tunicis  et  froccis,  habentes 
cucullas  suas  super  sinistra  brachia,  ducantur  post 
Evangelium  ante  majus  altare,  singuli  novitii  singulis 
monachis,  ita  quod  primus  a.  priore.  Dicemus  in 
eundo  psm.  Miserere.  Quo  finito  stantes  coram 
abbate,  legant  singuli  singillatim  voce  mediocri 
professionem  suam  manibus  propriis  scriptam  hoc 
modo  [several  of  these  have  been  printed.]  Hac 
lecta,  tradat  quilibet  professionis  libellum  in  manum 
abbatis,  et  abbas  ponat  super  altare.  Quibus  factis 
dicant  omnes  simul  flexis  genibus  alta  voce  hunc 
versum,  Suscipe  me  secundum  eloquium  tuum,  et 
vivam ;  et  non  confundas  me  ab  expectatione  mea  ; 
hie  versus  a.  conventu  repetatur,  et  ita  usque  tertio 
ab  eis  dicatur,  et  a  conventu  repetatur,  et  ultimo 
(sic)  cum  Gloria  prosternant  se  novicii  super  gradum 
medium  in  modum  satisfactionis,  et  sequatur  (a 
religious  service).  Interim  novicii  jaceant  incurta 
venia ;  hie  surgant  novicii,  et  ponant  cucullas  suas 
ad  pedes  abbatis.  Abbas  vero  benedicat  eos  hoc 
modo  (pr.)  Hie  aspergat  cucullas  aqua  benedicta, 
er  tunc  exuat  primum  novicium  frocco,  et  dicat 
exuendo,  "Exuat  te  d'mnus  veterem  hominem  cum 
actibus  57<w.''  Et  omnes  respondeant,  Amen.  Et 
cooperiat  abbas  capud  novicii  cum  capucio,  usque 
ad  medietatem  faciei,  et  ita  faciat  de  singulis.  Et 
tunc  iterum  prosternant  se  novicii  super  gradus  in 
satisfactione ;  et  dicat  abbas  cum  astantibus  psal- 
mum,  &c.  Hie  surgant  novicii,  et  det  eis  abbas 
osculum  pacis  ;  et  sic  semper  velato  capite  ducantur 
in  chorum  singuli  a  singulis  monachis  osculum 
pacis  recipientes.  Quibus  peractis  sedeant  ultimi 
in  choro  cum  psalteriis  suis,  dum  missa  celebratur, 
et  cum  ventum  fuerit  ad  Agnus  Dei  procedant,  et 
recipiant  osculum  ab  abbate,  et  postea  communicent, 
et  redeant  ad  stalla  sua  et  psalteria.  Et  notandum 
quod  licet  ultimi  sunt  in  choro,  turn  quicunque 
procedere  debent  cum  conventu  alii  eos  precedant ; 
et  sciendum  quod  quandocunque  lit  processio  ab 
eccl'ia  in  dormitorium,  eant  cum  conventu  ;  quando 
vero  in  claustrum,  remaneant  in  eccl'ia.  Capitulum 
non  intrent ;  ante  terciam  oracionem  eant  in  dormi- 
torium et  ad  lavatorium ;  et  faciant  trinam  oracionem 

n2 


180 


NOVICES. 


for  profession  were  to  make  it,  during 
the  Gospel,  or  before,  they  were  led  to 
the  Altar  of  St.  Peter  in  the  Vestiary, 
where  they  put  aside  their  hoods,  and, 
in  their  tunics  and  frocks,  with  their 
hoods  on  their  left  arms,  were  brought 
after  the  Gospel  before  the  great  Altar, 
every  Novice  being  led  by  a  Monk, 
the  first  by  the  senior  Prior.  In  going, 
the  psalm  Miserere  was  sung ;  after 
which,  standing  before  the  Abbot, 
every  Novice,  singly,  in  a  low  voice, 
read  his  profession  written  with  his 
own  hand,  and  then  delivered  it  to  the 
Abbot,  who  placed  it  upon  the  altar. 
After  this,  all  together  kneeling  said, 
in  a  loud  voice,  the  precatory  petition 
for  reception,  which  was  repeated  three 
times  both  by  them  and  the  Convent 
in  answer ;  after  which,  at  the  Doxolo- 
gy,  they  prostrated  themselves  upon 
the  middle  step  of  the  altar,  while  a 
religious  service  was  performed.  Then 
they  arose  and  put  their  hoods  at  the 
Abbot's  feet,  who  consecrated  them, 
sprinkled  them  with  holy  water,  and 
stripped  the  first  Novice  of  his  frock, 
with  the  preceding  form,  to  which  the 
Convent  replied  Amen.  The  Abbot 
then  covered  the  head  of  the  Novice 
with  his  hood,  as  low  as  half  of  his 
face,  and  did  the  same  with  the  rest. 
The  Novices  then  again  prostrated 
themselves,  and  the  Abbot  and  stand- 
ers-by  sung  a  psalm.  Here  they  arose, 
the  Abbot  gave  them  the  kiss  of  peace, 
and  to  receive  this  from  the  other 
Monks  they  were  led  round  the  Choir 
with  their  heads  covered.  After  these 
ceremonies,  they  sat  last  in  the  Choir, 
with  their  psalters,  while  the  Mass  was 


semper  velato  capite  ;  et  niclril  ad  diurnas  horas  alta 
voce  apponant,  sed  dirnisse  (sic)  omnia  dicant  cum 
conventu.  Noctibus  vero  induti  cucullis  jaceant 
ante  matutinas  in  dormitorio  ;  post  matutinas  vero 
post  processionem  in  dormitorium  ducantur  in 
ecclesiam,  et  residuum  noctis  in  meditatione  sc'a 
et  psalmis,  &c.  peragant  ;  et  ita  fiat  per  duos  dies 
et  duas  noctes.  Tertia  vero  die  veniant  ad  missam 
abbatis,  sive  abbas  celebret,  sive  eo  impotente  cele- 
brare  alius  missam  celebraverit ;  et  cum  ventum 
fuerit  ad  Agnus  Dei  suscipiant  osculum  pacis  ab 
abb'e,  et  communicant;  et  cum  communicant  abbas 
discooperiat  capita  eorum  :  et  post  missam  faciat 
abbas  eis  sermonem,  exponens  eis  quod  talis  debet 
esse  prima  mouachi,  cmalem  jam  inceperunt,  et 
postea  ducantur  in  conventum. 


celebrated,  and  at  the  Agnus  Dei  pro- 
ceeded to  receive  the  kiss  from  the 
Abbot,  and  afterwards  communicated, 
and  returned  to  their  stalls  and  psalters. 
Although  last  in  the  Choir,  those  who 
were  to  go  out  with  the  Convent  went 
before  others  ;  and  when  there  was  a 
procession  from  the  Church  to  the 
Dormitory,  they  went  with  the  Con- 
vent ;  when  to  the  Cloister,  they  staid 
in  the  Church.  They  did  not  enter 
the  Chapter;  they  went  to  the  Dormi- 
tory and  Lavatory  before  the  triple 
prayer,  which  they  said  with  their  hoods 
on,  and  sung  nothing  at  the  daily  hours 
with  the  Convent  with  a  loud  voice, 
but  joined  the  Convent  at  all  services 
in  a  lowly  form.  At  nights,  before 
Mattins,  they  slept  in  the  Dormitory 
with  their  hoods  on.  After  Mattins, 
when  the  procession  to  the  Dormitory 
was  finished,  they  passed  the  rest  of 
the  night  in  the  Church,  in  meditation 
and  psalmody;  and  this  was  done  for 
two  days  and  nights.  On  the  third 
day  they  came  to  the  Abbot,  or  who- 
ever celebrated  the  Mass,  and  at  the 
Agnus  Dei  received  the  kiss  of  peace 
from  him,  and  communicated ;  upon 
which  the  Abbot  uncovered  their  heads; 
and,  after  the  Mass,  he  made  a  sermon 
to  them,  explaining,  that  such  as  they 
had  begun,  so  they  ought  to  conti- 
nue ;  after  which,  they  joined  the 
Convent/1  The  professions  of  the 
Monks  were  entered  in  a  book  called 
Pactum  J3 

Their  previous  duties  as  Novices 
still   however   remain    to    be    shown. 

fl  It  seems  that  there  was  a  liberty  in  some  places 
of  sending  to  what  bishop  they  pleased  to  make 
professions  and  confer  orders  upon  their  monks, 
and  tbat  they  sometimes  selected  in  this  respect 
with  a  view  to  prevent  exaction.  Hist.  Eliens. 
L.  2.  C.  9.  However,  the  usual  Rule  was  for 
them. to  be  ordained  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  ; 
for  this  is  a  common  item  in  bulls  of  exemption. 
Monast.  i.  54,  &c.  Notwithstanding  which,  ordi- 
nation by  any  bishop  was  a  proof  of  exemption. 
M.  Paris,  1026.  It  seems,  upon  being  promoted 
to  priesthood,  great  feasts  were  given  with  a  large 
assembly  of  Seculars.  Monast.  ii.  718.  After 
profession,  they  were  named  from  the  places  they 
came  from  ;  but  it  is  strange  tbat  tbey  should  be  so 
absurd  as  to  name  a  Monk  Henricus  de  Urinaria. 
Smith's  Catalogue  of  the  Cotton  MSS.  p.  201, 
under  Tiber.  A.  viii. 

b  Du  Cange,  in  voce. 


NOVICES. 


181 


Among  the  Gilbertines  they  were  not 
set  down  in  the  table  to  any  Church 
duty,  or  were  readers  or  attendants  at 
dinner,  as  among  the  Benedictines 
(where  I  suspect  the  custom  crept  in 
latterly.  M.  Paris,  1045.)  though  they 
rose  for  this  purpose  when  necessary. 
They  performed  only  certain  parts  in 
divine  service,  nor  celebrated  Mass. 
though  Priests.  They  read  only  occa- 
sionally at  Collation  and  Chapter ;  nor 
went  to  work  constantly  till  they  had 
learned  the  whole  service.  They  com- 
municated (having  previously  confessed 
to  the  master)  eight  times  j)er  coin.  He 
was  punishable  in  Chapter  for  their 
misbehaviour.3-  The  Prior  was  to 
awake  the  Monks  at  such  an  hour,  say 
Lanfranc's  decretals,  that  the  bovs, 
after  the  usual  prayers,  might  read  in 
the  Cloister ;  who,  when  they  began 
to  read  loudly,  were  to  sit  so  far  apart, 
as  not  to  touch  one  another  either  with 
their  hands  or  clothes.  No  sign,  speech, 
or  locomotion,  was  to  be  made  without 
the  knowledge  or  leave  of  the  master ; 
and  one  of  these,  wherever  they  went, 
was  to  be  between  two  boys.  They 
bowed  to  the  Monks  in  passing,  which 
was  returned  by  those  who  were  sitting. 
One  lantern  was  to  be  enough  for  two 
Novices  ;  if  there  were  three,  a  third 
carried  another;  and  so  in  proportion. 
They  neither  gave  nor  took  any  thing 
without  leave,  and  in  fit  places,  except 
from  the  Chantor,  with  regard  to  the 
books  they  read  or  sung  in,  or  when 
serving  at  an  Altar.  They  were  beaten 
in  their  Chapter;  and  in  confession, 
while  one  was  with  the  Confessor,  an- 
other sat  on  a  stool,  their  master  being 
just  by.  If  they  were  tardy  in  entering 
the  Refectory  or  Choir,  they  went  to 
their  usual  places,  made  their  bow,  and 
their  master  took  the  place  of  those  who 
were  late.  Abstinence  of  meat  or  drink 
could  not  be  enjoined  on  the  Novice 
that  attended  the  Abbot,  without  his 
order  ;  in  which  last  case  he  was  either 
indulged,  or,  in  the  interim,  removed 
from  his  office.  When  the  Abbot 
was  present  in  the  Choir,  no  one  beat 


or  stripped  them  without  his  leave  ; 
but,  in  his  absence,  the  Chantor  might 
correct  them  in  matters  relating  to  his 
office,  and  the  Prior  where  they  be- 
haved with  levity.  No  one  but  these 
could  make  a  sign  to  or  smile  upon 
them ;  or  enter  their  school,  or  talk 
to  them,  without  licence.  At  mid- 
day they  only  rested  in  their  beds 
covered;  and  at  night,  till  they  were 
covered,  the  masters  attended  with  a 
lantern. 

The  boys  had  breakfast  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  ate  meat  till  fourteen  years  old. 
The  Rule  was  explained  to  them  every 
day,  and  they  sung  in  the  Choir,  im- 
moveablv,  with  their  faces  inclined  to 
the  ground. b 

Young  men  brought  up  in  the  house, 
or  just  come  from  the  world,  were 
treated  in  many  things  in  a  similar 
manner  ;  sitting  apart;  never  going  any 
where  without  a  keeper  ;  carrying  lan- 
terns two  and  two,  and  making  their 
confessions  only  to  the  Abbot,  Prior, 
or  deputed  person ;  not  reading  at 
midday  in  their  beds;  not  writing; 
not  doing  any  work ;  only  sleeping 
covered,  the  beds  being  either  before 
or  between  those  of  the  masters;  if  they 
wanted  to  rise,  they  awoke  their  mas- 
ters ;  and,  a  lantern  being  lighted,  they 
accompanied  them  for  the  purpose 
needed.  In  their  own  place,  no  one 
sat  near,  spoke,  or  made  a  sign  to  them 
without  leave;  and  then  the  master 
sat  between  ;  nor  could  they  talk  toge- 
ther, unless  the  masters  were  between 
or  before  them.  When  they  went  to 
sleep,  the  masters  stood  before  them 
till  they  were  laid  down.  In  the 
Church,  Fratry,  and  Chapter,  they 
mixed  with  the  Seniors,  without  obser- 
ving rank,  if  necessary.  If  they  read 
at  the  table,  or  served  in  the  kitchen, 
they  went  with  the  Monks,  when  they 
rose  from  table,  to  the  Church,  and, 
after  saying  a  prayer,  returned  with 
their  keepers  to  the  Refectory  ;  two 
together,  or  more,  if  possible,  remaining 
of  the  Convent.  In  case,  however,  of 
a  paucity  of  Seniors,  and  a  great  number 


a  Monast,  ii,  718, 


b  Du  Cange,  v,  Comeatio,  Infantes, 


182 


NOVICES. 


of  Juniors,  sufficient  guardians  were 
deputed  ;  and,  if  the  custom  of  some 
houses  was  more  agreeable,  they  sat 
apart  in  the  Cloister  in  separate  places  ; 
every  one  carried  a  lantern  ;  and 
their  guardians  never  left  them,  unless 
under  the  care  of  another  in  whom  they 
could  confide. 

Among  the  Friars,  "  during  silence 
they  were  to  beware  making  a  noise  at 
others ;  whenever  reproved  by  the 
Superior,  to  ask  pardon  ;  to  contend 
with  nobody,  but  in  all  things  obey 
their  master;  in  processions  to  wait 
for  their  comrade,  and  not  talk  at  impro- 
per places  and  seasons.  When  any 
garment  was  given  them,  to  bow  hum- 
bly, and  say  lowly  [thanks]  ;  if  they 
saw  any  thing  done  licentiously,  to 
conceive  the  bad  good,  or  suspect  it 
done  with  a  good  intention,  when  there 
was  no  accusation  in  the  Chapter,  or 
reproof  elsewhere/' a  They  were  not 
to  have  an  office  till  they  knew  by  heart 
what  they  had  to  learn ;  nor  till  then 
be  dismissed  from  custody,  or  pro- 
moted to  Priesthood ;  nor  were  they 
to  sleep  or  dine  out  before  they  had 
been  laudably  conversant  in  the  Clois- 
ter, nor  to  have  a  chest,  or  key,  or 
out-door  office,  or  be  sent  out  of  the 
house  till  they  had  been  two  years 
well  behaved ;  except  in  cases  of  ur- 
gency or  utility,  or  except  they  were 
old  men.b  They  had  recreations  of 
play,  it  seems,  in  the  morning,0  and 


a  Ut  aliis  rugitum  non  faciant,  ubicumque  repre- 
hensi  fuerint  a  prselato  veniam  petant.  Ut  cum 
nemine  contendere  prsesumant,  sed  in  omnibus 
magistro  suo  obediant ;  ubique  ad  processionem 
socium  sibi  collateralem  attendant,  et  non  loquantur 
locis  et  temporibus  inter dictis.  Quum  quodpiam 
vestimentidabitur,profundeinclinantes  ....  demis- 
sius  dicant  &c.  Si  quse  ab  aliquo  fieri  viderint 
licenter,  videantur  mala,  bona  suspicentur  vel  bona 
intention e  facta  ;  quum  nemo  in  capitulo  vel  ubi- 
cumque reprehensus  fuerit,  sic  faciendum.  MS. 
Cott.  Nero,  A.  xn.  f.  170,  b. 

b  M.  Par.  1095.     Cap.  Gen.  North'.  1444.  C.  10. 

e  Nee  etiam  ludendi  causa  matutinali  tempore, 
cum  aliis  egrediendi,  &c  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  B.  II. 
p.  229,  sect.  Pro  Noviciis,  &c.  "  Sometimes  in 
the  week,  at  suitable  hours,  by  leave  of  their  mas- 
ters, they  were  used  to  alleviate  the  severities  of  the 
Rule  by  puerile  discourse  and  conversation  (loca- 
tione,  orig.  it  should  be,  I  think,  loewtione)  out  of 
the  Cloister.  On  a  certain  day,  therefore,  as  usual, 
going  out  to  play  with  an  attendant,  they  ran  to  the 


perhaps  in  the  afternoon ;  for,  says  an 
old  poet, 

The  zung  Monkes  each  daie, 
Aftur  met  goth  to  plai.d 

Such  discipline  was  observed  in 
some  Monasteries,  that,  in  a  proces- 
sion of  the  Infants,  apples  were  order- 
ed to  be  thrown  upon  the  Church  pave- 
ments to  allure  the  boys,  but  no  one, 
even  of  the  smallest,  appeared  to  attend 
to  it.e 

According  to  the  scriptural  declara- 
tion, u  He  that  hath  said  to  his  father 
and  mother,  I  knowe  yee  not,  and  to 
his  bretherne  I  knowe  ye  not,  and  hath 
not  knowne  his  owne  children,  they 
have  kept  thy  worde;"f  they  were  to 
forget  filial  affections,  "  and  this  not  of 
any  stifnes  or  hardnes  of  harte,  for  if 
a  meere  stranger  unto  them  be  in 
miserie,  they  mourne  as  easily  for  him 
as  for  another,  but  the  sworde  is  yt 
that  we  spake  of,  that  is  in  their  harte, 
and  hathe  cut  them  awaye  from  their 
wonted  aquayntance  and  affinitie,  not 
for  that  they  have  to  love  hem  still,  that 
love  also  their  very  enimyes,  but  be- 
cause they  have  cast  awaie  all  carnall 
love  which  groweth  often  to  meere  do- 
tage, and  have  converted  the  same 
wholly  to  spirituall  charitie."£  Both 
duty  and  affection  still  however  sub- 
sisted.11 

To  be  reduced  to  the  state  of  a  No- 
vice was  a  punishment.i 

This  article  would  be  unsatisfactory 
were  there  not  added  some  cursory 
Observations  upon  the  Education  of 
Monks  and  Nuns,  in  a  brief  view ;  for 
more  would  require  a  volume. 

Learning  the  Service  and  the  Rule, 
was  the  chief  part  of  the  Education  of 

ropes  and  broke  the  bell."  Hist.  Rames.  Cap. 
lxvii.     See  sect.  Common  House. 

d  MS.  Harl.  913,  f.  4.  It  is  possible  that  this 
may  allude  to  the  conversations  allowed  after 
Nones ;  but  it  is  equally  possible  that  the  season  of 
relaxation  for  Monks  was  that  also  of  Novitiates*. 

,e  Du  Cange,  v.  Infantes.  f  Deut.  33. 

s  MS.  Harl.  1805,  f.  57,  b.     (Tract  of  Novices.) 

h  Eadmer.  Histor.  Novor.  p.  8,  records  an 
instance  of  a  pension  paid  by  a  Monk  to  his 
mother,  from  money  given  by  Lanfranc.  See  too 
§§  Guesthall,  and  Almonry. 

*  Du  Cange,  v.  Novitii. 


NOVICES. 


183 


a  Nun,  as  well  as  of  a  Monk.a  Psal- 
mody was  so  urged,  that  the  Novice, 
when  studying  in  the  Cloister,  was  to 
make  himself  perfect  in  his  Psalter, 
so  as  to  say  it  by  heart  to  a  word.b 
Bede  remarks,  that  those  who  knew 
only  their  native  language,  were  to  be 
carefully  taught  to  sing;  for  many 
became  Monks  late  in  life,  and  were 
called  Conversi,  as  those  who  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  house,  and  knew 
Latin,  were  distinguished  by  the  term 
Nutriti.c  After  acquisition  of  the 
Psalter  by  heart,  Latin  (common  be- 
cause the  language  of  the  Septuagint) 
was  taught  by  the  usual  methods  of  par- 
sing and  the  parts  of  speech.d  Though 
Langland  says,  that  the  Latin  Grammar 
used  was  a  Donate  so  called  from  Do- 
natus,  a  Grammarian  of  the  4th  century, 
whose  works,  together  with  those  of 
Priscian,  were  u.sed  by  iElfric  ;  yet,  in 
fact,  there  were  only  three  Grammars 
in  use  from  the  6th  to  the  16th  century. 
These  were,  Prisciair's,  and  Ville  Dieu's 
Doctrinale  Puerorum  in  verse,  which 
appeared  in  the  13th  century,  and  was 
superseded  by  Despautiere^s  in  the 
sixteenth/  The  Dictionary  was  from  the 
11th  century  that  of  Papias,  which  was 
enlargedby  Ugution,  and  Hugh  de  Pisa  ;S 
and  these  works  were,  no  doubt,  the 
bases  of  the  Promptorium  Parvulorwn 
of  Richard  Fraunceys,  a  preaching 
Friar,  the  first  printed  English  and 
Latin  Dictionary,  which  appeared  in 
1499.*1  The  Cato,  the  Doctrinal,  writ- 
ten by  Sauvage,  and  other  books,  were 
works  for  construing,  consisting  of 
sentences,  moralities,  maxims  of  con- 
duct, and  even  precepts  of  behaviour ; 
some  were  composed  of  lessons  and 
examples  united,  as  the  Chastisement 

a  Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  895, 

b  Du  Cange,  v.  Firmare  Cantum, 

c  Id.  v.  Idiota,  Nutriti. 

d  Id.  v.  Partes  edere. 

e  Of  the  Donat  of  Wynkyn  de  Worde,  which  was 
very  imperfect,  see  Dibdin's  Ames,  ii.  306,  where 
is  given  a  curious  wood-cut  of  a  Master  and  3  boys. 

f  Notices  des  MSS.  v.  500—513.  Mem.  de 
Petrarque,  ii.  179. 

s  Ibid.  Of  those  preceding,  see  Preface  of  Du 
Cange,  and  others. 

h  Dibdin's  Ames,  ii.  416.  See  other  books  of 
the  same  kind  noticed  ib.  pp.  155,  585. 


of  a  Father ;  but  the  morals  were  very 
insipid.1  Virgil  was  used  by  the  Roman 
children,  that  so  great  a  genius  might 
not  lapse  into  oblivion.k  When  the 
French  language  was  universally  taught 
from  the  Conquest  to  the  14th  century, 
and  children  after  learning  to  speak 
English  were  compelled  to  construe 
their  lessons  into  French,  a  Virgil  in 
that  language  was  daily  learned  in 
schools.1  In  Monasteries,  numerous 
quotations  show,  that  it  was  familiar  in 
the  original.  Ovid,  iEsop's  Fables, 
Boethius,  and  others,  occur  as  favourite 
authors  ;  but  bibliographical  discussion 
is  not  within  the  plan  or  track  of  read- 
ing of  the  author.  Writing  was  taught 
by  copy-books,  called  Breviales  Tabu- 
Ice-,™  and  Arithmetick,  or  rather  the 
Compotus,  by  counters,  &c.  of  which 
elsewhere.11 

The  Education  at  Court  was  so  bad, 
that  from  thence  came  first  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Eddel-knaven;  and  from  this 
term,  our  Lazy  Scoundrel.0  It  is  not 
singular  then  that  Bishops  should 
undertake  the  tuition  of  youths,  whom 
they  made  Priests  or  Monks,  or  sent 
when  adults  in  arms  to  the  king;P  or 
that  it  should  be  a  privilege  of  founders 
for  Abbeys  to  educate  their  children.^ 
They  were  first  trained  at  home  religi- 
ously, by  their  mothers,  and  taught  a 
catechism.1'  When  sent  to  the  Monas- 
tery, about  seven  years  old,  or  above, 
they  were  successively  instructed  in  the 
Psalter  by  heart,  the  Septenary  Arts, 
Musick,  French,  Latin ;  often  Agricul- 
ture, and  the  Mechanical  Arts.3  Hunt- 
ing, as  a  science  and  pastime  auxiliary 
to  warlike  habits  and  strength  of  con- 
stitution, was  understood  by  all  Anglo- 
Saxon  boys,6  and  Monks  and  Clergy- 
men of  the  whole  middle  age,  Asceticks 
excepted. 


1  Notices,  v.  159. 

k  Augustin.  de  Civit.  Dei,  p.  6. 

I  Biographia  Britannica,  hi.  351,  374. 
m  Du  Cange. 

II  See  Scriptorium  and  Exchequer. 

°  Spelm.  Archseologus,  v.  Adelscalc. 

v  XV  Script.  62.         i  Smythe's  Berkeley  MS. 

r  X  Script.  1056,  2647. 

»  Script,  p.  Bed.  171,  509.     X  Script.  76,  77. 

*  XV  Script.  256.     Script,  p.  Bed.  13. 


184 


NOVICES. 


The  Education  of  Monks,  in  the 
early  centuries,  consisted  of  Psalmody, 
Musick,  Notation  of  it,  Accounts, 
Grammar,  Writing,  Turning,  and  Car- 
pentry;21 hut  in  truth,  every  art  known, 
especially  Embroidery,  was  practised 
in  Monasteries.  Because  idleness  is 
inimical  to  the  soul,  manual  lahour 
was  prescrihed.b  Ednoth,  Monk  of 
Ramsey,  superintended  building,  and 
worked  at  it.c  In  Jewellery  and  Gold- 
smithes  work,  instances  of  skill  are 
numerous,  from  Dunstan  downwards. 
Walter  de  Colchester,  Sacrist  of  St. 
Alhair's,  was  an  excellent  Painter  and 
Sculptor.d  Thomas  de  Bamburgh, 
Monk  of  Durham,  was  employed  to 
make  two  great  warlike  engines  for  the 
defence  of  the  town  of  Berwick;0  and 
Sir  John  Paston  requests  Harcort,  of 
the  Abbey,  "  to  send  him  a  little  clokke 
which  was  sent  him  to  be  mended.*' f 
An  astronomical  clock,  made  by  Light- 
foot,  Monk  of  Glastonbury,  about 
the  year  1325,  is  still  preserved  at 
Wells. 

The  Monks  too  engaged  in  civil  and 
external  avocations.  Among  the  Clerks 
of  the  household  to  Edw.  III.  was  a 
Monk  of  Bury;S  and  they  were  often 
Ambassadors.11  Henry  VII.  employ- 
ed them  as  Spies.1  They  travelled 
from  Monastery  to  Monastery,  to  teach 
musick.  k 

The  courtesies  were  duly  regarded. 
Every  Novice  was  to  be  instructed  how 
to  incline  his  head,  not  with  an  arched 
back,  as  was  common  to  some  ungen- 
teel  persons,  but  in  the  Ante  and  Retro 
fashion,1  before  explained.  This  ap- 
plied to  the  Inclination  a  salutation 
made  only  to  the  Abbot  and  Prior.111 
The  Elders  approved  by  the  voice,  the 
Juniors  bv  a  bow  of  the  head;    the 


3  Du  Cange,  v.  Xotce  Musicce. 

b  Theodulph.  Aurelian.  Epist.  p.  263. 

c  Hist.  Rames,  1.  51. 

A  M.  Paris,  1054. 

c  Liber  Garderobre,  28  Ed.  I.  p.  73. 

f  Paston  Letters,  ii.  30. 

s  Royal  Household,  p.  10. 

b  J.  Rous,  p.  73.     M.  Paris,  844. 

5  Henry's  History  of  England,  xii.  469. 

k  See  Muster  of  the  Novices. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Reverentia.  m  Id. 


Abbot  nodded  in  token  of  assent.11 
Peter  of  Clugny  says,  Ci  whenever  the 
brethren  meet,  the  Junior  seeks  bene- 
diction from  the  Prior,  by  saying  Bene- 
dicite  [pie]  if  he  should  be  out  of  the 
regular  places,  and  humbly  inclines; 
but  he  says  nothing  if  he  meets  the 
Prior  in  the  regular  offices."  They 
used  to  say  Benedicite,  and  others  to 
answer  Dominus,  in  like  sort,  as  the 
Priest  and  his  penitent  were  wont  to 
do  at  confession  in  the  Church.0  The 
reply  of  Dominus  [sit  vobiscum]  "  the 
Lord  be  with  you,"  was  the  usual 
salutation  of  Priests.P  This  may  ex- 
plain a  passage  before  left  in  doubt. 

Punishments  and  Rewards.  The 
Ferule  and  Rod  are  Anglo-Saxon,  <*  but 
where  the  children  were  too  young  for 
this,  the  soles  of  their  feet  were  pared 
with  a  knife.1'  Common  Schoolmas- 
ters used  to  give  their  boys  even  fifty- 
three  stripes  at  a  time,  and  carry  peb- 
bles in  their  pockets  to  pelt  them 
with.3  Ingulphus  however  says,  that 
Abbot  Turketul  visited  the  school  at 
least  once  a  day,  and  distributed  rewards 
of  fruit  and  sweetmeats  to  deserving 
boys. 

Notwithstanding  what  has  been  said 
of  Arithmetick,  it  was  often  a  late 
study,  commenced  only  at  the  Uni- 
versity.1 

Pious  Students  kissed  the  bible  when- 
ever they  opened  it  for  reading.11 

Education  of  Nuns.  In  the  Rule  of 
Fontevraud,  it  is  said,  that  Claustral 
Nuns  knew  little  more  than  to  sing 
Psalms,  whence  it  is  there  ordered,  that 
no  Nun  of  this  kind,  through  inability, 
should  be  made  Abbes s.x  If,  how- 
ever,  a  girl  was  intended  for  a  Nun,  it 
was  a  matter  of  course  to  instruct  her 
in  letters  ;Y  and  Nuns  not  only  wrote 
upon  parchment,2  but  even  works  in 

n  Du  Cange,  v.  Capitis  inpexio. 
°  Holinshed,  ii.  p.  9.  (new  edit.) 
p  Du  Cange,  v.  Officina—Pax. 
i  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  102,  103. 
■*  Vita  Alcuini.     Du  Cange,  v.  Acra. 
s  Hawkins's  Musick,  ii.  125. 
1  X  Script.  2433.  ■  Id.  2434. 

x  Du  Cange,  v.  Claustrv.m. 
7  M.  Paris,  p.  80. 
*  X  Script.  378.     Du  Cange,  v.  Punctare, 


NOVICES, 


185 


Latin.a  Among  the  duties  of  Ancho- 
resses and  Nuns,  is  mentioned  "  vorst- 
ing  of  her  sautre  [Psalter],  redyng  of 
Englische,  oder  [or]  of  French,  holi 
meditaciuns  "  b  Henry  says,  that  Nun- 
nery Education  consisted  of  writing, 
drawing,  confectionary,  needle-work, 
physick,  and  surgery.  Sir  H.  Chauncy 
says,  that  there  was  taught  in  them 
working,  singing  by  notes,  dancing,  and 
playing  upon  instruments  of  musick.c 
Tumbling,  playing,  and  dancing,  all 
occur  in  Nunneries,  the  two  former  by 
professors  itinerant.01  Aubrey,  speaking 
of  the  Nunnery  of  Kington  St=  Michael, 
says,  "On  the  East  side  of  the  House 
is  a  ground  facing  the  East,  and  the 
delightful  prospect  on  the  South  East, 
called  the  Nymph  Hay.  Here  Old 
Jaques,  who  lived  on  the  other  side, 
would  say,  he  hath  seen  40  or  50  nunnes 
in  a  morning,  spinning  with  their  wheels 
and  bobbins."e  Fuller  says,  Nuns  with 
their  needles  wrote  histories  also  ;  that 
of  Christ  his  passion,  for  their  Altar- 
clothes,  and  other  Scripture  (and  moe 
legend)  stories  in  hangings  to  adorn 
their  houses. f  One  particular  accusa- 
tion against  them  was  a  miserly  atten- 
tion to  housewifery.?  It  was  only 
ascetical  asperity  to  make  the  remark. 
Joan  Lady  Berkeley,  in  the  13th  cen- 
tury, when  she  came  to  the  farm-houses, 
as  oft  as  she  did,  to  oversee,  or  take 
account  of  her  dairy  affairs,  oftentimes 
spent  in  provision,  at  a  meal  there,  the 
value  of  id.  and  A\d.\  and  also  a  cheese 
of  2lbs.  weight  was  at  each  time  spent 
by  her  attendants.11  The  extraordinary 
accomplishments  of  Juliana  Barnes  are 
not  singular.  A  young  wife  is  described 
by  Boccaccio  as  beautiful  in  her  person, 
mistress  of  her  needle,  waiting  at  her 
husband's  table  as  well  as  any  man- 
servant, thoroughly  discreet  and  well 
bred,  skilled  in  horsemanship,  and  the 
management    of    a   hawk,    and  in   ac- 


a  Du  Cange,  t.  Kon  decern. 

b  MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xiv.  p.  10,  a. 

c  Hertfordshire,  p.  423. 

d  Atlion.  p.  154,  col.  2.  note  a. 

e  Brittons  Beaut,  of  Wilts,  iii.  154. 

f  Church  Hist.  B.  vi.  p.  298. 

g  MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  in.  p.  2.  b.  SeeAnc/iorets. 

b  Smythe's  Berkeley  MS,  216,  227. 


counts  as  clever  as  a  merchant.1      The 
sage  reformer  Erasmus  saw  no  impro- 
priety in  publishing  an  obscene  word, 
and  says,  in  defence  of  it,  that  though 
he  has  put  it  into  the  mouth  of  a  pros- 
titute, it  was  in  general  use,  even  among 
chaste    Matrons. k      This    passage    ex- 
plains the  indelicacy  of  the  Nun,  Juli- 
ana Barnes  ;  and  it  was  much  owing 
to   the  vile    education-books    then   in 
use,  which  recommended  only  prayer, 
fasting,  submission  to  the  Church,  assi- 
duity in  religious  offices,  mortification 
and   solitude,   as  precepts  of  conduct. 
The    Chastisement    des    Dames    gives 
very  detailed  advice  how  women  ought 
to  walk,  salute,  talk,  behave  themselves 
at  church,  at  table,  in  love  tete-a-tetes ; 
and  ends  with  a  long  disquisition  upon 
love.       La  Tour,  a  French  gentleman, 
|   who  in    1371    wrote   the  first  treatise 
upon   Domestic  Education,  professes 
to  teach  by  Historiettes,  in  which  he 
uses  obscene  stories,  and  even  words. 
To  induce  his  dauohters  to  sav  their 
prayers  in  a  morning,  he  tells  them  a 
1   tale  of  two  daughters  of  an  Emperor, 
i    of  whom  one  neglected  this  duty,  the 
■   other   never.      Both    were    entangled 
I   in  love,  and  had  each  made  an  assig- 
|   nation  with  their  lovers  on  a  certain 
!   morning.      The    youngest,    who    said 
I   her  prayers  as  usual,  was  disappointed 
I   in  meeting  her  lover,  who  was  compel- 
!   led   to    fly   by   fancying   that  he   saw 
I   armed  guards,  compelling  him  to  re- 
treat.     The   other,  who   did  not  say 
her  prayers,  fell  a  victim  to  seduction. 
The  sad  effect  upon  morals,  which  for 
many  ages  was  produced  by  these  tales, 
so    common   in    Monasteries,    is    well 
pourtrayed   by  the  following  story  in 
this  very  book  :  "Deux  individus  ayant 
insulte  a  la  religion  en  couchiant  (c'est 
son  expression)  sur  un  autel  avec  des 
femmes,  ils  en  sont  punis  d'une  facon 
bien  extraordinaire,  et  restent  dans  cet 
etat  tout  un  jour,  jusqu'a  ce  qu'enfin 
Ton  vient    en   procession    prier    Dieu 
pour  eux  et  obtenir  leur  delivrance/'1 
Whoever  has  heard  of  the   ceremony 

1  Decameron,  Day  ii.  Nov.  ix. 

k  De  Colloq.  TJtilit.  inter  Colloq.  p.  650, 

1  Notices,  v,  159—16(3. 


186 


NOVICES. 


called  Le  Congres,  only  abolished  in 
1677}  through  the  satire  of  Boileau, 
will  not  be  surprised  even  at  this  shock- 
ing profanation.* 

Though  abstinence  from  blows  to- 
wards females  be  a  test  of  refinement, 
because  it  shows  elevation  of  senti- 
ment, the  basis  of  that  quality,  it  was 
not  then  deemed  reproachable  for  a 
Saint  to  have  a  girl  of  an  age  of  pu- 
berty flogged  naked.b  The  famous 
Heloisa  was  to  be  lashed,  though  22 
years  old.c 

It  appears,  from  Chaucer's  Miller's 
Wife,  that  Education  in  a  Nunnery  was 
presumed  to  confer  a  right  to  take  the 
title  of  madam. 

At  a  certain  period d  the  most  able 
of  the  Novices  were  sent  to  the  Uni- 
versities.6 The  constitutions  respect- 
ing them  at  these  places  were  these  :  a 
doctoral  chair  in  the  College  :  not  to 
study  but  under  a  tutor  of  the  same 
religion  and  science,  if  there  was  such 
a  one  :  a  Prior  of  the  Students  to  be 
elected,  for  which  vast  interest  was 
made,  and  great  tumults,  and  who 
were  very  negligent  in  their  duty  : 
Monks  not  to  study  with  Seculars  :  to 
have  divine  service  in  the  house: 
Chambers  vacant  for  more  than  half  a 
year  to  be  immediately  filled,  though 
with  an  obligation,  that  any  occupier 
was  to  give  way  to  another  sent  from 
the  house  that  built  or  repaired  such 
Chamber  :  disputations  to  be  held,  and 
preaching  both  in  Latin  and  English, 
at  least  four  times  a  year :  Convents 
negligent  in  sending  Students  :  old 
men  not  to  be  sent,  at  least  for  learn- 
ing philosophy,  for  Priors  used  to  be 
sent:  not  to  plead  before  Secular  judges, 

a  Hymen,  or  the  Marriage  Ceremonies  of  all 
Nations,  p.  29.  b  X  Script.  2483. 

c  Hawkins's  Musick,  ii.  23,  124,  125. 

11  "At  eighteen  years  of  age  at  least/'  in  Gutch's 
Oxford,  388. 

e  There  was  great  negligence  in  this  respect. 
The  Abbot  of  Malmesbury  withdrew  a  scholar  from 
Oxford  for  two  years  ;  the  Abbot  of  Abbotesbury 
for  seven.  See  Wilk.  Concil.  iii.  425,  where  other 
instances.  No  mendicant  Frier  was  to  receive  the 
degree  of  Master  in  Divinity,  without  the  approba- 
tion of  the  Provincial  Chapter  and  competency ; 
for  many  unfit  persons  obtained  it  by  money. 
Parliamentary  Rolls,  20  Ric.  II, 


but  to  settle  their  disputes  by  means 
of  the  Prior  and  Seniors  :  vast  interest 
made  to  be  sent.  The  proportion  of 
Students  to  be  sent  was  from  one  to 
more  in  houses  of  twenty  Monks, 
according  to  the  circumstances  of  such 
house  ;  though  Convents  of  less  than 
twenty  conceived  that  they  were  not 
obliged  to  send  any.f  The  ablest  to 
be  sent,  and  young  persons  :S  disputa- 
tions in  philosophy  and  theology  at 
least  once  a  week :  a  philosophical 
reader  to  be  appointed :  Monks  to  host 
together  not  less  than  ten :  to  be  under 
the  subjection  :  and  with  respect  to 
the  confession  and  the  Eucharist,  of 
one  of  their  own  body  :  not  to  be  gra- 
duated but  under  a  Doctor  of  the  Or- 
der. It  seems  that  there  was  much 
sleeping  out  and  frequenting  taverns 
by  the  Students,11  as  well  as  disobe- 
dience.1 The  manner  of  living  at  this 
period  in  the  Universities,  is  curious. 
Students  rose  daily  between  four  and 
five  in  the  morning,  and  from  five  to 
six  attended  the  Chapel ;  from  six  to 
ten  used  private  study,  or  attended  the 
common  lectures.  At  ten  they  went 
to  dinner  upon  a  penny  piece  of  beef 
among  four,  with  pottage,  made  of  the 
broth  of  the  same  beef,  and  salt  and 
oatmeal.      After   this  slender  dinner, 

f  Item,  "  Whereas  the  said  Monastery  (of  Hyde) 
is  charged  by  the  king's  highness,  in  his  various 
visitations,  to  find  three  scolers,  students  at  one  of 
the  Universities  in  England  ;  it  shall  be  lefull  for 
the  said  Abbot,  during  his  lieff,  to  appoint  and  gyve 
exhibicion  to  some  scoler  and  student  to  be  ac- 
compted  in  the  same  nombre,  being  an  Englishman, 
or  borne  within  some  of  the  king's  dominions, 
whiche  shall  applye  his  study  and  learning  in  the 
partes  beyond  the  sea,  within  any  Universitie  there." 
MS.  Cott,  Cleop.  E.  iv.  p.  49. 

s  Thomas  Leigh  (one  of  Henry's  visitors),  in  his 
letter  from  Wilton,  desires  Cromwell  to  consider 
whom  he  will  send  to  Oxford  or  Cambridge  ;  for, 
he  says,  that  opposite  results  may  occur,  either  all 
virtue  and  goodness,  "  or  the  fountain  of  all  vice 
and  mischief."     Id. 

h  Cap.  Gen.  Northampt.  a0  1444.  c.  13.  Reyn. 
Append.  177,  198,  9,  200,  1,  2. 

'  Vestris  epistolis  nuper  nobis  transmissis  acce- 
pimus,  quod  non  absque  cordis  lDeticia  contemplati 
sumus,  quod  de  emolliendo  eradicandoque  ipsum 
inobedientise  tribulum,  qui  nuper  elationis  frondi- 
bus  succreverat  in  vinea  vestra  vos  patres-familias 
cooperatores  ibi  venistis  inveniendos  [inventuros] , 
aut  quid  simile.  MS.  Bodl.  2508,  p.  39.  D& 
presidente  ad  studentes  Monachos  Oxon. 


NOVICES. 


187 


they  were  either  teaching  or  learning 
till  five  in  the  evening,  when  they  went 
to  supper,  which  was  not  much  better 
than  their  dinner;  immediately  after 
which  they  betook  themselves  to  rea- 
soning upon  problems,  or  some  other 
study,  till  nine  or  ten,  when  being 
allowed  no  fire,  they  walked  or  ran 
about  half  an  hour  to  get  their  feet  warm 
before  they  went  to  bed.a  The  poor 
Scholars,  at  least,  were  obliged  to  scrape 
the  trenchers  clean  for  dinner.b  A 
General  Chapter  of  the  Benedictine 
Order,  held  at  Reading  (a°  1279),  the 
statutes  of  which  were  afterwards  miti- 
gated, ordered  that  every  house  of 
religion  should  give  two-pence  out  of 
every  mark  they  received  in  spirituals 
and  temporals  to  the  reparation  and 
support  of  the  mansion  of  the  Bene- 
dictine Students  at  Oxford,  whence  it 
grew  into  a  custom,  that,  at  every 
Provincial  Chapter,  a  collection  was 
made  for  this  purpose.0  Accordingly 
we  find  instances  of  such  collection/ 
and  of  a  Student  being  sent  with  a 
full  purse  of  60s.  sterlings  Still  their 
pensions  were  ill  paid,f  for  the  Monks 
grudged  paying  money  for  them/  and 
they  used  to  take  their  degrees  with 
such  parade,h  and  consequently  ex- 
pence,1  that  they  were  very  often  cal- 
led home  in  order  to  stop  their  proceed- 
ings in  graduation^  To  moderate  the 
feasts,  games,  and  excessive  banquets 
given  by  scholars  on  taking  degrees, 
it  was  ordered  at  Toulouse  in  1324, 
that  the  Graduate  should  be  attended 
by  only  two  trumpets  and  a  drum ;  and 
in  1329,  dances,  banquets,  comedians, 
&c.  were  prohibited. l  In  the  Grand 
Compounder,  traces  of  this  practice  still 
remain.       The  feast  at  taking  degrees, 

R  Hawkins's  Music,  ii.  348. 

b  Douce  on  Shakspeare,  i.  17-18. 

c  W.  Thome,  col.  930. 

d  Nichols's  Manners  and  Expences,  p.  286.  Of 
contributions  fraudulently  withheld ;  see  Wilk. 
Concil.  iii.  464. 

e  Casley's  Catalogue  of  MSS.  in  the  King's 
Library,  p.  131. 

f  Reyn.  ut  sup.  s  Athon.  143. 

h  War  ton's  Hist,  of  English  Poetry,  i.  p.  290. 

1  Const.  B.  12.  utsup. 

k  C.  G.  North,  ut  sup.  c.  xiii. 

1  Maillot,  Costumes,  iii.  128. 


for  pure  ostentation,  is  classed  with  that 
of  the  installation  of  Bishops.111  Doc- 
tors and  Graduates  had  precedence  to 
others,  after  Priors  and  Sub-priors  in 
Cathedrals.11 

Nuns.  The  chief  ceremony  was 
the  Consecration  of  a  Nun.  In  the 
year  446,  Pope  Leo  ordered  that  a 
Nun  should  receive  the  veil,  consecra- 
ted by  a  Bishop,  only  when  she  was  a 
virgin.0  A  widow  could  not  be  conse- 
crated, because  the  continence  of  a 
virgin  might  be  complete,  that  of  a 
widow  was  only  semiplena.  P  Accord- 
ing to  Du  Cange,  the  ceremony  takes 
date  with  the  age  of  Charlemagne.  It 
differed  from  profession  ;  that  applied 
to  any  woman,  whether  virgin  or  not, 
could  be  done  by  an  Abbot  or  visitor  of 
the  House,  after  the  year  of  probation, 
and  change  of  the  habit ;  but  consecra- 
tion could  only  be  made  by  the  Bishop. 
Nuns  were  usually  professed  at  the  age 
of  sixteen,  but  they  could  not  be  con- 
secrated till  twenty-five  ;  and  this  veil 
could  only  be  given  on  festivals  and 
Sundays.  A  particular  mantle,  called 
Allivis,  was  placed  by  the  Bishop  over 
the  Nun  during  the  ceremony  .^     r  This 


m  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  377. 

n  C.  G.  North,  ut  sup.  c.  x.  and  xiii. 

0  Mar.  Scotus  sub  anno. 

p  Lyndw.  206.     Annulum.  Ed.  Oxf. 

i  Du  Cange,  1 110.  ii.  981.  v.  Allivis.  Benedictio 
Virginum  devotarum,  Consecratio.  Inq.  p.  mort. 
Elean.  Duciss.  Glouc.  1  Hen.  IV.  Glouc.  Lyndw. 
202. 

r  Consecratio  virginis  quse  in  diebus  solennibus 
facienda  est ;  vid.  aut  in  Epiphania,  aut  in  festis 
S.  Marise,  aut  apostolorum ,  aut  Dominicis  diebus, 
Virgo  Deo  dicanda  post  introitum  missse  et  collec- 
tam  priusquam  legatur  epistola,  veniat  ante  altare 
induta  albis  vestibus,  habitum  religionis  in  dextra 
nianu  tenens,  et  cereum  extinctum  in  sinistra  ;  et 
ponatur  vestirnentum  ad  pedes  episcopi  ante  altare, 
et  cereum  in  manu  retineat.  Benedicat  ergo  epis- 
copus  vestirnentum  his  subscriptis  benedictionibus. 
Tunc  det  ei  episcopus  virginitatis  vestirnentum,  et 
tantum  velamen  apud  se  faciat  retineri  dicens  : 
"  Accipe  puella  pallium,  quodpraeferas  sine  macula," 
&c.  Tunc  ipsa  virgo  vadat  ad  sacrarium,  etindicat 
se  ipso  vestimento  benedicto,  accipiensque  unum 
cereum  in  manus  suas  ardentem  veniat  in  chorum 
cantans,'"Amo  Christum  incujusthalamumintroivi ." 
Tunc  legatur  epistola,  et  evangelium,  et  post  evan- 
gelium  et  Credo  in  unum,  dicat  episcopus:  "Venite, 
venite,  venite,  filiee,  audite  me,  timorem  Domini 
docebo  vos."  Tunc  veniat  virgo  ante  altare  cantans, 
et  nunc  sequimur  in  toto  corde  ;  quo  finito  pros- 
ternat  se  episcopus  super  tapetum  ante  altare,  et 


188 


NOVICES. 


was  to  be  made  on  solemn  days,,  namely , 
either  in  the  Epiphany,  or  on  the  festi- 
vals of  St.  Mary,  or  of  the  A/postles, 
or  Sundays. a  The  Virgin  to  be  con- 
secrated, after  the  beginning  of  the 
Mass  and  Collect,  before  the  Epistle 
was  read,  came  before  the  altar,  robed 
in  white,  carrying  the  religious  habit 
in  her  right  hand,  and  an  extinguished 
taper  in  her  left,  which  habit  she  laid 
before  the  altar,  at  the  Bishop's  feet, 
and  held  the  taper  in  her  hand.  The 
Bishop  then  consecrated  the  habit, 
and  gave  it  her  (the  veil  excepted),  say- 
ing, "  Take,  girl,  the  robe,  which  you 
shall  wear  in  innocence ;"  upon  which 
she  went  to  the  Revestry,  put  it  on, 
and  returned  with  a  lighted  taper  in 
her  hand,  singing,  u  I  love  Christ,  into 
whose  bed  I  have  entered  "h  Then, 
after  the  Epistle,  Gospel,  and  Creed, 
the  Bishop  said,  "  Come,  come,  come, 


et  virgo  retro  episcopum,  et  cantetui- interim  letania 
a  duobus  clericis  festive  choro  respondents  Epis- 
copus  vero  et  ministri  altaris  cantent  interim  vii 
psalm.  Post  letaniam,  surgat  episcopus,  etincipiat 
festive,  "  Veni  Creator  spiritus."  Post  hymnum, 
surgat  virgo,  et  veniat  ante  altare ;  tunc  imponat 
episcopus  velamen  super  caput  virginis  inclinatse. 
Tunc  virgo  incipiat  hanc,  "  Induit  me  Dominus," 
vel  quamlibet  antiphonam  quse  conveniat  de  historia 
S.  Agnetis  aut  S.  Agatha?.  Hie  episcopus  faciat 
bannum,  ne  quis  pra;sumat  illud  sanctum  propo- 
situm  violare  ;  postea  faciat  virgo  hanc  professionem, 
si  tempus  fuerit.  Deinde  signum  crucis  faciat  in 
fine  professions,  et  ponat  super  altare.  His  expletis, 
abbatissa  ipsam  petitionem  accipiat  ah  altari,  et 
servandam  tradat.  Tunc  professa  stet  ante  altare, 
et  tertio  hunc  versum  dicat,  "  Suscipe  me,  Domine, 
secundum  eloquium  tuum,''  &c.  qui  versus  tertio 
repetatur  ab  omnibus,  et  in  fine,  "  Gloria  Patri," 
&c.  et  postea,  "  Kyrie,  et  Pater  Noster."  Interim 
professa  prosternat  se  coram  altare,  quo  facto 
dicat  episcopus,  et  ne  nos  induce,  &c.  Et  subse- 
quentes  psalmos  incohet ;  Domine,  quis  habitabit  ; 
Dominus  regit  me,  et  Salvum  me  fac  Domine,  quem 
intraverunt,  quibus  ad  omnibus  decantatis  statim 
subjungat  heec  capitula,  "  Salvam  fac  ancillam 
tuam,''  &c.  Post  hsec  tradat  alicui  puella  cereum 
ad  tenendum,  et  offerat  panem  et  vinum  episcopo, 
iterumque  accipiat  cereum,  et  stet  inclinata,  usque 
communicet,  et  missa  finiatur  ordine  suo.  Item 
episcopalis  benedictio  super  earn.  Post  missam 
offerat  virgo  cereum  super  altare,  et  discendat  cum 
pace.     MS.  Cott.  Tiber.  B.  vin.  f.  120,  seq. 

a  Wearing  veils  originated  with  the  Pontiff  Soter 
in  the  year  178  ;  and  Gelasius,  who  was  Pope  in  the 
fifth  century,  decreed  that  they  should  not  be  veiled, 
except  in  cases  of  extreme  sickness,  but  on  the 
Epiphany,  Paschal  Albs,  or  the  Nativities  of  the 
Apostles.  Johnson's  Canons  of  the  Eastern 
Church,  p.  320. 

J  See  the  Chapter  of  Continent  ev. 


daughters,  I  will  teach  you  the  fear  of 
the  Lord ;,}  upon  which  the  Nun  came 
before  the  altar,  singing,  "  And  now 
we  follow  with  our  whole  hearts" 
When  this  was  finished,  the  Bishop 
prostrated  himself  upon  the  carpet 
before  the  altar,  and  the  Nun  behind 
him  ;  and  in  the  mean  while  the  Litany 
was  sung  by  two  Clerks,  the  Choir 
making  the  responses  ;  but  the  Bishop 
and  Ministers  of  the  altar  sang  in  the 
mean  time  the  seven  psalms.  After 
the  Litany,  the  Bishop  rose,  and  began 
the  Veni  Creator;  after  which  the  Nun 
rose,  and  came  before  the  altar,  when 
the  Bishop  put  the  veil  upon  her  head, 
as  she  stooped.  After  which,  she 
began  Induit  me  Dominus,  or  some 
suitable  antiphonar  from  the  histories 
of  Agnes  or  Agatha.  This  was  follow- 
ed by  a  curse  from  the  Bishop,  against 
all  those  who  presumed  to  disturb  her 
holy  purpose.  The  Nun  then  made 
her  profession,  if  she  had  time,  put 
the  signature  of  the  cross  to  the  end 
of  it,  and  laid  it  upon  the  altar,  from 
!  whence  the  Abbess  took  it,  to  be  laid 
I  by.  Then  the  Nun  stood  before  the 
i  altar,  and  said  this  verse  three  times, 
"  Keceive  me,  O  Lord  I"  which  was 
each  time  repeated  by  all,  and  con- 
cluded with  the  Doxology,  Kyrie  elee- 
son,  and  Lord's  Prayer.  In  the  mean 
time  the  Nun  lay  before  the  altar,  and 
certain  psalms  were  sung;  after  which 
she  gave  the  taper  to  some  one  to  hold, 
and  offered  bread  and  wine  to  the 
Bishop  ;  which  over,  she  again  took  the 
taper,  and  stood  inclined  till  she  had 
communicated,  and  the  Mass  and  Epis- 
copal benediction  was  concluded.  After 
the  Mass,  she  offered  the  taper  upon 
the  altar,  and  descended  in  peace.  The 
second  was  the  Order  c  how  a  Nun  tuas 


c  Ordo  qualiter  virgo  faciat  professionem,  si  ante 
fuerit  benedicta  sine  professione.  Quocunque  festo 
voluerit  cantabit  episcopus  missam,  et  post  evan- 
gelium  incipiatur  psalmus,  "  Miserere  mei,  Deus," 
cum  "  Gloria  Patri."  Quo  decantato  ab  omnibus 
1  acceclat  virgo  ante  altare,  et  legat  professionem 
suam,  "  Ero  soror,"  sicut  superius  prsenotatum  est. 
Tunc  dicat  episcopus  (M.) ;  tunc  incipiat  episcopus 
excelsa  voce  hymnum.  Hie  se  erigat  virgo  acce- 
datque  ad  episcopum,  et  episcopus  ponet  velamen 
super  oculos  ejus  ;  quo  facto,  iterum  se  prosternat 
incipiatque  preesuj  hunc  ps.almum  [then,  aa  anti* 


NOVICES. 


189 


to  make  profession,  if  she  had  been  bles- 
sed before  without  profession.  Upon 
whatever  festival  he  chose,  the  Bishop 
sung  Mass,  and  after  the  Gospel  the 
51st  Psalm,  and  Gloria  Patri  was  sung 
by  all.  The  Nun  then  advanced  before 
the  altar,  and  read  her  profession, 
which  was  succeeded  by  a  religious  ser- 
vice by  the  Bishop.  She  then  rose, 
and  advanced  to  that  prelate,  who  put 
the  veil  over  her  eyes ;  after  which  she 
prostrated  herself  again,  and  a  psalm 
and  antiphonar  was  sung  by  the  Bishop. 
The  third  was  the  formd  how  a  Nun 


phonar]  ab  episcopo.  MS.  Cott.  ut  supra,  135, 
seq.  Without  profession  alludes  to  its  omission 
for  want  of  time. 

d  MS.  Harl.  561.  f.  107.  114.  b.  Forma quali- 
ter  sanctimonialis  non  virgo,  vel  alia  facere  debet 
professionem  suam.  Quocunque  festo  solempni 
episcopus  voluerit,  induat  se  sacris  vestibus,  vid. 
sandaliis,  superpellicio,  sudario,  amissio,  interim 
dum  se  induit  percantentur  a.  clericis  ad  hoc  assig- 
natis  preces  consueti,  &c.  [then  some  religious 
services.]  Et  tunc  episcopus  ponat  se  in  phildis- 
torio  honeste  prseparato  coram  medio  altaris  facie 
conversa  ad  occidentem.  Et  interim  mulier  pro- 
fessura  accedat  prseparata  per  ostium  chori  inferius, 
cum  duabus  vel  tribus  sororibus  ipsam  comitantibus, 
portans  habitum,  quae  religio  sua  requirit,  super 
brachium  sinistrum,  in  quo  infigatur  velamen  capitis 
cum  annulo,  et  in  dextera  manu  scedulam  habeat 
scriptam  suae  professionis  pleno  visu  continue  in  earn 
intendendo.  Deinde  dum  procedit  usque  altare 
episcopus  cum  ministris  suis  mediocri  voce  dicat 
clero  vel  choro  alternatim  constrepente,  "  Miserere 
mei,  Deus,''  &c.  cum  "  Gloria  Patri,"  et  "  Sicut 
erat."  Positis  autem  habitu,  velamine,  et  annulo 
ad  pedes  episcopi,  et  completo  psalmo,  mulier  pro- 
fessura  stans  super  medium  gradum  altaris  legat 
professionem  suam  hoc  modo :  "Ego  soror  promitto 
stabilitatem  meam,  etconversionemmorummeorum, 
et  obedientiam  coram  Deo  omnibusque  Sanctis  ejus, 
secundum  regulam  Sancti  Benedicti,  in  loco  qui 
est  consecratus  in  honore  S.  N.  et  in  prsesentia 
domini  episc.  N.  vel  abbatissse  N."  Quel  lecta 
genufiectendo  faciat  crucem  cum  penna  in  fine 
professionis  super  genua  episcopi,  et  osculata  manu 
ejus,  surgat  et  prosternat  se  super  tapetum  vel 
terram  ante  inferiorem  gradum  altaris,  super  quam 
sic  prostratem  episcopus  stando  has  sequentes  dicat, 
&c.  Deinde  erigatur  mulier,  et  remotis  velamine 
et  annulo,  benedicat  episcopus  habitumsic  dicendo; 
deinde  asperso  habitu  aqua  bened.  induat  episcopus 
professuram  cum  ea  sic  dicendo  ;  postea  convertat 
se  episcopus,  cum  ministris  genufiectendo  ad  altare, 
professura  retro  episcopum  prostrata  incipiat  alta 
voce.  Veni  Creator,  &c.  ut  supra  in  benedictione 
abbissse  ;  dicto  hoc,  surgat  episcopus  et  conversus 
ad  mulierem  dicat  .  .  .  hie  erigat  se  a  terra  sancti- 
monialis episcopo  interim  velamen  ejusbenedicente 
sic...  tunc  imponat  unus  sacerdos  et  non  episcopus 
velamen  capiti  mulieris,  episcopo  interim  dicente  ; 
quo  dicto,  benedicat  episcopus  amissium  hoc  modo  ; 
tunc  tradat  ei  episcopus  annulum  sic  dicendo  ; 
deinde  trahit  episcopus  velamen  super  oculos  ejus 


j  not  a  Virgin,  or  other,  was  to  make  her 
profession.  Upon  whatever  festival 
he  chose,  the  Bishop  robed  himself  in 
pontificals,  and  while  he  was  doing 
this,  the  usual  prayers  were  said  by 
Clerks  appointed  for  this.  The  Bishop 
then  placed  himself  in  a  chair  before 
the  middle  of  the  altar,  with  his  face 
towards  the  west.  The  Nun  in  the 
mean  while  advanced  through  the  lower 
gate  of  the  Choir,  with  two  or  three 
sisters  accompanying,  carrying  the 
habit  on  her  left  arm,  in  which  was 
fixed  the  veil  with  the  ring,  and  in  her 
right  the  schedule  of  profession,  upon 
which  she  kept  her  eyes  fixed.  While 
she  was  advancing,  the  Bishop,  Minis- 
ters, and  Choir,  in  a  low  voice,  sung  a 
certain  service.  When  this  psalm  was 
over,  and  the  habit,  veil,  and  ring  laid 
at  the  Bishop^s  feet,  the  Nun,  stand- 
ing upon  the  middle  step  of  the  altar, 
read  her  profession  in  this  form  :  "  I 
sister  [A]  promise  stedfastness,  and 
the  conversion  of  my  manners,  and 
obedience  before  God  and  all  his  saints, 
according  to  the  Rule  of  St.  Benedict, 
in  the  place  which  is  consecrated  to 
the  honour  of  S.  N.  and  in  the  presence 
of  our  lord  Bishop  N.  or  Abbess  NV' 
After  this,  she  knelt  and  made  a  cross 
with  a  pen  in  the  end  of  the  profession 
upon  the  knees  of  the  Bishop,  and 
having  kissed  his  hand,  rose  and  pros- 
trated herself  upon  the  carpet  or  ground 

incipiendo  antiphonam ;  deinde  dicat  episcopus 
stando  super  istam  prostratam  sequentem  orationem 
cum  prsefacione  ;  si  sit  de  ordine  »S.  S.  Augustini 
vel  Francisci  sic.  Deinde  legatur  evangelium 
dictoque  officio  ac  interim  dum  a  choro  cantatur 
professa  procedendo  offerat  genibus  fiexis  ad  manum 
episcopi,  manu  ejus  ab  eadem  prius  osculata. 
Postea  offerant  alii  qui  volunt.  Professa  continue 
super  tapetum  vel  terram  se  prosternente,  usque 
post  receptionem  corporis  et  sanguinis  Christi,  ab 
episcopo  plene  factam.  Et  tunc  ante  resuperacio- 
nem  (sic)  professa  erigatur,  episcopus  veniens  ab 
altari  cum  corpore  Christi  patena,  imposito  com- 
municet  earn  super  gradum  altaris  superioris  devote 
genuflectentem  sic  dicendo  ;  tunc  osculata,  manu 
episcopi  surgendo  ducatur  in  chorum  osculetque 
sorores  tres  universas.  Ac  nichil  omnino  illorum 
vestimentorum,  quae  inbenedictione  habuit,  exuendo 
sive  mutando,  subtalaribus  pedum  tantum  modo 
exceptis  ;  sed  die  nocteque  psalmis,  hymnis,  et 
canticis  spiritualibus,  magis  devocione  cordis  quam 
modulacione  vocis,  domino  jam  Christo  cui  se 
devovit  jugiter  servire  intendat,  ultimo  etiam  stabit 
in  loco  usque  in  tcrcium  diem. 


190 


NOVICES. 


before  the  lower  step  of  the  altar,  over 
whom  the  Bishop  standing  then  said 
certain  prayers.  She  was  then  raised, 
and  the  veil  and  ring  being  set  aside, 
the  Bishop  consecrated  the  habit,  and, 
after  it  had  been  sprinkled  with  holy 
water,  put  it  upon  her,  with  certain 
prayers.  He  then  turned  with  his 
attendants  to  the  altar,  kneeling,  and 
the  Nun  prostrate  behind  him,  begin- 
ning with  a  loud  voice,  Veni  Creator  ; 
after  this  he  rose,  and  turning  to  her, 
said  certain  prayers.  She  then  rose, 
and  the  veil  was  consecrated,  and  one 
of  the  Priests,  not  the  Bishop,  put  it 
upon  her  head,  while  the  Bishop  said 
certain  prayers.  The  amessawas  then 
consecrated,  the  ringb  given  to  her,c 
and  the  veil  drawn  over  her  eyes, 
which  was  followed  by  certain  prayers 
over  her  as  she  lay  prostrate.  Then 
the  Gospel  was  read,  and  while  the 
service  was  singing  by  the  Choir,  she 
kissed  the  Bishop's  hand,  and  made 
her  offering  kneeling,  as  afterwards 
did  those  who  chose  it.  She  then 
continued  prostrate  till  the  Commu- 
nion was  over,  when  she  arose,  and 
the  Bishop  brought  her  the  patin  to 
communicate,  as  she  knelt  upon  the 
step  of  the  high  altar.  After  this, 
she  kissed  the  Bishop's  hand,  was  led 
into  the  Choir,  and  kissed  all  the  three 

a  "Worn  on  the  head  :  it  signified  the  rag  of  linen 
wherewith  the  Jews  blinded  Christ  in  mockery, 
when  they  smote  and  buffeted  him.  Gutch's  Col- 
lectanea Curiosa,  ii.  179. 

b  A  small  ring  of  gold  with  a  sapphire  at  Ames- 
bury.  Lib.  Cotid.  contrar.  Garder.  28  Ed.  I.  p. 
348.  The  constitutions  complained  of  their  wear- 
ing several. 

c  Though  there  is  a  Canon  in  Lyndwood  (p. 
206),  that  only  consecrated  Nuns  should  wear 
rings,  yet  widows  made  the  vow  of  chastity,  by  a 
ring  only,  without  habit  or  veil.  See  an  instance 
in  Speed,  616. 


sisters.  She  then  continued  in  silence 
for  three  days,  never  changed  any  part 
of  her  clothes,  except  her  shoes,  but 
day  and  night  devoted  to  psalms  and 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  studied 
how  she  should  serve  God  constantly, 
and  took  the  last  rank,  till  the  third  day. 
The  duties  of  the  female  Novitiates 
were  similar  to  those  of  the  male.d 
When  taken  sick,  the  Infirmaress  was 
to  follow  them,  and  they  were  to 
have  no  communication  with  their 
companions,  unless  a  curtain  or  wall 
intervened.6 


d  Monast.  ii.  770.  e  Id.  ubi  sup. 

N.  B.  There  is  an  injunction  in  MS.  Ashm. 
Mus.  1519.  f.  37,  a.  that  a  Canon  should  not  be 
received  from  the  profession  of  another  house. 
(Nee  ullum  canonicum  ex  professione  alterius 
domus  ordinis  nostri  recipiat.)  They  were  refused 
admission  without  dimissory  letters  (M.  Paris, 
1015,)  which  assigned  asareason,  that  they  could  no 
longer  stay,  with  quiet  of  their  souls,  or  a  sound 
conscience  or  observation  of  the  Rule.  "  Licentia 
pro  monacho  eundi  ab  una  domo  in  aliam.  Abbas 
sive  prior  et  conventus  A.  B.  salutem.  Cumsicut 
exhibita  nobis  pro  parte  tua,  &c.  peticio,  &c. 
(MS.  Harl.  670,  fol.  100,  a.)  continebat  quod  in 
dicto  monasterio  per  causas  certas  et  literas  nobis 
ministratas,  non  possis  cum  tuae  quiete  anima?  et 
sana.  conscientia  vel  amplius  remanere,  neque  dicti 
ordinis  regulam  observare  in  eadem,  transeundi  ad 
aliud  monasterium  ejusdem  ordinis  indulgentiam 
nobis  humiliter  sixpplicavisti,  &c."  (MS.  Harl. 
2179,  f.  78,  a.)  But  he  might  leave  his  Order, 
without  leave  of  the  Superior,  if  that  he  proposed 
to  go  into  was  more  austere.  (Dev.  Vie  Monast.  i. 
243.)  If  it  was  to  a  more  remiss  one,  the  papal 
licence  was  necessary ;  unless  there  was  a  cause, 
and  the  Monk  was  young  or  old,  and  the  cause 
required  celerity,  and  then  the  Bishop's  was  suffi- 
cient. Lyndw.  210.  But;  if  he  went  into  the 
same  Order,  dimissory  letters  were  taken.  Monast. 
i.  p,  41.  They  might  change  their  Order  when  the 
irregularity  and  bad  example  of  the  religious  endan- 
gered their  salvation.  Dev.  Vie  Monast.  ii.  25. 
In  1247  the  Friars  Preachers  obtained  a  privilege, 
that  no  one  should  leave  their  Order,  because  many 
who  had  entered  into  it  were  disappointed.  M. 
Par.  637.  The  Abbot's  licence  was  necessary  even 
to  be  elected  Abbot  of  another  house.     Id.  1031. 


LAY-BROTHERS, 


191 


CHAPTER    XXX, 


LAY-BROTHERS 


A  Lay-brother  made  his  petition 
prostrate  in  the  Chapter,  in  this  form : 
"  I  seek  charitably  the  habit  of  a  bro- 
ther, for  the  salvation  of  my  soul." 
Upon  his  being  raised,  the  Abbot  or 
Prior  said  that  it  was  necessary  he 
should  swear  to  observe  chastity,  to 
be  faithful  to  the  Church,  and  obedi- 
ent to  his  Superiors,  as  well  as  to  re- 
nounce property  and  his  own  will. 
Afterwards  a  brother  was  deputed  to 
him  to  teach  him  his  Pater  Noster, 
Ave  Mary,  Creed,  and  other  religious 
offices,  to  serve  at  the  Masses,  and 
graces  at  dinner,  as  well  as  to  say  the 
hours,  in  a  form  peculiar  to  themselves.a 
These  were  professed  Lay-brothers ; 
but  there  were  also  Oblati,  persons 
who  devoted  themselves  to  servitude 
by  giving  four-pence,  and  sometimes 
binding  their  necks  in  a  bell-rope  ;b 
and  Fratres  ad  succurendum,  assistant 
brothers,  who  wore  only  a  short  scapula- 
ry,  while  the  prof essed  Lay-brother  had 
the  habit  of  the  Order.0  Some  persons 
gave  themselves,  and  all  or  part  of  their 
property,  to  the  house,  and  professed 
obedience  to  the  Abbot,  and  received 
food  and  clothing.  There  were  infe- 
riors to  these,  who,  with  their  families, 
became  vassals  to  the  Church.d  Of 
this  kind  of  persons,  or  others,  they 
had,  it  seems,  a  long  train :  for  the  Ab- 
bot of  Fever  sham,  writing  to  Crom- 


a  Secularis  habitum  fratrum  suscepturus  faciat 
peticionem  in  capitulo  prostratus  in  hunc  modum, 
"  Ego  peto  caritative  habitum  fratris  pro  anima 
raea  salvanda."  Quo  erecto,  dicat  abbas,  seu  prior, 
quod  oportet  eurn  supra  textum  vovere  castitatem, 
et  jurare  ndelitatem  ecclesie,  et  obedientiarn  suis 
superioribus  abrenuntiando  etiam  proprietati  et 
propria  voluntati.  Deinde  deputetur  ei  ahquis  pater 
qui  doceat  eurn  Pater  Noster,  Ave  Maria,  Credo, 
Confiteor,  Psalmos  de  Profundis,  et  Miserere.  Et 
ad  serviendum  ad  missas  et  gracias  ad  prandium. 
Item  doceatur  dicere  boras  hoc  modo.  Ad  quam- 
libet  horam  dicat  (prayers).  MS.  Bodl,  Bar- 
low, T. 

b  Du  Cange,  in  voce. 

c  Bibliotheca  Preemonstratensis,  i.  p.  24. 

d  Du  Cange,  v.  Oblati,  ubi  plura.  See  also  v. 
Bonati. 


well,  says,  "I  have  sent  to  vow  a 
paper  of  suche  proportyon  of  vyttell 
and  other,  as  the  Lay-brothers  hyre 
telly th  me  of  necessite  must  be  provyd- 
yde  for  them ;  now  they  not  regarding 
this  derthe,  would  have  and  hathe  that 
same  fare  contynuall  that  then  was 
usid,  and  wold  have  like  plenty  of  brede 
and  ale  and  rlshe  given  to  straungers 
in  the  butterye,  or  at  the  butterye  doore, 
and  as  large  lyveries  of  bredde  and  ale 
to  all  ther  servaunts,  and  to  vagabunds 
at  the  gate,  as  was  than  usid."e 

The  Gilbertine  Rule  goes  minutely 
into  their  duties.f  These  were,  ex- 
communication (if  impenitent)  upon 
transgression;  to  wash  their  own  cloaths, 
if  there  were  not  Fullers ;  or  else  to 
have  it  done  by  some  poor  person 
found  by  the  Porter,  and  to  be  washed 
only  by  the  foot ;  Chapter  to  be  held 
at  the  same  time,  and  in  a  similar  form 
to  that  of  the  Canons ;  Novices  to  be 
professed ;  brothers  coming  to  conver- 
sion not  to  be  admitted  under  twenty- 
four  years  of  age;?  at  Mattins  and 
daily  hours  to  use  certain  prayers;  from 
the  ides  of  September,  till  Maundy 
Thursday,  on  private  days,  and  such 
feasts  as  they  worked  on,  a  special  bell 
to  be  rung  to  wake  them ;  after  Vigils 
and  Lauds  to  keep  silence  till  Prime, 
which  over,  to  go  to  their  work ;  to  say 
the  other  hours,  on  the  places  where 
they  worked.  From  Easter  to  Sep- 
tember, on  working  days,  to  sleep  till 
Lauds,  because  they  had  no  meridian 
sleeps  from  the  Rule,  but  of  favour, 


e  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  p.  35,  a. 

f  Monast.  ii.  732,  seq.  In  the  Bodleian  Cata- 
logue of  the  contents  of  MS.  Ashm.  1285,  there  is 
mention  made  of  "Institutio  Laicorum  Fratrum." 
The  MS.  contains  no  such  thing,  according  to  my 
research. 

s  Thus  the  Franciscans  enacted,  "  that  no  one 
should  be  received  for  a  Lay-brother  under  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  nor  beyond  forty-three,  unless 
he  was  a  person  very  remarkable  and  famous." 
(Et  nullus  recipiatur  pro  laico  omnino  intra  xxiiii 
ann.  nee  ultra  xliii,  nisi  erit  persona  multum  nota- 
bilis  et  insignis.j     MS.  Bodl.  1882.  p.  45. 


192 


LAY-BROTHERS. 


namely,  those  who  were  in  the  house 
from  Easter  to  hay  harvest ;  those  in 
the  Granges,  from  the  feast  of  Holy 
Cross  till  the  same  term.  On  feasts 
that  they  did  not  work  on,  to  rise  to 
Mattins ;  and  from  September  to  Eas- 
ter, to  both  Vespers  :  on  other  days  to 
attend  to  their  work,  as  long  as  it  was 
light;  when  the  work  was  over,  to 
strike  the  table  and  sing  Complin. 
Those  in  the  Granges  from  the  calends 
of  November  till  the  Chayring  of  St. 
Peter  ;a  to  watch  till  the  fourth  part  of 
the  night  ;b  and  from  the  chairing  of 
St.  Peter  till  Easter,  and  from  the  ides 
of  September  till  the  calends  of  No- 
vember, to  rise  so  as  to  end  Vigils  and 
Lauds  before  day-break;  after  this, 
work :  from  Easter  to  the  above  ides, 
to  rise  with  day-break  ;  from  the  oc- 
taves of  Pentecost  to  Christmas,  and 
of  Epiphany  to  Easter,  every  Friday, 
disciplines ;  to  come  to  the  communion 
eight  times  in  the  year,  Novices  three ; 
silence  in  all  the  offices,  except  on  in- 
dispensable occasions ;  no  entrance 
into  the  offices  without  leave;  work- 
men of  the  house,  as  shoemakers, 
tailors,  weavers,  and  other  artificers, 
not  to  speak  but  standing,  and  in  a 
place  out  of  their  shops  of  necessary 
matters.  A  place  within  the  shops  to 
be  only  granted  to  smiths  (fabris). 
The  evening  chapter  to  be  held  every 
week  on  Thursday,  after  Vespers  in 
winter,  and  after  supper  in  summer, 
except  hay-harvest  and  August ;  one 
or  two  Canons  to  assist,  and  delin- 
quents be  beaten  in  the  next  Chapter; 
no  signs  to  be  made,  or  gossippings, 
unless  for  fire,  theft,  or  things  of  that 
kind.  Necessity  excused  from  this  of- 
fice the  brothers  engaged  with  the 
guests,  grangiaries,  neatherds,  and 
grooms :  on  feast  days  on  which  they 
worked,  allowed  to  be  present  at  the 
Complin  of  the  Nuns ;  those  in  the 
Granges  to  keep  silence  in  the  Dor- 
mitory, Refectory,  and  Calefactory  in 

a  The  chairing  of  St.  Peter  was  the  8  Cal.  Mart. 
22d  of  February. 

b  Viyilcnt  circum  quart  am  partem  noctis,  [per- 
haps "  to  wake  about  the  fourth  part  of  the  night,'' 
i.  e.  to  Lauds.] 


the  appointed  limits  ;  but  allowed  to 
converse  with  the  Grangiary  standing 
and  two  together ;  a  brother  travelling 
to  keep  silence  in  all  the  Churches,  and 
in  refection ;  and  after  Complin  to  con- 
form to  the  Rule,  though  not  to  fast, 
but  as  the  rest  in  Granges  ;  upon  com- 
ing to  a  house  or  grange  of  the  same 
Order  to  do  in  all  things  like  the  others ; 
allowed  to  converse  about  necessaries 
with  the  groom,  as  of  shoeing  horses, 
and  when  he  gave  them  hay,  and  in 
matters  of  that  nature,  but  standing; 
if  a  brother  went  out  with  leave,  he 
was  to  do  as  ordered;  no  gossipping, 
nor  carrying  tales  to  and  fro ;  upon  en- 
tering an  office,  to  seek  what  was  want- 
ed by  a  sign ;  none  to  refuse  going  in 
a  cart  in  order  that  they  might  ride ; 
shepherds  and  cow-keepers  to  return 
the  salutation  of  a  traveller,  or  inform 
him  of  his  road,  if  he  asked  the  ques- 
tion ;  but  if  he  asked  any  further,  to 
inform  him  they  were  not  allowed  to 
speak  ;  in  their  Refectory  to  dine  with 
their  Prior  or  the  Grangiary,  with 
similar  religious  ceremonies  as  the 
Canons  ;  not  to  dine  with  their  clothes 
ofT ;  to  lose  their  beer,  if  they  missed 
the  verse  three  times,  and  dine  last, 
and  make  prostrations,  if  they  spilt 
their  drink  or  soup,  and  ask  pardon 
in  the  Chapter,  if  they  cut  their  fin- 
gers ;  in  the  Granges  after  dinner  to  go 
to  the  Oratory ;  to  have  no  bells,  but 
wooden  balls,c  to  assemble  them  ;  not 
to  fast  but  on  the  principal  feasts,  and 
in  Advent,  and  Fridays  in  the  win- 
ter, when  they  had  every  one  of  them 
a  certain  allowance  of  bread  ;  pittances 
to  the  sick  persons  returning  from 
journeys,  and  those  who  had  been 
bled. 

The  Grangiary  or  Bailiff  was  to 
manage  the  farms  ;  to  converse  with 
the  brothers  of  labour  and  walking,  if 
needful ;  not  to  enter  the  Court  of  the 
Nuns ;  not  to  go  any  where  without 
orders  from  the  Prior ;  to  have  a  com- 
panion to  watch  him  in  the  absence  of 
the  Prior  or  Cellarer ;  not  to  take  any 
thing  to  himself  out  of  things  bought 

e  Lignea  Balla  ;  not  in  Du  Cange. 


LAY-BROTHERS. 


193 


or  sold  ;  the  Prior  or  Cellarer  to  punish 
those  who  did  not  obey  him. 

A  Canon  to  assist  the  Lay-brothers 
in  buying  and  selling :  the  Emptor  to 
be  assisted  alternately  by  one  of  three 
brethren  who  was  to  be  a  spy  upon 
him,  if  possible  a  lettered  person ;  si- 
lence under  certain  modifications ;  al- 
lowed to  talk  with  their  footboy  on 
necessary  occasions  ;  not  to  buy  or  sell 
without  leave  of  the  Prior,  Cellarer. 
Grangiary,  and  Proctor ;  give  an  ac- 
count upon  their  return ;  punctually 
to  restore  every  thing  borrowed  ;  who- 
ever went  to  fairs  to  buy  the  things 
(notified  in  writing)  for  the  use  of  the 
house ;  which  persons  to  consist  of 
one  Lay-brother,  two  lettered  persons, 
and  as  many  more  as  the  Prior  thought 
fit ;  their  purchases  (for  the  Nuns  at 
least)  to  be  exhibited  to  the  Prior,  Cel- 
larer, and  others  ;  not  to  buy  super- 
fluous fish  for  themselves  to  eat,  or 
delicacies,  or  drink  wine  unless  well 
watered ;  to  be  content  with  two  messes 
of  pottage ;  not  to  eat  but  in  places 
provided  by  the  officers,  and  then  to- 
gether ;  no  silk  to  be  bought  for  worldly 
vanities  ;  no  wool  to  be  mixed  with 
that  of  others ;  no  one  to  speak  offen- 
sively of  another  in  his  presence ;  the 
artificers  to  have  chests  to  put  their 
tools  in,  locked  with  two  keys,  one  in 
the  hands  of  the  Prior ;  no  artificer,  a 
guest,  to  become  a  brother  without 
consent  of  the  principal  Prior ;  no  dwell- 
ing out  of  the  gates  of  the  house,  un- 
less for  animals ;  bricklayers,  carpen- 
ters, and  those  who  worked  aloft, 
to  wear  breeches  ;  after  autumn,  a  bro- 
ther and  threshers  to  be  sent  to  the 
Granges,  to  thresh  as  much  corn  as 
would  serve  the  Convent  for  a  year; 
also  another  to  have  the  care  of  the 
cheese  and  butter;  geese,  hens,  bees, 
honey,  and  eggs,  under  the  care  of  the 
hospitalis  /rater  yrangice*  and  assist- 
ants. Of  these  the  best  to  be  sent 
to  the  Abbey,  when  wanted,  by  the 
care  of  certain  of  these  Lay-brothers ; 
the  hospitalis  fratei*  to  be  continually 

*  Housekeeper.     Mansionarius.     Du  Cange. 


at  home,  if  possible,  and  keep  the  keys 
of  the  Grange,  in  preference  ;  if  not, 
a  faithful  brother  in  his  stead :  mea- 
sures of  allowances  for  persons  coming 
to  the  granges,  and  horses,  &c.  to  be 
established,  and  to  be  uniform  every 
where ;  a  check  to  be  kept  by  an  itine- 
rant brother  of  the  quantities  of  corn 
threshed  out;  the  tithes  to  be  regu- 
larly separated,  and  no  strangers  corn 
put  in  their  custody  without  leave ;  wo- 
men not  to  milk  in  houses,  but  in 
fields  ;  not  to  enter  the  Granges  with- 
out leave,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  be 
neither  young  nor  pretty;  the  Lay- 
brothers  not  to  go  near  them;  to  be 
assisted  by  boys ;  their  refection  to  be 
made  in  a  house  out  of  the  gate,  and 
the  presiding  Lay-brother  to  oversee 
them  silently  through  a  hole,  and  to 
have  a  faithful  mercenary  to  attend 
upon  them,  and  such  a  person  to  over- 
see them  in  their  work  ;  not  to  ride  or 
overload  their  horses,  or  overwork 
themselves  ;  to  come  to  the  bake-house 
at  the  proper  season,  and  the  baker  to 
strike  the  table  at  the  time  of  mass ; 
punishments  to  be  established  for  theft 
and  other  crimes. 

Lay-brothers  retained  their  beards, 
while  the  Monks  were  shaved,  and 
were  therefore  called  Bearded  Bro- 
thers ;b  they  were  also  called  Viatores, 
from  frequently  travelling  on  the  Con- 
vent business.0 

Lay-sisters.  Not  to  be  admitted  to 
the  habit  before  twenty  years  old  ;  not 
to  wait  for  the  nuns  to  begin  their 
work,  which  consisted  of  washing,  cu- 
linary employments,  attendance,  and 
other  menial  offices  ;d  not  to  enter  the 
Church  but  at  the  times  appointed  for 
them;  to  hold  their  Chapter  every 
Sunday,  and  twice  in  the  week;  not  to 


b  Du  Cange,  v.  Barbati  fratres. 

c  Du  Cange,  in  voce. 

d  There  is  a  constitution  in  Lyndwood  (Proviuc. 
207,  Ed.  Oxon.)  which  prohibits  the  services,  by 
Nuns,  of  females  who  worked  in  silk,  acted  as  lady's 
maids,  or  prepared  baths.  These  were  called  vo- 
luptuous and  delicate  servants.  Others,  in  matters 
connected  with  food,  necessary  servants.  Among 
these  were  not  only  Bakers  (Pistrices),  but  Furna- 
rise,  whose  duty  appertained  to  the  oven. 


194 


LAY-SISTERS, 


weave  (texere)  any  thing  to  be  sent  or 
sold  out  of  the  house ;  when  they  rose 
from  their  beds  to  say  the  nocturnal 
synaxis  before  they  did  any  work,  but 
not  Prime  until  the  proper  season ;  to 
finish,  however,  what  they  had  begun, 
if  it  could  not  be  delayed  ;  in  a  work- 
ing day  of  twelve  lessons?  to  rise  before 
the  sixth  psalm;  on  entering  the  church, 
to  sit  upon  the  forms  called  miseri- 
cords, and  say  the  usual  prayer,  though 
the  Nuns  had  ended  part  of  the  ser- 
vice ;  from  All  Saints  to  the  chairing 
of  St.  Peter  every  day  before  Lauds 
and  Prime,  a  season  to  be  granted 
them  for  attending  to  devotions ;  from 
Holyroodday  to  All  Saints,  Prime  to  be 
said  at  such  an  hour  as  they  might 
very  soon  (mox)  go  to  their  work. 
When  at  their  devotions,  any  one  to 
be  allowed  to  join  them  after  they  had 
said  two  Pater  Nosters  ;  but  if  more, 
such  to  say  it  by  themselves  ;  all  to 
say  Complin  together  except  those 
engaged;  after  Prime  and  Complin  to 
sprinkle  themselves  with  holy  water ; 
to  communicate  eight  times  per  annum ; 
Novices  three ;  the  latter  to  leave  the 
chapter  at  the  "  Let  us  speak  of  the 
Order ;"  and  after  it  was  ended,  enter 
again,  and  take  their  veniae.  In  their 
refection  (which  was  attended  with 
prayers  like  those  of  the  Canons),  not 
to  sit  before   their  Prior ;  those  who 


served  at  the  table  in  Lent,  and  others 
who  were  not  allowed  to  eat  with  the 
Convent,  to  eat  after  Nones  when  they 
had  said  Vespers.  In  feasts,  when  the 
Nuns  went  to  their  biberes,  to  go  to 
theirs ;  to  drink  with  leave  after  Ves- 
pers if  the  brothers  or  sisters  professed 
on  a  working  day;  to  take  the  sacrament 
on  the  Sunday  following;  those  em- 
ployed in  brewing  to  say  the  hours  in 
their  house  ;  the  mistress  of  those  em- 
ployed in  offices  out  of  doors  to  have 
some  old  woman  to  speak  in  her  stead, 
when  she  gave  orders  ;  the  mistress  to 
strike  one  blow  before  she  said  bene- 
dicite  at  the  table  ;  a  Lay-sister  to  at- 
tend in  the  infirmary  to  dress  the  vic- 
tuals, wash  the  linen,  carry  the  weak, 
lead  the  blind,  and  otherwise  assist  the 
sick ;  intimacy  forbidden  between  them 
and  the  Nuns ;  punishments  for  crimes ; 
not  to  receive  the  sacrament  on  the 
Sunday,  if  they  had  concealed  any  crime 
during  the  week  which  ought  to  have 
been  proclaimed  in  Chapter. 

There  were  persons  called  Fellow 
sisters,  sisters,  being  virgins,  or  wo- 
men who  gave  themselves  and  their 
goods,  or  at  least  a  part,  to  Abbeys,  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  Oblati  among 
the  Monks.a 


Du  Cange,  v.  Consoror. 


SERVANTS, 


195 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


SERVANTS, 


All  those  within  the  house  took  an 
oath  of  fidelity,  and  not  to  reveal  the 
secrets  of  the  house.a  Instances  ap- 
pear, where  they  had  been  brought 
up  in  the  house  from  childhood,  and 
were  persons  judiciously  selected. 
The  Abbot  of  Feversham  says  :  "  Yet 
have  I  such  faithful  approved  Ser- 
vaunts,  whome  I  have  brought  upp  in 
my  poure  house,  from  their  tender 
yeares.  And  those  of  suche  wit  and 
good  discresion,  joyned  unto  the  long 
experience  of  the  trade  of  suche  worldly 
thing,  that  they  are  able  to  furnishe 
and  supply  those  partes,  I  know,  right 
well  in  all  poynts."b  In  the  time  of 
William  Eufus,  the  Servants  at  Eves- 
ham amounted  to  sixty-five ;  five  in 
the  church ;  two  in  the  infirmary  ;  two 
in  the  cellar ;  five  in  the  kitchen  \  seven 
in  the  bakehouse ;  four  brewers,  four 
menders,  two  in  the  bath,  two  shoe- 
makers, two  in  the  orchard,  three  gar- 
deners ;  one  at  the  cloister  gate,  two 
at  the  great  gate ;  five  at  the  vineyard ; 
four  who  served  the  Monks  when  they 
went  out ;  four  fishermen  ;  four  in  the 
Abbot's  chamber,  three  in  the  Hall.c 
At  the  Nunnery  of  Yedingham,  there 
were  a  miller  and  boy,  shoemaker,  car- 
ters, cowherds,  porter,  reaper,  two  gar- 
deners, servant  of  the  Granges,  four 
maids,  maids  of  the  infirmary,  keeper 
of  the  geese. d  Elsewhere  are  men- 
tioned a  Servant  of  the  parlour,  two 
tailors,  in  an  upper  chamber,  two  Ser- 
vants in  the  Vestiary,  who  rung  the 
bells  ;c  the  barber  ;f  one  of  the    fires, 


a  C.  Northampt.  a0  1444.  Cap.  vi.  sect.  De  In- 
firmitorio. 

b  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  IV.  f.  33.  a. 

c  Monast.  Anglic,  i.  146.  d  Id.  498. 

c  Serviens  parlorii ;  duos  cissores  in  nigro  sola- 
rio  ex  consuetudine.  In  vestiario  duo  servientes 
qui  pulsant  campanas  (Davies  has  a  similar  item 
of  Durham).     MS.  Harl.  1005,  p.  44. 

f  By  Lanfranc's  Decretals,  Prime,  Tierce,  and 
Chapter,  were  expedited,  and  no  Chapter  held  by 
the  children,  hut  they  went  to  their  school,  and 
when  every  thing  was  ready  in  the  cloister,  the 


who  was  constantly  every  fifteen  days 
to  clean  the  spittings  under  and  near 
the  forms,  and  strew  them  plentifully 
with  hay;S  servants  of  the  laundry, 
who  washed  the  table-cloths  of  the 
Refectory ;  the  Servants  of  certain  of- 
ficers.11 At  Tewkesbury,  at  the  Disso- 
lution, there  were  144.*  The  Con- 
vent of  St.  Alban's  did  not  return  ob- 
served, to  the  prohibition  that  womenk 


Abbot  began  a  religious  service.  No  one  was 
shaved  in  his  hood ;  but,  like  the  persons  who  per- 
formed the  office,  both  the  shaving  and  shaved  were 
in  their  frocks.  They  shaved  one  another,  but 
the  Refectioners  first,  in  winter,  when  the  minuti 
and  sick  had  mixtus  after  Chapter,  that  they  might 
find  every  thing  ready  for  them.  While  the  psalms 
were  singing,  no  one  was  to  wash  his  head,  pare 
his  nails,  or  leave  the  cloister  without  leave  :  but, 
after  the  psalms,  and  a  benedieite  and  answer,  they 
might  speak.  Then  a  bason  was  brought,  and  they 
washed  their  heads.  If  the  bell  rung  for  Church, 
those  went  whose  beards  were  either  shaved  or  un- 
touched. On  the  shaving  day  the  cloths  were 
changed  in  the  Refectory  ;  on  days,  when  conver- 
sation in  the  Cloister  was  allowed,  any  one  who 
thought  it  necessary,  might  be  shaved  with  consent 
of  the  Abbot  or  Prior.  C.  12.  Till  the  year  1266, 
the  Monks  of  St.  Augustine's,  Canterbury,  used 
to  shave  one  another  in  the  Cloister,  but  frequent 
injuries  ensuing  through  their  awkwardness  in  that 
office,  secular  persons  were  hired  (W.  Thorne,  C. 
25.  sect.  3)  ;  and  it  is  plain,  from  Davies  and  others 
mentioning  the  barber's  stipend  and  fees,  that  this 
example  was  followed  by  other  houses.  In  the 
Sempringham  rule  (Monast.  ii.  721)  the  Canons 
were  shaved  seventeen  times  per  annum  ;  but  one 
of  the  Inquirenda  of  Henry's  visitors  was,  "Whe- 
ther ye  bee  wyckely  shaven."  MS.  Cott.  Cleop. 
E.  IV.  Shaving  the  beard  began  about  the  year 
1200.  LeVoeu  de  Jacob,  i.  851.  Lest  the  Eu- 
charist should  be  violated  by  it. 

%  Minister  focarum  continue  circulo  quindecim 
dierum  screationes  subtus  et  prope  formas  mun- 
dabit,  et  fcenum  competens  copiose  ibidem  ma- 
gistri  distributione  curabit  jacere,  &c.  MS.  Cott. 
Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  197.  b.  Spenser  (Fairy  Queen, 
B.  VI.  C.  xii.  St.  24)  mentions  the  dirtiness  of  the 
Monks  :  and  I  think  this  passage,  and  one  in  the  ar- 
ticle Refectioner,  sufficiently  prove  it;  notwith- 
standing Thomas  Hearne's  indignation  (Lib.  Nig. 
Scaccarii,  ii.  456)  at  the  charge. 

h  Monast  i.  p.  149. 

*  See  Mr.  Dyde's  neat  and  pleasing  History 
of  that  place,  p.  146. 

k  In  ministerio  reclusi  nulla  maneat  mulier, 
neque  neptis,  neque  aliena,  nee  soror,  nee  mater. 
[In  the  service  of  a  Monk  there  shall  be  no  wo- 
man, neither  a  niece,  nor  stranger,  sister,  or  mo. 

o  2 


196 


SERVANTS. 


should  notbe  personally  admitted  in  the 
service  of  Anchorets."a  By  the  Nor- 
man institutes,  it  was  enacted,  that  the 
Servants  should  sup  in  the  Refectory, 
and  in  their  way  to  the  Church,  while 
they  passed  before  the  chapter,  go 
bowing  till  they  had  passed,  and  before 
the  entrance  of  the  chapter  raise  them- 
selves, and,  turning  to  the  east,  in  the 
usual  manner,  make  an  humble  incli- 
nation. This  salutation  was  to  be  re- 
turned by  the  Monks  in  the  chapter, 
rising  from  their  seats  and  bowing.b 

In  Edmund  de  Hadenham's  Annals 
of  Rochester,  are  long  details,  by  which 
it  appears,  that  these  Servants  were  I 
married  men,  not  Lay-brothers,  and 
transferred  from  one  avocation  to  an- 
other, however  different,  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  promotion  and  favour  only, 
leaving  them  to  acquire  the  requisite 
qualifications  successively.0 


ther.]     MS.  Cot.  Jul.  A.  IX.  f.  12.  b.  (de  vita 
Reclusorum.) 

a  M.  Paris,  1100. 

b  Deer.  Lanfr. 

c  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  343,  344,  389. 


Bishop  Kennet  has  been  often  cited 
for  the  blood-coloured  liveries  /worn  by 
the  Prior  of  Burcester's  Servants : 
liveries  being  anciently  general,  and 
families  supposed  to  be  guided  in  the 
colours,  by  the  tinctures  of  their  armo- 
rial bearings.  This,  however,  is  rather 
an  exception,  than  a  general  rule. 
Donne  says, 

"Nor  come  a  velvet  Justice  with  a  long 
Great  train  of  blew-coats,   twelve    or  fourteen 
strong."  Sat.  i. 

Blue  was  the  colour  in  which  the 
Gauls  cloathed  their  slaves  £  and  from 
this  British  custom,  for  many  ages, 
blue-coats  were  the  liveries  of  servants 
and  apprentices,  even  of  younger  bro- 
thers,6 as  now  of  the  blue-coat  boys, 
blue  schools  in  the  country,  &c.  Hence 
the  proverb  in  Ray.f  "  He  ?s  in  his 
better  blew  clothes ;"  i.  e.  thinks  him- 
self very  fine;  and  strumpets  doing 
penance  in  blue  gowns  .s 


d  Plin.  N.  H.  xvi.  18. 

e  Douce  on  Shakspeare,  334,  Strutt's  Dresses, 
302,  315. 

*  P.  66. 

*  Steevens. 


MONASTIC    BUILDINGS. 


19/ 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


MONASTIC     BUILDINGS. 


Monastic  Buildings,  like  Roman 
temples,a  were  erected  by  the  gifts  of 
great  men,  the  alms  of  the  people,b  and 
the  substraction  of  a  part  of  the  annual 
revenues,  devoted  to  another  purpose.0 
The  Abbey  of  Yale  Royal  cost  the  king 
32,000/.  sterling,  and  the  Abbot  drew 
for  the  money  by  instalments/1  When 
they  were  impoverished  and  decayed 
by  fire  or  other  cause,  all  the  Abbots 
of  the  order  were  to  endeavour  to  re- 


a  Suetonius,  in  August,  c,  29. 

b  Bishop  Hooper  says,  "  The  people  are  made 
so  blind  by  the  falsehood  of  Antichristes  minis- 
ters, that  they  will  rather  give  a  golden  crowne  to 
the  buildinge  of  an  abbeie,  foundation  of  a  chan- 
trie,  or  for  a  masse  of  requiem,  then  one  silver 
penie  for  the  defence  of  their  Commonwealth." 
Sermons,  b.  1.  57.  b. 

c  W.  Thome,  C.  34.  sect.  6. 

d  Monast.  ii.  928,  9.  It  is  singular,  that  in- 
stances appear,  where  they  had  no  idea  of  water 
carriage.     "  Ad  omnia  edificia  quod  fecerat  abbas 


store  them;e  and  petitions  were  pre- 
sented to  the  king/  Low  sites  were 
chosen  (absurdly)  upon  account  of 
convenience  for  fish  :S  and  picturesque 
spots  selected.11 

Several  of  our  English  Monasteries 
were  fortified,  and  capable  of  enduring 
a  siege.  Taylor's  Index  Monast.  pref. 
iii.  who  mentions  Binham  Priory,  St. 
Bennet's  and  Ewenny  Priory,  in  South 
Wales,  as  an  interesting  specimen. 


(Faritius)  prsedictus  trabes  et  tigna  de  regione 
Wallensium  venire  fecit  cum  magno  sumptu  et 
gravi  labore.  Sex  enim  plaustra  ad  hoc  habebat, 
et  ad  unum  quodque  illorum  xii  boves.  Sex  vel  vii 
ebdomadarum  erat  eundi  et  redeundi,  nam  juxta 
Salopesbiriam  transire  oportuit."  Hist.  Abban- 
dunensis,  IMS.  in  Bibl.  Cott. 

e  C.  G.  Northampt.  a°  1444.  C.  ix. 

f  Rot.  Pari.  18  Ed.  I.  No.  89.  m.  4.  (Vol.  I.) 

b  Morant's  Colchester,  ii.  See  Ray's  Wisdom 
of  God. 

h  See  Lanthony  in  Dugd.  Monast.  ii. 


198 


CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE,  &C. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 


CIJURCH — ARCHITECTURE,    &C. 


The  later  periods  of  mediseval  Ar- 
chitecture are  so  thoroughly  under- 
stood, as  to  render  investigation  un- 
necessary ;  but  that  of  the  early  ages  is 
by  no  means  established ;  and  as  Mr. 
King^s  elaborate  work  upon  Castles 
(though  of  great  merit  in  elucidating 

CHURCHES. 

British.  The  simplest  kind  is  that 
of  the  old  Chapel  of  Glastonbury,  made 
of  wattled  work,  as  described  by  Wil- 
liam of  Malmesbury,a  and  (the  win- 
dows excepted)  accurately  sketched  by 
Sammes.  Whoever  considers  the  Bri- 
tish houses  upon  the  Antonine  column 
[see  fig.  1]  ;  knows,  that  the  remains 
of  British  houses  near  Clun  Castle 
are  circular  buildings,  detached  from 
each  other,  with  foundations  only,  and 
door-posts  of  stone,  and  no  windows 
or  chimneys  ;b  and  that  the  old  Poem 
in  Higden  says,  that  the  Welsh  build 
houses  of  wattle  and  dab  detached 
from  each  other;0  and  that  Froissart 
says  the  same  of  Scotch  houses  :  will 
from  such  knowledge  acquiesce  in 
Sammes*  s  design,  except  that  the  win- 
dows should  be  round-headed  and 
long.  Great  windows  appear  in  the 
most  ancient  Welsh  Churches.d  Mr. 
Wilkins,  in  his  Magna  Grsecia,  shows 
that  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem  was  of 
the  barn-like  form  of  the  Parthenon/ 
and  from  this  Greek  fashion  of  Tem- 
ples, not  Warburton's  vista  of  trees, 
undoubtedly  came  the  long  bodies  of 
our  ancient  and  modern  Churches, 

Very  old  Welsh  Churches  are  of  the 
Barn  form,  but  without  Towers :  the 
wall  at  one  end  is  raised  above  the 


the  interior  parts)  does  not  determine 
the  easy  acquisition  of  ascertaining  their 
eera  by  their  construction,  the  Archi- 
tecture of  Churches  shall  be  classified 
in  one  column,  that  of  Castles  in  the 
other. 


castles. 

British.  Gildas  mentions  strong 
fortified  houses  very  lofty,  built  upon 
the  top  of  a  hill  (ex  edito),  and  Nen- 
nius  (arces)  with  gates  and  Castles, 
both  of  brick  and  stone.f  This  Bri- 
tish Castle,  from  Trercaeri  and  other 
specimens,  is  known  to  have  been  a 
round  hill,  hooped  with  walls,  like  a 
churn,  within  which  were  caverns,  and 
circular  British  houses  for  the  garrison, 
but  at  the  very  summit  a  large  Tower, 
sometimes  round,  more  rarely  square, 
for  the  habitation  of  the  Prince.  Castle 
Corndochen,  and  Castle  Prysor,  as- 
cribed to  the  Romans,  have  a  square,  a 
round,  and  an  oval  Tower.s  Launces- 
ton  Keep,  Mr.  King  very  justifiably 
makes  a  British  remain. 

Anglo-Saxon  Castles.  However  true 
is  Sir  William  Dugdale^s  remark,  that 
there  were  very  few  Anglo-Saxon 
Castles,  their  chief  fortresses  being 
earth-works,  yet  the  Keep  of  Corfe, 
because  called  Edgar's  Tower,  is  an 
undoubted  remain.  It  has  the  light 
upper  rooms,  or  solaria,  of  which  the 
Anglo-Saxons  were  so  fond.h  Col- 
chester, considered  by  Strutt  of  the 
same  eera,  is  cased  with  Caen  stone, 
and  only  one  fabrick  raised  out  of  the 
ruins  of  another,  i.  e.  a  Gundulf  Keep, 
such    as    Rochester,   Dover,    Canter- 


*  XV  Scriptores,  293.     Any  other  Churches  must  have  heen  very  rare.     See  Chap.  iii. 
b  Britton's  Architectural  Antiquities,  ii.  57.  e  XV  Scriptores,  188. 

d  Rowland's  Mona  Antiqua,  158.  e  Introd.  viii.  ix. 

f  XV  Script,  ch.  2.  30,  seq.  s  Gough's  Camden,  ii.  545. 

h  XV.  Scriptor.  957.    X  Script.  750.    I  believe  the  direct  ascent,  as  at  Conisborough,  to  be  Anglo- 
Saxon ;  the  side-long  itairs  to  be  a  Norman  improvement, 


<feiag| 


c* 


m 


P(«3 


js«5BS%s 


3=9  <0 


j£|?s 


CHURCH ARCHITECTURE,    &C. 


199 


CHURCHES. 

roof,  and  has  arches,  under  which  hang 
two  bells  exposed  to  the  air. 

At  the  same  time  superior  Churches, 
in  the  style  of  that  of  the  5  th  and 
following  centuries  [see  fig.  2  from 
Maillot],  might  exist  at  Bangor  or 
Val  Rosine.  For  Gregory  of  Tours, 
who  lived  in  the  same  sixth  century, 
says,  a  This  Church  has  in  length  155 
feet,  in  breadth  60, a  hi  height  to  the 
chamber  or  vaulting  45,  windows  in 
the  Altar  (i.  e.  Choir)  32,  in  the  Cap- 
sum  (Nave)  20,  pillars  41 ;  in  the 
whole  edifice  52  windows,  120  pillars, 
8  doors,  3  in  the  Choir,  5  in  the 
Nave/'  Again,  "  he  made  a  Church 
150  feet  long,  60  broad,  50  feet  high 
from  the  Nave  to  the  Vaulting,  42 
windows,  72  pillars,  8  gates."  The 
Naves  of  Monastic  Churches  were 
sometimes  far  shorter.1*  In  the  year 
709  (see  fig.  3,  4,  from  Maillot)  are  two 
Churches,  one  with  the  long  round- 
headed  door  of  the  British  house ;  the 
other,  a  fac-simile  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
house  in  Strutt,  whose  copies  of  an- 
cient illuminations  coincide  in  other 
respects,  as  appears  by  the  plate. 

Anglo-Saxon  Churches.0  A  round 
Tower  at  the  West  end,  and  a  semi-cir- 
cular termination  of  the  Chancel,  are 
admitted  to  be  undisputed  denotations 
of  Anglo-Saxon  Churches.  A  modern 
sweeping  position  consigns  nearly  all 
to  the  Norman s,d  because  the  anterior 
specimens  are  rare.  (The  west  front  of 
Malmsbury,  still  existent,  is  a  work  of 
Aldhelm,  and  very  fine.e)  One  remark 
is   alone  sufficient  to   show  its  error. 


CASTLES. 

bury,  Norwich,  &c.  was  erected,  for 
the  opposite  materials  prove  the  altera- 
tion. Corfe,  Limme  in  Kent,  and 
other  ugly  Towers,  often  with  herring- 
bone work,  especially  Coningsborough, 
are,  therefore,  as  Mr.  King  in  the 
latter  instance  thinks,  probably  Anglo- 
Saxon.  He  is  supported  by  strong 
reasons ;  for,  however  similar  may  be 
the  exterior  forms  of  Oxford  Keep- 
tower,  and  Hedingham,  of  later  date, 
as  well  as  others,  the  entrance  in  these 
Norman  fabricks  is  not  by  a  strait 
flight  of  steps,  but  one  side-long  and 
flanking :  nor  has  the  interior  of  those 
Keeps,  called  Anglo-Saxon  by  Mr. 
King,  the  same  conveniences  and  arti- 
ficial annexations  as  the  Norman.  Dif- 
ferences, therefore,  do  exist,  though 
not  externally  apparent,  the  staircase 
excepted,  which  undoubtedly  (from  the 
Keeps  in  Cornwall,  where  Norman 
customs  were  comparatively  recent,) 
is  more  ancient  when  strait  than  pa- 
rallel. Besides,  there  is  a  rude  an- 
cientry of  structure  at  Coningsborough, 
&c.  aided  by  the  tradition  of  Saxon 
proprietors. 

Norman  Castles.  The  Anglo-Saxon 
Keep-tower  is,  besides  interior  addi- 
tions, dilated  and  amplified  into  a 
Gundulf-keep,  so  as  to  have  an  addi- 
tional large  central  room;  or,  as  at 
Berkeley,  a  ballium,  with  a  range  of 
apartments  around  the  inside.  This 
Keep,  sometimes  octangular,  sometimes 
with  circular  angular  Towers,  is  mostly 
square,  with  whole  or  demi-towers  at 
the  angles.     Such  are  Dover,  Roches- 


a  Willis  says  (Cathedrals,  ii.  763),  that  the  height  of  the  Vaulting  is  generally  the  breadth  of  the  Nave 
and  side  ailes  ;  but  at  Stewkeley,  &c.  is  an  upper-croft  over  the  Vaulting.  b  Du  Cange,  v.  Capsum. 

c  From  the  grotesque  animal  ornaments  of  monstrous  heads,  and  interlaced  dragons,  I  seriously 
believe  maybe  distinguished  Anglo-Saxon  from  Norman  Churches  ;  for  they  abound  in  our  earliest  MSS. 
and  Norman  figures  more  resemble  Nature.  That  very  curious  Anglo-Saxon  Church  Kilpeck,  in  Here- 
fordshire, has  no  West  door  ;  and  three  compartments,  the  Porticus,  i.  e.  West  end,  the  Nave,  and 
a  semi-circular  Chancel.  Each  is  divided  by  large  round  arches,  upon  the  pilasters  of  which  are  figures 
of  Saints,  like  Caryatides.  There  is  no  staircase  to  the  rood-loft.  The  intersection  of  the  zig-zag 
groins,  arched  roof,  and  narrow  round-headed  windows,  exhibit  the  Chancel  most  pleasingly  from  the 
West  end.  The  wall  of  the  Western  point-end  rises  above  the  roof,  to  hold  two  bells  under  arches. 
There  is  a  rich  South-door  case,  which  had  no  Porch,  full  of  interlaced  serpents,  &c.  Around  the  whole 
Church  runs  a  frieze  of  monstrous  heads,  &c. ;  among  which,  is  a  tumbler  holding  his  leg,  from  the 
shows  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Gleemen.  Others  have  the  hair  parted  on  each  side,  in  true  Anglo-Saxon 
costume.  As  interlaced  Dragons  have  been  found  at  Hyde  Abbey,  I  believe  also,  that  the  Crypt  of  St. 
Peter's,  Oxford,  &c.  is  not  Norman,  notwithstanding  recent  publications. 

d  Messrs.  Lysons  are  laudable  exceptions  ;  and  where  are  more  experienced  Antiquaries  ? 

e  XV  Scriptores,  349. 


200 


CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE,   &C. 


CHURCHES. 

Stewkeley,  inter  alia,  has  been  deprived 
of  its  Anglo-Saxon  antiquity.  Now  it 
has  an  upper-croft,  as  has  Elkstone  in 
Gloucestershire,  &c.  &c. ;  and  upper- 
crofts  obtained  in  Irish  Churches, 
where  the  first  Normans  never  reign- 
ed.a  The  Church  was  the  parochial 
fortress,  especially  the  Steeple  ;b  and 
the  upper-crofts  were  made  on  account 
of  the  Danes.  Wooden  Churches  were 
constantly  exposed  to  depredation  and 
fire.  "  There  were  no  other  means  of 
saving  the  sacred  reliques,  vestments_, 
&c.  of  the  Churches,  and  the  wealth  of 
the  inhabitants,  than  by  hiding  them 
in  subterraneous  caves.  The  method, 
therefore,  of  building  Churches  en- 
tirely of  stone,  with  upper-crofts,  was 
a  great  improvement,  as  it  gave  a  place 
of  security  to  the  goods  of  the  inha- 
bitants, as  well  as  to  the  sacred  uten- 
sils :  for  the  Churches  being  entirely 
of  stone,  could  not  be  easily  burnt; 
and  the  entrances  into  the  upper  crofts, 
being  only  by  narrow  newel  stairs,  or 
by  ladders,  through  stone  trap-doors, 
they  could  not  be  plundered  without 
pulling  down  the  building,  which,  in 
these  desultory  expeditions,  they  had 
seldom  time  to  do."c  Here  then  we 
have  three  proofs  of  Anglo-Saxon  fa- 
bricks  :  1 .  Cylindrical  Steeples.  2. 
Circular  East-ends.  3.  Upper-crofts. 
Conceding  the  similarity  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  Norman  styles,  it  is  ad- 
mitted, that  Hexham,  built  by  Wil- 
frid, was  very  lofty  in  the  walls,,  had 
three  tiers  or  stories,  columns,  pon- 
tices,d  &c.  Now  in  a  Church,  built 
in  the  time  of  Charlemagne  (see  fig. 
5,  from  Maillot),  it  is  very  lofty,  is 
divided  into  stories,  and  plainly  shows 
the  origin  of  the  Spire ;  i.  et  the  py- 
ramidal roof  of  a  tower  rounded  and 
elongated. e     So  also  Strutt's  drawings 


CASTLES. 

ter,  Durham,  York,  &c.  If  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Keep-toAvers  occasionally  oc- 
cur, they  have  side-long,  not  direct, 
ascents. 

Tivelfth  Century.  Berkeley,  of  this 
age,  has  the  large  high  Norman  Keep, 
but  is  surrounded  to  prevent  mining 
(the  usual  method  of  siege)  with  a 
terras  walk,  exactly  conformable  to  the 
description  of  an  old  Poem  in  Warton/ 
There  are  no  walls  with  Towers ;  only 
the  Barbican,  and  Demi-bastions.  The 
ascent  to  the  Keep  is  sidelong.^ 

Hitherto  the  test  of  Castles  is  re- 
duced to  a  very  simple  standard :  the 
lofty  commanding  character  of  the 
Keep,  and  the  loivness  of  the  walls,  and 
paucity  of  contiguous  buildings.  This 
is  well  exhibited  in  the  second  volume 
of  Grose^s  Military  Antiquities,  where 
is  a  Gundulf-keep,  &c.  in  perfection 
(Fortification,  pi.  1). 

The  Normans  (says  Strutt)  defend- 
ed the  base-court  from  the  keep,  but 
a  defence  from  many  towers  must  be 
better  than  from  one.  Accordingly,  in 
1190,  towers  are  ordered  to  be  an- 
nexed to  the  walls  of  Paris  ;h  and,  in 
1241,  lofty  towers  and  double  walls 
occur.1  The  garrison,  after  defending 
the  Avails,  upon  their  demolition,  fled 
to  the  keep.k  To  augment  the  fortifi- 
cations, therefore,  so  that,  in  fact,  se- 
A^erai  ToAArers  became  Keeps,  Avas  a 
desideratum  AAThich  appears  to  have 
been  supplied  by  EcIav.  I.  in  the  con- 
struction of  CaernarAron.  Others  Avere 
altered :  and  at  Godrich,  the  old  Saxon 
Keep  being  retained  (Godric  not  being 
a  Norman  OAvner),  a  wall  and  four 
ToAvers  Avere  placed  at  the  angles; 
each  Tower  being  a  Keep  of  itself  in 
strength.  Accordingly,  in  the  end  of 
the  Thirteenth  Century,  the  charac- 
teristicks  alter  from  a  lofty  command- 


a  Transact.  Royal  Irish  Academy  for  1789,  pp.  80 — 83.  b  Hutchinson's  Durham,  i.  94  ;  ii.  578. 

c  Transactions  Royal  Irish  Academy,  ubi  supra. 

d  Bentham's  Ely,  22,  23.     I  believe,   from  very  ancient   illuminations,  that  grotestpie  capitals  of 
columns  are  almost  always  Anglo-Saxon. 
e  A  subsequent  rule  for  Spires  was,  the  same  height  as  the  length  of  the  Church-     Du  Cange,  v.  Turrile. 

Poetry,  i.  84.  g  A  guard-room  afterwards  oyer  the  stairs. 

*»  D\x  Cange,  v.  Tomdla,  »  JM.  Paris,  504,  *  X  Scriptores  623, 


CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE,    &C. 


201 


CHURCHES. 

from  undoubted  Anglo-Saxon  manu- 
scripts. Tickencote  Church,  without 
a  fac-simile  in  Grose,  through  its  pro- 
fusion of  carved  work,  does  not  assi- 
milate a  Norman  specimen.  In  the 
county  of  Berks  alone,  Welforcl,  with  a 
round  Tower,  Pad  worth,  Finchamsted, 
Remenham,  (with  semi-circular  Towers 
at  the  East  end),  Tidmarsh  and  Aving- 
ton,a  are  undoubtedly  rescued  from 
the  hands  of  those  Normans,  who 
altered  everything  in  England,  and  yet 
had  a  similar  architecture.  The  Nor- 
man fabricks  appear  to  have  had  less 
carved  work,  but  much  more  elegant 
proportions,  and  greater  beauty  and 
pattern  as  a  whole,  than  Anglo-Saxon 
Churches.  Luton  Church  is  said  to 
be  of  conventual  fashion,  because  it 
has  two  Porches  to  the  North  and 
South  each,  and  two  Chapels  adjoin- 
ing to  the  East  end  of  the  North  and 
South  ailes.b  That  this  was  not  ex- 
clusively a  Conventual  fashion,  nor 
was  an  invariable  form  of  Abbey- 
Churches,  is  evident,  whatever  may 
be  the  grounds  upon  which  Dr.  Du- 
carel  broached  this  position.  Paro- 
chial Churches,  though  not  appro- 
priated, were,  if  situate  upon  abbatial 
estates,  at  least  sometimes  distinguish- 
ed by  transepts,  though  the  erection 
of  the  Church  was  at  different  periods. 
The  splendor  of  Conventual  Churches 
is  thus  explained :  personal  expence, 
or  secular  indulgence,  was  culpable  in 
a  Monk ;  but  what  was  expended  in 
ornamenting  the  Church,  was  thought 
to  be  glorifying  God.c 

Ancient  Churches,  most  splendid  in 
the  reign  of  the  first  Edward,d  had 
various  peculiarities  now  unknown, 
which  shall  be  respectively  detailed. 
As  the  High  Altar  represented  the 
Church,  and  had  four  corners,  because 
the  gospel  was  extended  through  the 
four  quarters  of  the  globe,e  that  shall 
be  first  considered.  Its  dimensions 
are  thus  stated  by  Bishop  Hakewill: 


CASTLES. 


ing  Keep,  which  designates  the  whole 
as  an  object  of  import,  to  a  large  and 
conspicuous  Tower,  commonly  at  an 
angle,  from  greater  command  every 
ivay,  and  to  numerous  high  Turrets  and 
Toivers,  with  high  walls  between;  all 
one  ivliole  building  as  to  external  aspect, 
not  of  disjunct  parts,  as  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  Norman  Castles.  The  outer 
ivalls  too  are  quite  high.  In  short,  the 
whole  Castle  is  a  Keep  enlarged  into  a 
walled  and  towered  Court.  Such  is 
Caernarvon,  &c. 

Fourteenth  Century.  This  is  a  single 
Castle,  square,  with  angular  towers 
and  machicollated  gateways,  sometimes 
flanked  by  slender  round  towers.  Thus 
Lumley,  built  in  13S9,  Hilton,  Boden- 
ham,  and  Cowling,  in  Kent.  Mr. 
King  says,  that  the  low  flat  round 
Keep  of  Windsor  was  found  there  18 
Edw.  III.  by  William  of  Wickham; 
but  as  another  occurs  at  Leeds  in 
Kent,  also  built  by  Wickham,  and 
Queenborough  of  this  age,  however 
modernized,  has  similar  Towers,  they 
also  are  fashions  of  this  tera. 

Fifteenth  Century.  The  general  cha- 
racteristick  is  lightness;  light  slender 
machicollated  Towers.  So  Caister  in 
Norfolk. 

In  the  rich  illuminated  Roman  d^A- 
lexandre  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  are 
numerous  representations  of 

Castellated  Mansions.  They  are  like 
Beverstone  in  Gloucestershire,  built 
temp.  Edw.  III.;  lofty  compact  Keeps, 
but  windowy,  with  angular  demi-towers 
square ;  the  faces  diagonal  to  the  build- 
ing, but  differing  from  Castles,  in 
having  pine-end  roofs.  Hurstmon- 
ceaux,  and  the  Oxford  College,  and 
Quadrangular  Mansions,  are  no  more 
than  single-castles  housified,  begotten, 
in  jockey  language,  from  Gundulph 
Keeps,  whose  dam  was  the  lofty  old 
Keep- tower. 

Sixteenth  Century.  The  Castle  adapt- 
ed  to  residence    and    war,    occurs    at 


*  Lysons's  Britann.  i.  205,  322.  b  Bibl.  Topogr.  Britami.  vol.  iv.  No.  VIII.  p.  11. 

c  Eadmer,  109.     The  idea  was  taken  from  the  splendour  of  the  Heathen  Xeniples.     See  Hor.  Od.  82 
0d.  14,  d  Callaway's  Heraldic  Enquiries,  p.  36,  seq.  «  tVq  Caruotensis,  787 


202 


CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE,    &C. 


CHURCHES. 

"  Allowing  then  an  Altar  of  three  foote 
and  an  halfe  high,  and  a  rising  to  it 
from  the  lower  floore  of  a  foote  high; 
the  height  of  the  Altar  from  the  lower 
floore  will  be  foure  foote  and  a  halfe, 
or  three  cubits,  which  is  the  measure 
required  in  the  Leviticall  Law,  and 
differs  little  in  height  from  the  Altars 
in  forraine  parts,  or  those  which  are 
yet  standinge  with  us,  if  wee  likewise 
take  their  height  from  the  lower  floore ; 
which,  by  reason  of  the  continued  and 
easie  degrees  of  ascent  to  them,  may 
not  unfitly  be  counted  their  basis  or 
foote/' a  The  authentic  mark  of  an 
Altar-table  was  its  five  crosses.b  As 
no  Altar  could  be  consecrated  without 
relicks,c  there  was  a  small  stone,  called 
the  Sigillum  Altaris,  by  which  the 
aperture  for  insertion  of  the  relicks 
was  closed  upd  by  mortar  tempered  in 
holy  water.  What  are  the  horns  of 
the  Altar  has  been  doubted  by  War- 
ton.0  They  have  been  called  the  corners 
of  the  Altar.f  Du  Cange  says,  the 
horn  of  the  Altar  is  the  side,  where  the 
epistle  and  gospel  were  read.s  Sym- 
machus,  Gregory  of  Tours,  and  others,*1 
mention  the  Siborium,  an  arch  over  the 
altar,  supported  by  four  lofty  columns, 
in  imitation  of  the  Propitiatory,  which 
covered  the  ark.  It  was  sometimes 
illuminated  and  adorned  with  tapers. 
Where  there  was  no  Siborium,  a  mere 
canopy1  hung  over  the  Altar,  which 
was  most  common  among  us;  a  fine 
stone  screen  full  of  niches  being  the 
back  of  the  Altar,  from  which  the 
canopy  projects.  Curtains  called  the 
Tetravelum  were  annexed,  and  drawn 
round,  that  the  Priest  might  not  be 
confused  by  view  of  the  spectators.1* 
Under  this  ciborium  or  canopy,  hung 
the  Pioc,  or  box,  containing  the  Host, 

a  Apologie,  p.  221. 
b  Gent.  Mag.  for  1799,  p.  860. 
c  Lyndw.  Provinc.  249. 
d  Du  Cange  in  voce,  and  v.  Malta. 
e  I.  302.     Emend,  v.  ii. 
f  Pictet.  Serm.  sur  Gen.  c.  xxviii.  v.  17. 
s  v.  Cornu  Altaris. 

h  Bishop  Jewell's  Reply  to  Harding,  p.  311,  312. 
1  Called  Urnbraculum.     Du  Cange. 
k  Du  Cange,  v.  Ciborium,   Cortona,   Propitia* 
torittm,  Tetra-velum, 


CASTLES. 

Thornbury.  The  range  of  apartments 
is  affixed  to  a  strong  Tower  at  one 
end,  which  flanks  and  protects  them. 
There  is  also  a  large  Court,  with  bar- 
racks and  loop-holes. 

Mr.  King^s  opinion  is,  that  there  is 
no  rule  in  the  construction  of  Castles, 
from  their  different  aspects :  certainly 
not,  if,  instead  of  taking  pure  speci- 
mens, of  which  the  dates  are  known, 
recourse  be  had  to  mongrel  buildings, 
altered  at  various  times ;  but,  in  the 
construction  of  all  Fortresses,  rule  and 
plan  are  matters  of  course. 


commonly  a  Dove  of  Goldsmiths 
work,1  esteemed  so  sacred,  that  upon 
the  march  of  hostile  armies,  it  was 
especially  prohibited  from  theft;  and 
Henry  the  Fifth  delayed  his  army  for 
a  whole  day,  to  discover  the  thief  who 
had  stolen  one.m  A  common  Altar- 
piece  was  a  picture  of  the  General 
Judgement,  called  Mappa  Mundi;u  but 
others  occur,0  though,  I  am  inclined 
to  think,  no  subject  was  admissible, 
which  was  not  either  contemporary 
with,  or  posterior  to,  the  passion  of 
Christ.  Over  the  Altar  was  put  the 
Pallas  carried  out  against  fires;  and 
over  the  Pall,v  the  Corporal,  always 
made  of  linen,  according  to  an  order  of 
Sextus  in  the  year  133. V  The  Ante- 
pendium  was  a  veil  which  hung  before,1* 
as  the  Dorsale  behind.3  Behind  and 
about  the  Altar  were  Perticce,  or  beams, 
ornamented  at  the  great  feasts  with  re- 
liquaries of  ivory,  silver,  &c.t  Besides 
Piscinas,  hereafter  described,  were  the 
stalls,  where  the  officiating  Ministers 
retired,  during  parts  of  the  service  per- 
formed by  the  choir.u   Du  Cange  says, 


1  Bp.  Jewell,  ubi  supra. 

»  Tho.  de  Elmham  in  Vitfi,  Henrici  V.  p.  39,  53. 

n  Gough's  Sepulchral  Monuments,  Introd.  vol. 
ii.  p.  3.  °  Lysons's  Britannia,  ii.  117. 

p  Du  Cange,  v.  Palla  Altaris. 

4  M.  Polonus  sub  anno. 

r  Du  Cange.  It  is  the  frontale  of  Staveley, 
Churches,  187.  s  Du  Cange. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Pertica.  See  Dec.  Scriptor. 
col.  1300. 

a  Hoc  facto,  sacerdos  cum  suis  ministris  in  sedi- 
bus  ad  hoc  paratis  se  recipiatt  Missale  Antiq* 
MS.  Pemb.  Coll.  Oxon, 


CHURCHY-ARCHITECTURE,    &C. 


203 


"  The  Sedes  Majestatis  is  a  seat  by  the 
side  of  the  Altar,  in  which  the  Minister 
about  to  celebrate  sits,  while  the  Kyrie, 
Gloria,  and  Creed,  are  sung ;  from 
whence,  as  often  as  he  arose,  the  Deacon 
removing  his  hood,  or  amess,  used  to 
comb  his  hair ;  although  that  office  is 
now  done  in  the  Vestiary  [see  §  Abbot] 
before  he  comes  to  the  Altar." 

The  Altar-plate  stood  upon  a  side 
table  called  Credentia,  or  Minister ium. a 

Besides  this,  were  the  Altaria  Ani- 
marum,  where  Masses  were  said  for 
the  dead;b  rarely  attended  but  by  the 
Priest,  a  boy  to  assist  him,  and  perhaps, 
a  relative  or  two  of  the  deceaseds 

Lecterns,  where  the  epistle  and  gospel 
were  sung,  and  certain  services  of  the 
dead  performed/1  Some  Lecterns  were 
made  in  the  shape  of  an  Eagle,  to  de- 
signate St.  John  the  Evangelists  The 
Analogium  was  a  reading-desk  of 
Spanish  metal  cast,  over  which  hung  a 
gilt  eagle  with  expanded  wings.  It 
was  sometimes  taken  for  the  Martyro- 
logy,  or  Necrology,  because  that  book 
was  always  laid  upon  it,  to  read  from 
it  what  belonged  to  the  service  of  the 
day.f 

Candlesticks,  The  first  of  these 
known  in  the  Church  were  some  of  the 
form  of  crosses,  presented  to  the  Arians 
by  the  Empress  Eudocia,  and  borne 
by  them  in  procession. s  Afterwards 
in  the  Choir  were  candlesticks  called 
Arbores  or  trees,  with  many  lights 
rising  from  the  ground.11  The  Statutes 
of  Clugny  say,  "  On  the  above  festivals 
in  which  that  iron  machine  is  accus- 
tomed to  be  lighted,  which  is  com- 
monly called  Ezra,  because  it  was  il- 
luminated by  glass  lamps/'1  There 
were  also  pendent  chandeliers,  called 
Coronal     In   different   parts   of    the 

*  Du  Cange.  b  Du  Cange,  v.  Altare. 

c  Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  367.  Peck's  Desider.  Cu- 
riosa,  229. 

d  Davies,  ch.  xxi.  sect.  10. 

e  Du  Cange,  v.  Aquila. 

f  Du  Cange.  A  very  fine  one  is  engraved  in 
Notices  des  MSS.  dans  la  Bibliotheque  Nationale, 
vol.  vi.  PI.  I. 

«  Socrates,  l.vi.c.  8.      h  Du  Cange,  v.  Arbores. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Ezra. 

k  Ibid.  At  the  Chapel  of  Ford  Abbey  in  De- 
vonshire, when  on  a  visit  to  J.  F.  Gwynne,  esq.  I 


Church,  sometimes  in  front  of  the 
High  Altar,  were  Herses  or  stages,  de- 
corated with  palls,  tapers,  &c.  in  me- 
mory of  deceased  great  persons.1 

The  seats  of  those  who  sung  in  the 
Choir,  consisted  of  two  parts :  Antica 
and  Postica.  In  the  Postica  were  the 
folding  seats,  which  were  raised  when 
the  singers  were  to  stand.  The  fold- 
ing part  afforded  a  kind  of  seat,  called 
a  misericord.  The  part  Antica  made 
a  leaning  stock,  upon  which  they  re- 
clined when  the  Venia  was  to  be  sought.m 
For  though  Venia  was  a  general  term 
for  genuflexion,  prostration,  or  similar 
gesture,  there  was  the  greater  Metancea, 
very  low  inclination  of  the  body ;  the 
smaller  only  bending  the  neck  and 
head.n  Thus  the  Oseney  Missal  says, 
"  Let  them  raise  themselves,  and  lift 
their  seats,  and  lye  upon  the  forms, 
saying  the  Lord's  Prayer/'0  To  un- 
derstand this,  [it  is  necessary  to  ob- 
serve, that  the  seniors  only  leaned 
upon  the  forms ;  the  juniors  and  the 
boys  lay  prostrate  upon  the  pavement 
opposite  the  stalls  ;V  for  to  be  raised  to 
a  forma,  the  word  for  a  stall,  was  a 
promotion.0!  Kneeling  cushions  and 
hassocks  were  common.1'  The  Monks 
bowed  at  the  Gloria  Patri,  except  at  the 
hours  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  and  sat  at 
all  the  psalms,  at  least  in  this  service.s 
The  stalls  were  ornamented  with  tapes- 
try on  festivals  ?  and  the  whole  Church 
hung  with  black  on  funerals  of  state : 
as  were  the  houses  of  the  deceased, 
and  black  curtains  over  the  pictures. 
Over  the  body  was  put  a  black  pall, 
with  armorial  escutcheon s.u 

The  Naves  of   Churches  were   not 


was  astonished  to  find  two  beautiful  Altar-candle- 
sticks, exact  facsimiles  of  some  classical  Cande- 
labra. 

1  There  is  a  very  fine  specimen  in  the  Prints 
concerning  Abbot  Islip,  in  the  Vetusta  Monumenta. 

m  Du  Cange,  v.  Forma.  n  Ibid. 

0  Erigant  se,  et  levent  sedilia,  et  jaceant  supra 
formas  dicentes  orationem  Dominicam.  MS.  Arch. 
A.  Bodl.  73. 

i1  Reyner,  Onomast.  v.  Prostemales  P salmi. 
See  Dugd.  Monast.  i.  951. 

i  Du  Cange,  v.  levari  supra  Chorum. 

r  Id.  v.  Genuflectile,  Genuflexorium,  Basse. 

s  Du  Cange,  v.  Horai. 

4  Id.  v.  Tapetias. 

u  Id.  v.  Listra,  Scutellum, 


204 


CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE.    &C. 


always  paved,a  whence  the  use  of 
rushes,  according  to  Cowell,b  for  warmth 
and  better  kneeling.  Men  used  to 
stand  on  the  right  hand  or  South  side; 
women  on  the  left  or  North.c 

Organ.  This  was  of  very  different 
form  to  the  modern,  the  pipes  being 
exposed ;  and  such  an  organ  was,  and 
perhaps  is  now,  at  Uley  Church  in 
Gloucestershire.  The  organist  was  an- 
ciently no  separate  officer,  but  one  of 
the  society/1  We  hear  of  an  Arch- 
deacon playing  upon  one  in  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  cera.e  The  Anglo-Saxon  had 
copper  pipes.f  Wulstan,  in  his  pro- 
logue to  the  life  of  St.  S within,  men- 
tions one  with  twelve  pair  of  bellows 
above,  fourteen  below,  four  hundred 
pipes,  and  seventy  strong  men  required 
to  work  it.S  In  1450  that  of  St.  Al- 
bany's was  the  best  in  the  kingdom.11 
In  the  14th  century  they  were  very 
general  in  Abbies  i1  Davies  mentions 
more  than  one  in  a  Church. 

Piscinas,  or  sinks,  where  the  Priest 
emptied  the  water  he  washed  his  hands 
in,  and  where  flies  (because  the  em- 
blems of  unclean  thoughts)  and  other 
filth  in  the  chalice,  in  short,  all  conse- 
crated waste  stuff  that  could  be  so, 
were  poured  out.k 

Du  Cange  calls  it  the  font,  where 
the  Priest  washed  his  hands  before  he 
performed  the  sacred  offices,  in  allusion 
to  the  psalm,  "  I  will  wash  my  hands 
in  innocency,"  &c.  We  order,  says  an 
ancient  synod,  a  font  for  washing  the 
hands  of  the  celebrating  Priests,  which 
may  be  either  affixed  to  the  wall  or 
Pensile,  and  furnish  water  with  a  linen 
pall."  The  Lavatory  is  also  called  the 
horn  of  the  Altar,  where  the  Priest 
washed  his  hands  in  the  Mass.1    Pisci- 


a  Nichols's  Progress  of  Q,.  Eliz.         b  v.  Cirpus. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Pars  Virorum. 

a  Warton's  Sir  T.  Pope,  424. 

c  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  43. 

1  Histor.  Rames.  ch.  liv. 

*  Du  Cange,  v.  Organa.  What  clumsy  ma- 
chines they  were,  may  be  seen  by  the  prints  in 
Strutt,  Hawkins,  and  Burney. 

h  Warton's  Sir  T.  Pope,  345. 

'   Burney's  Musick,  ii.  376. 

k  Lyndw.  et  Du  Cange,  v.  Piscina, 

>  Du  Cange,  v.  Foris  Lavatorium, 


nas  are  sometimes  double ;  sometimes 
single.111 

Lockers,  or  small  niches,  held  the 
Ampulla,  or  cruets  of  mixed  wine  and 
water  for  the  Altar ;  and  of  oil  for  holy 
unction  and  chrism.n  In  the  Old 
Anglo-Saxon  Church  of  Kilpeck  in 
Herefordshire,  there  are  two  Lockers, 
but  no  Piscina.  In  a  corner,  stands  a 
moveable  double  stone  bason,  formed 
like  a  dice-box,  or  hour-glass,  without 
feet;  used  either  for  a  Piscina  or  holy 
water,  there  being  a  large  font  besides. 

Pensile  Tables,  containing  genealo- 
gies of  buried  persons ;°  number  of 
pardons  granted  to  those  who  prayed 
for  the  deceased  ;P  registers  of  miracles  ?L 
histories ;  and  duties  of  the  temporary 
Priests.1* 

Excubitoria,  or  apartments  for  per- 
sons who  watched  the  whole  night.s 

In  Lincoln  Cathedral  is  a  chamber 
of  timber,  where  the  searchers  of  the 
Church  used  to  lie  ;•  under  which,  every 
night,  they  had  an  allowance  of  bread 
and  beer.  At  the  shutting  of  the 
Church- doors,  the  custom  was  to  toll 
the  greatest  of  our  Lady's  bells,  forty 
tolls ;  and  after,  to  go  to  that  place  and 
eat  and  drink,  and  then  to  walk  round 
and  search  the  Church.1 

Roodlofts,  or  galleries  across  the 
Nave,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Chancel, 
or  Choir,  wThere  were  the  images  of  the 
Crucifixion,  Mary,  and  John,  and  some- 
times rows  of  Saints,  on  either  side^ 
and  where  the  musicians  played. 


in  Lysons's  Britannia,  ii.  61. 

n  Du  Cange,  v.  Ampullae. 

°  MS.  Cott.  Jul.  F.  vii. 

p  Herbert's  Ames,  i.  420. 

Q-  Willis's  Cathedrals,  i.  35. 

r  To  make  these  was  the  Chantor's  office.  The 
following  was  the  form  of  one  of  them  :  "  Tabula 
sic  fiat,  1.  evang.  fr.  ille.  1.  pl'am  fr.  ille  Gr.  ille 
et  ille.  R.  cantores."  "  Tabula  sine  invit.  fiat, 
post  l'c.  et  Lxr  lxw  ponatur  mensee  lector."  MS. 
Arch.  A.  Bodl.  73.  Any  one  prevented  by  infir- 
mity or  otherwise  from  officiating,  gave  notice  to 
the  Prior  (of  Winton),  or  his  substitute,  who  no- 
minated another.  Lowth's  Wykeham,  282.  It 
seems,  that  at  Shene,  there  were  no  less  than 
thirty *-f our  tables  hanging  up  in  the  Nave  (devo- 
tional ones).  Itin.  S.  Simeon,  et  W.  Worcest.  p. 
299. 

3  Custumale  Roffense,  p.  171. 

*  Peck's  Desiderata  Curiosa,  305. 


CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE,   &C. 


205 


There  is  a  remarkable  similarity  in 
the  style  of  Roodlofts.  The  gallery  is 
commonly  supported  by  a  cross  beam, 
richly  carved  with  foliage,  sometimes 
superbly  gilt ;  and  underneath  runs  a 
screen  of  beautiful  open  Tabernacle 
work.  One  at  Honiton  in  Devon,  pre- 
cisely resembles  that  engraved  by  Sir 
R.  C.  Hoare.a  Mary  and  John  were 
not  always  the  images  which  accom- 
panied the  Crucifix,  for  we  find  the 
four  Evangelists  substituted  instead.13 
At  Gilden  Morden  in  Cambridgeshire, 
the  Roodloft  is  very  large  and  com- 
plete, having  a  double  screen,  forming 
two  pews,  about  six  feet  square,  on 
each  side  of  the  passage  to  the  Chan- 
cel; the  upper  parts  of  light  open 
Gothic  work  of  the  15th  century;  the 
lower  part  is  painted  with  flowers,  and 
figures  of  Edmund  and  Erkenwold, 
with  their  names  and  inscriptions 
added.0 

Confessionals.  At  Gloucester,  it  is 
a  large  chair  by  the  side  of  a  door.  At 
the  ruined  Abbey  of  Maig  Adare  in  Ire- 
land, are  stalls  with  oblong  holes  cut 
in  them  for  confession.d  Some  are 
arched  stone  vaults,  through  which  was 
a  passage  from  the  Choir  to  a  Chapel, 
formerly  very  dark.  Here  the  people 
stood,  the  Priest  being  within  the 
Altar  rails,  and  the  voice  passing 
through  a  wall  made  hollow  for  the 
purposed  On  each  side  of  the  Altar, 
at  Crewkerne  in  Somersetshire,  is  a 
door  leading  into  a  small  room;  that 
by  which  the  penitents  entered  for 
confession  has  two  swine  carved  over 
it,  to  signify  their  pollution ;  that,  by 
which  they  returned,  two  angels,  to 
signify  their  purity .f  At  Gloucester 
two  angels  look  upwards  :  it  is  more 
probable  that  this  was  a  pictorial  re- 
commendation of  confession,  founded 
upon  the  principles  of  its  absolving  and 
saving  power,  mentioned  in  the  first 
chapter. 

a  Giraldus,  Plate  5,  f.  3. 
b  Warton's  Sir  T.  Pope,  348. 
c  Lysons's  Britannia,  II.  59. 
d  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Tonr,  p.  51. 
e  Parkin's  Norwich,  187. 

f  Collinson's  Somersetshire,  II.  262.     See  Sir 
R.  C.  Hoare's  Giraldus,  I.  29. 


Galilees,  where  the  processions  end- 
ed :  places  or  peivs  aloft,  for  the  Abbotts 
family  to  view  processions  from  ;S  lines 
cut  in  the  pavement  to  show  the  room 
to  be  kept  clear  for  processions ;  and 
circular  stones,  to  mark  where  each 
should  take  his  stand  at  such  times.11 
In  the  Nave  of  the  Church  of  York  are 
small  circles,  engraved  on  the  pave- 
ment, marking  each  place  in  the  length 
of  this  Nave,  which,  being  twelve  times 
repeated,  make  exactly  an  English 
mile.  They  showed  us  twelve  holes 
against  the  great  door,  with  a  little 
peg,  which  served  to  mark  the  miles, 
to  any  One  chusing  to  measure  them, 
changing  every  time  this  peg  into  a 
fresh  hole,  in  order  not  to  misreckon.1 

Lady-chapels,  or  Retro-choirs.  This 
Chapel  was  so  called,  because,  in  gene- 
ral, dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Maryu  The 
sick  and  strange  Monks  commonly  sat 
there.  In  the  Rule  of  the  Order  of 
Victor  of  Paris,  it  is  said,  (i  Those,  who 
from  sickness,  are  in  the  Retro-choir 
by  licence/'  Again  [ch.  xxxix],  (e  As 
long  as  a  brother  is  in  the  Retro-choir, 
they  ought  not  to  be  put  in  the  table 
for  officiating.  The  sick,  who  are  in 
the  Retro-choir,  ought  to  stand,  if  they 
can,  at  the  Te  Deum,  Benedictus,  and 
Gospel."  Thus  [in  ch.  lii],  « After 
the  glory  of  the  first  psalm,  let  no  one 
enter  the  Choir  without  licence.  After 
half  an  hour,  let  no  one  enter  at  all, 
but  go  to  the  Retro-choir,  and  after- 
wards beg  pardon  in  the  Chapter."  k 
A  deformed  child,  waiting  for  a  mira- 
culous cure,  lay,  on  his  birth-day,  and 
that  following,  in  the  Lady-chapel  at 
Malmsbury.1  After  the  Reformation,, 
it  was  often  given  to  the  scholars  of 
free-schools  for  the  purpose  of  morn- 
ing prayers,  &c.ra 

Cripts,  forn  clandestine  drinking,  feast- 
ing, and  things  of  that  kind.0     Oswald, 

k  Or  where  the  Monks  were  exposed  in  penance. 

h  Gostling's  Canterbury  Walk,  203. 

'  Antiquarian  Repertory,  II.  217. 

K  Du  Cange,  v.  Retro-chorus. 

1  Anglia  Sacra,  I.  42. 

m  Phillips's  Shrewsbury,  95. 

n  Cust.  Roff.  235. 

°  The  holy-water  stones  were  rilled  with  fresh 
water  every  Sunday  morning  by  the  bell-ringers, 
or  servitors  of  the  Church,  and  a  Monk  copse- 


206 


CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE,   &C. 


afterwards  Archbishop  of  York,  re- 
ceived from  his  Abbot  a  secret  place  in 
the  Church,  that  he  might  indulge  in 
private  prayer.  This  secret  place  was 
a  Crypt,  called  a  Confessional;  before 
the  door  of  which,  twelve  poor,  all 
clerks,  used  to  receive  daily  alms ;  and 
the  Cript  had  an  Altar  where  he  cele- 
brated Mass.a 

Tapers,  ornamented  with  flowers, 
used  on  high  festivals  to  burn  before 
particular  images,  and  be  borne  in  pro- 
cessions^ 

Saint's  bells,  the  use  of  which  was 
this,  says  M.  Harding,  (s  We  have  com- 
monly seen  the  Priest,  when  he  sped 
him  to  say  his  service,  ring  the  saunce- 
bell,  and  speake  out  aloud,  Pater  Nos- 
ter,  by  which  token  the  people  were 
commanded  silence,  reverence,  and 
devotion.^ c  According  to  Staveley, 
and  Warton  from  him,  it  was  rung 
when  the  Priest  came  to  the  "  Holy, 
holy,  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth,  or  Trisa- 
gium,  in  order  that  all  persons  without 
might  fall  on  their  knees  in  reverence 
of  the  Host,  then  elevated." d  They 
then  bowed  the  head,  spread  or  ele- 
vated the  hands,  and  said,  "  Salve,  Lux 
Mundi,"  &c.  Hail,  Light  of  the  World, 
&c.e  In  opposition  to  Barclay  before 
quoted,  Erasmus  says,f  No  person  ever 
passed  by  a  Church  or  cross,  without 
pulling  off  his  hat  or  bowing. 

Towers,  for  the  juniors  to  learn  the 
Church  service  in.s 

Triforia,  or  upper  ways  round  the 
Church,  for  the  convenience  of  sus- 
pending tapestry  and  similar  ornaments 
on  festivals.11 

Pulpits,  which  generally  faced  the 
West,  that  the  peopled  faces,  in  all 
acts  of  devotion,  might  look  towards 


crated  it  early  in  the  morning  before  divine  service. 
Davies,  &c. 

»  Ang.  Sacr.  II.  195. 

b  M.  Paris,  1056. 

c  Bp.  Jewell's  Reply,  p.  133. 

d  Du  Cange  mentions  a  wheel,  appended  to  the 
wall  near  the  Altar,  full  of  bells,  and  whirled 
round  on  this  occasion,  v.  Rota.  One  occurs  in 
an  Anglo  Saxon  Church.  Dugd.  Monast.  I.  104, 
1.  40—50.  e  Lyndw.  249. 

{  Monit.  Psedagog.  Colloq.  35. 
Gervas.  Cant.  1292.  h  Ibid.  1295. 


the  East,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  primitive  times ;  the  change  to  the 
South,  or  other  direction,  being  a  re- 
form of  the  Puritans ;  and  Sir  Walter 
Mildmay,  in  the  foundation  of  the 
Chapel  of  Emanuel  College,  Cam- 
bridge (which  stood  North  and  South 
out  of  opposition),  first  setting  the 
example.1 

In  the  annals  of  Dunstable  Priory  is 
this  item  :  "  In  1483  made  a  clock  over 
the  pulpit." k  A  stand  for  an  hour- 
glass still  remains  in  many  pulpits.  A 
Rector  of  Bibury  used  to  preach  two 
hours,  regularly  turning  the  glass.  Af- 
ter the  text,  the  Esquire  of  the  parish 
withdrew,  smoaked  his  pipe,  and  re- 
turned to  the  blessing.1  Lecturers' 
pulpits  have  also  hour-glasses."1  The 
Priest  had  sometimes  a  watch  found 
him  by  the  parish.11 

Painted  Glass.  Warton  says,  that 
the  stem  of  Jesse  was  a  favourite  sub- 
ject. Sugerius  thus  proves  it :  "  I  have 
caused  to  be  painted  a  beautiful  variety 
of  new  windows,  from  the  first,  which 
begins  with  the  stem  of  Jesse  in  the 
Caput  EcclesicB  [the  part  where  the 
Altar  was  erected,  Du  Cange]  as  far  as 
that  which  is  over  the  principal  gate."0 
Any  miraculous  events  happening  to 
persons,  were  represented  in  their  Cha- 
pels and  Churches  in  stained  glass,  or 
such  as  happened  within  the  knowledge 
of  the  erector.P  Common  subjects 
were,  a  genealogical  series  of  benefac- 
tors—  arms  and  figures  of  donors  of 
lights — the  seven  sacraments  of  the 
Romish  Church  — many  crowned  heads 
with  curled  hair  and  forked  beards,  re* 
present  the  Edwards,  Richard  II.  and 
Henry  IV. — whole  length  figures,  with 
crowns  and  sceptres,  Jewish  Kings, 
connected  with  some  scriptural  history, 
universally  so  when  in  profiled  The 
Saints  are  known  by  the  following  at- 
tributes : 


•  Heylin's  Hist.  Presbyterians,  329. 

k  Bibl.  Topogr.  Brit.  vol.  IV.  No.  VIII.  p.  11. 

1  Rudder's  Gloucestershire,  in  Bibury. 

m  Wood-cuts  in  Hawkins's  Musiok,  II.  332. 

n  Manning's  Surrey,  I.  531. 

0  Du  Cange,  v.  Jesse. 

p  Joinville,  I.  230.  *  Dallaway's  Arts. 


CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE^ — &C. 


207 


Peter,  The  keys  and  a  triple  cross; 
sometimes  a  Church. 

Paul.  A  sword,  sometimes  a  book, 
or  drawing  a  sword  across  the  knee. 

Gabriel.  A  lily,  a  flower  pot  full  of 
which  is  frequently  placed  between  him 
and  the  Virgin. 

John  the  Baptist.  A  long  mantle 
and  long  wand,  surmounting  by  a  small 
shaft,  forming  a  cross ;  and  a  lamb  is 
generally  at  his  feet,  or  crouching,  or 
imprest  on  a  book  in  his  hand,  or  on 
his  hand  without  a  book. 

John  the  Evangelist.  A  chalice,  with 
a  dragon  or  serpent  issuing  out  of  it, 
and  an  open  book. 

James  the  Great.    A  club  and  a  saw. 

Thomas.     A  Spear. 

Simon.     A  Saw  in  a  boat. 

Matthew.     A  Fuller's  club. 

James  the  Less.  A  Pilgrim's  staff, 
book,  scrip,  and  hat,  with  an  escallop 
shell  in  it. 

Bartholomew.     A  knife. 

Philip.     A  crosier. 

Anthony.  A  rosary  on  his  mantle,  a 
tau-cross,  at  his  feet  a  pig,  with  a  bell 
round  his  neck. 

Nicholas.  A  tub,  with  three  or  four 
naked  infants  in  it. 

Margaret.  Treads  on  or  pierces  a 
Dragon,  with  a  cross  ;  sometimes  holds 
a  book,  sometimes  wears  a  crown. 

Clare  holds  the  expositorium. 

Apollonia.  A  palm  branch  and  tooth. 

Barbara.  A  palm  branch  and  book, 
or  tower,  wherein  she  was  confined. 

Mary  Magdalen.  Dishevelled  hair, 
and  a  box  of  ointment. 

Mary  Egyptiaca.  Her  hair  all  round 
her. 

Elizabeth.  St.  John  and  the  Lamb 
at  her  feet. 

Anne.     A  book  in  her  hand. 

Dorothy.     A  basket  of  fruit. 

Sebastian.  Pierced  through  with 
arrows. 

Edward  the  Confessor.  Crowned,  a 
ring  on  his  right  hand,  sometimes  a 
short  spear. 

Edmund.     An  arrow. 

Ursula.     A  book  and  arrow. 

St,  John  of  Beverley.     Pontifically 


habited,  his  right  hand  blessing,  his 
left  holding  a  cross. 

Thomas  of  Becket.  A  mitre  and 
crosier ;  his  hand  elevated  to  give  the 
Benediction. 

Asaph.  A  bishop  with  a  crosier, 
hand  elevated. 

Bridget.     A  book  and  crosier. 

Christopher.  A  gigantic  figure,  cross- 
ing a  river,  with  the  infant  Saviour 
upon  his  shoulder. 

St.  John  Almoner.  A  pilgrim  with 
a  nimbus,  a  loaf  in  the  right  hand,  pil- 
grim's staff  in  the  left,  and  a  large 
rosary. 

St.  Flower.  Her  head  in  her  hand, 
and  a  flower  sprouting  out  of  her  neck. 

St.  Lucy.  A  short  staff  in  her  hand, 
like  a  sceptre,  and  the  devil  behind  her. 

Agnes.  Carries  her  breasts  in  a  dish 
full  of  blood. 

Euyene,  as  St.  Lucy. 

Stephen.  A  stone  in  his  hand,  and 
book. 

Paul  the  Hermit.  A  long  robe,  and 
string  of  beads. 

Paulinus.  The  Devil  looking  her  in 
the  face. 

St,  Loy.     A  crosier  and  hammer. 

Seven  Sleepers.  As  many  persons 
praying. 

Felix,  &e.  Triple  crown  and  anchor. 

Lawrence.     A  book  and  gridiron. 

Roche.  Boots,  a  wallet,  dog  sitting 
with  a  loaf  in  his  mouth;  Roche  shows 
a  boil  on  his  thigh. 

Exaltation  of  the  Cross.  A  King 
kneeling  and  worshipping  the  Cross, 
held  by  a  person  in  heaven. 

Invention  of  the  Cross.  The  cross 
lifted  out  of  a  tomb  amidst  spectators. 

Cosme  and  Damian.  One  holds  a 
round  box,  the  other  a  big-bellied  round 
bottle. 

Michael,  in  armour,  with  a  cross,  or 
pair  of  scales. 

Francis.  A  Fryer's  dress,  with  a 
figure  half  human,  half  a  cross,  from 
which  issue  lines  to  his  heart,  feet,  and 
hands,  for  the  five  wounds  of  Christ. 

Denys  holds  his  head  in  his  hand. 

Eleven  thousand  Virgins.  Young 
women  crowned,  kneeling. 


208 


CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE,    &C. 


Crispin  and  Crispinian.  At  work  in 
a  shoemaker's  shop. 

Catherine.  Her  wheel,  or  a  spear, 
with  the  point  downwards. 

Erasmus  lies  on  the  ground  while 
his  bowels  are  extracting,  by  being 
wound  round  a  windlass  above. 

St.  Lewis,  King  of  France.  A  King 
kneeling,  at  his  feet  the  arms  of  France, 
a  dove  dropping  on  his  head,  a  bishop 
blessing. 

Popes  have  the  triple  crown  and 
anchor,  or  triple  cross,  and  a  Dove 
whispering  in  their  ears. 

This  catalogue  is  from  Gough's  Se- 
pulchral Monuments,  aided  by  the 
wood-cuts  in  the  Golden  Legend,  &c. 
&c. 

At  the  Reformation,  the  pictures  in 
stained-glass,  even  of  benefactors,  were 
removed  as  superstitious.3 

It  was  usual  for  guests  of  rank,  after 
a  long  visit,  to  give  an  escutcheon  of 
their  arms  in  stained-glass,  to  the  bow- 
window  of  the  Hall.b  King  Charles  I. 
and  Queen  Mary,  being  entertained  by 
the  Clergy  in  the  Deanery  of  Winches- 
ter, his  arms  and  initials,  together  with 
those  of  the  Queen,  were,  as  a  memo- 
rial, placed  in  one  of  the  windows  of 
the  Dean^s  Hall,  where  they  remain  to 
this  clay.c  King  Henry  VIII.  and 
Anne  Boleyn  made  a  visit  to  Prink- 
nash,  near  Gloucester,  and  their  arms 
still  remain  in  the  windows. 

Encaustic  Pavements.  In  the  Nor- 
man centuries  there  is  abundant  proof, 
that  Mosaic  work  was  adopted,  as  an 
embellishment  of  the  High  Altar,  and 
before  shrines;  at  first  exhibiting  scrip- 
tural stories,  painted  upon  glazed  bricks 
and  tiles  of  an  irregular  shape,  fitted 
together  as  the  colour  suited;  and  upon 
the  same  plan  as  the  stained  glass  in 
windows.  As  an  improvement  in  the 
succeeding  ages,  the  bricks  were  made 
equilateral,  and  about  four  inches 
square,  which,  when  arranged  and  con- 
nected, produced  an  effect  very  resem- 


?  Wavton's  Sir  T.  Pope,  199.  b  Id.  233. 

c  Hist,  of  Winchester,  cr.  8vo,  1761,  II.  126. 


blant  of  the  Roman  designs  ;  yet,  want- 
ing their  simplicity  and  taste.  The 
wreaths,  circles,  and  single  compart- 
ments, retain  marks  of  Gothic  incor- 
rectness, and  of  as  gross  deviation  from 
the  original  as  the  Saxon  mouldings. 
At  what  period  heraldick  devices  were 
introduced,  cannot  be  ascertained  with 
precision;  but,  it  is  probable,  that 
when  they  were  carved,  or  painted 
upon  escutcheons,  or  stained  in  glass, 
the  floors  received  them  likewise  as  a 
new  ornament.  The  arms  of  founders 
and  benefactors  were  usually  inserted, 
during  the  middle  centuries,  after  the 
Conquest  (though  doubtless  there  are 
earlier  instances),  when  many  of  the 
greater  Abbies  employed  kilns  for  pre- 
paring them  :  from  which  the  Conven- 
tual and  their  dependent  parochial 
Churches  were  supplied.  Some  have 
conjectured,  that  the  painted  tiles  were 
made  by  Italian  artizans  settled  in  this 
country ;  and,  it  has  been  thought,  that 
Monks,  having  acquired  the  art  of 
painting  and  preparing  them  for  the 
kiln,  in  the  manner  of  porcelain,  amused 
their  leisure,  by  designing  and  finish- 
ing them.  Exquisite  delicacy  and  va- 
riety (though  seldom  of  more  than  two 
colours),  are  particularly  discernible  in 
those  of  a  date  when  this  branch  of  en- 
caustick  painting  had  reached  its  high- 
est perfection.  It  should  be  remarked, 
that  the  use  of  these  painted  bricks  was 
confined  to  consecrated  places,  almost 
without  exception ;  and  that  all  of  them 
discovered  since  the  Reformation  have 
been  upon  the  sites  of  Convents,  pre- 
served either  in  Churches,  or  in  houses 
to  which  strong  tradition  confirms  their 
removal.  Amongst  those  of  latter  date, 
arms  impaled  and  quartered,  as  well  as 
scrolls,  rebuses,  and  cyphers,  are  very 
frequent ;  and,  interspersed  with  other 
devices,  are  single  figures,  such  as  gry- 
phons, spread-eagles,  roses,  fleurs-de- 
lis,  &c.  of  common  heraldic  usage  in- 
deed, but  not  individually  applied.1*  It 
appears,  that  in  some  instances,  they 
formed  a  kind  of  tesselated  pavement, 

d  Dallaway's  Heraldic  Enquiries,  p.  107 — 109. 


CHURCH. 


209 


the  middle  representing  a  maze  or 
labyrinth,  about  two  feet  in  diameter, 
so  artfully  contrived,  that  a  man  fol- 
lowing all  the  intricate  meanders  of  its 
volutes,  could  not  travel  less  than  a 
mile  before  he  got  from  one  end  to  the 
other.  The  tiles  are  baked  almost  to 
vitrification;  and  wonderfully  resist 
damp  and  wear.a 

Actual  tesselated  pavements  once 
existed.  A  manuscript  Anglo-Saxon 
Glossary,  cited  by  Junius,  says,  "  Of 
this  kind  of  work,  Mosaick  in  small 
dies,  is  little  in  England.  Howbeit  I 
have  seen  of  it  a  specimen  upon  Church 
floors,  before  Altars,  as  before  the  High 
Altar  at  Westminster,  though  it  be  but 
gross.  "b 

The  bells  (of  which  the  ropes  had 
brass,  and  sometimes  silver  rings,  at 
the  end,  for  the  hand,)  were  anciently 
rung  by  the  Priests  themselves,  after- 
wards0 by  servants ;  and  sometimes  by 
those  incapable  of  other  duties,  as  per- 
sons who  were  blind.d  At  certain  sea- 
sons the  Choir  was  strewed  with  hay, 
at  others  with  sand.  On  Easter  sab- 
bath with  ivy-leaves ;  at  other  times 
with  rushes. e  The  doors  were  locked 
till  Prime,  and  from  dinner  to  Vespers  ;f 


a  Henniker  Major  on  Norman  Tiles,  pp.  8,  9, 
13.  b  Co  well,  v.  Mosaick  Work. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Circuit,  Campana.  In  the  clock- 
tower  was  a  Nolula,  or  double-bell.  Spelm.  Gloss. 
v.  Campana. 

d  Davies,  &c.  "  In  the  Monasterye  of  West- 
minster ther  was  a  fayre  yong  man,  which  was 
blynde,  whom  the  Monkes  hadde  ordeyned  to  rynge 
the  bellys."     Gold.  Leg.  f.  ckxxviii.  b. 

e  VigiM  Omnium  Sanctorum  et  Nat.  Dom.  ja- 
cietur  fenum  copiose  in  choro  et  in  circuitu  chori ; 
feria  secunda  post  dominicam  in  ramis  Palmarum 
ipsius  (cantoris)  prudentia  scopabitur  Ecclesia. 
Eodemque  die  jacietur  fenum  in  choro,  et  in  cir- 
cuitu chori  copiose.  Sabbato  autem  Adventu  Do- 
mini et  primo  die  Quad  rage  sira  Be  in  choro  jacietur. 
Sancto  sabbato  Paschse  spargentur  solia  ederse. 
Quatuor  sollempnitatibus,  sc.  Pentecostes,  sancti 
Athelwoldi,  assumptione  sanctse  Marise,  et  Nativi- 
tatis,  in  choro  et  in  circuitu  chori  cirpus  sufficien- 
ter  spargetur.  In  quatuor  solempnitatibus,  sc. 
Ascensionis,  sc.  Joh.  Baptist,  sc.  Bened.  sc.  Mich, 
tantum  in  choro  jacietur.  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi. 
195,  19G. 

f  Ad  sonitum  nee  ante  primam  diluculo  pulsatam 
reserabuntur  hostia  Ecclesise  ;  conventu  ad  pran- 
diumurgente,  usque  ad  vesperas  obserabuntur.  Id. 
198.  b.    See  White's  Selborne. 


and  the  books  in  the  Choir,  at  least 
some  of  them,  were  covered  with 
cloth  s.s 

The  Nuns'  Church,  Lyndwood  de- 
scribes as  entirely  surrounded  by  walls,*1 
which  answers  to  Jerom's  account  of  a 
Nunnery,  "  That  it  should  be  so  in- 
closed, as  scarcely  to  leave  an  entrance 
for  birds."1  Visitation  injunctions  or- 
der a  door  at  their  Choir,  "  That  no 
straungers  may  look  on  them,  nor  they 
on  the  straungers,  during  divine  ser- 
vice."k 

The  Brigettine  Nuns  took  the  sacra- 
ment through  a  window,  where  they 
could  be  both  seen  and  heard:1  and 
the  mitigated  Rule  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Clare  directs,  that  in  the  wall,  which 
divided  the  Nuns  from  the  Church,  an 
iron  grate,  or  perforated  plate,  with 
projecting  spikes  outward,  should  be 
made,  and  have  a  small  door  of  an  iron 
plate,  through  which  the  Priest  could 
give  them  the  chalice  and  paten. m 

It  seems  that  divine  service  was  very 
much  abused.  The  Saxon  Monks  were 
censured  for  velocity.11  The  services 
were  not  sung  in  the  proper  tone  and 
note,0  and  the  psalmody  immoderate 
and  indistinct.P  The  prayers  were 
shortened  in  the  manner  of  persons  at 
work  or  on  a  journey  ;i  for  the  Monks 
even  then  said  their  hours.1'  The  fes- 
tivals were  neglected.  Secular  customs 
were  intermingled  with  the  Mass.  The 
hours  were  not  observed  through  fault 


s  Ad  pannos  abluendos  qui  sunt  supra  libros  in 
choro,  sive  contra  Natale,  sive  contra  Pentecosten, 
sive  contra  festivitatem  S.  Maris,  si  opus  fuerint, 
ut  laventur  cellerarius  debet  praebere  prsecentori. 
Id.  201.  b. 

h  P.  153.  »  Lopez's  Epit.  S.  S.  p.  405. 

k  Monast.  ii.  896.  'Ex  regula. 

m  Bullarium  Romanum,  i.  p.  155. 

u  In  nimia  velocitate  psallendo  Deum  potius  ad 
iracundiam  inconsiderate,  quod  absit,  provocent. 
MS.  Harl.  652. 

0  Prsecipimus  ut  cantent  capitula,  preces,  versi- 
culos,  et  collectas,  tarn  in  ecclesia  quam  in  caplo, 
secundum  tonam  et  notam  nostr/  almi  religionis. 
MS.  Ashm.  Mus.  1519.  f.  14.  a. 

p  Ut  psahnodia  in  choro  moderate  et  distincte 
celebraretur.     Id.  27.  a. 

i  Curtse  ad  modum  laborantium  et  itinerantium. 
MS.  Mus.  Ashm.  1519.  f.  27. 

r  Monast.  i.  87& 


210 


CHURCH. 


of  the  clock. a  The  services  of  founders 
and  benefactors  were  unattended  to.b 
They  did  not  even  give  personal  at- 
tendance,0 through  the  negligence  of 
Abbots. d  Some  scarcely  celebrated 
four  times  in  the  year/  though  every 
one  in  priest's  orders  was  to  do  so  at 
least  once  in  eight  days.f  There  was 
much  disorderly  noise,  tumult,  laughter, 
gossiping,  and  disputes,  as  well  as  loung- 
ing about  the  Church,  conversing  with 
brethren,  or  seculars,  and  idly  turning 
over  the  books.?  The  nocturnal  office 
was  ill-sung,  through  those  who  needed 
light  not  having  candles.11 

The  Bell  which  rung  to  Mattins  was 
called  the  Fool-waker,  in  ridicule  of 
those  who  got  up  when  it  rung.1 

Their  music  (cantus  fr  actus  et  divi- 
sus)  consisted  of  a  method  of  flgurate 
descant,  in  which  the  various  voices 
following  one  another  were  perpetually 
repeating  different  words  at  the  same 
time;k  and  it  may  be  inferred,  from 
Bernard's  directions  respecting  psalm- 
ody, that  the  latter  was  very  much  pro- 
tracted; the  metre  and  close  of  the 
verse  not  sounded  together  or  dismiss- 
ed together ;  and  the  note  held  too  long 
or  too  soon  left  off;  that  some  began 
before  others,  went  on  too  fast,  or  lag- 
ged behind ;  or  kept  the  note  too  long  ; 
and  that  another's  part  was  taken  up 

a  Festa  visitationis  B.  Marise,  &c.  observanda. 
MS.  Aslim.  ut  supr.  24.  a.  usibus  ssecularibus 
omnino  spretis,  f.  35.  defectu  orologii ;  f.  81.  a. 

b  Negligunt  et  omittunt  fundatorum  aliorum 
atque  benefactorum  suorum  animas.  MS.  Harl. 
328.  f.  2. 

c  Non  licet  alicui  de  conventu,  qui  horis  et 
missis  his  interesse  tenetur  ab  eisdem  quomodoli- 
bet  absentare.  Ibid.  But  see  on  the  contrary,  M. 
Paris,  1140. 

d  Reyn.  App.  195. 

c  Sunt  et  alii  qui  missarum  solempnia  vix  cele- 
brant quat.  in  anno.     MS.  Bibl.  Reg.  8.  F.  ix. 

*  Wilk.  Concil.  ii.  245. 

s  C.  G.  North,  a0  1444.  C.  2.  sect.  De  Divin. 
Offic.  Monast.  i.  951.  In  loco  benedictionis  con- 
fidentes  sacerdotes  nullus  debet  in  discretis  vocibus 
perstrepere  aut  quibuslibet  tumultibus  perturbare. 
Nullus  etiam  fabulis  vanis  vel  agresti  risu,  (risibus, 
MS.)  vel  quod  est  deterius  obstinatis  disceptacioni- 
bus  tumultuosas  voces  effundere.  MS.  Bibl.  Reg. 
ut  sup. 

h  C.  G.  North,  a0  1444.   C.  2. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Evigilans  stultwm. 

k  Mason's  Essay  on  Cathedral  Music. 


before  he  had  done,  instead  of  begin- 
ning when  and  where  he  stopped.1 

The  service  among  the  Nuns  was 
performed  by  the  Confessor  and  Chap- 
lains.111 Their  singing,  among  such  or- 
ders as  did  sing,  was  exquisite.11  The 
Nuns  of  Sempringham  indirectly  psalm- 
odized;°  those  who  did  so  stood  in  one 
choir,  and  the  rest  in  another.  They 
began  at  the  direction  of  the  Prioress, 
and  no  one  did  this  duty  who  had  not 
been  previously  exercised  in  the  Refec- 
tory and  Chapter.  An  old  Nun  stood 
at  the  further  end  of  the  Choir,  to  see 
that  they  did  not  behave  amiss.  No 
Nun  in  summer,  after  thirds,  when  the 
priest  was  robed,  was  to  leave  the 
Church.  The  Nun,  who  had  the  care 
of  the  Collect,  and  could  do  nothing 
else,  did  not  minister  at  the  drinkings 
after  Nones,  but  a  junior  served  in- 
stead. In  Lent  they  sung  Vespers  in 
the  place  where  they  worked,  as  also 
Nones,  after  Holyrood-day,  and  Ves- 
pers in  summer.  Nuns  who  could  not 
read  or  perform  divine  service,  worked 
at  reading  time,  although  they  knew 
the  psalter  ;  notwithstanding  which, 
they  prayed  when  the  others  did.  All 
could  stand  or  sit  at  the  lessons  of  the 
Mass.  If  they  did  not  come  to  prayer 
before  prime  in  summer,  and  thirds  in 
winter,  on  working-days,  they  were  to 
confess  it  in  Chapter ;  and  if  they  ex- 
ceeded the  first  glory  of  the  hour,  on 
private  days,  they  were  to  solicit  par- 
don on  the  ground.  If  any  Nun,  ex- 
cept those  who  ate  after  Nones,  did 
not  rise  in  the  summer,  after  the  first 
bell  of  Nones,  she  was  to  confess  it 


1  C.  G.  North,  ubi  supr. 

m  Monast.  L  498.  924. 

n  Vocibus  altisonis  adeo  modulamine  dulci 
Cantant,  syrenes  quod  cecinisse  putes. 

Spec.  Stult.  MS.  Cott.  Tit.  A.  20. 

0  Besides  this  humming,  if  it  so  meant,  (perhaps 
chanting,  or  half- singing,  which  I  rather  think  is 
the  meaning  of  indirecte  psallere,)  there  was  in  the 
ritual  cum  nota,  et  sine  nota.  The  cum  nota  is 
plain  enough ;  and  it  seems  the  sine  nota  meant 
celebrating  in  a  low  voice,  gradually,  distinctly,  and 
openly.  "  Similiter  etiam  caetera  omnia  quse  sine 
nota  in  conventu  sunt  agenda  voce  mediocri,  trac- 
tim,  distincte,  et  aperte.  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv. 
f.  241.  a. 


CHURCH. 


211 


the  day  after  in  the  Chapter.  The  lay- 
Nuns  stood  in  their  stalls  at  the  Masses 
and  Gratias*  only.  The  Nuns,  who 
had  misericords  of  sleeping,  were  di- 
vided into  two  choirs,  of  which  one 
slept  one  night,  the  second  the  other. 
If  there  were  two  or  one,  they  slept  in 
the  Infirmary .b 

Davies  says,  "  Every  Sunday  a  ser- 
mon was  preached  in  the  Galiley  from 
one  to  three  in  the  afternoon ;  previous 
to  which,  at  twelve,  the  great  bell  of 
the  Galiley  tolled  three  quarters  of  an 
hour,  and  rung  the  fourth  quarter  till 
one  o'clock,  that  the  people  might  have 
warning  to  come  and  hear  the  word  of 
God  preached."  The  Friars  also 
preached  there,c  and  there  were  ser- 
mons on  saints'  days,  and  other  solem- 
nities^ Some  of  these  sermons  were 
very  strange  and  ridiculous,  as  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  will  show  :  "  A  lark  is 
a  bird  which  sings  a  song  proceeding 
from  recollection  of  the  benefits  of  God. 
For  the  lark,  when  she  begins  to  mount, 
lightly  sings  Deum,  Deum,  Deum;  when 
she  comes  a  little  higher,  she  sings  many  I 
times  Deum,  many  times  Deum:  when 
she  comes  highest  of  all,  she  sings  en-  j 
tirely  Deum.  Thus  does  the  pious  soul 
from  gratitude." e  Similar  instances 
are  before  given  of  the  nightingale.  In 
another  it  is  said,  that  in  these  two 
things,  the  election  of  a  Monk,  and  i 
keeping  his  rule,  the  whole  of  Monas-   j 


a  The  meaning  of  this  word  may  be  got  at  from 
the  following  passage.  Et  tarn  post  prandium  quam 
post  coenam  seu  collationem,  adeant  ecclesiam  gra- 
tias  reddendo  ;  tempore  estivali,  post  prandium, 
dictis  gratiis  dormiant  more  aliorum  religiosorum. 
These  are  hospital  statutes  from  Monast.  ii.  370 ; 
and  gratia,  of  course  are  thanks  rendered  in  the 
church  after  meals,  by  the  lay-sisters.  See  too 
the  Brigettine  rule,  and  Ch.  lx. 

b  Monast.  ii.  763,  4. 

c  For  sixpence  a  sermon.  Warton's  Hist.  Engl. 
Poetry,  ii.  106. 

d  As  by  the  Prior.     Gold.  Leg.  f.  clxxxix. 

e  Avis  est  alauda,  quse  cantat  canticum,  quae 
procedit  ex  recordacione  beneficiorum  Dei.  Alauda 
enim  quum  incipit  ascendere,leviter  cantareDeum, 
Deum,  Deum.  Quum  venit  parum  altius  cantat 
plu.  Deum,  plu.  Deum.  Quum  venit  in  summo 
cantat  tot.  Deum,  tot.  Deum.  Sic  auima  saneta 
quse  cogitat  beneficia,  &c.  MS.  Harl.  1750,  f. 
118,  a. 


tic  discipline  consists ;  and  is  like  a 
great  joint  in  a  small  dish.  They  were 
also  enlivened  with  stories  and  curious 
metaphors.  "  Moreover/'  it  says, 
i(  how  wholesome  is  the  obligation  of 
profession,  you  may  by  a  short  story 
learn.  A  father  had  a  sick  son,  who 
could  not  be  cured  without  the  knife 
and  cautery.  The  father  asks  the  lad, 
whether  he  would  wish  to  be  bound  ? 
Anxious  for  his  health,  he  replies,  that 
he  has  no  objection  to  be  bound  and 
burned.  Accordingly  he  is  so  ;  but  no 
sooner  does  he  feel  the  knife  and  file, 
than  he  storms,  rages,  and  begs  to  be 
loosed ;  but  no,  says  the  father,  not  till 
you  are  healed.  In  the  same  manner 
acts  the  Monk,  who  has  willingly  and 
knowingly  taken  the  vows/5  One  of 
their  metaphors  was  this  :  "  You  have 
seen  a  man  carrying  a  lighted  candle 
in  the  open  air,  and  guarding  it  with 
his  hands  lest  it  should  be  blown  out." 
The  Monk's  soul  was  the  candle,  his 
body  the  part  illuminated;  the  three 
winds  liable  to  blow  it  out  were  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil ;  the  two 
hands  that  held  the  light  were  alms 
and  fasting/  A  sermon  for  the  Nuns, 
upon  flowers  emitting  odour,  like  the 
lily^  is  a  string  of  allegorical  puns. 
Another,  in  the  manner  of  the  old 
black-letter  story  of  the  "  Abbaye  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  originally  in  Latin 
by  the  famous  B.  Alcock,  says,  "  the 
first  girl  is  Chastity,  the  second  Humi- 
lity, the  third  is  Mercy,  and  she  is  cel- 


f  In  his  duobus  summa  totius  monasticee  reli- 
gionis  disciplinae  regularis  est,  tamque  grande  fer~ 
culum  in  vase  brevi.  MS.  Harl.  1712.  f.  22. 
Porro  qua?  salubris  est  professions  obligatio  brevi 
exemplo  perpendere  potestis  :  Pater  filium  habet 
segrotum  qui  sanari  non  potest  absque  incisione  et 
cauterio.  Pater  consulit  filium  utrum  ligari  velit. 
Hie  sanitatem  desiderans  rogat  se  ligari  ac  uri. 
Ligatur,  autem  cum  ferrum  et  ignem  incipit  sen- 
tire,  clamat,  furit,  solvi  se  deposcit,  sed  a  patre 
non  solvitur,  donee  sanetur.  In  hunc  modum 
monachus  qui  se  regulari  disciplinae  sponte  et 
scienter  obligavit,  &c.  Id. — Vidisti  quempiam  sub 
dio  ambulantem  ceream  faculam  succensam  feren- 
tum  in  manibus  utque  manu  circuinposita  custodit 
earn,  ne  vi  ventorum  extinguatur,  et  si  quando 
aduritur  ustionem  sustinet  patienter.     Id.  f.  24. 

e  Eccles.  c.  39.     MS.  Harl.  52.  f.  128. 

p  2 


212  CHURCH. 

Wess,  which  provides  meat  and  drink;  j  has  the  following  climax:  "And  this  is 
the  fourth  is  Modesty,  and  she  is  mis-  |  great,  greater,  greatest ;  great,  to  abjure 
tress  of  the  novices ;  the  fifth  is  the  j  and  scorn  the  world ;  yr eater,  to  re- 
infirmaress,  and  she  is  Patience ;  the  j  joice  in  tribulation  ;  greatest,  to  pant 
sixth  is  Obedience."    A  third  discourse   |  sweetly  after  God/' a 


a  Prima  puella  est  Castitas ;  secnnda  puella  est  Humilitas ;  tertia  puella  est  Misericordia,  et  est 
celleraria,  quae  cibum  et  potum  procurat ;  quarta  puella  est  Verecuudia,  qua?  est  magistra  discipline ; 
quinta  puella  est  magistra  infirmarum,  et  est  Paciencia ;  sexta,  Obedientia,  &c.  MS.  Harl.  1750, 
f.  91. — Et  hose  est  magna,  major,  maxima,  magna  sc.  mundum  abjiciendo,  et  contemnendo  ;  major 
in  tribulacione  gaudendo  ;  maxima  Deo  dulcissime  inbiando.     Id.  93.  b. 


, 


CHURCH-YARD. 


213 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


CHURCH-YARD. 


The  Church-yard  was  called  Polyan- 
drium,a  and  no  large  Cemetery  was 
anciently  made  without  an  Altar  to  St. 
Michael,  who,  in  every  Mass  for  the 
dead,  was  named  Signifer,  for  the  Re- 
surrection.13 The  ceremonial  of  bu- 
rials was  as  follows :  By  the  institutes 
of  Dunstan,  the  body  was  washed  and 
clothed  in  a  clean  hood,  boots,  and 
cowl  (and,  if  a  Priest,  a  stole),  and  car- 
ried to  the  Church,  all  singing  psalms, 
and  the  bell  ringing ;  and,  if  he  died 
in  the  night,  or  early  in  the  morning, 
he  was  buried  (if  possible)  after  Mass 
before  dinner ;  but,  if  they  could  not 
attend  without  intermission  to  psalm- 
singing,  the  body  was  interred  imme- 
diately. The  Norman  decretals  add  to 
this,  a  cross  at  the  head  of  the  corpse 
before  burial,  and  a  burning  light  at 
the  head  and  feet,  constant  watching, 
and  psalmody,  unless  when  the  Con- 
vent was  at  Church ;  religious  services 
for  him  ;  silence  in  the  Cloister  as 
long  as  he  was  unburied ;  the  corpse 
censed  by  the  Deacon ;  absolution  of 
the  deceased  by  the  Abbot  after  a  ser- 
mon in  the  Chapter ;  a  variety  of  duties 
postponed  and  altered  on  account  of 
the  burial  ;  procession  to  the  grave, 
with  tapers  and  holy  water,  with  which 
both  the  corpse  and  grave  were 
sprinkled ;  pall  (or  bed)  extended  over 
the  grave  ;c  burial  by  persons  descend- 
ing into  it ;  a  written  absolution  laid 
upon  his  breast,  and  buried  with  him. 


a  And  Carnarium,  &c.  &c.     See  Du  Cange. 
b  Gough's  Sepulchr.  Monum.  Intr.  ii.  ccxxxvi. 
c  A  veil   concealed   corpses  from  the    Pontifex 
Maximus. 


As  soon  as  this  was  over,  the  lights 
were  extinguished,  and  the  bells 
silent.  Other  ceremonials,  besides 
similar  devotions,  mention  unction  of 
the  corpse,  upon  a  stone  in  the  Infir- 
mary for  that  purpose ;  and,  with  re- 
spect to  Abbots  at  least,  a  public  ex- 
hibition of  the  corpse  in  the  Church/1 
Davies  adds,  a  chalice  of  wax  was 
placed  on  the  breast, e  and  with  re- 
spect to  superiors,  perhaps  of  silver 
or  other  metal.  It  seems  that  the 
Abbot  and  others  were  used  to  convert 
to  private  uses  the  goods,  money,  and 
other  articles,  belonging  to  deceased 
brethren.f 

After  the  burial,  a  Monk  was  sent 
with  the  brevet  or  notice  of  his 
death,  to  other  houses,  and  when  it 
was  entered  in  their  obituary,  he  took 
a  copy  of  the  entry,  which  was 
called  Titulus,  and  brought  it  back 
with  him.h 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  Reginald 
de  Homme,  Abbot  of  Gloucester,  made 
the  following  ordination  for  the  obits 
of  the  Monks : 


d  M.  Paris,  1063.  Peck's  Desiderata  Curiosa, 
p.  244.  For  more  prolix  information,  I  refer  the 
reader  to  the  authors  I  have  cited,  and  to  MSS. 
Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  and  Bodl.  Barlow,  7.;  MSS.  in 
then*  respective  walks  of  information,  I  have  found 
unique.     For  Nuns,  v.  Monast.  ii.  779,  80. 

e  This  was  borrowed  from  the  heathen  custom 
of  depositing  sacred  utensils  in  Sepulchres  (Vetusta 
Monumenta,  iv.  p.  3)  ;  and  the  construction  of 
xoax,  from  ancient  Gaulish  drinking  vessels  of  that 
material. 

f  C.  G.  Northampt.  anno  1444.  St.  10.  de 
Prselatis. 

s  The  form  of  the  Brevia  of  the  obits  of  Monks, 
see  in  Du  Cange,  v.  Precatovhon. 

h  Desiderata  Curiosa,  242. 


214 


CHURCH-YARD, 


Statutum  est  ordinacione  et  volun- 
tate  dompni  Reginaldi  AbV  assensu, 
et  peticione  totius  conventus,  ut  cum 
aliquis  frater  profess5  ab  hac  vita  mi- 
graverit,  statim  scribantur  brevia  pro 
dicto  fratre  absque  familiaribus,  et 
tradantur  Eleemosynario  intrinseco, 
qui  per  suos  ad  hoc  idoneos  ad  omnes 
prioratus  nostros  ceterasque  domos 
vicinas  cujuscunque  relig*  et  precipue 
ad  illas  ubi  sunt  inter  nos  certee  con- 
venciones,  omni  dilatione  remota, 
faciet  deportari.  Et  quum  hujus- 
modi  negotium  sine  expens*  fieri  non 
poterit,  festinanter  ordinatum  est,  ut 
obedientiarii  subscript^  qui  pro  tem- 
pore fuerint  quand'  parvam  inter  se 
faciant  contributionem  sicud  inferius 
potes  videre.  Celerarius  xiid.  Ele- 
mosynar'  xiid.  Camerarius  vid.  Sa- 
crista  vid.  Sub-elemosynarius  vid. 
Precentor  Hid.  Infirmarius  iii^.  ;  et 
sic  ista  parva  summa  pecuniae  soluta 
absque  ulla  excusacione  vel  dilatione 
illo  die  quo  frater  defunctus  traditus 
fuerit  sepulturae :  quod  si  aliquis  de 
predictis  obedientiariis,  quod  absit,  a 
solucione  predicta  se  aliquo  modo  vo- 
luerit  excusare,  quum  ad  diem  redda- 
tur  statutum  porcionem  suam  dupli- 
cabite  Et  ad  hoc  faciendum  per 
cap'lum  compellatur.  Ista  predicta 
pecunia  Sub-Elemosynario  tradatur, 
qui  hujus  modi  negotium  no^e  con- 
ventus procurator  erit  et  exsecutor.a 

The  allowance  of  the  deceased  was 
also  given  for  a  year  following  to  a 
pauper  ;b  and,  as  an  Abbot  had  his 
annate,  so  a  Monk  had  his  tritennale, 
or     thirty    days    Mass     afterwards  \ c 

a  Vitse  Abbatum  S.  Petr.  de  Gloucestria,  MS. 
Queen's  Coll.  Libr.  Oxon. 

b  Monast.  i.  149.  thirty  days,  Deer.  Lanfr. 

c  Monast.  ubi  supr.  A  curious  circumstance  is 
connected  with  the  institution  of  the  Trental.  It 
is  well  known,  that  among  the  Heathen  Northern 
Nations,  the  Bards  celebrated  the  funeral  exequies 
by  eulogistic  songs  of  the  deceased,  over  his  bar- 
row (see  Ossian).  The  Irish  Howl  was  derived 
from  this  practice,  being,  says  General  de  Val- 
lancey  (Collect.  Reb.  Hibern.  No.  ix.  p.  579), 
a  panegyrick  of  the  deceased,  in  order  to  make 
the  hearers  sensible  of  their  loss.  These  and 
other  superstitious  practices  at  funerals,  were  con- 
tinued long  after  Christianity,  and,  from  their  ori- 
gin, were  denominated  Bardicatio.  Gregory  the 
Great,    therefore,     substituted    the    Trental    (Du 


It  is  resolved  by  the  ordination  and 
will  of  our  Lord  Abbot,  and  the  peti- 
tion of  the  whole  Convent,  that  when 
any  professed  brother  died,  the  brevia 
shall  be  immediately  written  and  de- 
livered to  the  interior  Almoner,  who, 
by  means  of  proper  persons,  shall 
directly  transmit  the  same  to  all  our 
Priories,  and  neighbouring  religious 
houses,  of  whatsoever  order  ;  and 
especially  to  those  with  whom  we  are 
connected  by  charters  of  confedera- 
tion. And  since  this  cannot  be  done 
without  expense,  it  is  resolved,  that 
the  undersigned  Obedientiaries  shall 
make  a  small  contribution  ;  viz.  the 
Cellarer  and  Almoner  ]  2d.  each ;  the 
Chamberlain,  Sacrist,  and  Sub-almoner 
6d.  each ;  the  Precentor  and  Infirmarer 
Sd. ;  which  money  shall,  without  any 
excuse  or  delay,  be  paid  upon  the  day 
of  such  Monk's  burial,  under  penalty 
of  forfeiting  twice  the  sum,  payment 
of  which  shall  be  enforced  by  the 
Chapter.  This  money  shall  be  paid 
to  the  Sub- Almoner,  who  shall  ma- 
nage the  business. 


which  trental,  or  part  of  it,  was  the 
ceremony  with  which,  perhaps,  from 
the  utter  silence  of  all  others,  Davies 
has  confounded  the  Monks,  "being 
used  to  go  after  dinner  through  the 
Cloisters  into  the  centry  garth,  where 
they  all  stood  bareheaded  a  good 
space,  praying  among  the  tombs  for 
the  souls  of  their  brethren  buried 
there/'.     The  visitation  of  the  grave d 

Cange,  v.  Bardicatio,  Tricenarium).  If  the  tune 
be  uniform  in  these  howls,  it  is  probably  a  part  at 
least  of  the  Celtick  musick  on  the  occasion,  used 
by  the  old  Bards  ;  for  in  all  other  respects  there  is 
a  coincidence.  There  is  a  curious  account  of  Tren- 
tals  in  the  Golden  Legend,  f.  cci.  b. 

d  Peter  Diaconus,  in  the  Chronicle  of  Casino, 
says,  "  Singing  psalms  let  them  go  to  the  Cemetery, 
and  there  praying,  afterwards  dissolve  the  Chapter 
according  to  custom."     Du  Cange,  v.  Oratio. 


CHURCH-YARD. 


215 


for  thirty  days,  it  says,  shall  he  con- 
stantly made  in  this  form.  After 
morning  Mass,  the  celebrating  Priest, 
having  put  off  the  chesible,  and  re- 
taining the  stole  and  maniple,  shall  be- 
gin the  Miserere  or  Gloria  Patri. 
Standing  before  the  Crucifix  there  in 
the  vestiary,  the  Deacon  being  with 
the  cross  on  the  right,  and  the  aquee- 
bajulus  on  the  left,  he  shall  add  this 
antiphonar.  After  this,  the  priest, 
kneeling  before  the  Altar  with  con- 
summate devotion,  shall  say  [certain 
prayers],  and  the  rest  kneeling  like- 
wise shall  answer  [suitably].  After 
this  is  thrice  done,  they  shall  proceed 
to  the  grave  singing  verba  mea;  and 
when  arrived  there,  the  Priest  shall 
sprinkle  the  grave.  After  the  psalms 
[absolution,  prayer  for  all  faithful  per- 
sons deceased,  and  others,  they  re- 
turned to  the  Church] .  However,  on 
the  thirtieth  day  after  the  Chapter, 
when  the  verba  mea,  or  dirige,  is  said, 
the  Prior,  or  his  Vicar,  in  the  amess, 


stole,  and  robe,  shall  enter  the  Choir 
with  the  cross,  tapers,  censer,  and  holy 
water,  (the  attendants  not  being 
robed,)  and  standing  before  the  steps, 
with  the  Convent  around  him,  begin 
the  Miserere,* 


a  Visitatio  tumuli  per  triginta  dies  continue  fiat 
hoc  modo.  Post  missam  matutinalem  sacerdos  qui 
earn  celebraverit,  exuta  casula,  stola  et  manipulo 
retentis,  incipiat  Miserere,  sive  Gloria  Patri,  (q. 
sine.)  Et  stans  ante  crucifixum  ibi  in  vestiario, 
diacono  cum  cruce  stante  a  dexteris  etaquse-bajulo 
a  sinistris,  subjungat  banc  antiph',  &c.  Quafinita, 
sacerdos  genuflectendo  coram  altari  cum  summa 
devocione  dicat,  &c.  ceteri  genuflectendo  respon- 
deat, &c.  boc  ter  fiat,  deinde  procedant  ad  tumu- 
lum  cantantes  verba  mea.  Quo  cum  perveniant, 
aspergat  sacerdos  tumulum.  Finitis  psalmis  dicat, 
&c.  In  tricesimo  ver6  die  post  capitulum  dicto 
verba  mea,  vel  dirige,  pro  tempore,  Prior  vel  ejus 
Vicarius  indutus  amictu,  stola,  et  capa,  ingredia- 
turcborum  cum  cruce,  cereis,  thuribulo,  et  aquabe- 
nedicta,  ministris  non  revestitis.  Qui  stans  ante 
gradus,  Conventu  circumstante,  incipiat  Miserere. 
Et  fiant  omnia,  &c.     MS.  Bodl.  Barlow  7. 

Davies  says  tbe  barber  was  the  grave-digger, 
and  had  tbe  bed  held  over  the  grave  {velum  in  Mo- 
nast.  ii.  779,)  for  his  fee. 


216 


REFECTORY. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


REFECTORY. 


Refectory.  This  room,  as  described 
by  Davies,  was  a  large  hall,  wainscotted 
on  the  North  and  South  sides ;  and 
in  the  West  and  nether  part,  a  long 
bench  of  stone,  in  mason  work,  from 
the  cellar  door  to  the  pantry  or  cove 
door.  It  had  a  dresser  in  it.a  Above 
the  wainscot  was  a  large  picture  of 
Christ,  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  St.  John; 
but  in  most  places,  or  there  perhaps, 
the  Cross  or  Crucifixion^  Within  the 
door  on  the  left  hand  was  an  Almery, 
where  stood  the  grace-cup,c  out  of 
which  the  Monks,  after  grace,  every 
day  drank  round  the  table ;  and  ano- 
ther large  one  on  the  right,  with 
smaller  within,  where  stood  the  mazers, 
of  which  each  Monk  had  his  peculiar 
one,  and  an  ewer  and  bason,  which 
served  the  Sub-prior  to  wash  his  hands 
in  at  the  table,  of  which  he  sat  as 
chief.d  At  the  West  end  was  a  loft 
above  the  cellar,  ascended  by  stairs 
with  an  iron  rail,  where  the  Convent 
and  Monks  dined  together,  the  Sub- 
prior  sitting  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
table.  At  the  South  end  of  the  high 
table,  within  a  glass  window-frame, 
was  an  iron  desk,  ascended  by  stone 
steps  with  an  iron  rail,  where  lay  a 
bible;  out  of  which  one  of  the  Novices 
read  a  part  in   Latin e  during  dinner, 

11  Du  Cange,  v.  Directorium. 

b  Festinent  lotis  manibus  introire  in  Refecto- 
riurn,  salutantes  crucem,  versis  vultibus  ad  orien- 
tem  [Let  them  hasten  after  they  have  washed  their 
hands,  to  enter  the  Fratry,  saluting  the  Cross,  with 
their  faces  towards  the  East].  Reg.  Fulgentii. 
MS.  Bodl.  Archiv.  Seld.  D.  52.  See  also  Speed, 
411.  sect.  4. 

c  The  classical  cup,  ayaQov  %ai/u.ovos,  handed 
round  at  the  end  of  a  feast.  Plin.  L.  28,  c.  2.  and 
not.  Pintian. 

d  This  is  plainly  the  ceremony  of  the  digitis  al- 
luded to  in  sect.  Abbot. 

e  The  readers  at  the  table  were  to  give  ear  to  the 
Prior,  in  case  of  error  ;  and  if  they  did  not  under- 
stand his  correction,  they  were  to  begin  the  verse 
again,  even  repeatedly,  until  they  comprehended 
the  Prior's  meaning.  Reg.  Vict.  Par.  Du  Cange, 
v.  Esijrinire. 


the  master  of  them,  when  he  had  done, 
ringing  a  silver  bell,f  hanging  over  his 
head,  to  call  one  of  the  Novices  to 
come  to  the  high  table  and  say  graced 
At  the  East  end  was  a  neat  table,  with 
a  screen  of  wainscot  over  it,  for  the 
master  of  the  Novices,  the  Elects,  and 
Novices  to  dine  and  sup  at.  Two 
windows  opened  into  the  Refectory 
from  the  great  kitchen,  the  one  large 
for  principal  days,  the  other  smaller 
for  every  day ;  and  through  these  the 
meat  was  served. u  Over  against  the 
door,  in  the  Cloister,  was  a  Conduit  or 
Lavatory »  for  the  Monks  to  wash 
their  hands  and  faces,k  of  a  round 
form,  covered  with  lead,  and  all  of 
marble,  excepting  the  outer  wall,  with- 
out which  they  might  walk  about  the 
Laver.  It  had  many  spouts  of  brass, 
with  twenty-four  brazen  cocks  about 
it,  and  seven  windows  of  stone  work 
in  it ;  and  above,  a  dovecoat  covered 
with  lead.  Adjoining  to  the  East  side 
of  the  conduit  door  hung  a  bell1  to 
call  the  Monks  at  eleven  o'clock,  to 
come  and  wash  before  dinner.111  In 
the  closets  or  almeries   on  each  side  of 


f  The  Skilla  was  the  appellation  of  a  small  bell, 
often  of  very  sweet  sound,  rung  by  a  cord  in  the 
Dormitory  and  Infirmary  to  awaken  the  Monks, 
and  struck  in  the  Refectory  by  the  Prior  with  a 
single  blow  when  the  dinner  was  finished.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Skilla. 

s  A  small  bell  hung  at  the  Abbot's  table,  by 
which  he,  or  the  presiding  officer,  signified  the 
conclusion  of  the  Lecture,  or  of  the  meal.  Reg. 
Vict.  Cistert.  &c.     Du  Cange,  v.  Nola. 

h  See  too  Du  Cange,  v.  Damadarius. 

1  Water  was  often  conveyed  into  a  stone  recep- 
tacle at  the  entrance,  by  subterraneous  pipes,  for 
washing  the  hands.     Du  Cange,  v.  Concavarium. 

k  At  the  striking  of  the  Cymbalum,  a  small  bell 
hung  in  the  Cloister,  the  Monks  went  in  proces- 
sion, if  they  were  at  Church,  to  the  Lavatory  first 
to'  wash  their  hands.  Reg.  Ord.  Victor.  Id.  v. 
Lavatorium  Cymbalum. 

1  Struck  with  a  hammer,  not  a  clapper.  Ibid, 
v.  Timpanum. 

m  At  other  places  was,  besides,  a  small  stone  ba- 
son on  the  side  of  the  fratry  door. 


REFECTORY. 


217 


the  Frater-house  door  in  the  Cloisters, 
towels  were  kept  white  and  clean  to 
dry  their  hands  upon.a  At  St.  Alban's 
was  an  ascent  of  fifteen  steps  to  the 
Abbot's  tabled  to  which  the  Monks  c 
brought  up  the  service  in  plate,d  and, 
staying  at  every  fifth  step,  which  was 
a  landing-place,  they  sung  a  short 
hymn.e  After  the  Monks  had  waited 
awhile  on  the  Abbot,  they  sat  down  at 
two  other  tables,  placed  at  the  sides  of 
the  hall,  and  had  their  service  brought 
in  by  the  Novices,  who,  when  the 
Monks  had  dined,  sat  down  to  their 
own  dinner/  Fires  were  ordered  from 
All-hallows  day  to  Good  Friday,?  and 
the  wood  was  found  by  the  Cellarer.11 

Pinnafores,  or  Super- tunicks,  to 
protect  the  cloaths  at  dinner,  are  men- 
tioned by  Lyndwood,  and  occur  in 
foreign  consuetudinals.1 

Giraldus  Cambrensis,k  on  dining 
with  the  Prior  of  Canterbury,  noted 
sixteen  dishes  besides  intermeals  ;l  a 
superfluous  use  of  signs ;  much  send- 

a  Changed  every  Friday.  Du  Cange,  v.  Manu- 
tergia,  Manutergiolum. 

b  Who  only  dined  there  on  great  days  :  the  Ab- 
bess of  Barking  five  times  in  the  year.  Monast. 
i.  83. 

c  Elsewhere  the  Novices.     Reyn.  Append.  143, 

d  Trays  and  waiters  for  the  cups  to  stand  on 
occur  (Du  Cange,  v.  Musta,  Tdbularius).  A  cup- 
board of  plate.  Id.  v.  TrisoHum.  See  Angl.  Sacr. 
i.  60. 

e  Certain  Psalms,  called  P salmi  Refectionum, 
were  sung,  both  at  laying  and  removing  the  table, 
and  adapted  to  praising  God  for  the  food,  &c. 
These  were  sung  on  Sundays  and  Holidays,  anti- 
phonally  or  with  Alleluia.  Du  Cange,  v.  Psalmi 
Refectionum. 

£  British  Topography,  ii.  462. 

e  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  22  b. 

h  Monast.  i.  149. 

1  Lyndw.  124.  Da  Cange,  v.  Mantellum,  Men- 
sale. 

k  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  480. 

1  "  There  are  certain  times  and  days  in  which 
the  Convent  of  Peterborough,  and  other  Monks, 
were  used  to  eat  twice  in  the  day  ;  from  Holyrood 
day  to  October  1  ;  and  from  October  1,  every  12th 
day,  till  Advent,  and  every  day  within  the  octaves 
of  St.  Martin  ;  and  from  Christmas-day  till  the  oc- 
taves of  the  Epiphany  ;  and  from  them,  every  12th 
day,  till  Quinquagesima  ;  in  all  which  on  days  of 
robes,  dnring  the  above  times,  the  Convent  was 
used  to  have  one  meal  at  supper  with  cheese.  But, 
on  other  days,  viz.  the  12th,  a  certain  intermeal  of 
sixteen  dishes,  cum  servientiuus ;  all  which,  on  ac- 
count of  the  alms,  the  same  Abbot  enjoined,  that 
what  used  to  be  brought  up  at  supper  should  be  so 
at  dinner."     Swapham,  111. 


ing  of  dishes  from  the  Prior  to  the  at- 
tending Monks,  and  from  them  to  the 
lower  tables,  with  much  ridiculous 
gesticulation  in  returning  thanks,111  and 
much  whispering,  loose,  idle,  and 
licentious  discourse;11  herbs  brought 
in,  but  not  tasted ;  °  numerous  kinds 
of  fish,  roasted,  boiled,  stuffed,  fried  ; 
eggs  ;  dishes  exquisitely  cooked  p  with 
spices ;  <i  salt  meats  to  provoke  appe- 
tite ;  wines  of  various  kinds,1'  piment, 
claret,  mead,  and  others. s  Respecting 
these,  Bernard  says,  it  was  not  unusual 


111  Anciently,  when  the  Abbot  dined  with  the 
Monks,  they  used  to  take  the  cups  with  reverence 
and  silence,  and  did  not  say,  as  was  afterwards  the 
custom,  "  Pardon."     Du  Cange,  v.  Ignosce. 

n  Monks  were  to  dine  without  detraction,  laugh- 
ter, secular  stories,  and  gossiping.  Athon.  150. 
As  the  Monks  complained  of  the  hardship  of  con- 
tinual silence  at  dinner,  it  was  resolved,  that  after 
the  reading  was  over,  which  the  presiding  officer 
finished  at  discretion,  they  might  talk  in  a  low 
voice.  Reyn.  Append.  102.  But  it  seems,  on 
account  of  this  liberty  they  had  at  certain  times  of 
talking  English,  they  became  so  loquacious,  that 
it  was  one  reason  why  the  statute  was  made,  that 
on  all  public  occasions  they  should  speak  only  Latin 
or  French.  C.  G.  Northampt.  a0  1444.  C.  vii. 
As  to  presents,  Acharius,  Abbot  of  Peterborough, 
"  every  day  sent  his  own  wassal  bread  into  the 
Refectory."  Hist.  Coenob.  Burgens.  107.  One  of 
the  Priors  of  Durham  used  to  send  wine  into  the 
Fratry.  In  the  Decret.  Wolsey,  for  August.  Ca- 
nons, "  No  layman  was  to  attend  upon  the  Canons, 
nor  any  one  to  send  out  any  kind  of  meat  or  drink 
without  leave."  Monast.  ii.  668.  See  Almonry. 
The  distinction  of  dishes  is  thus  alluded  to  :  "  Also 
we  forbid  singularity  in  the  Refectory  ;  and,  if  any 
thing  be  placed  before  a  claustral  and  obedientiary, 
besides  what  suits  the  Convent,  let  it  be  put  before 
the  President,  to  be  disposed  of  by  him  as  he 
chuses."  Item  singularitatem  in  Refectorio  prohi- 
bemus,  et  si  alicui  claustrali  et  obedientiario  ali- 
quod  fuit  in  Refectorio  appositum  prseterea  quod 
Conventui  convenit,  apponatur  illud  prsesidenti, 
ab  ipso  pro  voluntate  sua  precipiendum.  MS.  Cott. 
Jul.  D.  ii.  161,  b. 

0  Perhaps  sallads.  Menotus  says,  "  John  the 
Baptist  went  into  the  Wilderness  to  eat  sallads, 
but  without  oil.''  Sermones,  fol.  64.  Du  Cange,  v. 
Sallada.  John  is  pretended  to  have  been  a  Monk. 
Lopez.  Epit.  ii.  26. 

t1  A  plain  good  Monk  is  described  as  "  not  angry 
with  the  cooks,  for  he  is  not  used  to  a  splendid 
table."  Non  iratus  cocis,  lautioris  enim  mensae 
consuetudinem  non  habet.  MS.  Harl.  1712. 
f.  79,  a. 

i  Pipere. 

r  The  younger  Monks  mixed  wine  and  water 
for  the  brethren,  when  the  Cellarer  rung  the  bell, 
for  saying  grace  over  the  drink.  Du  Cange,  v. 
Miscere. 

s  MS.  Cott.  Tiber.  B.  13.  [printed  in  Angl. 
Sacr.  ii.  480.]  Piment  was  made  of  wine,  honey, 
and  spices. 


218 


REFECTORY, 


to  see  brought  a  vessel  half  full,  to  try 
the  goodness  and  flavour  of  the  wine, 
after  proving  which,  the  Monks  de- 
cided in  favour  of  the  strongest.9- 
There  were  always  superior  dinners 
upon  the  feasts  of  the  Apostles. b 

It  seems  that  it  was  not  lawful  to 
eat  the  flesh  of  any  animal  nourished 
on  the  earth,  because  this  had  been 
cursed  by  God ;  but  this  curse  not  ex- 
tending to  the  air  and  water,  birds 
were  permitted,  as  created  of  the  same 
element  as  fish.c  Hence  the  prohi- 
bition of  quadrupeds.^  But,  notwith- 
standing this,  it  was  found  both  im- 
possible and  impracticable  for  inland 
Monasteries  to  have  fish  enough/  and 
to  eat  flesh  became  unavoidable ;  me- 
dical considerations  and  the  augmen- 
tation of  alms  by  this  means,  also  in- 
terfered/ It  was  also  placed  on  the 
table  for  visitor s.s  However,  to  the 
great  rule  all  their  articles  of  food  bore 
relation  ;  which  were  bread,  beer,  soup, 
beans  for  soup,  all  Lent  ;  oats  for 
gruel  Thursday  and  Saturday  in  that 
season  ;  flour  for  pottage  every  day  in 
the  same  season  ;  fried  dishes,  wastels, 
or  fine  bread  for  dinner  and  supper 
on  certain  feasts ;  flathos  or  cakes  in 
Easter ;  formictae,  or  fine  flour  cakes, 
in  Advent,  Christinas,  against  Lent, 
Easter,  Pentecost,  and  certain  feasts  ;h 
fat  things  *   were    frequent    with    the 

a  Videas  ter  vel  quater  in  uno  prandio  semiplenum 
calicem  reportari,  quatinus  diversis  vinis  magis  odo- 
ratisque  potatis,  nee  tarn  haustus  quam  attractus 
celeri  cognitione,  vinum  quod  fortius  est  eligatur. 
MS.  Mus.  Ashmol.  1285.  f.  5,  6. 

b  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  56. 

c  Le  Voeu  de  Jacob,  656,  658. 

d  Though  otters  were  eaten  by  the  German  Car- 
thusians, as  not  included  in  the  prohibition  of  flesh. 
Gentleman's  Recreation,  p.  116.  Ed.  8vo< 

e  Fishponds,  which  flow  into  one  another, 
so  common  in  Monastick  sites,  were  made  on 
purpose  to  catch  the  fish,  in  the  lower  pools.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Lapsus. 

f  Reyn.  Append.  143,  165,  168. 

e  Ang.  Sacr.  ii.  309. 

11  Monast.  i.  149.     See  Du  Cange,  v.  Profioli. 

1  Pinguia  concedens  quae  sunt  affinia  carni, 
Sic  tamen  ut  nunquam  sit  manifesta  caro. 
Spec.  Stultor. 
These  fat  things,  which  resembled  flesh,  appear  to 
have  been  hacon.     Quia  carnibus  quidam  monachi 
non  vescuntur,  de  bacone  turn  grandi,  turn  grosso, 
quicquid  pulchrum  est,  et  pingue  non  devoratum 
nichil  omnino  relinquunt.  MS.  Cott.  Tib.  B.  13. 


Prsemonstratensians ;  black  beans  and 
salt  with  the  Clugniacs  ; k  general  bad 
fare  with  the  Cis tertians.1  Drinking 
with  both  hands  was  a  fashion  peculiar 
to  the  Monks.m 

At  Barking  Nunnery,  the  annual 
store  of  provision  consisted  of  malt, 
wheat,  russeaulx  (a  kind  of  allowance 
of  corn)  in  Lent,  and  to  bake  with  eels 
on  Sheer  Thursday ;  green  pease  for 
Lent;n  green  pease  against  Midsum- 
mer ;  oxen  by  the  year ;  herrings  for 
Advent ;  red  ones  for  Lent ;  almonds, 
salt  fish,  salt  salmones  ;  figs,  raisins, 
ryce  all  for  Lent;  mustard;  two-pence 
for  crip  sis  (some  crisp  thing)  and  crum 
cakes  [cruman  is  friare.  Skinner.0]  at 
Shrovetide  ;  mutton  for  the  vicar  ; 
wheat  and  milk  for  frimite  on  St. 
Alburg's  day ;  bacon-hogs  twice  in  the 
winter ;  vi  Grecis  (fat  Jun.)  vi  sowcys, 
vi  inwards  ;  bread,  pepper,  saffron  for 
the  same ;  three  gallons  good  ale  for 
besons    (besoins,    Fr.),  mary-bones   to 


Thus  too  an  allowance  for  anniversaries  was 
beer.  [British  beer,  i.  e.  Welsh  ale,  a  kind  of  su- 
perior quality.  See  Toulmin's  Taunton,  p.  25.  (Of 
brewing  without  hops,  Horda  Angelcynnan,  iii.  73.) 
M.  Paris  says  the  conventual  beer  was  much  im- 
proved by  a  mixture  of  oats,  of  which  husbandry 
Mr.  Smith  says,  "  Much  of  wheat,  barley,  and  oats 
was  yearly  made  into  malt,  an  husbandry  almost 
lost  in  this  age"  (about  1600).  Lives  of  the  Berke- 
ley Family.     MS.  266.     Oat  ale  was  poor  stuff : 

What  though  he  quaffe  pure  amber  in  his  bowle 
Of  March-brew'd  wheat,  yet  sleeks  my  thirsting 

soul 
With  palish  oat  frothing  in  Boston  clay. 

Hall's  Sat.  B.  v.  Sat.  ii.] 

Part  sweetened  with  honey,  meed,  fat  cows,  wethers, 
gammon  of  bacon,  cakes,  pure  bread.  Monast.  i. 
139.  A  grant  in  Mr.  Rudder's  Cirencester,  p.  96, 
mentions  the  Convent's  beer,  and  Chaplain's  beer. 
Ourbeer,  saysM.  Paris,  consists  of  barley  and  oats, 
p.  1074.  Wheat  was  forbidden  to  be  made  into 
malt  a0  1315.  Stowe,  sub  a0.  There  is  a  regular 
history  of  malt  liquor  in  the  Archaeological  Library, 
222, seq. 

k  Esse  niger  monachus  si  velim  forte  Cluniaci 
Qua  fabasque  nigras  cum  sale  ssepe  dabunt 
Spec.  Stultor. 

1  Sabbata  rara  colunt,  male  respondente  coquina 
Est  ibi  virga  frequens,  atque  diseta  gravis. 

Ibid. 

m  Du  Cange,  v.  Scyphus. 

n  "If  one  will  have  pease  soone  in  the  yeare  fol- 
lowinge,  such  pease  are  to  bee  sowenne  in  the  waine 
of  the  moone  at  St.  Andro's  tide  before  Christmas." 
Order  and  Government  of  a  Nobleman's  House, 
p.  373. 

0  Cruma,  A.  S.  crumb. 


REFECTORY, 


219 


make  white  wortys  for  the  Covent.  At 
St.  Andrew^s  tyde  a  pittance  a  of  fish 
for  my  lady  and  the  Covent  ;  eight 
chickens  for  my  lady  abbess  against 
Shrove  tide;  "bonnes  for  the  Covent; 
and  four  gallons  of  milk  for  the  same 
time ;  fish  for  the  Covent  on  every 
Sunday  in  Lent ;  stubbe  eels  and  shaft 
eels  baked  for  Sheer  Thursday  ;  b  red 
wine  on  the  same  day  and  Easter 
evening;  ale  every  week  in  Lent;  eggs 
for  all  times  except  Lent  ;  half  the 
quantity  in  Advent,  or  money  instead, 
called  Eysilver ;  butter  at  feasts,  pork, 
pigs  sowse,  geese,  hens,  pittance  mut- 
ton three  times  per  annum ;  eggs  for 
supper ;  every  lady  two,  and  four  for 
the  doubles  or  higher  officers ;  bacon 
for  the  time  before  Christmas  ;  oat- 
meal.0 But,  as  this  discussion  is  not 
a  matter  of  much  novelty,  I  shall  end 
it,  as  far  as  concerns  the  Monks,  with 
the  bill  of  fare  of  one  of  their  fish 
feasts  : 

First  Course. 

Elys  in  sorry, d 
Blamanger, 
Bakoun  Herryng, 
Mulwyl  tayles,e 
Lenge  taylys, 
Jolly s  of  Samoun, 
Merlyngf  Sope, 
Pyke, 

Grete  Plays, 
Leche  burry,s 
Crustade  ryal.h 


a  A  Commons  was  given  to  each  person  upon  a 
plate  to  each.  A  pittance  was  an  allowance  in 
one  plate  between  two,  and  the  administration  of 
either  was  a  distinct  duty  among  certain  officers, 
as  well  as  the  component  materials.  Du -Cange,  v. 
Generate. 

b  In  1247,  mackerel  were  allowed  to  certain  re- 
ligious on  the  third  day  of  the  Rogations.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Mequerellus. 

c  Monast.  i.83. 

d  Were  eels  and  parsley  boiled  in  water,  to 
which  were  added  wine,  spidery,  sage,  grated 
bread,  brothe  of  the  eel,  ginger.  MS.  Bodl. 
Hearne,  197. 

e  Melwell  is  asellus,  a  cod.  Collection  of  obso- 
lete words.     MS.  penes  me. 

f  Whiting.     Skinner. 

&  Leche  is  yelatina,  jelly  in  obsolete  words. 

h  Crustade  (singly),  chekyns,  pejons,  small  brid- 
des  in  a  brothe,  with  poudur  of  pepur,  clowes,  ver- 
jouse,  saffron,  make  coffyns  (pies)  with  rasynges  of 


Second  Course. 

Mammenye,* 

Crem  of  Alemaundys,k 

Codlyng, 

Haddock, 

Fresh  hake,1 

Solys  y  sope, 

Gurnedd  broylid  with  a  sy- 
ruppe,m 

Brem  de  mere, 

Roche, 

Perche, 

Memise  fryedd,n 

Urchouns, 

Elys  y  rostydd, 

Leche  Lumbarde,0 

Grete  crabbys, 

A  cold  bakemeate.P 
It  seems,  that  in  certain  solemnities, 
the  Convent  was  in  the  habit  of  re- 
tiring with  the  Abbot,  leaving  a  few 
in  the  Refectory,  in  order  to  eat  meat 
elsewhere ;  9  and  that  they  frequently 
dined  in  apartments, r  where  they  used 
to  bring  women  to  talk,  eat,  and  drink 
with  them.s  On  the  feasts  of  the  de- 
dications of  the  churches  of  the  order, 
they  used  to  eat  and  drink  very  intem- 
perately. l  Sometimes  money  was 
given  to  them  instead  of  viands,  and 


corance,  and  ginger,  and  canell,  and  raw  egges. 
Append.  Ordin.  Royal  Household. 

1  Vernage  wine,  almonds,  ginger,  &c.  boiled  up 
in  ale.     MS.  Harl.  279,  p.  87. 

k  A  compound  of  them  with  thick  milk,  water, 
salt,  and  sugar.  Id.  p.  12.  A  favourite  dish.  See 
Gale's  Scriptores,  i.  498,  9. 

1  HaJcot  is  Lucius  piscis.  Obsolete  words,  ut 
sup. 

m  Hyeca.  Id.  See  Johnson  and  Steevens's 
Shakspeare,  v.  390. 

a  Parsley,  ale,  sause  saffroned,  &c.  with  pykes 
or  others.     MS.  Bodl.  ut  sup. 

°  Clarified  honey,  ale,  grated  bread,  almonds, 
ginger,  &c.  MS.  Bodl.  supr. 

p  MS.  Harl.  279,  p.  49  b.  The  Liber  Viventium 
was  a  book  in  which  the  commons  of  the  Monks 
were  entered.  Du  Cange.  The  Meat  was  cut  into 
commons  for  each  Monk,  by  an  officer  called 
Particutarius ;  Twickere  of  the  Anglo-Saxons. 
Du  Cange,  in  voce. 

i  In  Refectorio  nullus  omnino  came  vescatur, 
nee  in  quibusdam  solempnitatibus,  sicut  aliquando 
fieri  consuevit.  Conventus  exeat  cum  Abbate,  pau- 
cis  ibi  relictis,  ut  extra  refectorium  carnes  edant. 
MS.  Bibl.  Reg.  8,  f.  ix.     See  Misericords. 

r  M.  Par.  1098. 

s  Reyn.  Append.  166. 

1  Monast.  ii.  752. 


220 


REFECTORY, 


the  table/armed*  Notwithstanding  the 
canons,b  and  the  furiousness  of  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  against  cups  with 
circles  or  feet/  they  had  such  cups/ 
as  personal  property,  besides  spoons 
and  other  gold  or  silver  trinkets. e  Se- 
culars used  often  to  dine  and  sup  with 
them/  and  very  often  low  people,  s 
and  they  took  advantage  of  meal  times 
to  receive  the  visits  of  women.h  These 
too  used  to  come  after  dinner;  and 
the  statute  made  to  correct  this  abuse 
permitted  them  to  come  with  license 
of  the  Abbot,  or  in  his  presence,  and 
makes  an  exception  with  regard  to 
noble  women,  as  to  season  and  time, 
as  seemed  fit  to  the  superiors.1 

It  appears,  that  there  was  refresh- 
ment before  dinner  in  the  Refectory,k 
(for,  after  leave  obtained,  they  could 
enter  the  Refectory  at  any  time  to 
drink,  if  thirsty)  ; ]  and  that  a  statute 
was  made,  forbidding  supper  on  any 
Friday  in  the  year,  except  on  a  Christ- 
mas day.m     Pure  wine,  or  bread  dipped 


a  Procurari  (perhaps  it  means  obtained  by  Pro- 
curation, as  the  royal  table.)  C.  G.  North,  a0  1444. 
c.  vii.  See  Const.  B.  12.  Kings  had  numerous  pa- 
laces, in  order  by  short  residences  not  to  burden  the 
neighbourhood  too  much  in  the  supply  of  provi- 
sions.    Du  Cange,  v.  Palatium. 

•>  Athon.  149. 

c  M.  Paris,  705.  The  reason  why  these  were 
forbidden  is,  according  to  M.  Paris,  p.  1098,  because 
they  were  conceived  too  great  distinctions  for  sim- 
ple Monks. 

d  Sparke's  Scriptores,  105. 

e  Reyn.  Append.  166. 

f  Ne  seecularis  comedat  cum  conventu  in  Arma- 
ria, nee  in  refectorio,  nee  intersit  suis  collocacio- 
nibus,  potacionibus,  et  recreationibus.  MS.  Mus. 
Ashmol.  1519,  f.  14  b. 

e  Ignobiles  personse  a  prandio  conventus  penitus 
excludentur.     MS.  Cott.  Jul.  D.  2.  f.  158  a. 

h  Nullus  et  monachus  habeat  colloquium  cum 
muliere  cognata  aut  extranea,  in  temporibus  inde- 
bitis,  sicut  prandii,  et  coense,  et  horae  meridians, 
aut  tempore  potus  assignati.     Id.  159  a. 

1  M.  Paris,  1096. 

k  Monast.  i.  296.     See  Misericords. 

1  Lyndw.  211. 

m  C.  G.  North,  ut  sup.  Erasmus  says  of  the 
English,  respecting  Friday,  "The  common  peo- 
ple during  Lent,  have  a  regular  supper  every  alter- 
nate day.  No  one  wonders  at  it.  If  any  one  sick 
of  a  fever  wished  for  chicken  broth,  it  would  be 
worse  than  committing  sacrilege.  In  Lent  they 
have  suppers  without  scruple ;  but  if  you  was  to 
attempt  it,  out  of  Lent,  upon  a  Friday,  no  one 
would  bear  it."     Icthyophagia  inter  Colloq.  431. 


into  it,  were  allowed  upon  occasions, 
and  before  eating ;  also  on  account  of 
labour  to  the  brethren  at  certain 
times.11  The  drinking  after  Nones,  or 
Biberes,  as  well  as  the  noon-day  re- 
freshment of  sleep  after  dinner  in 
summer,  has  been  already  mentioned. 

A  late  supper  was  made  after  col- 
lation, which  the  Monks  called  Con- 
solation 

The  etiquette  of  dining  was  as  fol- 
lows among  the  Gilbertines.  The 
Prior,  or  a  person  appointed  by  him, 
rung  the  bell ;  the  Monks  washed  and 
wiped  their  hands,  and  entering  the 
Fratry,  and  bowing  to  the  high  table, 
stood  till  the  Prior  came  ;  or,  if  he 
staid  long,  sat  down.  When  he  came, 
they  rose  to  him,  and  he  bowed  before 
his  seat,  and  rang  the  bell,  which  con- 
tinued while  the  51st  psalm  was  sing- 
ing. Then  followed  a  short  religious 
service  by  way  of  grace.  The  Prior 
then  gave  the  benediction  to  the  reader, 
and,  at  the  end  of  the  first  verse,P 
they  uncovered  the  food,  the  prior  be- 
ginning. The  soup  was  then  delivered 
round  by  the  servants,  and  two  plates 
laid,  one  on  the  right,  another  on  the 
left,  and  the  pittances,  if  there  were 
any,  also  carried  round.  No  one  wiped 
his  knife  with  the  cloth,  unless  he  had 
first  used  his  bread  for  this  purpose. 
They  took  salt  with  their  knives. 
What  was  wanting  was  required  from 
the  servant  or  cellarer,  and  when  it 
was  brought,  both  the  bringer  and 
receiver  bowed.  When  the  Prior  sent 
any  thing  to  another,  he  bowed  to  the 
messenger,  and  then  rising,  to  that 
officer.  If  any  fault  was  committed 
by  a  person  dining  or  attending,  he 
begged  pardon  before  the  step;  and 
when  the  Prior  made  a  noise  with 
his  knife,  rose,  bowed,  and  went  to 
his    place.       When    the    plates    and 


n  Du  Cange,  v.  Merus. 
,    °  Ibid. 

v  If  a  Monk  came  too  late,  after  the  1st,  2nd, 
or  3d  verse  had  been  said,  he  was  subject  to  a 
small  venia,  or  penitence  :  and  this  was  called 
Perdere  versum,  or  losing  the  verse.  Du  Cange, 
v.  Versus. 


REFECTORY, 


221 


spoons  were  moved,  the  Prior  ordered 
the  reading  to  conclude  by  a  Tu  autem, 
and  the  reply  of  Deo  gratias  ;  the 
reader  then  bowed,  the  remaining 
food  was  covered  ;  the  bell  was  rung ; 
the  Monks  rose ;  a  verse  of  a  psalm 
was  sung,  and  they  bowed,  and  re- 
tired two  and  two,  singing  the  Mise- 
rere. Delay  in  coming  before  the  be- 
nediction was  punished  by  a  prayer 
before  the  step  ;  prostration  on  the 
floor;  deprivation  of  wine  or  beer;  for 
negligent  servants,  in  regard  to  food 


and  drink,  beating.  At  the  Refectory 
door  of  the  Nuns  sat  a  steady  Nun, 
who  entered  with  them  when  they 
went  to  drink;  or  some  other  in  her 
stead,  with  respect  to  the  application 
of  persons  who  had  been  bled.  After 
the  refection  of  the  Convent,  the  bell 
called  the  servants  to  dinner,  and  the 
Nun  reader  said  the  Jube  Domine  at 
their  table  before  the  benedictions 


a  Monast.  ii.  728,  767. 


222 


CHAPTER. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


CHAPTER. 


This  room  had  three  rows  of  stone 
benches  one  above  another.a  a  reading 
desk  and  bench/*  a  place  called  the 
Judgment  in  the  middle/  a  seat  for  the 
Abbot  higher  than  the  others,d  and  a 
crucifix  to  remind  them,  during  disci- 
plines^ that  their  sufferings  were  no- 
thing in  comparison  of  those  of  Christ.e 
There  were  footstools  on  purpose  for 
the  Venice,  by  kneeling/  About  nine 
of  the  clock  in  the  morning,  says  Da- 
vies,  and  others  seven/  the  Monks 
seated  themselves,  and  religious  ser- 
vices commenced,  which  were  followed 
by  the  sentence  of  the  rule,  read  from 
the  desk ;  then  the  table  was  read  (on 
certain  days),  and  any  person  who  had 
omitted  an  office  prescribed  to  him  so- 
licited mercy.  This  was  succeeded  by 
the  commemoration  of  the  dead,h  which 

a  Hutchinson's  Durham,  ii.  266. 

b  W.  Thorne,  1815.  Chronol.  Aug.  Cant,  a0 
1386. 

c  M.Paris  (2d),  1045. 

d  Id.  1040.  Abbots  of  another  house,  if  present, 
sat  near  the  Abbot.     Id.  1032. 

e  Propterea  dilectissimi  in  capitulis  crucifixi 
imago  ante  oculos  habetur,  ut  quicunque  flagella 
subeunt  quicquid  tulerint  pro  nichilo  ducant,  pro 
nichilo  reputent :  recordantes  crucis  angustise,  do- 
minicse  passionis  anxietatis.  MS.  Harl.  1712.  f. 
137.  b. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Salutem  Mandare. 

e  Econ.  Monast.  Life,  p.  86. 

h  There  was  the  Martyr 'olo gy ',  in  which  were  re- 
gistered the  names  of  those  to  whom  the  religious 
granted  their  letters  of  fraternity,  and  the  Obituary, 
which  contained  the  deaths  of  the  Abbots,  Priors, 
&c.  Gutch's  Coll.  Curios,  ii.  275,  b.  The  Anno- 
tatio  Regula  was  the  description  of  the  names  of 
benefactors,  the  days  of  their  death,  and  of  the  be- 
nefits received  from  them,  placed  at  the  end  of  the 
Rule ;  viz.  in  the  Necrology  annexed  to  it,  for  it 
was  usual  after  the  Martyrology  and  Rule  had  been 
read  in  the  Chapter,  after  Prime,  to  recite  the 
names  of  benefactors,  and  all  prayed  for  them. 
The  Martyrology  was,  in  later  ages,  taken  for  the 
Necrology,  or  Obituary  and  Rule,  which  were  gene- 
rally in  the  same  volume.  The  Martyrology  was 
also  called  Liber  Vitas.  The  custom  obtained  from 
the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century.  The  Necrology 
was  also  called  Regula,  from  being  in  the  same 
book  with  the  Rule :  and  all  these  were  included 
in  one  volume,  because  the  services  in  the  Chapter 
were  connected  with  each  other,    1st,  a  portion  of 


ended  with  "Requiescant  in  pace/' 
(may  they  rest  in  peace  !)  The  reader 
then  gave  the  book  to  the  presiding 
officer,  and  he  expounded  the  sentence 
of  the  rule.  This  finished,  the  Chantor 
read  the  brevia  or  obits  of  strange 
Monks,  if  any  had  been  sent,  which 
terminated  as  the  commemoration  of 
the  deceased.  The  voluntary  solicita- 
tions for  pardon  by  persons  who  had 
been  guilty  of  faults  next  followed ; 
after  which  began  the  accusation  or  cla- 
matio  of  offenders.  The  presiding  of- 
ficer (which  was  unfixed)1  was  not  to 
lose  his  temper,  or  "  speake  greate  or 
harde  wordes,"  k  unless  a  by  the  ordi- 
nary observyng  of  humylite,  the  aucto- 
ritye  of  governinge  [was]  broken 
amongst  them,  which  ought  of  duetie 
to  be  subjecte."1 

The  Rule  of  Victor  says,  whilst  the 
accusation  was  made,  no  one  was  to 
speak  except  the  accuser,  the  Abbot, 
and  the  accused.  The  first  merely  said, 
ee  I  accuse  brother  .  ...  of  ....  /' 
The  other,  as  soon  as  he  heard  his 
name,  made  no  answer  from  his  seat, 
but  coming  before  the  Abbot,  and  first 
bowing,  afterwards  raising  himself, 
stood  still,  patiently  expecting  what  the 


the  Rule,  read  every  day  to  insure  remembrance  ; 
2d,  the  Necrology,  for  prayers  for  those  admitted 
to  fraternity  ;  3d,  the  names  of  the  dead  and  bene- 
factors, for  commemoration  of  the  days  of  their 
obits.  Cardinal  Bona  says,  that  the  custom  pre- 
vailed in  many  Monasteries,  of  sending  to  each 
other  mutually  the  names  of  their  brothers,  friends, 
and  benefactors,  to  be  entered  in  the  Diptichs ; 
but  when  this  custom  had  ceased,  they  were  en- 
tered in  the  Necrology,  selected  from  thence  on  the 
day  of  their  decease,  and  a  De  Profundis,  and  suit- 
able prayers,  said.    Du  Cange,  in  vocibus. 

1  W.  Thorne,  c.  35,  sect.  4. 

k  From  the  Rule  of  Basil,  because  he  was  not  to 
fall  into  the  sin  he  wished  to  deliver  others  from, 
and  entertain  the  sentiments  of  a  father  and  physi- 
cian.    Dev.  Vie  Monast.  i.  432. 

1  MS.  Bodl.  3010.  Nor  was  he  to  beg  pardon  if 
he  did.  Reg.  August,  and  Const.  Fratr.  B.  Marise 
de  Mercede,  &c.  4to.  Rotas,  1630,  p.  29. — Puppup, 
whence  P ho,  P ho,  was  the  Anglo-Saxon  term  of 
contempt  used  by  Aldhelm,    Du  Cange,  v.  Puppup. 


CHAPTER. 


223 


accuser  had  to  alledge  against  him. 
The  accuser,  to  avoid  exaggeration, 
simply  said,  "  He  did  so  and  so/"  The 
other,  if  he  knew  himself  guilty,  imme- 
diately asked  pardon,  and  confessed  his 
fault.  If  not  guilty,  he  said  shortly, 
"  Sir,  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  said  or 

done  what  brother affirms/' 

Upon  this  the  accuser,  bowing  to  the 
Abbot,  did  not  repeat  his  charge,  but 
went  to  his  seat ;  and  if  he  knew  that 
his  charge  was  true,  was  allowed  to  ad- 
duce evidence.  The  accused  was  not 
permitted  to  recriminate  upon  the  ac- 
cuser.— Similar  forms  occur  in  other 
orders. a 

A  Monk  reprimanded  stood  in  the 
middle  of  the  Chapter,  and,  after  the 
definitive  sentence  was  pronounced,  he 
humbly  bowed,  and  retired  to  his  seat.b 
A  person  condemned  to  receive  disci- 
pline c  was  beaten,  according  to  the 
Norman  institutes,  with  one  single  twig 
over  his  shirt,  clothed  and  prostrate,  or 
naked  d  sitting,  with  a  rod,  which,  in 
later  times,  was  called  a  balais,e  and 
applied,  according  to  Piers  Plowman, 
to  that  part  where  its  tingling  sensa- 
tions are  still  frequently  experienced. 
During  the  discipline  (which  could  not 
be   performed    by    the    accuser/)    the 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Clamare. 

b  M.  Paris,  1031. 

c  Disciplines  consisted  of  rods  of  flexible  twigs 
(Dec.  Scriptores,  1190).  Hugh  Nonant,  Bishop  of 
Lincoln,  not  only  flogged  his  back,  but  his  mouth 
for  lying,  detraction,  &c.  when  he  was  a  private 
man  (Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  333).  In  times  of  drought  it 
was  thought  that  no  rain  could  be  procured  but  by 
this  process  of  flagellation,  and  then  all  ranks  disci- 
plined themselves  in  person,  or  by  proxy.  Mem. 
de  Petrarque,  i.  236  ;  and  Don  Quixote,  ii.  284. 
Disciplines  were  thought  to  prevent  the  punishment 
of  the  fault  in  another  world,  on  which  account  no 
reply  was  to  be  made  to  the  reprover.  Du  Cange, 
v.  Distringere. 

d  The  place  where  he  was  stripped  for  this  pur- 
pose in  the  Chapter  was  called  Spoliatorium.  Du 
Cange. 

e  M.  Paris,  T31.  Gl.  Watts  and  Tyrwh.  to 
Chauc. 

f  Quislibet  sacerdotum  abbatis  prsecepto  discipli- 
nam  faciet  in  cap'lo  excepto  priore,  vel  eo  qui  loco 
prioris  fuerit  et  clamante,  i.  e.  Any  one  of  the 
Priests  may,  by  the  Abbot's  command,  perform  the 
disciplines,  unless  the  Prior,  or  he  who  presided  in- 
stead, claimed  the  privilege.  MS.  Cott  Claud.  B. 
vi.  p.  186.  It  is  most  probable,  from  what  M.  Paris 
gays,  p.  1045,  that  the^  disciplines  were  performed 


Monks  hung  down  their  heads,  and  re- 
garded the  sufferer  with  pity. 

Du  Cange  mentions  a  hand-bell  rung 
behind  the  delinquent  by  the  brother 
who  was  to  chastise  him.s  It  termi- 
nated at  the  order  of  the  presiding  of- 
ficer, and  was  proportioned  to  the  of- 
fence. In  the  statutes  of  the  Order  of 
St.  Victor  of  Paris,  it  is  said,  the  delin- 
quent shall  kneel,  and  strip  himself 
from  his  girdle,  and  so  prostrate  him- 
self, or  shall  only  say,  "  it  is  my  fault : 
I  will  correct  myself."  No  one  in  the 
interim  shall  speak,  unless  one  of  the 
Priors  intercedes  for  him  with  the  Ab- 
bot. If  the  latter  pardons  him,  such 
Prior  shall  assist  him  to  put  on  his 
clothes,  but  he  shall  remain  clothed 
and  standing,  till  the  Abbot  bids  him 
sit  down,  and  then  bowing,  he  shall  go 
to  his  place.  He  could  not  be  pu- 
nished by  a  person  of  inferior  rank.11 
The  whole  chapter  concluded  with  a 
short  religious  service.1  These  were 
held  daily  in  most  Orders,  but  only 
once  a  week  in  others .k  Latin  or 
French  was  only  to  be  spoken  in  it, 
and  all  public  places,  one  reason  of 
which  was,  besides  that  before  alledged, 
to  put  an  end  to  ignorance  in  those 
languages.1  No  person  was  allowed  to 
enter  the  Cloyster,  while  the  Chapter 
was  held,  on  account  of  the  secrets  of 
it ;  which  besides  were  never  to  be  re- 
vealed."1 It  seems  that  the  presiding 
officers  had  frequent  contentions  in  it  ;n 
and  the  statutes  insinuate,  that  the 
Monks  used  to  grumble  at  the  accusa- 
tions and  sentences,  which  last  they  re- 
probated, to  make  frivolous  appeals, 
and  reproach  one  another  after  they 
had  undergone  sentence.0     Those  were 


in  a  chair  upon  the  place  called  the  Judgement,  in 
the  middle. 

s  v.  Corrigiuncula. 

h  Du  Cange,  v.  Disciplina. 

1  Deer.  Lanfr.  Monast.ii.  722,  3. 

k  Ordinamus,  quod  capitulum  culparum  sicut 
assuetum  est  semel  in  ebdoniada,  ad  minus  cele- 
bretur.     MS.Bodl.  1882.  p.  63. 

1  See  auct,  cit.  sup. 

m  W.  Thome,  C.  1208.  C.  2062. 

n  Inbibemus  districte  tarn  priori  quam  ceeteris 
prsesidentibus  conventus  contentiones  in  cap'lo  ha- 
bere.    MS.  Mus.  Ashmol.  1519,  f.  35.  a. 

0  C.  G,  North,  a0  1444,  C.  3.    M.  Paris,  1096. 


224 


CHAPTER. 


especially  rebellious  who  had  powerful 
friends. a 


a  Rebellious  ob  suam  pertinaciam  vel  potenciam 
amicorum.  MS.  Roy.  Libr.  8.  f.  ix.  The  Monks 
divided  crimes  into  leves  and  graves  (small  and 
great),  which  are  respectively  defined  in  various 
rules,  and  to  which  their  punishments  were  accord- 
ingly apportioned.  To  the  former  belonged  car- 
rying the  lantern  publicity,  though  when  out  of 
penance  privately  it  carried  no  shame  with  it.  Mu- 
ratori  Rer.  Italic.  Script,  iv.  212.  The  lantern  of 
penance  was  called  the  greater  lantern,  and  not  the 
one  carried  round  the  choir  at  night  to  awaken  the 
drowsy.  M.  Paris,  1003.  Sometimes  an  old  sack 
was  borne  round  the  neck.  Rastall's  Southwell, 
145.  Repetition  of  a  psalm,  kissing  the  feet  of  the 
brethren  were  others.  Constit.  Fratr.  ut  sup.  p. 
77.  Fasting  (severest)  bread  and  water,  (slightest) 
bread,  ale,  and  pulse.  Lysons's  Environs,  i.  343. 
But  the  most  common  was  prostration,  and  a  con- 
tinuance in  that  position.  Dev.  Yie  Mon.  i.  473, 
5.  Other  punishments  for  light  offences  were, 
sitting  alone  upon  a  chair  in  the  middle  of  the 
choir.  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  739.  Walking  barefoot  to 
the  Cross.  Gold.  Leg.  clxvi.  Standing  with  the 
arms  expanded  in  the  form  of  a  cross  ;  it  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Canons  ;  and  if  a  per- 
son could  stand  so,  immoveable,  while  the  Gospel, 
Lord's  Prayer,  &c.  were  recited,  he  was  deemed 
innocent.  Du  Cange,  v.  Crttcis  Judicium.  The 
Disciplina  condigna,  was  either  fasting,  or  castiga- 
tion,  imposed  on  those  who  neglected  to  learn 
the  Creed  and  Lord's  Prayer.  Du  Cange,  v.  Dis- 
ciplina. Fasting  on  bread,  and  drinking  water  de- 
filed by  the  excrement  of  a  fowl.  Marten,  Anecdot. 
iv.  22.  Repetition  of  psalms  and  being  cuffed.  Du 
Cange,  x.Pcenitentia. — Penitentiary  processions.  A 
charter  of  the  year  1240  says,  They  ought  to  be  pre- 
sent at  the  procession  with  naked  feet,  only  in  their 
shirts  and  breeches,  and  holding  rods  in  their 
hands,  and  to  come  before  the  Ebdomadary,  and 
there  on  their  bent  knees  be  beaten  by  him  for  pe- 
nitence, sometimes  walking  with  naked  feet  and 
shirt  only.  Du  Cange,  v.  Processiones  Publicce. 
Repetition  of  psalms  only.  Id.  v.  Pcenitentia 
Psalmorum.  Silence.  Id.  v.  Silentium.  Sending 
to  Coventry  for  theft,  v.  Sagus.  Prostration  upon 
the  joints  of  the  hands  without  motion,  for  small 
faults,  as  forgetfulness  in  the  service,  v.  Fallacia. 
Separation  from  the  table,  and  deprivation  of  the 
Abbot's  Benediction,  v.  Mensa.  In  the  lesser  ex- 
communication, when  the  offender  dined  three 
hours  later  than  the  others,  he  lost  his  rank,  per- 
formed no  divine  service,  except  with  the  others, 
and  at  a  certain  office  prostrated  himself,  and  lay 
there  for  a  time.  During  dinner,  he  staid  in  the 
Church,  and  so  continued  till  the  Abbot  sent  a 
Prior  to  him,  who  made  a  sign  to  him  to  rise,  upon 
which  he  went  to  that  prelate,  bowed,  and  went  to 
his  place.     Dec.  Lanfr.  c.  17. 

For  severer  faults,  after  discipline,  the  Monk  was 
committed  into  custody,  and  his  keeper  led  him  to 
and  from  Church,  and  secretly  encpiired  of  the 
Abbot  how  he  was  to  live,  and  when  he  was  to  eat. 
No  one  spoke  or  associated  with  him,  and  when  the 
bell  rung  for  divine  service,  he  lay  prostrate  at  the 
Church  gate  till  the  Convent  passed,  and  when  that 
was  done,  kneeled  while  the  hour  was  singing,  and 
bowed  to  every  one  who  happened  to  pass.  When 
the  Convent  left  the  Church,  the  prostration  was 


The  Chapter  of  the  Nuns  was  simi- 
lar;13 the  second  constitution  of  the 
Nuns  of  Sopewell  orders,  that  there 
shall  be  only  three  voices  in  it,  of  the 
President  (subprioress  or  other),  mis- 
tress of  the  rule  (challenger),  and  the 
person  challenged.  Their  Chapter  was 
strewed  on  Easter  Sabbath.c 

They  who  wished  to  sit  near  the  Ab- 
bot (among  the  Cistercians)  in  the 
Chapter,  or  all  places  except  the 
Church,  bowed  to  him  profoundly  from 
their  places.d 

After  the  Chapter,  some  staid  be- 
hind, or  ought  to  have  done  so,  to  con- 
fess, which  confession  was  to  be  short, 
and  of  a  peculiar  relation  to  certain 
faults.  An  old  writer  says,  "  After  the 
saying  of  Sant  Bernard,  and  other  holy 

repeated,  and  the  passing  Monks  said,  "  Lord  have 
mercy  upon  you."  He  was  then  led  back  to  his 
place  ;  received  disciplines  in  the  Chapter  on  stated 
days ;  and  at  last,  upon  promise  of  amendment, 
and  by  the  intercession  of  the  Monks,  was  par- 
doned. A  contumacious  Monk  was  sent  to  the 
prison  till  he  was  humbled,  and  afterwards  treated 
according  to  his  fault.  A  fugitive  Monk  was  not 
admitted  into  the  house  for  some  days,  but  staid  in 
the  hostrey,  and  was  afterwards  very  severely  dis- 
ciplined in  the  Chapter.  Dec.  Lanfr.  Another 
penance  was,  "  Dwelling  at  the  gate  for  a  long  tyme, 
and  living  on  a  morsel  of  bread  a  day,"  and,  "  upon 
re- admission  being  enjoyned  to  do  all  the  offyces 
that  were  most  foulle.''  Gold.  Leg.  f.  lxxxix. 
When  a  Monk  was  sent  to  another  house  for  peni- 
tence sake  (which  Monks  were  those  who  were 
disturbers  of  the  common  peace,  and  the  reason  be- 
cause it  was  better  that  one  should  perish,  than  the 
whole  society,  Reyn.  Append.  124),  the  Bishop  or 
president  of  the  general  Chapter  was  to  compel 
such  house  to  receive  him  ;  the  term  being  expired, 
the  Abbot  was  to  recall  him.  Vestments,  among 
which  were  bed  things,  were  to  be  found  by  the 
Convent  that  sent  him,  food  by  the  other  ;  but  on 
this  head  there  were  opposite  opinions.  Lyndw. 
207,  8.  By  the  constitution,  however,  of  certain 
general  Chapters,  the  receiving-house  was  to  find 
him  necessaries,  to  the  amount  of  two-pence  a  day, 
unless  there  was  any  agreement  to  the  contrary. 
Reyn.  161,  &c.  App.  This  dismission  did  nottake 
place  but  when  the  Monk's  own  house  was  negli- 
gent or  dissolute.     Lyndw.  ut  supr. 

An  expelled  Monk,  according  to  the  rule,  could 
not  be  admitted  after  a  third  offence  ;  but  Monastic 
expulsion  was  the  imposition  of  perpetual  penance, 
viz.  exclusion  from  the  common  table,  chapter,  and 
dormitory,  and  imprisonment.     Athon.  143. 

Correction,  in  the  first  place,  belonged  to  the  Ab- 
bot ;  and,  in  defect  of  that,  to  the  Bishop  after- 
wards ;  in  some  cases,  the  Monks  might  be  held  to 
answer  to  that  prelate.     Athon.  148. 

b  Monast.  ii.  765. 

c  Id.  767.     It  does  not  appear  with  what, 

i  Dtt  Cange,  v.  Supplicare% 


CHAPTER, 


09 


doctours,  when  an)T  man  usyth  to  con- 
fesse  dayle  or  ofte  tymes  he  sholde  nott 
make  a  longe  confession,  but  shorte, 
of  syche  as  his  conscience  is  most 
grevyd  wytb,  and  first  of  dydly  sinnys, 
i.  e.  those  that  he  is  in  dowt  whether 
they  be  dedly  or  veniall,  and  secundly 
of  suche  venial  syns  in  general,  that 
cannot  be  expressyd  specially  as  thes 
be  ;  ydell  words ;  vayne  thoughts ;  nec- 
ligence  ;  dulness  in  redyng  or  praying; 
losse  of  tyme  ;  and  distraction  of  hart 
or  wandryng  mind  in  saying  his  service 
or  other  prayers  ;  unthankfulnes  of  the 
gudness  of  God;  more  besy  for  the 
body  than  nede  ware ;  lyght  turbacions 
agaynst  his  neghbure  ;  lyght  inchinge 
of  other  men ;  lyght  suspecion ;  to  be 
not  content  with  all  that  God  dothe ; 
and  nott  to  use  the  grace  and  gyfte  that 
God  hath  geffyn  him  ;  with  other  suche 
that  cannot  be  flede,  and  well  for- 
borne ;  of  a  feble  and  a  weak  sawle  ; 
when  it  suffers  suche  agayns  its  wyll 
they  are  butt  lyght  venial ;  neverlesse 
they  wolde  be  confessyd  in  generall/'  a 
Accordingly  such  sins  were  confessed 
in  the  following  manner b  among  the 

»  MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  m.  f.  138,  b. 

b  Ordo  confessionis  quotidiance  apud  Cysterci- 
enses.  Nostrat.es  confitentur  super  genua  coram 
Confessore.  Queerit  Confessor,  Quid  dicite  ?  Red- 
det,  Meas  culpas.  Erigit  eum  confessor,  di- 
cens,  Surge  in  nomine  Domini.  Benedicite.  Con- 
fitens,  Dominus.  Confessor,  Deus  sit  nobis- 
cum.  Confitens,  Amen.  Confiteor  Deo,  8fc.  quia 
peccavi  nimis.  Facta  autem  confessione,  dicitpoe- 
nitens,  De  iis  et  aliis  peccatis  meis  meum  reatum 
confiteor ;  veniam  deprecor.  Et  oro  ie  patrem 
orare  pro  me.  Confessor,  Deo  gratias.  Miserea- 
tur  tui  omnipotens  Deus.  Dimittat  tibi  omnia  pec- 
cata  tua,  et  perducat  te  ad  vitam  ceternam.  Amen. 
Indulgentiam  et  remissionem  omnium  peccatorum 
tuorum  tribuat  tibi  omnipotens  et  misericors  Deus. 
Amen.  Dominus  noster  Jesus  Christuste  absolvat, 
ut  ego  auctoritate  ipsius  absolvo  te  a  peccatis  tuis. 
In  nomine  patris,  etfilii,  et  spiritus  sancti.  Amen. 
Meritum  passionis  Domini  nostri  Jesu  Christi,  in- 
tercessio  beatissimee  Virginis  Marice  et  omnium 
sanctorum,  humilitas  hujus  confessionis,  bonum, 
propositum  quod  habes,  et  mala  quce  pro  Deo  pa- 
cienter  sustinebis,  profuit  tibi  ad  remissionem  pec- 
catorum tuorum.  Et  si  hcec  modica  venia  non  sit 
peccatis  vestris  condigna,  passio  Christi  suppleat 
residuum.— Retribuat  tibi  Dominus  vitam  ceternam. 
MS.  Harl.  2363.  f.  7,  b.  Constitutions  enact,  that 
every  Monk  should  confess  at  least  once  a  week, 
and  besides  private  confession  of  daily  faults,  twice 
or  at  least  once  a  year  to  the  Abbot.  Quilibet  etiain 
monachus  ad  minus  semel  omni  ebdomada  confite- 
atur,  et  prseter  illas  privatas  confessiones  de  cotidi- 
anis  delictis  regulariter  faciendis,  bis  vel  semel  in 


Cistertians  :  Our  Monks,  says  the  or- 
dinance, confess  on  their  knees  before 
the  Confessor.  The  latter  enquires, 
i(  What  do  you  say  ?J'  the  other  replies, 
"  My  faults/'  The  Confessor  raises 
him,  saying,  "  Rise  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  Benedicite ;"  the  Monk  returns 
"  Dominus ;"  the  Confessor,  "  God  be 
with  us"  the  Monk,  "Amen.  I  con- 
fess to  God,  that  I  have  deeply  sinned/' 
When  the  confession  is  made,  the  pe- 
nitent says,  "  Of  these  and  all  other  my 
sins  I  confess  myself  guilty.  1  seek 
pardon,  and  beseech  you,  father,  to 
pray  for  me."  The  Confessor  returns, 
"  Thanks  to  God ;  the  Lord  have  mercy 
on  you,  forgive  you  all  your  sins,  and 
bring  you  to  eternal  life.  Amen.  The 
Almighty  and  merciful  God  grant  you 
indulgence  and  remission  of  all  your 
sins.  Amen.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
absolve  you,  as  I,  by  his  authority,  ab- 
solve you  from  your  sins,  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 
Amen.  The  merit  of  the  passion  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  intercession  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  all  the 
Saints,  the  humility  of  this  confession, 
the  good  intentions  which  you  have, 
and  the  evils  which  you  will  patiently 
endure  for  the  sake  of  God,  profit  you 
to  the  remission  of  your  sins.  [For  a 
special  penance  nevertheless.]  And  if 
this  small  pardon  be  not  sufficient  for 
your  sins,  the  passion  of  Christ  supply 
the  residue."  "It  concluded  with  an 
interchangeable  religious  salutation* 
and  "  The  Lord  grant  you  eternal  life, 
from  the  Confessor  rising.  Some  con- 
stitutions enact,  that  no  Monk  should 
confess  to  any  secular,  or  man  of  other 
order,  unless  on  a  journey,  or  unable  to 
obtain  the  assistance  of  a  Monk ; c 
notwithstanding  which,  other  injunc- 
tions allow  them  what  Confessor  they 


anno  saltern  suo  confiteatur  prselato.  MS.  Cott. 
Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  244.  M.  Paris  says,  that  daily 
confession  took  place  when  necessary,  besides  the 
general  monthly  one,  p.  1095, 1097,  1140. 

c  Nullusque  monachus  sub  nostra  obediential 
constitutus  confiteatur  alicui  seculari  aut  viro  alte- 
rius  religionis  quin  nostrse  ;  nisi  in  itinere  consti- 
tutus vel  monachi  copiam  nequeant  obtinere.  MS. 
Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  244.  Thus  too,  Monast.  i. 
147. 


226 


CHAPTER, 


liked,a  whether  regular  or  secular.^ 
The  office  of  external  Confessors  the 
Monks  found  so  profitable,  that  they 
obtained  grants  for  five  years,  on  pur- 
pose to  exercise  that  function,  from  the 
papal  see.c  It  seems,  that  the  Monks 
confessed  very  reluctantly  ;d  and  that 
it  was  a  very  difficult  duty  to  young  be- 
ginners.6 It  was  a  rule,  that  whatever 
guilt  the  Monks  had  contracted  from 
the  hour  of  Nones,  it  was  to  be  con- 
fessed before  Complin.  Those  also 
who  had  assembled  to  sing  Prime,  after 
it  was  over,  and  before  the  50th  Psalm 
[sung  by  the  procession  when  retiring], 
used  to  say  to  each  other,  "  I  confess 
to  the  Lord  and  you,  Brother,  that  I 
have  sinned  in  thought  and  deed, 
wherefore  I  beg  you  to  pray  for  me;" 


a  Chronol.  August.  Cant. 

b  Licentia  ut  eligere  possitis  confessorem  ido- 
neum  ssecularem  vel  regularem.  MS.  Mus.  Ash- 
mol.  1519,  f.  12,  b. 

c  Reyn.  Append.  190. 

d  "  Valde  abhorrebam  confiteri  peccata."  MS. 
Cott.  Calig.  A.  i.  f.  221. 

e  Joan.  Solorzani  de  Indiar.  Jure,  186. 


and  he  answered,  "  Almighty  God  have 
mercy  upon  you."f 

I  shall  end  this  account  of  the  Chap- 
ter, with  observing,  that  to  be  buried  in 
it  was  an  honour,s  though  the  view  was, 
for  the  Monks  to  retain  a  fresher  me- 
mory of  the  deceased's  services.11 

In  the  Statutes  of  the  Clugniacks, 
adjoining  to  the  Chapter,  were  rooms 
called  Trisantice3  with  seats  on  both 
sides,  where  the  Monks  were  to  retire 
after  shaving  and  conclusion  of  the 
psalmody.  Conversation  was  allowed, 
and  they  were  to  take  a  book,  and  cut 
their  nails  if  necessary.  After  Complin 
and  collation,  some  retired  there  from 
the  Chapter,  till  the  whole  Convent 
had  withdrawn.  They  who  sat  on  one 
side  of  the  Trisantia  began  one  verse, 
those  on  the  opposite  replied.  These 
Trisantice  were  places  of  rendezvous, 
especially  connected  with  Chapter  bu- 
siness.1 


f  Du  Cange,  v.  Completa — Confessiones  dare. 
s  M.  Paris,  1018,  104.  h  Monast.  i.  p.  456. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Trisantia. 


DORMITORY. 


227 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


DORMITORY. 


"  On  the  West  side  of  the  Cloyster/' 
says  Davies,  "was  a  large  house,  called 
the  Dorter,  where  the  Monks  and  No- 
vices lay.  Every  Monk  had  a  little 
chamber  to  himself.  Each  chamber a 
had  a  window  towards  the  Chapter,b 
and  the  partition  betwixt  every  cham- 
ber was  close  wainscotted,  and  in  each 
window  was  a  desk  to  support  their 
books." 

In  the  ancient  Orders,  at  least  some, 
the  Abbot's  bed  was  in  the  middle  of 
the  Dormitory,  near  the  wall,  and  he 
made  a  sonnd  to  raise  the  brethren  in 
the  morning.0  The  Prior's  bed  in  the 
Dormitory,  with  a  study  and  other 
apartments  annexed.d  "  On  the  West 
side  of  the  said  Dorter  were  "  [similar 
chambers,  and  on  the  South,  those  of 
the  Novices,  who  had  also  one  each, 
but  neither  so  close  nor  so  warm  as  the 
others  were,  and  without  any  other  light 
than  what  came  in  at  the  foreside.] 
"  At  each  end  of  the  Dorter  was  a 
square  stone,  in  which  was  a  dozen  of 
cressets,  wrought  in  each  stone,  being 
always  filled  and  supplied  by  the  cooks" 
[in  order  to  afford  light].  (i  Adjoining 
to  the  West  side  of  the  Dormitory  was 
the  privy,  with  separate  seats  wains- 
cotted  and  partitioned,  each  lighted 
with  a  little  window.  The  middle  part 
of  the  Dormitory  was  paved  with  fine 
tile-stones,  the  whole  length."  At 
Ford  Abbey  in  Devonshire,  a   Dormi- 


a  The  obedientiaries  used  to  sell  these  chambers 
according  to  the  goodness  of  them.  C.  G.  North- 
ampt.  a0  1444.  c.  3,  sect.  De  Dormitorio. 

b  Windows  in  the  door ;  and  the  latter  to  have 
no  lock,  are  ordered.  Ut  in  Dormitorio  in  singu- 
lorum  cellae,  sive  camera;  ostio  parvulas  fenestras 
fieri,  &c.  per  quas  procedentes  fratrum  laudabiles, 
nostri  ordinis  consuetudinem,  introspicere  libere 
queant,  nullusque  canonicorum  in  Dormitorio  ja- 
cencium  praesumat  ostium  camera?  suse  intro  quovis 
ingenio  firmare.     MS.  Ashm.  1519. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Dormitorium. 

d  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  143. 


tory  remains  complete.  It  is  a  long 
narrow  gallery,  with  lancet  windows  on 
both  sides,  one  window  to  each  apart- 
ment or  partition,  now  removed.  Se- 
veral constitutions  enact,  that  the  beds 
should  not  be  curtained,  that  they 
should  be  without  perticcef  (patibula 
for  hanging  things  on)  ;  that,  among 
the  Friars,  they  should  not  have  coun- 
terpanes, sheets,  or  pillows/  and  that 
they  should  not  sleep  naked  ;S  an  in- 
junction which  the  Monks  extended 
only  to  their  shirts  and  breeches.h  It 
was  deemed  injurious  to  sanctity  for 
Monks  to  sleep  with  naked  legs. i  They 
too  at  least  had  blankets, k  and  besides 
common  bed  furniture  of  curtains  of 
red,  green,  white,  or  a  mixed  colour,1 
silk  pillows  (still  to  be  seen  in  ancient 
beds),  and  coverlids  with  teasters.m  The 
nuns  of  St.  Clare  were  permitted  to 
have  sacks  of  hay  or  chaff,  and  a  pillow 
of  chaff  or  wool,  if  they  could  not 
have  religious  culcitrce  n  of  wool.  "  The 
keys  of  the  Dortour  were  carried  to 
the  Prefect  or  Vicar  by  the  servitor  be- 
longing thereto,  and  by  him  again  at 


e  Et  ut  omnis  suspicio  mala  tollatur,  lecti  mona- 
chorum  velaminibus  et  perticis,  si  qui  fuerunt, 
amotis,  ita  sint  ordinati,  ut  in  ipsis  lectis  existentes, 
sine  obstaculo  quocunque  die  nocteque  continue 
valeant  a  custodibus  ordinis,  et  aliis  transeuntibus 
intueri.  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  242,  b.  Non 
cortinatos.     Cust.  Roffens   235. 

f  Super  culcitrum  non  dormiant  fratres.  MS. 
Cott.  Nero,  A.  xn.  f.  159,  b.  Item  fratres  saniin 
Dormitorio,  culcitris,  lintheaminibus,  ac  pulvinari- 
bus  non  utantur.     MS.  Bodl.  1882,  p.  48,  b. 

"  s  Ibid.     A  custom  of  Egyptian  origin.     Gruteri 
Spicileg.  ii.  132.  h  Reyn.  Append.  166. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Pedana. 

k  W.  Thorne,  c.  32,  sect.  3. 

1  Reyn.  Append.  195. 

m  i  pulvinar  de  serico,  i  coverlit  cum  tester.  MS. 
Harl.  1005.  f.  69,  b.  The  bedsteads  were  of  oak. 
M.  Par.  1054.  According  to  some  rules,  no  one 
in  the  time  of  summer  was  allowed  to  sleep  out  of 
his  bed,  except  the  Prior  ordered  him  to  sleep  in 
the  open  air,  for  custody  of  the  area.  Du  Cange, 
v.  Nuhilum. 

n  Here  it  means  a  bed. 

q2 


228 


DORMITORY. 


the  appointed  time  in  the  morning 
opened;  then  each  Monk  receiving 
their  summons  to  rise/  had  half  an 
hour,  or  thereabouts,  allowed  them  both 
in  making  up  themselves  and  their 
beds.b 

In  some  Rules  the  meridians  began 
on  Palm  Sunday,  in  others  on  the  ides 
of  May;  and  in  some  ended  on  the 
ides  of  September,  in  others  on  those  of 
October.  The  order  of  St.  Victor  says, 
e{  In  the  summer,  at  mid-day,  any  one 
who  chuses  may  read  in  the  Dormi- 
tory, provided  they  do  not  make  a 
noise  in  turning  over  the  leaves.  In 
that  hour  the  brethren  ought  to  lie  in  \ 
their  cloaths ;  and  take  care  not  to  ex-  j 
tend  their  feet  outside  the  bed,  or  ap- 
pear naked  in  it.  The  meridians  after 
Sext  on  fast-days  were  very  short."  c 

It  seems  that  these  meridians,  or 
sleep  at  noon  during  summer,  were  neg- 
lected by  the  Monks,  in  order  that  they 
might  attend  to  drinking  or  gossiping 
elsewhere ; d  and  that  both  they,  the 
Nuns,  and  Friars  spent  almost  half  the 
night  in  similar  indulgences  both  there 
and  in  other  places  ;  so  that  they  could 
scarcely  be  prevailed  on  to  rise  in  the 
morning ; e  that  the  Friars  made  great 

a  In  some  rules  certain  Monks  were  deputed  to 
wake  the  others  to  Matins,  which  office  they  took 
in  weekly  rotation  ;  and  they  were  called  Vigiliarii, 
or  VigiH-Galli,  from  the  wakefulness  of  cocks.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Vigiliarii, 

*  Steevens's  Monast.  ii.  121,  of  Oseney.  The 
Friars  might  lie  out  of  the  house,  for  the  conveni- 
ence of  the  guests.  Extra  domum  etiam  jacere  po- 
terunt  sicut  fueriteis  constitutum,  ne  hospites  mo- 
lestentur.     MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xu.  f.  159,  b. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Meridiana. 

d  Aliquos  de  Conventu  extra  Dormitorium  pro 
potacionibus  vel  vanis  confabulacionibus,  sicut  an- 
tiquitus  solebant,  notare,  &c.  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E. 
iv.  f.  244,  a. — Comestiones  atque  potationes  in 
Dormitorio  inhibemus.     MS.  AshmoL  Mus.  1519. 

e  Quidam  contra  commessationes  superfluas  et 
confabulationes  illicitas,  ut  de  aliis  taceamus,  fere 
medietatem  noctis  expendunt,  et  sompno  residuum 
relinquentes,  vix  ad  diurnum  Conventum  avium 
excitantur.  MS.  Bibl.  Reg.  8,  f.  9.  "  Fratres 
nolumus  vosignorare  de  dormientibus,  ut  non  con- 
tristemini  sicut  ethnici  qui  spem  non  habent." 
MS.  Harl.  913,  f.  11.  Item  quod  morosse  sessiones 
et  famulationes  post  completorium,  multa  mala  et 
perieula  mittunt  in  religionem,  precipimus,  ut  tem- 
pestive  in  quantum  possent,  cubent.  MS.  Cott. 
Jul.  D.  ii.  f.  158,  b.  See  also  C.  G.  Northampt. 
a°  1444.  ch.  2.  Item  post  completorium  ex  quo 
signum  Dormitorii  factum  fuerit,  aliqiiis  comedere 


noises  in  talking ; f  that  the  Nuns  made 
many  useless  signs/  as  did  the  Monks, 
who  went  to  the  beds  of  the  others  to 
converse ; h  did  not  rise  to  mattins ; 
and  disturbed  the  quiet  brethren  *  with 
singing  or  dancing  till  the  hours  of  ten 
or  eleven  at  night — an  abuse  thus  al- 
luded to  by  Barclay : 

The  frere  or  monke  in  his  frocke  and  cowle, 
Must  daunce  in  his  dorter,  leping  to  play  thefoole.k 

It  also  appears  that  seculars  slept 
there 1  as  well  as  in  nunneries,  whose 
dormitories  were  not  much  used  by  the 
sisters.111  They  were  all,  except  officers, 
to  be  in  bed  by  eight  o'clock.11  Among 
the  Premonstratensians  they  were  not 
to  get  into  bed  upright;  but  sitting 
down,  turn  round.  A  prayer  was  said 
by  the  Senior  Prior.0  The  Dormitory 
was  the  place  for  dressing.  The  Rule 
of  Victor  says,  of  the  Brethren  going 
to  work,  "Let  them  ascend  into  the 
Dormitory,  and  there  preparing  them- 
selves put  on  woollen  tunicks  above, 
small  subtalares,  or  shoes  not  higher 
than  the  ancles,  gloves,"  &c.P 


non  preesumat,  nee  alicubi  in  locutionibus  remanere. 
MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xu.  f.  158,  b.  Nullus  in  Dor- 
mitorio prsesumat  se  a  matutinis  absentare.  MS. 
Ashm.  f.  33,  et  pass. 

1  Hortamur  enim  ut  fratres  assuescantur  ubique 
religiose  et  sine  clamore  loqui,  et  maxime  in  dormi- 
torio.    MS.  Bodl.  1882,  p.  47,  b. 

s  Monast.  ii.  766. 

h  Nullus  etiam  fratrum  ad  lectum  alterius  acce- 
dat  ad  confabulationem,  vel  signum  aliquod  facien- 
dum, nisi  hii  quibus  ex  officiis  eorum  incumbit. 
MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  242,  b. 

1  Gunton's  Peterborough,  55  ;  and  verbatim  from 
him,  Steevens's  Monast.  i.  485. 

k  Ship  of  Fooles,  116,  a.  Ed.  Cawood.  This 
was  uncandid.  Fordun  mentions  dancing  and 
singing  till  midnight  (XV.  Script.  6?  8).  Aldhelm, 
when  he  returned  from  abroad,  was  received  by 
the  people  with  dancing  (Angl.  Sacr.  i.  19)  ;  and 
always  when  Hugh  Prior  of  Durham  was  at  home, 
the  poor  of  the  town  used  to  dance  before  him, 
and  he  ordered  them  refreshment  in  the  kitchen 
(Id.  i.  740).  This  could  not  have  been,  if  crimi- 
nal ideas  had  been  attached  to  dancing.  However, 
Orderic  Vitalis  says,  that  the  Dormitory,  Infirmary, 
and  other  private  places  of  Monasteries,  were  open 
to  buffoons  and  prostitutes.  Du  Cange,  v.  Cron- 
tochium. 

. l  Ne  aliquis  ssecularis  de  castero  in  dormitorio 
nocte  requiescat.  MS.  Ashmol.  Mus.  1519.  f. 
123,  a.  m  Monast.  i.  910,  ii.  895. 

n  Ut  cuncti  sint  in  lectis  ad  horam  octavam,  ex- 
ceptis  officiariis.     MS.  Ashmol.  1519,  p.  15. 

0  Du  Cange,  v.  Gambesa,  Collocare. 

p  Ibid.  v.  Mainfula. 


CLOISTER. 


229 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


CLOISTER. 


Several  antient  canons  enacted,  that 
cloisters  a  should  be  erected  near  the 
Church,  where  the  clerks  might  attend 
to  Ecclesiastical  discipline  ;  b  and  con- 
finement to  it  originated  in  the  gossip- 
ing practices  of  the  antient  Monks, 
which  Benedict  was  determined  to  pre- 
vent.0 There  was  a  green  in  the  midst 
of  it  (sometimes  called  Paradise), i£  sig- 
nifying,'''  says  WiclifT,  "  the  greenness 
of  their  virtues  above  others  f  and  a 
tree  in  the  middle,  which  implied  i(  the 
ladder,  by  which,  in  gradations  of  vir- 
tue, they  aspired  to  celestial  things/'  d 
Its  four  sides  had  also  particular  desig- 
nations; the  western  side  was  appro- 
priated to  the  school;  that  which  joined 
the  Church  to  moral  reading ;  and  the 
uses  of  the  two  others  (for  Du  Cange's 
extract  is  imperfect)  seem  to  be  con- 
joined with  the  duties  of  the  Church 
and  Chapters  The  form  was  square, 
that  the  Monks  might  be  secluded  from 
intercourse  with  the  world  ;  f  and  the 
idea  of  the  building  itself  was  taken 
from  Solomon's  Porch,  erected  near  the 
temple. 5  Sometimes  it  had  a  fountain 
in  the  middle,  and  the  doors  were  con- 
secrated with  relicks.h 

Davies  describes  it  as  having  a  seat 
(fastened  to  the  wall,  four  feet  high, 
with  a  back  of  wood,  and  boarded  un- 
der feet  for  warmth),  on  which  sat  the 


a  There  were  antieutly  Curies  Claustrales,  de- 
pendencies of  Cloisters,  residences  of  Canons.  Ma- 
gasin  Encyclopedique,  vi.  p.  3  95. 

b  Le  Vceu  de  Jacob,  iv.  504,  5. 

c  Dev.  VieMon.  ii.  14,  15. 

d  Dialogi  cxliii.  4to.  1525.  For  the  tree,  see 
also  D'Emiliane's  Monastical  Orders,  p.  170. 

e  Du  Cange  in  v.  Claustrum,  from  Peter  of  Blois, 
who  has  "in  ipsa  ecclesia  meditatio  spiritualis" 
[omitted  by  Du  Cange,]  and  "  ad  Orient  em  [Ori- 
entalem,  Du  Cange]  in  capitulo  correctio  [omit. 
Du  Cange]  materialis." 

f  Dxx  Cange. 

s  Gemma  Animse,  cap.  148,  De  Claustro.  Mr. 
Waiton  says  it  was  adorned  with  carols  (texts  or 
inscriptions).     See  Angl.  Sacra,  i.  HO. 

b  Du  Cange,  v.  Atrium, 


porter ;  and,  on  the  same  side,  a  long 
bench  of  stone  for  children  at  the 
Maundy,  at  the  end  of  which  were 
almeries,  or  closets,  of  pierced  work, 
to  admit  air  to  the  towels  there  kept, 
with  which  the  Monks  wiped  their 
hands  when  they  washed  and  went  to 
dinner.  The  North  alley,  he  says,  was 
finely  glazed,  and  in  every  window 
were  three  pews  or  carrels,  in  each 
of  which  was  a  desk,  where  every 
one  of  the  old  Monks  had  a  carrel  se- 
verally to  himself,  to  which,  after  din- 
ner, they  resorted,1  and  there  studied 

I  their  books  till  even  song ;  and  opposite 
to  these,  against  the  Church  wall,  were 
almeries  full  of  books,  at  all  times 
open  to  them.  In  the  West  alley  was 
the  treasury,  in  the  midst  of  which  was 
an  iron  grate,  having  a  strong  iron 
door  of  the  same  work,   f*  with  a  lock, 

,  and  great  slots  of  iron  ;"  and  within,  a 
square  table  covered  with  green  cloth, 
for  telling  their  money .k     Within  this 

1  They  could   either   study  or   sleep.     Monast. 
I    ii.  730. 

k  Seals  of  a  round  form  generally  denoted,  ac- 
I    cording   to   Lewis  and  Blomfield,  "  something  of 
!    royalty  in  the  possessor,   or  a  more  than  ordinary 
i    extent  of  temporal  jurisdiction."     Monasteries  of 
',    royal    foundation     had     commonly    round    seals. 
:    Bishops  and  superiors  of  houses  had  usually  oval 
J    seals.     The  former  hold  the  pastoral  staff  in  their 
left  hands  ;  Abbots  in  their  right.    The  earliest  con- 
ventual seals  commonly  bore  mere  rude  represen- 
tations of  the  patron  saints  ;    the  more  recent  were 
highly  finished  :  the  most  common  device  being  the 
superior  praying  to  the  patron  saint  above,     From 
the  reign  of  Edward  the  Confessor  to  that  of  Ed- 
ward III.  that  is,  from  A.  D.  1041   to  1327,    the 
Kings  of  England  were  represented  on  their  broad 
seals,  sitting  upon  thrones,  but  without  canopies. 
From  Edward  III.  down  to  the  present  time,  they 
are  seated  under  canopies.     Previously  to  the  time 
of  Edward  III.  the  convent  seals  represented  the 
patron  saints  and  abbots  seated  upon  thrones  ;  but 
after  this  period  they   constantly  exhibited    these 
figures    sitting  or  standing  beneath    canopies  and 
arches.  The  patron  saint  subduing  and  treading  upon 
the   dragon   being    symbolical   of  his    overcoming 
sin  ;    a  star,  the  symbol  of  the   Epiphany,   and   a 
crescent  of  the  increase  of  the   Gospel,  are  fre- 
quently introduced  into  the  geals.     Taylor's  Inde.v, 
Monasticus,  Pref.  xsi.  seq, 


230 


CLOISTER. 


treasury  was  kept  the  best  muniments,   ( 
the   Chapter    seal/   and    evidences  of 
several  gentlemen^  s  lands  in  the  coun- 
try, in  three  great  chests  well  locked.b 
Opposite  to  this,  was   a  stall  of  wain- 
scot, where  the  Novices  were  taught; 
and  their  master  had  a  seat  of  the  same 
kind,  upon  the  South  side  of  the  trea-    I 
sury-house  door,   opposite  to  the  stall, 
where  the  Novices  studied.     There' he   | 
instructed  them  both  forenoon  and  af-   ' 
ternoon,  no  strangers  or  other  persons 
being  permitted  to  molest  the  Novices  '■ 
or  the  Monks  in  their  carrels/  while  at  j 
study  in  their   Cloisters,   a  porter  at- 
tending  for  that  purpose  at  the  Clois- 
ter-door.    A  little  South  of  the  trea-  1 


a  See  sect.  Abbot.  In  general  tbe  custody  of  it  '■ 
was  ill  observed.  MS.  Mus.  Asbmol.  1519,  f.  34. 
In  the  Cistertian  and  Praemonstratensian  Orders 
it  was  in  tbe  custody  of  tbe  Prior  and  four  more 
eligible.  Id.  50,  a.  Through  the  scarcity  of  no-  j 
taries  public,  a  constitution  of  Otto  ordered  Abbots 
and  Priors,  whose  benefices  were  perpetual,  to  have 
a  seal  of  their  own,  separate  from  that  of  the  house, 
which  Dr.  Pegge  is  of  opinion  was  not  the  case, 
except  where  heads  of  great  and  opulent  founda- 
tions had  indeed  their  own  seals  conformable  to  the 
regulation,  or  at  least  by  favour  of  his  holiness  the 
Pope  (Essay  on  the  Matrices  of  Conventual  Seals, 
p.  3.)  Abbeys  too  had  not  only  different  seals  for 
different  purposes,  but  these  were  frequently  altered 
and  changed  (Id.  p.  7)  ;  though,  from  the  seal  of 
Hyde  Abbey  being  worth  15  marks  (Monast.  i. 
210],  I  apprehend  it  must  have  been  extremely  ex- 
pensive to  have  them  sculped. — So  careless  were 
the  Monks  of  it,  that  M.  Paris  mentions  its  being 
thrown  among  a  chest  of  papers  (p.  1048).  The 
Abbot's  bajulus,  or  domestic  Monk,  was  also  the 
bearer  of  this  seal  (Id.  1051).  A  silver  seal  and 
chain,  sigilliuni  argenti  cum  cathena,  is  mentioned  as 
a  plain  Monk's  in  MS.  Harl.  1005,  f.  69,  b. 

b  Of  this  see  Preef.  Notit.  Monast.  It  is  well 
known  that  W.  I.  &c.  caused  the  Abbeys  to  be 
searched  for  treasures  of  this  nature.  There  are  in- 
junctions not  to  receive  secular  deposits,  on  account 
of  the  danger  of  so  doing.  (Deposita  secularia 
nun  suscipiet,  quia  multus  ad  pericula  varia  trax- 
erunt)  MS.  Cott.  Jul.  a.  ix.  f.  12.  b.  Accord- 
ing to  certain  constitutions  they  were  to  be  received 
with  consent  of  the  Abbot  and  four  Monks  of 
"  laudable  testimony."  M.  Paris,  1096.  These 
matters,  as  they  were  deposited  for  security,  were 
also  removed,  after  leave  obtained,  with  the  most 
profound  secresy.  Paston  Letters,  iii.  354.  The 
custom  seems  to  arise  from  the  Roman  deposits  in 
the  Temple  of  Vesta.  At  St.  Alban's  the  charters 
were  kept  in  chests,  upon  which,  withinside,  was  a 
table  of  contents.  M.  Paris,  p.  1035.  At  a  Fran- 
ciscan Abbey  at  Donegall,  in  the  Cloister  are  two 
narrow  passages  one  over  the  other,  seemingly 
placed  for  depositing  valuable  effects  in  times  of 
danger.     Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Tour,  191. 

c  These  carrels  were  locked,  and  contained  vari- 
ous things.     Cowellv.  Carols. 


sury,  he  adds,  was  a  convenient  room, 
wherein  was  established  the  song- 
school,  for  the  instruction  of  boys  for 
the  use  of  the  Choir ;  the  song-school 
in  the^South  aile  of  the  Ian  thorn  being 
decently  furnished  with  a  reading- 
desk,  convenient  seats,  and  all  other 
requisite  conveniencies,  appropriated 
to  the  service  of  God ;  where  morning 
prayer  was  daily  celebrated  at  six  in 
the  morning  throughout  the  year,  ex- 
cept on  Sundays  and  holidays. 

A  number  of  constitutions  forbid 
women  to  have  access  to  the  Cloister, 
except  noble  patronesses  and  others  to 
whom  entrance  could  not  be  denied, 
unless  on  passing  through  on  certain 
festivals,  or  going  to  the  Church  for 
devotion,  and  taking  their  way  through 
(not  talking  or  standing  in  the  cloister), 
to  the  places  deputed  for  the  visitors, 
the  hospitia  of  Abbots,  or  in  great 
houses,  the  lodgings  of  Priors  ; d  but  it 
was  confessed  only,  that  such  regula- 
tions ought  to  be  observed.e  Among 
the  Friars  they  were  allowed  to  follow 
processions,  and  be  present  whenever 
there  was  preaching/  It  seems  too, 
that  the  Convent  was  much  disturbed 
by  persons  of  both  sexes  passing 
through,?  and  that  the  Monks  were  in 
the  habit  of  gossiping  in  the  corners  in 
small  parties,11  in  consequence  of  the 
injunction  of  reading  instead  of  manual 
labour.1  The  Monks  had  each  of 
them  a  book,  except  those  studying 
the  divine  service,  to  whom  the  chantor, 
or  a  person  deputed  by  him,  attended. 
They  sat  side  by  side,  never  asked 
questions  except  of  long  or  short  ac- 


d  M.  Paris,  1100.  Monast.  ii.  566.  C.  G.  North  - 
ampt.  a0 1444.  c.  ix. 

e  M.  Paris. 

f  Quum  non  fuerint  processiones  eos  sequi  po- 
terint ;  et  ubi  prasdicabitur  semper  poterint  inte- 
resse.     MS.  Cot.  Nero,  A.  xn. 

s  Item  quia  transitus  communis  personarum 
utriusque  sexus  per  claustrum,  incongruis  tempo - 
ribus  exercetur,  et  potissime  horis  illis,  quibus 
fratres  de  conventu  et  contemplatione  sancta  studiis 
quoque  ac  lectionibus  variis  inibi  occupantur,  unde 
dissolutiones  plurimse  pervenerunt.  MS.  Harl.  328, 
f.  3. 

h  Non  bini  aut  terni  seorsimperangulos  claustri 
vacant.  MS.  Cott.  Faustina,  B.  iv.  f.  128.  (Dis- 
quis.  de  Grandimont .) 

'l  Dev.  Vie  Mon.  ii.  395,  b. 


CLOISTER. 


231 


cents,  or  beginnings  of  lessons  at  table, 
collation,  and  mattins,  which  questions 
were  very  short.  When  they  found  it 
necessary  to  go  away  for  a  time,  they 
put  their  books  in  the  case,  or  con- 
signed them  to  a  Monk  that  sat  nigh 
them.a  Angry  looks  and  signs  were 
much  reprobated. 

Embroidery,  though  forbidden  in 
the  rule  of  Ceesarius,13  was  a  common 
employment  of  Monks :  and  others 
were  not  rare.  The  ancient  Monks  of 
Egypt  worked  in  masonry,  upholstery, 
carpentry,  braziery,  agriculture,  cloth- 
making,  shoe-making,  basket-making, 
rope  and  net  making,  tanning,  fulling, 
dressing  and  colouring  the  papyrus, 
fine  writing,  indeed  every  employment, 
agricultural  and  mechanical,  necessary 
for  the  use  of  life.c 

The  Nuns  too,  as  the  Monks,  sat 
in  their  Cloister  side  by  side,  with  one's 
back  to  the  other's  face,  except  they 
were  reading  in  the  same  book,  or  sew- 
ing in  the  same  cloth.  No  person 
passing  bowed  to  any  one  but  the 
Prioress ;  nor  could  any  lettered  Nun, 
after  Prime,  be  in  the  Cloister  without 
a  book ;  and,  if  she  sat  idle  at  it,  work 
instead  was  enjoined  her.d  But  there 
were  peculiarities  attendant  upon  their 
Cloisters.  There  was  a  wheel  made  in 
the  outer  wall,  too  small  for  persons  to 
go  in  and  out  at,  but  so  managed,  that 
though  it  precluded  vision,  necessaries 
could  be  administered  by  it ;  and  on 
either  side  of  it  was  a  strong  door  of 
small  size  (locked  at  night,  and  in  sum- 
mer during  the  meridians),  for  the  use 
of  the  attendant  porteress,  to  manage 
her  business.  There  was  also  only 
one  door  to  enter  the  Cloister  by, 
made  so  high,  that  it  was  accessible 
only  by  a  ladder  ;  and  this  ladder, 
during  the  above  periods,  was  fast 
bound  by  an  iron  chain  on  the  Nun's 
side ;  and  a  porteress  attended  to  keep 
it  locked.  The  grate,  or  locutory, 
consisted  of  an  iron  plate  perforated, 
not  to  be  opened,   and   strengthened 


a  Monast.  ii.  724,  5. 

b  C.  42.  "  Dev.  Vie  Monast.  ii.  406. 

d  Monast.  ii.  765. 


externally  with  projecting  nails,  over 
which,  on  the  inner  side,  a  black  cloth 
was  so  placed,  that  they  could  neither 
see  nor  be  seen.  There  they  were 
allowed  to  converse  at  certain  times, 
except  from  Complin  to  Prime,  eating- 
time,  the  meridian,  or  during  Divine 
Servicer  Their  processions  were  to 
be  made  within  the  yards  and  gardens 
surrounding  their  Cloister,  with  beat- 
ing of  bells,  hoods  on,  walking  two  and 
two,  and  the  cross  borne  before.f 
The  day  of    the    Month  was   pro- 


e  Mitig.  Rule  of  S.  Clare.  The  versatile  window 
of  the  Sempringham  Nuns,  for  necessary  purposes, 
was  not  quite  two  feet  high  and  broad.  That  of 
confession  and  conversation  with  parents,  &c.  once 
or  twice  a-year,  a  finger's  length  and  breadth. 
Monast.  ii.  757,  8.  2. 

f  Athon.  157.  Processions  were  founded  upon 
Christ's  ordering  his  disciples  to  go  forth  into 
Galilee.  Rup.  Tutiens.  L.  vii.  C.  21.  p.  991.  In 
the  Nuns' processions  (Ord.  Sernpr.)  they  were  made 
through  the  Cloister,  and  curtains  hung  at  every 
corner  of  it,  to  obstruct  vision.  Monast.  ii.  765. 
The  Sunday  procession  originated  with  Agapetus 
the  First,  a0  537.     M.  Polonus,  sub  a0. 

The  standards  of  the  Church,  representing  the 
Trinity,  Saints,  &c.  made  in  the  form  of  the  La- 
barum,  at  least  sometimes,*  were,  after  the  proces- 
sion was  over,  erected  in  the  Church  :  f  but  there 
was  a  standard  made  of  hair- cloth  for  reconciling 
penitents.  After  nones  was  sung,  a  Priest  went  to 
the  western  gate  of  the  Church,  clothed  in  sacer- 
dotal vestments,  and  a  red  silk  cope,  with  two 
Deacons  in  white  amesses,  without  the  Sub-Dea- 
con, and  without  the  cross,  through  the  middle  of 
the  Choir,  the  hair-cloth  standard  preceding.  Thus 
the  penitent  was  introduced. X  In  all  processions 
the  cross  was  carried  before,  and  when  elevated 
signified  temporal  dominion.  §  Relicks  were  carried 
upon  a  fork  sometimes. ||  The  Cistertian  Nuns 
wore  a  large  and  wide  hood,  called  Culla,  in  pro- 
cessions.^ 

Shrines,  ccntaining  relicks,  were  carried  in  pro- 
cession with  singing  and  bell  ringing,  in  imitation 
of  the  Israelites  carrying  the  ark.** 

The  statio  was  a  stoppage  at  the  Oratories,  or 
other  places,  and  prayers  were  said,  Antiphones 
sung,  and  Mass  celebrated.  They  are  said  to  have 
been  taken  from  a  custom  of  the  first  Christians  to 
hold  meetings  at  public  Churches,  or  Oratories,  to 
transact  business. ft 


*  Du  Cange,  v.  Auriflamma. 

f  Id.  v.  Vexillum. 

X  Missale  Sarisb. 

§  Notices  des  MSS.  vi.  83. 

||   Du  Cange,  v.  Branchada, 

%  Id.  v.  Culla. 

**  Id.  v.  Scrinium. 


ft 


Id.  v.  Statio, 


232 


CLOISTER. 


claimed  in  the  Cloister  every  morning 
after  Prime  by  the  boys.a 

Books  were  chained  in  the  Cloister 
for  the  instruction  of  the  Novices,  of 
which  M sop's  Fables  is  known  to  have 
been  one.  From  a  book  of  tales  of 
this  kind,  a  specimen  shall  now  be  ex- 
hibited of  the  wrong  conclusions  of  the 
middle  age.  These  tales  begin  with 
the  moral,  not  conclude  as  is  the  mo- 
dern fashion ;  and  one  of  the  stories 
intended  to  warn  persons  against  lustb 
is  this.  A  king's  son,  till  a  certain 
age,  was  kept  from  the  society  and 
knowledge  of  the  female  sex,  and  then 
shown  every  thing  in  the  world  ac- 
cording to  its  kind,  men  apart,  women 
apart,  houses  apart,  and  elsewhere 
gold,  silver,  jewels,  and  every  thing 
which  could  charm  the  eyes  of  the  be- 
holders. He  comes  to  the  women, 
and  asks,  what  those  were  ?  The  ser- 
vant answers  sportively,  these  are  de- 
vils, which  seduce  men.  The  heart  of 
the  boy  began,  however,  to  feel  desire  ; 
and  when  the  king  asked  him,  what  he 
liked  best  of  all  which  he  had  seen  ? 
the  other  replied,  (i  I  like  the  devils 

a  Du  Cange,  v.  Luna. 

b  Valde  cavendurn  in  viris  religiosis,  ne  superen- 
tur  in  temptacione  diaboli,  &c.  unde  legimus,  &c. 
MS.  Harl.  463.  f.  2,  3. 


which  seduce  men,  better  than  all  the 
others/' c 

In  orders  Eremite,  the  cells  opened 
into  the  Cloister.  That  of  the  Car- 
thusians, at  Shene,  contained  about 
thirty  cells. d  Nigel  Wireker  says, 
jocosely,  "  If  I  get  among  them,  I  must 
go  to  bed  without  a  light/' e 

The  tendency  of  perpetual  solitude 
is  to  produce  insanity.  Intercourse 
with  society  is  the  regulator  of  the 
clockwork  of  reason.  Judgment  is  the 
distinction  of  men  of  the  world.  Eras- 
mus says,  that  he  never  knew  a  Car- 
thusian Monk  who  was  not  mad,  or  an 
ideot.f  Petrarch  says  otherwise ;  but 
he  proves  the  existence  of  social  in- 
tercourse in  Carthusians. 


c  Omnia  quse  sunt  in  mundo  secundum  genus 
suum,  vid.  Tiros  seorsim,  mulieres  seorsim,  seorsim 
equos,  et  alio  loco  aurum,  argentum,  etlapides  pre- 
ciosos,  et  omnia  quse  delectare  possunt  oculos  in- 

tuentium  ; servus  respondit  ludendo,  "  Istse 

sunt  dsemones,  homines  seducentes ;"  cor  vero 
|  pueri  illarum  desiderio  certis  rebus  anhelabat. 
Cumque  rex  qusereret  a  puero,  quid  magis  ex  om- 
nibus quse  viderat  amaret,  respondit,  "  Magis 
diligo  daernones  illos  qui  homines  seducunt,  quam 
omnia  alia  quse  vidi."  Ibid. 

d  Itin.  S.  Simeon,  et  W.  Worcest.  p.  258. 

e  "  Et  sine  luce  meum  solus  adibo  thorum." 
Spec.  Stultor. 

f  Ichthyophagia  Colloq.  439. 


INFIRMARY. 


233 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


INFIRMARY. 


This  place  had  a  Chapel*  annexed, 
where  divine  service  from  a  Breviary 
on  purpose  was  celebrated  ;*>  a  great 
table,  with  a  bell  over  it,  to  assemble 
the  Monks  at  meals ;  c  a  stone  where 
the  dying  sick  were  washed  and  re- 
ceived the  extreme  unction  and  sacra- 
ment/ and  where  Monks,  affected 
with  ennui  and  languor,  were  directed 
to  sit  and  meditate  ;e  wood,  coals,  and 
other  necessaries,  saltcellars,  spoons, 
candlesticks,  towels,  beds,  and  the 
straw  of  beds,  and  tables,  in  the  Re- 
fectory of  it ;  it  was  also  strewed  with 
hay,  rushes,  straw,  or  other  matters, 
when  necessary/  There  were  also 
chambers  duly  provided  with  chimneys^ 
a  distinction  made  by  our  ancestors. 
A  common  appendage  to  it  was  a  gar- 
den or  court  for  recreation  of  the  sick. 
At  Norwich  was  a  long  inclosed  gallery 
for  the  same  purposed  A  Nun  sick  of 
a  cancer,  who  disturbed  the  rest  by  the 
smell,  was  removed  by  the  Infirmaress, 
into  a  place  called  the  Antexenodo- 
chiuml 

By  the  Anglo-Saxon  institutes,  a 
Monk  taken  severely  sick  announced 
his  disease  to  the  Abbot  or  the  whole 
congregation,  and  having  received  the 
benediction,  retired  to  the  Infirmary. 
To  this  the  Norman  decretals  added, 
that,  from  the  day  he  began  to  eat 
flesh   there,  he   should  walk  with   his 


a  A  little  chapel  and  lobby,  or  covered  gallery 
for  walking  in.    Du  Cange,  v.  Lobia. 

b  W.  Thorne,  c.  32,  sec.  5.  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  393, 
399. 

c  M.  Paris,  1009. 

d  Id.  1045. 

e  Cum  se  senserit  teedio  quodam  et  languore 
mentis  affici  componat  se  supra  petram,  in  qua  la- 
vantur  mortui,  et  tractet  apud  se  solicits  quod  vid. 
tractentur  ibidem  sepeliendi.  MS.  Harl.  103.  f. 
115,  a. 

f  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  205.  a. 

*  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  142,  646. 

h  Parkins' s  Norwich,  163, 

|  Du  Cange. 


hood  on,  and  leaning  on  a  staff;  a 
trick  which  young  and  healthy  Monks 
often  played,  to  get  admitted  on  pre- 
tence of  illness.k  As  soon  as  he  got 
well,  after  being  shaved,  he  was  to 
attend  Divine  Service  at  the  hour  be- 
fore the  Chapter,  and,  if  there  was  a 
Mass  afterwards,  not  offer  at  it.  When 
the  Chapter  commenced,  he  was  then 
to  enter  as  soon  as  the  affairs  of  the 
Order  began  to  be  discussed,  solicit 
pardon  prostrate  for  having  eaten  meat, 
and,  after  absolution  from  the  Abbot 
and  Convent,  throw  himself  at  the 
feet  of  the  Abbot,  return  thanks  to 
him  and  the  Convent  for  the  assist- 
ance furnished  to  him  in  his  sickness, 
and  make  three  genuflexions.  After 
that  he  was  allowed  mixtus  that  day, 
and  as  long  as  was  necessary.  If5  how- 
ever, he  had  not  eaten  meat,  it  was  in 
the  Abbot's  disposition  when  he  should 
return  to  the  Convent,  and  how  con- 
duct himself  afterwards.  At  St.  Alban's 
the  custom  was  for  them,  if  they  did 
not  get  well  in  three  days,  to  enter  the 
Infirmary,  and  then  to  be  contented 
with  regular  food,  unless  by  accelera- 
tion of  disease  they  were  compelled  to 
eat  meaU  Medical  assistance,  though 
this  was  much  neglected,  was  engaged 
to  attend  upon  them,  and  medicines 
thus  provided.111 

Phlebotomy  was  in  much  fashion  in 
the  middle  ages ;  for,  in  the  fifteenth 


k  Bern.  Dev.  Vie  Mon.  iii.  48. 

1  M.  Paris,  1009,  but  they  had  an  Oriel  for  per- 
sons not  so  bad  as  to  be  sent  to  the  Infirmary. 

m  Unus  medicus  de  bonis  communibus  ipsius 
ecclesiee  debite  procuretur,  qui  monachis  et  fra- 
tribus  ejusdem  infirmis  de  medicinis  congruis,  cum 
opus  fuerit,  provideat.  MS.  Harl.  328.  p.  4.  As 
they  had  no  Monk  of  this  description,  they  were  to 
seek  medical  aid  from  elsewhere.     Ibid. 

The  Benedictines  of  S.  Vitalis  at  Ravenna  had 
a  depot  of  Pharmacy  for  all  kinds  of  medicines  a 
complete  surgery,  and  anatomical  subjects,  and  in- 
struments  for  all  kinds  of  operations.  Observat 
but  l'ltalie,  t.  i.  323,  324. 


234 


INFIRMARY, 


century,  it  was  the  subject  of  a  poem  ;a 
and  Robert   Boutevylleyn,   a  founder, 
claimed  in  the  Abbey  of  Pipewell  four 
bleedings  per   annum.*      Among    the 
Monks,  this  operation,  which  was  per- 
formed by  a  servant,  was  termed  minu- 
tion.     A  complete   set  of  surgical  in- 
struments was  found  at  Herculaneum, 
a  lancet  excepted,  but  it  is  very  clearly 
described  and   distinguished  from  the 
fleam  by  William  Brito,  and  perhaps  it 
was  the  Blod-sex  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.0 
In  some  Abbeys  was  a  bleeding-house 
called  FlebotomariaA     By  the  Norman 
institutes,  leave  was  to  be  asked  imme- 
diately after   Chapter,    and    the  hour 
declared  to  the   Cellarer ;    in  Winter, 
after  the  Gospel  of  the  great  Mass  ;  in 
Summer,  after  Vespers,  having  put  on 
their    nocturnal    shoes,    bowed,    and 
turned   to   the  east,    they  undressed. 
They  were  not  to  speak  but  from  very 
urgent  necessity,  and  then  softly.    Ex- 
emption   from    the    Choir    duty   was 
granted  till  the  commencement  of  the 
Chapter/   on  the  next  day,  or  longer, 
if   necessary/      On  the  morrow  they 
put  on  their  nocturnal  shoes,  for  two 
days    had  mixtus,    and    performed   a 
short  religious  service ;  accordingly,  as 
it  was  the   season  when  the  Convent 
took  refection  once  or  oftener,  the  Be- 
nediction   was    given    by  the    senior 
Priest,  the  reading  recited  from  me- 
mory., and  the  whole  done  in  the  Re- 
fectory.    On  the  morrow,  if  any  one 
of  them  was   accused  in   Chapter,  his 
munition  was  notified  to  the  Prior,  and 
he  might  solicit  and  receive  pardon  for 
a  small  fault ;  but  if  it  was  irremissible, 
the  discipline  was  to  be  delayed.  There 
were  certain  festivals  when  this  bleed- 
ing was  not  allowed  ;   as  the  festival  of 
All  Saints,  because  on  the  morrow  all 
the  Priests  were  to  celebrate  masses  of 
the  dead,  and  the  rest  say  the  psalms 


a  Ayscough's  Catal.ii.  833. 

b  Monast.  i.  818. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Lanceola.  Phlebotomum. 

d  Du  Cange. 

e  They  did  not  attend  Divine  Service  even  on 
festivals.     Reyn.  Append.  165. 

1  From  Sunday  till  Thursday,  or  a  week,  was 
sometimes  the  term  allowed.     Monast.  ii.  274. 


appointed.  It  seems,  that  fire  was 
allowed  them  in  the  Infirmary, g  and 
that  the  Monks  desired  often  to  be 
bled,  on  account  of  eating  meat.n 

In  the  order  of  St.  Victor  the  bre- 
thren were  bled  five  times  a  year,  in 
September,  before  Advent,  before  Lent, 
after  Easter,  at  Pentecost,  which  bleed- 
ing lasted  three  days  :  after  the  third 
day  they  came  to  Mattins,  and  were  in 
the  Convent.  On  the  fourth  day,  they 
received  absolution  in  the  Chapter.  In 
another  rule,  one  Choir  was  bled  at 
the  same  time  in  silence  and  psalmody, 
sitting  in  order  in  a  cell.  Other  rules 
forbid  a  stated  time  of  bleeding.1 

By  the  Anglo-Saxon  institutes,  when 
a  Monk  was  sick  beyond  prospect  of 
recovery,  it  was  notified  to  the  Abbot 
and  Convent  by  the  Infirmarer,  and 
they  immediately  attended  him,  gave 
him  extreme  unction,  afterwards  the 
Eucharist,  and  this  continued  till  his 
death  approached  ;  at  which  period 
they  went  to  witness  his  departure, 
and  begin  the  commendation  of  his 
soul.  x\ccording  to  the  Norman  de- 
cretals, he  was  visited  at  first  only  by 
a  deputation,k  consisting  of  the  Heb- 
domadary,  Sacrist,  and  four  Converts, 
who  sprinkled  him,  confessed  him, 
absolved  him1  (he  likewise  them), 
kissed  him,  gave  him  extreme  unction, 
and   the  sacrament.     Certain   prayers 

s  Quia  infirmi  fratres,  et  qui  opus  habebant  mi- 
nui  sanguini,  igne  carebant,  idem  Abbas  Faritius 
consensu  totius  capituli  concessit  omnes  redditus  eis 
maneriorum  subnotatorum,  &c.  MS.  Cott.  Claud. 
B.  vi.  f.  158.  a. 

h  Ubi  juxta  ordinis  monastici  rigorem  in  refec- 
torio  carnes,  aut  in  publico  non  comeduntur  longe 
avidius  longeque  voracius  et  immoderancius  in  pri- 
vato  suniuntur,  dura  propter  hoc  crebras  monachi 
simulant  egrotaciones,  dumque  creberrimas  ob  hoc 
sanguinis  appetunt  et  affectant  minuciones,  &c. 
MS.  Cott.  Tiber.  B.  13.  Nee  extra  refectorium in 
infirmitorio  esum  carnhiin  credant  sibi  licere.  MS. 
Bibl.  Reg.  8  F.  IX. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Minuere. 

k  The  Prior's  chaplain  only.    Davies. 

1  Ego  auctoritate  Dei  et  beatorum  Apostolorum 
Petri  et  Pauli,  et  domini  nostri,  domini  Xicholai 
Papce  quinti,  michi  in  hac  parte  specialiter  com- 
missa,  et  tibi  concessa,  absolvo  te.  MS.  Bibl. 
Reg.  2,  A.  2.  Instead  of  this  blasphemous  inser- 
tion of  the  Pope's  name,  in  the  above  absolution, 
(the  one  used  on  these  occasions,)  on  a  par  with  that 
of  God,  that  in  Herbert's  Ames,  i.  310,  has  only 
"  virtute  papalis  indulgentiee." 


INFIRMARY. 


235 


were  made  for  him  in  the  Mass  :  and 
this  was  done  till  he  seemed  likely  to 
recover ;  but,  if  the  contrary  appeared 
manifest,  he  was  never  without  two 
Monks,a  who  constantly  read  to  him 
the  passion  of  our  Lord,  and  the  Gos- 
pels, while  he  was  sensible  (and  also 
said  their  hours  there)  ;  and  when  he 
was  deprived  of  his  understanding, 
never  ceased  singing  the  Psalter.b  As 
soon  as  he  appeared  upon  the  verge  of 
dissolution,  a  servant  laid  a  hair-cloth 
over  him,c  and  sat  watching  d  till  he  was 
just  departing,  and  then,  with  the  two 
Monks,  ran  to  the  Cloister-door,  and 
beat  upon  a  table,  to  give  notice  to 
the  Convent  to  come  to  him;  which 
they  accordingly  did,  and  began  a  reli- 
gious sendee,  after  which  they  again 
retired,  certain  of  them  remaining  to 
say  the  Psalter.  Afterwards  they  re- 
turned again  to  perform  the  commen- 
dation of  his  soul.  "  Thence,"  says 
Davies,  whose  account  agrees  with  the 
Norman  institute,  "  he  (the  deceased) 
was  carried  to  a  chamber  called  the  dead 
man's  chamber,  in  the  Infirmary,  there 
to  remain  till  night.  The  Prior's  chap- 
lain, as  soon  as  he  was  conveyed  to 
the  dead  man's  chamber,  locked  the 
chamber  door  where  he  died,  and  car- 
ried the  key  to  the  Prior.  At  night  he 
was  removed  from  the  dead  man's 
chamber  into  St.  Andrew's  Chapel,  ad- 
joining to  the  said  chamber  and  infir- 
mary, there  to  remain  till  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  the  Chapel  being  a  place 
ordained  only  for  solemn  devotion. e  The 
night  before  the  funeral,  two  Monks, 
either  in  kindred  or  kindness,  nearest 
to  him,  were  appointed  by  the  Prior  to 


a  The  Bajuli  Obituum  were  officers  in  Abbeys, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  receive  and  distribute  legacies, 
and  attend  to  the  service  of  the  hours  and  oiits. 
Du  Cange.  Perhaps  these  were  the  two  Mo?iks  of 
Davies. 

b  See  this  in  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  654. 

c  It  should  be  under  him,  together  with  the 
ashes  consecrated  on  Ash  "Wednesday  (Du  Cange, 
v.  Cinis),  from  "  Dust  thou  art,  and  to  dust  thou 
shalt  return." 

d  Servientes  etiam  qui  vigilant  circa  fratrem 
proximum  morti.     Monast.  i.  149. 

e  First  there  occurs,  positoque  corpore  in  loco, 
ubiponi  solet ;  afterwards,  locato  in  ecclesia  cor- 
pore. Deer.  Lanfr. 


be  especial  mourners,  and  to  sit  all 
night  on  their  knees  at  the  dead 
corpse's  feet;f  and  the  children  of  the 
Almery,  sitting  on  their  knees  in  stalls 
on  either  side  of  him,  were  to  read 
David's  Psalms  s  till  eight  in  the 
morning,  when  the  corpse  was  carried 
to  the  Chapter-house,  where  the  Prior 
and  the  whole  Convent  met  it,  and 
there  said  their  dirge  and  devotion; 
none  being  permitted  to  approach  the 
Chapter-house  during  the  time  of  their 
devotion  and  prayers  for  his  soul.11 
When  their  devotion  was  ended,  the 
corpse  was  carried  by  the  Monks  from 
the  Chapter-house  through  the  par- 
lour, into  the  centrygarth,  where  he 
was  buried. i 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  Infirmarer  to 
give  the  communion  to  the  sick,  when 
they  wished,  especially  on  every  Sun- 
day,k  and  he  had  a  claustral  Monk  to 
assist  him  in  respect  to  revenues.1  The 
Prior,  Sub-prior,  Kitchener,  or  per- 
son deputed  by  them,  were  to  visit  the 
Infirmary  before  Prime,m  and  such  vi- 
sitations were  observed.11  The  Prior, 
or  in  his  absence  the  President,  twice 
or  once  at  least  in  the  week,  were  to 
visit  the  Infirmary  personally ;  °  and 
the  Infirmarer  was  to  certify  the  Ab- 
bot, when  he  could  not  visit  himself, 
of  the  state  of  matters .P 

Sawing  billets  in  rooms  for  exercise 
upon  medical  principles  was  a  common 
employment  of  the  sick  in  these  ages, 
and  was  borrowed  from  Galena 


f  Deputentur  aliquifratres,  qui  ibi  remaneant.  Id. 

s  Quicquid  superest  noctis  infantes  cum  magis- 
tris  canendo  expendant.     Id. 

h  Facto  in  capitulo  sermoneabsolvat  eum  Abbas, 
&c.  Id.  The  last  part,  of  never  approaching  the 
Chapter  when  the  Convent  was  there,  was  at  all 
times  usual. 

1  Confession,  absolution,  &c.  and  similar  burial 
for  lay-brothers.    MS.  Bodl.  Barl.  7.  p.  270,  1. 

k  Ad  imirmarium  pertinet  inrirmos  fratres  com- 
municare  cum  voluerint,  et  precipue  omni  die  do- 
minica.    MS.  Bodl.  Barl.  7.  p.  185. 

I  Dec.  Script.  2113. 

m  Wilkins's  Concil.  ii.  723. 

II  M.  Par.  1099. 

0  Wilk.  Concil.  ii.  247. 

p  M.  Par.  1009. 

i  Galen  de  Sanit.  tuenda,  ch.  8.  v.  2.  p.  148. 
Smythe's  Berkeley's  MS. 21 7.  "  In  her  elder  years 
she  [Joan  Lady  Berkeley,  t.  H.  III.]   used  to  saw 


236 


INFIRMARY. 


It  was  usual  for  Monks,  in  chronic 
infirmities,  to  spend  their  remaining 
days  in  the  Infirmary.a  Secular  per- 
sons used  to  have  access  (and  to  eat) 
there  in  crowds,  so  as  to  be  trouble- 
some^ and  the  place  was  full  of  gos- 
siping and  scandal. c  Seculars  were 
admitted  at  all  hours  to  carry  necessa- 
ries to  the  sick.d  The  sick  did  not 
dine  at  the  common  table  ;e  and  there 
seems  to  have  been  an  excess  of  ser- 
vants, besides  the  usual  ones,  who 
never  slept  out  of  the  place,  or  ought 
not  to  have  done  so.f  It  was  resorted 
to  for  private  treats.  When  John  de 
Whitefeld,  Monk  of  Rochester,  preach- 
ed in  the  Chapter  about  his  Bishop,  it 
was  said  that  the  brethren  bribed  him 
in  the  Infirmary  with  wine.s  The 
Monks  were  in  the  habit  of  going 
there,  and  to  the  hostrey,  after  com- 
plin, and  used  both  to  feign  sickness, 
and  be  loth  to  leave  it.  The  Monks  too, 
oppressed  with  old  age,  the  Sempectce, 
spent   their   remaining    days    there  ;h 


billets  and  sticks  in  her  chamber  for  part  of  phy- 
sick,  for  which  purpose  she  bought  certain  fine 
hand  sawes,  which  commonly  cost  11^.  a  piece." 
Taylor  the  water-poet  says  (p.  241),  "Now  all 
their  exercise  is  privately  to  saw  billets." 

a  Monast.  i.  301.  Dec.  Scriptores,  1783.  Aug. 
Sacra,  i.  299. 

b  Injungimus  etiam  ipsis  prioribus  et  fratribus, 
ut  non  permittant  tantum  ad  infirmariam  concur- 
sum  fieri  ssecularium,  exceptis  medicis  et  servito- 
ribus  ad  iniirmorum  curam  deputatis.  MS.  Cott. 
Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  245,  a.  Hoc  autem  summopere 
caveatis,  ne  alicui  seculari  ibi  comedere  cum  nio- 
nachis  concedatur.     Id.  Jul.  D.  n.  1586'. 

c  A  superfluis  et  vanis  sermonibus  abstineant ; 
prohibeantur  etiam  rumores  saeculares  in  iiifirmaria 
de  fratre,  et  secreta,  qua?  inter  fratres  audierint, 
publicare.     Ibid. 

d  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  360. 

e  Statuimus  in  super  ut  nullus  infirmus  ab  infir- 
morum  mensa  communi  se  subtrahat,  nisi  tanta 
corporis  invaletudine  sit  detentus,  quod  ad  ilium 
accederenequeat  sine  scandalo  et  gravamine  corpo- 
ris evidenti,  preeter  gistarios  et  illos  cum  quibus  ex 
gratia  nostra  speciali  fuerint  dispensati.  MS.  Cott. 
Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  245. 

1  Noct.  et  dieb.  in  infirmaria  recubabunt  et  ex- 
cubabunt.  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  205.  d.  M. 
Par.  1096.     Reyn.  App.  127. 

e  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  373. 

h  Quod  aliquis  ad  innrmariam  vel  domum  hos- 
pitum  non  audeat  acccdere  ni  specialiter  vocatus. 
MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xn.  f.  158,  b.  Fratres  autem 
iDfirmi,  cum  ab  ipsorum  infirmitatibus,  vel  alias, 
quum  meliorati  fuerint,  quum  competenter  cum 
ceteris  in  coaventu  laborare  potuerint ;  ulterius  in 


and  there  appears  to  have  been  very 
good  living  in  it ;  for,  says  Piers  Plow- 
man, 

By  this  daye,  syr  doctour,  quod  I,  than  ye  be  not 

in  dowel, 
For  ye  have  harmed  us  two,  in  that  ye  eate  the 

puddinge, 
Mortreux,*  and  other  meate,  and  we  no  morsel  had, 
And  if  ye  fare  so  in  your  farmer y.k 

This  was  very  illiberal  satire,  for  our 
ancestors  rarely  used  medical  assist- 
ance. Burton,  from  Paulus  Jovius  and 
Levinus  Lemnius,  observes,  "That 
there  was  of  old  no  use  of  physicke 
amongst  us,  and  but  little  at  this  day, 
except  it  be  for  a  few  nice  idle  citizens, 
surfetting  courtiers,  and  staulfed  gen- 
j  tlemen  lubbers.  The  country-people 
|  use  kitchen  physicke/'  &C.1  Matthew 
Flint,  tooth-drawer  of  London,  received 
from  the  crown  6d.  a  day  for  life,  to 
exercise  his  art  upon  the  poor  without 
fee  or  reward.111  These  passages  show 
the  reason  why  there  was  such  neglect 
of  medical  aid ;  viz.  because  good  living 
or  kitchen  physick  was  most  in  vogue  : 
whence  the  rich  dishes  used  in  the  In- 
firmary. 

Davies  says,  that  four  aged  women 
lived  in  the  Infirmary,  who  had  each 
chambers,  were  fed  from  the  Prior's 
table,  and  had  Mass  said  to  them  every 
holiday  and  Friday  in  the  Infirmary 
Chapel,  by  the  master  of  the  Infirmary 
School,  whose  chamber  and  place  of 
teaching  certain  poor  children,  called 
the  children  of  the  Almery,  were  over 
that  place  of  worship. 

In  the  Infirmary  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Clare,  the  Nuns  might  lie  in  sacks  and 


infirmaria  residere,  aut  infirmitates  fingere  non 
prsesumant.  Gistarii  (Gista  is  Jus  Hospitii.  Du 
Cauge)  autem  efc  qui  solum  senectute  gravantur, 
communibus  cibis  in  quantum  possint  sint  contenti. 
MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  245. 

'  A  rich  soup.  Tyrwhitt  is  right  in  the  ingre- 
dients ;  add  only  brawn  of  fesantes,  as  well  as  of 
capons.  See  MS.  Bodl.  Hearne,  197,  in  sect. 
Mortraws  eweas.  k  F.  lxvi. 

1  Burton's  Anat.  Melanch.  p.  368,  ed.  folio. 

111  Pat.  1  H.  IV.  pars  6  m.  10.  in  Vincent's  MSS. 
Coll.  of  Arms.  The  toothdrawing  instrument  is 
pretended  by  Erasistratus  to  have  been  takeu  from 
the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphos  ;  but  assuredly  is 
very  ancient.  Du  Cauge  makes  it  similar  to  the 
present  pincers  ;  but  his  authorities  and  extracts  do 
not  support  this  affirmation.     See  v.  Dmtiducum, 


INFIRMARY 


237 


chaff,  but  with  pillows  of  feathers  at 
their  head.  Those  who  wanted  woollen 
stockings,  and  culcitrce.*  might  have 
them.  Thev  might  too  converse,  con- 
cisely,  with  visitors.13 

The  ceremonial,  with  regard  to  dying 
Nuns,  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Monks, 
except  that  they  were  anointed  on  the 
throat  above  the  breast  and  chin, 
instead  of  the  navel  and  throat  in 
males.  The  confession  and  unction  in 
the  Order  of  Sempringham  was  admi- 
nistered by  deputed  Priests;  the  sick 
who  were  able  to  take  the  communion 
with  others  went  to  it  in  common  with 
them,  at  the  window,  or  had  it  admi- 
nistered, as  their  situation  demanded, 
by  two  religious  and  a  lay-brother,  Who 
had  a  private  way  to  go  to  them  for  this 
purpose,  that  they  might  not  be  seen. 
The  Preecentrix  appointed  the  sick 
some  task  to  execute :  none  of  the 
hours  were  said  in  the  Infirmary  before 
they  were  began  in  the  Church,  except 
sext  and  the  evening  synaxts  in  Lent. 
If  any  Lettered  Nun  was  sick,  another 
said  the  hours  for  her  ;  the  use  of  the 
lay-sisters  was  to  suffice,  if  there  was 
no  substitute. 

At  St.  Alban's  was  an  Oriel,c  or 
apartment  for  persons  not  so  sick  d  as 
to  retire  to  the  Infirmary  ;  and  there 
were  regulations  among  the  Sempring- 
ham  Nuns    of   this    kind.      The    sick 


a  Either  quilts  or  beds  ;  the  latter  here,  I  suppose. 

''  Ex  Regula. 

c  The  Oriel  appears  to  have  been  sometimes  at 
least  a  porch,  atrium,  or  pentice.  Du  Cange,  v. 
Orialttm. 

d  The  Rule  of  St.  Victor  says,  that  there  were 
three  kinds  of  sick  in  the  Infirmary  ;  some  who 
kept  their  beds,  others  who  were  recovering  and 
walked,  but  yet  staid  there  for  the  recovery  of  their 
strength  ;  others  lived  constantly  there,  as  the  old, 
nfirm,  blind,  &c,     Du  Cange.  v.  Infirmaria. 


not  in  the  Infirmary  attended  all 
the  daily  hours,  but  the  prayers  only  of 
those  of  the  nocturnal  svnaxis.  In  case 
•of  sudden  attack,  the  sick  Nun  did  not 
join  the  labour  of  the  Convent,  unless 
she  had  before  been  united  with  it  in 
divine  service.  They  only  ate  and 
drank  in  the  Refectory  or  Infirmarv. 
They  were  exempted  from  offices  which 
had  been  imposed  upon  them.  They 
did  not  enter  the  Church  to  pray  when 
the  Convent  was  present.  They  were 
prohibited  from  making  signs  at  the 
table,  either  after  Complin  or  before 
Prime,  or  at  mid-day,  unless  from  im- 
moderate sickness.  While  the  Con- 
vent was  at  refection  in  summer,  they 
could  do  any  work  or  read.  Those 
who  worked  could  do  so  in  their  sca- 
pulary,  and  sleep  by  day  :  and  at  night 
in  their  hoods.  YCoollen  mifrce,  a  sort 
of  hoods  like  those  of  the  lay-brothers, 
were  granted  to  the  brethren  when  at 
work  or  travelling ;  as  well  as  to  the 
sick,  when  sitting  before  the  Infirmary 
in  super  pelliceis,  [garments  belonging 
to  Canons,  differently  formed  in  various 
countries.] e  Any  one  who  left  the 
Choir  from  sickness,  before  the  Venite 
was  over,  lawfully  entered  the  Infir- 
mary. The  sick  who  could  walk  had 
leave  to  speak  with  their  parents  at  the 
window.  Nuns,  or  lay  sisters,  conti- 
nually sick,  had  periodical  indulgences 
of  fifteen  clays  or  more  at  a  time,  twice, 
thrice,  or  four  times  in  a  year,  of  eating 
meat.  All  the  Sick,  able  to  leave  their 
beds,  ate  together,  in  fixed  places  and 
hours,  and  regularly  said  their  canonical 
hours .f  The  neglect  of  the  Nuns  in 
general,  respecting  the  Infirmary,  has 
been  already  mentioned. 


Du  Cans-e.  v.  Mttra. 


1  Monast.  ii.  775 — 7, 


233 


GUEST-HALL. 


CHAPTER  XL. 


GUEST-HALL. 


This  place  was,  at  Canterbury,  forty- 
feet  broad,  and  not  less  than  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  long,  situated  where  it  is 
was  least  likely  to  interfere  with  the 
privacy  of  the  Monks,  or  business  of 
their  servants,  and  had  a  covered  way 
or  pentice  leading  to  the  cellarer's  of- 
fices.8 The  Guest- Hall  was  a  large 
room  with  columns,  like  the  body  of  a 
Church,  and  called  Palatium,  Palace, 
anciently  meaning  a  place  of  short  re- 
sidence. It  had  on  both  sides  bed- 
rooms, to  each  a  privy  and  cloaths' 
closet.  Passages  of  communication  led 
to  staircases,  cellars,  and  the  buttery. 
B.  Willis,  in  his  Mitred  Abbies,  says, 
that  John  de  Hertford,  Abbot  of  St. 
Albany's,  in  1260,  built  a  noble  hall  for 
the  use  of  strangers  in  that  abbey, 
adding  many  chambers  to  the  same, 
with  an  inner  parlour,  having  a  chim- 
ney with  a  noble  picture,  and  an  entry, 
and  a  small  hall;  also  a  most  noble 
entry  with  a  porch,  and  many  very  fair 
bedchambers,  with  their  inner  cham- 
bers to  receive  strangers  honourably. 
Here  we  see,  that  this  hospice  consisted 
of  two  sets  of  apartments,  one  for  com- 
mon pilgrims  and  travellers,  the  other 
for  persons  of  rank.b  There  was  an 
edifice,  or  room  before  the  Guest-Hall, 
called  Pro-aula,  the  Greeting-House  of 
iElfric,  or  Salutatorium,  a  place  where 
persons  were  first  received.  It  appears 
to  have  been  the  same  as  the  visitors 
parlour,  and  perhaps,  as  the  Pulsato- 
rium,  (so  called  from  "Knock  and  it 
shall  be  opened  unto  you/')  where  Can- 
didates for  admission  to  the  Order 
stayed  and  waited  upon  strangers,  &c. 
because  it  adjoined  the  Hostrey.c 

a  Gostling's  Canterbury  Walk,  152,  3. 

b  Owen  and  Blakeway's  Hist,  of  Shrewsbury, 
ii.  50. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Palatium,  Pro-aula,  Pulsato- 
rium,  Salutatorium.  Cowell,  v.  Garderoba.  Col- 
lect. Reb.  Hybern.  No.  IX.  680.  M.  Par.  1071. 
Britton's  Architect.  Antiq.  ii.  78. 


In  the  admission  of  visitors,  as  soon 
as  they  were  disengaged,  they  made  a 
trifling  venia  at  the  gate  of  the  house. 
At  getting  up  they  sprinkled  them- 
selves with  holy  water.  When  the 
Convent  sat  in  the  Cloister,  or  where- 
soever absent,  they  made  a  prayer  for 
excesses  on  the  way  in  the  choir  in  the 
presence  of  the  Convent,  and  did  the 
same  before  the  altar  of  the  vestiary. 
If  the  Convent  was  on  the  form,  they 
took  their  venia;  if  not,  they  bowed 
and  made  their  prayer.  The  hosteler 
met  them  in  the  parletory,  and  gave 
the  kiss  of  peace,  after  the  Benedicite, 
which  was  properly  the  Abbot's  office ; 
but  the  officer,  if  he  liked  it,  could 
confer  it  upon  any  person  of  note,  or, 
as  it  is  precisely  said  in  the  same  con- 
suetudinal,  the  benediction  for  excesses 
was  received,  the  hosteler  went  out  of 
the  choir,  and  met  the  visitor;  and 
then,  after  the  kiss  of  peace,  and  tender 
words  of  love  and  consolation,  returned 
to  the  service  in  the  choir.  If  he  came 
before  dinner  to  the  refectory,  notice  was 
given  to  the  refectioner.  If  he  was  too 
late  to  dine  with  the  Convent,  he  staid 
in  the  locutory  till  the  refectory  was 
swept,  and  then  was  introduced.  The 
hosteler  provided  all  things  fit  for  mass 
for  the  visitors;  and  if  he  was  pre- 
vented, any  one  asked  by  him  sung  the 
mass  and  hours  to  them,  for  they  had 
divine  service  as  well  as  the  Convent. 
They  had  meat  and  drink  at  solicitation, 
and  the  hosteler  was  to  fetch  the 
viands,  according  to  the  rank  of  the 
person ; d  all  which  was,  however,  ac- 


d  In  admissione  hospitum  hospites  omnirnodo 
expediti  ad  hostium  Monasterii  parvge  venia  incum- 
bent. In  venia:  elevatione  in  introitu  ecclesise 
aqua  benedicta  se  aspergent.  Conventu  in  claus- 
tro  residente,  vel  quoquam  (f.  1.  q.  quoquo*)  ab- 
sente  orationem  pro  excessibus  in  via  surreptis  in 
choro  facient,  conventu  praesente  ;  ante  altare  ves- 
tiarii  identidem  net.  Si  conventus  super  formana 
*  See  Monast.  ii.  769. 


GUEST-HALL, 


239 


companied  with  the  unpleasant  ap- 
pendages of  a  dirty  table-cloth/  very- 
indifferent  wine,  grease  in  the  salt,  and 
a  clownish  servant.13  The  Hosteler 
could  not  introduce  them  to  the  colla- 
tion before  the  end  of  the  first  verse. 
When  this  was  over,  he  lighted  his  lan- 
tern, with  which  the  visitors  ivaited  be- 
fore the  Chapter  door.  He  then  intro- 
duced them  into  the  parlour;  after 
which  they  had  refection,  and  Comp- 
lin was  sung  to  them.  If  they  wished 
to  be  bled,  their  inclination  was  noti- 
fied by  the  Hospitaler  to  the  Abbot, 
and  every  thing  usual  on  such  occasions 
was  done  under  the  care  of  the  former 
officer.  If  they  desired  to  see  any  one 
of  the  Convent,  the  Hosteler  took  care, 
with  leave  of  the  Prior,  that  their  re- 
quest should  be  gratified ;  and  the 
Monk  had  liberty  to  speak  without  re- 
mission of  the  license.0  They  could 
not  leave  the  Cloister  but  by  permis- 
sion of  the  hosteler,  who  was  to  guide 
them  out.  If  the  visitors  wished  to 
speak  with  their  servants,  lodged  within 


recubuerit  veniam  accipient,  sin  alias  se  inclinando 
orationem  facient. .  . .  Hospite  in  locutorio  intro- 
ducto,  hostilarius  dicet  Benedicite ;  benedictione 
pro  excessibus  accepta ;  osculoque  pacis  dato  tene- 
risque  verbis  amoris  et  consolationis  ad  boram  bos- 
tilarius  in  cbonim  regredietur.  Si  in  discubitu 
conventus  tarn  morosus  fuerit  ejus  adventus  quod  in 
conventu  discumbere  non  possit,  non  introducetur, 
sed  in  locutorio  erit  donee  scopatio  fiat  in  refecto- 
rio  ;  postmodum  bostilarius  eum  introducet. . . . 
hospitibus  expeditis  missaru  celebrare.  MS.  Cott. 
Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  205,  6,  7. 

a  In  tbe  advice  of  a  father  to  bis  son  (Hawkins's 
Musick,  ii,465),  tbe  son  is  directed  to  be  careful 
tbat  bis  table  be  covered  with  a  clean  clotb.  I  could 
add  numerous  other  authorities. 

b  In  MS.  Harl.  913,  f.  58,  b.  is  a  short  poem 
entitled,  "  Hospitalitas  monachorum  et  salutatio 
de  claustro  ,•"  of  which  the  only  parts  of  import  are, 
the  above  "  Sordidum  mappale  ;  paniscoctus  melle  ; 
vinum  tale  quale  ;  oleus  in  sale  ;  mancipium  rusti- 
cale." 

c  Hostilarius  hospites  non  introducet  ad  colla- 
cionem  ante  primi  versus  determinacionem.     Colla- 
tione  terminate  prout  tempus  exegit  lanternam  ac- 
cendet.     In  regressu  terminatse  collationis  hospites 
ante   hostium  capituli  cum  lanterna  prsestolabun- 
tur.     Postmodum  in  locutorium  eos  ducet. .....  si 

hospes  minui  voluerit  hostilario  significabit,  hostila- 
rius abbati  et  indicabit,  et  omnia  consuetudinaria 
minutionis  habebit,  hostilariusque  curam  minuto- 
riam  ei  exhibebit.  Si  hospes  aliquem  de  Conventu 
venire  voluerit  hostilarii  cura  loquetur  licentia  a 
priore  expetita.  [If  refused,  the  Monk  was  not  to 
know  it.  Deer.  Lanfr.]  Illi  licet  sine  remissione 
licentise  loqui  cum  hospite.     Id. 


the  gates  of  the  court,  the  hosteler 
caused  the  keeper  of  the  locutory  to 
deliver  the  message ;  if  they  lodged 
without  the  gates,  the  porter  performed 
the  office.  If  any  breach  of  silence  or 
great  disorder  was  made  by  a  visitor, 
he  was  detained  till  the  Chapter  of  the 
next  day ;  and,  emendation  having 
been  made,  according  to  the  will  of  the 
Prior  and  Chapter,  he  made  his  bow, 
and  departed.  When  the  visitors 
wished  to  depart  before  day-break,  or 
at  that  time,  the  hosteler  took  the  keys 
of  the  parlour  from  the  Prior's  bed, 
and  dismissed  them  according  to  the 
rule  and  their  rank;  after  which  he 
again  locked  the  doors?  and  carried  the 
keys  back  to  the  Prior's  bed.  On 
Sundays,  before  procession,  no  one 
could  receive  the  benediction,  or  cere- 
mony of  dismission. — [Whence  our 
farewell  of  God  bless  you,  or  Goodbye, 
i.  e.  God  be  with  you.  The  King  did 
not  leave  England  without  the  bene- 
diction of  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury. It  consisted  in  that  Prelate's 
making  the  sign  of  the  Cross  upon  the 
King's  head,  who  stooped  for  that  pur- 
pose.] d — If  necessity  urged,  they  could 
receive  h\at  Mattins  ;  and  guests  not  re- 
turning the  same  day,  at  Prime  and  all 
other  hours,  except  Vespers.  Similar 
regulations  obtained  with  respect  to 
Nones,  rung  after  dinner.e 

Persons  of  rank  were  received  with 
procession  and  high  honours.  One  of 
the  great  bells  was  struck  three  times, 

d  Eadm.  25,41. 

c  Hospes  claustrum  non  egredietur  nisi  licentia 
ab  hostilario  detur,  ut  ductu  ejus  egrediatur.  Si 
hospes  cum  famulis  suis  infra  portas  curiae  hospitaiis 
loqui  voluerit,  hostilarius  per  custodem  locutorii 
eos  mandabit.  Si  portas  curiae  transgredietur, 
idemptidem  faciet  administratione  janitoris.  Quo- 
tiens  ante  lucifragum,  vel  die  lucescente  abire  volue- 
runt,  hostilarius  claves  loquutorii  ad  lectum  prioris 
accipiet,  hospitesque  ordinate,  et  pro  personarum 
dignitate  emittet,  postmodum  secundum  temporis 
exigentiam  hostia  reobserabit,  clavesque  ad  lectum 
reportabit.  Dominicis  diebus  ante,  processionem 
nulli  licet  accipere  benedictionem  [apres  ceo  prist  il 
beneyson,  et  conge  de  l'Abbe  et  du  covent.  Monast. 
ii.  219.]  Si  necessitas  instat  ad  matutinas  bene- 
dictionem accipiat.  Primse  et  omnibus  aliis  horis 
hospites  non  revertentes  eodem  die  benedictionem 
debent  accipere.  Nullus  ad  vesperas  benedictionem 
proficiscendi  accipiat.  Idemptidem  fiet  ad  nonam 
post  prandium  pulsatam.    Id. 


240 


GUEST-HALL, 


to  give  the  Monks  notice  of  assem- 
bling in  the  Church  to  robe  themselves. 
The  Sacrist  spread  a  carpet  and  a  pal- 
lium above,  before  the  great  Altar,  upon 
the  upper  step,  also  before  the  rood. 
Upon  the  near  approach  of  the  visitor, 
the  two  greater  bells  were  rung.  When 
the  procession  made  a  stand,  at  the  re- 
ception of  the  guest,  the  Abbot  gave  him 
the  holy-water  sprinkle,  afterwards  the 
incense,  and  the  Prior  the  text,  if  he 
was  a  Bishop  ;  other  persons  the  Abbot 
sprinkled  himself.  When  they  entered 
the  Church,  and  made  a  stand  before 
the  crucifix,  the  boys  stood  between 
the  two  Choirs  ;  and  the  bearers  of  the 
holy  water  and  other  things  advanced 
through  the  midst,  and  stood  before  the 
crucifix  with  their  faces  towards  it. 
In  the  mean  while  the  visitor  continued 
praying;  and,  when  he  arose,  a  service 
was  begun  in  honour  of  the  patron 
saint.  Then  the  bearers  advanced  to 
deposit  the  respective  processionalia  as 
soon  as  they  came  to  the  Altar.  The 
infants  and  others  followed,  filing  off 
on  each  side  the  Altar  according  to 
seniority.  The  visitor  again  prayed  ; 
and,  when  the  chaunt  was  over,  (if  a 
Bishop,  after  he  had  given  the  bene- 
diction,) kissed  all  the  Monks ;  who, 
however,  because  in  copes,  or  robed, 
were  not  to  kneel  before  him,  as  was 
usual  with  a  Bishop,  Abbot,  or  Prince, 
but  humbly  bowing,  proceed  to  the  sa- 
lutation. If  he  was  a  spiritual  person, 
and  the  Abbot  wished  to  be  expedi- 
tious, the  Monks  were  unrobed,  and  sat 
in  Chapter,  where  the  visitor  was  in- 
troduced, and  requested  the  benedic- 
tion. This  was  followed  by  a  reading 
from  Scripture  ;  after  which,  if  he  chose, 
he  preached.  If  he  was  an  Abbot  he 
kissed  the  Monks  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Chapter,  as  they  retired ;  and  if  he 
did  not  enter  that  place,  at  a  fit  season, 
he  did  it  in  the  Cloister.a  The  flatter- 
ies and  homage  paid  to  great  visitors 
were  such,  that  a  dying  Abbot  said, 
"Thou  well  knowest  what  flatteries 
and  adulations  thou  hast  made,  for  tem- 
poral and  perishable  things,  to   secular 

a  Deer.  Lanfr. 


persons,  not  in  truth  but  falsehood, 
against  your  conscience." b  These 
flatteries  are  thus  in  the  most  piquant 
style  satirized  by  an  ancient  Goliard  or 
Jester,  "  When  it  is  dinner  time,  dine 
with  the  great  man  ;  fill  the  glasses 
with  exquisite  wine.  When  it  is  cold, 
sit  at  the  fire,  hold  the  richest  wine  in 
your  hands,  fill  the  empty  cups;  per- 
suade him  to  drink  and  drink  again. 
When  he  has  well  soaked,  have  a  bed 
for  him  ;  he  will  gladly  stay  with  you. 
When  he  looks  in  his  purse,  throw  out 
a  hint  how  much  he  has  drank :  if  he 
has  been  intemperate,  take  it  kindly  : 
say  nothing  of  what  has  passed."0  In 
an  exemplification  of  this  satire,  we  are 
told  of  an  Abbot  who,  in  order  to  exhi- 
lirate  the  mind  of  a  certain  knight,  and 
gain  his  good  will,  plied  him  well  with 
choice  liquor,  in  the  English  fashion. 
In  order  to  provoke  him  to  drink 
better,  instead  of  Wesheil,  the  Abbot 
gave  for  the  toast  Pril,  to  which  the 
other  was  instructed  by  the  Abbot,  in- 
stead of  Drinkheil  to  reply  Wril ;  and 
thus  drinking  and  toasting  with  Pril 
and  Wril,  and  assisted  by  the  Monks, 
lay  brothers,  and  servants,  they  went 
on  till  midnight.d     Thomas   Pennant, 


b  Tu  bene  nosti,  quot  favores  et  adulationes  pro 
temporalibus  et  caducis  faciebas  secularibus  homini- 
bus,  non  veritate  sed  fictione,  contra  conscientiam 
tuam.  MS.  Bodl.  Fairfax,  17.  §  Lamentatio  Ger- 
vasii  Abb. 

c  Et  hora  cum  fuit,  cum  ipso  prandete.  Mero 
delectabili  calices  implete.  Tempus  cum  sit  frigi- 
dum  ad  prunas  sedete.  Vinum  meracissimum  ma- 
nibus  tenete.  Calices  si  fuerint  vacui  replete.  Ut 
bibat  et  rebibat  ssepe  suadete.  Si  bene  potavit, 
lectum  tunc  habete.  Vobiscum  moram  faciet  li- 
benter  etlsete\  In  bursa  dum  reperit  stantes  mo- 
nete.  De  dono  haustse  fuerint  quindecim  metretse, 
&o.  Modum  si  excesserit  blande  sustinete.  Quod 
fit  in  consorcio  pandere  cavete.  MS.  Harl.  978,  f. 
58,  b. 

d  Abbas  autem  ut  militis  animum  exbilararet, 
ipsumque  sibi  placabilem  magis  efficeret,  calices  ei 
crebros  de  potu  electo  more  Anglicano  propinari 
fecit.  Ipsemet  quoque  quatinus  ad  melius  potan- 
dum  militem  provocaret,  et  efficacius  invitaret,  loco 
Wesheil  ait  ei  Pril.  Ille  vero  ignorans  quid 
respondere  deberet,  edoctus  ab  Abbate,  pro  Drink- 
heil respondit  ei  Wril,  et  sic  provocantes  ad  invi- 
,cem  et  compotantes  cum  monachis  et  fratribus  as- 
sistentibus  et  servientibus  ingeminare  pril,  wril,  et 
alternatim  ssepius  usque  noctis  ad  horam  profundio- 
ris  inculcare  non  destiterunt.  MS.  Cott.  Tiber  B. 
B.  13.  [bpixl  isreciprocatio;pvi\fvrtil,h6b,n6b.'} 
This  was  against  all  rule  :  Neubrigensis  says  (154), 


GUEST-HALL. 


241 


Abbot  of  Basingwerk,  is  said  to  have 
given  twice  the  treasure  of  a  king  in 
wine ;  a  and  they  were  profuse  of  more 
humble  liquors.b  The  apartments  for 
the  reception  of  persons  of  quality,  as 
says  Davies  and  others,  were  furnished 
in  a  most  splendid  style. 

Visitors  were  allowed  to  make  a  stay 
of  two  days  and  nights;  and  on  the 
third,  after  dinner,  they  were  to  depart. 
If  by  accident  a  guest  could  not  then 
go,  the  Hosteler  signified  his  request  to 
the  Abbot,  Prior,  or  Curiarius,  for  a 
longer  stay.  If  he  was  taken  ill,  his 
stay  was  regulated  by  the  disposition  of 
the  Prior,  and  the  exigency  of  the  dis- 
ease. If  in  health,  he  was  to  be  present 
at  Mattins,  unless  he  had  leave  to  the 
contrary,  and  follow  the  Convent  in 
every  thing.0  If  a  visitor  exceeded 
three  daysd  among  the  Friars  Minors, 
he  mentioned  his  fault  in  the  Chapter, 
and,  after  receiving  pardon,  departed.6 

Constitutions  enact  that  ho  spitality 
should  be  shown  to  all,  to  religious  per- 
sons, especially  those  of  the  order  (who 
were  to  be  consigned  to  the  tables'  of 


that  prayers  were  said  during  drinking,  and  our  Sa" 
viour's  name  mentioned.     The  old  Danes  and  Nor- 
mans, says  James  Delmerus,  used  to  drink  in  ho" 
nour  of  Odin,  Thor,  &c. ;  but  after  conversion,  t° 
the  Saints.     The   form  of  this  toast  is  given  by 
Christ,  de  Scala,  in  the  life   of  St.  Wenceslaus,  p. 
56.  "  Again,  sitting  in  the  eating-room,  and  taking 
the  cup,  he  says,  with  a  loud  voice,  let  us  drink  this 
cup  in  the  name  of  the  holy  Archangel  Michael, 
begging  and  praying  him  to  introduce  our  souls  into 
the  peace  of  eternal  exaltation."     To  this  the  vi- 
sitors replied  Amen,  and  drank  the  cup.     If  they 
were  going  to  part,  the  kiss  of  peace,  as  now  shak- 
ing hands,  went  round.     See  Du  Cange,  y.  Bibere 
in  amove  Sanctorum,  for  more  on  this  subject. 
a  Pennant's  Whiteford,  33. 
b  British  Topography,  ii.  461. 
c  Licet  hospiti  biduo    continuationem   duarum 
noctium  morari  tertioque  die  donee  discubuerit.  Si 
casu  incidente,  profectio   ejus   expedita  non  fuit, 
hostilarius  Abbati,  vel  priori,  et  curiario  ejus  im- 
portunitatem  significabit.     Si  infirmitate  oppressus 
fuerit,  indulta  erit,  &c.     Si   sanitate  exhilaratur, 
matutinis,  nisi  licentiam  petat,  intererit,  conven- 
tumque  omnirnodo  sequatur.    MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B. 
vi.  f.  206,  b. 

d  This  was  the  old  Celtic  period  of  visits.  See 
Ossian,  in  Carthon,  Colna-dona.  Fingal.  B.  hi. 
Temora,  B.  ii.  It  is  explained  by  Cowell,  v.  Ho- 
genhine,  Third-night.     Du  Cange,  &c. 

e  Ipsi  vero  hospites  in  locis  ubi  ultra  tres  dies 
moram  traxerint,  dicant  in  capitulo  culpas  suas,  et 
dicta,  culpa  acceptaque  pardona,  egrediantur.  MS. 
Bodl.  1882,  p.  52,  a. 


the  Abbots,  or  other  fit  and  honourable 
places),  and  to  the  Friars,  who  were  to 
be  excluded  the  Refectory  and  private 
places  deputed  for  the  recreation  of  the 
Monks.f  Women  were  to  be  received, 
who  came  with  an  honourable  suite.s 
Particular  attention  was  to  be  paid  to 
the  parents  of  Monks ;  for  whom  ne- 
cessaries and  food  were  to  be  found 
whenever  they  came  to  see  their  chil- 
dren ;  especially  on  the  Nativity  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  wheresoever  they  took 
refection  in  the  town  or  house ;  and 
they  were  to  be  honourably  received  on 
the  vigil." 

It  seems  that  the  Monks  were  in  the 
habit  of  often  going  to  the  visitors  ; i 
and,  as  if  pitying  the  miseries  of  the 
poor,  asking  abundance  of  questions  of 
the  peace  of  the  nobles,  making 
speeches  of  the  cruelty  of  knights,  and 
the  superfluity  of  clerks,  interrupting 
their  conversation  with  sighs,  as  from 
compassion;  and  then,  when  the  bell 
rung,  tripping  off,  after  a  previous 
whisper,  that  if  the  Abbot  or  Prior 
should  come,  the  visitors  would  not 
forget  to  say  a  kind  word  in  their  fa- 
vour .k  It  seems  too  that  the  sons  of 
donors,  when  unable  to  injure  the 
Monks  by  means  of  law,  would  burden 
them  with  continual  visits  and  hospi- 
tality;1 and  that,  from  the  heavy  weight 


f  C.  G.  Northampt.  a0  1343.  c.  xvii.  and  a°  1444. 
c.  ix. 

s  Honesta,  comitiva.    Custum.  Roffens.  235. 

11  Item  parentes  monachorum  ad  domum  istam 
(Edmundsbury)  divertentes  honorificentius  solito 
admittantur ;  et  uberius  procurentur,  maxime  pa- 
rentes  claustralium.  MS.  Cott.  Jul.  D.  ii.  f.  160. 
b.  Quociens  parentes  monachorum  eos  visitare  ve- 
nerint,  omnia  necessaria  eis  et  victus  sunt  decer- 
nenda.  Maxime  in  nativ.  S.  Mar.  ubicunque  co- 
mederint  in  villa  vel  in  curia.  Item  debent  recipi 
honorifice  in  vigilia.     MS.  Cott.  Claud,  b.  vi.  p. 

187. 

«  The  hosteler  sometimes  separated  them  against 
their  will.     Monast.  i.  p.  2. 

k  Crebrius  egreditur  (monachus)  ad  hospites,  et 
quasi  calamitatibus  pauperum  compaciens  de  pace 
principum  terrse  quserit,  sermones  faciens  de  acer- 
bitate  militumet  de  superfluitate  clericorum,  inter- 
polatis  suspiriis,  tanquam  misericordia  motus  super 
eos.  Ad  sonitum  campanse  necessarium  abire  pro- 
ponit,  nee  omittit  in  auribus  instillare  ut  cum  vene- 
rit  abbas,  aut  prior,  meminerint  apud  eos  ipsum, 
commendare.     MS.  Harl.  1712.  f.  236. 

i  Hist.  Raines,  prol.  para  2. 
R 


242 


GUEST-HALL, 


of  the  latter,  several  statutes  were  made 
to  ease  them  ; a  and  indeed  they  were 
not  only  liable  to  this  expense,  but  to 
stabling  for  horses,  the  maintenance  of 
sporting  dogs,  hawks,  servants,  (claims 
of  founders,)  and  convert  Jews. b 

In  the  Hostrey  of  the  Nuns,  she 
who  received  the  visitors  was  allowed 
to  speak  to  them.  Cloths  were  kept 
for  their  feet.  The  place  was  inclosed 
in  the  Nuns'  court,  but  excluded  from 
their  view.  No  Nun  entered  the  Hos- 
trey, but  the  Prioresses  and  obedien- 
tiaries. Lay-sisters  of  the  Hostrey  in- 
troduced them  into  the  Oratory  pre- 
pared for  them  while  the  Nuns  were 
singing  the  hours,  but  brought  them 
back  before  they  left  the  Choir.  Two 
or  three  Nuns  presided  over  the 
Hostrey,  and  conversed  with  the  bet- 


a  5  Ed.  I.  9  Ed.  II.  c.  ii.  West.  1  Ed.  III. 
b  Monast.  i.  818  ;  II.  459.   Tovey,  227,  14  Edw. 
III.  St.  4.  c.  1. 


ter  sort  of  visitors  ;  Lay-sisters  served 
them,  and  slept  there  when  necessary. 
If  the  visitors  were  to  be  brought  any 
where  within  the  Nuns'  courts,  they 
were  introduced  by  Nuns.  No  meat 
was  given  them  to  eat  without  the 
masters  especial  license  :  nor  was  any 
one  permitted  to  bathe,  be  bled,  or  ex- 
ceed the  stay  of  one  night,  without 
that  of  the  Prioress.  The  Nuns  con- 
versed with  the  guests  or  relatives,  and 
none  were  excluded  from  their  maundy, 
unless  sick;  the  table  for  this  office 
was  struck  after  the  Convent  was  gone 
to  the  Dorter.  The  Lay-sister  spoke 
only  to  female  pilgrims,  and  no  Nun 
entered,  if  a  visitor  brought  a  boy 
with  her.c 


c  Monast.  ii.  769.  All  Davies  says  of  import 
concerning  the  hostrey  is,  that  it  was  like  the  body 
of  a  church,  with  pillars  on  each  side,  and  a  large 
range  for  the  fire  in  the  midst  of  it,  with  chambers 
and  lodgings  belonging  to  it. 


LOCUTORY,   OR   PARLOUR, 


243 


CHAPTER   XLI. 


LOCUTORY,    OR    PARLOUR, 


Du  Caxge  says,  that  there  were  three 
parlours  among  the  Clugniacks  and 
Cistercians ;  and  that  in  a  parlour,  the 
Monks  assembled  for  conversation ; 
and  that  the  Monastic  Schools  were 
held  there.a  —  Of  these  apartments 
there  were  two,  one  for  the  Monks, 
another  for  the  visitors.  This  apart- 
ment was  for  conversation,  when 
silence  was  enjoined  in  other  places. 
The  rule  of  St.  Victor  of  Paris  speaks 
thus  :  When  any  thing  required  im- 
mediate discourse,  the  Precentor  led 
the  persons  to  the  Parlour,  who  briefly 
explained  themselves.  No  one  was  to 
enter  it,  unless  called  by  the  Abbot  or 
Prior.  The  latter,  the  Sub-prior,  and 
Officers,  came,  however,  without  li- 
cense to  converse  upon  business,  but 
not  the  Claustrals.  The  servants,  in- 
troduced there  for  any  necessary  or- 
ders or  information,  were  not  to  sit 
down,  or  make  any  stay ;  and  those 
who  had  license,  were  not  to  sit  long, 
or  be  more  than  four  at  a  time.  No 
strange  Monk  or  Canon  was  to  be 
brought  into  the  regular  Locutory  to 
converse,  only  those  of  the  house, 
with  license,  who  were  not  to  talk 
elsewhere.  No  Claustral  could  come 
into  the  other  Locutories,  without 
summons  from  the  Abbot  or  Prior. 
There  was  a  forensic  Locutory,  where 
Monks  and  Nuns  could  converse  with 
Seculars  ;  the  Sacrists  Locutory,  Lo- 
cutories in  the  Church  for  Confession, 
and  others ,b — Davies  says,  the  Locu- 
tory was  the  place  where  merchants 
used  to  expose  their  wares.  After 
dinner  was  the  time  allowed  for  con- 
versation ; c    but,   in    consequence    of 


a  v.  Auditorium. 

b  Du  Cange,  v.  Locutorium. 

c  Post  prandium,  supplicandum  pro  peccatis  scil. 
eorum  quorum  eleemosynis  sustentatur,  si  forte 
vocatur  ad  colloquium  secundum  regulam,  levi- 
ter  et  sine  risu  pauca  verba  et  rationabilia  loquatur. 
MS.  Harl.  103.  f.  114.  b. 


abuses,  for  the  Monks  used  to  talk 
nothing  but  trifles,  raillery,  and  small 
talk,d  meditations  and  reading  were 
substituted  instead.e  The  Minuti  had 
an  indulgence  of  going  to  the  Locu- 
tory of  the  guests  to  converse  imme- 
diately after  refection  and  grace,  and 
from  complin  to  curfew.f  Entrance  to 
the  parlour,  both  in  Monks  and  Nuns, 
was  very  seldom  allowed,  except  when 
necessary  for  taking  venue ;  s  or  to  say 
any  thing  which  could  not  be  explained 
by  a  sign.  A  sign  was  made  at  the 
door,  and  then,  if  permitted,  they  en- 
tered, and  not  more  than  two  together, 
unless  it  was  needful,  talked  together 
with  the  Prior  at  reading-time.  When 
their  business  was  over,  they  departed 
immediately.  Conversation  was  also 
allowed  with  visitors  of  a  certain  kind. 
The  Nun  who  took  the  venice,  when 
many  were  assembled  to  confess,  sat. 
Those  sat  too  who  talked  with  the 
guests  and  scrutatrices.  No  one 
could  enter  there  unasked,  when  the 
Prioress  was  conversing  with  any  one. 
In  the  Parlour  too  the  Nuns  were 
taught  standing  the  exposition  of  the 
rule.h  The  constitutions  of  those  of 
Sopewell  order  them  not  to  converse 
with  Seculars  unless  their  necks  and 
faces  were  covered  with  a  kercheif  and 
veil. 

In  the  Nuns'  Parlour  was  a  grating 
covered  with  a  curtain,  not  to  be  re- 
moved but  when  a  person  spoke  to 
them,  or  they  received  the  commu- 
nion, which  was  administered  in  the 
Parlour.1 


d  Bern.  Dev.  Vie  Mon.  iii.  147. 

e  M.  Paris,  1095.  "After  dinner  read  or  hear 
somewhat  of  holy  scripture."  MS.  Cott.  Cleop. 
E.  iv.  f.  23.  a. 

f  M.  Paris,  1043,  1045. 

£  Pardons  for  the  omission  of  duties,  &c.  Monast. 
ii.  767,  &c.  &c.  &c. 

h  Monast.  ii.  731,  769. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Gratis. 


244 


ALMONRY, 


CHAPTER   XLII, 


ALMONRY. 


The  Almonry  was  sometimes  a  stone 
house  near  the  Church.a  This  was 
its  proper  and  usual  situation,  from 
the  connection  of  charity  and  religion.b 
Alms-houses  are  still  common  in 
Church-yards.  Some  Abbots  have 
been  reproached  for  moving  it  to  the 
gate,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  poor 
from  the  Refectory  doors  after  din- 
ner.0 We  hear  of  Priests'  halls,  and 
various  edifices  annexed  to  Almonries.d 
The  alms  were,  according  to  Basils  in 
the  application  of  them,  an  exclusive 
concern  of  the  superior ;  e  and  it  seems 
they  thought  so;  for  they  bestowed 
them  upon  their  secular  kindred  and 
acquaintance/  They  were,  says  Lynd- 
wood,s  generally  to  be  given  to  per- 
sons unable  to  work,  or  kindred,  be- 
cause we  are  directed  to  provide  for 
our  own  house  first ;  according  to 
which  principle  Henry  enjoined,  that 
none  of  the  brethren  "  send  any  parte 
of  his  meate,  or  the  levynge  thereof, 
to  any  person  ; "  but  that  the  alms 
should  be  collected  with  special  con- 
sideration of  ei  soche  before  other  as  be 
kinnesfolke  to  any  of  the  said  breth- 
ren."1* A  preference  was  also  to  be 
made  of  piety  and  utility,  as  well  as 


a  Monast.  i.  273. 

b  Du  Cange,  v.  Matricula. 

c  Grose,  under  Reading  Abbey. 

d  Ang.  Sacr.i.  143. 

•  Dev.  Vie  Mon.  ii.  91. 
'  Monast.  i.  418,  471. 

«  P.  209. 

*  MS.  Cott.  Cleop,  E.  iv.  f.  22.  a. 


the  degree  of  connection  with  the 
house,  whence  proceeded  the  custom 
of  maintaining  from  them  certain  poor 
children,  who  went  there  to  learn 
grammar.  After  all,  there  was  no 
certain  rule,  but  discretion  ;  and  a 
common  religious  could  give  them,  if 
he  saw  any  one  likely  to  perish  with 
hunger,  though  his  Abbot  forbid  it,  be- 
cause he  was  to  obey  God  more  than 
man.1  Beer  was  brought  into  the 
Refectory  to  give  to  the  poor;k  dif- 
ferent allowances  were  made  at  differ- 
ent festivals ; l  the  distribution  of  the 
alms  at  Glastonbury,  and  most  other 
houses,  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays.m 
It  seems  that  the  obedientiaries  and 
others  were  in  the  habits  of  thus  sup- 
porting their  servants,  especially  the 
Almoners,  who  are  charged  with  giving 
the  alms  to  their  workmen  or  out-door 
servants.11  Certain  scholars  (the  chil- 
dren alluded  to  by  Lyndwood)  had 
constant  residence  in  the  Almonry  of 
St.  Augustine,  Canterbury  ;  and  the 
poor  and  sick  flocked  to  it  from  all 
quarters.  The  whole  revenues  of  cer- 
tain churches,  besides  the  Abbot's 
alms,  were  devoted  to  it.0  The  Tenth 
of  all  the  Monastic  proceeds  was  to  be 
given  in  alms  to  the  poor.P 


1  Lyndw.  ut  sup. 

k  M.  Par.  1095. 

*  Monast.  i.  149. 

m  Reyn.  224. 

n  M.  Par.  1094.  C.  G.  North.  a°  1343.  c.  x.  & 

1444,  c.  vii. 

0  W.  Thorne,  1801. 

p  Du  Cange,  v.  Eleemosynarius. 


LIBRARY. 


245 


CHAPTER  XLIIL 


LIBRARY  —  MUSEUM. 


This  place  was  under  the  care  of  the 
Chantor,  as  well  as  the  muniments  of 
the  house.  He  could  neither  sell, 
pawn,  or  lend  the  books,  without  an 
equal  or  more  than  equivalent  pledge  ; 
he  might,  however,  with  respect  to 
neighbouring  Churches,  or  persons  of 
consideration,  relax  somewhat  of  the 
strictness  of  this  rule.a  It  seems  that, 
on  a  new  foundation,  the  king  some- 
times sent  letters  patent b  to  the  dif- 
ferent Abbeys,  requesting  them  to  give 
the  new  religious  theological  books ; 
though  these  were  only  perhaps  for 
the  use  of  the  Church;  and  he  gave 
them  sometimes  himself.0  Duplicates 
and  triplicates  of  the  same  work  were 
imported.*1  The  catalogues  of  their 
Libraries,  of  which  several  exist,  were 
very  artificial,  pedantic,  and  whimsical, 
as  will  appear  from  the  following  ac- 
count of  that  of  Dover  Priory,  made 
in  the  year  1389.e     "  Note,  first,  says 


a  Bibliotheca  erit  sub  cantoris  custodia,  omnes 
ecclesise  cartse  cantori,  &c.  assignatse.  Cantor  non 
potuit  libros  accommodare,  nisi  pignore,  qui  tanti 
vel  majoris  fuerit  reposito,  &c.  MS.  Cott.  Claud. 
B.  vi.f.l91.b. 

b  55  H.  III.  m.  24.     Monast.  i.  936. 

c  Monast.  ii.  924. 

d  Du  Cange,  v.  Pandecta. 

e  Primo  quod  tota  hsec  bibliotlieca  in  novem 
separatis  distinctionibus  secundum  novem  primas 
alphabeti  literas,  literas  ipsis  distinctionibus  paten- 
ter affixas  dividitur.  Quia  vero  in  multis  volumi- 
nibus  plures  continentur  tractatus,  nomina  ipsorum 
tractatuum  licet  non  semper  congrue  baptisatorum 
in  singulis  voluminibus  poscebuntur,  et  figura  nu- 
meralium  algorismi  ipsis  nominibus,  designans 
folium  in  quo  tractatus  ipse  incipiat,  coasequenter 
apponitur,  cum  A  litera  vel  B,  protinus  subjuncta 
hac  parte.  Ipsa  etiam  volumina  singula  non  solum 
exterius  in  tegimine  verum  etiam  interius  juxta  no- 
mina contentorum  in  sui  principio  affixas  habent 
literas  suas  distinctionales  ;  modica  figura  algoris- 
malis  includituv  per  quam  quotus  sit  liber  in  ordine 
locationis  gradus  memorati  plenius  declaratur.  In 
secundo  aut  tertio,  vel  quarto  folio  voluminum,  vel 
prope  illud  in  margine  inferiori,  pnemissis  iterum 
literis  distinctionalibus,  et  figuris  gradualibus  prse- 
dictis,  nomen  voluminis  inseritur,  et  post  modico 
spacio  dimissum  quo  modo  folium  illud,  quod  pro- 
batorium  cognitionis  dicetur,  incipiat,  protinus  titu- 
latur :  quotque  folia  in  ipso  toto  volumine  conti- 


the  preface,  that  the  whole  of  this 
Library  is  divided  into  nine  separate 
distinctions,  according  to  the  nine  first 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  the  letters 
being  affixed  to  the  distinctions.  Be- 
cause, however,  many  tracts  are  con- 
tained in  many  volumes,  the  names  of 
those  tracts,  although  not  always  suit- 
ably christened,  will  be  required  in 
every  volume,  and  the  figure,  of  the 
numbers  of  the  Algorism,  marking  the 
leaf  in  which  the  tract  begins,  is  con- 
sequently affixed  to  the  titles,  with  the 
letter  A  or  B  immediately  added,  so 
that  A  may  designate  the  first  side  of 
the  leaf,  and  B  the  second.  Each 
volume  itself,  not  only  outwardly  in 
the  cover,  but  inwardly  according  to 
the  names  of  its  contents,  has  its  dis- 
tinctional  letters  affixed  to  the  begin- 
ning of  it,  and  a  small  algorismal  figure 
is  added  by  which  what  the  book  is  in 
the  order  of  its  place  in  the  above  gra- 
dation is  more  fully  declared.  In  the 
second,  or  third,  or  fourth  leaf  of  the 
volumes,  or  near  it  in  the  lower  mar- 
gin, the  aforesaid  distinctional  letters 
and  gradual  figures  being  again  pre- 
mised, the  name  of  the  volume  is  in- 
serted, and  afterwards  being  in  a  little 
time  dismissed,  how  the  leaf  begins, 
which  may  be  called  the  touchstone  of 
knowledge,  is  immediately  entitled; 
the  first  number  of  the  algorism  then 
following,  tells  how  many  leaves  are 
contained  in  the  whole  volume  ;  and 
another  number  instantly  adjoined,  the 

neatur,  primus  numerus  algorismi  tunc  sequens 
declarabit,  adjunctus  protinus  ibidem  finaliter  nu- 
merus alius  figatur  [figitur],  numerum[que]  ejus- 
dem  voluminis  contentorum  tractatuum  pandit 
manifeste.  Prsemissis  igitur  retentis,  memoriae 
finaliter  commendatis,  patebit  manifeste  quibus 
distinctione  gradu  loco  vel  ordine  singula  volumina 
totius  bibliothecae  debent  collocari,  quibusque  foliis 
et  foliorum  lateribus  singulorum  principia  tracta- 
tuum poterint  reperiri.  MS.  Bodl.  3012,  in  pnef. 
[Upon  every  statute  that  is  abrygid  in  any  of  the 
chapyters  of  this  boke  be  set  figures  of  algorisme.] 
Herbert's  Ames,  i,  479. 


246 


LIBRARY. 


tracts  contained  in  the  volume.  When 
these  premises  are  committed  to  me- 
mory, it  will  plainly  appear  in  what 
distinction,  degree,  place,  or  order, 
every  ^volume  of  the  Library  should  be 
placed,  and  in  what  leaves,  or  sides  of 
leaves,  the  beginnings  of  the  tracts 
may  be  found." 

Leland^s  story  a  of  the  Library  of 
the  Franciscans  at  Oxford  has  been 
often  told;  it  was  only  accessible  to 
the  Warden  and  Bachelors  of  divi- 
nity ;  was  full  of  cobwebs,  moths,  and 
filth  ;  and  contained  no  books  of 
value,  the  best  having  been  surrepti- 
tiously carried  away.  The  custom  of 
chaining  books,  which  I  saw  retained 
at  Magd.  Coll.  Library,  Oxon,  was 
very  ancient.  We  are  told  by  Euse- 
bius b  that  the  Roman  Senate  in  the 
time  of  Claudius,  ordered  Philo- 
Judseus^s  treatise  of  the  Impiety  of 
Caligula,  to  be  chained  in  the  publick 
Library  as  a  famous  monument. 

The  magnificent  Roman  Libraries 
were  paved  with  marble,  and  orna- 
mented with  gold ;  the  walls  were  co- 
vered with  glass  and  ivory;  the  presses  j 
for  the  books  were  made  of  cedar  and 
ebony,c  and  carried  as  high  as  the 
roof.  Though  the  books  were  in  rolls, 
they  had  elegant  fronts  and  titles. d 
The  booksellers5  shops  had  pillars,  on 
which  were  inscribed  the  names  of  the 
works  for  sale,  and  the  books  were 
kept  in  nidi,  drawers  or  pigeon-holes, 
the  best  in  the  upper,  the  worst  in  the 


lower. e — Among  the  Egyptian  Monk 
the  books  were  kept  in  a  window, f  by 
which  I  suppose,  is  meant  a  cup- 
board arched  in  the  wall,  which  was 
the  depository  among  the  Britons,^ 
and  appears  centuries  after  in  the 
frontispiece  of  Trivet's  Annals.  The 
Monasteries  had  painted  presses  or 
almeries.h  Chests  were  also  used,1 
and  shelves.k  Glass-globes,  like  orre- 
ries, before  mentioned  (Ch.  I.)  have 
been  found  at  Herculaneum,1  and  are 
mentioned  by  Ingulphus,  as  occurring 
in  Monastic  Libraries. 

As  from  the  variety  of  knowledge 
interspersed  in  scholars'  books,  and 
the  vast  bulk  and  quantity  of  such 
books  in  the  world,  the  merit  of  every 
compilation  both  does  now,  and  must 
in  future,  depend  much  and  unavoid- 
ably upon  indexes,  I  shall,  as  far  as 
lies  in  me,  present  to  the  respect  of 
the  public  an  Ayscough  or  Wanley  of 
Antiquity,  John  Brome,  Prior  of 
Gorlestone,  who,  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, put  indexes  to  almost  all  the 
books  in  his  library."3  The  proportion 
in  which  the  Monks  cultivated  the  re- 
spective sciences  appears,  from  a  cur- 
sory enumeration,  sufficiently  accurate 
for  this  purpose,  of  the  works  of 
authors  in  Bale,  to  have  been  nearly 
this:  Divinity,  175;  Scholastic  Lite- 
rature, 89  ;  Epistles,  Controversy, 
Miscellanies,  65  ;  History,  54 ;  Bio- 
graphy, 32 ;  Arts,  Mathematics,  Astro- 
logy, &c.  31 ;  Philosophy,  14  ;  Law,  6. 


APPENDIX. 


Disquisitions  upon  Monastic  Litera- 
ture have  been  given  by  Mosheim, 
Warton,  and  others,  but  they  are  all 
treated  in  reference  to  modern  think- 
ing. The  following  merely  respect 
contemporary  ideas,  and  taste.  They 
show  undeniably  that    the    state    of 


*  De  Scriptor.  p.  286. 

b  B.  2,  ch.  13. 

c  Astle's  Writing,  Introd.  vii.  L.  p,  197. 

d  Seneca  de  Tranquillit,  c.  9. 


mind  was  very  contemptible,  as  to 
literature  properly  so  called,  though 
in  the  mechanical  arts  there  was  much 
excellence  :  but  that  is  no  proof  of 
civilization. 


e  Martial  L.  i.  Ep.  118. 

*  Regul.  Pachom.  C.  82. 

b  M.  Paris,  994. 

5  Du  Cange,  v.  Libellare. 

k  Ancient  illuminations. 

1  Barthelemy's  Tour  in,  Italy. 

m  Bale,  1st  ed.  f.  194. 


*  Ibid.  1038. 


LIBRARY. 


247 


Divinity.  It  has  been  elsewhere 
rioted^  that  the  study  of  Theology  was 
presumed  to  confer  the  gift  of  Pro- 
phecy. Divinity  consisted  in  forced 
and  ridiculous  allegorical  interpreta- 
tions of  the  Scriptures ;  a  and  these 
and  other  religious  works  of  the  most 
bizarre  kind  were  thought  to  expiate 
sins.  In  1435,  a  Shearer  of  cloth  in 
France,  and  a  great  lover  of  Tennis, 
wrote  a  ballad  upon  that  game.  When 
he  was  old  and  sick  in  bed,  he  wished 
by  another  kind  of  writing  to  expiate 
his  sins,  and  had  his  work  reviewed  by 
a  Dominican.  He  accordingly  alle- 
gorized the  game  of  Tennis.  The  wall, 
he  says,  means  faith,  which  ought  to 
have  a  solid  foundation,  and  in  other 
parts  of  the  game  he  finds  the  Cardinal 
Virtues,  the  Evangelists,  active  and 
contemplative  life,  the  Old  and  New 
Law,  &c.b  It  is  a  most  insipid  pro- 
duction :  but  not  more  so  than  innu- 
merable volumes  of  Divinity  manu- 
scripts. 

Philosophy,  Arts,  §c.  In  the  13th 
Century,  Onions,  the  Lucretius  of  his 
day,  wrote  a  singular  work  entitled 
The  Picture  of  the  World,  in  which  are 
passages  strongly  illustrative  of  the 
Philosophy  of  the  Middle  Age.  In 
the  Metaphysical  department,  by  ma- 
terials borrowed  from  Thales,  Anax- 
agoras,  Epicurus,  and  Plato,  God  is  made 
an  idle  being,  who,  when  he  created 
matter,  also  created  Nature,  who,  he 
says,  executes  the  will  of  God,  as  the 
ax  in  the  hands  of  the  carpenter,  but 
sometimes  makes  deformities,  through 
want  or  excess  of  matter,  because  the 
more  the  latter  abounds,  the  more  she 
works  ;  and  if  it  be  wanting,  she  stands 
still.  The  Liberal  Arts  he  divides 
into  the  usual  septenary  arrangement, 
adopted  so  early  as  the  fifth  Century 
by  Marcianus  Capella.  Alcuinus  had 
done  the  same  in  the  eighth  Century, 
with  no  other  difference,  than  includ- 


ing Arithmetick,  Geometry,  Musick, 
and  Astronomy,  under  the  general 
term  of  Mathematicks.  Omons  makes 
Arithmetick,  not  the  mere  science  of 
numbers,  but  the  knowledge  of  every 
thing  which  has  produced  any  regular 
order  whatever  ;  and  Rhetorick  in- 
cludes judicial  verdicts,  decretals,  laws, 
&c.  The  term  liberal  was  only  applied 
to  an  art  which  exclusively  appertained 
to  the  mind;  and  therefore  Medicine, 
Painting,  Sculpture,  Navigation,  the 
Military  Art,  and  Architecture,  though 
in  their  theories  as  intellectual  as 
Arithmetick  and  Astronomy  are,  be- 
cause applicable  to  bodily  purposes,  de- 
nominated mere  trades.  The  term 
Philosophers  means  only  men  versed 
in  the  occult  sciences  of  nature,  for 
Plato  is  called  the  Sovereign  of  Philo- 
sophers, merely  because  he  had  dis- 
covered traces  of  the  Trinity  in  the 
Unity  of  God ;  and  among  the  later 
Philosophers,  no  one  was  so  eminent 
as  Virgil.  This  was  not  the  Mantuan 
Bard,  but  an  ugly  lame  Italian,  who 
performed  feats  of  legerdemain:0  These 
were  an  inextinguishable  lamp  ;  a  long 
bridge,  which  supported  itself,  without 
being  propped  in  any  of  its  parts ;  a 
speaking  head,  which  pronounced  ora- 
cles, and  answered  questions  put  to  it; 
an  impenetrable  garden,  enclosed  only 
by  a  wall  of  air;  a  brass  fly,  which 
when  it  found  in  the  room  a  living  fly, 
flew  upon  it  and  killed  it;  a  brazen 
horse,d  of  such  virtue,  that  sick  horses, 
who  looked  upon  it,  were  instantly- 
cured  ;  and  lastly  an  egg,  in  which  was 
built  a  very  large  town,  which  fell  to 
pieces  when  the  egg  was  moved,  but 
in  a  moment  afterwards  re-established 
itself.  [These  are  important  details, 
for  they  throw  light  upon  the  best  ex- 
isting picture  of  Oriental  manners,  the 
exquisite  "  Arabian  Nights,"  the  first 
tales  of  fiction  in  the  World.]  Our 
Author  says,  that  whoever  thoroughly 


a  The  lessons  in  the  Portiforium  of  Sarurn,  the 
proems  of  the  Saints'  Lives  in  the  Golden  Legend, 
show,  amidst  innumerable  authorities,  that  this 
quibbling  divinity  lasted  for  many  ages. 

b  Notices,  v.  157. 


c  Ignorance  of  this  distinction  has  produced  in- 
conceivable confusion  in  writers  upon  mediaeval 
subjects. 

d  The  wooden  horses,  flying  by  turning  a  peg, 
are  fictions,  formed  upon  ships  with  rudders.  The 
Anglo-Saxons  called  ships,  sea  horses. 


248 


LIBRARY. 


understood  Astrology,  might  effect 
things,  which  though  natural,  would  ap- 
pear miraculous  to  the  rest  of  mankind. 
An  adept  in  this  science  might  have 
during  life  all  that  he  could  desire. a  It 
is  certain,  that  the  Ancients  did  believe  a 
miraculous  power  to  be  conferred  upon 
material  substances,  by  various  modi- 
fications of  them  under  certain  astrolo- 
gical signs.  In  an  old  Magical  MS. 
of  the  14th  Century,b  are  the  following 
processes.  "  When  you  wish  to  pro- 
voke a  girl  to  follow  you  :  make  an 
image  of  a  woman,  under  the  second 
face  of  Cancer,  of  tin,  and  touch  the 
girl  you  wish  with  it,  and  she  will  fol- 
low you.'5  And  again,  i:  IVJien  you 
ivish  to  enter  where  there  are  dogs,  that 
they  may  not  hinder  you,  make  a  tin 
image  of  a  dog,  whose  head  is  erected 
towards  his  tail,  under  the  first  face  of 
Sagittary,  and  say  over  it,  I  bind  all 
dogs  by  this  image,  that  they  do  not 
raise  their  heads  nor  bark ;  and  enter 
where  you  please."0  The  fallacy  of  all 
this  is  conspicuous  ;  but  failure  did 
not  produce  contempt,  because,  as  ap- 
pears from  Grostheacl's  brazen  head, 
it  was  ascribed  to  error  in  the  astrolo- 
gical process.  It  is  however  certain, 
that  automata  were  very  commonly 
made  in  the  fourteenth  Century ;  that 
speaking  through  heads  and  statues  is 
a  very  easy  and  old  trick ; (1  that  the 
construction  of  whispering  galleries 
shows  a  fondness  for  such  deceptions ; 
and  that  the  feats  ascribed  to  Virgil, 
are  only  hyperbolical  exaggerations  of 
mechanical  ingenuity  or  legerdemain  ! 
Slight  of  hand,  or  TJiaumaturgicks,  was 


a  Notices,  v.  246—256. 

b  Presented  to  me  by  Edw.  Wilbraham,  Esq.  of 
Cirencester.  In  it  is  a  process  for  raising  the 
devil. 

e  Cum  volueris  provocare  puellam  ut  sequaris  te, 
fac  imaginem  mulieris  sub  2da  facie  Cancri  ex 
stanno,  et  tange  cum  ea  quam  volueris,  et  obediet 
tibi. 

Cum  volueris  intrar'e  uli  canes  sunt,  ut  non 
impcdiant  te,  fac  imaginem  canis  stanneam,  cujus 
caput  sit  ad  caudam  erectum,  sub  prima  facie  Sa- 
gittarii,  et  die  super  id,  ligo  omnes  canes  per  hanc 
imaginem,  ut  non  erigant  capita  sua,  nee  latrent ; 
et  intra  ubi  volueris. 

d  See  Beckman's  excellent  paper  on  Jugglers,  &c. 
Inventions,  hi.  293—337. 


called  Mechanica,  and  a  part  of  Necro- 
mancy.6 

Natural  History — Medicine.  Jerom 
in  S.  Hilarion,  says,  "  A  dragon  of 
wonderful  magnitude,  which  the  Dal- 
matians in  their  native  language  call 
Boas,  because  they  are  so  large  that 
they  can  swallow  oxen/5  Hence  it 
should  seem,  that  the  boa  snake  may 
have  given  birth  to  the  fiction  of  dra- 
gons/ 

The  coup  de  soleil  appears  to  have- 
been  ascribed  to  a  daemon,  called 
dcemon  meridianus.% 

Geography.  This  abounds  with 
marvellous  accounts,  from  which  are 
borrowed  many  of  the  exquisite  fic- 
tions of  the  "Arabian  Nights/'  In 
the  year  1545,  was  published  at  Ant- 
werp the  Cosmography  of  Peter  Apia- 
nus,  expurgated,  from  all  faults  by 
Gemma  Frisius,  a  physician  and  ma- 
thematician of  Louvain.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  say,  that  in  this  correct  ex- 
purgated work,  Scotland  is  an  island, 
of  which  York  is  one  of  the  chief 
cities.h 

History.  The  fugitive  Trojans,  and 
their    descendants,     not     only     com- 

i  menced  the  Empires  of  Italy  and 
Great  Britain,  but  also  that  of  France. 
A  Priam  junior,  nephew  of  the  old 
Trojan  King,  in  union  with  Antenor, 
founded  Venice,  which  last  shortly 
afterwards   separated  himself  from  his 

I    companion,    and    established    Padua. 

|    At  his  death,  his   troop,  like  strolling 

j  players,  removed  again,  and  settled  in 
Germany,  where  finding  a  third  Priam, 
descended  from  the  Venetian,  they 
chose  him  for  King.1  Thus  there  was 
no  conscientious  restriction  from  mix- 
ing favourite  hypotheses  with  history, 
as  serious  truths. 

History  is  in  general  a  dry  diary  of 
incidents,  and  yet,  acknowledging  the 
elegant  Latinity  of  Malmesbury,  a  pro- 


e  Du  Cange,  v.  Mechanica. 
i  Du  Cange,  v.  Boa. 
£  Du  Cange. 
h  Fol.  44.  b. 

5  Tresor    de   Brunetto   Latini,    MS.   Bibl.    Na< 
j    tional,  Paris.     Notices,  v.  273. 


LIBRARY. 


249 


fessed  imitator  of  Livy  in  his  national 
histories,  and  the  interesting  descrip- 
tions of  Froissart,  the  chivalrous  vo- 
tary of  heroic  love  and  pleasure,  is 
rather  adapted  to  reference  than  read- 
ing. Except  the  last  author,  they  are 
uniformly  ill-natured  writers.  The  ap- 
parent original  of  their  style,  in  mixing 
and  relating  the  private  affairs  of  their 
Abbeys,  &c.  is  the  family  narrative  of 
the  classical  Actuarius,  or  historio- 
grapher, who  was  called  in  to  read  and 
recite  to  the  company.a  The  only 
qualification  required  was  that  of  a 
senior  class  school-boy,  an  ability  to 
write  grammatical  Latin ;  and  even  he 
would  not  have  dared  to  show  to  his 
master  the  following  sentence,  that  "  if 
night  had  not  terminated  the  battle, 
they  would  have  all  been  shaved  with 
the  razor  of  death /*b  What  a  frigid 
unintelligible  simile  is  this  !  "  Fore- 
thoughts are  like  gnats/'c  Gothic  Ar- 
chitecture is  the  only  sublime  inimitable 
monument  of  the  Middle  Age,  but  it 
was  a  trade,  and  the  Monks  did  not 
know,  that  nothing  great  in  the  Arts 
can  be  produced  without  intercourse 
with  society;  for  solitude  and  single 
mind  is  debarred  from  the  division  of 
labour,  is  satisfied  like  Crusoe,  having 
only  itself  to  gratify,  with  rude  expe- 
dient, nor  could  have  a  motive,  where 
superstitious  mortification  was  suffi- 
cient. What  was  excellent,  was  in- 
tended to  bias  the  public  mind,  and  no 
other  motive  is  adequate  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  great  in  any  thing.d  A 
solitary,  though  often  a  mere  selfish 
man,  is  under  numerous  circumstances, 
a  wise,   a  happy,    and   with   reading 


a  See  the  form  of  these  in  Petronius,  i.  162.  Ed. 
Nodot. 

b  Qui  profecto,  nisi  nox  prselium  diremisset, 
omnes  mortis  novacula  abrasi  fuissent.  Gemmeti- 
censis  inter  Camdeni  Scriptores,  p.  669. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Rebones. 

d  An  opinion  directly  opposite  has  been  given. 
The  Chartreux  of  Ferrara  had  very  fine  paintings 
in  their  Churches  ;  and  excellent  prints  adorned 
most  of  the  cells  of  Monks  of  this  Order.  The 
Author  regrets,  that  painting  and  engraving  were 
not  labours  imposed  on  these  Monks,  because  the 
concentration  of  ideas  in  solitude  and  other  results 
might  produce  chef-d'oeuvres.  Observat.  gur 
Vltalie,  torn.  i.  361. 


habits,  which  inculcate  only  what  is 
good,  a  virtuous  and  enviable  one,  for 
Book-ivorms  never  know  ennui.  The 
Monks,  however,  must  not  be  deprived 
of  the  chief  merit  in  this  Architecture. 
In  building  Roslyn  Chapel,  the  founder 
caused  drawings  to  be  made  upon 
boards,  which  being  carved  accordingly 
by  carpenters,  were  given  as  patterns 
to  the  masons. e  This,  no  doubt,  the 
Monks  often  did,  and  after  a  common 
practice  of  even  Bishops/  carried 
mortar,  and  worked  themselves. 

Latin  language.  This,  always  con- 
sidered a  universal  language,  because 
immutable,  was  deemed  an  essential 
qualification,^  but  how  far  with  general 
success,  may  be  determined  from  the 
errors  condemned  in  the  University  by 
Peacham.     These  are, — 

1.  Ego  currit  is  good  Latin. 

2.  Currit,  legit,  is  as  perfect  speech 
as  curro,  lego. 

3.  Sum  ego  is  as  good  as  Ego  sum. 

4.  Socrates  leg  ere :  and  so  in  every 
case.h 

Who  would  suppose  that  such  bar- 
barous words  as  Honorificabilitudo,  and 
Honor  ijicabilitudhutas,  for  Dignity  or 
a  term  of  address  to  Sovereigns,  were 
words  in  serious  use ;  yet  they  occur  in 
the  twelfth  century,  at  least  in  Italy.1 

Philosophers,  who  accede  to  the 
high  reason  and  noble  sentiment  of  the 
Classical  Authors,  cannot  eulogize  the 
learned  languages  in  the  warm  style  of 
Linguists  and  Philologists.  If  a  lan- 
guage, as  is  the  euphonous  and  versa- 
tile Greek,  with  even  the  advantage  of 
an  alphabet  founded  upon  modifications 
of  the  voice,  cannot  be  elegantly  or 
correctly  written  by  a  modern,  during 
the  study  of  a  whole  fife,  its  construc- 
tion must  be  as  bad  as  the  Chinese,  in 
the  opinions  of  all  who  consider  lan- 
guage as  a  convenient  means  of  expe- 
diting science  and  business,  not  a  cum- 
brous,   however    ingenious     machine, 


e  Britton's  Architectural  Antiquities,  hi.  51. 

t  M.  Par.  171.  «  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  761. 

h  MS.  Wood,  in  Mus.  Ashmol.  8563.  prs.  2. 
p.  12. 

1  Du  Cange  in  vocibus,  from  Muratori  and 
Ugtrolli. 


250 


LIBRARY. 


impeding  both.  Such,  however,  is  the 
influence  produced  by  the  fine  senti- 
ment of  the  Greek  writers,  that  deep 
Grecians  are  commonly  very  excellent 
men.  The  perfection  of  the  mental 
powers  certainly  existed  in  the  Morea; 
and  the  steam-engine  of  their  language 
was  easily  worked  by  them :  but  then 
only  because  it  was  native.  It  is  in- 
dispensable to  construe  the  Classicks 
fluently,  because  mind  is  not  to  be 
formed  in  any  other  school.  But 
French,  or  grammatical  literal  Latin, 
better  perhaps,  as  a  safer  and  far  easier 
substitute  for  universal  language,  ought 
to  supersede  writing  in  elegant  Latin, 
because  it  is  productive  of  obscurity, 
and  is  confined  to  scholars. 

The  advantage  of  using  terminations 
instead  of  prepositions,  though  it  may 
be  convenient  for  versification 3  is  far 
beneath  that  of  juxta-position  of  the 
words;  and  is  limited  to  sound,  not 
sense.  The  very  alphabets  of  the  learn- 
ed languages  have  not  the  ingenuity  of 
the  curves  and  lines  of  short  hand, 
because  founded  upon  scientific  prin- 
ciples, much  less  of  the  Chemical  No- 
menclature ;  and  Home  Tooke  has  ex- 
posed the  ignorance  of  real  grammar. 
Selden  has  justly  observed,  that  the 
Monkish  Law  Latin  is  better,  because 
more  intelligible  and  preservatory,  than 
idiomatic  style;  and  Professor  Stewart 
adds,  "  The  deranged  collocation  of 
the  words  in  Latin  composition  ren- 
ders that  language  an  inconvenient 
medium  of  philosophical  communica- 
tion, as  well  as  an  inconvenient  instru- 
ment of  accurate  thought.**a 

Classicks  and  Versification.  The 
Church  permitted  no  ideas  that  were 
not  dogmas  dictated  by  itself.  Study 
of  the  Classicks  and  Mythology  were 
reprobated  by  Aldhelm  as  tending  to 
corruption  of  manners  ;b  and  he  is  not 
singular,  the  Heathen  Gods  being  de- 
bauchees.0 In  the  13th  century,  Homer 
was  the  only  Greek  poet  known/1 


a  Philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind,  p.  201. 

b  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  14.  c  Ibid.  ii.  249. 

d  Notices  des  MSS.  v.  502.  The  Greek  lan- 
guage was  never  wholly  extinct  in  Italy,  but  in  the 
14th  century,  there  were  scarcely  six  persons  who 


In  the  Chronique  dTdace,  a  manu- 
script of  the  eleventh  century,  more 
than  200  verses  are  extracted  from 
different  authors,  as  Virgil,  Ovid,  Juve- 
nal, &c.  ranged  in  order,  apparently 
for  no  other  reason,  but  to  determine 
the  prosodial  quantity.e  False  quan- 
tities are  too  common  to  need  illustra- 
tion ;  but  notwithstanding  the  evident 
pains  bestowed  upon  the  study  of  con- 
struction, they  terminate  Pentameters 
with  adjectives. f  In  the  beginning  of 
the  14th  century  there  were  only  four 
Classicks  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Paris, 
Cicero,  Ovid,  Lucan,  and  Boethius.s 
In  the  catalogues  given  by  Leland  of 
Abbatial  Libraries,  there  are  only  the 
following  Classicks,  Cicero  and  Aris- 
totle (common),  Terence,  Euclid,  Q. 
Curtius,  Sidonius  Apollinaris,  Jul.Fron- 
tinus,  Apuleius,  and  Seneca.11  From 
this  disregard  of  the  Classicks,  not  the 
shameful  destruction  only  of  the  Mo- 
nastic Libraries  at  the  dissolution, 
probably  ensued  that  loss  of  the  Decades 
of  Livy,  &c.  which  has  been  so  justly 
lamented.1 

The  extreme  ignorance  of  classical 
habits  is  conspicuous  by  the  following 
account  of  the  Colisaum.  Bede  pro- 
phesied., that  while  the  Colisseum  last- 
ed Rome  would  stand,  but  when  that 

had  even  a  slight  knowledge  of  it.  Mem.  de  Pe- 
trarque,  i.  405,  406. 

e  Ibid.  v.  231. 

f  See  an  instance  in  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  513. 

s  Nichols's  Appendix  to  the  History  of  Leices- 
ter, i.  p.  107,  n.  6. 

h  Collect,  iii.  T.  17.  28.  54.  60.  66.  159. 

1  I  give  here  the  admirable  remarks  of  Petrarch 
upon  the  utility  of  profane  literature  in  ecclesiasti- 
cal studies.  "  I  know  by  experience  how  much 
human  learning  may  contribute  to  give  just  notions, 
to  make  a  man  eloquent,  perfect  his  morals,  and 
what  is  more,  defend  religion.  If  it  be  not  per- 
mitted to  read  the  poets  and  heathen  authors,  be- 
cause they  do  not  speak  of  Christ,  whom  the)  did 
not  know,  with  how  much  more  reason  ought  we 
to  prohibit  heretical  works;  yet  the  defenders  of 
the  faith  studiously  peruse  them.  Profane  litera- 
ture, like  certain  solid  aliments,  does  not  hurt  a 
good  stomach,  only  a  weak  one.  Reading,  whole- 
some for  a  sound  mind,  is  a  poison  to  a  feeble  in- 
tellect. I  know  tbat  letters  are  no  obstacles  to 
holiness,  as  some  pretend.  There  are  many  roads 
to  heaven  ;  Ignorance  is  that  which  the  idle  take  : 
the  Sciences  may  produce  as  many  saints  as  Igno- 
rance :  and  surely  we  ought  not  to  compare  an 
ignorant  devotion  to  an  enlightened  piety.''1  Mem, 
de  Petrarque,  iii.  606. 


LIBRARY. 


251 


fell  Rome  would  fall,  and  with  Rome, 
the  World.  This  famous  Amphitheatre 
is  described  as  a  place,  where  were  the 
images  of  all  the  ^provinces,  and  that 
of  Rome  in  the  middle,  holding  a  golden 
apple,  as  Queen  of  all;  which  images 
were  so  disposed  by  necromancy,  that 
if  any  province  wished  to  rebel,  the 
image  of  Rome  immediately  turned  its 
back  upon  that  provinces 

Works  of  Humour.  Irony  and  Satire 
are  quite  common  ;  but  otherwise  pro- 
fessed works  of  wit,  turn  chiefly  upon 
practical  jokes,  coarse  indecency ^  or 
ludicrous  adventures.  Now  and  then 
a  good  pun  occurs,  and  ingenious  quib- 
bles. I  met  with  the  following  epi- 
gram in  a  MS.  of  the  Ashmole  Library, 
of  which  I  have  never  seen  a  copy; 
but  as  it  was  in  a  collection,  made  in 
the  16th  century,  of  Poems,  I  cannot 
tell  its  age. 

Marriage,  saith  one,  hath  oft  compared  bin 
Unto  a  fest,  where  meet  a  public  rout, 

Where  those,  that  are  without,  would  fain  get  in, 
And  those,  that  are  within,  would  fain  get  out. 

Bulls,  &)C.  These  blunders  owe  their 
use  to  a  warmth  of  feeling,  prompting 
a  rapidity  of  utterance,  by  which,  time 
not  being  allowed  for  reflection,  one 
idea  trips  up  the  heels  of  another.  In 
print,  however,  such  errors  are  ex- 
ceedingly rare.  In  the  Acta  Sancto- 
rum, a  narrow  place  is  described,  where 
a  person  could  not  stand  except  by 
lying* 

Acrosticks  were  known  to  the  Greeks/ 
but  the  Monks  used  hieroglyphical 
kinds,  impossible  to  be  divined.  In 
hollow  stonework  over  the  kitchen 
chimney  in  Kingswood  Abbey,  Wilts, 
is  a  J'yger,  ^eart,  ostrich,  mermaid,  ess, 
and  swan,  for  the  founder's  christian 
name,  Thomas, e 

a  Du  Cange,  v.  Colisamm. 

b  The  Monks  were  the  most  bitter  censors  of 
Boccacio,  because  he  exposed  them  ;  for  it  is  cer- 
tain, that  the  most  licentious  of  the  tales  in  the 
Decameron,  were  found  in  Conventual  Libraries, 
and  taken  by  him  from  thence.  Vannozzi,  how- 
ever, says  truly,  "  It  would  frighten  us  to  know 
how  many  harlots  the  Decameron  has  produced." 

c  Quia  aliter  stare  non  poterat,  nisi  jacendo. 
Du  Cange,  v.  Estramea. 

d  Antholog.  1.  i.  c.  28. 

e  Parsoas's  MSS.  in  Bibl.  Bodl,  f.  91. 


Poetry.  Under  this  term  ought  never 
to  be  included  mere  strings  of  un- 
idea'd  verses;  for  no  sensible  man  reads 
poetry  in  general.  It  is  immersion  in 
a  cold  bath.  The  Antiocheis  of  Joseph 
Ischam,  and  the  Virgil  of  Gawin  Doug- 
las, are  as  admirable  in  the  heroic,  as 
Chaucer  is  in  Horatian  vivacity  and 
terseness;  though  the  versification  of 
neither  is  classical,  nor  the  language 
pure,  nor  the  taste  correct.  Poor  War- 
ton/  deprived  of  preferment,  because 
he  had  not  that  ponderous  gravity,  re- 
sembling the  benumbing  property  of 
the  torpedo,  which  Englishmen  reve- 
rence, and  enlightened  foreigners  de- 
spise, under  the  name  of  Tristitia,  has 
the  following  exquisite  passage,  given 
for  its  beauty.  "  The  customs,  insti- 
tutions, traditions,  and  religion,  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  were  favourable  to  Poetry. 
Their  pageants,  processions,  spectacles, 
and  ceremonies,  were  friendly  to  ima- 
gery, to  personification,  and  allegory. 
Ignorance  and  Superstition,  so  oppo- 
site to  the  real  interests  of  human  so- 
ciety, are  the  parents  of  Imagination. 
The*  very  devotion  of  the  Gothic  times 
was  romantic.  The  Catholic  worship, 
besides  that  its  numerous  exterior  ap- 
pendages were  of  a  picturesque  and 
even  of  a  poetical  nature,  disposed  the 
mind  to  a  state  of  deception,  and  en- 
couraged, or  rather  authorized,  every 
species  of  credulity.  Its  visions,  mi- 
racles, and  legends,  propagated  a  gene- 
ral propensity  to  the  marvellous,  and 
strengthened  the  belief  of  spectres, 
demons,  witches,  and  incantations. 
These  illusions  were  heightened  by 
churches  of  a  wonderful  mechanism, 
and  constructed  on  such  principles  of 
inexplicable  architecture,  as  had  a  ten- 
dency to  impress  the  soul  with  every 
false  sensation  of  religious  fear.  The 
savage  pomp  and  the  capricious  he- 
roism  of  the   baronial  manners  were 


f  Mr.  Douce  has  excellently  defended  this  ill- 
used  Scholar,  "  whose  literary  body''  (to  use  the 
expression,  from  Shakespeare,  of  the  Author  of 
the  Pursuits  of  Literature)  "  had  been  punched  full 
of  deadly  holes"  in  a  very  ill-natured  way.  Minis- 
ters sneered  at  Warburton  for  recommending  him. 
for  preferment ! 


252 


LIBRARY. 


replete  with  incident,  adventure,  and 
enterprize ;  and  the  untractable  genius 
of  the  feudal  policy,  held  forth  those 
irregularities  of  conduct,  discordancies 
of  interest,  and  dissimilarities  of  situa- 
tion, that  framed  rich  materials  for  the 
Minstrel  Muse.  The  tacit  compact  of 
fashion,  which  promotes  civility,  by 
diffusing  habits  of  uniformity,  and 
therefore  destroys  peculiarities  of  cha- 
racter and  situation,  had  not  yet  ope- 
rated upon  life,  nor  had  domestic  con- 
venience abolished  unwieldy  magnifi- 
cence. Literature  and  a  better  sense 
of  things,  not  only  banished  these  bar- 
barities, but  superseded  the  mode  of 
composition,  which  was  formed  upon 
them.  Romantic  poetry  gave  way  to 
the  force  of  Reason  and  Inquiry;  as  its 
own  inchanted  palaces  and  gardens  in- 
stantaneously vanished,  when  the  Chris- 
tian champion  displayed  the  shield  of 
Truth  and  baffled  the  charms  of  the 
Necromancer.  The  study  of  the  Clas- 
sicks,  together  with  a  colder  Magick 
and  a  tamer  Mythology,  introduced 
method  into  composition ;  and  the  uni- 
versal ambition  of  rivalling  those  new 
patterns  of  excellence,  the  faultless 
models  of  Greece  and  Rome,  produced 
that  bane  of  invention,  Imitation.  Eru- 
dition was  made  to  act  upon  Genius ; 
Fancy  was  weakened  by  Reflection  and 
Philosophy.  The  fashion  of  treating 
everything  scientifically,  applied  specu- 
lation and  theory  to  the  arts  of  writing. 
Judgment  was  advanced  above  Imagi- 
nation, and  rules  of  Criticism  were 
established.  The  brave  eccentricities 
of  original  Genius,  and  the  daring  har- 
diness of  native  thought,  were  intimi- 
dated by  metaphysical  sentiments  of 
perfection  and  refinement.  Setting 
aside  the  consideration  of  the  more 
solid  advantages,  which  are  obvious, 
and  are  not  the  distinct  subject  of  our 
contemplation  at  present,  the  lovers  of 
true  Poetry  will  ask,  what  have  we 
gained  by  this  revolution  ?  It  may  be 
answered,  much  good  sense,  good  taste, 
and  good  criticism ;  but  in  the  mean 
time,  we  have  lost  a  set  of  manners, 
and  a  system  of  machinery  more  suitable 


to  the  purposes  of  poetry,  than  those 
which  have  been  adopted  in  their  place. 
We  have  parted  with  extravagances 
that  are  above  propriety,  with  incredi- 
bilities that  are  more  acceptable  than 
truth,  and  with  fictions  that  are  more 
valuable  than  reality." 

The  «  Scottish  Chiefs  »  of  Miss  Por- 
ter, an  exquisite  Epic  Poem,  (though 
denominated  a  Romance),  which  has 
not  been  equalled  for  years,  is  entirely 
founded  upon  chivalrous  ideas  in  war 
and  love.  It  appears  to  be  a  work, 
which,  for  a  continual  support  of  the 
sublime  in  the  two  leading  characters, 
is  superior  to  any  thing  ever  written  : 
it  is  the  only  modern  work  which 
shows  the  elevation  of  soul  produced 
by  Warton's  Middle  Age  ideas.  Mil- 
ton or  Virgil  do  not  surpass  it  in  sen^ 
timent. 

Mr.  Nichols  has  made  the  following 
excellent  remarks,  upon  the  Library  of 
Leicester  Abbey :  "  From  this  cata- 
logue it  seems  rather  doubtful,  whether 
in  the  Library  of  this  religious  house, 
there  might  be  any  one  complete  col- 
lection of  all  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Sup- 
posing Biblie,  in  the  first  article,  to 
have  included  both  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testaments,  it  was  a  tome  defec- 
tive and  worn.  The  second  consisted 
of  each  book  of  the  Old  Testament 
only;  and  the  third  of  the  Gospels, 
without  any  mention  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  of  the  Epistles,  or  of  the 
Apocalypse.  There  is  however,  a  se- 
parate mention  of  "  Actus  Aplor'  gloss5, 
Apocalyps'  gloss5,  Eple  Pauli  [of  no 
other  Apostle]  gloss',  Eple  Canonice," 
and  among  the  last  occurs  the  "  Can- 
ticus  Canticorum."  Perhaps  there 
might  be  some  of  those  Augustine 
Monks,  to  whom  the  divine  oracles  in 
the  learned  languages  would  have  been 
of  little  use  ;  and  yet  to  these  was  not 
indulged  a  translation  in  English,  there 
being  in  the  Consistorial  Acts  at  Ro- 
chester, the  minutes  of  a  rigid  process 
against  the  Precentor  of  the  Priory  of 
that  Cathedral,  for  retaining  an  En- 
glish Testament  in  disobedience  to  the 
general  injunction  of  Cardinal  Wolsey 


LIBRARY— MUSEUM. 


253 


to  deliver  up  these  prohibited  books  to 
the  Bishops  of  the  respective  dioceses. 
Knighton,  a  Canon  of  St.  Mary-le- 
Pre,  has,  to  his  own  disgrace,  recorded 
his  bitter  condemnation  of  the  transla- 
tion made  by  his  contemporary  Wicliff 
(X  Script,  col.  2644).  "  Christ  in- 
trusted his  Gospel,"  says  that  Eccle- 
siastick,  tc  to  the  Clergy  and  Doctors 
of  the  Church,  to  minister  it  to  the 
laity,  and  weaker  sort,  according  to 
their  exigences,  and  several  occasions ; 
but  this  Master  John  Wicliff,  by  trans- 
lating it,  has  made  it  vulgar,  and  has 
laid  it  more  open  to  the  laity,  and  even 
to  women,  who  can  read,  than  it  used 
to  be  to  the  most  learned  of  the  Clergy, 
and  those  of  the  best  understanding; 
and  thus  the  Gospel  Jewel,  the  Evan- 
gelical feast,  is  thrown  about,  and 
trodden  under  feet  of  swine. ,J  Such 
language,  as  an  ingenious  and  learned 
Divine  has  justly  observed,  was  looked 
upon  as  good  reasoning  by  the  Clergy 
of  that  day,  who  saw  not  with  what 


satire  it  was  edged  against  them- 
selves.3 

Petrarch  always  carried  all  his  books 
with  him  upon  extra  horses,  when  he 
made  a  long  journey .b 

Towers  were  the  most  usual  places 
for  studies,  and  libraries.0  The  Prior 
of  Canterbury's  study  was  a  tower, 
next  to  his  bed-room,  but  over  his 
chapel  was  also  a  library  for  the  use  of 
the  studious.*1 

Museum.  Adjoining  to  the  Library, 
says  Erasmus,  was  a  certain  small  but 
elegant  Museum,  which,  upon  the  re- 
moval of  a  board,  exhibited  a  fire- 
place, if  the  weather  proved  coldj 
otherwise  it  seemed  a  solid  wall.e  Co- 
ryatt  saw  a  stuffed  crocodile  in  an 
Abbey S 

h  Nichols's  Appendix  to  the  History  of  Leices- 
ter, vol.  i.  p.  108. 

b  Memoires,  &c.  iii.  614.  c  Ibid.  616. 

d  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  145. 

e  Convivium  Religios.  Colloq.  142. 

f  Crudities,  i.  182.  In  Beckmann's  Inventions, 
iii.  43,  seq.  is  a  history  of  Museums. 


254 


SCRIPTORIUM — DOMUS   ANTIQUARIORUM. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 


SCRIPTORIUM — DOMUS    ANTIQUARIORUM, 


This  is  commonly  called  the  Writing- 
room  ;  but  by  it  was  sometimes  signi- 
fied a  more  remote  place,  not  so  des- 
tined to  writing,  but  there  was  room 
for  other  employments. a  The  Abbot, 
Prior,  Sub-prior,  and  Precentor,  were 
the  only  persons  admitted  to  the 
writers.  There  was  an  especial  bene- 
diction of  the  Scriptorium.b  Writing 
books  as  a  Monastic  employment  is  to 
be  found  in  the  earliest  eeras.c  Among 
British  Monks,  David  had  a  study,  or 
writing-room,  and  began  the  Gospel  of 
St.  John  in  golden  letters  with  his 
own  hands.d  The  Anglo-Saxon  artists 
possessed  eminent  skill  in  the  execu- 
tion of  their  books,e  and  the  character 
which  they  used  had  the  honour  of 
giving  rise  to  the  modern  small  beauti- 
ful Roman  letter/  But  after  the  Nor- 
man Invasion,  degeneracy  of  skill  oc- 
casioned the  manuscripts,  subsequent 
to  that  period,  to  be  of  difficult  read- 
ing. The  missals,  and  other  books  of 
divine  offices,  were  indeed  curiously 
done,  through  extraordinary  expence 
laid  out  upon  works  of  this  nature; 
and  in  compliance  with  an  injunction, 
that  no  books  should  be  brought  into 
places  of  devotion,  which  could  not  be 
easily  read.  Such  copies  as  were  written 
in  a  larger  hand  were  for  more  aged 
persons ;  and  those  illuminated  with 
extraordinary  beauty  for  Nuns  of  su- 
perior quality,  and  other  persons  of 
distinction.  Great  caution  was  also 
observed  in  writing  the  Fathers  and 
Classicks ;  but  the  execution  of  books 
which  concerned  the  National  and  Mo- 
nastic History  was  an  object  of  small 


*  Du  Cange,  v.  Scriptorium.  b  Ibid. 

c  Gruteri  Spicileg.  ii.  132. 

d  Girald.  Cambrens.  in  vita  Davidis.  Angl.  Sacr. 
ii.  635. 

e  Warton,  Diss.  Introd.  Learning. 

{  Lowthorp's  Abridgment  of  the  Philosophical 
Transactions,  iii.  p.  2.  p.  440,  1. 


concern,  unless  the  books  were  intend- 
ed for  presents.^ 

"  The  Antiquarii  in  Monasteries 
were  industrious  men,  continually  em- 
ployed in  making  new  copies  of  old 
books,  either  for  the  use  of  the  Mo- 
nastery, or  for  their  own  emolument. 
These  writing  Monks  were  distinguish- 
ed by  the  name  of  Antiquarii.  They 
deprived  the  poor  Librarii,  or  common 
Scriptores,  of  their  business,  so  that 
they  found  it  difficult  to  gain  a  sub- 
sistence for  themselves  and  their  fa- 
milies."" Thus  Mr.  Astle;  but  Du 
Cange  says,  that  the  Antiquarii  were 
those  Scribes,  who  repaired,  composed, 
and  re-wrote  books,  old  and  obsolete 
with  age,  in  opposition  to  the  Librarii, 
who  wrote  both  new  and  old  books.' 
Eccard  junior  says,  those  religious 
whom  he  found  more  dull  at  the  study 
of  letters,  he  employed  in  writing,  and 
making  lines.k  It  appears,  that  the 
Monastic  Scribes  were  certain  persons 
selected  by  the  Abbot.1  Boys  and 
Juniors,  says  Du  Cange,  were  espe- 
cially employed  in  writing;  the  elder 
Monks  on  the  Church  books.01  The 
Boys  or  Juniors  were  undoubtedly  em- 
ployed in  letter  writing,  and  matters 
which  required  expedition.0  All  Monks 
were  in  fact  instructed  to  write,  if 
wanted,  according  to  the  statutes.  In 
those  of  the  Canons  Regular  are  two 
verses  specifying  that  they  had  simple 
girdles,  tablets,  comb,  needle,  thread, 


i  Leland's  Collect,  vi.  77,  78. 

h  Astle's  Writing,  p.  192. 

1  V.  Antiquarius.  Neither  definition  corre- 
sponds with  the  classical  Antiquarii,  who  were, 
I.  Inspectors  of  copyists,  and  keepers  of  the  Anti- 
quarium,  where  the  books  were  kept.  II.  Cice- 
roni. III.  Purists,  who  affected  old  words.  IV. 
Scholiasts.     Encycl.  des  Antiquit. 

k  Du  Cange,  v.  Capitancs  literce. 

1  Id.  v.  Scriptores. 

m  Warton  ubi  supra.  Du  Cange,  v.  Scriptorium. 

n  XV.  Scriptores,  153. 


SCRIPTORIUM— BOMUS   ANTIQUARIORUM, 


255 


a  style,  paper  or  parchment  (chartas), 
ink,  and  a  pen  case.a  Du  Cange  men- 
tions a  singular  kind  of  scribes,  called 
Brodiatores,  who  wrote  books,  and 
letters,  in  the  manner  of  Embroiderers, 
so  lightly  representing  the  object,  that 
it  almost  escaped  the  sight.  Perhaps 
Petrarch  alludes  to  such  writers  in  the 
following  passage :  "  His  writing  was 
not  wandering,  nor  loaded  like  that  of 
writers,  or  rather  painters  of  our  age, 
who  flatter  the  eye  from  afar,  and 
fatigue  it  when  near.'^ 

The  writing  instruments  were  pens, 
chalk,  pumice  stones  for  rubbing  the 
parchment,  pen-knives,  other  knives 
to  scrape  the  parchment,  a  punctorium 
or  awl  to  make  dots,  a  plummet,  a 
weight  to  keep  the  parchment  down,  a 
ruler,  inkstands,  a  large  knife  for  cut- 
ting the  parchment,6  and  styles  made 
of  iron  or  bones/1  for  the  ancient  mode 
of  writing  on  wax  sometimes  obtained 
with  respect  to  the  tables  of  the  offi- 
ciating Ministers  of  the  Choir.e  It  is 
said  that  vellum  had  taken  place  of 
waxen  tablets  in  the  time  of  Alfred, 
and  pens  consequently  succeeded  to 
styles/  Metal  pens  were  used.s  In 
a  MS.  of  Nigel  Wireker  at  the  British 
Museum,  the  vellum  has  the  lines  and 
numeration  of  the  pages,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  water-mark  in  paper. 
Large  estates  were  set  aside  for  the  ex- 
pences  of  making  books.h  The  custom 
of  carrying  a  pen  behind  the  ear,  lately 
common,  is  ancient.  In  the  life  of  S. 
Odo  is  the  following  passage  :  a  he  saw 
a  pen  sticking  above  his  ear,  in  the 
manner  of  a  writer."1  As  to  paper, 
Mabillon  says,  that  he  could  find  no 
paper  books  more  ancient  than  the 
tenth  Century :  but  the  pen  made  of  a 


a  Cingula  simplicia,  tabulas,  et  pecten  acumque 

Fila,  stilum,  cartas,  encaustum  pennaculumque. 

Du  Cange,  v.  Pennaculum. 

b  Memoires,  iii.  701, 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Asciatus.  Artavus.  Calamarium. 
Cornicularius.  Linea.  Punctorium.  Scarpellum, 
Scriptionale.  Scripturale. 

d  Archseologia,  ii.  76. 

e  Warton,  iii.  151. 

f  Archseologia,  ii.  76. 

e  Warton,  Diss.  2d. 

*  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  278. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Penna, 


feather  was  certainly  common  in  the 
seventh  Century ;  and  though  ascribed 
to  the  classical  Antients,  by  Montfau- 
con's  mistaking  a  passage  of  Juvenal, 
is  first  mentioned  by  Adrian  de  Valois, 
a  writer  of  the  fifth  Century .k  This 
rather  precedes  Beckmann,  who  places 
the  first  certain  account  in  Isidore.1 
Ancient  ink  had  nothing  common  with 
ours,  except  the  colour  and  gum ;  for 
instead  of  gall  nuts  and  copperas,  soot 
or  ivory  black  was  the  chief  ingre- 
dient.111 

Some  peculiarities  are  noticeable  in 
the  practices  of  these  ancient  Scribes. 
Omissions  in  the  text  were  to  be  noted 
in  the  margin. n  The  Monks  used  to 
transcribe  their  bulls  of  privilege,  not 
only  into  one,  but  several  books  of  a 
various  nature,  as  missals  and  others, 
as  well  as  make  marginal  notes  of  the 
affairs  of  their  Abbeys  in  books  of 
Histories.  The  Martyrology  some- 
times contained  acts  of  general  chap- 
ters.0 In  the  Acta  Sanctorum,  it  is 
said  "  Lest  the  Life  and  Miracles  of  S. 
Francis  de  Paula  should  lapse  into 
oblivion,  we  have  dispersed  them 
through  these  four  volumes  of  S.  Jerom, 
tegminatim  ;"  i.  e.  on  the  covers.P  The 
Scribes  also  memorandumed  their  in- 
terlineations. In  the  Processus  de 
Vita  S.  Yvon,  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum, 
the  Copyist  says,  u  I  have  written  it 
with  my  own  hand,  together  with  in- 
terlineations and  erasures,  made  in 
seven  distinctions  f  and  in  the  Bulla- 
rium  of  the  Carmelites  much  greater 
particularity  is  used.  The  Scribe  says, 
"  I  have  signed  it  with  the  sign  follow- 
ing, and  made  a  certain  interlineation 
which  says  Redis,  and  another  which 

k  Encycl.  des  Antiquit.  v.  Plume.  It  is  to  be 
noted,  that  the  French  writers  denominate  the 
Century  from  the  first  figures,  not  the  next  in 
order,  as  we  do. 

1  Invent,  ii.  207,  seq. 

m  Astle's  Writing,  211.  ubi  plura  of  Inks. 

n  Script,  p.  Bed.  f.  19. 

•  Decern.  Scriptores,  1801,  1770.  Selden's 
Titles  of  Honour,  690.  ed.  fol.  It  was  the  cus- 
tom of  all  persons,  to  write  in  the  book,  which 
they  most  often  read,  the  things  they  wished  most 
to  remember.  In  Petrarch's  favourite  Virgil,  is 
his  memorandum  of  Laura's  death.  Memoires,  ii. 
493. 

p  Du  Cange,  v.  Tegminatim. 


256 


SCRIPTORIUM — DOMUS    ANTIQUARIORUM. 


says  Ordinis,  and  another  which  says 
Ordini,  and  another  which  says  Circa."* 
The  importance  which  was  annexed  to 
this  practice  may  be  seen  by  referring 
to  the  rules  of  Ruinartius  in  his  Apo- 
logia, &c.  for  determining  interpola- 
tions in  Manuscripts. 

What  is  done  often  is  done  care- 
lessly; but  to  the  credit  of  the  Mo- 
nastic Scribes,  very  few  instances  of 
bad  writing  have  occurred  during  my 
researches.  In  one  Manuscript  indeed, 
there  is  a  shocking  scrawl,  which  I 
think  the  writing  of  a  Nun ;  the  lines 
being  irregular,  and  the  letters  of  va- 
rious size  and  of  rude  make.b  Writing 
was  neglected  by  the  Anglo-Saxons 
after  the  Norman  Invasion.0 

In  one  point  they  were  too  careless. 
Numerous  Titles  of  Manuscripts  are 
very  indecisive  of  their  contents.  This 
is  remarkably  shown,  by  an  instance 
supremely  ridiculous.  In  the  13th 
Century,  Richard  de  Furnival  wrote  a 
Bestiary,  or  treatise  of  the  manners  of 
Animals,  to  which  he  sometimes  an- 
nexed moral  paraphrases,  but  mostly 
addresses  to  his  Mistress ;  these  of 
course  turn  chiefly  upon  points  of  love 
and  gallantry.  To  distinguish  this 
Manuscript  from  the  Bestiaries  of  other 
writers,  the  Copyists  entitled  it  "Bes- 
tiarium  Amoris/'  i.  e.  the  Bestiary  of 
Love  I  ^  a  surpassing  incongruity  of 
terms  and  meaning. 

It  is  not  the  intention  of  this  account 
to  reprint  the  Nouvelle  Diplomatique, 
or  the  various  Authors  upon  Ancient 
Writing ;  but  it  is  worth  while  to  no- 
tice, that  Leonard  Wirstlin,  Monk  of 
S.  Udalrick,  describes  no  less  than  one 
hundred  different  hands,  the  names  of 
which  are  given  by  Du  Cange.e  A 
neat  running  epistolary  hand  is  quite 
modern :  except  among  papers,  writ- 
ten by  lawyers.     Hamlet  says, 

"  I  once  did  hold  it,  as  our  statists  do, 
A  baseness  to  write  fair." 


■  Du  Cange,  v.  Interlineatura. 
b  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  C.  vi.  p.  200. 
c  Script,  p.  Bed.  518,  b. 
d  Notices  des  MSS.  v.  278. 
e  V.  Scriptura. 


Engrossing  was  formerly  denomi- 
nated a  neater  kind  of  writing/ 

Illumination  of  Manuscripts.  These 
works  admirably  show  the  general  taste 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  in  matters  of  art 
and  decoration,  that  is,  gorgeous  heavi- 
ness, the  rich  laced  court-dress  of  the 
last  Century.  Simple  elegance  and 
airy  lightness  never  appear  in  ancient 
furniture,  or  works  of  ingenuity.  They 
perished  with  the  conquests  of  the  Bar- 
barians/ and  were  revived  with  the 
classical  taste,  introduced  by  modern 
artists,  within  these  few  years.  The 
first  painters  of  the  age  illuminated 
Manuscripts. h 

In  the  National  Library  at  Paris,  is 
a  superb  history  of  the  Bible,  of  which 
M.  Camus  has  given  an  account  ex- 
pressly adapted  to  illustrate  the  paint- 
ings. He  compares  it  with  another 
manuscript  of  similar  rich  ornaments,1 
and  his  remarks  apply  to  illuminated 
writings  in  general,  matters  excepted, 
which  purely  refer  to  the  nature  of  the 
work. 

Every  painted  column  contains  two 
pictures;  the  first  represents  what  is 
passed,  the  second,  that  which  is  to 
ensue  after  the  annunciation  contained 
in  the  first  painting. 

The  first  initial  letters  of  every  ar- 
ticle are  richly  adorned  with  gold  and 
azure.k  The  first  letter  of  the  Latin 
text  is  gold;  that  of  the  translation 
azure.  The  Alinea  are  terminated  by 
strokes  (traits)  covered  with  gold  and 
azure.  The  first  letter  of  every  book 
is  distinguished  by  very  multiplied  or- 
naments. The  pages  have  a  running 
title  formed  of  capitals,  alternately  gold 
and  azure.  The  initials  and  the  Capi- 
tals are  placed  upon  a  ground  orna- 
mented with  extremely  delicate  touches 
red  and  blue.1 


f  Du  Cange,  v.  Grossator. 
_  e  The  age  of  classical  taste  ends  with  Constan- 
tine,  say  all  the  works  on  the  fine  Arts. 

h  Mem.  pour  la  Vie  de  Petrarque,  i.  402,  403. 

1  Both  MSS.  are  marked  6829. 

k  The  favourite  colours  of  illuminers.  War  ton,  ii. 
89. 

1  Notices,  vi.  109. 


SCRIPTORIUM— DOMUS    ANTIQUARIORUM. 


257 


The  vellum  was  left  without  colour 
to  form  the  ground  of  the  pictures.  The 
heads,  the  different  parts  of  the  body, 
the  draperies,  &c.  are  designed,  and 
washed  with  an  ink,  approaching  that 
which  we  call  Indian  ink.  The  pic- 
tures are  then,  properly  speaking,  black 
cameos :  only  in  the  upper  part  there 
is  a  little  azure  blue  to  represent  the 
clouds.  Red  is  used  to  mark  fire ;  green 
or  blue,  water ;  green  for  trees,  and  red 
to  give  effect  to  carnation  tints  :  gold  is 
employed  for  the  crowns,  vases,  pieces 
of  money,  and  the  nimbi  of  Saints.a 

There  is  no  perspective  or  propor- 
tion observed.  The  men  are  as  large 
as  the  gates,  and  as  tall  as  the  houses 
and  trees.  The  figures  are  commonly 
slender,  but  the  arms,  hands,  and  feet 
are  excessively  long  and  slim  :  and  the 
drawing  very  incorrect  in  the  attitudes. 

The  most  original  figures  are  those 
of  devils.  They  are  in  very  great  num- 
ber, and  the  artists  appear  to  have  ex- 
ercised their  talents  in  varying  them. 
In  general  they  have  made  of  them 
beings  of  black  colour,  and  hairy,  arm- 
ed with  claws  and  horns,  with  a  crook 
for  a  sceptre,  and  sometimes  they  have 
attached  to  their  shoulders  the  wings 
of  a  bat :  but  what  is  singularly  plea- 
sant, is  the  form  which  they  have  given 
to  the  mouth,  to  make  them  grin,  and 
the  manner  in  which  they  have  trans- 
formed into  hideous  heads,  their  bo- 
soms, their  legs,  and  the  lower  part  of 
the  belly ;  in  short,  their  different  atti- 
tudes. They  are  always  in  motion; 
and  of  extraordinary  vivacity  .b 

In  the  other  Manuscript  the  vellum 
is  finer,  and  the  pictures,  instead  of 
being  lines  and  shading,  are  paintings ; 
some  in  miniature,  others  en  gonache, 
all  heightened  with  gold  and  azure. 
The  book  is  divided  into  sheets  or  com- 
partments, each  of  eight  pages  or  four 
leaves  of  vellum,  and  the  last  page  of 
each   sheet   is  generally  appointed  to 


a  Notices,  vi.  110. 

b  P.  111.  Among  the  costumes,  &c.  is  a  hand- 
organ,  carried  by  a  man,  but  played  upon  by  a 
young  woman.  Persons  in  bed  are  represented 
stark  naked,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  day ;  of 
which  see  Strutt's  Dresses. 


the  same  artist  as  did  the  following 
sheet,  on  purpose  that  the  disparity  of 
the  different  styles  might  not  be  too 
perceptible.0 

The  painting  is  in  general  a  la  go- 
nacheA  After  having  drawn  the  prin- 
cipal lines  upon  the  vellum,  they  have 
put  colours  of  a  middling  tint,  upon 
which  they  have  laid  shades  and  lights  e 
to  form  the  draperies,  and  distribute 
the  lights ;  but  some  pictures  are  real 
miniatures,  where  they  have  employed 
for  every  part  the  tints  which  are  suit- 
ed to  them,  without  laying  a  first  mass 
of  colour.  Gold  and  sometimes  silver 
are  employed  in  two  manners,  in  many 
of  the  paintings.  Sometimes  they  have 
begun  by  employing  a  mass,  destined 
to  give  some  force  to  the  colour,  which 
they  have  laid  above,  and  they  have 
seldom  left  any  parts  of  their  bed  of 
gold  apparent.  Sometimes  they  have 
applied  fine  gold  as  a  last  laying/ either 
by  filets^  or  in  masses,  by  means  of  a 
mordant.  Further  there  are  parts  of 
gold,  which  they  have  polished h  to 
adorn  the  frames  of  the  pictures.  The 
gold  employed  to  ornament  the  capi- 
tals, is  equally  brightened.  Silver  is 
used  in  the  pictures  to  paint  heraldry, 
and  sometimes  gold.  All  these  pic- 
tures are  of  a  dazzling  lustre,  when  held 
up  to  the  light ;  because  in  general,  the 
white  predominates,  and  not  being 
painted  in  oil,  it  does  not  absorb  a 
single  ray  of  the  sun,  but  reflects  them 
all.1  Antichrist  is  represented  with 
three  faces ;  one  full  face,  two  others 
in  profile ;  three  noses,  three  mouths, 
and  only  two  eyes.k 

The  artists  who  worked  at  this  kind 
of  painting,  did  not  finish  each  picture 
separately,  but  performed  successive 
operations  upon  the  same  painting. 
Thus  they  bedded  at  first  in  gold  and 


c  P.  115. 

11  This  word  is  not  in  the  French  Dictionaries. 

c  Des  bruns  and  des  clairs. 

1  En  dernier  couche. 

e  Filet  d'or,  in  Boyer,  is  a  fillet  of  gold  on  a 
book. 

h  Bruni,  which  also  signifies  darkened. 

i  P.  115. 

k  P.  118.     In  the   History  of  Ruth  is  a  woman 
upon  her  7cnee$,  threshing  corn  with  a  flail. 

S 


258 


SCRIPTOBIUM— DOMUS   ANTIQUARIORUM, 


silver,  or  rather  in  copper  and  tin5  the 
parts  to  which  these  leaves  of  metal 
were  to  give  effect:  afterwards  they 
laid  on  blue,  green,  or  yellow  upon 
many  pictures,  the  whole  in  masses 
and  flat,  to  darken  or  lighten  it  accord- 
ing to  the  lights  and  shades. a 

[Portraits  were  taken  upon  parch- 
ment^ and  some,  excluding  the  want 
of  relief  from  proper  shades,  are  very 
beautiful.     F.] 

Allegorical  figures  occur,  but  they 
are  in  too  bad  taste  to  merit  noticed 

[Fantastick  interpolations  show  that 
the  gout  de  singulier  may  not  always 
proceed  from  the  ennui  du  beau :  the 
latter,  in  pure  Grecian  taste,  being  ut- 
terly unknown  in  the  middle  age.  F.] 

In  a  manuscript  abridgment  of  Uni- 
versal History,  the  serpent  who  tempts 
Eve  has  the  head  and  body  of  a  wo- 
man. This  Egyptianized  painting  ac- 
cords with  the  text  where  it  is  said, 
that  the  tempter  took  the  form  of  a 
serpent,  with  the  head  of  a  female/1 

Caricatures  are  sometimes  discover- 
able. In  the  Livre  de  Pierre  Salmon, 
a  beautiful  Manuscript  illuminated  on 
purpose  for  Charles  the  Sixth,  the 
French  King,  John  Sanspeur,  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  is  characterized  in  the  illu- 
mination by  his  robe  {semee  de  rabots), 
powdered  with  carpenters5  planes.  He 
had  adopted  this  tool  for  a  symbol,  and 
said,  that  with  his  planes  he  would 
level  France.  The  heads  are  portraits. 
That  of  Pope  Alexander  V.  has  too 
little  resemblance  to  merit  confidence. 
The  line  where  the  nose  terminates  is 
much  too  near  that  of  the  eyes,  and  the 
mouth  too  far  from  the  nose.  This 
imperfect  resemblance  exaggerates  the 
faults  of  the  original ;  and  is  therefore 
presumed  to  be  a  caricature. e  So  far 
M.  Camus. 


a  P.  120.  b  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  385. 

c  Notices,  v.  173,  174,  where  are  specimens. 

d  Notices  desMSS.  v.  152. 

e  Notices,  v.  416.  [As  this  is  only  presumptive 
evidence,  it  is  fit  to  note,  that  Caricatures  have 
heen  found  at  Portici,  &c.  (Caylus  Rec.  iii.  pi.  76. 
n.  1.)  but  they  all  or  most  turn  upon  the  figure  of 
an  ass  or  ass's  head.  Warton  (Sir  Tho.  Pope,  p. 
58)  describes  a  bitter  caricature  of  our  Queen 
Mary  ;  and  see  Mr,  Douce  on  Shakespeare.  F.] 


Two  motives  appear  to  be  conspi- 
cuous in  respect  to  these  beautiful  Ma- 
nuscripts ;  one,  that  perusal  might  thus 
be  invited  ;  the  other,  that  they  might 
be  presents  of  value,  for  the  art  of 
writing  was  very  unusual.  Petrarch, 
when  at  Liege,  had  great  difficulty  to 
obtain  ink  to  copy  two  orations  of  Ci- 
cero ;  and  what  he  did  get  was  as  yel- 
low as  saffron/  Ervenius,  an  Anglo- 
Saxon,  was  very  skilful  in  writing  and 
illuminating.  He  committed  two  books, 
the  Sacramentary  and  Psalter,  in  which 
he  had  decorated  the  principal  letters 
with  gold,  to  the  care  of  Wulstan,  when 
a  boy.  Admiration  of  the  workmanship 
invited  Wulstan  to  a  studious  perusal. 
But  Ervenius  consulting  advantage  of 
the  age,  as  affirmed,  with  the  hope  of 
greater  reward,  presented  the  Sacra- 
mentary to  Canute,  and  the  Psalter  to 
Emma  his  Queen.s 

Du  Cange  and  various  authors  men- 
tion receipts  for  the  colours,  which  I 
omit.  Where  red  occurred,  to  give  it 
effect,  an  iron  colour  was  laid,  as  a 
ground.h 

Vignettes  are  not  modern.  Du  Cange 
supposes  that  Paginator  means  a  per- 
son who  adorned  pages  with  pictures 
and  vincolis,  which  he  calls  vignettes, 
both  terms  being  evidently  derived  from 
the  ornaments  of  foliage,  which  ap- 
peared in  wood-cuts  long  after  the  in- 
vention of  printing. 

The  Gilbertine  rule  prohibits  hired 
writers,  by  which  I  apprehend  is  meant 
limners.'1  However,  there  were  such 
writers,  or  limners,  at  St.  Alban's,  who 
had  commons  from  the  alms  of  the 
Monks,  and  cellar,  that  they  might  not 
be  delayed  by  going  out  to  buy  food.k 
They  had  the  frequent  drunken  habits 
of  Artisans,  who,  because  every  man, 
says  Johnson,  is  discontented  with  his 
avocation,  from  the  obligation  to  pur- 
sue it  at  all  times,  whatever  be  the  state 
of  his  mind  or  will,  too  often  abuse 
relaxation. 


f  Mem.  pour  la  Vie  de  Petrarque,  i.  207. 

£  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  244. 

h  Gemmeticensis,  670. 

1  Dugdale's  Monast.  ii.  767. 

k  M.  Paris,  1063. 


SCBIPTORIUM — DOMUS   ANTIQUARIORUM. 


259 


Barclay,  without  knowing  that  sti- 
mulants, however  injurious  in  a  pru- 
dential and  medical  view  and  never  a 
good  means,  prevent,  by  the  providen- 
tial extraction  of  good  from  evil,  much 
hypochondriacal  influence  and  tedium, 
which  might  end  in  insanity  or  suicide, 
says  : 

But  if  thou  begin  for  drinke  to  call  and  crave, 
Thou  for  thy  calling  such  good  rewarde  shall  have, 
That  men  shall  call  thee  malapart  or  dronke, 
Or  an  Abbey  lowne,  or  limner  of  a  Monke. 

Eglogue  2d. 

The  invention  of  printing  occasioned 
the  following  results.  The  scribes  hav- 
ing less  employment,  there  were  very 
few  good  artists  in  this  kind,  and  writ- 
ing lost  much  of  its  beauty.a  About 
the  year  1546,  limners  and  scribes  were 
reduced  to  great  distress  for  want  of 
employ  ;b  for  besides  Printing,  Engrav- 
ing, invented  about  1460,c  superseded 
the  illumination  of  initials  and  margins. 
The  last  specimen  was  the  Lectionary  d 
of  Cardinal  Wolsey  at  Oxford.e  Be- 
sides the  rule,  it  was  inquired  u  whe- 
ther the  Monks  had  made,  taken,  and 
received  the  King's  age  and  succession 


a  Notices,  vi.  113.  b  Warton,  iii.  145. 

c  Walpole's  Catalogue  of  Engravers,  p.  3. 
d  Code  of  proper  lessons  for  the  year.  Spelm. 
Gloss. 
e  Warton,  iii.  146. 


according  to  Act  of  Parliament/'  f  for 
they  were  obliged  to  record  these,  and 
the  births  of  the  Royal  Family,  as  well 
as  other  public  events. s 

Bookbinding  was  occasionally  very 
gorgeous :  Gold,  relicks,  silver  plates, 
ivory,  velvet,  and  other  expensive 
adornments,  were  bestowed  upon  the 
books,  relating  to  the  Church  service, 
but  not  confined  to  them  ;  h  for  we  hear 
of  a  book  of  poems,  finely  ornamented, 
bound  in  velvet,  and  decorated  with 
silver-gilt  clasps  and  studs,  intended 
for  a  present  to  the  King.1  Books 
were  written  in  purple  vellum  in  order 
to  exhibit  gold  or  silver  letters ;  and 
adorned  with  ivory  tablets .k  The  most 
common  binding  was  a  rough  white 
sheep -skin,  lapping  over  the  leaves 
sometimes,  with  or  without  immense 
bosses  of  brass,  pasted  upon  a  wooden 
board  ;  and  sometimes  the  covers  were 
of  plain  wood,  carved  in  scroll  and 
similar  work.  There  were  formerly 
leaden  books  with  leaden  covers,1  and 
books  with  wooden  leaves. m 

f  MS.  Harl.  791.  f.  25. 

e  MS.  Cott.  Tiber.  E.  iv.  Smith's  Catalogue, 
p.  30. 

h  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  147,  622,  644.  Archseologia, 
xiii.  220,  221. 

1  Froissart,  x.  127. 

k  Du  Cange,v.  Membranum. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Coopertum. 

m  Decern  Scriptores,  2435. 


s  2 


260 


STUDIES    OF   THE    MONKS, 


CHAPTER  XLV. 


STUDIES    OF   THE    MONKS. 


Richard  Kidderminster,  Abbot 
of  Winchcombe,  made  his  house  a  little 
University.  He  studied  night  and  day 
in  a  small  cell,  and  had  a  constant  Di- 
vinity lecture. a 

The  divine  offices  were  moderated 
to  allow  time  for  study;  and  exemp- 
tion from  learning  by  consequence  of 
performing  the  daily  services,  in  some 
constitutions,  and  from  all  Church  - 
duty,  in  others,  were  privileges  of  let- 
tered persons. b  The  Friars  too  enact- 
ed, "  that  a  greater  opportunity  might 
be  afforded  for  the  study  of  prayer,c 
that  every  day  after  Complin  was  said, 
all  the  brethren  except  the  infirm,  those 
engaged  out,  and  their  servants,  should 
shut  themselves  up  either  in  the  clois- 
ter, library^  dormitory,  or  necessary,  till 
the  first  bell  of  the  day  following."  d 
Elsewhere,  however,  there  were  the 
superior  conveniences  of  appropriate 
studies  furnished  with  presses  and  ca- 
binets, either  over  the  cloister,  or  an- 
nexed to  a  chapel  in  the  dormitory,6  or, 
as  is  plain  from  Davies,  in  the  boarded 
division  of  the  latter  place. 

An  Abbot,  in  Erasmus/  says,    "I 

a  Hist,  et  Antiq.  Oxon.  1.  i.  p.  248.  See  more 
of  Studies  in  §  Library. 

b  Decern  Scriptores,  1935.  Willkins,  Cone.  ii. 
723.     Monast.  ii.  708. 

c  Reading  the  Psalter  through,  every  day,  was 
called  the  study  of  Eloquence,  i.  e.  reading.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Eloquentia. 

d  Et  ut  studio  orationis  major  praestetur  occasio, 
volumus  quod  singulis  diebus  a  dicto  completorio, 
fratres  omnes  praeter  infirmos  ac  forenses  et  eis 
servientes,  infra  spatium  comprehendens  curiarum 
sevocatarum,  (aut  quid  simile)  claustrum,  libra- 
rium,  dormitorium,  et  secretae  naturalitatis  locum, 
usque  ad  primum  signum  diei  sequentis  se  recolli- 
gant  et  includent.     MS.  Bodl.  1882.  p.  47.  b. 

e  Dec.  Script.  2146.  1935.  Leland's  Coll.  i.  249. 

f  Abbatis  et  Eruditae  Colloq.  285. 


have  sixty-two  Monks,  yet  you  will 
not  find  a"  book  in  my  bed-room." 

That  the  Monks  had  books  of  their 
own  is  clear,  from  William  of  Malmes- 
bury^s  acknowledgement,  and  Chaucer's 
Monk,  although  it  was  prohibited.  Still, 
however,  the  studies  of  the  Monks  took 
a  pleasurable  rather  than  severe  direc- 
tion ;  for  it  seems  they  preferred  Ovid 
to  Augustine,  and  Ulpian  and  Trogus 
to  the  gospel  of  Christ ;  and  practised 
desultory  reading,  not  to  instruct  them- 
selves, but  to  get  rid  of  the  day.s  Even 
these,  it  is  probable,  were  not  always 
found  the  inhabitants  of  their  studies ; 
for  we  find  the  appendages  of  the  sports- 
man filling  their  prohibited  chests,11  an- 
cient great  coats,  saddles,  and  spurs. 
Hearne  says,  there  were  seldom  more 
than  five  or  six  books  in  these  private 
studies.1 

Abbesses  had  studies.k 


s  Hie  enim  (monachus)  in  manibus  libentius 
gestat  Ovidium  quam  Augustinum  ;  avidius  legit 
Ulpianum  et  Pompeium  quam  Christi  Evangelium. 
Cotidie  novas  excogitat  occupationes,  novas  lec- 
tiones  divisas  non  ad  edificandum  sed  ad  fallendum 
diei  spatium.     MS.  Harl.  1712.  f.  23.  b.  f.  138.  a. 

11  Statuimus  insuper  ut  nullus  prorsus  nisi  pro 
officio  sibi  commisso  arcam,  sive  cistam  cum  clave, 
sive  armariolum,  absque  supprioris  licentia  spe- 
ciali  detinere  praesumat,  quae  cum  praelatus  clavem 
petierit  ei  sine  difficultate  tradatur.  MS.  Cott. 
Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  245.  b.  Notwithstanding  this,  be- 
sides spurs  and  a  saddle,  I  find,  among  the  property 
of  a  deceased  monk,  armariola.  Cistae  duo  magnae 
et  cistulae  cum  omnibus  aliis  sc.  argentum  et  aurum 
cum  jocalibus  pertinent,  adthesaurum.  MS.  Harl. 
1005.  f.  69.  b.  Nullus  et  claustralis  capam  plu- 
vialem,  (a  large  cloak,  thrown  over  the  other  cloaths. 
Strutt's  Dresses,  ii.  156.)  vel  sellam,  vel  alia,  ad 
equitatum  pertinencia  penes  se  retineat.  MS.  Cott. 
Jul.  D.  ii.  f.  160.  a. 

{  Lei.  Collect,  vi.  87. 

k  Du  Cange,  v.  Studiolurn. 


PRISON. 


261 


CHAPTER   XLVI. 


PRISON. 


The  arbitrary  power  of  an  Abbot  is 
supposed  to  have  originated  in  the 
selfish  considerations  of  Benedict ;  but 
it  should  be  remembered,  that  the  se- 
verity of  monastic  duties  necessarily 
required  very  extensive  powers  to  main- 
tain them.  Of  this  power  they  occa- 
sionally made  a  full  use.  Alexander 
de  Langley,  a  Monk  of  St.  Alban's,  who 
was  deranged  and  behaved  sillily  and 
haughtily,  was,  by  order  of  the  Abbot, 
accused  in  Chapter,  and  beat  to  a  plen- 
tiful effusion  of  blood ;  but,  as  this  did 
not  humble  him,  the  Abbot  sent  him 
to  the  cell  of  Binham,  where  he  was 
solitarily  imprisoned  in  fetters,  and 
dying  was  buried  in  them.3  Very  use- 
ful too  was  this  place  (though  not  ap- 
pertaining to  every  house b)  to  vicious 
Abbots.  Christopher  Levyns,  one  of 
Henry's  Visitors,  says  of  the  Prior  of 
Christ  Church,  Canterbury,  "  Those 
Monks  who  had  informed  against  this 
Prior,  shall  by  him  be  poysoned  or 
murthered  in  prysone,  as  the  comen 
reporte  of  the  Monks  of  the  same  house, 
is,  that  he  hathe  murthered  dyverse 
other." c  Davies  says,  "  Within  the 
Infirmary,  underneath  the  Master's 
lodge,  [he  kept  the  keys  of  it;d  and 


a  M.  Paris,  1051.  The  prison  was  called  Vade 
in  pace,  because  those  who  were  put  into  it  were 
to  stay  there  till  death.     Du  Cange,  v.  Vade,  &c. 

b  Monast.  ii.  56H.    C.  G.  North,  a0  1444.  c.  iiii. 

c  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  124.  a. 

d  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  f.  205.    Aliquo  fra- 


when  any  Monk  was  confined  there, 
the  Monk's  keeper e  brought  the  keys 
back,  and  brought  and  carried  him 
back  according  to  the  directions  of  the 
Abbot  and  Chapter]  was  a  strong 
Prison,  called  the  Lying-house,  or- 
dained for  great  offenders ;  as  for 
Monks  guilty  of  felony  or  adultery, 
where  they  Avere  imprisoned  in  chains 
a  whole  year,  without  seeing  any  one, 
except  the  master  of  the  Infirmary,  in 
letting  down  their  meat  through  a  trap- 
door by  a  cord,  and  that  at  a  great  dis- 
tance from  the  prisoners."  lie  is  cor- 
rect: the  Clugniac  Statutes  mention 
the  Prison  as  a  place  accessible  only 
by  a  ladder,  without  window  or  door. 
The  fetters  were  some  lighter,  some 
heavier ;  and  there  were  also  a  kind  of 
stocks,  or  boicB,  handcuffs  and  iron  col- 
lars, fastened  by  chains,  through  the 
wall  on  the  outside/  "Bishops  used 
to  imprison  offending  clerks  there. s 
But  if  any  of  the  temporal  men  belong- 
ing to  the  house  offended  in  the  pre- 
mises, they  were  punished  by  the  tem- 
poral law;"  that  is,  in  the  Monastic 
Courts. 


tre  in  ergastulo  truso,  magister  illius  fratris  claves 
feret,  illumque  secundum  abbatis  et  capituli  deli- 
berationem  ducet  et  reducet.     Id. 

c  In  a  Visitation  of  Hales  Abbey  (MS.  Bibl. 
Reg.  E.  14,  a°  1241)  a  keeper  of  the  Prison  is  or- 
dered to  be  appointed. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Boga,  Boia. 

9  Wilkins,  Coagil.  iii.  495, 


262 


MONASTIC    COURTS- 


CHAPTER    XLVII. 


MONASTIC     COURTS. 


These  at  Canterbury  were  held  in 
the  conventual  church.3  They  had  all 
kinds  of  cognizance  of  their  own  men, 
except  judgment  of  life  and  limb,  in 
some  places ;  and  in  others  more  ex- 
tensive powers.  If  in  the  Abbots5 
courts  justice  was  not  done,  the  Founder 
and  his  heir  were  to  compel  it,  and  this 
sometimes  even  in  his  own  Conventual 
Court ;  or  there  was  an  appeal  to  that 
of  the  King.  Sometimes  the  Monks 
obtained  from  a  Founder,  that,  if  any 
of  their  servants  should  do  any  injury 
to  his  people,  justice  should  be  sought 
in  their  Court.b  There  were  servants 
of  the  Monastery  of  Hexham,  who  used 
to  serve  summonses,  levy  distresses, 
and  carry  rods.c  It  is  singular,  that 
that  spirit  of  equivocating  plain  lan- 
guage (which  marks  modern  pleading, 
which  every  honest  jury  should,  where 
possible,,  overrule,  and  which  had  its 
origin,  in  my  opinion-,  in  scholastic 
subtlety,  or  quibbling  on  weak  sides, 
corrupting  the  exquisite  ratiocination 
and  perfect  discrimination  of  the  civil 
law),  should,  so  early  as  the  reign  of 
the  first  Edward,  have  compelled  the 
Abbot  of  St.  Mary's,  York,  to  petition 
that  the  general  terms  of  cognizance  of 
pleas,  murder,  and  other  crimes,  which 
designated  his  legal  privileges,  should 
be  more  particularized,  on  account  of 
the   subtlety   of  the   moderns.d     The 


a  Decern  Scriptor.  1982.  Church-porches  are 
known  to  have  been  law-courts.  Julius  (pontiff  a. 
340,)  enacted  that  no  clerk  should  be  brought  to 
trial  in  public,  except  into  a  church. 

b  Monast.  i.  202.  377.  1055,  ii.  911. 

c  Id.  ii.  92. 

d  Rot.  Pari.  18  Edw.  I.  No.  146.  (vol.  i.)  Of 
the  subtlety  of  feudal  claims  take  the  following 
anecdote : 

In  the  14th  Century  the  Augustinian  Monastery 
of  Windsheim  in  the  province  of  Overyssel  wished 
to  erect  a  windmill,  but  the  neighbouring  lord  ob- 
jected, saying,  that  the  wind  in  that  district  be- 
longed to  him.  The  Monks  complained  to  the 
Bishop,  who  gave  them  permission,  affirming,  in 


manerial  Courts  (and  perhaps  the  others) 
were  held  by  the  Seneschal,e  and  Wol- 
sey  orders,  that  the  Canon,  who  sat 
with  the  Seueschal  in  holding  the 
Courts,  should  behave  so  piously,  and 
so  seriously  attend  to  the  benefit  of 
the  house,  that  he  should  seem  rather 
to  regard  this  than  his  own  recreation/ 
The  author  of  the  Plowman's  Tale 
charges  the  Monks  with  slighting  their 
tenants  on  these  occasions,  and  rejoic- 
ing the  higher  they  were  amerced.  It 
was,  I  presume,  in  these  Courts,  that 
tenants  sought  or  purchased  that  li- 
cence of  marrying  their  daughters,^ 
which  was  the  real  marchet  tenure,  so 
absurdly  made  obscene,  and  was  no 
other  than  what  has  been  elsewhere 
called  maiden  rents.h  The  King's  jus- 
ticiaries held  gaol- deliveries  of  the  pri- 
soners.1 

The  form  of  a  trial  in  one  of  these 
Courts  is  thus  related  by  a  Monk  of 
St.  Augustine^s,  Canterbury.  Certain 
Flemings  were  brought  into  the  Ab- 
bot's Court  of  Stonor,  in  Kent,  for 
murder.  They  were  arraigned  by  the 
Seneschal  and  Court,  to  which  they 
pleaded  not  guilty  >  and  placed  them- 

anger,  that  the  wind  in  the  whole  province  (of 
Utrecht)  was  his  property.*  However  absurd  this 
seems,  the  Roman  Law  ruled,  that  all  the  air  over 
a  person's  houses  or  estates  was  his  own ;  some 
Emperors  even  had  tribute  for  air  and  shade ;  and 
it.  was  decided  at  Naples,  that  a  criminal  was  enti- 
tuled  to  Sanctuary  who  hung  by  his  hands  from  a 
window  which  overlooked  a  Church-yard.f  Houses 
in  cities  are  pushed  aloft,  as  high  as  the  Proprietor 
pleases,  in  the  present  day,  but  only  because  it  in- 
jures no  one. 

e  Monast.  ii.  551.  f  Id.  ii.  569. 

s  Memorandum,  quod  anno,  &c.  die,  cepit  Ri- 

cardus  Avystaine  de  Draitone  licentiam  maritandi 

Agnetem  filiam  suam.   Registr.  de  Abingd.  MS. 

Harl.  209.  p.  12. 

'  k  Watson's  Halifax,  268.  5  Monast.  i.  242. 

*  Beckman's  Inventions,  i.  269. 

f  Cujacius,  L.  10  Obs.  c.  7.  Petr.  Greg.  Syn- 
tagm.  L.  3.  c.  10.  n.  fin.  and  the  Roman  Laws 
quoted  in  Solorzanus,  L.  3.  c,  3,  p.  387. 


MONASTIC    COURTS. 


263 


selves  upon  the  tovm  of  Stonor.  The 
men  of  Stonor  were  then  ordered  to 
inquire  into  their  guilt  or  innocence, 
and  to  give  judgment  accordingly. 
They  returned  them  innocent,  and  the 
Seneschal^  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
Courts  acquitted  them.  Goods  and 
chattels  of  the  convicts  belonged  to 
the  King,  or,  by  charter  from  him,  to 
the  Abbot.  Instances  appear  of  the 
issue  of  summonses  three  days  before 
the  holding  the  Court;  of  records  of 
proceedings ;  of  perquisites ;  and  of 
numerous  thieves  being  taken  and 
hanged  by  their  authority,  as  a  result 


of  the  privilege  of  infangentheoff;  of 
the  Coroner  entering  their  precincts 
to  do  his  duty ;  of  the  responsibility 
of  the  Abbot  in  cases  of  escape ;  and 
of  the  King's  Justiciaries  taking  cogni- 
zance of  prisoners,  in  crimes  to  which 
the  Abbot's  privilege  did  not  extendi 


a  W.  Thorne,  1839.  1917.  1919.  1928.  1930. 
1933.  2021.  If  I  rightly  understand  this  Monk  in 
p.  1843,  men  were  imprisoned  for  coming  there  in 
arms.  The  History  of  Ely,  c.  xxvii.  mentions  a 
large  Court  held  at  the  Abbey  door.  W.  Thorne 
also  mentions  citations,  punishments  for  contempt, 
&c.  as  now. 


264 


MISERICORD. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 


MISERICORD. 


This  was  a  hall  in  which  were  tables 
and  a  dresser.  The  word  Misericord 
also  implied  stated  indulgences  and 
allowances,  according  to  circumstances, 
of  food,  drink,  wine  or  beer,  or  cloath- 
ing  or  bedding,  beyond  the  rule.a 

The  use  of  this  office  is  in  part  ex- 
plained   by    the    following  injunction. 
"  Also,  that  all  and  singular  Brethren 
and  Monks  of  this  Monastery  take  the 
refection   altogether  in    a  place  called 
the  Misericorde    soch    dayes   as  they 
ete  fleshe,  and  all  other  dayes  in  the 
Refectory/' b      By  the  constitutions  of 
Ottoboni,  two  parts  of  the  Convent  were 
to  eat  in  the  Refectory ;  but  the  sta- 
tute which  forbad  flesh  being  eaten  in 
the  Convent,  the  Monks  used  to  evade, 
by  leaving  a  few  in  the  Refectory,  and 
eating  meat  elsewhere,  and  those  who 
did  dine  in  the  fratry  also  took  meat  at 
supper  in  another  place.0     To  this  the 
constitution,  or  rather  permission,  just 
quoted,  alludes.     But,  as  the  word  ad- 
ditionally, implies  the  relaxations  grant- 
ed to  the  Monks,  I  shall  take  this  op- 
portunity of  discussing  them.     Miseri- 
cords, established  by  the  authority  and 
dispensations   of  Abbots,   were,    says 
Lyndwood,  in    some  places,  exonera- 
tions from  the  duties  of  the  Choir  and 
Cloister,  granted  to  the   Monks  alter- 
nately by  weeks.      An    account   was 
given  in  to  the  Chapter  how  they  be- 
haved during  that  time ;  and  they  were 
not  to  refresh  themselves  but  in   the 
presence  of  two  seniors/1  who  were  to  go 
out  from  the  Monastery,  return  with 
them,  converse  with  them  in  the  Miseri- 
cord, and  restrain  their  levities  by  re- 
proof, which  was  the  especial  privilege 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Misericordia. 
'■'  MS.  Colt.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  22. 
c  Athon.    150.  and  C.  G.  Northampt.  a0  1444. 
C.  vn.    See  too  Erasmi  IXGYQl'AlTA. 
<l  Lyndw.  211,212. 


of  seniors  over  juniors.  Other  writers,e 
misled  by  the  glossarist  of  Matthew 
Paris,  have  called  a  Misericord  a  guzzle 
of  wine}  an  imperfect  definition,  taken 
from  the  refreshment  of  that  liquor 
granted  during  the  above  period.^  It 
seems  that  a  license  was  thus  granted 
to  the  Monks  of  conversing,  disputing 
on  learned  topicks,  talking  of  business, 
histories,  tales,  news  of  the  world,  and 
raillery ; h  and  Wolsey,  finding  that  the 
Augustinian  Canons  absented  them- 
selves from  the  Choir  for  whole  weeks, 
and  neglecting  the  regular  observances, 
mingled  in  dishonourable  games,1  and 
the  company  of  suspected  persons, 
ordered  that  the  Canons,  not  singly, 
but  in  a  number  together,  regulated 
by  the  superior,  and  accompanied  by 
one  or  two  elder  brethren,  should  re- 
create themselves,  not  in  the  towns, 
villages,  and  taverns,  but  in  sunny, 
large,  and  pleasant  places,  near  their 
houses,  where  they  should  be  satisfied 
with  religious  and  modest  exercise  of 
the  body ;  not  mix  with  seculars,  or 
go  to  houses  of  laymen  to  eat  and 
drink  without  leave  of  the  superior, 
but  carry  their  provisions  with  them; 
and,  on  every  such  day  of  recreation, 
return  at  night,  unless  they  stopped  at 


e  Lewis's  Thanet,  p.  110. 

f  These  Charities  did  not  consist  of  wine  only, 
but  Cowell  says  of  beer,  indeed  of  various  refresh- 
ments, for  we  find  a  Charity,  consisting  of  a  sallad, 
seasoned  with  honey.     (Du  Cange,  v.  Oxgorafius.) 

s  De  vino  misericordiarum.  Decern  Scriptores, 
col.  2039.  1.21. 

h  Dev.  Vie  Mon.  ii.  650. 

1  Perhaps  there  is  an  allusion  here  to  the  Arietem 
levare,  a  game  among  the  English  Religious,  for- 
bidden in  several  of  our  councils.  The  Ram  was 
raised  upon  wheels,  and  the  standard  of  the  Church 
preceded  the  sport  with  it.  Bishop  Kennet  sup- 
poses that  it  was  a  kind  of  Quintain,  i.  e.  a  mark  at 
which  they  tilted  with  poles.  (Du  Cange,  v.  Arietem 
levare.)  Concerning  the  Quintain,  perhaps  Strutt 
has  not  quoted  Menestrier  of  Tournaments  and  the 
Disquisition  in  the  Mem,  Acad,  des.  Inscript,  v.  xx. 


MISERICORD. 


265 


the  Granges  with  the  Abbot,  then  at 
any  of  those  places.a 

"  Sum  is  aid  and  feeble,  and  is  the 
lesse  dread  of/'b  was  a  Monastic 
maxim  ;  and  accordingly,  says  the 
Golden  Legend,  "  when  a  relygyous 
man  hath  contynued  in  his  ordre  fyfty 
yere,  thenne  he  shall  be  admytted  to 
make  hys  jubilee,  and  that  made,  he  is 
pardonned,  and  hathe  remyssion  of 
many  observauntes  before  he  was 
bounden  unto."  c 

Every  Convent  was  divided  into 
three  Orders.  Juniors,  who,  up  to  the 
24th  year  of  their  profession  bore  all 
the  burdens  of  the  Choir,  Cloister,  and 
Refectory.  The  next  sixteen  years 
they  were  exonerated  from  the  duties 
of  Chantries,  Epistle,  Gospel,  and  simi- 
lar labours.  They  undertook  the  im- 
portant business  of  the  House.  From 
the  40th  to  the  50th  year  they  were 
called  Seniors,  and  were  excused  from 
the  offices  of  the  Cellar,  Almonry,  and 
Kitchen.  In  the  50th  year  they  be- 
came SempectceA 

These  Sempect<%e  had  a  chamber  in 
the  Infirmary,  with  a  boy  to  wait  upon 
them,  and  a  Junior  for  a  companion. 
They  went  in  and  out  about  any  part 
of  the  house  without  restriction ;  were 
never,  from  an  elegant  refinement, 
told  any  thing  unpleasant,  or  received 
any  offence  ;  and  thus  they  waited  their 
dissolution.1"  The  consequences  of 
privileges  and  exemptions  in  favour  of 
old  Monks  were  bad :  for  they  took 
the  liberty  of  examining,  judging,  and 
censuring  every  thing ;  and  there  were 


a  Monast.  ii.  569. 

b  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  C.  vi.  fol.  4.  a. 

c  F.  cxi.  a. 

d  Da  Cange,  v.  Sempecta. 

e  2v[xndiKrac.  Du  Cange.  In  Mr.  Gough's 
Second  Appendix  to  his  History  of  Croyland,  p. 
283,  it  is  supposed  a  corruption  of  Senecta:  but 
the  authorities  cited  in  Du  Cange  will  best  settle 
the  question.  The  Benedictine  Editors  were 
Monks  ;  and  they  make  the  word  Greek. 

f  Ingulphi  Hist.  504.  Ed.  Savile  ;  in  which  edi- 
tion the  reader  will  observe,  that  the  Licentiam 
habet,  &c.  belongs  to  the  Prior  and  not  to  the 
Sempecta,  as  is  plain  from  the  Oxford  Edition,  p. 
50,  which  supplies  the  defect  of  Sir  H.  Savile's 
MS.  (See  Prsef.  Angl.  Sac.  and  Watson's  Hali- 
fax, for  an  account  of  Sir  Henry's  MS.) 


as  many  superiors  as  old  men  in  the 
Monastery,  which  banished  piety, 
ruined  discipline,  and  introduced  a 
scandalous  irregularity  and  confusion.^ 
Favouritism  and  cynical  asperity  are 
often  found  together  in  aged  persons. 

Henry's  Visitors  allowed  the  Abbot 
"  to  goe  out  and  take  three  or  four  of 
his  brethren  with  him"  at  inclination ; 
and  also  allowed  the  "  said  Abbot  to 
give  the  Prior,  Supprior,  and  other 
officers,  being  suche  as  he  shall  thinke 
men  of  discretion,  licence  thre  or  four 
tymes  at  the  most  in  the  yeere,  to  goo 
abrod  for  their  refresse  and  recreacon, 
taking  to  him  or  them  so  having  li- 
cense, four  of  the  other  brethren  at 
the  least."11  This  was  a  hard  consti- 
tution for  Obedientiaries  and  Monks, 
who,  as  before  has  been  shown,  took 
great  liberties  in  this  respect ;  though 
the  Canons,  which  allowed  them  to 
visit  friends  and  relatives,  even  in  fo- 
reign parts,1  with  leave  of  the  Abbot, 
only  granted  the  indulgence  very  sel- 
dom (only  for  once  in  a  year  was  the 
request  of  the  articles  against  them),  on 
good  cause,  and  for  a  small  time,  and 
with  a  companion. k  The  Monks  mu- 
tually kissed  each  other,  when  going 
out.1  The  Obedientiaries  who  had 
horses  were  then  bound  to  lend  them 
to  the  Monks,  if  the  request  was  not 
made  too  often.m  John,  21st  Abbot 
of  St.  Alban's,  wishing  to  spare  the 
trouble  and  expences  of  Monks  tra- 
velling, who  did  not  abound  with  mo- 
ney, made  a  statute,  that  if  they  could 
not  finish  their  journey  in  time  to  get 
to  St.  Alban's,  they  should  go  to  any 
of  the  nearest  monastic  farms. n  By  the 
decretals  of  Wolsey,  for  the  Augustinian 
Canons,  no  one  was  to  go  out  without 
leave,  and  the  term  of  his  return  ap- 
pointed ;  not  to  have  dogs  or  hawks 
with  him  \  not  to  drink  in  the  town, 


s  Dev.  Vie  Monast.  i.  331. 
h  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f.  49. 
5  Or  for  study.      See  Richard  of  Cirencester's 
Itinerary  by  Stukeley,  Preface. 

k  M.  Par.  1331,  1100.     Reyn.  Append.  166, 
1  Du  Cange,  v.  Osculum  pads. 
'"  C.  G.  North.  a°  1444,  c.  v. 
»  M.  Paris  (2d)  1043. 


266 


MISERICORD, 


unless  sick  or  by  special  permission; 
to  have  such  companions  as  the  supe- 
rior appointed^  and  money  found  from 
the  common  stock  ;a  the  well-known 
pictures  of  Chaucer's  Monk,  and  Lid- 
gate,  render  it  unnecessary  for  me  to 
describe  their  habits  as  travellers  .b  By 
the  Norman  Institutes,  the  religious 
did  not  receive  both  benedictions  of 
going  and  returning,  unless  he  staid 
out  for  more  than  two  days  ;  but  either 
benediction  alone,  as  the  circumstances 
of  his  going  out  or  return  were  with- 
in that  period.  This  benediction  of 
going  out  was  never  given  at  Vespers 
or  Complin ;  and  a  Monk,  who  had 
received  it,  if  the  bell  of  the  hour  rung 
before  he  left  the  Cloister,  returned  to 
the  Church,  though,  if  he  had  passed 
the  Court-gate,  he  staid  out  of  the 
Choir.  He  did  not  enter  the  Cloister, 
when  gartered  or  girdled,  or  with  a 
cope  on.  When  they  said  their  hours 
on  their  journey,  or  made  a  prayer, 
they  kneeled,  but  never  bowed,  nor 
upon  a  mistake  begged  pardon,  except 
they  were  in  Church.  On  such  days 
as  the  hours  in  the  Convent  were  said 
on  the  Misericords,  if  on  horseback 
they  descended,  and  having  begun  the 
hours,  and  taken  a  venia,  they  pulled 
the  gloves  from  their  hands  and  hoods 
from  their  heads,  and  re-mounting  their 
horses,  finished  them.  If  they  had  a 
necessity  of  speaking,  they  began  afresh 
when  that  was  over.  Until  the  hour 
was  sung,c  in  an  inn,  or  when  they  ate 
in  their  frocks  or  hoods  only,  they  said 
the  psalmody,  which  they  could  not  sing 
at  night  on  horseback.  They  also  said 
Complin  before  going  to  sleep  5  and,  if 
interrupted  by  a  necessity  of  speaking 
before  Mattins,  began  it  afresh,  and 
afterwards  observed  silence.  Where- 
ever  they  were  they  had  a  light  burn- 
ing all  night.  Eagerness,  says  Pe- 
trarch, to  execute  your  orders  has 
made  of  me  a  traveller  by  night,  against 
my  character  and  principles  A     Thus  it 


*  Monast.  ii.  567. 

b  Attended  with  three  or  four  horsemen.     Hut- 
chinson's  Durham,  ii.  92. 
c  Dum  hora  canitur. 
4  Memoires  &c.  ii,  142. 


was  deemed  irreputable  to  journey  by 
night. 

The  constitutions  allowed  a  Nun  to 
be  absent  only  from  disease ;  for  re- 
creation ;  to  make  or  receive  a  cure  f 
to  console  sick  parents,  or  attend  their 
funerals  ;  for  three  days  only  when 
absent  for  the  sake  of  relaxation,  and 
in  case  of  illness  for  six  only,  after 
cure,  unless  by  episcopal  dispensation/ 
A  permission  of  making  pilgrimages, 
and  of  visiting  relatives  from  their  own 
inclination,  or  light  occasions,  wan- 
tonly granted,  is  reprobated  in  visit- 
ing inj unctions. s  An  episcopal  license 
on  this  occasion  only  mentions  the  re- 
quest for  absence  by  a  noble  female, 
and  enables  the  Prioress  to  grant  it, 
adding,  that  the  Nun  must  have  a 
companion,  and  might  go  on  horse- 
back,11 though  in  opposition  to  the 
customs  of  the  house.1  The  Gilbertine 
Nuns,  in  their  way  to  the  general 
Chapter,  travelled  in  carriages,  and 
shunned  all  hospitia  of  religious  per- 
sons, unless  there  was  a  habitation  of 
women  there.  They  did  not  talk  by 
the  way;  and  no  speech  was  made 
unheard  by  the  attendant  canon  and 
lay  brother .k — Erasmus  gives  an  anec- 
dote of  two  Nuns  on  a  visit,  at  which 
he  was  present.  They  were  at  the 
house  of  a  relative.  The  servant  by 
forge tfulness  had  omitted  to  bring  their 
book  of  prayers.  A  great  disturbance 
ensued.  They  did  not  dare  to  eat 
their  supper,  without  first  saying  their 
evening  prayers,  nor  would  they  accept 


e  Female  medical  talents,  and  theirs,  among 
others,  are  spoken  of  by  Mr.  War  ton  and  others. 

f  Lyndw.  212. 

s  Monast.  i.  910.925. 

h  Forbidden.     Monast  ii.  787. 

1  Licentia  pro  moniali  exeundi  de  domo  sua.  P. 
&c.  Priorissse,  &c.  precibus  charissimse  nobis  in 
Christo  filiae  Dominge  J.  consanguinis  Domini  Wla 
militis  nostri  dioc'  favorabilius  inclinatus ,  ut  ad  earn 
justis  et  honestis  ex  causis,  domina  M.  hujus  dicti 
vestri  prioratus  commonialis,  cum  alia  ejusdem 
prioratus  ipsam  associante  accedere  valeant;  va- 
leant  equestri,  non  obstantibus  vestris  consuetudi- 
nibus  contrariis,  dispensatione,  ex  causis  Ileitis 
nobis  sufficienter  doctis,  in  quantum  de  jure  pos- 
sumus,  quatinus  obedientiam  et  honestatem  disci- 
plinse  regularis,  literarum  tenore  prsesentium  duxi- 
mus  indulgendum,  &c.  &c.    MS.  Harl.  2179. 

k  Monast.  ii.  706. 


MISERICORD. 


267 


of  any  other  book  than  their  own.  In 
the  mean  while,  the  whole  house  was 
eager  for  supper.  What  was  to  be 
done?  The  servant  returned  to  his 
horse,  and  fetched  the  book,  when 
night  was  far  advanced.  The  Prayers 
were  said,  and  it  was  ten  o'clock  (a 
very  late  hour  in  that  age)  when  they 
sat  down  to  supper.a 

Farm-houses  were  anciently  used  as 
inns  ;b  and  there  is  a  grant  of  a  place 
on  condition  of  paying  twelve-pence 
annually,  and  finding  an  hospitium  for 
the  Prior  and  Chapter  passing  that 
way ;  though  no  further  than  the  space 
of  the  house  to  stay  in.c     William,  Ab- 


a  Ichthyophagia  inter  Colloq.  428. 
b  Smythe's  Lives  of  the  Berkeley  Family. 
p.  145. 

°  Monast.  ii.  818. 


MS. 


bot  of  St.  Alban's,  bought  a  house  at 
London  for  the  accommodation  of  his 
Monks,  with  a  Chapel,  numerous  beds, 
orchard,  stable,  kitchen,  court,  garden, 
and  well ;  and  a  perpetual  servant  re- 
sided there  to  keep  it.d  The  punish- 
ment of  exceeding  the  allotted  time  of 
absence,  according  to  the  constitutions 
of  Benedict  the  Twelfth,  was  a  severe 
discipline.6  This  liberty  was  very  dif- 
ficultly granted  at  St.  Alban's  even 
after  three  years  continuance  in  the 
state  of  a  no  vice. f 


d  M.  Paris,  p.  1057. 

e  He  was  led  naked  from  the  gate,  in  his  shirt, 
carrying  his  cloaths  and  a.  ferula,  to  the  Chapter, 
and  there  beaten.  "Wilkins's  Concil.  ii.  608.  (Const. 
Bened.  xii.  §  De  licentia  eundi  extra  Monaste- 
rium.)  f  M.  Paris,  1031. 


268 


SANCTUARY. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 


SANCTUARY. 


This  was  the  method  by  which  an- 
ciently the  rigour  of  common  law  was 
moderated.  It  allowed  the  criminal 
time  for  making  restitution,  or  under 
the  Anglo-Saxon  laws,  he  must  have 
suffered  immediate  pains  and  punish- 
ments/'1 

The  old  Sanctuary  of  Westminster 
consisted  of  two  Churches  one  over 
another,  in  the  form  of  a  cross.b 

Margaret,  Countess  of  Shrewsbury, 
was  said  to  have  hired  one  Chamber- 
lain, a  Sanctuary  man  at  Westminster, 
to  meet  Will.  Marquess  Berkeley  with  a 
great  company  on  the  road,  and  assassi- 
nate him .  As  s o on  as  thi  s  news,  though 
false,  came  to  the  Abbotts  ears,  he 
sent  for  this  Chamberlain,  and  called 
the  Archdeacon c  and  others  to  exa- 
mine the  matter,  and  because  the 
story  was  raised  by  Chamberlain's  as- 
sent, the  Abbot  decreed,  that  he  should 
be  brought  to  an  open  place  in  the 
Sanctuary,  Gn  purpose  for  punishment, 
and  made  him  to  be  arrayed  in  papers 
printed  with  signes  of  untroth,  sedi- 
tion, and  doubleness,  made  him  go 
before  the  procession  in  this  dress,  and 
afterwards  set  him  in  the  stocks,  that 
the  people  might  see  him.d 

At  Durham  certain  men  lay  in  two 
Chambers  over  the  North  door  to  let 
in  offenders  whenever  they  knocked, 
however  late ;  after  which  they  tolled 
the    Galilee   bell,   in   notice    of    such 


a  Hutchinson's  Durham,  i.  39. 
b  Archseol.  i.  39. 

c  Some  Monasteries  had  Archdeacons  over  their 
own  jurisdictions  ;  as  that  of  Worcester,  &c. 
d  Smythe's  Berkeley  MS.  539, 


event.  When  the  Prior  heard  of  it, 
he  sent  orders  that  they  should  keep 
within  the  Sanctuary,  Church,  and 
Church-yard,  and  wear  a  black  gown 
with  a  yellow  cross,  called  St.  Cuth- 
bert's  cross  (a  token  of  the  privilege 
granted  to  that  Saint's  shrine) ;  and 
that  they  should  lie  upon  a  grate  made 
only  for  that  purpose,  adjoining  to  the 
Galilee  South  door.  They  had  also 
meat,  drink,  and  bedding,  for  thirty- 
seven  days,  being  only  such  as  were 
necessary  for  such  offenders,6  until  the 
Prior  and  Convent  could  get  them 
conveyed  out  of  the  diocese.  Accounts 
were  given  in  to  the  King  of  the  goods 
of  felons/  which,  it  seems,  were  some- 
times distrained  by  conventual  bailiffs, 
and  preserved  in  the  house  till  their 
persons  were  sent  to  gaol.s  This  pri- 
vilege, to  be  granted  by  the  King  alone, 
was  not  to  be  claimed  without  char- 
ter, and  extended  only  to  criminal  of- 
fences.11 Living  in  Sanctuary  was  very 
expensive,  and  the  demands  exces- 
sively extortionate;1  bawds  and  whores 
took  refuge  there.k 


e  In  the  Gravamina  Eccles.  Anglican,  art.  22, 
it  is  said,  "  when  any  fugitive  flies  to  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Church,  Church-yard,  or  stair-case  of 
the  Church,  he  shall  be  guarded  by  Lay-keepers, 
because  he  cannot  expect  to  be  provided  for  in 
viands  by  the  Church."  Hence  the  expence  of 
living  in  Sanctuary,  hereafter  noted. 

f  Jones's  Index  to  Records,  vol.  ii.  tit.  Beaulewe 
and  Berkyng. 

s  Monast.  ii.  348,  9. 

h  Staveley  on  Churches,  p.  170. 
.   J  Paston's  Letters,  ii.  p.  10. 

k  Maitland's  London,  p.  771.  PI.  in  Stowe,  442, 
&c.  and  Mr.  Pegge  on  the  subject. 


DEPENDENT    CHURCHES. 


269 


CHAPTER  L. 


DEPENDENT    CHURCHES. 


According  to  the  Council  of  Chal- 
cedony a  decree  of  Alexander  II.  and  a 
general  Chapter  of  the  year  1215, 
Monks  were  not  to  preach  to  the 
people,  under  penalty  in  the  latter  of 
deposition  to  an  Abbot,  and  expulsion 
to  a  simple  religious.a  The  idea  was, 
however,  reprobated  by  their  own 
body:b  and  Athonc  says  positively, 
(very  ancient  constitutions  allow  them 
to  do  parochial  duties  so  far  back  as 
the  seventh  century/1)  that  a  religious 
could  be  instituted  in  secular  Churches 
by  leave  of  the  Bishop,  Abbot,  and 
the  common  laAV,  without  a  dispen- 
sation, and  that  he  might  live  upon  his 
benefice,  like  another  Rector.  An  or- 
dinance too  of  a  late  general  Chapter, 
ordered  that  those  who  were  able  and 
fit  should  preach,  and  they  did  so  both 
in  their  convents  and  in  public.e  Vi- 
sitation injunctions  forbid  interest 
being  made  for  benefices ;  and  the  dis- 
mission of  a  religious  from  his  house 
to  fill  one,  mentions  good  life  and  mo- 
rals, the  consent  of  the  house  for  his 
departure,  the  episcopal  dispensation, 
and  superior's  license/  Burn  says, 
that  Rectors  only,  not  Vicars,  were  ex- 
pected to  preach  ;  sometimes  all  who 
were  ordained  Priests. &  As  to  vicar- 
ages, it  appears  that  they  "  scarcely 
among  xx  set  one  sufficient  Vicar  to 
preach  •"     and    that  in    some  places 


a  Dev.  Vie  Monast.  ii.  21.  184,  5. 

b  Reyner,  245.  e   P.  146. 

d  Malmsb.  112. 

e  Reyn.  App.  102.  Lei.  de  Scriptor.  p.  146,  &c. 

*  Ne  sollicitent  seu  laborare  faciant  seculares  pro 
benefices.  MS.  Mus.  Asbmol.  1519.  f.  26.  b.  (Ord. 
Aug.)  Vitse  ac  morum  honestas — de  collegio  nostro 
liberum  dimittimus  quatinus  dejure,  &c.  dispensa- 
tio  episcopi,  &c.  licentia  magistri  dicti  hospitalis  in 
hac  parte  petita  priinitus  et  obtenta.  MS.  Had.  ut 
sup.  f.  88.  a.  where  the  form  of  the  Abbot's  writ 
for  arresting  vagabond  Monks,  f.  88,  and  other/br- 
mulce.  s  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  487. 


there  was  preaching  "  but  ones  in  a 


year 


"h 


Such  Vicars  were,   in    some 


places,  answerable  to  the  Bishop  for 
the  cure  of  souls ;  to  the  Monks  for 
temporals.1  There  were  often  in  these 
Churches  peculiarities,  (as  being  in 
the  local  site  of  cells,)  thus  described 
by  Mr.  Hasted  : — "  At  the  west  end  of 
the  Chancel  (Lenham)  there  are  six- 
teen stalls,  eight  on  each  side,  though 
of  a  different  size,  for  the  use  of  the 
Monks  of  St.  Augustine's,  when  they 
visited  their  estate  in  this  parish,  and 
for  such  other  of  the  Clergy  as  should 
be  present  at  the  services  of  the 
Church." k  Dormitories,  &c.  were  an- 
nexed to  the  Rectories,  for  accommo- 
dation of  the  Monks.1 

If  the  benefice  was  given  to  the 
table  of  the  Monks,  and  so  not  appro- 
priated in  the  common  form,  but 
granted  by  way  of  union  in  full  right, 
it  was  served  by  a  temporary  Curate, 
belonging  to  their  own  house,  and  sent 
out  as  occasion  required.  The  like 
liberty  of  not  appointing  a  perpetual 
Vicar  was  sometimes  granted  by  dis- 
pensation, in  benefices  not  annexed  to 
their  tables,  in  consideration  of  the 
poverty  of  the  house,  or  nearness  of 
the  Church.111  To  their  vicarages  the 
Abbot  presented;11  and  in  those  be- 
longing to  the  Alien  Priories,  there  was 
particular  neglect  of  duty.0  "  Sacra- 
legious  Monks  buyers   of    Churches/' 


h  Selden's  Tythes,4to.  1618.  p.  487.  The  recall 
of  canons  in  the  Prsemonstratensian  order,  who  offi- 
ciated in  cures,  is  insisted  on  with  vehemence  in 
Biblioth.  Prsemonst.  i.  837. 

1  Monast.  ii.  854. 

u  Hist,  of  Kent,  v.  439.  See  tooiii.  511.  Ed.  8vo. 

1   Angl.  Sacr.  i.  146. 

m  Gibson  and  Burn. 

n  Monast.  i.  297,  8. 

°  Selden's  Tythes,  106.  Henry's  injunctions 
charge  the  Abbot  with  taking  the  revenues  of 
Churches  to  his  own  use. 


270 


DEPENDENT  CHURCHES. 


says  Gualo  Britannus.a  Chapels  were 
built  on  the  manerial  demesnes  from 
the  fear  of  war.b 

Pensions~from  these  Churches  were 
common ;  and,  by  a  synod  held  in  the 
reign  of  the  first  Henry,  it  appears  the 
Monks  so  stripped  the  Churches  of 
their  revenues,  that  the  officiating 
priests  could  scarcely  live.c  By  some 
regulations  it  seems,  that  when 
Churches  were  vacant,  the  keys  were 
brought  to  the  Chapter,  and  the  Re- 
venues taken  possession  of  by  the  Ab- 
bot  and   Convent;     and    the   Abbot 


a  Sacrilegis  monachis  emptoribus  ecclesiarum, 
Composui  satyram,  &c.  MS.  Cott.  Tit.  a.  xx.  f. 
105.  &Fabr.  Bibl.  M.  Mv.  iii.  322. 

b  Capellam,  quam  pater  meus  tempore  Regis 
Stephani  propter  metum  guerrse  coustruxit.  Re- 
gistr.  Abbat.  de  Winchcombe  pen.  Dom.  Sher- 
borne, fol.  431. 

c  Eadmeri Hist.  Novor.  p.  68. 


bound  to  present  within  forty  days. 
By  others,  the  keys  were  brought  to  the 
Chapter,  or  Prior  of  the  manor ;  an  In- 
ventory was  taken  of  all  the  books, 
vestments,  and  other  moveables  ;  the 
above  Prior  was  to  appoint  some  Priest 
to  do  the  duty;  to  take  care  of  the 
profits  of  the  benefice ;  to  be  present 
(unless  any  one  was  sent  on  purpose  by 
the  Abbot)  at  the  institution  of  the  in- 
cumbent ;  and  to  cite  him  (upon  neglect 
of  so  doing,  when  suspension  was  the 
consequence),  to  come  and  do  fealty  in 
the  Convent.  Delinquent  clerks,  at 
least  in  exempt  houses,  were  suspended 
and  excommunicated  by  the  Abbot's 
commissary.  The  Prior  of  the  manor 
was  to  see  that  no  new  Chantries  were 
made.d 


d  W.  Thome,   p.   1956.    1961.  1980.  c.  xxvii. 

sect.  7. 


CELLS — GRANGES, 


271 


CHAPTER  LI. 


CELLS GRANGES. 


Cells  were  either  places  of  recreation, 
where  the  Monks  used  to  stop  for  this 
purpose  by  turns ;  a  or  where  Monks 
of  bad  character  were  sent,b  and  others 
sometimes  by  the  Abbot  in  a  fit  of 
passion.0  It  was  thought  a  great  griev- 
ance to  be  sent  to  remote  Cells,  or  from 
Cell  to  Cell;  for  the  people  used  to  say, 
"  this  man  has  done  something  bad,  or 
the  Abbot  hates  him,  and  envies  him, 
because  he  is  better  than  himself,  or 
contradicts  his  errors,  and  reproves  his 
excesses/1  The  Monks  resident  were 
to  conform  to  the  practice  of  their  Ab- 
bies  in  respect  to  divine  service,  sleep- 
ing in  dormitories,  and  other  religious 
practices.6     It  was  the    custom   anti- 


a  Dec.  Scriptores,  1937.  Leland's  Collect,  ii. 
330.  Chapel  and  Infirmary  annexed  to  them. 
Lewis's  Thanet,  154.  Also  a  Dormitory,  Angl. 
Sacr.  i.  146. 

b  The  bad  behaviour  of  the  Monks  in  them  is 
sufficiently  shown  by  the  following  extract :  "  Mo- 
nachus  quidam  Sagiensis  Coenobii  de  cella  quadaru 
in  partibus  Angliae  longinquis  ad  aliam  cellam  loci 
ejusdem  remotis  in  Walliae  finibus  super  mare  Mil- 
verdicum  et  Hibernicum  gyroragando  discurrens, 
ne  solus  esset  in  via,  quia  vse  soli, — non  socium  sibi, 
sed  sociam  elegit ;  ejus  turpitudo  terque  quaterque 
turpiter  deprehensa  fuit.  Adeo  quidem  quod  a 
Castellanis  parcium  illarum  demum  captus  et  in 
carcerem  missus,  sociaque  ipsius  et  confusionis 
causa  ribaldis  exposita  fueratet  garcionibus  prosti- 
tuta.  Tales  autem  honores  et  tales  honestates  ex 
monachis  ad  cellulam  missis  ordine  monastico  per- 
venire  solent.  MS.  Cott.  Tiber.  B.  13. 

A  certain  Monk,  who  was  rambling  about  from  a 
cell  in  the  remote  parts  of  England  to  another  in 
Wales,  lest  he  should  be  alone  on  his  journey,  took 
a  companion  on  his  way ;  not  a  he  one,  but  a  she 
one ;  three  or  four  times  he  was  most  unluckily 
detected  ;  and  at  last  put  into  gaol  by  some  Castel- 
lans of  that  neighbourhood,  whilst  his  poor  lady 
was  exposed  to  all  the  indecencies  of  the  rabble 
among  them.  Such  honours  and  such  graces,  says 
Giraldus,  adorn  the  Monastic  order,  from  the 
Monks  who  are  sent  to  cells. 

c  C.  G.  North.  a°  1444,  ex. 

d  M.Paris,  1046,  7. 

e  Prior  vero  in  cellis,  quanto  frequentius  com- 
mode possit,  intersit  matutinis,  nee  extra  dormito- 
rium  jacere  praesumat,  nisi  ad  minus  quatuor  de 
fratribus  in  dormitorio  ipso  absente  remaneant. 
MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  242.  b. 


ently,  when  any  of  the  Monks  belong- 
ing to  a  Cell  went  out  upon  business, 
not  to  take  refreshment  out  of  the  Cell.* 
The  Priories  were  much  sought  after 
even  by  Novices  ;S  and  it  seems  that 
they  were  matters  of  commerce;  that 
the  Abbot,  in  granting  a  farm  of  them, 
received  or  required  securities ;  that  the 
Priors  made  dishonest  contracts,  un- 
just claims,  and  sold  too  dear  for  a 
time.11  Certain  Alien  Priories  chose 
their  own  Prior,  were  entire  societies 
within  themselves,  received  the  reve- 
nues for  their  own  use,  and  paid  only  a 
yearly  pension,  as  an  acknowledgment 
to  the  parent-house.1  Foreign  Abbies 
could  sometimes  compel  any  Monk  of 
the  subject  Cells,  except  the  Prior  and 
Cellarer,  to  come  to  them  when  wanted.k 
They  were  places  of  enjoyment  for  the 
foreign  superiors.  William  of  Exeter, 
Abbot  of  Grestain,  in  Normandy,  a 
house  which  had  property  in  England, 
used  to  stay  above  two  years  at  a  time, 
upon  pretence  of  Conventual  business 
in  this  country.1  A  Preceptory  or 
Commandery  was  a  convenient  man- 
sion belonging  to  the  Knights  Hospi- 
talers, of  which  sort  they  had  several 
on  their  different  estates,  in  each  of 
which  they  had  a  society  of  their  bre- 
thren placed  to  take  care  of  their  lands 
and  rents  in  that  neighbourhood.  The 
respective  Priors,  or  Preceptors,  ac- 
counted to  the  Order  in  general,  for  the 
overplus  of  the  profits  of  the  respective 
estates;  but  in  process  of  time,  a  certain 
rent  called  a  responsion  was  paid  in- 
stead.111    A  mark   was   paid   by  Cells 


f  Du  Cange,  v.  Responsum. 
&  MS.  Roy.  Libr.  8  F.  XVII.  sect.    Cuidam  no- 
vitio,  qui  affectabat  prioratum. 
h  M.  Paris,  1098. 
1  Hasted's  Kent,  8vo.  viii.  180. 
k  Monast.  i.  595. 

1  Du  Monstier's  Neustria  Pia,  p.  532. 
m  Collinson,  iii.  97. 


2/2 


CELLS — GRANGES, 


sometimes  as  a  token  of  dependence,3 
and  procurations  upon  the  decease  of 
Abbots  .b  At  San  toft,  in  the  county  of 
Lincoln,  a  Cell  of  St.  Mary's,  York,  a 
mastiff  was  granted  to  the  Monk  to 
keep  his  house,  a  croft  for  out-door 
animals,  and  whatever  he  could  gain  by 
the  common  marsh,  and  things  sold 
for  his  use.c  It  is  singular,  that  Giral- 
dus  Cambrensis  should  say  that  the 
Cistercians  avoided  all  the  bad  conse- 
quences of  Cells  in  the  irregularities  of 
their  inhabitants,  by  having  none,  and 
remedying  all  defects  by  visitors  and 
chapters.d  The  Monks  used  to  reap 
and  make  hay  themselves.0 

In  the  rules  of  St.  Victor,  the  bre- 
thren who  staid  at  Cells  were  to  be 
three  in  every  place,  if  possible,  or  two 
at  least.  In  food,  and  clothing,  and 
the  tonsure,  they  did  not  vary  from  the 
common  institution.  They  kept  si- 
lence at  table,  and  did  not  speak  in  the 
Church.  They  sung  Complin  at  an 
early  seasonable  hour  in  summer  and 
winter,  and  did  not  run  about  the  vil- 
lage or  elsewhere/ 

A  good  Prior  is  recorded  for  paying 
more  money  than  his  farm  amounted 

a  Monast.  i.  340.  b  Id.  ii.  347. 

c  Id.  i.  405. 

tl  Circumspecte  vero  Cistercienses  in  liiis  et  simi- 
libus  cavendis  sibi  providerunt,  dum  et  cellis  per 
totum  ordinem  carent,  et  cuncta  supervacanea,  et 
honestati  ordinis  contraria  per  visitatores  et  capitula 
resecar  icurarunt.  MS.  Cott.  Tiber.  B.  13.  Now 
Kingswood  was  considered  as  a  Cell  of  Tinterne,  and 
so  de  cceteris. 

e  Henry,  vi.  175.         f  Da  Cange,  v.  Obedientia. 


to ;  for  selling  the  wool  well,  and  mak- 
ing good  Granges.  By  some  regula- 
tions he  was  ordered  to  see  that  cham- 
bers and  gowns  were  provided  for  the 
use  of  the  Monks  who  came  there  by 
turns  for  recreation ;  and  not  to  erect 
buildings  above  a  certain  cost,  except 
sea-ivalls,  and  things  of  that  kind. 

The  Nuns  too  held  manors  under 
the  care  of  a  Prioress.^ 

Granges  were  the  farms  and  abbatial 
residences,  and  parks  were  often  an- 
nexed to  them.  Thomas  Lord  Berke- 
ley, 18  Edward  I.  being  ill,  went  to  a 
Grange  of  the  Abbot  of  St.  Augustine^s, 
Canterbury,  for  change  of  air,  till  he 
recovered.  The  Abbot's  bill  came  to 
2d.  which  the  Abbot  received.11  Upon 
the  Grange  at  Cuddesdon,  in  Oxford- 
shire, there  were,  it  seems,  corn,  cattle, 
common  utensils,  benches,  tables, 
forms,  and  "  a  carte,  the  wheles  bound 
with  iron.,}  *  The  housekeeper,  or  hos- 
pit  alls  f rater  gr  angles  9  has  been  already 
mentioned. 

In  a  Synod  of  Cologn,  held  anno 
1300,  it  appears,  that  persons  hung 
torches  and  letters  annexed,  at  the  gates 
of  Abbies  and  Granges,  in  which  they 
threatened  fires,  homicides,  &c.  unless  a 
certain  sum  of  money  was  given  them 
in  a  limited  time.k 


e  W.  Thorne,  1931.  2008,  c.  xxvii.  sect.  7. 
h  Smythe's  Berkeley  MS.  p.  179. 
!  MS.  Harl.  607.  p.  7.  a. 
k  Du  Cange,  v.  Teda. 


SONG-SCHOOL. 


273 


CHAPTER  LII. 


SONG-SCHOOL.a 


K  This  school,"  says  Davies,  "was 
built  within  the  Church,  and  was  neatly 
wainscotted  within,  round  about,  two 
yards  high,  and  had  a  desk  from  one 
end  of  the  school  to  the  other  to  lay 
their  books  on.  The  floor  was  boarded 
for  warmness,  and  round  about  it  long 
forms  were  fastened  in  the  ground  for 
the  children  to  sit  on  :  and  the  place 
where  the  Master  sat  and  taught  was 
all  close  boarded  for  warmness.  His 
office  was  to  teach  the  six  children  to 
sing  and  play  on  the  organs  every  prin- 
cipal day,  when  the  Monks  sang  their 
high  mass,  and  at  even  song ; b  but 
when  the  Monks  were  at  mattins,  and 
service  at  midnight,  one  of  them  played 
on  the  organ  himself  and  none  else. 
The  Master  had  his  chamber  adjoining 
to  the  song-school,  where  he  lodged, 
and  his  diet  in  the  Prior's  hall,  among 
the  Prions  gentlemen,  and  his  other 
necessaries  were  supplied  at  the  com- 
mon charge." 

Gregory  had  a  whip,  with  which  he 
threatened  the  young  clerks  and  sing- 
ing boys,  when  they  were  out,  and 
failed  in  the  notes.  They  also  fasted 
the  day  before  they  were  to  chant,  and 
constantly  ate  beans. c     Erasmus  says 


a  Musick  was  so  prevalent  in  the  Middle  Age, 
that  even  whistling  was  a  fashion  and  amusement, 
being  asked  for  by  an  Archbishop.* 

b  The  Faucetum  or  pitch-pipe  was  used  in  some 
orders.     Cowell,  v.  Faucetum. 

c  Hawkins's  Musick,  i.  396. 

*  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Giraldus,  ii.  84. 


"We  have  introduced  into  the 
Churches  a  certain  elaborate  theatrical 
species  of  Music,  accompanied  with  a 
tumultuous  diversity  of  voices.  All  is 
full  of  trumpets,  cornets,  pipes,  fiddles, 
and  singing.  We  come  to  Church  as 
to  a  Play-house  ;  and  for  this  purpose 
ample  salaries  are  expended  on  organ- 
ists and  societies  of  boys,  whose  whole 
time  is  wasted  in  learning  to  sing.  Not 
to  mention  the  great  revenues  which 
the  Church  squanders  away  on  the  sti- 
pends of  singing-men,  who  are  com- 
monly great  drunkards,  buffoons,  and 
chosen  from  the  lowest  of  the  people. 
These  fooleries  are  so  agreeable  to  the 
Monks,  especially  in  England,  that 
youths,  boys,  &c.  every  morning  sing 
to  the  organ  the  Mass  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  with  the  most  harmonious  modu- 
lations of  voice,  and  the  Bishops  are 
obliged  to  keep  choirs  of  this  sort  in 
their  families.-"  d 

At  the  singing  and  grammar-schools 
of  the  Convent  of  Norwich,  the  mas- 
ters, after  induction  by  the  Archdeacon, 
generally  published  the  Bishop's  inhi- 
bition, prohibiting  all  other  persons  to 
teach  grammar  or  singing  in  the  city.e 
Schools  were  attached  to  religious 
houses,  as  early  as  the  seventh  cen- 
tury/ 


d  Warton's  Sir  T.  Pope,  427. 

e  Parkins's  Norwich,  269. 

1  Taylor's  Index  Monast.  pref.  iii, 


274 


COMMON    HOUSE, 


CHAPTER  LIU. 


COMMON    HOUSE. 


"  On  the  right  hand,"  says  the  same 
writer,  "  at  going  out  of  the  cloysters 
into  the  infirmary  was  the  Common 
House.  It  was  instituted  to  have  a 
tire  constantly  by  day  in  winter  for  the 
use  of  the  Monks,  who  were  allowed  no 
other  fire  ;  but  the  master  and  officers 
of  the  house  had  their  own  several 
fires.  A  garden  and  bowling  alley  be- 
longed to  the  said  house,  towards  the 
water,  for  the  Novices  sometimes  to 
recreate  themselves,  leave  being  first 
granted ;  their  master  attending  to  see 
to  their  good  order.  In  this  house 
once  in  the  year,  betwixt  Martinmas 
and  Christmas?  the  master  of  it  kept 

a  Dec.  14th.  Du  Cange  says, — "The  Antiphonce 
majores  de  0,  0  :  the  Antiphonars  beginning  by  the 
interjection  O,  which  are  sung  seven  days  before  the 
Nativity  of  Christ."     See  too  Cowell,  v.  0. 


his  O  sapientia,  a  solemn  banquet,  at 
which  the  Prior  and  Convent  were  en- 
tertained with  figs,  raisins,  ale,  and 
cakes,  but  not  to  superfluity  or  excess. 
Here,  with  the  Prior's  leave,  they 
warmed  themselves  when  needful. 

Du  Cange  calls  Pyrale  the  Con- 
ventual Hypocaust  or  fire  place,  in 
which  the  Chapter  was  celebrated,  and 
where  the  rod  of  discipline  was  hung 
up  [over  the  fire-place].  Eckhard  has 
this  passage  :  "  being  tied  to  a  pillar  of 
the  Pyralis,  he  was  severely  beaten 
with  rods."b  The  Chapter  and  Com- 
mon House  were  certainly,  however, 
distinct  rooms,  at  least  in  most  Abbies. 


Du  Cange,  v.  Pyralis. 


MINTS — EXCHEQUER. 


275 


CHAPTER  LIV. 


MINTS EXCHEQUER. 


The  Abbatial  Mints,  of  early  Saxon 
origin,  had  the  stamps  given  them  to 
coin  with  as  incident  to  that  privilege, 
which  in  some  houses  was  soon  lost.a 
The  Abbot  placed  a  keeper  over  it.b 
In  a  charter  of  Reading  Abbey  it  seems 
the  money  was  coined  there  at  the  Ab- 
bot's expence,  and  sent  to  the  Exche- 
quer.0 

Exchequer.  At  Ely  was  a  chamber 
with  a  square  table  in  it  for  calcula- 
tion^ It  was  also  called  Counting- 
room;  or  Cubiculum  computatorium.Q 
Gervase  of  Tilbury  describes  an  Exche- 
quer Table  as  square,  about  ten  feet 
long  and  five  broad,  covered  with  a 
black  clock,  divided  by  stripes  in  the 
manner  of  a  chess-board.f  Summing, 
for  want  of  the  Arabick  numerals,  being 
a  most  difficult  process,  this  cloth  was 
for  the  arithmetical  process  by  count- 
ers, of  which  the  Monks  struck  several, 
still  known  by  the  name  of  Abbey 
Pieces.  Mr.  Pinkerton  gives  some 
account  of  the  process,  but  it  applies  to 
one  method  only.     One  was,  where  the 

a  Leake's  Historical  Account  of  English  Money, 
pp.  17,  50. 

b  Dec.  Script.  1816.  c  Id.  92. 

d  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  646.  e  Id.  i.  779. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Saccarium. 


table  had  six  lines.  1.  Units,  2.  Tens> 
3.  Hundreds,  4.  Thousands,  5.  Ten- 
thousands,  6.  Hundred-thousands. 
Where  there  were  no  lines,  there  were 
set  in  their  stead,  "so  many  counters 
as  shall  need,  for  each  line  one."  In  the 
Merchant }s  Method,  the  lowest  line 
served  for  pence,  the  next  above  for 
shillings,  the  third  for  pounds,  the 
fourth  for  scores  of  pounds ;  the  space 
between  was  never  occupied  but  by  one 
counter,  which  above  the  pence  signi- 
ged  6d.  above  the  shillings  10s.  above 
the  pounds  £10.  The  Auditor's  Me- 
thod made  one  counter  at  the  left  of  a 
line  signify  5,  at  the  right  10.S  Before 
counters,  stones  were  used,  the  Augrim 
stones  of  Chaucer,11  the  xprjcpoi  and  cal- 
culi of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and 
the  use  of  them  was  the  first  arith- 
metick  taught  to  their  children.  Upon 
a  bas-relief  of  the  Capitol  is  a  Trajan 
and  Plotina ;  near  them  is  an  Abacus  in 
the  hands  of  a  young  man,  upon  which 
are  placed  ranks  of  counters.1 


e  Mellis's  Ground  of  Arts,  b.  1.  1632.  The  in- 
structions occupy  43  pages. 

h  Astle's  WritiDg,  183. 

1  Diog.  Laert.  Solon,  39.  Juven.  xi.  131.  Cay- 
lus,  Rec.  vii.  pi.  7.     No.  3,  4,  et  alii. 


T   2 


$76 


KITCHEN. 


CHAPTER  LV. 


KITCHEN. 


Galbert,  in  the  Life  of  Charles  Earl 
of  Flanders,a  says,  that  the  Church  of 
St.  Donatian  was  built  round,  and  high 
roofed,  with  bricks  and  earthen  mate- 
rials only  that  fire  might  not  burn  it. 
The  Kitchen  of  Glastonbury,  and  others, 
was  octagonal,  had  no  wood  about  it, 
and  the  smoke  escaped,  or  rather  steam, 
either  by  concealed  chimnies  or  from  a 
turret  in  the  roof.  At  Stanton-Har- 
court  were  shutters  above,  which  were 
opened  or  shut  according  to  the  direc- 
tion of  the  wind.b 

Kitchens  anciently  were  much  larger 
concerns  than  at  present ;  as  will  ap- 
pear from  the  following  details  of  their 
departments  and  apparatus. 

A  large  Pastery  with  five  ovens  new 
built,  some  of  them  fourteen  feet 
deep.c 

A  great  Kitchen  with  four  ranges, 
and  a  boiling  place  for  small  boiled 
meats  A 

A  Boiling  House  for  the  great 
boiler.e 

Bellows:  for  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury there  were  bellows-blowers  in 
royal  kitchens,  who  were  also  to  take 
care,  when  the  soup  was  on  the  fire, 
that  it  was  neither  burnt  nor  smoked.f 

Dresser.  A  term  out  of  the  Kitchen, 
given  to  the  sideboard,  furnished  with 
plate.s 

TrigonL  Versatile  Gibbets  for  hang- 
ing cauldrons  over  the  fire.h 

Perpendicula.  Handles  or  chains,  by 
which  cauldrons  were  carried.1 

Copper  and  Brazen  Vessels,  tinned  as 


a  N.  62.  b  Grose. 

*  Nichols's  Progresses,  3.    This  was  the  common 
size  of  even  public  ovens. 

u  Nichols,  ubi  supra.         e  Nichols,  ubi  supra. 

f  Joinville,  i.  409. 

k  Du  Cange,  v.  Dressorum,  Dretectorium. 

h  Du  Cange. 

'  Thus  an  old  Poet  in  Du  Cange, 

"  Cum  perpendiculo  defert  ancillalebetim." 


now.k  The  Romans  lined  theirs  with 
silver. 

Kitchen  Towels.1 

Irons,  in  the  fire-places  for  a  prodi- 
gious number  of  spits  and  stoves.m 

Large  Chopping-blocks.n 

Massy  wooden  tables,  hollowed  out 
into  a  sort  of  basons,  by  way  of  kneading 
troughs  for  pastry.  ° 

Poker  and  Tongs.  Tongs,  as  now, 
but  larger :  the  poker,  called  fire-forke, 
ended  in  a  fork.P 

The  process  of  malting  is  of  classical 
antiquity ;  <i  and  in  the  Brewhouses  were 
coppers,  mash-vats,  leaden  troughs  (in- 
stead of  wooden  coolers),  set  in  the 
ground  or  on  curbes,  &c.r 

In  a  Manuscript  in  the  Ashmole  Mu- 
seum, No.  1519.  fol.  141.  b.  is  the  fol- 
lowing inventory  of  the  minor  culinary 
articles,  viz.  "In  coquind,  two  pannes,  a 
kettell,  a  littil  pot,  a  bassen,  a  bassen 
with  holis  [i.  e.  a  colander],  a  chawfer, 
a  bras  mortar  and  pestell,  a  chawfing 
dish,  two  spetis,  a  brandlet  [and-iron], 
a  skimmer,  and  a  laddell  of  latten,  xi 
platters,  xi  dishes,  vii  sawcers  [sauce- 
pans], four  potts,  a  great  pann,  ii  rakis 
[racks],  ii  gridiryns,  bufet,  tongs,  fire- 
forke  [poker],  tray,  pott  for  sauces/' 
Jack  [with  wheels  in  Dugd.  Monast. 
Eccl.  Coll.  iii.  186.] 

Udalrick,  in  the  customs  of  the 
Clugniacks,  mentions  sleeves  used  in  the 
Kitchen,  lest  the  shirts  of  the  brethren 
should  be  dirtied;  and  gloves,  that 
they  might  not  burn  their  hands  in 
moving  the  caldron  on  the  fire.s     Ber- 

k  Du  Cange,  v.  Stagnatus. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Torsoriwm  Culince. 

m  Britton's  Architect.  Antiq.  ii.  78.         n  Ibid. 

0  Ibid.  p  Id.  ii.  p.  99. 

i  Du  Cange,  v.  Torra. 

r  Du  Cange,  v.  Tap-troughe.  Warton's  Sir  T. 
Pope,  372. 

s  Consuetud.  1,  2.  The  Nuns  who  cooked,  had 
each  a  glass  of  wine  on  account  of  the  work.* 

*  Du  Cange,  v.  Merus. 


KITCHEN. 


277 


nard,  speaking  of  the  same  Order,  says, 
that  the  Kitchen  was  swept  clean  with 
brooms  every  Saturday  after  Nones  or 
Vespers ;  and  that,  when  the  bell  rung 
for  putting  on  their  shoes,  the  Monks 
walked  into  the  Kitchen,  to  wash  their 
hands  and  faces,  and  comb  themselves.a 
Visitation  injunctions  order  no  one 
to  enter  the  kitchen  or  cellar  to  eat 
there ;  b  and  the  Sempringham  rule  for 
the  Nuns  the  same,  with  dispensation 
only  to  the  Prsecentrix,  to  smooth  the 
table,  warm  the  ink,  the  Nuns  Writers 
to  dry  the  parchment,  and  the  Sacrist 
to  light  the  candle,  or  for  other  pur- 
poses (except  the  Cooks,  or  Infirmaress 
on  duty) ;  nor  the  former,  when  there 
was  fire  enough  in  the  calefactory  or 
common  house.  The  wood  for  the 
Kitchen,  water,  herbs,  and  other  neces- 
saries, were  found  by  certain  Lay-bro- 
thers and  the  Gardener,  and  the  care  of 
it  was  in  the  Nun-kitchener  and  Lay- 
sisters,  who  did  the  drudgery  work.c 
A  visitation  injunction  directs  ahatche 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Peripsima,  Pexere. 
b  Et  nullus  coquinam  seu  cellarium  ingredi  audeat, 
ant  in  eis  comedere.     MS.  ut.  sup.  f.  26.  b. 
c  Monast.ii.  763.  9. 


with  iron  spikes  to  be  made,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  entrance  of  strange  people.d 
A  servant  of  the  Almoner's  attended 
here  daily  to  collect  the  alms.e 

Fat  pigs  were  killed  in  the  winter  as 
now/ 

At  St.  Alban's  there  were  fifty-three 
farms  devoted  to  the  Kitchen,  every 
one  of  which  was  valued  at  forty-six 
shillings  per  annum.  A  certain  part 
was  devoted  to  nine  carriers,  who 
brought  provisions  from  London ;  and 
the  rest  divided  between  the  Cellarers 
of  the  Monks  and  the  household.  To 
these  were  added  allowances  from  other 
manors ;  the  odd  or  fifty-third  week 
was  devoted  to  the  culinary  uten- 
sils. Similar  regulations  obtained  else- 
where. The  above  Abbey  had  also  a 
house  at  Yarmouth  to  lay  up  fish, 
especially  herrings,  for  the  use  of  the 
Convent.? 

Our  ancestors  at  Martinmas  salted 
vast  loads  of  provisions  for  winter. 


d  Monast.  ii.  896. 

e  MS.  Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  204  a. 

f  "  More  sues  proprio  mactat  December 
adultos."  Chroniques  d'Idace  MS.  Notices,  v. 
231.  (11th  cent.) 

e  M.  Paris,  1007,  1057. 


278 


BAKEHOUSE. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 


BAKEHOUSE 


The  manner  of  preparing  the  Host 
is  curious.  The  care  of  making  it  lay 
with  the  Infirm arer.  The  corn,  if 
possible,  was  to  be  selected  grain  by 
grain.  Then  being  put  into  a  clean  bag, 
made  of  good  cloth,  and  used  for  this 
purpose  only,  it  was  carried  to  the  mill 
by  a  servant  of  good  character.  When 
brought  there,  the  servant  saw  that 
some  other  corn  was  ground  first,  that 
the  flour  for  the  Host  might  not  be 
polluted  with  any  fretts  from  the  mill. 
When  the  flour  was  brought  home,  the 
Sacrist  was  to  put  a  curtain  round  the 
vessel  and  place  where  the  flour  was 
to  be  boulted,  and  provide  a  trusty  per- 
son to  do  this  work.  One  of  the  ser- 
vants sprinkled  the  flour  upon  a  very 
clean  table  with  water,  and  moulded 
and  kneaded  it.  The  servant  who  held 
the  irons,  in  which  the  Host  was 
baked,  had  his  hands  covered  with 
rochets ;  and  also  while  the  Host  was 
making  and  baking ;  silence  was  also 
observed  during  the  same  processes. 
The  man,  however,  who  held  the  iron, 
might,  if  necessary,  make  short  indica- 
tions to  the  servant  who  made  the  fire 
and  brought  the  wood,  which  was  to 
be  very  dry,  and  prepared  on  purpose 
many  days  before. a 

"  The  Host/'  says  Du  Cange,  "  be- 
fore consecration  was  called  Oblatce" 
These  Oblatce,  not  consecrated,  though 
blessed  on  the  altar,  were  given  by  the 
Priest,  before  food  in  the  Refectory,  to 
those  Monks  who  had  not  received  the 
Sacrament.  Oblatae  of  this  kind  were 
in  the  earliest  ages  made  in  an  iron 
mould,  called  by  the  French  Oblie,  of  a 
small  pattern,  in  the  form  of  money  : 
and  these,  as  well  as  the  Host,  were 

a  Tyndal's  Evesham,  p.  185. 


made  of  the  purest  flour  by  the  Monks 
themselves,  with  stated  ceremonies  and 
prayers,  in  a  mould,  marked  with  cha- 
racters.11 Sometimes  pious  matrons, 
whom  they  used  to  call  Sanctimonia, 
undertook  the  office  of  making  them, 
which  was  without  leaven.  These  un- 
consecrated  Oblatce,  there  is  reason  to 
think,  were  sometimes  placed  upon 
the  bosoms  of  the  dead.  They  were 
baked  in  a  clibanus,  or  oven.  The 
Oblata  was  a  name  from  thence  given 
to  very  fine  bread  made  of  flour  and 
water,  baked  at  a  fire,  in  iron  presses.0 
The  Host,  before  consecration,  was 
cut  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  by  an  espe- 
cial knife,d  and  the  vessels  in  which 
it  was  preserved  made  in  the  form 
of  small  towers.e  The  Host  was  mys- 
tically divided  into  nine  parts, 
called  Gloria,  &c.f  It  was  deemed  he- 
resy to  make  the  Host  of  fermented 
bread.s 

Loaves  called  Eulogies,  were  conse- 
crated before  taking  food,  or  dinner, 
by  Bishops  and  Priests,  and  sent  to 
Friends  or  Visitors  in  token  of  Com- 
munion; they  were  also  taken  when 
parties  had  disagreed,  and  were  recon- 
ciled. 

At  Christmas  the  people  offered 
loaves  to  the  Priest,  from  Leviticus 
(chapter  22),  (i  You  shall  offer  two 
loaves  to  the  Priest/'  &c. 

Loaves  made  in  some  countries  in 
the  form  of  a  wedge,  and  composed  of 
finer  flour,  eggs,  and  milk,  were  pre- 
sented at  Christmas  by  Tenants  to 
their  Landlords.11 


b  Ferramento  characterato. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Oblata. 

,d  Ibid.  v.  Lancea.  e  Ibid.  v.  Turres. 

1  Ibid.  v.  Gloria.  %  Ibid.  v.  Panis. 

h  Ibid.  v.  Panis. 


GARDEN. 


2/9 


CHAPTER  LVIL 


GARDEN. 


This  place  had  arbours,  and  abound- 
ed with  fruit-trees  and  herbs  proper  for 
making  salves.8  The  Anglo-Saxon 
Gardens  had  cabbage-beds,  commonly 
called  wyrt-bedsp  and  the  Gardener 
called  Leac-weard,  and  Orceard-iveard ; 
whence  leeks  were  probably  much  in 
use,  and  orchards  not  infrequent.0  The 
Gardens  made  by  the  Romans  were 
also  preserved ;  d  and  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  much  esteemed  those  in  the  su- 
burbs of  towns. e  Upon  new  building 
the  latter,  gardens  were  assigned  to  the 
tenements. f  Apples,  Pears,  Beans, 
and  other  esculents  grew  in  them ;  s 
and  pot-herbs  [not  allowed  to  be  pick- 
ed upon  Sunday]  were  plucked  up  by  a 
wooden  instrument.11  John  of  Salis- 
bury mentions  Flower-gardens,  and 
others  viridaria,  where  trees  and  whole- 
some herbs  were  planted.1  Our  ances- 
tors not  only  promenaded  in  their  gar- 
dens,11 but  played  at  chess  in  them ;] 
and  slept  in  them,  after  dinner,  in 
the  open  air,  upon  a  pillow.m  A  walk 
in  them  after  morning  mass,  or  din- 
ner, was  common.  There  were  grass 
plats  near  houses,  where  the  sick 
walked  to  have  a  purer  air  from  the  ex- 
halation of  the  flowers  of  the  herbs. n 
"  This  done,"  (Prime)  says  an  old 
Monk,  u  we  are  sent  to  work  in  a  gar- 
den, to  work  and  delve  for  near  two 
hours  more ;"  °  and  I  find  orders,  (i  that 
the  Brothers  do  work  in  the  gardens 


a  Wart.  i.  301.  455.  «•  Lye,  v.  Bedd. 

c  Ibid.  d  X.  Script.  1165. 

e  X.  Script.  1248.  M.  Paris,  993. 

f  Script,  p.  Bed.  515.  b. 

e  Turner's  Anglo-Saxons,  iii.  63,  64.  X.  Scrip- 
tor.  2093.  i»  Dugdale's  Monast.  i.  91. 

5  Du  Cange,  v.  Areola—  Florarium— Lilietum. 

k  For  exercise  or  pleasure.  XV.  Script.  426. 
M.  Paris,  682.  »  J.  Rous,  207. 

m  Neubrigens.  p.  11.  Script,  p.  Bed.  398.  b. 

n  Ibid.  155.  b.  °  Desid.  Curiosa,  i.  231. 


from  morning  till  Vespers.^P  But 
these  were  peculiarities  of  certain 
orders  ;  and  the  uses  the  Monks  made 
of  them,  foreign  to  their  obvious  one, 
for  esculents  (and  medical  herbs), 
were  to  walk  in  ;  <i  exhibit  shows  in 
them  ;r  and  have  drinkings  and  dis- 
courses there.55  Gardens  of  Priors  and 
Cellarers  are  mentioned ; t  and  the 
Monks  of  Mailross  had  private  gar- 
dens. The  Visitors  say  to  the  Abbot, 
that  they  heard  he  permitted  "  from 
the  year  last  past,  his  Monks  to 
have  portions,11  pensions,  and  private 
gardens,  against  their  injunctions." 
The  religious  begged  a  dispensation 
for  these  indulgences,  and  promised  to 
distribute  the  remainder  of  their  por- 
tions, as  seemed  fit  for  them.  The 
Visitors  permitted  it  upon  these,  among 
other  conditions,  that  no  one  Monk 
should  have  more  than  another;  that 
there  should  be  no  passage  from  gar- 
den to  garden ;  and  that  they  should 
not  keep  a  servant  beyond  a  year.x 
The  garden  had  a  cross  in  it.y  The 
best  fruit-trees  in  Scotland  are  found 
in  the  gardens  of  the  religious  houses, 


p  Ut  fratres  a  mane  usque  ad  vesperas  faciant 
opera  in  ortis.  MS.  ut  sup.  1519.  f.  37.  a.  The 
house  is  styled  S.  Radgunde,  of  Prsemonstraten- 
sians  perhaps.  According  to  the  Statutes,  adds  the 
Visitation.  i  Hist.  Rames,  C.  lx. 

r  Ne  fratres  ad  nuptias  transeant  (let  not  the 
Brothers  attem  weddings)',  sive  gardinio  spectacla 
de  (setero  exerceant  (of  Cokersand).  MS.utsup. 
p.  321.  a.  Burial  grounds  were  the  most  usual 
places.     See  Archaeol.  xiii.  237. 

s  Inhibemus  potaciones  sive  discursus  in  ortis 
fieri.    Id.  MS.  f.  37.  a. 

1  X.  Script.  2056.    Monast.  ii.  936. 

n  Parcels  of  tythes  given  to  farm  (Lyndw.  167.) 
Separate  revenues.     Monast  i.  297. 

x  Ab  anno  jam  elapso  porciones,  pensiones,  ac 
hovtos  particulares,  contra  dictae  chartae  tenorem, 
&c.  hoc  tamen  servato,  quod  nemo  fratrum  ultra 
annum  servitorem  retineat.  MS.  Harl.2363.  f. 
i — vi. 

y  Warton's  Hist,  of  English  Poetry,  i.  p.  3016. 


280 


GARDEN, 


and  they  are  all  planted   on   circular 
causeways  of  flat  grounds.3 

Aubrey,  speaking  of  the  Nunnery 
of  Kington  St.  Michael,  co.  Wilts,  says, 
*f  In  the  old  hedges  belonging  to  this 
Priory,  and  in  the  hedge  of  the  Priory 
Downe,  are  yet  a  great  number  of  bar- 
berry trees,  which  it  is  likely  the  Nuns 

*  Newte's  Tour,  p.  156. 


used  for  confection,  which  art  they 
taught  the  young  ladies  that  were 
brought  up  there :  for  in  those  dayes 
the  women  were  bred  at  nunneries ;  no 
such  school  as  Hackney  or  *  *  * 
for  women  till  since  the  Reforma- 
tion .b" 


Britton's  Beauties  of  Wilts,  iii.  155. 


ABBEY   GATE- 


DOVECOTE,  &C. 


281 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 


ABBEY    GATE DOVECOTE,    &C. 


Thomas  Ruth  all,  Bishop  of  Durham, 
repaired  the  Abbey  Gate,  with  the  cell 
of  the  Porter,  in  which  he  slept,  and 
over  them  made  a  Chapel,  where  all 
the  Lay-men  assembled  twice  a  day  to 
hear  Mass,  which  was  celebrated  by 
Priests  deputed  by  the  Prior  and  Con- 
vent, and  in  the  same  building  was  a 
chamber  in  which  the  Priest  slept.a 
This  custom  of  Mass  for  workmen  was 
not  unusual  elsewhere. 

Dovecote.  This,  at  Bredsall,  con- 
sisted of  four  hollow  truncated  hexago- 
nal cones,  from  a  larger  to  a  smaller 
size,  placed  one  above  another,  and 
with  a  little  turret  at  top.b  They  were 
distinct  allocations.  The  Dovecote 
near  the  capital  messuage  of  Tatter- 
wyke,  called  Turneyes  Court,  was  let 
separately.0 

Besides  the  offices  treated  of  in  this 


Angl.  Sacr.  i.  7  81. 

Topograph.  Miscel.  vol.  i.  where  is  a  plate  of  it. 

Registr.  Abbat.  de  Bath.   MS.  Harl.  3970. 


and  the  preceding  chapters,  there  were, 
Vaccaria,  or  Cow-house,  under  an  of- 
ficer, subject  to  the  Kitchener,  where 
none  were  to  go  without  the  abbatial 
licence ; d  shoemakers'  and  other  arti- 
ficers' shops ;  necessary  and  modern 
offices ;  stables,  of  which  that  for  the 
guests  at  St.  Alban^s  was  large,  to  con- 
tain nearly  300  horses,  which  animals 
the  Monks  kept  in  excellent  condi- 
tion ; e  (it  had  a  lamp  burning  in  it  all 
night)  ;f  bathing-houses ;  kilns,  and 
others,  of  which  the  names  alone  explain 
the  use,  and  it  is  needless  for  me  to 
speak. 

d  Sine  abbatis  licentia  exeuntes  ad  vaccariam, 
sive  ad  alium  quemcunque  locum  deinceps  apos- 
tatas  decrevimus.  MS.  Ashm.  Mus.  1519.  f. 
71.  b.  Cow  pastures  were  of  great  use  in  pro- 
viding aliments  for  the  younger  Monks.  M.  Par. 
1002.  Si  male  administraveri  de  vaccatione  [vac- 
carius],  coquinario  incumbit  emendare.  MSS. 
Cott.  Claud.  B.  vi.  p.  200.  b. 

e  M.  Paris,  737.  Athon.  143.  pi.  ap.  Fuller, 
B.  vi. 

f  M.  Paris,  1035. 


282 


SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 


SACRISTY VESTIARY COSTUMES. 


Double  Vestries  adjoining  the  Altar 
are  mentioned;  in  one,  the  garments 
and  Ceimelia  of  the  Church  were  pre- 
served ;  in  the  other,  the  priests  at- 
tended to  reading  the  sacred  Books. 
What  we  should  call  Vestries  were  also 
the  Secretaries  or  Sacristies,  where 
Councils  and  Consistories  were  held, 
and  the  Priests  sometimes  resided.  At 
Gloucester,  the  ancient  Vestiary  for 
the  Church-robes  is  a  series  of  stone 
closets,  formed  of  Gothic  arches  front- 
ed with  iron  lattices,  at  one  end  of  a 
transept ;  but  the  clothes  of  the  Monks 
were,  if  not  in  their  chambers  in  the 
Dormitory,  certainly  deposited  in  a  place 
called  Vestiaria,  perhaps  the  same  as 
the  particular  room,  sometimes  under 
the  Dormitory,  called  Pisalis,  and  espe- 
cially used  for  a  Wardrobe.a 

Eustathius,  condemned  in  the  Gan- 
gran  Council,  was  the  first  Author  of 
the  vestments  of  Monks.b  The  Hood 
and  Tunick  were  intended  to  represent 
the  six  wings  of  the  Cherubim,  viz.  the 
hood  two,  the  sleeves  two  others,  and 
the  body  part  completed  the  number.0 
Notwithstanding  varieties  of  fashion, 
the  articles  were  but  few,  and  by  the 
following  description  every  habit  may 
be  easily  identified. 

Mantle  or  Cloak.  A  large  mantle, 
like  a  modern  dragoon's  cloak,  without 
sleeves. d  A  hood  is  commonly  at- 
tached. It  was  the  same  in  Nuns. 
(Seethe  Plate,  fig.  1.) 

Cowl,  is  simply  a  hood;  but  is  ap- 
plied by  Stevens,  &c.  to  a  gown,  with 
large  loose  sleeves  like  a  counsellor's 
gown.     (See  fig.  2.) 

Rochet.  Simply  two  strips  hanging 
before  and  behind  (see  fig.  3),  open  at 
the  sides.     See  also  Tabard,  p.  284. 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Secretarium,  Pisalis,  Vestiaria. 

b  Le  Vseu  de  Jacob,  827- 

c  Reyner,  76.     D'Emilliane,  223,  et  alii. 

''  Du  Cange,  v.  Cuculla,  culla. 


Scapidary,  a  sleeveless  tunick,  which 
sat  close  to  the  skine  (see  fig.  4),  not- 
withstanding other  definitions  of  it. 
It  signified  armour  against  the  devil/ 
and  was  given  to  the  Monks  that  they 
might  spare  their  cloaks,  when  at 
work.s 

Wimple.  A  dress  covering  the  neck 
and  coming  close  under  the  chin  (see 
fig.  5).     Of  this  hereafter,  p.  284. 

Canon's  Cap,  see  fig.  6. 

Tunicks.  Under  garments,  in  the 
fashion  of  shirts  (sometimes  with 
sleeves,  like  those  of  coats),  only  sitting 
closer  to  the  body.  They  resembled 
a  mail-jacket  in  form,  the  longer  reach- 
ing to  the  ancles,  the  shorter  to  the 
knees.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Monks  wore 
both  these  under  the  cowl.11 

Frock,  a  long  and  ample  gown  with 
sleeves.1  It  mystically  signified  the 
protection  of  God.k 

Stamin.  The  Benedictines,  instead 
of  a  penitentiary  hair  shirt,1  used  what 
Davies  calls  Stamins,  i.  e.  shirts  made 
of  woollen  and  linen.  Perhaps  it  was 
the  same  same  as  the  inner  tunick ;  for 
some  orders,  as  the  Franciscan,  wore 
only  a  woollen  tunick  next  the  skin.m 

Breeches.  The  Highland  Campestre, 
or  fillibeg,  was  probably  the  Celtick 
dress  of  the  British  Monks,  for  the 
Irish  in  the  14th  century  did  not  wear 
breeches.11  The  fillibeg  occurs  in  later 
orders,0  as  do  Stockings  and  Breeches 
in  one  piece  among  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Monks,P  and  Breeches.0- 


e  Specimen  Monachologiae,  Tab.  ii.  fig.  9  to  13. 
f  D'Emilliane' s  Monastical  Orders,  p.  223. 
8  Du  Cange,  v.  Scapulare. 

h  Strutt's  Dresses,  i.  65.     Kirtles  were  kinds  of 
tunicks  often  substituted  for  shirts.     Id.  ii.  349. 
1   Du  Cange,  v.  Cuculla,  culla. 
k  D'Emilliane,  ubi  supra. 
1  Du  Cange,  v.  Staminea. 
m  Specimen  Monachologiae,  p.  20. 
n  Froissart,  x.  161. 
0  Specimen  Monachologiae,  plates. 
p  Strutt,  i.  65.  'Du  Cange,  v.  Infirmitates. 


7//  f/((.jf?  >//'/  //        f '  /t   JJ/  //' 


.l.-L>&e/7  t't///'fr  //  r        ■     / /f  >■///• 


,/..    ///,///->/ 


lu£n*t  saibi. 


MONASTICK      C  OSTIUM  E 


SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 


283 


Stockings  were  usual.a 

Boots.  Leathern  Boot-stockings 
were  worn  by  Cuthbert,b  and  they  ap- 
pear to  have  given  rise  to  all  boots/1 
which  were  first  substituted  for  Sotu- 
laria,  fastened  with  thongs,  in  the  12th 
century  at  St.  Alban's,d  from  superior 
convenience  in  more  expeditious  dress- 
ing, not  soiling  the  hands  in  putting  on, 
&c.  The  Abbot's  boot,  like  the  sign 
of  the  leg,  was  no  doubt  like  that  of 
Henry  VI.  engraved  in  Whitaker^s 
Craven  Deanery  (p.  106),  buttoned  up 
the  side  as  now  gaiters. 

Shoes.  Socks.  Shoes  occur  in  some 
orders/  and  Slippers  or  Socks f  made 
of  felt/  for  day  or  night.  The  old  Irish 
Monks  wore  Brogues.11  Shoe-cleaning 
was  strictly  enjoined,  and  was  done  by 
a  man  on  purpose,  called  Frico.^  The 
process  merely  consisted  in  washing 
them,  and  then  applying  soap,  grease, 
or  other  unctuous  materials .k  Black- 
ing is  first  mentioned  in  the  16th  cen- 
tury. We  then  hear  of  "  a  pair  of 
pumps  on  his  feet,  with  a  cross,  cut  at 
the  toes  for  corns,  not  nue  indeed,  but 
cleanly  blakt  with  soot,  and  shining 
like  a  shoeing  horn."1  It  was  proba- 
bly brought  from  Italy :  for  it  is  said, 
that  the  shoes  of  the  Neapolitan  Fac- 
tors upon  the  exchange  in  London 
shone  with  blacking."1 

Clogs.  Pattens  or  ironed  Socks,  from 
noise,  were  forbidden  to  certain  ca- 
nons,11 and  Bishop  Jewel  mentions 
some  Monks  and  Friars  stalking  upon 
patens.0  Pattens  were  not  usually 
worn  by  men.P  One  Rule  orders 
wooden  clogs,  lest  the  bed-clothes 
should  be  soiled  by  dirty  feet.0- 

Knife.     Among  the   Grandmontines 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Pedules.  b  Id.  v.  Tibrucus. 

c  Id.  v.  Osa.  d  M.  Paris,  1044. 

e  Specimen  Monachologise,  Tab.  iii.  fig.  7. 
f  Du  Cange,  v.  Noctumales,  Diurnales. 
s  Sometimes   at  least.      Du  Cange,  v.  Feltrum, 
Veltro.  h  Id.  v.  Fico. 

1  Id.  v.  Frico. 

k  XV.  Scriptor.  260.   Du  Cange,  v.  Sapo-Sevum. 
1  Nichols's  Progresses,  ii.  31. 
m  Howell's  Letters,  55. 
n  Du  Cange,  v.  Patinus. 
0  Defence  of  his  Apology,  p.  322. 
v  Antiq.  Repert.  ii.  275. 
i  Du  Cange,  v.  Cusjius, 


it  was  worn  with  a  steel,  and  without 
ornament. r  Folding  knives  are  an- 
cient.8 

Comb.  We  hear  of  ivory  combs,t 
but  the  Grandmontine  were  to  be  of 
horn,  and  the  case  of  small  value.u 
Among  the  Romans  they  werex  made 
of  box  or  ivory ;  and  both  among  them, 
and  in  the  middle  ages,  they  were 
adorned  with  bas-reliefs  between  the 
rows  of  teeth,  which  were,  as  now,  of 
unequal  size,y  sometimes  with  only 
studs.2  The  ancient  Germans  made 
combs  of  horse-tail.aa  The  Britons  had 
combs. bb  The  ivory  was  partly  gilt  in 
some  instances/0  and  that  material 
formed  the  comb  used  by  the  Clerks 
and  Monks  before  officiating  at  Massed 
St.  Neot's  comb  was  two  fingers  broad, 
made  of  a  small  bone,  with  the  teeth 
of  fish,  inserted  like  those  of  the  jaws  of 
the  sea- wolf.ee  We  also  hear  of  a  "  faire 
kemb,  with  a  spoonge  deintly  dipt  in  a 
little  capon^s  grease,"  which  made  the 
hair  shine,  like  a  mallards  wing.ff 
Neglect  of  combing  the  hair  was  deem  • 
ed  by  the  Romans  a  token  of  military 
bravery,£g  and  it  was  not  usual  here 
every  day  till  the  Anglo-Norman 
times,hh  except  among  the  Danes,  who 
were  great  fops  in  this  respect.  After- 
wards it  was  deemed  a  great  luxury  to 
have  the  hair  combed,11  and  thought 
essential  to  have  it  well  done.kk 

Handkerchief.  Of  Roman11  and  An- 
glo-Saxon111111 origin,  was  worn  on  the 
left  side.nn 

Needle-case,   occurs   in  the   Grand- 


r  Marteni  Anecdota,  iv.  Col.  1234. 

s  Du  Cange,  v.  Investitura. 

t  Id.  v.  Pecten.  u  Marten,  ubi  supra. 

x  Martial,  Apophor.  xxv.  Juven.  v.  s.  14.  1.  195. 

y  Montfaucon,  Supplem.  iii.  c.  5.  Archseologia, 
xv.  pi.  xli.  z  Strutt's  Dresses,  pi.  xci. 

aa  Plin.  ix.  45. 

bb  Nennius  in  XV.  Scriptor.  108. 

cc  Id.  22.9.  781.        dd  Du  Cange,  v.  Pecten,  &c. 

ee  Leland's  Collect,  iii.  13. 

ff  Nichols's  Progresses,  i.  30. 

es  Juven.  ubi  supra.  hh    Eadm.  23. 

u  Joinville,  i.  350.     Froissart,  v.  21. 

kk  Du  Cange,  v.  Pecten. 

11  Apul.  Oper.  ii.  57,  59,  60.  Ed.  Biss.  Suet,  in 
Nero,  xxii.     Juvenal,  iv.  Sat.  xi.  v.  193. 

mm  Du  Cange,  v.  Facitergium,  Sudarium,  Muc- 
cinimn,  &c. 

un  Fuller's  Church  Hist.  B.  vi.  p.  290.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Mappula. 


284 


SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 


montine  rule  before  quoted.  It  was 
usual  for  all  persons  to  carry  them,  in 
order  to  take  up  loose  stitches,  &c.a 

Girdles,  ought  to  have  been  leather 
straps,  sometimes  mere  ropes.  There 
was  great  abuse  in  wearing  fur  or  silk 
girdles,  adorned  with  gold  or  silver.b 

Reliquaries.  Relicks  enclosed  in 
little  crosses,  boxes,  &c.  were  divided 
by  the  Sacrist,  among  the  Monks,  to 
be  worn  suspended  from  the  neck.c 

Tippets.  Tippets  were  garments  of 
both  sexes,  worn  about  the  neck, 
which,  though  often  narrow,  in  the  end 
became  so  large,  that  they  soon  sup- 
plied the  place  of  mantles.d 

Tabards,  were  garments  covering  the 
front  of  the  body  and  back,  but  open 
on  both  sides  :  e  it  is  difficult  to  distin- 
guish this  robe  from  the  Rochet,  which 
was  sometimes  without  sleeves,  and 
open  on  the  sides.  Indeed  the  Rochet 
was  only  a  sleeved  Tabard  sewed  up  a 
short  way  under  the  arm-pits.f 

Head-coverings.  Among  the  Monks 
this  was  the  hood,  but  Canons  had  a 
particular  cap  s  or  bonnet,  resembling 
that  worn  by  the  Scots.11 

a  Strutt's  Dresses,  pi.  132. 

b  Zonam  de  serico  cum  apparatu  argenteo.  MS. 
Harl.  1005,  f.  69.  b.  Forbidden,  MS.  Harl.  328, 
f.  9.  and  by  canons. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Nuxa,  Capsa. 

d  Strutt's  Dresses,  ii.  377. 

e  Id.  p.  151.  f  Id.  373  and  plates. 

£  This  was  an  ancient  difference  of  costume 
from  Monks.     Reyner,  76. 

h  St.  Louis  fastened  his  bonnet  with  a  ribband, 
tied  in  a  bow  in  front ;  whence  originated  Cockades. 
Maillot,  iii.  109,  pi.  xxxv.  f.  2. 

#%^ 


Tonsure.  The  Tonsure  signified  the 
crown  of  thorns  worn  by  our  Saviour,1 
and  also  denoted  humility,  and  the 
service  of  God,  slaves  being  shorn ; k 
but  though  the  Westerns  used  a  small 
circle  of  short  hair  round  the  head, 
called  the  Tonsure  of  St.  Peter,  some 
orders  had  dropped  it  in  the  14th  cen- 
tury.1   Various  Tonsures  appear: 

1.  The  hair  preserved  with  only  a 
bald  spot  upon  the  crown  of  the  head. 

2.  A  bristly  head  with  a  small  circle. 

3.  Shorn,  with  a  hemisphere  of  hair. 

4.  Shorn,  with  a  continuous  circle  of 
hair. 

5.  Shorn,  with  an  interrupted  circle.m 

The  Nuns  had  similar  habits,  except 
in  some  rules. 

Pilches?  i.  e.  Petticoats,  and 
Veils.  Wimples.  The  first  is  well 
known ;  the  latter  is  the  habit  which 
comes  up  to  the  chin,  and  covers  the 
bosom.  The  two  were  sometimes 
united  ;  sometimes  one  was  substituted 
for  the  other.o  The  Wimple,  accord- 
ing to  Strutt,  appeared  about  the  12th 
century  .P 


1  D'Emilliane,  ubi  supra. 

k  Maillot,  Costumes,  iii.  16. 

1  Id.  iii.  16.  139. 

m  Specimen  Monachologise,  Tab.  i.  fig.  1  to  5. 
See  Reyner,  112. 

n  From  Pellicium,  a  garment  made  of  skins,  or 
furs,  but  the  skins  of  lambs  or  sheep  only  allowed 
to  the  nuns.  The  same  as  Tippets  in  the  first  co- 
lumn of  this  page. 

0  Strutt,  pi.  40.  Cotgrave,  v.  Guimple. 

p  Maillot,  iii.  118,  121,  134, 175. 


SACRISTY— VESTIARY — COSTUMES, 


285 


In  the  preceding  Plate,  Fig.  1,  is  St. 
Radegonde  from  Mezeray  in  Maillot 
(vol.  iii.  pi.  iii.  fig.  7)5  to  illustrate  the 
Veil  and  Wimple  of  a  British  Nun  in 
the  sixth  century. 

Fig.  2,  is  St.  Bathilde  in  the  seventh 
century,  from  the  same  Writers  (vol. 
iii.  pi.  vi.  fig.  5),  for  the  like  illustration. 

Fig.  3,  is  a  Hermits  Costume,  from 
a  wood-cut  in  the  Golden  Legend^ 
printed  in  1503. 


In  a  Manuscript  communicated  by 
Mr.  Nichols  is  the  following  passage 
concerning  Abbots'  Mitres.  When  Ab- 
bots began  to  wear  the  Mitre,  the 
Bishops  complained  bitterly,  that  their 
privileges  were  invaded  by  the  Monks, 
and  they  were  shocked,  above  all,  that 
there  was  no  distinction  between  them 
in  the  Councils  and  Synods.  On  this 
occasion,  Pope  Clement  IV.  ordered 
that  Abbots  should  wear  the  Mitre 
embroidered  with  gold  only,  and  leave 


precious  stones  for  Bishops.    This  law 
was  not  observed.     See  p.  293. 

There  were  great  abuses  of  dress 
among  the  Monasticks,  but  two  singu- 
larities shall  only  be  adduced.  The  first 
is  mentioned  by  Petrarch,  and  in  part 
at  least  applies  to  the  religious.  "  Who 
can  see,"  says  he,  u  with  patience, 
hoods  with  wings,  peruques  with  tails 
toupees ;  men  frizzed  up  with  ivory- 
headed  pins,  such  as  the  women  put 
in  their  hair ;  and  bellies  confined  with 
stays  (ressorts),  a  species  of  torture 
which  was  imposed  on  the  martyrs  ?"a 
Aldhelm,  speaking  of  Nuns,  says,  that 
they  had  not  only  Acus  Discriminates, 
or  Hair-bodkins,  but  Trinkets  hanging 
from  the  neck,  ornamented  with  cres- 
cents, set  with  jewels,  and  smelling- 
bottles,  or  boxes.h  The  excesses  of  the 
Monks  are  regularly  catalogued  by 
Reyner, c  and  the  secular  Clergy  are 
thus  reprobated  in  an  old  song : 


i(  Ye  poope  holy  Prestis  full  of  presumpcion, 
With  your  wyde  furrid  hodes,  voyd  of  discretion, 
Unto  your  owyn  preching  of  contrary  condicion, 
Which  causith  the  people  to  lesse  devocion. 

"  Avaunced  by  symony  in  cetees  and  townys, 

Make  shorter  your  taylis  and  broder  your  crownis, 

Leve  your  short  stuffide  doubelettes  and  your  pleyted  gownis, 

And  kepe  your  own  howsing,  and  passe  not  your  boundis."d 


The  names  of  the  Monks  were  sewed 
in  their  frocks,  hoods,  shirts,  and 
breeches  ; e  and  the  clothes  were  also 
pronounced  in  danger  of  "  being  cor- 
rupte  and  spylte  by  reason  of  moths, 
or  any  other  chaunse,  if  they  were  not 
beaten  and  layde  abrode.^f  The  old 
ones  were  given  to  the  poor,  or  sold  if 
the  Convent  was  in  debt.s  According 
to  Wolsey's  Decretals,  the  garments 
were  to  be  cleaned  by  some  of  the  Ca- 
nons, and  a  fuller  on  purpose  ;  and  the 
washing   was   done   by  a  lay-brother, 


a  Memoires,  iii.  675. 

b   Olfactoriola  Narcli.     Du  Cange  (v.  Matricu- 
larii)  has  the  passage. 

c  Append.  105.  d  MS.  Had.  372,  fol.  113. 

e  Custumale  Roffense,  31,  32. 

f  MS.  Bodl.  3010  (De  vita  Monachorum). 

s  Lyndw.  205. 


suited  to  this  work.h  The  admission  of 
women  for  washing  has  been  already 
mentioned,  as  well  as  the  Taylor's  shop 
for  mending.  By  the  Gilbertine  Rule 
the  washing  and  mending  were  to  be 
done  by  the  Lay-sisters.1 

Instead  of  ironing,  the  clothes  were 
polished  by  a  glass  cylinder,  called  a 
Lischa.k  Heated  irons  are  recent. 
Large  stones  inscribed  with  a  Scripture 
text  were  used  about  the  reigns  of  Eli- 
zabeth and  the  first  James.1  One  of 
these  was  in  the  Museum  of  the  late 
Sir  Ashton  Lever. 


h  Dugdale's  Monast.  ii.  566. 

!  Fol.  720,  762.         k  Du  Cange,  in  voce. 

1  Whitaker's  Craven  Deanery,  p.  401.  Note. 


286 


SACRISTY— VESTIARY — COSTUMES, 


Articles  of  Clothing  belonging  to  the 
several  Orders.* 

Augustinian  Canons.  A  white  tunick, 
with  a  linen  gown  under  a  black  cloak, 
and  a  hood  covering  the  head,  neck,  and 
shoulders.  See  the  Plate,  p.  282,  fig. 
6.) 

The  costumes  of  France  and  Eng- 
land were  the  same,  at  least  till  after 
the  twelfth  century.b  In  the  ninth 
century  the  Canons  were  almost  all 
shorn,  and  wore  a  mantle  and  two  tu- 
nicks,  one  down  to  the  heels,  the  upper 
only  to  the  mid-leg :  between  the  two 
the  stole  went  round  the  neck ;  and  in 
their  hands  they  carried  the  orarium.c 

Augustinian  Canoness.  In  the  Plate, 
(p.  282,  fig.  5)  she  has  a  long  cowl, 
hood,  and  wimple ;  a  short  upper  tu- 
nick  or  rochet,  over  a  long  one. 

Augustinian  Eremite.  In  the  house, 
a  white  tunick,  and  scapulary  over  it. 
In  the  Choir  or  out  of  doors,  a  sleeved 
cowl  and  large  hood,  both  black ;  the 
hood  round  before,  and  hanging  to  the 
waist  in  a  point,  girt  with  a  black  lea- 
ther thong.  (See  the  Plate,  p.  282,  fig. 
2.)  [Thus  Steevens :  the  cowl  is  the 
gown,  which  is  the  costume  of  hermits 
in  the  cuts  of  the  Golden  Legend.  (See 
the  Plate,  p.  284,  fig.  3.)  In  the  Spe- 
cimen Monachologise,  they  wear  a 
black  round  quinque  partite  cap ;  naked 
neck ;  fillibeg,  instead  of  breeches ; 
slippers ;  black  cloth  tunick,  tied  with 
a  black  thong ;  hood,  as  before,  a  black 
mantle  down  to  the  thighs,  and  woollen 
shirt.]  d 

Augustinian  Eremite  Nun.  A  hood 
black  ;  white  wimple  ;  and  black  long 
tunick,  tied  with  a  black  thong. 

Benedictines,  ee  As  for  the  habits  of 
the  Monks,"  says  Steevens,  "  they 
were  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Ab- 
bots, according  to  the  nature  of  the 
country,  as  it  was  either  hotter  or 
colder.     In  temperate  climates  a  cowl 


a  The  authority,  where  not  otherwise  expressed, 
is  Steevens's  Translation  of  Dugdale's  Monasticon. 
b  Maillot,  iii.  66.  c  Id.  pi.  xiv. 

d  P.  24. 


and  a  tunick  were  sufficient ;  the  cowl 
thicker  for  winter  and  thinner  for  sum- 
mer ;  and  a  scapular  to  work  in.  The 
scapular  was  the  upper  garment  during 
the  time  of  labour,  which  was  put  off, 
and  the  cowl  worn  during  the  rest  of 
the  day.  Every  one  had  two  tunicks 
and  two  cowls,  either  to  change  at 
night  or  to  wash  them.  The  stuff  they 
were  made  of  was  the  cheapest  the 
country  afforded.  To  the  end,  that  no 
man  might  have  any  property,  that  is, 
any  thing  he  could  call  his  own,  the 
Abbots  found  them  all  with  every  thing 
that  was  necessary,  that  is,  besides  the 
habit,  a  handkerchief,  a  knife,  a  needle, 
a  steel  pen,  and  tablets  to  write.  Their 
beds  were  a  mat,  a  straw  bed,  a  piece 
of  serge,  a  blanket,  and  a  pillow. 

"  St.  Benedict  did  not  decide  of  what 
colour  the  habit  should  be ;  but  it  ap- 
pears by  ancient  pictures,  that  the  gar- 
ment the  first  Benedictines  wore  was 
white,  and  the  scapular  black.  That 
scapular  was  not  of  the  same  shape, 
that  those  of  the  same  order  do  use  at 
present.  It  was  more  like  the  jerkins 
worn  by  mariners,  saving  that  it  was 
not  open  before,  but  only  a  little  in  the 
sides.  That  sort  of  garment  had  been 
long  before  the  common  garment  of  the 
poor  and  of  peasants/'  (Seethe  Plate, 
p.  282,  fig.  4.)  [Thus  Steevens  :  but  in 
the  ancient  Benedictines,  he  has  for- 
gotten a  coif  upon  the  head.  The 
Specimen  Monachologiee  clothes  the 
Benedictine  Monk  in  breeches;  a  black 
woollen  robe,  covering  the  whole  body 
and  feet ;  hood  loose,  obtuse,  oval,  and 
broad ;  scapulary  plain,  of  the  breadth 
of  the  abdomen  ;  girdle  broad ;  a  black 
cowl  descending  to  the  ancles;  inner 
tunicks  in  general  black ;  shirt  narrow 
at  the  wrist.] e  But  in  the  house  the 
Monk  lays  aside  the  hood,  girds  his 
scapulary,  and  wears  a  crested  or  two- 
fold cap  on  the  head.f 

Benedictine  Nun.  A  black  robe,  with 
a  scapular  of  the  same,  and  under  the 
black  robe,  a  tunick  of  wool  that  has 
not  been  dyed ;  others  wear  the  tunick 

c  Maillot,  iii.  14.        f  Id.  15. 


SACRISTY— VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 


287 


quite  white.  In  the  choir,  or  upon  so- 
lemn occasions,  they  wear  over  all  a 
black  cowl,  like  that  of  the  Monks. 
Thus  Steevens.  [A  black  veil  and 
white  wimple,  as  in  the  Plate,  p.  282, 
fig.  5.]  a 

Brigettine  Nun  and  Friers.  The  sis- 
ters had  two  shifts  of  white  coarse 
woollen,  one  to  wear,  and  the  other  to 
wash  ;  a  tunick  of  coarse  grey  woollen, 
a  cowl  of  the  same,  and  a  mantle  made 
fast  with  a  wooden  button,  which 
mantle  in  the  winter  was  lined  with 
lamb-skins.  For  their  head  attire  they 
had  a  caul  or  coif  covering  their  fore- 
heads, and  coming  down  close  to  the 
cheeks,  fastened  on  the  top  of  the  head 
with  a  pin  :  over  that  coif  or  hood  a 
veil  of  black  cloth,  fastened  with  three 
pins,  and  on  the  black  veil  a  crown 
or  circle  of  white  linen,  with  five 
small  red  pieces  on  it  [for  the  five 
wounds  of  Christ],  which  crown  was 
also  pinned  on. 

The  Friers  had  two  shirts  of  white 
coarse  woollen,  a  tunick  of  coarse 
grey  woollen,  a  cowl  of  the  same,  to 
which  was  attached  a  hood  and  a  mantle 
on  the  left  side  of  it.  The  Priests  wore 
a  red  cross  in  memory  of  our  Saviour's 
passion,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  cross 
a  bit  of  white  cloth  in  form  of  a  host, 
in  memory  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  which 
they  daily  offered.  The  Deacons  wore 
a  white  circle,  to  represent  the  wisdom 
of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church ;  and  on 
that  circle  four  red  pieces  of  the  form 
of  fiery  tongues ;  and  the  Lay-brothers 
a  white  cross  to  betoken  innocence,  in 
which  were  five  little  red  pieces  for  the 
five  wounds  of  Christ. 

Carmelites.  Their  first  habit  was 
white,  as  well  as  their  mantles,  of 
which  the  bottom  was  laced  thick  with 
many  yellow  bands  ;  an  ornament  sup- 
pressed by  Honorius  IV.  They  then 
assumed  the  robe  of  the  Minims, 
and  a  white  mantle.b  In  the  Speci- 
men Monachologiee,c  the  costume  is 
breeches,  a  tunick,  and  white  mantle, 
with  loose  hood  of  the  length  of  the 


a  Maillot,  iii.  15. 


Id.  P.  116. 


P.  27. 


tunick,  another  tunick  shorter,  a  linen 
shirt,  and  woollen  under-waitcoast. 

The  Carmelite  Nun,  besides  her  head, 
veiled  her  face,  and  in  the  choir  wore  a 
longer  cowl  than  the  Friars.d 

Carthusians.  Their  bed,  says  Stee- 
vens, is  to  be  straw,  and  on  it  a  felt  or 
coarse  cloth ;  their  pillow  a  covering  of 
the  coarsest  sheep-skins  and  cloth ; 
their  clothing  two  hair-cloths,  two 
cowls,  two  pair  of  hose,  cloak,  &c.  all 
coarse. 

Cistercians.  Their  habit  was  a  white 
robe  in  the  nature  of  a  cassock,  with  a 
black  scapular  and  hood ;  their  garment 
was  girt  with  a  black  girdle  of  wool : 
in  the  Choir  they  had  over  it  a  white 
cowl,  and  over  it  a  hood,  with  a  rochet 
hanging  down  round  before  to  the 
waist,  and  in  a  point  behind  to  the  calf 
of  the  leg  ;  and  when  they  went  abroad 
they  wore  a  cowl  and  a  great  hood,  all 
black  ;  which  was  also  the  Choir  habit. 
The  Lay-brothers  were  clad  in  dark 
colour,  their  scapular  hung  down  about 
a  foot  in  length  before,  and  was 
rounded  at  the  bottom.  Their  hood 
was  like  that  which  the  Priests  wore 
over  their  cowl,  excepting  the  differ- 
ence of  the  colour.  In  the  Choir,  they 
wore  a  cloak  or  mantle  reaching  to  the 
ground,  of  the  same  colour  as  the  habit. 
The  Novices,  who  were  clerks,  wore  the 
same  habit  in  the  Church,  but  it  was 
all  white.  Their  scapular  was  not  of 
the  same  length  in  all  places  ;  for  some- 
times it  reached  only  half  way  down 
the  thigh,  in  others  to  the  mid-leg,  or 
even  to  the  heels. 

Cistercian  Nuns.  A  white  tunick,  a 
black  scapular  and  girdle.  In  the  Choir, 
most  of  them  wore  cowls,  others  only 
mantles.  The  habits  of  the  Lay-sisters 
were  of  a  dark  colour.  The  Noviciates 
were  clad  in  white.  [Add  a  black  veil 
and  white  wimple.] 

Clugniacks.  A  large  full-sleeved  cowl; 
a  hood  down  to  the  elbows ;  a  rochet  or 
tabard  from  the  chin  to  the  feet,  over  a 
long  tunick. 

Dominicans.  A  white  woollen  tunick, 


Specimen  Monacliologise,  p.  29. 


288 


SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 


bound  with  a  thong ;  a  hood  ;  a  white 
collar ;  a  long  black  woollen  cowl,  when 
they  went  out,  with  a  hood  and  pectoral 
bill,  and  a  dorsal  black,  covering  the 
inner  white  dress.  Inner  vestments 
chiefly  white.  The  Lay-brothers  had 
no  cowl,  and  never  laid  aside  the  hood 
and  black  scapulary. 

The  Dominican  Nun,  except  a  black 
veil,  had  the  same  habit.a  The  Nun  in 
the  Plate  (p.  282,  fig.  5.)  has  the  arms 
crossed  upon  the  bosom.  This  was  the 
posture  of  a  Priest,b  and  occurs  in  va- 
rious images  of  the  Middle  Age. 

Franciscans,    or  Grey  Friers,    from 
their  habit ;  a  long  grey   coat  down  to 
their  heels,  with  a  hood ;  see  the  Plate, 
p.  282,  fig.   1.)    girdle   of  cord  ;  c  and 
were  under  an   obligation   of  wearing 
cloth  next  to  their  very  skin  night  and 
day.d     Steevens  says,  from  the  Rule, 
that  the  Habit  of  Probation  was  two 
tunicks    without    a    hood,    a     girdle, 
breeches,  and  cloak  to  the  waist,  unless 
God  upon  any  occasion  thought  good 
to  order  it  otherwise.     When  the  year 
of  Probation  was  expired,  they  were  to 
have  one  tunick  with  a  hood,  and  ano- 
ther without  a  hood,  if  they  would  have 
them.     Upon  necessity,  they  were  to 
be  shod,  but  to  adopt  mean  habits,  and 
even  mendthem  with  sacks  and  scraps. 
In  the  Specimen  Monachologi6e,e  they 
have  no  breeches,  a  tunick,  a  moveable 
hood,  with  an  appendage,  pendent  be- 
fore and  behind,  hanging  below  a  white 
linen   robe ;  no   scapular ;  but  a  cloak, 
hanging  below  the  loins,  fastened  at  the 
bosom  with  a  bone   fibula.     No  shirt, 
only  a  woollen  under  waistcoat.     The 
tunick  was  full  of  pockets  for  receiving 
edibles,  &c.  for  they  were  called  Men- 
dicants because  pretending  to  Evange- 
lical perfection,  and  begged  from  door 
to  door.f 

The  Franciscan  Nun,  or  Minoress  or 
Poor  Clare,  wore  a  black  veil,  but 
otherwise  imitated  the  males. s 

Friers  of  the  Sack.    The  name  of  the 


Specimen  Monachologise,  p.  16-18. 

M.Paris,  720. 

Somner's  Canterbury,  pp.  99, 100. 

Collectanea  Anglo-Minoritica,  p.  2. 

P.  20.         f  Somner's  Canterbury,  99, 100. 

Specimen  Monachologise,  p.  21. 


Sack,  says  Steevens,  was  given  them 
because  they  wore  garments  made  like 
sacks,  or  from  their  scapulary  being 
made  of  the  same  sort  of  coarse  cloth 
as  sacks ;  but  their  true  name  was 
Friers  of  the  Penance  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Their  Habit  was  made  like  that  of  the 
Capuchins.  They  went  bare  legged  and 
had  only  wooden  sandals  on  their  feet. 
[The  head  was  partially  shorn;  but  they 
retained  the  beard  and  mustachoes  on 
their  upper  lips.  Neck  and  posteriors 
naked ;  a  tunick,  hood  (funnel  formed) 
no  scapulary.  Thus  the  Specimen 
Monachologise  h  of  Capuchins ;  but  the 
tunick  in  Steevens  is  surmounted  with 
a  tabard  of  different  colours.  They  are 
said  to  have  had  pockets  in  the  hood, 
and  under  the  arms.]  * 

The  following  beastly  practices  are 
mentioned  of  the  Capuchins  :  "Tunica 
replicata,  absque  impedimento  cacat  et 
mingit,  anum  fune  abstergit."  And 
again  :  " Aurum  et  argentum  non  tangit, 
sed  venatur  pediculos,  quibus  vexatur 
et  quos  non  occidit."k 

The  Capuchin  Nun  had  an  upper  veil 
black ;  the  lower  white  ;  naked  neck ; 
on  the  breast  a  white  handkerchief.1 

In  Steevens,  the  Nun  of  the  Order  of 
Penance  has  the  veil  as  above ;  a  narrow 
half  mantle  only  behind,  a  girdle,  tu- 
nick, and  bare  feet  with  wooden  clogs. 
Gilber tines.  The  garments  of  the 
Canons  were  to  be  three  tunicks,  one 
coat  of  full  grown  lamb-skins,  and  a 
white  cloak  sewed  before,  four  fingers 
in  breadth,  and  having  furs  to  put  on 
if  the  cloak  were  not  furred,  and  hood 
lined  with  lamb -skins,  and  two  pair  of 
stockings  ;  a  pair  of  woollen  socks,  and 
day-shoes  and  night-slippers ;  as  also  a 
linen  cloak  for  divine  service.  At  time 
of  work  they  had  a  white  scapulary. 
Their  beds  like  the  Cistercian  Monks. 
— Exceptions  were  made  in  the  case  of 
donation  of  habits. 

The  Prior  and  Cellarer  had  boots, 
reaching  a  little  above  their  knees  to  ride 
in;  the  Dorterer  kept  two  or  three  other 
pairs  of  boots  for  the  use  of  such  at  rode 
out,  who  were  to  restore  them  at  their  re- 

h  Specimen  Monachologise,  p.  22. 
. '  Specimen  Monachologiae,  22.  k  Id.  22,  23. 

1  Ibid. 


SACKISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 


289 


turn.  All  the  shoes  of  the  Canons 
were  of  red  leather,  and  of  a  moderate 
height. 

Gilbertine  Nuns.  Five  tunicks ;  three 
for  labour,  and  two  large,  i.  e.  cowls  to 
wear  in  the  Cloister,  Church,  Chapter, 
Refectory,  and  Dormitory,  and  a  sca- 
pulary  for  labour.  All  "had  a  coat  of 
lamb-skins,  and  a  shift  of  coarse  cloth 
if  they  would,  and  black  linen  caps. 
All  cloths  for  their  hoods  were  black 
and  coarse,  and  so  their  veils. 

Premonstratensians.  The  Common 
Habit  was  not  inelegant,  viz.  a  tunick 
girt  round  the  waist,  a  leaf-formed 
hood,  and  head-part  to  throw  back ;  and 
a  bonnet  in  fashion  at  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  centurv.a  (See  the  Plate,  p. 
282,  fig.  3.) 

Trinitarians.  The  Rule  says,  they 
were  to  have  white  woollen  vestments; 
and  a  pilch  and  breeches  each,  which 
they  were  not  to  put  off  in  bed.  They 
were  not  to  have  feather  beds,  only  pil- 
lows.b  In  the  Specimen  Monacholo- 
giee,  the  costume  is  a  hemispherical 
tonsure,  a  flllibeg,  white  woollen  tunick 
tied  with  a  black  thong,  a  loose  white 
hood,  with  a  short  round  pectoral  hang- 
ing before,  a  longer  pointed  dorsal  be- 
hind. A  close  scapulary  shorter  than 
the  tunick.  A  mantle  and  hood,  besides 
that  of  the  tunick.  The  scapulary  and 
left  side  of  the  mantle  marked  with  a 
red  and  blue  cross,  a  shirt  and  wool- 
len vest. 

When  one  of  this  Order  went  abroad, 
he  fed  only  upon  tripe.  u  The  husband, 
whose  home,'*  says  Baron  Bozn,  "a  Tri- 
nitarian Monk  frequented,  should  re- 
member the  horned  stag,  who  always 
accompanied  the  fathers  of  the  species, 
John  cle  Matha  and  Felix  a  Yalois,  and 
warned  all  of  then'  impending  danger  "c 

Knight  Templar.  The  following  ac- 
count is  from  Nichols's  Leicestershire, 
in.  p.  943. 

(i  As  for  their  habit  on  their  heads, 
they  wore  linen  coifs  (like  to  the  Ser- 
jeants at  Law)  and  red  caps  close  over 
them ;  on  their  bodies  shirts  of  mail, 
and   swords  girded  unto  them  with  a 

a  Maillot,  iii.  p.  71,  72,  pi.  sxii.  fig,  4. 

b  Dugd.  Mcraast.  ii.  830. 

c  Specimen  Mcnachologise,  25,  26. 


broad  belt ;  over  all  which  they  had  a 
white  cloak  reaching  to  the  ground, 
with  a  red  cross  on  the  left  shoulder, 
partly  to  the  end  that  having  such  a 
triumphal  figure  instead  of  a  buckler, 
they  should  not  nee  from  any  infidel, 
whilst  they  were  armed  with  so  great  a 
protection,  and  that  to  the  intent  they 
mi^ht  be  distinguished  from  other  re- 
ligious  persons  ;  and  that  they  used  to 
wear  their  beards  of  a  great  length 
(whereas  most  other  religious  orders 
shaved),  appears  from  the  testimony  of 
King  Edward  II.  made  in  behalf  of  an 
eminent  servant  in  his  court.  The 
King,  &c.  a  Since  our  beloved  servant 
Peter  Auger,  bearer  of  these  presents, 
has  made  a  vow,  that  he  will  not  shave 
his  beard,  until  he  has  made  a  pilgrim- 
age in  a  certain  place  in  foreign  parts, 
and  the  said  Peter  is  afraid  that  some 
persons,  by  reason  of  his  long  beard, 
will  take  him  for  a  Templar  and  use 
him  ill ;  we  therefore  grant  him  this 
testimony,  that  he  never  was  a  Tem- 
plar, only  a  servant  of  our  chamber, 
and  only  wears  a  long  beard  for  the 
reason  before  stated." 

Maillot  says,  "  The  Templars  at 
first  used  without  distinction  all  colours 
in  their  dress,  differing  in  that  from  the 
religious,  whom  they  did  not  distin- 
guish from  the  Templars  but  by  the 
colour ;  but  the  Council  of  Troves,  in 
1146,  when  they  adopted  the  rule  com- 
posed by  Bernard,  ordered  that  they 
should  wear  the  white  cross  as  well  as 
the  cloak,  to  which  Eugene  III.  added 
a  red  cross ;  which  cloak  descended 
almost  to  the  feet.  Upon  the  head 
they  wore  a  cap,  like  a  sal  a  de  or  bowl- 
scull  cap.  The  long  beard  a  Y orientate 
was  the  distinctive  mark  of  this  Order ; 
and  their  standard  was  half  black,  half 
white. d 

Knights  Hospitalers.  Pope  Honorius 
III.  assigned  to  them  for  their  dress,  a 
black  mantle  with  a  white  cross  in  the 
fore-part  thereof.e  The  rest  of  the 
dress,  consists  of  a  chapeau  in  the  he- 
raldick  form,  a  surcote,  and  mail,  and 
plated  armour  mixed,  with  a  long  sword 
and  belt  round  the  waist. 

d  Costumes,  123,  pi.  38.  f.  11. 
e  Nichols's  Leicestershire,  vol.  iii. 
U 


290 


ECCLESIASTICAL    COSTUME. 


CHAPTER  LX. 


CURIOUS    AND    SELECT    COSTUMES    OF    VARIOUS    ECCLESIASTICKS. 


The  following  interesting  Chapter  was 
kindly  contributed  by  an  intelligent 
and  industrious  Artist;  who  sedu- 
lously applied  the  labours  of  a  long 
professional  life  to  the  study  of  our 
National  Antiquities,  and  more  es- 
pecially those  which  relate  to  our 
Ecclesiastical  and  Monastic  Remains. 


It  being  understood  that  I  had  de- 
voted much  of  my  time  to  the  study  of 
our  ancient  Costume,  civil,  military, 
ecclesiastical,  and  regal,  by  sketches 
(pencilled  drawings  taken  from  the  ori- 
ginals on  the  spot,  and  afterwards  made 
into  finished  drawings,)  done  from  such 
remains,  exemplified  in  sculptures, 
paintings,  and  brasses,  I  was  referred 
to,  by  my  old  and  worthy  friend  Mr. 
Nichols,  in  order  to  make  some  select 
drawings  for  the  Ecclesiastical  Cos- 
tumes, with  explanations  ;  which  are 
submitted  in  the  following  Plates,  en- 
graved by  Mr.  James  Basire,  junior, 
under  my  superintendence  and  cor- 
rections. 

J.  Carter. 


Specimens  of  English  Ecclesi- 
astical Costume,  from  the 
earliest  period  down  to  the 
Sixteenth  Century,  selected 
from  Sculptures,  Paintings, 
and  Brasses  remaining  in  this 
Kingdom. 


Among  the  various  selections  from 
our  antiquities,  in  series  arranged  chro- 
nologically, that  of  Ecclesiastical  Cos- 
tume has  not  hitherto  engaged  parti- 
cular attention.  Whether  the  pursuit 
has  not  interested  any  exploratory  hand, 
or  that  such  subjects  are  held  as  too 
much  connected  with  the  original  reli- 


gion of  the  country,  from  an  over- 
zealous  study  on  the  features  thereof 
raising  an  interest  incompatible  with 
the  present  orthodox  precepts  of  the 
Established  Church,  it  is  rather  difficult 
to  determine.  With  impartial  minds, 
not  swayed  by  bigoted  impressions, 
such  ideas  must  give  way  to  more 
useful  study,  guided  by  the  opinion 
that  every  line  of  information,  whether 
it  squares  exactly  with  our  real  senti- 
ments, must  impart  something  that 
merits  notice ;  no  part  of  science 
should  be  avoided,  or  lost ;  and  surely, 
that  vestige,  which  once  rendered  this 
land  magnificent,  if  it  deserves  no  other 
appellation,  ought  to  engage  attention. 
On  such  grounds,  therefore,  the  present 
Collection  is  submitted  ;  not  alone  to 
exhibit  the  variety  of  Habits  worn  at 
different  periods,  but  as  examples  of 
the  Progress  of  the  Arts  of  Sculpture, 
Painting,  &c.  then  prevailing.  And  it 
may  be  asserted  that  our  ancestors 
were  conspicuously  eminent  for  more 
enlightened  ideas  than  those  of  Laws 
and  Arms,  which  seem  to  be  all  the 
mental  gifts  allowed  them,  though  their 
descending  gigantic  and  splendid  works 
of  Architecture  are  standing  in  majestic 
state  still  before  us.  Why  therefore 
not  give  them  credit  for  possessing 
every  other  gift  enriching  the  human 
sense  then,  as  well  as  now,  by  those 
who  live  ?  To  think  or  maintain  opi- 
nions to  the  contrary,  is  to  pass  but  a 
cold  compliment  on  the  capabilities  of 
Englishmen  at  any  period  !  Thus  pre- 
mising, we  enter  on  the  main  purpose 
of  the  ensuing  objects,  which  is  to  re- 
store, though  in  the  smallest  degree,  a 
regular  representation  of  Antient  Reli- 
gious Costume,  in  aid  of  historical  in- 
formation, both  in  Literature  and  the 
Arts,  before  the  originals  are  oblite- 
rated from  the  public  eye,  by  disfigure- 
ment or  utter  annihilation. 


CIjAS  §  1  = 


<ma/mduAAA.  67$  ■ 


/(sr/vwAu'  // . 


.y\  (XiM^tc/io 


j/vo. 


s/066 .  </r'S  Jaa&n/- 


CLASS   11 


^JtocneMer,  // 


i/e/e^/ftyco^^anX 


£<Ueas  €a^.(%mAJxUileS.  ^LnJJJ^^Xff.  Q^t/ia^  MS* 


ECCLESIASTICAL    COSTUME. 


291 


Class  I. 

Mahnesbiiry,  anno  6*J5.  Figure, 
among  others  of  the  Apostles,  in  basso 
relievo,  of  St.  Peter,  in  the  south  porch 
of  the  Abbey-Church  of  xVIalmsbury, 
Wiltshire.  Sketched  1801.  Saxon 
work.  The  double  keys  in  the  right 
hand  (head  of  the  church),  book  with 
jewels  of  the  New  Testament  (suppose) 
in  the  left;  the  robes  are  becoming, 
and  well  disposed;  jewels  on  the  border 
of  the  neck  ;  feet  bare. 

Malmesbury.  Figure  of  a  Religious 
in  basso  relievo  on  door-way  at  the 
entrance  into  the  church  ;  the  dress  is 
the  simple  Monk's  habit,  Hood,  &c. 

Winchester,  963.  Figure  of  a  Bishop, 
in  basso-relievo  on  the  font a  (Saxon 
work)  in  the  Cathedral.  Sketched  1 790. 
The  Sculpture  is  not  by  the  best  hand  : 
but  the  Costumic  information  imparted 
supersedes  that  consideration  ;  crosier 
extremely  simple  (shepherd's  crook)  ; 
mitre  simple  also  and  low ;  outer  robe 
enriched  with  beads,  and  diagonal  em- 
broidery; under  diagonals  maniple 
beaded. 

Norwich.  1100.  Statue  of  a  Bishop 
in  a  niche  on  West  front  of  the  Cathe- 
dral. (Saxon.)  Sketched  1786.b  Cro- 
sier, meer  crook  ;  no  mitre ;  robes  not 
enriched  ;  right  hand  giving  the  bene- 
diction. 

In  a  Saxon  MS.  circa  1066,  in  pos- 
session of  of  F.  Douce,  Esq.  Sketched 
1787.  Figure  of  a  Bishop;  pastoral 
staff,  cross  on  top  has  four  beads  ; 
mitre  very  high,  a  few  beads  and  jewels; 
robes  not  enriched  ;  the  colours  express 
for  the  outer  robe  a  gold  ground,  under 
robe  red ;  extreme  under  robe  white, 
with  a  gold  fringe ;  red  boots. 

In  a  Saxon  MS.  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum. Sketched  1810.  Figure  of  a 
female;  the  lines  in  ink  tinged  with 
red.  Understood  to  represent  St.  Mary 
Magdalene  with  the  vessel  of  precious 
ointment:  attitude  chaste,  robes  ele- 
gant, and  drawing  excellent. 

a  The  font  engraved  in  Carter's  "  Antient  Ar- 
chitecture." 

b  Engraved  with  the  niche  in  Carter's  "  Antient 
Architecture." 


Class  II. 

Rochester,  1109.  Statue  in  a  niche 
on  West  front  of  the  Cathedral.  (Sax- 
on.) Sketched  1783.  In  this  statue 
the  head  of  crosier,  mitre,  and  right 
hand  restored;  neck  border  of  outer 
robe  beaded ;  on  the  breast  a  broach  ; 
under  robe  ornamented;  extreme  under 
robe,  reticulated  ornament ;  right  hand 
giving  the  benediction. 

Peterborough.  Statue  lying  in  South 
aile  of  the  Choir  of  the  Cathedral. 
Sketched  1783.  Cannot  give  precise 
date,  as  the  sculpture  is  not  now  dis- 
posed on  any  sepulchral  memorial  or 
tomb  ;  appears  to  have  been  brought 
from  some  other  situation  ;  supposed 
however  to  be  of  early  work,  that  is, 
soon  after  the  Conquest,  as  the  sculp- 
ture is  Saxon,  therefore  introduced  in 
this  place.  Crosier,  the  simple  crook ; 
no  mitre;  book  in  left  hand;  robes 
plain. 

Peterborough.  No  date.  Statue  lying 
with  the  foregoing ;  of  course  to  be  ac- 
counted for  in  the  same  way.  Crosier, 
simple  crook ;  no  mitre  ;  outer  robe, 
embroidered  with  a  centrical  cross ; 
rich  foliage  on  the  breast ;  in  left  hand 
a  book  with  clasps. 

Careiv  Castle,  Pembrokeshire.  No 
date;  but  supposed,  from  the  mode  of 
sculpture,  requisite  to  be  brought  for- 
ward at  this  juncture.  Sketched  1803. 
A  Priest  in  plain  robes,  but  with  an 
inverted  cross  embroidered  centrically  ; 
supposed  officiating,  and  holding  be- 
tween the  hands  the  consecrated  wafer 
in  the  shape  of  a  heart. 

Liana1  aff.  1120.  Statue  on  West 
front  of  the  Cathedral.  Sketched  1803. 
A  good  performance;  crosier,  the  simple 
crook;  mitre  plain,  as  are  the  robes; 
right  hand  giving  the  benediction. 

Durham.  1154.  Figure  of  a  Bishop 
painted  on  the  side  of  the  altar  of  our 
Ladie  of  Pitie  in  the  Gallilee  at  West 
front  of  the  Cathedral.  Sketched  1795. 
Crosier,  little  more  than  the  simple 
crook,  is  painted  to  represent  gold ; 
mitre,  gold,  has  a  few  jewels  with  de- 
pending drapery;  outer  robe  red,  jewels 

u  2 


292 


ECCLESIASTICAL    COSTUME. 


on  neck  border  and  bottom;  under 
robe  blue ;  extreme  under  robe  white ; 
shoes  white;  right  hand  giving  the 
benediction. 

Class  III. 

Lichfield.  No  date.  Statue  of  a 
Bishop  in  the  Cathedral.  Judged^  from 
the  mode  of  sculpture  and  Costume, 
to  be  of  the  above  period.  Sketched 
1782.  Crosier,  crook;  foliaged  dra- 
pery depending  from  the  staff:  robes 
plain,  except  a  jewel  on  the  breast, 
though  full  and  graceful ;  gloves ;  right 
hand  giving  the  benediction. 

York.  No  date.  Figure  of  a  Bishop 
painted  on  the  walls  of  the  Chapter- 
house of  Cathedral.  Sketched  1790. 
Since  obliterated.  Judged,  from  mode 
of  dress,  to  be  of  the  above  period. 
Staff  has  a  cross  gilded  with  its  depend- 
ing drapery  ;  mitre,  few  jewels,  gilded  ; 
outer  robe  green  edged  with  gold,  open 
in  front  and  fastened  with  a  brooch  on 
the  breast ;  under  robe  white,  with  at- 
tached brown  drapery  on  each  side; 
white  gloves  and  shoes ;  right  hand 
giving  the  benediction. 

Wells.  No  date.  Statue  of  a  Bishop 
in  the  Cathedral.  Sketched  1 784.  Judg- 
ed to  be  of  the  above  period ;  has  no 
sepulchral  memorial ;  said  to  have  been 
brought  from  the  Abbey-church  of  Glas- 
tonbury. Crosier  foliaged  ;  mitre  plain; 
outer  robe  plain ;  on  left  arm  the  ma- 
niple ;  right  hand  on  the  heart,  an  em- 
blem of  Truth. 

Hexham,  Northumberland.  No  date. 
Statue  of  Prior  Richard  on  North  side 
of  Choir  of  the  Abbey  church.  Sketch- 
ed 1  795.  Judged  to  be  of  the  above 
period.  Robes  are  those  of  a  Priest, 
and  plain  ;  hood  drawn  over  the  face ; 
attitude,  devotional.  The  statue  is  laid 
on  a  low  tomb. 

Ingham,  Norfolk.  No  date.  Figure 
of  a  Bishop  seated,  painted  on  board 
in  a  series  of  historical  subjects  in  the 
Church.  Sketched  1787-  Apprehend 
still  of  the  same  period.  Mitre,  few 
jewels  and  gilded ;  outer  robe  blue,  and 
gold  edges,  with  the  like  foliage  em- 


broidered at  neck ;  under  robe  red 
edged  with  gold  fringe ;  depending  gold 
foliage  and  tassels;  extreme  under  robe 
white;  white  gloves  and  black  shoes. 
Attitude,  devotional. 

Connington,  Huntingdonshire.  No 
date.  Statue  of  a  Knight  in  ring  ar- 
mour, over  the  armour  a  MonVs  habit. 
Sketched  1798.  The  above  date  going 
on.  Girdle  is  the  knotted  cord.  Atti- 
tude, devotional.  The  singularity  as 
well  as  the  curious  turn  of  the  sculp- 
ture (and  it  is  believed  no  other  exam- 
ple exists),  is  that  of  a  Warrior  being 
thus  habited;  but  the  intent  is  obvious; 
a  military  man  retires  into  a  Monas- 
tery^  where,  notwithstanding  having 
taken  the  order,  he  is  so  biassed  to  his 
former  life,  as  to  be  unable  to  put  aside 
his  warlike  accoutrements. 

Class  IV. 

Louterell  Psalter;  circa  1300.  A 
most  beautiful  and  Costumic  illumi- 
nated folio  MS.  in  the  possession  of 
Thomas  Weld,  Esq.  of  Lulworth  Cas- 
tle, Dorsetshire.  The  variety  of  dresses, 
suiting  all  degrees  of  persons,  are  in- 
finite and  interesting;  from  among 
which  is  selected  this  ecclesiastical  ob- 
ject, a  female  as  a  Lady  Abbess.  Co- 
pied 1793.  Crosier,  foliaged  crook  gild- 
ed; outer  robe,  black;  under  robe^ 
wimple,  and  shoes  white ;  attitude,  giv- 
ing the  benediction,  but  with  the  left 
hand.  Query,  if  such  was  the  practice 
with  religious  women  ? 

Louterell  Psalter.  Priests  officiating, 
by  chanting  part  of  the  service  from  a 
book  sustained  on  the  Eagle  desk.  The 
principal  Priest  has  a  blue  reticulated 
outer  robe  lined  with  red ;  white  under 
robe.     Other  Priests,  in  white  robes. 

St.  Cross.  1382.  Brass  in  the  Church 
of  the  Hospital  of  St.  Cross,  near  Win- 
chester. Sketched  1789.  It  represents 
the  figure  of  John  de  Campden,  grand 
vicar  and  confidential  friend  of  the  il- 
lustrious William  of  Wickham,  and 
master  of  this  hospital.  The  outer  robe 
has  an  enriched  diamond-formed  bor- 
der; attitude,  devotional. 


riAss    in. 


^'fcA/i&cd. . 


tfueasntwri  . 


^J?zty/2a  ;?i 


(t>??  ?>s/i<j/<>?l 


j//^^//_S>^-         i?wW/  S4^fe. 


CXiAS 


Sa<rv/ley  t  '//Z  -_^v^  ?  z  ^7 


_:_-/  «  l/uz-m 


A  7//, 


_^/j<-f  <'(//; 


ftjceUr-./Sa? '. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    COSTUME, 


293 


Dorchester.  No  date.  Supposed,  from 
mode  of  work,  to  belong  to  this  class. 
Small  statues  attached  to  the  mullions 
of  the  South  window  in  Choir  of  the 
Abbey-church  of  Dorchester  near  Ox- 
ford. Sketched  17^3.  They  represent 
a  funeral  procession,  said  to  be  that  of 
St.  Berinus,  patron  of  the  Church.  In 
order  to  accommodate  the  several  fi- 
gures to  the  space  allotted  in  the  plate, 
they  are  necessarily  brought  closer  to- 
gether than  seen  in  the  existing  sculp- 
ture. First  statue,  Priest  with  holy 
water  sprinkler  and  ditto  vessel.  Se- 
cond statue,  bearing  the  processional 
cross.  Third  and  fourth  statues  with 
books ;  fifth  and  sixth  statues  bear  on 
their  shoulders  parts  of  the  staves  which 
sustained  the  body  in  a  coffin,  or  shrine 
of  St.  Berinus,  which,  of  course  by 
ignorant  hands,  foes  to  antient  art,  has 
been  destroyed.  Seventh  statue,  Bi- 
shop or  Abbot  officiating,  with  plain 
crosier  and  mitre,  in  the  attitude  of 
reciting  some  portion  of  the  solemn 
service.  Eighth,  ninth,  and  tenth  sta- 
tues, Priests  following  with  books,  &c. 
This  mode  of  funeral  observance  has 
been  most  scrupulously  adhered  to,  and 
brought  down  to  the  present  times 
among  Catholicks,  which  I  have  often 
witnessed,  and  particularly  so,  Monday 
Jan.  28,  1793,  being  the  Monday  after 
the  horrid  Martyrdom  of  Lewis  XYI. 
when  his  funeral  obsequies  were  cele- 
brated in  the  Spanish  chapel,  Manches- 
ter square.  The  Bishop  of  Limoges, 
who  had  been  tutor  to  the  unfortunate 
Monarch,  read  the  awful  ceremonial. 

Class  V. 

Sawtry  All  Saints,  Huntingdonshire. 
Brass  half-length  figure  of  a  Priest, 
(with  the  flagellarium,)  in  the  church. 
No  date.  Conceive  from  the  Costume, 
to  be  of  the  period  under  discussion. 
Sketched  1798. 

Durham.  Statue  placed  (as  lumber,) 
in  a  disused  Chapel  in  basement  story 
of  the  Bishop's  Palace.  Sketched  1795. 
It  is  crowned,  which  is  an  extraordi- 
nary circumstance,  unless  it  is  to  be 
considered  as  an  allusion  to  the  princely 
jurisdiction  which  the  Bishop  of  this 


I  See  maintains.  The  robes  are  full  and 
|  stately ;  the  right  arm  probably,  when 
I  perfect,  shewed  the  hand  giving  the 
j  benediction :  what  object  the  left  hand 
I  sustained  it  is  difficult  to  form  any 
conjecture. 

Wensley,  No  date.  Brass  figure  of 
a  Priest  in  Wensley  Dale  Church, 
Yorkshire.  Sketched  1790.  Costume 
appears  still  in  continuation  for  this 
eera.  Robes  express  the  full  officiating 
detail,  and  highly  enriched,  the  under 
one  particularly  so.  Attitude,  devo- 
tional; hands  crossed,  which  uphold 
the  chalice. 

St.  Allan's.  Brass  in  the  xAbbey- 
church.  Sketched  1783.  Supposed  of 
Thomas  de  la  More,  Abbot  1396.  Cro- 
sier much  foliaged  and  studded  with 
jewels,  as  is  the  mitre  [see  p.  285]  ; 
the  enrichment  of  the  border  to  the 
robes,  maniple,  &c.  a  mixture  of  circles 
and  diamond  forms.  Depending  deco- 
ration over  the  under  robe  has  com- 
partments of  four  turns  ;  shoes  en- 
riched. Attitude,  devotional ;  hands 
crossed. 

Beverley.  No  date  ;  yet  supposed  of 
this  eera.  Sketched  1790.  Statue  of  a 
Priest  on  a  tomb  in  the  Minster.  The 
enrichments  to  the  borders  and  other 
parts  of  the  robes  consist  chiefly  of 
shields  of  arms,  evincing  this  personage 
to  have  been  of  high  birth  and  charac- 
ter. Attitude,  devotional;  hands,  crossed. 
Exeter.  Statue  of  Bishop  Walter 
Branscomb,  1281,  (or  1397,)  when  exe- 
cuted^ in  his  sumptuous  monument  on 
South  side  of  our  Lady's  Chapel  in  the 
Cathedral.  Sketched  1792.  As  we  are 
arrived  in  due  order  at  the  zenith  of 
splendour,  the  reign  of  Edward  III. 
when  every  power  of  the  human  mind 
seemed  so  pre-eminently  conspicuous, 
more  immediately  in  Laws,  Arms,  and 
Architecture,  of  which  such  extraordi- 
nary documents  are  on  record,  and  in 
actual  existence,  particularly  the  latter 
subject;  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  the  sculpture  of  the  statue  before 
us  is  so  excellently  brought  forward  in 
the  crosier,  mitre,  and  robes  :  how  ele- 
gant in  disposure,  how  gorgeously  en- 
riched !     From  this  specimen  of  eccle- 


294 


ECCLESIASTICAL    COSTUME. 


siastical  magnificence  an  opinion  may 
be  adduced  what  extreme  splendour  per- 
vaded the  whole  field  of  Church  Em- 
bellishment, in  recurring  to  York  cathe- 
dral;  Durham  cathedral;  Bishop  Hat- 
field's throne  and  monument,  and  High 
Altar  screen  therein ;  St.  Stephen's 
chapel,  Westminster;  Percy  monument, 
Beverley  minster;  Earl  Crouchback5s 
monument,  Westminster  Abbey,  &c. 
&c.  From  these,  and  other  the  like 
objects  in  various  parts  of  the  king- 
dom, are  adduced  the  strongest  proofs 
of  the  taste  of  painting,  gilding,  &c. 
overlaying  the  internal  face  of  the  walls, 
monuments,  statues,  painted  ornaments, 
colouredpaving-tiles,enamelledbrasses, 
&c.  Hence  it  may  be  accounted  why 
the  present  statue  is  so  minutely  co- 
loured in  the  above  mode.  Gilded  fo- 
liaged  crosier,a  inclosing  small  statue 
of  a  Saint ;  mitre,  diamonded  compart- 
ments with  jewelry  work,  &c.  the  exe- 
cution of  which  (painting)  is  most  won- 
derfully elaborate  :  I  speak  without  fear 
of  contradiction  but  by  those  who  have 
never  studied  or  drawn  from  this,  or 
other  like  remains.  Having  most  scru- 
pulously copied  this  example  to  the 
fullest  scale  in  many  large  drawings,  I 
may  thus  presume  on  the  certainty  of 
what  I  now  advance  in  its  praise ;  in- 
deed  too  much  cannot  be  said  to  cause 
general  observation  and  general  regard : 
(I  allude  principally  to  the  statue  it- 
self.) Outer  robe,  gold  embroidery 
with  jewels ;  under  robe,  and  extreme 
under  robe,  white  with  gold  fringe ;  the 
same  to  the  crosier  drapery,  and  the 
white  gloves ;  shoes  embroidered  and 
jewelled.  Right  hand  giving  the  bene- 
diction. 

Class  YI. 

As  all  things  submit  to  changeful 
habitude,  our  Costumic  theme  owns 
the  truth  of  this  do^ma.  The  succeed- 
ing  reigns  shew  less  superb  embellish- 
ments ;  an  insensible  diminution  of  the 


a  See  William  of  Wykeham's  actual  Crosier  of 
this  time  in  New  College  Chapel,  Oxford.  En- 
graved in  Carter's  "Antient  Sculpture  and  Paint- 
in-." 


painter's  labours  takes  place,  more  tin* 
assuming,  and  bearing  a  tendency  to 
bring  the  whole  mass  of  work  to  the 
united  skill  alone  of  the  mason  and 
sculptor,  still  not  the  less  refined  and 
high-wrought  than  formerly,  painted 
glass  excepted.  But  of  this  branch  of 
art  hereafter. 

Asliby  de  la  Zouch,  Leicestershire. 
No  date.  Having  fixed  on  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fifteenth  centur)7  as  above, 
it  is  concluded  from  similar  costumes 
that  our  thread  of  chronological  order 
is  correct.  Sketched  1800.  Represents 
some  dignified  personage,  who  having 
previously,  it  is  supposed,  been  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  request- 
ed on  his  return  that  his  effigies  after 
death  might  be  sculptured  in  his  Pil- 
grim's habit,  as  here  represented.  This 
statue  is  on  his  monument  in  the 
church.  The  staff  with  cross  at  top, 
hat  with  escalop  shells  (St.  James  the 
Fisherman  the  Patron  of  Pilgrims) ; 
scrip  slung  over  the  shoulders,  with 
cross  band  and  shells  :  outer  robe,  half 
open  sleeves,  shewing  close  robe  under 
them ;  sandals  laced ;  collar  of  S.  S. 
Attitude,  devotional. 

Oxford.  No  date ;  our  present  eera 
is  still  in  progress.  Sketched  1792. 
Brass  Figure  of  John  Bloxham  (Mas- 
ter) in  Merton  College  chapel.  Robes 
consist  of  a  flowing  gown  and  mantle. 
Attitude,  devotional. 

Winchester.  Statue  of  Cardinal  Beau- 
fort; in  his  monumental  Chapel  on 
South  side  of  grand  East  aile  of  Choir 
of  the  Cathedral.  He  died  1447.  Sketch- 
ed 1790.  The  robes  worn  by  Cardinals 
of  this  period  were  rather  plain ;  that 
before  us  graceful;  it  is  painted;  round 
hat,  and  depending  knotted  tassels  red; 
outer  robe  red,  sleeves  of  under  robe 
purple ;  shoes  black.  Attitude,  devo- 
tional. It  is  to  be  pointed  out,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  other  statues  in 
the  Church,  Wykeham,  Waynflete,  he. 
have  been  much  disfigured,  particularly 
in  the  noses  (an  almost  universal  bar- 
barous custom  throughout  the  king- 
dom,) and  as  miserably  repaired  by 
some  ignorant  mechanic,  the  statue  of 
the  Cardinal,  maugre  the  invidious  cha- 


CIAS 


/6//y  de   to.  UsrttcA,  . 


/^/ 


A///'//y//vAv',  /447. 


.'///X/L^a^J.y/,,/.  . 


C  '■'•(:/<'/■  ,/'/, 


////,/  iy/Y,, //  ^Zon ,/, v 


J.Carter  dtl. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    COSTUME. 


295 


meter  bestowed  by  Shakespeare,a  re- 
mains perfect,  imparting  to  unpreju- 
diced minds  sentiments  of  the  utmost 
awe  and  veneration. 

All-hallows  Church,  York.   No  date; 
yet  this  eera  may  be  considered   as  of 
course.  Sketched  1790.    Painted  figure 
of  a  Bishop  in  a  window  of  the  Church. 
Pastoral  staff  has  a  rich  jewelled  cross, 
supported   by   canopies  gilded;    mitre 
foliaged  and  gilt,  jewels,    &c.     Outer 
robe  white,  with  an  embroidered  cross 
inclosing  smaller  ditto ;  ground  of  robe 
worked  in  small  gold  flowers  and  edged 
with  jewels;  under  robe  purple,  edged 
with  jewels  and  green  fringes  ;  extreme 
under  robe,  white  with  gold  edgings ; 
gloves  and  shoes  white.     Right  hand 
giving  the  benediction.     The  paintings 
of  this  era,    and   those    more  imme- 
diately on  glass,  partook  of  a  less  de- 
gree of  high   colouring  than  those   of 
the  late  reign :  while  those  branches  of 
art  under  the   direct  sway  of  architec- 
tural design  were  profuse  and  unbound- 
ed efforts  both  in  masonry  and   sculp- 
ture ;  and  it  is  found  that  in  the   six- 
teenth  century,  exclusive   of  heraldic 
blazonings,    the    only  colour    used   in 
glass  painting  was  yellow. 

Exeter.     Statue  "of  Bishop  Oldham 
in  his  monumental   Chapel  on   South 
side  of  South  aile  of  Choir  of  the  Ca- 
thedral. He  died  1453.  Sketched  1792. 
Work  of  the  crosier  elaborate  in  foliage 
an  d  j  ewels ;  the  d  ep  en  din  g  drapery  from 
it  pleasingly  bound  about  the   staff,  a 
mode  then    in  general  practice,   as   is 
witnessed  in  numerous  instances  among 
our  sepulchral  remains.     Mitre,  richly 
studded   with   jewels,    as    is    also    the 
maniple ;  under  robe  fringed,  extreme   | 
under    robe    and    depending    drapery   j 
fringed;    gloves   with  jewels  and  tas-   j 
sels.     Attitude,  devotional. 

Guildhall,  London.  Erected  in  the 
fourteenth  century.  Female  statue  on 
the  South  or  entrance  front  over  the 
porch  of  the  hall.  Sketched  1783.  The 
greater  part  of  this  porch  has  been  de- 


a  He  appears,  in  Milner's  "  History  of  Winches- 
ter,"  to  have  been  a  most  exalted  and  praise- 
worthy Ecclesiastick. 


stroyed,  except  the  door- way  and  ave- 
nue into   the  hall,  and  in  its  place   a 
most  odious  and  ridiculous  upright  in 
the    mock  East  Indian   style   set   up, 
more  to  the  City's  reproach  than  ho- 
nour.    This,  with   three   other   female 
j   statues  in  the  same  tier,  expressed  Dis- 
i   cipiine  (having  taken  the  veil),  Justice, 
|   Fortitude,  and  Mercy,  all  equally  deli- 
cate   and    beautifully    executed :    they 
have  been  dispersed  into  various  hands; 
but,  being  considered   as  the   work  of 
some    unknown    and    remote    English 
artist,  therefore  no  real  interest  became 
their  portion,  so  necessary  to  fix  them 
in  a  final  resting-place,  either  in  some 
private  or  public  repository,  the  British 
Museum  for  instance,  like  those  there 
seen  of  Roman  or  Grecian  Pagan  ido- 
latry.    The  costume  is  that  of  a  Nun, 
with  outer  and  under  robes,  veil  and 
wimple.     Attitude,  devotional. 

Class  VII. 

Barnacle. Northamptonshire.  No date; 
however,  the  period  is  proceeding  on 
with.  Sketched  1780.  The  figure  of 
a  Bishop  carved  in  oak  pannel  in  low 
relief,  in  some  pew  fences  in  the  church. 
Mitre  has  jewels;  its  dependant  dra- 
peries plain :  outer  robe  shews  a  bor- 
der of  jeAvels,  and  fastened  on  the  breast 
in  front  by  a  brooch  or  fibula.  Here 
is  found  a  great  change  in  the  make  of 
the  outer  robe,  not  less  than  the  fore 
part  of  it  being  left  open,  and  merely 
brought  together  and  secured  on  the 
breast  as  above  stated.  Antecedently, 
the  outer  robe  appears  to  have  been 
one  covering,  and  put  on  by  casting  it 
over  the  heads  of  the  Clergy ;  the  arms 
raised  the  sides  of  the  robe,  which, 
with  their  occasional  actions,  brought 
the  whole  covering  into  fine  disposed 
drapery,  as  witnessed  in  our  progress 
hitherto.  Under  robe  fringed,  cross 
band  over  front  of  it ;  extreme  under 
robe  plain.     Attitude,  admonitory. 

London.  No  date  :  our  progress  con- 
tinued. Sketched  17S2.  Figure  of  a 
Bishop  painted  in  East  window  of  Tri- 
nity Hall  chapel,  Aldersgate  street, 
(Chapel  destroyed)  of  "  St.  Basil  the 


296 


ECCLESIASTICAL    COSTUME. 


Great v  (in  an  inscription  under  the 
feet).  After  the  removal  of  the  paint- 
ing, it  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
late  Mr.  Kirgate,  Printer,  Strawberry 
Hill.  Pastoral  staff,  gold  ;  mitre,  with 
jewels  and  gold  work;  outer  robe,  pur- 
ple lined  with  blue;  and  purple  ena- 
meled broach  ;  mantle,  green  bordered 
with  blue  embroidered  ornament :  under 
robe  (seen  on  the  breast)  diamonded 
form  gold  brocade;  extreme  under  robe 
white;  shoes  blue.  Attitude,  giving 
the  benediction. 

Hexham,  Northumberland.  No  date  : 
eera  in  succession.  Sketched  1795. 
Painting  on  board,  in  the  Abbey-church 
of  St.  Acca.  There  are  five  more  of 
the  same  kind,  as  St.  Almundus,  St. 
^Eata,  St.  Wilfridus,  St.  John  of  Bever- 
ley, and  St.  Fredbert.  They  are  the 
size  of  life,  finely  painted  on  board,  in 
their  original  frames,  and  display  the 
most  strict  studied  Costume.  Crosier 
foliaged,  supported  by  canopies,  gilded; 
mitre,  jewels,  and  gold  work;  outer 
robe,  white  sprig  ornament  on  light 
brown  ground,  and  edged  with  gold 
fringe ;  brooch,  gold ;  under  robe  of 
similar  embroidery  with  outer  ditto ; 
extreme  under  robe,  white  ;  with  its 
collar,  sleeves,  &c. ;  gloves  white,  and 
jewels  at  their  backs,  black  shoes.  At- 
titude, giving  the  benediction. 

East  Dereham,  Norfolk.  1468.  Fi- 
gure of  a  Priest  in  basso-relievo,  on  the 
font  in  the  Church;  confirming.  Sketch- 
ed 1786.  There  are  seven  more  basso 
relievos  on  the  fout ;  Baptism,  Penance, 
Eucharist,  Ordination,  Marriage,  Ex- 
treme Unction,  Crucifixion. a 

Winchester.  14S9.  Sketched  1788. 
Figure  of  Thomas  Silksted,  Prior  of 
the  Cathedral,  painted  with  other  sub- 
jects relating  to  the  miracles  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  in  her  Chapel  at  the 
East  end  of  the  Church.  The  above 
date  refers  to  the  period  when  exe- 
cuted.b  Crosier  slightly  foliaged  on 
plain  canopies  gilded ;  mitre  plain,  ex- 
cept two  jewels  gilt  (it  is  placed  on  his 
altar  desk)  ;  Missal,  leaves  and  clasps 
gilded;  outer  robe  black.  It  appears 
the  Priors  of  this  Convent  had  the  pri- 

a  Engraved  in  Carter's  "  Antient  Sculpture  and 
Painting."  »»  Ibid. 


vilege  of  this  insignia  of  crosier  and 
mitre.  He  is  on  his  knees.  In  conti- 
nuation of  the  painting,  there  is  a  sta- 
tue, to  which  he  is  praying. 

Westminster.  1519.  Sketched  1783. 
Figure  in  bronze  of  Abbot  I  slip,  on  the 
tomb  of  Henry  VII.  in  his  Chapel  in 
the  Church ;  first  stone  laid  by  Islip. 
This  Abbot  and  Sir  Reginald  Bray  were 
the  joint  Architects  who  constructed 
that  wonderful  pile.  The  tomb  from 
whence  this  subject  is  selected,  is  the 
work  of  Torregiano,  a  Florentine  artist, 
and  the  portrait  is  by  traditionary  re- 
port believed  to  be  that  of  the  good 
Islip ;  the  circumstance  expressed  in 
the  performance  of  which  this  effigies 
makes  a  part  is,  Edward  the  Confessor 
delivering  the  famous  ring  to  the  Con- 
vent,  and,  in  compliment  to  the  meri- 
torious Abbot  Islip  (setting  aside  all 
reference  to  Edward's  time,  but  under- 
standing the  whole  a  vision),  makes 
him  the  receiver  thereof.0  Outer  robe, 
hanging  sleeves  open  to  the  upper  half 
of  the  arm,  and  fringed  at  the  edges  ; 
under  robe  plain  ;  mantle  and  maniple_, 
fringed.  Attitude,  devotional,  and 
mixed  with  some  degree  of  surprise 
and  devout  attention. 

The  proposed  thread  of  illustration, 
as  full  and  as  explicit  as  my  experience 
and  exploratory  collections  of  sketches 
would  admit,  being  expended,  I  have 
but  to  hope  that  my  zeal  and  reverence 
to  preserve  from  obloquy  relicks  of  the 
above  cast  may  be  taken  in  good  part ; 
and  that  no  particular  reflections  will 
be  cast  on  my  ardent  zeal,  which  may 
have  been  too  strong  to  avoid,  in  some 
instances,  in  giving  too  warm  praise,  or 
too  much  honour,  to  the  Manners  and 
Costume  (ecclesiastical)  of  former  times. 

The  gradual  declination  seen  in  the 
two  last  Classes  of  superb  ecclesiasti- 
cal raiment  is  remarkably  striking;  as 
well  as  is  the  circumstance  of  the  outer 
robe  being  open  in  front,  with  other 
particulars ;  but  not  of  that  great  im- 
port as  need  detail.  The  eye  alone 
will  be  sufficient  to  render  that  part  of 
the  performance  discernible. 

April,  181 7- J.  Carter. 

c  Series  of  the  basso-relievos  on  the  tomb,  in 
Carter's  "  Antient  Sculpture  and  Painting." 


HOSPITALS. 


297 


CHAPTER  LXI. 


HOSPITALS. 


These  were  generally  founded  ac- 
cording to  the  Augustinian  Order  ;  and 
the  following  Consuetudinal  of  S.  Leo- 
nard's, York,,  is  an  excellent  summary 
of  the  usual  Monastick  method  of 
living. 

As  the  reception  of  pilgrims  and 
poor  travellers  was  formerly  one  of  the 
principal  uses  of  the  Hospitals,  they 
were  generally  situated  by  a  road 
side.3 

Every  lettered  brother  and  Chaplain 
had  a  desk  in  the  Cloister.  All  rose 
to  Mattins ;  and  a  few  being  left  after- 
wards to  celebrate  the  Mass  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  they  studied  in  the  Clois- 
ter till  Prime.  That  service  over,  they 
went  to  the  Chapter,  and  from  thence 
again  to  the  Choir  for  the  celebration 
of  the  other  hours,  belonging  to  the 
time  of  day.  After  these,  they  repair- 
ed to  the  Refectory,  where  the  dinner 
was  accompanied  by  reading  :  and  left 

a  Taylor's  Ind.  Monast.  pref.  xiii. 


the  Fratry  to  return  thanks  in  the 
Church.  In  the  Summer  they  next 
went  to  sleep,  but  in  the  Winter  to 
their  books  in  the  Cloister,  where  they 
staid  till  Vespers.  These  celebrated, 
they  again  returned  to  their  books,  till 
the  hour  of  supper,  which  meal  was 
attended  with  reading.  After  this  sup- 
per or  collation,  they  said  Grace,  sung 
Completory  and  a  Salve  Regina,  &c.  in 
the  Church ;  and  after  it  was  over,  their 
private  prayers  in  the  Choir  or  Clois- 
ter, till  bed-time,  when  they  slept  in  a 
common  Dormitory.  They  could  not 
eat,  drink,  or  enter  the  Refectory  after 
Complin,  nor  speak  in  the  Cloister, 
Refectory,  or  Dormitory.  They  were 
shaved  every  fifteen  days.b 

Where  the  Paupers  or  others  could 
not  say  the  Hours,  so  many  Paters  and 
Aves  were  substituted ;  and  the  statutes 
modified  accordingly;  but  still  the  Mo- 
nastic tenor  was  retained. 

b  Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  370,  371. 


298 


MODERN    MONACHISM. 


CHAPTER  LXIL 


MODERN    MONACHISM. 


After  the  partial  restoration  of  Mo- 
nachism  by  Mary,  the  Accession  of 
Elizabeth  totally  ousted  the  Monks 
and  Nuns;  and,  in  1609,  one  Robert 
Buckley,  alias  Father  Sebert,  a  profess- 
ed Monk  of  Westminster,  aged  90  years, 
was  the  only  survivor.a  Foreign  houses 
were  established,  whither  the  candi- 
dates for  Monachism  were  surrepti- 
tiously conveyed.b  A  Convent  of  Ca- 
puchins was  set  up  at  Somerset- House, 
according  to  the  marriage  articles  of 
Queen  Henrietta  Maria,  in  1633.  Prynne 
places  two  Convents  in  London  in  the 
year  1640,  but  Fuller  doubts  the  fact  :c 
and  in  1677;  Sir  Thomas  Gascoigne  es- 
tablished and  endowed  a  Nunnery  at 
Dolebank  in  Yorkshire.*1  James  II. 
filled  England  with  Monks;  but  this 
work  is  not  historical,  and  there  are 
only  three  things  within  the  plan.  I. 
The  Establishment  of  a  Protestant 
Nunnery  at  Little  Gedding.  II.  Some 
attempts  at  the  revival  of  Monastick 
Female  Institutions,  chiefly  for  the 
purpose  of  education.  III.  The  mo- 
dern introduction  of  Monasticks,  owing 
to  the  Political  Surgery  of  the  French 
Revolutionary  Charlatans,  who  ampu- 
tated limbs  with  hatchets,  and  drew 
teeth  with  blacksmitlr's  pincers. 

I. — Protestant  Nunnery.  In  1633, 
Charles  I.  on  his  progress  to  Scotland 
to  be  crowned,  went  to  see  a  Protest- 
ant Nunnery,  at  Gedding  Parva,  near 
Stilton  in  Huntingdonshire,  instituted 
and  appointed  by  Mrs.  Farrar,  a  widow 
of  eighty  years  of  age,  who  said,  that 
she  had  bidden  adieu  to  all  fears  and 
hopes  in  this  world,  and  only  desired 
to  love  God.    In  this  house,  none  were 

a  Reyner,  Append,  i.  seq. 

b  Fuller's  Church  Hist.  B.  ix.  p.  88.     Archaeo- 
logia,  xiii.  251.  seq. 

c  Fuller,  B.  vi.  p.  366.  Cent.  xvii.  p.  119. 
d  State  Trials,  iii.  6,  7.     Ed.  fol. 


permitted  to  reside  who  would  not  de- 
vote themselves  to  prayers  at  certain 
hours,  Morning,  Noon,  Evening,  and 
Night,  and  eat  and  drink  by  measure. 
Within  her  Chapel  was  a  rich  Altar, 
Crucifix,  and  wax-candles,  and  before 
the  reading  of  prayers,  they  bowed 
thrice  to  the  Altar,  as  they  went  up 
and  came  down.  They  were  at  liberty 
to  use  any  vocation  within  the  house, 
as  binding  books,  teaching  scholars,  or 
studying,  and  if  any  of  the  Society  were 
inclined  to  marry,  they  had  free  liberty 
to  depart.6 

This  Protestant  Nunnery  was  no 
other  than  the  old  Beguines,  or  devout 
women,  who  appeared  about  the  13th 
century/  and  wearing  a  religious  habit, 
with  a  private  profession  of  conti- 
nence and  regular  life,  yet  would  not 
be  confined  to  a  Cloister,  or  adopt  a 
rule.  Lindanus  thus  describes  the 
Flemish  Beguines,  contemporary,  or 
nearly  so,  with  these  Protestant  Nuns. 
They  observe  a  middle  course  between 
a  Monastic  and  secular  life.  They  live 
under  certain  rules,  but  from  their 
own  funds,  and  without  vows.  If  they 
think  fit  to  marry,  they  leave  the  house 
and  do  so.  The  old  Beguines  did 
sometimes,  however,  make  a  vow  of 
marrying  God,  by  cutting  off  their 
hair.  In  France,  by  degrees,  the  or- 
der was  converted  into  Tertiaries  of 
Francis.s 

II. — In  1696,  the  learned  Mary 
Astell  projected  a  College  for  the  edu- 
cation of  young  women,  and  an  Asylum 
for  the  unfortunate,  of  which  an  ample 
endowment  was  promised.'1      Learned 


?  Acta  Regia,  771. 

f  Seethe  two  Matthews,  Paris  and  Westminster, 
a0  1243,  but  earlier  evidences  exist. 

%  Du  Cange,  v.  Begharde,  &c. 

h  Mr.  Nichols  kindly  communicates  the  facts 
upon  which  the  reflections  annexed  are  founded. 


MODERN    MONACHISM. 


299 


or  able  persons  ought  not  to  think  in 
extremes.  The  common  occurrence 
of  results,  which  cannot  he  anticipated, 
may  justify  caution,  bat  not  the  vulgar 
habit  of  allowing  weight  to  frivolous 
objections  ;  and  thus  sanctifying  pre- 
judice. Because  the  plan  assimilated 
conventual  institutions,  Bishop  Bur- 
net, notoriously  a  man  of  defective 
judgment,  and  Swift,  by  profession  a 
libeller,  in  sentiment  not  a  man,  suc- 
ceeded in  robbing  posterity  of  much 
probable  benefit. 

Lady  Masham,  about  1700,  medi- 
tated, as  I  presume,  a  similar  educa- 
tional plan,  in  a  tract  in  which  she 
shows  the  necessity  of  a  reform  in  fe- 
male education,  and  expatiates  upon 
the  ignorance  of  English  Gentlemen. 
Squire  Western,  was  in  his  day  a  real 
character,  but  a  lineal  descendant  in 
manners  and  habits  of  the  feudal  land- 
holder, whom  field-sports  inured  to 
military  duties.  Though  this  coarse- 
ness was  ameliorated  by  Chivalry  ;  im- 
provements in  the  state  of  society,  with 
far  greater  effect,  have  produced  an 
alteration,  which  could  not  possibly  re- 
sult from  simple  education,  whether 
Monastic  or  not,  unsupported  by  such 
important  auxiliaries. 

A  kind  of  Royal  Society  of  Philoso- 
phers of  both  sexes  had  been  monas- 
tically  governed  in  Germany,  at  the  end 
of  the  17th  century,  by  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Frederick  V.  King  of  Bo- 
hemia. A  rich  and  fashionable  groupe 
of  Bas-blues  were  assembled  upon  a 
conventual  plan,  in  a  rural  retreat,  by 
the  accomplished  Harriet  Eusebia  Har- 
court,  who  died  in  1745.  According 
to  nature,  as  the  feminine  duties  are 
pointed  out  by  her,  and  sensitive  timi- 
dity and  soft  grace  rendered  woman's 
chief  attractions,  fine  taste,  delicate 
sentiment  and  tender  feelings  are  more 
appropriate  than  philosophical  habits, 
which  produce  masculine,  disputatious, 
and  deterring  characters,  certainly  un- 
suited  to  the  conjugal  or  maternal  sta- 
tion. Monasteries  of  learned  women 
would  be  injurious  to  Society,  because 
they  might  be  much  better  employed. 

Hopeless  as  to  the  revival  of  Monas- 


tick  Institutions,  some  advocates,  by 
way  of  insinuation,  have  used  the  fol- 
lowing arguments.  One  pleads  the 
advantageous  result,  as  he  supposes,  oj 
similar  restraints  upon  indulgence  Oj. 
the  passions :  but  he  does  not  know, 
that  the  riotous,  corrupt,  and  prurient 
imagination,  occasioned  by  these  re- 
straints, destroys  the  effect  proposed, 
through  invig  oration  of  the  passions* 

Another,  upon  medical  principles, 
palliates  ascetical  austerities;  by  display- 
ing various  intellectual  and  corporeal 
injuries,  which  ensue  from  too  gene- 
rous food,  and  consequent  dispeptic 
habits  ;  but  this  proves  not  the  neces- 
sity of  Monasteries,  only  of  temper- 
ance. A  third,  under  the  persuasion, 
that  an  unjust  libel  upon  numerous 
pious,  charitable,  and  even  amiable 
women  is  a  serious  truth,  gravely  re- 
commends Monastick  Institutions,  as 
remedies,  eradicating  the  spleen  and 
fidgets  in  Old  Maids;  as  if  dogs  be- 
came better  tempered  from  being 
chained  or  kenneled,  or  there  was  no 
quarrelling  in  Alms-houses  of  old  wo- 
men. A  rigid  monastery  would  at 
least  be  a  more  proper  punishment  of 
Adultery  than  a  pecuniary  mulct. 

III. —  Modern  Monks  in  England. 
The  most  eminent  of  these  is  the  Mo- 
nastery of  La  Trappe,  settled  by  the 
bounty  of  Mr.  Weld,  at  Lulworth  in 
Dorsetshire.  The  first  Abbey  of  La 
Trappe,  [in  Normandy,]  was  founded 
by  Retrou  Count  de  Perche,  in  1 1 40  : 
but  was  converted  in  the  17th  century 
into  its  present  form,  by  Bouthillier  de 
La  Ranee,  the  once  celebrated  author 
of  the  Devoirs  de  la  Vie  Monastique,  a 
rhapsody,  with  learned  ascetick  quo- 
tations, often  cited  in  this  work.  He 
is  said  in  early  life  to  have  been  a  man 
of  elegant  mind  and  pleasurable  ha- 
bits, who  at  the  age  of  fourteen  pub- 
lished an  edition  of  Anacreon.  Two 
accounts  are  given  of  his  change  of 
manners  :  one,  that  it  was  owing  to  a 
providential  escape  when  a  gun  burst 


a  See   this   ingeniously  and   ably   exhibited   by 
Zimmerman,  in  bis  work  upon  Solitude. 


300 


MODERN    MONACHISM, 


upon  his  shoulder ;  another,  that  in- 
tending to  surprise  a  favourite  female 
by  an  unexpected  visit  after  long  ab- 
sence, he  rushed  into  her  room,  and 
found  her  a  corpse,  disfigured  beyond 
conception  by  the  small  pox,  and  the 
surgeon  about  to  separate  the  head 
from  the  body,  because  the  coffin  had 
been  made  too  short.  The  shock  was 
terrible  ;  but  had  he  been  a  confirmed 
libertine,  would  have  been  soon  for- 
gotten, except  by  occasional  painful  re- 
collections. 

Too  rigid  education  (for  he  had  been 
tutored  under  an  Archiepiscopal  uncle) 
produced  an  exaggerated  estimate  of 
pleasure.  But  being  undeceived  by 
experience,  and  elevated  above  mere 
grossness  by  literary  habits,  he  recurred 
to  early  impressions.  Warm  feelings 
united  with  an  active  mind  must  ever 
have  a  hobby ,  which  it  pursues  fanati- 
cally; and  through  the  Monastick  Fene- 
lon  system  of  his  education,a  a  system 
which,  in  its  pursuit  of  faultless  cha- 
racter, forgets  that  to  be  void  of  excel- 
lence is  the  greatest  of  all  faults, 
Bouthillier  de  la  Ranee,  unfortunately 
for  the  world,  considering  his  abilities 
and  energy,  directed  his  attention  to 
the  creation  of  feeble  character  and 
useless  innocence.  As  he  does  not 
quote  the  sacred  writings  but  to  sup- 
port the  Postils  of  the  Ascetick  fa- 
thers, he  did  not  know  that  one  object 
of  the  Holy  Apostles  in  the  Epistles 
was  to  fix  all  the  necessary  forms  of 
Christian  Communities.  Unacquainted 
with  the  real  tendency  of  Apostolical 
Philosophy,  to  produce,  by  means  of 
faith,  Purity,  Contentment,  and  Pru- 
dence, a  sublime  mind,  and  a  happy 
temper,  he  did  not  also  know,  that 
Christianity  has,  by  this  means,  the 
promise  of  the  life  which  now  is,  as  well 
as  of  that  which  is  to  come.  In  his  Mo- 
nastick reforms,  he  places  the  minds  of 
his  followers  immovable  in  the  stocks, 
and  makes  them  corporeally  mere 
dumb  working  animals,  always  in  har- 


a   See   this   argumentatively  illustrated    in  the 
Edinburgh  Review  of  1813,  p.  136. 


ness,  and  prevented,  except  by  agri- 
cultural industry,  from  rendering  com- 
mon services  to  mankind,  much  more 
for  making  those  active  exertions  for 
the  good  of  society,  of  producing  which, 
under  happier  religious  principles,  no 
man  would  have  been  more  capable. 
Prompted,  too,  in  his  choice  of  an 
object  by  soured  feelings,  he  recurred 
to  the  Carthusian  Rule,  which,  he 
knew,  had  degenerated  the  least  of  any, 
because  Degeneracy,  at  least  ostensi- 
ble, is  impracticable  in  solitary  con- 
finement ;  where,  in  fact,  the  Convent 
is  a  mere  well-regulated  prison :  and 
the  Keeper  is  exonerated  from  the  se- 
verities. Baron  Borne  says  of  the 
Monk  of  La  Trappe,  "  he  only  of  all 
Monks  labours,  ploughs,  and  digs  the 
ground ;  but  the  superiors  of  the  spe- 
cies, who  live  and  dine  pleasantly,  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  their  labours/'b 

Bernard,  a  stern  unamiable  fanatick, 
whose  sole  pleasure  was  the  gratifica- 
tion of  his  pride,  was  the  darling  au- 
thor of  Bouthillier;  and  the  latter, 
taking  the  Benedictine  Rule  as  his 
basis,  superadded  to  it,  as  leading  dis- 
tinctions of  his  reform,  insulation  of 
the  Monks  from  each  other,  because 
being  thus  estranged  they  neither  quar- 
rel nor  form  parties  ;  perpetual  silence ; 
frugal  fare,  because  persons,  who  live 
luxuriously,  require  sleep,  and  cannot 
rise  to  mattins,  with  content ;  and  ma- 
nual labour,  instead  of  reading,  be- 
cause, he  says,  the  Oriental  Monks 
subsisted  whole  countries  by  their  la- 
bours ;  and  cultivation  of  the  soil 
would  enable  his  followers  to  assist 
pilgrims,  comfort  the  poor,  and  enter- 
tain strangers.0  As  a  corrective  peni- 
tentiary system,  applied  to  characters 
injurious  to  society,  his  plan  is  worthy 
the  serious  attention  of  political  Eco- 
nomists, but  no  government  ought  to 
permit  the  power  of  inflicting  such 
misery  upon  innocence.  Add  to  this 
the    following   remark  of   Lady  Mary 

b  Specimen  Monachologise,  p.  31,  seq.  This  does 
not  appear  at  Lulworth. 

c  AH  this  the  reader  may  see  in  his  Devoirs,  i. 
339,  342,  ii.  340—345.  iii.  47.  and  other  places 
quoted  in  this  work. 


MODERN    MONACHISM. 


301 


Wortley  Montague  upon  a  Monastery 
of  La  Trappe :  "  I  cannot  well  form  a 
notion  of  that  spiritual  and  extatick 
joy,  that  is  mixed  with  sighs,  groans, 
hunger  and  thirst,  and  the  other  com- 
plicated miseries  of  monastick  disci- 
pline. It  is  a  strange  way  of  going  to 
work  for  happiness,  to  excite  an  en- 
mity between  soul  and  body,  which 
Nature  and  Providence  have  designed 
to  live  together  in  an  uninterrupted 
friendship,  and  which  we  cannot  sepa- 
rate, like  man  and  wife,  when  they 
happen  to  disagree." 

These  Lulworth  Monks,  though  of 
course  mere  automata,  are  humble, 
inoffensive,  and  moral.  Superstition, 
compatible  with  all  religious,  and  even 
infidel  principles,  does  not  necessarily 
include  vice  ;  and  these  noble-minded 
Asceticks  maintained  80  orphan  chil- 
dren of  the  murdered  French  Noblesse, 
and  refused  an  asylum  from  the  Em- 
peror of  Russia,  because  they  would 
not  rob  a  legitimate  proprietor  of  his 
estate. 

Messrs.  Gough  and  Nichols  made  a 
visit  to  the  Refugees  of  Lulworth,  and, 
besides  their  own  remarks,  have  print- 
ed a  the  accounts  of  a  hostile  and  a 
friendly  visitor.  The  two  latter  are 
evidently  ignorant  of  the  Romish  Ca- 
nonical hours,  and  invariable  Monas- 
tick habits.  In  Manners  and  Customs 
they  are  both  inaccurate.  Without 
rejecting  their  description,  it  is  there- 
fore better  to  premise  the  rule,  which 
their  imperfect  lights  only  show  in 
almost  all  points  observed. 

Rule.  The  hour  of  rising  is  marked 
by  the  Dormitory  bell,  which  rings  at 
2  A.  M.  on  working  days,  at  1  on  Sun- 
days and  festivals,  and  at  midnight  [on 
account  of  Vigils,  F.]  for  grand  festivals. 
They  go  immediately  to  the  Church 
to  say  Matins  and  Lauds  till  four. 
They  employ  themselves  till  five  in 
prayers  at  Church,  or  in  reading  Di- 
vinity in  the  Cloister.  They  return 
to  Church  to  say  Prime,  after  which  is 


a  In  Hutchins's  Dorsetshire,  new  edition  (vol. 
iv.  p.  349,  seq.)  Additions  to  vol.  i.  whence  all  the 
accounts  here  are  taken. 


held,  for  half  an  hour,  a  chapter  of 
faults;  they  then  go  to  work  for  an 
hour  and  a  half ;  and  leave  off  at  the 
bell  which  calls  to  Church  to  Tierce, 
High  Mass,  and  Sext ;  after  which  they 
repair  to  the  Refectory.  In  winter 
Nones  are  said  at  noon,  and  in  summer 
at  one  o^clock.  After  Nones  they  re- 
turn to  labour  for  an  hour  and  a  half, 
and  leave  off  when  the  bell  calls  to 
Church  to  pray  for  the  King,  which 
lasts  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  At 
four  o'clock  they  say  Vespers ;  at  five 
go  to  the  Refectory,  till  half  after 
six ;  a  quarter  of  an  hour  is  spent  in 
praying  in  the  Church,  or  in  reading 
together  in  the  Cloister.  At  seven  they 
say  Complin,  and  at  eight  they  go  to 
bed. 

These  and  some  other  of  the  subse- 
quent regulations  are  simply  Benedic- 
tine, except  the  manual  labour,  and  the 
rigorous  injunction  of  silence,  which  is 
not  only  perpetual,  but  prohibits  com- 
munication by  writing  or  signs,  or  even 
two  standing  near  together. 

Every  Saturday  at  La  Trappe  was  a 
Maundy,  or  feet-washing  in  the  Clois- 
ter; and  Communion  every  Sunday 
and  principal  festivals  by  all  the  Reli- 
gious not  Priests.  The  Deacon  having 
received  the  kiss  of  peace  from  the  ce- 
lebrant, while  they  were  singing  the 
Agnus  Dei,  went  down  to  give  it  to  the 
Sub-deacon,  who  carried  it  to  the  en- 
trance of  the  Sanctuary  to  the  oldest 
Monk,  who  was  to  communicate,  and 
he  to  the  next  following,  and  so  the 
rest.  This  kiss  of  peace  was  received 
at  the  place  where  the  Sub- deacon 
chaunted  the  epistle.  They  afterwards 
kneeled  down  six  and  six  in  the  Sanc- 
tuary, and  communicated  on  the  epis- 
tle side  of  the  Altar ;  then  returned  to 
their  places.  Conferences  [religious 
converzationes]  were  usually  held  in  a 
room,  garden,  or  other  place,  at  the 
ringing  of  the  bell  by  the  Superior 
every  Sunday,  and  on  festivals,  when 
they  fell  on  the  middle  of  the  week. 

The  sick  or  infirm  religious  had 
meat  only  by  leave  of  the  Superior,  and 
after  five  or  seven  attacks  of  fever. 
The  infirm  never  drank  wine,  unless  a 


302 


MODERN    MONACHISM, 


remedy  against  fainting.      No  sugar  or 
sweetmeats  were  used.a 

When  Motraye  visited  La  Trappe, 
which  was  while  our  James  II.  made  a 
temporary  visit  there  for  edification  in 
his  own  way  of  Ite.  missa  est,  [Go,  it  is 
the  hour  of  mass.]  he  was  received  by 
the  porter  in  a  coat  like  a  Quaker,  of 
the  coarsest  grey  stuff,  who,  after  kneel- 
ing before  him  in  silence ,b  beckoned  to 
him  to  follow  him,  and  brought  him  to 
another  brother  in  the  same  dress, 
who,  after  kneeling,  led  him  into  a  hall, 
whither  the  Father  Porter,  who  was  al- 
lowed to  speak,  introduced  him  to 
Ranee,  who  had  resigned  through  age. 

In  1800  Mr.  Gough,  Mr.  Nichols,, 
and  Mr.  Basire,  visited  Lulworth. 
They  say,  "  When  the  French  Revolu- 
tion drove  these  religious  from  their 
situation  in  Normandy,  Mr.  Weld,  of 
Lulworth  Castle,  gave  them  refuge  on 
the  sea-coast,  near  Lulworth  CoA^e,  a 
few  fields  from  his  park-gate,  and  al- 
lotted them  400  acres,  which  they  cul- 
tivate, and  send  the  produce  that  ex- 
ceeds their  own  consumption  to  Poole. 
Their  house  consists  of  an  outer  court, 
with  stables  or  other  buildings,  through 
which  you  pass  to  the  principal  door, 
where  the  Porter,  who  is  permitted  to 
speak,  receives  and  conducts  you,  from 
a  small  hall  or  lobby,  into  a  parlour,  in 
the  window  of  which  lay  Thomas  a 
Kempis,  and  a  French  Quarto  of  the 
Rules,  &c.  of  the  Orders."  Another 
Traveller  says,  u  Ringing  at  the  gate 
of  the  Monastery,  we  were  received  by 
the  Porter.  It  is  impossible  to  give 
an  accurate  idea  of  the  hideousness  of 
this  mair's  dress,  which  was  composed 
of  a  tunick  made  of  coarse,  thick,  and 
heavy  woollen  cloth.  Over  his  shoul- 
ders he  wore  a  cope  made  of  the  same 
material ;  this  was  partly  thrown  back, 
so  that  his  face  was  visible.  (See  the 
Plate,p.306,fig.3.)  The  Porter,  though 
one  of  the  brotherhood,  was  sufficiently 
communicative.  He  complained,  in- 
deed, that  the  Superior,  by  continuing 

a  Of  this  Carthusian  Regulation,  see  Chapter  of 
Rules,  p.  65. 

b  A  mere  compliment ;  not  the  Rule. 


cled  his  waist 
pended  his 


him  for  two  years  in  an  office  which 
ought  to  be  occupied  by  each  brother 
in  his  turn,  had  grievously  interrupted 
those  devout  meditations,  in  which  it 
was  his  ardent  wish  to  be  uninter- 
ruptedly employed.  Intercourse  with 
strangers,  he  said,  led  his  thoughts  back 
to  that  ivorld,  ivhich  he  wished  to  for- 
get :"  [thus  proving  the  justice  of  the 
remark,  that  Monachism  disqualifies 
mankind  for  any  duties  but  its  own.] 

The  friendly  Visitor  says,  "  The 
entrance  to  the  Monastery  is  on  the 
west  side,  near  the  Porter's  Lodge,  un- 
der a  long  narrow  building,  which 
serves  for  offices  of  the  meaner  kind. 
The  Porter  who  received  us,  was  dress- 
ed in  the  habit  of  a  convent-brother, 
wearing  a  long  brown  robe  of  coarse 
cloth,  and  a  cowl  of  the  same  colour 
over  his  head,  a  leathern  girdle  encir- 
,  from  which  were  sus- 
keys  :  he  spoke  to  us  in  a 
whisper,  and  desired  us  to  be  silent." 
(See  the  Plate,  p.  306,  fig.  3.) 

On  the  right  and  left  of  the  gate  at 
La  Trappe  was  the  farm  of  the  Abbey, 
where  the  secular  brethren,  thrice  a 
week,  under  a  pent-house,  distributed 
bread  to  numerous  poor.  There  they 
lodged  in  bed-chambers  a  great  num- 
ber of  guests.  After  passing  the  gate 
at  the  further  end  of  the  court,  was  on 
the  left  the  Chapel,  where  the  women 
heard  mass,  not  being  admitted  into  the 
Church.  On  each  side  was  a  suit  of 
buildings  for  the  use  of  the  Monastery, 
such  as  presses,  forges,  stables,  maga- 
zines, &c.  At  Lulworth  the  confor- 
mity of  structure  is  at  least  upon  the 
same  plan,  and  women  equally  ex- 
cluded ;  and  all  these  offices  are  in  an 
outer  court,  as  at  La  Trappe.  One  of 
the  Travellers  says,  u  As  we  passed 
through  the  first  court  at  Lulworth,  we 
fancied  ourselves  in  former  days,  when 
the  Monastick  orders  flourished ;  and 
strange  and  unusual  seemed  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Monks  in  the  full  habit 
of  their  order,  gliding  along  intent  on  me- 
ditation, or  employed  in  manual  labour, 
but  not  a  word   spoken."     The  other 


Traveller 


says 


that  their  faces  were 


covered,   so  that  only  their  eyes  and 


MODERN    MONACHISM. 


303 


noses  were  visible.  This  is  precisely 
according  to  the  Rule  and  Custom  of 
the  Parent  House,  where  they  never 
spoke,  read,  wrote,  or  looked  any  per- 
son in  the  face,  but  always  on  the 
ground.  There  were  only  two  excep- 
tions, of  which  hereafter. 

At  Lul worth  are  a  Chapel  or  Church, 
Chapter,  Cloisters,  Refectory,  Dormito- 
ry, Visitors''  Parlours,  and  Bed-room ; 
of  which,  in  order. 

Church.  At  La  Trappe  the  Church 
was  descended  into  by  six  steps,  and 
consisted  of  a  nave  and  two  choirs  for 
the  converts  and  the  brethren.  At  the 
service  the  religious  appeared  like  ma- 
chines singing  without  book;  their 
eyes  shut  or  fixed  on  the  earth,  their 
hands  crossed  before  them,  and  kiss- 
ing the  ground  at  going  in  and  coming 
out.  Their  chaunt  was  unaccompanied 
by  the  organ  or  any  musical  instru- 
ment whatever,  and  no  decoration  was 
permitted  in  the  Church.  Messrs. 
Gough  and  Nichols  describe  the  Cha- 
pel at  Lulworth,  as  neatly  fitted  up 
with  deal  stalls  on  each  side;  in  the 
centre,  as  at  La  Trappe,  a  turret  with 
a  dome.  The  anti-chapel,  over  which 
is  a  gallery,  has  on  each  side  the  door 
two  whole-lengths  of  the  Virgin  Mo- 
ther, with  I.  H.  S.  on  a  heart  on  the 
South,  superscribed  on  the  frame, 
"  Do  all  that  he  will  tell  you."  On 
the  North,  "  Mother,  behold  your 
Son."  Over  the  door,  our  Lady  of 
Pity.  At  a  table,  lifted  up  under  the 
North  Picture,  the  Abbot  celebrated 
High  Mass,  attended  only  by  an  Aco- 
lyte. He  finished  the  service  at  the 
High  Altar  ;  which  has,  under  a  taber- 
nacle, the  Virgin  and  Child,  seemingly 
in  terra  cotta  or  painted  wood;  the 
arms  with  wax  lights,  issued  from  the 
heart,  and  I.  H.  S. ;  and  there  was  a 
small  plain  chandelier.  In  the  way  to 
the  Vestry  was  a  good  Picture  of  St. 
John's  Baptism,  over  a  table ;  and  in 
the  Vestry,  in  two  sets  of  drawers,  the 
maniples  and  vestments  for  solemn 
festivals;  a  large  cross  of  wood  with 
an  inscription  on  the  shaft  and  trans- 
verse; and  a  silver  chalice,  embossed 
with  Scripture   histories  in   compart- 


ments, the  oldest  piece  of  plate  which 
they  possess.  One  of  the  Travellers 
says,  the  names  of  the  Monks  were 
inscribed  on  the  stalls,  and  in  each 
stall  was  a  large  old  Missal  on  vellum, 
guarded  at  the  corners  and  sides,  and 
large  clasps  ;  a  lamp  burning  perpetu- 
ally during  the  presence  of  the  Eucha- 
rist. The  rood-loft  contained  an  organ 
[a  deviation  from  the  custom  of  the 
parent  house]. 

Opposite  to  the  Chapel  were  private 
oratories,  embellished  with  crucifixes 
and  religious  paintings. 

Chapter.  At  La  Trappe  the  Chaptei 
opened  into  the  Cloister,  where  the 
Abbot,  on  a  raised  seat,  addressed  his 
reproof  to  the  brethren,  and  near  it 
was  a  way  into  the  garden,  in  which 
the  religious,  on  a  signal  given  by 
their  Superior,  returned  to  their  work. 
In  the  old  Rule  was  a  Morning  Chap- 
ter, as  in  almost  all  Orders.  Of  Lul- 
worth, one  Traveller  says,  "  From  ano- 
ther part  of  the  Cloisters  we  entered 
the  Chapter-house,  whither  the  Monks 
retire  after  their  meal  is  over,  not  to 
beguile  away  their  time  in  trifling  con- 
versation,3 but  in  reading  religious 
books,  saying  vespers  and  other  evening 
prayers,  and  in  public  self-accusation  : 
the  walls  of  this  room  are  covered  with 
religious  prints,  and  at  the  entrance 
hung  up  a  board  with  pegs,  on  which 
were  suspended  bits  of  wood,  in- 
scribed with  the  names  of  all  the  Monks 
that  had  been  and  are  now  in  the  Con- 
vent ;  P.  Dionysius,  P.  Hyacinthus,  P. 
Julianus,  P.  Barnardus,  P.  Martinus, 
P.  Matthagus,  P.  Pius,  and  others,  to 
the  number  of  eighty-six :  on  another 
board  were  inscribed  a  list  of  the  dif- 
ferent offices  of  the  Church  for  the 
day,  and  the  names  of  such  of  the  fa- 
thers as  officiated,  set  opposite ;  below 
it,  an  exhortation  in  Latin  and  French, 
pointing  out  the  advantages  of  devo- 
tion, and  the  importance  of  self-denial." 
At  La  Trappe  the  religious  might  speak 
to  confess  their  evil  thoughts  to  the 
Abbot,    and    to    accuse    or    proclaim 


a  Alluding  to  the  conversations  after  Nones,  and 
the  Biberes,  in  other  Orders. 


304 


MODERN    MONACHISM, 


themselves  in  full  chapter,  on  which 
they  prostrated  themselves  to  the 
ground,  and  remained  till  the  Abbot 
stamped  with  his  foot. 

Cloisters.  At  La  Trappe  the  Clois- 
ter was  within  the  house,  wherein  they 
passed  all  their  leisure  time,  and  at- 
tended lectures  and  conferences.  At 
Lulworth,  one  modern  Visitor  says, 
"  The  Cloisters  are  used  for  air  and 
exercise  in  bad  weather,  having  a  large 
cistern  at  one  end  for  the  Monks  to 
wash."  At  La  Trappe  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  Garden  was  the  cemetery 
of  the  religious,  and  in  the  middle  of 
it  the  tomb  of  De  Ranee  their  founder, 
under  a  building  9  feet  by  6.  The 
graves  of  the  common  religious  were 
distinguished  only  by  a  wooden  cross, 
with  the  name,  diocese,  and  town  of 
the  deceased,  inscribed  on  a  plate  of 
lead.  When  in  a  dying  state,  they 
were  carried  into  the  Choir,  and  laid 
on  straw,  over  which  ashes  had  been 
previously  strewed  in  form  of  a  cross,a 
and  were  buried  in  their  habit,  with- 
out any  pomp.  At  Lulworth,  Messrs. 
Gough  and  Nichols  noted  in  the  ce- 
metery a  grave  of  a  boy,  at  the  head 
and  feet  of  which  were  a  wooden  cross ; 
and  an  open  grave.  One  Traveller 
says,  passing  from  the  Chapter  through 
a  Cloister,  we  visited  the  burying 
ground,  which  occupies  a  small  inner 
court.  "  Two  graves,  already  tenanted 
are  marked  by  two  wooden  crosses  ; 
and  one  grave  is  always  kept  open  [as 
a  memento  mori  was  the  intention  of 
De  Ranee.  F.]  ready  to  receive  the 
next  deceased.  Our  conductor  assured 
us,  that  each  individual  of  the  frater- 
nity prayed  sincerely  that  he  might  him- 
self soon  become  the  next  occupant/5 
The  other  Traveller  says,  "This  Monas- 
tery is  of  a  quadrangular  shape,  with 
a  schilling  in  the  inside,  forming  the 
Cloisters,  and  the  area  a  depository  for 
the  dead.  We  observed  seven  graves,  to 
some  of  which  were  added  a  wooden 
cross,  either  at  the  head  or  feet.'5 

a  The  ashes  on  Ash -Wednesday  and  these  times, 
were  to  commemorate  "that  man  is  but  Ashes  and 
Earth,  and  thereto  shall  return. "  Fuller's  Ch. 
Hist.  Cent.  xvi.  p.  222. 


Refectory.  At  La  Trappe,  on  one 
side  of  the  Cloister,  was  the  Refectory 
of  the  Monks,  and  by  the  side  of  it 
that  of  the  convert  brothers,  with  a 
communication  between  them,  that 
both  might  hear  the  reading  in  the 
great  Refectory.  It  ended  at  the  kit- 
chen, which,  by  a  little  court,  commu- 
nicated with  the  court  of  the  converts, 
where  in  different  shops  each  followed 
his  respective  trade.  Their  fare  was 
only  pulse,  herbs,  and  boiled  roots, 
without  butter  or  oil,  and  very  brown 
bread,  and  no  fish,  or  flesh,  or  eggs, 
only  milk.  Messrs.  Gough  and  Ni- 
chols say,  that  at  Lulworth,  "the  Clois- 
ter led  on  the  South  to  the  Refectory, 
opposite  to  which  are  the  Kitchen  and 
Buttery  with  two  doors.  At  the  up- 
per end  of  the  Refectory,  which  runs 
from  North  to  South,  is  the  Abbot's 
table  under  a  crucifix ;  and  on  each 
side,  on  the  East,  the  table  of  the  re- 
ligious, and  on  the  West,  that  of  the 
Seculars  and  Acolytes,  all  spread  with 
coarse  cloth,  wooden  platters  and 
spoons,  stone  jugs  and  horns,  filled 
with  water.  One  of  the  Seculars  from 
the  Kitchen,  through  the  door,  carried 
up  two  bowls  full  of  boiled  rice,  cab- 
bage, potatoes,  and  milk  to  the  Abbot's 
table,  making  three  bows  in  the  Refec- 
tory, and  afterwards  took  from  the 
hatch  the  bowls  of  the  others  singty. 
East  of  the  Refectory  is  the  scullery 
and  workshop,  where  they  turn,  make 
and  mend  their  habits,  bind  their  books, 
and  write  their  musick."  One  Travel- 
ler describes  the  Refectory  as  "  a  very 
plain  room  with  white-washed  walls, 
furnished  with  a  rude  table,  and  two 
or  three  wooden-bottomed  chairs.'5 
In  the  next  account  there  must  be 
some  mistake,  for  it  mentions  soup 
and  bread,  quite  black,  as  the  only  fare 
allowed  to  the  Monks,  of  which  they 
partook  twice  a  day  in  summer,  and 
once  only  in  winter  ;  whereas  the  other 
Traveller  says,  they  have  only  one 
meal.  The  former  says,  that  a  wood- 
en bowl  and  spoon  and  a  coarse  earth- 
enware cup  for  each  person,  composed 
the  whole  of  their  table  utensils.  The 
latter  describes  the  Refectory  "as   a 


MODERN    MONACHISM. 


305 


very  long  room,  containing  a  wooden 
bench,  extending  on  each  side ;  upon 
the  tables  were  placed  a  wooden  tren- 
cher, bowl  and  spoon,  with  a  napkin 
for  each  Monk,  and  the  name  of  each 
inscribed  over  his  seat ;  and  at  the  up- 
per end  sat  the  Prior,  distinguished 
from  the  rest  of  the  convent,  only  by 
his  pastoral  staff.  During  the  repast, 
the  Lecturer  delivered  a  discourse,  as 
usual  in  all  orders  •  and  still  retained 
in  many  Colleges  of  the  two  Univer- 
sities. 

Dormitory,  At  La  Trappe  the  up- 
per story  was  occupied  by  distinct 
Dormitories  for  each  order,  and  the 
Monks  slept  on  straw  mattrasses,  with- 
out sheets  :  and  at  eight  went  to  bed. 
At  Lulworth,  Messrs.  Go  ugh  and  Ni- 
chols found  the  Dormitory  a  long  gal- 
lery lighted  by  one  window  to  the 
South,  with  12  bedsteads,  straw  mat- 
trasses,  and  pillows  on  each  side ;  and 
on  the  teasters  the  respective  names 
of  the  Monks.  The  cynical  Traveller 
agrees  with  them  in  the  construction 
of  the  Apartment,  but  makes  the  beds 
or  rather  cells,  24  or  25,  separated 
from  each  other  by  wooden  partitions. 
In  these  cells,  the  whole  fraternity  re- 
pose on  bare  boards,  covered  with  only 
a  blanket  and  rug.  The  friendly 
Visitor  says,  that  the  Dormitory  ee  ex- 
tends the  whole  length  of  the  building, 
and  on  each  side  are  ranged  the  cells 
of  the  Monks,  in  which  they  recline 
themselves  on  wood,  with  one  blanket, 
and  a  coarse  rug.  There  is  a  window 
at  each  end,  to  ventilate  and  air  the 
room,  which  is  dark  and  gloomy  :  and 
a  clock  is  stationed  near  the  entrance 
to  warn  the  Monks  of  the  hour  of  Mat- 
tins." 

Visitors'  Parlour  and  Bed-room. 
These  at  La  Trappe  had  the  usual 
large  accommodations  of  the  great  Ab- 
beys :  a  Hall,  Chambers,  &c.  One 
Traveller  describes  it  at  Lulworth,  as 
a  kind  of  common  sitting-room, 
where  were  about  two  dozen  of  super- 
stitious books,  mostly  in  French,  some 
few  in  Latin,  the  whole  of  their  library. 
Messrs.  Gough  and  Nichols  say,  that 


over  the  parlour  are  two  neat  small 
plaster  chambers,  with  check  bed-fur- 
niture, and  white  quilts,  for  strangers. 

The  Rule  of  the  Founder  prescribed 
manual  labour,  as  being  the  first  pu- 
nishment annexed  to  sin,  and  an  exer- 
cise extremely  well  suited  to  the  state  of 
the  poor  and  of  the  penitent,  and  as  a 
very  powerful  means  to  sanctify  them  in 
their  profession.  This  work  they  were 
to  perform,  neither  indolently  nor  vio- 
lently; that  is,  in  the  Festina  Lente 
manner  of  Baron  Born's  description. 
At  La  Trappe,  when  at  work,  they 
threw  off  the  great  hood,  and  retained 
only  a  shirt,  of  white  thin  serge,  with 
their  long  gowns  of  the  same  stuff,  but 
thicker,  which  they  tucked  up  and 
confined  in  the  ends  of  the  scapulary, 
under  their  leathern  girdle.  The  first 
Traveller  to  Lulworth  says,  "  The 
Monks  whom  we  met  did  not  so 
much  as  look  at  us  when  we  approach- 
ed them  ;  they  turned  aside  their  heads, 
and  crossed  themselves  in  silence." 
The  second  Visitor  says,  "  The  Monks 
observe  perpetual  silence,  scarcely  even 
look  at  each  other,  and  never  speak 
but  to  their  Prior,  and  only  on  urgent 
occasions :  they  never  wander  from 
their  Convent  without  permission  of 
their  Superior,  but  go  each  morning 
cheerfully  to  such  work  as  they  are 
directed  to  perform.  As  we  passed 
thesepoor  humble  unoffending  Monks  at 
their  work  they  received  us  with  courtesy 
and  humility,  but  never  spoke."  The 
ground  attached  to  the  Monastery  con- 
tains about  400  acres,  which  is  culti- 
vated by  the  Monks,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  a  carter  and  his  boy. 

Costumes.  At  La  Trappe  their  habit 
was  a  long  white  woollen  gown,  tied 
with  a  leathern  girdle,  a  black  scapu- 
lary, and  a  wide  hood ;  but  novices 
wore  a  kind  of  capote  of  coarse  brown 
wool,  without  sleeves.  The  first  Tra- 
veller describes  them  at  Lulworth,  as 
habited  like  the  Porter  (seep.  302),  with 
stockings  of  coarse  cloth,  and  wooden 
shoes,  about  three  inches  thick  in  the 
sole.  The  second  Traveller  mentions 
a  vestment-room,  where  the  vestments 


306 


MODERN    MONACHISM, 


of  the  Choir-brothers  were  hung  up, 
with  the  name  of  each  inscribed. 

Explanation  of  the  Print.  The  sub- 
jects of  this  Plate  are  selected  from 
several  very  spirited  sketches  by  Mr. 
Basire,  taken  when  on  a  visit  to  Lul- 
worth  with  Messrs.  Gough  and  Ni- 
chols, in  the  year  1800. 

Fig.  1,  is  a  portrait  of  the  Abbot,  in 
his  costume. 

Fig.  2,  is  a  portrait  of  one  of  the 
Monks,  in  meditation  and  prayer. 

Fig.  3,  is  a  striking  portrait  of  the 
talkative  little  Porter. 

Fig.  4,  is  another  of  the  Monks. 

Fig.  5,  the  Monks  at  Church,  exhi- 
biting the  attitude  of  the  Venia. 

Fig.  6,  is  a  Monk  in  prayer  at 
the  High  Altar. 

In  the  back  ground  of  figures  2,  and 
4,  are  very  slight  distant  views  of  the 
Monastery  at  Lulworth. 

Nuns  of  Spettisbury.  A  Mrs.  Mary 
Wiseman,  a  professed  Nun  of  the  Fle- 
mish Convent  of  St.  Ursula  in  Lou- 
vain,  established  in  the  last  place,  in 
the  year  1609,  a  house  of  Canonesses 
of  the  Augustinian  order.  They  were 
governed  by  a  Prioress,  and  educated 
young  ladies.  This  house  enjoyed  con- 
siderable funds,  and  subsisted  till  the 
French  Invasion  in  1794,  when  the 
members  of  it  fled  out  of  the  Low 
Countries.3  Thus  the  Abbe  Mann  : 
According  to  other  authorities^  the 
house  was  founded  by  some  English 
members  of  a  Flemish  community. 
When  they  sought  an  asylum  in  their 
native  country,  in  1799,  they  were 
received  by  an  hospitable  friend,  till 
a  residence  was  hired  for  them  at 
Amesbury  in  Wiltshire,  where  they 
resided  till  the  year  1 800.  Since  then, 
Spettisbury  house,  in  Dorsetshire,  has 
been  their  mansion.  The  Society  is 
at  present  composed  of  33  members. 
The  principal  apartment  of  the  house 
is  occupied  by  young  ladies,  whom 
they  educate.  They  are  about  70  in 
family.  There  is  also  a  separate  build- 
ing, in  which  their  Chaplain  and  some 


»  Archseologia,  xiii.  p.  264. 

b  Hutcfcins's  Dorsetshire,  new  Edit.  iii.  p.  135. 


respectable  boarders  reside.  These 
ladies  express  much  gratitude  to  the 
Nation  at  large ;  and  particular  obliga- 
tion to  a  lady  who  boarded  with  them, 
and  built  them  a  private  Chapel,  over 
the  entrance  of  which  her  arms  are 
placed. 

Benedictine  Nuns.  In  the  year  1651, 
this  Monastery  was  founded  by  the 
interest  of  Clementina  Cara,  daughter 
of  the  celebrated  Viscount  Falkland, 
killed  in  the  wars  of  Charles  I.  After 
five  several  habitations  in  Paris,  they 
at  last,  in  1664,  fixed  themselves  in  the 
Rue  clu  champ  d^Aloutte,  Fauxbourg 
St,  Marcel,  where  they  remained  till 
their  expulsion  by  the  Revolution  in 
1793.C  After  imprisonment  with  other 
Nuns  in  the  Castle  of  Vincennes  for 
four  months,  and  removal  from  thence 
to  another  Convent  of  Nuns,  they  at 
length,  in  March  1795,  were  liberated; 
and  with  much  delay  and  difficulty  ob- 
taining, by  great  interest,  the  necessary 
passports,  and  selling  what  little  was 
left  to  pay  their  passage,  they  arrived 
at  Dover,  July  3,  1795;  at  London 
two  days  after.d  In  the  same  year 
they  retired  to  Marnhull,  co.  Dorset. 
The  Society  consisted  of  eighteen 
ladies,  all  English,  (one  a  sister  of  the 
late  eccentric  Philip  Thicknesse,)  under 
Mrs.  Johnson,  as  Abbess.  The  sister 
and  heir  of  the  late  Cuthbert  Tonstal, 
Esq.  was  a  frequent  visitor  and  bene- 
factress. She  lived  and  slept  in  the 
house,  and  had  a  separate  table ;  but 
her  maid  servant,  being  a  Protestant^ 
did  not  sleep  there.  They  have  two 
Priests  for  Chaplain  and  Confessors, 
one  of  whom,  by  the  importation  of  a 
valuable  library  in  several  large  chests, 
subjected  them  to  an  absurd  suspicion, 
that  these  chests  concealed  arms,  and 
actually  persons.  This  foolish  affair 
was  soon  set  at  rest  by  the  Magis- 
trates and  Gentry  of  the  neighbour- 
hood.    The  burial  of  one  of  the  sisters 


'  c  Abbe"  Mann's  Account  of  English  Convents, 
&c.  on  the  Continent,  in  Arcliaeologia,  v.  xiii.  p. 
269.  ,        , 

d  Account  of  British  Subjects  sufferers  by  the 
late  Revolution.  Part  ii.  p.  9—10*. 


Andrnct  sadp. 


QL/vitrndx  #fzj!a/  ^/iKJi/ze,  a/\2tt/t/>-0r//L,  zz)&/<w/r>/r/r 


MODERN    MONACHISM. 


307 


in  the  garden,  without  a  coroner, 
created  another  alarm,  which  was  in 
like  manner  removed.  During  the 
search  thus  occasioned,  were  found 
four  alabaster  bas-reliefs  of  the  Pas- 
sion and  Crucifixion. 

In  1799,  there  were  seventeen,  in 
the    Benedictine    Costume    of    black 


gowns  and  veils.  They  have  since  re- 
moved to  a  house  near  Bridgewater  in 
Somersetshire.*1 

It  has  been  reported,  that  there  are 
other  Societies  now  in  the  kingdom. 

a  Hutchins's  Dorsetshire,  new  Edition,  iv.  164. 


APPENDIX, 


The  particulars  attending  the  Dis- 
solution of  Monasteries  are  wellknown; 
but,  as  I  have  seen  some  unpublished 
matter  on  this  subject,  I  shall  here 
give  it. 

The  famous  prophecy  of  Robert 
Langland,  in  the  Vision  of  Piers  Plow- 
man, of  the  destruction  of  Monasteries, 
is  not  unique.  In  MS.  Cott.  Titus,  D. 
xii.  Sect.  8.  (Smith's  Catalogue,) 
there  are  or  were  "  Versus  prophetici 
rhythmici  de  destructione  monasterio- 
rum;"  and  it  is  by  every  thing  probable 
that  Langland,  and  this  writer,  merely 
expressed  a  general  opinion.  It  was 
said  of  the  Lollards :  "  They  also  per- 
suade the  great  persons  of  the  land, 
that  the  Church-possessions  are  to  be 
taken  away,  and  given  to  knights."  b 

As  Henry  VIII.  acted  on  this  idea, 
it  is  fit  to  note,  that  if  an  estate  is 
bought  subject  to  tithes,  the  purchase 
money  is  proportionably  less ;  and  if 
tithes  be  taken  away,  the  landlord  will 
have  the  amount  in  increased  rent, 
with  whom  the  tenant  can  never  make 
so  good  a  bargain  as  with  the  clergy- 
man. 

Now  it  happens  most  unluckily,  that 
the  gifts  to  the  Religious  were  of  con- 
siderable national  benefit ;  and  that 
they  were  the  great  loanmongers  of 
their  days  ;  (Toulmin's  Taunton,  p.  8.) 
and  that  large  possessions  in  the  hands 
of  those  very  knights  only  served  to 

b  Hii  quoque  suadent  terrse  magnatibus  aufe- 
rendas  esse  possessiones  ecclesise,  et  militibus  dis- 
tribuendas.     MS.  Cott.  Claud.  E.  iv.  f.  330,  a, 


promote  bloodshed  and  misery;  that 
what  learning  and  what  religion  there 
was  resided  among  the  religious ;  that 
the  want  of  the  one  would  reduce 
this  Country  into  the  political  imbeci- 
lity of  Turkey,  and  that  the  necessity 
of  the  other  is  conspicuous  enough. 

In  MS.  Harl.  604.  f.  63.  a.  is  the 
Abbot  of  Athelney's  solicitation  for 
mercy,  &c.  respecting  the  payment  of 
their  debts,  "  that  he  may  be  out  of 
trobell  and  sute  of  the  law/5 

The  form  of  the  certificate  returned 
in  at  the  Dissolution  was  as  follows  : 
names  of  the  houses ;  clere  value  of 
lands ;  number  and  pensions  of  the 
religious  ;  clere  money  remaining  ; 
stock  and  domestic  articles;  rewards 
with  the  portions  paid  unto  the 
Priors;  remainder  of  the  price  of 
goods  and  chastels  sold ;  lead  and  bells; 
wood  and  underwood;  plate  and  Jewells. 
Id.  92. 

The  King  and  Queen  (Philip  and 
Mary)  discharged  the  purchasers  of 
lands  of  all  expence  and  incumbrance, 
except  leases.  The  purchaser  was  to 
discharge  the  Kinge  and  Queen*  s  Ma- 
jesties of  all  the  fees  and  repryses  go- 
ynge  out  of  the  premises.  MS.  Harl. 
607.  p.  74.  a.  An  inquiry  was  con- 
stantly made  in  parting  with  the  Ab- 
bey-land, whether  they  lay  near  the 
Royal  manors,  castles,  or  houses.  Id. 
46*.  a.  It  may  please  your  honnors 
further  to  understande  that  because  all 
the  possessions  belonge  to  the  said  late 
Monasterye  of  Saint  Agathe's,  were 
immediately  upon  the  dissolution  there- 

x  2 


308 


APPENDIX — DISSOLUTION    OF    MONASTERIES. 


of  letten  to  the  Lord  Scrope  without 
havinge  respecte  to  value.  Id.  25.  a.  It 
was  done  to  create  an  interest  which 
might  destroy  all  hopes  of  restitution. 

The  Visitors  took  care  of  the  Church- 
duty.  "It  is  needful/'  one  of  them 
says,  "  to  have  a  Vicar  indowde  in  the 
saide  collegiate  churche,  beside  th' 
other  pastors,  at  the  leaste  to  serve 
the  cures  ther;  that  is  to  say,  one 
to  be  assistant  to  the  Vicar  in  the  saide 
collegiate  churche,  and  uther  to  serve 
the  cure  in  the  Castell  Churche,  and 
the  third  to  serve  the  cure  in  Horton 
Churche."     MS.  Harl.  605.  f.  56. 

The  Convent  would  disclose  nothing; 
and,  says  the  Visitor,  "  I  fermely  bi- 
leve  and  suppose,  that  they  had  con- 
federed  and  compacted  before  our 
coming,  that  they  should  disclose  no- 
thing :  and  yet  it  is  confessed  and 
proved,  that  there  was  here  suche  fre- 
quencie  of  women  coming  and  reassort- 
ing  to  this  Monastery,  as  to  no  place 
more."  MS.  Cott.  Cleop.  E.  iv.  f. 
120.  b. 

"The  Abbey  (of  Newark)    here  is 


confederyde  we  suppos,  and  nothing 
will  confesse  ;  the  Abbot  is  an  honest 
man,  and  doth  vara  well ;  but  he  hath 
here  the  most  obstinate  and  factiouse 
Canons  that  ever  I  knewe.  This  mor- 
nynge  I  will  objecte  against  divers  of 
them ;  .  .  .  .  and  adulterie,  et  sic  spe- 
cialiter  descender  e,  whiche  I  have  lerned 
of  othir,  but  not  of  any  of  them,  which 
I  shall  finde  I  cannot  tell."  Id.  13 1 .  b. 
The  different  valuations  in  Dugdale 
and  Speed,  Dr.  Smith  (Catal.  of  Cott. 
MSS.  xxxix.)  professes  to  explain,  by 
saying  the  one  valuation  gives  the  nett 
sum  after  the  deductions  made,  the  other 
not;  now,  in  Sir  H.  Ellis's  Shoreditch,  p. 
292,  are  no  less  than  seven  valuations 
of  one  place ;  in  p.  321,  Jive  \  and  it  is 
in  vain  to  enquire  the  cause  of  this, 
since  various  reasons,  all  of  equal  pro- 
bability, might  conspire  jointly  or 
severally  to  produce  it.  A  defect  in 
value,  or  enumeration,  is,  however,  the 
most  likely  in  my  opinion.  No  doubt 
both  these  events  ensued  as  best  suited 
the  purpose. 


*ifi  The  following  verses  on  the 
Dissolution  have  more  than  sufficient 
merit  for  publication.  They  are  en- 
titled "  A  Tale  of  Robin  Hoode,  dia- 
logue-wise, between  Watt  and  Jeffry." 
The  moral  is  the  overthrow  of  the 
Abbeys  : 

Adem  Bella  was  ware  and  wisef 

When  hee  first  began  to  rise, 

As  the  bee  in  summers  prime 

Sucks  the  marigolde  and  thyme, 

Sucks  the  rose  and  daffodill, 

Leaving,  taking  what  she  will, 

And  from  flow'r  to  flow'r  doth  glide, 

Sweetly  by  the  river  side  ; 

Where  chrystal  streames  delightfull  runninge, 

Are  ever  sweet'ned  with  his  cumminge. 


a  Monachism. 


Such  was  Adam  in  his  prime, 
In  the  flower  of  his  tyme, 
Soe  he  tastes  every  sweete 
Till  with  fatt  he  fell  asleepe  ; 
As  he  slumb'red  in  the  dale, 
Spread  upon  the  gentle  vale, 
A  famisht  lion  came  that  way, 
[Hungry  pantinge]  for  his  pray, 
In  his  grasping  pawes  he  henteb  him, 
And  in  pieces  all  to  rent  him  ; 
Yet  his  cabin  doth  remaine 
Beaten  with  the  windes  and  raine, 
Spoyled  of  all  the  passers  by 
Whose  huge  frame  doth  terrify  ; 
All  that  wondrous  monument, 
All  the  world's  astonishment ; 
When  the  wolves0  and  foxesd  saw 
Adam  in  the  Lion's  paw, 
Ours  is  Robin's  strength  they  cried, 
And  sett  him  round  on  every  side. 

MS.  Harl.  367.  f.  150. 


Seized. 


c  Puritans. 


d  Politicians. 


CEREMONIAL    OF    THE    NUNS    OF    ST.    CYR. 


309 


The  Rev.  Francis  Vyvyan  Jago 
Arundel  having  very  obligingly 
communicated  a  curious  MS.  enti- 
tled, "  The  Benedictine  Ceremonial  of 
the  Nuns  of  St.  Cyr"  in  the  Park  of 
Versailles,  compiled  from  ancient 
documents,  abstracts  are  here  given 
of  such  passages  as  are  not  analogous 
to  preceding  matters. 


Chap.  I.  At  the  sound  of  the  bell, 
the  Noviciates  and  professed  Juniors 
hastened  to  the  Church,  followed  by 
their  mistress  and  her  assistant;  the 
others  meditating  the  Rule  (C.  43, 48.); 
to  prefer  nothing  to  divine  worship. 
At  the  Church-door  they  said  the  Ver- 
sicle,  "  I  will  enter  into  thy  house," 
and  then  dipping  their  fingers  in  holy 
water,  crossed  themselves,  saying, 
"  Asperges,"  &c.  This  they  did  at  all 
times  of  entering  or  leaving  the  Church, 
except  when  in  procession.  They  next, 
in  the  anti-choir,  put  on  their  full 
dress,  and  tied  their  wimples  on  cer- 
tain days,  but  on  others  untucked  their 
robes,  and  dropped  the  sleeves  over 
their  hands.  At  two  steps  from  the 
entrance  they  made  a  low  bow  to  the 
Host,  one  not  so  low  to  the  Superior, 
another  similar  to  the  Prioress,  and 
upon  arrival  at  their  stalls  (chaires) 
again  lowly  inclined  to  the  Host.  These 
ceremonies  were  used  at  going  out  and 
passing  by. 

The  Juniors,  down  to  the  tenth  year 
of  their  profession,  said  nothing  by 
heart,  except  the  most  common  things, 
and  the  office  of  Complin.  Those  ex- 
onerated legitimately  from  singing  or 
psalmody  arranged  themselves  last, 
that  they  might  not  interrupt  those 
who  sang.  The  Nuns  placed  them- 
selves according  to  the  seniority  of 
their  profession  on  each  side  of  the 
Choir,  particular  places  of  distinction 
being  allotted  to  the  Abbess,  her  Coad- 
jutrix,  the  Prioress,  and  Sub-prioress. 


All  descended  by  the  nearest  steps,  the 
Juniors  first.  When  the  Abbess  said 
her  part  of  the  service,  the  Nuns  stood, 
as  they  always  did  in  every  place,  until 
she  was  seated.  When  she  entered  or 
left  the  Choir,  they  rose  and  bowed. 
No  one,  except  officers  on  duty,  left 
the  Choir  during  service,  without  stat- 
ing the  occasion  to  the  presiding  Nun. 
Those  released  from  the  daily  service, 
placed  themselves  below  the  stalls  at 
Tierce,  Vespers,  and  the  Benediction  of 
Complin,  which  they  were  obliged  to 
attend,  except  by  dispensation  or  ne- 
cessary engagements  elsewhere.  The 
candles  were  lighted  and  snuffed  by 
some  of  the  youngest.  Any  sister  who 
had  business  with  another,  was  to  call 
her  out  into  the  anti-choir,  that  the 
service  might  not  be  impeded. — There 
were  other  minor  regulations,  pp. 
1—9. 

Chap.  II.  The  attitude  in  the  Choir 
was  to  be — the  body  erect,  the  head  a 
little  inclined,  downcast  eyes  (les  yeux 
demi  in  terre),  the  hands  under  the 
scapulary  or  in  the  sleeves  of  the  full 
dress,  unless  when  holding  the  book. 
Spitting,  blowing  the  nose,  and  irreve- 
rent gestures  to  be  avoided,  pp.  10.  14. 

Chap.  III.  "  Our  holy  Patriarch 
seems  to  us  to  distinguish  (signer)  two 
kinds  of  psalmody,  or  chant ;  the  first, 
which  is  varied  by  antiquity  or  note ; 
the  second,  which  has  no  variation,  but 
is  of  the  same  tenor."  p.  14.  Certain 
services  were  to  be  celebrated  accord- 
ingly. 

Chap.  IV.  regulates  the  psalmody. 
Small  mistakes  noticed  by  kissing  the 
ground  in  their  places  :  great  errors  by 
doing  so  before  the  presiding  Nun.  pp. 
18—20. 

Chap.  V.  Two  kinds  of  bows.  The 
greater,  bending  the  body  till  the  hands 
touched  the  knees  ;  the  other,  just  in- 
clining the  head,  the  body  a  little  bent, 
pp.  20—25. 

Chap.  VII.  Prostration  and  kissing 
the  ground  at  certain  offices. 


310 


CEREMONIAL    OF   THE    NUNS    OF    ST.    CYR. 


Chap.  XXII.  A  weekly  officer  of 
the  Choir  appointed  for  certain  minor 
religious  services. 

Chap.  XXIII.  Except  on  particular 
days  the  cross  was  placed  on  the  Ab- 
bess's bench  (au  banc  de  I/Abbesse). 
Tapers  were  borne  before  her  when  she 
went  to  the  grate,  in  processions,  &c. 
The  cross  was  carried  a  little  before  her 
on  the  right  side ;  but  the  bearer  did 
not  touch  it  with  the  naked  hand.  The 
cross-bearer  also  presented  the  holy- 
water  sprinkle  at  a  certain  office. 

Chap.  XXV.  Method  of  the  Holy 
Water  Benediction.  The  Nuns  ranged 
themselves  in  front  of  the  stalls,  the 
Sacrist  gave  the  sprinkle  to  the  Abbess 
kneeling,  and  kissing  her  hand,  retired 
a  little  behind  her,  both  she  and  the 
Abbess  having  their  backs  turned  to 
the  Altar.  The  Prioress  and  rest  of 
the  Nuns  then  made  a  low  reverence 
to  receive  the  holy  water.  At  other 
times  the  Nuns  formed  a  circle,  and 
were  sprinkled  by  the  presiding  officer 
in  the  centre. 

Chap.  XXVI.  contains  the  Regula- 
tion of  the  whole  day.  If  the  Abbess 
has  no  want  of  her  sister  (sic)  she 
waked  the  Society,  and  had  the  care 
of  the  clock  ;  otherwise,  another  Nun. 
Nearly  the  whole  Society  rose  at  4  a.m. 
the  others  J  past.  She  then  opened 
the  doors,  grate,  &c.  and  at  §  past  4 
rung  the  first  bell  of  Mattins.  Lauds 
followed  immediately  without  ringing  ; 
then  half  an  hour^s  prayer,  unless  it 
was  abbreviated  for  justifiable  reasons. 
Prime  and  Chapter  succeeded;  and 
until  8  they  withdrew  to  dress,  or  of- 
ficial duties,  or  those  enjoined.  At  8, 
Tierce,  followed  by  Mass,  and,  till  10, 
manual  employment,  except  on  certain 
days.  At  10,  Sexto  On  the  fasts  of 
the  Rule  about  J  past  10  ;  if  there  was 
a  double  office,  %  past  10.  On  the 
fasts  of  the  Church  they  left  work  at 
£  past  1 0,  and  withdrew  to  their  cells, 
if  they  had  no  business  in  the  offices. 
At  £  past  11,  Nones.  Then  to  the 
Refectory  in  procession,  from  whence 
to  the  Church  to  say  grace,  ranged 
along  the  benches,  from  top  to  bottom. 

"  If  there  be  no  fasts,  they  go  from 


11  to  12  to  refreshment  all  together:  if 
there  be  fasts  of  the  Rule,  from  £  past 
1 1  or  thereabouts,  till  1 .  Upon  fasts 
of  the  Church,  from  \  past  12  till  2. 
Upon  days  when  there  is  no  fast,  si- 
lence at  noon,  and  nones  at  1.  Work 
till  3.  Upon  fasts  of  the  Rule,  silence 
from  after  1  to  2 ;  and  upon  fasts  of  the 
Church  from  after  2  to  3  there  is  no 
work.  Upon  fasts  of  the  Rule,  the 
hour  of  labour  is  from  2  to  3 ;  so  that 
Vespers  is  always  at  3.  After  this  there 
is  prayer  for  an  hour.  It  must  finish 
a  little  before  tr  past  4.  If  it  be  a  fast 
they  withdraw  to  their  cells;  are  occu- 
pied in  their  offices,  or  may  walk  in  the 
garden,  or  visit  the  sick."  At  |  past  5 
the  collation  in  the  Refectory,  from 
whence  in  procession  to  the  Church  to 
Complin.  Afterwards  the  Benediction, 
Sprinkling  with  holy  water,  and  at  9  at 
latest  the  Dormitory,  pp.  102 — 108. 

Chap.  XXXVI.  A  retirement  once 
a  year  for  eight  or  ten  days,  when  they 
communicated  once  a  day,  and  passed 
the  time  in  holy  meditation. 

Chap.  XXXVII.  Confession  twice 
a  week,  upon  Wednesdays  and  Satur- 
days, except  upon  certain  festivals,  &c. 
In  the  Confessional  were  half-hour 
glasses  to  regulate  the  time  for  confes- 
sion allowed  to  each  Nun ;  at  first  only 
a  third  of  the  sand,  but  this  limitation 
being  found  to  cramp  the  conscience, 
the  whole  half  hour  was  allowed. 

Chap.  XLI.  records  a  custom  of 
drawing  tickets  inscribed  with  the  name 
of  a  month  and  some  particular  virtue. 
Each  then  drew  one;  and  engaged  to 
study  that  virtue  during  the  time. 

Chap.  XLII.  On  the  Vigil  of  Ja- 
nuary the  first,  the  Abbess  brought  to 
every  cell  some  fine  paper  and  a  small 
candle ;  and  the  next  day,  at  the  end  of 
Prime,  the  Society  wished  the  Abbess 
a  happy  new  year,  and  received  her 
Benediction.  The  Novices  did  the 
same  also  with  their  mistress,  and  the 
others  at  meeting  kissed  each  other  in 
token  of  amity. 

Upon  the  Vigil  of  the  Epiphany,  after 
the  Benediction  of  the  supper,  or  the 
collation,  one  or  more  cakes  was  placed 
upon    the    Abbess's    table,    and    the 


CEREMONIAL    OF   THE    NUNS    OF    ST.    CYR. 


311 


youngest  noviciates  drew  each  a  part. 
She  who  had  the  bean  went  to  eat  her 
portion  at  the  Abbess's  table.  A  wag 
would  smile  at  the  indulgencies  granted 
to  the  sisters,  consisting  of  suspensions 
of  the  law  of  silence  after  dinner,  and 
in  the  evening,  upon  the  Epiphany,  the 
Sunday  following,  and  Tuesday  and 
Thursday  before  Septuagesinia. 

Chap.  XLIII.  Candlemas  Day.  The 
consecrating  Priest  wore  a  violet-co- 
loured cope. 

Chap.  LXVIT.  Festival  of  St.  Cyr. 
Flowers  were  thrown  upon  the  proces- 
sion as  it  passed. 

23  June.  Vigil  of  St.  John.  A  bonfire 
being  made  in  the  evening  before  the 
garden  gate,  all  the  Nuns  assembled 
around  it.  The  Abbess  set  fire  to  it, 
and,  after  a  short  religious  ceremony, 
they  withdrew  in  silence,  "  to  imitate 
that  of  the  Saint  in  his  solitude.'5  [Here 
is  Druidism,  &c.  &c] 

Chap.  LXXXI.  Cells  in  the  Dormi- 
tory. Doors  to  be  always  shut  except 
in  hot  weather.  The  only  furniture 
[except,  of  course,  beds,  &c]  an  image 
framed  in  black,  like  a  picture,  and  two 
or  three  others  quite  simple  :  only  six 
books  allowed,  except  those  which  they 
had  "  dans  le  particulier/'  Not  to  take 
physick  in  the  Dormitory  unless  there 
were  many  sick,  nor  to  bring  any  thing 
to  eat  there,  except  to  the  sick ;  but  on 
account  of  preserving  silence  in  the 
Dormitory,  always  to  prefer  removal  to 
the  Infirmary.  Those  who  "  font  des 
remedes,"  without  sleeping  in  the  In- 
firmary, to  retire  at  8  o'clock,  and  not 
to  speak  afterwards.  No  noise  to  be 
made  by  moving  the  furniture,  knock- 
ing, &c.  No  one  to  leave  it  during  the 
hours  of  silence ;  and  on  this  account 
pails  of  water  to  be  provided  every 
night  for  the  use  of  the  Nuns.  No 
sweeping  in  the  house,  except  during 
the  garden  promenades  in  the  evening. 
— An  Apothecary's  shop  mentioned  in 
this  chapter  and  elsewhere,  as  belong- 
ing to  the  house,  under  the  care  of  an 
Apothecaress. 

Chap.LXXXII.  The  CommonHouse. 
Open,  except  in  the  hours  of  silence, 
when    permission   was    necessary  for 


work  or   reading   while  they  warmed 
themselves.     But  they  could  not   g 
there  in  a  night  dress,  or  to  dress  and 
undress  without  leave. 

If  a  Nun  found  herself  there  alone, 
she  might  request  another  to  come, 
that  the  fire  might  be  employed,  p. 
254. 

Chap.  LXXXIV.  At  the  Colla- 
tion, about  a  quarter  to  six,  humilia- 
tions of  kissing  the  feet  of  any  sister, 
&c.  were  practised. 

Chap.  XCI.  Infirmary.  Phlebo- 
tomy in  the  foot  is  mentioned,  p.  280. 

Chap.  XCII.  Garden.  "They  shall 
not  go  to  the  Garden  alone  without  a 
great  necessity,  except  on  Festivals  and 
Sundays,  or  (ou)  it  is  permitted,  and 
when  they  go  there  after  Complin.  It 
is  usual  to  go  there  for  a  little  more 
than  three  months  during  the  heat  of 
summer,  after  leaving  Complin,  till  8 
o'clock."  The  Abbess  renewed  the 
permission  every  year  in  Chapter  of 
going  to  the  Garden.  No  flowers  ex- 
cept jessamin  and  violet  to  be  picked, 
unless  by  assent  of  the  Sacristan.  Not 
to  go  there  in  a  night  or  undress,  but 
to  put  on  the  great  scapulary  at  least 
for  propriety's  sake.  Promenades  in 
the  Garden  permitted  at  the  hour  after 
Prime,  and  at  that  after  the  prayers,  on 
fast  days.  pp.  283,  284. 
Form  of  investing  (a  la  vesture)  a  Choir 

Girl,  i.  e.  making  her  a  Noviciate. 

At  the  Chapter  preceding  the  cere- 
mony, she  begged  on  her  knees  the 
habit  from  the  Abbess,  who  replied  by 
a  suitable  exhortation.  On  the  Vigil 
the  Mistress  of  the  Novices  took  the 
girl  to  ask  pardon  of  the  Mothers  and 
Sisters.  Upon  the  day,  Prime,  Tierce, 
and  Sext  were  said  successively  with- 
out singing,  that  the  sisters  might  go 
to  dress,  and  after  Mass  and  Commu- 
nion, the  girl  after  the  Abbess,  the  So- 
ciety went  to  breakfast  in  the  Refectory 
upon  some  meat  and  wine.  If  the  girl 
had  parents  or  near  relatives,  she  was 
to  solicit  their  blessing  before  the  cere- 
mony. Upon  their  arrival  there  were 
placed  in  the  middle  of  the  Choir  a 
large  carpet,  a  prie,  Dieu  covered  with 
carpeting,  upon  which  the  crucifix  was 


312 


CEREMONIAL    OF    THE    NUNS    OF    ST.    CYR. 


laid,  a  careau,  a  chair;  and  before  a 
taper,  ou  il  doit  avoir  une  piece  dor; 
near  the  Abbess's  seat,  a  small  table 
covered  with  a  carpet,  upon  which  were 
laid  all  the  religious  habits,  a  silver 
basin,  scissars  (une  plote  et  des  es- 
pingles),  qu  ?  a  pincushion  and  pins. 
Chairs  were  put  for  the  Society ;  and 
the  Sacrist  consecrated,  sprinkled,  and 
censed  the  habits.  At  the  offering  the 
Mistress  of  the  Novices  brought  the 
girl  to  the  grate,  the  taper  being  carried 
before  her.  The  girl  then  having  kissed 
the  Pax,  dropped  the  piece  of  gold  into 
the  silver  bason  held  by  the  Subdeacon, 
and  bowing,  retired  to  her  seat.  After 
Mass  and  the  Sermon,  the  Cross-bearer, 
accompanied  by  the  Mistress,  leaning 
the  crucifix  on  the  right  arm,  led  the 
girl  to  the  Abbess  seated;  she  made  her 
request,  kissed  the  ground,  bowed  to 
the  Abbess,  and  returned  to  her  seat. 
The  Chantress  then  commenced  a  ser- 
vice, each  of  the  Nuns  holding  a  lighted 
taper.  After  the  response,  the  Mis- 
tress conducted  the  girl  to  the  Sacristy, 
where  she  was  stripped  of  her  worldly 
habiliments,  and  re-clothed  in  a  tu- 
nick,  dishevelled  hair,  a  crown  of 
thorns  upon  her  head,  and  the  crucifix 
in  her  arms.  As  she  entered  the  Choir 
a  service  commenced,  at  the  end  of 
which  the  Sacrist  went  to  present  the 
Ceremonial  to  the  Abbess.  The  Mis- 
tress brought  the  girl  to  the  Superior 
to  give  her  the  habit.  The  Sacrist  held 
the  book  open  all  the  time  the  girl  was 
being  drest.  The  Superior  then  cut  off 
a  lock  of  her  hair  in  the  form  of  a  cross, 


adding  a  prayer  signifying  excision  of 
superfluities  and  secular  vanities.  The 
girl  was  next  clothed  in  the  robe, 
girdle,  scapulary,  and  white  veil,  with 
suitable  prayers.  Being  thus  arrayed, 
she  kissed  the  feet  of  the  Superior,  re- 
sumed the  crucifix,  which  she  placed 
upon  its  stand  in  the  middle  of  the 
Choir,  and  prostrated  herself  before  it, 
the  Convent  performing  a  service.  The 
girl  next  offered  her  taper  to  the  Holy 
Virgin,  over  the  Altar  of  the  anti-choir. 
After  some  more  prayers  the  girl  re- 
turned and  knelt  before  the  Abbess, 
who  said,  ei  My  daughter,  you  shall  no 
more  be  called,  ( My  sister  so  and  so/ 
but,  i  My  sister'  [after  the  name  of  some 
Saint]  /"  The  Superior  then  embraced 
her,  and  the  Mistress  led  her  round  to 
embrace  the  community ;  the  Convent 
singing  Te  Deum,  and  the  bells  ring- 
ing. After  that  the  grate  was  closed, 
and  all  that  day  the  Novice  dined  at 
the  table  of  the  Abbess.  ei  Si  elle  fait 
la  retraite  elle  aura  son  voile  baisse 
celle  qui  ont  des  parends,  qui  les  veulle 
voir  en  de  hors,  Fon  les  fait  sortir  la 
veille  mais  elle  ny  couche  point/' 

Remark  (sic) .  The  day  of  her  invest- 
ment they  made  a  small  Altar,  which 
they  placed  in  the  Chapter,  properly 
dressed,  and  put  upon  it  the  rod,  which 
was  kept  in  the  Dormitory. 

The  ceremony  was  the  same  with  a 
convert  girl,  only  the  bench  was  differ- 
ently placed,  and  there  was  no  careau. 
Part  ii.  pp.  1 — 11. 

The  forms  of  consecrating  and  pro- 
fessing Nuns  have  been  before  given. 


PEREGRINATORIUM    RELIGIOSUM; 


OR, 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS 


OF 


ANCIENT    PILGRIMS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


COSTUMES    OF    PILGRIMS. 


The  particular  designations  of  Pil- 
grims were  the  Scrip,  Staff  or  Bourdon, 
Palmer's  Staff,  Scarf,  Bell,  Sclavina, 
Hat,  Rosary,  Scrobula. 

The  Scrip  was  derived  from  the 
Monks  of  Egypt.  Charlemagne  wore 
a  golden  Scrip  when  he  went  to  Rome.3 
It  was  the  pouch  or  wallet  in  which 
Pilgrims  carried  their  necessaries.  Thus 
Chaucer, 

"  In  scrippe  lie  bare  both  bread  and  leeks."  b 

It  was  made  of  leather.  In  the  Life 
of  S.  Margaret  is  this  passage :  "And 
you  shall  visit  me  with  a  pilgrim's  staff, 
the  scrip  hanging  from  your  shoulder  ;" 
and  in  a  compotus  from  the  year  1333 
to  1336  is  an  entry  "for  a  scrip  of  seta," 
which  I  think  not  leather  only,  but 
leather  with  the  hair  on.c  In  the  Ro- 
man de  la  Rose  MS.  it  is  coupled  with 
the  Bourdon,  as  will  hereafter  appear. 
Small  ones  are  mentioned.01  We  find  a 
Scrip  and  Mantle  united/  and  Pilgrims 
were  called  Manticulati  from  Mantica, 
the  scrip.f  The  Anglo-Saxons  had 
Scrips,  and  they  were  worn  at  the  side.g 
The  term  Scrip  also  applied  to  the 
whole  of  a  pilgrim's  baggage,  so  far  as 
concerned  packages.11  A  Sack  instead 
of  a  Scrip  occurs,  as  carried  by  a  fe- 
male poor  pilgrim.1 

Scarf.  The  Abbot  of  Cheminon,  says 
a  Pilgrim,  gave  me  my  Scarf,  and  bound 
it  on  me;  and  likewise  put  the  Pil- 
grim's Staff  in  my  hand.  I  made  pil- 
grimages to  all  the  holy  places  in  the 


a  Du  Cange  sur  Joinville,  Diss.  15.  p.  151.   Ed. 
Johnes. 

b  Id.  Gloss,  v.  Pera.  c  Id.  v.  Scarcella. 

d  Id.  v.  Ferula.        e  V.  Mantiperium. 

f  Du  Cange. 

s  Lye,  v.  Codd.  XV.  Script.  370.  M.  Paris,  836. 

h  See  Ch.  V.  *  Gold.  Leg.  fol.  cxix. 


neighbourhood,  on  foot,  without  shoes, 
and  in  my  shirt.k 

Authors  often  use  the  word  Scarf 
instead  of  Scrip,  because  these  Scrips 
or  wallets  were  commonly  attached  to 
the  Scarfs  with  which  they  begirded 
the  pilgrims.1  In  general  the  Scarf  is 
a  mere  leather  thong  or  belt. 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  the  French 
began  to  wear  over  the  Cuirass  the 
white  Scarf,  which  afterwards  charac- 
terized their  military  men.  It  was 
sometimes  worn  as  a  girdle,  sometimes 
as  a  belt  or  baudrick.  With  them  it 
was  sometimes  white;  sometimes  red. 
The  Spaniards  preferred  it  red;  the 
Bavarians  and  Catalans  black  ;  the  Pa- 
latines, Inhabitants  of  the  Rhine,  the 
Danes  and  English  blue.m  Accordingly 
in  old  portraits  of  our  military  men  in 
armour,  we  find  it  of  blue  silk  :  of  that, 
or  some  similar  material,  as  a  designa- 
tion of  officers,  so  late  as  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,11  and  at  last  converted 
into  a  sash,  and  worn  around  the  waist. 
We  hear  of  a  Scrip  being  supported 
by  a  girdle  or  belt,  and  both  occur  in 
plates.0  The  arms  borne  by  the  name 
of  Tasborough  are,  1.  Argent,  a  chev- 
ron, between  three  stirrups  pendent  on 
as  many  palmers5  staves,  Sable.  2.  Ar- 
gent, a  chevron,  between  three  pilgrims' 
staves,  with  pouches  hanging  on  them, 
Sable,  garnished  Or. 

Bourdon  Staff.  He  had  a  long  staff 
in  his  hand,  with  a  nobbe  in  the  middle, 
according  to  the  fashion  of  this  Pil- 
grim^ Staff.P     The  fashion  of  all  the 

k  Joinville,  i.  p.  118. 
1  Du  Cange  sur  Joinville,  Diss.  15. 
m  Maillot,  iii.  112. 

n  Grose's   Military  Antiquities,   vol.  i.  p.  362. 
Plate  of  Salutes. 
0  Du  Cange,  v.  Peramentum. 
P  Coryatt's  Crudities,  i.  20. 


316 


COSTUMES    OF    PILGRIMS, 


staves,  except  the  Palmers',  is  similar 
in  the  Plate,  (p.  323,)  and  shows  the 
error  of  the  theatrical  costume,  in  fur- 
nishing pilgrims  with  a  long  cross. 
Upon  the  arms  of  Sempringham  is  what 
is  called  a  pilgrim's  crutch,  i.  e.  this 
long  cross.a  Taylor's  Ind.  Monast.  p. 
32.     Qu.  ?  If  this  be  not  a  misnomer. 

The  Staff  was  also  called  Bourdon, 
being,  according  to  Hawkins,  a  walk- 
ing stick,  excavated  into  a  musical  in- 
strument. 

The  same  author  says,  Bourdoun  the 
base  part  in  Chaucer ;  the  Bourdon  in 
French  is  still  not  only  in  use,  as  the 
drone  of  a  bagpipe,  whence  the  burden 
of  a  song,  but  for  the  double  Diapason, 
or  lowest  stop  in  French  and  German 
organs.b  Burney  says,  the  Bourdon 
was  a  kind  of  drone-base  under  the 
voice  part.c  It  was  doubtless  applied 
to  the  use  of  pitching  the  note,  or  ac- 
companying the  songs  which  Pilgrims 
used  to  recreate  themselves  on  their 
journies,  and  supposed  by  Menestrierd 
to  be  Hymns  and  Canticles.  It  has 
been  elsewhere  noted,  that  it  was  cus- 
tomary for  all  ranks  to  sing  aloud  along 
the  road  while  travelling.  Pollux  de- 
scribes the  Embaterion  as  a  flute  used 
by  the  Greeks  for  recreation  in  travel- 
ling. e 

This  Etymon  from  a  musical  use  is 
more  than  doubtful.  The  barbarous 
Greek  Bopbovia  signified  a  beast  of  bur- 
den/ and  the  Bourdon  was  a  staff  of 
support.  Besides  it  was  a  fashion 
which  came  from  Syria.  In  the  Roman 
D'Aubery  MS.  is  the  following  line : 

S'il  ait  esclavine  et  bordon  de  Surie.z 

To  which  it  may  be  replied,  that  the 
bordon  de  Surie,  was  perhaps  the  Pal- 
mer's Staff,  and  of  different  fashion 
from  the  round  knobbed  Pilgrim's  bour- 
don ;   if  so,   both  staves   were    called 


a  Taylor's  Ind.  Monast.  p.  32.  Qu?  if  this  be  not 
a  misnomer. 

b  Hawkins's  Hist,  of  Musick,  hi.  374. 

c  Musick,  i.  430.     d  As  cited  in  Burney,  ii.  326. 

e  Enc.  des  Antiq.  v.  Embaterienne. 

{  Rigaltii  GlossariumTacticumGreeco-barbarum, 
p.  45. 

*  Du  Cange,  v.  Selavina. 


bourdons.  But  all  this  is  very  uncer- 
tain ;  for  an  old  Romance  says,  "  he  had 
palm,  and  scarf,  and  good  ferruled 
Bourdon ;" h  where  the  latter  was  no 
doubt  the  common  Bourdon,  because 
palm  is  mentioned  as  accompanying  it. 

The  Roman  de  la.  Rose  MS.  says,  a 
"  bourdon  grant  et  fort,"*  (a  bourdon 
great  and  strong.)  Du  Cange,  under 
the  word  Bordonatus,  says,  "  turned 
[in  a  lathe]  and  terminated  in  the  man- 
ner of  a  Pilgrim's  Staff."  Pilgrims  who 
carried  very  large  Bourdons  were  called 
by  the  Albigenses,  Burdonarii.k 

Palmer's  Staff.  Peter  Damian  says, 
K  Coming  from  Jerusalem,  he  bore  a 
Palm  in  his  hand.1"  One  Palmer  is  de- 
scribed as  carrying  a  great  club  in 
hand  ;m  but  Somner,  in  his  Glossary  of 
the  Decern  Scriptores,  mentions  a  staff 
or  boughs  of  Palm.  However  common 
palm  branches  may  be,  as  attributes  of 
female  Saints,  or  Confessors,  [i.  e.  holy 
men  who  died  a  natural  death,  not  by 
martyrdom,]  it  is  plain  that  they  could 
not  be  preserved  during  so  long  a  jour- 
ney as  that  from  the  Holy  Land ;  and 
as  Jerusalem  was  a  great  mart  for  nick- 
nacks  in  that  sera,  they  appear  to  have 
been  supplied  with  staves  of  palm,  of 
which  the  make  was  not  always  uniform. 
See  the  Plate,  and  explanation  of  it,  p. 
323. 

A  palm  tree  is  the  symbol  of  Judsea, 
as  well  as  of  Phenicia,  upon  Monu- 
ments.11 

Bell,  I  have  seen  no  account  of  any, 
except  that  of  S.  Brigid,  the  Irish  Saint, 
in  the  second  Chapter  ;  and  the  Can- 
terbury Bells,  hereafter  mentioned. 

Selavina.  Du  Cange  says,  the  Sela- 
vina, which  Somner  °  by  mistake  calls 
Sclauma,  is  a  very  long  coarse  robe, 
sometimes  at  least  of  shaggy  stuff,  like 
the  military  Sagum,  and  was  worn  by 
slaves,  whence  the  appellation.  It  was 
the  common  habit  of  Pilgrims,  for  an 
old  Chronicle  says,  "  walking  on  foot 

1    h  Du  Cange,  v.  Palmata. 
*  Du  Cange,  v.  Peregrinatio. 
k  Du  Cange,  v.  Burdones. 
1  Du  Cange,  v.  Palmata. 

Decern  Scriptores,  col.  2322. 


n  Enc.  v.  Judee. 


Gloss.  X.  Script. 


COSTUMES    OF    PILGRIMS. 


317 


in  the  habit  of  a  Pilgrim,  which  is  com- 
monly called  Sclavina."  Herbert  de 
Miraculis  says,  "  like  any  Jerusalemite, 
adorned  with  a  palm,  scrip,  and  staff, 
and  covered  with  the  Sclavina."  a  In 
the  description  of  the  habit  of  a  Palmer 
it  is  white.b 

Hat.  We  hear  of  a  Masquerade  Pil- 
grim, clad  in  a  coat  of  russet  velvet, 
fashioned  to  his  call,  his  hat  being  of 
the  same,  with  scallop  shells  of  cloth  of 
silver.0  The  figure  of  this  hat,  turned 
up  in  front,  appears  upon  the  Plate; 
and  at  Kingswood  Church,  in  Wilt- 
shire, near  Wotton  Underedge,  is  a  fine 
head  in  stained  glass,  with  a  hat  of  this 
kind,  and  the  escallop  in  front.  It  ap- 
pears plain  from  the  passages  hereafter 
given  from  Strutt,  that  the  hat  con- 
tained on  the  turn-up  front,  tokens  of 
the  respective  Pilgrimages,  as 

I.  Jerusalem  Pilgrims,  had  the  signs  of 
Sinay.  These,  Strutt  says,  were  relicks, 
brought  from  thence,  and  from  the 
Holy  Land. 

II.  Pilgrims  to  Rome.  The  signs 
were,  a  cloak  marked  with  cross  keys, 
and  the  Veronique,  or  Vernicle  (of 
which  under  Chapter  X.)  in  front ;  but 
whether  of  the  Cloak,  or  Hat,  does  not 
appear. 

III.  Compost ella  Pilgrims.  The  es- 
callops, being  denominated  by  ancient 
authors,  the  Shells  of  Gales,  or  Gallicia, 
plainly  apply  to  this  pilgrimage  in  par- 
ticular. Fuller  however  says,  the  es- 
callop shells  were  assumed  by  the  Pil- 
grims, because  used  for  cups  and  dishes 
by  the  Pilgrims  in  Palestine ;  and  that 
Nicholas  de  Villers,  the  first  of  the  fa- 
mily, who  attended  Edward  I.  to  the 
holy  wars,  bore  the  escallops  to  denote 
a  tour  to  Palestine^  whereas  it  was 
usual  to  return  by  way  of  Compostella, 
and  the  shells  appear  to  have  implied 
this,  in  the  instance  mentioned. 

It  appears  by  the  Figures  (see  the 
Plate,  p.  323.)  that  this  hat,  though  ge- 
neral, was  not  universal;  and  that    a 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Sclavina. 

b  Decern  Script.  2322. 

c  Nichols's  Progresses,  i.  3. 

d  Church  Hist.  Cent.  xii.  p.  4; 


head- covering,  evidently  intended  for 
shooting  off  wet,  was  a  frequent  substi- 
tute. 

Rosary.  This  is  a  term,  properly 
speaking,  only  applied  to  chaplets  of 
beads,  used  in  prayers  to  the  Virgin, 
but  all  chaplets  of  beads  e  are  now  so 
called.  Coryatt's  Pilgrim  had  chains 
about  his  neck  of  extraordinary  great 
beads,  whereon  was  the  picture  of  our 
Lady,  and  Christ  in  her  arms.f  As 
connected  with  prayers,  the  first  Chris- 
tian mention  is  made  by  Augustine, 
about  the  year  366 ;  s  but  Du  Choul  ** 
is  quoted  for  the  same  use  of  them 
among  the  classical  Ancients.1  Malms- 
bury  mentions  the  use,  that  no  prayers 
might  be  omitted.k  Peter  the  Hermit 
invented  a  mode  of  praying  by  55  cal- 
culi, or  beads,  so  distinct  in  order,  that 
after  10,  each  of  the  largest  was  affixed 
to  the  thread ;  and,  as  many  as  the  lat- 
ter were,  so  many  times  they  recited 
the  Lord's  prayer;  as  many  as  the 
other,  so  many  times  the  Angel's  salu- 
tation, by  going  over  the  number  three 
times  ;  thrice  also  they  went  over  the 
shorter  creed,  which  they  called  the 
Psalter  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  It  was  in- 
vented, according  to  Polydore  Virgil, 
about  1090. 

Of  Rosaries,  Dominick  was  the  Au- 
thor. A  Rosary  consisted  of  a  series  of 
beads,  15  large,  150  small,  intermixed, 
which  they  ran  over,  in  reciting  the 
Pater-Noster,  from  the  larger,  the  Ave- 
Marias  from  the  smaller,  in  honour 
of  the  15  mysteries  of  Christ,  whose 
censors  [i.  e.  associate  in  worship)  was 
the  Virgin  Mary.l  These  chaplets  of 
beads  were  respectively  of  amber,  or 
coral,  or  glass,  or  chrystal,  or  gold,  or 
silver.  The  Nuns  sometimes  wore 
them  from  their  necks.m  The  beads 
were   called  Gaudia,n  and  run  over  in 


e  Douce,  i.  32.  f  Crudities,  i.  20. 

s  Hanmer's  Eusebius,  586.         b  P.  255. 

5  Roma  Antiqua  et  Recens,p.  177. 

k  Gest.  Pont.  L.  iv. — Mr.  Douce  on  Shakespeare, 
i.  32.  thinks  that  they  were  brought  by  Crusaders 
from  the  East. 

I  Du  Cange,  v.  Rosarium. 

m  Du  Cange,  v.  Pater -nosier. 

II  Ibid.  v.  Gaudia. 


318 


COSTUMES    OF    PILGRIMS. 


repeating  Ave-Marias.  Sometimes  the 
prayers  were  said  by  counting  the 
fingers  instead  of  beads.a  An  Ave- 
Maria,  said  with  one  of  the  aforesaid 
grains,  was  presumed  to  deliver  a  soul 
from  Purgatory .b  They  were  mostly 
made  of  glass.c  A  pair  of  Paternosters 
of  great  pearl  were  among  the  effects  of 
Maur.  Lord  Berkeley  in  the  reign  of 
Edw.  II.d  In  Spain  few  women  go 
without  the  doors,  walk,  play,  or  toy, 
without  a  rosary  in  the  hand.  The  men 
are  never  without  one  hanging  round 
their  necks.  In  the  comedies,  if  the 
Devil  be  chained,  it  is  with  a  rosary ; 
and  he  then  makes  a  dreadful  howl,  by 
which  the  good  people  are  much  edi- 
fied.6 

Scrobula.  This  was  the  robe,  worn 
by  female  Pilgrims,  and,  except  closer 
sleeves,  like  to  that  of  the  men.  Saint 
Odoric  says,  "  but  these  women  walk 
unshod,  wearing  Scrobulse,  even  to  the 
ground." b  It  was  essential,  as  will 
soon  appear,  that  the  garments  of  Pil- 
grims should  be  of  woollen ;  and  the 
Roman  de  Vache  says, 

"  En  Jerusalem  fist  Peregrination 

En  langes  et  nus  piez  a  grant  devotion  ;" 

i.  e.  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  in  wool- 
len, and  naked  feet,  with  great  devotion. 
In  the  14th  century,  breeches  were  ge- 
nerally made  of  linen,  and  considered 
a  part  of  dress,  essential  to  ease  and 
indulgence ;  hence  in  an  old  romance, 
where  one  of  the  heroes  is  resolved 
upon  pilgrimage,  it  is  mentioned,  as  a 
great  instance  of  mortification,  that  he 
refused  to  take  with  him  either  shirt  or 
breeches  ;  and  it  was  common,  for  Piers 
Plowman,  speaking  of  the  poverty  of 
Pilgrims,  says,  "  In  poure  cotes  for  Pil- 
grimage to  Rome — no  breeche  be- 
twene."  s 

Bare-feet,  This  was  a  very  essential 
part  of  penitentiary  pilgrimage.     Ter- 


a  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  13. 

b  English  Spanish  Pilgrim,  4to,  1630,  p.  18. 

c   Du  Cange,  v.  Roscida. 

d  Smyth's  Berkeley  MSS. 

e  Bourgoanne,  iii.  359,  360. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Scrobula. 

e  Strutt's  Dressess,  ii.  336. 


tullian  n  mentions  the  annunciation  of 
Nudipedalia,  during  drought,  among 
the  classical  antients  ;  but  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  the  custom  in  the  later  eeras, 
was,  according  to  Evagrius,  in  a  sect  of 
Hereticks,  mentioned  by  Augustine,, 
about  the  year  435,  who  went  so  from 
mistaking  certain  passages  in  Scripture. 
The  Apostles  are  represented  by  Pe- 
trarch to  have  gone  bare-footed.1  It 
was  a  custom  annexed  to  some  civil 
punishments.k  We  read  of  a  religious 
person,  who  pulled  off  his  shoes,  when 
in  sight  of  a  monastery,  because  he  was 
unwilling  to  approach  dwellings  of 
martyrs,  without  a  martyrdom  on  his 
own  part.1 

In  the  wood-cuts  of  the  Golden  Le- 
gend, published  by  Julian  Notary  in 
150:3,  is  the  image  of  S.  Roche,  with 
the  hat,  staff,  scrip,  &c.  He  holds  up 
his  clothes,  that,  as  Sir  David  Lindsay 
says, 

Saint  Roch  well  scaled  men  may  see 
A  boil  new  broken  on  his  thie. 

Monarchy,  B.  ii.  p.  64. 

to  shew  the  effects  of  the  pestilence 
which  had  seized  him.  The  dog  is 
Gotarde5s  Hound,  {i  that  by  the  purve- 
aunce  of  God  brought  fro  the  Lordes 
borde  brede  unto  saint  Roche"  whole 
loaves  at  a  time.m 

"It  seems/*  says  Strutt,  "to  have 
been  almost  as  fashionable,  in  the  days 
of  Chaucer,  to  make  occasional  visits 
to  the  tomb  of  some  favourite  saint,  as 
it  now  is  to  frequent  the  different  wa- 
tering-places.11 Particular  habits  were 
appropriated  to  these  occasions  ;  it  is 
indeed  certain,  that  they  were  not  ab- 
solutely necessary ;  but  few,  I  presume, 
who  were  actuated  by  real  principles  of 
religion  appeared  without  them.  Such 
Pilgrims  abstained  from  all  secular  va- 
nities, travelled  barefooted,  clothed  in 
garments  of   the    coarsest  cloth,    and 


h  P.  713.  Ed.  Rigalt. 

1  Mem.  de  Petrarque,  ii.  95. 

k  Du  Cange,  v.  Arestara  et  Arrestare. 
'  l  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  301. 

ra  Golden  Legend,  fol.  cxliv. 

n  Tyrwhitt  (Gloss.  Chaucer)  notei  that  the  verb 
to  play  in  one  sense  signified  to  go  upon  a  pil- 
grimage. 


COSTUMES    OF   PILGRIMS. 


319 


subsisted  upon  the  charitable  contri- 
butions of  those  they  met  with  on  their 
journey.  In  the  Romance  of  the  Four 
Sons  of  Aymont,  which  probably  is 
about  the  twelfth  century,  one  of  the 
heroes,  renouncing  all  secular  pursuits, 
determines  upon  a  pilgrimage,  and  re- 
quests for  that  purpose,  a  coat,  or  tu- 
nick,  to  be  made  of  coarse  cloth,  and  a 
large  hat  or  hood,  and  [a  bourdon  fer- 
ruled  a  with  iron]  ;  to  which  his  friends, 
contrary  to  his  wishes,  added  shoes 
made  of  cows5  skin  [neat  leather,  the 
thickest,  best  for  duration  and  wear], 
but  could  by  no  means  prevail  upon 
him  to  accept  of  breeches,  stockings  or 
a  shirt,  or  any  other  soft  or  comfort- 
able garment. 

In  Pierce  the  Ploughman's  Visions 
a  personage  is  introduced  apparelled 
as  a  Pilgrim,  bearing  a  burden  bound 
about  with  a  broad  list  upon  his  back, 
and  a  bag  and  a  bowl b  by  his  side ;  his 
cloak  was  marked  with  crosses,  inter- 
spersed with  the  Keys  of  Rome  (two 
keys  crossed)  and  a  vernicle  in  the  front 
[see  Ch.  X.]  Upon  his  hat  were  placed 
the  signs  of  Sinay,  and  shells  of  Gules  ; 
that  it  might  be  known  by  these  tokens, 
for  whose  sake  he  had  travelled ;  there- 
fore being  asked  whence  he  came,  he  re- 
plied, '?  Ye  may  see  by  the  signes  that 
sitteth  on  my  cappe,"  and  added  that 
he  had  visited  Sinai,  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre, Bethlem,  and  variety  of  other 
places.  "The  pilgrim's  habit,  as  it 
was  delineated  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 


tury, is  given  in  the  Plate/  p.  323,  fig. 
1.  His  hat  is  turned  up  in  the  front, 
with  an  escallop-shell  affixed  to  it :  he 
is  barefooted,  and  holds  a  staff  in  his 
left  hand.  This  figure  in  the  original 
painting  is  intended  for  the  portraiture 
of  Saint  James :  and  for  that  reason, 
by  way  of  distinction,  I  presume,  the 
border  of  gold  is  added  to  the  sleeves, 
and  at  the  bottom  of  the  garment ;  for 
all  such  ornaments  were  generally  con- 
sidered as  highly  indecorous  to  the 
profession  of  a  pilgrim." 

The  figure  just  described  appears 
with  a  long  beard :  It  was  dangerous  at 
the  commencement  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  for  a  stranger  to  appear  with 
a  beard.d 

"  Peter  Auger,  valet  to  Edward  the 
Second,  obtained  from  that  Monarch 
letters  of  safe  conduct,  he  being  desir- 
ous of  visiting  the  holy  places  abroad, 
as  a  Pilgrim ;  and  having  made  a  vow 
not  to  shave  his  beard,  was  fearful, 
without  such  documents,  of  being  taken 
for  a  Knight  Templar,  and  insulted.  It 
was  by  no  means  uncommon  with  Lay 
Pilgrims  to  make  such  a  vow,  and  to 
extend  it  still  further  to  the  hair  of  their 
head  e  and  their  finger  nails  :  conceiv- 
ing, I  suppose,  that  the  resemblance  to 
a  savage  was  a  positive  mark  of  piety 
and  humbleness  of  mind."  f 

A  female  pilgrim,  with  the  staff,  scrip, 
hat,  and  scrobula,  is  engraved  in  Strutt's 
Dresses,  pi.  cxxxiv. 


COSTUMES    OF    CRUSADERS. 


In  1094,  Urban  II.  preached  the  first 
Crusade.  The  Crusaders  received  from 
the  hand  of  a  Priest  or  some  other  Ec- 
clesiastick  a  cross  of  red  stuff,  which 


was  placed   upon  their   hood   or   left 
shoulder. 

Upon  the  stained  glass,  about  the 
time  of  the  first  croisade,  the  Pilgrims 


*  Tin  bourdon  ferre ;  which  Strutt  by  mistake 
calls  a  staff  headed  with  iron. 

b  See  chap.  VII. 
Copied  from  Royal  MSS.  in  British  Museum, 
15  D.  iii.     This  figure  is  also  engraved  by  Strutt, 
PI.  cv. 

d  So  far  as  concerns  Pilgrims,  Strutt  here  re- 
quires explanation.  In  the  12th  Century  the 
Laity  and  Clergy  had  all  renounced  the  beard  ;  the 


peasants  only,  and  those  who  had  travelled  to  the 
Holy  Land,  did  not  shave,  after  the  example  of  the 
Orientals.     Costumes,  &c.  par  iYlaillot,  iii.  89. 

e  Communem  gerens  peregrinationis  consuetu- 
dinem,  baculum  et  peram  circumferens,  coma  ca- 
pitis, et  barba  prolixa.  De  Secundo  Philosopho, 
Scriptor.  p.  Bed.  464,  a. 

1  Strutt's  Dresses,  ii.  313.  seq. 


320 


COSTUMES    OF    CRUSADERS. 


carry  a  cross  upon  their  banners,  their 
helmets,  their  mail  jacket,  sleeves,  and 
hoods ;  their  bucklers  were  still  with- 
out heraldick  distinction,  and  they  had 
for  arms  only  a  lance  and  sword.a 

Philip  II.  having  determined  to  un- 
dertake a  Croisade  in  1188,  came  to 
St.  Dennis  to  take  the  oriflamme,  scrip, 
and  bourdon.  The  Crusaders,  who 
followed  them,  put  then  a  cross  of  red 
stuff  behind  their  habit.b 

Though  the  use  of  Arms  is  very  an- 
cient, yet  they  did  not  become  here- 
ditary till  the  Crusades.0  The  Cru- 
saders invented  Arms  to  distinguish 
themselves  in  battle.  They  were  at 
first  only  particular  marks  or  colours, 
which  they  put  upon  their  bucklers, 
their  coats  of  arms,  their  banners,  the 
trappings  of  their  horses :  and  whole 
families  adopted  them,  no  doubt  to 
make  it  known  that  they  belonged  to 
conquerors,  but  these  marks  did  not 
become  hereditary  till  the  age  of  Louis 
IX.  towards  the  year  1230. 

If  the  shields  of  the  warriors  before 
the  Crusades  contained  any  distinction, 
it  was  but  an  emblem,  and  most  com- 
monly their  monogram  or  cypher.  Many 
Crusaders  took  crosses,  of  which  they 
changed  the  form  and  the  colour.  Those 
of  the  French  in  general  were  white ; 
of  the  Spaniards,  red;  of  the  Italians, 
blue;  of  the  Germans,  black,  ox  orange; 
of  the  English,  yellow  or  red;  of  the 
Saxons,  green  A 

Besides  the  bearings  with  which  they 
decorated  the  coat  of  arms,  the  shield, 
&c.  they  wore  a  scarf,  of  which  the  co- 
lour distinguished  the  province  from 
which  they  came.  The  colour  of  the 
Earls  of  Flanders  was  a  deep  green; 
that  of  the  Earls  of  Anjou  was  a  grass 
green ;  of  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy,  red ; 
of  the  Earls  of  Blois  and  Champagne, 
sky  blue;  of  the  Dukes  of  Lorraine, 
yellow;  of  the  Dukes  of  Brittany,  black 
and  white.  The  Vassals  of  these  differ- 
ent Princes  wore  scarfs  of  their  Princes' 


a  Maillot,  Costumes, 
b  Id.  p.  91. 
d  Id.  p.  93. 

iii. 

71.  pi. 
c  Id.  p 

23. 
.  86. 

colours,  and  such,  even  of  these  Vas- 
sals, as  were  allied  to  them,  or  who 
possessed  any  considerable  office  about 
their  persons,  affected  to  join  to  the 
colours  of  their  particular  liveries,  a 
little  band  or  fringe,  more  or  less  large, 
of  the  livery  of  their  lord.e 

The  crosses  or  badges,  says  Du 
Cange,  were  generally  of  cloth,  inter- 
woven with  gold,  or  silk,  latterly  of  any 
cloth.  In  an  expedition  against  Man- 
fred of  Sicily,  as  a  Heretick,  they  wore 
across  divided  in  colours,  of  which  one 
part  was  white,  another  red.  On  some 
other  expeditions,  in  distinction  from 
those  of  Jerusalem,  they  wore  a  cross, 
not  on  their  shoulders,  but  on  the 
breast,  and  there  were  other  distinc- 
tions not  within  our  subject/ 

The  crosses  were  sometimes  of  fine 
Goldsmiths'  work.g 

The  cross  of  the  French  King  and 
his  followers  was  of  vermillion.h  The 
English  carried  a  red  cross  upon  a 
white  ground,  the  French  a  white  cross 
upon  a  red  ground,  i  The  figure  of  a 
Crusader,  completely  armed,  has  a 
close  helmet,  mail  gorget,  the  rest  of 
his  armour,  partly  mail,  and  partly 
plaited.  Upon  his  shield,  his  breast, 
and  his  square  banner,  attached  to  his 
lance,  is  St.  George's  cross,  i.  e.  red  or 
gules  upon  a  white  ground.k  This  iter- 
ation of  arms  in  the  days  of  chivalry 
was  intended  to  denote  a  resolution  to 
atchieve  some  great  feats  of  arms. 

Sir  John  Chandos,  says  Froissart, 
was  dressed  in  a  large  robe,  which  fell 
to  the  ground,  blazoned  with  his  arms, 
in  white  sarcenet,  "  Arg.  a  pile  gules," 
one  on  his  breast,  the  other  on  his 
back. 

Thus  he  appeared  resolved  on  some 
adventurous  undertaking.1 

The  information  on  this  subject  to 
be  found  in  Heraldick  works,  is  of 
course  declined  here. 


c  Maillot,  p.  94. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Crux. 

?  See  Chapter  VII. 

h  Froissart,  iii.  105. 

*  Erasmi  Franciscani  Colloq.  276. 

u  Lysons's  Environs,  i.  529.  '  iv.  45. 


Aiutirut  sculp- 


MEGRIMS'. 


'  I  ••"/--    ••' 


COSTUMES    OF    CRUSADERS, 


321 


Explanation  of  the  Plate.*  Fig.  1 .  is 
a  simple  Pilgrim.  (See  p.  319.)  Fig.  2. 
was  designed  by  Mr.  Alexander,  from  a 
monument  in  Ashby  de  la  Zouch  Church, 
Leicestershire.  (See  before  p.  294.)  This 
and   the   next  figure,   both  shod,    are 


a  For  the  drawings  used  in  this  Plate,  the  Editor 
was  indebted  to  the  late  eminent  Draughtsman  and 
truly  amiable  man,  William  Alexander,  esq.  of  the 
British  Museum. 


Palmers.  The  staves  differ ;  and  there 
is  another  different,  engraved  in  Archse- 
ologia,  vol.  xiv.  pi.  xxxvii.  f.  2.  The 
shoe,  like  the  countryman's  half-boot, 
is  the  Doric  Cretan  shoe  worn  by  Diana 
succincta,  and  hunters,  to  save  the 
ancles  in  leaping  rocks.  See  M.  Mil- 
lin  in  Magas.  Encyclop.  for  1809, 
p.  115.  Fig.  3.  is  copied  from  Brit. 
Mus.  Cott.  MSS.  Tib.  A.  vn. ;  and 
Fig.  4.  from  Royal  MSS.  B.  VII. 


322 


ANTIQUITY    OF    PILGRIMAGE. 


CHAPTER  I. 


ANTIQUITY    OF    PILGRIMAGE. — BRITISH    PILGRIMS. 


Cicero,  in  a  letter  to  Atticus,  says, 
that  if  he  did  not  accept  the  offer  which 
Caesar  made  to  him  of  serving  under 
him  in  Gaul,  in  the  quality  of  Lieute- 
nant, he  had  a  pretext  for  leaving 
Rome,  that  of  going  elsewhere  to  fulfil 
a  vow.a  An  old  Spanish  poet  pretends, 
that  Alexander  the  Great,  after  con- 
quering Egypt,  went  to  the  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Ammon  [in  the  Oasis ;  see 
Brown]  and  took  the  Scrip  and  Bour- 
don.h  It  would  be  needless  to  produce 
more  instances  of  so  well-known  a 
practice,  as  making  visitSj  upon  parti- 
cular occasions,  to  celebrated  Temples, 
or  Oracles.  Such  a  practice  is  a  natu- 
ral impulse  of  religious  sentiment  and 
pious  regard.  The  custom,  however, 
increased  towards  the  decline  of  the 
Roman  Republick,c  and  from  a  pre- 
posterous desire  of  imitating  Paganism, 
and  blending  it  with  Christian  worship, 
arose,  in  the  fourth  century,  Pilgrim- 
ages to  Palestine  and  the  tombs  of  the 
Martyrs. d  They  were  said  to  be  found- 
ed upon  the  approbation  of  the  Fa- 
thers :e  and  formed  part,  under  circum- 
stances, of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance. 
Accordingly  in  this  century  Pilgrimages 
from  Britain  to  Jerusalem  were  com- 
mon. Gregory  of  Nice  and  Jerom  both 
say,  "  The  Celestial  Court  equally  lies 
open  from  Jerusalem  and  Britain :  for 
the  Kingdom  of  God  is  within  you. 
Antony,  and  all  the  swarms  of  Monks 
of  Egypt,  and  Mesopotamia,  Pontus, 
Cappadocia,  and  Armenia,  have  not 
seen  Jerusalem  :  and  the  gate  of  Para- 
dise lies  open  to  them,  without  that 
city.  The  blessed  Hilarion,  though  he 
was  a  native  of  Palestine,  and  lived  in 
that  Country,  only  saw  Jerusalem  for 


•  Opera,  ii.  134.     Ed.  fol.  Lond.  1681. 
b  Du  Cange,  v.  Burdo. 

c  Encyclopedic  de3  Antiquites,  v.  Vceu. 

d  Mosheim,  i.  191.     Ed.  4to. 

*  Lyndewood'a  Provinciale,  p.  298. 


one  day,  that  he  might  neither  seem  to 
despise  the  holy  places,  on  account  of  vi- 
cinity, nor  on  the  other  hand  to  inclose 
God  in  a  particular  spot/'  A  further 
evidence  that  the  Britons  resorted  to 
Palestine,  among  other  Nations,  is  the 
relation  concerning  Melania,  by  Palla- 
dius,  in  his  Lausiac  History,  and  the 
epistle,  written  by  Jerom,  in  the  name 
of  Paula  and  Eustochius.  This  Mela- 
nia, one  of  the  most  noble  of  the  women 
of  Rome,  and  daughter  of  Marcellinus, 
who  had  been  once  Consul,  made  a 
voyage  to  Jerusalem,  where  she  was  so 
celebrated  for  her  virtue  and  humility, 
that  she  received  the  name  of  Tecla.f 
She,  and  Rufinus,  her  particular  com- 
panion, received  all  the  Pilgrims  at  Je- 
rusalem with  hospitality ;  "  which," 
says  Palladius, c*  it  is  not  only  my  duty 
to  mention,  but  that  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Persis,  Britain,  and  all  the  Isles. 
Neither  East,  West,  North  and  South, 
has  been  without  the  kindness  and 
bounty  of  this  immortal  woman."  Je- 
rom, writing  in  the  name  of  Paula  and 
Eustochius,  says,  "  The  Briton,  divided 
from  our  world,  if  he  has  made  any 
progress  in  Religion,  leaving  the  West, 
seeks  a  place  known  only  to  them  by 
fame,  and  the  relation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures;" and  a  little  after,  speaking  of 
other  visitors,  he  says,  "  They  meet  to- 
gether, at  these  places,  and  exhibit  to 
us  a  specimen  of  various  virtues.  Their 
language  is  indeed  different ;  but  their 
Religion  the  same.  There  are  almost 
as  many  Choirs  of  Psalm-singers,  as 
there  are  diversities  of  nations."  This 
unity  of  religion,  and  conformity  of  the 
Britons,  in  this  respect,  not  so  much 


1  It  is  remarkable,  that  at  Tiddenham  in  Glou- 
cestershire, (part  of  Wales,  before  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.)  was  a  Chapel  of  St.  Tecla  (now 
under  water,)  corrupted  into  treacle  :  but  no  such 
dedication  occurs  in  England.  Possibly  the  Bri- 
tish Pilgrims  took  shipping  here. 


BRITISH    PILGRIMS, 


323 


with  the  Roman  Church  in  particular, 
as  with  the  Catholick  and  Universal, 
he  further  shows  in  an  Epistle  to  Eva- 
grius:  "Neither  is  there  one  Church  of 
Rome,  and  another  of  the  whole  world. 
Both  the  Gauls,  and  Britons,  and 
Africa,  and  Persia,  and  the  East,  and 
India,  and  all  the  barbarous  nations, 
worship  one  Christ,  observe  one  rule 
of  truth.  If  authority  be  required,  the 
world  is  larger  than  a  city.  Whereso- 
ever there  is  a  bishop,  whether  at  Rome, 
or  Eugubium,  or  Constantinople,  or 
Rhegium,  or  Alexandria,  or  Tanis,  it 
has  the  same  husband,  the  same  priest- 
hood." Notwithstanding,  the  Britons 
visited  Rome  in  common  with  other 
nations,  and  setting  sail  from  Porto 
Romano,  not  only  passed  over  into  Pa- 
lestine, but  even  the  neighbouring  Sy- 
ria, whither  they  were  attracted  by  the 
fame  of  Simeon  Stylites,  the  Ascetick, 
who  passed  his  life  upon  a  pillar.3  To 
this  Simeon  refers  the  following  passage 
of  Theodoret,  who  wrote  the  life  of  this 
lunatick  during  his  existence  :  i:  Many, 
who  inhabit  the  extremes  of  the  West, 
Spaniards,  I  say,  and  Britons,  and 
Gauls  came  thither."  Jerom,  in  his 
epitaph  of  Fabiola,  the  celebrated  lady, 
who  is  well  known  as  the  first  founder 
of  an  Infirmary,  says,  "  All  the  world 
has  heard  of  the  Xenodochium,  situ- 
ated at  Porto  Romano.  In  one  sum- 
mer, Britain  has  learned,  what  the 
Egyptian  and  Parthian  have  known  in 
the  spring."b  Hence  it  appears,  that  in 
this,  as  in  the  later  eeras,  Pilgrims  were 
eminent  for  conveying  news. 

Lewis,  in  his  Life  of  Caxton,  p.  77> 
&c.  says,  "The  practice  of  going  in 
pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  or  the  Holy 
Land  was  new  in  the  fourth  century ; 
when  about  the  latter  end  of  it,  Gregory 
Nyssen  wrote  a  learned  letter  to  dis- 
suade Christians  from  going  thither  on 
that  errand;  and  was  at  last,  here  in 
England,  treated  with  contempt  and 
ridicule,  as  only  a  pretence  for  sloth 
and  laziness/'0 

a  Of  him,  see  postea. 
Usserii  Antiquit.  Eccles.  Britannic,  pp.  109, 


110. 


Dibdin's  Typographical  Antiq.  i.  176. 


We  have  an  account  of  some  man- 
ners and  customs  of  these  British  Pil- 
grims in  the  lives  of  David,  and  the 
accounts  of  his  two  friends  and  com- 
panions, Eliud  or  Teliaus,  and  Pater- 
nus.  An  Angel  appeared  to  David  and 
Eliud,  as  another  had  done  to  the  mo- 
ther of  Saint  Roche,  the  Patron  Saint 
of  Pilgrims,  and  urged  the  journey  to 
Jerusalem  upon  the  very  next  morn- 
ing. The  two  companions  were  added 
from  the  old  British  respect  for  the 
Trinity.  They  went  on  shipboard,  down 
the  Channel,  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and 
the  Mediterranean,  passing  their  days 
and  nights  in  psalms,  hymns,  spiritual 
canticles,  and  divine  converzationes. 
They  did  not,  as  many  Pilgrims,  take 
much  money  with  them,  not  even  a 
staff  and  scrip,  but  trusted  to  Provi- 
dence. The  hospitality  of  Believers 
furnished  them  with  all  necessaries, 
which,  as  it  is  very  probable  most  of 
our  early  religious  professed  some  know- 
ledge of  medicine,d  they  repaid  by  cur- 
ing diseases,  actions  assigned  to  their 
sanctity.  When  they  met  with  robbers, 
they  offered  them  what  they  had  ;  but 
these  (according  to  a  respect  usually 
paid  to  all  Pilgrims,  of  which  hereafter), 
not  only  refused  to  take  it,  but  guided 
them,  till  they  arrived  at  places  of  safety. 
At  Jerusalem  they  were  received  by  all 
the  people  in  procession  with  psalms 
and  hymns,  and  so  conducted  to  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and 
placed  in  three  remarkable  chairs.e  They 
preached  alternately,  by  this  means  in- 
tending to  convey  an  idea  of  the  Tri- 
nity, and  to  confirm  their  hearers  in 
the  belief  of  that  doctrine.  They  were 
consecrated  Bishops  in  this  Temple, 
plainly  without  any  appointment  from 
home,  and  received  valuable  presents, 
suited  to  their  qualifications.  Paterrms 
received  a  staff  (in  token  of  his  being  a 


d  See  jNIarianus  Scotus,  a0  593-4. 

e  The  Druidical  Deasuil,  or  triple  procession, 
the  Triads,  &c.  paved  the  way  for  this  veneration 
of  the  Trinity.  In  the  Pilgrimage  to  Holy  Wells 
the  Druids  prescribed  three  several  tours;  and  if 
the  patient  died  before  the  Pilgrimage  was  finished, 
some  intimate  friend  concluded  it.  Smith's  Gaelic 
Antiq.  p.  79. 

Y    2 


324 


BRITISH    PILGRIMS. 


rector  cAon^andachoralcope,  wrought 
with  very  valuable  silk,  because  he  was 
an  excellent  singer;  David,  a  conse- 
crated portable  altar;  and  Teliaus,  a 
small  hand-bell,  of  exquisite  sound,  and 
wonderful  properties.  It  condemned 
the  perjured,  cured  the  sick,  and  sound- 
ed every  hour,  without  any  one  moving 
it,  unless  it  was  touched  by  the  pol- 
luted hands  of  a  sinner.b  Probably  it 
contained  some  mechanism,  sufficient 
to  strike  the  hours,0  and  hand-bells 
were  used  by  the  Welsh,  till  recently, 
at  funerals.d 

In  Sir  John  Sinclair's  Statistical  Ac- 
count of  Scotland,  vol.  xvii.  p.  377? 
under  Killin  Parish,  co.  Perth,  Mr. 
Stuart,  the  minister,  says,  "  There  is  a 
bell,  belonging  to  the  chapel  of  St.  Fil- 
lan,  that  was  in  high  reputation  among 
the  votaries  of  that  saint  in  old  times. 
It  seems  to  be  of  some  mixed  metal. 
It  is  about  a  foot  high,  and  of  an  ob- 
long form.  It  usually  lay  on  a  grave- 
stone in  the  church-yard.  When  mad 
people  were  brought  to  be  dipped  in 
the  Saint's  Pool,  it  was  necessary  to 


a  See  before,  pp.  62,  120. 

b  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  637.  663,  seq. 

c  Beckrnan  (Invent,  i.  442,)  allows  something  of 
this  kind  to  the  Monastick  Horologe  ;  hut  he  dis- 
putes the  ancientry  of  every  thing. 

d  Hoare's  Giraldus,  i  22. 


perform  certain  ceremonies,  in  which 
there  was  a  mixture  of  Druidism  and 
Popery.  After  remaining  all  night  in 
the  chapel,  bound  with  ropes,  the  bell 
was  set  upon  their  head  with  great  so- 
lemnity. It  was  the  popular  opinion, 
that,  if  stolen,  it  would  extricate  itself 
out  of  the  thief's  hands,  and  return 
home  ringing  all  the  way."  e 

From  the  preceding  accounts  the 
Pilgrimage  of  Arthur  to  Jerusalem  was 
not  perhaps  an  invention ; f  for  more 
than  90,000  Christians  perished  in  the 
Holy  Land  when  Chosroes  took  Jeru- 
salem in  the  seventh  century. s  Many 
years  afterwards  a  Hospital  was  found- 
ed at  Rome  for  Welsh  Pilgrims  by 
Cadwallader,  King  of  Wales. n 

From  the  further  instance  of  Regu- 
lus  the  Abbot  being  directed  by  an 
Angel,  to  make  a  Pilgrimage,  in  order 
to  effect  the  translation  of  the  relicks 
of  St.  Andrew  to  Scotland,1  there  is 
every  reason  to  infer,  that  a  visitation 
of  this  celestial  kind  was  a  common 
superstition  of  this  age,  as  a  preliminary 
of  Pilgrimage. 


e  Popular  Antiquities,  vol.  ii.  p.  594,  n.  p.    See 
the  suhject  continued  in  the  next  page. 
f  Nennius,  XV  Script.  115. 
s  Cluveri  Universalis  Historia,  p.  386. 
h  Fuller's  Church  Hist.  B.  ix.  p.  86. 
1  Fordun,  L.  2.  c.  46.     XV  Script,  p.  614. 


PILGRIMAGES    OF    THE    SCOTS,    IRISH,    AND    ANGLO-SAXONS.    325 


CHAPTER  II. 


PILGRIMAGES    OF    THE    SCOTS,    IRISH,    AND    ANGLO-SAXONS, 


Among  the  usual  Pilgrimages,  com- 
mon to  the  other  nations  of  the  same 
eeras,  the  Scots  and  Irish  intermingled 
Druidical  practices.  At  lona  is  the 
base  of  a  cross,  in  which  are  certain 
stones,  which  Pilgrims  turn  three  times 
round,  supposing  that  the  end  of  the 
world  will  not  ensue  until  the  stone  in 
which  they  are  is  worn  through.  They 
probably  succeeded  to  three  white  mar- 
ble globes,  placed  in  three  stone  basons 
to  be  turned  round,  but  at  the  Refor- 
mation, thrown  into  the  sea.a 

It  is  pretended,  that  through  the 
false  story  of  the  interment  of  Patrick 
at  Glastonbury,  it  was  the  custom  of 
the  Irish  to  make  Pilgrimages  there,  in 
order  to  kiss  his  relicks.  Among  these 
holy  visitors  was  Brigid  in  the  year 
488,  who  left  behind  her  as  a  memo- 
rial, her  scrip,  monile,b  bell,c  and  tex- 

a  Gough's  Camden,  iii.  715. 

b  Monile.  An  old  Author  says,  "Monile  is  an 
ornament  of  the  breast,  quasi  munile  a  munio,  be- 
cause it  protects  the  bosoms  of  women,  so  that 
Lecatores  (Lechers)  cannot  thrust  their  hands  into 
them."  Du  Cange,  v.  Lecator.  Isidore  calls  it  a 
necklace  of  gems,  resembling  a  serpent.  Id.  v. 
Serpentum. 

c  The  origin  of  the  bell  (says  Mr.  Stuart)  is  to 
be  referred  to  the  most  remote  ages  of  the  Celtic 
Churches,  whose  ministers  spoke  a  dialect  of  that 
language.  Ara  Trode,  one  of  the  most  ancient 
Icelandic  historians,  tells  us,  in  his  second  chap- 
ter, that  when  the  Norwegians  first  planted  a  co- 
lony in  Ireland,  about  the  year  870,  "  Eo  tempore 
erat  Islandia  silvis  concreta,  in  medio  montium  et 
littorum  :  turn  erant  hie  viri  Christiani,  quos  Nor- 
wegi  Papas  appellant :  et  illi  peregre  profecti  sunt, 
ex  eo  quod  nollent  esse  hie  cum  viris  Ethnicis,  et 
relinquebant  post  se  Nolas  et  baculos  ;  ex  illo  pote- 
rat  discerni  quod  essent  viri  Christiani."  Nola 
and  Bajula  both  signify  hand-bells.  See  Du  Cange. 
Giraldus  Cambrensis,  who  visited  Ireland  about  the 
end  of  the  12th  century,  speaks  thus  of  these  re- 
licks  of  superstition:  "Hoc  non  pretereundum 
puto,  quod  campanas,  bajulas,  baculosque  sancto- 
rum, ex  supperiore  parte  recurvos,  auro  et  argento 
aut  sere  confectos,  tarn  Hiberniae  et  Scotia?,  quam 
et  Givallise  populus  et  Clerus  in  magna  reverentia 
habere  solet ;  ita  ut  juramenta  supra  hsec,  longe 
magis  quam  super  Evangelia  et  prsestare  vereantur 
et  perjurare.  Ex  vi  enim  quadam  occulta,  et  iis 
quasi  divinitus  insita,  nee  non  et  vindicta  (cujus 
prsecipue  sancti  illi  appetibiles  esse  videntur)  ple- 
rumque  puniuntur  contemptores."  He  elsewhere 
speaks  of  a  bell  in  Ireland,  endowed  with  the  same 
locomotive  powers  as  that  of  St.  Fillan,  who  is 
said  to  have  died  in  649.  Popular  Antiquities,  ii. 
595.  note  *. 


trilia  arma,  whether  it  means  a  distaff, 
&c.  or  scarf,  or  clothes.d 

Besides  the  other  pilgrimages,  com- 
mon to  all  nations  and  eeras,  it  appears 
from  the  Legend  of  St.  Brandon,e  that 
nautical  Pilgrimages  were  made  to 
Islands  which  they  denominated  Para- 
dise, but  were,  in  fact,  according  to  For- 
dun,  the  Fortunate  Islands/  They  are 
the  Canaries,  where  it  is  certain  that 
Strabo,  and  other  Ancients,  from  the 
fecundity  of  the  soil,  and  perpetual 
spring,  placed  the  Elysian  Fields.  It 
is  pretended,  that  after  the  decline  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  they  were  unknown 
till  the  year  1291  ;  s  but  in  fact,  Colum- 
bus derived  the  knowledge  of  America 
from  some  Spanish- Arabian  Voyagers.b 
In  short,  any  country  very  fertile  and 
pleasant,  was  denominated  Paradise.1 

In  this  migratory  age,  Pilgrimage 
was  a  kind  of  Tyrocinium,  or  appren- 
ticeship, served  in  various  places,  in 
order  to  acquire  a  stock  of  novel  eccle- 
siastical customs  and  knowledge,  with 
which  to  enlighten  the  barbarous  inha- 
bitants upon  their  return.  This  appears 
in  the  Lives  of  nearly  all  the  early 
Saints.  The  Irish  and  Scots  were  re- 
markable beyond  other  Nations  for 
restless  Pilgrimages  over  the  whole 
world  ;  often  in  severe  colds,  and  sum- 
mer heats.k  The  Pilgrimages  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons  commenced,  according 
to  Eddius,  about  the  year  700.1 

Rome  was  the  favourite  destination 
of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  Ina  grew  old 
there,  u  cloathed  in  a  plebeian  habit 
among  beggars. 'J  m 

There  appear  to  be  no  particular 
customs,  which  did  not  obtain  in  sub- 
sequent asras. 

d  Guil.  Malmesbury  in  Antiquit.  Glaston.  XV 
Scriptores,  p.  298. 

e  Golden  Legend,  cexxx.  b. 

f  Scriptores,  635. 

k  Mem.  de  Petrarque,  ii.  200. 

h  See  a  paper  in  the  Notices. 

1  Bunting's  Itinerarie,  1636,  359.  4to. 

k  Du  Cange,  v.  Scoti. 

1  Id.  v.  Peregrini.  m  XV  Scriptores,  2-18. 


326 


CONSECRATION    OF    PILGRIMS. 


CHAPTER  III. 


CONSECRATION    OF    PILGRIMS. 


saymg, 
"let  us 


"the  Lord 
pray,  &c/" 


The  Pilgrims  first  confessed  all  their 
sins,a  after  which  they  lay  prostrate 
before  the  Altar.  Particular  prayers 
and  psalms  were  then  said  over  them, 
and  after  every  psalm  [with  manifest 
skilful  appropriation]  the  Gloria  Patri  ; 
the  Psalm,  Ad  te,  Domine,  levavi ;  and 
the  Miserere.  At  the  end  of  these,  the 
Pilgrims  arose  from  their  prostrate  po- 
sition, and  the  Priest  consecrated  their 
scrips  and  staves, 
be  with  you,"  and 

He  next  sprinkled  holy  water  upon 
their  scrips  and  staves,  and  placed  the 
scrip  around  the  neck  of  each  Pilgrim, 
with  other  religious  services.  After- 
wards he  delivered  to  them  the  staff 
with  similar  prayers.  If  any  of  the 
Pilgrims  were  going  to  Jerusalem,  their 
garments  were  in  readiness,  marked 
with  the  cross,  and  the  crosses  were 
consecrated,  and  holy  water  sprinkled 
over  them.  The  garments  and  crosses 
were  then  delivered  to  the  Pilgrims, 
accompanied  by  appropriate  prayers. 
The  service  concluded  with  the  Mass, 
De  Iter  Agenlibus.h 

Offerings  were  paid  for  consecration 
of  the  Scrip.  In  the  Penitential  of 
Theodore  it  is  said,  "  In  the  aforesaid 
Church,  the  Priest  is  accustomed  to 
consecrate  the  Scrip  and  Staves  of  the 


Pilgrims,  and  receive  Id.  from  the  ob- 
lation.^' 

Elsewhere  it  appears,  concerning  Je- 
rusalem Pilgrims,  that  immediately  after 
the  Sermon,  preached  on  the  occasion, 
the  cross  was  sewed  upon  the  shoul- 
ders, and  at  least  placed  there  by  the 
Bishop  ;d  for  according  to  Du  Cange, 
to  affix  the  cross  was  a  privilege  of  that 
order  only.e 

Kings  even  assumed  the  Scrip  and 
Staff.  King  Richard  the  First,  at 
Tours,  in  sign  of  his  immediately  un- 
dertaking the  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy 
Land,  received  the  Scrip  and  Staff. f 

The  arms  of  the  Pilgrims  were  also 
consecrated.^ 

By  the  Laws  and  Customs  of  Nor- 
mandy, a  Pilgrim  having  received 
licence,  was  led  out  of  the  Parish  when 
going  to  Jerusalem,  Rome,  or  St. 
James's,  or  any  other  pilgrimage,  with 
the  Cross,  Holy  Water,  and  Procession.11 

In  Pilgrimages  of  Penance  and  Punish- 
ment,  this  previous  consecration,  at 
least  sometimes,  did  not  take  place. 
In  the  Metrical  Romance  of  Robert  the 
Devil;  Robert,  become  penitent,  travels 
without  any  ecclesiastical  ceremony  to 
the  Pope,  who,  after  hearing  his  con- 
fession, directed  him  to  go  to  a  hermit 
three  miles  off. 


"  In  the  morning  Robert  walked  over  hyll  and  dale, 
He  was  full  werye  of  his  labourynge. 
At  the  last  he  came  in  to  a  greate  vale, 
And  found  same  hermyte  standinge. 
He  spake  with  the  hermyte,  and  shewed  of  his  lyvinge, 
And  tolde  that  he  was  sente  fro  the  Pope  of  Rome. 
But  when  that  holy  man  hearde  hys  confession, 
He  sayed,  brother,  ye  be  right  welcome. 


a  This  was  deemed  indispensable  before  pilgrim- 
age.    Gold.  Leg.  f.  cxviii. 

b  Manuale  ad  usum  Ecclesiae  Sarisberiensis,  4to. 
b.  lett.  1554.  fol.  lxx.  seq.  Tit.  Ordo  ad  Servitium 
Pcreyrinorum. 


Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  490. 


c  Du  Cange,  v.  Per  a. 

e  Litt.  c.  p.  1183. 

f  Girald.  Cambrens.     Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  387 

%  Du  Cange,  v.  Armorum  Benedictio. 

h  Id.  v.  Peregrinatio. 


CONSECRATION    OF    PILGRIMS. 

And  for  your  syimes  ever  you  must  be  sorye, 

For  as  yet  I  will  not  assoylle  youe. 

In  a  lyttell  chappell  all  nyght  shall  youe  lye. 

Do  ye  as  I  do  youe  councelle  nowe ; 

Aske  God  mercy,  and  let  youre  hearte  bowe  ; 

For  all  thys  nyght  I  wyll  wake  and  praye 

Unto  oure  Lorde,  that  I  maye  knowe 

Yf  in  salvacion  ye  do  stande  in  the  waye." — Page  33. 


327 


Robert  is  dismissed  with  his  pe- 
nance ;  of  which  hereafter ;  but  that 
only,  for  the  consecration  appears  to 
be  withheld,  partly  on  account  of  the 


penance,  not  admitting  the  Pilgrim's 
habit,  partly  because  the  absolution 
could  not  be  added. 


328 


PREPARATORY    STEPS    TO    THE    JOURNEY. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


PREPARATORY    STEPS    TO    THE    JOURNEY. 


In  1187,  the  Pagans  having  obtained 
by  their  incursions  a  great  part  of  the 
Holy  Land,  Hugh  Pudsey,  Bishop  of 
Durham,  animated  by  the  example  of 
other  Bishops  and  Abbots,  took  the 
Cross,  and  extorted  from  his  tenants  a 
large  sum  for  his  travelling  expences  ; 
he  built  also  for  himself  and  his  reti- 
nue a  very  handsome  ship  for  his  own 
safety,  and  the  conveyance  of  stores. 
He  also  carried  culinary  utensils,  and 
different  vessels  of  silver ;  as  well  as  a 
seal  of  that  metal,  admirably  executed 
and  beautiful,  that  he  might  surpass 
the  glory  of  other  Bishops  and  Dukes.a 

Giraldus  Cambrensis  says,  that  he 
had  sold  the  corn  of  the  Church  of 
Landu,  and  all  the  revenues  of  the 
Archdeaconry  for  three  years,  under 
the  privilege  of  Crusaders,  to  two 
Burgesses  of  Aberhotehni,  because  be- 
fore he  had  made  his  journey  to  the 
Roman  Court,  he  had  affixed  the  cross 
to  his  shoulders.b 

In  1240,  Simon  de  Montfort,  Earl 
of  Leicester,  after  coming  to  Court, 
went  to  his  estates  for  collecting  money, 
and  selling  woods  and  lands,  to  pro- 
vide the  necessaries  for  his  journey 
to  Jerusalem.  The  Hospitalers  and 
Canons  of  Leicester  then  bought  of 
him  the  noble  wood  of  Leicester  for 
1000/.c 

This  shows,  that  the  Monks  and 
other  religious  had  great  advantage  by 
the  Crusades ;  and  that,  estimating  the 
expence  of  a  Journey  to  Palestine  in  a 
Nobleman,  it  amounted  to  an  enormous 
sum  in  modern  money.  King  Ed- 
ward I.  devised  30,000/.  for  140  Knights 
to  go  to  the  Holy  Land,d  i.  e.  about 
214/.  each.  These  expences,  with  re- 
spect to  Crusading  Pilgrims,  were  in- 


dispensable, for  they  had  horses,  arms, 
and  various  necessaries  to  purchased 

The  Privileges  of  Crusaders  were,  to 
be  released  from  any  obligation  to  pay 
their  debts,  until  they  returned,  or  for 
a  certain  number  of  years;  and  they 
were  exempted  from  paying  interest  of 
money  owing  during  that  time.  They 
were  to  be  free  from  tallages,  unless  of 
a  particular  kind  (reales).  They  had 
liberty  to  mortgage  their  lands  without 
license  of  the  Lord.  Their  goods  and 
persons  were  under  the  protection  of 
the  Pope  and  Bishops.  Their  causes 
were  tried  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Courts. 
But  all  these  privileges  ceased  in  cri- 
minal cases ;  indeed  they  were  of  no 
use,  for  as  nobody  would  let  them 
have  money  under  such  privileges,  they 
were  obliged  to  renounce  them.f 

It  seems  that  the  susception  of  the 
Cross  induced  an  obligation  to  observe 
strictness  of  conduct.  Richard  the 
First,  because  he  had  taken  up  arms 
against  his  father  after  he  had  taken 
the  Cross,  was  absolved  by  the  Arch- 
bishops of  Roan  and  Treves  before  he 
set  out.g 

When  they  had  taken  the  Cross, 
they  learned  a  particular  song,  called 
Ultreia,  by  singing  which  they  ani- 
mated themselves  upon  their  journey.11 
It  was  also  usual  for  them  to  insult 
and  persecute  Jews,  whenever  they 
met  them. 

The  King  of  France  engaged  with 
Richard  the  First  not  to  attack  his 
People  or  States,  as  long  as  Richard 
continued  in  Pilgrimage,  nor  after  his 
return,  before  the  expiration  of  forty 
days.1       So    that    Sovereigns    secured 


Angl.  Sacr.  i. 
M.  Paris,  470. 


13.  b  Id.  ii.  601. 

d  War  ton's  Poetry,  i.  110. 


e  M.  Paris,  671. 

e  Triveti  Annales,  94. 

h  Du  Cange. 

1  Triveti  Annales,  108. 


f  Du  Cange,  v.  Crux. 


PREPARATORY    STEPS    TO    THE    JOURNEY. 


329 


their  States  before  they  undertook  this 
hazardous  expedition. 

Three  years  the  term  limited  to  pil- 
grimage of  Richard  I.a 

An  oeconomy  at  home,  correspon- 
dent to  the  expense,  was  dictated.  In 
the  year  1188,  at  a  Council  at  Geytin- 
ton,  where  Baldwin,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  presided,  and  took  the 
cross  with  many  others,  it  was  enacted 
concerning  the  People  of  England,  that 
no  one  should  use  scarlet  cloth,  sable 

a  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  385. 


or  vair  furs,  or  vestes  laqueati  (laced), 
or  more  than  two  dishes  at  dinner, 
because  the  King  and  all  the  great 
men  of  the  Kingdom  were  going  to  the 
Holy  Land  at  great  cost.b 

After  taking  farewell  of  their  friends 
and  making  their  wills,  the  Pilgrims  (at 
least  for  the  Crusades)  met  together  at 
one  place  to  fix  a  day  for  their  de- 
parture.0 


b  Decern  Scriptores,  1149. 

c  M.  Paris,  671.     Du  Cange,  v.  Manaia. 


330 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    ON    SHIPBOARD, 


CHAPTER  V. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    ON    SHIPBOARD, 


Some  of  the  English  Pilgrims,  des- 
tined for  Jerusalem,  went  by  way  of 
Sicily,  the  greater  part  from  Marseilles  .a 

In  a  Synod  held  under  King  Pepin, 
it  is  enacted  as  follows,  "  In  like  man- 
ner we  appoint,  that  when  Pilgrims  go 
to  Rome  or  elsewhere,  on  account  of 
God,  that  they  be  not  detained  at 
bridges,  or  excluded  (for  toll),  or  in 
voyages,  on  account  of  their  scrippa ;" 
a  term  by  change  of  a  letter  probably 
put  for  scirppa,  which  were  baskets 
made  of  rushes,  used  by  travellers  to 
hold  their  baggage ,b 

In  the  eighth  century,  the  profession 
of  Christianity  appears  to  have  been 
grossly  abused  by  the  English  mer- 
chants, who  carried  on  a  singular  kind 
of  smuggling  trade,  in  foreign  countries. 
In  order  to  elude  the  payment  of  duties 
abroad,  they  put  on  the  habit  of  pil- 
grims, and  pretended  that  they  were 
travelling  to  Rome,  or  some  other 
place,  for  religious  purposes.  The  bales, 
which  they  carried  with  them,  they 
insisted,  contained  only  provisions  for 
their  journey,  and  were  exempt  from 
paying  any  duty.  But  the  collectors 
of  the  customs,  a  suspicious  kind  of 
men  in  all  ages,  often  searched  the 
parcels  of  those  pretended  pilgrims, 
and  either  seized  them,  or  imposed  a 
heavy  fine  on  the  owners  of  them.c 

In  other  enactments  it  is  said,  "  for 
any  other  Pilgrims,  having  a  place 
from  the  mast,  i.  e.  the  midship,  to 
the  forecastle,  with  their  provisions 
and  armour,  they  shall  pay  a  mark."d 
These  were  inferior  Pilgrims,  who  had 
no  cabin,  and  carried  their  own  pro- 


visions. 


A  Capitulum  Metense,  cap.  6,  in  the 
year  757,  orders,  that  no   claim  shall 


*  M.  Paris,  475.         b  Du  Cange,  v.  Scrippum. 
c  Thomson's  Ocellum  Promontorium,  p.  34. 
d  Du  Cange,  v.  Habuisia. 


be  made  from  Pilgrims  for  their  scrips.e 
This  imposition  on  account  of  their 
baggage  and  provisions  was  rendered 
quite  nugatory  by  the  truly  ascetical 
Pilgrims ;  for  Godrick  of  Finchale,  the 
celebrated  Hermit,  on  the  whole  of 
the  journey,  ate  only  barley-bread  and 
drank  water;  never  washed  or  changed, 
or  mended  his  clothes. f 

It  therefore  appears,  that,  upon  this 
plan,  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome  or  Jeru- 
salem was  not  an  absurd  undertaking 
for  the  wife  of  a  weaver  (as  Chaucer 
says),  on  account  of  the  assistances 
which  they  received  by  land,s  soon  to 
be  mentioned. 

By  some  Statutes  of  Marseilles,  no 
master  of  a  ship  was  to  have  more 
than  four  Pilgrims  for  his  own  fvianda) 
profit  or  freight ;  except  from  charity. 
He  was  also  compelled  to  take  an  oath, 
that  he  would  keep  good  faith  with  the 
Pilgrims,  perform  his  engagement,  buy 
good  victuals  for  them,11  and  have  no 
contracts  with  the  masters  or  part- 
owners  of  other  ships,  relating  to  the 
cargoes  or  provisions  of  Pilgrims.1 

The  manner  of  embarkation  was 
curious.  The  ports  of  the  vessel  were 
opened  to  allow  entrance  for  the  horses, 
which  they  intended  to  carry  with 
them.  When  they  were  all  on  board, 
the  port  was  caulked  and  stopped  up, 
as  close  as  a  large  tun  of  wine,  because 
when  the  vessel  was  at  sea,  it  was  un- 
der water.k  The  horses  were  soon 
landed  again;  for  Froissart  says,  no 
horses  were  to  be  embarked,  because 
the  voyage  from  England  to   Lisbon 


e  Du  Cange,  v.  Scrippum. 
f  M.  Paris,  99. 
*  Hawkins's  Musick,  ii.  109.     He  did  not  kno  w 
their  resources. 

h  An  abuse  alluded  to  in  Chapter  IV. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Cargator. 

k  Joinville,  i.  118.  Ed.  Johnes. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    (^ST    SHIPBOARD, 


131 


was  too  far.a  Horses  were  sometimes 
conveyed  upon  deck.b 

When  the  Priests  and  Clerks  em- 
barked, the  Captain  made  them  mount 
to  the  castle  (round-top)  of  the  ship, 
and  chaunt  psalms  in  praise  of  God, 
that  he  might  be  pleased  to  send  them 
a  prosperous  voyage.  They  all  with  a 
loud  voice  sang  the  beautiful  hymn  of 
Veni  Creator,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end,  and  while  they  were  singing, 
the  mariners  set  their  sails  in  the  name 
of  God,c  [singing  "  Salve  Regina/'d] 
which  was  the  Celeusma  of  the  Middle 
Age.  A  Priest  having  said,  that  God 
and  his  mother  would  deliver  them 
from  all  danger  if  processions  were 
made  three  times  on  a  Saturday,  a  pro- 
cession round  the  mast  was  accordingly 
begun  on  that  day.e 

The  Host  was  carried  by  the  pious, 
and  a  tent  in  a  fit  place  erected  over  it 
of  silk  and  gold.f 

In  hard  gales,  the  bulkheads  or  par- 
titions of  cabins  were  removed,  and 
vows  made  to  St.  Nicholas  of  a  silver 
ship,  if  they  escaped  the  storm. s 

The  Galleys  of  the  rich  Crusaders 
were  painted  within  and  without  with 
escutcheons  of  their  arms ;  and  some 
galleys  had  full  300  sailors  on  board, 
each  bearing  a  target  of  their  Lord's 
arms,  and  upon  each  target  was  a  small 
flag  with  his  arms  likewise,  of  beaten 
gold.h  In  the  Norman  ship  in  the 
celebrated  Bayeux  Tapestry,  the  crew 
are  ranged  along  the  sides,  with  each 
a  shield,  as  in  the  preceding  descrip- 
tion.1 

Proper  attention  was  paid  to  the 
Compass,  which  was  contained  in  a 
Binnacle,  for  the  advantage  of  light  in 


a  V.  330.  b  Du  Cange,  v.  Boudron. 

c  Joinville,  i.  119. 

d  Erasnri  Naufragium  inter  Colloquia,  p.  203, 
et  alibi.  e  Joinville. 

f  Joinville,  i.  262.  This  was  only  an  especial 
privilege  allowed  to  S.  Louis ;  it  not  being  per- 
mitted to  other  Pilgrims.  Du  Cange,  v.  Eucharistia 
in  navibus. 

b  Joinville,  i.  227.  All  this  is  admirably  detailed 
in  irony  by  Erasmus  in  his  dialogue  de  Naufragio. 
Colloquia,  201.  h  Joinville,  125. 

1  Engraved  in  Maillot,  Costumes,  iii.  pi.  xxi. 
Froissart  is  copious  on  the  gorgeousness,  &c.  of 
ancient  ships  and  private  barge?. 


the  evening,  as  now.  Hugh  de  Berry 
says,  (in  the  thirteenth  century)  the 
sailors  in  the  dark  nights,  to  avoid 
losing  their  route,  lighted  a  candle,  to 
observe  the  needle  every  now  and 
then.k 

Men  and  their  wives  had  the  usual 
accommodation  of  the  moderns,  for 
they  could  have  separate  small  cabins 
to  themselves.1 

Provisions  were  not  matters  of  se- 
rious difficulty,  for  Bacon  and  Corn 
were  the  chief,  almost  the  only  stores 
laid  in,  in  provisioning  Danish  and 
Norman  ships  ;m  and  William  Brito 
mentions  biscuit  and  wine.n 

The  regulations  of  Richard  the  First 
for  the  conduct  of  his  subject  pilgrims, 
show  the  rude  punishments  of  the  age, 
always  certain  tests  of  barbarism,  if 
every  other  information  was  wanting. 

"  Richard  by  the  Grace  of  God,  &c. 
to  all  his  men  about  to  go  to  Jeru- 
salem by  sea,  Greeting.  Know  ye, 
that  we  by  the  common  counsel  of 
our  honest  men,  have  made  the  follow- 
ing regulations : 

"  I.  If  any  man  kills  another  in  the 
ship,  he  shall  be  fastened  to  the  corpse, 
and  thrown  into  the  sea. 

ce  II.  If  he  commits  murder  on  the 
land,  he  shall  be  bound  to  the  dead 
man,  and  buried  with  him. 

"  III.  If  any  one  shall  have  been  con- 
victed by  lawful  witnesses  of  having 
drawn  his  knife  to  strike  another,  or 
shall  have  actually  done  so  to  the  effu- 
sion of  blood,  he  shall  lose  his  hand  ; 
but  he,  who  shall  have  struck  another 
with  the  palm  of  his  hand  without 
shedding  blood,  shall  be  three  times 
ducked  in  the  sea. 

"  IV.  If  any  one  shall  abuse,  insult, 
or  privately  slander  his  fellow,  he  shall 
pay  an  ounce  of  silver  for  every  offence. 

"  V.  A  robber,  convicted  of  theft, 
shall  be  shaved  in  the  manner  of  a 
champion ;  and  boiling  pitch  poured 
upon  his  head,  and  the  feathers  of  apil- 


k  Joinville,  i.  348. 

1  Boccaccio,  Decameron,  Day  ii.  Nov.  vii. 
111  Gemetic.  c.  iv.  inter  Camd.  Script,  p.  611. 
u  Philipp.  L.  4.     Du  Cange,  v.  Paaxs, 


332 


MANNERS    AND,  CUSTOMS    ON    SHIPBOARD. 


low  shaken  over  his  head  to  distinguish 
him ;  and  be  landed  at  the  first  Port 
where  the  ships  shall  stop.a 


a  Hoveden,  sub  anno  1189.  This  passage  shows 
the  antiquity  of  Tarring  and  Feathering,  used  by 
the  Anglo-Americans  :  who  apply  it  to  the  whole 
body ;  but  this  is  also  not  new.  ' '  The  Bishop  of 
Halverstadt  having  taken  a  place,  where  there  were 
two  monasteries  of  Nuns  and  Friers,  caused  divers 
featherbeds  to  be  ript,  and  all  the  feathers  to  be 


"  For  the  execution  of  these  statutes^ 
Justices  were  appointed  by  the  King 
over  every  ship.5' 


thrown  in  a  great  hall,  whither  the  Nuns  and 
Friers  were  thrust  naked,  with  their  bodies  oiled 
and  pitched,  and  to  tumble  among  these  feathers.'' 
Howell's  Letters,  135.  One  of  the  Masquerade 
Characters  in  Strutt's  Dresses  has  evidently  the 
aspect  of  one  of  these  disguises  ;  though  it  was  only 
an  assumed  cover,  for  the  mask  resembles  a  Hawk. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    ON    THE    JOURNEY    BY    LAND. 


333 


CHAPTER  VI. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    ON    THE    JOURNEY    BY    LAND. 


This  journey  was  often  attended  with 
considerable  difficulties,  in  foreign  coun- 
tries. 

Canute,  on  his  return  from  a  pil- 
grimage to  Rome,  bought  a  free  passage 
for  pilgrims  in  many  places  at  a  great 
expence.a  The  Jerusalem  Pilgrimage 
called  Via  Dei  and  Via  Sanctorum, 
appears  by  an  old  charter  to  have  ex- 
empted the  Pilgrims  from  paying  cus- 
tomary tolls.b  The  constitutions  of 
Pepin,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  men- 
tion the  detention  of  them  at  bridges 
and  roads,  for  want  of  money  to  pay 
the  numerous  tolls,  usual  in  those 
ages;  and  amounting  to  a  large  sum 
in  journeys  of  so  many  miles.  Cer- 
vantes mentions  pilgrims  on  foot,  who 
had  a  design  to  embark  for  Italy  in 
order  to  go  to  Rome,  and  had  yet 
among  them  only  60  rials.  Being  over- 
taken by  Banditti,0  the  Captain  of  the 
latter  (a  genteel  Robin  Hood)  not  only 
restored  their  money  to  the  pilgrims, 
but  added  more  to  it.d  Facilitation  of 
their  progress  was  therefore  a  leading 
concern  of  Kings  and  benevolent  No- 
blemen. The  former  expedited  their 
passage  by  munificent  assistance  in 
some  instances.6  Among  the  reforms 
in  the  police  of  Italy,  effected  by 
Rienzi,  in  1347,  one  mentioned  is,  that 
pilgrims  went  and  came  without  dan- 
ger/ And  John  Mansel  obtained  for 
the  pilgrims,  going  to  St.  James  of 
Compostella,  that  they  should  choose 
their  lodgings  at  pleasure  in  the  cities 
under  the  dominion  of  the  King  of 
Spain,  and  have  liberty  of  purchasing 


a  XV  Scriptores,  275. 

b  Du  Cange,  v.  Via  Sanctorum. 

c  Cirrha  (about  585  B.  C.)  by  its  extortions  and 
oppression  of  Pilgrims,  deserved  the  wrath  of  the 
Amphictyonic  confederacy,  and  was  therefore  de- 
stroyed. Muller's  Dorians.  Thus  ancient  was 
the  plunder  of  Pilgrims. 

d  Don  Quixote,  P.  ii.  B.  iv.  c.  8. 

e  M.Paris,  475.       f  Mem.  dePetrarque,  ii.  332. 


their  own  provisions  without  asking 
permission  of  their  landlords.^  They 
travelled  in  companies  ;  and  in  the 
legend  of  S.  James,  it  is  said  u  Thirty 
men  of  Loreyne  wente  togyder  on  Pyl- 
grymage  to  Saynte  James,  and  all 
made  fayth  to  other  yt  every  man 
shold  abide  and  serve  other  in  all 
estates  yt  shall  happen  by  the  waye/'h 
They  had  horses,  and  other  matters, 
suited  to  their  respective  circumstances ; 
and  except  the  dress^  or  particular  case 
of  Vows,  with  no  variation  from  the 
usages  of  common  journeys,1  unless  in 
customs  detailed  in  Chapter  XII. 
Their  persons  were  secure  from  rob- 
bery by  one  of  those  wonderful  in- 
fluences of  superstition,  which  are  not 
uncommon  in  ignorant  minds  in  a  bar- 
barous, though  not  a  refined  age. 
"  Richard  Lynsted  cam  this  day  from 
Paston,  and  letyt  me  wete,  that  on 
Saturday  last  past  Dravayle,  halfe 
brother  to  Waryn  Harman,  was  taken 
wt  enemys  walkyn  by  the  Se  side,  and 
have  hym  forthe  with  hem,  and  they 
token  ii  pylgrimys,  a  man  and  a  woman, 
and  they  robbyd  the  woman  and  let 
her  gon  ;  and  ledde  the  man  to  the 
See,  and  whan  they  knew  he  was  a 
pylgreme,  they  geffe  hym  money,  and 
sette  hym  ageyn  on  the  Lond."k  A 
similar  instance  of  respect  has  been 
before  mentioned.1  If  however,  coming 
from  an  enemy's  country,  they  claimed 
this  protection  in  the  country  of  that 
enemy,  they  were,  at  least  sometimes, 
made  prisoners.™  They  were,  notwith- 
standing, much  robbed  at  inns.  The 
Legend  of  S.  James  abounds  with  in- 
stances.   Among  these,  it  says,  "  There 


e  M.  Paris,  751. 

h  Golden  Legend,  f.  cxviii. 

*  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  594. 

k  Paston  Letters,  iii.  304. 

1  Chap.  T.     It  has  exceptions,  see  further  on. 

m  Anglia  Sacra,  ii.  594. 


334       MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    ON    THE    JOURNEY    BY    LAND. 


was  a  Frensche  man,  about  the  yere  of 
our  Lorde  a  M.  and  a  C.  wolde  eschewe 
the  mortalyte,  that  in  Fraunce,  (sic) 
and  wolde  visyte  Saynte  James,  and  he 
tok  his  wyf  and  children  and  went 
thyder :  and  whan  they  came  to  Pam- 
pelone,  hys  wyff  deyde  and  hys  hoost 
take  fro  hym  all  hys  money  and  hys 
Jument,  upon  whych  is  children  were 
borne."a — The  statutes  for  the  Cru- 
saders enacted,  that  they  should  take 
no  women  with  them  in  their  pil- 
grimage, except  a  laundress  on  foot,  of 
whom  there  could  be  no  suspicion  ;b 
an  exception  founded  upon  their  known 
character,  as  the  harlots  of  the  middle 
age.c  But  these  were  not  the  only 
female  companions,  notwithstanding 
the  statute;  in  instances,  however, 
where  the  transgression  implied  no 
breach  of  propriety.  When  Godric  of 
Finchale  set  out  for  Rome,  his  mother 
desiring  to  become  his  companion,  he 
consented,  and,  being  a  foot  pilgrim, 
he  carried  her  on  his  shoulders, d  where 
the  roughness  of  the  road  required  it. 
At  London  they  picked  up  another 
woman  of  great  beauty,  but  totally 
unknown  to  them,  and  insuperably  re- 
served in  concealing  herself.  She  ac- 
companied them  the  whole  journey, 
washed  and  kissed  their  feet,  and  was 
singularly  obsequious.  When  they  re- 
turned, she  suddenly  disappeared,  and 
though  probably  some  noble  Magdalen, 
crossed  in  love,  who  had  imposed  upon 
herself  this  voluntary  penance,  was, 
through  her  secrecy  and  imperceptible 
departure,  converted  into  the  Virgin 


a  Golden  Legend,  fol.  cxviii. 

»  Guil.  Neubrigens.  L.  iii.  c.  22.  p.  291.  Ed. 
Antw.  1567.  r  .  ,  .      „ 

c  Meretricem  et  Lotricem.  Knighton,  in  X 
Scrip.  2422.  In  the  17th  century  the  city  laun- 
dresses used  to  treat  young  men  with  saffron  [cakes 
I  presume]  and  eggs,  in  order  to  lure  them. 
Peacham's  Complete  Gentleman,  31.  It  was  a 
Franch  fashion,  and  they  swarmed  about  inns. 
Erasmi  Diversoria,  Colloq.  p.  211. 

d  A  common  custom  with  respect  to  infirm  wo- 
men. M.  Paris,  347.  "  What  gave  me  the 
greatest  concern,  was  to  see  Zorayda  travelling  on 
foot  among  the  flinty  rocks,  for  though  I  sometimes 
took  her  on  my  shoulders,  she  was  much  more 
fatigued  with  seeing  me  weary,  than  refreshed  by 
finding  herself  exempted  from  walking."  Don 
Quixote,  ii.  187. 


Mary,  who  had  shown  the  Hermit  this 
mark  of  respect.0 

Some  Pilgrims  declined  any  female 
attendance.  Gilbert  Beket,  father  of 
the  celebrated  Archbishop  Thomas, 
when  a  young  man,  took  the  Jerusalem 
cross,  but  would  have  no  other  com- 
panion than  a  servant  named  Richard/ 

Female  Pilgrims  often  suffered  much 
on  the  journey.  a  Thre  knyghtes  of 
the  diocese  of  Lyon  went  to  Saynt 
James ;  and  one  was  requyred  of  a  pore 
woman,  for  the  love  of  Saynt  James, 
to  bere  her  sacke  upon  hys  hors ;  and 
he  bare  it;  after  he  founde  a  man 
seke,  and  set  hym  on  hys  hors,  and 
toke  the  burdon  of  the  man,  and  the 
sacke  of  the  said  woman,  and  followed 
hys  hors  afote."s 

The  poorer  Pilgrims  provided  for 
themselves  by  mendicity  and  the  aid 
of  charitable  institutions. 

It  was  sometimes  a  part  of  the  Papal 
absolution  of  those  who  had  vowed  a 
Pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  but  were  too 
poor  or  old  to  undertake  the  journey, 
that  they  should  give  money  to  those 
who  did  go,  and  pecuniary  aid  for  the 
repair  of  a  Church.11  Monasteries 
received  them  courteously,!  and  gave 
them  for  three  days  lodging  and  diet, 
without  question  whence  they  came.k 
Such  hospitals  were  regularly  endowed 
with  tythes.1 

In  the  legend  of  St.  John  the  Almo- 
ner, it  is  said,  "  There  was  a  poure 
man  in  the  habyte  of  a  Pilgrim  came 
too  Saynte  Johan,  and  demaunded  al- 
messe ;  and  he  called  his  dyspenser 
and  badde  to  gyve  that  poure  man  vi 
pens."m  In  the  Romance  of  the  Re- 
nard  Contrefaitn  (so  called  because  an 
imitation  of  the  others),  written  by  an 
anonymous  inhabitant  of  Tholouse, 
between  the  years  1328  and  1342,  is 
the  character  of  these  Mendicant  Pil- 


e  M.  Paris,  98.  f  Decern  Scriptores,  1052. 

e  Golden  Legend,  fol.  cxix. 

h  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  495. 

1  Reyner  Apostolatus  Benedictinorum,  p.  224. 

k  Gough's  Brit.  Topography,  ii.  462. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Nona. 

m  Golden  Legend,  f.  55. 

a  MS.  dans  la  Bibliotheque  Nationale  ;i  Paris. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    ON    THE    JOURNEY    BY    LAND.       335 


grimages.  The  Confessor  announces 
to  Renard  his  Penitent,  that  he  is  not 
able  to  give  him  absolution,  and  that 
he  must  go  to  Rome  to  demand  it  of 
the  Pope.  The  Convert  submits,  takes 
the  scarf  and  bourdon?  and  commences 
his  journey.  Our  Pilgrim,  on  his 
road,  meets  the  ass,  and  Belin,  the 
sheep,  who  stop  and  converse  with 
him.  This  conversation  leads  on  both 
sides  to  long  discourses,  intermixed 
with  historiettes,  among  which  is  that 
of  Count  Renard  de  S.  Marcel  who 
was  a  robber  on  the  high  road,  and 
who,  one  day  that  he  saw  a  carter 
stuck  fast  in  the  mud,  advanced  in 
charity  to  assist  him,  was  killed  by 
him,  and  ascended  to  Heaven  directly. 
His  two  acquaintance  asked  Renard. 
whv,  instead  of  going  to  beg  upon  the 
road  to  Rome,  he  did  not  pursue  an  ho- 
nest trade,  in  which,  after  all,  he  could 
ensure  his  salvation,  as  well  as  by  the 
vagrant  life  which  he  was  going  to 
adopt.  He  answers  the  question  by 
a  satire  upon  the  different  professions 
and  trades,  exposes  their  several 
rogueries,  and  concludes,  by  observing, 
that  it  is  not  so  bad  a  trade  as  thiev- 
ing. After  this  he  renounces  his  de- 
votion, and  returns  home.b  This  cha- 
racter of  Pilgrims  was  assumed  by  the 
Gipsies.  On  April  ljth,  1427,  there 
came  to  Paris  twelve  Penitents,  one 
Duke,  one  Earl,  ten  knights,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  men  and  women 
with  a  number  of  infants.  They  said, 
that  they  were  Christians,  expelled 
from  Egypt  by  the  Saracens,  who  came 
to  the  Pope  for  confession,  and  were 
ordered  to  wander  seven  years,  nor 
during  that  time  to  rest  in  a  bed.  Thev 
had  many  followers,  till  the  Bishop 
compelled  them  to  change  their  ha- 
bitation, for  theft,  and  fortune- telling, 
and  other  offences.  In  1560  they  were 
expelled  from  Gaul,  and  soon  after,  in 
1591,  banished  Spain.0 

a  Of  these  in  the  Chapter  of  Costumes. 

b  Notices,  v.  345,  346. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  JEgyptiaci.  This  account  cor- 
responds with  that  given  in  the  Antiquarian  Re- 
pertory, i.  56.  as  the  most  probable  origin  of  these 
vagrants. 


This  assumption  of  the  character  of 
Pilgrims  by  the  Gipsies  was  not  mal 
apropos.  Erasmus  mentions  a  man, 
who  supported  himself  and  two  ser- 
vants, on  his  journey  to  Jerusalem,  by 
chiromancy  and  fortune-telling  ;d  and 
when  he  got  there,  he  quartered  him- 
self upon  a  very  rich  Pilgrim,  who, 
though  JO  years  old,  could  not  die  in 
peace  till  he  had  been  to  the  Holy 
Land.  It  was  a  rule  to  extend  bene- 
factions to  Pilgrims,  whatever  might 
be  their  rank.  Eadmer  says  of  Lan- 
franc,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
"What  Pilgrim  of  whatsoever  order  of 
men,  ever  asked  relief  from  him,  and  did 
not  obtain  it?'*e  Anselm  being  in 
doubt  what  he  should  do  with  the  pro- 
perty which  devolved  to  him  by  the 
death  of  his  father,  revolved  in  his 
mind,  among  other  things,  whether  he 
should  not  build  a  house  for  the  recep- 
tion of  Pilgrim s.f  St.  Roche,  the  Pa- 
tron Saint  of  Pilgrims,  used  in  part  of 
his  duties,  to  visit  hospitals ;  "  but 
when  he  had  been  long  in  hospitall  of 
Placence,  and  had  almost  heled  the 
seke  men  therin,  about  mydnight  he 
herd  in  his  slepe  an  angel  thus  sayeng, 
O  Roche  most  devout  to  Crist,  awake, 
and  know  yt  thou  art  smitten  with  the 
pestilence,  studye  now  how  thou  mayst 
be  cured.  And  anone  he  felte  himself 
sore  taken  with  the  pestylence  under 
both  his  armes,  and  he  therof  gaaf 
thankinges  to  our  Lord,  and  he  was  so 
sore  vexed  with  ye  payne,  that  they  yt 
were  in  thospital  were  deprived  of  theyr 
slepe  and  rest  of  the  night ;  wherefore 
Saynt  Roche  arose  fro  his  bedde,  and 
went  to  the  utterest  place  of  tho  spit  all, 
and  lavd  hvm  downe  there  abyding  the 

.  J  Jo 

light  of  the  day.  And  whan  it  was 
daye  the  people  goinge  by  sawe  him,  ac- 
cused the  mayster  of  the  hospytall  of 
offence  yt  he  suffred  the  Pylgrime  to  lye 
without  ye  hospytall,  but  he  purged  hym 


d  Colloquium  Senile,  p.  265. 
e  Hist.  Novor.  p.  8. 

f  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  156.  The  Hospital  of  Ledbury 
in  Herefordshire  was  founded  for  the  relief  of  Pil- 
grims and  poor  men.  Dugdale's  Monast.  ii.  453. 
Kings  invited  them  to  refreshment.  X  Script. 
2322. 


336      MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    ON    THE    JOURNEY   BY    LAND. 


of  the  defaute  sayenge  yt  the  Pylgrime 
wae  smyten  with  the  pestilence,  as  ye 
see  and  unwittynge  to  us  he  went  out. 
Thenne  the  Cytezens  incontynent  put 
out  Saynt  Roche  fro  the  cyte  and  su- 
burbes,  leest  by  him  the  cytee  myght  be 
the  more  infected."*  Thus  it  appears, 
that  the  obligation  to  lodge  Pilgrims 
was  imperious,  except  in  cases  of  con- 
tagious disease. 

This  is  the  more  natural,  if  it  be 
considered,  that  whatever  might  be  the 
abuse  of  Mendicant  Pilgrimage,  it  was 
deemed  meritorious.  Saint  Roche, 
from  the  text  "  In  the  sweat  of  thy 
brow,'5  &c.  persuaded  Gotarde  to  leave 
all  his  goods  to  his  heirs,  to  follow  the 
way  of  Christ,  which  he  makes  to  con- 
sist in  begging  "  brede  and  almesse," 
and  "  in  the  name  of  Jhesu."  b  It  was 
was  even  done  by  men  of  very  estima- 
ble character  and  habits,  who  often 
found  asylums  in  the  houses  of  the 
great.  "  I  was  a  poor  Pilgrim/'  says 
one  of  these,  ee  when  I  came  to  your 
court ;  I  have  lived  honestly  and  repu- 
tably in  it,  on  the  wages  you  have 
given  me ;  restore  to  me  my  mule,  my 
wallet,  and  my  staff,  and  I  will  return 
in  the  same  manner  as  I  came/5  c 

This  was  not  the  only  attention  paid 
to  Pilgrims  on  their  route.  Trees  were 
planted  at  crosses,  and  other  accom- 


Golden  Legend,  fol.  cxliiii.  b  Ibid. 

History  of  the  Troubadours,  p.  300. 


modations  placed  there,  for  shade,  and 
rest  to  them.d 

In  their  migrations  they  were  the 
great  instruments  of  conveying  news. 
A  woman  on  her  return  from  a  Pil- 
grimage to  our  Lady  of  Boulogne, 
being  weary,  seated  herself  in  the  mar- 
ket-place, where  there  were  crowds  of 
people,  who  asked  her  for  news.e — Sir 
John  Paston  says,  "  I  kan  not  her  by 
Pylgrimys  yt  passe  the  kontre,  nor 
noon  other  man.'5  f 

The  Pilgrims,  on  their  journeys, 
used  to  amuse  themselves  by  narrating 
tales,  s 

The  Jerusalem  Pilgrims  of  the  richer 
sort  took  tents  with  them.  Baldwin 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  ordered 
those  which  he  intended  to  take  with 
him,  to  be  elevated  in  Lambeth  field.11 
Kings  and  great  men  took  letters  of 
safe  conduct ;  *  and  the  destruction  of 
the  places  where  they  were  in  the  ha- 
bit of  plundering  Pilgrims,  was  the 
punishment  inflicted.k 

Many  of  the  Pilgrims  to  Jerusalem 
were  detained  at  Marseilles,  for  want 
of  vessels  to  convey  them,  till  their 
money  was  spent.1 


d  Du  Cange,  v.  dlbellus. 

e  Froissart,  v.  103. 

f  Paston  Letters,  ii.  76. 

g  Warton's  Poetry,  i.  397. 

h  X  Scriptores,  1564.  *  X  Scriptores,  1126. 

k  Ibid.  1118.  I     Ibid.  1173. 


CRUSADERS. 


337 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE  ARRIVAL  AT  JERUSALEM. CONSEQUENCES  OF  THE  CRUSADES. 

MISCELLANEOUS  OF  CRUSADERS. 


It  is  not  the  intention  of  this  essay 
to  detail  historical  matters,  or  be  nar- 
ratory ;  as  possessing  no  novelty,  and 
much  tediousness. — The  bells  were 
rung  when  the  Pilgrims  appeared  off 
the  port,  where  they  were  to  land.a 

The  Pilgrims,  not  engaged  in  the 
military  department  of  the  Croisades, 
visited  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  other 
religious  places.  Godric  of  Finchale, 
after  doing  this,  proceeding  to  the 
River  Jordan  with  the  hair  shirt,  and 
cup,  which  he  carried  in  his  scrip,  en- 
tered the  waters  of  that  river  [in  imi- 
tation of  Naaman,  the  Syrian].  Then 
for  the  first  time  after  leaving  England 
he  stripped  and  washed  himself:  pull- 
ed off  his  shoes,  and  said,  "  God  Om- 
nipotent, who  hast  walked  barefooted 
in  this  land,  and  suffered  your  feet  to 
be  pierced  with  nails  on  my  account, 
henceforth,  I  will  not  put  shoes  on  my 
feet."  Having  thus  performed  his 
vow  of  Pilgrimage,  he  returned  to 
England.13 

They  delighted  to  pick  up  relicks 
during  their  Peregrinations.0  Balsam 
was  sold  at  Jerusalem/  images,  and  no 
doubt  many  other  articles. 

Gundulf,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  and 
William  his  Archdeacon,  for  the  sake  of 
exercising  the  flesh,  and  fixing  in  their 
memories  the  Incarnation,  Passion, 
and  Ascension  of  Christ,  made  a  visit 
to  the  Holy  Land.e  Erasmus,  however, 
says,  that  the  Pilgrims  saw  nothing 
but  ancient  monuments,  to  which  only 
legendary  accounts  were  attached,  and 
that  even  the  precise  situation  of  an- 
cient Jerusalem  was  not  certainly  known 
by  the  residents  there.     The  Pilgrims, 


a  Neubrigensis,  276.     More  will  appear  in  Tor- 
kington's  Journal  following. 

b  M.  Paris,  p.  99.  c  Eadm.  88. 

d  Du  Cange,  v.  Munerba. 
e  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  274. 


he  adds,  abounded  with  marvellous 
tales,  and  false  stories  of  what  they 
had  seen  and  heard/  but  returned  with 
injured  health. 

There  is  preserved  an  account  of  a 
Pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  made  by  a 
Sir  Richard  Torkington  in  1517,  of 
which  the  following  extracts  were  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  Wheeler,  from  the  iden- 
tical MS.  Diary.s 

"  Thys  ys  the  begynnyng  of  the  pyl- 
grymage  of  Syr  Rychard  Torkyngton, 
person  of  Mulberton  in  Norffblke. 
And  how  he  went  towardys  Iherusa- 
lem  all  a  lone  to  the  tyme  he  came  to 
Venesse.^ 

"  ffyrst  the  ffryday  a  for  Mydlent 
that  was  Seynt  Cuthberdys  day  And 
the  xx  day  of  Marche  in  the  vij  yer  of 
kyng  herri  the  viij.th  And  the  yer  of 
ower  lorde  god  M.CCCCCxvij.  abowte 
viij  of  the  cloke  the  same  mornyng  I 
shippyd  at  Rye  in  Sussex.  And  the 
same  day  a  bowte  x.  of  the  cloke  at 
nyght  I  londed  at  Depe.  in  Normandy. 
And  ther  I  lay  in  the  Shippe  all 
nyght,"  &c.  &c. 

"  At  Cambray  I  hard  a  ffamus  Ser- 
mon of  a  Doctor  which  began  at  v.  of 
the  cloke  in  the  mornyng  and  conty- 
nuyd  tyll  it  was  ix  of  the  clok.  In  hys 
s'mon  at  on  time  he  had  a  balys  [rod] 
in  hys  bond  a  nother  tyme  a  schorge 
the  hj.de  tyme  a  crowne  of  thorne  the 
iiij.tu  tyme  he  shewyd  the  pepyll  a 
pictur  poyntyd  on  a  clothe  of  the  pas- 
sion of  o.r  lorde.  And  aft.  that  he 
shewyd  them  the  ymage  of  god  crucy- 
fyed  upon  a  crosse  and  thanne  all  the 
peple  bothe  yong  and  old  they  fell 
downe  upon  ther  knes  and  cryed  with 
lamentable  voce  om'a  the  p'cher  the 
peple  they  weppe  marvell  it  was  to  see. 


f  Colloq.  §  De  Votis,  &c.  p.  22. 

s  Gentleman's  Magazine,  Octob.  1812. 


338 


CRUSADERS. 


"  We  com  [29.  April]  to  the  goodly 
and  ffamose  Cite  of  Venys.  Ther  I 
was  well  at  ese,  ffor  ther  was  no  thyng 
that  I  desired  to  have  but  I  had  it 
shortly.  At  Venyse  at  the  fyrst  howse 
that  I  cam  to  except  oon  the  good  man 
of  the  howse  seyd  he  knew  me  by  my 
face  that  T  was  an  englysshman.  And 
he  spake  to  me  good  englyssh  thanne 
I  was  jous  and  glade,  ffor  I  saw  nev'. 
englyssh  man  ffrom  the  tyme  I  dep'ted 
owt  of  Parys  to  the  tyme  I  cam  to 
Venys.  which  ys  vij  or  viij  C.  nayles." 

u  In  Candia  sive  Creta  was  musyke 
fyrste  founde  And  also  Tourneys  and 
exercyse  of  Armys  fyrst  founde  on 
horse  bake.  Ther  was  lawe  fyrst  put 
in  wrytyng.  Armour  was  fyrst  ther 
divisyd  and  founde.  And  so  was  remys 
and  rowyng  in  bootts. 

"  Satirday  the  xj  day  of  July  a  bowyt 
iiij  of  the  cloke  at  aftyr  noon  we  had 
sight  of  the  holy  londe.  Thanne  the 
Maryners  song  the  letany  And  aftyr 
that  all  the  pylgryms  w.*  a  joyffull  voyce 
song  Te  Deum  laudamus.  and  thankyd 
all  myghty  god  that  he  had  yoven  us 
such  grace  to  have  onys  the  sight  of 
the  most  holy  lande." 

"  At  Jaffe  begynnyth  the  holy  londe 
and  to  ev.y  pylgryme  at  the  fTyrst  foote 
that  he  sett  on  the  londe  ther  ys 
grauntyd  plenary  remission  De  pena  et 
a  culpa.  In  Jaff  Seynt  Petir  reysid 
ffrom  Deth  Tabitam.  the  sarvaunt  of 
the  Appostolis.  And  fast  by  ys  the 
place  where  Seynt  Petir  usyd  to  ffysh 
And  or.  Savior  Crist  callyd  hym  and 
seyd  sequere  me. 

"  At  Rama  we  war  receyvyd  into 
Duke  Philipps  hospitall  And  it  ys 
callyd  so  by  cause  Duke  Philippe  of 
Burgone  byldyd  it  of  hys  grett  Cha- 
rite  to  Receye  Pylgryms  therin.  We 
found  no  thyng  ther  in  but  bar  walles 
and  bar  norethes  excepte  oonly  a  well 
of  good  ffresh  watir  whiche  was  myche 
to  o.r  comforth.  Nev'theles  ther  com 
to  us  Jacobyns  and  other  feynyd 
Cristen  peple  of  Soundry  Sectis  that 
browght  to  us  mattes  ffor  o.r  mony  to 
lye  upon  And  also  brede  sodyng  egges 
and  sumtyme  other  vetallyes  as  mylke 
grapys  and  appyllys." 


u  Satirday  [18.  July]  a  bowyt  yj  or 
vij  of  the  cloke  at  aftyr  noon  we  cam 
to  Iherusalem  and  were  receyvyd  in  to 
the  Mounte  Syon. 

"  Whanne  Masse  was  don  [Sunday 
19.  July]  we  went  all  to  Dyn'.  in  the 
place  wher  we  war  ryghg  honestely 
sVyed.  And  at  medys  of  the  dyner 
the  ffather  wardyn  made  a  right  holy 
sermon  and  shewyd  ryght  devowtly 
the  holynesse  of  all  the  blyssyd  choseyn 
place  of  the  holy  londe  And  exortyd 
ev'y.  man  to  confession  and  repent- 
aunce.  And  so  to  visite  the  seyd  holy 
placis  in  clennes  of  lyff.  And  w*. 
shuch  Devocion  as  all  myghty  god 
wold  yeff  unto  them  of  hys  most  spe- 
ciall  grace." 

£i  At  the  Mounte  of  Olivete  we  came 
to  the  place  under  an  holow  Roke  wher 
o.r  savyor  preying  fell  in  suche  an 
agony  that  he  swete  watir  and  blode. 
That  the  droppes  fell  in  grett  plenty 
from  hys  eyne  to  the  erthe  seying, 
Pater  si  possibile  est  ut  transeat  a  me 
calix  iste ;  verumtamen  no\  sicut  ego 
volo,  s\  sicut  tu  vis.ffiat  voluntas  tua. 
Clene  remission." 

"  Ffrom  thens  descendyng  a  stonys 
cast  we  came  to  the  place  wher  or.  Sa- 
vyor Crist  left  Petir  Jamis  &  John. 
Sedete  hie  donee  vadam  illuc  et  or  em 
vigilate  et  orate.  Also  wher  the  Pos- 
tyllys  made  the  Crede  of  ower  feyth. 
Also  wher  ower  Savyor  Crist  taught 
hys  Discipulis  to  pray  seying  Cum  orat\ 
ita  dicite,  Pater  noster." 

"  The  stonys  of  that  place  wher 
ower  lady  was  born  ys  remedi  and 
consolation  to  women  that  travell  of 
Chylde." 

"  We  went  to  the  howse  of  Dives  a 
Epidonis,  qui  sepultus  est  in  Inferno" 

ee  We  cam  to  the  howse  of  Veronica 
wher  as  or.  blyssid  Savyor  impressyd 
the  ymage  of  hys  fface  in  hyr  wymple 
whiche  ys  at  Rome.  And  it  ys  callyd 
ther  the  Vernacle. 

"  The  Churche  of  the  holy  sepulcre 


a  Whitby  says,  that  the  story  of  Dives  and  La-| 
zarus  is  only  a  parable  taken  from  the  Gemara  Ba- 
bylonicum ;  but  Chateaubriand,  from  Chrysostom, 
makes  it  a  real  history.     Trav.  ii.  27.  F. 


CRUSADERS. 


339 


ys  rounde  myche  leke  the  form  and 
makyng  of  the  Temple  at  London  saff 
it  ys  excedyng  fer  in  gretnesse  and 
hath  wonder  many  yles  Crodes  and 
vowtes  Chapellys  high  and  lowe  in 
grett  nowmber  and  mervell  it  ys  to  see 
the  many  deferens  and  secrete  places 
wl.in  the  sayd  temple." 

"  Under  the  Mounte  of  Clavery  [Cal- 
vary] ys  a  nother  Chapell  of  o.r  blyssyd 
lady  and  Seynt  John  Ev'ngeliste  that 
was  callyd  Galgatha  and  ther  ryght 
under  the  morteys  of  the  Crosse  was 
founde  the  hede  of  o.r  fore  father 
Adam/' 

£l  We  cam  to  Bethelem  it  was  callyd 
in  old  tyme  Effrata  wher  of  it  ys 
wretyng  Ecce  audivimus  eum  in  Ef- 
frata. And  bytwyne  Citie  and  the 
chirche  ys  the  nod  floridus  where  the 
fayer  mayd  shuld  a  ben  brent  and  was 
savyd  harmesse  by  myracle  for  the  fyer 
chaunged  into  Rosis." 

i:  At  the  Est  ende  of  the  Chirche  of 
Bethlem  ys  a  cave  in  the  grounde  wher 
sumtyme  stod  a  Chirch  of  Seynt  Ni- 
cholas. In  the  same  cave  entred  ower 
blyssid  lady  wfc.  hyr  Sone.  And  hyd 
hyr  for  ffer  of  Kyng  Herrod.  the  gronde 
ys  good  for  Norces  that  lake  mylk  for 
ther  Childern/' 

"  The  last  day  of  July  a  bowyt  v.  of 
the  cloke  in  the  mornyng  we  made 
sayle  to  warde  Cypres  homward  w*. 
ryght  grett  joy  and  solas/' 

"  The  xxv.  day  of  August  that  was 
Seynt  Bertilmews  day  the  morne  aftyr 
Seynt  Bertilmew  decessyd  Roberd 
Crosse  of  London  Pewterer  and  was 
buryed  in  the  Chirche  yard  in  Salyus 
[in  the  Island  of  Cyprus].  And  xxvij 
day  of  August  decessyd  Syr  Thomas 
Toppe  a  prest  of  the  West  countre.  And 
was  cast  ov\  the  borde  As  was  many 
moo  whos  soules  god  assoyle.  And 
thanne  ther  remayned  in  the  shippe 
iiij  Englyssh  prestis  moo." 

"  Of  o.r  chere  and  well  entretyng  at 
the  Rody  [Rhodes]  and  what  comfort 
was  don  to  us  and  speciall  that  was 
seke  and  disesyd  by  Syr  Thomas  New- 
porte  and  Mayster  William  Weston 
and  Syr  John  Bowthe  and  aftyrward 


by  other  Jentylmen  of  Englond   ther 
it  war  to  long  to  wrytte. 

"  Sunday  [3.  January]  the  wynde 
began  to  ryse  in  the  north  And  mun- 
day  all  day  and  all  nyght  it  blew  owt- 
rageously.  Indured  a  wondred  grett 
Tempest  aswell  be  excedyng  wondors 
blowyng  of  wynde  as  by  contynuall 
lythynyng  So  that  the  capteyne  and 
the  patron  And  all  the  knyghtys  of 
the  Rode  whyche  war  ther  to  the 
now mbyr  of  xiiij  wended  we  shulde  a 
be  lost." 

"  The  same  nyght  a  bowte  x  of  the 
cloke  we  all  p'mysyd  pylgrymage  to 
ower  lady  of  grace  of  Missena  in  Ce- 
cylia.  And  ev^y  man  delyv'ed  hys 
offeryng  the  same  tyme  to  the  patrone 
of  the  shippe. 

"  Wedynsday  the  vj.  day  of  Januarij 
the  wynde  rose  a  yens  us  w*.  grett 
tempest  thounderyng  and  lyghtnyng 
all  day  and  all  nyght  So  owt  rageously 
that  we  knew  not  wher  wee  war.  And 
thanne  we  putt  us  all  in  the  mercy  of 
god  beyng  in  grett  peyne  and  woo 
both  day  and  nyght  voowyng  sum  of 
us  pylgrylmages  to  o.r  blyssyd  lady  of 
Lorett\  in  Ytalya  and  sum  to  o.r  lady 
of  Walsynglr'm.  and  sum  to  Seynt 
Thomas  of  Cannterbury  we  that  war 
Englysshmen.  The  patrone  of  o.r 
shippe  gaderd  mony  of  us  for  to  make 
o.r  ofTerying  to  the  iij  kyngs  of  Colo- 
neya  And  as  sone  as  we  cam  on  londe 
we  shuld  have  messe  in  honor  of 
them." 

"  And  in  thys  fforsayd  long  conty- 
nuall tempeste  and  storme  we  war 
drefTbakward  iij.  C.  myle." 

"  In  the  yle  callyd  Swafana  in 
Turkey  we  a  bode  v.  dayes  and  dyv'se 
knyghtes  of  the  Rodes  wont  on  lond 
wl.  ther  hande  gonnes  and  slew  horse 
for  ther  hawkes  that  war  in  the  sheppe 
ther  war  in  the  shippe  I.  C.  hawkes 
and  moo." 

"  Saturday  a  for  the  fyrst  Sounday 


a  The  iii  Magi,  who  worshipped  the  infant 
Christ,  called  in  the  legend  Kings,  and  of  Cologn, 
because  their  bodies  were  pretended  to  have  been 
brought  first  to  Milan,  and  from  thence  to  Cologn, 
Golden  Legend,  fol.  vi. — viii.  F. 


Z  2 


340 


CRUSADERS, 


of  clene  lent  the  xx.  day  of  ffebruary 
we  went  in  to  the  Castell  [of  Corfu]  a 
mong  the  Jewys  it  was  ther  Sabaday. 
The  same  day  ther  was  a  Jewe  maryed 
and  aftyr  Dyner  I  saw  them  danse  in 
a  grett  Chamber  bothe  men  and  wo- 
men in  ryche  apparell  Damaske  Saten 
velvett  weryng  a  bowte  their  nekkys 
chenys  of  fyne  gold  w*.  many  rynggs 
on  their  ffyngers  w*.  stonys  of  grett 
pryce.  She  that  was  maryed  she  had 
upon  hyr  hede  a  crowne  of  gold. — On 
of  the  Jewys  be  gan  to  syng  And  than 
all  the  women  dannsed  to  gedyr  by  the 
space  of  an  owre.  And  aftyr  that  ther 
cam  in  yong  men  on  of  them  sang 
Thanne  the  men  and  women  danncyd 
to  gedyr  Aftyr  that  they  callyd  in  ther 
mynstellys  and  so  they  danncyd  iij 
long  howrys.  They  be  fayer  women 
wonderfull  werkes  in  sylke  and  gold  and 
many  goodly  thyngs  they  have  to  sell, 
in  thys  cetye  we  a  bode  by  the  space  of 
xiiij  dayes." 

66  Munday  that  was  the  xvij  day  of 
Apryll  we  cam  to  Dover  and  lay  ther 
all  nyght." 

"  Tewysday  a  for  Whith  Sounday 
we  cam  to  Cannterbury  to  Seynt  Tho- 
mas Messe  and  ther  I  offeryd  and 
made  an  Ende  of  my  Pylgrymage — 
Deo  gratia." 

«  We  war  owt  of  Englond  in  ower 
seyd  pylgrymage  the  space  of  an  holl 
yer  v.  wekys  and  iij  dayes." 

As  to  the  Military,  they  lived  in  the 
same  habits  as  at  home.  Statutes 
were  made  for  the  regulation  of  them, 
of  which  the  following  is  an  abstract. 

I.  All  the  Pilgrims  who  died  on  the 
road,  had  a  power  of  disposing  of  their 
arms,  horses,  and  cloaths,  provided 
they  sent  nothing  home  :  as  to  Clerks, 
they  could  dispose  at  will  of  religious 
furniture. 

II.  Knights  and  Clerks  were  allow- 
ed to  play  for  money,  provided  they 
did  not  lose  more  than  205.  in  24 
hours.  But  all  servants,  except  the 
King's,  were  to  be  punished  by  three 
day's  beating  through  the  army,  and 
mariners  were  to  be  ducked  once  a  day 
for  three  days,  if  they  meddled  with 
games. 


III.  Money  borrowed  on  the  jour- 
ney, was  to  be  paid  during  the  journey, 
but  not  that  borrowed  before. 

IV.  Runaway  servants  were  not  to 
be  harboured,  under  penalty  of  excom- 
munication, &c. 

V.  No  merchant  of  any  trade  was  to 
buy  bread  to  sell  again  in  the  army, 
nor  any  foreigner  to  speculate  in  corn, 
unless  he  made  bread  of  it,  or  detained 
it  to  carry  with  him ;  nor  was  any  one 
to  buy  dead  meat  to  sell  again,  or  a 
live  beast,  unless  he  killed  it  in  the 
army. 

VI.  The  same  regulation  was  made 
about  regrating  in  wine.a 

Other  regulations  order  the  Cru- 
saders not  to  swear  enormously;  not 
to  gamble  at  dice ;  and  to  be  content 
with  two  meals.b  But  their  liberti- 
nism was  so  notorious,  as  in  its  conse- 
quences to  be  a  leading  cause  of  their 
final  ill  success. 

Joinville  is  a  work  of  such  easy 
access,  that  it  is  quite  unnecessary  to 
make  large  extracts.  The  knowledge 
of  the  useful  arts  was  considerably 
augmented  by  this  intercourse  with 
the  East.  The  following  short  notices 
betray  the  strangest  inconsistencies. 
Friday's  fast  was  diligently  observed  ;c 
and  there  were  tents  in  the  form  of 
chapels,  with  the  Annunciation  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  embroidered  on  the  in- 
side ; d  and  yet  brothels  were  kept 
even  within  a  stone's  throw  of  Saint 
Louis's  pavilion,  by  his  attendants.6 

The  name  of  our  Richard  I.  was  so 
terrible,  that  it  was  used  by  the  Sara- 
cen women  to  frighten  children/ 

LaBrocquiere  mentions  30,000  Ama- 
zons, with  bows  and  arrows  and  curi- 
ous quivers.? 

In  Tacticks  the  present  admirable 
method  of  defending  infantry  from  ca- 
valry, was  successfully  practised.11 

La  Brocquiere  says,  that  a  dwarf  and 

a  Script,  p.  Bed.  384. 

b  Neubrigensis,  1.  3.  c.  22.  p.  291. 

c  Joinville,  i.  167.  d  Id.  119. 

,    e  Id.  128.  t  Id.  274. 

8  P.  150.  A  woman  with  only  one  breast  occurs 
on  Indian  Monuments.  Gough's  Indian  Monu- 
ments at  Salset,  PI.  v.  p.  18. 

h  Triveti  Annates,  120, 


CRUSADERS, 


341 


two  young  persons  acted  the  parts  of 
fools  with  the  Sultan ;  and  that  the 
custom  was  introduced  by  the  Cru- 
saders to  the  Christian  Courts.a  Now 
it  has  been  said  that  our  interesting 
acquaintance  in  infancy,  Tom  Thumb, 
was  a  dwarf  in  the  Court  of  King  Ar- 
thur, who  only  imitated  Augustus  in 
keeping  a  dwarf. b  La  Brocquiere  may 
be  correct,  for  they  were  mostly  then 
brought  from  Syria  and  Egypt.0 

All  the  pomp  of  the  Gothick  Ages 
was  derived,  by  means  of  the  Crusades, 
from  the  riches  and  magnificence  of  the 
Eastern  Cities.  Before  this  sera  old 
Poetry  consisted  of  the  achievements 
of  King  Arthur  and  the  Knights  of  the 
Round  Table,  and  Charlemagne  and  his 
twelve  peers ;  but  after  these  expedi- 
tions of  the  Soldans,  Caliphs,  Trebi- 
zond,  and  other  cities.  Whole  legions 
of  Poets  embarked  with  the  Military  for 
the  Crusades.d 

The  Pisans,  when  the  Crusades  first 
took  place,  fitted  out  small  vessels 
loaded  with  provisions,  which  they  sold 
to  the  Crusaders,  and  brought  back 
columns,  sculptures,  bas-reliefs,  &c. 
from  ancient  Greece,  as  well  as  Greek 
artists ;  and  from  hence  commenced 
the  revival  of  the  Arts  in  Italy.e 

The  Crusades  gave  birth  to  the  ma- 
ritime powers,  of  which  Venice,  Genoa, 
and  Pisa  were  the  first;  and  occa- 
sioned the  establishment  in  Europe  of 
naval  commerce,  which,  till  then,  had 
been  in  the  hands  of  the  Greeks  and 
Arabs/ 

About  the  year  1060,  when  the  Pa- 
gans obstructed  the  Journey,  the  Pil- 
grimage was  still  made  by  stealth.s 
But  it  being  a  misfortune  which  oc- 
curred from  possession  of  the  country 
by  the  Saracens,  that  the  Pilgrims  were 
enslaved  when  they  came  to  the  Holy 
Land,h  Antioch,  which  was  taken  by 


a  P.  254.         b  Sueton.  C.  xliii.  in  Augusto. 

c  See  figures  of  them  in  Kircher  CEdip.  iEgypt. 
ii.  522.  and  Count  Caylus,  Rec.  d'Antiq.  vi.  pi. 
88.  f.  1,2.  * 

d  Warton's  Poetry,  i.  110,  111. 

e  Bromley's  Arts,  ii.  306,  seq. 

f  Observat.  surl'Italie,  torn.  iii.  261, 

?  Du  Cange,  v.  Tapinatio. 

&  See  instances  X  Script.  1052. 


the  Crusaders  in  1098,  was  the  most 
convenient  place,  Tyre  not  being  then 
in  the  possession  of  the  Christians,  for 
Adventurers  and  Pilgrims  to  land  at. 
When,  however,  they  had  debarked, 
they  had  200  miles  of  a  barbarous 
country  to  traverse  before  they  could 
reach  Jerusalem ;  hence  arose  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  constant  guard  to  protect 
them,1  and  a  subsistence  when  arrived 
at  this  new  capital  of  the  Christian  Em- 
pire. 

These  circumstances  produced  the 
only  two  religious  Orders  which  were 
established  in  the  Holy  Land ;  the  first 
of  which  were  the  Knights  Hospitalers 
in  1113,  who  undertook  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  Pilgrims  at  their  Hospi- 
tium  or  Inn,  during  their  stay  in  Jeru- 
salem. As  many,  however,  were  at- 
tacked by  the  Saracens  in  their  journey 
from  Antioch,  the  second  Order,  that 
of  Templars,  took  place  in  1183,  who 
professed  to  escort  the  Pilgrims  to  their 
quarters  with  the  Knights  Hospitalers.k 

The  fanaticism  for  making  pilgrim- 
ages to  the  Holy  Land  has  been  sup- 
posed extreme ;  and  it  is  certain,  that 
in  1199,  John  Bishop  of  Faenza  went 
to  the  Holy  Land  with  200  of  his  Dio- 
cesans, no  small  number  for  the  popu- 
lation of  his  town,1  and  it  is  also  cer- 
tain, that  even  children  engaged  to 
take  the  cross.m  Much  art,  however, 
was  practised.  At  the  approach  of 
Christmas,  when  it  was  customary  for 
great  men  to  give  new  cloaths  to  their 
dependants,  the  French  King,  Standard- 
bearer  of  the  Cross,  [for  that  ensign 
always  preceded  their  march],  assumed 
to  himself,  in  a  new  manner,  the  office 
of  Preacher,  and  Procurator  of  the  bu- 
siness of  the  Cross  ;  he  ordered  to  be 


1  This  protection  was  no  doubt  particularly  ne- 
cessary with  relation  to  our  countrymen,  of  whom 
continental  hatred  thus  expressed  itself :  "  In  my 
youth,"  says  Petrarch  (Fam.  1.  2J.  Ep.  3.),  "  the 
inhabitants  of  Great  Britain,  whom  they  call  En- 
glish, were  the  greatest  cowards  of  all  the  barba- 
rians, inferior  even  to  the  vile  Scotch."  This  is  the 
only  time  a  modern  Italian  perhaps  ever  talked  of 
the  cowardice  of  our  countrymen. 

k  Archseologia,  ix.  128.  These  orders  are  how- 
ever charged  in  some  French  MSS.  with  becoming 
Banditti  to  rob  the  Pilgrims. 

J  Notices,  vi.  53.  m  M,  Paris,  502. 


342 


CRUSADERS, 


got  ready  many  more  gowns  than  he 
used  to  have,  with  their  appurtenances, 
of  the  most  precious  cloth,  and  different 
furs  and  crosses,  made  of  fine  goldsmith's 
ivork,  to  be  served  upon  the  shoulder 
parts  of  the  gown, privately  in  the  night. 
When  therefore  the  courtiers  attended 
Mass  in  the  morning,  they  were  asto- 
nished to  find  the  Cross  upon  each 
other's  shoulders ;  but  seeing  the 
King's  motive,  were  ashamed  to  re- 
move them.a  This  art  was  necessary. 
A  father  wisely  excuses  himself  from 
undertaking  a  foreign  pilgrimage,  on 
account  of  leaving  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren to  the  care  of  others. b  At  the 
predication  of  the  Crusade  by  Giraldus 
Cambrensis,  Philip  Mangonel,  a  knight, 
observed  that  no  man,  who  professed 
integrity  to  his  country,  would  take  the 
Cross,  upon  his  preaching,  or  the  Arch- 
bishop's.0 Sovereigns  vehemently  op- 
posed these  Jerusalem  Pilgrimages,  as 
robbing  the  country  of  effective  men, 
and  separating  relatives  of  worldly  ser- 
vice to  each  other.  Indeed  they  openly 
called  it  (according  to  our  modern  lan- 
guage) crimping  and  kidnapping  A 
When  they  did  patronize  them,  it  was 
for  the  reason  assigned  by  Henry  IV. 
in  Shakespeare,  who  says,  that  to  avoid 
being  dethroned,  I 

"  —  had  a  purpose  now 
To  lead  out  many  to  the  Holy  Land, 
Lest  rest  and  lying  still  might  make  them  look 
Too  near  into  my  state  :" 

an  idea  which,  by  the  way,  was  sug- 
gested from  iElian,e  and  Justin,  who 
relates  the  same  of  Dionysius  the  Ty- 
rant. 

An  obligation  to  enter  either  of  the 
military  orders  was  substituted  for  the 
punishment  of  exile.  William  de  Berke- 
ley, 56  Henry  III.  came  before  the 
King,  then  at  the  Tower  of  London, 
and  promised  to  render  himself  into 
the  religion  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  or 
of  the  Templars,  before  the  15  th  Pasch. 
in  that  year,  and  to  go  towards  Jerusa- 
lem, or  to  any  other  place   out  of  the 


M.  Paris,  604.         b  Du  Cange,  v.  Inoletivus. 
Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  491 »  d  Id.  492. 

L.  ix.  c.  25. 


kingdom  of  England,  as  he  should  be 
directed  by  the  brethren  of  that  order, 
never  afterwards  to  return  into  Eng- 
land, and  thereof  took  his  oath,  and  put 
in  fourteen  sureties  to  perform  the 
same:  which  banishment  was  occa- 
sioned by  his  former  insurrections/ 
This  record  is  important,  because  it 
shows  of  what  persons  these  Orders 
were  chiefly  composed,  probably  of 
desperate  malcontents,  and  explains 
much  of  their  history. 

Thomas  Lord  Berkeley,  who  died  in 
1321,  having  made  a  vow  to  go  to  the 
Holy  Land,  his  son  Maurice  gave  £100 
to  Sir  John  Veel  to  go  in  his  stead,  and 
thus  absolve  his  father's  vow.s  These 
vows  were  also  redeemed,  especially  in 
relation  to  old  men,  invalids,  women, 
the  infirm,  and  children,  for  money, 
through  preaching  of  the  Friars."  The 
reason  was,  that,  unless  the  papal  ab- 
solution was  obtained^  death  was  pre- 
sumed to  result  from  non-performance 
of  the  vow.1  The  Pilgrims  themselves, 
by  their  own  weariness  of  the  Crusades, 
no  doubt  discouraged  the  people.  In 
1192,  when  King  Richard  had  held  a 
council  concerning  the  Siege  of  Jerusa- 
lem, he  was  dissuaded,  among  other 
reasons,  because  it  would  require  a 
strong  garrison  to  keep  it,  and  the 
people  were  very  desirous  of  finishing 
their  pilgrimage,  and  returning  to  their 
own  country :  some  actually  did  so, 
even  before  the  business  was  completed 
of  delivering  the  Holy  Land.k  Pil- 
grimages to  Jerusalem  were  turned  to 
great  advantage  in  some  instances. 
About  1520,  one  Mabon,  Dean  of  Jer- 
sey, made  the  journey,  and  after  return 
contrived,  by  lengthening  the  East  end 
of  a  Chapel,  and  excavating  a  place 
under  the  altar,  to  form  a  representa- 
tion of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  He  then 
"  feigned  visions  and  apparitions  in 
this  place,"  by  which  he  got  numerous 


f  Hill,  placit  56  Hen.  III.  rot.  18.     Smythe's 
MSS. 

e  Smythe's  Berkeley  MSS.  328. 

h  M.  Paris,  502. 

5   Erasm.  IXGYO^AriA.     Colloq.  412. 

k  Trivet,  i.  120,  123. 


CRUSADERS. 


343 


offerings  to  be  made  there  ;  and  consi- 
derable profit  to  himself ,a  It  is  pro- 
bable, that  the  clerical  pilgrims  turned 
their  tours  to  good  account  in  various 
ways. 

Lastly,  when  the  Christians  began  to 
grow  lukewarm  upon  the  subject  of 
these  Jerusalem  expeditions,  the  Mos- 
lems took  it  up,  and  recommended  a 
pilgrimage  there  to  the  Mosque  Alarsa, 
as  prayers  said  in  that  Mosque  ob- 
tained expiation  of  sins,  and  other  spi- 
ritual advantages.11  It  must,  however, 
always  be  an  interesting  tour ;  and  the 
recent  destruction  by  fire  of  the  Church 


a  Falle's  Jersey,  271.     Ed.  Morant. 

b  See  an  exhortation  to  souls,  upon  a  pilgrimage 
to  Jerusalem,  by  Bourhan  Eddin  Alkazaoni,  MS. 
BibL  Nation.  Notices,  iii.605. 


of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  is  to  be  seriously 
regretted  upon  many  accounts. 

Monks  were  not  allowed  to  take  the 
Cross.  An  Abbot,  named  Edmund, 
says  Matthew  Paris,0  to  the  derision  of 
every  body,  in  violation  of  his  vows, 
and  injury  of  the  Order,  attempted  a 
most  pernicious  precedent,  by  taking 
the  Cross  to  flatter  the  King. 

After  the  Soldan  of  Babylon  had 
taken  Acre  in  1291,  the  Christians  were 
entirely  driven  out  of  the  Holy  Land, 
and  there  was  not  a  single  place  left 
where  troops  could  land. 

Pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  Land,  as  a 
general  fashion,  ceased  with  us  about 
the  time  of  Henry  V. 


P.  671,  696, 


344 


RETURN    HOME.— PALMERS. 


CHAPTER  VIII, 


RETURN    HOME. PALMERS. 


Pilgrims  returned  from  the  Holy 
Land  by  whole  ship-loads  at  a  time, 
and  were  then  called  Pahniferi.*-  When 
they  began  their  journey,  they  went 
with  scrip  and  staff;  but  after  they  had 
accomplished  their  pilgrimage,and  when 
they  were  onthe  point  of  returninghome, 
they  cut  off  branches  of  palm-trees, 
which  are  common  in  Palestine,  and 
brought  them  home.  On  their  arrival 
they  went  to  Church  to  thank  God  for 
the  happy  success  of  their  Pilgrimage, 
and  for  the  proof  of  the  fulfilment  of 
their  vows,  proffered  the  Palms  to  the 
Priests,  who  placed  them  upon  the 
Altar.b  Durand  gives  another  reason. 
They  who  come  from  Jerusalem  carry 
a  palm  in  their  hands,  for  a  sign  that 
they  fought  for  the  King,  who  was  ho- 
nourably received  in  Jerusalem  with 
palms,  and  afterwards  there  fought  a 
victorious  battle  with  the  Devil.  That 
the  Jerusalem  Pilgrims  returned  into 
their  own  countries  with  a  palm,  many 
writers  attest,  but  they  chiefly  used  the 
Palmajuncta.  When  they  came  home 
they  were  received  with  an  ecclesiastick 
procession.0 

Erasmus  says,  they  who  have  been 
at  Jerusalem  are  called  Knights,  style 
each  other  Brethren,  and  seriously 
practise  a  ridiculous  ceremony  on  Palm 
Sunday,  i.  e.  drag  along  a  wooden  ass 
with  a  rope.  The  Compostella  Pil- 
grims imitated  this.d  I  presume  that 
the  Host,  or  Crucifix,  or  figure  of 
Christ,  was  placed  upon  the  ass,e  to 
complete  the  allusion  to  the  Hosanna 
procession. 

Somner,  in  his  Glossary  to  the  De- 
cern Scriptores/  says,  "That  Pilgrim, 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Palmifer. 

b  Du  Cange.     Diss,  sur  Joinville,  15,  p.  152. 

c  Id.  v.  Palmarius.     d  De  Colloq.  Utilit.  p.  653, 

c  See  Antiquitates  Vulgares. 

{  Du  Cange,  v.  Palmarius, 


whom  our  countrymen  commonly  call 
a  Palmer,  the  name  which  they  are  ac- 
customed to  take  from  staves  s  or 
branches  of  palm.  But  a  Pilgrim  and 
a  Palmer,  according  to  some,  remark- 
ably differ  in  these  respects  :  a  Pilgrim 
has  a  fixed  residence ;  a  Palmer  none  : 
a  Pilgrim  goes  to  a  certain  and  prefixed 
place ;  a  Palmer  to  none  in  particular, 
but  to  all :  a  Pilgrim  goes  at  his  own 
expence  ;  a  Palmer  professes  voluntary 
poverty :  a  Pilgrim  can  renounce  his 
profession ;  a  Palmer  never,  unless  he 
had  first  obtained  the  palm,  i.  e.  con- 
quered his  spiritual  enemies  by  death." 
It  is  certain  that  a  Palmer  distinguished 
a  Pilgrim  to  Jerusalem  from  another. 
Thus  Giraldus  Cambrensis  :  "Asseruit 
ipsos  de  Gisortii  partibus  esse  et  pal- 
miferos  omnes,  et  Sepulchri  Dominici 
peregrinos  ;  preeter  Archidiaconum  so- 
lum, quern  de  Roma  venientem  Papise 
primo  repereunto/"  n 

There  is  no  reason  to  dispute  the  fact 
that  there  were  persons  who  vowed 
perpetual  (rather  a  long)  pilgrimage  and 
poverty,  and  ended  their  days  in  a 
hermitage  ;  and  who  also,  having  been 
to  Jerusalem  and  returned,  were  thus 
Palmers ;  but  to  say  that  they  became 
Palmers  from  the  first  vow,  is  an  erro- 
neous distinction.1  Henry,  Emperor  of 
Germany,  repenting  that  he  had  impri- 
soned his  own  Father  and  the  Pope,  left 
(as  it  is  said)  his  kingdom  in  a  Pilgrim's 
habit,  and  became  a  hermit  at  Chester, 
under  the  name  of  Godstall.k 

A  Pilgrim  and  Palmer  of  the  above 


%  Of  these  Staves,  see  the  Chapter  of  Costumes, 
p.  315. 

h  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  594. 

'  Tyrwhitt  (Gloss.  Chaucer)  defines  Palmers  by- 
Pilgrims  to  foreign  parts.  It  is  incorrect.  The 
palm  denoted  Jerusalem  Pilgrims.  The  Veronique, 
orVernicle,  Pilgrims  to  Rome.  The  Escallops  to 
Compostella,     See  Introduction,  p.  317. 

k  Angl.  Sacr.i.  270,  271. 


RETURN    HOME. — PALMERS. 


345 


description  was  also  the  famous  Guy, 


Earl  of  Warwick 


,    concerning   whom 
Knighton,  who  lived 


m 


an  age  when 


these  matters  were  quite  common,  uses 
the  term  Pilgrim  and  Palmer  indiscri- 
minately. He  had  returned  from  the 
Holy  Land,  but  before  his  hour  of  re- 
freshment, visited  all  the  Churches 
of  the  City  to  pray ;  and  afterwards, 
when  his  peregrinations  were  ceased, 
came  to  Warwick,  and  lived  there  as  a 
hermit,  unknown  to  his  wife,  Felicia, 
to  whom  he  did  not  discover  himself 
till  his  death.a 

Of  the  journey  and  return  of  a  less 
rigid  Pilgrim  we  have  the  following  ac- 
count. William  de  Mandeville,  Earl 
of  Essex,  took  the  cross,  and,  after 
procuring  suitable  necessaries,  took 
with  him  a  retinue,  and  among  them  a 
chaplain  to  perform  divine  offices.  For 
all  these  he  kept  a  daily  table,  but  be- 
fore he  set  out,  went  to  Gilbert  Bishop 
of  London  for  his  license  and  benedic- 
tion. These  were  of  course  granted, 
and  he  passed  as  far  as  Rome,  over 
France,  Burgundy,  and  the  Alps,  leav- 
ing his  horses  at  Mantua.  He  visited 
every  holy  place  at  Jerusalem,  and  on 
his  route ;  made  his  prayers  and  offer- 
ings at  each,  and  so  returned.  Upon 
his  arrival  he  made  presents  of  silk 
cloths  to  all  the  Churches  of  his  See, 


Decern  Scriptores,  2322.     Leland,  &c. 


for  copes  or  coverings  of  the  Altars. 
The  Monks  of  Walden  met  him  in  pro- 
cession in  albs  and  copes^  singing, 
"  Blessed  is  he  who  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord ;"  and  the  Earl  com- 
ing to  the  High  Altar,  and  there  pros- 
trating himself,  the  Prior  gave  him  the 
benediction.  After  this  he  rose ;  and 
kneeling,  offered  some  precious  relicks 
in  an  ivory  box,  which  he  had  obtained 
in  Jerusalem  and  elsewhere.  This  of- 
fering concluded,  he  rose  and  stood 
before  the  Altar,  the  Prior  and  Convent 
singing  Te  Deum.  Leaving  the  Church, 
he  went  to  the  Chapter  to  give  and  re- 
ceive the  kiss  of  peace  from  the  Prior 
and  Monks.  A  sumptuous  entertain- 
ment followed  for  himself  and  his  suite; 
and  the  succeeding  days  were  passed  in 
visits  to  relatives  and  friends,  who  con- 
gratulated him  upon  his  safe  return.b 

The  Pilgrims  upon  their  return  from 
Jerusalem,  used  to  present  their 
Scrips  and  Bourdons  to  their  Parish 
Churches.0 

Coryatt  says,  that  he  saw  cockle  and 
muscle  shells,  and  beads,  and  other  re- 
ligious relicks,  hung  up  over  the  door 
of  a  little  chapel  in  a  nunnery.d  These 
were  deposits  and  offerings  made  by 
Pilgrims  to  Compostella,  when  they  re- 
turned and  gave  thanks.  See  Costumes, 
p.  317. 


b  Dugd.  Monast.  i.  452,  453. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Spera.  A  Crudities,  i.  18. 


346 


PILGRIMAGES    OF    PUNISHMENT    AND    PENANCE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


PILGRIMAGES    OF    PUNISHMENT    AND    PENANCE. 


Pilgrimages  of  punishment  are  or- 
dered in  the  Canons  of  Patrick,  in 
Ware,  and  the  laws  of  our  Henry  I.  A 
Priest  revealing  a  confession  is  to  re- 
pent in  disgrace,  by  a  Pilgrimage  for 
life :  a  Pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land 
within  two  years  is  directed  for  the  soul 
of  a  murdered  person.  Other  Pilgrim- 
ages might  be  redeemed  for  money. a 

In  1284,  John  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury gave  the  Cross  to  one  of  the  Ca- 
nons of  Dunstable  for  his  irregularities, 
and  by  the  authority  allowed  to  Cru- 
saders, absolved  him  from  his  bad  be- 
haviour, provided,  in  his  expedition,  he 
could  redeem  himself,  as  far  as  he  could 
get  money  from  his  own  chamber  or 
his  friends,  without  hurting  the  Mo- 
nastery^ 

Some  Monks  having  borrowed  money 
from  a  certain  Burgess,  delivered  him 
the  curtains  of  the  church  in  pawn. 
Afterwards,  at  the  festival  of  the  Holy 
Virgin,  the  Monks  asked  him  to  lend 
them  the  curtains,  that  the  church 
might  not  be  without  its  usual  orna- 
ment, promising  to  return  them  after 
the  festival.  The  man  refused,  because 
his  wife  had  recently  laid  in,  and  the 
curtains  were  put  around  her  bed,  and 
could  not  be  removed.  The  Virgin 
Mary  appeared  to  the  woman,  in  pu- 
nishment of  her  impiety,  and  after  me- 
nacing death  to  her  child  and  husband, 
ordered  her  to  go  to  her  church  in 
Bethlehem,  and  having  beheld  the 
three  sepulchres  there,  to  choose  one  for 
herself:  but  she  got  absolution  by  papal 
means.0 

In  the  famous  romance  of  Reynard 
the  Fox,  an  heroi-comick  poem,  writ- 
ten by  Pierre  de  St.  Cloud  in  the  thir- 


a  Da  Cange,  v.  Peregrinatio. 
b  Bibl.  Topograph.  Brit.  viii. 
'-  Trivet,  30. 


126. 


teenth  century,d  Reynard  is  condemned 
to  die  for  his  sins,  and,  being  without 
resource,  begs  to  take  the  Cross,  and 
in  expiation  of  his  sins,  to  visit  the 
holy  places  beyond  sea.  The  Lion 
answers,  that  these  foreign  Pilgrimages 
have,  as  yet,  reformed  nobody  :  that  he 
knew  even  people  who  had  gone  out 
good,  return  bad :  and  as  to  the  delin- 
quent, there  was  no  hope  of  his  reform 
by  going  to  the  Holy  Land,  as  he  would 
return  just  as  bad  as  before.  Upon 
condition,  however,  that  the  Crusade 
should  be  for  life,  consent  is  granted. 
The  cross  is  then  put  upon  his  shoul- 
ders, the  scarf  and  bourdon  are  brought 
to  him,  and  he  is  told,  that  if  he  dies, 
he  will  go  directly  into  Paradise,  Those, 
whom  he  had  offended,  pardon  him 
and  advise  him  to  repent.  The  hypo- 
crite promises  every  thing,  while  his 
only  object  is  to  escape.  They  let  him 
go,  and  he  immediately  insults  and  in- 
jures his  benefactors.  e 

Of  these  Pilgrimages  for  punishment, 
some  were  greater,  some  less.  Those 
which  were  greater  were  directed  to  St. 
James's,  Rome,  or  Jerusalem :  the 
smaller  to  visiting  the  Oratories,  within 
the  Province  or  Kingdom.  The  Pil- 
grimage was,  according  to  the  crimes, 
harder  or  lighter.  They  who  had  com- 
mitted great  crimes,  as  homicide,  for 
instance,  were  bound  to  carry  iron 
chains/  through  the  holy  places,  until 
they  were  liberated.  In  an  ancient 
Manuscript  Consuetudinal,  it  appears, 
that  this  custom  prevailed  in  the  inte- 
rior parts  of  France,  that  whoever  had 
killed  his  next  relative  with  the  sword, 
and  afterwards  repenting,  should  relate 


d  lam  aware  that  Mr.  Douce  assigns  it  an  earlier 
origin,  &c. 

e  Notices  des  MSS.  a  Paris,  v.  303,  304. 

f  A  knight  with  iron  chains  is  engraved  in  the 
Frontispiece  of  Strutt's  Dresses,  vol.  i. 


PILGRIMAGES    OF    PUNISHMENT    AND    PENANCE. 


347 


his  crime  to  the  Priest,  by  direction  of 
the  latter  was  to  have  the  sword  made 
into  an  iron  chain;  and  the  chain 
closely  bound,  around  his  neck,  belly, 
and  arms,  and  so  be  expelled  from  his 
own  country  and  native  soil.  In  the 
mean  time,  until  the  divine  mercy 
should  order  these  chains  to  be  loos- 
ened, he  should  be  compelled  to  travel 
first  to  Rome,  and  afterwards,  through 
the  different  places,  to  ask  pardon  of 
the  saints. a 


It  was  customary  to  impose  for  pe- 
nance the  wearing  an  iron  ring  upon 
the  arm,  which  was  not  to  be  laid  aside, 
till  after  many  Pilgrimages  to  the  se- 
pulchres of  saints,  and  the  rings  were 
loosed  by  some  miracle.*5 

Of  these  Pilgrimages  for  punish- 
ment, that  of  Robert  the  Devil  is  very 
curious  and  entertaining,  on  account  of 
the  penance : 


"  The  hermite  with  that  shortlye  did  awake 
And  called  Robert,  and  spaeke  to  him, 
And  saide  heare  now  the  pennaunce  that  ye  shall  take, 
God  commaundeth  thee  to  counterfet  a  foole  in  all  thinge, 
Meat  none  to  eate  without  a  dogge  do  yt  bringe 
To  the  in  his  mouth,  then  must  thou  yt  eate. 
No  worde  to  speake,  but  as  domb  ever  beinge, 
With  dogges  every  night  also  thou  must  sleepe. 

*??  *?r  *j*  •??  ^ 

Then  poore  Robert  departed  fro  the  hermyte 

And  blessed  hym  and  agayne  went  to  Rome 

For  to  do  hys  pennaunce  in  the  strete, 

And  whan  that  he  thether  was  come, 

Like  as  he  had  ben  a  foole  he  dyd  ronne 

And  lepte  and  daunced  from  one  syde  to  another, 

Many  folke  laughed  at  him  soone 

And  wende  he  had  bene  a  foole,  they  knewe  non  other. 

Boyes  folowed  hym  throughe  the  strete 
Castynge  styekes  and  stones  at  hym, 
And  some  with  roddes  his  bodye  dyd  beate, 
The  children  made  great  shoutes  and  cryenge, 
B urges  of  the  cyttie  at  Robert  laye  laughynge 
Out  of  theyr  wyndowes  to  se  him  playe, 
The  boyes  threwe  dyrte  and  myre  at  him, 
Thus  continued  Robert  manye  a  daye. 

Thus  he  played  the  foole  on  a  season, 

He  came  on  a  tyme  to  the  Emperours  courte, 

And  sawe  that  the  gate  stood  all  open, 

Robert  ranne  into  the  hall  and  beganne  to  worke, 

So  daunced  and  lept  and  aboute  so  starte, 

At  the  last  the  Emperoure  had  pyttie  on  hym, 

Howe  he  taere  hys  clothes  and  gnew  his  shyrte, 

And  bade  a  servaunte  meate  hym  for  to  bringe. 

Thys  servaunte  brought  Robert  plentye  of  meate 
So  proferde  hyt  him  and  saide  go  dyne, 
Robert  sate  styll  he  woulde  not  eate, 
Yet  God  wotte  his  belly  greate  pyne. 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Peregrinatio. 


b  Id.  v.  Circuit  ferrei . 


, 


348  PILGRIMAGES    OF    PUNISHMENT    AND    PENANCE. 

At  last  tliemperour  sayde  yonder  is  a  hounde  of  mine, 
And  bade  hys  servaunte  throwe  him  a  bone, 
So  he  dyd,  and  when  Robert  yt  had  spyne, 
Alack  thought  Robert  he  shall  not  eate  it  alone.a 

He  lepte  from  the  table  and  with  the  dogge  faught, 

And  all  for  to  have  the  bone  awaye, 

The  Hounde  at  the  last  by  the  fyngers  him  caught, 

So  stylle  in  his  mouth  he  kept  hys  praye. 

When  Robert  sawe  that,  downe  he  laye 

The  dogge  gnewe  the  one  ende  and  Robert  the  other. 

The  Emperour  laughed  when  he  that  sawe, 

And  sayde  the  dogge  and  he  fought  harde  together. 

The  Emperour  sawe  that  he  was  hongrye, 

And  bade  to  throwe  the  dogge  a  hole  lofe, 

Whan  Robert  sawe  that  he  was  glad  greatelye, 

For  to  lose  his  parte  he  was  right  lothe. 

And  again  to  the  dogge  he  goeth, 

So  brake  the  lofFe  asonder  and  to  the  hounde 

He  gave  the  one  halfe  to  say  the  sothe 

And  eate  the  other,  as  the  dogge  dyd  on  the  grounde. 

The  Emperoure  saide,  syth  that  I  was  borne 

Sawe  I  never  a  more  foole  natural], 

Nor  such  an  ydeot  sawe  I  never  beforne 

That  had  lever  eate  that,  that  to  the  dogge  did  fall 

Rather  then  that  that  was  proffered  hym  in  the  hall, 

Than  Robert  toke  hys  staffe  and  smote  at  forme  and  style, 

What  sorowe  was  in  his  hearte  they  knewe  not  all, 

These  men  were  gladde  to  see  hym  playe  the  foole  b 

At  the  last  Robert  went  into  a  garden 

And  there  he  founde  a  fayre  fountayne, 

He  was  a  thurst,  and  whan  he  had  dronken 

He  went  in  to  hys  dogge  agayne 

To  folowe  hym  ever  he  was  fayne 

Thus  under  a  stayre  at  nyht  laye  the  hounde, 

And  ever  his  pennaunce  Robert  did  not  dysdayne, 

Alwaye  hys  bed  was  with  the  dogge  on  the  grounde. 

Whan  the  Emperoure  espyed  hym  lye  there, 

Fett  hym  a  bed  to  a  man  dyd  he  saye, 

And  lett  yt  be  layed  for  hym  under  the  stayre, 

So  they  dyd  and  Robert  poynted  as  naye, 

And  woulde  have  them  to  beare  the  bed  awaye. 

Then  they  fett  hym  an  arme  full  of  strawe, 

And  thereupon  by  hys  dogge  he  laye, 

All  men  marveyled  that  yt  sawe. 

Much  myrthe  and  sporte  he  made  ever  amonge, 

Arid  as  the  Emperoure  was  at  dyner  on  a  daye 

A  Jue  sate  at  the  borde,  that  great  rowme  longe 

In  that  house  beare,  and  was  receyved  all  waye. 

Than  Roberte  hys  dogge  toke  in  hys  amies  in  faye 

And  touched  the  Jue,  and  he  over  hys  sholder  loked  backe, 

a  Roberte  the  Devyll,  a  Metrical  Romance,  from  an  ancient  illuminated  Manuscript,  p.  35. 
b  Ibid.  p.  36. 


PILGRIMAGES    OF    PUNISHMENT    AND    PENANCE, 


349 


Robert  set  the  dogges  [tail]  to  hys  mowth  without  naye, 
Full  soore  the  Emperoure  loughe,  whan  he  sawe  that.a 

Robert  sawe  a  bryde  that  shoulde  be  maryed 

And  soone  he  toke  her  by  the  hande 

So  into  a  foule  donge  myxen  he  her  caryed 

And  in  the  myre  he  let  her  stande. 

The  Emperoure  stoode  and  behelde  hym  longe, 

At  the  last  Robert  toke  a  quyckeb  catte 

And  ranne  into  the  kechyn  amonge  the  thronge 

And  threwe  her  quycke  into  the  beefe  potte. 

Lordes  and  barons  loughe  that  they  could  not  stande 
To  see  hym  make  myrth  withoute  harme, 
They  sayd  he  was  the  meryest  in  all  that  lande." 


A  very  singular  custom  prevailed  in 
some  Pilgrimages  of  Penitence.  Cer- 
tain Penitents  imposed  upon  them- 
selves the  penance  of  receiving  blows 
with  ferules,  upon  the  palms  of  their 
hands :  which  they  commuted  by  strik- 
ing the  ground  instead.  Peter  Damian 
mentions  a  man  who  wore  an  iron 
corslet  next  his   skin,  had  iron   rings 


around  his  limbs,  with  difficulty  per- 
formed his  Metaneas  [penitential  in- 
clinations], and  very  often  dashed  the 
palms  of  his  hands  upon  the  pavements 
In  Strutt^s  Dresses  is  a  female  Pilgrim, 
lying  on  the  ground,  apparently  to  per- 
form this  penance. d 

a  Robert  the  Devyll,  &c.  p.  37.  b  Alive. 

e  Du  Cange,  v.  Palmata.  d  PI.  cxxxiv. 


350 


PILGRIMAGES    TO    ROME. 


CHAPTER  X. 


PILGRIMAGES    TO    ROME. 


Lewis,  in  his  Life  of  Caxton,  p.  77? 
says,  "  About  709,  an  odd  and  surpris- 
ing opinion  of  the  merit  and  holiness 
of  pilgrimages  to  Rome,  wonderfully 
prevailed  among  the  English,  insomuch 
that  all  ranks  and  degrees  of  every  sex 
and  age  of  the  people  of  this  nation 
travelled  to  Rome,  and  placed  a  mighty 
confidence  in  visiting  the  tombs  of  the 
Apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and  of 
such  other  holy  men,  &e.  as  had  there 
suffered  for  the  sake  of  Christ.  The 
consequence  of  this  was,  that  about  the 
middle  of  this  century,  this  humour  so 
far  increased,  that  the  English  Nuns 
ran  to  Rome ;  and  there  were  so  many 
lewd  women  of  the  English  nation 
abroad  in  Lombardy,  France,  &c.  that 
Boniface,  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  com- 
plained of  them  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  and  recommended  to  him 
the  suspension  of  this  practice  of  pil- 
grimaging, as  of  very  bad  and  scandal- 
ous consequence."  a 

The  general  reason  for  Pilgrimages 
to  Rome  in  the  whole  Middle  Age  was 
to  obtain  absolution  from  the  Pope. 
There  were  however  exceptions. 

The  Noble  Anglo-Saxons  went  there 
with  immense  retinues  on  horseback, 
for  the  purpose  only  of  praying  to  the 
Holy  Apostles  there.b 

Petrarch  thus  explains  this  appella- 
tion :  "  What  pleasure/'  says  he,  "  is 
it  for  a  Christian  to  behold  a  town  ce- 
mented by  the  blood  of  the  Martyrs ; 
built,  in  some  fashion,  of  their  bones 
and  nerves ;  to  contemplate  the  image 
of  our  divine  Master,  the  sacred  ves- 
tiges of  the  feet  of  his  Apostle,  engrav- 
ed in  the  rock ;  the  tombs  of  the  Saints, 
the  chambers  of  the  Apostles,  and  all 
the  precious  remains  of  incipient  Chris- 
tianity which  it  contains  in  its  bosom."  c 

a  Dibdin's  Typographical  Antiquit.  i.  176. 

b  Anglia  Sacra,  ii.  79. 

c  Mcmoires  pour  la  Vie  de  Petrarque,  i.  284. 


The  Limina  Apostolorum  were  churches 
of  the  Apostles,d  or  their  bodies  buried 
in  chapels  of  the  great  Church.e  Stuke- 
ley  makes  the  Limina  Apostolorum  the 
subterraneous  oratory  of  St.  Peter's, 
Rome.f 

The  British  and  Irish  Saints  also 
made  this  Pilgrimage,  and  called  at  the 
eminent  Abbies  upon  their  return.^ 

The  Pilgrims  to  Rome  were  called 
Romei  and  Romipetce,  but  Romipeta- 
gium  was  a  term  not  confined  to  this 
pilgrimage,  but  extended  to  others.11 

It  was  a  favourite  destination  for 
voluntary  penitentiary  pilgrimages.  In 
the  Romance  of  Reynard  the  Fox, 
Reynard,  become  old,  feels  some  re- 
morse for  the  errors  of  his  life,  and 
wishes  in  penitence  to  go  in  pilgrimage 
to  Rome.  But  meeting  with  some  un- 
pleasant incidents  upon  his  road,  he 
returns  home  convinced,  that  he  may 
be  as  honest  a  man  in  his  own  house 
as  in  running  to  strange  countries.1 

Jubilees  drew  numerous  pilgrims  to 
partake  of  the  Indulgences^  The  cele- 
brated John  Talbot,  Earl  of  Shrews- 
bury, when  released  from  imprison- 
ment by  the  French  King,  did  not  use 
his  liberty  to  take  up  arms  again,  but 
went  to  Rome  to  profit  by  the  indul- 
gences of  the  Jubilee.1 

These  indulgences  were  plenary  re- 
mission of  all  sins.  The  concourse  of 
pilgrims  was  prodigious,  nearly  a  mil- 
lion, in  the  Jubilee  of  1350.  All  the 
inhabitants  of  Rome  turned  Innkeep- 
ers ;  and  made  the  Pilgrims  pay  dear 
for  the  support  of  themselves  and  their 
horses.     As  the  strangers  came  from 

d  Du  Cange.  c  Id.  v.  Capellani. 

1  Iter  Boreale,  p.  62. 
s  Anglia  Sacra,  ii.  635. 
h  Du  Cange,  v.  Romipeta. 
1  MS.  Biblioth.  Nation.  Notices,  v.  311. 
k  Memoires  pour  la  Vie  de  Petrarch,  i.  103. 
1  Conquete   de   la   Normandie,    MS.    per   Rob. 
Blondel.     Notices,  vi.  92. 


PILGRIMAGES    TO    ROME. 


351 


all  countries,  and  for  the  most  part 
knew  only  their  mother  tongues,  they 
were  obliged  to  employ  interpreters, 
in  confession,  who  published  what  they 
had  heard,  unless  they  were  hand- 
somely paid  for  silence.  This  abuse 
occasioned  the  establishment  of  Peni- 
tentiaries who  understood  the  lan- 
guages.3 

In  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  Cen- 
tury, it  was  an  established  custom  to 
make  pilgrimages  to  Rome  from  all 
parts  of  the  Christian  world,  in  order 
to  see  the  portrait  of  Christ.  Petrarch 
says,  that  even  old  men  made  this  tour 
with  impatience.  Two  portraits  were 
exhibited,  which  equally  excited  the 
curiosity  of  the  devout. 

One  was  the  Veronique,h  a  handker- 
chief, which  a  Jewish  woman  is  pre- 
tended to  have  thrown  over  the  face  of 
Christ,  when  he  was  carrying  his  cross, 
in  order  to  wipe  off  the  blood  and 
sweat,  with  which  it  was  covered.  His 
portrait  remained  impressed  upon  it. 
It  was  brought  to  Rome,  as  affirmed, 
under  the  empire  of  Tiberius,  but  Ma- 
rianus  Scotus,  an  author  of  the  eleventh 
Century,  is  the  first  who  mentions  it. 
It  used  to  be  kept  at  the  Church  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  but  Boniface  VIII. 
removed  it  to  St.  Peter's,  and  placed  it 
between  the  altars  of  St.  James  and 
Mary  Magdalen. 

The  other  was  that  which  appeared 
miraculously    upon    the    top    of    the 


a  Villani,  &c. 

b  See  Tyrwhitt's  Gloss.  Chaucer,  v.  Veronique. 
See  §  Costumes. 


Church  of  St.  John  Lateran,  on  the 
day  upon  which  they  were  celebrating 
the  dedication  of  that  Church,  which 
the  Emperor  Constantine  built  soon 
after  his  Baptism.  It  is  in  Mosaic, 
and  the  history  of  its  appearance  is  pre- 
served in  a  Manuscript  of  this  Church, 
written  on  parchment  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, with  this  title,  "  Discourse  of  the 
Dedication  of  this  Church  of  our  Sa- 
viour." It  is  said,  that  no  fires  have 
ever  injured  it.  Nicholas  IV.  in  re- 
building the  vault  of  the  Church  in 
1291,  placed  there  the  miraculous 
image.  It  was  a  more  stern  and  reve- 
rential portrait0  than  the  Veronique,  as 
appears  from  the  verses  of  Petrarch 
quoted  below  ;d  and  in  1318,  John 
XXTI.  granted  an  indulgence  to  those 
who  went  to  see  this  image,  which  was 
believed  to  have  been  painted  by  di- 
vine hands.e 

The  Pilgrims,  who  for  the  represent- 
ation of  the  Passion,  opened  the  first 
theatre  at  Paris,  brought  there  from 
Italy,  the  taste  and  first  idea  of  the 
Drama.f 


c  In  Duppa's  "  Subversion  of  the  Papal  Govern- 
ment, 17  98,"  p.  20,  is  a  short  account  of  this  head, 
called  "  II  Santo  Volto,''  and  an  engraving  of  it* 
After  exhibition,  it  was  removed  to  the  Chapel  of 
the  Sancta  Sanctorum  at  the  Scala  Santa.  Id. 
p.  30. 

d  Faciemque  agnoscere  Christi, 

Vel  quse  foemineo  servatur  condita  panno, 
Vel  populo  quse  visa  olim  sub  vertice  templi 
Emicuit,  perstatque  minax  horrore  verendo. 

Carm.  1.  2.  Ep.  5. 

e  Memoires  pour  la  Vie  de  Petrarque,  v.  ii.  pp. 
204,  205. 

f  Observat.  surl'Italie,  i.  339. 


352 


PILGRIMAGES    TO    COMPOSTELLA. 


CHAPTER   XL 


PILGRIMAGES    TO    COMPOSTELLA. 


In  the  form  of  bidding  the  beads  on 
the  Sunday,  or,  as  it  was  sometimes 
called,  uThe  Dominical  Prayer  in  the 
pulpit/'  is  the  following  clause  :  "  Also 
ye  shall  pray  for  all  true  Pilgrims  and 
Palmers,  that  have  taken  their  way  to 
Rome,  to  Jerusalem,  to  Saint  Katha- 
rine^, or  to  Saint  James,  or  to  any 
other  holy  place,  that  God  of  his  grace 
give  them  time  and  space  well  for  to 
go  and  to  come  to  the  profit  of  their 
lives  and  souls."  By  this  it  appears, 
that  at  the  time  of  composing  this  form, 
these  were  the  fashionable  pilgrimages. 
In  a  more  ancient  form,  no  particular 
places  or  saints  are  mentioned,  but  this 
clause  is  expressed  as  follows,  a  Ye 
shall  bids  for  hem  that  in  good  ways 
beest  ywent  other  wendyt  other  thenkit 
to  wenthe  her  sins  to  boot,  that  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ward  and  shield 
them  from  all  misadventures,  and  grant 
them  so  going  and  coming,  that  it  be 
him  to  worship,  and  them  in  remission 
of  their  sins,  for  them  and  for  us,  and 
all  christian  folk,"  This  seems  to  inti- 
mate, as  if,  at  the  time  when  this  an- 
cienter  form  was  drawn,  the  Saints 
Katharine a  and  James  of  Compostella 
were  not  in  so  great  request,  or  had  in 
so  much  veneration  as  they  were  after- 
wards.b 

In  the  General  Hist  or  ie  of  Spaine, 
written  in  French  by  Lewis  de  May  erne 
Turquet,  and  translated  into  English  by 
Edward  Grimeston,  Esquire,0  is  the  fol- 
lowing passage.  "  To  this  is  added  the 
finding  out  of  the  Sepulchre  of  the 
Apostle  St.  James,  neere  unto  Iria,  by 
the  Bishop  of  that  place,  called  Theo- 
demir,  at  the  relation  of  two  men,  which 
the  Historie  of  Compostella,  in  Latine, 
calls  Personatos,  that  is  to  say,  masked, 
who  said  they  had  seene  Angels  and 


a  Of  Senein  Italy,  canonized  1461. 
b  Dibdin's  Typographical  Antiq.  i.  175. 
c  London,  fol.  1612. 


torches,  about  the  place  where  his  bodie 
was  found  in  a  coffin  of  marble  in  a 
wood  in  the  year  797>  whereat  the  Spa- 
niards themselves  do  much  wonder, 
seeing  they  find  no  mention  in  their 
Histories  of  S.  James  Sepulcher  in 
Spaine,  in  all  the  time  which  past  since 
his  death,  unto  the  raigne  of  this  Al- 
phonso  :  no  not  in  the  time  of  Miron, 
the  first  Christian  King  of  the  Sueves 
in  Gallicia,  who  first  erected  the  King 
of  the  Gothesj  that  were  Christians, 
nor  yet  since.  It  was  revealed  at  that 
time  by  such  apparitions  to  Theodemir, 
who  believed  it  to  be  the  verie  body  of 
S.  James,  and  so  persuaded  the  King 
D.  Alphonso,  who  was  wonderfull  joy- 
ful thereof,  and  built  a  temple,  endow- 
ing it  with  great  revenues,  taking  this 
manifestation  for  a  singular  favour  of 
God.  The  Spaniards  have  since  made 
him  their  patron  and  protector  of  their 
Countrie,  calling  on  him  in  all  their 
necessities,  especially  in  the  warre. 
Neighbour  Princes  were  amazed  at  this 
relicke  ;  for  we  read  that  Charlemaigne 
(in  whose  times  D.  Alphonso  began  to 
raigne)  being  advertised  of  this  inven- 
tion, posted  thither,  and  afterwards  ob- 
tained from  Pope  Leo  the  Third,  sitting 
at  Rome,  that  the  Episcopal  See  of 
Iria  should  be  removed  to  Compostella, 
under  the  Metropolitane  of  Braga,  from 
the  which  it  was  since  exempt,  as  wee 
will  shew  hereafter.'-5  d 

Lewis,  in  his  Life  of  Caxton,  says, 
"  St.  James  I  take  to  be  St.  James  of 
Compostella  in  Spain  ;  hither,  it  was 
said,  the  bones  or  relicks  of  James,  the 
brother  of  John,  who  was  killed  by 
Herod,  were  translated.  But  it  does 
not  appear  that  much  notice  was  taken 
of  them  till  Calistus  or  Calixtus  II. 's 
time,  who  was  chosen  Pope  of  Rome, 
A.D.  1119.     He  not  only  wrote  a  tract 

d  Pp.  179,  180. 


PILGRIMAGES    TO    COMPOSTELLA. 


353 


of  the  miracles  of  this  saint,  done  at 
Compostella,  but  advised  the  English 
Pilgrims  in  particular  rather  to  go  for 
pilgrimage  to  this  saint  than  to  Rome, 
and  promised  them,  on  account  of  the 
length  of  the  journey,  that  if  they  went 
twice  to  Compostella,  they  should  have 
refunded  to  them  the  same  advantage- 
ous benediction  which  they  had  who 
went  once  to  Rome.a 

In  975  the  Moors  sacked  the  town, 
and  carried  away  the  small  bells  in  the 
steeple  of  the  Church,  the  Spaniards 
saying  "  that  the  Apostle^  s  Sepulchre 
could  not  be  violated,  the  Moors  being 
terrified  with  a  great  light  that  came 
out  of  it/"b  In  1125  it  was  made  an 
Archiepiscopal  See,c  and  long  after, 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  founded  a  hos- 
pital for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  of 
Pilgrims. d 

Cervantes  gives  the  following  inte- 
resting account  of  Pilgrims  in  Spain. 
"He  saw  coming  towards  them  six 
Pilgrims  with  their  staves,  of  that  sort 
which  begs  charity  by  singing.  So 
soon,  therefore,  as  they  approached 
them  they  made  a  lane,  and  raising 
their  voices  together,  began  to  sing  in 
their  language,  though  Sancho  under- 
stood nothing  of  what  they  said,  except 
the  word  charity.  He  offered  them 
food  ;  but  they  replied  that  they  want- 
ed money.  These  Pilgrims  were  well 
provided  with  wine,  &c.  in  their  wal- 
lets, and  were  clothed  in  rochets  or 
mantles  over  their  doublets.  In  giving 
an  account  of  themselves,  they  say, 
that  a  great  number  of  them  were  used 
to  come  to  Spain  yearly,  upon  pretence 
of  visiting  the  holy  places  there,  which 
was  their  Indies,  as  being  productive 
of  most  certain  gain.  They  traverse 
the  whole  country,  and  there  is  not  a 
illage  from  which  they  are  not  dis- 
missed with  a  bellyful  of  meat  and 
drink  and  a  rial  in  money.  Thus  at 
the  end  of  their  pilgrimage,  they  are 
ibove  a  hundred  crowns  in  pocket, 
tt-hich,  being  changed  into  gold,  they 
conceal  in  the  hollow  of  their   staves', 


Dibdin's  Typographical  Antiq.  i.  176. 
General  Historie  of  Spaine,  &c.  p.  215, 
P.  278.  i  P.  917. 


or  in  the  patches  of  their  cloaks,  and 
by  management  thus  carry  off  their 
gains  to  their  own  country,  in  despite 
of  the  guards  at  the  passes  and  gates 
where  they  are  examined  and  regis- 
tered."6 

A  custom  of  two-pence  was  taken 
from  every  person  going  and  returning 
by  the  river  Thames  on  pilgrimage  to 
the  shrine  of  St.  James. f 

In  the  year  11 70  Godrick  returned 
from  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  by  way 
of  Compostella.^  Henry  son  of  Henry 
II.  wished  to  make  this  pilgrimage  to 
escape  from  his  father's  superintend- 
ance,11  and  the  King  himself  sent  Am- 
bassadors to  Spain  stating  his  inten- 
tion of  visiting  Compostella,  and  re- 
questing letters  of  safe  conduct  for  his 
journey  and  return.1  This  was  neces- 
sary ;  for  it  was  a  custom,  at  least  be- 
fore the  prmishrnent  of  them  by  Ri- 
chard I.  for  the  people  of  Serges  and 
Lespurmi  in  Gascony  to  plunder  the 
Pilgrims  going  to  St.  James^s,k  and  the 
privileges  obtained  for  them  by  John 
Mansel  have  been  before  mentioned.1 
In  1386,  when  John  Duke  of  Lancas- 
ter claimed  the  Crown  of  Spain,  he  was 
attended  to  St.  James's  by  vast  num- 
bers of  Pilgrims.™ 

Erasmus  mentions  a  person  in  dan- 
ger of  shipwreck,  who  vowed  a  pilgrim- 
age to  Compostella,  with  bare  feet  and 
head,  only  an  iron  corslet  on  his  body, 
and  begging  his  bread  all  the  way.n 

Godrick,  the  celebrated  hermit,  was 
brought  up  to  business,  and  was  owner 
of  half  of  one  ship  and  a  fourth  of  an- 
other. Thus  sailing  through  different 
countries,  he  carried  on  trade,  and 
made  pilgrimages  at  the  same  time  to 
the  Shrines  of  the  Saints,  and  recom- 
mended himself  to  their  patronage. 
When  engaged,  he  of  course  minded 
his  concerns,  but  when  alone,  he  used 
to  ruminate  upon  the  Lord's  prayer 
and  creed.0     This   custom  of  carrvino- 

J  o 

e  Don  Quixote,  iv.  139-143.  Edit.  Glasg.  1803. 
f  Bayley's  Tower  of  London,  ii.  655. 
s  M.  Paris,  98.         h  Decern  Scriptores,  1110. 
1  Id.  1126.  k  id.  nig. 

1  C.  vi.  m  Knighton,  sub  anno. 

n  Colloquia,  204.  °  M.  Paris,  97. 

2    A 


354 


PILGRIMAGES    TO    COMPOSTELLA. 


on  commerce  and  pilgrimage  at  the 
same  time,  appears  to  have  been  quite 
common  in  the  journies  to  Compos- 
teila.  In  Mr.  Lodge's  Shrewsbury 
Papers,  Thomas  Allen,  writing  to  the 
Earl  of  Shrewsbury  in  1516,  has  the 
following  passage :  "  The  saying  is  her, 
yn  some  places  there  was  a  ship,  fraygth 
in  Tempnes  with  goods  of  the  religion 
of  Saynt  Jamys/'  Upon  this  Mr.  Lodge 
remarks  thus :  "  The  property  of  the 
Pilgrims  to  Compostella  in  Spain,  the 
supposed  burial  place  of  the  Apostle 
St.  James.  Great  numbers  of  these 
went  annually  from  hence,  in  ships  re- 
gularly licensed  for  that  purpose  ;  pre- 
viously binding  themselves  by  an  oath, 
not  to  discover  the  secrets  of  England, 
nor  to  take  more  money  with  them, 
than  might  be  necessary  for  the  ex- 
pences  of  their  journey.  It  should 
seem  from  this  passage,  that  the  origi- 
nal motive  to  pilgrimage  was  now  giv- 
ing way  to  that  spirit  of  traffick  which 
prevailed  in  proportion  to  the  decay  of 
pious  superstition/' a  It  appears  how- 
ever to  have  been  always  held,  that 
the  interchange  of  Commerce  and  Hos- 
pitality was  essentially  necessary  for 
the  propagation  of  the  faith. b 


a  Illustrations  of  British  History,  i.  p.  12. 
h  Solorzanus  de  Indiarum  Jure,  p.  300. 


The  Pilgrims  to  Compostella  went 
by  the  name  of  Jacobita  and  Jacobi- 
pet<s.  There  was  an  hotel  at  Paris,  on 
purpose  for  receiving  the  Pilgrims  on 
the  road  to  St.  James's;  but  the  re- 
venues failing,  it  was  purchased  for  the 
Dominicans.0 

Sir  John  Hawkins  says,  that  the 
Pilgrims  to  St.  James  of  Compostella, 
excavated  a  staff  or  walking  stick  into 
a  musical  instrument  for  recreation  on 
their  journey.d  This  ascription  of  the 
invention  of  the  Bourdon  to  these  Pil- 
grims in  particular  is  very  questionable. 

Erasmus  says,  that  the  Compostella 
Pilgrims,  upon  return,  were  loaded  with 
scallop  shells,  pewter  or  leaden  images, 
chains  of  straw,  and  a  rosary  on  the 
arm.e 

Those,  who  undertook  pilgrimages 
to  St.  James's  shrine  at  Compostella, 
or  to  St.  Peter5  s  at  Rome,  were  distin- 
guished by  the  escallop  shell,  affixed  to 
their  hats  and  cloaks ;  a  badge,  which 
denoted  the  wearer's  intention  of  cross- 
ing the  seas,  and  which  further  re- 
minded him  of  the  occupation  of  those 
Apostles,  as  fishermen.f 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Jacobites. 
d  Hist,  of  Musick,  iv.  139. 
e  Peregrinatio    Religionis  ergo,  inter  Colloquia, 
p.  353. 

f  Taylor's  Ind.  Monast.  pref.  xviii. 


PROVINCIAL    PILGRIMAGES    TO    SHRINES,    WELLS,    &C.  355 


CHAPTER  XII. 


PROVINCIAL    PILGRIMAGES    TO    SHRINES,    WELLS,    &C. 


That  fierce  Puritan  (in  principle)  Sir 
David  Lindsay,  in  the  second  Book  of 
his  Monarchy,  thus  speaks  of  these 
kinds  of  pilgrimage,  in  his  chapter 
ei  Of  Images  used  among  Christian 
Men."  a  After  detailing  the  images  of 
Saints,  and  their  attributes,  he  goes  on, 

{i  All  these  on  altars  stately  stands 
Priests  crying  for  their  offerands  ; 
To  whom  we  commons  on  our  knees 
Do  worship  all  these  imageries 
In  church  or  queer  or  in  the  cl  oyster 
Praying  to  them  our  Pater-noster. 
In  pilgrimage  from  town  to  town 
With  offering  and  adoration, 
To  them  ay  babbling  on  our  beeds 
That  they  may  help  us  in  our  needs, 
What  differs  this,  declare  to  me 
From  the  Gentiles  idolatrie  ? 
If  this  be  true  that  thou  reports 
It  goes  right  near  the  self-same  sorts; 
But  we  by  counsel  of  Clergy 
Have  license  to  make  Imagery J° 

a  P.  64.     Ed.  Glasg.  1754.  12mo. 

b  In  1407,  says  Archbishop  Arundel,  "  Beyonde 
the  sea  are  the  beste  Peynters  that  ever  I  saw. 
And,  Syrs,  I  tell  you  this  is  their  Maner,  and  it  is 
a  goode  Maner.  Whan  that  an  Ymage  maker  shall 
kerve,  caste  in  moulde,  or  peynte  ony  images,  he 
shall  go  to  a  Prieste,  and  shryve  him  as  clene,  as  if 
he  sholde  than  dye,  and  take  Penaunce,  and  make 
some  certeyne  vowe  of  fasting  or  of  praying  or  of 
pilgrimage,  doinge,  praying  the  Priests,  specially 
to  pray  for  hym,  that  he  may  have  grace  to  make  a 
faire,  and  a  devout  ymage/'  (State  Trials,  i.  25. 
col.  2.  ed.  fol.)  The  makers  of  them  were  called 
dnthropoformitai,  and  carried  them  to  fairs  for 
sale.  (Du  Cange.)  Orders  were  ako  given  to  buy 
them  from  abroad,  as  from  Jerusalem,  where  there 
was  a  particular  place  for  selling  them  (M.  Paris, 
176.)  The  crucifix  and  the  Virgin  Mary  were  the 
most  common,  because,  while  the  power  of  other 
Saints  was  limited,  that  of  the  former  extended  to 
all  things  (Catholick  Doctrine  of  the  Church  of 
England,  4to.  1675,  p.  133),  and  the  latter  was 
able  to  attend  her  own  candle,  which,  of  course, 
saved  much  trouble  (Bishop  Jewell's  Reply  to 
Harding,  bl.  lett.  1609.  p.  381).  We  find  images 
of  Christ  in  breeches.  (Da  Cange,  v.  Antiphoneti.) 
Mosheim  says,  that  the  image  of  Mary  and  the 
child  Jesus  obtained  the  first  place  on  account  of 
the  Nestorian  controversy,  Maclaine's  Edit,  i.  258, 
4to. 


Which  of  unlearned  been  the  books 
For  when  the  laicks  on  them  looks, 
It  brings  them  to  remembrance 
Of  Saints  lives  the  circumstance  : 
How  the  faith  for  to  fortify 
They  suffered  pain  right  patiently. 
Seeing  the  image  on  the  rood 
Men  should  remember  on  the  blood 
Which  Christ  into  his  Passion 
Did  shed  for  our  salvation, 
Or  when  thou  seest  the  portraitour 
Of  blessed  Mary  virgin  pure, 
A  pleasant  babe  upon  her  knee,c 
Then  in  thy  mind  remember  thee 
The  word  which  the  prophet  said 
How  she  should  be  both  mother  and 

maid. 
But  who  that  sitteth  in  their  knees 
Praying  to  many  imageries 
With  oration  and  offerands 
Kneeling  with  cup  into  their  hands 
No  difference  been  I  say  to  thee 
From  the  Gentiles  idolatrie. 
Right  so  of  divers  nations 
I  read  the  abominations. 
How  Greeks  made  their  devotion  hail 
To  Mars  to  save  them  in  battel. 
To  Jupiter  some  took  their  voyage 
To  save  them  from  the  stormy  rage  : 
Someprayedto  Venus  from  the  spleen 
That  they  their  lovers  might  obtain  : 
And  some  to  Juno  for  riches 
Their  pilgrimage  they  would  address : 
So  doth  our  common  popular 
Which  were  too  long  for  to  declare, 
Their  superstitious  pilgrimages 
To  many  diverse  images. 

Nicholas  Dovedale,  Prebendary  of 
Clonmethan,  belonging  to  St.  Patrick's, 
Dublin,  in  a  petition  preferred  by  him 
to  parliamentl4thEdw.  IV.  stated,  that 
divers  persons,   aliens,  strangers,   and 


c  So  distinguished  from  our  Lady  of  Pity,  where 
she  is  weeping  over  a  dead  Christ  in  her  lap,  while 
(says  La  Brocquiere,  227)  Kicodemus  was  pre= 
paring  the  tomb. 

2  A   2 


356  PROVINCIAL    PILGRIMAGES    TO    SHRINES,    WELLS,    &C. 


denizens,  did  frequent,  in  considerable 
numbers,  by  way  of  pilgrimage,  the 
Chapel  of  St.  Catharine  the  Virgin 
and  Martyr,  of  Feldstown,  which  was 
appropriated  and  annexed  to  the  Pre- 
bend of  Clonmethan,  being  for  the 
health  and  safety  of  their  souls  and 
accomplishment  of  their  petitions  and 
prayers  ;  those  persons  he  complained 
had  been  at  divers  times  vexed  and 
molested  on  divers  pretences,  by  reason 
of  which  they  were  obliged  to  lay  aside 
said  devotions  and  pilgrimages :  this 
was  a  case  that  peculiarly  interested 
the  feeling  of  such  an  assembly  at  that 
time;  the  parliament  accordingly  or- 
dained, that  the  persons  and  properties 
of  all  such  pilgrims  should,  during  their 
pilgrimage,  be  under  the  protection  of 
the  king,  nor  should  the  person  of  any 
such  be  arrested  on  any  writ  or  autho- 
rity whatever,  for  debt,  treason,  felony, 
or  trespass,  until  said  pilgrimage  should 
be  accomplished ;  provided  that  during 
their  going  thither,  dwelling  there,  and 
returning,  they  did  behave  peaceably  to 
the  king's  liege  subjects ;  they  ordained 
likewise  that  any  officer  who  should 
vex  or  arrest  the  persons,  or  molest 
the  houses  of  such  pilgrims,  contrary  to 
this  statute,  should  forfeit,  for  every 
such  offence,  the  sum  of  twentypounds.a 

Doors  of  chapels  were  ordered  to  be 
left  open  on  particular  holydays,  that 
pilgrims  might  have  free  access  to 
them.b 

The  appearance  and  manners  of  Pil- 
grims, in  these  domestick  peregrina- 
tions, are  admirably  described  in  a  cu- 
rious dialogue,  between,  as  I  think,  a 
captious  disciple  of  the  great  Heresiarch 
(as  Wickliff  was  styled)  and  Arundel, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  the  Fourth.  "  Also,  Sir,  he 
says  I  knowe  well,  that  whan  diverse 
men  and  women  will  go  thus  after  their 
own  wiiles,  and  fmdyng  out  one  pil- 
grimage, they  will  orden  with  them  be- 
fore to  have  with  them,  both  men  and 
women,  that    can  well  synge  wanton 


a  Stat.  Roll.  14  E.    IV.    Mason's   Dublin,  pp. 
33.  34. 

»•  Dugdale'sSt.  Paul's,  p.  91.  ed.  Ellis. 


songes  ;  c  and  some  other  pilgremis  wil* 
have  with  them  bagge  pipes,  so  that 
every  towne  they  come  thro  we,  what 
with  the  noyse  of  their  singyng  and 
with  the  sound  of  their  pipyng,  and 
with  the  jangling  of  their  Canterbury 
bellis,  and  with  barking  out  of  doggis 
after  them,  that  they  make  more  noise 
than  if  the  kinge  came  there  awaye  with 
all  his  clarions,  and  many  other  men- 
strelles.d  And  if  these  men  and  women 
be  a  moneth  in  their  pilgrimage,  many 
of  them  shall  be  an  half-year  after  great 
janglers,  tale-tellers,  and  lyers/' 

The  Archbishop  justifies  part  of  this, 
by  observing,  "  that  pilgremys  have 
with  them  both  syngers,and  also  pipers, 
that  whan  one  of  them  that  goeth  bare- 
foote  striketh  his  too  upon  a  stone,  and 
hurteth  him  sore,  and  maketh  him  to 
blede,  it  is  well-done,  that  he  or  his 
fellow  begyu  than  a  songe,  or  else  take 
out  of  his  bosome  a  bagge-pipe,  for  to 
drive  away  with  soche  myrthe  the  hurte 
of  his  felow.  For  with  soche  solace 
the  travell  and  werinesse  of  pylgremes 
is  lightely  and  merily  broughte  forth  "e 

A  gallant  and  learned  nation  will 
smile  at  the  following  record  of  their 
ancestors.  The  Scotch  Pilgrims  were 
so  notorious  for  lying  and  fabulous  ad- 
ventures, that  to  "  lie  like  a  Scotch- 
man'^ became  a  proverb  :f  but  it  ap- 
pears from  preceding  passages,  that 
Pilgrims  of  other  nations  also  told  lies. 

Heaps  of  stones,  on  which  crosses 
were  erected,  were  laid  together  by 
them  when  they  came  within  view  of 
the  end  of  their  journey,  and  were 
called  Mountjoyes.s  This  term  i(  Mount 
of  the  joy  of  God"  was  certainly  the 
denomination  of  some  heaps  of  stones ; 


c  Love-songs  were  sung  instead  of  psalms.  Du 
Cange,  v.  Amor.  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  (says 
Warton)  translated  the  psalms  for  superseding 
these  amorous  ditties,  but  in  vain.  Juliana  Bernes 
(a  Nun)  published  obscenities. 

d  Even  Noblemen  did  not  travel,  without  a 
trumpeter  preceding.  See  Phillips's  Shrewsbury, 
p.  47.  Of  the  King's  Clarions  and  Minstrels,  see 
Ordinances  of  Royal  Housholds. 

e  State  Trials,  i.  p.  27.  ed.  fol.  1730. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Escotus. 

*  Hutchinson's  Durham,  ii.  p.  312. 


PROVINCIAL    PILGRIMAGES    TO    SHRINES,    WELLS,    &C.  35/ 


and  also  of  little  hills  where  saints  had 
suffered  martyrdom. a 

This  pilgrimage  to  Churches  and 
Shrines  is  the  most  ancient  and  uni- 
versal of  all  the  kinds.  The  feast  of 
the  consecration  of  the  Temples  was 
celebrated  annually  in  Hindostan,  and 
every  temple  dedicated  to  some  parti- 
cular deity.  The  feast  lasted  ten  days, 
and  was  attended  by  Pilgrims  and  of- 
ferings.13 The  parishioners  of  Glaston- 
bury were  told,  that  if  they  did  not  at- 
tend church  and  keep  Dunstan's  day 
as  a  holiday,  but  minded  their  business 
and  labour,  nothing  prosperous  would 
happen  to  them  during  that  year,  or 
they  would  sustain  some  heavy  losses 
in  their  cattle  or  estates.0  At  the  tomb 
of  St.  Teliaus,  among  the  Ancient  Bri- 
tons, the  sick,  it  is  said,  were  often 
healed,  the  blind  restored  to  sight,  and 
the  deaf  made  to  hear ;  wherefore,  says 
his  historian,  celebrate  his  festival, 
with  the  whole  energy  of  your  mind, 
go  to  the  church,  and  according  to  your 
respective  means  give  alms  to  the  poor/1 
It  was  the  custom  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
eera  to  prefer  the  patronage  of  the  saints 
to  all  worldly  matters.e  These  passages, 
while  they  throw  light  upon  the  festival 
of  the  dedication  of  the  church,  show 
the  uncommon  force  of  the  principle 
which  produced  pilgrimages  to  shrines. 
Those  who  could  not  go  abroad  were 
encouraged  to  these  do  me  stick  pil- 
grimages instead.  An  antient  verse, 
about  the  proportion  of  pardons  given 
to  pilgrims  for  these  visits,  says,  that 
two  pilgrimages  to  St.  David's  equalled 
in  merit  one  to  Rome  : 

"Roma  semel  quantum,  bis  dat  Menevia  tantum.!!f 

Pilgrimages  to  Shrines.  The  Canopy 
over  Shrines  called  Mandualis,  whence 
Mantel-piece,  Requies,  Bipa.  &c.  was 
sometimes  so  richly  adorned  with  gold, 
silver,  gems,  and  other  ornaments,  as 
to  make  a  very  brilliant  appearance,  on 
whichaccount.  the  Shrines  were  covered 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Mon-i  Gaudii. 
b  Sketches  of  the  Religion  of  the  Hindoos,  i.  114. 
e  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  231.     d  Id.  666.     e  Eadm.  51. 
{  Fuller's  Church  Hist.  cent.  xii.  p.  24. 


in  Lent.g  Formerly,  in  foreign  coun- 
tries at  least,  a  golden  dove  was  placed 
on  the  top  of  the  canopy, h  and  gifts 
and    offerings   were    hung   round    the 

Shrines.1 

The  form  and  condition  of  the  Shrine, 


id  th 


e  annexation  of  an   image  to  it, 


was  of  importance,  because  such  tombs 
had  greater  privileges  than  plainer  mo- 

l   numents.     Sometimes    offerings   were 

!  made  at  the  tombs  of  persons  not  ca- 
nonized.k 

It  is  observed  of  the  tomb  of  Ralph 
de  Shrewsbury,  fifteenth  Bishop  of 
Bath  and  Wells,  that  he  was  buried  at 
Wells,  between  the  steps  of  the  Choir 
and  the  High  Altar,  in  an  alabaster 
tomb,  and  that  over  his  tomb  was 
placed  an  image  very  like  him.  From 
whence  more  indulgences  were  granted 
to  all  who  visited  the  place  of  his  bu- 

I  rial,  and  prayed  devoutly  for  his  soul.l 
When  the  tombs  of  eminent  saints 
were  visited  for  the  purpose  of  reco- 
vering health,  and  also  in  return  for 
vows,  if  there  remained  any  token  of 
the  disease,  as  congealed  blood,  &c.  it 
was  sometimes  enclosed  in  silver,  paid 
suspended  to  the  shrine  of  the  saint 
who  effected  the  cure.m  St.  Cuthbert^s 
Shrine  at  Durham  had  four  seats  or 
places  convenient  underneath  for  the 
pilgrims  or  lame  men,  sitting  on  their 

|  knees,  to  lean  and  rest  on,  in  the  time 
of  their  devout  offerings  and  fervent 
prayers  to  God  and  holy  St.  Cuthbert, 
for  his  miraculous  relief  and  succour." 
The  old  Gauls  used  to  hang  the  members 
or  feet  of  men  made  of  wood,  or  wool 
stuffed,  upon  consecrated  trees  in  the 
high  roads,  thinking  by  this  means  to 
be  cured  of  divers  diseases  :  and  instead 
of  this  it  is  ordered  in  councils,  that 
persons  should  keep  Yigils  in  the 
Church.0  At  St.  Paul's,'- London,  if 
the  pilgrims  offered  burning  tapers, 
they  were  extinguished,  melted,  and 
the  wax  sold,   and  if  money  or  obla- 


s  Du  Cange,  v.  Ripa,  &c       h  Id.  v.  Pendentia. 
1  Du  Cange,  v.  Sepulehrum. 

k  Taylor's  Index  Monast.  pref.  xviii. 

1  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  569.  m  Id.  i.  648. 

u  Antiq.  of  Durham  by  Patr.  Saunderson,  p.  6. 

0  Du  Cange,  v.  Pervigilhim. 


358  PROVINCIAL    PILGRIMAGES    TO    SHRINES,   WELLS,   &C. 


tions,  were  put  into  an  iron  box,  and 
applied  to  the  use  of  the  Dean  and 
Chapter.3  Porphyry  (de  Abstinentia) 
says,  that  Amasis  substituted  figures  of 
wax  of  the  human  size  for  the  human 
victims  used  at  Ilithyia  near  Latopolis.b 
Solon  made  the  Thesmothetae  or 
guardians  of  the  Laws,  promise  for 
every  law  which  they  broke  to  dedicate 
a  golden  statue  at  Delphi,  of  the  same 
weight  as  themselves.0  These  obser- 
vations may  explain  some  very  curious 
offerings.  It  was  formerly  the  custom 
to  weigh  sick  children  at  the  shrines  or 
sepulchres  of  saints,  and  offer  their 
weight  in  corn,  bread,  or  other  things, 
adding  a  sum  of  money.  Metellus 
mentions  a  person  who  weighed  him- 
self there  in  bread  and  cheese,  which 
he  afterwards  gave  to  the  poor.d  King 
Edward  the  First  offered  his  measure 
in  wax,  to  the  Church  of  Orcheston  in 
Wilts ; e  and  John  Paston's  mother, 
upon  the  sickness  of  her  son,  vowed 
that  she  would  present  an  image  of 
wax  of  the  weight  of  him  to  our  Lady 
of  Walsingham.f  Of  these  offerings 
of  wax  of  the  weight  of  the  person,  the 
anonymous  writer  of  the  Miracles  of  St. 
Thomas,  published  by  Stapleton,  treats 
largely.^  They  appear  to  be,  in  some 
instances,  tapers  of  the  stature  or 
height  of  the  person,11  and  are  called  in 
the  miracles  of  Simon  the  Hermit,  Sta- 
tual  Tapers.  In  the  life  of  St.  Stephen, 
it  is  said,  when  the  above  man  found 
his  oxen  stumble,  fearing  lest  they 
should  die  within  the  house,  he  ordered 
his  wife  to  take  them  far  away,  lest 
they  should  infect  the  other  animals, 
but  his  wife  recommending  ivaxen  sta- 
tuaries to  be  made  for  them,  this  was 
accordingly  clone,  and  the  oxen  led  to 
the  Shrine  of  the  Saint,  and  the  sta- 
tuaries offered.1  When  persons  could 
not  well  tame  or  manage  their  hawks, 
they  sent  waxen  images  of  a  hawk,  or 


*  Dugdale's  St.  Paul's,  p.  14.  ed.  Ellis. 
h  Savary's  Egypt,  ii.  440.     c  Plutarch  in  Solon. 
d  Du  Cange,  v.  Ponderare. 
e  Liber  Garderobee,28  Ed.  I.  p.  34. 
1   Paston  Letters,  iii.  21,  22.        *  C.  23,  37,  63. 
h  Of  twisted  long  tapers,   &c.     See  Du  Cange, 
Longitudo. 
1   Id.  v.  Statualis,  Stalnarius  cereu$,Staiuarium. 


other  prssents,  to  St.  Tibbe  for  better 
success.k  After  the  battle  of  Poitiers, 
when  John  the  French  King  was  taken 
prisoner,  a  taper  was  lit  at  the  Church 
of  Notre  Dame,  before  the  Altar  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  which  burned  without 
ceasing.  It  is  said  to  have  been  rolled 
round  the  circle  of  a  wheel,  and  to 
have  been  as  long  as  the  whole  circum- 
ference of  Paris.1 

Behind  the  Shrine  of  St.  David  are 
two  holes  of  a  circular  form,  in  which 
the  offerings  were  deposited.111  At  St. 
PauFs,  an  iron  box  was  affixed  to  the 
pillar  where  the  image  stood.^ 

It  was  a  common  practice  to  hire  a 
pilgrim  to  visit  a  certain  image,  the 
distance  of  the  journey  being  regulated 
by  the  wealth  or  the  piety  of  the  indi- 
vidual.0 

The  profits  of  these  offerings  were 
sometimes  matters  of  dispute.  Some 
arbitrators  appointed  the  profits  of  the 
Shrine  of  Wulstan  at  Worcester  to  be 
divided  between  the  Bishop  and  Con- 
vent, and  the  former  to  appoint  one 
keeper,  and  the  latter  another.P 

Ladies  made  these  pilgrimages  to 
Shrines  in  all  their  finery,  but  met  with 
a  sad  fate.  In  a  MS.  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  many  miracles  were  wrought 
at  the  Church  of  Roch-madame  in 
France  upon  numerous  ladies  and  che- 
valiers, who  had  washed  their  hair  in 
wine  to  make  it  beautiful  and  glossy, 
and  coming  in  pilgrimage  to  this 
Church,  could  not  enter  the  door  until 
they  suffered  their  tresses  to  be  cut  off; 
and  these  tresses  were  afterwards  hung 
up  in  the  Church,  as  mementos  before 
the  image  of  our  Lady.0- 

Instances  appear  where  the  compa- 
nions or  friends  attendant  upon  a  sick 
man,  if  he  owed  his  recovery  to  the 
presumed  assistance  of  a  Saint,  vowed 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  Shrine  of  that  Saint 
bare-footed   (for   travelling  thither  on 


k  J.  Rous,  p.  71. 

1  Hist,    de  Paris,  i.   fol.    639.      Mem.  de  Pe- 
trarque,  iii.  544. 

m  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Giraldus,  i.  26. 

n  Dugdale's  St.  Paul's,  p.  14. 

0  Taylor's  Index  Monasticus,  pref.  xviii. 

p  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  545. 

i  Strutt's  Dresses,  ii.  242. 


PROVINCIAL    PILGRIMAGES    TO    SHRINES,    WELLS,    &C.         359 


foot  was  deemed  essential),  and  the 
sick  person  himself  made  a  similar  pil- 
grimage and  offerings 

A  Prior  having  been  healed  at  St. 
Edward's  Shrine,  preached  a  sermon 
on  the  feast  of  that  Saint,  (( in  whiche 
he  tolde  of  the  myracle,  ho  we  he  was 
nolle."  b 

Shrines  were  also  visited  before 
taking  a  voyage,  to  have  the  prayers  of 
the  Saints  for  safety,  and  also  upon  de- 
livery from  danger. c 

Sometimes  annual  Pilgrimages  were 
mode  to  certain  Shrines.  "  Ther  was 
a  knyght,  wyche  hadde  a  custome 
every  yere  to  go  a  pylgrimage  unto  the 
bodye  of  Marye  Magdalene/' d 

Women  in  pregnancy  used  to  make 
these  pilgrimages.e  (S  Tho.  (5th)  Lord 
Berkeley  and  his  wife  went  a  kind  of 
pilgrimage  to  divers  religious  houses, 
his  wife  being  then  great  with  child,  or 
newly  delivered  of  her  son  Thomas."  f 

Caxton,  in  the  Epilogue  to  his  Cor- 
dyale,  printed  in  1480,  says,  "  it  is  to 
be  noted,  that  since  the  time  of  the 
great  tribulation  and  adversity  of  my 
said  Lord  [Anthony  Earl  Rivers]  he 
hath  been  full  virtuously  occupied  as 
in  going  of  pilgrimages  to  Saint  James 
in  Galice,  to  Rome,  to  Saint  Bartholo- 
mew, to  Saint  Andrew,  to  Saint  Mat- 
thew, in  the  realme  of  Naples,  and  to 
Saint  Nicholas  de  Bar  in  Puyle  [Apu- 
lia], and  other  divers  holy  places."  e 

These  kinds  of  pilgrimage  were  made 
a  pretence  by  labourers  and  artificers 
to  escape  from  their  hundreds.  In  the 
statute  of  labourers,  anno  1388,  it  is 
enacted,  that  no  servant  or  labourer, 
whether  man  or  woman,  should  depart 
at  the  end  of  his  term,  out  of  his  hun- 
dred, rape,  or  wapentake,  where  he  is 
resident,  to  serve  or  dwell  elsewhere, 
under  colour  of  going  afar  off  in  Pil- 
grimage, unless  he  has  letters  patent 
containing  the  cause  of  his  going,  and 
time  of  his  return.11 


a  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  654. 

b  Gold.  Leg.  fol.  clxxxix.  b.         c  M.  Paris,  505. 

d  Golden  Legend,  fol.  cxv. 

e  Decern  Scriptores,  2432. 

1  Smythe's  Berkeley  MS. 

k  Dibdin's  Typographic.  Antiquit.  p.  7.9. 

h  Decern  Scriptores,  2730. 


In  1346,  the  beautiful  but  volup- 
tuous Isabella  de  Fiesco,  Princess  of 
Milan,  having  been  delivered  of  twins, 
made  a  pilgrimage  to  St.  Mark  of  Ve- 
nice, accompanied  with  the  most  gay 
lords  and  ladies,  in  the  style  of  Cleo- 
patra^s  voyage  down  the  Cidnus. 
Feasts,  balls,  and  every  kind  of  plea- 
sure, attended  her  progress,  and  the 
husbands  of  the  married  ladies  in  her 
company,  after  their  wives  return,  in- 
formed of  their  lot,  were  doomed  to 
console  one  another,  upon  the  univer- 
sality of  their  misfortune.  The  Lady 
herself  set  the  example  with  the  easy 
principles  of  the  Egyptian  Queen.1  In 
the  middle  age  the  manners  of  all 
countries  were  nearly  alike;  and  the 
sober  English,  not  then  checked  by  an 
exemplary  reformed  clergy,  and  austere 
sectaries,  made  a  similar  use  of  pil- 
grimage. "  Frier  Donald,"  says  Cam- 
den, "preached  at  Paul's  Crosse,  that 
our  Ladie  was  a  virgin,  and  yet  at  her 
pilgrimages,  there  was  made  many  a 
foule  meeting.  And  loud  cried  out,  Ye 
men  of  London,  gang  on  yourselves 
with  your  wives  to  Wilsdon,  in  the  Di- 
vePs  name,  or  else  keepe  them  at  home 
with  you  with  a  sorrow."  k 

The  Canterbury  Pilgrimage  was  pro- 
bably the  most  common.  In  the  se- 
cond week  of  Lent,  Edward  the  Third, 
and  his  mother,  made  a  pilgrimage 
there,1  and,  I  apprehend,  this  was  the 
most  general  season  for  these  pilgrim- 
ages. Becket's  shrine  had  probably 
such  a  preference,  because  he  was  the 
peculiar  Saint  of  Sinners,  and  therefore 
of  universal  application.111 

Giraldus  Cambrensis  says,  a  the  Bi- 
shop saw  me  and  my  companions 
marked  with  the  tokens  of  St.  Thomas 
suspended  from  my  neck."  n  Giraldus 
on  his  return  from  abroad  had  visited 
the  shrine  of  Becket ;  and  these  signa- 
cula  were,  I  apprehend,  the  "  Canter- 
bury  Bells "    mentioned   before,   and 


1  Mem.  de  Petrarque,  ii.  427. 
k  Camden's  Remains,  p.  281. 
1  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  368. 


m  Catholic  Doctrine  of  the  Church  of  Endand 
4to.  Cambr.  1675,  p.  133.  ' 


Angl.  Sacr.  ii  481. 


360 


PROVINCIAL    PILGRIMAGES    TO    SHRINES    WELLS,    &C. 


worn   in  token  of  the  performance  of 
the  pilgrimage. 

Erasmus  amply  describes  the  exhi- 
bition made  to  the  Pilgrims  ;  the  skull 
of  Thomas  Becket,  cased  in  silver;  the 
blade  of  the  sword  which  killed  him ; 
the  altar  at  which  he  was  celebrating ; 
his  hair  shirt,  &c;  at  the  sight  of  all 
which  the  Pilgrims  dropped  on  their 
knees,  and  kissed  each  relique.  The 
jewels  and  rich  gifts  were  exhibited  by 
the  Prior  with  a  white  wand,  but  they 
were  strongly  secured  by  gratings. a 

According  to  Erasmus,  the  Walsing- 
ham  Pilgrimages  were  mere  imitations 
of  those  to  Loretto  ;  but  there  is  an 
apparent  mixture  of  fiction  in  his  ac- 
count of  this  our  famous  provincial  Pil- 
grimage, which  precludes  quotation .b 

Holy  Wells  are  of  Classical  and 
Druidical  Ancientry.  On  a  spot  called 
Nell's  Point,  is  a  fine  well,  to  which 
great  numbers  of  women  resort  on 
Holy  Thursday,  and  having  washed 
their  eyes  in  the  spring,  they  drop  a 
pin  into  it.  A  kind  of  fair  is  held 
round  St.  Caradoc's  Well,  cakes  sold, 
and  country  games  celebrated.0  Once 
in  a  year,  at  St.  Mardrin's  Well,  two 
lame  persons  went  on  Corpus  Christi 
evening  to  lay  some  small  offering  on 
the  altar  there,  to  lie  on  the  ground  all 
night,  drink  of  the  water  there,  and  in 
the  morning  after  take  a  good  draught 


a  Peregrinatio  Religionis   ergo,    inter  Colloquia, 
p.  377,  seq.  b  Id.  p.  362. 

c  Hoare's  Giraldus,  i.  133,  198. 


more,  and  carry  away  some  of  the 
water  each  in  a  bottle  at  their  depar- 
ture/1 At  Muswell  Hill  was  formerly 
a  chapel  called  our  Lady  of  Muswell, 
from  a  well  there,  near  which  was  her 
image,  that  was  continually  resorted  to 
by  way  of  Pilgrimage.e  At  Walsingham 
a  fine  green  road  was  made  for  the  Pil- 
grims, and  there  was  a  holy  well,  and 
cross  adjacent,  at  which  Pilgrims  used 
to  kneel  while  drinking  the  water .f  It 
is  remarkable  that  the  Anglo-Saxon 
laws  had  proscribed  this,  as  idolatrous.? 
Such  springs  were  consecrated,  upon 
the  discovery  of  cures  effected  by 
them.11  In  fact,  these  consecrated  wells 
merely  imply  a  knowledge  of  the  pro- 
perties of  mineral  waters,  but  through 
ignorance,  a  religious  appropriation  of 
those  properties  to  supernatural  causes. 

Taylor,  Index  Monasticus,  p.  66,  has 
the  following  curious  items  : 

Saint  Spyrite.  Legacies  were  left  in 
the  old  wills  for  persons  to  go  in  pil- 
primage  to  "  St.  Spyrite." 

St.  Margaret  of  Horstede,  Legacies 
were  occasionally  left  to  pay  Pilgrims 
to  repair  to  these  images. 

The  "  good  Swerd  of  Winferthinge." 
This  sword  was  much  visited  by  those 
whose  goods  had  been  stolen,  and  by 
wives,  who  prayed  for  the  shortening 
of  their  husbands  lives. 


d  Antiq.  Repertory,  ii.  79. 

e  Simpson's  Agreeable  Historian,  ii.  622. 

f  Beauties  of  England  (old  edition)  ii.  118. 

s  Brompton,  X  Script.  923. 

h  Decern  Scriptores,  2417. 


MOURNING    PILGRIMAGES. 


361 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


MOURNING    PILGRIMAGES. —  INCOGNITO  PILGRIMAGES. POLITICAL    PILGRIM- 
AGES.  PILGRIMS    ADVENTURERS. PILGRIMS    AGAINST    HERETICKS. 


Mourning   Pilgrimages.     Catherine, 

widow  of  Thomas  (4th)  Lord  Berkeley 
in  the  14th  century,  after  the  death  of 
her  husband,  had  a  licence  to  take  a 
journey  beyond  sea,  for  a  year  in  Pil- 
grimage. Her  lord^s  grandfather's  wife 
had  before  done  the  same.a  The  Earl 
of  Stafford,  in  the  ninth  year  of  Richard 
the  Second,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Je- 
rusalem, probably  on  account  of  the 
loss  of  his  son,  and  died  the  ensuing 
year3  at  Rhodes,  when  on  his  return. b 

Incognito  Pilgrims.  Anselm  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  when  banished 
by  Rufus,  took  the  scrip  and  staff  of 
Pilgrims  before  the  high  altar  in  the 
Cathedral  church  of  Canterbury,  pre- 
vious to  his  journey.0 

Fitzalan,  when  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, and  on  an  embassy  to  France, 
came  to  Valenciennes,  stopped  at  the 
Swan  Hotel  in  the  Market  Place,  and 
having  staid  there  three  days  to  reco- 
ver himself,  pursued  his  journey,  not 
as  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  but  like 
a  simple  Monk  on  a  pilgrimage ;  thus 
concealing  both  his  rank,  and  the  bu- 
siness in  which  he  was  engaged.01 

Agapit  had  married  a  relative  of 
Pope  Boniface,  by  whose  order  he  was 
separated  from  his  wife.  In  the  Jubilee 
of  the  year  1300,  he  entered  Rome,  in 
the  disguise  of  a  Pilgrim,  and  saw  her.e 
Cervantes  mentions  the  return  of 
Moors,  by  this  disguise,  into  Spain, 
after  expulsion  upon  pain  of  death. 

Political  Pilgrimages.  In  the  reign 
of  John,  Pilgrimages  were  made  the 
vehicle  of  seditious  meetings  of  the  dis- 


a  Smythe's  Berkeley  MS. 

b  Froissart,  vii.  70.  c  Eadmer,  41. 

^  Froissart,  x.  115. 

-  Memoires  pour  la  Vie  de  Petrarque,  i.  103. 


contented  Barons.  Many  of  them  met 
at  Edmundsbury  under  this  pretence.f 

Pilgrims  Adventurers.  In  the  12th 
century  Gilbert  Talbot,  an  English 
knight,  assumed  the  habit  of  a  Pilgrim, 
and  sailed  over  into  Normandy.  He 
stopped  there  for  two  years,  wander- 
ing here  and  there  in  search  of  Ela, 
Countess  of  Salisbury.  Having  found 
her,  he  dropped  the  Pilgrim's  habit, 
and  taking  that  of  a  Minstrel^  entered 
her  court,  and  staid  there.  As  he  was 
a  man  of  humour,  and  well  versed  in 
old  Chronicles}^  he  was  received  as  an 
agreeable  visitor,  upon  a  familiar  foot- 
ing, and  when  a  proper  time  came,  he 
brought  the  Countess  with  him  into 
England,  and  presented  her  to  King 
Richard,  who  most  graciously  received 
her,  and  married  her  to  his  brother^ 
William  Longespee.1 

Another  Pilgrim  Adventurer  of  in- 
ferior rank  is  before  mentioned.11 

Pilgrims  against  Hereticks.  These 
were    Crusaders    against    unfortunate 


f  Smythe's  Berkeley  MS. 

s  Minstrel,  i.  e.  of  a  Jongleur  or  Troubadour.  In 
the  history  of  the  latter,  p.  338,  is  the  following 
passage  :  "  My  lord  said,  I  had  a  father,  who  was 
well  accomplished  ;  he  teas  a  marvellous  singer,  an 
agreeable  and  copious  story-teller :  I  trust  I  resem- 
ble him." —  Our  storyteller,  as  a  synonym  for 
Liar,  is  derived  from  "  great  Janglers  (Jongleurs), 
tale-tellers,"  &c.  given  in  Chapter  xii. 

h  In  the  Liber  Niger  Domus  Regis  Edw.  IV. 
is  the  following  item  :  "These  esquires  of  hous- 
hold  of  old  be  accustumed  wynter  and  somer  in 
aftyrnoones  andin  evenynges  to  draw  to  lordes  cham- 
bres  within  courte,  there  to  keep  honest  company 
after  theyre  cunning,  in  talking  of  cronycles  of 
Kings  and  of  other  polycyes,  or  in  pypeyng,  or 
harping,  singing  or  other  actes  martialles  to  help 
occupy  the  courte,  and  accompany  straungers  till 
the  tyme  of  departing,"  p.  47.  Knights  errant 
learned  the  Histories  of  celebrated  Knights  and 
Ladies.     S.  Palave. 

1  Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  341,342. 

k  Chapter  vi. 


632 


MOURNING    PILGRIMAGES. 


Dissenters  from  the  Romish  Church. 
The  chief  of  these  was  against  the  Albi- 
genses.  It  was  no  more  than  a  design 
for  Simon  de  Montfort  to  acquire  a 
great  and  powerful  sovereignty,  at  the 
expence  of  the  Earl  of  Toulouse  and 
his  family ;  and  for  the  Pope^s  Legates 


to  arrogate  authority  over  the  Lords 
and  Burghs  of  these  fine  and  unfortu- 
nate provinces.3  It  has  no  connexion 
with  our  subject,  except  in  Costume. 

*  Notices  des  MSS.  a  Paris,  vi.  201 , 


LOVE-PILGRIMS. 


363 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


LOVE-PILGRIMS. 


We  are  now  arrived  to  Chivalry, 
that  exquisite  part  of  the  History  of 
the  Middle  Age,  which  is  its  brightest 
feature,  because  it  inculcated  the  most 
heroic,  tender,  and  benevolent  senti- 
ments. Ours  is  a  branch  of  Chivalry, 
romantic  and  noble ;  unconnected  with 
that  degradation  of  character,  which 
superstition  always  introduces.  How- 
ever foolish  were  the  Monkish  fictions, 
and  the  absurd  adventures  of  Chivalry, 
the  Nobility  and  Gentry  were  too  ig- 
norant to  see  their  absurdity ;  and 
Chivalry,  by  the  romantick  deeds  of 
arms,  which  it  daily  presented,  so 
turned  their  heads,  that  the  more  ex- 
traordinary and  absurd  were  romances 
of  adventurers,  the  more  they  were  in 
vogue.  All  this  is  ridiculed  in  the  Dit 
d'Aventures,  a  Manuscript  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  written  in  the  manner 
of  Munchausen,  long  before  the  time 
of  Cervantes  :  a  to  whom  it  probably 
suggested  his  excellent  Don  Quixote. 
We  are  not  therefore  to  be  surprised 
at  the  following  singular  exhibitions  of 
a  prevailing  mania  of  Chivalrous  he- 
roism. 

Some  young  knights  bachelors  had 
one  of  their  eyes  covered  with  a  piece 
of  cloth,  so  that  they  could  not  see 
with  it,  for  they  had  made  a  vow  to 
some  ladies  not  to  use  but  one  eye, 
until  they  had  performed  some  deeds 
of  arms,  nor  would  they  make  any  re- 
ply to  whatsoever  question  was  asked 
them.b  Another  lover,  smitten  with  a 
lady  of  Carcassovvne,  called  Louve  de 
Penautier,  caused  himself  to  be  called 
Loup  or  Wolf  in  her  honour,  and  en- 
gaged himself  to  submit  to  all  the  pe- 
rils of  being  hunted  in  a  wolfs  skin 
for  her    sake.      In  this    disguise,  the 


■  Notices  des  MSS.  v.  398. 
b  Froissart,  i.  114. 


shepherds,  with  their  mastives  and 
greyhounds,  drove  him  into  the  moun- 
tains, and  pursued  him  there;  and  so 
cruelly  was  he  mangled,  for  he  would 
not  suffer  the  dogs  to  be  taken  off  him, 
till  they  had  almost  killed  him,  that 
they  carried  him  home  for  dead  to  his 
mistress.0 

The  explanation  of  these  customs^ 
and  of  those  which  will  conclude  this 
Chapter,  by  M.  Porte-du-Theil,  are 
admirable  :  "  In  all  ages,  and  among  all 
civilized  nations,love,  like  the  other  pas- 
sions, has  borrowed  the  forms  and  the 
language  which,  according  to  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  the  time,  appeared 
to  it  most  proper  to  express  its  senti- 
ments towards  the  beloved  object. 
When  the  inhabitants  of  all  Europe 
were  divided  into  masters  and  slaves^ 
the  metaphorical  language  of  love  was 
borrowed  from  the  ideas  of  Slavery : 
and  this  first  foundation  of  amorous 
language  subsists  to  the  present  day. 

"  When  the  feudal  system  was 
established,  and  vassalage  superseded 
slavery,  the  ideas  and  forms  of  feodality 
were  applied  to  love.  The  mistress 
called  her  lover  her Baron,and  he  styled 
her  his  Lady.  He  demanded  of  his 
mistress  the  mouth  and  the  hands  in 
the  form  of  homage.  A  Troubadour  of 
the  twelfth  century,  compares  his  mis- 
tress to  a  freehold  which  paid  no  rents 
or  services,  to  which  he  wishes  should 
be  at  least  attached,  the  payment  of 
some  kisses.  Love  assumed  the  cha- 
racter as  well  as  the  language  of  vas- 
salage; its  respective  obligations  were 
reduced  to  rules ;  the  acknowledged 
lover  had  his  rights  recognised ;  he 
owed  to  his  lady  fidelity  and  services ; 
she,  to  him,  attachment  and  favours. 

"  In  the  mean  while  the  Feudal  sys- 

c  Hist,  of  the  Troubadours,  332. 


364 


LOVE-PILGRIMS. 


tern  was  brought  to  bed  of  Chivalry. 
Private  wars,  the  unfortunate  results 
of  feudal  rights,  had  turned  all  minds 
towards  arms.  The  Lords,  obliged  to 
defend,  without  ceasing,  their  own 
possessions,  and  those  of  their  vassals, 
were  occupied  only  with  military  ideas  ; 
they  carried  them  even  into  their  love 
affairs . 

"  Chivalry,  founded  at  the  same 
time  for  a  proof  and  reward  of  valour 
and  generosity,  imposed  upon  itself,  as 
its  principal  duty,  the  protection  of 
the  ladies ;  and  gallantry  became, 
almost  as  much  as  braverv,  the  distinc- 
tive character  of  a  knight.  To  form 
the  eulogium  of  an  accomplished 
knight,  it  was  said,  that  no  one  better 
understood  to  break  a  lance,  and  kiss 
a  lady. 

"  The  Crusades  had  redoubled  the 
heroism  of  the  knights,  by  a  kind  of 
enthusiasm,  mingled  with  ideas  of 
glory  and  religion,  which  incited  them 
to  the  most  hazardous  enterprises. 
This  enthusiasm  immediately  laid  hands 
upon  Love.  They  devoted  themselves 
for  their  mistresses  to  the  most  peril- 
ous, and  sometimes  the  most  bizarre 
attempts.  If  an  opportunity  did  not 
offer,  they  created  one.  They  main- 
tained, with  arms  in  their  hands,  that 
the  woman  whom  they  loved  was  the 
most  beautiful  in  the  world,  and  they 
found  knights  who  accepted  the  chal- 
lenge. Nothing  was  so  common  as 
this  proof  of  love  in  the  thirteenth 
century.  They  wished  to  appear  the 
most  brave,  as  well  as  the  most  ena- 
moured, because  valour,  carried  to  ex- 
cess, was  then  the  quality  most  fitted 
to  make  themselves  beloved  in  re- 
turn ;  the  ladies  became  fond  of  a 
knight  upon  the  mere  recital  of  his 
exploits.  Chivalry  had  so  ennobled 
love,  that  it  had  rendered  it  a  passion 
purely  heroick.  In  the  Roman  de  Rose,8- 
it  is  affirmed,  that  the  knights  were 
more  estimable,  and  the  ladies  lived 
better  and  more  chastely  : 


MS.  fol.  80. 


6  Les  chevaliers  mieux  en  valoient, 
Les  Dames  meilleures  etoient 
Et  plus  chastement  en  vivoient.' 
"  Far  from  regarding  Love  as  a 
criminal  passion,  they  associated  it 
with  the  ideas  and  practices  of  devo- 
tion. A  Troubadour  of  the  thir- 
teenth century  said,  that  he  burned 
tapers,  and  caused  masses  to  be  said 
for  the  success  of  his  love.  The  mis- 
tress of  the  Lord  of  Craon,  when 
upon  her  death-bed  ready  to  receive 
the  Sacrament,  called  God  to  witness, 
'  that  Craon  had  never  made  a  request 
to  her,  which  her  father  might  not  have 
made ;  non,  dit  elle,  qit'il  ne  couchdt  en 
mon  lit,  mais  a  fin  sans  vilence  et  sans 
mat  y  penser.^  Notwithstanding,  Love 
was  not  always  thus  pure,  even  in  the 
times  when  this  passion  was  carried  to 
its  highest  point  of  heroism.  It  be- 
came debased  insensibly.  In  the  fif- 
teenth century  Eustace  des  Champs 
often  complained,  that  luxury  had  efri- 
minated  the  knights;  that  they  thought 
to  please  more  by  their  dress,  than  by 
their  exploits  and  virtues ;  and  that 
gallantry  as  well  as  Chivalry  was 
strangely  declined.  Notwithstanding, 
in  this  century,  they  still  fought,  Na- 
tion against  Nation,  for  the  honour  of 
the  ladies,  as  in  1402  did  seven  French 
knights  against  seven  English  knights. 
fi  In  the  end  all  this  heroism  was 
eclipsed,  Brantome  says,  that  in  the 
16th  century,  Love  was  no  more  than 
libertinism.  It  was  the  age  of  devices 
and  amorous  emblems.0      Afterwards, 


b  Agnes  de  Navarre,  wife  of  Phoebus,  Count  de 
Foix,  was  in  love  with  William  de  Machaut,  one 
of  the  best  French  poets,  of  the  age  of  Petrarch. 
She  made  verses  for  him,  which  breathed  the  lan- 
guage of  passion.  She  wished  him  to  publish  in 
his  own  the  details  of  their  love.  He  was  jealoui 
without  a  cause  ;  she  sent  her  Confessor  to  him, 
to  testify  not  only  the  truth  of  the  sentiments 
which  she  had  for  him,  but  further,  her  fidelity, 
and  the  injustice  of  the  suspicion  which  he  had 
conceived  against  her.  Notwithstanding  this, 
Agnes  de  Navarre  was  a  very  virtuous  Princess. 
IMem.  pour  la  Vie  de  Petrarque,  i.  118.     F. 

c  Classical  symbols  and  mottoes  derived  from  the 
chiefs  of  the  Neapolitan  wars,  in  the  close  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  common  in  England  in  the 
next.  Dallaway's  Heraldic  Inquiries,  p.  391.  Sir 
Philip  Sydney's  works  abound  in  them.     Edit.  10. 


LOVE-PILGRIMS, 


365 


from  this  period,  we  hear  no  more  of 
heroick  Loves.  Devout  Loves  still 
existed,  when  the  general  manners 
icore  the  livery  of  devotion;  then 
lovers,  in  pious  processions,  whipped 
themselves,,  by  way  of  gallantry,  under 
the  windows  of  their  mistresses.  Men 
carried,  in  their  Breviaries,  under  the 
figure  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  the  portrait 
of  the  woman  wThom  they  loved :  and 
the  women  had  that  of  their  lovers, 
under  the  representation  of  Christ  or 
some  Saint. 

"  From  the  whole  of  this  discussion, 
it  appears  that  Love  was  simple  and 
tender  in  the  tenth  century ;  severe 
and  impassioned  in  the  eleventh  ;  that 
it  participated  of  the  heroick  or  su- 
]Derstitious  enthusiasm  of  the  three 
following  centuries ;  and  sometimes 
elevated  itself  even  to  a  virtue ;  but  in 
the  fifteenth  century  declined,  till  it  was 
almost  always  a  vice,  and  scarcely  a 
passion ;  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
spirit,  which  mingled  with  it,  was  subtle 
and  cold;  the  ideas  of  piety,  which 
were  allied  with  it  from  time  to  time, 
instead  of  warming  and  ennobling  it, 
as  before,  completed  its  degradation 
by  introducing  all  the  meannesses 
of  superstition  and  hypocrisy.  The 
other  forms,  which  it  has  taken  in  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries, 
show  that  it  has  constantly  followed 
the  modifications  of  society.  Thus, 
Love,  in  all  times  subject  to  fashion, 
which  seems  to  have  so  little  empire 
over  the  passions,  has  always  under- 
gone the  same  variations  as  exterior 
manners  and  customs."  a 

Pleasure  and  courtship  are  still  lead- 
ing habits  of  the  modern  military; 
and,  without  doubt,  derive  their  origin 
from  the  feudal  ages. 

This  curious  and  interesting  history 
of  courtship,  explains  the  Petrarchism, 
or  heroic  love,  which  characterized  the 
Pilgrimages  of  the  Troubadours ,  a  term 


p.  30,  62,  179,  180,  &c.  Some  Augustin  Monks 
in  Flanders  represented  the  whole  life  of  that  Saint 
in  a  series  of  these  impressions.  Sylloge  Symbolor. 
&c.  by  Menestrier,  p.  355.  See  Camden's  Remains. 
a  Notices  des  MSS.  v.  p.  695,  seq. 


derived  from  trobar  to  invent,  because 
they  sung  extemporaneous  effusions, 
or  pretended  to  do  so,  Petrarch  com- 
plaining of  their  application  to  him  for 
assistance.  They  were  natives  of  the 
South  of  France,  who,  being  stimu- 
lated by  their  genius,  and  the  warmth 
of  the  climate,  to  poetry,  musick,  and 
Love,  were,  as  President  Henault  styles 
them,  the  knights  errant  of  gallantry, 
travelling  from  castle  to  castle,  singing 
and  making  love.b 

Accordingly  one  of  them  says,  "  The 
beauty  I  adore  shall  behold  me,  for  her 
sake,  clad  in  a  woollen  habit,  and  with 
a  pilgrim's  staff."  c 

The  following  account  of  one  of  these 
Pilgrims  is  singularly  curious  :  "  It  was 
in  the  month  of  October,  I  well  re- 
member, I  ordered  two  of  my  pages  to 
take  two  falcons,  and  the  third  a  goss- 
hawk,  the  best  that  ever  was,  with 
dogs  and  hares.  We  were  ten  knights 
well  mounted,  and  all  eager  for  the 
chace.  At  the  moment  of  our  depar- 
ture, behold,  there  came  to  us  a  knight 
in  the  habit  of  a  Pilgrim.  He  was  the 
most  beautiful  and  elegant  figure  that 
was  ever  seen  in  the  robe  of  penitence. 
He  advanced  with  slow  steps,  as  if 
overwhelmed  with  fatigue,  and  he  hung 
down  his  head  as  if  plunged  in  sorrow. 
When  he  was  come  up  to  me,  without 
any  salutation,  or  speaking  a  single 
word,  he  took  my  horse  by  the  bridle, 
drew  me  aside,  and,  casting  on  me  a  look 
of  tender  sorrow,  he  paused  a  moment 
from  the  fullness  of  his  grief.  At  last  he 
said,  eFor  the  sake  of  God,  my  Lord,have 
pity  on  my  state.  I  come  from  a  dis- 
tant country  to  ask  your  council  in  love; 
for  you  are  the  only  man  in  the  world 
capable  of  giving  me  advice.  I  love  a 
lady,  as  excellent  for  virtues  as  re- 
nowned for  beauty.  I  have  used  every 
effort,  and  cannot  obtain  her  love.  I 
know  not  what  to  do  ;  in  pity  teach  me 
how  I  ought  to  act.  My  Pilgrimage  has 
no  other  object,  but  to  seek  instruction  in 
Love.' 


b  Memoires  pour  la  Vie  de  Petrarque,  i.  77. 
c  Hist,  of  the  Troubadours,  p.  50. 


366 


LOVE-PILGRIMS. 


Ci  At  these  words,  I  said  to  my  Ba- 
rons, permit  me  to  put  off  our  party  to 
another  day;  for  at  present,  I  must 
converse  of  joy  and  pleasure  with  this 
young  stranger,  and  our  discourse  must 
be  private.  Immediately  dismounting 
from  my  horse,  I  took  the  unknown 
knight  by  the  hand,  and  conducting 
him  in,  I  begged  him  to  defer  our  con- 
versation till  the  morrow,  that  I  might 
have  time  to  reflect  on  his  situation, 
and  be  able  to  give  him  the  advice  he 
stood  in  need  of.  But  I  would  know, 
added  I,  to  whom  I  speak,  that  I  may 
form  some  judgment  of  the  advice  I 
ought  to  give.  His  answer  was  as 
courteous  as  my  request ;  and  when  I 
heard  his  name,  I  held  him  in  great 
esteem.  After  he  was  refreshed,  he 
sat  down  to  play  at  chess  and  draughts. 
We  sung  songs,  and  told  a  thousand 
tales,a  till  sunset ;  when  they  informed 
us,  that  supper  was  served  in  the  great 
hall,  where  many  guests  were  assem- 
bled. After  supper,  as  our  new  guest 
wanted  repose,  we  all  retired  to  rest. 
After  a  sound  sleep,  we  rose,  the  Priest 
having  summoned  us  to  mass.b  After 
mass  was  said,  we  went  to  the  dinner, 
which  Bidans  my  constable  had  served 
up  ;  it  was  good,  and  we  were  long  at 
table.  At  last  I  rose,  and  taking  the 
stranger  by  the  hand,  we  left  the  com- 
pany in  the  hall,  and  went  down  into 
an  orchard,0  where  I  seated  him  under 
a  laurel  tree,  by  my  side.  Then,  ad- 
dressing myself  to  him,  I  said,  Friend, 
what  you  desire  of  me  I  wish  I  may 
be  able  to  grant.  You  will  find  in  me 
neither  much  knowledge  nor  skill,  but 
courtesy,  courage,  and  joy ;  and  it  is  in 
those>  the  most  illustrious  lovers  of  all 


a  If  a  Jugleur  or  Minstrel  was  not  present,  our 
ancestors  used  to  sit  round  the  fire,  and  tell  an- 
cient gests  or  stories.  Warton.  Gesta  Romanorum, 
lxiv.  Hence  the  numerous  collections  of  Tales, 
which  we  have  in  Manuscript. 

b  Froissart  (ii.  157-)  mentions  an  oratory  of  the 
Black  Prince  near  his  bed-chamber,  where  mass 
was  said  the  first  thing  in  the  morning,  sometimes 
before  sun-rise  (Id.  ii.  135),  even  in  the  bed- 
chambers. 

c  It  appears  to  have  been  usual  to  take  exercise 
in  the  garden,  after  Mass,  or  in  the  morning. 
Stowe's  Annals,  500,  535.     Ed,  Howes. 


times  have  excelled.      Remember  well 
what  I   am  going  to  say,   and  you  will 
surpass  all  others  in  Love.     Be  always 
dressed  neatly  and  elegantly,  whether 
your  cloaths   are  rich  or  plain.     Let 
your  linen  be  very  fine  and  white ;  let 
your  shoes,   your  stockings,  and  your 
waistcoast,  be  so  well  adjusted,  that  all 
who  behold,  shall  admire  you  ;  let  your 
robe  be  rather  short  than  long ;  let  it  be 
made  wide  before  ;   the  breast  can  then 
be  left  open  without  any  impropriety. 
Let  your  cloak  be  of  the  same  stuff;  and 
let  the  girdle   and  the   clasp  be  neatly 
fastened.  Nothing  gives  a  man  so  much 
advantage  as  the  beauty  of  his  hair; 
wash  your  head  often;  wear  not  your  hair 
too  long ;  it  is  more  becoming  to  have 
it  somewhat  shortened.    Your  whiskers 
and  beard  ought  also  to  be  neatly  cut ; 
it  were  better  they  were  too  short  than 
too  long ;  but  no  excess  of  fashion  is 
ever  becoming ;    be  particularly  atten- 
tive to  that.  By  the  eyes  and  the  hands 
a  man  is  often  judged  :  there  should  be 
a  dignity  and  delicacy  in  both.     Never 
fix  your  eyes,  with  a  saucy  assurance 
and  effrontery,  on  any:    and  let  your 
hands  be  placed  with  decency  and  care. 
If  you  see  any  one  with   something  in 
their  hands  you  wish  to  look  at,  and 
which    strikes    you    with    admiration 
never  be  guilty  of  such  unpoliteness 
as   to  take  it  from  him  to  gratify  your 
own  curiosity.     If  you  would  gain  the 
hearts  of  ladies,  you  must  be  magnifi- 
cent in  your  house;    you  must  have 
^squires  to  attend  you ;  you  must  have 
two  in  particular,  who  are  handsome, 
and  who  know  how  to  please :  the  rest 
need  only  to  be  courteous  and  polite ; 
but  they  must  converse  with  grace  and 
with  discretion,  that  if  you  send  them 
any  where,    they  may  not   incur   the 
laugh  at  your  expense,   and  it  be   said 
of  them,  '  like  master  like  man/  When 
you  receive  company,  show  great  kind- 
ness to  all  you  receive  ;  invite  them  to 
make  good    cheer;    let  them  be  well 
served,  and  set  them  the  example  of 
gaiety  and   freedom.     None  will    fre- 
quent you,  if  your  house  wears  the  face 
of  poverty,  and  they  do  not  meet  with 
plenty  and  hospitality.     When  the  day 


LOVE-PILGRIMS. 


367 


appears,  do  not  set  yourself  at  the  table 
to  eat  alone  :  nothing  is  more  unpolite. 
Place  your  guests  near  you  in  a  neat 
apartment.  Do  the  honours  of  your 
table  not  only  yourself,  but  be  careful 
your  attendants  are  assiduous  in  the 
service ;  and  let  the  fire  be  well  re- 
plenished. Recommend  in  particular 
to  your  servants,  that  they  never  come 
in,  and  interrupt  the  repast,  by  whis- 
pering in  your  ear.  Be  careful  also 
never  to  speak  to  them  in  a  low  voice ; 
this  has  the  air  of  poverty  and  stingi- 
ness. Before  you  place  yourself  at 
table,  give  all  your  orders  for  the  day 
as  to  wine,  lights,  and  other  accommo- 
dation. Take  care,  that  the  horses, 
the  attendants,  and  grooms  of  your 
guests,  have  all  they  want ;  for  if  they 
have  not  plenty  of  provision,  you  will 
hear  murmurs  shamefully  reproaching 
to  a  gallant  knight. 

u  If  you  hold  a  court  or  assembly, 
spare  for  nothing.  Let  there  be  no 
gate  locked  at  the  entrance  of  your 
house ;  no  porters  a  to  keep  back  with 
their  staves,  the  grooms,  pages, hangers- 
on,  and  Jongleurs,  who  would  enter. 
Do  not  follow  the  example  of  those 
rich  misers,  who  retire  secretly  from 
their  feasts.  Heaven  forbid,  you  should 
be  the  first  to  quit  the  company,  when 
you  ought  to  be  the  last.  Your  house 
ought  to  be  open  to  all  the  world,  and 
you  ready  to  receive,  at  all  hours,  those 
who  shall  present  themselves.  Play 
high  ;  it  will  do  you  honour;  continue 
playing.  It  is  shameful  and  base  to 
take  up  the  dice,  and  leave  off  imme- 
diately.    If  you   should  lose,  express 


a  Porter.  "  Here  a  Porter,  tall  of  person,  big  of 
limbs,  stark  of  countenance,  with  club  and  keys  of 
quantity  according,  in  a  rough  speech,  full  of  pas- 
sion in  metre,  while  the  Queen  [Elizabeth]  came 
within  his  ward,  burst  out  in  a  great  pang  of  impa- 
tience to  see  such  uncouth  trudging  to  and  fro  ; 
such  riding  in  and  out,  with  such  din  and  noise  of 
talk,  within  his  charge  ;  whereof  he  never  saw  the 
like,  nor  had  any  warning  once;  ne  yet  could  make 
to  himself  any  cause  of  the  matter.  At  last,  upon 
better  view  and  aduertisement,  he  proclaims  open 
gates  and  free  passage  to  all ;  yields  over  his  club, 
his  keys,  his  office,  and  all,  and  on  his  knees,  hum- 
bly prays  pardon  of  his  ignorance,  and  impatience  : 
which  her  Highness  graciously  granting,"  &c. 
Hurd's  Dialogues,  98. 


no  ill-humour;  change  not  your  place, 
nor  clap  your  hands  together,  like  an 
enraged  man,  nor  give  any  signs  of  dis- 
pleasure ;  for  if  you  do,  you  will  be 
made  a  jest  of.  In  short,  spend  your 
fortune  in  a  generous  and  hospitable 
reception  of  all  the  world.  Unless  you 
do  this,  you  must  for  ever  renounce 
gallantry.  Be  well  mounted ;  have  a 
horse  light  and  nimble  for  the  course ; 
easy  to  manage,  and  have  it  continually 
led  in  your  train.  Let  your  arms  be 
bright,  and  valuable;  and  let  your  lance, 
your  shield,  and  your  cuirass,  be  well 
proved.  Let  your  horse  be  well  equip- 
ped, in  saddle,  bridle,  and  breast-lea- 
thers ;  let  the  saddle  and  crupper  be 
of  the  same  colour  with  your  shield, 
and  the  streamer  of  your  lance.  Have 
a  war-horse  to  carry  a  change  of  arms.b 

"  The  reason  I  recommend  these 
things,  is,  that  if  you  have  not  prepared 
them  in  readiness  and  set  them  in  or- 
der, on  the  first  injury  done  you,  on 
the  first  war  that  happens,  you  will  be 
obliged  to  seek  them,  with  precipita- 
tion ;  and  ladies  are  never  fond  of  those 
knights  who  are  not  always  ready  for 
war  and  tournaments.  They  will  pre- 
fer those  who  seize  every  occasion  of 
procuring  fame  and  honour. 

"  If  my  exhortations  do  not  weary 
you,  I  would  recommend  to  you  the 
love  of  Chivalry,  and  to  attach  your- 
self to  the  means  of  pleasing  univer- 
sally. Be  vigilant  against  all  unfore- 
seen  attacks  ;  fear  neither  cry  nor  mur- 
mur; be  the  last  in  retreat,  and  the 
first  in  charge;  for  such  is  the  man 
who  is  conducted  by  Love. 

"  When  you  are  at  the  tournament, 
have  a  halbert  and  a  helmet  in  change; 
your  steel-armour,  and  your  sword, 
which  you  must  brandish  to  animate 
your  horse.  Let  his  breast  be  garnish- 
ed with  bells  well  hung;  nothing  is 
more  proper  to  inspire  confidence  in  a 
Knight,  and  terror  in  an  enemy.  Put 
up  with  no  loss,  nor  damage ;  and  re- 


b  Two  horses  generally  accompanied  Knights,  a 
Hackney,  and  a  Charger,  that  the  latter  might  not 
be  wearied,  upon  coming  into  action.  Numerous 
instances  occur  in  Froissart. 


368 


LOVE-PILGRIMS. 


turn  not  without  some  engagement. 
When  once  your  arm  is  raised,  if  your 
lance  fails,  draw  your  sword  directly, 
and  let  heaven  and  hell  resound  with 
the  clash.  Thus  have  I  levelled  my 
strokes  since  I  was  a  knight,  and  thus 
have  I  possessed  the  love  of  many  beau- 
tiful and  worthy  ladies.^  a 

The  old  Knight  was  correct  in  his 

a  Hist,  of  the  Troubadours,  471 — 475. 


advice.  In  a  satirical  catalogue  of  a 
pretended  Museum,  one  article  is  "  The 
skin  of  the  Serpent  which  seduced  Eve." 
A  lady  said,  the  colour  of  it  must  cer- 
tainly be  scarlet.  The  favouritism  shown 
to  officers,  may  be  enough  to  convince, 
that  bravery,  attention  to  person,  cour- 
teous manners,  pleasurable  habits,  and 
living  in  style,  are  the  methods,  which 
experience  proves,  to  be  best  suited  to 
procure  success  in  Love. 


THE    OFFICP;    OF    PILGRIMS    IN    THE    CHURCH    OF    ROUEN.       369 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THE    OFFICE    OF    PILGRIMS    IN    THE    CHURCH    OF    ROUEN. 


The  following  account  shews  a  de- 
duction of  Pilgrimage  from  the  journey 
of  the  Disciples  to  Emmaus, 

The  Office  of  Pilgrims  ought  to  be 
done  in  this  form.  Two  of  the  second 
stalls  who  may  be  put  in  the  table,  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  writer,  shall  be 
clothed  in  a  Tunick,  with  copes  above, 
carrying  staves  across,  and  scrips  in 
the  manner  of  Pilgrims  ;  and  they  shall 
have  capelli3-  over  their  heads,  and  be 
bearded.  Let  them  go  from  the  Ves- 
tiary, singing  a  hymn,  "  Jesus,  our  re- 
de mption,"  advancing  with  a  slow  step, 
through  the  right  aisle  of  the  Church, 
as  far  as  the  Western  gates,  and  there 
stopping,  sing  a  hymn,  as  far  as  that 
place,  "  You  shall  be  satisfied  with  thy 
likeness/'  Then  a  certain  Priest  of  the 
higher  stall,  written  in  the  table,  cloth- 
ed in  an  Alb  and  Amess,  bare-footed, 
carrying  a  cross  upon  his  right  shoul- 
der, with  a  look  cast  downwards,  com- 
ing to  them  through  the  right  aisle  of 
the  Church,  shall  suddenly  stand  be- 
tween them,  and  say,  "  What  are  these 
discourses/'  The  Pilgrims,  as  it  were 
admiring,  and  looking  upon  him,  shall 
say,  "Are  you  a  stranger,"  &c.  The 
Priest  shall  answer,  "  In  what ?"  The 
Pilgrims  shall  answer,  "  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth."  The  Priest,  looking  upon 
both  of  them,  shall  say,  "  O  fools,  and 
slow  of  heart,"  which  being  said,  the 
Priest  immediately  shall  retire  and  pre- 
tend to  be  going  further :  but  the  Pil- 

»  A  Hat  or  Bonnet.     Du  Cange. 


grims  hurrying  up,  and  following  him, 
shall  detain  him,  as  it  were  inviting 
him  to  their  inn,  and  drawing  him  with 
their  staves,  shall  show  him  a  castle, 
and  say,  "  Stay  with  us."  And  so  sing- 
ing, they  shall  lead  him  as  far  as  a  tent 
in  the  middle  of  the  nave  of  the  Church, 
made  in  the  resemblance  of  the  Castle 
Emmaus.  When  they  have  ascended 
thither,  and  sat  at  a  table  ready  pre- 
pared, the  Lord  sitting  between  them 
shall  break  the  bread ;  and  being  dis- 
covered by  this  means,  shall  suddenly 
retire,  and  vanish  from  their  sight. 
But  they  amazed,  as  it  were,  rising  with 
their  countenances  turned  to  each  other, 
shall  sing  lamentably  "  Alleluia,"  with 
the  verse,  "  Did  not  our  heart  burn," 
&c.  which  being  renewed,  turning  them- 
selves towards  the  stall,  they  shall  sing 
this  verse,  "Tell  us,  Mary."  Then  a 
certain  person  of  the  higher  stall,  cloth- 
ed in  a  Dalmatick  and  Amess,  and 
bound  round  in  the  manner  of  a  wo- 
man, shall  answer,  "The  Sepulchre  of 
Christ;  the  Angels  are  witnesses." 
Then  he  shall  extend,  and  unfold  a 
cloth  from  one  part,  instead  of  clothes, 
and  throw  it  before  the  great  gate  of 
the  Choir.  Afterwards  he  shall  say 
"Christ  is  risen."  The  Choir  shall 
sing  two  other  verses,  following,  and 
then  the  Master  shall  go  within;  a 
procession  be  made ;  and  Vespers  be 
ended.b 

b  Du  Cange,  v.  Peregrinorum  Officium* 


2b 


CONSUETUDINAL 


OF 


ANCHORETS  AND  HERMITS 


The  Hermits  of  Egypt  dragged  out 
a  wretched  life  in  perfect  solitude,  and 
were  scattered  here  and  there  in  caves, 
in  deserts,  in  the  hollows  of  rocks, 
sheltered  from  the  wild  beasts  only  by 
the  cover  of  a  miserable  cottage,  in 
which  each  one  lived  sequestered  from 
the  rest  of  his  species. 

Philo-Judssus,  A.D.41,  was  the  first 
who  introduced  the  Philosophy  of 
Plato  and  Pythagoras  into  the  Gospel. 
As  he  lived  at  Alexandria  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Desert,  and  gives  (it 
is  believed)  the  earliest  account  of  the 
contemplative  life  of  worshippers,  Eu- 
sebius  shews  that  the  figures  and  hie- 
roglyphics of  the  Egyptian  Philosophy 
are  verified  and  manifested  in  the  Scrip- 
tures.a 

The  order  of  the  Anachorites  was 
yet  more  excessive  in  the  austerity  of 
living  than  the -Eremites.  They  fre- 
quented the  wildest  deserts,  without 
either  tents  or  cottages ;  nourished 
themselves  with  the  roots  and  herbs 
which  grew  spontaneously  out  of  the 
uncultivated  ground ;  wandered  about, 
without  having  any  fixed  abode;  and 
reposed  wherever  the  approach  of  night 
happened  to  find  them.1* 

The  origin  of  that  curious  supersti- 
tion, the  habitation  on  a  pillar  by  Si- 
meon Stylites,  is  thus  given  in  Christie's 
Greek  Vases,  p.  99  : 

"The  ancient  temple  at  Hierapolis 


Euseb.  S.ii.  c.41.  17,  13. 
Mosheini,  i.  p.  199.  cent.  4. 


in  Syria  ( Lucian  de  Bed  Syria)  _  is  re- 
ported to  have  stood  upon  an  eminence 
in  the  middle  of  the  city,  the  base  of 
which  eminence  was  enclosed  by  a 
double  wall.  Near  the  gates  to  the 
North  were  erected  two  phalli  (of  the 
enormous  height  of  thirty  fathoms), 
one  of  which  a  man  ascended  twice 
every  year,  swarming  (sic)  it  by  a 
chain,  as  was  practised  by  the  Arabs 
in  climbing  the  palm-trees  of  their 
country.  Arrived  at  the  top,  he  coiled 
his  clothes  so  as  to  form  a  nest  or  seat, 
and  having  let  down  another  chain, 
which  he  carried  with  him,  and  drawn 
up  by  the  means  of  it  food  and  neces- 
saries, he  remained  upon  the  phallus 
seven  days.  Seated  aloft,  he  prayed 
for  all  Syria ;  but  whilst  he  prayed,  he 
rang  a  bell." 

Perhaps  the  first  instance  of  relicks 
being  held  in  reverence  was  in  the  case 
of  Simeon  Stylites,  whom  the  people 
of  Antioch  thought  Leo  the  Emperor 
left  among  them  for  their  defence 
against  enemies.0 

The  distinction  of  Anchorets  and 
Hermits  was  quite  different  in  the  suc- 
ceeding ages.  The  former  were  persons 
who  passed  their  whole  lives  in  cells, 
from  which  they  never  moved.  The 
latter  were  indeed  solitary  persons,  but 
wandered  about  at  liberty.  These  be- 
ing the  respective  definitions  of  An- 
chorets and  Hermits/  the  subject  shall 
be  treated  accordingly. 


e  Evagr.  b.  i.  c.  1. 
d  Heremitse   solivagi 


aut    Anachoritse   conclusi 


COXSUETUDINAL  OF  ANCHORETS  AXD  HERMITS. 


Anchorets.  (i  In  the  first  ages  of 
Monachism,  the  custom  was  introduced 
in  certain  Abbies,  of  choosing  some  one 
of  the  religious,  whom  they  thought 
most  advanced  in  perfection,  and  of 
shutting  him  up  apart,  on  purpose  that 
he  might  be  able  for  the  rest  of  his  life 
to  indulge  without  distraction  in  the 
contemplation  of  divine  things.  Com- 
monly the  cell  was  near  the  Church, 
placed  in  such  a  manner  that  the  re- 
cluse had  the  faculty  of  seeing  the  Altar, 
and  hearing  the  service.  The  door 
was  locked  upon  him,  often  even  wall- 
ed up,  but  they  left  a  kind  of  garret 
window,  by  which  he  received  the  com- 
munion and  the  necessaries  of  life."' 

The  same  custom  existed  in  female 
convents  ;  there  were  even  many  in- 
stances of  men  who  became  Anchorets 
in  Xunneries,  and  of  women  in  xlbbies 
of  Monks. a 

(i  Particular  ceremonies  were  esta- 
blished for  these  solitaries.  Gregorv  of 
Tours  describes  those  which  were  in 
use  in  his  agra." 

ei  Many  Councils,  and  particularlv 
that  of  6'92,  which  is  called  of  Trullo/b 
that  of  Frankfort  in  7^7,  an(i  others, 
treated  of  this  kind  of  life,  and  endea- 
voured to  modify  and  confine  it  to  rules 
and  forms."5 

Charlemagne  forbade  it,  but  the  abuse 
still  prevailed.  There  were  even  Ab- 
bies,  such  as  that  of  Vallombreuse,  for 
example,  where  they  supported  a  per- 

(i.  e.  Hermits,  solitary  wanderers,  or  Anchorets, 
immured).  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  436.  De  Foe  makes 
the  same  distinction  in  Robinson  Crusoe. 

a  Helyot.  Ordr.  Monastiques  Disc.  Prelim. 

b  The"  Trullan  Canons  say  :  "  They  who  affect 
to  be  Anchorets,  shall  first  for  three  years  be  con- 
fined to  a  cell  in  a  Monastery  ;  and  if,  after  this, 
they  profess  that  they  persist,  let  them  be  examined 
by  the  Bishop  or  Abbot ;  let  them  live  one  year  at 
large  ;  and  if  they  still  approve  of  their  first  choice, 
let  them  be  confined  to  their  cell,  and  not  be  per- 
mitted to  go  out  of  it,  but  by  consent  and  benedic- 
tion of  the  Bishop  in  case  of  great  necessity.1' 
Canon  41. 

"  Hermits  who  stroll  up  and  down  in  towns  in 
black  habits  and  long  hair,  and  converse  freely  with 
both  sexes,  shall  be  either  shorn  and  go  into  some 
Monastery,  or  be  driven  into  the  Wilderness,  from 
whence  they  have  their  names."    Canon  42. 

There  are  strong  anathemas  against  Anchorets 
in  the  Gangran  Canons.     Canon  9.  17. 

Johnson's  Eastern  Canons,  83,  85,  274,  275.   F. 


petual  Anchorage,  uninterruptedly  oc- 
cupied by  a  religious,  who  voluntarily 
secluded  himself.  The  penitent  not 
only  vowed  eternal  silence,  but  abso- 
lutelv  saw  no  person  but  the  brother 
by  whose  hands  he  received  his  nou- 
rishment.^ c 

"  Towards  the  end  of  the  ninth  cen- 
turv,  a  certain  person  named  Grimlaic 
made  a  rule  for  those  who  wished  to 
adopt  this  anachoretical  life.  By  this 
rule,  their  cells  were  to  be  near  a 
church,  but  it  was  permitted  to  them 
to  join  to  it  a  small  garden.  Many 
might  even  dwell  too-ether  in  one  com- 
mon  enclosure,  and  even  have  commu- 
nication by  a  window,  provided  that 
every  cell  was  separate.  They  lived 
there,  either  by  the  labour  of  their 
hands  or  by  alms,  or  by  what  the  neigh- 
bouring monasteries  bestowed.  Their 
dress  was  a  frock.  Notwithstanding, 
if  they  were  Priests,  they  used  a  cope, 
and  had  the  right  of  confessing.  There 
were  some  of  them  who  brought  up 
disciples,  but  these  lived  out  of  the 
common  enclosure,  and  the  candidates, 
after  a  certain  time  of  noviciate  and 
trial,  were  obliged  to  become  Anchorets 
in  their  turn."'d  [M.  D'Aussy  has 
omitted  the  dreadful  task  in  Grimlaic's 
Rule  of  learning  the  gospels,  and  other 
Scriptures  by  heart.] 

"  The  Bishop  performed  the  cere- 
mony of  seclusion.  He  put  his  seal 
upon  the  Anchorage,  which  could  not 
be  removed  but  when  the  recluse  had 
need  of  assistance,  or  was  sick."'e 

Thus  M.  Le  Grand  D'Aussy.  That 
all  this  was  purely  Egyptian,  will  ap- 
pear from  the  legend  of  Thaysis,  a 
prostitute,  converted  by  the  Abbot 
Pafuncius.  "She  went  to  the  place 
whiche  th'  abbot  had  assygned  to  her. 
And  there  was  amonasterye  of  vyrgyns, 
and  there  he  closed  her  in  a  celle,  and 
sealed  the  door  with  led.  And  the  celle 


c  Vallombreuse  is  situated  in  the  Apennines,  not 
far  from  Florence.  Upon  the  hills  around  are  her- 
mitages occupied  by  religious,  who  lead  a  very 
austere  life,  according  to  the  Benedictine  Rule.     F. 

d  C.  64.  The  Rule  is  printed  in  Holstein's 
Codex. 

e  Notices  des  MSS.  v.  p.  287,  288. 
2  B  2 


372 


CONSUETUDINAL    OF    ANCHORETS    AND    HERMITS. 


was  lytyli  and  strayte,  and  but  one 
lytell  wyndowe  open,  by  whiche  was 
mynistred  to  her  poor  lyvinge:  For  the 
abbot  commaunded  that  they  shold 
gyve  to  her  a  lytill  bred©  and  water. 
And  whan  th5  abbot  sholde  departe, 
Thaysis  sayde  to  him,  fader,  where 
shall  I  shedde  the  water,  and  that 
whyche  shall  come  fro  the  conduytes 
of  nature.  And  he  sayde  to  her,  in  thy 
celle,  as  thou  art  worthy.  And  thenne 
she  demaunded  how  she  sholde  praye  : 
and  he  answered ;  thou  art  not  worthy 
to  name  God,  ne  that  the  name  of  the 
Trynite  be  in  thy  mouth,  ne  stratche 
thy  hondes  too  heven  by  cause  thyn 
lippes  ben  full  of  Inyquytes  and  thyn 
hondes  full  of  evil  altouchinges  andfoule 
ordures"*  Thus  the  last  sentence 
shows  how  she  was  to  extricate  herself 
from  a  most  annoying  embarrassment 
of  her  situation. 

In  [Rader's]  Rule  of  the  Solitaries,13 
the  Cell  of  an  Anchoret  is  to  be  of 
stone,  12  feet  long,  and  as  many  broad, 
with  three  windows,  one  opposite  the 
Choir,  by  which  the  sacrament  was  re- 
ceived ;  the  second  for  admitting  food  ; 
the  third,  light,  which  was  to  be  closed 
with  horn  or  glass. 

Osbern,  in  his  Life  of  Dunstan,  men- 
tions the  Destina  (for  so  these  anchor- 
holds  or  stalls  affixed  to  larger  build- 
ings were  called),0  occupied  by  Dunstan 
soon  after  he  became  a  Monk.  It  was 
annexed  to  the  Church  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  at  Glastonbury,  where  he  had 
been  professed.  Osbern  says,  he  scarcely 
knew  what  to  call  it,  whether  a  Cell,  or 
Destina,  or  Cave,  since  it  was  made  by 
Dunstan's  own  hands,  and  more  re- 
sembled a  Sepulchre  than  a  human  ha- 
bitation. For  to  bear  testimony,  he 
says,  of  a  thing  which  he  had  himself 
seen,  the  length,  as  far  as  his  estima- 
tion went,  could  not  be  more  than  five 
feet,  and  the  breadth,  two  feet  and  a 
half.  Further,  the  depth  was  about 
the  height  of  a  man,  supposing  any 
one  was  standing  in  a  pit,  otherwise  it 


a  Golden  Legend,  f.  clxxx.  b. 

b  C.  16.     A  Bavarian  Rule. 

c  By  Bede,  1.  3.  c.  17.     Wharton's  note. 


would  not  reach  up  to  the  breast ;  and 
from  hence  it  is  plain,  that  he  slept 
lying,  and  always  prayed  to  God  stand- 
ing. The  door  formed  one  whole  side. 
In  the  midst  of  the  door  was  a  small 
window,  which  gave  light  to  the  person 
at  work  within  ;  for  Dunstan  was  a  ca- 
pital goldsmith.*1  Thus  it  appears,  that 
the  habitation  resembled  a  cobbler 's stall ,e 
in  point  of  fact.  From  these  origins, 
there  arose  regular  anchor-holds  or  an- 
chor-houses annexed  to  Abbatial  or  Pa- 
rochial Churches.f  Some  Anchorets 
were  even  placed  in  Churches  to  look 
after  them.?  Alms  boxes  were  annex- 
ed to  them.     Piers  Plowman  says, 

i(  Ne  in  ancres  there  a  box  hangeth." 
Fol.  lxxx. 

They  were  the  great  emporia  of  the 
village  news,h  an  abuse  quite  foreign 
to  the  institution. 

It  was  strictly  enacted,  that  no  An- 
chorets or  Anchoresses  should  be  put 
in  any  place,  1.  without  the  special 
license  of  the  Diocesan,  2.  due  consi- 
deration of  the  situation,  3.  quality  of 
the  person,  and,  4.  means  of  support. 
The  first  article,  as  commented  by 
Lyndwood,  shows  that  Monks  might 
become  Hermits  by  license  of  the  Ab- 
bot, but  not  Anchorets.  The  second 
refers  to  the  place,  whether  it  was  near 
any  church,  or  far  separated  from  it; 
whether  it  were  in  the  city  or  in  the 
country;  because  there  was  a  more 
speedy  provision  for  such  a  recluse  in 
his  wants  in  the  city  than  in  the  coun- 
try, where  the  inhabitants  in  general 
were  poor.  It  was  also  to  be  consi- 
dered, whether  it  was  near  any  Monas- 
tery, by  whose  alms  the  Anchoret  could 
be  supported.     The  quality  of  the  per- 

d  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  96. 

e  I  use  this  term  because  it  is  ancient.  Domitian 
removed  the  stalls  which  blocked  up  the  streets  of 
Rome  (Mart.  vii.  60)  ;  and  the  Acts  of  S.  Ber- 
trand  say,  "  He  was  sitting  in  his  stall,  as  is  the 
custom  of  the  shoemakiny  trade."  Du  Cange,  v. 
Scapinus. 

f  Weever's  Fun.  Monum.  150. 

e  Parker's  Norwich,  259. 

h  Vrom  mulne  (mill),  and  vrom  chepyng  (mar- 
ket), vrom  smid'de'  (smith's  shop),  and  vrom  an- 
crehuse,  men  tidinge  bringeth.  MS.  Cot.  Nero, 
A.  xiv.  f.  21.  a. 


CONSUETUDINAL  OF  ANCHORETS  AND  HERMITS, 


373 


son  regarded  his  profession,  whether 
religious  or  secular,  clerk  or  layman, 
young  or  old.  The  means  of  his  sup- 
port was  to  be  regarded,  because,  if  he 
had  not  property  of  his  own,  or  being 
a  Monk,  had  claims  upon  his  house, 
he  could  not  well  be  included  in  one 
spot ;  and  the  Bishop  was  to  look  into 
this,  because  otherwise  the  Anchoret 
might  be  starved  to  death,  or  the  Bi- 
shop be  compelled  to  support  him,  in 
the  manner  of  a  clerk,  ordained  with- 
out a  title.*  At  St.  Augustine's  Can- 
terbury, Anchorets  were  not  to  be 
made,  except  by  the  Ordinary,  nor  by 
the  Ordinary  without  consent  of  the 
Abbot.b 

Anchor-holds  were  not,  however,  al- 
ways near  cities  or  churches.  Goluen- 
nus  chose  a  place  for  himself  near  the 
shore,  most  fit  for  divine  contempla- 
tion, and  built  there  a  small  house 
square  in  the  form  of  an  oratory,  which, 
in  the  language  of  the  Britons,  is  call- 
ed Peniti,  that  is,  the  house  of  Peni- 
tence, or  of  a  Penitent.  There  Goluen- 
nus  shut  himself  up  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  Penititium.  In  the  acts 
of  St.  Goeznoveus,  MS.  it  is  said,  that 
he  built  an  oratory  in  a  grove,  near  a 
river,  in  a  place  four  miles  distant  from 
a  city,  which  place  was  called  Peniti- 
tium S.  Goeznovei.c  Guthlack  went  to 
a  retired  spot,  and  the  remains  of  his 
chapel  are  still  called  Anchor -church- 
houseA  He  is  said  to  have  been  our 
first  Anchoret.e 

The  ceremony  of  including  an  An- 
choret was  as  follows.  He  was  to  be 
advised  by  the  Bishop,  or  some  other 
priest,  to  examine  his  conscience,  whe- 
ther he  acted  from  piety  sincere  or 
feigned ;  and,  if  the  answer  was  favour- 
able, the  Priest  was,  by  the  order  of 
the  Bishop,  to  shut  him  up.  Provi- 
sion was  first  to  be  made  for  his  con- 


a  Lynd.  214,  215.  »>  Lewis's  Thanet,  48. 

c  Du  Cange,  v.  Peniti. 

d  Second  Appendix  to  the  History  of  Croyland 
(Bibl.  Topogr.  Brit.),  vol.  III.  p.  287. 

e  Fecerunt  quandum  domum  super  solum  Re- 
gis, in  qua  qugedam  Anachorita  modo  inhabitat 
quae  Talet  p'  annum,  &c.  Rot.  Pari.  i.  419.  a° 
1324  and  5. 

The  site  was  "  Le  Droynes  de  Loundres," 


fession,  and  that,  on  the  day  preceed- 
ing  the  ceremony,  he  received  the  re- 
fection of  bread  and  water.  On  the 
night  following  he  passed  devout  vigils 
in  the  Church  nearest  the  Hermitage. 
On  the  morrow,  after  an  exhortation 
to  the  people  and  the  Anchoret,  the 
Priest  began  a  responsory  ;  and,  upon 
the  conclusion  of  it,  prostrated  himself 
with  his  ministers,  before  the  step  of 
the  altar,  and  said  certain  psalms.  Af- 
ter these,  the  mass  was  celebrated  in 
the  neighbouring  church,  and  an  espe- 
cial prayer  said  for  the  Anchoret.  Af- 
ter the  gospel,  he  offered  a  taper,  which 
was  to  burn  upon  the  altar  at  the  mass/ 
The  Anchoret  then  read  the  schedule 
of  his  profession  (which  consisted  only 
of  the  vows  of  obedience,  chastity,  and 
stedfastness),s  at  the  step  of  the  altar ; 
and,  if  he  was  a  layman,  the  priest  read 
it  for  him.  He  then  made  a  sign  of  his 
intention,  and  offered  it  upon  the  altar 
kneeling.  The  priest  consecrated  the 
habit,  and  sprinkled  that  and  the  An- 
choret with  holy  water.  Then  followed 

f  Qualiter  hii  qui  in  ordine  anachoritarum  de- 
beant  se  habere,  sequencia  secundum  usum  Sarum 
declarabunt.  Non  oportet  quenquam  inclusum, 
fieri  sine  episcopo  constitutum ;  ut  ab  episcopo,  aut 
ab  aliquo  alio  presbytero,  radietur  ac  moneatur, 
quatinus  ipse  devotus  suam  conscientiam  scrute- 
tur,  viz.  utrum  bona  an  mala  sanctitate  appetit, 
&c.  quod  cum  se  pro  regno  Dei,  &c.  includat  eum 
sacerdos  jussu  episcopi.  Imprimis,  provideat  sibi 
qui  includendus  est,  quod  de  omnibus  peccatis  suis 
qua?  suae  memorise  occurrere  possunt  sit  bene  con- 
fessus.  Et  quod  in  die  diem  inclusionis  prsece- 
dente  pane  et  aqua,  turn  reficiatur.  In  nocte  inse- 
quente  in  ecclesia  inclusario  suo  vicina  cum  suo 
csereo  accenso  devote  mseroribus  vigiliarum  tene- 
tur.  In  crastino  facta  exhortacione  ad  populum 
et  ad  eum  qui  est  includendus  sacerdos  incipiat  hoc 
modo  responsorium,  &o.  Functo  hoc  cum  suo 
clerico,*  prosternat  se  sacerdos  cum  suis  ministris 
ante  gradum  altaris,  et  dicant  hos  psalmos ;  his 
dictis  incipiatur  missa  de  quocunque  voluerit  quae 
celebrabitur  in  ecclesia,  juxta  quam  includi  debeat, 
et  ad  eandem  missam  dicatur  hsec  oratio  specialiter 
pro  includendo.  Post  Evangelium  offerat  inclu- 
dendus cereum  qui  super  altare  ad  missam  semper 
ardeat.  Postea  net-p  includendus  ad  gradum  al- 
taris et  legat  ....  professionem  suam.  MS. 
Harl.  873.  f.  18-  25.  a. 

s  Non  ancre  bi  mine  rede  ne  schal  makien  pro- 
fessiun,  that  is,  behoten  ase  hest  bute  three  thinges, 
that  beoth  obedience,  chastete,  and  studestathel- 
vestnesse  ....  obedience  of  hire  bischope  other 
(or)  of  hire  herre  (lord).  MS.  Cott.  Nero,  A.  xiv. 
f,  2. 


Or  choro. 


t  Or  fuerit. 


374 


CONSUETUDINAL  OF  ANCHORETS  AND  HERMITS 


mass  and  litany ;  after  which  they 
went  in  procession  to  the  hermitage. 
The  Priest  took  him  by  the  right  hand 
and  led  him  to  the  house,  which  was 
then  blessed  and  shut  from  without. 
The  Priest^  with  the  assistants,  retired, 
leaving  the  Anchoret  within,  and  ad- 
vised the  standers-by  to  pray  for  him.a 

A  similar  ceremony  ensued  with  re- 
spect to  female  Anchorets  ;  for  in  1351 
Lucy  de  Newchirche  received  letters  of 
the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  after  due  en- 
quiry made  into  her  life  and  morals, 
addressed  to  the  Archdeacon,  directing 
him  to  include  the  said  Anchoress  in 
the  hermitage  of  St.  Brandon,  near 
Bristol;  so  that  though  Anchorets  were 
net  Hermits,  anchor-holds  (the  old 
English  word)  were  styled  Hermitages. h 

There  exist  some  very  old  and  ca- 
rious Rules  respecting  these  female 
Anchorets,  which  shall  be  here  given, 
and  changing  the  sex,  they  are  equally 
applicable  to  these  male  Solitaries. 

Though  Recluses,  as  leading  an  an- 
choretical  life,  were  not  analogous  to 
Nuns,  yet  a  similar  rule  attached  to 
both,c  and  Recluse  and  Nun  were  sy- 
nonymous. 

A  very  ancient  Rule  is  that  of  Simon  | 
de  Gandavo  [or  of  Ghent]  to  his  sis- 
ters, Anchoresses,  whom  also  he  styles 
Nuns.  After  mentioning  the  vow  be- 
fore given,  he  adds,  "  that  hes  ne  schal 
then  stude  never  more  chaungen,  bute 
vor  nead,  one  alse  strengde  and  deathes 
dred,^  i.  e.  the  vow  was  not  to  be  in- 
fringed but  by  the  most  imperious  ne- 
cessity or  fear  of  death.  d 

Meat  not  to  eaten.  "Also  of  mete 
and  of  drunch  flesch  forgon." e  The 
next  of  the  Eucharist  painted  in  the 


a  Si  vero  laicus  fuerit  a  presbytero  legatur  pro  eo 
professio.  Deinde  faciat  includendus  signum  qu[od 
velit]  facere  scedulam  professionis  suae,  et  earn 
offerat  super  altare  genibus  flexis.  Post  hoc  bene- 
dicat  sacerdos  habitum  professionis  et  tunc  asper- 
gat  sacerdos  habitum  et  suscipientem,  &c.  de  foris 
domus  claudatur.     MS.  Harl.  ut  supra. 

b  Barret's  Bristol,  p.  61. 

c  In  Bennet  Coll.  Libr.  Cambridge,  is  a  MS.  en- 
titled, "  A  rule  for  Nunnes  and  Recluses,"  in  old 
English  written  in  Saxon  characters.  Hickes's 
Grammat.  Anglo- Saxonica,  p.  164  (in  Catalogo 
Libror.  Septentrion.) 

d  MS.  Cott.     Nero,  A.  xiv.  f.  2.         e  Fol.  2. 


chamber  of  Nuns S  "Also  se  schulen 
don,  whon  the  preost  halt  hit  ette 
messe,g  and  bivore  the  confiteor  hwon 
ze  schulen  beon  ihuseled n  efter  this 
valleth  acneon i  to  other  crucifix  mid 
teos  vif  gretunges.'Jk 

'f  Nonnes  must  not  foulle  their  ho- 
liday cloaths."  1  Their  studies  were  to 
be  "  versling  of  hire  sautere  [their 
Psalter],  reding  of  Englischs  oder  [or] 
of  Freinchs  holi  meditaciuns/'m 

Grace  occurs  before  drinking.  "  Bi- 
tweone  mete  who  so  drinken  wull  sigge 
[say]  Benedict  e. "  ^ 

Another  article  allegorizes  the  dress. 
"That  blake  clod  betockned  that  ze 
beoth  blacke  and  unwurde  toward  the 
worlde:  that  hwite  creois  limpeth0  to  on 
vor  threo  manere  creorices  beoth  reade 
and  blake  and  white ;  that  reade  limpeth 
to  theo,  that  beoth  vor  godes  luve  mid 
hore  bio  d-scheddingeireaded  (reddened) 
ase  the  martiris  weren  :  the  blake  croiz 
limpeth  to  theo,  that  makied  id^e  [in 
the]  worlde  hore  penitence  nor  lod- 
licke  sinnen :  that  white  croiz  limped 
to  hwit  meidenhed  and  to  clennesse." 

Rule  of  Silence.  (i  Everich  vrideie  P 
of  de  zer  holdeth  silence,  bute  zif  [un- 
less] hit  beo  duble  feste,  and  teonne 
holdith  hir  sum  other  dai  i  the  wike 
ithen  advent  and  i  the  umbridayes, 
wodnesdays  and  fridayes  in  the  lanten 
three  dayes  and  al  the  swith5  wike  vort 
non  ;  of  Ester  even  to  oyr  meiden  ze 
muyen  thaut  siggen  [say]  mid  lut  [lov- 
ing] wordes,  what  ze  wulled,  and  zif 
eni  god  mon  is  of  feorrene  ikumen, 
herched,  his  speche  and  onswerid  mid 
lut  wordes  to  his  askunge."^ 

He  then  reprobates  embraces  of  men. 
ft  God  hit  wot  ase  me  were  muchele 
dole  leovere  thet  ich  iseie  on  alle  threo 
mine  leove  sustren   wummen  me  leo- 

f  Eucharista  depicta  in  conclavi  Nonnarum. 

s  Elevates,  or  holds  the  Host  at  Mass. 

h  Hoseled,  i.  e.  receive  the  sacrament. 

1  Fall  on  your  knees  to  the  crucifix  with  these 
livelv  salutations. 

k  Fol.  4.  a.         '  Fol.  4.b.  m  Fol.  10.  a. 

n  Ibid. 

0  Belongeth,  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  limpian, 
pertinere. 

p  Instances  have  been  repeatedly  given  of  the 
uncommon  sanctity  attached  to  Fridays. 

fi  Fol.  16. 


CONSUETUDINAL    OF    ANCHORETS    AND    HERMITS. 


3/5 


vest  hongen  on  a  gibet  vort  wid  buyen 
sunne  then  ich  iseie  on  of  ou  (you)  ziven 
enne  e.lpi  col  to  eni  mon  on  eorde,  so 
ase  ich  mene  leh  am  still  of  demore 
nout  on  monglinde  honden  ....  hire- 
sulf  beholden  hire  owene  honden  white 
ded'herm  to  moni  ancre.'^  i.  e.  he  had 
rather  see  them  hanged  on  a  gibbet,  than 
taking  any  man  round  the  neck,  light 
of  gesture  and  demeanour,  joining 
hands,  and  keeping  the  latter  white ;  on 
the  contrary,  like  the  Monks  of  La 
Trappe, 

They  were  every  day  to  scrape  up  the 
earth  for  their  graves,  with  their  hands. 
f-  Heo  schulden  schreapien  evViche  deie 
the  eorde  up  of  hore  putte  ther  heo 
schulden  rotien  inne."  a 

Monks  and  Priests  were  not  to  be 
called  by  their  proper  names.  K  Mid 
thus  thu  micht  siggen  [say]  a  munuch 
oder  a  preost,  and  nout  WiUam  ne 
water,  though  ther  ne  beon  non  oder.'''' 

Their  confessors  were  not  to  be  young. 
"  Ich  ne  der  noutthat  heo  deopluker  b 
schrive  [confess]  hire  to  yunge  preos- 
tes  her  abuten." 

This  Manuscript c  is  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  for  the  author  was  Bi- 
shop of  Salisbury  from  1297  to  1315,d 
and  it  is  a  curious  specimen  of  the 
Saxon  English  of  the  time. 

A  more  interesting  rule  is  that  of  Al- 
fred of  Rievesby,  in  Latin  and  English, 
(the  latter  professed  to  be  a  translation, 
but  by  no  means  faithful,)  the  former 
intituled  De  Institutis  Inclusarum,e 
the  other  "  Reivle  of  a  Recluse."  The 
following  are  extracts  from  the  first : 
K  Surely  if  you  have  any  necessary 
food,  or  cloathing  of  value,  you  are  not 
a  Xun'" f     i:  I   do  not  like  a  pimp   of 

■  Fol.  29. 

b  From  the  Anglo-Saxon  beophcop.  Penitus. 
V.  Lye. 

c  There  is  a  Latin  Translation  of  this  MS.  at 
Masrdalen  Colleje,  Oxon.  See  Warton's  Emend,  v. 
i.  p.  11. 

d  Britton's  Cathedrals,  in  Salisbury,  p.  30. 

e  MS.  Cott.  Xero,  A.  3. 

f  F.  3.  Certe  si  prerii  necessariura  victum  et 
vesritura  aliquem  habes  monacha  non  es. .  . .  Nolo 
ut  insidiatrix  pudicitiae  vetala  mixta  pauperisms  ac- 
cedat ;  propius  deferat  ab  aliquo  monachorum  vel 
clericorum  eulogias  nee  blanda  verba  in  aure  susur- 
ret  ;  ne  pro  accepta  eleemosyna  osculans  manum 
venenum  insibilet.  f.  3.  b. 


an  old  woman,  mixed  among  the  poor, 
bringing  eulogiee,  [presents  of  conse- 
crated bread,  see  the  Chapter  of  Rules  ,~\ 
and  whispering  soft  words  to  you  from 
some  Monk  or  Clerk,  lest  she  should 
insinuate  poison,  when  she  kisses  your 
hand  for  alms  received. 

Care  is  also  to  be  taken,  that  the 
Anchoress  be  not  burdened  in  showing 
hospitality  to  religious  women;  for 
often  among  the  good,  some  very  bad 
come,  who  sitting  down  before  the  an- 
choress's window,  after  prefacing  with 
a  few  pious  speeches,  run  off  to  secular 
matters.  Thence  she  begins  to  frame 
love  affairs,  and  pass  nearly  the  whole 
night  without  sleep.  Beware  of  such 
persons,  &c.s 

"  Therefore  let  some  old  woman  be 
chosen,  not  garrulous,  not  litigious, 
not  gadding  about,  not  a  tale-bearer. 
Let  this  woman  guard  the  door  of  the 
cell,  and  admit  and  repel  whom  she 
ought.h 

"  Let  her  have  a  girl  to  carry  bur- 
dens; fetch  water  and  wood;  dress 
beans  or  pot-herbs,  or,  if  infirmity  re- 
quires it,  procure  superior  viands.* 

a  Grant  no  access  to  boys  and  girls. 
There  are  certain  Anchoresses,  who  are 
occupied  in  teaching  girls,  and  turn 
their  cell  into  a  school.  She  sits  at  the 
window,  they  in  the  porch.  She  be- 
holds each,  and  during  their  puerile 
actions,  now  is  angry,  now  laughs,  now 
threatens,  now  soothes,  now  spares, 
now  kisses;  now  calls  the  weeping 
child  to  be  beaten,  now  strokes  her 
face,  draws  up  her  head,  and  eagerly 


B  Cavendum  prsetereaest,  utnec  obsusceptionem 
religiosarum  foeminarum  quodlibet  hospitalitatis 
onus  inclusa  suscipiat.  Nam  inter  bonas  plerum- 
que  tarn  pessimas  veniunt,  quae  ante  inclusa;  fenes- 
tram  discumbentes,  promissis  valde  paucis  de  reli- 
gione  sermonibus,  ad  ssecularia  devolvuntur.  Inde 
subtexere  amatoria  et  fere  totum  noctem  insompnem 
ducere.     Cave  tu  tales,  ike.  fol.  3.  b. 

h  Itaque  eligatur  anus  aliqua  non  garrula,  non 
litigiosa,  non  vaga,  non  rumigerula  :  Usee  ostium 
cellae  custodiat,  et  quos  debuerit  vel  admittat,  vel 
repellat.  fol.  4. 

1  Habeat  sibi ad  onera  sustinenda  puellam, 

qua;  aquam  et  ligna  comportet  ;  coquat  fabas,  aut 
olera  ;  aut  si  hoc  infirmitas  exegerit,  praparet  po- 
ciora.  fol.  4. 


3/6 


CONSUETUDINAL  OF  ANCHORETS  AND  HERMITS. 


embracing  her,  calls  her  her  daughter, 
her  love.a 

w  That  we  may  not  impose  upon  you 
perpetual  silence,  let  us  see  with  whom 
you  may  honestly  converse.  If  it  be 
possible,  let  there  be  provided,  in  a 
neighbouring  monastery  or  church, 
some  old  priest  of  sound  morals,  and 
good  character.  With  him  conversa- 
tion may  now  and  then  be  holden  con- 
cerning confession  and  edification  of  the 
soul;  advice  be  received  in  doubtful, 
consolation  in  sad  affairs.  But  as  even 
old  age  may  not  be  insusceptible  of b 
amatory  emotions,  you  are  not  to  give 
him  your  hand  to  touch,  or  feel.  Let 
no  discourse  be  held  concerning  his  at- 
tenuated features,  lean  arms,  and 
wrinkled  skin,  lest  where  you  seek  a 
remedy,  you  incur  danger." 

Speak  with  no  visitors  unless  a  Bi- 
shop or  Abbot,  or  Prior  of  high  charac- 


a  Pueris  et  puellis  nullum  ad  te  concedas  acces- 
sum.  Sunt  quasdam  inclusse,  quae  docendis  puellis 
occupantur,  et  cellam  suam  vertunt  in  scolam.  Ilia 
sedet  ad  fenestram  ;  istse  in  porticu  resident.  Ilia 
intuetur  singulas  ;  et  inter  puellares  motus,  nunc 
irascitur,  nunc  ridet,  nunc  minatur,  nunc  blanditur, 
nunc  parcit,  nunc  osculatur,  nunc  uentem  pro 
verbere  vocat ;  ipsius  palpat  faciem,  stringit  col- 
lum  ;  etin  arnplexum  mens,  nunc  filiam  vocat,  nunc 
amicam.  fol.  4.  a. 

b  Quod  perpetuum  ni  cum  viris  indicere  possi- 
mus  silentium  cum  quibus  bonestius  loqui  possit 
videamus.  Igitur  si  fieri  potest  provideatur  in  vi- 
cino  monasterio,  vel  ecclesiapresbiter  aliquis  senex, 
maturis  moi"ibus,  et  bouse  opinionis.  Cui  raro  de 
confessione  et  animse  edificatione  loquatur  a  quo 
consilium  accipiat  in  dubiis,  in  tristibus  consola- 
tionem.  Verum  quia  (I  decline  inserting  tbe  next 
part)  emollit  mortuam  senectutem,  nee  ipsi  manum 
suam  tangendam  prsebeat  vel  palpandam.  Nulla 
nobis  de  macie  vultus,  de  exhillaritate  (sic)  brachio- 
rum,  de  cutis  asperitate,  sermocinatio  fit;  ne  ubi 
quseris  remedium  incurras  perriculum.  fol.  5   b. 

Cum  nullo  advenientium,  prseter  episcopum  aut 
abbatem,  vel  magni  nominis  priorem,  sine  ipsius 
presbyteri  licencia.  vel  praecepto  loquaris,  et  tunc 
al'.quo  prsesente,  fol.  5. 

Nunquam  inter  te  et  quemlibet  virum  quasi  occa- 
sione  exbibendse  caritatis  vel  invitandi  affectus  vel 
expetendse  familiaritatis,  aut  amicitiae  spiritalis  dis- 
currant  nuncii ;  nee  eorum  munuscula  litterasque 
suscipias ;  nee  illis  tua  dirigas  ;  sicut  plerisque 
moris  est,  quae  zonas  vel  marsupia  diverso  stramine 
vel  sub  tegmine  variata  ;  et  cetera  bujusmodi  ado- 
leccentioribus  monacbis  vel  clericis  mittunt.  fol. 
6.  a. 

Nemo  se  palpet ;  nemo  blandiat  se ;  nemo  se 
fallat  ;  nunquam  ab  adolesceutibus,  sine  magna 
cordis  contritione,  et  carnis  aftiictione  eastitas  con- 
queritur  et  servatur.  fob  16.  b. 


ter,  without  the  license  or  direction  of 
the  Confessor,  and  then  in  the  pre- 
sence of  some  other  person. 

Never  let  any  messengers  run  to  and 
fro  between  you  and  any  man,  under 
colour  of  exhibiting  charity,  or  inviting 
regard,  or  courting  spiritual  familiarity 
or  friendship;  nor  receive  their  presents 
or  letters ;  or  direct  yours  to  them,  as 
is  the  custom  of  many,  who  send  girdles 
or  purses,  made  of  various  coloured 
straw,  or  diversified  under  a  case  or 
covering,  and  other  things  of  this  sort, 
to  young  monks  or  clerks. 

Let  no  one  stroke  herself ;  let  no  one 
flatter  herself;  let  no  one  deceive  her- 
self. Chastity  is  never  sought  or  pre- 
served without  great  contrition  of  hearty 
and  affliction  of  the  flesh. 

There  is  also  a  certain  hope  of  vanity, 
in  being  delighted  even  within  a  cell  by 
some  affected  decoration:  as  ornament- 
ing the  walls  with  various  pictures  or 
carvings  ;  the  oratory  with  a  variety  of 
tapestry  and  images.0 

The  Old  English  Paraphrase  (ac- 
cording to  the  language")  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  shall  now  be  given,  so  far  as 
concerns  its  contents  not  of  a  mere  ge- 
neral or  moral  kind.  It  is  entitled d 
"  Rewle  of  a  Recluse  e  that  seynt  Alrede 
wrote  to  his  suster." 

"  Omine  also  ben/  which  ben  busy 
in  gadrynge  of  worldly  good  in  bestaile 
in  wolle,  in  multipling  of  peny  to  peny 
and  shilyng,  so  that  they  oughten  ra- 
ther to  be  called  housewyves,  than  re- 
cluses. They  ordeyne  mete  for  her 
bestes,  verder  for  her  cattell,  and  atte 
yere's  end,  they  loke  after  the  n ombre 
or  after  the  price  ;  after  this  followeth 


c  Est  et  quaedam  spes  vanitatis  in  affectata  aliqua 
pulcbritudine  et  intra  cellulam  delectari  parietes 
variis  picturis  vel  celaturis  ornare,  oratorium  pan- 
norum  etimaginum  decorare.  fol.  19.  b. 

d  MS.  Bodl.  2322. 

e  Recluse  mostly  signified  an  Ancboress,  as  is 
plain  from  tbe  Anglia  Sacra,  ii.  269,  yet  tbere  are 
passages  in  this  rule,  as  of  keeping  cattle,  &c. 
wbicb  appear  to  me  to  apply  to  Nuns.  Inclusus 
also  denoted  an  Ancboret.     Id. 

f  Tbe  original  is  "  Quod  fere  vicium  per  omnes 
hujus  temporis  serpit  incmsas  pecuniae  aggregandse 
vel  multiplicandis,  pecoribus  inhiant."  MS.  Cott. 
Nero.  A.  3.  fol.  2.  This  is  more  than  decisive 
proof  of  the  looseness  of  the  translation. 


GONSUETUDINAL  OF  ANCHORETS  AND  HERMITS, 


377 


byinge  and  sellinge,  of  the  which  com- 
eth  covetise  and  avarice."  a 

"  First  chose  an  honest  ancient  wo- 
man in  lyvinge,  no  j angler  ne  royler 
about,  noo  chider,  noo  tidinges  teller, 
but  such  oon,  that  may  have  witnesse 
of  hir  good  conversacyon  and  honesty. 
Hir  charge  shall  be  to  kepe  thyn  hous- 
hold  and  thy  lyrlod  to  close  thy  dore  ; 
and  to  resceve  that  shuldbe  resceyved, 
and  to  voide  that  shuld  be  avoided ; 
under  her  govarnaile  shuld  she  have  a 
yonger  woman  of  age  to  bere  greter 
charges  in  fettynge  of  woode  and  water, 
and  sethynge  and  guithynge  of  mete 
and  drynke. 

i£  Also  how  a  recluse  should  speke,  and 
ivhanne.  Now  sith  I  have  tolde  the  of 
silence,  I  shall  also  shew  the  of  speche. 
Whan  thou  shalt  speke.  From  exalta- 
cyon  of  the  crosse  unto  Estern,  after 
tyrae  complyn  is  seyde  unto  pryme  be 
do  a  morrowe  to  speke  with  noon  saaf 
after  pryme  with  the  mynistres  that 
serven  the  yit  under  fewe  wordes  of 
such  thinges  as  the  nedith  ;  and  fro  that 
tyme  tyl  thou  have  ete,  kepe  the  in  si- 
lence in  devoute  praiers  and  holy  me- 
ditacions.  And  than  use  communica- 
cioun  tyll  evensonge  tyme.  After  even- 
songe  is  do  to  speke  with  thy  ministres 
of  thyngesthat  thebehoveth  till  tyme  of 
collacioun,  and  to  kepe  silence  for  al 
that  nyght,  from  Estern  til  the  exalfa- 
cion  of  the  crosse  come  ayen.  After 
tyme  that  complyn  is  seide  til  the 
sonne  arise  amorwe,  to  kepe  silence, 
and  than  to  speke  with  thy  ministres. 
After  tyme  prime  is  seide  tyl  the  thridde 
houre  to  commine  with  othir  that  co- 
men  honestly,  and  under  fewe  wordes. 
In  the  saam  wise  shalt  thou  do  bi- 
tweene  the  houre  of  noon  after  thou 
hast  ete  tyl  evensonge  tyme,  and  after 
evensong  is  adon  than  to  speke  with 
thy  ministres  tyl  the  tyme  of  collacyon. 
But  in  Lente  keepe  silence,  that  thou 
speke  with  noon  saaf  with  thy  confes- 
sour  and  thy  mynistres,  or  ellys  but  it 
be  som  body  that  cometh  from  fer  con- 
tre.    After  tyme  thou  hast  sayde  divyne 


fol.   1 


servyce,  thou  shalt  occupie  the  with 
some  honest  labour  of  thy  hondes — be 
well  wer  of  multitude  of  psalmes  in  thy 
pryvat  prayer,b  and  put  it  in  noo  cer- 
teyn  but  as  long  as  thou  delitist  ther 
inne  so  long  use  hem  :  and  when  thou 
beginnest  to  waxe  hevy  of  hem,  orwery, 
then  take  a  boke  and  rede,  or  do  som 
labour  with  thy  hondes.  Thus  shalt 
thou  be  occupied  bitwene  every  divyne 
houre  of  the  nyght,  and  of  the  day  from 
the  kalendes  of  November  unto  Lente, 
so  that  a  little  before  complyn  thou  be 
occupied  with  redynge  of  holy  faders 
prively  by  thiself  in  stede  of  thy  colla- 
cyon that  thou  mightest,  by  grace,  gete 
the  som  compuncyon  of  teres  and  fer- 
vour of  devocion  in  saienge  of  thy  com- 
plyn. And  whan  thou  art  thus  replet 
and  fedd  with  devocion  reste  the,  and 
go  to  to  (sic)  thy  bed  restynge  the  ther 
unto  the  tyme  that  it  be  passed  myd- 
nyght  her  than  thou  beginne  thy  ma- 
tyns,  for  thou  shalt  slepe  no  more  of  all 
day.  This  same  rule  shalt  thou  kepe 
from  Estern  unto  the  kalendes  of  No- 
vember, saaf  that  thou  shalt  slepe  after 
mete  afore  the  hour  of  noon.  Loke 
also  that  thou  be  in  bed  after  complyn 
by  than  the  sonne  goo  to  reste/'' 

In  Lent.  "  The  manner  of  thy  slep- 
ynge  in  this  tyme  a  fore  mydnyght  shall 
be  lasse  than  in  another  tyme." 

Eating  what — "with  so  many  of  pot- 
age  of  wortes,c  or  of  peses  or  of  benys, 
or  elles  of  formaged  medled  with  mylke 
or  with  oyle,  to  put  away  or  avoyde 
the  bitterness,  and  with  o  kynde  of 
ffyshe,  with  apples  or  with  herbes.  And 
upon  the  Wednesday,  Friday,  and  Sa- 
turday, to  use  but  Lent  metes.  In 
Lente  one  maner  of  potage  every  day, 
bute  sicknesse  it  make — every  Friday 
brede  and  water.  And  the  tyme  of  thy 
meles  shall  be  everyday  at'hye  none 
and  in    Lente    tyme    after  evensonge 


b  A  sick  nun  of  Barking  "  at  suche  tyme  as  her 
sickness  came  entryd  in  to  her  oratorye",  and  sayde 
the  seven  psalmes  and  letanye."  Golden  Legend, 
fol.  clxxxix.  v. 

c  Cabbage,  Sax.  All  kinds  of  Pot-herbs.  Junius. 

d  Fromage,  cheese,  will  naturally  occur  to  mind, 
but  jirmiti/  is  no  doubt  meant.    See  Refectory. 

e  Without.    Sax. 


378 


CONSUETUDINAL  OF  ANCHORETS  AND  HERMITS. 


from  Estern  to  Whitsondye  ontakea 
Rogacion  days  and  With  sone  eve,  thou 
shalt  ete  at  midday  and  sithen  b  at  even- 
ing. This  rule  shall  tow  kepe  al  the 
somer  tyme  ontake  c  Wednesday  and 
Friday,  and  other  solempne  vigils. 
Also  thou  maist  and  thou  wilt,  every 
fastynge  day  in  the  somer  season,  by 
cause  thou  hast  noo  merydian  after 
noon,  to  slepe  bitwene  matyns  and 
pryme.  Thy  vesture  that  thou  shalt 
use  ben  these;  a  warme  pylche  d  for 
winter,  and  oo  kirtelc  and  oo  cote  for 
somer  with  a  black  habite  above  hem, 
and  every  either  time  ii  stamyns  f — also 
loke  the  veyle  of  thyne  hed  bee  of  noo 
precyouse  clothe,  but  of  amene&  black, 
be  also  welwar  that  thou  have  no  more 
than  the  nedith  to  hoson  and  to  shoon, 
and  of  other  thynge  that  longeth  to  thy 
feet." 

"  Arraye  thyn  auter  with  white  lyn- 
nen  clothe,  the  whiche  betokeneth  both 
chastite  and  simplenesse.h  In  this  auter 
sette  an  image  of  christis  passion,  that 
thou  may  have  mynde  and  se  hou  he 
sette  and  spredde  his  armes  abrood  to 
resceyve  thee  and  al  mankynde  to  mercy 
if  thaie  wil  axe  it.  And  if  it  plese  the 
sette  on  that  oo  side  an  ymage  of  our 
Lady,  and  another  on  that  other  syde 
of  Seint  John,  for  commendacyon  of 
more  chastite,  bothe  of  man  and  of 
woman ;  the  which  be  ended  in  our 
Lady  and  seint  John.1  *'■ 

An  eminent  Anchoret,  whom  Mat- 
thew Paris  calls  "  holy  and  solitary," 


6  On  privativ.  Sax. 

b  Afterwards. 

c  "  Oultake"  is  a  true  old  English  word.  See 
Tyrwhitt's  Glossary  to  Chaucer. 

d  Pilch  was  a  garment  made  of  Skins  ;  a  furred 
one  I  suppose  here. 

e  A  tunic  or  waistcoat,  says  Tyrwhitt,  perhaps,  in 
its  common  acceptation,  a  petticoat.  Johnson  and 
Steevens's  Shakespeare,  v.  510.  ed.  2d. 

'  Woollen  shifts.         e  Middle. 

»»  Fol.  186. 

5  Ibid.  Fuller  (Waltham  Abbey,  17,)  has  the 
following  extract  from  Church-wardens'  Accounts 
in  1554  :  "  Item,  For  Mary  and  John  that  stand  in 
the  Rood-loft  26s.  Sd.  Christ  (John  xix.  26.  &c.) 
on  the  Cross  saw  his  mother,  and  the  Disciple  whom, 
he  loved,  standing  by.  In  apish  imitation  whereof 
the  Rood  (when  perfectly  made  with  all  the  appur- 
tenances thereof)  was  attended  with  these  two 
images." 


was  Wulfric  of  Haselborough,  a  Priest, 
in  early  life  fond  of  hounds  and  hawks, 
but  converted  by  the  information  of  a 
beggar,  that  he  had  money  in  his  purse, 
with  which  he  was  not  acquainted.  At 
first  he  was  a  humble  friend  at  the  table 
of  the  Lord  of  the  Manor,  where  he  was 
born.  But  panting  for  solitude,  he  re- 
tired to  Haselborough,  where  he  passed 
his  life  in  a  cell,  contiguous  to  the 
Church.  Not  content  with  a  hair  shirt, 
[but  becoming  one  of  the  Loricati,]  he 
begged  an  old  iron  corslet  of  chain 
mail,k  which  from  becoming  thin,  at 
last  incumbered  him,  by  falling  to  his 
knees,  when  he  said  his  prayers.  He 
used  to  say  the  Psalter,  and  immerge 
himself  in  a  tub  of  cold  water,  during 
the  time,  at  night,  to  subdue  the  flesh. 
Strangers  resorted  to  him,  but  he  never 
conversed  with  them,  except  with  the 
windows  closed.  When  he  died,  he 
was  buried  in  his  oratory  at  Haselbo- 
rough.1 Anchorets  were  always  sup- 
posed to  hold  direct  intercourse  with 
Heaven,  and  converse  familiarly  with 
angels. m  For  this  reason  even  that  in- 
sufferable coxcomb,  Giraldus  Cambren- 
sisj  thought  proper  to  visit  an  Anchoret, 
within  his  own  Archdeaconry,  in  order 
to  take  his  opinion,  upon  relinquishing 
the  court  for  a  life  of  study,  and  have 
his  blessing,  because  the  Anchoret  was 
full  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  Anchoret 
had  been  to  Jerusalem,  and  afterwards 
shut  himself  up  in  his  prison.  After 
mass,  he  called  the  Priest  to  his  win- 
dow, to  read  the  Gospel,  and  at  the 
hour  of  refreshment,  his  servant  brought 
him  his  meal  to  his  window.  In  order 
to  comprehend  the  missal,  he  learned 
Latin,  but  only  to  be  understood,  with- 
out attention  to  the  grammar,  tenses, 
or  cases,  and  always  spoke  in  the  infini- 
tive mood ;  thus  instead  of  saying  (to 
render  his  words,  in  English)  "  1  went 
to  Jerusalem  and  visited  the  Sepulchre 


k  Very  religious  persons  for  mortification  wore 
an  iron  corslet  next  the  skin,  which  they  never 
took  off.  They  were  called  Loricati.  (Du  Cange, 
in  voce.)  It  was  also  presumed  to  prevent  tempta- 
tion by  carnal  weakness.     Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  59. 

1  M.  Paris,  78,  79. 

m  Du  Cange,  v.  Festum  Nativitatis  S.  Marice. 


CONSUETUDINAL    OF    ANCHORETS    AND    HERMITS. 


379 


of  Christ^  he  said,  "  I  to  go  to  Jeru- 
salem and  to  visit  the  Holy  Sepulchre." 
However  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
it  appears,  that  some  Cistercian  Monks 
had  persuaded  him  not  to  put  his  hand 
through  his  window,  and  cure  the  blind, 
lame,  and  sick,  who  resorted  to  his  cell, 
and  that  he  was  in  doubt  how  to  act, 
until  Giraldus  had  advised  him  to  exert 
his  faculty  of  healing.a     Thus  the  ab- 


surdity of  supposing,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  ever  in  doubt,  was  not  un- 
derstood, even  by  Giraldus ;  who 
blindly  acted  from  the  superstition  be- 
fore mentioned. 

There  are  strong  distinctions  made 
by  Piers  Plowman,  in  reference  to 
the  characters  of  Anchorets  and  Her- 
mits respectively.  Of  the  former,  he 
speaks  well, 


And  for  the  love  of  our  Lorde,  lyveden  full  harde, 
As  Ankers  and  Hermits,  that  hold  him  in  her  sells, 
And  coveten  nought  in  contrey  to  carien  aboute, 
For  no  liquerouse  livelode  b  her  likam  to  please. 


Fol.  i. 


A  Church  in  Normandy  being  set  on 
fire,  two  Anchoresses  were  burnt  to 
death  in  it,  because  they  thought  that 
their  cells  were  not  to  be  deserted, 
even  in  such  a  necessity;0  but  this 
opinion  was  not  general.  These  Fe- 
male Anchorets,  who  were  sometimes 
distinguished  by  the  vulgar  prefix  of 
mother,^  were  not  always  steady.  At  a 
part  of  the  Abbey  of  Whalley,  Lanca- 
shire, near  the  gate,  one  Isold  Heton, 
widow,  who  had  petitioned  Henry  VI. 
to  be  admitted  Anchoress  there,  after- 
wards went  away  disgusted  ;  and  it  ap- 
pears that  other  anchoresses  and  re- 
cluses had  done  the  same  before,  and 
that  divers  of  their  servauntes  attendant 
had  been  gotten  with  child  within  the 
said  place.e  The  prohibition  of  loco- 
motion necessarily,  as  before  noted,  re- 
quired attendants  in  their  service,  but 
with  respect  to  themselves,  it  is  pre- 
scribed in  the  visitation  of  Edmunds- 
bury,  "  that  the  Monks  do  not  hold 
frequent  and  familiar  conversations 
with  the   Nuns  near  the   Monastery, 


with  recluse  women,  that  so  all  ground 
of  suspicion  may  be  taken  away."f 

At  Bicknor,  in  Kent,  is  a  shed^  or 
hovel,  called  the  rector  s  house,  built 
against  the  North  side  of  the  Church, 
with  a  room  projecting  nearly  across 
the  aisle,  and  under  the  same  roof.s 
This  was,  possibly,  an  anchor-hold; 
though  very  rare  instances  do  occur, 
of  such  residences  for  incumbents. 

Abroad  they  were  sometimes  of 
elegant  fashion.  Agnellus  says,  (i  At 
the  sides  of  the  said  Church,  he  sub- 
joined little  Monasteries,  all  which 
were  ornamented  with  gilt  tesselke,  and 
the  name  of  Maximianus  carved  upon 
the  tops  of  the  pillars,  together  with 
lithostratick,  tesselated,  or  Mosaick 
work,  in  the  Monastery,  forming  words. 
It  was  the  style  of  Roman  pavements .h 

Anchorages  were  situatedin  Churches, 
Church-yards,  over  the  Church  porch, 
and  at  Town  gates.  They  had  often 
Chapels  annexed.* 

Anchorets  were  denominated  et  Sir/' 
as  ie  Sir  Thomas  the  Anchorite/'  in 
Taylor's  Index  Monasticus,  p.  65, 


HERMITS. 


Godrick  of  Finchale  was  a  Hermit 
of  high  note  in  his  day.  He  learned 
the  Psalter  by  heart,  and  lived  in  a 
cottage,  excavated  out  of  the  ground, 

a  Angl.  Sacr.  ii.  497.  493. 

Hie  Heremita  sacer  non  parvo  tempore  vixit 
Seepius  Angelicis  felix  affatibus  usus. 

Alcuin.  de  Pontif.  Ebc-r.  v.  662. 

b  This  is  explained  further  on. 

c  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  262.         d  Ballard's  Ladies,  p.  1. 

e  Weever's  Funer.  Monum.  154,  5.  ed.  fol. 


and  covered  with  turf.  To  it  was  an- 
nexed an  oratory,  which  had  not  only 
a  crucifix,  but  an  image  and  altar  of 

£  Interdicimus  et  monachis  frequentia  et  fami- 
liaria  colloquia  cum  monialibus  huic  monasterio 
vicinis,  cum  mulieribus  reclusis,  ut  ita  tollatur 
omnis  materia  suspicionis.  MS.  Cott.  Jul.  D.  ii. 
f.  139.  a. 

e  Hasted's  Kent,  v.  568. 

h  Du  Cange,  v.  Lithostratas,  Literce. 

'  Taylor's  Index  Monasticus,  p.  65. 


380 


HERMITS. 


the  Virgin  Mary,  as  well  as  another 
altar  of  John  the  Baptist,  possibly 
from  the  eremitical  character  of  that 
saint.  He  lay  at  night  upon  the  ground, 
his  pillow  being  a  stone,  which  served 
him  also  for  a  table.  Being  deter- 
mined to  live  by  manual  labour  only, 
for  which  purpose  he  cultivated  a  piece 
of  ground,  he  refused  all  presents,  and 
provisions,  which  were  offered  to  him. 
He  reduced  the  branches  and  roots  of 
herbs  to  ashes,  which  he  mixed  with 
barley  flour  in  such  proportion,  that 
the  ashes  contained  a  third  part.  As 
he  abstained  often  for  six  whole  days 
without  food,  and  never  ate  without 
the  most  urgent  necessity,  famine  re- 
conciled him  to  this  coarse  diet  3  nor 
did  he  drink  any  thing,  but  a  very 
small  quantity  of  water,  which  he  took 
only  when  urged  by  thirst.  In  the 
Winter,  often  during  the  whole  night, 
he  immerged  himself  naked  in  a  frozen 
river,  up  to  his  neck,  and  there  said 
prayers  and  psalms.  This  usual  pro- 
cess, for  subduing  carnal  appetites,  was 
called  offering  himself  a  living  victim 
to  the  Lord.  At  times,  he  sat  in  his 
oratory,  ruminating  upon  the  Psalter ; 
and  upon  holidays  or  other  great  days, 
a  Priest  or  Monk  attended  to  say  Mass 
to  him  in  that  Oratory.  He  wore  a 
hair-shirt,  and  an  iron  corslet  for  fifty 
years.  He  never  occupied  a  bed,  but 
lay  naked  in  his  hair  shirt.  Like  all 
other  Anchorets  and  Hermits  he  was 
presumed  to  have  frequent  intercourse 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  celestial 
world  .a 

It  was  usual  with  Hermits  to  say  the 
Psalter  every  day,b  and  they  were  fa- 
vourite Confessors.  Don  Quixote 
makes  them  the  especial,  perhaps  only 
Confessors  of  Knights  Errant.  In  the 
romance  of  the  Nouveau  Renard,  writ- 
ten in  the  13th  century,  Renard  goes 
to  confess  to  a  Hermit,  who  tells  him, 
if  he  turns  to  that  profession,  he  must 
walk  bare-footed,  wear  a  hair  shirt, 
and  live  upon  water  and  roots,0  though 
barley -bread  and  wTater  was  a  common 


*  M.  Paris,  97—99.  b  Id.  284. 

e  Notices  des  MSS.  v.  622. 


food.d  To  this  there  were  exceptions. 
In  the  "  Enseignmens  of  the  Chevalier 
de  la  Tour  Lundri,"  a  MS.  of  the  14th 
centmy,  wTe  hear  of  a  Hermit  who  ac- 
cepted hospitality  and  lodging  from  a 
female.e 

In  the  (i  Acta  Sanctorum  "  it  is  said, 
that  they  invited  William  the  Hermit 
to  dinner,  and  placed  before  him  Mac- 
caroons,  a  kind  of  delicate  sweetmeat/ 
To  this  good  fare,  from  hospitality, 
Piers  Plowman  alludes  by  the  words 
"lyqerouselivelihoode"  before  quoted, 
and  additionally  illustrated  further  on. 

It  was  generally  thought,  that  they 
had  the  power,  from  sanctity,  of  curing 
diseases,  and  working  miracles. S  21 
Ed.  III.  Thomas  Lord  Berkeley  found- 
ed an  Hermitage  at  Bedminster,  near 
Bristol,  and  placed  one  John  Markes 
therein  for  life,  so  that  Hermitages 
passed  under  the  advowson  form.h 
Unlike  other  religious,  they  could  pos- 
sess property,  and  make  a  will.1  They 
commonly  followed  trades  or  occupa- 
tions. Bilfrid,  an  Anglo-Saxon  An- 
choret, was  an  excellent  goldsmith,  and 
worked  at  that  trade.k  It  was  often 
usual  for  Bishops,  or  Abbots,  to  retire, 
and  end  their  days  as  Hermits.1  Emi- 
nent Hermits  sometimes  drew  female 
Anchorets  around  them.  Roger,  a 
Monk  of  St.  Alban's,  lived,  as  a  Her- 
mit, in  obedience  to  his  Abbot ;  under 
whom  was  one  Christina,  as  an  An- 
choress, in  a  cell,  contiguous  to  his 
oratory.  He  never  saw  her  face,  and 
she  was  so  concealed  by  boarded  con- 
trivances, as  to  be  invisible  to  any 
person,  externally;  and  instead  of  a 
door,  was  a  hard  trunk  of  wood,  which 
was  too  heavy  to  be  moved  by  her. 
She  lay  upon  the  cold  stone,  condemn- 
ed to  sit  immovably,  be  tortured,  and 
remain  in  silence,  nor  had  any  means 
of  summoning  Roger  to  her,  but  by 
the  voice  and  knocking ;  and  this  she 


d  Gemeticensis,  622.  e  Notices,  v.  162. 

,  f  Du  Cange,  v.  Maccarones. 
s.-P.  de  Comines,  B.  vi.  c  8.    Gold.  Leg,  ccxliv. 
M.  Paris,  98,  &c. 

h  Smythe's  Berkeley  MS.  f.  357. 

>  Lyndw.  167.  k  X  Script.  22. 

1  M.  Paris,  993.     Angl.  Sacr.  &c.  &c. 


HERMITS, 


381 


was  afraid  to  do,  even  to  sigh,  lest  any 
one  besides  Roger  should  be  present, 
and  discover  her  retreat,  which  she 
dreaded  more  than  death ;  nor  except 
in  the  evening  "  exire  foras,  non  nisi 
serolicebatadea  quge  natura  poposcit.^a 
As   she  was  a   famous   embroideress, 


possibly   she   amused  herself  in  that 
employ. 

Whatever  might  be  the  estimation 
in  which  particular  Hermits  were  held, 
many  of  them  were  worthless  rogues 
and  vagabonds.  Piers  Plowman,  though 
he  speaks  well  of  Anchorets,  thus  de- 
scribes Hermits : 


In  habyte  as  an  Hermit  unholie  of  workes, 
Hermets  on  a  heape  with  hoked  staves  b 
Wenten  to  Walsingham  and  her  wenches  after, 
Great  loubeis  and  longe  that  loth  were  to  swynke, 
Clothed  hem  in  copes  to  be  knowen  from  other 
And  shopen  hem  hermits  her  ease  to  have. 


Fol.  i. 


Fol.  i.  b. 


To  understand  this,  it  is  fit  to  note, 
that  Lob,  Lubber,  Looby >  and  Lobcock, 
says  Steevens,  all  denoted  inactivity  of 
body  and  dulness  of  mind  :  and  swinke 
is  labour.  As  to  the  copes,  the  cos- 
tume of  Hermits  is  a  long  gown  with 
a  hood  covering  the  whole  body,  with 
arm-holes,  a  tunick,  and  rosary :  beard 
very  long,c  but  their  dress  was  often 
ragged. 

"Or  clothed  in  some  hermit's  ragged  reed," 

says  George  Fletcher .d  To  this  add  a 
rope  for  a  girdle,  a  hair-shirt,  and  what 
was  peculiarly  affected,  a  Knight's  iron 
corslet.€  Langland,  the  author  of 
Piers  Plowman,  is  well  supported  by 
other  authorities.  "  The  Hermit  of 
Dursley  was  awarded  at  the  court  of 
the  Manor  of  Ham,  8  Henry  VIII. 
bind  manu  (a  form  of  arraignment  I 
believe  belonging  to  the  Clergy/)  with 
two  hands,  to  prove,  that  the  horse 
which  had  thither  strayed,  and  there 
been  taken  up,  was  not  thiefe-stolen 
by  him,  but  his  own  proper  goods.s" 
Their  presumed  sanctity  was  not  al- 


a  Dugd.  Monast.  i.  350.  seq. 

b  Bearded  Hermits'  staves ;  Shakespeare,  2 
Hen.  IV.  Act  5.  Scene  i.  In  the  frontispiece  of 
MS.  Bodl.  3010,  is  a  Monk,  with  a  staff,  topped 
by  a  cross  botonnee ;  but  the  wood-cuts  of  the 
Legend  have  no  staff  at  all,  in  the  costumes  of 
Hermits. 

c  Cuts  in  the  Golden  Legend,  fol.  xliv.  ccxlix. 

d  Christ's  Triumph,  &c.  st.  lxii. 

e  Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  59.  See  note  of  the  Lori- 
cati,  p.  378. 

f  I  thiuk  I  have  seen  such  a  form  in  the  State 
Trials. 

£  Smy the' s  Berkeley  Hernesse  MS.  fol.  179. 


ways  a  protection  to  them,  probably 
from  frequent  bad  character.  We  hear 
of  one  Edwin  a  Hermit,  who  made  a 
turning  bridge  over  a  ditch,  round  his 
Hermitage ;  and  also  had  begun  an 
outer  ditch  in  a  marsh,  against  the 
shepherds,  who  wished  to  burn  down 
his  dwelling;  but  the  men  of  Saltrey 
hindering  him  and  driving  him  away, 
he  could  not  secure  himself  till  the 
Lord  permitted  him  to  make  the  outer 
ditch  pro  numine  suoJ1  One  William 
de  Swinderby,  a  fanatical  itinerant 
preacher,  being  nearly  stoned  by  the 
women,  for  preaching  against  their 
dress,  finding  his  concionations  of  no 
avail,  turned  Hermit,  and  was  main- 
tained by  the  charity  of  John  of  Gaunt, 
but  had  no  resolution  to  persist  in 
his  profession,  though  the  devotees  of 
Leicester  gratuitously  offered  him  vic- 
tuals^ 

Hermitages.  Interesting  remains  of 
these  are  still  exhibited  in  the  County 
of  Worcester,  and  are  ranges  of  ca- 
verns.151 They  were  sometimes  very 
sanctified  spots.  That  year,  says  Cer- 
vantes, the  Heavens  had  withheld  re- 
freshing showers  from  the  earth;  and 
through  all  the  villages  of  that  district, 
the  people  instituted  processions,  dis- 
ciplines, and  prayers ;  for  this  purpose 
the  inhabitants  of  a  neighbouring  vil- 
lage were  then  going  in  procession,  to 
a   holy  hermitage,   built  on   an   emi- 

h  Dugd.  Monast.  i.  852. 

1  Decern  Scriptores,  col.  2666. 

k  Engraved  in  Nash's  Worcestershire. 


382 


HERMITAGES. 


nence,  that  skirted  the  valley.8  The 
Hermits  of  the  time  of  Gregory  Na- 
zianzen  lived  on  bread  and  water  in 
caves,  and  wore  garments  of  skin  and 
hair.b  Fiacre,  the  eminent  hermit, 
seeking  a  place  K  to  lede  hys  lyfe  here- 
myticke  and  solitarily,"  begged  for  that 
purpose  "  a  lytill  place  within  a  wood  "c 
and  "  ferre  fro  abydinge  of  ony  folk," 
where  he  "  founded  a  chyrche,"  and 
i{  beyonde  it  a  lytill  way  thens  he 
bylded  a  lytil  hous  wherin  he  dwelled, 
and  there  herberowedde  the  pour  that 
passed  by ;"  but  these  visitors  becom- 
ing very  numerous,  in  order  to  be 
healed  of  diseases,  and  have  his  prayers 
and  advice,  he  found  that  "  of  nedes 
he  muste  make  hys  habtacyon  or  hows- 
yng  more  specious  and  gretter,  than 
hyt  was.  And  thought  to  hym  good 
and  necessary  to  make  a  grete  gardyne 
wheryn  he  sholde  have  alle  manere  of 
herbes  good  for  to  make  potage  wyth 
for  to  fede  the  poure,  whan  they  shold 
retourne  towarde  hym."d 

Not  far  from  hence,  says  the  student 
in  Don  Quixote,e  is  an  hermitage, 
where  lives  an  Anchorite,  who  is  said 
to  have  been  a  soldier. — Adjoining  to 
the  Hermitage  is  a  little  house,  built 
by  the  labour  of  his  own  hands,  which 
though  narrow  is  large  enough  to  re- 
ceive travellers.  iC  Can  that  same  Her- 
mitage produce  any  poultry?"  said 
Sancho.  "  There  are  few  Hermitages 
destitute  of  that  provision,"*"  answered 
the  Knight,  "  for  the  Anchorites  of 
these  days  are  not  like  those  who  dwelt 
in  the  deserts  of  Egypt,  clothing  them- 
selves with  palm-leaves,  and  subsist- 
ing on  the  roots  of  the  earth.  Accord- 
ingly they  called  at  the  Hermitage  for 
some  of  the  best  wine,  but  were  an- 
swered by  the  Under- hermit,  his  mas- 

a  Don  Quixote,  ii.  284. 

b  Du  Cange,  v.  Anachoreta. 

e  Drayton  (Battle  of  Agincourt)  describes  the 
blazon  of  the  Stafford  men  to  be  a  Hermit  in  his 
homely  suit,  because  many  hermits  formerly  lived 
there,  it  being  all  foresty. 

d  Golden  Leg.  fol.  cclxix.  e  P.  ii.  b.  2.  c.  7. 

f  We  hear  of  an  Irish  Anchoret  of  the  17th 
Century,  who  had  Proctors,  as  they  were  called, 
who  went  about  the  country  begging  corn,  geese, 
turkies,  &c.  for  the  "  Holy  Man  of  the  Stone." 
Collect.  Reb.  Hybern.  No.  i.  p.  64. 


ter  not  being  at  home,  that  they  had 
no  wine,  but  were  welcome  to  water." 
Hermitages  were  common  at  the  ends 
of  bridges,  in  Churchyards,  and  in  the 
Gates  of  towns,  and  in  Chapels. g 

Hence  it  appears,  that  the  various 
Hermitages,  which  we  find  so  roomy, 
were  for  the  above  hospitable  purposes : 
a  common  Hermitage  being  a  mere  cell 
and  chapel.  The  Hermitage  of  Wark- 
worth,  a  most  elegant  cavern  hewn 
out  of  a  rock,  is  one  of  the  sweetest 
and  most  picturesque  secessions  in  the 
whole  world.  At  Tottenham,  the  Her- 
mitage was,  I  believe,  a  house,  with 
apartments,  unless  these  were  modern.h 
The  Hermitage  of  S.  Briavel  was  a 
chantry  of  two  Monks,  and  had  de- 
mesne lands,  upon  which  corn  was 
grown  for  their  support.1  Hermits 
were  in  the  habit  of  assarting  wood 
lands  by  their  own  labour ;  and  foun- 
ders of  Churches  exempted  such  lands 
from  tythes,  at  least  in  some  instances.k 
Some  were  either  actual  farms  or  made 
such.  a  Tradidimus  ad  firmum  Her- 
mitagium  quod  vocatur  Hemeryes- 
chirche  in  parva  Pakintona."1  Gar- 
dens were  indeed  common  appendages.m 
A  sequestered  situation  was  an  essen- 
tial characteristick,  for  we  are  told, 
that  Chetwood  in  Buckinghamshire 
was  called  a  Hermitage  purely  upon 
account  of  its  solitude,  though  no 
Hermit  ever  occupied  the  spot.n 

Miscellaneous.  An  Anglo  -  Saxon 
charter  says,  i(  The  venerable  Father 
of  the  Monastery  Saxulf  having  Monks, 
lovers  of  Anchoretical  Life,  has  sug- 
gested to  me,  that  he  wished  to  found 
an  Abbey  in  the  adjacent  desert,  with 
Hermit/ s  cells,  that  the  Coenobites  may 
live  as  Anchorets  or  Monks  at  option/'0 

In  the  Hospital  of  St.  Bartholomew 
at  Gloucester,  there  was  always  one 
Priest  in  the  habit  of  a  Hermit  pre- 
siding as  Governor.P  Perhaps,  because 
he  had  a  lay  office,  united  to  the 
clerical. 

e  Taylor's  Index  Monastic,  pp.  65,  66. 

h  Lysons's  Environs,  iii.  540. 

'  Dugd.  Monast.  i.  927.  k  Id.  ii.  990. 

1  Angl.  Sacr.  i.  527.  m  M.  Paris,  993. 

n  Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  339.  °  Id.  i.  64. 

p  Id.  ii.  456. 


CONTINENTES VOWS    OF    CHASTITY. 


383 


CONTINENTES VOWS  OF  CHASTITY. 


The  term  Continentes,  though  in  one 
sense  the  mere  Latin  Appellation  of 
the  Greek  Asceticks,  yet  applied  to 
Persons  who,  "upon  a  demi-monastick 
principle^  took  Vows  of  Chastity.3 
There  were  various  classes  of  these 
persons. 

Honorius  pretends,  that  Dinah  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  was  the  first  before  the 
law,  with  whom  the  custom  began: 
Judith  and  others  followed  under  the 
law ;  Anna,  &c.  under  the  Gospel.b 

Infants  made  the  vow  at  seven  years 
old,c  as  did  Virgins,  even  girls,  after 
which  the  Parents  could  not  force  them 
to  marryd  because  they  were  deemed 
already  affianced  to  God.  Christ  is 
pretended  to  have  affianced  Catharine 
in  this  manner,  putting  a  ring  on  her 
finger,  &c.e 

Erasmus  makes  a  Nun  say,  K  I  am 
married  to  one,  who,  when  he  sees  me, 
may  not  chase  to  have  me,"  in  allusion 
to  the  custom  of  affiancing  before  ma- 
trimony, to  which  all  the  preceding 
matters  have  a  relation;  as  appears 
from  various  passages  in  Tertullian, 
and  Isidore,  as  cited  by  Rosinus. 

The  term  Continentes  also  applied  to 

1.  Women,  who  lived  in  Monasteries 
with  Nuns. 

2.  Tertiaries  of  St.  Francis. 

3.  Women  who  sung  psalms  at  the 
celebration  of  funerals.1 

The  following  were  distinguished  by 
name. 

Holy  or  consecrated  widows  or  Pries- 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Continentes.         b  Id.  v.  Vidua. 

c  Id.  v.  Castimonium,  Castimoniales. 

d  Notices  des  MSS.  iv.  186. 

e  Golden  Legend,  ccxxv.  There  was  anciently 
among  the  classical  Ancients  and  ourselves,  a  ce- 
remony called  affiancing,  betrothing,  espousals, 
&c.  forming  a  contract  of  marriage,  which  might 
not  take  place  for  years  afterwards.  Mr.  Smythe 
says  (Berkeley  MS.)  that  it  was  usual  at  6  or  7 
years  old  among  the  Nobility,  as  well  as  very  early 
subsequent  union,  to  prevent  imprudent  connec- 
tions by  falling  in  love.  Mr.  Douce's  account  of 
it  (i.  108  seq.)  may  be  preceded  by  the  long  de- 
scription of  the  Roman  Sponsalia  in  Rosinus, 
Antiquit.  Roman,  p.  444,  upon  which  the  custom 
was  founded. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Continentes. 


tesses.  Similar  orders  existed  among 
the  Heathens.  Tertullian  (inter  alia) 
says,  a  We  know  that  widows  are  oc- 
cupied in  the  service  of  the  African 
Ceres,  who  are  weaned  from  matrimony 
by  the  most  severe  oblivion. s  Cabin 
says,  widows  serving  the  Church,  con- 
fined themselves  to  celibacy,  not  that 
they  thought  there  was  any  thing  reli- 
gious in  it,  as  it  was  afterwards  held  ; 
but,  because  if  not  their  own  mistresses, 
and  entangled  with  the  marriage  yoke, 
they  could  not  perform  the  office.n  In 
the  earlier  ages  of  the  Church,  the 
wives  of  Priests  or  Deacons,  married 
before  the  latter  were  ordained,  used 
to  preserve  the  connection  in  a  sisterly 
form,  and  perform  the  duties  of  the 
ancient  Deaconesses.  They  were  called 
Presbyterce  or  Priestesses,  which  term 
was  also  applied  to  the  elder  widows, 
who  attended  to  Church  duties.  They 
used  a  far  more  modest  habit  than 
other  women.  Otto  Vercellensis  says, 
as  those  who  were  called  Priestesses 
took  the  office  of  preaching,  ordering, 
or  teaching;  so  the  Deaconesses  took 
the  office  of  ministering,  or  baptizing, 
which  now  is  by  no  means  expedient.1 
These  widows  lived  often  in  almshouses 
near  the  Church,k  wdience  now  old 
females  in  many  towms. 

Converse,  or  Penitent  Prostitutes, 
after  the  manner  of  Mary  Magdalene, 
took  the  habit  of  widows,  and  in  the 
Greek  Empire  lived  in  Penitentiaries 
on  purpose.1 

Pyrocarce.  In  the  13th  century  ap- 
peared in  Italy,  women  called  Pyrocarce, 
similar  to  the  Beghins  of  France,  who 
made  vows  of  chastity,  and  were  or- 
dered to  be  loaded  with  prayers  and 
fasts,  because  some  of  them  had  broken 
their  vows  by  marriage. m 

Convert  Husbands  and  Wives.  Epi- 
phanius  and  other  fathers  mention  hus- 

£  Du  Cange,  p.  185.     Ed.  Rigalt. 

h  Instit.  Theolog.  p.  455. 

1  Du  Cange,  v.  Presbyterce. 

k  Id.  v.  Matricularice.  x  Id.  v.  Converses. 

m  Du  Cange,  v.  Pyrocarce. 


884 


CONTINENTES— VOWS    OF    CHASTITY. 


bands  who  lived  apart  from  their  wives, 
and  wives  from  their  husbands.3  These 
vows  were  taken  from  Mary  and  Jo- 
seph,13 and  held  sacred  long  after  the 
dissolution  of  abbeys.0  Among  us 
men  and  their  wives  took  them  when 
growing  old  ;d  and  certain  hospitals 
required  these  vows  before  admissions 

The  mostcommon  vowwas,  however, 
that  of  widowers  and  widows  to  observe 
chastity  in  honour  of  their  deceased 
wives  or  husbands.  These  widows 
were  called  Vidua  pullatcn  (from  the 
habit),  or  as  they  maybe  termed  Mourn- 
ing Widows. 

Mourning  Widows?  These  vows 
among  us  are  very  ancient.  Gildas 
mentions  Cuneglass's  wife's  sister,  a 
widow  who  had  made  a  vow  of  chastity.^ 
The  Anglo-Saxon  women  also  made 
them,  and  the  women  wore  a  ring  and 
russet  gown.11  The  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  issued  a  commission  ;  and  be- 
sides observing  the  vow,  the  widow 
was  for  life  to  wear  a  veil,  and  a  mourn- 
ing habit.1  Both  were  duly  conse- 
crated. The  veil  was  put  on  by  the 
Priest;  but  the  ring  only  was  suffi- 
cient, whether  they  took  the  veil  or 
habit  or  not.k 

The  following  is  the  literal  transla- 
tion of  the  ceremonial  of  making  a 
vow  of  this  kind,  by  a  widow : J 

13  March,  1393.  Lady  Blanch,  re- 
lict of  Sir  Nicholas  Styvecle,  Knt.  al- 
ledging  that  she  was  a  parishioner  of 
John,  Lord  Bishop  of  Ely,  humbly 
supplicated  the  said  Bishop,  that  he 
would  think  worthy  to  accept  her  vow 
of  chastity,  and  from  consideration  of 
regard,  confer  upon  her  the  mantle  and 


a  Du  Cange,  v.  Continentes. 

b  Le  Voeu  de  Jacob,  iv.  176. 

c  Wilkins's  Concilia,  iii.  846.  Henry's  Gr. 
Brit.  iii.  398.  d  M.  Paris,  950. 

e  Dugd.  Monast.  ii.  377,  390. 

f  Du  Cange,  v.  Vidua.        s  XV  Scriptor.  p.  11. 

»>  M.  Paris,  707.     X  Scriptor.  1906. 

*  Dugdale's  Warwickshire,  1013,  et  alii. 

k  M.  Paris,  398. 

1  From  Gough's  Sepulchr.  Monum.  v.  i.  p.  171. 
In  MS.  Cott.  Tiber,  b.  viii.  is  the  Benedictio 
Vestis  Viduarum,  f.  145  ;  and  f.  146,  the  Benedic- 
tio Viduarum,  and  then  "  Post  hsec  ponas  pallium 
super  caput  ejus,  et  dicas,  Accipe,  Vidua,  Pal- 
lium," &c. 


ring,  &c. ;  and  afterwards  the  said  Lady 
Blanch  in  the  chapelm  of  the  Manor  of 
Dodyngton,  in  the  Diocese  of  Ely,  be- 
fore the  high  altar,  in  the  presence  of 
the  said  reverend  father,  then  and  there 
solemnly  celebrating  Mass,  made  so- 
lemnly her  vow  of  chastity  as  follows 
in  these  words : 

"  I,  Blanch,  heretofore  wife  of  Sir 
Nicholas  de  Styvecle,  Knt.  vow  to 
God,  and  our  holy  Lady  Saint  Mary, 
and  all  Saints,  in  presence  of  our  Re- 
verend Father  in  God,  John,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  Bishop  of  Ely,  that  I 
will  be  chaste  from  henceforth  during 
my  life."  And  the  said  Reverend 
Father  received  her  vow,  and  solemnly 
consecrated  and  put  upon  the  said 
Vowessn  the  mantle  and  ring  in  the 
presence  of,  &c. — One  of  the  witnesses 
is  a  Notary  Public. 

The  Veil  occurs  in  foreign  councils.0 
In  some  ancient  constitutions,  the 
widows,  if  they  became  unchaste,  were 
fined  in  money,  and  thrust  into  a  Mo- 
nastery .p  The  mendicant  orders  are 
bitterly  reproached  by  Wickliffi  for 
inducing  women  to  make  vows  of  chas- 
tity. In  the  Secreta  Monita  of  the 
Jesuits,  there  are  three  chapters r  which 
throw  considerable  light  upon  these 
vows  of  chastity,  and  the  tirade  of 
Wickliff. 

The  title  of  the  sixth  chapter  is  of 
the  proper  methods  for  inducing  rich 
widows  to  be  liberal  to  our  Society. 
Such  members  of  the  Society  were 
only  to  be  chosen  for  this  purpose, 
as  were  of  a  lively  complexion  and 
agreeable  conversation.  They  were  to 
display  the  advantages  of  a  single  life ; 
and  the  confessor  to  worm  himself 
into  the  widow's  confidence,  so  that 
she  should  do  nothing  without  his 
advice.  She  must  be  exhorted  to  the 
frequent  use    and    celebration  of   the 


m  In  some  councils  the  ceremony  was  to  be  per- 
formed in  the  Sacristy.     Du  Cange,  v.  Vidua. 

u  Vowess.  Leland  mentions  the  habit  of  a  Vow- 
ess,  i.  e.  Nun;  as  Votarist  in  Comus  (1.  189) 
in  Palmer's  weed,  is  a  Pilgrim.     Mr.  Nichols. 

°  Du  Cange,  v.  Pallium.  v  Id.  v.  Wera. 

i  See  Ch.  of  Friars. 

r  vi.  vii,  xvi. 


CONTJNENTES — VOWS    OF    CHASTITY. 


385 


sacraments,  but  especially  that  of  pen- 
ance, because  in  that  she  freely  makes 
a  discovery  of  her  most  secret  thoughts, 
and  every  temptation. a  Having  weaned 
her  from  matrimony,  it  will  then  be 
time  to  recommend  to  her  a  spiritual 
life,  but  not  a  recluse  one,  the  incon- 
veniences of  which  must  be  magnified 
to  her,  but  such  a  one  as  Paula*  s  or 
Eustochius's,  &c.  ;  and  let  the  con- 
fessor, having  as  soon  as  possible 
prevailed  upon  her  to  make  a  Vow 
of  Chastity,  for  two  or  three  years 
at  least,  take  due  care  to  oppose 
all  tendencies  to  a  second  marriage ; 
and  then  all  conversation  with  men, 
and  diversion  even  with  her  near  rela- 
tives and  kinsfolk,  must  be  forbidden 
her,  under  pretence  of  entering  into  a 
stricter  union  with  God.b 

If  they  have  made  a  Vow  of  Chastity, 
let  them,  according  to  our  custom, 
renew  it  twice  a  year  ;  and  let  the 
day  upon  which  this  is  done,  be  set 
apart  for  innocent  recreation  with  the 
members  of  the  society.0 

Let  them  be  frequently  visited,  and 
entertained  in  an  agreeable  manner. 
If  widows  prove  faithful  and  liberal  to 
the  Society,  allow  them  in  moderation, 


P.  41. 


b  Pp.  44,  45. 


P.  47. 


and  without  offence,  whatever  pleasure 
they  have  an  inclination  to.d 

If  they  secretly  steal  into  the  garden 
or  college,  seem  as  if  you  knew  it  not, 
and  allow  them  the  liberty  of  conver- 
sation and  private  diversions  with 
those  whose  company  is  most  agree- 
able to  them.e 

Let  widows  and  others  who  have 
given  us  almost  all  they  possessed, 
though  then  they  are  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing with  others,  be  treated  with  much 
more  rigour,  lest  people  should  ima- 
gine that  the  greater  indulgence  of 
others  proceeds  from  our  hopes  of  se- 
cular advantages/ 

Erasmus  mentions  a  widow,  who, 
by  the  will  of  her  husband,  because 
she  refused  to  become  a  Nun,  was 
compelled  to  wear  the  robe  of  a  Beguin, 
a  middle  order  between  Nuns  and  Lay- 
women,  who  lived  by  manual  labour, 
and  were  so  denominated  from  the 
head-dress,  called  Beguin.  A  twelfth 
part  of  her  husband*  s  fortune  was  de- 
vised to  her,  upon  half  of  which  she 
was  to  live,  the  other  half  going  to  the 
religious  house  to  which  she  should 
belong.^ 

d  P.  49.  e  P.  51.  t  P.  117. 

«  Funus.     Colloq.  452,  453.     Of  Beghius,  see 
chap.  Modem  Monachisra  before,  p.  298. 


2  c 


SELECT     POEMS, 

(IN  VARIOUS  STYLES) 


BY    THE 


REV.  T.  FOSBROKE 


1.  ECONOMY  OF  MONASTIC  LIFE Spenser. 

2.  TRIUMPH  OF  VENGEANCE ;  AN  ODE  .         .         .  Gray. 

3.  THE  RED  MAN;  OR,  THE  ADDRESS  OF  BUONAPARTE'S 

FAMILIAR  DEMON;  AN  ODE  .         .         .  Gray  and  Collins. 

4.  PARODY  ON  COLLINSES  ODE  TO  THE  PASSIONS. 

5.  ON  A  LADY  BATHING The  Italian  Concetto. 

6.  EPITAPH The  German  Manner. 


2  c  2 


ECONOMY 


OF 


MONASTIC    LIFE. 


PART  THE  FIRST. 


What,  though  our  way  unfeeling  Fate  denies 
Where  Plato  throngM  the  academic  grove  ? 
That  not  for  us,  a  mountain  ruin  lies 
The  mighty  dome  of  Capitolian  Jove, 
Where  bony  Gauls  for  Latian  laurels  strove ; 
'Though  we  but  know  from  antiquarian  tale 
That  plain,  a  youth  exulting  chanced  to  rove, 
CharmM  with  the  Doric  fanes,  the  fragrant  gale, 
And  verdant  sky  of  land  in  Paestum's  vale.a 

Yet  we  have  eyed  with  awe  the  stony  heap, 
Where  solemn  Druids  hymn'd  unwritten  rhyme ;  b 
The  hills  of  green  turf,  where  old  heroes  sleep ; 
And  towers  the  Norman  liege-lord  rearM  sublime, 
Whose  builders  fondly  smiled  contempt  at  time  : 
Much  we  have  loved  o'er  fallen  fanes  to  stray, 
What  time  we  hear  the  sheep-belFs  distant  chime, 
The  beetle's  drowsy  horn,  and  that  sweet  lay 
With  which  Night's  solemn  bird  proclaims  the  close  of  day. 

Now  we  stray  here,c  for  yonder  arch  hung  high 
Displays,  in  pride  of  picture  greatly  fine, 
Nature's  night-magick  to  the  wondering  eye ; 
The  meek  Moon  blends  her  light  and  shade  divine  ; 
A  robe,  on  plates  of  silver  foil  where  shine 
Rich  knots  of  spangles,  covers  yonder  mound, 
Its  Vinca  blue  d  and  prickly  Eglantine  ; 
No  flower  that  grows  that  beauteous  place  around, 
But  has  its  painted  head  with  flame  innocuous  crown'd. 


a  The  ruins  of  Psestum,  the  classical  "  rosaria 
Psesti,"  dewy  meadows,  containing  several  Doric 
temples,  were  accidentally  discovered  by  a  painter's 
apprentice, 

b  Stonehenge.  Mr.  Davies  and  Mr.  Maurice, 
upon  the  authority  of  Diodorus's  round  Temple  of 
dpollo  [or  Bel  the  Sun,  &c]  in  Britain,  seem  to 


have  discovered  its  real  appropriation.  The  ap- 
pellation Chorea  Gigantum  explains  its  rude  con- 
struction, as  being  of  the  Cyclopean  Architecture, 
termed  the  "  work  of  Giants." 

0  Netley  Abbey. 

d  Periwinkle. 


390 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 


This  arch,  more  picture  thus,  the  tall  ash  a  shades, 
On  whose  lank  arms,  the  Autumn's  early  spoil,b 
The  hallow' d  misletoe  a  green  wreath  braids ;  c 
Admitted  we  revere  a  long-drawn  aile, 
The  Church  conventual  of  a  ruin'd  pile  ; 
Brackets  of  plaistered  faces,  posterns  low, 
And  mouldings  richly  wrought  by  fretter's  toil, 
And  windows,  erst  where  robed  in  gorgeous  show 
Of  Jesse's  honourM  race  were  ranged  a  tinted  row.d 

Time's  palsied  hand  a  ragged  outline  leaves ; 
In  every  rift,  (for  he  is  wont  to  fling 
The  berry  there)  sequacious  ivy  weaves 
A  nappy  frieze  to  hide  unsightly  thing, 
The  ill-faced  owl,  and  bat  with  devil's  wing : 
Beneath  the  walls  in  safeguard  fence  is  spread 
The  evil  race  of  weeds  that  quickly  spring, 
The  tetchy  nettle  with  its  venom  dread, 
And  arm'd  like  porcupine,  the  thistle's  threatening  head. 

Thus  wicked  Time,  with  his  scythe-weapon'd  hand,. 
Has  'reft  the  fane  of  its  antique  array ; 
I  would,  we  could  suspend  his  rash  command, 
And  take  the  surly  dotard's  scythe  away, 
More  mischievous  than  wayward  infant's  play ; 
Thou,  hated  History,  shalt  pen  the  strain, 
For  thou  canst  hold  him  by  his  forelock  gray, 
And  stay  his  wonted  hurry,  to  explain 
What  ancient  glories  deck'd  the  desolated  fane. 

In  days  of  old,  near  Egypt's  slimy  land, 
Their  feathery  leaves  where  nesh  Acacias  spread, 
Leaving  the  haunts  of  man,  a  mournful  band 
By  Providence  and  friendly  midnight  led, 
From  chase  of  shouting  Persecution  fled ;  e 
Of  branches  lithe  their  wattled  walls  they  knit, 
Of  moss  and  ivy  made  their  evening  bed, 
And  on  the  green  banks  at  their  doors  would  sit, 
Hymning  grave  canticles,  or  conning  holy  writ. 

Like  birds,  unprison'd  from  a  darkling  grove, 
That  the  bright  eye  of  prowling  hawk  beguiled, 
The  godly  race  rejoiced  at  ease  to  rove ; 
Some  rear'd  thatch'd  chapels,  that  on  hillocks  smiled 
O'er  bushy  tufts,  and  tamed  a  region  wild ; 
Some,  by  a  martyr's  grave,  with  busy  spade 


a  Fraxinus  excelsior,  Linn. 

b  The  leaves  of  the  ash  are  the  latest  which  ap- 
pear in  Spring,  and  the  first  which  fall  in  Autumn. 
c  See  Brown's  Vulgar  Errors,  b.  2,  c.  6. 


d  A  favourite  subject  for  painted  glass,  &c. 
Warton,  v.  i.  p.  210.  Gostling's  Canterbury  Walk, 
323.  Ed.  2. 

e  So  Bishop  Tanner,  &c.  but  others  deny  it. 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 


391 


A  small  room  scoop'd  beneath  the  greensward  mild ; 
An  uncouth  cross  upon  the  round  roof  laid, 
And  of  the  plot  anear  a  cultured  garden  made.a 

Some,  where  a  ring  of  rugged  stones  was  laid, 
Like  statues,  on  a  pillar's  tow'ring  height, 
With  knees,  which  Faith  had  chang'd  to  marble,  prayM ; 
Their  hoar  trees  dripped  with  harmless  dews  of  night, 
Their  fix'd  eyes  gazed  unhurt  meridian  light ; 
— As  when  Jove^s  eagle  condescends  to  play, 
His  plumes  he  ruffles,  droops  his  winged  might, 
Fronts  his  full  eye  to  the  attacking  ray, 
And  dares  the  burning  power  of  Him,  the  Lord  of  Day. 

Some  hermits  were,  who  dwelTd  within  a  rock 
Hollow,  indented  in  a  sloping  ground, 
Above,  an  ancient  tree's  inclining  stock 
Spread  branchy  arms,  that  shaded  all  around, 
Its  crooked  roots  for  beams  the  loose  roof  bound ; 
Before  the  entrance  rude,  a  gentle  stream 
Adown  the  vale  its  serpent  courses  wound, 
Seen  here  and  there  through  breaks  of  trees  to  gleam, 
Gilding  their  dancing  boughs  with  Noon's  reflected  beam. 

From  oozy  pores  within,  depended  down 
Congealing  stalactites  in  whiteness  pale, 
Those  mosses  interwove  their  fibrils  brown, 
Where  slimy  slug  and  house-upbearing  snail 
Their  tardy  way  in  glossy  streamlets  trail ; 
Fearful  of  day,  along  the  midnight  walls 
The  armed  beetle  shone  in  sable  mail, 
And  insect  hammered  loud,b  that  much  appalls 
The  rest  of  beldame  old,  who  this  the  death-watch  calls. 

Aged  the  sires,  who  dwelPd  such  caves  within, 
Head-shaking  sages,  prone  to  moralize, 
And  him  disciple,  who  there  made  his  inn ; 
Their  cheeks  were  hollow,  slender  was  their  size, 
And  ever  on  the  ground  they  bent  their  eyes  ; c 
One  book  they  had,  the  book  of  holy  lore, 
Against  the  wall  a  cross  stood  leaning-wise, 
A  table  small  a  scull  and  cross-bones  bore, 
And  bosky  ivy  hid  the  bell  above  the  door. 

In  days  when  such  was  virtue,  where  a  wood 
Edges  a  green  knoll,  and  a  wide  stream  flows, 
Where  he  that  woos  the  Moon,  the  vassal  flood 
His  march  announcing,  oft  to  greet  her  goes,d 


a  Plantet,  inserat,  riget,  aquas  ferat,  cseteraque 
Monachorum  faciat  opera,  &c.  Lopez's  Epit.  ut 
sup.  v.  2,  pp.  393,  402. 

b  Ptinus  fatidicus,  Linn. ;  engraved  in  Shaw's 
Naturalist's  Miscell.  v.  iii.  pi.  104. 


c  This  Benedict  prescribed  to  his  monks. 
C.  7.     Specimen  Monachologiae,  p.  14. 
d  The  Southampton  ^Estuary. 


Reg. 


392 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIWE. 


From  royal  boon,  a  holy  mansion  rose  a 
With  spires  and  great  tow'r,  topp'd  with  gilded  vane-, 
That  emblem  meet  of  man  inconstant  shows ; 
The  far-off  seaman  knew  where  stood  the  fane 
By  shades,  that  laid  at  length  their  huge  limbs  o'er  the  main. 

Thence  Vecta's  b  nymph  u  who  checks  the  westring  tide  x 
With  a  sleek  sister-ladyr  Ocean's  queen, 
Is  seen  in  state  along  the  main  to  ride ; 
Before  the  team  of  dolphins  yoked  is  seen 
The  Triton  Herald,  with  his  tresses  green  ; 
While  all  the  region-nymphs,  their  lyres,  employ, 
In  pairs  parading  o'er  the  marge  serene, 
To  where  Southampton's  youths  and  daughters  coy 
Uncoil  the  tangled  dance  to  tipsy  tones  of  joy. 

On  adverse  shores,  where  dark  woods  c  brow  the  strand, 
And  boat  of  fisherman  floats  tilting  by, 
The  massy  outworks  of  beak'd  Calshot  stand, 
Breasting  the  noisy  waves,  that  quarrel  nigh  ; 
Work  of  that  King,d  where  awe  was  wont  descry 
Lust's  putrid  eye-ball,  Pride's  oppressing  stare, 
Hatred's  black  frown,  Ambition's  bosom  high 
Musing  sublimely- wicked  deeds  of  dare — 
Ah  !  never  Pity's  dove  was  seen  to  nestle  there  ! e 

In  middle  front  the  gate-house  high  was  rear'd ; 
An  arch  beneath  o'erhung  an  entrance  wide ; 
Within  through  cloisters  dim  the  rare  light  peer'd ; 
The  Church  conventual  fill'd  one  stately  side, 
Boasting  its  window  train  in  mitred  pride ; 
The  eaves  were  hid  by  an  embattell'd  screen ; 
The  vacant  court  was  simply  beautified, 
All  Nature's  melody  of  colour,  green, 
Had  it  not  here  and  there  with  daisies  powderM  been. 

Just  as  a  giant  guards,  with  ample  stride, 
A  conquer'd  brother  underneath  him  flung, 
On  straddling  arches,  in  its  sturdy  pride 
Stood  the  great  tow'r — there  the  loud  bells  were  hung, 
Each  under  each,  with  gTaduated  tongue, 
Supreme  lords  of  a  boundless  world  of  tone ; 
The  great  bell  shone  its  meaner  peers  among 
In  portly  pride,  and  its  high  rank  was  known 
By  learned  scroll,  inscribed  around  its  ample  zone. 


■  Netley  Abbey,  founded  by  Henry  III.  ; 
where  however  the  King  only  joined  in  a  founda- 
tion, he  was  considered  as  sole  founder.  See 
something  similar  to  this  of  royal  rights  in  reli- 
gious foundations  in  Dean  Pierce  (of  Sarum)  1683. 
Vindication  of  the  King's  Sovereign  Rights, 
pp.  6,  7. 


b  Isle  of  Wight. 

€  New  Forest. 

d  Calshot  Castle,  built  by  Henry  VIII. 
'  *  Imitated  from  Collins's  sweet  line,  "Nor  ever 
vernal  bee  was  heard  to  murmur  there,"  a  thought 
which  he  took  from  Euripides,  "  MeAio-o-a  Xcifiav," 
&c.     Hippol.  Barnes's  Edit.  p.  220,  v.  36. 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 


393 


Methinks  I  listen,  at  what  horrid  time 
Fork'd  lightnings  cleft  the  tented  sky  in  twain, 
Together  when  these  madding  bells  'gan  chime, 
When  pealing  organs  stunirM  the  vaulted  fane, 
Mix'd  with  a  gabbling  wild  discordant  strain 
Of  fathers  hurrying  fast  the  bead-roll  a  round, 
When  wild  hail  pelted  on  the  painted  pane, 
When  thunder  roarM  along  the  blue  profound, 
And  all  was  one  strange  grand  bewildering  war  of  sound.b 

From  other  tower,  upon  whose  vane  the  bird 
Of  pertness  would  his  dusky  plumage  preen, 
A  stately  horologe  c  was  hourly  heard, 
At  prime  it  waked  the  hinds,  at  eve  serene 
It  timed  their  gossip  on  the  village  green  ; 
To  the  tow'r  corners  pinnacles  were  join'd, 
Of  work  d  that  let  the  blue  sky  peep  between, 
With  numerous  mouldings  all  about  entwined, 
Fretted  in  waves,  like  lakes  just  ruffled  by  the  wind. 

Within  the  Church,  each  side  the  door  of  wires/ 
Were  blessed  Saints,  that  stood  in  rows  along/ 
And  stalls,  that  upwards  shot  their  many  spires, 
Lamps,  pendent  from  a  vaulting,  light  yet  strong 
With  groins,  bright  fields  of  heraldry  among ; 
A  Choir  of  gilded  tubes,  whose  voices  deep 
With  storms  of  musick  swell'd  the  ritual  song  ; 
Hangings  that  shook  in  undulating  sweep  ; 
Tassels  that  flamed  like  suns,  and  cushions  (e  soft  as  sleep."  s 

Aloft  the  silken  gonfalons  were  rear'd, 
That  led  to  Palestine  the  bold  Crusade, 
Hard  by  some  blade,  that  much  by  Paynim  fear'd 
Enchanter  Merlin*  s  liveried  spirits  made  ; u 
The  bearded  Martyr  in  scoopM  niche  display'd 
The  lifted  cross  and  brow  to  Heaven  upraised ; 
On  high  installed  beneath  a  sculptured  shade, 
The  Patron-Saint's  enamell'd  image  blazed, 
For  wonder-working  deeds  and  healing  virtue  praised. 

Along  a  tomb,  which  painted  sculpture  dress'd, 
Arm'd  as  for  tourney,  the  Knight- warrior  lay, 
His  crossing  legs  a  couching  lion  press'd, 
A  helmet  was  his  head's  supporting  stay, 
His  limbs  were  maiPd  in  battalious  array, 
A  plaited  gorget  girt  his  shoulders  wide/ 


a  "  The  King's  enemies  were  curst  by  name 
in  the  bead-roll  at  Paul's."  Bacon's  Hist.  H.  VII. 
p.  72. 

b  This  ceremony  was  supposed  to  repel  evil 
spirits ;  see  more  upon  this  subject  in  Hospin.  de 
Orig.  Tempi.  1.  4,  c.  9,  de  consec.  campan. 

c  Abbey  Orloge. 


d  Tabernacle  or  open  work. 

e  Choir  doors  latticed.     Old  prints. 

f  In  niches  in  the  screen.     Id. 

s  Theocr.  Id.  14,  v.  125. 

h  Spens.  F.  Q.  b.  3.  c.  4,  st.  59. 

'  Tomb  of  the  Black  Prince  at  Canterbury. 


394  ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 

His  belt  was  studded  thick  with  bosses  gay, 
The  sword  appendant  kiss'd  his  stony  side, 
Of  rich  work  were  his  spurs,  the  knight's  distinguish'd  pride. 

Long  ailes  of  arches  sharp  and  pillars  fine, 
A  pomp  of  fretted  pinnacles  upbore, 
To  form  the  Founder-Saint's  superior  shrine  ; 
Like  canopy  the  prostrate  image  wore, 
A  model  of  the  fane  its  breast  before 
One  hand  sustain'd ;  in  scrawls  and  figures  quaint, 
And  letters  black,  that  legendary  lore, 
Monks  loved  to  tattle  of  their  valued  Saint, 
They  not  forgot  along  the  neighb'ring  wall  to  paint. 

On  the  high  cross  a  bleeding  Christ  was  raised, 
Of  iv'ry  wrought ;  from  types  of  diamonds  bright 
Inlaid  in  gold,  a  sparkling  Ci  Inri"  blazed ; 
From  every  gem  a  drop  of  twinkling  light 
Shot  hues  of  rainbows  on  the  dazzled  sight ; 
Like  glitter  on  the  reliquary  playM, 
Imbost  with  sculptures  of  that  heav'nly  fight, 
When  fell  a  show'r  of  Hosts  in  arms  array'd 
Through  Chaos,  and  his  realm  of  anarchy  dismay'd. 

Beneath  the  eastern  window's  pictured  pane, 
A  canopy  of  fretted  stone  was  spread, 
Pavilioning  an  altar's  marble  plain  ; 
Each  corner  rested  on  an  Angel's  head, 
Within  lay  relicks  of  the  sainted  dead ; 
Two  giant  torches  blazed  perennial  fires, 
A  smoke  of  odours  from  the  censer  fled, 
The  pall,  that  gorgeous  Altar's  proud  attire, 
A  crimson  noon-day  glared  around  the  colour'd  choir. 

How  changed  that  choir,  when  cease  of  noble  breath 
Was  thunder'd  by  the  great  bell's  sullen  tongue, 
And  train  conventual  did  the  rites  of  death ; 
The  holy  walls  in  feral  black  were  hung', 
A  dim  relief  the  painted  scutcheons  flung, 
A  vista  reach'd  down  to  the  doorway  wide 
Of  lights,  lamps  hung  the  colour'd  stalls  among, 
Yet  darkness  reign'd,  but  in  its  starry  pride, 
Its  gloomy  majesty  attemper'd,  dignified. 

At  the  Choir  end,  the  Altar  high  before, 
A  hearse  uprear'd  its  melancholy  mien,a 
Its  fringes  flounced  a  pomp  of  scutcheons  bore, 
At  here  and  there,  a  painted  flag  was  seen  ;b 
Where  now  the  nodding  of  a  plume  had  been, 
Like  that  sweet  tree  of  sorrow,  wont  to  grow 


*  A  fabric  reared  in  the  church.  b  See   the   account   of  the  funeral  of  John  of 

Gaunt  in  Dugd.  St.  Paul's,  p.  23. 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE.  395 

Forlorn,  upon  some  river's  margin  green, 
And  weeping,  o'er  the  hurrying  waves  to  throw 
The  graces  of  its  branch,  in  elegance  of  woe. 

By  sinner  rear'd  for  wrongful  deed  of  yore, 
To  the  side  Chantry,  a  low  postern  led ; 
Shrouded  in  such  attire  as  beadsmen  wore. 
In  its  dark  house  was  laid  the  founder  dead, 
A  row  of  tapers  a  bright  lustre  shed, 
The  name  and  race  armorial  ensigns  told, 
Around  the  bier  a  sable  pall  was  spread, 
A  bright  fringe  guarded  every  curling  fold, 
With  threads,  in  warrior  files  with  glittering  spears  of  gold. 

About  the  roof  a  maze  of  mouldings  slim, 
Like  veins  that  o'er  the  hand  of  lady  wind, 
Embraced  in  closing  arms  the  key- stone  trim, 
With  hieroglyphs  and  cyphers  quaint  combined, 
The  riddling  art  that  charm' d  the  Gothic  mind ; 
To  form  the  floor,  a  scroll-depicted  train 
Of  glossy  tiles,  one  seemly  order  join'd ; 
Deep  in  the  wall,  as  far  as  arm  could  strain, 
An  iron  lattice  mesh'd  a  richly  tinted  pane. 

Beneath  that  window,  flowery  arbours  lay 
Their  arms  abroadwhere  harlot  woodbines  flung, 
And  shameless  woo'd  the  winds  with  them  to  play ; 
In  allies  strait,  espaliers  prim  among, 
The  rough-skinn'd  pear  and  glossy  apple  hung ; 
On  the  carved  rood,  that  filled  the  central  place, 
Stood  hoary  saints  and  angels  "  ever  young ;" 
Herbs  of  ill  savour  filled  the  vacant  space, 
With  thyme,  and  balm,  and  rue,  a  plant  renown'd  for  grace. 

An  adverse  window,  shaded  by  a  tree, 
Betray' d  the  school-house,  with  its  little  fry 
Buzzing,  as  if  a  civil  polity 
Of  bees  were  wont  there  to  and  fro  to  fly, 
And  diverse  trades  within  their  straw  shops  ply; 
More  pleasing  sounds,  when  to  the  chaunted  rite 
Of  holy  church,  they  wound  their  voices  high, 
Soft  was  the  winged  musick's  downy  flight, 
And  Echo  silent  was  from  exquisite  delight. 

There  too,  before  the  monkish  cowl  was  worn, 
Two  hoary  Pedagogues  a  tyrannic  reign 
(Soon  as  his  youthful  locks  were  closely  shorn) 
Tutor' d  the  Novice  to  a  life  of  pain, 
Harsh  as  of  maids,  whom  aunts  unmarried  train 
Deceiver  man  at  distance  meet  to  hold ; 
When  of  the  bright-hair' d  monarch's  fiery  wain 
One  journey  through  the  pictured  signs  was  told, 
In  list  of  Monks  profess'd  that  Novice  was  inroll'd. 

a    The   masters  of  the  novices  were  to  be  old  men.     Lynd.  Oxf.  ed.  p.  144. 


396  ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 

He,  on  such  day,  in  a  sequester'd  cell, 
On  all  the  hierarchies  of  Heaven  would  call, 
To  witness  that  he  bade  the  world  farewell ; 
Ere  long  the  Prior  fill'd  his  fretted  stall, 
And  hooded  many  lined  the  Chapter  wall, 
Ere  long  the  sound  of  coming  feet  they  hear'd, 
A  gentle  buz  began  of  murmurs  small, 
Against  the  door  a  trembling  form  appear'd, 
Whose  pale  looks  marked  how  much  the  solemn  scene  he  fear'd. 

Slowly  he  moved  with  head  upon  his  breast, 
And  bent  his  knee  the  Prior's  throne  before ; 
His  hands  were  by  the  trembling  Prior  prest : 
All  silent  gazed,  the  book  of  holy  lore 
In  solemn  step  the  grave  Precentor  bore. 
A  due  pause  made  to  aid  his  faulfring  tongue, 
A  triple  piety  of  vows  a  he  swore, 
His  lips  thrice  on  the  quiv'ring  volume  hung, 
And  thrice  a  loud  Amen  along  the  arches  rung. 

Then  two  and  two  they  march'd,  and  loud  bells  tolPd, 
One  from  a  sprinkle b  holy  water  flung, 
This  bore  the  relicks  in  a  chest  of  gold, 
On  arm  of  that  the  swinging  censer  hung, 
Another  loud  a  tinkling  handbell  rung, 
Four  fathers  went  that  ringing  Monk  behind, 
Who  suited  psalms  of  holy  David  sung, 
Then  o^er  the  cross  a  stalking  sire  inclined ; 
And  banners  of  the  church  went  waving  in  the  wind.c 

Next,  while  the  fane  with  unwont  splendour  blazed 
Against  the  lighted  altar's  velvet  plain,d 
Behold  him  kneel,  his  hands  to  Heaven  upraised ; 
Visions  of  glory  burst  upon  his  brain, 
Jesu's  meek  form,  and  the  immortal  train 
Of  white-robed  Saints  a  bright  procession  hold, 
Ambrosial  dews  in  misty  fragrance  rain, 
And  woven  light  from  Seraph  skirts  unrolPd 
Gleams  on  their  sattin  plumes  of  pure  white  dropt  with  gold. 

Louder  and  louder  swells  the  choral  song, 
The  mighty  sounds  a  grander  dream  inspire, 
The  holy  hosts  around  the  Altar  throng, 
In  sudden  extacy  the  Seraph  quire 
With  God's  own  Antiphonar  strike  the  wire ; 
Dark  clouds  upon  the  burning  glory  rest, 
And  light  excessive  vaults  the  fane  with  fire ; 
He  joins  the  bright  assemblage  of  the  blest, 
And  glides  with  them  away,  a  Heaven-admitted  guest. 


a  Poverty,  constancy,  and  obedience. 

1  Holy- water  sprinkle. 

*  Besides  these  there  were  the  ceroferarii  or  can- 


dlestick-bearers, the  deacon  reading  the  gospel,  &c. 
d  Highly  illuminated  on  festivals  and  great  occa- 
sions.    Monast.  v.  3.     Ecc.  Cath.  p.  241. 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 


397 


PART  THE    SECOND. 

With  clouted  shoon  at  tiptoe  peep  of  morn, 
Oft  as  the  herdsman  shook  the  dews  away, 
He  eyed  from  window  small,  the  forehead  shorn 
Of  elder  Monk,  with  curl  of  silver  gray. 
Gazing  if  foul  or  fair  uprose  the  day ; 
And  chanced  the  bell  of  prime  to  tinkle,  while 
His  lowing  herds  would  wander  from  the  way, 
To  top  the  wall  he  scaled  the  neighboring  stile, 
And  viewed  the  gownsmen  march  by  pairs  into  the  aile. 

In  stately  wise  first  stalkM  the  Abbot  proud, 
And  every  footstep  shook  his  hood  behind, 
A  man  much  greater  than  the  monkish  crowd,a 
And  called  My  Lord,  his  ceremonious  mind 
Was  to  the  study  of  his  state  confined ; 
The  Monks  that  heard  him,  ever  would  commend 
What  fine  words  he  with  lordly  gestures  joined ; 
This  Abbot  when  he  willed  to  condescend, 
Would  courteous  smile,  and  call  ignoble  Monk  his  friend. 

Next  hied  the  Cell'rer,  to  whose  belt  was  joinM, 
A  clang  of  keys  ;  a  man  quite  lank  and  spare 
Through  fretting  much  lest  aught  should  be  purloin'd ; 
Whenever  he  assized  the  daily  fare, 
He  surely  talked  of  loss,  and  waste  and  wear.b 
Next  he,c  to  whom,  at  to-fall  of  the  year, 
The  louting  vassals  were  enjoined  to  bear 
The  portioned  kingly  coin,  or  autumn's  cheer ;  d 
They  knew  how  much  he  chid,  nor  dared  to  leave  arrear. 

With  an  hoar  compeer  next  the  Sacrist  went, 
Of  things  religious  he  had  custody, 
It  was  his  bliss,  the  holy  ornament, 
At  the  magnificence  of  mass,  to  see 
In  order  meet  and  seemly  decency : 
The  pure  stream  he  in  silver  vase  e  would  bring 
For  pious  needs,  and  on  his  doubled  knee 
Would  bid  a  bead,  and  wet  each  holy  thing  ; 
No  lurking  fiend  but  yelPd,  and  sped  his  leathern  wing.f 


a  Vestri  autem  ocuuli  omne  sublime  vident, 
&c.  St.  Bern,  of  Abbots,  in  Ep.  42.  Ad  Hen. 
Senon.  Arch,  apud  Lopez's  Epit.  V.  2,  p.  401. 
Quando  plus  desiderant  in  palatio  regis  versari  (viri 
religiosi)  St.  Greg,  in  p.  405.  See  also  L.  14,  C. 
30,31. 

b  This  character  is  entirely  fictitious. 

0  Thesaurarius,  or  Bursar. 


d  Full.  Ch.  H.  298.     Spellm.  in  Firmis. 

e  One  of  silver,  enchased  with  images  and  vine- 
leaves,  a  handle  of  two  dragons,  and  a  sprinkle  of 
ivory,  belonged  to  St.  Paul's  Cath.  Monast.  v.  3. 
Ecc.  Cath.  p.  310. 

f  See  the  form  of  consecrating  holy  water  in  the 
Salisbury  Manual. 


398  ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 

His  compeer  hoar  the  Leech's  a  calling  plied, 
Herbs  aromatic,  dangling  in  a  noose, 
For  medicines  to  the  sick-house  beams  he  tied ; 
He  knew  the  learned  name  of  each,  the  juice, 
And  moon's  age  when  it  should  be  cull'd  for  use; 
If  'chance  his  herbs  were  unavailing  found, 
He  would,  from  a  much-treasured  volume,  chuse 
The  powers  of  words  of  most  unwieldy  sound, 
And  add  the  gestures  meet  that  to  those  words  were  bound. 

Then  with  the  Dean  came  he  b  who  bore  the  seal, 
In  him  the  Chapter  band  were  wont  confide 
Concerns  to  chronicle  of  common  weal ; 
Evening  in  vain  in  vernal  skies  has  tried 
The  tints  to  pencil c  this  old  sire  supplied ; 
Within  his  stall,  less  noble  Monks  before, 
A  stand  was  raised,  and  there  in  lifted  pride 
Leading  the  Choir  his  arm  aloft  he  bore, 
His  bony  tablets  shook,  and  stamped  the  sounding  floor. 

Last  came  the  trusty  man  of  watch  and  ward, 
A  massy  key  from  his  bent  elbow  hung, 
Of  goers  all  he  kept  a  keen  regard, 
Or  question'd  them  with  peremptory  tongue  ; 
At  prime  and  eve  his  larum  bell  he  rung,d 
If  to  his  lodge  enquiring  strangers  went, 
His  turning  window  on  its  hinge  he  flung, 
And,  if  he  so  could  tell  his  mind's  intent, 
Would  talk  by  alphabet  of  arms  and  fingers  bent. 

At  cease  of  bell,  ere  yet  the  rites  began, 
By  massy  bolts  the  latticed  doors  were  bound, 
The  speeding  Chantor  through  the  office  ran  ; 
And  now  the  Choir  turn'd  to  the  east  around, 
Or  bow'd  at  name  of  Jesu  to  the  ground ; 
The  prying  Dean  would  sum  the  gather' d  band, 
And  truant  Monk  if  frequent  truant  found, 
With  pursed-up  brow  and  angry  waving  hand, 
To  scanty  fare,  and  jail  of  fearful  thought  command. 

(For  some  there  were,  when  blew  the  tassel'd  horn, 
And  all  the  bosky  valleys  shook  for  dread, 
On  the  hill  tops  who  met  the  Youth  of  Morn, 
As  from  the  waves  he  reared  his  glorious  head ; 
O'er  gossy  heaths  on  fleeting  palfreys  sped  ; 
With  jolly  hunters  not  ashamed  to  hoot, 
Haply  if  roused  from  her  rush-woven  bed, 
Upsprung  the  fearful  game  with  flying  foot, 
And  all  the  chase  began  a  musical  pursuit.) 


•  Physician. 

b  Precentor,  or  Chantor. 


c  For  the  Limners. 

d  Spens.  F.  Q.  b.  2,  c,  9,  st.  25. 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 


399 


On  that  most  holy  day  that  heads  the  seven, 
Acting  his  wavy  arm  and  goggling  eyes, 
The  Preacher  Monk  would  mix  the  lore  of  Heaven 
With  tales  the  Phrygian  sage  a  was  wont  devise, 
And  Fancy's  wildest  world  of  quaint  surprise. 
(Scorn  not  the  light  step  of  the  airy  maid, 
Nature  herself,  albeit  that  she  is  wise, 
To  make  the  insect's  wing  besought  her  aid, 
And  sweetly  smiled  to  see  what  beauteous  tints  she  laid.) 

To  Chapter  next,  the  gowned  procession  came 
For  sage  consult,  and  Founder's  daily  rite 
To  chant,  at  each  articulated  name 
A  saintly  form  shot  by  in  robes  of  white, 
And  features  indistinct  of  palest  light, 
Selected  next  from  guiltless  Monks  among, 
Exposed  delinquents  trembled  with  affright, 
These  on  their  breasts  their  silly  faces  hung, 
While  language  barb'd  with  fire  flew  from  the  Prior's  tongue. 

While  thus  the  Monks,  before  the  open'd  gate 
A  mincing  palfrey,  with  a  waving  load 
Of  gorgeous  trapping,  shook  his  bells  b  in  state. 
Seeking  his  neighbour  baron's  arm'd  abode, 
O'er  quilted  sell  c  the  lordly  Abbot  strode, 
Spurring  his  palfrey  o'er  the  field  amain, 
With  tarsel  perch'd  upon  his  fist  he  rode, 
And  now  he  lean'd  upon  the  jingling  rein, 
And  his  lank  dogs  of  speed  d  ran  stretching  o'er  the  plain. 

While  thus  the  Abbot,  to  the  elmy  shade 
That  girt  the  grange,e  the  humbler  Cell'rer  hied, 
A  swinging  porthose  from  his  girdle  play'd, 
Close  to  his  cheek  his  russet  hood  was  tyed ; 
Unlike  that  Abbot  swell'd  with  worldly  pride 
He  rode  a  steed  f  of  most  ill-favour'd  view, 
Sharp  hips,  and  staring  ribs,  and  shaggy  hide ; 
Going,  the  shame  of  loit'ring  monk  he  knew, 
The  shame  of  shoulders  streak'd  with  stripes  of  livid  blue.s 

Meanwhile  along  the  cloister's  painted  h  side, 
The  Monks  (each  bending  low  upon  his  book 
With  head  on  hand  reclined)  their  studies  plied ; 
Forbid  to  parly,  or  in  front  to  look, 


a  Esop.  b   Common  appendages  to  bridles. 

c  Saddle. 

d  Greyhounds.     See  Wart.  v.  2,  p.  221. 

e  Abbey  Granges  abounded  with  timber.  Full, 
Ch.  H.  337. 

f  Ordered  to  be  despecti  et  deformes,  in  Monast 
t.  2,  p.  750. 


s  No  Monk  in  Const.  Bened.  12  Nigr.  Monach. 
was  to  travel  without  his  hood  close,  and  portvoise, 
porthose  or  breviary,  and  if  he  exceeded  his  al- 
lotted time,  was  to  carry  half-naked  a  ferula  from 
the  parletory  door  through  the  cloister  to  the  chap- 
ter, and  there  be  beaten.     Concil.  v.  2,  p.  608. 

h  With  texts  called  carols,  &c.  Wart.  v.  2, 
p.  424. 


400 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE, 


Lengthways  their  regulated  seats  they  took ; 
The  strutting  Prior  gazed  with  pompous  rriein, 
And  wakeful  tongue,  prepared  with  prompt  rebuke, 
If  Monk  asleep  in  sheltering  hood  was  seen ; 
He  wary  often  peep'd  beneath  that  russet  screen .a 

Hard  by,  against  the  windows'  adverse  light, 
Where  desks  were  wont  in  length  of  row  to  stand, 
The  gown'd  artificers  inclined  to  write ; 
The  pen  of  silver  glisten'd  in  the  hand  : 
Some  on  their  fingers  rhyming  Latin  scann'd ; b 
Some  textile  gold  from  balls  unwinding  drew, 
And  on  strain'd  velvet  stately  portraits  plann'd ; 
Here  arms,  there  faces  shone  in  embryo  view, 
At  last  to  glittering  life  the  total  figures  grew.c 

Perchance  with  train  immense  of  knights  and  squires, 
Some  noble  Dame  admires  the  cloister  wall, 
Its  scroDs  of  texts  and  painted  gests  admires, 
The  Prior  points  with  white  wandd  long  and  small, 
And  whispers  low  what  this,  what  that  to  call ; 
Perchance  he  shows  in  pictures  of  the  loom, 
Some  Chief  who  fills  in  Glory's  fane  a  stall, 
Some  King,  who  living  look'd  a  nation's  doom, 
Or  Hero  arm'd,  whose  nod  shook  conquest  from  his  plume.e 

At  noon-hour  (did  no  fleshless  day  betide)  f 
On  posied  trenchers  s  the  plain  cates  were  spread, 
The  snow-white  egg,  the  fish's  corned  side, 
Domestic  fowl  by  barn-door  plenty  fed, 
And  best  of  nutriment  fermented,  bread  ; 
No  thirst  was  their*  s  but  what  that  juice  could  pall, 
The  sugarM  ears  of  bearded  barley  shed ; 
An  aged  Monk  h  was  marshal  of  the  hall, 
There  walking  to  and  fro  the  servitours *  to  call. 

From  due  ablution,  at  the  vaulted  door, 
The  entering  Monks  stood  each  one  with  his  mate, 
At  the  two  tables  of  the  lowest  floor, 
Their  looks  directing  to  the  spiry  state 
Of  chair  much-sculptured,  where  the  Prior  sate  ; 
To  this  where  transversely  a  board  was  spread, 
Inferior  lordlings  of  the  convent  ate  ; 
As  pass'd  the  Prior,  all  depress'd  the  head, 
Loud  rung  a  tinkling  bell,  and  wonted  grace  was  said. 


a  Wilkins's  Concil.  v.  2,  pp.  45,  610. 

b  The  Leonine  verse,  whose  origin  Warton 
leaves  uncertain,  Lord  Roscommon  attributes  to 
the  Druids.  Poems,  ed.  Tons.  1717,  p.  47.  But 
instances  have  been  found  sportively  among  the 
classicks.  A  conceit  always  pleases  bad  taste  ; 
and  hence  it  became  admired  and  frequent. 

c  Embroidered  vestments. 

*  Coll.  Peer.  v.  6,  p.  419. 


e  Tapestry,  in  which  the  gests  of  Alexander,  the 
Trojan  heroes,  &c.  were  favourite  subjects.  Wart, 
v.  1,  p.  210,  v.  2,  p.  227,  &c. 

f  When  they  fasted  till  the  evening  collations. 
i    s  With  flowers  in  the  centre,  and  posies  round 
them.     Gent.  Mag.  1794,  p.  407. 

11  The  Refectioner. 

'  Famuli  refectorii,  &c.     Concil.  v.  2,  p.  246. 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 


401 


The  Prior  gave  the  signal  word,  aloud 
The  Reader  'gan  the  lore  of  God  reveal ; 
At  the  first  stated  pause,  the  holy  crowd 
Turned  to  the  board  in  instantaneous  wheel, 
And  solemn  silence  a  markM  their  instant  meal ; 
The  Prior  to  the  Reader  bow'd,  again 
They  turn'd,  the  Sacrist  rang  a  tinkling  peal, 
Last  grace  was  said,  and  carolling  a  strain 
Of  David,  two  and  two  withdrew  the  hooded  train. 

Then  while  the  bright  sun  march 'd  along  the  sky, 
With  his  spread  banner  broad  of  golden  sheen, 
Kind  Sleep  his  soft  hand  laid  on  monkish  eye, 
Silence  reserved  enjoyM  the  peaceful  scene, 
And  musing  stalk'd  the  space  of  beds  between ; 
He  who  did  nought  these  brethren  friends  esteem, 
Would  at  a  cloister  window  studious  lean, 
Gazing  with  fix'd  eyes  in  a  kind  of  dream, 
Or  stooping  with  low  brow  to  pore  upon  his  theme. 

(He  thought,  where  ancient  Isis  winds  her  way, 
To  hear  Apollo*  s  lute  of  silver  sound, 
And  sisters  nine  chant  their  alluring  lay, 
To  see  by  all  their  worshippers  renownM, 
About  his  brows  a  laureat  wreath  be  wound, 
A  train  of  convents  to  parade  his  praise, 
A  train  of  abbots  proud,  with  mitres  crowned, 
Of  knights,  whose  helmets  stole  the  sunny  rays, 
And  barons  with  wrought  cloaks  of  gorgeous  noon-day  blaze.)b 

Then  where  the  Porter  in  his  lodge  secure, 
With  open  porthose  c  sat,  and  connM  his  prayers, 
A  multitude  of  old  and  female  poor 
Assembled,  canvassing  their  own  affairs, 
Usage  unneighbourly,  or  household  cares, 
Ere  long  the  Almoner  in  lifted  view 
JBeckon'd  their  way  unto  the  gatehouse  stairs ; 
Their  puckerM  aprons  into  folds  they  drew, 
And  Almoner  therein  the  victual  fragments  threw.d 

Soon  as  the  weary  day  was  westering  far, 
And  nightmares  squab  with  waking  howl  upsprung, 
To  drag  some  ugly  dream's  fantastic  car, 
The  branchy  lamp  a  yellow  radiance  flung, 


*  In  this,  as  in  other  respects,  resembling  the 
Essenes.  Prid.  Connect,  ed.  2,  8vo.  v.  3,  p.  485, 
seq.  Also  the  ancient  monks,  Lop.  Epit.  v.  1, 
p.  552. 

0  The  monks  took  their  degrees  with  prodigious 
parade. 


c  Breviary — suspended  to  the  monks'  girdles, 
for  their  constant  study  at  times  of  leisure. 

d  The  almoner  or  servants  of  the  refectory  only, 
were  to  collect  the  fragments  after  dinner,  and 
distribute  them  to  the  poor.  Wilkins's  Concil, 
v.  2,  p.  246. 

2    D 


402 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 


And  to  his  harp  the  hosted  Minstrel  sung  a 
His  chiming  song  b  of  Wizard,  Fay,  or  Sprite, 
Along  the  wires  his  lightning  fingers  rung, 
His  meteor  eyeballs  blazed  with  strange  delight, 
And  sparkling  flames  outrushM  and  skirmish'd  with  the  night. 

Or  p'rhaps  while  melody  that  minstrel  made, 
Some  proper  Tutor  and  the  Novice  train, 
In  dress  dramatic  holy  writ  arrayed  ; 
Here  with  bright  eyes  and  cheek  of  rosy  stain 
A  smiling  David  tripp'd  o^er  Elan's  plain ; 
There  in  the  studied  looks  of  Saul  were  shown, 
Hoped  and  yet  fear'd  success,  dissembled  pain ; 
(A  youth  by  his  ungainly  limbs  overgrown, 
Strutted  with  weighty  sword  the  man  of  mighty  bone.) 

(Were  it  a  certain  mirth-exulting  day, 
The  Abbot-fool,  through  the  high  windowed  hall, 
With  rabble  comrades  marchM  in  rude  array. 
Deck'd  with  the  mitre,  sandals,  staff,  and  pall, 
He  scaled  the  laughing  choir's  superior  stall, 
His  ruffian  train  pair'd  off  on  either  side, 
Strange  was  the  scene,  when  they  endeavoured  all 
The  chanted  mass  with  discords  to  divide, 
And  howl'd  and  yelPd  and  grinn'd  and  hiss'd  and  laughed  and  cried.) ( 

Or  perhaps  was  dragg'd  into  some  area  forth, 
To  sturdy  Mastives  that  stood  watching  nigh, 
A  Bear,  the  hairy  native  of  the  North  ; 
Methinks  I  see  him  roll  his  angry  eye, 
Against  his  furry  sides  the  Mastives  fly, 
They  snap,  and  show  their  teethes  embattled  row, 
He  growls  and  on  his  hind  feet  ramping  high, 
Between  his  closed  paws  grasps  a  dying  foe, 
Whose  eyes  jut  from  his  head,  and  flaggy  tongue  hangs  low. 

Or  perhaps  a  train  of  jigging  Puppets  d  dance 
Their  wooden  muscles  hard  and  nerves  of  wire, 
Or  here  and  there  the  nimble  fingers  glance 
Of  Tregetour,e  with  him  in  quaint  attire 
Who  ribbands  eats,  and  vomits  flames  of  fire  ; 
Quite  happy  Monks,  did  nature's  general  law 
Let  simple  man  to  feats  so  great  aspire, 
But  no,  beneath  the  cover' d  board  they  saw, 
The  grand  fiend^s  visage  grim  and  horns  and  horrid  claw. 


a  To  minstrels  supping  in  the  painted  chamber 
with  the  sub -prior,  &c.  &c.  Comput.  Maxt.  Pri. 
in  Wart.  v.  2,  p.  106.    See  more  in  v.  1,  p.  89,  seq. 

b  The  minstrel  versification  is  remarkable  for 
alliteration,    or   words   beginning  with   the    same 


letter,  and  a  monotonous  modulation  proceeding 
from  the  absence  of  the  caesura. 

c  Feast  of  Fools. 

d  The  most  ancient  amusement  in  this  country. 
Wart,  from  memory. 

e  Juggler. 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE.  403 

Or  perhaps  to  gambol  in  the  slanting  sun. 
The  menial  train  to  grassy  leas  withdrew, 
With  pensioned  sires  whose  days  of  deed  were  done, 
Then  where  two  banks  of  green  turf  met  the  view, 
They  tugg'd  alternately  their  bows  of  yew, 
And  'chance  the  grove  of  bristling  shafts  among, 
A  gifted  one  had  pierced  the  centre  true, 
With  peals  of  loud  applause  the  welkin  rung, 
And  the  gray  sires  ^gan  tell  what  they  atchieved  when  young.a 

All  sudden  stopp'd — the  great  bell's  sullen  roar 
Proclaim'd  the  day's,  the  toil's,  the  pastime's  close, 
The  dormitory  oped  its  massy  door, 
From  pendent  lamps  a  circling  smoke  arose, 
The  fleecy  pallets  lay  along  in  rows, 
Each  proper  one  by  wall  between  confined, 
There  couch'd  the  Monk,  nor  doffed  his  russet  cloaths, 
For  he  who  dared  his  cover' d  limbs  unbind, 
Was  surely  chid,  and  deem'd  to  freakish  sins  inclined. 


PART   THE    THIRD. 

In  iron  times  when  laws  of  battle  were, 
That  weakly  folk,  of  prowess  small  in  fight, 
The  galling  gyves  of  vassalage  should  bear  ;b 
Ere  Castle  Seneschalls  with  pale  affright 
Heard  the  shrill  horn  wind  of  the  errant  knight, 
A  foeman  firm  affianced  to  be 
To  all  who  wronged  the  feeble  of  their  right ; 
Such  folk  the  Church  let  from  their  thraldom  free, 
A  deed  that  had  not  shamed  the  knight  of  chivalry.0 

The  holy  Church  too  in  those  iron  times, 
With  dreadful  sanctity  of  forms  array5 d, 
A  pomp  of  shows  for  cognizance  of  crimes, 
It  might  false  charge  uncourteous  rumour  laid, 
Of  foulest  blot  on  fame  of  gentle  maid  ; 
Her  eyes  were  veiled,  her  lilly  feet  were  bare, 
A  burning  row  the  ploughshares  nine  displayed, 
The  guileless  maid  was  heaven's  peculiar  care, 
Angels  her  veil  upheld,  and  Cherubs  cried  ei  Beware/' 

Was  it  that  sin  so  much  to  beldames'  shame, 
Of  horsing  broomstaves  through  the  vault  of  night, 
And  calling  talon'd  devils  up  by  name, 
Who  coming  would  for  sport  the  neighbours  fright ; 


a  Antiq.  Selb.  p.  414.  Servants  were  even 
obliged  to  travel  with  bows  and  arrows,  in  order 
to  practise  with  them.  Dairies  Barrington's  letter 
on  Archery,  in  Archseol.  v.  7. 

b  The  feodal  system. 

c  Manumission  of  slaves.     Roberts.  Ch.  5,  ed. 


8vo.  v.  1,  329  seq.  Manumission  began  in  the 
reign  of  Constantine,  Eus.  Vit.  Const,  b.  2,  c.  32 
and  was  performed  in  the  Church  before  three  wit- 
nesses. Dion.  Exig.  Justell.  Biblioth.  Afi.  Can. 
64.     Bever.  Trul.  Can.  85. 

2  D  2 


404 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE, 


Such  beldames'  arms  and  feet  they  corded  tight, 
Plunged  them  in  pools,  and  on  the  green  banks  stood 
Wond'ring,  if  they  to  the  arch-wicked  sprite 
In  hellish  deed  had  signed  their  names  in  blood, 
For  such  bad  beldames  always  sunk  beneath  the  flood. 

Judicial  duels  (so  the  times  behoved, 
When  men  were  wont  oft  from  her  lifted  throne 
To  shoulder  Justice)  holy  Church  approved ; 
With  heaps  of  arms  the  sacred  courts  were  strown, 
And  glittering  death  on  points  of  lances  shone, 
A  beauteous  band  of  blue-eyed  maidens  came, 
And  she  whose  guilty  love  was  over- thrown, 
Would  hide  her  eyes,  and  hang  her  head  for  shame, 
Tearing  the  silken  gifts  of  that  unworthy  flame. 

And  in  those  iron  days,  if  fell  despight 
Of  feodal  chieftain  gall'd  the  bosom  sore  ; 
The  relick  hoard  was  sunn'd  by  unknown  light, 
And  on  the  thighbone  of  a  saint  he  swore, 
Spite  to  eschew,  as  taught  God's  holy  lore. 
Nor  dared  false  fear  that  feodal  chief  to  feign, 
For  monk  would  deep  in  his  remembrance  store 
The  ruthful  banquet  of  a  bragging  Dane, 
Who  was  by  sword  unseen  of  scorn'd  St.  Edmund  slain.a 

And  in  those  iron  times,  no  forest  wide 
But  shrouded  robbers  and  assassins  fell, 
For  Justice  knew  not  well  her  way  to  guide, 
Not  having  Custom's  clue,  to  that  lorn  cell 
Where  they  were  wont  'mid  ferns  and  briars  dwell ; 
Can  there  be  one  in  better  ages  born, 
Who  has  not  heard  exulting  infants  tell, 
Of  Robin  Hood,  his  bow  and  bugle  horn, 
And  how  he  chased  the  deer  o'er  Sherwood's  wilds  forlorn  ? 

Ah  me  !  much  irks  it  fearful  mind  to  tell, 
Such  trespass  vile  how  holy  Church  dispraised ; 
In  middle  mass,  the  great  reluctant  bell 
By  minutes  toll'd,  the  cross  on  high  was  raised, 
And  now  the  lighted  torch  that  sudden  blazed, 
As  sudden  quench' d,  a  dreary  symbol  shew'd;b 
The  kneeling  sinner  in  dumb  horror  gazed, 
The  mass  priest's  cheek  with  burning  blushes  glow'd, 
While  slowly  syllabled  these  formal  curses0  flow'd. 

"  Dark  be  those  eyes,  that  dare  with  lust  behold 
"  Another's  earnings,  in  eternal  night :" 
Amen,  and  slowly  once  the  great  bell  toll'd ; 
"  Those  hands  be  shrivell'd  by  a  withering  blight, 


a  Swearing  upon  relicks.  King  Sweyne  was 
thus  said  to  have  been  punished  at  Gainsborough, 
fcr  having  threatened  to  plunder  the  Monastery 
and  relicks  of  St.  Edmund's  Bury.  Lyd.  Life  of 
St.  Edm.  in  Wart.  v.  2,  p.  56. 


b  Ceremonies  of  the  greater  excommunication. 

c  This  imprecation  is  taken  from  a  formula 
printed  in  Robertson's  Ch.  V.  §  Proofs,  &c.  vol.  1, 
p.  398,  ed.  8vo. 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE.  405 

"That  wealth  purvey  by  deeds  of  unjust  might/' 
Amen,  and  once  the  great  bell  tolPd  again ; 
u  Like  fortune  on  the  guilty  limbs  alight, 
"  Such  hands  that  aid ;"  at  end  of  every  strain 
The  great  bell  tolFd,  Amen  responded  all  the  train. 

"  Be  all  thy  days  incessant  cursed  with  toil ; 
"  Be  void  of  rest,  and  yet  to  rest  inclined ; 
"  Be  all  thy  booty  but  another's  spoil ; 
"  Bewild'ring  jeopardies  o'erhang  thy  mind, 
"  Nor  backward  look  but  foes  pursuing  find ; 
u  Of  peril  quit,  still  to  thy  listening  ear 
te  A  speeding  horseman  sound  in  every  wind ; 
"Till  lacking  crimson  life  thy  carcase  fear, 
"  Through  never-ceasing  pain  shall  press  an  early  bier. 

"  And  soon  as  doom'd  to  press  that  early  bier, 
ee  In  damned  talons  be  thy  soul  convey'd 
"  To  the  accursed  house  of  Death  and  Fear 
"  And  Darkness ;  there  be  thy  allotment  made 
u  With  Judas  a  who  the  Lord  of  Life  betray'd  ; 
"  Refining  in  expurgatory  flame, 
"  Be  there  thy  agonizing  spirit  laid, 
"  Until  immaculate  of  sin  and  shame, 
"  It  meet  be  to  invoke  a  Saviour's  hallow'd  name. 

"  Long  as  such  sins  thy  guilty  soul  imbue, 
"  So  long  these  curses  in  dread  force  remain, 
"  So  long  these  curses  shall  those  sins  pursue  ;"b 
Amen — Amen  returned  the  total  train, 
Fiat — a  general  Fiat  shook  the  fane ; 
Still  kneeFd  that  robber,  with  erected  hair 
And  features  smiling  horribly  with  pain, 
Now  Frenzy  roll'd  his  eyes,  and  now  Despair 
Changed  them  to  sightless  orbs  with  petrifying  stare. 

Such  were  the  customs  of  our  days  of  old, 
For  not  those  days  the  sun  of  science  cheer'd ; 
Our  song  historical  must  now  unfold 
More  mournful  tales ;  when  holy  Henry  c  steer'd 
The  bark  of  state,  a  novel  race  appear'd, 
Who  rules  to  preach  and  proselyte  obey*d, 
Though  for  their  home  a  proper  fane  was  rear'd, 
No  annual  bounty  to  the  fane  was  paid, 
For  all  the  Friar  race  were  mendicants  by  trade. 

Unwise  it  was,  for  mendicants  by  trade 
Are  skilPd  their  tongues,  as  chrystal  smooth,  to  file, 
Their  fanes  were  with  unequal  pomp  array'd, 
Much  as  these  sons  of  honey-dropping  guile, 

*  A   common  denunciation  in    early   charters.  I        b  Roberts,  C.  5,   ed.  8vo.  v.  1,  p.  3.98.     Coro- 

See  Monast.  v.  3.      Ecc.  Cath.  pp.  126,  303,  4,  5,  j    pare  an  anathema    in    Wilkins's  Concil.   v.   1,   p. 

&c.     Canute  consigns  the  infringers  of  one  of  his  !    283.  c  H.  III.  A.  D.  1221. 

charters  to  torture  by  devils  in  iron  frying-pans, —  j 

ferreis  sartaginibus.     Id.  p.  130.  I 


406 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 


Could  flatter,  talk,  profess,  and  cringe  and  smile ; 
"  For  ever  they  to  conscience  would  appeal, 
"  If  idle  Monk  ought  live  by  other's  toil, 
"  No  envy  their's,  it  was  becoming  zeal 
"  To  speak  the  truth  of  those,  who  damaged  public  weal."a 

Who  sees  not  faults  ?  and  faults  in  Monks  there  were, 
The  Monk  not  scorn' d  to  play  the  juggler's  part,b 
Penance  aloft  his  whip  of  wire  might  bear, 
More  mighty  Nature  would  disdain  the  smart; 
The  hand  that  toil'd  not,  could  but  waste  the  mart ; 
And  crimes  were  rife,  for  crimes  through  them  had  grace,0 
The  Monk  not  knew  within  his  bounded  heart, 
That  scope  of  feeling  for  our  general  race, 
That,  like  the  eye  of  God,  admits  no  bound  of  place. 

The  day  was  come,  and  what  has  not  its  day  ? 
All  things  regard  from  use  or  pleasance  gain, 
Nor  longer  needed  was  the  dread  array 
Of  superstitious  thunder,  to  restrain 
Hunters  and  warriors  in  a  feodal  reign  ; 
Commerce  was  building  bourses  d  on  the  land, 
Aided  by  Industry,  Art's  handmaid  train, 
And  Plenty  boon,  a  nymph  was  with  the  band 
CalPd  Printing,  almost  deem'd  to  wield  a  magic  wand* 

The  day  was  come — Fame  trumpeted  abroad 
A  six-times-wedded  Monarch's  ban  of  wrath ; 
Upstarting  War  unsheathed  his  instant  sword, 
Rebellion  e  led  her  rabble-legions  forth, 
Her  flag  unfurling  in  the  stormy  North  ; 
Along  the  clamorous  vanguard  stalk'd  Despair, 
While  busy  Superstition  nerved  the  loth  ; 
Pale  Injury  laid  her  bleeding  bosom  bare, 
And  RevYence  show'd  with  dust  defiled  his  hoary  hair. 

This  horrid  while,  against  the  fane  forlorn 
The  banded  fiends  of  hell  unwearied  toil'd, 
High  on  a  pinnacle  stood  grinning  Scorn, 
The  axe  of  false  Zeal  charms  of  art  defiled, 
And  talon'd  Sacrilege  lookM  up  and  smiled, 
With  severing  engine  as  she  vestments  shore, 
Recorded  good  erasing  Envy  spoil' d, 
While  snatching  Violence  the  charters  tore, 
And  scrambling  Rapines  off  the  flying  fragments  bore.f 


a  The  Jesuitical  practices  of  the  begging  orders 
first  brought  the  Monks  into  disrepute.  See  their 
character  in  Thynne's  Chauc.  p.  617,  and  Somp- 
nour's  Tale.  The  writings  of  Wickliff  destroyed 
their  reputation  in  return.  See  Knighton,  col.  2665. 
Conscious  of  the  superior  learning  of  the  Friars,  the 
Monks  built  small  colleges  at  Oxford  for  the  better 
education  of  their  novices,  and  thus  began  our  Uni- 
versities on  their  present  footing.  Wart.  v.  1, 
p.  283,  seq. 


b  False  Miracles,  images  with  springs,  &c. 

c  Sanctuary. 

d  The  term  is  here  used  figuratively. 

e  In  A.D.  1536  on  account  of  the  dissolution 
of  monasteries.  It  was  called  the  Pilgrimage  of 
Grace,  and  in  their  ensigns  they  had  our  Saviour 
crucified,  the  host  and  chalice,  &c.  Medull. 
Histor.  p.  207.     Godwin's  Annals,  p.  65. 

1  The  visitors  destroyed  the  Monasteries  imme- 
diately on  their  falling  into  their  hands.       Will. 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE. 


407 


For  Monk  until  a  figure  new  they  made, 
Four  fiends  were  busied  in  a  secret  nook, 
The  fit  materials  stammering  Ign'rance  laid, 
For  Prejudice,  that  could  but  one  way  look, 
Hypocrisy,  that  thumVd  the  sacred  book, 
And  crabbed  Austerity,  that  smiling  blamed  ; 
For  speech  they  texts  of  holy  scripture  took, 
For  his  stiff  neck  a  band  dependent  framed, 
And  this  their  figure  new  a  Puritan  surnamed.a 

Sedition  meanwhile  in  black  gall  imbued, 
A  sheaf  of  arrows  from  her  quiver'd  store, 
And  with  that  archery  the  monks  pursued, 
Who  fled  the  Giant  Danger's  strides  before, 
And  trunk  of  tree  his  breadth  of  shoulder  bore ; b 
The  deed  was  done  ;  the  looking  fiends  were  dumb  ; 
When  fleeing  all  at  once,  the  air  they  tore 
With  yells  that  midnight  travellers  benumb, 
Groans  of  the  damnM  in  hell,  and  shrieks  of  Doomsday  come. 

So  fell  the  Monkish  fane,  and  we  might  deem 
Were  here  and  there  not  ivied  ruins  spread, 
It  ne'er  had  been,  or  but  a  first  sleep's  dream ; 
It  fell,  and  doom'd  to  hide  her  banish'd  head 
For  ever,  Gothic  Architecture  fled ;  c 
Forewarn'd  she  left  in  one  most  beauteous  place, 
That  much  might  of  her  ancient  fame  be  said, 
Her  pendent  roof,  her  windows'  branchy  grace, 
Pillars  of  cluster'd  reeds,  and  tracery  of  lace.d 

Be  courteous,  Commerce — in  no  sullen  mood 
Too  harshly  gibe  the  Monk's  less  active  bent ; 
For  from  thy  foeman  Baron's  wassails  rude, 
Where  sanctuary  a  holy  dwelling  lent, 
The  wattled  flocks,  the  craftsman's  canvas  tent, 
The  morrice-dancer  with  his  marrion  queen, 
And  the  famed  dog  of  British  hardiment 
Baiting  the  bull  and  bear,  were  frequent  seen 
In  motley  crowds  to  sport  along  the  peopled  green  .e 

Be  courteous,  Commerce — there  are  bridges  high, 
Ranging  their  salient  angles  o'er  the  strand, 
Which  the  Monks  rear'd  ;  where  some  proud  dwellings  lie, 
A  fane  exorcised  agues  from  the  land ; f 


Mitr.  Abb.  Introd.  p.  53,  seq.  Id.  Princ.  Relig. 
Hous.  p.  274.  Religious  buildings  did  not  cease 
to  be  plundered  till  the  14th  Eliz.  upon  a  criminal 
process  being  issued  against  the  offenders.  Dugd. 
St.  Paul's,  p.  45. 

a  Puritanism  arose  from  the  translation  of  the 
Bible  becoming  common,  being  misunderstood, 
and  the  aversion  from  popery  producing  a  contrary 
extreme.  Wart.  v.  2,  p.  547.  Bands  are  said  to 
be  invention  of  this  sect. 

b  The  Court  of  Augmentations  appointed  the 
disincorporated  monks  to  vacant  benefices,  in  or- 


der to  ease  the  exchequer  of  their  salaries  ;  and  the 
endeavours  of  these  men  to  restore  their  perished 
institution  produced  the  proclamation  of  1547 
against  preaching.     Id.  v.  3,  p.  197. 

c  Gothic  architecture  first  became  mixed  with 
the  Greek  style  in  Henry  the  Eighth's  reign. 

d  Henry  VII. 's  chap,  at  Westminster. 

e  Monasteries  assisted  commerce  by  procuring 
markets  and  fairs.     Spelm.  Gloss,  p.  264. 

f  Croyland  Abbey  reared  upon  piles  in  the  fens 
of  Lincolnshire.  Bibliotheca  Topographica  Bri- 
tannica,  vol.  iii.  No.  xi. 


408 


ECONOMY    OF    MONASTIC    LIFE, 


Hard  by  conceive  its  buttress  rows  to  stand, 
A  nd  fine  perspective  of  a  range  of  spires ; 
Where  lie  yon  leas,  uppluckM  by  monkish  hand, 
Their  rushes  crackled  on  the  daily  fires, 
Monks  delved  that  foss  where-through  the  brumal  flood  retires.* 

Be  courteous,  Learning — think  what  Monks  would  write, 
Figuring  strange  signs  they  had  wizards  seen; 
Seen  dapper  fairies  by  the  Moon's  pale  light, 
In  quaint  rings  dance  about  their  tiny  queen ; 
Grim  ghosts  with  stony  eyes  flit  o^er  the  green ; 
Steeds  of  bright  brass  that  to  the  board  updrew, 
Where  sat  the  Soldan  with  astonished  mien  ;b 
Or  dragons,  such  as  George  of  Britain  slew, 
Spout  smoky  hurricanes  of  flame  and  sulphurs  blue.c 

(Truth,  I  would  fain  but  cannot  thee  commend, 
For  thou  art  Superstition's  enemy, 
And  she  to  Song  has  been  an  ancient  friend ; 
Can'st  thou  not  hide  the  terrors  of  thine  eye, 
Hold  down  thy  mirror,  and  pass  smiling  by  ? 
Must  we  thy  beams  depopulating  rue  ? 
Yes,  and  the  visionary  race  must  fly ; 
Bat  stay  thy  steps,  imperious  maid,  and  view 
One  backward  glance  of  scorn,  their  noble  proud  adieu.) 

Be  courteous,  Learning —  tales  of  times  of  old 
Of  Troynovant,  of  ancient  British  land, 
For  you  the  monkish  Chroniclers  have  told ; 
Before  you,  lo  !  the  greybeard  Fathers  stand, 
Holding  the  holy  Martyrs  by  the  hand; 
Lo  classic  Bards,  with  their  thrice  triple  train 
Of  Attic  ladies,  sing  at  your  command; 
Say  could  a  gifted  Poet  form  a  strain 
For  Oxford's  earl,d  that  not  attends  the  monkish  fane  ? 

Learning,  some  monks  were  very  deeply  taught, 
Speech  they  could  all  into  its  parts  divide/ 
But  these  knew  how  to  prank  a  showy  thought/ 
And  a  minutely-subtle  science  plied, 
Drawn  from  the  lore  that  man  to  God  allied  ;S 
Our  laws  they  tinctur'd  with  that  Emp'ror^s  page, 
AmalfPs  rocks  were  fated  long  to  hide,11 
Who  could  like  them  with  mighty  quibbles  wage, 
The  syllogistic  war  of  famed  Stagyra's  sage ;{ 


a  For  the  improvement  of  desart  lands  by  mo- 
nasteries, see  Roberts.  C.  5th,  ed.  8vo.  v.  i.  p. 
244  ;  Andrew's  Anecdotes,  art.  Lazy  Monks. 

b  Chauc.  Squier's  tale.  Milt.  P.  L.  b.  1,  v.  763. 
To  ride  through  the  hall  to  the  high  table,  was  a 
favourite  custom  in  the  days  of  chivalry. 

c  The  monks  often  wrote  for  the  minstrels. 
Wart.  v.  1,  p.  87. 


d  Alluding  to  the  Harleian  collection  of  MSS. 

e  Grammar.  f  Rhetoric. 

s  Scholast.  Theology. 

h  Pandects  of  Justinian.  Andrews  from  Pfeffel 
asserts,  that  the  Civil  Law  was  studied  before  the 
discovery  of  Justinian's  code  at  Amain,  for  the 
history  of  which  romantic  place,  see  Swinb.  Trav. 
v.  2,  p.  149.  *  Logic. 


ECONOMY    OF   MONASTIC    LIFE.  409 

Learnings  this  lore  is  deemed  of  nought  to  be, 
Unlovely  we  from  trial  sad  attest, 
Yet  hence  the  scornful  Nymph  Philosophy, 
In  robe  succinct  for  loosely-floating  vest, 
Was  by  the  matron  strict  Precision  drest  ;a 
And  had  not  hooded  Superstition  flung 
On  speech  o'er  vulgar  wont  her  high  behest, 
The  sluggard  schoolboy  ne'er  had  lisp'd  the  tongue, 
That  Tully  chastely  spoke,  and  Maro  chastely  sung. 

Shades  of  past  fame,  farewell !  the  glooms  ye  cast ! 
The  melancholy  pleasure  ye  have  bred ! 
There  are,  who  fain  would  fly  into  the  past, 
And  where  I  but  a  weeping  pilgrim  tread, 
As  cowl'd  monks  hide  for  aye  the  aching  head ! 
Alas  !  there  now  are  no  Elysian  bowers, 
To  sepulchre  among  the  living  dead, 
A  lost  thing,  when  Life's  day  in  tempests  lours, 
And  Grief  the  painted  wings  rends  of  the  shrieking  Hours. 

Pause,  cries  a  willowed  Youth,  in  shades  like  these, 
With  hopeless  flames  a  virgin  victim  glows, 
The  pride  of  needy  ancientry  to  please, 
For  ever  lost  to  love,  my  only  rose, 
The  sweetest  flower  of  all  my  Eden  blows, 
Go,  weeping  girl ;  and  I  for  life  must  bear 
An  icy  soul,  enwrapt  in  winter's  snows, 
And  corpse-eyed  visage,  of  white  marble  glare, 
So  changed  by  gazing  on  the  Gorgon  ghost,  Despair. 


Scholastic  learning  introduced  precision  into  Philosophy.     Life  of  M.  Turgot,  p.  11 


410 


Cfce  Criumpf)0  of  Vengeance ; 

OR 

THE  COUNT  OF  JULIAN. 

AN  ODE. 
IN  THE  MANNER  OF   GRAY. 


This  Ode  is  founded  on  the  following  event  in  the  Spanish  History,  as  related 
by  Heylyn  (Cosmography,  p.  213)  :  "Of  this  province  (Tingitana)  was  Julianus 
Governor  in  the  time  of  Roderick,  who  (Julian)  being  of  the  faction  of  the  sons 
ofVitiza  (the  last  king),  stomached  his  (Roderick's)  advancement  to  the  king- 
dom ;  and  thereby  got  the  greater  portion  of  the  king's  displeasure  ;  who  send- 
ing him  upon  an  embassy  to  the  Moors  of  Africa,  in  the  mean  time  deflowered  his 
daughter,  named  Cava  (Cuba  in  Mr.  Russel),  which  the  father  took  in  such 
indignation,  that  he  procured  the  Moors,  amongst  whom  he  had  gotten  much 
credit,  to  come  over  into  Spain.  This  request  they  performed  under  the  con- 
duct of  Musa  and  Tariff,  and  having  made  a  full  conquest  a°  729,  subjected  it  to 
the  great  Caliphs  or  Mahometan  Emperors/-* 

There  is  a  translated  poem  on  the  same  subject  in  a  collection  by  Mr.  Russel, 
published  at  Oxford  some  years  ago.  I  remember  no  more  of  it,  than  that  it 
interested  me  extremely,  and  was  one  of  the  finest  of  that  fine  wreath  of  Par- 
nassian Flowers.  The  excellent  moral  of  the  story  will  be  visible :  and  this  was 
my  inducement  to  reduce  it  to  verse. 

I.   1. 

From  the  morning  grey  and  still 

Fast  the  dews  of  night  retire  ; 
Wide  along  the  heathy  hill, 

Burns  a  blazing  stream  of  fire  ; 
Dark  before  the  glittering  gleam, 

Shadows  black  of  horsemen  dance ; 
A  steely  light  with  starry  beam, 

Glimmers  from  the  shivering  lance  : 
Down  the  mountain,  grand  and  slow, 
Processioning  in  state  they  go  : 
In  a  bright  cloud  they  close  their  firm  array ; 

Throbbings  of  glory  from  the  clarions  sound ; 
Before  them  rolls  the  thunder  of  their  way ; 

Before  them  darkness  sweeps  the  shaking  ground ; 
Heard  ye  the  shout,  that  rent  the  air? 
Saw  ye  the  brandished  spear,  and  flash  of  fiery  glare  ? 


TRIUMPHS    OF    VENGEANCE.  411 

I.  2. 

Like  the  wood's  edge  at  deep  of  night 

Striking  back  the  heedless  eye ; 
Gazing  for  the  coming  fight ; 

Dark  and  terrible  we  lie  ; 
Silence  dread  and  whispers  low, 
Panting  expectation  show  ; 
With  outstretched  arms  and  streaming  eyes, 
Thus  the  impassioned  father  cries  ; 
"  Flower  of  hope,  of  fragrance  wide, 

ee  Gem,  that  deck'd  the  green  bank's  swell, 
cs  No  more  upon  thy  painted  pride, 

«  My  gazing  tenderness  will  dwell. 
"  Lightnings  of  Fury  through  my  eyeballs  dart, 
"The  worm  of  shame  sleeps  not,  that  twines  around  my  heart." 

1.3. 

"  Maiden  of  the  shining  eyes, 

"  Cava  dear  and  Cava  fair, 
ce  Starting  tears,  and  stealing  sighs, 

"  Would  a  father's  pride  declare ; 
"  Sweet  the  summer  breeze,  that  blows 
"  Lightly  from  the  dancing  rose ; 
"  Soft  the  silver  glitter  shed 
"  From  the  violet's  weeping  head  ; 
"  Gay  the  bird's  new-feather' d  wing, 
"  Gay  the  fresh-born  leaf  of  spring : 
"  So  sweet,  so  soft,  so  gay, 
"  The  meeken'd  lustre  of  her  vernal  day ; 
"  When  in  the  dance  her  graceful  way  she  moved, 
"  In  speechless  agonies  of  bliss  I  loved  ; 
"  The  flushes  of  her  beauty  sunk  my  eyes, 
(i  To  thoughtless  vacancy,  and  melting  soft  surprize/' 

II.  1. 

See  the  wind  (the  day  is  still) 

The  poplar's  twinkling  verdure  shed ; 
Ah  !  the  judgment  from  the  hill 

Shows  through  the  cloud  his  awful  head  ! 
Speedy  death  and  present  fear, 

Guilty  King,  there  vow  to  thee 
Men,  that  never  shed  a  tear, 

Stormy  or  sullen  as  the  sea ; 
Does  the  robber  ever  laugh  ? 

Does  the  wolf's  eye  lose  its  fire  ? 
These  the  bleeding  life  that  quaff, 

No  human  sympathies  inspire  : 
Revenge,  that  shows  what  man  can  do, 
Unfurl  our  banners  thus,  and  terrify  his  view. 

II.    2. 

Now  the  mountain's  steep  beneath, 

The  winter's  flood  has  found  its  shores  ; 
Now  the  north  wind  sweeps  the  heath 

On  our  driving  battle  pours ; 


412 


TRIUMPHS    OF    VENGEANCE, 


O'er  the  billows  of  the  war, 

Rodorigo  shines  afar; 

The  Northern  Bear,  with  ruffian  sway, 

That  bore  the  Eagle's  spoil  away  ; 

Alarick's  tremendous  name 

Burn  his  cheek  with  rage  and  shame ; a 

Seven  nights,  asleep,  awake, 

Fast  the  bubbles  rise  and  break ; b 

Mighty  warrior,  mighty  lord  !  c 

Will  not  greatness  ease  afford  ? 

Round  him  teazing  visions  fly, 

Suspense's  shifting  form  and  writhing  agony. 

II.  3. 

Seven  nights  and  seven  days 
Will  he  gain  a  hero's  praise — 
Wide  the  doors  enchanted  throw, 
Blast  his  soul's  desire  and  show ! 
King,  those  swarthy  warriors  see, 
Foes,  that  will  thy  victors  be  ; 
Read  the  characters  of  fate, 
They  proclaim  thy  kingdom's  date ;  d 
Urging  is  the  unseen  pow'r, 

End  of  doubt  and  end  of  strife ; 
Soon  will  come  the  fatal  hour, 

Last  of  war,  and  last  of  life  ; 
Vain  the  ardour,  vain  the  toil, 
Thine  is  not  the  joy  of  spoil ; 
Stony  horror  fills  thine  eyes ; 
Trumpets  of  Glory  sound,  and  swell  him  till  he  dies. 

III.  1. 

Live,  Hope ;  prediction  is  but  vain  ; 
Mists  gather  to  disperse  again ; 
Does  the  thunder  rend  the  skies  ? 
In  innoxious  tears  it  dies — 
Ah  !  who  is  that,  in  deep  despair, 

Retiring  with  the  lion's  shame, 
The  fury  of  his  glowing  air, 

A  fire's  expiring  flash  of  flame ; 
By  Fate's  unmoving  gaze  downcast, 
Weary,  mad,  forlorn,  and  last : 
Flown  are  his  bands ;  alone  remain 
Drops  of  the  tempest's  ceasing  rain ; 


a  Roderick  was  the  last  of  the  Gothic  line  of 
kings. 

b  Roderick  had  130,000  foot,  and  35,000  horse. 
Tariff  had  30,000  horse  and  180,000  foot.  The 
battle  continued  for  seven  days  together  from 
morning  to  night. 

c  "Mighty  victor,  mighty  Lord. ''      Gray. 


d  Roderick,  upon  hopes  of  treasure,  opened  a 
part  of  his  palace,  of  long  time  forbidden  to  be 
touched ;  but  found  nothing  but  pictures  resem- 
bling the  Moors,  with  a  prophecy,  that,  when- 
soever the  palace  was  there  opened,  the  people  there 
resembled  should  overcome  Spain. 


TRIUMPHS    OF    VENGEANCE.  413 

u  Low  the  gasping  Hero  lies,"a 

(Hear  the  exulting  Father's  yell) 
"  Gambol/'  he  screams,  u  ye  fiends,  before  his  eyes, 
"  And  greet  his  harrow' d  ears  with  howls  of  Hell. 

III.  2. 

"  Is  he  gone,  the  Lord  of  Light, 

"  The  Sun,  that  spread  his  beams  so  wide? 
ie  Woe  to  Spain  and  endless  night ! 

"  Shone  he  high  in  noon  of  pride  ? 
u  No,  it  was  with  a  glimmering  flame, 

tf  The  mockery  of  a  winter's  morn ; 
"  Where  is  the  odour  of  his  fame  ? 

"  Gone  with  the  fleeting  flow'r,  for  ever,  ever  gone." 

III.  3. 

Julian,  hear  my  dying  breath ; 

(Prophetic  is  the  voice  of  death ;) 

Think'st  thou  that  belongs  to  thee, 

The  mighty  of  the  mightiest  decree  ? 

He  grants  the  infidel  an  hour 

To  punish  Vice's  lawless  power ; 

WThy  pass  those  sages  o'er  the  vale  ? 

All  hail,  ye  unborn  nations,  hail, 

With  beaming  eyes  of  brighter  rays ! b 

Turn,  instrument  of  Heaven,  and  gaze — 

Ah  !  famish'd  in  a  dungeon  deep, 

At  the  bright  day  does  Julian  weep  ? 

Dead  do  thy  wife,  thy  children,  lie  ) 

Liv'd  they  with  wishes  but  to  die  ? 

Blest  is  Roderick  that's  gone — 

Forget  not  in  thy  woes  this  parting  smile  of  scorn.c 


a  What  became  of  Roderick  was  never  known 
(says  Heylin)  ;  his  soldiers  took  one  arrayed  in  his 
cloaths,  whom,  upon  examination,  they  found  to 
be  a  shepherd,  with  whom,  after  the  discomfiture, 
the  king  had  changed  his  cloaths.  However,  as  it 
is  generally  understood  he  perished,  the  poetical 
variation  (inevitable)  is  of  no  moment. 


b  The  introduction  of  science  into  Europe  was  a 
consequence  of  the  arrival  of  the  Saracens  in  Spain. 

c  Julian,  after  seeing  the  miserable  death  of  his 
wife  and  children,  was  starved  in  prison  by  the 
Moors. 


414  THE    RED    MAN. 

THE    RED    MAN. 

AN  ODE, 
IN  THE  MANNER  OF  GRAY  AND  COLLINS. 


The  Red  Man,  or  L'homme  rouge,  so  called  because  a  little  muffled  figure, 
wholly  attired  in  red,  is  the  daemon,  or  familiar,  who  in  vain  warned  Buonaparte 
of  every  impending  danger.  [See  Paul's  Letters,  pp.  430,  431.]  Upon  this 
legend;  the  Comet;  which  appeared  over  Corsica  about  the  period  of  Napo- 
leon's birth;  that  of  1811 ;  and  the  newspaper  account  of  a  figure  seen  in  the 
Sun,  with  a  banner,  at  first  erect  and  surrounded  by  other  figures,  but  at  last 
prostrate  and  broken  in  pieces,  this  Ode  is  founded.  As  it  was  a  subject,  purely 
suggested  by  a  favourable  bearing  to  Poetry,  and  the  Author  merely  speaks  in  the 
character  of  the  Red  Man,  nothing  political  is  intended. 

I.   1. 

"  Lo  !  A  King  of  the  Sky  comes  forth, 

"  Marching  stately  tow'rds  the  North ; 

"  Awful  stranger  !  dost  thou  bear 

"  Omens,  sparkling  on  thy  hair? 

"  Does  thy  train  of  blazing  glow, 

"  The  battlers  hurly  burly  show  ? 

Ci  Or  does  thy  pale  orb's  misty  gleam 

"  Show  that  widows'  tears  must  stream  ? 

ci  Dost  thou  come  in  pomp  to  bring, 

u  Or  wrath  to  take  away  a  King  ? 

ei  Making  now  and  now  undoing, 

(i  Gamboling  with  Fate  and  Ruin  ? 

"  Art  thou  come  to  show  God's  ire, 

"  A  migratory  world  on  fire  ? 

"  Or,  art  thou  He,  who  at  the  birth 

"  Of  Gallia's  Lord  alarm'd  the  earth  ? 

"Is  the  Eagle,  soon  to  fly 

ee  Where  he'll  droop  his  wing,  and  die  ?" 

Thus  the  wond'ring  Red  Man  spoke 

As  his  sleep  an  Earthquake  broke. 

I.  2. 

Ah  !  the  Earthquake  shakes  again  ! 
The  tumbling  Column a  strews  the  plain. — 
How  like  the  Waterfall,  what  time  the  Star 
Of  Night  comes  pacing  up  the  dusky  West, 
Back'd  by  dark  groves,  bright  glistening  from  afar 
I  saw  thee,  France,  in  robes  of  Glory  drest ; b 

a  Erected  by  Buonaparte  in  imitation  of  that  of  French    Revolution,    when   social    perfection   and 

Trajan.  happiness  were  to  result  from  a  system,  which  held 

b    This    and    the    following    stanza    (which    I  in  utter  disregard  religion  and  virtue ;  a  monstrous 

published  years  ago,  in  the  collections  of  a  poetical  absurdity 
friend),  allude  to  the  pompous  pretensions   of  the 


THE    RED    MAN.  415 

Fine  as  the  waving  light  of  summer  noon, 

Soft  as  the  breeze  that  sweeps  the  evening  deep, 

Thy  distant  Paeans  in  luxurious  swoon 

Made  my  exulting  ear  enchanted  sleep ; 

Ah  !  where  is  he,  who  knows  not  to  admire 

The  meteor  blaze  of  Fame,  and  twinkling  dance  of  Fire  ? 

I.  3. 

Oh !  I  have  gazed  enraptur'd  with  the  scene 
Till  fairy  dreams  upraised  my  buoyant  soul; 
Sounds  of  delight  "  from  airy  harps  unseen/' 
Shades  of  the  blest,  i(  whose  glittering  skirts  unroll5' 
Elysian  groves,  whence  cooling  odours  blow, 
Immingled  roses  in  deep  burning  blush, 
Essential  light  in  streaming  gales,  that  throw 
O'er  softest  glades  of  green  a  lustrous  flush  ? 
The  dancing  Hours  and  Nymphs  of  purpled  wing, 
Sporting  with  smiling  Loves  and  Zephyrs  of  the  Spring. 

II.  1. 

Alas  !  while  thus  we  sleep  and  dream, 

How  sad  to  breathe  but  pestilential  steam ; 

Pity  and  Hope  go  hand  in  hand 

To  sue,  where  Fate  does  not  command, 

But  cannot  bear  a  form  to  see 

More  ugly,  than  Adversity ; 

Ages,  like  the  waters,  sweep 

In  rolling  volumes  to  the  deep  ; 

And  Grandeur's  perishable  pride, 

A  bubble  floating  down  the  tide, 

Glitters  in  the  noon-day  beam, 

Then  bursts  and  mingles  with  the  vulgar  stream. — 

II.   2. 

Sorrow,  Red  Man,  thou  must  not  feel 

Hammer  and  forge  thy  soul  to  steel ; 

Thou  must  away  to  pull  the  bell 

Which  tolls  a  dying  Empire's  knell; 

While,  o'er  his  writhing  prey,  a  lion  roaring 

Shakes  his  majestick  mane,  and  mocks  the  tone  deploring. 

II.   3. 

Loudly  once  the  Red  Man  knocks ; 

The  doors  unfold,  the  chamber  rocks ; 

Si  Hero,  doomed  to  Sight  and  shame ; 

"  Listen  to  him,  thou  canst  not  name ; 

"  Dost  thou  hear  the  thunder  roll  ? 

et  It  bodes  a  tempest  in  thy  soul. 

"  Will  thy  Wolf  attempt  to  tear 

"  His  white  beard  from  the  Northern  Bear  ? 

e{  Know'st  thou  not,  his  breath  alone 

a  Can  freeze  the  ruffian  into  stone  ? 

e(  Ah  !  look  not  thus  with  sneering  eyes, 

i:  The  Summer  with  the  swallow  flies. 

Ci  Is  ambition  void  of  woe  ? 

ff  Russia  is  a  Hell  of  Snow. 


416 


THE    RED    MAN, 


III.   1. 

"  Close  thy  imperial  ashes  in  an  Urn,a 

"  Thy  soul,  an  iEtna,  will  for  ever  burn. 

"  Giant  of  France,  and  Husband  of  her  choice,b 

"  The  Oracle  of  Victory  thy  voice  ! c 

"  Spur  again  the  horse  of  War ; 

iC  Ah  !  what  but  Vapour  is  the  falling  star  ? 

"  Those  warriors  old,  who  scorned  to  fly, 

"  In  dumb  astonishment  must  die  : 

"  Is  the  Emperor  and  King 

"  An  insect  now  without  a  sting  ? 

ci  Shouldered  from  his  gaudy  throne 

"  By  those,  whom  he  was  proud  to  own  ;d 

(i  Fair  was  the  bride  of  Austria,  fair  the  Morn, 

"  When  he  the  Ceesar  King  was  born. 

cc  Screw  the  torture  to  his  heart  ? 

"  The  Father  from  his  only  Child  must  part ; 

a  Are  his  Marshals  false  and  hollow  ? 

"  Will  Birds  of  Prey  not  carrion  follow  ? 

(i  In  black  procession  to  inter  his  fame 

"  They  stalk ;  but  still  the  smoke  betrays  surviving  flame." 

III.  2. 

"  What  dost  thou  laugh  in  scorn  ?  Ah  !  then 

"Thou  dog  within  a  lion's  den, 

Ci  Take  the  boon  contempt  will  give ; 

"  A  statue  on  a  pedestal  to  live ; 

"  Gaze  on  to-morrow's  Sun,  and  see 

ee  The  signs  that  Heaven  shows  to  thee ; 

ei  Say  then,  c  I  see  ;  but  not  believe  f 

"  Hereafter,  c  I  have  seen ;  and  grieve/  " 

III.  3. 

"  Land  of  the  bravest  brave  and  fairest  fair  ! 

"  Thou  land,  that  worshippest  God's  blessed  Son  ! 

"  Thou  land,  that  teachest  to  forgive  and  spare  ! 

a  Thou  land,  that  praisest,  when  God^s  will  is  done  ! 

ce  Too  great  to  fear,  and  too  humane  to  hate, 

"  Royal  in  mind,  he 's  still  in  patience  great ; e 

a  Let  Nature^s  saintly  milkiness,  in  grace 

"  Grant  to  the  Sire  once  more  a  Son's  embrace ; 

"  A  Belisarius  without  a  home 

"  Who  fears  ?  who  now  regards  his  pageant  reign  of  Rome  ?" 


*  Elba. 

b  It  is  well  known,  that  Universal  Conquest 
was  a  favourite  project  in  France,  long  before  the 
time  of  Buonaparte.  He  only  married  the  Na- 
tional Vanity  for  her  fortune,  and  was  governed 
by  his  wife,  an  imperious  fury. 

c  As  soon  as  the  Emperor  appeared  in  the  field 


at  the  commencement  of  any  battle,  the  soldiery 
rent  the  air  with  shouts.     Labaume. 

d  The  Austrian  family,  whose  junction  with  the 
Allies,  first  turned  the  scale  against  him. 

e  From  his  character,  dispassionately  drawn,  in 
the  Edinburgh  Review. 


-11 


THE  LAST  FIFTY  YEARS. 
A  Parody  on  Collins' s  Ode  to  the  Passions. 

When  Revolution,  fidler  blind,  was  young, 
(While  yet  in  modern  France  he  sung) 
The  Democrats  to  hear  him  sing 
Thronged  around  the  vulgar  ring; 
Exulting,  trembling,  raging,  fainting, 
Fuddled,  beyond  the  Muse's  painting  ; 
By  turns  they  felt  a  moon-struck  mind; 
To  castle-building  much  inclined  : 
With  fresh  supplies  of  gin  then  fir'd, 
Fill'd  with  fury,  rapt,  inspir'd; 
They  snatch'd  from  the  surrounding  boys 
Their  various  instruments  of  noise  : 
And,  as  they  oft  had  heard  apart 
From  thieves,  the  signal- whistle's  art ; 
Each,  for  madness  rul'd  the  hour, 
Would  prove  his  own  seditious  power. 

First  Hardy*  came  his  skill  to  try 
Amongst  the  Corresponding  trade  ; 
And  back  recoil' d — he  well  knew  why — 
Of  neck-extension  sore  afraid. 

Tom  Paine,  combustible  most  dire. 
Next  made  the  rich  Stockholders  sweat  ; 
The  hangman  to  his  tail  set  fire,t 
And  off  he  scamper' d,  deep  in  debt. 

In  Purley^s  meadows,  Johx  Horxe  Tooke 
With  parts  of  speech  his  grief  beguiFd ;  { 
The  Yerbo-philosophic  book 
By  fits  was  fine,  by  starts  was  wild. 

But  thou,  O  Fox,  with  speech  so  fair, 

What  was  thy  opposing  measure  ? 

Still  it  whisper' d  pensioned  pleasure, 

And  bade  the  places  good  at  distance  hail ; 

Still  would  his  touch  the  strain  prolong, 

And  from  the  India  Bill's  sad  tale, 

He  calPd  on  Westminster  through  all  the  song : 

And  when  to  toast  the  Sov'reign  mob  he  chose. 

His  title  lost,^  he  mournM  at  everv  close  ; 


*  Secretary  to  the  Corresponding  Society,  and  I  J  The  "Diversions  of  Puvley,"  which  reduce 
tried  for  treason.  the  parts  of  speech  to  only  the  noun  and  verb. 

f  The  Age  of  Reason  was  burnt  by  the  common  j  §  Mr.  Fox's  name  was  erased  from  the  Privy 
hangman.  Council  for  this  toast. 


418  THE    LAST    FIFTY    YEARS. 

And  Fox  neglected  wept,  and  wav'd  his  pig-tail'd  hair ; 

Yet  longer  had  he  sung — but  with  a  frown, 

Burdett  impatient  rose ; 

And  threw  his  bonnet  rouge  in  thunder  down  ; 

And  with  his  Palace- Yardian  look, 

The  mob-collecting  trumpet  took; 

And  blew  a  blast  so  loud  and  dread, 

Ne'er  were  the  Cornish  Burghs  so  full  of  woe  ; 

And  ever  and  anon  he  beat, 

The  Cobbett  Drum  with  furious  heat; 

And  though  at  times,  each  dreary  pause  between, 

Th'  Attorney  General  at  his  side, 

His  soul- subduing  voice  applied, 

Yet  still  he  kept  his  wild  unalter'd  mien, 

Till  in  the  Tow'r  close  shopp'd,  he  laid  his  aching  head. 

Thy  numbers,  Cochrane,  to  the  Funds  were  fix'd, 

Sad  proof  of  thy  distressful  state  ; 

Of  war  and  politics  the  theme  was  mix'd, 

And  now  he  woo'd  employ,  now  raving  called  on  hate. 

With  eyes  uprais'd,  as  one  inspir'd, 

Pitt  in  the  Treasury  sat  retir'd ; 

And  from  his  snug  official  seat, 

In  notes,  by  Lucre  made  more  sweet, 

Pour'd  through  the  Commons'  House  his  winning  soul ; 

From  Opposition  Rocks  around 

Burke  jump'd  away,  and  hail'd  the  sound ; 

Through  corp'rate  towns  the  safety-measures  stole, 

And  o'er  the  bottle's  talk  with  fond  delay, 

Jacks  in  office  port-wine  boozing, 

Constitution  toasts  diffusing, 

At  civic  banquets  drank  away. 

But,  oh  !  how  alter'd  was  its  marching  tone, 

When  Government,  a  nymph  of  brawny  hue, 

With  Habeas  Corpus  o'er  her  shoulder  flung, 

And  Volunteers  in  buskins  gemmed  with  dew, 

Blew  an  inspiring  air,  that  inn  and  post-house  rung, 

The  soldier's  call,  to  tippling  idlers  known ; 

The  Cyprian  fair,  and  their  dram-drinking  queen, 

Drummers  and  corporals  were  seen, 

Peeping  from  forth  our  alleys  green ; 

Pipe-clay'd  Militia-men  rejoic'd  to  hear, 

And  six-foot  tailors  grasp'd  the  sergeant's  spear. 

Last  came  Finance's  dubious  trial, 

He  with  the  income-tax  advancing ; 
First  to  the  yellow  Gold  his  hand  address'd, 
But  soon  he  saw  the  Bank-restriction  viol. 
Whose  more  prolific  notes  he  lov'd  the  best ; 
They  would  have  thought,  who  heard  the  strain, 
They  saw  in  Lombard  street  the  Bankers  mad, 
All  bills  discounting,  whether  good  or  bad  ; 
To  rising  Stock  perpetual  dancing ; 


THE    LAST    FIFTY    YEARS.  4J9 

While,  as  his  flying  fingers  kiss'd  the  strings, 
Pitt  and  the  Bank  frani'd  a  fantastic  round ; 
Loose  were  her  tresses  seen,  her  zone  unbound, 
And  he  amidst  his  frolic  play, 
As  if  he  would  one  time  or  other  pay, 

Exchequer  Bills  shook  from  his  paper  wings. 

Oh  !  Money,  earth-extracted  maid  ! 

The  lender's  loss,  the  borrower's  aid, 

Say,  Goddess,  why  to  us  denied, 

Layest  thou  prices  high  aside  ; 

As  in  that  loaf-in-seven-days  yeara, 

When  things  were  most  confounded  dear ; 

Link'd  arm  in  arm,  O  Nymph  endear'd, 

Thou  hast  with  strumpets  forged  appear'd— - 

Where  is  thy  native  form  unlying, 

Scales  and  weights  and  dirt  defying? 

Arise  as  in  that  elder  time, 

Sweated  and  clipped,  but  still  sublime ; 

Thy  wonders  in  that  golden  age 

Fill  England's  subsidizing  page. 

'Tis  said  (and  I  believe  the  tale) 
That  Guineas  were  expos'd  to  sale ; 
And  that  our  latest  cask  of  beer, 
The  Sinking  Fund,  was  tapp'd  this  year ; 
Pitt,  I  with  weeping  say,  seduc'd 
The  Bank,  and  left  her  much  reduc'd ; 
Scarce  left  her  bare  back  clothes  enough, 
And  made  her  Fame  a  Lottery  Puffj 
Abortive  drugs  were  given  by  Pitt — - 
But  now  laid  in,  she  bears  gold  yet. 

Some  years  back  the  consumption  of  bread  was  restricted  to  a  quartern  loaf  per  week  for  each  person. 


E    2 


420 


ON  A  LADY  BATHING. 

In  the  manner  of  the  Italian  Concetto. 

Be  hushed,  ye  winds,  ye  tempests,  cease, 
My  Love  now  tries  the  faithless  main  ; 

Be  still,  ye  waves,  and  glide  in  peace, 
Until  my  Love  returns  again. 

But  should  the  wat'ry  mountains  roll, 
And  overwhelm  their  lovely  prize ; 

*Twere  just,  for  she  their  treasures  stole 
Their  brightest  glittering  gems  for  eyes. 

But  see,  more  bright  in  all  her  charms, 

My  darling  girl  returning  see  j 
She  tells  me  all  her  soul's  alarms, 

What  boldly  dar'd  the  saucy  sea. 

That  down  her  hair  in  fond  embrace, 
The  raptured  waves  enamour' d  clung, 

And  loth  to  leave  so  sweet  a  place, 
In  pearls  adown  her  tresses  hung. 

That  one  fond  wave  upon  her  breast 

To  die  in  ecstasy  resolv'd ; 
And  weeping,  that  it  was  so  blest, 

In  show'rs  of  joyous  tears  dissolved. 

Yet,  grateful  still  for  so  much  bliss, 

It  left  a  gift  its  love  to  prove, 
And  fixM  its  coral  in  a  kiss 

Upon  her  ruby  lips  of  love. 


421 


EPITAPH. 

In  the  German  manner 


Humanity,  sweet  sister  of  Sympathy, 

Gratitude,  beauteous  daughter  of  Honour, 

Ye  delicious  melodies  of  applauding  Conscience ; 

Ye  smiling  eyes  of  undefecated  Affection ; 

Ye  overpowering  felicities  of  unutterable  Sensation  ; 

Ye  meek  Cordialities ;  ye  holy  Pieties  of  Nature ; 

Welcome  into  eternity 

The  friend  of  those  who  wanted  friends, 

CHARLES  HAYWARD,  Esquire,  of  Quedgley : 

An  elegant  scholar, 

His  bright  mind  was  a  continual  sunshine ; 

A  generous  patron, 

Genius  and  Learning  felt  not  the  spurn  of  sensuality ; 

A  friend  to  the  best  interests  of  his  country, 

He  blended  the  patriot  and  the  subject : 

A  man  of  opulence, 

He  founded  not  his  character  upon  it ; 

A  man  of  family, 

He  spoke  not  unwisely,  or  acted  perniciously. 

Almighty  Father ! 

May  thine  own  energies  of  thine  own  religion 

Now  make  him  as  thyself, 

All  glorious  !  All  happy ! 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


ABBEY-GATE,  281. 

pieces,  what,  275. 

Abbot,    )  appellation,  83. 

Abbess,  /rank,  83.  Lay  Abbots,  83.  Elec- 
tion, 84,  seq.  Qualifications,  85.  Exemp- 
tion, 85.  Benediction,  86.  Customs,  duties, 
&c  87—93.  Table,  residence,  93,  94. 
Power,  &c.  101,  102.  Dress,  103.  Charac- 
ter, 104,  105.  Vices,  106,  107,  seq.  Deaths, 
107.  Officers,  107,  seq.  Apartments,  108. 
Mitres,  285. 

Accomplishments,  female,  what,  185. 

Advent,  duties  of,  &c.  32. 

Albs,  56. 

Alleluia,  burial  of,  56. 

i!  ££>»*«*«■ 

Almoner,  various  of,  130. 

Almonry,  various  of,  244. 

Altar,  various  of,  201. 

Amazons,  modern,  340. 

Amess,  189. 

Anchorets,  370,  seq. 

Anchor-holds,  372,  seq. 

Angels  instigating  Pilgrimage,  323,  324. 

Animals  kept,  162. 

Antiquity,  forged,  10. 

Antony,  St.  converts  of,  66. 

Anthony  Pig,  66. 

Ara  Frode,  325. 

Arms,  why  iterated,  320. 

Asceticks,  10,  11. 

severities,  laity  attached  to,  2. 

Ash-Wednesday,  48. 
Asses,  feasts  of,  42,  48,  51. 
Astell,  Mary,  her  college,  298. 
Astrology,  6. 
Auguries,  7,  159. 

Augustinian  Rules,  72.     Costume,  286.     Ere- 
mites, 82,  236,  237.     Costume,  286. 
Austere  system ,  effects  of,  1 ,  2. 
Bacon,  when  allowed,  32. 
Bakehouse,  278. 
Bakers,  193. 
Ball-play,  56. 
Bangor  Abbey,  23. 
Baptism,  35. 
Barbarians,  who,  3. 
Bare-feet,  318. 
Baths,  11. 

Bauble,  origin  of,  44. 
Bear-baiting,  &c.  160. 
Beard,  why  worn,  319. 
Beds,  227. 
Beguines,  298,  385. 
Bells,  various  of,  16,  52,  209,  392. 
of  Pilgrims,  316. 


Benedicite  salutation,  30,  184. 

Benedict  XII.  constit.  60. 

Benedictines,  Rule,  66,  68.     Costume,  286. 

Benedictions,    origin   of,   35.     Farewell,   239. 

Of  Abbesses,  292. 
Benett's,  St.  Priory,  197. 
Billets  sawing,  235. 
Binnacle,  ancient,  331. 
Binham  Priory,  197. 
Blacking,  first  use,  283. 
Blue-coats,  origin,  196. 
Bon-hommes,  82. 
Bookbinding,  259. 
Boots,  origin  of,  283. 
Bourdon,  315. 
Brazen-heads,  7. 
Breeches,  282. 

Brigettines,  Rule,  80.     Costumes,  287. 
Brothers  of  the  Sack,  82. 
Buonaparte,  character  of,  414. 
Burials,  Monastick,  213. 

in  a  cowl,  173. 

Buildings,  Monastick,  197. 
Bursar,  125. 
Camel's-hair,  what,  14. 
Candlemas  day,  32,  311. 
Candles,  when  lighted,  35. 
Candlesticks,  203. 
Canonical  hours,  28,  29. 

Canons,    (  ca^  ™\.   w 
'     (_  regular,  bo,  /2. 

Canterbury  bells,  356. 

Caricatures,  258. 

Carmelites,  Rule,  78.     Costume,  287. ' 

Carter,  John,  his  Specimens  of  English  Eccle- 
siastical Costume,  290—296. 

Carthusians,  71.     Costume,  287. 

Castles  classified,  198,  seq. 

Catharine,  St.,  the  Virgin  and  Martyr,  chapel 
of,  356. 

Cats,  devils,  7. 

Caym,  what  it  meant,  172. 

Cellarar,  cellar  ess,  118. 

Cells,  271. 

in  orders  Eremite,  232. 

in  the  Dormitory,  311. 

Chamberlain,  141. 

Chapter,  various  of,  222. 

Charities,  what,  31,  264. 

Chivalry,  263. 

Choir-girl,  form  of  investing,  311,  312. 

Choristers,  373. 

Christmas  day,  various  of,  41. 

Christmas  box,  44. 

Chronicles,  who  versed  in,  361. 

Church,  198.  British,  and  a  Saxon,  what,  16, 
198.  Ornamenting  of,  43.  Service,  62, 
209.     Of  Nuns,  309,  seq. 


424 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


Church -yard,  various  of,  213. 

Cistertians,  65,  69.     Costume,  287. 

Clergy,  why  denied  matrimony,  23. 

Cloaths  of  the  Monks,  286. 

Clogs,  283. 

Cloister,  various  of,  23,  49,  50,  229,  seq. 

Clugniacks,  65,  68,  &c.     Costume,  287. 

Cockade,  origin,  284. 

Collation,  31. 

Combs,  various  of,  283. 

Comets,  prophetick,  4. 

Common-house,  274,311. 

Commons,  what,  219. 

Completory,  Complin,  30,  31. 

Compostella,  shrine  of  St.  James  at,  354. 

Concubines,  what,  23. 

Confession,  various  of,  225,  226. 

Confessional,  205,  310, 

Convent,  what  made,  21. 

Converse,  or  Penitent  Prostitutes,  383. 

Convert  Husbands  and  Wives,  383. 

Cook,  123. 

Copes,  55. 

Corporal,  202. 

Corpus  Christi  day,  59. 

Costumes,  various  of,   16,   18,  282,  290—296, 

305,  306,  320. 
Counters,  arithmetick,  275. 
Courtesies,  Monastick,  184. 
Courts,  Monastick,  262. 
Cowhouse,  281. 
Cowl,  282. 
Cripts,  205. 

Crosiers,  various  .of,  96,  103. 
Cross,  various  of,  34,  35,  55. 
Crusades,  340 — 343. 

Crusaders,  various  of,  319,  328,  337—343. 
Cyr,  St.  Ceremonial  of  the  Nuns  of,  309 — 313. 

Festival  of,  313. 
Dais,  high,  86. 
Dancing,  various  of,  228. 
Danes,  why  they  destroyed  the  Monks,  23. 
Day-socks,  31. 
Deans,  116. 

Death,  without  confession,  &c.  3. 
Degrees,  expensive,  &c.   187. 
Dependent  Churches,  269. 
Deposits  in  Abbeys,  230. 
Devil,  various  of,  5,  7. 
Diffinitors,  146. 
Dinner,  various  of,  219. 
Disciplines,  various  of,  223. 
Dissolution  of  Abbies,  308. 
Divination,  various  of,  7. 
Divinity,  study  of,  how  rewarded,  and  what,  6, 

seq. 
Dominica]  prayer,  clause  in,  352. 
Dominicans,  74.     Costume,  287. 
Dormitory,  227,  311. 
Dove  at  the  ear,  15,  16. 
Dovecote,  281. 
Dreams,  prophetick,  6. 
Dress,  various  of,  4,  285. 
Druidism,  18,  21. 
Dwarfs,  340. 

Easter,  ceremonies  of,  34. 
Economy  of  Monastic  Life,  a  Poem,  389. 
Education,  various  of,  183,  185,  186. 
Embaterienne,  316. 
Epitaph  on  C.  Hayward,  421. 
Ewenny  Piiory,  197. 
Exchequer,  275. 


Exercise,  when  taken,  366. 

Expulsion,  what,   224. 

Fanaticism,  various  of,  2. 

Farm-houses,  inns  267. 

Fasting,  when,  57 

Feasts,  what,  44. 

Fellow-sisters,  194. 

Festivals,  various  of,  41,  357. 

Fifty  years,  lines  on  the  last,  419. 

Fillan,  St.  bell  in  the  chapel  of,  324,  325. 

Fish-ponds,  218. 

Flesh,  why  forbidden,  218. 

Fontevraud  Nuns,  82,  160. 

Fonts,  various  of,  35. 

Fool,  domestick,  171. 

Fools,  feast  of,  44. 

Fool-waker,  210. 

Forms  for  prostration,  50. 

Franciscans,  78,  79.     Costume,  288. 

Fraternity,  letters  of,  173. 

Free  warren,  why,  &c.  153. 

Friars,  various  of,  168,  seq. 

Friday,  how  sacred,  57,  220. 

Frock,  what,  282. 

Fulgentius,  rule  of,  37. 

Furnariae,  193. 

Galilees,  205. 

Garden,  279,  311. 

Gedding,  Protestant  Nunnery  at,  298. 

Gems,  variety  of,  7. 

General  Chapters,  163. 

General  of  the  Order,  145. 

Genuflections,  34. 

Gilbertines,  77.     Costume,  288,  289. 

Gipsies,  335. 

Girdle,  27,  284. 

Glastonbury,  11,  12. 

Good-bye,  origin  of,  239. 

Grace-cup,  origin  of,  216. 

Grace-saying,  38. 

Grandmontines,  65,  70. 

Granges,  271,  399. 

Grave,  visitation  of,  214. 

Greeting-House,  238. 

Guest-Hall,  238. 

Hair,  cutting  off,  178. 

Hair-shirts,  various  of,  16. 

Hammocks,  unknown,  25. 

Handkerchief,  283. 

Hand- organ,  how  played,  257. 

Hayward,  Charles,  epitaph  on,  421. 

Head-coverings,  284. 

Hebdomadary,  who,  32. 

Hermitages,  381. 

Hermits,  370,  379. 

Heroick  love,  364,  365. 

Herses,  203. 

Historical  reasoning,  when  correct,  3. 

Holy -water -basins,  205.     Aspersion  of,  310. 

Holy-wells,  360. 

Horse-back,  two  on,  25. 

Hospitaler,  140. 

Knights,    66,    75.     Costume,   289. 

Origin,  341. 
Hospital,  Statutes,  297. 
Host,  various  of,  206,  278. 
Hot  Cross  buns,  origin  of,  54. 
Houses,  British,  198. 
Housewifery,  185. 
Hunting,  various  of,  105,  153. 
Ignorance,  what  favourable  to,  3. 
Illumination  of  MSS.  256. 


GENERAL    INDEX 


425 


Images,  various  of,  355.     why  on  tombs,  257. 

Impresses,  364. 

Impiety  of  Caligula,  PhiloJudaus's  treatise  of, 

246. 
Indelicacy,  female,  185. 
Infirmarer,  Infirmaress,  135. 
Infirmary,  233,  311. 
Intermeals,  217. 
Ironing,  substitute  for,  285. 
Jacobites,  168. 

Jerusalem,  pilgrimage  to,  323. 
John's  Day,  bonfire  on,  311. 
Jongleurs,  361. 
Jubilees,  350. 
Judgment,  what,  222—224. 
Juniors,  who,  265. 
Kilpeck  Church,  205. 
Kings,  office  of  the  three,  47. 

Anglo-Saxon,  28. 

Kington,  St.  Michael,  Nunnery  of,  185. 

Kirtle,  282. 

Kiss  of  peace,  95. 

Kitchen,  276,  277. 

Kitchener,  123. 

Knife,  283. 

Lady  bathing,  verses  on,  420. 

Lady-chapels,  205. 

Lady  of  Pity,  355. 

Lateran  Council,  decrees  of,  59,  60. 

La  Trappe,  Monks  of,  299,  seq. 

Lavatory,  216. 

Laundresses,  what,  334. 

T        /brothers,  7  191. 

"*?  1  sisters,     5  193. 

Lazy  Scoundrel,  whence  derived,  183. 

Lecterns,  203. 

Lectionary,  259. 

Lecturer,  128. 

Lents,  various  of,  190. 

Leonine  verse,  400. 

Letters,  dimissory,  190. 

Library,  various  of,  245. 

Lights  extinguished,  51. 

Literature,  Monastick,  various  of,  246. 

Lockers,  204. 

Locutory,  various  of,  243. 

Love-making,  various  of,  368. 

Lulworth  Monks,  299,  seq. 

Magick,  6,  7. 

Malt-liquor,  various  of,  218. 

Mantle,  what,  282. 

Mark,  St.  day  of,  57. 

Martin,  Rule*  of,  14. 

Martyrology,  222. 

Masham,  Lady,  299. 

Masquerades,  160. 

Mass,  when  said,  366. 

Mats,  how  used,  130. 

Maundy,  30,  33. 

Medicine  mixed  with  reliques,  7. 

Meridians,  36,  227. 

Midlent  Sunday,  origin  of,  33. 

Minstrels,  various  of,  165. 

Minution,  234. 

Mints,  275. 

Miracles,  various  of,  8,  9. 

Misericord,  264. 

Misfortunes,  how  construed,  3. 

Mitre  of  Abbots,  285.     See  too  Abbot. 

Monachism,  why  successful,  8,  9.    British,  13. 

Scotch,  18.     Irish,  19.    Early  Anglo-Saxon, 

21,  seq.     Modern,  298,  seq. 


Monastic  life,  rhymes  on,  150,  151. 

Monks,  Nuns,  various  of,  148,  seq. 

Mountjoyes,  what,  356. 

Museum,  253. 

Necrology,  222. 

Needle,  antiquitv  of,  39. 

Needle-case,  39,"  283,  284. 

Needle-work  of  Nuns,  185. 

Novices,  Master  of,  132.     Mistress  of,  133. 

various  of,  173,  seq.  form  of  investing 

female,  311. 

Novitiates,  British,  14. 

Nuns,  British,  17,  seq.  Costume  of,  Plate, 
284.  Faults  of,  1/7,  seq.  Stile  of,  178. 
Consecration,  &c.  187,  seq.  Customs  at 
Church,  &c.  309,  seq. 

Nuns'  Confessor,  147. 

Obedientiaries,  110. 

Obscene  words  used,  185. 

Octaves,  what,  56. 

Officers,  inferior,  143. 

Omens,  influence  of,  6. 

Organs,  204. 

Oriel,  237. 

Otters  eaten,  218. 

Pachomius,  Rule  of,  23. 

Painted  Glass,  various  of,  206. 

Palace,  meaning  of,  220,  238. 

Pall,  202. 

Palmers,  344.     Staves,  316. 

Palm-Sunday,  32,33. 

Palm  tree,  316. 

Pancakes,  origin  of,  48. 

Paradise,  where,  325. 

Parental  indulgence  deemed  criminal,  2,  3. 

Parlours,  various  of,  243. 

Paschall,  50,  54. 

Passion-week,  33,  50. 

Pattens  worn,  283. 

Pavement,  Encaustick,  &c.  208,  seq. 

lines  cut  in,  205. 

Pax,  what,  95. 

Peace,  giving  the,  30. 

Penance,  curious,  349. 

Pensile  tables,  204. 

Penitents,  reconciliation  of,  231. 

Phlebotomy,  233.  in  the  foot,  311. 

Physick,  kitchen,  236. 

Pilch,  284. 

Pilgrimage,  signs  of,  316.  of  Grace,  what,  406. 

Pilgrims,  Costumes,  315.  Antiquity  of  Pilgrim- 
age, British  Pilgrims,  322.  Consecration  of 
Pilgrims,  326.  Preparatory  steps  to  the  jour- 
ney, 328.  Manners  and  Customs  on  shipboard, 
330  ;  on  the  journey  by  land,  333.  Arrival  at 
Jerusalem  —  consequences  of  the  Crusades, 
343.  Miscellaneous  of  Crusaders,  387.  Re- 
Rturn  ome.— Palmers,  344.  Pilgrimages  of 
Punishment  and  Penance,  346.  Pilgrimages 
to  Rome,  350  ;  to  Compostella,  352.  Pro- 
vincial Pilgrimages  to  Shrines,  Wells,  &c. 
355.  Mourning,  Incognito,  and  Political 
Pilgrimages,  Pilgrims  Adventurers,  Pilgrims 
against  Hereticks,  361.  Love  Pilgrims,  363. 
Office  of  Pilgrims  in  the  Church  of  Rouen, 
369. 

Piment,  217. 

Pinnafores  worn,  217. 

Pious  frauds,  3. 

Pittance,  what,  219. 

Plumage  of  birds,  opinion  of,  3. 

Porch  (Church),  63. 


426 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


Porter,  Porteress,  136,  147. 

—  of  Barons,  367. 

Portraits,  what,  184. 

Prsemonstratensians,  72.     Costumes,  289. 

Prsecentor,  120. 

Prsecentrix,  122. 

Prior,  112. 

— —  General,  145. 

■ Provincial,  145. 

Prioresses,  116. 

Prison,  261. 

Processions,  various  of,  231. 

Abbot's  place  in,  86. 

Professions,  various  of,  179. 
Promotion  of  Monks,  100. 
Psalm-singing,  25,  309. 

on  journeys,  179. 

Pulpits,  206. 

Punishments,  various  of,  222,  223. 

Puritanism,  origin  of,  407. 

Red  Man,  an  Ode,  414. 

Refectioner,  138. 

Refectory,  216,  297. 

Religion,  how  perverted,  3,  seq. 

Reliquaries,  284. 

Repentance,  rich  exonerated  from,  4,  5. 

Retro-choir,  205. 

Richard  I.,  pilgrimage  of,  329. 

Riding,  criminal,  2.     Through  the  hall,  408. 

Rings  of  Nuns,  &c.  190. 

Robert  the  Devil,  347. 

Rochet,  what,  282. 

Rogation  days,  56. 

Roodlofts,  various  of,  204,  378. 

Rosary,  317. 

Rushes,  church  strewed  with,  209. 

Sabbath,  when,  27. 

Sacrist,  126. 

Sacristy,  282. 

Saints,  various  of,   3,  8,    11.    attributes,  207, 

208.     bells,  206. 
Sallads,  217. 
Sanctuary,  268. 

Saturday,  various  of,  27,  31,  37. 
Scapulary,  what,  288. 
Scarf,  320. 
Scrip,  315. 

Scholastic  learning,  result  of,  409. 
Seats  in  the  Choir,  203. 
Seals,  conventual,  229. 
Seneschals,  124. 
Sepulchre,  Officer  of,  55. 
Seniors,  who,  265. 
Serpent,  ceremony  of,  33. 
Servants,  195,  seq. 
Sermons,  Monkish,  211,  212. 
Shaving  of  the  Monks,  195. 
Shepherds,  office  of,  42. 
Shire  Thursday,  51. 
Shoes,  283. 

Shoulders,  women  carried  on,  334. 
Shrove  Tuesday,  48. 
Signs,  Monastic,  150. 
Silence,  duty  of,  149,  150. 
Sisters,  who,  194. 
Smelling-bottles,  285. 
Socks,  283. 
Song-school,  273. 
Spettisbury  Nuns,  306. 
Stable,  281. 
Stamin,  282. 


Standards  of  the  Church,  231 . 

Statuaries,  waxen,  358. 

Stonehenge,  what,  389. 

Story-teller,  whence  derived,  36l. 

Studies,  260. 

Sub-prior,  116. 

Succentor,  121, 122. 

Sudden  death,  why,  3. 

Superstition,  where  unavoidable,  3. 

Tabard,  284. 

Table,  what,  114.    singing,  121. 

Tabulae,  singing,  121. 

Tapers,  206. 

Tarring  and  feathering,  331,  332. 

Taverns,  various  of,  24. 

Tecla,  Saint,  322. 

Templars,  65,  66,  76.  Costumes,  289.  foun- 
dation, 341,  342. 

Temporal  good  and  evil,  how  connected,  4. 

Terrier  of  the  house,  143. 

Thomas's  day,  custom  of,  41. 

Threshing  on  the  knees,  257. 

Thunder,  effects  of,  6. 

Tickets,  drawing,  310. 

Tippet,  284. 

Toasts,  drinking,  240. 

Tonsure,  various  of,  284. 

Tooth-drawing,  236. 

Towers,  what  for,  206. 

Trance,  how  construed,  6. 

Trappe,  La,  Monks  of,  299,  seq. 

Travellers,  custom  of,  26. 

Travelling  of  Monks,  265.  by  night  how  re- 
puted, 266. 

Treasurer,  125. 

Trental,  214. 

Trinitarians,  73.     Costume,  289. 

Trinity,  respect  for,  16,  323. 

Sunday,  59. 

Triumph  of  Vengeance,  an  ode,  410. 

Troubadours,  who,  365. 

Trumpets  for  bells,  23. 

Tumbling  in  Nunneries,  185. 

Tunicks,  282. 

Twelfth-day,  310. 

Vagrant  Monks,  269. 

Vaticination,  6. 

Veils,  188,  284. 

Vestiary,  282. 

Veronique,  Vernicle,  351. 

Victor,  St.  Order  of,  at  Paris,  164. 

Vigils,  32. 

Vignettes,  258. 

Virgin  Mary  50,  54. 

Visions,  6. 

Visitations,  59,  163,  164. 

Visitors,  238. 

Vows  of  Chastity,  383,  seq. 

Universities,  mode  of  living  in,  186.  origin  of, 
406. 

Upper-crofts,  199. 

"Wardens  (Franciscans),  146. 

Washing,  how  done,  24. 

Whale,  exhibition  of,  160. 

Whitsuntide,  57,  58. 

Whistling,  admired,  273. 

Widows  mourning,  384. 

Wimple,  282,  284. 

Witchcraft,  7. 

Writing,  variety  of,  255. 


427 


INDEX  OF  LATIN  TERMS  EXPLAINED. 


Acoemiti,  17. 

Agnus  Dei,  57. 

Allivis,  187. 

Altaria  Animarura,  203. 

Ampulla;,  126,  204. 

Analogium,  203. 

Annotatio  Regulse,  222. 

Ante  and  Retro,  40. 

Antependium,  202. 

Antexenodocnium,  233. 

Anticse,  203. 

Antiphonar,  33. 

Antiquarii,  254. 

Arbores,  203. 

Arietem  levare,  264. 

Bajuli  obituum,  235. 

Barbaras,  3. 

Barbati  fratres,  193. 

Bardicatio,  214. 

Benedicite,  30,  184. 

Biberes,  32. 

Breve,  213. 

Brodiatores,  255. 

Capelli,  369. 

Caritates,  31,  264. 

Ciborium,  202. 

Circa,  Circator,  114. 

Clamatio,  223. 

Combennones,  20. 

Consolatio,  220. 

Consorores,  194. 

Contacium,  121. 

Continentes,  383. 

Conversi,  40. 

Conversae,  383. 

Coronse,  203. 

Credentia,  203. 

Cubiculum  computatorium,  275. 

Culcitrae,  227. 

Culla,  231. 

Curise  claustrales,  229. 

Curiarius,  108. 

Cymbalum,  216. 

Destina,  372. 

Digitus,  93,  216. 

Dorsale,  202. 

Eulogise,  69. 

Evigilans  stultum,  210. 

Excubitoria,  204. 

Explorator,  114. 

Ezra,  203. 

Ferula,  31. 

Forma,  203. 

Formaria,  Formarius,  147. 

Fratres,  externi,  174. 

ad  succurrendum,  191. 

Frico,  283. 
Grangiarius,  192. 


Gratia; ,  211. 
Imaginarii,  7. 
Jacobitse,  354. 
Laura,  12. 
Lebitoties,  27. 
Liber  Vitas,  222. 

Viventium,  219. 

Limina  Apostolorum,  350. 
Liquamen,  24. 
Loricati,  378. 
Mandualis,  357. 
Mandra,  19. 
Manticulati,  315. 
Mappa  Mundi,  202. 
Matricularius,  12?. 
Melotes,  27. 
Metansea,  203. 
Mixtus,  30. 
Monile,  325. 

(^  sine  $ 
Nutriti,  183. 
Oblataa,  278. 
Oblati,  191. 
O  Sapientia,  274. 
Palmiferi,  344. 
Panes  coronati,  136. 
Particularius,  219. 
Paschall,  50,  54. 
Pax,  95. 
Peniti,  373. 
Perticae,  202. 
Pisalis,  282. 
Piscina,  202. 
Pix,  202. 

Portitor  Sigilli,  108. 
Postica,  203. 
Prsepositus,  112. 
Presbyterae,  383. 
Pro -aula,  238. 
Proctor,  108. 
Psalmi  prostrati,  40. 
Pulsatorium,  238. 
Pyrale,  274. 
Pyrocarae,  383. 
Quadra,  27. 
Regula,  222. 
Requies,  357. 
Retractus,  97. 
Retro-chorus,  205. 

Romei,  Romipetae,  Romipetagium,  350. 
Sacrarium,  126. 
Salve  Regina,  36. 
Salutatorium,  238. 
Sanctimoniee,  278. 
Scimpodium,  25. 
Sclavina,  316. 
Scrippa,  330. 


428 


INDEX    OF    LATIN    TERMS    EXPLAINED. 


Scriptorium,  254. 
Scrobula,  318. 
Scrutatrices,  114. 
Secretarius,  126. 
Sedes  Majestatis,  203. 
Sempecta,  265. 
Siborium,  202. 
Sigillum  Altaris,  202. 
Skilla,  216. 
Spoliatorium,  223. 
Statio,  231. 
Tabula,  31  ;  singing,  121. 


Tetravelum,  202. 

Titulus,  213. 

Triforia,  206. 

Trisantise,  226. 

Venia,  203,  306. 

Yestiaria,  282. 

Via  Dei,  Via  Sanctorum,  333. 

Yiatores,  193. 

Viduae  pullata?,  384. 

Yigiliarii,  228. 

Ultreia,  328. 

Xenodochium,  20.