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759  HART  (Rev.  Richard)  Ecclesiastical  Rkcords 
of  Englaml,  Ireland  and  Scotland,  from  the 
Fifth  Century  till  the  Reformation,  plates^ 
8vo,  doth^  SCARCE,  8s  6d  1846 


372  HART  (Rev.  Richard),  Ecclesi- 
astical Records  of  England,  Ireland, 
and  Scotland  from  the  fifth  century, 
till  the  Reformation,  plates,  8vo, 
cloth,  Tie  1846 

AnEpitome  of  British  Councils,  the  Lega- 
tine  and  Provincial  Constitutions,  and 
other  Memorials  of  the  Uldeu  Time  with 
Prologomena  and  notes. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


^^H- 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.arcliive.org/details/ecclesiastic,alreOOhartiala 


ECCLESIASTICAL   EECORDS 

OF  ENGLAND,  IRELAND,  AND  SCOTLAND, 

FROM   THE   FIFTH   CENTURY 

TILL  THE  REFORMATION: 


BEma  AN  EPITOME  OF  BEITISH  COMCILS,  THE  LEGATINE  AND 

PROVINCIAL  CONSTITUTIONS,  AND  OTHER  MEMORIALS  OF 

THE  OLDEN  TIME, 

WITH  PROLEGOMENA  AND  NOTES. 


BY  THE  REV.  RICHARD  HART,  B.A., 

VICAR   OP   CATTON   IN    THE   DIOCESE   OP    NORWICH. 

AUTHOR  OF  "MEDULLA  CONCILIORUM,"  AND  "MATERIALISM  REFUTED. 


SECOND  EDITION,  MUCH  ENLARGED. 


CAMBRIDGE: 

MACMILLAN,  BARCLAY,  AND  MACMILLAN; 

PARKER,  OXFORD;  BELL,  LONDON. 

MDCCCXLVI. 


CAMBRRIDGE: 

PRINTED   BY    METCALFE    AND    PALMER,    TRINITT    ITREJvT. 


BR 

DESCRIPTION   OF   THE   PLATES.    HZbe 
Frontispiece,  Plate  i.    (See  p.  255,  &c.)  *  ^* 

lEccUstastical  T/estments. 

Fig.  1.  A  priest,  vested  for  the  mass,  in  a  Chasuble,  Maniple,  Stole,  Albe,8cc.  (p.  177.) 

2.  A  monk,  in  liis  frock,  girded  round  the  loins.     He  wears  also  a  Capuciunir 

and  a  tongue-shaped  Scapular;  and  has  a  Discipline  in  his  hand.  (p.  77, 
247.) 

3.  A  Canon  Regular,  vested  in  an  Almuce,  Mozzetta,  Rochet,  square-shaped 

Scapular,  and  Soutan. 

4.  A  Bishop  of  the  twelfth  century,  having  on  his  head  a  Cidaris  or  bonnet 

(the  InfulcB  being  seen  at  the  back)  on  his  breast  a  Rational  (?)  and  in 
his  left  hand  a  pastoral  staflF. 

5.  A  Deacon  wearing  a  Dalmatica,  in  its  ancient  form,  over  an  Albe.    The 

more  modern  form  of  the  Dalmatica  may  be  seen  in  Picart,  vol.  i.  p.  334. 

6.  A  Cardinal  in  his  Berrettino,  Mozzetta,  Rochet,  and  Mantle. 

7.  A  Pope  in  his  Regnum  (or  triple  crown.)     All  the  other  vestments,  viz.  the 

Pall,  Chasuble,  Maniple,  Apparelled  Albe,  Sandals,  and  Cross  Staff,  are 
used  also  by  Archbishops. 

8.  A  Bishop,  or  Archbishop,  in  his  Mitre  (infulated)  and  vested  in  a  Cope 

provided  with  a  Morsus. 

9.  An  Acolyth,  vested  in  a  Cotta,  or  short  surplice,  over  a  sort  of  Soutan. 

He  has  a  thurible  in  his  hand. 

10.  A  Canon  regular,  who  is  also  chaplain,  or  cambuccarius,  to  a  Bishop. 

This  figure  is  introduced  to  shew  the  manner  of  girding  the  albe,  the 
shape  of  the  Stole,  and  also  of  the  Biretum  or  cap.  On  his  breast  there 
hangs  a  pectoral  Cross  {Encolpium) ,  and  in  his  right-hand  he  bears  the 
Bishop's  Cambucca,  or  pastoral  staff. 

11.  A  Greek  Papa  or  Priest.      He  wears  a  Phehnium  (chasuble)  exhibiting 

the  Pola  on  the  back  ;  a  Sticharium  (albe)  and  a  sort  of  Biretum  or  cap. 

12.  A  Greek  Patriarch  vested  in  his  Omophorium  (pall),  Phelonium  (chasuble), 

also  called  from  its  embroidery  Polistaurion ;  he  also  wears  the  Genuale, 
Epitrachelium  (stole),  Sticharium  falbe),  and  holds  a  curiously  formed 
pastoral  staff. 

€rotSic  ^tacerg. 

Window  tracery  is  the  simplest  criterion  of  style,  and  I  have  turned  the  back- 
ground of  this  plate  to  some  account  by  exhibiting  the  general  features  of  English 
Church  Architecture  in  illustration  of  p.  218,  &c.  of  my  work. 

A.  Norman,  p.  218. 

D.  Lancet,  or  Early  English,  p.  219. 

B.  Flowing,  or  Decorated,  p.  220. 

C.  Perpendicdlar,  p.  221. 

The  Pope  (Fig.  7.)  is  seated  upon  a  faldistory,  or  moveable  throne,  surmounted 
by  sl  Baldachin,  or  canopy,  and  the  building  is  paved  with  encaustic  tiles,  (pp.  232, 
246.) 

Plate  ii.  p.  222. 

lEcdesfasttcal  i^tscellantcs. 

Fig.  1.  The  Ciborium  at  S.  Clement's  Church,  Rome.     It  is  placed  in  an  Apse, 
and  a  Pcristerium  is  represented  as  banging  under  it  (p.  230).   The  ancient 
Altar  and  Ciborium  are  copied  from  the  plates  to  Hope's  Architecture. 
2    The  Font  and  its  Canopv  at  Trunch  Church,  Norfolk,  (p.  245.) 

That  at  Luton  will  be  found  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  1778,  p.  505. 
See  also  Hope's  Architecture,  Plate  vii.  and  passim,  for  a  Baptistery. 

3.  A  Chapelle  Ardente,  or  Catafalque  (p.  241),  compiled  from  the  '  Ve- 

tusta  Monumenta,^  Browne's  '  Repertorium,'  and  Picart, 

4.  The  Ancient  Ambo  in  the  Church  of  S.  Cesario  at  Rome  (p.  244).     It 

is  taken  from  Hope's  Architecture,  Plate  26. 

5.  Lichgate  at  Beckenham,  Kent.  (p.  222,  &c.) 

6.  A  Rood-loft  and  Screen.    The  general  character  of  the  Loft  is  taken 

from  that  of  Totneas  Church,  Devon.  The  Images  are  supplied  from 
foreign  examples,  and  I  have  endeavoured  in  the  lower  part  to  represent 
the  general  character  of  our  Norfolk  painted  Rood-Screens,  (p.  243.) 


120487fJ 


DESCRIPTION   OF   THE  PLATES. 

7.  A  Preaching  Cross,  from  Hollar  and  others,  (p.  223,  &c.) 

8.  The  Paschal  Sepulchre  at  Heckingtoa  Church,  Liucolnshire,  copied 

from  the  '  Vetvsta  Monumenta.'     (See  here,  p.  232.) 

Plate  hi.  p.  235. 

^cclestastical  Satcnstls. 

Fig.  I.  II.  XVIII.  Oscdlatories,  back  and  front  views,  (p.  236).     Archceologia 
and  Pugin. 

III.  Candlesticks  for  the  Altar,  (p.  240,  &c.)  Ditto     ditto. 

IV.  Feretritm,  or  portable  shrine  (p.  229),  from  a  MS.  in  the  British 

Museum. 

V.  Ampulla,  or  Cruets,  from  Bonanni.  (p.  235.) 

VI.  Flabellum,  in  the  Greek  Church,  (p.  237),  from  Picart. 

VII.  Asterisk,  in  the  Greek  Church,  (p.  236).    It  is  represented  on  &very 

small  scale,  from  Picart. 
VIII.  Thurible,  or  Censer  (p.  237),  from  a  MS. 
IX.  Navette  (p.  237),  from  Picart  and  Pugin. 
X.  Flabellum  of  the  Latin  Church  (p.  237).     Costumi  de  la  Corte  Pontificia 

Roma  1844,  fig.  vii. 
XI.  Cochlear,  or  Spoon  (p.  175,  236),  from  various  ancient  specimens. 
XII.  A  Ptx  for  the  host  (p.  235),  Picart  and  Pugin.     See  also  frontisp.  fig.  1. 

XIII.  A  TiNTiNNABULUM,  or  haud  bell  (p.  237,  &c.),  from  an  ancient  speci- 

men.    Gent.  Mag. 

XIV.  Velum  Calicis  (p.  233),  from  Picart 

XV.  Chalice  (p.  235),  from  a  woodcut  designed  by  Hollar. 
XVI.  A  Monstrance.  Expository,  or  Soleil  (p.  236),  from  Picart  and  Pugin. 
XVII.  Paschal  Candlestick  (p.  240),  from  the  Archaologia  and  Pugin. 
xviii.  An  Osculatory,  back  view  (p.  236)  from  the  Archceologia.     See  fig.  1,2. 
XIX.  Hercia  ad  Tenebras  (p.  241),  on  a  miniature  scale  from  Picart. 
XX.  Fald-stool  and  Cushion  (p.  244),  from  an  ancient  painting  in  a  church 
•window.     Glossary  qf  Architecture. 
XXI.  Genuflexorium,  or  Kneeling  Cushion  (p.  234),  from  the  same  autho- 
rity. 
XXII.  A  Chrismal  Bottle,  viz.  one  of  the  three  which  contained  the  holy 
oil,  and  which  were  usually  enclosed  in  the  Chrismatory.    (See  fig.  xxv. 
and  p.  238.)     Picart. 
xxiii.  BoeTA  LucERNA,  Or  the  Lantern   (p.  241),  altered  from  an  ancient 

specimen  engraved  in  the  Pictorial  History  of  England,  vol.  i. 
XXIV.  A  Lettern,  or  Eagle-desk,  with  the  Book  of  the  Gospels  upon  it  (p.  244), 
taken  from  a  variety  of  ancient  specimens. 
xxv.  A  Chrismatory  (p.  238),  from  Strutt. 
XXVI.  An  Aspergillum,  or  Sprinkle  (p.  237),  from  Picart. 
XXVII.  A  Bennatura,  or  Holy  Water  Vat  (p.  237),  from  Pugin. 
xxviii,  A  Processional  Cross  (p.  238).    Strutt. 
XXIX.  A  Cantoral  Staff  (p.  238).    Pugin. 
XXX.  A  Cantoral  Staff,  another  specimen,  also  from  Pugin  (p.  238). 
XXXI.  A  Processional  Banner  (p.  234).    Picart. 

%  In  the  same  Plate,  but  not  distinguished  by  numerais. 
A  Corona  (p.  240)  hangs  above.    Picart  and  Pugin. 
A  Reredos,  or  Altar-Screen,  behind  figures  viii.  ix.  x.  &c.  (p.  230). 
A  MoRSUS  of  a  trefoil-shape  over  fig.  vi.  (p.  256). 
Ancient  Paten,  Tuttington  church,  Norfolk,  over  fig.  x.  (p.  235). 
A  Tabernacle  over  fig.  xiii.  xiv.  &c  in  the  back-ground  (p.  230). 
A  Pertica,  or  some  unknown  instrument  from  which  reliques  or  medals  might  be 

suspended,  over  fig.  xv.  from  Gardner's  Dununch  (p.  229). 
An  Altar  with  its  Antependium,  under  figs.  viii.  ix.  x.  xi.  xii.  xiii.  xiv.  xv.  xvi. 

(pp.  228,  232).    The  Antependium  and  fig.  xx.  xxi.  exhibit  the  general  style  of 

ancient  embroidery. 

Note.  The  ancient  form  of  a  Buretta  (see  p.  235,)  may  be  seen  in  the  Archaeological  Jour- 
nal, No.  6,  June  1815,  p.  168.  It  resembles  a  cofiee-pot  in  its  lid,  spout,  handle,  and 
general  form.  And  here  let  it  be  noted,  that  in  the  various  articles  included  in  my 
plates,  1  merely  profess  to  copy  the  general  form  and  appearance,  and  not  the  exact 
style  of  ornament,  though  ancient  patterns  have  been  of  course  strictly  adhered  to. 


TO  THE  ARCHBISHOPS  AND  BISHOPS 


OF  THE  PROVINCES   OF   CANTERBURY   AND   YORK, 


THE    FOLLOWIKO 


MANUAL   OF  ECCLESIASTICAL   ANTIQUITIES, 


CORRECTED  AND  ENLARGED, 


18   MOST   RESPECTFULLY  INSCRIBED, 


BY   THEIR   OBEDIENT   SERVANT, 


THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


As  the  title-page  -will  have  akeady  informed  the  reader,  it 
is  the  object  of  the  present  work  to  place  in  his  hands  the 
materials  of  which  our  ecclesiastical  history  is  composed,  and 
to  enable  such  as  are  unwilling  to  rely  implicitly  on  secondary 
authorities,  to  refer  at  once  to  the  very  words  of  contemporary 
documents.  Wilkins's  "  Concilia"  which  forms  its  basis, 
is  far  too  expensive  to  be  within  the  reach  of  the  many,  and 
too  voluminous  to  suit  the  taste  of  modern  times,  and  the 
information  of  which  that  work  is  the  almost  exclusive  depo- 
sitory has  been  thus  practically  useless  to  the  lay  and  clerical 
members  of  our  Church:  inaccessible  alike  to  the  divinity 
student,  to  the  antiquary,  or  the  controversialist.  It  has  been  my 
earnest  endeavour  to  remedy  this  glaring  defect,  by  bringing 
within  a  narrow  compass  all  that  appeared  really  valuable  in 
the  collections  of  Wilkins  and  Spelman.  With  this  design, 
the  "  Medulla  ConciliorurrC  was  published  in  1833,  and  such 
also  is  the  object  of  the  volume,  a  second  edition  of  which, 
considerably  enlarged,  is  now  presented  to  the  reader.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  an  entertainment  has  been  provided 
sufficiently  varied  to  gratify  every  palate.  There  is  hardly 
a  page  in  which  the  antiquary  will  not  find  something 
to  arrest  his  attention,  and  transport  him  in  imagination 
to  the  ages  which  are  past :  many  of  the  rubrics  still  retained 

a2 


IV  PREFACE. 

in  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  many  an  obscure 
point  in  ecclesiastical  law,  will  receive  an  immediate  eluci- 
dation from  the  same  source.  But  it  is  to  the  controversia- 
list with  Rome,  that  the  work  will  be  found  preeminently 
useful,  by  tearing  off  the  mask  from  Popery,  and  exhibiting 
her  as  she  really  is.  At  so  critical  a  juncture  as  the  present, 
I  cannot  persuade  myself  that  such  an  antidote  is  either 
superfluous  or  uncalled  •  for. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  book  may  be  useful  even  to  those 
who  have  both  inclination  and  opportunity  to  read  Wilkins's 
Collection  of  English  Councils;  since  it  is  not  merely  an 
Epitome,  but  a  Digest  The  classification  which  I  have 
adopted,  may  save  him  a  vast  deal  of  laborious  research ;  to 
those  who  are  not  famihar  with  the  Latinity  of  the  middle 
ages,  it  may  be  of  service  as  a  glossary;  and  whereas  (if 
we  except  a  few  notes  in  his  first  volume)  Wilkins  leaves 
to  his  readers  the  task  of  solving  all  the  difiiculties  as  they 
occur,  more  than  two  hundred  annotations  will  be  found  in 
the  present  work,  independently  of  the  information  that  has 
been  condensed  in  the  introduction  to  each  chapter. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page 
Discourse  on  the   Religion  of  the  ancient  Buitons,  Irish,  and 

Scots.  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..       i 

Chapter  I. — On  the  Witenagemot,  and  the  mode  of  celebrating 

NATIONAL    OR    DIOCESAN    SYNODS.  ..  ..  ..  ....  1 

Chapter  II.— On  the  origin,  progress,  and  decline  of  the  Papal 

AUTHORITY    IN    ENGLAND.  ..  ..  ,.  ..  ..10 

Chapter  III. — On  the  Hierarchy  and  Clergy  ..         ..     ..     62 

§1.    Privileges,  immunities,  and  discipline  of  the  clergy.  ..  ..     79 

§  2.   Tithes,  and  other  ecclesiastical  revenues.  ..  ..  ..      ..127 

§  3.    Celibacy  of  the  clergy,  history  of.     .,  ..  ..  ..  ..139 

§  4.    The  monastic  system.  ..  ..  ..  ..  ....    148 

Chapter  IV. — On    the   Seven    Sacraments,   and   the   Ceremonies 

USED    IN    connexion    WITH    THEM.  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..     173 

Chapter  V. — Various  liturgical  and  architectural  antiquities. 

Parts  of  the  ancient  churches,  &c.  ..         ..         .•     ..  214 

§  1.    Miscellaneous  Ceremonies,  &c.         ..  ..  ..  ..  ..   273 

§  2.   On  the  Worship  of  Saints  and  Images.  ..  ..  ....   288 

§  3.   On  the  Furniture  of  churches.  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..   293 

§  4.   On  Liturgies  and  Liturgical  works.      ..  ..  ..  ..      ..  295 

§  5.   On  Funerals,  Masses  for  the  dead.  Mortuaries,  &c.  ..  ..   297 

Chapter  VI.   The  Sacrament  of  Penance,  Indulgences,  8fc. ;  and 

various  civil  Laws.  ..  •.  ..  ••  ....   307 

§  1.    Penance,  Indulgences,  Excommunication.  ..  ..  ..  ..   330 

§  2.   Various  temporal  Laws  and  Acts  of  Parliament.  ..  ....    346 

§  3.   On  Ordeal  and  various  obsolete  Forms.       ..  ..  ..  ..   362 

Chapter  VII. — On    real    or    reputed    Heretics,    including    an 
account  of  Wiclif  and  the  Lollards.  ..         ..         ..     ..  366 


KINGDOMS  OF  THE  SAXON  HEPTARCHY, 
Which  continued  till  the  time  of  Egbert  the  first  king  of  all  England,  A.D.  828. 

1.  Cantiuh,  Kent 

2.  SussEXiA,  (or  South  Saxony)  Sussex  and  Surrey. 

3.  East  Anglia,  Norfolk,  Sufiolk,  Cambridge,  and  the  Isle  of  Ely. 

4.  West-Sexia  (or  West  Saxouy).  Cornwall,  Devonshire,  Dorsetshire, 
Somersetshire,  Wiltshire,  Hampshire,  Berkshire. 

5.  Nordanhumbria,  Lancashire,  Yorkshire,  Durham,  Cumberland,  West- 
morland, Northumberland,  and  all  Scotland  south  of  Edinburgh. 

6.  East-Sexia  (East  Saxony),  Essex,  Middlesex,  and  part  of  Hertfordshire. 

7.  Mercia,  Gloucestershire,  Herefordshire,  Worcestershire,  Warwickshire, 
Leicestershire,  Rutlandshire,  Northamptonshire,  Lincolnshire,  Huntingdonshire, 
Bedfordshire,  Buckinghamshire,  Oxfordshire,  StafTordshire,  Shropshire,  Not- 
tinghamshire, Chester,  and  part  of  Hertfordshire. 


KINGS    OP    ENGLAND    FROM    THE    CONQUEST    TO    THE    REFORMATION, 

With  tlie  dates  of  their  accession. 

William   L,  a.d.    1066;    William    IL,    a.d.    1087;    Henry  I.,   a.d.  1100; 
Stephen,  a.d.  1135;    Henry  IL,  a.d.  1154;  Richard  I.,  a.d.  1189;   John,  a.d. 

1199;  Henry  III.,  a.d.  1216:  Edward  I.,  a.d.  1272;  Edward  IL,  a.d.  1307; 

Edward  II L,  a.d.   1327;   Richard   II.,   a.d.  1377;    Henry   IV.,  a.d.  1399; 

Henry   V.,   a.d.    1413;    Henry   VI.,    a.d.    1422;     Edward    IV.,   a.d.  1461. 

Edward  V.,  a.d.   1483;    Richard  III.,  a.d.   1483;    Henry  VII.,  a.d.  1485;' 
Henry  VIIL,  a.d.  1509  to  1547. 


AaCHBISBOPS    OF   CANTERBURY,    FROM    THE    CONQUEST    TO    THE    REFORMATION, 

With  the  dales  of  their  Consecration,  from  Le  Neve. 

Lanfranc,  a.d.  1070  ;  Anselm,  a.d.  1093;  Rodulphus,  a.d.  1114  ;  William 
Corbeil,  a.d.  1122;  Theobald,  a.d.  1138;  Thomas-d-Becket,  a.d,  1162; 
Richard,  a.d.  1171  ;  Baldwin,  a.d.  1184;  Reginald  Fitz  Jocelin,  ad.  1191; 
Hubert  Walter,  a.d.  1193;  Stephen  Langton,  a.d.  120C;  Richard  Wethershed, 
A.D.  1229;  Edmund  of  Abingdon,  a.d.  1233;  Boniface,  a.d.  1244;  Robert 
Kilwardby,  a.d.  1272;  John  Peckham,  a.d.  1278;  Robert  Winchelsey,  a.d. 
1294;  Walter  Raynold,  a.d  1313;  Simon  Mepham,  a.d.  1328;  John  Strat- 
ford, A.D.  1334;  Thomas  Bradwardin,  a.d.  1349;  Simon  Islip,  a.d.  1349; 
Simon  Langham,  a.d.  1367;  Simon  Sudbury,  a.d.  1375;  William  Courtney, 
a.d.  1381;  Thomas  Arundel,  a.d.  1396;  Henry  Chichely,  a.d.  1414;  John 
Stafford,  a.d.  1443;  John  Kemp,  a.d.  1452;  Thomas  Bouchier,  a.d.  1454; 
John  Morton,  a.d.  1486;  Henry  Dean,  a.d.  1501;  William  Warham,  a.d. 
^504;  Thomas  Cranmer,  a.d.  1533. 


INTRODUCTION. 


DISCOURSE  ON  THE  RELIGION 


ANCIENT  BRITONS,  IRISH,  AND  SCOTS. 


§  1.    The  Conversion  of  the  British  Isles. — The  agreement  in  doctrine 
and  discipline  between  the  British  and  Irish  Churches. 

'That  the  light  of  Christianity  dawned  upon  these  islands  in  the 

course  of  the  first  century,  is  a  matter  of  historical  certainty,*  but 

the  instrument  by  which  this  blessed  work  was  accomplished,  is 

a  question  which  will  always  be  involved  in  obscurity  both  from  the 

number  of  conflicting  testimonies,  and  the  remoteness  of  the  period 

to  which  they  relate,  j  The  conversion  of  Britain  has  been  severally 

ascribed  to  S.  Peter,  S.  James  the  Great,  to  Simon  Zelotes,  and 

to  Joseph  of  Arimathea.     Any  reader  who  may  feel  an  interest 

in  what  is  justly  termed  the  mythology  of  history,  is  referred  to 

the  first  volume  of  Spelman's  "  Concilia"  (and  other  similar  works), 

where  he  will  find  the  various  testimonies  at  length.     The  tradition*! 

respecting  the  preaching  of  S.  Paul  in  Britain  is  founded  upon 

a  more  solid  basis,  inasmuch  as  we  are  assvired  by  his  contemporary 

S.  Clement  of  Rome,  that  he  penetrated  "  to  the  extreme  boundaries 

of  the  west"  {to  repfxa  Trie  Sutrewc)  ',}  and  Venatius  Fortunatus,  who 

flourished  in  the  sixth  century,  talking  of  St.  Paul,  tells  us  more 

expressly, 

Transiit  oceannm  vel  qua  facit  insula  portum 

Quaaque  Britannus  habet  terras,  quasque  ultima  Thule.f 

If  it  should  appear  upon  inquiry  that  the  most  perfect  uniformity~i 
in  doctrine  and  discipline  anciently  subsisted  between  the  British 
and  Irish  churches,  it  will  necessarily  foUow  that  any  discovery  j 
which  we  may  hereafter  make  respecting  either  of  them,  will  also 
reflect  a  considerable  light  upon  the  other.     This  observation  is 

»  Tertullian,  who  flourished  in  the  second  century,  says  expressly,  "  Britannorum 
Romanis  inaccessa  Christo  vero  subJita."   Adv.  Judaos,  written  circa  A.  d.  198. 
*>  See  for  other  testimonies,  Spelm,  Concil.  i.  3,  &c. 


via  INTRODUCTION. 

of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  success  of  our  inquiry,  from  the 
scanty  supply  of  materials,  and  I  am  therefore  particularly  anxious 
to  impress  it  upon  the  reader's  attention. 

The  celebrated  controversy  respecting  Easter  and  the  tonsure, 
in  which  the  Britons,  Irish,  and  Picts,  united  together  in  opposition 
to  the  Saxon  clergy,  has  been  fully  detailed  by  Bede  in  various 
portions  of  his  history.*^ 

Usher  has  cited  a  very  ancient  catalogue  of  the  Irish  saints,*  to 
the  effect  that  the  saints  of  the  second  order  "  received  the  rite 
of  celebrating  mass  from  holy  men  of  British  extraction,  viz.  from 
Saint  David,  and  Saint  Gildas,  and  Saint  Docus." 

And  Bede,  talking  of  Lawrence,  Augustine's  successor  in  the  see 
of  Canterbury,  tells  us  that  "  Forasmuch  as  he  knew  the  life  and 
conversation  of  the  Scots  who  inhabited  Ireland,  as  well  as  of  the 
Britons  dwelling  in  Britain,  to  be  in  many  respects  uncanonical, 
he  wrote  to  them  a  letter  of  exhortation,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  says,  '  But  knowing  the  Britons,  we  thought  that  the  Scots  were 
better :  we  have,  however,  since  learned  from  (the  conduct  of) 
Dagamus  a  bishop  and  Columbanus  an  abbot,  that  with  respect  to 
their  conversation,  the  Scots  differ  not  from  the  Britons  in  any  point : 
for  Dagamus  coming  to  us  not  only  refused  to  eat  with  us,  but 
would  not  even  take  food  in  the  house  in  which  we  were  eating.'''^ 

§  2.    The  learning  of  the  ancient  Irish,  the  purity  of  their  faith,  and 
the  fruits  of  their  missionary  zeal. 

'  That  learning  and  piety  flourished  in  these  islands  during  the 
period  of  their  independence  is  capable  of  the  most  satisfactory 
proof,  and  Ireland  in  particular  was  so  universally  celebrated,  that 
students  flocked  thither  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Moronus,  a  Tarentine,  thus  speaks  of  the  university  of  Lismore, 
in  his  Life  of  Cathaldus  'J 

Undique  conveniunt  proceres,  quos  dulce  trahebat 

Discendi  studium 

Celeres  vastissima  Rheni 

Jam  vada  Teutonici,  jam  deseruere  Sicambri : 
Mittit  ab  extremo  gelidos  aquiloue  Boiemos 
Albi  et  Arverni  coeunt,  Batavique  frequentes, 
Et  quicunque  colunt  alta  sub  rupe  Gebenas- 
Non  omnes  prospectat  Arar  Rhortanique  fluenta 
Helvetios  :  miUtos  desiderat  ultima  Thule. 
Certatim  hi  properaut  diverse  tramite,  ad  urbem 
Lismoriam,  juvenis  primes  ubi  transigit  annos. 

When  a  man  of  letters  in  Britain  or  on  the  continent  was  missing, 
it  became  a  proverb,  "Amandatus  est  ad  disciplinam  in  Hihemid ;" 
and  in  the  life  of  Sulgentius  a  Briton  we  are  told, 

Exemplo  patrum  commotus  amore  legend! 
Ivit  ad  Hibernos  Sophia  mirabile  claros.S 

«  Lib.  ii.  c.  2  ;  iii.  c.  25  ;  v.  c.  21.  d  Brit.  Eccl.  Antiq.  c.  17. 

'  Bedae  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  4. 

f  Apud  O'Halloran's  Hist.  Ireland,  v  1  i,  p.  168,  &c. 

f  O'Halloran,  ubi  supra. 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

AUemand,  a  French  author,  moreover  tells  us  that,  "  it  was 
enough  to  be  an  Irishman,  or  even  to  have  studied  in  Ireland, 
to  become  the  founder  of  some  religious  seminary  in  any  part  of 
Europe."  ^ 

The  above  extracts,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  industry 
of  O'Halloran,  strictly  coincide  with  what  Bede  teUs  us  in  his 
history. 

He  says  in  one  place  that  "  Agilbertus,  a  native  of  Gaul,  had 
sojourned  for  a  considerable  time  in  Ireland  that  he  might  study  the 
holy  Scriptures;'  and  in  another  he  informs  us  that  there  were 
then  in  Ireland  "  many  Englishmen,  both  nobles  and  others  of  the 
middle  classes,  who,  leaving  their  country  during  the  lives  of  Finan 
and  Colman,  had  gone  thither,  either  that  they  might  study  the 
Scriptures  {Divince  lectionis  gratia),  or  that  they  might  lead  a  chaster 
life.  Some  of  these  faithfully  devoted  themselves  to  a  monastic  life, 
while  others  going  to  the  habitations  of  their  teachers,  diligently 
applied  themselves  to  study.  All  of  these  the  Scots  gladly  received, 
supplying  them  gratuitously  with  food  and  books  and  instruction  .J" 

Although  we  cannot  produce  such  direct  testimonies  with  respect 
to  Britain,  she  certainly  possessed  several  famous  seminaries,  and 
gave  birth  to  many  illustrious  men.  David,  Gildas,  Dinooth,  &c., 
were  eminently  learned,  and  the  Irish  saints  would  hardly  have 
adopted  the  British  mode  of  celebrating  mass,  had  the  natives  of 
that  country  been  their  inferiors  in  point  of  learning  and  civilization."' 

The  Ecclesiastical  History  written  by  Bede,  an  avowed  enemy"! 
of  the  Britons,  supplies  us  with  the  strongest  negative  testimony 
to  the  purity  of  their  faith.  He  has  been  most  unsparing  in  his 
censure,  and  asserts  that  in  very  many  particulars  they  differed  from 
the  Church  of  Rome ;  yet  his  most  serious  accusation  against  them 
was,  that  they  did  not  celebrate  Easter  Sunday  at  the  proper  time, 
or  shave  the  heads  of  their  clergy  according  to  the  true  canonical  cutj 

Thus,  for  example,  in  the  chapter  wherein  he  describes  the  con- 
ference which  Augustine  had  with  the  British  bishops,  we  are  told 

that  "  they  celebrated  not  Easter  Sunday  at  the  proper  time, 

and  moreover  in  very  many  other  respects  violated  the  unity  of  the 
Church  :  and  this  is  also  evident  from  the  proposition  made  to 
them  by  Augustine  at  the  second  conference  recorded  in  the  same 
chapter.  "  In  many  things  ye  act  contrary  to  our  customs  and 
to  those  of  the  universal  church ;  yet  if  in  these  three  respects 
ye  will  obey  me — to  celebrate  Easter  at  the  proper  time  ;  to  perform 
the  rite  of  baptism  by  which  we  are  born  again  unto  God  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  Roman  and  apostolic  church  ;  and  to  join  with 
us  in  preaching  to  the  English  nation  the  word  of  the  Lord,  all  the 
other  things  which  ye  do,  although  contrary  to  our  customs,  we  will 
bear  with  equanimity."' 

h  Histoire  Monastiqne  D'Irelande,  ap.  O'Halloran,  vol.  i  p.  182. 

'    Hist.  lib.  iii.  c.  7.  j  Ibid   c.  27. 

^  Vide  supra,  p.  ii.  i  Eccl.  Hist.  lib.  ii.  C.  2. 


X  INTRODUCTION, 

In  another  place  he  says  that  Lawrence,  Augustine's  successor, 
discovered  that  the  life  and  conversation  of  the  Scots  as  well  as 
of  the  Britons,  "  was  in  many  respects  uncanonical,  especially  be- 
cause they  did  not  celebrate  Easter  at  the  proper  time."  ■" 

He  elsewhere  tells  us  that  after  the  death  of  Finan,  bishop  of 
Lindisfarne,  "  a  violent  controversy  arose  concerning  the  observance 
of  Easter,  and  other  rules  of  ecclesiastical  discipline."'^ 

In  the  year  705,  Adhelraus  wrote  an  excellent  work  "  against  the 
eiTor  of  the  Britons  who  do  not  celebrate  Easter  at  the  proper 
time,  and  also  do  very  many  other  things  contrary  to  ecclesiastical 
chastity  and  peace/'" 
r  He  also  says  that  Wilfrid,  while  he  was  yet  a  youth,  being  of 
a  sagacious  mind,  "  discovered  that  the  way  of  virtue  as  it  was 
taught  by  the  Scots  was  imperfect,  and  resolved  in  his  mind  to 
go  to  Rome  and  find  out  what  ecclesiastical  or  monastic  rules  were 
observed  at  the  apostolic  see  ....  There  he  gained  the  friendship 
of  that  most  holy  and  learned  man  archdeacon  Boniface,  counsellor 
to  the  apostolic  Pope,  under  whose  instruction  he  learned  the  four 
Gospels  iu  their  proper  order,  as  well  as  the  true  mode  of  calculating 
Easter,  and  many  other  rules  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  which  he 
could  not  {have  learnt)  in  his  own  country."''  And  he  tells  us  in 
the  same  chapter  that  Colman  and  other  Scots  left  Northumbria, 
"  rather  than  receive  the  catholic  Easter  and  other  canonical  rites 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  Roman  and  Apostolic  Church." 

These  extracts  from  Bede  prove  most  distinctly  the  uniformity  of 
the  British  and  Irish  churches.  The  stress  which  he  lays  upon 
a  mere  ritual  observance,  establishes  incontestably  the  purity  of  their 
faith,  while  the  very  many  points  of  discipline  in  which  they  varied 
from  the  Church  of  Rome,  render  it  extremely  improbable  that  they 
had  originally  derived  their  Christianity  from  that  source. 

The  refusal  of  the  British  bishops  to  submit  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  Augustine,  and  the  conduct  of  Colman  the  Scottish  bishop  who 
gave  up  his  see  rather  than  adopt  what  ho  knew  to  be  the  Roman 
Easter,  can  never  be  reconciled  with  the  supposition  that  they 
acknowledged  the  Pope  to  be  the  successor  of  Saint  Peter  and  the 
head  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

But  while  we  triumphantly  cite  these  testimonies  of  our  original 
independence,  let  us  not  seek  to  palliate  the  contumacious  spirit 
tlisplayed  by  the  British  clergy  in  their  conference  with  Augustine. 
As  Christians  they  ought  to  have  cheerfully  assisted  him  in  evan- 
gelizing the  pagan  Saxons :  the  terms  which  he  proposed  were  mild 
and  reasonable,  and  the  faith  which  he  professed  was  as  pure  and 
orthodox  as  their  own ;  for  at  that  early  period  but  few  of  the 
errors  of  Popery  had  crept  into  the  Church. 

To  this  disgraceful  apathy  in  the  cause  of  religion,  the  conduct 
of  the  Irish  Scots  affords  a  pleasing  contrast ;   for  it  is  a  remarkable 

™  Eccl.  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  4.  "  Ibid.  lib.  iii.  c.  25. 

o  Ibid.  ilb.  V.  c.  19.  p  Ibid.  lib.  v.  c.  20, 


INTRODUCTION.  3a 

fact  that  the  conversion  of  nearly  the  whole  island  was  the  fruit  of 
their  missionary  zeal.  This  honour  has  been  usually  assigned  to 
Augustine  and  his  companions,  but  Avith  what  justice  will  appear 
from  the  testimony  of  the  great  Saxon  historian  Bede. 

Although  the  kingdom  of  Northumbria  had  received  the  Christian 
faith  at  the  preaching  of  Paulinus,  six  years  had  scarcely  elapsed 
before  he  was  driven  from  his  see.  King  Edwin  was  slain,  and  his 
successors  openly  apostatized  fi"om  the  faith ;  but  about  the  year  633 
king  Oswald  "  sent  to  the  elders  of  the  (Irish)  Scots,  among  whom, 
during  his  exile,  he  had,  in  company  with  his  soldiers,  received  the 
sacrament  of  baptism,  requesting  that  a  bishop  might  be  sent  to  him^ 
by  whose  doctrine  and  ministry  the  Angles,  over  whom  he  ruled 
might  learn  the  faith  of  the  Lord  and  receive  the  sacraments."  q 
Aidan  was  therefore  sent  from  Ireland,  and  to  him,  under  God, 
must  be  attributed  the  conversion  of  Northumbria. 

About  the  year  654,  Penda,  king  of  Mercia,  married  Alchfleda, 
Oswald's  grand-daughter,  and  was  baptized  by  Finan,  Aidan's 
successor  in  the  see  of  Lindisfarne.  On  his  return  from  Northum- 
bria he  took  with  him  four  presbyters,  viz,  Chad,  and  Adda,  and 
Betti,  and  Diuna,  that  they  might  convert  his  subjects  to  the 
Christian  faith  ;  and  Diuna  (who  was  an  Irish  Scot)  was  consecrated 
by  Finan  the  first  bishop  of  the  Mercians.'  His  successors  in  the  see 
CeoUach  and  Trumhere  were  also  consecrated  by  Scottish  prelates. 

The  East  Saxons,  who  had  many  years  before  renounced  the 
Christian  faith  and  expelled  Mellitus  their  bishop,  were  converted 
about  the  same  time  at  the  preaching  of  Chad,  who  was  afterwards 
consecrated  by  Finan.  Their  king,  Sigbert,  had  been  a  short  time 
before  baptized  by  the  same  prelate.' 

Three  kingdoms  of  the  Heptarchy  (including  twenty-six  counties) 
and  the  whole  of  what  we  now  call  Scotland,'  owed  their  conversion 
to  the  zeal  of  Irish  missionaries,  and  to  their  efibrts  many  of  the 
other  parts  of  England  were  also  largely  indebted.  Thus,  for 
example,  Christianity  was  in  a  great  measure  restored  in  the  king- 
dom of  West  Saxony,  through  the  instrumentality  of  Agilbert, 
"a  bishop  who  came  into  that  province  from  Ireland;  who  was 
indeed  a  native  of  Gaul,  but  who  had  sojourned  a  considerable  time 
in  Ireland  for  the  sake  of  studying  the  (holy)  Scriptures;"  and 
Fursey,  an  Irish  Scot,  preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  kingdom  of  East 
Anglia,  "  by  his  exhortations  and  his  example  converted  many 
unbelievers,  and  established  those  who  already  believed  more  and 
more  in  the  faith  of  Christ  (Jesus)."" 

§  3.    Their  Church  was  episcopcdly  constituted. 

Although  the  British  and  Irish  Churches  were  episcopally  con- 
stituted, a  question  has  been  raised  respecting  the  validity  of  their 

•I  Bedee  Eccl.  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  14-20;  lib.  iii.  c.  1,  .3.  ■•  Ibid.  lib.  iii.  c.  21. 

»  Ibid.  lib.  iii.  c.  22.  <  Ibid.  lib.  iii.  c.  4.  "  Ibid.  lib.  iii.  c,  7- 

"  Ibid.  lib.  iii.  c.  19. 


XII  INTRODUCTION. 

consecrations,  which  (if  we  are  to  believe  John  of  Tinmouth)  were 
usually  performed  by  a  single  bishop ;  whereas  at  least  three  are 
required  by  the  fourth  Canon  of  the  Council  of  Nice.  Thus,  in  the 
life  of  Kentingern,"  we  read  that  he  was  consecrated  by  "  one  bishop 
brought  out  of  Ireland  (for  the  purpose),  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  Britons  and  Scots.  For  it  had  become  the  custom  in  Britain 
that  at  the  consecration  of  bishops  their  heads  should  be  simply 
anointed  by  the  infusion  of  the  chrism,  accompanied  by  an  invo- 
cation of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  a  benediction,  and  the  laying  on  of 
hands." 

The  authority  of  Tinmouth,  who  flourished  after  the  middle  of  the 
fourteenth  century,'^  is  certainly  not  entitled  to  implicit  confidence : 
but  taking  the  fact  for  granted,  (as  there  may  be  other  proofs  which 
have  escaped  my  notice),  it  is  by  no  means  difficult  to  establish  the 
validity  of  a  consecration  performed  by  a  single  bishop. 

In  his  eighth  reply  to  Augustine,  Pope  Gregory  says,  "  In  the 
Church  of  England,  in  which  you  are  at  present  the  only  bishop, 
t/ou  can  cmly  cotisecrate  bishops  by  yourself."^ 

In  the  "  Apostolic  Constitutions"  (lib.  viii.  c.  27)  it  is  said  that 
"  in  cases  of  necessity  a  bishop  may  be  consecrated  by  one."* 

Theodoret  tells  us  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History  (lib.  v.  c.  23) 
that  Evagrius  was  ordained  bishop  of  Antioch  by  Paulinus  alone, 
yet  the  validity  of  his  consecration  was  never  called  in  question : 
and  as  late  as  the  year  1686,  Pope  Innocent  XI.  allowed  the  bishop 
elect  of  Wurtzburgh  to  receive  his  consecration  at  the  hands  of  one 
bishop  assisted  by  two  abbots.* 

From  a  passage  in  Heddius's  Life  of  Wilfrid,  it  would  appear 
that  archbishop  Theodore's  objection  to  the  Irish  ordinations  was 
founded  upon  some  deficiency  with  respect  to  the  minor  orders. 
They  may  not  have  had  among  them  ostiaries,  readers,  exorcists, 
&c. ;  for  Theodore  re-consecrated  Chad  to  the  see  of  Lichfield 
"  through  all  the  ecclesiastical  degrees."  (Heddius  apud  Gale  "  Hist. 
Brit.  Sax.  Anglo-Dan."     Oxon.  1691,^p.  59.) 

Should  this  conjecture  be  a  sound  one,  it  will  establish  another 
point  of  conformity  between  the  ancient  Irish  Church  and  the 
Church  of  England. 

Very  possibly  a  regular  progress  through  all  these  degrees  may 
have  been  considered  essential  in  the  seventh  century :  modern 
Roman  Catholic  divines  have  however  excluded  all  degrees  under 
the  subdiaconate  from  the  sacrament  of  orders ;  while  on  the  other 
hand  Menardus,  Thomasin,  Morinus,  and  in  a  word  all  the  ablest 
ritualists,  have  candidly  admitted  that  for  twelve  hundred  years  the 
term  "  minor  orders"  extended  to  all  under  the  rank  of  a  deacon. 
(Schram,  Theol.  §  1136;  item  §  1145,  Schol.2;   item  §  1146.) 

*  Johan.  Tinmut   ap.  Alfordii  "  Fides  Regia,"  torn,  ii   p.  47. 

T  Nicolson's  Eng.  Hist.  Lib.  part  i,  8vo.  1696,  p.  178. 

y  Bedae  Eccl.  Hist.  lib.  i.  c.  27.  »  Schram,  Theol.  §  1162,  Schol.  2. 

a  Schram,  Theol.,  ubi  supra. 


IKTRODUCTIOK.  XIU 

In  the  Epistle  of  Gregory  the  Great  to  the  Irish  bishops ;  in  his 
Letter  to  Quirinus;  in  his  ninth  Answer  to  Augustine;  in  the 
Epistle  of  Lawrence,  Augustine's  successor  ;  in  the  Rescripts  of 
Popes  Honorius  and  John,  and  indeed  in  many  parts  of  Bede's 
history,  the  reader  will  find  a  distinct  recognition  of  the  episcopal 
character  of  the  Irish  bishops.  (Spelm.  "  Condi."  i.  71,  87.  Item 
BediB  "  Hist."  lib.  i.  c.  27 ;  Ub.  ii.  c.  4  et  19.) 

§  4.    Thei/  received  the  Gospel  directly  from  the  East. 

We  have  already  seen  that  in  "  very  many"  minor  points  of  dis- 
cipline the  British  and  Irish  Churches  differed  from  that  established 
in  this  country  by  Augustine, — a  clear  proof  that  they  had  not 
originally  been  converted  by  Romish  missionaries.  Let  us  now 
briefly  examine  the  circumstances  which  would  lead  us  to  suppose 
that  they  had  derived  their  Christianity  from  an  oriental  source. 

i.  In  deferring  baptism  till  the  eighth  day,  the  Irish  adopted 
a  practice  which  is  clearly  of  oriental  origin,  and  which  is,  I  believe, 
still  observed  in  the  Russian  branch  of  the  Greek  Church,  if  not  in 
the  others."* 

ii.  Besides  Easter  and  Pentecost,  one  of  the  solemn  times  for 
administering  baptism  in  Ireland  was  the  Epiphany;  and  in  this 
respect  they  agreed  with  the  Eastern  and  African  Churches.*^ 

iii.  Infant  Communion,  which  is  stiU  practised  in  the  East,  was 
observed  in  Ireland  long  after  it  had  been  discontinued  in  the 
different  Western  Churches.'' 

iv.  The  Irish  imitated  the  Greek  Church  in  fasting  upon  a 
Wednesday.^ 

V.  Abstinence  from  blood,  according  to  Acts  xv.  29,  was  rigor- 
ously observed  by  the  Irish,  as  it  is  to  this  day  by  aU  the  Eastern 
Churches.^ 

vi.  The  "  Cwrsus  Scotorum,"  or  Irish  Liturgy,  was  of  oriental 
origin,  having  been  brought  originally  from  Alexandria.^  v  o^  Ifw*. 

vii.  Chorepiscopi,  or  village  bishops,  existed  as  an  order  in  Ireland 
long  after  they  had  been  discontinued  in  the  Church  of  Rome.** 

viii.  The  Easter  observed  by  the  Britons  and  Irish  was  the 
same  as  that  which  had  been  anciently  celebrated  in  the  Eastern 
Churches.' 

ix.  The  clerical  tonsure  among  the  Britons  and  Irish  was  very  » 
different  from  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  So  also  was  the  tonsure 
of  the  various  oriental  churches :  for  we  read  that  when  Theodore 
(a  Greek)  was  appointed  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  "he  waited  four 
months  till  his  hair  grew,  so  that  it  might  be  clipped  into  the  form 
of  a  crown:   for  he  had  (before)  the  tonsure  of  the  holy  Apostle 

•>  Ross's  nai/<rt/3tia,  5  xiv.  96,  p.  343.    Wilk.  t.  5,  c.  19.        c  Lanigan,  vol.  iv, 
<i  Lanigan  iii.  309,  455.  e  Usser.  Brit.  Eccl.  Ant.  4to.  p.  882. 

f  Lan.  iii.  140.    Can.  Apost.  55.    Concil.  Gangr.  c.  2.    Can.  Trul.  67. 
K  Spelm  Concil.  i.  167,  (177).  h  Lanig.  iii.  477  ;  iv,  35. 

i  Mosheim,  Hist.  Cent,  ii,  part  ii.  c.  4,  §  9. 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

Paul,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Eastern  {Churches).")  Com- 
pare with  this  the  words  of  Ceolfrid,  in  which  he  thus  speaks  of  the 
tonsure  used  by  the  Irish  Scots,  "  quae  aspectu  in  frontis  quidem 
superficie  coronce  videtur  speciem  prceferre,  sed  ubi  ad  cervicem 
considerando  perveneris,  decurtatam  earn  quam  te  videre  putabas 
invenies  coronam." 

X.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Greek  laity  receive  the  sacrament 
by  intinction,  bread  dipped  in  wine  being  given  to  each  communicant 
in  a  spoon.  Now  1  imagine  that  I  have  discovered  traces  of  this 
practice  in  the  ancient  Irish  Visitation  office,  published  by  Sir 
William  Betham ;  it  was  written  about  the  eighth  century. 

IF  "  Das  ei  Eucharistiam  dicens." 

"  Corpus,  etiam  sanguis  Domini  nostri  Jesu  Christi,  filii  Dei  vivi, 
conservat  animam  tuam  in  vitam  perpetuam." '' 

It  is  remarkable  that  on  the  top  of  the  Meeshac,  an  ancient  silver 
box  made  in  Ii-eland  a.d,  603,  an  abbot  is  represented  as  giving 
the  benediction  with  his  hand  spread  out,^  in  a  manner  totally 
different  from  that  which  is  adopted  by  the  Romish  clergy,  who 
bless  with  the  index  and  middle  finger,  bending  the  thumb  and  two 
other  fingers  so  as  to  represent  the  form  of  a  cross. 

Picart  tells  us  that  members  of  the  Greek  Church  make  the  sign 
of  the  cross  with  three  fingers,"  which  appears  exactly  to  correspond 
with  the  representation  on  this  ancient  box. 

§  5.    Their  opposition  to  the  See  of  Rome. 

The  boldness  displayed  by  the  Irish  prelates  when  they  even 
accused  the  Church  of  Rome  of  heresy,  because  she  gave  her  sanction 
to  "  the  three  chapters;""  the  refusal  of  the  Britons  to  recognize  the 
claims  of  Augustine  who  had  been  sent  hither  by  the  Pope ;  the 
disrespect  which  was  paid  to  the  letters  of  Honorius  and  John ;«  the 
resignation  of  the  see  of  Lindisfarne  by  Colman,  rather  than  adopt 
the  Roman  Easter,P  and  in  a  word  the  contumacious  opposition  of 
the  Irish  and  Scots,  who  acted  towards  the  Romish  party  exactly 
"  as  if  they  had  been  pagans,""^  proves  that  they  neither  believed  the 
Pope  to  be  the  head  of  the  chm-ch,  or  communion  with  the  see  of 
Rome  essential  to  salvation. 

Had  it  been  otherwise,  instead  of  holding  out  so  contumaciously 
and  so  long  with  respect  to  Ea.ster  and  the  tonsure,  they  would 
have  yielded  at  once  in  points  which,  being  confessedly  matters  of 
discipline  only,  could  be  of  no  vital  importance. 

In  the  reply  of  Dinooth  to  Augustine,  we  have  mdeed  a  formal 
renunciation  of  the  papal  authority  in  the  remarkable  works,  "  We 
are  obedient  to  the  Pope  of  Rome  {as  we  are)  to  every  true  and 
pious  Christian :  and  other  obedience  than  this  I  do  not  believe  to 
be  due  to  him  whom  ye  call  the  Pope,  nor  {do  I  acknowledge)  that 

J  Bedse  Hist.,  lib.  iv.  c.  1.  ''  Irish  Antiquarian  Researches,  part  i. 

1  Ibid.        •"  Picart,  vol.  v.  p.  95.       "  Wilk.  i.  9.      o  Beda;  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  19. 
P  Ibid.  lib.  iii.  c.  26.  <i  Ibid.  lib.  ii.  c.  4. 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

he  is  Father  of  fathers."  And  in  the  conference  of  Whitbye,  the 
quotation  from  Matthew  xvi.,  which  determined  king  Oswi  in  favour 
of  the  Roman  Easter,  had  no  effect  upon  Colman.' 

Bede  also  tells  us  that  Oswi,  "  although  he  had  been  educated  by 
the  Scots,  understood  that  of  a  truth  the  Roman  was  the  true 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church,"*  (or  A  true  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church).  _ 

And  when  Naitan,  king  of  the  Northern  Picts,  had  induced  his  { 
subjects  to  celebrate  the  Roman  Easter,  we  are  told  that  "he 
requested  assistance  from  the  English,  whom  he  knew  to  have  long 
since  regvlated  their  religion  according  to  the  pattern  of  the  holy 
Roman  and  Apostolic  Chwrch ;  promising  that  he  and  all  his  subjects 
would  constantly  imitate  the  discipline  of  the  holy  Roman  and  Apostolic 
Church." '  And  when,  in  answer  to  this  application,  he  and  his  sub- 
jects received  the  letter  of  Ceolfrid,  abbot  of  Jarrow,  containing 
instructions  in  these  points  of  discipline,  we  read  that  "  the  ministers 
of  the  altar,  as  well  as  the  monks,  were  immediately  shorn  in  imi-  +e 
tation  of  a  crown,  and  the  nation  being  reformed,  rejoiced  that  they 
were  svhject  to  the  discipline  of  the  blessed  prince  of  the  Apostles 
St.  Peter,  and  under  his  protection ;"  a  tolerably  clear  proof  that  they 
then  for  the  first  time  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope. 
This  took  place  a.d.  714.  -_; 

Roger  Hoveden  and  the  Melrose  Annalist  tells  us  that  "  no  pcM 
had  been  sent  to  Ireland  before  the  year  1151,"  although  paUs  had 
been  received  in  England  more  than  500  years  before.  As  there 
were  certainly  archbishops  in  Ireland  before  1151,  and  as  the  pall 
was  the  token  of  investiture  sent  by  the  Pope  to  every  archbishop 
within  his  jurisdiction,  we  have  here  a  strong  presumption  as  to  the 
ancient  independence  of  the  Irish  Church." 

It  cannot  be  proved  that  the  Pope  ever  sent  a  legate  to  Ireland 
before  the  time  of  Gillebert  in  the  12th  century ;  "  who  (says 
St.  Bernard,  his  contemporary)  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  person 
who  acted  as  legate  to  the  Apostolic  see  throughout  the  whole 
of  Ireland."  Nor  indeed  can  it  be  proved  that  any  visitations  of 
the  Irish  clergy  were  held  anciently  in  the  Pope's  name,  much  less 
that  any  indulgences  were  sought  from  Rome,  or  that  Irish  prelates 
received  their  confirmation  from  the  Pope." 

When  Menalchus  the  archbishop  was  dead,  Carlomagnus,  king 
of  the  Scots,  was  entreated  to  appoint  Livinus  in  his  room,  and  we 
are  told  that,  devoutly  assenting  to  this  request,  "he  placed  this 
thrice-blessed  man  upon  the  arcWepiscopal  throne."" 

Giraldus  Cambrensis  informs  us  that  in  the  year  1155,  Pope  ' 
Adrian  gave  permission  to  Henry  II.   "both  to  conquer  and  to 
instruct  the  Irish  people,  who  were  so  indifferently  skilled  in  the 

r  Wilk.  i.  26  ;  Bed»  Hist.  lib.  iii.  c.  25.  •  Hist.  lib.  iii.  c.  29. 

«  Ibid,  lib  V.  c.  21.  "  Usser  Brit.  Eccl.  Ant.  4to.  c.  17,  p.  870. 

V  Usser  Disc.  pp.  76  and  86. 
"  Bonifacius  in  Vita  Livini  apud  Usher.     "  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Irish." 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

rudiments  of  the  faith,  in  ecclesiastical  rules  and  discipline,  accordhig 
to  the  rites  of  the  English  Church.  The  same  Pope  also  sent  to 
Henry,  by  John  of  Salisbury,  a  gold  ring  in  token  of  investiture."* 
In  the  bull  which  accompanied  this  gift,  the  Pope  uses  these  remark- 
able words :  "  Your  majesty  has  conceived  an  excellent  mode  of 
spreading  abroad  the  glory  of  your  name  in  the  world,  and  of  accu- 
mulating the  reward  of  eternal  happiness  in  heaven ;  whilst  you 
exert  yourself  as  a  Christian  prince  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  the 
church,  to  declare  to  that  uncouth  and  illiterate  nation  the  verity  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  to  extirpate  the  saplings  of  vice  from  the  field  of 
the  Lord,  requesting  for  the  accomplishment  of  your  object  the 
advice  and  favour  of  the  Apostolic  see.  .  Truly  there  is  no  manner 
of  doubt  that  Ireland,  as  well  as  all  other  islands  upon  which  the 
Sun  of  righteousness  hath  dawned,  belongs  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
St.  Peter  and  of  the  holy  Roman  Church,  which  your  majesty  also 
acknowledges.  You,  our  beloved  son  in  Christ,  have  signified  to 
us  your  desire  of  invading  Ireland, ....  and  that  you  are  also  willing 
to  pay  to  St.  Peter  the  annual  sum  of  one  penny  for  every  house. 
We  therefore  grant  a  willing  assent  to  your  petition,  and  that  tlie 
boundaries  of  the  Church  may  be  extended,  and  the  Christian  religion 
increased,  permit  you  to  enter  the  island.  Be  it  your  study  then 
that  the  church  there  may  be  adorned,  and  the  Christian  faith 
established  and  increased."* 

Matthew  of  Westminster  gives  us  the  following  account  of  this 
g^ant  of  Ireland  to  king  Henry  II.  "About  A.  D.  1155,  Henry, 
king  of  England,  sent  a  solemn  embassy  to  Rome,  that  he  might  be 
allowed  to  invade  and  subdue  Ireland ;  to  reestablish  a  more  decent 
form  of  religion  among  that  rude  and  brutish  people,  and  to  make 
them  more  faithful  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  the  Pope  joyfully 
granted."* 

Nothing  can  be  more  clear  than  the  inference,  that  at  the  date  of 
Pope  Adrian's  bull,  Ireland  was  not  considered  within  the  "  boun- 
daries" of  the  Romish  Church,  for  else  how  could  those  boundaries 
have  been  "  extended"  by  Henry's  invasion  ? 

Sedulius,  an  Irish  saint  of  the  fifth  century,  in  his  commentary 
upon  Romans  ix.  says,  "  It  is  certain  that  by  this  '  Petra,'  or  rock, 
Christ  is  signified."  And  upon  Ephesians  ii.,  "  Christ,  who  is  else- 
where called  the  chief  comer-stone,  is  this  foundation,  for  in  Him  the 
Church  is  both  founded  and  consummated.* 

His  commentary  upon  John  xxi.  15,  &c.  is  equally  inconsistent 
with  the  Roman  Catholic  interpretation  of  this  text ;  for  he  looked 
upon  the  threefold  charge  to  St.  Peter,  not  as  a  solemn  declaration  of 
his  supremacy,  but  as  a  restoration  to  the  apostolic  dignity,  from 
which  he  had  fallen  by  his  threefold  denial  of  our  Lord. 

Hsec  terno  sermone  monens  ut  terna  negatis 
Culpa  recens  parili  numero  negata  maneret.'* 

X  Apnd  Wilk.  Concilia,  torn   i.  p.  426.  y  Ibidem. 

»  Flores  Hist.  edit.  1567,  pars  ii.  fol.  32.  »  Apud  Usser. 

•>  Paschale  Opus,  lib.  v.  c.  30. 


IXTUODUCTION.  XVll 

Claude,  bishop  of  Turin,  who  was  also  an  Irishman,  thus  com- 
ments upon  that  celebrated  text,  Matt,  xvi.,  "  Upon  this  rock  will 
I  build  my  church:"  that  is,  upon  our  Lord  the  Saviour,  who 
{nevertheless)  allowed  his  faithful  confessor  to  participate  in  his  title, 
so  that  he  was  called  "Peter"  from  Petra  the  rock.  And  again 
in  the  same  book  he  says,  "  For  as,  when  all  were  questioned,  Peter 
replied  one  for  all,  so  what  the  Lord  replied  unto  Peter  he  replied 

unto  all Which  power  of  binding  and  loosing,  although 

it  may  appear  to  have  been  granted  to  Peter  alone,  was  without  any 
manner  of  doubt  granted  also  to  the  other  apostles  by  our  Lord." 

Gildas  the  Wise  tells  us  in  his  epistle  (" de  Excid.  Brit")  that 
"  to  every  godly  priest  it  is -said,  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock 
will  I  build  my  church"  " 

And  Taliessyn,  a  celebrated  Welsh  bard,  who  lived  soon  after 
the  time  of  Augustine,  bequeathed  his  countrymen  the  following 
admonition : — 

Gwae  ny  cheidw  ey  dhettaid  Woe  be  to  him  who  doth  not  keep 

Rhac  bleidhie  Rhufeneaid  From  Romish  wolves  his  sheep, 

Ai  'ffon  gnwppa.  With  staff  and  weapon  strong. 

As  far  as  regards  the  keeping  of  Easter  and  the  clerical  tonsure, 
most  of  the  Irish  were  persuaded  to  yield  byAdamnanus,  a.d.  690. 
The  Picts  yielded  under  king  Naitan,  a.d.  714;  the  monks  of 
Zona,  A.D.  716,  and  the  Britons  (who  remained  obstinate  during 
the  lifetime  of  Bede)  were  at  length  persuaded  by  Elbodius, 
chief  bishop  of  North  Wales,  who  died  A.D.  809. 

"In  Malachi's  time  (circa  a.d.  1140)  the  Pope  had  the  power  of 
confirming  Irish  bishops,  but  not  of  nominating  them.  The  Irish 
paid  the  small  dues,  called  '  Peter's  pence,'  not  to  the  Pope  but  to 
the  see  of  Armagh.  But  Malachi  and  the  other  Irish  bishops  sur- 
rendered to  Rome  the  rights  which  they  had  hitherto  enjoyed. 
A.D.  1148,  at  the  synod  held  in  Holm  Park,  composed  of  Gelasius, 
archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  fifteen  bishops,  many  abbots,  two  hun- 
dred priests,  &c.  which  Malachi,  as  legate,  presided.  It  was  then 
agreed  to  send  him  again  to  Rome  with  power  to  compose  all  differ- 
ences between  that  church  and  the  Irish  nation ;  but  as  he  died  on 
the  way  thither.  Christian  (abbot  of  Melefont,  and  afterwards  bishop 
of  Lismore),  was  appointed  legate  in  his  room.  In  a.d.  1150,  he 
repaired  to  Rome,  vested  with  fresh  authority  from  the  Irish  princes 
and  clergy,  on  the  same  business,  and  in  the  following  year  he  was 
dispatched  for  Ireland  in  company  with  cardinal  Paparo."^ 

A  complete  reconciliation  was  not  however  effected  till  after  the 
conquest  of  Ireland  by  Henry  II.,  for  Giraldus  Cambrensis  tells  us 
that  in  the  synod  of  Cashel,  a.d.  1172,  "the  Irish  clergy  agreed 
to  have  for  the  future  the  rites  of  their  church  in  strict  conformity 
with  those  of  England." ' 

e  De  Excid.  Brit.  ii  Chron.  ap.  Usser,  Disc.  p.  110. 

•  O'Halloran's  Ireland,  vol.  iii.  p.  324,  &c.    f  Wiik.  i.  473. 

b 


XVIll  INTRODUCTION. 

§  6.     Transuhstaniiation  teas  unknown  to  the  ancient  Irish. 

To  confound  tlie  real  presence  with  transubstantiation  has  been 
always  a  favourite  artifice  of  the  Romish  priesthood,  and  often  a 
successful  one ;  for  many  of  our  modern  protestants  entertain  such 
low  and  unworthy  opinions  respecting  the  Eucharist,  that  when  they 
arc  tried  by  such  a  standard,  the  very  Fathers  must  appear  to  talk 
the  language  of  popery.  To  the  lover  of  antiquity  it  is  however  a 
most  cheering  reflection,  that  as  strong  an  argument  in  favour  of 
transubstantiation  might  be  drawn  out  of  our  Catechism,  our  Com- 
munion-oflice,  our  homilies,  and  the  divines  who  flourished  in  our 
church  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  as  out  of  the 
pages  of  the  holy  Fathers. 

'  That  transubstantiation  was  no  doctrine  of  the  early  British 
churches  will  be  evident  to  the  reader  from  the  following  argu- 
ments. 

Sedulius,  an  Irishman,  who  flourished  in  the  fifth  century,  tells 
us,  in  his  commentary  upon  1  Cor.  xi.,  that  our  Lord  "left  his 
memorial  unto  us  just  as  a  person  going  to  a  distance  leaves  a  token 
to  him  whom  he  loves,  that  as  often  as  he  sees  it  he  may  call  to 
mind  his  benefits  and  friendship."  s  And  his  opinion  is  still  more 
clearly  intimated  in  his  Carmen  Paschale,  when  he  describes  the 
oblation  offered  up  in  the  Christian  sacrifice  as  the  fruit  of  wheat 
and  of  the  vine  : — 

Denique  pontificum  princeps  summusque  sacerdos 
Quis  nisi  Christus  attest,  gemini  libaminis  auctor 
Ordine  Melchisedek,  cui  dantur  munera  semper 
Qua  sua  sunt,  segetis  frucfus  et  gaudia  vitis. 

Claude,  bishop  of  Turin,  who  was  also  an  Irishman,  says  in  his 
third  book  upon  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  "  For  the  bread  realizes  his 
body,  and  the  wine  the  blood  which  w^as  in  his  flesh  :  the  former  is 
mystically  referred  to  the  body  of  Christ,  the  latter  to  his  blood." 

In  the  notes  to  a  MS.  copy  of  the  four  Gospels,  written  at  Armagh 
in  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century,  Christ  is  stated  to  have  blessed 
the  eucharistical  bread  that  it  might  mystically  become  his  body. 
In  a  spiritual  sense  this  bread  is  the  Church  which  is  the  body  of 
Christ."  The  writer  also  calls  the  Eucharist  "  a  figure  of  the  body 
of  Christ,  the  first  figure  of  the  New  Testament,  which  is  daily  re- 
peated and  received  by  faith."** 

The  treatise  of  Johannes  Duns  Scotus  on  the  Eucharist,  was 
condemned  in  the  Council  of  Vercelli,  a.d.  1050.  The  work  of 
this  distinguished  Irishman  is  commonly  supposed  to  be  the  same  as 
that  which  is  now  known  under  the  name  of  Bertram  or  Rantram, 
which  is  strongly  opposed  to  the  doctrine  which  we  are  now  dis- 
cussing. 

In  the  synod  of  Dublin,  a.d.  1186,  the  fourth  canon  was  as  fol- 
lows :  "  The  host,  which  represents  the  Lamb  without  spot,  the  Alpha 

8  Usser.  Disc.  c.  4,  p.  41.  h  Lanig.  iii.  311,  &c. 


rs'TRODUCTIOX.  XIX 

and  Omega,  should  be  made  so  pure  and  white  that  the  partakers 
thereof  may  thereby  understand  the  purifying  and  feeding  of  their 
souls  rather  than  their  bodies,"  And  at  a  much  later  period  Henry 
Crump,  the  monk  of  Baltinglass,  said,  that  "  the  body  of  Christ  in 
the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  is  but  a  mirror  to  the  body  of  Christ  in 
heaven." ' 

With  respect  to  the  Britons  or  Welsh,  I  have  transcribed  the 
following  remarkable  passage  from  Lluyd's  '  Breviary  of  Britain.' 
"  The  Britons  being  aided  with  power  from  Bethrusius  duke  of 
Cornwall,  Caduane  king  of  Northwales,  Meredoc  king  of  South- 
wales,  and  heartened  forward  by  the  oration  of  their  most  cele- 
brated abbot,  Dunetus,  who  commanded,  as  our  chroniclers  report, 
that  every  one  should  kiss  the  ground  in  remembrance  of  the  commu- 
nion of  the  body  of  our  Lord,  and  should  take  up  water  in  their  hands 
forth  of  the  river  Dee,  and  drink  it  in  commemoration  of  the  most 
sacred  blood  of  Christ  which  was  shed  for  tJiem;  who  having  so  com- 
municated, they  overcame  the  Saxons,  as  Huntingdon  reporteth,  in 
a  famous  battle,  and  slew  of  them  one  thousand  and  sixty-six,  and 
created  Carduanus  their  king."  ^ 

§  7.    Communion  under  both  kinds. 

Bede  relates  that  one  Hildmar  entreated  saint  Cuthbert  to  visit 
his  wife  before  her  death,  "  and  to  administer  to  her  the  sacraments 
of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ." ' 

Capgrave  relates  of  St.  Bridget,  that  one  of  her  miracles  took 
place  when  she  was  "  about  to  drink  out  of  the  chalice."  ™ 

And,  indeed,  Lanigan,  the  Roman  Catholic  historian,  concedes 
this  point.  "As  to  communion  under  both  kinds  (he  observes) 
Usher  might  have  saved  himself  the  trouble  of  collecting  passages 
concerning  it ;  for  it  is  not  denied  that  in  old  times  it  was  practised 
in  Ireland  as  well  as  everywhere  else."^ 

§  8.    The  Seven  Sacraments  unknown. 

Archbishop  Lanfranc  complains  in  one  of  his  epistles,  that  in  Ire- 
land infants  were  baptized  without  the  chrism  or  consecrated  oil. 
And  this  may  perhajis  explain  the  demand  made  by  Augustine  in 
the  synod  of  Worcester,  that  the  Britons  should  "  solemnize  the 
rite  of  baptism,  whereby  we  are  born  again  unto  God,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  holy  Roman  and  Apostolic  Church."" 

St.  Bernard  reports  that  Malachi,  who  lived  after  Lanfranc's  time, 
"  instituted  anew  (in  the  Irish  Church)  the  salutary  practice  of 
confession,  the  sacrament  of  confirmation,  and  matrimonial  contracts, 
all  of  which  they  either  knew  not  or  neglected."  p 

'   Lanig.  iv.  269.    Usser.  ubi  supra. 

k  Lluyd's  Breviary  of  Brit.  edit.  1573,  12mo.  71,  &c. 

'   In  Vita  Cuthberti,  c.  15,  apud  Usher.  "•  Apud  Usher,  ubi  supra. 

"  Hist,  of  Ireland,  vol.  iii.  p.  310. 

o  Lanig.  iii.  477  ;  iv.  206-211.      Bede,  Hist.  lib.  ii   c.  2. 

P  Bernardus,  in  \\tk  Malach. 

62 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

He  also  says  that  such  were  the  abuses  of  the  Irish  Church,  that 
he  had  never  before,  "  even  among  the  most  barbarous,  observed 
the  like.  Christians  by  name,  but  in  very  deed  pagans,  not  paying 
tithes,  nor  offering  first-fruits,  nor  joining  in  lawful  marriage,  nor 
confessing  their  sins,  none  among  them  found  either  to  I'eceive  or 
enjoin  penance."  i 

Alcuin,  in  his  Epistles,  thus  speaks  of  the  Irish :  "  But  it  is  said 
that  none  of  the  laity  are  willing  to  make  their  confession  to  priests 
whom  we  believe  to  have  received  from  Christ  (our)  God,  the  power 
of  binding  and  loosing  as  the  holy  apostles  did."  ' 

That  they  held  not  marriage  to  be  a  sacrament  we  learn  from 
Sedulius,  who  reckons  it  among  those  things  which  "are  gifts  in- 
deed but  not  spiritual."^  But  they  also  differed  from  the  Church 
of  Rome  in  two  other  respects.  From  the  29th  canon  of  St.  Patrick 
it  would  appear  that  their  prohibited  degrees  of  consanguinity  or 
affinity  were  regulated  according  to  the  Levitical  law ;  and  from 
canon  26,  that  divorces  were  allowed  for  the  cause  of  fornication. » 

The  following  is  a  fragment  of  the  Brehon  law,  translated  by  the 
learned  T.  O'Flanagan,  from  a  MS.  in  the  library  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Dublin.  It  is  a  commentary  upon  these  laws  in  question  and 
answer,  and  contains  the  following  remarkable  passage  : — 

"  Question.  What  are  the  three  fundamental  ordinances  from 
which  neither  law,  nor  judgment,  nor  reason,  nor  philosophy  can 
absolve  ? 

*'  Answer.  The  holy  Communion  as  contained  in  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures. 

"  Tribute,  sanctioned  by  the  three  courses  of  the  old  law. 

"  The  regeneration  of  life  by  water,  whereby  freedom  from 
original  sin  is  secured, 

"  Will  any  one  (says  O'Flanagan)  deny  this  to  be  the  Protestant 
religion  ?  The  ancient  Irish  mention  but  two  sacraments  as  neces- 
sary, viz.  "  the  holy  communion  as  contained  in  holy  Scripture,  and 
regeneration  unto  life  by  water ;"  or,  in  other  words.  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper."" 

§  9.    The  Irish  Clergy  allowed  to  marry. 

St.  Patrick,  who  was  of  British  extraction,  thus  speaks  of  himself 
in  his  confession  :  "  My  father  was  Calphurnius,  a  deacon,  the  son 
of  Potitus,  a  priest ;"  and  Probus,  Joscelinus,  and  all  his  biogra- 
phers agree  in  the  same  account.' 

In  a  synod  which  he  held  in  Ireland,  circa  \.  D.  450,  there  occurs 
the  following  remarkable  canon  :  "  If  any  clerk,  from  an  ostiary  to 
a  priest,  shall  be  seen  without  his  tunic and  if  his  wife  does 

I  Bern,  in  Vita  Malach.  '  Ep.  26,  aliter  71. 

»  In  Rom.  i.  '  See  also  Cone.  Cassil.  ad.  1172,  c.  1. 

"  Apud  Betham,  part  ii.  p.  280.       ▼  Usser.  Disc.  c.  5. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 

not  go  with  her  head  veiled,  let  them  be  despised  by  the  laity,  and 
separated  from  the  church."  * 

Gildas  the  Wise,  who  flourished  in  the  sixth  century,  complained 
that  the  British  bishops  of  his  time  were  not  content  to  be  the 
husbands  of  one  but  of  many  wives.'' 

Nennius,  the  oldest  British  historian  after  Gildas,  inscribes  the 
work  which  is  now  extant  under  his  name,  "  to  Samuel,  the  infant 
son  of  my  master,  Benlan  the  priest."  ^ 

Bede  tells  us,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  that  Adhelmus,  an 
abbot,  "  at  the  command  of  the  synod  wrote  an  excellent  treatise 
against  the  error  of  the  Britons,  who  not  only  celebrate  Easter  at 
an  improper  time,  but  act  in  very  many  respects  contrary  to  ecclesi- 
astical chastity  and  peace."  Now  what  can  "  ecclesiastical  chastity" 
mean,  unless  it  be  the  law  of  celibacy,  which  the  Church  of  Rome 
enforces  upon  her  clergy?"^ 

Howel  Dha,  king  of  Wales,  who  flourished  a.d.  940,  decreed, 
that  "  if  a  clerk  shall  have  a  wife  and  a  son  born  of  her,  and  after- 
wards that  clerk  shall  be  raised  to  the  order  of  the  priesthood,  if  a 
son  shall  be  born  of  the  same  wife  after  his  consecration,  the  son 
first  born  ought  not  to  have  (an  equal)  portion  with  this  son  born 
afterwards."'' 

In  the  council  of  Westminster,  a.d.  1173,  can.  23,  the  custom  of 
the  Welsh,  who  gave  churches  in  dowry,  is  severely  censured ;  and 
Giraldus  Cambrensis  in  his  "  Descriptio  Camhrice"  tells  us,  that  in 
Wales  sons  frequently  succeeded  to  the  churches  held  by  their  fathers, 
not  electively  but  by  inheritance,''  adding,  that  they  in  this  respect 
followed  the  tradition  of  their  ancestors. 


§  10.    They  neither  worshipped  Saints  nor  Images . 

Touching  the  worship  of  God,  Sedulius  plainly  teaches  us  that 
"  to  worship  any  one  besides  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  is 
impious :"  and  again,  that  "  if  the  soul  renders  to  any  but  God  that 
homage  which  it  owes  exclusively  to  God,  it  commits  (a  spiritual) 
adultery."" 

With  regard  to  images  we  know  from  a  treatise  written  by 
St.  Patrick,  that  in  Ireland  the  decalogue  was  not  mutilated  by  the 
omission  of  the  second  commandment,'^  and  also  that  Claude,  bishop 
of  Turin,  one  of  the  most  determined  iconoclasts  on  record,  was  a 
native  of  Ireland.  Nor  has  Lanigan,  the  Roman  Catholic  historian, 
attempted  to  prove  that  the  ancient  Irish  worshipped  either  saints  or  , 
images — a  most  eloquent  silence. 

*  Wilk.  i.  2.  "  Epjst.  de  Excid.  Brit. 

y  Usser.  Disc.  c.  5.  »  Hist.  lib.  v.  c.  19. 

»   Usser    Disc.  p.  53-54. 

*>  Wilk.  i.  circ.  p.  474.    Descriptio  Cambriae,  lib.  ii. 

«   In  Rom.  J,  n.  2.  ••  Spelm.  Concilia  i.  54. 


XXU  INTRODUCTIOK. 

§  11.    They  prayed  for  the  Dead,  hut  did  not  believe  in  Purgatory. 

Although  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that,  like  the  rest  of  the 
Christian  world,  the  ancient  Britons  and  Irish  prayed  for  the  dead, 
it  is  abundantly  evident  from  documents  still  extant,  that  this  prac- 
tice had  no  reference  to  the  doctrine  of  purgatory. 

Thus  in  St.  Patrick's  treatise  de  tribus  habitaculis,  no  mention  is 
made  of  any  other  place  but  heaven  and  hell.  It  begins  thus — 
"  By  the  will  of  God  there  are  three  habitations,  of  which  the  highest 
is  called  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  the  middle  one  is  called  the 
present  world ;  the  lowest  is  called  hell.  The  extremes  are  wholly 
contrary  to  each  other,  (for  what  fellowship  has  light  with  dark- 
ness, or  Christ  with  Belial  ?) ;  but  the  middle  hath  some  similitude 
to  the  extremes,  &c.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  world  are 
raised  up  to  heaven,  others  are  dragged  down  to  hell ;  the  blessed 
are  invited  to  the  kingdom  prepared  for  them  from  the  beginning 
of  the  world,  the  accursed  are  expelled  into  the  eternal  fire  which  is 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."® 

In  an  ancient  Irish  synod  there  occurs  a  canon  to  this  effect : 
"  Neither  the  archangel  can  lead  a  soul  to  life  until  God  shall  have 
judged  it,  nor  the  devil  (zahulus)  carry  it  to  punishment  till  the 
Lord  shall  have  condemned  it."'^ 

That  they  prayed  for  those  whose  souls  were  believed  to  be  at 
that  instant  in  a  state  of  happiness,  may  be  proved  by  a  variety  of 
examples  cited  by  archbishop  Usher.  Thus,  St.  Columba  caused 
all  things  to  be  prepared  for  the  Eucharist  when  he  had  perceived 
the  soul  of  St.  Brendan  received  by  holy  angels  :S  and  Bede  relates 
that  the  like  obsequies  were  celebrated  by  St.  Cuthbert  for  a  man 
of  whom  he  said,  "  I  have  seen  the  soul  of  a  certain  saint  carried 
by  the  hands  of  angels  to  the  joys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."'' 
Walafrid,  in  his  life  of  Gallus,  says,  "  They  began  to  celebrate  mass 
and  to  be  instant  in  prayer  for  the  commemoration  of  St.  Colum- 
banus ;"  and  on  this  occasion  Gallus  said  to  his  deacon,  "  I  have 
been  taught  in  a  vision  that  my  lord  and  father  Columbanus  hath 
this  day  passed  from  the  miseries  of  this  life  to  the  joys  of  Paradise ; 
it  is  my  bounden  duty  therefore  to  offer  up  the  sacrifice  of  salvation 
for  his  repose."^ 

Again,  when  St.  Magnus  died,  a  voice  was  heard  exclaiming, 
"  Come,  O  Magnus,  come  and  receive  the  crown  which  the  Lord 
hath  prepared  for  thee :"  whereupon  Tozzo  (a  bishop)  said,  "  Let 
us  cease  our  lamentation,  for  we  ought  rather  to  rejoice  since  his 
soul  has  entered  into  immortality.  But  let  us  proceed  to  the  church 
and  sedulously  offer  unto  the  Lord  the  salutary  victim  for  this  our 
beloved  friend."'^ 

«  Usser.  c.  3,  p  23.  f  In  vet.  cod.  can.  tit.  66  in  Bibl.  Cotton. 

e  Adamnani  vita  Columbse,  lib.  iii.  c.  15-16. 

''  Hist.  lib.  i.  c.  26.  *  Walafrid  in  vita  Galli. 

k  Theod.  vita  Magni,  lib.  ii.  c,  13  vel28. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXIU 

From  the  6th  and  7th  canons  of  the  council  of  Cashel,  a,  d.  1172, 
it  would  appear  that  masses  for  the  dead  had  been  very  much  neg- 
lected in  Ireland  before  that  period. 

"  Can.  VII.  That  those  who  die  with  a  good  confession,  a  proper 
respect  be  shewn  both  by  the  celebration  of  masses,  &c.  and  the 
mode  of  interment :  also  that  all  the  divine  offices  be  performed  in 
every  respect  according  to  the  rites  of  the  holy  Catholic  Church, 
and  of  the  Church  of  England." ' 

§  12.    Church  Government  and  other  miscellaneous  particulars. 

That  the  primitive  British  and  Irish  churches  were  episcopal  has 
been  proved  in  a  former  section,  and  I  there  also  offered  a  few 
remarks  respecting  the  validity  of  consecrations  performed  by  a 
single  bishop. 

It  would  appear  from  a  very  ancient  canon,  that  this  practice  was 
even  sanctioned  by  Patrick  the  Romish  emissary;"  and  Anselm 
complains  that  in  his  time  {circa  A.  D.  1103)  consecrations  were 
performed  in  Ireland  by  one  bishop  without  the  presence  of  the 
metropolitan,  and  that  episcopal  sees  were  there  multiplied  at  the 
discretion  of  the  archbishop,  so  that  almost  every  church  had  its 
bishop." 

St.  Patrick,  the  Irish  apostle,  is  indeed  said  to  have  consecrated 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  bishops  and  three  thousand  priests ;  °  but 
this  must  be  evidently  fabulous. 

The  primacy  of  Ireland  was  vested  in  Armagh,  which  for  two 
hundred  years  became  the  property  of  one  sept ;  nor  was  this  here- 
ditary system  confined  to  that  see,  for  we  are  told  that  of  the 
family  of  St.  Facharus,  first  bishop  of  Ross,  no  less  than  twenty- 
seven  bishops  were  his  successors  in  the  diocese.P 

It  has  been  already  noticed  that  in  Ireland,  till  the  year  1151, 
several  Irish  sees  enjoyed  the  metropolitan  dignity,  though  their 
prelates  had  never  received  palls  from  the  Pope.'i 

As  far  as  Britain  is  concerned,  we  learn  from  the  Acts  of  the 
Council  of  Aries,  that  in  the  fourth  century  there  were  episcopal 
sees  at  York,  London,  and  Colchester.""  How  many  others  there 
may  have  been  does  not  appear,  but  Bede  expressly  tells  us  that 
seven  British  bishops  attended  the  Council  of  Worcester,  convened 
by  Augustine,  A.  D.  601.*  These  were  in  all  probability  merely 
a  deputation  from  the  rest.  The  sees  of  those  who  were  actually 
j)resent  are  thus  described  by  Bale:  "  Ilcrefordiensis,  Tavonsis  (Lion 
Tavensis),  Paternensis,  Banchorcnsis,  Cluniensis  (Eluiensis),  Uni- 
acensis  (Wiccensis),  Morganensis  (Meneven^is)."*^  And  note  that 
the  Banchor  here  mentioned  was  situated  in  Cheshire,  upon  the 

'  Wilk.  i.  p  473.  0'  llsser.  Disc.  c.  8. 

n  Ep.  142.  o  Gale,  Hist.  Brit.  p.  lis. 

P  O'Halloran,  Hist.  i.  176.  i  Snpra,  p.  ix. 

■■   Spclm.  Concil.  i.  43,  46,  &  24.  •  Lib.  ii.  c.  2 

'  Johannis  Bale,  Aiitiq.  Brit,  apud  Spclm. 


XXIV  INTRODDCTION. 

Dee,  and  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  diocese  of  that  name  in 
North  Wales. 

The  primacy  of  the  British  church  was  successively  vested  in  the 
sees  of  LlandafF,  Caerleon,  and  St.  David's  (or  Menevia).'^ 

We  are  told  that  the  pall  was  transferred  from  St.  David's  about 
the  year  oo'd,  when  archbishop  Sampson,  at  the  time  of  the  pesti- 
lehce,  fled  to  Dol  in  Britany,  carrying  his  pall  with  him,  and  that 
the  see  last  mentioned  for  a  long  time  enjoyed  the  metropolitan 
dignity  owing  to  this  circumstance.^ 

Whether  this  pall  was  originally  granted  by  the  Pope,  and  if  so 
when  it  was  first  received,  can  be  only  a  matter  of  conjecture.  For 
my  own  part  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  that  about  the  time  of  St. 
David  the  supremacy  of  the  see  of  Rome  was  at  least  partially 
admitted  in  Wales.  This  however  can  only  have  lasted  for  a  very 
short  period,  as  we  find  them  soon  afterwards  vigorously  resisting 
his  authority,  and  vindicating  the  independence  of  their  church.^ 

The  Welsh  bishops  were  however  all  consecrated  by  the  bishop 
of  St,  David's  till  the  reign  of  Henry  I.,  after  which  time  the  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  extended  his  jurisdiction  throughout  the  prin- 
cipality.^ The  unavailing  efforts  of  Giraldus  Cambrensis  to  restore 
the  see  of  St.  David's  to  its  ancient  dignity,  form  a  pleasing  episode 
in  the  history  of  the  twelfth  century.  As  a  personal  narrative  his 
work  "  De  Rebus  a  se  Gestis"  will  be  found  highly  entertaining ; 
not  the  less  so  perhaps  for  the  vein  of  harmless  egotism  which  runs 
throughout.  His  latinity  is  pure  beyond  his  age,  and  he  has  pre- 
sented us  with  many  historical  facts  of  which  there  now  exists  no 
other  record. 

In  his  treatise  "  de  illaudabilibusWallice,"he  accuses  his  countrymen 
of  incest,^  probably  because  they  observed  not  the  Romish  table  of 
prohibited  degrees,  which  extends  far  beyond  the  requisitions  of 
the  levitical  law.  He  also  complains  that  in  Wales  churches  were 
given  in  dowry,  and  that  sons  succeeded  to  their  fathers'  benefices 
by  hereditary  descent  f  so  that  the  law  of  priestly  celibacy  was  not 
observed  by  the  Welsh  clergy  even  towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
century.  And  Giraldus  expressly  says  that  they  followed  the  tra- 
ditions of  their  fathers  in  this  respect. 

He  further  tells  us,  incidentally,  that  in  W^ales  it  was  very  com- 
mon for  one  church  to  have  six  or  seven  pastors.^ 

Respecting  the  monastic  discipline  of  the  ancient  Britons  and 
Irish,  I  must  refer  my  readers  to  Bede's  description  of  the  monastery 
of  Bangor,*'  and  also  to  archbishop  Usher's  "  Discourse,"  &c. 

From  Bede's  account  of  the  synod  of  W^orcester,  it  is  evident  that 
there  were  hermits  in  Britain  at  that  time,  for  we  are  told  that 

»  Anglia  Sacra  ii.  517,  667.     Wilk.  i.  26. 

"  Alfordii  Fides  Regia,  torn.  ii.  p.  68.  "  Wilk.  i.  26. 

x  Girald.  de  Jure  et  statu,  Anglia  Sacra  ii.  517. 

y  De  Illaud.  Wallise,  Anglia  Sacra,  torn.  ii.  p.  450. 

»  Ibidem,  item  p.  525.  »  Ibidem. 

*>  Lib.  ii.  c.  2 ;  and  see  in  this  book  infra,  p.  148. 


INTRODUCTIOX.  XXV 

before  they  went  thither  the  British  bishops  consulted  "  an  anchonte, 
a  wise  and  holy  man,"'^  as  to  the  course  which  they  ought  to  pursue. 

No  one  could  be  ordained  a  priest  in  Ireland  till  he  was  at  least 
thirty  years  old.^ 

Previously  to  the  conquest  of  that  country  by  Henry  II.  tithes 
had  been  very  much  neglected  there,  and  the  payment  of  St.  Peter's 
pence  seems  to  have  been  then  enfoi'ced  for  the  first  time.®  The 
latter  observation  also  applies  to  Wales,  where  the  Rome-scot  was 
unknown  in  the  days  of  Giraldus.^ 

The  ritual  observances  of  these  early  British  Christians  were,  in 
all  probability,  far  removed  from  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  the 
Romish  church. 

Thus  we  are  told  of  Saint  Columba,  that  "  when  every  thing  was 
ready  for  divine  service,  they  being  clothed  in  white  vestments,  as  on 
a  Sunday  or  other  solemn  occasion,  proceeded  to  the  church  along 
with  the  Saint :"  and  in  the  6th  canon  of  the  Council  of  Dublin,  it 
was  decreed  that  "  the  vestments  of  the  church  shall  be  clean,  fine, 
and  white."^ 

We  learn  from  the  book  of  Armagh  that  incense  and  wax  candles 
were  first  introduced  into  Ireland  by  the  second  Patrick;''  and  it  is 
evident  that  before  the  year  1172  wooden  altars  had  been  generally 
in  use  in  that  country. 

As  to  their  churches,  Bede  expressly  tells  us  that  it  was  the  cus- 
tom of  the  Irish  to  build  them  "  of  cleft  oak  and  thatch  them  with 
reeds  "^  Wooden  churches  were  indeed  common  even  in  England 
as  late  as  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  a  fact  which  we  learn  from 
many  parts  of  Doomsday  Booh ;  and  the  old  wooden  building  which 
still  exists  at  Greensted  in  Essex,  is  considered  by  antiquaries  a 
most  interesting  relic  of  Anglo-Saxon  times. 

The  Irish  round  towers,  which  are  detached  buildings  contiguous 
to  veiy  ancient  churches ;  a  few  crosses  in  Cornwall ;  a  few  inscrip- 
tions in  Wales,  of  which  fac-similies  may  be  seen  in  Camden's 
Britannia,  and  perhaps  the  church  of  Peranzabuloe,  of  which  an 
interesting  account  was  published  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Collins  in  1836, 
may  have  existed  in  Britain  and  Ireland  during  the  time  of  their 
independence. 

§  13.    On  the  "  CuRsua  Scotorum." 

It  is  an  extremely  interesting  fact,  that  the  ancient  Irish  church 
had  a  Liturgy  of  her  own,  which  went  by  the  name  of  the  "  Cursuts 
Scotorum:"  and  although  no  MS.  now  exists  under  such  a  title, 
a  Discourse  on  Liturgies,  published  by  Spelman,''  from  a  MS.  now 

«  Lib.  ii.  c.  2  <J  Lanigan,  vol.  iv. 

e  Wilk.  i.  p.  426. 

^  De  Jure  et  Statu,  Menev.  Eccl.  Anglia  Sacra,  torn.  ii.  p.  544. 

S  Lanig.  Hist.  ii.  178. 

i>  Betliam's  Irish  Antiquar.  Resear.  part  ii-  p-  291. 

'   Hist.  lib.  iii.  c.  25.  ''  Vol.  i.  167. 


XXVI  INTKODUCTIOX. 

upwards  of  a  thousand  years  old,  happily  enables  us  to  ascertain  its 
nature  and  contents. 

In  this  discourse  there  occurs  the  following  passage  :  "  St.  Jerome 
affirms,  that  St.  Mark  sung  that  Liturgy  w^hich  is  now  called  the 
'  Scottish,'  and  after  him  Gregory  Nanzanenus  {sic),  whom  Jerome 

calls  his  master,  as  well  as  St.  Basil  the  brother  of  Gregory ; 

and  afterwards  St.  Ilonoratus,  who  was  the  first  abbot,  and  St. 
Caisarius,  who  was  bishop  at  Aries,  and  also  St.  Porcarius,  who  was 
abbot  of  the  same  monastery,  sung  this  Liturgy  (cursum),  who  had 
St.  Lupus  and  St.  Germanus  as  monks  in  their  monastery ;  and 
these,  in  conformity  with  their  {monastic)  rule,  sung  this  Liturgy 
there ;  and  having  afterwards,  from  the  reverence  in  which  their 
sanctity  was  held,  attained  to  the  supreme  dignity  of  the  episcopacy, 
they  preached  in  Britain  or  Scotland,  as  the  life  of  St.  Germanus, 
bishop  of  Auxerre,  and  St.  Lupus  affirm." 

Hence  it  appears  evident  that  the  Cursus  Scotorum  was,  properly 
speaking,  a  Gallican  Liturgy ;  and  it  is  probable  that  it  received  its 
name  after  the  age  of  Charlemagne,  when  (the  Gregorian  Liturgy 
having  been  received  in  France)  its  use  may  have  been  confined 
to  Ireland. 

Usher  ^  tells  us  that  the  Gallican  Liturgy  was  introduced  into 
Britain  by  Germanus  and  Lupus ;  and  Lanigan,  the  Roman  Catholic 
historian,  says,  "  It  is  indeed  probable  that  the  Gallican  Liturgy, 
strictly  so  called,  was  introduced  into  Ireland  during  the  second 
class  of  Irish  saints;"™  which  is  illustrated  by  a  quotation  which 
Usher  makes,  in  his  seventeenth  chapter,  from  a  very  ancient 
catalogue  of  the  Irish  saints ;  to  the  eftect  that  the  samts  of  the 
second  order  "  received  the  rite  of  celebrating  mass  from  holy  men 
of  British  extraction,  viz.  from  St.  David,  and  St.  Gildas,  and  St. 
Docus."n 

Under  such  circumstances,  I  am  I  think  entitled  to  conclude  that 

THE   LITURGY  ANCIENTLY   USED   BOTH   IN    BRITAIN   AND  IRELAND  WAS 

ORIGINALLY  BROUGHT  FROM  FRANCE  ;  and  I  shall  now  take  into  my 
hands  three  ancient  Gallican  Liturgies,  published  by  both  Mabillon 
and  Thomasius,°  from  MSS.  more  than  a  thousand  years  old,  all  of 
which  throw  considerable  light  upon  the  theology  of  the  period 
at  which  they  were  written.     They  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  Gothico- Gallican  Liturgy,  used  by  the  Gauls,  subject  to 
the  empire  of  the  Visigoths — 7th  century. 

2.  Missal  of  the  Francs,  written  in  Gaul  in  the  6th  century. 

3.  Another  ancient  Gallican  Missed,  7th  century. 

'   Brit.  Eccl.  Antiq.  c.  xi.  fol   p.  185. 
•"  Vol.  iv.  371. 

n  See  also  Flaccus  Illyiicus  and  Le  Cointe  ap.  Stillingfleet's  Origines  Britan- 
nicsc,  p.  202. 

"  Mabillon  de  Lilurtjid  GaUkand ;  Thomasii  Codices  Sacratnenlorum. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  Mass  a  spiritual  sacrifice. 


Tliese  Liturgies  supply  us  with  many  proofs  that  the  mass  was 
not  then  looked  upon  as  a  real  propitiation  for  sin,  since  it  is  re- 
peatedly called  "  spiritale  sacrijicium." 

1.  Thus,  in  the  Gothico-Gallican  Missal,  "In  Ccend  Domini,"  the 
Preface  begins  thus :  "  Celebrating  upon  this  day,  my  beloved 
brethren,  the  holy  solemnity  of  the  beginning  of  Easter,  and  the 
salutary  effigy  of  the  Lord's  sacrifice,  transfused  through  a  spiritual 
sacrifice  hy  tJie  offering  of  Christ,"  &c.p 

"  Ex  (did  Missd — super  Ohlata :"  "  The  shadows  of  carnal  victims 
being  removed,  we  humbly  offer  unto  thee,  O  supreme  Father, 
a  spiritual  victim ;  which,  by  a  wonderful  and  ineffable  mystery,  is 
continually  immolated,  yet  is  always  the  same."i  Also  in  the  ancient 
Galilean  Missal,  "  De  Adventu  Domini — Post  Communionem :" 
*'  Being  nourished  with  spiritual  food,  we  humbly  entreat  thee,  that, 
by  the  participation  of  this  mystery,  thou  wouldest  teach  us  to  despise 
earthly  things,  and  to  desire  those  which  are  above."  "^ 

The  words,  however,  "  spiritale  sacrificium",  and  other  analogous 
expressions,  as  applied  to  the  Eucharist,  are  of  constant  occurrence.^ 

2.  The  Eucharist  is  spoken  of  as  a  sacrifice  of  praise,  and  a  com- 
memoration of  our  Saviour's  passion.  Thus,  in  the  Gothico-Gallican 
Liturgy,  "  In  Vigilia  Natalis  Domini — Post  Mysterium,"  we  read, 
"  These  things  we  perform,  O  holy  Father,  almighty  and  everlasting 
God,  commemorating  and  celebrating  the  passion  of  thine  only  Son 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  "In  Natale  Agnes  Virginis — Immol.:" 
"  Celebrating  therefore  his  passion  with  this  day's  devotion,  we 
immolate  unto  thee,  the  Lord  our  God,  a  victim  of  praise.  And  "  In 
init.  Quadrigessimce — Post  Mysterium:"  "Let  the  oblation  of  our 
devotion  be  acceptable  unto  thee,  O  Lord,"  &c.t 

3.  The  devout  aspirations  of  the  faithful  are  spoken  of  as  a  sacri- 
fice offered  up  to  God  for  the  living  and  the  dead :  thus  in  the  same 
Missal,  " Feria  V.  Paschalis — Post  Nomina:"  "Having  heard  the 
names  of  those  who  offer,  let  us  entreat  the  Lord  of  eternity  that 
the  fear  of  him,  with  purity  of  heart  and  charity,  may  continue  in 
us  for  ever :  For  this  is  a  salutary  oblation ;  this  is  a  true — this  is 
a  fat  victim  ;  these  are  pure  libations,  which  are  offered  up  for  our- 
selves, and  for  the  repose  of  the  dead.""  Also  in  the  "  Missa 
Dominicalis — ad  Pacem :"  ^  "  O  God,  whose  mx)st  acceptable  sacrifice 
{summum  sacrificium)  is  unity  of  soul,  and  whose  fattest  holocaust 
is  a  peaceful  and  pure  conscience,  grant  unto  us  that  this  conjunc- 
tion of  our  lips  may  promote  the  union  of  our  souls."  In  the  Galilean 
Missal,  "  Orat.  ad  init.  noctis  Natalis  Domini — Collectio:"  "  Celebra- 
ting the  salutary  mystery  of  whoso  birth,  and  offering  unto  thee  as  it 

V  Mab.  p.  237.  1  Ibid.  p.  325.  "■  Ibid.  p.  334. 

•  See  Mabillon,  pp.  249,  .335,  and  347  :  also  Thomasius,  pp.  271,  337,  and  435. 
«  Thom.  pp.  264.  296,  and  312.  «  Ibid.  p.  344. 

'  Ibid.  p.  386, 


XXVIU  INTRODUCTION. 

were  the  first-fruits  of  owr  devotions  (primitias  precum),  we  entreat," 

4.  The  Eucharist  is  brought  down  to  a  level  with  other  sacrifices, 
and  is  presented  to  the  Father  through  the  merits  and  intercession 
of  the  saints  ;  which  would  have  been  blasphemy,  had  the  compilers 
of  these  Liturgies  looked  upon  the  mass  as  a  real  offering  up  of 
Christ  to  God  the  Father.  In  the  Missal  of  the  Francs,  '■' Missa 
Quotidiana — super  Oblata,"  we  read  :  "  O  God,  who  hast  completed 
the  various  legal  oblations  by  the  perfection  of  one  sacrifice,  receive 
a  sacrifice  from  thy  devout  servants,  and  sanctify  it  with  an  equal 
blessing  (with  that  wherewith  thou  didst  sanctify)  the  gifts  of  Abel."* 
Also,  in  the  same  Missal,  "  In  Natale  Sancti  Helarii — super  Oblata," 
"  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  St.  Helary  as  an  intercessor  may  render  ac- 
ceptable in  thy  sight  the  sacrifice  which  we  affectionately  offer  unto 
thee."y  And  in  "  Orat.  et  Preces  unius  Martyris — super  Oblata," 
"  Grant,  we  beseech  thee,  O  Lord,  that  the  venerable  confession 
and  prayers  of  thy  holy  Martyr  may  commend  (unto  thee)  this  our 
victim."^ 

5.  It  is  moreover  clearly  intimated  that  the  Eucharist  is  but  a  type 
of  better  things  to  come.*  In  one  collect  it  is  termed  pignus  (an 
earnest  or  pledge).  In  another  we  read,  "  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  we 
may  receive  with  our  hearts  that  which  we  have  taken  with  our  lips, 
that  so  from  a  temporal  gift  it  may  become  an  eternal  remedy."  In 
another,  "  that  we  who  have  reverently  tasted  with  our  lips  sweet 
things,  may  in  our  hearts  experience  sweeter  things." 

Transubstantiation  utterly  unknown. 

1.  In  the  Gothico-Gallican  Liturgy  it  is  clearly  intimated,  that 
in  the  Eucharist  we  partake  spiritually  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ.  Thus  "  Missa  prima  in  Bogationibus — ad  Pacem :"  "  Our 
bodily  (appetites)  being  restrained  (restrictis  corporibus),  thy  refresh- 
ment, O  Lord,  is  tasted  in  a  contrite  spirit.  We  therefore  implore 
thee  that  Ave  may  discern  in  spirit  that  sweet  food  of  thy  love,  which 
may  inflame  our  hearts,  unencumbered  by  (temporal)  banquets,  with 
the  love  of  our  neighbour."''  Also  "  In  Die  Nativitatis  Domini — 
Post  Com."  there  is  a  prayer,  that  "We  who  have  spiritually  received 
the  holy  body  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  being  freed  from  carnal 
vices,  may  deserve  to  become  spiritual.""^ 

2.  To  the  two  following  passages,  which  are  totally  inconsistent 
with  the  notion  of  a  real  and  substantial  change  of  the  elements, 
I  wish  particularly  to  direct  the  reader's  attention.  The  first  is 
from  the  Gothico-Gallican  Liturgy,  "In  Diem  Sanctum  Epiphanice — 
Post  Nomina,"  and  is  a  prayer  to  God,  "  that  He  who  on  this  day, 
by  his  Son,  miraculously  converted  the  species  of  water  into  wine, 

w  Thorn,  p.  443.  "  Mab.  p.  324.  y  Thom.  p.  419. 

^  Thom.  p  420.  »  Thom.  p.  489 ;  item  Mabillon,  pp.  190,  368. 

^  Mab.  p.  263.  c  Thom.  p.  265. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXIX 

would  also  deign  in  a  like  manner  to  convert  the  oblations  and 
prayers  of  (ms)  all  into  a  divine  sacrifice."^  The  other  is  from  the 
ancient  Galilean  Missal,  "  Missa  S.  Germani  Epi — Post  Eucharis- 
tiam:"  "Look  (upon  ii^)  O  Lord,  who  wishest  the  faithful  both  to 
feed  on  thy  body,  and  to  become  thy  body:  grant  unto  us,  for  the 
remission  of  our  sins,  that  we  may  be  that  which  we  have  received."  ^ 

3.  As  no  Roman  Catholic  will  contend  that  the  angels  or  Moses 
ever  received  the  Eucharist,  my  next  quotation  cannot  be  explained 
consistently  with  this  doctrine.  It  is  from  the  Gothico-Gallican 
Liturgy.  In  init.  Quadrigess. — Immolatio  Missce:  "  For  he  is  that 
living  and  true  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven,  and  which 
always  dwells  in  heaven ;  who  is  the  substance  of  etei'nity,  and  the 
food  of  virtue.  For  thy  Word,  by  whom  all  things  were  made,  is 
not  only  the  bread  of  human  souls  {mentium),  but  of  the  very  angels. 
On  the  nourishment  of  this  bread,  Moses  thy  servant,  when  he 
received  the  law,  fasted  for  forty  days  and  nights,  and  abstained 
from  carnal  food,  that  he  might  be  better  qualified  (to  partake  of) 
thy  sweetness,  living  upon  thy  Word.  This  bread,  O  Lord,  deign 
to  minister  unto  us  during  these  forty  days,"'  Also  in  Misscde 
Paschalis  Tertid — Immolatio:  "  It  is  worthy  and  just  that  we  should 
render  thanks  unto  thee,  through  Jesus  Christ  thy  Son  our  Lord ; 
by  whom,  quickening  the  human  race,  thou  didst  command  the 
Passover  to  be  celebrated  by  thy  servants  Moses  and  Aaron  with 
the  immolation  of  a  lamb ;  and  also  that  in  memory  thereof  the 
custom  should  be  observed  in  subsequent  times,  until  the  advent 
of  our  Lord,  who  was  led  like  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter.  He  is  that 
immaculate  Lamb  who  was  immolated  at  the  first  Passover  in  Egypt ; 
He  is  that  ram  taken  from  the  thicket  at  the  top  of  the  high  rnou7itain, 
and  destined  for  the  saaHfice ;  He  is  that  fatted  calf  slain  in  the  tent 
of  our  father  Abraham  on  account  of  his  guests, — whose  passion  and 
resurrection  we  celebrate,"  &c.^ 

4.  In  the  Gothico-Gallican  Missal  it  is  implied,  that  in  the 
Eucharist  the  fruits  of  the  earth  are  offered  unto  God.  In  Adsump- 
tione  Sanctce  Maria — Post  Mysterium :  "  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  the 
coeternal  and  cooperating  Spirit  the  Comforter  may  descend  upon 
these  sacrifices  of  thy  benediction,  that  we  may  receive  with  a 
heavenly  reward  the  oblation  which  we  offer  unto  thee  from  thy 
fruitful  earth,  so  that  the  fruit  being  translated  into  the  body,  and 
the  chalice  into  the  blood,  that  may  add  to  our  merits,  which  we 
have  offered  for  our  transgressions."**  The  expression  "  translatd 
fruge  in  corpore  calice  in  cruore,"  is  indeed  very  strong ;  but  having 
been  used  after  consecration,  it  becomes  an  argument  in  our  favour : 
for  as  Roman  Catholics  believe  that  the  miraculous  change  is  effected 
by  the  words  *' Hoc  enim  est  meum  corpus,"  it  is  contrary  to  their 
system  to  pray,  after  those  words  have  been  pronounced,  that  the 

<>  Thorn,  p.  287.  «  Ibid.  p.  435.  '  Ibid,  p  313. 

f  Ibid,  p  342.  >>  Mab.  p.  214. 


XXX  INTRODLCTIOX. 

Eucharist  may  become  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ :  an  observa- 
tion which  applies  also  to  two  remarkiible  passages  cited  by  Mabillon 
in  proof  of  transubstantiation.' 

5.  In  the  Missale  Francorum,  the  form  for  the  ordination  of 
priests  contains  not  the  words  now  used  in  the  Romish  Church, 
"  Accipe  potestatem  offerre  sacHficium  pro  vivis  et  defunctis."  And 
altars  were  then  consecrated  "for  the  offering  of  spiritual  sacri- 
fices."" 

6.  There  is  no  elevation  of  the  host  in  order  to  its  adoration,  in 
these  or  any  of  the  other  ancient  sacramentaries. 

Communion  under  both  kinds. 

Missale  Gallicanum,  in  Symholi  Tradit. — Post  Eucharistiam : 
"  Having  received,  my  beloved  brethren,  spiritual  food,  and  having 
tasted  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  let  us  pray,"  &c.^  Missale  Gothico- 
Gallicanum,  in  Vigil  Natalis  Domini — Post  Com. :  "  Being  strength- 
ened, my  beloved  brethren,  with  celestial  food  and  drink,  let  us 
render  thanks  unto  God,  that  we  whom  he  hath  deemed  worthy  to 
partake  of  the  body  and  Mood  of  our  Lord,"  fcc.™  Also  in  the  Missa 
Dominicalis — Post  Communionem :  "  Being  fed  with  the  bread  of 
life,  and  having  drank  of  the  salutary  cup,  let  us,  my  beloved  brethren, 
return  thanks.""  And  in  another  Missa  Dominicalis,"  we  read, 
"Having  received  the  celestial  sacrament  of  the  body,  and  being 
refreshed  with  the  chalice  of  eternal  salvation,  let  us  give  thanks 
unto  God."P 

From  a  very  ancient  Liturgical  MS.  written  in  Ireland  about  the 
eighth  century,  and  published  by  Sir  W.  Betham,  it  appears  that 
the  Irish  laity  formerly  received  under  both  kinds.  It  is  an  office 
for  the  Visitation  of  the  Sick. 

Let  him  administer  to  him  the  Eucharist,  saying,  "  The  body 
{and)  also  the  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  the  living 
God,  preserve  thy  soul  unto  everlasting  life." 

It  is  also  observable,  that  the  form  of  anointing  the  sick  in  this 
MS.  is  much  more  simple  than  in  the  modern  Church  of  Rome : 
"  I  anoint  thee  with  consecrated  oil,  that  thou  mayest  be  saved  for 
ever  and  ever."  In  the  present  day,  the  unction  is  repeated  several 
times,  being  applied  to  all  the  organs  of  sensation."! 

Saints'  wokship. 
Although  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  are  several  expressions 
in  these  Liturgies  respecting  the  merits  and  intercession  of  the 
saints,  which  are  inconsistent  with  the  mediatorial  office  of  Christ,"^ 
it  is  nevertheless  certain  that  they  contain  not  a  single  address  to 
any  of  the  saints,  even  in  the  offices  expressly  composed  to  do  them 

f   See  Mab.  p.  227,  and  Thom.  p.  394.  ^  Mab.  p.  314. 

'   Mab.  p.  347.  "■  Thom.  p.  264.  "  Ibid.  p.  386. 

o  Ibid.  p.  388.   ,  P  See  also  pp.  392,  394,  &c.,  and  Mab.  p.  52- 

q  See  Irish  Antiq.  Res.  pp.  55,  56.  r  See  above  p.  xxviii. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXI 

honour,  no,  not  even  an  Ora  pro  nobis,  which  is  the  least  objec- 
tionable form  of  invocation.  And  with  respect  to  the  ancient  Irish 
Visitation  office,  mentioned  in  the  last  section,  it  is  perfectly  unex- 
ceptionable in  every  respect. 

The  Galliean  office  moreover  (according  to  Stillingfleet,  p.  232,) 
"  began  with  a  peculiar  confession  of  sin ;  and  although  it  contains 
many  forms  of  confession,  that  which  is  prescribed  in  the  Roman 
missal  (of  confessing  to  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  Saints)  is  not  to  be 
found  in  any  of  them. 

Image  worship. 

The  three  Galilean  Liturgies  which  we  are  now  analysing  contain 
no  traces  of  image  worship,  or  of  the  superstitious  practice  of  creep- 
ing to  the  cross  on  Good-Friday ;  although  they  were  written  at  a 
time  when  (according  to  Thomasius,  p.  73,  &c.)  the  following  rubric 
was  in  the  Roman  missal  for  that  day :  "  Rubric — The  above  writ- 
ten prayers  having  been  completed,  the  deacons  enter  into  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  place  upon  the  altar  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord 
which  remained  from  the  day  before.  And  the  priest  comes  before 
the  altar  to  adore  and  kiss  the  cross  of  the  Lord.  All  these  things 
being  accomplished,  all  shall  adore  the  holy  cross,  and  communicate." 
The  omission  was  indeed  so  striking,  that  Mabillon  says  in  a  note 
(p.  239),  "  /  am  astonished  that  no  reference  is  here  made  to  the 
different  prayers  which  are  usually  chanted  upon  Good-Friday,  with 
genuflexions  preceding  them." 

Purgatory. 

The  prayers  for  the  dead  which  occur  in  the  Galliean  Offices 
were  certainly  not  offered  with  a  view  to  their  liberation  from  pur- 
gatory ;  but  rather  that  they  might  have  a  part  in  the  first  resurrec- 
tion, and  that  tliey  might  be  received  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
The  following  prayer  supposes  them  to  be  in  a  state  of  quiet  and 
repose :  "  Remember  also,  O  Lord,  those  who  have  preceded  us  with 
the  sign  of  faith,  and  sleep  in  the  sleep  of  peace.  To  them,  O  Lord, 
and  to  all  who  repose  in  Christ,  we  beseech  thee  to  grant  a  place  of 
refreshment,  light,  and  peace."  * 

In  the  Gothico-GalHcan  missal  wo  find  the  following  prayers. 
Orat.  pro  Spiritibus  Pausantium :  "  O  Jesus  Christ,  our  life  and 
resurrection,  grant  unto  our  fellow-priests,  and  our  beloved  who 
have  reposed  in  thy  peace,  the  refreshment  of  the  hoped-for  man- 
sion :  and  if  any  of  them,  deceived  by  the  fraud  of  the  devil,  have 
polluted  themselves  with  many  stains  of  error,  do  thou,  O  Lord,  who 
only  art  powerful,  forgive  them  their  offences ;  that  those  whom  the 
devil  gloried  in  as  the  companions  of  his  damnation,  he  may  lament, 
as  being  made  through  thy  mercy  the  companions  of  thy  joy."' 
Also  in  the  Missa  Dominicalis  there  is  this  prayer  for  the  dead: 

•  E  Missale  Francorum,  Mab.  p.  326,  &c.  '  Thorn,  p.  332. 


XXXll  INTRODUCTION. 

"  Grant  tliat  they  may  pass  into  a  state  of  repose,  and  command 
that  tliey  he  associated  with  thy  saints  and  elect  in  the  first  resurrec- 
tion, that  so  they  may  be  thy  portion  in  the  land  of  the  living."" 
And  in  another  Missa  Dominicalis — Post  Nomina :  "  We  pray  to 
thee  also  in  behalf  of  those  who  have  preceded  us  in  the  Lord's 
peace,  that,  being  freed  from  the  terrors  of  hell  (ut  tartareo  horrore 
segregatos),  and  placed  in  Abraham's  bosom,  the  Almighty  may 
deign  to  raise  them  up  in  his  first  resurrection."^ 

Note.  That  prayer  for  the  dead  in  the  early  church  by  no  means 
implied  a  belief  in  purgatory,  has  been  clearly  established  by  the  learned 
archbishop  Usher,  in  a  treatise  written  expressly  upon  the  subject 
(republished  in  one  of  the  early  volumes  of  the  Tracts  for  the  Times), 
and  also  by  Bingham  (B.  xv.  c.  3.  §  15).  Believing  in  a  middle  state 
between  death  and  the  resurrection,  and  that  no  man  could  attain  unto 
his  ^^ perfect  consummation  and  bliss"  before  the  day  of  judgment,  the 
Fathers  prayed  "for  the  patriarchs,  prophets,  apostles,  and  martyrs,  who 
had  been  since  the  world  began ;  but  especially  for  the  ever-blessed  Vinjin 
Mary."  (De  Goar,  Euxo-^^yo",  p-  78.)  On  the  same  principle  we  implore 
the  Almighty  in  our  Burial  Office,  "  shortly  to  accomplish  the  number 
of  his  elect,  and  establish  his  kingdom ;"  a  prayer  in  which  those  who 
are  dead  in  Christ  are  as  deeply  interested  as  ourselves ;  for  they  with- 
out us  have  not  been  made  perfect  (Heb.  xi.  39-40),  nor  will  they  belong 
to  the  church  triumphant  till  that  "great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord 
shall  come." 

In  addition  to  this  general  explanation  there  were  certain  private 
opinions  of  the  ancients  which  throw  a  light  upon  this  practice.  Some 
(believing  in  the  Millennium)  prayed  that  their  deceased  brethren  might 
have  a  part  i?i  the  first  resu7Tection;  while  others  held  the  doctrine  of 
a  probatory  fire  at  the  end  of  the  world,  through  which  all  the  children 
of  Adam,  including  the  most  illustrious  saints,  must  pass,  that  their 
works  might  be  tried.  "  This  baptism  (says  S.  Ambrose)  will  take  place 
after  the  end  of  the  world,  when  iniquity  shall  be  thoroughly  consumed 
in  a  furnace  of  fire."  "  Although  a  man  should  be  a  Peter  or  a  John, 
he  shall  yet  be  baptized  with  this  fia-e ;  yea,  although  he  should  be 
Peter,  who  received  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  he  yet  must 
say.  We  have  passed  through  fiire  and  water,  and  thou  hast  brought  us 
into  our  rest."  "  Peter  shall  be  tried  even  as  silver  is  tried,  but  I  as 
lead  :  but  if  in  me  there  shall  be  found  no  silver,  alas !  I  shall  be  driven 
to  the  lowest  pit  of  hell."    (Ambrosii  Homil.  xx.  in  Psalm.  118.) 

"  Thorn-  p.  386-  *  Ibid.  p.  394- 


RECORDS 


ENGLISH  AND  IRISH  CHURCHES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON   THE   COUNCILS   OF   GREAT   BRITAIN  AND   IRELAND. 

The  subject  matter  of  this  preliminary  chapter  -will,  of  course, 
require  a  different  arrangement  from  the  subsequent  portions  of 
my  work.  I  shall  in  general  conduct  the  reader  through  the 
volumes  of  Wilkins'  Concilia,  in  a  regular  chronological  order — that 
learned  prelate  having  published  the  Acts  of  our  various  British 
Councils  more  fully  than  any  other  writer.  As  a  sort  of  Intro- 
duction, I  must  however  explain  the  nature  and  constitution  of  our 
national  and  provincial  synods,  and  offer  a  few  useful  hints  to  the 
industrious  student ;  and  I  cannot  more  appropriately  commence 
than  by  giving  him  a  brief  analysis  of  this  scarce  and  valuable  work, 
which  has  formed  the  basis  of  my  own.  Its  title  is  as  follows  : — 
Concilia  Magn^  Britannia  et  Hibernle,  folio,  Lond.  1737. 

The  first  three  volumes  (with  which  we  are  chiefly  concerned) 
comprise  our  Ecclesiastical  records  from  the  earliest  period  till  the 
Reformation ;  and  in  the  fourth,  they  are  carried  down  to  the 
year  1717. 

Vol.   I.   from  A.D.     446  to  a.d.  1265,  pp.  xxxiv.-763. 

„     n.   from  a.d.  1268  to  a.d.  1349,  pp.  752. 

„    m.   from  A.D.  1350  to  a.d.  1545,  pp.  877. 

„    IV.   from  A.D.  1546  to  a.d.  1717,  pp.  806. 
The  following  may  be  considered  as  a  summary  of  their  contents : 

1.  Decrees  of  the  Witenagemot,  relating  to  the  Church. 

2.  Ecclesiastical  Synods,  whether  National,  Provincial,  or  Diocesan. 

3.  Papal  Bulls,  Letters,  and  Rescripts. 

4.  Constitutions  of  Otho  and  Othobon,  legates  to  the  Pope. 

5.  Provincial  Constitutions  of  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and 

York. 
C.  Royal  Grants  and  Charters  relating  to  the  Church. 

7.  Letters,  Canons,  &c.  of  private  Bishops. 

8.  Extracts  from  the  ancient  Monkish  historians. 


2  VARIOUS    SYNODICAL   WORKS — GLOSSARIES. 

Other  works  upon  the  same  subject,  with  which  I  am  acquainted, 
are  far  from  being  complete  :  their  titles,  however,  may  assist  the 
reader  in  his  researches. 

Squires*  Anglo-Saxon  Laws ;  Lambardi  Ap\aLovofiia ;  and  Leges 
Anglo-Saxonicce,  edit.  D.  Wilkins,  are  chiefly  confined  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  period. 

Concilia,  SfC.  in  lie  Ecclesiasticd  Orbis  Britannici,  by  Sir  Henry 
Spelman ;  of  which  only  two  volumes  were  published  in  1639  :  it 
was  to  have  been  completed  in  three. 

Provinciale,  ^c.  auctore  Ghdielmo  Lyndwode.  This  work,  which 
is  a  commentary  on  the  Provincial  Constitutions,  the  reader  wiU 
find  exceedingly  useful. 

Synopsis  Conciliorum,  SfC.  by  Lawrence  Howel,  is  tolerably  ex- 
ecuted till  about  the  end  of  the  12th  century,  after  which  it  becomes 
meagre  and  unsatisfactory. 

Johnson's  Collection  of  English  Ecclesiastical  Laws,  contains  some 
excellent  notes,  of  which  I  have  often  availed  myself  with  acknow- 
ledgment, and  is  decidedly  a  valuable  book,  though  an  imperfect 
one. 

A  collection  of  Ancient  Laws  and  Institutes  of  England  has 
been  published  by  the  Record  Commissioners  within  the  last  few 
years.  The  only  complete  copy  of  Archbishop  Theodore's  Po^ii- 
tential  is  to  be  found  there. 

Bishops  Beveridge  and  Gibson  have  written  upon  this  subject : 
the  foiiner  in  his  Synodicon ;  the  latter  in  his  Codex  Juris  Ecclesice 
Anglicance,  which  is  a  sort  of  digest  of  ecclesiastical  law,  and  will  be 
found  very  useful  when  the  student  desires  to  see  at  one  view  the 
various  canons  which  relate  to  a  particular  subject. 

Sir  James  Ware  published  the  Canons  of  the  Irish  Church ;  and 
the  Leges  Wallicce — the  Canons  of  the  Welch  Church,  have  been 
also  collected  and  published  separately. 

The  following  Glossaries  will  be  found  eminently  useful.  Hickesii 
Thesaurus;  Lhuyd's  Archceologia  Britannica,  (which  comprehends 
Saxon,  Welch,  and  Irish  Dictionaries) ;  Spelmanni  Glossarium ; 
Adelung's  Glossarium,  compiled  from  Carpentarius,  and  Du  Cange. 
There  is  also  an  excellent  Glossary  at  the  end  of  Wilkins'  Leges 
Anglo-Saxonicce ;  and  there  are  several  glossaries  of  Latino-bar- 
barisms in  the  large  quarto  editions  of  Ainsworth's  Latin  Dictionary. 
At  the  end  of  Matthew  Paris'  Historia  Majm-  (edit.  Watts),  T^vys- 
den's  Scriptores  Decern,  and  other  similar  works,  useful  glossaries 
are  also  to  be  found.  But  Du  Cange's  Glossary  with  Carpentarius' 
Supplement,  included  in  ten  volumes  folio,  wiU  of  course  be  prefer- 
red to  any  of  the  above,  whenever  the  student  is  able  to  gain  access 
to  it.  This  Glossary  was  published  in  six  volumes,  A.  D.  1733,  and 
its  supplement  in  four  volumes,  a.d.  17G6. 

The  laws  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  church  were  often  enacted,  not  by 
ecclesiastical  synods,  but  by  the  great  Council  of  the  realm,  in  com- 
mon with  others  of  a  purely  secular  nature ;  it  is  therefore  expedient 


THE    GREAT    COUNCIL    OF    THE    REALM.  li 

that  I  should  give  the  reader  a  brief  outline  of  the  nature  and 
constitution  of 

The  Witenagemot. 

or  Council  of  wise  men,  otherwise  called  "Mycel  Synod"  (or  the 
Great  Council),  and  which  has  been  justly  considered,  as  the  first 
rudiment  of  our  present  legislative  body,  the  Parliament. 

The  Preface  to  the  I/aws  of  Ina,  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  clearly 
points  out  the  various  classes  of  persons  of  Avhom  it  was  composed. 
"  I,  Ina,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  with  the 
advice  and  suggestion  of  Cenred  my  father,  and  Hedda  my  bishop, 
and  with  all  my  aldermen,  and  the  wise  elders  of  my  people,  and 
also  with  a  great  concourse  of  the  servants  of  God — have  decreed, 
&c."*  Here,  besides  the  king  and  his  father,  mention  is  made — 1.  of 
the  Bishops.  2.  Alder^nen,  or  the  governors  of  counties,  afterwards 
called  by  the  Danes,  Earls.  3.  The  Wites,  or  wise  men  of  the 
kingdom.  4.  "  A  great  concourse  of  the  servants  of  God,"  who 
probably  attended  merely  as  spectators. 

Respecting  the  third  of  these  classes, — viz.  the  Wites,  or  wise 
men, — a  great  difference  of  opinion  has  existed  among  antiquaries. 
Some  have  maintained  that  they  were  the  representatives  of  the 
people ;  but  for  this  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  proof,  and  the  opinion 
has  now  I  believe  no  advocates.''  Others  supposed  them  to  have 
been  men  appointed  to  sit  in  the  national  assembly  on  account  of  their 
wisdom.  Hume  and  others  have,  however,  with  a  greater  show  of 
probability,  asserted  that  they  were  lesser  Thanes,  or  considerable 
landed  proprietors,  who  sat  in  the  Witenagemot  without  any  election;*: 
the  members  having  been  almost  always  termed  Principes,  Satrapce, 
Optimates,  Magnates,  Proceres,  ^-c.  terms  evidently  aristocratic.  In 
these  assemblies,  the  bishops  and  abbots,  and  even  abbesses,  sat  by 
virtue  of  their  spiritual  dignity,  and  not  as  temporal  barons :  and 
even  after  the  Conquest,  the  writs  of  summons  were  directed  "electa 
et  confirmato,"  before  the  restitution  of  the  temporalities.  From  the 
reign  of  Edward  I.  to  Edward  IV.  inclusive,  these  writs  were  often 
sent  to  the  guardians  of  the  spiritualities,  during  the  vacancies  of 
bishopricks.  The  writs  of  summons  also  preserve  the  distinction 
between  Prcelati  and  Magnates :  and  whereas  temporal  lords  are 
required  to  appear  "  in  fide  et  ligeantia,"  bishops  are  summoned 
"in fide  et  dilectione."'' 

The  Witenagemot  was  usually  assembled  on  the  three  great  festi- 
vals of  Easter,  Pentecost,  and  Christmas ;  when  the  king  appeared 
in  his  royal  robes,  and  enacted  laws  with  the  consent  of  its  mem- 
bers.* 


«  Wilk.  i.  58.  b  Hallam,  Middle  Ages,  ii.  136,  &c. 

^  Hume's  Hist.  1st  Append. 

<•  Burn's  Eccl.  Law,  voce  Bishop,  i.  217,  &c.  and  Hume's  Ist  Append.  N.i.  175. 
e  Spelm.  i.  347,  529,  534.     Also,  Quart.  Rev.  iune  1626,  pp.  260—268. 

B2 


4  submission  of  the  clergy  to  henry  viii. 

Ecclesiastical  Synods. 

Ecclesiastical  Synods,  whether  national  or  diocesan,  next  claim 
our  attention.  The  former,  as  Doctor  Kennet  has  clearly  proved, 
were  originally  convened  by  the  authority  of  the  Metropolitan,  and 
the  latter  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  in  virtue  of  their  spiritual 
jurisdiction,  nor  was  the  royal  sanction  considered  necessary.'  This 
inherent  power  in  the  Church  was  indeed  recognised  by  all  our 
kings  till  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  when  it  received  its  death-blow, 
about  A.  D.  1534.  In  the  year  1532  it  had  been  proposed  by  the 
king  to  the  Convocation — "  1.  That  no  constitution  or  ordinance 
shall  be  hereafter  by  the  clergy  enacted,  promulged,  or  put  in 
execution,  unless  the  king's  highness  do  approve  the  same  :"  and 
"  2.  That  whereas  divers  of  the  constitutions  which  have  been 
heretofore  enacted  be  not  only  prejudicial  to  the  king's  prerogative, 
but  also  much  onerous  to  his  highness'  subjects,  it  be  committed  to 
the  examination  and  judgment  of  thirty-two  persons, — viz.  sixteen 
of  the  upper  and  lower  house  of  the  temporaUty,  and  sixteen  of  the 
clergy ;  all  to  he  appointed  by  the  king's  highness,  so  that  such  of  the 
said  constitutions  as  deserve  to  be  abrogated  and  annulled  may  be 
of  no  force,  and  that  those  which  stand  with  God's  laws  and  the 
king's  may  stand  in  full  strength  and  power  hy  the  royal  assent  given 
to  the  same."  Two  years  however  elapsed  before  the  clergy  could 
be  prevailed  upon  to  make  an  unconditional  surrender  of  their 
rights.  Then  it  was  provided,  by  their  'Act  of  Submission,' 
(25  Hen.  VIII.) — 1.  "  That  the  convocacions  of  the  same  cleregy 
is,  always  hath  ben,  and  aught  to  be,  assembled  onely  by  the  kingis 
wrytt."  2.  They  promised  in  verbo  sacerdotii,  "  That  they  will 
never  from  hencefurth  put  in  uce  or  enact,  promulge,  or  execute 
any  newe  canons,  &c.  in  the  convocacion,  oneles  the  kingis  most 
roiall  assent  and  licence  may  to  them  be  had."  3.  "  That  whereas 
divers  constitucions,  canons,  &c.  whiche  heretofore  hath  ben  enacted 
be  thought  not  onely  to  be  muche  prejudiciall  to  the  kingis  prero- 
gative roiall,  and  repugnant  to  the  lawes  of  this  realme,  but  alsoe 
overmuche  onerouse  to  his  highnes  and  his  subjects,  the  said  cleregy 
hathe  most  humbly  besought  the  kingis  highnes  that  the  said  con- 
stitucions and  canons  may  be  committed  to  the  examinacion  of  his 
highnes  and  of  xxxij  personnes  of  the  kingis  subjects,  whereof  xvj  be 
of  the  upper  and  nether  hows  of  the  parliament  of  the  temporalitie, 
and  other  xvj  be  of  the  cleregy  of  this  realme,  and  all  the  said  xxxij 
personnes  to  be  chosen  and  appointed  by  the  kingis  majestic,"  that 
they  might  be  abrogated,  modified,  or  confirmed.  This  was  the 
foundation  of  an  act  of  parliament  to  the  same  effect,  with  a  penalty 
of  fine  and  imprisonment  "at  the  kingis  will"  to  "everie  one  of  the 
said  cleregy  doyng  contrary  to  this  act."  "  By  the  same  act  all 
appeals  to  Rome  were  again  condemned."      If  any  party  found 

Kennet,  Ecclesiast.  Synods,  &c. 


CEREMONIES    OBSERVED   AT    COUNCILS.  d 

themselves  aggrieved  in  the  Archbishops'  Courts,  an  appeal  might  be 
made  to  the  king  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  and  the  Lord-chancellor 
was  to  grant  a  commission  under  the  great  seal  for  some  delegates, 
in  whose  determination  all  must  acquiesce.^ 

National  Councils,  Ceremonies,  &c. 

The  following  account  of  the  ceremonies  observed  by  the  Scottish 
bishops  assembled  in  Council,''  taken  from  a  document  dated  a.d. 
1225,  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  the  reader.  "  Let  the  bishops  be 
first  vested  in  their  albes,  amyts,  festal  copes,  mitres,  and  gloves, 
having  their  pastoral  staves  in  their  hands.  The  abbots  in  surplices 
and  copes,  and  such  as  have  the  privilege,  with  mitres.  Let  deans 
and  archdeacons  be  vested  in  surplices,  almuces,  and  copes ;  the 
rest  of  the  clergy  being  in  decent  attire.  Then  let  two  taper- 
bearers  (cei'oferarii),  vested  in  albes  and  amyts,  and  with  burning 
tapers,  walk  before  the  deacon  who  is  to  read  the  Gospel,  '/  am 
the  good  shepherd';  and  he  shall  also  be  attended  by  a  subdeacon. 
And  let  the  said  deacon  entreat  a  blessing  from  the  guardian 
(conservatore),  if  he  be  present,  or  in  his  absence  from  the  senior 
bishop.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  Gospel,  let  the  book  be  kissed  by 
the  guardian  and  by  each  of  the  bishops  (present).  Then  let  the 
guardian  begin  the  hymn  *  Veni  Creator  Spiritus,'  and  at  each  verse 
let  the  altar  be  censed  by  the  bishops.  This  being  concluded, 
let  the  appointed  preacher  begin  his  sermon  at  the  horn  of  the 
altar,  haNing  first  received  a  blessing  from  the  guardian.  The 
sermon  being  ended,  let  those  who  are  cited  to  the  Council  be  called, 
and  let  such  as  are  absent  be  fined."  The  decrees  were  to  be  read 
with  a  loud  voice,  after  which  there  was  pronounced  a  general 
sentence  of  excommunication,  (i.e.  a  sentence  against  all  adulterers, 
all  violators  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Church,  and  so  forth, 
without  specifying  names).  Every  bishop  in  his  turn,  beginning 
with  the  bishop  of  Saint  Andrew's,  was  bound  to  preach  the  sermon 
before  the  Council,  either  in  person  or  by  proxy,  and  at  every 
Council  one  of  the  bishops  was  elected  guardian  of  the  canom  for 
the  following  yeai'.  All  the  bishops  were  obliged  to  continue  at  the 
Council  for  three  days,  should  it  be  necessary. 

In  the  Council  of  London,  a.d.  1309,  "The  Mass  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  first  celebrated  by  the  Bishop  of  Norwich,  after  which 
the  Archbishop  propounded  the  word  of  God  in  Latin,  and  inveighed 
against  the  uncanonical  election  of  bishops.  At  the  conclusion  of 
his  sermon  he  granted  an  indulgence  of  forty  days  to  all  who  were 
present  at  his  discourse,  confessed  and  contrite  ;  and  afterwards 
ex])lained  the  reason  why  the  Council  had  been  assembled."' 

In  the  Council  of  London,  a.d.  1075,  it  was  decreed  that  no 
person  under  the  rank  of  a  bishop  or  an  abbot  should  be  allowed  to 

f  Wilk.  iil.  749,  750,  752—755,  770,  779.   Burnet's  Reform,  folio,  vol.  i.  Book  ii. 
p.  147- 

h  Wilk.  i.  607.  '  Wilk.  ii.  304. 


b  VARIOUS  SYNODICAL  REGULATIONS. 

speak  without  the  express  permission  of  the  Metropolitan  u  and 
indeed  there  is  no  instance  in  which  the  inferior  clergy  concurred 
with  the  bishops  in  ordaining  any  ecclesiastical  matter  before  the 
time  of  Boniface,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.' 

In  England,  as  well  as  everywhere  else,  the  decision  of  the 
Council  was  frequently  biassed  by  the  opinion  of  one  celebrated 
individual ;  as  might  be  proved  by  a  variety  of  examples. 

Before  the  Conquest,  the  synodical  acts  were  first  read  in  Latin, 
and  afterwards  explained  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  dialect ;"'  the  bishops 
then  approached  the  president  according  to  the  order  of  their  con- 
secration, and  confirmed  them  upon  a  cross  held  in  his  hand ;  after 
which  they  subscribed  their  names  to  the  canons,  accompanied  by 
the  sign  of  the  cross :"  seals  being  then  almost  unknown  in 
England. 

Bishops  were  expected  to  carry  with  them  to  their  respective 
dioceses  the  canons  of  Councils  at  wliich  they  had  been  present,  and 
to  enforce  their  observance  within  the  extent  of  their  jurisdiction, 
an  assembly  of  the  clergy  being  convened  for  that  purpose." 

Diocesan  Synods. 

Diocesan  Synods  were  held  twice  a-year,  viz.  one  in  summer  and 
the  other  in  autumn,  and  continued  for  three  days  each  time.  At 
these  all  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  were  expected  to  attend,  on  pain 
of  suspension  from  the  celebration  of  mass  for  a  whole  year.  They 
were  to  be  vested  in  surplices,  or  else  in  albes  and  copes,  and  to 
enter  the  synod  fasting.  At  the  opening  of  the  synod,  they  all 
walked  in  procession,  chanting  the  litany,  a  cross  being  borne 
before  them.  In  the  middle  of  the  place  where  it  was  held,  there 
was  to  be  a  sort  of  desk  or  seat  with  reliques  and  vestments''  upon  it, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  Bible  used  to  be  placed  in  the  middle 
of  the  ancient  Councils." 

To  these  diocesan  synods  every  priest  was  expected  to  bring 
books  and  vestments  for  divine  ministration,  as  well  as  an  acolyth 
and  a  discreet  attendant,  that  the  bishop  might  judge  of  his  capa- 
bility to  celebrate  mass  :  and  he  was  also  to  bring  with  him  three 
days'  provision,  with  ink  and  parchment  for  writing  down  his 
instructions.  He  was  to  give  notice  to  the  synod  of  any  notorious 
evil  livers  in  his  parish ;  also  of  any  sentences  of  excommunication 
which  he  had  pronounced ;  and  to  render  to  the  bishop  an  account 
of  the  fruits  of  his  ministry.  [See  Canons  made  in  King  Edgar's 
reign,  a.  d.  960,  can.  3-6 ;  and  Theodulph's  Capitula,  cap.  iv.  et 
xxviii.  A.D.  994,  &c.] 

"  Wilk.  i.  363.  i  Johns,  ii.  ad  an.  1298,  Note. 

™  Concil.  Cealchythe,  a.d.  785.  "  Ibid.  Postscript  et  cap.  20. 

°  Ibid.  A.D.  816,  cap.  9 ;  et  ConciL  Cloveshovise,  a.d.  747,  cap.  25. 
P  Howel,  Synopsis,  p.  79.  i  Ibid. 

•■  Cabassatii  Notit.  Concil.  cap.  xiv.  p.  72. 


MISCELLANIES   RELATING   TO   SYNODS   .VND   CONVOCATIONS.  7 

In  the  order  for  the  celebration  of  diocesan  synods,  published  by 
Spelman,  Howel,  and  WUkins/  there  is  a  very  obscure  passage 
relating  to  the  laity.  After  the  priests  and  deacons  had  entered 
the  synod,  the  following  direction  occurs  :  "  Exinde  introducantur 
laici  bonse  conversationis,  vel  qui  electione  conjugali  (?)  interesse 
meruerint."  What  this  may  mean  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conjecture. 
Can  it  allude  to  an  election,  by  the  respectable  householders  and 
married  men  in  a  parish,  of  one  or  more  of  their  own  body  to  repre- 
sent them  in  the  synod ;  or  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  assembled 
clergy  ? 

Miscellaneous  Gleanings. 

In  general  Councils  of  the  Western  Church,  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  had  the  precedence  of  all  the  other  archbishops,'  and, 
as  a  mark  of  distinction,  had  a  seat  assigned  to  him  at  the  right  foot 
of  the  supreme  pontiff,  being  "  quasi  alterius  orbis  Papa."» 

In  the  Lateran  Council,  a.d.  1179,  "the  English  bishops  strenu- 
ously maintained  that  it  was  not  customary  for  more  than  four 
English  bishops  to  attend  an  CEcumenieal  Council."'' 

The  convocation  of  the  province  of  York  adopted  the  constitu- 
tions of  the  proAince  of  Canterbury  for  the  first  time  in  the  year 
1462,  in  the  time  of  Archbishop  William  Booth,  when  it  was 
unanimously  determined  that  such  decrees  of  the  province  of  Can- 
terbury as  were  not  prejudicial  to  those  of  York,  should  be  received 
and  incorporated  with  them,  and  for  the  future  be  observed  as 
law.w 

The  earliest  of  our  British  Councils  was  that  of  Verulam,  in  the  ~! 
year  446,  convened  by  Germanus  and  Lupus  in  opposition  to  the 
Pelagian  heresy.  ~" 

Councils  were  exceedingly  rare  in  the  fifth  and  ninth  centuries, 
in  consequence  of  the  ravages  of  the  Picts  and  Scots,  the  Saxons, 
and  subsequently  the  Danes. 

Of  Legatine  Councils,  I  know  of  only  two  instances  before  the 
Conquest :  viz.  that  of  London,  in  the  year  712 ;  and  that  of  Ceal- 
cbythe,  a.d.  785  ;  nor  did  they  prevail  in  England  to  any  extent 
anterior  to  the  reign  of  Henry  III. 

The  struggles  of  many  of  our  kings  against  the  papal  jurisdiction, 
and  their  refusal  to  admit  the  legates  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  into 
their  dominions,  will  be  noticed  in  the  introduction  to  the  next 
chapter. 

Convocations,  their  origin,  fcc." 

"In  ancient  times  the  English  clergy  were  summoned  to  the 
great  Council  of  the  realm  by  a  royal  brief,  directed  to  the  arch- 

»  Wilk.  iv.  784.  »  Barn's  Eccl.  Law,  voce  Bishop,  i.  197. 

"  Foxe's  Acts  and  Monum.  »  Howel,  p.  100. 

"  Wilk.  iii.  580. 

"  Epitomised  from  the  DUsertatio  Epistolaris,  at  the  beginning  of  Wilkins' 
Concilia. 


8  ORIOIX    OF    THE    CONVOCATION. 

bishop  of  the  provmce,   who  notified  the   same    to  his  suffragan 
bishops,  and  tliey  to  their  clergy, 

'•  In  the  year  1282,  King  Edward  I.  impoverished  by  his  expedi- 
tion against  the  Welsh,  by  his  royal  brief,  directed  to  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  commanded  him  to  convoke  his  suffragans,  abbots, 
&c.  with  the  procurators  of  the  several  deans  and  chapters  of  the 
cathedrals,  to  appear  before  the  king  and  his  commissioners  in 
parliament  at  Northampton.  The  majoiity,  however,  considering 
this  a  dangerous  precedent,  absolutely  refused  to  attend ;  but  the 
archbishop  compromised  the  matter  by  assembling  a  provincial 
synod  of  his  suffi-agans  at  a  different  time  and  in  a  different  style,  in 
which  the  question  was  entertained  of  a  grant  to  the  king  out  of  the 
ecclesiastical  revenues. 

"  Thus  began  the  practice  of  convening  the  clergy  by  the  pro- 
vincial summons  of  their  Metropolitan,  till  the  king,  perceivmg  that 
the  papal  authority  alienated  the  minds  of  the  archbishops  from  him, 
so  that  they  would  only  smnmon  and  dismiss  the  clergy  according 
to  his  pleasure,  in  the  23rd  year  of  his  reign  added  to  his  brief  of 
summons  a  premonitory  clause  to  each  bishop,  to  convene  the 
abbots  and  inferior  clergy  of  his  diocese  to  parliament,  to  treat  of 
affjiirs  which  concerned  the  safety  of  his  kingdom.  In  the  reign, 
however,  of  Edward  III.  the  clergy,  perceiving  that  they  were 
summoned  to  parliament  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  grant  sub- 
sidies, absolutely  refused  to  make  any  grants  to  the  king  except  in 
their  provincial  councils ;   which  produced  the  desired  effect. 

"  Originally  the  inferior  clergy  were  represented  by  the  arch- 
deacons of  the  diocese ;  but  afterwards  they  appointed  their  own 
representatives,  two  of  whom  were  to  appear  from  each  diocese  in 
convocation,  and  a  prolocutor  was  chosen,  who  had  the  privilege  of 
freedom  from  arrest." 

I  have  epitomised  the  above  from  the  Dmertatio  Epistolaris  de 
veteri  et  modemd  synodi  Anglicance  Constitutione,  at  the  beginning 
of  Wilkins'  Concilia,  pp.  vii.  ix.  x.  xx.  xxij. 

Hence  it  would  appear,  that  the  convocation  had  a  secular  oi'igin, 
the  clergy  having  been  called  together  by  royal  authority  and  with 
a  view  to  their  taxation  ;  though  in  later  times  it  assumed  a  synodi- 
cal  character,  and  enacted  ecclesiastical  laws.'' 

It  has  been  already  observed,  that  the  act  of  parliament  passed 
A.D.  1534  (25  Hen.  VIII.),  was  a  death-blow  to  the  legislative 
power  of  the  clergy  m  matters  spiritual,  and  from  that  time  the 
convocation  has  been  but  "tJie  shadow  of  a  shade";  a  periodical 
mockery  to  which  the  Church  prudently  submits,  in  the  hope  that 
she  may  hereafter  recover  the  substance  of  her  rights. 

A  very  mild  and  temperate  expostulation  was  addressed  by  the 
clergy  to  the  king  before  this  fatal  and  tyrannical  enactment  was 
carried  into  effect : — "  That  we  your  most  humble  servants  may  not 
submit  the  execution  of  our  charges  and  duty,  certainly  prescribed 

>  Ex.  Gr.  Wilk.  iii.  351. 


EXPOSTULATION  OF  THE  CLERGY  TO  THE  KING.         9 

by  God,  to  your  highness'  assent,  although  in  very  deed  the  same  is 
most  worthy  for  your  most  princely  and  excellent  virtues  ;  nor  doth 
the  granting  thereof  depend  on  our  will  and  liberty." 

In  reply  to  the  supplication  of  the  commons,  in  1532  they  con- 
ceded that,  in  consequence  of  the  king's  piety,  wisdom,  and  learning, 
— "  During  your  highness'  natural  life  we  shall  forbear  to  enact  any 
constitution  or  ordinance  unless  your  highness,  by  your  royal  assent, 
shall  license  us  so  to  do,  and  unless  the  same  so  made  shall  be 
approved  by  your  highness'  authority.  And,  secondly,  we  are  con- 
tent to  submit  all  and  singular  of  the  said  constitutions  to  your 
grace  only;  and  whichsoever  of  the  same  shall  be  finally  found  by 
your  grace  prejudicial  or  overmuch  onerous,  we  offer  and  promise 
your  highness  to  moderate,  or  utterly  to  abrogate  and  annul,  the 
same."  This  is  immediately  followed  by  a  sort  of  protest  or  declara- 
tion :  "  That  the  prelates  of  the  same  church  have  a  spiritual 
jurisdiction  and  judicial  power  to  rule  and  govern  in  faith  and  good 
manners,  necessary  to  the  souls'  health  of  their  flocks  unto  their  cure 
committed  ;  and  that  they  have  authority  to  make  and  ordain  rules 
and  laws  tending  to  that  purpose,  which  rules  and  laws  hath  and 
doth  take  their  effect  in  binding  all  Christian  people :  so  that, 
before  God,  there  needeth  not  of  necessity  any  temporal  power  or 
consent  to  concur  with  the  same  by  way  of  authority."^ 

As  an  appropriate  conclusion,  I  shall  refer  the  reader  to  a  letter 
of  King  Henry  VIII.  A.  D.  1534,  for  the  observance  of  the  Reformed 
ecclesiastical  laws,  and  abrogating  totally  all  laws  and  edicts  of  the 
Popes  formerly  observed  in  this  realm  of  England.* 

«  Wilk.  torn,  iii,  pp.  750,  752,  753.  »  Wilk.  iii.  779. 


(    10    ) 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON   THE   ORIGIN,    PROGRESS,    AND   DECLINE   OF   THE   PAPAL 
AUTHORITY   IN   ENGLAND. 


§.  I. — On  the  origin  of  the  Papal  authority  in  England. 

When  we  reflect  that  Augustine,  the  Apostle  of  the  EngKsh,  was 
an  emissary  of  the  Pope,  it  will  not  appear  surprising  that  our 
Anglo-Saxon  ancestors  should  have  considered  the  Roman  as  their 
mother-church,  or  that  they  should  have  contemplated  with  the 
profoundest  veneration  the  source  from  which  their  Christianity 
was  derived.  But,  independently  of  this  general  motive  to  respect, 
it  will  not  be  denied,  that  in  the  seventh  century,  the  date  of  our 
conversion,  the  Church  of  Rome  was  looked  upon  as  the  centre  of 
Catholic  unity,  and  the  Pope  as  the  successor  of  S.  Peter,  who  is 
called  by  Bede  "  Princeps  Apostolomm."^  Those,  however,  who 
are  acquainted  with  ecclesiastical  history,  -vvill  recognise  a  vast 
difference  between  the  claims  of  a  Gregory  and  a  Hildebrand ;  as 
evidently  appears  from  Gregory's  letter  to  Eulogius,  Bishop  of 
Alexandria,  which  may  be  seen  near  the  beginning  of  the  chapter. 
What  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church  held  respecting  the  primacy  of 
S.  Peter,  is  clearly  ascertained  by  the  following  extract,  taken 
from  the  homUy,  In  Natale  unius  Apostoli."  "  The  Lord  said  unto 
Peter,  Thou  art  stony,  for  the  strength  of  his  belief,  and  for  the 
stedfastness  of  his  confession.  He  took  upon  him  that  name 
because  he  submitted  himself  to  Christ  with  a  constant  mind ;  to 
Christ,  who  is  called  'the  stone'  by  S.  Paul — I  mill  build  my 
church  upon  this  stone,  i.  e.  upon  the  belief  which  thou  confessest. 
AU  God's  church  is  built  upon  this  stone,  i.  e.  upon  Christ ;  for  he  is 
the  ground-wall  and  foundation  of  all  the  buUding  of  his  own 
church."  Also  in  the  Sermo  Catholicus  de  Sancto  Petro,  we  read, 
"  Christ  is  called  Petra,  i.  e.  stone,  and  from  that  name  all  Christian 
folk  are  called  Petrus.  Christ  said.  Thou  art  stony,  and  upon  this 
stone,  i.  e.  upon  the  belief  which  thou  confessest,  /  build  my  Church. 
Over  me  I  build  thee,  not  me  over  thee.  I  am  the  strength  that 
shall  support  thee  and  all  the  building  of  the  Christian  Church." 

b  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  v.  &  vi. 

«  Elstob'a  Anglo-Saxon  Homily,  Pref.  pp.  xxxvii.  &  xli. 


VAKI0U8  EXTORTIONS  OP  THE  POPE,  11 

For  the  influence  possessed  by  the  see  of  Rome  in  the  middle 
ages,  it  is  not  very  difficult  to  account.  Monarchs  were  naturally 
anxious  to  conciliate  a  potentate  who  could  by  his  fiat  absolve  the 
subject  from  his  allegiance,  or  expose  the  kingdom  to  all  the  horrors 
of  an  Interdict.^  The  clergy  were  alternately  allured  by  his  almost 
boundless  patronage,  or  awed  into  obedience  by  the  dread  of  eccle- 
siastical censures.  Such  as  proved  refractory  were  frequently  sus- 
pended or  deprived ;  and  in  the  course  of  Chapter  iii.  §.  1,  the 
reader  wiU  find  an  account  of  the  translation  of  Archbishop  Arundel 
from  Canterbury  to  the  poor  see  of  S.  Andrew's!*  The  oath  of 
canonical  obedience,  which  bishops  and  abbots  took  at  the  time  of 
their  consecration,  bound  them  more  firmly  to  the  Pope  than  ever 
vassal  had  been  to  his  feudal  lord  r^  and  the  pall  must  also  be  con- 
sidered as  a  badge  of  slavery,  and  an  instrument  of  papal  despotism. 
It  is  true  that  it  was  looked  upon  as  a  mark  of  distinction ; 
but  the  slavery  is  not  the  less  real  because  the  chain  happens  to  be 
made  of  gold. 

§.  II. — On  the  abuses  to  which  the  Pajp<A  autluyrity  gave  rise. 

1.  Among  the  most  glaring  of  these  abuses,  was  the  system  of 
extortion  pursued  in  this  country  by  the  Pope.  Not  contented 
with  the  regular  payment  of  the  Romescot,  or  the  annual  tribute  of 
1000  marks  granted  by  King  John,  he  never  neglected  any  oppor- 
tunity of  enlarging  his  revenues  at  our  expense.  Thus,  for  ex- 
ample, Annaies,  or  the  first  year's  income  of  a  vacant  diocese  or 
living,  were  exacted  from  all  whom  the  Pope  appointed  by  Provision 
or  Reservation.^  The  sum  paid  by  metropolitans  for  the  pall  was 
most  exorbitant;  so  much  so,  that  Kanute,  during  his  visit  to 
Rome,  made  a  formal  complaint  of  it.''  The  twelve  French  arch- 
bishops paid  for  their  palls  60,300  pieces  of  gold  (aureorum),  and 
the  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  30,000  pieces  of  gold!'  The  pall  was 
a  vestment  made  of  white  wool,  with  crosses  worked  upon  it,  and 
still  forms  a  part  of  the  armorial  bearings  of  the  sees  of  Canterbury, 
Armagh,  &c.''  Privileges,  dispensations,  indulgences,  &c.,  were 
also  considerable  sources  of  emolument  to  the  Pope.  Very  fre- 
quently, especially  in  the  reign  of  Henry  III.,  he  demanded  of  the 
clergy  a  clear  tenth  of  their  income ;'  and,  on  one  occasion,  levied 
in  England  to  the  amount  of  80,000  marks, — thought  equivalent  to 
the  entire  specie  of  the  kingdom .'"' 

2.  Papal  Provision  was  in  the  middle  ages  carried  to  such  an 
extent,  that  some  of  the  richest  pieces  of  preferment  were  possessed 

A  See  in  this  chap.  W\\k.  i.  526,  and  N.  «  Wilk.  iii.  246. 

f  See  in  this  chap.  Wilk.  i.  633,  and  N. 

(r  Polydore  Vergil  de  Invent.  &c.  lib.  viii.  c.  2. 

•>  See  in  this  chap.  Wilk.  i.  297. 

<  Sleidani  Com.  edit.  Badii,  1559,  pp.  205,  377- 

k  See  the  Frontispiece.  '  In  this  chap.  Wilk.  i.  620,  622. 

■"  Smollett's  Hist.  ii.  283,  &c. 


12  OUR  kings'  struggle  against  the  papal  yoke. 

by  foreigners  and  non-residents,  to  the  obvious  detriment  of  the 
patrons  whose  rights  were  unjustly  usurped,  of  the  English  clergy, 
and  the  people  generally.  There  will  be  found  in  the  course  of 
my  work  several  instances  of  the  appointment  of  bishops,  and  even 
archbishops,  by  the  Pope,  without  any  canonical  election." 

3.  Appeals  from  the  decision  of  the  Metropohtan  to  a  foreign 
jurisdiction,  too  distant  to  be  well  acquainted  with  the  circvmi- 
stances  of  the  case,  and  too  avaricious  to  refuse  a  bribe,  were 
utterly  subversive  of  ecclesiastical  discipline." 

4.  The  legatine  power,  which  sometimes  placed  a  deacon  or 
a  subdeacon  above  an  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,^  was  also  a 
manifest  encroachment  upon  the  rights  of  metropolitans. 

5.  Sometimes  the  Pope  granted  to  monasteries  bulls  of  exemption 
from  episcopal  jurisdiction;*'  or  freed  a  suffragan  from  the  authority 
of  his  archbishop.''  His  jjower  was  vexatiously  exercised  on  one  occa- 
sion, by  despoiling  the  province  of  Canterbury,  in  order  to  erect  the 
see  of  Lichfield  into  an  archbishopric:*  so  that  the  clergy  have  no 
reason  to  complain  of  having  lost  any  real  power  by  the  Reformation. 

Many  secular  complaints  of  the  extortions  and  usurpations  of  the 
see  of  Rome,  will  be  found  in  the  histories  of  Matthew  Paris, 
Walsingham,  &c. .    See  also  Reynolds'  Dissertation. 

§.  III. — The  resistance  of  our  Kings  to  the  Pope's  authority. 

1.  The  opposition  of  the  British  bishops  to  Augustine,  the  Pope's 
legate;'  the  celebrated  controversy  respecting  Easter  and  the 
Tonsure,  in  which  the  Britons,  Irish,  and  Piets  maintained  their 
own  traditions  against  those  of  the  Church  of  Rome ;"  and  the 
spirit  of  independence  exhibited  by  Alfrid,  King  of  Northumbria, 
and  by  Archbishop  Theodore,  in  the  case  of  Wilfrid,*  will  be  men- 
tioned in  regular  chronological  order. 

2.  Of  William  the  Conqueror  it  was  said  by  Ralph  Higden,  that 
"  he  governed  all  things,  whether  ecclesiastical  or  secular,  according 
to  his  will ;  he  would  admit  no  person  into  his  territories  in  the 
Pope's  behalf,  unless  such  was  his  pleasure ;  he  would  suffer  no 
council  to  be  assembled  in  his  dominions  without  his  consent,  or 
any  thing  to  be  defined  there  unless  through  his  dictation.""  When 
the  legate  of  Pope  Gregory  VII.  demanded  that  he  should  do 
homage  to  the  Apostolic  see,  his  answer  was — "  I  have  been  un- 
willing to  do  fealty  to  you  hitherto,  and  w^ill  not  do  it  now; 
because  I  have  never  promised  it :  nor  do  I  find  that  any  of  my 
predecessors  performed  it  to  any  of  yours.""      And  we  find  the 

"  See  in  this  chap.  Wilk.  ii.  424. 

0  See  in  this  chap.  Wilk.  ii.  259,  N.  P  Ibid.  Wilk.  i.  315,  N. 

1  Ibid.  Wilk.  ii.  259.  "■  Ibid.  Wilk.  ii.  275. 

"  Chap.  iii.  §.  1  ;  Wilk.  i.  152.  '  In  this  chap.  Wilk.  i.  24,  25. 

«  Ibid.  Wilk   i.  37,  75.  v  ibid.  Wilk.  i.  44,  55,  N. 

"  Usser.  de  Success.  Eccl.  c.  vii.  p.  94. 
*  Ibid.  c.  vii.  p.  93. 


DESPICABLE    SUBMISSION    OF   JOHN    AND    HENRY    III.  13 

same  Pope  complaining  of  him  in  the  following  terms :  "  The  holy 
Roman  Church  has  many  just  grounds  of  complaint  against  him. 
For  no  king,  although  he  were  a  pagan,  hath  presumed  to  attempt 
against  the  Apostolic  see  what  he  hath  done ;  by  irreverently  and 
impudently  prohibiting  bishops  and  archbishops  from  visiting  the 
thresholds  of  the  Apostles."^ 

3.  In  a  letter  to  Pope  Urban,  Archbishop  Anselm  thus  speaks  of 
William  II.  "  The  king  desireth  of  me  that  I  should  consent  to  his 
pleasures,  which  are  against  the  law  of  God ;  for  he  would  not  have 
the  Pope  received  or  appealed  to  in  England  without  his  command- 
ment, neither  that  I  should  receive  a  letter  from  him,  or  obey  his 
decrees.  He  suffered  not  a  council  to  be  kept  in  his  realm  now 
these  thirteen  years  since  he  was  king."* 

4.  According  to  Eadmer,  Henry  I.  obtained  from  Pope  Calixtus 
the  same  privileges  which  his  father  had  enjoyed  in  England  and 
Normandy,  "  and  especially  that  no  person  should  be  permitted  to 
exercise  the  legatine  office  in  England,  unless  at  his  own  express 
desire."*  At  the  beginning  of  this  reign,  the  Pope  had  sent  Guy, 
Archbishop  of  Vienna,  in  quality  of  legate,  with  a  power  extending 
over  the  whole  island ;  but  the  English  clergy,  looking  upon  this 
envoy  as  an  encroacher  upon  their  privileges,  remonstrated  in  such 
a  manner,  that  the  king  would  not  allow  the  legate  to  exercise  his 
authority  in  England.  And  on  another  occasion,  when  the  Abbot 
Anselm,  nephew  to  the  primate,  was  appointed  papal  nuncio  to 
England,  Henry  consulted  his  bishops,  who  unanimously  declared 
this  legation  to  be  contrary  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
Anglican  Church. 

5.  During  the  banishment  of  Thomas-k-Becket,  King  Henry  II. 
prohibited  all  appeals  to  Rome,  the  payment  of  Peter's  Pence,  &c., 
and  said  to  two  of  the  cardinals,  "  By  the  eyes  of  God,  I  neither 
regard  you  nor  your  excommunications,  any  more  than  I  do  an 

6.  In  the  reign  of  Richard  I.,  a.d.  1189,  the  Cardinal  Anagni 
was  sent  as  legate  by  the  Pope  to  adjust  a  misunderstanding 
between  the  archbishop  and  the  monks  of  Canterbury :  but  the 
king  forbad  him,  by  a  mandate,  to  proceed  farther  than  Dover 
without  his  express  order.  Yet,  when  Richard  had  effected  an 
accommodation,  he  invited  the  legate  to  Canterbury. 

7.  When  he  was  threatened  with  an  interdict  for  his  contumacy 
in  refusing  to  admit  Stephen  Langton  to  the  see  of  Canterbury, 
King  John,  in  a  violent  rage,  swore  by  God's  teeth,  that  if  the 
Pope  dared  to  attempt  any  thing  of  the  kind,  he  would  immediately 
send  to  him  all  the  prelates  and  clergy  of  England,  and  confiscate 
all  their  eflects.     The  actual  fiilmination  of  the  sentence,  however, 

y  In  this  chap.  Wilk.  i.  93. 

»  Foxe's  Acts  and  Monum.  i.  21 1.     See  also  in  this  chap.  Wilk.  i.  371. 

»  Usser.  de  Success.  Eccl.  c.  vii.  p.  95. 

■>  In  this  chap.  Wilk.  i.  445. 


14  DYING  WORDS  OF  THE  EARL   OF   LINCOLN. 

marvellously  altered  his  tone.  The  history  of  this  interdict,  and  the 
base  submission  of  King  John  before  Pandulph  the  legate,  may 
be  seen  in  this  chapter.' 

8.  During  the  long  reign  of  Henry  III.  the  Church  of  England 
suffered  grievously  from  the  manifold  extortions  of  the  Pope ;  and 
that  weak,  vacillating  monarch,  instead  of  protecting  his  subjects, 
(to  adopt  the  words  of  Matthew  Paris),  "  made  himself  such  a  slave 
to  the  will  of  the  Roman  legato,  that  he  appeared  to  worship  his 
very  footsteps ;  affirming  both  in  public  and  private,  that  he  could 
neither  alter,  alienate,  nor  dispose  of  any  thing  without  the  consent 
of  his  lord  the  Pope,  so  that  he  could  not  be  called  a  king,  but  the 
Pope's  vassal:"  nevertheless,  so  insatiable  was  the  avarice  of  the 
pontiff,  that  even  he  was  occasionally  roused  to  active  ojjposition. 
Thus  for  example,  in  1244,  when  a  new  extortioner  came  to  England, 
armed  with  extraordinary  powers  of  excommunication  and  suspen- 
sion, the  king  interposed  his  prohibition ;  and  in  1244,  he  not  only 
commanded  the  ports  to  be  closed  agaisnt  the  nuncios  of  the  Pope, 
but  that  any  man  presuming  to  levy  contributions  on  the  authority 
of  his  bulls  should  be  seized  upon  and  imprisoned.  In  this  reign 
Grostete,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  vigorously  and  successfully  opj)osed 
the  system  of  papal  provision  in  his  diocese ;  absolutely  refusing  to 
collate  foreigners  to  benefices  upon  the  Pope's  presentation :  and 
when  a  tlu-eatening  brief  was  sent  to  him  from  Rome,  ho  is  said 
to  have  torn  it  and  trampled  it  underfoot.** 

9.  In  the  reign  of  his  son,  Edward  I.,  there  were  many  com- 
plaints against  the  system  of  " provision"  &c  ;  but  though  the 
clergy  were  heavily  taxed,  these  subsidies  were  in  most  instances 
granted  to  the  king,  to  assist  him  in  the  wars  which  he  carried 
on  against  Scotland  and  Wales.  The  king  on  one  occasion  very 
properly  fined  William  de  Gaynesburgh  (elect  of  Worcester)  a 
thousand  marks  for  having  procured  a  bull,  investing  him  with  the 
spirituals  and  temporals  of  the  diocese,  contrary  to  his  crown  and 
dignity.'' 

10.  A.D.  1312,  we  find  the  Earl  of  Lincoln  in  his  dying  moments 
complaining  that — "  the  Church  of  England,  once  honourable  and 
free,  is  now,  alas,  enslaved  by  the  oppressions  of  Rome :  the  people 
impoverished  by  taxes,  and  from  a  free  condition  reduced  into  a 
state  of  servitude ;  and  the  nobility  degraded  by  aliens."  In  the 
same  year  two  papal  nuncios  came  to  the  island ;  but  although  the 
barons  received  them  hospitably,  they  positively  refused  to  admit 
the  papal  bulls  of  which  they  were  the  bearers,  maintaining  that 
they  had  "in  the  kingdom  pious  and  learned  bishops,  by  whose 
counsel  they  would  be  guided,  and  not  by  that  of  strangers."  And 
when,  in  1320,  John  de  Kendal,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  died,  the 
monks,  instead  of  allowing  the  reservation  of  the  Pope,  proceeded  to 

=   Wilk,  i.  526. 

<>  See  in  this  chapter,  Wilk.  i.  664,  678,  679,  684,  686,  697,  700,  709. 

e  See  in  this  chapter,  Wilk.  ii.  64,  67,  78,  88,  234,  259,  &c.  266. 


Peter's  pence — the  statutes  of  provisors  and  praemunire.    15 

elect  one  of  their  own  brethren  to  the  vacant  see.  Their  strength 
was  not,  however,  equal  to  their  spirit:  the  election  was  quashed, 
and  after  some  difficulty  Rigandus,  one  of  the  Pope's  chaplains, 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Winchester.^ 

11.  In  the  year  1365,  the  Pope  renewed  his  claim  to  the  tribute 
of  a  thousand  marks,  the  payment  of  which  had  been  discontinued 
for  thirty-three  years ;  but  King  Edward  III.  appealed  to  his  Par- 
liament, and  they  returned  the  following  answer  :  "  Forasmuch  as 
neither  King  John  nor  any  other  king  could  bring  the  realm  and 
kingdom  into  such  thraldom  and  subjection  but  by  common  consent 
of  Parliament,  the  which  was  not  done ;  therefore  that  which  he  did 
was  against  liis  oath  at  his  coronation.  If,  therefore,  the  Pope 
should  attempt  any  thing  against  the  king,  by  process  or  other 
matters  in  deed,  the  king  and  all  his  subjects  should,  with  all  their 
force  and  power,  resist  the  same."  In  1376,  the  Good  Parliament, 
as  it  was  called,  thus  remonstrated  against  the  extortions  of  the 
Pope :  "  That  the  tax  paid  to  the  Pope  for  ecclesiastical  dignities 
doth  amount  to  fivefold  as  much  as  the  tax  of  all  the  profits  wliich 
pertain  unto  the  king  by  the  year  of  the  whole  realm ;  and  for  one 
bishoprick,  the  Pope,  by  way  of  translation  and  death,  hath  three, 
four,  or  five  several  taxes.  That  there  is  none  so  rich  a  prince  in 
Christendom  that  hath  the  fourth  part  of  so  much  treasure  as  the 
Pope  hath  out  of  this  realm — for  churches — most  sinfully.  That 
the  collector,  being  also  a  receiver  of  Peter's  Pence,  keepeth  an 
house  in  London,  with  clerks  and  officers,  as  if  it  were  one  of  the 
king's  solemn  courts,  sending  yearly  to  the  Pope  twenty  thousand 
marks,  and  most  commonly  more.  That  cardinals  and  other  aliens, 
remaining  at  the  court  of  Rome,  have  divers  the  best  dignities 
in  England,  and  have  sent  over  to  them  twenty  thousand  marks," 
&c.  And  the  next  year  they  petitioned  the  king  that  Provisors 
may  be  put  out  of  his  protection,  and  that  remedies  might  be 
provided  against  other  abuses.  20,000  marks  in  this  reign  must 
have  equalled  above  £156,000  of  our  present  currency  :  £312,000 
must  have  been,  therefore,  the  annual  amount  of  papal  extortion !  ^ 

12.  The  first  Parliament  of  Richard  II.,  in  1377,  complained  of 
the  number  of  English  benefices  held  by  foreigners,  and  prayed 
that  the  collection  of  first-fi-uits  and  papal  provisions  within  this 
realm  might  be  punished  with  outlawry.  Accordingly  (by  statutes 
2  Ric.  II.  c.  15,  and  7  Ric.  II.  c.  12,)  it  was  enacted— 1.  "  That 
no  alien  should  be  capable  of  letting  his  benefice  to  farm ;"  and 
2.  "  That  no  alien  should  be  presented  to  any  ecclesiastical  prefer- 
ment." The  statute  of  Provisors  (or  12  Ric.  II.  c.  15,)  enacts, 
"  That  all  liege  men  of  the  king  accepting  a  living  by  any  foreign 
provision  are  put  out  of  the  king's  protection,  and  the  benefice 
declared   void:"   to  which  13  Ric.  II.  Stat.  2,  c.  2  and  3,  adds 

•■  See  also  in  this  chapter,  Wilk.  ii.  289,  322. 

«  See  in  this  chapter  Wilk.  ii.  584,  715,  726  ;  also  ill.  7,  97,  (two  extracts  from 
the  same  page,)  107. 


16  OUR   KINGS   RESIST   THE   EXTORTIONS   OF    THE    POPE. 

"  banishment  and  forfeiture  to  the  person  so  presented ;  and  im- 
prisonment, forfeiture,  and  pain  of  life  and  member,  to  any  person 
bringing  over  any  citation  or  excommunication  from  beyond  sea  on 
account  of  the  execution  of  the  foregoing  statute."  The  statute  of 
Pr,«munire  (or  16  Ric.  II.  c.  5,)  enacts — "  That  whosoever  shall 
procure  at  Rome  or  elsewhere  any  translations,  processes,  excom- 
munications, bulls,  instruments,  or  other  things  which  touch  the 
king,  against  him,  his  crown,  and  realm,  shall  be  put  out  of  the 
king's  protection,  their  lands  and  goods  forfeited  to  the  king's  use, 
and  they  shall  be  attached  to  answer  for  the  same." 

About  1382,  Urban  VI.  and  Clement  VII.  being  both  elected  to 
the  papacy  by  different  factions  of  cardinals,  the  English  declared 
in  favour  of  the  former,  while  the  French  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
latter. 

In  1388,  the  king  obliged  the  Pope's  collector  to  take  an  oath 
that  he  would  be  true  to  the  king ;  that  he  would  do  nothing 
detrimental  to  the  royal  prerogative  or  the  laws  of  the  kingdom ; 
and  that  he  would  not  publish  any  letters  from  the  Pope,  or  export 
money  or  plate  from  the  kingdom,  without  the  royal  licence :  and 
when,  in  1399,  the  Pope  conferred  the  see  of  Lincoln  upon  the 
celebrated  Henry  Beaufort,  Richard  assembled  the  clergy,  and 
demanded  whether  or  not  the  Pope  had  power  to  create  or  translate 
bishops  in  England.  They  did  not  directly  answer  the  question, 
but  suggested  a  remonstrance  to  the  Pope. 

A  royal  prohibition  against  papal  exactions  may  be  seen  in  this 
chapter.'' 

13.  From  the  precarious  tenure  of  his  crown,  Henry  IV.  was 
too  anxious  to  conciliate  foreign  powers  to  take  any  active  part  in 
opposition  to  the  Pope ;  and  a  schism  which  occurred  in  the  papacy, 
about  1406,  operated  as  a  salutary  check  upon  the  extortions  and 
usurpations  of  the  Apostolic  see.  The  three  claimants,  Benedict 
XIII.,  Gregory  XII.,  and  Alexander  V.,  being  each  desirous  to 
secure  the  support  of  the  English  hierarchy,  carefully  avoided 
giving  them  any  cause  of  complaint,  and  the  Church  enjoyed  a 
degree  of  repose  to  which  she  had  been  long  a  stranger.  But 
in  1401,  before  the  schism,  it  had  been  enacted  by  Parliament, 
"  That  no  person,  under  colour  of  bulls  of  exemption  purchased 
from  the  Pope,  shoidd  trouble  or  disturb  any  prebendaries,  vicars, 
&c.  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  tithes  due  to  them  in  their  several 
benefices ;  and  that  no  licence  granted  upon  proxision  to  any  bene- 
fice not  yet  vacant,   should  be  valid  or  available."' 

14.  Archbishop  Chicheley,  in  his  first  convocation,  moved  for 
annulling  papal  exemptions.  He  opposed  the  great  power  with 
which  the  Pope  had  invested  the  Cardinal  Bishop  of  England,  and 
presented  to  King  Henry  V.  a  fuU  declaration  of  the  nature,  the 
extent,  and  the  mischievous  results  of  the  legatine  ofiice ;  but  the 

»>  Wak.  iii.  207,  A.d.  1389.  *  See  in  this  chapter,  Wilk.  iii.  284,  &c. 


OUR   KINGS   RESIST   THE    EXTORTIONS   OF   THE    POPE.  17 

king  protected  him  from  the  vengeance  of  the  Pope.  In  1414, 
the  University  of  Oxford  presented  to  King  Henry  V.  articles  for 
the  reformation  of  the  Church;  and  in  1419,  Pope  Martin  V. 
granted  a  concordat  for  the  reformation  of  the  Church  of  England.'' 

lo.  King  Henry  VI.  received  a  consecrated  rose  from  the  Pope 
in  the  year  1452,  accompanied  by  a  demand  from  the  clergy  of  a 
tenth  of  their  revenues ;  but  his  request  was  denied,  and  the  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  was  prohibited  from  executing  the  Pope's 
bull,  or  suffering  anj^  money  to  be  collected :  and  in  a  subsequent 
convocation  the  Pope's  agent  was  equally  unsuccessful.  In  this 
reign  the  Commons  petitioned  that  no  foreigner  should  be  capable 
of  holding  church  preferment ;  and  that  the  patron  might  be 
allowed  to  present  anew  upon  the  non-residence  of  any  incumbent ; 
but  the  king  eluded  these  petitions.  Pope  Martin  wrote  him  a 
severe  letter  against  the  statute  of  Provisions,  which  he  terms  an 
abominable  statute :  his  words  are  as  follows — "  Ut  tam  execrabile 
statutum  penitus  tollatur,  quod  si  feceris  salvabis  primum  tuam, 
turn  vero  mvltorum  animas."  (Burnet's  Hist.  Ref.,  vol.  1.,  Records, 
No.  28.)  How  the  appointment  of  foreigners,  ignorant  of  the 
language,  and  constantly  residing  abroad,  to  the  richest  benefices 
in  the  kingdom,  was  conducive  to  the  salvation  of  souls,  is  a  question 
which  I  must  leave  to  the  reader's  ingenuity  to  solve.  '^  Davus 
sum  non  (Edipus .'"  During  this  reign  the  Cardinal  of  Winchester 
held  the  office  of  legate  a  latere;  and  the  Parliament,  becoming 
jealous  of  his  extending  the  papal  power,  insisted  that  he  should 
absent  himself  from  all  councils  of  the  king  in  which  any  questions 
were  debated  connected  with  the  see  of  Rome. 

(See  in  this  chapter,  Wilk.  iii.  471,  551,  552.) 

During  the  four  following  reigns,  those  of  Edward  IV.,  Ed- 
ward v.,  Richard  III.,  and  Henry  VII.,  I  have  failed  to  discover 
any  traces  of  papal  oppression  upon  the  one  hand,  or  of  opposition 
upon  the  other :  probably  there  was  no  ground  of  complaint,  and 
therefore  no  complaint.  These  four  reigns  were,  however,  of  short 
duration — about  twenty-eight  years  altogether :  and  that  which 
followed  was  fatal  to  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope  in  this  realm 
of  England.  The  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  is  spread  over  about 
230  folio  pages  in  Wilkins'  third  volume,  opposition  to  the  Pope's 
authority  and  jurisdiction  being  the  most  prominent  subject.  As 
it  is  too  copious  for  epitome,  I  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  latter 
part  of  this  chapter,  beginning  at  Wilk.  ill.  707. 

The  above  historical  outline  has  been  for  the  most  part  compiled 
from  authentic  sources,  such  as  Eadmer,  Malmsbury,  Newbury, 
Hoveden,  Matthew  Paris,  and  Walsingham ;  though,  for  want  of 
better  authorities  within  my  reach,  I  have  occasionally  made  use  of 
Hume  and  Smollett's  Histories,  Le  Bas,  &c. 

^  See  in  this  chapter,  Wilk.  iii.  36l,  391. 


18  SOME    LETTERS    OF    POPE    GREGORT    THE    GREAT. 

Concilia  Magn^  BRiTANNiiE,  &c.     Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  I. 

WiLK.  i.  6.    Canons  of  St.  Patrick  made  in  Ireland,  a.d.  456. 

Can.  6.  If  any  questions  should  arise  in  this  island,  let  them  be 
referred  to  the  apostolic  see. 

Ibid.  p.  9,  &c.  Some  account  of  those  letters  of  Gregory  the  Great 
which  relate  to  Britain. 

I.  The  first  is  addressed  to  the  Irish  bishops  on  the  subject  of 
the  Three  Cliapters,  which  had  been  condemned  in  the  fifth  general 
council  A,D.  552.  By  this  title  wore  distinguished  some  writings  of 
Theodore  of  Mopsuesta,  Ibas  of  Edessa,  and  Theodoret  of  Cyrus, 
supposed  to  favour  the  Nestorian  heresy.  This  letter  was  written 
about  A.D.  592,  to  correct  an  erroneous  impression  of  the  Irish 
bishops  respecting  that  council,  by  assuring  them  that  nothing  had 
been  decreed  in  it  contrary  to  the  faith ;  and  he  thus  invites  them 
back  to  the  unity  of  the  church, — "  Let  therefore  the  purity  of 
(her)  faith  at  length  renew  your  aftection  towards  the  mother  who 
hath  borne  you ;  let  no  perverseness  of  mind  {animorum  intentio) 
separate  you  from  her  unity,  nor  any  persuasion  allure  you  from 
the  right  course." 

n.  An  exhortation  to  Augustine  and  his  companions  to  per- 
severe in  the  conversion  of  the  English.  It  contains  nothing  remark- 
able but  the  date ;  in  which  he  calls  the  emperor,  "  Domino  nostro." 
He  wrote  this  letter  a.d.  596. 

The  following  are  from  Spelman,  i.  69,  &c. 

ni.    The  third  is  addressed,    "  To  the  most  reverend  and  holy 
our  brother  and  fellow  bishop  Etherius,"  the  bishop  of  Aries. 
VII.  Yin.  &c.    St.  Peter  is  called,  Princeps  Apostolorum. 

XIII.  Addressed  to  Eulogius,  bishop  of  Alexandria ;  in  which 
he  rebukes  him  for  having  given  him  "  proud  titles  which  spring 
from  the  root  of  vanity :  employing  the  expression,  as  you  have 
commanded;  which  word  command,  I  entreat  you  not  to  let  me  hear 
again ;  for  I  know  what  I  am,  and  what  you  are.  In  situation,  ye 
are  my  brethren;  in  piety,  my  fathers:  I  (Ud  not  therefore  commatid, 

but  I  admonished  you  of  that  which  is  useful And  lo!    in 

your  letter  directed  to  me,  who  have  fm-bidden  any  thing  of  the  kind, 
you  have  given  me  the  proud  title  of  universal  pope,  which  I 
beseech  your  holiness  not  to  do  again :  for  ye  dishonoiu*  your- 
selves, by  ascribing  to  another  greater  dignity  than  reason  requires. 
I  do  not  desire  to  be  exalted  by  titles,  but  by  virtue :  nor  indeed 
do  I  consider  that  as  an  honour,  by  which  the  honour  of  my  brethren 
is  diminished.  Away  then  with  words  which  inflate  vanity,  and 
wound  charity !  And,  indeed,  your  holiness  knows  that  this  very 
title  was  offered  to  my  predecessors  by  the  holy  council  of  Chal- 
cedon,  and  afterwards  by  subsequent  fathers ;  yet  none  of  them 
were  ever  willing  to  adopt  it." 

XIV.  To  Siagrius,  bishop  of  Aucun  in  Burgundy.  In  granting 
to  him  the  pall,  he  adds  :    "  And  we  have  also  judged  it  proper  to 


liETTEKS   AND   REPLIES   OF   POPE   GREGORY.  19 

grant  that  the  see  of  Aucun,  over  which  Divine  Providence  hath 
appointed  you  to  preside,  should  rank  immediately  after  the  see  of 
Lyons ;  and  that  it  should  receive  that  dignity  and  rank  by  our 
indulgence  and  authority." 

WiLK.  CoNClL.  i.  10,  &c.  are  the  following  letters  of  Pope  Gregory. 

An  epistle  to  Augustine,  the  apostle  of  the  English,  congratu- 
lating him  upon  his  success  in  the  work  of  conversion,  and  exhorting 
him  not  to  be  too  much  elated  by  the  miracles  which  God  had 
enabled  him  to  perform. 

A  letter  to  Quirinus  and  the  rest  of  the  Irish  bishops,  directing 
them  not  to  re-baptize  those  who  had  been  baptized  by  heretics 
in  the  name  of  the  Trinity.  In  the  Western  Church,  such  persons 
were  usually  received  by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  and  in  the  Eastern 
by  the  chrism.     This  letter  is  dated  a.d.  592. 

A  letter  to  Augustine,  granting  him  a  pall,  "to  be  used,  only 
during  the  celebration  of  mass ;"  and  directing  him  to  consecrate 
"  twelve  bishops,  to  be  subject  to  your  jurisdiction ;  so  that  the 
bishop  of  London,  however,  shall  be  always  in  future  consecrated 
by  a  synod  of  his  own,  and  receive  the  honour  of  a  pall  from  the 
holy  and  apostolic  see.  We  desire  you  also  to  send  a  bishop  to 
the  city  of  York,  with  this  proviso — that  if  that  city,  with  the 
neighbouring  territories,  shall  receive  the  Word  of  God,  he  also  is 
to  oidain  twelve  bishops,  and  to  enjoy  the  dignity  of  a  metropolitan  ; 
for  to  him  also  have  we  resolved  to  grant  a  pall :  yet  we  wish  him 
to  be  subject  to  your  authority.  Let  there  be  hereafter  this  dis- 
tinction between  the  bishops  of  London  and  York — that  he  shall 
have  the  precedence  who  was  first  ordained.."     (Written  a.d.  601.) 

Bede's  Eccl.  Hist.  b.  i.  c.  27.     Pope  Gregory's  Answers  to  some 
Questions  sait  to  him  by  Augusthu,  a.d.  601.     Wilk.  i.  20. 

Q.  VI.  On  the  degrees  of  consanguinity,  within  which  it  is  lawful 
to  marry,  he  replies  :  "  A  certain  temporal  law  of  the  Roman 
republic  pennits  the  children  of  a  brother  and  a  sister,  or  of  two 
brothers,  or  two  sisters,  to  marry  :  we  have,  however,  learned  by 
experience,  that  the  offspring  of  such  a  marriage  cannot  thrive  ; 
wherefore  it  necessarily  follows,  that  the  third  or  fourth  generation 
may  intermany,  but  on  no  account  the  second." 

Q.  VIII.  Gregory  says  :  "  In  the  Church  of  England,  in  which 
you  are  at  present  the  only  bishop,  you  can  only  consecrate  bishops 
by  yourself;  unless  bishops  should  come  from  Gaul,  who  may  assist 
at  the  consecration  as  witnesses.  When  however,  by  the  dispen- 
sation of  Providence,  bishops  shall  have  been  consecrated  in  neigh- 
bouring places,  the  consecration  ought  not  to  be  performed  without 
the  assembling  of  three  or  four  bishops." 

Q.  IX.  Gregory  replies  :  "  We  have  not  given  you  any  authority 
over  the  bishops  of  Gaul :  for,  time  out  of  mind,  the  bishop  of  Aries 
has  received  a  pall  from  our  predecessors,  whom  we  ought  by  no 

C2 


20  THE   BRITONS  REFUSE   SUBJECTION   TO   THE   POPE. 

means  to  deprive  of  the  authority  which  he  hath  thus  acquired. 
All  the  British  bishops,  however,  we  commit  to  your  brotherhood, 
that  the  unlearned  may  be  taught,  the  weak  strengthened,  and  the 
perverse  corrected." 

Q.  XI.  Interrogatus  :  "  Si  post  illusionem  qua?  per  somnium  solet 
corpus  Domini  quilibet  accipere  valeat,  vel  si  sacerdos  sit  sacra 
mysteria  celebrare  ?"  Respond  it  Gregorius  :  "  Si  ex  naturae  super- 
fluitate  vel  infirmitate  evenerit,  a  perceptione  Sacri  Mystorii  pro- 
hibero  non  debet ;  sed  ab  Immolatione  Sancti  Mysterii  abstinere,  ut 
arbitror,  humiliter  debet :  nisi  sacerdos  alius  in  loco  desit.  Si  vero 
ex  turpi  cogitatione  vigilantis  oritur  illusio  dormientis,  patet  animse 
suus  reatus,  et  omnimodo  abstinendum  est.  Unde  et  ille,  ccelestis 
exeroitus  prcecipuus  miles,  gemebat  dicens.  Video  cdiam  legem,"  &c. 
(Rom.  vii.  23.) 

Note.   The  reader  will  not  fail  to  remark  that  he  here  calls  St.  Paul 

"  ccelestis  exeroitus  ^r^ci^MMS  miles." 

WiLK.  CoNCiL.  i.  24,  (from  Bede,  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  3.)  Synod  of 
Worcester,  a.d.  601. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  by  the  assistance  of  King  Ethelbert,  Augus- 
tine invited  the  British  doctors  to  a  conference,  in  a  place  which  to 
this  day  is  called  in  the  English  tongue,  Augustinaes  Ac,  i.  e. 
Augustine's  Oak ;  and  began  to  persuade  them  by  a  fraternal  admo- 
nition, that,  observing  a  catholic  unity,  they  should  join  with  him  in 
preaching  the  gospel  to  the  pagans :  for  they  did  not  celebrate 
Easter  Sunday  at  the  proper  time,  but  observed  it  from  the  four- 
teenth to  the  twentieth  moon,  which  computation  is  contained  in 
a  cycle  of  eighty-four  years.  But  in  many  other  respects  they  act 
contrary  to  the  unity  of  the  church.  After  a  long  disputation,  in 
which  they  preferred  their  own  traditions  to  those  which  are  univer- 
sally received  by  the  Catholic  church,  the  holy  father  Augustine  put 
an  end  to  this  laborious  and  long  controversy,  by  saying — '  Let  us 
entreat  the  Lord  to  show  us,  by  a  sign  from  heaven,  which  tradition 
we  ought  to  follow.'  Which,  when  the  opposite  party,  although 
unwillingly,  agreed  to,  a  blind  Englishman  was  brought  forward ; 
who,  when  he  had  been  presented  to  the  British  bishops,  without 
receiving  any  benefit  from  their  ministry,  at  length  Augustine  prayed 
to  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  he  would  restore  to 
the  blind  man  the  sight  which  he  had  lost.  Without  delay  the  blind 
man  received  his  sight,  and  Augustine  was  proclaimed  by  all,  a 
true  herald  of  heavenly  light.  Then  the  Britons  confessed,  indeed, 
that  to  be  the  true  way  of  righteousness  which  Augustine  preached, 
but  declared  that  they  could  not,  without  the  consent  and  permission 
of  their  people,  forsake  their  ancient  customs.  Wherefore  they 
entfeated  that  a  second  synod  might  be  convened,  which  was  agreed 
to :  and  there  came  thither  seven  British  bishops,  and  many  learned 
men,  especially  froni  the  celebrated  monastery  of  Bangor,  over 
which  Dinooth  then  presided  as  abbot.     Before  they  came  to  the 


THE   BRITONS   REFUSE   SUBJECTION   TO   THE   POPE.  21 

council,  they  went  to  a  certain  holy  anchorite,  inquiring  of  him 
whether  they  ought  to  desert  their  traditions  at  the  preaching  of 
Augustine :  who  replied — '  If  he  is  a  man  of  God,  foUow  him.' 
They  said — '  How  can  we  prove  that  he  is  such  ?'  To  which  he 
answered :  '  The  Lord  hath  said,  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  for 
I  am  meek  and  lowly  of  heart :  procure  therefore  that  Augustine 
and  his  companions  may  first  arrive  at  the  place  where  the  synod  is 
to  be  held  ;  and  if  at  your  entrance  he  shall  rise  from  his  seat,  know 
for  a  certainty  that  he  is  a  servant  of  Christ.'  They  obeyed :  and  it 
came  to  pass,  that  when  they  entered,  Augustine  retained  his  seat, 
which,  when  they  saw,  being  indignant  at  his  pride,  they  tried  to 
contradict  every  thing  he  said.  His  address  to  them  was  as  follows : 
*  In  many  things  ye  act  contrary  to  our  customs,  and  to  those  of  the 
universal  church  :  yet  if  in  these  three  respects  ye  will  obey  me — to 
celebrate  Easter  at  the  proper  time ;  to  perform  the  rite  of  baptism, 
by  which  we  are  born  again  unto  God,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  holy  Roman  and  apostolic  Church ;  and  to  join  with  us  in 
preaching  to  the  English  nation  the  Word  of  the  Lord;  aU  the 
other  things  which  ye  do,  although  contrary  to  our  customs,  we  will 
bear  with  equanimity.'  They  however  replied,  that  they  would 
consent  to  none  of  these  things,  nor  would  they  acknowledge  him 
as  their  archbishop." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  26. — The  Reply  of  Dinooth,  Abbot  of  Bangor, 
to  Augtistine. 

"  Be  it  known  to  you,  and  without  doubt,  that  we  are  all  of  us 
obedient  and  subject  to  the  Church  of  God,  and  to  the  Pope  of 
Rome,  and  to  every  true  and  godly  christian;  to  love  every  one 
in  his  degree  with  perfect  charity :  and  other  obedience  than  this 
I  do  not  know  to  be  due  to  him  whom  ye  call  the  Pope,  {quern  vos 
nominatis  esse  papam,)  nor  that  he  is  the  Father  of  Fathers ;  and 
this  obedience  we  are  willing  to  render  to  him  and  to  every 
christian  continually.  Besides,  we  are  under  the  government  of 
the  bishop  of  Caerleon  upon  Usk ;  who  is,  under  God,  appointed  to 
superintend  us,  to  cause  us  to  continue  in  the  spiritual  way." 

Note.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  British  bishops  were  at  this  time 
subject  to  a  metropolitan  of  their  own,  who,  "  sub  Deo"  (i.  e.  without 
any  superior  but  God),  presided  over  them.  Respecting  the  place  of 
this  synod,  nothing  is  certainly  known ;  but  Stillingfleet  suggests  that 
it  may  have  been  held  at  Austria,  Ilaustake,  or  Ossuntrec,  on  the 
borders  of  Worcestershire  ;  and  Sigesbert  (anno  602)  expressly  tells  us 
that  several  of  the  Scottish  (i.e.  Irish)  and  Pictish  bishops  were  present 
at  it.  The  sees  of  the  British  bishops  who  attended  this  council  are 
thus  described  by  Bale  :'  "  Herefordiensis,  Tavensis  (or  Llan-Tavensis), 
Patemensis,  Banchorensis,  Cluniensis  (or  Eluiensis),  Uniacensis  (or 
Wiccensis),  and  Morganensis,  which  some  read  Menevensis."  The 
Bangor  here  mentioned,  and  of  which  Dinooth  was  abbot,  must  not  be 
confounded  with  the  diocese  of  that  name  in  Carnarvonshire,  but  was 
situated  in  Cheshire,  on  the  Dee,  and  called  by  the  Romans  JBonium , 
'  Antiq.  Brit. 


22  THE   PRIMACY SYNOD    OF   WUITBYE. 

or  Bovium.  (See  Camden's  Britannia,  edit.  1695,  col.  556,  568,  693.) 
In  Camden's  time  it  was  "  all  corn  Jields,"  and  he  says  it  was  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Chester. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  34.  In  a  letter  from  Pope  Honorius  I.  to  Edwin,  king 
of  Northumbria,  A.  D.  634,  he  says  : — "  We  have  also  sent  two  palls 
for  the  two  metropolitans,  Honorius  and  Paulinus,  so  that  when 
either  of  them  shall  be  summoned  from  this  world  to  his  Creator, 
the  survivor  may,  by  our  authority,  consecrate  another  bishop  in 
his  place  ;  and  this  we  grant  both  as  a  mark  of  affection  to  yourself, 
and  on  account  of  the  great  distance  which  intervenes  between  us." 

Note.  Hence  it  appears,  that  before  this  time,  on  the  death  of  an 
archbishop,  his  successor  had  been  obliged  to  go  to  Rome  for  consecra- 
tion and  his  paU.  In  this  letter,  Honorius  assumes  no  little  authority — 
"  Vice  B.  Petri  Apostolorum  Principis,  auctoritatem  tribuimus,"  ^-c. 

Ibid.  p.  35.  In  a  letter  of  this  Pope  to  his  namesake  archbishop 
Honorius,  he  says : — "  By  the  authority  of  the  blessed  Peter, 
prince  of  the  Apostles,  we  grant  unto  thee,  O  Honorius,  and  to  thy 
successors  for  ever,  a  primacy  over  all  the  churches  of  Britain. 
We  command,  therefore,  that  all  the  churches  of  England,  and  the 
neighhouring  territories,  shall  be  subject  to  your  jurisdiction,  and 
that  the  metropolitan  authority  be  lodged  in  the  see  of  Dover." 

Ibid.  p.  37.  a.d.  664,  was  held  the  conference  of  Whitbye 
{Synodus  Pharensis)  in  Yorkshire  ;  at  which  there  w^ere  present 
two  kings,  three  English,  and  several  Scottish  {Irish)  bishops,  with 
an  abbot,  abbess,  and  many  presbyters  and  other  clerks — Romans, 
Angles,  Saxons,  Britons,  Scots,  and  Picts.  The  early  bishops  of 
Lindisfarne  {Holy  Island)  having  been  Irish  Scots,  the  Northum- 
brians observed  Easter  according  to  the  Irish  tradition,  but  Eanfrid 
their  queen,  a  Kentish  princess,  after  the  Roman  :  "  Wlience  (says 
Bede)  it  sometimes  happened  that  two  Easters  were  celebrated  in 
one  year ;  and  when  the  king,  having  completed  his  Lenten  fast, 
was  celebrating  his  Easter  Sunday,  the  queen,  still  fasting,  was 
spending  Palm  Sunday.  This  difference  respecting  the  celebration 
of  Easter  was  however  borne  patiently  by  all  during  the  lifetime 
of  Aidan  ;  because  they  saw  clearly,  that  although  he  could  not 
act  contrary  to  the  custom  of  those  wlio  sent  him,  he  took  care 
diligently  to  perform  works  of  faith,  piety,  and  brotherly  love, 
according  to  the  custom  of  all  the  saints."  After  his  death 
a  violent  controversy  arose  respecting  Easter,  the  ecclesiastical 
tonsure,  and  other  points  in  which  the  Irish  differed  from  the 
Saxons,  and  which  this  conference  of  Wliiibye  was  intended  to 
decide.  In  this  sjniod,  Wilfrid,  abbot  of  Ripon,  and  afterwards 
archbishop  of  York,  pleaded  in  favour  of  the  Roman  Easter,  while 
Colman,  bishop  of  Lindisfarne,  being  an  Irish  Scot,  maintained 
the  opposite  side.  According  to  Bede,  (lib.  iii.  c.  25,)  king  Oswi 
opened  the  conference  by  a  speech,  in  which  he  pointed  out  the 
necessity  of  unity  :  after  which  Colman  said,  "  The  Easter  which  I 
celebrate  I  have  received  from  my  ancestors,  and  it  is  the  same  as 


SYNOD  OF  WHITBYE  RESPECTING  EASTER.  23 

that  which  St.  John  the  evangelist  observed,  with  all  the  churches 
over  which  he  presided."  In  reply  to  this,  Wilfrid  asserted  that 
"  the  Roman  Easter  was  observed  throughout  the  whole  world, 
with  the  single  exception  of  the  Ii'ish,  and  the  companions  of  their 
obstinacy,  the  Picts  and  Britons,  who,  living  in  the  remotest  islands 
of  the  ocean,  foolishly  contested  the  point  against  the  whole  world." 
Speaking  of  Columba  and  other  Irish  saints,  he  says  :  "  Their 
observing  Easter  in  this  manner  was  of  no  importance,  so  long  as 
no  one  came  to  instruct  them  in  the  correct  method  of  keeping  it... 

and,  even  admitting  your  Columba  to  be  a  holy  man,  ought 

he  to  be  preferred  to  the  most  holy  prince  of  the  apostles,  to  whom 
the  Lord  said.  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  will  I  build  my 
church  ?"  &c.     Upon  which,  king  Oswi  asked  Colman  whether  these 
words  had  really  been  addressed  to  Peter ;  and  on  his  admitting 
that  they  were,  instantly  decided  in  favour  of  the  Roman  Easter  : 
"  For  (said  he)  St.  Peter  is  a  door-keeper  whom  I  am  unwilling  to 
contradict ;  but,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  and  ability  extend,  I  desire 
to  obey  his  commands  in  aU  respects ;  lest,  when  I  arrive  at  the 
gates  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  there  should  be  no  one  to  open 
them  for  me,  he  being  my  enemy  who  is  proved  to  have  the  keys." 
Colman  however  resigned  his  see,  rather  than  submit  to  this  deci- 
sion ;  thus  furnishmg  us  with  a  remarkable  proof,  that  the  Irish 
bishops  in  the  7th  century  rejected  the  authority  of  the  Pope.     This 
is  also  evident  from  Bede,  lib.  iii.  c.  29,  where  it  is  said :  "  For 
Oswi  (king  of  Northumbria)  although  educated  by  Irish  Scots,  knew 
of  a  truth  that  the  Roman  was  the  Catholic  and  Apostolic  church." 
Note.   The  ancient  Britons  and  Irish  kept  Easter  upon  the  Snnday 
that  fell  between  the  14th  and  20th  days  of  the  paschal  moon,  and 
followed  in  their  account  thereof,  not  the  19  years'  computation  of 
Anatolius,  but  Sulpicius  Severus's  cycle  of  84  years.     The  Irish  Church 
adopted  the  Roman  Easter  about  A.  D.  694 ;  but  the  Welsh  continued 
their  ancient  practice  till  about  the  year  800  ;    when  Elbodeus,  one  of 
their  bishops,  introduced  the  Roman  method." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  44,  &c.  In  the  year  679,  Wilfrid,  Bishop  of  York,  was 
expelled  from  his  see,  through  the  machinations  of  Ermenburga, 
queen  of  Northumbria ;  having  excited  her  envy  by  the  number  of 
abbots  and  abbesses  in  his  train ;  by  his  causing  himself  to  be  served 
in  gold  and  silver  vessels ;  and  by  the  crowd  of  retainers  who,  in 
splendid  attire,  walked  by  his  side :  and  archbishop  Theodore,  with- 
out consulting  Wilfrid,  introduced  three  foreign  bishops  into  his 
diocese.  Wilfrid  being  thus  despoiled  of  his  bishoprick,  went  to 
Rome,  and  appealed  to  pope  Agatho,  who  espoused  his  cause  so 
warmly,  that  in  the  course  of  four  months  no  fewer  than  seventy 
consistories  {concUiahida)  were  held  on  the  subject  of  his  expulsion. 
The  appeal  of  Wilfrid  begins  as  follows : — "  I,  Wilfrid,  an  humble 
and  unworthy  Saxon  bishop,  have  directed  my  steps  to  this  apostolic 

■"  On  this  subject,  see  Usher's  Discoarse  on  the  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Irish 
c.  ix.  p.  63,  &c. 


24  Wilfrid's  appeal  to  the  pope. 

pinnacle,  as  to  a  fortified  place  and  a  tower  of  strength ;  because 
I  know  that  canonical  regulations  are  derived  from  hence  to  all  the 
churches  of  Christ ;  wherefore  I  confidently  ask  that  justice  may  be 
done  to  my  humility."  Pope  Agatho  complied  with  liis  request, 
and  the  synod  decreed,  "  that  bishop  Wilfrid,  beloved  of  God,  shall 
take  the  bishoprick  which  he  lately  had ;  and  let  such  bishops  as  he 
shall  choose  be  promoted  to  be  his  coadjutors :  those  being  banished 
to  a  distance,  who  nefariously  during  his  absence  were  thrust  into 
his  diocese."  Wilfrid,  on  his  return,  "having  with  difficulty 
obtained  access  to  the  king,  presented  to  him  the  sealed  decrees  of 
the  apostolic  Pope  ;  but  he,  when  he  had  caused  them  to  be  read  to 
the  bishops  who  joined  with  him  in  his  faction,  was  so  far  from 
having  any  reverence  for  the  see  of  Rome,  that,  having  despoiled 
him  of  his  property,  and  sent  away  his  companions  in  different 
directions,  he  delivered  the  holy  bishop  to  a  certain  prefect,  remark- 
able for  his  cruelty,  to  be  cast  into  a  dungeon."" 

WiLK.  i.  p.  55. — Northumbrian  Si/nod  relating  to  Wilfrid,  a.d.  680. 

"  Then  all  the  nobles  who  dwelt  there,  and  the  servants  of  God, 
being  called  to  the  jilace  of  the  council,  to  hear  the  salutary  advice 
sent  from  the  apostoHc  see,  when  they  heard  several  things  read 
which  were  contrary  to  their  inclinations,  some  of  them  contuma- 
ciously refused  (to  submit).  Moreover,  by  the  command  of  the  king 
and  his  counsellors,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  bishops  who 
held  his  diocese,  they  determined  that  he  (Wilfrid)  should  be  com- 
mitted to  prison,  and  kept  there  without  any  honour  for  nine 
months."" 

A^ote.  "Archbishop  Theodore  paid  such  little  regard  to  the  Pope, 
that  he  did  not  call  a  sjiiod  as  Agatho  had  commanded ;  nor  did  he 
relent  till  he  was  eighty-seven  years  of  age,  and  felt  death  approach- 
ing. 1-  He  then  wrote  a  letter  to  the  king  in  Wilfrid's  behalf,  who  was 
in  consequence  restored  to  a  part  of  his  diocese,  which  he  held  till 
his  death.  Brithwald  was  so  regardless  of  the  see  of  Rome,  that  he  did 
not  send  any  advocates  thither  to  answer  Wilfrid."  p  According  to  Bede 
(lib.  iii.  c.  28),  "  Wilfrid  had  introduced  by  his  preaching  7nani/  regu- 
lations of  catholic  discipline  into  the  Church  of  England." 

Ibid.  p.  75.  "  Naitan,  king  of  the  northern  Picts,  in  the  year 
714,  induced  all  his  subjects  to  celebrate  Easter  at  the  catholic 
time;  and  that  he  might  effect  this  the  more  easily,  and  with 
greater  authority,  he  requested  assistance  from  the  English,  whom 
he  knew  to  have  long  since  regulated  their  religion  according  to  the 
pattern  of  the  holy  Roman  and  apostolic  Church.  He  also  requested 
that  architects  might  be  sent  to  him  to  build  a  church  of  stone  in 
his  country,  promising  to  dedicate  it  in  honour  of  the  blessed  prince 
of  the  apostles,  and  that  he,  with  all  his  subjects,  would  constantly 
imitate  the  discipline  of  the  holy  Roman  and  apostolic  Church :  as 

•>  GuL  Malmsb.  "  Heddius  in  VitS  Wilfridi,  c.  33. 

P  Johnson. 


ceolfred's  letter  respecting  tonsure.  25 

far  as  a  nation  could  learn  it,  who  had  been  so  long  estranged  from 
the  Roman  language  (loqueld)."  Ceolfrid,  abbot  of  Jarrow,  accord- 
ingly wrote  him  a  long  letter,  both  on  the  subject  of  Easter  and  the 
ecclesiastical  tonsure.  Discoursing  upon  the  latter  of  these  subjects, 
he  brings  several  instances  from  the  Old  Testament,  ex.  gr.  Job  and 
Joseph ;  and  observes,  that  the  tonsure  of  St.  Peter  ought  to  be 
preferred  to  all  others,  since  the  Lord  had  said  unto  him,  Thou  art 
Peter,  ^c,  and  since  it  was  made  in  imitation  of  the  crown  of  thorns 
which  Christ  wore  at  the  time  of  his  passion.  "  But  what  christian 
does  not  hate,  as  he  hates  magic  itself,  the  mode  of  tonsure  adopted 
by  Simon  Magus  ?  which,  when  you  look  at  the  upper  part  of  the 
forehead,  seems  to  have  the  appearance  of  a  crown ;  but,  when  you 
come  to  examine  the  top  of  the  head,  you  wiU  find  the  crown, 
which  you  thought  you  had  observed,  mutilated.  Wherefore  you 
may  be  assured,  that  such  a  mode  befits  not  christians,  but  rather 
Simoniacs ;  who,  in  the  present  life,  were  believed  by  deluded  men 
to  be  worthy  of  a  crown  of  everlasting  glory,  but  in  a  future  life 
are  not  only  deprived  of  all  hope  of  a  crown,  but  moreover  are  con- 
demned to  eternal  punishment."''  So  much  for  priestly  shaving ! 
In  an  account  of  a  synod  convened  by  Naitan,  immediately  after  the 
arrival  of  this  precious  document,  it  is  said,  that  as  soon  as  he  heard 
it  translated  into  his  native  language,  he  knelt  down  and  publicly 
thanked  God.  "  The  ministers  of  the  altar,  as  well  as  the  monks, 
were  immediately  shorn  in  imitation  of  a  crown ;  and  the  nation, 
being  reformed,  rejoiced  that  they  were  subject  to  the  discipline  of 
the  blessed  prince  of  the  apostles,  St.  Peter,  and  under  his  protec- 
tion:" a  tolerably  clear  proof  that  they  then,  for  the  first  time, 
acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  91. — Letter  of  Boniface,  Bishop  of  Mentz,  to  Cuthhert, 
Archbishop  of  Dover,  a.d.  745. 

"  We  decreed,  in  our  synodal  convocation,  to  observe  as  long  as 
we  live  the  catholic  faith  and  unity,  and  subjection  to  the  see  of 
Rome ;  to  convoke  a  synod  every  year ;  that  metropolitans  shall 
demand  palls  from  that  see ;  and  that  we  desire  in  all  things  to  pay 
canonical  obedience  to  all  the  injunctions  of  St.  Peter  :  that  we  may 
be  included  among  those  sheep  who  have  been  entrusted  to  his 
care."  Also,  that  if  any  bishop  shall  be  unable  to  correct  any  thing 
which  requires  reformation  in  his  diocese,  he  shall  declare  it  to  the 
synod  :  "  as  the  Church  of  Rome  bound  us  by  an  oath  to  do  at  the 
time  of  our  consecration — 'that  when  I  see  the  priesthood  or  the 
laity  deviate  from  the  law  of  God,  and  am  unable  to  correct  them, 
I  wiU  always  declare  the  same  to  the  apostolic  see,  and  the  vicar  of 
St.  Peter,  that  the  evil  may  be  reformed :'  thus  then,  if  I  am  not 
deceived,  should  any  error  be  committed  among  the  people  which 
it  is  impossible  for  them  to  correct,  all  bishops  ought  to  declare  the 

1  Bede,  lib.  v.  c.  22. 


26  ORIGIN   OP   PETEU'S   PENCE. 

same  to  the  metropolitan,  and  the  metropolitan  to  the  Roman  pon- 
tiff." In  the  same  letter  he  requests  that  English  women,  and 
especially  nuns,  might  be  prevented  from  making  pilgrimages  to 
Rome :  "  Because  for  the  most  part  they  perish,  few  preserving 
their  integrity  :  for  there  are  very  few  cities,  either  in  Lombardy  or 
Gaul,  in  which  there  is  not  an  English  adulteress  or  harlot ;  which 
is  a  scandal  to  your  whole  church." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  104. — Excerptions  from,  various  CowicUs,  Fathers,  SfC. 
made  hy  Ecghert,  Archbishop  of  Yorh,  A.  D.  750. 

Ex.  49.  If  any  questions  shall  arise  in  our  province,  let  them  be 
referred  to  the  greater  see,  or  to  a  synod,  or  to  the  apostolic  see 
of  Rome.'' 

Ibid.  p.  147. — The  Legatine  Constitutions  at  Cealchythe,  a.d.  785. 

Gregory,  bishop  of  Ostia,  legate  to  Pope  Adrian,  and  the  first 
who  had  exercised  this  office  in  England  since  the  time  of  Augus- 
tine, presided  at  it.  Bishop  Gibson  says,  that  there  is  a  town  in 
Lancashire,  on  the  borders  of  Cheshire,  called  Celcheth  or  Kelcheth. 

Can.  8.  That  the  ancient  privileges  granted  to  churches  by  the 
Pope  of  Rome  be  observed  by  all. 

Ibid.  p.  154.  Brompton  says  of  king  Offa,  that  having  procured 
the  death  of  Ethelbert,  king  of  the  East  Angles,  (besides  other 
satisfactions,  which  may  be  seen  in  Chapter  III.  §  2.  a.d.  793,) 
*'  going  to  Rome,  he  humbly  visited  the  thresholds  of  the  apostles 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and  granted  to  the  Roman  pontiff,  the  vicar 
of  St.  Peter,  the  annual  revenue  of  one  penny  from  every  house  in 
his  dominions,  established  for  ever :  and  he  was  the  first,  as  it  is  said, 
who  made  this  grant."  Offa,  king  of  Mercia,  made  this  journey  to 
Rome  about  a.d.  793,  and  obtained  from  the  Pope  a  grant  of  pri- 
vileges to  the  abbey  of  St.  Alban's,  which  he  had  lately  founded : 
this  was  indeed  one  object  of  his  journey.     [Ibid.  p.  155.) 

Ibid.  p.  156.  On  the  day  after  king  Offa  had  obtained  from  the 
Pope  this  grant  of  privileges  to  the  abbey  of  St.  Alban's,  "entering 
the  English  school,  which  then  flourished  at  Rome,  he  granted  of  his 
royal  munificence  a  silver  (penny)  from  every  family  in  his  dominions, 
for  the  support  of  his  subjects  who  should  come  there :  by  which 
bountiful  grant  he  obtained  the  privilege  that  no  public  penitent  of 
the  English  nation  should  be  thenceforwards  obliged,  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  his  penance,  to  go  into  exile."  After  specifying  his  domi- 
nions, the  historian  thus  proceeds :  "  From  all  these  provinces  the 
aforesaid  king  Offa  granted  St.  Peter's  penny  (with  the  exception 
of  those  lands  which  he  had  granted  to  St.  Alban's  abbey) ;  and  it 
was  called  '  St.  Peters  penny,'  because,  by  the  favour  of  heaven, 
he  had  found  (the  body  of)  tlus  martyr  on  the  day  of  St.  Peter, 
which  is  called  *  ad  vincula ;'  and  on  the  same  day  he  granted  this 

"■  A  Roman  Canon. 


Peter's  pence — the  pall — ^an  interdict.  27 

annual  revenue  to  the  Roman  Church,  for  the  redemption  of  his 
soul,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  the  aforesaid  English  school, 
founded  for  the  instruction  of  illiterate  Englishmen  who  should 
travel  thither."' 

Note.   Hence  it  is  evident  that  they  are  much  mistaken,  who  think 

that  Oifa  made  his  kingdom  tributary  to  the  Pope  :  the  grant  having 

in  fact  been  made  to  the  English  School  at  Home. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  164. — Letter  of  Kenulphus,  king  of  Mercia,to 
Pope  Leo  IIL  a.d.  801. 

"  But  now  I,  Kenulphus,  king  by  the  grace  of  God,  humbly 
entreat  your  excellency,  that,  without  oifending  you,  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  speak  concerning  my  journey,"  &c.  Again :  "  The  bene- 
diction which  all  who  before  me  have  presided  over  the  sceptre  of 
the  Mercians  deserved  to  receive  from  your  predecessors,  the  same 
I  humbly  entreat ;  that,  in  the  first  place,  you  will  receive  me  as 
your  adopted  son,  even  as  I  love  you  in  quality  of  a  father,  and 
embrace  you  with  all  the  earnestness  of  obedience." 

Ibid.  p.  166.  A  letter  from  the  English  bishops  to  the  same 
Pope,  A.D.  801,  complaining  of  the  hardship  of  primates  being 
obliged  to  travel  to  Rome  in  order  to  receive  the  pall,  which  had 
been  anciently  sent  to  England  by  the  Popes. 

Ibed.  p.  172. — Council  of  Cloves-Hoo,  under  Archbishop  Wulfred, 
A.D.  822. 

By  the  violence  and  avarice  of  king  Ceonulf,  archbishop  Wulfred 
had  been  banished  ;  and,  "  the  whole  English  nation  was  for  nearly 
six  years  deprived  of  his  metropolitan  authority,  aitd  the  sacrament 
of  baptism.  Moreover,  on  a  certain  occasion,  the  king,  coming  with 
his  advisers  to  the  royal  city  of  London,  in  great  wrath  appointed 
a  day  on  which  the  said  archbishop  should  appear  before  him. 
Whither  when  he  had  come,  the  king  commanded  him  to  leave  all 
his  property,  and  depart  from  England  directly ;  without  any  hope 
of  returning,  either  by  the  command  of  the  Pope,  or  at  the  request  of 
the  emperor,  unless  he  would  consent  to  his  wish,  by  ceding  to  him 
the  town  of  Leogensham"  &c.  At  the  end  of  the  six  years  the 
archbishop  was  forced  to  submit. 

Ibid.  p.  199.  a.d.  904,  Pope  Formosus  sent  a  letter  to  England, 
in  which  he  excommunicated  and  gave  his  curse  to  king  Edward  the 
elder,  instead  of  that  blessing  which  St.  Gregory  had  given  to  the 
English  nation.  For  during  seven  entire  years,  all  the  kingdom  of 
West  Saxony  had  been  destitute  of  bishops.  When  king  Edward 
heard  this,  he  convened  a  synod,  at  which  Pleimund,  archbishop  of 
Dover,  presided ;  and  they  chose  bishops  for  all  the  divisions  of  West 
Saxony  ;  and  where  there  had  been  formerly  only  two  bishops,  they 
appointed  five.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  synod,  the  archbishop 
went  to  Rome,  with  honourable  presents,  and  with  great  humility 

•  Brompton. 


28  STRUGGLE   IN   CORNWALL  AGAINST   THE   POPE. 

appeased  the  Pope.  He  also  recited  the  decree  of  the  king,  which 
was  very  agreeable  to  the  apostolic  {Pope).  Returning  to  his  see, 
he  in  one  day  consecrated  at  Canterbury  seven  bishops  for  the 
(vacant)  churches."' 

WiLK.  i.  p.  200.  In  the  archives  of  the  see  of  Canterbury,  it  is  said, 
that  on  the  above  occasion,  a.d.  905,  Eadulf  was  consecrated  to  the 
see  of  Kirton  in  Devonshire : "  "to  which  they  added  three  towns 
in  Cornwall,  viz.,  Platun,  Celling,  and  Landintham ;  that  from 
thence  he  might  every  year  visit  the  Cornish  people,  to  extirpate 
their  errors.  For  before  this,  they  resisted  the  truth  to  the  utmost  of 
their  power,  and  obeyed  not  the  decrees  of  the  Pope." 

Howel's  Synopsis,  &c.  p.  38.  We  read  that,  a.d.  940,  Howel 
Dha,  king  of  all  Wales,  went  to  Rome  accompanied  by  the  arch- 
bishop of  St.  David's,  the  bishops  of  Bangor  and  St.  Asaph's,  and 
thirteen  others,  and  obtained  from  the  Pope  a  confirmation  of  his 
laws. 

WiLK.  i.  221. — Laws  of  the  Northumbrian  Priests,  a.d.  950. 

Can.  57.  We  desire  that  every  Rome-penny  be  paid  about  the 
feast  of  St.  Peter  to  the  bishop's  throne.  We  desire  also  that  two 
faithful  thanes,  and  one  presbyter,  be  appointed  to  collect  it  in  every 
Wapentake. 

Note.  In  the  year  847,  Athenulf,  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  Mercians, 
Northumbrians,  East  Angles,  and  Northern  Saxons,  granted  to  the 
Pope  the  Romescot  throughout  his  dominions  ;  i.  e.  a  penny  from  each 
of  his  subjects  who  should  possess  a  yearly  income  of  thirty  pence, 
or  more  houses  than  one. " 

Ibid.  p.  245. — Ecclesiastical  Laws  of  king  Edgar,  x.tt.  967. 

Cap.  IV.  If  a  man  shall  refuse  to  pay  St.  Peter's  penny,  let  him 
carry  it  to  Rome,  and  thirty  pence  besides ;  and  let  him  bring  from 
thence  a  certificate  that  he  hath  done  so  :  and  when  he  returns  home 
let  him  pay  to  the  king  ]  20  shillings ;  for  the  second  offence,  200 
shilHngs ;  and  for  the  third  let  him  forfeit  all  that  he  hath. 

Cap.  v.  Let  every  Sunday  festival  be  observed  from  noontide  on 
the  Saturday  till  sunrise  on  the  Monday. 

Ibid.  p.  297. — King  Canute  to  his  Bishops  and  Nobles ;  written  at 
Eome,  A.D.  1031. 

"  I  give  you  to  understand,  that  I  have  lately  gone  to  Rome,  to 
pray  for  the  remission  of  my  sins  and  the  safety  of  my  kingdom — 
a  journey  which  I  had  long  since  vowed  unto  God,  And  now 
I  thank  the  Omnipotent  God,  that  during  my  lifetime  I  have  been 
enabled  to  venerate  and  adore  the  blessed  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul, 
and  every  holy  place  which  is  within  the  city  of  Rome.  And  this 
I  have  done,  chiefly  because  I  have  learned  from  wise  men  that 

'  Gul.  Malmsburiensis.  °    Ecclesiam  Cridiensem. 

*  Howel's  Synopsis,  &c.  p.  28. 


THE  PALL PETEk's  PENCE.  29 

St.  Peter  the  apostle  received  from  the  Lord  great  power  of  bind- 
ing and  loosing,  and  that  he  carries  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ;  and  therefore  I  believed  that  it  would  be  very  useful 
specially  to  implore  his  intercession  with  God.  I  have  spoken  to 
the  emperor,  and  to  (our)  lord  the  Pope,  that  a  greater  facility 
might  be  afforded  my  subjects  of  going  to  Rome,  and  that  they 
might  not  be  deterred  by  so  many  inclosures  (or  turnpikes)  upon  the 
way  thither,  or  annoyed  by  unjust  tolls ;  and  the  emperor,  &c.  ac- 
ceded to  my  request.  I  also  complained  before  the  lord  Pope,  and 
said  that  I  was  much  displeased  that  my  archbishops  should  be  so 
much  oppressed  by  the  large  sums  of  money  demanded  from  them 
when  they  came  for  their  palls  to  the  apostolic  see :  and  it  was  de- 
creed that  it  should  not  be  so  any  longer.  To  all  the  things  which 
I  requested  from  the  lord  Pope,  the  emperor,  &c.  they  readily  ac- 
ceded, and  confirmed  their  concessions  with  an  oath ;  to  which,  four 
archbishops,  twenty  bishops,  and  an  innumerable  multitude  of  dukes 
and  nobles  were  witnesses." 

Spelm.  Concil.  I.  571.  ''a.d.  1052,  Pope  Leo  held  a  synod  at 
Verzelay ;  at  which  Ulf,  bishop  of  Dorchester,  was  present,  and  his 
episcopal  staff  would  have  been  certainly  broken  had  he  not  paid  a 
large  sum  of  money :  for  he  knew  not  his  office  as  a  bishop  ought." 

Ibid.  p.  632.  In  a  Letter  of  king  Edward  the  Confessor  to  Pope 
Nicholas  II.,  he  says  :  "  Edward,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of 
the  English,  offers  due  obedience  and  every  description  of  homage 
to  Nicholas,  supreme  father  of  the  universal  church." 

WiLK.  I.  312. — Laws  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  a.  d.  1052, 
afterwards  confirmed  by  William  I.  circa  A.  D.  1070. 

Cap.  XI.  "  Let  every  man  who  hath  in  his  house  to  the  value  of 
thirty  pence  in  living  stock  by  the  law  of  the  English,  or  half  a 
mark  by  the  law  of  the  Danes,  pay  St.  Peter's  penny.  If  any  man 
shall  detain  it  beyond  the  feast  of  St.  Peter,  ad  vincula,  let  com- 
plaint be  made  to  the  king's  justice,  because  this  penny  is  the  king's 
alms ;  and  let  the  justice  compel  him  to  pay  this  penny,  and  also  the 
forfeiture  to  the  bishop  and  the  king.  But  if  a  man  hath  more 
houses  than  one,  let  payment  be  made  for  that  house  in  which  he 
was  resident  on  the  festival  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 

Note.  In  the  Norman  copy  of  the  same  laws,"  it  is  provided  that  the 
feudal  lord  shall,  by  paying  fourpence,  acquit  his  hordars,  bonars,  and 
vassals;  that  the  burgess  who  is  worth  half  a  mark,  or  a  freeman  who 
has  to  the  value  of  a  mark  in  field  stock,  is  bound  to  i)ay  the  romescot ; 
that  for  the  penny  which  the  lord  pays,  all  who  live  in  his  demesne  shall 
be  acquitted ;  and  that  defaulters  shall  pay,  besides  the  original  penny, 
thirty  pence  in  addition ;  or  if  they  be  sued  for  it  in  the  king's  court, 
thirty  pence  to  the  bishop,  and  forty  shillings  to  the  king.  Hordars 
and  bonars  were,  it  is  supposed,  small  tenants  who  held  a  few  acres 
on  condition  of  their  hedgmg,  thrashing,  diking,  grinding,  &c.  for  the 
lord's  family. 

^  Ibid.  p.  314,  c.  Hi,  and  iv. 


30  ANSELM   A    CHAMPION   OF   THE   POPE. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  315.  A.D.  1062,  Pope  Alexander  II.  forbad  Stigand, 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  to  exercise  the  episcopal  functions,  be- 
cause he  had  presumed  to  accept  of  that  dignity  during  the  lifetime 
of  archbishop  Robert.  The  archbishop  of  York  therefore  acted  in 
Stigand's  place. 

Ibid.  p.  325.— Council  of  Windsor,  a.d.  1072. 

The  subscription  stands  thus  : — 

"  +  The  mark  of  King  William.    +  The  mark  of  Queen  Matilda. 
"  I,  Hubert,  reader  of  the  church  of  Rome,  and  legate  to  the  lord 
Pope  Alexander,  have  subscribed. 

"  I,  Lanfranc,  archbishop  of  Dover,  have  subscribed,"  &c. 

Note.  Here  a  mere  reader  (i.e.  the  lowest  ecclesiastical  order,  with 
the  exception  of  the  ostiary),  in  virtue  of  his  office  as  papal  legate,  sub- 
scribes before  the  archbishop ! 

Ibid.  p.  326. — Letter  from  Archbishop  Lanfranc  to  the  Pope, 
A.D.  1072. 

"  To  the  lord  Pope  Alexander,  supreme  overseer  of  the  Avhole 
Christian  faith, — Lanfranc,  an  unworthy  prelate  of  the  church  of 
Dover,  offers  all  due  obedience  and  service."  He  also  says  towards 
the  end — "  A  copy  of  which  (decision)  I  have  caused  to  be  sent  to 
you,  to  whom  the  holy  church  throughout  the  whole  world  has  been 
certainly  committed." 

Ibid.  p.  371.  In  the  Council  of  Rockingham,  A.D.  1094,  arch- 
bishop Anselm  thus  addressed  the  assembled  bishops  : — "  A  certain 
misunderstanding  has  arisen  between  our  lord  the  king  and  myself : 
for  when  I  lately  requested  his  permission  to  go  to  Urban,  the  pre- 
late of  the  apostolic  see,  to  procure  my  pall,  according  to  the  custom 
of  my  predecessors,  he  said  that  he  had  not  yet  acknowledged 
Urban  as  Pope,  and  that  he  therefore  would  not  allow  me  to  go  to 
him  for  that  purpose.  '  Moreover,'  he  added,  '  if  you  acknowledge 
the  papal  authority  of  this  Urban,  or  any  one  else  in  my  dominions, 
without  my  permission,  you  act  contrary  to  the  fealty  which  you 
owe  me,  nor  would  you  offend  me  more,  were  you  to  endeavour  to 
take  the  crown  from  my  head.'  Upon  this,  several  of  the  bishops 
who  favoured  the  king,  endeavoured  to  prove  that,  consistently  with 
his  allegiance,  Anselm  could  by  no  means  acknowledge  Urban  as 
Pope  in  this  realm  of  England.  To  this  he  replied  in  the  language 
of  Scripture :  '  Render  unto  Ceesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's, 
and  unto  God,'  &c.;  adding  several  other  remarks  which  could  not 
be  reasonably  denied.  They,  on  the  other  hand,  not  being  able  to 
answer  him,  cried  out  with  one  shout,  that  he  had  blasphemed  the 
king,  63/  presuming  to  ascribe  any  thing,  even  to  God,  within  his  realm, 
contrary  to  his  wishes.  Some  of  the  bishops  violently  renounced  the 
obedience  which  they  had  professed  to  their  archbishop  and  primate, 
and  abjured  all  fraternal  intercourse  with  him ;  others  merely  re- 
fused to  obey  him  in  anything  which  should  relate  to  Pope  Urban  : 


ANSELM   A   CHAMPION    OF    THE    POPE.  31 

and  thus  all  the  bishops,  with  the  single  exception  of  Rochester, 
renounced  the  obedience  which  they  owed  him.  The  king  also 
withdrew  his  protection,  and  swore  that  he  would  not  any  longer 
have  him  for  an  archbishop,  unless  he  would  refuse  all  further  obe- 
dience to  the  vicar  of  St.  Peter,  Anselm  however,  firm  in  his 
resolution,  requested  of  the  king  permission  to  leave  the  kingdom  in 
safety,  which  was  refused  him,  and  he  was  cruelly  persecuted, — his 
tenants  being  arrested  and  despoiled,  and  his  lands  devastated."* 

WiLK.  i.  p.  374.  A.D.  1097,  (during  Anselm's  disgrace)  Murchurtach, 
king  of  Ireland,  with  his  bishops  and  nobles,  petitioned  archbishop 
Anselm,  as  metropolitan  of  Ireland,  to  erect  the  city  of  Waterford 
into  a  bishoprick.  Anselm  accordingly  consecrated  Malchus  (the 
bishop  elect)  at  Canterbury,  exacting  from  him  an  oath  of  canonical 
obedience. 

Ibid.  p.  376.  A  letter  from  Pope  Paschal  II.  a.d.  1100,  in  which 
he  speaks  of  "  our  dear  and  venerable  brother  Ralph,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury."  In  the  following  page,  he  complains  in  another  letter 
of  the  translation  of  the  bishop  of  Rochester  to  Canterbury,  without 
his  having  been  first  consulted : — "  The  translation  of  the  bishop  of 
Rochester  to  your  metropolitan  see  has  been  signified  to  us — a  step 
which  you  should  not  have  presumed  to  take  without  our  knowledge 
and  connivance.  Nevertheless,  in  consideration  of  the  piety  and 
virtue  of  the  person  thus  translated,  we  tolerate  this  presumption  of 
yours."  Hence  it  is  clear  that  during  Anselm's  disgrace  his  see  was 
filled ;  and  that  those  who  filled  it  were  recognized  by  the  Pope. 

Ibid.  p.  377.  In  a  letter  from  the  same  Pope  to  the  English 
archbishops,  bishops,  and  clergy,  a.d.  1100,  and  sent  by  Anselm  his 
legate,  nephew  to  the  archbishop  of  that  name,  he  says :  "  We 
understand  that  you  have  hitherto  acted  very  sluggishly  in  collecting 
the  alms  of  St.  Peter.  We  therefore  admonish  and  command  your 
brotherhood,  that  from  henceforward  ye  ought  to  send  it  to  the 
Roman  church  more  regularly,  and  without  any  deceit." 

Ibid.  A  buU  in  which  he  fully  reinstates  Anselm  in  the  see  of 
Canterbury. 

FouLis's  Hist,  of  Romish  Usurpations,  b.  iv.  c.  3.  §  1.  In  a 
letter  of  Pope  Paschal  II.  to  Henry  I.  he  says :  "  We  marvel  exceed- 
ingly, and  are  grieved,  that  throughout  your  dominions  St.  Peter, 
and  in  him  our  Lord,  hath  lost  his  honour  and  right.  For  the  nuncios 
of  the  apostolic  see,  or  our  breves,  are  not  thought  worthy  of  being 
received  or  admitted  into  your  dominions,  unless  by  your  royal  war- 
rant. No  complaint  now,  no  appeal  comes  from  thence  to  the  apos- 
tolic see."  To  this  the  king  replied,  that  he  was  >*illing  to  grant 
the  T*ope  the  same  honour  in  the  kingdom  of  England  which  he  had 
enjoyed  in  his  father's  time ;  and  his  letter  concludes  with  these 
remarkable  words : — "  Wherefore,  dearest  father,  be  better  advised, 
and  let  your  kindness  be  so  tempered  towards  us,  that  I  may  not  be 

x  Eadm. 


32  CONTROVERSY    RESPECTING   INVESTITURES. 

compelled  (which  I  should  most  unwillingly  do)  to  withdraw  myself 
from  your  obedience." 

WiLK.  i.  379-382,  contains  several  letters  from  Pope  Paschal  to 
Anselm  on  the  subject  of  investitures.  In  his  second  letter  he 
informs  him  that  a  Lateran  synod  had  just  decreed  that  no  clerk 
should  do  homage  to  a  layman,  or  receive  any  ecclesiastical  property 
at  his  hands.  In  the  third,  he  enjoins  Anselm  to  excommunicate 
the  king's  advisers,  and  also  all  bishops  who  had  been  invested  by 
the  king.  In  the  fifth,  it  is  forbidden  not  only  that  laymen  should 
invest  bishops,  but  that  they  should  violently  intrude  into  their  elec- 
tions. We  also  learn  from  this  letter,  that  a  bishop  was  anciently 
invested  with  the  temporalities  of  his  see,  by  the  king  placing  a  rincf 
upon  his  finger,  and  ihe  pastoral  staff  in  his  hand.  Notwithstanding 
Paschal's  prohibition,  Gerard,  archbishop  of  York,  was  persuaded  by 
the  king  to  consecrate  bishops  who  had  been  thus  invested.^  These 
letters  were  written  a.d.  1100. 

Ibid.  p.  385.  Letter  of  Anselm  to  the  Archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  1103. 
Talking  of  his  return  to  England,  he  says — "  I  cannot  do  so,  because 
the  king  will  not  allow  me  to  remain  in  England,  unless  I  disobey 
the  commands  of  the  Pope,  a:nd  comply  with  his  wishes." 

Ibid.  p.  386. — rCouncil  of  London,  held  in  the  king's  palace, 
A.D.  1107. 

"  For  three  successive  days  during  Anselm's  absence,  the  king 
and  the  bishops  treated  concerning  investitures.  Several  of  them 
endeavoured  to  persuade  the  king  to  act  as  his  father  and  brother 
had  done,  and  not  according  to  the  injunctions  of  the  Pope ;  who, 
stedfastly  retaining  his  opinion  on  the  subject  of  investitures,  had 
nevertheless  granted  the  homage.  Afterwards,  however,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  Anselm,  the  king  decreed,  that  from  that  time  forward  no 
person  should  be  invested  with  a  bishoprick,  or  an  abbey,  by  receiv- 
ing the  crosier  or  the  ring  from  any  lay  hand."' 

JVbfe.  In  the  year  1110,  this  Pope  actually  signed  an  agreement 
with  the  emperor,  Henry  V.,  whereby  "  the  prelates  tvere  to  resign  all 
the  lands  and  other  possessions  tchich  they  held  injiefofthe  emperor,  on 
condition  of  the  latter  renouncing  the  right  of  investiture !" ^  In  doing 
homage,  the  vassal  knelt  down,  and  placing  his  hands  between  those  of 
his  liege  lord,  made  the  following  profession  of  fidelity  and  obedi- 
ence : — "  I  become  your  man  from  this  day  forth,  for  my  life,  for  mem- 
ber, and  for  worldly  honour ;  and  shall  owe  you  my  faith  for  the  land 
I  hold  of  you.'"- 

Ibid.  p.  389.  In  1109,  the  bishop  of  London  petitioned  the  Pope 
for  a  pall,  though  it  appears  without  success. 

Ibed.  p.  406.  In  the  year  1126,  John  de  Crema,  having  received 
from  the  Pope  a  legatine  authority  over  Britain,  was  long  detained 

1  Wilk.  i.  p.  384,  A.D.  1103.  '  E.  Chron.  Abb.  de  Bello. 

>  Hallam,  Mid.  Ages  ii.  49,  n. 

•>  Stat.  17  Edw.  II.  ap.  Chambers's  Encyclop.  voce  Homage. 


GRANT   OF   IRELAND   TO    HENRY  II.  33 

in  Normandy ;  but  at  length  Henry  I.  permitted  him  to  come  to 
England,  where  he  was  honourably  received  by  the  church.'^ 

WiLK.  I,  p,  407,  &c.  In  a  letter  to  the  English  clergy,  a.d.  1126, 
Pope  Honorius  takes  such  pains  to  prove  that  the  Lord  had  said 
unto  Peter,  "  Pctsce  oves  meas,  pasce  agnos  meos,"  and  that  they 
were  subject  to  the  papal  jurisdiction,  that  his  authority  can  hardly 
have  been  fully  recognized  in  England  at  this  period.  It  is  also 
worthy  of  remark,  that  in  the  writ  of  summons  from  the  primate  to 
the  bishop  of  Llandaff,  these  words  occur :  "  Be  it  known  unto  you 
by  these  presents,  that  John,  cardinal  presbyter  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  legate,  hath,  by  his  appointment,  and  with  our  allowance, 
determined  to  celebrate  a  council,"  &c.  The  Latin  words  are 
"  nostrdque  conniventid." 

Ibid.  p.  424.  Council  of  London,  a.d.  1151.  "Appeals  were 
not  in  use  in  England  until  Henry,  bishop  of  Winchester,  while  he 
was  legate,  introduced  them  :  for  in  this  council  he  thrice  appealed 
to  the  audience  of  the  Roman  pontiff."  ^ 

Ibid.  p.  426.  Giraldus  Cambrensis  says,  that  A.D.  1155,  Pope 
Adrian  gave  permission  to  Henry  II.  "both  to  conquer  and  to 
instruct  the  Irish  people,  who  were  so  indifferently  skilled  in  tlie 
rudiments  of  the  faith,  in  ecclesiastical  rules  and  discipline,  accord- 
ing to  the  rites  of  the  English  church.  The  same  Pope  also  sent  to 
Henry,  by  John  of  Salisbury,  a  gold  ring,  in  token  of  investiture." 
Next  follows  the  bull  itself,  in  which  the  Pope  says — "  Your  mag- 
nificence hath  conceived  an  excellent  mode  of  spreading  abroad  the 
glory  of  your  name  in  the  world,  and  of  accumulating  the  reward  of 
eternal  happiness  in  heaven,  whilst  you  exert  yourself  as  a  Christian 
prince  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  the  church ;  to  declare  to  that 
uncouth  and  illiterate  nation  the  verity  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  to 
extirpate  the  saplings  of  vice  from  the  field  of  the  Lord ;  requesting, 
for  the  accomplishment  of  your  object,  the  advice  and  favour  of  the 
apostolic  see.  Truly  there  is  no  kind  of  doubt  that  Ireland,  as  well 
as  all  other  islands  upon  which  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  hath 
shone,  belongs  to  the  jurisdiction  of  St.  Peter  and  of  the  holy  Roman 
Church,  which  your  majesty  also  acknowledges.  You,  our  beloved 
son  in  Christ,  have  signified  unto  us  your  desire  of  invading  the 
island  of  Ireland ;  to  make  that  people  subject  to  laws,  and  to  extir- 
pate from  thence  the  roots  of  vice ;  and  that  you  are  also  willing  to 
pay  to  St.  Peter  an  annual  sum  of  one  penny  for  every  house.  We 
therefore  grant  a  willing  assent  to  your  petition,  and,  that  the 
boundaries  of  the  church  may  be  extended,  that  the  course  of  vice 
may  be  arrested,  and  the  Christian  religion  increased,  permit  you  to 
enter  that  island.  Let  it  be  your  study,  then,  that  the  church  there 
may  be  adorned,  and  the  Christian  faith  established  and  increased." 

Matth.  Westm.  Flores.  Hist.  edit.  1567,  Pars.  II.  folio  32. 
**  About  A.D.  1155,  Henry,  king  of  England,  sent  a  solemn  embassy 
to  Rome,  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  invade  and  subdue  Ireland ; 
<=  Simeon  DuDelm.  <>  Walt.  Conventr.  Chron.  et  Huntingd.  Hist 

D 


34  THE   CELEBRATED   CONSTITUTIONS   OF   CLAIIENRON. 

to  re-establish  a  more  decent  form  of  religion  among  that  rude  and 
brutish  people ;  and  to  make  them  more  faithful  to  the  Church  of 
Rome :  which  the  Pope  joyfully  granted." 

Note.  Nothing  can  be  more  clear  than  the  inference,  that  at  the  date 
of  Pope  Adrian's  bull,  Ireland  was  not  considered  within  the  "  bounda- 
ries" of  the  Romish  "  Church ;"  for  else  how  could  those  boundaries 
have  been  "  extended"  by  Henry's  invasion  ?  It  is  also  evident  that  the 
Irish  had  not  been  in  the  habit  of  paj-ing  St.  Peter's  pence,  and  that 
both  in  doctrine  and  discipline  they  differed  widely  from  the  Roman 
model :  for  what  else  can  be  the  meaning  of  the  words  "  to  declare  to 
that  illiterate  nation  the  verity  of  the  Christian  faith?"  or  of  another 
expression,  which  I  shall  quote  in  the  original  on  account  of  its  peculiar 
force,  "ut  ihi  j)lantetur  et  crescat  fidei  Christianse  reUgio?" 

WiLK.  i,  435. — Constitutions  made  at  Clarendon  under  Henri/  II. 
A.D.  1164. 

Cap.  I.  If  any  controversy  shall  arise  between  clerks  and  laymen, 
or  between  clerks,  concerning  the  advowson  or  presentation  of  bene- 
fices, let  it  be  heard  and  decided  in  the  king's  court. 

Cap.  II.  Churches  belonging  to  the  fee  of  our  lord  the  king,  can- 
not be  impropriated  without  his  grant. 

Cap.  Ill,  Clerks  accused  of  any  crime,  and  summoned  by  the 
king's  judge,  shall  attend  his  court,  and  plead  there,  and  also  in  the 
ecclesiastical  court ;  but  with  this  proviso,  that  the  king's  judge 
may  send  to  the  ecclesiastical  court  to  see  how  the  cause  is  decided : 
and  if  a  clerk  shall  be  convicted,  or  if  he  plead  guilty,  the  church 
ought  no  longer  to  protect  him. 

Cap.  IV.  Archbishops,  bishops,  or  parsons  (personis),  may  not 
leave  the  kingdom  without  the  license  of  our  lord  the  king. 

Cap.  V.  Excommunicates  ought  not  to  give  bail  or  make  oath 
as  to  their  future  conduct  (remanentiam),  but  in  order  to  their  abso- 
lution, they  shall  only  give  security  and  a  pledge  that  they  wall 
abide  by  the  judgment  of  the  church. 

Cap.  VII.  No  person  who  is  the  king's  tenant  in  capite,  nor  shall 
any  of  his  officers,  be  excommunicated,  or  their  land  placed  under 
an  interdict,  until  the  king  hath  been  first  applied  to  for  justice. 

Note.  According  to  Eadmer,^  the  conqueror  permitted  no  bishop  to 
implead,  excommunicate,  or  inflict  any  ecclesiastical  punishment,  on  any 
of  his  barons  or  officers  who  should  be  accused  of  adultery,  incest, 
or  other  capital  offence,  unless  by  his  command.*^ 

Cap.  VIII.  When  appeals  arise,  they  ought  to  proceed  from  the 
archdeacon  to  the  bishop,  and  from  him  to  his  metropolitan ;  and  if 
the  archbishop  shall  be  slack  in  doing  justice,  the  case  is,  last  of  all, 
to  be  carried  to  our  lord  the  king,  that  by  his  command  it  may  be 
decided  in  the  archbishop's  court ;  nor  may  it  proceed  any  further 
toithotct  the  permission  of  our  lord  the  king, 

«  In  Vit.  Gul.  i.  '  Wilk.  i.  199.  N. 


THE  CELEBRATED  CONSTITUTIONS  OF  CLARENDON.      35 

Cap.  IX.  If  a  suit  shall  arise  between  a  clerk  and  a  laic,  or  vice 
versa,  it  shall  be  decided  by  the  award  of  twelve  lawful  men,  in  the 
presence  of  the  king's  chief  justice. 

Cap.  X.  If  any  one  who  hath  been  cited  before  an  archdeacon  or 
a  bishop,  for  any  crime  concerning  which  he  ought  to  plead  before 
them,  shall  neglect  the  summons,  they  may  interdict,  but  let  them 
not  excommunicate  him,  until  application  hath  been  first  made  for 
justice  to  the  king's  chief  officer  of  that  place. 

Note.   Interdict,  i.  e.  suspend  from  entrance  into  the  church. 

Cap.  XI,  Archbishops,  bishops,  or  any  of  the  clergy  who  are  the 
king's  tenants  in  capite,  are  to  hold  their  possessions  of  the  king  as 
baronies,  and  to  be  responsible  on  that  account  to  his  judges,  and 
to  perform  all  royal  customs :  and  they  ought,  like  other  barons, 
to  be  present  at  the  judicial  proceedings  of  the  royal  court,  t^ 
judgment  is  given  for  the  loss  of  life  or  member. 

Cap.  XII.  When  a  vacancy  occurs  in  any  archbishoprick,  bishop- 
rick,  &c.,  in  the  king's  domain,  it  ought  to  be  placed  in  his  hands, 
and  he  shall  receive  all  its  revenues.  When  the  church  is  to  be 
provided  for,  our  lord  the  king  ought  to  assemble  by  mandate  the 
principal  clergy  of  that  church  ;  and  the  election  ought  to  be  made 
in  the  chapel  royal,  with  the  king's  assent,  and  by  the  advice  of  his 
parsons :  and  there  shall  the  bishop  elect  do  homage,  and  swear 
fealty  to  the  king  as  his  liege  lord,  before  his  consecration,  saving 
his  order. 

Cap.  xin.  If  any  nobleman  shall  have  violently  opposed  {disfor- 
ciaverit)  an  archbishop,  bishop,  &c.  in  the  course  of  justice,  our  lord 
the  king  ought  to  punish  him ;  and  whosoever  shall  oppose  our  lord 
the  king  in  his  rights,  ought  to  be  compelled  by  the  archbishops,  &c. 
to  make  satisfaction  to  the  king. 

Cap.  XIV.  Let  not  a  church  or  cemetery  protect  against  the 
king's  justices  the  chattels  (catalia)  of  those  who  are  forfeited  to 
the  king;  for  they  belong  to  the  king,  whether  they  are  found  in 
the  church  or  out  of  it. 

Cap.  XV.  Pleas  which  relate  to  debt  are  in  the  king's  cognizance, 
though  a  solemn  oath  should  have  been  given. 

Xote.  In  the  Latin,  "  ques  fide  interpositd  debentur."  Anciently 
where  an  oath  had  been  taken,  the  case  belonged  to  the  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction. 

Cap.  XVI.  The  sons  of  rustics  ought  not  to  be  ordained  without 
the  consent  of  t\\civ  fextdal  lords. 

To  all  the  above  constitutions,  the  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots, 
barons,  and  nobles  agreed,  and  swore  to  observe  them.  The  follow- 
ing was  however  added  by  the  royal  authority  alone.^ 

Cap.  XVII.  The  king  also  decreed  that  bishops  should  degrade 
such  clerks  as  they  found  guilty  of  notorious  crimes,  in  the  presence 
of  the  king's  justice,  and  deliver  them  up  to  the  royal  court  to  bo 

e  Matth.  Paris. 

D  2 


36  OPPOSITION  OF  HEXRT  II.  TO  THE  POPE. 

punished.  The  archbishop,  on  the  other  hand,  thought  that  clerks, 
after  being  degraded  by  the  bishop,  ought  not  to  be  afterwards 
punished  by  the  lay  hand  ;  for  in  that  case  they  would  twice  suffer 
punishment  for  the  same  crime. 

All  the  above  constitutions  were  condemned  by  the  Pope  Alex- 
ander III. 

WiLK.  I.  p.  445.  In  a  letter  from  Gillebert,  bishop  of  London,  to 
Pope  Alexander  III.  concerning  Thomas  k  Becket,  a.d.  1166,  he 
says  :  "  Wherefore  we  entreat  your  excellency  to  restrain  for  a  time 
his  fiery  zeal  within  the  bounds  of  moderation ;  lest,  by  permitting 
him  to  pronounce  a  sentence  of  interdict,  you  allow  innumerable 
churches  to  be  subverted,  and  irrevocable/  alienate  from  your  obedi- 
ence both  the  king  himself  and  multitudes  of  people  with  him.  Should 
such  be  the  result,  so  that  my  lord  of  Canterbury,  losing  his  pos- 
sessions, is  doomed  to  a  perpetual  exile,  and  (which  God  forbid) 
England  no  longer  obeys  your  commands ;  how  much  better  would  it 
have  been  to  endure  patiently  for  a  time,  than  to  adopt  such  \dolent 
measures." 

Note.  It  is  said  that  when  Hilary,  bishop  of  Winchester,  was  mag- 
nifying the  Pope's  authority,  Henry  replied,  "  You  argue  with  much 
plausibility  for  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  which  was  conceded  to  him  hy 
men,  against  the  royal  dignity,  tvhich  was  ffiven  to  me  by  God."^ 

Ibid.  p.  453.  In  a  letter  from  tlie  English  bishops  to  the  Pope, 
A.D.  1168,  they  justify  the  principle  of  punishing  clerks  after 
degrading  them  ;  which  was  chiefly  objected  to  by  Becket.  "  For 
(say  they)  the  king  is  of  opinion  that  such  a  punishment  would  be 
by  no  means  commensurate  with  the  crime,  if  (for  example)  a  reader, 
or  an  acolyth,  after  the  murder  of  a  man  eminent  for  his  piety  or 

dignity,  should  escape,  after  being  merely  deprived  of  his  order 

Wherefore  we  have  appealed  to  your  sublimity,  both  verbally  and 
in  writing,  lest  the  church  should  be  so  miserably  subverted  in  the 
time  of  your  apostolate,  and  lest  our  lord  the  king  and  his  subjects 
should  be  alienated  from  your  obedience,  which  God  forbid. 

Ibid.  p.  458.  King  Henry  the  younger  was  crowned  during  his 
father's  lifetime  by  the  archbishop  of  York  :  "  For  this  Roger,  arch- 
bishop of  York,  renouncing  the  fear  of  God,  despising  the  prohi- 
bition of  our  lord  the  Pope,  and  a  most  inveterate  enemy  to  the 
church  of  Canterbury,  laid  his  hands  on  him."  '     a.d.  1170. 

Ibid.  p.  487.  Pope  Alexander  III.,  in  a  letter  to  the  archbishop 
of  York,  A.D.  1177,  thus  speaks  of  the  respect  paid  to  him  by  the 
emperor :  "  And  when  we  mounted  our  palfrey,  he  held  the  stirrup, 
and  showed  to  us  all  the  honour  and  reverence  which  his  predeces- 
sors usually  paid  to  ours." 

Ibid.  p.  514.   a.d.  1206,  the  archbishops,  bishops,  &c.  assembled 

at  St.  Alban's,  to  deliberate  respecting  a  subsidy  demanded  from 

the   English  clergy  by  the  Pope.     They  received  however  a  royal 

prohibition  in  the  following  words  :  "  All  our  earls,  barons,  knights, 

*•  Spelm.  ii.  57,  58.  '  Gerv.  Dorobern. 


THE  NATURE  AND  EFFECT  OF  AN  INTERDICT.        37 

and  other  faithful  subjects,  complain,  that  not  only  to  the  great  pre- 
judice of  the  laity,  but  also  to  the  intolerable  detriment  of  the  whole 
kingdom,  ye  have  determined,  by  the  authority  of  the  supreme  pon- 
tiff, to  celebrate  a  council  concerning  the  payment  of  the  romescot, 
contrary  to  custom,  and  also  several  other  unusual  exactions.  We 
therefore,  notwithstanding  our  reverence  to  the  holy  Roman  church, 
strictly  prohibit  you,  by  the  fidelity  which  you  owe  us,  from  holding 
any  such  council,  and  from  making  any  new  decree  contrary  to  the 
custom  of  our  kingdom."'' 

WiLK.  I.  p.  51 5,  Notwithstanding  the  above  prohibition  in  1206, 
John  Ferentinus  the  legate,  coming  to  England,  collected  a  vast 
sum  of  money  for  the  Pope :  "  Quo  facto,  sarcinulis  cum  magnS, 
cautela  dispositis,  et  prudenter  commendatis,  festinus  viator  ad  mare 
perveniens  Angliam  a  tergo  salutavit."' 

Ibid.  p.  526.  BuE  from  Pope  Innocent  to  the  bishops  of  London, 
Ely,  and  Worcester,  A,  D.  1207,  commanding  them  to  interdict  the 
realm  of  England,  on  account  of  King  John's  contumacy  in  the  case 
of  Stephen  Langton.  The  chrism  was  not  to  be  consecrated  upon 
Maundy  Thursday,  but  the  old  chrism,  mixed  with  other  oil  in  order 
to  eke  it  out,  was  to  be  used  in  the  baptism  of  infants ;  the  viaticum 
was  not  to  be  given  to  the  sick ;  the  gospel  was  not  to  be  read,  or 
the  canonical  hours  celebrated  in  a  consecrated  place,  but  somewhere 
else,  convenient  for  the  assembling  of  the  people ;  those  belonging 
to  the  religious  orders  were  not  to  admit  pilgrims  into  their  churches 
by  the  great  door,  but  by  some  small  private  entrance.  The  church 
doors  were  to  be  closed  at  all  times  during  the  continuance  of  the 
interdict,  except  on  the  principal  festival,  when  the  people  might 
enter  the  church  to  pray :  but,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  mass  was  never 
celebrated  at  such  times.  Baptism  might  be  performed  within  the 
church,  but  with  the  doors  closed ;  nor  were  any  of  the  laity  to  be 
admitted,  except  the  sponsors.  A.  woman  after  childbirth  was  to 
come  to  the  church,  and  perform  her  purification  without  its  walls. 
Presbyters  were  to  repeat  the  hours  in  private ;  but  they  might  bless 
and  sprinkle  holy  water,  consecrate  and  give  blessed  bread,  (by  which 
we  are  not  to  understand  the  eucharist,  but  the  eulogiaj'") ;  they 
might  also  announce  festivals  and  fasts,  and  preach  to  the  people 
in  the  church-yard.  Presbyters  were  moreover  to  visit  the  sick, 
hear  confessions,  celebrate  the  commendation  of  souls,  as  usual ; 
*'  tliei/  shall  not  however  follow  the  corpses  of  the  dead,  for  these  shall 
remain  without  Christian  burial."  On  Good  Friday,  priests  shall 
place  the  crucifix  on  the  outside  of  the  church,  but  without  any 
solemnity,  and  thither  shall  the  parishioners  repair  to  adore  it  with 
their  accustomed  devotion." 

Note.  Such  was  the  interdict !  a  most  powerful  instrument  of  papal 
domination,  by  which  they  seldom  failed  to  reduce  monarchs  to  obe- 
dience :   for  in  a  dark  and  superstitious  age,   nothing   could  more 

k  Ex.  Rot.  Pat.  8,  Job.  m.  1.  >  Mattb.  Paris.  °>  See  Index. 

■>  Ecclesiastic^  Sepolturft. 


38  BASE   SUBMISSION   OF   KING  JOHN. 

effectually  alienate  the  affections  of  a  people  from  their  king,  than  the 
reflection  that  by  his  contumacy  they  were  deprived  of  the  ordinance  of 
religion — the  sick  of  the  blessed  Eucharist,  and  the  dead  of  Christian 
burial.  But  even  this  interdict,  which  continued  for  six  years,  was 
much  less  severe  than  several  others  of  which  we  read  in  history : 
ex,  gr.  in  822,  the  whole  English  nation  was  for  six  years  deprived  of 
the  saci-ament  of  haptism.°  l)u  Cange,  in  his  glossary,  has  given  us  the 
form  of  an  interdict,  which  was  as  follows :  "  In  the  name  of  Christ, 
We  the  bishop  of  N.,  in  behalf  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
and  in  behalf  of  St.  Peter,  the  chief  of  the  apostles,  and  in  our  own 
behalf,  do  excommunicate  and  interdict  this  church,  and  all  the  chapels 
thereunto  belonging;  that  no  man  from  henceforth  may  have  leave, 
either  of  God  or  St.  Peter,  to  sing  mass,  or  to  hear  it,  or  in  any  wise  to 
administer  any  divine  office,  or  to  receive  God's  tithes,  without  our 
leave.  And  whosoever  shall  presume  to  act  otherwise,  let  him  be 
excommunicated  and  accursed,  and  separated  from  all  Christian  society, 
and  from  entering  into  Holy  Mother  Church,  where  there  is  forgiveness 
of  sins;  and  let  him  be  Anathema  Maranatiia  for  ever,  with  the 
devils  in  hell.    Fiat,  fiat,  fiat.  Amen  ! " 

WiLK.  I.  p.  527.  A  bull  of  the  same  Pope,  complaining  that  the 
Cistertian  order,  in  defiance  of  the  interdict,  continued  to  perform 
divine  service  as  usual. 

Ibid.  p.  531.  a.d.  1211,  in  the  council  of  Northampton,  king 
John  refusing  to  make  satisfaction  to  the  church,  the  legate  de- 
nounced him  excommunicate  to  his  face.  Many  other  threats  of 
our  lord  the  Pope  were  also  proclaimed  by  the  legate,  all  of  which 
the  king  set  at  nought."P 

Ibid.  p.  541.  In  an  epistle  of  Pope  Innocent,  a.d.  1213,  he 
recites  the  grant  made  by  king  John  when  he  became  reconciled  to 
the  church,  of  which  the  following  is  the  tenor :  "  John,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  lord  of  Ireland,  &c..  Became  we 
have  in  many  things  offended  God  and  our  holy  Mother  the  Church; 
we  therefore,  desiring  to  humble  ourselves  for  him  who  humbled 
himself  for  us  even  unto  death,  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  inspiring 
us  thereto,  without  fear  or  compulsion,  by  our  own  spontaneous 
good  will,  and  with  the  advice  of  our  barons,  offer  and  freely  grant 
unto  God,  and  to  his  holy  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  to  the  holy 
Roman  Church,  our  mother,  and  to  the  Pope  and  his  catholic  suc- 
cessors, the  whole  kingdom  of  England,  and  the  whole  kingdom  of 
Ireland,  for  the  remission  of  our  sins :  from  this  time  forward 
receiving  them  as  a  vassal  {feodarius)  ii'om  God  and  from  the 
Church  of  Rome ;  and  we  have  also  done  liege  homage  for  the  said 
kingdoms,  and  have  sworn  fidelity  to  our  lord  the  Pope,  by  the 
hands  of  his  legate.  In  token  of  which  our  perpetual  obligation, 
we  grant,  that  in  lieu  of  any  suit  or  service  which  we  ought  to 
perform  for  the  said  kingdoms,  the  Roman  Church  shall  annually 
receive  a  thousand  marks  sterling  from  the  revenues  of  our  said 
kingdom :  viz.  at  Michaelmas  500  marks,  and  at  Easter  the  same ; 
i.e.  700  marks  for  the  kingdom  of  England,  and  300  for  Ireland; 
besides  St.  Peter's  penny." 

"  Wilk.  i.  172.  P  Ex  Annal.  Margan. 


EXTORTIONS   OF   THE   POPE.  39 

WiLK.  I.  p.  544.  "  A.D.  1214,  archbishop  Stephen  (Langton)  with 
his  suffragans  held  a  council  at  Dunstable:  being  very  much  annoyed 
because  the  Pope's  legate,  without  consulting  them,  and  to  please 
the  king,  had  placed  incompetent  prelates  in  the  vacant  churches, 
rather  by  intrusion  than  canonical  election.  The  archbishop  there- 
fore sent  two  of  the  clergy  to  Burton-upon-Trent,  where  the  legate 
then  was,  prohibiting  him  in  the  name  of  the  primate  from  pre- 
suming to  institute  prelates  contrary  to  his  dignity,  with  an  appeal 
to  the  Pope.  The  legate,  however,  paying  no  regard  to  this  appeal, 
by  the  king's  permission  sent  Pandulf  to  the  court  of  Rome,  who  so 
blackened  the  reputation  of  the  archbishop  and  extoUed  the  king, 
that  Simon  de  Langton  (brother  to  the  primate)  could  not  even 
obtain  a  hearing."'' 

Ibid.  p.  545. — Charter  of  king  John  for  the  free  election  of  prelates. 

"  By  this  our  present  charter  we  ordain,  that  henceforth  and  for 
ever,  in  all  and  singular  churches  of  our  realm,  the  elections  of  all 
greater  and  lesser  prelates  shall  be  free:  saving  to  us  and  to  our 
heirs  the  custody  of  the  churches,  &c.  during  the  vacancy.  When 
prelacies  become  vacant,  the  electors  may  freely  appoint  as  their 
pastor  whomsoever  they  please,  having  first  requested  from  us  leave 
to  elect;  wliich  if  we  should  refuse,  let  the  electors  proceed  necer- 
iheless  to  a  canonical  election,  and  then  demand  our  assent,  which 
we  will  never  refuse,  unless  upon  reasonable  grounds."  (Dated 
A.D.  1214.) 

Ibid.  p.  546. — Bull  of  Pope  Innocent  to  King  John,  a.d.  1215. 

"  We  decree  that  your  {royal)  chapel  shall  not  be  excommunicated 
or  interdicted  by  any  one,  unless  by  the  special  command  of  the 
apostolic  see." 

Ibid.  p.  620.  "a.d.  1226,  cardinal  Otho  was  sent  to  England, 
by  Pope  Honorius  III.,  to  require  a  grant  of  two  prebendal  stalls  in 
every  cathedral  throughout  the  entire  realm  of  England,  as  well  as 
CoRRODiES  in  all  the  monastenes.  The  Pope  in  his  letter  alleged 
that  his  object  was  to  do  away  with  the  old  reproach  of  avarice 
brought  against  the  holy  Roman  Church  (!!!)  because  no  business  can 
be  transacted  there  without  considerable  expense,  which  in  reality 
arises  from  the  poverty  of  the  apostolic  see.  The  bishops  however, 
when  it  was  proposed  to  them,  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter ;  and  soon 
after,  John  Mareschall  arrived,  forbidding  in  the  king's  name  all 
such  prelates  as  held  temporal  baronies  to  make  his  lay  fees  tributary 
to  the  Church  of  Rome ;  lest  he  should  be  thus  deprived  of  the  ser- 
vices duo  to  him  from  thence."' 

Ibid.  p.  622.    "a.d.  1229,  the  Pope  demandeth  a  tenth  of  all  the 

personal  property  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Wales,  from  all  classes, 

laity  as  well  as  clergy,  to  enable  him  to  carry  on  a  war  against  the 

emperor  Frederick.     The  bishops  tlierofore,  and  the  abbots,  after 

1  Matth.  Paris.  ■"  Matth.  Paris,  and  Pol.  Verg. 


40  ROMISH   BISHOPS  ARE   THE   POPE's  VASSALS. 

three  or  four  days'  deliberation,  and  very  reluctantly,  at  length  con- 
sented ;  fearing  that  otherwise  a  sentence  of  excommunication  or 
interdict  would  be  pronounced  against  them."' 

WrtiK.  I.  p.  633. — Profession  of  an  Abbot  exempted  from  episcopal 
jurisdiction,  A.D.  1235. 

"  I,  John,  abbot  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Alban's,  will,  from  hence- 
forward and  for  ever,  be  faithful  and  obedient  to  St.  Peter,  and  to 
the  holy  apostolic  Roman  Church,  and  to  my  lord  the  Pope  N.,  &c. 
The  counsel  which  they  shall  entrust  me  with,  either  by  themselves, 
their  messengers,  or  letters,  I  will  not  knowingly  reveal  to  any  per- 
son to  their  prejudice,  but  will  assist  them  in  defending  the  Popedom 
and  the  royalties  of  St.  Peter,  against  every  man,  saving  my  order. 
I  will  treat  honorably  the  legate  of  the  apostolic  see.  Being  called 
to  a  synod,  I  wiU  go  thither,  unless  prevented  by  some  canonical 
impediment ;  and  every  three  years  I  will  visit  the  thresholds  of  the 
apostles  {at  Rome),  either  personally  or  by  proxy,  unless  I  be  ab- 
solved by  the  Pope's  license.  The  possessions  of  my  monastery  I 
will  not  sell,  or  otherwise  ahenate,  without  his  privity  and  consent." 

Note.  In  the  modern  Roman  Pontifical,^  may  be  seen  the  oath 
which  Romish  bishops  take  at  the  time  of  their  consecration,  in  which 
occur  the  following  passages :  "  I  will  not  be  a  party  in  any  counsel, 
action,  or  treaty,  which  may  in  any  way  prejudice  our  lord  the  Pope,  or 
the  Church  of  Rome.  AU  the  injunctions,  reservations,  provisions,  &c. 
of  the  Pope,  I  will  observe  with  all  my  might,  and  cause  others  to 
observe  them.  I  will  also  to  the  utmost  extent  of  my  ability  persecute 
and  oppose  {persequar  et  impugnabo)  all  heretics,  schismatics,  and 
rebels,  to  our  said  lord  and  his  successors.  I  will  personally  visit  the 
thresholds  of  the  apostles  every  three  years,  and  render  an  account  to 
my  said  lord  or  his  successors,  of  my  whole  pastoral  office,  as  well  as  aU 
things  relating  to  the  state  of  my  church,  the  discipline  of  both  clergy 
and  people,  and  the  salvation  of  the  souls  entrusted  to  my  care  :  I  will 
also  humbly  receive  and  diligently  execute  the  apostolic  commands." 
Bishops  fettered  by  such  an  oath  as  this,  may  well  be  termed,  "  sedis 
Momanee  vilissima  m.ancipia." 

Ibid.  p.  647.  In  a.d.  1237,  "  Otho,  cardinal  deacon  came  as 
legate  to  England  by  the  king's  command,  but  without  the  privity 
of  his  nobles ;  wherefore  many  conceived  a  great  indignation  against 
the  king:  and  it  is  said  that  Edmund,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
rebuked  him  for  having  invited  the  legate  to  England,  to  the  pre- 
judice of  his  dignity,  and  the  great  detriment  of  his  kingdom.  The 
king,  however,  despising  his  advice,  went  to  the  sea-shore  to  meet 
the  legate,  and  bowing  his  head  to  his  very  knees,  obsequiously 
ushered  him  into  his  kingdom.  Every  day  he  raved  more  and  more, 
and  made  himself  such  a  slave  to  the  will  of  the  Roman  legate,  that 
he  appeared  to  worship  his  very  footsteps ;  affirming  both  in  jiublic 
and  in  private,  that  he  could  neither  alter,  alienate,  or  dispose  of 
anything  Avithout  the  consent  of  his  lord  the  Pope  or  of  the  legate ; 

•  Matth.  Paris.  '  Paris,  1664,  p.  69,  &c. 


EXTORTIONS   OF   THE   POPE.  41 

SO  that  he  could  not  be  called  a  king,  but  the  Pope's  vassal.  By 
these,  and  similar  absurdities,  he  made  the  hearts  of  his  nobility 
bleed.  But  the  lord  Otho,  by  his  prudent  and  modest  demeanour, 
soon  tempered  the  indignation  which  had  been  conceived  against 
him."" 

WiLK.  I.  p.  648.  In  the  same  year,  when  Otho  "  desired  to  enter 
the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  there  to  treat  concerning  the  affairs  of  the 
church,  as  he  had  done  in  England,  the  king  of  Scotland  replied  :  I 
do  not  remember  ever  to  have  seen  a  legate  in  my  kingdom ;  and 
(thanks  be  to  God)  all  things  here  are  in  such  good  order,  that  we 
require  not  the  presence  of  one.  In  the  reign  of  my  father,  nor  in 
the  reign  of  any  of  my  ancestors,  hath  a  legate  been  allowed  to  enter 
the  kingdom,  nor  will  I  suffer  it,  so  long  as  I  have  the  power  to 
hinder  it.  But  since  you  have  the  reputation  of  being  a  holy  man, 
I  warn  you  to  be  careful  how  you  enter  my  dominions,  lest  any 
mischief  befal  you ;  for  wild  and  savage  men  dwell  there,  who  thirst 
for  human  blood,  and  whom  even  I  myself  am  not  able  to  restrain."" 

Ibid.  p.  664.  Legatine  Council  of  London,  a.d.  1239.  The 
bishops  met  "  to  consult  respecting  the  oppressions  of  the  English 
church ;  for  the  legate,  besides  the  daily  exactions,  demanded  procu- 
rations ;  to  whom,  after  consulting  together,  they  replied  with  one 
voice,  that  Roman  avarice  had  so  often  exhausted  the  goods  of  the 
church,  that  they  would  bear  it  no  longer :  '  Let  him  satisfy  you  who 
hath  so  unadvisedly  invited  you  hither.'  And  thus,  with  querulous 
murmurings,  they  departed  from  the  council."* 

Ibid.  p.  678.  In  the  Council  of  Beading,  a.d.  1240,  the  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  mitred  abbots,  and  nobles,  being  assembled,  "the 
legate,  on  the  part  of  the  Pope,  demanded  from  them  importunately 
the  fifth  part  of  all  their  personal  property,  to  enable  him  to  with- 
stand the  emperor ;  to  whom  the  bishops  replied,  that  they  would 
by  no  means  submit  to  such  an  insupportable  burthen,  which  affected 
the  whole  of  Christendom,  without  the  mature  deliberation  of  a  coun- 
cil ;  wherefore  a  remote  day  was  appointed  for  their  deliberation."'' 

Ibid.  p.  679,  a.  d.  1240.  "  A  new  and  execrable  mode  of 
extorting  money,  unknown  to  former  ages,  was  introduced  into 
England ;  for  our  holy  father  the  Pope  sent  a  certain  collector 
into  England,  Peter  Rubeus  by  name,  who  had  been  taught  a  new 
sleight,  by  which  he  might  cozen  the  miserable  English  out  of  an 
immense  sum  of  money ;  for  he  entered  the  chapters  of  monasteries, 
forcing  and  wheedling  them  to  grant  him  money,  by  the  example 
of  other  prelates,  who  (as  he  falsely  asserted)  had  contributed  with 
the  greatest  good  will.  The  said  impostor  also  made  them  swear 
that  they  would  not  inform  any  person  of  this  species  of  exaction 
within  half  a  year.  At  length  the  abbots  came  with  a  sorrowful 
countenance  to  the  king,  as  the  patron  of  their  monasteries,  and 
said — '  Our  lord  the  Pope  requires  from  us  that  which  is  impossible, 
and  imposes  upon  us  a  tax  hateful  to  the  whole  world.     We  hold 

0  Matth.  Paris.  "  Ibid.  "  Ibid.  »  Ibid. 


42  EXTORTIONS   OF   THE    POPE. 

our  baronies  from  you,  nor  can  we  impoverish  them  without  pre- 
judice to  your  interest ;  for  we  cannot  possibly  fulfil  the  duties 
which  we  owe  to  you,  and  at  the  same  time  submit  to  the  incessant 
extortions  of  the  Pope.'  Which  when  the  king  heard,  eyeing  them 
fiercely,  and  terrifying  them  with  his  vociferation,  he  cried  out  to 
the  legate,  '  Ho !  my  lord  the  legate,  these  wretched  deceivers 
betray  the  secrets  of  the  Pope,  and  will  not  grant  your  request ! 
Do  with  them  as  you  please ;  for  I  will  give  you  up  one  of  my 
strongest  castles,  that  you  may  imprison  them  there.'"  By  this 
threat  the  abbots  were  awed  into  compliance ;  the  bishops,  however, 
taught  by  then*  example,  returned  an  evasive  answer,  as  they  feared 
the  consequences  of  a  positive  refusal ;  and  the  legate  would  have 
been  completely  foiled  in  that  quarter,  if  he  had  not  contrived 
to  sow  the  seeds  of  discord  among  them,  by  which  means  he  at 
length  prevailed.  The  reply  of  the  Berkshire  rectors  to  the  legate 
is  very  remarkable : — "  Ecclesiastical  property  is  by  no  means 
tributary  to  the  see  of  Rome,  which  has  a  patrimony  of  its  own. 
Since  also,  according  to  the  holy  fathers,  the  revenues  of  the  church 
are  to  be  applied  to  certain  specific  purposes,  viz.  the  repairs  of 
the  church,  the  support  of  the  ministers,  and  the  poor,  they  ought 
not  to  be  converted  to  other  uses,  unless  by  the  authority  of  the 
universal  church.  The  revenues  of  the  church  are  indeed  scarcely 
adequate  to  the  support  of  the  clergy,  both  from  their  smallness, 
and  because,  through  the  failure  of  the  crop,  there  sometimes  arises 
a  famine  in  the  country,  and  the  poor  are  so  numerous,  some  of 
whom  die  of  starvation,  that  we,  who  can  scarcely  support  ourselves 
and  the  poor,  ought  not  to  be  obliged  to  contribute."^ 

WiLK.  I.  p.  684.  In  the  year  1244,  Pope  Innocent  IV.  sent  a  new 
extortioner,  of  the  name  of  Martin,  to  England,  and  gave  him 
a  power  of  excommunicating  or  suspending  all  such  as  should 
oppose  his  demands :  the  king,  however,  interposed  a  prohibition, 
and  thus  was  he  baffled  in  his  design.^ 

Ibid.  p.  686,  a.d.  1246.  "  The  Pope,  more  imperiously  than 
usual,  demanded  of  the  English  prelates  that  all  beneficed  clerks, 
if  resident  upon  their  livings,  should  pay  the  third  part,  and  if  non- 
resident, the  half  of  their  goods,  to  the  Pope ;  adding  many  other 
hard  conditions,  and  with  that  detestable  clause  '  non  obstante' 
The  demand  was  very  properly  refused,  for  the  following,  among 
other  reasons : — 

Item.  Since  the  poor,  of  which  there  are  an  infinite  number,  are 
supported  out  of  the  revenues  of  the  clergy,  if  half  these  revenues 
are  taken  away,  alms  must  entirely  cease. 

Item.  Since  lately,  under  the  name  of  a  twentieth,  6000  marks 
were  paid  to  our  lord  the  Pope,  according  to  the  rule  of  proportion, 
the  sum  demanded  would  amount  to  60,000  marks  !"* 

The  document  concludes  with  an  appeal  to  the  presence  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  decision  of  an  oecumenical  cotmcil. 
)  Matth.  Paris.  »  Ibid.  »  Ibid. 


PAPAL  PROVISION  AND  OTHER  ABUSES,  43 

WiLK.  I.  p.  694.  A  complaint  made  by  the  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury and  his  suffragans,  in  1246,  concerning  the  oppressions  of  the 
see  of  Rome,  and  the  collation  of  benefices  by  provision. 

Ibid.  p.  697.  In  a  letter  of  king  Henry  III.  a.d.  1250,  he  says  : 
"  Whereas  our  chapels  in  the  dioceses  of  Chester,  Sarum,  London, 
and  elsewhere,  have  in  our  times,  and  in  the  times  of  our  pro- 
genitors, possessed  such  freedom,  that  neither  our  lord  the  Pope,  nor 
any  archbishop  or  prelate,  have  exercised  any  power  or  jurisdiction 
in  the  same,  either  by  appointing  any  thing  in  them,  or  exacting 
any  subsidy,"  &c. 

Ibid.  p.  700.  A  letter  from  Pope  Innocent  IV.  a.d.  1252,  in 
which  he  promises  the  EngHsh  prelates  to  act  more  cautiously  for 
the  future  with  respect  to  provisors :  the  presentation  of  foreigners 
to  English  benefices  by  the  Pope.  We  learn  from  this  letter,  that 
livings  in  England  to  the  annual  value  of  8000  marks,  were  at  this 
time  in  the  hands  of  Italians,  in  an  age  when  a  vicarage  was  usually 
of  the  value  oi  Jive  marks ! 

Ibid.  p.  709.  a.d.  1255.  Rustandus,  legate  to  Pope  Alexander 
IV.  demanded,  in  the  Pope's  name,  "  an  immense  sum  from  all  the 
clergy,  by  means  of  a  bull  full  of  injustice,  sufficient  to  wound  the 
heart  of  the  most  patient ;  and  had  it  been  collected,  the  Church  of 
England  and  the  whole  kingdom  would  have  been  reduced  to  the 
vilest  slavery,  and  the  most  hopeless  poverty.  Thus,  to  give  a  single 
example,  he  commanded  the  monastery  of  St.  Alban's  to  pay  to  the 
Pope  six  hundred  marks  on  pain  of  interdict !  In  reply  to  this 
demand,  Fulco,  bishop  of  London,  said :  '  Before  I  submit  to  such 
intolerable  slavery  and  oppression,  I  will  lose  my  head.'  '  And  I,' 
said  Walter,  bishop  of  Worcester,  *  will  be  hanged  first.'  Upon 
which  all  the  prelates  promised  to  follow  the  steps  of  St.  Thomas 
the  martyr,  who  suffered  himself  to  be  brained  in  defence  of  the 
liberties  of  the  church."''  Afterwards,  however,  the  bishops  were 
forced  to  comply  to  a  certain  extent. 

Concilia  Magn^  Britanni.e,  &c.  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  II. 

WiLK.  ii.  19.  A.D.  1268.  "  All  the  Scottish  bishops  were  cited 
by  Othobon  the  legate,  to  attend  a  council  which  he  was  about  to 
hold ;  and  they  sent  the  bishops  of  Dunkeld  and  Dunblane,  lest,  in 
their  absence,  something  should  be  decreed  to  their  prejudice.  The 
legate  made  several  constitutions  which  particularly  related  to  Scot- 
land, but  which  the  Scottish  clergy  altogether  refused  to  observe."*^ 

Ibid.  p.  64.  Letter  from  archbisliop  Peckham  to  Edward  I. 
A.D.  1281,  complaining  that  the  liberties  of  the  church  were  not 
respected,  and  proving  at  some  length  that  even  kings  are  bound 
to  obey  the  commands  of  the  supremo  pontiff*,  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter. 

Ibid,  p.  67.  A  letter  of  the  same  archbishop  to  Pope  Martin  IV. 
A.D.  1281,  respecting  a  bull  relating  to  tenths,  granted  for  the  use 
b  Matth.  Paris.  "  Ex  Scoti-Chronic.  Paslat. 


44  FORM   USED   IN   THE   DELIVERY   OF   THE  PALL. 

of  the  crusade,  but  which  was  believed  to  be  a  forgery.  The  letter 
begins  thus :  "  To  the  most  holy  father  in  Christ,  and  reverend  lord 
Martin,  by  the  grace  of  God  supreme  pontiff  of  the  holy  Roman 
and  universal  church.  I,  Friar  John,  by  divine  permission,  humble 
minister  of  the  church  of  Canterbury,  primate  of  all  England,  with 
filial  reverence  kiss  your  holy  feet." 

WiLK.  II.  p.  78.  A.D.  1282.  A  letter  from  archbishop  Peckham,  to 
his  proctors,  whom  he  seems  to  have  constantly  maintained  at  the 
court  of  Rome,  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  English  church.  He 
sent  them,  it  appears,  three  hundred  marks,  to  be  distributed  partly 
in  presents  to  the  Pope  and  cardinals,  and  the  rest  for  their  own 
expenses.  He  assigns  to  one  as  an  annual  stipend  thirty  marks,  to 
another  twenty  marks,  and  to  a  third  a  hundred  shillings.  This 
letter  clearly  shows  the  mischievous  consequences  of  appeals  to 
Rome :  for  the  archbishop  seems  afraid  lest  the  Pope  should 
reinstate  the  bishop  of  Winchester,  who  had  been  canonically 
deprived ;  and  the  bishop  of  Hereford  had  boldly  denied  that  the 
archbishop  possessed  any  authority  over  him,  and  appealed  to  the 
Pope.     See  also  p.  81. 

Ibid.  p.  88.  Another  letter  from  archbishop  Peckham,  a.d.  1282, 
respecting  the  bishop  of  Winchester,  who  had  appealed  to  the  Pope 
from  his  decision.  He  strongly  condemns  appeals,  which  he  calls 
"  the  great  plague  of  the  universal  church,  and  the  refuge  of  all  the 
wicked,  who  thus  abuse  the  care  of  the  Pope :"  adding  that  his 
moderation  ought  to  prevent  the  frequency  of  appeals. 

Ibid.  p.  192,  &c.  a.d.  1292,  on  the  demise  of  archbishop  Peck- 
ham, Henry,  prior  of  the  church  of  Canterbury,  acted  as  official  of 
the  see  during  the  vacancy,  confirming  the  elections  of  the  bishops 
of  Bath  and  Wells,  and  St.  Asaph,  &c.  (pp.  187,  195.)  On  the 
election  of  Robert  Winchelsey,  he  wrote  to  the  Pope  to  confirm  the 
archbishop  elect  in  the  primacy.  The  chapter  of  Canterbury  also 
sent  two  proctors  to  Rome,  to  obtain  a  bull  of  confirmation,  with 
private  letters  to  each  of  the  cardinals  requesting  them  to  exert 
their  influence  with  the  Pope  to  obtain  it :  for  they  do  not  appear  to 
have  been  aware  that  the  see  of  Rome  was  then  vacant,  a.d.  1293, 
Pope  Celestine  V.  sent  to  England  four  bulls,  confirming  the  election, 
(which  may  be  seen,  p.  197,  &c.)  and  also  a  pall  for  the  new  arch- 
bishop. 

Ibid.  p.  199.  a.d.  1293.  Form  of  the  petition  for  apaU:  "Your 
devoted  daughter,  the  church  of  Canterbury,  requests  that  a  pall, 
taken  from  the  body  of  St.  Peter,  may  be  granted  to  her  elect 
(archUshop),  that  he  may  possess  the  plenitude  of  his  dignity ;  and 
for  this  she  instantly  and  earnestly  supplicates  your  holiness." 
Form  used  in  delivering  the  pall:  "  In  honour  of  almighty  God,  and 
of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  of  the  blessed  apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  and  of  our  lord  Pope  Celestine,  and  of  the  holy  Roman 
church,  and  of  the  church  committed  to  your  charge,  we  deUver  to 
you  a  pall  taken  from  the  body  of  St.  Peter,  as  the  plenitude  of  the 


ROMISH  AVARICE — PAPAL   EXEMPTIONS.  45 

pontifical  office ;  that  yon  may  use  it  within  your  church  on  certain 
days,  expressed  in  the  privileges  granted  by  the  apostolic  see." 
Then  follows  the  oath  taken  by  the  archbishop  on  receiving  his  pall, 
nearly  the  same  as  that  which  I  have  published  in  p.  40. 

WiLK.  II.  p.  232.  Letter  from  the  archbishop  to  the  Pope,  a.d. 
1297,  excusing  himself  and  his  sufiragans  for  having  granted  tenths 
of  all  ecclesiastical  revenues  to  the  king,  to  enable  him  to  repel  the 
Scots,  contrary  to  the  injunctions  of  his  holiness.  This  letter  is 
written  in  a  style  of  the  most  servUe  adulation. 

Ibid.  p.  234. — Petitions  of  the  English  bishops  and  clergy  to 
the  Pope,  A.  D.  1297. 

I.  That  the  procurations  demanded  by  the  cardinals  who  have 
been  last  sent  to  England,  viz.  fourpence  from  every  mark  for  the 
second  year,  and  threepence  for  the  third  year,  be  reduced,  both 
because  the  said  procuration  amounts  to  an  exceedingly  burthensome 
and  unheard-of  sum,  and  because  the  said  cardinals  {originally) 
demanded  only  one  full  procuration.  Also  because  the  church  of 
England  hath  been  for  a  long  time,  and  is  at  present,  oppressed  by 
such  various  and  unprecedented  grievances,  as  to  be  unable  to 
support  such  large  procurations.  Also  because  sentences  of  ex- 
communication have  been  pronounced  by  the  said  cardinals,  with 
a  view  to  the  exaction  of  these  procurations,  under  the  hardest 
conditions ;  and  so  little  time  is  allowed,  that  many  are  involved 
from  poverty,  who  are  by  no  means  in  fault.  Also  because  such 
excessive  procurations  are  manifestly  unjust ;  and  Othobon,  of  pious 
memory,  and  other  legates,  received  only  moderate  procurations  of 
six  marks  from  prelates  and  larger  monasteries,  sparing  the  parochial 
clergy  altogether. 

II.  That  the  last  taxation  of  English  benefices,  made  by  the 
command  of  the  Pope  for  the  collection  of  tenths,  with  a  view  to  the 
crusade,  be  reduced ;  as  the  livings  are  overvalued,  and  their  value 
is  diminishing  every  day ;  especially  as  it  will  otherwise  be  con- 
sidered as  a  standard  for  all  future  taxations. 

ly.  That  the  nuncio  of  the  apostolic  see  may  not  demand  more 
from  the  English  bishops,  in  the  way  of  Peter's  pence,  than  hath  of 
old  been  usually  paid  from  each  diocese. 

"V.  That  diocesans  may  have  the  full  disposal  of  the  goods  of 
such  of  the  clergy  as  die  intestate,  according  to  ancient  custom, 
without  being  obliged  to  pay  anything  out  of  tlie  said  property 
to  the  papal  nuncio. 

Ibid.  p.  242.  Letter  from  the  archbishop  to  the  proctors  of  the 
English  prelates  at  the  court  of  Rome,  a.d.  1298,  in  which  he  says : 
"  Although  we  have  not  yet  received  the  proceeds  arising  from  the 
grant  of  a  half-penny  from  each  mark,  of  all  the  ecclesiastical 
property  in  our  province,  to  defi'ay  your  expenses;  yet,  since  wo 
understand  that  you  require  more  money  than  we  delivered  to  you, 
we  have  borrowed  lOOf.  which  we  send.     At  the  same  time  we 


4G  MISCHIEVOUS   CONSEQUENCES   OF   APPEALS. 

marvel  not  a  little  at  your  immoderate  and  profuse  expenses 
hitherto  ;  in  which  respect  you  must  be  more  prudent  in  future." 

WiLK.  II.  p.  252.  Letter  from  archbishop  Winchelsey  to  tlie  Pope, 
A.D.  1299,  requesting  his  acceptance  of  two  thousand  marks! 

Ibib.  p.  259  and  263.  There  are  two  letters  written  by  this 
archbishop  to  the  court  of  Rome,  A.  D.  1300,  complaining  of  the 
encroachments  upon  his  jurisdiction  by  the  abbot  and  monks  of 
St.  Augustine's,  Canterbury,  who  endeavoured  to  extend  their 
privilege  of  exemption  to  all  the  churches  of  which  they  had  the 
patronage.  In  the  first  of  these,  directed  to  his  proctor  at  Rome, 
he  says :  '•'  Wherefore  we  command  you,  as  you  regard  our  honour, 
and  that  of  our  church,  that  you  urge  our  friends  at  the  court  of 
Rome  with  earnest  and  continual  supplications,  whenever  an  oppor- 
tunity shall  present  itself,  that,  as  far  as  they  possibly  can,  they 
cause  the  premises  to  be  made  known  to  our  lord  the  Pope."  In 
the  latter,  written  to  the  Pope,  he  says  :  "  The  more  frequently  that 
the  apostolic  see,  the  mother  and  mistress  of  all,  with  her  wonted 
benignity,  grants  to  some  who  approach  her  extraordinary  privileges 
and  favours,  depending  upon  the  plenitude  of  her  power,  so  much 
the  more  will  men  of  depraved  appetites  wickedly  endeavour  to 
circumvent  that  see  with  various  falsehoods  and  deceits.  But  the 
authority  of  the  holy  fathers  hath  determined  that  they  shall  utterly 
forfeit  what  they  have  (so  unjustly)  gained,  and  their  frauds  becoming 
notorious,  they  should  make  the  apostolic  see  more  cautious  in  grant- 
ing such  privileges." 

Note.  Nothing  can  more  forcibly  point  out  the  evil  consequences  of 
appeals  than  these  two  documents.  We  here  behold  the  primate  and 
metropolitan  of  a  great  nation  prostrating  himself  at  the  feet  of  the 
Pope,  and  supplicating  him,  in  the  most  abject  and  humiliating  terms, 
that  forty-four  churches  of  his  own  diocese  might  be  restored  to  his 
jurisdiction ;  wrested  from  him  under  pretence  of  papal  buUs  of 
exemption. 

Ibid.  p.  266.  a.  d.  1 301,  William  de  GaynesburgR,  elect  of 
Worcester,  "  presented  to  the  king  an  apostolic  bull,  in  which  it 
was  stated  that  '  the  pope  committed  to  him  the  administration  of 
both  spirituals  and  temporals  in  the  said  diocese ;'  and  for  the  fault 
which  he  seemed  to  have  committed  against  the  king,  by  receiving 
the  pope's  bull,  which  granted  him  a  temporal  jurisdiction,  the  said 
bishop  was  fined  a  thousand  marks,  to  be  paid  at  the  discretion 
of  the  king."'' 

Ibid.  p.  267.  a.d.  1301,  Pope  Boniface  VIII.  commanded  the 
bishop  of  Durham  to  appear  before  him  in  person.  This  prelate,  it 
seems,  claimed  a  power  of  visiting  the  prior  and  chapter  of  the 
church  of  Durham  ;  and  when  they  resisted  his  claim  on  the  grounds 
of  prescriptive  right  and  papal  exemption,  he  sequestered  their  lands, 
threw  their  prior  into  a  dungeon,  forced  another  prior  upon  them 
after  a  mock  election,  and  in  answer  to  the  remonstrances  of  the 

d  Ex  MS.  Cotton,  Cleopatra,  E.  1,  f.  2  0. 


PAPAL   EXEMPTIONS THE   SYSTEM  OF   PROVISION.  47 

archbishop  of  York,  who  had  been  appealed  to,  declared  that  "  he 
would  not  alter  his  determination,  either  for  the  Pope,  the  king,  the 
archbishop,  or  any  one  else."  For  this  misconduct  he  was  cited  to 
appear  at  Rome  within  three  months,  but  we  are  left  in  the  dark 
with  respect  to  the  result. 

WiLK.  11.  p.  271.  A  bull  of  Pope  Boniface  VIIL  a.d.  1301,  ex- 
empting the  masters  and  scholars  of  the  university  of  Oxford  from 
the  authority  of  all  bishops,  archbishops,  or  legati  nati ;  and  placing 
them  under  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  their  chancellor.  All  in- 
terdicts, excommunications,  &c.  pronounced  against  them  contrary 
to  the  tenor  of  his  privilege,  are  declared  to  be  null  and  void. 

Ibid.  p.  275.  A  letter  from  archbishop  Winchelsey,  a.d.  1303, 
to  one  of  the  cardinals,  in  which  he  says  :  "  Whereas,  moreover,  our 
said  lord  Pope  Boniface  of  sacred  memory  exempted  John,  bishop  of 
Winchester,  our  suffragan,  with  all  his  subjects,  from  our  jurisdic- 
tion as  long  as  he  lived ;  by  whose  insolence  and  enormous  excesses 
it  hath  happened  that  many  souls  have  been  endangered :  and 
whereas,  as  we  have  heard,  the  said  bishop  purposes  to  use  his 
interest  that  these  privileges  may  be  renewed,  we  entreat  you  to 
exert  yourself  that  this  may  not  be  done." 

Ibid.  p.  289.  A  bull  of  Pope  Clement  V.  a.d.  1307,  exhorting 
king  Edward  II.  to  restore  the  temporalities  of  his  diocese  to  Walter 
Jorz,  who  had  been  promoted  to  the  see  of  Armagh  by  papal  pro- 
vision. He  says  in  this  document :  "  The  church  of  Armagh  having 
become  vacant  by  the  decease  of  archbishop  John  of  pious  memory, 
who  died  at  the  apostolic  see,  we  therefore,  considering  that  no  per- 
son but  ourselves  ought  to  interfere  concerning  the  provision  of  that 
church :  for  long  before  the  vacancy,  at  the  very  beginning  of  our 
pontificate,  we  thought  proper  to  reserve  to  ourselves  the  provisions 
of  all  churches,  whether  archiepiscopal  or  episcopal,  which  should 
fall  vacant  at  Rome ;  decreeing  that  any  appointment  which  should 
be  made  by  any  authority  contrary  to  the  said  determination,  should 
be  ipso  facto  null  and  void :  we  therefore,  by  the  advice  of  our 
brethren,  and  with  the  plenitude  of  our  apostolic  authority,  ap- 
pointed the  said  Walter  to  be  archbishop  and  pastor  of  the  said 
church  (of  Armagh),  committing  to  him  fully  the  care  and  adminis- 
tration of  the  same  both  in  spirituals  and  temporals.  We  also 
caused  him  to  be  consecrated  by  our  venerable  brother  the  bishop 
of  Ostia ;  and  conferred  on  him  a  pall  by  the  hands  of  our  beloved 
son  Landulf,  cardinal  deacon  of  St.  Angelo.  Wherefore,  we  entreat 
and  exhort  your  magnificence  to  restore  to  the  said  archbishop  the 
temporalities  of  the  said  church,  which  were  withheld  during  the 
lifetime  of  your  father  Edward  of  illustrious  memory,  and  are  said 
to  be  still  withheld  by  you." 

Ibid.  p.  322. — Letter  of  Clement  V.,  complaining  of  the  following 
grievances,  a.d.  1309. 

That  some  of  the  officials  and  ministers  of  our  beloved  son 
Edward,  king  of  England,  have  presumed  to  inflict  the  grossest  in- 


48  PAPAL   EXEMPTIONS THE   SYSTEM    OF   PROVISION. 

juries  upon  our  dear  children  Neapoleon  and  Francis,  cardinals  of 
the  holy  Roman  church. 

When  it  hath  happened  that,  according  to  the  custom  of  our  pre- 
decessors, and  according  to  our  undoubted  right,  we  have  appointed 
worthy  and  sufficient  persons  to  ecclesiastical  benefices  in  the  said 
kingdom  by  provision,  some  of  the  said  officials,  who  glory  in  their 
wickedness,  audaciously  prohibited  them  from  exercising  the  ministry 
which  has  been  thus  committed  to  them,  or  from  instituting  any 
processes,  &c.  on  that  account. 

When  citations  have  been  published  by  the  authority  of  the  apos- 
tolic see,  in  causes  which  belong  to  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction, 
although  they  are  published  against  ecclesiastical  persons,  they  pre- 
vent our  commissaries  from  acting  upon  them,  and  notaries  from 
engrossing  public  instruments. 

When  the  nuncios  of  the  apostolic  see  are  sent  to  England  upon 
any  business,  they  dare  not  make  known  the  authority  which  we 
have  granted  to  them  for  the  purpose,  in  any  way,  till  they  have 
first  informed  the  king ;  for  should  they  act  otherwise,  after  being 
dreadfully  threatened,  they  are  driven  with  disgrace  from  England ; 
or  sometimes  they  are  attacked  and  arrested,  as  if  they  had  been 
vile  and  infamous  characters,  in  contempt  of  the  apostolic  see. 

That  the  father  of  king  Edward,  having  for  the  space  of  about 
fifteen  years  omitted  to  pay  the  thousand  marks  of  silver  which  are 
due  to  this  church  as  an  annual  tribute,  we  have  not  been  able  to 
obtain  satisfaction. 

WiLK.  II.  p.  i24:.—Bull  of  Pope  Clement  V.,  a.d.  1313. 

Clement  a  bishop,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  &c.  \Miereas 
we  have  determined  to  provide  a  fit  person  for  the  church  of  Canter- 
bury, when  it  shall  become  vacant,  we  have,  by  our  apostolic 
authority,  specially  reserved  the  provision  of  the  said  church  for 
this  time  to  our  disposition  :  strictly  prohibiting  the  chapter  of  that 
church  from  proceeding  to  any  election  or  postulation,  with  a  view 
to  the  appointment  of  an  archbishop :  decreeing  at  the  same  time, 
that  if  any  thing  shall  be  attempted,  knowingly  or  ignorantly,  con- 
trary to  this  our  prohibition  and  reservation,  it  shall  be  ipso  facto 
nuU  and  void.  And  if  any  person  shall  presume  to  infringe  this 
letter  of  reservation,  let  him  know  that  he  will  incur  the  wrath  of 
the  omnipotent  God,  and  of  his  blessed  apostles  Peter  and  Paul. 

Ibid.  p.  427.  a.d.  1313.  A  letter  of  the  prior  and  chapter  of 
Canterbury,  to  Thomas  Cobham,  whom  they  had  elected  to  the  pri- 
macy, in  which  they  say  :  "  Verily  we  sighed  deeply,  and  groaned 
in  spirit,  when  we  heard  that  our  lord  the  supreme  pontiff  had,  in 
the  plenitude  of  his  power,  reserved  to  himself  the  provision  of  our 
church  of  Canterbury,  now  vacant ;  since  however  nothing  is  impos- 
sible with  God,  we  confidently  hope,  that  although  in  this  affair  the 
door  of  right  is  closed  against  us,  nevertheless  we  may  obtain  what 
we  desire  by  the  door  of  supplication."      They  accordingly  sent 


PROVISION. — Peter's  pence.  49 

letters  to  the  Pope,  entreating  him  to  confirm  the  election  of  Thomas 
Cobham :  but  he,  regardless  of  their  wishes,  translated  Walter 
Raynold  from  the  see  of  Worcester  to  that  of  Canterbury.  The 
letters  of  the  prior  and  chapter  may  be  seen  p.  428,  and  the  bulls 
of  the  Pope  p.  430. 

Note.  Provision  was  one  of  the  most  glaring  instances  of  papal 
usurpation.  At  first  the  Pope  seems  to  have  claimed  only  the  right  of 
confirming  elections  canonically  made  by  the  chapter.  Then  he  claimed 
a  power  of  devolution,  i.  e.  of  appointing  a  proper  person  to  the  see, 
should  the  chapter  neglect  to  exercise  its  privilege ;  or  should  the  party 
elected  be  unworthy  of  the  office  of  a  bishop, — a  power  which  was  exerted 
in  the  case  of  Stephen  Langton.  Next  he  usurped  the  patronage 
of  all  sees  belonging  to  persons  dying  at  Rome  {vacantes  in  curia),  by 
virtue  of  which  Pope  Clement  V.  appointed  Walter  Jorz  to  the  see  of 
Armagh.*  The  case  before  us  is  the  first  instance  of  absolute  provision 
to  a  bishopriek  which  I  have  met  with. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  463.  A.D.  1316,  Pope  John  XXII.,  in  consideration 
of  the  merits  of  archbishop  Walter,  granted  him  per.uission  to  visit 
the  several  dioceses  in  his  province,  without  observing  the  regular 
period  of  throe  years :  he  also  dispensed  with  that  part  of  his  oath 
which  obliged  him  to  appear  jiersonally  before  the  Pope  at  the  end 
of  five  years,  to  renew  his  oath  of  canonical  obedience ;  as  his  ab- 
sence at  this  period  would  have  been  very  prejudicial  to  the  church 
and  kingdom. 

Ibid.  p.  467.  A  bull  of  the  same  Pope,  a.  d,  1317,  exhorting  the 
two  archbishops  to  assist  Asserius,  his  nuncio,  in  the  collection  of 
St.  Peter  s  penny,  which  had  been  of  late  very  ill  paid.  He  directs 
them  to  proceed  against  defaulters  by  ecclesiastical  censures,  and,  if 
necessary,  to  invoke  the  assistance  of  the  secular  arm. 

Ibid.  p.  469.  A  bull  of  the  same  Pope,  also  in  1317,  exhorting 
archbishop  Walter  to  avenge  the  insults  and  injurious  treatment 
which  two  of  his  cardinals  had  received,  whom  he  sent  as  legates  to 
England.  In  the  same  page  are  the  bulls  of  Gregory  VI.  and 
John  XXII.,  on  the  ancient  and  modern  payment  of  St.  Peter  s 
penny  in  England.  "  That  there  may  be  no  doubt  respecting  the 
manner  in  which  St.  Peter's  penny,  now  due  to  our  treasury,  should 
be  collected  in  England,  and  in  what  dioceses  it  is  due  we  have 
caused  it  to  be  noted  down  in  these  premises  as  it  is  contained  in 
the  register  of  the  apostolic  see.  '  From  the  diocese  of  Canterbury 
7i.  18^.  sterling;  London  16^.105.;  Rochester  5L  12*.;  Norwich 
2H.  10*.;  Ely  51.;  Lincoln  42?.;  Chichester  8?. ;  Winchester 
111.  6.?.  8</.;  Exeter  9?.  5$. ;  Worcester  \Ql.  5s.  ;  Hereford  10?.  6*.; 
Bath  121.  5s.;  Sarum  17?.;  Coventry  10?.  5s.;  York  11?.  10*.'" 

"  Concerning  St.  Peters  penny,  (he  proceeds)  we  thus  find  it 
written  in  the  Chronicles:  *a.d.  857,  Adewalfus  {jEthdvoulf),  the 
father  of  king  Alfred,  granted  that  every  year  300  mancusses  should 
be  paid  to  Rome,  which  were  to  bo  thus  divided :  viz.  100  man- 

•  See  p.  47. 


50  FIRST   FRUITS. PAPAL   EXACTIONS   RESISTED. 

cusses  in  honour  of  St.  Peter,  to  be  specially  applied  to  the  lighting 
of  his  church,  and  ]00  mancusses  in  honour  of  St.  Paul,  for  the 
same  purpose.  Moreover  he  decreed,  that  100  mancusses  should 
be  paid  every  year  to  the  universal  Pope,  to  increase  his  alms.' 
And  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  a  manciis  and  a  mark  were  then  used 
to  signify  the  same  coin ;  so  that  every  year  there  were  paid  by  the 
English,  as  St.  Peter's  penny,  three  hundred  marks." 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  557.  A  bull  of  Pope  John  XXII.,  demanding  the 
Ji/rst  fruits  of  all  the  benefices  and  monasteries  which  should  become 
vacant  in  the  province  of  Canterbury,  within  three  years.  (About 
A.D.  1329.) 

Ibid,  p  559.  a.d.  1332,  the  bishop  of  Exeter  appealed  to  the 
Pope  against  the  visitation  of  his  diocese  by  the  archbishop ;  and 
yet  says  he,  "  the  venerable  father,  notwithstanding  our  said 
appeal,  of  which  lie  was  fully  aware,  in  ridicule,  irreverence,  and 
contempt  of  the  rights,  jurisdiction,  and  honour  of  our  most  holy 
father,  the  Roman  pontiff,  whose  decision  in  this  case  ought  to  have 
been  waited  for,  and  to  our  prejudice,  desiring  to  blind  the  under- 
standing of  the  simple,  &c.,  hath  sent  a  letter  containing  severe 
ecclesiastical  censures  against  all  who  shall  impede  his  visitation ; 
which  letter  we  forbid  you,  in  virtue  of  your  obedience,  and  on 
pain  of  the  greater  excommunication,  to  publish  in  our  cathedral 
or  diocese." 

Ibid.  p.  568.  A  bull  of  Pope  John  XXII.,  confirming  the  election 
of  John  Stratford  to  the  see  of  Canterbury,  in  which  he  says : 
"  Long  since,  during  the  lifetime  of  archbishop  Simon,  of  pious 
memory,  we,  desiring  to  place  a  fit  person  over  that  see  by  apos- 
tolic provision,  whenever  it  should  become  vacant,  thought  proper 
specially  to  reserve  to  our  own  appointment,  the  provision  of  the 
said  church  for  that  turn.  Wherefore,  by  our  apostolic  authority, 
we  translate  you  from  the  see  of  Winchester,  to  the  administration 
of  the  church  of  Canterbury  ;  fully  committing  to  you  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  same  both  in  spirituals  and  temporals."  Yet,  from  the 
letters  which  had  gone  before,  it  is  evident  that  John  Stratford  had 
been  duly  elected  by  the  prior  and  chapter  of  Christ's  church, 
Canterbury.     This  occurred  about  a.d.  1333. 

Ibid.  p.  574.  a.d.  1334,  king  Edward  III.  sent  a  letter  to  the 
bishop  of  Exeter  to  inquire  how  many  benefices  in  that  diocese  were 
in  the  hands  of  aliens;  and  it  appears  from  the  bishop's  answer 
that  the  number  of  livings  and  pensions  in  the  diocese  of  Exeter, 
held  by  foreigners,  amounted  to  about  fifty.  Tliis  diocese  now 
contains  six  hundred  and  thirteen  benefices. 

Ibid.  p.  584.  A  letter  from  king  Edward  III.  to  the  Pope,  com- 
plaining of  the  conduct  of  the  bishop  of  Winchester,  who  had 
appealed  from  his  metropolitan  to  the  apostolic  see,  A.  D.  1337. 
The  letter  however  exposes  the  evils  of  the  system  altogether : 
"  For  (says  the  king)  it  would  be  of  most  pernicious  example  if,  by 
such  false  suggestions  as  these,  suffragans  could  escape  the  correo- 


USURPATIONS   OF   THE    POPE   RESISTED.  51 

tion  of  their  metropolitan,  and  oppress  their  subjects  ad  libitum, 
without  any  fear  of  a  speedy  remedy ;  and  also  that  they  should  be 
able  to  compel  them  to  be  continually  going  to  the  Roman  court  to 
obtain  a  remedy." 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  715.  In  the  chapter  of  black  monks,  A,  d.  1343,  "  there 
were  exhibited  letters  sent  fi-om  the  cardinals  for  the  expenses  of 
those  who  had  published  the  papal  decrees ;  in  which,  on  pain  of 
severe  ecclesiastical  censures,  they  demanded,  by  the  authority  of  the 
Pope,  that  three  hundred  florins  should  be  provided  for  them  by 
the  chapter.  The  presidents  of  the  said  provincial  chapter  protested 
that  they  were  willing  to  obey  the  commands  of  the  Pope  in  all 
things,  as  far  as  they  were  able,  and  as  far  an  they  were  permitted 
by  the  king ;  they  also  instructed  master  John  Barrett,  notary- 
public,  to  prepare  a  legal  instriunent ;  but  there  arrived  a  royal 
prohibition,  commanding  them  not  to  levy  any  contributions  towards 
the  payment  of  a  tax  out  of  the  kingdom  and  dominions  of  the  king 
of  England,  under  the  name  of  an  imposition  or  tallage,  and  on  pain 
of  a  heavy  forfeiture  of  all  things  which  could  be  forfeited  to  the 
king."f 

Ibid.  p.  726.  A  royal  brief  of  king  Edward  III.,  directed  to  the 
bishop  of  Worcester,  a.d.  1343,  to  the  effect,  that  no  papal  bulls, 
processes,  resci'ipts,  &c.  should  be  recei\ed  in  England,  witliout  the 
king's  special  command  or  permission. 

Concilia  Magn^  BRiTANNiiE,  &c.  edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  III. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  7.  A.D,  1350.  The  archbishop  of  Canterbury  confirmed 
the  election  of  the  chancellor  to  the  university  of  Oxford,  upon 
which  the  bishop  of  Lincoln  appealed  to  the  Pope ;  but  the  arch- 
bishop pronounced  the  appeal  to  be  frivolous  and  illegal,  and  cited 
the  appellant  before  him  for  contempt. 

Ibid.  p.  90.  Bull  of  Pope  Gregory  XI.  a.d.  1371,  prohibiting  all 
patriarchs,  primates,  and  archbishops  from  having  their  crosses 
carried  before  them  in  the  presence  of  his  cardinals,  who  were 
representatives  of  the  apostolic  sec. 

Ibid.  p.  94.  From  the  commission  of  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
&c.  A.D,  1373,  we  learn  that  papal  bulls  were  frequently  forged. 
See  also  a  bull  of  Pope  Urban  V.  a.  d.  1368,  complaining  that  some 
merchants  had  forged  a  bull  of  Pope  Innocent  VI.^ 

Ibid.  p.  97.  "About  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  August,  a.d. 
1374,  there  was  a  treaty  at  Bruges,  to  decide  several  questions  then 
pending  between  the  Pope  and  the  king  of  England,  which  treaty 
continued  for  nearly  two  years ;  but  at  length  it  was  agreed  that 

t  Ex,  MS.  Cotton  Otho.  A.  xv. 
K  I  have,  in  my  library,  a  curious  little  duodecimo  volume,  in  Latin  and  English, 
reprinted  at  Oxford  a.  d.  1678,  from  the  Roman  copy  intituled,  "  The  Decrees  of 
our  Iloli/  Father  Pope  Innocent  XI., '^  in  which  a  number  of  indulgences  are  sup- 
pressed as  apocryphal  and  declared  to  be  null  and  void.  About  fifty-four  are 
specified  and  described,  but  many  others  are  condemned  generally. 

£3 


52  USURPATIONS   OF   THE    POPE    RESISTED. 

the  Pope  should  not  in  future  use  any  reservations  of  benefices, 
and  that  the  king  should  not  confer  benefices  by  the  writ  '  Quare 
impedit.'  "^ 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  97. — Synod  of  the  province  of  Canterbury,  a.d.  1374. 

"  In  this  synod,  a  subsidy  was  again  demanded  from  the  clergy 
in  the  king's  name :  the  clergy  however  complained  that  within 
a  few  years  they  were  quite  exhausted  by  the  royal  expenses ; 
especially  as  almost  every  year  demands  were  made  upon  them, 
not  only  by  the  king,  but  by  the  Pope ;  hut  that  if  his  intolerable 
yoke  could  be  thrown  from  their  necks,  they  might  more  conveniently 
assist  the  king  in  his  necessities, — on  which  condition  tenths  were  at 
length  granted  to  the  king  for  one  year.  William  Courtney,  how- 
ever, bishop  of  Hereford,  relying  on  his  nobility — for  he  was  son  of 
the  earl  of  Devon — declared  with  a  loud  voice,  that  neither  he,  nor 
the  clergy  of  his  diocese,  would  give  anything  till  the  king  had 
ajjplied  a  remedy  to  the  calamities  so  long  endured  by  the  church. 
This  synod  being  concluded,  ambassadors  were  sent  by  the  king  to 
the  Pope,  that  he  might  no  longer  make  reservations  or  provisions 
of  vacant  benefices ;  and  that  persons  elected  to  cathedral  or  con- 
ventual churches  might  enjoy  their  elections  with  plenary  authority, 
having  received  their  confirmation,  according  to  ancient  custom, 
from  the  metropolitan.  They  were  also  commissioned  to  propound  to 
the  pope  several  other  particulars,  in  w^hich  the  king,  clergy,  and 
people  of  England  had  but  too  long  felt  themselves  aggrieved." 
The  pope  seems  to  have  given  a  vague  reply,  for  the  king  thought 
it  expedient  to  write  to  him  again ;  and  when  his  second  answer 
had  been  received,  "  it  was  decreed  in  parliament,  that  cathedral 
churches  should  freely  enjoy  their  right  of  election,  and  that  the 
king  should  not  hinder  them  by  his  power,  or  by  interceding  with 
the  Pope,  but  should  rather  assist  them  by  his  authority."'  There 
is  nevertheless,  in  the  same  page  of  Wilkins,  a  bull  of  Pope 
Gregory  XL,  a.  d.  1375,  professing  to  translate  Simon  of  Sudbury 
from  the  see  of  London  to  that  of  Canterbury,  by  virtue  of  his 
having  reserved  to  himself  the  appointment  during  the  lifetime  of 
the  last  archbishoj) :  the  clause  resembles  that  quoted  in  p.  48. 

Ibid.  p.  101.  From  a  commission  of  ai'chbishop  Simon  de  Sud- 
bury, A.D.  1375,  we  learn  that  Pope  Gregory  XL  demanded  the 
sum  of  sixty  thousand  florins  from  the  English  clergy ;  amounting 
to  at  least  a  twentieth  part  of  their  ecclesiastical  revenues. 

Ibid.  p.  105.  Mandate  of  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  the 
bishop  of  Hereford,  A.  D.  1376,  exhorting  him  to  excommunicate 
such  of  his  subjects  as  should  refuse  to  contribute  their  portion  of 
the  60,000  florins,  mentioned  above  ;  authorising  him  at  the  same 
time  to  sequester  their  livings  to  that  amount. 

n  Walsingham 
De  Antiq.  Brit.  Eccl.  edit.  M,  Parker,  p.  380. 


VARIOUS   ROYAL,  PROHIBITIONS.  63 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  107. — Royal  brief  against  the  reception  of  papal  hulls,  ^c. 

A.D.  1376. 

Being  desirous  of  avoiding  the  evils  and  dangers  which  may 
accrue  to  ourselves  and  to  our  kingdom  by  these  and  similar  (docu- 
ments), we  command  that  if  any  letters,  bulls,  or  other  writings 
whatsoever,  prejudicial  to  ourselves  or  our  subjects,  shall  be  brought 
to  you,  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  them  ye  send  them  safely 
and  securely  to  us  and  to  our  council. 

Ibid.  p.  108,  Another  royal  brief  in  the  Norman  French  to  the 
same  effect,  a.d.  1376.  Also  a  reply  of  the  archbishop  in  Latin, 
assuring  the  king  of  his  compliance. 

Ibid.  p.  145.  Letters  apostolic  of  Pope  Urban  VI.,  a.d.  1380, 
giving  notice  to  the  English  that  mani/  bulls  lately  sent  to  this 
country,  containing  dispensations  in  cases  of  matrimony  or  bastardy, 
indulgences  granted  to  churches,  licences  for  the  consolidation  of 
benefices,  &c.  were  infamous  forgeries. 

Ibid.  p.  207. — Royal  prohibition  against  papal  exactions,  a.d.  1389. 

Richard,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England  and  France,  and 

lord  of  Ireland Whereas  in  our  parliament  lately  held  at 

Westminster,  the  commons  of  our  said  kingdom  entreated  us  to 
provide  a  remedy  against  the  subsidies  exacted  from  the  clergy  of 
our  realm  by  the  supreme  pontiff";  and  that  Avhosoever  of  our  liege 
subjects  should  from  that  time  forth  bring  to  England  any  papal 
bulls  for  the  levying  of  such  impositions,  hitherto  unknown,  which 
may  be  prejudicial  to  ourselves  and  our  kingdom ;  and  whosoever 
shall  presume  to  publish  or  collect  such  imposition  or  innovation 
without  our  consent,  should  be  esteemed  a  traitor  to  ourselves,  and 
executed  :  and  Whereas,  notwithstanding  we  granted  their  request, 
a  new  subsidy,  in  behalf  of  the  supreme  pontiff",  is  about  to  be 
exacted  without  our  will  and  consent,  we  command  you,  by  tlio 
fidelity  which  you  owe  to  our  person,  and  on  pain  of  the  forfeiture 
of  all  things  which  can  be  forfeited  to  us,  to  desist  altogether  from 
levying  such  exactions  from  our  clergy. 

Ibid.  p.  208.  a.  d.  1389,  there  is  a  pi-otest  of  the  two  archbishops 
against  any  thing  enacted  by  parliament  to  the  derogation  of  the 
apostolical  power,  or  the  subversion  of  ecclesiastical  liberty ;  and 
from  p.  212,  it  appears  that  in  1391  the  clergy  granted  a  subsidy  to 
the  Pope,  in  spite  of  the  royal  prohibition. 

Ibid.  p.  237. — Modification  of  the  statute  of  "  Pbovisors,"  by  king 
Richard  IL,  A.D.  1398. 

1.  That  when  a  bishoprick  becomes  vacant,  after  waiting  a 
sufficient  time  for  the  election,  the  supreme  pontiff"  may  provide  for 
the  elect,  if  the  king  writes  in  his  behalf,  or  for  any  other  liege 
subject  of  the  king  whom  he  may  please. 

2.  That  in  all  cathedral  or  collegiate  churches,  the  Pope  may 


54  A   REMARKABLE   SCHISM   IN   THE   PAPACY. 

provide  hia  cardinals  or  other  Englishmen  with  three  benefices^ 
alternately  with  the  diocesan  ;  so  that  they  be  not  the  chief  dignities, 
elective,  or  such  as  require  residence. 

3.  The  supreme  pontiff  shall,  with  respect  to  benefices  which 
may  become  vacant  before  the  festival  of  Easter  next  ensuing, 
provide  for  the  first  vacancy  which  occurs,  and  the  patron  or  dio- 
cesan for  the  next. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  284 — 314.  Various  documents,  written  between  a.d. 
1406  and  a.d.  1408,  relating  to  the  schism  which  then  existed  in 
the  papacy  between  Benedict  XIII.  and  Gregory  XII.,  each  of 
whom  was  naturally  anxious  that  the  English  hierarchy  should 
acknowledge  his  pretensions  as  Pope.  In  the  council  of  Pisa,  a.d. 
1409,  hoth  were  declared  to  be  guilty  of  heresy,  perjury,  contumacy, 
&c.,  and  Peter  of  Candia  was  elected  under  the  title  of  Alexander  V. 
By  this  means  there  were  three  popes  instead  of  two :  for  the  con- 
demned pontiffs  still  continued  to  perform  the  functions  of  the 
papacy,  assembling  councils,  &e.,  and  each  of  them  fulminating  bulls 
of  excommunication  against  his  rivals.  These  schisms  were  so 
numerous,  that,  in  the  Italian  edition  of  Platina,  I  counted  twenty- 
eight  instances,  between  the  years  452  and  1439,  in  which  there 
were  two  or  more  Popes  at  the  same  time.  As  these  conflicting 
pretensions  were  supported  by  faction,  and  as  the  legitimacy  of  the 
title  w^as  eventually  decided  rather  by  the  power  and  influence  of 
the  candidate,  than  by  the  justice  of  his  cause,  {for  if  unsuccessful 
he  loas  immediately  stigmatised  as  an  anti-pope,)  Roman  Catholics 
would  find  it  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  prove  the 
uninterrupted  succession  of  their  Popes.  Those  by  whom  the 
question  was  decided  were  confessedly  fallible ;  and  indeed,  in  the 
year  1382,  the  English  clergy  received  Urban  VI.  as  Pope,  while 
the  French  declared  in  favour  of  Clement  VII. 

Ibid.  p.  361. — Articles  for  the  reformation  of  the  universal  Church, 
presented  hy  the  University  of  Oxford  to  king  Henry  F., 
a.  d.  1414. 

Art.  I.  That  although  John  XXIII.  is  certainly  the  true  Pope, 
it  would  much  conduce  to  the  peace  of  the  church  if  he,  as  well  as 
the  other  two  anti-popes,  would  voluntarily  abdicate,  so  that  the 
whole  christian  world  might  be  reunited  under  one  true  head. 

Art.  II.  That  cardinals  should  be  elected  by  a  majority  of  the 
conclave,  instead  of  being  appointed  absolutely  by  the  Pope. 

Art.  V.  Against  the  detestable  simony  practised  at  the  court  of 
Rome. 

Art.  VI.    Against  the  prodigal  grant  of  papal  indulgences. 

Art.  VII.  Against  the  enormous  fees  received  by  the  apostolic 
see  for  the  creation  or  translation  of  bishops :  and  also  against  the 
reservations  of  first-fruits,  authorised  by  no  ^vritten  law,  and 
which  are  a  scandal  both  to  the  said  see  and  the  whole  christian 
church. 


GROSS   ADULATION   OF    THE   ARCHBISHOP.  55 

Art.  VIII.  Against  the  excessive  fees  demanded  by  the  see  of 
Rome  for  letters  of  indulgence,  absolution,  &c.,  which  encourage 
inferior  prelates  to  oppress  the  clergy  and  laity  in  the  same  manner. 

Art.  XXIX.  Whereas,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  our  Saviour, 
all  who  have  the  cure  of  souls  ought  to  feed  the  flock  of  Christ  with 
the  food  of  salutary  doctrine,  and  to  drive  the  wolves  from  the  sheep 
by  the  barking  of  holy  preaching ;  yet  some  are  promoted  in  the 
kingdom  of  England  who  are  entirely  ignorant  of  the  language  of 
the  country,  and  are  therefore  dumb,  and  unable  to  instruct  their 
parishioners :  it  seems  expedient  that  no  person  should  hold  a  bene- 
fice in  any  country  unless  he  understands  the  vulgar  language  of 
that  country. 

Art.  xxxvTi.  Whereas  those  whom  the  church  of  England  admits 
not  to  the  dignity  of  the  priestly  oflace,  but  rejects  as  unfit  and 
unworthy,  are  often  sent  hither  from  the  court  of  Rome,  ordained, 
as  if  they  had  been  proper  persons,  although  exceedingly  ignorant 
and  illiterate ;  let  supplication  be  made  to  the  supreme  pontiff  that 
such  ignorant,  simple  and  illiterate  persons,  may  not  hereafter  be 
promoted  to  holy  orders,  to  the  scandal  of  the  court  of  Rome  and 
of  the  whole  church. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  380.  Council  of  Perth,  a.  d.  1416,  from  the  acts  of 
which  it  appears  that  Scotland  was  the  only  province  of  the  christian 
world  which  admitted  the  claim  of  Benedict  XIII.  to  the  popedom. 

Ibid.  p.  391. — Concordat  granted  hy  Pope  Martin  V.  for  the 
reformation  of  the  Church  of  England,  a.  d.  1419. 

Art.  I.  That  the  number  of  cardinals  shall  be  henceforth  so 
moderate  as  to  be  no  longer  a  burthen  to  the  church ;  and  that  the 
office  shall  be  elective. 

Art.  X.  That  Englishmen,  provided  they  be  proper  persons,  may 
be  elected  to  the  various  offices  of  the  court  of  Rome,  indifferently 
with  other  nations. 

Art.  XI.  With  respect  to  all  these  premises,  the  supreme  pontiff 
wiU  cause  one  or  more  bulls  to  be  drawn  up,  as  many  as  may  be 
required,  and  granted  to  the  English  nation  gratuitously. 

Ibid.  p.  471-487. — Letters  and  instruments  relating  to  the  misunder- 
standing between  Abp.  Chicheley  and  Pope  Martin  V.  a.d.  1426. 

There  are  twenty  documents  altogether. 

I.  The  Pope  complains  in  a  letter  to  the  two  archbishops,  that 
prebendal  stalls  and  other  benefices,  the  patronage  of  which  be- 
longed to  the  apostolic  see,  had  been  disposed  of  without  his  con- 
currence. He  requires  them  to  do  him  justice  on  pain  of  excom- 
munication, and  a  forfeiture  of  the  patronage  of  those  benefices  the 
collation  of  which  belonged  to  them  either  by  right  or  custom. 

n.  The  archbishop's  answer  is  very  submissive,  and  begins  with 
these  blasphemous  words :  "  Most  blessed  father,  after  (assuring  you 
of)  the  most  ready  obedience  and  submission,  devoutly  kissing  the 


56  APPEAL  FROM  THE  POPE  TO  THE  GENERAL  COUNCIL. 

ground  before  your  feet,  and  doing  every  thing  which  an  humble 
creature  can  do  to  hi^  Loi'd  and  Creator,"  &c.  -which  are  only  to  be 
paralleled  with  a  dedication  to  a  volume  of  Latin  poems,  which 
I  have  seen  in  the  library  of  G.  N.  Best,  Esq.  Baj-field  Hall,  Co. 
Norfolk.  The  name  of  the  author  I  forget,  but  he  inscribes  his 
work  "  Domino  Deoque  suo  Sigismundo." 

III.  A  letter  from  the  archbishop  to  the  college  of  cardinals, 
assuring  them  that  he  has  been  belied  to  his  holiness,  and  requesting 
their  intercession  in  his  behalf. 

IV.  A  letter  from  the  Pope,  repeating  his  con\nction  that  the 
archbishop  was  an  enemy  to  the  apostolic  see  and  the  liberties  of 
the  church. 

V. — X.  Two  letters  from  the  archbishop,  the  first  to  the  Pope, 
and  the  other  to  one  of  the  cardinals,  who  was  his  patron,  submis- 
sively defending  himself,  and  requesting  his  eminence,  as  the  price 
of  his  intercession,  "  to  accept  an  annual  pension  of  fifty  English 
nobles  for  wine."  These  are  followed  by  three  others — from  the 
English  bishops;  from  the  university  of  Oxford;  and  from  some  of 
the  nobility,  -vvTitten  to  the  Pope  in  behalf  of  the  archbishop. 

X. — XVI.  Six  letters  from  the  Pope ;  viz.  three  to  the  archbishop, 
two  to  king  Henry  VI.,  and  one  to  the  English  parliament :  in  all 
of  which  he  bitterly  complains  of  the  statute  of  "■  provisors"  as  an 
encroachment  upon  his  prerogative.  In  Letter  xv.  he  says  to  the 
archbishop — "  In  the  first  place  then,  by  means  of  that  execrable 
statute,  the  king  directs  the  church  of  England  exactly  as  if  Christ 
had  appointed  him  his  vicar.  He  makes  laws  which  relate  to  churches, 
benefices,  and  the  ecclesiastical  state ;  he  commands  spiritual  and 
ecclesiastical  causes  to  be  brought  before  himself  and  his  lay  court ; 
and,  in  one  word,  he  makes  decrees  which  affect  the  church,  as  if  he 
had  the  keys  of  the  church  in  his  hands,  and  as  if  the  care  of  it  had 
been  entrusted  to  him,  and  not  to  Peter."  The  letter  concludes 
with  sundry  threats  of  excommunication,  &c. 

XVI.  The  archbishop,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  accompanied  by 
the  bishops,  earnestly  besought  the  parliament  to  repeal  the  statute 
of  '' provisors ;"  representing  in  lively  colours  the  dreadful  con- 
sequences of  an  interdict,  which  he  feared  that  the  Pope  would 
fulminate  against  England  if  they  did  not  comply  with  his  wishes. 
The  parliament  however  continued  firm. 

XVII.  A  bull  of  Pope  Martin  V.  depriving  the  archbishop  of  his 
legatine  authority  over  the  realm  of  England. 

xvm.  The  archbishop's  appeal  from  the  authority  of  the  Pope  to 
that  of  a  general  councU ;  in  which  he  states  his  resolution  to  defend 
the  liberties  of  the  church  of  England,  notwithstanding  any  citation, 
admonition,  mandate,  suspension,  interdict,  excommunication,  &e. 
Avhich  might  be  issued  by  the  Pope. 

XIX.  After  this,  it  appears  that  the  Pope  sent  some  bulls  to 
England ;  but  before  they  were  read,  Walter  Lowther,  Gent., 
claimed  them  in  the  name  of  the  lord  protector,  under  the  statute 


GOLDEN    ROSE    SENT    TO    KINO    HENRY    VI.  57 

" Prcemunire ;'  strictly  forbidding  the  archbishop  to  publish  the 
said  bulls,  which  were  supposed  to  be  prejudicial  to  the  crown  and 
dignity  of  the  king,  on  pain  of  incurring  all  the  penalties  specified 
in  the  said  statute. 

XX.  A  royal  brief,  commanding  that  all  papal  bulls  should  be 
sent  immediately  to  the  king,  without  being  either  opened  or  pub- 
lished. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  551.  A  bull  of  Pope  Eugenius  IV.,  a.d.  1446,  accom- 
panied by  a  present  of  a  golden  rose  to  king  Henry  VI.  as  a  special 
mark  of  his  regard.  This  rose,  as  he  tells  us  in  his  bull,  was 
annually  consecrated  by  the  reigning  Pope  on  the  seventh  Sunday 
after  Septuagesima,  when  the  Introit  to  the  mass  is,  "  Lcetare  Jeru- 
salem," and  given  to  some  prince  whom  he  ymrticularly  esteemed  on 
account  of  his  power  and  merit.  The  hull  is  hoicever  accompanied 
by  a  request  that  the  king  would  send  hy  the  messenger  who  brought  it, 
the  tenths  imposed  the  year  before,  on  account  of  the  Turks  ;  so  that  he 
intended  to  sell  the  bauble  at  a  dear  rate.  The  affair  of  the  golden 
rose  occupies  two  folio  pages ! 

Ibid.  p.  552.  Letter  from  the  archbishop  to  the  Pope  in  the  same 
year,  apologising  for  not  having  levied  the  tenths  above  mentioned. 
He  says  :  "  But,  O  most  blessed  father,  since  the  laws  and  statutes 
of  this  realm  are  opposed  to  things  of  this  nature,  threatening  the 
loss  of  goods  and  life,  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  the  king's  licence. 
But  his  majesty  replied  in  the  presence  of  your  orator,  that  he 
would  send  his  orators  to  Rome,  to  inform  your  holiness  of  his 
intentions  upon  this  subject ;  and  he  commanded  me  not  to  attempt 
to  take  any  steps  in  this  collection,  either  personally  or  by  deputy. 

Ibid.  p.  595.  a.  d.  1464,  Pope  Pius  II.  demanded  a  subsidy  from 
the  clergy,  to  enable  him  to  carry  on  a  Avar  against  the  Turks. 
The  archbishop  on  this  occasion  scut  a  kind  of  circular  to  all  his 
suffragans,  exhorting  them  to  compliance ;  in  which  ho  says,  among 
other  things : 

"  Item,  to  shewe  unto  hem,  that  where  our  said  holy  fadre  chargith 
in  such  streitewise  the  said  royaumes,  whereunto  the  necossitie  of  his 
said  holy  viage  compellith  hym,  and  that  in  that  case  it  wolle  please 
hym,  of  the  benygne  favour  that  he  berith  to  the  chirch  of  England, 
to  spare  to  charge  the  same  chirche  of  such  strcitnesse  ....  Our 
said  holy  fadre,  of  grete  and  ample  grace,  chargith  onely  the  said 
chirch  of  England  with  the  said  disme,  forbering  the  i-emenaunt, 
which  togidre  he  might  without  resistance  obteyne  of  his  power  and 
authoritee  apostolique,  if  he  wold  put  the  extremitee  thereof  in  exe- 
cution." 

Ibid.  p.  609.  Bull  of  Pope  Sixtus  IV.,  a.d.  1476,  in  behalf  of 
the  liberties,  privileges,  and  immunities  of  the  English  clergy : 
that  they  should  not  be  liable  to  arrest,  and  also  that  their  persons 
or  property  should  not  be  molested  by  the  civil  power. 

Ibid.  p.  615.  A  bull  of  the  same  Pope,  a.d.  1483,  authorising 
archbishop  Bouchier,  in  consideration  of  his  age  and  infirmities,  to 
celebrate  mass  in  the  afternoon. 


\ 


58         THE    KING   ACKNOWLEDGED   AS   HEAD   OF   THE    CHURCH. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  707.  A  bull  granted  by  Pope  Clement  VII.  to  king 
Henry  VIII. ,  a.d.  1527.  It  begins  by  mentioning  the  king's 
scruples  at  having  married  his  brother's  widow  without  a  dispen- 
sation, and  then  proceeds  thus :  "  And  if  it  shall  happen  that  your 
marriage  with  the  said  Katharine  is  declared  to  have  been  and  to  be 
null  and  void,  and  that  you  are  lawfully  absolved  from  that  con- 
nexion, by  the  plenitude  of  our  apostolic  authority,  we  grant  you  a 
dispensation  to  marry  any  other  woman :  although  she  may  have 
contracted  a  marriage  with  any  other  man,  provided  that  the  mar- 
riage has  not  been  consummated ;  or  although  she  should  be  related 
to  you  in  the  second  or  a  remoter  degree  of  consanguinity,  or  in  the 
first  degree  of  affinity ;  provided  that  she  be  not  the  relict  of  your 
said  brother." 

Ibid.  p.  714.  Oration  of  king  Henry  VIII.  to  the  bishops,  the 
nobility,  and  the  commons  of  his  realm,  a.d.  1528,  in  which  he  urges 
the  necessity  of  a  divorce,  not  merely  as  a  matter  of  conscience,  but 
of  civil  policy.  He  shows  from  history,  and  especially  in  the  case 
of  Edward  IV.'s  children,  the  evils  which  might  arise  should  there 
be  any  doubt  respecting  the  legitimacy  of  the  princess  Mary.  He 
says  that  lately,  when  he  was  endeavouring  to  negociate  a  marriage 
between  her  and  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  son  to  the  king  of  France,  it 
was  objected  by  one  of  his  counsellors,  "  that  before  the  marriage 
took  place,  inquiry  ought  to  be  made  whether  Mary  was  our  legiti- 
mate daughter."  In  this  speech  he  pays  a  high  compliment  to  the 
virtues  of  queen  Katharine  ;  solemnly  declaring,  that  were  it  not  for 
his  religious  scruples,  she  would  be  the  woman  of  his  choice. 

Ibid.  p.  725.  In  the  convocation,  February  1530,  it  was  proposed 
to  the  prelates  and  clergy  to  put  the  following  clause  in  the  com- 
mencement of  their  grant  of  subsidy :  "  of  the  church  and  clergy  of 
England — of  whom  he  alone  (i.e.  the  king)  is  the  protector  and 
supreme  head;"  to  which  however  they  objected,  and  the  king 
modified  it  thus  :  "  of  whom  he  alone  is  the  protector  and  supreme 
head  after  God."  At  length,  on  the  11th  of  February,  the  arch- 
bishop proposed  the  article  concerning  the  king's  supremacy  to  the 
convocation  in  these  words  :  "  Of  the  church  and  clergy  of  England, 
whose  singular  protector  only  and  supreme  lord,  and  (as  far  as  we 
may  be  allowed  to  say  so  by  the  law  of  Christ)  also  supreme  head, 
we  acknowledge  his  majesty  to  be."  The  archbishop  then  said, 
"  He  who  is  silent  shall  be  considered  as  giving  his  consent :"  upon 
which,  some  one  cried  out,  "  Then  will  we  all  be  silent ;"  and  so, 
by  unanimous  consent,  both  houses  of  convocation  subscribed  to  this 
article. 

Ibid.  p.  745.  Protest  of  Tunstall,  bishop  of  Durham,  against  the 
title  of  "  supreme  head  of  the  church,"  given  by  the  convocation  to 
the  king.     The  protest  was  made  a.d.  1531. 

Ibid.  p.  746,  Protest  of  archbishop  Warham,  a.d.  1531,  that  he 
would  consent  to  no  measure  derogatory  to  the  supreme  pontiff,  or 
prejudicial  to  the  liberties  of  the  church  of  England. 


SPIRITUAL   SUPREMACY   OF   THE   POPE   REJECTED.  59 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  755.  Royal  proclamation,  a.d.  1532,  "That  no  person 
of  what  condition  or  state  soever  he  be,  do  purchase  from  the  court 
of  Rome,  execute,  or  divulge,  any  thing  heretofore  within  this  year 
passed,  purchased,  or  to  be  purchased  hereafter,  containing  matter 
prejudicial  to  the  high  authority,  jurisdiction,  and  prei'ogative  royal 
of  this  his  said  realm,  or  to  the  let  and  impeachment  of  liis  grace's 
noble  and  virtuous  intended  purposes  in  the  premises ;  upon  pain 
of  incurring  his  highness's  indignation,  and  imprisonment,  and  fur- 
ther punishment  of  their  bodies,  at  his  grace's  pleasure,  to  the 
dreadful  example  of  all  others." 

Ibid.  p.  755. — Oath  of  the  Clergy  to  the  King,  a.d  1532. 

"  I,  John,  bishop  of  A.,  utterly  renounce,  and  clearly  forsake,  all 
such  clauses,  words,  sentences,  and  grants,  which  I  have,  or  shall 
have  hereafter,  of  the  Pope's  holiness,  of  and  for  the  bishoprick  of 
A.,  that  in  any  wise  hath  been,  is,  or  hereafter  may  be,  hurtful  or 
prejudicial  to  your  highness,  your  heirs,  &c.  And  also  I  do  swear 
that  I  shall  be  faithful  and  true,  and  shall  bear  to  you  my  sovereign 
lord  and  your  heirs,  of  life  and  limb,  and  earthly  worship  above  all 
creatures,  to  live  and  to  die  with  you  and  yours  against  all  people. 
Your  counsel  also  I  shall  keep  and  hold ;  acknowledging  myself  to 
hold  my  bishoprick  of  you  only,  beseeching  you  to  restore  the  tem- 
poralities of  the  same,"  &c. 

Ibid.  p.  756.  Decision  of  the  convocation  in  favour  of  the  divorce, 
a.d.  1533. 

Ibid,  p.  757. — Protest  of  Cranmer  against  the  Pope's  jurisdiction, 
a.d.  1533. 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  amen.  I,  Thomas  Cranmer,  elect  to  the 
see  of  Canterbury,  declare,  allege,  and  in  these  presents  openly, 
publickly,  and  expressly  protest,  that  when  it  shall  be  necessary  for 
me  to  take  the  oath  {of  fidelity)  to  the  supreme  pontiff,  usually 
administered  to  the  archbishops  of  Canterbury  elect,  either  before 
or  at  the  time  of  my  consecration,  rather  pro  forma  than  as  a  matter 
of  obligation  ;  it  is  not,  nor  shall  be,  my  will  or  intention,  by  any 
such  oath  or  oaths,  (whatever  may  appear  to  be  the  meaning  of  the 
words  in  which  they  are  expressed,)  to  bind  myself  in  virtue  of  the 
same,  either  to  say  or  do  any  thing  which  is,  or  appears  to  be,  con- 
trary to  the  law  of  God,  or  contrary  to  our  most  illustrious  king, 
and  the  laws  and  prerogatives  of  his  kingdom.  Nor  do  I  mean  to 
bind  myself  by  such  oath,  in  any  way,  not  to  speak,  consult,  or 
acquiesce  freely,  in  all  and  singular  things  relating  to  the  refornia- 
tion  of  the  Christian  religion,  the  government  of  the  church  of 
England,  or  the  prerogative  of  the  crown ;  or  not  to  reform  all 
things  in  the  church  of  England,  which  may  appear  to  me  to  stand 
in  need  of  reformation." 

In  the  sequel,  he  declares  that  he  will  not  consider  himself  boun(i 


60  THE   PAPAL    YOKE    SHAKEN   OFF. 

by  any  oath,  taken  by  his  proxy  at  the  court  of  Rome,  contrary  to 
the  tenor  of  this  protest. 

WiLK.iii.  p.  757.  A  public  instrument,  being  the  solemn  decision 
of  the  prelates  and  clergy  of  the  province  of  Canterbury  in  favour 
of  the  divorce,  a.d.  1533. 

Ibid.  p.  759.  Archbishop  Cranmers  sentence  of  divorce,  a.d.  1533, 
in  which  he  calls  himself  "  Apostolicce  sedis  Legatus." 

Ibid.  p.  7G0.  Address  from  the  convocation  to  the  king,  a.d.  1533, 
entreating  that  an  act  might  be  passed  to  abolish  annates,  or  the 
first-fruits  of  dioceses,  exacted  by  the  court  of  Rome  before  bishops 
elect  could  obtain  their  bulls  of  confirmation  :  "By  reason  whereof, 
the  thesaurie  of  this  realm  hath  been  had  and  conveyed  to  Rome ; 
which  continually  getteth,  by  this  means  and  many  other,  much 
goods  and  profits  out  of  this  realm,  and  never  departeth  with  any 
portion  thereof  hither  again.  By  means  of  annates,  bishops  are  so 
impoverished,  that  if  they  should  die  in  a  few  years  after  their  con- 
secration, they  leave  behind  such  debts  as  are  the  undoing  of  their 
friends  and  creditors."  It  is  added,  that  as  the  king  has  the  custody 
of  the  temporalities  of  a  diocese,  and  the  primate  of  the  spiritualities, 
during  its  vacation,  there  can  be  no  pretence  for  such  extortion ;  and 
they  entreat  the  king,  in  the  event  of  the  Pope's  refusing  the  said 
bulls,  to  withdraw  his  obedience  from  the  see  of  Rome. 

Ibid.  p.  7G9.  Definitive  sentence  of  Pope  Clement  VII.,  pro- 
nouncing the  marriage  of  king  Henry  with  his  brother's  widow 
perfectly  valid,  and  forbidding  it  to  be  annulled  or  set  aside,  a.d. 
1534. 

Ibid.  p.  769. — Convocation  of  the  province  of  Canterbury,  a.d.  1534. 

The  question  was  put — "  Whether  the  Roman  pontiff  hath  any 
greater  jurisdiction  over  this  realm  of  England  granted  to  him  by 
God  in  the  holy  scriptures,  than  any  other  foreign  bishop?"  Thirty- 
four  denied  that  he  had  any  such  authority  ;  one  doubted ;  and  four 
afiirmed. 

Ibid.  p.  771.  Declaration  of  the  university  of  Cambridge,  to  the 
same  effect. 

Ibid.  p.  774.  Declaration  of  the  dean  and  chapter  of  St.  Paul's, 
to  the  same  effect. 

Ibid.  p.  775.  Protestation  of  the  university  of  Oxford,  to  the 
same  effect. 

Ibid.  p.  782.  Declaration  of  the  province  of  York,  to  the  same 
effect.     All  made  in  1534. 

Ibid.  p.  772.  The  king's  proclamation,  a.d.  1534,  abolishing  the 
usurped  authority  of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  and  commanding  the 
bishops  and  clergy  "to  declare  and  publish  unto  the  people  the 
great  and  innumerable  enormities  and  abuses  which  the  said  bishop 
of  Rome,  as  well  in  title  and  style  as  also  in  authority  and  jurisdic- 
tion, of  long  time  unlawfully  and  unjustly  hath  usurped  upon  us." 


THE    PAPAL    YOKE    SHAKEN   OFF,  61 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  780. — Oath  of  Stephen  Gardiner,  bishop  of  Winchester, 

A.D.  1534. 

He  calls  Henry  VIH.  "  defender  of  the  faith,  lord  of  Ireland,  and 
in  earth  of  the  church  of  England  supreme  Head,  immediately  under 
Christ,"  and  professes  thus :  "that  from  this  day  forward,  I  shall 
swear  or  ])romise  to  no  foreign  potentate  or  prelate,  nor  yet  to  the 
bishop  of  Rome,  whom  they  call  the  Pope,  any  oath  or  fealty,  directly 
or  indirectly;  but  at  all  times  I  shall  observe  and  maintain,  to  all  efiects 
and  intents,  the  quarrel  and  cause  of  your  royal  majesty  and  your  suc- 
cessors, to  the  utmost  of  my  power.  I  profess  the  papacy  of  Rome 
not  to  be  ordained  of  God  in  holy  scripture,  but  declare  it  to  be  set 
up  only  by  man.  Furthermore,  that  the  said  bishop  of  Rome  is  not 
to  be  called  ^ pope,'  or  ^supreme  bishop,'  or  'universal  bishop,'  or 
'most  holy.lord;  but  only  ought  to  be  called,  'bishop  of  Rome,'  or 
'felloio  brother,'  as  the  old  manner  of  the  most  ancient  bishops  hath 
been." 

Ibid.  p.  781.  Oath  of  bishop  Bonner,  and  sponsion  of  bishop 
Lee,  to  the  same  effect. 

Ibid.  p.  792.  Condemnation  and  excommunication  of  king  Henry 
VIII.  by  Pope  Paul  III.,  a.d.  1535,  sentencing  him  (if  he  should 
continue  contumacious)  to  the  loss  of  his  crown  and  dominions ;  to 
be  deprived  of  Christian  burial ;  and  to  be  smitten  "  with  the  sword 
of  everlasting  damnation."  Fortunately  however  for  the  king — 
fortunately,  I  may  add,  for  religion,  the  power  of  his  holiness  was  by 
no  means  commensurate  with  his  inclination ;  and  the  thunders  of 
the  Vatican,  which  in  the  12th  century  would  have  either  hurled 
the  monarch  from  his  throne,  or  awed  him  to  obedience,  in  the  16th 
century  rolled  harmlessly  over  his  head. 

Having  thus  conducted  the  reader  from  the  mission  of  Augustine 
by  Gregory  the  Great,  to  our  emancipation  from  the  papal  yoke, 
I  conclude  the  chapter. 

The  Records  at  the  end  of  each  volume,  in  the  folio  editions  of 
Burnet's  "  History  of  the  Reformation,"  are  earnestly  recommended  to 
the  reader's  attention.  The  Bishop's  History,  and  other  works 
relating  to  that  eventful  period,  will  also  be  found  useful ;  but 
documentary  evidence  is  always  to  be  preferred  to  the  writings  of  a 
partisan,  whether  Protestant  or  Roman  Catholic. — "Caute  lege"  is  a 
piece  of  advice  of  which  the  reader  should  never  lose  sight,  whether 
he  is  perusing  the  works  of  a  Varillas,  a  Burnet,  or  a  Foxe. 


(     62     ) 


CHAPTEE  III. 

ON   THE   ORDERS,   DISCIPLINE,   AND   REVENUES   OF   THE  ANCIENT 
ENGLISH   CLERGY. 


§.  I. — The  Hierarchy  and  Clergy. 

I.  That  there  were  bishops  in  this  island  long  before  the  arrival 
of  Augustine  has  been  already  proved:  bishops  of  York,  London,  and 
Colchester  having  been  present  at  the  council  of  Aries,  a.d.  314.'' 
After  the  Saxon  invasion  the  Britons,  laity  as  well  as  clergy,  were 
driven  out  of  what  is  now  called  England,  and  compelled  to  take 
refuge  in  Gallia  Armorica,  and  in  the  fastnesses  of  Wales  and 
Cornwall;  and  the  seven  British  bishops  who  attended  the  council 
of  Worcester,  a.d.  601,  gave  Augustine  to  understand  that  they 
were  independent  of  the  Pope,  and  subject  to  a  metropolitan  of 
their  own : '  a  dignity  which  was  successively  vested  in  the  sees  of 
LlandafT,  Caerleon,  and  St.  David's." 

In  the  infancy  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  church,  there  were,  as  might 
naturally  be  expected,  but  few  bishops,  so  that  a  diocese  frequently 
extended  over  an  entire  province,  or  kingdom  of  the  Heptarchy,  n 
Hence  it  was  that,  notwithstanding  their  prejudices,  they,  in  the 
seventh  century,  frequently  derived  their  consecration  from  the 
Welsh  or  Irish  bishops,  who  differed  from  them  in  the  observance 
of  Easter,  the  tonsure,  and  a  variety  of  other  particulars :  possibly 
in  the  very  ceremonies  of  consecration.  This  explains  the  assertion 
of  Bede,  that  a  little  before  the  arrival  of  archbishop  Theodore 
there  was  but  one  canonically-appointed  bishop  throughout  the 
whole  island,  viz.  Wini." 

II.  The  archbishop  of  Canterbury  had  anciently  a  sort  of  Pa- 
triarchal jurisdietion,  extending  over  all  the  British  isles  ;p  at  general 
councils  he  is  said  to  have  taken  precedence  of  all  the  western 
archbishops ;  "^  and,  from  the  year  1195  till  the  final  abohtion  of  the 
papal  supremacy  in  England,  was  termed  " Legatus  Natm'  of  the 

•'  Spelm.  Concil.  1.  42,  1  See  above,  p.  21. 

•n  For  ao  account  of  this  conference  and  a  statement  of  some  of  the  ancient 
British  sees,  see  above,  p.  21. 

»  Bedse  Hist.  lib.  iii.  c.  20,  et  passim.  <>  Ibid.  lib.  iii.  c.  28. 

P  Wilk.  i.  35,  et  327.  <i  Burn's  Eccl.  Law,  i.  197. 


THE  HIERARCHY  AND  CLERGY.  63 

Pope :  i.  e.  legate  of  the  Pope  in  virtue  of  his  metropolitan  dignity, 
and  without  creation.  As  late  as  the  year  1533,  Cranmer  terms 
himself  "  Apostolicce  sedis  Legatus :"  probably  the  last  instance  of 
the  kind  before  the  Reformation.^  This  dignity  was,  however,  for 
the  most  part,  merely  nommal,  legates  (a  latere)  having  been  fre- 
quently sent  to  England,  who  not  merely  superseded  his  authority 
in  this  respect,  but  shamefully  encroached  upon  his  metropolitan, 
and  even  episcopal  jurisdiction.* 

The  right  of  mintage  (or  the  coining  of  money)  secured  to  the 
archbishops  of  Canterbury  in  the  council  of  Grateley,  a.d.  928, 
must  have  been  a  very  important  privilege,  though  not  an  exclusive 
one.  The  abbot  of  Canterbury,  the  bishop  of  Rochester,  and  pos- 
sibly some  other  prelates,  also  possessed  a  right  of  mintage. '  So 
exalted  was  this  dignity  before  the  Conquest,  that  the  weregild 
of  the  primate  was,  by  the  Kentish  law,  greater  than  that  of  the 
king :  nay,  on  one  occasion  the  signature  of  archbishop  Janbyrht  is 
placed  before  that  of  king  Offa." 

The  suffragan  bishops  of  the  province  of  Canterbury  appear  to 
have  claimed  a  right  of  electing  their  metropolitan  before  the  year 
1200 ;  but  there  is  a  great  deal  of  confusion  relative  to  this  point. 
In  later  times  the  monks  of  Canterbury  exercised  that  right  as  far 
as  royal  and  papal  interference  would  permit. " 

III.  The  archbishop  of  York  was  anciently  metropolitan,  not 
only  of  all  England  north  of  the  Humber,  but  of  the  whole  realm  of 
Scotland.* 

In  the  provincial  council  of  London,  a.d.  1175,  the  archbishop 
of  York,  by  proxy,  claimed  a  metropolitan  jurisdiction  over  the  sees 
of  Lincoln,  Chester,  Worcester,  and  Hereford;  and  these  claims- 
not  being  allowed,  he  appealed  to  the  Pope."  For  many  ages  the 
prelates  of  this  see  struggled  against  the  pre-eminence  of  the  church 
of  Canterbury.  In  the  council  of  Westminster,  a.d.  1176,  at  which 
Hugezun,  the  legate,  presided,  the  archbishop  of  York,  "  disdaining 
to  sit  at  his  (the  legate's)  left  hand,  forced  himself  into  the  lap  of 
the  archbishop  of  Canterbury ;  but  was  immediately  knocked  down 
by  the  other  bishops  and  clergy :  he  was  severely  beaten  and  thrust 
out.  In  the  midst  of  the  tumult  the  legate  privately  withdrew,  and 
dissolved  the  council."'' 

The  claim  of  the  archbishops  of  York  to  have  the  cross  carried 
before  them  in  the  province  of  Canterbury,  and  several  extracts  to 
the  same  purpose,  may  be  seen  in  this  chapter,  Wilk.  ii.  526,  and 
vol.  iii.  31. 

Each  archbishop  had  a  right  of  option ;  i.  e.  a  power  of  selecting 
some  piece  of  preferment  in  the  diocese  of  every  suffragan  bishop 
whom  he  consecrated.     This  important  privilege  is  still  continued^ 

«•  See  p.  60.  »  Supra,  p,  39,  40.  '  Wilk.  i.  206. 

"  Ibid.  i.  151.     Item,  Text.  Roffens,  ap.  Johns.  Addenda,  A.n.  602. 

"  Johns.  A.  D.  1126  pf.  et  1164  pf.  et  1222  pf.  "  Wilk.  i.  325,  479,  &c, 

"  Johns.  A.  D.  1 175  pf.  et  a.  d.  1237  pf. 

T  Hoved.  ap.  Wilk.  i.  485, 


64  THE   IIIERAHCHY   AND   CLEllGT. 

and  is  even  disposable  of  by  will/     The  archbishop  also  claimed 
a  heriot  on  the  death  of  any  of  his  suftragans. 

In  the  province  of  Cashel  the  archbishop  claimed  the  best  ring, 
cup,  chain,  or  breviary,  of  a  suffragan  bishop  upon  his  decease.* 

Archbishops  also  possessed  a  power  of  visiting  the  dioceses  in 
their  respective  provinces  and  correcting  abuses ;  and  a  clerk  might 
appeal  from  the  bishop  to  his  metropolitan. 

According  to  the  decree  of  the  third  council  of  Lateran  (cited 
in  the  council  of  Westminster,  a.d.  1200,  can.  5.),  the  retinue  of 
an  archbishop  at  his  visitations  Avas  not  to  exceed  the  number  of 
forty  or  fifty  men  and  horses.'' 

The  distinctive  vestment  of  an  archbishop  was  the  pall'=  represented 
in  our  frontispiece ;  and  he  bore  a  cross  in  his  left  hand  instead  of 
the  crook  or  pastoral  staff:  otherwise  there  was  no  difference  between 
his  costume  and  that  of  a  bishop. 

The  power  which  he  possessed  of  summoning  his  suffragans  to  a 
provincial  synod,  has  been  already  noticed. 

The  temporary  spoliation  of  the  see  of  Canterbury  to  erect  an 
archbishopric  at  Lichfield,  a.d.  785,  may  be  seen  in  this  chapter, 
Wilk.  i.  152,  &c. 

lY.  Bishops,  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  are  not  considered  a 
distinct  order,  but  the  highest  degree  of  the  priesthood :  '^this, 
however,  is  merely  a  scholastic  nicety,  the  power  of  conferring 
orders  and  administering  the  rites  of  confirmation,  &c.,  being  as 
strictly  confined  to  bishops  as  they  are  among  ourselves. 

The  power  of  convening  diocesan  synods,  and  Adsiting  all  the 
churches  and  monasteries  in  their  respective  sees,  which  were 
not  specially  exempted  from  their  jurisdiction  by  the  Pope;  of 
trying  spiritual  causes  in  their  own  courts ;  of  claiming  delinquent 
clerks  from  the  secular  authorities,  &c.,  were  privileges  anciently 
possessed  by  the  English  bishops. 

The  bishop  alone  could  absolve  in  what  were  termed  reserved 
cases — such  as  sacrilege,  incest,  murder,  sins  against  nature,  &;c.; 
but  the  burning  of  churches,  falsifying  bulls,  laying  violent  hands 
upon  the  clergy  or  monks,  and  a  few  other  crimes,  could  be  only 
absolved  by  the  Pope  or  his  legate.  ^ 

Before  the  year  1085,  the  spiritual  and  secular  jurisdictions  were 
so  mingled  together  that  the  bishop  sat  in  the  Hundred  Court ; 
but  about  that  time,  by  royal  mandate,  they  became  distinct 
and  independent  of  each  other. ' 

Subsequently,  each  bishop  had  a  separate  court,  and  also  a  prison 
for  delinquent  clerks,  heretics,  &c.^ 

In  his  parochial  visitations,  the  retinue  of  a  bishop  was  limited 
to  the  number  of  twenty  or  thirty  attendants,   with  their  horses, 

I  Burn's  Eccl.  Law,  i.  197.  »  Wilk.  iii.  566,  can.  78. 

b  Wilk.  i    505.  <=  See  above,  p.  U, 

''  Schram,  torn.  3,  cap.  19,  §.  1132.     Schol.  i.  p.  520. 
'  Wilk.  i.  637,  cap   20.     Item,  Johns,  a.d.  1236,  cap.  16,  and  N,  u. 
'  Ibid.  i.  368.  '  '  Ibid.  i.  755. 


THE  HIERARCHY  AND  CLERGY.  65 

which  were  to  be  entertained  for  a  night  and  a  day :  >»  but  in  later 
times  a  composition  in  money  was  received  instead.  And  here  it  is 
to  be  noted,  that  the  bishop  or  archdeacon  could  claim  only  one  full 
procuration  in  a  day,  however  many  churches  he  might  visit  during 
that  interval.  The  bishop  might  occasionally  levy  subsidies  jfrom 
his  clergy  to  the  amount  of  a  full  procuration,  but  no  more. ' 

N.B.  In  England  this  amounted  to  150  turons.  The  turon  was 
the  twelfth  part  of  a  floren,  and  the  floren  was  four  shUlings  and  four- 
pence  :  so  that  a  full  procuration  may  be  valued  at  £2  14s.,  about 
Jifty-four  pounds  of  our  present  currency !  Qucere — Was  this  the  full 
procuration  of  the  deanery  ?  Few  individual  parishes  could  have  borne 
such  a  burthen — nearly  equalling  in  amount  a  vicar's  yearly  stipend ; 
but  being  distributed  among  ten  or  twelve  incumbents,  whose  parishes 
could  easily  be  visited  in  one  day,  the  quota  of  each  (payable  trien- 
nially?)  would  not  have  been  excessive.  A  list  of  the  procurations 
formerly  exacted  by  archbishops,  bishops,  archdeacons,  and  rural 
deans,  may  be  seen  in  Johnson's  Canons,  vol.  ii.,  a.d.  1336. 

Before  the  actual  endowment  of  the  church  with  tithes  and  land, 
the  bishop  received  as  his  portion  one-fourth  of  all  the  oblations 
made  throughout  his  diocese ;  but  in  later  times  each  parish  priest 
paid  him  annually  a  fixed  sum,  termed  Cathedraticum  (or  Honor 
Cathedrce),  and  also  a  smaU  fee  on  receiving  the  sacred  oils  on 
Maundy  Thursday  ; ''  notwithstanding  the  Legatine  prohibition. 

A  bishop  was  expected  to  be  resident  in  his  diocese  at  least 
upon  the  principal  festivals,  and  on  the  Sundays  in  Advent  and 
Lent,  when  he  was  to  celebrate  mass  in  the  cathedral ; '  he  was 
constantly  to  retain  about  his  person  some  discreet  and  honest  men, 
as  witnesses  of  Ids  life  and  conversation ;  and  the  solemn  profession 
which  he  had  made  when  he  was  consecrated  was  to  be  read  to  him 
twice  a-year  to  remind  him  of  his  duty." 

In  the  event  of  a  bishop's  ordaining  priests  without  a  title,  he 
might  be  compelled  to  maintain  them  till  they  could  be  otherwise 
provided  for." 

The  vestments  of  a  bishop  were,  the  sandals,  amyt,  albe,  girdle, 
with  the  auccingulum  (an  ornamental  addition),  stole,  tunicle,  dal- 
matic, chasuble,  maniple,  mitre,  pastoral  staff,  gloves,  and  ring.  The 
cope  was  worn  on  solemn  occasions ;  the  rochette  and  mozzetta  be- 
longed rather  to  his  civU  costume.  The  pall,  though  generally 
peculiar  to  metropolitans,  was  sometimes  granted  to  a  bishop  by 
special  privilege  of  the  Pope."  Instances  of  this  kind  are  however 
extremely  rare,  nor  are  there  any  English  examples. 

There  were  about  sixteen  e])iscopal  sees  in  England  at  the  jieriod  of 
Bede's  death,  and  the  same  number  at  the  conquest :  soon  after  which, 
many  of  them  were  translated  from  mere  villages  to  populous  towns,  p 

»'  Wilk   i.  506.  i  Ibid.  i.  506. 

^  Ibid.  i.  19.     Item,    Du  Cange,  Gloss,   voce    Cathedraticum.     Item,   Johns. 
Adtleiida  to,  ad.  1138,  vol.  ii. 

'  Wilk.  i.  654.     Item,  torn.  ii.   10.  ">  Idem,  i.  382,  et  585. 

n  Idem,  i.  506.  »  Du  Cange,  Gloss,  voce  Pallium, 

V  bedae  Hist.  lib.  v.  cap.  24.     Item,  Wilk.  i.  363. 

F 


66  THE   HrERARCHY   AND   CLERGY. 

The  succession  of  our  archbishops  and  bishops  may  be  seen  in  Le 
Neve's  *^  Fasti"  Heylin's  '^Titles  of  Honour,"  &c.,  and  their  biogra- 
phies in  Malmsbury  "  de  Gestis  Pontijicum  Anglorum,"  Godwin  "  de 
PrcBsulibus  Anglice"  and  Wharton's  "  Anglia  Sacra." 

V.  Of  Chorepiscopi,  or  village  bishops,  I  have  not  discovered  any 
traces  in  the  English  branch  of  the  Catholic  church,  but  in  Ireland, 
this  ancient  order  was  in  existence  as  late  as  the  year  1216,  when  it 
was  finally  abolished  by  Paparo  the  cardinal  legate.''  Towards  the 
end  of  the  eighth  century,  Charlemagne  directed  a  suppression  of 
the  chorepiscopi,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,  the 
order  was  totally  extinct.  "■  The  solitary  exception  of  Ireland  may 
be  considered  as  a  proof  of  her  ancient  independence. 

The  Chorepiscopus  appears  to  have  been  a  regularly  consecrated 
bishop,  but  without  any  jurisdiction  of  his  own.  Acting  under  the 
diocesan,  he  presided  over  a  district,  and  performed  vai'ious  episcopal 
functions.  He  could  grant  Uteres  formatce  to  such  of  the  clergy  as 
went  into  another  diocese ;"  he  was  allowed  to  consecrate  churches, 
to  dedicate  virgins,  to  ordain  to  aU  the  minor  orders  of  the  ministry, 
including  that  of  subdeacon,  and  to  confirm.  He  could  not  however 
confer  the  orders  of  deacon  and  priest,  without  the  express  permis- 
sion of  the  diocesan.'  The  12th  canon  of  the  councU  of  Ancyra, 
the  113th  canon  of  the  council  of  Neocsesarsea,  and  the  10th  canon 
of  the  council  of  Antioch  may  be  consulted  with  advantage." 

VI.  The  Archpresbyter,  or  Rural  Dean,  otherwise  termed  "  Deca- 
rnis  Christianitatis,"  was  appointed  by  the  bishop  to  preside  over  the 
rectors,  vicars,  and  clergy  of  a  particular  district.  It  was  his  duty 
to  censure  delinquent  clerks  within  his  jurisdiction,  and  to  investi- 
gate charges  of  heresy,  as  president  of  the  rural  chapter.  Citations 
were  frequently  entrusted  to  his  care ;  he  had  a  seal  of  ofiice,  and 
when  he  visited  the  parishes  of  his  deanery,  was  allowed  to  have  two 
attendants  with  him  upon  horseback  in  token  of  his  dignity.^  Be- 
fore the  year  1237,  the  rural  dean  was  the  general  confessor  of  the 
clergy  belonging  to  his  deanery ;  but  as  he  was  also  the  judge  of 
their  excesses,  tliis  was  found  so  inconvenient,  that  subsequently 
to  that  period,  the  bishop  appointed  confessors  in  each  deanery, 
to  whom  the  clergy  might  make  their  confessions,  as  they  were 
"asfiamed  or  afraid"  to  confess  to  the  dean." 

According  to  the  etymology  of  the  term  deanery,  it  probably  at 
first  included  about  ten  parishes ;  and  each  rural  dean  had  two  or 
three  public  informers  acting  under  him,  to  denounce  heretics  and 
dehnquent  clerks. 

As  the  rural  dean  was  the  successor  of  the  village  bishop,  when 
that  ancient  office  was  abolished,  I  have  placed  the  archpresbyter 

q  Wilk.  i  547. 

f  Capital,  lib.  vi.  c.  121.  Schram,  torn.  ili.  c.  six.  §.  1164.  Schol. 
'  Vide  Bingham,  Orig.  Eccl.  lib.  ii.  c.  3.  §.  5. 

t  Schram,  ubi  supra,  item  Bingham,  ii.  14,  4.  &c.       "  Labbaei  Concil.  passim. 
"  Wilk.  i.  637;  item,  tom.  iii.  378 ;  item,  torn.  i.  506.  et  655  ;  item,  DuCaage, 
Gloss,  voce  Decanus  Christianitatis,  "'  Wilk.  i.  651. 


THE    HIERARCHY   JiSJ)   CLERGY.  67 

before  the  archdeacon :  at  the  same  time  I  am  well  aware  that  the 
former  was  subordmate  to  the  latter,  both  in  dignity  and  juris- 
diction. 

vn.  The  Archdecicon  was  in  the  eleventh  century  in  deacon's  orders 
only,  and  was  appointed  by  the  bishop  to  act  as  his  deputy — "  quoad 
forum  externum."  Till  the  severance  of  the  ecclesiastical  from  the 
civil  jurisdiction  by  William  the  Conqueror,  he  sat  in  the  Hundred 
court,  subsequently  to  which,  he  had  a  court  of  his  own,  and  a 
power  of  visitation  throughout  his  district,  which  included  seve- 
ral rural  deaneries.  It  was  his  duty  to  present  ])luralists  and  con- 
cubinary  priests  to  the  diocesan ;  to  clip  the  long  hair  of  clerks  ;  to 
examine  the  parochial  clergy,  and  see  that  they  were  able  to  read 
the  sacred  offices ;  to  inspect  the  books  and  vestments  of  the  church 
as  well  as  its  state  of  repair.  He  might  interdict  the  lands  of  those 
who  oppressed  the  clergy,  and  fine  any  rector  or  vicar  who  should 
neglect  to  demand  his  tithes,  to  the  extent  of  half  a  mark.  He 
might  also  inflict  a  moderate  suspension  upon  such  of  the  clergy  as 
acted  contumaciously.  The  archdeacon's  visitation  was,  in  Lynd- 
wode's  time,  held  triennially,  but  in  some  cases  it  was  annual.  His 
attendants  upon  such  occasions  were  not  to  exceed  the  number  of 
five  or  seven  with  their  horses,  and  his  procuration  was  limited  to 
50  turons,  or  about  18  shillings.  He  moreover  claimed  a  fee  of  one 
penny  from  every  clerk  coming  to  officiate  within  his  archdeaconry.^ 

vm.  Vicars  general  were  appointed  by  bishops  to  check  the 
encroachments  of  archdeacons,  and  invested  with  an  authority  some- 
what similar,  but  the  appointment  was  revocable  at  will.'' 

IX.  The  Poenitentiary  was  the  bishop's  deputy,  in  the  hearing  of 
reserved  cases.* 

X.  The  Theologus  was  a  professor  of  Divinity  attached  to  the  Ca- 
thedral church,  whose  office  it  was  to  promote  the  study  of  theology 
among  the  clergy  of  the  diocese,^  and  to  instruct  them  in  all  things 
relating  to  the  cure  of  souls.  He  usually  held  a  prebendal  stall  in 
the  cathedral. 

XI.  The  Dean  (Decanus)  anciently  signified  the  president  over  ten 
monks,  and  there  were  several  in  a  convent,  but  in  cathedral  churches 
the  dean,  termed  dXso prcepositus  (provost),  presided  over  the  chapter, 
and  took  precedence  in  the  cathedral  next  after  the  bishop.'' 

XII.  The  Canon  or  Prebendary  was  a  member  of  the  cathedral 
chapter,  and  received  a  portion  of  its  revenues  for  his  support. 
Hence  the  term  prjebendarius,  from  prcebenda,  an  allowance. " 

Such  were  the  dignified  clergy  of  the  church  before  the  Reforma- 
tion :  let  us  next  take  a  very  brief  survey  of  the  inferior  orders  of  the 
ministry. 

XIII.  These  were  priests,  deacons,  subdeacons,  acolyths,  exorcists, 

"  Wilk.  i,  368  et  408  et  435,  &c.  et  477  et501;  item,  torn.  i\.  513,  et  passim. 
Johns.  A.D.  )342,  cap.  11. 

y  Schram,  Theol.  tom.  iii.  cap.  xix.  §.  1153.  Schol.  3.  *  Ibid.  Schol.  4. 

»  Ibid.  Schol.  5.  b  Ibid.  Schol.  6.  «  Ibid.  Schol.  6. 

P2 


68  SCHOLASTIC   THEOLOGY. 

readers,  and  ostiaries  :  but  the  first  tonsure  conferred  the  privDeges 
of  clerkship,  and  exempted  from  the  civil  jurisdiction. 

An  explanation  of  the  functions  of  these  various  orders,  may  be 
seen  in  this  chapter,  Wilk.  i.  251 ;  and  a  statement  of  the  vestments 
appropriated  to  each,  together  with  the  forms  of  ordination,  will  be 
found  in  the  introduction  to  the  next  chapter. 

XIV.  Of  the  parochial  clergy,  some  were  rectors  and  other  vicars: 
the  great  tithes  in  the  latter  case  being  received  sometimes  by  a 
monastery  or  other  ecclesiastical  corporation :  sometimes  by  a  mere 
laymen  :  sometimes  by  a  clerk  in  minor  orders.  Lay  impropriations 
existed  in  Scotland  as  early  as  the  year  1225."^  The  chaplain  was  a 
sort  of  curate  removeable  at  will,  and  the  chantry  priest  was  ap- 
pointed to  celebrate  mass  for  the  soul  of  some  wealthy  founder,  who 
had  endowed  an  altar  in  the  church  for  that  purpose.  Guilds  or 
religious  confraternities  had  also  their  chaplains. 

§.2.    On  the  Learning,  Morality,  and  Influence  of  the  Clergy ; — the 
Scholastic  Theology,  ^c. 

At  a  time  when  the  law  of  cehbacy  was  comjjulsory,  clerical  pro- 
fligacy admitted  of  a  palliation,  by  no  means  applicable  at  the  pre- 
sent day ;  nor  ought  we  to  forget,  when  we  meet  with  canons  against 
the  drunkenness  or  incontinence  of  the  clergy,  that  they  were  a 
much  more  numerous  body  than  they  are  now  ;  a  majority  of 
persons  honoured  with  that  title,  having  no  higher  claim  to  it  than 
our  modern  sextons  or  parish  clerks :  for  acolyths,  ostiaries,  and  even 
those  who  had  barely  received  the  first  tonsure,  were  included  under 
this  general  designation.  At  the  same  time,  the  sad  details  of  my 
third  section  clearly  expose  the  folly  of  a  system,  under  which  it 
appears  to  be  expected,  that  in  becoming  priests  we  should  cease  to 
be  men ;  and  indeed,  that  section  comprises  in  its  greatest  force  the 
historical  argument  against  the  law  of  priestly  celibacy. 

In  the  middle  ages,  the  learning  of  the  parochial  clergy  was  at  so 
very  low  an  ebb,  that  a  knowledge  of  the  creed,  and  such  an  ac- 
quaintance with  letters  as  might  enable  him  to  read  the  offices, 
were  frequently  the  only  literary  qualifications  of  a  candidate  for 
holy  orders ;  and  indeed  in  the  reign  of  Alfred,  very  few  of  the  clergy 
were  able  to  translate  any  portion  of  the  service!*  Injustice  how- 
ever to  our  predecessors  in  the  ministry,  we  ought  to  recollect,  that 
books  were  at  that  period  extremely  scarce  and  costly,  and  before 
the  invention  of  the  art  of  printing,  the  library  of  the  richest  mona- 
stery presented  a  less  goodly  array  than  the  shelves  of  a  poor  curate 
in  our  own  times. 

"  There  have  been  ages  (says  D'lsraeli),'^  when  for  the  possession 
of  a  manuscript,  some  would  transfer  an  estate,  or  leave  in  pawn  for 
its  loan  hundreds  of  golden  crowns  ;  and  when  even  the  sale  or  loan 

''  In  this  chapter,  Wilk.  i.  circa  p.  610,  cap.  79 
f  Wilk.  ii,  144,  Hallam's  Middle  Ages,  ii   436  et  Spelm.  i.  379. 
f  Curiosities  of  Literature,  edit.   1838,  p.  7,  Art.    ^Recovery  of  Manuscripts'. 
Item,  Life  of  Caxton,  p.  16. 


SCHOLASTIC   THEOLOGY.  69 

of  a  manuscript  was  considered  of  such  importance  as  to  have  been 
solemnly  registered  by  public  acts  :"  and  he  tells  us,  "  that  Louis  XI. 
of  France  could  not  obtain  the  MS.  of  Rasis  (an  Arabian  writer) 
from  the  Library  of  the  faculty  at  Paris,  without  pledging  100 
golden  crowns  ;  that  a  pledge  of  10  marks  of  silver  for  the  loan  of 
a  volume  of  Avicenna  was  refused  in  1471,  and  that  a  countess  of 
Anjou  bought  a  favourite  book  of  homilies  for  200  sheep,  some 
skins  of  martins,  and  bushels  of  rye  and  wheat.  Alfred  the  Great 
is  recorded  to  have  given  eight  hydes  of  land  (or  about  900  acres) 
for  a  single  book  on  cosmography." 

When  the  means  of  acquiring  knowledge  were  so  very  limited, 
the  greatest  lights  of  the  age  were  learned  only  by  comparison,  while 
a  vast  majority  of  the  priesthood  were  profoundly  ignorant,  and  the 
people  must  have  utterly  perished  for  lack  of  knowledge,  had  no 
remedy  been  provided  for  the  evil.  The  Anglo-Saxon  prelates  how- 
ever compiled  homilies  in  the  vernacular  tongue,  to  be  read  by  the 
clergy  to  their  flocks,  several  of  which  are  still  extant,  and  transla- 
tions of  them  have  been  published  by  Miss  Elstob,  Johnson,  Soames 
and  others.  Quotations  from  them  may  be  seen  in  the  introductions 
to  my  second  and  fourth  chapters. 

In  the  year  1281,  archbishop  Peckham  issued  a  sort  of  exposition 
of  the  Catholic  faith,  which  was  to  be  read  in  the  parish  churches 
four  times  a  year  ;8  licensed  preachers  were  sent  by  bishops  through 
their  dioceses,  ^  and  the  preaching  friars,  of  whom  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  speak  elsewhere,  frequently  occupied  the  pulpits  of  the 
parochial  clergy. 

The  scholastic  theology  of  the  middle  ages,  exhibits  at  once  the 
perfection  of  metaphysical  subtlety,  and  the  utter  imbecility  of  the 
human  mind,  when  it  ventures  beyond  the  limits  assigned  to  it  by 
the  Creator.  The  schoolmen  are  perpetually  imagining  difficulties, 
that  they  may  display  their  ingenuity  by  solving  them,  and  the 
questions* , 

"  An  Adamo  umbilicus  fuerit  ?" 

"  An  pars  excisa  de  Christi  corpore  tempore  cireumcisionis  ejus 
adhuc  manducetur  in  EucharistiS.?" 

"  Si  canis  vel  porcus  vel  mus  deglutiret  hostiam  consecratam,  an 
Corpus  Christi  transiret  in  stomachum  bestiae?" 

"  An  surrecturi  simus  cum  visceribus  nostris  ?" 

"  An  erit  stercus  in  paradise  7" 

"  Cur  Messias,  cum  esset  Redemptor  utriusque  sox(is,  non  erat 
hermaphrodita  ?"  and  many  other  such  questions  will  be  found  seri- 
ously discussed  in  their  ponderous  tomes. 

No  question  was  too  minute  for  their  scrutiny,  or  too  sacred  for 
their  intrusion, 

"  And  fools  rushed  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread." 

s  Wilk.  ii.  54.  h  Ibid.  iii.  315. 

'  Petri  Lombardi  Sent.  lib.  iv.  Dist-  13,  cap.  '  soleV\  Ibid.  lib.  iv.  Dist.  44,  cap. 
primo;  et  Gent.  Mag.  Oct.  1745, 


70  SCHOLASTIC   THEOLOGY. 

The  following  analysis,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Sharon  Turner,''  will 
give  the  reader  an  excellent  idea  of  the  '  Sunima  Totiiis  Theologiw,' 
Aquinas's  greatest  work. 

The  edition  before  him  was  that  of  Paris  1615,  occupying  1250 
closely  printed  folio  pages,  of  very  small  print  in  double  columns. 

The  whole  is  thrown  into  a  logical  form.  The  difficulty  is  pro- 
posed first,  with  all  the  sophistical  reasons  which  might  be  urged  in 
its  support.  Next  follows  what  Saint  Thomas  believed  to  be  the 
sound  and  orthodox  doctrine,  in  the  form  of  a  proposition  or  con- 
clusion ;  after  which  he  replies  to  the  sophistical  arguments  seriatim, 
exposing  their  fallacy  out  of  Scripture,  reason,  and  the  fathers. 

There  are  168  articles  on  Love ;  358  on  Angels ;  200  on  the 
Soul ;  85  on  Demons ;  151  on  the  Intellect ;  134  on  the  Law  of 
God ;  3  on  the  Catamenia ;  237  on  Sins ;  18  on  Virginity,  &c. 

The  following  may  be  considered  as  a  fair  sample  of  his  conclusions: — 

Angels  were  not  before  the  world. 

Angels  might  have  been  before  the  world. 

Angels  were  created  by  God. 

Angels  were  created  immediately  by  God. 

Angels  were  created  in  the  empyrean  sky. 

Angels  were  created  in  a  state  of  grace. 

Angels  were  created  in  perfect  happiness. 

Angels  are  incoi'poreal  with  reference  to  us,  but  corporeal  with 
reference  to  God. 

Angels  are  composed  of  action,  potentiality,  &c. 

God,  an  angel,  and  the  human  soul,  are  not  contained  in  space, 
but  contain  it. 

Many  angels  cannot  be  at  once  in  the  same  portion  of  space. 

The  motion  of  an  angel  in  space  is  nothing  more  than  different 
contacts  of  different  successive  places. 

The  motion  of  an  angel  is  a  succession  of  his  different  operations. 

It  is  continuous  or  discontinuous  at  wiU. 

The  continuous  motion  of  an  angel  is  necessary  through  every 
medium,  but  may  be  discontinuous  without  a  medium. 

The  velocity  of  an  angel's  motion  is  not  according  to  his  strength, 
but  his  inclination. 

The  motion  of  the  illumination  of  an  angel  is  threefold,  viz. 
circular,  straight,  or  oblique. 

A  single  specimen  from  the  "  Secunda  Secundce"  of  Thomas 
Aquinas,  will  explain  to  the  reader  his  mode  of  reasoning  better 
than  any  verbal  description.  I  quote  from  the  Venice  edition, 
A.D.  1479. 

There  are  altogether  634  folio  pages,  in  double  columns,  in  which 
189  principal  questions  are  discussed  ;  each  of  these  questions  being 
subdivided  into  eight  or  ten  subordinate  parts. 

k  Apud  CHriosities  of  Literature,  Loud.  1838,  p.  22. 


SCHOLASTIC   THEOLOGY.  71 

Thus  Qucestio  Lxvi  relates  to  theft  or  injuring  the  property  of 
our  neighbour,  and  is  divided  into  the  following  sections. 

1.  Whether  property  is  a  natural  right, 

2.  Whether  it  be  lawful  for  a  man  to  possess  property. 

3.  Whether  theft  consists  in  the  secret  appropriation  of  what 
belongs  to  another. 

4.  Whether  the  sin  of  rapine  diflfers  in  species  from  theft. 

5.  Whether  all  theft  is  sinful. 

6.  Whether  theft  is  a  mortal  sin. 

7.  Whether  theft  is  allowable  in  cases  of  necessity. 

8.  Whether  rapine  is  always  a  mortal  sin. 

9.  Whether  rapine  is  a  more  grievous  sin  than  theft. 

The  average  space  appropriated  to  each  of  these  heads  is  a  closely 
printed  folio  column,  very  much  contracted  :  ex  gr. 

^Ir  scxium  _sic  proceUitur.  v^  q'  furtu  no  %\\  pTtm 
inortalc.  Mk  .n.  pucr  6  no  graDts  e  culpc  c u  qs  furatug  fuerit :  §bi  oe 
pctm  mortal?  r  graDtg  culpc  g°  furtu  n  c  pctm  mortalc." 

He  treats  the  subject  as  follows  : — 

"  It  appears  that  theft  is  not  a  mortal  sin — for  it  is  written  in 
Proverbs  vi.  30,  (vulgate  version)  '  It  is  not  a  grievous  crime  when 
a  man  steals,  for  he  steals  to  satisfy  his  hungry  soul,'  but  every 
mortal  sin  is  a  grievous  crime,  ergo,  theft  is  not  a  mortal  sin." 

"  Secondly.  Every  mortal  sin  is  worthy  of  death,  but  the  Mosaic 
law  does  not  inflict  the  penalty  of  death  for  theft,  (Exodus  xxii.  1.) 
ergo,  &c." 

"  Thirdly.  Theft  includes  small  things  as  well  as  great :  as  for 
example,  when  a  man  steals  a  needle  or  a  pin ;  but  it  does  not  seem 
just  that  for  such  a  theft  a  man  should  be  punished  with  eternal 
death ;  ergo,  &c." 

(ifonduston. 

"  But  no  man  is  condemned  (to  death)  by  the  divine  law,  unless 
for  mortal  sin.  Yet  there  is  a  condemnation  for  theft,  (Zechariah  v. 
3.),  ergo  theft  is  a  mortal  sin." 

"  To  the  first  of  the  above  arguments,  I  answer  that  theft  is  a 
mortal  sin,  being  contrary  to  the  love  of  our  neighbour.  In  Proverbs 
vi.  30,  theft  is  declared  not  to  be  a  grievous  crime  on  two  accounts, 
1,  because  the  necessity  may  be  so  urgent  that  it  ceases  to  be  a 
crime,  and  2,  it  is  not  grievous  in  comparison  with  some  other 
crimes,  such  as  adultery  or  murder." 

"  To  the  second  I  reply,  that  the  penalty  of  death  is  not  inflicted 
for  all  mortal  sins,  but  only  for  those  which  entail  an  irreparable 
injury." 

"  And  to  the  third,  that  in  articles  of  small  value  the  possessor  does 
not  suffer  any  loss,  and  the  man  who  appropriates  them,  knows  that 
he  is  not  acting  contrary  to  the  will  of  him  to  whom  they  belong." 


72  SERMONS  AND  HOMILIES   OF    THE   MIDDLE   AGES. 

"  The  man,  therefore,  who  steals  such  trifles  may  be  excused  from 
mortal  sin,  unless  he  means  to  injure  his  neighbour  by  so  doing,  in 
which  case  he  is  guilty  of  mortal  sin." 

Thus  it  was  the  very  genius  of  the  scholastic  theology  to  raise 
difficulties  and  start  objections,  with  a  view  rather  to  the  display  of 
ingenuity  than  the  acquisition  of  truth ;  to 

"  Confute,  change  sides,  and  still  confute." 

Gratian's  '  Decretal'  was  another  very  celebrated  work  in  the 
middle  ages.  Its  compilation  occupied  twenty-four  years,  and  it 
consists  of  canons  of  councils,  passages  from  the  works  of  the  fathers, 
and  the  decretal  epistles  of  the  popes,  classified  and  arranged  under 
certain  rubrical  heads.     It  was  completed  a.  d.  1151. 

The  edition  before  me  is  that  of  Sebastian  Brant,  a.  d.  1493,  con- 
taining 1040  pages,  in  quarto.  In  the  first  part  there  are  101 
distinctions,  each  of  which  is  subdivided  into  chapters. 

In  the  second  part  there  are  36  causes,  and  in  the  third  and  last 
there  are  5  distinctions  "  de  consecratione."  In  this  elaborate  work, 
as  might  have  been  expected,  a  great  many  spurious  treatises  are 
cited  as  genuine  works  of  the  fathers.'  There  is  a  marginal  glos- 
sary to  each  page. 

Of  much  the  same  nature  was  "  the  Book  of  the  Sentences,"  compiled 
by  Peter  Lombard,  in  the  twelfth  century.  As  its  title  implies,  it 
consists  of  sentences  from  the  works  of  the  fathers  arranged  under 
certain  heads,  and  it  is  divided  into  four  books  : — 

1.  On  the  being  and  attributes  of  God. 

2.  On  the  works  of  creation. 

3.  On  the  work  of  redemption. 

4.  On  the  sacraments,  and  the  last  judgment. 

On  this  Book  of  the  Sentences  many  commentaries  have  been 
written.     My  edition  is  that  of  1495. 

The  Avritings  of  our  two  archbishops  Lanfranc  and  Anselm,  may 
be  consulted  with  advantage,  as  illustrative  of  the  theology  of  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries ;  and  I  would  also  recommend  the 
literary  antiquary  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  golden  legend, 
and  the  chronicles  of  our  various  monkish  historians. 

§.  3.   Sermons  and  Homilies  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Before  the  introduction  of  the  preaching  friars,  about  the  middle 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  sermons  must  have  been  exceedingly  rare 
in  this  country ;  and  it  is  a  very  remarkable  fact  that  among  all  the 
ancient  catalogues  of  church  furniture,  I  have  never  found  any  mention 
of  a  pulpit !  The  itinerant  friar  usually  preached  in  the  open  air, 
at  the  market  cross,  or  the  cross  erected  in  the  church-yard;  and 
four  times  a-year  the  parish  priest  read  a  homily  to  his  congregation, 
probably  from  the  steps  of  the  altar. 

'  See  here  Coci  Censura ;  James  on  the  Corruptions  oj  the  Fathers;  Cave's 
Historia  Idieraria  ■  and  Du  Pin's  History. 


SEBMOXS  AND   HOMILIES   OP    THE   MIDDLE   AGES.  73 

I  shall  now  quote  two  specimens  from  a  very  curious  work  printed 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  (about  1480).  "  Sermones  notabiles  et 
formales  Magistri  Alberti  ordinis  prcedicatorum,"  selected  nearly  at 
random  with  a  view  to  fairness  and  impartiality. 

His  fifty-seventh  sermon,  on  the  third  Sunday  after  the  octaves 
of  Pentecost,  has  for  its  text  Luke  xi.,  "  Rejoice  with  me,  for  I  have 
found  my  sheep  that  was  lost,"  &c. 

I.  "  The  hundred  sheep  signify  the  elect,  that  number  being 
perfect :  for  ten  multiplied  by  ten  makes  a  hundred,"  ("  centenarium 
enim  numerus  multiplici  perfectione  dicitur  esse  perfectus:  decern 
namque  decies  ducta  faciunt  centum.") 

"  And  let  it  be  noted  that  good  christians  are  compared  to  sheep 
for  four  reasons  : — because  they  obey  the  voice  of  their  pastor ; 
because  they  follow  him ;  because  they  delight  to  hear  his  whistle ; 
and  because  they  are  assembled  together  in  the  heat  of  the  day ; 
by  which  he  means  that  all  are  exposed  to  the  tribulations  of  this 
present  life." 

[In  this  place  the  preacher  gives  a  summary  of  the  decalogue  with 
a  glossary  upon  each  commandment ;  the  second  being  omitted  and 
the  tenth  divided  into  two.] 

"  The  Lord  goes  before  us  with  the  staff  of  his  cross,  and  we 
ought  to  follow  his  steps ;  but  those  who  attend  dances  or  play  at 
football,  do  not  follow  the  steps  of  Christ  but  of  the  devil." 

II.  "  By  the  ten  pieces  of  silver  the  elect  are  also  signified.  The 
dradima  was  a  coin  of  fixed  value,  bearing  the  effigy  of  Caesar." 

"  We  ought  to  resemble  this  coin  in  four  respects,  1,  in  its 
material ;   2,  in  its  form  ;   3,  in  its  weight ;   4,  in  its  superscription." 

1 .  "If  the  drachma  was  of  gold,  it  signified  patience  and 
christian  love ;  if  of  silver,  chastity  and  purity  of  heart." 

2.  "  The  round  shape  of  this  coin  signifies  the  hope  that  is  set 
before  us ;    the  circle  being  an  emblem  of  eternity." 

3.  "  Its  weight  signifies  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  which  prevents  us 
from  being  carried  away  with  every  wind  of  doctrine." 

4.  "  The  image  upon  this  coin  is  twofold :  the  image  of  mercy 
and  the  image  of  justice ;  and  we  receive  this  double  image  from 
God  our  King,  whose  money  we  are." 

m.  "  By  the  hundredth  sheep  and  the  tenth  piece  of  silver  that  was 
lost,  we  are  to  understand  every  sinner :  by  the  man  who  lost  his 
sheep,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself;  and  by  the  woman  who  lost 
the  piece  of  silver,  the  divine  goodness  and  wisdom." 

IV.  "  By  the  friends  and  neighhowrs  who  are  invited  to  rejoice, 
we  are  to  understand  the  holy  angels." 

(ffontlusion. 

"  Let  us  entreat  the  Lord  that  we  may  be  recalled  by  his  mercy 
from  the  error  of  sin,  and  joined  to  the  number  of  his  elect." 

N.B.   Each  sermon  occupies  about  three  folio  pages. 


74  SERMONS  AND  HOMILIES  OF    THE   MIDDLE   AGES. 

SERMON  XXXn. 

On  the  Asswmption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

"  Progreditur  quasi  Aurora  consurgens,  pulchra  ut  Luna." 
Cant.  vi. 

"  We  are  taught  five  remarkable  things  by  the  very  name  of  the 
glorious  Virgin :  for  the  name  Maria  consists  of  five  letters ; — 
M.  Mediatrix ;  A.  AUeviatrix ;  R.  Reparatrix ;  I.  lUuminatrix ; 
A.  Auxiliatrix." 

"  By  the  sin  of  our  first  parents,  and  ourown  manifold  transgressions, 
five  evils  were  entailed  upon  us :  1,  the  anger  of  God ;  2,  sickness 
and  death ;  3,  the  loss  of  spiritual  strength ;  4,  darkness  and  blind- 
ness of  heart ;  5,  the  attacks  of  our  cruel  enemies :  and  to  remedy 
these  five  evils  the  Mother  of  God  was  appointed  to  be  our  Media- 
tress,  AUeviatress,  Repairer,  Uluminatress,  and  Auxiliary." 

I.  "  She  was  raised  above  angels  and  archangels,  that  as  a  pious 
Mediatress  she  might  continually  intercede  for  sinners." 

n.  "  She  is  the  AUeviatress  of  our  infirmities,  having  brought 
forth  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  Medicine  of  the  whole  world ;  and 
she  is  that  blessed  ground  from  which  the  Most  High  God  produced 
this  precious  remedy." 

m.  "  She  is  the  Repairer,  having  brought  forth  Him  who  giveth 
virtue  and  strength  unto  his  people." 

IV.  "  The  blessed  Virgin  is  moreover  the  Uluminatress  of  heaven 
and  earth :  for  as  the  sun  dispelleth  the  darkness  of  the  (material) 
world,  even  so  did  she  prepare  her  tabernacle  for  '  the  Sun  of  right- 
eotisness,'  who  giveth  light  to  those  who  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death." 

V.  "  Lastly,  she  is  our  Auxiliary,  because  the  faithful  will  find  in 
her  a  sure  refuge." 

©ondusion. 

"  Let  us  therefore  fly  to  this  powerful  auxiliary,  that  we  may  be 
protected  by  her  in  the  day  of  judgment  against  all  our  enemies." 

The  reader  will  find  a  sermon  of  the  age  of  Richard  H.,  in 
Chaucer's  Canterbury  Tales,  {'  The  Parsons  Tale,')  and  several 
very  curious  ones  in  Foxe,  in  one  of  which  the  preacher  endeavours 
to  prove  that  the  Lord's  prayer  might  la^^^Uy  be  addressed  to  the 
saints.  Latimer's  sermons,  and  especially  that  upon  the  cards,  and 
"  the  game  of  triumph,"  prove  that  the  love  of  Allegory  survived  the 
Reformation. 

§.4.     On  Tithes  and  other  Ecclesiastical  Revenues. 

An  entire  section  of  the  chapter  having  been  devoted  to  this 
branch  of  my  subject,  little  remains  to  be  said  here. 

In  the  infancy  of  the  church,  bishops  used  to  dwell  in  monasteries 
with  their  clergy,  sending  them  forth  occasionally  to  baptize  and 


ON   TITHES   AND   OTHEB  ECCLESIASTICAL   REVENUES.  75 

teach.™  Before  the  complete  establishment  of  Christianity,  the  clergy 
were  supported  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  people,  but  in 
all  probability  the  tithe  system  came  into  full  operation  at  a  very 
early  period.  The  first  express  mention  of  tithes  occurs  in  the 
excerptions  of  Ecgbert,  archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  750,"  or  about 
a  hundred  and  fifty  years  from  the  conversion  of  Ethelbert  by 
St.  Augustine :  but  the  custom  is  not  there  spoken  of  as  a  novelty. 
It  is  a  great  mistake  to  imagine  that  the  payment  of  tithes  in 
England  originated  in  the  grant  of  Ethelwulf,  or  in  the  subsequent 
enactments  of  other  Anglo-Saxon  kings :  for  the  grant  in  question 
was  a  donation  of  every  tenth  hyde  of  land  to  the  church,"  and  the 
other  kings  merely  gave  a  legal  sanction  to  a  practice  which  had 
long  existed.  In  these  grants  there  is  not  a  word  relative  to  the 
fourfold  division  of  tithes,  and  it  was  therefore  probably  nothing 
more  than  a  voluntary  arrangement  of  the  clergy,  which  very  soon 
fell  into  total  desuetude. 

In  ancient  times,  the  clergy  received  personal  as  well  as  predial 
tithes,  or  a  tenth  of  all  professional  emoluments  and  of  the  i^rofits  of 
trade;  and  this  principle  was  carried  out  to  such  an  extent,  that 
even  the  tenth  part  of  a  servant's  wages  was  exacted  in  the  diocese 
of  Sodor,  as  late  as  the  year  1291.P  There  were,  moreover,  a  great 
many  surplice  fees  which  have  been  for  the  last  three  centuries 
totally  obsolete,  such  as  mortuaries,  trentals,  months'-minds,  &c. 
A  statement  of  the  various  oblations  anciently  paid  to  the  church, 
may  be  seen  in  a  note  at  the  end  of  chapter  v.  §.  5.  The  church 
scot  will  be  explained  in  this  chapter. 

Bishops  at  first  received  a  fourth  of  all  the  church  revenues,*"  but 
afterwards  each  parish  priest  paid  his  bishop  a  small  sum  on  Maundy 
Thursday,  when  he  received  the  chrism,  an  annual  fixed  payment 
called  cathedraticivm  or  honor  cathedrae,  and  a  procuration  (in  lieu  of 
entertainment)  when  he  visited  his  diocese. 

The  division  of  England  into  large  districts,  analogous  to  what 
are  now  called  parishes,  probably  took  place  about  the  time  of 
archbishop  Theodore,  who  flourished  A.D.  670. 

The  parochial  clergy  were  divided  into  rectors,  endowed  with  the 
great  tithes  of  the  parish ;  perpetual  vicars  who  received  the  small 
tithes,  and  the  altaragium,  (or  oblations  and  fees  connected  with 
their  ministry)  ;  and  chaplains  (also  called  vicars)  analogous  to  the 
stipendiary  curates  of  our  own  times,  and  removeable  at  the  will  of 
the  rector  or  vicar,  the  average  stipend  being  about  five  marks 
a  year. 

Independently  of  the  above,  there  were  inferior  clergy  connected 
with  most  of  our  larger  churches,  such  as  deacons,  subdeacons, 
acoly ths,  and  so  forth ;   but  every  parish  must  have  had  at  least  its 

•n  Beds  Hist.  Lib.  i.  c.  27,  et  passim.    Item,  Kennett's  Impropriat.  §.1.2. 
«>  Wilk.  i.  102.  o  Ibid,  i.  184. 

p  Ibid.  i.  278,  et  passim.    Item,  torn.  il.  177. 
t  Beds  Hist.  lib.  i.  c.  27  et  supra. 


76  THE  MONASTIC  SYSTEM. 

acolyth  in  addition  to  the  parish  priest,  in  order  to  the  due  cele- 
bration of  the  mass,  his  office  being  similar  to  that  of  the  modern 
parish  clerk. 

Chantry  priests,  whose  office  it  was  to  celebrate  mass  for  the  soul 
of  the  wealthy  founder,  were  maintained  by  private  endowments 
arising  out  of  lands  bequeathed  for  that  specific  purpose. 

§  5.    The  Monastic  System. 

Utter  seclusion  from  the  world,  a  life  of  poverty  and  self-denial, 
and  a  mortification  of  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  were  anciently  supposed 
to  distinguish  monks  from  the  rest  of  mankind  ;  and  this  reputation 
for  superior  sanctity  was  the  chief  source  of  that  amazing  power 
and  influence  which  the  monastic  orders  once  enjoyed :  especially 
that  of  the  Benedictines,  of  whom  nearly  all  our  cathedral  chapters 
were  anciently  composed  ;  and  who  were  so  popular  in  all  parts  of  the 
western  church,  that  in  the  council  of  Constance  they  were  able  to 
enumerate  55,460  saints,  35  Popes,  200  cardinals,  1164  arch- 
bishops, and  3512  bishops  who  had  belonged  to  the  order.'' 

Augustine,  the  apostle  of  the  English,  was  a  Benedictine  monk, 
and  so  were  all  his  successors  in  the  see  of  Canterbury,  till  the  time 
of  archbishop  Corboyl,  who  flourished  a.d.  1126.  Nine  of  our 
Anglo-Saxon  kings,  voluntarily  relinquishing  the  regal  dignity,  as- 
sumed the  cowl ;  not  to  mention  several  queens  and  others  of  the 
blood  royal.* 

I.  The  Benedictine  order,  which  was  founded  originally  about 
the  year  528,  was  the  parent  of  several  other  illustrious  orders, 
including  the  Cluniacenses  (a.d.  910)  ;  Grandimontenses,  (a.d. 
1076);  Carthusians,  (a.d.  1086) ;  Cistertians,  (a.d.  1098) ;  Celes- 
tines,  (a.d.  1273);  and  the  Bernardines,  (a.d.  1425).' 

II.  The  Carmelites  followed  the  rule  of  S.  Basil,  founded  a.d. 
1205." 

m.  The  Augustinians,  founded  a.d.  395,  from  whence  proceeded 
the  Dominicans,  the  Ursulines,  the  Beguines,  and  about  thirty  other 
orders." 

IV.  And  the  Franciscans  or  Minorites,  otherwise  called  Cordeliers 
(or  Cordigeri),  from  the  triple  cord  with  which  they  girded  the 
waist,  (a.d.  1208).  Hence  arose  the  Capuchins,  and  a  few  other  reli- 
gious orders.* 

From  the  circumstance  of  their  habit  being  black,  the  Benedic- 
tines were  called  '  nigri  monachi.' 

The  Franciscans  were  called  'c/rer/  friars'  and  the  Cistercians 
'  white  monks'  from  the  colour  of  their  apparel,  and  the  Dominicans 
were  termed  'fratres  de  pied'  (or  magpie  brethren),  from  the  curious 
mixture  of  black  and  white  observable  in  their  monastic  habit. 

Bonanni's  Catalogus  Ordinum  Religiosorum,  published  in  four  quarto 

•■  Dictionnaire  des  ordres  Religieux,  Amsterdam,  1769. 

«  Johns.  A.D.  1126;  item  Bedse  Hist.  lib.  iii.  c.  18,  lib.  v.  c   20,  et  passim. 

«  Dict.desordres, &c. pp.27,  &c  ,42, 8fc.    "  Ibid.  p. 41.    >  ibid.    »  Ibid.  p. 43. 


THE    MONASTIC    SYSTEM.  77 

volumes,  contains  many  admirable  engravings  of  monastic  costume, 
with  descriptive  letter-press,  and  a  brief  history  of  the  various  orders. 
The  principal  parts  of  the  monastic  costume  were  : — 

1.  The  scapular,  which,  passing  over  the  shoulders,  fell  down 
before  and  behind,  but  was  open  at  the  sides.  This  was  chiefly 
worn  by  the  monks  whUe  they  were  at  work,  as  it  left  the  arms 
free. 

2.  The  frock  was  a  long  gown  of  coarse  cloth,  and  with  rather 
wide  sleeves ;  it  was  girded  round  the  loins  with  a  leathern  strap, 
or  else  with  a  rope. 

3.  The  cowl  or  hood  (otherwise  termed  caputium)  was  a  sort  of 
tippet  covering  the  shoulders,  and  furnished  with  a  hood  at  the 
back,  which  might  be  drawn  over  the  head. 

4.  The  mantle  was  simply  a  cloak,  generally  furnished  with 
a  hood  at  the  back. 

Some  abbots  were  allowed  by  special  privilege  to  use  the  mitre, 
cambucca  (or  pastoral  staff),  and  other  parts  of  the  episcopal  cos- 
tume, but  on  ordinary  occasions  their  dress  exactly  resembled  that  of 
the  other  brethren. 

According  to  Fosbrooke,  in  his  British  Monachism,  the  following 
oflScers  were  to  be  found  in  every  large  monastery :  abbot,  prior 
(or  dean),  cellarer,  precentor,  kitchener,  seneschall,  bursar  (or 
treasurer),  sacrist,  lecturer,  almoner,  master  of  the  novices,  infir- 
marer,  porter,  refectioner,  hospitaler,  chamberlain,  and  terrer.  The 
monk  who  held  any  of  these  offices  was  called  an  *  obedientiary.''^ 

The  chartophylax  had  the  custody  of  the  muniment-room,  con- 
taining all  the  charters  and  title-deeds.  The  antiqnarius  was 
continually  employed  in  copying  books  for  the  use  of  the  library. 

The  Hebdomedarius  (otherwise  termed  Aquillarius^  Canonicus) 
was,  as  the  name  implies,  the  officiant  of  the  week ;  each  monk  in 
holy  orders  being  obliged  to  perform  divine  service  in  rotation. 

The  Circa  went  through  the  dormitory  during  the  night  time,  to 
see  that  all  was  regular  and  quiet ;  and  it  was  probably  his  duty 
also  to  rouse  the  monks  for  noctums  and  matins.  This  office  was 
filled  by  each  of  the  brethren  ia  rotation. 

The  Sempecta  was  a  monk  of  fifty  years  standing  in  the  order, 
who  was  allowed  certain  indulgences  to  be  explained  hereafter.' 

Originally,  according  to  the  etymology  of  the  word,  the  '  decanus' 
presided  over  ten  monks,  and  even  in  later  times  there  were  oftfen 
several  deans  or  priors  in  a  monastery.* 

Some  of  the  monks  were  in  holy  orders,  but  there  were  also  lay 
brethi'en  attached  to  every  convent.     These  were  termed  conversi.^ 

The  three  vows — of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience,  were, 
I  believe,  common  to  all  the  monastic  orders;  and  no  monk  was 
allowed  to  possess  any  property  of  his  own. 

«  Fosbrooke's  Brit.  Mnnacb.  passim.     Wllkins'  Concilia,  passim. 

1  From  Aquilla.  the  eaele  desk.  >t  Ciuarterly  Review,  June  1826,  p.  292. 

•  Du  Caoge,  Gloss,  voce  decanus.  ^  Ibid,  voce  conversi. 


78  THE   MONASTIC   SYSTEM, 

Wealthy  benefactors  were  frequently  received  into  confraternity 
with  a  monastery.  Without  any  renunciation  of  the  world,  this 
entitled  them  to  a  participation  in  all  the  prayers  and  merits  of  the 
brethren  during  life,  and  to  masses  after  death.  Hence  the  term 
'^  semifratres."  Monasteries  were  sometimes  also  in  confraternity 
with  each  other,  the  privilege  in  each  case  being  formally  engrossed 
upon  vellum,  and  often  beautifidly  illuminated.<= 

In  the  middle  ages,  a  superstitious  practice  prevailed,  of  assuming 
the  monastic  habit  in  the  very  agonies  of  death  as  a  passport  to 
heaven. 

Friars  differed  from  monks  chiefly  in  the  profession  of  mendicancy, 
and  in  their  not  being  tied  down  to  a  particular  spot.** 

There  is  a  general  of  each  order  constantly  resident  at  Rome,  and 
having  a  jurisdiction  over  the  abbots  of  that  order  in  every  part  of 
the  world. 

The  parts  of  a  monastery  were," 

1.  The  church,  which  requires  no  explanation. 

2.  The  refectory,  or  public  eating  haJl. 

3.  The  chapter  room,  in  which  the  abbot  and  monks  deliberated 
in  all  matters  relating  to  their  convent. 

4.  The  dormitory,  or  sleeping  apartment,  divided  into  cells,  (like 
the  boxes  in  a  modei'n  coffee  room),  all  of  them  being  open  towards 
the  passage.     The  dormitory  was  usually  over  the  refectory. 

5.  The  doister  or  ambulatory,  of  which  we  have  fine  specimens 
connected  with  most  of  our  cathedrals.  In  that  belonging  to  Nor- 
wich cathedral  there  is  a  lavatory,  where  the  monks  used  to  wash. 

6.  The  infrm/zry,  for  sick  monks. 

7.  The  xenodochium,  or  guest  hall,  in  which  strangers  visiting  the 
monastery  were  hospitably  entertained. 

8.  The  locutory,  or  parlour,  where  the  monks  were  allowed  to 
converse  after  dinner,  and  where  business  was  occasionally  trans- 
acted. There  was  also  a  foreimc  parlour,  where  monks  and  nuns 
were  permitted  to  converse  with  seculars.  In  nunneries  there  was 
a  grated  aperture  for  this  purpose,  called  in  French  "  la  grille." 

9.  The  almonry,  where  food  and  money  were  distributed  to  the 
poor. 

10.  The  library,  which  explains  itself. 

11.  The  scriptorium,  or  domus  antiquariorum,  where  books  were 
copied  for  the  library. 

12.  The  prison,  for  delinquent  monks. 

13.  The  miserecorde,  where,  as  a  special  indulgence,  a  few  of  the 
monks  were  entertained  with  meat,  wine,  beer,  and  other  luxuries, 
not  allowed  in  the  refectory. 

14.  The  sanctuary,  or  that  portion  of  the  convent  which  was  set 
apart  for  the  reception  of  criminals  who  fled  thither  for  refuge. 

c  Du  Canee,  vocibus  Confratria,  Semi/rater,  8fc,  Rotulus,  Anyelica  Vestis,  8fc. 

^  Fosbrooke's  Brit.  Monach.  p.  232,  c.  28. 

«  Ibid,  passim.  Du  Cange,  vocibus  re/ectorium,  dormitorium,  ^c.  &(c. 


THE  MONASTIC   SYSTEM.  79 

15.  The  common  house,  where  a  fire  was  lighted  in  winter  for  the 
use  of  the  monks. 

16.  The  chartularium,  or  munivient-rooin,  whore  the  deeds  and 
records  of  the  monastery  were  deposited. 

The  cellar,  kitchen,  &c.,  need  not  be  particularised. 

A  priory  was  a  small  convent  dependent  upon  an  abbey,  and,  as 
its  name  imports,  was  governed  by  a  prior. 

These  small  monastic  dependencies  were  termed  dbedientiw  or 
cells  J 

The  expulsion  of  the  secular  clergy  in  favour  of  the  monks  in  the 
tenth  century ;  the  exemption  of  monasteries  from  episcopal  autho- 
rity, with  its  mischievous  results ;  the  struggle  between  the  regulars 
and  seculars  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  the  final  dissolution  of 
these  establishments  by  king  Henry  VIII.,  have  been  all  noticed  in 
the  fourth  section  of  this  chapter.  I  would,  however,  recommend 
to  the  reader  a  careful  study  of  the  '  Records,'  at  the  end  of  Bishop 
Burnet's  History  of  the  Reformation,  (the  first  volume  of  the  folio 
edition).  Dugdale's  M<ynasticon  will  give  him  aU  the  information 
that  he  can  possibly  desire.  Matthew  Paris'  *  Vitce  Viginti  Trium 
Abbatum  S.  Albani,'  published  at  the  end  of  his  history,*^  the  Chro- 
nicle of  Jocelin  de  Brakelond,  and  other  works  of  a  similar  descrip- 
tion, written  by  monks  while  these  institutions  were  yet  in  their 
glory,  may  be  consulted  both  with  pleasure  and  advantage ;  and 
Fosbrooke's  British  Monachism  also  contains  a  mass  of  valuable 
information.  I  would,  however,  recommend  caution  as  far  as  regards 
the  work  last  mentioned,  having  detected  in  it  several  inaccuracies 
about  vestments,  &c. 

With  all  its  faults,  the  monastic  system  had  doubtless  its  advan- 
tages. The  seclusion  which  it  afibrded  was  extremely  favourable 
to  study,  and  it  could  turn  the  most  opposite  talents  to  account. 
Their  architects  designed  those  splendid  structures  which  are  still 
the  admiration  of  the  world.  Their  scribes  preserved  to  us  the 
precious  works  of  the  ancients,  which  must  else  have  utterly  perished 
during  the  dark  ages;  their  chronicles  rescued  history  from  utter 
oblivion ;  and  in  a  word,  the  monastery  supplied  instruction  to  the 
ignorant,  succour  to  the  poor,  hospitality  to  the  weary  traveller,  and 
a  refuge  to  the  oppressed. 

§  I.— ON    THE    PRIVILEGES,    IMMUNITIES,    AND    DISCIPLINE 
OF   THE  CLERGY,    Stc. 

Concilia  Magn^b  Britannle,  &c.  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  I. 

WiLKiNs'  Concilia,  i.  2.    Canons  of  St.  Patrick,  ^c.  a.  d.  456. 

Can.  7.  Should  any  clerk,  from  negligence,  be  absent  at  the 
morning  or  evening  service  (ad  collectas  mane  vel  vespere),  let  him 
be  excommunicated,  unless  perchance  he  should  be  detained  by  the 
yoke  of  servitude. 

r  Du  Cange,  cella  et  ohedienlia.  9  Edit.  Watts,  Load.  1684,  p.  994. 


80  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE   CLERGY — ANCIENT   DIOCESES. 

Can.  8.  Should  any  clerk  become  surety  for  a  pagan,  and  by  his 
cunning  the  pagan  should  deceive  the  clerk,  let  the  clerk  pay  the 
debt  out  of  his  own  property. 

Can.  10.  If  a  man  shall  commence  the  good  work  (of  a  monastic 
life)  by  singing  the  (canonical)  hours,  and  shall  afterwards  dis- 
continue to  do  so,  and  suffer  his  hair  to  grow,  let  him  be  excluded 
from  the  church ;  unless  he  returns  to  his  former  condition. 

Can.  30.  Let  not  the  bishop  who  goes  from  his  own  parish  into 
another  presume  to  ordain,  unless  he  receive  permission  from  him 
who  is  in  his  own  principality :  on  the  Lord's  day  let  him  offer  only 
as  a  communicant,  and  be  content  to  obey. 

Can.  33.  A.  clerk  coming  from  Britain  to  us  without  a  letter,  and 
(especially)  if  he  dwell  among  the  laity,  may  not  lawfully  officiate. 

Can.  34.  So  also  a  deacon  who,  without  the  knowledge  of  his 
abbot,  and  without  letters,  goes  from  one  parish  to  another,  is  not 
permitted  to  administer  food,  and  must  do  penance  at  the  discretion 
of  his  presbyter  whom  he  hath  despised. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  5. — Other  canons  of  St.  Patrick,  of  uncertain  date. 

Can.  10.  Hear  the  canonical  institutions  :  Let  the  man  who  hath 
fallen  with  a  degree  {of  holy  orders),  rise  without  one ;  content 
with  the  name  alone,  let  him  lose  his  ministry. 

Can.  16.  Concerning  false  bishops.  He  who  has  not  been  elected 
by  another  bishop,  according  to  the  apostle,  is  to  be  condemned, 
and  then  degraded  to  the  rank  of  the  laity. 

Ibid.  p.  43. — Abp.  Theodore's  canons  at  Herudford  (Hartford), 
A.  D.  673. 

Can.  2  and  6.  That  no  bishop  shall  invade  the  parish  of  another  ; 
and  that  foreign  bishops  and  clergy  (content  with  the  hospitality 
offered  to  them)  shall  not  be  permitted  to  exercise  any  of  the  sacer- 
dotal functions,  without  the  permission  of  the  bishop  in  whose 
parish  they  sojourn. 

Can.  8.  With  respect  to  precedence,  every  bishop  is  "  to  observe 
the  time  and  order  of  his  consecration." 

Ibid.  p.  46.  Council  of  Pope  Agatho  concerning  British  affairs, 
A.  D.  679.  "  We  decree  also,  that  bishops  and  others  in  holy  orders 
use  no  arms,  nor  keep  musicians ;  but  let  rather  lessons  out  of  the 
holy  scriptures  be  always  read  {at  meal  time)  for  the  edification  of 
the  church ;  so  that  whilst  their  bodies  are  refreshed,  the  souls  of 
the  hearers  may  be  also  nourished  with  the  word  of  God." 

Ibid.  p.  56.  Council  of  Baccancelda  (i.  e.  Bahchild,  in  Kent), 
A.  d.  692.  Withred,  king  of  Kent,  at  the  suggestion  of  archbishop 
Brithwald,  ordained  that  all  the  churches  of  his  kingdom  should  be 
for  ever  freed  from  all  exactions  of  kings  or  other  temporal  poten- 
tates. He  also  confirmed  all  the  grants  made  by  his  predecessors 
to  the  church :  "  In  honour  of  our  lady  St.  Marj^,  and  the  holy 
apostles  ;  but  when  it  shall  hapjien  that  a  bishop,  or  an  abbot,  or  an 


CLERICAL  DISCIPLINE ^THE   WEREGILD.  81 

abbess,  hath  departed  this  life,  let  notice  be  given  to  the  archbishop, 
and  some  worthy  person  be  chosen  by  his  advice  and  command. 
Let  the  archbishop  make  inquiry  into  the  life  and  chastity  of  the 
person  who  shall  be  chosen  to  so  holy  an  oflSce." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  60. — Council  of  Berghamstead  {i.  e.  Buxted  in  Kent), 
A.  D.  696. 

Can.  4.  If  foreigners  will  not  leave  off  fornication,  let  them  be 
driven  out  of  the  land,  and  "  let  the  churchmen  among  the  people 
suffer  the  loss  of  communion  without  being  banished."'' 

Can.  7.  If  a  priest  shall  connive  at  an  unlawful  copulation,  or 
delay  the  baptism  of  a  sick  person,  or  be  so  drunk  that  he  cannot 
{officiate),  let  him  be  suspended  from  his  ministry  at  the  discretion 
of  the  bishop. 

Can.  8.  If  a  clerk  (bescoren  man,  i.  e.  shaved  man)  shall  wander 
irregularly,  let  hospitality  be  granted  him  for  one  day,  and  let  him 
not  be  entertained  for  any  longer  time,  unless  he  have  a  licence. 

Can.  17.  Let  the  bishop's  word  and  the  king's  word  be  valid 
without  an  oath. 

Can.  18.  Let  an  abbot  make  profession  in  the  same  way  as 
a  presbyter.  Let  a  presbyter  purge  himself  by  his  own  asseve- 
ration, clothed  in  his  sacred  vestments,  and  saying  before  the 
altar,  "  I  speak  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not."  Let  a  deacon  purge 
himself  in  the  same  way. 

Can.  19.  Let  a  clerk  purge  himself  with  four  compurgators  of 
the  same  degree. 

Can.  23  and  24.  Direct  that  a  monk  shall  be  purged  by  the 
oath  of  his  abbot,  and  a  servant  by  the  oath  of  his  master. 

Ibid.  p.  62. — Constitution  respecting  the  satisfaction  which  ought  to 
he  made  for  the  violation  of  holy  orders,  by  killing  or  laying 
violent  hands  on  clergymen,  from  the  Textus  Roffensis, 
about  A.  D.  696. 

Cap.  1.  The  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  sevenfold,  and  there  are 
(also)  seven  degrees  of  ecclesiastical  orders  and  sacred  functions. 
Seven  times  a  day  ought  the  ministers  of  God  to  praise  him,  and  to 

intercede  for  all  clu*istians  ; and  if  any  one  shall  injure  them 

by  word  or  deed,  let  him  diligently  make  satisfaction  by  a  sevenfold 
compensation,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  injury  and  the  rank 
of  the  person  injured,  if  he  desire  the  pardon  of  God. 

Note.  The  seven  ecclesiastical  orders  were,  ostiary,  reader,  exorcist, 
acolyth,  subdeacon,  deacon,  and  priest.  If  any  ostiary  was  murdered, 
one  pound  was  to  be  paid  over  and  above  the  weregild  (which  see  in 
the  Index),  and  so  on  according  to  the  degree  of  the  clerk,  till  it  came 
to  the  priest,  for  whom  seven  pounds  were  to  be  paid  over  and  above 
the  weregild. 

Cap.  10.    One  part  of  the   compensation  for   the  violation   of 

*■  JohasoD. 


82  ROYAL   ERUDITION, — DELINQUENT   PRIESTS. 

orders  is  to  be  delivered  to  the  bishop,  a  second  to  the  altar,  and 
a  third  to  the  fraternity. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  63.  About  A.  D.  700,  Withred,  king  of  Kent,  by  a  royal 
charter  made  all  the  churches  in  his  dominions  fi*ee  from  tribute. 
It  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  his  subscription :  "  I,  Withred,  king  of 
Kent,  have  confirmed  all  these  premises,  and  on  account  of  my 
ignorance  of  letters  have  with  my  own  hand  made  the  sign  of  the  holy 
cross  >Ji"     Charlemagne  was  it  seems  in  the  same  predicament. 

Ibid.  p.  63.  About  a.  d.  700,  Pope  Sergius  sent  a  letter  to 
Ceolfrid,  abbot  of  Weremouth  and  J  arrow,  requesting  that  Bede, 
who  belonged  to  that  monastery,  would  come  to  Rome  to  assist  him 
in  the  decision  of  some  difficult  questions. 

Ibid.  p.  82,  &c.  Dialogue  of  Egbert,  archbishop  of  York.  [He 
was  brother  to  Eadbyrht,  king  of  Northumbria,  and  one  of  the 
most  learned  men  of  his  time.  Alcuin  called  him  his  master,  and 
desired  Charlemagne  to  send  scribes  to  York  to  copy  the  MSS.  left 
by  him.  He  procured  a  pall  from  Rome,  and  recovered  the  metro- 
politan dignity,  which  had  not  been  enjoyed  by  the  eight  bishops 
who  intervened  between  him  and  Paulinus,  the  first  archbishop  of 
York.]  A.D.  734. 

Ans.  I.  In  his  first  answer  he  estimates  the  oath  of  a  priest  "  after 
the  rate  of  120  plow-lands,  the  deacon  60,  and  the  monk  30." 

Note.    Johnson  believes  a  plow-land  to  have  been   equal  to   30 

acres,  though  some  think  50  nearer  the  mark. 

Ans.  III.  He  directs,  that  unless  there  be  eye-witnesses  of  the 
crime,  or  children  bom,  the  man  liimself  shall  be  considered  a  com- 
petent witness  of  his  own  innocence.  Also,  that  the  accused  person 
"  shall  put  the  cross  of  our  Lord  on  his  head,  and  testify  his 
innocence  by  him  that  liveth  for  ever." 

Alls.  VIII.  If  any  ecclesiastics  shall  have  perpetrated  any  crime 
among  laymen,  such  as  murder,  fornication,  or  theft,  it  is  my 
(ypinion  that  they  should  by  all  means  be  seized  by  the  seculars  against 
whom  they  have  transgressed,  unless  the  church  should  please  to 
make  satisfaction  for  them. 

Ans.  IX.  Foreign  presbyters,  or  those  who  have  been  ordained 
absolutely,  {i.  e.  without  a  title,)  wandering  about  without  letters 
commendatory,  we  suffer  not  to  minister  anywhere  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  bishop  of  the  diocese.  It  is,  however,  my  pleasure 
that  they  administer  those  things  which  are  absolutely  necessary 
(i.  e.  baptism),  &c. 

Ans.  XV.  Let  the  ordination  of  a  bishop,  priest,  or  deacon,  be 
accounted  valid,  who  is  not  proved  guilty  of  any  heinous  crime ;  if 
he  have  not  married  a  second  wife,  or  one  who  has  been  deserted 
by  her  husband ;  if  he  have  not  done  public  penance,  and  be  not 
maimed  in  any  part  of  his  body ;  if  he  be  not,  cither  by  birth  or 
otherwise,  of  servile  condition  ;  if  he  be  free  from  legal  obligations, 
(.St  curice  probatur  nexibiis  absolutus) ;  and  if  he  be  literate.  For  the 
following  crimes,  those  who  are  ordained  ought  to  be  deposed :   the 


DRUNKENNESS EPISCOPAL   VISITATIONS.  83 

worshipping  of  idols ;  using  witchcraft  and  incantations  ;  delivering 
themselves  to  the  devil ;  violation  of  faith ;  murder,  fornication, 
theft,  or  perjury :  nor  is  it  fit  that  such  persons  should  be  admitted 
to  the  privilege  of  lay  communion,  till  they  have  publicly  done 
penance  ;  for  it  is  not  permitted  by  the  church  that  penitents  should 
administer  holy  {sacraments),  who  have  been  formerly  vessels  of  sin. 
WiLK.  i.  p.  91.  From  archbishop  Bonifaces  letter  to  archbishop 
Cuthbert,  a.d.  745,  (see  p.  25) :  "  We  have  determined  in  our  synod 
that  the  canonical  decrees,  the  ecclesiastical  laws  (or  privileges),  and 
the  monastic  rules,  shall  be  every  year  read  in  open  synod  and  re- 
enacted.  Also,  that  every  presbyter,  during  the  season  of  Lent, 
shall  annually  give  an  account  of  his  ministry  to  his  bishop,  who 
shall  every  year  carefully  make  a  circuit  of  his  parish."  In  the 
course  of  the  letter  he  complains  of  the  compulsory  labour  of  the 
English  monks,  who  were  obliged  to  assist  in  building  royal  palaces, 
&c.  He  also  says  :  "  It  is  related  that  in  your  parishes  the  vice  of 
drunkenness  is  but  too  common ;  so  that  not  only  some  bishops 
prevent  it  not,  but  even  themselves  become  inebriated,  and  pro- 
ducing larger  cups,  compel  others  to  get  drunk." 

Ibid.  p.  95. — Council  of  Cloves  Hoo,  held  a  d.  747. 

Can.  3.  Let  every  bishop  make  an  annual  visitation  of  his  parish, 
and,  calling  the  people  of  all  conditions  and  sexes  together,  teach 
those  publicly  who  rarely  hear  the  word  of  God. 

Can.  9.  That  presbyters  fulfil  the  duty  of  preaching  the  gospel, 
baptizing,  teaching,  and  visiting,  in  those  lay  districts  which  have 
been  assigned  to  them  by  the  bishops  of  the  province. 

Can.  10.  That  presbyters  learn  how  to  discharge  all  the  offices 
belonging  to  their  degree  in  a  legitimate  manner ;  and  moreover 
that  they  be  able  to  translate  and  explain  in  their  own  language  the 
Creed,  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  the  sacred  words  which  are  used  in 
the  celebration  of  the  mass  and  in  the  rite  of  baptism.  They  ought 
to  learn  also  what  those  sacraments  which  are  visibly  celebrated  at  the 
mass,  baptism,  SfC.  spiritually  signify. 

Ibid.  p.  102.  All  clerks  ought  not  to  enforce  {usurpare)  or  read 
the  canonical  constitutions,  but  presbyters  only :  for  as  priests  and 
bishops  alone  ought  to  offer  the  sacrifice,  so  neither  ought  others  to 
enforce  these  decisions. — From  the  Preface  to  Egbert's  Excerptions. 

Note.   Read  here  means  to  read  publicly  and  explain. 

Ibid.  p.  102. — Excerptions  of  Egbert,  archbishop  of  York,  a.  d.  750. 

Ex.  13.  That  no  priest  shall,  from  ambition,  go  from  the  in- 
cumbency of  that  holy  church  upon  whose  title  he  was  ordained  to 
another,  but  there  devoutly  let  him  continue  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

Ex.  14.  That  no  priest  shall  encourage  the  vice  of  drunkenness, 
or  compel  others  by  his  command  to  get  drunk. 

Ex.  16.  That  no  priest  may  lawfiiUy  become  a  surety,  or,  for- 
saking his  own  law,  go  to  a  secular  tribunal. 

g2 


84  AGE   OF   ORDINATION — ^ECCLESIASTICAL  COURTS. 

Ex.  27.  That  the  bishop  shall  sit  in  the  church  higher  than  the 
bench  of  priests  ;  but  when  he  is  in  the  house,  let  him  know  that  he 
is  their  colleague. 

Ex.  33.  Let  a  bishop,  presbyter,  or  deacon,  who  hath  been  de- 
tected in  fornication,  perjury,  theft,  or  murder,  be  deposed. 

Ex.  44.  If  any  bishop,  priest,  or  deacon  shall  have  purchased  this 
dignity,  let  both  him  and  his  ordainer  be  deposed  and  excommuni- 
cated.' 

Ex.  45.  Let  not  a  bishop  ordain  clerks  without  a  council  of 
presbyters.'' 

Ex.  46.  Let  him  not  hear  any  cause  except  in  the  presence  of 
his  clergy. 

Ex.  52.  That  no  person  shall  be  ordained  absoluteli/,  or  without 
naming  the  place  to  which  he  is  ordained.' 

Ex.  56.  Let  the  bishop,  to  the  utmost  extent  of  his  means, 
bestow  food  and  raiment  upon  the  poor,  and  those  who  are  sick  or 
too  weak  to  labour." 

Ex.  93.  Let  neither  deacons  be  ordained,  or  virgins  consecrated, 
before  they  are  twenty-five  years  of  age.  94.  Yet  infants  ought  to 
be  received  with  the  consent  of  their  parents." 

Ex.  97.  That  no  man  shall  upon  any  account  be  ordained  a  pres- 
byter till  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age." 

Ex.  98.  Let  a  bishop,  if  possible,  be  ordained  by  all  the  bishops 
of  the  province ;  and  if  this  should  be  difficult,  at  all  events  not  by 
fewer  than  three.^ 

Ex.  142.  If  a  clerk  shall  be  arraigned,  and  it  be  necessary,  let 
the  delays  appointed  by  the  fathers  be  granted  to  him,  if  he  desire 
it ;  and  let  select  judges  be  assigned  him :  and  if  he  has  reason  to 
fear  any  violence  from  the  rash  multitude,  let  him  choose  some 
proper  place  where  he  can  produce  his  witnesses  without  fear.  The 
same  course  is  not  to  be  observed  in  ecclesiastical  as  in  secular 
causes ;  for  in  secular  causes  a  man  cannot  withdraw  till  he  hath 
appeared,  pleaded,  given  in  his  defence,  and  till  the  cause  is  de- 
cided :  but  in  ecclesiastical,  the  accused  may  withdraw  upon  assign- 
ing a  reason,  if  it  be  necessary,  or  if  he  consider  himself  oppressed.'' 

Ex.  143.  It  is  decreed  that  there  shall  be  no  other  judges  but 
those  whom  he  who  is  impeached  hath  chosen,  or  those  whom  his 
superiors  have  appointed  with  his  consent.*" 

Ex.  144.  It  hath  been  decreed  that  no  layman  should  presume 
to  bring  an  accusation  against  a  clerk  ;  therefore  let  not  the  evidence 
of  a  layman  against  a  clerk  be  received.* 

Ex.  146.  It  is  written  in  the  law,  "  that  a  brother  should  receive 
the  wife  of  his  deceased  brother,  and  raise  up  seed  unto  his  brother :" 
when  therefore  spiritual  brethren  dwell  together,  and  that  brother 

'   The  Apostle's  Canon.        ™  African  Canon.  i  A  Chalcedonian  Canon, 

k  Canon  of  Orleans.  "  Basil  and  Isidore.  ''  Canon  of  Neocaesarea. 

I    Nicene  Canon.  "  Pope  Vigilius.  *  Nicene  Canon. 

P  A  Roman  Council. 


mmmm  - ^  ijau— -  ft  jbpjjil 


AKCHBISHOPRIC   OF  LICHFIELD CLERICAL  IGNORANCE.  85 

who  presides  over  a  church  of  God  hath  passed  from  this  world  to 
Christ,  then  shall  his  brother  rule  the  church  of  God,  and  raise  up 
spiritual  children  unto  God ;  lest,  when  one  doctor  dies,  the  church 
of  Christ,  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all,  should  become  barren. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  124, — Poenitential  of  Egbert,  archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  750. 

B.  i.  ch.  41.  We  are  unwilling  that  a  subdeacon,  acolyth,  exor- 
cist, ostiary,  or  reader,  should  be  ejected,  although  they  marry  and 
have  children ;  and  let  not  a  deacon  be  ejected,  except  upon  the 
testimony  of  thirty-six  witnesses,  or  a  priest,  unless  there  be  forty- 
four  witnesses. 

B.  iv.  ch.  32,  p.  138.  If  any  one  in  orders  shall  go  a  hunting,  let 
him  abstain  from  flesh  for  twelve  months,  a  deacon  for  two  years, 
a  priest  for  three,  and  a  bishop  for  seven. 

Ibid.  p.  146. — Council  of  Cealchythe,  a.  d.  785. 

Can.  1.  That  the  presbyters  of  the  different  churches,  who  ought 
to  teach  the  people,  be  every  year  examined  by  their  bishops  con- 
cerning the  faith,  in  their  synodal  convocations. 

Ibid.  p.  152,  a.  d.  785.  Pope  Adrian,  at  the  request  of  Offa, 
king  of  the  Mercians,  converted  the  see  of  Lichfield  into  an  arch- 
bishoprick ;  and  the  bishops  of  Worcester,  Leicester,  Sidnacester, 
Hereford,  Elmham,  and  Thetford,  were  placed  under  his  jurisdic- 
tion :  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  being  despoiled,  retained  only 
four  bishops  under  him ;  viz.  London,  Winchester,  Rochester,  and 
Sherbourne.    The  archbishoprick  of  Lichfield  was  abolished  A.  D.  803. 

Ibid.  p.  180.  In  the  time  of  Kenneth,  king  of  Scotland,  a.d.  840, 
"the  kingdom  of  Scotland  was  not  as  yet  divided  into  dioceses, 
but  all  the  bishops  (whose  holiness  of  life  procured  for  them  uni- 
versal respect)  exercised  the  episcopal  functions  in  whatever  place 
they  might  chance  to  be,  indiscriminately  ;  and  this  mode  of  govern- 
ment continued  in  the  Scottish  church  till  the  time  of  Malcolm  III." 

Spelm.  i.  379.  In  a  letter  of  king  Alfred  to  Wulfugius,  a  bishop 
(of  uncertain  date),  he  thus  speaks  of  the  state  of  learning  among 
the  English  clergy  at  the  time  of  his  accession  to  the  throne.  "  So 
entirely  had  learning  perished  among  the  English,  that  there  were 
very  few  (priests)  on  this  side  of  the  Humber  who  could  either 
understand  their  common  prayers  in  English,  or  translate  any  work 
from  Latin  into  English :  so  few  were  they,  that  I  recollect  not  even 
one  (priest)  south  of  the  Thames  (who  could  do  so)  at  the  time  that 
I  began  to  reign.  Thanks  be  to  God,  there  are  now  at  length  some 
bishops  (aliqui  in  sede)  who  are  able  to  teach." 

WiLK.  i.  209 — Laws  ofHowel  Dha,  king  of  Wales,  a.d.  943. 

Lib.  i,  c.  13.    On  the  privileges  of  the  king's  priest. 

§  5.  If  any  one  shall  slander  the  king's  priest,  "  Let  there  be 
a  mulct  of  twelve  cows,  of  which  he  shall  have  a  third,  and  the 
king  two  thirds." 


86         ECCLESIASTICAL   COURTS PRIVILEGES   OF   THE    CLERGY. 

§  8.  The  oblations  made  by  the  king  and  his  household,  upon 
the  three  principal  festivals,  belong  to  him. 

§  9,  &e.  He  shall  have  a  third  of  all  the  king's  tithes,  as  well  as 
the  tithes  and  mortuaries  of  his  household. 

§  12.  He  shall  have  the  oblations  made  at  the  daily  mass  by  the 
king  and  aU  his  officers,  and  a  third  of  the  oblations  of  his  servants  ; 
and  also  two  parts  of  the  oblations  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  place 
in  which  the  court  may  offer. 

§  14.  He  shall  always  accompany  the  king,  being  one  of  his 
inseparable  attendants. 

§  15.  He  is  one  of  the  three  persons  who,  during  the  absence  of 
the  king,  shall  sustain  the  dignity  of  the  court. 

Lib.  ii.  c.  28,  §  3.  An  ecclesiastical  court  has  seven  privileges 
{of  judgment)  above  a  lay  court :  viz.  concerning  tithes  and  oblations ; 
mortuaries  ;  honorary  gifts  for  marriages  ;  the  legacies  of  the  dead  ; 
the  spoils  of  the  altar ;  goods  manifestly  stolen  from  a  clerk ;  and 
slander  (uttered)  against  an  ecclesiastic  :  for  any  of  which  things 
a  layman  shall  make  satisfaction  to  a  clerk  in  an  ecclesiastical  court. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  212. — Constitutions  of  Odo,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 

A.D.  943. 

Cap.  I.  No  man  may  impose  a  tax  upon  the  church  of  God, 
because  the  sons  of  the  church,  that  is,  the  sons  of  God,  are  free 
from  all  earthly  taxes  in  every  kingdom. 

Cap.  II.  We  admonish  the  king  and  princes,  and  all  that  are  in 
authority,  that  with  great  humility  they  obey  their  archbishops  and 
all  other  bishops ;  because  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  have 
been  committed  to  them,  and  they  have  the  power  of  binding  and 
loosing. 

Ibid.  p.  218. — Laws  of  the  Northumbrian  priests,  a.d.  950. 

Can.  2.  Let  every  (delinquent)  priest  find  twelve  sureties  that 
he  will  duly  observe  the  priest's  law. 

Can.  3  and  4.  If  a  priest  should  commit  a  crime,  and  celebrate 
mass  contrary  to  the  prohibition  of  his  bishop,  or  transgress  any  of 
his  commands,  let  him  pay  twenty  ores. 

Can.  34  and  40.  If  a  priest  should  neglect  to  shave  his  beard  or 
hair,  or  if  he  should  conceal  his  tonsure,  let  him  make  satisfaction. 

Ibid.  p.  225. — Canons  made  in  king  Edgar's  reign,  a.d.  960. 

Can.  7.  That  no  transaction  which  is  between  priests,  be  brought 
before  a  secular  tribunal ;  but  let  their  own  companions  arbitrate, 
or,  if  it  be  necessary,  let  them  lay  the  case  before  the  bishop. 

Can.  8.  That  no  priest  shall  voluntarily  desert  the  church  to 
which  he  has  been  ordained,  but  let  him  consider  her  as  his  lawful 
wife. 


A    bishop's    hounds ORDERS    OF    THE    MINISTRY.  87 

Can.  64.    That  a  priest  be  not  a  hunter,  a  hawker,  or  a  drinker. 

Note.  "  Yet  among  the  Jura  Eccl.  Cant.  A.  S.  vol.  i.  88,  it  is  said 
that  the  archbishop  shall  have  the  best  nag  of  the  bishop  of  Rochester, 
when  he  dies,  and  his  kennel  of  hunting  dogs :  and  that  the  king  shall 
have  the  same  of  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  when  he  dies.* 

WiLK.  i.  p.  251. — Canons  of  JElfric  to  Wul/inus,  a  bishop,  a.d.  970. 

Can.  10 — 1 8.  There  are  seven  orders  constituted  in  the  church  : 
viz.  1.  The  ostiary,  who  marks  the  course  of  time  by  the  tolling  of 
the  bells,  opens  the  doors  of  the  church  to  the  faithful,  and  closes 
them  against  unbelievers.  2.  The  reader,  who  may  publicly  read 
and  preach  the  Word  of  God.  3.  The  exorcist,  who  is  appointed 
to  adjure  evil  spmts.  4.  The  acolyth,  who  holds  a  lighted  torch 
while  the  gospel  is  read ;  not  so  much  to  drive  away  (temporal) 
darkness,  as  in  honour  of  Christ,  who  is  our  light.  5,  The  subdeacon, 
who  ministers  unto  the  deacon  at  the  altar  with  the  holy  vessels. 
6.  The  deacon,  who  ministers  unto  the  priest,  places  the  oblations 
upon  the  altar,  and  reads  -the  gospel  during  divine  service :  he  may 
baptize  and  deliver  the  eucharist  to  the  people.  These  ought  to 
serve  Christ  in  white  albes.  The  priest  who  acts  without  a  deacon, 
has  the  name  indeed,  but  not  the  dignity  (of  his  order).  7.  The 
presbyter  is  the  mass  priest,  whose  office  it  is  to  hallow  God's  house. 
There  is  not  much  difference  between  a  bishop  and  the  presbyter, 
except  that  the  bishop  is  appointed  to  ordain  priests,  and  to  confirm^ 
children,  which  would  have  been  committed  to  too  many  if  every 
presbyter  might  do  this.  Both  have  one  and  the  same  order, 
although  {the  episcopal  degree)  is  more  honourable. 

Note.  It  was  anciently  a  question  among  the  schoolmen — "  Utrum 
Episcopatus  sit  ordo  vel  gradus,"  and  it  was  usually  considered  merely 
a  degree  of  the  priesthood :  for  as  all  the  holy  orders  were  supposed  to 
have  a  reference  to  the  eucharist,  nothing  could  be  conceived  superior 
to  that  order  by  which  the  consecration  was  performed.  This  was  also 
the  view  adopted  in  the  council  of  Trent,  sess.  xxiii.  Presbyter ianism, 
however,  derives  no  support  from  this  opinion ;  as  it  was  never  thought 
that  the  lower  degree  of  the  priesthood  possessed  the  power  of  ordination. 

Can.  23.  On  Sundays  and  festivals,  the  priest  ought  to  explain 
to  the  people  the  sense  of  the  gospel  in  English,  and  by  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  Apostles'  Creed  to  excite  men  as  frequently  as  he  can  to 
reverence  Christianity. 

Ibid.  p.  266. — Capitula  made  in  king  ./Ethelred's  reign,  a.d.  994. 
(Theodulph's  Capitula.) 

Cap.  m.  At  such  times  as  you  cease  from  the  reading  of  holy 
books  and  prayer,  ye  ought  to  take  up  some  useful  manual  employ- 
ment :  for  indolence  is  the  fiend  (feond)  of  the  soul. 

Cap.  XIV.  XV.  XVI,  That  no  priest  shall  persuade  a  man  belonging 
to  the  district  of  another  priest  to  come  to  his  church,  or  pay  his 
tithes  to  him.     That  no  mass-priest  shall  inveigle  away  the  clerk 

'  Johnson. 


88  ILLITERATE  PRIESTS — THE   PROVINCE    OF   YORK. 

who  belongs  to  another  mass-priest,  nor  receive  him,  should  he  even 
desire  it ;  and  that  no  priest  shall  directly  or  indirectly  endeavour 
to  obtain  the  church  of  another  priest,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  his 
orders,  or  suffering  a  long  and  severe  imprisonment  at  the  discretion 
of  the  bishop. 

Cap.  XXVIII.  We  exhort  every  priest  to  be  prepared  to  teach  the 
people  by  preaching  to  them  the  scriptures ;  but  let  him  that  is 
ignorant  of  them  at  least  say  this  :  "  that  they  should  abstain  from 
that  which  is  evil,  and  do  that  which  is  good,"  &c.  No  priest  can 
excuse  himself  from  teaching, — ^for  every  one  of  you  has  a  tongue  by 
which  he  may  reclaim  some. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  282,  n.  iElfric,  who  flourished  about  a.  d.  970,  says  in 
the  preface  to  his  Saxon  Grammar :  "  The  ministers  of  God,  and 
ecclesiastics,  should  be  especially  admonished  that  they  suffer  not 
sacred  literature  wholly  to  perish,  as  it  did  in  England  a  few  years 
ago  ;  so  much  so,  that  there  was  no  English  priest  who  either  knew 
how  to  write  a  letter  in  Latin,  or  to  translate  one  from  Latin,  till 
Dunstan,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  bishop  iEthelwold,  restored 
this  knowledge  in  (the  different)  monasteries." 

Ibid.  p.  310. — Laws  of  hing  Edward  the  Confessor,  confirmed  hy 
king  William  I.  A.  D.  1052. 

Cap.  n.  Let  every  clerk  and  scholar,  and  all  their  goods  and 
possessions,  wherever  they  may  be,  enjoy  the  protection  of  God  and 
the  holy  church. 

Cap.  IV.  Wherever  the  king's  justice  is  hearing  pleas,  if  the 
bishop's  messenger,  coming  thither,  should  open  a  cause  which 
relates  to  holy  church,  let  that  be  first  determined :  for  it  is  just 
that  God  should  be  every  where  honoured  before  others. 

Cap.  V.  Whosoever  shall  hold  any  thing  of  the  church,  or  shall 
have  his  mansion  upon  church  land,  let  him  not  be  compelled  to 
plead  any  where  but  in  the  ecclesiastical  court,  although  he  may 
have  incurred  a  forfeiture,  unless  justice  should  be  denied  in  the 
ecclesiastical  court. 

Ibid.  p.  325.  a.  d.  1072.  The  councD  of  Windsor  was  held  under 
WUham  the  Conqueror,  Hubert,  reader  of  the  church  of  Rome,  and 
legate  to  Pope  Alexander  II.,  archbishop  Lanfranc,  &c.,  to  establish 
the  primacy  of  the  see  of  Canterbury  over  that  of  York  :  in  which  it 
was  decreed,  that  "  the  subjection  of  the  see  of  Durham  or  Lindis- 
farne,  as  well  as  all  the  districts  from  the  bounds  of  the  see  of 
Lichfield  and  the  great  river  Humber  to  the  utmost  limits  of  Scot- 
land, belong  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  church  of  York ;  but  that  the 
archbishop  of  York  ought  to  make  a  profession  of  obedience  to  the 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  ratify  the  same  by  an  oath.  Lan- 
franc, however,  from  aflfection  to  the  king,  dispensed  with  the  oath 
in  the  case  of  Thomas,  archbishop  of  York,  and  received  from  him 
only  a  written  profession  of  obedience."  On  the  death  of  an  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  the  consecration  of  his  successor  was  to  be 


ANCIENT  EPISCOPAL  SEES  TRANSLATED.  89 

performed  at  Canterbury  by  the  archbishop  of  York;  and  when 
a  vacancy  should  occur  in  the  see  of  York,  the  archbishop  elect  was 
to  go  for  his  consecration  to  Canterbury.  This  happened  A.  d. 
1072;  and  in  the  council  of  London,  a.d.  1075,  it  was  decreed, 
that  in  councils  the  archbishop  of  York  should  sit  on  the  primate's 
right  hand,  the  bishop  of  London  on  his  left,  the  bishop  of  Win- 
chester next  to  the  archbishop  of  York,  and  the  other  prelates 
according  to  the  order  of  their  consecration. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  327.  In  a  letter  of  Lanfranc  to  the  Pope,  a.d.  1072, 
he  thus  speaks  of  a  conference  held  at  Winchester  respecting  the 
primacy :  "  From  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Bede  it  was  proved, 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties,  that  from  the  time  of  the  blessed 
Augustine,  first  archbishop  of  Dover,  a  dty  which  is  now  called 
Canterbury,  to  the  extreme  old  age  of  Bede  himself,  who  died 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  years  after,  my  predecessors  enjoyed 
a  primacy  over  the  church  of  York,  and  the  whole  island  which  they 
call  Britain,  and  also  over  Ireland." 

Ibid.  p.  363,  364.  In  the  council  of  London,  held  under  Lan- 
franc, A.D.  1075,  it  was  decreed,  that  several  bishopricks  should  be 
removed  out  of  vUlages  to  considerable  towns :  and  accordingly  in 
the  Conqueror's  reign  the  see  of  Shirbourne  was  removed  to  Salis- 
bury ;  that  of  Lichfield  to  Chester ;  that  of  the  Island  of  Seolsey  to 
Chichester ;  that  of  Sidnacester"  to  Lincoln ;  that  of  Wells  to  Bath ; 
that  of  Kirton  to  Exeter;  and  that  of  Elmham  to  Thetford,  and 
from  thence  to  Norwich  in  the  following  reign. 

Note.  It  was  in  this  council  that  Wulstan,  bishop  of  Worcester, 
when  he  was  commanded  by  Lanfranc  to  resign  his  ring  and  pastoral 
staflF,  as  being  illiterate  and  unworthy  of  the  episcopal  office,  is 
said  to  have  boldly  replied  that  he  would  deliver  them  only  to  him 
who  gave  them.  According  to  the  legend,  he  went  immediately  to 
the  shrine  of  Edward  the  Confessor  (from  whom  he  had  received  his 
appointment)  struck  his  crozier  so  deeply  into  the  marble,  that  it 
appeared  to  have  taken  root  therein, — and  going  from  thence,  humbly 
took  his  place  as  a  simple  monk  among  the  monks.  Being  filled  with 
astonishment  and  awe  at  the  greatness  of  the  miracle,  the  king  and  the 
archbishop  implored  the  holy  man  to  resume  his  crozier  and  his  dignity ; 
and  the  staff"  which  had  resisted  so  many  eff'orts,  yielded  at  once  to  his 
hand,  as  if  it  had  been  merely  imbedded  in  clay.  See  the  Additamenta 
to  Matthew  Paris,  p.  17,  edit.  Watts,  Lond.  1640.  I  have  noticed  this 
legend  as  being  strikingly  characteristic  of  the  age,  and  a  somewhat 
picturesque  specimen  of  this  class. 

Ibid.  p.  394. — From  the  charter  of  king  Henry  I.  a.d.  1117. 
"  I  therefore,  on  account  of  my  reverence  to  God  and  love  for 
you,  in  the  first  place  make  the  church  of  God  free ;  so  that  I  will 
not  sell  nor  let  out  to  farm  {any  ecclesiastical  benefices),  nor  on  the 
death  of  an  archbishop,  bishop,  or  abbot,  will  I  receive  any  thing 
from  the  domain  {dominio)  of  the  church,  or  from  its  tenants,  until 
his  successor  enters  upon  it." 

<>  Johnson  says  i\\&i  Dorchester  vias  translated  to  Lincoln.  See  also  Wiik.  i.  369. 
Stow  in  Lincolnshire  was  probably  the  ancient  Sidnacester. 


80  THE   PRIMACY — OATH   AGAINST   SI.MONT. 

Ibid,  p.  393,  &c.  a.d.  1116.  We  read  of  a  dispute  which  arose 
"  between  Ralph  (Radulpho)  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and 
(Thurstan)  elect  of  York,  which  continued  a  whole  year,  and  he 
(i.e.  Thurstan)  renounced  his  archbishopric  rather  than  profess 
obedience  to  the  see  of  Canterbury."  ^ 

Note.  The  right  of  exacting  the  oath  of  canonical  obedience  from 
the  archbishop  of  York,  was  warmly  contested  by  Thomas  Thurstan's 
predecessor,  ( Wtlk.  i.  390,  &c.)  who  at  last,  however,  yielded.  Ralph, 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  on  another  occasion,  sent  a  long  letter  to 
Pope  Calixtus  II. :  it  is  a  kind  of  historical  vindication  of  the  rights 
of  his  see,  and  may  be  seen,  ibid.  p.  396-404.     (Dated  a.d.  1121.) 

WiLK.  i.  p.  407,  &c.  Council  of  London,  A.  D.  1126.  This  was 
a  legatine  council,  at  which  John  de  Crema  presided.  [Before  the 
acts  of  the  council,  we  are  presented  with  several  letters  from  Pope 
Honorius,  and  also  a  bull  which  he  granted  to  Thurstan,  archbishop 
of  York,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract. — "  Desiring  to 
preserve  undiminished  the  ancient  dignity  of  the  church  of  York, 
we  forbid  by  our  apostolical  authority  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury 
to  demand  from  henceforward  any  profession  (of  canonical  obedience) 
from  the  archbishop  of  York :  nor  shall  the  see  of  York  be  in  any 
respect  subject  to  that  of  Canterbury,  which  was  wholly  prohibited 
by  St.  Gregory ;  but,  according  to  the  constitution  of  the  same 
father,  this  distinction  of  honour  shall  be  always  observed  between 
them,  that  he  shall  take  the  precedence  who  was  first  ordained. 
Moreover,  if  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  shall  refuse  to  consecrate 
the  elect  of  York  gratuitously,  or  without  exacting  {the  acknow- 
ledgment of)  obedience,  he  may  receive  consecration  either  from  his 
suffragans  or  from  the  Roman  pontiff."] 

Can.  4  and  5.  That  no  abbot,  prior,  monk,  or  clerk,  shall  receive 
a  church,  or  tithes,  or  any  ecclesiastical  benefice,  upon  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  layman,  without  his  bishop's  consent,  upon  pain  of  for- 
feiture :  and  that  no  man  shall  receive  a  church  or  a  prebend  by 
paternal  inheritance,  or  appoint  his  own  successor. 

Can.  6.  We  moreover  ordain  that  all  clerks  who  hold  church 
benefices,  and  refuse  to  be  ordained,  in  order  that  they  may  live 
more  freely,  be  deprived  of  their  preferment. 

Note.     At  this  time  persons  in  minor  orders,  viz.  subdeacons,  acolyths, 

readers,  &c.  were  capable  of  holding  preferment. 

Ibid.  p.  412.  There  is  a  charter  granted  by  king  Stephen,  a.d. 
1136,  being  a  full  confirmation  of  all  the  rights  and  liberties 
formerly  granted  to  the  church. 

Ibid.  p.  415. — Legatine  council  at  Westminster  under  Alberic,  bishop 
of  Ostia,  a.d.  1138. 

Can.  5.  When  any  (clerk)  is  invested  by  a  bishop,  he  shall  swear 
upon  the  gospel  that  he  hath  neither  given  nor  promised  to  give  any 
thing  for  (the  benefice),  either  by  himself  or  by  any  other  person : 

»  W.  Covent. 


STATE    OF   THE    IRISH    AND    SCOTTISH    CHUKCHES.  91 

else  the  donation  shall  be  void,  and  both  the  giver  and  receiver 
canonically  punished. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  425.  In  the  council  of  Mellifont  in  Ireland,  a.d,  1152, 
four  archbishoprics  were  constituted  in  Ireland,  viz.  Armagh, 
Dublin,  Cashel,  and  Tuam. 

The  constitutions  made  at  Clarendon,  a.d,  1164,  many  of  which 
relate  to  the  clergy,  will  be  found  in  Chapter  II.  p.  41. 

Ibid.  p.  473. — Council  of  Cashel,  under  Henry  II.  a.d.  1172. 

Can.  3,  4,  5.  That  all  Christians  pay  tithes :  that  none  of  the 
Irish  kings,  nobles,  &c.  exact  provisions  or  entertainment  in  the 
territories  of  the  church,  and  that  the  detestable  exaction  of  pro- 
visions, which  the  neighbouring  earls  have  hitherto  made  from  the 
church  manors,  be  hereafter  discontinued :  also  that  when  a  murder 
is  compounded  with  the  relations  of  the  deceased,  such  of  the  clergy 
as  are  akin  to  the  murderer,  shall  not  be  obliged  to  pay  any  part  of 
the  composition. 

HowEL,  Can.  et  Deck.  &c.  p.  96. — Council  of  Avranches,  in  Nor- 
mandy, a.d.  1172. 

Can.  1.  Let  not  boys  be  admitted  to  the  superintendence  of 
churches. 

Can.  10,  A  husband  may  not  enter  a  monastery  while  his  wife 
remains  in  the  world,  (i.  e,  leads  a  secular  life). 

Can.  12,  Let  not  Jewish  clerks  be  appointed  to  judge  secular 
matters. 

WiLK.  i.  474. — Council  of  Westminster,  a.d.  1173. 

Can.  7.  Let  not  a  church  be  presented  to  any  one  who  has  not 
the  clerical  mark  of  distinction,  {i.  e.  the  tonsure). 

Can.  27.  Let  not  perpetual  vicars,  who  have  taken  an  oath  of 
fidelity  to  the  parsons  of  their  churches,  rise  up  in  opposition  to  their 
parson,  (contra  personam  se  erigant). 

Note.  Can.  23  of  this  council  is  also  worthy  of  note :  "  Let  not  the 
Welsh  sell  churches,  or  give  them  in  dowry,  or  adhere  to  their  relations, 
or  change  wives."  " 

Ibid.  p.  482.  "  In  the  year  1175,  Hugezun,  cardinal  and  legate 
of  the  apostolic  see,  granted  to  our  lord  the  king  {Henry  II.)  per- 
mission to  implead  clerks  in  his  dominions  concerning  forests  and 
poaching,"  {captione  venationis).^ 

Ibid.  p.  495.  By  a  decretal  Epistle,  a.d,  1191,  Pope  Celestine 
III.  made  the  church  of  Scotland  independent  of  the  see  of  York, 
and  immediately  subject  to  the  apostolic  see. 

Ibid.  p.  499.  Constitutions  of  the  cathedral  church  of  Lichfield, 
A.D.  1194.  It  is  provided  that,  "Every  chaplain,  known  or  un- 
known, who  shall  celebrate  mass  at  any  altar,  with  the  excejition  of 

"  See  extract  from  Giraldus  Carabrensis  in  Usher's  Discourse,  &c.  cb.  v,  p.  54. 
'   Hoveden. 


92  EPISCOPAL   AND   OTHER    VISITATIONS — THEIR  ABUSES. 

the  high  altar,  shall  have  all  the  oblations  of  silver  which  are  offered 
to  him  freely  for  his  own  use,  unless  he  be  required  to  celebrate  for 
any  of  the  five  presbyters,"  (i.  e.  prebendaries). 

WiLK.  i.  p.  502. — Legatine  council  at  York,  under  Hubert,  archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  A.  D.  1195. 

Cap.  9.  Let  clerks  who  despise  the  crown  (i.  e.  the  tonsure),  if 
beneficed,  be  deprived ;  if  not,  let  them  be  shaved  against  their  will 
by  the  archdeacon  or  dean. 

Ibid.  p.  505. — Council  at  London  {Westminster)  under  archbishop 
Hubert,  A.  D.  1200. 

Can.  5.  That  in  visiting  parishes,  an  archbishop's  train  exceed 
not  the  number  of  forty  or  fifty  horsemen ;  a  bishop's  twenty  or 
thirty ;  an  archdeacon's  five  or  seven :  also  that  they  make  not 
their  progress  with  hunting  dogs  or  birds,  (i.  e.  hawks).  We  forbid 
bishops  to  levy  taxes  in  their  dioceses :  they  may,  however,  Avhere 
there  is  a  reasonable  cause,  require  moderate  aids  from  their  subjects. 
The  object  of  visitation  is  to  see  to  what  concerns  the  cure  of  souls, 
and  also  that  every  church  hath  a  silver  chalice,  sacerdotal  vestments, 
proper  books,  and  other  utensils.  Moreover,  we  forbid  any  visitor 
to  demand  a  procuration  from  those  churches  which  he  doth  not 
visit. 

Can.  6.  If  a  bishop  shall  ordain  any  man  to  be  a  deacon  or  a 
priest  without  a  title,  let  him  maintain  him  till  he  can  provide  for 
him  in  some  church.  Also  if  an  archdeacon  shall  (without  the 
special  command  of  the  bishop)  present  any  man  to  be  ordained 
a  subdeacon,  let  him  be  liable  to  the  same  penalty  if  he  have  no 
title. 

Can.  8.  That  nothing  be  demanded  for  installing  or  instituting 
priests  or  other  clerks ;  or  for  licensing  them  to  celebrate  divitie 
offices ;  or  for  licencing  schoolmasters :  if  it  hath  been  paid,  let  it  be 
restored. 

Can.  10.  That  clerks  keep  not  concubines,  neither  let  them  go 
to  drinking  bouts,  for  thus  quarrels  arise;  and  laymen  beating 
clerks,  who  are  sometimes  in  fault,  fall  under  the  canon. 

Note.     Deer.  v.  Tit.  39.     There  are  about  sixty  heads  relating  to 

excommunication,  and  above  half  of  these  relate  to  the  case  of  striking 

clerks.5' 

Ibid.  p.  513.  a.d.  1205.  Pope  Innocent  III.  gave  sentence  in 
favour  of  the  chapter  of  Canterbury,  that  they  might  elect  an  arch- 
bishop without  the  concurrence  of  the  suffragan  bishops. 

Ibid.  p.  547.  In  the  council  of  New  Town  {Novce  Villoe)  in 
Ireland,  a.d.  1216,  at  which  cardinal  Paparo,  the  Pope's  legate, 
presided,  it  was  decreed,  that  "  when  chorepiscopi  and  the  bishops 
of  small  sees  in  Ireland  should  die,  archpresbyters  should  be  elected 
and  appointed  in  their  stead  by  the  diocesan."   From  Can.  4  and  8, 

T  Johason. 


VICARAGES — ECCLESIASTICAL  IMMUNITIES.  93 

it  appears  that  the  office  of  an  archpresbyter  was  the  same  as  that 
of  a  rural  dean.  He  was  to  visit  the  churches  within  his  deanery, 
and  to  see  that  they  were  in  proper  repair,  and  also  to  hold  rural 
chapters. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  548. — Council  of  Dublin,  a.  d.  1217. 

That  rectors,  or  their  priests,  attend  at  every  chapter,  and  give 
an  account  of  the  vices  of  their  parishioners,  excommunications,  &c. 

That  in  every  deanery  two  presbyters  be  chosen  to  hear  the  con- 
fessions of  priests. 

That  presbyters  carefully  visit  the  sick  on  all  Sundays  and 
festivals ;  that  they  refuse  not  to  visit  the  sick  at  whatever  hour 
they  may  be  required  ;  and  that  they  do  not,  as  some  have  hitherto 
presumed  to  do,  send  deacons  with  the  eucharist  to  the  sick,  while 
they  themselves  are  occupied  in  drinking  bouts,  or  in  carnal 
pleasures.  When  they  go  to  visit  the  sick  with  the  eucharist  in 
towns,  let  them,  from  reverence  to  the  body  of  Christ,  be  vested  in 
a  surplice,  and  preceded  by  a  crucifix,  a  light,  and  a  bell. 

That  rectors  be  ordained  subdeacons,  and  vicars  priests,  within 
the  period  allowed  by  the  canons  ;  otherwise  let  their  livings  be 
sequestered. 

We  altogether  reprobate  the  abuse,  that  monks  should  require 
from  clerks  presented  to  benefices,  an  oath  of  fidelity  before  insti- 
tution. 

Note.    i.  e.  the  abbot,  as  rector,  exacted  an  oath  of  fidelity  from 

his  vicar. 

Ibid.  p.  571. — Constitutions  of  William  de  Bkys,  bishop  of  Worcester, 

A.D.  1219. 

K  any  thing  should  be  extorted  from  ecclesiastical  persons,  their 
families  or  rustics,  for  building  walls  around  cities  or  boroughs,  and 
the  offenders  make  not  restitution  within  eight  days,  let  them  be 
excommunicated ;  and  if  this  fail  of  its  effect,  within  eight  more 
days  let  the  city  or  borough  be  placed  under  an  interdict,  without 
waiting  for  the  presence  of  the  bishop  or  his  official. 

If  a  clerk  having  a  proper  tonsure  and  a  knowledge  of  letters 
shall  be  arrested,  whether  he  be  known  or  unknown,  let  his  captors 
be  admonished  by  the  dean  of  the  place,  to  set  him  at  liberty,  upon 
pain  of  excommunication ;  unless  he  be  suspected  of  some  flagrant 
crime,  in  which  case  he  is  to  be  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
lord  bishop. 

Ibid.  p.  573. — Council  of  Durham,  under  Bichard,  bishop  of  Durham, 

A.  D.  1220. 

*'  Bigamists,  the  husbands  of  loose  women,"  &c.  are  declared  in- 
capable of  holy  orders,  unless  by  apostolic  dispensation. 

We  strictly  enjoin  archdeacons,  that  in  their  chapters  they  ex- 
plain to  the  (assembled)  priests,  in  plain  words,  the  exposition  of  the 


94  PREACHERS   TO   BE   APPOINTED   BY   THE   BISHOP. 

catholic  faith  as  it  was  decreed  in  the  general  council,  and  that  all 
priests  explain  it  frequently  to  their  flocks  in  English. 

If  the  rector  of  a  church  should  die,  and  his  church  should  be 
left  without  proper  sacerdotal  vestments  or  books,  or  if  he  should 
leave  the  houses  belonging  to  the  church  in  a  ruinous  condition,  let 
such  a  portion  be  deducted  from  his  ecclesiastical  property  as  shall 
be  necessary  to  repair  them. 

That  laymen  make  not  their  wills,  except  in  the  presence  of 
a  priest. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  584.  A  bull  of  Pope  Honorius  III.,  from  which  we 
learn  that  manv  foreigners  at  this  period  held  benefices  in  Eng- 
land, A.D.  1221. 

Ibid.  p.  585. — Council  of  Oxford,  under  archbishop  Langton, 
A.  D.  1222. 

Cap.  I.  We  command  also  that  all  prelates  have  almoners  who 
are  clei'ks,  and  that,  according  to  the  apostolic  injunction,  they 
exercise  hospitality.  Also  that  they  appear  in  public  at  proper 
hours  to  hear  complaints,  to  do  justice,  and  to  give  penance  {in 
reserved  cases) ;  that  they  reside  in  their  cathedrals  on  some  of  the 
principal  festivals,  and  at  least  some  part  of  Lent  ;  ["  also  that  they 
cause  the  profession  which  they  made  at  their  consecration  to  be 
read  to  them  twice  a  year,  that  the  oftener  they  hear  it,  the  better 
they  may  remember  it."] 

Note.     Lindwood  affirms,  that  by  the  common  law  of  the  church 
the  bishop  is  obliged  to  be  resident  in  his  cathedral  every  Lord's  day.* 

Cap.  XVII.  That  in  large  parishes  there  be  two  or  three  priests, 
lest  the  parishioners  should  be  deprived  of  the  sacraments  of  the 
church  through  the  illness  of  their  priest. 

Cap.  xviii.  On  presentation  to  a  benefice,  the  clerk  shall  take  an 
oath,  that  he  hath  neither  given  nor  promised  any  thing  to  the 
patron  on  that  account,  or  made  any  agreement  with  him. 

Cap.  XXIV.     Let  archdeacons,  at  their  visitations,  take  care  that 

priests  know  how  to  pronounce  rightly  at  least  the  words  of  the 

canon,  and  that  they  understand  it  properly.     Let  them  also  teach 

the  laity  in  what  form  they  ought  to  baptize,  in  case  of  necessity. 

Note.     From  the  remainder  of  the  cap.  it  appears,  that  archdeacons 

were  to  visit  the  churches  in  their  districts  once  a  year. 

Cap.  XXTIII.  That  presbyters  appear  in  a  decent  clerical  habit, 
with  close  copes  (cappis  dausis). 

Note.    Lindwood  asserts,  that  no  colours  were  forbidden  the  clergy 
but  red  and  green.*" 

Ibid.  p.  600. — Constitutions  of  Richard  de  Poor,  bishop  ofSarum, 
A.  D.  1223. 
"  Since,  on  account  of  their  many  occupations,  or  corporal  infir- 
mities, bishops  are  not   sufficient  of  themselves  to   minister    unto 
»  Johnson.  a  in  ]oc.  b  Johnson. 


THE   bishop's    prison. STIPEND    OF   A    CHAPLAIN.  95 

the  people  the  Word  of  God,  it  has  been  decreed  by  the  Lateran 
council,  that  they  may  appoint  proper  ministers  to  the  office  of 
preaching.  We  command  therefore  that  when,  delegated  by  us, 
they  come  to  your  parishes,  and  edify  the  people  by  their  preaching 
and  example,  ye  supply  them  with  all  things  necessary  for  their 
support." 

Note.     The   whole   diocese   was   anciently   considered  the  bishop's 
parish,  and  all  the  priests  only  as  his  delegates  in  the  cure  of  souls. 

Whosoever  hath  a  parish  church,  and  will  not  reside  in  it,  shall 
appoint  in  it  a  perpetual  vicar,  who  is  to  be  canonically  instituted, 
and  to  receive  a  just  proportion  of  the  church  revenues. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  610. — Provincial  council  in  Scotland,  a.  d.  1225. 

Cap,  xxn.  That  neither  clerks  nor  monks  engage  in  secular 
pursuits. 

Cap.  xxTiii.  That  clerks  of  every  degree  shall  be  protected  by 
the  church,  until,  from  the  enormity  of  their  crimes,  justice  requires 
that  they  be  degraded  from  their  orders ;  and  that  their  evil  deeds 
may  not  go  unpunished,  let  such  clerks  upon  conviction  be  closely 
confined  in  the  prison  of  the  diocesan,  which  every  bishop  ought  to 
have,  there  to  be  kept  upon  the  bread  of  sorrow  and  the  water  of 
tribulation. 

Cap.  LXXix.  That  the  rectors  of  churches  come  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible to  be  ordained  to  the  minor  orders  (primos  ordines),  and  that 
they  who,  by  dispensation,  hold  several  parochial  churches,  shall 
serve  one  of  them  in  person,  and  appoint  perpetual  vicars  to  the 
others. 

Note.     We  here  see  the  antiquity  of  lay  impropriations. 

Ibid.  p.  625. — Constitutions  of  William  de  Bleys,  a.  d.  1229. 

Cap.  XI.  That  every  annual  chaplain  shall  have  a  competent 
maintenance,  to  the  value  of  three  marks  at  the  least. 

Note.     The    words    which    immediately    follow,    "  nisi  fuerit  ad 

mensam"  I  do  not  understand.     Perhaps  they  might  be  paraphrased 

thus,  unless  he  be  boarded  at  the  common  table." 

Cap.  XIII.  That  annual  chaplains  be  removed  within  seven  years, 
unless  where  there  is  just  and  reasonable  cause  to  the  contrary. 

Ibid.  p.  627. — Inquiries  made  throughout  the  various  archdeaconries 
in  the  diocese  of  Lincoln,  a.  d.  1230. 

In.  1.  Whether  any  rectors,  or  vicars  of  churches,  or  parish 
priests,  be  grossly  illiterate  ? 

In.  37.  Whether  any  vicars  make  themselves  rectors,  or  vice 
versd  ? 

In.  38.  Whether  any  bastards  hold  preferment,  or  have  been 
ordained  without  dispensation  ? 

In.  43.  Whether  adultery  and  other  public  crimes  of  the  laity 
are  properly  punished  by  the  archdeacon? 


96  DISQUALIFICATlOSrS  AND  IMPEDIMENTS  TO   ORDERS. 

Ibid.  p.  629.  In  the  letter  of  king  Henry  III.  a.  d.  1231,  the 
see  of  Llandaff  is  twice  mentioned  before  that  of  St.  David's ;  and 
it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  summons  of  the  archbishop  of 
Canterbury  (in  A.  D.  1126)  to  the  Welsh  bishops  to  attend  a  lega- 
tine  council,  was  also  directed  to  the  bishop  of  Llandaff. *= 

WiLK.  i.  p.  635. — Constitutions  of  Edmund,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 

A.  D.  1236. 

Cap.  I.  Let  all  ministers  of  the  church,  and  especially  priests, 
diligently  consider  in  what  state  they  were  when  they  received  holy 
orders;  for  we  suspend  all  those  from  their  office  who  contracted 
any  irregularity,  either  before  or  after  their  ordination  :  whether  by 
homicide,  acting  as  advocates  in  causes  of  blood;  committing 
simony  ;  receiving  ordination  knowingly  from  heretics,  schismatics, 
or  publicly  excommunicated  persons ;  bigamists ;  the  husbands  of 
loose  women ;  violaters  of  virgins,  and  excommunicated  persons ; 
also  those  who  have  received  orders  by  stealth ;  sorcerers ;  the 
burners  of  churches,  and  such  like. 

Cap.  n.  We  strictly  charge  all  those  who  took  orders,  being 
under  the  guilt  of  mortal  sin,  or  for  the  lucre  of  gain,  not  to 
exercise  their  office  till  they  have  confessed  to  a  priest. 

Cap.  III.  It  is  decreed  that  such  clerks  as  presume  to  execute 
their  office,  after  having  been  suspended  for  their  incontinency, 
shall  be  not  only  deprived  of  their  benefices,  but  for  ever  deposed, 
in  consequence  of  their  double  crime. 

Ibid.  p.  651. — Legatine  constitutions  of  cardinal  Otho,  A.  D.  1237. 

Cap.  V.  That  in  every  deanery,  prudent  and  faithful  men  be 
appointed  confessors  by  the  bishop,  to  whom  parsons,  as  well  as 
the  inferior  clergy,  may  confess ;  who  would  be  ashamed,  and  per- 
haps afraid,  to  confess  to  the  deans. 

Cap.  VI.  Since  it  is  very  perilous  to  ordain  unworthy  persons, 
such  as  idiots,  bastards,  evil  livers,  or  foreigners,  we  decree  that  a 
diligent  enquiry  be  made  by  the  bishop  concerning  all  these  par- 
ticulars before  ordination :  and  lest  those  who  have  been  rejected 
should  by  stealth  creep  in  among  those  who  have  been  approved 
(am?  so  obtain  orders),  let  the  names  and  number  of  those  who  have 
been  approved  be  written  down  at  the  time  of  examination. 

Note.     Such  was  the   carelessness  which  at  this  time  prevailed  in 

conferring  ordination,  that  persons  were  not  unfrequently  ordained 

l»/  stealth.     (See  preceding  extracts,  c.  1.) 

Cap.  VII.  That  ecclesiastical  dignities,  such  as  archdeaconries  or 
deaneries,  be  not  let  out  to  farm. 

Cap.  X.    That  from  henceforth  no  man  be  admitted  to  a  vicarage, 

unless  he  hath  been  already  ordained  a  priest,  or  at  least  a  deacon, 

so  that  he  can  be  ordained  (a  priest)  the  ember-w' eek  next  ensuing : 

and  unless,  renouncing  all  other  benefices  which  he  may  have  with 

=  Wilk.  i.  408. 


INTRUSION   INTO   BENEFICES   AND    OTHER   ABUSES.  07 

cure  of  souls,  he  shall  swear  always  to  reside  there  in  person ;  and 
thus  let  an  end  be  put  to  that  deceit  by  which,  a  small  stipend  being 
assigned  to  one  as  parson,  the  church  has  been  given  to  another 
under  the  pretended  name  of  a  vicar,  who,  fearing  to  lose  other 
benefices,  were  afraid  to  receive  it  as  a  parson. 

Xote.  For  in  the  third  council  of  Lateran,  A.  D.  1179,  c.  xiii., 
and  in  the  fourth  of  Lateran  held  in  the  year  1215,  c.  xxix.  a  plurality 
of  rectories  is  forbidden,  but  not  of  benefices. 

Cap.  XI.  It  has  been  related  to  us  by  many,  that  certain  priests, 
coveting  the  benefice  of  (a  rector)  during  his  absence,  have  feigned 
reports  of  his  death  or  resignation,  and  somehow  or  other  contrived 
to  thrust  themselves  into  the  benefice ;  and  if  perchance  the  dead 
man  should  return  to  life  again,  and  come  to  his  church,  they  say 
to  him,  "  I  know  yof>x  not,"  and  the  door  is  closed  against  him.  But 
there  are  even  some  so  bhnded  by  avarice,  that  they  presume  to 
invade  the  benefices  of  resident  {rectors) ;  and  when  they  once  get  in, 
neither  sentences  {of  excommunication)  nor  anything  else  can  dis- 
possess them,  since  they  defend  themselves  by  force  of  arms. 

Note.  In  one  of  the  constitutions  of  Richard  de  Poor,  A.  D.  1223, 
it  is  provided,  that  if  a  patron  should  murder  the  incumbent  of  the 
church  of  which  he  was  patron,  he  and  his  heirs  to  the  fourth  gene- 
ration .shall  lose  the  right  of  presentation."* 

Cap.  XII.  Sometimes  one  church  is  not  given  to  a  single  person, 
but  to  many,  under  the  pretence  that  there  are  several  patrons,  so 

that  there  are  many  heads  upon  the  same  body,  like  a  monster 

Sometimes  also  a  church  is  conferred  upon  a  clerk,  with  this  con- 
dition, either  expressed  or  implied — that  the  institutor  or  presenter 
shall  receive  some  portion  out  of  it. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  661. — Constitutions  of  uncertain  origin,  about  a.d.  1237. 

We  prohibit,  upon  pain  of  interdict  and  excommunication,  the  lay 
patrons  of  churches  to  exact  entertainment  from  beneficed  clerks. 

We  also  prohibit  any  preacher  from  being  admitted  {into  a  parish) 
to  collect  the  alms  of  the  faithful,  without  our  letters. 

We  prohibit  also  the  proclamation  of  scotaLes  from  being  made  in 
the  church  or  by  a  priest. 

Note.     Scotales  were  public  drinking  bouts,  at  which  collections  were 

made  for  the  benefit  of  some  person. 

Ibid.  p.  675. — Constitutions  of  Walter,  bishop  of  Worcester, 
A.  D.  1240. 

We  command  also,  that  all  priests  of  foreign  ordination,  who  are 
admitted  to  officiate  in  our  diocese,  shall,  before  the  commencement 
of  September  every  year,  be  presented  to  the  archdeacon  or  our  offi- 
cial for  his  approval. 

When  hired  priests  have  been  accused  and  convicted  of  inconti- 
nency,  let  them  for  the  first  offence  be  fined  and  removed  from  the 
place  where  they  have  transgressed,  at  least  before  the  end  of  the 

">  Wilk.  i.  600, 

II 


98  SPIRITED    CONDUCT    OF   THE    CLERGY. 

year,  that  thus  scandal  may  be  avoided ;  and  for  the  third  offence 
let  them  be  utterly  expelled. 

WiLK,.  i.  p.  696. — Letter  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  Chichester, 
A.D.  1249. 
"  Since,  by  the  appointment  of  our  bishops,  with  the  assent  of  the 
dean  and  chapter,  confirmed  by  the  bulls  of  Pope  Eugenlus  III.  and 
Pope  Alexander  III.,  one  half  of  the  revenues  of  a  vacant  stall  for 
one  year  has  by  ancient  custom  been  assigned  to  the  {swrviving) 
canons,  and  the  other  to  the  fabric  of  the  cathedral,  it  is  evident  that 
the  letters  of  the  Pope,  granting  the  revenues  of  all  vacant  benefices 
for  one  year  to  my  lord  of  Canterbury,  cannot  extend  to  the  prebends 
of  deceased  canons  in  our  cathedrals." 

Ibid.  p.  699.  In  a  bull  of  Pope  Innocent  IV.  a.d.  1250,  he  says 
in  the  preamble :  "  Whereas  we  formerly  tlteught  fit  to  grant  to  our 
venerable  brother  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  one  year's  revenues 
of  all  the  vacant  benefices  in  his  province  for  a  certain  space  of  time, 
to  enable  him  to  discharge  the  debts  of  the  church  of  Canterbury, "  &c. 

Ibid.  p.  704. — Constitutimu  of  Walter,  bishop  of  Durham,  a.d.  1255. 

Let  every  shepherd  of  souls  and  every  parish  priest  know  the 
decalogue :  let  him  also  know  the  seven  mortal  sins ;  the  seven 
sacraments,  and  their  effects ;  the  requisites  of  a  true  confession ; 
the  form  of  baptism :  and  let  him  have  at  least  a  simple  understand- 
ing of  the  faith,  as  it  is  contained  in  the  three  creeds. 

If  any  church,  whicli  had  formerly  two  chaplains,  two  deacons  or 
subdeacons,  shall  become  consolidated,  let  the  rector  still  employ  the 
same  number  as  before. 

That  no  rector  or  vicar  assign  to  priests,  as  a  part  of  their  stipend, 
the  mass-pennies,  triennials,  or  annuals. 

That  in  all  churches  where  the  revenues  are  sufficiently  large, 
there  be  deacons  and  subdeacons  to  minister  unto  the  Lord ;  and 
that  in  other  churches  there  be  a  respectable  clerk,  who  shall  serve 
the  priest  in  a  decent  habit,  and  with  a  proper  tonsure  ;  and  let  him 
not  be  married. 

Let  rectors,  &c.  prevent  laymen  from  sitting  or  standing  in  the 
chancel  during  the  celebration  of  mass,  unless  they  be  patrons  {of  the 
church),  or  unless  some  venerable  person  should  be  admitted  from 
respect  {to  his  age). 

Ibid.  p.  723.  Matthew  Paris  says,  that  in  the  year  1257,  "  Boni- 
face, archbishop  of  Canterbury,  called  an  assembly  of  the  bishops 
and  archdeacons  of  his  province  to  consult  respecting  the  state  of  the 
church  of  England  now  falling  to  ruin  ;  since  it  had  of  late  years 
suffered  more  grievous  and  intolerable  oppressions  than  usual.  King 
Henry  III.  forbad  the  bishops  to  attend  this  convocation,  on  pain  of 
forfeiting  their  temporal  baronies ;  but  they,  despising  the  proliibi- 
tion,  attended  the  council,  where  they  consulted  respecting  their 
various  grievances. 


CLERKS   EXEMPT    FROM   THE    SECULAR   POWER GRIEVANCES.    99 

That  clerks  degraded  for  their  crimes  be  not  deprived  of  their 
property,  either  real  or  personal,  lest  they  should  be  twice  punished 
for  the  same  offence. 

Since,  for  the  last  three  years,  the  church  of  England  has  been 
oppressed  with  grievous  exactions,  we  decree,  that  if  for  the  future 
any  person,  clerk,  or  laic,  shall  presume,  with  the  aid  of  the  secular 
power,  to  take  away  or  diminish  any  of  the  property  which  belongs 
to  the  church,  the  princes  of  the  church,  i.e.  the  successors  of  the 
apostles,  shall  publicly  throughout  their  dioceses  excommunicate  such 
sacrilegious  invaders,  and  put  the  places  wherein  they  dwell  and  their 
lands  under  an  ecclesiastical  interdict. 

A  clerk  summoned  before  a  temporal  tribunal  shall  not  attend, 
unless  with  the  consent  of  his  bishop.  If  he  be  arrested,  let  him  be 
claimed  by  his  bishop  ;  and  if  they  will  not  deliver  him  up,  let  his 
judges  or  detainers,  after  a  proper  warning,  be  excommunicated. 

If  a  prelate  shall  be  attached  in  the  king's  court  for  having  held 
pleas  contrary  to  the  royal  prohibition,  and  arrested,  let  him  place 
under  an  interdict  any  land  which  the  king  (princeps)  and  his  judge 
may  happen  to  have  in  his  diocese ;  and  if  he  should  not  then  be  re- 
leased, let  the  archbishop  and  bishops  promptly  have  recourse  to  the 
spiritual  sword,  and  coerce  the  offenders  by  excommunicating  and 
interdicting  both  their  persons  and  their  lands. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  726.  About  the  same  time  (a.d.  1257),  says  Matthew 
Paris's  continuer,  "  the  English  prelates,  being  wretchedly  dispiiited 
and  frightened,  (not  imitating  the  firmness  of  the  Cistertians,  who 
when  the  king  demanded  from  them  an  immense  sum  of  money 
resisted  him  to  his  face,)  granted  to  the  king  forty-two  tlwusand 
marks,  to  the  enormous  and  irreparable  injury  of  the  church  and 
kingdom.  Soon  after  which,  on  account  of  the  oppressions  inflicted 
upon  the  church  of  England  from  day  to  day  by  the  supreme  pontiff 
and  king  Henry,  they  drew  up  fifty  articles  of  aggrievance. 

Gravamen  i.  That  when  cathedral  or  conventual  churches  fall 
vacant,  the  convents  are  oppressed  (talliantur),  the  lands  left  uncul- 
tivated, the  groves  are  devastated,  the  buildings  fall  to  ruin,  and  the 
tenants  are  impoverished  and  ill  used ;  so  that  the  prelates  who 
succeed  are  reduced  to  the  condition  of  mendicants  for  a  long  time. 
To  such  an  extent  has  this  wickedness  been  earned,  that  the  es- 
cheators  not  only  seize  upon  the  revenues  appointed  for  the  use  of 
the  abbots  and  priors,  but  upon  those  by  which  the  convent  is  sup- 
ported ;  all  which  is  contrary  to  the  charter  of  our  lord  the  king, 
and  also  to  the  liberties  of  the  church. 

Gravamen  iii.  Whereas  elections  in  cathedral  or  conventual 
churches  ought  to  be  free,  the  king  sends  so  many  requests,  that  the 
electors,  being  terrified,  often  obey  man  rather  than  God. 

Gravamen  vii.  The  king  forces  prelates  to  appear  before  his  tri- 
bunal, there  to  give  answer  why  they  have  excommunicated  any  of 
their  subjects,  or  why  they  have  refused  to  institute  a  clerk. 

Gravamen  x.    That  when  any  person  has  been  excommunicated 

u  -^ 


100  SPiuirrAL  weapoxs  of  the  church. 

for  contumacy,  &c.  after  forty  days,  and  arrested  by  the  king's  brief, 
he  is  frequently  liberated  by  royal  brief,  without  the  consent  of  his 
bishop,  and  without  having  made  satisfaction. 

Gravamen  xii.  xiii.  That  our  lord  the  king,  his  justices  and 
bailiffs,  hold  intercourse  both  in  spirituals  and  temporals  with  those 
who  have  been  excommunicated  ;  and  that  our  lord  the  king  forbids 
by  letter  {mandatory)  that  excommunicated  persons  should  be  avoided. 

Gravamen  xv.  That  clerks  arrested  in  a  clerical  habit  are  often 
hung  before  they  can  be  claimed  by  the  ordinary,  and  sometimes 
their  heads  are  shaved,  so  that  they  may  not  appear  to  be  clerks, 
and  they  are  judged  as  laymen.  Sometimes  also  when  they  have 
been  claimed,  their  captors  defer  giving  them  up,  and  in  the  mean 
time  hang  them  during  the  night. 

Gravamen  xxji.  Also  when  a  fugitive  takes  refuge  in  a  church, 
his  pursuers  surround  the  church-yard,  so  that  the  fugitive  can 
scarcely  be  supplied  with  food  by  the  church.  Nay,  he  is  sometimes 
violently  dragged  from  thence,  even  after,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  country,  he  hath  abjured  the  realm  and  engaged  to  banish 
himself  within  forty  days,  and  atrociously  hanged. 

Gravamen  xxvi.  Also  when  an  ecclesiastical  judge  is  trying  a 
question  concerning  tithes,  &c.  a  royal  prohibition  is  {often)  presented 
to  the  judge  to  prevent  him  fi*om  proceeding. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  730.  A  bull  of  Pope  Alexander  IV,  confirming  the 
privileges  and  rights  of  the  English  church,  as  set  [forth  in  Magna 
Charta  and  Charta  de  Forest  a,  a.  d.  1257. 

Ibid.  p.  733. — Constitutions  of  Walter  and  Simon,  bishops  of 
Norwich,  a.d.  1257. 

We  command  that  no  persons  hold  several  cures  of  souls,  without 
the  dispensation  of  the  apostolic  see. 

Note.     From  this  it  would  appear,  that  in  the  13th  century  the  Pope 

alone  possessed  the  power  of  dispensing  in  cases  of  plurality. 

We  have  heard  that  some,  from  a  love  of  filthy  lucre,  enjoin  vari- 
ous fines :  as  for  example,  that  a  woman  who  has  conversed  with 
her  husband  before  she  has  been  churched  {jmrijicationem),  shall 
carry  an  oblation  to  the  altar  with  some  woman  who  is  to  be  churched 
in  the  same  parish :  also  that  a  murderer  shall  offer  for  every  person 
who  dies  in  the  same  parish. 

That  the  chaplains  of  churches  explain  to  their  parishioners  the 
indulgences  contained  in  our  letters  ;  that  they  collect  the  alms,  and 
afterwards  deliver  them  to  the  {rural)  deans. 

Ibid.  p.  736.  Council  of  Merton,  a.d.  1258.  The  inferior  clergy 
appeared  by  procurators.  In  this  synod  it  was  provided,  that  if  the 
king  should  persist  in  violating  the  liberties  of  the  church,  the 
aggrieved  bishop  should  interdict  all  the  royal  castles,  &c.  in  his 
diocese ;  "  and  if  the  king  should  persevere  in  his  harshness,  his 
fellow  bishops,  considering  the  injury  inflicted  upon  him  as  an  injury 
to  themselves  and  to  the  church,  shall  interdict  all  the  royal  boroughs, 


VAUIOUS    GRIEVANCES    OF   THE    CHURCH.  101 

castles,  and  villas,  in  their  respective  dioceses  ;  and  if  within  twenty 
days  he  should  not  be  thus  induced  to  revoke  the  attachment,  let  all 
the  bishops  place  their  whole  dioceses  under  an  interdict." 

Sometimes  princes  or  other  Christians  grant  certain  privileges  or 
possessions  to  the  church  by  charters,  in  which  are  contained  the 
following  clause ;  "  Omnia  quse  ad  me  vel  ad  haeredes  meos  de  tali 
feodo  vel  possessione  pertinent,  tali  eidem  ecclesise,  &c.  sine  aliquo 
retinemento,  do,  concedo,  et  prsesenti  charta  confirmo."  Now  tem- 
poral lawyers  say  that  such  a  charter  is  null  and  void,  because  the 
property  granted  is  not  expressly  named  in  the  same.^ 

WiLK.  i.  p.  747. — Constitutions  of  archbishop  Boniface  at  Lambeth. 

A.D.  1261. 

Let  not  prelates,  when  they  are  summoned  before  a  temporal 
tribunal  to  make  answer  concerning  things  which  relate  to  their 
spiritual  jurisdiction,  attend  on  any  account,  for  laymen  have  no 
authority  to  judge  the  Lord's  anointed  {Christos  Domini).  That 
some  deference  however  may  be  paid  to  the  royal  authority,  let  the 
greater  prelates  go  to  the  king,  or  write  to  him,  to  the  effect  that 
they  cannot  obey  commands  of  this  nature  without  endangering  their 
order And  let  the  bishop  who  is  immediately  concerned,  re- 
peatedly admonish  the  king  to  have  regard  to  his  soul's  health,  and 
to  desist  from  such  commands. 

Item.  If,  when  a  man  has  proved  his  right  of  patronage  against 
another  in  the  king's  court,  the  king  should  write  to  the  diocesan  to 
admit  his  presentee,  if  the  benefice  should  be  then  vacant,  let  him 
admit  the  patron's  presentee  without  difficulty ;  but  if  not,  let  him 
write  to  the  king  to  intimate  that  he  cannot  fulfil  his  commands,  as 
the  benefice  is  not  vacant.  The  patron  may  however,  if  he  will, 
present  anew  the  present  incumbent,  that  so  the  right  of  the  recover- 
ing patron  may  be  evident  for  the  future. 

That  bishops  in  their  synods,  archdeacons  and  deans  in  their 
chapters,  and  rectors,  vicars,  and  chaplains  in  their  churches,  thrice 
a  year  proclaim  to  all  those  whose  wish  to  enjoy  the  clerical  privilege, 
that  they  have  a  decent  tonsure  and  a  shaven  crown,  especially  be- 
fore their  ordinaries ;  nor  let  them  be  ashamed  to  bear  the  marks  of 
Him  who  deigned  to  wear  a  crown  of  thorns  for  their  sakes. 

That  every  bishop  have  in  his  diocese  one  or  two  prisons,  that 
provision  may  be  made  for  the  secure  custody  of  clerks  convicted  of 
crimes.  And  if  a  clerk  be  so  wicked  and  incorrigible,  that  if  a  lay- 
man he  would,  according  to  the  temporal  laws,  have  suffered  capital 
punishment,  let  him  be  condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment. 

Ibid.  p.  756.  Adjustment  of  the  difference  between  the  archbishop 
of  Canterbury  and  the  dean  and  chapter  of  Lincoln,  concerning  the 
power  of  the  primate  to  appoint  an  official  who  was  to  superintend 
the  diocese  during  the  vacancy  of  the  see,  a.d.  1261. 

Ibid.  p.  759.   A  bull  of  Pope  Urban  IV.  to  Boniface,  archbishop 
c  Ex.  Annal.  Burton. 


102     LIVINGS  'in  commendam* — taxation  of  the  clergy. 

of  Canterbury,  a.d.  1262,  to  the  effect  that  "  the  fourth  part  of  the 
oblations  offered  at  the  shrine  of  St.  Thomas  (a  Becket)  the  martyr, 
should  be  assigned  to  the  monks  ;  another  fourth  to  the  building  of 
the  church  ;  another  to  the  poor  ;  and  the  remainder  to  be  disposed 
of  at  the  discretion  of  the  archbishop." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  759.  A  bull  of  Pope  Urban,  annulling  the  constitution 
made  by  archbishop  Boniface  without  the  king's  permission,  a.d.  1263. 

Ibid.  p.  760.  Another  bull  of  the  same  Pope  in  the  same  year, 
condemning  Boniface's  constitutions,  and  pronouncing  any  sentence 
of  interdict  or  excommunication  made  in  consequence  thereof  to  be 
null  and  void. 

Concilia  Magn^  Britannle,  &e.  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  II. 
WiLK.  ii.  3. — Legatine  Constitutions  of  cardinal  Othohon,  a.d.  1268. 

Cap.  III.  If  any  bishop  shall  neglect  to  consecrate  a  church,  let 
him  know  that  he  is  suspended  from  the  use  of  his  dalmatic,  tunic, 
and  sandals. 

Cap.  IV.  Since  the  use  of  arms  is  altogether  forbidden  to  the 
clergy,  we,  being  inflamed  with  a  zeal  for  the  honour  of  the  church, 
utterly  abominate  the  enormous  excesses  of  those  who,  forgetting 
God  and  their  own  reputation,  presume  to  bear  arms,  and,  associ- 
ating themselves  with  thieves  and  plunderers  and  other  malefactors, 
participate  in  their  robberies  and  thefts,  not  only  where  the  goods  of 
private  persons  are  concerned,  but  even  such  as  belong  to  churches, 
or  which  have  been  deposited  in  churches  or  cemeteries  (for  safety). 

Cap.  XXII.  We  strictly  forbid  all  bishops  to  confer,  by  the  right 
of  appropriation,  a  church  subject  to  them  upon  another  bishop  or 
a  monastery ;  unless  he  upon  whom  it  is  conferred  should  be  so 
miserably  poor  that  such  an  appropriation  may  be  deemed  consistent 
with  piety.  Moreover  we  decree  that  all  the  religious,  whether  ex- 
empt or  otherwise,  whether  they  belong  to  the  Cistertian  or  to  any 
other  order,  who  have  churches  for  their  own  use,  that  if  vicars  have 
not  been  appointed  to  them  already,  they  within  six  months  present 
vicars  to  the  diocesans  to  be  instituted  by  them,  to  whom  they  must 
assign  a  sufiicient  portion,  according  to  the  value  of  the  churches,  or 
otherwise  the  diocesans  shall  take  care  to  do  so. 

Note.   The  beginning  of  the  chapter  shows  that  even  at  this  time 
bishops  sometimes  held  livings  in  commendam. 

Ibid.  p.  19.  Council  of  the  bishops  and  clergy  of  the  province  of 
Canterbury,  in  which  they  drew  up  a  list  of  Gravamina,  A.  D.  1269. 

The  church  of  England  hath  been  aggrieved  in  past  times  by  sub- 
sidies granted  by  the  clergy  to  the  king  before  the  time  of  the  war  : 
viz.  a  fortieth,  or  a  thirtieth,  or  a  twentieth,  or  a  fifteenth,  or  a  tenth 
of  their  revenues.  Secondly,  by  depredations  made  during  the  war; 
thirdly,  by  our  lord  the  legate  when  he  was  latejy  in  England  ;  and 
fourthly,  by  the  intolerable  grant  of  a  tenth  for  three  years,  made  to 
our  lord  the  king. 


TAXATION  OP  THE  CLERGY — A  SERMON  FOUR  TIMES  A  TEAR.  103 

The  archbishops,  bishops,  &c.,  are  aggrieved  by  having  their 
manors  and  other  property  taxed  by  laymen,  contrary  to  the  canon 
law.  For  it  is  clear,  either  that  their  manors  are  unjustly  taxed,  or 
that  undue  tenths  are  exacted  from  them:  for  our  lord  the  Pope 
granted  only  a  tenth  of  the  ecclesiastical  revenues,  and  not  of  their 
temporal  baronies  :  yet  they  are  compelled  to  pay  the  king  a  tenth 
of  various  descriptions  of  property,  for  which  neither  the  king  nor 
his  nobles  usually  pay  tithes  to  God. 

The  rectors  and  vicars  of  churches  are  intolerably  aggrieved :  for 
their  churches,  which  were  taxed  to  the  amount  of  ten  marks,  (by 
way  of  tenths),  are  now  taxed  to  the  amount  of  twenty-six  marks... 

and  if,  from  poverty,  they  had  not  the  money  ready  on  the  first 

day  of  payment,  the  said  tax-gatherers  extorted  not  only  fourpence 
for  every  mark  granted  to  the  king  by  way  of  tenths,  but  also  for 
every  mark  belonging  to  those  rectors  according  to  the  last  taxation. 

By  the  aforesaid  extortions  and  grievances,  there  are  some  who 
have  scarcely,  and  others  who  have  not,  wherewithal  to  supply 
themselves  with  the  necessaries  of  life ;  and  therefore  we  cannot 
consent  to  the  subsidy  which  is  demanded  from  us. 

The  document  concludes  with  an  appeal  to  the  Pope  and  to  the 
archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  24,  A  bull  of  Pope  Gregory  X.  authorising  the  king 
to  compel  the  bishops  and  clergy  to  pay  tenths,  a.d.  1272. 

Ibid.  p.  33. — Constitutions  of  John  Peckham,  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bti/ry,  a.d.  1279,  (at  Reading). 

"We  decree,  that  all  benefices  with  cure  of  souls  which  clerks 
obtain  without  dispensation  from  the  Pope  to  hold  such  pluralities, 
become  vacant  ipso  jure  by  the  reception  of  the  last  benefice  ,which 
they  took." 

Ibid.  p.  43.  A  letter  from  William  Wickwane,  archbishop  of 
York,  to  the  Pope,  complaining  that  as  he  was  travelling  in  the 
province  of  Canterbury,  a.d.  1280,  having  his  cross  borne  before 
him  according  to  ancient  usage,  "  Adam  de  Hales,  an  officer  of  my 
lord  of  Canterbury,  rushed  like  a  madman  upon  my  attendants,  and 
scandalously  broke  my  cross  in  pieces :  but,  thanks  be  to  God, 
I  soon  caused  another  to  be  raised  and  carried  (before  me).  More- 
over (most  holy  father),  when  I  am  journeying  through  the  province 
of  Canterbury  on  business  relating  to  my  own  see,  my  lord  of 
Canterbury  forbids  food  or  lodging  to  be  supplied  to  myself  or  my 
attendants  on  pain  of  excommunication,  exactly  as  if  we  were 
heretics,  and  places  the  whole  district  where  I  make  any  sojourn 
under  an  ecclesiastical  interdict." 

Ibid.  p.  54. — Constitutions  of  archbishop  Peckham,  at  Lambeth, 
A.D.  1281. 

"  We  decree,  that  every  priest  who  presides  over  the  people  shall 
four  times  a  year  publicly  expound  to  the  people  in  the  vulgar 
tongue  ;    without  any  fantastical  subtlety,  the  14  Articles  of  the 


104    NOX-RESIDEN'TS    BOUND    TO    HOSPITALITY COMPLAINTS,    ETC. 

faith;"  the  10  commandments  of  the  decalogue;''  the  2  precepts 
of  the  gospel ;  <^  the  7  works  of  mercy ;  ^  the  7  mortal  sins  :  *  the  7 
principal  virtues  ;'  and  the  7  sacraments  of  grace,  ^" 

Is^ote.    *As  they  are  contained  in  the  three  creeds.      ''The  second 

commandment  is  omitted  altogether,  and  the  10th  divided  into  two. 

•^viz.  The  love  of  God  and  of  our  neighbour.   "^  viz.  To  feed  the  hungry; 

to  give  drink  to  the  thirsty ;  to  receive  the  stranger ;  to  clothe  the 

naked ;  to  visit  the  sick ;  to  comfort  the  prisoner ;  and  to  bury  the  dead. 

eviz.  Pride,  envy,  anger,  hatred,  lukewarmness,  avarice,  and  luxury. 

fviz.  Faith,  hope,  charity,  prudence,  temperance,  justice,  and  fortitude. 

sviz.  Baptism,  confirmation,  penance,  the  eucharist,  extreme  unction^ 

matrimony,  and  orders. 

That  those  rectors  who  do  not  corporally  reside  upon  their  livings, 
and  have  not  vicars,  shall  by  their  stewards  exercise  hospitality,  so 
far  at  least  as  to  relieve  the  extreme  necessities  of  their  poor  parish- 
ioners ;  and  that  they  who  travel  there  and  preach  the  word  of  God 
may  receive  necessary  food. 

WiLK.  ii,  p.  66.  A.D.  1281.  Agreement  between  the  archbishop  of 
Canterbury  and  the  dean  and  chapter  of  Sarum,  respecting  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  suffragan  bishop  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  diocese 
during  the  insanity  or  superannuation  of  any  bishop  of  Sarum.  The 
dean  and  chapter  were  to  elect  two  or  three  proper  persons  from  their 
own  body,  and  the  primate  was  to  appoint  one  of  them  to  act  as  co- 
adjutor bishop.  And  if  they  should  neglect  to  do  so  within  two 
months,  the  i^rimate  might  appoint  any  member  of  the  cathedral  of 
Sarum  to  act  as  coadjutor. 

Ibid.  p.  75. — Complaints  of  the  bishops  against  archbishop  Peckham, 

A.  D.  1282. 

I.  Imprimis.  The  said  lord  archbishop,  when  he  hath  visited  the  dio- 
cese of  any  of  his  suffragans,  hath  instituted  or  deprived  the  prelates 
of  that  diocese,  and  heard  causes  belonging  to  its  jurisdiction  relating 
to  crimes  which  were  not  notorious. 

II.  Item,  That  causes  which  have  been  begun  but  not  completed 
(in  the  dioceses  of  his  suffragans)  daring  his  visitation,  he  takes  with 
him  to  any  part  of  his  province  where  he  may  happen  to  be  (and 
decides  them  there). 

III.  Item.  That  the  said  archbishop,  after  he  has  concluded  his  visi- 
tation of  a  diocese,  and  passed  into  another,  deputes  certain  clerks  de 
latere  sua  to  exercise  functions  which  properly  belong  to  the  diocesan. 

X.  This  relates  to  appeals  made  to  the  archbishop  from  sentences 
of  sequestration,  which  were  often  in  consequence  set  aside. 

At  length  they  compromised  the  matter.  See  pages  77  and  78  of 
the  same  volume. 

Ibid.  p.  100.  A  constitution  of  archbishop  Peckham,  denouncing 
excomnuxnication  against  those  who  should  obtain  letters  prohibitory 
from  the  king  to  prevent  their  causes  from  being  tried  in  a  spiritual 
court.     A.D,  1283. 

Ibid.  p.  104.  In  a  letter  from  archbishop  Peckham  to  Anianus, 
bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  a.d.  1284,  he  says  :  "  We  decree,  that  for  the 


PROFLIGACY  AND  IGNORANCE  OF  THE  WELSH  CLERGY.   105 

future  the  clergy  of  your  diocese,  both  in  dress,  vestments  (omatu), 
and  manners,  shall  conform  to  the  customs  of  all  the  other  clergy  in 
the  world ;  so  that  there  be  (no  longer)  any  shameful  waste  of  time 
in  drinking  bouts  ;  no  long  hair,  small  tonsure,  or  ignorance  of  the 
learned  language  (i.  e.  Latin) ;  and  let  them  not  have  their  heads, 
legs,  or  feet  uncovered.  And  because  it  hath  been  of  old  notorious 
that  your  clergy  have  enormously  and  beyond  measure  been  polluted 
with  the  vice  of  incontinence,  we  strictly  charge  you,  by  virtue  of  your 
obedience,  that  you  hereafter  punish  all  beneficed  clerks  who  are 
guilty  of  ineontinency  according  to  the  statutes  of  the  lords  Otho  and 
Othobon,  legates  of  the  apostolic  see.  And  whereas  your  people 
stand  beyond  measure  in  need  of  salutary  instruction,  and  'as  with  the 
people  so  it  is  with  the  priest,'  (for  we  never  remember  to  have  seen 
such  illiterate  priests  and  clerks  anywhere),  we  have  heard  with 
great  sorrow  of  heart  that  the  friars,  preachers,  and  Franciscans,  who 
are  almost  the  only  persons  in  these  parts  that  understand  the  true 
doctrine,  are  not  invited  or  even  received  by  rectors  and  priests  when 
they  go  about  preaching  the  Word  of  God." 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  115,  &c.  Articles  of  complaint  brought  by  the  bishops 
against  king  Edward  I.,  a.d.  1285,  to  which  the  king's  answers  are 
appended. 

Art.  IV.  That  excommunicated  persons  shall  not  be  liberated  from 
prison  without  the  consent  of  the  bishop. — Besp.  Granted,  unless 
the  bishop  should  detain  them  unjustly. 

Art.  V.    That  clerks  who  are  imprisoned  shall  be  delivered  up  to 
their  prelates  when  they  demand  them. — Eesp.  Granted  conditionally. 
Art.  XI.    That  the  goods  of  clerks  who  are  arrested  shall  after 
their  purgation  be  delivered  up  to  the  church. — Resp.  Granted. 

Art.  XII.  That  the  statute  which  prevents  the  property  of  the 
church  from  being  increased  shall  be  restricted,  to  enable  the  clergy 
to  exercise  hospitality ;  and  also  that  chantries  may  be  founded,  and 
new  monasteries  built. — Resp.  The  king  will  give  his  licence  when- 
ever it  shall  seem  expedient. 

Note In  this  article  allusion  is  made  to  the  statute  "  de  Religiosis," 

or  the  7th  of  Edward  I.  Stat.  2,  which  provides  that  "  no  person,  religious 
or  other,  shall  buy  or  sell,  or  receive  under  pretence  of  gift,  any  lands 
or  tenements  in  mwtinain  without  the  king's  licence,  under  pain  of 
forfeiture."  The  expression  in  mortmain  implies  an  exemption  from 
those  military  services  which  a  feudal  lord  could  claim  from  his  vassal, 
in  virtue  of  his  tenure  ;  for  by  a  grant  of  land  to  a  religious  corporation, 
the  king  was  as  effectually  deprived  of  these  services  as  if  the  land  had 
been  placed  in  a  dead  hand  (in  mortua  manu).  The  statute,  then,  was 
intended  to  prevent  the  too  general  absorption  of  land  by  monasteries, 
&c.,  for,  not  being  liable  to  taxation,  or  subject  to  military  service,  they 
seriously  injured  the  country  by  their  monopoly.  In  Hichard  II.^s  time 
twenty-eight  thousand  feoda  militum  {more  than  half  the  landed 
property  in  the  kingdom)  were  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy  !  The  bishops 
were  not  at  all  satisfied  with  the  answers  of  the  king,  and  in  1285  pre- 
sented to  the  king  two  other  hsts  of  grievances,  published  by  Wilkins, 
pp.  117  and  119  of  this  vol. 


106        IGNORANCE   OF  THE   CLERGY — STIPENDS — PARDONERS. 

WiLK,  ii.  p.  137. — Synod  of  Exeter,  under  Peter  Quivil,  bishop  of 
Exeter,  a.d.  1287. 

Cap.  IX.  Let  priests  who  minister  in  chapels  (of  ease)  restore  all 
the  oblations  which  may  be  offered  in  them  whole  and  entire  to  the 
rector  of  the  mother  church. 

Cap.  XX.  That  the  several  archdeacons  make  diligent  inquiry 
what  rectors,  vicars,  or  priests,  are  enormously  illiterate,  and  give 
us  due  notice  of  the  same.  Let  them  also  frequently  examine  parish 
priests  whether  they  know  the  decalogue,  the  seven  mortal  sins,  the 
seven  sacraments,  and  whether  they  have  at  least  a  simple  knowledge 
of  the  articles  of  the  faith  as  they  are  contained  in  the  creeds. 

Note The  knowledge  of  many  priests  was,  before  the  Reformation, 

often  inferior  to  that  of  children  in  our  village  schools.  In  the  re- 
mainder of  the  chapter  the  bishop  makes  mention  of  a  certain  summary 
of  christian  doctrine,  explaining  the  nature  of  the  sacraments,  &c.,  which 
all  the  clergy  of  his  diocese  were  to  have  written  out  before  the  Mi- 
chaelmas next  ensuing. 

Cap.  xxviii.  That  in  every  church  of  the  annual  value  of  forty 
marks,  or  under,  each  chaplain  shall  have  an  annual  stipend  of  five 
marks ;  and  that  in  those  of  greater  value,  his  stipend  shall  be  regu- 
lated according  to  the  duty  required  (juxta  oneris  quantitatem). 
Moreover,  lest  parish  priests,  to  the  scandal  of  their  order,  should 
be  obliged  to  beg,  or  exercise  a  trade,  or  go  in  mean  attire,  we  de- 
cree that  they  shall  receive,  as  an  annual  stipend  from  the  rectors  of 
the  churches  in  which  they  serve,  sixty  shillings  sterling,  and  that 
auxiliary  priests  shall  not  receive  less  than  fifty  shillings. 

Cap.  xxxvi.  Since  the  cure  of  souls  is  the  art  of  arts,  we  decree 
that  no  priest  shall,  under  any  circumstances,  be  admitted  to  the  care 
of  a  parish  on  the  first  year  after  his  ordination. 

Cap.  XL VII.  The  errors  and  abuses  to  which  the  collectors  of  alms 
have  given  rise,  are  sufiieiently  known  to  the  world ;  for  they  are 
commonly  ignorant  men  of  vicious  lives,  yet  feigning  themselves  to 
be  learned  and  holy ;  with  a  presumptuous  audacity  they  usurp  the 
office  of  preaching,  whilst  they  are  totally  ignorant  of  the  Word  of 
God.  Amongst  other  errors  they  mendaciously  assert  that  they  have 
many  more  and  greater  indulgences  than  they  really  have  ;  that  thus 
they  may  induce  simple  persons  to  give  more  liberal  alms,  which 
they  afterwards  are  not  ashamed  publicly  to  squander  away  in 
drunkenness  and  luxury.  Wherefore  we  forbid  our  subjects  to 
admit  any  collector  of  alms  without  our  letters  {commendatory),  and 
even  then  let  him  not  be  permitted  to  preach,  but  let  the  parish 
chaplains  faithfully  expound  to  the  people  his  business,  and  the  in- 
dulgences, as  they  are  set  forth  in  the  papal  bulls.  And  let  them 
not  give  credit  to  forged  documents,  which  they  often  produce,  unless 
they  have  been  examined  by  us,  and  approved  by  the  impression  of 
our  seal ;  and  let  the  money  which  has  been  collected  be  preserved 
entire  tUl  the  next  chapter  of  the  district,  and  then  be  entrusted  to 
9,  faithful  messenger  by  the  ordinary  of  the  place. 


PREACHING    FRIARS — TAXATION — LIBERTIES    OF    THE    CHURCH.    107 

Cap.  Liii.  We  have  heard  that  in  some  places  a  very  bad  custom 
hath  arisen  :  viz.  that  certain  laymen  wUl  not  pay  their  tithes  entire, 
unless  a  feast  hath  been  first  prepared  by  the  rector  for  themselves 
or  their  representatives ;  or  unless  gloves  or  something  else  be  given 
to  their  servants  for  taking  care  of  the  tithes,  which  custom  we 
strictly  forbid,  on  pain  of  excommunication. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  172. — Constitutions  of  Gilbert,  hisliop  of  Chichester^ 
A.D.  1289. 

Cap.  XXXIX.  Whereas  we  have  been  informed  by  credible  wit- 
nesses, that  some  who  are  not  true  friars,  or  really  of  the  order  of 
the  apostles,  imitating  the  apostolic  habit  and  tonsure,  presumptu- 
ously exercise  the  office  of  preaching  and  hearing  confessions  in 
many  churches  of  our  diocese,  we  strictly  forbid  our  subjects  to 
receive  any  who  have  not  a  title  of  profession  from  the  apostolic  see. 

Ibid.  p.  179. — Constitutions  of  the  diocese  of  Sodor,  a.d.  1291. 

Cap.  xxxiv.  That  every  chaplain  shall  receive  the  chrism,  the 
holy  oil,  and  the  oil  for  the  sick,  once  a  year,  in  clean  vessels  well 
stopped,  and  that  he  pay  fourpence  for  each  of  them. 

Ibid.  p.  180.  a.d.  1291,  Pope  Nicholas  IV.  granted  to  the  king 
a  tenth  of  all  ecclesiastical  revenues  for  six  years,  with  a  view  to  the 
crusade. 

Ibid.  p.  184.  a.d.  1292.  The  archbishop  of  York  excommu- 
nicated the  bishop  of  Durham,  who  had  imprisoned  two  of  his 
apparitors ;  and  in  the  same  year  the  prior  of  Canterbury  wrote  to 
archbishop  Peckham,  then  on  his  death-bed,  to  request  that,  accord- 
ing to  ancient  custom,  his  body  might  be  buried  in  their  monastery. 

Ibid.  p.  214.  From  a  letter  of  archbishop  Winchelsey,  a.d. 
1295,  it  appears  that  the  Pope  had  granted  to  the  primate  a  power 
of  appointing  one  prebendary  in  every  cathedral  in  liis  province. 

Ibid,  p.  220.  Archbishop  Winchelsey 's  general  seutence  of 
excommunication  against  all  who  should  violate  the  liberties  of  the 
church,  A.D.  1296,  from  which  we  learn  that  Magna  Charta,  and 
Charta  de  Forestd,  were  read  publicly  to  the  people  in  every  cathe- 
dral twice  a  year.  It  is  also  clear  from  this  document,  that  at  this 
time  the  inferior  clergy  concurred  with  the  bishops  in  their  decisions  j 
and  indeed  it  is  almost  the  earliest  instance  on  record  in  which  they 
acted  as  members  of  the  convocation. 

Ibid.  p.  222.  A  constitution  of  Pope  Boniface  VIII.  strictly  for-? 
bidding  the  clergy  to  submit  to  any  taxation  of  their  ecclesiastical 
property,  or  to  grant  any  subsidies,  without  the  licence  of  the  Pope, 
A.D.  1296. 

Ibid.  p.  225.  In  the  synod  of  London,  a.d.  1297,  "several  of 
the  preaching  friars,  desirous  of  obtaining  the  royal  favour,  endea- 
voured to  prove  that  (notwithstanding  the  apostolic  prohibition)  in 
time  of  war,  the  clergy  might  lawfully  assist  the  king  with  their 
property,"     But  the  prelates  answered  the  king,  "  that  they  could 


108        DISPUTE   BETWEEN  THE  ARCHBISHOPS — DILAPIDATIONS. 

not  grant  any  subsidies  from  the  goods  of  holy  church,  to  obtain 
a  renewal  of  the  charters  without  the  leave  of  the  Pope,"  (ke  il  ne 
pwreint  rien  graunter  des  biens  de  Seinte  Eglise  pour  les  chartres 
renoueler  sauns  conge  le  pape)  :  a  reply  which  gave  rise  to  a  great 
misunderstanding  between  the  bishops  and  the  king ;  yet  the  arch- 
bishop in  this  year  granted  tenths  of  the  church  property  to  enable 
the  king  to  repulse  the  Scots.     Ibid.  p.  229. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  232.  The  archbishops  and  bishops  agreed  in  a.  d.  1297, 
that  all  the  clergy  in  their  several  dioceses  should  pay  a  halfpenny 
(obolum)  out  of  every  mark  of  their  revenues,  according  to  the  last 
valuation,  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  nuncios  sent  to  the  see  of 
Rome, 

Ibid.  p.  260.  The  bishops  and  clergy  of  the  province  of  Canter- 
bury granted  to  the  archbishop,  in  the  year  1300,  four-pence  out  of 
every  mark  of  their  ecclesiastical  revenues,  the  metropolitan  see 
being  at  that  time  much  involved  in  debt. 

Ibid.  p.  265.  A  letter  from  archbishop  Winchelsey  to  the  bishop  of 
Lincoln,  a.d.  1300,  commanding  him  to  prevent  the  archbishop  of 
York  from  having  his  cross  borne  before  him  during  his  progress 
through  that  diocese :  the  laity  were  not  to  kneel  before  him  for 
his  blessing ;  and  in  all  the  places  which  he  passed  through,  divine 
service  and  the  tolling  of  the  bells  were  immediately  to  cease.  The 
names  of  all  who  should  transgress  these  injunctions  were  to  be  sent 
to  the  primate,  that  he  might  proceed  against  them  by  ecclesiastical 
censure. 

Ibid.  p.  280.  Constitution  of  archbishop  Winchelsey,  in  the  council 
of  Merton,  a.d.  1305,  to  the  effect  that  priests  who  celebrated  in 
any  church,  should  take  an  oath  of  canonical  obedience  to  the  rector 
or  vicar  of  that  church  ;  and  also  swear  not  to  receive  any  oblations, 
trentals,  &c.,  or  to  hear  confessions  without  his  permission.  They 
were  not  to  begin  their  masses  till  the  gospel  at  high  mass  was 
ended,  and  they  were  to  be  present  in  the  chancel  at  matins, 
vespers,  &c.  in  surplices  purchased  at  their  own  cost.  These  sti- 
pendiary priests  are  moreover  strictly  enjoined  "  not  to  keep  taverns, 
shows,  brothels,  or  unlawful  games." 

Ibid.  p.  285.  In  the  council  of  liipon,  William,  archbishop  of 
York,  says :  "  Since,  therefore,  the  archbishop  of  York,  primate  of 
England,  hath  in  spirituals  no  superior  except  the  Pope,"  &c.  a.  d. 
1306.  In  the  same  council  it  was  decreed,  that  on  the  decease  of 
a  rector,  the  money  granted  by  way  of  dilapidations  should  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  third  party,  to  remedy  an  abuse  which  then 
prevailed :  the  money  thus  granted  being  often  misappropriated, 
and  the  dilapidations  being  rated  too  high. 

Ibid.  p.  286,  In  the  year  1306,  Robert  Winchelsey,  archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  was  suspended  by  the  Pope  from  his  office  and 
dignity. 

Ibid.  p.  287.  A  letter  from  the  prior  and  chapter  of  Canterbury 
in  the  same  year,  from  which  we  learn  that  all  the  suffragans  of  the 


VARIOUS  GRIEVANCES  REDRESSED.  109 

provance  of  Canterbury,  unless  by  special  favour,  were  consecrated 
in  Canterbury  cathedral. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  290.  A  letter  from  king  Edward  11.  to  Pope  Clement  V. 
A.D.  1307,  entreating  him  to  restore  archbishop  Winchelsey  to  his 
dignity,  by  removing  the  sentence  of  suspension ;  and  accordingly 
in  the  next  page  there  is  a  bull  restoring  to  him  the  administration 
of  the  see  both  in  spirituals  and  temporals. 

Ibid.  p.  317.  Gravamina  presented  by  the  clergy  to  the  parliament, 
A.D.  1309,  with  the  king's  replies  to  each  article,  which  were  in 
general  favourable  to  the  church. 

Item.  That  ecclesiastical  persons  are  compelled  to  make  answer 
in  the  king's  court  concerning  sentences  of  excommunication  which 
they  have  pronounced ;  and  also  that  ecclesiastical  judges  are  pre- 
vented, sometimes  by  briefs,  and  sometimes  by  verbal  proliibitions, 
from  trying  cases  relating  to  oblations,  mortuaries,  &c. 

The  king  replied,  that  in  cases  which  relate  to  tithes,  mortuaries, 
and  such  Uke,  the  royal  prohibition  shall  have  no  place.  Also  that 
when  a  prelate  enjoins  a  pecuniary  penance  to  any  man,  the  royal 
prohibition  hath  a  place,  but  not  if  the  guilty  party  voluntarily 
desires  to  commute  his  penance  for  money. 

Item.  Clerks  taken  up  on  suspicion  by  the  secular  power,  are  not 
immediately  delivered  to  their  ordinaries  when  they  require  them, 
but  are  long  detained  in  prison,  contrary  to  the  liberty  of  the  clergy. 

To  this  article  the  king  replies,  that  clerks  apprehended  on 
account  of  any  crime  whatsoever,  shall  be  delivered  up  when  their 
prelates  demand  them.  They  are  however,  on  pain  of  being  fined 
a  hundred  pounds  sterling,  to  present  them  before  the  secular 
tribunal  when  they  are  required  to  do  so,  that  they  may  be  con- 
victed or  acquitted  by  the  king's  jiistitiary  on  the  testimony  of 
laymen,  as  has  been  customary. 

Ibid.  p.  321. — Some  additional  Gravamina  proposed  at  the  same  time. 

Imprimis,  it  is  requested  that  our  lord  the  king  will  in  future 
abstain  from  demanding  corrodies,  pensions,  or  occasional  enter- 
tainment (perendinationibus),  from  religious  houses;  or  that  their 
carts  and  horses  should  be  sent  to  him. 

Item.  It  is  requested  that  respect  may  be  paid  to  the  letters  of 
bishops,  when,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  kingdom,  after  the 
forty  days  are  expired,  they  write  for  the  ca|)ture  of  excommuni- 
cated persons ;  so  that  the  writ  may  not  be  refused  them  upon  the 
mere  assertion  of  any  person,  to  the  effect  that  the  parties  were  not 
subjects  of  those  who  excommunicated  them. 

Item.  That  when  a  bishop  admits  not  ecclesiastical  persons  whom 
the  king  has  presented  to  benefices,  on  the  ground  of  want  of  learn- 
ing, &c.,  they  may  not  undergo  an  examination  by  laymen. 

Item.  That  cases  of  bastardy  or  bigamy,  which  belong  to  the 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  may  not  be  tried  by  lay  judges. 

Ibid.  p.  403.    From  a  letter  of  archbishop  Winchelsey,  a.d.  1310, 


110  EXTRAORDINARY  POWERS  GRANTED  TO  THE  ARCHBISHOP. 

we  learn  that  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  claimed  as  his  perquisite 
the  episcopal  ring  of  every  deceased  bishop. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  406.  A.D.  1310.  A  letter  from  archbishop  Winchelsey 
to  the  bishop  of  Ely,  to  promote  a  clerk  to  an  ecclesiastical  benefice 
in  the  diocese  of  Ely,  and  to  grant  him  a  suitable  pension  till  he 
should  provide  him  with  the  said  benefice.  The  primate  still  claims 
the  patronage  or  option,  as  it  is  called,  of  one  benefice  in  every 
diocese  in  his  province. 

Ibid.  p.  416. — Constitution  of  Richard  de  Kellow,  bishop  of 
Durham,  a.d.  1312. 

Cap.  II.  On  account  of  the  danger  of  mental  alienation  and  other 
impediments,  let  no  priest  celebrate  the  divine  oflSces  by  himself; 
but  let  all  the  priests  and  ministers  of  the  churches  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood assemble  and  celebrate  the  divine  offices  together,  with 
all  due  devotion  and  purity  of  heart. 

Ibid.  p.  422.  a.d.  1312.  Archbishop  Winchelsey,  being  very 
infirm,  appointed  the  bishop  of  Llandaff"  to  act  as  his  coadjutor,  with 
the  consent  of  the  prior  and  chapter  of  Canterbury. 

Ibid.  p.  434.  a.d.  1313.  A  bull  granted  by  the  Pope  to  arch- 
bishop Walter  Raynold,  enabling  him  to  dispense  with  the  illegiti- 
macy of  one  hundred  clerks  in  his  province,  who  on  that  account 
were  incapacitated  by  the  canon  law  from  holding  benefices.  In 
the  same  page  there  is  another  bull,  authorising  him  to  visit  the 
various  dioceses  in  his  province  triennially  by  proctors.  In  p.  435, 
there  are  two  bulls,  the  first  of  which  authorised  him,  for  the  space 
of  three  years,  to  reconcile  churches  which  had  been  polluted  by 
murder  or  fornication ;  and  the  other  permitting  him  to  grant  a 
hundred  days'  indulgence  to  all  who  should  be  present  when  he 
preached  or  celebrated  mass. 

Ibid.  p.  436.  A  i)apal  bull  granted  to  archbishop  Walter,  a.d. 
1313,  authorising  him  to  confer  benefices  upon  twelve  persons  under 
age,  provided  they  had  attained  the  age  of  sixteen  years. 

Ibid.  p.  497.  A  charter  granted  by  king  Edward  II.,  authorising 
bishops  and  other  ecclesiastical  persons  to  take  cognizance  of 
spiritual  offisnces,  without  interruption  from  the  secular  power, 
viz.  fornication,  adultery,  or  other  mortal  sins :  they  might  also  try 
causes  relating  to  the  enclosure  of  burial  grounds;  the  want  of 
decent  ornaments  in  a  church ;  tithes  and  oblations,  or  mortuaries. 
Also  causes  relating  to  ecclesiastical  pensions  are  to  be  tried  in  the 
ecclesiastical  court.  Also  all  causes  relating  to  the  laying  violent 
hands  on  clerks,  defamation  and  perjury,  or  breach  of  trust,  may  be 
tried  by  the  ecclesiastical  judge,  notwithstanding  the  royal  prohi- 
bition. A.D.  1319. 

Ibid.  p.  510.  Letters  from  the  prior  and  chapter  of  Christ's 
church,  Canterbury,  a.d.  1321,  guaranteeing  to  the  bishop  of 
Rochester  an  annual  rent  of  five  marks,  as  an  equivalent  for  the 
manor  of  Lambeth  {ob  excambium  manerii  de  Lambeth). 


GRIEVANCES,  COMPLAINTS,  AND  UNPOPULARITY  OP  THE  CLERGY.  Ill 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  514,  &c.  A  hvU  of  Pope  John  XXII.,  a.d.  1322, 
granting  to  the  king  tenths  of  all  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  in 
England  for  two  years :  upon  which  the  king  issued  a  summons  to 
the  clergy  of  both  provinces ;  but  they  objected,  that  "  the  church 
of  England  is  free,  and  hath  hitherto  enjoyed  such  liberty,  that  the 
clergy  neither  have  been,  nor  ought  to  be,  convened  by  the  autho- 
rity of  the  king."  They  also  complained,  that  "  the  burthen  imposed 
upon  us  by  our  said  lord  the  Pope  is  too  heavy  and  insupportable, 
both  on  account  of  the  failure  of  the  crop  in  the  present  and  former 
years,  and  the  dearness  of  provisions,  which,  it  is  to  be  feared,  will 
very  much  increase." 

Ibid.  p.  522.  A  brief  of  the  king  to  the  archbishop,  a.d.  1324, 
directing  the  clergy  to  supply  him  with  men  at  arms,  horses,  and 
armour,  in  proportion  to  their  revenues,  for  his  expedition  against 
the  Scots. 

Ibid.  p.  524.  A  letter  from  king  Edward  II.  to  the  Pope,  a.d. 
1325,  entreating  him  to  depose  the  archbishop  of  Dublin,  who  had 
treacherously  given  up  to  the  enemy  the  camp  and  city  "  de 
MegvUa"  and  to  appoint  another  in  his  place  ("  cfe  ipsius  ammotione 
a  dictis  regno  et  dorainio  et  alterius  subrogatione"). 

Ibid.  p.  526.  (From  Wharton's  Anglia  Sacra.)  a.d.  1325.  The 
archbishop  of  York  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  treasurer,  which 
Walter,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  resisted  as  much  as  he  could,  on 
the  plea  that  two  crosses  ought  not  to  be  borne  in  one  province. 
His  complaint,  however,  was  not  admitted,  and  he  excommunicated 
the  archbishop  of  York  for  carrying  his  cross  through  the  city  of 
London;  but  he,  notwithstanding,  publicly  celebrated  mass  at 
Westminster  for  the  soul  of  king  Edward,  though  without  his  pall. 
On  the  following  day  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  during  the  sit- 
ting of  the  parliament  in  the  green  chamber,  conversed  openly  with 
the  archbishop  of  York,  although  he  knew  that  he  was  excommuni- 
cated by  his  order ;  for  which  he  was  gently  reproved  by  the  bishop 
of  Rochester,  and  admonished  to  desist. 

Ibid.  p.  533.  (From  Wharton's  Anglia  Sacra.)  a.  d.  1326.  The 
archbishop  of  Canterbury  proposed  going  to  arrange  the  misunder- 
standing which  had  arisen  between  the  king  and  queen ;  but  "  the 
bishop  of  Rochester  dissuaded  him  from  going  beyond  the  Thames 
for  that  purpose,  giving  him  to  understand  that  the  hearts  of  all  the 
people  were  estranged  from  the  bishops,  and  that  they  were  univer- 
sally detested,  because  all  the  troubles  of  England  were  attributed 
to  the  sloth,  folly,  and  ignorance  of  the  bishops." 

Ibid.  p.  540. — A  letter  from  king  Edward  III.  to  Pope  John 
XXII.  A.D.  1327,  imploring  him  to  confirm  the  election  of  Simon 
de  Mepham  to  the  see  of  Canterbury,  in  which  he  says — "  Nor  let 
your  holy  fatherhood  suflfer  so  holy  and  pure  an  election  to  lose  its 
effect,  under  pretence  of  any  reservation,  &c.,  or  your  coftfirmation 
to  be  delayed  too  long,  to  the  detriment  of  the  see  of  Canterbury ; 
lest  (which  God  forbid!)    a  commotion  should  arise  among  the 


112  ENCROACHMENTS   OF   THE    SECULAR   POWER. 

people,  wlio  desire  to  liave  the  archbishop  elect  for  their  pastor  on 
account  of  the  purity  of  his  life,  and  thus  an  enormous  scandal 
should  be  produced,  if  not  a  grievous  schism."  Then  follow — a 
letter  from  the  king  to  each  of  the  cardinals,  to  use  his  influence  to 
obtain  a  confirmation  of  the  election ;  a  letter  from  the  dean  and 
chapter  of  Canterbury  to  the  Pope,  entreating  him  to  appoint  Simon 
de  Mepham  to  the  government  of  his  church  of  Canterbury ;  a 
letter  from  the  king,  requesting  the  Pope  to  use  all  expedition ; 
another  on  the  same  subject  to  the  cardinals  from  the  king ;  a  third 
letter  from  the  king  to  the  Pope  on  the  same  subject ;  a  letter  from 
queen  Isabella  to  the  Pope  on  the  same  subject ;  a  letter  from  the 
nobles  of  England  to  the  Pope,  entreating  him  to  hasten  the  con- 
firmation of  Simon  de  Mepham.  There  are  in  all  eight  letters 
on  the  subject,  for  both  the  king  and  the  clergy  were  afraid  that 
the  Pope  would  appoint  an  archbishop  by  the  odious  system  of 
provision. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  549. — Some  grievances  proposed  by  the  dergy  of  the  diocese 
of  Exeter,  in  the  synod  of  London,  A.  D.  1328. 

1.  That  servants  are  prevented  by  their  masters  from  making 
a  will. 

2.  That  secular  judges  usurp  a  jurisdiction  over  spiritual  causes. 

3.  Although  the  remedy  of  appeal  was  not  intended  for  the 
defence  of  iniquity,  some  of  our  incorrigible  subjects  (belonging  to 
the  said  diocese)  appeal  indifferently  to  the  court  of  Canterbury 
from  their  lawful  judges,  and  have  hitherto  too  readily  obtained 
prohibitions  from  the  presidents  of  the  said  court,  which  enable 
them  to  elude  ecclesiastical  correction ;  so  that  they  persist  in  their 
wickedness  and  rebellion  with  an  obstinately  hardened  heart. 

Ibid.  p.  556.  At  the  metropolitan  visitation  of  archbishop  Simon, 
in  the  diocese  of  Rochester,  a.  d.  1.329,  the  bishop  of  that  see  was 
accused  of  having  neglected  his  duty,  by  omitting  to  correct  the 
incontinence  of  his  clergy,  by  licensing  non-residence,  by  selling 
some  of  the  lands  belonging  to  the  see  to  his  brother  for  a  mere 
trifle,  by  not  visiting  or  confirming  in  his  diocese,  &c.  &c. ;  for 
which  he  was  obliged  to  make  answer  before  the  archbishop  who 
acquitted  him. 

Ibid.  p.  571.  A  letter  from  king  Edward  III.  to  the  bishop  of 
Worcester,  a.d.  1334.  "Since  you  are  bound,  by  virtue  of  your 
recent  creation,  to  provide  one  of  our  clerks,  whom  we  shall  nomi- 
nate, with  an  annual  pension,  till  you  can  present  him  to  an  ecclesi- 
astical benefice,  we  therefore  nominate  and  appoint  our  beloved 
clerk,  John  de  Crockford,"  &c.  And  accordingly  the  bishop  of 
Worcester  appointed  him  an  annual  pension  of  one  hundred  shil- 
lings, till  such  time  as  he  could  grant  him  preferment. 

Ibid.  p.  655.  Charter  of  Edward  111.  granting  to  the  church  of 
England  various  privileges  and  liberties,  a.d.  1340.  This  document 
is  in  the  Norman  French. 


EXTORTION'S   OF   VISITORS.  113 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  671,  &c.  A  letter  from  king  Edward  to  the  Pope  in  the 
same  year,  complaining  bitterly  of  the  conduct  of  archbishop  John 
Stratford,  and  requesting  that  he  might  be  deposed. 

Ibid.  p.  675,  &c.  and  681,  &c.  Constitutions  of  archbishop  John 
Stratford,  A.D.  1341,  for  the  regulation  of  his  court  at  Canterbury, 
with  respect  to  the  probate  of  Avills,  appeals,  complaints,  &c.  Those 
who  desire  information  upon  any  point  connected  with  the  ecclesi- 
astical courts,  may  consult  them  with  advantage. 

Ibid.  p.  696. — Constitutions  of  archbishop  Stratford,  a.  d.  1342. 

Cap.  II.  A  new  and  insatiable  covetousness  hath  introduced  a 
custom  of  charging  immoderately  for  letters  of  institution  to  those 
who  are  admitted  to  benefices,  and  letters  of  orders  to  those  who  are 
ordained ;  with  a  view  therefore  to  the  abolition  of  this  abuse,  we 
decree,  that  for  writing  letters  of  inquest,  institution,  collation,  &e., 
clerks  shall  not  upon  any  account  receive  more  than  twelve  pence ; 
and  because  ordinaries  are  bound  to  assign  a  competent  salary  to 
their  officei's,  we  decree  that  nothing  shall  be  exacted  from  the 
clergy  for  sealing  these  letters,  or  by  the  marshals  for  letting  them 
in,  or  by  the  bishop's  porters  or  barbers. 

Note.     The  barber  was  to  see  that  the  cut  of  the  clerk's  hair  was 

strictly  canonical,  before  he  was  admitted  into  the  bishop's  presence. 

Cap.  VII.  Whereas  archdeacons  and  other  superior  ordinarie' 
exact  at  their  visitations  excessive  and  unlawful  procurations,  and 
often  by  a  fraudulent  contrivance  come  on  the  night  before  the 
visitation  day,  and  lodge  in  the  houses  of  the  rectors  and  vicars,  to 
their  great  cost,  with  their  cumbersome  retinues  and  dogs  for  hunt- 
ing ;  and  on  the  morrow  when  the  visitation  is  ended,  extort  a 
whole  procuration  in  money,  as  if  they  had  not  received  any  in 
victuals;  we  therefore  strictly  forbid  anything  of  the  kind  to  be 
done  in  future. 

Cap.  X.  Against  a  practice  which  at  that  time  prevailed  among 
the  archdeacons  of  the  province,  who,  when  the  clergy  or  laity  had 
committed  adultery,  fornication,  &c.,  remitted  the  corporal  penance 
in  consideration  of  a  sum  of  money,  which  they  afterwards  applied 
to  their  own  use. 

Ibid.  p.  751.  A  hull  of  Pope  Clement  VI.  a.  d.  1349,  exempting 
the  bishop  of  Lincoln  during  his  lifetime  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  archbishop  of  Canterbury.  In  the  same  page  there  is  also  a 
bull  of  the  same  Pope,  granting  to  archbishop  Simon  Islip,  by 
apostolic  authority,  the  provision  of  twelve  benefices. 


114      CHANTRY  PRIESTS — COMPROMISE  BETWEEN  THE  ARCHBISHOPS. 


Concilia  Magnje  Britannia,  &c.  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  iii. 

WiLK.  iii.  1.  A  letter  from  archbishop  Islip,  A.  D.  1350,  complain- 
ing of  the  avarice  of  many  of  the  clergy,  who  engaged  themselves  to 
the  performance  of  annuals,  trentals,  &c.,  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
neglected  the  public  ministry  of  the  church  altogether ;  so  that 
many  parish  priests  having  died  of  the  plague,  a  great  number  of 
churches  and  chapels  were  entirely  destitute  of  officiating  ministers. 
The  object  of  this  letter  was  to  compel  chaplains  to  perform  the 
public  offices  of  the  church  at  a  moderate  stipend,  not  in  any  case 
exceeding  a  mark  over  and  above  the  sum  formerly  paid  to  the 
parish  priest. 

Ibid.  p.  23.  A  confirmation  by  king  Edward  III.  of  the  privi- 
leges formerly  granted  to  the  clergy,  especially  of  that  which  exemp- 
ted them  from  the  jurisdiction  of  any  lay  tribunal,  A.  D.  1352. 

Ibid.  p.  31.  Compromise  between  the  archbishops  of  Canterbury 
and  York,  A.  D.  1354,  confirmed  by  Pope  Innocent  VI.  The  arch- 
bishop of  York  might  have  his  cross  borne  before  him  throughout 
the  entire  province  of  Canterbury,  on  condition  of  his  sending, 
within  the  space  of  two  months  from  the  time  of  his  consecration,  to 
the  shrine  of  St.  Thomas  a  Becket,  a  golden  image  to  the  value  of 
forty  pounds,  representing  an  archbishop  bearuig  a  cross.  It  might 
be  sent  by  his  chancellor,  a  doctor  of  laws,  or  a  knight.  The  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  Avas  to  enjoy  the  same  privilege  in  the  pro- 
vince of  York  unconditionally. 

Ibid.  p.  38.  In  a  provincial  synod,  held  at  Canterbury,  A.  D.  1356, 
Sir  Walter  Manny,  &c.,  demanded  of  the  clergy  in  the  king's  name 
a  tenth  of  their  revenues  for  six  years,  to  which  request  they  refused 
to  comply  for  the  following  reasons : — 

Imprimis.  That  at  the  last  convocation  they  had  granted  to  the 
king  tenths  for  two  years,  on  condition  of  his  redressing  the  intoler- 
able grievances  of  the  church ;  but,  although  the  money  was  paid, 
no  remedy  was  afforded  them. 

Item.  That  they  would  soon  be  obliged  to  pay  a  procuration  to 
the  legates  of  the  apostolic  see. 

Item.  That  ecclesiastical  benefices  in  these  times  are  scarcely 
worth  half  what  they  used  to  be. 

Item.  That  the  interests  of  the  clergy  are  materially  aflected  by 
the  tax  upon  wool  {custuma  lanarum)  for  six  years,  granted  by  the 
laity  in  the  last  parliament. 

At  length,  however,  they  were  persuaded  to  grant  a  subsidy  of 
one  tenth  ;  half  to  be  paid  by  next  St.  Andrew's  day,  and  the  other 
half  when  their  grievances  were  redressed. 

Ibid.  p.  49.  Mandate  of  Ralph,  bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  against 
certain  persons  who  usurped  the  episcopal  office  in  his  diocese ;  con- 
ferring the  first  tonsure  and  minor  orders  ;  consecrating  chalices  and 
altar  cloths,  and  blessing  ecclesiastical  vestments,  a.  d.  1362. 


DUTY    OF    A   CHRISTIAN    PASTOR THE    PLAGUE.  115 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  52-58.  Constitutions  or  statutes  of  Canterbury  Hall, 
in  the  university  of  Oxford,  a.d.  1362.  As  they  did  not  exactly  fall 
within  my  plan,  I  have  merely  referred  to  them  for  the  benefit 
of  such  as  may  wish  to  make  themselves  acquainted  with  the  state 
of  college  discipline  in  the  14th  century. 

Ibid.  p.  59. — Synodal  constitutions  of  Simon  Langham,  bishop 
of  Ely,  A.  D.  1364. 

We  exhort  in  the  Lord  and  strictly  command  every  shepherd  of 
souls,  and  every  parish  priest,  to  know  the  decalogue,  i.  e.  the  Ten 
Commandments  of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  let  them  frequently  expound 
them  unto  their  people.  Let  him  know  also  wliat  are  the  seven 
mortal  sins,  and  at  least  have  a  simple  knowledge  of  the  seven 
sacraments,  and  of  the  Faith,  as  it  is  contained  in  the  creeds. 

Let  all  shepherds  of  souls  and  parish  priests,  when  they  have 
finished  the  divine  offices  in  the  church,  devote  themselves  with  all 
diligence  to  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the  holy  scriptures ;  that  by 
the  knowledge  of  scripture  they  may,  as  belongs  to  their  office,  be 
prepared  to  satisfy  every  man  demanding  a  reason  concerning  hope 
CM"  faith.  And  let  them  always  direct  their  attention  to  the  doctrines 
and  precepts  of  the  bible,  (like  the  staves  passing  through  the  rings 
of  the  ark,)  so  that  devotion  may  be  nourished  and  increased  by 
constant  study  as  its  daily  food. 

We  exhort  and  even  command  priests  and  beneficed  clerks  not  to 
pay  attention  to  actors,  mimics,  and  glee-men  {joculatoribus) ;  or  to 
play  at  dice  or  chess,  or  sit  by  those  who  do  so :  for  tliough  some 
may  consider  these  as  things  of  little  importance,  according  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  holy  fathers,  those  who  do  such  things  offer  sacrifices 
to  demons. 

Ibid.  p.  62.  Constitution  of  Pope  Urban  V.  against  pluralities  of 
benefices,  a.  d.  1365. 

Ibid.  p.  65.  A  bull  of  the  same  Pope,  a.  d.  1366,  revoking  and 
annulling  all  unions  or  incorporations  of  ecclesiastical  benefices  made 
by  the  papal  or  any  other  authority  whatsoever. 

Ibid.  p.  69. — Constitution  of  archbishop  Zouch,  a.  d.  1347,  re-enacted 
by  his  successor  in  the  see  of  York,  archbishop  Tlioresby,  a.  d. 
1367. 
We  strictly  forbid  all  rectors,  vicars,  &c.,  to  permit  any  one  to 
celebrate  anniversary  or  peculiar  masses  in  their  churches,  chapels, 
chantries,  &c.,  till  the  parish  churches  are  first  provided  with  paro- 
chial chaplains,  at  a  stipend  not  exceeding  six  marks  per  annum. 

Note.  For  priests  often  refused  to  serve  in  chiu-ches  or  chapels,  or  to 
attend  the  cure  of  souls,  that  they  might  live  in  a  more  leisurely  manner 
by  celebrating  masses  for  the  dead,  by  which  they  obtained  larger  sala- 
ries :  for,  according  to  Lindwood,  some  chantry  priests  had  ten  marks  a 
year  by  the  will  of  the  founder;  nay,  A.  D.  137 '>,  ten  marks  were  not 
thought  sufficient,  but  five  marks  and  a  half  were  added  to  them.  The 
plague  in  1348  had  raged  so  violently,  that  50,000  are  said  to  have  been 

12 


116      ABBOTS,  MONKS,  ETC.,  ORDERED  TO  TAKE  ARMS. 

buried  in  the  Carthusian  cemetery  at  London  alone,  and  as  the  ranks  of 

the  clergy  were  not  yet  recruited,  many  parish  churches  were  destitute  of 

priests  to  officiate  in  them/ 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  81.  From  a  letter  ofkhig  Edward  III.  a.d.  1368,  we 
learn  that  the  jurisdiction  of  all  the  dioceses  in  the  province  of 
Canterbury,  during  the  interval  between  the  death  of  a  bishop  and 
the  consecration  of  his  successor,  belonged  to  the  archbishop  of 
Canterbury. 

Ibid.  p.  91,  92,  a.d.  1372.  When  it  was  expected  that  the  French 
would  invade  England  with  a  great  fleet,  king  Edward  III.  issued 
a  royal  mandate,  to  the  effect  that  "  all  abbots,  priors,  monks,  and 
other  ecclesiastical  persons  of  every  denomination,  who  are  between 
the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty  years,  shall  be  armed  and  embodied 
{arrajari)  to  repel  our  said  enemies,  without  any  excuse." 

Ibid.  p.  104.  Petitions  of  the  prelates  and  clergy  of  the  province 
of  Canterbury  to  the  king,  a.  d.  1376,  with  replies  to  each  article, 
made  by  the  king's  council  assembled  in  parliament.  The  petitioners 
request  that  the  royal  prohibition  may  not  be  issued  when  they  de- 
mand tithes  of  wood  under  the  name  of  Silva  Ccedua ;  or  in  cases 
where  pensions  are  due  from  one  church  to  another  :  also  that 
clerks  might  not  be  arrested  during  the  celebration  of  divine  service. 
The  sixth  article  relates  to  the  case  of  the  bishop  of  Winchester, 
whose  temporalities  had  been  taken  into  the  king's  hands  without 
sufficient  cause.  The  answers  are  very  vague  and  unsatisfactory, 
leaving  the  abuses  complained  of  nearly  as  they  found  them.  The 
whole  document  is  in  Norman  French. 

Ibid.  p.  114.  A  grant  of  king  Edward  III.  in  which  he  promises 
not  to  present  to  any  ecclesiastical  benefices  or  dignities  which 
should  become  vacant,  before  the  loth  day  of  February  in  the  year 
of  jubilee,  A.  D.  1377 :  and  if  I  understand  the  document  aright,  it 
amounts  to  a  perpetual  resignation  of  the  patronage  of  those  bene- 
fices. In  the  same  page  and  year  there  is  an  account  of  a  provincial 
council  held  at  York ;  from  which  we  learn  incidentally,  that  the 
bishop  of  Durham  had  been  exempted  from  the  jurisdiction  and 
metropolitan  authority  of  the  archbishop  of  York  by  the  special 
privilege  of  the  Pope. 

Ibid.  p.  120.  Archbishop  Sudbury's  constitution  against  non- 
resident rectors,  a.  d.  1377,  to  the  effect  that  they  should  return  to 
theii-  parishes  within  a  month  from  the  date  of  his  constitution,  on 
pain  of  having  their  benefices  sequestered ;  many  of  them  having 
by  their  immoral  lives  given  great  cause  of  scandal. 

Ibid.  p.  134.  Confirmation  of  the  privileges,  &c.,  of  the  minor 
canons  of  St.  Paul's  cathedral,  London,  by  Pope  Urban  VI.  and  the 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a.  d.  1378.  In  the  choir  and  in  the 
church  they  were  to  be  vested  in  white  surplices  and  ahmices  of  black 
stuff  (calabro),  lined  with  the  skins  of  various  small  animals  (de  variis 
minutis) ;  and  they  were  also  to  have  black  open  copes  and  large  black 

f  Johnson. 


STIPENDS   OF   CHAPLAINS   AND   CHANTRY   PRIESTS.  117 

hoods  {capudis),  turned  up  {furratis)  with  fine  linen  or  silk.  There  was 
to  be  a  common  table  provided  for  diem,  as  well  as  houses  near  to  the 
church.  They  were  also  to  receive  ^?;e  pence  a  week,  and  a  penny 
on  every  double  feast ;  seven  white  loaves  every  week,  each  of  the 
weight  of  eight  marks  sterling,  and  three  black  (brown?)  loaves, 
called  trencher-bread,  or  in  lieu  of  them,  one  penny  sterling ;  also 
twelve  bolls  (bollas)  of  the  best  ale,  or  twelve  pence  sterling,  and 
three  bolls  of  weaker  ale  called  "wilk^n,"  or  one  penny  sterling. 
Two  of  the  minor  canons  were  called  cardinals,  and  the  office  was 
perpetual :  these  were  to  receive  the  proceeds  arising  from  private 
funerals  and  anniversaries,  to  celebrate  capitular  masses,  and  to 
administer  the  sacraments  of  the  church  to  the  sick.  Their  allow- 
ance was  to  be  double  that  of  the  other  minor  canons  in  every 
respect. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  135.  Constitution  of  archbishop  Sudbury,  a.d.  1378,  to 
the  effect  that  all  priests  celebrating  annals  in  the  province  of  Can- 
terbury, should  be  content  with  seven  marks,  or  with  diet  and  three 
marks;  and  that  priests  who  had  the  cure  of  souls  should  receive 
eiffht  marks,  or  diet  and  four  marks,  so  as  to  receive  no  more  upon 
compact  in  any  wise.  Archbishop  Islip  had  fixed  the  stipend  of 
chantry  priests  at  Jive  marks,  and  of  parish  priests  at  six  marks  per 
annum. 

Ibid.  p.  188.  A  letter  from  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  the 
Pope,  A.  d.  1384,  complaining  that  several  of  his  suffragans,  and 
especially  the  bishop  of  Exeter,  in  violation  of  the  oath  of  canonical 
obedience,  had  resisted  and  oppugned  the  right  of  their  metropolitan 
to  visit  their  respective  dioceses.  The  letter  was  accompanied  by 
a  comfortable  assortment  of  florens,  for  the  archbishop  was  too 
experienced  a  churchman  to  be  ignorant  of  the  character  of  the 
apostolic  see — 

"  Templa,  sacerdotes,  altaria,  sacra,  coronse, 
Ignis,  thura,  preces,  coelutn  est  veaale  Deusque." 

The  bishop  of  Exeter,  however,  submitted.    (See  pp.  189,  190.) 

Ibid.  p.  198.  Bull  of  Pope  Urban  VI.,  a.  d.  1386,  permitting 
the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  present  to  such  benefices  as  had 
lapsed  to  the  apostolic  see  by  reason  of  their  long  vacancy. 

Ibid.  p.  199.  Mandate  of  the  bishop  of  Exeter,  a.d.  1386,  to 
the  effect  that  chantry  priests  should  not  presume  to  celebrate  mass 
on  Sundays  and  holidays,  until  the  public  service  of  the  church  had 
been  concluded. 

Ibid.  p.  215.  Constitution  of  archbishop  Courtney,  a.d.  1391, 
against  choppe  churches,  i.e.  clergymen  wlio  made  a  regular  traffic 
of  preferment ;  sometimes  defrauding  by  an  unequal  change  of 
benefices,  or  causing  persons  to  be  instituted  to  livings  after  first 
making  them  swear  that  tliey  would  claim  no  profits  from  them. 
By  these  means  a  man  who  was  insufficient  for  even  one  cure, 
obtained  by  a  trick  the  profits  of  many  benefices,  and  spent  his 
time  in  London,  living  luxuriously,   and  wholly  neglecting   that 


118  FRAUDULENT   PKACTICES   IN   THE   CHUllCH. 

hospitality  which  the  clergy  ought  to  keep  up  in  their  parishes.  The 
archbishop  therefore  enjoined  his  suffragans  to  take  an  oath  of  all 
persons  presented  to  benefices,  that  they  had  made  no  pecu- 
niary promises  either  directly  or  indirectly,  either  by  themselves 
or  othei-s ;  and  in  cases  of  exchange,  no  proxies,  although  signed 
by  notaries,  were  to  be  allowed  without  the  presence  of  the  prin- 
cipals. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  241. — Gravamina  presented  by  the  inferior  clergy  to  the 
bishops  in  the  convocation,  a.d.  1399. 

17.  That  the  bishops  may  not  licence  unbeneficed  chaplains  to 
preach. 

25.  That  in  many  places  rectors  are  not  permitted  to  carry  away 
the  tithes  due  to  them,  unless  they  feast  the  bailiffs,  carter,  &c.,  and 
other  parishioners  of  those  places,  on  all  Sundays  and  festivals 
throughout  the  entire  of  the  autumn. 

29.  It  is  said  that  the  laity,  who  have  no  lawful  authority  over 
the  church,  intend  in  the  present  parliament  (through  the  instiga- 
tion of  the  Lollards)  to  enact  laws  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the 
clergy. 

42,  43.    Complain  of  royal  prohibitions  in  causes  purely  spiritual. 

44.  That  Magna  Charta,  the  statute  "  circumspecte  agatis,"  and 
the  "  articuli  cleri"  (enacted  in  the  reign  of  Edward  II.),  should  be 
ratified  and  confirmed  by  the  king. 

53.  That  money  left  for  chantries,  ligJits,  or  other  pious  uses,  was 
often  misappropriated. 

55.    That  the  clergy  were  often  sued  in  secular  courts,  or  hanged. 

58.  That  the  clergy  are  often  arrested  and  hurried  away  to  prison, 
even  during  the  celebration  of  divine  service. 

The  clergy  also  complained  in  this  synod  that  they  were  grievously 
oppressed  both  by  the  king's  servants  and  the  Pope. 

Ibid.  p.  246.  From  a  bull  of  Pope  Boniface  IX.  we  learn,  that 
when  archbishop  Arundel  was  m  disgrace,  he  was  translated  by  the 
Pope  fi-om  Canterbury  to  St.  Andrew's;  but  in  1399,  the  Pope 
revoked  the  bull  of  translation,  on  the  ground  that  Arundel  had  not 
consented  to  the  measure :  a  very  absurd  reason,  if  we  consider  the 
comparative  value  and  importance  of  the  two  sees.  This  archbishop 
having  become  obnoxious  to  king  Richard  II.,  the  Pope  translated 
him  to  "  the  rocks  of  Scotland"  as  to  a  sort  of  penal  settlement :  but 
North  Britons  would  not  receive  him,  so  that  he  exchanged  the  see 
of  Canterbury  for  a  mei'ely  titular  dignity,  without  emolument  and 
Avithout  jurisdiction !  On  the  accession  of  Henry  IV.  he  was  taken 
again  into  favour. 

Ibid.  p.  258. — Degradation  of  William  Sawtre,  a  Lollard, 
A.D.  1400. 

On  the  23rd  or  24th  days  of  February,  the  lord  archbishop,  solemnly 
vested  in  his  pontifical  robes,  and  sitting  on  the  episcoj)al  throne,  at 


FORM  OP  DEGRADATION  FROM  HOLY  ORDERS.       119 

St.  Paul's  cathedral,  London,  assisted  by  the  venerable  fathers,  the 
bishops  of  London,  Lincoln,  Hereford,  Exeter,  St.  David's,  and 
Rochester,  caused  the  said  William  Sawtre,  dressed  in  sacerdotal 
vestments,  to  be  presented  before  him ;  and  the  process  against  him 
having  been  first  read  to  the  people  in  English,  as  he  still  continued 
impenitent,  the  archbishop  proceeded  to  degrade  and  depose  him  as 
follows : 

In  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  we,  Thomas, 
&c.,  degrade  and  depose  you  from  the  order  of  priests,  and  in  token 
thereof  we  take  from  you  the  paten  and  the  chalice,  and  deprive 
you  of  all  power  of  celebrating  mass  :  we  also  strip  you  of  the 
chasuble,  take  from  you  the  sacerdotal  vestment,  and  deprive  you 
altogether  of  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood. 

Thee,  also,  the  said  William,  dressed  in  the  habit  of  a  deacon,  and 
having  the  book  of  the  gospels  in  thy  hands,  do  we  degrade  and 
depose  from  the  order  of  deacons  as  a  condemned  and  relapsed 
heretic :  and  in  token  thereof  we  take  from  thee  the  book  of  the 
gospels,  and  the  stole,  and  deprive  thee  of  the  power  of  reading  the 
gospels. 

We  degrade  thee  from  the  order  of  subdeacons,  and  in  token 
thereof  take  from  thee  the  albe  and  maniple. 

We  degrade  thee  from  the  order  of  an  acolyih,  taking  from  thee 
in  token  thereof  this  small  pitcher  and  taper  staff  (ceroferarium). 

We  degrade  thee  from  the  order  of  an  exorcist,  and  take  from 
thee  in  token  thereof  the  hook  of  exorcisms. 

We  degrade  thee  from  the  order  of  readers,  and  take  from  thee 
in  token  thereof  the  book  of  divine  lessons. 

Thee  also,  the  said  William  Sawtre,  vested  in  a  surplice  as  an 
ostiary,  do  we  degrade  from  that  order,  taking  from  thee  the  surplice 
and  the  keys  of  the  church. 

FurtJiermore,  by  the  authority  of  the  omnipotent  God,  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  &c.,  we  degrade  and  depose  thee,  as  an 
obstinate  and  incorrigible  heretic,  from  all  orders,  benefices,  pri- 
vileges, from  the  clerical  habit,  and  the  ecclesiastical  judicature, — the 
secular  court  of  the  constable  and  marshal  of  England  being  here 
present ;  and  as  a  sign  of  actual  degradation,  we  have  caused  the 
crown  and  clerical  tonsure  to  be  shaved  off  in  our  presence,  and  to  be 
entirely  obliterated,  like  a  layman ;  we  have  also  caused  a  woollen  cap 
(eapitiwn  stroffulatum)  to  be  put  upon  thy  head  as  a  secular  layman. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  267,  a.d.  1402.  Archbishop  Arundel  being  in  Win- 
chester cathedral,  where  he  celebrated  a  pontifical  mass,  claimed 
and  exercised  the  ancient  right  of  a  metropolitan  to  receive  oblations 
in  the  churches  of  his  suffragans. 

Ibid.  p.  271,  272.  a.d.  1402.  Petition  to  the  archbishop,  bishops, 
and  clergy,  to  king  Henry  IV.,  who  in  consequence  confirmed  the 
act  called  "  Benefit  of  Clergy." « 

K  3  Edward,  i.  c.  2. 


120  ABUSES   WHICH   CALLED   FOR   REFORMATION. 

WiLK.  iii.  p,  275.  Constitution  of  archbishop  Arundel,  a.d.  1403,  for 
the  sequestration  of  the  revenues  of  all  benefices  in  the  diocese  of 
Canterbury,  where  the  incumbents  were  non-resident. 

Ibid.  p.  276.  Mandate  of  the  same  archbishop  in  the  same  year, 
to  compel  incumbents  to  repair  their  parsonage-houses  and  chancels, 
which  were  in  many  instances  in  so  ruinous  a  state,  that  the  offices  of 
the  church  were  obliged  to  be  discontinued. 

Ibid.  p.  335. — Gravamina  presented  hy  the  clergy  to  the 
Convocation,  a.d.  1411. 

4.  That  the  vassals  of  temporal  lords  may  not  be  prevented  from 
making  their  wiUs. 

5.  That  priests  and  other  ecclesiastical  persons  accused  of  adul- 
tery or  fornication,  may  not  be  indicted  for  rape  before  the  king's 
justices. 

Ibid.  p.  361. — Articles  for  the  reformation  of  the  church  presented 
hy  the  university  of  Oxford  to  the  king,  a.d.  1414. 

Art.  IX.  Against  the  admission  of  unworthy  prelates  and  curate^ 
who  are  merely  blind  leaders  of  the  blind. 

Art.  X.    On  the  unworthiness  of  the  bishop's  officials. 

Art.  XI.  Against  the  practice  of  bishops  holding  livings  in  com- 
mendam. 

Art.  xn.  Against  the  nepotism  of  bishops,  who  appointed  their 
nephews  and  relations,  although  they  Avere  beardless  boys,  to  the 
cure  of  souls. 

Art.  XV.  Against  the  appointment  of  young  gentlemen  to  prebends 
and  chapels,  who  neither  recited  the  canonical  hours,  nor  distin- 
guished themselves  from  the  laity,  either  in  the  tonsure  or  in  dress. 

Art.  XVI.  XVII.    Against  non-residence  and  pluralities. 

Art.  XTiii.    Against  the  excessive  feasting  in  colleges. 

Art.  XIX.    Against  the  sale  of  benefices. 

Art.  XXIV.  Against  the  excessive  fees  exacted  by  ordinaries  for 
letters  of  orders  or  institution,  the  probates  of  wills,  &c. 

Art.  XXV.   That  their  visitations  are  a  great  burthen  to  the  clergy. 

Art.  XXXVI.  Since  a  large,  insolent,  and  illiterate  crowd  of  regu- 
lars and  seculars  daily  present  themselves  to  receive  holy  orders, 
let  it  be  decreed  that  all  of  them,  of  whatsoever  religion  or  condition 
they  may  be,  may  in  future  undergo  a  strict  examination  by  the 
ministers  of  the  ordaining  bishop  in  receiving  orders,  and  especially 
the  subdiaconate. 

Art.  XLV.   Against  the  costly  and  unclerical  apparel  of  the  clergy. 

Ibid.  p.  377.  In  the  convocation,  a.d.  1416,  November  9th,  a 
certain  priest,  who  called  himself  rector  of  Wortham,  in  the  diocese 
of  Norwich,  was  accused  of  many  crimes ;  viz.  of  theft,  rapine, 
adultery,  fornication,  and  other  errors  and  heresies;  and  it  was 
determined  to  proceed  against  him  by  way  of  inquisition.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  23rd  day  of  the  same  month,  master  John  Barton 


UNITEBSITT   DEGREES   THE   QUALIFICATION    OP   PREFERMENT.    121 

appeared  before  the  synod  and  purged  himself  by  an  oath,  swearing 
that  he  was  falsely  accused  of  heretical  pravity. 

Ibid.  p.  381.  Constitution  of  archbishop  Chicheley  in  favour  of  the 
universities,  a.d.  1417,  to  the  effect,  that  if  a  living  fell  vacant  of  the 
annual  value  of  sixty  marks,  or  upwards,  with  cure  of  souls,  or  of 
forty  marks,  or  upwards,  without  cure  of  souls,  the  patron  should  be 
obliged  to  present  it  to  some  doctor  in  one  of  the  faculties.  If  the 
benefice  should  be  worth  fifty  marks  with,  or  thirty  marks  without, 
cure  of  souls,  it  was  to  be  presented  to  a  licentiate  in  one  of  the 
faculties,  or  to  a  bachelor  in  theology ;  and  livings  of  the  value  of 
forty  marks  with,  or  twenty  marks  without,  cure  of  souls,  could  not 
be  held  by  any  who  were  not  masters  or  bachelors  of  arts. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  392. — Concordat  of  Pope  Martin  V.  to  the  English 
church,  A.D.  1419. 

Art.  m.  In  future  let  no  appropriations  of  parish  churches  be 
made  de  motu  proprio,  but  let  the  diocesan  first  examine  the  truth 
of  the  allegations  before  he  gives  his  consent. 

Art.  IV.  Let  all  unions,  consolidations,  &c.,  of  perpetual  vicarages 
in  parish  churches,  made  since  the  time  of  the  schism,  be  revoked, 
and  let  one  perpetual  vicar  be  appointed  in  every  church. 

Art.  VI.  Dispensations  for  pluralities  are  not  to  be  revoked, 
unless  they  are  very  scandalous ;  but  they  shall  not  be  granted  in 
future. 

Art.  VII.  Whereas  of  late  it  hath  happened  in  the  said  kingdom 
of  England,  that  those  who  have  obtained  benefices  with  cure  of 
souls,  have  frequently  received  dispensations  from  the  apostolic  see 
to  hold  those  benefices  for  three,  four,  six,  or  seven  years,  or  even 
for  ever,  without  taking  holy  orders,  contrary  to  the  common  law, 
and  to  the  grievous  scandal  of  the  church  ;  all  dispensations  of  this 
kind  we  utterly  revoke :  but  if  such  beneficed  persons  be  otherwise 
fit,  let  them  receive  holy  orders. 

Art.  VIII.  Whereas,  in  consequence  of  papal  dispensations  for 
non-residence,  or  to  enable  archdeacons  to  visit  by  proctors,  not 
only  the  care  of  souls  is  neglected,  but  the  episcopal  jurisdiction 
hath  fallen  into  contempt;  let  such  dispensations  be  altogether 
revoked,  unless  there  be  a  reasonable  cause. 

Ibid.  p.  399.  In  the  convocation,  May  27,  1421,  it  was  decreed 
that  bishops  or  archdeacons  should  not  receive  more  than  twelve 
shillings  as  a  fee  for  inducting  or  instituting  a  clerk ;  and  that  no 
further  sum  should  be  demanded  for  sealing  the  letters  certificatory. 
Also  that  in  the  collation  of  orders  no  fee  whatsoever  should  be 
received,  either  by  the  ordaining  bishop,  the  clerk  who  writes  the 
letters  of  orders,  the  bishop's  barber,  or  any  other  official;  but 
every  thing  was  to  be  done  gratuitously  to  the  glory  of  God. 

Ibid.  p.  429.  In  the  convocation,  a.  d.  1424,  on  a  subsidy  being 
demanded  from  the  clergy  in  behalf  of  the  king,  they  answered  by 
their  proctors,   "  That  such  was  the  poverty  of  the  clergy,  and 


122         THE    UXIVERSITIES — AUGMENTATION    OF   VICARAGES. 

especially  of  curates,  residing  at  home  and  exercising  hospitality, 
that  it  Avas  impossible  for  them  to  grant  any  subsidy  which  could 
apply  generally  ;  adding,  that  there  were  very  many  benefices  in  the 
diocese  and  province  of  Canterbury,  reduced  so  much  in  value,  that 
no  priests  could  be  found  who  would  undertake  to  officiate  there." 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  528,  &c.  In  the  convocation,  a.d.  1438,  the  king  made 
a  formal  complaint,  that  the  number  of  students  in  the  universities 
was  seriously  diminished,  in  consequence  of  their  want  of  patronage 
for  the  reward  of  literary  merit ;  and  he  requested  at  the  same  time 
that  such  a  provision  might  be  made  from  the  patrimony  of  the 
church,  as  would  make  graduation  an  advantage.  This  document  is 
followed  by  petitions  to  the  same  effect  from  both  the  universities, 
and  in  consequence  thereof  the  archbishop  renew'ed  the  constitution 
which  he  had  made  in  1417.'' 

Ibid.  p.  534,  a.d.  1439.  Petition  of  the  clergy  to  the  king  for  the 
repeal  of  the  statute  called  "  prcBmuniri  facias,"^  by  which  they  were 
forbidden  under  heavy  penalties  to  receive  bulls,  &c.  from  the  court 
of  Rome  prejudicial  to  the  king,  or  to  any  of  his  liege  subjects ;  or  to 
pursue  or  cause  to  be  pursued  in  the  court  of  Rome  any  processes 
which  touch  the  king  or  his  realm. 

Ibid.  p.  535. — Constitution  of  ardibishop  Chicheley,  a.d.  1439. 

Whereas  there  are  in  our  province  of  Canterbury  many  vicarages 
belonging  to  rich  churches,  so  poor  as  hardly  to  afford  a  scanty  live- 
lihood to  their  vicars,  the  devotion  of  the  people  {in  making  oblations) 
being  unusually  lukewarm ;  and  whereas,  when  the  said  vicars  sue 
for  the  augmentation  of  their  portion,  so  many  exceptions  and  diffi- 
culties are  raised  through  the  indirect  arts  and  delays  of  the  rectors, 
that  they  are  compelled  from  poverty  to  desist  from  their  just  suit: 
we  decree  that,  in  causes  which  relate  to  the  augmentation  of  small 
vicarages,  the  proceedings  shall  be  summary,  and  without  the  solem- 
nity of  judicature,  if  the  plaintiff"  requu'e  it ;  and  also  that  if  the  said 
vicars  upon  oath  affirm  themselves  to  be  poor,  they  shall  be  allowed 
to  prosecute  their  suit  in  forma  pauperum,  the  ordinaries  acting 
themselves  gratuitously,  and  also  causing  the  advocates,  proctors, 
scribes,  &c.,  of  their  consistorial  courts  to  defend  and  act  for  them 
without  making  any  charge.  Let  portions  be  assigned  to  the  said 
vicars  in  proportion  to  the  gross  revenues  of  the  church  and  the 
burthens  which  belong  to  the  vicar  ;  and  let  no  smaller  portion  than 
that  of  twelve  marks  per  annum  be  assigned  to  any  vicar,  if  the  whole 
profit  of  the  church  whose  vicarage  is  to  be  augmented  should  amount 
to  that  sum. 

Ibid.  p.  545. — From  a  council  held  at  Edinburgh,  a.  d.  1445. 
A  bull  of  Pope  Gregory's  was  produced,  in  which  he  says :    "  It 
has  been  related  to  us,  that  formerly  the  kings  of  Scotland,  under 
pretence  of  a  custom,  which  rather  deserves  the  name  of  a  corrup- 
tion, used  rashly  to  appropriate  to  their  own  use  aU  the  goods  move- 
h  See  pp.  120,  121.  1  16  Richard  II.  c.  5. 


SDTGULAR   LAW   AGAINST    EDUCATING    LAYMEN.  123 

able  or  immoveable  which  the  bishops  of  that   kingdom  possessed  at 
the  time  of  their  decease." 

WiLK.  iii.p.  552.  A  charter  of  king  Henry  VL,  A.J).  1446,  confirm- 
ing the  ancient  privilege  of  the  archbishops  of  Canterbury,  who  were 
allowed  to  coin  money  in  the  city  of  Canterbury,  "  tres  monetarios 
cum  trihus  cuneis  ad  monetam  fabricandum  in  civitate  Cantuarien. 
perpetud  habendos." 

Ibid.  p.  568. — Council  of  the  province  of  Cashel,  at  Limerick, 
A.  D.  1453. 

Can.  47.  That  when  violent  hands  are  laid  on  a  bishop,  the  whole 
province  shall  be  placed  under  an  interdict :  if  he  be  an  inferior 
prelate  or  a  priest,  the  whole  diocese ;  and  if  only  a  simple  clerk,  the 
deanery. 

Can.  53.  Schoolmasters  are  prohibited,  on  pain  of  excommunica- 
tion, from  admitting  noblemen  or  others  to  their  lectures,  con- 
cerning whom  there  is  no  hope  of  their  being  useful  in  the  church 
of  God. 

Can.  62,  The  council  declares,  that  no  credit  is  to  be  attached  to 
the  resignations  of  bishops,  unless  the  seals  of  the  person  who  resigns, 
and  also  of  the  chapter  of  his  cathedral,  be  attached  to  them,  to- 
gether with  the  signatures  of  four  of  the  chapter  and  two  notaries- 
public. 

Can.  65.  Let  beneficed  persons,  who  do  not  recite  the  canonical 
hours,  be  ipso  facto  deprived ;  and  those  who  bear  arms  be  fined 
forty  shillings  toties  quoties. 

Can.  71.  That  clerks  shall  not  receive  the  children  of  noblemen 
to  educate,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  forty  shillings  to  the  ordinary. 

Can.  86.  That  in  cathedrals  in  which  there  is  a  choir,  no  persons 
shall  be  admitted  as  prelates  who  cannot  sing. 

Can.  96.  That  with  the  consent  of  the  bishop,  dean,  and  chapter, 
a  division  of  the  fruits  of  a  large  benefice  may  be  made  in  order  to 
augment  a  small  one. 

Can.  97.  That  such  clerks  as  remain  excommunicate  for  a  year, 
shall  be  deprived  of  their  benefices,  and  rendered  incapable  of  re- 
ceiving other  preferment. 

Ibid.  p.  573.  Commission  of  archbishop  Bouchier  to  reform  the 
crimes  and  excesses  of  the  clergy  of  his  diocese,  many  of  whom  were 
grossly  ignorant  or  profligate,  a.  d.  1455. 

Ibid.  p.  577.  In  the  council  of  Perth,  a.d.  1459,  the  clergy  sent 
word  to  the  king,  that,  by  the  ancient  custom  of  the  realm  of  Scot- 
land, he  might  present  to  all  livings  (in  the  patronage  of  the  diocesan) 
which  might  fall  vacant  between  the  death  of  any  bishop  and  the 
admission  of  his  successor  to  the  temporalities. 

Ibid.  p.  583.  Charter  of  king  Edward  IV.,  A.D.  1462,  confirming 
the  liberties  of  the  clergy  ;  exempting  them  from  arrest  by  laymen, 
from  vexatious  processes  under  the  statute  "  praemunire,"  and  from 
all  prohibitions  against  their  exacting  tithes  of  large  trees. 


124        YORK  ADOPTS  THE  LAWS  OP  CANTERBURY. 

Ibid.  p.  606.  The  sees  of  St.  Andrew's  and  Glasgow  were  made 
archbishopricks  in  the  year  1471,  by  Pope  Sixtus  IV.,  Scotland 
having  been  hitherto  a  part  of  the  province  of  York :  the  Scottish 
bishops,  however,  offered  the  king  11,000  marks  to  oppose  the  inno- 
vation, but  without  success. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  644.  Bull  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  a.  d.  1496,  to 
reform  the  discipline  of  the  church  of  Ireland,  which  was  at  this 
period  very  lax. 

Ibid.  p.  660. — Provincial  constitutions  of  Roheby,  archbishop  of 
Dublin,  A.  D.  1518. 

8.  Let  clerks  who  play  at  football,  pay  for  every  offence  forty 
pence  to  the  ordinary,  and  forty  pence  for  the  repair  of  the  church. 

Ibid.  p.  660. — Letter  of  cardinal  Wolsey  to  abp.  Warham,  a.d.  1518. 

"  My  lorde,  albeit  such  and  many  other  things  as  be  specially 
expressed  in  your  said  monicyons  be  to  be  reformed  generally 
through  the  churche  of  England,  and  that  being  legate  a  latere,  to 
me  chyefly  this  apperteyneth,  though  hyderto,  nor  in  time  coming, 
I  have,  ne  woll  execute  any  legatine  jurisdictyon  but  onely  as  shall 
stande  with  the  king's  pleasure ;  yet  assured  I  am  that  his  grace 
wolde  not  I  shulde  be  so  lytle  estemed  that  ye  shulde  enterpryse  the 
said  reformacyon,  to  the  derogacyon  of  the  said  dignitee  of  the  see 
apostolike ;  and  otherwise  than  the  law  woll  suffre  you  without  myne 
advyce,  consent,  and  knowlege ;  nor  ye  had  no  such  commaunde- 
ment  of  his  grace,  but  expressely  to  the  contrary.  Wherefore,  my 
lorde,  sithens  ye  have  don  otherwise  than  was  aggreyde  at  that  tyme, 
necessary  it  shal  be  that  furthwith  ye  repare  to  me,  as  well  to  be 
lerned  of  the  consyderacyons  which  moved  you  thus  to  do  besydes 
my  knowledge,  as  also  to  have  communicacyon  with  you  for  dyverse 
things  concernying  your  person,"  &c. 

Ibid.  p.  663,  &c. — Constitutions  of  the  various  archbishops  of  York, 
collected  and  classified,  about  a.  d.  1518. 

In  the  convocation  held  in  the  province  of  York,  under  archbishop 
Booth,  A.  D.  1462,  it  was  agreed,  that  such  of  the  provincial  consti- 
tutions of  the  archbishops  of  Canterbury  as  were  not  prejudicial  to 
the  church  of  York,  should  be  received  and  incorporated  with  the 
constitutions  of  the  province  of  York. 

Const,  of  archbishop  Grenefeld.  Let  not  rectors  appoint  priests 
to  serve  in  their  churches  till  they  have  presented  the^n  to  the  arch- 
deacon, who  shall  examine  respecting  their  fitness,  and,  if  they  be 
worthy  of  admission,  enter  their  (names  and)  stipends  in  the  roll  of 
the  chapter. 

Const,  of  archbishop  Ketnpe.  That  chantry  priests  shall,  on  the 
next  Sunday  after  their  admission,  swear  that  they  will  do  no  injury 
to  the  churches  in  which  they  serve,  with  respect  to  oblations, 
portions,  tithes,  &c. ;  and  also  that  they  will  not  excite  contentions 
between  the  rector  and  his  parishioners. 


EPISCOPAL   RESIDENCE   AND   JURISDICTION.  125 

Const,  of  archbishop  Grenefeld.  Since  the  archbishop  of  York, 
primate  of  England,  hath  no  superior  in  spirituals  except  the  Pope, 
none  of  our  subjects  shall  appeal  from  his  decision  to  the  archbishop 
of  Canterbury. 

Const,  of  archbishop  Kempe.  That  chantry  priests  shall  swear  to 
be  present  in  the  chancels  of  the  churches  in  which  they  serve  at 
matins,  processions,  masses,  and  vespers,  vested  in  surplices  to  be  pro- 
vided at  their  own  expense ;  and,  at  the  appointment  of  the  curates, 
they  shall  read  the  lessons,  epistles,  and  gospels  at  high  mass,  &c. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  708.  A  letter  from  Fox,  bishop  of  Winchester, 
A.D.  1527,  stating  his  conviction  that  a  thorough  reform  of  the  vices 
and  irregularities  of  the  clergy  -would  appease  the  murmurs  and 
discontent  of  the  people,  gratify  the  king,  and  be  more  acceptable 
to  Almighty  God  than  any  sacrifices. 

Ibid.  p.  713. — Synod  of  Ely,  a.d.  1528. 

That  no  chaplain  or  priest  of  the  diocese  of  Ely  shall  presume  to 
celebrate  in  those  uncomely  garments  {togis  indecentibus)  called 
"  ruggid  gowns." 

Ibid,  p.  713,  a.  d.  1528.  A  bull  granted  to  cardinal  Wolsey,  by 
Pope  Clement  VII.,  to  the  efiect,  that  whereas  it  was  extremely 
difficult  to  procure  the  attendance  of  the  number  of  bishops  required 
by  the  canon  law  for  the  degradation  of  a  priest,  in  cases  where 
they  deserved  to  be  degraded  on  account  of  their  enormous  crimes, 
in  order  to  their  being  delivered  over  to  the  secular  arm,  a  single 
bishop,  assisted  by  two  abbots  or  lay  dignitaries,  might  perform  the 
ceremony. 

Ibid.  p.  717. — Convocation  of  the  province  of  Canterbury,  a.  d.  1529. 

That  all  bishops  be  present  at  their  cathedral  churches,  at  least 
on  the  three  great  festivals  of  Christmas,  Easter,  and  Pentecost, 
and  celebrate  mass ;  that  they  annually  consecrate  the  holy  oil.  and 
the  oil  for  the  sick  on  holy  Thursday;  that  they  make  a  circuit  of 
their  dioceses  at  proper  times,  reforming  monasteries  and  hospitals, 
correcting  the  clergy  and  people,  extirpating  heresies,  and  sowing 
the  word  of  life  in  the  field  of  the  Lord.  In  conferring  orders  or 
benefices,  and  in  instituting  curates,  let  them  be  much  more  diligent 
and  vigilant  than  hitherto,  lest  inefficient  persons  should  be  admitted 
to  the  cure  of  souls  even  for  a  time.  Let  them  also  compel  rectors 
to  reside  upon  their  benefices,  utterly  revoking  any  permission  which 
may  have  been  given  to  let  out  these  benefices  for  money ;  let  them 
restrain  the  exactions  and  severity  of  their  officials ;  and  take  care 
that  rectors  and  vicars  either  preach,  or  cause  sermons  frequently 
to  be  preached,  in  their  churches.  Such  of  the  clergy  as  shall  be 
convicted  in  presence  of  the  laity  of  detestable  crimes,  let  them 
condemn  to  even  perpetual  imprisonment ;  coercing  such  clerks  as 
hunt  or  hawk,  and  recalling  other  indolent  or  dissolute  clerks  to 
devout  exercises  and  a  holy  conversation. 


126  LAXITY   OF   DISCIPLINE   IN    THE    CHURCH. 

In  future,  let  no  lay  clerk  be  admitted  to  holy  orders,  unless  he 
can  produce  letters  testimonial  from  the  curate  and  church Wiirdens 
(oeconomorum)  of  the  parish  in  which  he  has  been  born,  beneficed, 
or  in  which  he  has  resided  for  the  last  three  years,  under  the  seal 
of  the  archdeacon  of  the  district ;  or,  if  he  has  been  a  student  in 
either  of  the  universities,  under  the  seal  of  the  vice-chancellor. 
Let  bishops  also  take  great  care  that  in  future  they  ordain  no  person 
to  the  order  of  subdeacon,  unless  he  be  so  well  versed  in  the  holy 
gospels  and  epistles,  at  least  such  as  are  contained  in  the  missal, 
that  he  can  promptly  and  quickly  explain  the  grammatical  sense  of 
the  same  to  the  examiner ;  and  also  be  competently  instructed  in 
the  duties  of  the  order  to  which  he  is  about  to  be  promoted. 

Since,  when  the  affair  is  transacted  by  proxy,  the  ordinary  may 
be  ignorant  of  the  learning,  morals,  or  condition  of  the  person 
presented  to  him,  and  so,  as  frequently  happens,  may  through 
ignorance  admit  an  unlearned  or  ignorant  person,  or  a  monk,  to  a 
benefice ;  we  therefore  decree,  that  in  future  no  person  shall  be 
instituted  to  a  benefice  unless  he  appear  in  person,  that  he  may  be 
diligently  examined  respecting  his  learning  and  morals ;  unless  he 
be  a  dignitary  of  the  church,  or  be  at  least  a  master  of  arts,  or 
a  bachelor  of  civil  or  ecclesiastical  law. 

That  no  false  pretence  of  studying  at  the  university  shall  excuse 
absence  from  a  benefice  ;  and  that  if  the  chancellors  of  the  univer- 
sities find  there  young  beneficed  clerks,  who,  instead  of  studying, 
devote  themselves  to  indolence  and  luxury,  they  shall  give  notice  of 
the  same  to  their  diocesans. 

That  no  person  deserting  his  own  church  shall  accept  a  stipend 
elsewhere,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  half  the  amount  of  his  living. 

That  a  subdeacon  or  a  deacon,  convicted  of  simple  fornication, 
shall  be  imprisoned  for  three  months,  and  be  fed  on  the  bread  of 
afiiiction  and  the  water  of  grief,  on  all  the  Wednesdays  and  Fridays 
during  the  interim.  A  double  jienalty  for  adultery,  a  treble  for 
incest,  and  so  on  in  proportion.  If  the  delinquent  be  a  curate  or 
a  monk,  let  some  additional  punishment  be  adjudged. 

Against  the  vice  of  simony — then  very  prevalent. 

Since  indolence  is  the  parent  of  every  vice,  this  holy  council  en- 
joins all  curates,  rectors,  chantry  priests,  &c.,  that  when  the  divine 
offices  are  concluded,  they  be  afterwards  occupied  in  study,  prayer, 
the  instruction  of  children,  or  some  other  honest  employment :  and 
on  three  days  in  every  week  let  them  exercise  themselves  for  three, 
or  at  least  two,  hours  in  reading  the  holy  scriptures,  or  some  ap- 
proved doctor. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  740. — Complaints  of  the  Hoiise  of  Commons  against  the 
dergy,  a.  d.  1530. 

5.  Because  spiritual  persons,  promoted  to  great  benefices,  and 
having  their  livings  of  their  flocks,  were  lying  in  the  court  in  lords' 
houses,  and  took  all  of  their  parishioners,  and  nothing  sjjent  on  them 


QUADRIPARTITE   DIVISION   OP   REVENUES.  127 

at  all ;  so  that  for  lack  of  residence,  both  the  poor  of  the  parish 
wanted  refreshing,  and  universally  the  parishioners  lacked  preaching 
and  true  instructions  of  God's  Word,  to  the  great  peril  of  their  souls. 

6.  Because  one  priest,  being  a  little  learned,  had  ten  or  twelve 
benefices,  and  was  resident  on  none ;  and  many  well  learned 
scholars  in  the  university,  which  were  able  to  preach  and  teach, 
had  neither  benefice  nor  exhibition. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  783.  King  Henry  VIII.'s  commission  to  the  bishop  of 
Exeter  and  others,  for  the  rating  and  valuation  of  the  first-fruits 
and  tenths  in  that  diocese,  a.d.  1534. 

Ibid.  p.  799.  His  instructions  in  1535,  to  send  in  the  true  value 
of  all  the  possessions  of  the  church  and  churchmen. 


§  II.— REVENUES    OF   THE  CLERGY. 

Concilia  Magn^  Britannijs,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  I. 

Bedk's  Eccl.  Hist.  b.  i.  ch.  27. — From  Pope  Gregory's  answers  to 
Augmtine,  A.  D.  601.''     (Wilk.  i.  19.) 

Q.  I.  Being  asked,  into  how  many  portions  the  money  which  the 
faithful  offer  at  the  altar  ought  to  be  divided,  and  how  a  bishop 
ought  to  conduct  himself  in  the  church  ?  Gregory  replies  :  "  It  is 
the  custom  of  the  apostolic  see  to  charge  bishops,  at  the  time  of 
their  consecration,  that  the  entire  income  be  divided  into  four 
portions :  viz.  one  for  the  bishop  and  his  family,  to  enable  him  to 
exercise  hospitality ;  another  for  the  clergy  ;  a  third  for  the  poor ; 
and  a  fourth  for  the  repair  of  churches :  but,  in  the  English 
church,  it  is  expedient  that  the  same  mode  of  life  should  be  adopted 
as  was  practised  by  our  forefathers  in  the  infancy  of  the  church  ;  at 
which  time  no  man  called  any  thing  his  own,  but  they  possessed  all 
things  in  common.  If,  however,  there  should  be  any  of  the  clergy 
not  in  holy  ordersi  who  cannot  contain  themselves,  wives  ought  to 
be  assigned  them,  and  they  should  receive  their  stipends  apart  from 
the  rest.  All  that  remains  over  and  above,  ought  to  be  applied  to 
pious  and  charitable  purposes." 

Note.  Bede,  in  a  letter  to  Ecgbriht,  published  by  Sir  James  Ware, 
tells  us  that  Wilfrid,  when  he  held  the  see  of  York,  A.  D.  676,  received 
an  annual  payment  from  every  one,  even  in  the  remotest  parts  of  his 
extensive  diocese. 

Wilkins,  Concil.  i.  59. — Ecclesiastical  laws  of  Ina,  king  of  the 
West-Saxons,  a.  d.  693. 

Cap.  4.  Let  the  church-scot  (ci/ricsceattas)he  paid  at  Martinmas ; 
and  if  any  one  neglect  to  do  so,  let  him  pay  a  fine  of  forty  shillings, 
and  pay  the  church-scot  twelve-fold. 

''  See  p.  19.  ■  i.  e,  under  the  rank  of  a  deacon. 


128  TITHES ANCIENT   PAROCHIAL   DISTRICTS. 

Cap.  61.  The  church-scot  must  be  paid  for  that  roof  and  fire- 
hearth  in  which  a  man  resides  at  Midwinter  (i,  e.  Christmas-Day). 
Note.  The  church-scot  was  to  be  paid  according  to  the  value  of  the 
house  in  which  a  man  lived  at  Christmas ;  but  he  had  nearly  eleven 
months  allowed  him,  viz.  from  December  25th  to  November  11th, 
{St.  MartirCs  day).  The  Rome-scot  was  the  same  to  every  housekeeper, 
but  the  church-scot  varied,  not  according  to  the  wealth  of  the  person, 
but  the  value  of  the  house  in  which  he  dwelt  at  Christmas.  It  was 
commonly  paid  in  grain  or  seed,  though  sometimes  m  fowls  :  (see  Cyric- 
set  in  Spelman ).  It  was  paid  first  to  the  bishop's  church,  then  to  the 
Lester  to  which  the  man  resorted  for  divine  worship.  We  cannot  doubt 
that  tithes  were  paid  in  England  at  this  time  and  before ;  for  Boniface, 
who  was  bom  in  670,  (and  was  consequently  at  this  time  twenty  years 
old,)  testifies  in  his  letter  to  Cuthbert  that  tithes  were  paid  in  the 
English  church.  He  says,  talking  of  the  English  clergy,  "  They  receive 
the  milk  and  wool  of  Christ's  sheep  in  the  daily  oblations  and  tithes  of 
the  faithful,  and  neglect  the  care  of  the  Lord's  flock."  That  tithes  and 
church-scot  were  perfectly  distinct  from  each  other,  is  evident  from  the 
eighth  and  ninth  constitutions  made  at  -^nham  in  1009,  which  require 
tithes  to  be  paid  at  All-hallows,  and  church-scot  at  Martinmas." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  102. — Excerptions  of  Egbert,  archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  750. 

Ex.  4.  That  every  priest  shall  teach  all  who  belong  to  him,  that 
they  may  know  how  they  ought  to  pay  tithes  of  all  their  property 
to  the  holy  churches  of  God. 

Ex.  o.  That  the  priests  themselves  shall  receive  the  tithes  from 
the  people,  and  keep  a  register  of  the  names  of  those  who  have  paid 
them ;  and,  according  to  canonical  authority,  distribute  them  in 
the  presence  of  the  faithful ;  and  appropriate  the  first  part  to  the 
beautifying  of  the  church ;  let  them  apply  the  second  part  to  the 
use  of  the  poor  and  strangers,  mercifully  and  with  all  humility ;  the 
third  part  let  the  priests  reserve  to  themselves.^ 

Ex.  24.  That  churches  anciently  built,  shall  not  be  deprived 
either  of  tithes  or  of  any  other  possessions,  that  they  may  be  given 
to  new  oratories. 

Ex.  25.  That  to  every  church  one  entire  manse  shall  be  assigned, 
and  that  the  presbyters  who  are  appointed  in  them  shall  do  no  other 
than  ecclesiastical  service  for  the  tithes  and  oblations  of  the  faithful, 
or  for  the  houses,  outbuildings,  or  gardens  near  the  church. 

Ex.  26.  That  bishops  and  presbyters  have  a  house  of  entertain- 
ment (hospitiolum)  near  the  church. 

Note.     For  at  this  time  the  districts  assigned  to  priests  were  so  large, 

that  after  the  conquest  three  or  four  jmrishes  were  sometimes  made  out 

of  one  of  the  old  districts.    A  house  for  the  entertainment  of  those  who 

came  from  a  distance  to  divine  service  or  confession  was  therefore 

absolutely  necessarj'. 

Ex.  101.    An  argument  in  favour  of  tithes  from  the  Levitical  law. 

Ex.  102.    Augustin  says,  "  Tithes  are  the  tribute  of  the  churches 

and  of  needy  souls.     O  man,  God  requires  tithes  of  thy  livelihood  : 

■°  Johnson  in  loco,  and  Appendix. 

n  This  is  exactly  like  the  24th  canon  of  iEifric,  a.d.  970,  Wilk.  i.  253. 


CELEBRATED  GRANT  OF  ETHELWULF.  129 

•pay  tithes  there/ore  from  that  which  you  have  gained  by  war,  by  mer- 
chandise, or  by  trade." 

Ex.  107.  We  think  it  also  just  that  this  should  be  observed  for 
mercy's  sake;  that  prisoners,  for  whatever  crime  they  are  incar- 
cerated, be  attended  to  on  the  Lord's  day  by  the  archdeacop,  or  by 
the  provost  (prceposito)  of  the  church ;  and  that  competent  victuals 
be  assigned  to  them  by  the  bishop  from  the  house  belonging  to  the 
church  (de  domo  ecdesice).° 

Welk,  i.  p.  149. — Legatine  council  at  Cealchythe,  a.d,  785.'' 

Can.  17.  That  tithes  be  paid  justly,  as  it  is  written  in  the  law, 
Exod.  xxiii.  19,  Mai.  iii.  10,  &c.  ;  and  so  it  often  happens  that  he 
who  hath  not  given  the  tenth  (of  his  increase)  is  reduced  to  a  tenth  : 
wherefore  we  enjoin,  with  earnest  supplication,  that  all  carefully 
pay  tithes  of  all  their  possessions,  because  they  are  the  especial 
property  of  our  Lord  God :  and  let  a  man  live  and  bestow  his  alms 
out  of  the  nine  parts  which  remain. 

Ibed.  p.  154.  From  Brompton  (Monachus  Jornalensis,  or  Jerva- 
lensis) :  "a.d.  793,  Offa,  king  of  Mercia,  having  treacherously 
procured  the  death  of  Ethelbert,  king  of  the  East  Angles,  by  way 
of  satisfaction  gave  the  tenth  part  of  all  his  possessions  to  the  holy 
church,  (decimam  omnium  rerum  suarum)  ;  and  also  many  {jplow) 
lands  to  the  church  of  Hereford,  in  which  the  aforesaid  glorious 
martyr  Ethelbert  lies.     He  also  founded  the  abbey  of  St.  Alban's." 

Ibid.  p.  184.  Council  of  Winchester,  a.d.  855. — From  William 
of  Malmsbury.  ^thelwulf,  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  after  the 
Danes  had  dreadfully  harassed  his  kingdom,  granted  to  the  church 
every  tenth  hide  throughout  his  dominions,  (unless  the  words  terroe 
mecB  are  to  be  restricted  to  the  royal  estates,)  as  well  as  the  tenth 
part  of  all  his  possessions.  The  Latin  is  so  very  obscure,  that 
I  have  adopted  the  plan  of  our  ecclesiastical  historians,  none  of 
whom  have  had  the  hardihood  to  translate  it.  The  word  in  italics 
is  added  from  Ingulphus. 

Donatio  Ethelwulfi  ....  "Quamobrem  ego  Ethelwulphuj, 
Rex  Westsaxonum,  consensimus,  ut  aliquam  portionem  terrarum 
haereditaream  antea  possidentibus  omnibus  gradibus,  sive  famulis  et 
famulabus  Dei  Deo  inservientibus,  sive  laicis  miseris,  semper  deci- 
mam Mansionem,  ubi  minimum  sit,  tum  decimam  partem  omnium 
bonorum,  in  libertatem  perpetuam  donari  sanctse  Ecclesiee  dijudicavi ; 
ut  sit  tuta  et  munita  ab  omnibus  secularibus  servitutibus,  imo 
regalibus  tributis,  majoribus  et  minoribus,  sive  taxationibus  quae 
nos  WiTEREDEN  dicimus,  sitque  libera  omnium  rerum  pro  remissione 
animarum  nostrarum,  &c."  Rex  vero  Ethelwulphus  pro  firmitatc 
ampliore,  obtulit  banc  chartulam  scriptam  super  altare  sancti  Petri 
apostoli. 

In  this  council  it  was  determined  by  the  bishops,  that  "  in  every 
church,  on  each  Wednesday,  all  the  brethren  and  sisters  should  sing 
°  A  canon  of  Orleans.  p  See  p.  26. 

K 


130  TITHES   AND    VARIOUS    OBLATIONS. 

fifty  psalms,  and  every  priest  celebrate  two  masses  for  the  king  and 
his  nobles,  who  had  consente<l  to  this  grant." 

Note.  The  mansio  or  hida  mentioned  in  this  grant  consisted  of  about 
one  hundred  and  sixteen  acres.  The  word  manse  is  still  used  in  Scot- 
land to  signify  the  rectory  and  glebe-land.  Florence  of  Worcester 
makes  mention  of  two  grants  of  tithes  by  Ethelwulph  :  viz.  the^rs^,  in 
which  he  granted  the  te7ith  hide  throughout  his  dominions  indefinitely 
to  the  church ;  and  the  second,  in  which  he  desired,  that  "  throughout 
all  the  land  which  he  had  inherited,  always,  till  the  day  of  judgment, 
one  poor  man  or  traveller  should  be  supplied  with  food,  drink,  and 
clothing,  for  every  ten  hides,  bj/  his  successors,"  (observe,  not  by  the 
clergy).  And  Spelman  says,  in  allusion  to  this  grant,  "  Without  doubt, 
this  grant  {to  the  poor)  was  made  at  a  different  time,  and  was  another 
work  of  royal  piety;  as  is  clear  from  the  testimonies  of  Florence  of 
Worcester,  Malmsburj%  and  Matthew  of  Westminster :  the  one  was 
made  A.  d.  855,  when  -Ethelwulph  was  going  to  Rome ;  the  other  two 
years  after,  A.  D.  857,  when  he  was  upon  the  point  of  death."  The 
grant  of  tithes  was  afterwards  confirmed  by  the  following  kings  of  all 
England. :   viz. 

By  king  ^thelstan,  A.  D.  928,  Lmcs,  ch.  i.  ii.,  Wilk.  i.  205. 
By  king  Edmond,  A.  D.  944,  Laws,  ch.  ii.,  ibid.  p.  214. 
By  king  Edgar,  A.  D.  967,  Laws,  ch.  i.  ii.  iii.,  ibid.  p.  245. 
By  king  ^thelred,  A.  d.  1012,  Laics,  ch.  iv.,  ibid.  p.  295. 

After  which  time,  laws  concerning  tithes  were  so  common  that  it 
would  be  useless  to  repeat  them. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  203. — Ecclesiastical'  laws  of  kings  Alfred  and  Gutkrun, 
A.  D.  878,  afterwards  confirmed  by  king  Edward  the  elder, 
A.D.  905. 

Cap.  VI.  If  any  one  should  retain  his  tithes,  or  St.  Peter's  penny, 
or  his  candle- money  (for  lights  in  the  church),  or  his  plow-alms,  or 
any  other  ecclesiastical  rights,  let  him  pay  a  mulct,  or  the  lashlite  if 
he  be  a  Dane. 

Ibid.  p.  228. — Canons  under  king  Edgar,  A.  D.  960. 

Can.  5#.  That  the  priests  admonish  the  people  what  they  ought 
carefiilly  to  pay  unto  God :  viz.  the  plow-aim^  fifteen  days  after 
Easter ;  the  tithe  of  young  animals  at  Pentecost ;  of  the  fruits  of 
the  earth,  on  All-saints'  days ;  St.  Peter's  penny  at  Peter's  mass ; 
and  the  church-scot  at  Martin's  mass. 

Ibid.  p.  245. — Ecclesiastic<d  laws  of  king  Edgar,  a.d.  967. 

Cap.  I.  That  all  tithes  be  paid  to  the  principal  church  (ealdan 
mynstre)  to  which  the  parish  belongs,  according  to  the  course  of  the 
plow. 

Cap.  II.  If  a  thane  shall  possess  in  his  own  feod  a  church  to 
which  a  cemetery  belongs,  then  may  he  give  the  third  part  of  his 
tithe  to  his  own  church :  but  if  the  church  have  no  burial-ground, 
then  let  ecclesiastical  dues  of  every  description  be  paid  to  the  prin- 


THE   CHURCH   SCOT — THE   LIGHT    SCOT — TITHES.  131 

cipal  church  ;  and  let  him  give  what  he  will  out  of  the  nine  (remain- 
ing) parts  to  his  own  priest. 

Cap.  in.  If  a  man  will  not  pay  tithes,  let  the  king's  reeve,  and 
the  bishop's  reeve,  and  the  priest  of  the  church,  go  to  him  and  take 
the  tenth  part,  whether  he  will  or  no :  and  let  them  assign  to  him 
the  ninth  part ;  and  let  the  eight  other  parts  be  divided  into  two — 
half  to  go  to  the  king,  and  half  to  the  bishop. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  278. — Capitula  made  in  king  JEihelred's  reign,  a.d.  994. 

Cap.  XXXV.  Both  mariners  and  farmers  ought  to  give  unto  God 
the  tenth  part  of  all  the  profits  which  arise  in  the  course  of  trade ; 
and  thus  let  all  men,  out  of  the  same  craft  with  which  their  bodies 
are  supported,  provide  necessaries  for  their  souls. 

Ibed.  p.  302. — Ecclesiastical  laws  of  king  Canute,  a.d.  1033. 

Cap.  X.  If  a  man  shall  detain  the  church-scot  after  St.  Martin's 
day,  let  him  pay  it  to  the  bishop  eleven  fold,  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty  shillings  to  the  king. 

Cap.  XII.  The  light-scot  is  to  be  paid  thrice  a-year:  viz.  on 
Easter-eve,  on  All-saints'  days,  and  the  Purification  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  viz.  a  wax  candle  of  the  value  of  a  halfpenny  for  every 
hide  of  land. 

Ibid.  p.  311. — Latcs  of  king  Edward  (Confessor),  a.d.  1052, 
confirmed  by  king  William  I. 

Cap.  vin.  IX.  The  tenth  sheaf  is  due  to  God  of  all  com ;  also  the 
tenth  foal,  and  the  tenth  calf :  but  let  the  man  who  has  only  one  or 
two  give  a  penny  for  each  foal,  and  a  halfpenny  for  each  calf.  Tithe 
is  also  to  be  paid  of  cheese,  milk,  bees,  wood,  meadows,  waters,  mills, 
warrens,  fisheries,  osiers,  gardens,  and  the  profits  of  trade :  for  St. 
Augustin  (the  apostle  of  the  English)  preached  and  taught  this,  and 
these  things  were  granted  by  the  king,  his  barons,  and  people. 
Afterwards  however,  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  many  kept 
them  back,  and  rich  and  negligent  priests  cared  not  to  en(^inter  the 
trouble  of  recovering  them,  having  a  sufficient  maintenance  without. 
In  many  places  also  there  are  now  three  or  four  churches  where 
there  was  then  only  one. 
N.  B.   The  price  of  a  calf  was  therefore  five-pence,  and  of  a  foal  ten-pence. 

Ibid.  p.  383. — Council  of  London,  under  archbishop  Anselm, 
A.D.  1102. 

Can.  22.  That  monks  receive  not  churches  unless  by  {the  in- 
stitution  of)  bishops,  nor  so  despoil  those  which  have  been  given  to 
them  of  their  revenues,  that  the  priests  who  serve  there  suffer 
penury  in  those  things  which  are  necessary  for  themselves  or  for  tho 
church. 

Note.    We  here  see  the  origin  of  vicarages. 

K  'J 


132  PORTION   OF   A   DECEASED   RECTOR STIPENDS. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  412. — Constitution  of  Thurstan,  archbishop  of  York, 
concerning  the  debts  of  the  clergy,  a.  d.  1134.  That  when  a  canon  dies, 
the  revenues  of  his  prebend  on  the  following  year  shall  be  distributed 
for  the  payment  of  liis  debts,  and  the  {repose  of)  his  soul,  according 
to  the  advice  and  disposition  of  the  clergy. 

HowELLi  Synopsis  Conciliorum,  p.  96. — Council  of  Avranches, 
in  Normandy,  a.d.  1172. 

Can.  8.  Let  not  a  priest  who  serves  a  church  receive  less  than 
a  third  part  of  the  tithes. 

Can.  2  and  9.  Those  who  hold  tithes  by  hereditary  right,  may 
confer  them  upon  any  clerk  they  please,  if  he  be  a  proper  person ; 
with  this  proviso,  however,  that  after  his  death  they  shall  return  to 
the  church  to  which  they  justly  belong. 

WiLK.  i.  507. — Council  of  London,  under  archbishop  Hubert, 
A.D.  1200. 

Can.  10.  That  no  clerk  be  instituted  to  a  church  whose  annual 
revenues  exceed  not  three  inarks,  unless  he  will  serve  it  in  person. 

Can.  14.  That  no  templars,  hospitalers,  or  other  religious  bodies, 
receive  churches  or  tithes  from  a  lay  hand,  without  the  authority  of 
the  bishop ;  and  that  they  relinquish  those  which  they  have  of  late 
so  received,  upon  pain  of  interdict. 

Note.  Lay  patrons,  before  the  third  council  of  Lateran,  a.d.  1179, 
used  to  appropriate  churches  and  all  or  part  of  the  tithes  to  monasteries, 
or  other  religious  bodies,  merely  by  their  own  authority. 

Ibid.  p.  571. — Constitution  of  William  de  Bleys,  bishop  of  Worcester, 

A.D.  1219. 

When  a  parson  or  vicar  dies,  all  the  fixtures  shall  belong  to  his 
successor;  also  one  table  with  two  stools,  the  largest  if  he  had 
several ;  the  largest  brass  pot,  the  largest  box,  the  largest  tub,  the 
largest  basket,  and  the  best  cart  (melior  carecca). 

If  a  pitson  or  vicar  should  die  before  the  Annunciation  of  St. 
Mary,  the  whole  crop  arising  from  the  seed  which  he  had  sown  in 
the  glebe-land  shall  be  his  property  (i.e.  his  heirs),  unless  he  farmed 
his  tithes,  in  which  case  he  shall  have  nothing. 

Ibid.  p.  587. — Council  of  Oxford,  under  archbishop  Langton, 
A.D.  1222. 

Cap.  XV.  That  churches,  the  annual  revenues  of  which  do  not 
exceed  Jive  marks,  be  only  given  to  such  clerks  as  will  personally 
reside. 

Cap.  XVI.  That  perpetual  vicars  have  at  least  five  marks  assigned 
them  as  a  stipend ;  except  in  those  parts  of  Wales  in  which,  on 
account  of  the  poverty  of  the  churches,  vicars  are  contented  with 
less.     And  let  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  after  considering  the  value 


PORTION    OF   A   DECEASED    RECTOR WAGES    TITHEABLE.        133 

of  the  living,  decide  whether  the  vicar  or   the  parson,  or  both 
together,  shall  bear  the  charges  of  the  church. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  609. — Provincial  council  in  Scotland,  a.d.  1225. 

Cap.  X.  That  the  sum  of  ten  marks  at  the  least  be  assigned  to 
every  vicar,  free  from  all  charges,  &c.  if  the  revenues  of  the  church 
will  afford  it. 

Cap.  XIII.  That  a  mansion  be  built  near  every  church,  where  the 
bishop  or  archdeacon  may  be  received ;  and  that  they  shall  be  built 
within  a  year  from  this  time,  at  the  expense  of  the  parsons  and 
vicars,  according  to  the  share  which  they  have  of  the  revenues. 
They  shall  however  be  kept  in  repair  by  the  vicars,  who  are  to 
have  the  use  of  them. 

Note.  In  the  constitutions  of  William  de  Bleys,  A.D.  1229,  c.  11,  it 
is  said,  that  "  every  annual  chaplain  shall  have  a  competent  maintenance, 
to  the  value  of  three  marks  at  the  least  ;"i  and  it  therefore  may  appear 
difficult  to  understand  why  in  Scotland  more  than  thrice  that  sum  should 
have  been  assigned  as  the  minimum  of  the  vicarial  income :  but  in 
Ruding's  Annals  of  the  Coinage  I  find  that  the  Scottish  mark  was  not 
above  one-eleventh  part  of  the  value  of  ours. 

Ibid.  p.  651. — Legatine  constitutions  of  cardinal  Otho,  a.d.  1237. 

Cof.  vm.  That  churches  shall  never  be  farmed  out  to  the  laity, 
or  even  to  clerks,  for  more  than  five  years. 

Cap.  IX.  It  hath  sometimes  happened,  that  when  a  rich  church 
became  vacant,  which  (a  beneficed  clerk)  desired  to  obtain,  and  yet 
dared  not  to  receive  as  a  rector,  lest  he  should  by  law  be  deprived 
of  the  preferment  which  he  already  held,  he  cunningly  procured 
that  the  church  should  be  granted  to  him  in  perpetual  farm,  upon 
his  paying  a  small  {annual)  stipend  to  another  as  rector,  reserving  to 
himself  all  the  rest. 

Ibid.  p.  681.  In  the  council  of  Wexford,  a.d.  1 240,  it  was  decreed, 
that  tithes  were  to  be  paid  from  a  servant's  wages,  after  deducting 
all  necessary  expenses :  also  that  at  whatever  part  of  the  year  rectors 
or  vicars  should  die,  the  whole  proceeds  of  their  benefices  for  a  year, 
counting  from  the  day  of  their  death,  should  be  at  their  disposal  {by 
wUl),  subject  only  to  debts  and  funeral  expenses. 

Ibid.  p.  698. — Constitutions  of  Walter  Gray,  arcJibishop  of  York, 
A.D.  1250. 

It  is  our  will  that  tithes  of  grain,  fruit,  &c.,  be  paid  entire,  without 
deducting  the  expenses,  and  without  any  diminution. 

Let  the  seventh  lamb  be  given  as  tithe,  {if  there  should  not  be  a 
greater  number) ;  but  let  the  rector,  on  receiving  the  seventh  lamb, 
pay  to  his  piirishioner  three  halfpence.  For  any  number  under 
seven,  let  the  sum  of  six  halfpence  be  given  as  tithe. 

Since  many  are  found  who  are  unwilling  to  pay  tithes,  we  decree, 
that  the  parishioners  be  admonished  thrice  to  pay  their  tithes  faith- 

1  Wilk.  i.  625. 


134  TITHES   AXD   OBLATIONS. 

fully  to  God  and  to  the  church,  on  pain  of  being  suspended  from 
entrance  into  the  church  :  and  if  they  desire  a  relaxation  of  the 
sentence,  they  are  to  be  sent  to  the  ordinary  of  the  place,  to  be 
absolved,  and  fined.  All  rectors  of  churches,  vicars,  or  annual 
chaplains,  who,  fearing  man  rather  than  God,  demand  not  their 
tithes  in  the  manner  above  stated,  shall  incur  the  penalty  of  sus- 
pension, until  they  pay  to  the  archdeacon  half  a  mark  of  silver  for 
their  disobedience, 

WiLK.  i.  p.  713. — Constitutions  of  j^Egidius  ( Giles)  de  Bridport, 
bishop  of  Sarum,  a.d.  1256. 

If  any  land  uncultivated,  which  was  formerly  arable,  shall  be 
applied  to  pasturage,  the  parsons  or  vicars  shall  receive  the  tenth 
penny  of  the  rent. 

Where  a  man  has  the  custody  of  sheep,  although  they  should 
belong  to  several  different  persons,  he  shall  nevertheless  give  us 
every  tenth  lamb. 

The  parishioners  ought  by  rights  to  offer  four  times  a-year ;  viz. 
at  Christmas,  Easter,  on  the  day  of  the  patron  saint,  and  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  dedication.  Also  all  landholders,  at  the  time  of 
their  espousals,  shall  offer  one  halfpenny  (obolum). 

According  to  custom,  every  chaplain  pays  the  archdeacon  twelve 
pence  on  the  anniversary  of  our  Lord's  nativity. 


Concilia  Magn^  Britannia,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  ii. 

WiLK.  ii.  160. — Si/nod  of  Exeter,  under  bishop  Quivil,  a.d.  1287. 

In  Cap.  Lin.  he  complains  that  the  owners  of  mills  paid  their 
tithes  everi/  day,  in  mere  handsful  of  floiu",  to  the  great  injury  of  the 
rectors,  as  they  would  not  suffer  them  to  have  vessels  at  the  mill  to 
collect  the  tithe  in :  that  others  were  in  the  habit  of  bringing  the 
tithe  of  milk  to  the  church  in  its  natural  state ;  and  if  they  found  no 
person  to  receive  it,  they  contemptuously  threw  it  down  before  the 
altar :  and  that  landlords  sometimes  kept  their  tenants  and  depend- 
ents in  such  awe,  that  they  were  afraid  to  purchase  the  tithes  from 
the  rectors,  who  were  consequently  obliged  to  sell  them  for  a  mere 
trifle. 

Cap.  Liv.  That  every  adult,  i.  e.  every  person  who  exceeds  the 
age  of  fourteen,  shall  go  to  his  parish  church  with  his  oblations  four 
times  a-year  :  and  whereas  the  church  of  Exeter  is  the  mother 
church  of  all  the  churches  in  our  diocese,  we  command  all  our 
parishioners,  through  their  parish  priests,  that,  in  token  of  due  sub- 
jection, they  bring  their  oblations  at  Pentecost  to  the  said  (cathedral) 
church,  or  at  least  send  them  thither  by  their  parish  priests. 


servants'  wages,  and  merchandise  titheable.         135 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  177. — Constitutions  of  the  diocese  of  Sodor,  a.d.  1291. 

Cap.  XV.  That  all  in  our  diocese  pay  their  tithes  without  any 
deduction,  as  it  is  commanded  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  .  . 
Also,  that  where  there  are  ten  animals  to  be  tithed,  the  owner  may 
pick  out  two,  and  then  the  clergyman  take  his  choice  of  all  the  rest. 

Cap.  XVI.  XVIII.  That  the  tithes  of  all  fisheries,  both  in  salt  and 
fresh  water,  be  paid  entire.  But  if  the  fishermen  belonging  to  one 
parish  go  to  fish  in  another,  or  if  they  use  a  boat  belonging  to 
another  parish,  let  the  tithe  be  divided. 

Cap.  XIX.  That  weavers,  who  pay  not  tithes  for  other  things, 
shall  pay  four-pence  or  five-pence ;  but  if  they  gain  more  in  propor- 
tion, let  it  be  left  to  their  conscience. 

Cap.  XX.  That  merchants,  tradesmen,  and  labourers  pay  tithes 
of  their  profits ;  and  that  servants,  who  are  hired  by  others,  pay 
tithes  of  their  wages. 

Cap.  XXIII.  That  each  of  the  parishioners  shall  offer  a  halfpenny 
thrice  a-year,  viz.  at  Christmas,  Easter,  and  Pentecost.  Also  that 
every  person  having  a  house  and  other  goods,  shall  pay  during  Lent 
twopence-halfpenny  towards  the  church  lights.  But  if  they  sojourn 
in  other  houses,  provided  they  have  goods  to  the  value  of  six  shil- 
lings, let  them  pay  two-pence. 

Ibid.  p.  297. — Constitutions  of  Henry  Woodloke,  bishop  of  Winchester , 

A.D.  1308. 

We  command,  that  a  certain  portion  of  the  revenues  of  non-resi- 
dent incumbents  be  applied  to  the  use  of  their  needy  parishioners ; 
not  less  than  a  tithe  of  the  tithes. 

We  will,  that  rectors  and  vicars  be  permitted  to  excommunicate 
or  suspend  those  who  withhold  their  tithes  or  oblations,  after  having 
given  canonical  warning  three  times. 

Ibid.  p.  416. — Constitution  of  Eichard  de  Kellow,  bishop  of  Durham, 

A.D.  1312. 

Cap.  rv.  Against  those  who  prevented  the  clergy  from  collecting 
their  tithes  or  carrying  them  :  "  And  others,  we  grieve  to  say,  scatter 
their  tithes  in  pits  (foveis),  to  be  consumed  by  wild  beasts,  or  throw 
them  out ;  others  also  allot  the  tithes  here  and  there  through  the 
sheaves ;  and  others  lay  out  their  tithes  in  the  fields,  who  used  to 
carry  them  to  the  doors  of  the  barns :  all  which  we  strictly  forbid, 
on  pain  of  excommunication." 

Ibid.  p.  704. — Constitution  of  archbishop  Stratford,  a.d.  1342. 

Cap.  V.  That  tithes  are  due  from  ccedu<ms  wood-land,  and  from 
the  wood  lopped  off  from  cjeduous  trees. 

Note.  Lindwood  asserts  that  wood  is  cceduous  if  either  it^be  kept  on 
purpose  to  be  felled,  or  grows  again  from  its  stump  or  root ;  and  con- 
cludes that  timber  trees  are  titheable :  this  at  least  is  evident,  that  it  was 
not  intended  to  signify  coppice,  or  midericoofl  only,  by  the  expression 


136  AVARICE    OP   THE   CLERGY   REPRESSED. 

"  arhores  ctsdueB."  The  clergy  understood  it  as  signifying  all  felled 
iDood ;  for  there  was  a  complaint  against  them  in  parliament/  that 
tithe  was  demanded  of  trees  of  twenty  years'  growth,  under  the  name 
of  "  silva  cadua."^ 

Cap.  VI.  In  many  parts  of  our  province  there  hath  arisen  a  cus- 
tom, or  rather  a  vile  corruption,  that  oblations  made  in  churches,  or 
in  their  porches,  or  in  burial-grounds,  at  the  altars,  crosses,  images, 
or  relics  there,  are  unlawfully  seized  by  laymen,  and  applied  to 
various  uses  at  their  discretion,  under  colour  of  a  work,  custom,  or 
some  other  pretence. 

Note.   The  icork  was  probably  the  repair  of  the  church,  the  purchase 

of  ornaments,  &c. 


Concilia  Magn^  BRiTANNiiE,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  iir. 

WiLK.  iii.  25.  Constitution  of  archbishop  Islip,  a.d.  1352,  against 
a  practice  which  then  prevailed  of  giving  the  tenth  sheaf  to  the 
reapers  as  an  equivalent  for  their  labour,  and  then  paying  tithes  of 
the  remainder ;  so  that  the  clergy  received  an  eleventh  instead  of 
a  tenth  of  the  produce. 

Ibid.  p.  30.  Another  constitution  of  the  same  archbishop,  a.  d.  1353, 
to  the  effect  that  the  stipends  of  chaplains  should  in  no  case  exceed 
seven  marks  per  annum,  or  about  931.  6s.  8d.  of  our  money. 

Ibid.  p.  60. — Constitution  of  Simon  Langham,  bishop  of  Eli/, 
A.D.  1364. 

That  no  oblations  shall  be  received  from  the  laity  after  mass 
on  Easter-day  when  they  communicate,  since  it  is  a  manifest  proof 
of  avarice.  We  have  heard  also,  at  which  we  are  not  a  little  grieved, 
that  some  priests  extort  money  from  the  laity  for  administering 
penance,  or  the  other  sacraments;  and  that  some,  for  the  sake  of 
filthy  lucre,  enjoin  such  penances  as  produce  emolument,  as  anmuils, 
{and  other  celebrations  of  masses)  :  that  a  woman,  after  child-birth, 
who  hath  been  known  by  her  husband  before  her  purification,  must 
bring  afterwards  a  {second)  oblation  to  the  altar,  in  company  with 
some  woman  who  is  to  be  purified  in  the  same  parish :  also  that  a 
murderer,  or  one  who  hath  procured  the  death  of  another,  shall  make 
an  offering  for  every  person  who  dies  in  the  same  parish. 

Ibid.  p.  67.  A  constitution  of  Simon  Langham,  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, A.  D.  1367,  from  which  it  appears,  that  in  the  city  of  London 
householders  formerly  paid  to  the  parish  priest  a  farthing  for  every  ten 
shillings  of  their  rent.  Thus,  a  house  which  let  for  twenty  shilUngs 
a-year  was  rated  at  a  halfpenny  ;  if  it  let  for  forty  shillings  a-year, 
at  a  penny  ;  and  so  on  in  proportion. 

■"  45  Edward  III.  '  Johnson. 


VALUE  OF  ENGLISH  TITHES  IN  THE  FOURTEENTH  CENTURY,   137 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  90.  A  royal  statute  in  the  Norman  French,  a.  d.  1371, 
against  the  practice  of  the  clergy,  who  demanded  tithes  of  old 
timber,  of  twenty  or  forty  years'  growth,  under  the  name  of 
"  silva  ccedua." 

Ibid,  p.  101.  There  is  a  commission  of  archbishop  Simon  de  Sud- 
bury, A.  D.  1375,  of  considerable  value,  as  it  enables  us  to  estimate 
with  a  tolerable  degree  of  accuracy  the  net  produce  of  tithes  in 
England  at  this  period.  The  Pope  had  demanded  from  the  English 
clergy  a  subsidy  of  sixty  thousand  florens,  "  which,"  says  the  arch- 
bishop, "  amounts,  at  the  very  least,  to  the  half  of  a  tenth ;"  so  that, 
according  to  this  calculation,  the  tithes  throughout  England  must 
have  equalled  about  1,200,000  florens  annually ;  and  the  value  of 
a  floren  having  been  about  six  shillings  (according  to  Dr.  Fleetwood), 
if  reduced  to  our  money,  the  result  would  be  about  £7,200,000 
per  annum.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.  a.d.  1412,  it  was  esti- 
mated at  £5,173,376,  including  18,400  ploughs  of  land.'  The 
total  gross  income  of  the  benefices  in  England  and  Wales,  according 
to  the  returns  made  in  1834,  is  £3,251,159  :  it  must  not,  however, 
be  forgotten,  that  a  very  large  portion  of  the  tithe  was  alienated 
from  the  church  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  and  of  course  is 
not  included  in  the  estimate.  Perhaps  we  must  also  make  some 
allowance  in  the  archbishop's  calculation  for  the  difference  between 
the  real  and  nominal  value  of  church  property ;  as  in  levying  the 
subsidies,  they  usually  employed  some  estimate,  (or  taxation,  as  it 
was  called,)  made  several  years  before.  In  the  middle  ages,  mor- 
tuaries (and  other  oblations  which  have  now  no  existence),  were 
a  fruitfiil  source  of  emolument  to  the  clergy ;  but  they  were  then 
about  ten  times  as  numerous  as  they  are  at  the  present  day,  and 
therefore  in  many  instances  wretchedly  provided  for.  In  reducing 
the  1,200,000  florens  to  our  present  money,  I  have  adopted  the 
statement  of  Hallam,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Middle  Ages,"  where 
he  says,  "  We  may  perhaps  consider  any  given  sum  under  Henry  III. 
and  Edward  I.  as  equivalent,  in  general  command  over  commodities, 
to  about  24  or  25  times  that  nominal  value  at  present ;  and  24 
seems  a  suflScient  multiple,  when  we  would  raise  a  sum  mentioned 
by  a  writer  under  Edward  I.  to  the  same  real  value  expressed  in 
our  present  money.  In  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  a.d.  1350,  the 
statute  of  labourers  fixes  the  wages  of  reapers  during  harvest  at 
three-pence  a  day  without  diet,  equal  to  five  shillings  at  present, — or 
twenty  times  the  original  sum."" 

Ibid.  p.  206. — Mandate  of  archbishop  Cov/rtney  respecting  tithes, 
A.D.  1389. 

We  command,  that  tithes  be  paid  from  pastures  and  meadows, 
whether  they  be  common  or  enclosed,  in  this  wise : — If  the  cattle 
which  feed  there  be  unfruitful,  such  as  horses,  colts,  or  bullocks,  let 
a  tithe  in  money  be  paid  for  every  acre,  according  to  its  true  value : 

«  Hume,  iii.  69.  "  Hallam,  ii.  518—523,  ch.  ix.  part  2. 


138  PERSONAL   TITHES MARRIED   PRIESTS. 

should  they  however  be  fruitful,  such  as  cows,  mares,  or  sheep,  in 
this  case,  besides  the  tithes  in  young,  wool,  cheese,  or  milk,  let  three- 
pence be  paid  to  the  church  for  every  cow.  Let  personal  tithes  be 
exacted  from  artificers,  whether  they  be  shoe-makers,  butchers, 
carpenters,  &c.,  according  to  the  amount  of  their  wages ;  and  let 
tithes  be  paid  of  all  that  the  earth  or  the  water  nourishes,  entire,  and 

without  any  deduction  of  expenses, on  pain  of  being  suspended 

from  entrance  into  the  church,  after  three  admonitions ;  and  should 
they  continue  contumacious,  let  them  be  excommunicated,  and  ab- 
solved only  by  the  archbishop. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  219.  Constitution  of  archbishop  Courtney,  a.d.  1393, 
to  the  effect,  that  calves,  lambs,  &c.  should  not  be  given  as  tithe  tUl 
they  had  been  weaned. 

Ibid,  p.  567. — Council  of  the  province  of  Cashel,  at  Limerick, 
A.D.  1453. 

Can.  34.  That  physicians,  poets,  goldsmiths,  carpenters,  &c.  are 
bound  to  pay  tithes  of  all  their  lawful  gains,  the  necessary  expenses 
being  first  deducted 

Can.  41.  That  a  tenth  part  of  waste  land  belongs  to  the  parson, 
as  well  as  of  arable  land. 

Can.  63.  That  tithes  of  cheese  and  milk  are  not  due  at  the  same 
time  ;  but  when  the  cheese  is  made,  the  rector  may  choose  whether 
he  will  have  milk  or  cheese. 

Can.  73.  The  council  declares,  that  beneficed  clerks  shall  pay 
tithes  in  the  places  where  their  benefices  are  situated ;  wanderers 
(vagabundi)  in  the  place  where  they  study ;  and  householders  in  the 
place  where  they  reside. 

Can.  74.  The  councU  (further)  declares  that  laymen  cannot  pos- 
sess ecclesiastical  revenues  by  hereditary  right,  although  their  an- 
cestors may  have  possessed  these  revenues  for  four  or  more  years. 

Can.  98.  That  all  pardoners  (qucestores)  shall  pay  tithes  to  the 
parish  church  where  they  reside,  and  from  which  they  receive  the 
sacraments,  of  all  their  gains  {arising  from  the  sale  of  indulgences). 

Can.  120.  That  in  the  province  of  Cashel,  as  well  as  other  parts 
of  Ireland,  the  first-fruits  of  a  benefice  shall  belong  to  the  ordinary 
who  hath  collated  it. 

Some  information  respecting  mortuaries,  oblations,  and  other 
sources  of  ecclesiastical  revenue  will  be  found  at  the  end  of 
Chapter  V.  §  5.  See  also  in  the  first  section  of  this  chapter,  pp. 
91,  92,  95,  98,  106,  115,  and  N.,  116,  117,  120,  &c.,  122. 


KING   EDGAR   ENFORCES   THE    CELIBACY   OF   THE   CLERGY.       139 

§  III.— CELIBACY  OF  THE  CLBRGY. 
Concilia  Magn^  Britannia,  &c.  Edit.  Wilmns,  Vol.  1. 

WiLKiNS,  Concil.  I.  2. — Canons  of  St.  Patrick  and  other  Irish 
bishops,  a.d.  456. 

Can.  6.  Should  any  clergyman,  from  an  ostiary  to  a  priest, 
appear  without  his  tunic ;  if  his  hair  should  not  be  shaved  according 
to  the  Roman  method ;  or  if  his  wife  should  walk  about  with  her 
head  uncovered  (or  unveiled),  let  such  be  both  despised  by  the  laity, 
and  separated  from  the  church. 

Note.   Saint  Patrick  himself  "was  the  son  of  Calphumius  a  deacon, 

who  was  the  son  of  Potitus  a  priest.     See  his  own  words  in  the  "  Book 

of  Armagh,"  published  by  Sir.  W.  Betham. 

Ibid.  p.  103. — Excerptions  of  Ecgbert,  archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  750. 

Ex.  31.  That  none  of  the  clergy  be  allowed  to  have  a  sub- 
introduced  woman. 

Note.  Martin  of  Braga  understands  by  this,  an  adopted  or  pretended 
sister,  or  other  relation.     This  is  termed  by  Ecgbert  a  Nicene  canon. 

Ex.  32.  The  canons  also  teach,  that  if  any  man  marry  a  widow 
or  a  divorced  woman,  or  if  he  marry  a  second  time,  he  shall  never  be 
made  a  deacon  or  a  priest. 

Ibid.  p.  133. — Poenitential  of  Ecgbert,  archbishop  of  York,  a.  d.  750. 

B.  iii.  ch.  1.  If  a  priest  or  deacon  marry,  let  him  lose  his  orders  : 
and  if  they  commit  fornication  after  they  are  ordained,  let  them, 
besides,  fast  seven  years,  according  to  the  directions  of  the  bishop. 

Ibid.  p.  214. — Council  of  London,  under  king  Edmond,  a.d.  944. 

Cap.  I.  That  persona  in  holy  orders,  who  ought  to  be  an  example 
to  the  people  of  God,  preserve  their  chastity  :  if  not,  let  them  lose 
their  worldly  possessions,  and  (the  privilege  of  being  buried  in)  a  con- 
secrated cemetery. 

Cap.  IV.  If  a  man  shall  defile  a  nun,  or  commit  adultery,  let  him 
not  be  considered  worthy  of  a  consecrated  burying-place,  unless  he 
make  the  same  compensation  as  for  murder. 

Ibid.  p.  219.   Laws  of  the  Northumbrian  priests,  a.d.  950. 
Can.  35.    If  a  priest  shall  desert  his  wife,  and  marry  another,  let 
him  be  anathema. 

Note.  Wilkins  translates  cwenan  "  concubtnam ;"  Johnson  has,  how- 
ever, shown  that  it  had  an  honest  signification  among  our  forefathers, 
nay,  that  it  was  sometimes  applied  even  to  the  queen  herself. 

Ibid.  p.  233. — Archbishop  Dunstan's  Poenitential,  a.  d.  963. 

Cap.  XXXI.  If  a  priest,  monk,  or  deacon,  had  a  lawful  wife  before 
his  ordination,  and  hath  dismissed  her  and  taken  orders,  and  after- 
wards hath  often  cohabited  with  her,  let  each  of  them  fast  the  same 
as  for  murder,  and  vehemently  lament  it. 


140  PRIESTS   IN   VILLAGES  ALLOWED   WIVES. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  239.  EHgar,  in  his  charter  called  Oswaldes-law,  a.d.  964, 
says,  that  by  his  authority  Oswald,  bishop  of  Worcester,  "  having 
banished  the  foolish  songs  and  filthy  obscenities  of  the  (secular) 
clergy,  gave  their  possessions  to  monks,  the  religious  servants  of 
God ;  which  grant,  made  unto  the  monks,  I  confirm  by  my  royal 
authority,  and  with  the  concurrence  of  my  princes  and  nobles,  so 
that  from  henceforward  the  (^secular)  clergy  shall  have  no  right  or 
pretence  to  reclaim  any  thing  from  thence,  because  at  the  peril  of 
their  order  they  preferred  continuing  with  their  wives  to  (the  duty 
if)  serving  God  chastely  and  canonically. 

Ibid.  p.  250. — The  canons  of  .Mlfric  to  Wulfinus  a  bishop,  a.d.  970. 

Can.  1.  I  tell  you,  O  priests,  of  a  truth,  what  has  been  appointed 
concerning  the  priesthood.  Christ  himself  established  Christianity 
and  chastity ;  let  all  therefore  who  would  walk  in  his  way  forsake 
the  company  of  their  wives,  for  he  himself  hath  declared,  that  "  he 
who  hateth  not  his  wife  is  not  worthy  of  me." 

Can.  6.  The  priests  of  this  age  often  say  that  Peter  had  a  wife, 
and  they  say  truly,  for  it  was  proper  that  he  should  under  the  old 
dispensation  before  he  was  converted  to  Christ,  but  when  he  became 
Christ's  disciple  he  forsook  his  wife. 

Can.  7.  Under  the  old  dispensation  (priests)  might  lawfully  have 
wives,  since  they  neither  celebrated  mass,  nor  gave  the  housel  to 
men,  but  sacrificed  animals,  till  Christ  before  his  passion  instituted 
the  mass. 

Ibid.  p.  268. — Capitula  made  in  king  ^thelred's  reign,  a.  d.  994. 

Cap.  XII.  It  is  not  proper  that  any  woman  should  dwell  in  the 
house  Avith  a  priest;  (and)  although  the  canons  allow  this  to  a 
mother  or  a  sister,  and  other  (relations),  whom  we  dare  not  suspect 
of  any  thing  that  is  infamous,  yet  we  prohibit  all  women  (from  doing 
so),  because,  although  they  may  be  relations,  yet  they  have  other 
maids  who  it  is  to  be  feared  may  entice  the  priest  to  sin. 

Ibid.  p.  286. — Provisions  of  the  wise  men  at  Engsham  (Oxfordshire), 
under  uEthelred,  A.  D.  1009. 

Cap.  I.  We  entreat  and  charge  all  God's  servants,  and  especially 
priests,  that  they  obey  God,  love  chastity,  and  beware  of  the  wrath 
of  God  ;  and  let  them  know  assuredly  that  they  ought  not  to  cohabit 
with  a  wife.  But,  what  is  still  worse,  some  have  two  or  more  ;  and 
some,  after  dismissing  (the  wife)  whom  they  formerly  had,  during 
her  lifetime  marry  another,  as  it  becomes  not  christians  to  do. 
Whosoever  will  live  chastely,  as  an  addition  of  worldly  honour,  let 
him  enjoy  the  weregild  and  other  rights  of  a  thane,  both  during  his 
lifetime  and  at  his  burial ;  and  if  any  man  wUl  not  act  as  becometh  his 
order,  let  him  be  deprived  of  his  dignity  both  before  God  and  man. 

Note.    Cap.  vi.  of  king  Canute's  ecclesiastical  laws,   A.  D.  1033,  is 
nearly  the  same." 

'  Wilk.  i.  301. 


CELIBACY   AND    ITS    HORRIBLE   RESULTS.  141 

WiLK.  i.  p.  365. — Council  of  Winchester,  under  Lanfranc,  a.d.  1076. 

Can.  15.    Let  clerks  either  live  chastely,  or  desist  from  their  office. 

Ibid.  p.  367.  In  the  council  of  Winchester,  under  Lanfranc,  a.d. 
1076,  it  was  decreed,  "  that  no  canon  regular  (canonicus)  shall  have 
a  wife  :  but  priests  who  live  in  castles  or  in  villages,  who  have  wives, 
shall  not  be  forced  to  dismiss  them ;  if  they  have  not,  let  them  be 
forbidden  to  marry :  and  henceforth  let  bishops  beware  that  they 
presume  not  to  ordain  any  persons,  either  priests  or  deacons,  till 
they  have  first  professed  that  they  have  no  wives." 

Note.  The  following  was  the  profession  of  chastity  required  at  this 
period :  "  I  brother  N,  in  the  presence  of  my  lord  bishop  N,  promise 
unto  God  and  to  all  his  saints,  that  I  will  preserve  the  chastity  of  my 
body,  according  to  the  canonical  decrees,  and  the  order  which  is  about 
to  be  conferred  upon  me."  "  From  the  context  of  the  extract  preceding 
this  note,  it  appears  to  me  evident  that  Ailric,  late  bishop  of  Chichester, 
had  been  deposed  on  account  of  his  being  married.  Agelmar,  bishop  of 
Elmham,  just  before  the  conquest,  and  brother  to  archbishop  Stigand, 
was  certainly  a  married  prelate." 

Ibid.  p.  378. — Letter  of  Pope  Paschalll.  to  archbishop  Anselm, 
a.d.  1100. 

We  believe  that  your  brotherhood  is  not  ignorant  what  has  been 
determined  in  the  Roman  church  concerning  the  sons  oi  preihyters. 
But  whereas  in  the  kingdom  of  England  their  number  is  so  great  that 
almost  the  greater  and  better  part  of  the  clergy  belong  to  this  class,  we 
commit  a  dispensing  power  to  your  care. 

Ibid.  p.  382, — Council  of  London,  under  archbishop  Anselm, 
a.d.  1102. 

Can.  V.    That  no  archdeacon,  priest,  or  deacon,  marry  a  wife,  or 

retain  her  if  he  hath  married  her. 

Can.  VI.    That  a  priest,  while  he  unlawfully  converses  with  a 

woman,  may  not  celebrfite  mass. 

Can.  VII.    That  no  man  be  ordained  a  subdeacon,  or  over,  without 

a  profession  of  chastity. 

Can.  viu.    That  tlie  sons   of  priests   inherit   not  their  fathers' 

churches. 

Can.  X.  That  priests  go  not  to  drinking-bouts,  or  drink  to  pegs. 
Note.  "  Ad  pinnas  bibant."  To  check  the  vice  of  drunkenness,  in 
the  year  969,  king  Edgar  "  ordained  certain  cups,  with  pins  or  nails  set 
in  them ;  adding  thereunto  a  law,  that  what  person  drank  past  the  mark 
at  one  draught,  should  forfeit  a  certain  penny,  half  to  go  to  the  in- 
former, and  the  other  to  the  ruler  of  the  borough  where  the  offence  was 
committed."  ' 

w  Howel,  p.  83. 

»  See  Blomefield's  History  of  Norfolk,  vol.  x.  p.  386.  edit.  8vo. 

J  Fox,  i.  173.    And  see  the  article  on  PeG'Tankakds,  Gent.  Mag.  Sept.  1768. 


142  CELIBACY   AND   ITS   HORRIBLE   RESULTS. 

Can.  XXIX.  Against  a  certain  nameless  crime,  which  it  seems  then 
prevailed  among  the  clergy. 

Note.  So  general  was  the  abominable  crime  to  which  I  allude  at  this 
period  in  England,  that  the  following  passage  occurs  in  Anselm's  letter, 
which  immediately  follows  the  synodical  decrees,  (p.  384) :  "  It  is  also 
to  be  considered  that  this  crime  has  been  hitherto  so  general,  that 
scarcely  any  one  is  ashamed  of  it ;  and  therefore  many  being  ignorant 
of  its  atrocity,  have  precipitated  themselves  into  it.  Those  however 
who  have  polluted  themselves  with  this  crime  since  the  excommunica- 
tion has  been  published,  ought  to  have  a  severer  penance  imposed  upon 
them.  Concerning  archdeacons  and  canons  who,  having  forsaken  their 
wives,  place  them  in  separate  houses  upon  their  manors,  I  think  that, 
till  something  else  has  been  determined,  it  may  be  winked  at  (tolleran- 
dwn)  if  they  solemnly  engage  to  have  no  intercourse  with  them.  Con- 
cerning those  presbyters  who  from  fear  dare  not  leave  their  wives,  the 
decision  of  the  council  is  to  be  enforced."  Such  were  the  deplorable 
consequences  of  the  law  of  clerical  celibacy !  Howel  (in  his  Si/nojjsis 
Conciliorum,  p.  87,)  says,  "Totus  clerus  Eboracensis  nee  uxores  di- 
miserunt,  nee  castitatem  professi  sunt.  Adactus  ergo  est  Anselmus 
excommunicationem  singulis  dominicis  diebus  reno.vare  in  Sodomitas, 
et  alios  aUorum  criminum  conscios." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  387. — Council  of  London,  uuder  archbishop  Anselm, 
A.D.  1108. 

"  Many  presbyters,  notwithstanding  the  decrees  of  the  council  of 
London,  and  the  punishment  which  the  king  had  inflicted  upon  them, 
retained  their  wives,  or  had  since  married."  ^  At  this  council  king 
Henry  presided,  and  as  many  of  his  nobles  took  an  active  part  in  it, 
we  are  not  to  look  upon  it  as  an  ecclesiastical  synod.  Many  severe 
laws  were  enacted  against  the  married  clergy. 

Can.  I. — VIII.  It  is  decreed,  that  archdeacons,  priests,  deacons, 
and  subdeacons  shall  put  away  their  women  {foeminas),  on  pain  of 
being  deposed  and  thrust  out  of  the  choir. 

Can.  VIII.  All  archdeacons  shall  swear  not  to  receive  money  for 
conniving  at  the  transgression  of  this  statute,  and  whatever  arch- 
deacon or  (rural)  dean  shall  refuse  to  swear  this,  let  him  be  deposed 
from  his  office. 

Can.  IX.  Those  priests,  however,  who  shall  prefer  to  forsake  the 
company  of  women,  and  to  serve  God  and  the  holy  altars,  desisting 
from  their  office  for  forty  days,  shall  procure  vicars  to  act  for  them 
during  the  interim  :  a  (ftirther)  penance  being  enjoined  them  at  the 
discretion  of  the  bishop. 

Can.  X.  All  the  moveables  of  such  presbyters,  deacons,  &c.,  as 
shall  offend  hereafter,  shall  be  delivered  to  (their)  bishops,  and  also 
the  concubines,  with  their  property,  as  adulteresses. 

Ibid.  p.  408. — Council  at  London,  a.d.  1126,  under  John  de  Crema 

the  legate. 

Can.  13.    To  presbyters,  deacons,  subdeacons,  and  canons,  by  our 

X  Eadmer. 


THE   CONCUBINARY   TAX   EXTORTED   FROM   ALL   PRIESTS.        143 

apostolical  authority  we  forbid  the  society  of  wives,  concubines,  and 
women  of  every  description. 

Note.   Yet  a  few  months  after,  when  he  was  at  Durham,  this  chaste 

legate  was  surprised  in  the  act  of  fornication.  *    The  above  canon  is 

nearly  the  same  as  the  fifth  canon  of  the  council  of  AVestminster,  A.  D. 

1127. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  410. — In  the  council  of  Westminster,  under  archbishop 
WUliam  (Corhoyl),  a.d.  1127,  canons  5,  6,  7,  contain  very  severe 
enactments  against  married  or  concubinary  priests,  &c. 

Ibid.  p.  411.  Matthew  Paris  thus  speaks  of  another  London 
council,  which  he  places  in  the  year  1129  :  "  There  were  present  at 
this  council,  William  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Thurstan  archbishop 
of  York,  with  their  suiFragans ;  all  of  whom  king  Henry  deceived 
through  the  simplicity  of  the  primate  ;  for  they  granted  to  the  king 
a  jurisdiction  over  the  concubines  of  priests,  the  consequences  of 
which  were  very  scandalous,  for  the  king  received  an  immense  sum 
of  money  from  priests  to  redeem  their  concubines"  (focariis).  In 
the  Saxon  Chronicle,  it  is  said  that  the  prelates  unanimously  agreed 
in  this  council,  that  such  of  the  priesthood  as  refused  to  put  away 
their  wives  by  the  festival  of  St.  Andrew  next  ensuing,  should  be 
deprived  of  their  benefices :  "  but  the  king  gave  them  all  permission 
to  return  home,  and  so  they  returned  home,  nor  had  all  these  decrees 
any  forces ;  for  all  retained  their  wives  as  they  had  done  before, 
with  the  king's  permission." 

Ibid.  p.  415.  Legatine  council  of  Westminster,  a.d.  1138,  canon  8, 
against  married  and  concubinary  priests,  that  they  presume  not  to 
celebrate  mass,  and  that  they  be  deprived  of  office  and  benefice. 

Ibid.  p.  423.  A  hull  of  Pope  Lucius  II.,  annulling  those  charters 
by  which  sons  succeeded  to  the  preferment  held  by  their  fathers, 
a.d.  1144.  Yet  Clement  III.,  in  1189,  allowed  the  legitimate  sons 
of  clerks  to  succeed  their  fathers.  *• 

Ibid.  p.  548. — Council  of  Dublin,  a.d.  1217. 

Let  the  concubines  of  priests  or  clerks  be  compelled  to  do  penance, 
and  let  not  rectors  commit  their  parishes  to  the  care  of  notorious 
fornicators. 

Ibid.  p.  573. — Council  of  Durham,  under  Richard,  bishop  of  Durham, 

A.D.  1220. 

That  priests  live  honestly,  and  expel  their  concubines  to  a  distance 
from  their  houses.  If  they  persist,  let  them  not  only  be  deprived  of 
their  benefices,  but  deposed  for  ever.  Let  prelates  also  who  pre- 
sume to  countenance  them  in  their  iniquities  from  avaricious 
motives,  suffer  the  same  punishment. 

Note.  Such  was  the  state  of  clerical  morality  before  the  Refonnation, 
that  among  the  Centum  Gravamina  presented  by  the  German  princes  to 
the  Pope's  legate  at  the  diet  of  Nuremberg,  A.  D.  1522,  there  occurs  the 

»  Wintoniensis  apud  Johnson.  *>  Deer.  lib.  i.  Tit.  xvii.  cap.  12. 


144  THE   CONFESSIONAL   AN   INSTRUMENT   OF   SEDUCTION. 

following :  "  GRAVAMEN  xci.  Also  in  many  places,  bishops  and  their 
officials  not  only  tolerate  priests  who  keep  concubines,  provided  a  cer- 
tain sum  of  money  be  paid,  hut  they  even  compel  continent  priests,  and 
who  live  without  concubines,  to  pay  the  concuhinary  tax  ;  asserting  that 
the  bishop  is  in  want  of  money,  and  that  when  they  have  paid  it,  they 
may  either  remain  in  a  state  of  celibacy,  or  keep  concubines." ' 

And  since  a  priest,  when  he  commits  sin,  causes  the  people  of  God 
to  offend,  let  him  especially  abstain  from  his  spiritual  daughter, 
from  a  woman  who  confesses  to  him,  and  from  all  to  whom  he  hath 
dispensed  the  sacraments  of  the  church. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  590. — Coundl  of  Oxford,  under  archbishop  Langton, 
A.  D.  1222. 

Cap.  XXVIII.  That  beneficed  clerks,  and  those  who  are  in  holy 
orders,  presume  not  to  keep  concubines  pvhlicly  in  their  houses,  or 
where  there  is  scandal  to  have  public  access  to  them. 

Note.   Upon  this  Lindwood  remarks,  that  priests  keeping  concubines 

privately,  are  here  excused  as  to  the  punishment,  but  not  as  to  the 

crime.  •* 

Ibid.  p.  606.  A  letter  from  Walter,  archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  1225, 
to  remove  such  clerks  as  had  succeeded  their  fathers  in  their  bene- 
fices. 

Ibid.  p.  607.  A  decree  of  Stephen,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a.  d. 
1225,  that  "  the  concubines  of  clerks  in  holy  orders  shall  not  have 
christian  burial.  Also  that  they  shall  not  be  churched  (purificentur) 
even  if  they  desire  it,  unless  they  undertake  to  make  satisfaction." 

Ibid.  p.  609.  — Promndal  council  in  Scotland,  a.  d.  1225. 

Can.  xvill.  Against  concubinary  priests,  who  were  evidently  very 
numerous ;  for  the  words  are,  "  ad  profugandum  putridum  illud  cupi- 

dinis  libidinosce  contagium,  quo  decor  ecclesice  turpiter  maculatur 

nolentes  ergo  tantam  ecclesim  ignominiam  prceterire,"  &c.* 

Can.  XXIII.  That  beneficed  clerks  hereafter  presume  not  to  buy 
houses  or  possessions  in  a  lay  fee,  for  the  use  of  their  concubines  and 
children. 

Can.  Liil.  If  any  priest  shall  commit  fornication  with  his  spiritual 
daughter,  let  him  know  that  he  is  guilty  of  flagrant  adultery.  A 
bishop  or  a  priest  ought  not  to  have  connexion  with  the  women  who 
confess  their  sins  to  them ;  and  if  this  should  happen,  which  God 
forbid,  let  a  bishop  do  penance  for  fifteen  years,  and  a  priest  for 
twelve  years  ;  and  let  them  be  deposed,  if  it  come  to  the  ears  of  tlie 
people. 

Ibid.  p.  627. — Inquiries  made  in  the  diocese  of  Lincoln,  a.d.  1230. 
In.  6.    Whether  any  beneficed  clerks  in  holy  orders  be  married  ? 
In.  1.   Whether  any  clerks  frequent  the  churches  of  nuns  without 
a  reasonable  cause  ? 

c  Brown's  Fasciculus  Rerum,  p.  354,  &c.      ''  In  loco.       «  See  also  cap.  Ixii. 


LAX   MORALITY    OF    THE    CANONISTS.  145 

In.  20.  Whether  any  rector  or  vicar  be  the  son  of  the  last  in- 
cumbent ? 

WiLK.  i.  p.  653. — Legatine  constitutions  of  cardinal  Otho,  a.d.  1237. 

Cap.  XV.  It  has  been  made  known  to  us,  that  many,  unmindful  of 
their  salvation,  having  contracted  marriages  in  a  clandestine  way, 
retain  both  their  preferment  and  their  wives;  that  they  get  new 
benefices,  and  are  promoted  to  holy  orders.  Let  such  be  altogether 
deprived  of  their  benefices. 

Cap.  XVI.  We  decree  also,  that  unless  clerks,  and  especially  those 
in  holy  orders,  who  publicly  keep  concubines,  either  in  their  own 
houses  or  elsewhere,  shall  remove  them  from  thence  within  a  month, 
they  be  suspended  from  their  ofiice  and  benefices. 

Note.  John  Athene,  a  Roman  Catholic  annotator  who  flourished  be- 
fore the  Reformation,  states  it  as  his  ojjinion,  that  if  a  clerk  kept  such  a 
woman  privately,  he  would  not  be  a  transgressor  of  the  constitution. 
In  reply  to  the  question,  "  If  a  clerk  keep  a  concubine  in  public,  so  as 
never  to  have  her  for  a  whole  month  at  once,  but  for  a  whole  year  at 
times,  does  he  avoid  the  penalty  of  this  constitution  ?"  he  declares  in 
the  affirmative  that  he  does,  and  applies  the  old  proverb,  "  Si  non  caste 
tamen  caute,"  a  great  demonstration  of  the  looseness  of  the  age,  and 
especially  of  the  canonists.  ^ 

Ibid.  p.  705. — Constitutions  of  Walter,  bishop  of  Durham, 
A.  D.  1255. 

Let  no  beneficed  clerk  in  holy  orders  marry  a  wife :  if  he  should 
do  so,  let  him  be  deprived  of  his  benefice,  and  suspended  from  the 
execution  of  his  office,  unless  in  a  case  allowed  by  law. 

That  priests  and  rectors  who  commit  fornication  with  their  spiritual 
daughters,  or  who  publicly  keep  concubines,  shall  be  also  suspended 
and  deprived. 

Note.  Spiritual  daughters,  i.  e.  women  whom  they  had  baptized  or 
shriven. 

We  strictly  forbid  clerks  to  frequent  the  monasteries  of  nuns 
without  reasonable  cause. 


Concilia  Magn^  Britannia,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  ii. 
WiLK.  ii.  5. — Constitutions  of  Cardinal  Othohon  the  legate,  a.d.  1268. 

Cap.  VIII.  Unless  clerks,  and  especially  those  in  holy  orders,  who 
publicly  keep  concubines,  in  their  own  houses  or  elsewhere,  dismiss 
them  within  a  month,  let  them  be  suspended  from  office  and  benefice. 

Ibid.  p.  40.  A  process  instituted  by  archbishop  Peckham,  a.d. 
1279,  against  a  certain  bishop  (whom  he  does  not  name),  for  having 
five  {illegitimate)  chiklrcn,  a.d.  1279. 

•  Johnson. 


146  VARIOUS    LAWS   AGAINST   INCONTINENT    PRIESTS. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  60. — Constitution  of  archbishop  Peckham,  at  Lambeth, 
A.D.  1281. 

That  the  sons  of  presbyters  shall  not  have  churches  committed  to 
their  charge  in  which  their  fathers  have  lately  ministered. 

Ibid.  p.  106.  In  a  letter  from  archbishop  Peckham  to  the  bishop 
of  St.  David's,  a.d.  1284,  he  says:  "We  decree,  that  in  punishing 
the  clergy  for  the  vice  of  lust,  the  regulations  of  the  holy  fathers 
Otho  and  Othobon  shall  be  observed."  In  the  preceding  page  he 
had  said  to  the  bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  "  And  because  it  hath  been  of 
old  notorious  that  your  clergy  have  enormously  and  beyond  measure 
been  polluted  with  the  vice  of  incontinence,"  &c. ;  from  which  it  is 
evident  that  the  morals  of  the  Welsh  clergy  were  at  this  period  at  a 
very  low  ebb. 

Ibid.  p.  169. — Constitution  of  Gilbert,  bishop  of  Chichester,  a.d.  1289. 

Cap.  n. — IX.  If  any  (clerk)  accused  of  the  vice  of  incontinence 
cannot  canonicaUy  purge  himself,  let  him  be  considered  as  convicted, 
and  deprived  of  the  fruits  of  his  benefice.  They  however  are  to  be 
more  severely  punished  who  have  violated  the  chastity  of  their  own 
spiritual  daughters,  whom  they  have  baptized  or  (even)  once  confessed. 

Cap.  IV.  Rectors  who  are  not  afraid  to  corrupt  their  own  parish- 
ioners, ought  to  be  degraded  from  their  office,  and  after  doing 
penance  by  pilgrimage  for  fifteen  years,  to  pass  the  remainder  of 
their  lives  in  a  monastery. 

Note.  This  alludes  to  an  unnatural  ofience,  the  words  being  ^pro- 
prios  parochianos." 

Cap.  VI.  The  concubines  of  priests,  or  of  others  in  holy  orders, 
are  to  be  excommunicated ;  and  let  rectors  take  care  not  to  entrust 
their  parishes  to  the  charge  of  priests  who  are  notorious  fornicators, 
or  convicted  of  incontinence,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  forty  shillings,  to 
be  applied  to  the  structure  of  Cliichester  cathedral. 

Ibid.  p.  176. — Constitutions  of  the  diocese  of  Sodor,  a.d,  1291. 

Cap.  VI.  We  strictly  forbid  the  rectors  of  churches,  vicars, 
priests,  or  clerks  in  holy  orders,  to  keep  concubines  publicly  or  pri- 
vately, from  whence  an  evil  suspicion  may  arise. 

Note.  The  Latin  word  which  I  translate  concubines  is  "focarias," 
which  I  strongly  suspect  to  be  a  term  of  reproach  applied  to  the  lawful 
wives  of  the  clergy ;  for  otherwise  it  would  foUow  that  inferior  clerks  or 
laymen  might  lawfully  keep  concubines.  The  marriage  of  priests  was 
considered  as  a  kind  of  adultery,  and  their  wives  therefore  experienced 
both  hard  names  and  ill  usage. 

Ibid.  p.  502. — Constitution  of  Richard,  bishop  of  Ossory,  a.d.  1320. 

Cap.  VI.  Whereas  the  filthy  contagion  of  lust  hath  become  so 
common  among  clerks  and  priests  in  these  days,  that  neither  the 
authority  of  the  gospel,  nor  canonical  severity,  hath  been  hitherto 
able  to  extirpate  it ;  since  they  still  publicly  retain  their  concubines, 


UNBLUSHING    EFFRONTERY    OF   A    FRIAR.  147 

to  the  danger  of  their  own  eternal  damnation,  the  disgrace  of  ilie 
ecclesiastical  order,  and  the  pernicious  example  of  the  people ;  we 
decree  that  all  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  of  Ossory,  who  keep  concu- 
bines, shall  put  them  away  altogether  within  a  month  from  this  time, 
on  pain  of  suspension  from  their  office.  And  let  them  nevertheless 
lose  a  third  part  of  the  fruits  of  their  benefices,  to  be  disposed  of  at 
the  discretion  of  the  ordinary.  Those  however  who  continue  dis- 
obedient after  this  punishment,  shall  be  considered  as  incorrigible, 
and  deprived  of  their  benefices. 

Concilia  Magn^  Britannle,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  III. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  59. — Constitution  of  Simon  Langham,  hishop  of  Ely, 
A.D.  1364. 

Let  all  bene^.ced  clerks  and  all  in  holy  orders  avoid  the  vice  of 
luxury  and  all  voluntary  uncleanness  of  the  flesh,  and  let  none  of 
them  marry  a  wife ;  and  if  any  man  shall  have  married  a  wife  before 
he  received  holy  orders,  let  him  not  hold  an  ecclesiastical  benefice, 
or  exercise  the  ministerial  functions :  and  let  not  clerks,  without  a 
reasonable  cause,  frequent  the  monasteries  of  nuns. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  277.  Mandate  of  the  hishop  of  Exeter,  a.d.  1403.  That 
no  married  persons,  whether  clerks  in  minor  orders,  or  laymen,  should 
exercise  any  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  whatsoever,  such  as  the  power 
of  excommunication,  suspension,  &c. 

Ibid.  p.  430,  a.  d.  1424,  John  Russel,  a  preaching  friar  and  priest, 
was  summoned  before  the  convocation  for  having  publicly  preached, 
at  Stamford  on  Corpus  Christi  day,  that  "  a  monk  might  lie  with  a 
Avoman  without  committing  mortal  sin ;"  which  conclusion  he  caused 
to  be  affixed  to  the  church-door. 

Note.  In  page  364  of  this  volume,  we  find  the  university  of  Oxford 
complaining,  that  "  whereas  the  carnal  and  lascivious  lives  of  priests  is 
at  this  time  a  scandal  to  the  whole  church,  and  whereas  their  public 
fornication  passes  altogether  unpunished,  unless  perchance  by  some 
trifling  and  secret  pecuniary  penalty;  it  appears  expedient,  for  the 
purifymg  of  the  church,  that  if  a  priest,  of  whatsoever  order,  is  a  public 
fornicator,  he  shall  abstain  from  the  celebration  of  mass  during  the 
time  limited  by  law,  and  also  publicly  undergo  corporal  punishment." 
This  was  written  A.D.  1414. 

Ibid.  p.  696. — Proclamation  of  king  Henry  VIII.,  a.d.  1521. 
The  kynges  majestie,  understandyng  that  a  fewe  in  numbre  of 
this  his  realme,  being  priests,  as  well  religious  as  othei",  have  taken 
wives,  and  married  themselves :  his  highness,  in  no  wise  mindyng 
that  the  generalitee  of  the  clergie  shoulde  with  the  example  of  such 
a  fewe  numbre  of  light  personns  proceade  to  marriage  without  a 
common  consent  of  his  highness  and  his  realme,  doth  therefore 
straightlye  charge  and  commaunde,  as  well  all  and  singular  tlie  said 
priests  as  have  attempted  manages  that  be  openly  knawen,  that  thei, 
ne  any  of  them  shal  minister  any  sacrament  or  other  ministerie  mys- 
tical, ne  have  any  office,  dignitee,  cure,  privilege,  or  profit  belongyng 

L  2 


148  SLAUGHTER   OF   XHK   MONKS   OF   BANGOR. 

to  the  clergie  of  this  realme ;  but  shal  be  utterly  after  such  manages 
expelled  and  deprived  from  the  same. 

Note.  In  the  course  of  this  document  he  threatens  also  imprisonment 
to  such  priests  as  sliould  hereafter  marry. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  697.  In  the  convocation  the  same  year,  the  following 
proposition  was  propounded  :  "  That  all  such  canons,  laws,  decrees, 
usages,  and  customs,  heretofore  made,  had,  or  used,  that  forbyd  any 
person  to  contracte  matrimonie,  or  condemne  matrimonie  by  any 
person  already  contracted,  for  any  vowe  of  priesthood,  castitie,  or 
widohood,  shall  from  henceforth  be  utterly  voyde  and  of  none  effect." 
"  The  affirmantes  of  this  proposition  (saith  archbishop  Parker)  were 
almost  treble  as  many  as  were  the  iiegantes" 


§  IV.—THE   MONASTIC   SYSTEM. 
Concilia  Magn^e  Britannia,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  VoL.  I. 

WiLKlNs'  CONCIL.  i,  3. — Canons  of  St.  Patrick  Aitxilius,  SfC.  made 
in  Ireland,  a.d.  456. 

Can.  9.  Let  not  a  monk  and  a  virgin  dwell  in  one  house,  go  in 
the  same  conveyance  from  one  town  to  another,  or  earnestly  con- 
verse together. 

Ibid.  p.  25-28,  a.d.  601.  According  to  Bede^,  in  the  synod  of  Wor- 
cester, when  the  Britons  rejected  his  authority^,  "  the  man  of  God 
Augustin  is  said  to  have  threatened  the  Britons  prophetically,  '  that 
if  they  would  not  receive  terms  of  peace  from  their  brethren,  they 
must  expect  war  from  the  enemy ;  and  that  if  they  would  not  preach 
the  way  of  life  to  the  English  people,  by  their  hands  they  should 
suffer  the  judgment  of  death."  And  it  is  stated,  that  in  611,  (i.e. 
ten  years  after,)  in  the  time  of  Lawrence,  Augustin's  successor, 
Ethilfrid,  kin^of  Northumbria,  "at  the  request  of  Adelberd,  king  of 
Kent  (Ethelbert),  led  a  great  army  against  the  Britons,  and  slew 
twelve  hundred  of  the  monks  of  Bangor,  only  fifty  of  them  escaping." 
It  is  to  be  feared  that  Augustin  was  in  some  degree  instrumental  to 
the  accomplishment  of  his  own  prophecy.  Concerning  the  celebrated 
monastery  of  Bangor,  Nicholas  Trivet  tells  us,  that  "it  was  divided 
into  seven  parts,  in  every  one  of  which  there  were  three  hundred 
monks  who  lived  by  their  labour."  I  subjoin  the  original  as  a  curi- 
ous specimen  of  the  old  Norman  French :  "  Done  puis  que  Seint 
Augustin  estoit  venuz,  troua  en  Wales  un  Arcevesqe,  e  un  abheie 
tresnoble  en  la  cite  de  Bangor,  e  estoit  devisee  en  sept  portions,  e  en 
chescune  estoit  treis  cenz  moines,  q'  vivoient  de  lur  labour." 

f  Bede,  ii.  2.  «  See  p.  20,  &c. 


JOSEPH   OP   ARIMATHiEA — GLASTONBURY   ABBEY.  149 

WiLK,  p.  43. — Council  of  Henidford  (Hartford)  convened  by  Theo- 
dore, A.D.  673. 

Can.  3.  That  no  bishop  be  permitted  to  disturb  monasteries 
consecrated  to  God,  nor  violently  to  deprive  them  of  any  of  their 
property. 

Ibed.  p.  48. — Privileges  granted  hy  Pope  Agatho  to  the  monastery  of 
Medehamsted  (now  Peterborough),  from  the  Saxon  Chronicle, 
A.D.  680. 

Cap.  II.  and  iii.  That  neither  king,  bishop,  earl,  or  any  one  else, 
shall  have  any  tax  or  tribute,  or  exact  any  militaiy  or  other  service 
from  the  abbey  of  Medehamstead.  That  the  bishop  Qf  the  diocese 
shall  not  dare  to  ordain,  consecrate,  or  do  any  thing  in  the  abbey, 
(unless  at  the  request  of  the  abbot,)  or  exact  from  it  any  episcopal 
or  synodical  fine  or  tax  of  any  description. 

Cap.  IV.  It  is  my  will  also  that  this  abbot  shall  be  esteemed  legate 
of  the  see  of  Rome  throughout  the  whole  of  England,  and  that 
whosoever  shall  he  elected  abbot  of  that  place  by  the  monks,  shall  be 
consecrated  by  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  {Cantwarbyrig). 

Cap.  V.  I  will  and  confirm,  that  whosoever  shall  vow  to  make  a 
pilgrimage  to  Rome,  and  he  cannot  fulfil  his  vow  on  account  of  ill 
health,  &c.,  whether  he  be  an  Englishman  or  a  native  of  any  other 
island,  may  go  to  the  monastery  of  Medehamstead,  and  enjoy  the 
same  remission  from  Christ,  and  St.  Peter,  and  the  abbot  and  monks, 
which  he  would  have  enjoyed  if  he  had  gone  to  Rome. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  80.  In  the  charter  of  Ina,  king  of  the  West  Saxons, 
granted  to  Glastonbury  abbey,  a.  d.  725,  he  exempts  it  from  all 
episcopal  jurisdiction,  as  well  as  "from  aU  regal  exactions  and 
services,  such  as  (military)  expeditions,  and  building  of  bridges 
or  citadels ;  and  also  from  the  direction  and  interference  of  all 
archbishops  and  bishops."  Large  grants  of  land  accompanied  these 
extraordinary  privileges.  The  bishop  was  to  go  with  his  clergy 
once  a-year  to  his  mother  church  at  Glastonbury,  and  sing  the  litany 
there  ;  the  abbot  or  monks  might  permit  any  bishop  who  celebrated 
the  canonical  Easter,  to  officiate  and  administer  the  sacraments  in 
the  churches  under  their  controul.  The  king,  moreover,  strictly 
forbids  his  subjects  of  every  degree  from  entering  the  precincts 
of  the  abbey  for  the  purpose  of  pleading,  searching,  plundering 
{rapiendi),  commanding,  or  interdicting ;  "  and  whatever  causes 
shall  arise  concerning  murder,  sacrilege,  witchcraft,  robbery,  &c., 
concerning  ecclesiastical  discipline,  the  ordination  of  clerks,  or  synodal 
conventions,  let  them,  without  prejudice  to  any  man,  be  defined  by 
the  judgment  of  the  abbot  and  monks :  and  whosoever  shall  presume 
to  violate  this  grant,  let  him  know  that,  being  eternally  damned,  he 
will  perish  in  the  ineffable  torment  of  devouring  flames." 

Note.   According  to  the  monkish  legend,  a  wicker  church  thatched 
with  reeds  was  built  at  Glastonbury  by  Joseph  of  Arimathcea,  and  this 


150  IMMORALITY    OF   SOME   MONKS. 

church  was  considered  the  most  ancient,  not  only  in  England,  but  also 
in  the  world.     Thus,  A.D.  1162,  Henry  II.,  in  a  grant  of  his,  calls  it 
*  totius  Anglian,  et  orhis  CJiristiani  antiquissimce."     Concerning  \he  fable 
of  Joseph  of  Arimathaea,  see  Malinsbury  apud  Spelm.  i.  4-11. 
WiLK.  i.  p.  83.   Among  the  answers  of  Egbert,  archbishop  of  York, 
and  brother  to  Eadbyrht,  king  of  Northumbria,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing, A.D.  734:  "If  any  of  the  laity  who  are  known  to  preside  over 
monasteries,  shall  receive  persons  not  belonging  to  them  without 
letters  dismissory,  the  person  so  offending  shall  forfeit  ten  sicles^^  to 
the  king,   ten  to  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  and  ten  to  the  abbot 
whose  monk  he  hath  received." 

Q.  11.  What  do  you  say  to  this,  that  some  persons  having  monas- 
teries of  their,  own,  so  unadvisedly  dispose  of  them,  that  after  their 
demise  two  persons  preside  over  a  monastery  of  the  same  sex  ? 

Ibid.  p.  95.  Council  of  Cloves-hoo,  convened  by  archbishop  Cuth- 
hert,  A.D.  747. 

N.  B.    Some  think  the  place  to  have  been  Clift  in  the  hundred  of  Hoo 
in  Kent ;  and  others,  Abington,  Northamptonshire. 

Can.  5.  Strongly  condemns  the  usurpation  of  monasteries  by 
laymen,  which  then  prevailed  to  a  great  extent. 

Can.  20.  Proves  the  monastic  discipline  at  this  time  to  have 
become  very  lax,  as  it  forbids  laymen  to  enter  into  the  private 
rooms  or  cloisters  of  monasteries,  "  lest  they  should  see  any  thing 
indecent :  for  this  familiarity  of  laymen  is  both  vicious  and  hurtful, 
and  especially  in  the  monasteries  of  nuns,  whose  conversation  is 
irregular ;  for  by  this  means  not  only  causes  of  suspicion  arise,  but 
crimes  are  perpetrated,  to  the  disgrace  of  our  profession.  Let  not 
therefore  the  houses  of  nuns  (sanctimonialium)  be  chambers  of  filthy 
conversation,  junketting,  drunkenness,  and  luxury,  but  the  habitations 
of  chaste  and  sober  livers." 

Can.  21.  Let  not  monastics  either  indulge  in  the  vice  of  drunken- 
ness, or  compel  othei-s  to  drink  intemperately ;  and  let  them  not, 
like  tipplers,  engage  in  drinking-bouts  before  the  third  hour  of  the 
day,  called  the  canonical  hour. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  105. — Excerptions  of  Egbert,  abp.  of  York,  a.d.  750. 

Ex.  63.  Let  abbots,  as  becometh  religious  humility,  continue 
under  the  power  of  (their)  bishops ;  and  if  they  in  any  way  trans- 
gross  their  rule,  let  them  be  corrected  by  (their)  bishops.  Let 
monks  be  subject  to  their  abbots  ;  but  if  any  one  of  them  shall  act 
contumaciously,  wander  about  from  place  to  place,  or  presume  to 
have  any  thing  of  his  own,  let  all  that  he  hath  acquired  be  taken 
away  by  the  abbots,  and  let  those  who  wander  about  be  imprisoned 
as  deserters. 

Ex.  64.    If  any  abbot  be  not  humble,  chaste,  &c.,  let  him  be 
deposed  by  the  bishop  in  whose  territory  he  is,  with  the  concur- 
rence of  the  neighbouring  abbots  and  others  who  fear  God. 
h  The  value  of  the  side  was  about  twopence. 


PROFESSION   m   INFAXCV.  151 

Ex.  67.  Theodore  says,  "  Let  not  monks  go  from  place  to  place, 
but  let  them  continue  in  that  obedience  which  they  promised  at 
their  conversion." 

Ex.  68.  Let  the  monk  who  violates  his  sacred  rule,  "Vel  par- 
vulorum  incestuose,  aut  adolescentium  consectator,"  be  publicly 
whipped ;  let  him  lose  the  crown  which  he  bore  upon  his  head  (i.  e. 
the  tonsure),  and  being  shorn  bald,  let  him  suffer  the  grossest  insults  ; 
or,  loaded  with  iron  chains,  let  him  pine  in  a  dungeon. 

Ex.  70,    Let  monks  never  take  flesh  meat  at  their  meals,  &c. 

Ex.  94  and  95.  Infants  may  be  offered  with  the  will  and  consent 
of  their  parents  ;  and  let  the  person  thus  placed  in  a  monastery  by 
his  parents,  know  that  he  must  remain  there  for  ever. 

Note.  The  child  was  brought  to  the  church  by  his  father,  and  it  was 
a  part  of  the  ceremony  to  cover  his  hands  with  the  altar  paU.  Some- 
times children  were  thus  offered  in  the  very  cradle.  See  Du  Cange's 
Glossary,  voce  "  obluti,"  and  Bingham's  Orig.  Eccl.  b.  vii.  c.  iii.  §  4,  5. 

Ex.  110.  Monks  ought  not  to  take  food  before  the  third  sacred 
hour  of  the  day,  nor  partake  of  a  banquet :  nor  let  clerks  ever  eat 
till  they  have  first  repeated  a  hymn ;  and  afterwards  let  them  give 
God  thanks. 

Note.  Three  o'clock  having  been  anciently  the  ninth  hour,  was  called 
the  nones ;   whence  the  term  nooii,  though  now  misappUed. 

Ex.  120.  Lawful  matrimony  may  not  be  abrogated  without  the 
consent  of  both  parties ;  one  may  however,  with  the  advice  of  the 
bishop,  permit  the  other  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  God  (in 
a  monastery).  Some  say  that  in  that  case,  if  they  be  young  and 
cannot  contain,  the  other  party  may  engage  in  another  marriage, 
which  I  praise  not :  but  if  one  who  is  married  wishes  to  engage  in 
a  monastic  life,  let  him  not  be  received  unless  his  wife  {not  only) 
releases  him  {from  his  conjugal  vow),  but  herself  professes  celibacy. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  147. — Council  of  Cealchyihe,  a.d.  785. 

Can.  4.  That  bishops  take  care  that  their  canons  live  in  a  canon- 
ical manner :  and  that  monks  and  nuns  live  regularly,  both  as  far  as 
respects  their  food  and  attire ;  and  let  them  use  the  habit  which  the 
oriental  monks  wear. 

Ibid.  p.  169. — Council  of  Cealchyihe  under  Wulfred,  archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  a.d.  816. 

Cap.  V.  That  every  bishop  have  the  power  of  choosing  an  abbot 
or  an  abbess  in  his  own  diocese,  with  the  consent  and  advice  of  the 
family. 

Cap.  VII.  That  neither  bishops,  abbots,  nor  abbesses,  be  allowed 
to  grant  any  of  the  estates  belonging  to  their  churches,  except  for 
the  space  of  one  man's  life,  and  that  with  the  consent  and  permission 
of  the  family. 


152  EXTRAORDINABY   PRIVILEGES   OF    SANCTUARY. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  176. — Council  of  London,  a.d.  833,  from  Ingtdphus. 

Among  other  extraordinary  pri\ileges  granted  by  Withlasius, 
king  of  Mercia,  to  the  abbey  of  Crowland  in  Lincolnshire,  he  con- 
stituted an  asylum  there,  "to  which  if  any  criminal  should  fly,  let 
him  be  safe  and  enjoy  the  protection  of  the  abbot  and  monks ;  and 
let  no  officer  of  the  king  dare  to  follow  him,  or  in  any  way  to  vio- 
late the  asylum,  on  pain  of  losing  his  right  foot.  The  said  fugitive 
shall  also  be  allowed  to  fish  in  the  five  rivers  which  surround  the 
said  island  (of  Crowland),  or  to  navigate  them,  and  to  work  in  any 
manner  that  he  shall  be  ordered  by  his  masters,  without  being  in 
any  way  molested  by  my  officers." 

Ibid.  p.  181. — Council  of  Kingsbury,  a.d.  851,  under  Bertvlf, 
king  of  Mercia. 

In  the  council  of  Bennington',  "Askillus,  monk  of  Crowland, 
made  a  grievous  complaint  of  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  his  monas- 
tery by  the  Danes ;  for  which  reason,  at  the  council  of  Kingsbury, 
king  Bertulph  confirmed  and  augmented  the  privileges  granted  to 
that  monastery  by  his  brother  Withlasius.  If  cattle  belonging  to 
the  abbey  should  stray  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  island  of 
Crowland,  criminals  who  had  fled  to  the  asylum  were  permitted  to 
follow  them,  without  being  liable  to  be  apprehended :  and  it  was 
also  granted  to  the  brethren  of  this  monastery,  that  whenever  they 
went  abroad  upon  any  occasion,  they  might  lawfully  appoint  the 
fugitive  (criminals)  whom  they  met  in  the  course  of  their  journey  to 
be  their  servants,  and  that  they  should  thus  enjoy  the  same  degree 
of  safety  throughout  the  entire  kingdom  as  at  the  church  of  Crow- 
land, upon  pain  of  mutilation  of  the  most  precious  limb  (membri 
tnagis  dilecti),  should  any  one  rashly  violate  these  privileges."'' 

Note.   Like  most  of  the  monastic  charters,  the  above  are  suspected 

not  to  be  genuine. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  192. — Ecclesiastical  laws  of  Alfred  the  Great,  a.d.  876. 

Cap.  VI.  If  a  man  shall  take  a  nun  out  of  the  monastery  without 
the  leave  of  the  king  or  bishop,  let  him  pay  one  hundred  and  twenty 
shillings. 

Note.   See  Edgar's  law  called  Oswaldes-law,  a.  d.  964.* 

Ibid.  p.  240,  &c. — King  Edgar  s  charter  granted  to  the  monks  of 
^ .  Hi/de,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Winchester,  A.  D.  966. 

Cap.  vm.,  &c.  He  says  that,  "  fearing  lest  he  should  incur  eternal 
misery,"  he  had  expelled  the  vicious  canons  from  the  various  monas- 
teries throughout  his  dominions,  and,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  had  founded  the  monastery  at  Hyde.  He  says  that  "  the 
enemies  of  these  monks  would  hereafter  have  their  portion  with  the 
traitor  Judas,  shivering  with  cold,  parched  with  heat,  bound  with  chains 
of  fire,"  &c.;  and,  "  for  his  own  part,"  charitably  "  wishes  that  they 
'  In  the  same  page.  ^  lagulph.  '  See  p.  39. 


PRIVILEGES    OF   GLASTONBURY   ABBEY.  153 

may  suffer  the  curse  of  Cain,  and  may  be  placed  upon  the  left  hand 
among  the  goats,  to  endure  everlasting  torments."  These  monks 
were  to  be  free  in  every  respect  from  all  services,  &c.,  except  build- 
ing bridges  or  citadels,  and  expeditions,  commonly  called  "  trinoda 
NECESSITAS."  They  were  to  observe  the  Benedictine  rule,  and  an 
abbot  was  always  to  be  chosen  from  their  own  body. 

Note.  The  Latin  is  a  cui-ious  specimen  of  the  false  taste  of  the  age : 
"Evacuate  itaque  polorum  sede  et  eliminata  tumidi  fastus  spurcitia, 
summus  totius  bonitatis  arbiter,  lucidas  coelorum  sedes  non  sine  cultore 
passus  toi-pere,  hominem  ex  limo  conditum  vitse  spiraculo  ad  sui  for- 
mavit  similitudinem,"  &c.   (cap.  2.) 

WiLK.  i.  p.  246.  In  the  speech  of  king  Edgar,  a.d.  969,  he  says, 
talking  of  the  secular  clergy,  "  I  omit  that  they  have  no  open  crown 
or  convenient  tonsure  ;  but  lasciviousness  in  their  garments,  insolence 
in  their  gait,  filthiness  in  their  conversation,  betray  the  folly  of  their 
hearts.  Besides,  what  negligence  is  there  in  [the  celebration  of) 
divine  offices,  as  they  scarcely  deign  to  be  present  at  the  sacred 
vigils !  and  when  they  are  celebrating  the  holy  solemnities  of  the 
mass,  they  appear  to  have  assembled  together  rather  to  play  and  to 
laugh  than  to  sing  psalms.  Shall  I  say  that  the  good  lament,  and 
the  evil-minded  ridicule,  {their  conduct)  ?  Shall  I  say  with  grief,  (if 
indeed  it  can  be  told,)  how  they  abound  in  feasts,  in  drinking-bouts, 
and  in  every  sort  of  uncleanness,  even  to  overflow  ?  so  that  already 
the  houses  of  the  clergy  are  considered  as  resorts  of  harlots,  and  the 
conventicles  of  buifoons.  There  they  have  dice,  there  they  have 
dancing  and  singing  till  the  middle  of  the  night,  with  noisy  mirth 
and  abominable  watchings.  Thus  the  benefactions  of  kings,  the 
alms  of  the  poor,  and,  what  is  still  more,  the  price  of  {Christ's)  pre- 
cious blood,  is  profligately  squandered  away.  Was  it  for  this  that 
our  ancestors  exhausted  their  treasures?" 

Note.  That  king  Edgar  was  not  the  most  proper  person  to  make  such 
a  complaint,  is  clear  from  Wilk.  i.  249,  where  we  read — "  De  Edgaro 
rege  claustralem  virginem  comprimente  ;  et  de  injuncta  illi  a  Dunstano 
septennali  poenitentia." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  258. — Tlie  charter  of  king  Edgar  to  Glastonbury 
abbey,  a.d.  971. 

In  the  commencement  he  says  :  "  Wherefore  it  appeared  but  just 
that  the  church  of  the  most  blessed  mother  of  God  and  ever  Virgin 
Mary  at  Glastonbury,  as  of  old  it  hath  obtained  the  chief  dignity  in 
my  kingdom,  so  it  should  be  specially  honoured  by  us."  He  then 
proceeds  to  grant  to  the  abbot  and  monks  of  the  said  monastery 
"the  same  power  of  acquitting  or  punishing  in  their  court  that  I 
have  in  mine  own  throughout  the  entire  realm  of  England.  But  if 
the  abbot  or  any  monk  of  that  place  shall,  in  the  course  of  his  jour- 
ney, meet  a  robber  who  is  led  forth  to  be  hanged,  or  to  suffer  any 
other  kind  of  death,  let  him  have  ithe  power  of  rescuing  him  from 
his  imminent  danger  throughout  the  entire  realm  of  England."  More- 


154       LANFRANC  REFORMS  THE  BENEDICTINE  RULE. 

over  the  monastery  was  to  be  free  from  all  episcopal  jurisdiction 
except  that  their  churches  and  chrism  were  to  be  consecrated  by 
the  bishop  of  Fountain,  {Fontenai/  in  France  ?)  if  the  abbot  chose. 
There  is  a  salvo  to  the  dignity  of  the  holy  Roman  church,  and 
also  of  the  church  of  Dover. 

WiLK.  i,  p.  282.  In  the  privilege  of  king  JEthelred  to  the  monastery 
of  Christ's  church,  Canterbury,  a.d.  1003,  he  says,  that  "he  had 
expelled  the  (secular)  priests  from  Christ's  churches  throughout 
his  dominions,  on  account  of  their  notorious  crimes,  and  placed 
monks  there  in  their  stead."  In  his  charter,  he  makes  the  monas- 
tery free  from  all  earthly  obligations,  with  the  exception  of  military 
expeditions,  the  building  of  bridges,  and  the  repair  of  citadels. 
"  But  if  any  wicked  man,  through  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  shall 
violate  this  privilege,  let  him  be  the  companion  of  the  traitor  Judas ; 
and  let  him  be  eternally  lacerated  by  the  teeth  of  the  infernal  dogs, 
among  the  dreadful  torments  of  hell,  with  all  the  devils."  In  the 
Latin  copy  of  this  charter  (ibid.  p.  285,)  it  is  thus  expressed  :  "And 
let  him  be  eternally  gnawed  by  the  teeth  of  the  infernal  Cerberus, 
with  all  the  devUs  in  the  Stygian  lake." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  286. — Provisions  of  the  Wise  Men  at  Engsham 
(Oxfordshire),  under  ^thelred,  a.d.  1009. 

Procemium.  Let  every  monk  who  Kves  out  of  a  monastery,  and 
observes  not  his  rule,  return  with  all  humility  to  his  monastery ; 
and  let  the  monk  who  belongs  to  no  monastery  go  to  the  bishop  of 
the  province,  and  bind  himself  before  God  and  men  to  observe  at 
least  these  three  things,  viz.  1,  chastity ;  2.  the  monastic  habit ;  and 
3.  to  serve  the  Lord  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 
Ibid.  p.  328. — The  Constitutions  of  Archbishop  Lanfranc,  a.d.  1072. 

[These  constitutions  give  us  a  very  great  insight  into  the  monastic 
discipline  of  the  period.  The  beginning  of  this  document  consists 
entirely  of  ritual  directions,  relating  to  the  mode  of  celebration  at  the 
great  festivals,  &c.,  some  of  which  will  be  found  in  Chapter  V.  §  1, 
A.D.  1072:  but  we  learn  incidentally  from  them  that  monasteries 
at  this  period  contained  schools  for  the  instruction  of  children, 
the  discipline  of  which  was  very  strict.  My  extracts  begin  at 
p.  332,  and  I  shall  number  them  for  the  convenience  of  reference.] 

§  i.  (p.  332.)  On  the  first  Monday  in  Lent,  before  the  friars 
enter  the  chapter-room,  the  librarian  ought  to  have  all  the  books 
belonging  to  the  chapter  laid  out  upon  a  carpet  (tapetum),  with 
the  exception  of  those  which  were  given  to  be  read  on  the  pre- 
ceding year,  which  every  one  ought  to  bring  with  him  into  the 
chapter.  Then  let  the  said  librarian  read  briefly  the  manner  in 
which  the  books  were  disposed  of  in  the  past  year,  and  let  every 
one,  as  he  hears  his  name  called  over,  restore  the  book  which  had 
been  lent  him  to  read :  and  let  the  brother  Avho  knows  that 
he  has  not  read  the  book  which  he  received,  in  a  kneeling  posture 
confess  his  fault  and  entreat  pardon.     And  then  let  the  aforesaid 


VARIOUS    MONASTIC    OFFICERS.  155 

librarian  deKver  to  each  brother  another  book  to  read,  registering 
their  names  accordingly. 

§  ii.  (p.  346.)  Wherever  the  abbot  may  be  sitting,  let  no  man 
presume  to  sit  in  his  presence,  unless  he  shall  command  it,  in  which 
case  (the  person)  is  to  prostrate  himself  before  his  knees  and  kiss 
them,  and  then  with  all  humility  sit  beside  him.  Let  whosoever 
shall  either  give  any  thing  into  his  hand,  or  receive  any  thing  from 
him,  (first)  kiss  his  hand.  When  he  enters  the  refectory,  let  two 
brothers  serve  him  with  water  and  a  clean  towel.  Whenever  he  is 
in  the  choir,  let  no  one  dare  to  correct  the  children,  unless  by  his 
command.  While  he  is  sleeping  in  his  bed  in  the  morning,  let  no 
one  dare  to  make  a  noise.  When  he  is  going  anywhere  out  of  the 
monastery  for  a  season,  and  gives  directions  to  the  convent,  let  all 
who  are  in  the  chapter-room  make  an  (humble)  inclination,  bending 
their  knees  before  his  footstool,  in  the  same  way  as  they  salute  a 
Pope  or  a  king. 

§  iii.  (p.  346.)  After  the  abbot,  the  prior  has  the  greatest  dignity 
among  the  ministers  of  God's  house. 

§  iv.  (p.  347.)  The  inspectors,  whom  they  call  "circaSy"  ought, 
according  to  the  Benedictine  rule,  to  go  around  the  monastery  at 
stated  hours,  and  (carefully)  to  observe  any  oversight  or  neglect  of 
which  the  brethren  may  have  been  guilty.  After  the  three  prayers 
which  are  said  in  the  convent  before  the  psalms,  which  are  usually 
repeated  previously  to  "noctums,"  one  of  them,  with  a  concealed 
light,  ought  to  go  around  all  the  beds  in  the  dormitory,  and  ascer- 
tain whether  any  of  the  brethren  are  sleeping  there. 

§  V.  (p.  348.)  The  proecentor  (cantor),  whenever  the  abbot  is  in 
the  monastery,  ought  not  to  be  appointed  upon  the  tablet  (non  scri- 
batur  in  tabulo)  to  read  or  respond,  that  he  may  be  instantly  prepared 
to  take  the  abbot's  place  when  it  is  inconvenient  to  him  to  read  or 
to  chant.  When  the  abbot  is  abroad,  let  the  proecentor  be  appointed 
to  read  and  respond  in  his  place.  When  any  one  is  to  sing  or  read 
anything  in  the  monastery,  he  ought  to  be  first  instructed  by  the 
praecentor.  Whenever  the  c-enser  is  brought,  let  it  be  first  offered  to 
the  praicentor  ;  unless  a  bishop,  or  the  abbot,  or  the  major  prior,  or 
the  celebrating  priest  (qui  tenet  ordinem),  should  be  among  them. 
Let  him  have  the  entire  direction  of  the  choral  service ;  the  regiJa- 
tion  of  the  hours ;  the  care  of  those  briefs  which  are  usually  sent 
abroad  for  deceased  brethren ;  and  also  the  custody  of  all  the  books 
belonging  to  the  monastery,  if  his  knowledge  be  sufficient. 

§  vi.  (p.  348.)  To  the  sexton  (sacrist)  belongs  the  custody  of  all 
the  ornaments  and  vestments  belonging  to  the  monastery ;  and  also 
the  care  of  making  the  hosts  (or  wafers  used  in  the  eucharist).  There 
were  often  several  sacrists. 

Note.   The  directions  for  making  hosts  will  appear  in  Chapter  IV. 

ad  an.  1072. 

§  vii.  (p.  349.)  It  is  the  chamberlain's  or  treasurer's  (camerarii) 
duty  to  provide  all  the  clothing,  shoes,  and  other  necessaries  for  the 


156  PUNISHMENT   OF   DELINQUENT   MONKS. 

brethren.     Let  him  also  cause  the  straw  {fcenum)  in  all  the  beds  to 
be  renewed  once  a-year. 

§  viii.  (p.  349.)  The  butler  (cellerarius)  is  to  provide  the  food  and 
drink  of  every  description  which  may  be  necessary  for  the  brethren. 

§  ix.  (p.  349.)  Let  the  brother  who  is  appointed  to  receive 
guests,  have  beds,  seats,  tables,  bread,  liquor,  and  other  descriptions 
of  food,  ready  prepared  in  the  guest-house  {hospitum  domo). 

§  X.  (p.  350.)  Let  the  almoner  (eleemosynarius)  make  diligent 
inquiry  respecting  sick  and  infirm  people  who  have  none  to  relieve 
them.  When  he  goes  to  visit  the  sick,  let  him  have  two  servants 
with  him ;  and  before  he  enters  a  house,  let  him  cause  all  the  women 
who  are  in  it  to  go  out. 

§  xi.  (p.  350.)  Let  the  brother  to  whom  the  care  of  the  hospital 
is  entrusted,  have  a  separate  kitchen  and  a  cook.  Every  day  after 
complin,  let  him  sprinkle  holy  water  over  all  the  beds  of  the  sick. 
When  he  perceives  that  a  sick  person  is  near  his  end,  it  is  his  duty 
to  cause  his  servants  to  have  hot  water  in  readiness  to  wash  the 
body.  To  him  belongs  the  custody  of  the  bier,  as  also  the  care  of 
supplying  a  table  {cura  de  administrandd  tabula)  when  the  corpse 
has  been  washed ;  which  (table)  the  prior,  according  to  custom,  is  to 
strike  once. 

§  xii.  (p.  351.)  On  the  day  that  the  brethren  are  to  be  shaved, 
let  the  bell  be  rung  earlier  than  usual,  at  the  first  or  third  {canonical) 
hour.  Let  no  monk  be  shaved  in  his  coiol  (cuculld),  but  with  his 
frock  on,  and  his  cowl  folded  up  beside  him  ;  and  let  the  person  who 
shaves  him  be  without  his  frock.  Youths  under  guardianship  ought 
to  shave  their  guardians,  and  the  guardians  those  youths. 

§  xiii.  (p.  352.)  On  those  days  in  which  the  canonical  hours  are 
usually  said  upon  forms  {super  formas),  if  monks  should  be  riding 
on  horse-back  (at  the  time),  let  them  dismount ;  and  having  entreated 
pardon,  let  them  remove  the  gloves  from  their  hands,  and  uncover 
their  heads  (capitia  auferant),  and  then  mounting  their  horses,  let 
them  finish  the  hour.  But  if  in  the  course  of  their  psalmody  it 
should  be  necessary  for  them  to  say  any  thing,  after  they  have 
spoken  let  them  again  begin  the  hour  from  the  commencement. 
Wherever  a  monk  spends  the  night,  let  a  light  burn  before  him, 
(to  enable  him  to  repeat  the  canonical  hours). 

§  xiv.  (p.  352,  &c.)  As  a  punishment  for  a  small  fault,  let  a  brother 
be  separated  from  the  common  table,  but  have  the  same  food  allowed 
him  as  the  other  brethren;  but  for  a  great  fault,  let  him  endure 
severe  bodily  correction,  in  the  presence  of  the  abbot  and  his 
brethren ;  then  let  him  clothe  himself,  and,  giving  up  his  knife,  cover 
his  head  with  his  hood,  and  in  solemn  silence  follow  the  monk  who 
keeps  the  key  of  (the  dungeon).  When  the  bell  is  rung  for  any  of 
the  canonical  hours,  let  him  be  brought  by  his  keeper  to  the  door  of 
the  monastery,  and  there  let  him  lie  prostrate,  till  all  the  monks  have 
entered.  When  the  abbot  passes,  let  him  prostrate  himself  and 
humbly  implore  pardon:    when  the  hours  are  concluded,  let  him 


PROPRIETAUY   MONKS   CONDEMNED — ABBOTS.  157 

cover  his  head  and  throw  himself  at  the  feet  of  those  who  go  out  of 
the  church,  till  all  have  passed,  and  then  let  him  return  with  his 
keeper  to  the  place  from  whence  he  was  taken.  On  the  days 
appointed  by  the  abbot,  his  keeper  is  to  lead  him  to  the  chapter- 
room,  there  humbly  and  patiently  to  endure  bodily  correction. 

§  XV.  (p.  355.)  Let  a  boy  who  is  offered  (as  a  monk),  after  first 
receiving  the  tonsure,  holding  the  host  and  a  chalice  with  wine  in 
his  hands,  after  the  gospel  has  been  read,  be  offered  by  his  parents 
to  the  priest  who  celebrates  mass :  which  oblation  being  received  by 
the  priest,  let  the  said  parents  fold  the  hands  of  the  boy  in  the  pall 
with  which  the  altar  is  covered,  and  then  let  the  abbot  receive  him. 

Note.  According  to  Ingulphus,  " De  Prw.  Eccl.  Croylandice"  every 
monk  of  fifty  years  old  was  called  a  sempecta,  and  had  a  private  apart- 
ment assigned  to  him,  with  a  clerk  or  servant  (garsione)  to  wait  upon 
him.  And  the  prior  was  every  day  to  appoint  one  of  the  brethren  as 
a  guest  to  each  sempecta :  for  they  had  their  meals  privately.™ 

WiLK.  i.  p.  362.  About  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  many  virgins  and 
matrons  entered  monasteries,  and  took  the  veil,  to  protect  them- 
selves from  the  lust  of  the  Norman  invaders.  It  was  therefore 
deliberated,  whether  they  might  lawfully,  after  taking  such  a  step, 
return  to  the  world  and  marry ;  and  in  a  council  held  under  arch- 
bishop Lanfranc,  A.D.  1075,  it  was  determined  that  they  ought  to 
be  allowed  to  do  so. 

Ibid.  p.  363. — In  the  council  of  London,  a.d.  1075,  under  archbishop 

Lanfranc. 

If  any  (monk)  shall  be  discovered  to  have  had  any  private 
property  without  a  license,  and  he  hath  not  resigned  it  before 
his  death,  let  not  the  bells  be  tolled  for  him,  nor  the  salutary  victim 
be  offered  for  his  repose ;  and  let  him  not  be  buried  in  consecrated 
ground. 

Ibid.  p.  485.  According  to  Roger  Hoveden,  in  the  year  1177, 
king  Henry  II.  "having  expelled  the  nuns  from  the  abbey  of 
Ambresberry,  on  account  of  their  incontinency,  and  distributed 
them  through  other  religious  houses,  to  be  kept  more  strictly,  gave 
the  abbey  of  Ambresberry  to  the  abbess  and  convent  of  Fonteverard, 
as  a  perpetual  possession." 

Ibid.  p.  591. — Council  of  Oxford,  a.d.  1222,  under  arcJibp.  Langton. 

Cap.  xxxiii.  That  abbots  change  their  chaplains  every  year ;  so 
that  if  any  scandal  should  arise  concerning  the  {pwrity  of)  their  lives, 
they  may  have  many  witnesses  of  their  innocence. 

Cap.  xxxiy.  That  the  prelates  of  religious  houses  sell  not  or 
grant  corrodies  or  stipends  to  clerks  or  laics,  either  for  life  or  for 

"  Quarterly  Review,  June  1826,  p.  292. 


158  THE    MONASTIC   SYSTEM   THE   ORIGIN   OF   VICARAGES. 

a  term  of  years,  unless  urgent  necessity  should  require  it,  and  the 
bishop  should  consent. 

Note.     Corrodies  were  rations  of  meat,  sums  of  money,  &c.,  delivered 
either  daily  or  at  stated  intervals. 

Cap.  XXXV.  That  no  one  hereafter  shall  presume  to  extort  money 
or  any  thing  else  for  receiving  a  person  into  a  religious  house ;  and 
if  from  the  poverty  of  the  house  the  person  should  be  obliged  to 
clothe  himself,  let  not  any  thing  be  exacted  beyond  the  just  price 
upon  such  a  pretence. 

Cap.  XLi.  That  monks,  or  canons  regular,  or  nuns,  sleep  in  one 
dormitory,  but  in  separate  beds ;  let  them  also  eat  in  the  same 
refectory ;  and  when  new  clothes  are  delivered  to  them,  let  the  old 
ones  be  taken  from  them  to  be  applied  to  the  use  of  the  poor. 

Cap.  XLil.  Let  not  persons  be  admitted  as  monks  who  are  under 
eighteen  years,  unless  circumstances  should  render  it  advisable. 

Cap.  XLA^i,  Let  no  monk  presume  to  make  a  will,  since  he  has  no 
property  of  his  own  which  he  can  transfer  to  another. 

Note.     For  the  mode  of  appointing  an  exempt  abbot,  A.  D.  1235,  see 

WUk.  i.  631. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  653. — Legatine  constitutions  of  cardinal  Otho,  a.d.  1237. 

Cap.  XIX.  We  have  been  rejoiced  to  hear,  that  the  pious  abbots 
of  the  order  of  St.  Benedict  have,  in  their  general  chapter,  decreed, 
that,  according  to  the  rules  of  St.  Benedict,  (the  monks)  shall  from 
henceforward  abstain  (altogether)  from  eating  flesh,  except  the  weak 
and  infirm.  We  add  also,  that  after  novices  have  passed  the  year 
of  probation  in  the  monastic  habit,  they  shall  be  compelled  by 
canonical  censure  to  make  profession. 

Ibid.  p.  685.  In  the  year  1244,  "  there  came  to  the  synod  of  the 
bishop  of  Rochester,  certain  men  of  a  new  religious  (order),  called 
THE  BRETHREN  OF  THE  CROSS  (fratres  cruciferi),  because  they 
carried  crosses  upon  (their)  sticks,  and  demanded  that  a  habitation 
should  be  assigned  them,  showing  that  an  unheard-of  privilege  had 
been  granted  to  them  by  our  lord  the  Pope,  viz.  that  no  person 
should  reprehend  their  order,  or  exercise  any  jurisdiction  over 
them :  there  was  also  granted  to  them  a  power  of  excommunicating 
such  (as  should)  oppose  them,  to  the  astonishment  of  all  wise  and 
discreet  men."" 

Tbid.  p.  692. — Constitutions  of  Richard,  bishop  of  Chichester, 
A.D.  1246. 
Let  no  person  be  admitted  to  profession  (in  a  monastery)  till  he 
has  completed  his  twentieth  year,  or  to  his  novitiate  before  he  is 
nineteen. 

Ibid.  p.  699.  A  hull  from  Pope  Innocent  IV.  to  Robert,  bishop  of 
Lincoln,  empowering  him  to  appoint  or  augment  vicarages  in  those 
parishes  where  the  great  tithes  had  been  granted  to  monasteries, 
A.D.  1250. 

n  Matth,  Paris. 


INCONTINENCE    OP   NUNS.  159 

WiLK.  i.  p.  754. — Constitutions  of  Boniface,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 

A.D.  1261. 

That  no  religious,  to  whatever  order  they  may  belong,  be  execu- 
tors of  wills,  unless  with  the  licence  of  the  ordinaries. 

Ibid.  p.  762.  A  bull  granted  by  Pope  Clement  IV.  to  the  Francis- 
cans {fratres  minores),  a.  d.  1265,  that  none  of  the  other  mendicant 
orders,  such  as  the  Carmelites,  Hermits,  Augustinians,  order  of  St. 
Clair,  &c.,  should  build  within  a  certain  distance  of  their  conventual 
establishments,  (infra  spatium  300  cannarum  h.  vestris  ecclesiis,  men- 
surandarum  per  acram). 

Concilia  Magn^  Britannle,  &c.  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  II. 

WiLK.  ii.  17. — Legatine  constitutions  of  cardinal  Othobon,  a.d.  1268. 

Cap.  XLVll.  That  when  the  abbot  or  the  prior  wishes  to  entertain 
any  (of  the  monks)  in  his  private  apartment,  their  number  be  so 
restricted  that  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  brethren  may  remain  in 
the  refectory;  and  that  he  vary  his  invitations  so  as  to  show  no 
partiality. 

Cap.  XLix.  That  in  every  monastery,  and  especially  those  which 
are  (attached  to)  cathedral  churches,  the  ancient  number  of  monks 
shall  be  adhered  to. 

Cap.  Lii.  That  nuns  attend  not  (rdigiom)  processions  out  of  their 
monasteries. 

Cap.  Llli.  That  abbots  or  priors  inquire  at  least  once  a-month  of 
those  appointed  to  hear  confessions,  what  monks  have  been  shriven, 
that  so  they  may  be  able  to  reprove  severely  those  who  confess  not 
frequently. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  38. — Monastic  regulations  of  archbishop  Peckham, 
A.D.  1279. 

Although  a  nun  may  be  allowed  to  converse  (toith  secular  persons) 
where  there  is  reasonable  cause,  let  it  be  always  in  the  presence  of 
two  other  nuns ;  and  let  her  on  no  account  pass  through  the  door  of 
the  parlowr  (locutoriijanuam). 

With  regard  to  the  confessions  (of  nuns),  we  ordain  that  they  be 
made  only  in  a  public  place  before  the  altar,  open  (to  the  view)  of 
all  who  pass  by  ;  and  let  not  absolution  be  considered  as  valid 
which  is  given  otherwise.  Let  the  confessors  be  the  person  who 
is  master  for  the  time  being,  and  the  principal  chaplain,  unless  some 
suspicion  should  prevent  it. 

Note.  How  necessary  such  regulations  as  these  were,  appears  from 
the  character  given  by  Clemangis,  (a  French  divine  of  the  15th 
century,)  of  nunneries  in  his  day :  "  Quid  aliud  sunt  hoc  tempore 
puellarum  monasteria,  nisi  qusedam,  non  dico  Dei  sanctuaria,  sed 
Veneris  execranda  prostibula  ?  ut  idem  sit  hodie  puellam  velare,  quod 
et  publice  ad  scortandiun  exponere."" 

0  Prynne'a  Records,  Ii.  229. 


160         THE    PREACHING   FRIARS   AND    THEIR   INCROACHMENTS, 

WiLK.  ii,  p.  58. — Archhp.  Peckham's  constitutions  at  Lambeth,  a.d.  1281. 

So  much  hath  the  enormity  of  detestable  lust  prevailed,  that  some, 
paying  no  regard  to  those  canons  made  to  secure  the  chastity  of 
nuns,  are  not  afraid  to  commit  sacrilegious  incest  with  them ; 
desiring  to  remedy  which  horrible  crime,  we  place  all  the  perpetrators 
of  this  filthiness,  whether  they  be  clergy  or  laity,  under  a  sentence 
of  the  greater  excommunication. 

Also  some  nuns  are  so  far  deceived,  that,  after  they  have  lived 
above  a  year  a  monastic  life  among  the  nuns,  they  think  that  they 
are  not  professed,  and  that  they  may  lawfully  return  to  the  world. 
We  however,  by  the  authority  of  the  present  council,  declare  that 
they  are  to  be  considered  as  ipso  facto  professed,  after  they  have 
for  more  than  a  year  led  a  regular  life  in  a  convent,  of  their  own 
free  will,  so  that  they  shall  by  no  means  be  permitted  to  return  to 
the  Avoi'ld. 

Ibid.  p.  63.  A  letter  from  archbishop  Peckham  to  the  bishop  of 
London,  A.  D.  1281,  commanding  him  to  sequestrate  the  churches 
belonging  to  some  exempt  monasteries,  the  abbots  of  which  had 
refused  to  appear  at  the  council  of  Lambeth ;  and  also  to  suspend 
the  offenders  from  entrance  into  the  church. 

Ibid.  p.  120.  A  letter  of  archbishop  Peckham,  (who  had  been 
himself  a  friar,)  in  which  he  bitterly  complains  of  the  errors  and  in- 
subordination of  the  Franciscan  friars,  who,  presuming  upon  their 
exemption  from  episcopal  jurisdiction,  set  his  injunctions  at  defiance. 
He  compares  them  to  Corah  and  his  company,     a.d.  1285. 

Ibid.  p.  168.  A  letter  written  by  archbishop  Peckham  in  favour 
of  the  Franciscan  friars  {pro  fratribus  minoribm),  a.d.  1287,  in 
which  he  says — "  We  have  heard  that,  through  the  instigation  of  the 
devil,  some  (priests)  in  your  deanery  have  presumed  to  assert,  that 
our  beloved  sons  the  Minorite  friars,  by  hearing  confessions,  seduce 
souls,  and  that  they  have  not  the  power  to  bind  or  loose  without 
the  licence  of  the  parish  priests.  And  whereas  it  is  clear  to  us, 
from  the  privileges  of  many  supreme  pontiffs,  that  the  said  friars 
have  authority  to  hear  the  confessions  of  any  of  the  faithful  {without 
distinction),  and  to  absolve  them,  without  requesting  permission  fi'om 
the  priest  of  the  parish,  and  even  in  the  teeth  of  his  prohibition, 
(since  they  undoubtedly  have  permission  from  his  superior) ;  we 
strictly  enjoin  you,  throughout  your  several  deaneries,  to  cause 
public  notice  to  be  given  that  the  said  friars  have  full  authority  to 
hear  the  confessions  of  the  faithful  and  to  absolve  them,  notwith- 
standing the  opposition  of  the  parochial  clergy ;  nay,  that  they  have 
greater  authority  in  this  respect  than  the  said  ignorant  priests 
{simplices  sacerdotes),  since  episcopal  cases,  reserved  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  bishops,  are  commonly  entrusted  by  bishops  who  fear  God  to 
the  friars,  and  not  to  priests,  who  have  not  sufficient  knowledge  to 
direct  others.  Admonish  them  also  that,  unless  they  speedily 
renounce  their  pestiferous  opinion,  a  severer  punishment  will  be 
inflicted,  to  repress  the  insolence  of  such  as  presume  {to  act  thus). 


INSOLENCE   OF   THE   FBIAES THEIR   USURPATIONS.  161 

Moreover,  you  are  to  inform  us  by  letter,  before  the  octaves  of  next 
Easter,  what  you  have  done  in  this  behalf ;  and  also  to  send  us  the 
names  of  those  who  have  forbidden  their  parishioners  to  go  to  the 
said  friars  to  confess,  and  receive  absolution." 

Note.  The  zeal  of  this  worthy  archbishop  will  be  easily  explained  if 
we  recollect  that  he  had  been  himself  a  friar.  A  clergyman  of  the 
present  day  may  best  conceive  how  intolerable  this  interference  of  the 
friars  must  have  been,  by  imagining  the  itinerant  preachers  who  travel 
about,  weaning  the  affections  of  the  parishioners  from  their  pastors,  to 
do  so  by  ecclesiastical  authority.  Like  the  "  wandering  stars"  to  whom 
I  allude,  the  friar  believed  that  the  whole  world  was  his  parish,  and 
therefore  scrupled  not  to  elbow  the  rector  from  his  own  pulpit,  and 
receive  the  confessions  of  his  flock.  Nor  did  they  stop  here,  for  accor- 
ding to  Matthew  Paris,  "  they  demanded  to  be  received  as  the  angels  of 
God  :  they  saucily  and  impudently  proclaimed  the  parochial  clergy  to 
be  blind  leaders  of  the  blind ;  and  said  to  the  people,  '  Come  to  us,  who 
are  able  to  distinguish  leprosy  from  leprosy  ;  te  whom  the  most  arduous 
difficulties  and  the  secrets  of  God  have  been  revealed.^  Hence  the  people 
lost  all  due  respect  to  their  proper  pastors,  and  going  to  one  of  these 
rambUng  friars,  whom  perhaps  they  might  never  see  more,  confessed  all 
without  shame  or  blushing,  by  which  means  sin  more  copiously 
aboimded."  According  to  the  same  author,  they  called  the  parochial 
clergy  "  idiots,  dunces,  and  drunkards :"  and  Petrus  de  Vineis,  who 
flourished  in  the  13th  century,  makes  mention  of  a  grievous  complaint 
of  the  clergy  against  the  friars,  viz.  that  "  by  their  means  they  were 
brought  into  the  greatest  contempt,  to  the  general  scandal  of  religion ; 
they  expressed  the  most  bitter  hatred  against  them  imaginable,  reproach- 
ing their  lives,  and  lessening  their  dues ;  so  that  they  were  brought  to 
nothing  by  it,  and  they  were  made  a  laughing-stock  to  all  people."P 
Nor  had  the  clergy  any  remedy,  as  the  friars  had  been  exempted  from 
episcopal  authority  by  the  bulls  of  several  popes,  viz.  Gregory  IX., 
Alexander  IV.,  Boniface  VIII.,  &c, 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  228.  A  letter  of  archbishop  Winchelsey,  a.d.  1297,  to 
restrain  the  excesses  of  which  the  friars  were  guilty,  especially  their 
presumption  in  absolving  persons  who  ought  by  the  ecclesiastical 
law  to  have  been  reserved  to  the  bishop's  jurisdiction. 

Ibid.  p.  244. — Statutes  of  Robert  de  Winchelsey,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  a.  d.  1298. 

Cap.  ni.  and  iv.  We  learn  that  the  monks  of  Canterbury  were 
usually  punished  by  making  them  dine  for  several  days  on  one  kind 
of  fish ;  or  on  bread  and  pottage,  and  one  mess  of  meat  (ferculo) ; 
or  by  being  enjoined  silence  for  a  stated  period. 

Cap.  V.  Directs  that  no  broken  meat,  &c.  should  be  wasted,  but 
that  all  the  fragments  should  be  carefully  collected  and  given  to  the 
poor. 

Cap.  VI.  Also  that  in  the  dormitory  a  light  shall  be  constantly 
kept  burning  in  three  places ;  and  also  that  two  persons  keep  watch 
in  the  dormitory,  viz.  one  till  midnight,  and  the  other  after,  con- 

P  Epist.  lib  i.  ep.  37,  ap.  StilHngfleet. 

M 


162  ENCROACHMENTS    OF    THE    PHKACHING    FUIAHS. 

stantly  keeping  awake  :  and  also  three  in  the  church,  viz.  two  till 
matins,  and  one  after. 

Cap.  VII.  Forbids  spitting  or  any  kind  of  nastiness  in  the  lavato- 
ries :  also  that  monks  should  eat  flesh  meat  before  seculars,  except 
in  some  places  specified,  one  of  which  is  called  the  "  deportum :" 
also  it  is  provided,  that  when  the  monks  dined  with  the  prior  they 
should  have  only  the  same  number  of  eggs  as  they  would  have  had 
in  the  refectory.  From  some  words  which  occur  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  chapter,  viz.  "  quod  deportum  suum  recipiant  si  voluerint  in 
septimand  sequente,"  it  appears  to  me  to  have  been  some  kind  of  re- 
laxation in  food,  &c.,  to  which  the  monks  were  aU  entitled  in  turn, 
about  once  a-week. 

Cap.  vni.  That  monks  shall  commit  the  rules  of  their  order  to 
memory. 

Cap.  XII.  The  archbishop  laments  their  slackness  in  exercising 
hospitality,  and  directs  them  to  entertain  strangers,  with  their 
servants  and  horses,  for  one  day. 

Cap.  XIII.  And  elsewhere,  some  rules  not  very  complimentary  to 
the  chastity  of  the  monks. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  257.  In  a  provincial  synod  at  Canterbury,  A.  D.  1300, 
"  It  was  agreed  that  the  statute  which  had  been  re-enacted  during 
Lent  last  past,  relative  to  the  admission  of  the  preaching  friars  and 
Minorites  to  preach  and  hear  confessions,  should  be  observed  in  all 
particulars,  as  specified  by  Reginald  of  St.  Alban's,  who  was  then 
present  at  the  court  of  Rome ;  and  especially  that  friars  shall  not 
be  admitted  by  prelates  to  hear  confessions,  unless  they  come  to 
them  in  person,  and  {at  that  time  are  actually)  dwelling  in  their 
respective  dioceses;  and  that  their  examination  as  to  their  fitness 
shall  belong  to  the  bishops."  Accordingly  we  are  presented  in  the 
same  page  with  a  license  granted  by  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury 
to  six  friars  to  hear  confessions  in  his  diocese,  "until  we  shall  think 
proper  to  determine  otherwise." 

Ibid.  p.  259.  Letter  from  archbishop  Winchelsey  to  one  of  the 
cardinals,  a.d.  1300,  complaining  of  the  unwarrantable  conduct  of 
the  abbot  and  monks  of  St.  Augustin's,  Canterbury,  who,  presuming 
upon  their  privileges  of  exemption,  encroached  upon  his  jurisdiction 
so  much  that  they  had  withdrawn  forty-four  parish  churches  from 
his  obedience. 

Ibid.  p.  320. — Gravamina  presented  by  the  clergy  to  the  parliam^ent 
A.D.  1309. 

Item.  That  nuns  who  are  hond-fide  professed,  damnably  leaving 
their  monasteries,  adopt  the  secular  habit,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
objections  which  are  made  on  account  of  their  profession,  are  allowed 
to  sue  for  their  inheritance  in  the  king's  court,  although  they  cannot 
lawfully  have  any  property  of  their  own. 

To  this  the  king  replied,  that  the  exception  should  be  admitted, 
and  the  case  reserved  for  the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop. 


ALLOWANCES    TO    MONKS   AT    THE    UNIVERSITIES.  163 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  423. — Constitution  of  William  Grenefeld,  archbishop  of 
York,  A.D.  1312. 

Certain  persons  in  a  religious  habit  have  entered  our  province  as 
mendicant  friars,  (concerning  whose  orders,  &c.  we  have  no  certainty) 
asserting  that  they  are  friars  of  the  order  of  Cross-bearers,  although 
it  is  not  clear  to  us  that  such  an  order  hath  been  approved  by  the 
apostolic  see.  These  persons,  without  our  license  and  consent  or 
that  of  our  predecessors,  have  presumed  publicly  and  solemnly  to 
celebrate  mass  and  other  divine  offices  in  the  parish  of  Kildale, 
viz.  in  the  park  of  the  Lord  Arnald  de  Percy,  in  oratories,  and 
unconsecrated  places ;  wherefore  the  archbishop  of  York  places  that 
parish  under  an  ecclesiastical  interdict,  until  it  shall  be  removed  by 
the  Pope. 

Ibid.  p.  521.  A  petition  from  the  prior  of  Christ's  church,  Can- 
terbury, to  archbishop  Walter,  A.  D.  1324,  entreating  him  to  mitigate 
the  penance  which  he  had  imposed  on  some  of  the  monks  at  his 
visitation.  Four  of  them  he  had  condemned  to  solitary  confinement, 
and  three  of  them  had  been  directed  to  fast  on  bread  and  water 
eveiy  Friday. 

Ibid.  p.  589. — Constitutions  of  Pope  Benedict  XII.  to  he  observed  by 
the  order  of  Black  Monks,  a.  D.  1337. 

Cap.  II.  That  a  provincial  chapter  of  the  order  shall  be  held  by 
all  the  abbots,  &c.  every  three  years. 

Cap.  III.  That  the  visitors  appointed  by  the  said  chapter  shall 
not  continue  at  any  monastery  which  they  visit  for  more  than  two 
days,  and  that  they  shall  not  presume  to  receive  procurations  in 
money  over  and  above  their  entertainment. 

Cap.  VII.  That  in  all  cathedrals,  monasteries,  priories,  &c.,  whose 
revenues  are  equal  to  the  expense,  there  shall  be  a  master  to  teach 
the  monks  grammar,  logic,  and  philosophy  ;  which  master  (if  he  be- 
long not  to  the  order)  shall  receive,  over  and  above  his  board,  an 
annual  pension,  not  exceeding  twenty  small  pounds  of  Turin;  but  if 
he  be  a  monk,  it  shall  not  exceed  ten  small  Turin  pounds,  to  enable 
him  to  purchase  books. 

Note.   Four  turons  or  Turin  pounds  were  equal  to  one  English  pound. 

Cap.  vxii.  That  for  every  twenty  monks,  one,  who  is  apt  to  learn, 
shall  be  sent  to  the  university  {ad  generalia  seu  solennia  studia),  that 
he  may  more  largely  reap  the  fruits  of  science ;  which  monk  shall  be 
provided  with  an  annual  pension. 

Cap.  IX.  A  master  of  theology,  reading  at  the  university,  shall 
have  a  pension  of  sixty  small  Turin  pounds  ;  a  bachelor  or  scholar  of 
theology,  forty ;  a  doctor  of  canon  law,  fifty ;  cand  a  bachelor  or 
scholar  of  the  same  faculty,  thirty-five.  We  also  decree  that  all 
monks  who  shall  have  studied  theology  exclusively  for  six  years  in 
the  university  of  Paris,  or  any  other,  and  are  likewise  instructed  in 
logic,  grammar,  and  philosophy,  may  pass  through  the  usual  course 

M2 


164  THE  BENEDICTINE  ORDER  REFORMED. 

of  instruction  in  the  holy  scriptures ;  and  also  that  those  who  have 
studied  theology  exclusively  for  eight  years,  may  then  read  the 
"  Booh  of  the  Sentences." 

Cap.  XXV.  That  no  monk  shall  presume  to  go  out  of  the  convent 
without  the  express  license  of  his  superior ;  and  if  he  should  do  so, 
he  shall  be  publicly  stripped  of  his  frock,  and  scourged  in  the  chapter - 
room  in  the  presence  of  all  his  brethren. 

Cap.  XXVII.  We  decree  and  ordain,  that  on  every  Wednesday  and 
Saturday  throughout  the  year,  also  from  the  first  Sunday  in  Advent 
till  Christmas-day,  and  from  Septuagesima  till  Easter-day,  all  the 
regular  monks  of  the  same  order  shall  abstain  altogether  from  eating 
meat :  and  when,  at  other  times  of  the  year,  several  of  the  brethren 
are  eating  flesh  in  the  infirmatory,  let  a  versicle  and  prayer  be  said 
before  meat,  and  afterwards  a  hymn  and  a  versicle  ;  and  let  continual 
silence  be  observed  during  meal  time,  and  let  something  which  may 
edify  the  hearers  be  constantly  read  there,  as  it  is  in  the  refectory. 

Cap.  XXVIII.  Let  such  monks  as  are  in  priest's  orders  celebrate 
mass  at  least  once  a-week  ;  and  let  those  who  are  not  in  holy  orders 
confess  at  least  once  a-week,  and  receive  the  eucharist  at  least  once 
a-month. 

Cap.  XXX.  That  no  person  shall  be  a  dean  or  prior  unless  he  be 
in  priest's  orders,  and  hath  attained  his  twenty-fifth  year. 

Cap.  XXXII.  That  those  monks  who  obtain  benefices  in  other 
monasteries,  shall  be  obliged  either  to  resign  them,  or  to  become 
members  of  those  monasteries  from  which  they  have  received  the 
preferment. 

Cap.  XXXIII.  That  monks  appointed  by  papal  provision,  shall  be 
obedient  to  their  superiors  like  the  rest  of  the  brethren. 

Cap.  XXXV.  We  decree,  that  when  any  monastery  of  this  order 
shall  become  lax  in  the  observance  of  the  rule,  monks  taken  from 
other  convents  shall  be  placed  there  by  apostolic  authority,  to  reform 
the  abuses ;  and  that  those  monks  who  have  been  most  irregular 
shall  be  drafted  into  other  convents. 

Cap.  XXXIX.  We  decree,  that  no  monk  shall  be  allowed  to  bring 
an  accusation  against  his  superior,  until  he  hath  first  bound  himself 
to  submit  to  a  proper  punishment  if  he  shall  fail  in  the  proof  of  the 
charge. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  716.  A  bull  of  pope  Clement  VI.  repealing  some  of  the 
statutes  enacted  by  his  predecessor  Benedict  XII.  to  be  observed  by 
the  Benedictine  or  black  monks,  several  of  them  having  been  found 
too  severe,     a.d.  1343. 

Ibid.  p.  719. — Regulations  of  the  Benedictine  order,  agreed  upon  in 
their  provincial  chapter,  a.  d.  1343. 

Cap.  II.  That  in  every  priory  in  which  the  number  of  monks  is 
more  than  thirty,  a  fourth  prior  shall  be  appointed ;  and  that  in 
abbies  which  have  the  same  number  of  monks,  there  shall  be  at  the 
least  three  priors. 


THE  BENEDICTINE  ORDER  REFORMED.  165 

Cap.  III.  Relates  to  obedientiaries,  or  monks  who  held  offices  in 
the  convent,  or  who  superintended  the  farms  which  belonged  to  it. 

Cap.  IV.  Whosoever  shall  murmur  at  the  decision  of  the  chapter, 
shall,  upon  that  day  and  the  following,  fast  upon  bread  and  water. 
Also,  if  any  monk  shall  without  reasonable  cause  appeal  against  the 
decision  of  his  conventual  chapter,  and  the  appeal  shall  be  pro- 
nounced frivolous,  let  him  lose  his  voice  in  the  chapter  for  a  whole 
year,  and  for  a  month  let  him  be  placed  beneath  all  the  brethren. 
We  also  decree,  that  if  a  monk  shall  impudently  complain  to  any  of 
his  brethren  against  the  decision  of  the  chaj^ter,  upon  conviction  he 
shall  be  flogged  three  days  in  the  chapter,  and  occupy  the  lowest 
place  in  the  choir  and  elsewhere  for  the  space  of  a  month.  If  after- 
wards he  should  be  guilty  of  the  same  offence,  let  him  for  six  suc- 
cessive days  eat  bread  and  drink  water,  sitting  upon  the  ground,  with 
a  single  mess  of  pottage  (uno  pulmento),  and  for  three  successive 
days  let  him  be  publicly  flogged  in  the  chapter-room. 

Cap.  VI.  That  in  every  monastery  there  shall  be  a  prison  for  the 
punishment  of  those  who  have  been  guilty  of  enormous  crimes. 

Cap.  VII.  That  such  monks  as  have  not  confessed  before  Easter 
shall  be  obliged  to  continue  the  Lenten  fust  at  the  discretion  of  their 
superiors. 

Cap.  IX.  Because  some  monks,  from  being  permitted  to  speak  Eng- 
lish freely  during  dinner  and  at  other  times,  become  too  loquacious ; 
and  when  they  are  sent  abroad  upon  the  business  of  the  convent, 
are  frequently  put  to  the  blush  on  account  of  their  ignorance  of  the 
Latin  and  French  languages  ;  we  decree  that  the  monks  of  our  order 
shall  speak  French  or  Latin  during  their  meals  in  the  chapter-room, 
and  also  in  the  cloister,  &c.,  on  pain  of  suspension  from  the  use  of 
meat  for  two  days. 

Cap.  XI.  Pope  Benedict  XIL  forbade  cells  to  be  in  the  dormi- 
tory :  to  which  we  add,  that  all  curtains  or  coverings  of  every 
description  being  removed,  the  beds  of  the  monks  be  so  arranged 
that  those  who  are  in  or  near  them  may  be  seen,  both  day  and  night, 
by  the  guardians  of  the  order,  and  by  all  who  pass  by  them. 

Cap.  XIV.  That  during  their  leisure  hours  the  monks  shall  be  cm- 
ployed  in  study,  or  in  writing,  correcting,  illuminating,  or  binding 
books.  Also  that  no  person  shall  write  a  book  without  the  permis- 
sion of  his  superior. 

Cap.  XV.  That  those  whose  presume  to  contend  with  their  supe- 
riors shall  be  sharply  rebuked,  and  also  scourged,  and  condemned  to 
fast ;  and  that  incorrigible  monks  shall  be  sent  for  punishment  to 
another  convent,  with  a  letter  explaining  the  nature  of  their  offence, 
and  sealed  with  the  conventual  seal.  The  monastery  to  which  they 
are  sent  shall  be  bound  to  supply  them  with  food  to  the  value  of 
twopence  a-day. 

WiLK.ii.p.732. — Regulations  agreedwponhytheBenedictines,K.T>.\^A^Q 

Cap.  II.  That  a  proctor  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  order  shall 
be  constantly  maintained  at  the  court  of  Rome. 


166  EPISCOPAL   VESTMENTS   WORN   BY   ABBOTS. 

Cap.  III.  That  the  priors  of  the  cloisters  shall  be  appointed  or 
removed  at  the  discretion  of  the  abbots. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  74:7.— Si/nod  of  Dublin,  a.d.  1348. 

Cap.  IV,  Against  the  practice  of  those  monks  who  persuaded 
people  to  be  buried  in  their  convents  instead  of  in  their  parish 
churches,  and  who  heard  confessions,  celebrated  matrimony,  and 
administered  the  eucharist  to  the  people,  without  the  permission  of 
their  parish  priest. 

Concilia  Magn^  Britannia,  &c..  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  III. 

WiLK.  iii.  64.  Mandate  of  Simon  Langham,  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, against  the  mendicant  friars  who  without  the  permission  of 
the  parochial  clergy  presumed  to  preach  the  word,  hear  confessions, 
and  impose  penances,  even  in  cases  which  the  canon  law  reserved  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop.  They  were  in  future  to  be  prevented 
from  doing  so,  unless  they  could  exhibit  a  special  privilege  of  the 
apostolic  see.     a.d.  1366. 

Ibid.  p.  84.  A  bull  of  pope  Urban  V.  a.d.  1369,  to  restrain  the 
insolence  of  the  knights-hospitalers  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  who 
used  to  levy  contributions  in  behalf  of  their  order  throughout  Eng- 
land ;  refusing  to  show  to  the  parochial  clergy  any  letters  either  of 
the  pope  or  the  diocesan  authorising  them  to  do  so. 

Ibid.  p.  110. — Visitation  of  the  priory  of  St.  Gregory,  Canterbury, 
by  archbishop  Sudbury,  a.d.  1376. 

In  the  visitation  of  Simon  de  Islip,  of  good  memory,  it  was  ordained, 
that  every  canon  who  was  ill  should  receive  in  the  infirmary  every 
day,  besides  other  common  necessaries,  one  penny  as  a  pittance  (jpro 
pitantid). 

Ibid.  p.  142.  From  a  dispensation  of  the  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, a.d.  1379,  we  learn  that,  by  special  privilege  of  the  Pope,  the 
abbot  of  Malmsbury,  and  the  abbots  of  other  exempt  monasteries, 
might  wear  the  mitre,  ring,  sandals,  gloves,  dalmatic,  tunic,  and 
other  episcopal  vestments ;  they  might  also  give  a  solemn  benedic- 
tion at  the  conclusion  of  the  mass,  and  even  confer  the  frst  tonsure. 
From  the  same  document  we  learn  that  the  annual  revenues  of  the 
abbey  of  Malmsbury  amounted  to  six  thousand  florens  of  gold,  equal 
to  about  £36,000  of  our  money. 

Note.  In  page  201  of  the  same  volume,  it  is  provided  by  the  buU  of 
Pope  Urban  VI.,  a.d.  1386,  that  in  the  presence  of  the  bishop  of  Wor- 
cester, the  prior  of  that  cathedral  should  only  wear  a  plain  white  mitre, 
ornamented  by  gilding,  but  without  jewels:  and  a  ring :  in  his  absence, 
however,  he  might  wear  a  silver  mitre,  ornamented  with  pearls  and 
other  jewels,  together  with  the  vestments  mentioned  above. 

Ibid.  p.  187. — Mandate  of  the  bishop  of  Exeter,  a.d.  1384. 

Whereas,  according  to  the  canon  law,  all  and  singular  monks 
who  shall  presume  to  administer  the  sacraments  of  extreme  unction, 


THE  ABUSES  OF  MONACHISM  COMPLAINED  OF.        167 

the  eucharist,  or  matrimony,  to  any  persons  laic  or  ecclesiastic,  with- 
out the  special  license  of  the  parish  priest,  are  ipso  facto  damnably 
involved  in  a  sentence  of  the  greater  excommunication  :  and  whereas 

friar  John of  the  order  of  preaching  friars,  hath  presumed  to 

administer  the  eucliarist  without  such  license,  we  strictly  enjoin  you 
to  cite  the  said  John  peremptorily  to  appear  before  us,  &c. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  241. — Gravamina  presented  hy  the  dergy  in  convocation 
to  the  archbishops  and  bishops,  A.  D.  1399. 

18.  That  the  abbots  and  priors  of  monasteries  ought  to  be  pro- 
hibited from  sueing  clerks  in  temporal  courts  for  ecclesiastical  pen- 
sions due. 

22.  That  monks  who  had  forsaken  their  rule,  and  assumed  the 
secular  habit,  ought  to  be  compelled  to  return  to  their  respective 
monasteries. 

32.  That  abbots  and  priors,  &c.  should  be  compelled  to  entertain 
(exhibend,)  rural  deans,  to  pay  their  share  towards  the  support  of  the 
proctors  sent  by  the  clergy  to  convocations,  and  to  bear  all  the  other 
burthens  of  the  clergy,  in  consideration  of  the  churches  appropriated 
to  them,  especially  when  these  burthens  were  due  from  the  said 
churches  before  the  appropriation  took  place. 

60.  That  the  royal  sheriffs  and  escheators  visit  monasteries  annu- 
ally, with  their  wives  and  an  excessive  number  of  men  and  horses ; 
and  beside  their  entertainment,  extort  a  large  sum  of  money,  although 
these  monasteries  were  founded  by  a  free  grant  of  the  king. 

Ibid.  p.  279.  a.d.  1404.  The  revenues  and  fruits  of  many  exempt 
abbies  were  sequestrated,  as  the  abbots  and  priors  contumaciously 
refused  to  attend  the  convocation ;  ten  abbies  and  priories,  several 
of  them  exempt,  were  sequestrated  in  the  diocese  of  Winchester 
alone. 

Ibid.  p.  281.  "  That  any  monk  having  property  to  the  amount  of 
forty  shillings,  or  upwards,  shall  be  deprived  of  the  holy  communion, 
the  viaticum,  and  sepulture  among  his  brethren ;  and  that  all  such 
property  shall  be  forfeited  and  applied  to  the  use  of  his  monastery," 
was  enacted  by  John  de  Hemmyngburgh,  prior  of  the  monastery  at 
Northampton,  a.d.  1404. 

Ibid.  p.  363. — Articles  for  the  reformation  of  the  church,  presented  by 
the  university  of  Oxford  to  the  king,  a.d.  1414. 

Art.  XXI.  Whereas  many  churches  are  too  much  appropriated,  in 
which  perpetual  vicars  are  not  substituted,  but  priests  removeable  at 
pleasure,  who,  as  they  can  scarcely  calculate  upon  having  the  care 
of  these  parishes  for  a  year,  care  little  about  them ;  and  when  vicars 
are  appointed,  so  small  a  portion  is  assigned  them,  that  they  have 
neither  a  respectable  maintenance  for  themselves,  nor  are  able  to 
entertain  their  poor  parishioners  as  they  are  bound  to  do :   may  it 


168  SOME    MONASTIC    PItlVILEGES    REVOKED, 

please  you  to  revoke  such  appropriations,  and  to  prevent  them  from 
taking  place  in  future. 

Kote.     From  Art.  xxviii.  it  appears,  that  patrons,  in  promoting 

poor  vicars,  exacted  an  oath  from  them  not  to  endeavour  to  have  their 

stipends  increased. 

Art.  XXII.    That  the  exemptions  of  monasteries  may  be  revoked- 

Art.  XXIII.  Whereas  exempt  monks,  being  tem})ted  by  the  devil, 
are  frequently  polluted  with  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and  are  not 
punished  by  their  own  superiors,  but  continue  their  sins  with 
impunity ;  it  seems  expedient  that  ordinaries  should  have  a  full 
power  to  punish  and  reform  all  monks,  and  especially  for  the  srn  of 
fornication  committed  without  the  cloister. 

Art.  XXVI.  Against  abbots  wearing  mitres  and  the  other  insignia 
of  bishops. 

Art.  XXXIII.  Against  a  practice  which  prevailed,  of  kidnapping  child- 
ren, and  placing  them  in  convents  without  the  consent  of  their  parents. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  390.  A  hull  of  Pope  Martin  V.  a.d.  1418,  utterly  re- 
voking and  annulling  the  privileges  formerly  granted  by  the  apostolic 
see  to  the  Minorite  friars,  of  hearing  confessions  everywhere,  and 
granting  absolution. 

Ibid.  p.  392. — Concordat  of  Pope  Martin  V.  to  the  English  church, 

A.D.  1419. 

Art.  V.  All  privileges  granted  to  minor  prelates,  authorising  them 
to  wear  mitres,  sandals,  and  other  episcopal  vestments,  since  the 
time  of  Pope  Gregory  XL,  are  utterly  revoked. 

Art.  IX.  All  letters  of  faculty,  granted  to  religious  houses  of  any 
order  whatsoever  within  the  said  realm  of  England,  enabling  them 
to  obtain  benefices  with  or  without  cure  of  souls,  and  which  have 
not  yet  been  brought  into  effect,  we  utterly  revoke,  and  will  in 
future  abstain  from  granting  such  letters  of  faculty. 

Ibid.  p.  413. — Chapter  of  the  Benedictine  or  Black  Monks,  a.d.  1422. 

That  their  dress  be  in  future  more  conformable  to  the  Benedictine 
rule ;  and  that  their  sleeves,  which  now  hang  down  almost  to  the 
ground,  be  reduced  to  a  moderate  length. 

Iteni.  To  avoid  the  execrable  and  detestable  crime  of  monks  posses- 
ing  private  property,  let  the  statute  of  Pope  Benedict  XII.  be  strictly 
enforced,  "  that  the  necessaries  of  life  be  not  administered  in  money." 

Item.  When  monks  visit  their  relations,  let  it  be  with  the  license 
of  their  superior,  and  not  above  once  a-year ;  and  then  let  certain 
respectable  laymen  be  appointed  to  escort  them  thither  and  back 
again,  to  whom  a  certain  sum  of  money  is  to  be  allowed  by  the 
abbot  for  their  expenses. 

Item.  Let  no  monk  have  a  private  cell,  nor  let  him  be  allowed  to 
converse  with  women  in  a  private  room,  unless  they  be  his  own 
mother  or  sisters,  and  even  then  only  in  the  guest-house  (hospitium 
hospitum),  with  the  special  permission  of  his  abbot,  and  in  the 
presence  of  those  monks  who  are  appointed  to  receive  guests. 


GKOSS   PBOFLIGACY    OF   SOME    MONKS.  169 

Item.  Whereas,  according  to  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict,  he  com- 
mands all  his  professors  to  sleep  in  their  clothes,  and  many  think  it 
sufficient  to  sleep  in  their  woollen  clothes,  and  with  their  breeches 
on  {in  staminis  et  femoralihus),  it  is  decreed  that  they  shall  sleep  not 
only  in  their  frocks,  but  in  the  complete  regular  habit,  with  their 
breeches  and  stockings,  but  without  shoes  (pedvlUms) ;  linen  cloth 
and  shirts  being  altogether  forbidden. 

WiLK.  iii,  p.  569. — Council  of  the  province  of  Cashel  at  Limerick, 
A.  D.  1453. 

Can.  80.  That  all  poor  persons  who  renounce  the  world  and  live 
in  sacred  places,  shall  be  registered  in  the  books  of  the  church  ;  and 
that  they  shall  annually  pay  to  the  cathedral,  with  all  humility, 
a  pound  of  wax.  They  shall  wear  a  habit  agreeable  to  their  poor 
condition  ;  they  shall  dwell  around  their  parish  churches  and  burial- 
grounds,  and  erect  high  crosses  near  their  habitations,  on  pain  of 
forfeiting  their  privileges. 

Note.  The  original  is  as  follows,  "  earum  parochiales  Ecclesias  et 

coemiteria ^era^?are(?)  faciant."   The  canon  here  is  speaking  of  females, 

who  were  to  dweU  near  the  church  with  a  view  to  respectability  and 

devotion. 

Can.  113.  That  no  christian,  on  pain  of  mortal  sin,  shall  attend 
the  preaching  of  any  friar  who  hath  not  been  licensed  by  the  ordi- 
nary of  the  place. 

Ibid.  p.  630.  Commission  granted  by  Pope  Innocent  VIII.  to 
the  archbishop  for  the  reformation  of  monasteries,  a.d.  1489. 

Ibid.  p.  632.  Monition  of  the  archbishop  to  the  abbot  of  St. 
Alban's,  a.  d.  1490 :  in  which  he  complains  that  the  monks  over 
whom  he  presided,  "  perscepe  loca  sacra,  etiam  ipsa  Dei  templa, 
monialium  stupro  et  sanguinis  et  seminis  effusione  profanare  non 
verentur ;"  that  he  had  made  a  loose  woman,  named  Ellen  Germyn, 
who  had  deserted  her  husband  and  long  lived  in  a  state  of  adultery, 
prioress  of  the  nunnery  at  Pray ;  "  ac  Thomas  Sudbury  commo- 
nachus  tuus  ad  cam  tanquam  mcechus  ad  mcecham  in  prioratu  de 
Pray  praidicto,  publice,  notorie,  et  impune  a  diii  accessit  et  accedit, 
prout  nonnuUi  alii  ex  tuis  commonachis  ad  cam  et  alias  ibidem  et 
alibi,  tanquam  ad  publica  prostibula  sive  lupinaria,  accessum  con- 
tinuum impune  habent."  This  was  also  the  case  with  respect  to  the 
priory  of  Sapwell,  which  was  also  under  his  jurisdiction ;  and  there 
are  other  charges  brought  against  him. 

Ibid.  p.  684. — Cardinal  Wolseys  rules  for  the  canons  regular  of  St. 
Augustine,  a.d.  1519. 

Cap.  I.  That  the  Augustinians,  throughout  the  whole  realm  of  Eng- 
land, shall  hold  a  general  chapter  of  the  order  every  three  years. 

Cap.  II.  No  person  shall  be  admitted  as  a  novice  whose  fitness 
has  not  been  previously  inquired  into ;  and  he  shall  know  the 
Augustinian  rule  nearly  by  heart. 

Cap.  IV,    That  the  sin  of  proprietary  monks  may  be  avoided,  we 


170         SUPPRESSION   OF   MONASTERIES   BY   PAPAL   AUTHORITY. 

ordain,  that  for  raiment  and  other  necessaries,  a  canon,  who  is 
a  priest,  shall  receive  no  more  than  sixty  shillings  annually ;  and  if 
he  be  not  a  priest,  no  more  than  thirty. 

Cap.  VI.  Since  the  chief  excuse  for  the  entrance  of  women  into 
a  convent  is  the  washing  of  clothes,  we  command  that  in  future  this 
office  shall  he  performed  by  one  of  the  lay  brethren. 

Cap.  IX.  That  the  chants  called  in  English  "prick-song,"  shall 
not  be  used  in  conventual  churches. 

Cap.  XI.  Let  the  monks  lie  in  one  dormitory,  but  in  distinct  cells, 
and  in  separate  beds  ;  and  let  every  cell  be  open  towards  the  passage 
both  day  and  night,  so  that  all  may  see  what  is  done  within. 

Cap.  XII.  That  one  of  the  brethren  shall  read  aloud  during 
meals. 

Cap.  XIV.  That  on  the  days  on  which  the  monks  are  allowed  to 
recreate  themselves,  they  go  not  to  taverns,  or  associate  with  the 
laity,  but  go  into  the  country,  and  avoid  all  hurtful  games,  and  the 
company  of  suspected  persons.  They  are  also  forbidden  to  sleep 
out  of  the  convent. 

Cap.  XVII.  That  the  brethren  shall  usually  converse  in  Latin  or 
French.  Also  that  if  the  superiors  of  a  convent,  after  being  warned, 
neglect  to  send  those  whom  they  ought  to  the  university,  they  shall 
pay  a  fine  of  ten  marks. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  704.  A  bull  of  Pope  Clement  VII ,  A.D.  1524,  autho- 
rising Wolsey  to  visit  and  reform  the  English  monasteries  of  every 
order,  "  tarn  in  capite  quam  in  membris,  and  to  correct,  punish,  and 
even  imprison  delinquent  monks,  according  to  the  nature  of  their 
offences ;  or  to  depri\'e  them  of  their  monasteries,  dignities,  offices, 
and  ecclesiastical  benefices,  and  to  remove  them  from  thence,  not- 
withstanding any  exemptions  or  privileges  granted  by  the  apostolic 
see :"  and  moreover  empowering  him  to  adopt  any  other  measures 
which  he  might  think  necessary. 

Ibid.  p.  705. — Boyal  brief  for  the  suppression  of  monasteries, 
A.  D.  1524. 

The  king,  to  his  beloved  John  Aleyn,  clerk,  John  Skewse,  and 
John  Scyinclere,  salutation.  Whereas  our  most  holy  father  in  Christ, 
Pope  Clement  VII.,  excited  thereto  by  a  pious  consideration  of  the 
poverty  of  our  university  of  Oxford,  hath  authorised  our  most 
reverend  fixther  Thomas  {Wolsey),  cardinal  of  the  holy  Roman 
church,  to  suppress  altogether  not  only  the  monastery  of  the  canons 
regular  of  St.  Fridiswid,  in  the  city  of  Oxford,  but  also  several 
others  of  various  orders,  and  to  transfer  the  monks  to  other  convents 
of  the  same  or  of  any  other  order ;  and,  suppressing  the  name  of 
the  monastery  of  St.  Fridiswid,  to  found  a  secular  college  there, 
provided  that  our  consent  was  first  obtained :  we  therefore  autho- 
rise and  empower  all  and  singular  of  you  to  fulfil  and  execute  the 
mandates  or  commissions  of  the  said  lord  cardinal,  even  although 
they  should  extend  further  than  has  been  expressed  in  this  brief. 


A   GENEBAL   VISITATION    OF   MONASTERIES.  171 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  715.  Bull  of  Pope  Clement  VII.  to  cardinal  Wolsey, 
A.D.  1529,  to  authorise  him,  agreeably  to  the  petition  of  king  Henry 
VIII.,  to  suppress  monasteries  at  his  discretion,  and  apply  their 
revenues  to  the  foundation  and  endowment  of  new  episcopal  sees. 

Ibid.  p.  723. — Convocation  of  the  province  of  Canterbury,  a.d.  1529- 

That  no  monk  who  has  taken  the  three  vows  of  any  religious 
order  can,  by  any  dispensation  even  of  the  Pope,  yea  although  it 
hath  been  granted  him  under  a  leaden  seal,  desert  his  monastery 
and  accept  any  benefice,  until  he  hath  first  proved  before  the 
ordinary  or  his  abbot,  &c.  that  he  had  just  cause  for  obtaining  such 
dispensation. 

Ibid.  p.  740. — Grievances  of  the  house  of  Commons  against  the  clergy, 

A.D.  1530. 

3.  That  priests  being  surveyors,  stewards,  and  officers  to  bishops? 
abbots,  and  other  spiritual  heads,  had  and  occupied  farms,  granges? 
and  grazing  in  every  country,  so  that  the  poor  husbandmen  could 
have  nothing  but  of  them,  and  yet  for  that  they  should  pay  dearly. 

4.  That  abbots,  priors,  and  spiritual  men,  kept  tan-houses,  and 
bought  and  sold  wool,  cloth,  and  all  manner  of  merchandise,  as  other 
temporal  merchants  did. 

Ibid.  p.  784.  Royal  commission  appointing  Thomas  Crumwell 
the  king's  vicar  general,  and  empowering  him  to  visit  and  reform  all 
cathedrals,  colleges,  monasteries,  priories,  &c.  a.d.  1535. 

Ibid.  p.  786. — Instructions  for  the  general  visitation  of  monasteries, 

A.D.  1535. 

We  have  under  this  title  eighty-six  very  searching  questions 
respecting  the  foundation  and  endowment  of  the  establishment,  the 
title-deeds  by  which  its  property  was  held,  (which  the  abbots  were 
to  exhibit  to  the  visitors,)  and  the  morals  and  discipline  of  the 
monks. 

Ibid.  p.  789. — General  injunctions  to  be  given  on  the  king's  behalf  in 
all  monasteries  and  other  religious  houses,  a.d.  1535. 

These  chiefly  relate  to  the  renunciation  of  the  authority  of  the 
bishop  of  Rome,  and  the  reformation  of  the  monastic  discipline. 
One  of  the  articles  begins  thus  :  '*  Also,  that  all  and  singidar  brethren 
and  monks  of  this  monastery  take  their  refections  all  together  in 
a  place  called  the  miserecorde,  on  such  days  as  they  can  eat  flesh,  &c." 

"  Also  that  the  abbot,  prior  or  president,  and  brethren,  may  be 
declared,  by  the  king's  supreme  power  and  authority  ecclesiastical, 
to  be  absolved  and  loosed  from  all  manner  of  obedience,  oath,  and 
profession,  by  them  heretofore  promised  or  made  to  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  or  any  other  in  his  stead." 

From  Article  22  of  the  preceding  instructions,  and  also  from  an 
article  of  these  injunctions,  it  appears  that  unnatural  offences  wore 
suspected  to  be  very  common  in  monasteries  at  this  period.. 


172  DISSOLUTION   OF   MOXASTERIES. 

Note.     The  following  information  I  have  taken  from  Burn's  Eccle- 
astical  Law,  voce  Monasteries,  vol.  ii.  p.  534,  &c.    A  confiscation  of 
church  property  had  been  proposed  by  parliament  as  early  as  the  reign 
of  Henry  IV.  (Hume  iii.  69,  a.d.  1412);  but  by  the  27th  Henry  VIH. 
c.  28,  on  account  of  the  unthrifty  and  abominable  living  in  small  abbies, 
&c.  where  there  were  not  above  twelve  religious  persons,  all  such  mo- 
nasteries, priories,  &c.  were  dissolved  which  had  not  in  lands,  tene- 
ments, rents,  tithes,  &c.  above  the  clear  yearly  value  of  200/.     By  this 
act   about    three   hundred    and    eighty    houses   were   dissolved,   and 
a  revenue   of  32,000/.  per  annum  came  to  the  crown,  besides  about 
100,000/.  in  plate  and  jewels.   Some  say  that  ten  thousand  persons  were 
hereby  sent  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  the  wide  world,  without  any  other 
allowance  than  forty  shillings  and  a  new  gown  to  some  few  of  them. 
Others  say,  that  such  of  the  religious  as  desired  to  continue  their  pro- 
fession, were  allowed  by  this  act  to  go  into  the  larger  monasteries,  and 
that  such  as  chose  to  go  into  the  world,  being  priests,  had  every  one 
the  above-mentioned  allowance,  and  some  of  them  small  pensions  for 
life. 

By  31  Henry  VIII.  c.  13,  no  houses  were  suppressed,  but  all 
the  surrenders  which  either  were  made  or  had  been  made,  were 
confirmed. 

By  32  Henry  VIII.   c.  24,   §  i.,  the  knights  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem  were  suppressed. 

By  37  Henry  VIII.  c.  4,  colleges,  free  chapels,  chantries,  frater- 
nities, &c.  were  dissolved. 

According  to  Burn,  the  number  of  houses  and  places  suppressed 
from  first  to  last,   were  about  three  thousand  one  hundred  and 
eighty-two ;    and  the    number    of  persons  contained   in   them   he 
estimates  at  about  fifty  thousand.     The  clear  yearly  revenue  of  the 
several  houses  at  the  time  of  their  dissolution  was  140,785Z.  65.  3f£?. 
(or  about  844,710L  of  our  money.)  besides  an  immense  quantity  of 
plate.     Yet  a  great  many  small  monasteries,  friaries,  colleges,  chan- 
tries, &c.  are  not  included  in  the  calculation ! 

In  the  preface  to  his  Index  Mona^ticus,  Taylor  says  that  there 
were    555   religious  houses   returned  in   the    Valor  Ecdesiasticus, 
52  small  houses,  118  cells  or  priories,  29  lesser  monasteries  granted 
to  Wolsey,  146  early  monasteries  dissolved  or  decayed,  146  alien 
priories,  27  commanderies  of  knights  hospitalers,   31  preeeptories 
of  knights  templars,    32   friaries  valued  at  dissolution,   231  ditto 
unvalued,    154   colleges  accounted  for,   94  ditto  not  valued,   130 
hospitals  valued  at  dissolution,  379  ditto  unvalued. 

Total  monasteries,  friaries,  colleges,  hospitals,  &c.      ...     2,124 

Add  chantries  and  free  chapels  ...  ...  2,374 

Add  gilds  and  confraternities       ...  ...  ...       34,000 


Total  number  anciently  in  England  and  Wales       ...      38,498 
And  he  estimates  the  annual  value  of  church  property  in  the 
diocese  of  Norwich    alone   at   £500,000    of  our   present   money, 
including  the  revenues  of  suppressed  monasteries,  &e.  to  the  value 
of  £250,000  per  annum. 


(    173    ) 


CHAPTER   IV. 

ON   THE   SEVEN   SACRAMENTS. 


h 


§  I.    The  Seven  Sacraments  a  mere  novelty. 

The  term  sacrament  was  applied  with  a  great  deal  of  latitude  by 
several  of  the  ancient  fathers,  especially  by  S.  Augustine.  Thus, 
for  example,  in  the  seventh  book  of  his  Confessions,  he  calls  our 
Lord's  Incarnation  a  sacrament ;  in  the  eighth  book  he  again 
discourses  "  de  sacramento  humilitatis  verbi  tui ;"  and  in  the  ninth 
book,  the  Psalms  of  David  are  termed  sacramenta. 

Many  examples  of  the  same  kind  might  be  produced  from  his 
other  works,  but  Bellarmine  honestly  admits  the  fact,  and  further 
quotations  would  be  of  couree  needless. 

His  words  are  as  follows :  — "  Et  quidem  multa  dicuntur  a 
veteribus  sacramenta  pneter  ista  septera."a 

For  the  five  sacraments  rejected  by  the  church  of  England  there 
is  therefore  no  adequate  support  in  antiquity.  Of  the  pretended 
testimonies  cited  in  proof  of  the  contrary,  a  large  majority  might 
have  been  written  by  any  protestant  minister,  as  they  merely 
establish  the  facts,  that  in  the  primitive  church,  children  were 
confirmed ;  that  there  was  a  solemn  form  of  ordination,  and  so 
forth ;  while  others,  in  which  the  word  sacrament  has  been  applied 
to  confirmation,  penance,  orders,  &c.  would  (as  logicians  say)  prove 
too  much,  the  fathers  having  confessedly  used  that  term  to  signify 
any  mystery  of  the  faith  or  any  sacred  thing.  The  lotio  pedum,  the 
beginning  of  the  Gospel  of  S.  John,  the  Psalms  of  David,  and  our 
Lord's  Incarnation,  have  been  all  termed  sacraments.^ 

Confining  our  investigation  to  the  first  five  centuries,  we  find  that 
S.  Augustine  is  the  only  father  who  ever  termed  confirmation  a 
sacrament,  or  penance  a  sacrament ;  that  S.  Jerome  and  S.  Augustine 
are  the  only  fathers  who  ever  called  orders  a  sacrament,  and  that 
extreme  unction  has  never  been  termed  a  sacrament  by  any  ancient 
writer:  Pope  Innocent  I.  calls  it  indeed  "a  kind  of  sacrament," 
{^' genus  sacramenti"),  but  this  is  clearly  a  testimony  in  our  favour : 
for  who  would  call  baptism  "  a  kind  of  sacrament,"  or  who  would 
call  the  Lord's  Supper  "  a  kind  of  sacrament  ? 

'  Dc  effect.  Sacram.  lib.  ii  c.  24.  ^  Vide  supra. 

"  Schram,  Theol.  tom.iii.  cap.  xv.  §  965.      Item  cap.  xvii.   §  1052.      Item  cap. 
xviii.  §  1115.      Item  cap.  xix.  §  1130.     Item  cap.  xx.  §  1199. 


174     THE    GKEEK    AND   EASTERN    CHURCHES   VARY   ON   THIS    POINT. 

Thus  Roman  Catholics  can  only  produce  five  testimonies  altogether, 
no7ie  of  which  are  earlier  than  the  latter  end  of  the  fourth  century. 
With  regard  to  confrmation  and  penance,  they  can  only  bring  for- 
ward one  solitary  witness,  who  lived  as  late  as  the  fifth  century :  and 
for  extreme  unction  they  have  no  ancient  authority  whatsoever. 

For  their  sacrament  of  orders  they  can  only  cite  three  testimonies, 
viz.  two  of  the  fifth,  and  a  third  who  flourished  late  in  the  sixth  cen- 
tury ;  and  although  there  may  appear  to  be  a  goodly  array  of  evi- 
dence in  favour  of  the  sacramentary  character  of  Matrimony,  this 
so  evidently  arises  from  the  vulgate  translation  of  Eph.  v.  32, 
("  hoc  est  magnum  sacramentum")  that  it  must  be  put  out  of  the 
question. 

The  clue  which  has  been  furnished  at  the  beginning  of  this 
section,  enables  us  however,  to  dispose  of  all  these  authorities  at 
once ;  and  whether  we  apply  the  test  of  Antiquity  or  Universality, 
the  five  pretended  sacraments  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  will  most  as- 
suredly be  found  wanting. 

Hugo  de  Saint  Victoire,  a  writer  of  the  twelfth  century,  was  the 
very  first  to  maintain  the  doctrine  that  there  are  seven  sacraments, 
and  the  various  oriental  churches  have  no  uniform  tradition  upon  the 
subject  to  which  our  adversaries  can  appeal. 

Thus  Caucus,  archbishop  of  Corfou,  tells  us  that  the  Greek  church, 
at  the  time  he  wrote,  excluded  confirmation  and  extreme  unction 
from  the  number  of  the  sacraments;  maintained  that  marriages 
might  be  dissolved ;  that  an  indelible  character  was  not  confei'red  by 
ordination ;  and  denied  auricular  confession  to  be  of  divine  precept  ;"* 
in  which  they  agreed  with  the  other  oriental  churches. 

The  Christians  of  S,  Thomas  (otherwise  called  the  Syrian  church) 
acknowledged  only  three  sacraments,  viz.  baptism,  orders,  and  the 
eucharist  ;'^ — and  although  some  of  the  eastern  churches  admitted 
seven  sacraments,  these  were  widely  difierent  from  the  seven  sacra- 
ments of  the  church  of  Rome.  Thus  father  Simon  says  of  the 
Cophti : — "  They  acknowledge  indeed  seven  sacraments,  but  besides 
baptism  and  confession,  the  eucharist  and  orders,  they  add  faith, 
fasting  and  prayer  (!)  without  mentioning  the  other  sacraments." — 
"  They  take  not  (he  adds)  the  term  sacrament  in  the  rigorous  sense 
that  we  do ;  for  which  reason  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  they 
look  upon  the  first  four  only  as  sacraments,  and  that  some  of  their 
doctors  added  afterwards  the  three  others  to  make  up  the  mystical 
number  seven.  ^ 

A  great  deal  more  might  of  course  be  said  upon  this  subject.  I 
could  easily  prove,  for  example,  that  the  greatest  Theologians  of  the 
church  of  Rome,  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  form  or  matter  of  any  one 
of  these  five  (rejected)  sacraments ;  and  that  they  know  nothing 
whatsoever  as  to  the  time  of  their  institution  by  our  Lord,  or  whether 

<5  Picart,  edit.  Lond.  1736,  vol.  v.  pp.  32  and  174,  202  and  217. 

e  Alex.  Menez.  cap.  xx.  ap.  Picart,  v.  202. 

f  Picart,  V.  219,  see  also  Wolff's  Journal,  Athenaeum,  May  1844. 


BAPTISM — CONFIRMATION.  175 

he  instituted  them  at  all.  ^  Their  conjectures  indeed  are  utterly  at 
variance  with  the  notion  of  any  Catholic  tradition  upon  the  subject : 
for  in  that  case,  there  would  have  been  a  certain  assurance,  where 
there  is  now  nothing  more  than  a  probable  inference,  or  an  ingenious 
surmise. 

For  more  than  Jive  hundred  years  after  the  arrival  of  Augustin 
and  his  companions,  the  doctrine  of  seven  sacraments  was  not  re- 
ceived either  by  the  Roman,  or  by  any  other  branch  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

§  ii.   Ancienit  mode  of  administering  the  Sacraments. 

(1.)  BAPTISM  was  anciently  incumbered  with  a  variety  of 
useless  ceremonies.  Thus,  for  example,  the  priest  blew  into  the 
face  of  the  infant ;  then  crossed  him  upon  the  forehead  and  breast ; 
then  placed  consecrated  salt  in  his  mouth  and  anointed  his  ears  and 
nostrUs  with  saliva  ;  next  followed  the  exorcism  or  the  casting  out 
of  Satan  from  the  child — the  priest  making  what  is  termed  an  ex- 
sufflation  ;  then  the  consecration  of  the  water,  unction  upon  the 
head  with  the  chrism,  the  placing  upon  him  of  the  chrismale  or  white 
garment,  and  giving  into  the  hand  of  the  baptized  or  his  sponsor  of 
a  lighted  wax  taper .*" 

The  above  ceremonies  are  observed  even  at  the  present  day ;  but 
many  others  have  long  since  fallen  into  desuetude  ;  as  for  example 
— 1.  The  administration  of  the  Eucharist  immediately  after  Baptism, 
under  both  species  to  adults,  but  to  infants  under  the  species  of  wine. 
2.  They  gave  the  recipient  milk  and  honey  to  taste.  3.  They 
placed  a  garland  upon  his  head  and  shoes  upon  his  feet.  4.  They 
gave  him  ten  Siliquoe,  or  small  pieces  of  money,  in  token  of  his  obli- 
gation to  keep  the  Ten  Commandments.  5.  They  presented  him  with 
a  waxen  image  of  the  Agnus  Dei,  to  remind  him  continually  of  the 
Saviour.'  6.  In  England,  if  not  elsewhere,  the  sponsor  presented  to 
his  godchild  one  two  or  more  apostle  spoons,  according  to  his  means. 
These  spoons,  of  which  I  have  seen  a  great  many,  were  so  called 
because  the  handle  of  each  was  wrought  into  the  effigy  of  an  apostle, 
and  there  were  thirteen  in  a  complete  set.  Sometimes  they  were  of 
the  precious  metals,  and  sometimes  of  laten  or  brass.''  Whether 
this  practice  extended  beyond  England,  or  whether  it  was  earlier 
than  the  sixteenth  century  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining. 


(2.)  CONFIRMATION  was  in  early  times  administered  imme- 
diately after  Baptism ;  but  in  England  children  were  usually  about 
three  years  old  when  they  were  confirmed.     The  bishop  anointed 

e  Schram,  Theol.  torn.  iii.  c.  15.  §  965.  Schol.  2.  Ibid.  cap.  18.  §  1116.  Schol.  2. 
Ibid.  pp.  147,  339,  341,  494,  533,  540,  547,  &c. 

•>  Ordo  Administr.  Sacram.  Dtiblin,  1820,  p.  6,  &c. 

*    Schram,  Instit.  Theol.  torn.  iii.  cap.  xiv.  §  963,  Schol. 

k  Fosb.  Encycl.  Antiq.  i.  224 ;  Hone's  Every  Day  Book,  i.  179  ;  also  Gent.  Mag. 
Sept.  1768. 


176  CONFIRMATION — THE   EUCHARIST. 

each  candidate  upon  the  forehead  with  consecrated  oil ;  gave  him  a 
slight  blow  upon  the  cheek,  in  token  that  he  should  be  ready  to 
endure  persecution  for  Christ's  sake  ;  then  followed  the  Pax  (which 
was  probably  in  early  times  accompanied  by  the  kiss  of  peace).  The 
forehead  was  then  bound  with  a  fillet  of  white  linen,  which  was  to  be 
kept  there  seven  days  and  afterwards  burnt. — Every  male  candidate 
was  to  have  a  godfather,  and  every  female  a  godmother.  If  the 
confirmation  took  place  during  infancy,  the  child  was  held  in  its 
sponsor's  arms,  but  if  he  was  an  adult,  the  sponsor  placed  his  right 
hand  on  the  shoulder,  or  his  right  foot  on  the  foot  of  the  candidate 
during  the  solemnity.' 

The  matter  of  this  sacrament  was  the  chrism,  or  consecrated  oil 
and  balsam,  and  the  form  "  M  or  N,  I  sign  thee  with  the  sign  of 
the  cr>J<oss,  and  confirm  thee  with  the  chrism  of  salvation,  in  the 
name  of  the  Fatjither,  and  of  the  S>J<on,  and  of  the  Holy>J<Ghost. 
Amen."     There  are,  however,  various  opinions  upon  these  points."' 

The  name  which  had  been  given  at  baptism  was  sometimes 
changed  at  the  time  of  confirmation,  by  the  bishop  commencing  the 
above  form  with  the  desired  name  in  place  of  that  wliich  had  been 
hitherto  borne  by  the  recipient." 

The  candidates  were  usually  dressed  in  white ;  and  their  names, 
and  the  names  of  their  sponsors,  were  inserted  in  a  register  kept  for 
the  purpose. 

In  the  primitive  church  confirmation  was  rather  looked  upon  as 
the  complement  of  baptism  than  as  a  distinct  sacrament,  and  was  ad- 
ministered hy  Presbyters,  immediately  after  the  latter,  with  holy  oil. 
The  consecration  of  that  oil,  the  laying  on  of  hands,  and  the  consig- 
nation (or  signing  with  the  sign  of  the  cross)  could  however  only 
be  performed  by  the  bishop,  unless  by  his  special  authority,  or  in 
cases  of  emergency." 

(3.)  The  EUCHARIST  is  not  administered  to  the  people  in  the 
Church  of  Rome  during  the  celebration  of  the  Mass,  when  the 
priest  alone  communicates,  but  at  a  separate  time,  and  with  hosts 
which  have  been  then  consecrated  and  reserved.  It  is  almost  need- 
less to  add  that  ever  since  the  council  of  Constance,  a.d.  1418,  the 
chalice  has  been  withheld  from  her  laity,  and  even  from  the  clergy 
except  when  they  actually  officiate.  This  corrupt  practice  is  there- 
fore of  very  modern  date  ;  for  although  Half-Communion  may  have 
prevailed  in  some  places,  even  before  the  council  of  Constance,  if 
there  had  been  anything  like  uniformity  upon  the  subject,  there  would 
have  been  no  synodical  decree. 

When  a  layman  communicates,  the  priest  takes  one  of  the  round, 
flat,  consecrated  wafers  (called  hosts),  and  making  with  it  the  sign  of 
the  cross  over  the  pyx,  places  it  in  his  mouth,   saying  "  Corpus 

'  Pontificale  Romanum,  Paris.  1664,  p.  1,  &c. 

"  Schram,  Theol.  torn.  iii.  cap.  xv.  §  966.  968.  »  Wilk   ii.  53. 

"  Bingham,  Orig.  Eccl.  book  xii.  ch.  1.  §  1.  &c.  et  ch.  2.  §  2  &c. 


CEREMONIES   AND   VESTMENTS   OF   THE   MASS.  177 

Domini  Nostri  Jesu  Christi  conservat  animam  tuam  in  vitam  perpe- 
tuam ;"  after  which  the  communicant  is  allowed  water  (or  sometimes 
wine  and  water),  not  as  any  part  of  the  sacrament,  but  with  a  view 
to  an  easier  deglutination  :  for  according  to  the  doctrine  of  concom- 
mitance,  he  receives  the  body  and  blood  together. 

The  mass  itself  consists  of  two  principal  parts  :  the  Ordinary, 
which  includes  all  the  introductory  prayers  and  ceremonies ;  and  the 
Canon,  or  consecration  service,  in  which  the  elements  are  supposed  to 
be  transubstantiated,  and  offered  up  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  living  and 
the  dead.     To  these  may  be  added  the  post-communion. 

The  introits,  graduals,  tracts,  sequences,  collects,  epistles,  gospels, 
prefaces,  secreta,  communions,  and  completoria,  vary  according  to  the 
Sunday  or  festival,  and  are  incorporated  into  the  usual  service  which 
is  common  to  every  mass. 

The  prayers  and  ceremonies  of  the  mass  are  too  numerous  and 
complicated  for  explanation  here ;  I  must  therefore  refer  the  reader 
to  my  '  Analysis  of  the  Mass,'  published  in  the  Christian  Remem- 
brancer, in  the  months  of  July,  September,  and  October  1839  ;  and 
advise  him  to  consult  the  missal  itself,  which,  with  all  its  faults,  con- 
tains many  beautiful  and  scriptural  prayers,  and  certainly  formed  the 
basis  of  our  English  Communion  office. 

The  reader  will  please  to  observe,  that  the  mass  is  the  public 
morning  service  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  celebrated  by  the  priest  in 
the  face  of  the  whole  congregation,  of  men,  women,  and  children. 

In  the  larger  churches,  several  masses  are  celebrated  in  the  fore- 
noon upon  the  same  altar,  by  a  succession  of  priests  ;  and  sometimes 
mass  is  said  simultaneously  at  the  different  altars  of  the  same 
church. 

The  priest  is  supposed  to  be  offering  up  a  sacrifice  for  the  living 
and  the  dead ;  his  back  is  turned  to  the  people  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  ceremony,  which  they  can  only  follow  by  his  gestures : 
for  his  words  are  rapidly  delivered,  in  a  subdued  voice,  and  in  the 
Latin  tongue,  and  he  alone  communicates. 

He  is  assisted  by  one  or  two  acolyths ;  and  the  celebration  of 
High  Mass  is  only  distinguished  from  the  ordinary  service  by  its 
being  chanted,  by  more  splendid  vestments,  and  by  the  presence  of 
a  deacon  and  subdeacon,  who,  in  the  appropriate  vestments  of  their 
respective  orders,  assist  the  officiating  priest. 

The  vestments  of  the  priest  are  the  Albe,  Girdle,  Amess,  Stole, 
Maniple,  and  Chasuble, — all  of  which  will  be  explained  hereafter,  as 
well  as  the  Ministeria,  or  altar  plate,  p 

The  multitude  of  ceremonies  with  which  it  was  encumbered  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  utterly  destroyed  the  beautiful  simplicity  of  the  Eu- 
charist ;  and  this  excess  of  ornament,  of  pomp,  and  of  meretricious 
display,  tended  only  to  mar  its  real  dignity. 

The  celebration  of  mass  barely  occupies  half  an  hour,  yet  in  Pic- 
cart's  '  Beligious  Ceremonies'  there  are  thirty-Jive  engravings,  each 
P  See  Index  under  the  words  vestments,  albe,  girdle,  &c. ,  also  altar,  chalice,  pyx,  &c . 

N 


178  PRINCIPAL   RUBRICS    OF   THE   MASS, 

representing  some  distinct  gestwre  of  the  priest  during  its  continu- 
ance, "i 

The  following  are  the  principal  rubrics  : — 

"  The  priest  making  the  sign  of  the  cross  reads  the  introit  of  the 
day." 

"  The  priest  turns  to  the  people." 
"  The  priest  goes  to  the  middle  of  the  altar." 
"  The  priest  reads  the  gospel  at  the  north  side  of  the  altar." 
"  The  priest  kisses  the  gospel." 

"  The  priest  washes  his  hands  at  the  horn  of  the  altar." 
"  The  priest  bows  towards  the  middle  of  the  altar." 
"  The  priest  kisses  the  altar,  and  then  turns  to  the  people." 
"  The  priest  bowing  low  towards  the  altar  says,  ^-c." 
"  The  priest  spreads  his  hands  over  the  host  and  chalice." 
"  The  priest  having  adored  upon  his  knees  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ, 
elevates  it  that  it  may  be  adored  by  the  people." 
"  The  priest  strikes  his  breast." 
"  The  priest  raises  the  chalice  a  little." 

Note.  In  our  church  the  osculatorium,  or  paxboard,  was  handed  to 
all  present  to  be  kissed  at  this  portion  of  the  service,  but  this  ceremony 
has  long  since  become  obsolete. 

"  The  priest  breaking  the  host  into  three  pieces  puts  one  of  them  into 
the  chalice." 

Note.  During  the  Agnus  Dei,  and  also  at  the  elevation  of  the  host, 
the  acolyth  rings  the  saunce  (or  Sanctus)  bell  three  times. 

"  Having  worshipped  the  host,  the  priest  takes  it  into  his  hands." 
"  He  smites  his  breast  and  says  three  times,  ^-c." 
"  He  makes  the  sign  of  the  cross  with  the  host" 
"  Having  received  the  host,  he  takes  the  cup  into  his  hands." 
"  He  makes  the  sign  of  the  cross  with  the  chalice." 
"  Having  received  the  blood,  he  pours  wine  into  the  cup  for  the 
pvirification." 

"  He  puts  wine  into  the  cup  for  the  ablution." 

Note.  For  as  they  believed  in  a  real  transuhstantiation  of  the 
elements,  it  was  considered  a  matter  of  importance  that  not  one  drop 
or  particle  should  be  suffered  to  remain.  The  purification  and  the 
ablution  appear  to  have  been  distinct. 

The  words  "  ite  missa  est,"  with  which  the  mass  anciently  con- 
cluded, gave  the  title  Missa  (or  mass)  to  the  whole  ceremony ;  but  < 
they  are  now  followed  by  a  benediction,  versicles,  responses,  and  the 
first  fourteen  verses  of  Saint  John's  Gospel.  "■ 

The  Missa  ProBsanctificatorwm,  celebrated  upon  Good  Friday  with 
elements  previously  consecrated  and  reserved ; 

The  Missa  Sicca,  or  Navalis,  celebrated  on  shipboard,  in  which  all 
the  usual  ceremonies  were  retained,  with  the  exception  of  the  con- 
secration and  communion ; 

1  Folio  edit.,  Lond.  1733,  vol.  i.  p.  325.  ■"  Missale  Roraanum,  passim. 


THE   MASS — SACRAMENT   OP   PENANCE.  179 

The  Missa  Privata,  offered  up  by  a  priest  for  the  repose  of  the 
soul  in  the  presence  only  of  the  assisting  acoly  th ; 

The  Missa  Bifaciata,  or  Trifaciata,  in  which,  that  he  might  gain 
several  stipends  for  one  sacrifice,  the  priest  recited  the  service  over 
and  over  again  as  far  as  the  offertory,  and  concluded  with  one 
Canon ; 

The  Missa  Votiva,  celebrated  in  consequence  of  a  vow ; 

And  the  Viaticum,  offered  up  upon  a  portable  altar  near  a  dying 
bed,  were  the  principal  varieties,  independently  of  high  and  low  mass/ 

The  Missa  Catechumenorum,  in  the  primitive  church,  included  all 
those  parts  of  the  service  which  were  recited  before  the  dismissal  of 
the  Catechumens  (or  unbaptized),  the  Energumenes  (or  possessed),  and 
penitents  not  as  yet  restored  to  the  communion  ;  and  was  followed, 
after  their  departure,  by  the  Missa  Fidelium  or  sacramental  service/ 


(4.)  PENANCE.  As  a  whole  chapter  has  been  devoted  to  this 
subject,"  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  dilate  upon  it  here. 

Concerning  the  matter  of  this  sacrament,  there  has  been  a  great 
variety  of  opinion  in  the  Church  of  Rome ;  some  believing  it  to 
consist  in  the  imposition  of  hands ;  others  (including  the  celebrated 
Duns  Scotus)  in  absolution ;  others  in  confession ;  others  in  contri- 
tion, confession,  and  satisfaction ;  others  in  contrition,  confession, 
and  absolution ; — the  two  latter  opinions  having  been  the  most  pre- 
valent since  the  Councils  of  Florence  and  Trent. 

How  this  diversity  can  be  reconciled  with  the  existence  of  a 
Catholic  tradition,  or  how  any  of  these  guesses  can  possibly  agree 
with  Saint  Augustine's  definition  of  a  sacrament,  "  signum  visibile 
invisibilis  gratia; ;"  or  with  that  of  Saint  Gregory  the  Great,  "  divina 
virtus  sub  rerum  corporearum  tegumentis  occulte  salutem  (efficiens)  ;" 
definitions  which  have  been  expressly  adopted  in  the  '  Catechism  of 
the  Council  of  Trent,' ''  are  questions  which  I  must  leave  for  the 
reader's  consideration. 

That  perfect  contrition  is  not  an  essential  requisite ;  and  that  the 
fear  of  hell,  without  any  mixture  of  charity,  may  fully  qualify  a  man 
for  the  benefits  of  this  sacrament, — pardon  and  justification,  are  opi- 
nions which  very  generally  prevail  in  the  Church  of  Rome :  and  it 
was  even  a  question  among  the  schoolmen,  whether  an  explicit  reso- 
lution to  abstain  from  sin  for  the  future  was  to  be  considered  as  a 
necessary  qualification. "  The  lax  morality  of  the  confessional  will 
be  exemplified  in  another  part  of  my  work : "  and  with  respect  to 
what  are  called  *  reserved  cases',  I  must  refer  the  reader  to  what  has 
been  said  in  p.  64. 

»  Du  Cange,  voce  Missa,  et  Carpentarii  Supplementam,  voce  Missa. 
'  Bingham,  b.  xiii.  c.  i.  §  1,  2,  3.  "  Infra,  chap.  vi. 

*  Catech,  ad  Parochos,  pars  ii.  §  3,  5. 

w  Boudart,  Catechismus  Theologicus,  torn.  ii.  p.  7,  &c.  et  passim.  Item  Schram, 
Theol.  torn.  iii.  §  1059,  Schol. 
'^  Introd.  to  chap.  vi. 

N2 


18,0  DEPRECATORY  ABSOLUTION — EXTREME   UNCTIOX. 

The  fcyrm  of  this  sacrament  is  supposed  to  consist  in  the  words 
*'  Ego  te  absolvo  k  peccatis  tuis,  in  nomine  Patris,  Filii,  et  Spiritus 
Sancti,  Amen."  The  deprecatory  form,  "  Indulgentiam  et  remis- 
sionem  peccatorum  tuorum  tribuat  tibi  Omnipotens  Deus,"  is  how- 
ever much  more  ancient.  It  is  analogous  to  the  practice  of  the 
Oriental  churches  even  to  this  day,  and  prevailed  in  the  west  till  the 
beginning  of  the  twelfth  century;  "  Probabilius  (says  Schram)  for- 
mam  Absolutionis  deprecatoriam  usque  ad  initium  sseculi  xil  ratam 
et  licitam  fuisse." ''  This  is  of  itself  a  most  important  concession ; 
and  for  further  proof  of  the  novelty  of  the  indicative  form,  '  Ego  te 
absolvo',  I  must  beg  leave  to  refer  my  reader  to  Bishop  Burnet's 
commentary  upon  our  twenty-fifth  Article. 

The  ceremonies  belonging  to  this  sacrament  may  be  easily  ex- 
plained. The  priest  is  usually  vested  in  a  soutan,  cotta,  stole,  and 
biretum  ;  *  he  is  seated  in  a  confessional  chair  or  box  ;  the  penitent 
kneels  at  the  side  and  requests  his  blessing ;  repeats  the  coiifiteor  to 
the  words  "mea  culpa,  mea  culpa,  mea  maxima  culpa,"  smiting 
upon  his  breast ;  and  thence  proceeds  to  a  particular  and  circum- 
stantial detail  of  his  mortal  sins, — sins  of  pride,  enxy,  anger,  hatred, 
lukewarmness,  avarice,  or  luxury,  (for  he  is  not  bound  to  specify  any 
other).     Penance  is  imposed,  and  he  receives  absolution. 


(5.)  EXTREME  UNCTION  is,  by  a  strange  perversion  of 
James  v.  14,  15,  administered  only  to  persons  when  they  are  sup- 
posed to  be  in  the  very  agonies  of  death ;  whereas  it  was  doubtless 
applied  in  the  apostolic  age  with  a  view  to  their  miraculous  recovery : 
and  the  form  still  used  in  the  Greek  church  is  agreeable  to  this 
ancient  practice :  "  O  thou  holy  Father  of  souls  and  Physician  of 
bodies,  heal  this  thy  servant  from  the  infirmity  of  body  and  soul  with 
which  he  is  now  afflicted." 

The  most  learned  divines  of  the  Chiu'ch  of  Rome  are  not  agreed 
as  to  the  institution,  matter,  or  form  of  this  alleged  sacrament ; 
which  would  of  itself  negative  the  supposition  that  there  can  exist 
any  catholic  tradition  upon  the  subject ;  for  in  that  case  we  should 
have  found  certainty  and  uniformity,  instead  of  diversity,  hesitation, 
and  doubt. 

Peter  Lombard,  Hugo  Victorinus,  and  the  celebrated  Cardinal 
Bonaventura,  affirm  that  the  miction  of  the  sick  was  instituted  by  the 
Apostles  after  our  Lord's  Ascension,  while  Thomas  Aquinas,  Scotus, 
and  a  host  of  others,  refer  the  institution  immediately  to  Christ  him- 
self. » 

The  latter  opinion  has  indeed  been  very  generally  received  since 
the  Council  of  Trent ;''  but  even  now  it  is  not  considered  '^defde," 
nor  do  its  advocates  agree  among  themselves.      Some  think  that  our 

^  Theol.  torn.  iii.  c.  17.  *  1092,  Schol.  »  See  Index. 

»  Schram,  torn.  iii.  c.  18.  §  1116,  et  Schol.  1,  2.      •>  Concil.  Trid.  sess.  xiv.  c.  i. 


EXTREME   UNCTION   VARIOUSLY   ADMINISTERED.  181 

Lord  instituted  this  sacrament  when  he  sent  forth  his  apostles  by 
two  and  two,  as  recorded  in  the  Nath  chapter  of  Saint  Mark's  Gospel, 
citing  as  their  authority  the  13th  verse:  but  to  this  it  is  ob- 
jected, that  they  were  not  then  priests,  nor  were  they  appointed  to 
the  priesthood  before  the  last  Supper.  Others  therefore  imagine  that 
it  was  instituted  then,  while  a  third  class  of  guessers  date  the  institu- 
tion after  our  Saviour's  Resurrection. 

Although  it  be  universally  agreed  that  oil  is  the  matter  of  this 
sacrament,  it  was  warmly  disputed  among  the  schoolmen,  whether  it 
be  essential  to  the  validity  of  the  rite  that  the  oil  should  be  blessed 
by  a  bishop,  or  even  blessed  at  all.  In  the  Greek  Church,  a  simple 
presbyter  consecrates  the  oU.  at  the  time,  just  as  we  consecrate  the 
water  of  baptism.  It  is,  moreover,  a  vexata  qucestio,  whether  it  be 
essential  to  anoint  all  the  organs  of  sensation,  or  whether  a  single 
unction  might  be  sufficient :  and  as  to  the  form  of  the  sacrament, 
they  are  not  agreed  whether  it  must  be  necessarily  deprecatory  or 
indicative. 

Ks,  to  the  mode  of  administration  there  has  been  also  a  great  di- 
versity of  practice.  An  ancient  Visitation  office  used  in  Ireland,  and 
published  a  few  years  ago  by  Sir  W.  Betham,  directs  only  one  unc- 
tion;* the  Sacramentary  of  St.  Eligius,  among  other  parts  to  be 
anointed,  mentions  the  neck,  throat,  and  shoulders ;  another  ritual 
adds  the  crown  of  the  head,  the  forehead,  cheeks,  temples,  and 
breast,  "  Constantiense  unctionem  umbilici  praesertim  in  foeminis 
praescribit ;"  and  others  direct  an  especial  unction  of  the  part  affected 
by  disease.  "* 

In  the  modern  Church  of  Rome,  the  priest  anoints  the  eyes,  ears, 
nostrils,  mouth,  hands,  feet,  and  reins  of  the  sick  person,  saying  in 
Latin — "  By  this  holy  unction  i]^  and  his  most  pious  mercy,  may  the 

Lord  pardon  thee  whatsoever  thou  hast  sinned  by ;"  filling  up 

the  blank  with  the  words  "  sight,"  "  hearing,"  "  smelling,"  "  taste  or 
conversation,"  "  touch,"  "  step,"  or  '*  carnal  frailty"  (lumborum  d&- 
lectionem),  according  to  the  part  anointed.* 

This  unction  of  the  reins  is  however  omitted  in  the  case  of  females. ' 

In  the  council  of  Florence,  it  was  decreed  that  this  sacrament 
should  be  only  administered  to  a  sick  person  "  de  cujus  morte  time- 
tur:"^  and  although  the  decree  of  the  council  of  Trent  does  not 
absolutely  restrict  the  sacrament  to  persons  in  such  imminent  danger, 
it  directs  that  it  shall  be  "  especially  administered  to  those  who  are 
so  dangerously  ill  that  their  life  seems  to  be  drawing  to  a  close."  ^ 

This  unction  is  however  withheld  from  children  under  seven  years 
of  age,  from  idiots,  madmen,  criminals  before  execution,  or  those  who 
are  in  danger  of  a  violent  death  by  war,  shipwreck,  &c.  Nor  is  it 
administered  to  women  in  childbirth  except  in  special  cases,  as  when 

c  Irish  Antiquarian  Researches,  part  i.  pp.  55,  56. 

•>  Schram,  Theol.  torn.  iii.  c.  18,  §  1117,  Schol. 

''  Ordo  Adininistrandi  Sacramenta,  Dubl.  1835,  p.  75  &c. 

f  Ibid.     8  Carranza,  SummaConcil.,  Paris  1678,  p.  594.     ••  Ibid.  p.  671.  &c. 


182  CEltBMONIES  IN   CONFERRING   ORDERS. 

the  ctesarian  operation  is  about  to  be  performed.  Whether  it  was  to 
be  administered  to  aged  persons  in  extremis  appears  to  have  been  a 
matter  of  doubt,  which  Schram  solves  by  telling  us  that  "  old  age 
itself  is  a  disease."  ' 


(6.)  ORDERS.  This  sacrament  resolves  itself  into  several  heads, 
according  to  the  various  orders  or  degrees  of  the  sacred  ministry. 
Their  functions  have  been  already  explained  (p.  87)  :  for  a  descrip- 
tion of  their  "  vestments"  I  must  refer  the  reader  to  that  word  in 
the  index ;  and  the  form  of  degradation  from  the  ministry  may  be 
seen  above,  page  119. 

The  first  tonsure,  though  no  order  in  itself,  yet  formed  the 
boundary  line  between  the  laity  and  the  clergy,  and  anciently 
exempted  a  man  from  the  civil  jurisdiction.''  It  was  conferred  by 
the  bishop,  who  clipped  the  hair  of  the  candidate  at  the  back  of  the 
head,  at  each  ear,  on  the  crown,  and  at  the  forehead,  slowly 
repeating  the  words,  "  The  Lord  is  the  portion  of  mine  inheritance 
and  of  my  cup :  thou  art  he  who  wilt  restore  unto  me  mine  inheri- 
tance ;"'  and  afterwards  investing  him  with  a  surpUce. 

There  is  nothing  analogous  to  this  in  the  Greek  Church,  and  by 
the  confession  of  Schram  it  is  of  comparatively  late  introduction 
even  in  the  West." 

1.  An  ostiary  is  ordained  by  receiving  from  the  hands  of  the 
bishop  the  keys  of  the  church,  and  afterwards  a  smaU  bell  from  the 
archdeacon. 

The  vestments  of  this  order  are  the  amyt,  dlbe,  and  belt  (balteus), 
which  appears  to  have  been  something  different  from  the  girdle." 
The  ostiary  might  also  wear  a  cotta  or  a  surplice. 

As  ostiaries,  readers,  exorcists,  and  acolyths,  had  these  vestments 
in  common  (viz.  the  amyt,  albe,  belt,  &c.),  it  will  not  be  necessary 
for  me  to  repeat. 

"  If  (says  Schram)  t?ie  keys  of  the  kitchen  should  be  delivered  to 
any  one  instead  of  the  keys  of  the  church,  his  ordination  as  ostiary 
■would  be  invalid."" 

2.  A  reader  is  ordained  by  having  the  lectionary,  or  book  of 
lessons,  a  breviary,  or  a  bible,  placed  in  his  hands  by  the  bishop.^ 

3.  An  exorcist,  by  the  delivery  of  the  book  of  exorcisms,  or  of 
any  liturgical  book  containing  exorcisms,  such  as  the  pontifical  or 
the  ritual.'" 


•  Schram,  §  1122,  et  coroU.  ^  Index,  voce  Benefit  of  Clergy. 

'  Psalm  xvi.  5,  in  our  version,  or  Vulgate,  Psalm  xv.  5. 

■>'  Ubi  supra,  §  1133,  et  Schol,  §  1134,  et  Schol. 

"  Durandi  Rationale,  lib.  ii.  c.  8,  num.  5. 

o  Schram,  torn.  iii.  c.  19,  §  1137,  Schol.  §  1138,  coroll. 

P  Ibid.  §  1140.  <i  Ibid.  §  1141. 


ORDERS  IN  THE  GREEK  CHURCH — ORDINATION.      183 

4.  And  an  cicolyth,  by  receiving  from  the  bishop  a  candlestick 
with  an  unlighted  wax  candle  and  an  empty  pitcher/ 

Note.  These  minor  degrees  of  the  ministry  are  not  considered  as 
belonging  to  the  sacrament  of  orders;  and  many  rituaUsts  place  the 
suhdiaconate  in  the  same  category.  There  is,  however,  a  great  diversity 
of  opinion  upon  this  subject  among  the  most  celebrated  writers  in  the 
Church  of  Rome.  Thomas  Aquinas,  Bonaventure,  and  Scotus,  affirm 
that  these  minor  orders  are  all  sacraments ;  and  independently  of  the 
seven  orders  specified  in  the  councils  of  Florence  and  Trent,  Cajetan 
and  Martene  add  two  others,  those  of  bishops  and  psalmists.  Many 
canonists  include  also  the  first  tonsure  ;  and  the  fossarii,  or  laborantes 
(whose  office  it  was  to  bury  the  dead),  are  distinctly  noticed  by  St. 
Epiphanius,  St.  Jerome,  and  other  ancient  writers. 

In  the  Greek  Church  for  more  than  a  thousand  years  there  have 
been  only  four  orders  of  the  ministry — presbyters,  deacons,  sub- 
deacons,  and  readers. 

In  the  modern  Church  of  Rome  the  functions  of  the  cantor 
(or  precentor)  and  of  the  psalmist  or  singer  are  looked  upon  rather 
in  the  light  of  offices  than  orders.  The  former  bears  a  cantoral  staff, 
to  denote  his  charge  and  to  regulate  time  in  the  choir  over  wliich  he 
presides.' 

5.  A  svbdeacon  is  ordained  by  the  bishop  investing  him  with  the 
amyt  and  tunicle;  placing  his  hand  upon  the  epistolarium  (which 
contains  the  epistles  used  throughout  the  year),  and  delivering  to 
him  an  empty  chalice  and  paten ;  after  wliich  the  archdeacon  gives 
into  his  hands  the  vessels  with  wine  and  water,  the  aqucemanile 
(or  basin),  and  the  napkin,  with  which  the  priest  dries  his  hands 
during  the  celebration  of  mass.' 

The  subdeacon's  vestments  in  the  Church  of  Rome  are  the  amyt, 
albe,  belt,  tunicle,  (or  subtile)  :  he  has  also  a  long  veil  (of  fine  linen  ?) 
upon  his  (right)  shoulder,  with  which  he  covers  the  sacred  vessels  as 
he  presents  them  to  the  priest  at  the  altar ;  it  is  called  '  sindon.'" 

Pope  Adrian  affirms  that  the  emperor  should  be  at  least  a  sub- 
deacon." 

6.  A  deacon  is  ordained  as  follows:  the  bishop  lays  his  right 
hand  on  the  head  of  the  candidate,  with  the  words  ^'  Accipe  Spiritum 
Sanctum,  ^c,"  places  a  stole  over  his  left  shoulder,  the  stole  being 
somewhat  wider  than  that  of  a  priest,  and  having  "a  cord  with 
a  fringed  tassel  in  the  middle  of  each  side  to  fasten  it  together 
under  the  right  arm,  where  it  is  brought  from  the  left  shoulder."" 
The  bishop  then  invests  him  with  the  daJmatica,  and  delivers  the 
book  of  the  Gospels  into  his  right  hand." 

The  appropriate  vestment  of  a  deacon  was  the  dalmatica;  but 
on  fast  days  this  was  laid  aside,  as  was  also  the  timide  of  the  sub> 

r  Ibid.  $   1143. 

•  Ibid,  i  1132,   Schol.  et  i   1136,   Schol.      Item  Durandi  Rationale,    lib.  ii. 
cap.  2,  3. 
'  Vide  Pontificale  Romanum.       "  Gavanti  Thesaurus,  pars  ii.  tit.  7,  §  9,  n.  S. 
»  Dist.  63,  "  Valenlinianus^'  in  fine,  apud  Durand  lib.  ii.  cap.  8. 
"  "Selections  from  Merati,"  Lond.  1837,  p.  101. 
^  Schram,  ubi  supra,  {  USO,  Schol.  2. 


184         ORDINATION — TIIE  EPISCOPATE  NO   DISTINCT   ORDER. 

deacon,  and  in  Lent  the  deacon  used  anciently  to  wear  a  chasuble 
folded  in  front  to  distinguish  it  from  that  of  a  priest.  Besides  the 
dalmatica  the  deacon  wore  an  albe,  girdle,  amyt,  maniple,  and  a  stole 
over  his  left  shoulder.^ 

7.  A  priest^  is  ordained  by  the  bishop  (and  all  the  priests  who 
are  present)  placing  both  hands  upon  his  head.  The  bishop  more- 
over draws  the  stole  over  his  right  shoulder,  and  crosses  it  upon  the 
breast ;  invests  him  with  a  chasuble ;  anoints  both  his  hands  with 
the  oil  of  catechumens ;  delivers  to  him  a  chalice  with  wine  and 
water,  and  a  paten  with  the  host,  saying,  "  Accipe  potestatem  offerre 
sacrijicium  tam  pro  vivis  quam  pro  defunctis."  Then  the  bishop 
places  both  his  hands  upon  the  candidate's  head,  saying,  ^'Accipe 
Spiritum  Sanctum ;  quorum  remiseritis  peccata,"  &c. ;  and  lastly 
unfolds  the  chasuble. 

The  vestments  of  a  priest  are  the  amyt,  alhe,  girdle,  stole,  chasuble, 
and  maniple ;  or  else  he  wears  an  amyt,  alhe,  girdle,  stole,  and  cope ; 
but  never  I  believe  during  the  celebration  of  mass. 

Note.  The  Greek  and  Roman  churches  are  agreed  in  considering 
the  priesthood  as  the  highest  order  of  the  ministry,  and  the  episcopate 
as  a  degree,— the  completnent  as  it  were,  or  perfection  of  the  priesthood, 
through  which  the  Apostolic  succession  is  derived,  and  to  which  the 
power  of  ordination  is  absolutely  restricted.* 

A  bishop  is  thus  consecrated.  The  consecrating  bishop  and  the 
assisting  bishops  place  the  book  of  the  Gospels  open  upon  the  neck 
and  shoulders  of  the  elect ;  then  all  place  both  their  hands  upon  his 
head ;  the  consecrator  next  anoints  his  head  and  both  his  hands ; 
blesses  the  pastoral  staff  and  delivers  it  to  him,  and  puts  a  conse- 
crated ring  upon  his  fourth  finger.  Next  the  consecrator  takes  the 
book  of  the  Gospels  from  his  shoulders,  and  gives  it  to  him  closed ; 
and  lastly,  he  and  all  the  assisting  bishops  place  a  mitre  upon  his 
head,  and  consecrated  gloves  upon  his  hands.*" 

The  mode  of  consecrating  an  archbishop  is  precisely  similar ;  or 
he  may  be  translated  from  an  ordinary  see  to  the  primacy  without 
any  additional  consecration.  But  there  is  a  form  of  delivermg  the 
pall  to  an  archbishop,'  and  he  of  course  makes  no  profession  of 
canonical  obedience  to  his  consecrator. 

The  full  costume  of  a  bishop  or  archbishop  are  the  sandals,  amyt, 
alhe,  girdle,  stole,  tunicle,  dalmatica,  gloves,  episcopal  ring,  chasuble, 
maniple,  and  mitre,  with  the  infidce  (or  bands)  hanging  from  it,  and 
the  succingulum  from  his  gii'dle. 

These  are  all  worn  together  to  signify  that  the  episcopate  includes 
within  itself  all  the  inferior  degrees  of  the  ministry. 

In  addition  to  the  above  a  bishop  has  a  pastoral  staff  or  crook  in 
his  left  hand ;   the  archbishop  holds  instead  of  this  a  cross  staff  in 

y  Burii  Rom.  Poatif.  Brevis  Notitia,  p.  428.     Item  Durand.  lib.  ii.  c.  9. 
'  Pontificale  Romauum. 

^  Durandi  Rationale,  lib.  ii.  c.  11.  num.  13.     Item  Schram,  nbi  supra,  §  1132. 
Schol.  2. 
^  Pontificale  Romanum.  <^  Supra,  p.  44. 


CEREMONIES  OF  MATRIMONY — ESPOUSALS.  185 

his  left  hand,  and  on  very  solemn  occasions  wears  his  pall.     Arch- 
bishops and  bishops  sometimes  wear  copes.^ 

By  the  fourth  canon  of  the  first  council  of  Nice,*  it  was  directed 
that  at  least  three  bishops  should  be  present  at  a  bishop's  conse- 
cration :  this,  however,  was  by  no  means  essential  to  its  validity ; 
for  in  ecclesiastical  history  there  are  many  examples  of  a  single 
bishop  validly  consecrating  another,  in  cases  of  urgent  necessity  J 


7.  MATRIMONY,  as  it  is  administered  in  the  Church  of  Rome, 
diflPers  little  from  the  form  which  we  still  use.  It  was,  however, 
performed  at  the  church  door.  After  the  giving  and  plighting  of 
the  troth,  and  the  joining  of  hands,  the  parties  are  sprinkled  with 
holy  water ;  the  bridegroom  places  the  ring,  with  silver  and  gold, 
upon  the  book,  and  after  they  have  been  duly  consecrated,  he 
delivers  them  to  the  bride,  saying,  "  With  this  ring  I  thee  wed, 
this  gold  and  silver  I  thee  give,  and  with  all  my  worldly  goods 
I  thee  endow,  {tunc  inserat  sponsus  annulum  pollici  sinistroe  manus 
sponsce,  dicens,)  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  {deinde  secundo  digito, 
dicens)  and  of  the  Son,  (deinde  tertio  digito,  dicens)  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  (postremo,  quarto  sive  annulari,  ibique  dimittat  annulum, 
dicens)  Amen." 

The  officiating  priest  wears  an  alhe,  a  surplice,  and  a  (white)  stole. 

When  a  widow  is  married  (among  the  Irish  Romanists)  she  wears 
a  glove  upon  her  hand  to  distinguish  her  from  virgins,  who  appear 
with  their  hands  uncovered.^ 

Anciently  the  espousals  were  distinct  from  marriage,  and  used  to 
be  performed  with  great  solemnity.  The  contracting  parties  plighted 
their  troth  to  each  other  before  witnesses,  and  exchanged  gifts  as  an 
earnest  of  fidelity.  These  were  termed  arrcB  or  arrahones :  there 
was  also  "  a  ring,  a  kiss,  a  dowry,  a  writing  or  instrument  of  dowry  ;" 
and  from  this  first  contract  they  could  not  recede  without  incurring 
legal  forfeitures  and  church  censures."" 

The  practice  of  throwing  the  fiammeum  (a  yellow  veil)  over  the 
bride's  head,  and  of  crowning  the  newly-married  pair  with  garlands 
of  olive,  or  the  like,  appear  to  have  had  a  pagan  origin :  they  how- 
ever prevailed  among  the  early  Christians,  and  in  the  Greek  Church 
to  this  very  day  silver  crowns  are  placed  upon  the  head  of  the  bride 
and  bridegroom  by  the  officiating  priest.' 

The  ritual  moreover  contains  a  form  for  the  benediction  of  the 
nuptial  bed. 

There  is  probably  a  greater  variety  of  opinion  in  the  Church  of 
Rome  respecting  the  matter  and  form  of  this  sacrament  than  of  any 
of  the  rest. 

<i  See  above,  p.  65. 

e  Carranza,  p.  70.  f  Schram,  ubi  supra,  §  1162,  Schol.  2. 

B  Ordo  Admii.istr.  Scram.  Dub.  1835,  p.  46,  &c. 

h  Bingham,  Orig.  Eccl.  b.  xxii.  c.  3,  §  1. 

'  Ibid.  b.  xxii.  c.  4,  §  6.     Item  Schram,  5  1240,  Schol. 


186  DEGREES  OP   MARRIAGE — DISPENSATIONS. 

Some  affirm  that  the  consent  of  the  parties  is  the  matter,  and 
the  expression  of  that  consent  the  form.  This  was  the  opinion  of 
Navarre ;  but  Johannes  Major  believed  the  matter  to  consist  in  the 
words,  and  the  form  in  the  consent, — an  exact  transposition  of  the 
former  opinion.  Vasquez  on  the  other  hand  believed  the  bodies 
of  the  contracting  parties  to  be  the  matter,  and  their  consent  audibly 
expressed  the  form.  Richardus  affirmed  that  the  words  of  one  of 
the  parties  was  the  matter,  and  those  of  the  other  party  the  form. 
Maldonatus  considered  the  mutual  society,  help,  and  comfort  result- 
ing from  matrimony  as  its  matter,  and  the  mystical  union  between 
Christ  and  his  Church  as  its  form.  Canus  and  Tournelly  believed 
the  acts  of  the  contracting  parties  to  be  the  matter,  and  the  priestly 
benediction  the  form ;  while  Schram  himself  maintained  that  the 
words  expressive  of  consent  are  both  matter  and  form  ! '' 

The  accuracy  of  this, — the  statement  of  a  learned  Roman  Catholic 
in  a  didactic  treatise  upon  the  Sacraments, — may  be  of  course  fully 
relied  on,  and  it  is  exceedingly  valuable. 

Amidst  aU  this  variety  of  opinion,  all  this  uncertainty  of  conjec- 
ture, and  this  babel-like  confusion  respecting  the  very  essence  of  an 
alleged  Sacrament,  we  can  discern  no  traces  of  that  living,  speaking, 
and  infallible  tribunal,  of  which  our  adversaries  boast,  as  the  supreme 
guardian  and  judge  of  their  faith ;  nor  of  that  unity,  certainty,  and 
universality,  which  must  be  the  test  of  a  Catholic  tradition. 

In  the  Church  of  Rome  marriage  is  prohibited  in  the  fourth 
degree  of  consanguinity ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  prohibition  extends 
to  first  cousins,  their  children,  and  their  grand-cluldren  :  and  the 
great  grand-children  of  a  first  cousin  are  the  first  step  beyond  the  pale 
of  incest!  More  than  this,  a  spiritual  relationship  is  said  to  exist 
between  the  person  baptized  or  confirmed  and  his  sponsors :  so 
that  if  he  were  to  intermarry  with  the  daughter  of  his  sponsor,  the 
union  would  be  deemed  incestuous.'  For  these  restrictions  I  need 
hardly  say  that  there  is  no  authority  either  in  the  book  of  Leviticus 
(chap,  xviii.)  or  in  any  part  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  on  the 
other  hand  the  Pope  takes  it  upon  himself  to  dispense  eoen  with  the 
law  of  God,  allowing  a  man  to  marry  the  widow  of  a  deceased 
brother.  Of  this  we  have  six  or  eight  memorable  examples  in  his- 
tory," but  I  need  not  particularise,  it  being  well  known  that  this 
very  abuse  gave  rise  to  our  English  Reformation. 

In  the  Church  of  Rome  marriage  is  considered  as  an  indissoluble 
contract,  and  a  divorce  •'«  vinculo  matrimonii'  is  not  allowed  even  in 
cases  of  adultery.  The  practice  however  of  the  Greek  church  agi-ees 
strictly  with  our  own"  and  also  with  the  words  of  our  Lord  himself 
in  Matt.  v.  32. 

^  Schram,  ubi  supra,  §  1201,  Schol. 

•  Andrese  Synopsis  Juris  Caaonici,  tit.  xi.  p,  253,  et  tit.  xiv.  p.  259. 

n  Schram,  §  1257.  •>  Schram,  §  1261,  and  Schol. 


VAKIOUS   SUPERSTITIONS LAY   BAPTISM.  187 

§  II. — Sacramentals — Superstitions  connected  with  Baptism — Lay 
Baptism — Sponsors — Infant  Communion — Parish  Registers 
— The  Doctrine  0/ Intention — The  Disciplina  Arcani. 

Independently  of  these  seven  alleged  sacraments,  the  canonists  of 
the  Church  of  Rome  enumerate  several  rites  which  are  supposed  to 
have  a  certain  sacramental  character,  though  in  an  inferior  degree, 
and  which  they  therefore  term  "  Sacramentalia :"" 

1.  The  Lord's  Prayer. 

2.  Holy  Water,  called  in  Latin  Aqua  Lustralis. 

3.  The  Eulogice,  or  Blessed  Bread.  (See  in  the  index,  voce 
Eulogice.) 

4.  The  general  and  public  confession  of  sin  made  during  the 
mass,  &c. 

5.  Almsgiving. 

6.  The  Sacerdotal  Benediction. 

7.  The  Benediction  of  the  Ashes  with  which  the  forehead  is 
crossed  on  Ash- Wednesday. 

In  the  primitive  church,  the  Catechumens  (or  those  who  had 
embraced  the  Christian  religion,  but  were  not  as  yet  received  into 
the  church  by  baptism)  were  allowed  to  taste  consecrated  5<zZfP  as  an 
emblem  of  divine  gi'ace ;  and  this  was  termed  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Catechumens  (sacramentum  catechumenorum). 

Among  the  superstitious  practices  anciently  connected  with  the 
sacrament  of  baptism,  but  in  most  instances  condemned  by  the 
church,  were — 

1.  The  delay  of  baptism  till  the  candidate  was  upon  the  point  of 
death ;  that  so  he  might  leave  the  world  without  the  stain  of  sin  or 
the  possibility  of  a  relapse.     This  was  termed  Clinic  baptism. 

2.  Baptism  of  the  living  on  behalf  of  the  dead,  who  were  sup- 
posed to  receive  the  sacrament  by  proxy.'' 

3.  Baptism  of  those  who  were  actually  dead  !  a  corrupt  practice 
condemned  in  the  third  council  of  Carthage,  canon  6.  In  Africa 
they  even  gave  the  Eucharist  to  the  dead!" 

4.  Baptism  before  birth  where  danger  was  apprehended.  Of  this 
there  is  an  instance  in  the  Consistorial  Registers  of  Rochester 
Cathedral':  and  Durandus  says,  "Si  infans  non  potest  nasci,  sed 
solum  caput  emittat,  illud  baptizetur  priusquam  moriatur." » 

Lay  baptism  in  cases  of  imminent  danger  was  not  merely  allowed 
but  even  enjoined  in  the  English  branch  of  the  Catholic  church  ;  and 
the  tradition  in  favour  of  the  practice  is  so  ancient  and  so  general 
as  to  appear  absolutely  conclusive.  In  this  country  it  was  usually 
performed  by  midwives." 

°  Schram,  ubi  supra,  S  932. 

P  Vide  3  Concil.  Carthag.  Can.  5,  Carranza,  p.  165.  Item  Bingham,  Orig.  Eccl. 
b.  X.  c.  2,  $  16.     Item  Shurtzfl.  Controv.  xxx.  §  6. 

1  See  Bingham,  b.  xi.,  e.  4,  §  4,  &c.  •■  Carranza,  p.  156. 

»  See  Gent.  Mag.  December,  1785.  '  Rationale,  lib.  vi.  c.  83,  num.  33. 

"  Bingham,  b.  ii.,  c.  20,  §  9.     See  also  his  Scholastic  History  of  Lay  Baptism. 


188  MISCELLANIES — ^INTENTION — ^DISCIPLINA  ARCANI.      • 

In  the  primitive  church  parents  were  so  very  generally  s]ionsors 
to  their  own  children,  that  St.  Augustine  found  it  necessary  to 
prove  that  it  was  not  absolutely  essential  that  the  parent  should  be 
sponsor  to  his  child."  They  were  first  prohibited  from  acting  in 
that  capacity  by  the  55th  canon  of  the  council  of  Mentz,  in  the 
time  of  Charlemagne."     (a.d.  815.) 

The  Spiritualis  Cognatio,  already  noticed  in  connexion  with 
marriage,  was  probably  a  superstition  of  much  later  times.  (Vide 
supra,  p.  186.) 

Infant  communion  was  a  very  ancient  practice,  and  is  said  to  have 
prevailed  generally  in  the  church  for  six  hundred  years.  In  the 
address  of  our  countryman  iElfric  to  the  priesthood  at  the  delivery 
of  the  chrism,  he  says,  "  Ye  should  give  the  Eucharist  to  children 
when  they  are  baptized,  and  let  them  be  brought  to  mass  that  they 
may  receive  it  all  the  seven  days  that  they  are  unwashed."^  This 
was  written  about  a.d.  957. 

Judging  from  analogy,  baptismal  registers  must  have  been  very 
ancient ;  for  in  England,  as  early  as  the  year  678,  the  practice  of 
registering  burials  most  certainly  prevailed.''  The  injunction  how- 
ever, set  forth  in  the  year  1538,  that  parish  registers  should  be 
provided,  is  of  itself  a  proof  that  the  clergy  must  have  been 
exceedingly  negligent  in  this  particular  up  to  that  period. 

The  doctrine  of  Intention,  which  applies  to  all  the  sacraments,  and 
must  reduce  the  people  to  a  state  of  miserable  uncertainty  as  to 
whether  they  have  ever  been  validly  baptized,  or  whether  during 
the  mass  their  adoration  may  not  be  directed  to  a  mere  piece  of 
bread,  is  explained  in  a  note  to  Wilk.  iii.  11.^  But  over  and 
above  the  possibility  of  the  priest  being  a  Jew,  a  heretic,  or  an 
infidel  at  heart,  there  are  manT/  involuntary  "defects"  which  are 
supposed  to  hinder  a  valid  consecration.* 

The  "Disciplina  Arcani"  in  the  primitive  church  implied  a  conceal- 
ment of  the  sacred  mysteries  from  those  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
"household  of  faith:"  but  it  yields  no  support  to  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation,  as  Roman  Catholics  would  fain  have  us  believe. 

This  concealment  extended  to  each  of  the  following  particulars  : — 

1.  The  mode  of  administering  baptism. 

2.  The  mode  of  administering  the  holy  unction  or  confirmation. 

3.  The  ordination  of  priests,  &c. 

4.  The  liturgy,  or  public  devotions  of  the  church. 

5.  The  mode  of  celebrating  the  eucharist. 

6.  The  mystery  of  the  Trinity,  the  Creed,  and  the  Lord's 
Prayer.'"' 

*  Epist.  23,  ad  Bonif.  "  Carranzse  Summa  Concil.  p.  505. 
"  Supplement  to  Soames'  Anglo-Saxon  Church,  Lond.  1844,  p.  15. 

y  Bedae  Hist.  lib.  iv.  c.  14. 

*  In  this  chapter,  infra. 

»  See  the  Cautels,  in  the  Roman  Missal,  "  De  Defectibus  circa  Missam  occur- 
rentibus." 

*>  Bingham,  b.  x.  c.  5,  per  tot. 


ANGLO-SAXON   HOMILIES    ON   THE   EUCHARIST.  189 

The  more  fact  of  this  concealment  has  been  frequently  alleged 
to  explain  the  silence  of  the  early  fathers  upon  points  which 
Roman  Catholics  consider  of  vital  orthodoxy :  but  the  argument 
will  be  worth  absolutely  nothing  until  they  can  prove  that  these  were 
the  doctrines  actually  concealed. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist,  as  it  is  now  held  in  the  Church  of 
England,  at  least,  involves  as  great  a  mystery  as  what  they  them- 
selves believe  with  respect  to  baptism,  the  rite  of  confirmation, 
or  holy  orders ;  to  all  of  which  the  disciplina  arcani  certainly 
applied :  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  many  of  the  authorities 
cited  by  protestant  divines  are  from  homilies  which  the  fathers 
addressed  to  the  faithful ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  some  of  the 
most  favourite  quotations  urged  by  our  opponents  to  establish  the 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  are  from  the  works  of  Apologists, 
and  addressed  to  the  heathen  emperors.  The  celebrated  passage  in 
Justin  Martyr's  second  Apology  is  a  striking  example  of  this ;  and 
indeed  the  argument  itself,  instead  of  being  a  useful  auxiliary  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  polemic,  would  deprive  him  of  the  testimony  of 
antiquity  altogether  ! 

§  III. — The  Anglo-Saxons  did  not  believe  in  Transubstantiation. 

We  are  fortunately  in  possession  of  the  most  satisfactory  proofs  of 
the  orthodoxy  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  church  in  this  particular.  In 
Johnson's  collection  of  Ecclesiastical  Laws,  the  following  instructions 
are  placed  immediately  after  ^Ifric's  canons.*^  They  were  evidently 
addressed  to  the  clergy  when  they  came  to  fetch  the  chrism  ;  and 
Johnson  has  shewn  that  they  were  in  all  probability  a  national 
form. 

"  I  charge  you  that  you  take  care  of  yourselves  as  your  books 
direct  you,  and  learn  how  you  ought  to  act  in  the  days  now  coming. 
Housel  ought  not  to  be  hallowed  on  Long  Friday,  because  Christ 
suffered  for  us  on  that  day;  but  yet  what  concerns  the  day  must 
be  done :  for  two  lessons  are  to  be  read,  with  two  tracts,  and  two 
collects,  and  Christ's  passion,  and  afterwards  the  prayers;  and  let 
them  pay  their  adoration  to  the  rood,  and  then  let  all  greet  God's 
rood  with  a  kiss.  Afterwards  let  the  priest  go  to  God's  altar  with 
the  remains  of  the  housel  which  he  consecrated  on  (Maundy) 
Thursday,  and  with  unhallowed  wine  mingled  with  water,  and 
cover  them  with  a  corporal ;  and  then  presently  say,  *  Oremus,'  &c. 
Then  let  him  put  a  particle  of  the  housel  into  the  chalice,  but  with 
silence ;  and  then  let  him  go  to  housel,  and  whoever  pleases.  Let 
no  oil  be  put  into  the  font,  except  a  child  be  there  baptized.  Some 
priests  reserve  the  housel  that  was  hallowed  on  Easter-day  all  the 
year  for  sick  men ;  but  they  do  very  greatly  amiss  who  cause  the 
holy  housel  to  putrify,  and  are  unwilling  to  understand  how  great 

c  Vol.  i.  ad  ann.  957. 


l&O  ANGLO-SAXON   HOMILIES   ON   THE   EUCHARIST. 

a  satisfaction  the  Penitential  directeth  in  relation  to  them,  if  the 
housel  be  putrified,  or  musty,  or  lost ;  or  if  a  mouse  eateth  it 
through  carelessness.  For  that  housel  which  was  hallowed  to-day 
is  altogether  as  holy  as  that  which  was  hallowed  on  Easter-day  : 
that  housel  is  Christ's  body,  not  corporally,  hut  spiritually ;  not  the 
body  in  which  he  suffered,  but  that  body  of  which  he  spake  when 
he  blessed  bread  and  wine  for  housel,  one  night  before  his  passion, 
and  said  of  the  bread  blessed,  '  This  is  my  body ;'  and  again  of  the 
wine  blessed,  '  This  is  my  blood.'  Know  now  that  the  Lord  who 
was  able  to  change  the  bread  into  his  body  before  his  passion,  and 
the  Avine  into  his  blood,  in  a  spiritual  manner,  he  himself  daily 
blesseth  bread  and  wine,  by  the  hands  of  his  priests,  into  his  spiritual 
body  and  blood.  Let  the  priest  always  mingle  water  with  the  wine  ; 
for  the  wine  betokeneth  our  redemption  through  Christ's  blood,  and 
the  water  betokeneth  the  people  for  whom  he  suffered." 

The  following  is  from  the  Paschal  Homily  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
church  set  forth  by  public  authority,  and  read  in  all  the  churches 
upon  Easter-day.** 

"  Men  have  frequently  inquired,  and  still  often  inquire,  how 
bread,  formed  of  grains  of  wheat,  can  be  converted  into  Christ's 
body;  or  how  the  wine,  which  is  expressed  from  many  grapes,  can 

by  one  benediction  be  changed  into  the  Lord's  blood There 

is  a  great  difference  between  the  body  in  which  Christ  suffered,  and 
the  body  which  is  hallowed  to  housel.  Verily  the  body  in  which 
Christ  suffered  was  born  of  the  flesh  of  Mary,  and  furnished  with 
blood,  bones,  skin,  nerves,  human  members,  and  a  rational  soul : 
but  his  spiritual  body,  which  we  call  the  host,  is  collected  from 

many  grains,  Avithout  blood,  l)ones,  limbs,  or  soul The  body 

of  Christ  which  suffered  death,  rose  from  the  dead,  and  will  never 
die  again,  for  it  is  eternal  and  impassible  :  but  the  host  is  temporary 
and  not  eternal ;  it  is  corruptible,  and  distributed  into  various 
parts  ;  it  is  torn  by  the  teeth,  and  transmitted  into  the  belly. 
Lastly,  this  mystery  is  a  pledge  and  a  figure,  but  the  body  of  Christ 
is  the  truth  itself;  for  we  have  this  tUl  we  attain  unto  the  other, 
which  when  we  have  attained,  this  wUl  be  done  away.  As  there- 
fore, a  little  before  he  suffered,  Christ  was  able  to  change  the  sub- 
stance of  bread  and  the  creature  of  wine  into  his  own  body  which 
was  about  to  suffer,  and  into  his  blood  which  was  afterwards  to  be 
poured  out ;  so  also  in  the  wilderness  did  he  convert  the  manna, 

and  the  water  from  the  rock,  into  his  flesh  and  blood Moses 

and  Aaron  ate  manna ;  Phineas  also  ate  of  it ;  many  also  ate  of  it 
who  pleased  God  and  have  not  seen  death  :  and  why  ?  because  they 
understood  the  visible  food  in  a  spiritual  sense ;  they  spiritually 
tasted,  and  were  spiritually  satisfied." 

Among  the  literary  treasures  of  the  British  Museum,  there  is  a 
most  interesting  liturgical  MS. ;  it  is  in  Latin,  but  written  in  Saxon 
<i  Usser.  de  Success.  Eccl.  cap.  ii.  p.  26.  The  Paschal  Homily  was  published 
by  John  Day. 


BAPTISM   BY   HERETICS   VALID CATECHUMENS.  191 

characters,  and  cannot  be  later  than  the  end  of  the  ninth  century.* 
In  this  MS.  the  eucharist  is  called  "  spiritualem  hostiam ;"  and  in 
another  very  beautiful  prayer,  it  is  clearly  intimated  that  it  is  only 
through  faith  that  we  are  made  partakers  of  the  Lord's  body. 

Matthew  of  Westminster  says,  that  in  the  year  1087,  Berengarius 
had  mani/  followers  in  England :  "  Eodem  tempore  (sat/s  he)  Beren- 
garius Turonensis  in  hsereticam  prolapsus  pravitatem,  omnes  Gallos, 
Italos,  et  Anglos,  suis  jam  pcene  curruperat  pravitatibus."*^  And 
Possevin  says,  that  Baldwin,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  wrote  a 
treatise  in  England,  in  the  year  1180,  Contra  reliquias  Berengarii."  ^ 


Concilia  Magn^  Britannia,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  I. 

WiLKiNS,  CoNCiL,  i.  3. — Canons  of  St.  Patrick,  ^c.  a.d.  456. 

Can.  29.  If  any  brother  wishes  to  receive  the  grace  of  God,  let 
him  not  be  baptized  till  he  has  fasted  throughout  one  entire  Lent. 
{Antequam  quadrigessimum  agat.) 

Ibid,  p.  5. — Other  canons  of  St.  Patrick,  of  uncertain  date. 

Cap.  VII.  It  is  ordained,  that  they  shall  not  be  re-baptized,  who 
have  received  the  tradition  of  the  creed  from  any  person ;  for  the 
wickedness  of  the  sower  does  not  pollute  the  seed. 

Cap.  XIX.  On  the  eighth  day  they  are  catechumens ;  after  that 
let  them  be  baptized  on  the  Lord's  festivals,  i.  e.  Easter,  Pentecost, 
or  the  Epiphany. 

Cap.  XXII.  On  taking  the  eucharist  after  the  commission  of  crime. 
After  the  torture  {examinationem  carnis)  it  may  be  received,  and 
especially  on  ^astev-night,  on  which,  if  a  man  communicate  not,  he 
18  not  a  christian.  Let  therefore  the  time  (assigned  for  penance) 
be  short  and  strict,  rather  than  long  and  remiss,  lest  a  faithful  soul 
should  perish,  being  so  long  deprived  of  this  medicine:  for  the 
Lord  hath  said,  "  Unless  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  ye  have 
no  life  in  you." 

Cap.  XXVI.  Hear  theLord  saying,  "  A  man  may  not  dismiss  his 
icife,  except  for  tlie  cause  of  fornication,"  as  if  he  had  said,  that  in 
such  a  case  {it  was  lawful) ;  wherefore  if  he  should  marry  another, 
as  if  after  the  death  of  the  first,  he  is  not  forbidden  to  do  so. 

Ibid.  p.  30.  Bede  says,''  a.d.  617,  "After  the  death  of  Eadbald, 
king  of  the  East- Saxons,  his  sons  re-established  idolatry  in  that 
kingdom ;  and  when  they  saw  the  bishop  (pontificem),  during  the 
celebration  of  mass,  giving  the  eucharist  to  the  people,  inflated  with 
a  barbarous  folly,  they  said  to  him,  *  Why  do  you  not  give  to 
us  that  beautiful  (nitidum)  bread  which  you  used   to  give  to  our 

e  In  MSS.  Bibl.  Harl.  No.  2965. 
f  Flores  Hist.  edit.  1567,  torn.  ii.  fol.  8. 

g  Apparat.  Sacrj.  in  Bereogar.  Turonens.  See  also  in  this  chapter,  Wilk.  i. 
361,  and  N.  95.  i«  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  5. 


192  THE   FATHER  FINED  IF  A  CHILD  DIED  UNBAPTIZED. 

father  Saba?'  to  which  he  answered,  *  If  ye  will  be  washed  in  that 
salubrious  font  wherewith  your  father  was  washed,  ye  may  partake 
of  this  holy  bread;  but  if  ye  despise  the  water  of  life,  ye  cannot 
receive  the  bread  of  life.'  Upon  which  they  said,  *We  will  not 
enter  that  font,  because  we  know  that  we  stand  not  in  need  of  it ; 
but,  nevertheless,  we  desire  to  be  refreshed  with  that  bread.'  And 
when  they  had  been  frequently  and  diligently  admonished,  that  no 
one  could  lawfully  partake  of  the  holi/  oblation  without  that  most 
holy  washing,  being  at  length  aroused  to  indignation,  they  exclaim- 
ed, *  If  you  will  not  oblige  us  in  such  a  trifling  matter,  you  can  no 
longer  remain  in  our  province.'  And  they  expelled  him,  and  com- 
manded him  to  depart  from  their  dominions  with  his  followers." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  58. — The  ecclesiasticcil  laws  oflna,  king  of  the 
West-Saxons,  a.d.  693. 

Cap.  II.  Let  an  infant  be  baptized  within  thirty  nights  (nihta). 
If  this  rule  be  not  complied  with,  let  (the  father)  make  compensation 
with  thirty  shillings;  and  if  he  then  die  without  baptism,  let  him 
make  compensation  with  all  his  property. 

Ibid.  p.  98.     Cuthberifs  canons  at  Cloves-hoo,  a.  d.  747. 

Can.  23.  That  lay-boys  who  still  retain  their  innocence,  and 
adidts  who  have  forsaken  their  sins,  be  advised  to  communicate 
frequently,  lest  they  grow  weak  for  want  of  that  heavenly  food 
and  drink,  our  Lord  saying,  "  Unless  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of 
man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  shall  have  no  life  abiding  in  you." 

Can.  30.  That  the  divine  clemency  be  often  supplicated  for  kings 
and  nobles  during  their  lives;  and  that  the  atoning  sacrifice  be 
frequently  offered  by  many  priests  for  the  repose  of  their  souls  after 
death, — provided  that  during  their  lives  they  remember  to  prepare 
themselves  for  this  benefit. 

Ibid.  p.  102. — Excerptions  of  Ecgbert,  archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  750. 

Ex.  12.  That  no  presbyter  shall  presume  to  sell  a  sacred  oflSce, 
or  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  or  any  of  the  spiritual  gifts,  for  money. 

Ex.  20.  That  all  priests,  with  the  greatest  circumspection,  shall 
adjudge  proper  degrees  of  penance  to  those  who  confess  their  sins 
to  them,  and  mercifully  administer  to  all  sick  persons  before  the 
end  of  their  lives  the  viaticum,  and  the  communion  of  the  body  of 
Christ. 

Ex.  21.  That  according  to  the  decree  of  the  holy  fathers,  if  any 
one  be  sick,  he  shall  be  anointed  by  priests  with  consecrated  oil  and 
prayer. 

Ex.  22.  That  the  priest  shall  have  the  eucharist  always  ready  for 
the  sick,  lest  they  should  die  without  the  communion. 

Ex.  38.  Those  laymen  who  communicate  not  on  Christmas-day, 
Easter,  and  Pentecost,  are  not  to  be  esteemed  catholics. 


VARIOUS   REGULATIONS   ABOUT    MARRIAGE.  193 

Ex.  39.  Penitents,  according  to  the  canons,  ought  not  to  com- 
municate till  they  have  fulfilled  their  penance  :  we  however,  accor- 
ding to  the  mercy  of  God,  give  permission  to  some  {to  communicate) 
after  one,  two,  or  three  years. 

Ex.  40.    Let   presbyters   administer  the  sacraments  of  baptism 

indifierently  to  all  who  require  it requiring  no  reward,  unless 

they,  or  their  parents,  or  charitable  persona  {eleemosynarii),  shall 
give  any  thing  voluntarily. 

Note.  Sacraments,  i.  e.  the  sacred  rites  which  accompanied  baptism. 
In  the  English  Church,  the  eucharist  was  anciently  administered  to 
infants  immediately  after  baptism. 

Ex.  41.  It  is  determined  concerning  infants,  that  where  proper 
witnesses  of  their  baptism  cannot  be  found,  and  they  are  too  young 
to  answer  for  themselves,  they  shall  be  baptized  without  scruple. 

Ex.  42.  There  are  some  who  mingle  wine  with  the  water  of  bap- 
tism improperly ;  and  Christ  did  not  enjoin  baptism  with  wine,  but 
with  water. 

Ex.  43.    That  no  presbyter  go  abroad  without  the  chrism. 
Note.     i.  e.  the  consecrated  oil  used  in  baptism,  &c. 

Ex.  55.  It  is  sufficient  for  a  priest  that  he  celebrate  one  mass  in 
one  day,  because  Christ  sufiered  once,  and  redeemed  the  whole  world. 

Ex.  83.    All  the  holy  offices  may  be  administered  to  idiots. 

Ex.  90.  Let  betrothed  persons,  when  they  are  blessed  by  the 
priest,  be  presented  by  their  parents  or  brides-folk  (parani/mphis)  ; 
and  let  them  for  that  night  remain  in  virginity,  from  reverence  to 
the  (nuptial)  benediction. 

Ex.  91.  A  presbyter  ought  not  to  be  present  at  a  feast  made 
upon  the  occasion  of  a  second  marriage,  especially  as  it  is  required 
that  penance  should  be  enjoined  to  second  marriages. 

Ex.  100.  Let  priests  take  care  that  the  bread,  wine,  and  water, 
without  which  mass  cannot  be  celebrated,  be  pure  and  clean ;  for 
if  they  do  not  so,  they  will  be  punished  with  those  who  oflfered  unto 
the  Lord  vinegar  and  gall. 

Ex.  108.  Let  the  man  who  marries  on  the  Lord's  night,  do 
penance  seven  days  ;  if  on  a  Wednesday  or  Friday,  three  days ;  if 
in  Lent,  a  whole  year. 

Note.   Nubo  is  often  used  by  canonists  in  an  impure  sense;  e.ff.  they 

speak  "  de  nuhendo  masculis  brutis,  &c."  and  de  nvhendo  in  ecclesia 

consecrata."' 

Ex.  111.  Let  married  persons  abstain  for  three  nights  before 
they  receive  the  communion,  and  one  night  after. 

Ex,  118.  When  a  woman  is  dead,  her  husband  may  marry 
another  at  the  end  of  a  month ;  and  after  a  year  {of  widowhood)  a 
woman  may  lawfully  receive  another  husband. 

Note.     The  man  was  to  remain  unmarried  a  month  for  decency  ;  the 

woman  a  year  for  decency  and  the  distinction  of  offspring. 

*  Johnion. 


194  DIVORCE Dn.EMMA   AS   TO   TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

Ex.  125,  &c.  If  any  one's  wife  shall  become  a  slave,  and  cannot 
be  redeemed,  after  the  seventh  year  let  him  take  another.  If  after- 
wards his  former  wife  shall  return  from  captivity,  let  him  receive 
her,  and  dismiss  the  other.  If  a  woman  shall  desert  her  husband, 
and  will  not  return,  he  may  marry  another  wife  after  five  or  seven 
years,  if  he  cannot  contain :  and  let  him  do  penance  three  years,  or 
as  long  as  he  lives,  because,  according  to  our  Lord's  sentence,  he  is 
convicted  of  adultery. 

Note.  Our  reformers  allowed  a  dissolution  of  marriage  for  desertion, 
long  absence,  mortal  hatred,  8)~c.^  Excerp.  123,  admits  fornication  as  a 
ground  of  divorce,  but  forbids  either  party  to  marry  during  the  other's 
lifetime;  but  the  reformers,  in  all  the  cases  specified,  permitted  a 
second  marriage.  Excerp.  127,  talking  of  concubines,  says  that  "  God 
always  forbid  such  marriages." 

Ex.  131.  If  any  man  shall  marry  a  nun,  or  his  godmother  {com- 
matrem  spiritualem),  or  brother's  wife,  or  niece,  or  stepmother,  or 
cousin-germ/in,  let  him  be  accursed. 

Ex.  133  and  139.  Gregory  says,  "  We  decree  that  every  one 
shall  abstain  from  marriage  to  the  seventh  generation ;  i.  e.  so  long  as 
they  know  them  to  be  akin. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  118. — Penitential  ofEcgbert,  archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  750. 

B.  i.  ch.  18.  In  baptism  let  a  man  receive  (from  the  font)  a  fe- 
male child,  and  a  woman  a  male  child  ;  and  let  not  the  baptizer  eat 
in  the  same  house  with  those  whom  he  has  christened,  nor  kiss  them. 

Xote.  Wilkins'  Latin  is  unintelligible,  "  Baptizatus  non  comedat  in 
domo  cum  baptizatis."  But  the  Saxon  word  which  he  translates  "  bap- 
tizatus," is  ^^gefidhd"  and  that  which  corresponds  with  ^^  baptizatus^' 
is  "  gecristnedan." 

B.  iv.  p.  139.  If  any  one  shall  vomit  the  host  from  drunkenness 
or  gluttony,  let  hira  fast  forty  days ;  if  from  weakness,  seven  days  ; 
and  let  him  twice  repeat  the  Psalter.  If  any  one  neglect  the  con- 
secrated eucharist,  and  any  impurity  arise  in  it,  so  that  it  retains  not 
it?,  form,  let  him  fast  forty  days.  If  a  man  cast  the  host  into  the 
fire  or  jnto  a  river,  so  that  it  becomes  so  putrid  that  it  cannot  be 
eaten,  let  him  sing  a  hundred  psalms. 

If  the  host  should  become  corrupt  or  too  old,  let  it  be  burned. 
If  a  dog  should  devour  the  vomit  of  him  {who  hath  ejected  the  host), 
let  such  a  person  fast  for  a  hundred  days. 

If  a  mouse  should  eat  the  host  through  the  negligence  of  him 
who  ought  to  keep  it,  let  him  fast  for  forty  days. 

Note.  The  host  was  a  round,  white,  and  flat  wafer,  consecrated  in 
the  eucharist.  Disgusting  as  the  above  extracts  are,  they  furnish  us  with 
a  strong  argument  against  transubstantiation,  for  can  it  be  believed 
that  the  real  body  of  Christ  could  become  corrupt,  or  be  swallowed  by 
a  mouse  ?  Yet  it  is  certain  that  Ecgbert  must  have  either  rejected  the 
supposition  of  a  corporal  presence  of  Christ  in  the  eucharist,  or  believed 

k  Reform.  Legum— De  Adult.  &c,  c.  8—10.  '  Conjugia. 


THE  gOCT  A  MJIilll  tTE  IF  SO  BETTBK  ■BMPg  CaCI»  MC  HAD.       Id5 

dUk,  iMte  a^  ^mO,  ^ot  be 
ofdiarj 


tf  m  Han  ahafl  <st  bcfere  he  goes  to 


WnjL.  i.  p.  146— Co«cg  </  Cwlfijrti,  a. p.  785.* 

Cm.  2.  ThatbapdsBbeperfiKaedaeeovfiii^toffeaMH,aBd 
■ot  atanjoAer  tBc^  eseeptm  cnn  of  cMcrgaxy:  aadAataD 
in  genenl  haaw  tbe  creed  ind  Ae  Lotd's  Rxycr ;  aad  let  tibmm 
vho  leeebv  cUdran  fioa  Ae  ka^fiMt^aBd  laswcr  fcr  Ikne  vho 

woAmaBd  poMpe,  and  ftr  bcEfev^  the  6i^  kBov  O^&cyare 
tibev  nii^rtiiii  mto  the  Lord  aeeavfing  to  Aeir  pvoHHe:  aad  vhen 
1heyA»nht¥c  attained  to  a  cuMi>eteMtjge,ktthe»teaA<h^  the 
rihr»aiid  Larfs  ftayg  awl  Ckeed. 

Gm.  10.  That  the  MatimB  of  the  baAM  be  swh  &i  it  be 
hnmd  and  not  cnut  (miitk  tr  cnqriegKiil).  We  fivbid  abo  ^tt  the 
^•fiee  or  patea  aaed  in  dw  laiiiite  be  Bade  of  an  oi^a  hon,  be- 
eave  they  are  ObraMd)  of  blood. 


Im  PL  169.— awnciZ  cfCeddiyIke  mmdtr  W^^nd, 
of  Teri,  A.D.  816. 

Ctp.  n.  When  a  duirch  is  boDt,  let  it  be  eonseerated  bj  the 
biiiinp  iif  Ibfi  flinnr  If .  let  vater  be  bfessed  and  ffriafcled  by  bna, 
and  let  {Ae  cmwrnrng)  be  pufmtd  as  it  is  dveetod  m  the  mbk- 
tcrial  book.  Afterarards  let  the  eneharat  vhieh  has  been  eon- 
aeeratod  by  the  bishop  dnni«  tUa  ofiee,  with  o&er  nhcB,  be 
dcpoMtcd  in  >  rwketf  ioA  piuiumd  m  Ihe  aawe  thmih  {^mtStoS). 
Andif  he  cannot  praeafv  other  icfieB,jetanj&bbeof  thepaateit 
aernee,  teoanae  if  «  Ae  hody  mtd  Hood  <^  <mr  Lmd  Jiamm  QntL 

Cap.  T.  That  no  person  of  Scottish  extiartina  be  ■Boniid.  to 
exacise  the  aacred  auaniiy  in  any  dincwe,  cither  m.  baptiiiMj  the 
eelebradon  of  the  ■na^  or  adauatstom^  the  enehatiBt  to  the 
people;  for  we  are  naeertain  hov  or  by  vhoni  dvy  were  ordaintBd : 
and  weoug^  partifwiaiiy  to  f tjett  the  reeeiyiqg  of  the  aaenaaents 
fioBi  fcrcjgn  natinmi,  in  vUeh  there  is  no  anch  order  as  that  of 


d^  XL  Thnt  no  bishop  invade  the  faritk  of  another  by  eon- 
ypf^;-g  or  ordawsfp;  with  the  rwrptWi  of  the  vchbishap^ 
becMseheisthehndof  thebaAopa  (wAwpfwraHa).  Also  that 
no  priwts  nsmp  n  nriger  share  of  bnsineBB  thsB  has  been  aUaltod  to 
theni  by  their  own  bishops,  exeept  onfy  inbafdn^^  oris  liwlii^ 
theabk.  Bnt  we  r nmisiiri  aB ptndiylMa to refisse the  winistiy  of 
b^rtisBS  to  no  one  an  any  plae^  on  pun  of  ampenaaon.  Let  pres- 
bytora  abo  know,  that  when  they  MlMiinrtiii  1 1111  ■  they  oiight  not 
to  pov  the  eonseented  water  apon  the  infcniif  brndw,  fc<  Id  Uitm 

>  See  Ads  1.  ST,  ftc  ■  See  p.  SB. 

o$ 


196       ESPOUSALS GOLDEN   CHALICES   AND   WOODEN   PRIESTS. 

oikoays  he  immersed  in  the  font;  as  the  Son  of  God  himself  afforded 
an  example  unta  all  believers,  when  he  was  three  times  immersed  in 
the  river  Jordan. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  216. — Ancient  constitution  respecting  espousals,  a.d.  944.° 

Cap.  I.  If  a  man  will  marry  a  virgin,  let  him  first  promise  and 
covenant  with  the  bridesman  that  he  will  keep  her  according  to 
God's  law,  and  let  his  friends  be  his  sureties. 

Cap.  II.  Then  let  it  be  ascertained  who  is  bound  to  supply  them 
with  necessaries. 

Cap.  III.  Then  let  the  espouser  specify  what  he  will  endow  her 
with,  and  also  what  he  will  give  should  she  outlive  him. 

Cap.  IV.  When  this  has  been  agreed  upon,  it  is  just  that  she 
should  enjoy  half  his  property,  and  the  whole  of  it  should  they  have 
a  child,  unless  she  marry  again. 

Cap.  VI.  Should  they  agree  in  all  these  particulars,  then  let  her 
kindred  come  and  espouse  their  relation  to  him,  and  let  them  take 
security. 

Cap.  VII.  If  he  should  wish  to  take  her  from  that  place  into  the 
district  of  another  thane,  let  security  be  given  that  her  husband  will 
do  her  no  injury  ;  and  that  if  she  should  commit  a  crime  for  which 
the  kindred  ought  to  make  compensation,  {that  they  will  do  so). 

Cap.  VIII.  Let  the  mass-priest  [mcesse  preost)  be  present  at  the 
nuptials,  for  he  ought  to  join  them  together  with  God's  blessing. 

Ibid.  p.  218. — Laws  of  the  Northumbrian  priests,  a.d.  950. 

Can.  10.  Let  every  infant  be  baptized  within  nine  days,  upon 
pain  of  six  ores :  and  if  the  infant  die  a  pagan  within  nine  days,  let 
his  parents  make  satisfaction  to  God  without  any  earthly  mulct ; 
if  after  he  is  nine  days  old,  let  them  pay  twelve  ores  to  the  priest 
besides. 

Can.  14-17.  If  a  priest  should  celebrate  mass  without  a  con- 
secrated altar,  or  haUow  the  eucharist  in  a  wooden  chalice,  or 
celebrate  mass  without  wine,  or  be  careless  of  the  housel,  let  him 
pay  twelve  ores. 

Note.    Yet  wooden  chalices  seem  to  have  been  the  most  ancient. 
"Formerly  (exclaimed  Pope   Boniface)  golden   priests  used   wooden 
chalices,  but  now  golden  chalices  are  used  by  wooden  priests."P 
Can.  18.   If  a  priest  celebrate  mass  more  than  three  times  in  one 
day,  let  him  pay  twelve  ores. 

Ibid.  p.  226. — Canons  made  in  king  Edgar's  reign,  a.  d.  960. 
^  Can.  15.    That   every   infant   be    baptized   within   thirty-seven 
nights:  and  that  no  one  delay  too  long  to  be  confirmed  by  the 
bishop. 

Can.  22.  That  every  one  learn  the  Paternoster  and  the  Credo, 
if  he  desire  to  lie  in  a  consecrated  cemetery,  or  to  receive  the  holy 

o  Text.  Roffen.  p  Cabassutii  Notlt.  Concil.  p.  555. 


THE   EUCHARIST — SECOND    MARRIAGES.  197 

eucharist ;    for  he  is  not  a  good  christian  who  is  not  willing  to  learn 
this,  nor  can  he  lawfully  raise  others  from  the  font,  or  receive  the 
hand  of  the  bishop  in  confirmation,  till  he  hath  first  learned  this. 
Can.  32.    That  a  priest  never  celebrate  mass  without  book. 

Note.  Lest  from  ignorance  or  forgetfulness  any  of  the  essential 
parts  of  the  canon  should  be  altered  or  omitted.  In  the  primitive 
Church  the  sacramental  service  was  always  recited  memoriter,  (Bingham, 
Orig.  Eccl.  B.  xiii.  c.  5.  §  3),  and  so  it  is,  I  believe,  in  the  Greek  Church 
to  this  very  day. 

Can.  35.  That  no  priest  celebrate  mass  alone,  unless  he  have 
some  one  to  respond  to  him. 

Can.  36.  That  every  one  receive  the  eucharist /orfin^,  unless  he 
should  be  prevented  by  extreme  sickness. 

Can.  37.  That  no  priest  celebrate  mass  more  than  three  times  in 
one  day  at  the  utmost. 

Can.  38.  That  a  priest  have  the  eucharist  always  ready,  and  let 
him  beware  that  it  grow  not  old,  so  that  it  cannot  be  received  :  in 
that  case  let  it  be  burnt  with  pure  fiwe,  and  let  the  ashes  be  placed 
under  the  altar. 

Can.  39.  That  a  priest  presume  not  to  celebrate  mass  unless  he 
have  all  things  which  belong  to  the  holy  eucharist,  viz.  a  piu'e 
oblation,  pure  wine,  and  pure  water.  Woe  to  him  who  shall  begin 
the  mass  till  he  have  all  these  things,  or  who  adds  to  them  any 
thing  which  is  unclean ;  for  this  is  like  what  the  Jews  did,  when 
they  mingled  vinegar  and  gall  together,  and  then  ofiered  it  to 
Christ  as  an  insult. 

Can.  40.  Tliat  the  housel  which  has  been  consecrated,  be  not 
consecrated  again. 

Can.  42.  That  a  light  always  burn  in  the  church  when  mass  is  sung. 

Can.  44.  That  no  married  woman  approach  the  altar  during  the 
celebration  of  mass. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  251 The  canons  of  uElfric  to  Wtdjinus  a  bishop, 

A.D.  970. 

Can.  9.  Let  no  priest  be  present  at  a  second  marriage,  nor  bless 
the  conjunction ;  but  let  him  show  that  it  would  have  been  better 
for  them  to  live  chastely.  A  layman  may  nevertheless  contract 
a  second  marriage  when  his  wife  is  dead. 

Can.  29.  Let  no  priest  drink  immoderately,  nor  force  others  to 
get  drunk ;  for  he  ought  to  be  prepared,  and  to  have  the  use  of  his 
understanding,  if  an  infant  is  to  be  baptized,  or  a  sick  man  to  bo 
houselled ;  and  although  this  should  not  occur,  yet  he  ought  not  to 
get  drunk. 

Can.  31.  He  ought  to  give  the  eucharist  to  the  sick  (only)  so 
long  as  the  sick  person  can  swallow  it.  Let  it  not  be  administered 
if  the  man  should  be  half  dead,  for  Christ  has  commanded  that  the 
eucharist  shall  be  eaten. 

Can.  32.    Let  the  priest  have  consecrated  oil  of  two  sorts, — one 


198  Christ's  body  received  by  faith. 

for  {the  baptism  of)  children,  and  the  other  for  the  sick,  and  let  him 
always  anoint  the  sick  as  they  lie  in  bed. 

Note.  The  chrism,  or  oil  used  in  the  baptism  of  infants,  was  com- 
posed of  oil  olive,  and  balsam ;  to  which  the  Greeks  add  thirty-three 
other  aromatic  substances.  The  oil  for  anointing  the  sick  was  plain 
oil  olive ;  both  were  consecrated  by  the  bishop,  and  given  to  the  priests 
on  Holy  Thiursday.q 

[^Can.  35.  "  Men  ought  not  to  eat  or  drink  intemperately  in 
God's  house,  which  is  hallowed  to  this  purpose,  that  the  body  of 
God  may  be  there  eaten  with  faith.  Yet  men  often  act  so  absurdly, 
as  to  sit  up  by  night,  and  drink  to  madness  within  God's  house, 
and  to  defile  it  with  scandalous  games  and  lewd  discourse."'] 

WiLK.  i.  p.  266. — Capitida  made  in  the  reign  of  king  j^thelred, 
A.D.  994. 

Cap.  V.  We  also  charge  you,  that  either  you  yourselves,  or  your 
servants  in  your  presence,  bake  the  eucharistical  breads  which  ye 
offer  unto  God  in  the  holy  sacrament,  that  ye  may  know  that  they 
are  made  in  a  clean  and  proper  manner. 

Cap.  xvn.  If  any  one  shall  bring  a  sick  infant  to  a  priest,  to 
whatever  pries fs  district  he  may  belong,  let  him  instantly  baptize  him. 

Cap.  XXII.  It  was  anciently  decreed,  that  no  one  who  is  ignorant 
of  the  Credo  and  Pater-noster,  should  support  any  one  either  at 
confirmation  or  at  baptism  (in  quality  of  sponsor),  unless  he  be  of 
such  an  age  that  he  cannot  learn  them. 

Cap.  XLi,  Men  ought  to  communicate  every  Sunday  during  Lent, 
also  on  (Maundy)  Thursday,  (Good)  Friday,  Easter-eve,  Easter-day, 
and  all  the  days  in  Easter-week,  unless  they  be  excommunicate. 

Cap.  XLiv.  Let  people  take  the  holy  sacrament  of  Christ's  body 
and  blood  with  reverence  and  awe  ;  and  let  them  first  pui'ify  them- 
selves with  fasting  and  alms,  and  abstain  from  their  wives ;  for  it  is 
very  dangerous  if  a  man  receive  it  carelessly,  and  also  if  he  abstain 
too  long  from  it.  And  let  no  one  receive  it  without  the  permission 
of  his  shrift.  There  are,  however,  many  monks  and  widows  of  so 
holy  and  religious  a  life,  that  they  may  communicate  every  day  if 
they  please. 

Note.    From  this  it  appears  that  there  was  a  daily  communion  in 

monasteries ;   and  also  that  the  laity  received  in  both  kinds. 

Cap.  XLV.  We  enjoin  priests,  who  on  Sundays  or  other  festivals 
desire  to  celebrate  mass  before  high-mass,  that  they  do  so  privately, 
so  that  they  may  draw  away  no  part  of  the  congregation  from  the 
high-mass  :  for  it  is  a  shameful  custom  of  many  people,  that  they 
like  to  hear  mass  early  in  the  morning,  and  immediately  after,  from 
the  early  part  of  the  morning  throughout  the  whole  day,  serve  their 
bellies  with  drunkenness  and  gluttony,  and  not  God.    We  command 

1  Schram,  Instit.  Theol.  iii.  148  and  492. 

>•  Johns,  not  published  by  Wilkins.  It  ought  to  have  been  placed  between  Can. 
34  and  Can.  35  in  the  '  Concilia'  (i.  255),  and  the  numerals  altered  accordingly,  so 
as  to  have  36  canons  altogether. 


RULES   FOR  MAKING   AND   BAKING  HOSTS.  199 

therefore,  that  no  man  shall  taste  any  food  before  the  completion  of 
high  mass ;  but  let  all  persons,  both  women  and  men,  assemble  at 
high-mass  in  the  holy  and  spiritual  church,  and  there  hear  high-mass, 
and  the  preaching  of  God's  word, 

WiLK.  i.  p.  349.  In  Lanfranc's  constitutions,  A.  D.  1072,  when  he 
explains  the  nature  of  the  sacrist's  office,  he  says :  "  To  him  belongs 
the  care  of  making  hosts,  which  ought  to  be  done  with  the  greatest 
cleanliness.  In  the  first  place,  if  it  be  practicable,  let  the  corn  be 
chosen  with  great  care,  grain  by  grain,  and  then  put  into  a  clean 
new  bag,  made  for  the  purpose,  and  carried  by  a  trusty  servant  to 
the  mill.  When  it  has  arrived  there,  let  the  servant  cause  some 
other  corn  to  be  first  ground  in  the  mill,  that  the  wheat  from  which 
the  hosts  are  to  be  made  may  be  afterwards  ground  without  any 
impurity.  When  it  has  been  brought  back,  let  the  sacristan  prepare 
a  place  within  the  circuit  of  the  apse  (in  circuitu  cortina),  and  a  vessel 
in  which  the  flour  ought  to  be  kneaded.  He  himself  is  to  do  this, 
vested  in  an  albe,  and  his  head  being  veiled  with  an  amyt.  But  on 
the  day  on  which  the  hosts  are  to  be  made,  let  the  sacristan,  and  the 
brethren  who  are  to  assist  him,  before  they  begin,  wash  their  hands 
and  faces :  let  them  have  alhes  on,  and  let  their  heads  be  covered 
with  amyts,  with  the  exception  of  the  brother  who  is  to  hold  the 
iron  pan.  Let  one  of  them,  upon  a  very  clean  table,  sprinkle  the 
flour  with  water,  and  strongly  knead  it  with  his  hands  ;  and  let  the 
brother  who  holds  the  iron  pan  in  which  they  are  to  be  baked,  have 
his  hands  covered  with  gloves.  In  the  interval,  while  the  hosts  are 
made  and  baked,  let  the  said  brethren  repeat  the  canonical  hours,  or, 
if  they  prefer  it,  the  Psalter  in  order.  Let  them  entirely  abstain 
from  conversation  ;  yet  he  who  holds  the  pan  may,  if  it  be  necessary, 
briefly  give  directions  to  the  servant  who  makes  the  fire  and  carries 
the  wood,  which  ought  to  be  very  dry,  and  carefully  prepared 
several  days  before." 

Note.  Towards  the  end  of  the  paragraph,  it  is  provided,  that  if  the 
sacristan  has  been  guilty  of  any  neglect  of  duty,  "  ante  gradum  satis- 
factionum,  prostematur  quousque  ipsa  collecta  usque  ad  '  henedicamus 
Domino,^  finiatur."  On  this  *  step  of  satisfaction^  (wherever  it  was)  the 
penitent  knelt  apart  from  the  congregation  publicly  disgraced  before 
them  aU.  I  have  ventured  on  the  above  translation  of  the  very  obscure 
expression  '  in  circuitu  cortina^  {cortina  ?)  on  the  strength  of  a  passage 
in  Twysden's  '  Scriptores  Decern^  (Col.  1303)  -which  describes  two 
towers  (or  circular  chapels)  as  having  been  placed  "  ad  circismn"  on 
each  side  of  the  choir  of  Canterbury  cathedral.  But  after  all  it  may 
simply  mean  a  place  curtained  roimd,  or  a  place  to  the  east  of  the 
chour-arch  where  the  veil  hung  during  Lent. 

Ibid.  p.  350.  From  the  same  document.  "When  through  any 
neglect,  the  body  or  blood  of  Christ  hath  fallen  to  the  ground,  or 
into  any  other  place,  so  that  it  cannot  be  fiUly  perceived  whither 
it  hath  fallen,  let  notice  be  given  to  the  abbot  or  the  prior  as  soon 
as  possible,  who  is  immediately  to  go  to  the  place  accompanied  by 
some  of  the  brethren  ;    and  if  the  body  hath  fallen,  or  the  blood 


200  TRAN8UB8TANTIATION   REJECTED   BY    MANT. 

been  spilt  upon  a  stone  or  tlie  ground,  matting,  tapestry,  &c.  let  the 
piece  of  matting,  tapestry,  wood,  or  whatever  it  may  be,  be  cut  ofl 
and  thrown  mto  the  sanctuary.  But  if  the  place  where  it  fell 
cannot  be  certainly  known,  let  the  place  near  which  it  is  supposed 
to  have  fallen  be  cut  off  or  scraped,  and  the  scrapings  be  placed  in 
the  sanctuary :  but  let  those  through  whose  fault  it  happened, 
humbly  confess  their  fault  in  the  next  chapter,  and  being  stripped, 
let  them  endure  castigation  (judicium  nudi  suscipiant),  and  let 
penance  be  also  enjoined  them.  When  they  have  returned  to  their 
places,  let  all  the  priests  who  are  then  present  rise  and  devoutly 
offer  to  endure  castigation.  Then  let  him  who  presides  at  the 
chapter  retain  only  seven  of  them,  such  as  he  shall  appoint,  to 
receive  (bodily)  correction,  and  command  the  others  to  return  to 
their  seats.  When  the  chapter  is  concluded,  let  all  prostrate  them- 
selves, and  together  say  the  seven  {penitential)  psalms  in  the 
minster,  after  they  have  left  the  chapter  room.  Then  let  them  say 
the  Pater-noster ;  then  "  Et  veniat  super  nos  miserecordia  tua 
Domine ;  ne  memineris  iniquitatum  nostrarum ;  Dominus  vohiscmn ; 
or  emus;"  then,  "  Exaudi  Domine,  preces  nostras,  et  conjitentium  tibi 
parce  peccatis,  ut  quos  conscientice  reatus  accusat,  indulgentia  tuoe 
miserationis  absolvat,  per  lesum  Christum,  Dominum  nostrum." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  361.  The  letter  of  archbishop  Lanfranc  to  Donatus,  an 
Irish  bishop,  A.  D.  1073,  is  exceedingly  valuable,  as  it  proves  that 
infant  communion  was  still  practised  in  England ;  that  the  cup  was 
not  yet  withheld  from  the  laity,  and  that  there  were  many  in 
England  who  at  this  time  did  not  believe  in  transvhstantiation. 
His  words  are  these :  "  You  may  be  assured,  then,  that  neither  the 
foreign  churches,  nor  we  English,  hold  such  a  doctrine  concerning 
infants  as  you  suppose,  (viz.  that  the  holy  communion  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  their  salvation).  For  we  believe  in  general,  that  it  is 
of  great  service  to  all  of  every  age,  whether  living  or  dying,  to  fortify 
themselves  by  the  receiving  of  the  Lord's  body  and  blood;  yet  if 
nevertheless  it  should  happen  that  persons  depart  this  life  immedi- 
ately after  baptism,  and  before  they  receive  Christ's  body  and  blood, 
God  forbid  that  we  should  believe  that  they  therefore  eternally 
perish."  The  passage  which  proves  that  transubstantifttion  was  at 
least  not  universally  received  in  England,  is  as  follows :  "  Which 
opinion  St.  Augustine  thus  expounds  in  his  work,  '  De  Doctrind 
Christiana.'  'He  seems  here  (viz.  in  John  vi.)  to  command 
a  dreadful  crime :  it  is  therefore  a  figure,  enjoining  us  to  commu- 
nicate (in  the  faith  of)  the  Lord's  passion,  and  sweetly  to  store  up 
in  our  minds  (the  belief)  that  his  flesh  was  wounded  and  crucified 
for  our  sakes,'  By  a  figure,  here  he  means  a  figurative  expression  ; 
for  he  does  not  deny  the  truth  of  Christ's  flesh  and  blood,  which 
was,  and  is,  the  opinion  of  many  schismatics." 

Note.  Still  earlier  than  this,  (i.e.  A.  D.  940,)  we  read  that  archbishop 
Odo....  "had  a  violent  controversy  with  the  clergy  of  Canterbury 
concerning  the  bread  of  the  eucharist :  some  affirmed  that  after  con- 


AN  ALLEGED  MIRACLE — THE   SACRAMENTS   GRATIS.  201 

secration  it  retained  its  former  substance,  and  that  the  bread  was  only 
a  FIGUEE  of  the  body  of  Christ,  and  the  wine  of  his  blood."*  And 
Malmsbury  says  of  Odo,  "  He  confirmed  (in  the  faith)  many  who 
doubted  concerning  the  truth  of  our  Lord's  body,  by  showing  the  bread 
of  the  altar  openly  turned  into  flesh,  and  the  wine  of  the  chalice  into 
blood ;  after  which,  by  restoring  them  to  their  former  appearance,  he 
made  them  fit  for  the  use  of  man."' 

WiLK.  i.  p.  365. — Council  of  Winchester,  under  Lanfranc,  a.d.  1076. 

Can.  6.  That  the  sacrifice  be  not  of  ale  {cervisid),  or  of  water 
alone ;   but  only  of  wine  mixed  with  water. 

Can.  1.  That  baptism  be  celebrated  only  at  Easter  and  Pente- 
cost, unless  there  be  a  danger  of  death. 

Can.  11.    That  for  [grievous)  crimes  bishops  alone  give  penance. 

Ibid.  p.  383. — Council  of  London,  under  archbp.  Anselm,  a.d.  1102. 

Can.  20.    That  monks  be  not  godfathers,  or  nuns  godmothers. 
Can.  25.    That  kindred,  to  the  seventh  degree,  may  not  lawfully 
intermarry. 

Ibid.  p.  408. — Legatine  council  at  London,  under  John  de  Crema, 

A.D.  1126. 

Can.  2.  We  also  charge  that  no  fee  whatsoever  be  exacted  for 
the  chrism,  baptism,  penance,  the  visitation  of  the  sick,  (extreme) 
unction,  for  the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ,  or  for  burial. 

Note.  In  another  council,  held  at  London,  a.d.  1138,  the  same 
prohibition  is  renewed  upon  pain  of  excommunication,  with  the  ad- 
ditional clause,  "  or  for  espousals."  In  another  council,  held  at  West- 
minster, A.D.  1175,  Can.  7,  the  words  "or  for  dedication"  are  added; 
priests  were,  however,  permitted  by  this  canon  to  receive  any  thing 
offered  voluntarily.  In  the  fourth  constitution  of  Otho,  the  cardind 
legate,  A.D.  1236,  we  read:  "We  hear  a  horrible  report  that  some 
priests  receive  fees  for  (the  ministry  of)  the  altar.  Let  oiFenders  be 
removed  from  their  benefices." 

Can.  3.  We  ordain  also  and  decree  by  the  apostolic  authority, 
that  at  the  ■  consecration  of  bishops,  the  benediction  of  abbots,  or 
the  dedication  of  churches,  no  cope,  carpet  (tapetce),  handkerchief, 
basin  (haccinia)),  or  any  thing  else,  shall  be  demanded  as  a  matter 
of  obligation,  (or  accepted)  unless  it  be  voluntarily  offered. 

Ibid.  p.  415. — Legatine  council  at  Westminster,  under  Alheric,  bishop 
of  Ostia,  A.D.  1138. 

Can.  2.  That  the  body  of  Christ  be  not  reserved  above  eight 
days,  or  carried  to  the  sick  except  by  a  priest  or  a  deacon,  or  in 
a  case  of  urgent  necessity,  by  any  one,  with  the  greatest  reverence. 

»  Edmer  ap.  Parker's  Antiq.  Brit.  Eccl.,  Hanov.  1605,  p.  78. 
»  De  Gest.  Pontif.  lib.  i.  p.  114. 


202  LAY    BAPTISM    VALID INTINCTION. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  472. — Council  of  Cashel,  under  Henry  IL,  a.d.  1172. 

Can.  1.  That  children  be  brought  to  the  church,  and  be  baptized 
there  in  pure  water  ivith  a  threefold  immersion;  and  that  this  be 
done  by  priests,  unless  where  there  is  imminent  danger  of  death, 
when  it  may  he  administered  by  any  one,  without  distinction  of  sex  or 
order. 

Note.  It  appears  that  in  Ireland  before  this  time,  immediately  upon 
the  birth  of  a  child  the  father  used  to  plunge  him  three  times  in  water, 
or,  if  he  could  afford  it,  in  milk,  superstitiously  leaving  out  the  right 

arm,  that  he  might  be  valiant  in  war See  O.  Halloran's  History  of 

Ireland,  Tol.  iii.  p.  381. 

Ibid.  p.  473. — From  another  conned  of  Cashel,  held  cibout  the 
same  time. 

Can  1.  That  all  Christians  in  Ireland,  repudiating  their  (inces- 
tuous) connexions  with  their  kindred  and  relations,  contract  lawful 
marriages. 

Can.  2.  That  infants  be  catechised  before  the  doors  of  the  church, 
and  be  then  baptized  in  the  font,  in  baptismal  churches. 

Note.   The  word  catechised  alludes  to  the  question  put  to  the  infant 

before  baptism,  though  of  course  answered  by  the  sponsors  :   "  Wilt 

thou  be  baptized  into  this  faith  ?  "     In  this  age  all  churches  had  not  the 

right  of  baptism. 

Ibid.  p.  474. — Council  of  Westminster,  a.d.  1173. 

Can.  9.    For  communion,  chrism,  baptism,  extreme  unction,  or 

burial,  let  not  a  penny,  or  any  fee  be  exacted. 

Can.  26.    Let  there  be  no  intinction  of  the  body  in  the  blood  of 

Christ. 

Note.  The  Armenian  Christians  receive,  I  beheve,  by  intinction,  a 
piece  of  bread  dipped  in  wine  being  given  to  each  communicant :  and 
there  is  still  a  rubric  in  the  Roman  missal,  "  Ze  pretre  mele  dans  le 
calice  une  petite  partie  de  Vhostie  quHl  a  rompu  en  trois  et  dit :  '  Hsec 
commixtio  et  consecratio  corporis  et  sanguinis  Domini  fiat  accipientibus 
nobis  in  vitam  aeternam.'  " 

Ibid.  p.  478. — Council  of  Westminster,  a.d.  1175. 

Can.  18.  Where  there  is  no  mutual  consent  there  is  no  mar- 
riage ;  those  therefore  who  espouse  infants  to  each  other  in  the 
cradle,  do  nothing,  unless  they  both  consent  when  they  arrive 
at  the  years  of  discretion. 

Ibid.  p.  501. — Legatine  council  of  York,  under  Hubert,  archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  a.d.  1195. 
Cap.  I.    Let  the  minister  of  the  altar  be  certain  that  bread,  wine, 
and  water,  are  placed  ready  for  the  sacrifice,  nor  let  {mnss)  be  cele- 
brated without  a  literate  minister.     Let  the  host  be  kept  in  a  clean 
pyx,  and  renewed  every  Sunday. 


SPONSORS DEACONS THE   ABLUTIONS.  203 

Cap.  II.  When  the  communion  is  to  be  administered  to  the  sick, 
let  the  priest  himself  in  a  clerical  habit  carry  the  host,  with  a  light 
borne  before  him,  unless  the  roughness  of  the  weather  should  pre- 
vent it. 

Cap.  in.  Because  the  secretum  of  the  mass  is  often  found  to  be 
corrupted,  either  through  the  mistake  of  the  scribe  or  the  age  of  the 
books,  so  that  it  cannot  be  distinctly  read,  let  archdeacons  take  care 
that  in  every  church  the  canon  of  the  mass  be  corrected  according 
to  a  true  and  approved  copy.  We  forbid  also  any  priest  to  enjoin 
any  layman  who  comes  to  him  for  penance  to  cause  masses  to  be 
celebrated  with  an  avaricious  motive.  We  also  forbid  any  priest  to 
make  a  bargain  respecting  the  fee  which  he  is  to  receive  for  the 
celebration  of  masses,  but  let  him  receive  that  which  is  (voluntarily) 
offered  at  the  mass. 

Cap.  IV.  We  command  that  in  baptism  no  more  than  three 
(sponsors)  receive  a  child  from  the  holy  font ;  viz.  two  men  and  one 
woman  for  a  boy,  and  two  women  and  one  man  for  a  girl :  but 
wheresoever  a  child  whose  baptism  is  not  certainly  known  shall 
be  found  exposed,  whether  with  salt  or  without,  let  it  be  baptized : 
"  Cum  non  intellipatur  iteratum,  quod  nescitur  fuisse  collatum." 

Note.  Those  who  exposed  the  children  probably  placed  salt  near 
them,  as  a  token  that  they  had  been  baptized. 

Cap.  V.  We  decree  also,  that,  except  in  cases  of  the  most  urgent 
necessity,  a  deacon  shall  not  baptize,  or  administer  the  body  of 
Christ  to  any  one,  or  enjoin  penance  to  one  who  confesses  his  sins. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  505. — Council  of  London  (or  Westminster),  under 
archbishop  Hubert,  a.  d.  1200. 

Can.  1.  That  the  words  of  the  canon  (of  the  mass)  shall  be  pro- 
nounced clearly  (rotunde),  and  neither  curtailed  by  a  rapid  pro- 
nunciation, nor  drawled  out. 

Can.  2.  Unless  in  cases  of  urgent  necessity,  a  priest  may  not 
celebrate  twice  a-day.  When  he  does,  let  nothing  be  poured  into 
the  chalice  after  the  receiving  of  the  blood ;  but  after  the  first  cele- 
bration let  the  drops  be  diligently  supped  up  from  the  chalice,  and 
let  the  fingers  be  sucked  or  licked  with  the  tongue  and  washed :  the 
washings  being  reserved  in  a  clean  vessel  used  only  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  they  are  to  be  drunk  after  the  second  celebration ;  unless 
a  deacon  or  some  other  considerable  minister  be  present,  who  may 
drink  the  washings  at  the  first  celebration.  And  let  there  be  a 
certainty  respecting  the  Eucharist,  so  that  an  unconsecrated  host  be 
not  mistaken  for  a  consecrated  one. 

Note.  At  every  mass,  after  the  receiving  of  the  cup,  some  water  i< 
poured  into  the  chalice:  but  on  this  occasion  the  priest  might  not  drink 
these  washings,  because  he  would  have  thus  broken  his  fast,  and  dis- 
qualified himself  from  saying  mass  a  second  time.  None  but  a  deacon, 
&.C,,  might  drink  these  wasliings,  because  it  was  presumed  tfiat  some  par- 


204  A   MAN   NOT   TO   MARKY   HIS   SPONSOR'S   DAUGHTER, 

tides  of  the  blood  remained  in  them :  yet  the  constitutions  of  Richard, 
bishop  of  Sarum,  allow  any  innocent  person  to  drink  them." 
Can.  3.  That  no  person  be  held  at  confirmation  by  his  father, 
mother,  or  step-father,  or  step-mother ;  and  that  deacons  may  not 
baptize  or  impose  penance,  unless  the  priest  should  be  unable,  absent, 
or  foolishly  unwilling  {to  do  so),  and  the  child  or  sick  person  be 
in  danger  of  death.  In  cases  of  danger,  however,  a  child  may  be 
baptized  by  a  laic,  or  by  his  father  or  mother,  without  prejudice  to 
matrimonii ;  and  let  those  (ceremonies)  which  follow  the  immersion 
(but  not  those  which  precede  it)  be  afterwards  supplied  by  the 
priest. 

Note,  By  this  canon,  and  by  the  fifth  cap.  of  the  council  of  York, 
(A.D.  1195,  Wilk.  i.  p.  501,  &c.)  it  is  e\ident  that  in  some  cases  at  least 
a  deacon  might  hear  confessions  and  impose  penance.  The  words  "  with- 
out prejudice  to  matrimoni/,"  allude  to  an  opinion  which  at  one  time 
prevailed  in  the  church,  viz.  that,  by  baptizing  or  becoming  sponsor  to 
his  child,  a  father  contracted  such  a  spiritual  relationship,  that  all  further 
intercourse  with  his  wife  would  be  incestuous.^ 

Can.  11.  Let  not  a  man  contract  marriage  with  a  relation  of  his 
former  wife ;  and  let  not  a  godson  contract  marriage  mith  the  daughter 
of  the  person  who  baptized  him,  or  ttnth  the  daughter  of  his  sponsor, 
born  before  or  after.     Let  not  persons  be  married  till  a  threefold 

proclamation  has  been  publicly  made  in  the  church unless 

by  the  special  authority  of  the  bishop.  No  married  person  may  go 
a  distant  journey,  till  it  be  publicly  known  that  he  does  so  by 
mutual  consent. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  531. — Constitution  of  archbishop  Langton,  a.d.  1209. 

Let  no  man  presume  to  celebrate  {mass)  twice  in  a  day,  except  on 
the  days  of  our  Lord's  nativity  or  resurrection,  or  when  a  corpse  is 
buried  in  a  church  to  which  it  belongs. 

Ibid.  p.  576. — Council  of  Durham,  under  Richard,  bishop  of 
Durham,  a.d.  1220. 

Let  fonts,  the  chrism,  and  the  holy  oil,  be  kept  under  lock  and 
key,  on  account  of  enchantments. 

When  a  child  hath  been  privately  baptized  by  a  layman,  let  the 
water,  from  respect  to  the  sacrament,  be  either  poured  into  the  fire, 
or  into  the  baptistry  at  the  church ;  and  let  the  vessel  {used  on  the 
occasion)  be  either  burnt  or  applied  to  the  use  of  the  church. 

If,  through  the  negligence  of  his  parents,  a  child  should  remain 
for  seven  years  or  more  unconfirmed,  let  both  his  father  and  mother 
be  suspended  from  entrance  into  the  church  tUl  he  be  confirmed. 
In  this  sacrament,  as  well  as  in  baptism,  a  spiritual  relationship  is 
contracted  between  the  godfather  and  the  godmother  of  the  child,  &c. 
Note.   For  godfathers,  &c.,  were  required  at  confirmation  as  well  as 

at  baptism :  and  in  our  English  liturgy  there  is  a  rubric  at  the  end  of 

"  Spelm.  ii.  U8,  Johnson.    *  See  Gratian's  Decretal,  pars.  ii.  causa  30,  per  tot. 


COMMUNION   IN   BOTH   KINDS THE  BULOGIiE.  205 

the  catechism  to  this  effect — "  And  every  one  shall  have  a  godfather  or 
a  godmother  as  a  witness  of  their  confirmation" 

Jesus  Christ,  being  about  to  leave  the  world,  prepared  a  feast  for 
his  disciples,  verily  refreshing  them  with  his  own  flesh  and  blood, 
under  the  appearance  of  bread  and  wine ;  the  bread  being  transub- 
stantiated into  his  body,  and  the  wine  into  his  blood,  by  his  divine 
power.  Ye  ought  moreover  to  instinct  the  laity,  as  often  as  they 
communicate,  that  they  doubt  not  at  all  concerning  the  verity  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood :  for  that  they  indubitably  receive  which 
hung  for  us  upon  the  cross,  and  that  they  receive  in  the  chalice  which 
was  poured  from  Christ's  side ;  and  as  Augustine  says,  "  Hoc  bibunt 
credentes,  quod  prius  fuderunt  scevientes." 

Note.   Hence  it  is  evident  that  communion  under  both  kinds  was  not 
at  this  period  wholly  discontinued  in  England. 

When   women    come   to   their   purification   after  childbirth,  let 

priests  only  give  them  blessed  bread,  and  on  no  accoimt  the  body 

of  Christ,  unless  they  expressly  desire  it,  and  have  first  confessed. 

Note.   In  the  primitive  Church,  when  the  Eucharist  was  celebrated 

with  bread  and  wine  offered  by  the  people,  some  of  the  loaves  were 

retained  and  blessed  (but  not  consecrated)  and  sent  to  foreign  Churches 

in  token  of  communion,  as  also  to  such  of  the  faithful  as  were  not  able 

to  be  present  "  vice  Eucharistise."    These  were  termed  Eulogice.     See 

Bingham,  b.  xv.  c.  4.  §  3  and  8.      Item,  Schiurzflt  isch,   Controv.  xxx. 

p.  573,  &c. 

That  marriages  be  not  celebrated  in  taverns,  and  that  the  ring  be 
not  made  of  rushes  (junco),  or  of  other  vile  materials. 

Let  priests  warn  pregnant  women  in  their  parishes,  that  when  the 
time  of  parturition  approaches,  they  have  water  in  readiness  (to  bap- 
tize the  child  in  case  of  emergency),  and  that  they  also  confess. 

Let  priests  frequently  warn  the  people  that  the  sacrament  of 
extreme  unction  may  lawfully  be  repeated,  viz.  in  any  dangerous 
illness  in  which  danger  of  death  is  apprehended.  Let  them  also 
assure  their  parishioners,  that  after  receiving  this  sacrament  the 
conjugal  act  may  be  lawfully  performed. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  594. — Statutes  read  in  tJie  council  of  Oxford,  a.  d.  1222. 
Let  not  above  three  persons  be  admitted  to  raise  a  child  from  the 
holy  font.  When  there  is  any  doubt  concerning  baptism,  let  it  be 
administered  thus,  "  Si  non  es  baptizatus,  baptizo  te,"  &c.  Further, 
let  the  chasubles  (casulce)  which  are  put  upon  the  newly  baptized, 
from  reverence  to  the  sacrament,  be  applied  to  the  use  of  the  church. 

Ibid.  p.  614. — Provincial  council  in  Scotland,  a.d.  1225. 
Can.  55.  When  a  child  has  been  baptized  by  a  layman,  let  him 
be  afterwards  brought  to  the  door  of  the  church,  and  let  the  priest 
supply  that  which  is  wanting,  viz.  a  little  salt,  and  the  anointing  of 
his  ears  and  nostrils  with  saliva.  Let  also  the  exorcisms  be  pro- 
nounced, and  let  all  the  accustomed  ceremonies  be  observed  at  the 
font,  except  the  consecration  of  the  water  and  the  immersion. 


206  AVAKICE   AND   IGNORAXCE   OF   THE   PRIESTHOOD. 

Can.  60.  That  the  priest  after  the  Eucharist  may  give  to  the  sick 
person  the  washings  of  his  fingers. 

Can.  61.  That  extreme  unction  may  be  administered  to  all  who 
are  fourteen  years  old. 

Can.  65.  We  forbid  marriage  between  those  who  stand  sponsors 
for  the  same  child ;  also  between  persons  who  have  had  the  same 
sponsors;  also  between  the  godchild  and  the  godfather  or  god- 
mother, or  their  child. '^ 

Can.  76.  All  Christians  ought  to  receive  the  Eucharist  on 
Easter-day :  we  have  however  been  grieved  to  hear  that  some 
priests  impudently  refuse  to  administer  it,  unless  the  people  first 
offer  their  oblations  at  the  altar ;  and  that  they  on  such  an  occasion 
exact  money  from  the  people,  holding  the  body  of  Christ  in  their 
hands  exactly  as  if  they  said,  "  What  will  you  give  me,  and  I  will 
deliver  him  unto  ymi?"  which  we  strictly  forbid. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  623. — Constitutions  of  William  de  Bleys,  A.  D.  1229. 

Cap.  I.  It  is  enough  that  a  sick  person  receive  the  body  of  our 
Lord  once  in  a  week,  and  extreme  unction  once  in  a  year. 

Ibid.  p.  628. — Inquiries  made  in  the  diocese  of  Lincoln,  a.d.  1230. 
In.  27.    Whether  any  priest  celebrates  with  vinegar  ? 

Ibid.  p.  640. — Constitutions  of  Alexander,  bishop  of  Coventry, 
A.D.  1237. 

There  is  nothing  more  sacred  than  the  sacrament  of  the  altar : 
tor  if  we  should  be  asked,  Where  is  our  God  ?  we  can  now  say, 
Here  is  our  God,  who  is  daily  seen  upon  the  earth,  whilst  he  is  daily 
elevated  by  the  hands  of  the  priest.  At  the  last  elevation  let  the 
little  bell  first  sound,  which  is  as  it  were  a  small  trumpet  announcing 
the  arrival  of  the  judge,  and  the  joy  shall  be  threefold,  because  there 
is  the  flesh,  there  the  soul,  and  there  the  Word  of  God. 

Note.   In  plain  English,  the  beU  was  to  be  rung  three  times  to  give 
the  people  notice  to  adore. 

Ibid.  p.  650. — Legatine  constitutions  of  cardinal  Otho,  A.  d.  1237. 

Cap.  II.  For  the  sake  of  the  ignorant  we  have  thought  fit  to 
define  which,  and  how  many  principal  sacraments  there  are.  They 
are,  then,  baptism,  confirmation,  penance,  the  eucharist,  extreme 
unction,  matrimony,  and  orders. 

Note.  From  the  context,  this  information  was  evidently  intended  for 

the  instruction  of  the  clergy  !    The  word  "principal"  deserves  especial 

notice. 

Cap.  ni.  The  sabbath  before  Easter,  and  that  before  Pentecost, 
have  been  appointed  by  the  holy  canons  for  the  solemn  adminis- 
tration of  baptism ;  but  some  in  these  parts,  deceived  by  the  devil, 
suspect  danger  if  their  children  are  baptized  on  these  days. 

w  This  is  a  paraphrased  translation. 


ESPOUSALS   DISTINCT   FROM   MARRIAGE.  207 

WiLK.  i.  p.  657. — Constitutions  of  uncertain  origin,  <d><mt 
A.D.  1237. 

Let  the  chrismal  clothes,  which  are  put  upon  the  newly  baptized, 
be  brought  to  the  church,  and  ajiplied  only  to  ecclesiastical  uses. 
Note.   Such  as  mending  the  surplices,  &c. 

Let  those  who  go  to  be  confirmed  take  with  them  fillets  or  liga- 
tures of  a  proper  breadth  and  length.  Children,  by  the  reiteration 
of  this  sacrament,  if  they  he  males,  incur  an  irregularity. 

Let  the  reserved  hosts  (i.e.  such  a^  had  been  consecrated  before) 
be  eaten  by  the  celebrating  priest,  after  he  has  received  that  which 
has  been  newly  consecrated,  but  before  he  receives  the  cup ;  and  let 
him  not  kiss  the  host  before  he  gives  the  pax.  Also,  if  he  shall 
receive  the  host  from  the  paten,  as  some  do,  let  the  paten  be  care- 
fully washed  after  mass. 

Ibid.  p.  668. — Constitutions  of  Walter,  bishop  of  Worcester, 
A.D.  1240. 

We  command  also  priests  that  they  strictly  forbid  their  parish- 
ioners either  to  espouse  themselves,  or  to  be  present  at  the  espousals 
of  others,  except  with  fasting  spittle  {nisi  jejuna  saliva),  before 
proper  witnesses,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  priest.  Let  those  who 
act  otherwise  be  sent  to  the  bishop  to  be  punished. 

On  pain  of  excommunication  we  prohibit  the  espoused  from 
having  any  carnal  intercourse  with  each  other  before  matrimony; 
otherwise  let  them  come  four  times  in  a  year  to  the  cathedral 
church,  and  publicly  undergo  the  discipline  (i.e.  the  scourge)  before 
the  great  (west)  door,  and  also  in  the  principal  streets.  On  other 
fast  days  let  them  receive  the  discipline  in  their  own  parishes. 

There  are  some  persons  who,  when  they  recover  after  having 
received  extreme  unction,  consider  it  a  crime  either  to  cohabit  with 
their  wives,  or  to  eat  flesh,  or  upon  any  occasion  to  walk  with  naked 

feet Some  also  have  such  a  horror  of  receiving  this  sacrament, 

that  they  will  hardly  allow  it  to  be  administered  to  them  in  their 
last  agonies ;  by  which  means  probably  many  may  die  without  it. 

Ibid.  p.  713. — Constitution  of  Giles  de  Birdport,  bishop  ofSarum, 
A.D.  1256. 

Women  at  their  espousals,  and  women  after  childbirth,  ought  to 
come  to  the  church  with  lighted  candles:  and  the  women  who 
follow  ought  to  offer  the  chrismal  clothes  (chrismalia)  of  the  infants. 


208  the  chrism — the  host  not  to  be  chewed. 

Concilia  Magn^e  Britannle,  &c.  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  II. 

WiLK.  ii.  48. — Some  regulations  of  Peckham,  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, A.D  1280. 

That  the  consecration  of  the  holy  chrism  be  made  from  year  to 
year  by  the  several  diocesans ;  and  what  remains  of  the  old  chrism 
is  to  be  burnt  in  the  church.  Priests  are  bound  to  demand  the  holy 
chrism  from  their  respective  diocesans  every  year ;  and  if  any  one 
shall  presume  to  baptize  with  any  other  than  the  new  chrism, 
(unless  where  there  is  imminent  danger  of  death,)  he  manifestly 
incurs  a  sentence  of  condemnation.  Some  however,  reserving  the 
old  chrism  for  two  or  three  years,  horribly  abuse  it  in  baptism  and 
other  sacrifices. 

Note.  Lindwood  {in  loco)  says,  that  he  who  goes  to  fetch  the  chrism 
must  have  three  bottles,  viz.  one  for  the  chrism,  a  second  for  the  oil  of 
the  catechumens,  (with  -which  the  party  before  baptism  was  anointed  on 
the  breast  and  between  the  shoulders,)  and  the  third  to  hold  the  oil  for 
the  sick." 

Ibid.  p.  52. — Abp.  Peckham  s  constitutions  at  Lambeth,  a,d.  1281. 

That  priests  are  many  in  number,  and  few  in  merit,  we  learn  by 
daily  scandals :  but  we  especially  lament  the  great  irreverence 
which  they  display  with  regard  to  the  eucharist ;  that  they  conse- 
crate it  with  accursed  tongues,  keep  it  with  contempt,  and  neglect 
it  so  long  that  the  species  become  corrupted.  To  remedy  which 
danger,  we  decree  that  every  priest,  unless  some  canonical  impedi- 
ment should  excuse  him,  do  confess  at  least  once  a  week ;  also  that 
in  every  parish  church  there  be  made  a  decent  tabernacle,  with  a 
door,  in  which  the  body  of  our  Lord  is  to  be  kept  wrapped  in  linen, 
and  contained  in  a  handsome  pyx ;  and  to  be  renewed  every  Sun- 
day. At  the  elevation,  let  the  bell  be  tolled  on  one  side  (j)ulsetur 
campana  in  uno  latere),  that  people  who  have  not  leisure  to  be 
present  at  the  celebration  of  mass,  wherever  they  should  happen 
to  be,  whether  in  the  house  or  in  the  field,  may  bend  their  knees, 
and  thus  obtain  the  indulgences  granted  by  many  bishops. 

Let  priests  moreover  take  care,  when  they  administer  the  holy 
communion  to  ignorant  persons,  at  Easter  or  any  other  time,  to 
instruct  them  diligently  that  the  body  and  blood  of  our  Lord,  yea, 
the  whole  living  and  true  Christ,  is  given  to  them  under  the  appear- 
ance of  bread.  Let  them  also  be  taught  at  the  same  time,  that  what 
is  then  drunk  by  them  in  the  chalice  is  not  a  sacrament,  but  pure 
wine,  given  them  that  they  may  the  more  easily  swallow  the  holy 
body :  for  in  these  smaller  churches,  those  only  who  celebrate  are 
allowed  to  receive  {the  blood)  under  the  appearance  of  consecrated 
wine.  Let  {priests)  also  exhort  {their  parishioners)  not  to  chew  the 
sacrament  after  receiving  it  too  much  with  their  teeth,  but  after 
=•  See  here  the  first  note  in  p.  198. 


HALF   COMMUNION — LAY    BAPTISM — CONFIRMATION.  209 

biting  it  a  little,  to  swallow  it  whole,  lest  any  particles  {of  the  host) 

should  remain  in  the  interstices  of  their  teeth. 

Note,  From  the  expression  "  in  hujusmodi  minoribus  ecclesiis,"  it 
appears  that  even  in  the  13th  century  the  cup  was  administered  to 
the  laity  in  large  churches.  Lindwood  gives  the  following  four  reasons 
for  not  administering  to  the  laity  under  both  species : — 

1.  Lest  it  should  be  doubted  that  Christ  is  received  whole  and  entire 
under  either  species. 

2.  That  the  antitype  might  correspond  with  his  type ;  for  no  libations 
were  offered  under  the  law. 

3.  On  account  of  the  hazard  of  spiUing  blood. 

4.  That  it  would  be  neither  decent  nor  safe  to  consecrate  so  much 
blood  as  might  suffice  for  a  large  parish  in  which  there  are  many  thou- 
sand persons. 

In  cases  of  inevitable  necessity,  laymen  or  women  may  baptize 
children ;  and  let  them  say,  "  Ich  cristin  the  in  the  name  of  the 
Fadyr,  and  the  Sone,  and  the  Holy  Goost."  Let  priests  also  take 
care  that  they  permit  not  names  to  be  given  to  children  at  their 
baptism  which  bear  a  lascivious  meaning,  especially  to  females  ;  and 
if  such  should  be  the  case,  let  them  be  altered  by  the  bishop  at  con- 
firmation. 

Note.  Of  old,  the  bishop  used  to  pronounce  the  person's  name  at 
the  time  of  confirmation ;  and  if  it  was  desirable  that  the  name  given 
at  baptism  shoidd  be  altered,  it  might  be  done  by  the  bishop  pronounc- 
ing a  new  name  when  he  administered  the  rite.  This  custom  was  con- 
tinued in  our  reformed  liturgy  till  the  last  review  in  the  time  of  l<ing 
Charles  11. 

That  no  person  be  admitted  to  the  sacrament  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  the  Lord,  except  at  the  point  of  death,  unless  he  hath  been 
confirmed. 

WiLK.  ii.  131. — Synod  of  Exeter,  under  Peter  Quivil,  bishop  of  Exeter, 

A.D.  1287. 

Cap.  I.  Whereas  there  are  seven  ecclesiastical  sacraments:  the  first 
baptism,  which  is  necessary  to  all,  and  without  which  there  is  no 
entrance  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ....  Of  these  seven  sacraments, 
bajJtism,  confirmation,  and  orders,  cannot  be  (lawfully)  repeated. 

Cap.  III.  We  strictly  enjoin  parish  priests  to  cause  children  to  be 
confirmed  as  soon  as  possible  after  baptism  :  and  that  they  may  not, 
through  the  negligence  of  their  parents,  remain  any  longer  uncon- 
firmed, we  command  that  infants  receive  the  sacrament  of  confirma- 
tion within  three  years  after  their  birth. 

Cap.  IV.  Let  priests  take  care  that  the  oblations  (in  the  eucharist) 
be  made  of  wheat-meal  and  water,  without  any  mixture  of  leaven ; 
and  let  them  be  whole,  white,  and  round.  During  the  celebration 
of  the  mass  let  there  be  at  least  two  lights,  one  of  which  shall  be 
always  made  of  wax. 

When  the  eucharist  is  carried  to  the  sick,  let  a  small  bell  be 
carried  before  it,  at  the  sound  of  which  the  faithful  may  be  excited 
to  worship  the  Lord's  body :  and  lest  it  should  appear  burthensome 
to  any  person  to  render  this  service  to  his  Creator,  to  all  those  who 

p 


210  CONCOMITANCE    AND    HALF   COMMUNION   MODERN. 

shall  do  this  with  a  pure  heart,  we  mercifully  relax  thirty  days  of 
any  penance  which  may  have  been  enjoined  them. 

Lest,  through  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  any  doubt  respecting 
the  body  of  Christ  should  occupy  the  minds  of  the  laity,  before  they 
communicate,  let  them  be  instructed  by  the  priests  that  they  receive 
the  same  (body),  under  the  appearance  of  bread,  which  hung  for 
their  salvation  upon  the  cross,  and  receive  that  in  the  chalice  which 
was  shed  from  Christ's  body. 

Note.  Concomitance,  which  implies  that  the  Body  and  Blood  are 
both  included  in  the  wafer  (as  blood  circulates  through  a  living  body), 
and  the  corrupt  practice  by  which  the  laity  were  defrauded  of  the  cup, 
must  be  considered  as  corollaries  upon  Transiibstantiation. 

By  a  comparison  of  this  extract  with  archbishop  Peckham's  Constitu- 
tion in  1281  (see  p.  208)  it  will  be  seen  that  towards  the  end  of  the  thir- 
teenth centiury  the  cup  was  administered  to  the  laity  generally  through- 
out the  diocese  of  Exeter,  while  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom  the 
privilege  was  restricted  to  cathedrals  and  larger  churches.  In  some 
places  perhaps  even  this  exception  was  not  allowed ;  but  there  was  no 
uniformity  of  practice  either  in  England  or  anywhere  else  till  the  year 
1418,  when  the  CouncU  of  Constance  decreed — "  Quod  licet  in  primitiva 
Ecclesia  hufmmodi  sacramentum  reciperetur  a  Jidelih%is  sub  utraque 
specie :  tamen  hsec  consuetudo  ad  evitandum  aliqua  pericula  et  scandala 
est  rationabiliter  introducta."  (Carranzae  Sumraa  Conciliorum,  Paris, 
1678,  p.  569.)  I  have  quoted  these  words  in  the  original  Latin  on 
account  of  the  very  important  admission  which  they  contain — that  in 
the  primitive  Church  the  laity  received  the  sacrament  in  both  kinds. 

Cap.  V.  If  any  one  shall  neglect  to  confess  and  communicate  (at 
least)  once  a-year,  let  him  during  his  lifetime  be  prevented  from 
entering  the  church,  and  when  he  dies  let  him  be  refused  christian 
burial. 

Cap.  vn.  It  is  very  clear  that  marriages  ought  not  to  be  con- 
tracted without  the  authority  of  the  church,  and  unless  in  the  presence 
of  a  priest :  should  they,  however,  be  contracted  otherwise,  let  them 
not  be  dissolved  on  that  account. 

When  matrimony  is  to  be  solemnized  in  facie  ecclesice,  let  the 
priest  openly,  at  the  church  door,  question  the  contracting  parties 
respecting  their  mutual  consent. 

Concerning  the  abjurations  of  harlots,  we  decree  that  those  who 
are  guilty  {of  fornication),  shall  bind  themselves  by  an  oath  (to 
abstain  from  each  other)  :  for  the  second  offence  let  them  endure 
corporal  punishment  at  the  discretion  of  the  judge :  and  if  they 
afterwards  offend,  let  the  dehnquents,  without  the  exaction  of  an  oath, 
contract  in  this  form,  "  I  from  this  time  forward  take  thee  to  wife, 
if  I  shall  hereafter  know  thee  carnally." 

WiLK.  ii.  175. — Constitutions  of  the  diocese  of  Sodor,  a.d.  1291. 

Cap.  I.  In  visiting  the  sick,  let  not  priests  administer  the  eucharist 
to  any  person  without  lighting  a  wax  candle ;  and  let  the  sick  be 
exhorted  to  leave  something  according  to  their  means  towards  the 
structure  of  the  parish  church. 


THE   SIX    STAGES    OF   HUMAN   LIFE.  211 

Cap.  xxvn.  We  forbid  any  priest  to  celebrate  a  marriage  from 
{the  beginning  of)  Lent,  to  the  octaves  of  Easter. 

Cap.  XXVIII.  We  command  also,  that  every  chaplain,  on  pain  of 
suspension  for  three  years,  shall  not  only  cause  the  parties  contract- 
ing, but  also  three  or  four  of  the  relations  on  both  sides,  to  swear 
that  they  know  not  of  any  impediment  which  should  prevent  their 
marriage,  whose  names  shall  be  reduced  to  writing. 

WiLK.  ii,  p.  183. — Statutes  of  Gilbert,  bishop  of  Chichester,  a.d.  1292. 
It  has,  alas,  been  commonly  asserted,  that  in  this  our  diocese 
some  accursed  persons  have  endeavoured  to  restrain  the  devotion  of 
the  people  to  the  oblation  of  one  penny,  at  the  solemnization  of 
matrimony,  the  churching  of  women,  and  other  offices  in  which  God 
himself  has  been  usually  honoured  in  the  persons  of  his  ministers, 
applying  the  remainder  of  the  oblation  to  other  uses,  &c. 

Ibid.  p.  294. — Constitutions  of  Henry  Woodloche,  bishop  of  Win- 
chester, A.D.  1308. 

That  we  may  imitate  the  devotion  of  our  predecessors,  we  grant 
an  indulgence  of  ten  days  to  all  our  parishioners,  who,  being  truly 
penitent,  and  having  confessed,  shall  assist  in  holding  up  two  lighted 
tapers  (torticeorum)  during  the  canon  of  the  mass. 

That  parish  priests  shall  not  presume  to  spend  the  night  out 
of  their  parishes,  unless  they  have  a  reasonable  cause,  and  leave 
a  proper  substitute  :  and  if  any  -one,  through  the  absence  or  negli- 
gence of  his  parish  priest,  shall  die  without  confession,  the  viaticum, 
or  extreme  unction,  let  him  be  ipso  facto  suspended  from  the 
celebration  of  divine  offices,  until  he  hath  expiated  his  oftenee  by 
a  sufficient  penance. 

Ibid.  p.  512. — Constitutions  of  archbishop  Walter  Reynold,  at  Oxon, 

A.D.  1322. 
If  the  person  to  be  confirmed  be  an  adult,  he  is  to  be  admonished 
by  his  parish  priest,  first  to  confess ;  and  let  him  come  fasting  to  con- 
firmation, and  let  the  candidates  bring  with  them  fillets  sufficiently 
large.  Also  let  children  who  are  confirmed  be  taken  to  the  church 
the  third  day  after  confirmation,  that  their  foreheads  may  be  waslied 
by  the  priests  near  the  font,  from  reverence  to  the  chrism ;  and  then 
let  their  fillets  be  all  burnt  together. 

Note.  According  to  canonists,  there  are  six  ages  of  man :  viz.  1. 
Infantia,  which  ends  at  the  seventh  year.  2.  Pueritia,  ending  in  the 
fourteenth  year.  3.  Adulta  cetaa,  ending  in  the  twenty -fifth  or  twenty- 
eighth  year.  4.  Juventus,  which  ends  in  the  fiftieth  year.  JEtas  se7itli8, 
ending  in  the  seventieth  year.  6.  Senectus,  from  the  seventieth  year  to 
the  end  of  a  person's  life.  The  fillets  were  used  to  dry  up  the 
chrism,  and  then  to  hind  up  the  forehead  till  it  should  be  washetl  by  the 
priest :  and  Lindwood  remarks,  that  those  who  were  confirmed  in  his 
time,  religiously  abstained  from  washing  their  heads  for  seven  days,  to 
represent  the  seven  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     (Lindwood  in  loc.) 

P2 


212   LATE  VESTiaES  OF  THE  ANCIENT  AGAP.?-: THE  HOST. 

Also  let  priests  exhort  the  people,  i.  e.  all  who  are  fourteen  years 

of  age  and  upwards,  to  receive  extreme  unction. 

Before  matrimony  is  contracted,  let  priests  interrogate  the  people, 

under  pain  of  excommunication,  (to  declare  any  impediment  which 

they  may  know,)  by  three  public  banns,  on  three  Sundays  or  festivals 

distant  from  each  other. 

Note.  Lindwood  thinks  it  sufficient  that  the  festivals  be  distinct 
from  each  other,  so  that  the  banns  be  not  twice  published  on  the  same 
day.  He  is  of  opinion,  for  instance,  that  they  might  be  published  on 
the  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Wednesday  in  Easter  or  Whitsun-week ;  for 
the  Wednesday  was  in  his  time  a  festival  in  both  these  weeks  .^ 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  528. — Constitution  of  Walter,  archbishop  of  Canterhwryy 

A.D.  1325. 
Verily  the  children  of  drunkenness  and  gluttony,  whose  god 
is  their  belly,  of  old  introduced  this  corruption  into  the  holy 
church,  that,  immediately  after  the  receiving  of  the  Lord's  body 
upon  Easter-day,  unconsecrated  oblations  and  wdne  should  be 
presented  to  them  in  the  church,  where  they  sit,  and  eat  and  drink 
as  they  would  in  a  tavern :  from  which  custom  we  have  learned 
by  experience,  that  damnable  errors  have  arisen  in  the  holy  church; 
for  some  irreverently  and  rashly  come  to  the  eucharist,  that  they 
may  be  preferred  before  others  in  these  revels ;  and  if  the  clergy 
should  help  some  more  bountifully  than  the  rest,  others  murmur 
and  threaten  them.  But,  what  is  still  worse,  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
some  are  led  by  the  outward  appearance  of  the  bread  into  a  dam- 
nable error,  being  unable  to  distinguish  between  the  material  food 
and  the  food  of  the  soul,  which  is  the  very  body  of  Christ :  where- 
fore we  command  you  to  prohibit  this  in  your  several  deaneries, 
on  pain  of  the  greater  excommunication.  Nor  let  any  person  think 
this  constitution  of  ours  harsh,  since  it  was  anciently  decreed,  that 
he  who  took  the  body  of  Christ  in  the  morning  should  fast  till  the 
third  hour ;  and  that  those  who  received  at  the  third  or  fourth  hour 
should  fast  till  the  evening.  Wherefore  christians  of  the  present  day 
should  think  it  an  easy  thing  to  abstain  till  they  reach  their  own 
houses,  after  the  communion. 


Concilia  Maon^  Britanni^e,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  III. 
WiLK.  iii.  11. — Constitution  of  the  diocese  of  Sodor,  A.  D.  1350. 

Cap.  II.  Let  the  host  be  made  of  wheat,  round,  and  whole,  and 
spotless ;  for  the  lamb  was  without  blemish,  and  a  bone  of  him  was 
not  broken,  according  to  the  verses — 

*'  Candida,  triticea,  tenuis,  non  magna,  rotunda, 
Expers  fermenti,  non  mista  sit  hostia  Christi, 
Inscribatur  aqud,  non  cocta,  sed  igne  sit  assa.^' 
Note.    The  wafer  was  stamped  with  the  letters  151  (the  monogram  of 
Jesus),  or  with  a  cross  Patee,  or  any  other  emblem  of  the  kind.     The 

y  Johnson. 


THE    DOCTRINE    OF    INTENTION SECOND    MABRIAGES.  213 

Greek  Church  differs  from  the  Roman  in  the  use  of  leavened  bread,  the 
form  of  which  (called  the  Corhari)  may  be  seen  in  Picart,  vol.  v. 

Also,  when  several  hosts  are  consecrated,  let  the  priest  have  his 
intention  directed  to  all,  and  not  to  one  only. 

Note.  The  doctrine  of  intention  is  thus  expressed  in  the  seventh 
session  of  the  council  of  Trent,  Can.  11  :  "Si  quis  dixerit,  in  ministris, 
dum  sacramenta  conficiunt  et  conferunt,  non  requiri  intentionem  saltern 
faciendi  quod  facit  ecelesia,  anathema  sit."  What  reflecting  mind  could 
contemplate  such  a  doctrine  without  being  reduced  to  the  most  miserable 
state  of  uncertainty  ?  For  how  can  any  man  be  assured  that  the  priest 
who  baptized  him  was  a  true  believer?  In  France,  about  the  time  of 
the  Revolution,  there  must  have  been  many  atheistical  priests,  and  the 
horrors  of  the  Inquisition  in  Spain  and  Portugal  are  said  to  have 
frightened  many  Jews  into  a  mere  outward  profession  of  Christianity, 
who  afterwards  took  orders :  so  that,  upon  their  own  principle,  Roma- 
nists are  constantly  liable  to  worship  mere  bread  as  the  eternal  Son  of 
God. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  19. — -Constitution  of  John  de  St.  Paid,  archbishop  of 
Dublin,  A.D.  1351. 

That  none  of  our  subjects  shall  presume  to  celebrate  clandestine 
marriages,  where  one  or  both  of  the  contracting  parties  lie  in  a 
sick  bed. 

Ibid.  p.  88. — Constitution  of  William,  de  Whittlesey,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  A.  D.  1370,  in  which  he  makes  mention  of  a  bull  of  pope 
Benedict  XII.,  which  authorises  the  diocesan  to  absolve  from  the 
penalty  of  suspension  (incurred  ipso  facto  by  the  canon  law)  such 
priests  as  should  sanction  second  marriages  by  the  sacerdotal  bene- 
diction. The  canon  law  considers  second  marriages  in  the  light  of 
bigamy. 

Ibid.  p.  363. — Articles  of  reformation,  presented  by  the  University  of 
Oxford  to  the  King,  A.  D.  1414. 

Art.  XXVII.  It  has  been  frequently  maintained  by  many,  that  if 
pagans  and  infidels,  renouncing  their  heathenish  error,  desire  to  be 
purified  in  the  baptismal  font,  their  temporal  goods  are  confiscated 
to  the  church ;  which  opinion  is  said  to  hinder  many  Jews  from 
being  baptized.  It  would  be  pious  and  meritorious  for  the  whole 
council  to  provide  a  remedy  for  this :  for  when  Philip  baptized  the 
eunuch,  he  took  not  his  chariot  from  him,  nor  the  property  which  he 
had  when  he  came  to  be  baptized. 

Ibid.  p.  579.  In  the  convocation,  a.  D.  1460,  a  complaint  was 
made  of  the  number  ot  clandestine  marriages  contracted  by  license 
and  without  banns  ;  and  it  was  proposed  as  a  remedy,  that  the  arch- 
bishop or  his  suffragans  should  not  have  the  power  of  granting  such 
licenses,  unless  where  the  banns  had  been  published  twice,  on  two 
Sundays  or  festivals  distant  from  each  other. 


(     214     ) 


CHAPTER  V. 

ON    CHUHCnES    AND    CHURCH    FURNITURE,    VESTMENTS,    &C. 


§.1.    Wooden  Churches — Dedication  of  Churches — Miscellanies. 

Malmsbury  tells  us,  that  the  first  British  church  was  built  at 
Glastonbury,  of  wattles  (or  wicker-work)  and  thatched  with  reeds  :  * 
and  although  the  rest  of  his  narrative  is  of  too  legendary  a  character 
to  be  relied  on,  as  far  as  regards  the  rudeness  and  simplicity  of  the 
materials,  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  him  ;  for  the  charter 
granted  by  king  Canute  to  the  abbot  and  monks  of  Glastonbury,  in 
the  year  1032,  was  solemnly  ratified  "in  ligned  basihcS,."'' 

We  learn  incidentally  from  Bede's  History,  that  the  Irish  Scots, 
the  missionaries  of  the  north,  built  their  churches  of  split  oak  and 
thatched  them  with  reeds:'  and  when  the  monks  of  Lindisfarne 
settled  at  Durham,  towards  the  end  of  the  tenth  century,  they  made 
use  of  wicker-work  in  the  construction  of  two  churches  which  they 
successively  built  there. '' 

Of  this  early  simplicity,  we  have  at  least  one  existing  memorial, 
the  nave  of  Greensted  church,  in  Essex,  "  being  composed  of  the 
half  trunks  of  oaks,  split  through  the  centre,  and  roughly  hewn  at 
each  end,  so  as  to  let  them  into  a  sill  at  the  bottom  and  into  a  plank 
at  the  top,  where  they  are  fastened  by  means  of  wooden  pegs." 
This  venerable  structure  was  originally  "  twenty-nine  feet  nine 
inches  long,  by  fourteen  feet  wide,  and  five  feet  and  a  half  high  at  the 
sides  which  supported  the  primitive  roof.  The  original  east  end  has 
been  removed  to  make  way  for  a  modern  brick  chancel.  There  is  a 
doorway  on  the  south  side,  but  no  traces  of  windows  are  to  be  seen, 
(if  we  except  two  lookern  windows  in  the  roof,  which  may  have  been 
included  in  the  original  plan).  On  the  authority  of  local  tradition, 
corroborated  by  two  ancient  manuscripts,  it  is  supposed  to  have  been 
erected  as  a  temporary  resting-place  for  the  body  of  St.  Edmund, 
K.M.,  about  the  year  1013.  A  representation  of  Greensted  church 
may  be  seen  in  the  '  Vetusta  Monumenta,'  and  also  in  the  first 
monthly  part  of  the  Saturday  Magazine,^  from  which  the  above 
account  has  been  condensed. 

At  the  period  of  the  Domesday  survey,  there  were  many  wooden 

»  Apnd  Spelm.  Concil.  i.  4  et  )  1.  b  Wilk.  i.  299.  "^  Lib.  iii.  c.  25. 

"*  Camden,  edit.  Gibson,  1695.  col.  783.  addit.  n.  i.  <■  July  28,  1832,  p   37. 


FORM    OF    DEDICATING    CHURCHES.  215 

churches  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom  ;  those  of  North  Elmham 
and  Shembourn,  in  Norfolk,  ^  being  the  first  that  occur  to  my  recol- 
lection. 

The  first  English  church  in  which  stone  and  glass  were  employed 
was  erected  about  the  year  680,  by  some  foreign  architects,  whom 
Benedict,  abbot  of  Wirral,  had  invited  hither :  ^  but  the  facts  already 
stated  prove  that,  subsequently  to  this,  the  adoption  of  these  mate- 
rials was  by  no  means  general ;  and  for  many  years  afterwards  the 
Britons  looked  upon  a  stone  church  as  a  sort  of  miracle. '' 

From  these  mean  and  humble  foundations,  there  gradually  arose 
those  splendid  structures  which  are  still  the  glory  of  oiu*  land. 

Of  the  adaptation  of  heathen  temples  to  the  purposes  of  Christian 
worship,  we  have  no  distinct  records ;  but  it  was  recommended  by 
Pope  Gregory, '  and  in  all  cases  where  the  temples  of  the  renounced 
idolatry  were  of  a  firm  and  substantial  character,  and  churches  were 
immediately  required,  it  was  moreover  recommended  by  its  obvious 
practical  expediency. 

"  The  Anglo-Saxon  Ceremonial  for  the  Consecration  of  Churches" 
published  in  the  Archjeologia,  from  a  MS.  of  the  tenth  century,'' 
agrees  in  many  respects  with  that  of  the  modern  Roman  Pontifical, 
of  which  I  published  an  analysis  a  few  years  ago. '  The  principal 
ceremonies  still  in  use  within  the  pale  of  Romish  communion  are  as 
follows.  The  night  before  the  ceremony,  the  reliques  which  are  to 
be  enclosed  in  the  altar  are  deposited  in  a  tent  erected  outside  the 
principal  door,  and  lights  are  kept  burning  before  them.  A  vigil  is 
kept,  and  nocturns  and  matins  are  to  be  sung  in  honour  of  the  saints 
whose  reliques  they  are  supposed  to  be.  Twelve  crosses  are  painted 
on  the  inner  walls  of  the  church,  and  a  taper  is  kept  burning  before 
each. 

One  deacon  is  to  remain  inside  the  church  by  himself.  The 
bishop  and  his  assistants  are  all  to  be  vested  in  white.  There  is  a 
procession  round  the  outer  walls  three  times,  during  which  the 
bishop  is  to  sprinkle  them  with  holy  water,  and  when  he  comes  to 
the  great  door  he  strikes  it  with  his  pastoral  staff".  At  the  third 
time  they  all  enter  in  procession :  ashes  are  sprinkled  diagonally 
upon  the  pavement,  in  the  form  of  a  S.  Andrew's  cross,  and  the 
bishop,  with  the  end  of  his  pastoral  staff,  writes  upon  these  ashes  the 
letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet  in  one  direction,  and  those  of  the 
Roman  alphabet  in  the  other.  The  twelve  crosses  upon  the  walls, 
and  the  five  crosses  upon  each  altar,  are  to  be  anointed  by  the  bishop 
with  the  chrism ;  he  mingles  and  blesses  the  mortar  with  which  the 
reliques  are  to  be  closed  up  in  the  altar ;  after  which  he  and  the 
whole  body  of  the  clergy  go  in  procession,  and  with  many  ceremo- 

f  Spelmaa's  Icenia;  item  Blomefield's  Norfolk.  K  Beds  Hist.  lib.  iii.  c.  4  et25. 
»•  Malmsb.  ap,  Fosb.  Encycl.  i.  87 

'  See  Extract  from  Spelman,  Corcil.  i.  89,  at  the  beginning  of  tliis  chapter, 
A.D.  fioi.  ■*  Archaiol.  vol  xxv. 

I  Christian  Remembrancer,  Dec.  1839,  p.  751,  &c. 


216  FREE   WILL    OFFERINGS CHURCH   BRIEFS. 

nies  bring  them  from  the  tent  into  the  church,  where  they  are 
reverently  placed  in  the  cavity  of  the  altar  (called  ^  sepulchrum 
cUtaris),  and  closed  up  with  the  holy  mortar.  The  above  is,  of  course, 
only  a  very  sketchy  and  imperfect  outline  of  a  ceremonial,  the 
full  description  of  which  occupies  some  sixty  pages  in  duodecimo." 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  as  late  as  the  year  1237,  there 
were  many  churches  and  even  severed  cathedrals  (!)  in  England, 
which  although  erected  long  before  had  never  been  consecrated." 

The  Roman  Pontifical  also  contains  a  form  for  the  reconciliatum 
of  a  church  which  has  been  polluted  by  murder,  adultery,  or  so  forth. 

To  explain  the  difference  which  may  be  observed  in  tbe  orienta- 
tion of  our  older  churches,  it  has  been  suggested,  that  before  the 
foundations  were  dug,  the  parishioners  used  to  watch  all  night  in 
the  churchyard,  on  the  vigil  of  their  patron  saint,  and  took  that 
point  in  the  horizon  on  which  the  sun  rose  on  the  following  day  {his 
festival)  for  the  east.  So  that  those  churches  only  stand  due  east 
and  west  which  were  built  between  the  equinoxes.  ° 

The  anniversary  of  the  dedication  used  to  be  celebrated  as  a 
wake  or  fair  in  the  parish  and  its  neighbourhood,  and  any  one  who 
visited  a  church  upon  such  an  occasion  was  supposed  to  he  entitled 
to  an  indulgence  of  forty  days,  p 

The  custom  of  building  churches  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross, 
i.  e.  with  the  nave  longer  than  the  chancel,  was  first  introduced  into 
this  country  during  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Confessor.'' 

In  a  note  upon  the  text  of  Wilkins'  Concilia,  in  this  chapter  and 
section, '  I  have  explained  the  manner  in  which  funds  were  raised 
for  the  erection  of  cathedral  churches;  in  addition  to  which,  I  shall 
here  present  the  reader  with  a  most  interesting  extract  respecting 
the  building  of  Crowland  abbey,  from  the  narration  of  Peter  Ble- 
sensis,  vice-chancellor  to  king  Henry  II. :  "  Prayers  being  said  and 
anthems  sung,  the  abbot  himself  laid  the  first  corner-stone  on  the 
east  side.  After  him  every  man  according  to  his  degree  laid  his 
stone :  some  laid  money ;  others  writings,  by  which  they  offered 
their  lands,  advowsons  of  livings,  tenths  of  sheep,  and  other  church 
tithes ;  certain  measures  of  wheat ;  a  certain  number  of  workmen  or 
masons,  &c.  On  the  other  side,  the  common  people,  as  officious, 
with  emulation  and  great  devotion,  offered,  some  money ;  some  one 
day's  work  every  month  till  it  should  be  finished ;  some  to  build 
whole  pillars,  others  pedestals,  and  others  certain  parts  of  the  walls." 
This  occurred  about  a.d.  1112.'  The  grant  of  indulgences  was  also 
a  great  encouragement  to  those  who  might  feel  disposed  to  contri- 
bute, and  by  this  means  alone  an  ordinary  church-brief  produced 
sums  which  would  appear  incredible  in  the  present  age.  The  foUow- 

"  Pontificale  Romanum,  edit.  Paris.  1646.  »  Wilk.  i.  648. 

o  Fosb.  Encycl.  i.  89. 

P  See  the  second  note  in  this  chapter  (to  Spelm.  i.  89.)  Also,  inscription  in  the 
round  part  of  the  Temple  Church.  <)  Howelli  Synopsis,  &c.  p.  76,  &c. 

r  Wilk.  i.  612,  cap.  48. 
<  Camden's  Britannia,  edit.  Gibson,  1695,  col.  461. 


ENGLISH  CHUUCH  ARCHITECTURE.  217 

ing  is  a  specimen  of  one  of  these  documents,  and  is  taken  from  a 
brief  of  king  Henry  VIII.  for  the  repair  of  Kirby  Belers  church, 
Leicestershire.  "  Also  certayne  patriarkes,  prymates,  &c.,  unto  the 
nombre  of  sixtie-five,  everie  one  of  theym  syngularly,  unto  all  theym 
that  put  their  helpyng  handes  unto  the  sayd  churche,  have  graunted 
XL  dayes  of  pardon ;  which  nombre  extendeth  unto  vij  yeres  and  cc 
dayes,  totiens  qtiotiens."^ 

§.  2.    Outlines  of  English  Church  Architecture. 

(i.)  5aion  ^tgU,  from  a.d.  600  to  a.d.  1066. — In  the  construc- 
tion of  their  churches  the  Anglo-Saxons  imitated  Iloman  models ; 
as  might  naturally  be  expected,  considering  that  Rome  was  the 
source  from  which  their  Christianity  had  been  derived,  the  birth- 
place of  many  of  their  prelates  and  clergy,  and  at  that  period  the 
very  focus  of  learning  and  civilization. 

The  doorways,  windows,  pier  arches,  and  arcades,  represented  in 
Anglo-Saxon  illuminations,  or  found  in  buildings  which  are  supposed 
to  belong  to  that  period,  are  most  commonly  semicircularly  headed, 
like  those  of  the  Norman  style,  and  chiefly  distinguishable  from  the 
latter  by  the  rude  simplicity  of  the  masonry.  In  some  of  the  earlier 
examples,  (as  at  Brixworth,  in  Northamptonshire,)  Roman  bricks 
are  radiated  round  these  arches  as  from  a  centre,  being  set  edgeways 
in  the  masonry.  In  other  instances  they  are  distinguishable  from 
Norman  arches,  from  the  absence  of  ornamental  mouldings  :  occa- 
sionally they  are  even  without  a  dripstone,  as  in  the  case  of  Brig- 
stock  church,  Northamptonshire. 

Sometimes  we  find  in  these  ancient  buildings  a  sort  of  triangular- 
headed  arch,  resting  upon  plain  imposts,  of  which  there  are  examples 
at  Brigstock,  Barnack,  and  other  churches  ;  and  this  sort  of  arch  is 
perhaps  the  surest  criterion  of  an  early  date. 

The  occasional  use  of  a  rude  balustre  between  two  adjacent  win- 
dows is  never  observed  except  in  Saxon  buildings,  as  at  S.  Benet's, 
Cambridge,  and  S.  Michael's,  Oxford.  There  is,  moreover,  a  dis- 
tinctive peculiarity  in  their  masonry,  the  walls  being  of  rubble  or 
ragstone,  with  long  and  short  blocks  of  hewn  stone  to  protect  the 
angles :  indeed  "  the  towers  of  the  churches  of  Earls  Barton  and 
Barnack,  Northamptonshire,  and  of  one  of  the  churches  at  Barton- 
upon-Humber,  Lincolnshire,  are  so  covered  with  these  narrow  pro- 
jecting strips  of  stonework,  that  the  surface  of  the  wall  appears  to  be 
divided  (by  this  rib- work)  into  rudely  formed  panels.""  It  is  not 
unlike  the  wooden  frame-work  of  an  old  house. 

For  the  detection  of  the  above  criteria,  we  are  indebted  to  the 
researches  of  the  late  Mr.  Rickman  :  but  if  we  consider  the  great 
number  of  churches  recorded  in  the  Domesday  survey,  (when  there 
were  two  hundred  and  forty-three  churches  in  Norfolk  alone);  that 
the  architecture  of  the  Saxons  and  Normans  were  but  modifications  of 

>  Staveley's  History  of  Churches,  Lend.  1712,  p.  100.  "  Bloxam,  p.  36. 


218  ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE. 

the  same  style,  the  Romanesque ;  and  that,  after  all,  what  Rick- 
man  terms  "  the  Saxon  style"  was  perhaps  nothing  more  than  a 
variety  of  that  which  prevailed  in  England  before  the  Conquest ;  it 
is  reasonable  to  believe  that  some  of  the  churches  usually  designated 
as  Norman,  m^y  belong  in  reality  to  the  Saxon  period  :  especially  in 
the  case  of  small  undisturbed  churches ;  in  places  where  churches 
are  known  to  have  existed  before  the  Conquest ;  where  they  bear 
no  traces  of  having  been  enlarged ;  and  where  there  is  no  tradition 
of  their  having  been  rebuilt. 

(ii.)  j^orman  .Stglc  (from  a.d.  1066  till  very  nearly  a.d.  1200.) 
The  characteristic  features  of  this  style  are  the  semicircular  arch, 
the  common  heading  of  the  doorways,  windows,  pier-arches,  triforia, 
arcades,  and  niches.  The  windows  of  this  style,  round  headed  and 
narrow,  have  no  muUions,  but  sometimes  two  are  found  together 
divided  by  a  shaft. 

The  arcades  of  this  style  very  frequently  intersect,  so  as  to  form 
a  regular  pointed  arch  between  them. 

The  walls  and  piers  (which  are  oblong  or  cylindrical)  are  enor- 
mously thick  in  proportion  to  their  height. 

The  church  is  usually  cruciform,  with  a  very  low  tower,  of  about 
a  square,  rising  from  the  point  where  the  nave,  choir,  and  transepts 
intersect ;  and  the  east  end  frequently  terminates  in  an  apse,  or 
semicircle,  the  prevailing  character  of  the  whole  being  a  massive 
grandeur. 

In  the  more  elaborate  specimens  of  this  style,  we  sometimes  find 
a  series  of  arches  on  the  wall,  a  few  of  which  are  pierced  for  win- 
dows, and  the  rest  left  blank ;  and  they  are  frequently  surmounted 
by  an  ornamental  moulding,  which  decorates  the  heading,  and  is 
carried  on  from  window  to  window  as  a  string-course.  Circular  or 
wheel  windows  are  sometimes  found  in  Norman  gables. 

The  principal  doorway  is  usually  deeply  recessed,  widening  gra- 
dually towards  the  outside,  and  richly  ornamented  with  bands  of 
moulding  supported  by  columns. 

There  are  about  forty  different  mouldings  belonging  to  this  style, 
but  of  these  the  cheveron  or  zigzag,  and  the  billet,  which  consists  of 
two  rows  of  oblong  cylinders,  placed  in  a  hollow  moulding,  and  with 
open  spaces  between  them,  are  by  far  the  most  prevalent.  Some- 
times we  have  a  series  of  grotesque  heads  all  round  the  arch. 

The  capital  of  each  column  is  surmounted  by  a  square  abacus, 
underneath  which  there  is  usually  a  broad  fillet,  and  a  hollow 
separated  by  a  grooving.  The  larger  capitals  are  often  rudely 
carved  with  grotesque  devices  of  animals  or  leaves. 

The  buttresses  are  usually  plain  and  broad,  but  of  no  great  depth. 
They  are  not  in  stages,  but  have  the  same  projection  from  the 
ground  to  the  cornice,  where  they  terminate  in  a  slope. 

The  cornice  itself  is  frequently  merely  a  parapet  of  the  same 
width  as  the  buttress,  but  sometimes  it  is  supported  by  blocks  of 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE.  219 

stone  or  grotesque  heads.  Sometimes  these  heads  support  a  series 
of  arches  underneath  this  cornice,  forming  a  regular  corbel-table. 

At  Rochester  Cathedral,  and  elsewhere,  there  are  Norman  pinna- 
cles, of  a  massive  character;  but  spires  were  not  introduced  till  after 
the  discontinuance  of  the  style. 

The  Cathedrals  of  Durham,  Rochester,  and  Norwich,  the  Chapter- 
house of  Bristol  Cathedral,  and  the  churches  of  Iffley,  near  Oxford, 
and  Castle  Rising,  Norfolk,  are  especially  recommended  to  the 
reader's  attention,  as  studies  of  Norman  architecture. 

About  the  year  1180,  we  observe  the  occasional  adoption  of  the 
pointed  arch,  in  connection  with  features  of  a  strictly  Norman  cha- 
racter. Thus,  at  Braysworth  church,  Suffolk,  we  observe  a  chevron 
moulding  round  a  pointed  arch.  At  Walsoken,  in  Norfolk,  the 
chancel-arch  is  of  the  same  mixed  character ;  and  at  Little  Snoring; 
in  the  same  county,  there  is  a  pointed  arch  ornamented  with  a 
chevron  moulding,  resting  upon  Norman  capitals  'and  shafts,  and 
enclosed  within  another  arch  of  a  horse- shoe  form.  The  circular  part 
of  the  Temple  Church,  consecrated  in  1185,  exhibits  a  very  curious 
mixture  of  the  two  adjacent  styles.  Clustered  columns,  resembling 
those  of  the  Lancet  period,  support  pointed  arches.  On  the  clerestory 
wall  above  these  arches  there  is  a  Norman  intersecting  arcade,  and 
round-headed  ^vindows  over  the  arcade. 


(ill.)  ^^c  Sancet  SbtS^e  (otherwise  called  Early-English) 
began  to  assume  a  distinct  and  generic  character  a  little  before  the 
year  1200,  and  lasted  for  about  a  century. 

The  windows  of  this  style  are  long,  narrow,  and  lancet-headed. 
Sometimes  they  are  single ;  sometimes  in  pairs ;  sometimes,  in  the 
eastern  and  western  gables,  they  are  in  clusters  of  threes,  fives,  or  sevens, 
that  in  the  centre  being  usually  higher  than  the  rest.  In  the  later 
specimens  we  sometimes  find  two  or  more  lancet  windows  included 
under  one  dripstone,  at  East  Dereham,  in  Norfolk,  for  example ;  and 
sometimes  there  is  a  quatrefoil  ornament  between  the  cusps,  giving 
them  the  appearance  of  an  Early  Decorated  window,  altliough  they 
are  in  reality  separate  windows,  with  a  part  of  tlie  wall  between 
them,  and  not  muUions. 

In  the  gables  of  this  style  we  sometimes  find  oval,  triangular,  or 
circular  windows.  The  doorways  are  beautifully  projKjrtioned,  but 
are  sometimes  quite  plain,  with  an  equilateral  dripstone,  and  grooved 
mouldings  under  it,  sustained  upon  simple  bell-formed  capitals  and 
slender  shafts.  In  larger  churchi-s  we  often  meet  with  double  door- 
ways, with  a  slender  shidl  between  the  two  openings,  and  a  quatrefoil 
or  other  ornament  between  the  cusps. 

The  piers  are  frecjuently  composed  of  one  column,  surrounded  by 
slender  detached  shafts,  all  uniting  together  under  one  capital  of 
delicately  sculptured  foliage.  Sometimes  these  shafts  are  clustered 
but  not  detached ;  sometimes  they  are  banded  together  with  the 
tooth  ornament,   while  some  of  the  piers  belonging  to  this  style 


220  ENGLISH   CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE. 

are  plain  cylinders  or  octagons,  and  the  capitals  bell-shaped  or 
grooved. 

The  span  of  the  pier-arches  is  frequently  narrow  in  proportion  to 
the  height,  as  at  Westminster  Abbey  ;  but  the  equilateral  arch  is  also 
found  in  buildings  of  this  class. 

The  tooth  moulding,  or  ornament,  is  characteristic  of  this  style, 
occupying  a  cavetto  or  hollow,  or  filling  up  the  intermediate  space 
between  adjacent  shafts.  It  is  well  described  by  Bloxam  as  "  a 
kind  of  pyramidal-shaped  flower  of  four  leaves,  and  when  seen  in 
profile,  presents  a  zigzag  or  serrated  appearance."  The  sharpness  of 
the  central  point,  and  the  depth  and  squareness  of  the  ornament 
itself,  easily  distinguish  it  from  the  flower  mouldings  of  the  two 
later  styles. 

The  vesica  piscis,  a  sort  of  pointed  oval,  the  trefoil,  and  the  quatre- 
foil,  frequently  decorate  the  buildings  of  this  period ;  and  crockets 
of  a  simple  character  then  began  to  be  introduced. 

The  buttresses  of  the  Lancet  style  are  of  a  greater  projection  than 
those  of  the  Norman.  They  are  divided  into  stages,  chamfered,  or 
ornamented  with  shafts  at  the  angles,  and  capped  at  the  top,  like  a 
miniature  gable.  Flying  buttresses,  by  which  strength  is  given  to 
an  inner  waU  by  means  of  an  arch  connecting  it  with  the  buttress, 
and  resembling  a  sort  of  bridge,  began  at  this  period. 

The  belfry  towers  of  this  date  are  loftier  and  less  massive  than 
the  Norman,  and  spires  began  to  be  introduced. 

^^  Lightness,  elegance,  and  simplicity,"''  are  the  characteristics  of 
this  style,  of  which  Salisbury  Cathedral  is  almost  an  unmixed 
example.'' 

The  choir  of  the  Temple  Chm-ch,  the  galilee  and  choir  of  Ely 
Cathedral,  the  chapel  of  Jesus  College,  Cambridge,  the  west  fronts 
of  Wells  Cathedral  and  Binham  Priory,  and  the  nave  and  transepts 
of  Westminster  Abbey,  are  also  recommended  to  the  student's 
attention. 


(iv.)  Z\it  iFlototng  .StgU  (also  called  the  Decorated  style) 
began  about  1272,  and  lasted  till  about  1377. 

The  windows  of  this  period  were  wider  and  more  imposing  in 
their  dimensions  than  in  the  former  styles,  and  we  find  mullions^  for 
the  first  time  dividing  the  window  into  two  or  more  lights,  arched 
at  the  top,  and  headed  by  tracery.  In  the  earlier  specimens  the 
character  of  this  tracery  is  comparatively  simple,  consisting  of  trefoils, 
quatrefoils,  circles,  and  other  geometrical  figures  (whence  it  is  termed 
geometrical  tracery);  but  as  the  style  became  more  advanced,  beau- 
tiful flowing  patterns  were  introduced  into  the  headings  of  these 
windows,  resembling  the  most  delicate  lace-work. 

In  some  of  our  Norfolk  specimens  (and  probably  elsewhere)  we 

*  Bloxam. 

J  See  Britton's  Salisbury  Cathedral,  also  his  WelU  Cathedral,  and  Millers'  Ely. 

*  The  stone  divisions  of  a  window. 


ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE.  221 

observe  circular  windows  in  the  clerestory,^,  the  inner  circumference 
being  filled  with  a  cinquefoil  or  quatrefoil/mf^enn^.''  Sometimes  all 
the  clerestory  windows  are  of  this  form,  and  sometimes  they  alter- 
nate with  the  pointed  windows  of  the  style. 

The  doorways  are  often  surmounted  by  ogee  canopies,  ornamented 
with  crockets  and  finials,  and  are  flanked  by  crocketed  pinnacles. 
Sometimes  the  doorway  is  surmounted  by  a  triangular  pediment, 
crocketed  on  the  sides,  and  with  a  finial  at  the  top. 

The  niches  of  this  style  are  surmounted  by  pedimental  or  ogee 
canopies  elaborately  carved  and  enriched  with  crockets  and  finials. 

The  buttresses  are  triangular-headed,  and  frequently  ornamented 
with  niches;  and  the  parapets  are  often  enriched  with  a  wavy  flowing 
tracery  in  relief,  carried  through  the  hollow  space. 

The  pier  is  no  longer  formed  of  detached  shafts,  but  three-quarter, 
cylindrical  shafts  are  often  filleted  on  its  face,  forming  the  ground- 
plan  into  a  sort  of  diamond  pattern. 

The  ball-fiower  moulding,  which  is  characteristic  of  this  style,  may 
be  described  as  a  ball  surrounded  by  three  or  foui*  leaves,  and 
inserted  at  intervals  in  a  cavetto  or  deep  hollow.'' 

I  would  recommend  the  reader  to  study  very  carefully  Britton's 
Exeter  Cathedral,  and  also  his  Lincoln  Cathedral,  Plates  12  and  16. 
Lichfield  Cathedral,  the  Lady-Chapel  and  Cha[)ter-house  at  Wells, 
and  the  Cloisters  at  Norwich,  contain  also  very  valuable  studies. 


(v.)  lEitt  ^erpcnticular  <^tglc  (called  also  the  Florid  Gothic, 
from  its  minute  elaboracy  of  detail  and  excess  of  ornament)  began 
to  be  introduced  about  the  year  1377,  though  it  did  not  at  once 
supersede  the  preceding  style.  It  retained  its  purity  for  about  one 
hundred  and  forty  years,  i.  e.  till  about  1509,  and  from  that  period 
till  the  death  of  James  I.  in  1625,  became  gradually  debased.  This 
style  takes  its  name  from  the  character  of  the  window  tracery,  the 
mullions  being  carried  up  in  perpendicular  lines  through  the  heading, 
instead  of  the  graceful  and  wavy  curves  described  in  the  last  section. 

In  this  style  we  first  observe  the  transom,  which  is  a  horizontal 
band  across  the  light^  of  a  window  or  the  compartment  of  a  panel. 
These  transoms  are  often  embattled  at  the  top  and  foliated  beneath. 
Sometimes  they  are  on  a  level,  forming  a  horizontal  band  across  the 
entire  window,  but  in  the  most  beautiful  examples  they  are  in  stages, 
that  of  the  centre  light  being  higher  than  the  rest. 

The  most  common  doorway  of  the  period  is  the  depressed  four- 
centered  arch  under  a  square  head,  the  spandrils*'  being  elaborately 
sculptured ;  but  occasionally  we  meet  with  an  ogee  canopy. 

■  The  upper  row  of  windows  over  the  roof  of  the  aisle. 
•»  The  ornameDtal  tracery.  c  Bloxaoi. 

<*  The  light  of  a  window  is  the  space  included  between  two  mnllions,   •'.  e.  one  of 
the  pointed  compartments  of  the  window  under  the  heading  or  feathering. 
'  The  triangular  spaces  formed  between  the  arch  and  the  square-headed  canopy. 


222  ENGLISH  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE. 

The  use  of  the  four-centred  or  depressed  arch  was  very  general 
at  this  period  in  windows,  doorways,  pier  arches,  &c.,  but  the  equi- 
lateral arch  was  not  totally  superseded  by  this  less  graceful  form. 

Panelling  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  features  of  the  Perpendicular 
style.  The  \valls  are  sometimes  almost  covered  icith  it,  both  inside 
and  out :  sometimes  this  panelling  resembles  the  window  tracery  of 
the  period,  at  other  times  we  observe  open-work  patterns,  enclosing 
shields,  roses,  or  the  like.  The  exteriors  of  many  of  our  Norfolk 
churches  are  inlaid  with  freestone,  forming  a  very  beautiful  con- 
trast with  the  flint  of  which  they  are  composed.^ 

The  parapets,  as  well  as  the  battlements,  are  often  pierced  with 
open-work  patterns  ;  the  doors  are  richly  panelled,  and  the  fonts  ela- 
borately sculptured,  (the  Seven  Sacraments  and  the  Crucifixion  hav- 
ing been  a  favourite  design).  Nearly  all  the  roodscreens  throughout 
the  kingdom  belong  to  this  period,  as  do  the  most  beautiful  of  our 
wooden  roofs  ;  and  the  stone  roof  then  attained  to  its  greatest  per- 
fection. Of  the  fan-tracery  with  its  pendants,  the  greatest  architec- 
tural achievement  of  the  period,  the  roofs  of  Henry  the  Seventh's 
Chapel  at  Westminster  Abbey,  and  King's  College  Chapel,  Cam- 
bridge, are  the  best  examples :  and  as  specimens  of  the  style  gene- 
rally, I  would  notice,  in  addition  to  these  noble  buildings,  the  nave 
of  Winchester  Cathedral,  the  chapels  of  West  and  Alcock  at  Ely,^ 
and  (as  an  unmixed  specimen)  the  Abbey  church  at  Bath  :  but  this 
is  the  ])redominating  style  all  through  the  kingdom. 

The  Tudor fower  (a  rose  of  a  square  and  formal  character)  and 
the  harrow  were  favourite  ornaments  at  this  period. 

Soon  after  1509  the  style  began  to  be  debased  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  ugly  flat-headed  window  and  other  architectural  enor- 
mities, and  later  still  by  the  incongruous  mixture  of  the  classical 
and  pointed  styles.  Inigo  Jones  introduced  Italian  pediments  into 
many  of  our  churches ;  and  those  built  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren 
after  the  great  fire  of  London,  bear  no  resemblance  whatever  to 
Gothic  architecture,  which  he  neither  valued  nor  understood. 

The  above  is  a  mere  outline,  and  includes  only  the  most  promi- 
nent features  of  the  different  styles.  Bloxam's  Principles  of  Gothic 
Ecclesiastical  Architecture';  Rickman's  'Essay';  'The  Glossary  of 
Architecture';  Britten's  'Cathedral'  and  ' Architectural  Antiquities' ; 
Millers'  '  Ely  Cathedral,'  and  the  various  publications  of  the  Cam- 
bridge Camden  Society,  will  supply  all  the  information  that  the 
reader  can  possibly  desire. 

§.  3.  Buildings  in  the  Churchyard  detached  from  the  Church. 
(1.)  The  Lich-gate,  or  gate  of  the  dead,  was  a  sort  of  shed  or 
pent-house  over  the  principal  gate  into  the  churchyard,   and  was 
intended  as  a  resting  place  for  funerals,  and  a  shelter  for  the  corpse 

'  See  here  Cotman's  Etchings,  plate  42. 

e  Millers'  Ely  Cathedral,  frontisp.  also,  plate  11, 


'*.5?,P  gP-O  9.^  09  p 


BUILDINGS    IN    THE    CHURCHYARD.  223 

during  inclement  weather.  Specimens  are  to  be  seen  at  Burnsall, 
and  at  Beckenham,  and  other  Kentish  churches.  At  Bray,  in  Berk- 
shire, the  projecting  upper  story  of  the  church-house  overhanging  the 
entrance  into  the  burial-ground,  answered  the  purposes  of  a  lich- 
gate. It  is  engraved  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  February  1844  ; 
and  the  lich-gate  at  Beckenham  in  Kent  is  represented  in  our 
second  plate,  (fig.  5.) 

(2.)  The  Church-house  was  a  building  in  the  churchyard, 
consisting  of  one  or  two  rooms,  in  which  the  parishioners  used  to 
assemble  periodically  and  hold  their  "  drynkinges  "  or  church-ales,  as 
those  feasts  were  called,  at  which,  before  the  introduction  of  com- 
pulsory rates,  they  voluntarily  contributed  towards  the  relief  of  the 
poor.  From  ancient  documents  it  appears  that  there  was  a  dinner 
on  such  occasions,  culinary  utensils  being  kept  at  the  church-house.'' 

(3.)  Anchorages  or  Hermitages  were  in  ancient  times  very 
frequently  erected  in  churchyards.  To  select  one  out  of  mawy 
examples  connected  with  the  city  of  Norwich,  in  Blomefield's  time, 
the  foundations  of  an  anchorage  were  distinctly  traceable  on  the 
eastern  side  of  S.  Julian's  church.' 

(4.)  The  Ambulatory  or  Cloister  (called  also  the  centri/  garth), 
in  cathedral  and  conventual  buildings,  surrounded  the  quadrangle  in 
which  the  monks  were  buried.  The  cloister  on  the  south  of  Nor- 
wich Cathedral  is  the  largest  in  the  kingdom,  with  rich  window 
tracery  on  the  side  adjacent  to  the  cemetery.  The  roof  is  beauti- 
fully groined,  with  elaborately  sculptured  bosses  at  the  points  of 
intersection.  It  moreover  contains  a  fine  lavatory,  where  the  monks 
used  to  wash ;  and  the  prior's  entrance  on  the  north-east  of  the 
quadrangle,  opening  into  the  nave,  probably  has  not  its  equal  in 
the  whole  kingdom.'' 

(5.)  The  Palm  Cross  was  a  crucifix  of  stone  raised  upon 
steps,  and  often  erected  near  the  south  entrance  of  a  parish  church. 
It  was  decorated  with  branches  for  the  procession  on  Palm  Sunday, 
whence  it  took  its  name.  There  are  many  very  early  specimens  of 
the  Palm  Cross  in  Cornwall ;'  but  that  which  stands  to  the  south  of 
Eyam  church,  in  Derbyshire,  is  especially  deserving  of  attention, 
being  beautifully  sculptured. 

Of  the  Golgotha,  or  Calvary,  which  represented  on  a  large  scale 
the  circumstances  of  the  Passion,  with  images  of  S.  Mary  and  S. 
John,  our  Saviour  on  the  Cross,  and  sometimes  the  two  thieves, 
carved  in  stone  and  grouped  in  the  open  air,  we  have  no  English 
example,  but  they  are  of  frequent  occurrence  upon  the  continent."' 

The  Preaching  Cross,  which  stood  in  the  Green-yard  on  the 
north  of  the  nave  of  Norwich  Cathedral,  was  raised  on   stone  steps, 

h  utensils,  &c.  belonging  to  Melford  church,  Suffolk,  apud  Nealc  and  Le  Keux. 

'  Blomefield's  Norfolk,  folio  edit.  ii.  544. 

k  See  Britton's  Norwich  Cathedral,  frontisp. 

I  Lysons'  Magna  Britannia  passim. 

•o  See  plates  in  Dibdin's  Bibliographical  Tour. 


224  BUILDINGS   IN   THE    CHURCHYARD. 

but  was  probably  of  wood.  It  was  leaded  and  surmounted  by  a 
leaden  Cross.  There  is  a  print,  by  Hollar,  representing  the  ancient 
pulpit  at  S.  Paul's  Cross.  See  also  Plate  ii.  fig.  7,  and  the  vignette 
in  Le  Bas's  life  of  Wiclif. 

(6.)  Holt  wells  are  occasionally  found  in  churchyards,  though 
I  do  not  recollect  above  two  or  three  examples  in  the  kingdom. 
That  at  East  Dereham  stands  to  the  west  of  the  nave,  and  is  de- 
scribed in  the  Archseologia." 

In  primitive  times  there  was  usually  a  fountain  near  the  jirincipal 
entrance  of  a  church,  where  the  people  used  to  wash  themselves 
before  they  went  in.  It  was  termed  Cantharus,  Phiala,  Kprirac, 
Nymphoewm,  mftdrrfQ,  (ppedp,  and  Ko\vfi(iEioi';  and  by  modern  writers 
Leontanum,  as  it  was  in  many  places  surrounded  by  lions  spouting 
out  water,  o 

(7.)  Baptisteria,  or  baptisteries,  were  detached  buildings  erected 
near  the  church  for  the  solemn  administration  of  baptism  on  the 
great  festivals.  Very  fine  specimens  still  exist  at  Pisa,  Florence, 
Parma,  and  other  parts  of  Italy,  some  of  which  may  be  found 
represented  in  the  plates  to  Hope's  Architecture.  They  are,  for 
the  most  part,  circular  or  polygonal  buildings,  with  a  sort  of  bath 
in  the  centre,  descended  by  steps,  the  walls  being  sculptured  or 
painted  with  appropriate  emblems.  The  mother  church  anciently 
possessed  the  exclusive  privilege  of  having  a  font ;  and  in  Durandus' 
time  at  Florence,  Pisa,  &c.,  baptism  was  only  administered  in  the 
cathedrals.P 

It  does  not  appear  that  there  were  ever  baptisteries  in  any  part 
of  this  country,  notwithstanding  the  conjectures  of  some  antiquaries, 
and  the  occurrence  of  the  word  in  Bede's  history.*"  He  probably 
meant  nothing  more  than  the  font,  which  is  frequently  called 
"  baptisterium"  in  the  Latinity  of  the  middle  ages."" 

(8.)  The  Campanile,  or  belfry,  is  mentioned  in  this  place  as  being 
sometimes  totally  unconnected  with  the  church.  At  Little  Snoi'ing 
in  Norfolk,  there  is  an  ancient  example  of  the  sort.  There  is  a  more 
modern  specimen  at  East  Dereham,  and  another  at  Beccles  in 
Suffolk.  Such  also  is  the  relative  position  of  the  curious  round 
towers  at  Kells,  the  Seven  Churches,  and  other  parts  of  Ireland, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  object  of  their  erection :  and  at  Peele  in 
the  Isle  of  Man,  there  is  a  circular  stone  building  a  little  to  the  west 
of  S.  Patrick's  church,  originally  used  as  a  watch-tower.*  Belfries 
were  unquestionably  resorted  to  in  some  instances  as  places  of 
retreat  and  defence  in  time  of  danger.  Portcullises  have  been  found 
over  a  few  belfry-doors,  and  they  have  been  furnished  with  rooms, 
fire-places,  and  other  conveniences.'  There  is  a  chimney  with  a  fire- 
place in  the  church  tower  of  Rugby  in  Warwickshire. 

In  cathedral  and  conventual  buildings,  as  well  as  in  a  few  parish 

n  Archaeologia  xi.  127.  o  Bingham,  book  viii.  c.  3,  §  6. 

P  Apad  Staveley.  p.  108,  217.     i  Lib.  ii  c.  14.     r  Du  Cange,  Glos.  in  voce. 
»  Dugdale's  British  Traveller,  iv.  761.  t  Fosb.  i.89. 


IMPORTANT  USES  OF  THE  SOUTH  PORCH — THE  GALILEE.   225 

churches,  the  belfry  rises  from  the  point  where  the  nave,  choir,  and 
transepts  intersect ;  but  in  smaller  churches  it  was  sometimes  dis- 
pensed with  altogether,  and  the  deficiency  supplied  by  a  bell-gable 
at  the  west  end,  a  small  pent-house  or  canopy  upon  the  roof,  with 
a  framework  under  it,  supporting  one  or  two  small  bells." 

A  gable  of  this  sort  is  also  sometimes  found  over  the  rood-loft, 
(as  at  Up  well  church,  Norfolk).  This  held  the  sacring  bell,  which 
was  rung  at  the  elevation  of  the  host.  Hand-bells  are  now  used  for 
the  purpose  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 

(9.)  Our  ancestors  used  to  hang  garlands  over  the  graves  of 
their  deceased  relations,*  a  practice  which  is  observed  to  this  very 
day  in  Ireland  and  other  Roman  Catholic  countries.  The  most 
favourite  spot  for  interment  was  near  the  south  door,  that  those  who 
entered  the  sacred  building  might  be  reminded  of  their  departed 
friends,  and  offier  up  a  prayer  for  their  repose. 

§  4.   The  church  and  its  variotis  parts. 

(1.)  The  SOUTH  PORCH — called  also  the  Parcise,  because  a  pa- 
rochial school  was  usually  held  there — was  the  first  object  which 
arrested  the  attention  on  approaching  the  church :  and  indeed,  the 
various  uses  to  which  it  was  applied,  rendered  it  one  of  the  most 
important  parts  of  the  sacred  edifice ;  for  anciently,  baptisms,  mar- 
riages, and  the  churching  of  women,  were  performed  at  the  church- 
door.  Here  also  the  children  of  the  parish  were  instructed ;  deeds 
were  executed ;  and  causes  both  civil  and  criminal  were  decided ; 
though  towards  the  end  of  the  12th  century  it  was  forbidden  "  to 
try  causes  of  blood  in  consecrated  places."**  Over  the  entrance  of 
the  south  porch,  there  was  usually  an  image  of  the  saint  to  whom 
the  church  had  been  dedicated,  as  appears  from  the  niches  which 
are  stiU  commonly  seen  there.  Very  frequently  there  is  a  room  over 
the  porch. 

The  GALILEE  in  cathedrals  or  other  churches  was  a  kind  of 
porch,  situated  at  the  west  end  of  the  building,  where  penitents  and 
excommunicates  sat  previously  to  their  admission  on  Ash- Wednesday  : 
here  also  processions  terminated." 

The  finest  Galilee  with  which  I  am  acquainted  is  at  Ely  cathedral, 
and  it  is  a  truly  magnificent  specimen  of  lancet  architecture.  In 
some  cases  these  western  porches  are  found  in  parish  churches,  as  at 
Snettisham  in  Norfolk,  and  probably  the  remains  of  one  at  Cromer 
in  the  same  county. 

(2.)  The  NAVE  extended  from  the  west  end  of  the  church  to  the 
chancel-arch,  and  was  occupied  by  the  laity  during  divine  service. 
The  term  is  derived  from  vaoQ  a  ship,  and  here  the  men  used  to  sit 
on  the  south  side  and  the  women  on  the  north. 

In  the  primitive  church  there  was  also  a  Narthex  or  ante-nave  to 

"  See  the  plates  in  the  Archacol.  Journal,  No.  i.        "  Gent.  Map.  June  1747. 
"  Wilk.  i.  474.     Item  Gent.  Mag.  August  1787.     Item  Royal  Wills,  p.  379. 
«  Millers'  Ely  Cathedral. 


226  PARTS   OF  THE  SACRED    UUILDIXG. 

the  west,  separated  from  the  nave  itself  by  folding-doors,  which  wore 
left  open  during  those  parts  of  the  service  in  which  the  catechumens 
and  penitents  were  allowed  to  participate  :  from  the  circumstance  of 
their  standing  in  the  narthex,  it  was  also  called  Catechumeneum,  and 
from  the  doors  TrpoirvXaiovJ 

(3.)  The  ciiANCEL,  or  eastern  part  of  the  church,  took  its  name 
from  the  screen  or  lattice-work  which  separated  it  from  the  nave. 

In  Norman  churches  a  richly-moulded  circular  arch  is  often  found 
between  the  nave  and  chancel,  and  in  primitive  times  there  were 
folding-doors  or  rich  hangings  at  the  entrance  of  the  chancel,  to 
conceal  the  altar  from  the  catechumens,  and  even  from  the  faitliful, 
during  the  consecration  of  the  eucharist.  Hence  the  terms  'A/npidvpa, 
ftrjXa  rfiQ  ec/cXjjfft'ac  (the  hangings  of  the  church),  and  KaruTriracrna 
fivaiKot',  the  mystic  veil,  which  was  often  beautifully  wrought  with 
gold.^ 

Among  our  ancestors  the  sacred  mysteries  were  concealed  from 
the  laity,  during  the  penitential  season  of  Lent,  by  a  dark  veil  or 
curtain  hanging  at  this  point.*  Here  was  the  screen  surmounted 
by  the  rood-loft ;  but  all  the  existing  specimens  belong  to  the  later 
styles  of  church  architecture  :  and  whether  the  Normans  had  screens 
or  rood-lofts,  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 

In  cathedral,  collegiate,  and  conventual  churches,  the  chancel  is 
termed  the  Choir,  as  having  been  occupied  by  a  large  body  of  the 
clergy  ;  and  the  part  immediately  adjacent  to  the  altar  is  termed  the 
Presbytery,  because  the  bishop's  throne  and  the  seats  of  the  pres- 
byters were  in  the  apse  or  semicircular  east  end  at  the  back  of  the 
altar." 

As  the  laity  were  not  permitted  to  enter  the  chancel,  the  expres- 
sion ^  man  of  the  chancel'  is  used  to  signify  a  clergyman,  and  '  extra 
chorum  ponantur'  to  signify  the  degradation  of  delinquent  clerks 
from  their  orders.*^ 

(4.)  The  north  and  south  transepts  or  aisles  completed  the  cru- 
ciform appearance  of  the  cathedral,  but  these  are  not  often  found 
in  mere  parish  churches,  which  in  a  majority  of  instances  have  only 
north  and  south  aisles  to  the  nave. 

(5.)  Crypts  are  the  vaults  under  a  cathedral  or  other  church 
used  for  interments  (?)  and  probably  supplied  with  altars  for  the 
celebration  of  obituary  masses.  The  crypt  at  Canterbury  cathedral 
is  furnished  with  a  handsome  stone  screen.** 

(6.)  The  VESTIARIUM,  or  vestry,  was  the  chamber  in  which  the 
clergy  arrayed  themselves  in  the  sacred  vestments  previously  to 
the  celebration  of  mass,  and  where  the  robes  and  altar-plate  were 
deposited.  But  in  some  instances  there  was  also  a  treasury, 
distinct  from  the  vestry,  and  applied  to  the  latter  puqwse.* 

y  Schurtzfl.  Controv.  Qusest.  pp.  354,  355.  ^  Bingham,  b.  viii.  c.  6,  §  8. 

»  Johns.  A.  D   877,  cap.  17. 

•>  Beveridge,  Pandectae  Canonum.     Item  Wheatly's  Frontispiece.  Edit.  1729. 

<:  Wilk.  i.  388  Britton's  Canterbury  Cathedral. 

«  See  Curiositez  de  I'Eglise  de  Notre  Dame  a  Paris,  p.  255. 


THE    MISTAKEN   ZEAL   OF    THE   PURITANS,  227 

In  many  of  the  primitive  churches  there  were  two  vestries  or 
secretaria,  being  circular  projections  on  the  outer  side  of  the  apse, 
to  which  they  joined,  and  into  which  they  opened  by  doors/ 

(7.)  The  LADY  CHAPEL,  the  principal  chapel  of  a  cathedral, 
founded  in  honour  of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  was  in  most  instances 
immediately  behind  the  choir,  whence  it  is  usually  termed  the  retro- 
choir.  Here  convalescent  monks  were  allowed  to  worship,  and 
also  strangers  who  could  not  be  accommodated  in  other  parts  of  the 
sacred  building.^ 

There  were  anciently  many  chapels  and  chantries  in  a  cathedral 
independently  of  the  high  altar.  Thus  there  were  about  ten  of 
these  altars  in  Norwich  cathedral,*"  and  twenty-five  at  Canterbury,' 
and  there  were  chantry-altars  in  the  aisles  of  many  of  our  parish 
churches. 

(8.)  The  CHAPTER-HOUSE  was  an  important  appendage  to  a 
cathedral,  and  exceedingly  beautiful  specimens  are  to  be  seen  at 
Bristol,  Wells,  York,  Salisbury,  and  other  cathedrals. 

§  5.    The  furniture  and  ornaments  anciently  used  in  churches. 

In  my  friend  Mr.  Britten's  interesting  account  of  Scalisbury 
Cathedral,''  there  is  an  exceedingly  valuable  inventory  of  the  plate, 
vestments,  &c,,  anciently  belonging  to  that  church :  and  in  "  Views 
of  Collegiate  and  Parochial  Churches,"  by  Neale  and  Le  Kcux,  the 
reader  will  find  an  inventory  of  the  utensils  and  furniture  of  Melford 
church  in  Suffolk,  made  in  the  year  1529.  From  these  two  cata- 
logues it  will  be  seen  with  what  a  rich  prodigality  our  cathedral 
and  parochial  churches  were  in  many  instances  adorned  before  the 
Reformation :  and  from  archbishop  Winchelsey's  constitution  in 
1305,'  we  learn  what  articles  were  deemed  absolutely  essential  in 
every  church,  independently  of  voluntary  gifts.  It  will  be  found  in 
the  third  section  of  this  chapter. 

The  "  Journal  of  William  Dowsing"  exhibits  a  singular  contrast 
between  the  moderation  of  our  Reformers,  and  the  intemperate  zeal 
of  the  Puritans,  between  the  pruning-hook  and  the  axe.  Dowsing 
visited  the  Suffolk  churches  in  the  years  1643  and  1644,  with 
authority  to  remove  what  he  considered  superstitious  emblems,  a 
point  on  which  he  ai)pears  to  have  been  painfully  sensitive.  Not 
an  ©rate  pro  ata,  or  CCufug  ale  ppicictur  i3fU0,  escaped  his  vigilant 
file  :  he  reeved  the  brasses,  mutilated  the  sculptures,  and  demolished 
the  painted  glass :  he  moreover  pulled  down  the  altiir-rails,  and 
levelled  the  steps ;  and  the  following  extract  shows  what  able  co- 
adjutors he  had  in  the  work  of  destruction  : 

"129.  Elmsett,  Aug.  22.  Crow  a  deputy  had  done  before  we 
came.     We  rent  apieces  there  the  hood  and  surplice." 

Clare  appears  to  have  been  more  elaborately  decorated  than  any 
of  the  other  churches  included  in  his  list ;  for  he  tells  us — 


•'  Wheatly's  Frontispiece.  Edit.  1729.    8  Fosb.  1.97.  l*  Blomef.  passim 

'    Somner,  apud  Staveley,  p.  211. 


p.  84,  n.     *  '   Wilk.  ii.  280. 

Q2 


228  ALTARS — PORTABLE  ALTARS — RELIQUES. 

"  2.  At  Clare,  Jan.  6,  we  break  down  a  thousand  pictures  super- 
stitious. I  brake  down  two  hundred.  Three  of  God  the  Father, 
and  three  of  Christ ;  and  the  Holy  Lamb,  and  three  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  like  a  dove ;  and  the  twelve  Apostles  were  carved  in  wood 
on  the  top  of  the  roof,  and  twenty  cherubims ;  and  the  sun  and 
moon  in  the  east  window  by  the  king's  arms  to  be  taken  down." 

I  would  recommend  the  reader  to  furnish  himself  with  this  Journal, 
which  has  been  lately  republished  in  a  cheap  form ;  and  proceed  to 
classify  the  various  articles  of  church  furniture  as  well  as  I  am  able. 

THE    HIGH   ALTAR,    SUBORDINATE    ALTARS,    ALTARIA    PORTATILIA. 

Altars  in  the  middle  ages  were  of  stone — possibly  with  a  few 
rare  exceptions ;  and  indeed  the  abolition  of  Avooden  altars  was 
considered  a  very  important  reformation  in  the  Church  of  Ireland 
after  the  conquest  of  that  country  by  Henry  H. 

The  authentic  marks  of  an  altar  were  five  crosses,  patee  inscribed 
at  the  comers  and  centre  of  the  upper  slab. 

No  altar  could  be  consecrated  without  reliques,  which  were  en- 
closed in  a  vessel  with  grains  of  incense,  the  sacred  host,  and  the 
deed  of  consecration,  and  inserted  in  a  cavity  of  the  altar,  filled  up 
with  a  piece  of  stone  and  hallowed  mortar.  This  was  termed  the 
*  sigillum  altaris'  and  also  the  '  sepulchrum  altaris.''^ 

The  day  and  year  on  which  the  church  was  dedicated,  the  name 
of  the  patron  saint,  and  that  of  the  officiating  bishop,  were  carved 
on  the  stone-work  of  the  high  altar,  and  all  the  other  altars  in  the 
church." 

The  altar  was  not  always  fixed  against  the  east  wall,  but  some- 
times stood  in  the  centre  of  the  apse,  so  that  it  might  be  surrounded 
in  procession."  In  Norwich  cathedral  the  bishop's  throne  was 
anciently  behind  the  altar.P 

The  altar  was  of  an  oblong  form  and  raised  upon  three  steps. 
Altaria  portatUia  were  consecrated  slabs  of  stone,  with  reliques 
enclosed  for  the  celebration  of  the  viaticum  mass  in  a  sick  chamber. 
One  described  by  Du  Cange  was  of  marble,  inlaid  with  gold,  silver, 
and  gems,  and  about  a  foot  square.''  It  was  also  called  Altare 
gestatorium,  or  viaticum,  and  was  laid  upon  an  ordinary  table  near 
the  dying  man's  bed. 

RELIQUES,  SHRINES,  VOTAL  TABLETS. 

From  the  circumstance  of  reliques  being  considered  essential  to 
the  valid  consecration  of  every  altar,  their  sale  was  anciently  a  very 
lucrative  source  of  traffic,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  produced  many 
counterfeits  and  a  plentiful  harvest  of  ridicule  to  the  satirical  writers 
of  the  day.'  At  Hales,  in  Worcestershire,  the  blood  of  a  duck  in 
a  glass  bottle,  thick  and  opaque  on  one  side,  and  transparent  on  the 

n>  Fosb.  i.  94.  n  wilk.  i.  624,  cap.  7. 

°  Bedae  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  3.  p  Archaeol.  xi.  324,  383. 

<J  Glossarium  voce  Allan  r  gee  the  DecameroD  for  iostance,  passim. 


COUNTERFEIT   RELIQUES SPLENDID   SHRINES.  229 

other,  used  to  be  exhibited  as  the  blood  of  the  Redeemer,  which 
could  not  be  seen  hy  any  person  in  a  state  of  mortal  sin.  A  mere 
turn  of  the  bottle  wrought  the  miracle,  which  was  detected  and 
exposed  at  the  Reformation.  More  teeth  of  S.  ApoUonia  were 
then  found  in  various  parts  of  England  than  would  have  sufficed  to 
fill  a  bushel ;'  and  the  celebrated  Erasmus  is  related  to  have  seen, 
in  the  course  of  his  travels,  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist  in  three 
different  places ! 

Henry  de  Hassia,  who  died  about  1428,  thus  speaks  in  his  *  Secreta 
Sacerdotum.'*^  "  Nor  can  I  conscientiously  conceal  the  fact,  that 
on  solemn  occasions  I  have  seen  even  dignified  priests  crossing  the 
people  with  reliques,  and  presenting  them  to  be  kissed,  and  asserting 
that  great  indulgences  have  been  assigned  to  them,  although  they 
have  never  heard  of  any  charter  of  either  Pope  or  bishop  to  that 
effect.  They  call  them  the  reliques  of  some  saint,  whereas  perchance 
it  may  be  the  bone  of  an  ass,  w  of  one  of  the  damned !"  (asini  vel 
damnati).  A  celebrated  relique  was  frequently  enclosed  in  a  fixed 
shrine  of  stone-work  richly  sculptured  and  adorned.  That  of  Saint 
Cuthbert  at  Durham  was  "  of  costly  green  marble,  all  limned  and 
gUt  with  gold,  and  exalted  with  most  curious  workmanship,"  and 
"  was  esteemed  to  be  one  of  the  most  sumptuous  monuments  in  all 
England.""  The  shrines  of  Edward  the  Confessor  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  and  S.  Fridiswide  at  Oxford,  will  explain  the  general  form 
of  these  shrines  better  than  any  verbal  description. 

There  were  also  feretra  or  portable  shrines,  something  like 
miniature  churches,  with  pinnacles  and  niches,  gilt  and  enamelled," 
which  were  carried  in  processions.  That  of  S.  Hugh  at  Lincoln 
was  of  pure  gold,  and  that  of  S.  John  of  D'  Alderby  (also  at 
Lincoln)  was  of  solid  silver.*  In  Erasmus's  Dialogue,  called  "  Pere- 
grinatio  Religionis  Ergo,"  the  reader  will  find  an  interesting  de- 
scription of  the  shrines  at  Walsingham  and  Canterbury  during  their 
greatest  magnificence  and  glory.  Sometimes  many  reliques  were 
enclosed  in  one  box,  or  in  a  chest  of  drawers,  termed  a  Camarine. 
Sometimes  they  were  encased  in  the  precious  metals,  moulded  into 
the  form  of  a  human  limb,  (an  arm  for  instance,  or  a  leg,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  relique) ;  at  other  times  they  were  in  crystal 
phials,  or  the  relique  was  set  in  a  large  silver  image  of  the  saint  to 
whom  it  belonged.  Reliques  were  also  frequently  set  in  the  silver- 
gilt  cover  of  the  Gospels  or  the  missal.'     (See  Plate  iii.  fig.  4.) 

On  solemn  occasions  the  reliques  belonging  to  a  church  were 
exhibited  upon  perticce,*  or  ornamental  beams,  suspended  over  the 
altar. 

•  Burnet's  Reform,  a.  d.  1536,  Lond.  1679,  i.  242. 

'  The  edition  before  me  is  without  a  date,  but  was  printed  about  1470. 

u  Antiq.  of  Durham,  p.  6.  "  Britton's  Oxford  Cathedral. 

w  Gent.  Mag.  Sept.  1822,  and  April  1836. 

»  Dugdale's  British  Traveller,  iii.  430. 

y  Eglise  de  Notre  Dame,  passim.    Item  Britton's  Salisbury,  p.  84,  &c. 

^  Da  Cange  in  voce. 


230  TOTAL   TABLETS THE    CIBORIUM — CREDENCE. 

There  were  no  fewer  than  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  reliques 
in  the  treasury  of  Salisbury  ;*  and  by  way  of  giving  some  notion  of 
their  fancy  value,  I  shall  mention  the  fact,  that  at  the  dissolution 
there  was  an  alleged  finger  of  S.  Andrew  the  Apostle  in  pawn  for 
forty  pounds,  equal  to  about  six  hundred  pounds  of  our  present 
currency !     It  belonged  to  the  priory  of  Westacre  in  Norfolk.'' 

As  vows  and  pilgrimages  were  made  to  these  reliques,  they  were 
a  continual  source  of  wealth.  When  a  cure  was  supposed  to  have 
been  wrought  through  the  intercession  of  the  saint,  a  wax  image  of 
the  part  that  had  been  healed  was  suspended  near  his  shrine, 
whether  it  was  an  arm,  or  a  leg,  or  an  eye.'=  The  restored  cripple 
hung  up  his  crutches  there,  and  the  mariner  preserved  from  ship- 
wreck presented  a  votal  tablet,  on  which  was  depicted  the  story  of 
his  escape.'' 

APPENDAGES   TO   THE   ALTAR. 

(1.)  The  Tabernacle  (called  by  modern  writers  the  Ciborium) 
was  a  sort  of  turret  or  cabinet  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  altar, 
containing  the  Pyx,  in  which  the  consecrated  hosts  were  reserved. 
It  had  usually  folded  doors  in  front,  and  was  beautifully  sculptured 
and  adorned.     (See  Plate  iii.,  in  the  background  over  the  altar.) 

(2.)  The  Ciborium  was  a  pedimented  canopy  supported  upon 
columns,  and  forming  a  covering  to  the  altar.  The  few  specimens 
that  remain  upon  the  continent  are  found  in  very  ancient  churches. 
There  is  one  at  S.  Clement's  church  at  Rome,  copied  from  Hope's 
Architecture  into  our  second  plate  (fig.  1). 

(3.)  In  primitive  times  there  was  a  golden  or  silver  dove  suspended 
under  the  ciborium,  and  called  the  Peristerium :  but  the  practice  of 
reserving  the  Eucharist  in  these  doves  (which  were  also  suspended 
in  baptisteries)  was  comparatively  recent.* 

The  use  of  the  ciborium  in  its  primitive  sense  probably  did  not  ex- 
tend to  these  islands.  We  have  no  English  examples,  and  the  altar 
usually  stood  near  the  east  wall  with  a  reredos  or  screen  at  the  back. 

(4.)  The  Credence-table  was  a  small  altar,  or  a  shelf  on  brackets, 
near  the  high  altar,  on  which  the  oblations  were  prepared  before  con- 
secration, and  was  a  very  early  arrangement.  There  is  one  on  the 
south  of  the  altar  at  Winchester  cathedral ;  another  at  the  church 
of  S.  Cross,  near  Winchester ;  another  at  Romsey  church,  Hants ;  and, 
if  I  mistake  not,  the  remains  of  one  at  Colkirk  in  Nctrfolk,  In  the 
draft  of  a  primitive  church  given  by  Beveridge,'and  also  by  Wheatly,f 
there  are  two  circular  vestries  on  the  sides  of  the  apse  with  a  cre- 
dence-table in  each. 

The  Credence-table  was  called  TraparpaTre^ov,  and  also  oblatio- 
narium.^ 

»  Britton,  pp.  84,  85.  *'  Excursions  through  Norfolk,  vol.  ii.  p.  7. 

c  Sec  •  Cereus  virtutum'  in  Supplement  to  Du  Cange  Gloss. 

•'  Curiositez  de  1'  Eglise  de  Paris,  pp.  85,  86. 

e  Bingham,  b.  viii.  c.  6,  §  19. 

f  Pan  leetae  Canonum,  and  Illustration  of  Common  Prayer.  Edit   1729. 

K  Bingham,  b.  viii.  c.  6,  §  22. 


PISCINA LOCKERS — SEDILIA.  231 

(5.)  The  Piscina  is  an  arched  recess,  very  commonly  found  in 
the  south  wall  near  the  altar,  the  lower  part  being  hollowed  like  a 
basin,  and  with  a  hole  in  the  centre  to  let  the  water  run  into  the 
ground,  but  probably  supplied  with  a  plug.  Here  the  priest  anciently 
washed  his  hands  at  the  "  lavabo"  of  the  mass,  and  in  old  rubrics  it 
is  directed,  that  if  a  fly  should  fall  into  the  chalice  it  should  be 
burnt  "  super  pisdnam." ^  In  more  modern  times  a  moveable  basin 
has  been  used  for  the  lavabo. 

Piscince  are  sometimes  double,  with  a  beautiftil  foliated  capital  on 
a  shaft  in  the  centre,  as  at  S.  Mary's  church,  Ely.  Occasionally  the 
piscina  is  supplied  Avith  a  shelf  in  the  middle,  to  hold  the  cruets 
of  wine  and  water,  &c.  This  is  the  case  at  Littleport  church,  five 
miles  from  Ely. 

(6,)  The  Ambry  or  locker  is  also  a  niohe  hollowed  out  of  the  sub- 
stance of  the  wall,  and  may  be  distinguished  from  the  piscina  by  its 
having  no  basin  at  the  bottom,  and  also  by  the  indication  of  a  door, 
with  which  each  locker  was  anciently  supplied.  The  cruets,  towels, 
&c.  used  during  the  mass  were  deposited  here.  Lockers  are  some- 
times arched  recesses,  but  most  commonly  square  (?).' 

When  piscines  or  lockers  are  found  in  the  aisles  of  a  church,  it 
is  a  certain  indication  that  there  were  chantry  altars  near  them ; 
the  chantry  having  been  moreover  partitioned  off  from  the  rest  of 
the  church  by  a  paraclose  or  screen. 

In  some  instances  there  is  a  low  window,  commanding  a  view  of 
the  altar  from  the  churchyard,  through  which  lepers,  who  were  not 
allowed  to  enter  the  sacred  building,  might  yet  view  the  elevation 
of  the  host  (?) ;  in  other  instances  we  find  groovings  in  the  wall  or 
columns,  or  apertures,  so  as  to  command  a  view  of  the  high  altar 
from  the  aisles :  these  may  be  termed  speculatories. 

(7.)  Sedilia  are  stone  seats  under  canopies  on  the  south  wall 
near  the  altar,  where  the  ofliciating  clergy  sat  during  the  intervals 
of  the  service.^  Most  commonly  there  are  three,  for  the  priest, 
deacon,  and  subdeacon  at  high  mass,  the  seats  being  raised  like  steps 
of  stairs,  to  mark  the  gradations  of  the  ministry.  This  is  the  case 
at  Fakenham  in  Norfolk,  but  sometimes  they  are  on  a  level,  and 
they  also  vary  in  number.  At  Lenham  in  Kent,  there  is  only  one 
sedile;  there  are  two  at  Hayes  church  in  Middlesex,  and  four  in 
Chester  cathedral. 

Du  Cange  mentions  the  "  sedes  majestatis,"  on  which  the  priest 
sat  while  the  "  Kyrie,"  "  Gloria,"  and  "  Credo"  were  chanted  by  the 
choir,  and  that  when  he  arose,  it  was  the  deacon's  duty  reverently  to 
fold  back  his  am  ess  and  comb  his  head!^ 

At  Hexham  and  Beverley  there  were  stone  seats  near  the  altar, 
to  which  extraordinary  privileges  of  sanctuary  were  attachetl ;  viz. 


'  Gent  Mag.  Aug.  1787,  and  Aug.  1797.  Item  Durandi  Ratioaale,  fol.  8. 
Fosb.  i.  96.  ^  See  Arcliieol.  x.  291. 

Gloss,  in  voce  Sede$  Majestatis. 


232  EASTER   SEPULCHRE — ALTAR  DRAPERY. 

that  any  criminal  escaping  thither  should  enjoy  his  life  and  liberty. 
This  seat  was  termed  the  Fridstole""  {ov  freed  stool). 

(8.)  The  Sepulchrum  Christi,  otherwise  called  the  Paschal,  was  in 
some  instances  a  richly  sculptured  tomb  on  the  north  wall  of  the 
chancel  near  the  altar ;  with  a  canopied  niche,  in  which  the  pyx 
with  the  host  was  solemnly  deposited  on  Good  Friday  and  left  till 
the  morning  of  Easter  day,  when  the  priest  and  clergy  went  in  pro- 
cession and  removed  it  from  thence,  chanting  the  anthem  "  SurrexU 
non  est  hie."  There  are  exceedingly  fine  specimens  at  Northwold  in 
Norfolk,  Heckington  in  Lincolnshire,  and  a  few  other  churches." 
That  of  Heckington  is  represented  in  our  second  plate,  fig.  8. 

Temporary  paschaU,  made  of  wood,  and  adorned  with  hangings 
kept  in  the  vestry  for  the  purpose,  and  put  together  at  the  time, 
were  however  much  more  common.  That  at  Melford  has  been  de- 
scribed as  "  a  fair  painted  frame  of  timber  to  set  up  about  Maundy- 
Thursday,  with  holes  for  a  number  of  fair  tapers  to  stand  before  the 
sepulchre,  and  to  be  lighted  in  service  time.  Sometimes  it  was  set 
overthwart  the  quire  before  the  high  altar,  the  sepulchre  being 
alwaies  placed  and  finely  garnished  at  the  north  end  of  the  high 
altar,  between  that  and  Mr,  Clopton's  little  chapel  there,  in  a  vacant 
place  in  the  wall,  I  think  upon  a  tomb  of  one  of  his  ancestors.""  An 
actual  representation  of  one  of  these  paschals  may  be  seen  in 
Picart's  Religious  Ceremonies,  Lond.  1734,  vol.  ii.  Op.  p.  8. 

THE  CURTAINS,  HANaiNGS,  TEILS,  AND  DRAPERY  OF  THE  ALTAR. 

(1.)  The  baldachin  or  dais  was  a  canopy  with  a  rich  deep  valance 
and  a  fringe,  which  sometimes  hung  over  an  altar,  but  perhaps  was 
not  very  usual.  A  baldachin  provided  with  staves  to  be  carried 
over  the  eucharist  in  processions,  was  almost  an  essential  article  of 
church  furniture,  p 

(2.)  The  dorsaW^  was  the  drapery  at  the  back  of  the  ciborium 
or  the  altar  screen. 

(3.)  The  upper  slab  of  the  altar  itself  was  covered  with  three 
napkins,  called  by  archbishop  Winchelsey  tuella.  They  are  also 
termed  police  altar  is,  and  mappcB. 

(4.)  The  frontale  or  antependium  was  a  richly  embroidered  cloth 
or  velvet  drapery,  of  an  oblong  form,  which  hung  in  front  of  the 
altar.     There  is  one  represented  in  Plate  iii. 

In  some  of  the  richer  churches,  a  case  of  gold  or  silver,  embossed 
and  set  with  reliques  and  precious  stones,  was  on  solemn  occasions 
annexed  to  the  front  of  a  high  altar,  as  a  splendid  substitute  for  the 
anfependium."" 

(5.)    The  velum  quadrigessimale,  or  lenten  veil  (usually  of  a  violet 

»  Staveley,  p.  173.  ■>  See  Vetusta  Monumenta,  vol,  iii. 

0  Roger  Martin's  account  of  Melford,  in  Views  of  Collegiate  and  Parochial 
Churches,  by  Neale  and  Le  Keux. 

P  For  a  representation,  see  Picart,  vol.  ii.  p.  8. 

1  For  this  and  the  following  three  or  four  heads,  vide  Durand,  passim. 
'  Merati.  Item  Du  Cange. 


THE   LENTEN   AND   OTHER  VEILS ALTAB  LINEN.  233 

hue  and  seldom  black),  was  duringthat  penitential  season  drawn  before 
the  pictures,  images,  and  other  ornaments  at  the  back  of  the  altar. 

Durandus  makes  mention  of  two  veils  used  during  Lent ;  one  of 
which  hung  between  the  nave  and  choir,  and  the  other  between  the 
choir  and  the  altar.' 

At  Melford,  we  read  that  there  was  "  a  cloth  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
to  draw  before  the  high  altar  in  the  time  of  Lent,  called  the  veil." 
There  were  also  "three  long  cloths  hanging  before  the  roodloft, 
stained  or  painted  with  the  daunce  of  poults"  (?) ;  and  "a  cloth  before 
the  roodloft  called  the  veil,  very  simple." 

"  An  altar-cloth  for  Lent,  with  whips  and  with  angels."' 

(6.)  The  tela  stragula  altaris  was  the  coverlet  thrown  over  the 
altar  to  protect  its  ornaments  after  mass  was  over."  It  was  usually 
green,  with  a  valance  and  a  cross. 

(7.)  Velum  calicis,  with  which  the  chalice  was  covered  during 
a  great  part  of  the  mass,  was  of  silk  or  of  some  other  rich  material, 
agreeing  in  colour  with  the  vestments  worn  by  the  priest  on  that 
day.  It  was  embroidered  with  gold,  and  had  a  cross  worked  upon 
it. "     (See  Plate  iii.  fig.  14.) 

The  velum  pyxidis,  thrown  over  the  pyx,"  admits  of  much  the 
same  description. 

The  velum  subdiaconale  was  the  long  veil  of  white  linen  (?)  thrown 
over  the  subdeacon's  shoulder,  and  covering  the  upper  part  of  the 
sacred  vessels  as  he  presented  them  at  the  altar.  * 

The  veil  with  which  the  pyx  was  covered  when  it  was  carried  in 
procession,  resembled  the  ordinary  "  velum  pyxidis"  but  was  more 
richly  embroidered. 

We  also  read  of  the  conopeum  tabernacidi,^  the  ornamental 
drapery  employed  to  decorate  the  tabernacle,  or  hung  as  a  curtain 
under  its  canopy.  These  varied  in  colour  according  to  the  festival. 
At  Melford, — "  To  the  blessed  sacrament  belong  two  canopy  cloths." 

(8.)  The  corporale,  on  which  the  hosts  were  laid  at  the  time 
of  their  consecration,  was  always  of  fine  linen,  though  the  exterior 
might  be  adorned  with  sUk  and  gold.  It  was  about  thirty  inches 
square,  and  was  to  be  so  folded  that  the  borders  might  not  appear.* 

(9.)  The  hwsa  was  the  case  in  which  the  corporale  was  kept,  and 
in  which  it  was  presented  to  the  priest  during  the  celebration  of 
mass.  It  was  of  a  square  form,  made  of  some  rich  material,  orna- 
mented with  a  cross  or  some  other  holy  image  on  the  upper  side, 
and  lined  like  a  bag  with  fine  linen  or  silk.  * 

(10.)  The  mundatory  or  purijicatorium,  was  a  linen  cloth  neither 
very  fine  nor  very  coarse,  and  about  eighteen  inches  square,  simply 


•  Rationale,  fol.  15,  16.  «  Ubi  supra. 

»  Gavanti  Thesaurus,  Antv.  1646,  p.  320.  "  Ibid.  *  Ibid. 

X  Ibid.  y  Gavanti  Thes.  torn,  i.  p.  79,317. 

»  Ibid.  torn.  i.  p.  317.  »  Ibid. 


234  MISCELLANEOUS   HANGINGS   AND   DRAPERY. 

hemmed,  and  with  a  small  cross  of  needlework  in  its  centre.  It  was 
used  to  cleanse  the  chalice  after  the  ablutions  or  Post-communion.  ^ 

(11.)  The  lavabo"  was  of  thick  linen  adorned  with  fringe,  and 
employed  to  dry  the  priest's  hands  after  he  had  washed  them  in  the 
piscina  or  in  the  aqua^manile. 

(12.)  The  offertorium  was  the  cloth  of  linen  or  silk  on  which  the 
faithful  placed  their  oblations."*  An  offertory  of  another  description 
will  be  described  under  the  head  of  Altar  plate. 

(13.)  The  pulvinar  or  cussinus,  was  the  cushion  stuffed  with 
wool  or  horsehair  (not  with  feathers),  on  which  the  missal  was  laid,' 
and  was  usually  of  velvet  richly  embroidered. 

(14.)  The  genujtexorium,  was,  as  its  name  implies,  a  kneeling 
cushion,  f     (See  Plate  in.  figs.  20,  21.) 

(15.)  Tapetia  substratoria  were  the  carpets  thrown  over  the 
steps  of  the  altar  and  the  pavement  of  the  choir ;  e  but  our  more 
frugal  ancestors  contented  themselves  with  strewing  rushes  to  protect 
their  feet  from  the  cold. 

(16.)  The  processional  banner,  used  at  the  rogation  and  other 
processions,  had  the  patron  saint  of  the  church  painted  or  wrought 
upon  it.  At  Melford  there  were  "  three  banner  clothes,"  and  "  two 
streamers  of  silk ;"  and  at  Witchingham,  Norfolk,  "  a  band  cloth 
with  a  pendon.""     (See  Plate  in.  fig.  31.) 

(17.)  Independently  of  the  above,  there  were  various  miscella- 
neous hangings  which  need  not  be  particularly  described.  (  Tapestry 
belongs  to  another  category.) 

Such  were  the  pall  for  the  dead,  represented  in  several  old  illumi- 
nations which  I  have  seen  of  a  bright  blue  colour,  with  a  plain  white 
or  gold  cross  in  the  centre,  extending  through  its  whole  length  each 
way.    Probably,  however,  it  was  in  many  instances  black. 

In  the  Melford  catalogue  are  the  following  items : — 

"  A  coverlet  of  hncn  and  woollen  for  the  herse.* 

"  A  pall  cloah,  very  simple. 

"An  old  coverlett  of  linen  and  woollen,  lohich  serves  to  pluck 
before  the  cross  on  Palm  Sunday." 

"  A  cloth  hanging  before  the  roodloft  with  three  small  white 
napkins. 

"  A  cross  cloth  of  silk. 

"  Afore  S.  John  Evangelist,  a  stained  cloth. 

"  Before  S.  Anthony,  a  stained  cloth. 

"  Before  S.  George,  two  drawn  curtains  stained. 

"  Before  S.  Edmund,  a  little  cloth,  &c. 

"  Three  other  simple  cloths  to  cast  about  divers  saints. 

"  A  cloth  of  blue  silk  to  bear  over  the  sacrament,  embroidered 
with  gold  chalices." 

b  Gavanti  Thesaurus,  torn.  i.  p.  319.  c  Merati,  p.  100. 

''  Du  Cange  in  voce.  e  Gavantus,  toni  i.  319. 

f  Du  Cange  in  voce.  k  Durand,  lib.  i.  c.  3,  n.  23. 

"  Chambers'  Norf.  i.  236.  i  Probably  the  herse  light  infra. 


"S. 


--r^^ 
i 


PLATE  111     P.  235. 


(fccUstastkal  Ht^nstU. 


(    235    ) 


ALTAR   PLATE   IMMEDIATELY   CONNECTED    WITH   THE   EUCHARIST. 

This  of  course  was  more  or  less  splendid,  according  to  the  wealth 
or  poverty  of  the  neighbourhood,  varying  in  material  from  solid  gold 
adorned  with  gems,  down  to  simple  pewter  :  but  how  sumptuously 
some  of  our  cathedrals  and  even  parish  churches  were  supplied  in 
this  respect  may  be  determined  by  facts. 

From  the  Melford  catalogue  it  appears  that  there  belonged  to 
that  church  nine  hundred  ounces  of  plate  and  upwards,  for  the  most 
part  gilt !  And  Dugdale  tells  us  in  his  Monasticon,  that  Henry  VIII. 
took  from  Lincoln  cathedral  alone  2621  ounces  of  gold  and  4283 
ounces  of  silver,  besides  pearls  and  other  pr^ious  stones  to  an 
immense  amount. 

But  in  all  probability,  Canterbury  cathedral  excelled  in  magnifi- 
cence all  the  other  churches  in  the  kingdom.'' 

(1.)  The  pi/x  was  the  sacred  vessel  in  which  the  reserved  hosts 
were  kept  in  the  tabernacle.  It  was  usually  one  of  the  precious 
metals,  with  a  pyramidal  covering  surmounted  by  a  little  cross. 
Sometimes  it  was  of  ivory,  i     (See  Plate  ill.  fig.  12.) 

(2.)  The  paten,  a  plate  usually  of  silver,  on  which  the  host  to  be 
consecrated  at  that  mass  is  presented  by  the  deacon  to  the  cele- 
brant. It  was  to  be  concave,  and  the  rim  thin  enough  to  be  of  use 
in  collecting  the  sacred  particles, ""  The  cover  of  the  chalice  was 
however  often  used  as  a  substitute  for  a  paten. 

The  bread-box,  for  keeping  the  unconsecrated  hosts,  was  round, 
and  had  a  round  plate  of  lead  covered  with  silk  to  put  upon  the 
breads  in  order  to  flatten  them." 

The  ferrum  oblatarum,  otherwise  called  ferramentum  charactera- 
tvm,"  was  the  iron  instrument  on  which  the  hosts  were  made  and 
with  which  they  were  stamped,  having  upon  it  a  simple  ^,  or  i^c, 
or  the  like. 

(3.)  The  chalice,  in  which  the  wine  and  water  were  placed  in 
order  to  their  consecration,  having  a  node  or  pomum  in  the  centre 
of  its  stem,  and  generally  a  cover.     (See  Plate  iii.  fig.  1.5.) 

(4.)  The  bwreta,^  or  burette,  a  pitcher,  usually  of  gold  or  silver, 
containing  the  wine  which  was  to  be  consecrated  during  the  mass. 

The  anax  was  a  large  flagon,  applicable  to  the  same  purpose,  but 
belonging  to  more  primitive  times.  '^ 

(5.)  Ampidlw  vitrecB  vini  et  aquce,  were  cruets  of  glass  or  crystal 
upon  a  stand  of  metal  (which  was  tenned  "pehictda  hamularum'').' 
In  these  two  cruets  the  wine  and  water  were  presented  at  the  altar 
before  consecration.     Each  had  a  cover.     (See  Plato  iii.  fig.  5.) 

(6.)   PugiUares,  or  canalicvli,  were  pipes  or  tubes  of  gold  or 


k  Vide  Erasmi  Pcrig.  Relig.  Ergo.  '  Gavantus,  torn  i.  p.  319. 

n>  Mcrati,  p.  101.  "  Ibid.  p.  97. 

"  Du  Cange  in  vocibus.  i'  Du  Cange  in  voce. 

<1  Mabillon  dc  Lit.  Gallic,  p   fiS  '  Ga-  antus,  torn.  i.  31R,  319. 


236  THE  MINISTERU   OF  THE  HOLY  EUCHABIST. 

silver,  through  which  the  laity  received  the  wine  out  of  the  chalice 
before  the  use  of  that  element  was  denied  them  altogether. « 

(7.)  Cochlear,  the  spoon  with  which  the  hosts  were  placed  upon 
the  paten,  whence  they  were  called  cochlearia  tractatoriaJ  (See 
Plate  III.  fig.  11.) 

In  the  Greek  church  the  laity  receive  the  bread  and  wine  to- 
gether in  a  spoon,  in  the  way  of  a  sop.  This  is  termed  communion 
by  intinction. 

(8.)  The  monstrance  or  expositor^/,  also  termed  the  soleil  (from 
its  most  usual  form),  was  the  sacred  vessel  in  which  the  host  was  ex- 
hibited on  solemn  occasions  to  the  gaze  of  the  people,  being  seen 
through  a  circular  'piece  of  glass  or  crystal  in  the  centre.  It  was  of 
gold  or  silver,  having  generally  radiations  round  it  like  the  sun, 
having  a  lofty  stem  and  a  stand  under  it. "  The  custodia  will  be 
described  infra.  No.  19.     (See  Plate  ni.  fig.  16.) 

(9.)  The  AOFKH,  in  the  Greek  church,  is  the  spear  or  lance  with 
which  the  bread  is  cut  during  the  Eucharist." 

(10).  The  asterisk,  in  the  Greek  church,  is  a  silver  or  pewter 
cross,  bent  downwards  at  the  four  extremities  so  as  to  form  a  stand. 
It  is  placed  over  the  consecrated  bread,  and  covered  with  a  veil, 
having  a  star  painted  or  worked  upon  it.  w     (See  Plate  iii.  fig.  7.) 

(11.)  The  aqucemanUe,  the  moveable  basin  in  which  the  priest 
washed  his  hands,  '^  as  distinguished  from  the  piscina. 

(12.)  The  offertorium,  to  receive  the  oblations  of  the  faithful, 
was  a  large  deep  metal  dish,  embossed  in  the  centre  with  some  scrip- 
tural subject  or  sacred  emblem.  That  which  I  have  seen  is  of  brass 
and  circular,  having  the  Annunciation  represented  in  the  centre  and 
a  legend  round  its  rim. " 

(13.)  The  osculatory,  or  paxhoard,  otherwise  called  asser  ad 
pacem,  was  a  piece  of  wood  or  metal,  having  a  representation  of  our 
Lord's  passion  or  some  other  sacred  emblem  painted  or  embossed 
upon  it,  and  a  handle  at  the  back.  When  the  ancient  kiss  of  charity 
fell  into  desuetude,  this,  as  a  substitute,  was  kissed  during  the  mass 
by  the  priest  at  the  words  Pax  vobiscum,  and  afterwards  handed  to 
the  people  for  the  same  purpose.  One  which  I  have  seen  is,  like 
that  engraved  in  the  Archseologia,  ^  something  like  a  fiat  iron,  but 
their  form  was  sometimes  circular.  The  cover  of  the  missal,  which 
was  often  of  gold  or  silver  embossed  with  sacred  emblems,  was  in 
some  instances  used  as  a  substitute  for  a  pax-board.  (See  Plate  ni. 
figs.  1,  2,  18.) 

(14.)  Diptyoha  were  two  tablets  joined  together,  on  one  of 
which  were  inscribed  the  names  of  the  living,  on  the  other  of  the 
dead,  to  be  recited  during  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist.  One 
of  the  prayers  in  the  mass,  beginning  "  Memento  Domine  famulorum 

•  Staveley,  p.  190.  t  Da  Cange  voce  Cochlear. 

u  Egl.  de  Paris,  pp.  279,  281.  »  Picart,  vol.  v. 

w  Ibid.  Plate  Opp  p.  97.  ^  Du  Cange  in  voce. 

y  In  the  Norfolk  and  Norwich  Museum.  ^  Vol.  xx.  p  53fr. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ARTICLES  OF  PLATE,  &C.         237 

famidarumque  tuarum,  Sfo."  and  in  which  the  names  of  Clemens,  Cletus, 
Cornelius,  Cyprian,  Cosmas,  Damian,  &c.,  are  recited,  is  called  the 
*' diptychs"  to  this  very  day.  The  diptychs  which  I  have  seen 
represented  are  oblong  slabs  of  ivory,  joined  together  with  a  hinge 
and  ornamented  with  carvings  on  the  outside.* 

(15.)  Pensile  tables  (mentioned  here  with  a  view  to  classification) 
contained  the  names  of  benefactors ;  the  indulgences  granted  to  all  who 
should  visit  some  shrine  in  the  church,  or  a  register  of  miracles  wrought 
there.  The  names  and  duties  of  the  hebdomadarii  or  officiants  for 
the  week  were  moreover  written  upon  pensile  tablets  hung  up  in 
the  vestry.  Fosbrooke  states  that  in  one  church  there  were  no 
fewer  than  thirty-four  of  these  tablets.  ^ 

(16.)  The  crucifix  was  always  placed  over  the  centre  of  the 
altar  above  the  tabernacle :  often  it  was  of  silver  or  gold.e 

(17.)  Flabellum  rnvscatoriv/m  was  a  fan  to  drive  away  flies  from 
the  chalice.''  It  was  usually  of  feathers  and  furnished  with  a  han- 
dle. In  the  Greek  church  it  is  like  a  winged  angel.  (See  Plate  ni. 
figs  6,  10.) 

(18.)  Thuribulum,  the  censer,  was  a  spherical  box  of  metal,  with 
holes  in  the  upper  part  for  the  emission  of  the  fumes,  and  was  sus- 
pended from  the  hand  by  chains.    (See  Plate  ill.,  fig.  8.) 

The  navette  (or  ship)  contained  the  grains  of  incense  with  which 
the  censer  was  supplied.  It  was  something  like  a  boat  upon  a 
stand.  It  was  of  metal,  covered  with  a  lid,  and  furnished  with  a 
spoon.     (See  Plate  iii.,  fig.  9.) 

(19.)  The  custodia  was  a  massive  silver  receptacle,  formed  like  a 
church  or  temple,  in  which  the  host  was  deposited  and  carried  in 
solemn  processions. 

(20.)  Boette  d'or  pour  les  ablutions,'^  a  box  for  the  ablutions  of 
the  chalice. 

MISCELLANEOUS   ARTICLES   OP   PLATE    OR   UTENSILS. 

(1.)  The  holy  water  vat  was  in  form  something  like  a  silver 
bread-basket  or  a  bucket,  and  was  furnished  with. 

An  aspergillum  or  sprinkle,  being  either  a  bunch  of  hyssop,  or  a 
brush  fixed  upon  a  handle.     (See  Plate  iii.,  figs.  26,  27.) 

The  holy  water  font  or  stoup,  was  a  stone  basin  under  a  canopied 
niche  near  the  south  door,  being  cut  out  of  the  thickness  of  the  wall. 

(2.)  Calefactorium,  in  French  rechavd,  was  a  chafing-dish  placed 
upon  the  altar  in  cold  weather  and  filled  with  charcoal.  One  men  ■ 
tioned  by  Du  Cange  was  of  silver  curiously  embossed  and  gilt,  and 
another  of  copper  embossed  and  gilt :  and  in  Notre  Dame  cathedral, 
in  Paris,  there  was — "a  rechaud  of  silver  chased,  having  rings  of 
silver,  and  mounted  upon  four  feet,  which  was  placed  upon  the 
altar  in  very  cold  weather."  r 

(3.)    Tintinnabulum  was  the  hand-bell,  rung  by  the  acolyth  at 

>  AsatBeauvais  cathedral.         >>  Fosb   i  96,  note  20.  <=  Schurtzfl.  p  564. 

<•  Staveley,  p.  190.  «  E-l.  dt  FariB.  f  Ibid.  p.  290. 


238  MISCELLANEOUS   UTENSILS   OP   THE    CHURCH. 

the  Tris-hagion  and  at  the  elevation  of  the  host,  admonishing  the 
people  to  adore.  In  some  instances  however  there  was  a  rood- 
turret  supplied  with  a  bell,  which  was  rung  on  those  occasions. 
(See  Plate  m.,  fig.  13.) 

(4.)  The  oantoral  staff  was  used  by  the  precentor  as  a  baton  to 
regulate  the  time  of  the  choir  and  denote  his  office.  It  was  also 
termed  serpentella:  one  belonging  to  Notre  Dame  was  of  silver 
gilt,  ornamented  with  fleurs-de-lis,  and  surmounted  by  a  niche 
containing  an  image  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  Round  it  were  written 
texts  of  Scripture,  such  as  "  Take  my  staff  in  thine  hand  and  go  thy 
way."^     (See  Plate  in.,  figs.  29,  30.) 

In  the  same  church  there  was  also  a  staff  with  an  image  of  the 
Virgin  at  the  top  and  a  serpent  at  the  lower  extremity,  which,  it  is 
stated,  was  "  used  upon  each  Sunday  to  announce  in  the  sacristy 
who  are  to  be  the  officiants  of  the  week."''  Possibly  it  may  have 
been  handed  to  each  of  them  in  rotation  in  token  of  investiture. 

(5.)  The  chrismatmy  was  an  oblong  box  with  a  crested  lid,  like 
the  roof  of  a  house,  containing  the  three  bottles  of  holy  oil,  arranged 
in  compartments  like  a  cruet  stand.  These  bottles  were  for  the 
most  part  globular,  and  with  long  taper  necks.  (See  Plate  in.,  fig.  25, 
and  also  fig.  22.) 

In  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  there  was  a  silver  box  for  the 
cream,  used  in  the  consecration  of  these  oils  upon  Holy  Thursday. 

(6.)  The  salarium,^  or  salt-cellar,  mentioned  in  inventories  of 
church  plate,  was  used  at  baptism,  and  in  the  consecration  of  holy 
water,  &c. 

(7.)  Unicultis^  was  the  poor-box,  having  a  hole  in  the  upper  part 
for  the  reception  of  money.  At  Outwell,  in  Norfolk,  there  is  a 
grotesque  head  carved  upon  the  poor-box,  the  open  mouth  of  which 
answers  the  same  purpose. 

(8.)  Hutches  or  chests,  for  storing  valuables,  are  frequently  deserv- 
ing of  attention  from  the  exquisite  manner  in  which  they  are  carved. 
That  at  East  Dereham,  in  Norfolk,  is  particularly  fine.  The  cardinal 
and  theological  virtues,  and  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  the 
subjects  of  the  wood-work,  and  our  Lord's  Nativity  is  represented 
upon  the  iron  lock.  A  very  ancient  one  in  the  church  of  St.  Mary 
the  Great,  Cambridge,  is  also  well  worthy  of  notice. 

(9.)  Processional  banners  have  been  already  mentioned,  but  there 
were  also  crosses  borne  in  procession,  the  cross  itself  being  fixed 
upon  the  top  of  a  long  staff. 

In  the  Melford  catalogue  several  cross  cloths  are  specified,  some  of 
them  having  been  of  silk.  These  I  suppose  to  have  been  banners 
hung  from  the  point  where  the  cross  terminated  as  an  ornamental 
addition.     (See  Plate  ui.,  fig.  28.) 

(10.)    "  In  some  churches,"  says  Durandus,  "  they  hang  up  two 

g  Egl.  de  Paris,  p.  295.  ^  Ibid-  p.  298. 

'  Du  Cange  in  voce,  k  Du  Cange  in  voce.     See  also  Archseol.vol.  xx. 


MISCELLANEOUS   UTENSILS    OF   THE    CHUKCH,  239 

ostrich's  eggs,  or  the  like,  which  from  their  rarity  may  excite  admi- 
ration and  attract  the  people  to  church." 

(11.)  Lapis  ignitus,  otherwise  petra  cum  calibe,  i.e.  the  flint  and 
steel  kept  in  the  vestry  to  light  the  new  fire  upon  Easter  Eve,  all 
the  lights  of  the  former  year  having  been  extinguished  with  holy 
water.' 

(12.)  Serta,  or  garlands,  of  which  there  were  five  belonging  to 
Salisbury  cathedral,  silver-gilt  and  set  with  precious  stones."  They 
were  probably  worn  by  some  of  the  officiating  clergy  in  processions, 
as  represented  in  some  of  the  plates  to  Picart ;  or  they  may  have 
been  used  to  adorn  the  images  of  the  saints ;  or  placed  upon  the 
heads  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom  at  a  wedding.  In  the  Greek 
church  silver  crowns  are  placed  upon  their  heads.  There  were 
several  garlands  at  Melford.  Burial  garlands  have  been  already  noticed. 

(13.)  Velum  nuptiale  was  an  ornamental  veil  kept  in  the  church 
and  thrown  over  the  bride  at  the  time  of  the  ceremony.  A  veil  was 
also  used  when  a  woman  came  to  be  churched. 

(14.)  "  Eight  peyer  of  coral  bedes  with  their  gaudies  (i.e.  decades) 
and  a  crucifix"  were  among  the  treasures  of  the  Corpus  Christi  shrine 
at  York,"  and  were  probably  lent  to  those  who  visited  the  shrine  to 
assist  them  in  their  devotions,  or  used  by  the  clergy  belonging  to  the 
church.  There  were  several  other  rosaries  belonging  to  this  shrine 
and  several  at  Melford. 

(15.)  Among  the  miscellaneous  articles  included  in  the  catalogue 
of  the  Corpus  Christi  shrine  at  York,  I  find — . 

"  Six  corse  gyrdles  beying  typped,  having  buckles. 

"  A  pep'  box,  weighing  6  oz.  3  gr. 

"  Nine  ryngs,  with  counterfeit  stones  in  three  of  them. 

"  Three  buckles  with  a  cheyne,  a  triangle,  a  harte,  a  tache,  a  little 
ryng. 

"  A  pomaunder  of  gold. 

"  A  litle  tablett  of  gold,  and  w'in  y"  same  an  ymage  of  Seynt 
Kat'yne  of  mother  of  pearle. 

"  Eight  tabletts  of  sev'all  facions,  having  in  some  of  them  counter- 
feit stones. 

**  Seventeen  silv'  spones  of  sev'all  sorts,  weighing  20  oz. 

"  Four  cristal  stones. 

"  Two  Seynt  James'  shells." 

(16.)  When  a  king,  a  nobleman,  or  any  other  patron  endowed  a 
church  with  lands  or  tenements,  it  was  customary  for  him  to  place  a 
knife,  a  horn,  or  some  jewel  upon  the  altar  in  token  of  investiture. 
This  may  probably  account  for  some  of  the  miscellaneous  items 
enumerated  in  the  above  and  other  catalogues.  Ladies  also  fre- 
quently presented  their  necklaces  and  jewels  to  decorate  the  shrines 
and  images  of  a  church." 

I    DnCange.     Item  Darand.  lib  vi.  c.  80,  §  2. 

m  Britton's  Salisbury,  ubi  supra.  "  Arcbaeol.  vol   x. 

o    Blomefield's  Norfolk,  8?o.  edit.,  ix.  213,  x.  105,  et  passim. 


(    240    ) 

THE  LIGHTS  AND   CANDLES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

These  were  in  most  instances  of  lattyn  or  brass. 

(1.)  Flowers  or  candlesticks  were  sometimes  single  and  sometimes 
branched.     Thus  at  Melford  there  were — 

"  Two  great  candlesticks. 

"  Two  second  candlesticks  called  secondans. 

"  A  candlestick  of  lattyn,  with  ten  branches  before  y^  image  of 
Jesus. 

"  A  candlestick  with  three  branches  belonging  to  the  Trinity. 

"  A  candlestick  with  ten  branches  before  the  High  Altar,"  &c. 

At  Witchingham  in  Norfolk, 

"  Twenty-four  candlesticks  of  laten  for  the  rood-loft." 

And  in  the  churchwardens'  accounts,  S.  Helen's,  Abingdon,  we 
find  mention  made  of  the  font  taper  used  at  the  sacrament  of  Bap- 
tism. 

A  great  deal  of  information  upon  this  subject  will  be  found  in 
"  the  Antiquities  of  the  Abbey  or  Cathedral  Church  of  Durham,"  by 
Davies,  reprinted  in  1767. 

The  consecration  candle  was  larger  than  the  rest  and  lighted  at 
the  commencement  of  the  canon.     (See  Plate  m.,  figs.  3,  l7.) 

(2.)  The  Paschal  candlestick  was  very  large  and  richly  orna- 
mented. It  contained  an  enormously  thick  wax  candle,  which  was 
lighted  on  the  morning  of  Easter-day,  the  wax  itself  being  curiously 
adorned  with  grains  of  incense  and  inscribed  with  the  epact  domi- 
nical letter,  &c.,  also  the  names  of  the  reigning  Pope,  king,  and 
bishop  of  the  diocese,  and  the  date  of  the  consecration  of  the 
church.'* 

(3.)  Coronce  were  lustres  of  a  circular  form  and  with  candles  set 
round  them.  They  hung  from  the  roof,  and  were  fi-equently  in 
stages  representing  a  crown.     (See  Plate  m.,  at  the  top.) 

(4.)  Lampades,  or  lamps,  supplied  with  oil  or  tallow,  and  cressets, 
or  basins,  may  be  conveniently  classed  together  from  the  similarity 
of  their  use.  These  generally  hung  from  the  roof  before  an 
image,  but  sometimes  the  stone  bracket  before  an  image  was  hol- 
lowed out  into  the  form  of  a  basin  filled  with  tallow  and  supplied 
with  a  wick.  Thus  at  Durham  "  on  every  side  was  a  large  image 
whereon  stood  a  square  stone  which  had  twelve  cressets  wrought 
therein  and  were  filled  with  tallow,  and  every  night  one  of  them 
was  lighted  to  give  light  to  the  monks  at  midnight  when  they  came 
to  matins."  q  Another  sort  of  cresset  was  a  species  of  fire- basket 
supplied  with  wood  for  fuel,  and  hung  upon  a  church  tower,  a  beacon 
turret,  or  before  an  image  in  the  open  air.  At  Durham  there  were 
three  fine  silver  basins  with  chains  of  the  same  metal  hanging  before 
the  high  altar,  having  great  wax  candles  in  them  which  burned 
night  and  day.  The  terms  "  the  basin  light,"  "  the  nywell  light," 
and  "  the  beam  light,"  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  old  inventories. 

P  Da  Cange,  Cereas  Paschalis.  q  Antiq.  of  Durham,  p.  25. 


PANEL    PAINTINGS   AND   SCULPTURE.  241 

(5.)  Hercia  ad  tenebras,  otherwise  called  ezra  or  ooca,  was  a  tri- 
angular stand  containing  fourteen  yellow  wax  candles,  to  signify  the 
Apostles  and  the  three  Maries,  and  a  white  one  in  the  centre  to 
represent  the  Saviour.  These  gradually  rose  one  above  another. — 
At  the  Tenebrce  in  Passion  week  fourteen  psalms  were  recited,  and 
a  taper  extinguished  at  the  end  of  each,  and  finally  the  taper  of 
white  wax  still  lighted  was  concealed  near  the  altar,  so  as  to  leave 
the  church  in  total  darkness.""     (See  Plate  in.  fig.  19.) 

(6.)  A  standing  herse,  otherwise  termed  a  catafalque  or  chapelle 
ardente,  was  erected  in  a  church  when  the  body  of  some  illustrious 
person  was  to  lie  in  state.  It  was  ornamented  with  banners  and 
escutcheons,  and  supplied  with  a  vast  number  of  wax  tapers.* 
(Plate  II.  fig.  3.) 

(7.)  Taper  staves,  to  carry  in  processions,  were  long  wooden 
wands  with  a  socket  for  a  candle  at  the  top.  Sometimes  they  were 
supplied  with  three  branches,  and  sometimes  there  is  a  crucifix  in 
the  centre  between  two  lights. 

(8.)  Torches,  also  carried  in  processions,  require  no  description. 
The  term  "Judas  torch"  occurs  in  one  old  inventory  which  I  have  seen. 

(9.)  Boeta  lucema,  the  lantern  carried  before  the  host  when  the 
priest  went  in  rough  weather  to  visit  the  sick.   (See  Plate  in.  fig.  23).* 

PICTURES   AND  IMAGES TABLES,   TAPESTRY,    &e. 

(1.)  Panel  paintings  at  the  back  of  the  altar,  &c.  were  some- 
times large  squares  or  oblongs,  representing  some  entire  legend  or 
scripture  subject.  At  other  times  the  altar-screen  was,  like  the 
rood-screen,  in  narrow  compartments,  each  of  which  contained  a 
picture  of  some  saint  with  his  appropriate  emblem  ;  his  head  being 
surmounted  by  a  nimbus,  and  with  a  diaper  pattern  painted  in  the 
back-ground.     The  heading  of  the  compartment  serves  as  a  canopy. 

The  same  description  applies  to  the  lower  part  of  the  rood-screen, 
Norfolk  being  richer  in  specimens  than  any  part  of  the  kingdom ; 
those  of  Worstead  and  Rand  worth  are  probably  the  finest  in  the  county. 

(2.)  Images  were  sometimes  of  solid  silver.  Thus,  at  Salisbury 
there  was  **  one  of  the  Deity  with  our  Saviour  young,  74  oz. ;  one 
of  our  Lady,  50  oz.  Another  great  and  fair  image  of  S.  Osmund, 
83  oz.  of  silver  gilt,  and  ornate  with  precious  stones  and  pearles." 
And  at  Durham  cathedral  there  was  a  representation  of  our  Lord's 
Passion,  with  S.  John  on  one  side  and  the  blessed  Virgin  on  the 
other,  "  being  large  pictures  of  a  yard  of  five  quarters  long,"  very 
richly  wrought  in  silver,  all  smoked  black  over,  and  on  every  one  of 
their  heads  a  crown  of  pure  beaten  gold." " 

'  Brit.  Mag.  Oct.  1842,  p.  416. 

•  See  Plates  ia  Vetusta  Monumenta  relating  to  Abbot  I  slip. 

»  "The  Snuffers  (says  Durandus)  represent  the  word  of  God,  with  which  we  cut 
off  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  show  forth  the  brightness  of  the  Spirit  ;  and  the  Ex- 
tinrjuisher  represents  the  hearts  of  the  faithful,  which  strictly  obey  the  very  letter 
of  the  law."  (Lib.  i.  c.  3.  Num   28  ) 

"  Antiq.  of  Durham,  p.  22. 

R 


242  DECORATION    OF    CHURCHES    BY  PAINTING,  &C. 

The  generality  of  these  images  were  however  carved  in  wood  or 
stone.  The  "  imago  principalis  in  cancello"  was  the  image  of  the 
patron  Saint  of  the  church  in  its  chancel. 

On  their  festivals  and  other  solemn  occasions,  they  were  splendidly 
dressed  and  decorated  with  jewels.  Thus  in  the  Melford  catalogue 
are  specified  the 

"  IF  Coats  hdonging  to  our  Lady. 

"  A  coat  for  the  good  days  of  cloth  of  tissue  bordered  with  white, 
and  for  her  Son  another  of  the  same. 

"  A  coat  of  crimson  velvet,  and  another  for  her  Son. 
"  A  coat  of  white  damask  bordered  with  green  velvet. 
"  A  vestment  of  green  satin,"  &c. 

(3.)  Tables  of  alabaster,  sculptured  in  relief,  painted  and  gilt, 
are  of  frequent  occurrence.  There  is  one  at  S.  Peter's,  Mancroft 
church,  Norwich  ;  another  at  S.  Stephen's,  Norwich,  and  another  at 
Melford,  Suffolk. 

(4.)  Tapestries,  representing  scrijjtural  subjects  or  legends,  were 
often  hung  upon  the  church  walls.  Altar  cloths  and  vestments  were 
also  often  beautifully  adorned  with  needlework,  in  which  our  fair 
countrywomen  excelled. 

From  the  Melford  catalogue  it  appears  that  scriptural  subjects 
were  frequently  stained  upon  cloth. 

(5.)  Frescoes  (using  the  term  loosely  to  signify  paintings  upon 
sized  plaister)  may  frequently  be  traced  upon  the  walls  of  our 
ancient  churches.  Thus  at  Catfield  church  in  Norfolk,  the  whole 
space  above  the  pier-arches  upon  both  sides  is  painted  with  repre- 
sentations of  the  wheel  of  fortune,  seven  sacraments,  seven  mortal 
sins  and  their  punishment,  and  various  legends.  Sometimes  diaper 
patterns  are  painted  upon  the  walls,  and  the  image  of  S.  Christopher 
carrying  the  infant  Saviour  is  often  painted  upon  a  large  scale  over 
the  north  door. 

(6.)  Of  stained  glass  there  are  too  many  beautiful  specimens  in 
the  kingdom  to  require  a  particular  description.  The  early  specimens 
are  like  mosaic  work,  being  small  pieces  of  one  colour,  each  being 
separately  leaded. "  Mention  is  made  of  this  species  of  ornament 
about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century,  but  that  in  the  aisles  to  the 
choir  of  Canterbury  cathedral,  made  about  the  beginning  of  the 
twelfth  century,  is  probably  our  oldest  English  example. 

(7.)  Prior  Craiidm's  chapel  at  Ely  contains  a  very  curious 
mosaic  pavement,  representing  the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  but  I 
know  not  of  any  other  instance  of  the  kind. 

Encaustic  tiles,  which  being  laid  together  form  a  sort  of  diaper 
pattern,  are  by  no  means  uncommon,  and  these  pavements  are  often 
very  beautiful. ' 

"  See  GcDt.  Mag.  Apr.  1817,  p.  309.     Also  Brayley's  Graphic  Illustrator,  p.  9. 
"  Gent.  Mag.  July  1834,  p.  41.  j    /  r 


AXCIENT    ART — ROOD-LOFTS MUSIC.  243 

(8.)  Wood  carvings  of  angels  or  the  like,  are  frequently  obser\'- 
able  in  the  interior  of  the  roof. 

The  misereres  under  the  stalls,  and  the  poppy-heads  at  the  ends 
of  the  benches,  are  often  grotesquely  carved  :  and  the  gurgoyles,  or 
grotesque  stone  heads  containing  water-spouts,  belong  to  the  same 
category. 

A  vemakill  (called  also  veronica)  was  a  handkerchief  or  napkin, 
whereon  was  the  representation  of  our  Saviour's  face.  One  of  these 
was  given  to  the  abbey  of  West  Dereham,  Norfolk. " 

The  mappa  mundi,  often  placed  over  the  altar,  was  a  picture 
of  the  Day  of  Judgment. 

An  All-hallows  was  a  picture  or  a  sculptured  representation  of 
all  the  saints. 

A  Jesse  was  a  representation  of  our  Saviour's  genealogy,  like  a 
tree  proceeding  from  the  root  of  Jesse  (David's  father),  each  genera- 
tion being  represented  in  effigy  at  the  ends  of  the  branches. 

The  cai'dinal  and  theological  virtues,  works  of  mercy,  and  other 
allegorical  subjects,  were  often  represented  in  churches. 

My  catalogue  of  Saints'  Emblems,  published  in  the  first  number  of 
the  Archaeological  Journal,  will  materially  assist  the  reader  in  the 
interpretation  of  ancient  art. 

THE   ROOD-LOFT THE   MINSTRELS*   GALLERY — CHURCH   MUSIC. 

(1.)  The  rood-loft  was  in  most  instances  a  gallery  under  the 
chancel-arch,  and  received  its  name  from  a  large  image  of  our 
Saviour  on  the  cross  (or  rood),  together  with  those  of  the  blessed 
Virgin  and  S.  John  the  Evangelist,  fixed  upon  the  outer  ledge  facing 
the  west.  It  was  ascended  by  a  well  staircase,  and  specimens  still 
exist  (but  of  course  without  the  images)  at  Guilden  Morden,  Cam- 
bridgeshire; Honiton  and  Totncss,  Devon  ;*  Mawgan  in  Cornwall; 
Lullingston,  Kent;  Skeffington,  Leicestershire;  Sherringham,  Fuu- 
denhall,  and  Attleborough,  Norfolk,  &c. :  but  in  most  instances  the 
rood-screens  alone  remain  between  the  nave  and  chancel,  the  loft 
itself  having  been  removed.     (See  Plate  ii.  fig.  6.) 

The  rood-loft  was  used  as  a  gallery  for  the  clerks  who  sang  during 
the  intervals  of  the  mass;  and  "on  Good  Friday  a  priest  standing 
by  the  rood  sang  the  Passion," 

(2.)  A  minstrels'  gallery,  forming  a  sort  of  orchestra  for  the 
accommodation  of  vocal  and  instrumental  performers,  though  not 
uncommon  in  continental  churches,  is  very  rarely  met  with  in  this 
country.  There  is  a  gallery  of  this  sort  over  the  altar-screen  at 
Chichester  cathedral,  and  another,  much  more  remarkable,  near  the 
middle  of  the  north  side  of  the  choir  of  Exeter  cathedral.^  It  is 
supported  upon  thirteen  pillars,  between  every  two  of  which,  in  a 
niched  recess,  there  is  a  sculptured  representation  of  an  angel  play- 

^  Blomefield's  Norfolk,  folio  edit  iv.  93. 

*  Lysons'  Magna  Britannia,  vol.  vi.  p,  cccxxviii. 

y  It  is  engraved  in  Britten's  Exeter  Cathedral. 

H2 


244  THE    HOUR-GLASS   IN    THE   PULPIT. 

ing  upon  some  musical  instrument.  Among  these  we  observe  the 
cittern,  bagpipe,  harp,  violin,  pipe,  tambourine,  &c.  The  roof  of 
Outwell  church,  Norfolk,  and  the  minstrels'  column  at  Beverley, 
also  exhibit  a  great  variety  of  musical  instruments  anciently  used  in 
our  churches,  independently  of  the  organ  and  the  regalls,  which  was 
a  small  portable  organ,  having  one  row  of  pipes  giving  the  treble 
notes,  the  same  number  of  keys,  and  a  small  pair  of  bellows  moved 
with  the  left  hand. 

AMBO — PULPIT — FALDSTOOL — LETTERN CONFESSIONAL. 

(1.)  The  arnibo  was  a  large  square  pulpit  or  desk,  ascended  by 
two  flights  of  steps,  and  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  nave  of  a 
primitive  church,  i  Here  the  clergy  stood  while  they  recited  that 
part  of  the  service  at  which  the  catechumens,  penitents,  and  ener- 
gumens  were  allowed  to  be  present.  One  of  these  primitive  ambos 
is  represented  in  Plate  il.  fig.  4. 

(2.)  Singularly  enough,  the  pulpit  is  not  included  in  any  cata- 
logue of  church  furniture  set  forth  in  this  country  during  the  middle 
ages.*  There  are,  nevertheless,  pulpits  of  undoubted  antiquity  in 
various  parts  of  the  kingdom  :  there  are  wooden  pulpits  at  Stow  in 
Lincolnshire,  Madeley,  Lutterworth,  &c. ;  and  stone  pulpits  at 
Molton,  Bovey  Tracey,  Chittlehampton,  &c. 

Anciently  the  water-glass,  termed  clepsydra,  and  the  sand-glass, 
termed  horologium  sciotericum,  w^ere  employed  to  regulate  the 
duration  of  the  sermon.  An  iron  stand  for  an  hour-glass  is  frequently 
seen  at  the  corner  of  an  old  pulpit,  and  sometimes  tlie  glass,  itself 
curiously  painted  and  adorned,  still  remains,  as  at  S.  Alban's, 
Wood-street,  London.  ^ 

(3.)  l^he  faldstool  was  a  portable  kneeling-desk.  (See  Plate  iii. 
fig.  20.) 

(4.)  The  lettern,  or  analogium,  was  a  moveable  reading-desk, 
breast  high,  from  which  the  epistle  and  gospel  were  read  and  a  few 
other  parts  of  the  service,  c  Some  of  the  existing  specimens  are  of 
wood,  like  a  double  desk  turning  on  a  pivot,  and  some  of  bronze, 
commonly  like  an  eagle  or  a  pelican,  with  expanded  wings.  (See 
Plate  III.  fig.  24.) 

(5.)  The  confessional  is  usually  represented  upon  fonts  as  a  high- 
backed  chair,  in  which  the  priest  sat  while  the  penitent  knelt  before 
him.  At  Crewkerne  in  Somersetshire,  there  is  a  door  on  each  side 
of  the  altar,  leading  to  a  small  confessional  room  at  the  back  ;  and 
at  Bishop's  Cannings  in  Wiltshire,  there  is  a  confessional  pew.  At 
Norwich  cathedral,  the  voice  of  the  penitent  passed  through  a  hole 
in  the  wall  near  the  altar.  Similar  to  this  is  the  confessional  in  the 
Beauchamp  chapel,  Warwick. 

'■  Bingham,  b.  yiii.  c.  5.  §  4.    Item  Staveley,  chap.  xii. 

»  Sermons  were  often  delivered  atthe  preaching  cross,  or  from  the  steps  of  the  altar. 

*>  Gent.  Mag.  Sept.  1822.    Item  Burii  Onomasticon,  p  432. 

c  Fosb.  i.  95. 

''  Brit.  Mag  April  1835. 


(     245     ) 

THE   FONT   AND   ITS   CANOPIES. 

Fonts  were  usually  but  not  invariably  of  stone ;  *  sufficiently  ca- 
pacious to  admit  of  the  total  immersion  of  an  infant ;  lined  with  lead, 
and  having  a  drain  to  carry  off  the  water  (with  a  plug).  They  were 
raised  upon  steps,  and  stood  towards  the  west  of  the  nave. 

Those  which  may  probably  be  ascribed  to  Saxon  or  Norman  times 
present  a  great  variety  of  form.  That  of  Kirkburn  in  Yorkshire  is 
cylindrical ;  that  of  Hereford  cathedral  is  semiglobular ;  that  of 
S.  Peter's,  Oxford,  is  oval;  that  of  Newington  in  Kent,  is  fixed 
against  the  wall,  beaufet  fashion ;  and  that  at  Winchester  cathedral 
is  square.  It  is  of  black  marble,  rudely  sculptured  with  legends  from 
the  life  of  S.  Nicholas  (?),  and  has  been  engraved  in  the  Antiquarian 
Repertory  J  In  the  later  specimens  the  octangular  form  is  almost 
invariable. 

The  sculptures  with  which  our  English  fonts  are  decorated,  are 
too  various  to  admit  of  classification.  I  would,  however,  particu- 
larly direct  the  reader's  attention  to  the  font  of  Winchester  cathedral 
just  referred  to ;  and  to  those  of  Burnham  Deepdale,  and  Fincham, 
Norfolk,  and  that  of  Melton  in  Suflblk,  engraved  in  the  tenth  volume 
of  the  Archaeologia ;  and  to  the  very  interesting  collection  of  fonts 
recently  published  by  Mr,  Van  Voorst. 

In  some  cases  the  font  is  surmounted  by  a  lofty  pyramidal  top, 
richly  carved  in  wood,  with  pinnacles  and  niches, — as  at  Worstead 
and  Castle  Acre  in  Norfolk :  and  sometimes  (though  very  rarely)  we 
observe  a  spacious  canopy  over  the  font  (analogous  to  a  ciborium) 
supported  upon  columns,  and  sufficiently  large  to  accommodate  the 
whole  baptismal  party.  There  is  one  of  these  at  Luton  church, 
Bedfordshire,^  and  another  at  Trunch  church,  Norfolk.  The  latter 
(which  is  of  wood,  painted  and  gilt)  is  represented  in  Plate  n.  fig.  2. 
At  Hingham  church  in  Norfolk,  there  is  a  curious  cancrine  inscrip- 
tion over  the  font,  which,  whether  it  is  read  backwards  or  forwards, 
is  exactly  the  same,  viz. 

Nl^ONANOMHMAMHMONANOI'IN 
(Ni\poy  avouTffia  firf  ^omv  o^iv) 
Wash  tliy  sin,  not  only  thy  face, 

8EMANTRA BELLS. 

(1.)  Before  the  invention  of  church  bells  (circa  a.d.  400),  the 
people  were  summoned  to  divine  service  by  the  sound  of  a  table  of 
wood,  brass,  or  iron,  struck  like  a  gong,  and  termed  arjfxavTpov  :  nor 
was  its  use  totally  discontinued  for  some  ages  afterwards,  for  we 
find  it  noticed  in  Archbishop  Lanfranc's  Monastic  Institutes,  written 
after  the  Conquest.     The  x^'potrtiiJiavTpoy,  used  to  this  very  day  in 

e  Some  are  of  lead,  as  that  at  Plumstead  Magna,  Norfolk  ;  and  there  was  one  of 
carved  wood  at  the  Strangers*  Hall,  Norwich, 
f  By  Tjrose  and  Astle,  4  vols.  4to.  1807-9.  '  Gent.  Mag.  1778  p,  505. 


246  BAPTISM   OF   BELLS ^MISERERES. 

the  Greek  cliurch  for  the  same  purpose,  is  a  slab  of  Avood,  curved 
slightly,  hollowed  in  the  middle,  and  struck  with  a  wooden  mallet. '' 

(2.)  Bells  are  of  very  early  introduction  into  this  country,  having 
been  expressly  mentioned  by  Bede  : '  but  the  first  peal  of  bells  of 
which  we  have  any  notice  in  English  history,  was  that  belonging  to 
the  abbey  of  Crowland  in  the  ninth  century,  and  consisting  of  seven.  J 

In  the  middle  ages,  each  bell  was  solemnly  baptized  by  the  bishop 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ;  receiving  the 
name  of  some  saint,  and  signed  with  the  sign  of  the  cross.  Sponsors 
were  (I  believe)  appointed.  The  bell  itself  was  covered  with  drapery : 
holy  water,  salt,  cream,  tapers,  &c.  were  employed  during  the  cere- 
mony, and  the  bishop  prayed  that  the  Lord  would  "  sanctify  it  with 
(His)  Holy  Spirit. ..pour  upon  it  (His)  heavenly  blessing... and... in- 
fuse into  it  the  heavenly  dew  of  (His)  Holy  Ghost,  that  the  devil 
may  always  flee  before  the  sound  thereof." 

In  the  reformed  Tridentine  Breviary,  this  ceremony  occupies 
thirteen  pages  in  12mo.  I** 

A  leonine  verse  is  often  found  stamped  upon  a  bell ;  ex.  gr. 
•In  •  ®5omc  •  SautJc  •  Kcgono  •  Mm  •  33om  •  5btne  •  iFraulic  ^ 

SEATS  OF  THE  CLERGY SEATS  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 

(1.)  The  Bishop's  throne  (from  which  the  term  cathedral  is  de- 
rived ')  in  primitive  times  stood  in  the  very  centre  of  the  apse, 
behind  the  altar,  the  seats  of  the  presbyters  being  arranged  on 
each  side  in  a  semicircle.  The  throne  of  Exeter  cathedral,  under 
a  richly  carved  and  crocketed  canopy,  rising  to  the  very  roof  of  the 
choir,  is  by  far  the  most  beautiful  in  England.  That  at  Durham 
is  also  remarkably  fine ;  and  a  more  ancient  specimen  may  be 
seen  in  Hope's  Architecture." 

Independently  of  his  fixed  throne,  the  bishop  had  a  moveable  seat 
which  might  be  placed  for  his  accommodation  near  the  altar  or  in 
other  parts  of  the  church.  It  was  usually  a  folding  chair,  which 
might  be  opened  like  an  X,  whence  it  was  termed  fMistorium  or 
sella  plicatilis. " 

(2.)    The  sedilia  have  been  already  described,  p.  231. 

(3.)  In  conventual  churches  (whether  cathedral  or  coUegiate)  we 
usually  observe  a  number  of  stalls,  under  rich  gothic  canopies,  carried 
along  the  walls  of  the  choir  on  both  sides,  from  its  western  entrance 
almost  to  the  throne.  These  were  for  the  senior  monks,  and  were 
usually  supplied  with  the  hinged  seats  called  misereres,  which  being 
turned  up,  supplied  a  narrow  ledge  on  which  the  aged  monk  was 
allowed  as  an  indulgence  "  to  support  himself,  half  sitting,  half  lean- 
ing, during  the  parts  of  their  long  service :    when  turned  down  it 

h  Schurtzfl.  pp.  402,  407.  In  Picart's  Relig.  Cerem.,  Lond.  1776,  vol.  v,  p.  94 
and  148,  the  reader  will  find  a  full  description,  and  also  an  engraving  of  a  metal 
specimen.  i  Hist.  lib.  iv.  c.  23. 

j  Inpulph.  edid.  Saville,  Lond.  1596,  p.  505.         i'  Paris,  1646,  p.  385,  SiC. 

'  X«^«^/"»  sedes.  m  piate  xxvi. 

"  Frontisp  fig.  7.  "  Hence  the  name. 


PEN'ITKNTIAL   DISCIPLINE   IN   ANCIENT    TIMES.  247 

Avas  as  large  as  an  ordinary  seat.     Misereres  were  often  grotesquely 
carved. 

(4.)    Forms  for  the  inferior  monks  were  placed  in  front  of  the  stalls.'' 

(5.)   Seats  of  the  people  were  usually   long  forms  with  backs, 

carved  at  the  ends  with  poppy-heads,  and  sometimes  with  open  work 

at  the  back,  and  grotesque  figures  of  animals,  forming  a  sort  of 

outer  elbow.'' 

(6.)  Pews  and  galleries  were  anciently  very  rare,  but  not  abso- 
lutely unknown.  There  is  an  ancient  pew  at  Melford,  and  an 
ancient  gallery  at  the  west  end  of  Worstead  church,  Norfolk. 

STOOL   OF   PENANCE — FINGER   PILLOllY — TUMBREL,  &C. 

(1.)  The  stool  of  penance  was  a  moveable  wooden  stool,  on  which 
any  one  who  had  been  guilty  of  some  public  and  notorious  vice,  was 
condemned  to  stand  during  the  service,  and  do  penance  before  the 
whole  congregation  in  a  white  sheet,  with  a  taper  in  his  hand,  and 
a  statement  of  his  crime  fastened  upon  his  breast. 

In  Lanfranc's  Monastic  Institutes,  mention  is  made  of  the  gradus 
satisfactionum/  the  step  on  which  delinquent  monks  did  penance 
before  their  brethren. 

(2.)  The  finger  pillory,  used  to  punish  brawlers  in  the  church, 
was  a  table  with  grooves  about  the  depth  of  half  a  man's  finger, 
covered  with  a  hinged  board  ;  having  corresponding  hollows,  and  a 
hasp  at  the  end.  In  this  the  brawler's  finger  might  be  fixed  as  in 
the  stocks,  which  exposed  him  to  the  derision  of  the  whole  congre- 
gation. That  at  Ashby-de-la-Zouche  is  probably  the  only  example 
in  the  kingdom." 

(3.)  The  TUMBREL,  coke-stool,  cucking-stool,  cuchk-stool,  or  duck- 
ing-stool, was  a  wooden  seat  like  a  chair,  on  which  a  scold  or  lewd 
woman  was  placed  and  lowered  into  the  water,  by  means  of  ropes 
fastened  to  the  upper  part.  Specimens  may  be  seen  in  Cruden's 
"  History  of  Gravesend." 

(4.)  The  discipline,  with  which  delinquent  monks  and  other  peni- 
tents were  scourged,  is  sometimes  represented  as  a  birch  rod,  but 
more  commonly  as  a  handle  with  a  number  of  thongs  knotted  or 
leaded,     (See  Frontisp.  fig.  2.) 

(5.)  The  cell  called  little  ease,  occasionally  found  in  conventual 
churches,  in  which  one  monk  might  be  confined  at  a  time,  was  too 
narrow  in  its  dimensions  for  the  prisoner  either  to  sit  or  lie  down. 
Sometimes  it  commanded  a  view  of  the  altar. ' 

(6.)  Vexillum  cilidnum  was  a  banner  of  haircloth,  carried  before 
the  clergy  when  they  went  in  procession  on  Holy  Thursday  to 
receive  the  penitents  at  the  church  door." 

P  Du  Caoge,  voce  Forma. 

1  In  the  Greek  church,  the  people  stand  during  Divine  service,  supporting  them- 
selves upon  crutches  or  sticks.  ^  Wilk.  i.  349. 
•  Gent.  Mag.  Nov,  1840,  p,  465. 

»  Britton,  Arch.  Diet,  voce  Prison.   Item  Gent.  Mag.  Nov.  1783,  Jan.  1784. 
u  Du  Cange  in  Toce. 


248  THE    USE    OF    SAKUM — SPLENDID   BOOKS. 

§  6.   Liturgical  and  Devotional  Books. 

Various  modes  of  celebrating  the  Divine  offices  formerly  prevailed 
in  different  parts  of  the  world  ;  of  which  the  Liturgies  of  S.  James, 
S.  Basil,  and  S.  Chrysostom,  the  Arabrosian,  Gregorian,  and  Mo- 
sarabic  Liturgies,  the  last  of  which  was  used  in  Spain,  and  the 
"  Curms  Gdlicanus,"  (analysed  in  my  introductory  discourse,)  are 
remarkable  examples:^  and  a  reference  has  been  made  to  a  very 
ancient  essay  upon  this  subject  published  by  Sir  Henry  Spelman. 
The  difterence  to  which  I  allude  did  not  in  the  least  affect  the  fun- 
damental articles  of  religion,  and  when  it  applied  only  to  national 
forms,  was  of  very  little  importance :  when,  however,  (as  was  the 
case  in  England)  various  service-books  were  employed  in  the  same 
kingdom,  this  want  of  uniformity  must  have  been  productive  of  the 
most  serious  inconvenience.  Five  different  rituals  were  used  in  this 
country  before  the  Reformation  :  viz.  the  "  Uses"  of  Sahsbury  (or 
Sarum),  Hereford,  Bangor,  York,  and  Lincoln;  and  indeed  the  history 
of  the  "  Use  of  Sarum"  clearly  exemplifies  the  nature  of  the  evU." 

About  the  year  1067,  Thurstan,  a  Norman,  appointed  abbot  of 
Glastonbury,  endeavoured  to  obtrude  a  new  service  upon  his  monks, 
introducing  soldiers  into  the  very  church  to  enforce  obedience. 
This  gave  rise  to  a  most  disgraceful  brawl,  in  which  eight  monks 
were  wounded,  and  two  slain.  Church  forms,  candlesticks,  and 
crucifixes  were  used  as  weapons  in  this  "  holy  war  :"  and  it  is  said, 
that  in  consequence  of  this,  Osmund,  bishop  of  Salisbury,  soon  after 
composed  the  celebrated  "  Use  of  Sarum"  which  was  so  generally 
adopted  in  England  ;  though  the  other  "  itses"  were  employed  to  a 
certain  extent." 

Before  the  middle  of  the  15th  century  the  service-books  were  all 
written  upon  vellum,  often  beautifully  illuminated,  and  splendidly 
bound.  I  have  seen  covers  of  massive  silver,  richly  chased  and 
gilt,  embossed  with  figures  of  saints,  and  adorned  with  jewels.  The 
expense  to  a  parish  of  the  books  mentioned  in  Winchelsey's  consti- 
tution must  have  been  enormous. 

On  the  other  hand  it  must  be  recollected,  that  the  durability  of 
these  vellum  books  compensated  in  a  great  degree  for  the  extent  of 
the  original  outlay  :  and  besides,  although  the  archbishop's  catalogue 
of  books  to  be  provided  at  the  expense  of  each  parish  wears  such  a 
formidable  appearance,  each  consisted  of  a  very  few  leaves.  Indeed 
the  Kalendarium,  Antiphonarium,  Venitare,  Ympnare,  Missale,  Col- 
lectare,  Epistolarium,  Evangelistarium,  Psalterium,  Rituale,  and  Pon- 
tificale,  are  all  substantially  included  in  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

In  nine  letters  published  in  the  Christian  Remembrancer,  in  the 
years  1839  and  1840,  I  gave  a  full  account  of  these  ancient  service- 
books  :  but  on  the  present  occasion  a  very  brief  alphabetical  list  is 
the  utmost  that  I  am  able  to  afford. 

»  See  the  Collections   of  Liturgies  by  Brett  and  Le  Bnin ;  also   Mabillon  de 
Lit.  Gall,  and  Thomassius,  Cod.  Sacram.  and  Goar's  ¥.uxo\oyiov. 
*  Pref.  to  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  ^  Fuller's  Ch.  Hist.  cent.  xi.  p.  8. 


(    249     ) 

^lpi)aibetical  Ht^t  of  I3oofi0. 

Abominarium,  a  book  containing  the  forms  of  anathema,  excom- 
munication, and  interdict.     {Du  Cange.) 

Agenda,  sometimes  signifies  the  Rittial,  sometimes  the  Benedictiondl 
(quod  vide),  and  sometimes  the  evening  service  of  the  church. 

Ala,  a  tablet,  containing  the  form  of  ordination  used  in  the 
Greek  church. 

Albus  (otherwise  matricula)  was  the  roll  of  the  clergy  belonging 
to  the  church.  Sometimes  it  means  the  kalendar,  containing  the 
names  and  anniversaries  of  the  saints. 

Alleluiaricm,  was  a  collection  of  the  allduiatici  psahni,  i.  e.  the 
twenty  psalms  to  which  Hallelujdh  !  is  prefixed.  Such  are  Psalms 
ciii.,  civ.,  cvi.,  &c.  The  superstitious  practice  observed  in  some  cathe- 
drals of  burying  the  Hallelujah  at  the  begining  of  Lent  (during  which 
it  was  never  chanted  in  the  choir)  is  described  in  Du  Cange's  Glos- 
sary." A  turf,  having  the  word  Alleluia  yfTitten  upon  it  in  golden 
characters,  was  carried  by  the  clergy  in  procession  like  a  coffin,  from 
the  choir  to  the  cemetery,  and  deposited  there. 

Allen.  The  creed  inscribed  in  golden  characters  upon  a  silver 
shield,  hung  up  in  a  church  or  oratory.     {Du  Cange.) 

ANA$9PA.    The  missal  of  the  Greek  church.     See  Missal. 

Antiphonarium.  The  book  containing  the  versicles  and  responses 
used  throughout  the  year ;  such  as  the  Introits  of  the  mass,  &c. 

The  Apocryphal  Gospels  were  well  known  in  England  during 
the  middle  ages.  Those  of  "  the  infancy"  were  translated  into  Anglo- 
Saxon  before  the  Conquest ;  and  Erasmus  tells  us  that  when  he 
visited  Canterbury  cathedral,  he  saw  the  Gospel  of  Nicodemus 
chained  to  one  of  the  columns  (for  the  use  of  the  laity).  * 

Apostolicum.  The  fourteen  Epistles  of  S.  Paul,  and  those  of 
SS.  Peter,  James,  John-^and  Jude,  collected  together  in  a  volume. 

APXIHPATIKON.  The  Greek  Pontijical,  Q.  v. 

Baptisterium,  probably  another  name  for  the  Ritual,  Q.  v. 

Benedictional.  a  book  for  the  use  of  bishops,  containing  forms 
of  benediction,  varied  according  to  the  festival  or  the  office  in  which 
they  were  engaged, — the  solemn  benediction  of  the  people  during 
the  mass  having  been  an  exclusively  episcopal  function.  The  Bene- 
dictional of  archbishop  Robert,  described  in  vol.  xxiii.  of  the  Archrco- 
logia,  and  that  of  S.  Ethelwold  in  vol.  xxiv.  will  give  the  reader  all 
the  information  that  he  can  require. 

The  latter  is  exceedingly  splendid,  being  enriched  with  many 
facsimiles  of  illuminations  executed  in  the  tenth  century,  (circa 
a.d.  978). 

Bibliotheca,  was  a  summary  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
compiled  by  Jerome. 

Breviarium.  »  A  book  for  the  use  of  the  clergy  containing  the 

y  Vocibus  AUeluia  Clausum,  item  AUeluiaticee  Exequia. 
«  Pcrigr.  Religionis  Erjfo. 

»  See  my  letter  in  the  Christian  Remembrancer,  June  1839,  p.  356,  &c. ;  also  the 
first  letter  in  the  series. 


250  ALPHABETICAL   LIST   OF   BOOKS. 

psalms,  hymns,  lessons,  versicles,  responds,  collects,  &c.,  recited 
during  the  seven  canonical  hours,  ^  some  of  which  vary  throughout 
the  year,  while  others  are  continually  the  same. 

There  are  either  three,  six,  nine,  or  twelve  lessons,  according  to 
the  dignity  of  the  festival.  Each  of  these  lessons  consists  either  of 
some  ten  or  twelve  verses  out  of  the  Bible,  or  a  short  legend  of  one 
of  the  saints.  Every  day  in  the  year,  five-and-twenty  psahns  at  the 
fewest  are  recited,  and  on  Sundays  and  some  festivals  as  many  as  six- 
and-thirty,  inclvding  in  all  instances  that  ichich  we  number  Psalm  cxix. 

Every  day  the  Lord's  Prayer  is  repeated  on  an  average  a  dozen 
times ;  the  Creed  always  three  times,  and  often  more.  There  are 
moreover  eight  hymns,  eight  or  ten  prayers  or  collects,  and  four  or 
five  canticles  ;  besides  a  number  of  versicles,  responses,  anthems,  and 
benedictions  belonging  to  the  breviary  service  for  every  day  in  the 
year,  which  all  in  holy  orders  (subdeacons,  deacons,  priests,  bishops, 
&c.)  are  bound  to  recite  on  pain  of  mortal  sin. ' 

CoLLECTARE,  coUects  for  the  Sundays  and  festivals  throughout 
the  year. 

CoNFESSiONALE,  the  Same  as  Poenitentiale,  Q.  v. 

CoNSUETUDiNARiUM,  the  Ritiiol,  Q.  v.,  or  the  Portifory,  Q.  v. 

CuRSUS,  the  liturgy  or  Eucharistical  service,  which  varied  in  dif- 
ferent churches,  (ex.  gr.  Cursus  Romanus,  Cursus  Gallicanus, 
Cursus  Scottorum,  &c. '') 

DiRECTORiUM,  the  Ritual,  Q.  v,  ;   or  the  Portiforium,  Q.  v. 

Emortuale,  a  book  containing  the  office  for  the  visitation  of  the 
sick,  the  service  of  the  viaticum  mass,  extreme  unction,  commenda- 
tion o*f  a  soul  departing,  and  the  burial  office.  (Suppl.  to  Du  Cange.) 

Enchiridium,  the  Ritual,  q.  v. 

Epistolarium,  the  Epistles  for  the  Sundays  and  holidays  through- 
out the  year. 

Evangelistarium,  the  Gospels  for  the  Sundays  and  holidays 
throughout  the  year.  At  a  bishop's  consecration,  the  book  of  the 
Gospels  was  laid  open  upon  his  shoulders,  and  the  passage  at  which 
it  was  fortuitously  opened  was  considered  prophetic  of  his  episcopal 
career.* 

EYXOAOnON,  the  ritual  of  the  Greek  church. 

ExoRCiSMORUM  LIBER,  contained  the  forms  of  prayer  to  be  said 
over  the  energumeni  or  possessed,  and  that  part  of  the  baptismal  ser- 
vice in  which  Satan  was  commanded  to  go  out  of  the  child. 

Febla-LIS  liber,  contained  the  service  for  Saints'  days. 

Gradale  (otherwise  termed  the  grail)  contained  the  tracts,  se- 
quences, hallelujahs,  creed,  offertory,  trisagium,  &c.  The  tracts 
and  sequences  used  anciently  to  be  sung  as  the  deacon  ascended  the 
steps  of  the  ambo.     Hence  the  term  gradale  (quasi  a  gradibus). 

*>  See  in  this  chapter  my  note  to  Wilk.  ii.  513. 

•^  Schram.  torn,  iii   cap.  xix.  §  1184,  and  Schol  <i  Wilk.  iv.  741, 

*  Du  Canee,  voce  Sortes  Sanctorum. 


ALPHABETICAL   LIST   OF   BOOKS.  251 

H0MILLA.RE,  homilies  of  the  fathers  collected  together  and  read  to 
the  people. 

HoR.E,  or  Horarium,  a  collection  of  private  devotions  for  the  use 
of  the  laity.  ^  It  is  something  like  the  Breviary,  but  without  the 
lessons,  and  contains  also  graces  before  and  after  meat;  devotions 
on  entering  a  church  ;  on  receiving  the  holy  communion ;  forms  of 
self-examination  before  confession,  and  the  like. 

HoROLOGlUM  (iiPOAOriON),  the  breviary  of  the  Greek  church. 

Kalendarium,  was  much  the  same  as  that  in  our  Book  of  Common 
Prayer ;  viz.  the  months,  the  anniversaries  of  the  saints  (or  fixed 
festivals),  and  the  rules  for  finding  Easter  and  other  moveable 
festivals. 

Legenda,8  the  lectionary,  contained  lessons  from  the  Bible,  and 
also  from  the  lives  of  the  saints,  which  were  publicly  read  in  the 
church. 

The  Legenda  Aurea  was  a  collection  of  the  lives  and  miracles  of 
the  saints  compiled  in  the  middle  ages ;  and  there  are  many  other 
works  of  the  same  kind,  but  the  largest  collection  of  these  legendary 
histories  is  the  "Acta  Sanctoi'^um,"  published  at  Antwerp  in  fifty- 
three  volumes  folio,  and  yet  not  complete  ! 

LiTANiA,  the  litany,  was  of  two  kinds,  the  major  and  the  minor, 
differing  chiefly  from  each  other  in  length  and  solemnity,  and  from 
our  own  litany  in  respect  to  the  invocations  of  the  saints. 

The  litania  major  (or  litania  cum  nigris  crudbm)  was  chanted 
during  the  rogation  procession. '' 

LiTURGiA  (properly  so  called)  was  the  Eucharistical  office. 

Manuale,  the  ritual,  Q.  v. 

Martyrologium,  the  same  as  the  passional,  Q.  v. 

Matricula,  i.e.  the  dlhus,  or  roll  of  the  clergy. 

Matutinalis  liber,  contained  the  service  for  matins. 

Memorialis  liber,  the  necrology,  Q.  v. 

MENOAOriON  the  lectionary  of  the  Greek  church. 

MissALE,  the  ordinary  and  canon  of  the  mass,  the  prefaces,  com- 
pletoria,'  &c. 

Mysteries  (or  miracle  plays)  were  not  only  sanctioned  by  the 
clergy,  but  sometimes  even  a^ted  in  the  church.  •*  Several  curious  col- 
lections (viz.  the  Chester,  Coventry,  and  Townley)  are  still  extant. 

Necuologium,  contained  the  names  of  benefactors,  tlie  rule  of  the 
order,  and  often  a  catalogue  of  the  church  furniture,  &c.  belonging 
to  the  convent. 

Obituarium,  contained  the  burial  oflSce ;  and  the  names  of  the 
deceased  were  often  registered  in  the  blank  pages  at  the  end. '' 

f  Christian  Remembrancer,  March  1840,  p.  16I. 

K  Durandus  distinguishes  between  the  Legenda,  containing  the  lives  of  cot{fessor$f 
and  the  Lectionary,  containing  lessons  out  of  the  Epistles  of  S.  Paul,  &c.  lib.  vi. 
c.  i.  num.  30,  31.  ^  See  Du  Cange,  voce  Lilania  Sepli/ormis. 

i  Christian  Remembrancer,  July,  Sept.  and  Oct.  1839,  pp.  410,  657.  614. 

i  Du  Cange,  vocibus  Festum  Atinorum  Kalenda.     Stella  Festum  el  Stella. 

k  Du  Cange  in  voce. 


252  ALPHABETICAL   LIST   OF   BOOKS. 

Ordinale,  the  same  as  portiforium,  Q.  v. 

Passionale,  contained  a  narrative  of  the  lives  and  sufferings  of 
the  martyrs. 

P<enitentiale,  contained  directions  to  the  priest  for  hearing  con- 
fessions, a  list  oi  reserved  cases,  forms  of  absolution,  and  the  penances 
which  he  ought  to  enjoin. 

PoNTiFiCALE, '  the  pontifical,  contained  the  services  appropriated 
to  all  the  episcopal  functions,  such  as  confirmation,  ordination,  the 
dedication  of  churches,  &c. 

PoRTiroRiUM,  otherwise  called  the  Pie,  was  a  book  of  rubrical 
directions  to  instruct  the  clergy  as  to  the  due  performance  of  Divine 
service,  and  the  administration  of  the  sacraments. "  Sometimes 
however  the  word  is  used  to  signify  a  breviary. 

Processional,  was  a  book  containing  the  services  used  at  the 
rogation  and  other  processions. 

Prosarium,  contains  the  proses  or  hymns  sung  before  the  Gospel 
at  high-mass. 

PsALTERiUM,  or  the  Book  of  Psalms,  is  numbered  in  the  vulgate 
differently  from  our  version,  owing  to  the  circumstance  that  our 
10th  Psalm  forms  a  part  of  Psalm  9th  in  the  vulgate ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  make  two  Psalms  out  of  our  147th,  dividing  it  at 
the  end  of  our  eleventh  verse ;  so  that  there  are  150  Psalms  in  the 
vulgate  as  well  as  in  the  book  of  Common  Prayer.  Between  the 
9th  and  147th  Psalms  inclusive,  by  deducting  one  from  any  psalm 
as  it  is  numbered  in  our  Prayer-book  or  Bible,  the  reader  will  see 
in  a  moment  where  it  stands  in  the  vulgate:  ex.  gr.  our  119th 
Psalm  is  the  118th  in  tliat  version;  our  130th  is  there  numbered 
129th,  and  our  136th  (to  take  the  psalms  at  random)  is  in  the 
vulgate  Psalm  135;  while  Psalms  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8  and  the  be- 
ginning of  Psalm  9,  and  Psalms  148,  149,  and  150,  are  numbered 
the  same  in  both  versions. 

PsALTERiUM  ViRGiNis  Mari^e,  the  work  of  cardinal  Bonaventure, 
a  canonized  saint  of  the  church  of  Rome,  will  be  particularly  noticed 
in  the  8th  section  of  the  present  introduction. 

Regestum,  registrum,  a  register  of  any  sort ;  also  an  inventory  of 
effects. 

Regula,  a  book  containing  the  monastic  rule  of  the  order  to 
which  the  convent  belonged.  The  Benedictine  rule  prevailed  very 
generally  in  this  country. 

Responsoriale,  responsoir,  the  antiph<marium,  Q.  v. 

Rituale,  the  ritual,  contained  the  prayers  used  in  administering 
baptism,  penance,  matrimony,  and  extreme  unction :  also  the  form 
of  administering  the  Eucharist  to  the  laity  with  hosts  ready  conse- 
crated and  reserved.  It  also  contained  the  office  for  the  visitation  of 
the  sick,  and  the  whole  service  of  processions.  " 

'  Christiaa  Remembrancer,  Nov.  and  Dec.  1839,  pp.  680,  751. 
n>  Wheatly,  also  Du  Cange,  and  SuppL  voce  Porl^orium. 
n  Christian  Remembrancer,  Jan.  1840,  p.  41. 


BOOKS ^VESTMENTS   ANCIENTLY    OF   WHITE   LINEN.  253 

IvOTULUS,  the  roll  of  parchment  on  which  was  inscribed  the  names 
of  all  the  members  of  a  religious  confraternity.  Also  a  roll  of  parch- 
ment sent  by  the  monks  of  a  convent  to  announce  the  death  of  any 
of  their  body  to  monasteries  with  which  they  were  in  confraternity, 
that  they  might  receive  the  benefit  of  prayer.  " 

Sacramentale,  any  book  relating  to  the  sacraments,  whether 
ritual  or  didactic. 

Sacrarium.  The  form  of  consecrating  holy  water,  tapers,  palms, 
ashes,  &c.  collected  together  in  a  book. 

Sacrtficiorum  liber,  an  exposition  of  the  rubricks  belonging 
to  the  mass  ;  also  the  mass  itself. 

Sanctoralia,  the  lives  and  legends  of  the  saints. 

Sermocinalis  liber,  the  homiliarium,  Q.  v. 

SYNASIS,  the  Greek  liturgy. 

Synodalis  liber,  the  book  in  which  were  inserted  from  time  to 
time  the  canons  of  cecumenical,  national,  provincial,  and  diocesan  synods. 

Tabella  Secretarum,  a  wooden  board  on  which  was  pasted  or 
fixed  a  schedule  of  the  secreta,  and  other  parts  of  the  service  which 
could  not  conveniently  be  read  out  of  the  missal.  On  solemn  occa- 
sions it  might  be  inserted  in  a  splendid  frame. 

Troperium  contained  the  versieles  used  after  the  introit  of  the 
mass,  and  also  the  sequences,  or  responses  made  by  the  people  after 
the  Epistle. 

Venitare,  the  book  containing  the  invitatories :  it  took  its  name 
from  the  hymn  "  Venite  exultemxis  Domino." 

Ympnare,  a  collection  of  hymns. 

§  7.  Ecclesiastical  Vestments. 
Putting  the  apostolic  age  entirely  out  of  the  question  for  lack  of 
any  tangible  evidence,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  earliest 
outward  distinction  between  the  laity  and  clergy  consisted  in  the 
colour  and  material  of  the  dresses  worn  by  the  latter  rather  than  in 
their  form.  The  birrus,  pal  ium,  colobium,  orarium,  and  tunic,  were 
all  of  secular  and  heathen  origin,!'  but  at  an  indefinitely  early  period  : 
the  Christian  priesthood  adopted  the  use  of  white  linen  as  their  dis- 
tinctive badge,  and  for  several  ages  their  vestments  were  invariably 
of  this  simple  material.  Indeed,  this  was  generally  the  case  till  about 
the  seventh  century,  though  there  may  have  been  a  few  exceptions 
to  the  rule.  In  the  fourth  century  the  emperor  Constantine  gave 
to  Macarius,  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  a  splendid  robe  embroidered 
with  gold,  to  be  worn  by  him  when  he  administered  the  sacrament 
of  baptism  :  but  both  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  usually  wore  the 
"Candida  vestis,"  the  XtvKov  ■x^iTuiviaKoy,  the  "alba  vestis ;"  and 
Gregory  of  Tours,  who  flourished  as  late  as  the  year  596,  describes 
the  priests  and  deacons  of  his  time  as  being  arrayed  in  white  linen.  '^ 

o  Du  Cange.  p  Bingh.  b.  xiii.  c.  8,  §  1,  &c.;  item  b.  vi.  c.  4,  §  19,  &c. 

q  Hieron.  contra  Pelag.  lib.  i.  Item  Chrysost.  in  Matth.  Horn.  82,  83.  Item 
Greg.  Turon.  de  Glor.  Confess,  c.  20. 


254  COLOURS   VARIED   ACCORDING    TO    THE    FESTIVAL. 

In  process  of  time,  however,  this  primitive  simplicity  was  laid 
aside ;  the  most  costly  substances  (silk  and  velvet,  jewels  and  gold) 
were  lavishly  employed  in  ornamenting  the  dresses  of  the  priesthood, 
and  all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow  were  brought  into  requisition. 
White  or  blue  vestments  were  worn  on  the  festivals  of  confessors, 
virgins,  or  angels ;  and  also  from  the  vigil  of  Christmas-day  till  the 
octaves  of  the  Epiphany  inclusive.  Red  or  purple  were  used  on  the 
solemnities  of  apostles,  evangelists,  and  martyrs,  and  also  from 
the  vigils  of  Pentecost  till  Trinity  Sunday.  Violet  was  the  colour 
appropriated  to  Good  Friday,  days  of  public  humiliation,  and  from 
Advent  Sunday  till  the  eve  of  the  Nativity.  Black  vestments  were 
also  sometimes  worn  on  Good  Friday ""  or  other  solemn  fast  days, 
at  rogation  processions,  and  masses  for  the  dead.  Finally,  green  or 
yellow  were  used  on  ordinary  Sundays  or  other  days. ' 

The  chalice-veils,  and  other  drapery  of  the  altar,  were  varied  so 
as  to  correspond  with  the  vestments  of  the  priest. 

The  vestments  of  the  clergy,  as  well  as  most  of  the  articles  of 
church  furniture  which  have  been  hitherto  described,  were  hallowed 
by  the  benediction  of  the  bishop :  they  could  be  handled  only  by 
those  who  were  at  least  in  minor  orders, '  and  when  worn  out,  they 
were  to  be  burnt  and  the  ashes  thrown  into  the  piscina. 

Most  commonly  they  were  of  silk  or  velvet,  embroidered  with 
gold  thread  (or  aurifrisium) :  and  our  ancestors  excelled  so  mucli  in 
this  species  of  embroidery,  that  it  was  usually  termed  Anglicum 
opus.^ 

There  is  a  green  velvet  cope  in  Ely  cathedral,  of  a  semicircular 
form,  with  gold  flower-pots  wrought  upon  it ;  it  has  a  border  of 
needlework  representing  various  saints,  and  the  capudum  (or  hood) 
contains  a  representation  in  needlework  of  the  Annunciation. 

Sometimes  they  were  of  cloth-of-gold,  adorned  with  jewels.  A 
chasuble,  dalmatica,  and  tunicle,  given  by  king  Sebastian  of  Portugal 
to  S.  Peter's  church  at  Rome,  are  embroidered  with  eiffht  hundred 
pounds  weight  of  pearls  I "  ("  Les  perles  de  cette  broderie  pesent 
huit  cent  livres. ") 

Sometimes  these  vestments  were  padded  and  sown  in  artificial 
folds,  whence  they  were  termed  " algotatce"  or  "  corrugatce'  vestes ; 
and  in  ancient  times  they  were  sometimes  bordered  with  gold  or 
silver  bells.  ^ 

The  ritualists  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  churches,  have  attributed 
a  mystical  or  symbolical  meaning  to  each  of  their  sacred  vestments, 
as  the  reader  will  find  by  referring  to  the  Ratio7iale  of  Durandus, 
and  Gretser's  notes  upon  Codinus,  cap.  xvi.  p.  181,  &c. 

"f  At  MelfoH,  Suffolk,  a  red  silk  cope  was  worn  oa  Good  Friilay. 

«  Durand.  lib.  iii.  c.  18.  «  Ibid.  lib.  i.  c.  3.  num.  48;  et  Ponlif.  Rom.  passim. 

"  Du  Cange  in  voce  Anglicum  opus. 

"  Voyaee  d'ltalie,  Lassels,  Paris,  1671,  torn.  i.  p.  340. 

w  Du  Cange  in  vocibus  Algotatee,  Corrugata,  Tintinnabulum,  et  Tunica. 


(     255     ) 
alphabetical  StiSt  of  Ffgtmcntg. 

(The  Numbers  refer  to  the  Frontispiece,  Plate  I.) 

Albe.  a  long  white  tunic  of  fine  linen  with  tight  sleeves  ;  it  is 
not  open  in  front  like  a  surplice,  but  girded  round  the  loins.  The 
collar  and  cuffs  were  often  richly  embroidered,  and  an  oblong  piece 
of  embroidered  silk  or  velvet  was  frequently  sown  upon  its  lower 
extremity  in  front  under  the  chasuble.  (1,  7,  10.)  These  ornaments 
were  called  apparels. 

Almuce.  a  head  covering  or  caputium  worn  by  some  canons, 
generally  of  fur.  (3.) 

Amess,  or  amt/t,  was  of  fine  white  linen.  It  covered  the  head  and 
shoulders,  was  crossed  over  the  breast,  and  fastened  with  two  strings 
to  the  girdle.  During  the  actual  celebration  of  the  mass,  it  was 
rolled  back  over  the  upper  part  of  the  chasuble  (1,  10) ;  but  on 
the  Percy  tomb  at  Beverley,  it  covers  the  head.  * 

Annulus,  the  episcopal  ring,  one  of  which  may  be  seen  repre- 
sented in  the  Archseologia,  vol.  xx. 

Analabus,  a  sort  of  scapulary,  (q.  v.)  worn  by  monks  in  the 
Greek  church.      (See  Picart,  PL  op.  vol.  v.  pp.  148  and  152,  n.  q.) 

Bacultjs  pastoralis,  the  bishop's  pastoral  staff,  was  usually  formed 
like  a  shepherd's  crook,  and  resembles  in  some  respects  the  Ututis 
carried  by  the  heathen  augurs  (10).  The  crook  was  in  many  in- 
stances beautifully  formed  of  gold  and  enriched  with  gems,  having 
a  sudarium  or  a  banner  falling  from  the  point  where  it  was  joined 
to  its  staff,  the  lower  part  of  which  was  supplied  with  a  sharp- 
pointed  ferule.  A  bishop  carried  his  pastoral  staff  in  the  left  hand, 
while  a  mitred  abbot  bore  it  in  the  right. 

In  an  ancient  Anglo-Saxon  illumination,  it  is  simply  a  staff  headed 
with  a  ball  or  rtiound;^  and  a  Greek  bishop,  represented  in  one  of 
the  engravings  to  Picart,  carries  a  staff  of  this  sort  in  his  hand. 
That  borne  by  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and  by  all  the 
Russian  bishops,  is  double-headed.  (12.) 

Odo,  bishop  of  Bayeux  (brother  to  William  the  Conqueror),  is 
represented  with  a  pastoral  staff  headed  like  a  crutch, "  (See  here 
camhucca  and  cross.) 

Baculus  cantoris,  already  described  p.  238,  and  see  below  qtiecoue. 

Berrettino  is  used  by  Picart  to  signify  the  red  hat  worn  by 
cardinals.  (6.) 

BiNDiE,  the  wimple,  passing  over  a  nun's  head  and  curiously  folded 
under  her  chin.*     It  was  of  white  linen. 

BiRETUM,  a  cap  worn  by  cardinals  and  other  dignified  ecclesiastics 
in  the  church  of  Rome,  called  in  French  from  its  usual  square  form, 
the  bonnet  quarree  (10).  The  cardinal's  cap  is  red,  the  archbishop's 
or  bishop's  green  or  purple,  and  that  of  a  canon  regular  black. 

The  Greek  pappas  (or  priests)  wear  a  circular  cap  (11) :  deacons 

'  Gent.  Mag.  March  1840.  i  Archsol.  vol.  xxv.  Compare  Picart,  v.  148. 

»  Antiquarian  Repertory.  »  Bonanni,  PI.  90. 


256  ALPHABETICAL   LIST    OF   VESTMENTS. 

and  subdeacons  in  the  Armenian  church  wear  an  embroidered 
cylindrical  cap,  and  the  priest  a  sort  of  crown  surmounted  by  a 
cross. '' 

BiRRUS,  was  an  article  of  general  costume,  very  anciently  adopt- 
ed as  an  ecclesiastical  vestment.  It  is  described  by  Schurtz- 
fleichius  as  a  short  cloak  covering  the  shoulders  and  arms.*"  Possibly 
it  may  have  been  something  like  the  mozzetta,  Q.  v. 

Calig^,  the  short  boots  over  which  the  bishop's  sandals  were 
usually  fastened. 

Callotte,  the  scull-cap  worn  by  the  Pope  and  other  dignified 
ecclesiastics.     That  worn  by  the  Pope  is  Avhite  or  red. 

Cambucca,  the  haculus  pastoralis,  Q.  v.  Hence  the  bishop's  chap- 
lain was  sometimes  called  '  camhuccarius.'  ^  (10.) 

Caputium,  or  capputium,  the  hood  or  head-stall  at  the  back  of  a 
cope,  mantle,  scapular,  or  mozzetta.  Also  the  cowl  or  hood  worn  by 
monks  over  their  heads,  and  resting  upon  their  shoulders  over  the 
frock,  Q.  V.  (2,  8.) 

Cappa,  capa,  or  cope,  was  a  cloak  of  some  rich  material,  having  an 
ornamental  border  and  a  caputium.  It  had  no  sleeves,  but  was 
fastened  across  the  breast  with  Si  fibula,  morsus,  or  clasp.  (8.) 

The  cope  was  in  most  instances  a  semicircle,  with  the  circum- 
ference resting  upon  the  shoulders ;  but  sometimes  it  formed  a  com- 
plete circle,  whence  it  was  termed  rota  or  rotundellus  or  rondellus.^ 

The  capce  clausce  and  cap(B  cum  manicis  belonged  to  the  civil 
costume  of  the  clergy,  and  were  simply  what  are  termed  priest's 
cloaks  and  cloaks  with  sleeves.  The  carracalla  was  probably  a  sort 
of  cope. 

Casula,  the  chasuble,  was  the  principal  mass  vestment.  It  was 
anciently  circular,  with  a  hole  in  the  centre  for  the  head  to  go 
through,  and  unless  it  was  held  up,  entirely  covered  the  arms  and  a 
great  part  of  the  body.  Afterwards  it  was  found  convenient  to  have 
the  chasuble  stitched  in  artificial  folds,  so  as  to  leave  the  arms  at 
liberty.   In  more  modern  times  it  has  been  cut  at  the  shoulders.  (1 ,  7.) 

Chimerk  belonged  anciently  rather  to  the  civil  than  the  ecclesi- 
astical costume  of  a  bishop.  It  is  now  a  black  satin  dress  with  lawn 
sleeves  attached  to  it,  and  is  worn  over  the  rochet ;  but  before  the 
Reformation  it  was  of  red  silk. 

Chirgthec^,  the  embroidered  gloves  worn  as  a  part  of  the  Epis- 
copal costume.  See  the  very  beautiful  effigy  of  John  de  Sheppey, 
bishop  of  Rochester,  in  the  Archceologia,  vol.  xxv.  p.  122. 

CiDARis,  the  cap  or  bonnet  worn  by  bishops  in  the  twelfth  century 
before  the  introduction  of  the  mitre.  It  had  infulce  or  pendants  at 
the  back  hanging  over  the  shoulders.  (4.) 

CiNGULUM,  the  girdle,  fastened  round  the  albe  at  the  loins,  was 
usually  of  white  flax  tasselled  at  the  ends,  but  sometimes  of  a  richer 
material.  (10.)     See  Succingulum. 

*>  Picart,  V.  260.  <=  Antiq   Eccl.  p.  387. 

<■  Da  Cange  ia  voce.  «  Da  Cange  in  vocibus. 


ALPHABETICAL   LIST    OF   VESTMENTS.  257 

CoLLARE,  a  richly  ornamented  collar  or  tippet,  which  was  some- 
times placed  over  the  upper  part  of  the  chasuble. 

Bands,  of  the  same  form  as  those  used  in  the  church  of  England, 
are  worn  by  the  French,  Russian,  and  even  by  the  Jewish  clergy. 
At  what  period  they  were  first  introduced  I  have  never  been  able  to 
learn. 

CoLOBiuM,  a  secular  dress  adopted  at  a  very  early  period  as  a 
church  vestment.     It  was  a  short  linen  tunic  without  sleeves. 

CoTTA,  a  short  surplice,  either  with  or  without  sleeves.  (9») 

Cross  Staff,  borne  by  Archbishops  instead  oiihe  pastoral  staff.  {7^) 

CucuLLUS,  the  same  as  caputium,  Q.v.  (2.) 

Dalmatica,  the  deacon's  vestment  had  anciently  very  full  sleeves  ; 
it  was  cut  at  each  side  about  half-way  up  to  the  arm ;  fringed ; 
supplied  with  a  sort  of  square  caputiwm,  adorned  with  tassels  at  the 
back,  and  had  two  strips  of  purple  sown  in  the  front.  (5.) 

In  the  more  modern  specimens  there  is  a  short  cut-sleeve  near  the 
shoulder. ' 

ElcHAKPE,  a  scarf  worn  by  some  canons  regular ;  but  it  must  not 
be  confounded  with  the  stole. 

Encolpium,  the  golden  cross  worn  by  bishops  and  some  other 
dignified  ecclesiastics  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  hung  upon  the 
breast.  (10.) 

Epimanicia,  maniples  worn  in  the  Greek  church.  Picart  tells 
us,  that  the  patriarch  is  allowed  to  wear  two  of  these  maniples  as 
a  special  mark  of  distinction ;  but  he  has  not  either  described  or 
engraved  their  form,  nor  have  I  been  able  to  obtain  the  information 
elsewhere.  Possibly,  the  epimanidum  may  be  nothing  more  than 
the  half-sleeve,  which  in  some  of  the  oriental  churches  is  drawn  over 
the  sleeve  of  the  albe.  « 

Epitrachelicm,  in  the  Greek  church,  is  described  by  Picart  as 
the  stole,  Q.v.    (12.) 

Fano,  the  maniple,  Q.v.  (1,  7.)  It  also  signifies  a  thin  variegated 
veil,  fastened  round  the  Pope's  neck  like  a  caputium,  (q.  v.)  when  he 
celebrates  a  pontifical  high  mass,  as  a  special  addition  to  the  ordinary 
mass  vestments.  It  covers  the  upper  part  of  his  chasvMe  like  a 
mozzetta,  (q.  v.)  and  the  paR  is  placed  over  it.  •» 

Frock,  a  tunic  of  coarse  cloth,  with  rather  wide  sleeves,  long, 
full,  and  girded  round  the  loins  with  a  rope  or  a  leather  belt.  (2.) 
1\\G  frock  is  the  principal  dress  of  a  monk  :  sometimes  the  caputium 
or  cowl  forms  a  part  of  the  frock  itself,  but  perhaps  they  are  more 
frequently  distinct. 

Gammadia,  the  mxapia  of  the  oriental  bishops,  so  called  because 
they  are  embroidered  with  figures  resembling  the  letter  gamma  (r).' 

Gremiale  is  described  by  Du  Cange,  as  a  piece  of  silk  placed 
upon  the  bishop's  lap  whenever  he  sat  down  during  the  intervals  of 
high  mass. 

f  Picart p«w«TO.  t  Le  Bas'  Life  of  Bp.  Middleton,  i.  304,  &c. 

••  Du  Cange  ia  voce.  See  also  Orale.  '  Gretser  in  Codinnm. 

S 


258  ALPHABETICAL   LIST   OP  VESTMENTS. 

Genuale,  a  diamond-shaped  piece  of  cloth,  ornamented  with 
tassels,  and  having  a  cross  embroidered  upon  it,  hanging  from  the 
girdle  of  the  officiating  bishop  or  priest.  It  is  a  vestment  of  the 
Greek  church.  (12.) 

Inful^,  the  bands  or  pendants  fringed  at  the  ends,  hanging 
from  the  back  of  a  cidaris  or  mitre.  (4,  8.) 

Interula,  or  camisia,  an  albe,  Q.  v.  (1,  7,  10.) 

M ANDYAS,  a  cloak  or  mantle  worn  by  monks  and  bishops  in  the 
Greek  church,  in  their  civil  costume.j 

Maniple,  sudarium.  (1  and  7.)  An  oblong  piece  of  embroidered 
silk,  of  the  same  colour  as  the  chasuble  of  the  day,  folded  double, 
passed  over  the  left  wrist,  and  hanging  down  like  a  minature  stole. 
In  Anglo-Saxon  times  it  was  held  in  the  hand,  and  still  more 
anciently  it  was  a  plain  white  napkin. 

Mantellum,  the  long  red  mantle  worn  by  a  cardinal  over  his 
rochette.  (6.)  Mantles  of  different  forms  were  also  worn  by  the 
members  of  several  of  the  religious  orders  in  the  church  of  Rome. 
The  mantellettum  was  a  short  mantle  with  arm-holes,  reaching  as  low 
as  the  knees  and  open  in  front.  •* 

Maphorium,  a  long  narrow  scapular,  square  at  the  bottom.  See 
Scapular. 

Mitra,  the  mitre  (8.)  does  not  appear  to  have  been  introduced 
into  this  country  till  after  the  Conquest,  and  has  never  been  adopted 
by  the  Greek  church. '  The  Russian  and  Armenian  bishops  wear 
indeed  a  sort  of  regal  crown  or  diadem,  but  the  patriarch  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  the  bishops  immediately  under  his  jurisdiction, 
celebrate  divine  service  with  their  heads  uncovered,  while  on  other 
occasions  they  wear  (as  a  part  of  their  civil  costume)  a  sort  of  loose 
drapery  falling  over  the  head,  covering  part  of  the  forehead,  resting 
on  the  shoulders,  and  having  a  cross  embroidered  upon  it  in  front. 
It  is  something  like  an  almuce,  except  in  its  material,  which  is  of 
linen,  cloth,  or  sUk.  (8.) 

Du  Cange  mentions  three  varieties  of  the  mitre: 

1.  The  pretiosa,  composed  of  gold  or  silver,  and  jewels. 

2.  The  aurifrigiata,  of  silk  embroidered  with  gold  thread  and  pearls. 

3.  The  simplex,  of  plain  white  damask  or  linen,  with  red  silk  in- 
fulse  or  pendants  hanging  from  it. 

MoRSUS.    The  brooch  or  clasp  which  fastened  the  cope.  (8.) 

Mozzetta.  a  sort  of  tippet,  cape,  or  pelerine  worn  by  dignified 
ecclesiastics.  (3.)     It  sometimes  had  a  hood  at  the  upper  part. 

Omophorium,  the  pall  worn  by  patriarchs,  archbishops,  and 
bishops  in  the  Greek  church.  (12.)     See  Pallium. 

Orarium,  the  stole  used  in  the  Greek  church.  (12.)     See  Stola. 

Pallium.    The  pall  worn  by  archbishops  in  the  church  of  Rome, 

j  Picart,  V.  148,  300.  k  Bonanni,  pars  ii.  pi.  45,  48,  53  ;  item  pars  i.  pi.  31. 

1  See  Hist,  of  Durham  by  Surtees,  the  plate  of  Episcopal  seals.  Also  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  form  of  consecrating  a  church,  Archeeol.  vol.  xxv.  Item  Du  Cange,  voce 
Mitra,  et  Supplem. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OP  VESTMENTS.  259 

being  a  narrow  vestment  of  white  wool  with  purple  crosses  worked 
upon  it,  encompassing  the  shoulders  over  the  chasuble,  and  hanging 
down  in  front.  (7.)  In  the  Greek  and  Russian  churches  it  is  worn 
also  by  bishops.  (12.)     See  Omophorium. 

The  pcdUum  also  signifies  a  mantle  or  cloak  worn  by  some  canons 
regular. 

Peristera  in  the  Greek  church.""  A  white  woollen  fillet  thrown 
over  the  head  or  cap,  and  resting  upon  the  shoulders.  Delinquent 
priests  are  suspended  from  the  use  of  it. 

Phelonidm,  the  chasuble  of  the  Greek  church.  It  is  apparently 
shorter  in  front  and  squarer  behind  than  that  of  the  Latin  church. 
That  worn  by  the  patriarch  and  other  bishops  is  wrought  all  over 
with  small  crosses,  whence  it  is  termed  polistaurium.  (11,  12.) 

Phbygium,  or  tiara,  a  pointed  cap  worn  by  some  bishops  before 
the  introduction  of  the  mitre.  The  phrygium  ("with  the  addition  of 
three  crowns)  is  still  worn  by  the  Pope.  (7.)    See  Regnum. 

Planeta,  the  chasuble,  Q.  v.  (1,  7.) 

Pluvlale,  the  cope,  q.  v.  (8.) 

PoLA,  in  the  Greek  church,  a  diamond  shaped  piece  of  embroidered 
cloth  attached  to  the  back  oi  t\xG  phelonium  or  chasuble.  (11.) 

QuECOUE,  a  thin  oval  or  circular  piece  of  metal,  surrounded  by 
small  bells,  and  fitted  upon  a  long  handle.  It  is  borne  by  deacons 
among  the  Armenians,  and  used  to  regulate  the  psalmody  like  a 
cantoral  staff. 

Rationale,  an  ornament  anciently  worn  by  bishops,  but  which 
has  been  so  long  obsolete,  that  Ritualists  know  nothing  as  to 
its  form.  We  only  know  that  it  was  worn  upon  the  breast  in  imita- 
tion of  the  breastplate  of  the  Aaronic  priesthood,  and  like  it  may 
have  been  square.  In  the  inventory  of  Saltzburg  cathedral, 
mention  is  made  of  a  rational  of  gold  and  gems,  hanging  by  golden 
chains,  and  worth  1000  marks. 

The  word  is  sometimes  used  improperly  to  signify  an  archbishop's 
pall. 

On  a  tomb  of  one  of  the  bishops,  in  Britton's  Salisbury  cathedral, 
there  is  a  singular  breast  ornament,  something  like  that  in  our  fourth 
figure,  which  may  have  been  a  rationale. 

Regnum,  the  triple  crown  or  tiara  worn  by  the  supreme  Pon- 
tiff. (7.)  The  crowns  having  been  gradually  added  to  the  phry- 
gium or  pointed  cap.  Patriarchs  and  bishops  in  the  Russian  and 
Armenian  churches  wear  a  sort  of  diadem.  The  Armenian  priests 
also  wear  something  of  the  sort. 

Roccus,  the  monastic /rocA.  q.  v.  (2.) 

RoCHETTA,  worn  by  cardinals,  archbishops,  bishops,  &c.,  and  some 
canons  regxilar,  was  a  tunic  of  fine  linen  or  lace,  falling  a  little  below 
the  knees,  having  sometimes  tight  sleeves,  sometimes  none.   (3,  6.) 

RoNDELLUS,  or  rota,  a  circular  cope.     See  cappa.  ° 

">  PJcart,  V.  148.  "  Du  Cange,  Rationale, 

o  Aliter  Rotundellus,  Da  Cange  in  vocibus. 

S  2 


260  ALPHABETICAL   LIST   OP   VESTMENTS. 

Saccus,  in  the  Greek  church,  worn  only  by  the  highest  dignitaries 
on  very  solemn  occasions,  appears  to  have  resembled  the  dalmatica 
in  the  Latin  church.  (5.)  I  know  it  only  from  description,  but 
imagine  it  to  be  the  long  wide-sleeved  vestment  represented  in  the 
Saturday  Magazine,  July  1,  1837. 

Sagavard  among  the  Armenians  is  a  sort  of  crown,  surmounted 
by  a  cross  worn  by  bishops  and  priests.  Of  what  material  it  is  com- 
posed, and  whether  or  no  the  name  equally  applies  to  the  caps 
or  bonnets  worn  by  their  deacons  and  subdeacons,  I  have  no  means 
of  ascertaining.  P 

Sandalia,  the  sandals,  a  part  of  the  episcopal  costume.  An  ex- 
cellent representation  may  be  seen  in  the  Archceologia,  vol.  xxv. 
p.  122,  &c. 

ScAPULARE,  a  monastic  dress,  having  an  aperture  for  the  head 
and  neck  to  pass  through,  falling  down  before  and  behind,  but  leaving 
both  arms  at  liberty.  Monks  used  to  work  in  their  scapulars.  Those 
worn  by  canons  regular  in  the  church  of  Rome,  present  a  great 
variety  of  appearance.  Some  fall  to  the  very  ground,  while  others 
barely  extend  to  the  girdle ;  some  are  as  wide  as  an  apron,  others 
mere  strips  not  wider  than  a  stole.  They  have  generally  a  square 
termination,  but  some  of  them  are  formed  like  a  tongue.  (2,  3.) 

SouTAN,  sottana,  a  long  black  cassock  worn  under  the  cotta  or 
rochette.  (3,  9.) 

Sticharium  in  the  Greek  church  may  be  ranked  with  the  same 
class  of  vestments  as  the  albe,  but  is  not  always  white.  It  is  some- 
times purple.  (11, 12.)     See  Albe  and  Gammadia. 

Stola,  orarium,  the  stole.  A  long  narrow  vestment  often  richly 
embroidered.  It  was  placed  over  the  shoulders  and  crossed  upon 
the  breast,  so  that  the  ends  were  seen  under  the  front  of  the 
chasuble  (1.)  :  when  used  in  other  ministrations  (as  in  the  pulpit  or 
confessional),  it  was  allowed  to  hang  down  like  the  scarf  worn  in 
the  church  of  England,  to  which  it  may  be  considered  analogous. 
(7,10,12.) 

Subtile,  the  subdeacon's  vestment,  otherwise  called  the  tunide. 
It  resembled  the  dalmatica,  (5.)  but  had  tighter  sleeves.i 

SucciNGULUM,  the  surcingle,  an  ornamental  addition  to  a  bishop's 
girdle.  It  was  double,  resembled  a  maniple,  (7.)  and  hung  down  upon 
the  left  side.  See  in  the  supplement  to  Du  Cange's  Glossary,  voce 
Suhcinctorium. 

SuPERPELLiCEUM,  the  surplicc :  this  requires  no  explanation. 
TuNiCELLA,  the  subtile,  Q.  v. 

Velum  Subdiaconale,  the  long  veil  which  the  subdeacon  bore 
over  his  shoulder.  "■ 

Velum,  the  veil  placed  upon  the  nun's  head  at  the  time  of  her 
dedication.     Bonanni,  Part  ii.  Plates  10,  16,  42,  &c. 
Zona,  a  narrow  scarf  worn  by  some  canons.' 

P   Picart,  V,  260,  >?  Gavanti,  p.  321. 

f  Sapra,  p.  333.  »  Bonanni. 


THE  BEAD-ROLL,  ROSARY,  &C.  261 

§  8.    The  Devotions  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  Ceremonies,  SfC. 

Before  the  Reformation,  Divine  service  was  acted  as  it  were,  in  a 
language  which  the  very  priest  understood  but  imperfectly,  and  the 
laity  not  at  all.'  The  devotions  of  the  people  were  then  guided  by 
the  elaborate  gesticulations  of  the  priest,  each  of  which  was  sup- 
posed to  involve  some  deep  mysterious  truth  shrouded  under  the 
veil  of  allegory :  but  manuals  of  devotion  in  the  vernacular  tongue, 
which  are  now  common  in  Roman  Catholic  states,  and  compensate 
in  some  degree  for  the  obscurity  of  a  Latin  service,  were  then 
almost  unknown.  A  book  was  an  expensive  luxury  far  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  poor,"  and  few  even  of  the  wealthy  were  able  to  read. 

Christianity  was  then  overlaid  with  splendid  incumbrances,  more 
numerous  and  more  burthensome  than  those  which  had  been 
enjoined  under  the  bondage  of  the  ceremonial  law,  or  practised  in 
the  palmiest  days  of  heathen  idolatry :  in  proof  of  which,  I  need  only 
remind  the  reader  of  the  costly  machinery  anciently  considered  essen- 
tial to  the  ordinary  decencies  of  religion ;  viz.  the  furniture,  books, 
and  vestments  which  it  has  been  lately  my  province  to  describe. 

The  private  devotions  of  the  unlettered  multitude,  consisted  in  a 
frequent  repetition  of  the  "  Ave  Maria,"  a  recital  of  the  "  Pater 
Noster"  at  every  tenth  bead,  and  of  the  "  Credo"  at  the  crucifix 
appended  to  the  rosary." 

The  angelic  salutation  itself  was  an  interpolated  version  of  the 
angel  Gabriel's  address  to  the  blessed  Virgin,  as  recorded  in  S. 
Luke's  Gospel,  chap.  i. 

"  Hail,  Mary,  full  of  grace,  the  Lord  is  with  thee.  Blessed  art 
thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thy  womb,  Jesus. 
Holy  Mary,  Mother  of  God,  pray  for  us  sinners  now  and  in  the 
hour  of  our  death.    Amen."* 

The  smaller  beads  were  in  tens,  with  one  of  a  larger  size,  termed 
a  gaud  or  decade,  between  each  set ;  and  these  decades  were  usually 
of  a  richer  material,  or  a  more  elaborate  workmanship,  than  the 
rest. 

In  the  Rosary,  properly  so  called,  there  were  five  of  those  decades. 
The  ^'^  Ave  Maria"  was  said  fifty  times,  the  "Pater  Noster^'  five 
times,  and  the  "  Credo"  once. 

In  the  Corona  were  six  decades  and  sixty-three  Ave  Marias. 

In  the  Psalter,  fifteen  decades,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  Ave 
Marias. 

In  the  Psalteriolum  were  throe  gauds  and  fifteen  Ave  Marias, 
the  Lord's  Prayer  being  recited  after  every  fifth  bead ;  and 

In  the  Corolla  were  three  gauds  and  twelve  Ave  Marias. " 

The  Bead-roll  was  at  the  best  a  wretched  mechanical  substitute 
for  the  devotions  of  the  understanding  and  the  heart :  and  as  these 
prayers  were  in  most  instances  recited  even  by  the  laity  in  the 

»  See  above,  pp   82,  85.  u  See  above,  p.  68,  &c. 

"  Coeleste  Palmetum,  Coloniee  Agrip.  1750,  p.  262. 

X  Ibid,  p.  I.  y  Ibid.  p.  262,  &c. 


262  A    GRADUATED    SCALE    OF   WORSHIP. 

Latin  tongiie,  it  may  easily  be  imagined  how  little  they  must  have 
tended  to  edification. 

These  were  indeed  sad  corruptions  of  a  pure  and  spiritual  reli- 
gion, the  real  dignity  of  which  was  lost  sight  of  amidst  all  this 
pomp  and  ceremony  and  meretricious  display:  but  the  homage 
anciently  rendered  to  the  blessed  Virgin  and  the  saints,  to  their 
images  and  reliques,  was  a  still  more  grievous  error. 

With  every  disposition  to  palliate  the  errors  of  my  forefathers,  I 
yet  (as  a  greater  lover  of  truth)  feel  it  impossible  to  withhold  the 
conviction,  that  these  invocations  of  the  saints  approached  to  the 
very  verge  of  idolatry. 

The  facts  upon  which  this  conviction  is  founded  shall  be  fairly 
laid  before  the  reader,  that  he  may  judge  for  himself :  but  he  must 
allow  me,  in  the  first  place,  to  say  a  few  words  respecting  a  very 
plausible  objection  urged  by  Dissenters  against  our  Church.  It  has 
been  contended  that  these  corruptions  of  Christianity  (and  especially 
that  greatest  of  all  corruptions,  idolatry)  must  have  vitiated  the  apos- 
tolic succession,  passing  down  to  us  through  this  impure  channel ; 
but  our  blessed  Lord  himself  distinctly  recognized  the  succession  of 
the  Levitical  priesthood  in  his  own  times,'  notwithstanding  the 
grievous  apostacy  of  the  whole  Jewish  church  in  the  days  of  the 
prophet  Elijah,  when  both  the  priesthood  and  the  jteople  were 
almost  universally  polluted  with  idolatry  in  the  very  worst  sense  of 
the  term.  And  indeed  Aaron  himself,  from  whom  the  succession 
was  derived,  had  been  guilty  of  the  same  dreadful  crime  against  God." 

Controversialists  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  when  charged  with 
idolatry,  shelter  themselves  under  a  scholastic  nicety,  telling  us  that 
there  are  three  various  degrees  of  worship,''  viz. 

(1.)  AATPEIA  (latria),  exclusively  appropriated  to  the  Deity ; 
to  each  person  of  the  blessed  Trinity,  or  their  images ;  to  the  cru- 
cifix, and  the  host. 

(2.)  'YHEPAOYAEIA  {hyperdulia),  being  the  homage  paid  to  the 
blessed  Virgin,  or  her  image  and  reliques. 

(3.)  AOYAEIA  {dulia),  the  homage  paid  to  saints  and  angels, 
their  images  and  reliques. 

These  theoretical  distinctions  are  however  notoriously  violated  in 
practice,  and  must  have  been  at  all  times  above  the  comprehension 
of  the  unlearned,  and  the  control  of  the  enthusiastic  worshipper. 

Addressed  as  she  is  by  millions  at  one  and  the  same  moment, 
and  in  all  parts  of  the  Roman  Catholic  world,  though  they  should 
only  request  the  blessed  Virgin  to  pray  in  their  behalf,  they  would 
still  virtually  invest  her  with  the  incommunicable  attributes  of  God. 
But  to  pass  over  this  simplest  and  least  objectionable  form  of  invo- 
cation, it  has  been  confessed  by  a  learned  Roman  Cathohc,'  that 
jsaving  and  excepting  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  there  is  not  a  single 

»  Matt,  xxiii.  2.  a  Exod.  xxxii.  4. 

''  Bellarmini  Controv.  de  Cultu  Sanctorum.  •■  Turlot. 


HOST  OFFEllED  TO  GOD  THKOUGU  THE  MERITS  OP  THE  SAINTS.    263 

act  of  homage  peculiarly  and  exclusively  belonging  to  the  Almighty  ; 
and  that  otherwise  the  intention  of  the  worshipper  is  the  only  cri- 
terion between  Latria  and  Dulia. 

Turlot's  words  are  very  express  upon  this  point,  and  having 
already  given  their  sense  in  English,  I  shall  now,  for  the  reader's 
more  complete  satisfaction,  recite  them  as  they  stand  in  the  original. 
"  Omnia  signa  externa  honoris  prceter  saorificium  communia  sunt 
Deo  et  creaturis,  sed  ex  intentione  utentis  determinantur  ad  excel- 
lentiam  divinam  seu  creatam  significandam."^ 

But  even  this  distinction  is  altogether  nugatory.  Oblations  are 
continually  vowed  to  the  saints  and  presented  at  their  shrines ;  in- 
cense, which  is  of  the  nature  of  a  sacrifice,*  is  employed  to  do  them 
honor :  and  although  they  do  not  actually  ofier  up  the  Son  of  God 
in  sacrifice  to  his  creatures,  they  yet  present  the  host  to  the  Father 
for  the  glory  of  the  saints,  and  commend  it  to  Hu  acceptance  through 
their  merits  and  intercession  ! — I  need  hardly  add,  that  they  look 
upon  the  mass  as  a  continuation  of  the  great  atoning  sacrifice  offered 
up  on  mount  Calvary  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world. 

As  the  charge  which  I  have  made  is  a  very  grave  one,  it  will  be 
but  fair  to  cite  the  words  of  the  Roman  Missal,  &c.,  instead  of  filter- 
ing them  through  a  translation ;  and  I  shall  invariably  quote  from 
the  originals. 

"  Sacrificium  nostrum  tibi  Domine  qusesumus  B.  Andrese  Apostoli 
prsecatio  sancta  conciliet,  ut  in  cujus  honore  solemniter  exhihetur,  ejus 
meritis  ejiciatur  acceptum."  t 

"  Ut  hajc  munera  tibi  Domine  accepta  sint,  sancti  Bathilidis  ob- 
tineant  merita,  quaj  seipsam  tibi  hostiam  vivam,  sanctam,  et  bene- 
placitam  exhibuit."? 

"  Prajstant  nobis  qusesumus  sumpta  sacramenta  prajsidium  salutare,. 
et  intervenientibus  B.  Martini  confessoris  tui  atque  pontificis  meritis^ 
ab  omnibus  nos  absolvant  peccatis.'"' 

"  Deus  qui  beatum  Nicolaum  Poutificem  innumeris  decorasti 
miraculis,  tribue  qusesumus,  ut  ejus  meritis  et  precibus,  a  Gehennce 
incendio  liberemur."^ 

"  Ecclesia)  tua;  quajsumus  Domine  preces  et  Hostias  B.  Petri 
apostoli  commendet  oratio,  ut  quod  pro  Ulius  gloria  celebramus, 
nobis  prosit  ad  veniam."J 

THE  PREROGATIVES  OF  CHRIST  ARE  ASCRIBED  TO  THE  SAINTS. 

In  the  vulgate  translation  of  Gen.  iii.  15,  ("  Ipsa  conteret  caput 
tuum,")  the  bruising  of  the  serpent's  head  is  expressly  ascribed  to  the 
blessed  Virgin ;  and  S.  Bernard  in  his  homilies  thus  reasons  upon  it> 

^  Thesaurus,  Pars  iii.  Lect.  19,  Coloniae  Agrip.  1723,  p.  512. 

<:  Exod.  XXX,  8,  9  ;   xl.  5  ;  Numbers  xvi.  35  ;   Isai.  Ixv.  3;  Jer.  xi.  12. 

f  Missale  Trid.  Lugd.  1682,  Fest.  Novemb.  fo).  336. 

«  Ibid.  Jan.  26.  •>  Missale  in  usum  Saruin.  Fest.  Novenrib. 

i   Missale  Trident,  fol.  339,  j  Ibid,  in  Fest.  CatLedrse  S.  Petri,  fol   353. 

<<■  Bernard!  Hotnil.  in  Apoc.  xii,  fol.  79.  h.  Paris.  I5I7. 


264  SAINT   FRANCIS   THE   ANTITYPE    OF   CHRIST  ! 

"  Vehementer  quidem  nobis,  delectissimi,  vir  unus  et  mulier  una 
nocuere,  sed  gratias  Deo,  per  unum  nihilominus  virum  et  muUerem 

unara  omnia  restaurantur Et  quidem  sufficere  poterat  Christus, 

si  quidem  et  nunc,  omnis  suflicientia  nostra  ex  eo  est,  sed  nobis 
'  bonum  non  erat  esse  hominem  solum' ;  congruum  magis  ut  adesset 
nostrce  reparationi  sexus  uterque  quorum  corruptioni  neuter  defuis- 
set."  The  rest  of  the  homily  contains  passages  equally  objection- 
able. 

"  Hsec  est  prseclarum  vas  Paracleti,  Spiritiis  Sancti.  Hsec  est 
gloriosa  civitas  Dei.  Hceo  est  mulier  virtutis  quce  contrivit  caput 
serpentis."^ 

On  the  anniversary  of  S.  Thomas-k-Becket,  the  following  hymn 
was  sung : " 

"  Tu  per  Thomse  sanguinem,  quem  pro  te  impendit, 
Fac  nos  Christe  scandere  quo  Thomas  ascendit." 

Thus  our  ancestors  were  actually  taught  to  pray  for  salvation 

THROUGH  the  BLOOD  OF  THE  PSEUDO-MARTYR  ThOMAS-A-BeCKET! 

Le  Brun,  a  learned  Roman  Catholic,  wrote  a  long  dissertation 
upon  the  following  blasphemous  words,  inscribed  over  the  gate  of  the 
Franciscan  convent  at  Rheims. " 

DEO .  HOMINI .  ET .  BEATO .  FRANCISCO .  UTRIQUB .  CRUCIFIXO. 

To  the  God-man  and  the  blessed  Francis  both  of  them  crucified. 

I  shall  now  translate  a  portion  of  Le  Brun's  sixth  chapter. 

<'A  century  ago.  Father  Barthelimi,  of  Pisa,  discovered  twelve 

points  of  conformity  between  S.  Francis  and  Jesus  Christ; in 

order  to  show  that  S.  Francis  performed  actions  as  remarkable  as 

those  of  Jesus  Christ He  has  there  stated,  that  S.  Francis  was 

patriarch,  prophet,  apostle,  martyr,  doctor,  confessor,  virgin,  angel, 
and  (in  a  word)  more  conformable  to  Jesus  Christ  than  all  the  other 
saints.  But  he  has  exaggerated  his  praises  still  more,  inasmuch  as  he 
declares  in  formal  terms,  that  S.  Francis  was  Jesus  of  Nazareth  the 
king  of  the  Jews! — 'Jesus,*  from  the  conformity  of  his  life  with  that 
of  Jesus  ;  '  of  Nazareth,'  because  he  was  a  pure  virgin ;  '  King,* 
from  the  absolute  control  which  he  exercised  over  himself; — '  OF  the 
Jews'  because  being  full  of  cheerfulness  he  besought  all  creatures  to 
praise  the  Lord.  And  to  crown  his  impertinences,  in  comparing  the 
celebrated  actions  of  S.  Francis  with  those  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  has 
had  the  temerity  to  assure  us,  that  S.  Francis  excelled  him.  '  Christ 
(he  observes)  was  only  transfigured  once,  whereas  S.  Francis  was 
transfigm-ed  twenty  times;  Christ  only  changed  water  into  wine 
once,  but  S.  Francis  did  so  three  times ;  Christ  only  felt  the  pain  of 
his  wounds  for  a  little  time,  but  S.  Francis  felt  his  during  the  space 
of  two  whole  years :  and  with  respect  to  miracles,  such  as  giving 
sight  to  the  blind,  casting  out  devils,  and  raising  the  dead,  Christ 
did  nothing  in  comparison  with  what  S.  Francis  and  hb  brethren 

'  Coeleste  Palmetum,  Colon.  1750,  p.  552.  «>  Brev.  in  usum  Eccl.  Sarum. 

«  Supplement  a  1'  Histoire  des  Pratiques  Superstitieuscs  a  Paris,  1751,  p.  122. 


EXTRACTS  FROM   OUR   LADY's   PSALTER.  265 

have   done.'     Such  (proceeds  Le  Brun)  is  the  ordinary  style  of  the 
Cordeliers,  when  they  are  speaking  about  their  seraphic  patriarch." 

I  pass  over  many  blasphemous  comparisons  between  the  Virgin 
Mother  and  her  Son,  between  her  milk  and  his  precious  blood,  in 
such  passages  as  the  following — 

"  Lac  fluit  et  sanguis,  sanguis  conjungitur  et  lac, 
Et  fit  fons  vitse,  fons  et  origo  boni." 
I  omit  other  passages  in  which  a  decided  preference  is  given  to  the 
former  over  the  latter,  inasmuch  as  the  mother  can  by  her  natural 
authority  command  her  son ;  and  others  in  which  it  is  said,  that 
"more  souls  are  saved  by  the  name  of  Mari/  than  by  that  of  Jesus." ° 
These  are  the  extravagances  of  private  devotees,  for  which  the 
Church  may  be  only  responsible  as  a  negligent  guardian  over  her 
children.  The  evidence  upon  which  I  rest  my  case,  is  directly  stamped 
with  her  authority  ;  the  books  quoted  were  published  under  the  im- 
mediate sanction  of  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and  inquisitors  of  the 
province,  and  the  passages  have  been  invariably  collated  by  myself. 
The  'Psalterium  Marice,'  the  work  of  cardinal  Bonaventure,  a 
regularly  canonised  saint  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  was  never  included 
in  any  Index  Expurgatorius.  It  appears  in  the  Vatican  edition 
am^ng  the  genuine  works  of  the  cardinal,  and  not  in  the  appendix,  in 
which  spurious  or  doubtful  treatises  are  collected.  "  The  bull  of 
Pope  SLxtus  the  Fifth,  prefixed  to  the  first  volume,  has  moreover 
stamped  the  psalter  of  the  blessed  Virgin  with  the  highest  approba- 
tion, and  it  passed  through  twenty-eight  editions  between  1476  and 
1823,"P  printed  with  the  imprimatur  of  the  various  papal  inquisitors, 
and  circulated  without  restriction  in  places  where  the  Bible  would 
have  been  a  sealed  and  proscribed  book ! 

The  edition  from  which  I  quote  is  that  of  "  H.  de  Matnes,  Parisiis, 
1596,"  and  the  few  extracts  which  I  shall  venture  to  lay  before  the 
reader  may  be  considered  as  a  fair  and  impartial  specimen.  They 
were  not  diligently  culled  here  and  there.  I  only  read  the  psalms 
appropriated  to  the  first  day ;  the  sample  was  chosen  quite  at  ran- 
dom, and  fidelity  was  my  only  care. 

PsALMUS  1.  Beatus  vir  qui  diligit  nomen  tuum  Virgo  Maria, 
Gratia  tua  aniraam  illius  confortabit.     Tanquam  lignum  aquarum 

fontibus  irrigatum  uberrimos  justitia)  fructus  propagabit Mise- 

recordia  et  gratia  tua  ubique  prsedicatur :   Deus  operibus  manuum 
tuarum  benedixit. 

Psalm.  2.  Protegat  nos  dextera  tua  Mater  Dei,  ut  acies  terribilis 
confundens  ac  destruens  eos,  Venite  ad  cam  omnes  qui  laboratis  et 
tribulati  estis  et  refrigerium  dabit  animabus  vestris.  Accedite  ad 
earn  in  tentationibus  vestris,  et  stabiliet  vos  screnitas  vult(is  illius. 
Benedicite  illam  in  toto  corde  vestro,  misericordi^  enim  illius  plena 
est  omnis  terra. 


0  Misson's  Voyage  to  Italy,  Lond.  1699,  vol.  i.  p.  119. 
P  Ilorue's  Mariolatry,  p.  15,  2ad.  edit.  Lond.  1841. 


266  BLASPHEMOUS   PARODIES   UPON   THE   BIBLE,  &C, 

Psalm,  3.  Domina  quid  multiplicati  sunt  qui  tribulant  me, — dis- 
solve colligationes  impietatis  nostra; :  tolle  fasciculos  peccatorum 
nostrorum.  Miserere  mei  Domina,  et  sana  infirmitatem  meam,  tolle 
dolorem  et  angustiam  cordis  mei. 

Psalm.  4.  Cum  invocarem  exaudisti  me  Virgo  Sacrata,  et  de 
sublimi  solio  tuo  mei  diguata  es  reeordari.  A  rugentibus  prsepara- 
tis  ad  escam,  et  de  manibus  quserentium  liberatus  sum  gratis  tuS,. 
Quoniam  benigna  est  miserecordia  et  pietas  tua  in  omnes  qui  invo- 
cant  nomen  sanctum  tuum.  Glorificate  earn  gentes  in  virtute  vestrS., 
et  cuneti  populi  terrse  extollite  magnificentiam  ejus. 

Psalm.  5.  Converte  luctum  nostrum  in  gaudium.  Benedicat  te 
omnis  lingua,  et  nomen  sanctum  tuum  confiteatur  omnis  caro. 
Gloria  tibi  sit,  o  virgo  virginum,  due  nos  obsecramus  ad  regna 
coelorum. 

Many  additional  extracts  from  "  Our  Lady's  Psalter"  may  be  seen 
in  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Home's  admirable  little  work  on  "  Mariolatry ." 
There  also  the  reader  will  find  specimens  of  the  hymn  of  Zacharias, 
(Luke  i.)  the  Te  Deum,  and  the  Athanasian  Creed,  all  of  which 
were  parodied  and  applied  to  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

In  the  '  Biblia  Marioe  (of  which  I  shall  now  give  a  few  speci- 
mens, from  a  copy  in  the  hbrary  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,)  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  sacred  volume  is  thus  shamefully  abused. 
It  was  compiled  by  Albert  the  Great,  bishop  of  Ratisbon,  who 
flourished  about  the  year  1265. 

Biblia  Mari^,  opus  a  B.  Alberto  olim  Episcopo  Ratisponensi 
conscriptum,  in  quo  omnia  fere  quae  in  saeris  Bibliis  continentur, 
Beatissimse  Dei  parenti  Marise  pulchre  et  breviter  adaptantur : 
aureum  sane,  et  Divini  verbi  concionatoribus  perutile,  ac  Marianis 
cultoribus  pergratum.  Nunc  primum  in  lucem  edita,  operS,  et  studio 
R.  P.  F.  Vincentii  Justiniani,  S.  TheologijB  Professoris,  Colonise 
Agrip.  Anno  1625.  BibUoth.  T.  C.  D.  BB.  N.  42. 

Gekesis  sic  incipit,  "  In  prinoipio  creavit  Deus  caelum  et  terram." 
Ccelum  scilicet   Empyreum,   per  quod  intelligitur  Domina  mundi 

Virgo  Maria '^ Dixitque  Deus:  Fiat  Lux,"  id  est  Maria  gene- 

retur  et  nascatur.  —  Gen.  ii.  p.  82.  "  Adce  vero  non  inveniebatur 
adjutor  similis  ei — Dixit  ergo  Dominus  Deus,  Non  est  honum  esse 
hominem  solum,"... \(i  est  Chi'istum.  " Faciamus  ei  adjutorium  simile 
sibi,"  id  est  Mariam.  Ipsa  etiam  est  contus  contritionis  Diaboli. 
Gen.  iii.  "  Inimicitias  ponam  inter  te  et  midierem ;  ipsa  conteret 
caput  tuum,"  Glosa.  quod  est  Mors.  Ipsa  est  etiam  Mater  Vitse. 
Gen.  vi.  Ipsa  etiam  est  Area  Salvationis ;  "  Fac  tibi  Arcam,"  id  est 
Mariam  :  quod  respicit  ejus  Nativitatem. 

EvANGELiUM  SECUNDUM  JoANNEM,  cap.  I.  "  In  principio  erat 
Vei-bum,"  &c.  Beatissima  Domina  secundum  Evangelium  Joannis 
dicitur  Mater  restitutionis  omnium.  Joan  i.,  dicitur  de  ejus  filio 
— "  Omnia  per  ipsum  facta  sunt," — sic  dicitur  de  ipsa  :  omnia  per 
ipsam  refacta  sunt,  ut  dicit  Anselmus.  Item,  Ipsa  est  Lux  nostra, 
qua;  post   Deum :    "  Uluminat  omnem  hominem  venientem  in  hunc 


THE   SAVIOUR  DEFKAUDED    OP   HIS   HONOR.  267 

mundum"  Item,  Ipsa  est  promptuarium  plenitudinis  unde  omnes 
stipendiantur  :  "  De  plenitudine  ejus  nos  omnes  accepimtis,"  scil.  post 
Deum,  "  Gratiam  pro  Gratia."  Item,  Ipsa  est  generale  Baptisma 
peccatorum:  "  JErat  Joannes  Baptisans.  Hujus  Baptism!  formam, 
spiritualiter  Ipsa  in  nobis  Baptizando  conservat ;  Baptizat  enim,  id 
est  mundat  peccatores  :  in  nomine  Patris,  per  potentiam  :  In  nomine 
Filii,  per  sapientiam ;  In  nomine  Spiritus  Sancti,  per  bonitatem  et 
clementiam.  Joan.  cap.  iv.  Item,  Ipsa  est  "  Fons  Jacob"  propter 
plurima; — Prima  quod  sitientes  aquis  Gratise  refoeillat.  Secundo 
quia  (ad)  peceata  videnda  illuminat.  Tertio  quia  a  peccato  liberat. 
Unde  "  reliquit  hydriam  suam  mulier,"  hydriam  scil.  cupiditatis, 
voluptatis,  et  vanitatis." 

In  the  works  to  which  I  shall  refer  in  the  note,''  the  blessed 
Virgin  is  termed — "  the  mother  of  God,  the  queen  of  heaven, — our 
lady, — our  mediatress, — and  our  advocate ; — the  fountain  of  mercy, 
— the  gate  of  heaven, — the  salvation  of  the  weak ;  at  whose  command 
the  gates  of  heaven  are  opened,  ■"  and  at  whose  nam£  every  knee  shall 
bow,  of  things  in  heaven  and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the 
earth: — for  this  name  refreshes  the  weary,  heals  the  languid, 
illuminates  the  blind,  softens  the  hardened,  anoints  us  for  the  contest, 
and  removes  the  yoke  of  the  devil."*  "  If  tlwu  dost  not  illuminate 
me  (the  devotee  exclaims  to  her),   whither,  oh,  whither  shall  I  go  ? 

...Justly  do  the  eyes  of  all  creatures  look  upon  thee Thou  art 

our  lady,   we  are  thy  servants ;  thou  art  our  queen,  we  are  thy 

subjects.     Thou  art  the  hope  of  the  whole  earth! Govern,  teach, 

guide,  and  defend  me  in  all  things  according  to  thy  will,  for  to  thee 
I  flee  as  to  my  only  refuge  !    Reject  me  not,  O  mother  of  mercy,  for 

without  thee  my  soul  cannot  live.' To  thee  therefore,  both  now, 

and  always,  and  in  the  hour  of  my  death  I  commend  my  soul  and 
my  body,  all  my  hope  and  all  my  consolation.""  Moreover,  it  is  be- 
lieved by  many,  that  she  was  never  polluted  with  either  original  or 
actual  sin,  even  of  a  venial  kind, '  whence  it  must  necessarily  follow 
that  she  stood  not  in  need  of  a  Saviour. 

She  is  moreover  called,  "  the  most  glorious  mother, — the  consola- 
tion of  the  desolate, — the  way  of  those  who  wander, — the  health  of 
all  who  put  their  trust  in  her, — the  fountain  of  mercy, — the  fountain 
of  grace,  the  fountain  of  piety, — a  city  of  refuge, — the  refuge  of 
sinners, — the  help  of  Christians, — the  cause  of  our  happiness, — and 
the  ordy  hope  of  sinners."     ("  Spes  unica  peccatorum.")* 

THE   OLOBY  OF   GOD   GIVEN  TO  ANOTHER. 

Let  us,  for  brevity's  sake,  confine  our  views  to  the  idolatrous  homage 
rendered  to  the  blessed  Virgin.     Churches  are  invariably  dedicated 

'1  Turloti  Thesaurus,  Col.  Agrip.  1723,  passim.  Item  Coeleste   Palmetum,  Col. 
Agrip.  1750,  passim.  '  "  Ad  nutum  tuutn  portae  coeli  apperiuntur." 

»  Turlot,  p.  404.  '  Coeleste  raluietum,  p.  258,  &c. 

«  Ibid,  p   261.  "  Turlot,  p.  238. 

"  C«Ele8te  Palmetum,  p.  250,  &c.  Turlot,  p.  428. 


268        IDOLATROUS   HOMAGE   PAID   TO   THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN. 

"in  honorem  Dei  et  gloriosse  Virginis  Maria? ;""  and  the  colophons 
so  frequently  adopted  by  Roman  Catholic  authors,  "  Ad  Majorem 
Dei  ejusque  sanctissimte  Matris  gloriam,"  or  "  Laus  Deo,  Virginique 
Marise,  Jesu  item  Christo,"^  exhibit  to  us  an  equally  ofiensive  asso- 
ciation. 

Both  in  the  mass  and  at  the  sacrament  of  penance  there  is  a  confes- 
sion of  sin  "Deo  omnipotenti,  Beatae  Marise  semper  virgini,  &c."* 
And  in  the  Offidum  B.  Marice,  the  absolution  and  benediction  are 
couched  as  follows,*  "  Precibus  et  meritis  B.  Mariae  semper  virginis, 
et  omnium  sanctorum,  perducat  nos  Dominus  ad  regna  coelorum" — 
"  Nos  cum  prole  pia,  benedicat  Virgo  Maria." 

The  Virgin  Mary  is  addressed  in  the  same  humble  posture  as  the 
Almighty,  and  with  expressions  of  devotion  which  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  exceed  :  ex.  gr.  "  Ad  te  faciem  meam  levo,  cceli  regina ; 
ad  te  oculi  cordis  mei  suspiciunt,  in  te  confidit  anima  mea."''  "  Eia ! 
anima  mea,  prosterne  te  ad  pedes  matris  tuse  Mariaj,  nee  ante  recede 
quam  Ula  tibi  benedixerit." "  "  O  beata  Maria,  quis  tibi  digne  valeat 
jura  gratiarum  et  laudum  prseconia  impendere,  qua?  singulari  tuo 
assensu  mundo  succuvisti  perdito.  Quas  tibi  laudes  fragilitas  gene- 
ris humani  persolvat !  Accipe  igitur  quascunque  exules,  quascunquc 
meritis  tuis  impares  gratiarum  actiones,  et  cum  susceperis  vota  cul- 
pas  nostras  orando  excusa."**  "  Accipe  quod  offerimus,  redona  quod 
rogamus,  excusa  quod  timemus,  quia  tu  es  spes  unica  peccatorum. 
Per  te  speramus  veniam  delictorum,  et  in  te,  beatissima,  nostrorum 
est  expectatio  praemiorum."* 

According  to  the  doctrine  of  the  council  of  Trent,  mental  prayer 
may  be  offered  up  to  the  blessed  Virgin,  &c.,  and  to  her  is  ascribed 
the  faculty  of  reading  the  heart.  ^ 

Those  who  use  the  rosary,  address  her  ten  times  for  every  prayer 
that  they  offer  up  to  God.  The  devout  Roman  Catholic  worshipper 
kneels  before  her  three  times  every  day.  ^  The  laity  frequently  re- 
cite seven  canonical  hours  in  honour  of  the  mother  of  God,  as  a  priest 
recites  his  breviary ;  and  over  and  above  her  five  annual  festivals, 
every  Saturday  in  the  year  (once,  God's  own  day  of  rest)  is  solemnly 
dedicated  to  her  service.** 

To  her,  praise  and  glory  are  ascribed.  It  is  considered  lawful  to 
swear  by  her  name,  and  it  is  deemed  a  fearful  blasphemy  to  take 
that  name  in  vain.' 

The  monk  devotes  himself  to  God,  to  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  all 
the  saints,  at  the  time  of  his  profession ;  and  as  the  first  martyr 
Stephen  commended  his  spirit  into  the  hands  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  the 

*  Pontificale  Romanum,  Romae,  1595,  fol.  379. 

y  Bellarmini  Controv.  io  Calce. ;  Turlot  in  Calce. 

»  Missale  Romanum  Trident.  a  Coeleste  Palmetum,  p.  8. 

*>  CcEleste  Palmetum,  p.  257.  e  Ibid.  p.  261. 

*■  Ibid.  p.  253.  e  Ibid." p.  254," 

f  Concil.  Trid.  Sess.  xxv. ;  Coeleste  Palmetum,  p.  255. 

g  Turlot,  p.  422.  h  Ibid,  p   437. 

i  Ibid.  pp.  404,  418,  525,  528.   Compare  Deut.  vi.  13,  x.  20.  Exod.  xx.  7. 


CEREMONIAL   OBSERVANCES   THROUGHOUT   THE   YEAR.  269 

dying  Roman  Catholic  commends  his  spirit  into  the  hands  of  the 
blessed  Virgin,  ("  Et  quotidie  et  in  horS.  exitus  mei  animam  meam 
et  corpus  meum  tibi  commendo,  omnem  spem  meam  et  consolationera 
meam").j 

She  has  been  called  *' omnipotens  virgo,'"' but  nothing  is  more 
common  than  the  expression  ^'^  diva  virgo  ;"'  the  very  term  used  by 
the  Romans  to  designate  their  false  gods.    Thus  Virgil  says — 

"  Discite  justitiam  moniti  et  non  temnere  Dtoos/" 
and  Horace  terms  Venus — 

•'  Diva  potens  Cypri." 

Indeed  Bellarmine™  has  declared  that  worship  is  rendered  to  the 
saints,  "quatenus  sunt  Dii  per  participationem :"  and  cardinal 
Damian  thus  identifies  the  blessed  Virgin  with  the  Creator,  "  In  a 
fourth  manner  God  exists  in  one  creature,  viz.  the  Virgin  Mary, 
because  He  is  the  same  as  she  is."  " 

THE   PRINCIPAL   CEREMONIES   THROUGHOUT  THE   YEAB. 

Christmas  Day,  three  masses  said,  the  first  at  midnight. 

Pwtykation  of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  wax  candles  are  blessed 
and  distributed  to  the  people,"  whence  the  term  Candlemas. 

Shrove  Triesday.  The  laity  confessed  their  sins,  and  were  absolved 
or  shriven. 

Ash  Wednesday.  The  priest  crosses  the  foreheads  of  the  people 
with  ashes  p  made  from  the  palms  blessed  the  preceding  year,  using 
the  words  **  Remember,  O  man !  that  dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust 
shalt  thou  return." 

Fourth  Sunday  in  Lent,  called  from  the  introit  of  the  mass  '  Do- 
minica LoBtare  HieruscAem"  the  Pope  blesses  a  golden  rose,  and  carries 
it  in  his  hand  as  he  goes  and  returns  from  mass.  It  is  afterwards 
presented,  as  a  mark  of  special  favour,  to  some  king  or  illustrious 
person.  <« 

Note.  The  first  of  the  seven  scrutinies,  i.  e.  the  examination  of  the 

catechumens  in  the  rudiments  of  the  faith  preparatory  to  baptism,  took 

place  on  the  Wednesday  following  the  fourth  Sunday  in  Lent,  and  the 

seventh  and  last  on  Easter  eve. 

Sabbatum  vacans,  the  Saturday  before  Palm  Sunday,  when  the 
Pope  publicly  gives  alms  to  the  poor  and  washes  their  feet. 

Palm  Sunday.  Palms  were  blessed  and  distributed  to  the  people, 
and  they  walked  in  solemn  procession  to  the  cross  in  the  churchyard, 
decorated  in  honour  of  the  occasion/  Sometimes  there  was  an 
effigy  of  the  Saviour  riding  upon  an  ass ;  or  the  priest  in  full  ponti- 
ficals rode  upon  an  ass,  bearing  in  his  hands  the  pyx  with  the  sacred 
host.  At  Rome  there  is  a  sermon  preached  on  this  day  by  a  child, 
in  allusion  to  Matt.  xxi.  16. 

J  Coeleste  Palmetum,  p.  261. 

»  By  Albert  the  Great.  See  Mariol.  p.  34.  '  Turlot,  p.  425. 

">  Bellarm.  de  Cnltu  SS.  lib.  iii.  c.  9,  Controv.  torn.  ii.  p. 473,  E. 
•>  Serm.  4,  in  Nativ.  B.  M.  V.  "  Picart,  il.  8. 

p  Ibid.  p.  13.  q  See  above,  p.  57.  <^  Picart,  ii.  16. 


270         CEREMONIAL   OBSERVANCES    THROUGHOUT   THE   YEAR. 

Mautxdy  Thursday.  At  nocturns  or  matins  recited  between  the 
Wednesday  night  and  Thursday  morning,  the  yellow  wax  candles 
are  extinguished  upon  the  hearse,  one  after  another,"  and  the  white 
wax  taper  which  represents  the  Saviour,  still  lighted,  is  concealed 
behind  the  altar,  so  as  to  leave  the  church  in  total  darkness.  This 
service  was  called  the  "  tenebrce," '  and  is  fully  described  by  Duran- 
dus  (lib.  vi.  c.  72.)  The  number  of  candles  varied  very  much  in 
different  places ;  sometimes  there  were  seventy-two,  sometimes 
twenty-four,  sometimes  fifteen,  sometimes  twelve,  sometimes  nine, 
and  sometimes  seven.  The  miserere  was  then  recited  in  darkness 
and  prostrate. 

On  this  day  penitents  were  received  into  the  church,  the  holy  oils 
were  solemnly  blessed  by  the  bishop,  and  the  feet  of  thirteen  poor 
men  were  publicly  washed  by  each  prelate. «  This  was  termed 
*  mandatum,'  and  in  French  'mandee,'  whence  the  term  Maundy 
Thursday,  (erroneously  derived  from  mande,  the  Saxon  word  for  « 
basket). 

"  It  may  be  asked  (says  Durandus)  why  penitents  are  introduced 
into  the  church  on  this  day.  I  reply,  that  on  the  fifth  day  God 
created  the  fishes  and  the  birds By  the  fishes,  we  are  to  under- 
stand covetous,  avaricious,  and  luxurious  persons,  thoroughly  im- 
mersed in  the  (sinful)  pleasures  of  this  world  in  which  they  delight. 
Birds  (on  the  other  hand)  are  the  spiritually  minded,  who  are 
exalted  by  their  spiritual  conversation,  as  (birds  are  exalted)  in  the 
air.  Penitents  are  therefore  admitted  into  the  church  upon  the 
fifth  day,  and  being,  as  it  were,  separated  from  the  wicked,  and  from 
the  pleasures  of  this  world,  have  their  conversation  in  heaven."  *^ 

Good  Friday.  The  passion  of  our  Lord,  as  related  by  the  Evan- 
gelists, was  read  to  the  people,  generally  from  the  rood-loft.  The 
missa  prcesanctijicatorum  was  celebrated  with  hosts  consecrated  the 
day  before.  The  crucifix  was  unveiled  and  worshipped,"  and  the 
pyx  with  the  host  deposited  in  the  holy  Sepulchre. 

Easter  Eve.  The  paschal  candle  is  consecrated  by  a  subdeacon, 
and  all  the  candles  in  the  church  having  been  extinguished,  the  new 
fire  is  lighted  with  a  flint  and  steel."  The  baptismal  font  is  solemnly 
blessed,  and  the  catechumens  are  baptised.  There  is  no  introit, 
offertory,  or  post-communion  on  this  day. 

At  Rome,  on  this  day,  the  Pope  blesses  and  distributes  to  the 
people  effigies  of  the  Agnus  Dei,  stamped  upon  wax,^  and  anointed 
with  the  chrism.  They  are  made  out  of  the  paschal  candle  of  the 
preceding  year. 

Easter  Day.  The  paschal  candle  is  lighted.  The  host  is  brought 
in  solemn  procession  from  the  sepulchre  to  the  altar,  and  high  mass 
is  performed."     Eggs  are  blessed  and  distributed. 

•  Vide  supra,  p.  241.  t  picart,  ii  8. 

»  Ibid.  p.  20,  and  82.  »  v  nb,  vi.  c.  73,  N.  4. 

*  Picart,  ii.  8,  20.  x  Ibid   p.  8. 

>  Ibid.  vol.  i.  384.  I  Ibid  p.  334. 


MYSTERIES    AND    MORALITIES THE    DRAMA.  271 

Easter-week.  On  each  of  the  seven  days  after  Easter,  there  is  a 
solemn  procession  to  the  font ;  and  in  some  churches  a  lighted  taper, 
curiously  twisted  into  the  form  of  a  serjient  and  fixed  upon  a  staff, 
was  carried  in  the  procession. 

The  Rogation  procession  took  place  on  the  three  days  before  As- 
cension day.  The  clergy  and  the  people,  preceded  by  a  processional 
cross  and  banners,  chanted  the  liturgy.  Portable  reliquaries  and 
ca/marines  were  carried  in  this  procession. 

Ascension  Day,  Corpus  Christi  Day^  and  several  other  festivals 
had  also  their  processions,  but  these  were  not  distinguished  by 
any  peculiar  features. 

In  describing  these  ceremonies,  I  have  chiefly  derived  my  infor- 
mation from  Durandus,  and  in  the  notes  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 
plates  in  Picart's  '  Eeligious  Ceremonies,'  fol.  London,  1733. 

MYSTERIES  AND  MIRACLE  PLAYS. 

Mysteries  and  moralities  were  sometimes  performed  by  trade 
guilds,  on  temporary  stages  erected  in  the  public  streets ;  but  some- 
times they  were  enacted  by  the  very  clergy,  in  the  sacred  building, 
the  hallowed  vestments  of  the  mass  being  used  as  theatrical  proper- 
ties,'' and  the  most  awful  mysteries  of  religion  forming  their 
subjects. 

These  are  deserving  of  notice  as  the  real  origin  of  our  modern 
drama,  but  they  are  here  referred  to,  as  being  strikingly  charac- 
teristic of  the  state  of  religion  in  the  middle  ages. 

Their  subjects  were  either  scriptural  or  legendary,  sacred  history,  or 
the  lives  and  miracles  of  the  saints ;  and  the  apocryphal  gospels  of  the 
Infancy,  of  Nicodemus,  &c.,  appear  to  have  been  especial  favourites. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  ancient  MS.  rituals  of  cathedral 
churches  frequently  contain  rubrical  directions  connected  with  these 
performances,  and  in  England  (independently  of  single  plays  still 
existing  in  MS.)  there  are  three  remarkable  collections  of  these 
mysteries,  viz.  the  Townley,  Chester,  and  Coventry. 

From  the  narrow  limits  of  my  work,  I  can  only  be  expected  to 
give  a  few  very  brief  descriptions,  chiefly  selected  from  Du  Cange's 
glossary ;  but  in  Sharpe's  "  Dissertation,"  Hone's  "  Ancient  Myste- 
ries," and  other  similar  works,  by  Collier,  &c.,  the  reader  will  find 
copious  extracts.  Mr.  Ilalliwell  has  lately  pubhshed  "  ^i)c  ?l)arroto= 
ing  of  |t?en"  in  a  cheap  form.  See  also  the  Gentleman's  Magazine 
for  April  1740,  p.  198,  &c. 

d)c  33og  Ubjbop.  Every  year,  on  S.  Nicholas*  day  (December  6), 
the  singing  boys  of  a  cathedral  church  elected  one  of  their  number 
to  be  their  bishop.  He  was  vested  in  a  rich  cope,  with  a  mitre,  and 
the  other  insignia  of  a  real  bishop.  There  was  a  choral  service  pro- 
vided for  the  occasion,  in  which  his  youthful  chaplains  officiated  as 
priests,  and  in  conclusion,  he  gave  a  solemn  benediction  to  the 

a  Picart,  vol.  ii.  p.  16. 

^  Matthaei  Paris,  Vitse  xxiii  Abbatum  S.  Albani  ad  calcem  Historise  Majoris, 
Edit.  Watts,  Lond.  1684.  col.  1007. 


272  MUMMERIES   PRACTISED   IN    THE   VERY   CHURCH. 

people.  "  Benedicat  vos  omnipotens  Deus,  Pater  et  FUius  et  Spiritus 
Sanctus."  This  mummery  continued  till  Innocents'  day  (December 
28),  on  the  eve  of  which,  the  boy  bishop  and  his  youthful  clergy  in 
their  copes  walked  in  procession  to  the  choir,  bearing  lighted  tapers 
in  their  hands,  and  provided  with  a  censer,  and  chanted  a  special 
service,  with  prayers  and  responses.  At  Salisbury  cathedral,  the 
boy  bishop  held  a  sort  of  episcopal  visitation  during  his  shOTtTeign, 
and  if  he  died  within  the  month,  he  was  buried  like  other  bishops 
in  his  episcopal  vestments.'' 

jFfa^t  of  tj^e  tStar,*^  i.e.  the  Epiphany.  Three  of  the  principal 
canons  rode  in  procession  to  church,  with  crowns  upon  their  heads, 
dressed  in  royal  robes,  and  carrying  in  their  hands  golden  boxes, 
containing  the  offerings  of  gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh.  A  gilt  star, 
raised  in  the  air  by  some  mechanical  contrivance,  was  drawn  before 
them.  There  was  a  band  of  music,  and  they  h\d  many  attendants 
disguised  as  baboons,  apes,  and  other  wild  animals.  Another  canon 
personated  king  Herod,  and  at  the  side  of  the  high-altar  a  manger 
was  erected,  with  the  Virgin  and  child  sitting  in  it,  to  whom  these 
wise  men  offered  their  gifts. 

'^^t  jpt&^t  of  ^gse^.''  At  Roan,  in  Normandy,  on  Christmas- 
day,  all  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  sybil  were  per- 
sonified in  the  cathedral,  variously  attired  and  predicting  the  birth 
of  the  Redeemer.  Moses  (for  instance)  was  arrayed  in  an  albe  and 
cope,  with  the  appearance  of  a  horned  glory  over  his  head,  a  long 
beard,  and  a  staff,  and  the  tables  of  the  law  in  his  hands  ;  Amos,  as 
an  old  man,  with  a  beard,  holding  an  ear  of  wheat ;  Isaiah,  in  an 
albe,  with  a  red  stole  bound  round  his  head,  and  a  long  beard ; 
Jeremiah  in  the  vestments  of  a  priest,  a  long  beard,  and  a  scroll  in 

his  hand "  Then  Balaam,  dressed  and  sitting  upon  an  ass, 

having  spurs  upon  his  heels,  is  to  hold  the  bridle  and  spur  the  ass ; 
a  young  man  with  a  drawn  sword  is  to  stand  in  the  asses  way,  and 
some  one  creeping  under  the  belly  of  the  ass  is  to  cry  out  '  cur  me 
calcaribus  miserara  sic  Iseditis  :' "  whence  the  festival  took  its  name. 

At  Beauvais,  on  the  14th  of  January,  a  beautiful  girl,  riding  upon 
an  ass  and  having  a  chUd  in  her  arms,  was  led  to  the  principal  altar 
where  high-mass  was  celebrated.  The  introit,  gloria,  and  creed  of 
that  mass,  terminated  with  the  modulation  '  Hinham  V  (in  imitation 
of  the  braying  of  an  ass),  and  at  the  conclusion,  instead  of  saying 
"  Ita  missa  est,"  the  priest  turned  and  brayed  towards  the  people, 
who  responded — ''  hinham!  hinham!  hinham!"' 

iSalcntia.K  On  the  1st  of  January,  the  people  disguised  them- 
selves as  wild  beasts,  and  in  all  sorts  of  grotesque  shapes ;  danced  in 

c  Processionale  ad  usum  Insignis  et  Preclare  Ecclesise  Sarum,  Rothomagi,  1566, 
4to.  apud  Hone. 

d  See  in  the  Supplement  to  Da  Cange  Stella  Fesium,  and  in  the  Glossary  itself, 
Stella  Festum. 

«  Du  Cange,  voce  Fesium  Asinorum. 

f  Ibid.     It  represented  the  flight  into  Egypt. 

t  Du  Cange  in  voce  Kalenda.   Item  in  Glossarii  Supplemento,  voce  Kalenda. 


CHURCH    WAKES    THE    ORIGIN    OF    FAIRS.  273 

the  church  during  the  actual  celebration  of  the  mass ;  ate  fat  bacon 
and  played  at  dice  upon  the  very  altar ;  burnt  fetid  substances  as 
a  burlesque  upon  the  fumes  of  the  incense ;  and  even  indecently 
exposed  their  persons.  A  pope  or  abbot  of  fools  was  chosen  on  these 
occasions,  and  a  solemn  "  Te  Deum"  was  chanted  in  the  church  in 
honour  of  his  election.  Du  Cange  expressly  tells  us  that  the  bishops 
and  clergy  encouraged  this  ribaldry. 


§  I.— MISCELLANIES  RELATING  TO  CHURCHES, 
RELIGIOUS  CEREMONIES,  &c. 

Concilia  Magn^e  Britannle,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  I. 

WiLKiNS,  CoNCiL.  i.p.  3. — Canons  of  St.  Patrick,  Sfc.  made  in  Ireland, 

A.D.  456. 

Can.  23.  If  any  presbyter  shall  have  built  a  church,  let  him  not 
offer  there  till  he  hath  brought  his  bishop  to  consecrate  it. 

Ibid.  p.  5. — Other  canons  of  St.  Patrick,  of  uncertain  date. 

Can.  8.  The  church  was  not  instituted  for  the  defence  of  the 
guilty  ;  yet,  nevertheless,  judges  ought  to  be  persuaded  not  to  slay 
those  who  fly  to  the  bosom  of  mother  church. 

Note.  "  Ne  spiritali  morte  eos  occiderent," — as  I  cannot  understand, 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  translate. 

Spelm.  CoNCiL.  i.  p.  89. — Pope  Gregory's  epistle  to  Melito  the  abbot, 

A.D,  601. 

Among  the  English — "  The  idol  temples  ought  not  to  be  de- 
stioyed,  but  let  the  idols  which  are  in  them  be  destroyed.  Let 
holy  water  be  consecrated,  and  sprinkled  in  these  temples  ;  let  altars 
be  built,  and  relics  be  deposited  :  and,  because  they  are  in  the  habit 
of  slaying  many  oxen  in  sacrificing  to  daemons,  on  the  anniversary 
day  of  the  dedication,  or  the  birthdays  of  the  holy  martyrs  (i.e.  the 
day  of  their  martyrdom),  let  booths  be  constructed  of  the  branches 
of  trees  around  those  churches  which  were  formerly  temples,  and 
let  them  celebrate  the  solemnity  with  religious  festivity." 

Note.  In  the  Eccl.  Laws  of  king  Edgar,  A.  D.  967,  can.  28,  these  fes- 
tivals are  called  "  enccenia  ecclesiarum,"  or  church  wakes ;  and  Spelman 
supposes  them  to  have  been  the  origin  of  our  modern  fairs.  Great 
abuses  having  arisen  out  of  this  practice,  laws  were  made  at  various 
times  to  correct  them.  Thus,  Othobon  the  legate,  in  his  34th  constitu- 
tion, (A.D.  1268,)  expressly  forbids  the  holding  of  a  market  (mercatum) 
within  the  walls  of  churches  ;  for  they  used  to  sell  cakes  and  ale  in  the 
sacred  building  itself.  In  some  of  our  English  villages  there  is  still 
held  a  wake  ox  feast,  and  occasionally,  I  believe,  there  are  booths  in  the 
churchyard  ;  but  it  is  certainly  so  in  Ireland,  where  these  festivals  are 
called  patrons,  from  their  being  held  on  the  day  of  the  patron  saint. 

T 


274     THE  DAY  RECKONED  FROM  EVENING  TO  EVENING. 

WiLK.  CoNCiL.  i.  p.  21. — Replies  of  Gregory  the  Great  to  Augustin, 

A.D.  601. 

"  1  entreat  (says  Augustin)  that  the  relics  of  St.  Sixtus  the 
martyr  may  be  transmitted  to  us."  To  which  Gregory  replies  : 
"  We  have  granted  your  request,  as  far  as  we  could  learn  the  place 
where  people  say  that  the  body  of  Sixtus  the  martyr  was  formerly 
venerated ;  but  it  is  my  opinion,  that  if  a  body,  which  the  people 
believe  to  be  that  of  a  martyr,  should  be  honoured  by  no  miracles, 
and  if  no  ancient  persons  live  who  have  been  told  of  his  martyrdom 
by  their  parents,  the  place  in  which  the  aforesaid  body  lies  should 
be  blocked  up :  nor  let  the  people  be  allowed  to  desert  that  which 
is  certain,  and  to  venerate  that  which  is  uncertain." 

Ibid.  p.  58.—Eccl,  laws  of  Ina,  king  of  the  West-Saxoiu,  a.d.  693. 

Cap.  III.  If  a  slave  shall  work  on  the  Lord's  day  by  order  of  his 
master,  let  him  be  free,  and  his  master  pay  a  penalty  of  thirty 
shillings.  If,  however,  the  slave  shall  work  without  his  knowledge, 
let  him  be  beaten,  or  pay  the  ransom  of  his  hide  (hydgyldes).  But 
if  a  freeman  work  on  that  day  without  his  master's  orders,  let  him 
lose  his  liberty,  or  forfeit  sixty  shillings ;  and  let  a  priest  pay 
a  double  forfeiture. 

Cap.  V.  If  any  one  who  hath  incurred  the  penalty  of  death  shall 
flee  to  a  church,  let  him  have  his  life,  but  let  him  make  satisfaction. 
If  a  man  who  deserves  stripes  shall  flee  to  a  church,  let  the  stripes 
be  forgiven  him. 

Ibid.  p.  60. — King  Withred's  laws  made  at  Berghamsted,  {perhaps 
the  present  Bursted  or  Barsted,  near  Maidstone,)  a.d.  696. 

Can.  1.  Let  the  church  enjoy  her  immunities  and  revenues  ;  and 
let  prayer  be  offered  freely  for  the  king. 

Can.  2.  Let  the  protection  of  the  church  be  estimated  at  fifty 
shillings,  as  the  king's  is. 

Note,  The  violation  of  the  church's  protection  consisted  in  forcing 

malefactors  from  sanctuary. 

Can.  9.  If  a  man  shall  emancipate  his  slave  at  the  cUta/r,  let  him 
enjoy  his  freedom  among  the  people. 

Can.  10.  If  a  slave,  by  order  of  his  master,  shall  work  between 
Sunday  evening  after  sunset,  and  the  going  down  of  the  sun  on  Mon- 
day evening,  let  his  master  make  compensation  with  eighty  shillings. 
^  Note.   This  canon  proves  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  reckoned  their  day 

from  evening  to  evening,  according  to  the  scriptural  method  : ''  Sunday 

evening  in  this  place  means  Saturday  evening.  The  words  se^nnight  and 
fortnight,  which  are  still  in  use  are  in  reality  vestiges  of  the  same  custom. 

Can.  12.  If  a  freeman  {shall  do  so)  at  an  unlawful  time,  let  liim 
incur  the  penalty  of  the  pillory;  and  let  the  person  who  has  appre- 
hended him  have  half  the  mulct. 

''  Gen.  i.  5. 


A  TRULY  MAGNIFICENT  CHAPEL.  275 

Note.  Johnson  thinks  the  henlsfang,  or  neck-catch,  to  have  been  a 
kind  of  collar,  worn  as  a  badge  of  slavery.  In  can.  13  and  15,  this 
punishment  (whatever  it  was)  is  adjudged  to  the  man  who  has  made  an 
offering  to  the  devil,  or  who  has  given  flesh  to  his  servant  upon  a  fast- 
day. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  81,  n.  In  the  year  725,  Ina,  king  of  the  West-Saxons, 
founded  a  chapel  at  Glastonbury  with  incredible  magnificence,  and 
lined  it  throughout  with  gold  and  silver  plates.  On  this  Tvork  he  is 
said  to  have  expended  2640  lbs.  of  gold  and  silver,  besides  an  altar 
weighing  24G  lbs.  of  gold ;  a  chalice  and  paten  of  gold  weighing 
10  lbs. ;  a  golden  censer  weighing  8  lbs.  and  8  mancusses ;  two 
silver  candelabra,  12ilbs.;  a  golden  cover  for  the  gospels,  20  lbs. 
60  mancusses ;  a  golden  basin  for  the  priest's  hands  during  the 
celebration  of  mass,  8 lbs.;  a  silver  vase  for  holy  water,  20 lbs. ; 
the  images  of  our  Saviour,  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  the  twelve 
apostles,  175  lbs.  of  silver,  and  28  lbs.  of  gold.  A  pall  {pallium) 
also  for  the  altar,  and  ornaments  for  the  monks,  exquisitely  wrought 
with  gold  and  precious  stones. '  This  splendid  structure  is  not  with- 
out a  parallel  even  at  the  present  day.  Dr.  Dibdin  tells  us  of  the 
chapel  to  the  palace  at  Munich :  "  The  pavement  is  mosaic  work, 
composed  of  amethysts,  jaspers,  and  lapis  lazuli ;  the  interior  of  the 
cupola  is  composed  of  lapis  lazuli,  adorned  with  gilt  bronze. 
Here  is  to  be  seen  a  statue  of  the  Virgin  in  a  drapery  of  solid  gold, 
with  a  crown  upon  her  head  composed  of  diamonds ;  a  massive 
golden  crucifix  adorned  with  precious  stones,  and  upon  which  there 
is  an  inscription  cut  upon  an  emerald  an  inch  square.  The  small 
altars  are  supported  by  columns  of  transparent  amethyst,  &c. 
I  will  say  nothing  of  two  little  caskets  studded  with  cameos  and 
turquoises,  in  this  chapel  of  faery  land,  of  which  one  contains  two 
precious  pictures  by  Jean  d'Aix  la  Chapelle,  and  the  other  (of 
massive  gold,  weighing  24  lbs.)  a  painting  of  the  Resurrection  and 
of  Paradise  in  enamel.  Even  the  very  organ  is  constructed  of  gold, 
silver,  ebony,  turquoise,  and  lapis  lazuli,  ornamented  with  pearl  and 
coral.  As  to  the  huge  altar  of  massive  silver,  adorned  with  carea- 
tides,  candelabra,  statues,  vases,  and  bouquets  of  the  same  metal, 
and  especially  the  pyx,  lined  with  diamonds,  rubies,  and  pearls ; 
what  shall  I  say  of  these — all  the  fruit  of  the  magnificent  spirit  of 
Maximilian?  Truly,  I  would  pass  over  the  whole  with  an  indif- 
ferent eye,  to  gaze  upon  a  simple  altar  of  pure  gold,  the  sole  orna- 
ment of  the  prison  of  the  unfortunate  Mary  Queen  of  Scots."J 

Ibid,  p.  102,  &c. — Excerptions  of  Ecgbert,  Abp.  of  York,  a.  d.  750. 

Ex.  1.  Let  every  priest  build  his  church  with  all  diligence,  and 
preserve  the  relics  of  the  saints,  with  nocturnal  vigils,  and  the  per- 
formance of  divine  offices. 

I  Spelm. 

J  Dibdin's  Tour  through  France  and  Germany,  in  1818,  edit.  London,  1829,  vol. 
iii.  p.  114. 

T2 


276  THE   SEVEN   SYNAXES — SANCTUARY. 

Ex.  2.  Let  all  priests,  at  the  appointed  hours  of  the  day  and 
night,  toll  the  bells  of  their  churches  {sonent  ecclesiarum  signa),  and 
then  celebrate  the  divine  offices ;  and  lot  them  instruct  the  people 
how,  and  at  what  hours,  God  is  to  be  worshipped. 

Ex.  3.  That  on  all  festivals,  and  on  the  Lord's  day,  the  priest 
shall  preach  the  gospel  unto  the  people. 

Ex.  6.  That  every  priest  shall,  with  the  greatest  diligence,  in- 
struct the  people  committed  to  his  charge  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the 
Creed,  and  the  whole  of  religion. 

Ex.  28.  That  every  bishop  shall  take  care  that  the  churches  of 
God  in  his  parish  be  properly  built,  repaired,  and  adorned ;  both 
with  respect  to  the  style  of  building,  the  lights,  and  the  rest  of  the 
furniture.  Let  him  also  take  care  that  the  canonical  hours  be  cele- 
brated at  the  proper  time.  The  holy  fathers  then  have  decreed,  that 
seven  synaxes  shall  be  sung,  which  the  clergy  ought  to  sing  every  day 
at  the  appointed  hours :  viz.  1.  the  nocturnal  synaxis ;  2.  the  first 
hour  of  the  day  ;  3.  at  the  third  hour  ;  4.  at  the  sixth  ;  5.  at  the 
ninth  ;    6.  in  the  evening  ;    and  7.  at  what  we  call  complins.^ 

Ex.  52.  That  no  altars  shall  be  consecrated  with  the  chrism  but 
such  as  are  made  of  stone. 

Ex.  74.  An  Irish  canon.  Let  that  which  is  stolen  from  the 
church  be  restored  four-fold  ;  and  let  it  be  determined  by  lot, 
whether  he  shall  have  his  hand  cut  off,  or  be  cast  into  prison  to  fast 
and  bewail  (his  crime)  there  a  long  while. 

Ex.  86.  Let  the  man  who  leaves  the  auditory  while  the  priest  is 
preaching  in  the  church,  be  excommunicated. 

Ex.  141.  If  the  altar  be  removed,  let  the  church  be  again  con- 
secrated :  if  the  walls  are  changed,  and  not  the  altar,  let  it  be  ex- 
orcized with  salt  and  water :  if  it  shall  have  been  polluted  with 
murder  or  adultery,  let  it  be  most  diligently  purified  and  consecrated 
anew. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  191,  &c. — Ecd.  laws  of  Alfred  the  Great,^  a.d.  876. 

Cap.  II.  If  any  one  shall  flee  to  the  mansion  of  the  church,  for  any 
crime  which  concerns  not  the  king's  estate  {feorme),  or  any  other 
honourable  family,  let  him  have  the  space  of  three  days  allowed  him 
to  conceal  himself,  unless  he  should  be  willing  to  make  satisfaction. 
If  any  one  shall  during  that  time  do  him  an  injury,  let  him  make 
compensation  either  by  weregeld  or  by  mulct,  and  pay  to  the  minis- 
ters of  the  church  one  hundred  and  twenty  shillings  for  this  vio- 
lation of  the  peace  of  the  church. 

Cap.  IV.  We  assign  also  this  peace  to  every  church  consecrated 
by  a  bishop  ;  that  if  any  criminal  shall  flee  to  it,  no  one  shall  drag 
him  thence  within  the  space  of  seven  days,  if  he  can  live  so  long 
without  food,  and  has  not  attempted  to  force  his  way  out.  If  the 
clergy  have  occasion  for  their  church,  let  them  keep  him  in  some 

k  See  p.  284,  Note  (a).  i  Text.  RoflFens. 


THE    PUNISHMENT    OF   SACRILEGE SANCTUARY.  277 

house  which  has  not  more  doors  than  the  church.  It  it  also  the 
l)eaee  (i.  e.  privilege)  of  the  church,  that  if  any  one  shall  flee  thither 
for  a  crime  not  yet  discovered,  and  confesses  it  there  in  the  name  of 
God,  half  of  the  penalty  shall  be  forgiven  him. 

Cap.  V.  If  a  man  shall  steal  any  thing  in  a  church,  let  him  pay 
the  value  of  it,  and  a  mulct ;  and  let  the  hand  with  which  he  com  - 
mitted  the  theft  be  cut  off,  unless  he  be  allowed  to  redeem  it  with 
his  were. 

Cap.  XVI.  If  any  one  shall  without  leave  take  down  the  holy  veil 
(which  hangs)  before  the  people  in  Lent,  let  satisfaction  be  made 
with  one  hundred  and  twenty  shillings. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  202. — Eccl.  laws  of  kings  Alfred  and  Guthum;  afterwards 
confirmed  hy  king  Edward  the  Elder,  a.d.  905. 

Cap.  I.  That  the  peace  of  a  church  within  its  wails,  and  the  peace 
of  the  king's  right  hand,  be  equally  inviolable. 

Ibid.  p.  210. — Laws  ofH&wel  the  Good,  king  of  Wales,  a.d.  943. 

Lih.  ii.  c.  8,  §  4,  Let  the  man  who  hath  fled  to  an  asylum  be 
allowed  to  walk  about  in  the  churchyard  and  precincts  of  the  church 
without  relics ;  and  his  cattle  shall  be  safe  when  with  those  belong- 
ing to  the  monastery. 

§  5.  If  any  one  carrying  relics  shall  commit  a  crime  under  their 
protection,  they  shall  neither  protect  nor  defend  him  {from  punish- 
ment). 

§  8.  If  the  king  shall  permit  a  church  to  be  built  in  an  enslaved 
town,  and  a  burial-ground  shall  be  assigned  to  it,  and  priests  shall 
be  appointed  there  for  the  celebration  of  mass,  from  that  time  for- 
ward the  town  shall  be  free. 

[In  another  of  these  laws,  not  published  by  Wilkins,  the  truth  in 
questions  concerning  theft  "  shall  be  established  by  an  oath  made 
at  the  gate  of  the  cemetery,  at  the  gate  of  the  church,  and  at  the 
entrance  into  the  choir  {in  ostio  chori),  in  presence  of  the  priest."] 

Ibid.  p.  215. — Council  of  London  under  king  Edmund,  a.d.  944. 

Cap.  V.  That  every  bishop  repair  God's  house  in  his  own  (see), 
and  admonish  the  king  that  all  the  temples  of  God  be  properly 
adorned,  which  is  very  much  required. 

Ibid.  p.  272. — Capitvla  made  in  the  reign  of  king  jEthelred,  A.J).  994. 

Cap.  xxiii.  The  christian  laity  should  be  directed  to  pray  at  least 
twice  a-day,  if  they  cannot  do  so  more  frequently  :  and  if  a  man 
know  not  the  Pater-noster  and  Credo,  let  him  sing  and  say,  "  O 
Lord,  my  Creator,  have  mercy  upon  me,"  and  thank  God  for  his 
daily  food,  &c.  ,  , 

Cap.  XXIV.  Every  christian  who  can  do  so,  ought  on  Saturday  to 
go  to  the  church,  and  bring  a  light  with  him,  and  there  hear  vespers 


278      WESTMINSTER  ABBEY  DEDICATED  BY  S.  PETER  ! 

and  nocturns ;  and  in  the  morning  to  attend  the  celebration  of  mass, 
bringing  his  oblations. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  295. — Ecclesiastical  laws  of  king  ^thelred  made  at 
Habam,  a.d.  1012. 

Cap.  III.  That  in  every  congregation,  the  mass  *'  against  the 
Pagans"  be  sung  every  day  in  behalf  of  the  king  and  his  people : 
and  at  each  of  the  [canonical)  hours,  let  all  the  monks,  with  their 
bodies  prostrate  upon  the  ground,  sing  the  psalm,  "  Lord,  how  are 
they  multiplied  who  trouble  me ;"  and  let  this  be  done  so  long  as  the 
necessity  continues.  And  in  every  monastery  let  everj'  priest  cele- 
brate singly  thirty  masses  for  the  king,  and  let  every  monk  sing 
thirty  psalters. 

Johnson's  Collection,™  &c.  Vol.  I.  at  the  year  mxviii. 
Laws  of  Canute. 

Cap.  XXIX.    All  people  ought  of  right  to  assist  in  repairing  the  ' 
church. 

Spelm.  i.  628-634,  a.d.  1066.  King  Edward  the  Confessor 
had  vowed  to  make  a  pUgrimage  to  Rome ;  but  his  nobles  "  en- 
treated him  to  desist  from  his  intention,  promising  that  they  would 
make  satisfaction  to  God  for  his  vow,  as  well  by  offering  up  masses 
and  prayers,  as  by  a  liberal  distribution  of  alms."  By  way  there- 
fore of  commutation,  the  king  rebuilt  the  church  of  St.  Peter, 
Westminster,  (which  had  become  much  dilapidated  from  age,)  and  is 
said  to  have  introduced  into  England  the  plan  of  building  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  with  the  lower  hmb  lengthened. 

In  his  first  charter  to  the  church  of  Westminster,"  he  mentions, 
among  other  relics  preserved  there,  "two  pieces  of  our  Lord's  cross, 
and  a  part  of  one  of  the  nails  (which  pierced  his  hands)  ;  a  piece  of 
his  seamless  garment ;  some  of  the  clothes  of  St.  Mary,"  &c. 

In  his  third  charter  on  the  same  subject,"  he  says,  that  the  ancient 
church  at  Westminster  "  had  been  built  by  Melito  the  companion  of 
St.  Augustin,  and  dedicated  by  St.  Peter  himself,  attended  by  angels, 
with  the  impression  of  the  holy  cross,  and  the  mixture  of  the  sacred 
chrism." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  311. — Ecclesiastical  laws  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  con- 
firmed by  William  the  Conqueror-,  a.d.  1052. 
Cap.  III.  From  the  advent  of  our  Lord  to  the  octaves  of  the 
Epiphany,  let  the  protection  of  God  and  of  the  holy  church  (extend) 
throughout  the  Avhole  kingdom,  and  so  also  from  Septuagesima  till 
the  octaves  of  Easter.  Also  from  our  Lord's  Ascension  till  the 
octaves  of  Pentecost.  Also  on  all  the  days  of  the  four  (Ember) 
seasons.     Also  on  all  sabbaths,  from  the  nones  (i.e.  three  o'clock), 

m  This  was  not  published  by  Wilkins  or  Spelman. 
■  Spelm.  i.  629.  o  Ibid.  p.  632. 


PEACE    OF   THE    CHURCH — SANCTUARY.  279 

and  the  entire  of  the  following  day,  till  Monday.  Also  on  the  vigils 
of  St.  Mary,  all  the  apostles,  and  all  those  saints  whose  festivals  are 
announced  by  the  priest  on  the  Lord's  day.  Also  in  all  parish  churches 
in  which  the  anniversary  of  the  dedication  is  observed :  and  if  any 
man  shall  come  devoutly  to  venerate  a  saint,  let  him  enjoy  protec- 
tion in  coming,  remaining,  and  returning.  Also  let  those  who  come 
to  dedications,  synods,  or  chapters,  whether  by  summons  or  upon 
business,  enjoy  absolute  protection.  Also  if  an  excommunicate 
person  shall  go  to  the  bishop  to  be  absolved,  let  him  enjoy  the  pro- 
tection of  God  and  the  holy  church. 

Cap.  VI.  Wheresoever  an  accused  or  guilty  person  shall  flee  to  a 
church  for  protection,  from  the  moment  he  touches  the  threshold  of 
the  church,  let  him  be  on  no  account  seized  by  his  pursuers,  unless 
by  the  bishop  or  his  attendants.  And  if  in  his  flight  he  shall  enter 
the  house  of  a  priest  or  its  court  {curiam),  let  him  enjoy  the  same 
security  and  protection,  provided  that  the  house  is  built  upon 
glebe  land.  [The  remainder  of  the  canon  commands  the  robber 
who  has  taken  sanctuary  to  make  restitution  of  the  property  stolen  ; 
and  that  if  he  hath  frequently  taken  sanctuary,  he  shall  be  compelled 
to  abjure  the  realm. p] 

Cap.  VII.  If  any  one  shall  violate  the  peace  of  the  church,  let  the 
case  be  referred  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop  :  and  if  he  will  not 
submit  to  the  decision,  let  complaint  of  it  be  brought  to  the  king ; 
and  if  he  cannot  be  found  within  thirty-one  days,  the  king  shall 
outlaw  him  (utlagahit  eum)  by  word  of  mouth.  If  afterwards  he 
should  be  found,  let  him  bo  delivered  to  the  king  alive,  or  his  head 
should  he  resist :  for  he  carries  a  wolf's  head  from  the  time  of  his 
outlawry,  which  the  English  call  wulfesheofod. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  332. — Constitutions  of  Archbishop  Lanfranc,  a.  d.  1072. 

On  Ash  Wednesday,  let  the  priest,  having  only  his  stole  on,  bless 
ashes,  sprinkling  holy  water  over  them,  and  then  put  them  u})on  the 
heads  of  the  brethren,  saying,  "  Remember  that  thou  art  ashes  (cinis), 
and  unto  ashes  thou  shall  return."  On  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent, 
after  complins,  (i.e.  the  midnight  devotions,)  let  the  veil  (cortina)  be 
hung  between  the  choir  and  the  altar.  On  the  Monday  before  the 
third  (hour)  the  crucifix,  crowns,  reliquaries,  &c.  ought  to  be  covered. 
On  the  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  (in  monasteries)  let  the  chanter 
begin  the  antiphon,  and  then  let  the  brethren  walk  in  procession, 
chanting  the  litany  ;  and  let  no  one  have  his  shoes  on  but  the  priest 
and  the  levite  (i.e.  deacon).  If  a  festival  should  occur  during  Lent, 
on  the  day  before,  when  the  "Agnus  Dei "  is  sung  in  the  principal 
mass,  let  the  veil  be  undrawn,  and  let  the  forms  be  removed  from 
the  choir,  which  are  usually  removed  upon  (festivals  which  have) 
twelve  lessons. 

P  Soe  in  the  Index  Abjuring  the  Realm. 


280  CEREMONIES   OF   PASSION   WEEK. 

Note.  On  Palm  Sunday  a  procession  of  the  host  was  to  take  place, 
with  crosses  and  banners,  all  kneeling  as  it  passed.  On  the  Wednesday 
in  Passion-week,  at  each  of  the  responses,  a  candle  was  to  be  extin- 
guished, till  only  one  was  left,  which  was  also  to  be  blown  out  at  the 
words  "  traditor  autem,"  8fc.  On  Maundy  Thursday  the  feet  of  thirteen 
paupers  were  to  be  washed,  and  the  feet  of  all  the  monks  in  a  convent, 
by  the  abbot.  On  Good  Friday  the  " missa  prcBsanctiJicatorum"  the 
adoration  ofthe  cross,  &c.  On  the  Saturday  called  Sabbatnm  Sanctum 
candles  were  to  be  placed  upon  all  the  altars,  and  the  paschal  candle  to 
be  placed  before  the  high  altar ;  having  the  year  of  our  Lord  inscribed 
upon  the  wax,  and  also  the  figure  of  a  cross  made  upon  it  with  five 
grains  of  incense.  The  holy  fire  was  also  to  be  consecrated,  from  which 
all  the  other  fires  in  the  convent  were  to  be  lighted,  after  having  been 
extinguished — probably  a  relict  of  Druidical  superstition.  In  these 
directions,  mention  is  made  of  the  vestiarium,  or  vestry. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  365. — Council  of  Winchester,  under  Lanfranc,  a.d.  1076. 

Can.  5.    Concerning  altars  that  they  be  of  stone. 

Can.  8.  That  mass  be  not  celebrated  in  churches,  unless  they 
have  been  consecrated  by  bishops. 

Can.  9.    That  corpses  be  not  buried  in  churches. 

Can.  10.  That  bells  be  not  rung  while  mass  is  celebrated  at  the 
seoretum. 

Note.  The  secretum  is  that  part  of  the  mass  between  the  offertory  and 

the  preface. 

Can.  16.    That  chalices  be  not  of  wax  or  wood. 

Ibid.  p.  382. — Council  of  London,  under  Abp.  Anselm,  a.d.  1102. 

Can.  14.    That  tithes  be  only  given  to  churches. 

Can.  15.    That  prebends  or  churches  be  not  purchased. 

Can.  16.  That  new  chapels  be  not  built  without  the  consent  of 
the  bishop. 

Can.  17.  That  a  church  be  not  consecrated  till  all  necessaries 
have  been  provided  both  for  the  priest  and  the  church. 

Ibid.  p.  571. — Constitutions  of  William  de  Bleys,  bishop  of  Worcester, 

A.D.  1219. 

That  after  the  feast  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  smaller  wax  candles  be 
made  from  the  paschal  candle,  for  the  funerals  of  the  deceased  poor. 

Ibid.  p.  580. — Council  of  Durham,  under  Richard,  bishop  of  Durham, 

A.D.  1220. 

Let  priests  write  in  the  missal  the  possessions  and  revenues  of  the 
church,  and  the  names  of  the  books,  vestments,  and  ornaments  which 
belong  to  it. 

Ibid.  p.  612. — Provincial  council  in  Scotland,  A.D.  1225. 
Can.  48.    On  every  Lord's  day  and  festival,  from  the  beginning  of 
Lent  till  the  octaves  of  Easter,  immediately  after  the  gospel  at  mass, 


DATE   OF   CONSECRATION   INSCRIBED    ON   THE   ALTAR.  281 

let  the  subject  of  building  a  (cathedral)  church  at  Glasgow  be  care- 
fully impressed  upon  the  parishioners  in  all  the  churches ;  and  let 
them  be  instructed  respecting  the  indulgences  granted  to  all  who 
shall  contribute  towards  the  said  building  ;  and  let  the  gifts  of  the 
people,  the  goods  of  those  who  die  intestate,  and  pious  legacies,  be 
given  to  the  respective  deans  without  any  diminution. 

Note.  This  canon  at  once  explains  to  us  the  manner  in  which  funds 
were  raised  for  the  building  of  cathedral  churches.  Testamentary  be- 
quests were  numerous  and  liberal  at  a  time  when  such  works  were 
considered  as  a  passport  to  heaven ;  church-briefs,  sent  about  to  collect 
the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  people,  often  throughout  the  entire 
kingdom,  were  accompanied  by  INDULGENCES  to  aU  who  should  assist ; 
fines  for  ecclesiastical  offences,  and  the  commutations  of  penance,  were 
usually  applied  to  the  same  purpose,  as  will  hereafter  appear ;  and  the 
bishops  and  clergy  being  unmarried,  frequently  bequeathed  the  savings 
of  a  long  life  towards  the  adornment  of  that  sacred  building  in  which 
their  ministry  had  been  exercised. " 

Can.  67.  That  dances  or  filthy  games  which  engender  lascivious- 
ness  be  not  performed  in  churches  or  churchyards  ;  and  that  secular 
causes,  especially  where  hfe  is  at  stake,  be  not  tried  there. 

Can.  71.  That  when  a  sick  man  desires  to  make  his  will,  the 
priest  shall  earnestly  exhort  him  to  contribute,  as  far  as  his  means 
wUl  allow,  towards  the  building  of  the  cathedral  church  ;  since  from 
her  all  the  parish  churches  receive  instructions  {in  the  way  of)  salva- 
tion.' 

Can.  15.  That  wrestling  matches  or  {other)  sports  be  not  per- 
mitted in  churches  or  churchyards  upon  any  of  the  festivals. 

Can.  80.  That  laymen  hold  not  their  secidar  pleas  in  churches 
or  churchyards ;  and  that  laymen  presume  not  to  sit  or  stand 
among  the  clerks  near  the  altar,  while  the  holy  mysteries  are  cele- 
brated, except  our  lord  the  king  and  the  nobility  of  the  kingdom. 

Can.  81.  That  the  concubines  of  priests  or  beneficed  clerks  be 
not  admitted  in  churches  to  the  holy  water,  the  kiss  of  peace,  or  to 
any  communication  with  the  faithful. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  623. — Constitutions  of  WiUiam  de  Bleys,  A.  D.  1229. 

Cap.  V.  liCt  a  handsome  cross  be  erected  in  {every)  churchyard, 
to  which  the  procession  shall  be  made  on  Palm  Sunday. 

Note.  One  of  these  crosses  is  still  standing  in  the  churchyard  at 
Eyam  in  Derbyshire.     But  there  are  many  examples  of  the  same  kind. 

Cap.  vu.  Let  the  year  and  day  on  which  a  church  was  conse- 
crated, the  name  of  the  consecrator,  and  the  name  of  the  saint 
to  whose  honour  the  church  is  dedicated,  be  clearly  and  distinctly 
written  around  the  high-altar,  as  well  as  all  the  smaller  altars. 

Cap.  XI.  That  {the  profits  arising  from  the)  holy  water  be  con- 
ferred only  upon  poor  scholars:    also  that  the  palls  of  the  altar, 

f  See  here  p.  216.  "  See  p.  94. 


282  ALL    CHURCHES    HAD    NOT    THE   RIGHT    OF   BAPTISM. 

although  unconsecrated,  be  not  lent  to  decorate  houses  or  nuptial 
beds. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  628. — Inquiries  made  in  the  diocese  of  Lincoln,  A.  d.  1230. 

In.  15.  Whether  the  revenues  assigned  to  the  purchase  of  lights 
for  the  church  be  applied  to  that  purpose,  or  to  the  use  of  the 
rectors  and  vicars  ? 

In.  45.  Whether  any  of  the  laity  persist  in  standing  in  the 
chancel  with  the  clergy  ? 

Ibid.  p.  636. — Constitutions  of  Edmund,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury/, 

A.  D.  1236. 

Cap.  X.  Let  there  be  a  stone  baptistery  in  every  baptismal 
church. 

Note.  Collegiate  and  conventual  churches  having  no  laity  belonging 
to  them  had  no  fonts,  and  some  chapels  or  lesser  dependent  churches 
had  not  the  right  of  baptism.  Lindwood  {in  loco)  says  that  the  font 
must  be  large  enough  to  have  the  child  dipped  in  it,  and  that  it  ought 
to  be  thrice  dipped,  though  he  makes  neither  of  these  particulars 
essential  to  the  sacrament.* 

Ibid.  p.  641. — Constit.  of  Alexander,  Bp.  of  Ccyoeniry,  A.  D.  1237. 

Since  many  scholars,  whose  learning,  through  the  grace  of  God, 
may  edify  many,  are  in  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  it  is  our  will 
that  scholars  carry  holy  water  tlu-ough  the  country  villages. 

We  also  forbid,  upon  pain  of  suspension,  any  clerks  who  serve  in 
churches  to  live  upon  {the  profits  of  the)  holy  water. 

Ibid.  p.  650. — Legatine  Constitutions  of  cardinal  Otho,  a.  D.  1237. 

Cap.  I.  We  have  found  many  churches  {in  England),  and  even 
some  cathedrals,  which,  although  built  in  old  times,  have  not  yet 
been  consecrated  with  holy  oil. 

Ibid.  p.  667. — Constitutions  of  Walter,  Bp.  of  Worcester,  a.  d.  1240. 

Let  the  eucharist  be  carried  to  the  sick  with  all  due  solemnity, 
that  so  the  devotion  of  the  faithful  may  be  increased,  who  are 
bound  to  adore  their  Saviour  upon  the  road  with  bended  knees, 
notwithstanding  the  mud. 

In  wealthy  churches,  let  a  lamp  burn  day  and  night  before  the 
said  pledge  of  our  redemption. 

Let  such  of  the  beneficed  clergy  as  dress  in  an  unclerieal  manner 
be  fined  the  tenth  part  of  their  annual  revenues,  to  be  applied  to 
the  building  of  Worcester  cathedral. 

We  also  ordain,  that  from  henceforth  churches  be  on  no  account 
suspended  by  archdeacons  from  the  celebration  of  divine  ofiices,  on 
account  of  the  delinquency  of  the  rectors,  &c. 

We  also  prohibit  Christians  to  receive  money  from  Jews  to  be 
deposited  in  the  church  for  greater  security. 

*  Johnson. 


EVILS    OF   THE    PEW   SYSTEM.  283 


Concilia  Magn^  Bbitannle,  &c.  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  II. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  140. — Synod  of  Exeter,  under  Peter  QuivU,  bishop  of 
Exeter,  a.  d.  1287. 

Cap.  XII.  We  have  heard  also  that  the  inhabitants  of  parishes 
repeatedly  quarrel  about  seats  in  the  church,  two  or  more  persons 
{often)  laying  claim  to  one  seat,  which  is  a  cause  of  much  scandal, 
and  often  produces  an  interruption  in  the  service.  We  decree  that 
no  person  shall  for  the  future  be  able  to  claim  any  seat  as  his  own, 
with  the  exception  of  noblemen  and  the  patrons  of  the  churches ; 
but  that  if  a  person  shall  first  enter  a  church  to  pray  there,  he  may 
choose  whatever  place  he  wiU. 

Note.  This  most  wise  and  salutary  regulation  is  unfortunately  but 
too  applicable  to  our  own  times.  In  an  architectural  point  of  view,  the 
modern  system  of  pewing  churches  is  utterly  indefensible,  for  how  many 
noble  monuments  of  the  taste  of  our  ancestors  have  been  spoiled  by 
such  incongruous  additions :  but  the  monopoly  in  the  house  of  God, 
to  which  the  system  gives  rise,  is  an  infinitely  greater  evil.  It  grieves 
me  to  the  heeirt  when  I  see  large  square  pews,  capable  of  accommodating 
at  least  a  dozen  persons,  either  with  a  smgle  occupant,  or  else  locked  up 
by  their  churlish  owners,  who  will  not,  even  during  their  absence,  permit 
others  to  enjoy  the  spiritual  advantages  -which  they  themselves  seem 
unable  to  appreciate :  and,  waving  this  consideration,  what  economy  of 
room  can  there  be,  so  long  as  our  churches  are  divided  into  irregular 
squares  ? 

Cap.  XIV.  We  decree,  that  if  the  rectors  of  churches,  or  parish 
priests,  to  whom  the  custody  of  burial-grounds  chiefly  belongs, 
shall  suffer  their  own  or  any  other  cattle  to  feed  there,  they  shall 
be  severely  punished  by  their  ordinaries :  and  since  trees  are  often 
planted  there  to  prevent  the  church  from  being  injured  hy  storms,  we 
strictly  forbid  the  rector  to  fell  them;  unless  the  chancel  should 
stand  in  need  of  repair,  or  unless,  when  the  nave  requires  to  be 
repaired,  the  rector,  on  account  of  the  poverty  of  the  parishioners, 
shaU  think  proper,  out  of  charity,  to  grant  them  some  of  the  trees 
for  that  purpose. 

Cap.  XXI.  That  parish  priests  engage  not  to  perform  annals  or 
triennials,  so  that  their  parish  churches  are  deprived  of  the  daily 
offices. 

Note.  Formerly,  at  the  canonical  hours,  the  bell  was  tolled  in  every 
parish  church,  that  the  devout  parishioners  might  repair  thither  to 
pray :  and  even  now,  in  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  the  following 
passage  occurs  in  one  of  the  prefaces :  "  And  all  priests  and  deacons 
are  to  say  daily  the  morning  and  evening  prayer,  either  privately  or 
openly ;  not  being  let  by  sickness  or  some  other  urgent  cause.  And 
the  curate  that  ministereth  in  every-  parish  church  or  chapel,  being  at 
home,  and  not  being  otherwise  reasonably  hindered,  shall  say  the  same 
in  the  parish  church  or  chapel  where  he  ministereth,  and  shall  cause 
a  bell  to  be  tolled  thereunto,  that  the  people  may  come  to  hear  God's- 
Word,  and  to  pray  with  him." 


284  THE   SEVEN   CANONICAL   H0t3RS. 

Cap.  XXIII.  About  fifty-seven  festivals  are  enumerated,  on  which, 
besides  Sundays,  all  persons  were  expected  to  abstain  from  bodily 
labour. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  171. — Constit.  of  Gilbert,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  a.d.  1289. 

Cap.  XXVIII.  Let  all  presbyters,  when  they  see  storms  approach- 
ing, without  waiting  for  our  instructions,  immediately  excite  the 
devotions  of  their  parishioners  to  processions  and  humble  prayers. 

Ibid.  p.  184. — Constit.  of  Gilbert,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  a.  d.  1292. 

That  hereafter  no  hollow  trunks  shall  be  erected  in  the  parish 
churches  of  our  diocese,  (as  has  been  hitherto  done  by  the  simplicity 
and  connivance  of  the  parochial  clergy,)  since  the  parishioners 
maliciously  and  damnably  put  into  these  trunks  the  oblations  which 
were  wont  to  be  offered  to  those  who  minister  to  God  at  the  altar. 

Ibid.  p.  295. — Constitution  of  Henri/  Woodlocke,  Bp.  of  Winchester, 

a.  d.  1308. 

We  command  that  the  anniversary  of  the  dedication  shall  be 
observed  by  the  parishioners  of  those  churches,  and  also  of  all  the 
chapels  in  the  neighbourhood  which  have  not  been  dedicated :  that 
the  day  and  year  of  the  consecration,  with  the  name  of  the  con- 
seprator,  the  endowment,  and  the  indulgences  then  granted,  be 
distinctly  noted  down  in  the  calendar  and  other  books  belonging 
to  the  church.  That  tents  shall  not  be  pitched  or  houses  built  in 
churchyards,  unless  perchance  (which  God  forbid !)  a  war  should 
arise.  Also,  that  in  aU  churches  which  are  commonly  valued  at  fifty 
marks  and  upwards,  there  shall  be  one  deacon  and  one  subdeacon 
continually  ministering. 

Ibid.  p.  439.  A  letter  from  Archbishop  Walter,  a.  d.  1314,  enjoin- 
ing his  suffragans  to  institute  public  solemn  processions  in  their 
respective  dioceses,  for  the  safety  of  the  church,  and  the  peace  of 
the  kingdom,  at  the  time  that  king  Edward  II.  was  going  on 
a  hostile  expedition  to  Scotland. 

Ibid.  p.  513. — Constitution  of  Archbishop  Walter  Raynold,  at  Oxon. 

A.  D.  1322. 

Let  no  parish  priest  presume  to  celebrate  mass  till  he  hath 
finished  matins,  prime,  and  tiers  ;(a)  and  let  no  clerk  be  permitted 
to  serve  at  the  altar,  unless  he  be  vested  in  a  surplice  ;(6)  and 
at  the  celebration  of  the  mass  let  two  candles  be  lighted,  or  one 
at  least,  (c) 

Note,   (a)  Matins,    called  also  uht-song,  began  about  daybreak — 

Prime-sony  began  about  seven  in  the  morning,  the  first  hour Tiers, 

or  undern-sont/,  began  at  nine  o'clock,  a.  m.,  the  third  hour. — Mid-day 
Sony  began  at  noon — Noon-sony,  or  the  nones,  began  at  three  o'clock, 

r.  M.,  the  ninth  hour — Even-sony  was,  I  think,  at  six  in  the  evening 

Complins  at  nine  at  night Nocturns  about  midnight,  though  this  hour 

was  not  generally  used. 


CANDLES   SPIRITUALIZED — CHURCH    RATES.  285 

Note.  (6)  Lindwood  professes  not  to  have  read  of  a  surplice  in  the 
whole  body  of  the  canon  or  civil  law,  or  the  holy  Scriptures :  but 
Durandus  the  elder,  who  lived  above  130  years  before  Lindwood,  makes 
mention  of  it,  lib.  iii.  cap.  1,  2." 

Note,  (c)  "  This  candle  ought  to  be  of  wax  rather  than  of  any  other 
substance  ;  for  such  a  candle,  when  it  burns,  represents  Christ  himself, 
who  is  the  Light  of  the  world,  for  three  reasons : — For  it  is  composed 
of  wax,  a  wick,  and  light :  so  also  Christ  consists  of  the  flesh  of  the 
Virgin,  generated  without  seed,  as  wax  proceeds  from  the  bee  without 
generation.  The  wick  being  white,  signifies  the  {human)  soul  of 
Christ  adorned  with  the  whiteness  of  innocence.  Lastly,  the  light 
represents  his  divinity  united  to  the  flesh.'" 

WiLK.  i.  p.  697. — Constitution  of  Archbishop  Stratford,  A.  D.  1342. 

Cap.  V.  Though  parishioners,  by  laudable  custom,  are  bound  to 
repair  the  naves  and  roofs  of  their  own  parish  churches,  yet 
religious  persons  (i.  e.  monks)  having  estates,  farms,  and  rents 
within  the  bounds  of  such  churches,  unjustly  refuse  to  contribute 
towards  the  fabric  of  the  said  churches,  insomuch  that  the  residue 
of  the  parishioners  are  not  able  of  themselves  to  bear  the  burthen ; 
by  which  the  houses  of  God  become  an  eyesore,  and  many  incon- 
veniencies  thereupon  ensue :  we  therefore  ordain,  that  the  religious, 
as  well  as  others  who  have  estates  in  a  parish,  if  they  do  not  belong 
to  the  glebe  or  endowment  of  the  churches  to  be  repaired,  be  com- 
pelled, by  ecclesiastical  censures  of  their  ordinaries,  to  bear  their 
share  of  the  burthen. 

Note.  Hence  it  appears,  that  the  most  ancient  way  of  raising 
a  church  cess,  was  by  proportioning  the  rates  to  the  lands  used  by  the 
several  occupiers  within  the  parish,  without  making  any  difference 
between  in-dwellers  and  out-dwellers." 


Concilia  Magn-s;  BRiTANNiiE,  &c..  Edit.  Wilkins.  Vol,  III. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  10. — Constitution  of  the  diocese  of  Sodor,  a.  d.  1350. 

Cap.  ii.  That  all  rectors,  vicars,  and  chaplains,  shall  on  every 
Sunday  and  festival  carefully  expound  to  their  parishioners  the 
Word  of  God,  the  Catholic  faith,  and  the  Apostles'  (creed),  in  the 
vulgar  tongue. 

Ca/p.  vi.  Let  notice  be  given  in  all  parish  churches,  that  from 
every  house  a  man  or  a  woman,  or  both  of  them,  shall  on  each 
Sunday  attend  at  the  church,  to  hoar  the  commandments  of  God 
and  of  the  church ;  unless  they  have  a  reasonable  excuse,  which 
they  shall  of  thuir  own  accord  make  known  to  the  rector  or  his 
deputy,  if  they  wish  to  escape  ecclesiastical  punishment :  and  let 
every  one  who  habitually  absents  himself  from  the  fold  to  which  he 
belongs,  pay  a  fine  of  two  shillings  and  fourpence  for  each  oflfence. 

"  Johnson.  *  Lindwood.  "  Johnson. 


286  FEAST    OF   FOOLS — UNCONSECRATED   CHURCHES. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  20. — Constitution  of  John  de  Sancto  Paulo,  Archbishop 
of  Dublin,  a.  D.  1351. 

That  believers  in  Christ,  whenever  they  hear  his  holy  name  pro- 
nounced, or  the  Gloria  Patri,  shall  devoutly  incline  the  heart  and 
head  unto  God :  and  to  all  who  shall  do  so,  we  grant  ten  days' 
indulgence. 

Ibid.  p.  61. — Constitution  of  Simon  Langham,  Bp.  of  Ely,  a.d.  1364. 

By  the  special  authority  of  an  apostolic  rescript,  we  wholly  forbid 
that  execrable  custom,  which  is  observed  in  some  churches,  of  cele- 
brating the  festival  of  fools,  lest  the  hou^e  of  prayer  should  become 
a  house  of  buffoonery,  and  lest  the  bitterness  of  our  Lord's  circum- 
cision should  become  an  object  of  ridicule  and  mirth.  We  command 
also  that  solemn  proclamation  be  made  in  every  church  against  the 
custom  of  raising  rams  upon  wheels,  and  other  such  sports,  in  which 
people  contend  for  the  mastery :  nor  let  priests  permit  their  parish- 
ioners to  struggle  for  the  precedence  of  their  standards  at  the  annual 
visitation  of  the  mother  church,  since  fights  and  sometimes  bloodshed 
are  the  issue  of  such  contests. 

Ibid.  p.  68. — Constitution  of  John  Thoresby,  Archbishop  of  York, 
a.  d.  1367. 

Whereas  it  frequently  happens,  that  those  who  assemble  in 
churches  on  the  vigUs  of  the  saints,  or  at  the  exequies  of  the 
dead,  when  they  ought  to  be  employed  in  devotional  exercises, 
perverting  the  institution,  give  themselves  up  to  pernicious  games 
and  vanities,  or  sometimes  worse,  to  the  grievous  offence  of  God  and 
of  the  saints  whom  they  pretend  to  venerate ;  and  at  the  exequies 
of  the  dead  turn  the  house  of  grief  and  prayer  into  a  house  of 
revelry  and  excess,  at  the  imminent  peril  of  their  souls  :  we  strictly 
forbid  all  who  attend  at  the  said  vigils  or  exequies,  and  especially 
when  they  are  celebrated  in  churches,  to  practise  any  such  filthy 
games,  or  other  (sports),  which  lead  men  into  error  and  sin. 

Ibid.  p.  73.  Mandate  of  Simon  Langham,  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, against  markets  held  on  a  Sunday  in  the  Island  of  Sheppey,  so 
near  the  church  as  to  interrupt  the  celebration  of  mass.     A.  D.  1368. 

Ibid.  p.  122.  A  Letter  from  the  Archbishop  to  the  bishop  of  St. 
Asaph,  A.D.  1377,  complaining  that  "very  many  churches  of  your 
diocese,  in  which  God  himself  is  daily  immolated  and  received, 
contrary  to  the  canonical  institutes  and  the  constitutions  of  the 
holy  fathers,  still  remain  undedicated  or  even  unconsecrated ;  or  if 
perchance  they  have  been  polluted  (by  bloodshed,  adultery,  &c.), 
are  not  reconciled."  Note  here  the  distinction  between  the  consecra- 
tion, dedication,  and  reconciliation  of  a  church. 

Ibid.  p.  156.  A  form  of  Prayer  sent  by  the  archbishop  to  his 
suffragans,  to  be  used  throughout  the  several  churches  in  his 
province,  for  the  protection  of  England  against  her  foreign  and 
domestic  enemies :    also  that  God  would  be  pleased  to  avert  from 


SERMONS   PREACHED   IX   THE   OPEN   AIR.  287 

the  land  the  violent  tempests  and  the  pestilence  which  at  this  time 
raged  on  the  continent.  This  is  the  first  instance  of  the  kind  which 
I  have  met  with  ;  for  on  similar  emergencies  the  archbishops  usually 
contented  themselves  with  ordering  processiotis,  in  which  the  ordinary 
litanies  and  prayers  were  probably  used.  The  date  of  this  mandate 
is  A.  D.  1382. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  194.  Letter  of  Robert,  Bishop  of  London,  a.  D.  1385 
against  those  who  presumed  to  buy  and  sell  in  St.  Paul's  cathedral, 
to  play  at  ball  there,  and  to  throw  stones  at  the  birds  which  built 
their  nests  within  the  sacred  edifice. 

Ibid.  p.  252.  Constitution  of  Archbishop  Arundel,  a.  d.  1400,  in 
which  about  forty-nine  festivals  are  enumerated,  on  which,  besides 
Sundays,  the  people  were  to  abstain  altogether  from  their  usual 
occupations.  Good  Friday,  Ash  Wednesday,  and  other  fast  days, 
are  not  mentioned,  and  the  festival  of  St.  George,  the  patron  saint 
of  England,  was  not  yet  instituted. 

Ibid.  p.  282.  From  a  public  instrument,  dated  a.  d.  1405,  we 
learn,  that  on  every  Sunday  during  Lent,  in  the  city  of  Norwich, 
there  was  but  one  sermon  preached,  "in  a  certain  large  garden 
situated  on  the  north  side  of  the  cathedral,  called  Le  Greneyerd." 

Ibid.  p.  310,  a.  d.  1408.  We  read  of  a  sermon  preached  by  the 
archbishop  of  Canterbury  before  the  cross  in  St.  Paul's  churchyard, 
London. 

Ibid.  p.  389.  Monition  of  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  against  a  practice 
which  prevailed  at  Leicester,  a.  d.  1418.  On  the  five  festivals  of 
St.  Mary,  the  people,  it  seems,  gave  themselves  up  to  gluttony, 
drunkenness,  and  lust;  calling  their  frolic  by  the  name  of  " gloton 
messe." 

Ibid.  p.  505. — Constitution  of  William  Heyworth,  Bishop  of  Coventry, 
Sfc.  A.  D.  1428. 

He  decrees,  that  every  canon  (i.  e.  prebendary),  on  commencing 
his  first  residence,  shall  pay  a  hundred  marks  towards  the  structure 
of  the  cathedral  church,  the  purchase  of  ornaments,  &c. 

IniD.  p.  565. — Cmmcil  of  the  province  of  Cashel  at  Limerick, 
A.D.  1453. 

Can.  2.  That  on  all  Lord's  days  and  other  festivals,  parochial 
ministers  shall  recite  the  canonical  hours  in  their  churches  in  order ; 
and  also  on  other  days,  whenever  they  are  able,  after  the  bell  hath 
been  thrice  toUed  :  let  also  mass  and  other  divine  offices  be  celebrated 
on  festivals,  and  at  least  thrice  in  every  week,  on  pain  of  forfeiting 
forty  pence. 

Can.  16.  That  where  churches  which  are  appropriated  have  fallen 
to  ruin,  the  ordinaries  of  those  places  may  apply  their  revenues  to 
the  necessary  repairs. 

Can.  30.    Mention  is  made  of  the  vestry. 


288  SUPPOSED   INTRODUCTION    OF   IMAGE   WORSHIP. 

Can.  84.  The  church  porch  enjoys  the  same  immunity  with  the 
church  itself,  whether  it  be  consecrated  or  not. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  621.  A  Bull  of  Pope  hmocent  VIII.  a.  d.  1487  ;  to  the 
effect,  that  criminals  who  fled  to  a  church  for  sanctuary,  and  went 
out  from  thence  to  perpetrate  crimes,  might  be  forcibly  removed 
from  the  church  by  the  king's  ofiicers,  and  punished  as  their  crimes 
deserved. 

Ibid.  p.  701,  &c.  Constitution  of  Cuthbert,  Bishop  of  London,  a.d. 
1523,  ordaining  that  the  anniversary  of  the  dedication  of  St.  Paul's 
cathedral,  as  well  as  of  all  the  churches  in  the  diocese  of  London, 
should  be  celebrated  on  the  3rd  day  of  October  in  each  year ;  in 
order  to  diminish  the  number  of  holidays,  which  encouraged  the  people 
to  indulge  in  riotous  excesses. 


§  II.~ON  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  IMAGE  AND  SAINTS' 
WORSHIP  INTO  ENGLAND. 

Spelm.  Concil.  i.  211,  &c. — Documents  relating  to  the  Vision  of 

Egwin,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  about  a.  d.  709. 
The  Magdeburg  centuriators  say,  that  Egwin  saw  in  a  vision  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  "  who  commanded  that  her  image  should  be 
placed  in  the  church  of  which  he  had  the  care,  that  it  might  be 
worshipped  by  the  people :"  that  "  the  bishop  sent  an  account  of 
the  vision  to  Pope  Constantine,  who  commanded  that  a  council 
should  be  celebrated  in  London  with  the  consent  of  archbishop 
Brithwald,  to  which,  upon  pain  of  excommunication,  kings  and 
bishops  came ;  and  it  was  decreed  that  images  should  be  placed  in 
the  churches,  and  honoured  with  the  celebration  of  masses  and  with 
adoration."  This  account  is  incorrect  in  almost  every  particular, 
for  in  the  first  place  not  a  syllable  respecting  images  occurs  either 
in  the  letter  of  Egwin,  or  the  rescript  of  Pope  Constantine  ;  and  in 
the  second,  the  council  was  not  held  in  London,  but  "  near  to  the 
place  where  the  vision  occurred,"  and  in  fact  it  related  entirely  to 
the  foundation  of  the  monastery  of  Evesham. 

The  Charter  of  Egwin.  "I  Egwin,  humble  bishop  of  the  Wiccii, 
am  desirous  of  shewing  to  all  the  faithful  servants  of  Christ,  how 
it  was  shewn  to  me,  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  many 
illustrious  visions,  that  I  ought  in  the  first  place  to  build  a  house  to 
the  praise  and  glory  of  the  omnipotent  God,  and  of  St.  Mary,  and 
all  the  elect  of  Christ,  and  also  for  my  own  eternal  reward.  When 
therefore  I  was  in  great  favour  (maxime  florerem)  in  the  days  of 
king  Ethelred,  I  entreated  from  him  the  place  that  is  called 
Ethomme,  in  which  place  the  holy  Mary  (ever  a  virgin)  first  appeared 
to  a  certain  shepherd  called  Eoves,  and  afterwards  to  me  also,  hold- 
ing a  book  in  her  hand,  and  accompanied  by  two  virgins.  I 
therefore  purified  the  place  (mutidavi),  and  by  the  assistance  of 
God's  grace  completed  the  work  which  I  had  begun."  Then  he 
mentions  the  lands  wherewith  he  had  endowed  the  monastery  of 


alcdin's  treatise  against  image  worship.  289 

Evesham,  and  concludes  with  an  imprecation  against  all  who  should 
violate  the  charter. 

Spelm.  i.  p.  213.  In  the  epistle  of  Pope  Constantine  to  Brithwald, 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  concerning  Egwin's  vision  (a.  d.  709),  he 
merely  ratifies  the  vision ;  decrees  that  the  place  where  the  Virgin 
had  appeared  should  be  held  sacred,  and  a  monastery  founded  there  ; 
and  directs  Brithwald  to  convene  a  synod  upon  the  subject,  "  in 
those  parts  in  which  the  vision  is  related  to  have  taken  place." 

Note.  It  is  observable  that  no  mention  is  made  of  images  either  by 
Egwin  or  the  Pope  ;  nor  in  the  charter  of  kings  Kenred  and  Offa,"  nor 
in  Brithwold  of  Glastonbury's  life  of  Egwin,  written  about  a.  d.  738  ; 
nor  by  William  of  Malmsbury,  who  flourished  about  a.d.  1230;  nor  in 
the  life  of  Egwin  written  by  Capgravius,  a.d.  1436  j^  from  which  it  is 
evident  that  the  centuriators  were  mistaken  with  respect  to  this  council, 
which  related  solely  to  the  foundation  of  the  monastery  of  Evesham, 
and  therefore  that  the  introduction  of  image  worship  among  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  must  be  referred  to  a  later  period. 

WiLK.  CoNCiL.  i.  p.  97. — Cuthberfs  canons  at  Cloves-Hoo,  a.d.  747. 

Can.  17.  That  the  birthday  of  the  holy  Pope  Gregory,  and  the 
day  on  which  St.  Augustin,  archbishop  and  confessor,  was  buried, 
be  venerated  by  all ;  and  that  the  name  of  our  aforesaid  holy  father 
and  instructor  Augustin  be  always  recited  in  the  litany  after  the 
invocation  of  St.  Gregory. 

Note.  Savile's  Scriptores  post  Bedam,  Lond.  1596,  fol.  232.  Roger 
de  Hoveden  says,  in  the  first  part  of  his  Annals,  that  after  the  second 
council  of  Nice,  in  the  year  792,  "  Charles  {the  Great),  king  of  the 
Franks,  sent  a  book'of  the  synod  to  Britain,  which  had  been  transmitted 
to  him  from  Constantinople;  in  which  book,  alas!  many  unseemly 
things  {inconvenientid)  were  found  and  which  were  contrary  to  the 
true  faith  ;  especially  since  it  was  decreed,  with  the  unanimous  consent 
of  almost  all  the  eastern  doctors,  (in  number  about  three  hundred,) 
that  images  ought  to  be  worshipped,  which  the  church  of  God  abhors. 
Against  which,  Albinus  (i.  e.  Alcuin)  wrote  a  letter,  wonderfully  con- 
firmed by  the  authority  of  holy  Scripture,  and,  as  a  representative  of 
our  kings  and  bishops,  carried  it  to  the  king  of  the  Franks." 

It  is  well  known  that  Charlemagne,  soon  after  this,  convened  a  synod 
of  more  than  three  hundred  bishops  at  Frankfort,  in  which  the  decree 
of  the  Nicene  council  concerning  image  worship  was  condemned. 
I  shall  here  add  a  few  notes  respecting  the  introduction  of  image  wor- 
ship into  England,  chiefly  from  Spelman. 

1.  Respecting  the  letter  of  Alcuinus  to  Charlemagne,  we  have  the 
testimony  of  many  ancient  writers,  viz.  Florilegius,  Hoveden,  Cestrensis, 
and  Malmsbury.x 

2.  It  is  very  certain,  that  if  the  first  preachers  of  religion  among  the 
Anglo-Saxons  had  worshipped  the  crucifix  or  images,  mention  of  it 
would  have  been  made  by  some  contemporary  author ;  but  even  Bede 
himself,  among  so  many  miracles  which  he  relates  to  have  been  per- 
formed by  the  cross,*  and  the  various  and  fervent  devotions  of  holy  men, 

*  Spelm.  i.  209.  J  Ibid.  p.  214 

*  Ibid.  i.  218,  307.  ■  See  Hist.  b.  iii   c  2,  tmi  passim. 

U 


290  MUTILATION    OF   THE   DECALOGUE. 

mentions  not  a  single  instance  (as  far  as  I  know)  of  any  person  who 
worshipped  a  crucifix  or  an  image,  or  taught  that  they  ought  to  be 
worshipped.'' 

It  has  been  said  in  reply  to  this,  that  at  his  first  interview  with 
Ethelbert,  about  A.  D.  596,  Augustin  and  his  companions  carried  a  silver 
cross  and  an  image  of  our  Saviour.  But  it  is  one  thing  to  use  a  thing, 
and  another  to  worship  it.  The  christian  soldiers  carried  a  cross  be- 
fore them  as  a  sign  of  their  profession ;  and  Herodian  tells  us  that  the 
imperial  standard  was  changed  by  Constantine  into  a  cross  {laharum 
imperiale) — but  did  this  imply  any  adoration  of  the  sacred  symbol  ?  By 
no  means,  for  with  the  same  reason  might  it  be  concluded  that  protes- 
tants  worship  the  saints,  because  we  have  their  pictures  in  many  of  our 
cathedrals.  That  Augustin  and  his  followers  employed  the  cross  merely 
as  a  hind  of  banner  or  standard  of  their  profession,  is  evident  from  the 
words  of  Bede,  which  I  subjoin  in  the  original :  "  At  illi  veniebant 
crucem  pro  vexillo  ferentes  argenteam,  et  imaginem  Domini  Salvatoris 
in  tabulk  depictam,  letaniasque  canentes  pro  eorum  ad  quos  venerant 
salute  feterna.*^ 

3.  "  I  have  a  psalter,"  says  Spelman,  "  written  in  the  8th  century, 
in  which  there  are  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  prayers,  yet  not 
a  single  one  of  them  is  addressed  to  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  or  to  the 
saints — a  remarkable  proof  that  saints'  worship  was  in  this  age  very 
little  used  among  christians." 


Concilia  Magn^  Britannia,  &c.,  Edit,  Wilkins,  Vol.  I. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  161.  Synod  of  Finchenhalia,  or  Fencal,  near  Durham, 
A.D.  798.  Our  lord  bishop  Ehanbald  commanded  the  faith  of  the 
five  (Jirst  general)  synods  to  be  recited,  concerning  which  it  is  thus 
written  in  the  history  of  the  English :  "  We  receive  {the  faith  of) 
the  Jive  holy  and  oecumenical  synods  of  the  blessed  fathers,  pleasing 
unto  God,  as  it  is  declared  in  the  text  of  the  book  before  us."  It  is 
to  be  observed,  that  the  second  council  of  Nice,  which  decreed  image 
worship,  had  assumed  the  title  of  the  seventh  general  council ;  and 
as  it  had  been  held  a.d.  780,  (eighteen  years  before,)  their  receiving 
onljfive  general  councils  is  at  least  a  presumptive  proof  that  they 
disapproved  of  the  practice  in  question. 

Ibid,  p."  180. — Ecdesiast.  Laws  ofKmeth,  king  of  Scotland,  a.d.  840. 

Cap.  I.  Venerate  sincerely  altars,  temples,  the  images  of  the  saints 
{divorum  statuas),  priests,  and  monks. 

Ibed.  p.  186 — Laws  of  king  Alfred  the  Great,  a.d.  876.'' 
The  preface  to  these  laws  commences  with  the  decalogue,  and, 
from  the  manner  in  which  it  is  mutilated,  it  is  evident  that  the  wor- 
ship of  images  at  this  time  prevailed  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  church : 
for  the  second  commandment  is  omitted  in  its  proper  place,  so  that 
the  third  commandment  stands  for  the  second ;  and  at  the  end  of 
all,  by  way  of  making  up  the  number  ten,  there  is  this  command- 

''  Spelm.  i.  218.  c  Hist.  b.  i.  c.  25.  J  Text.  Roffens. 


INVOCATION   OF   THE   SAINTS.  291 

ment,  "  Thou  shcdt  not  make  to  thyself  golden  or  silver  gods,"  (deos 
aureos  et  a/rgenteos  nefadto).  Alfred  contented  himself  with  cropping 
and  docking  the  commandment,  and  thrusting  it  into  another  place ; 
but  modern  Romanists  omit  it  altogether,  and  divide  the  tenth 
commandment  into  two  parts,  in  order  to  complete  the  number  ten  : 
thus,  "  IX.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbour's  house ;"  and  "  X. 
Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbour's  wife  or  his  property."  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  in  a  work  of  St.  Patrick's,  "  De  Unitate 
Suhditorum,"  the  decalogue  contains  the  second  commandment  in  its 
proper  place,  and  transcribed  at  length :  "  Habentur  inferius  (says 
Spelman,  i.  54)  decern  mandata  ut  a  Mose  traduntur,  non  omisso 
secundo  Ulo  de  scudptUe." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  272. — Capitrda  made  in  ike  reign  of  jEthelred,  a.d.  994. 

Cap.  xxiii.  Let  each  of  the  christian  laity  pray  at  least  twice 
a-day ;  and  after  he  hath  worshipped  his  Creator  alone,  let  him  in- 
voke God's  saints,  and  pray  to  them  to  intercede  with  God  for  him; 
first  the  holy  Mary,  and  (then)  all  God's  saints ;  and  let  those  who 
can  go  to  the  church  do  this  there. 

Cap.  XXIX.  Ye  ought  to  admonish  your  parishioners  how  they 
ought  to  pray.  After  the  creed,  &c.  let  them  say  the  Lord's  prayer ; 
and  then,  if  place  and  time  permit,  let  him  invoke  St.  Mary,  &c., 
and  then  arm  his  forehead  with  the  sign  of  the  cross. 

Ibid.  p.  299.  In  the  charter  of  king  Canute,  granted  to  the 
abbey  at  Glastonbury,  a.  d.  1032,  it  is  said,  that  "  whosoever  shall 
observe  and  respect  this  charter,  God,  through  the  intercession  of 
Mary  the  mother  of  God,  and  all  the  saints,  will  augment  his  portion 
in  the  land  of  the  living.  The  grant  of  this  privilege  was  written 
and  promulgated  in  the  wooden  church,  and  in  the  presence  of  king 
Canute."     (Malmsbury  '  de  gestis  regum.') 

Note.  About  this  time  the  invocation  of  the  saints  was  as  common 
in  England  as  it  is  among  modem  Roman  Catholics :  in  proof  of  which, 
Wilkins®  cites  a  Latin  and  Saxon  MS.  Prayer-book  in  the  University 
Library  at  Cambridge ;  in  which,  after  the  invocation  of  the  blessed 
Trinity,  the  litany  contains  the  following  supplications :  Sancta  Maria, 
ora  pro  nobis ;  Sancta  Dei  Genetrix,  ora  pro  nobis ;  Sancta  Virgo  Vir- 
ginum,  ora  pro  nobis;  after  which  the  archangels,  angels,  apostles, 
martyi's,  &c.  are  invoked.  That  at  one  period  the  Anglo-Saxon  church 
was  more  orthodox  in  this  respect,  is  evident  not  only  from  the  negative 
argument  of  silence,  but  from  the  homily  appointed  to  be  read  in  all  the 
churches  upon  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent,  by  public  authority,  in  which 
there  occurs  the  following  passage  :  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan :  it  is 
written,  man  shall  worship  the  Lord,  and  him  only  shall  he  serve.  It 
is  written  in  the  old  law  that  no  man  should  pray  to  any  thing  but  God 
alone,  because  no  creature  is  worthy  of  that  honour,  but  he  alone  who 
is  the  maker  of  all  things  :  to  him  only  we  ought  to  pray.  He  only  is 
very  Lord  and  very  God.  We  desire  the  intercession  of  holy  men  that 
they  will  intercede  for  us  to  their  Lord  and  our  Lord ;  nevertheless,  we 

e  In  a  note  at  the  bottom  of  p.  299. 

U2 


292       ADORATION  OF  THE  CROSS  ON  GOOD  FRIDAY. 

do  not  pray  to  them  as  we  do  to  God,  nor  will  they  suffer  it,— as  the 
angel  said  to  John  the  apostle.  See  thou  do  it  not." '  It  is  also  observ- 
able, that  in  the  Penitentials  of  Ecgbert  and  Dunstan,  (a.  d.  750  and 
A.D.  963,)  among  the  prayers  appointed  to  be  used  for  the  commuta- 
tion of  penance,  no  mention  is  made  of  Ave-Marias,  or  prayers  to  any 
of  the  saints.  And  from  the  latter.  Cap.  v.,  it  is  clear  that  the  modern 
custom  of  confessing  to  saints  and  angels  had  not  been  introduced  in 
the  tenth  century  into  the  EngUsh  church,  s 

WiLK.  i.  p.  693. — Constit.  of  Richard,  Bp.  of  Chichester,  a.d.  1246. 

Let  the  laity  be  admonished  by  their  priest  to  learn  the  Lord's 
prayer,  the  Apostles'  creed,  and  the  salutation  of  the  blessed  Virgin. 
Note.   In  Anglo-Saxon  times  the  laity  were  only  required  to  learn 
the  creed  and  the  Lord's  prayer.  *•     The  worship  of  the  saints,  however, 
now  formed  an  indispensable  part  of  devotion. 

Ibid.  p.  713. — Constit.  of  Giles  de  Bridport,  Bp.  ofSarum,  a.d.  1256. 

Also  on  the  day  of  (our  Saviour's  passion)  all  the  parishioners  shall 
come  to  worship  the  cross,  and  to  offer  according  to  their  inclination. 
And  let  no  person  presume  to  receive  the  body  of  Christ  on  Easter- 
day,  unless  he  shall  have  first  confessed  and  adored  the  cross. 

Note.  The  following  rubric  occurs  in  the  Roman  missal  in  the  office 
for  Good-Friday.  "  TJien  let  the  priest  by  himself  carry  the  crucifix  to 
a  place  prepared  before  the  altar,  and  howing  his  Jcneesjix  it  there :  then 
taking  off  his  shoes  let  hiyn  approach  to  adore  the  cross,  bowing  his  knees 
thrice  before  it,  and  then  ht  him  kiss  it.  Having  done  so,  let  him  return 
and  resume  his  shoes  and  his  chasuble.  Then  let  the  ministers  of  the 
altar,  and  afterwards  other  clerks  and  laics,  approach  two  and  two,  and 
adore  the  cross,  with  three  genuflexions." 


Concilia  Magn^  Britannia,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  IL 

WiLK.  ii.  423. — Mandate  of  William  Grenefeld,  Archbishop  of  York, 

A.D.  1313. 

It  hath  lately  come  to  our  ears  that  there  is  a  great  resort  of 
ignorant  persons  to  a  certain  image  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  lately 
placed  in  the  parish  church  of  Foston,  as  if  the  divine  power  resided 
more  in  it  than  in  other  images  of  the  same  kind ;  and  thus  these 
simple  persons,  by  such  a  concourse,  may  be  easily  led  to  idolatry 

and  error Wherefore,   on  every  Lord's  day  and  festival,    you 

shall  publicly  prohibit  by  our  authority  all  our  parishioners,  whether 
clergy  or  laity,  from  resorting  in  future  to  the  said  church  for  the 
worship  of  the  said  image,  or  from  offering  oblations  either  in  money 
or  goods  in  its  honour. 

Note.  In  the  beginning  of  the  mandate  he  instances  the  case  of  the 
brazen  serpent  formed  by  the  command  of  God  to  heal  the  Israelites, 
yet  very  properly  broken  by  king  Hezekiah  to  prevent  idolatry. 

f  Elstob's  Anglo-Saxon  Homily,  p.  xlv.  «r  Wilk.  i.  230. 

•>  Wilk.  i.  146. 


FORM   OF   CANONIZING   A   SAINT VESTMENTS.  293 

Concilia  Magn.*;  Britannia,  &c..  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  III. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  636. — Order  for  the  canonization  of  a  saint,  a.d.  1494. 

In  the  preamble  it  is  stated,  that  the  Pope  alone  has  the  power  of 
canonizing  a  saint ;  that  he  is  not  to  do  so  till  he  has  been  frequently 
and  earnestly  supplicated ;  that  holiness  of  life  is  not  a  sufficient 
qualification  without  miracles ;  and  that  if  it  be  a  delusion,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  miracles  cannot  be  continued  for  above  forty  days.  It  is 
also  stated,  that  all  canonized  saints  are  to  be  venerated,  and  that 
even  if  the  church  should  err  in  canonizing  a  saint,  nevertheless  the 
prayers  which  are  ofiered  up  in  honour  of  such  a  person  are  pleasing 
and  acceptable  unto  God ;  for  by  faith  in  Christ  all  things  are 
purified.  The  ceremony  was  to  be  performed  with  great  pomp  on 
a  temporary  altar,  erected  in  the  middle  of  St.  Peter's,  the  Pope 
being  assisted  by  his  cardinals.  The  oblations  were  to  be  four  large 
ornamented  loaves  and  four  barrels  of  wine ;  a  painted  box  contain- 
ing several  white  doves,  of  which  one  at  least  can  fly  away ;  another 
similar  box  full  of  living  birds,  and  several  wax  candles.  Besides 
the  expenses  of  the  ceremony,  the  fees  amounted  to  eight  hundred 
and  forty-eight  ducats. 


§  III.— ON  ECCLESIASTICAL  VESTMENTS,  AND   THE    FUR- 
NITURE OF  CHURCHES. 

WiLK.  CoNCiL.  I.  p.  111. — Excerptions  of  Ecghert,  Archbishop  of 
Y(yrk,  a.d.  750. 

Ex.  154.  If  a  clerk  shall  be  seen  in  the  church  without  his  colo- 
bium  or  his  cope,  and  if  he  clip  not  his  hair  and  beard  after  the 
Roman  fashion,  let  him  be  excommunicated. 

Ibid.  p.  291. — Provisions  of  the  Wisemen  at  Engsham,  (Oxfordshire) 
under  uEthelred,  a.  d.  1009. 
Cap.  XXVIII.  If  any  pecuniary  compensation  shall  arise  out  of 
a  mulct  for  sins  committed  against  God,  this  ought  to  be  applied, 
according  to  the  discretion  of  the  bishop,  to  the  purchasing  of 
prayers,  the  relief  of  the  poor,  the  repair  of  the  churches,  the  instruc- 
tion, clothing,  and  food  of  those  who  serve  God,  and  also  to  the 
purchase  of  books,  bells,  and  ecclesiastical  vestments,  and  never  to 
any  worldly  vanities. 

Ibid.  p.  623. — Constitutions  of  William  de  Bleys,  a.d.  1229. 
Cap.  n.  In  every  church  let  there  be  two  sets  of  vestments  for 
the  altar,  (with  two  pair  of  corporals  and  one  rochet) :  viz.  one  for 
festivals,  and  the  other  for  ordinary  occasions,  in  which  {latter)  the 
priest  is  to  be  buried,  if  necessary.  Let  there  be  two  altar  palls, 
one  for  festivals,  and  the  other  for  ordinary  occasions ;  also  three 
linen  cloths  {for  the  top  of  the  altar),  one  of  which  at  least  has  been 
consecrated ;  two  chalices,  viz.  one  of  silver,  to  be  used  at  mass,  the 
other  unconsecrated  and  made  of  tin,  with  which  the  priest  is  to  be 


294     CHURCH  FURNITURE,  BY  WHOM  TO  BE  PROVIDED. 

buried ;  two  pyxes,  viz.  one  of  silver  or  ivory,  vel  de  opere  lemonitico, 
for  the  host ;  the  other  neat  and  clean,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
oblations.  Let  there  be  also  two  vessels,  one  for  wine,  and  the 
other  for  water ;  one  pair  of  candelabra ;  one  censer  ;  a  neat  chris- 
matory;  and  two  crucifixes,  one  for  processions,  and  the  other  for 
the  obsequies  of  the  dead. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  714. — Constitution  of  Giles  de  Bridport,  Bishop  of 
Sarum,  a.  D.  1256. 

The  parson  ought  to  provide  that  the  chancel  be  neat  and  well 
covered,  and  also  (all  things  relating  to)  the  altar  ;  that  the  chrisma- 
tory  be  kept  under  lock  and  key,  and  that  the  corporals  be  made  of 
fine  linen  cloth.  Let  him  also  provide  proper  phials  for  the  wine 
and  water  ;  a  censer,  and  candlesticks ;  also  a  lantern  and  a  bell,  to 
be  carried  before  the  priest  when  he  visits  the  sick.  He  ought  also 
to  provide  two  processional  lights  ;  and  if  it  should  happen  that  the 
chalice,  or  books,  or  vestments  should  be  stolen,  the  parson,  vicar, 
chaplain,  or  any  person  through  whose  negligence  they  have  been 
taken  away,  shall  replace  them. 

The  parishioners  ought  to  provide  that  the  {nave  of  the)  church 
be  neat  and  well  covered,  and  also  the  belfi"y ;  and  they  are  bound 
to  find  bells  with  ropes,  a  crucifix,  crosses,  images,  a  silver  chalice, 
a  missal,  a  chasuble  made  of  sUk,  sufficient  books,  and  all  vestments 
belonging  to  the  altar.  Let  them  also  provide  a  standard  (for  roga- 
tions), a  lenten  veil,  a  neat  font  with  a  lock,  and  bells  to  be  carried 
before  a  funeral.  Let  them  also  provide  that  the  burial-ground  be 
properly  walled  in,  and  free  from  nettles  and  other  noxious  weeds. 

The  parishioners  are  also  bound  to  provide  the  paschal  lights, 

and  other  lights  in  the  chancel ;  and  a  sufficient  number  of  candles 

for  the  whole  year,  at  matins,  vespers,  and  mass.    They  ought  also  to 

provide  blessed  bread,  with  candles,  every  Sunday  throughout  the  year. 

Note.  Blessed  bread  here  does  not  mean  that  of  the  eucharist,  but 

bread  consecrated  by  prayer,  "  that  it  may  be  for  the  health  of  the  soid 

and  body  of  the  receiver."    The  ancient  eulogies  were  loaves  made  out  of 

the  same  dough  as  the  eucharist,  and  were  commonly  sent  to  those  who 

coidd  not  attend  at  the  Lord's  supper. 


Concilia  Magn^  Britannle,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  XL 

WiLK.  II.  p.  280. — Constitution  of  Archbishop  Windielsey,  a.d.  1305. 

That  the  parishioners  of  all  the  churches  in  our  province  of 
Canterbury  may,  for  the  future,  know  certainly  what  repairs  belong 
to  them,  we  will  and  decree  that  the  parishioners  shall  be  bound  to 
provide  all  the  things  which  follow :  viz. 

A  legend,  antiphonary,  graU,  psalter,  troper,  ordinal,  manual,  and 
missal. 

Also  a  chalice,  a  principal  vestment,  with  a  chasuble,  a  dalmatic, 
a  tunic,  a  choral  cope,  with  aU  its  appendages,  (viz.  an  albe,  amyt, 
stole,  maniple,  and  girdle). 


CATALOGUE    OF    CHURCH   FURNITURE — LITURGIES.  295 

A  frontal  for  the  high  altar,  with  three  towels,  (two  of  wliich  have 
been  consecrated) ;  three  surplices,  one  rochet,  a  processional  cross, 
and  another  for  the  dead  ;  a  censer  with  the  boat  {nave)  and  incense, 
a  lantern  with  a  beU,  (to  be  carried  before  the  body  of  Christ  in  the 
visitation  of  the  sick),  a  decent  pyx  for  the  body  of  Christ,  a  lenten 
veil,  standards  for  rogations,  hand-bells  for  the  dead,  a  bier,  a  vessel 
for  holy  water,  tablets  of  peace  for  the  osculatory,  a  candelabrum  for 
the  paschal  light,  a  belfry  with  bells  and  ropes,  a  font  with  a  lock, 
the  images  in  the  {body  of  the)  church,  the  principal  image  in  the 
chancel,  the  enclosure  of  the  burial-ground,  the  repair  of  the  nave 
of  the  church  both  within  and  without,  also  the  repair  of  the  altar, 
images,  glass-windows,  books,  and  vestments. 

The  repair  of  the  chancel  both  within  and  without,  as  well  as  all 
things  which  are  not  expressed  here,  shall,  according  to  various 
approved  constitutions  and  customs,  belong  to  the  rector  or  vicar  of 
the  place. 

§  IV._ON  LITURGIES. 
Concilia  Magn^  Britannle,  &c..  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  I. 

Bede's  Eccl.  Hist.  i.  p.  27. — The  Answers  of  Pope  Gregory  to 
Augustin,  a,d.  601. 

Q.  3.  Since  there  is  but  one  faith,  why  are  there  such  diiferent 
customs  in  different  churches,  so  that  there  is  one  mode  of  cele- 
brating mass  in  the  holy  Roman  church,  and  another  in  the 
GaUican  church? 

A.  Your  brotherhood  knows  the  custom  of  the  Roman  church ; 
but  it  is  my  desire,  that  wherever  you  find  anything  which  may  be 
more  pleasing  to  Almighty  God,  whether  in  the  Roman  or  GaUican 
churches,  or  in  any  other,  you  carefully  choose  it  and  introduce  it 
into  the  English  church. 

Wilkins' CoNCiL.i.  p.  96. — Cuthherfs canons  atCloves-Eoo,  a.d.747.' 

Can.  11.  That  all  presbyters  perform  every  priestly  ministration 
in  one  and  the  same  manner,  in  baptizing,  teacliing,  and  judging, 
(i.e.  in  the  confessional). 

Can.  12.  That  presbyters  prate  not  in  the  church  like  secular 
poets,  nor  injure  the  sense  of  the  sacred  words  by  a  tragic  rant,  but 
use  a  simple  and  sacred  chant  according  to  the  custom  of  the  church. 

Can.  13.  That  the  holy  festivals,  in  aU  things  pertaining  to  them, 
i.e.  in  the  rite  of  baptism,  the  celebration  of  the  mass,  and  the 
mode  of  chanting,  be  solemnized  according  to  the  written  form  which 
we  have  received  from  the  Roman  church ;  and  also  that  during  the 
entire  year  the  birthdays  of  the  saints  be  celebrated  according  to 
the  martyrology  of  the  aforesaid  Roman  church. 

Note.  The  Natalitia  or  birthdays  of  the  saints  were  the  anniversaries 
of  their  death  or  martyrdom. 

'  See  p.  208. 


296  ROGATIONS THE    ROMAN    LITURGY. 

Can.  15.  That  the  seven  canonical  hours  by  day  and  night  be 
carefully  observed,  with  psalmody  and  appropriate  chants  [cantilena). 

Can.  16.  That  the  litanies  or  rogations  be  performed  at  the 
proper  seasons  by  the  clergy  and  people  with  great  devotion,  i.e. 
on  the  seventh  day  of  the  calends  of  May,  according  to  the  rites  of 
the  Romish  church  ;  and  also  according  to  the  custom  of  our  ancestors, 
three  days  before  our  Lord's  ascension,  with  fasting  till  the  ninth 
hour  and  the  celebration  of  mass ;  without  any  vain  observances, 
such  as  horse-racing  or  banqueting.  Let  the  relics  of  the  saints  be 
displayed,  the  people  reverently  kneeling. 

Note.  The  rogations  were  anciently  solemn  religious  processions, 
in  which  the  priest  and  people,  chanting  the  litany,  perambulated  the 
bounds  of  the  parish,  imploring  a  fruitful  season ;  and  every  parish  had 
usually  a  standard  for  such  occasions,  with  the  patron  saint  of  the 
church  painted  upon  it.  In  one  of  archbishop  Winchelsey's  consti- 
tutions, (a.  d.  1305,)  mention  is  made  of  these  "  vexilla  pro  rogati- 
onibus."  The  rogation  procession  was  in  some  instances  continued 
even  after  the  Reformation,  and  a  homily  was  provided  for  it  by  the 
reformers,  which  still  stands  in  the  Book  of  Homilies.  Rogation  Sunday 
was  the  fifth  Sunday  after  Easter. 

Can.  27.  Although  a  man,  when  he  sings  psalms,  may  not  under- 
stand the  Latin  words,  he  ought  nevertheless  to  apply  the  intentions 
of  his  heart  to  those  things  which  at  the  time  being  he  ought  to 
pray  to  God  for.  When  the  psalmody  is  completed,  bowing  the 
knees  in  prayer,  they  say  in  the  Latin  language,  or  those  who  have 
not  learned  it,  in  their  native  Saxon,  " Lord,  have  mercy  upon  him" 
&c.,  or  that  prayer  for  the  dead,  "  0  Lord,  according  to  thy  great 
mercy  grant  rest  to  his  soul,  and.  deign  to  grant  him  the  joys  of 
everlasting  light  with  thy  saints." 

Note.  From  these  canons  it  is  I  think  evident,  that  up  to  this  period 
the  Roman  liturgy  had  not  been  universally  received  in  England :  for 
if  it  had,  there  would  have  been  no  occasion  for  Can.  11,  which  enjoins 
uniformity;  or  for  Can.  13,  which  orders  the  English  clergy  to  use  the 
Roman  ritual  and  martyrology.  Can.  16  expressly  makes  a  distinction 
between  "  the  rites  of  the  Roman  church"  and  "  the  custom  of  our 
ancestors." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  228. — Canons  made  in  king  Edgar^s  reign,  a.d.  960. 

Can.  48.  That  all  priests  be  unanimous  respecting  festivals  and 
fasts,  and  that  they  all  pray  in  the  same  manner,  that  they  lead  not 
the  people  astray.     See  also  Can.  50. 

Ibid.  p.  252. — JElfric's  canons  to  Wulfinus,  a  bishop,  a.d,  970. 

Can.  21.  Let  {priests)  possess  the  weapons  of  their  spiritual 
warfare  before  they  are  ordained,  i.e.  the  holy  books:  viz.  1.  the 
Psalter ;  2.  the  Book  of  Epistles ;  3.  the  Book  of  Gospels ;  4.  the 
Missal ;  5.  the  Book  of  Canticles  (Antiphonary) ;  6.  the  Manual ; 
7.  the  Kalendar  {Numerale) ;  8.  the  Passional ;  9.  the  Penitential ; 
and  10.  the  Lectionary.     A  priest  hath  need  of  these  books,  and 


THE   OBSEQUIES  OF  MONKS  AND   OF   BISHOPS.  297 

cannot  be  without  them  if  he  will  rightly  exercise  his  function,  and 
let  him  take  care  that  they  be  well  written. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  626. — Constitutions  of  William  de  Bleys,  a.d.  1229. 

Cap.  XX,  That  the  rectors  of  churches  have  their  books  corrected, 
for  by  reason  of  falsified  books  many  indecent  things  are  read  in  the 
church. 


§  V._ON  THE  BURIAL  OF  THE  DEAD,  OBLATIONS, 
MORTUARIES,  &c. 

Concilia  Magnje  Britannijb,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  L 
WiLK.  i.  p.  5. — Canons  of  St.  Patrick,  of  uncertain  date. 

Cap.  XII.  On  the  oblation  of  the  dead.  Hear  what  the  apostle 
says :  "  There  is  a  sin  unto  death,  I  do  not  say  that  a  man  should 
pray  for  it ;"  and  the  Lord  says,  "  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto 
the  dogs,"  for  how  can  the  sacrifice  help  the  man  after  his  death, 
who  during  his  life  was  not  worthy  to  receive  it  ? 

Ibid.  p.  112. — Excerptions  of  Ecghert,  Ahp.  of  York,  a.d.  750. 

Ex.  155.  The  canons  teach,  that  if  a  clerk  die  in  battle,  no 
supplication  shall  be  made  for  him,  either  by  the  oblation  or  by 
prayer.     Let  him  not  however  be  deprived  of  burial. 

Ibid.  p.  122. — Penitential  of  Ecghert,  Ahp.  of  York,  a.d.  750. 

B.  i.  ch.  36.  For  a  monk,  when  he  is  dead,  let  mass  be  sung  the 
third  day ;  for  a  laic,  on  the  third,  seventh,  or  thirtieth,  (according 
to  his  piety,)  provided  that  his  friends  are  willing  to  answer  for  him, 
and  to  offer  at  least  some  gift  at  the  altar  for  {the  repose  of)  his 
soul.  It  is  a  custom  among  the  Romans  to  bury  the  body  con- 
sumpti  et  mariti  hominis(?)  in  the  church,  to  anoint  his  breast  with 
the  chrism,  and  to  celebrate  mass  over  him,  and  to  carry  him  to  the 
tomb  with  psalmody ;  when  he  has  been  placed  in  the  tomb,  to  cast 
earth  over  him :  after  that,  to  sing  masses  for  him  on  the  first,  the 
third,  the  ninth,  and  the  tliirtieth  days. 

Ch.  41.  Denys,  the  Areopagite,  said  that  singing  is  odious  in  the 
sight  of  God  when  mass  is  celebrated  for  wicked  men:  but  Augustine 
said  that  it  may  be  celebrated  for  all  men,  whether  it  be  of  service 
to  the  dead,  or  to  those  who  pray  and  freely  immolate  the  victim. 
Let  the  man  who  fasts  for  the  dead  take  this  for  his  consolation, 
that  if  he  cannot  assist  the  deceased,  God  alone  knoweth  what  (sins) 
he  hath  committed. 

Ibid.  p.  171. — Council  of  Cealchythe  under  Wulfred,  a.d.  816. 

Cap.  X.  When  any  bishop  shall  depart  this  life,  let  the  tenth 
part  of  all  his  property  be  given  to  the  poor  :  and  let  every  English- 
man (of  his)  who  during  his  lifetime  has  become  a  slave  be  restored 
to  liberty;  that  thus  he  may  deserve  to  receive  the  remission  of 


298  FUNERAL   PKOCESSION    OF   A   SCOTTISH   CHIEF. 

sins.  And  immediately,  the  bells  having  been  tolled  in  the  churches 
throughout  all  the  parishes,  let  all  the  servants  of  God  assemble  at 
the  cathedral  {basilica),  and  there  chant  together  thirty  psalms  for 
the  soul  of  the  deceased :  and  afterwards  let  every  bishop  and  abbot 
cause  six  hundred  psalms  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  masses  to  be 
celebrated,  and  let  him  emancipate  three  men  (slaves),  and  give  to 
each  of  them  three  shillings.  And  let  all  the  servants  of  God  fast 
one  day ;  and  for  thirty  days,  after  the  canonical  hours,  let  them 
repeat  seven  rosaries  of  Paternosters ;  and  this  having  been  accom- 
plished, let  them  be  feasted  on  the  thirtieth  day  after  his  death,  as 
they  are  upon  the  birthday  of  any  of  the  apostles,  &c. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  180. — Laws  (ecclesiastical)  of  Keneih,  a.d.  840. 

Cap.  IV.  Leave  a  field  in  which  a  man  slain  by  accident  is  buried, 
seven  years -without  cultivation. 

Cap.  V.  Let  every  tomb  be  esteemed  sacred,  adorn  it  with  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  and  beware  that  you  trample  not  upon  it  with 
your  feet. 

Cap.  VII.  and  vni.  Let  the  funeral  of  an  illustrious  man,  or  of 
one  who  hath  deserved  well  of  the  state,  be  celebrated  with  a  melan- 
choly pomp.  Employ  (on  such  an  occasion)  two  knights.  Let  one 
of  them,  sitting  upon  a  white  horse,  and  clothed  in  splendid  attire, 
bear  the  arms  of  the  deceased;  the  other  being  attired  in  deep 
mourning,  with  his  face  veiled,  and  sitting  upon  a  black  horse. 
When  both  of  them,  preceding  the  funeral  procession,  have  arrived 
at  the  church,  let  the  man  (upon  the  black  horse),  backing  his  horse 
to  the  altar,  cry  out  that  "his  master  is  dead;"  and,  the  people 
loading  him  with  curses,  let  him  quickly  betake  himself  to  the 
place  from  whence  he  came :  then  let  (the  knight  on  the  white  horse), 
going  straightforward  to  the  altar,  offer  to  the  priest  the  arms  and 
horse  of  the  illustrious  dead ;  a  monument  being  erected  to  signify 
that  this  lord  enjoys  immortal  life  and  the  land  of  everlasting  light. 
[In  process  of  time,  in  lieu  of  the  horse  and  arms,  five  pounds 
sterling  were  delivered  as  an  offering  to  the  priest.] 

Ibid.  p.  211. — Laws  of  Howel  Dha,  king  of  Wales,  a.  d.  943. 

Lib.  II.  c.  8,  §  6.  The  measure  of  a  burial-ground  is  a  lawful 
acre  in  length,  the  extremity  of  which  shall  touch  the  threshold 
(of  the  church),  and  surround  it  on  every  side. 

C.  9,  §  3.  Appoints  twelve  pounds  to  be  paid  to  the  lord  of 
Demetia,  for  the  mortuary  of  an  abbot. 

Howel,  p.  37. — The  following  law  of  Howel  Dha  is  not  in  Wilkins. 

Cap.  X.  For  a  fight  in  a  burial-ground,  let  (a  fine  of)  fourteen 
pounds  be  paid ;  if  without,  (i.  e.  in  the  asylum,)  seven  pounds, 
of  which  half  is  to  go  to  the  abbot,  and  the  rest  to  the  priest  and 
canons. 


BURIALS   IN   CHURCHES   PROHIBITED.  299 

WiLK.  i,  p.  227. — Canons  made  in  king  Edgar's  reign,  A.D.  960. 

Can.  29.  That  no  man  be  buried  in  a  church,  unless  it  be  known 
that  during  his  life  he  was  well  pleasing  unto  God. 

Can.  65.  That  the  priest  shall  give  the  eucharist  to  the  sick,  and 
anoint  him,  if  he  desire  it ;  and  after  his  death  let  him  diligently 
cover  him  up,  and  permit  no  idle  ceremonies  to  be  performed  around 
the  body,  but  let  it  be  decently  buried. 

Note.  Hence  it  appears  that  extreme  unction  was  not  then  considered 

a  sacrament  generally  necessary  to  salvation,  or  the  priest  would  have 

been  directed  to  exhort  the  dying  man  to  receive  it. 

Ibid.  p.  255. — .Mfric's  canons  to  Wtdfred,  a  bishop,  a.  d.  970. 

Can.  35.  Ye  ought  not  to  make  merry  oyer  the  dead,  nor  to 
hunt  after  the  corpse,  unless  ye  be  invited  to  it.  Then  prevent  the 
laity  from  using  heathenish  songs  and  their  boisterous  mirth.  Do 
not  ye  eat  or  drink  where  the  body  lies,  lest  ye  become  imitators  of 
the  heathenish  superstition ;  and  be  not  gorgeously  dressed,  but  let 
every  one  wear  what  belongs  to  his  order. '' 

Ibid.  p.  267. — Capittda  made  in  king  JEthelred's  reign,  a.  d.  994. 
Cap.  IX.  It  hath  been  an  ancient  custom  in  this  country  to  bury 
the  dead  often  within  the  churches,  and  thus  to  make  cemeteries  of 
those  places  which  have  been  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  God. 
Now  we  desire,  that  from  henceforward  no  man  be  buried  in  the 
church,  unless  he  be  of  the  sacerdotal  order,  or  {at  least)  a  holy 
layman ;  so  that  it  be  known,  that  by  the  sanctity  of  his  life  he 
deserved  to  have  his  body  buried  there.  We  do  not,  however,  wish 
that  bodies  which  have  been  formerly  buried  in  the  church  should 
be  cast  forth ;  but  where  mounds  appear,  let  them  be  either  buried 
deeper  in  the  ground,  or  else  let  a  way  be  made  over  them,  and  let 
them  be  brought  to  a  level  with  the  pavement  of  the  church,  so  that 
no  mounds  appear  there.  But  if  in  any  place  there  should  be  so 
many  graves  that  this  cannot  easily  be  done,  then  let  those  places 
be  used  as  cemeteries,  and  let  the  altar  be  removed ;  and  there 
let  churches  be  built  where  men  may  offer  unto  God  purely  and 
reverently. 

Ibid.  p.  288. — Provisions  of  the  Wisemen  at  Engsham  (Oxfordshire) , 
under  jEthelred,  a.  d.  1009. 

Cap.  X.  Let  the  light-scot  be  paid  thrice  a-year ;  let  the  soul-scot 
be  always  solemnly  paid  at  the  open  grave;  and  if  a  corpse  be 
buried  out  of  the  proper  district,  let  the  soul-soot  nevertheless  be 
paid  to  the  monastery  to  which  it  belongs. 

Note.  The  following  offices  are  directed  to  be  performed  by  the 
monks  of  Christ's  church,  Canterbury,  upon  the  death  of  any  of  their 
brethren:  viz.  "seven  entire  offices;  the  fifth  psalm  to  be  sung  for 
thirty  successive  days ;  every  priest  to  sing  seven  masses ;  and  all  the 
inferior  clergy  fifty  psalms.' 
■>  Johnson.  >  Text.  Roffens.  edit.  Hearne,  p.  222. 


300  MASSES   FOR   THE  DEAD  NEGLECTED   IN  IRELAND. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  383. — Council  of  London,  under  Archbishop  Ansdm, 
A.D.  1102. 
Can.  26.    That  corpses  be  not  carried  for  burial  out  of  their  own 
parish,  so  that  the  parish  priest  lose  his  just  dues. 

Note.  The  canon  law  in  this  case  directed  that  the  corpse  should  be 
exhumed,  and  resigned  to  the  priest  to  whose  parish  it  belonged." 

Ibid.  p.  473. — Council  of  Cashel,  in  Ireland,  under  Henry  II. 
A.  D.  1172. 

Can.  6.  Let  every  sick  person,  in  the  presence  of  his  confessor 
and  neighbours,  make  a  will ;  and  if  he  have  a  wife  and  children, 
let  him  divide  his  personal  property  into  three  parts,  viz.  one  for 
his  children,  and  a  second  for  his  lawful  wife,  and  the  tliird  for  his 
own  obsequies. 

Can.  7.  That  to  those  who  die  with  a  good  confession,  a  proper 
respect  be  shown,  both  by  the  celebration  of  masses,  &c.,  and  the 
mode  of  interment :  also  that  all  the  divine  offices  be  performed  in 
every  respect  according  to  the  rites  of  the  holy  (Catholic)  church, 
and  of  the  church  of  England. 

Note.  From  this  canon  it  would  appear,  that  before  this  time  either 
masses  for  the  dead  had  not  been  in  use  in  Ireland,  or  at  least  that  they 
had  been  often  neglected.  It  is  also  evident  that  the  mode  of  cele- 
brating divine  service  had  not  been  the  same  in  Ii-eland  as  in  England 
and  on  the  continent. 

Ibid.  p.  530. — Constitutions  of  Stephen  Langton,  a.  d.  1209. 
Cap.  I.  We  decree,  that  if  among  the  possessions  of  a  deceased 
person  there  be  three  or  more  cattle  of  any  description,  the  best 
being  reserved  for  him  to  whom  it  justly  belongs,  the  second  best 
shall,  without  fraud  or  collusion,  be  given  to  that  church  from  which 
he  received  the  sacraments  during  his  life  time,  as  a  compensation 
for  any  omission  of  which  he  may  have  been  guilty  in  the  payment 
of  personal  tithes  or  oblations. 

Ibid.  p.  550. — Council  of  Dublin,  a.  d.  1217. 

That  the  church  shall  have  her  rights  from  the  property  of  the 
deceased,  after  his  debts  and  funeral  expenses  have  been  deducted. 

Ibid.  p.  570. — Constitutions  of  William  de  Bleys,  Bishop  of 
Worcester,  A.  D.  1219. 
When  a  parson,  vicar,  or  ministering  priest,  shall  die,  let  his 
death  be  immediately  announced  to  the  dean  of  the  place,  who  shall 
make  it  known  to  aU  the  mother  churches  in  his  deanery,  in  each 
of  which  the  bells  shall  be  toUed  for  the  deceased ;  and  every 
chaplain  shall  immediately  say  a  commendation,  and  on  the  following 
morning  a  mass  for  his  soul.  In  the  next  chapter  which  is  held  in 
that  deanery,  all  the  chaplains  present  shall  absolve  him  by  name, 

"'  Deer.  lib.  iii.  Tit.  28,  c.  5,  6. 


MORTUARIES   OR   CORPSE   PRESENTS.  301 

singing  the  psalm  "  De  profundis."  The  archdeacon  of  the  district 
shall  also  announce  the  event  to  all  the  deans  in  his  district,  each  of 
whom  shall  cause  the  same  order  to  be  observed  throughout  his 
deanery. 

Wile.,  i.  p.  575. — Council  of  Durham  under  Richard,  Bishop  of 
Durham,  a.  d.  1220. 

We  strictly  prohibit  the  sale  of  masses ;  and  that  the  laity  be  not 
obliged  to  give  or  leave  any  thing  by  will  for  the  celebration  of 
annual  or  triennial  masses.  We  forbid  also  priests  to  load  them- 
selves with  such  a  multitude  of  these  annual  {comm&moraiions)  as 
they  cannot  honestly  accomplish,  or  which  may  oblige  them  to  hire 
other  priests  for  the  purpose. 

Ibid.  p.  664. — Statutes  of  the  diocese  of  Sodor,  (Isle  of  Man,) 
A.  D.  1239. 

In  mortuaries  let  the  best  animal  be  given  to  the  church,  whether 
it  be  a  cow,  an  ox,  or  a  horse,  if  it  be  to  the  value  of  six  sliiUings 
or  less ;  also  as  far  as  relates  to  clothes,  it  shall  be  at  the  option  of 
the  church  whether  to  receive  the  clothes  or  three  shillings  and 
sixpence.  And  if  he  be  a  poor  man,  and  pay  no  mortuary,  let  the 
clothes  be  taken  as  they  are,  and  also  every  fifth  penny  of  his 
personal  property,  after  the  payment  of  his  debts,  {de  liberis  bonis). 
When  a  man  pays  a  mortuary,  let  the  clergyman  have  his  shoes  and 
boots  to  the  value  of  sixpence,  and  his  hood,  hat,  or  cap,  which  he 
used  on  Christmas-day.  Also  let  him  have  his  shirt,  girdle,  purse, 
and  knife,  each  to  the  value  of  one  penny. 

Ibid.  p.  713. — Constitution  of  Giles  de  Bridport,  Bishop  of  Sa/rum, 

A.  D.  1256. 

The  parson  or  vicar,  upon  the  death  of  any  landholder,  shall 
receive  the  second  best  of  his  cattle,  {mslius  averium  post  dominum) ; 
and  if  there  should  not  be  several  cattle,  the  executors  are  bound 
to  satisfy  the  parson  from  the  goods  of  the  deceased,  before  they 
administer  to  his  will. 


Concilia  Maon^  Britannle,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  II. 

WiLK.  II.  p.  52. — Constitution  of  John  Pechham,  Archbishop  of 

Canterbury,  A.  D.  1281. 

Let  priests  also  beware  that  they  oblige  not  themselves  to  the 

celebration  of  peculiar  or  family  masses,  so  as  to  prevent  them  from 

discharging  their  official   duties  in  the  church ;    and  let  no  man 

presume  to  undertake  the  celebration  of  annals,  unless  he  can,  either 


302  MASSES   FOR   THE   DEAD    UNSCRIPTURAL. 

in  person  or  by  proxy,  celebrate  (mass)  every  day,  specially  for  the 
deceased.     Moreover,  let  no  (priest)  undertake  the  celebration  of 
a  greater  number  of  annals  than  he  hath  priests  to  assist  him  ; 
unless  he  who  procures  these  devotions  should  expressly  consent 
that  the  commemoration  of  the  deceased  be  joined  with  others  in 
the  same  mass :    nor  let  the  celebrant  imagine  that  by  saying  one 
mass  he  can  make  satisfaction  for  two  persons,  for  each  of  whom  he 
hath  promised  to  celebrate  specially.     For  although  it  be  said,  (De 
Consecrat.  dist.  v.  cap.  Non  mediocriter,)  *  that  not  less  benefit  is 
received  when  one  mass  is  said  for  all,  than  when  it  is  said  for  each 
person  separately,'  the  canon  speaks  only  of  those  masses  which  are 
said  with  a  contrite  heart  (anxiato  corde).     God  forbid  that  any 
catholic  should  believe,  that  one  mass  devoutly  celebrated  should  be 
as  profitable  to  a  thousand  men  as  if  a  thousand  masses  had  been 
celebrated  in  their  behalf  with  equal  devotion.    For  although  Christ 
our  sacrifice  is  of  infinite  value,  he  yet  does  not  operate  in  the 
sacrament  or  sacrifice  with  the  greatest  plenitude  of  his  immensity ; 
for  otherwise  a  single  mass  would  be  sufficient  for  one  dead  person. 
Note.   Annals  were  masses  said  every  day,  for  a  year,  in  behalf  of 
a  deceased  person;  trentals  were  said  every  day  for  thirty  days;  and 
triennials  every  day  for  three  years,  or  one  thousand  and  ninety-Jive 
masses  celebrated  in  behalf  of  the  deceased !     Roman  Catholics  believe 
the  mass  to  be  a  true  propitiatory  sacrifice,  in  which  the  Lamb  of  God 
is  as  really  ofiered  up  to  the  Father  as  he  was  upon  Mount  Calvary  :  to 
repeat  it  thus  frequently  for  the  liberation  of  a  single  soul  from  purga- 
tory, was  therefore  a  most  execrable  profanation,  especially  if  it  be  con- 
sidered that  it  is  only  celebrated  to  expiate  venial  sins  ;  for  Romanists 
confess,  that  out  of  hell  there  is  no  redemption,  and  that  all  who  are  in 
purgatory  will  eventually  be  saved,  whether  masses  are  said  for  them 
or  not.     The  argument  of  St.  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
forcibly  appUes  to  the  question  before  us.     In  chap.  x.  verse  11,  he  as- 
signs as  a  reason  for  the  frequent  repetition  of  the  Levitical  sacrifices 
their  insufficiency  to  put  away  s/n,  whereas  Christ  "by  07ie  offering  hath 
perfected  for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified.""    The  extent  to  which  this 
superstitious  practice  still  prevails  upon  the  continent  may  be  seen  by 
the  following  extract.     "  I  was  greatly  amused,"  says  Inglis,  "  by  the 
history  of  a  lawsuit  that  was  then  pending,  while  I  was  at  Alicant.     A 
certain  rich  proprietor,  having  died  about  six  months  before,  left  money 
to  the  chm-ch  sufficient  to  purchase  twelve  thousand  masses  for  his  soul: 
but  after  a  few  of  these  had  been  said,  the  masses  were  discontinued, 
and  the  process  was  brought  by  the  heir  to  recover  the  sum  left  for  the 

masses The  defence  set  up  was  sufficiently  singular.     Those 

upon  whom  the  duty  of  saying  these  masses  devolved,  willing  to  be  ex- 
cused from  the  labour,  interceded  with  his  holiness  the  Pope,  who 
declared  by  his  sovereign  authority,  that  the  celebration  of  twelve 
masses  should  have  the  same  eff'ect,  and  be  as  beneficial  to  the  soul  of 
the  deceased,  as  the  celebration  of  twelve  thousand.'"" 


n  Heb.  vii.  27  ;  ix.  12,  26,  28  ;  x.  10,  14,  18. 
o  Spain  in  1830,  vol.  ii.  p.  307. 


ABSOLUTION    OF   AN   EXCOMMUNICATE   AFTER   DEATH,  303 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  176. — Constitutions  of  the  diocese  of  Sodor,  a.d.  1291. 

Cap.  XI.  We  decree,  that,  according  to  the  custom  of  all  the 
neighbouring  provinces,  the  church  shall  have  the  choice  of  all  (the 
cattle)  of  the  deceased,  except  one,  with  all  his  clothes,  and  his  bed 
or  couch :  but  if  he  had  not  a  hat  {biretum  ?)  or  couch,  let  seven  pence 
be  given  (as  a  morttmry) ;  and  let  oblations  be  made  for  every  dead 
person  according  to  his  means,  both  in  money  and  candles,  in  his 
parish  church.  And,  under  the  pain  of  excommunication,  we  forbid 
that  any  corpse  be  buried  in  another  parish,  until  mass  has  been 
celebrated  for  the  deceased  in  his  parish  church. 

Cap.  XXXI.  That  those  who  make  not  their  wills  in  the  presence 
of  a  priest  shall  be  considered  to  have  died  intestate. 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  421,  A.  D.  1312.  Be  it  known  by  these  presents,  that 
we,  the  prior  and  chapter  of  the  church  of  Canterbury,  grant,  that 
five  hundred  masses  shall  be  celebrated  by  our  fellow-monks  in 
behalf  of  our  lord  king  Edward  and  Isabella  his  queen,  now  great 
with  child  :  viz.  one  hundred  and  sixty  masses  de  Spiritu  Sancto ; 
one  hundred  and  sixty  masses  of  the  holy  Virgin  ;  and  a  hundred 
and  eighty  masses  of  the  glorious  martyr  St.  Thomas.  We  grant 
also,  in  compliance  with  the  devout  request  of  our  said  lord  the 
king,  that  within  a  year  from  the  date  of  these  presents,  three  hundred 
masses  shall  be  celebrated  for  the  souls  of  his  deceased  parents,  king 
Edward  and  queen  Eleanor,  and  also  of  the  lord  Peter  de  Gave- 
ston,  lately  deceased.  We  will,  moreover,  that  their  souls  shall 
specially  participate  in  all  the  prayers  and  other  spiritual  benefits 
which  may  for  ever  hereafter  be  celebrated  in  this  our  church  of 
Canterbury. 

Ibid.  p.  505. — Constitution  of  Richard,  Bishop  of  Ossory,  a.d.  1320. 

Cap.  XVI.  Some  of  our  subjects,  as  we  have  heard,  when  they 
are  in  good  health,  give  all  their  goods,  moveable  and  immoveable, 
to  others,  that  they  may  be  able  to  murder  (their  enemies)  without 
incurring  the  loss  of  their  goods  :  others,  when  they  are  on  the 
point  of  death,  give  away  all  their  possessions  that  they  may  defraud 
the  church  and  their  creditors,  leaving  nothing  for  themselves  by 
which  they  may  make  satisfaction  for  the  rights  of  the  church,  or 
pay  their  debts ;  thus  cruelly  defrauding  their  own  souls,  after 
death,  of  works  of  piety  and  the  suffrages  of  prayer.  We  therefore 
decree,  that  such  persons  shall  not  be  admitted  to  christian  burial, 
unless  with  the  special  license  of  the  bishop. 

Ibid.  p.  531.  A  commission  from  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to 
the  dean  of  Arches,  a.d.  1326,  authorising  him  to  absolve  a  dead 
person  who  had  been  excommunicated  for  the  nonpayment  of  tithes, 
that  the  body  might  have  christian  burial,  his  wiife  having  born 
testimony  to  his  repentance  before  his  death.  He  was  to  be  absolved 
publicly  in  the  vulgar  tongue  with  the  penitential  psalm,  and  all  the 
prayers  commonly  used  at  the  absolution  of  deceased  persons. 


304        PORTION   OF   THE  DECEASED  EXPLAINED — EXEQUIES, 

Ibid.  p.  705. — Constitution  of  Archbishop  Stratford,  a.d.  1342. 

Cap.  vn.  We  decree,  by  the  authority  of  this  present  council, 
that  no  monks,  of  what  profession  soever,  shall  be  executors  to  last 
wills,  unless  with  the  permission  of  the  ordinary  ;  and  that  the 
parish  church  have  its  accustomed  right  out  of  the  portion  that 
especially  belongs  to  the  deceased. 

Note.  The  portion  of  the  deceased  was  a  part  of  the  property  assigned 
by  the  ordinary  for  the  benefit  of  the  defunct's  soul,  which  was  deter- 
mined by  custom  :  sometimes,  says  Lindwood,  it  was  the  whole  personal 
estate,  as  when  there  were  neither  wife,  children,  nor  parents;  some- 
times half,  as  when  there  was  a  wife  surviving,  but  no  children ;  and 
where  there  were  both  a  wife  and  children,  a  third  of  his  personal  pro- 
perty was  assigned  for  the  expenses  of  his  funeral  and  masses.  Or  the 
portion  of  the  deceased  may  signify  the  legacy  left  to  some  religious 
house  where  he  chose  to  be  buried  by  his  last  will,  in  which  case  his 
parish  church's  share  was  one-fourth.P 

Cap.  IX.  We  are  grieved  to  the  heart  to  observe  that  a  most  per- 
nicious corruption  hath  lately  sprung  up  in  our  province,  since  the 
prelates  of  churches,  beneficed  clerks,  and  some  of  the  laity,  when 
they  observe  probable  symptoms  of  approaching  death,  give  away, 
or  otherwise  alienate,  the  whole  of  their  property,  or  so  large  a  por- 
tion of  it,  that  not  only  the  churches  (to  the  repair  of  which,  or  of 
the  chancels,  books,  or  ornaments,  they  were  obliged)  are  deprived 
of  all  remedy,  but  also  the  king  and  their  other  creditors,  &c.,  are 
irrecoverably  defrauded  of  their  rights.  We  decree,  therefore,  that 
such  persons  shall  be  deprived  of  christian  burial,  any  absolution 
from  the  said  sentence  whatsoever  notwithstanding. 

Cap.  X.  An  anticipated  good  often  becomes  an  experienced  evil, 
and  then  an  alteration  is  advisable.  Whereas  it  hath  been  a  devout 
custom  of  the  faithful  to  observe  night-watches  in  behalf  of  the  dead, 
before  their  burial,  and  to  do  it  sometimes  in  private  houses,  to  the 
intent  that  the  faithful,  there  meeting  together  and  watching,  might 
devoutly  intercede  for  them  with  God :  but,  by  the  arts  of  Satan, 
this  wholesome  practice  of  the  ancients  has  degenerated  into  buf- 
foonery and  filthy  revels  ;  prayers  are  neglected,  and  these  watchings 
have  become  rendezvous  for  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  &c. 
Wherefore  we  ordain,  that  when  the  clergy  have  performed  the 
exequies  of  the  dead,  none  for  the  future  be  admitted  to  the  accus- 
tomed night-watches  in  private  houses. 

Note.  The  exequies  were  devotions  performed  in  behalf  of  the  deceased, 
while  the  corpse  remained  above  ground.  In  these  constitutions,  I  have 
adopted  Johnson's  translation  nearly  verbatim.  And  here  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  Irish  wakes  are  very  similar  to  the  practice  condemned 
in  the  last  chapter. 

P  Lindwood  ap.  Johnson. 


HERIOTS — ^EXCESSIVE   MORTUARIES,  &C.  305 

Concilia  Magn^  Britannia,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  III. 
WiLK.  iii.  p.  566. — Provincial  council  ofCashel  at  Limerick,  a.d.  1453. 

Can.  14.  That  mendicant  friars  are  bound  to  pay  to  the  parish 
church  a,  fourth  part  of  the  goods  bequeathed  to  them  by  a  deceased 
person. 

Can.  42,  That  when  a  married  person  dies,  all  the  property  of 
both  parties  shall  be  computed  in  the  will,  after  deducting  debts. 

Can.  69.  Let  there  be  no  public  whipping  of  the  laity  in  burial- 
grounds,  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  bishop. 

Can.  78.    That  the  ancient   custom  of  the  province  of   Cashel, 

with  respect  to  the  heriot  of  a  bishop,  be  observed,  viz.  the  best  ring, 

cup  (ciphum),  chair,  or  breviary  (portiforium),  to  be  paid  to  the 

archbishop  ;  or  by  an  inferior  prelate  to  the  bishop  of  the  diocese. 

Note.   The  heriot  was  paid  as  a  token  of  subjection  to  the  feudal 

lord  on  the  vassal's  death,  or  to  the  ecclesiastical  superior;  whereas  the 

mortuary  was  a  compensation  for  omitted  tithes  paid  to  the  rector. 

Can.  79.  That  the  revenues  of  a  beneficed  person,  for  a  year 
from  the  day  of  the  incumbent's  death,  shall  belong  to  his  executors. 

Ibid.  p.  739. — Grievances  of  the  House  of  Commons  against  the 
Clergy,  a.d.  1530. 

I.  For  the  excessive  fines  which  ordinaries  took  for  probates  of 
wills ;  insomuch,  that  Sir  Henry  Guilford  declared  in  open  parlia- 
ment of  his  fidelity,  that  he  and  other  being  executors  to  Sir  William 
Compton,  knight,  paid  for  the  probate  of  his  will  to  the  cardinal  and 
the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  a  thousand  marks  sterling. 

II.  The  great  polling  and  extreme  exaction  which  the  spiritual 
men  used  in  taking  corpse-presents  or  mortuaries ;  for  the  children 
of  the  dead  should  all  die  for  hunger  and  go  a-begging  rather  than 
they  would  of  charity  give  to  them  the  silly  cow,  which  the  dead 
man  ought  if  he  had  but  only  one  :  such  was  the  charity  of  them. 

Note.  In  the  14th  century,  Isabel,  duchess  of  York,  directed  by  will, 
that  on  the  day  of  her  death  one  hundred  trentals  and  one  hundred 

gsalters  should  be  said  for  her  soul,  and  that  at  her  funeral  her  best 
orse  should  be  given  as  a  mortuary.  ^  Among  the  revenues  of  the 
church  in  his  time,  Tyndal  mentions  the  following,  independently  of 
tithes:  "1.  For  the  probates  of  wills.  2.  The  four  offering-days  in  a 
year,  (such  as  Easter  dues,  smoke  farthings  at  Pentecost,  &c.),  and  also 
personal  tithes ;  so  that  even  a  servant  is  obliqed  to  pay  the  tenth  of  his 
wages.  3.  Mortuaries ;  which  usually  consisted  of  a  horse  or  a  cow,  a 
bed  completely  furnished,  a  gold  chain,  or  one  hundred  marks.  4.  St. 
Hubert's  rent,  St.  Alban's  land,  St.  Edmond's  ric;ht,  St.  Peter's  patri- 
mony. 5.  For  bead-rolls,  christenings,  churchings,  banns,  marriage 
fees,  offerings  at  weddings  and  funerals,  oblations  for  wax-lights,  offer- 
ings to  images,  &c.  6.  For  confession ;  yea,  and  many  enjoin  the 
penance  of  having  masses  said,  exacting  a  sum  of  money  for  that  pur- 
pose. 7.  SoiU-masses,  dirges,  months-minds,  peace-minds.  All-souls' 
day,  trentals,  indulgences.     8.  The  mother-church  and  high-altar  must 

1  Nicolls,  Vet.  Test.  p.  135. 


306  EXACTIONS   LEVIED   BEFORE   THE   REFORMATION. 

have  something  in  every  will.  9.  The  oblations  at  priests'  first  masses ; 
and  no  man  is  professed,  of  whatever  religion  it  be,  but  he  must  bring 
somewhat.  10.  Fees  to  bishops  for  hallowing,  or  rather  conjuring, 
churches,  altars,  vestments,  altar-cloths,  &c.,  and  also  the  heavy 
expenses  of  books,  vestments,  &c.  provided  by  the  parish.  11.  St. 
Peter's  pence.  1 2.  Last  of  all,  what  swarms  of  begging  friars  are  there. 
The  parson  sheareth,  the  vicar  shaveth,  the  parish  priest  polleth,  the 
friar  scrapeth,  and  the  pardoner  pareth :  we  lack  but  a  butcher  to  pull 
off  the  skin."r  The  ordinary  price  of  a  mass  was  anciently  fourpence  ; 
but  if  they  dealt  in  the  gross,  it  was  forty  marks  for  two  thousand-^ 

r  Tyndal's  Works,  edit.  Russell,  1828,  vol.  ii.  p.  269,  &c. 
•  Fosb.  Encycl.  Antiq  ii.  636. 


(     307     ) 


CHAPTER   VI. 

ON   THE    PENITENTIAL    DISCIPLINE    OF    THE    ANCIENT    ENGLISH — THE 

TEMPORAL   LAWS   OF    THE    ANGLO-SAXONS,    &C. — TRIAL    BY 

ORDEAL,    AND   VARIOUS    OTHER   OBSOLETE   FORMS. 


§  1. — Venial  and  Mortal  sins. — Attrition. 

That  he  may  the  better  understand  what  follows,  I  must  remind 
the  reader  that  Roman  Catholic  theologians  have  always  made 
a  distinction  between  venial  and  mortal  sins. 

The  initials  of  the  seven  mortal  sins  are  included  in  the  word 
Saligia:^  —  viz,  Superbia  (pride),  Avaritia  (avarice),  Luxuria 
(luxury),  Invidia  (envy),  Gula  (gluttony),  Ira  (anger),  Acedia 
(recklessness  or  despair). 

These  sins,  which  entail  the  penalty  of  everlasting  death,  are 
supposed  to  be  fully  remitted  by  the  absolution  pronounced  by  the 
priest  in  the  sacrament  of  penance,  quoad  cidpam,  but  not  quoad 
pcenam;  for  it  is  believed  that  a  certain  temporal  punishment 
(proportionate  to  the  nature  of  the  offence)  is  still  entailed  upon 
the  penitent,  and  must  be  expiated  either  by  satisfaction  and  good 
works  in  the  present  life,  or  in  purgatory  hereafter.^ 

According  to  this  doctrine,  the  salvation  wrought  for  us  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus  was  neither  full  nor  complete :  it  was  a  commutation 
of  punishment,  and  not  a  free  pardon. 

Although  contrition,  confession,  and  satisfaction,  are  said  to  be 
the  parts  of  this  alleged  sacrament,  a  perfect  contrition  is  by  no 
means  deemed  an  essential  qualification  for  the  benefits  which  it  is 
designed  to  confer.  According  to  the  doctrine  of  the  council  of 
Trent,  they  may  be  attained  through  the  medium  of  this  sacrament 
where  there  is  only  a  servile  fear  of  punishment  without  any  mixture 
of  love.  This  imperfect  repentance  is  termed  by  the  schoolmen 
attrition,  and  it  has  been  even  a  question  among  them  whether  an 
explicit  resolution  to  abstain  from  sin  for  the  future  was  to  be 
considered  an  essential  requisite. 

The  following  passages  are  cited  as  vouchers  for  the  truth  of  my 
statement : 

«  Boudart,  Catech.  Theol.  torn.  i.  67.  ^  Schram,  iii.  381,  &c, 

X  -2 


308  ATTRITION — VENIAL   SINS  NEED   NOT   BE   CONFESSED. 

"  Cum  contritio  perfecta  extrk  sacramentum  pcenitentiae  justificet, 
ideb  non  est  dispositio  necessaria  ad  sacramentum  pcenitentise."'' 

"  Etiam  in  articulo  mortis,  non  tenetur  quis  ad  elieiendam  con- 
tritionem  perfeetam,  si  possit  suscipere  sacramentum  pcenitentise, 
vi  prjBcepti  pcenitentise." '^ 

"  Attritio  est  dolor  de  peccatis,  qui  vel  ex  turpitudinis  peecati 
consideratione,  vel  ex  Gehennse,  vel  poenarum  metu  eommuniter 
concipitur.  Contritio  oritur  ex  timore  filiali ;  attritio  ex  servile. 
Contritio  (denique)  nunquam  est  sine  charitate  et  gi"atia,  sed  attritio 
potest  esse  sine  his  cum  auxilio  special!."^ 

"  Quferitur  in  scholis  an  ad  veram  contritionem,  formale  et  ex- 
plicitum  propositum  non  peccandi  de  csetero  requiratur,  an  verb 
virtuale  et  implicitum  sufRciat."* 

In  the  Church  of  Rome  absolution  is  pronounced  before  satis- 
faction, and  a  man  being  thus  freed  from  the  penalty  of  eternal 
death  may  deliberately  choose  whether  he  will  make  restitution  in 
the  present  life,  or  undergo  the  temporal  punishment  of  his  crime  in 
purgatory  hereafter,  s 

Turlot  proposes  the  following  question : — "  Quibus  similes  sunt 
illi  qui  in  hac  vita  negligunt  poenitentiam  agere,  prceeligentes  in 
purgatorio  poenas  dare  ?'  and  his  answer  to  it,  which  is  a  fearful 
exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  {the  liorrors  of  which  are 
circumstantially  detailed  in  a  legend)  would  be  sufficiently  dis- 
couraging to  any  one  who  could  bring  himself  to  believe  that 
doctrine,  yet  felt  inclined  to  make  such  an  experiment :  but  the 
same  writer  has  assured  us,  in  the  very  same  page,  that  the  living 
may  make  satisfaction  for  the  dead,  assist  them  by  their  prayers, 
and  commute  their  penalties ;  ^  and  any  person  who  is  conversant 
with  the  theology  of  his  church  must  be  aware  that  there  are  sundry 
means  and  appliances  to  shorten  the  road  from  purgatory  to  heaven. 
Masses  for  the  dead  have  been  at  all  times  marketable  commodities, 
sold  at  the  rate  of  about  two  shillings  apiece ;  *  and  'in  Roman 
Catholic  states  a  wealthy  profligate  frequently  ends  a  life  of  selfish 
enjoyment  by  making  his  soul  his  heir.  Indidgences  will  be  con- 
sidered hereafter.  Venial  sins  difier  from  those  which  are  mortal 
rather  in  degree  than  in  kind.  They  bear  towards  each  other  the 
same  relation  that  a  pilferer  does  to  a  thief,  the  "  parvitas  materiw" 
being  the  recognized  distinction  between  them. 

Those  who  are  guilty  of  venial  sins  are  never  obliged  to  confess 
them  to  a  priest :  for  according  to  S.  Thomas  AquinasJ  they  are 
compendiously  remitted  by  the  recital  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  by  the 
general  confession  made  during  the  celebration  of  mass,  or  by  the 
aspersion  of  holy  water. 

c  Tom.  iii.  cap.  xvii.  $  1061.  d  Ibid.  Schol.  2. 

e  Turlot,  Thesaur.  p.  753.  f  Schram,  ibid.  §  1059,  Schol. 

e  Schram,  torn.  iii.  p.  395,  §  1078,  Schol.  1.        h  Turlot,  Thesaur.  pp.  795,  796. 

'   Diocesan  Statutes  of  the  Province  of  Leinster. 

j  Apud  Boudart,  Theol.  Cat.  torn.  ii.  p.  24.     See  also  Turlot,  p.  466. 


LAX    MORALITY    OP    THE    CASUISTS.      *  309 

The  following  passage  has  been  translated  from  Boudart : 

"  Q.  Prove  that  many  venial  sins  cannot  constitute  one  mortal 
sin. 

"  A.  It  is  evident  from  the  practice  of  the  Church,  according  to 
which  no  venial  sins,  however  often  repeated,  need  be  confessed. 

"  Q.  Is  it  then  possible  for  many  venial  thefts  to  constitute  at 
length  one  mortal  theft  ? 

"A.  No,  unless  there  was  an  intention  from  the  beginning  of 
stealing  a  large  sum  of  money."'' 

.  §  2.   The  Lax  Morality  of  the  Confessional. 

"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,"  is  an  infallible  test 
given  to  us  by  the  Son  of  God  himself,^  nor  can  we  expect  a  pure 
system  of  morality  where  we  find  a  corrupt  faith.  Accordingly,  the 
schoolmen  and  casuists  of  the  Church  of  Rome  have,  by  their  mis- 
chievous ingenuity,  lowered  the  standard  of  obedience,  teaching 
men  how  nearly  they  may  approach  to  the  confines  of  guilt  without 
incurring  its  penalty :  and  the  practical  result  of  these  principles 
has  been  such  as  we  might  naturally  expect ;  for  men  do  not 
*'  gather  grapes  from  thorns,  or  figs  from  thistles." 

The  evidence  which  I  am  about  to  lay  before  the  reader  has  been 
carefully  selected  by  myself  from  the  works  of  the  most  celebrated 
casuists  and  divines  of  that  church,  invariably  published  by  authority, 
and  in  most  instances  used  as  text-books  in  the  theological  seminaries 
and  universities  throughout  Ireland,  and  France,  and  Italy,  and 
Spain. 

To  exhibit  at  a  glance  the  extent  of  the  evil,  and  to  classify  my 
materials,  I  shall  follow  the  order  of  the  decalogue,  collating  the 
principles  of  these  casuists  as  we  go  along  with  their  practical 
results  in  Ireland  and  upon  the  continent.'" 

I.  THOU  SHALT  HAVE  NONE  OTHER  GODS  BUT  ME. 

"  It  is  questioned  whether  God  ought  to  be  loved  intensively 
above  all  things.  Wiggers,  Sylvius,  Billuart,  &c.  deny  it,  but 
Steyart,  Daelman,  Dannes,  &c.  aflUrm  it,  as  I  think  with  greater 
probability,"  ° 

"  All  outward  marks  of  reverence  except  sacrifice  are  common  to 
God  and  to  his  creatures,  &c."° 

^  "  Shocking  as  it  may  appear,  I  am  sure  I  do  not  exaggerate 
when  I  say,  that  throughout  Italy,  Spain,  &c.,  for  one  knee  bent  to 
God,  thousands  are  bowed  before  the  shrine  of  the  Virgin  and  the 
saints."^ 

^  Catech.  Theol.  Lovanii,  1700,  torn.  i.  p.  57.  '  Matt.  vii.  16. 

™  The  illustrations  from  travellers  will  be  distinguished  by  the  mark  ^  before 
them. 

0  Dens,  Theol.  torn.  ii.  p.  217,  num.  136. 
o  Turlot,  p.  512.  See  above,  p.  262,  &c. 
P  Rome  in  the  19th  Century.     Edinb.  1826,  vol.  i.  p.  22,  &c. 


310  '  LAX  MORALITY  OP  THE  CASUISTS. 


II.  THOU  SHALT  NOT  MAKE  TO  THYSELF  ANY  GRAVEN  IMAGE,  &C. 

"  God  the  Father  is  usually  reijresented  as  an  aged  man  with 
a  white  beard,  to  signify  his  eternity  and  providence."  i 

"  The  images  of  Christ,  of  the  mother  of  God  ever  a  virgin,  and 
of  the  other  saints,  are  to  be  had  and  retained,  and  due  honour  and 
veneration  is  to  be  paid  to  them.""^ 

"  Beyond  all  doubt  the  honour  and  veneration  which  we  render 

before  an  image  in  some  way  terminates  in  the  image We  kiss 

images,  we  carry  them  (in  procession),  we  place  them  in  an  honour- 
able position,  we  uncover  our  heads,  bend  our  knees,  and  fall  down 
before  them,  with  other  marks  of  reverence."  s 

IF  "  Above  the  altar  (of  Florence  cathedral)  the  statue  of  God 
himself,  the  Eternal  Father,  was  pointed  out  to  me  sitting  behind 
some  candlesticks."' 

"  The  huge  bronze  statue  of  St.  Peter  (at  Rome)  was  dressed  in 

full  canonicals,  in  honour  of  the  saint's  anniversary Several  (of 

the  devout)  were  kissing  the  toes,  which  are  literally  worn  away  by 
the  lips  of  devotees, — yet  this  statue  was  made  to  represent  Jupiter 
Ammon!"^ 

"  July  8th.  Went  to  the  church  of  St.  Augustine  at  Rome,  to  see 
the  image  of  the  miraculous  Virgin.  As  a  work  of  art  it  has  but 
little  merit,  but  it  is  the  idol  of  the  true  believer.  Multitudes  were 
entering  and  kneeling  before  the  image,  then  devoutly  kissing  the 
toes  which  are  nearly  worn  away.  All  this  reminded  me  of  the 
Hindoo  idols  I  have  seen  in  India.  I  recollect  visiting  a  huge  and 
hideous  figure  in  a  temple  on  the  river  Ganges  below  Benares  ... 
Where  is  the  difference  between  the  two  scenes  ?  the  idolatry  is 
the  same  in  both."^ 

m.  THOU  SHALT  NOT  TAKE  THE  NAME  OF  THE  LORD  THY  GOD 

IN  VAIN. 

"  Concerning  a  promissory  oath,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  it  can 
have  no  necessary  obligation  unless  it  proceed  from  the  intention  of 
him  who  swears  it :  for  an  oath  without  (such)  intention  is  no  oath 
at  all,  and  therefore  not  binding.""' 

'*  It  appears  then  to  be  the  common  opinion  (of  divines)  that  a 
simulated  oath,  made  with  a  just  and  prudent  equivocation,  is  not 

binding I  say  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  when  he  who  swears 

attaches  a  different  meaning  to  the  words  of  the  oath  from  that  in 
which  it  is  administered,  using  a  prudent  equivocation  (utens  pru- 
denti  amphibologia),  and  not  doing  injustice  to  the  other,  he  is  only 
bound  by  the  oath  according  to  his  own  intention."* 

<i  Turlot,  p.  16.  f  Concil.  Trident,  sessio  xxv. 

•  Turlot,  Thesaur.  p.  512.  '   Rome  in  the  19th  Cent.,  ubi  supra. 

«  Cummiag's  Notes  of  a  Wanderer,  vol.  i.  p.  54.  ^  Ibid.  p.  71. 

»  Saarez,  Op.  edit.  Mogunt.  1623,  torn.  ii.  p   323.  x  Ibid.  p.  331. 


LAX   MORALITY    OF   THE    CASUISTS.  311 

"The  following  are  not  oaths:  'by  my  faith/  'by  the  faith  of  a 
Christian/  &c.  Concerning  the  forms,  '  so  help  me  God/  '  by  God/ 
'I  speak  in  the  presence  of  God/  'God  knows  that  I  speak  the  truth/ 
there  are  various  opinions  (as  to  whether  they  are  oaths  or  not) ;  but 
I  think  that  it  must  depend  upon  the  intention  of  the  person  who 
uses  them/'" 

"  It  is  not  a  mortal  sin  if  you  swear  falsely  as  far  as  regards  the 
words  of  the  oath,  but  according  to  the  intention  of  him  who  admin- 
isters it/'  "  Nor  is  it  a  mortal  sin  to  break  a  promise  which  has 
been  confirmed  by  an  oath  when  it  relates  to  a  matter  of  trifling 
importance/'' 

"  A  bishop  may  dispense  with  the  obligation  of  oaths  which  have 
not  been  specially  reserved  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pope  whether 
by  law  or  custom/'* 

"  It  is  to  be  noted  that  blasphemy  is  not  always  a  mortal  sin ;  for 
sometimes  it  arises  from  inadvertence/''' 

"  Blasphemes  dicas  qui  jurant  per  pudenda  membra  Christi.  Ju- 
rare  (autem)  per  honesta  membra  Christi  non  est  blasphemia/'" 

"  No  perjury  is  a  mortal  sin  which  is  committed  without  delibera- 
tion/'^ 

"A  wife  who  is  compelled  by  her  husband  to  swear  that  she  will 
speak  the  truth,  although  she  be  really  an  adultress,  may  say  '  /  am 
not,'  making  the  mental  reservation  '  that  I  should  tell  you  about  it ;' 
or  that  she  is  not  now  an  adultress,  as  her  sin  has  been  cancelled  by 
confession  and  (the  sacrament  of)  penance.  She  may  therefore 
(lawfully  swear)  that  she  is  not  guilty  of  the  sin  of  adultery, 
inasmuch  as  she  believes  this  to  be  morally  true  after  confession."* 

A  confessor,  if  he  should  be  questioned  as  to  what  has  been  re- 
vealed to  him  in  the  confessional,  "  may  swear  before  a  judge  that 
he  knows  nothing  about  the  criminal's  guilt :  for  as  a  man  he  knows 
nothing  about  it,  and  only  knows  it  as  he  is  God's  vicar,"  ("  quia 
reverb  ut  homo  nescit  et  tantiim  scit  ut  vicarius  Dei").' 

"  That  the  church  has  a  power  of  relaxing  vows  and  oaths  is  clear 
from  the  general  concession  made  by  Christ,  (Matt,  xvi.)."*^ 

"  He  who  has  a  power  of  dispensation  as  far  as  regards  his  (spiri- 
tual) subjects,  may  dispense  in  his  own  case,  inasmuch  as  he  is  a 
member  of  the  same  community,  and  (ought  not  to  be)  in  a  worse 
condition  than  his  subjects."'" 

"  Q.  Does  he  swear  who  says  *  God  knoweth  that  I  speak  the 
truth'  ? 

y  Aphorism!  Confessariorum  ex  Doctorum   Sententiis  Collecti,  auctore  Em- 
manuel Sa.     Parisiis,  1599,  p.  363. 

^  Ibid.  pp.  364,  365.  a   Ibid,  circa  p.  370. 

*>  Toleti  Instr.  Sacerdotum  Rothomagi,  1619,  lib.  iv.  c.  13,  circa  p.  626. 

«  Ibid.  p.  630,  lib.  iv,  c.  14. 

<•  Sayrii  Clavis  Regia  Sacerdotum  Westfalliae,  1628,  lib.  v.  c.  4,  num.  16. 

e  Ibid.  lib.  v.  c.  4,  num.  24,  circa  p.  255. 

f  Schram,  tom.  iii.  c.  17,  §  1101,  CoroUarum. 

g  Dens,  Theol.  Tract,  de  Legibus,  num.  63,  p.  346,  Dubl.  1832,  tom.  ii. 

h  Ibid.  num.  64,  p.  347. 


312  LAX   MORALITY   OP   THE    CASUISTS. 

"  JR.  I  reply,  Sylvius  and  Suarez  distinguish  between  these  words 
if  they  are  merely  spoken  enunciative  or  simpliciter  affirmative,  in 
which  cases  they  amount  not  to  an  oath,  being  a  simple  declaration 
that  God  knoweth  all  things :  but  that  if  a  man  says  them  invocor 
tive,  calling  God  to  witness,  who  knoweth  all  things,  it  is  really  an 
oath.  Navarre  says  that  the  words,  '  God  knoweth  whether  I  speak 
the  truth,'  do  not  contain  an  oath."' 

"  Q.    To  whom  belongs  the  power  of  dispensing  with  an  oath  ? 

"72.    Principally  to  the  supreme  Pontiff. but  not  without 

reasonable  cause By  ordinary  right  it  belongs  also  to  bishops, 

but  not  to  parish  priests."J 

IF  "  It  will  be  easily  seen,  from  what  I  have  said,  that  I  found 
ample  confirmation  of  what  I  had  often  heard — the  small  regard  for 
veracity  among  the  Irish  peasantry,  and  their  general  disregard  of 
an  oath.  To  save  a  relative  from  punishment,  or  to  punish  any  one 
who  has  injured  a  relation,  an  Irish  peasant  will  swear  anything." '' 

"  Anything  may  be  proved  at  Naples :  for  witnesses  regularly 
attend  the  courts  to  be  hired  to  swear  to  any  fact."' 

IV.  REMEMBER  THAT  THOU  KEEP  HOLY  THE  SABBATH-DAY. 

"  The  observance  of  the  Lord's-day  is  not  a  law  of  God  (as  some 
imagine),  but  an  eccL  siastical  precept,  and  a  (laudable)  custom  of 
the  faithful."'" 

"  Q.  What  is  to  be  considered  a  suflSciently  notable  violation  of 
this  commandment  to  constitute  a  mortal  sin  ? 

"  B.  Bonacina  and  Collet  consider  a  servile  labour  continued  for 
one  hour  a  '  materia  gravis.'  Marchantius  mentions  three  hours, 
but  La  Croix  specifies  two  hours,  and  this  is  the  opinion  generally 
received.  But  I  think,  with  Suarez,  that  the  quality  of  the  work 
ought  to  be  attended  to,  so  that  if  it  be  a  very  laborious  a  less,  and 
if  very  easy  a  greater  time  may  be  required"  (to  constitute  a  mortal 
sin).n 

Read  also  Tolet's  Instructio  Sacerdotum,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  25,  per  tot. 
Edit.  Rottomagi,  1619,  p.  688,  &c. 

^  "  I  passed  a  Sunday  at  Thomastown  ...  the  shops  were  crowded 
after  mass.  All  the  country  people  who  had  money  flocked  into  the 
stores  to  buy  some  little  thing."" 

"  Yesterday  at  the  (English)  ambassador's  chapel  (Paris),  the 
voice  of  the  minister  was  occasionally  drowned  by  the  sound  of  a 
hammer  of  a  neighbouring  blacksmith ;  and  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
churches  it  is  by  no  means  unusual  for  the  priest  to  stop  the  service 
for  a  few  minutes  until  the  noise  in  the  street,  caused  by  persons 

'   Dens,  Theol.  Tract,  de  Legibus,  num.  132,  torn.  iv.  p.  159. 

J   Ibid.  num.  177,  p.  215. 

^  Inglis's  Ireland  in  1834,  Lond.  1834,  vol.  i.  p.  284. 

'   Rome  in  the  19th  Cent.  vol.  iii.  p.  220. 

"  Tolet,  ubi  supra,  lib    iv.  c.  25,  p   691. 

"  Dens,  ubi  supra,  torn,  ii   num.  82,  p.  379.         <>  Ireland  in  1834,  vol.  i.  p.  81. 


LAX   MORALITY    OF    THE    CASUISTS.  313 

who  pursue  their  daily  calling,  has  passed  away.  I  have  been  in 
a  church  while  a  mountebank  was  getting  up  his  exhibition  on  the 
outside,  ready  for  the  congregation  on  leaving  the  sacred  edifice."'* 

V.     HONOUR   THY   FATHER   AND    THY   MOTHER,  &C. 

"  A  son  may  denounce  his  father  (to  the  Inquisition)  if  he  be  a 
heretic,  but  he  is  not  bound  to  do  it  unless  there  be  a  danger  of  per- 
verting others,"''  "A  man  may  slay  his  father  in  defence  of  his 
country."  ■" 

VI.     THOU   SHALT   DO   NO   MURDER. 

"  If  any  one  shall  have  committed  adultery  or  murder,  reflecting 
only  imperfectly  or  superficially  upon  the  enormity  of  his  crime,  the 
sin  is  merely  venial,  though  the  acts  themselves  be  most  atrocious. 
This  is  evident,  because  a  knowledge  of  the  wickedness  of  an 
action  is  essential  to  make  it  sinful :  thus,  in  order  to  be  guilty  of 
mortal  sin,  a  man  must  not  only  have  a  full  knowledge  of  its  wicked- 
ness, but  he  must  also  duly  consider  it  while  he  is  committing  the 
crime."'  "  He  who  causes  abortion  before  the  quickening  of  the 
child  {i.e.  before  the  fortieth  day),  although  he  sins  grievously,  is 
not  yet  disqualified  by  irregularity  (from  receiving  holy  orders) ; 
for  that  which  is  not  as  yet  quickened  is  not  as  yet  a  man,  and 
so  he  who  causes  the  abortion  is  not  a  murderer."' 

"  Note.  If  there  be  any  doubt  whether  or  no  the  foetus  was  alive, 
it  ought  to  be  submitted  to  the  decision  of  the  Pope.  Xystus  V. 
decided  that  he  who  caused  abortion  was  irregular  {i.e.  incapable 
of  orders) ;  but  this  irregularity  was  annulled  by  Gregory  XIV. 
According  to  Xystus,  he  was  irregular  who  gave  medicine  to  a 
woman  to  prevent  her  from  conceiving ;  but  this  irregulai-ity  was 
also  taken  away  by  (Pope)  Gregory."" 

"  Note.  'Before  the  fortieth  day,'  i.e.  if  it  be  a  male  foetus,  for  a 
female  is  quickened  about  the  eightieth  day."" 

"  The  penalties  imposed  by  Pope  Sixtus  V.  upon  those  who  pro- 
cure abortion  are  only  in  force  if  the  foetus  should  be  alive."* 

"  Q.    May  heretics  be  compelled  to  return  to  the  church  ? 

"  R.  By  all  means,  inasmuch  as  they  belong  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  church,  and  may  be  punished  by  her,  and  are  condemned  by 
(her)  anathema. 

"  Q.    What  if  they  should  prove  obstinate,  may  they  be  slain  ? 

"  R.  Clearly,  for  thus  are  we  taught  by  the  holy  Scriptures  and 
the  orthodox  fathers."* 


P  Paris  Corresp  of  the  Globe,  Morning  Post,  April  3,  1840. 

•>  Aphorismi  Confessariorum,  ubi  supra,  p.  284.  f  Ibid.  p.  288. 

»  De  Rhodes,  Theologie  Scholastique,  torn.  i.  p.  3. 

'  Tolet,  ubi  supra,  p.  311.  "  Ibid.  p.  313. 

"  Ibid.  p.  313.  "  Aphorismi  Confess,  ubi  supra,  p.  285. 

X  Turlot,  Thesaur,  p.  194. 


314  LAX  MORALITY   OF   THE   CASUISTS. 

"  Q'   What  is  the  lot  of  heretics  after  death  ? 

"  B.    They  are  condemned  to  the  eternal  fire  of  hell."  > 

%  "  The  most  numerous  class  of  cases  at  most  Irish  assizes,  is  ho- 
micides committed  at  fairs.  There  were  many  of  these  prosecutions 
at  the  Ennis  assizes ;  and  although  I  had  already  heard  much  about 
these  factions,  I  had  no  conception  of  the  extent  of  the  ev-il  nor  of 
the  bitterness  with  which  it  is  attended A  ruffian  may  be  occa- 
sionally found  in  England  who  would  flay  a  man  alive  to  become 
possessed  of  his  purse;  but  I  greatly  question  whether  out  of  Ireland 
Jifty  men  could  be  found  in  any  one  parish,  ready  to  beat  one 
another's  brains  out  with  sticks  and  stones,  and  all  but  glorying  in 
the  deed."* 

The  brigands  of  Italy  and  Spain  are  devout  worshippers  of  the 
blessed  Virgin  and  the  saints,  yet  continually  steep  their  hands  in 
the  blood  of  their  fellow-creatures !  * 


VII.  THOU  SHALT  NOT  COMMIT  ADULTERY. 

"  Non  est  adulterium  si  raaritus  aliquam  solutam  cognoscit."'' 

"  Quamvis  sit  mortale  peccatum  fornicatio,  in  duobus  tamen  casibus 

potest  non  esse  peccatum  (l) Similiter,  si  ebrius  non  compos 

rationis  id  faceret  non  peccaret."*^ 

"  Puellam  vi  oppressam  non  teneri  ad  clamandum,  ait  Soto  :  exis- 
timat  enim  sufficere  non  consentire."^ 

"  Alterum  peccatum  est  inordinatus  concubitus,  ciim  nempe  foemina 
in  copula  est  desuper  aut  cum  mas  retrb  aceedit,  vase  non  mutato. 

Inter  conjuges  non  est  mortale,  nisi  sit  periculum  seminis 

efiusionis  extra  vas."^ 

"  Qui  duas  sorores  cognovit  turpiter,  alteram  secundum  naturam 
alteram  contra  naturam,  non  inficitur  incaestu."f 

"  Mulieres  accepta  a  religiosis  professis  ob  turpem  actum  tenentur 
monasterio  restituere,  etiamsi  quod  acceptum  datum  fuerit  religiosis 
a  ssecularibus  ad  quoslibet  usus :  monasterio  enim  monachus  acquirit 
quicquid  acquirit.  Monasterium  tamen  ex  rationabili  causa,  vel  ob 
paupertatem  meretricis,  vel  ne  religiosus  infamid  ajidatur,  condonare 
potest  acceptum  ab  ek."s 

"Peccatum  fuisse  cum  fili^  confeSsionis  non  est  necessarib  expli- 
candum  (etsi  quidam  putant)  non  est  enim  id  incaestus."^ 

"Non  tenetur  quis  \atare  alterius  osculum  libidinosum  si  non 
potest  sine  scandalo."' 

"  Potest  et  foemina  quseque  et  mas  pro  turpi  corporis  usu  pretium 
accipere  et  petere,  et  qui  promisit  tenetur  solvere."-' 

1  Ttirlot,  Thesaurus,  p.  195.  »  Inglis's  Ireland,  i.  282,  293. 

»  Rome  in  the  19th  Century,  vol.  iii.  p.  406 — 415. 

'•  Summa  Cardinalis  Hostiensis,  Lugd.  1517,  fol.  433. 

^  Tolet,  ubi  supra,  lib.  v.  c.  10,  p.  757.  d  ibid.  p.  759. 

e  Ibid.  c.  13,  p.  772.  f  Ibid.  p.  775. 

g  Ibid.  c.  19,  p.  795.  h  Aphorismi  Confess,  p    91. 

'  Aphorismi  Confess,  p.  400.  j    Ibid.  p.  400. 


LAX   MORALITY    OF   THE    CASUISTS.  315 

"  Permitti  quidem  possunt  peccata  minora  iit  vitentur  graviora : 
sic  eniin  permittitur  meretricium  ne  fiant  adulteria."  "^ 

"  Martinus  de  Magistris  docet  fornicationem  esse  levius  peccatum 
fiirto.  Ratio  ejus  est  quia  furtum  est  per  se  et  intrinsice  malum, 
fornieatio  autem  simplex  non  est  de  se  mala  et  peccatum  mortale, 
sed  solum  est  mala  quia  prohibita  est  lege  positive  DivinS.."' 

*'  Peccatum  in  genere  suo  mortale  potest  fieri  veniale  duobus 
modis  :  primo  ex  parvitate  materise,  secundo  ex  imperfecta  delibe- 
ratione."  " 

"  Communiter  dicitur  qubd  pro  simplici  fornicatione  quis  (clericus) 
deponi  non  debet  ciim  pauci  sine  illo  vitio  inveniantur."^ 

IF  "  I  will  not  say  that  the  system  of  cavalieri  serventi  is  universal 
in  Italy,  There  is  no  rule  without  an  exception  ;  but  after  a  two 
years'  residence  in  Italy,  and  a  very  general  acquaintance  among 
the  Italians,  I  have  known  few  without  them,  except  brides  who 
have  not  yet  chosen  them,  or  aged  ladies  who  have  lost  them.  In 
the  past,  present,  or  future  tense  cavalieri  serventi  are  common  to 
them  all :  but  whatever  may  be  our  opinion  of  the  nature  of  this 
connection,  and  of  the  virtue  of  the  fair  Italians,  that  of  their  own 
countrywomen,  as  well  as  of  all  the  foreigners  of  all  nations  whom  I 
have  heard  speak  of  them,  is  undeviating  as  to  their  general  frailty. 
Indeed,  to  do  them  justice,  the  very  pretence  of  virtue  is  often 
wanting;  and  such  is  the  general  toleration  of  vice,  that  no  extremes 
of  licentiousness,  however  open,  exclude  a  woman  from  the  society 
in  which  her  rank  entitles  her  to  move."  With  respect  to  the 
middling  and  lower  classes,  "their  virtue  I  fear  cannot  be  much 
boasted  of;  and,  like  their  superiors,  few  are  without  their  lovers 
and  their  intrigues."" 

"  Munich  is  at  least  not  worse  than  Vienna,  for  nothing  can  be 
worse.  From  a  statement  in  the  Hamburgh  Correspondent,  in  May 
1821,  it  appears  that  304  legitimate  children  were  born  in  Munich 
in  the  first  three  months  of  the  year,  and  307  illegitimate  children  ! 
If  to  the  acknowledged  we  add  those  of  the  ostensibly  legitimate, 
who  have  no  other  claim  to  the  title  than  the  maxim,  ^  pater  est 
quern  nuptiae  demonstrant,'  what  a  result  comes  out  as  to  the  morality 
of  these  capitals !  p 

Vni.     THOU    SHALT   NOT   STEAL. 

"  He  is  not  guilty  of  theft  who  steals  under  the  pressure  of  urgent 
necessity."*" 

"He  is  not  bound  to  make  restitution  who  has  been  equally 
injured  by  the  person  whom  he  injures.     Nor  is  he  who  has  com- 

k  Aphorisrai  Confess,  p.  482.  >  Clavis  Regia  Sacerd.  num.  29,  p.  619. 

™  Dens,  ubi  supra,  torn.  i.  p.  376. 

•"  Gratian,  Dist.  Ixxxi.  cap.  6  in  Gloss. 

°  Rome  in  the  19th  Century,  vol.  iii.  pp.  218,  227. 

P  Russell's  Tour  in  Germany,  Edinb.  1825,  vol.  ii    p.  284. 

'I  Tolet,  lib.  V.  c.  15,  p.  779. 


316  LAX   MORALITY   OF   THE   CASUISTS. 

pounded  with  the  bishop  or  the  Pope  for  doubtful  restitutions,  or  in 
whose  case  they  have  been  remitted  by  the  Pope. 

"  Nor  is  a  harlot  bound  to  return  what  she  has  extorted  by  the 
usual  falsehoods  (of  her  trade).""" 

*'  The  third  difficulty  relates  to  the  quantity  which  is  to  be  deemed 

sufficient  to  constitute  a  mortal  sin This  question,  from  its  very 

nature,  as  well  as  from  the  conflicting  opinions  of  authors,  is  (ex- 
ceedingly) difficult  and  obscure :  the  more  ancient  theologians  and 
summists  having  laid  down  no  fixed  rule  upon  the  subject,  but  left 
it  to  the  prudence  of  the  confessor  or  the  conscience  of  the  penitent, 
to  be  determined  according  to  the  circumstances  of  person,  time, 
and  place.  * 

(1.)  "  Some  are  of  opinion  that  two  or  three  pieces  of  gold  {duos 
aut  tres  aureos^),  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  must  be  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  to  constitute  a  mortal  theft  from  whomsoever  they 
are  stolen,  although  it  be  a  king,  and  two  Juliuses  if  stolen  from  a 
poor  man.  This  opinion  was  held  by  Sotus,  Anthony  de  Corduba, 
Johannes  Major,  Peter  Navarre,  and  Peter  de  Arragon. 

(2.)  "  Others,  more  scrupulous,  (say)  that  one  or  two  pieces  of 
silver,  or  even  half  a  piece  of  silver,  would  be  enough  to  constitute 
a  mortal  theft ;  and  that  if  a  man  were  to  steal  a  goat,  or  a  hen,  or 
anything  else  to  the  value  of  one  Julius,  it  would  be  a  mortal  theft, 
but  venial  if  he  stole  anything  to  an  inferior  amount." 

(3.)  "  Others  consider  any  theft  venial  which  is  under  the  value 
of  half  a  piece  of  gold. 

(4.)  "  I  omit  the  opinion  mentioned  by  Peter  de  Arragon  and 
Peter  Navarre,  that  a  hundred  pieces  of  silver,  or  even  a  hundred 
pieces  of  gold,  would  not  of  themselves  absolutely  constitute  a  mor- 
tal theft,  unless  the  person  from  whom  they  are  stolen  should  be 
seriously  injured  by  it.  For  this  opinion  is  unquestionably  false,  and 
would  open  a  way  to  a  host  of  evils.  It  was  held  by  Dominic 
Bannes  (Cap.  ii.  Qu.  96,  Art.  6);  for  he  tells  us  that  if  a  son  were 
to  steal  fifty  pieces  of  gold  from  a  wealthy  parent  he  would  not  sin 
mortally,  but  that  a  servant  who  should  steal  from  the  same  person 
even  a  single  ducat  would  sin  mortally.  He  says  also  that  if  one 
of  the  king's  officers,  to  whose  care  many  thousand  pieces  of  gold 
are  entrusted,  were  to  steal  one  or  two  hundred  (of  these  pieces)  he 
would  not  sin  mortally — which  opinion  is  far  too  lax. 

(5.)  "  The  opinion  of  Navarre  and  others,  who  affirm  that  the 
theft  of  two  silver  rials  would  be  mortal,  seems  to  me  too  severe ; 
and  although  no  certain  rule  can  be  laid  down,  we  may  yet  take  it 
for  granted  that  there  must  be  an  amount  of  money  so  great  as  to 
constitute  a  mortal  theft  from  whomsoever  it  may  be  stolen.  Sotus 
and  others  rightly  judge,  that  if  two  or  three  golden  crowns  should 

"■  Aphorismi  Confessariorum,  pp.  535,  536. 

»  This  and  the  five  following  paragraphs  are  from  Sayers,  Clavis  Regia,  p.  614, 
num.  9. 
»  Qusere— golden  crowns?  "  i.  e,  a  rial  of  silver,— for  thus  it  is  explained. 


LAX   MORALITY    OE   THE   CASUISTS.  317 

be  stolen,  even  from  a  king,  who  would  receive  no  real  injury  from 
the  loss  of  them,  the  theft  would  yet  be  mortal ;  and  they  are  fol- 
lowed in  this  opinion  by  Ludovicus  Lopez.  In  the  case  of  ordinary 
persons  the  theft  of  four  or  five  julii^  would  be  mortal,  or  one  or  two 
reals  or  a  Julius  if  stolen  from  a  poor  person. 

"  Q.  What  quantity  appears  to  be  absolutely  sufficient  to  consti- 
tute a  mortal  theft  ? 

"  B.  The  most  common  and  plausible  opinion  lays  down  as  a 
criterion  the  daily  wages  or  stipend  of  an  honest  artizan,  which  at 
this  time  and  in  this  country  may  be  estimated  at  about  three  or  four 
shillings.  But  in  places  where  money  is  more  or  less  abundant  a 
greater  or  a  less  sum  must  be  fixed  as  the  standard,"  " 

"  They  appear  to  judge  correctly  who  think  that,  in  places  where 
money  is  as  plentiful  as  it  is  now  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  pro- 
vinces, a  golden  crown,  or  three  florens,  are  requisite  to  constitute 
a  mortal  theft ;  and  although  a  few  stivers  should  be  deficient,  the 
sin  would  yet  be  mortal."^ 

"  Q.  Let  us  suppose  the  case  of  a  man  whose  many  petty  thefts 
at  length  amount  to  a  considerable  sum.  Is  he  bound  to  restore  it 
on  pain  of  mortal  sin  ? 

"  R.  Navarre  holds  that  he  would  not  be  guilty  of  mortal  sin, 
and  this  opinion  appears  to  the  author  to  be  the  true  one."^ 

"  The  seventh  difficulty  relates  to  the  case  of  a  man  who  should 
steal  many  trifling  sums  from  a  number  of  different  people,  amount- 
ing to  a  considerable  sum  altogether,  would  he  be  guilty  of  mor- 
tal sin  ? 

*'  In  this  doubtful  case  there  is  a  variety  of  opinions  among 
divines."* 

"  Q.  Is  the  man  who  has  stolen  a  large  sum  of  money  by  a 
series  of  little  thefts,  bound  to  restore  the  whole  on  pain  of  mortal 
sin  ? 

"B.  By  no  means:  but  that  he  may  be  free  from  the  mortal 
sin  of  unjust  detention,  it  is  sufficient  for  him  to  restore  what  he 
has  stolen,  to  such  an  amount  that  it  may  be  no  longer  a  notable 
quantity."* 

^  "  In  Sicily,  at  the  British  mess-table,  some  friends  of  ours  were 
eye-witnesses  to  the  fact  of  the  silver  spoons  being  pocketed  6y 
two  noblemen  who  dined  there  by  invitation :  and  this  circumstance 
happened  more  than  once.  I  might  easily  multiply  instances ;  but 
I  will  only  add,  that  in  two  cases  which  came  under  my  own 
knowledge  at  Naples,  two  noblemen  of  the  first  consideration  cheated 
some  English  friends  of  ours  in  the  most  dishonourable  manner. 
Another  Italian  nobleman  swindled  one  of  our  countrymen  out 
of  a  large  sum  of  money  in  a  still  more  dishonourable  way. — I  am 

*  The  Julius  was  about  sixpence. 

"  Dens,  ubi  supra,  torn.  iii.  p.  155,  num.  88.  "  Boudart,  ii.  341. 

y  Clavis  Regia,  p.  612.  »  Ibid.  p.  619. 

^  Dens,  torn.  iii.  p.  162. 


318  LAX   MORALITY    OF   THE    CASUISTS. 

sorry  I  cannot  say  much  for  the  morals  of  the  middle  and  lower 
ranks,  among  whom  truth,  honesty,  and  industry  are  rare  and  little 
prized.  They  will  cheat  if  they  can ;  and  they  sometimes  take 
more  pains  to  accomplish  this  than  would  have  enabled  them  to 

gain  far  more  by  fair  dealing I  must  say,  that  if  a  man  does 

become  rich  in  Italy  (a  rare  circumstance),  it  is  generally  by 
knavery,  by  iniquity,  and  by  the  most  nefarious  practices :  but 
it  is  certain  that  men  in  Italy  do  sometimes  make  large  fortunes 
by  practices  that  in  England  would  lead  them  to  the  gallows."  ^ 

IX.  THOU  SHALT  NOT  BEAR  FALSE  WITNESS. 

"  An  officious  lie  (mendacium  officiosum),  even  in  a  court  of 
justice,  is  a  venial  sin.  The  same  may  be  said  of  (a  lie)  which 
relates  to  some  trifling  matter  told  even  in  the  confessional :  though 
some  are  of  a  different  opinion."" 

"  Note.  An  officious  lie  is  a  falsehood  which  injures  no  man,  but 
may  profit  (him  whom  you  desire  to  serve).  Such  was  the  advice 
given  by  Chuza  (Hushai)  to  Absalom.    (2  Sam.  xvii.  7,  &c.)"'^ 

"  Some  (casuists)  aflirm  that  a  lie  told  in  a  sermon,  and  relating 
to  any  article  of  faith,  is  invariably  a  mortal  sin ;  while  others  think 
that  this  is  not  always  the  case."  ^ 

"  If  a  creditor  should  demand  what  you  have  repaid,  you  may 
deny  that  you  ever  received  it :  and  if  he  should  demand  the  whole 
when  you  owe  only  a  part,  you  may  deny  that  you  are  in  his  debt, 
saying  to  yourself — '  to  that  amount'. 

"  Some  (casuists)  affirm,  that  he  who  is  not  bound  to  reply 
according  to  the  intention  of  the  person  who  asks  the  question, 
may  reply  with  a  mental  reservation  :  as  for  example,  *  it  is  not  so — 
that  I  am  bound  to  tell  you',  or  '  I  have  it  not — that  I  should  give  it 
to  yofvi ;  but  others  do  not  allow  of  this,  and  perhaps  with  greater 
probability  {et  forte  potior!  ratione)."^ 

"  He  is  not  bound  to  make  restitution  who  hath  grievously 
injured  the  reputation  of  another,  but  who  has  recovered  from 
the  effects  of  the  calumny."  s 

"  Nor  is  he  who  hath  defamed  another,  by  saying  that  he  has 
heard  (an  injurious  report),  but  does  not  believe  it."^ 

"  Nor  is  he  (bound  to  make  reparation)  who  sees  another  un- 
justly punished  for  a  crime  which  he  himself  committed,  and  holds 
his  tongue. 

"Nor  he  who  hath  deliberately  thrown  a  forged  letter  in  the 
way  of  another,  which  he  believes  and  is  injured  by  it :  for  he 
has  not  exercised  sufficient  caution  in  giving  credit  to  it."  (Nee 
qui  falsas  literas  de  industria  projicit  unde  alius  credens  Isesus 
est  leviter  enim  credidit.)> 

b  Rome  in  the  19th  Century,  vol.  iii.  pp.  220,  226,  295. 
<=  Aphorismi  Confess,  p.  431.  d  Turlot,  p.  629. 

e  Aphorismi  Confess,  p.  432.  f  Ibid.  p.  432. 

g  Ibid.  p.  534.  h  Ibid.  p.  5.35.  i  Ibid.  p.  535. 


LAX    MORALITY    OF    THE    CASUISTS.  319 

"  Nor  is  the  man  who  cannot  restore  the  reputation  which  he 
hath  injured,  bound  to  make  any  other  compensation.  Some  how- 
ever affirm  that  he  ought  to  make  compensation  by  money  or  the 
like."" 

"  To  constitute  (the  mortal  sin)  of  detraction,  it  must  be  very 
scandalous ;  as  for  instance,  when  a  virtuous  young  woman  is 
calumniated  as  a  harlot.  Yet  sometimes  the  accusation  of  venial 
sin,  if  it  be  thought  very  disgraceful  (by  the  party  calumniated), 
may  amount  to  the  '  materia  gravis'  (of  detraction),  as  for  example, 
if  a  man  were  to  call  a  bishop  a  liar."' 

"  The  detractor  is  excused  from  making  reparation  if  the  cha- 
racter of  the  calumniated  person  should  be  cleared  in  any  other 
way,  or  if  the  infamous  accusation  should  be  no  longer  remembered 
(by  the  world) ."«" 

"  Q.  Is  it  allowable  to  use  ambiguity  or  equivocation  when  the 
words  (to  be  spoken)  admit  of  a  double  meaning  ? 

"  R.  An  equivocation  of  this  description  does  not  include  a  lie, 
in  whatever  sense  it  may  be  taken.     It  is  therefore  lawful,""  &c. 

IT  "  It  is  a  most  difficult  matter  to  get  the  truth  out  of  Italians ; 

and  I  almost  begin  to  credit  old  's  assertion,  who  lived  among 

them  twenty  years,  that  they  ovdy  speak  truth  by  accident,  and  are 
liars  hy  habit." ° 

Inglis  tells  us  that,  next  to  homicide,  the  most  numerous  cases  at 
an  Irish  assize  are  for  violation.  "  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  crime 
is  sworn  to  merely  for  the  pu/rpose  of  getting  a  husband;  and  the  plan 

generally  succeeds It  certainly  impresses  a  stranger  with  no 

very  favourable  idea  of  the  female  character,  to  find  a  girl  falsely 
swearing  a  capital  charge  against  a  man  whom  she  is  wUling  at  that 
moment  to  marry."  p 

"  Want  of  veracity  on  the  most  solemn  occasion  on  which 
veracity  is  ever  called  for,  is  but  too  plainly  established.  We 
find  the  very  reverse  of  that  straight-forwardness  which  it  is  so 
delightful  to  see  exhibited  in  the  examination  of  a  witness.  If 
positive  falsehood  would  serve  the  end,  it  is  unhesitatingly  resorted 
to;  and  as  for  telling  the  whole  truth,  I  saw  no  one  instance  of 
it  .,  ...  As  I  have  already  observed,  the  same  ferocity  which  has 
been  exhibited  at  a  fight  is  brought  into  court.  False  oaths 
are  the  substitute  for  weapons ;  and  by  these  witnesses  seek  to 
avenge  the  death  of  a  relative  who  has  been  more  unfortunate 
but  not  more  (less?)  criminal  than  the  accused." i 

X.     THOU    SHALT   NOT    COVET. 

"  Conjux,  absente  conjugo,  si  absit  pollutionis  periculum,  ima- 
ginariS.  copulS,  delectari  potest."' 

>'  Aphorismi  Confess,  p.  538.  '  Dens,  torn.  iii.  p.  174. 

">'  Dens,  torn.  iii.  p.  197.  n  Ibid.  torn.  iv.  p.  357. 

o  Rome  in  the  19th  Century,  vol,  i.  p.  79. 

P  Ireland  in  1834,  vol.  i.  p.  287,  &c.  q  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  292,  &c. 

■■  Tolet,  cap.  xiv.  p.  777- 


320  LAX   MORALITY    OF   THE    CASUISTS. 

"  Potent  etiam  esse  excusatio  a  mortali  si  actus  de  se  venialis, 
ex  quo  oritur  venerea  delectatio,  sit  indeliberatus,  vel  etiam  ex 
})arvitate  delectationis  ejusmodi ; — nonnuUi  enim  boni  authores  par- 
vitatem  materiae  agnoscunt  etiam  in  re  venerea.  Neque  refert  quod 
omnis  delectatio  venerea  disponat  ad  copulam ;  quia  modica  disponit 
ad  earn  valde  remote."^ 

"  Justse  causae  permittendi  motus  sensualitatis,  sunt  auditio  con- 
fessionum ;  lectio  casuum  conscientise  pro  confessario,  et  servitium 
necessarium  vel  utile  praestitum  infirmo.  Talis  vero  ordinarie  non 
est  lectio  libri,  vel  alloquium,  curiositatis  aut  recreationis  gratis,  si 
inde  commotiones  earn  ales  sequantur  quia  iUi  effectus  mali  sunt 
majoris  considerationis." ' 

"  Praecipua  difficultas  superest,  quantum  peccatum  constituant 
motus  tantum  voluntarii  in  causa,  dum  ipsa  causa  est  perfecte 
voluntaria.  Puta  aliquis  praevidet  ex  vaniloquio  curioso,  aspectu, 
aut  inutili  lectione  libri,  sequuturos  motus  inordinatos :  an  talis, 
voluntarie  et  deliberate  ponens  unam  ex  his  causis,  potest  excusari 

a  peccato  mortali,  si  motus  ipsi  displiceant,  &c In  re  valde 

obscura  videtur  utraque  sententia  temperari  posse.  Si  motus  non 
sint  ita  graves  ut  causent  poUutionem,  vel  proxime  ad  cam  dis- 
ponant,  tunc  motus  illos  non  excedere  culpam  venialem."" 

"  Notandum  quod  non  omnis  motus  ex  caus&  mortaliter  malsl 
ortus  ideo  sit  mortalis."" 

"  Q.  An  tenetur  illam  poUutionem  in  somno  inceptam  mox  ut 
evigilet  vi  cohibere,  ne  eontinuetur  in  vigiliS,  ? 

"  H.  Cum  Antoine,  tenetur  saltern  ut  pollutio  non  eontinuetur 
per  efFusionem  seminis  necdiim  a  lumbis  vel  e  testiculis  extravasati. 
Sanchez  Billuart  aliique  videntur  permittere  continuationem  ob 
periculum  infirraitatis." " 

The  many  obscene  engravings  and  licentious  publications  which 
abound  in  Italy  and  France,  furnish  a  commentary  worthy  of  such 
a  text ;  and  what  is  infinitely  worse,  licentiousness  but  too  fre- 
quently assumes  the  disguise  of  religion,  and  the  manual,  placed  in 
a  young  person's  hands  to  assist  the  conscience  before  confession, 
details  abominations  which  it  might  never  have  entered  into  the 
heart  to  conceive. 

The  same  observation  applies  to  the  questions  asked  in  the  con- 
fessional, which  are  to  be  seen  in  the  works  of  Burchardus,  Sanchez, 
and  other  casuists.  Although  some  proof  must  be  alleged  in  justi- 
fication of  so  serious  a  charge,  I  must  yet  beware  of  falling  into  the 
very  error  which  I  am  trying  to  expose,  and  shall  therefore  publish 
only  a  single  question;  a  sample  fortuitously  selected  from  the 
*'  decretals"  of  Burchardus,  Bishop  of  Worms,  and  which  I  found 
amidst  a  multitude  of  others  of  the  same  kind. 

»  Boudart.  Catech.  Theol    torn.  ii.  p.  374. 

«  Dens,  Theol.  torn.  i.  p.  299,  num.  112,  Tract,  vi.  ft.  4. 

"  Ibid.  num.  113,  p.  300,  &c.  »  Ibid.  p.  303. 

*  Ibid.  torn.  iv.  p.  381,  nam.  296. 


RIGOUR   OF   THE   ANCIENT   PENITENTIAL   DISCIPLINE.  321 

"  Fecisti  quod  quaedam  mulieres  facere  solent,  ut  faceres  quoddam 
molimen  aut  machinamentum  in  modum  virilis  membri,  ad  men- 
suram  tuae  voluntatis,  et  illud  loco  verendorum  tuorum  aut  alterius 
cum  aliquibus  ligaturis  colligares,  et  fornicationem  faceres  cum  aliis 
mulieribus  vel  alise  tecum  ."^ 

There  also  may  be  seen  questions,  "  de  moUitie  (sive  onanismo), 
de  coitu  cum  masculis  vel  brutis  animalibus,"  &c.:  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say,  that  by  reading  a  work  of  this  description  the  mind  of 
a  young  person  would  be  more  polluted  in  half-an-hour,  than  by  all 
the  licentious  publications  that  ever  issued  from  the  press.  These 
casuistical  works  are,  however,  placed  in  the  hands  of  candidates  for 
the  priesthood,  who  have  the  warm  blood  of  Italy  glowing  in  their 
veins,  and  are  yet  fettered  by  the  law  of  celibacy !  The  many 
enactments  against  '  solicitors'  (or  priests  who  made  the  confessional 
an  instrument  of  seduction),  sufficiently  shew  the  extent  of  the  evil 
and  the  inadequacy  of  the  remedy.''  Legislation  would  never  have 
been  thus  elaborately  applied  to  a  few  insulated  cases  of  abuse ;  and 
the  continual  evasions  of  a  law  can  alone  call  forth  from  time  to 
time  fresh  and  more  stringent  enactments. 

§  3.   Penitential  Discipline  of  the  Early  Church. —  The  origin  of 
Auricular  Confession — Excommunication. 

In  primitive  times  confession  and  penance  were  both  public ;  and 
those  who  were  repelled  from  the  holy  Communion  for  their  sins, 
were  obliged  to  submit  to  a  long  course  of  probation  before  they 
could  be  restored  to  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  the  faithful."  So 
excessive,  indeed,  was  the  rigour  of  this  early  discipline,  that  the 
penance  of  the  offender  was  often  commensurate  with  his  life ;  and 
in  his  dying  agonies  alone  was  he  permitted  to  receive  the  eucharist 
as  a  viaticum  to  his  heavenly  rest :  yet  even  this  was  considered  too 
great  an  indulgence  by  the  prelates  who  sat  in  the  council  of 
Eliberis,  A.  D.  305 ;  for  they  decreed  that  gross  offenders  might 
indeed  be  reconciled  to  the  church  on  their  death-beds,  but  that 
they  should  not  be  allowed  to  communicate  :*  an  unwholesome 
severity,  which  plunged  many  into  "the  wretchlessness  of  most 
unclean  living,"  the  natural  offspring  of  despair,  while  it  drove 
others  into  open  apostacy  from  the  faith. 

At  the  period  of  which  I  am  speaking,  penitents  were  distributed 
into  four  classes  or  '■^  stations" ,^  viz. 

1.  TTpoaKXavaic,  or  the  station  of  those  who  were  condemned  to 
mourn  or  lament.  They  stood  outside  the  church  door  (at  the  west), 
exposed  to  all  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  with  tears  in  their 
eyes  implored  those  who  entered  to  pray  to  God  in  their  behalf. 

«  Burchardi  Decret.  Colon.  1548,  lib.  xix.  fol.  199,  &c. 

y  See  in  section  1  of  this  chapter,  note  to  Wilk.  i.  p   577,  A.d    1220. 

»  J^churtzfl.  Controv    cap.  xxxvii.  §  3,  10  ;  item.  Schram,  §  1077,  Schol. 

•  Can    1—8,  apud  Carranzse  Snmma,  edit.  Sirmond.   Paris,  1678,  p.  80. 

*>  Schurtzfl.  et  Schram,  ubi  supra;  item  Bingham,  book  xviii. 

Y 


322  PENITENTIAL   STATIONS — EXCOMMUNICATION. 

2.  aKpoaaig,  or  the  station  of  those  who  were  permitted  to  hear 
those  portions  of  the  service  which  were  recited  before  the  cate- 
chumens were  dismissed.  They  stood  in  the  narthex,  or  ante-nave, 
a  sort  of  inner  porch  divided  from  the  nave  by  folding-doors,  which 
however  were  left  open  tUl  the  sacramental  service  commenced. 

3.  i/TToVrwo-tc,  or  suhstratio,  was  the  space  between  the  narthex 
and  the  afxfiwf,  or  pulpit,  which  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  nave. 
Here  the  penitents  of  the  third  order,  clothed  in  sackcloth,  pros- 
trated themselves,  and  remained  till  the  oftertory,  when  they  were 
obliged  to  retire  with  the  catechumens  and  auditors. 

4.  avaraniQ,  was  the  station  of  those  who  were  allowed  to  be 
present  at  the  holy  mysteries,  but  not  to  communicate ;  nor  were 
their  names  recited  in  the  diptyclis. 

In  process  of  time  the  severity  of  the  ancient  discipline  was 
relaxed :  the  stations  fell  into  total  desuetude ;  auricular  or  secret 
confession  to  the  priest  was  substituted  for  the  eio^okoyqaiQ,  or 
public  confession  practised  in  the  early  Church;  nor  was  public 
penance  ever  enforced,  except  in  the  case  of  crimes  which  were 
very  flagrant  and  notorious. 

It  is  however  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  even  as  late  as  Lind- 
wood's  time,  who  flourished  about  a.  d.  1433,  when  a  person  relapsed 
after  having  undergone  this  public  penance,  he  could  not  be  again 
reconciled  to  the  church  except  upon  his  death-bed.*^ 

Delinquent  clerks  were  exempted  from  public  penance  out  of 
reverence  to  their  sacred  office.'' 

The  scandal  which  arose  from  the  public  confession  of  a  woman 
that  she  had  committed  adultery  with  a  deacon  in  the  very  church, 
first  led  Nectarius  (the  then  patriarch  of  Constantinople)  to  abolish 
the  custom  altogether."^ 

This  took  place  about  a.d.  390 ;  and  soon  after,  by  an  extremely  na- 
tural transition,  auricular  or  secret  confession  succeeded  into  its  place. 

Let  us  next  take  a  brief  survey  of  the  penitential  discipline  of 
the  Middle  Ages. 

Excommunication  was  of  two  sorts,  the  minor  and  the  major, 
though  this  distinction  is  not  to  be  found  in  those  canonists  who 
wrote  before  the  13th  century.^  The  lesser  excommunication 
merely  excluded  from  the  sacraments ;  whereas  the  greater  not  only 
drove  a  man  out  of  the  pale  of  the  church,  but  deprived  him  of 
the  society  of  his  dearest  friends.  He  was  shunned  as  if  he  had 
been  infected  with  a  sort  of  spiritual  leprosy,  and  those  who 
shewed  him  the  least  kindness  incurred  the  same  dreadful  penalty. 
Before  a  sentence  of  excommunication  could  be  pronounced,  ca- 
nonical warning  was  given  three  several  times  to  the  offender;^ 
and  if  he  still  continued  obstinate,   he  was  then  delivered  over 

<^  Johns.  A.D.  1281,  c.  vii.  note  1. 

<<  Schurtzfl.  p.  617,  et  Wilk.  ii.  148.  «•  Socratis  Hist.  lib.  v.  c.  19. 

f  Johns.  A  D.  1237,  c.  17,  note. 

K  Wilk,  i.  637,  et  Burn's  Eccl.  Law,  voce  Excommunication. 


PERSONS  EXCOMMUNICATED  OR  ABSOLVED  AFTER  DEATH.  323 

to  Satan  with  great  solemnity.  A  most  awful  curse  was  pronounced 
against  him  by  all  the  assembled  priests,  who  at  the  conclusion 
of  it  rang  the  saunce  bells,  closed  their  books,  and  violently  ex- 
tinguished aU  the  candles,  by  throwing  them  down  to  the  ground 
and  trampling  upon  them,  praying  that  ^his  light  might  he  extin- 
guished for  ever  and  ever,'  before  God. ''  The  name  of  the  person 
thus  excommunicated  was  next  affixed  to  the  church-door,'  and 
application  was  made  to  the  king's  justice  for  the  writ  "  de  excom- 
municato capiendo,"  by  virtue  of  wliich  he  was  arrested  and  impri- 
soned J  till  he  had  made  satisfaction. 

When  excommunicates  desired  to  be  reconciled  to  the  church, 
they  went  thither  on  Ash- Wednesday/,  dressed  in  coarse  attire,  and 
humbly  requested  admittance,  but  were  driven  away  from  the  door : 
throughout  Lent,  they  probably  knelt  in  the  galilee  during  the 
celebration  of  divine  service,  till  Maundy- Thursday,  Avhen  they 
were  received  into  the  church  and  absolved.  Those,  however, 
who  died  in  a  state  of  excommunication,  were  not  merely  deprived 
of  christian  burial,  but  they  incurred  a  like  sentence  who  should 
put  their  bodies  in  stone,  wood,  water,  &c.  If  they  had  been 
buried,  their  corpses  were  to  be  disinterred ;  and  Camden  tells  us, 
that  the  body  of  a  man  who  had  died  excommunicate  was  wrapped 
in  lead  by  the  knights  templars,  and  hung  upon  a  tree,  as  an 
evasion  of  the  above-mentioned  law.'' 

Excommunicates  were  in  some  instances,  however,  absolved  after 
death,  and  so  received  Christian  burial : '  but  in  this  case  I  take  it 
for  granted  that  the  spiritual  judge  required  proof  of  their  having 
been  penitent  and  desirous  of  reconciliation  to  the  church,  and  that 
they  died  without  the  benefit  of  absolution  simply  from  a  want 
of  opportunity. 

On  the  other  hand  (as  in  the  case  of  Wiclif)  the  sentence 
of  excommunication  was  sometimes  pronounced  against  persons 
actually  deceased.  Their  bodies  were  exhumed,  and  ignominiously 
cast  out  of  the  churchyard." 

"  Absolutiones  ad  cautelam"  were  sometimes  granted  to  the  ex- 
communicate who  had  appealed  from  their  sentence  to  a  higher  tri- 
bunal, till  the  decision  of  the  Pope  or  other  superior  judge  could  be 
ascertained ;  and  "  absolutiones  relaxatorice"  were  temporary  relaxa- 
tions of  the  sentence,  in  cases  (probably)  where  the  excommunicate 
were  sincerely  penitent,  but  had  not  yet  made  satisfaction.  ° 

General  sentences  of  excommunication,  solemnly  pronounced  in 
the  church  with  bell,  book,  and  candle,  .against  all  who  should 
be  guilty  of  certain  offences  specified  at  the  time,  and  incurred 
ipso  facto,  (although  the  actual  perpetrators  were  unknown,)  can- 
not be  traced  higher  than  the  thirteenth  century." 

>>  Text.  Roffens.  edit.  Hearne,  p.  55. 

'   Wilk.  i.  442.  j    Ibid    i.  749. 

i<  Camden's  Britannia,  edit.  Gibson,  p.  353.  '    See  above,  p.  303. 

"'  Carranza,  Summa  Concil.  edit.  Sirmond.  p.  569. 

■>  Du  Cange,  voce  Absolutio.  o  Johns,  a.d,  1237,  c.  17,  note, 

Y3 


324  RESERVED   CASES THE    SEAL   OF   CONFESSION. 

Interdicts,  which  were  in  fact  excommunications  hy  wholesale, 
have  been  already  described  (p,  37,  and  note). 

The  moment  that  an  excommunicated  person  entered  a  church, 
the  officiating  ministers  closed  their  books,  extinguished  the  lights, 
and  hastily  suspended  the  service,  p 

§  4.    A  few  additional  remarks  about  the  Sacrament  of  Penance. 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  said  respecting  the  sacrament 
of  penance  in  a  former  portion  of  my  work,*"  I  would  here  observe 
that,  according  to  the  decree  of  the  fourth  council  of  Lateran, 
every  person  above  the  age  of  fourteen  was  bound  to  confess  his 
(or  her)  mortal  sins  to  a  priest  at  least  once  a  year,  r 

In  cases  of  apostacy,  sacrilege  connected  with  the  holy  eucharist 
or  the  chrism,  adultery,  the  violation  of  a  nun,  incest  within  the 
third  degree  of  consanguinity,  unnatural  offences,  &c.,  a  simple 
priest  could  not  absolve — those  crimes  having  been  specially  re- 
served to  the  bishop;"  while  in  other  cases  the  Pope  alone  could 
pronounce  absolution,  such  as  the  violation  of  the  immunities  of 
the  church,  the  laying  of  violent  hands  upon  an  ordained  person, 
simony,'  &c. 

The  sigillum  confessionis  was  the  obligation  of  the  priest  never 
to  reveal  what  he  had  heard  in  the  confessional,  on  pain  of  being 
deposed  without  mercy ;  for  it  was  considered  in  the  light  of  a 
dreadful  sacrilege.  Schram  indeed  tells  us,  that  even  if  the  public 
safety  were  vitally  concerned,  or  if  murder  could  be  prevented  by 
it,  a  priest  would  not  be  justified  in  disclosing  what  he  had  heard 
from  his  shrift ;  ««?/  more,  that  if  he  were  examined  before  a  magis- 
trate, he  would  be  bound  to  swear  positively  that  he  knew  nothing  of 
the  matter" I" 

§  5.    Satisfaction — various  Penances — the  commutation  of  Penance — 
Supererogation. 

Satisfaction,  the  third  part  of  the  sacrament  of  penance,  is  sup- 
posed to  avert  from  the  sinner  the  temporal  punishment  which 
is  reserved  even  after  he  has  been  absolved  by  a  priest.  The 
absolution  frees  him,  indeed,  from  the  guilt  of  sin  as  well  as  from 
its  eternal  punishment;  but  the  commuted  penalty  must  be  under- 
gone either  in  this  life  or  in  purgatory,  unless  it  be  cancelled 
by  what  is  tt.rmed  satisfaction,  viz.  the  penance  which  is  always 
enjoined  by  the  confessor  to  his  shrift ;  and  without  which  (injunc- 
tion) this  alleged  sacrament  would  be  considered  incomplete. ' 

These  penances,  for  the  most  part,  consist  in  fasting  and  other 
acts  of  mortification,  (such  as  being  chastised  with  the  discipline,  or 
wearing  a  hair  shirt,)  almsgiving,  and  prayer. 

P  Wilk.  i.  417.  q  P    179,  &C. 

f  Apud  Boudart,  torn   ii,  p.  31.  «  Ibid.  p.  64. 

t  Ibid.  p.  62.  «  Schram,  §  1101,  Coroll. 

"  Boudart,  torn.  ii.  p.  74,  &c. 


VARIOUS   MONASTIC   PENANCES.  325 

"  For  one  mortal  sin  (according  to  Schram)  it  is  usual  to  enjoin 
a  recital  of  the  litany  of  the  saints  or  of  that  of  Loretto,  attendance 
at  divine  service,  and  fasting."" 

The  ancient  poenitentials,  however,  simply  enjoin  a  recital  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer  or  the  Psalter,  without  making  any  mention  of  the 
Ave  Maria  or  litany  of  the  saints, — a  strong  presumptive  evidence 
of  the  novelty  of  these  formularies.'' 

Pvhlic  penances  were  never  enjoined  for  sins  revealed  in  the 
confessional,  lest  the  severity  of  the  expiation  should  disclose  the 
nature  of  the  crime  ;y  but  where  the  offence  was  flagrant  and 
notorious,  the  detected  monk  was  exposed  before  all  his  brethren 
and  put  to  open  shame.  A  few  of  these  monastic  penances  are 
too  remarkable  to  be  omitted  in  a  work,  the  object  of  which  is 
to  exhibit  to  the  reader  a  faithful  picture  of  the  state  of  religion 
in  the  Middle  Ages." 

(1)  In  some  cases  (to  use  a  very  modern  expression)  the  delin- 
quent was  *  sent  to  Coventr'i/',  no  more  notice  being  taken  of  him 
than  if  he  had  been  really  absent  {"habebitur  ahsens").  This 
appears  to  have  been  chiefly  the  punishment  of  those  who  had  held 
communication  with  persons  under  sentence. 

(2)  Adoratio  horarum,  an  Irish  penance,  consisted  of  a  certain 
number  of  genuflexions  to  be  performed  at  each  (canonical  ?)  hour. 

(3)  Ante  et  retro,  was  a  species  of  prostration,  in  which  the 
loins  were  higher  than  the  back  and  the  back  than  the  head.  A 
representation  may  be  seen  in  Fosbrooke's  British  Monachism,  all 
the  monks  of  La  Trappe  being  thus  prostrated  at  the  '  Venia'. 

(4)  Super  articulos  prostemi,  was  a  more  painful  prostration,  in 
which  the  whole  weight  of  the  body  rested  upon  the  toes,  knees, 
and  knuckles.  The  two  last-mentioned  penances  were  enjoined  for 
trivial  breaches  of  discipline. 

(5)  Scapulare  linguarum,  was  a  white  scapular,  having  twelve 
tongues  of  red  cloth  sewn  upon  it.  When  a  Cistertian  monk  had 
been  guilty  of  slander,  insolence  to  superiors,  or  any  other  '  offence 
of  the  tongue',  he  was  condemned  to  wear  tliis  scapular  as  a  public 
disgrace,  and  to  take  his  meals  sitting  upon  the  ground. 

(6)  In  some  instances  the  monk  was  condemned  to  drink  at  his 
meals  water  that  had  been  polluted  by  a  hen. 

(7)  Dentis  evulsio,  was  the  punishment  of  those  who  had 
violated  a  fast-day,  or  who  had  eaten  flesh  during  the  penitential 
season  of  Lent.  The  man  convicted  of  such  an  offence  was  con- 
demned to  lose  one  of  his  teeth. 

(8)   Baptisma,  a  monastic  punishment  for  neglect  of  duty,  viz.  a 
good  ducking. 

These  few  specimens  may  suflUce. 

w  Schram,  §  1077,  Coroll.  »  Sec  above,  p.  293. 

y  Schram,  torn.  iii.  c.  17,  §  1077.  Coroll. 

»  Du  Cange,  in  vocibus  Ahsens;  Adoralio  Horarum,-  Ante  et  Retrb ;  Articulus , 
Scapulare  Linguarum;  Dentis  evulsio ;  Baptisma  (Suppl.).  &c. 


326  COMMUTATION   OF  PENANCE  INDULGENCES. 

The  commutation  of  penance  established  a  distinction  between 
the  rich  and  the  poor  totally  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel,  In  the  eighth  century,  a  whole  year's  fasting  might  be 
commuted  by  the  purchase  of  thirty  masses ;  or,  if  he  preferred 
a  different  investment,  the  wealthy  delinquent  might  hire  other 
people  to  fast  in  his  behalf,  and  thus  redeem  a  seven  years'  penance 
in  three  days!^  This  was  a  sort  of  corollary  upon  the  doctrine  of 
supererogation,  according  to  which  a  man  may  more  than  deserve 
heaven,  the  surplus  stock  of  merit  being  transferable  at  wiU. 

At  Halberstadt,  a  very  singular  custom  anciently  prevailed, 
analogous  to  the  scape-goat  among  the  Jews.  iEneas  Sylvius 
(afterwards  Pope  Pius  II.)  tells  us,  that  some  flagrant  criminal 
was  selected  from  the  body  of  the  people,  and  driven  oiit  of  the 
church  upon  Ash -Wednesday.  During  the  forty  days  of  Lent 
he  was  to  wander  through  the  streets  in  deep  mourning,  barefoot, 
and  with  a  veil  over  his  head ;  but  he  was  neither  suffered  to  enter 
a  church,  or  to  hold  any  intercourse  with  his  fellow-citizens.  He 
might  eat  only  such  food  as  the  clergy  offered  him  in  charity,  and 
was  allowed  to  sleep  in  the  open  air,  but  not  tUl  after  midnight. 
On  Maundy-Thursday  he  was  received  into  the  church,  and  pub- 
licly absolved.  The  people  on  that  occasion  gave  him  money, 
(which  however  he  was  expected  to  offer  at  the  altar) ;  and,  it  was 
supposed  that  he  had  thus  obtained  a  plenary  remission  of  all  his 
sins.     This  public  penitent  was  designated  by  the  name  of  'Adam'.  '' 

Letters  of  confraternity,  which  secured  to  a  lay  benefactor  an 
interest  in  all  the  masses,  prayers,  and  merits  of  the  religious 
corporation  by  whom  they  were  assigned,  have  been  already 
noticed.  Pilgrimages  to  remarkable  reliques  or  shrines  were  also 
supposed  to  expiate  guilt,  or  at  least  to  commute  its  temporal 
penalty.  The  same  benefit  was  sometimes  ascribed  to  the  recital 
of  a  particular  prayer:  and  the  dying  man  was  not  unfiequently 
invested  in  the  habit  of  some  privileged  order,  as  a  direct  passport 
to  heaven  without  the  preliminary  discomfort  of  passing  through  the 
flames  of  purgatory." 

§  6.    Indulgences. 

Relaxations  of  the  severe  penances  imposed  in  the  primitive 
church,  were  probably  the  origin  of  indulgences,  though  in  process 
of  time  they  were  extended  to  the  liberation  of  souls  from  purga- 
tory, and  became  a  source  of  inexhaustible  wealth  to  the  see  of 
Rome.  The  argument  of  Pope  Clement  VII.  in  favour  of  indul- 
gences, is  so  characteristic  of  the  theology  of  the  period,  that  I 
cannot  withhold  it  from  the  reader.  "  Our  Sa\iour  could  with  one 
drop  of  his  blood  redeem  the  whole  human  race :  since,  however, 
so  much  blood  was  shed,  that  there  was  not  a  sound  part  in  his 

»   In  this  chap.   Wilk  i.   140,    233.      Also    (on   Superet-ogation)  see   Schram, 
torn.  Hi.  c.  17,  §  1076. 
b  Suppl.  to  Du  Cange,  voce  Adam,  «=  Ibid,  voce  Anr/dica  Vestis. 


INDULGENCES  GRANTED  FOR  SINS  FUTURE.        327 

whole  body,  all  that  was  superfluous  he  bequeathed  as  an  immense 
treasure  for  the  use  of  his  church,  to  which  were  added  the  merits 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  all  the  saints ;  so  that  the  power  of  granting 
indulgences  (condonandi)  is  inexhaustible;'"'  and  so  it  had  need 
to  be,  considering  the  profuse  expenditure  of  the  treasure.  In  an 
illuminated  MS.  which  I  possess,  two  thousand  years  of  indulgence 
are  granted  to  all  who  say  a  particular  prayer :  and  in  a  chantry  in 
the  parish  church  at  Macclesfield  there  is  an  inscription  to  the  eflect, 
that  any  person  who  shall  say  there  five  Paternosters,  five  Aves,  and 
(a  credo),  shall  enjoy  "  twenty-six  thousand  years,  and  twenty-six 
thousand  days  of  pardon"  \^  In  their  third  gravamen,  the  princes 
assembled  at  Nuremburg  complained  to  the  legate  that  the  vendors 
of  indulgences  undertook  to  pardon  not  only  the  past  but  the  future 
sins  of  their  customers  ("noxas  prseteritas  et  futnras  viventium":'^) ; 
and  Tetzel  audaciously  declared,  "  se  tantam  habere  potestatem 
a  pontifice,  ut  etiamsi  quis  Virginem  Matrem  vitiasset  ac  gravidam 
fecisset,  condonare  crimen  ipse  posset  interventu  pecuniae.  Deinde 
non  mode  jam  commissa  verum  etiam  futura  peccata  condonabat."^ 
In  the  17th  century,  the  "  Taxa  C^uier^"  was  published  at  Rome 
by  papal  authority,  to  instruct  the  people  as  to  the  price  at  which 
each  crime  might  be  expkted.  The  murderer  of  a  priest  paid 
exactly  the  same  as  a  parricide,  (about  10^.  (id.  of  our  money). 
He  who  had  committed  incest  with  his  mother  or  sister  paid  less 
than  a  man  who  kept  a  concubine,  or  who  had  committed  perjury. 
A  concubinary  priest  paid  exactly  the  same  as  a  layman;  and  a 
robber  or  an  incendiary  more  than  any  which  I  have  specified!^ 

Old  Chaucer  has,  in  his  Canterbury  tales,  given  us  an  amusing 
sketch  of  one  of  the  many  hawkers  of  indulgences  who  travelled 
through  the  country  in  his  days.  As  soon  as  he  has  ended  his 
story,  this  ''pardoner"  exclaims,  M'ith  a  very  proper  regard  to  the 
main  chance — 

"  Now  good  men  God  foryeve  you  your  trespas, 
And  ware  you  fro  y*  synne  of  avaryce. 
Myn  holy  pardon  may  you  all  waryshe, 
So  that  ye  offre  nobles  or  starlynges, 
Other  els  sylver  spones,  troches,  or  rynges. 
Boweth  your  heed  under  this  bulle, 
Cometh  up  ye  wyves  and  offreth  of  your  woU, 
Your  names  here  I  enter  in  my  rolle  anon : 
Into  the  blysse  of  heven  shull  ye  all  gon. 
I  you  assoyle  by  myn  highe  powere, 
Ye  that  offren  as  clene  and  eke  clere 
As  ye  were  borne."  *> 

The  Jubilee  was  a  sort  of  general  indulgence  granted  to  all 
persons  who  (being  confessed  and  contrite)  should  visit  the  thresh- 
holds  of  the  apostles  at  Rome.     This  was  first  established  by  Pope 

•>  Sleidani  Comment,  edit.  Badii,  1559«  p.  15. 
«  Camden,  edit.  Gibson,   1695,  col.  572. 

'   Browne's  "  Fasciculus,"  Load.  1690.  s  Sleidan.  ubi  supra,  p.  205. 

•>  Gent.  Mag.  Oct.  1745,  p.  544.  See  also  Foulis's  Collection,  and  Mcndham's 
Venal  Indulgences  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 


328  ANGLO-SAXON    LEGISLATION. 

Boniface  VIII.  a.d.  1300,  who  decreed  that  there  should  be  a 
jubilee  once  in  a  century.  Clement  VI.  established  one  every 
fiftieth  year ;  Urban  VI.  every  thirty-third  year ;  and  Xystus  IV. 
every  twenty-fifth  year. 


^  conlicnsieD  Vitb)  of  tj&c  ^nglo=5aion  Scgt^Iatlon. 

As  the  second  division  of  this  chapter  may  possibly  be  considered 
by  many  the  most  interesting  portion  of  my  work,  I  shall  here  pre- 
sent the  reader  with  a  few  remarks  upon  the  nature  and  adminis- 
tration of  those  laws  which  were  the  rudiments  of  our  English 
constitution.  Hallam's  Middle  Ages;'  Hume's  first  Appendix, 
which  immediately  follows  the  third  chapter  of  his  History ;  the 
Quarterly  Review,  No.  67,i  and  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  are 
the  sources  from  which  my  information  has  been  principally  derived. 

The  government  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  was  a  limited  monarchy, 
and  had  become  very  aristocratic  in  the  age  of  the  Confessor,  when 
Godwin,  Harold,  and  other  nobles,  possessed  an  almost  boundless 
authority  in  the  state.  The  succession  to  the  crown  was  so  far 
hereditary  as  to  be  continued  in  the  same  family  ;  but  the  son  who 
possessed  the  greatest  talents,  or  the  largest  share  of  popularity, 
was  usually  elevated  to  the  throne,  without  any  regard  being  paid 
to  the  rights  of  primogeniture.  In  the  council  assembled  at  Cal- 
chuth,  a.d.  787,  a  curious  passage  occurs  respecting  the  election  of 
a  king  by  "  the  priests  and  elders  of  the  people ;'"'  and  Bede  tells  us 
that  the  ancient  Saxons  had  no  king,  but  a  number  of  satraps  of 
equal  dignity,  who,  at  the  commencement  of  a  war,  elected  one  of 
their  number  to  rule  over  them  during  its  continuance} 

The  principal  magistrates  subordinate  to  the  king  were  the  eorls, 
or  governors  of  counties,  otherwise  called  aldermen,  and  sheriffs,  or 
vice-comites,  who  acted  as  their  deputies.  Bishops  also  exercised  a 
judicial  power  both  in  spirituals  and  temporals  before  the  separation 
of  the  ecclesiastical  court  from  the  hundred  court  by  William  1."° 

During  the  Anglo-Saxon  period,  the  English  laity  consisted  of 
four  distinct  classes  of  persons,  viz.  l.  king's  thanes,  or  noblemen 
whose  weregilda  was  valued  at  twelve  hundred  shillings ;  2.  lesser 
thanes,  or  gentlemen  possessing  upwards  of  six  hundred  acres  of 
landed  property,  and  a  weregild  of  six  hundred  shillings  ;  3.  ceorls, 
or  free  husbandmen  and  small  farmers,  answering  to  our  yeomen, 
and  valued  at  two  hundred  killings ;  and  4.  slaves,  some  of  whom 
were  probably  the  descendants  of  the  vanquished  Britons,  and  the 
residue  Saxons  who  had  forfeited  their  liberty  for  their  crimes. 
These  had  a  weregild  of  sixty  shillings.  Whether  vassalage  or  the 
system  of  feudal  tenure  existed  prior  to  the  Conquest,  is  a  point 
still  much  controverted   among  antiquaries;    though   the  law   by 

«  Vol.  ii.  p.  127,  &c.  j  June  1826,  p.  248,  &c. 

k  Can.  12.  '   Hist  lib.  v.  cap.  11. 

»  Wilk.  i.  368.  "  See  for  Weregild  in  the  Index. 


ANGLO-SAXON   LEGISLATION.  329 

which  a  sithcundman  or  military  tenant  forfeited  his  land  by  neg- 
lect of  attendance  in  war,  appears  to  favour  the  affirmative  side 
of  the  question. 

The  GEBEORSCiPE,  tithing,  or  frihourg,  (called  in  Yorkshire  "  the 
ten  men's  tale,")  was  a  sort  of  petty  corporation,  consisting  of  ten 
householders,  and  was  probably  in  its  original  a  voluntary  associa- 
tion for  the  sake  of  mutual  protection,  like  the  curious  "  sodalitium" 
published  by  Dr.  Hickes.°  Every  person  above  the  age  of  ten  years, 
who  neglected  to  register  himself  in  one  of  these  associations,  was 
liable  to  be  treated  as  an  outlaw.  An  officer  presided  over  each 
tithing,  called  a  gebur,  borseholder,  or  tithing-man,  with  an  authority 
resembling  that  of  our  parish  constables.  It  was  his  duty  to  arrange 
petty  disputes,  and  he  probably  represented  his  tithing  in  the  hun- 
dred and  county  courts,  for  I  cannot  believe  that  all  the  freemen 
attended  there  in  person.  The  members  of  a  tithing  were  mutually 
responsible  for  each  other's  abiding  the  course  of  justice,  and  should 
one  of  them  commit  a  crime  the  rest  were  bound  to  apprehend  and 
deliver  him  up  to  be  punished ;  so  that  they  were  a  sort  of  per- 
petual bail  for  each  other.  This  was  called  the  law  of  frank-pledge, 
and  to  secure  themselves  from  its  penalties  the  members  of  a  tithing 
used  to  eat  together,  lest  any  of  their  number  should  be  absent  on 
unlawful  occasions.  As  an  additional  security,  no  man  could  change 
his  residence  without  the  permission  of  his  borseholder,  nor  could  he 
leave  the  county  without  the  license  of  the  alderman. 

"  Every  man,  from  a  ceorl  to  a  king's  thane,  was  moreover  obliged 
to  place  himself  under  a  lawful  superior ;  and  though  he  might  quit 
his  present  patron,  it  was  under  the  condition  of  engaging  himself 
to  another.  If  he  failed  in  this  his  kindred  were  bound  to  present 
him  to  the  county  court,  and  name  a  lord  for  him  themselves. 
Hence  we  find  by  the  extracts  which  Dr.  Brady  has  given  us  from 
Domesday  Book,  that  almost  all  the  inhabitants  even  of  boroughs 
had  placed  themselves  under  the  clientage  of  some  particular  noble- 
man, whose  patronage  they  purchased  by  an  annual  payment.""* 
This  was  probably  the  origin  of  vassalage. 

The  hundred  is  supposed  to  have  consisted  of  a  hundred  free 
families,  including  the  ceorls  as  well  as  their  landlords,  or  of  ten 
tithings  ;  though  the  wapentake,  which  was  a  more  numerous  body, 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  military  discipline,  after- 
wards obtained  the  name  of  "  hundred"  incorrectly.  The  hundred- 
court  was  composed  either  of  the  freeholders  of  the  district  or  their 
representatives,  and  the  sheriff  presided  at  it. 

The  county-court,  or  shire-mote,  was  assembled  twice  a-year,  to 
decide  appeals  from  the  hundred-court  and  also  causes  both  eccle- 
siastical and  civU.  This  court  also  consisted  of  freeholders,  over 
whom  the  bishop  and  the  alderman  presided,  "  to  keep  order,  and 
interpose  with  their  opinion.'"' 

"  Dissert.  Epistolaris,  p.  21,  ajmd  Hume. 

p  This  paragraph  is  abridged  from  Hume  and  Hallam.  i  Mume. 


330  ANGLO-SAXON   LEGISLATION. 

There  was  sometimes  an  appeal  from  the  judgment  of  the 
county-court  to  the  royal  tribunal,  or  king's  court. 

The  nature  and  constitution  of  the  witenagemot,  in  which  laws 
both  ecclesiastical  and  temporal  were  enacted,  have  been  explained 
in  my  first  chapter/  Many  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  laws  were  however 
oral,  and  the  decisions  of  the  courts  of  justice  were  frequently  guided 
by  ancient  usage,  preserved  traditionally,  in  the  absence  of  any 
written  doom. 

Their  rules  of  proof  were  highly  characteristic  of  a  barbarous  age. 
The  absurdity  of  the  laws  respecting  compurgators  and  ordeal  will, 
however,  be  exposed  elsewhere ;  *  and  I  must  also  refer  my  reader 
to  another  part  of  my  work  for  an  explanation  of  the  weregild,  and 
other  pecuniary  mulcts  for  crime. 

Trial  by  jury  does  not  appear  to  have  been  adopted  in  England 
before  the  Conquest.  The  authorities  which  have  been  cited  to 
prove  the  contrary  relate  exclusively  to  the  system  of  compurgation, 
the  occurrence  of  the  number  twelve  and  its  multiples  having  pro- 
bably led  to  the  mistake.' 

The  penal  laws  of  the  ancient  Teutones  were  sanguinary  and 
barbarous  in  the  extreme.  Removers  of  boundary  stones  were 
buried  up  to  the  neck  in  the  earth,  and  ploughed  to  death ;  and 
cowards  were  condemned  to  be  smothered  in  mud.«  Among  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  capital  punishments  were,  it  is  true,  exceedingly 
rare ;  yet  the  following  "formulae  veteres,"  which  were  in  force 
among  the  Northumbrians  in  the  8th  century,  must  at  least  prevent 
us  from  ascribing  this  to  any  excess  of  humanity :  they  are  headed 
"  JDe  improviso  judicio  secularium,."  "  Some  are  to  be  chastised 
with  fetters,  and  some  with  scourges ;  others  are  to  be  distressed 
with  hunger  and  cold ;  let  others  endure  the  reproach  of  losing 
their  skin,  hair,  and  beard  all  at  once ;  let  others  be  yet  more 
sharply  distressed,  that  is,  let  them  undergo  the  loss  of  an  eye, 
nose,  hand,  foot,  or  other  member."  "  The  practice  of  pulling  the 
skin  off  the  whole  head  was  indeed  so  common  among  our  ancestors, 
that  they  had  a  single  word  or  term  of  art  whereby  to  express  it, 
viz.  hcettian/'y 


§1.   PENANCE,  INDULGENCES,  EXCOMMUNICATIONS. 
Concilia  Magn^  Britannia  et  Hibernle,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  I. 

WiLKiNs'  CoNciL.  I.  p.  2.  From  Nennius's  Hist.  ch.  38 :  "  King 
Vortigern  (about  a.d.  449)  took  his  own  daughter  to  wife,  wlio 
bore   him   a   son;   which  as  soon   as   Saint   Germanus  (bishop  of 

>•  Page  3. 

»  In  this  chap.  §  ii.  Wilk.  i.  59,  cap.  9,  n.  a.  d.  693,  and  also  in  §  iii. 
t  Hallam  ii.  145. 

"  Teutonic  Legal  Antiq.  by  Grimm,  apudBrayley's  Graphic  Illustrator,  London, 
1834,  p.  35,  &c.  »■  Johnson,  a.d.  740,  Ex.  73,  n.  i. 


PENANCES   ENJOINED   FOR   SORCERY,    &C.  331 

Auxere)  had  discovered,  he  came  with  the  whole  body  of  the 
British  clergy  to  reprove  the  king.  A  great  number  of  clergy 
and  laity  being  assembled  together  in  council,  the  king  told  his 
daughter  to  go  to  the  synod,  and  placing  the  child  in  the  arms  of 
Germanus  to  say  that  he  was  the  father  of  it,  and  she  acted  accord- 
ingly. St.  Germanus  received  him  kindly,  and  began  to  say,  '  I 
will  be  a  father  to  thee,  nor  will  I  deliver  thee  up  till  a  razor  with  a 
comb  and  shears  have  been  given  to  me,  which  thou  mayest  give  to 
thy  natural  father.'  As  soon  as  the  boy  heard  this  he  obeyed  the  in- 
junctions of  the  holy  old  man,  and  went  to  his  father  and  grandfather 
Vortigem,  and  said  to  him,  '  Thou  art  my  father,  clip  therefore 
and  comb  the  hair  of  my  head :'  but  he  made  no  reply  and  was 
very  angry,  and  endeavoured  to  flee  from  the  presence  of  St.  Ger- 
manus, and  was  cursed  and  excommunicated  by  him  and  the  whole 
council  of  the  Britons." 

Note.  There  was  a  custom  among  the  Britons  called  Diwyn,  signify- 
ing the  first  cutting  of  a  youth's  hair.  This  was  usually  done  by  one  of 
the  chiefs  of  the  family,  who  at  the  same  time  made  the  chUd  a  gift,  or 
granted  him  some  request.   {Lluyd.  Archceol.  c.  ii.  p.  234.) 

WiLK.  i.  p.  3. — Canons  of  St.  Patrick,  ^c.  made  in  Ireland,  a.d.  456. 

Can.  12.  K  any  Christian  shall  be  excommunicated,  let  not  his 
alms  be  received. 

Can.  13.  It  is  not  lawful  to  receive  into  the  church  alms  offered 
by  pagans. 

Can.  14.  Let  a  Christian  who  hath  committed  murder  or  forni- 
cation, or  who,  like  the  gentiles,  hath  observed  auguries,  do  penance 
for  a  year  ;  at  the  end  of  which  let  him  come  to  the  church  accom- 
panied by  witnesses,  and  be  absolved  by  the  priest. 

Can.  16.  If  a  Christian  believe  that  there  are  faeries  in  a  mirror 
{esse  lamia  in  specido),  let  him  be  anathematized  till  ho  hath 
renounced  the  sin  which  he  hath  committed. 

Can.  17.  If  a  virgin  who  hath  vowed  chastity  shall  afterwards 
marry  an  earthly  spouse,  let  her  be  excommunicated  until  she  hath 
repented ;  and  afterwards  let  them  not  dwell  in  the  same  house  or 
in  the  same  town. 

Can.  18.  An  excommunicated  person  must  not  enter  the  church, 
even  on  Easter  night,  until  he  have  received  absolution. 

Can.  21.  If  a  Christian,  having  been  injured  by  any  one,  shall 
summon  him  before  a  (temporal)  tribunal,  and  not  to  the  church, 
that  the  cause  may  be  examined  there,  let  him  be  excommunicated. 

Can.  28.  If  any  clerk  be  excommunicated,  let  him  pray  alone, 
and  not  in  the  same  house  with  the  rest  of  the  brethren.  He  may 
not  offer  or  consecrate  till  he  hath  made  satisfaction. 

Ibid.  p.  4. — Other  Canons  of  the  sam£,  of  uncertain  date. 
Can.   2.    Whosoever   shall  have   stolen  money  from   the   holy 
church,  in  which  martyrs  and  the  bodies  of  the  saints  repose,  let 


332  SYNODS  HELD  AT  LLANDAFF. 

his  hand  or  foot  be  cut  off;  or  let  him  be  cast  into  prison,  or  sent 
away  into  banishment,  first  restoring  double,  and  swearing  not  to 
return  till  he  hath  fulfilled  his  penance. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  4. — From  miother  Council  of  the  same,  of  uncertain  date. 

Can.  I.  n.  and  rv.  Eat  not  with  the  excommunicated ;  reject 
their  gifts;  curse  them  not,  but  repel  them  from  the  communion, 
the  table,  the  mass,  and  the  {kiss  of)  peace. 

Can.  VII.  We  think  that  apostates  from  the  faith  ought  not  to 
be  absolved  till  they  have  been  first  received  by  the  imposition  of 
hands. 

Can.  XXIV.  On  the  contention  of  two  persons  without  loitnesses. 
It  is  determined  that,  previously  to  taking  the  holy  communion, 
they  shall  swear  by  the  holy  gospels  concerning  the  truth  of  their 
testimony,  after  which  the  case  is  to  be  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
judge. 

Can.  XXX.  The  laws  of  the  jubilee  are  to  be  observed,  i.e.  every 
fiftieth  year. 

Note.  The  Latin  of  this  canon  is  very  obscure :  "  Nunquam  vetitum  ; 
licet.  Varum  observandse  sunt  leges  jubilaei,  hoc  est  quinquaginta  anni, 
ut  non  infirraetur  incerta  vice  ratio  temporis,  et  ideo  omnis  negotiatio 
subscriptione  Komanorum  confirmanda  est." 

Ibid.  p.  6. — Other  Canons  of  St.  Patrick,  a.d.  456. 

Can.  3.  Let  the  man  who  murmurs  words  of  blasphemy  against 
his  prince,  through  hatred  or  envy,  do  penance  seven  days  with 
bread  and  water,  after  the  example  of  Miriam  murmuring  against 
Moses. 

Can.  5.  If  an  adultress  should  repent,  let  {her  husband)  receive 
her,  and  let  her  serve  him  as  a  handmaid ;  and  let  her  do  penance 
a  whole  year,  with  bread  and  water  in  a  fixed  allowance,  nor  let 
them  use  the  same  bed. 

Ibid.  p.  17,  &c. — Synods  of  Llandaff,  Wilk.  a.d.  597. 

This  synod  was  convened  by  Oudoceus,  bishop  of  Llandaff. 
"  King  Morris  and  Cynetu,  the  relics  of  the  saints  being  placed 
before  them,  and  in  the  ]>resence  of  Oudoceus,  swore  to  observe 
peace  towards  each  other :  afterwards  king  Morris  treacherously 
slew  Cynetu ;  for  which  reason  the  bishop,  convening  the  whole 
of  his  clergy,  in  full  synod  excommunicated  the  king  and  his 
family ;  the  synod  confirming  the  sentence  and  saying,  '  Let  his 
days  be  few,  his  children  orphans,  and  his  wife  a  widow,'  in  confir- 
mation of  the  curse  inclining  the  crosses  to  tlie  earth.  The  king  with 
the  whole  of  his  dominions  remained  under  the  excommunication  for 
two  entire  years,  aiter  which  he  repented  and  was  absolved.  King 
Morris  having  received  the  yoke  of  penance,  gave  four  towns  to  the 
church  of  Llandaff,  for  the  redemption  of  his  soul  and  for  the  soul  of 
Cynetu." 


SYNODS   HELD   AT   LLANDAFF.  333 

The  second  synod  of  Llandaff  was  held  about  the  same  time. 
"  King  Morcant  having  slain  his  uncle  Frioc,  the  whole  synod,  in 
the  presence  of  Oudoceus,  decided  (on  account  of  the  defenceless 
condition  to  which  his  kingdom  would  be  reduced  were  it  deprived 
of  the  protection  of  its  natural  lord)  that  he  might  commute  the 
sentence  of  {perpetual)  banishment,  by  fasting,  prayer,  and  alms- 
giving; and  king  Morcant  placed  his  hand  upon  the  four  gospels 
and  the  relics  of  the  saints,  held  by  Oudoceus,  and  promised  that  he 
would  make  satisfaction." 

The  third  synod  of  Llandaff  was  held  about  the  same  period. 
"  In  the  time  of  Oudoceus,  Guednerth  slew  his  brother  Mercion, 
in  a  contest  for  the  kingdom,  for  which  deed  he  was  excommuni- 
cated, and  continued  so  for  three  years,  at  the  end  of  which  he 
entreated  absolution  from  Oudoceus.  As  a  part  of  his  penance, 
Oudoceus  ordered  him  to  go  to  the  archbishop  of  Cornouaille  (in 
Brittany),  both  on  account  of  the  friendship  which  had  long  sub- 
sisted between  the  bishops  of  both  sees,  and  because,  although  so  far 
distant  from  each  other,  they  spoke  the  same  language,  and  were  of  the 
same  nation.  The  king  however  returned  before  he  had  fulfilled  his 
year  of  banishment,  and  the  bishop  would  not  absolve  him.  During 
the  time  that  Guednerth  remained  under  the  ban  of  excommuni- 
cation, the  blessed  Oudoceus  died  in  the  Lord,  and  was  succeeded 
in  the  see  of  Llandaff  by  Berthguinus,  whom  king  Morcant  and 
Guednerth,  with  many  elders,  seeing  the  crosses  still  placed  upon  the 
ground,  implored  with  one  accord  that  he  would  absolve  Gued- 
nerth from  the  excommunication,  by  taking  up  the  crosses  from  the 
ground  and  the  relics  of  the  saints.  Guednerth  with  tears  in  his 
eyes  promised  to  make  satisfaction  with  prayers,  fasting,  and  alms, 
and  was  absolved  with  great  devotion ;  on  which  occasion  he  made 
a  grant  of  land  to  the  church." 

Note.  The  acts  of  these  synods  are  taken  from  an  old  MS.  register  of 
the  church  of  Llandaff,  and  prove  the  manners  of  the  Welsh  to  have  been 
exceedingly  barbarous  in  ancient  times.  Guednerth,  Morris,  and  Mor- 
cant, although  dignified  with  the  title  of  kings,  were  in  fact  only  petty 
princes.  In  Wilk.  i.  196,  &c.,  there  are  seven  or  more  synods  held  at 
Llandaff  about  the  year  887,  which  had  all  the  same  object.  A  king 
or  nobleman  commits  murder  or  perjury,  he  is  excommunicated,  and 
makes  a  grant  of  land  to  the  church  by  way  of  satisfaction.  The 
crosses  and  relics  are  clearly  an  anachronism,  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  the  MS.  was  compiled  at  a  much  later  period  than  the  sixth 
century. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  84. — Dialogue  of  Ecgbert,  Archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  734. 

Ans.  12.  Let  the  layman  who  hath  slain  a  bishop,  presbyter, 
deacon,  or  monk,  do  penance  according  to  the  established  degrees 
of  penance,  and  pay  the  weregild  to  his  church. 

Note.   The  penance  for  murder,  according  to  Bede,   {De  JRemed. 

Peccatorum),  was  seven  years'  fasting,  three  days  in  every  week,  besides 

Lents  and  vigils. 


334  ANCIENT   PUNISHMENT   OF   ADULTERY. 

Ans.  14.  Whatever  layman  shall  desire  holy  orders,  and  being 
questioned  shall  reply  that  he  is  not  of  servile  condition ;  that  he 
hath  not  committed  mui'der  openly  without  making  satisfaction  for 
it,  {mc  homicidium  palam  perpetrasse  inemendatum) ;  and  that  he  has 
not  in  his  possession  property  which  belongs  to  another ;  it  appears 
to  me,  that,  if  he  hath  deceived  the  Church  of  God,  she  should  have 
the  power  of  dismissing  him,  or  of  making  satisfaction  for  him.  And 
it  is  our  will,  that  those  who  are  found  to  be  such,  should  be  dragged 
from  the  threshold  of  the  church,  &ic. 

Note.  The  privilege  of  sanctuary  extended  only  to  those  who  acknow- 
ledged their  crimes. 

Ans.  16.  Because  the  world  has  four  cardinal  points,  and  man 
consists  oi  four  elements,  i.e.  earth,  air,  fire,  and  water;  and  the 
mind  has  fou/r  virtues,  viz.  prudence,  temperance,  fortitude,  and 
justice  ;  and  the  four  rivers  of  paradise  (types  of  the  four  gospels) 
flow  to  irrigate  the  entire  earth;  the  number  four  is  therefore 
known  to  be  perfect,  and  the  ancient  fathers  for  this  reason  in- 
stituted the  fast  of  the  four  [Ember)  seasons. 

Note.  The  remainder  of  the  Answer  is  a  tedious  proof  that  the 
Fathers  of  the  Old  Testament  observed  the  Ember  weeks.  He  cites 
the  Antiphonary  given  by  Gregory  to  Augustine,  and  tells  us  that  the 
Church  of  England  (during  Advent)  not  only  kept  a  stated  fast  on 
Wednesday,  Friday,  and  Saturday,  but  for  twelve  days  together,  with 
fasting,  watching,  prayer,  and  almsgiving,  before  oiu:  Lord's  nativity; 
and  that  this  was  observed  by  all,  laity  as  well  as  clergy.  The  Ember 
weeks,  according  to  the  Roman  usage,  were  the  first  week  in  March, 
the  second  week  in  June,  the  third  week  in  September,  and  the  week 
before  Christmas-day.  St.  Gregory  however  ordered  the  English  to 
observe  the  first  three  thus:  in  the  first  week  in  Lent,  in  Pentecost 
week,  and  in  the  week  before  the  autumnal  equinox. 

Spelm.  i.  p.  234.  Letter  of  Pope  Boniface,  a.d.  742.  "If  a  virgin 
hath  polluted  her  father's  house  with  fornication,  or  if  a  married 
woman  hath  committed  adultery,  in  ancient  Saxony,  sometimes  they 
compel  her  to  hang  herself,  and  hang  her  seducer  over  the  body 
after  having  burned  it :  at  other  times  a  number  of  women  collect- 
ing together  flog  her  through  all  the  neighbouring  villages,  striking 
her  with  rods,  cutting  off  her  garments,  and  cutting  and  pricking 
her  whole  body  with  their  knives." 

WiLK.  i.  p.  98. — Cuthbert's  Canons  at  Cloves-Hoo,  a.  d.  747. 

Can.  26.  Let  not  any  man's  alms  be  given  to  the  hungry  that  he 
may  gorge  himself  with  revelling  and  drunkenness,  or  that  he  may 
with  impunity  fulfil  the  lusts  of  the  flesh.  Lastly,  let  not  alms 
(according  to  the  new  invention,  and  as  is  the  pernicious  custom 
of  many)  be  given  to  diminish  or  alter  the  satisfaction  (to  be  made) 
by  fasting,  or  the  other  works  of  expiation. 

Can.  27 We  must  speak  of  this  more  at  length, 

because  a  certain  man,  rich  in  the  things  of  this  world,  desiring 
speedy  reconciliation  for  a  great  crime  of  his,  affirmed  in  his  letter 


SEVEllE   PENANCES    OF    ANCIENT   TIMES.  335 

that  (as  many  assured  him)  his  sin  was  so  fully  expiated,  that  if  he 
could  live  three  hundred  years  longer,  although  he  should  seldom  or 
never  fast,  it  was  remitted  in  consideration  of  the  psalmody,  alms,  and 
fasting  of  other  people.  If  then  the  divine  justice  can  be  appeased 
by  others,  why  is  it  said,  O  foolish  promisers,  that  "  it  is  easier  for  a 
camel  to  pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to 
enter  the  kingdom  of  God,"  when  they  can  with  bribes  purchase 
the  innumerable  fastings  of  others  for  their  crimes  ? 

WiLK.  i.  p.  105. — Archbishop  Ecghert's  Excerptions,  a.d.  750. 
Ex.  62.  An  Irish  canon.  Let  the  man  who  hath  raised  his  hand 
with  a  spear  or  sword  to  strike  any  one  near  a  bishop,  redeem  his 
hand  or  lose  it :  but  if  he  hath  wounded  him,  let  him  shave  his 
head  and  beard,  and  serve  God  (in  a  monastery)  ;  first  making  satis- 
faction to  the  bishop  and  him  whom  he  hath  wounded. 

Ex.  162  and  163.  If  a  presbyter  or  a  deacon  commit  murder,  let 
him  be  degraded,  and  do  penance  to  the  end  of  his  life.  If  a  clerk 
commit  murder,  let  him  as  a  penance  be  banished  for  ten  years, 
(and  live)  during  three  of  them  upon  bread  and  water  :  and  if  {after 
his  return)  he  make  not  satisfaction  to  the  parents  (of  the  deceased), 
let  him  never  be  received  into  his  country,  but  let  him  be  like  Cain, 
a  wanderer  and  a  vagabond  over  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Note.  Immediately  after  the  Excerptions,  there  appears  in  the  Cot- 
tonian  MS.  the  following  severe  regulation  with  respect  to  excom- 
municate persons  :  "  Let  not  food  be  given  into  the  hands  of  one  that 
does  penance  as  an  excommunicate,  but  let  it  be  laid  before  him  on  the 
ground ;  and  let  not  the  remainder  be  taken  by  any  man  or  given  to 
the  poor,  but  cast  to  the  swine,  or  let  the  dogs  eat  it :  and  let  not  such 
a  penitent  wash  himself  in  a  bath,  nor  trim  (his  hair  or  beard),  nor  cut 
his  nails,  nor  sleep  in  a  bed,  even  of  straw,  but  on  the  bare  pavement. 
Let  him  go  unarmed,  barefoot,  clothed  in  sackcloth ;  let  him  mourn  for 
his  sins  night  and  day ;  let  him  not  enter  into  the  church ;  let  him 
abstain  from  flesh  and  wine,  and  from  the  embraces  of  his  wife."* 

Ibid.  p.  117. — The  Poenitential  of  Ecghert,  Archbishop  of  York, 
A.D.  750. 

B.  i.  Ch.  6.  If  a  priest  should  travel  in  his  own  province  or  in 
any  other,  and  if  in  the  course  of  his  journey  baptism  is  requested 
of  him,  and  he  refuses,  lest  he  should  be  detained  in  his  journey,  if 
the  child  should  die  a  heathen,  let  him  (i.  e.  the  priest)  be  despoiled 
of  his  order. 

Ch.  19.  If  any  man  or  woman  shall  vow  to  observe  celibacy,  and 
afterwards  engage  in  a  lawful  marriage,  let  such  a  person  not  neg- 
lect to  fast  for  three  winters ;  since  a  vow  which  was  foolish  and 
impracticable  has  been  violated. 

B.  ii.  Ch.  3.  Directs  a  priest  to  receive  the  confession  of  a  dying 
malefactor ;  to  sooth  his  last  moments ;  and  not  to  refuse  him  the 
eucharist :  "  and  if  he  should  be  so  much  weakened  by  sickness  as 
to  be  unable  to  speak,  yet  if  he  have  the  testimony  of  those  M'ho  are 

'*  Johnson. 


336  COMMUTATION    OF  PENANCE   ALLOWED. 

with  him  of  (his  desire)  to  confess,  and  receive  the  eucharist,  the 
priest  shall  give  him  absolution." 

Ch.  10.  In  the  doctrine  of  the  holy  apostles,  it  is  directed  that  if 
a  man  at  the  last  shall  desire  to  receive  the  body  of  Christ,  it  shall 
not  be  denied  him,  even  although  he  should  not  have  made  full  satis- 
faction [for  his  crime)  ;  because  this  is  his  viaticum,  and  (the  viati- 
cum) of  all  those  who  enter  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Ch.  11.  Let  the  priest  prescribe  penance  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  crime  ;  and  if  it  be  so  gross  that  it  ought  to  be  prescribed  by 
the  bishop,  let  him  be  taken  there :  but  if  he  cannot  go  to  the 
bishop,  let  the  priest  discharge  the  office  of  his  vicar. 

Ch.  12.  These  customs  are  observed  among  christians  beyond 
sea :  every  bishop  sits  on  the  episcopal  throne  on  the  Wednesday 
before  the  Lenten  fast,  which  is  called  the  "  caput  jejunii ;"  on 
which  day  every  one  who  is  polluted  by  the  commission  of  capital 
crimes,  belonging  to  that  province,  ought  to  go  to  him  and  confess 
his  sins.  He  {i.e.  the  bishop)  then  prescribes  to  every  one  a  penance 
according  to  the  nature  of  his  crime,  and  then,  with  his  permission, 
(the  penitent)  returns  home.  Afterwards,  on  the  Thursday  before 
Easter-day,  all  assemble  at  the  same  place,  and  the  bishop  chants 
over  them  and  gives  them  absolution,  and  thus  they  return  home 
with  his  blessing. 

B.  iv.  (p.  140.)  If  any  person  cannot  endure  the  severe  fasting 
which  his  confessor  has  enjoined  him,  he  may  redeem  his  fast  with 
works  of  piety,  and  with  his  worldly  possessions.  If  he  be  rich,  let 
him  give  for  twelve  months'  fasting,  thirty  shillings ;  if  he  be  not, 
let  him  give  twenty  or  ten  shillings,  (according  to  his  means) ;  but  if 
he  be  a  poor  man,  let  him  pay  three  shillings  :  but  let  it  be  in  aU 
cases  the  sterling  shilling  of  twelve  halfpence  (oholorum).  Alms  of 
this  description  are  to  be  divided  into  three  parts :  let  one  part  be 
laid  upon  the  altar  of  God ;  another  be  applied  to  the  redemption  of 
men  from  slavery ;  and  let  the  third  be  reserved  for  the  necessities 
of  the  clergy. 

One  day's  fasting  may  be  redeemed  with  a  penny,  or  with  two 
hundred  psalms :  or  in  another  way ;  if  a  man  shall  sing  "  0  Lord, 
have  merer/  upon  me"  twelve  times,  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  twelve 
times,  and  at  the  end  of  each  versicle  prostrate  himself  upon  the 
earth  before  God's  altar.  K  a  man  should  be  ignorant  of  psalmody, 
then  for  one  day's  fasting  let  him  sing  the  Lord's  Prayer  fifty  times, 
prostrating  himself  the  same  number  of  times  upon  the  earth.  Any 
one  may  redeem  a  seven  years'  fast  in  twelve  months,  by  singing  the 
psalter  every  day,  another  at  night,  and  fifty  (psalms)  in  the  evening. 

A  seven  days'  fast  may  be  redeemed  with  a  single  mass ;  and  with 
ten  (masses)  four  months'  fasting  may  be  redeemed  ;  and  with  twenty 
masses  seven  months'  fasting  may  be  redeemed;  and  with  thirty 
masses  twelve  months'  fasting  may  be  redeemed. 

Note.     In  the  laws  of  king  Edgar,  A.  d.  967,  Cap.  18,  rides  are  laid 
down  for  the  commutation  of  penance  exactly  similar  to  the  above. 


COMMUTATION   OF   PENANCE.  337 

If  any  one  shall  swear  between  the  hands  (inter  rnamis)  of  a  bishop, 
priest,  or  deacon,  or  upon  the  altar,  or  a  consecrated  cross  of  Christ, 
and  commit  perjury,  let  him  fast  for  three  years :  but  if  any  one 
shall  commit  perjury  upon  an  unconsecrated  crucifix,  let  him  fast 
for  one  year. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  233. — Archbishop  Dunstan's  Penitential,  a.d.  960. 

Cap.  XXIX.  If  a  man  shall  slay  an  ordained  person,  or  his  own 
nearest  kinsman,  let  him  forsake  his  country  and  possessions,  and 
do  as  the  Pope  shall  direct  him,  and  always  lament  it. 

Cap.  XLiv.  If,  through  the  negligence  of  a  priest,  a  sick  child 
die  a  heathen,  let  him  forfeit  his  orders,  and  carefully  make  satis- 
faction. 

IF  Concerning  satisfaction  for  sin. 

Cap.  X.,  Arc.  A  severe  penance  is  this — that  a  layman  lay  aside 
his  weapons,  and  make  a  long  pilgrimage  barefoot,  and  never  pass 
two  nights  in  the  same  place;  that  he  fast,  watch,  and  pray, 
diligently  by  day  and  by  night,  and  suffer  not  iron  to  touch  either 
his  hair  or  his  nails ;  that  he  use  not  the  warm  bath,  or  taste  flesh. 
No  man  in  the  world  hath  so  offended  God  by  his  sins  but  that  he 
may  (thus)  make  satisfaction.  If  a  man  possess  riches,  let  him  found 
a  church  to  the  honour  of  God ;  and  if  he  can  afford  it,  let  him  add 
a  grant  of  land,  and  admit  ten  young  men  there  to  officiate  for  him 
and  daily  minister  to  God  :  and  let  him  repair  the  churches  of  God, 
and  the  public  roads,  and  build  bridges  over  deep  rivers :  let  him 
emancipate  his  own  slaves,  and  purchase  from  others  the  liberty  of 
their  slaves,  &c.  Let  him  endure  the  cold,  and  the  cold  bath,  to 
subdue  the  heat  of  lust,  &c. 

H  Concerning  great  men. 

Ca/p.  I.,  &c.  A  powerful  man,  and  one  who  has  many  friends, 
may,  by  the  assistance  of  his  friends,  very  much  lighten  his  penance. 
A  seven  years'  penance  may  be  thus  completed  in  three  days.  In 
the  first  place,  let  him  take  twelve  men  to  assist  him,  and  let  them 
fast  three  days  with  bread,  water,  and  greeu  herbs :  and  to  do  it 
completely,  let  him  procure,  as  well  as  he  can,  seven  times  an 
hundred  and  twenty  men,  each  of  whom  is  to  fast  for  three  days ; 
and  thus  will  as  many  days  be  fasted  as  there  are  days  in  seven 
years. 

Cap.  ni.  When  a  {wealthy)  man  fasts,  let  him  distribute  the 
meat  which  he  would  otherwise  have  used  to  all  God's  poor ;  and 
during  the  three  days  of  his  fast  let  him  neglect  all  worldly  busi- 
ness, &c. 

Ibid.  p.  276. — Capitula  made  in  king  jEthelred's  reign,  a.  d.  994. 

Cap.  XXXI.  There  are  eight  very  great  sins,  but  they  are  few 
indeed  who  do  not  transgress  in  some  or  all  of  them :   these  are, 

z 


338  A   PUBLIC   FAST — A   SOLDEBR's   PENANCE. 

gluttony,  fornication,  carnal  grief,  avarice,  vain-glory,  envy,  anger, 
and  pride. 

Cap.  XXXVI.  In  seven  ways  are  sins  forgiven  :  viz.  1.  in  baptism ; 
2.  by  martyrdom  ;  3.  by  almsgiving ;  4.  when  we  forgive  those  who 
trespass  against  us ;  5.  if  a  man  converts  others  from  the  error  of 
their  ways;    6.  by  charity;    7.  by  repentance. 

Cap.  xxxvn.  During  Lent  men  ought  to  eat  no  meat  till  the 
tenth  or  twelfth  hour,  except  on  Sundays ;  for  these  days  are  the 
tithe  of  the  year. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  295. — Ecclesiastical  Latvs  of  King  ^ihelred,  a.d.  1012. 

Cap.  II.  Every  christian  who  is  of  age  shall  fast  for  three  days 
upon  bread,  water,  and  raw  herbs,  before  Michaelmas.  And  let 
every  man  go  to  confession  at  the  church  barefoot,  and  there 
renounce  all  his  sins.  And  let  every  priest  go  in  procession  with 
his  people  for  three  days  barefoot ;  and  let  him  moreover  sing  thirty 
masses,  and  every  deacon  and  clerk  thirty  psalms.  And  let  every 
one  prepare  provision  for  three  days,  in  food  and  in  drink,  but 
without  flesh,  such  as  he  himself  ought  to  have  used,  and  let  him 
distribute  it  among  the  poor.  And  let  every  servant  be  excused 
from  work  these  three  days,  that  he  may  fast  the  better ;  or  let  him 
work  for  himself  if  he  wiU.  If  any  one  shall  violate  this  fast,  if 
a  slave,  let  him  be  beaten ;  let  a  poor  freeman  pay  thirty  pence, 
and  a  king's  thane  one  hundred  and  twenty  shillings. 

Note.  This  was  a  publicfast  appointed  in  consequence  of  the  hostile 
incursions  of  the  Danes. 

Ibid.  p.  314.  In  the  synod  of  LlandafF,  held  under  Hergualdus, 
the  twenty-ninth  bishop,  A.  D.  1059,  the  bishop,  assembling  the 
clergy,  in  full  synod  anathematized  the  whole  family  of  king  Catgu- 
caunus,  placing  the  crucifixes  and  the  holy  relics  upon  the  ground, 
and  reversing  the  bells  (versis  cimbalis)  at  the  same  time,  and 
choking  up  the  entrance  of  the  church  with  thorns :  and  thus  it 
remained  day  and  night  without  the  holy  offices  and  without  a 
pastor. 

.  Note.     For  the  form  of  an  interdict,  see  p.  37,    Note. 

Ibid.  p.  366. — Injunctions  for  penance,  to  be  imposed  upon  those  who 
had  slain  others  in  battle,  {made  about  1076,  under  Lanfranc). 

Cap.  I.  Let  him  who  knows  that  he  has  slain  a  man  in  the  great 
battle,  do  penance  for  a  year  for  every  one  {whom  he  hath  slain). 

Cap.  ir.  For  every  one  whom  he  hath  wounded,  if  he  know  not 
that  he  died  of  the  wound,  forty  days'  penance. 

Cap.  m.  If  he  know  not  the  number  of  those  whom  he  hath 
wounded  or  slain,  let  him  do  penance  one  day  in  every  week  as 
long  as  he  lives,  at  the  discretion  of  the  bishop.  Or,  if  he  can  afford 
it,  by  founding  or  endowing  a  church  let  him  redeem  it  with  per- 
petual alms. 

Cap.  IT.  Let  the  man  who  intended  to  wound  another,  but  did 
not  do  so,  do  penance  for  three  days. 


TERRIFIC   FORM    OF   EXCOMMUNICATION.  339^ 

Cap.  V.  Let  any  of  the  clergy  who  may  have  fought  or  taken 
arms,  (which  is  contrary  to  the  canons,)  do  penance  as  if  they  had 
transgressed  in  their  own  country. 

Note.  The  clergyman's  penance  for  murder  was  perpetual  imprison- 
ment, or  at  least  living  close  in  a  monastery  on  hard  fare."  And  here 
let  it  be  noted,  that  in  the  year  967,  a  penance  of  three  years  was 
imposed  upon  the  man  who  slew  any  of  his  cattle  in  a  fit  of  passion. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  382. — Council  of  London,  under  Archbishop  Anselm, 

A.D.   1102. 

Can.  19.  That  monks  enjoin  not  penance  to  any,  unless  by  the 
permission  of  their  abbot. 

Ibid.  p.  417. — Legating  Council  of  London,  a.  d.  1138. 

We  prohibit  the  celebration  of  divine  service,  and  the  tolling  of 
a  bell,  in  the  presence  of  an  excommunicated  person. 

We  command  also  that  the  bodies  of  the  excommunicate  remain 
unburied :  whosoever  shall  place  them  in  a  cemetery,  or  in  stone, 
wood,  or  water,  or  in  the  houses  of  the  clergy,  shall  be  excom- 
municated by  the  priest  of  that  parish,  nor  shall  he  be  absolved 
except  by  the  bishop  of  that  province,  after  undergoing  a  year's 
penance. 

Whosoever  shall  knowingly  converse  with  an  excommunicated 
person,  shall  be  considered  excommunicate,  just  as  if  he  had  been 
sentenced  by  name ;  {and)  although  the  king  should  hold  converse 
with  him,  whithersoever  he  may  come,  let  not  the  holy  office  be 
celebrated  or  the  bell  rung  in  his  presence.  Let  all  priests  who 
shall  presume  to  do  so,  be  excommunicated  by  their  diocesan, 
degraded  from  their  orders,  and  deprived  of  their  ecclesiastical 
benefices. 

We  command  that  the  bodies  of  those  who  have  been  excom- 
municated be  removed  from  the  cemeteries  in  which  they  have  been 
buried,  before  the  festival  of  Easter  next  ensuing. 

Textus  Roffensis,  ex  edit.  Heame,  p.  5b,  contains  the  following 
form  of  excommunication  :  "  By  the  authority  of  Almighty  God, 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  we  anathematize  this  malefactor  NN, 
and  separate  him  from  the  threshold  of  God's  holy  church,  to  be 
consigned  to  eternal  punishment  with  Dathan  and  Abiram,  and  with 
those  who  said  unto  our  Lord  God,  '  Depart  from  us,  we  desire  not 
the  knowledge  of  thy  ways;'  and  as  fire  is  extinguished  by  water, 
so  let  his  light  be  extinguished  for  ever  and  ever,  unless  he  shall 
repent  and  make  satisfaction.    Amen.     May  God  the  Father  who 

created  man  curse  him  ; may  the  holy  cross  which  Christ 

ascended  for  our  salvation,  triumphing  over  the  enemy,  curse  him. 
Let  him  be  accursed  wherever  he  may  be,  whether  in  the  house  or 
in  the  field,  &c.  Let  him  be  accursed  in  all  the  powers  of  his  body, 
both  within  and  without,  and  in  all  the  joints  of  his  limbs ;   so  that 

"  Johnson. 

Z2 


340  GENERAL   SENTENCES   OF   EXCOMMUNICATION. 

from  the  top  of  his  head  to  the  sole  of  his  foot  there  may  bo  no 
soundness  in  him.  May  Christ  the  Son  of  the  living  God  with  all 
the  power  of  his  majesty  curse  him ;  and  may  heaven  with  all  the 
powers  which  move  within  it  rise  up  in  condemnation  against  him, 
unless  he  shall  repent  and  make  satisfaction ;  fiat,  fiat,  amen." 
At  which  words  the  bolls  were  rung,  the  crucifix  with  the  images  of 
the  saints  were  placed  upon  the  ground,  and  all  the  candles  were 
trampled  upon  and  extinguished.  Ernulphus,  bishop  of  Rochester, 
who  composed  the  Textus  Roffensis,  flourished  about  a.  d.  1116. 

WiLK.  i.  422.  In  the  legatine  council  of  London,  a.  d.  1143,  it 
was  decreed,  that  "  whosoever  should  lay  violent  hands  on  a  clerk, 
should  be  absolved  only  by  the  Pope,  and  in  his  presence : "  also 
"  that  plows  in  the  fields  with  the  husbandmen  shall  enjoy  the  same 
protection  as  if  they  were  in  a  churchyard." 

Ibid.  p.  488.  In  the  year  1181,  according  to  Hoveden,  Roger, 
archbishop  of  York,  publicly  excommunicated  WUliam,  king  of 
Scotland,  and  placed  all  his  dominions  under  an  interdict. 

Ibid.  p.  502. — Legatine  Council  at  York,  under  Hubert,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  a.d.  1195. 

Cap.  XVI.  To  those  who  are  upon  the  point  of  death,  penance  is 
to  be  intimated,  but  not  imposed ;  but  let  them  be  strictly  enjoined 
that,  if  they  recover,  they  will  go  to  the  archbishop,  bishop,  or 
general  confessor  of  the  diocese  in  their  absence,  that  a  proper 
penance  may  be  imposed  upon  them. 

Note.   He  is  here  speaking  of  excommunicated  persons. 

Ibid.  p.  505. — Council  at  London  (Westminster),  under  Archbishop 
Hubert,  a.  d.  1200. 

Can.  4.  We  enjoin  all  priests,  in  imposing  penance,  to  attend 
carefully  to  the  nature  of  the  sin,  as  well  as  the  circumstances,  piety, 
&c.  of  the  penitent :  and  let  no  penance  be  imposed  upon  a  wife, 
which  may  lead  her  husband  to  suspect  her  of  some  secret  or 
enormous  crime.  We  also  put  this  check  upon  the  avarice  of 
priests,  that  masses  be  not  enjoined  as  a  penance,  except  to  priests. 
Can.  1.  That  prelates  pronounce  not  a  sentence  of  suspension  or 
excommunication  against  their  subjects  without  first  giving  canonical 
warning,  unless  it  be  for  a  crime  which  incurs  the  penalty  of  ipso 
facto  excommunication. 

Note.  Anciently  men  were  only  excommunicated  when  convicted  of 
crime ;  but  one  of  the  greatest  innovations  of  the  1 3th  century  was 
a  general  sentence  of  excommunication,  which  extended  to  the  most 
secret  hidden  actions,  and  to  sins  committed  after  the  sentence  had 
been  pronounced.  The  latter  part  of  this  canon  proves  that  bishops 
sometimes  delegated  to  others  the  power  of  imposing  penance  in  re- 
served cases. 

Ibid.  p.  548. — Council  of  DvMin,  a.d.  1217. 
Presbyters  are  to  be  visited  with  a  grievous  punishment  who  dare 


LAWS  AGAINST    "SOLICITORS."  341 

to  Beduce  their  own  daughters,  whom  they  have  baptized,  or  whom 
they  have  {even)  once  admitted  to  confession. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  577. — Council  of  Durham,  a.  d.  1220. 

Let  such  a  penance  be  imposed  upon  married  women,  that  their 
husbands  may  not  suspect  them  of  any  secret  or  enormous  crime : 
and  let  the  same  be  observed  with  respect  to  married  men. 

Let  the  confessions  of  women  be  heard  in  an  open  space  without 
the  (lenten)  veil,  so  that  they  may  be  seen,  but  not  heard,  (6y  those 
tcho  are  in  the  church). 

Note.  For  in  this  age  the  attempts  of  the  priest  uppn  the  chastity 
of  his  penitent  were  by  no  means  uncommon,  as  is  clear  from  some 
extracts  in  chap.  iii.  §  3,  which  I  have  placed  there  as  proofs  of  the 
demoralizing  effect  of  the  law  of  clerical  celibacy.''  This  was  indeed  so 
common,  that  three  of  the  Popes  (Paul  IV.,  Pius  IV.,  find  Gregory 
XV.)  decreed,  that  a  penitent  was  bound,  on  pain  of  mortal  sin,  to 
denounce  her  confessor,  if  he  shoidd  solicit  her  chastity ;  which  was 
afterwards  confirmed  by  Popes  Benedict  XIV.  and  Alexander  VII. 
The  following  evasions  were  however  resorted  to :  "  Prop.  6.  Con- 
fessarius  qui  in  sacramental!  confessione  tribuit  poenitenti  chartam 
postea  legendam  in  qu^  ad  venerem  incitat,  non  censetur  solicitare  in 
confessione,  et  proinde  non  est  denunciandus.  Prop.  7.  Modus  eva- 
dendi  obligationem  denuntiandaB  solicitationis  est  si  solicitatus  con- 
fiteatur  cum  solicitante:  hie  potest  illam  absolvere  ab  obUgatione 
denuntiandi.""  Moreover,  the  constitutions  of  Paul  IV.,  &c.  were  not 
received  in  many  of  the  German  dioceses. 

Let  confessions  be  heard  thrice  a-year,  viz.  at  Easter,  Pentecost, 
and  Christmas.  In  confession,  let  the  priest  have  an  humble 
countenance,  and  fix  his  eyes  ujwn  the  ground ;  and  let  him  not 
look  at  the  face  of  the  penitent,  especially  if  it  be  a  woman.  Sins 
of  ordinary  occurrence  should  be  particularly  inquired  into,  but 
unusual  sins  only  by  remote  inferences,  and  circumstantially,  lest, 
when  they  hear  of  crimes  which  they  had  never  before  thought  of, 
persons  should  be  thus  led  to  commit  sin.  Let  not  the  priest  (yr 
deacon  inquire  respecting  the  penitent's  companions  in  guilt ;  and 
let  atrocious  crimes  be  reserved  for  prelates  {majoribus),  viz.  murder, 
sacrilege,  unnatural  offences,  incest,  the  violation  of  virgins  or  nuns, 
laying  violent  hands  upon  parents  or  clerks,  breaking  vows,  &c. 
There  are  some  cases,  &c.  in  which  none  but  the  Pope  can  absolve. 
The  absolution  however  of  such  offences  is  not  to  be  refused  to  any 
man  in  his  dying  moments. 

That  no  priest,  through  anger,  hatred,  the  fear  of  the  church,  or 
the  fear  of  death,  presume  to  reveal  a  confession,  in  any  way,  either 
by  words  or  by  signs,  generally  or  specially,  as,  for  example,  by 
saying,  "  /  know  what  sort  of  persons  you  are,"  on  pain  of  losing 
orders  and  benefice ;  for  if  convicted  of  having  done  so,  he  shall  be 
degraded  without  mercy. 

T  See  p.  146. 

*  Propos.  DamDat.  ab  Alexandre  VII.,  apud  Schram,  cap.  xvii.  {  1102,  et 
CoroU. 


342  GENERAL   SENTENCES   OF   EXCOMMUNICATION. 

In  cases  of  theft,  and  crimes  of  the  same  nature,  let  not  penance 
be  enjoined  without  restitution. 

Since  the  love  of  many  waxes  cold,  so  that  not  merely  ordinary 
sins  are  multiplied,  but  even  new  and  unheard-of  sins  are  devised  and 
perpetrated,  let  two  confessors  at  least  be  appointed,  in  the  church 
of  Durham,  to  hear  public  penitents  on  Ash- Wednesday. 

Note.  This  paragraph  chiefly  refers  to  confessions  made  by  the  clergy. 

That  in  every  deanery  there  be  two  or  three  pious  men,  who  are 
to  give  notice  to  the  bishop  of  the  notorious  vices  of  the  dignified 
clergy  {jprcelatorum),  parsons,  and  other  clerks. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  585. — Council  of  Oxford,  under  Stephen  Langton, 
A.D.  1222. 

By  the  authority  of  God  the  Father,  and  the  blessed  Virgin,  and 
aU  the  saints,  we  excommunicate  all  those  who  deprive  churches  of 
their  rights ;  all  those  who  presume  to  disturb  the  peace  of  our  lord 
the  king ;    all  those  who  knowingly  bear  false  witness,  &c. 

Note.  In  this  general  sentence  there  are  specified  a  great  many 
crimes ;  and  all  the  spiritual  effects  of  excommunication  were  supposed 
to  fall  on  men  the  very  moment  the  forbidden  action  was  perpetrated, 
and  before  they  were  detected ;  although,  of  course,  it  was  only  binding 
inforo  conscientice.  The  sentence  was  to  be  read  by  every  parish  priest, 
in  his  holy  vestments,  in  the  mother  tongue,  at  Christmas,  Easter, 
Pentecost,  and  All-hallows,  with  beUs  tolling  and  candles  Ughted.' 

Ibid.  p.  624. — Constitutions  of  William  de  Bleys,  a.d.  1229. 

Cap.  IX.  If  a  man,  from  some  reasonable  cause,  shall  desire  to 
confess  his  sins  to  a  different  priest,  let  him  first  request  permission 
from  his  own  (parish)  priest,  which  shall  be  always  granted  him, 
with  a  saving  to  the  rights  of  his  own  church. 

Ibid.  p.  645. — Constitutions  of  Alexander,  Bp.  of  Coventry,  a.d.  1237. 

In  all  confessions  the  following  circumstances  are  to  be  considered : 
"  Quis,  quid,  ubi,  quibus  auxiliis,  cur,  quomodo,  quando  ?     Quis, 
cujusmodi  persona,  si  clericus  vel  laicus  ?" 

Ibid.  p.  689. — Constitutions  of  Richard,  Bishop  of  Chichester, 
A.D.  1246. 

Let  priests  send  public  penitents,  with  letters  declaring  the  whole 
truth,  to  the  pefiitentiary  of  the  bishop,  and  let  them  not  be  con- 
sidered as  absolved  after  their  return,  unless  they  bring  letters  from 
the  bishop  or  his  penitentiary,  announcing  the  nature  of  the  penance 
which  has  been  imposed  upon  them. 

Note.  In  the  same  constitution  several  reserved  cases  are  specified, 
viz.  murder,  witchcraft,  unnatural  offences,  broken  vows,  perjury, 
abortion,  and  the  falsification  of  a  will. 

*  Johnson. 


CONFESSIONS  IN  EXTREMES  MADE  TO  LAYMEN.      343 

WiLK.  i.  p.  732. — Statutes  of  Walter  and  Simon,  Bishops  of  Norwich, 

A.D.  1257. 

That  when  the  laity  go  to  confession,  they  be  diligently  examined 
as  to  whether  they  know  the  Lord's  prayer,  the  creed,  the  salutation 
of  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  how  to  cross  themselves  properly. 


Concilia  Magn.e  Britannia,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  II. 

WiLK.  II.  p.  170. — Constitutions  of  Gilbert,  Bishop  of  Chichester, 
A.  D.  1289. 

Cap.  XI.  That  rectors,  or  their  priests,  attend  at  every  chapter, 
and  inform  us  of  the  excesses  of  their  parishioners. 

Ibid.  p.  175.  In  a  mandate  of  archbishop  Peckham,  for  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  a.  d.  1291,  we  read,  "  And  if  any 
priests  shall  presume  to  celebrate  divine  service  in  the  presence  of 
those  who  are  notoriously  contumacious,  let  them  be  ipso  facto 
suspended  from  office  and  benefice." 

Ibid.  p.  513. — Constitution  of  Archbishop   Walter  RaynoM, 
A.  D.  1322. 

When  a  man  confesses  his  sin,  and  yet  will  not  abstain  from  it, 
absolution  cannot  be  given :  for  we  never  read  of  pardon  conferred 
on  any  without  reformation. 

Let  the  priest  who  hath  revealed  the  confession  of  any  man  by 
signs  or  words,  be  degraded  without  any  hope  of  reconciliation. 

Ibid.  p.  745,  a.d.  1348.  In  a  time  of  plague,  Ralph,  bishop  of 
Bath  and  Wells,  wrote  to  this  eflfect :  "  On  account  of  the  horror 
of  contagion,  many,  as  we  have  heard,  die  without  the  sacrament 
of  penance,  not  believing  that,  even  in  cases  of  necessity,  the  con- 
fession of  sins  made  to  any  but  priests,  who  have  the  power  of  the 
keys,  can  be  useful  or  meritorious :  a  man,  however,  in  the  agonies 
of  death,  if  he  cannot  procure  a  regularly  ordained  priest,  may, 
according  to  the  apostle,  confess  his  sins  even  to  a  layman,  or  to 
a  woman,  if  no  man  should  be  near  at  hand ;  and  such  a  confession 
is  both  wholesome  and  profitable  for  the  remission  of  sin.  But  if 
there  should  not  be  a  priest  to  administer  the  sacrament  of  extreme 
unction,  as  in  other  (holy  ordinances),  the  ^ith  of  the  sacrament 
ought  to  suffice."  In  this  mandate,  the  laity  to  whom  dying  persons 
have  confessed  are  strictly  enjoined  to  secrecy,  and  to  preserve 
inviolate  the  sigillum  confessionis. 


34  i  DETESTABLE   TRAFFIC  IN    INDULGENCES. 

Concilia  Magn^  Britannle,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  III. 

WiLK.  ui.  p.  72. — Constitution  of  Archbishop  Thoresbt/  of  York, 
A.  D.  1367. 

Thirty-seven  cases  are  specified,  reserved  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
bishop  or  his  penitentiary,  and  in  which  a  priest  could  not  lawfully 
absolve,  unless  the  penitent  was  in  the  agonies  of  death.  Among 
these  are  mentioned,  heresy,  unnatural  crimes,  murder,  sacrilege, 
notorious  adultery,  perjury,  &c. 

Ibid,  p.  118,  a.  d.  1377.  The  archbishop  of  Canterbury  placed 
the  city  of  Lynn  under  an  interdict,  because  some  of  the  inhabitants 
had  presumed  to  lay  violent  hands  upon  the  bishop  of  Norwich,  and 
to  strike  and  otherwise  maltreat  some  of  his  train.  The  perpe- 
trators of  this  outrage  (who  were  at  this  time  unknown)  were  also 
to  be  publicly  and  solemnly  excommunicated,  with  bell,  book,  and 
candle. 

Ibid.  p.  131.  Mandate  of  Simon  de  Sudbury,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  against  collectors  (qucestores),  a.  d.  1378  :  "  Who, 
with  the  greatest  audacity,  deceiving  many  souls,  and  deluding  the 
Christian  laity,  preach,  throughout  our  diocese  and  province,  indul- 
gences, and  false  and  frivolous  remissions  of  sin." 

Ibid.  p.  186.  Letter  of  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  the  con- 
fessor of  king  Richard  II.,  a.  d.  1384,  entreating  him  to  exert  his 
influence  with  the  king,  so  as  to  induce  him  to  respect  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  church. 

Ibid.  p.  361. — Articles  of  reformation,  presented  by  the  University  of 
Oxford  to  the  King,  a.  d.  1414. 

Art.  VI.  As  formerly  the  children  of  Israel,  from  the  constant 
use  of  it,  loathed  even  maima,  the  sweet  food  of  angels,  so  in  the 
present  day  the  grant  of  papal  indulgences  is  so  prodigal  and  lavish, 
that  they  are  commonly  looked  upon  as  mere  articles  of  traffic,  and 
have  thus  become  contemptible  and  vUe;  Avhilst  others  are  ren- 
dered (&y  this  facility  of  procuring  indulgences)  more  prone  to  sin, 
and  more  tardy  in  bringing  forth  the  fruits  of  repentance:  and 
therefore  it  appears  expedient  to  provide  a  remedy  for  the  premises. 

Art.  XXXIV.  Since  many  parishioners,  noble  or  ignoble,  male  or 
female,  having  committed  some  vile  and  detestable  crimes,  being 
ashamed  to  confess  to  their  own  curate,  receive  (a  general)  absolution 
from  some  ignorant  and  illiterate  friar;  it  seems  expedient  that 
a  remedy  should  be  provided  by  the  bishops. 

Art.  XXXIX.  Whereas  the  shameless  pardoners  purchase  their 
vile  occupation  in  farm,  like  Simon  {Magus)  ;  sell  indulgences  like 
Gehazi ;  and  profligately  squander  away  their  gains,  like  the  prodi- 
gal son :  but,  what  is  still  more  detestable,  although  they  are  not 
in  holy  orders,  they  publicly  preach,  and  falsely  pretend  that  they 
have  a  full  power  of  absolving  both  the  living  and  the  dead  from 


DETESTABLE    TRAFFIC   IN   INDULGENCES.  345 

the  guilt  and  punishment  of  sin ;  with  other  blasphemies  with  which 
they  cheat  and  seduce  the  people,  and  in  all  probability  draw  them 
down  to  hell  along  with  themselves,  by  giving  them  vain  hopes  and 
a  recklessness  in  sin :  let  the  abuses  of  this  pestilent  heresy  be 
obliterated  from  the  thresholds  of  the  church. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  391. — Concordat  of  Pope  Martin  V.  to  the  English 
Church,  A.D.  1419. 

Art.  n.  Whereas,  in  consequence  of  divers  indulgences  granted 
by  the  apostolic  see,  absolving  those  who  may  visit  or  offer  at 
certain  shrines,  and  the  number  of  pardoners,  who  at  this  time 
abound  more  than  usual  in  England,  persons  frequently  become 
hardened  in  vice ;  or,  despising  their  own  curates,  and  neglecting 
their  parish  churches,  resort  to  these  places,  with  a  view  to  obtain 
indulgences,  and  confess  there,  withdrawing  their  tithes,  oblations, 
and  other  dues  from  the  said  parish  churches,  or  unjustly  delay  the 
payment  thereof:  we  commission  the  several  diocesans  to  inquire 
respecting  their  nature,  with  a  power  of  suspending,  by  apostolic 
authority,  those  which  they  find  most  scandalous,  and  of  denouncing 
them  to  the  Pope,  that  he  may  revoke  them  utterly. 

Ibid,  p.  537.  In  a  mandate  of  the  archbishop  of  Canterhury,  a.  d. 
1442,  published  with  a  view  to  increase  the  revenues  of  Eton 
college,  he  says,  that  the  Pope  had  granted  "  as  great  indulgences 
to  all  who  should  visit  that  place,  on  the  festival  of  the  assumption 
of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  in  whose  honour  the  collegiate  church 
was  dedicated,  as  to  those  who  visited  St.  Peter's  at  Rome :  and 
lately,  by  a  more  liberal  grant  of  special  favour,  the  same  blessed 
father  hath  granted,  with  an  apostolic  kindness,  to  all  those  who 
shall  resort  thither  on  the  said  day  of  the  assumption,  a  plenary 
and  express  remission  of  all  their  sins :  which  we  never  remember  to 
have  been  granted  by  any  of  the  Roman  pontiffs  to  any  other  place." 

Ibid.  p.  577.  In  the  convocation,  a.  d.  1460,  amongst  other 
articles  which  required  reformation,  it  was  stated,  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  general  sentences  of  excommunication,''  "  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  people  of  England  are  implicated  in  censures  and 
sentences  of  excommunication," 

Ibid.  p.  602.  In  the  council  of  the  province  of  York,  under 
archbishop  Neville,  a.  d.  1466,  complaint  was  made,  that  certain 
pardoners,  "  with  the  greatest  rashness  and  effrontery,  and  to  the 
manifold  deceiving  of  souls,  grant  indulgences^  to  the  people  by 
their  own  authority ;  dispensing  with  vows ;  absolving  perjurers  or 
murderers;  remitting  in  cases  where  goods  had  been  dishonestly 
acquired,  on  receiving  money ;  remitting  a  third  or  fourth  part  of 
the  penance  enjoined ;  liberating,  as  they  mendaciously  assert,  the 
souls  of  three  or  four  of  the  relations  or  friends  of  those  who  give 
them  alms,  from  purgatory,  and  translating  them  into  the  glories  of 

*>  See  p.  342,  Note. 


346     THE  WEUEGILD  AND  OTHER  MULCTS  FOR  CRIME. 

paradise ;  granting  to  the  benefactors  of  those  places  where  they 
exercise  their  craft  a  plenary  remission  of  all  their  sins ;  and  freeing 
them,  to  use  their  own  words,  '  a  iposnd  et  culpa.' " 


§  II.—VARIOUS   TEMPORAL  LAWS. 

Concilia  Magn^  Britannle  et  Hiberni^,  Edit.  Wilkins, 

Vol.  I. 

WiLK.  I.  p.  29. — King  Ethelberfs  Ecclesiastical  Dooms,  a.  d.  605." 

Cap.  I.  Let  God's  fee  and  the  church's  fee  be  compensated  by 
a  twelvefold  mulct,  a  bishop's  by  an  elevenfold,  a  priest's  by  a  nine- 
fold, a  deacon's  by  a  sixfold,  and  a  clerk's  by  a  twofold  mulct,  and 
a  monastery's  peace  is  a  twofold  mulct. 

Cap.  II.  If  the  king  shall  call  his  people  to  him,  and  any  one  do 
them  an  injury,  let  double  compensation  be  made,  and  fifty  shillings 
paid  to  the  king. 

Cap.  III.  If  the  king  shall  be  feasting  in  any  man's  house,  and 
any  mischief  be  done  there,  let  double  compensation  be  made. 

Note.  He  who  robbed  a  church  paid  twelve  times  the  value  of  the 
thing  stolen ;  and  he  who  broke  the  peace  of  the  church  paid  as  much 
again  as  he  who  broke  the  king's  peace.  The  king  contented  himself 
with  the  satisfaction  which  he  granted  to  a  simple  priest.  A  remark- 
able passage  to  this  purpose  occurs  in  the  Textus  Itoffensis,  drawn  up 
by  Ernulphus,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  I. :  "  By  the  Kentish  law,  the 
church  of  Christ,  and  the  king,  and  the  archbishop,  have  the  same 
forfeiture  due  to  them  for  the  violation  of  protection :  and  by  that  law, 
chattels  stolen  from  the  archbishop  shall  be  restored  elevenfold,  but 
chattels  stolen  from  the  king  ninefold  only."'! 

[The  following,  not  having  been  published  by  Wilkins,  I  have 
taken  from  Johnson's  Collection.~\ 

Cap.  VI.  If  a  freeman  commit  adultery  with  a  freeman's  wife,  let 
him  submit  to  his  weregild,  and  purchase  another  woman  with  his  own 
money,  and  bring  her  to  the  other  man  in  her  stead. 

Note.  Adultery  was  therefore  punished  as  murder,  for  the  were- 
gild (sometimes  called  the  were)  was  the  mulct  for  murder,  varying 
according  to  the  dignity  of  the  person  slain.  Pecuniary  commutations 
of  punishment  were  also  in  use  among  the  ancient  Germans.^  That 
women  or  wives  were  usually  bought,  see  Laws  of  Ethelbert,  cap.  Ixxvi. 

WiLK.  CoNCiL.  i.  p.  59. — Ecclesiastical  Laws  of  Ina,  King  of  West 
Saxony,  a.  d.  693. 

Cap.  VI.  If  a  man  shall  fight  in  the  king's  house,  let  him  lose  all 
his  inheritance,  and  let  the  king  determine  whether  he  shall  have 

<:  From  the  Textus  Roifensis.  *  Johnson, 

•=  See  Tacitus's  Germania,  c.  xii. 


ANCIENT   LAW   OF   COMPURGATION.  347 

his  life  or  not.  If  any  one  shall  fight  in  a  church,  let  him  be  fined 
one  hundred  and  twenty  shillings ;  if  in  a  senator's  house,  sixty 
shillings  :  and  although  the  fight  shall  take  place  in  the  open  field, 
let  one  hundred  and  twenty  shillings  be  paid  in  lieu  of  punishment. 
But  if  a  quarrel  should  arise  at  the  common  table  (of  the  tithing), 
and  one  of  them  patiently  contian  himself,  let  the  other  pay  a  mulct 
of  thirty  shillings. 

Cap.  VII.  (13).  If  a  man  falsify  his  testimony  or  his  faith  given 
in  the  bishops  presence,  let  him  make  compensation  with  one  hundred 
and  twenty  shillings. 

Note.  "  One  reason  (says  Johnson)  why  the  bishop  sat  on  the  tem- 
poral bench  with  the  alderman,  was  that  he  might  tender  oaths,  which 
were  taken  oti  the  bishop's  hand,  or  on  a  cross  holden  in  his  hand. 
Long  after  the  two  jurisdictions  were  entirely  separated,  Gerv.  Dorob. 
tells  us  that  difficult  causes,  which  could  not  be  determined  in  the 
king's  court,  were  decided  by  the  archbishop  at  the  south  door  of  Clirist's 
church,  Canterbury. 

[The  following,  not  having  been  published  by  Wilkins,  I  have 
taken  from  Johnson's  Collection,  sub.  ann.  693.] 

Cap.  VIII.  If  a  man  shall  buy  a  slave  or  freeman  of  his  own 
nation  (though  he  be  a  malefactor)  and  send  him  beyond  sea,  let 
him  pay  his  weregild,  and  make  deep  satisfaction  to  God. 

Note.  "  i.  e.  undergo  a  severe  penance.  One  reason  why  the  bishop 
sat  with  the  alderman  was,  that  he  might  enjoin  such  penance  as  the 
criminal  deserved."  ^ 

Cap.  IX.  If  a  man  be  charged  with  robbing  in  a  very  large  gang, 
let  him  either  pay  his  weregild,  or  make  his  purgation,  &c.  Half  of 
them  who  take  the  oath  shall  be  frequenters  of  the  communion. 

Note.  Compurgators  did  not  profess  to  know  anything  of  the  fact, 
but  swore  generally  that  they  believed  the  man  to  be  innocent;  and 
from  the  remainder  of  this  doom  it  appears  that  men's  oaths  were 
valued  according  to  their  wealth.  None  were  allowed  to  be  compurgators 
but  such  as  were  worth  one  hundred  and  twenty  plow-lands,  (a  plow- 
land  being  about  thirty  acres,  though  others  say  fifty) :  but  the  oath  of 
one  who  frequented  the  communion  was  laid  higher  than  his  who  was 
worth  one  hundred  and  twenty  plow-lands."*  Compurgators  were  some- 
times required  to  the  number  of  three  hundred.^ 

Cap.  XI.  If  a  foreigner  be  slain,  let  the  king  have  two  shares  of 
the  were,  and  the  son  or  kindred  the  third  share.  If  a  foreigner  be 
a  tenant,  he  is  laid  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  shillings ;  his  son  at 
one  hundred ;  a  slave  at  sixty  shillings,  some  at  fifty :  a  stranger's 
hide  is  laid  at  eleven  shillings.  A  stranger,  if  he  have  five  plow-lands, 
is  estimated  at  six  hundred  shillings. 

Gap.  XII.  Satisfaction  shall  be  made  for  breaking  into  the  king's 
house  (or  a  bishop's,  where  his  see  is)  with  one  hundred  and  twenty 
shillings ;  the  alderman's  with  eighty  shillings,  &c. 

Cap.  76.  (WiLK.  CoNCiL.  i.  59.)  If  any  one  slay  the  godson 
or  godfather  of  another,  let  the  satisfaction  paid  to  the  godson 

f  Johnson,  %  Ibid.  h  See  Hume's  First  Appendix. 


348  VARIOUS   PENAL   LAWS. 

be  the  same  as  the  satisfaction  paid  to  the  lord.  If  it  be  the  king's 
godson,  let  the  weregild  be  paid  to  the  king  as  well  as  to  his  rela- 
tions ;  but  if  he  shall  have  opposed  himself  to  the  person  who  slew 
him,  then  the  godfather  is  to  lose  his  compensation  in  the  same  way 
as  the  lord  loses  his  mulct. 

Note.  Here  we  have  the  meeghote  paid  to  the  spiritual  or  natural 
relations,  and  the  manbote  paid  to  the  feudal  lord  for  killing  his  vassal ; 
both  of  them  distinct  from  the  weregild,  which  was  divided  between  the 
king  and  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  61. — Council  of  Berghamsted,  a.d.  696. 

Can.  26.  If  any  one  shall  detect  a  freeman  in  the  act  of  theft, 
let  the  king  choose  one  of  these  three  things :  either  to  slay  him, 
or  to  sell  him  beyond  sea,  or  to  receive  his  weregild  as  a  ransom. 

Can.  28.  If  a  traveller  or  a  stranger  shall  go  out  of  the  road,  and 
then  neither  shouts  nor  blows  with  a  horn,  let  him  be  condemned 
for  a  thief,  and  be  either  slain  or  ransomed. 

Note.  Johnson  remarks  in  his  Appendix,  that  the  person  who  met 
him  was  apparently  judge,  jury,  and  executioner. 

Ibid.  p.  83. — Dialogue  of  Egbert,  Archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  734. 

It  is  determined  that  the  violators  of  nuns  shall  be  fined  thirty 
sides,  i.  e.  double  the  fine  for  simple  fornication ;  the  side  being 
about  the  value  of  two  pence.  From  this  Dialogue  (Ans.  10,  n.) 
Johnson  proves  that  the  Northumbrian  bishops  had  courts  distinct 
from  the  temporal,  and  that  the  ecclesiastical  judicature  sometimes 
reversed  sentences  passed  in  the  tempoi-al  court. 

Ibid.  p.  107. — Excerptions  of  Egbert,  Archbishop  of  York,  a.d.  750. 

Ex.  96.  A  boy,  tiU  he  is  fifteen  years  old,  is  to  be  chastised  with 
corporal  punishment ;  but  after  this  age,  if  he  should  steal,  &c.,  let 
him  suffer  the  penalty  of  the  law. 

Ibid.  p.  179. — Civil  Laws  of  Kenneth,  King  of  Scotland,  a.d.  840.' 

Cap.  I.  II.  III.  Let  there  be  a  judge  in  every  department;  let 
their  sons  from  their  earliest  infancy  study  the  laws ;  and  let  such 
alone  have  in  their  custody  the  tables  of  the  law,  and  the  charters 
of  kings  and  nobles. 

Cap.  IV.  If  any  of  them  shall  be  accused  of  false  accusation 
{falsi  criminis),  let  him  be  impaled  {furcd  vitam  finiat),  and  cast 
forth  unburied. 

Cap.  V.  VI.  Hang  a  thief;  behead  a  murderer;  and  if  a  woman 
hall  be  convicted  of  a  capital  offence,  drown  her  or  bury  her  alive. 

Cap.  VII.  VIII.  Cut  out  a  blasphemer's  tongue;  take  away  the 
sword  of  him  who  has  brought  a  lying  accusation  against  his  neigh- 
bour, and  avoid  all  communication  with  him. 

'  From  Boethiua. 


VAMOUS  PENAL  LAWS.  349 

Cap.  IX.  Let  seven  men  of  approved  respectability  (or  nine, 
eleven,  thirteen,  or  any  greater  number,  provided  it  be  unequal) 
judge  those  who  are  arraigned  for  capital  offences. 

Cap.  XII.  Let  not  a  wife  suffer  for  her  husband's  crime;  but 
a  man  shall  be  accountable  (wVo  autem  fraudi  erit)  if  with  his 
knowledge  his  wife  hath  transgressed  in  any  respect. 

Cap.  XIV.  Let  the  man  who  hath  forcibly  dishonoured  a  virgin 
be  punished  with  death,  unless  she  who  hath  been  violated  should 
demand  the  person  who  hath  injured  her  for  a  husband. 

Note.  In  Legibus  Wallicis  quandam  statutum  est  ut  virgo  stuprata, 

una  manu  tenens  genitalia  raptoris  sui,  altera  veto  super  altare  posita, 

juraret,  "  quod  is  per  vim  se  isto  membro  vitiaverit."} 

Cap.  XVI.  If  a  son  shall  have  injured  his  parents  with  his  tongue, 
foot,  or  hand,  let  him  be  deprived  of  that  limb,  crucified,  and  then 
cast  forth  unburied. 

Cap.  XVIII.   Burn  all  witches,  dealers  with  the  devil,  &o. 

Cap.  XX.  If  a  man  shall  suffer  arable  land  to  be  injured  by  the 
growth  of  noxious  herbs,  for  the  first  offence  let  him  be  fined  an  ox, 
for  the  second  ten,  and  for  the  third  let  him  be  expelled  firom  (the 
occupation  of)  those  lands. 

Cap.  XXI.    Suffer  an  enemy  to  remain  unburied. 

Cap.  XXII.  Let  strayed  cattle  be  restored  either  to  the  owner,  or 
to  the  thief-taker,  (called  tododerach,)  or  to  the  priest :  if,  however, 
you  should  retain  it  in  your  possession  for  three  days,  you  shall  be 
judged  guilty  of  theft. 

Cap.  XXIII.  Let  the  man  who  has  found  any  thing  belonging  to 
his  neighbour,  cause  it  to  be  proclaimed  by  the  public  crier,  or  let 
him  be  punished  as  a  thief. 

Cap.  XXVI.  If  a  sow  shall  have  devoured  her  own  young,  let  her 
be  stoned  to  death,  and  eat  not  her  flesh. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  180. — Religious  Laws  of  King  Kenneth,  a.d.  840. 

Cap.  m.  To  hurt  a  priest  of  Christ  by  word  or  deed  is  a  capital 
offence. 

Ibid.  p.  18Q.— The  Laws  of  Alfred  the  Great,  a.d.  876.'' 

[As  these  laws  commence  with  the  decalogue,  and  also  with  many 
penal  statutes  from  Exodus  xxi.  xxii.  and  xxiii.,  it  appears  that 
Alfred  adopted  the  criminal  code  of  the  Mosaic  law.] 

Ibid.  p.  192. — Ecclesiastical  Laws  of  King  Alfred,  a.d.  876. 

Cap.  V.  If  any  one  shall  steal  any  thing  on  the  Lord's  day, 
Christmas-day,  Easter,  &c.,  let  him  forfeit  double. 

Cap.  IX.  If  any  man  shall  fight  or  draw  his  sword  in  the  presence 
of  the  archbishop,  let  him  pay  a  fine  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
shillings.  If  in  the  presence  of  a  bishop  or  alderman,  one  hundred 
shillings. 

j  Leges  Wallicse,  p.  80.  k  Text.  Roffens. 


350      CURIOUS  LAWS  ABOUT  OATHS,  IDOLATRY,  &C. 

Cap.  xin.    Servus  servam  stuprans  castretur. 

Cap.  XIV.  If  a  man  sliall  accuse  another  of  having  violated  his 
promise  solemnly  pledged  before  God,  let  him  swear  against  him  in 
four  churches ;  and  let  the  other,  if  he  would  clear  himself  from  the 
crime,  do  the  same  in  twelve  churches. 

Cap.  XV.  If  a  man  shall  draw  his  sword  before  the  kin^s  priest, 
let  him  pay  thirty  shillings. 

[^Cap.  XIX.  We  command  that  he  who  knows  his  foe  to  be  at 
home,  assault  him  not  till  he  have  first  demanded  right  of  him.  If 
he  have  strength  sufficient  to  beset  and  confine  him,  he  may  do  it 
for  seven  nights,  but  not  assault  him  if  he  keep  within  doors.  And 
if  he  will  within  seven  nights  come  to  hand  and  surrender  his  arms, 
let  him  keep  him  safe  for  thirty  days,  &c.  A  man  may  make  assault 
without  mulct  if  he  find  another  man  with  his  wife,  daughter,  or 
sister.'] 

WiLK.  i.  p.  202. — Ecclesiastical  Laws  of  Edward  the  Elder,  a.d.  905. 

Cap.  II.  If  a  man  reject  Christianity,  or  venerate  paganism  by 
word  or  deed,  let  him  pay  his  weregild,  or  a  fine  in  proportion  to 
the  fact. 

Cap.  III.  If  any  clerk  shall  steal,  fight,  &c.,  let  him  make  compen- 
sation according  to  the  fact,  either  with  his  were  or  a  mulct.  Let 
him  also  make  satisfaction  to  God  according  to  the  canons,  and  find 
a  surety,  or  be  cast  into  prison.  If  a  mass-priest  (mcesse-preosi) 
misinform  the  people  concerning  a  feast  or  fast,  let  him  pay  thirty 
shillings,  if  an  Englishman,  and  half  a  mark  if  a  Dane.  If  he 
should  not  procure  the  chrism,  or  should  refuse  baptism  to  one  who 
requires  it,  let  him  pay  a  mulct,  among  the  English,  and  twelve  ores 
among  the  Danes.  If  a  clergyman  shall  have  committed  a  crime 
worthy  of  death,  let  him  be  apprehended  and  delivered  to  the 
bishop's  jurisdiction. 

Cap.  VII.  If  a  man  presume  to  traffic  on  the  Lord's  day,  let  him 
forfeit  his  goods,  and  twelve  ores  if  a  Dane,  and  thirty  shillings  if 
an  Englishman. 

Cap.  X.  If  a  man  shall  be  condemned  to  have  a  limb  cut  off,  and 
shall  live  for  three  days,  after  that  term  any  one  may  assist  him, 
with  the  bishop's  permission,  should  he  desire  ease  to  his  sufferings 
and  his  soul. 

Cap.  XI.    That  all  witches,  prostitutes,  &c.,  be  utterly  banished. 

Cap.  XII.  If  a  clerk  or  a  stranger  be  seduced  to  any  thing  that 
affects  life  or  property,  then  the  king,  or  the  earl  of  that  district,  or 
the  bishop,  ought  to  be  in  place  of  relations  or  patrons,  if  he  should 
have  no  others,  &e. 

Ibid.  p.  206. — King  Ethelstan's  Laws  at  Grateley,  a.d.  928. 
Cap.   in.    We  decree   concerning   incantations   and  barbarous 
sacrifices  and  murders,  that  if  any  one  shall  have  slain  another,  and 

I  Johnson. 


THE   bishop's   jurisdiction  —  WEREGILDS.  351 

he  cannot  deny  it,  he  lose  his  life.  If  he  still  wish  to  clear  himself, 
and  is  found  guilty  in  the  threefold  ordeal,  let  him  be  imprisoned  for 
one  hundred  and  twenty  days,  and  then  let  his  relations  take  him 
out,  on  payment  to  the  king  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  shillings  ; 
and  let  them  pay  the  were  {of  the  deceased)  to  his  relations,  and 
become  his  sureties  that  he  will  always  abstain  from  similar  prac- 
tices. 

Cap.  VIII.  Let  the  bishop  punish  contumacy  in  the  reeves  of  his 
district. 

Spelm.  i.  p.  404,  &c. — Other  Laws  of  King  Ethdstan,  not 
published  hy  Wilkins. 

It  is  the  bishop's  province  to  enforce  every  law  both  divine  and 
human.  And  let  him  not  permit  fraud  by  unjust  weights  and 
measures ;  for  it  is  expedient  that  all  public  laws,  and  all  weights 
and  measures,  should  be  adjusted  according  to  his  decision.  Bishops 
ought  therefore  to  be  present  with  secular  judges  in  their  courts, 
that  erroneous  practices  may  not  be  suffered  to  arise.  It  is  proper 
also  that  all  measuring  rods  should  be  equal,  and  adjusted  according 
to  the  bishop's  measure. 

Ibid.  p.  405. — King  Ethelstan's  Laws  at  Exeter. 

Ca/p.  I,  The  king  by  an  act  of  grace  forgives  mulcts  due  to  him, 
so  that  the  offenders  make  peace  with  the  injured  parties  before 
rogation-day  next. 

Cap.  II.  The  king's  weregild  at  the  common  law  among  the 
English  is  thirty  thousand  thrymsa,  viz.  fifteen  thousand  for  his 
person,  and  fifteen  thousand  for  his  kingdom ;  the  first  belongs  to 
his  kindred,  the  kingbote  to  the  people  of  the  land. 

An  archbishop  or  earl's  weregild  is  fifteen  thousand  thrymsa ; 
a  bishop  or  alderman's  eight  thousand ;  a  general  or  high  reeve's 
four  thousand ;  a  mass  thane  or  a  secular  thane's  two  thousand ; 
a  common  man's  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  thrymsa,  by  the 
Danish  law ;  a  stranger's,  if  ho  have  a  family  and  estate,  and  pay 
tax  to  the  king,  is  two  hundred  and  twenty  shillings ;  if  he  have 
but  half  a  plow-land,  eighty  shillings ;  and  if  he  have  no  land,  but 
be  free,  seventy  shillings.  If  a  common  man  have  five  hides  of  land, 
or  if  he  have  a  breastplate,  a  helmet,  and  a  gilt  sword,  let  the  pay- 
ment be  two  thousand  thrymsa. 

Note.  Respecting  the  value  of  the  thrymsa  or  thrysma,  there  is  a 
great  difference  of  opinion.  Some  lay  the  value  at  three  shillings ; 
others,  with  greater  probability,  at  a  groat,  or  the  third  part  of  a 
shilling." 

Cap.  III.  The  oath  of  him  that  is  rated  at  twelve  hundred  shil- 
lings, is  of  as  great  value  as  six  common  men's.  The  mass  priest 
and  the  secular  thane's  oath  are  the  same  among  the  English. 

">  Johnson. 


352        prnviLEGEs  OP  gildship — THE  king's  chaplain. 

Cap.  IV.  Formerly  the  earl,  the  churl,  the  thane  and  the  sub- 
thane,  were  honoured  according  to  their  merits.  If  a  churl  throve, 
so  as  to  have  five  hides  of  his  own  land,  a  church,  and  a  kitchen, 
a  bell-tower,  a  seat,  and  an  office  in  the  king's  court,  from  that  time 
forward  he  was  esteemed  equal  in  honour  to  a  thane :  and  if  he  had 
thrice  gone  on  a  royal  embassy,  he  might  afterwards  with  \\i?>  fore-oath 
act  in  his  lord's  stead,  and  impeach  men  according  to  law.  And  if 
a  trader  did  so  improve,  as  that  he  passed  thrice  over  the  wide  sea 
by  his  own  skill,  then  he  from  that  time  forward  was  thought  to 
deserve  the  rights  of  a  thane.  And  if  a  scholar  made  such  profi- 
ciency in  learning,  as  that  he  obtained  orders  and  ministered  to 
Christ,  he  was  thought  worthy  of  that  dignity  and  protection  that 
belonged  thereto." 

The  following  is  the  twelfth  canon  of  the  synod  of  London,  held 
in  Ethelstan's  reign,  A.  D.  940.  "  We  have  charged  {says  the  bishops) 
all  that  are  admitted  into  our  gildship  by  pledges  given,  that  if  one 
happen  to  die,  every  brother  of  the  gild  shall  give  a  loaf,  and  meat 
sufficient  to  be  eaten  with  it,  for  his  soul,  and  sing  or  cause  to  be 
sung,  fifty  psalms  within  thirty  nights." 

HowEL.  Can.  et  Decret.  Eccl.  Brit.  SfC,  p.  36,  &c. — Laws  of  Howel 
Dha,  King  of  Wales,  a.d.  940  (942),  not  published  hy  Wilkins. 

Cap.  VI.  The  office  of  the  priest  in  the  pleas  of  the  court  is 
threefold :  to  erase  causes  already  decided ;  to  preserve  in  writing 
causes  not  yet  determined  for  judgment ;  to  be  prepared  to  assist 
the  king  in  writing  letters  ;    and  nexer  to  get  drunk. 

Cap.  vin.  An  ecclesiaiastic  is  not  admitted  (as  a  judge)  in  capital 
ofiences. 

Cap.  IX.  Such  is  the  value  of  a  priest's  testimony,  that  if  a  thief 
should  make  known  his  accomplices  in  the  presence  of  a  presbyter, 
his  word  is  to  be  believed  without  any  hesitation. 

Cap.  XI.  The  entire  value  of  all  a  man's  limbs  is  eighty-eight 
pounds :  the  price  of  any  man's  blood  is  twenty-four  pence ;  for  it  is 
not  fit  that  the  blood  of  God,  which  was  estimated  at  no  more  than 
thirty  pence,  should  be  accounted  of  less  value  than  that  of  a  man. 

Cap.  XII.  For  three  causes  a  woman  may  depart  from  her  husband, 
and  receive  her  dowry :  viz.  if  her  husband  should  have  the  leprosy ; 
if  he  should  have  a  fetid  breath;  et  si  cum  ipsa  coire  non  valeat. 

Cap.  XV.  When  a  divorce  takes  place,  let  the  goods  be  thus 
divided :  let  the  man  have  the  swine,  and  the  woman  the  sheep. 
All  the  vessels  of  milk,  except  one  pail,  shall  belong  to  the  woman, 
and  she  shall  have  all  the  cups  but  one.  The  chariot  with  one  yoke, 
and  all  the  vessels  and  casks  of  liquor,  shall  belong  to  the  man.  If 
the  man  should  soon  marry  another  wife,  he  ought  to  send  the  fur- 
niture of  the  principal  bed  (primi  lecti)  to  the  divorced  woman.  The 
man  shall  have  the  chaldron,  the  tapestry,  the  bed  (jmlvinar),  -the 
plow,  the  axe,  and  the  wimble. 

n  See  Text.  RofFens. 


DIVORCE ADULTERY MERCHETA — OATHS.  353 

Cap.  XVI.  If  any  one  shall  divorce  his  wife  and  marry  another, 
the  divorced  woman  ought,  by  right,  to  return  home  and  remain 
there  till  the  ninth  day ;  in  which,  if  she  should  be  dismissed,  let 
her  take  with  her  all  that  belongs  to  her. 

Cap.  XVII.  Let  an  adulterer  who  denies  his  adultery  do  so  upon 
the  oath  of  fifty  men,  and  an  adulteress  of  fifty  women. 

Cap.  XVIII.  A  woman  may  be  divorced  even  for  a  single  kiss 
given  to  another  man — still  more  for  any  thing  else ;  and  she  ought 
in  these  cases  to  lose  all  her  rights. 

Cap.  XX.  or  XXI.  Let  no  one  give  a  woman  to  a  man  until  he 
pay  the  price  of  her  virginity  to  his  (feudal)  lord :  for  a  virgin  is 
the  property  of  the  king. 

Kote.  "  Nam  olim  in  quibusdam  regionibus  Domini  feodomm  privi- 
legium  sibi  arrogaverant  concumbendi  prima  nocte  cum  uxoribus  man- 
cipiorum  suorum.  Huic  tamen  consuetudini,  quae  valuit  in  Scotia  post 
A.D.  1018,  nomen  Mercheta  imposuerunt.  Imo  in  legibus  Evani  III. 
Scottorum  regis  sancitum  est  ut  quaevis  nohilissima  virgo  regiis  am- 
plexibus  prius  subjiceretur."" 

Cap.  XXII.  There  are  three  persons  who  may  not  be  sued  at  law, 
viz.  the  king,  an  ecclesiastic  in  holy  orders,  and  a  monk. 

Cap.  XXIII.  There  are  three  (classes  of)  persons  who  may  not  be 
constituted  judges:  viz.  1.  a  man  who  has  any  blemish,  i.e.  one 
who  is  either  blind,  deaf,  leprous,  or  a  fool ;  2.  an  ecclesiastic  in 
holy  orders ;  3.  a  layman  who  has  no  privilege  of  judgment  arising 
from  the  dignity  of  his  tenure  or  vassalage. 

Cap.  XXV.  There  are  nine  classes  of  persons  who  are  to  be  believed 
upon  their  single  testimony  given  upon  oath,  viz.  1.  the  (feudal) 
lord  (in  a  question)  between  two  (common)  men ;  2.  a  priest  (in  a 
question)  between  two  parishioners  or  monks ;  3.  a  father  between 
two  of  his  sons ;  4.  a  judge,  concerning  his  own  decision ;  5.  a 
surety,  concerning  the  bail  which  he  hath  given ;  6.  a  priest,  con- 
cerning information  which  he  hath  received  in  a  question  between 
two  of  his  parishioners ;  7.  a  girl,  concerning  her  own  virginity, 
because  it  was  entrusted  to  her  before  she  had  arrived  at  the  ago 
of  maturity ;  8.  the  common  herdsman  of  a  town,  respecting  an 
animal  slain  by  another  among  the  cattle  entrusted  to  his  care; 
9.  a  thief,  when  he  is  led  to  execution  (ad  patibulum),  and  is  sure 
of  death,  is  to  be  believed  without  an  oath  respecting  an  accomplice, 
or  the  thing  which  he  hath  stolen. 

Cap.  XXX.  The  wound  of  the  tongue  may  be  inflicted  upon  three 
persons :  upon  the  king  at  any  time ;  upon  a  judge  when  any  one 
opposes  his  decision ;  and  upon  a  priest  when  he  is  in  the  church ; 
or  upon  the  three  great  festivals. 

Cap.  XXXII.  and  xxxiii.  An  ecclesiastic  is  only  to  be  judged  by 
a  synod,  and  not  by  the  king ;  unless  it  concern  lands  held  in  a  lay 
fee,  for  which  suit  and  service  ought  to  be  rendered  to  the  king. 

0  Vide  Buchanani  Hist.  Scot.  lib.  iv.  p.  irg,  &c.;  see  also  Blackstone's  Com, 
b.  ii.  c.  2,  §  2 ;  and  Walsh's  Prospect  of  Ireland,  p.  141. 

AA 


354    THE   WEREGILD — THE   KING's   PROTECTION — THE   CLERGY. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  215.— Council  of  London,  under  King  Edmund, 
A.D.  944. 

Cap.  I.  {Of  the  temporal  laws.)  If  any  man  shall  hereafter  slay 
any  one,  let  him  alone  be  liable  to  the  consequences,  unless  within 
twelve  months  he  shall,  by  the  assistance  of  his  friends,  make  com- 
pensation with  the  full  weregild.  If  his  kindred  should  desert  him, 
and  ho  will  not  make  compensation,  let  all  his  kindred  be  free  from 
the  odium ;  and  let  them  not  thenceforward  supply  him  with  food. 
If,  however,  any  of  his  kindred  should  afterwards  receive  him  into 
his  house,  let  him  forfeit  all  that  he  hath  to  the  king. 

Cap.  II.  If  any  man  shall  fly  to  a  church,  or  to  my  borough,  and 
another  shall  pursue  or  injure  him  there,  let  him  incur  the  same 
penalty. 

Note.   "  The  king's  protection  shall  be  from  the  gate  of  the  burgh 

where  he  is  resident;  from  thence,  on  the  four  cardinal  points,  three 

miles,  three  furlongs,  three  broad  acres,  nine  feet,  nine  shaifmets,  and 

nine  barleycorns."? 

Ibid.  p.  287. — Provisions  of  the  Wisemen  at  Engsham  {Oxfordshire), 
under  jEthelred,  a.d.  1009. 

Cap.  IV.,  V.  The  Wisemen  decree  that  Christians  be  not  sold  out 
of  the  land :  also  that  they  shall  not  be  condemned  to  death  for 
trifling  offences. 

Cap.  VII.  Let  the  protection  enjoined  within  the  walls  of  a 
church,  and  protection  given  hy  the  king's  hand,  be  equally  in- 
violable. 

Ibid.  p.  306. — King  Canute's  Laws,  a.d.  1033. 

Cap.  IX.  If  a  man  seduce  a  clergyman  or  a  stranger  to  any  thing 
which  affects  his  property  or  his  life,  the  king  shall  act  towards  him 
as  kindred,  and  be  his  patron  (unless  he  should  have  another  mas- 
ter) ;  but  let  him  make  due  satisfaction  to  the  king,  or  let  the  crime 
be  severely  punished. 

Cap.  X.  If  a  minister  of  the  altar  commit  murder,  or  any  other 
grievous  crime,  then  let  him  forfeit  his  orders  and  his  dignity,  and 
make  as  long  a  pUgrimage  as  the  Pope  commands.  If  he  will  make 
his  purgation,  let  it  be  threefold :  and  unless  he  shall  begin  to  make 
satisfaction  to  God  and  man  within  thirty  nights,  let  him  be  out- 
lawed. 

Cap.  xn.  Reserves  delinquent  clerks  to  be  judged  by  the  bishop. 

Cap.  xin.  If  a  man  capitally  convicted  shall  desire  to  make  con- 
fession, let  the  priest  who  shall  refuse  to  shrive  him  pay  a  fine  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  shillings  to  the  king. 

Cap.  XIV.  That  no  criminal  shall  be  executed  on  a  Sunday, 
unless  he  fly  or  fight. 

Cap.  XVI.  If  a  man  commit  a  crime  during  Lent,  let  the  satis- 
faction be  double. 

P  Text.  Roffens.    A  shaffmet  was  about  5^  inches. 


ADULTERY DANEGALD MAXHOTE TREASURE-TROVE.    355 

Cap.  XXII.  If  a  wife  shall  commit  adultery,  let  her  lawful  hus- 
band have  all  her  property,  and  let  her  lose  both  her  nose  and  ears. 

Note.  This  law  proves  that,  in  Canute's  reign,  a  wife  might  have  an 
estate  distinct  from  her  husband:  and  Dr.  Hickes  has  proved  that 
wives,  among  the  old  northern  people,  had  an  absolute  right  to  alienate 
or  dispose  of  the  goods  or  lands  with  which  she  had  been  endowed,  q 

Cap.  XXV.  When  a  murder  has  been  committed,  let  {the  mur- 
derer) be  delivered  up  to  the  kindred  [of  the  deceased) ;  and  if  it  bo 
only  a  vehement  suspicion,  and  he  miscarry  at  purgation,  let  the 
bishop  be  judge. 

Note.  In  the  last  clause  I  have  adopted  Johnson's  translation. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  310. — Laws  of  Macbeth  (Maccabaei),  King  of  Scotland, 
A.D.  1050. 

Arraign  not  a  clerk  {Christo  initiatum)  before  a  temporal  judge. 
If  an  excommunicate  person  shall,  for  a  whole  year,  despise  the 
authority  of  the  bishop,  and  shall  not  reconcile  himself  to  the 
church  in  the  mean  time,  let  him  be  considered  an  enemy  of  the 
state  :  but  if  he  shall  persevere  in  the  same  contumacy  for  two 
years,  let  him  forfeit  the  whole  of  his  property. 

If  a  man  shall  follow  in  quality  of  a  retainer  a  man  at  whose 
expense  he  is  not  maintained,  either  to  a  public  assembly,  or  to  the 
forum  or  market,  let  him  be  capitally  convicted. 

Ibid.  p.  312. — Laws  of  King  Edward  (Confessor),  a.d.  1052, 
confirmed  by  William  I. 

Cap.  XII.  The  danegeld  was  originally  instituted  to  repress  the 
insolence  of  (Danish)  pirates,  viz.  a  yearly  tax  of  twelve  pence 
from  every  hide  throughout  the  entire  country,  with  the  exception 
of  church  property.  This  exemption  the  church  of  England  enjoyed 
till  the  time  of  William  Rufus,  when  four  shillings  from  every  hide, 
without  excepting  the  church,  were  granted  to  him  for  the  purpose 
of  retaining  Normandy  while  his  brother  Bobert  went  to  Jerusalem. 
During  the  collection  of  this  tax,  holy  church  complained  loudly, 
and  pleaded  her  exemption,  but  in  vain.  The  grant  was  not,  how- 
ever, enacted  or  confirmed  by  law. 

Cap.  XIII.  The  manbote,  or  comjiensation  to  be  made  to  the 
feudal  lord  for  the  murder  of  his  vassal,  shall  be  three  marks,  if 
he  belonged  to  the  king  or  the  archbishop ;  twenty  shillings  if  he 
belonged  to  the  bishop  of  the  county,  or  the  king's  earl,  or  his 
steward  of  the  household ;   and  ten  shillings  for  other  barons. 

Cap.  XIV.  All  treasures  dug  up  shall  belong  to  the  king,  unless 
they  be  found  in  a  church  or  burial-ground,  and  (even)  then  all  the 
gold  shall  belong  to  the  king,  and  half  the  silver ;  the  other  half 
shall  be  the  property  of  the  church, 

1  Thesaur.  Pief.  p.  42,  ap.  Johnson. 

AA2 


356  CRUEL   PUNISHMENTS — THE   HUNDIIED    COURT. 

Cap.  XVI.  Archbishops,  bishops,  earls,  barons,  and  all  who  have 
{the  right  of)  sac,  soc,  thol,  theam,  and  infangthefe,  shall  have  their 
soldiers  and  other  retainers  under  their  own  frihurgh.  Let  them 
also  have  their  esquires  and  other  servants  under  their  frihurgh. 
If,  however,  any  of  them  should  commit  any  crime,  they  should 
oblige  them  to  do  that  which  is  right  in  their  own  court. 

Note.  "  Sac  was  a  right  to  the  forfeiture  incurred,  when  a  man 
was  accused,  and  the  accuser  failed  in  his  proof,  or  by  the  accused  upon 
his  conviction.  Soc,  the  power  of  making  search  for  stolen  goods  in 
his  own  land.  TJiol,  the  power  of  imposing  tribute  upon  merchandise 
sold  in  his  own  land.  Theam,  a  right  to  the  forfeiture  incurred  when 
challenged  goods  are  put  into  a  third  hand,  and  neither  the  accuser  nor 
the  accused  can  prove  his  right  to  the  property.  Infangthefe  was 
the  right  of  trying  and  executing  a  thief,  being  his  own  vassal,  and 
apprehended  on  his  own  land." — Glanville. 

Cap.  XXII.  All  Jews,  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom,  are  under 
the  king's  patronage  and  protection. 

Cap.  XXIII.    Let  usurers  forfeit  their  estates,  and  be  outlawed. 

Johnson,  Vol.  L,  a.d.  1065. — Other  Laws  of  the  Confessor,  from  the 
Norman  French. 

Cap.  V.    If  a  man  die  intestate,  let  his  children  inherit  equally. 
Cap.  VI.    If  a  father  catch  his  daughter  in  adultery,  in  his  own 
house  or  in  his  son-in-law's  house,  he  may  lawfully  kill  the  adulterer. 

Note.  In  a  note  at  the  end  of  these  laws,  Johnson  quotes  the 
following  savage  law  of  William  the  Conqueror :''  "  I  forbid  any  one 
to  be  killed  or  hanged  for  any  crime  :  but  let  his  eyes  be  put  out ;  let 
him  be  emasculated,  or  let  his  hands  or  feet  be  cut  off,  that  he  may 
remain  a  living  trunk,  as  a  monument  of  treachery  or  wickedness." 
Whereas  (according  to  Johnson)  the  principal  punishments  among  the 
Saxons  were  the  weregild,  the  mulct,  or  a  severe  jerking.  Suhterratio, 
or  the  punishment  of  burj'ing  the  culprit  alive,  was  anciently  practised 
in  France  when  females  had  been  convicted  of  capital  offences.  {Dii 
Cange,  Suppl.  tom.  iii.  col.  899.)  By  22  Hen.  VIII.  cap.  9,  it  was  decreed 
that  Richard  Roose,  alias  Cooke,  convicted  of  poisoning,  should  be 
boiled  to  death.    {^Stat.  at  Large.) 

WiLK.  i.  p.  363. — Council  of  London,  under  Lanfranc,  a.d.  1075. 

Let  no  bishop  or  abbot,  nor  any  of  the  clergy,  condemn  a  man  to 
the  loss  of  life  or  members,  or  lend  the  countenance  of  his  authority 
to  those  who  do. 

Ibid.  p.  368.  The  charter  of  king  WiUiam  I.  to  separate  ecclesi- 
astical pleas  from  civil  causes,  a.d.  1085.  That  no  bishop  or  arch- 
deacon shall  hereafter  hold  pleas,  which  relate  to  episcopal  laws, 
in  the  hundred-court,  nor  bring  any  cause  which  concerns  the  cure 
of  souls  before  a  secular  tribunal  :  but  whosoever  is  impleaded 
according  to  the  episcopal  law,  is  to  go  to  that  place  which  the 
bishop  shall  appoint,  and  there  make  answer  concerning  his  crime, 

""  From  Wheloc,  p.  137,  and  Lambard,  p.  126. 


OATH  de  Calumnid — citations — parliament.  357 

and  also  make  satisfaction  to  God  and  his  bisliop,  according  to  the 
canons.  And  if  he  shall  refuse  to  appear  at  the  third  citation,  let 
him  be  excommunicated :  and  if  it  be  necessary,  in  order  to  bring 
him  to  justice,  let  the  justice  of  the  king  or  of  the  sheriff  (vicecomitis) 
be  applied  to;  and  let  him  make  satisfaction  for  every  citation, 
according  to  the  episcopal  law." 

Kote.  According  to  Johnson,  at  this  period,  the  archbishop  had 
satisfaction  due  to  him  for  murder  committed  even  on  the  king's  or 
earl's  land,  from  such  time  as  they  cease  to  sing  Alleluia,  (i.e.  from 
Septuagessima,)  till  Low  Sunday,  {i.  e.  the  first  Sunday  after  Easter) ; 
and  also  half  the  ci/Mwite,  or  satisfaction  for  a  child  unlawfully  begotten. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  654. — Legatine  Constitutions  of  Cardinal  Otlio,  a.  d.  1 237. 

Cap.  XXIV.  We  ordain  that,  from  henceforward,  the  oath  of 
calumny  be  taken  in  all  causes,  ecclesiastical  or  civil,  within  the 
realm  of  England  ;  and  also  that  the  oath  to  speak  the  truth  be  taken 
in  all  spiritual  causes. 

Note.  The  oath  de  cahimnia  was  formerly  taken  by  both  plaintiiT  and 
defendant,  to  the  effect  that  he  believed  his  cause  to  be  just,  that  he 
would  use  no  false  proof,  nor  cause  any  unnecessary  delay.' 
Cap.  XXVI.  We  have  been  credibly  informed,  that  some  persons, 
when  they  have  procured  a  summons,  send  it  by  three  servants 
{garciones)  to  the  place  in  which  the  person  cited  is  said  to  dwell, 
two  of  whom  place  the  summons  over  the  altar  of  the  parish  church, 
which  the  third  instantly  tears  down :  by  which  it  happens  that 
upon  the  oath  of  these  two  messengers  that  he  was  formally  cited 
he  is  excommunicated  or  suspended  for  a  contumacy  of  which  he 
was  wholly  guiltless.  We  therefore  decree,  that  from  henceforward 
judges  shall  {themselves)  send  the  summons  by  a  faithful  messenger, 
who  shall  make  diligent  search  for  the  person  cited :  and  if  he 
cannot  find  him,  let  him  cause  the  summons  to  be  publicly  read 
during  mass  in  the  church  of  that  parish  where  he  resides,  either  on 
the  Lord's-day  or  some  other  festival. 


^i)e  ^dnctpal  ^cts  of  parliament  affctUng  j5«  C^&urt^. 

(1.)  Magna  Charta,  grantetl  by  king  John,  a.d.  1215,  secured 
the  freedom  of  election  to  the  clergy,  and  all  the  rights  and 
liberties  anciently  granted  to  the  church.  All  check  upon  appeals 
to  Rome  was  removed  by  the  permission  granted  to  every  man  to 
leave  the  realm  at  his  pleasure,  and  the  fines  imposed  upon  the 
clergy  for  any  offence  were  to  be  proportioned  to  their  lay  estates, 
and  not  to  their  ecclesiastical  benefices.  This  important  charter  was 
afterwards  confirmed  by  9  Hen.  III.,  and  28  Edw.  I. 

See  also  50  Edw.  III.  c.  1 ;  2  Hen.  IV.  c.  1 ;  and  3  Hen.  V.  c.l. 

>  Johnson. 


358  ACTS   OF    PARLIAMENT   AFPECTI>'G   THE   CHUUCII. 

(2.)  Benefit  of  Clergy,  3  Edw.  I.  c.  2.  That  if  any  clerk 
should  be  arraigned  for  felony  and  claimed  by  his  ordinary,  he 
should  be  delivered  up  to  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  "  according 
to  the  privilege  of  holy  church,  in  such  parell  as  belongeth  to  it, 
after  the  custom  aforetimes  used."  See  also  51  Hen.  III.  c.  27  ; 
item  9  Edw.  II.  c.  15 ;  it.  18  Edw.  III.  c.  2 ;  it.  25  Edw.  III. 
c.  4,  5 ;  it.  50  Edw.  III.  c.  5 ;  it.  1  Ric.  II.  c.  15 ;  it.  27  Hen. 
VI.  c.  6  :    all  of  which  are  confirmatory  of  the  above. 

Those,  however,  who  were  thus  claimed  and  admitted  to  the 
privilege  of  clerkship,  were  immediately  consigned  to  the  decanicum, 
or  bishop's  prison,  and  held  there  in  safe  custody  till  they  submitted 
to  canonical  purgation. 

In  process  of  time,  mere  laymen  who  could  read  were  admitted 
to  the  privilege  of  clergy,  except  in  cases  of  murder,  sacrilege,  or 
highway  robbery ;  (see  19  Hen.  VII.  c.  7,  and  4  Hen.  VIII.  c.  2). 
And  if  any  one,  under  the  rank  of  a  subdeacon,  should  wilfully 
escape  from  the  prison  to  which  he  had  been  consigned  by  his 
ordinary,  he  was  to  be  adjudged  guilty  of  felony,  and  punished 
accordingly  as  a  mere  layman.  Or  if  he  should  be  a  subdeacon, 
deacon,  or  priest,  the  bishop  might  degrade  him  from  his  orders, 
and  deliver  him  up  to  the  secular  power  for  punishment.  See  here 
23  Hen.  VIII.  c.  11. 

If  a  priest,  &c.,  had  been  guilty  of  fornication,  adultery,  or  incest, 
his  ordinary  might  commit  him  to  prison,  there  to  abide,  for  a  time 
proportionate  to  the  quality  of  his  oifence.     1  Hen.  VII.  c.  4. 

(3.)  Prohibition,  24  Edw.  I.  That  in  certain  cases  in  which 
the  ecclesiastical  judges  had  been  stayed  from  proceeding  by  the 
royal  prohibition,  and  from  the  (mixed?)  nature  of  the  case  the 
plaintiff  could  obtain  no  redress  either  in  the  temporal  or  spiritual 
court,  the  lord-chanceUor  or  chief-justice  might  licence  the  eccle- 
siastical judge  to  proceed,  notwithstanding  the  said  prohibition. 
From  the  ArticuU  Cleri  (9  Edw.  II.)  it  appears  that  these  royal 
prohibitions  related  to  tithes,  oblations,  mortuaries,  redemption  of 
penance,  the  laying  violent  hands  upon  clerks,  bigamies,  and  defama- 
tion ;  and  the  king's  letter  sometimes  directed  the  ordinary  to  absolve 
the  excommunicate  by  a  certain  day.  These  encroachments  upon 
the  spiritual  jurisdiction  were  remedied  by  the  last-mentioned  statute. 

That  the  king  shall  have  the  cognizance  of  usurers  dead,  and  the 
ordinaries  of  holy  church  during  their  lifetime ;  and  that  ecclesi- 
astical judges  shall  not  be  impeached  for  money  taken  in  redemption 
of  corporal  penance,  the  probate  of  wills,  matrimony,  or  other  cases 
belonging  to  the  jurisdiction  of  holy  church.  15  Edw.  HI.  c.  5,  6. 
This  statute  appears  however  to  have  been  revoked  in  the  same  year. 

That  cases  of  bigamy,  bastardy,  and  the  probate  of  \>'ills,  shall 
belong  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  church ;  and  that  no  prohibition 
shall  be  issued  by  the  court  of  Chancery  in  cases  properly  belonging 
to  the  spiritual  jurisdiction.     18  Edw.  HI.  c.  2,  &c. 

See  also  the  statute  Circunispecte  agatis,  13  Edw.  I. 


ACTS   OP   P^VBLIAMENT    AFFECTING   THE    CHURCH.  359 

That  no  person  shall  be  allowed  to  practice  as  a  surgeon  or 
physician  within  the  city  of  London,  or  seven  miles  round,  until  he 
has  been  examined  before  the  bishop  of  London  or  the  dean  of 
S.  Paul's.  Four  doctors  of  physic  or  professors  of  surgery  were 
to  be  the  examiners.    3  Hen.  VIIL  c.  6. 

The  statutes  21  Hen.  VHI.  c.  5  and  6,  provide  a  remedy  for  the 
excessive  fines  demanded  by  ordinaries  for  the  probate  of  wills,  and 
the  mortuaries,  or  corse  presents,  exacted  by  the  clergy. 

(4.)  Advowson,  13  Edw.  I,  c.  5.  This  act,  which  was  for  the 
protection  of  the  lawful  patron  of  the  benefice  against  intruders,  is 
too  long  for  abridgment. 

That  land  bequeathed  for  the  maintenance  of  a  chantry,  or  a 
light  in  any  church  or  chapel,  be  not  alienated.     13  Edw.  I.  c.  40. 

That  curates,  or  stipendiary  priests,  shall  be  compelled  to  serve 
for  a  competent  salary,  as  hath  been  accustomed,  on  pain  of  suspen- 
sion and  interdict.   23  Edw.  HL  c.  8. 

An  act  relating  to  advowsons  and  the  right  of  patronage.  25 
Edw.  HI.  c.  1,  &c. ;  see  also  13  Ric.  H.  c.  1 ;  item  15  Ric.  II.  c.  6, 
and  other  acts. 

That  if  any  layman  shall  pay  a  priest  above  five  marks  per 
annum,  or  two  marks  and  his  board,  (estimated  at  forty  shillings), 
he  shall  forfeit  as  much  to  the  king  as  he  has  paid  to  the  .priest. 
36  Edw.  III.  c.  8. 

Note.  The  ranks  of  the  clergy  had  been  so  much  thinned  by  the 
plague,  that  many  churches  throughout  the  kingdom  were  left  unserved. 
It  was  the  object  of  this  act  to  discoiirage  the  priesthood  from  accepting 
private  appointments  to  chaplaincies  or  chantries,  the  temptation  of 
a  large  stipend  having  been  found  prejudicial  to  the  public  interests  of 
the  church.     See  also  2  Hen.  V.  c.  2. 

That  no  parson  shall  be  impleaded  in  the  secular  court  for  his 
own  tithes  taken.    1  Ric.  II.  c.  14. 

Against  pluralities ;  the  taking  farms  of  spiritual  men ;  and  also 
against  non-residence.  21  Hen.  VHI. 

Note.   This  act  (too  long  for  abridgment)  is  well  worth  reading, 

Dismes,  or  a  tenth  of  the  revenues  of  the  church,  were  frequently 
granted  to  the  king  by  the  clergy  of  the  two  provinces  assembled  in 
convocation.     See  1  Ric.  III.  c.  14. 

(5.)  PuovisoRS,  25  Edw.  III.  st.  6.  That  the  court  of  Rome 
shall  not  present  or  collate  to  any  bishopric  or  living  in  England : 
and  that  whosoever  disturbs  any  patron  in  the  presentation  of 
a  living  by  virtue  of  a  papal  provision,  he  shall  pay  fine  and  ransom 
to  the  king  at  his  will,  and  be  imprisoned  till  he  renounces  such 
provision. 

This  important  act  was  followed  up  by  many  others  to  the  same 
effect  more  or  less  stringent. 

Ex.  gr.  27  Edw.  III.  c.  1 ;  it.  38  Edw.  III.  c.  1,  &c. ;  it. 
3  Ric.  II.  c.  3 ;  it.  7  Ric.  II.  c.  12 ;  it.  12  Ric.  II.  c.  15 ;  it. 
13  Ric.  II.  c.  2,  3 ;  it.  2  Hen.  IV.  c.  3 ;  it.  7  Hen.  IV.  c.  8 ; 
it.  9  Hen.  IV.  c.  8 ;   it.  1  Hen.  V.  c.  7 ;   it.  4  Hen.  V.  c.  4. 


360  ACTS   OF   PARLIAMENT   AFFECTING   THE   CHURCH. 

From  this  multitude  of  enactments,  the  reader  may  form  some 
idea  of  the  extent  of  the  evil  which  they  were  designed  to  remedy, 
and  the  usurped  authority  against  which  our  monarchs  had  anciently 
to  struggle. 

By  the  3  Ric.  II.  c.  3,  it  was  enacted  that  no  alien  should  be 
capable  of  letting  his  benefice  to  farm,  in  order  to  compel  such  as 
had  crept  in  at  least  to  reside  on  their  preferment. 

(6.)  Pr^munire,  16  Ric.  II.  c.  5.  That  whosoever  shall  procure 
at  Rome,  or  elsewhere,  any  translations,  processes,  excommunications, 
bulls,  or  instruments  which  affect  the  king,  his  crown,  and  realm, 
and  all  persons  aiding  and  assisting  therein,  shall  be  put  out  of  the 
king's  protection,  their  lands  and  goods  forfeited  to  the  king's  use, 
and  they  shall  be  attached  by  their  bodies  to  answer  to  the  king 
and  his  council,  or  process  of  ^  p'oemunire  facias  shall  be  made  out 
against  them. 

See  also  24  Hen.  VIII.  c.  12,  against  appeals  to  Rome ;  25  Hen. 
VIII.  c.  20,  21,  against  the  payment  of  annates,  or  first-fruits,  to  the 
Pope,  and  other  exactions ;  and  26  Hen.  VIII.  c.  1,  3,  that  the 
king  is  supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  as  such 
entitled  to  the  first-fruits  of  benefices,  heretofore  paid  to  the  Pope. 

(7.)  Monasteries.  By  3  Edw.  I.  c.  1,  it  was  enacted  that  great 
men  with  their  retinues  should  no  longer  exact  entertainment  from 
monasteries,  to  their  great  impoverishment,  and  the  frustration  of 
those  charitable  objects  for  which  they  were  originally  founded. 

That  no  friar  of  the  four  orders,  Minours  (Franciscans),  Augus- 
tinians,  Preachers  (Dominicans),  and  Carmelites,  shall  receive  any 
infant  into  their  order,  unless  he  be  entered  into  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  without  the  assent  of  his  parents  or  guardians.  4  Hen.  IV. 
c.  17. 

That  abbots,  priors,  &c.,  having  lands  or  possessions  in  certain 
wapentakes  in  the  county  of  York,  (specified  in  the  act),  shall  be 
allowed  to  plead  in  the  secular  courts  by  their  attornies-general, 
duly  appointed  under  the  common  seal  of  the  abbey  or  priory. 
15  Hen.  VI.  c.  7. 

(8.)  Mortmain,  9  Hen.  HI.  c.  36.  "  It  shall  not  be  lawful  for 
any  man  to  give  his  lands  to  any  religious  house,  and  to  take  the 
same  land  again  to  hold  of  the  same  house.  Nor  shall  it  be  lawful 
for  any  house  of  religion  to  take  the  lands  of  any,  and  to  lease  the 
same  to  him  of  whom  they  were  received.  And  if  any  man  from 
henceforth  shall  give  his  lands  to  any  religious  house,  and  thereupon 
be  convict,  the  gift  shall  be  utterly  void,  and  the  land  shall  accrue 
to  the  lord  of  the  fee." 

See  also  7  Edw.  I.  st.  2 ;  it.  18  Edw.  III.  c.  3 ;  it.  15  Ric.  II.  c.  5. 

Note.  By  these  grants  to  religious  houses,  the  principal  lord  of  the 
fee  was  defrauded  of  the  military  and  other  services  due  to  him  by  the 
terms  of  the  feudal  tenure ;  and  therefore,  unless  the  alienation  took 
place  with  his  sanction,  he  might  seize  upon  the  property  a  year  after 
the  said  ahenation  took  place,  according  to  the  provisions  of  7  Edw.  I. 
St.  2,  commonly  called  the  statute  de  religiosis. 


ACTS    OF    PAULIAMENT    AFFECTING   THE    CHURCH.  361 

(9.)  Db  asportatis  religiosouum,  33  Edw.  I.  Against  the 
extortions  of  the  superiors  of  religious  orders,  who,  residing  abroad, 
used,  under  pretence  of  visitation,  to  draw  large  sums  from  the 
convents  of  their  several  orders  in  England. 

Note.  I  cannot  find  this  act  in  my  copy  of  the  Statutes  at  Large. 
folio,  Lend.  1587.  The  general  of  each  reUgious  order  constantly 
resided  at  Rome. 

(10.)  Preachers,  5  Hie.  II.  c.  5.  For  arresting  those  who, 
without  any  licence  from  the  ordinary,  wandered  about  from  town 
to  town  preaching  not  only  in  churches  and  churchyards,  but  at 
fairs,  markets,  and  other  open  places. 

(11.)  De  HiERETicis  coMBURENDis,  2  Hen.  IV.  c.  15.  That 
none  should  be  allowed  to  preach  without  the  licence  of  the  ordinary  ; 
and  that  heretics  convicted  and  refusing  to  abjure,  should  be  de- 
livered over  to  the  secular  power  and  publicly  burnt. 

Other  statutes  against  LoUardy,  &c.,  are  2  Hen.  V.  c.  7,  and  25 
Hen.  VIII.  c.  14. 

(12.)  Sanctuary,  21  Hen.  VIII.  c.  2.  That  when  a  felon  or 
murderer  has  taken  sanctuary  in  a  church,  churchyard,  or  other 
holy  place,  he  shall  take  his  abjuration  and  passage  out  of  the  said 
church,  &c.  on  the  day  limited  by  the  coroner,  and  be  branded  on 
the  hand  with  the  letter  ^.t 

(13.)  Churchyards,  13  Edw.  I.  c.  6.  That  from  henceforth 
neither  fairs  nor  markets  be  kept  in  churchyards. 

(14.)  Butchers,  {Statutes  at  Large,  p.  77,  c.  7").  A  butcher 
buying  meat  from  Jews  and  selling  it  again  to  Christians,  to  be 
heavily  fined  for  the  first  offence,  for  the  second  to  be  put  in  the 
pillory,  for  the  third  to  be  imprisoned  and  fined,  and  for  the  fourth 
compelled  to  forswear  the  town. 

(15.)  Pilgrims,  9  Edw.  Ill,  c.  8.  Pilgrims  not  to  pass  out 
of  the  realm,  but  only  as  far  as  Dover,  on  pain  of  a  year's  imprison- 
ment.    See  also  13  Kic.  II.  c.  20. 

(16.)  Sunday,  4  Edw.  IV.  c.  7.  That  any  shoemaker  exercising 
his  craft  in  London  on  a  Sunday,  &c.  shall  pay  a  fine  of  twenty 
shillings  for  each  offence. 

(17.)  Vacation.  Having  omitted  to  notice  them  in  the  proper 
place,  I  shall  here  mention  a  few  Acts  which  relate  to  the  cus- 
tody of  the  temporalities  of  a  see  or  abbey  during  vacation ;  the 
election  of  a  successor  and  his  homage ;  viz.  9  Hen.  HI.  c.  33  ;  it. 
51  Hen.  HI.  c.  27,  &c. ;  it.  13  Edw.  I.  c.  41 ;  it.  14  Edw.  III. 
c.  2,  &c. ;   it.  13  Rio.  II.  c.  2,  &c. 

«  See  also  22  Hen.  VIII.  c.  14,  for  the  form  of  abjuring  the  realm. 
"  It  is  uncertain  when,  or  by  whom,  this  statute  was  enacted. 


(     362     ) 

§  III.— TRIAL  BY  ORDEAL,  AND  VARIOUS  OBSOLETE  FORMS. 

CoNciLi^v  Magn^  Brit^^ni^e  et  HiBERNiiE,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  L 

WiLK..  I.  p.  206. — Laws  of  King  Ethelstan,  made  at  Grately  in 
Hampshire,  A.  D.  928. 

Cap.  II.  If  any  one  shall  be  convicted,  by  the  triple  ordeal,  of 
breaking  into  a  church,  let  him  make  compensation  as  the  Doomhook 
decrees. 

Note.  "  The  most  common  ordeals  were  those  with  red-hot  iron  or 
hot  water.  In  the  first,  simple  ordeal  was  can-ying  one  pound  of  hot 
iron ;  twofold  ordeal  was  carrying  two  pounds ;  threefold  ordeal  was 
carrying  three  pounds  the  space  of  nine  feet.  The  simple  ordeal  with 
hot  water  was  taking  a  stone  out  of  boiling  water  hanging  by  a  string 
no  deeper  in  the  vessel  than  that  a  man  might  take  it  out  by  dijjping 
his  hand  as  far  as  the  wrist ;  twofold  ordeal  was  when  a  man  must  dip 
his  hand  half  way  between  the  wi-ist  and  the  elbow;  and  thi-eefold 
ordeal  when  he  must  dip  it  to  the  elbow.  In  Edward  the  Elder's  Laws, 
cap.  IX.,  oaths  and  ordeal  are  forbidden  on  festival  days  and  solemn 
days.'"' 

Cap.  V.  If  a  man  should  engage  (spondet)  to  undergo  the  ordeal 
of  fire  or  water,  let  him  go  three  nights  before  to  the  priest,  who 
ought  to  sanctify  him  ;  and  let  him  feed  him  with  bread,  salt,  water, 
and  herbs ;  let  him  hear  mass  for  three  (successive)  days ;  and  let 
him  offer  and  communicate  at  the  holy  table ;  and  let  him  swear 
that  he  is  innocent  before  he  undergoes  the  ordeal.  And  if  it  be  the 
water  ordeal,  let  the  rope  go  two  ells  and  a  half  below  the  surface ; 
if  it  be  the  judgment  of  iron,  let  three  days  elapse  before  the  hand 
is  undone.  And  let  his  accusers  be  demanded  first  to  give  their 
oaths  ;  and  let  both  parties  be  fasting,  according  to  the  command- 
ment of  God  and  the  archbishop.  And  let  there  not  be  more  than 
twelve  of  either  party :  but  if  the  accused  should  be  attended  by 
a  greater  number,  let  the  ordeal  be  null  and  void,  unless  they  are 
willing  to  depart.  ["  Thits  much  for  the  preparation:  let  us  now 
speak  concerning  the  form.  During  the  ordeal,  let  no  one  enter  the 
church  but  the  priest  and  the  accused,  till  the  fire  has  been  intro- 
duced by  which  the  iron  is  to  be  heated.  If  it  be  the  judgment  of 
water,  let  it  be  made  boiling  hot ;  and  if  it  be  the  triple  accusation, 
let  the  hand  be  immersed  to  the  elbow.  When  the  ordeal  is  pre- 
pared, let  two  men  enter  on  each  side ;  and  let  them  stand  on  each 
side  of  the  judgment  along  the  church ;  and  let  them  all  be  fasting ; 
and  let  them  refrain  from  their  wives  on  that  night ;  and  let  the 
priest  sprinkle  them  all  with  holy  water ;  and  let  them  kiss  the  holy 
gospels  and  the  sign  of  the  cross ;  and  let  not  the  fire  be  lighted 
before  tJie  consecration,  but  let  the  iron  lie  upon  the  coals  till  the  last 
collect ;  and  let  no  one  speak,  unless  {to  pray)  that  God  will  manifest 

*  Johason. 


THE    ORDEAL CANONICAL    PURGATION.  363 

the  truth.  Let  the  accused  drink  holy  water,  and  let  his  hand,  with 
which  he  is  to  carry  the  ordeal,  be  sprinkled  with  it ;  and  so  let  him 
approach.  And  let  nine  measured  feet  be  divided  into  three  equal 
parts.  At  the  first  mark,  let  him  hold  his  right  foot  near  the  pillar ; 
at  the  second,  let  him  transfer  his  right  foot ;  at  the  third  mark,  let 
him  cast  away  the  iron,  and  hasten  to  the  altar,  and  let  his  hand  be 
sealed ;  and  on  the  third  day  let  it  be  examined,  to  see  whether  it 
be  clean  or  unclean  within  the  place  where  it  has  been  sealed :  and 
whosoever  shall  violate  these  rules,  let  the  ordeal  be  annulled,  and  let 
him  forfeit  to  the  king  one  hundred  and  twenty  shillings."  Added 
from  Spelman.^ 

Note.  For  the  oiRce  and  prayers  used  at  ordeal,  see  Glossary  at  the 
end  of  Wilkins'  "  Leffes  Anglo-Saxonicce,  ad  ann.  9  Henrici  III."  voce 
Ordalium.  Also  in  the  "  Textus  Roffensis"  published  by  Hearne ;  and 
at  the  end  of  Brown's  "  Fasciculus  Rerum."  The  fire,  water,  and  iron 
had  many  prayers,  crossings,  and  other  ceremonies  performed  over  them 
by  the  priest. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  300. — Ecclesiastical  Laws  of  King  Canute.  A.  D.  1033. 

Cap.  V.  If  it  happen  that  a  man  shall  accuse  a  priest  who  lives 
regularly  of  crimes  and  want  of  skill,  and  he  is  conscious  of  his  own 
innocence,  let  him,  if  he  dare,  celebrate  mass ;  and  by  taking  the 
holy  eucharist,  let  him  make  his  purgation  singly,  if  he  have  only 
one  accuser.  But  if  it  be  a  triple  accusation,  by  taking  the  housel 
with  two  others  of  the  same  order,  let  him  clear  himself  from  all 
suspicion.  If  any  one  shall  accuse  a  deacon  who  lives  regularly 
with  a  single  accusation,  let  him  take  two  of  the  same  order  as 
himself,  and  make  his  purgation  with  them :  if  he  be  accused  with 
a  triple  accusation,  let  him  take  six  of  the  same  order   (he  himself 

being  the  seventh),  and  so  make  his  purgation If  a  minister  of 

the  altar  shall  be  so  destitute  of  friends,  that,  being  impleaded  for 

crimes,  he  can  procure  no  compurgators,  let  him  eat  bread  devoted 

by  a  curse  (corsnced),  and  let  the  event  be  as  God  shall  determine. 

Note.   The  corsned  was  an  ordeal  by  eating  barley  bread  with  cheese, 

after  several  prayers,  &c.  used  over  it,  the  accused  person  praying  that 

it  might  choke  him  if  he  were  guilty.   See  "  Exorcismus  pants  hordeacei 

et  cassei"   transcribed  from  Textus  Roffensis  in  Brown's  Fascicidus 

Rerum,  vol.  ii.  p.  910.    Earl  Godwin,  the  father  of  king  Harold,  is  said 

to  have  been  choked  to  death,  having  voluntarily  submitted  to  this 

ordeal  at  the  table  of  his  son-in-law,  king  Edward  the  Confessor. 

Matth.  Westm. 

Ibid.  p.  313. — Laws  of  King  Edward  {Confessor),  a.  d.  1052, 
confirmed  by  William  I. 

Cap.  II.  If  a  man  has  been  impeached  for  breaking  into  a  monas- 
tery, and  was  never  accused  in  times  past,  let  him  purge  himself 
with  twelve  lawful  men,  commonly  called  his  "  twelvefold  hand :" 
but  if  he  have  been  before  impeached,  let  him  make  his  purgation 
with  thrice  that  number ;    or  if  he  cannot  procure  them,  let  him  go 


364  WAGEB   OF   BATTLE ABJLRING    THE   REALM. 

to  the  triple  ordeal,  {aut  a  lajuisse  a  treis  diihlcs,)  as  he  ought  {also) 
to  the  triple  oath.  And  if  he  hath  before  been  mulcted  for  theft, 
let  him  go  to  the  water  (ordeal).  And  the  archbishop  shall  have  by 
way  of  forfeiture  forty  shillings ;  a  bishoj)  or  an  earl  twenty ;  a 
baron  ten  shillings ;    and  a  villain  forty  pence. 

Note.  The  words  "  a  la  iuise"  are  by  some  supposed  to  refer  to  the 
Jire  ordeal,  as  it  is  opposed  to  that  by  icater.  The  council  of  Mentz, 
A.D.  847,  can.  24,  enjoins  the  ordeal  by  plowshare  to  suspected  servants; 
but  Pope  Stephen  V.  and  Alexander  II.  absolutely  forbad  it,  and  it  had 
been  long  ago  prohibited  by  several  continental  princes.  The  church 
of  Rome  had  always  discouraged  it.  The  first  prohibition  of  ordeal 
here  in  England  mentioned  by  Sir  Henry  Spclman,  is  in  a  letter  from 
king  Henry  HI.  to  his  justices  itinerant  in  the  north,  in  the  third  year 
of  his  reign ;   yet  this  learned  knight  observes,  that  eight  years  after 

this  he  granted  the  monks  of  Semplinghmn  power  to  administer  it 

Johnson,  from  whose  collection  I  have  taken  the  following,  as  it  was  not 
published  by  "Wilkins. 

Cap.  VII.  If  a  Norman  be  cast  in  a  duel,  let  him  pay  to  the  king 
sixty  shillings ;  and  if  an  Englishman  refuse  to  defend  himself  by 
duel,  let  him  preserve  himself  from  outlawry  by  ordeal. 

Note.  Here  is  the  first  mention  of  trial  hy  single  combat,  which  was 
practised  long  after  the  Conquest.  The  last  trial  by  battle  that  was 
waged  took  place  A.  d.  1571,  in  Tothill  Fields,  Westminster;  but 
a  solemn  tender  of  trial  by  battle  was  made  in  the  court  of  King's 
Bench  so  lately  as  1818,  and  the  court  decided  in  favour  of  the  pri- 
soner's claim  to  trial  by  wager  of  battle.  The  challenge  was  formally 
given  by  throwing  down  a  glove  in  the  court ;  but  for  some  reason  or 
other  the  combat  did  not  take  place,  and  a  bill  was  soon  after  brought 
into  the  House  of  Lords  which  abolished  it  altogether.  The  weapons 
allowed  were  only  batons  or  staves  an  ell  long,  and  square  leathern 
targets.  The  combatants  were  both  fasting,  and  before  the  trial  com- 
menced took  an  oath  against  sorcery.  The  battle  was  to  commence  at 
sunrise,  and  the  combatants  were  bound  to  fight  "  till  the  stars  apjieared 
in  the  evening."  If  the  accused  could  maintain  the  contest  till  that  time, 
he  was  acquitted ;  if  not,  he  was  hanged  directly.  If  on  the  other  hand 
the  accuser  became  recreant,  and  yielded  by  pronouncing  the  word 
"  Craven,"  he  lost  his  station  and  rights  as  a  free  and  lawful  man; 
became  infamous,  and  was  never  afterwards  admitted  to  serve  on 
a  jury,  or  to  be  a  witness." 

FORM   OF   ABJURING   THE    REALM. » 

By  the  ancient  common  law  of  England,  if  a  person  guilty  of 
any  felony  except  sacrilege  took  sanctuary  in  a  chiu'ch,  he  might, 
within  forty  days,  go  clothed  in  sackcloth  before  the  coroner,  and 
take  the  following  oath  :  "  This  hear  you,  Sir  Coroner,  that  I  N.  am 
an  attainted  felon,  and  I  do  therefore  abjure  the  realm  :  and  I  shall 
haste  me  towards  the  port  of  N.  which  you  have  assigned  to  me, 
and  that  I  shall  not  go  out  of  the  highway  leading  thither,  nor 
return  back  again ;  and  if  I  do,  I  will  that  I  be  taken  as  a  felon  of  the 
king.    And  at  N.  I  will  diligently  seek  for  passage ;  and  I  will  tarry 

"  See  Saturday  Magazine,  August  25th,  1832,  p.  68. 
"  From  Burn's  Justice,  iv.  15,  and  Eccl.  Law,  i.  .394. 


BENEFIT  OF  CLERGY — PRESSING  TO  DEATH.        365 

there  but  one  flood  and  ebb,  if  I  can  have  passage :  and  unless  I 
can  have  it  in  such  space,  I  will  go  every  day  into  the  sea  up  to  my 
knees,  assaying  to  pass  over.     So  help  me  God  and  his  doom." 

Benefit  of  Clergy.!'  The  bishop  or  ordinary  of  the  diocese 
might,  if  he  would,  claim  the  convict  as  a  clerk  ;  and  he  was  to  see 
him  tried  in  the  face  of  the  court  whether  he  could  read  or  not. 
The  book  was  prepared  and  brought  by  the  ordinary,  and  the  judge 
was  to  turn  to  such  place  as  he  should  choose.  If  the  prisoner 
could  read,  the  ordinary  pronounced  the  words  "  legit  ut  clericus," 
and  he  was  delivered  over  to  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction :  but  if 
either  the  ordinary  would  not  claim  him,  or  the  prisoner  could  not 
read,  he  underwent  the  penalty  of  the  law.  By  a  favourable 
interpretation  of  the  statute,  in  process  of  time  any  person  who  could 
read,  whether  he  was  in  orders  or  not,  might  claim  the  benefit  of  clergy. 
The  usual  test  of  the  prisoner's  learning  was  the  passage  beginning 
"  Miserere  mei  Deus,"  called  from  that  circumstance  the  neck  verse ; 
and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  it  was  an  indictable  offence  to  teach 
a  person  to  read  for  the  purpose  of  saving  him.^ 

Note.  It  is  very  remarkable,  that  the  act  entitled  "  Benefit  of  Clergy'^ 

should  have  remained  unrepealed  till  within  these  few  years ;  that  the 

Jrivilege  of  sanctuary  should  not  have  been  abolished  till  the  reign  of 
ames  I. ;  and  that  the  barbarous  custom  of  torturing  a  prisoner  in 
order  to  extort  a  confession  of  guilt,  should  have  been  practised  in 
England  at  the  same  period,  if  not  later. 

Nearly  akin  to  the  torture  was  the  sentence,  that  a  prisoner  standing 
mute  and  refusing  to  plead  to  his  indictment  should  be  pressed  to  death, 
a  case  of  which  occurred  as  late  as  the  year  1720.*  On  the  refusal 
of  Spiggot  and  Phillips  to  enter  any  plea,  the  executioner  was  ordered 
to  tie  their  thumbs  together  with  whipcord  till  it  broke,  and  then 
to  double  it  and  do  the  same;  after  which,  as  they  still  continued 
obstinate,  the  following  sentence  was  pronounced :  "  That  the  prisoner 
shall  be  sent  to  the  prison  from  whence  he  came,  and  put  into  a  mean 
room  stopped  from  the  light,  and  shall  there  be  laid  on  the  bare  ground 
without  any  litter,  &c.  and  without  any  garment  about  him.  He  shall  lie 
upon  his  back,  his  head  shall  be  covered  and  his  feet  shall  be  bare. 
One  of  his  arms  shall  be  drawn  with  a  cord  to  one  side  of  the  room,  and 
the  other  arm  to  the  other  side;  and  his  legs  shall  be  served  in  the 
like  manner.  Then  shall  be  laid  upon  his  body  as  much  iron  or  stone 
as  he  can  bare  and  more.  [Spiggot  had  400cwt.  laid  upon  his  breast.] 
And  the  first  day  after,  he  shall  have  three  morsels  of  barley  bread 
without  any  drink ;  and  the  second  day  he  shall  be  allowed  to  drink 
as  much  as  he  can  at  three  times  of  the  water  that  is  next  the  prison 
door,  except  running  water,  without  any  bread ;  and  this  shall  be  his 
diet  till  he  dies."     All  his  goods  were  forfeited  to  the  king. 

y  See  p.  279.  »  Burn's  Eccl   Law,  voce  Benefit  of  Clergy. 

»  Select  Trial?,  vol   i.  p.  16. 


(     3G6     ) 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ON    THE    REAL    OR     REPUTED     HERETICS    "WHO    HAVE     AT    VARIOUS 

TIMES    APPEARED    IN    ENGLAND,     INCLUDING    AN    ACCOUNT 

OP  WICLIF   .VND    THE   LOLLARDS. 


The  introduction  of  the  Arian  and  Pelagian  heresies  into  these 
ishmds,  and  the  articles  of  impeachment  exhibited  against  the 
knights-templars,  will  be  presented  to  the  reader  in  the  course 
of  this  chapter :  he  will,  however,  probably  read  the  extracts  relating 
to  Wiclif  and  the  Lollards  with  much  greater  interest,  since  he 
may  thus  clearly  discern  the  first  rudiments  of  our  English  Refor- 
mation. It  has  been  said  that  "  Wiclif  laid  the  egg  which  Luther 
hatched'"  and  ecclesiastical  history  clearly  testifies  to  the  influence 
of  his  writings,  in  exposing  the  errors  of  popery,  and  preparing  the 
world  for  the  reception  of  a  purer  faith.  The  merits  of  this  extra- 
ordinary man  were  such  as  to  place  him  above  the  reach  of  ealumny, 
and  to  extort  from  his  very  adversaries  a  confession  of  his  worth. 
Roman  Catholic  polemics  have  a  wonderful  readiness  at  detecting 
flaws  in  the  moral  characters  of  the  early  reformers,  but  Wiclif  has 
escaped  altogether :  and  Avith  respect  to  his  abilities,  the  unwilling 
testimony  of  Knighton,  a  zealous  Romanist,  is  exceedingly  satis- 
factory, for  he  thus  speaks  of  our  reformer :  "  Doctor  in  theologiS, 
ominentissimus  in  diebus  illis ;  in  philosophia,  nuUi  reputabatur 
secundus;  in  scholasticis  disciplinis  incomparabilis."''  That  such 
distinguished  talents  were  fully  appreciated  by  his  contempoi'aries, 
may  be  seen  by  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life.  In  the  year  1365,  arch- 
bishop Islepe  appointed  Wiclif  master  of  Canterbury  Hall,  Oxford  ; 
in  1372,  he  was  elected  professor  of  Divinity  for  that  University  ; 
in  1374,  he  was  sent  by  the  Idng  to  Avignon,  where  the  Pope  then 
resided  on  a  mission  of  the  greatest  importance.  In  1375,  he  was 
presented  to  the  living  of  Lutterworth  in  Licestershire ;  and  he  was 
also  appointed  private  chaplain  to  the  king.*^  Wiclif's  talents  as 
a  controversialist  were  first  called  into  exercise  by  the  intolerable 
usurpations  of  the  mendicant  friars.*^     The  extortions  of  the  Pope 

^  Knighton  de  Eventibus  Angliae,  col.  2644,  apud  Le  Bas'  Life  of  Wiclif,  p,  94. 
c  Le  Bas,  Life  of  Wiclif,  London,  1832,  pp.  116,  139,  153,  155,  160,  Note. 
''  See  above,  p.  160  &c.  Note. 


BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  WICLIF — THE  LOLLARDS.       367 

next  aroused  his  indignant  opposition ;  and  in  1381,  he  fearlessly- 
exposed  the  absurdities  of  transubstantiation  from  the  very  professor's 
chair  at  Oxford.^  Yet  this  undaunted  champion  of  the  truth  effectu- 
ally baffled  the  rage  of  his  enemies ;  and,  to  adopt  an  expression  of 
Fuller,  the  "  hare  which  had  been  so  often  hunted  by  so  many  packs 
of  dogs,  died  at  last  quietly  sitting  in  his  form !"  The  unblushing 
profligacy  and  ignorance  of  the  clergy,  who  had  in  consequence  lost 
a  great  part  of  their  influence,  affords  however  an  immediate  so- 
lution of  the  difficulty.  "  In  the  committee  of  eighteen,  to  whom 
Richard  II.'s  last  parliament  delegated  their  whole  power,  tliere 
is  not  the  name  of  one  ecclesiastic  to  be  found,"'  a  neglect  almost  un- 
paralleled during  the  prevalence  of  the  Romish  faith  in  England  : 
and  in  the  reigns  of  Richard's  two  successors,  the  commons  "  proposed 
in  plain  terms  to  the  king  that  he  should  seize  all  the  temporalities 
of  the  church,  and  apply  them  to  the  exigencies  of  the  state.  They 
estimated  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  at  485,000  marks  a-year,  and 
included  18,400  ploughs  of  land,  or  about  one-third  of  the  kingdom. 
They  proposed  to  divide  the  property  among  fifteen  new  earls,  one 
thousand  five  hundred  knights,  six  thousand  esquires,  and  one 
hundred  hospitals;  besides  20,000Z.  a-year  which  the  king  might 
take  for  his  own  use :  and  they  insisted  that  the  clerical  functions 
would  be  better  performed  than  at  present  by  fifteen  thousand 
parish  priests,  at  the  rate  of  vij  marks  apiece  of  yearly  stipend."  s 
When  moreover  it  is  recollected  that  Wiclif  was  supported  by 
Edward  III.,  Joanna  the  widow  of  the  Black  Prince,  John  of 
Gaunt,  and  Anne  the  wife  of  Richard  II., h  we  can  no  longer  feel 
any  surprise  at  his  having  escaped  those  bitter  persecutions  to  which 
his  followers  were  afterwards  exposed :  yet,  forty-four  years  after 
his  death,  by  the  decree  of  the  council  of  Constance,  his  enemies, 
with  an  impotent  malice,  dragged  his  bones  from  the  tomb,  and 
committed  them  to  the  flames ;  and  in  the  year  1400,  Henry  IV.,  to 
conciliate  the  clergy,  enacted  the  detestable  law  "  de  hcereticis  com- 
hurendis,"  by  which  so  many  martyrs  suffered.!  Polydore  Vergil 
proves  from  the  Theodosian  code,  that  heretics  were  punished  with 
stripes,  banishment,  and  death,  as  early  as  the  end  of  the  fourth 
century;  and  he  also  tells  us,  that  about  the  year  1180,  the 
emperor  Frederick  decreed  that  heretics  should  be  burnt.  J  In 
England,  however,  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  legal 
provision  for  the  punishment  of  heretics  previously  to  the  enactment 
of  the  above-mentioned  law ;  for  although  in  the  year  1381  an  in- 
junction was  issued  by  the  king  to  all  sheriffs  to  apprehend  the 
preachers  of  heresy  and  their  abettors,  the  act  was  passed  surrep- 
titiously without  the  consent  of  the  commons,  who  accordingly 
complained  of  the  fraud  in  the  following  session  of  Parliament,  and 

e  Le  Bas,  pp.  64,  104,  123,  248. 

f  Hume's  Hist.  a.d.  1399.  e  Ibid.   a.  d.  1412. 

i>  Le  Bas,  p.  398.  '   Le  Bas,  pp.  316,  &c.  and  411. 

j  De  Invent.  Rerum,  lib.  viii.  c.  4,  p.  654. 


368  PERSECUTION   OF   LOLLARDY— ITS  PREVALENCE. 

obtained  its  repeal.  "  It  is  very  remarkable  (says  Hume)  that,  not- 
withstanding this  vigilance  of  the  coftimons,  the  clergy  had  so  much 
art  and  influence  that  the  repeal  was  suppressed,  and  the  act,  which 
never  had  any  legal  authority,  remains  to  this  day  upon  the  statute- 
hook."  ^  Nor  is  it  less  extraordinary,  that  the  act  "  de  hwreticis  com- 
hurendis"  should  have  survived  the  Reformation  nearly  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years;  the  repeal  having  taken  place  a.d.  1677.  In  the 
reign  of  queen  Mary,  the  fire  of  persecution  raged  so  furiously  that 
two  hundred  and  seventy-seven  jjrotestants  (among  whom  were  five 
bishops  and  twenty-one  priests)  are  said  to  have  suffered  martyr- 
dom :  and  Fox  has  presented  his  countrymen  with  a  most  interesting 
and  graphic  account  of  the  lives  of  these  early  victims  of  intolerance' 
— "  sanguis  martyrum  semen  ecclesice!" 

The  period  at  which  Wiclif  lived  was  exceedingly  favourable  to 
the  cause  of  truth.  A  violent  schism  had  taken  place  in  the  pope- 
dom between  Urban  VI.  and  Clement  VII.;'"  and  the  unsettled 
state  of  affairs  in  England,  added  to  the  unpopularity  of  the  clergy, 
must  have  also  contributed  to  prevent  any  effectual  opposition.  So 
numerous  were  the  followers  of  Wiclif  in  the  reign  of  Richard  II., 
that,  as  Walsingham  tells  us,  almost  every  second  person  casually 
met  in  the  street  was  a  Lollard ;"  and  in  1412,  archbishop  Arundel 
complained  to  the  pope  that  these  principles  had  taken  such  deep 
root  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  that  nearly  the  whole  church  was 
infected  with  heresy." 

In  Chaucer's  Canterbury  Tales,  there  occurs  the  following  valuable 
testimony  to  the  moral  character  of  these  early  protestants.  "  The 
person"  rebukes  the  host  for  swearing  profanely,  and  is  accused  of 
LoUardy  on  that  ground  alone. 

"Our  hoste  upon  his  stirrops  stode  anon. 
And  said,  '  Gc  od  men,  herkeneth  everich  one — 
This  was  a  thrifty  tale  for  the  nones. 
Sir  parish  priest,  quod  he,  for  Goddess  bones 
Tell  us  a  tale,  as  was  thy  forward  yore. 
I  see  well  that  ye  lerned  men  in  lore 
Can  mochel  good,  by  Goddes  dignitee.' 
The  person  him  answered,  '  Benedicite  ! 
'  What  eileth  the  man  so  sinfully  to  swere  ?  ' 
Our  host  answered,  *  O  Jankin,  be  ye  there, 
Now  good  men  (quod  our  host)  herkneth  to  me, 
/  smell  a  Loller  in  the  toind,^  quod  he, 
'  Abideth  for  Goddes  digne  passion, 
For  we  shul  han  a  predication, 
This  Loller  here  wol  prechen  us  somewhat !'  ''P 

To  which  I  shall  add  a  humorous  defence  of  a  priest  who  had 
been  accused  of  heresy  : — 

'*  Esse  Lutheranum  rumor  te  Gaurice  clamat, 
Sed  tuus  Antistes  te  talem  esse  ncgat — 
Tam  scortaris  ait  quam  si  episcopus  esses, 
Et  potas  dubiam  pervigil  usque  diem. 

k  Hume,  ch.  xvii.  a.d.  1399. 

'    Acts  and  Monuments  of  the  Church.  ">  See  here,  p.  54. 

"  Walsingham,  p.  312,  apud  Hume.  o  Wilk.  iii.  350. 

P  Prologue  to  Shipman's  Tale,  edit.  1542. 


WICLIF'S   version    op   the    bible — ARIANI8M.  369 

Nee  memor  es  Christi,  nisi  cum  jurare  libebit, 

Nee  seis  scripturse  vel  breve  jota  sacrae  : 
Netnpe  per  haec  suevit  nunquam  fallentia  signa 

Ille  vigil  sanas  noscere  pastor  oves  !"m 

At  the  same  time  it  cannot  be  denied  that  many  of  the  'Lollards' 
opinions  were  fanatical,  while  others  amounted  to  positive  heresy. 
That  '^  God  must  obey  the  devil;"  that  "evert/  thing  is  God;"  that 
"  dominion  is  founded  upon  grace ;"  and  that  "  brothers  and  sisters 
may  lawfully  intermarry"  were  certainly  among  their  tenets/ 

About  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.  the  Lollards  had  become  a  sect 
politically  dangerous,  and  endeavoured  to  excite  a  rebellion,  under 
the  pretence  that  king  Richard  II.  was  still  alive.' 

The  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  English  language  was  by  far 
the  greatest  benefit  conferred  by  Wiclif  upon  his  countrymen,  as  it 
was,  under  God,  the  means  of  removing  the  scales  from  their  eyes, 
and  preparing  them  for  the  reception  of  a  purer  faith.  Alfred  the 
Great,  iElfric,  Cjedmon,  Rolle  (the  hermit  of  Hampole),  and  others, 
had  long  before  this  translated  parfs  of  the  Bible  into  the  vernacular 
tongue;'  but  Wiclif 's  was,  I  believe,  the  first  complete  version — a 
very  inaccurate  one  it  must  be  confessed,  for  as  he  knew  not 
Hebrew  or  Greek,  he  was  obliged  to  adopt  the  Latin  vulgate  as  his 
basis ;  but  then  the  value  of  the  work  ought  to  be  estimated  not 
by  the  modern  standard  of  Biblical  criticism,  but  by  the  spiritual 
necessities  of  the  people.  Before  Wiclif's  time,  with  a  very  few 
exceptions,  neither  the  laity  nor  clergy  had  any  knowledge  whatever 
of  the  holy  Scriptures ;  and  we  are  even  told  of  a  bishop  who  ex- 
claimed, in  a  most  blissful  state  of  ignorance,  "  Deo  gratias  habeo, 
quid  vel  Vetus  vol  Novum  Testamentum  sit  ignore.  Nihil  ultra 
Missale  et  Portiforium  scio  aut  scire  volo" !" 

On  the  prevalence  of  the  doctrine  of  Berengarius  in  England,  in 
the  11th  century,  see  pp.  191,  200,  &c. 


ON  HERESIES  AND  HERETICS. 

CONCILU  MAGNiE  BRITANNIiE  ET  HlBERNIiE,  EdIT.  WiLKINS,  VoL.  I. 

Spelm.  I.  38.  According  to  Gildas  the  Wise,  from  the  year  of 
grace  315,  throughout  Britain  "a  delightful  unanimity  subsisted 
among  the  members  of  Christ,  the  head  (of  the  body),  until  the 
atrocious  perfidy  of  the  Arians,  like  a  foreign  serpent  vomiting  its 
poison  upon  us,  perniciously  caused  discord  to  arise  among  brethren 
dwelling  in  unity ;  and  thus,  as  it  were,  a  ])ath  being  formed  across 

4  Calviaisme  et  Papistne  mis  en  Paralelle,  vol.  i.  p.  183 

'  Le  Bas,  pp.  343,  348,  &c.  ;  and  see  also  in  this  chapter. 

•  Hume's  Hist.,  a.  d.  1413,  1414,  chap.  xix.  p.  76,  &c. ;  and  Smollett's  Hist. 
V.  209,  &c, 

'  Le  Bas,  p.  220,  &c.     WicliPs  New  Testament  was  published  by  Mr.  Baber 
acme  years  ago.  "  Apud  Crackanthorpii  Defensio  Eccl.  Angl. 

BB 


370  THE    ARIAN    AND   PELAGIAN    HERESIES    IN    BRITAIN. 

the  ocean,  wild  beasts  of  every  description,  brandishing  the  deadly 
poison  of  each  heresy  in  their  horrid  mouths,  inflicted  the  dangerous 
wounds  of  their  teeth  upon  a  country  always  desirous  of  hearing 
some  novelty,  and  receiving  nothing  with  stability." 

Note.  This  being  a  very  confused  passage,  I  subjoin  the  original : 
"Mansit  in  Britannia  Christi  capitis  membrorum  consonantia  suavis, 
donee  Ariana  perfidia  atrox, — seu  anguis  transmarina,  nobis  evomens 
venena,  fratres  in  unum  habitantes  exitiabiliter  faceret  sejungi ;  ac  sic 
quasi  via  facta  trans  oceanum,  omnes  omnino  bestise  feraj,  mortiferum 
cujuslibet  haereseos  virus  horrido  ore  vibrantes,  letalia  dentium  vulnera 
patriae,  novum  semper  aliquid  audire  volenti,  ac  nihil  certe  stabiliter 
obtinenti,  infigebant."» 

WiLK,  CoNCiL.  I.  1.  The  council  of  St.  Alban's,  a.d.  446.  "  In 
the  year  of  grace  446,  the  Pelagian  heresy,  having  been  introduced 
by  Agricola,  Pelagius's  disciple,  polluted  the  faith  of  the  Britons 
with  a  foul  pestilence.  The  Britons,  however,  being  neither  willing 
to  blaspheme  the  grace  of  Christ,  nor  able  by  their  eloquence  to 
expose  the  fallacy  of  this  pernicious  doctrine,  entreated  the  French 
bishops  to  assist  them  in  their  spiritual  warfare.  Accordingly 
Germanus,  bishop  of  Auxere,  and  Lupus,  bishop  of  Troyes,  were 
sent  to  confirm  the  faith  of  the  Britons.  A  synoti  being  therefore 
convened  at  Verulam,  an  immense  multitude  of  people  came  there 
with  their  wives  and  children.  The  Pelagians  were  first  allowed 
to  propose  their  arguments,  after  which  these  venerable  bishops 
poured  forth  such  a  torrent  of  eloquence,  that  the  heretical  opinion 
was  clearly  refuted,  and  the  people  who  were  present  could  scarcely 
be  restrained  from  offering  violence  to  the  Pelagian  party.  All  things 
being  thus  happily  arranged,  the  bishop  returned  with  joy  to  his 
own  country,  proclaiming  the  glory  of  God,  and  of  the  English 
protomartyr  St.  Alban,  to  whom  he  ascribed  the  victory."" 

Ibid.  p.  2.  About  449,  the  Pelagian  heresy  having  again  made 
its  appearance  in  Britain,  St.  Germanus  returned  at  the  request  of 
the  British  bishops,  and  by  his  preaching  healed  the  wounds  which 
the  faith  had  received. 

Ibid,  p.  8.  According  to  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  another  Welsh 
council  was  held  against  the  Pelagians  at  Brevi,  a.d.  519. 

Note.  Pelagius,  who  was  a  Briton,  and  in  his  native  language  called 
Morgan,  taught  that  mankind  stood  not  in  need  either  of  preventing 
grace,  which  disposes  the  heart  to  believe,  or  cooperating  grace,  which 
enables  us  to  persevere  after  we  have  believed.  He  asserted  that 
children  are  born  without  the  stain  of  original  sin ;  that  Adam  alone 
was  punished  for  his  transgression  ;  also  that  he  was  naturally  mortal, 
and  would  have  died  even  if  he  had  never  sinned.  From  the  letter  of 
Pope  John  IV.  to  the  Irish  bishops,^  it  appears  that  the  Pelagian  heresy 
revived  in  Ireland  about  A.  D.  640. 

Ibid.  p.  51.  When  the  Eutychian  heresy  prevailed  in  the  world, 
Pope  Agatho  sent  John,  abbot  of  St.  Martin's,  and  precentor  of  St. 

V  Gild.  Epist.  de  Excid.  Brit.  §  6  et  26.  "  Matth.  Westm. 

"  Wilk.  i.  36. 


THK    "publicans"   COME   TO   ENGLAND.  371 

Peter's  at  Rome,  to  inquire  whether  the  British  church  was  free 
from  the  contagion  of  heresy ;  on  which  occasion  it  was  found  to 
be  perfectly  orthodox.  Moreover,  archbishop  Theodore  convened  a 
council  at  Hatfield,  a.d.  680,  in  which  the  assembled  bishops  declared 
their  approval  of  the  first  five  general  councils,  and  also  of  the 
synod  held  at  Rome  in  the  time  of  Pope  Martin. 

WiLK.  i.  p.  438.  About  1166,  (says  William  of  Newburgh,)  certain 
heretics  came  to  England,  of  the  same  description,  it  is  supposed,  as 
those  who  are  usually  called  publicans;  who,  having  anciently 
originated  in  Gascony,  (although  the  author  of  the  heresy  is  un- 
known,) infused  the  poison  of  their  error  throughout  many  nations. 
For  so  many  are  said  to  have  been  infected  with  this  {moral)  pesti- 
lence in  the  largest  provinces  of  France,  Spain,  Italy,  and  Germany, 
that,  according  to  the  prophet,  they  appeared  to  be  more  in  number 
than  the  sands  of  the  sea.  {Those  heretics^  however,  of  whom  we  are 
speaking)  were  something  more  than  thirty  of  both  sexes,  who, 
dissembling  their  error  that  they  might  propagate  the  plague  of 
heresy,  came  hither  as  it  were  in  a  peaceable  manner ;  having  for 
their  leader  and  instructor  a  man  of  the  name  of  Gerard,  who  alone 
had  some  little  learning,  whilst  aU  the  rest  were  grossly  illiterate 
Germans.  After  having  remained  some  time  in  England,  they 
gained  over  to  their  assembly  one  woman  only,  imposed  upon  by 
their  venomous  insinuations,  or,  as  some  say,  fascinated  by  their 
enchantments.  They  could  not,  however,  long  remain  concealed, 
but  being  found  to  belong  to  a  strange  sect,  they  were  arrested  and 
confined  in  the  public  gaol ;  but  the  king,  being  unwilling  either  to 
dismiss  or  to  punish  them  without  a  hearing,  commanded  a  council 
to  be  assembled  at  Oxford,  where  they  said  that  they  were  christ- 
ians, and  that  they  venerated  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles.  Having 
been  questioned  concerning  the  articles  of  our  holy  faith  ;  concern- 
ing the  true  substance  of  the  heavenly  Physician,  (de  substantid 
superni  medici  recta) ;  also  concerning  those  remedies  wherewith  he 
deigns  to  heal  human  weakness,  i.  e.  the  holy  sacraments ;  they 
spake  perversely,  abhorring  {as  they  did)  holy  baptism,  the  eucha- 
rist,  and  marriage,  and  speaking  contemptuously  of  the  unity  of  the 
Catholic  {church).  ^  Threats  they  ridiculed,  abusing  those  words  of 
our  Lord,  "  Blessed  are  they  who  suffer  persecution  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,"  &c.  Then  the  bishops,  lest  the  heretical  poison  should 
spread  more  widely,  after  publicly  pronouncing  them  heretics, 
delivered  them  over  to  the  Catholic  prince,  that  they  might  endure 
bodily  correction,  who  ordered  the  brand  of  heretical  infamy  to  be 
stamped  upon  their  foreheads,  and  that,  being  scourged  with  rods, 
they  should  be  expelled  the  city,  strictly  prohibiting  any  man  from 
presuming  to  receive  them  into  his  house,  or  to  relieve  them  in  any 
way.  When  the  sentence  was  pronounced,  they  were  led  to  their 
just  punishment  rejoicing,  walking  briskly,  while  their  Master  went 
before  them  and  sung,  "  Blessed  shall  ye  he  when  men  hate  you." 
Moreover   that  detestable   body   of  men,    having   their   foreheads 

BB  2 


372  PERSECUTION — SUBTLETIES   OF   THE  SCHOOLMEN. 

cauterized,  were  subjected  to  just  severity.  Gerard,  as  being  their 
leader,  was  branded  both  upon  the  forehead  and  near  his  beard,  and 
their  clothes  being  cut  oif  as  far  as  the  girdle,  they  were  publicly 
beaten  and  driven  out  of  the  city.  Thus  expelled,  they  soon 
perished  miserably  from  the  severity  of  the  cold,  for  it  was  winter, 
no  one  shewing  them  the  least  degree  of  pity. 


Concilia  Magn^  Britannia,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  II. 

WiLK.  ii.  107.  Letter  of  John  Peckham,  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, to  the  chancellor,  masters,  and  scholars  of  the  University  of 
Oxford,  A.D.  1284,  on  the  subject  of  some  opinions  in  science 
lately  broached  there,  which  he  conceived  to  be  of  an  heretical 
tendency.  "  One  of  these  (saith  he)  we  have  expressly  noted  '  in 
homine  esse  tantummodb  formam  unam;'  from  whence  it  would 
follow,  that  the  body  of  Christ  during  his  lifetime  and  after  his 
death  were  not  one  and  the  same,  and  also  that  no  bodies  of  tlie 
saints  exist  in  the  world,  either  in  the  whole  or  in  its  parts,  the 
same  as  the  mothers  of  the  saints  brought  forth :  for,  without  the 
unity  of  the  substantial  form,  no  substance  can  be  numerically  one." 

Ibid,  p,  123.  Heretical  opinions  condemned  by  archbishop  Peck- 
ham,  A.D.  1286,  which  appear  to  have  been  introduced  by  the  men- 
dicant friars. 

i.    That  the  dead  body  of  Christ  had  no  substantial  form. 

ii.  That  at  his  death  a  new  substantial  form  was  introduced,  and 
a  new  species ;  although  it  was  not  new  by  assumption  or  imion 
with  the  Word.  From  which  it  would  follow,  that  the  Son  of  God 
is  not  only  a  man,  but  of  another  ineffable  species. 

iii.  That  the  bread  {in  the  eucharist)  would  have  been  transub- 
stantiated into  that  new  form  which  was  introduced  at  his  death,  if 
it  had  been  consecrated  three  days  after  his  death, 

iv.  That  now,  i.  e.  after  his  resuri'ection,  the  substance  of  the 
bread  is  converted  into  the  substance  of  Christ's  body,  and  the  form 
of  the  bread  into  the  form  of  his  body,  viz.  into  that  tvhich  is  the 
intellectual  soul. 

v.  That  there  is  a  numerical  identity  between  Christ's  living  and 
dead  body,  by  both  havmg  been  hypostatically  united  to  the  Word. 

vi.  That  the  dead  body  of  every  saint  or  other  man,  before  it 
hath  been  changed  by  putrefaction,  and  resolved  into  air  and  the 
elements,  is  not  numerically  one  with  his  living  body,  except  secun- 
dum quid,  viz.  as  they  have  a  common  substance,  which  are  changed 
into  each  other,  as  flesh  is  transmuted  into  worms. 

vii.  That  he  who  wishes  to  teach  these  things,  is  not  bound  to 
place  confidence  in  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  or  of  Gregory,  or 
Av,gustin,  or  any  other  doctor,  hut  only  in  the  authority  of  the  Bible, 
and  in  necessary  reason. 

viii.  That  there  is  only  one  substantial  form  in  man,  viz.  his 
rational  soul :  from  which  all  the  above  opinions  necessarily  follow. 


ABOMINABLE    PRACTICES   ASCRIBED    TO    THE    TEMPLARS.       373 

WiLK.  ii.  p.  331. — Articles  exhibited  against  the  Knights-templars  in 
England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  a.d.  1309,  in  the  reign  of  King 
Edward  II. 

Art.  i.  That  when  they  are  received  into  the  order,  they  renounce 
Jesus  Christ,  and  sometimes  God,  or  the  blessed  Virgin. 

Art.  v.,  &c.  That  those  who  receive  them,  give  them  to  under- 
stand that  Christ  is  not  the  true  God,  but  a  false  prophet ;  and  that 
he  was  not  crucified  for  our  redemption,  but  for  his  own  crimes. 

Art.  ix.  That  they  have  been  in  the  habit  of  making  those  whom 
they  received  into  the  order  spit  upon  a  cross  or  upon  the  image  of 
Christ ;  though  some  who  were  received  spat  only  near  it. 

Art.  X.  and  xii.  Also,  that  they  have  caused  the  cross  to  be 
trampled  under  foot.  Item,  quod  mingebant  super  ipsam  crucem  in 
die  Veneris  sancta. 

Art.  xiv.    That  they  worshipped  a  cat  in  their  assemblies. 

Art.  xvi.  and  xx.  That  they  believe  not  in  the  sacrament  of  the 
altar ;  also  that  the  priests  of  the  order  pronounce  not  at  the  canon 
of  the  mass  the  words  by  which  Christ's  body  is  made. 

Art.  xxiv.  That  they  believe  that  the  grand-master  of  their  order 
can  absolve  them  from  their  sins. 

Art.  XXX.  Item,  qubd  in  receptione  fratrum  recipiens  et  receptor 
interdum  deosculabantur  se  in  ore,  in  umbilico,  seu  ventre  nudo,  et 
in  ano,  seu  spina  dorsi,  (33).     Et  aliquandb  in  virga  virili. 

Art.  xlii.  Item  quod  fratribus  quos  recipiebant  dicebant  quod 
adinvicem  poterant,  et  debebant,  unus  cum  alio  carnaliter  commisceri. 

Art.  xlvi.  That  the  brethren  in  the  different  provinces  have 
idols,  one  of  which  has  three  faces,  another  one,  and  a  third  a 
human  scull. 

Art.  Ixxiv.  Item,  that  they  are  commanded  not  to  confess  to  any 
(priests),  but  to  the  brethren  of  their  order. 

The  following  are  the  depositions  of  several  of  the  witnesses 
examined  upon  the  occasion,  as  detailed  by  Wilkins,  vol.  ii.  p, 
358,  &c. 

2nd  witness.  John  de  Nassington  deposed,  that  Miles  de  Stapel- 
ton  and  Adam  de  Everingham,  knights,  told  him  that  tliey  had 
been  invited  by  the  grand  preceptor  of  the  city  of  York  to  a 
certain  great  feast,  and  that  many  of  the  said  order  had  assembled 
there  for  a  solemn  festival,  in  which  they  worshipped  a  certain 
heifer. 

3rd  toitness.  John  de  Eure,  knight,  sheriff  of  York,  deposed, 
that  William  de  la  Fenne,  of  the  order  of  the  Temple,  being  invited 
to  his  house,  after  dinner  drew  from  his  bosom  a  certain  book,  and 
handed  it  to  his  wife  to  read ;  she  however  found  in  it  a  certain 
schedule  containing  several  things  which  savoured  of  heretical 
pravity :  to  wit,  that  Christ  was  not  the  Son  of  God,  nor  born  of 
a  virgin,  but  of  the  seed  of  Joseph,  the  husband  of  Mary,  and  con- 
ceived like  other  men :  also  that  Christ  was  not  a  true,  but  a  false 


374   ABOMINABLE  PRACTICES  &C. — THE  ORDER  ABOLISHED. 

prophet,  and  that  he  was  not  crucified  for  the  redemption  of  man- 
kind, but  for  his  own  crimes. 

4th  witness.  William  de  la  Forde,  rector  of  the  church  of  Crof- 
ton,  deposed,  that  Patrick  de  Rippon,  of  the  order  of  the  Temple, 
had  confessed,  that  at  the  time  of  his  initiation  he  was  led,  clothed 
only  in  his  shirt  and  trousers,  through  a  long  passage,  into  a  more 
private  place,  and  commanded  to  swear  that  he  would  never  reveal 
the  things  which  should  be  said  or  done  to  him,  and  that  he  did  so. 
Which  oath  being  completed,  he  was  commanded  to  deny  God  and 
Christ,  whom  he  had  formerly  worshipped,  which  he  did :  a  cruci- 
fix was  then  shewn  to  him,  and  he  was  told  that  as  he  had  before 
honoured  (Christ),  he  should  now  vilify  and  spit  upon  him,  which 
he  did.  Item  dictum  fuit  ei  quod  depositis  braccis  verteret  dorsum 
ad  crucifixum,  quod  lacrymando  fecit.  Afterwards  there  was  shewn 
to  him  the  image  of  a  calf,  and  he  was  told  to  kiss  the  image  and 
worship  it,  which  he  did :  and  afterwards  he  was  led  blindfolded  to 
kiss  each  of  the  brethren,  though  he  knew  not  upon  what  part. 

25th  witness.  Walter  de  Gonaville,  a  knight-templar,  who  thus 
explained  the  denial  of  Christ  and  spitting  on  the  cross,  "  which 
custom  of  the  order  was  introduced  with  the  consent  of  a  certain 
wicked  grand-master,  who  was  in  the  dungeon  of  a  certain  soldan, 
and  could  not  obtain  his  liberty  unless  he  swore  that  he  would  intro- 
duce this  custom  into  our  order,  that  all  who  should  be  received  in 
future  should  deny  Jesus  Christ :  and  this  hath  (since)  been  always 
observed." 

From  witnesses  23,  52,  &c.  it  appears  that  they  murdered  all 
who  refused  to  comply  with  this  custom,  and  also  all  who  had  acci- 
dentally witnessed  their  proceedings. 

From  witnesses  4,  24,  and  69,  it  is  clear,  "  qubd  fratres  ordinis 
Templi  carnaliter  invicem  commiscerentur." 

Ibid.  p.  390,  The  lay  brethren  were  in  the  habit  of  absolving 
the  templars,  without  any  special  confession,  in  these  words  :  "  By 
the  authority  committed  unto  us  by  God  and  the  Pope,  we  remit 
unto  you,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  the  sins  which,  fi-om  a  carnal 
shame,  or  a  fear  of  being  punished  by  the  order,  thou  hast  omitted 
to  confess. 

In  consequence  of  these  crimes  the  order  was  abolished,  their 
possessions  were  forfeited,  and  several  of  the  delinquents  were  con- 
demned to  perpetual  imprisonment.'' 

Ibid.  p.  518,  a.d.  1322,  the  clergy  say  in  their  petition,  "  It  is 
asserted  that  many  of  the  nobility  err  in  the  Catholic  faith,  both  in 
the  article  of  the  resurrection,  and  the  sixth  precept  of  the  Deca- 
logue (against  adultery).  They  fear  not  God,  love  not  their  neigh- 
bour, and  plunder  churches. 

y  Wilk.  ii.  401. 


HERETICAL   OPINIONS    COXDEMNED.  375 

Concilia  Magn^  Bbitannle,  &c.,  Edit.  Wilkins,  Vol.  III. 

WiLK.  in.  75. — Mandate  of  Simon  Langham,  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, condemning,  as  impious  and  heretical,  XXX  Articles 
which  were  at  this  period  maintained  by  several  in  his  province, 
a.  d.  1368. 

Art.  i.  Every  earthly  pilgrim,  whether  an  adult  or  an  infant, 
whether  a  Saracen,  Jew,  or  Pagan,  yea,  even  he  who  dies  in  his 
mother's  womb,  shall  have  a  clear  vision  of  God  before  his  death, 
during  which  vision  he  wUl  have  a  free  choice  {afforded  him)  of 
being  converted  unto  God  or  of  rejecting  him :  and  if  he  then  shall 
choose  to  be  converted  unto  God,  he  will  be  saved ;  if  not,  he  will 
be  damned. 

Art.  ii.  Sin  committed  during  this  clear  vision,  in  consequence 
of  a  perverse  choice,  cannot  be  remedied  or  forgiven,  nor  can  the 
passion  of  Christ  make  satisfaction  for  such  a  person. 

Art.  iii.  An  adult  may  be  saved  by  the  common  {natural  ?)  law, 
without  either  an  active  or  habitual  faith  in  Christ. 

Art.  iv.  The  sacrament  of  baptism  is  not  necessary  to  the  salva- 
tion of  any  who  die  in  their  infancy. 

Art.  vi.  With  respect  to  infants  who  die  after  baptism.  Catholics 
may  doubt  whether  they  are  saved  or  damned. 

Art.  viii.  It  is  not  possible  that  a  person  can  be  damned  for 
original  sin  only. 

Art.  xiii.  For  every  sin  committed  by  believers,  there  is  a  suffi- 
cient remedy  in  nature,  by  which  the  pilgrim  may  return  to  the  state 
from  which  he  hath  fallen  through  sin. 

Art.  xiv.  No  man  can  be  justly  deprived  of  his  heavenly  inherit- 
ance for  sins  committed  without  a  clear  vision  of  God.  (See  Art.  i.) 

Art.  XV.  Nothing  is  or  can  be  evil  merely  because  it  is  prohibited. 

Art.  xviii.  The  Father  is  finite  in  divine  {operations),  the  Son  is 
finite  in  divine  {operations),  and  the  Holy  Spirit  alone  is  infinite. 

Art.  XX.,  xxi.  God  cannot  annihilate  any  thing ;  nor  can  ho 
punish  any  person  immediately,  because  he  cannot  be  a  tormentor. 

Art.  xxiv.,  XXV,,  xxvi.  That  Mary,  the  blessed  mother  of  Christ, 
and  all  the  saints,  are  still  mortal :  also  the  blessed  Virgin,  the  holy 
angels,  and  all  the  saints — Christ  only  excepted — are  still  liable  to 
sin  and  damnation. 

Art.  xxvii.,  xxviii.  That  those  who  are  damned  in  hell,  and  the 
devUs  themselves,  are  still  salvable ;  also  that  they  may  repent  and 
be  {eternally)  happy. 

Art.  xxLx.  That  God,  by  his  almighty  power,  could  not  create 
a  rational  being  impeccable. 

Ibid.  p.  116. — Letter  of  Pope  Gregory  XI.,  against  John  Wycliff, 

A.  D.  1377. 
Ho  begins  by  saying,  that  "  England  had  been  formerly  illustrious 
for  the  purity  of  her  faith,  but  that  now,  alas !  such  was  the  negli- 


376  LETTERS   OF   THE  POPE   AGAINST  WICLIF. 

gence  of  the  clergy,  that  the  enemy  had  succeeded  in  sowing  the 
tares  of  heresy  in  the  land ;  the  effects  of  which  were  felt  even  at 
Rome,  distant  as  it  is,  before  they  were  resisted  in  England :  that 
John  Wycliff,  rector  of  Lutterworth,  professor  of  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures, (would  he  were  not  a  master  of  error,)  has  lately  rushed 
into  such  a  detestable  madness,  that  he  is  not  ashamed  to  assert  and 
preach  publicly  in  England  false,  erroneous,  and  heretical  conclu- 
sions, which  threaten  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  church ;  con- 
clusions which  are  akin  to  the  perverse  opinions  of  Marsilius  de 
Padua,  and  John  de  Ganduno,  of  damnable  memory,  whose  book 
was  reprobated  and  condemned  by  our  predecessor  Pope  John  XXII. 

of  pious  memory Wherefore,  that  so  pernicious  an  evil 

may  be  utterly  extirpated,  we  commission  and  command  your 
brotherhood,  by  virtue  of  this  apostolic  bull,  that  if,  upon  examina- 
tion, you  find  our  information  correct,  you  cause  the  said  John  to 
be  arrested  by  our  authority,  and  cast  into  prison ;  and  that  you 
keep  him  there  in  chains  until  you  receive  other  commands  from 
us ;  that  you  beat  down  all  opposition  by  ecclesiastical  censures, 
and,  if  it  be  necessary,  invoke  the  assistance  of  the  secular  power : 
moreover,  we  command  you  carefully  to  receive  his  confession  with 
respect  to  the  said  conclusions ;  and  that  his  confession,  or  what- 
ever he  may  have  either  said  or  written,  in  the  way  of  induction  or 
probation,  with  respect  to  the  said  conclusions,  together  with  an 
account  of  all  that  you  have  done  in  these  premises,  be  sent  to  us 
by  a  faithful  messenger,  closed  up  with  your  seals,  and  revealed  to 
no  person: 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  117.  Another  letter  of  the  same  Pope,  in  the  same  year, 
expressing  his  apprehension  that  Wiclif  might  have  taken  flight  on 
hearing  that  his  arrest  was  contemplated ;  in  which  case  the  arch- 
bishop and  bishops  were  to  cause  public  proclamation  to  be  made 
in  the  University  of  Oxford,  (in  which  he  had  many  partisans,  and 
was  therefore  likely  to  hear  of  it,)  citing  him  to  appear  in  person 
before  the  Pope,  witlun  three  months  from  the  date  of  the  citation, 
there  to  answer  for  his  conduct. 

Ibid.  p.  118.  Another  letter  of  the  same  Pope,  in  the  same  year, 
relating  to  Wiclif,  in  which  he  says,  "  Wherefore  we  will  and  com- 
mand you  to  take  especial  care  that  our  beloved  son  in  Christ, 
Edward,  king  of  England,  and  our  beloved  sons  the  children  of  the 
said  king,  and  our  beloved  daughter  the  princess  of  Aquitain  and 
Wales,  and  the  other  nobles  of  England,  be  informed  and  instructed 
by  you,  and  others  who  are  skilled  in  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  not 
polluted  with  these  errors,  what  a  disgrace  will  arise  to  the  devoted 
realm  of  England  therefrom ;  and  that  not  only  are  these  conclu- 
sions erroneous  in  faith,  but,  if  they  be  rightly  understood,  threaten 
to  destroy  all  government  and  subordination :  and  charge  them 
strictly,  as  Cafholic  princes,  that,  for  the  reverence  which  they  bear 
to  God  and  the  apostolic  see, — yea,  as  they  value  their  own  merit 
in  the  sight  of  God,  and  honour  in  the  world,  they  use  their  utmost 
endeavours  for  the  extirpation  of  these  monstrous  errors." 


OPINIONS   ASCRIBED   TO   WICLIF.  377 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  123. — Conclusions  of  Master  John  Widif,  a.d.  1377. 

C.  i.  The  whole  human  race  agreeing  together,  without  Christ, 
hath  not  the  power  of  simply  ordaining  that  Peter  and  all  his  suc- 
cessors should  bear  rule  politically  over  the  world. 

C.  ii.  God  could  not  give  to  any  man,  for  himself  and  his  heirs, 
perpetual  civil  dominion. 

C.  iv.  Every  man  who  is  in  a  state  of  grace,  "  gratificie  et  fide- 
liter"  hath  no  longer  any  law,  but  possesses,  in  effect,  all  the  things 
of  God. 

C  vi.  If  there  be  a  God,  temporal  lords  may  lawfully  and  meri- 
toriously take  away  the  goods  of  fortune  from  a  delinquent  church. 

C  vii.  Whether  the  church  be  in  such  a  state  or  not,  it  is  not 
for  me  to  decide ;  it  is  for  temporal  lords  to  examine,  and  when 
the  case  is  made  out,  to  act  with  decision,  and  to  take  away  the 
temporal  {possessions  of  the  church),  on  pain  of  their  own  eternal 
damnation. 

C.  viii.  We  know  it  to  be  impossible  for  the  vicar  of  Christ, 
merely  by  his  bulls,  to  authorize  or  deprive  any  man  (quenquam 
habilitet  vel  inhabilitet), 

C.  ix.  A  man  cannot  be  excommunicated,  unless  he  be  first  and 
principally  excommunicated  by  himself. 

C.  XV.  We  ought  to  believe  that  {the  Pope)  then  only  binds  and 
looses,  when  he  conforms  himself  to  the  law  of  Christ. 

C.  xvi.  This  ought  to  be  universally  {catholice)  believed,  that 
every  priest,  rightly  ordained,  hath  a  sufficient  power  to  administer 
any  of  the  sacraments,  and  consequently  to  absolve  any  one,  who  is 
contrite,  from  any  sin  whatsoever. 

C.  xviii.  Whether  temporal  lords,  or  holy  Popes,  or  the  saints, 
or  the  head  of  the  church,  which  is  Christ,  have  endowed  the  church 
with  her  possessions,  and  excommunicated  all  who  shall  deprive  her 
of  them,  it  may  be,  nevertheless,  lawful  to  despoil  her  of  them  for 
an  adequate  offence, — this  condition  being  implied. 

C.  xix.  An  ecclesiastic,  yea,  the  very  Pope  of  Rome,  may  be 
lawfully  rebuked,  and  even  accused  by  his  subjects  or  by  laymen. 

Ibid.  p.  123.  Citation  to  Wiclif,  to  appear  before  the  archbishop 
in  St.  Paul's  cathedral,  London,  there  to  defend  himself  from  the 
charge  of  heresy,  a.d.  1377.  This  document  takes  notice  of  the 
progress  which  his  opinions  had  already  made  in  England. 

Ibid.  p.  152,  a.d.  1381.  Denunciation  of  archbishop  Sudbury 
against  John  Balle,  a  man  who  usurped  the  office  of  preaching 
without  having  been  properly  ordained,  although  he  pretended  that 
he  was  a  presbyter.  "  Our  predecessor  archbishop  Islep  publicly 
excommunicated  the  said  vagabond  John  Balle,  on  account  of  the 
errors  and  schisms  which  he  disseminated ;  several  of  our  sufl'ragans 
as  well  as  ourselves  have  also  excommunicated  him ;  from  which 
sentences  he  hath  never  obtained,  or  cared  to  obtain,  the  benefit  of 
absolution ;   yet  now,  like  a  fox  which  hath  escaped  the  snares  of 


378  HERETICS   MIGHT   BE   LMPllISONED. 

his  pursuers,  he  comes  into  our  diocese,  preaching,  sometimes  in 
churches  and  churchyards,  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  incumbents, 
and  at  other  times  in  public  markets  and  other  profane  places ; 
gratifying  the  ears  of  the  populace  by  his  scurrilous  abuse.  He  also 
presumes  not  only  to  utter  scandals  against  ourselves  and  the  other 
prelates,  but  even  to  raise  his  voice  against  heaven,  and  speak  evil 
of  the  supreme  pontiff  himself;  with  many  other  errors,  schisms, 
and  dogmas,  which  savour  of  heretical  pravity."  The  letter  con- 
cludes with  a  solemn  denunciation  of  John  Balle  as  an  excom- 
municate person ;  and  the  archbishop  also  warns  the  laity,  on  pain 
of  incurring  the  greater  excommunication,  not  to  attend  his  preach- 
ing, or  countenance  him  in  any  way.  In  the  course  of  the  same 
year,  archbishop  Sudbury  was  murdered  by  Wat  Tyler's  mob, 
beheaded,  and  his  head  publicly  exposed  upon  London  Bridge, 
A.D.  1381. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  156.  Authority  granted  by  king  Richard  II.  to  the 
archbishops  and  bishops  to  arrest  and  imprison  all  who  should 
preach  heresy,  or  maintain  opinions  which  had  been  condemned, 
A.D.  1382. 

Ibid.  p.  157.  In  the  Process  of  archbishop  Courtney  against 
heretics,  a.d.  1382,  the  following  propositions  or  conclusions  of  the 
followers  of  Wielif  were  condemned  as  erroneous  and  heretical. 

I,  2,  3.  That  in  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  the  material  substance 
of  the  bread  and  wine  remains  after  consecration ;  that  the  accidents 
do  not  remain  without  their  subject ;  and  that  Christ  is  not  really 
and  corporeally  present  in  this  sacrament. 

4.  That  if  a  bishop  or  priest  be  in  mortal  sin,  he  cannot  validly 
ordain,  consecrate,  or  baptize. 

5.  That  if  a  man  be  truly  penitent,  all  outward  confession  is 
superfluous  or  useless. 

6.  There  is  no  proof  in  the  gospel  that  Christ  instituted  the  mass. 

7.  Item,  that  God  is  bound  to  obey  the  devil. 

8.  That  if  the  Pope  be  a  reprobate  and  wicked  man,  and  con- 
sequently a  member  of  the  devil,  he  hath  no  power  over  believers  in 
Christ  granted  to  him  by  any  person,  unless  perhaps  by  Caesar. 

9.  That  after  the  death  of  Urban  VI.  {the  present  Pope)  no 
person  is  to  be  acknowleged  as  Pope,  but  that  we  ought  to  live  as 
the  Greeks  do,  and  be  governed  by  our  own  laws. 

10.  That  it  is  contrary  to  the  holy  Scriptures  for  churchmen  to 
have  temporal  possessions. 

IF  The  following  Opinions  are  erroneous,  though  not  absolutely 
heretical. 

II,  12,  13.  That  if  a  prelate  excommunicate  any  man  without 
first  knowing  him  to  be  excommunicated  by  God,  he  is  himself 
a  heretic  and  an  excommunicate :  and  that  if  he  excommunicate 
a  clerk  who  hath  appealed  to  the  king  and  the  council  of  the  king- 
dom, he  is  a  traitor  to  God,  the  king,  and  the  kingdom. 


THE   archbishop's   PROCESS   AGAINST    THE   LOLLARDS.        379 

14.  That  those  who  neglect  to  hear  the  gospel  preached  on 
account  of  the  excommunication  of  man,  are  excommunicated,  and 
in  the  day  of  judgment  will  be  esteemed  traitors  against  God. 

15.  That  any  person,  even  a  deacon  or  a  priest,  may  preach  the 
word  of  God  without  the  authority  of  either  the  apostolic  see  or 
a  catholic  bishop. 

16.  That  no  person  can  be  either  a  temporal  lord,  a  bishop,  or 
prelate,  while  he  is  in  a  state  of  mortal  sin. 

17.  That  temporal  lords  may,  at  their  discretion,  take  away  the 
property  of  ecclesiastics  who  are  habitually  delinquent :  and  that 
the  populace  may,  at  their  discretion,  correct  their  rulers  when  they 
misconduct  themselves. 

18.  That  tithes  are  pure  alms,  which  the  parishioners  may  with- 
hold on  account  of  the  wickedness  of  their  curates,  or  confer  them 
upon  others  if  they  think  fit. 

19.  That  special  prayers  applied  to  one  individual  by  the  clergy 
do  not  profit  that  person  a  whit  more  than  the  general  prayers  (of 
the  church.) 

20.  That  immediately  when  a  person  enters  a  private  monastery 
{religionem),  he  is  rendered  less  able  to  obey  the  commands  of  God. 

21.  That  the  saints  who  instituted  private  religions,  sinned  in  so 
doing. 

22.  That  the  religious  who  live  in  private  religions  do  not  belong 
to  the  christian  religion. 

23.  That  friars  (fratres)  are  bound  to  seek  a  livelihood  by  the 
labour  of  their  hands,  and  not  by  begging. 

24.  That  those  who  confer  alms  upon  the  friars'  preachers,  and 
those  who  receive  them,  are  both  excommunicate. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  158. — Process  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  against 
heretics,  A.  D.  1382. 

He  states  in  the  commencement,  that  several  unordained  persons 
had  usurped  the  office  of  preaching,  and  had  propagated  the  most 
pernicious  heresies;  he  therefore  had  assembled  many  doctors  of 
divinity,  professors  of  canon  and  civil  law,  and  sucli  of  the  clergy 
of  his  province  as  were  most  celebrated  for  their  learning,  and 
invited  them  to  state  their  sentiments  with  respect  to  the  conclusions 
or  propositions  which  were  thus  maintained ;  and  tliey  unanimously 
pronounced  them  heretical  and  repugnant  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
church.  Afterwards,  on  the  20th  day  of  June  in  the  same  year, 
Nicholas  Hereford,  and  Philip  Reppyngdon,  canon  regular,  profes- 
sors of  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  John  Asshton,  Master  of  Arts  and 
Scholar  of  Theology,  personally  appeared  before  the  archbishop  and 
many  doctors  of  divinity,  &c.,  to  free  themselves  from  the  charge  of 
heresy.  The  articles  or  conclusions  to  which  they  were  expected  to 
reply  are  the  same  as  those  published  in  the  last  extract ;  and  they 
began  by  protesting  that  they  were  obedient  sons  of  the  church ; 


380  FIDES   CARBONARIA,    OR   IMPLICIT   FAITU. 

that  they  were  ready  to  obey  her  decrees  in  all  respects ;  and  that 
if  they  erred  in  any  particular,  they  humbly  submitted  themselves 
to  the  correction  of  the  archbishop.  After  having  answered  all  the 
propositions  seriatim,  they  solemnly  protested  that  they  had  never 
maintained  such  opinions,  either  in  the  schools  or  in  their  sermons. 
Their  answers  were  not  however  considered  satisfactory. 

The  reply  to  the  1st,  2nd,  and  3rd  articles  {on  the  transubstan- 
tiation  of  the  bread)  was  so  evasive  that  they  were  required  -to  explain 
themselves  more  fully,  which  they  refused  to  do,  saying  that  they 
were  unable  to  give  a  better  answer. 

Being  asked  whether  God  owed  any  degree  of  obedience  to  the 
devil,  they  answered.  Yea,  the  obedience  of  charity ;  because  he 
loveth  him  and  punisheth  him,  as  he  is  bound  to  do. 

They  refused  absolutely  to  answer  whether  they  thought  it  lawful 
for  friars  to  seek  their  livelihood  by  begging ;  on  which  the  arch- 
bishop solemnly  warned  them,  that  if  they  still  refused  to  give 
satisfactory  replies,  they  should  be  considered  as  having  pleaded 
guilty  to  the  charges  brought  against  them :  and  they  were  allowed 
eight  days  for  consideration. 

On  the  27th  day  of  June,  when  the  inquiry  was  resumed,  John 
Asshton,  being  warned  to  make  answer  in  Latin,  on  account  of  the 
laity  who  were  present,  gave  utterance  in  a  loud  voice  to  many 
frivolous  and  abusive  expressions,  with  a  view,  as  it  appeared,  to 
excite  the  populace  against  the  archbishop,  speaking  in  the  English 
tongue ;  nor  would  he  answer  pertinently  to  the  first  conclusion, 
but  made  use  of  subterfuges,  saying  frequently  and  expressly,  as 
a  layman  would,  that  it  was  sufficient  for  him  to  believe  what  the 
church  believes.  On  being  asked,  whether  after  consecration  the 
material  bread  remained  particular  or  universal,  he  said  that  it  was 
a  thing  above  his  reason,  refusing  to  give  any  other  answer ;  and 
when  he  was  further  pressed  upon  the  subject,  he  ridiculed  the 
archbishop,  saying,  "  Put  that  word  material  in  your  purse,  if  you 
have  one." 

All  this  happened  on  Wednesday,  June  27,  and  the  archbishop 
adjourned  the  inquiry  (continuavit)  till  the  following  Tuesday ;  but 
they  none  of  them  appeared,  on  which  he  pronounced  them  con- 
tumacious, and  excommunicated  them :  and  note  that  he  calls  him- 
self "  Inquisitor  hcereticw  pravitatis." 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  166.  Royal  brief  directed  to  the  chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Oxford,  a.d.  1382,  commanding  him  to  institute  an 
inquiry  respecting  reputed  heretics ;  and  they,  as  well  as  all  those 
who  should  presume  to  receive  John  Wycliff,  or  any  of  his  partisans, 
into  their  houses,  or  to  shew  them  any  favour  or  countenance,  were 
to  be  banished  and  expelled  from  the  university  and  city  of  Oxford 
within  seven  days.  All  books  which  had  been  written  by  Wycliff, 
Hereford,  &c.,  were  to  be  sealed  up  and  sent  to  the  archbishop. 

Ibid.  p.  168,  &c.,  a.d.  1382.  The  archbishop  restored  Ivawrence 
Bedeman,  Philip  Reppyngdon,  and  John  Asshton,  to  scholastic  acts 


UNDAUNTED    BEARING    OF   JOHX   WICLIF.  381 

in  the  University  of  Oxford,  from  which  they  had  been  suspended 
on  account  of  the  suspicion  of  heresy. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  170. — Process  of  the  Chancellor  of  Oxford  against 
hectics,  A.D.  1382. 

William  de  Berton,  chancellor  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  &c. 
We  have  heard  with  grief  that  some,  filled  with  the  inspiration  of 
the  evil  spirit,  with  a  design  to  rend  the  tunic  of  our  Lord,  i.  e.  to 
produce  a  schism  in  his  church,  have  renewed  certain  heresies, 
anciently  and  solemnly  condemned  hy  the  church,  asserting,  amongst 
other  pestiferous  dogmas,  that  in  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  the 
substance  of  the  bread  and  wine  remains  after  consecration ;  and 
that  Christ  is  not  really  and  corporeally  present  therein,  but  only 
figuratively  and  tropically.  We  therefore  convened  many  doctors 
of  divinity,  and  professors  of  canon  and  civil  law,  and  having 
solemnly  and  unanimously  condemned  the  said  opinions,  the  said 
condemnation  was  published  in  the  schools  of  the  Augustinians, 
while  John  {Wycliff)  himself  occupied  the  professor's  chair  and 
determined  to  the  contrary.  When  he  heard  this  condemnation  he 
was  confused,  yet  nevertheless  said,  that  neither  the  chancellor  nor 
any  of  his  accomplices  could  change  his  opinion,  shewing  himself 
therein  to  be  an  obstinate  heretic :  and  afterwards — which  further 
proves  his  heresy  and  contumacy — he  appealed  from  the  above 
condemnation  of  the  chancellor,  not  to  the  Pope,  or  to  a  bishop,  or 
to  his  ecclesiastical  ordinary ;  but  putting  his  trust,  like  a  heretic  as 
he  is,  in  the  secular  power  for  the  defence  of  his  error  and  heresy, 
he  appealed  to  king  Richard ;  that  so  he  might  be  protected  by  the 
regal  authority  from  the  punishment  threatened  by  the  ecclesiastical 
power.  After  the  appeal,  there  came  to  Oxford  the  illustrious  duke 
of  Lancaster,  and  forbad  the  said  John  to  speak  any  more  upon  this 
subject ;  but  he  nevertheless  immediately  afterwards  published  a 
confession,  containing  all  his  heresies,  though  much  disguised  by  his 
mode  of  expressing  himself. 

Ibid.  p.  171.  Letter  from  twelve  judges  of  the  University  of 
Oxford  to  the  synod  of  the  clergy  of  Canterbury,  concerning  the 
books  of  John  Wycliff,  a.d.  1382.  They  complain  that  he  had 
imitated  Arius  and  other  heretics  in  having  recourse  to  the  civil 
power ;  that,  adhering  to  the  naked  letter,  he  gloried  in  departing 
from  the  spiritual  interpretations  of  the  fathers ;  and  that  he  had 
already  sown  so  many  tares  in  the  Lord's  harvest,  and  had  infected 
such  multitudes  with  his  heresy,  that  nothing  but  the  most  vigorous 
measures  would  suffice  to  remedy  the  evil. 

Ibid.  p.  176.  Mandate  of  the  archbishop  that  prayer  should  be 
offered  up  on  behalf  of  the  bishop  of  Norwich,  who  was  going  to 
head  a  kind  of  crusade  against  the  rebellious  and  heretical  cardinals. 
A.D.  1383. 

Ibid.  p.  183.  Monition  of  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a.d. 
1383,  against  any  who  should  presume  to  teach  the  condemned 
propositions  in  their  sermon. 


382  VARIOUS    HERESIES    CONDEMNED. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  202.  Mandate  of  the  bishop  of  Worcester,  A.  D.  1387, 
prohibiting  the  Lollards  from  preaching  in  his  diocese,  in  which  he 
says :  "  With  much  clamour  have  the  cliildren  of  antichrist  (doomed 
to  everlasting  damnation),  and  the  followers  of  Mahomet,  through 
the  instigation  of  the  devil,  conspired  and  confederated  themselves 
together  in  an  unlawful  assembly,  under  the  denomination  of  Lollards ; 
and  masters  Nicholas  Hereford,  John  Asshton,  John  Perney,  &c. 
led  as  it  were  by  a  certain  frenzy,  and  mindless  of  their  own 
salvation,  under  the  cloke  of  piety,  having  poison  under  their  lips, 
but  a  honied  mouth,  have  sown  tares  instead  of  wheat  in  the  field  of 
the  Lord." 

Ibid.  p.  204.  Royal  mandate  to  the  mayor  and  bailiffs  of  the 
city  of  Nottingham,  that  all  the  works  of  Wycliff  or  any  of  his 
followers  found  there  should  be  immediately  transmitted  to  the 
privy  council ;  and  that  no  person  should  presume  to  buy  or 
sell  any  of  the  said  books,  on  pain  of  imprisonment  and  forfeiture. 
A.D.  1387. 

Ibid.  p.  208. — Opinions  of  the  Lollards  condemned  at  Leicester, 
A.D.  1389. 

That  in  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  after  the  words  of  conse- 
cration, the  body  of  Christ  remains  together  with  the  substance  of 
the  bread. 

That  tithes  ought  not  to  be  paid  to  rectors  or  vicars  while  they 
are  in  a  state  of  mortal  sin. 

That  images  or  crosses  ought  not  to  be  worshipped  in  any  way, 
or  candles  to  be  burned  before  them. 

That  masses  and  matins  ought  not  to  be  celebrated  in  the  church 
with  a  loud  voice. 

That  a  presbyter  who  is  guilty  of  any  unrepented  sin  cannot 
consecrate,  hear  confessions,  or  administer  any  sacraments. 

That  the  Pope  or  bishops  cannot  excommunicate  any  man,  unless 
they  first  know  that  he  has  been  already  excommunicated  by  God ; 
and  that  they  cannot  grant  indulgences. 

That  every  layman  may  preach  and  teach  the  gospel  everywhere. 

That  it  is  a  sin  to  give  anything  to  friars. 

That  oblations  ought  not  to  be  made  at  the  obsequies  of  the  dead. 

That  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  confession  to  a  priest ;  and  that 
every  pious  man,  although  he  be  ignorant  of  letters,  is  a  priest. 

All  these  heresies  have  been  publicly  and  notoriously  taught  in 
the  city  of  Leicester  and  the  neighbouring  towns,  to  the  utter 
subversion  of  the  Catholic  faith :  and  that  the  said  Lollards,  as  they 
are  vulgarly  called,  by  being  put  to  the  blush,  might  be  the  more 
inclined  to  desire  the  favour  of  reconciliation,  the  said  archbishop 
placed  the  city  of  Leicester,  and  all  the  churches  therein,  under  an 
ecclesiastical  interdict,  while  the  said  Lollards  are  in  them,  or  in  any 
of  them. 

Ibid.  p.  210.  Mandate  of  the  archbishop  to  arrest  and  imprison 
some  of  the  Lollards,  a.  d.  1389. 


ARTICLES  SENT  BY  THE  LOLLARDS  TO  PARLIAMENT.     383 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  211.  Mandate  of  the  archbishop  to  the  dean  of  Leices- 
ter, to  reconcile  to  the  church  William  Smyth,  Roger  Dexter,  and  Alice 
Dexter,  who  had  renounced  Lollardy  and  abjured  all  their  heresies. 
On  the  first  Sunday  after  their  return,  and  before  the  procession  in 
the  collegiate  church  of  St.  Mary's,  Leicester,  they  were  to  come 
thither,  the  men  clothed  only  in  their  shirts  and  breeches  (braccis), 
and  the  woman  in  her  shift,  with  bare  heads  and  feet.  WiUiam 
Smyth  was  to  carry  in  his  right  hand  an  image  of  St.  Catharine,  and 
Roger  and  Ahce  Dexter  each  a  crucifix :  in  their  left  hands  they 
were  each  to  carry  a  wax  candle  of  half-a-pound  weight.  Before 
the  procession  began  they  were  ordered  to  make  three  genuflections 
before  the  images  which  they  held  in  their  hands,  and  having  kissed 
them  devoutly,  to  go  with  the  procession  into  the  church,  where 
they  were  to  stand  with  the  said  images  and  candles  during  the 
celebration  of  high  mass,  after  which  they  were  to  offer  an  oblation 
to  the  celebrating  priest.  The  first  part  of  this  mummery  was  also 
to  be  repeated  on  the  following  Saturday  in  the  public  market- 
place, A.  D.  1389. 

Ibid.  p.  220. — Constitution  of  Archbishop  Courtney/,  a.d.  1393. 

We  also  hear,  that  the  parishioners  of  nine  or  ten  churches, 
situate  near  to  each  other,  and  living  under  our  special  protection, 
separating  themselves,  as  it  were,  from  the  sheep,  and  joining  them- 
selves to  the  goats,  like  heathens  and  publicans,  wiU  not  allow  the 
water-bearers  to  bring  for  their  use  holy  water,  which  is  the  armour 
of  christians,  by  which  they  may  escape  the  fraud  and  deceit  of 
devils  and  unclean  spirits,  and  which,  by  a  laudable  custom,  hath 
been  hitherto  carried  throughout  the  entire  of  England  by  the 
water-bearing  clerks  (clericos  aqucBhajulos),  with  the  permission  of 
the  parochial  clergy,  and  at  the  expense  of  the  parishioners ;  which 
water  is  indeed  of  such  virtue,  that  the  Lord  pardons  venial  sins  by 
this  sprinkling,  and  exhibits  to  believers  innumerable  other  miracles. 
To  remedy  which  malice,  we  strictly  enjoin  the  said  parishioners 
that,  within  seven  weeks  from  the  date  hereof,  they  provide  honest 
and  competent  water-bearers,  to  be  maintained  at  the  expense  of  the 
parish,  and  approved  by  their  rectors,  on  pain  of  excommunication 
and  interdict. 

Ibid.  p.  221. — Condmions  of  the  Lollards,  presented  to  Parliament, 

a.  d.  1394. 

1.  That  when  the  church  of  England  began  to  rave  after  tempo- 
ralities, following  the  example  of  her  stepmother  the  clmrch  of 
Rome,  and  as  soon  as  churches  were  established  by  appropriations, 
faith,  hope,  and  charity  began  to  disappear  in  England ;  since  pride, 
with  her  gloomy  genealogy  of  mortal  sins,  usurped  their  place. 

2.  That  our  modern  priesthood,  which  took  its  rise  in  Rome, 
feigning  a  power  more  exalted  than  that  of  angels,  is  not  that  priest- 
hood which  Christ  appointed ;  because  the  said  Romish  priesthood 


384  ARTICLES   SENT   BY   THE   LOLLARDS   TO    PARLUMENT. 

is  conferred  with  various  ceremonies,  rites,  and  pontifical  benedic- 
tions, which  are  but  of  little  virtue,  and  for  which  there  is  no  autho- 
rity in  the  Bible.  The  corollary  of  this  is,  that  it  is  a  melancholy 
interlude  for  sensible  men  to  see  bishops  playing  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  collation  of  orders. 

3.  That  the  law  of  priestly  celibacy,  which  was  originally  ordained 
to  the  prejudice  of  the  female  sex,  has  introduced  unnatural  crimes 
into  the  holy  church :  for  the  delicate  living  of  the  clergy  must 
have  either  its  natural  purgation,  or  one  contrary  to  nature. 

4.  That  the  lying  miracle  of  the  sacramental  bread  leads  almost 
all  men  to  idolatry,  for  they  believe  the  host  to  be  the  body  of 
Christ,  which  never  leaves  heaven.  The  bread  of  the  altar  is, 
however,  the  body  of  Christ  {ordy)  habitually,  as  the  evangelical 
doctor  says  in  his  Trialogue;  and  we  believe  that,  by  the  law  of 
God,  any  faithful  man  or  woman  might  consecrate  this  sacrament 
of  the  bread  Avithout  any  such  miracle. 

5.  That  benedictions  made  over  water,  salt,  oil,  pilgrim's  staves, 
&c.,  are  more  like  the  practices  of  sorcerers  than  divines ;  and  that 
if  the  exorcism  of  holy  w^ater,  which  is  read  in  the  church,  were 
true,  it  would  be  an  excellent  medicine  for  sores  {sorys)  oi  all 
descriptions,  which  is  quite  contrary  to  experience. 

6.  That  the  union  between  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  power  is 
unnatural  and  monstrous,  like  a  hermaphrodite. 

7.  That  as  prayer  proceeding  from  perfect  charity  excepts  no 
person,  the  bequest  of  temporal  possessions  to  priests  or  religious 
houses  on  condition  of  their  offering  up  prayers  for  the  founder,  is 
little  better  than  simony,  and  cannot  but  displease  God ;  especially 
as  many  of  the  persons  thus  prayed  for  are  condemned  to  eternal 
damnation.  Also  it  hath  been  proved  that  a  hundred  alms-houses 
would  be  sufficient  for  the  whole  kingdom. 

8.  That  pilgrimages,  prayers,  and  oblations  made  to  blind  cru- 
cifixes or  roods  {rodys)  are  nearly  akin  to  idolatry ;  and  that  the 
usual  picture  of  the  Trinity  is  very  abominable.  Also,  that  if  the 
nails  and  the  lance  (used  in  the  passion)  were  deserving  of  such 
high  honour,  the  lips  of  Judas,  if  they  could  be  procured,  would  be 
an  excellent  relic. 

9.  That  auricular  confession,  which  is  said  to  be  so  necessary  to 
salvation,  together  with  the  pretended  power  of  absolution,  aug- 
ments the  pride  of  the  priesthood,  and  gives  them  an  opportunity 
for  secret  conversation  of  a  nature  which  we  are  unwilling  to 
describe ;  for  both  gentlemen  and  ladies  bear  witness  that,  from 
a  dread  of  their  confessors,  they  dare  not  tell  the  truth ;  aijd  the 
time  of  confession  affords  them  an  opportunity  for  making  love, 
i.  e.  for  wooing  (wowying).  Pretending  to  have  the  keys  of  heaven 
and  hell,  these  persons  will  undertake  to  grant  the  blessing  of  heaven, 
regularly  engrossed  and  sealed,  for  twelve  pence.  The  corollary  is, 
that  the  Pope,  whom  they  feign  to  be  the  (lord)  high  treasurer  of 
the  church,  having  in  his  custody  that  excellent  jewel  the  passion 


PUBLIC  RENUKCIATION  OF  LOLLARDY.  385 

of  Christ,  together  with  the  merits  of  all  the  saints  in  glory,  which 
enables  him  to  grant  indulgences  both  from  sin  and  punishment, 
must  have  very  little  charity,  because  he  might,  if  he  pleased,  libe- 
rate all  who  are  imprisoned  in  hell  so  effectually,  that  they  should 
never  return  thither/ 

10.  That  homicide  in  war  is  expressly  contrary  to  the  New 
Testament,  which  teaches  us  to  love  our  enemies,  and  not  to  slay 
them  ;  and  when  men  are  fighting,  after  the  first  blow  the  bond  of 
charity  is  broken  :  and  we  know,  that  he  who  dies  without  charity 
goes  the  direct  road  to  hell. 

11.  That  the  vow  of  chastity  made  by  frail  women,  has  caused 
the  introduction  of  the  most  execrable  crimes  which  are  possible  to 
human  nature ;  for  although  the  murder  of  infants  before  they  are 
baptized,  and  abortion  procured  by  medicine,  are  disgraceful  crimes, 
— tamen  communicatio  cum  seipsis,  vel  irrationalibus  bestiis,  vel 
creaturi  non  habente  vitam,  tali  transcendit  indignitate  ut  puniatur 
poenis  inferni. 

12.  Relates  to  the  absurd  mode  of  dressing  at  this  period,  "  In 

waste  curiositate  et  inter  disguising." And  although  these 

matters  are  here  briefly  noted  down,  they  are  more  fully  treated  of 
in  a  book  written  in  our  own  language. 

IT   Then  follow  these  Leonine  verses. 

"  Plangunt  Anglorum,  gentes  crimen  Sodomorum  ^ 

Paulus  fert  horum,  sunt  idola  causa  malorum 
Surgunt  ingrati,  giezitee  Simone  nati 
Nomine  praelati,  hoc  defensare  parati 
Qui  reges  estis,  populis  quicunque  prseestis 
Qualiter  his  gestis,  gladio  prohibere  potestis." 

WiLK..  iii.  p.  225. — The  oath  administered  to  those  who  renounced 
LoUardy,  a.d.  1396. 

I,  William  Dynot,  before  yow  worshipfull  fader  and  lord  arch- 
bbhop  of  Yhork  and  your  clergie,  with  my  fre  wiU  and  full  avysed, 
swere  to  God  and  to  all  his  seyntes,  upon  this  holy  gospel,  that  fro 
this  day  forth  ward  I  shall  worship  ymages  with  praying  and  ofFer- 
yng  to  them  in  the  worschop  of  the  seintes  :  and  also  I  shall  never 
moe  despise  pylgremage,  ne  states  of  holy  chyrche  in  no  degre. 
And  also  I  shall  be  buxum  to  the  lawes  of  holy  chirche,  and  to 
yhowe  as  mine  archbishop.  And  also  I  shall  never  more  defend, 
ne  meyntein,  ne  techen  errors,  ne  swych  techings  that  men  clopith 
Lollards  doctrin.  And  if  I  knowe  ony  Lollards,  I  shall,  with  all  the 
haste  that  I  maye,  do  yhowe  or  els  your  ner  officers  to  wyten,  and 

of  ther  bokes And  if  it  be  so  that  I  do  agayn  this  othe, 

or  ony  party  thereof,  I  yelde  me  here  cowpable  as  an  hereticke, 
to  be  punyshed  by  the  lawe,  and  to  forfeit  al  my  godes  to  the 
kinges  will. 

«-Seep.  326,  &c. 

cc 


386  DOCTRINES    ASCRIBED    TO    WICLIF,    &C. 

WiLK.  iii.  p,  229. — Conchisions  of  John  Wydiff,  of  damnable  memory, 

A.D.  1396. 

2.  That  as  John  the  Baptist  was  figuratively,  and  not  personally, 
Elias,  so  the  bread  is  figuratively  the  body  of  Christ. 

3.  That  in  the  chapter  beginning  " Ego  Beretigarms"  the  court 
of  Rome  decided  the  eucharist  to  be  naturally  true  bread. 

4.  That  it  is  presumptuous  and  absurd  to  say,  that  infants  dying 
without  baptism  will  not  be  saved. 

5.  That  the  administering  of  the  sacrament  of  confirmation  is  not 
reserved  to  bishops. 

6.  That  at  the  time  of  Paul,  two  orders  of  the  clergy  Avere 
sufficient,  viz.  priests  and  deacons ;  nor  was  there  then  any  distinc- 
tion of  popes,  patriarchs,  archbishops,  and  bishops. 

8.  That  causes  of  divorce,  founded  upon  consanguinity  or  affinity, 
are  entirely  of  human  appointment. 

10.  That  popes,  cardinals,  archbishops,  bishops,  archdeacons, 
&c.,  are  the  proctors  of  antichrist. 

12.  That  there  is  no  greater  heretic  or  antichrist  than  the  clerk 
who  teaches  that  it  is  lawful  to  endow  priests,  under  the  new  law, 
with  temporal  possessions. 

16.  That  since  the  justice  of  the  ruler  is  essential  to  a  true 
secular  dominion,  no  person  who  is  in  a  state  of  mortal  sin  can  be 
the  lord  of  any  thing. 

I'T.    That  all  tilings  which  happen  absolutely,  happen  necessarily. 

Ibid.  p.  248. — Conclusions  renounced  hy  John  Becket,  a  converted 
Lollard,  a.d.  1400. 

That  subjects  are  not  bound  to  obey  kings  or  other  secular 
princes,  while  they  are  in  a  state  of  mortal  sin. 

That  the  act  of  the  flesh  {actus  cai'nalis  sive  coitus)  is  lawful  and 
permitted,  and  may  be  exercised  without  any  peril  to  the  soul  or 
sin,  even  where  no  matrimony  has  been  contracted  according  to  the 
rites  of  the  church. 

That  dtilia  or  other  reverence  ought  not  to  be  paid  to  the  cross, 
&c. 

That,  according  to  the  law  of  God,  presbyters,  and  others  in  holy 
orders,  may  marry  without  either  danger  or  sin. 

That  it  is  lawful,  and  even  meritorious,  for  religious  persons, 
of  whatever  sex  or  order,  to  desert  their  order,  and  return  to  the 
-world  and  marry. 

He  also  taught  boys,  that  there  was  no  sin  in  their  eating  flesh  on 
a  Saturday. 

Ibid.  p.  249. — Article  renounced  among  others  by  John  Seynon, 
A.D.  1400. 

That  the  sacrament  of  the  altar  is  merely  sacramental  bread  with- 
out life,  and  that  it  was  instituted  only  as  a  memorial  of  Christ's 
passion. 


THE  ACT  "  De  Hceretids  Comburendu."  387 

JS^ote.  In  the  last  article,  mention  is  made  of  "the  heretic  lately 
burned  in  the  city  of  London,"  so  that  either  Wilkins  must  be  wrong  in 
the  date  of  this  extract,  or  those  mistaken  who  say  that  Sawtre  was  the 
first  heretic  who  suffered. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  252. — Petition  of  the  Clergy  against  Heretics,  a.d.  1400. 

We  humbly  entreat  that  your  majesty,  following  the  steps  of  your 
illustrious  predecessors,  will  provide  an  adequate  remedy  in  the 
present  parliament  for  the  novelties  and  excesses  of  heretics ;  for 
the  preservation  of  the  Catholic  faith,  the  maintenance  of  divine 
worship,  and  also  for  the  safety  of  the  constitution,  rights,  and  liberties 
of  the  church  of  England :  so  that  no  person  shall  hereafter,  under 
a  heavy  jienalty,  dare  to  preach,  publicly  or  secretly,  without  the 
licence  of  the  diocesan  first  obtained :  and  that  if  any  person  or 
persons,  of  whatsoever  sex  or  condition,  shall  presume  to  preach, 
&e.,  contrary  to  the  tenor  of  your  majesty's  inhibition,  the  bishop 
of  the  diocese  may,  in  virtue  thereof,  cause  them  to  be  arrested  and 
imprisoned,  until  they  either  canonically  purge  themselves  from  the 
accusation,  or  utterly  abjure  and  renounce  their  heretical  opinions. 
And  if  any  person  convicted  of  heresy  shall  refuse  to  abjure  his 
errors,  or  if  he  shall  relapse  after  abjuration,  we  pray  that,  after  sen- 
tence pronounced  by  the  diocesan,  he  may  be  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  some  of  your  officers,  specially  appointed  for  that  purpose, 
who  shall  inflict  such  further  punishment  as  is  incumbent  upon  them 
under  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  {et  ulterius  agant  quod  eis  incum- 
bit  in  ed  parte).  Also,  we  pray  that  all  heretical  books  or  writings 
may  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  diocesan  within  a  stated 
time,  and  under  a  certain  penalty  to  be  appointed  by  the  king. 

1[   The  King's  Answer. 

Which  petition  our  lord  the  king  hath  granted  with  all  their 
several  articles,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  nobles  of  his  realm  now 
assembled  in  parliament ;  to  the  effect,  that  if  any  person  shall  pre- 
sume to  act  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  statute,  the  bishop  of 
the  diocese  may,  after  his  conviction,  cause  him  to  be  detained  in 
prison  as  long  as  he  shall  think  fit,  so  that  he  may  be  punished  in 
proportion  to  his  crime.  And,  moreover,  (except  in  cases  in  which, 
according  to  the  canon  law,  he  ought  to  be  delivered  over  to  the 
secular  power,)  the  said  person  shall  pay  to  our  said  lord  the  king 
a  fine  in  money,  the  amount  to  be  regulated  at  the  discretion  of  the 

diocesan And  if  the  said  person  shall  refuse  to  abjure  his 

heresy,  or  if  after  such  abjuration  he  shall  be  pronounced  a  relapsed 
heretic,  so  that,  according  to  the  canons,  he  ought  to  be  left  to  the 
secular  power ;  then  shall  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  and  the  mayor 
and  sheriffs,  or  the  mayor  and  bailiffs  of  the  city,  town,  or  burgh 
which  is  nearest  to  the  residence  of  the  said  bishop,  having  heard 
sentence  pronounced  against  the  said  heretic,  receive  him,  and  cause 
him  to  be  burnt  in  some  remarkable  place,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 

cc2 


388  EXAMINATION   OP  SAWTBE   BEFORE  THE   PRIMATE. 

people,  that  so  his  punishment  may  strike  terror  into  the  minds  of 
other's. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  255.  In  the  same  year,  William  Sawtre  was  tried  for 
Lollardy,  which  he  had  formally  abjured  at  Norwich  a  short  time 
before,  but  into  which  he  had  relapsed.  The  following  are  among 
the  heresies  which  he  had  maintained. 

2,  3,  4.  That  he  would  rather  worship  a  temporal  king,  the 
bodies  of  the  saints,  or  a  man  who  had  truly  confessed  his  sins  and 
repented  of  them,  than  the  cross  upon  which  Christ  had  suffered, 

Ans.  My  meaning  is,  that  I  will  not  worship  the  cross  considered 
as  a  gross  material  substance :  I  am  willing,  however,  to  worship 
it  with  a  vicarious  adoration,  as  a  memorial  of  Christ's  passion. 

5.  That  he  is  under  a  greater  obligation  to  worship  a  man  whom 
he  knows  to  be  predestinate,  than  any  of  the  angels  of  God. 

Ans.  And  so  I  am :  because  a  man  is  of  the  same  nature  with 
the  humanity  of  Christ,  but  not  so  the  holy  angels.  I  am,  however, 
willing  to  worship  both  of  them  in  conformity  with  the  law  of  God. 

6.  That  when  a  man  hath  made  a  vow  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage,  in 
order  to  procure  health  or  any  other  temporal  benefit,  he  is  not 
bound  to  fulfil  his  vow ;  but  may  distribute  the  expenses  as  alms  to 
the  poor. 

7.  That  a  priest  or  a  deacon  is  under  greater  obligation  to  preach 
the  gospel,  than  to  say  the  canonical  hours. 

Ans.  With  respect  to  pilgrimage,  my  meaning  is,  that  he  is  not 
bound  to  fulfil  his  vow  on  pain  of  eternal  damnation ;  and  that 
he  may  distribute  the  expenses  in  alms  6y  the  prudent  advice  of  his 
superior :  and  with  respect  to  the  canonical  hours,  I  meant  that  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  ought  to  be  preferred  by  the  primitive  con- 
stitutions of  the  church. 

8.  That  after  the  pronunciation  of  the  sacramental  words,  the 
bread  continues  of  the  same  nature  as  it  was  before,  nor  does  it 
cease  to  be  bread. 

Ans.  I  affirm  that,  after  the  consecration  of  the  sacrament  of 
Christ's  body,  there  remains  the  bread  which  we  break,  together 
with  the  body  of  Christ ;  nor  does  it  cease  to  be  bread  simpliciter, 
but  remains  holy,  true,  and  the  bread  of  life ;  and  I  believe  that 
it  is  the  real  body  of  Christ  after  the  pronunciation  of  the  sacra- 
mental words. 

The  archbishop  then  asked  him,  whether  he  was  ready  to  abjure 
the  opinions  which  he  had  before  abjured  in  the  presence  of  the 
bishop  of  Norwich?  to  which  he  replied,  that  he  was  not.  The 
archbishop  then  proceeded  to  question  him  respecting  the  sacrament 
of  the  altar,  but  he  still  persisted  in  saying,  that  after  consecration 
it  continued  to  be  real  bread,  and  the  same  bread  as  before.  The 
examination  on  the  subject  of  the  sacramental  bread  continued  from 
about  eight  o'clock  till  eleven ;  and  the  said  William  obstinately 
refusing  either  to  answer,  or  to  receive  instructions  respecting  the 
catholic  doctrine,  the  archbishop  commissioned  Robert  Hallum  to 


SAWTRE's   martyrdom THE    OXFORD   TESTIMONIAL.  389 

recite  the  following  sentence :  "  Tn  the  Name  of  God.   Amen.    We 

Thomas,  by  divine  permission  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  &c 

pronounce,  decree,  and  declare  you  to  have  been  lawfully  and  judi- 
cially convicted  of  heresy,  and  sentence  you  to  be  punished  as 
a  heretic."  He  was  accordingly  degraded  from  his  orders  and 
burnt  ;*  the  first  protestant  martyr,  according  to  the  received  opinion. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  when  he  was  degraded  and  delivered 
over  to  the  secular  arm  for  the  purpose  of  being  burnt,  the  arch- 
bishop concluded  the  sentence  with  that  hypocritical  recommen- 
dation to  mercy  which  makes  the  cruelty  of  inquisitors  still  more 
detestable,  "  Rogantes  eandem  curium  (secularem)  quatenus  favora- 
biliter  ipsum  Willielmum  velit  habere  recommissum."  The  following 
humane  recommendation  has  been  always  used  by  modern  inquisitors: 
"  Le  saint  tribunal  de  I'lnqusition  livre  NN.  a  la  justice  seculiere,  la 
suppliant  de  les  vouloir  traitter  avec  miserecorde,  sans  leur  rompre 
ni  OS  ni  membre,  ni  tirer  une  goutte  de  sang.""* 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  261. — Articles  maintained  hy  John  Pumey,  a  priest, 
A.D.  1400. 

2.  That  oral  or  secret  confession  is  a  certain  whispering  {auricu- 
latio)  which  destroys  the  liberty  of  the  gospel ;  and  has  been  lately 
introduced  by  the  Pope  and  his  clergy,  to  ensnare  men's  consciences 
into  sin,  and  to  draw  their  souls  down  to  hell. 

3.  That  every  pious  man,  predestinated  to  everlasting  life, 
although  he  be  a  layman,  is  truly  a  priest,  ordained  by  God  to 
minister  all  the  sacraments  necessary  to  man's  salvation. 

4.  That  such  of  the  prelates  and  clergy  as  live  wickedly  have  not 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  rather  the  keys  of  hell ;  nor 
ought  a  christian  to  value  their  censures  more  than  the  hissing  of 
serpents.  Yea,  although  the  Pope  should  interdict  the  kingdom  of 
England,  he  could  not  injure  us,  but  would  rather  do  us  good,  since 
by  this  means  we  should  be  relieved  from  the  observance  of  his  laws. 

Note.  Pumey  (more  pliable  than  Sawtre)  abjured  all  his  opinions. 
Ibid.  p.  271,  a.d.  1402.  John  Seygno,  another  heretic  who 
abjured,  held  that  the  Jewish  Sabbath  ought  to  be  observed,  and 
that  we  ought  to  abstain  from  the  use  of  swine's  flesh.  It  does  not, 
however,  appear  that  he  believed  in  any  of  the  peculiar  doctrines  of 
the  Lollards. 

Ibid,  p.  302. — Testimonial  of  the  University  of  Oxford  in  favour  of 
Wycliff,  A.D.  1406. 
To  all  the  children  of  our  holy  mother  the  church,  into  whose 
hands  the  present  letter  shall  come,  the  chancellor  of  the  University 
of  Oxford,  and  the  unanimous  assembly  of  masters,  send  greeting  in 
the  Lord.  Whereas  it  is  not  fitting  to  pass  over  in  proclaimed  silence 
the  praises  and  merits  of  worthy  men,  which  ought  to  be  perpetual 

•  Seep.  118,  &c. 
*>  Calviaisme  et  Papisme,  &c.,  vol.  ii.  p.  241. 


390  TESTIMONIAL   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   OXFORD. 

in  distant  climes,  to  their  honour,  and  for  the  example  of  others ; 
and  whereas  human  discretion  hath,  from  a  consideration  of  the 
cruelty  of  men,  appointed  this  as  a  shield  of  defence  against  blas- 
phemies and  insults;  hence  it  is  that,  possessing  a  special  bene- 
volence and  tenderness  for  the  memory  of  John  Wycliff,  once  a 
member  of  our  university,  and  professor  of  Sacred  Theology, 
according  to  his  deserts,  we  bear  witness  with  our  hearts  and  voices, 
and  also  in  these  presents,  that  his  manner  of  life  was  laudable. 
His  honesty  of  life,  profound  learning,  and  fair  fame,  we  desire  the 
more  earnestly  to  make  known  to  the  faithful,  inasmuch  as  his  dis- 
creet conversation  and  literary  diligence  evidently  redounded  to  the 
praise  of  God,  the  salvation  of  his  neighbours,  and  the  profit  of  the 
church.  We  therefore  declare  unto  you,  by  these  presents,  that  his 
conversation,  from  the  very  earliest  years  that  he  sojourned  among 
us,  till  the  period  of  his  death,  was  excellent  and  virtuous,  so  much 
so,  that  he  was  free  from  all  suspicion  of  reproach.  In  disputing, 
reading,  preaching,  and  determining,  he  conducted  himself  laudably, 
as  a  valiant  soldier  of  the  faith,  and  by  the  words  of  holy  Scripture 
confuted,  in  a  catholic  manner,  all  who  blaspheme  the  religion  of 
Christ  by  a  spontaneous  mendicity :  nor  was  the  said  doctor  con- 
victed of  heretical  pravity,  nor  delivered  by  the  heads  of  our  univer- 
sity {nostras  prcelatos)  to  be  burnt  after  his  burial :  God  forbid  that 
they  should  have  condemned  a  man  of  such  probity  as  a  heretic, — a 
man  who,  among  all  those  who  belong  to  this  university,  has  writ- 
ten on  Logic,  Philosophy,  Theology,  Ethics,  and  Speculative  The- 
ology, as  we  believe  without  an  equal.  In  testimony  of  which 
we  have  caused  these  our  letters  testimonial  to  be  sealed  with  our 
common  seal.  Dated  at  Oxford,  in  the  house  of  our  congregation, 
on  this  fifth  day  of  the  month  of  October,  a.d.  1406. 

I^ote.  The  genuineness  of  this  document  has  been  disputed,  but  the 
extract  from  Wilk.  iii.  336,  which  will  be  found  further  on,  a.d.  1411, 
proves  that  it  existed  about  this  time ;  that  it  was  sealed  with  the  seal 
of  the  University ;  and  that  the  Lollards  were  then  numerous  at  Oxford. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  314,  &c. — Constitutions  of  Thomas  Arundel,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury/,  against  the  Lollards,  a.d.  1408. 

Cap.  I.  Forbids  any  person,  whether  secular  or  regular,  to  preach 
in  his  province  without  the  licence  of  the  diocesan ;  unless  he  be 
authorized  by  the  canon  law,  or  specially  privileged  by  the  Pope. 
Parish  priests  and  temporary  curates  were  only  simply  to  preach 
the  things  expressly  contained  in  the  constitution  of  archbishop 
Peckham.*^ 

Cap.  n.    That  no  priest  shall  admit  unlicenced  persons  to  preach. 

Cap.  III.  That  preachers  shall  adapt  their  discourses  to  the  cir- 
cumstances of  their  auditory. 

Cap.  IV.  Against  those  who  shall  perversely  teach  heretical  doc- 
trines. 

«  See  p.  103,  &c. 


LOLLARDY  PREVALENT  AT  OXFORD.  391 

Cap.  V.  That  schoolmasters  shall  not  undertake  to  instruct  their 
pupils  concerning  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  &c. 

Cap.  VI.  That  no  person  shall  read  any  treatise  of  John  Wycliff, 
until  it  has  been  examined  by  competent  authority  and  approved. 

Cap.  VII.  Whereas  the  translation  of  holy  Scripture  from  one 
language  into  another  is  a  perilous  thing ;  since  even  the  blessed 
Jerome,  althoxigh  he  was  inspired,  confesses  that  he  made  frequent 
mistakes  in  so  doing :  we  enact  and  ordain,  that  no  person  shall,  by 
his  own  authority,  translate  any  text  of  holy  Scripture  into  English 
by  way  of  book  or  treatise.  Nor  let  any  book,  composed  in  the 
time  of  John  WyclifF,  be  read  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  under  pain 
of  the  greater  excommunication,  till  that  version  hath  been  ap- 
proved by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  or,  if  necessary,  by  a  provincial 
synod. 

Cap.  VIII.  IX.  That  no  person  shall  assert  conclusions  contrary 
to  faith  or  morality,  or  dispute  concerning  articles  already  deter- 
mined by  the  church. 

Cap.  X.  That  strange  chaplains  shall  not  be  allowed  to  officiate 
in  our  province,  unless  they  exhibit  their  letters  of  orders,  and  bring 
letters  commendatory  from  their  bishops. 

Cap.  XI.  That  an  inquiry  be  instituted  every  month  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  whether  any  of  the  students,  &c.  be  infected  with 
heresy. 

Note.  Violators  of  the  above  constitutions  were,  besides  other  pun- 
ishments, to  be  incapable  of  obtaining  any  preferment  in  the  province 
of  Canterbury  for  three  years. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  322.  Mandate  of  the  same  archbishop,  a.  d.  1409,  from 
which  we  learn  that  he  had  appointed  twelve  persons  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  who  were  to  examine  the  writings  of  Wycliff,  and 
to  condemn  any  heretical  conclusions  which  might  be  found  therein  ; 
yet,  that  in  defiance  of  this  condemnation,  the  tenets  of  the  Lollards 
were  publicly  defended  in  the  schools  by  some  whom  he  terms 
"  beardless  hoys." 

Ibid.  p.  328.  Royal  edict  concerning  the  prosecution  and  burning 
of  heretics,  exhibited  in  the  convocation,  a.d.  1409.  It  is  nearly 
the  same  as  that  in  p.  335,  except  that  it  says  of  the  Lollards,  "  they 
wickedly  excite  the  people  to  sedition  or  insurrection  as  far  as  they 
are  able." 

Ibid.  p.  336. — Among  the  Gravamina  of  the  Clergy,  a.d.  1411. 

13 Verily,  the  intolerable  evil  of  disobedience  prevails  at 

this  time  more  than  usual  in  the  church,  because  the  University  of 
Oxford,  formerly  the  mother  of  virtues,  the  lamp  of  science,  and 
a  support  of  the  catholic  faith,  now  produces  degenerate  and  abortive 
sons,  who  have  taken  deep  root  in  this  university  and  elsewhere, 
sowing  the  tares  of  heresy;  by  whom  the  fair  fame  of  the  said 
university  is  much  blackened,  the  light  of  pure  science  is  diminished, 
and  an  example  of  disobedience  and  rebellion  is  afforded  to  the 


392  OPINIONS   ASCRIBED   TO    WICLIP. 

whole  nation.  Certain  forged  letters  also,  being  testimonials  in  de- 
fence of  dissensions,  heresies,  and  errors,  are  sent  hy  these  men  into 
foreign  parts,  privily  sealed  with  the  common  seal  of  the  university, 
without  considting  the  masters  and  doctors,  to  the  great  scandal  of  the 
whole  kingdom  of  England,  and  especially  of  our  mother  church. 
Moreover,  these  children  of  disobedience,  under  pretence  of  certain 
privileges  of  exemption,  are  so  much  inflated  with  pride,  that, 
despising  the  royal  mandates  and  the  episcopal  jurisdiction,  they 
fear  neither  God  nor  man. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  339,  &c. — Two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  heresies  and 
errors,  extracted  from  the  writings  of  Wycliff,  and  condemned 
hy  the  twelve  inquisitors  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  a.d.  1412. 

1 — 5.  The  Pope  cannot  dispense  with  simony,  being  himself 
a  great  simoniac ;  he  is  moreover  a  heresiarch,  since  he  authorises 
new  orders  against  Christ.  The  Pope  hath  no  decree  in  the  work  of 
the  gospel,  but  is  of  human  appointment ;  and  if  he  have  any  order 
it  is  the  order  of  devils.  The  Pope  is  that  antichrist  who  is  described 
in  Scripture ;  for  he  is  the  devil's  special  proctor,  and  procures  by 
his  lies  the  perdition  of  the  soul. 

12.  The  Pope  and  cardinals  were  not  appointed  by  our  Lord,  but 
introduced  by  the  devil. 

15.  Though  the  Pope  should  issue  bulls,  let  the  faithful  boldly 
commit  them  to  the  flames,  as  heretical  and  contrary  to  the  faith. 

22.  The  pretended  power  of  the  bishops  took  its  rise  at  the  same 
time  as  their  heresy  concerning  the  host ;  for  our  modern  prelates 
are  of  the  number  of  those  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  /  will  curse  your 
blessings." 

36.  The  four  religious  orders,  like  four  humours,  infect  and 
mortify  the  body  of  the  church. 

49.    Temporal  lords  ought  to  deprive  churchmen  of  secular  power. 

70,  71.  As  Christ  himself  is  both  God  and  man,  so  the  host  is 
both  the  body  of  Christ  and  true  bread ;  since  it  is  the  body  of 
Christ  at  least  in  a  figure,  and  true  bread  naturally.  As  also  we 
read  in  Scripture,  "  the  seven  oxen  are  seven  years ;"  and,  "  the  rock 
was  Christ,"  so  a  Catholic  saith  that  the  sacramental  bread  is  the 
Lord's  body. 

78,  79.  That  princes  may  lawfully  deprive  the  church  of  its  pos- 
sessions, and  apply  them  to  their  own  use. 

86.  The  apostles  laboured  with  their  hands,  and  received  alms 
sparingly ;  from  whence  it  appears  that  whatsoever  clerk  acts  dif- 
ferently, he  is  to  be  esteemed  a  simoniac. 

92.  With  regard  to  the  consecration  of  places,  it  is  said  that  the 
consecrating  bishop  receives  five  marks ;  but  it  would  be  a  much 
lesser  evil  to  celebrate  in  the  open  air  than  in  a  place  thus  conse- 
crated;  for  a  spiritual  leprosy  infects  the  walls,  and  God  for  a 
smaller  fault  overthrew  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 

94.  It  doth  not  appear  from  the  Bible,  why  a  holy  layman,  or 
any  priest,  may  not  consecrate  in  the  same  manner. 


OPINIONS   ASCRIBED    TO   WICLIF.  393 

95.  Let  the  people  take  away  tithes  and  oblations  from  the 
unworthy  disciples  of  antichrist,  since  they  are  bound  to  do  so  by 
the  law  of  God. 

103.  Of  all  the  monsters  that  ever  entered  the  church,  these 
monstrous  fraternities  are  the  most  seductive,  and  the  farthest  from 
the  truth  and  from  charity. 

108.  It  is  a  probable  conjecture,  that  every  man  who  lives 
virtuously  is  a  deacon  or  a  priest. 

109.  It  seemed  superfluous  to  the  holy  doctors  to  appoint  more 
than  two  degrees  in  the  sacrament  of  orders,  viz.  deacons  or  levites, 
and  presbyters  or  bishops. 

113.  As  it  does  not  follow  that  because  Peter  was  called  "  Satan," 
he  was  therefore  the  lowest  of  the  apostles,  so  neither  doth  it  follow 
that  because  it  was  said  to  him,  "  To  thee  will  I  give  the  keys,"  &c. 
he  was  therefore  constituted  head  of  the  church. 

125.  With  respect  to  the  oil  with  which  bishops  anoint,  and  the 
linen  fillet  (peplum)  which  is  wound  round  the  head,  it  appears 
to  be  a  trifling  ceremony :  and  that  confirmation  introduced  without 
any  apostolic  precedent  {super  apostolos)  is  a  blasphemy  against 
God. 

136.  If  corporal  unction  had  been  a  sacrament,  as  is  now  pre- 
tended, Christ  and  his  apostles  would  not  have  been  silent  respect- 
ing it. 

141.  As  the  clergy  ought  not  to  have  secular  power,  but  to  be 
poor  as  Christ  was,  that  clerk  who,  contrary  to  the  law  of  God, 
obstinately  retains  temporal  dominion,  is  an  accursed  heretic. 

143,  145.  That  he  is  antichrist  who  denies  that  the  clergy  ought 
to  be  poor ;  and  that  no  grants  of  temporal  lords  can  justify  them 
for  possessing  wealth. 

147.  What  greater  infidelity  can  there  be  than  to  approve  of  the 
election  of  cardinals,  who  are  unquestionably  devils  incarnate  ! 

149.  As  the  influence  of  heaven  is  received  more  freely  in  the 
open  air,  so  a  religious  prayer  can  enter  heaven  more  freely  when 
offered  in  the  open  air  than  in  cloisters. 

152.  Since  Christ  did  not  institute  universities  or  colleges,  gra- 
duation in  them  appears  to  be  a  vain  heathenish  introduction. 

159.  God  cannot  annihilate  any  thing,  or  make  the  world  greater 
or  less :   he  can  create  only  a  certain  number  of  souls,  and  no  more. 

160.  No  accident  can  be  any  thing  existens  per  se. 

169.  In  the  eucharist  there  remains  wine,  the  body  as  a  subject, 
and  the  accident  of  bread,  which  I  call  a  mathematical  and  abstract 
body  ;  for  as  the  substance  of  the  bread  was  by  nature  a  body  before 
it  was  bread,  so  the  same  essence  which  was  before  bread  remains 
a  body  under  the  same  law  oi  general  quiddity. 

171.  Every  being  is  everywhere,  since  every  being  is  God. 

172.  God  knows  only  himself,  and  yet  knows  all  things :  because 
a  being  cannot  know  that  which  he  is  not  himself. 

173.  It  is  impossible  for  God  to  multiply  a  body  in  different  places. 


394  OPINIONS   ASCRIBED    TO    WICLIF. 

178.  Neither  the  deposition  of  witnesses,  nor  the  sentence  of 
a  judge,  nor  corporal  possession,  nor  hereditary  descent,  nor  human 
exchange  or  endowment,  can  confer  dominion  or  property  in  any 
thing  to  a  man  who  is  without  grace. 

179.  If  God  should  confer  upon  a  man  a  benefit  of  any  descrip- 
tion, immediately  upon  his  abusing  it,  all  just  claim  arising  from 
God's  gift  ceases ;  and  if  that  title  should  fail,  there  is  no  other 
which  can  have  any  validity. 

182.  Preeminent  virtue  in  the  king  is  the  chief  cause  of  his 
reigning  civilly :  for  of  itself  it  is  a  sufficient  title  to  dominion 
according  to  the  gospel ;  and  also  civilly,  with  the  approbation  of 
the  people. 

184.  If  a  civil  lord  should  treat  his  servant  with  a  difierent 
measure  from  that  with  which  he  would  desire  to  have  it  meted 
unto  himself,  he  hath  fallen  from  charity,  and  consequently  from 
civil  dominion ;  and  therefore  with  respect  to  him  the  servant  hath 
fallen  from  a  state  of  civU  servitude. 

187.  Unless  the  law  of  charity  be  within,  no  person  can,  on 
account  of  any  bulls  or  charters,  have  any  judicial  authority,  be  it 
more  or  less. 

190.  A  Catholic  ought  to  believe,  that  neither  the  emperor,  nor 
the  universal  church,  nor  God  by  his  absolute  power,  could  ordain 
that  the  Pope,  as  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  should  in  virtue  thereof 
become  the  head,  or  a  part  of  the  church,  whom  we  must  necessarily 
obey. 

192.  It  is  lawful  to  practise,  to  learn,  or  to  teach  only  the  law  of 
Christ ;  and  whosoever  shall  practise  any  law  which  does  not  lead 
directly  to  happiness,  by  so  doing  makes  himself  liable  to  damnation. 

196.  From  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  who  commands  his  disciples 
to  have  all  things  in  common,  secular  persons  may  understand  how, 
without  fearing  the  imputation  of  sacrilege,  they  may  laudably 
minister  the  goods  of  those  who  have  possessions  to  the  poor. 

202.  Were  the  country  to  be  dejwpulated  even  by  barbarians, 
it  would  be  far  better  to  bear  these  injuries  with  humility,  than 
to  resist  and  overcome  them  manfully. 

203.  God  does  not  wish  any  person  to  have  civil  dominion,  or 
a  civil  jurisdiction. 

212.  Let  us  know  the  Lord's  prayer,  the  decalogue,  and  the 
creed,  with  aU  things  which  conduce  to  the  better  understanding 
of  them :  all  other  human  knowledge  is  not  only  superfluous,  but 
hurtful. 

213.  Baptism  obliterates  every  sin,  original  or  actual,  mortal 
or  venial :  with  respect  however  to  venial  sins  of  omission,  it  is  of 
no  use. 

215.  All  those  who  are  in  purgatory  participate  in  the  merits  of 
the  church  militant  in  a  proportion  according  to  their  capacity ;  so 
that  he  who  dies  with  a  greater  degree  of  grace,  participates  the 
more,  and  will  be  the  sooner  liberated. 


THE   LOLLARDS    POLITICALLY  DANGEROUS.  395 

223.  It  does  not  follow  that  because  every  thing  is  God,  God  is 
any  creature. 

224.  Anything  is  God.     (Quidlihet  est  Detis.) 

250.  As  God  makes  the  futurition  of  the  parts  necessary,  so  he 
makes  aU  the  events  contained  in  those  parts  necessary. 

251.  An  infant  who  is  reprobate  {prcesdtus)  and  baptized,  will 
necessarily  live  longer,  and  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  so  as  to 
deserve  eternal  damnation. 

252.  No  elect  person  can  sin  mortally. 

253.  1  assert  as  an  article  of  faith,  that  all  things  which  happen, 
happen  necessarily :  and  so  {for  example)  if  Paul  should  be  a  repro- 
bate, he  cannot  truly  repent ;  i.  e.  he  cannot  by  his  contrition  blot 
out  the  sin  of  final  impenitence. 

Note.  The  above  were  sent  by  archbishop  Arundel  to  the  Pope,  with 
a  request  that  he  would  solemnly  condemn  them  as  heretical,  and  also 
that,  to  the  disgrace  of  the  condemned  author  and  his  followers,  Wiclifs 
bones  might  be  taken  from  the  grave  and  burnt. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  358.  Royal  statute  against  the  Lollards  in  the  Nor- 
man French,  a.d.  1414,  similar  in  its  provisions  to  that  already  given 
in  p.  387.  In  this  document  it  is  said  that  the  tendency  of  LoUardy 
is  to  "  subvert  and  annul  the  christian  faith,  the  law  of  God,  and  the 
kingdom  itself;  also  to  destroy  our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  all  the 
estates  of  the  said  kingdom,  whether  spiritual  or  temporal,  and  finally 
every  description  of  government,  and  the  laws  of  the  land." 

Ibid.  p.  378.  Constitution  of  archbishop  Chicheley,  A.D.  1416, 
to  the  effect  that  in  all  parishes  suspected  of  LoUardy,  three  or  more 
men  of  good  report  should  swear,  that  if  they  heard  of  any  heretics, 
secret  conventicles,  or  suspected  books  in  the  English  language,  they 
would  immediately  give  information  thereof  to  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese  or  his  archdeacons. 

luiD.  p.  434,  A.D.  1425.  Robert  Hoke,  rector  of  Braybrook,  in 
the  diocese  of  Lincoln,  was  accused  of  LoUardy  before  the  con- 
vocation. The  following  is  one  of  the  articles  objected  against  him  : 
"  That  for  two  years  you  have  not  worshipped  the  cross  on  Good 
Friday,  as  is  customary  with  the  faithful  of  the  Church  of  England ; 
and  you  approved  of  your  parishioners  continuing  on  their  seats 
instead  of  worshipping  it." 

Ibid.  p.  511.  BuU  of  Pope  Martin  V.,  exhorting  Christian  princes 
to  extirpate  heretics,  a.d,  1428.  Also  he  exhorts  all  the  faithful  to 
engage  in  a  crusade  against  the  Hussites ;  granting  extraordinary 
indulgences  to  all  who  should  either  take  up  arms  on  the  occasion, 
or  contribute  towards  its  success. 

Ibid,  p.  522,  From  the  examination  of  one  of  the  Lollards, 
A.D.  1433,  it  appears  that  they  beUeved  it  unlawful  to  swear  in 
any  worldly  business. 

Ibid,  p.  576.  Among  other  articles  renounced  by  Reginald  Pea- 
cock, a  heretic,  in  A.  D.  1457,  were  these :  "  That  it  is  not  necessary 
to  beUeve  that  Christ  descended  into  hell,  or  to  believe  in  the  Holy 
Ghost." 


396  TRANSLATIONS    OF   THE   BIBLE    PROHIBITED. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  689.  Bull  of  Pope  Leo  X.  on  the  subject  of  Martin  . 
Luther's  works,  many  of  which  had  found  their  way  into  England, 
A.  D.  1521.  In  this  bull,  notwithstanding  his  mandate  that  they 
should  be  committed  to  the  flames,  he  grants  permission  to  learned 
men  to  read  them  in  order  to  detect  and  refute  the  errors  and 
heresies  therein  contained. 

Ibid.  p.  692. — Some  Errors  of  the  pestiferous  Martin  Luther, 
A.D.  1521. 

6.  Contrition,  which  consists  of  a  detestation  of  sin,  by  which 
a  person  reviews  his  past  hfe  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul,  pondering 
over  the  enormity  of  his  sins,  the  loss  of  eternal  happiness,  and  the 
judgment  of  eternal  damnation ;  this  contrition  makes  a  hypocrite, 
and  still  more  a  sinner. 

13,  14.  If  the  person  who  confesses  should  not  be  contrite,  or  if 
the  priest  should  absolve  not  in  earnest  but  in  jest,  nevertheless,  if 
he  believes  himself  absolved,  he  is  truly  absolved ;  yea,  although 
there  should  not  be  a  priest,  any  christian,  although  it  were  a  woman 
or  a  child,  could  absolve  him. 

16.  If  those  who  receive  the  eucharist  believe  that  they  will 
receive  grace,  this  faith  alone  makes  them  pure  and  holy. 

19.    Indulgences  are  the  pious  frauds  of  the  faithful. 

26.    The  Pope,  as  successor  of  St.  Peter,  is  not  Christ's  vicar. 

28.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  church,  or  of  the  Pope,  to 
institute  articles  of  faith  or  rules  of  practice. 

32,  33.  A  just  man  sms  in  every  good  work ;  and  indeed  his 
best  work  is  but  a  venial  sin. 

35.  To  fight  against  the  Turks  is  to  resist  God,  who  visits  our 
iniquities  by  their  means. 

40.  Souls  in  purgatory  sin  without  intermission,  seeking  rest  and 
shuddering  at  their  punishment. 

Ibid.  p.  693,  &c.  Two  bulls  of  Pope  Leo  X.  a.d.  1521,  thanking 
king  Henry  VIII.  for  his  book  on  the  seven  sacraments,  written 
against  Luther,  and  granting  him  the  title  of  "  Defender  of  the 
Faith."  The  first  is  signed  by  twenty-seven  cardinals  besides  the 
Pope. 

Ibid.  p.  696,  &c.  A  proclamation  of  the  king,  a.d.  1521,  followed 
by  the  acts  of  the  convocation,  from  which  it  appears  that  several 
English  priests  and  monks  had  lately  married.'' 

Ibid.  p.  698.  A  letter  of  the  king  to  aid  the  bishop  of  Lincoln, 
A.D.  1521,  who  had  at  this  time  within  his  diocese  "  no  small  number 
of  heritiques." 

Ibld.  p.  706.  Mandate  of  archbishop  Warham,  a.d.  1526,  in 
which  he  complains  that  "  some  children  of  iniquity  and  partisans 
of  the  Lutheran  faction  had  cunningly  and  deceitfully  translated 
into  the  English  tongue,  not  only  the  holy  gospels,  but  the  other 
parts  of  the  New  Testament ;  instilling  pernicious  and  scandalous 
^  See  here  p.  147. 


TRANSLATIONS   OP   THE   BIBLE    PROHIBITED.  397 

heresies  into  the  minds  of  the  simple,  and  profaning  the  hitherto 
unsulUed  majesty  of  the  holy  Scriptures  by  nefarious  and  distorted 
comments."  AH  who  possessed  such  translations  are  therefore 
enjoined,  on  pain  of  ecclesiastical  censures,  to  deliver  them  to 
the  diocesan  within  thirty  days,  that  they  might  be  committed  to 
the  flames. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  711.  A  licence  granted  in  1527,  to  Sir  Thomas  More ; 
permitting  him  to  have  in  his  possession,  and  to  read,  books  infected 
with  the  Lutheran  heresy,  in  order  that  he  might  be  prepared  to 
engage  in  the  controversy.  It  was  written  by  Cuthbert,  bishop  of 
London. 

Ibid.  p.  713.— Si/nod  of  Ely,  a.d.  1528. 

That  rectors  and  curates  of  the  diocese  of  Ely  shall  on  no  account 
use  in  their  churches  the  Bible  according  to  the  new  translation,  or 
suffer  any  of  those  who  frequent  their  churches  to  use  it. 

Ibid.  p.  719.  In  the  convocation,  a.d.  1529,  a  great  number  of 
books,  the  titles  of  which  occupy  a  column  and  a  half  in  folio,  were 
denounced  as  heretical,  several  of  which  had  very  quaint  titles : 
ex.  gr.  The  Parable  of  the  Unrighteous  Mammon ;  the  Revelation 
of  Antichrist ;  Dialogue  between  the  Father  and  the  Son ;  the 
Burial  of  the  Mass ;  the  Practice  of  Prelates ;  the  A  B  C  to  the 
Prelacy,  &c. 

Ibid.  p.  729. — Heretical  Articles  condemned  hy  Archbishop  Warham, 
&c.  A.D.  1530. 

(a.)    Feith  oonly  doth  justifie  us. 

The  lawe  requireth  impossible  things  of  us. 

The  Spirit  of  God  turneth  us  and  our  nature,  that  we  doc  good 
as  naturally  as  a  tree  doth  bring  furth  frute. 

Criste  in  all  his  dedes  did  not  deserve  heven. 

Laboring  in  good  werkes  to  come  to  heven,  thowe  doist  shame 
Cristes  bloode. 

AH  fleshe  is  in  bondage  to  synne,  and  cannot  avoide  to  synne 
contynually. 

Thow  cannot  be  dampned  without  Criste  be  dampned,  nor  Criste 
be  saved  without  thow  be  saved. 

The  commaundements  be  given  us  not  to  doo  them,  but  to  knowe 
owr  dampnation,  and  call  for  marcy  to  God. 

There  is  noo  warke  better  than  another  to  please  God ;  to  make 
water,  to  wasshe  dishes,  to  be  a  sowter  and  apostle. 

To  wasshe  dishes  and  to  preche  is  all  oon,  as  towching  the  dede, 
to  please  God. 

Beware  of  good  entents,  they  are  dampned  of  God. 

Churches  are  for  preching  oonly;  and  to  wurshipp  God  otherwise 
than  to  beleve  that  he  is  just  and  trewe  to  his  promise,  is  to  make 
God  an  idol. 


398  STRANGE    OPDaONS   HELD    BY    SOME    LOLLARDS. 

Every  man  is  lord  of  another  mannis  good. 

I  am  bounde  to  love  the  Turk  with  the  very  bothome  of  my  hart. 
(6)    That  we  are  bounde  to  satisfy  our  neighbour,  but  not  God. 
God  moved  the  hartis  of  the  Egiptyans  to  hate  the  people. 
All  that  be  bajitized  beooom  Criste  himself. 
The  children  of  faith  be  under  noo  lawe. 
There  is  noo  dede  so  good  but  that  lawe  doth  condempn  it. 
Noo  man  shuld  serve  God  with  good  entent  or  zele,  for  it  is 
pleyn  idolytre. 

(c)  Criste  toke  away  all  lawes  and  makith  us  free ;  and  moost  of 
all  he  suppressyth  all  ceremony es.     Faith  oonly  doth  justifie. 

God  byndith  us  to  that  which  is  impossible  for  us  to  accompHshe. 

Criste  oflPered  up  our  iniquityes  as  a  sacryfice  to  God. 

The  people  of  Criste  doth  nothing  because  it  is  commaunded,  but 
because  it  is  pleasaunte  and  acceptable  unto  them. 

Criste  ordeyned  that  there  shulde  be  noo  synne  but  unbeleve  and 
infidelities,  and  noo  justice  but  faith. 

(d)  We  have  as  great  right  and  asmoche  to  heven  as  Criste. 

Yf  we  beleve  that  God  hath  promysed  lyfTe,  it  is  impossible  that 
we  shulde  perishe :  for  God  by  his  promyse  oweth  us  heven. 

Where  we  synne  we  mynishe  not  the  glory  of  God ;  and  all  the 
daunger  of  synne  is  the  evil  example. 

All  outward  things  are  indifferent  before  God. 

When  our  harts  be  ruled  in  God  according  to  the  gospel,  all  is 
oon  what  thinge  soever  we  doo. 

Feith  without  good  werkes  is  noo  feith. 

Noo  man  is  under  the  seculer  power  but  they  that  be  owte  of  the 
cristen  estate,  and  owte  of  Goddis  kingdome. 

Criste  saith,  that  noo  cristen  shall  resiste  evill,  nor  sue  any  man 
at  the  lawe. 

A  trewe  cristen  man  never  playneth  to  the  judge  of  the  injury 
that  is  doon  unto  hym. 

Men  of  warre  are  not  allowed  by  the  gospell. 

(e,  f,  g)  have  nothing  remarkable  in  them. 

(Ji)  Chastitie  is  a  gift  of  God,  and  therfor  can  noo  mon  nother 
promyse,  nor  vowe,  nor  kepe  it. 

Matrymonye  is  as  golde,  the  spiritual  estates  as  dung. 

To  say  that  a  prest  shuld  not  mary,  is  to  say  that  a  man  shuld 
not  be  a  man ;  and  to  kepe  a  yong  man  in  cloyster  to  lyve  chaste, 
is  asmoche  as  to  offer  a  child  to  Moloche. 

If  the  one  wolde  be  at  one,  and  the  other  will  not,  the  partye  that 
wolde  be  reconciled  may  mary  another,  thoo  the  other  be  alyve. 

Infants  be  holy  and  clene,  thoo  they  have  not  received  baptysme, 
because  their  parents  be  holy  and  clene. 

Criste  hath  redemed  and  delyvered  us  from  all  synne  and  lawes, 
so  that  noo  longer  any  lawe  can  bind  us  in  conscience ;  all  exterior 
things  before  God  be  free,  and  a  cristen  man  may  use  them  accord- 
ing to  his  appetite,  other  leving  or  taking. 


PROCLAMATION   AGAINST   VERSIONS   OF   THE   BIBLE.  399 

Thow  canst  not  perish  or  be  dampned,  whatsoever  thing  thou  shalt 
owtwardly  other  do,  or  ells  leve  undoon. 

Note,  (a)  I  have  employed  to  signify  "  The  Wicked  Mammon  ;  a  work 
of  the  time  from  which  the  extracts  were  made.  (6)  "  Tlie  Obedience 
of  a  Christen  Man."  (c)  "  The  Revelation  of  Anticriste."  (d)  "The 
Sum  of  Scripture."  {e)  "  The  Booh  of  Beggers."  (f)  "  The  Kalender 
of  the  Prgmar."  (g)  "  The  Prymar."  {h)  "  An  Exposition  into  the 
sevenith  chapitre  of  the  Jirste  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians."  Many  of  the 
articles  are  peifectly  harmless : — against  the  merit  of  good  works — 
merit  ex  congruo  and  ex  condigno ;  supererogation ;  purgatory ;  the 
mass ;  pilgrimages ;  and  other  corruptions  of  popery. 

WiLK.  iii.  p.  739.  Among  books  prohibited,  a.d.  1530,  there  are 
two,  the  titles  of  which  savour  of  blasphemy,  viz.  "  The  Old  God  and 
the  New,"  and  "  A  Disputation  between  the  Father  and  the  Son." 

Ibid.  p.  741. — Proclamation  against  printing  English  Translations 
of  the  Bible,  a.d.  1530. 

And  whereas  report  is  made  by  many  of  our  subjects, -that  it  were 
to  all  men  not  only  expedient  but  also  necessary  to  have  in  the 
English  tongue  both  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  and  that  his 
highness,  his  nobles,  and  prelates  were  bounden  to  suffer  them  so  to 
have  it ;  his  highness  hath  therefore  semblably  thereupon  consulted 
with  the  said  primates  and  other  personages  well  learned  in  divinity; 
and  by  them  all  it  is  thought,  that  it  is  not  necessary  the  said  Scrip- 
ture to  be  in  the  English  tongue,  and  in  the  hands  of  the  common 
people :  and  that,  having  respect  to  the  malignity  of  this  present 
time,  with  the  inclination  of  the  people  to  erroneous  opinions,  the 
translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  vulgar  English  should  rather  be  the 
occasion  of  continuance  or  increase  of  errors  among  the  said  people, 
than  any  benefit  or  commodity  to  the  weal  of  their  souls. 

Note.  He  says  in  the  sequel,  that  he  will  probably  cause  a  transla- 
tion to  be  made,  if  the  people  forsake  their  errors. 

Ibid.  p.  836.  Royal  commission  to  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
A.D.  1538,  for  the  coercion  of  Anabaptists,  and  the  destruction  of 
their  books. 

Ibid.  p.  846. — Royal  Mandate  for  the  Translation  of  the  Bible, 
A.D.  1539. 

Henry  the  Eighth,  &c.  to  all  and  singular  printers  and  sellers  of 
bookes  within  our  realme,  and  to  all  other  oflficers,  mynisters,  and 
subjectes,  theise  oure  letters  heryng  or  seyng  gretyng.  We  late 
you  witt  that,  beyng  desirous  to  have  our  people  at  tymes  conve- 
nyent  geve  themselfes  to  th'  atteynyng  of  the  knoulege  of  Goddes 
worde,  whereby  they  shall  the  better  honour  hym,  and  observe  and 
kepe  his  coramaundements ;  and  consideryng  that  as  this  oure  zeale 
and  desire  cannot  by  any  mean  take  so  good  an  effect  as  by  the 
graunting  to  theym  the  free  and  lyberall  use  of  the  Bible  in  oure 
oune  maternall  English  tonge,  &c. 


400  ACT   OF   THE   SIX   ARTICLES — THE   REFORMATION. 

Note.  So  much  for  the  preamble :  the  object  of  his  mandate  was  to 
prevent  any  English  translations  from  being  printed  for  the  next  five 
years,  which  had  not  been  supervised  by  the  lord  Crurawell.  In  the 
same  year  (1539)  an  act  was  passed  *for  aholishing  diversity  of  opinions 
in  certain  Articles  concerning  Christian  Religion.^  In  this  it  was  de- 
clared (1)  That  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  is  substantially  present 
in  the  Eucharist  under  the  accidents  of  bread  and  wine.  (2)  That 
communion  in  both  kinds  is  not  essential  to  salvation,  the  flesh  and 
blood  of  Christ  being  together  under  each  kind.  (3)  That  priests  might 
hot  marry  by  the  law  of  God.  (4)  That  vows  of  chastity  ought  to  be 
observed  by  the  law  of  God.  (5)  That  private  masses  ought  to  be 
continued ;  and  (6)  That  auricular  confession  was  expedient  and  neces- 
sary, and  ought  to  be  retained  by  the  church.  Such  in  substance  were 
the  celebrated  six  Articles.  Any  one  writing  or  preaching  against  the 
first,  was  to  be  judged  a  heretic  and  burnt  without  any  abjuration,  and 
to  forfeit  his  real  and  personal  estates  to  the  king;  or  if  he  disputed 
against  any  of  the  other  five  he  was  to  be  judged  a  felon,  and  sufi'er 
death  as  such  without  benefit  of  clergy.* 


^ro£ceS!3  of  i\)t  Reformation. 

Note.  In  order  to  make  my  work  more  complete,  by  bringing  it  down 
to  the  era  of  the  Reformation,  I  shall  now  transcribe  a  few  extracts  which 
I  have  made  from  certain  documents,  published  in  the  reign  of  King 
Edward  VI.  They  are  extremely  interesting,  because  they  shew  the 
gradual  development  of  Gospel  truth,  and  clearly  exhibit  the  state  of 
the  church  at  that  remarkable  period. 

Injunctions  given  by  King  Edward  VI.  a.d.  1547. — Item.  That 
such  images  as  they  (the  clergy)  know  to  have  been  abused  with 
pilgrimages,  or  ofifering  of  any  thing  made  thereto,  or  shall  be  liere- 
after  censed  unto ;  they,  and  none  other  private  persons,  shall  take 
down  and  destroy  the  same ;  and  shall  suffer  from  henceforth  no 
torches  or  candles,  tapers  or  images  of  wax,  to  be  set  before  any 
image  or  picture,  hut  otdy  two  lights  upon  the  High  Altar  before  the 
Sacrament,  for  the  signification  that  Christ  is  the  true  light  of  the  world. 

Item.  That  they  shall  provide  within  three  months  one  book  of 
the  whole  Bible,  of  the  largest  volume,  in  English,  and  within  one 
twelvemonth  the  Paraphrasis  of  Erasmus  upon  the  Gospels,  and  the 
same  set  up  in  some  convenient  place  within  the  said  church,  whereat 
their  parishioners  may  most  commodiously  resort  to  read  the  same. 

Item.  That  they  shall,  in  confessions,  every  Lent,  examine  every 
person  that  cometh  to  confession,  whether  they  can  recite  the  arti- 
cles of  their  faith,  the  Pater  Noster,  and  the  Ten  Commandments 
in  English. 

Item.  Because  the  goods  of  the  church  are  called  the  goods  of 
the  poor,  and  at  these  days  nothing  is  less  seen  than  the  poor  to  be 
sustained  by  the  same,  all  parsons,  &c.  not  being  resident  upon 
their  benefices,  which  may  dispend  yearly  £20  or  above,  shall  distri- 
bute hereafter  among  their  poor  parishioners  the  fortieth  part  of  the 
*■  31  Hen.  VIII.  c.  14. 


SUPERSTITIOUS   PRACTICES    CENSURED.  401 

fruits  and  revenues  of  the  said  benefices  .  , .  and  every  parson,  &c., 
having  yearly  to  dispend  £100,  shall  give  competent  exhibition  for 
one  scholar,  (and  so  on  in  proportion)  in  the  universities,  or  some 
grammar  school ;  which,  after  they  have  profited  in  good  learning, 
may  be  partners  of  their  patron's  cure  and  charge. 

Note.  The  Jijih  part  of  their  benefices  was  to  be  employed  in  the 
repairing  of  the  mansions  or  chancels  of  their  churches  when  in  decay. 

Item.  In  the  time  of  high  mass,  within  every  church,  he  that 
sayeth  or  singeth  the  same,  shall  read  or  cause  to  be  read  the 
Epistle  and  Gospel  of  that  mass  in  English,  in  the  pulpit,  or  in  such 
convenient  place  as  the  people  may  hear  the  same. 

Also,  By  reason  of  fond  courtysie,  and  challenging  of  places  in 
processions,  they  shall  not  from  henceforth  at  any  time  use  any 
procession  about  the  church  or  churchyard ;  but  immediately  before 
high  mass,  the  priests,  with  others  of  the  quire,  shall  kneel  in  the 
midst  of  the  church,  and  sing  or  say  plainly  the  Litany  which  is  set 
forth  in  English,  with  all  the  suffrages  following. 

Note.  Among  superstitious  observances,  mention  is  made  of  a  man's 
"  casting  holy  water  upon  his  bed,  upon  images,  and  other  dead  things, 
and  bearing  about  him  holy  bread  or  St.  John's  Gospel ;  the  making  of 
crosses  of  wood  upon  Palm  Sunday  in  time  of  reading  of  the  Passion, 
or  the  keeping  of  private  holidays,  as  bakers,  brewers,  &c.,  or  ringing 
with  holy  bells,  or  blessing  with  the  holy  candle,  to  the  intent  to  be 
discharged  thereby  of  the  burthen  of  sin,  or  to  drive  away  devils,  or 
to  put  away  di'eams  and  phantasies." 

In  the  form  of  Bidding  the  Prayers  (or  Bidding  the  Beads),  we 
read — "  Thirdly,  ye  shall  pray  for  all  them  that  be  departed  out  of 
this  world  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  that  they  with  us  and  we  with 
them  at  the  day  of  judgment  may  rest  both  body  and  soul  with 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

Cranmer's  Articles  of  Visitation  for  the  Diocese  of  Canterbury, 
2  Edw.  6,  (a.d.  1548)  :— 

First.  Whether  parsons,  &c.  have,  four  times  in  the  year  at  least, 
preached  against  the  usurped  power,  pretended  authority,  and  juris- 
diction of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  and  declared  that  the  king's  majes- 
ty's power,  authority,  and  preeminence  within  his  realms  is  the 
highest  power  under  God  ? 

Item.  Whether  they  have  discouraged  the  reading  of  the  Bible, 
or  counselled  their  parishioners  to  pray  in  Latin  ? 

Item.  Whether  every  Sunday  and  holiday  at  matins  they  have 
read  plainly  and  distinctly  in  the  same  place  one  chapter  of  the  New 
Testament  in  English  immediately  after  the  lessons,  and  at  even- 
song, after  the  Magnificat,  one  chapter  of  the  Old  Testament  ? 

Item.  Whether  they  have  not  at  matins  omitted  three  lessons, 
when  nine  should  have  been  read  in  the  church,  and  at  evensong 
the  responds  with  all  the  memories  ? 

Item.  Whether  they  have  of  their  own  the  New  Testament  both 
in  Latin  and  English,  with  the  Paraphrase  of  Erasmus. 

DD 


402        THE  COMMUNION  BOOK  OF  EDWARD  VI. 

Item.  Whether  they  have  not  put  out  of  their  church-books  this 
word,  Papa,  and  the  name  and  service  of  Thomas-a-Beoket,  and 
prayers  having  rubrics  containing  pardons  and  indulgences  ?  &c. 

Item.  Whether  they  have  openly  admonished  their  parishioners 
not  to  wear  beads  or  to  pray  with  them  ? 

Item.  Whether  they  hallowed  or  delivered  to  the  people  any 
candles  upon  Candlemas-day,  ashes  upon  Ask- Wednesday,  or  palms 
upon  Palm  Sunday;  whether  they  had  upon  Good  Friday  the 
sepulchres  with  their  lights,  having  the  Sacrament  therein ;  whether 
they,  upon  Easter-even  last  past,  hallowed  the  font,  fire,  or  paschal ; 
or  had  any  paschal  set  up  or  burning  in  their  churches  ? 

Item.  Whether  they  do  contemn  married  priests,  and  will  not 
receive  the  Communion  or  other  sacraments  at  their  hands? 

The  Order  of  Communion  set  forth  1548  : — 

In  the  Exhortation,  after  the  words  "  scruple  and  doubtfulness :" 
"Requiring  such  as  shall  be  satisfied  with  a  general  confession 
not  to  be  offended  with  those  who  do  use  to  their  further  satisfying 
the  auricular  and  secret  confession  to  the  priest,"  &c. 

Note.  The  Elements  were  still  to  be  consecrated  in  Latin  according  to 

the  old  form.     The  laity  were  permitted  to  receive  under  both  kinds, 

but  the  priest  was  ordered  to  mix  water  with  the  wine.     The  Prefaces 

or  consecration  prayer  were  not  published  in  this  order;  but  in  other 

respects  it  was  nearly  the  same  as  at  present.     The  chief  differences 

are — 

1.  After  the  exhortation  to  the  penitent  to  ^^  draw  near  in  faith 
and  receive,"  &c.  there  is  an  exhortation  to  the  wicked  and  impeni- 
tent to  leave  the  church. 

2.  The  Absolution  begins  thus  :  "  Our  blessed  Lord,  who  hath  left 
power  to  his  church  to  absolve  penitent  sinners  from  their  sins,  SfO. 
have  mercy  upon  you,  8^c. 

3.  A  singular  distinction  in  the  form  of  administering  the  Ele- 
ments : — "  The  Body  of  owr  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve  thy  body 
unto,"  &c.,  and  "  The  Blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve  thy  soul 
unto  everlasting  life." 

4.  It  concludes  with  the  following  rubric :  N.  That  the  bread 
that  is  consecrated  shall  be  such  as  is  heretofore  accustomed ;  and 
every  of  the  said  breads  shall  be  broken  into  two  pieces  at  the  least: 
and  men  must  not  think  less  to  be  received  in  part  than  in  the 
whole,  but  in  each  of  them  the  whole  body  of  our  Saviour. 

1^'  These  few  specimens  may  perhaps  tempt  the  industrious 
reader  to  consult  the  many  valuable  documents  contained  in  Spar- 
row's *  Collection,'  and  the  fourth  volume  of  Wilkins'  *  Concilia,* 
clearly  exhibiting  the  progress  of  the  Reformation,  but  which  the 
narrow  limits  of  my  work  have  obliged  me  to  leave  almost  un- 
touched. 


INDEX, 


N.B.  An  asterisk  (*)  coming  before  a  word  in  this  Index  signifies  that  an  entire  chapter  or  section 
of  the  work  has  been  appropriated  to  that  subject,  which  the  reader  will  find  by  referring  to 
the  table  of  chapters,  &c.  or  the  introd-.ictions.  The  names  of  vestments  or  liturgical  books  are 
not  included  in  this  Index,  having  been  alphabetically  explained  pp.  249,  &c.  265,  &c.  to  which 
the  reader  is  referred. 


Abbies.    (See  Monasteries,  Ditiolution,  &c.) 

Abbots  or  Abbesses,  3,  150,  &c.,  155,  157,  &c., 
166,  &e.,  168. 

lay,  150. 

Ablution  of  the  chalice,  178, 203,  n.  206, 233,  &c. 
•Abjuration  of  the  realm,  279,  364. 

of  heresy,  383,  385,  3S8. 

of  harlots,  210. 

Absolute  ordination,  what,  84. 

Absolution  deprecatory  or  indicative,  180. 

ad  caufe/ant,  also  relaxaiory,  323. 

general,  344,  374. 

after  death,  303,  323 

•Acts  of  Parliament  affecting  the  Church,  357,  &c. 

Act  of  Submission  to  Henry  VUl   4,  8,  &c. 

Adam,  a  singular  custom,  326. 

Adultery,  314,  &c.,  332,  334,  346,  353,  355,  &c. 

Advowson,  859.    (See  Patron,  Benefice,  &c.) 

Agapae,  late  vestiges  of,  212. 

Agnus  Dei,  what,  270. 

Alleluiah,  burial  of,  249. 

All  Hallows,  243. 
•Alphabetical  list  of  books,  249,  &c. 

——^  of  vestments,  255,  &c. 

•Altars  in  churches  and  portatile  altars,  228, 
276,  280,  &c. 

■  their  plate.  235,  &c. 

——  their  hangings  or  drapery,  232,  &c. 

Ambo  described,  244. 

Ambry  or  locker,  231. 

Ambulatory  or  cloister,  223. 

Ampullse  or  cruets,  235. 

Analogium,  244. 

Anas,  what,  235. 

Angelica  vestis,  78,  n. 

Anglicum  opus,  254. 

Anglo-Saxons.    (See  Homilies,  Laws,  &c.) 

Annals  and  trentals,  114,  &c.,  117,28.3,  301,  &c. 

Annates  or  first-fruits,  50,  60,  98,  127,  138,  3t0. 

Antependium,  232. 

Apostle  spoons,  175. 

Appeals  to  Rome,  18,  23,  25,  tic,  33,  &c.,  44, 
46,  50,  &c.,  56,  112. 

— —  from  the  Pope  to  a  General  Council,  56 . 

Aqusemanile,  236. 

Aquilarius  canonicus,  77. 

Archbishops,  their  dignity,   &c.,  62,  &c.,  91. 
(See  Canterbury,  York,  Visitation,  &c.) 

ArchdeaconSi  67,  93,  tie.,  95, 134. 


•Archpresbyters,  66,  92,  &c. 
Architecture,  Gothic,  its  styles,  217,  &c. 
Arianism  in  Britain,  369,  &c. 
Ash -Wednesday,  how  observed,  269,  279. 
Aspergillum  or  sprinkle,  237. 
Ass,  feast  of  the,  272. 
Asteriscus  in  the  Greek  Church,  236. 
Attrition,  307,  &c. 

Baldachin  or  canopy,  232. 

Banner,  processional,  234. 

Banns  of  marriage,  204,  212,  213. 
•Baptism,  175,  192,  &c.,  195,  &c.,   198,  201,  202, 
206,  213.    (See  Immersion.) 

lay,  valid,  187,  202,  204,  &c.,  209. 

Baptistery,  a  separate  building,  224. 

occasionally  means  the  font,  282. 

Barbarous  practices,  349,  353.      (See  Punish- 
ments.) 

Bastardy,  the  cyldwite,  or  fine,  357,  n. 

■~— —  t.  e.  illegitimacy,   a  disqualification 
for  orders,  95,  110. 

Belfries  and  bell-gables,  224,  &c. 

Bells  and  their  baptism,  246. 

saunce,  sanctus,  or  sacring,  225,  237,  &c. 

Benedictine  rule,  76,  154,  163,  164,  &c. 

Benefices,  90,  &c.,  94,  &c.,  96,  &c.,  115,  121, 
125,  &c.,  305. 

taxation  or  valuation  of,  45,  127,  137. 

•Benefit  of  Clergy,  34,  &c.,  57,  82,  84,  93,  95,  99, 
&c.,  105,  109,  119,  353,  355,  358,  365. 

Bible,  the  Holy.    (See  Scripture.) 

Biblia  Mariae,  266. 

Bigamy  in  the  canon  law,  what,  213. 

Bishops,  their  authority  and  jurisdiction,  45,  64, 
&c..  80,  84,  94,  110,  &c.,  125,  297. 

^——  not  a  distinct  order,  87,  n.  184,  n. 

— ■  anciently  the  Pope's  vassals,  40,  n. 

village  or  chotepiscopi,  66,  92. 

suffragans  or  coadjutors,  104,  110. 

boy  on  S.  Nicholas'  day,  271,  &c. 

Blasphemy,  55,  &c.,  311,  348. 

Bocta  lucerna,  what,  241. 

Books,  ancient  price  of,  68,  &c. 

alphabetical  list  of,  249,  &c. 

(British  and  Irish  Churches,  originally  indepen- 
dent of  the  Pope,  vii.  &c.  18,  20,  &c.,  22,  &c., 
28,33,  &c.,  62,  148. 

BullB,  Papal,  prohibited,  51,  53,  56,  &c.,  59, 122. 


404 


INDEX. 


Bulls,  forged,  51,  n.,  53,  106. 
Buretta,  what,  235. 
•Burial  of  the  dead,  297,  &o.   (See  Churchyards, 
Masses,  Annals,  Vigils,  Mortuaries,  &c.) 

of  the  alleluiah,  249. 

Burning  of  heretics,  361,  367,  387,  &c. 
Bursa,  what,  233. 

Calefactory  or  scutum  described,  237. 
Calvary  described,  223. 
Calumny  or  defamation,  318,  &c.,  348,  353. 
De  Calumnid  oath,  357. 
Camarine,  what,  229. 
Campanile  described,  224. 
Canaliculi,  235,  &c. 
•Candlesticks,  lamps,  &c.,240,  &c. 
Candles,  their  mystical  signification,  285,  n. 
Canon  of  the  mass,  177. 

regular,  98. 

minor,  116,  &c 

Canonical  hours,  80, 156, 249,  &c.,  276,  283,  &c., 
n.,  287. 

purgation,  81,  120,  &c.,  354,  3G3. 

Canonization  of  a  saint,  293. 
Canterbury,  Archbishop  of,  his  dignity  and  ju- 
risdiction, 19,  22,  31,  62,  Sfc,  88,  &c.,  123. 
Cantoral  staff,  238,  259. 
*  Casuists,  their  lax  morality,  145,  309,  &c 
Catechumens,  225,  &c. 
Cathedraticum,  what,  65. 
•Celibacy  of  the  clergy,  xx.,  68,  85,  139,  &c. 
Cells,  lesser  monasteries,  79.  (See  Dormitory.) 
Censer  or  thurible,  237. 
Censures.     (See  Excommunication,  Interdict, 

Suspension,  Degradation.) 
•Ceremonies,  curious,  5,  118,  &c.,  175,  &c.,  215, 
246,  271,  &c.,  298,  362,  &c.,  364,  &o.,  383. 

— — — throughout  the  year,  269,  &c.,  279, 

&c.,292. 
Cereus  virtutum,  230,  n. 
Chalice,  235. 
Chancel  described,  226. 

by  whom  repaired,  294,  <&c. 

the  laity  excluded  from,  98,  197,  281. 

Chantries,  76,  108,  114,  115,  &c.,  117,   124,  &c., 

227,  301, 
Chapelle  ardente,  241. 
Chaplains,  68,  75,  91,  95,  97,  &e.,  106,  108,  114, 

124,  134. 
Chapter,  rural,  93. 
Cheirosemantra,  245. 
Choir  of  a  cathedral,  226. 
Chop  churches,  117. 
Chorepiscopi,  66,  92. 
Chrism,  107,  193,  198,  n.,  204,  208. 
Chrismatory,  238. 
Chrismal  clothes,  175,  &c.,  207. 
•Church,  parts  of,  225. 

consecration  of,  195,  215,  Sec.,  280,  282, 

286. 

architecture,  217,  &c. 

furniture,  227,  &c. 

■  books,  248,  249,  &c.,  294,  &c.,  296. 

vestments,  64,  65,  182,  &c.,  253,  &e., 

255,  &c.,  293,  SiC. 

-house,  223. 

yard,  222,  &c.,  283,  286,  298,  &c.,  361. 

(See  Sanctuary.) 

rates,  285,  n. 

■baptismal,  what,  2B2,  n. 


Ciborium,  230. 

Circa,  what,  77,  155. 

Citations,  48,  357. 

Clarendon,  constitutions  at,  34,  &c. 


•Clergy.    (See  Benefit  of.  Orders,  Degradations, 

Celibacy,  Immunity,  &c.) 
Clerks,  parish,  98. 
Clinic  baptism,  187. 
Cloisters,  223. 

Commendaro,  livings  in,  102,  120. 
Communion   (lay]    in    both  kinds,   xx.,  xxx., 

205,  209,  See. 

infant,  175,  188,200. 

book  of  Edward  VI.,  402. 

Commutation  of  penance,  &c.,   113,  334,  &c. 

336,  &c. 
Compurgators,  81,  347,  n.,  353. 
Concomitance,  what,  177,  210,  n. 
Concubinary  priests,  92,  96,  &c.,  139,  Sec.,  145. 

tax,  143,  &c.,  n. 

Confession,  auricular,  and  its  tendency,   144, 

180,  320,  &c.,  322,  324,  340,  &c.,  342,  iSc,  384. 
to  be  made  to  laymen  if  no  priest 

could  be  had.  343. 
Confessors,  their  duties,  141,  &c.,  159,  324,  340, 

&c. 
for  the  clergy  in  each  deanery,  66, 

93,  96. 
Confessional,  244. 
♦Confirmation  and  its  ceremonies,  175,  Ssc.,  204, 

209,  211. 

sponsors  at,  176,  204,  &c. 

Confraternities  explained,  78,  253. 
Consecration  of  bishops,  19,  84,  184,  250. 
of  churches,   195,   215,  &c.,  280, 

282,  236. 

of  Westminster  Abbey,  by  Saint 

Peter,  278. 

Conversion  of  the  British  Isles,  i.  v. 
Conversi,  77. 

Convocation,  its  secular  origin,  7,  &c. 
•Councils,  general,  7. 

national,  5,  &c. 

provincial,  4,  98,  &c. 

diocesan,  4,  6,  64. 

legatine,  7,  41,  43,  90. 

Counterfeit  reliques,  229,  274. 

Coronae,  what,  240. 

Corporale,  233. 

Corrodies  and  pensions  exacted  by  lay  patrons, 

39,  91,  97,  109,  157,  &c.,  n. 
Credence-table,  what,  230. 
Creed  and  Lord's  prayer  to  be  learnt  by  all, 

195,196,  &c.,  276,  343. 
Cross  adoration  of,  on  Good  Friday,  xxv.  292,  n. 

preaching,  palm,  &c.,  223,  &c.,  281. 

processional,  238. 

staff  borne  by  each  archbishop,  and  the 

contentions  to  which  it  gave  rise,  64, 103, 108, 

111,  114. 
Crypt,  what,  226. 

Curates.   (See  Chaplains  &Qd  Stipends.) 
•Cursus  Scotorum,  xxv.,  &c. 
Custodia,  what,  237. 

Date  of  consecration  to  be  engraved  upon  each 

altar,  &c,  228,  281,  284. 
•Dead,  their  obsequies  and  exequies,  297,  &c., 
304,  n. 

excommunicated  or  absolved,  303,  323. 

prayer  for  the,  did  not  imply  a  belief  in 

purgatory,  xxii.,  xxxi  ,  &c.,  n. 
Deans,  rural,  theiroffice,  &c.  66, 92,  &c.,  96, 167. 
•Decalogue  mutilated,  290,  &c. 

tampered  with  by  the  Casuists,  309, 

&c. 
Degrees  of  matrimony,  prohibited,  19, 186,  194, 
201,  204,  206. 


INDEX. 


405 


Degrees  ofuniversity  encouraged,  121,  &c.,  163. 
Degradation  from  holy  orders,  35,  &c.,  82,  &c., 

84,  95,  99,  118,  125,  354. 
Devolution,  what,  49,  n. 
Dilapidations,  94,  108,  120, 

Dioceses,  ancient,  xi.  &c.,  xxiii.,  21,  n.  65, 

85,  89. 
Diptychs,  what,  236. 
DiscipHna  arcani,  188,  &c. 
Discipline  or  scourge,  247. 
Dispensations.  110,  121. 
Divorce,  191,  194,  352,  &c. 

of  King  Henry  viii.  and  its  important 

results,  58,  60. 
Door,  south,  its  ancient  importance,  225. 
Dormitory,  78,  158,  161,  165,  168,  170. 
Dorsale,  232. 
Drunkenness  of  the  clergy  censured,  81,  83,  92, 

141, n. 
Duel,  trial  by,  304,  n. 
Dulia,  what,  262. 

Easter  controversy,  21,  22,  &c.,  24,  &c. 

sepulchre,  232. 

light,  240,  270,  280. 

Ecclesiastical  jurisdiction    distinct   from   the 

secular,  34,  &c.,  64,  83,  &c.,  85,  &c.,  88,  91 ,  93, 

99,  101,  109,  &c.,  112,  &c.,  114,  118,  120,  348, 

851,  353,  354,  &c.,  356,  358,  &c 
Election  of  Bishops,  35,  39,  63,  92,  99,  111,  357. 

(See  Provision.) 
Ember  weeks,  334,  n. 
Encoenia,  what,  273,  n.  281,  361. 
Espousals,  193,  196,  202,  207. 
^Eucharist,  176,  &c.,  192,  198,  208,  &c.,  210,  336. 

(See  Communion,  Mass,  Host,  &c.) 
Eulogiae,  what,  205,  n.,  294,  n. 
•Exactions  of  the  Pope,  11,  15,  37,  39,  &c.,  41, 

&c.,   45,  52,  57.     (See  Romescol,  Annates, 

Procurations,  Pall,  &c.) 
.•  resisted,   13,  &c.,   15,  17,  36,  &c.,  39, 

41,  &c.,  43,  51,  &c.,  53,57. 

ofUie  King,  45,  102,  &c.,  107,111. 

complained  of   or  resisted,  52,    99, 

102.107,  &c.,  114,  121,&c. 
Exchange  of  livings,  117,  &c. 
"Excommunication,  34,  &c.,  42,  61,  99,  &c.,  105, 

107,  109,  l2.i,  303,  322,  &c.,330,  &c.,332,  &c., 

335,  n.,339,  &c.,  343,  355. 

major  and  minor,  322. 

•general,  107,  323,  S'lO,   n., 


342,  n.,  345. 


■  after  death,  323. 


Exemption  and  its  evils,  12,  16,  46,  Sec,  113, 

116,  149,  rss,  100,  162. 
Expository,  236. 
Extreme  unction,  180,  192,  197,  &c.,  205,  &c., 

207,212,  299,  n. 

Faldistorium,  246. 

Paid  stool,  what,  244. 

Fairs,  273,  n.,  281,  361. 

Fasts,  and  their  rigorous  observance,  335,  n., 
.337,  &c. 

Feretra,  or  portable  shrines,  229. 

Fees  exacted  by  ecclesiastical  superiors  mode- 
rated or  prohibited,  92,  113,  120,  121,  201. 
(See  Oblations,  Sacraments,  Subsidies.) 

Ferrum  oblatarum,  235. 

Festivals,  their  number,  278,  &c  ,284,  287,  288. 
(Sec  As,t,  ytar,  Kalends,  &c.) 

Fines  or  pecuniary  mulcts,  85,  ice,  130,  See, 
192,  274,  346,  &c.,  354. 

Fir«t-fruiM,  50,  60,  98,  127,  138,  360. 


Flabellum  Muscatorium,  237. 
Flowers,  what,  240. 
Fonts,  204,  245,  282. 
Fools,  feast  of,  272,  &c.,  286,  &c. 
Foreigners.     (See  Provision.) 
Forged  bulls,  51,  n.,  53,  106.. 
Friars  and  their  encroachments  upon  the  rights 
of  the  parochial  clergy,  78,  105,  106,  &c.,  159, 
160,  &c.,  n.,  162,  &c.,  166,  168. 
Frontale,  what,  232. 
Funeral  of  a  Scottish  chief,  298. 
'Furniture  of  churches,  227,  &c.,  295,  &c. 

Galilee,  225. 

Games  at  dice,  football,  &c.,  forbidden  to  the 

clergy,  115,  124.    (See  Hounds.) 
Garlands,  festal,  239. 

funeral,  225. 

General  of  each  religious  order,  78,  361,  n. 

Genuflexorium,  234 

Gild,  352.     (See  Confraternity.) 

Glass,  stained,  its  introduction,  242. 

Godfathers,  &c.,  183,  194,  &c.,  196,  &c.,  201, 

203,  &c.,  205,  &c.,  347,  &c. 
Golgotha,  or  Calvary,  223. 
Good  Friday,  ceremonial,  xxxi.  270,  292. 
•Gothic  architecture,  217,  &c. 

Hebdomedarii,  77. 
Hercia  ad  tenebras,  241. 
Herse,  standing  or  catafalque,  241. 
Heriot,  what,  64,  305,  n. 
•Heresy  and  its  punishment,  361,  366,  &c.,  375, 

&c.,  387,  &c. 
Heretics,  how  reconciled,  383. 
Homage,  32,  n.,35. 

Homilies,  Anglo-Saxon,  10,  189,  &c.,  291. 
Hospitality  to  be  exercised  by  the  prelates  and 

beneficed  clergy,  94,  104,  117,  &c.,  128. 
Host  or  housel,  189,  &c.,  194,  199,  &c.,  201,  209, 

212,  2,35,  &c. 
Holy  sepulchre,  or  paschal,  232. 
water  its  revenues  and  alleged  efficacy,  2SI, 

&c,,  308,  383. 

stoup,  sprinkle,  &c.,  237. 

Hours,  canonical,  80, 156, 249,  &c.,  276,  283,  &c., 

D.,  287. 
Hounds  and  hunting,  forbidden  to  the  clergy, 

85,  87,  n,,  91,  &c.,  113. 
Hutches  or  chests,  238. 
Hyperdulia,  262. 

Jews,  91,  282,  356,301. 

Idiots  capable  of  the  sacraments,  193. 

Jesse,  what,  243. 

Ignorance  of  the  clergy  in  the  middle  ages,  68, 
85,  88,  93,  &c.,  95,  98,  105,  &c.,  115,  206,  369. 

Illegitimates  incapable  of  orders,  without  dis- 
pensation, 95,  110. 
•Images  and  image  worship  when  introduced  into 
these  islands,  xxi.  xxxi.,  28!<,  &c.,  292,  310. 

in  churches,  241,  &c. 

Immersion  in  baptismi  195,  &c.,  202. 

Immunity,  clerical,  93,  95. 

Impropriations,  lay,  68,  90,  95,  102,  121,  131,  &c. 
167,  8cc. 

Incest.    (See  Degrees.) 

Indulgences,  5,  54,  &c.,  100,  110,  211,  286,  326, 
&c,,  3'14,  &c. 

Infant  communion,  175,  1R8,  200. 

Intention,  21.3,  n,,  310,  &c. 

Interdict,  27,  37,  n.,  93,  99,  100,  &c,,  123,  282, 
338,  340. 

■  of  an  individual,  «hat,  35,  n. 

EK 


406 


INDEX. 


Intestate,  45,  356. 

Intinction,  communion  by,  202,  n.,  236. 

Intrusion  into  benefices,  97. 

Inventories  of  church  furniture,  227,  239,  280. 

Investitures,  32. 

Ireland  granted  to  King  Henry  II.  by  the  Pope, 

XV.  &c.,  33,  &c.    (See  British  and  Irish.) 
Irregularity,  canonical,  93,  95,  &c. 
Jubilee  explained,  327. 
Judges,  348,  &c.,352,  &c. 
Jury,  trial  by,  its  origin,  330. 

Kalends,  or  feast  of  fools,  272,  &c.,  286,  &c. 
Kings  (Anglo-Saxon)  elected  out  of  the  royal 

family,  328. 
resist  the  usurpations  of  the  Pope,  12,  30, 

31,  &c.,  36,  46,  51,  53,  58,  &c. 
supremacy  of,  in  spirituals  and  temporals 

asserted,  58,  &c.,  60,  &c.    (See  Enaction  } 

Lady  chapel,  227. 

Lampades,  240. 

Lapse,  117. 

Latria,  262. 
•Laws  (Anglo-Saxon),  328,  &c.,  346, &c. 
• temporal,  affecting  the  church,  357,  Sec. 

Lay,  persons  excluded  from  the  chancel,  98, 197, 
281,  &c. 

♦ communion  in  both  kinds,  xix.  xxx  , 

205,  208,  &c.  n. 

baptism,  valid,  187,  202,  204,  &c.,  209. 

abbots,  150. 

impropriations,  68,  90,  95,  102,  121,  131, 

&c.,  167,  &c. 

Lectern  or  lettern,  244. 

Legatine  councils,  7,  41,  43,  90. 

Legates,  papal,  12,  14, 26,  30, 32,  &c.,  38,  &c.,  40, 

66,  60,  62,  &c.,  149. 
resisted,  12,  &c.,  16,31,  &c.,  39,  41,  43, 

45,  47,  &c. 
Lent,  ceremonies  of,  269,  279,  &c.,  338. 
Letters  of  confraternity,  78,  253,  326. 

testimonial,  80,  82,  97,  126. 

Licence  to  preach,  94,  1 18. 

—  to  keep  concubines,  143,  &c.,  n. 

to  read  heretical  books,  396,  &c. 

Lichfield  becomes  an  archbishopric,  85,  Sec. 
Lichgate,  what,  222. 
Light  scot,  131. 
*Liturgy,  the  Galilean,  anciently  used  in  Britain 

and  Ireland,  analysed,  xxv.,  &c. 
Liturgical  books  alphabetically  explained,  248, 

&c. 
Locker  or  ambry,  231 . 
Lollards,  366,  &c.,  37.5,  &c.,  382,  c&c,  395. 
Lord's-Day  strictly  observed  by  our  ancestors, 

28,  274,  277,  &c.,  349,   &c.,  354,361. 

desecrated  by  Roman  Catholics,  312,  &c. 

Manbote,  what,  348,  n.,  355. 
Mandatum,  what,  270. 
Mappa  mundi,  what,  243. 
•Mark  signed  by  a  king,  82. 
Married  priests,  139,  Ac,  141,  &c.  143,  &c.,  145, 
&c  ,  147.    (See  Celibacy.) 
•  Matrimony,  I85,  &c.,  193,  197,  202,  205,  210, 
&c.,  213.     (See  Adultery,  Bigamy,  Degreei, 
Divorce,  Banm,  Espousals,  ^c.) 
♦Mariolatry,  or  the  idolatrous  homage  paid  to 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  261,  Ac,  263,  Ac, 
267,  &c. 
Markets  in  churchyards,  273,  n.  281,  361. 
•Mass,  its  rubrics,  ceremonies,  &c.,  xxvii.  &c., 
57,  no,   177,  dtc,  193,  196,  &c.,  198,202,  <Src., 
204,  20R,  208,  211,  299,  .300,  &c.,  302,  n.,  &c. 


Maunday  Thursday,  its  ceremonies,  270. 
Mendicant  friars,    78,  105,  106,  Sec,  159,   ICO, 

&c.,  n.,  162,  &c.,  166,  168. 
Mercheta,  353. 
Ministeria,  or  altar  plate,  177. 
Minstrels'  gallery,  243. 
Mintage,  right  of,  63,  123. 
Miracles,  19,  20,  89,  n. 
Miserere,  what,  246. 
Missa  prcetanctificalorum,  sicca,  votiva,  bi/a- 

ciata  viaticum,  173,  &c. 
Monasteries,  their  parts,  officers,  constitution 

discipline,  &c.,  76,  &c.,  148,  &c.,  154,  4o. 

160,  &c.,  16P,  &c.,  171,  &c.,  360. 

dissolution  of,  170,  dtc,  172. 

Monastic  orders,  76. 
Money,  its  ancient  value,  137. 
Monstrance,  or  expository,  236. 
Mortal  sins,  104,  n.,  307,  &c. 
Mortmain,  what,  105,  n.,  360,  n. 
Mortuary,  300,  &c.,  303,  305,  &c. 
Mandatory,  233. 

Murder,  337,  &c.,  347.    (See  Weregild.) 
Music,  church,  243. 
•Mysteries  and  moralities,  271,  &c. 

Names  sometimes  changed  at  confirmation,  176, 

209,  n. 
Narthex,  what,  225,  &c. 
Natalitia  sanctorum,  295,  n. 
Nave  of  the  church,  225,  285. 
Navette,  what,  237. 
Nepotism,  or  the  undue  promotion  of  a  bishop's 

relations,  120. 
Nuns,  profligate,  150,  157,  159. 
Nuncios,  papal,  45,  43,  &c. 

Oath,  de  calumniS,  357. 

of  a  Romish  bishop,  40,  n. 

acknowledging  the  kings  supremacy,  S9. 

of  canonical  obedience  taken  at  ordina- 
tion, 88,  90,  93,  108. 

'—  taken   bv  the  vicar  or  chaplain  to    his 

rector,  91,  93,  108. 
judicial,  81,  &c.,  277,  310,  &c.,  337,  347, 

350,  &c.,  352,  &c. 
Obedientiae,  79. 
Obedientiares,  77,  165. 
Oblati,  151,  n.,  157. 
Oblations,  86,  91,  &c.,  100,  106,  108,  119,  134, 

&c.,  136,  211,  281,  &c.,  284,  299,  305,  &c. 
Offertory  cloth,  234,  basin,  236. 
Oils.    (See  Chrism.) 
Option  of  an  archbishop,  63,  \\0. 

of  a  king,  112. 

*  Ordeal,  351,362,  &c. 

•Orders  (seven)  of  the  ministry,  67,  *c.,  81,  87, 

182,  &c. 
— —  vestments  appropriated  to  each,  64,  6S, 
182,  &c. 

■  monastic,  76. 


Ordination,  84,  106,  113,  183,  &c. 
•Ornaments  of  churches,  227,  &c.,  275. 
•Organs  and  church  music,  243,  &c. 

Osculatory  or  paxboard,  236. 

Pall,  archbishop's,  11,  18,  &c.,  22,  27,29,  32, 
44,  G4,  258,  &c. 

Pardoners.  106,  138,  344,  &c. 

Parishes,  i.e.  dioceses,  80,  83,  &c. 

in  the  modern  sense,  75, 83,  87,  94,  98 . 

♦  Parliament,  its  origin,  3. 

* actsof,  affecting  the  church,  357,  &c. 

Parlour,  78,  159 


INDEX. 


407 


Parsonages.    (See  DilapiJationt.) 
Farvise,  what,  225. 
Paschal  sepulchre,  232, 

light,  240,  270,  280. 

controversy,  21,  22,  &c.,  24,  &c. 

Pastoral  staff,  and  ring  given  in  token  of  inves- 
titure, 32. 
broken   or  resigned  when  a  bishop 

was  deposed,  29,  69,  n. 
Patena,  what,  235. 

Patrons  of  livings,  97,  101,  132,  168,  359. 
Paxboard,  236. 
Peg  tankards,  141. 
Pelagian  and  other  heresies,  370. 
Pelvicula  amularum,  235. 
*Penance,  sacrament  of,  1 79,  &c.,  307,  &c.    (See 

Absolution,  Confesiion,  Confessor,  Reserved 

Cases,  Sic.) 
Penances,  curious  or  severe,  156,  161,  164,  &c., 

324,  &c.,  335,  337,  &c.,  339,  &c.,  383. 
Penitentiaries,  67,  342. 
Pensile  tables,  155,  237. 
Pensions.    (See  Corrodiei.) 
Perjury,  310,  &c.,  337,  347. 
Personal  tithes,  75,  131,  133,  135,  138. 
Peristeriuin,  230. 
Perticae,  229. 
Peter's  pence,  15,  26,  &c.,  28,  &c.,  31,  37,  45, 

49,  &c.,  128,  n.,  130. 
*Pews  and  seats  in  churches,  246,  &c.,  283,  n. 
•Pictures  in  churches,  241,  &c. 
Pilgrims  and  pilgrimages,  26,  28,  29,  229,  &c., 

361. 
Piscinae,  231. 

Plague,  its  ravages,  114,  &c.,  359,  n. 
•Plate  and  utensils  in  churches,  235,  &c.,  237,  &c. 
Pluralities,  96,  &c.  n.,  100,  103,   115,  117,  &c., 

120,  8:c.,  127.  359. 
•Pope,  his  usurped  authority,  xiv.  &c.,  10,  11, 

&c.,  18,  33,  38,  55,  &c.,  359,  &c. 
resisted,  12,  &c.,  21,  24,  28,  30,  dec,  36, 

38,  46,  47,  &c.,  51,  53,  58,  60,  &c.,  359,  &c. 
Poor,  42,  104,  127,  &c. 
Portable  altars,  228. 
Praemunire,  16,  53,  56,  &c.,  59,  122,  360. 
Preachers,  87,  &c.,  94,  &c.,  97,  103,  &c.,  118, 

161,  270,  285,  287,  361,  390,  &c. 
Prebendaries,  98,  107,  287. 
Presbyters,  the  sons  of,  numerous,  in  England, 

141. 
Presbytery,  226. 

Primacy.    (See  Canterbury,  and  York.) 
Prior,  priory,  79,  164,  166. 
Prison,  the  bishop's,  96,  101,  358. 
Probate  of  wills.    (Sw  Will*.) 
Processions,  271,  284. 
Processional  cross,  238. 
-  banner,  234. 

Proctors  of  the  English  clergy  at  Rome,  44,  45, 

108,  165. 
Procurations,  41,  45,  65,  108.     (See  Feet  and 

Subsidies.) 
Provisions,  papal,  11,  14,  &c,,  43,  47,  &c.,  49, 

&c.,  51,&c.,  S3,  &c.,  55,  lll,&c. 
resisted,  14,  &c..  43,  46,  Sec.,  48,  56, 

359,  &c. 
Provisors,  statute  of,  369,  &c. 
Psalterium  Maris,  265,  &c. 
Pugillares,  235. 

Pulpits  and  preaching  crosses,  223,  244,  287. 
PunishmenU,  severe,  348,  &c.,  350,  855,  &c., 

366,  n.  (See  Fines,  Manbote,  Weregild,  &c.) 
Purgation  canonical,  81,  &c.,  120,  &c.,  354,  863. 
Purgatory,  xxii.  xxxi.  Ace,  802,  307,  ice. 


Purificatory  or  Mundatory,  233. 
Pyx,  235. 

Quadripartite  and  tripartite  division  of  tithes, 

65,  75,  127,  &c. 
Quartodeciman  or  Easter  controversy,  21,  22, 

&c.,  24,  &c. 
Questors  or  pardoners,  106,  138,  344,  &c. 

Rectors,  90,  93,  95. 

Refectory  of  a  monastery,  78,  158,  dec,  161,  &c, 

164,  170. 
Reformation,  the,  its  origin  and  progress,  58, 

8tc,  147,  &c,  171,  dec,  366,  &c,  400,  &o. 
Regalls,  244. 

Registers  of  baptism,  &c.  enjoined,  188. 
Religion,  Religious,  what,   379,  386. 
*Reliquesand  their  counterfeits,  228,  &c.,  274, 

277,  278. 
Reredos,  what,  230. 

Reserved  cases,  64,  324,  336,  340,  &c.,  342,  344. 
Residence  of  beneficed  clerks,  95,  96,  &c.,  116, 

&c,  120,  126. 

of  bishops,  65,  94,  125. 

Rogations,  271,  296. 

Romescot,  15,  26,  Sec,  28,  &c,  31,  37,  45,  49, 

&c.,  128,  n.,  130. 
Rood-loft,  243,  270. 
Rosa  aurea,  17,  57,  269. 
Rosary,  or  devotions  of  the  bead-roll,  261. 
Rule  Benedictine,  164,  163,  164,  &c. 
Rural  deans,  C6,  92,  &c.,  96. 

Sacca,  socca,  thol,  theame  etinfangthefe,  356,  n. 
•Sacraments,  the  seven,  xix.,  173,  &c.  (See  Tra- 
dition ;  also  Baptism,  Confirmation,  Eucha- 
rist, Penance,  Extreme  Unction,  Orders,  and 
Matrimony.) 

not  to  be  sold,  192,  Ac,  201,  &c. 

•Sacramentals,  what,  1 87. 
Sanctuary,  35,  100,  152,  &c.,  273,  &c.,  276,  &c., 

278,  &c.,  288,  334,  354,  361. 
Sacrilege,  its  punishment,  276,  &c. 

•Saints'  worship,  xxi.,  xxx.,  261,  dec,  283,  &c. 
Sanctus  saunce  or  sacringbell,  225,  237,  &c. 
Sarum,  history  of  the  use  of,  248. 
Satisfaction,  what,  324,  dec. 
Schisms  in  the  papacy,  54,  &c 
•Scholastic  theology,  its  genius  and  wire-drawn 

subtleties,  69,  &c,372. 
Scotales,  what,  97. 
Screen  under  the  roodloft,  226, 243. 
Scriptures,  the  holy,  to  be  studied  by  the  clergy, 

115,  126,  163,  &c. 
— ^— — — —  but  not  by  the  laity  without  a 
licence,  396,  dec. 

'  translated  into  the  English  lan- 


guage, 369,  391,  397,  399,  &c. 
Seat*  for  the  laity  in  the  church,  246,  &c.  283,  n. 
Sedilia,  sedes  majestatis,  freedstool,  231,  &c. 
Semantra,  245. 
Sempecta,  what,  77,  157,  n. 
Sepulchre,  paschal,  232. 
Sequestration  of  benefices,  93,  116,  120. 
Sermons,  &c.  in  the  middle  ages,  72,  &c.,  74, 

83,  H7,  103,  &c,  276,  285. 
four  times  a  year,  103,  die.     (Sej 

Friars  and  Homilies.) 
Serta,  239. 

Servants'  wages  tithed,  133,  135. 
Seven.    (See  Mortal  Sins,  Orders,  Sacraments.) 
Shrines,  229. 
Six  articles'  Act,  400. 


408 


INDEX. 


Sick,  visitation  of,   9,t,  179,  ISO.  Szc,  2i0,  282. 

Extreme  Unction,  Viaticum,  Sec.) 
Sigilluni  confessionis,  what,  .311,  324,  341,  343. 
Simony,  64,  84,  90,  94,  97,  117,  126. 
Sins,  venial  and  mortal,  104,  n.,  307,  &c. 
Slaves  and  slavery,  347,  &c.,  354. 
Snuffers,  spiritualized,  241,  n. 
Solicitors, or  priests  who  made  the  confessional 

an  instrument  of  seduction,  340,  &c.,  n. 
Sorcery  or  witchcraft,  331,  349,  350,  &c. 
Soul  scot,  299. 
Sponsors,  18S,  194,  &c.,  196,  &c.,  201,  203,  &c., 

205,  &c.,  .347.  &c. 
Spoons,  175,  236. 
Star,  feast  of,  272. 
Stations,  penitential,   in  the  ancient  church, 

321,  Sec. 
Stealth,  ordination  by,  96,  n. 
Stipends    of   chaplains,    vicars,   and    chantry 

priests,  95,  98,  106,  114,  &c.,  117,  132,  &c., 

136,  359. 
Submission,  the  base  of  king  John  to  the  Pope, 

SS. 

■  of  the  clergy  to  Henry  VIII.  4,  8, 


&c. 


Subsidies  granted  by  the  clergy  to  their  metro' 
politan,  &c.  98,  108.  (See  Exactions,  Procu 
rations.  Tenths.) 

Sunday.    (See  Lord's-Day.) 

Supererogation,  what,  326. 

Superstitious  opinions  and  practices,  100,  187, 
202,  n.,  204,  207,  213. 

Supremacy  of  the  king  asserted,  58,  &c.  60,  &c. 

Suspension,  96,  102,  108,  &c. 

Sylva  caedua,  what,  135,  n. 

Synods.     (See  Councils.) 

Tabernacle,  2,30. 

Tables,  what,  242. 

Tabula  votiva,  230. 

Taxatio,  45. 

Taxa  Camerae,  327. 

Templars',  knights,  the  order  abolished  for  their 

alleged  heresies  and  crimes,  373,  &c. 
Tenebrae  241,  270. 
Tenths,  4.3,  45,  52,  359. 
Testimonial  (letters),  80,  82,  97,  126. 
Theft,  .315,  &c.,  346,  &c.,  n.,  348,  &c. 
Thesaurus  ecclesiae,  what,  326,  &c. 
Throne,  episcopal,  246. 
Thurible  and  navette,  237. 
Tithes,  74,  &c.,  91,  107, 118,  128,  &c.  &c.    (See 

Personal,  Servants,  Sylva.) 
Title  for  orders,  65,  92- 
Tonsure,  and  the  controversy  to  which  it  gave 

rise,  25,  86,  91,  &c.,  101,  182. 
Tradition,  oral,   its  uncertainty  illustrated  in 

the  case   of  the  five  pretended  sacraments, 

173,  &c.,  176, 179,  &c.,  181,  &c.,  183,  185,  &c, 
Translation  of  bishops,  Ac,  31,  118. 

of  priests,  83,  86. 

♦Transubstantiation,  xviii.    &c.;   xxviii,  189, 

194,  198,  &c.,  200,  n.,  205,  &c.,  208. ,  282. 
Tresorie,  what,  226. 
Trees,  tithe  of,  135,  n. 

Trentals  and  annals,  114,  &c.  117,  283,  301,  &c. 
Tumbrell  or  cucking  stool,  247. 

Vacant  sees,  how  administered,  3S,  44,  60,  99, 

116,361. 
Vela  or  veils  suspended  in  the  church,  232,  &c. 


Vernakill,  wliat,  243. 

Vestments,  64,  65,  77,  182,  fcc,  253,  &c.,  258, 

&c  ,  29,3,  &o. 

alphabetical  list  of,  255,  &c. 

Viaticum  mass,  1 79. 

Vicars  and  vicarages,  91,  0,3,  95,  96.  102,  106, 

121,  &e.,  131,  &c,  1,33,  &c,,  158,  167. 
Vigils  of  the  Saints,  286. 

of  the  dead,  280,  299,  304. 

Visitations  by  metropolitans,   49,  &c.,  04,   92, 

104,  112,  117. 

by  bishops,  64,  83,  92. 

— — by  archdeacons,   92,   &n.,  94,  106, 

113,  121. 
Visitation  of  the  sick,  93,  179, 180,  &c  ,  210,  282. 
*Unction  extreme,  180,  192,  197,  &c.,  205,  &o., 

207,  212,  299,  n. 
Uniculus,  what,  2,38. 

Universities,  47,  115,  121,  &c.,  126,  16.3,  &c. 
University  of  Oxford,  prevalence  of  LoUardy 

at,  370,  ,38a,  &c.,  389,  &c.,  391,  &c. 
Votal  tablets,  230. 
Uses  of  Sarum,  Bangor,  &c.,  248. 
Usury,  how  punished,  356. 

Wages  of  servants  titheable,  133,  135. 
♦Wager  of  battle,  trial  by,  364. 

Wakes,  church,  273,  n.,  281,  361. 

Water,  holy,  its  alledged  efficacy  and  its  reve- 
nues, 281,  &c.,  308,  383. 

stoup,  vat,  and  sprinkle,  237, 

Waxen  images  hung  up  before  shrines,  230. 

Wells,  holy,  224. 

Weregild  and  other  mulcts,  81 ,  n.,  3.33, 346,  &c. , 
350,  &c.,  352,  354. 
*  Wiclif,  366,  &c. ,  375,  &c.,  377,  &c, ,  386,  .389,  &c. , 
,391,  &c. 

Witchcraft,  331,  349,  350,  &c. 

Widows  and  widowers,  193,  n. 

Wills,  94,  112,  &c.,  120,  158,  &c,,  210,  281,  300 
303,  &c.,305,  n.,358. 
♦Witenagemot,  3. 

Women  (married)  not  to  approach  the  altar,  197. 

sold,  346. 

Wooden  churches,  xxv.  214,  &c.,  291. 

Xenodochium ,  78,  123, 156. 

York,  archbishop  of,  his  rights  and  privileges, 
19,  63,  82,  88,  91.  124,  &c. 

his  jurisdiction  over  Scotland,  88,  91. 

struggles  against  the  supremacy  of  Can- 
terbury, 63,  8S,  &c.,  90,  103,  108,  111,  114. 

convocation  of  the  province  of,  adopts 

the  constitutions  of  the  province  of  Canter- 
bury, 7,  124. 


{^From  Fleetwood.'] 
ANGEts  (or  Nobles),  sometimes  6s.8^.  at  others, 

10*. 
Floren  (18  Edw.  III.)  6«. 
Mark,  Saxon.  30rf.     In  Hen.  the  First's  time, 

6s.  ^d.■,  in  1194,  13?.  4d. 
Ora,  \&d. 
Pound,  Anglo-Saxon,  was  the  value  of  a  pound 

weight  in  silver,  or  two-thirds  more  than  our 

own.    It  contained  48«.  i.e.  240rf. 
Shilling,  Saxon,  5d.i   Anglo-Norman,  16d., 

sometimes,  20d. 
Thrymsa,  a  Saxon  coin,  value  id. 


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