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GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD
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HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
THE
GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD
PART I
A HISTORY OF THE CONVENT
PART II
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF THE FRIARS
TOGETHER WITH
APPENDICES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS
BY
ANDREW G. LITTLE, M.A.
BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD
PRINTED FOR THE OXFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1892
[All rights reserved]
,^»!*~=r=:
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BRARY
Sfonto, Ov^v
PREFACE.
THE object of this work is to give an account of the out-
ward life of the Franciscans. This might be fairly taken to
include the whole activity of the friars with the exception of
their contribution to scholastic philosophy; for that clearly
forms a subject by itself. But even with this limitation the
account here given of the Franciscans' work does not pretend
to be complete. The documents which remain to us do not
by any means cover the whole of the active life of the Fran-
ciscans. While for the thirteenth century and the Dissolution
the records are fairly numerous, the materials for the inter-
vening period are very scanty. Thus any attempt at a
chronological narrative was out of the question. And the
almost total absence of all Franciscan records (properly so
called) in England, has proved an effectual bar to any com-
pleteness of treatment at all. The arrangement here adopted,
both in the choice of subjects and in the relative prominence
given to each of them, is due simply to the exigencies of the
available materials relating to the Oxford Convent. The
topographical information derived from records and other
sources has been neither full enough nor accurate enough
to enable me to supply a map or plan of the property and
buildings of the Grey Friars.
A few words will be necessary to explain the plan pursued
in Part II. An endeavour has been made to collect the names
of all the Grey Friars who lived in the Convent at Oxford or
who studied in the University: the list, if complete, would have
v; PREFACE.
included all the names which were, or ought to have been,
entered in the 'Buttery-books' or ' Admission-books ' of the
house. To show how far short of this aim the result falls, it
is only necessary to point out that the names of friars actually
included in Part II number little more than three hundred:
and the connexion of some of these with Oxford is doubtful.
The bibliographies, appended to the biographical notices, are
intended to include all the extant works of each friar, but not
all the MSS. nor all the editions of each work. Occasionally
works are added which have not been identified, but of whose
previous existence there is sufficient evidence. For this part
of the book I have used, besides the well-known mediaeval
bibliographies, a number of catalogues of manuscripts ; a list
of these is given below, with the object of showing not so
much what has been done, as what has been left undone.
Among unpublished sources, the most valuable have been
various collections in the Public Record Office, especially the
Patent, Close, and Liberate Rolls ; the Registers of Congre-
gation (Reg. Aa, G 6, H 7, 1 8), the records of the Chancellor's
Court (Acta Curiae Cancellarii Q, 71, EEE, or 9), and Brian
Twyne's collections, in the Oxford University Archives.
Further, I have had occasion to consult the Oxford City
Archives, some of the old registers of wills at Somerset
House, and various manuscripts in the British Museum,
Lambeth Palace, and Gray's Inn ; the Bodleian and several
College libraries at Oxford ; the University (or Public)
Library and several College libraries at Cambridge; the
library of Sir Thomas Phillipps at Thirlestaine House,
Cheltenham ; the National Library at Paris, and the Muni-
cipal Library at Assisi. I have had no opportunity of ex-
amining the episcopal registers of the diocese of Lincoln,
extracts from which, however, are contained in Twyne's
transcripts.
The Index, so far as it deals with the names of persons and
places, will, I hope, be found complete, with the following
PREFACE. vii
limitations. The authorities quoted, either in the text or in the
notes, the places where the manuscripts cited were written, or
were formerly or are now kept, or where the editions referred
to were printed, are not mentioned in the Index, unless there
is some particular reason for including them. So far as it
deals with subjects, the Index is meant to be supplementary
to the Table of Contents. The writings of the friars are not
classified in the Index, except those which come under the
headings Aristotle^ Bible, Evangelical Poverty and Sentences.
Finally, I wish to express my thanks to those who have
given me aid, namely, to the Rev. W. G. D. Fletcher, Vicar
of St. Michael's, Shrewsbury, author of ' The Black Friars in
Oxford,' who generously placed a valuable collection of re-
ferences at my disposal ; to Mr. Falconer Madan for assistance
and advice ; to the Keeper of the University Archives and the
Town Clerk of Oxford for allowing me free and repeated
access to the documents under their respective charges ; and
to the authorities in the various offices and libraries in which
I have worked, for their unfailing courtesy.
ANDREW G. LITTLE.
30 November, 1891.
CATALOGUES OF MANUSCRIPTS
CONSULTED.
For the compilation of the bibliographies in Part II the following
catalogues of manuscripts have been consulted a : —
Bernard de Montfaucon, Bibliotheca Bibliothecarum Manuscriptorum ;
Paris, 1739, 2 vols. fol.
Haenel, Catalog! Librorum Manuscriptorum qui in Bibliothecis Galliae,
Helvetiae, Belgii, Britanniae M., Hispaniae, Lusitaniae, asservantur ; Lipsiae,
1830.
Edward Bernard, Catalogi Librorum Manuscriptorum Angliae et Hiberniae
in unum collecti ; Oxon.,i697, 2 vols., fol. Vol. I, Bodleian ; Oxford Colleges ;
Cambridge Colleges and Public (University) Library. Vol. II, Cathedral
and other libraries in England ; Irish libraries.
Catalogues of the following collections in the British Museum : — Royal
MSS. 1734, 4to (Casley) ; Sloaneand Birch, 1782, 2 vols. 4to (Ayscough) ;
Cotton, 1802, fol.; Harley, 1808-1812, 4 vols., fol.; Lansdowne, 2 parts,
1819, fol. ; Arundel and Burney, 1834-40, fol.; Additional MSS. from A.D.
1783-1887.
A Catalogue of the Archiepiscopal MSS. in the Library at Lambeth
Palace, by H. J. Todd; i8ia, fol.
Ancient MSS. in Gray's Inn Library, 1869.
Catalogues of the following collections in the Bodleian : — Laudian MSS.,
1858-1885; Canonidan MSS., 1854; Tanner MSS., 1860; Rawlinson,
1862-1878; Digby, 1883 ; Catalogue of the Ashmolean MSS., 1845-1866.
Catalogus Codicum Manuscriptorum qui in Collegiis Aulisque Oxoni-
ensibus hodie adservantur (Coxe) ; Oxon., 1852, 2 vols., 4to.
A Catalogue of the Manuscripts preserved in the Library of the Univer-
sity of Cambridge, edited for the Syndics of the University Press ; Cam-
bridge, 1856, &c., 6 vols., 8vo.
Nasmith, Catalogue of the Parker MSS. in Corpus Christi College, Cam-
bridge; 1787, 4to.
Catalogue of MSS. in the library of Gonville and Caius, by J. J. Smith ;
1849, 4to.
Catalogus Manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Regiae Parisiensis; Paris, 1739—
1744, 4 vols., fol.
1 A few others have been used oc- logne (1837), and Ulysse Robert's
casionally, such as the Phillipps cata- Inventaire sommaire.
CATALOGUES OF MANUSCRIPTS CONSULTED. ix
Inventaire des Manuscrits conserves a la Bibliotheque ImpeYiale sous les
Nos. 8823-18613, du Fonds Latin et faisant suite a la serie dont le
Catalogue a et6 public en 1744 par Leopold Delisle; Paris, 1863, &c., 8vo.
Inventaire des MSS. de la Bibliotheque Nationale, Fonds de Cluni, par
L. Delisle.
Catalogue general des Manuscrits des Bibliotheques Publiques des De-
partements ; Paris, 1849-1885, 7 vols., 4to.
Catalogue general des Manuscrits des Bibliotheques Publiques de France ;
(a) Paris: (i) Bibliotheque Mazarine, by A. Molinier, 3 vols. 8vo. ; (3)
Bibliotheque de 1' Arsenal, by H. Martin, 1885, &c. (vols. i and 2 contain
the Latin MSS.). (/3) D6partements, vols. 1-12, 1886-1889.
Catalogue des Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Publique de Bruges (P.
J. Laude), Bruges, 1859, 8vo.
Catalogus Codicum Manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Regiae Monacensis,
Cod. Lat. vols. i and 21 ; Monachii 1868-1874.
Katalog der Handschriften der kb'nigl. offentlichen Bibliothek zu
Dresden; Leipzig, 1882-3, 2 vols., 8vo.
Tabulae Codicum Manuscriptorum praeter Graecos et Orientales in
Bibliotheca Palatina Vindobonensi asservatorum ; Vienna, 1864-1875,
7 vols., 8vo. (Codices 1-14,000).
Catalogus Codicum Latinorum Bibliothecae Mediceae Laurentianae
(Bandini), 1774, 5 vols., folio.
Bibliotheca Leopoldina Laurentiana (Bandini); Florence, 1791, 3 vols.,
folio.
Bibliotheca Manuscripta ad S. Marci Venetiarum (Valentinelli) ; Venet.
1868-1873, 6 vols., 8vo.
Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, Codices Palatini Latini, torn. I, codices
1-921 ; 1886.
Bibliothecae Patavinae Manuscriptae publicae et privatae opera Jacobi
Philippi Tomasini ; Utini, 1639, 4to. (Tomasin).
Bibliothecae Venetae Manuscriptae publicae et privatae opera Jacobi
Philippi Tomasini ; Utini, 1650, 4to. (Tomasin).
1 I have not seen Part 3 of Vol. 2 (Codices 15029-21405), which is missing
in the British Museum.
ABBREVIATIONS AND EDITIONS USED.
Anal. Franc. = Analacta Franciscana, sive chronica aliaque varia documenta ad
historian! Fratrum Minorum spectantia, edita a Patribus Collegii S. Bona-
venturae, Quaracchi, 1885-7, 2 vols.
Archiv f. L. u. K. Gesch. = Archiv fur Literatur- nnd Kirchengeschichte des
Mittelalters, herausgegeben von H. Denifle und F. Ehrle.
Bale, Script. = Illustrium Majoris Britanniae Scriptorum . . . Summarium, 1559,
2 vols.
B. of Pisa = Bartholomew of Pisa, Liber Conformitatum, ed. Milan, 1510.
Bernard = Catalog! Librornm MSS. Angliae et Hiberniae, Oxon., 1697.
Burnet, Reformation = History of the Reformation of the Church of England,
Oxford, 1829.
Foxe = The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe, edited by Cattley, 1841.
Hist. Litt.= Histoire Litteraire de la France (by the Benedictines of St. Maur, and
the Members of the Institute), 1733-1873.
Lyte = Maxwell Lyte, History of the University of Oxford, 1886.
Montfaucon = B. Montfaucon, Bibliotheca Bibliothecarum MSS., &c.
P. C. C. = Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Wills proved in the, now at Somerset
House.
Q. R. Misc. = Queen's Remembrancer, Miscellaneous Accounts, now in the Public
Record Office.
Q. R. Wardrobe = Queen's Remembrancer, Wardrobe Accounts, now in the Public
Record Office.
R. O. = Public Record Office.
R. S. = Rolls Series, or Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland
during the Middle Ages, published under the direction of the Master of the
Rolls.
Tomasin = Bibliotheca Patavinae MSS., and Bibliothecae Venetae MSS. &c. (see
above).
Wadding = L. Wadding, Annales Minorum, Romae, 1731, &c.
Wadding, Script. = L. Wadding, Scriptores Ordinis Minorum, Romae, 1806.
Wadding, Sup. ad Script. = Supplementum et castigatio ad Scriptores trium
Ordinum S. Francisci a Waddingo aliisve descriptos. . . opus posthumum Fr.
Jo. Hyacinthi Sbaraleae, Romae, 1806.
Wood-Clark = Survey of the Antiquities of the City of Oxford, by Anthony Wood,
edited by Andrew Clark, 1889-1890. [The MS. from which this edition is
printed is often referred to in the following pages, namely ' \Vood MS. F. 29 a'
in the Bodleian.]
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART I.
HISTORY OF THE CONVENT.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY YEARS.
PAGE
Arrival and first settlement of the Franciscan Friars at Oxford I
Their early poverty and cheerfulness 3
Oxford Friars as peacemakers and Crusaders 7
Relations to the University and to the earliest Colleges 8
Their strict observance of the Rule 10
CHAPTER II.
PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS.
First settlement of the Friars was within the City Wall . . . .12
They acquire the houses of William, son of Richard de Wileford (1229), and
Robert, son of Robert Oen . . . . . . . . 13
Increase of the area in 1244-1245 14
Grants from the King, Thomas de Valeynes, and others . . . .15
The island in the Thames, 1245 . 16
Messuage of Laurence Wych, Mayor of Oxford, 1 246 . . . . . 17
Friars of the Sack settle in Oxford 17
Their property granted to the Minorites by Boniface VIII, Clement V, and
Edward II, 1310 18
Grants from various persons, 1310 19
Inquisitiones ad quod Damnum, concerning properties belonging to Richard
Gary and John Culvard, 1319 19
Grants by Walter Morton (1321) and John de Grey de Rotherfield (1337) . 20
To what classes did the donors belong ? . . ... . . .20
Buildings of the Grey Friars, absence of information about . . . .21
Original houses and chapel , . .21
School built by Agnellus 21
The stricter Friars oppose the tendency to build . - 22
Building of the new Church of St. Francis ....... 22
Its site and appearance . . . . . . . . . . 23
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
William of Worcester's description of it 34
Monuments and tombs in the Church 24
Grave of Roger Bacon 3^
Cloisters, Chapter-house, Refectory, and other buildings . . . • 27
Conduit and Gates 28
CHAPTER III.
FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD.
Learning necessary to the Friars 39
The first readers or lectors to the Franciscans at Oxford . . . -3°
Nature of the office of lector, as understood by Grostete and Adam Marsh . 31
The lector and his socius 33
Later lectors were ordinary Regent Masters in Theology . . . -34
Appointment to the office of lector 34
Special regulations concerning the lectors . . . ^. • • • 3°
System of instruction in theology recommended by Grostete . . . • 3^
Lectures by the Friars 37
Controversy with the University about theological degrees in 1253 . . . 38
Controversy between the University and the Dominicans . . . - 39
Study of Arts (philosophy) before Theology, insisted on by the University . 41
Roger Bacon on the need for some preliminary training for the Friars . . 42
Extortion of graces by external influence ; 'wax-doctors' . . . . 42
Career of a student Minorite 43
On the numbers of Friars sent to Oxford 43
Course of study before ' opposition ' 44
' Opposition ' and ' Responsion ' 45
The degree of Bachelor of Divinity 46
Exercises before ' Inception ' 47
' Vesperies ' and Inception 48
Questions disputed on these occasions in the thirteenth century . . -49
How far were the statutable requirements as to the period of study really carried
out? 49
Expenses at Inception 50
Necessary Regency 52
Conditions on which dispensations were granted 52
Maintenance of Franciscan students at the University 53
What proportion took degrees 54
Relative numbers of the various Religious Orders at Oxford . . . .54
CHAPTER IV.
BOOKS AND LIBRARIES.
Absence of privacy in a Franciscan Friary 55
Books of individual Friars 56
The two libraries, and their contents ........ 57
Grostete's bequest of books 57
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xiii
PACE
Extant MSS. formerly in the Franciscan Convent 59
Alleged illegal detention of books by the Friars in 1 330 . . . .60
Richard Fitz-ralph's statements 60
Richard of Bury, on the libraries of Mendicant Friars 61
Dispersion of the books of the Oxford Franciscans 61
Leland's description of the library in his time 62
CHAPTER V.
PLACE OF OXFORD IN THE FRANCISCAN ORGANIZATION.
Learned Friars as practical workers among the people . ... 63
Their Sermons 64
Educational organization throughout the country ...... 64
Relations of the Franciscan School at Oxford to the other Franciscan Schools
of Europe 66
English Franciscans teach in foreign Universities 67
Oxford as the head convent of a custodia 68
Provincial Chapters held at Oxford 69
CHAPTER VI.
RIVALRY BETWEEN THE ORDERS : ATTACKS ON THE FRIARS.
Rivalry between the Friars Preachers and Minors : proselytism . . .71
Politics and Philosophy 72
Peckham and the Oxford Friars 73
Evangelical Poverty 75
Contrast between theory and practice 78
Attack on the Friars by Richard Fitz-ralph 79
Charge of stealing children 79
Wiclifs early relations to the Friars 81
His attack on them in his later years 82
Charges of gross immorality made not by Wiclif, but by his followers . . 83
The University and the Friars ; summary of events in 1382 . . . .84
Unpopularity of the Friars in the fifteenth century 85
Foreign Minorites expelled from Oxford . 86
Conspiracies against Henry IV ; part taken by the Oxford Franciscans . . 87
Relations between the Conventual and Observant Franciscans . . -87
CHAPTER VII.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE FRIARS' MANNER OF LIFE AND MEANS
OF LIVELIHOOD: BENEFACTORS.
On the loss of Franciscan Records 89
Mendicancy as a means of livelihood . . . , . . . . 91
Procurators and limitors 92 i
Career of Friar Brian Sandon, legal syndicus of the Oxford Friary in the six-
teenth century 93
xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
Charges of immorality ngninst the Prints 94
Their worldly manner of life before the Dissolution 96
Poverty of the Convent 97
Sources of income 97
Annual grants from the King and others 97
Frequency of bequests to the Friars . 100
List of benefactors 102
Some other sources of income no
Classes from which the Friars were drawn in
Motives which led men to enter the Order in
CHAPTER VIII.
THE DISSOLUTION.
Attitude of the Grey Friars towards the Reformation in its intellectual, re-
ligious, and political aspects 112
The Royal Divorce 114
Visitation of Oxford University in 1535 116
Suppression of the Friaries in 1538 116
Condition of the Grey Friary 117
Expulsion of the Friars ; their subsequent history ; Simon Ludford . .119
Houses and site of the Grey Friars 120
Dr. London tries to secure the land for the town 121
Lease and sale of the property 121
Notes on its subsequent history 123
Total destruction of the buildings 124
PART II.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF
INDIVIDUAL FRIARS.
CHAPTER I.
Custodians and Wardens 125-133
CHAPTER II.
Lectors or Regent Masters of the Franciscans 134-175
CHAPTER III.
Franciscans who studied in the Convent at Oxford, or had some other
connexion with the Town or the University 176-294
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xv
APPENDICES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
A. Documents relating to the acquisition of land property by the
Grey Friars.
PAGE
1. Grant of a house by William, son of Richard de Wileford . . . 295
2. Grant of a house by Robert, son of Robert Oen, 1236 . . . .296
3. Royal license to enclose their possessions and throw down part of the old
City Wall, 1 244 296
4. Island in the Thames acquired by Henry III, 1245 . . . .297
5. Grant of the same island to the Friars, 1245 297
6. Grant of two messuages by Thomas de Valeynes, 1 245 . . . .298
7. Grant of a messuage by Laurence Wych, Mayor of Oxford, 1 246 . . 299
8. License to enclose their new possessions ; the City Wall to be repaired,
1248 299
9. Royal grants to the Friars of the Sack, 1262, 1265 300
10. Grants to the Friars Minors from various persons, 1310 .... 301
11. Property of the Friars of the Sack conferred on the Friars Minors, 1310 301
12. Re-grant of the same property to them, 1319 302
13. Inquiry held at Oxford in 1319 as to the advisability of allowing John
Culvard to grant a parcel of ground to the Friars Minors . . 303
14. Grant of a parcel of ground by John de Grey de Rotherfield . . . 305
B. Miscellaneous Documents.
1. Food for the Friars Minors and others, 1244 307
2. Adam Marsh as royal nuncius, 1247 307
3. For the same, 1257 308
4. The Church of the Minorites used as a Sanctuary, 1284-5 . . . 308
5. Royal grant of 50 marcs, 1289 308
6. Decree of the General Chapter at Paris, 1292 309
7. Royal grant of 50 marcs, 1323 309
8. ' Receptor Denariorum ' of the Grey Friars, 1341 310
9. Goods and chattels of Friar John Welle, S.T.P., 1378 . . . .311
10. Expulsion of foreign Minorites, 1388 312
11. William Woodford ; confirmation of his privileges by Boniface IX, 1396 312
12. Appointment of a lecturer to the Convent at Hereford, c. 1400 . .313
13. Decree of the General Chapter at Florence, 1467 314
14. Recovery of debt from a Sheriff, 1488 315
15. Documents relating to the lease of a garden at the Grey Friars to
Richard Leke, 1513-1514 316
16. Extracts from the Will of Richard Leke, 1526 318
17. An ex- warden called to account, 1529 318
C. Controversy between the Friars Preachers and Friars
Minors at Oxford, 1269 320
xvi TABLE OF CONTENTS.
D. Supplications and Graces from the Registers of Congregation.
John David, 145?, 145! • 336
John Sunday, 145! 336
Richard Ednam, 1462, 1463 • 336
Walter Goodfeld, 1506-1510 337
John Thornall, 1525 338
Thomas Kirkham, 1527 338
INDEX 341
CORRIGENDA.
P. 6, n. 5,/or tempora, read temporalem.
P. 33. There was no house of Grey Friars at Evesham. Simon de Montfort
was buried by the monks of Evesham (see Rishanger). The Miracula Symonis de
Montfort) however, bears evident traces of Franciscan influence.
P. 49, n. $,for Church, Quarterly Review, read Church Quarterly Review.
P. 54, /. n, for because, read became.
P. 56, «. 5 for quos, read quas.
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
PART I.
HISTORY OF THE CONVENT, A.D. 1224-1538.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY YEARS.
Arrival of the Franciscans at Oxford. — Their early Poverty, and Cheerfulness. —
Oxford Friars as Peacemakers, and Crusaders. — Relations to the University,
and to the first Colleges. — Their strict observance of the Rule.
THE Franciscans first arrived in England in 1224 l. On Tuesday,
the xoth of September in that year (to follow the account of Friar
Thomas Eccleston, the earliest historian of the Order in this country),
1 Chronicle of Thomas Eccleston,
• De Adventu Minorum,' Mon. Francisc.
I, p. 5 : ' A.D. MCCXXIV . . . feria tertia
post festum nativitatis Beatae Virginis.'
This date has been disputed. Wadding
(Annales Minorum, I, 303, 362) places
the arrival in 1219. The arguments in
favour of this view are, (i) that St.
Francis appointed Agnellus minister of
England in 1219 ; (2) the statement of
Matthew Paris sub anno 1243, that the
friars 'built their first houses in Eng-
land scarcely twenty-four years ago '
(Chron. Majora, IV, 279). But the evi-
dence in favour of ( l) is not conclusive ;
the letter of St. Francis to Agnellus
(Wadding, I, 303 ; Collectanea Anglo-
"Minoritica, pp. 5-6) is undated. The
contention however seems to be sup-
ported by a passage in Eccleston (Mon.
Franc. I, 10), identifying the 32nd
year after the settlement of the friars in
England with the second year of the
ministry of Peter of Tewkesbury, who
according to the received chronology
became minister in 1250 (more pro-
bably 1251). From this one might con-
jecture that the establishment of the
English province was officially dated
from 1219. But the fragment in Mon.
Franc. II, and another MS. of Eccleston
in the Phillipps Library at Thirlestaine
House, No. 3119, fol. 71-80 (a MS.
unknown to either of the editors of the
Monumenta Franciscana), read here (fol.
73) ' quinto anno administrationis Fra-
tris Peiri} instead of ' secundo anno?
and this is probably the correct version.
As to argument (2), Paris probably
wrote his account (of 1 243) a few years
later than 1 243, and dated accordingly ;
again the passage refers to Dominicans
as well as Franciscans. The evidence
in favour of the later date is much
stronger. Besides Eccleston, the best
authority, we have the statement of the
author of the Lanercost Chronicle, him-
self a Friar Minor : ' Quo et anno (1224)
post festum natalis Virginis gloriosae
applicuerunt fiatres Minorum in An-
2 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. I.
a company of nine friars, four of them clerks and five laymen, landed
at Dover, under the leadership of Agnellus of Pisa, the first Provincial
Minister. After staying two days at Canterbury, four of them pro-
ceeded to London ; and at the end of the month, two of these, Friar
Richard of Ingeworth and Friar Richard of Devon, set out for Oxford.
It is perhaps to this place that the well-known story told by Bartholo-
mew of Pisa properly belongs1. As they neared Oxford they were
stopped by the floods, and finding themselves at nightfall ' in a vast wood
which lies between Bath and Oxford/ they sought refuge ' for the love
of God ' at a grange belonging to the monks of Abingdon, ' lest they
should perish from hunger or the wild beasts in the forest.' The prior,
judging them to be jesters2, had them turned out ; but a young monk,
when the rest had gone to bed, put them into a hayloft and brought
them bread and beer. That night he had a dream. The prior and his
brethren were summoned before the judgment-seat of Christ ; and
' there came a certain poor man, humble and despised, in the habit of those
poor friars, and he cried with a loud voice : " O most impartial Judge, the
blood of my brethren, which hath been shed this night, crieth unto Thee.
The guardians of this place have refused them meat and lodging, although
they have left all for Thy sake, and were now coming here to seek those
souls which Thou hast redeemed with Thy blood ; they would not, in fact,
have refused as much to jesters and mummers." .... Then the Judge
commanded them to be hanged on the elm that stood in that cloister.'
In the morning the young monk found his companions dead, and
became an early convert to the order of St. Francis.
On their arrival at Oxford, the two friars were received with great
kindness by the Dominicans.
' They ate in their refectory, and slept in their dormitory, like conventuals
for eight days V
They then hired a house in the parish of St. Ebbe from Robert le
Mercer4. Alms sufficient for the purpose were probably already forth-
gliam' (p. 30). This may be derived of Pisa) on their way from Canterbury
from Eccleston, but on the next page is to Oxford. But Bartholomew is not
a statement which is certainly indepen- remarkable for accuracy. Liber Confor-
clent of him : ' Eodem anno (1224) vene- mitatum, fol. 79 (ed. Milan, 1510).
runt prime fratres Minores in Angliam, 2 'Joculatores et non dei servos.'
in festo beati Bartholomaei apostoli ' Wood's version of the story differs in
(Aug. 24). Cf. 'Annals of Worcester,' several points from that of Bartholo-
subattno 1224 (Ann. Monast. IV, 416). mew of Pisa, from whom it is pro-
1 If so, Bartholomew's narrative is in- fessedly derived. (MS. F 293, f. 175 a,
accurate ; according to him the adven- quoted in Dugdale, VI, pt. 3, p. 1524.)
ture happened to Agnellus and his four 3 Eccleston, Mon. Franc. I, p. 9.
companions (among whom was Albert * Ibid. p. 1 7.
CH. I.]
EARLY YEARS.
coming, as the new Order did not have to wait long for recognition.
Though they only occupied this house till the following summer1,
they were there joined by ' many honest bachelors and many eminent
men '2; and it may have been owing to this increase in their numbers
that they left their first abode in 1225 and hired a house with ground
attached from Richard the Miller3. It is significant of the rapid growth
of opinion in their favour that Richard
'within a year conferred the land and house on the community of the
town for the use of the Friars Minors.'
Enthusiasm and self-sacrifice were the powerful agents which
ensured success and favour to the early Franciscans, and many are
the stories of their primitive poverty and its effects ; and if the convent
at Oxford was not especially distinguished like that at Cambridge by
' paucilitas pecuniae,' or like that at York by ' zelus paupertatis *,' the
Oxford Minorites, during the time of Agnellus at least, departed but
little from the ideal of their founder6, and lived the life of the poor
among whom they ministered. The pangs of hunger were not un-
known in the convent ; and on one occasion the friars were in debt
to the amount of ten marks for food6. Their first houses were mean
and small — too small for the numbers who flocked to their Order 7 ;
and the infirmary was
' so low that the height of the walls did not much exceed the height of a
man8.'
When at length they built their church, the brethren worked with
their own hands, and a bishop and an abbat who had assumed the
coarse habit of the friars are said to have ' carried water and sand and
stones for the building of the place9.'
1 Eccleston, Mon. Franc. I, p. 9.
3 Ibid. p. 17: 'In qua intraverunt or-
dinem multi probi baccalaurei et multi
nobiles.' Cf. ib. p. 61.
3 Ibid. Denifle (' Die Universitaten
desMittelalters,' I, 245) puts the arrival
of the Franciscans at Oxford in the year
1225, the hiring of their first house in
1226, of their second ' at the beginning
of the thirties,' on the authority of
Eccleston.
* Mon. Franc. I, p. 27.
5 See, e.g., Wadding, Ann. Minorum,
I, 10, 302, &c. ; Mon. Franc. I, 567 seq.,
&c.
6 Lanercost Chron. 130: ' Tenemur
creditoribus in urbc decem marcarum
solutionem.' The whole account of the
circumstances is very curious, but too
long to quote here. The date is about
1280.
7 Mon. Franc. I, p. 1 7 : ' Fuit autem
area ipsa brevis et arcta nimis ' ; p. 34,
' Usque ad tempus Fratris Alberti do-
mus ipsa diversorio careret.' Wiclif
attributed the great plague in a large
measure to the friars herding toge-
ther in cities; Trialogus, IV, cap. 32
(P- 37°).
8 Mon. Franc. I, 34.
9 Earth, of Pisa, Liber Conform.
f. 79 b: cf. Mon. Franc. I, 16, 542.
The prelates referred to are Ralph Maid-
stone and John Reading.
B 2
4 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. I.
The appearance of the Minorites was no less humble than their
buildings. Their habits of coarse gray or brown cloth1, tied round
the waist with a cord, often worn and patched, as Grostete loved to
see them, hardly2 distinguished them from 'simple rustics3.' In the
convent at Oxford, pillows were forbidden, and the use of shoes was
permitted only to the infirm or old, and that by special licence*. We
hear of two of the brethren returning from a chapter held at Oxford at
Christmas time singing as they
' picked their way along the rugged path over the frozen mud and rigid
snow, whilst the blood lay in the track of their naked feet, without their
being conscious of it V
Even from the robbers and murderers who infested the woods near
Oxford the Barefoot Friars were safe6.
' Three things,' said Friar Albert, Minister General, ' tended to the
exaltation of the Order, — bare feet, coarse garments, and the rejecting
of money7 '; and the Oxford Franciscans were as zealous in the last
respect as in the other two. The Archdeacon of Northampton sent a
bag of money to Friar Adam Marsh, and when the latter refused it,
the messenger threw it down in the cell and left it : —
' Wherefore,' writes Adam to the Archdeacon, ' the bearer of these presents
has at the instance of the brethren taken the said money, just as it was,
sealed with your seal, to your lordship, to dispose of according to your
pleasure V
The evidence of the Public Records, containing scattered notices of
grants from the Crown, is striking on this point, and the poverty of
these early Franciscans can hardly be better illustrated than by the
1 Liberate Roll, 23 Hen. Ill, m. 6 : (Mon. Franc. I, 631) the original ' om-
'ccc ulnas panni grisei' for Mino- nes fatui nativi,' Lanerc. Chron. 30.
rites ; and m. 3 : ' Lij ulnas Russetti ad Cf. Mon. Franc. I, 564 (Testament of St.
tunicas faciendas ad opus xiij fratrum Francis) : ' We were content to be taken
Minorum de Rading', scilicet ulnam de as ideotis and foolys of euery man.'
precio xi denariorum ad plus.' Four * Mon. Franc.. I, 28; other convents
ells went to make a habit. The quality were less scrupulous ; see Liberate Roll,
was not the best, the ordinary price for 23 Hen. Ill, m. 6 — an order to buy
russet — i. e. undyed cloth of black wool ' ccc paria sotularium ' at the Win-
— was is. ^d. an ell ; Rogers, ' Hist, of Chester fair for the Friars Minors there.
Prices,' 11,536-7. At the end of the four- 8 Lanerc. Chron. 31.
teenth century Friar W. Woodford says • Eccleston, p. 38.
that the friars were better clothed in 7 Ibid. p. 52.
England than elsewhere owing to the * Mon. Franc. I, p. 195 ; the date of
abundance of wool in this country; the letter is probably about 1250. On
Twyne, MS. XXI, 501. the other hand, Adam seems to have
* Mon. Franc. I, 66: cf. ibid. 55. accepted 'small coins' (quatrinos) by way
8 Or 'idiots,' as Brewer translates of alms from a friend ; ibid. p. 229.
CH. I.] EARLY YEARS. 5
means taken to relieve it. During the long reign of Henry III, the
Patent, Close, and Liberate Rolls contain only three grants of money
to the house of the Minorites at Oxford, and all of them are due
to exceptional circumstances. They are, ten marks for the support
of a provincial chapter in 1238, 6os. for their houses in 1245 in lieu of
six oaks which the king had before given them, and three marks
for the fabric of their church in 1246*. The alms to the house at
Oxford are almost wholly in kind, and consist chiefly of supplies
of firewood from the royal forests round Oxford. The earliest
recorded instance of royal bounty was a grant of thirteen oaks in
'Brehuir (Brill) forest for fuel on the pth Jan. i23i2. A few years
later they received fifteen cartloads of brushwood from Shotover
forest3, and in 1237 fifteen oaks in Wychwood Forest ' to make char-
coal4/ Similar notices occur almost every year — sometimes twice
a year — throughout the reign of Henry III5. In 1240 the keepers of
the wines at Southampton were ordered to deliver one cask of Gascon
wine, of the king's bounty, to the Friars Minors at Oxford 'to
celebrate masses6/ In 1248 the Sheriff of Oxford received orders to
' give to the Friars Minors of Oxford one cask of wine of the six casks
which he took into the king's hand of the wine of those who lately killed a
clerk in the town of Oxford V
But a fortnight later the king repented of his generosity and assigned
the same cask to one of his numerous relatives8. Of more interest, as
showing that the friars were really classed with the poor of the town,
is a royal brief of the i2th of Dec. 1244 to the bailiffs of Oxford, bid-
ding them
'give of the ferm of their town to Friar Roger, King's Almoner, on
1 Liberate Rolls, 22 Hen. III,m. 15; years of Hen. Ill : 15 (m. 2), 17 (m. 15,
29 Hen. Ill, m. 5 ; 30 Hen. Ill, m. 17. In and 10), 18 (m. 28, and 18), 19 (pt. i,
making this statement, I have relied on m. 8), 20 (m. 6), 22 (m. 16), 26 (m. 4),
the MS. Calendar of the Patent Rolls 30 (m. 17, and 2), 36 (m. 24), 39 (m. 15),
for Hen. Ill (3 vols. folio, containing 40 (m. 8), 41 (m. 10), 42 (m. 6), 43 (m.
some 4000 pages), the MS. Cal. of the 9), 45 (m. 21), 47 (m. 8), 48 (m. 6), 50
Close Rolls from the I2th year of Hen. (m. 3), 51 (m. 4), 54 (m. 8), 55 (m. i).
Illto the end ofhis reign (10 vols. folio), Liberate Rolls, 17 (m. 6), 22 (m. 9), 23
both in the Public Record Office ; the (m. 10), 24 (m. 13), 26 (m. 5), 30 (m.
Liberate Rolls of the same reign, for 16), 32 (m. 4), 36 (m. 14).
which no Calendar exists, I have gone ' Close, 24 Hen. Ill, m.n (Custodibus
through ; after Hen. Ill these latter vinorum Suhant) and Liberate, 24 Hen.
become less full and interesting. Ill, m. 12 (Custodibus vinorum R.
1 Close, 15 Hen. Ill, m. n. Oxori).
3 Ibid. 20 Hen. Ill, m. n. 7 Close, 32 Hen. Ill, m. 9 ; cf. Lyte,
* Ibid. 21 Hen. Ill, m. i. p. 43.
* See Close Rolls for the following " Ibid. m. 8.
6 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. I.
Wednesday the morrow of the feast of St. Lucy the Virgin, ten marks, to
feed a thousand paupers and the Friars Preachers and Minors of Oxford,
for the soul of the Lady Empress sister of the King, on the day of her
anniversary V
With all their poverty and holiness they were singularly free from
that form of piety which consists in wearing a sad countenance and
appearing unto men to fast. We hear indeed of strict silence, of
constant prayer, of vigils that lasted the whole night2.
'Yet,' continues Eccleston3, 'the brethren were so full of fun among
themselves, that a mute could hardly refrain from laughter at the sight.
So when the young friars of Oxford laughed too frequently, it was en-
joined on one that as often as he laughed he should be punished. Now it
happened that, when he had received no punishments in one day, and yet
could not restrain himself from laughing, he had a vision one night, that
the whole convent stood as usual in the choir, and the friars were beginning
to laugh as usual, and behold the crucifix which stood at the door of the
choir turned towards them as though alive, and said : " They are the sons
of Corah who in the hour of chanting laugh and sleep." .... On hearing
this dream, the friars were frightened and behaved without very noticeable
laughter V
Grostete said to a Friar Preacher, ' Three things are necessary to
temporal health — to eat, sleep, and be merry5.' Excessive austerity
was discountenanced by the authorities of the Oxford convent. Friar
Albert of Pisa, who was himself ' always cheerful and merry in the
society of the brethren6,' compelled Friar Eustace de Merc, con-
trary to custom, to eat fish, saying that the Order lost many good
persons through their indiscretion7. Grostete again
' commanded a melancholy friar to drink a cup full of the best wine as a
penance, and when he had drunk it up, though most unwillingly, he said to
him, " Dear brother, if you often performed a penance like that, you
would have a better ordered conscience V '
The friars lovingly treasured up the great bishop's puns and jokes and
1 Liberate, 29 Hen. HI, m. 14. Isa- 5 'Tria sunt necessaria ad salntem
bella, sister of Henry III, married Frede- tempora, cibus, somnus et jocus.' Mon.
rick II in 1235, and died Dec. I, 1241. Franc. I, 64.
2 Mon. Franc. I, p. 19. • Ibid. p. 56.
Ibid- P- 30- 7 Ibid. p. 58 ; he added, that, 'when
Earth, of Pisa has changed this he was with St. Francis, the saint corn-
story from a dream into a reality and pelled him to double every day what
added miraculous incidents : 'Crux lig- he had been accustomed to eat.' Cf.
nea . . . fragore stupendo se vertit ad Mrs. Oliphant's • Francis of Assisi,'
fratres ; . . . et plnres eorum mortui p. 85.
snnt in brevi.' Liber Conform, f. 80. 8 Mon. Franc. I. 64-5.
CH. I.] EARLY YEARS. 7
wise sayings1, and were always ready to tell or appreciate a good
story. From first to last they had the reputation of being excellent
company2, and were welcome at the tables of the rich or well-to-do3.
They were allowed by the rule to
' eat of all manner of meats which be set before them 4,'
a practice which occasionally caused some scandal5; and Friar
Albert of Pisa ordered them to keep silence in the house of hosts, except
among the preachers and friars of other provinces6. Like St. Francis
himself, the Oxford friars often possessed the courtesy and charm of
manner which is born of sympathy7 ; and it was perhaps to this
quality that their employment as diplomatic agents is to be attributed.
Thus Agnellus was chosen in 1233 to negotiate with the rebellious
Earl Marshall and try to bring him back to his allegiance8. Adam
Marsh was on more than one occasion sent beyond the sea as royal
emissary9, and Edward I sent Oxford Minorites to treat for peace
with his enemies10. But to the mediaeval mind, there was a cause
more sacred than that of peace or good government ; and the Fran-
ciscans would not have had their great influence — would not have
become leaders of men throughout the world — had they not shared the
one ideal, which still even in the thirteenth century appealed to every
class in every country of Europe. The Crusades attracted the
scholastic philosopher no less than the baron with his sins to expiate,
or the serf with his liberty to win. It was partly to increase his
influence as a missionary11 that Adam of Oxford, one of the first
'masters' who joined the Order12, took the vows of St. Francis;
1 Mon. Franc, pp. 64-66. Franc. I, 53. ' Oxonise ' in the same
* Bishop Gardiner's description of paragraph should be ' Exonise ' : Serlo
a Cambridge Augustinian, quoted by was Dean of Exeter, 1225-1231, Le
Dixon.'Church of England,' II,p.253,n.: Neve, Fasti.
he ' was of a merry scoffing wit, friar- 6 Mon. Franc. I, p. 55.
like ; and as a good fellow in company 7 Cf. ibid. p. 6, W. of Esseby ; and p.
was beloved of many.' 23, Haymo of Faversham; 'fait enim
3 In 1398, e.g. 'On Sunday came ita gratiosus et eloquens, ut etiam ad-
two Friars Minors to dine with the versantibus Ordini gratus et acceptus
fellows (of New College), also the existeret.'
farmer of Heyford.' Boase, Oxford, • Ibid. 52 ; M. Paris, Chron. Majora,
p. 78. IV, p. 257. Cf. ibid. p. 251 ; Annals
4 Mon. Franc. II, 68. St. Francis of Tewkesbnry (Ann. Monast. I, 92).
used to sprinkle sumptuous fare with * Liberate Rolls, 31 Hen. Ill, m. 4,
ashes ; Oliphant, p. 86. 42 Hen. Ill, m. 3.
5 See story of the warden who on the 10 See Part II, W. of Gainsborough,
day that he preached to the people H. of Hertepol.
cracked jokes with a monk after dinner u Grosseteste, Epistolse, p. 21.
in the presence of a secular; Mon. ia Mon. Franc. I, p. 15.
8 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. I.
against the wishes of his brethren in England, who hoped to keep
among them so famous and learned a convert, and who indeed feared
lest he should come under heretical influences1, he went to Gregory
IX, and at his own prayer was sent by the Pope to preach to the
Saracens2. When Prince Edward went to the Holy Land in 1270,
he 'took with him as preacher Friar William de Hedley, the lecturer
and regent master of the Friars Minors at Oxford3. Hedley died
before the army reached Acre; but these learned friars did not
flinch when summoned to meet a sterner fate. In 1289 Tripoli
was captured by the Saracens : an English friar led the last charge of
the despairing Christians, carrying aloft the cross till his arms were
hewn off;
'the above-mentioned friar,' continues the chronicler, 'who by his
example provoked very many to martyrdom, had been no small space of
time warden of the Oxford Convent*.'
The friars of both Orders soon took a leading part in the affairs of
the University. As Bishop of Lincoln8, Grostete continued to exercise
a kind of paternal authority over the University6, and his high
character and long connexion with Oxford gave him an influence
which was denied to his successors. It was natural that this influence
should be reflected on the Franciscans, whom he had taken under his
especial care and among whom was his ' true friend and faithful coun-
sellor7' Adam Marsh. The latter was specially summoned to the
congregation to hear and advise on the answer sent by Grostete
to some petitions of the University 8, and we find him interceding
with the Bishop on behalf of the Chancellor, Radulph of Sempring-
ham9. One of the most important stages in the constitutional
development of the University is marked by the charter of Henry III
in 1244, which constituted a special tribunal for the scholars, and
formed the basis of the Chancellor's jurisdiction. On the nth of
May of the same year, a deed of acknowledgment was executed at
Reading and signed and sealed on behalf of the University by the
Prior of the Friars Preachers, the Minister of the Friars Minors,
1 Grosseteste, Ep. p. 21, 'nee moveat that in the early thirteenth century the
aliquem,' &c. : a striking illustration of Chancellor of the University was in
the fascination of Eastern heresies at the fact as in legal theory the delegate of
time. the bishop of the diocese.
" Ibid, and Mon. Franc, p. 16. * Lyte, p. 38.
3 Lanerc. Chron. p. 81. 7 Grosseteste, Ep. Letter XX.
* Ibid. p. 128. His name is not given. 8 Mon. Franc. I, p. 99.
5 It will of course be remembered » Ibid. p. 100-101.
CH. I.]
EARLY YEARS.
the Chancellor of the University, the Archdeacons of Lincoln and
Cornwall, and Friar Robert Bacon1. Edward I in 1275* appointed
'Friars John de Pecham and Oliver de Encourt' royal commissioners
to decide a suit between Master Robert de Flemengvill3 and a Jewess
named Countess, the wife of Isaac Pulet, which had long been pending
in the Chancellor's court; this however was not to be treated as
a precedent to the prejudice of the Chancellor's jurisdiction.
It is probable that the example afforded by the houses of student
friars was not lost on the founders of the early colleges. We know
that Walter de Merton was a friend of Adam Marsh4, and a bene-
factor of the friars, but it would be dangerous to attempt to trace any
direct Franciscan influence in the statutes of his college5. There
is however no doubt about the connexion of the Franciscans with the
foundation of Balliol College. Sir John de Balliol died in 1269
without having established his house for poor scholars on a permanent
footing. His widow Devorguila first gave them a definite organisation
in 1282. According to an old tradition6, she was induced to take
this step by her Franciscan confessor, Friar Richard de Slikeburne.
It is clear that the latter was her most trusted and energetic agent
in carrying out the plan. Devorguila urges him by all means in his
power to promote the perpetuation of ' our house of Balliol7/ and the
executors of Sir John de Balliol assigned certain moneys to the
scholars of the house
' with the consent of Devorguila and at the advice of Friar Richard de
Slikeburne Y
Nor was the connexion merely a transitory one. The statutes of
1 Pat 28 Hen. Ill, m. 7 in dorso.
Mr. M. Lyte (p. 42, note 3) makes the
date of the king's writ May 10, 1246, of
the deed of acknowledgment, May n, 28
Hen. Ill (i. e. 1 244) ; and adds to the
confusion about the Bacons by reading
John instead of Robert.
2 Close, 3 Edward I, m. 18 in dorso,
writ to the Chancellor. Oliver was
Prior of the Dominicans about this time,
Wood-Clark, II, 337.
8 fflemeguitt.
1 Mon. Franc. I, 405.
5 The Wardens of the college and
of the convent were liable to be deposed
on the petition of the members of their
1espective houies, and the system of
' exhibitions ' for scholars must have
resembled that in vogue among the
friars at the University. But the year of
probation, the observance of silence, the
'scrutinies' or chapters, were common to
all monastic institutions.
« Twyne,MS. XXII.iosc; Cap. 32 of
Woodford's Defensorium : ' It is mani-
fest that one friar minor confessor to a
venerable Lady moved her to make that
Hall at Oxford which is called the Hall
of Balliol.'
7 Letter of Devorguila to Friar R. de
Slikeburne, dated 1284, in College Ar-
chives: Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. IV, p. 442.
8 Ibid. pp. 442, 444, four deeds from
1285 to 1287.
10 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. I.
1282' are addressed to Friar Hugh de Hertilpoll and Master William
de Menyl, who are evidently the two ' proctors ' mentioned in the
document. To the proctors (who did not belong to the house but
were in the position of permanent visitors) was entrusted the insti-
tution of the principal after his election by the scholars, together
with a general supervision over the economy of the college. They
alone could expel a refractory scholar, and they were constituted
the special guardians of the poorer students2. Nothing remains to
show how long the first proctors held their office, or how their
successors were appointed. It is probable however that the office
was intended to be a perpetual one3 — not a temporary expedient to be
called into existence from time to time, — and further that one of the
proctors was always a Franciscan. Two other documents bearing on
the subject are known to exist. In 1325 a doubt had arisen whether
the members of the college might study any science except the
liberal arts ; it was declared to be unlawful to do so and contrary
to the mind of the founder, and was consequently forbidden
' by Masters Robert of Leicester, of the Order of Friars Minors, S.T.P.,
and Nicholas de Tyngewick, M.D. and S.T.B., then Magistri Extranet of
the said House V
The second document5 is a letter dated 1433 addressed to the Bishop
of London by
' Richard Roderham, S.T.P., and John Feckyngtone of the order of
Minorites in Oxford, Rectors of Balliol College.'
The Rectors having, ' according to the exigency of the office which we
discharge upon the rule of the said college and the observance of the
statutes thereof,' inquired into the working of the first statute, decided,
with the consent of the majority of the house, that it was prejudicial to
the college, and asked the Bishop to consent to the modification of it6.
It will be readily admitted that in the thirteenth century the Oxford
Franciscans deserved their high reputation. It is true, that frequent
1 Preserved in the College Archives : Magistri extrinseci'' (Statutes of the
printedinSavage'sZ?a//z<2/r<?r£'«.r,p.i5seqi Oxford Colleges, Vol. I, Balliol, p. x).
8 The care taken of the poorer stu- * History MSS. Com. ut supra.
dents, of their feelings no less than of 5 Ibid, (abstract).
their purses, is particularly interesting 6 The clause to which objection was
in connexion with the Franciscans. made was, that if the Master obtained a
3 Cf. the Statutes of 1282, which are benefice of the annual value of £10,
to be observed ' in the time of all proc- ' ipso facto noverit (ab officid) se amotitm.'
tors whatsoever ; ' the Statutes of Sir Statutes of the Oxford Colleges, Vol. I,
Philip Somerville (1340) mention ' duo Balliol, p. xx.
CH. I.] EARLY YEARS. II
complaints are heard of the decline of the Order1 — that many relaxa-
tions had been introduced into the Rule. But these were not de-
manded by the English province. When Haymo was General, orders
were issued by the Chapter that friars should be elected in each
province to note any points in the Rule which seemed to require
revision, and send them to the Minister General. Eccleston 2 gives
the names of three friars elected for this purpose in England — Adam
Marsh, the foremost of the Oxford friars ; Peter of Tewkesbury,
Custodian of Oxford ; and Henry de Burford.
' Having marked some articles, the said friars sent them to the General, in
a schedule without a seal, beseeching him, by the sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ, to let the Rule stand, as it was handed down by St. Francis,
at the dictation of the Holy Spirit V
1 E. g. in 1257, Bonaventnra investi- General of the Order, had no lack
gates the causes ' cur splendor nostri of experience, ' died commending the
Ordinis quodammodo obscuratur' English above all nations in zeal for
Wadding, IV, 58; cf. M. Paris, Chron. their Order' (ibid.). Cf. ibid. p. 68,
Majora, IV, 279-8; Mon. Franc. I, 361- John of Parma, General, frequently ex-
3, 408, &c. claimed when in England : ' Would
a Mon. Franc. 1, 48. that such a province had been set in the
3 Ibid. 48. Friar Albert of Pisa, who, midst of the world to be for an example
as Minister of seven provinces and to all the churches ! '
CHAPTER II.
PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS.
First Settlement inside the City Wall. — Acquisition of the houses of W. de Wile-
ford (1229) and Robert Oen (1236). — Increase of the area in 1244-1245. —
Grants from the King, Thomas Valeynes, and others. — Island in the Thames>
1345. — Messuage of Laurence Wych, 1247. — Friars of the Penitence of Jesus
Christ. — Their property in Oxford granted to the Minorites by Clement V,
and by Edward II, 1310. — Grants from various persons, 1310. — Richard
Cary and John Culvard, 1319. — Walter Morton, 1321. — To what classes did
the donors belong ?
Absence of information about the buildings at the Grey Friars. — Original houses
and chapel. — School built by Agnellus. — The stricter friars oppose the tendency
to build, without success. — Building of the new church, 1 246, &c. — Its site and
appearance. — William of Worcester's description of it. — Richard Plantagenet,
Earl of Cornwall, buried there, 1272. — Other tombs in the church/ especially
that of Agnellus. — Grave of Roger Bacon. — Cloisters, Chapter House, Re-
fectory, and other conventual buildings. — Conduit and Gates.
FOR about a hundred years from the date of their settlement in
Oxford, the Friars Minors were gradually acquiring property. We
have seen that after a short sojourn in the house of Robert le Mercer,
the house of Richard le Muliner became their first permanent abode.
The position of the former cannot be at all definitely ascertained ; it
was in the parish of St. Ebbe's \ probably near the church and within
the city walls 2. Wood places it between the church and the Water-
gate. But he is certainly wrong in the position he ascribes to the
second house, namely,
* without the towne wall, and about a stone's cast from their first hired
house V
1 Eccleston, p. 9. Rogerus dedit et concessit predicto
"An entry in 'Placita Corone 25 magistro in escambium predicti messua-
Hen. Ill, Oxon. M. f } 2, m. I b,' may gii magnam domum ipsius Rogeri lapi-
lead to the identification of the site ; it deam, que est ante ecclesiam See Abbe
is an agreement between Robert, Master cum pertinenciis. Et quod sitnm est
of the Hospital of St. John, outside the inter terram Roberti le Mercer et ter-
East Gate, and Roger Noyf, ' de escam- ram quam tenet de Abbate de Aben-
bio unius messuagii cum pertinenciis don."
in Oxonia . . . videlicet quod idem 3 Wood-Clark, II, 358.
PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS. 13
The house of Richard the Miller was undoubtedly between the wall
and Freren Street (Church Street). In 1244 Henry III allowed the
friars to throw down the wall of the town in order to ' connect their
new place with the old one V Even apart from the fact that the
Mercer's house did not at this time belong to them, it is obvious that
the houses which they acquired in 1224 and 1225 would not in 1244
be distinguished as the ' old place ' and the ' new place ' respectively.
The ' new place ' refers to lands which came into their possession
about the time of this grant, and of which Wood knew nothing, while
the Miller's house formed part of the ' old place/
In fact, several years elapsed before the friars obtained property
outside the city wall, their first efforts being directed to secure the land
between the wall and Freren Street. It was not long before their
cramped area was enlarged. In the Mayoralty of John Pady a the
citizens of Oxford subscribed s forty-three marks sterling to buy from
William, son of Richard de Wileford, his house in St. Ebbe's, with all
its appurtenances, ' to house the Friars Minors for ever,' the said good
men of Oxford giving to William one pound of cummin annually in
lieu of all service 4. The next grant of which we find mention seems
also to have been an act of municipal, rather than of private, charity.
In 1236" Robert, son of Robert Oen, had given them a house
adjoining their land, on condition that he,
' having been a free tenant of the prior and brethren of St. John of
Jerusalem in England in the aforesaid place,'
should have the same privilege attaching to his new house in the
parish of St. Michael at the North Gate. This house of Robert
Oen's in St. Ebbe's was one of the ' mural mansions,' on the occu-
piers of which the duty of repairing the city wall fell 8. The obli-
gation, however, was now, when the house came into the hands of the
friars, willingly undertaken with the King's assent by the Mayor and
good men of Oxford.
Under the ministry of Agnellus any tendency to accumulate pro-
perty was rigorously suppressed7, nor does his successor Albert
1 Pat. 29 Hen. Ill, m. 9 ; cf. Pat. 32 8 Close Roll, 20 Henry III, m. 9:
Hen. Ill, m. 10; both printed in Mon. printed in Appx. A. 2.
Franc. I, 616-7, and in Appx. A. ' Parker, ' Early History of Oxford,' p.
a Mayor in 1227, 1228, 1229, Wood- 342 : extracts from Domesday Book.
Peshall, ' City of Oxford,' p. 355. T Eccleston, Mon. Franc. I, p. 34:
3 ' Ex elemosyna collecta.' ' Tantus erat zelator paupertatis, ut vix
4 The original of this grant is in the permitteret vel ampliari areas vel domos
Oxford City Archives, marked ' 1 7.' See aedificari, nisi secundum quod exegit in-
Appx. A. I. evitabilis necessitas.'
14 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
appear to have been more lenient l. But under Haymo of Faversham
(1238-9) and William of Nottingham (1239-51) a different spirit be-
gan to prevail, and one far less in accordance with the original idea of
the Order. Haymo
' preferred that the friars should have ample areas and should cultivate
them, that they might have the fruits of the earth at home, rather than
beg them from others V
And under William of Nottingham the Oxford house gained a large
increase of territory3.
It was in 1245 that this took place, and a remarkably full series of
records relating to the event is still extant. By a deed dated 2 2nd
December, 1244 *, the King gave the Friars Minors permission,
'for the greater quiet and security of their habitation, to inclose the
street which extends under the wall of Oxford, from the gate which is
called Watergate ° in the parish of St. Ebbe, up to the postern in the same
wall towards the Castle ; so that a crenellated wall like the rest of the wall
of the same town be made round the foresaid dwelling, beginning from the
west side of Watergate, and reaching southwards as far as the bank of the
Thames, and extending along the bank westwards as far as the fee of the
Abbat of Bee in the parish of St. Bodhoc, and then turning again north-
wards till it joins the old wall of the foresaid borough on the east side of
the small postern ; '
and they were further allowed to throw down the old wall which
stretched across their habitation. But in I2486 this grant, as far
as it related to the wall, was cancelled; the old wall was to be
repaired, and the proposed new wall was not mentioned.
There can be little doubt that in December, 1244, the friars did
not possess the land which they were then allowed to enclose ; it is
indeed very doubtful whether they had any property south of the wall.
Possibly they may have acquired already the place which they held in
1278,
' of the gift of Agnes widow of Guydo 7, which the said Agnes had by
1 Mon. Franc. I, p. 55. 6 Pat. 32 Hen. Ill, m. 10; Appx. A.
8 Ibid. pp. 34-5. 8 ; Mon. Franc. I, p. 617. It was this
3 ' Sufficienter ampliatus,' Eccleston, grant of 1248 that remained in force : see
p. 35 : cf. Wykes, Ann. Monast. IV, 93 confirmation of it in Pat. 18 Edw. Ill,
(1245): 'The Friars Minors at Oxford, m. 19.
hitherto confined to narrow limits, began 7 It is uncertain who this Guydo
to widen their boundaries and build new was : a ' Guido films Roberti ' was
houses.' Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1 249 : Liberate,
4 Pat. 29 Hen. Ill, m. 9 ; Appx. A. 3. 33 Hen. Ill, m. 9 ; and two sons of
8 i. e. Littlcgate, not South Gate (as Guydo had a lawsuit in 13 Ed. I :
Uoase, p. 68), which was in St. Aldatc's Placita Corone, Oxon. M. f } i, m. 5 *,
parish. &c.
CH. II.]
PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS.
descent from her predecessors, and they pay thence to Walter Goldsmith
one pound of cummin V
The value was then unknown, nor is the position specified 2. It was,
however, no doubt situated in the suburb of St. Ebbe's parish. Two
other plots of ground are mentioned in the same document as be-
longing to the Friars : of one of these (that granted by Thomas
Walonges) we have accurate information, and shall mention it in
its due place. Of the other nothing further is known than that
they held it by grant from Master Richard de Mepham. But the
grant was probably .of later date than 1244. Richard was Arch-
deacon of Oxford in 1263, became Dean of Lincoln in 1273, and
probably died in 1274 at the council of Lyons3.
But the royal grant in the Patent Roll of 29 Henry III is ex-
plained by the fact that the Franciscans, or rather their benefactors,
were already negotiating for the transfer of a large part of the pro-
perty there described, if not of the whole of it.
In February, 1245, Thomas Valeynes, or Valoignes (or Walonges
as he is called in the Inquisition of 6 & 7 Edward I), carried
into effect a plan for the benefit of the Friars Minors which it
must have taken long to bring to a successful conclusion 4. It
consisted in begging or buying out a number of holders of pro-
perty in the south-west ' suburb of Oxford,' and granting in one
case at least tenements in another part of the town as compensa-
tion. Thus, in exchange for two messuages with their appurtenances
on the south-west of the town, Symon son of Benedict and Leticia
1 Brian Tywne, MS. XXII, 131 : ' Ex
Rotulo general, Inquis. com. et villae
Oxon. per hundred capta A° 6° et 7°
Ed' I1 per sacramentum inhabitantium.'
Wood (MS. F 29 a, f. 176 a) copies this
from B. Twyne : Peshall and Stevens,
copying carelessly from Wood, speak of
it as an ' Inquisition taken in the year
1221.'
4 Wood (MS. F 29 a,f. 176) after quo-
ting this Inquisition, goes on : ' besides
\voh they had another large piece of
ground of y8 said Agnes since knowne
(as now tis) as part of paradise garden;'
and he adds in the margin : ' another
piece of land they had wch was Tho.
Fullonis or Alice Foliot ut in Carta 66
ex lib. S. frid. v. AV. p. 19,' i. e. Wood
MS. C 2, p. 19 in Bodleian— a charter
from Stephen to St. Frideswide's, con-
firming the property of the Priory in
and outside Oxford : among the tenants
is Tho. Fullo, who pays 5.?. for land in
St. Ebbe's ; the charter is No. 66 in the
Corpus Copy of St. Frideswide's Chartu-
lary, and dates in its present form from
c. 33 Hen. III. (I am indebted to Rev.
S. R. Wigram for this reference.) This
tenement of Tho. Fullo was very likely
near St. Budhoc's, where William and
Rad. Fullo had land. See B. Twyne,
MS. Ill, 8-9, Charter of R. de Hoke-
norton, in 'libro Osneyensi;' and XXII,
286.
3 Le Neve, Fasti.
4 Feet of Fines, Oxon., 29 Hen. Ill,
m. 40-44, and 46. For first grant sec
Appx. A. 6.
16 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
his wife, received one messuage outside the North Gate, together
with a building then held by Hugh Marshall,
' which same messuage and building were formerly held by Benedictus le
Mercer father of the foresaid Symon.'
One messuage with appurtenances was acquired from John Costard
and Margery his wife, two from Warin of Dorchester and Juliana his
wife, one from William ' le Barbeur ' and Alice his wife, one from
Henry ' le Teler ' and Alice his wife, and a little later 1 one curtilage
'in the suburb of Oxford in the parish of St. Budoc,' from John
Aylmer and Christiana his wife. All these eight tenements Thomas de
Valeynes, ' at the petition ' of the former owners, assigned
' to the increase of the area in which the Friars Minors dwelling at Oxford
are lodged in pure and perpetual alms free and quit of all secular service
and exaction for ever ; '
and we may reasonably conclude that they filled the space from the
City Wall on the north to Trill Mill Stream on the south, and from
Littlegate Street on the east to a line drawn from the 'fee of the Abbat
of Bee in the parish of St. Bodhoc's ' to the West Gate on the west 2.
Shortly after this, namely, on the 22nd of April, 1245s, Henry
III gave the Friars, to enlarge their new area,
'our island in the Thames, which we have bought from Henry son of
Henry Simeon,'
with permission to make a bridge over the arm of the river dividing
it from their houses, and to enclose it with a wall, or in any other
way which would insure ' the security of their houses and the tran-
1 Feet of Fines, Oxon., 29 Hen. Ill, p. 578, note 37. 'Paradise Garden for-
m. 46, 'a die S. Johannis Baptiste In merly belonging to the Grey Fryers,
tres septimanas.' There was a rivulet running sometimes
2 This fee of the Abbat of Bee be- through and made it two. The arch is in
longed to Steventon Priory, Berks, a the wall to this day that parts Paradise
cell of the Abbey of Bee in Normandy. and the Grey Friers. It came from the
Dugdale, Vol. VI, p. 1044. east part of Paradice and soe ran downe
3 Pat. 29 Hen. Ill, m. 6 (Appx. A. 5). as far as the brewhouse which brewhous
Whether the island lay to the south or was formerly part of Paradise.' Else-
west of the Friary is not certain. Wood where he says : ' Which isle was situated
says : ' This piece of ground I suppose on the south side of their habitation (the
was part of (or at least near adjoyning rivulet called Trill Mill running bet ween)
to) paradise garden though wee now and on the west side of the habitation of
see it all one intire piece ; for in ancient the Black Fryers ; and is now belonging
time it was divided in severall Islands, to Sir William Morton, Kt.' &c. ; ibid,
as may be scene by the arches under a Vol. II, p. 361 ; cf. p. 396, n. 2, where
ruinous stone wall to this day remaining he identifies this piece of land (i. e. the
in the same garden.' MS. F 29 a, f ground between the presentNewSt.,Nor-
176 (Wood-Clark, II, 396). Cf. Clark's folk St., and Friars St.) with the friars'
edition of Wood's 'City of Oxford,' Vol.1, grove as distinguished from the island.
CH. IT.]
PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS.
quillity of their religion.' On the same day1 the King ordered the
Barons of the Exchequer to deduct from the fine of sixty marks,
' imposed on Henry son of Henry Simeonis because he was implicated in 2
the murder of a scholar of Oxford, twenty-five marcs, for twenty-five
marcs which we owed to Henry Simeonis his father for an island in the
Thames at Oxford which we have bought from him, and which said marcs
he begged should be reckoned to his son in the aforesaid fine.'
The next grant is dated the 27th of November, 1246*. The
King announces that he has handed over to the friars, for the en-
largement of their premises, the whole messuage, with its appurten-
ances, which Laurence Wych (or Wyth), Mayor of Oxford, com-
mitted to him for that purpose, desiring them to enclose the same as
they shall see fit :
' and the Sheriff of Oxfordshire was commanded to receive the messuage
in place of the King for the use of the said friars.'
It is quite uncertain where this land lay, and whether Wych granted
it in his public or private capacity.
For the next fifty years, excepting the undated grants of Richard
Mepham and Agnes widow of Guydo, which probably belong to
this period, there is no record of a gift of land to the Minorites.
On the east they had already reached the permanent limit of their
property4, and the Friars of the Penitence of Jesus Christ settled
about the year 1260 on the ground lying to the west. This
formed the parish of St. Budoc. In 1262 5 the King allowed these
friars to build an oratory here; in 12 65" he granted them, as
patron, the church of St. Budoc (which adjoined their premises, and
which, owing to the removal or death of the parishioners, was too
impoverished to support one chaplain), ' to make thence a chapel for
themselves.' With the church they acquired 7
' the cemetery and the houses standing in the same and belonging to the
said church,'
1 Liberate Roll, 29 Hen. Ill, m. 9
(Appx. A. 4).
2 Or • present at ' — interfuit.
3 Pat. 3iHen. III,m. 8(see Appx. A. 7).
1 Ingram in his Memorials of Oxford,
published 1837 (V<>1- HI, under St.
Ebbe's), says, speaking of Pat. 29 Hen.
Ill, m. 9 : 'A great part of the wall built
according to this agreement is still in
existence, or at least an old wall on the
same site.' Some of it, on the west side
of Littlegate Street, south of Charles
Street, is still to be seen. Cf. Wood,
MS. 29 a, fol. 179 : 'On the east side
of it (i.e. Minorites' property) . . . was
the way leading from Watergate to
Preachers Bridge-'
5 Pat. 46 Hen. Ill, m. 1 1 (May 7).
6 Pat. 49 Hen. Ill, m. 24 (Feb. 5).
7 Ibid. (Feb. 8), Appx. A. 9.
1 8 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. II.
with the proviso that the cemetery should always be treated as conse-
crated J ground. The value of the church was zos. a. year 2.
At the Council of Lyons in 1274 the Friars of the Penitence of
Jesus Christ, or ' Friars of the Sack,' were forbidden to admit new
members3, and the Order came to an end when the old members
died out. The Minorites and their friends therefore applied them-
selves to secure the property. As early as 1296 Boniface VIII
wrote to the Bishop of Lincoln, ordering him 4 to allow the Friars
Minors to take possession of the house or area of the Friars of the
Sack, whenever the five remaining brethren should die or transfer
themselves to other religious Orders. At the court of Clement V,
the first of the Avignon popes, the claims of the Minorites were
urged by John of Britanny, Earl of Richmond ; and Clement issued
a Bull in their favour, dated the 27th of May, 1309 (vi Kal.
Jun. A° iv) 5.
'In a petition exhibited to us on your part,' runs the document, 'it is
contained that owing to the narrowness of your place at Oxford, you and
other friars, there flocking together to the University from divers parts of
the world in great multitude, do endure manifold wants and various in-
conveniences. Since therefore the place of the Friars of the Penitence of
Jesus Christ of the same place of Oxford adjoining your place, is shortly,
as is believed, to be relinquished by the said Friars, to remain at the
disposal of the Apostolic Seat, according to the tenor of the Constitution
published by Pope Gregory X, our predecessor, in the Council of Lyons, it
is humbly prayed us, that we deign to concede to you that place for the
enlargement of your place aforesaid.'
This prayer the Pope goes on to grant ' of his special favour,' men-
tioning the earnest supplications of John of Britanny e on behalf of
the friars.
The King, however, also had a claim to dispose of lands which
his grandfather had granted, and which, in default of heirs or suc-
cessors, legally escheated to the Crown. By Letters Patent dated
the 28th of March, i3io7, Edward II assigned to the Friars
Minors the property which Henry III had previously given to the
1 B. Twyne (MS. Ill, 13) seems to « Wadding, V, p. 575, No. xxii Ex
have been led astray by the word ' bene- parte dikctorum. The date is VI Kal.
dictum ' into thinking there was a Bene- Sept An. 2.
dictine church here. s Wadding, Ann. Min. Vol. VI, p.
a Placita Coronae, Oxon. 13 Edw. I, 463.
M. \ \ 3, m. 55. « Wadding calls him 'Earl of Ki-
3 Chronicles of Edw. I & II, Vol. I, chiemunda.'
p. 83 (R. S.). •> Pat. 3 Edw. II, m. 9 (Appx. A. u).
CH. II.] PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS. 19
Penitentiary Friars, with the same stipulation as to the cemetery.
The land is accurately described ; it was contiguous to the place of
the Friars Minois, in the suburb of Oxford, twenty and a half
perches long from north to south, six perches wide at the south
end, two and a half at the north, and four perches seven feet in
the middle.
Letters Patent of the same day * confirmed the grant of four other
parcels of ground to the Friars Minors: some of these may have
been previously held by the Friars of the Sack. The ' plot of ground
in Oxford/ five perches two feet from east to west, two perches and
a half from north to south, conferred on the Minorites by John
Wyz and Emma his wife, may have been within the walls, near the
West Gate; the others were in the suburb. Henry Tyeys gave
land measuring six perches by five, and lying between the site of St.
Budoc's Church and the Thames (Trill Mill Stream) ; Richard le
Lodere's land, measuring fourteen and a half perches five feet, by
four perches and three feet, and stretching from the Thames to the
above-mentioned place of Henry Tyeys, was included in the grant,
as was a larger plot 2, measuring sixteen and a half perches from the
Thames to the ' royal way/ and ten perches in breadth ; which seems
to have included the south part of Paradise Gardens 3.
All these places are described as adjoining the property of the
Warden and Friars Minors of Oxford.
It was probably at the instance of the Crown and as a protest
against the papal claims that the Minorites a few years later formally
surrendered to the King the area which had belonged to the Peniten-
tiaries, 'in its entirety as it came into their hands/ and received it
back of the King's special favour in pure and perpetual alms *.
One fragment of the Penitentiary Friars' property came into the
hands of the Franciscans somewhat later. In October, 1319, an
Inquisitio ad quod Damnum 5 was held in Oxford to decide whether
Richard Gary could, without prejudice to the King or others, bestow
on the Friars Minors a place in the suburb of Oxford, adjacent to
1 Pat. Edw. II, m. 14 (Appx. A. 10). Oxon., quae tendit a Regia Semita usque
2 No donor's name occurs. ad aquam Thamesis in profundum, et
3 This is probably the land which usque ad terram Radulfi Fullonis in
Wood refers to as having belonged to latum, ex australi parte predicte Eccle-
Thomas Fnllo. The charter of Rob. sie.' B. Twyne, MS. Ill, 8-9.
Hokenorton to Osney mentions 'land * Pat. 12 Edw. II, m. 25 (6 March,
which Will. Fnllo held of Reginald de 1319) ; Appx. A. 12.
Sub Muro, juxta ecclcsiam S. Ludoci, G Inquis. a. q. D. 13 Edw. II, No. 31.
C 2
20 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
their property, and measuring five perches in length and five in
breadth. The jurors declared that the grant would not be injurious
to the King or others, and that Gary possessed sufficient property
in the town to discharge all his civic duties. The place 'at the
time when it was built ' was worth 20*. a year, but now, owing to
its ruinous condition, only 2s. Gary held it for a rent of 8s. a
year of Johanna, wife of Walter of Wycombe, Agatha her sister, and
John son of Alice, who was wife of Andrew Culvard, the heirs of
Henry Ovvayn ; they held it of the Prior of Steventon, paying ^d. a
year in lieu of all services. The plot was therefore the fee of the
Abbat of Bee mentioned above, and is probably the same as
' the place which the Friars/>f the Penitence bought of Walter Aurifaber,
and they pay thence to the Prior of Steventon 2j.1 '
A few months previously a similar inquisition 2 was held at Oxford,
which resulted in an addition to the Minorite property on the east
side within the wall. This was a plot of ground of the annual value
of 2s., five perches by six, granted to them by John Culvard. The
town, however, claimed the right,
1 at all times when it shall be necessary, to have free entry and egress
thence to restore, repair and defend the wall of the said town.'
In 1321 s Walter Morton obtained leave to grant in mortmain to
the Franciscans a place with its appurtenances, measuring five perches
by five, in the suburb of Oxford ; and similar licence was given to
John de Grey de Retherfeld4 in 1337 to bestow on them a tenement,
six perches by five, lying next their habitation on the east side within
the town. This brings us to the end of the list of grants of
landed property to the Oxford Minorites— a list which we may claim
to be fairly complete. It is interesting to note from what classes the
donors were drawn. Most of them were men of business — the lead-
ing tradesmen of the town 5. Three of them, Laurence Wych, John
Culvard, and Richard Gary, were at various times Mayors of Oxford,
J Inquis. Oxon. Capta 6 and 7 Edw. Aug.), Appx. A. 14.
I ; Brian Twyne, III, 8-9. Walter Ami- * Rob. le Mercer and others are
faber had a daughter named Agatha; commanded to help the Mayor, Peter
ib. XXIV, 253. son of Thorald, in building the city wall
2 Inquis. a. q. D. 12 Edw. II, No. (Glaus. 18 Hen. Ill, m. 23). Robert
47 (5 March, 18 May), Appx. A. 13 ; Owen and Ric. the Miller witness
Pat. 13 Edw. II, m. 44 (8 July). William of Wileford's deed, see App.
3 Pat. 14 Edw. II, m. 10 (12 May). The names are significant — the Mercer,
4 Tat. n Edw. Ill, pt. 2, m. 6 (19 the Miller, the Barber, the Tailor.
CH. II.] PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS. 21
and the two latter represented the city in Parliajjent l. Richard
Mepham belonged to the higher rank of ecclesiastics. Master
Thomas de Valeynes seems to have been a person of some import-
ance in Oxfordshire and the adjoining counties 2.
Buildings.
Of the buildings of the Friars Minors in Oxford we have disap-
pointingly little information — with the exception of the boundary wall
already mentioned there are no remains of their house now visible.
Excavations might perhaps yield interesting results, but most of the
ground is thickly built over, and the information derived from the re-
cords and other sources is rarely precise enough to enable us to
identify with any certainty the sites of the various buildings.
For the first twenty years the Friary must have presented a very
modest, not to say mean, appearance, and the brethren were probably
contented to take the accommodation afforded by the houses, which
were granted them, with little alteration. The infirmary built by
Agnellus has already been noticed. After they had been nearly a
year in Oxford, the friars built a small chapel3. In 1232, the King
gave them
* thirty beams in the royal forest of Savernak for the fabric of their chapel
which they are having built at Oxford,'
adding that
' if any one in the same bailiwick shall wish to give them timber, the bailiff
shall permit them without hindrance to carry through the forest free of
toll oaks to the number of thirty V
Probably this refers to the original chapel. It had a choir where
the brethren attended and celebrated divine service 5, and at, or over,
the door of which stood a crucifix, or wooden cross 6. It was here,
in the choir before the altar, that Agnellus was buried in a ' leaden
box,' as became the zelator paupertatis 7. The chapel was pulled
down when the new church was finished8. Under the auspices of
Agnellus rose their first school, which was apparently the finest of
1 Wood-Peshall, Ancient and Present 4 Close Roll, 16 Hen. Ill, m. 9 (June
State, &c., p. 355. .17).
* One of this name was Commissioner 8 Eccleston, p. 20.
of gaol delivery for Dorchester, Wy- 6 Ibid. ; and Earth, of Pisa, Lib. Con-
combe, Aylesbury, &c. : Pat. 54 Hen. form. fol. 80.
Ill, m. 17 *, 12 d; and 55 Hen. Ill, m. 7 Eccleston, p. 54. Barth. of Pisa
28 ct. says, 'in capsa lignea,' fol. 80.
* Eccleston, Mon. Franc. I, p. 9. ' Eccleston, ibid.
32 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. II.
their early buildings *. Whether this was afterwards enlarged, or
whether new schools were built on the same site or elsewhere,
there is no longer any means of deciding.
These houses were situated within the wall, and it was not till the
increase of the ' area ' between 1240 and 1 250 that building on a large
scale was commenced between the wall and Trill Mill Stream 2. The
tendency to build was strenuously resisted by the stricter party among
the friars — the party which upheld the early traditions of the Order.
Eccleston relates how an Oxford friar appeared after death to the
custodian and warned him that,
' if the friars were not -damned for their excess in building, they would at
any rate be severely punished V
An obscure passage in a letter of Adam Marsh probably refers to
the same tendency ; even novices, he laments, are taught to neglect
the things of the spirit
' for flesh and blood, for mud and walls, for wood and stone, for any kind
of worldly gain *.'
The opposition of the older generation was, however, unavailing,
and a ' stately and magnificent 6 ' convent began to rise. But of
the new friary, too, there are but scanty notices. No English king
bestowed on the house of Franciscans at Oxford that loving care
which Henry III bestowed on the Minorite Church at Reading, or
Edward II on the Dominican Church which rose over the tomb
of his ill-fated favourite at Langley. From royal grants we learn
that building was going on at the Grey Friars of Oxford in
1240, when ten oaks were given to them by the King for timber6.
In 1245 (July
' the Sheriff of Berkshire was ordered to give to the Friars Minors of
Oxford for the works of their houses sixty shillings instead of six oaks
which the King gave them before 7 ; '
and a further grant of six oaks for timber in 1272 shows that the
operations were of a protracted nature 8. From similar sources we
find that the Church, which was dedicated to St. Francis, was in
1 Eccleston, p. 37, 'Scholam satis qualicunque compendiolo mundanis
honestam.' questibus totum dandum esset.'
2 Pat. 32 Hen. Ill, m. 10. 5 Wood, MS. F 29 a, f. 179 a.
3 Mon. Franc. I, 25. 6 Claus. 24 Hen. Ill, m. 17 (Feb. 5) ;
4 Ibid. 362 : ' quasi carni et san- Liberate, 24 Hen. Ill, m. 19 (Feb. 7).
guini, quasi luto et lateribus, quasi 7 Liberate, 29 Hen. Ill, m. 5.
lignis et lapidibus, quasi quibuscunque 8 Claus. 56 Hen. Ill, m. 7.
CH. II.] PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS. 23
process of erection in February, 1246', and February, I2482. At
the latter date the friars are again permitted to
' enclose the street which extends under the wall of Oxford from the
Watergate ... to the small postern in the wall near the Castle . . . We
grant also that the north side of the chapel built and to be built in the
aforesaid street may supply the interruption of the wall as far as it is to
reach, the other breaches in the wall being fully repaired as before, except
the small postern in the wall, through which the said friars can go and
return from the new place where they now live, to the former place in
which they used to live.
It would appear from this that the street was outside the wall.
Mr. Parker, however, states positively that it was ' the inner road '
which they were 'permitted to enclose3; in Wheeler's Garden,
south-west of St. Ebbe's Churchyard, there used to be a line of old
walling, running parallel to the city wall inside, and the space be-
tween these walls may have been the street in question4. It must
be remembered, however, that the friars had already in 1244 ac-
quired the road with the right to enclose it, and to throw down this
section of the city wall. In 1248, therefore, we may well believe
that little existed of the wall, which on the south side was never a
very prominent feature. The church running due east and west
would extend along and across the site of the wall, the west end
being outside, the east end inside. From the south end of Para-
dise Place, where the wall juts out southwards for a few -yards, to
a point about the north end of King's Terrace, there have long
been no signs of the city wall ; and it is probably here that the
Grey Friars' Church stood. The tradition is still preserved in the
name Church Place. Of the appearance of the church we know
little. The roof was tiled B, like that of the Grey Friars' Church
at Reading ; it is probable the east end was flat, and there was no
triforium 6. Wood thinks that one of the eight towers which
figured in the pageant at the inthronization of Warham in 1504,
1 Liberate, 30 Hen. Ill, m. 16 : 'Man- 8 Early Hist, of Oxford, p. 298 : his
datum est Vicecomiti Oxonie quod de map of Oxford gives a street outside the
amerciamentis Itineris Robert! Passe- wall.
lewe et sociorum suorum Justiciariorum * I am indebted to Mr. Parker for
qui ultimo Itineranerunt ad placita fo- this information and suggestion,
reste in Comitatu suo facial habere fra- 5 Cromwell Corresp., and series, Vol.
tribus minoribus Oxonie iij Marcas et XXIII, fol. 709 b (Record Office),
fratribus predicatoribus eiusdem ville iij ' Cf. Walcott's ' Church and Conven-
ad fabricam ecclesie sue de dono Regis.' tual Arrangement,' on Friars'^Churches,
" Tat. 32 Hen. Ill, m. 10. &c.
24 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
represented the tower of the Grey Friars1. William of Worcester
has left a somewhat puzzling2 description of the church in i48o3.
' The length of the choir of the church of St. Francis at Oxford contains
68 steps. The length from the door (val-va) of the choir to the
west window contains 90 steps ; so in the whole length it contains
150 (?) steps. The width of the nave of the said church on the east
(ab orienti parte) contains with the aisle 28 steps. The length of the nave
from the south side to the north door contains 40 steps only, and there
are ten chapels in the said north nave of the church. The width of the
north nave of the church contains 20 steps. The width of each chapel
contains 6 steps, and so the width of the whole nave of the church with
the ten chapels contains 26 steps. And each chapel contains in length 6
steps. And each glass window of the ten chapels contains three dayes
(or lights) glazed.'
Reckoning William's ' steps ' at half a yard each 4, and correcting
his apparent mistake hi addition, we find that the church measured
seventy-nine yards from east to west, the choir containing thirty-four
yards, and the nave forty-five. At its widest part the church
measured twenty yards, ten yards of which were taken up by the
north aisle. Hence the width of the have properly so called, and
of the choir, which in friars' churches is, where it exists, of the
same width as the nave 5, was ten yards. The choir was aisleless,
and the north aisle was probably the only one in the church : this,
too, narrowed from ten yards to four towards the east end of the
nave. In 1535 Friar Henry Standish, Bishop of St. Asaph, be-
queathed £40 'for the building of an aisle joining to the church
of the Grey friars, Oxon6,' probably on the south side, but it is
almost certain that this was never built.
The wider aisle must have extended nearly the whole length of
the nave to allow space for the north door and the ten chapels, all
of which were built on to the north wall. They would be in part
sepulchral chantries, supported by noble families or gilds, often con-
taining the image or shrine of some saint, while the shrine of the
patron saint stood behind the high altar. They were presumably
later additions, and whether the church in its original form attained
1 Annals, 662. virgas . . . Item 50 virgae faciunt 85
2 Stevens, 'Hist, of Abbeys,' &c., I, gradus sive steppys mei:' and p. 281,
137 :' This account appears to me very ' quaelibet virga tres pedes,' &c.
confuse and unintelligible.' 5 Walcott, as above.
3 Itinerarium, p. 296. 6 P.C.C. Regist. Hogen, qu. 26 (in
* Ibid. p. 83, 'Memorandum quod Somerset House).
24 steppys sive gressus mei faciunt 12
CH. II.] PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS. 25
the proportions here described must remain doubtful. But there is
no reason to suppose it was afterwards enlarged to any great ex-
tent. In the thirteenth century, benefactors, great and small, were
willing and eager to help the friars to raise those splendid build-
ings which drew forth the fierce denunciations of later reformers ;
and though much of the church was doubtless built, like that at
London, ' from good common alms 1/ there can be little question
that the chief ' founder and benefactor ' was the wealthy Richard
Plantagenet, Earl of Cornwall, and King of the Romans 2. It was
in the choir of this church that his heart was buried 3
' under a sumptuous pyramid of admirable workmanship *.'
Here, too, five years later the remains of his third wife, Beatrice of
Falkenstein, were interred, ' before the great altar 5 ; ' and many
other monuments of nobles and famous men must have given the
interior of the church an imposing appearance. Among those buried
here were several of the Golafres : the tomb of Sir John Golafre,
who died at Quinton, Bucks, in 1379", was in the chancel; that of
his younger brother, William, was probably in the same part of the
church 7. Sir John's illegitimate son, John Golafre, knight and lord
of Langley, bequeathed his body to be buried next his father's, if he
should die in England 8 ; but
' at the time of his death (1396) he altered his will in that part in which he
bequeathed his body to be buried in the chancel of the church of the
Friars Minors at Oxford, and willed and also bequeathed his body to be
buried in the Conventual Church of Westminster where our lord the
King shall dispose V
1 Mon. Franc. I, 508, &c. syngham, Ypodigma Neustriae, p. 165
a Wood-Clark, II, 407. Adam Marsh (R. S.) 51272 according to Trivet, Ann.
was personally known to the Earl of 279. The latter is probably correct :
Cornwall ; in a letter to the Queen of see Foedera, I, 489.
England he mentions having been with 4 J. Rouse, p. 199 (ed. Hearne).
him; Mon. Franc. I, 291: cf. ibid. Rouse studied at Oxford, and died 1491.
105-6, 400. A letter from Adam to * Chron. of Osney, 17 Oct. 1277: R.
Senchia, Richard's wife, is extant, ibid. S. ed. p. 274.
p. 292. The following character of 8 Wood, MS. F 29 a, fol. 179 b.
Richard is curious as being drawn pro- T Ibid.
bably by a Franciscan: 'Hie erga 8 Regist. Arundel, I, fol. 155. SirH.
omnes mulieres cujuscunque professionis Nicolas reads Exon. instead of Oxon :
luxuriosissimus, thesaurorum collector p. 135.
cupklissimus et avidissimns, pauperum ' Ibid. fol. 155 b. The Golafre
oppressor insolentissimus.' MS. Cott. property at Fyfield now belongs to St.
Cleop. B xiii, f. 148 : cf. Hardy, De- John's College ; the President informs
script. Catal. &c. me that the College has no documents
3 He died 1270, according to Wai- relating to the Golafre family.
26 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
William Lord Lovell, by a will dated 18 March, 145*, made provision
' to be buried at the Grayfreris of Oxenford in suche place as I have
appoynted V
The wills of less distinguished persons occasionally contain information
as to the interior of the church. In 1430 Robert Keneyshame,
Bedel of the University, willed to be buried in the Franciscan Church,
' in the midst between the two altars beneath the highest cross in the body
of the church V
James Hedyan, bachelor in both laws and principal of Eagle Hall,
was buried in the nave 3. Agnes, wife of Michael Norton, was in
1438 buried
' in the Conventual Church of the Friars Minors of Oxford before the
image of the blessed Mary the Virgin of Pity *.'
And in 1526 Richard Leke, ' late bruer of Oxford,' desired
' to be buried within the Graye ffreres in Oxford before the awter where
the first masse is daily vsed to be saide V
But more honoured than any of these was the ' fair stone sepulchre 6 '
in which the body of Agnellus, the only Provincial Minister known to
have been buried at Oxford, found its final resting place. For the
shrine of Agnellus possessed all the fascination of miraculous associa-
tion and miraculous power. When the friars, many years after his
death, went in the night to remove the body from the original chapel
before its demolition,
' they found the little leaden box in which it lay, together with the grave,
full of the purest oil, but the body itself with the vestments uncorrupted
and smelling most sweetly V
Here, too, we are told, was the tomb of one greater than Agnellus ;
but if the statement of John Rouse, that Roger Bacon was buried
among the Franciscans at Oxford, is anything more than a tradition,
it was perhaps not in the church, but in the common burial place
of the brethren of the convent, that the Warwick antiquary found
his grave 8.
1 Early Lincoln Wills (A. Gibbons, ginis de pyte.' Oxford City Records,
1888), p. 1 86. Old White Book, f. 90 a.
2 B. Twyne, MS. XXIII, 478. He 5 P.C.C. Porch, fol. 9.
altered this part of his will in a codicil, 6 Earth, of Pisa, fol. 80.
and was buried in St. Ebbe's. 7 Eccleston, 54.
3 Mun. Acad. : Anstey, p. 543. 8 J. Rouse, Hist. p. 29 : <et modo in or-
4 ' Coram ymagine bcatc Marie Vir- dinis sui fratrcs Miuores Oxon scpulturn.'
CH. II.] PROPERTY AND BUILDINGS. 27
The cloisters, of which we find no mention till the dissolution, were
no doubt situated on the south of the church, round ' Penson's Gar-
dens/ Whether the friars were buried in the cloisters, the garth, the
chapter-house, or ' the cemetery of the Friars Minors/ in which John
Dongan was interred in 1464 1, or sometimes in one place, sometimes
in another, is unknown. On the east of the cloisters would be the
chapter-house 2 ; over it, and joining the church, a dormitory 3. On
the south of the cloisters, opposite the church, stood the refectory. It
is possible, but not probable, that the long narrow building stretching
down towards Trill Mill Stream, which is marked in old maps of Ox-
ford 4, was the refectory : Bridge Street marks the site. The library
may have been on the west side of the cloisters, but no hint remains
as to the building or its position, while the contents may be more ap-
propriately treated elsewhere. The warden's house is equally un-
known; he may perhaps merely have had rooms set apart in some
one of the larger buildings 5, as was probably the case with the vice-
warden8. From the Lanercost Chronicle we learn that in the thir-
teenth century the ' master of the schools ' had a chamber of his
own 7 ; and Wiclif tells us that in his time
'Capped Friars, that beene called Maisters of Diuinitie, haue there
chamber and service as Lords or Kings V
Ample accommodation for guests was a marked feature in most re-
ligious houses, and there is no reason to suppose that the Oxford
Franciscan Friary formed an exception to a custom which, while it
excited some animosity against the apostles of poverty, tended to en-
sure the favour and secure the alms of the rich 9.
1 Oxford Univ. Reg. A a a, fol. 213. "'Two short treatises against the
2 First mention is in 1370: Anstey's Begging Friars' (Oxf. 1608), p. 30;
Mun. Acad. 232-3. cf. Roy's Satire on Card. Wolsey, Harl.
3 At Reading, the chapter-house and Misc., Vol. IX, p. 42, &c.
dormitory seem to have formed one 9 See Pecock's Represser, p. 543, on
building. Liberate Rolls, 23 Hen. Ill, the objection that ' religiose monasteries
m. 6, and 24 Hen. Ill, m. I. (nameliche of the begging religiouns)
4 Agas map of 1578, engraved by ban withinne her gatis and cloocis grete
Neale 1728; Hollar's map, 1643. large wijde hije and stateli mansiouns
5 The warden at Reading occupied for lordis and ladies ther yn to reste,
one of ' thre prety lodginges ' at the abide, and dwelle ; ' and p. 548-50.
Grey Friars; Cromwell Corresp., Vol. Edward III stayed at the Grey Friars,
XXIII, f. 742. York, in 1335 (Rymer, Foed., Vol. II,
« Cf. Inventory of the Grey Friars, pt. ii, p. 909). In the Record Office
Ipswich; Chapter House Bks. A Jf ; (Excheq. Q. R. Wardrobe H) is a docu-
' owthe of the Vicewarden's Chamber.' ment containing details as to feasts in
7 P. 130. the Dominican Convent at Oxford in
28
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
[CH. II.
The convent was supplied with good water by a conduit of leaden
pipes, which, according to Wadding, was made in the thirteenth cen-
tury by a magnate at his own expense, and extended many miles under
the watersheds of the Isis and Cherwell l. In 1246-7 we hear that
the Friars Preachers and Minors had appropriated many places on the
Thames, and had made there ' ditches and walls and other things V
Lastly, there were three gates : one in Freren Street 3, perhaps an en-
trance to the church through ' Church Place ; ' another in St. Ebbe's
Street, opposite Beef Lane 4, where St. Ebbe's Churchyard now ex-
tends ; and a third — their principal entrance, which existed in Wood's
time — in Littlegate Street, apparently where the latter is now joined
by Charles Street 5.
This completes the list of conventual as distinct from the farm
buildings, and if the account is meagre and unsatisfactory, we may
try to console ourselves with William of Nottingham's retort, when a
friar threatened to accuse him before the Minister General ' because
the place at London was not enclosed : '
' And I will answer to the General, that I did not enter the Order to build
walls6.'
connexion with the burial of Piers
Gaveston ; the feasts were continned for
four weeks. The Earl of Hereford, who
spent Christmas at Grey Friars, Exeter,
in 1288, found his lodgings detestable
and the stench insupportable: Oliver,
Monast. Exon. p. 331.
1 ' Ex magnatibus unus rem magnam
ausus est et perfecit, ut suis sumptibus
a multis milliaribus Anglicanis ductis
sub Isidis et Chervelli fluminum divortiis
plumbeis canalibus, corrivaretur ad
omnes Monasterii officinas aqua salubris
in magna abundantia.' Ann. Minorum,
I, 364, A.D. 1221. Wadding gives no
authority for the statement.
2 Placita Coronae, 31 Hen. Ill,
Oxon. M f } 3, f. 40 : ' Jurati presentant
quod fratres predicatores et fratres mi-
nores ceperunt in pluribus locis super
aquam Thamesis et ibi fecerurit fossata
et muros et alia.'
3 B. Twyne, MS. XXIII, 151 (n
Hen. VII).
* Oxford City Records, 191.
6 Wood, MS. F 29 a, fol. 1793.
6 Eccleston, p. 35.
CHAPTER III.
FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD.
Learning necessary to the friars. — The first readers to the Franciscans at Oxford. —
Nature of the office of lector ; Grostete and Adam Marsh. — The lector and
his socius. — Later lectors were ordinary Regent Masters. — Appointment to
the lectureship. — Special regulations concerning the lectors. — System of in-
struction recommended by Grostete. — Lectures by friars. — Controversy with
the University about theological degrees in 1253. — Controversy between the
University and Dominicans, and its results. — Study of philosophy (Arts)
before theology insisted on by the University. — Roger Bacon on the necessity
of a preliminary training for friars. — Extortion of graces by external influence :
1 wax-doctors.' — Career of a student Minorite. — On the numbers of friars sent
to Oxford. — Course of study before ' opposition.' — ' Opposition ' and ' Re-
sponsion.' — The degree of B.D. — Exercises before inception. — The degree of
D.D. : the licence. — Vesperies. — Inception. — Questions disputed on these
occasions in the thirteenth century. — How far the statutable requirements as
to the period of study were a reality. — Expenses at inception. — Necessary
Regency. — Conditions on which dispensations were granted. — Maintenance of
Franciscan students at the University. — What proportion took degrees. —
Relative numbers of the various religious Orders at Oxford.
ST. FRANCIS himself was always strongly opposed to the learning of
his age.
' Tantum habet homo de scientia quantum operatur,' he said, ' et religiosus
tantum est bonus orator quantum operatur V
But it was inevitable that the missionaries to the towns should be
armed with a knowledge of theology to enable them to cope with the
numerous heresies of the thirteenth century, and with a knowledge of
physical science to enable them to cope with the frequent pestilences
caused by the disregard of sanitary conditions 2. In addition to this
the influence of many learned men in the Order could not but be
felt ; and the early Franciscans in England were as zealous for learn-
ing as for good works.
1 Wadding, I, 346 ; cf. Mon. Franc. I, and Opera Inedita, 374 — 'regimen sanita-
xxx-xxxii. tis.' Grostete's ' interest in physical
a Cf. Bacon's works, De retarda- science seems to date from his connexion
Hone senectutis, Antidotarius, &c. ; with the friars.' M. Lyte, p. 30.
30 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
' They were so fervent,' Eccleston tells us, ' in hearing the divine law and
in scholastic exercises, that they hesitated not to go every day to the
schools of theology, however distant, barefoot in bitter cold and deep
mud V
Agnellus, though in Wood's words ' he never smelt of an Academy
or tasted of humane learning2/ frankly recognised the necessity.
The school which he built at Oxford has already been noticed :
* but afterwards,' adds Bartholomew of Pisa 3, ' he had reason for regret,
when he saw the friars bestowing their time on frivolities and neglecting
needful things ; for one day when he wished to see what proficiency they
were making, he entered the schools whilst a disputation was going on, and
hearing them wrangling and questioning, Utrum sit Deus, he cried : " Woe
is me, woe is me ! Simple brothers enter Heaven, and learned brothers
dispute whether there is a God at all!" Then he sent io/. sterling to
the Court to buy the Decretals, that the friars might study them and give
over frivolities.'
Agnellus rendered the greatest service to his Order by persuading
Robert Grostete, the foremost scholar of his time, and the most in-
fluential man at Oxford, to accept the post of lecturer to the friars 4.
The exact date at which he undertook these duties is uncertain. He
resigned the archdeaconries of Northampton and Leicester in 1231,
but he may have been lecturer to the Franciscans some time before
this ; certainly he was closely connected with their house at Oxford °.
He was resident in the University in I2346, and according to both
Eccleston 7 and the Lanercost Chronicle 8, he gave up his lectureship
only to accept the bishopric of Lincoln in 1235.
He was succeeded by Master Peter9, who afterwards became a
bishop in Scotland. The third reader was Master Roger Wesham 10,
who afterwards (namely in or before 1239) was made Dean of Lin-
coln, and then (1245) Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. The fourth
was Master Thomas Wallensis, who,
' after he had lectured laudably at the Friars' in the same place, was ap-
pointed (in 1247) to the bishopric of St. David's in Wales u.'
1 Mon. Franc. I, 24. ab cathedra magisterial! in cathedram
a MS. F 29 a, f. 1 76. pontificalem . . . translate.'
3 Liber Conf. fol. 79 b. 8 P. 45 : ' Vir iste primus cathedram
4 Mon. Franc. I, 37. scholarum fratrum minorum rexit Oxo-
5 Grostete, Epistolae, p. 17 sqq., letter niae, nnde et assumptus fuit ad cathe-
to Agnellus and the convent at Oxford, dram praelatiae.'
written between 1225 and 1231. 9 Mon. Franc, ibid.
6 Lyte, ' Hist, of Univ. of Oxford,' p. 10 Ibid. p. 38. The dates are from
29. Le Neve.
7 Mon. Franc. I, 37 : ' Ipso igitur " Ibid.
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD. 31
Thomas was made Archdeacon of Lincoln by Grostete in 1238, at
which time he was lecturing in Paris a ; he was then young 2 and it
is probable that he was already archdeacon when he lectured to the
friars at Oxford.
All these men were seculars, not friars : it was important at a time
when, as Roger Bacon says ', ' the Order of Minors was new and ne-
glected by the world/ to secure the services of men of recognised
position and ability. Of Master Peter nothing further is known. The
other two were certainly close friends of Grostete 4. Matthew Paris
bears testimony to the high character and learning, the kindness and
tact, of Roger Wesham 5. Bacon ranks Thomas Wallensis among
' the wise men of old V wn° studied foreign languages and knew the
value of philology ; and even Paris admits that this enemy of monks 7
was a man of lofty purpose, and accepted the bishopric of St. David's,
though it was the poorest see,
* because it was in his native country, Wales, and he desired to console his
wretched fellow countrymen by his presence, advice, and help V
The divinity lecturer to the Franciscans or ' Master of the Schools V
as he was also called, had, as such, no status in the University. It is
even doubtful whether he counted as a ' regent master,' unless he also
lectured in the University Schools. Thus Adam Marsh protested
against being required by the Masters to subscribe a new statute on
the ground
' that he had three years ago retired from the office of teaching in their
University 10.'
1 Grostete, Ep. p. 149. In Letter may perhaps see a result of his contact
xvii ' Magister Thomas Walensis' is with the Franciscans in his exhortation to
mentioned as being in England ; the the clergy of his diocese ' to preach often
date of the letter must be between 1235 in the vulgar tongue, simply and with-
and 1239 (when W. de Raleger became out discussion, to the people, using
Bishop of Norwich); probably 1238, practical not subtle arguments.' B.
after Thomas had returned from Paris, Twyne, MS. XXI, 280 (Episc. Coventr.
before he became Archdeacon. ' in suis institutis MS.').
3 Ibid. p. 151. ' Opera Inedita, pp. 88, 428.
3 Opera Ined. p. 325. 7 Chron. Majora, IV, 245.
4 Grostete, Ep. ut supra. Both re- 8 Ibid. 647.
ceived high offices in Lincoln diocese, ' Lanerc. Chron. p. 130; cf. ibid.
Roger as dean resisted the bishop's pp. 45, 58.
claims. Paris, Chron. Majora, III, 528; 10 Mon. Franc. 1,348. The statute
IV, 391. was to be subscribed by 'the Chancellor
5 Chron. Majora, IV, 424, <vir mori- and all the regent masters in Holy
bus et scientia eleganter insignitus j ' V, Scripture . . . and Friar Adam called
644, ' vir omni laude dignissimus.' We de Marisco.'
32 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
But in a letter written shortly before this, and referring to the same
subjects, he mentions that he was ' lecturing on Holy Scripture ' to
the friars *. The position of the lector was, in fact, not unlike that
of a college tutor, except that he was always a man of proved
ability and long experience. To the friars he was far more than
a theological lecturer ; he was a trusted friend, on whose advice
and sympathy and help they might reckon in all the conduct of
life. Such at least was the tradition established by Grostete and
carried on by Adam Marsh 2. Both of them men versed in affairs of
state, both men of acknowledged weight in the counsels of the
realm s, and fearless opponents of illegality and oppression, they not
only trained the friars in theology and philosophy, but taught
them to comprehend the social needs of the age.
' I return your lordship,' writes Adam to Grostete *, ' the breviate which
you wrote, " Of the rule of a kingdom and a tyranny" as you sent it, sealed
with the seal of the Earl of Leicester ; '
and Simon de Montfort had frequent consultations with the friar
about his government of Gascony5. It was from their daily inter-
course with men like these that the Oxford Franciscans became, if
not the leaders, the spokesmen of the constitutional movement of
the thirteenth century6. The corpse of Simon de Montfort was
1 Mon. Franc. I, 335. bishop in his visitation is ' districtum
2 For Grostete, see Lanerc. Chron. domini regismandatum.quo interdiction
p. 45 : 'The friars then going to Robert fait domino archiepiscopo ne me, velut
as to a pedagogue relate what has proditorium inimicum, ad comitivam
happened and beg him to say what he suam evocaret.' Cf. p. 387, he is
thought,' &c. The extraordinary activity summoned to Reading and London
of Adam Marsh in this and in many ' on matters of the highest import-
other spheres has been too often and too ance, touching the sceptre and the
well described to detain us here : see kingdom.'
Brewer's pref. to Mon. Franc. I, Pauli, * Ibid. p. no. Compare Nicholas
'Pictures of Old England,' pp. 67, 68 de Lyra's commentary on Psalm xliv.
(extract quoted by Lyte, p. 51), and his quoted by J. Rouse, 'Hist. Regum
'Grosteste and Adam Marsh.' Cf. Bacon, Anglic,' ed. Hearne, p. 38.
Op. Ined. p. 1 86. Adam's description * Mon. Franc. I, 267.
of the ideal pastor might be applied to 6 Stubbs, Const. Hist. II, p. 313, n.
himself. Mon. Franc. I, 445. I : • The sentiments not of the people
3 For Adam's influence with Hen. but of the Universities, and incidentally
III, see Lanerc. Chron. p. 24 ; Mon. of the Franciscans also, are exemplified
Franc. I, 142 and 268 (on behalf of in the long Latin poem printed in
Earl Simon). He incurred the royal Wright's Political Songs, pp. 72-121.
displeasure ' propter verba vitae ; ' ibid. ... It was clearly a manifesto, amongst
275. Cf. ibid. 335 : one of the grounds themselves, of the men whose preaching
on which he declines to assist the Arch- guided the people.'
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD. 33
buried by the Grey Friars of Evesham, and it is probably to the
Franciscan school that the Latin poems in his honour are to be
ascribed 1, as well as the form of prayer addressed to him : —
' Sis pro nobis intercessor
Apud Deum, qui defensor
In terris extiteras V
The Oxford Franciscans regarded him as a saint and a martyr,
though he died excommunicate, and testified to the miracles which
he wrought3.
The lector had also his socius *, a younger friar who acted as his
secretary, and whose time was almost entirely at his disposal. The
position of both lector and socius will be best illustrated by two ex-
tracts from the letters of Adam Marsh.
In the first of these 6, addressed to the Provincial, he writes that
he has found Friar A. de Hereford, whom the Provincial had
assigned to him as his socius, affectionate and of good character,
docile and well-read, and far more capable than ' some of those who
are appointed by the counsel of the discreet to instruct in Holy
Scripture.'
' I see,' he continues, ' that any friar who is associated with me to help me
in my various 8 and constant toil, will have to subordinate his ecclesiastical
labours and apply himself continually to supplying my defects, and
directing my goings, and supporting my burdens, though this might some-
times produce in him virtue and industry and endurance. Far be from me
therefore such impious tyranny, as that I should be willing to see the
great gifts and spiritual progress in the said friar stunted or retarded or
thwarted by any consideration of private convenience ; especially as I can
through the Saviour's pity, be provided, as I have heretofore been by your
grace, with a competent companion without injury to the general welfare.
I have also reason to think that Friar A., however great be his willingness
and energy, will be unable without bodily suffering and mental disquietude
to continue permanently with me, unless the stringent rules are relaxed in
1 See note 6, p. 32. The poem ex- 95, 96. Cf. Dictum de Kenilworth,
presses the constitutional view of mon- cap. 8 (Stubbs* Select Charters, pp. 420-
archy with extraordinary clearness. 421).
Parts of it are translated by Mr. York * Cf. Bacon, Op. Ined. 329. It was
Powell, 'Hist, of England,' pp. 148-9, apparently in this relationship that
and 152. 'Juvenis Johannes' stood to Roger
3 Polit. Songs (Camden Soc.), p. Bacon.
134. 5 Mon. Franc. I, 314-316.
8 'Miracula Symonis de Montfort' 6 Adam's position was exceptional,
(printed at the end of Rishanger's and his socius no doubt exceptionally
Chronicle, Camden Soc. 1840), pp. 87, hard-worked.
34
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
his favour (nisi quatenus urgentia mitigat obed'ientlae salutaris diurnos aestus
et -vigilias nocturnas).
( .... I ask therefore confidently, that you will, if it be not displeasing
to your holy paternity, send to me without ' delay Friar Laurence de
Sutthon, as my socius, if he consents, and that you will send Friar A. to
London to study, as he himself greatly desires, if it be your good pleasure.
And though Friar Laurence suffer some tolerable defect, he is yet
peculiarly fitted to help me, though vulgar obstinacy may not think so.'
The other letter * is also directed to the Provincial.
' I am not a little surprised,' he writes, ' that through some excessive
caution and severity, no provision has yet been made for the beloved Friar
W. de Maddele, who has up to now diligently borne the burden of teaching
(eruditionis impendendae), long since imposed on him. He is thus compelled,
not only to exhaust the vital spirit by excessive studies, but also to wear
out his bodily powers by writing every day with his own hand, though his
strength is not the strength of stone, nor his flesh the flesh of brass. And
while the other friars who have been deputed to the office of lecturing,
especially those to whom he has succeeded, had great volumes and the
assistance of socii provided for them, he alone does not seem to be cared
for ; though I hear that he has a pleasant faculty of lecturing, is acute in
arguing, and in writing and speaking useful and acceptable to both friars
and seculars. It will therefore be for you, if you please, without delay to
take thought for the peace of mind and provide for the advancement
(provectuf) of those who study.'
The position of the socius probably altered but little after this time.
That of the lector underwent a change. The Franciscans assimilated
their system of teaching to the system in vogue in the University
generally : from the time of Adam Marsh the lecturers to the Fran-
ciscans were merely ordinary Regent Masters in theology belonging
to the Order. This will be evident from a comparison of the dates
at which the various lecturers, whose names have been preserved,
held the office : a sufficient number of these dates has now been re-
covered, on the indisputable evidence of contemporary records, to put
the matter beyond all doubt 2.
The appointment to the lectureship was in the hands of the Pro-
vincial Chapter 3 ; practically the person recommended by the leading
1 Mon. Franc. I, 354. 3 Mon. Franc. I, 335 ; cf. Harl. MS.
3 See the list of 67 lectores in Part II. 431, fol. 100 b, election of J. David to
The list is taken from the Cottonian be lector at Hereford : Wadding, X,
MS. of Eccleston. In the same MS. p. 156 (A.D. 1430); XIII, 73. At first
(Cott. Nero A IX, fol. 78) is a similar the lecturers seem to have been ap-
list of readers at Cambridge under the pointed by the Provincial Minister
heading, 'Fratrum Minorum Magistri (Mon. Franc. I, 37, 354), or, when
Cantabrigie.' a friar was sent from one province
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD.
35
brethren at Oxford was elected 1. This is true of the later as well as
of the earlier lectors. No Minorite could proceed to any degree un-
less he were first authorised to do so by papal ordinance or by the
election of his Order 2.
According to the Constitutions of Benedict XII, no Minorite might
lecture on the Sentences in a University (/'. e. become B.D.),
' unless he had first lectured on the four books of the Sentences with the
writings of the approved doctors in other studia which are in the same
Order called Generaiia,'
or in one of certain specified convents3. The friars of the English
province were specially favoured in respect to the degree of D.D. It
was decreed in the General Chapter at Rome in 1411
' that no one shall be promoted to the degree of master, unless he first go
to Paris, according to the papal statutes and the general institutes, and do
all that he is bound to do, Pravincia Angliae excepta*'
However, the Franciscans at Oxford never obtained the right
to another, by the General (Ibid. 39,
R. de Colebrnge). In the I4th and i5th
centuries, the reader had to be confirmed
by the General, and might be appointed
by him : MS. Canonic. Misc. 75, f. 77 b ;
and Wadding, X, 156. Anal. Franc.
II, 240 (A.D. 1411).
1 Mon. Franc. I, 357.
a "Woodford in his reply to Armacha-
mus (cap. 8) says : ' Pope Benedict
ordained statutes for the order of friars
Minors, of great and mature counsel,
which are called among the Minorities
statiita papalia ; in these it is decreed
concerning which parts of the Order
ought to lecture on the Sentences at
Paris, which parts at Oxford and Cam-
bridge, how they ought to be elected
in general and provincial chapters, and
how consequently they ought to ascend
to the doctor's degree by papal or-
dinance or election of the Order.' The
constitutions of Benedict XII, de stu-
diis (A.D. 1336), were printed in Chrono-
logia historico-legalis seraphici Ordinis
Fratrum Minorum, Neapoli 1650, torn.
I, p. 46 (referred to in Anal. Franc. II,
1 65) ; I have not seen this book. They
are omitted by Baronius et Raynaldus,
Annales Eccles. Vol. XXV, p. 92 seq.
They are contained in Bodl. MS. Canonic.
Misc. 75, ff. 73 seq., but no mention of
Oxford occurs here. The following
regulations are given for Cambridge
(fol. 77 b) : ' Simili quoque modo, alio-
rum (qui) ordinabuntur ad legendum
sentencias in studio Cantabrigie, duo
assumantur duobus annis de provincia
Anglic per ipsius provincie provinciale
Capitulum eligendi, et tercius anno
tercio de aliis partibus ordinis per
generale capitulum tam de cismontanis
quam de ultramontanis eligendus.'
3 MS. Canonic. Misc. 75, foL 78:
'Nullus quoque frater dicti ordinis ad
legendum in prenominatis studiis (i.e.
recognised Universities) sententias assu-
matur, nisi prius legerit 4or libros
sententiarum cum scriptis approbatorum
doctorum in aliis studiis qui (sic) in
eodem ordine dicuntur generalia vel
conventibus infrascriptis, vidz. . . Lon-
doniensi, Eboricensi, . . . Novi castri,
Stramforicensi (?)... Exoniensi,' &c.
Nineteen convents in all are mentioned ;
only those which are, or may be, in
England are here quoted. I have found
no evidence to show whether this rule
was or was not carried out.
4 Anal. Franc. II, 241.
D 2
36 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
which was enjoyed by the Dominicans at Paris, of being the sole
judges of the fitness of any friars of their own Order for academical
degrees J. In the case of Adam Marsh, the term of office was one
year 2 ; and this was probably the general rule 3, though the readers
might perhaps be re-elected in the anuual Provincial Chapter 4. They
often remained at Oxford after the expiry of their year 6, and no
doubt continued to lecture, though they ceased to be ex officio re-
presentatives of the friars in their dealings with the University or
other bodies.
Even in the earliest times it was found necessary to modify the
stringency of the rule in favour of the lecturers. Visiting and good
works were subordinated to their scholastic duties 6. They were pro-
vided with more ample accommodation than the other friars, and
their privacy was at certain times inviolable7. In the Constitutions
of Benedict XII (1337) regulations for their support are given with
some detail 8. Masters, lectors, and bachelors in Universities were to
be provided with the necessaries of life by the convents of the places
where they lectured. But their other expenses, such as those con-
nected with the necessary books, were to be assessed by the General
or Provincial Minister and to fall on the convent from which they
were sent ; or, if the convent was unable to ' procure ' the funds,
these were to be supplied by the custody or province in which the
native convent of the lecturer was situated. In addition to this,
seculars and members of other religious Orders who attended the lec-
tures, would no doubt have to pay fees 9.
We may reasonably infer that Grostete practised in the Franciscan
school the system of instruction in theology which he subsequently
recommended to the University. When consulted by the latter, he
answered that the Regent Masters in theology ought to take the Old
and New Testaments as the only sure foundations of their teaching
and make them the subject of all their morning lectures, according to
1 Lyte, p. 107. 6 e. g. Adam Marsh, T. Docking, &c.
8 Mon. Franc. I, 232. 6 Mon. Franc. I, 40.
3 See dates of the Oxford lectors in 7 MS. Canonic. Misc. 75, f. nb;
Part II; Harl. MS. 431, fol. loob, &c. Lanerc. Chron. p. 130: ' Non,' inquit
The period of necessary Regency was at (janitor), 'audeo tarn mane ostiolum
first one year, afterwards two. illius (i. e. magistri scholarnm) pulsare,
4 That the Chapters of the Minorites cum ipse studio intendat quid legere
were actually held yearly in England debeat.'
may be seen from Pat. Roll, i Hen. IV, 8 MS. Canonic. Misc. 75, fol. So.
part 5, m. 7 : ' ac pro capitulo suo 9 Mun. Acad. 428 ; Masters of Arts
provincial! quod in Anglia singulis annis were compelled to exact their fees,
celebratur.' Gratuitous lecturing by Franciscans is
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD. 37
the custom of the Doctors of Paris *. Roger Bacon laments the exag-
gerated respect which was paid to the ' Sentences ' in his day, and
points out that
'the learned men of old, some of whom we have seen, such as Robert
bishop of Lincoln and Friar Adam de Marisco, used only the text ' which
was ' given to the world from the mouth of God and of the Saints V
At the Friary, as in the rest of the University, much of the teaching
in the theological faculty was, even in the thirteenth century, done by
bachelors 3 ; the admission to the degree of B.D. was accompanied
by a licence to ' lecture on the book of the Sentences.' Some of
the lectures would probably be for the brethren alone ; others were
open to the University4. The latter would certainly be the case
when a friar delivered the lectures, which he was bound to give as
' Necessary Regent/ in his monastery. These courses seem how-
ever to have been sometimes delivered in the University Schools in
School Street6.
The academic studies of the friars were confined to the faculty of
theology (in its wide mediaeval sense), and of canon law, the
' handmaid ' of theology. The regulars were for the most part sub-
ject to the same statutes as the secular students in these faculties, with
some important modifications.
The rules of the two Orders forbade their members to take a degree
in Arts 6. The customs of the University, on the other hand, required
always spoken of as exceptional. Thus (after Augustine) of what he understands
Nic. de Burgo urges his having lectured by 'explaining the Scriptures by natural
'pene gratis' as a reason why he should science.' Cf. 'Les contes moralises de
be excused the payment of his com- Nicole Bozon, Frere Mineur,' by Miss
position (Reg. H. 7, f. 117). A L. T. Smith and Paul Meyer,
grace to Walter Goodfylde, S.T.B., is a Mon. Franc. I, 38.
conceded ' condicionata . . . quod legat * Cf. Wadding, IV, 14-15, on the
unum librum sentenciarum publice et schools of the two Orders at Paris,
gratis.' Tywne, MS. Ill, 300 ; Dominicans com-
1 Epistolae, pp. 346-7. The biblio- plain that the seculars ' prevent scholars
graphics in Part II will give some idea from going to the schools of the friars,'
of the subjects chiefly taught by the early &c. (1312).
Franciscans : see especially John Wai- * Cf. Lyte, p. 108 ; a Dominican
lensis (ethics and practical ^theology), Regent goes to the school and finds it
Thomas Docking (biblical exegesis), occupied by other disputants (1313).
Roger Bacon (physics, &c.). * Acta Fratrum Praedicatorum, Col-
2 Op. Ined. 329. Cf. pp. 81 and 82 : lectanea, II, p. 217 ; Archiv fur Litt.
'tota sapientia concluditur in sacra u. K. Gesch. I, p. 189. Constitutions
scriptura . . . sed ejus explicatio est of the Dominicans in 1228: 'inlibris
jus canonicum cum philosophia ; ' and gentilium et philosophorum non stu-
this was the system followed by Grosteste deant,' &c. Bacon, Op. Ined. p. 426;
and Adam. In the Opus Minus (p. Denifle, 'Die Universitaten,' &c. I, 701,
357), Bacon gives a curious example 719-720.
38 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
that the student of theology should have graduated in Arts1. The
issue was definitely raised in 1253^ and we have from the pen of
Adam Marsh a detailed account of the struggle 3. In February the
Chancellor and Masters of the University were formally petitioned to
allow Friar Thomas of York,
' a man of high repute among the great and the many, on account of the
eminence of his character, ability, learning, and experience, to ascend the
chair of ordinary regent in Holy Scripture.'
The objection was then raised that he had not ruled in Arts. A com-
mittee of seven was appointed by the Masters to prepare a report, and
the deliberations lasted, with a short interval, the whole of the next
fortnight (Feb. 22 to March 8). On Saturday, March 8, 'the chancellor
and masters and some bachelors ' assembled to consider the report,
which was to the effect that Friar Thomas should incept this time, but
that a statute should be passed providing that for the future no one
should incept in theology unless he had previously ruled in Arts in
some University, and read one book of the Canon (of the Bible) or of
the Sentences, and publicly preached in the University ; the Chancellor
and Masters reserved to themselves the right of granting dispensations,
but provided against the use of undue influence of powerful patrons in
procuring such ' graces ' by the clause :
' but if any one shall attempt to extort a grace from the University through
the influence of any magnate, he shall if so facto be expelled from the
society of the Masters and deprived of the privileges of the University *.'
The report was at once accepted as the basis of a statute, to be
signed by
' the Chancellor and all the regent masters in theology, and Friar Hugh of
Mistretune, and the other regent masters in decrees and laws, and the two
rectors (proctors) for the artists, and Friar Adam called de Marisco V
Adam however refused to sign, and the meeting was prorogued till
the next day, the first Sunday in Lent, only to be postponed again till
Monday, when Adam, ' in the presence of the chancellor, masters, and
scholars/ repeated his objections, adding others. He could not, he
1 Mun. Acad. p. 25 : 'Statuit Univer- the Southwark Hospital, M. Paris, An.
sitas Oxoniensis, et si statutum fuerit, 1252) are clear and at one on the point,
iterato consensu corroborat,' &c. s Mon. Francisc. I, 338, 346 sqq.
2 Wood gives 1251 as the date. But * Mun. Acad. p. 25 — the statute
both the statute (Mun. Acad. 25) and itself.
the letters of Adam Marsh (Mon. Franc. 5 The statute as it exists is not
1? 337 — reference to controversy about signed.
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD. 39
argued, agree to a statute of which he disapproved, merely to gain his
immediate point. The promised ' graces ' were fallacious,
'since by the opposition of any one man such a grace could be long
delayed or altogether prevented ; thus even the best men would be rejected,
and he who was approved by divinity would be reproved by inhumanity.'
Further, it was unreasonable to require his signature, seeing that he
was now almost a stranger (quasi for as factus), having for three years
retired from the office of lecturing in their University. At length he
formally washed his hands of the whole matter, withdrawing even his
opposition,
' since the measure, dangerous as it was and distasteful to him, did not
seem to him to be conceived in a spirit of wilful injustice,' (non videtur
secundum planum sui praeferre iniquitatem).
He then left the assembly, while the seven commissioners withdrew
to decide on the terms of the statute, which was merely a recapitulation
of the original report. The Chancellor at once sent Adam the final
decision, ' written with his own hand,' which the latter duly forwarded
to the Provincial Minister. He left Oxford on Wednesday, the very
day on which the statute was passed, while Thomas of York celebrated
his ' vesperies ' on Thursday and his inception on Friday, under the
presidency of Friar Peter de Manners. In view of the bitterness which
marked both the contemporary struggle between the University and
Mendicants at Paris, and the disputes between the University and
Dominicans at Oxford sixty years later, it is impossible not to be
struck with the good feeling and moderation displayed both by Adam
and his opponents.
The controversy at the beginning of the fourteenth century was to
a large extent the sequel to the events we have just related x. The
Dominicans in 1311 appealed first to the King, and when this proved
of no avail, to the Pope, complaining that graces were frequently re-
fused to fit candidates, and demanding the repeal of the statute of
1253. The appeal was read in the church of the Minorites,
' in the presence of a vast multitude of people there assembled on the
occasion of a public sermon to the clerks,'
but the Franciscans took no active part in the matter, and »he details
of the struggle belong to the history of the Black Friars. The other
1 The official account of the proceed- been edited by Mr. Rashdall, Collect,
ings in the suit between the Friars Vol. II, Oxf. Hist. Soc.
Preachers and the University has recently
40 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Ca. III.
Mendicant Orders however were no doubt involved in the odium which
attached to the conduct of the Dominicans, and from this time forth the
jealous feeling between the friars and the University never died out.
The issue of the controversy concerned the Franciscans no less than
the Preaching Friars. In 1314 the arbitrators to whom the matter
had been submitted published their award1. The statute of 1253 was
upheld, but the right of refusing to any one, who had not ruled in
Arts, the grace to incept in theology, was practically withdrawn from
each individual member of Congregation and vested in the Regent
Masters of the Theological Faculty.
' On such a grace being asked, every Master shall be bound to swear on
the gospels . . . that he will not refuse such grace out of malice, hatred or
rancour, but only for the common utility and honour of the university.
And if notwithstanding this oath such grace be refused by any one, the
reason of the refusal shall at once be set forth in the same Congregation
of Masters in the presence of the Chancellor and proctors of the university
and the Masters ruling in Theology, and within ten days or less it shall be
discussed for the decision of the university whether that reason be sufficient
or not. And if the reason of the aforesaid refusal be sufficient in the
judgment of the Masters then ruling in Theology or of the majority of
them, the refusal of the grace shall hold good ; but if the reason of the
refusal be insufficient in the judgment of the same persons, eo ipso the
grace shall be granted V
The Dominicans however hoped with the Pope's assistance 3 to get
more favourable terms, and it was not till 1320 that they finally sub-
mitted to the University 4. The wording of the award was certainly
vague and required explanation. What, for instance, was the meaning
of the expression, ' the common utility and honour of the university ' ?
It is probably to this period that the following decree is to be referred,
and it may be regarded as a gloss on the award of I3I46: —
' Item, quod nullus de cetero, nisi prius in artibus rexerit, in disputatione
1 Collectanea, Vol. II, p. 264 seq. alii religiosi predicti ejnsdem loci Oxo
a Ibid. p. 271. niensis, dummodo alias ydonei fuerint,
3 John XXII issued several bulls in ad idem Magisterium in facultate pre-
their favour ; Anno 2, vn Kal. Nov., dicta (sc. theologica), etiam si antea in
XVII Kal. Nov., Kal. Nov. ; Anno 4, artibus Magistri non fuerint, non petita,
IV Id. Aug. I have not seen this last. eo pretextu quod Magistri non fnissent
4 Collect. II, 272. in artibus, ab ipsis Cancellario et Magis-
5 Mun. Acad. 391. This explanation tris vel aliis, ad quos id pro tempore
or compromise was not suggested in inibi pertinet, licentia per viam gratiae,
any of the three bulls of John XXII, sed per modum merae justitiae, libere
which I have seen. The Pope did not assumantur.' Bull of John XXII, vm
advance matters much : on this point he Kal. Nov. A° 2, transcribed by Mr.
decreed, ' quod fratres predicatores et Bliss from Regesla, Vol. 67.
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD. 41
solemni alicujus doctoris in theologia, publice opponere permittatur, nisi
prius coram Cancellario et Procuratoribus Universitatis juramentum
praestiterit corporale, quod philosophiam per octo annos, solis philosophicis
principaliter intendendo, et postea theologiam per sex annos completes ad
minus audierit, seu partim audierit et partim legerit, per spatium temporis
supradicti : ad fidelem vero hujus statuti conservationem, noverint doctores
in theologia Regentes se fore specialiter obligates.'
The award of 1314 remained the permanent law of the University,
and for the next century the friars confined themselves to insisting on
the due execution of its provisions. In 1388, Richard II, hearing that,
' contrary to the decision of the aforesaid declaration you maliciously
prevent the friars from taking degrees in theology,'
wrote two strongly worded letters to the Chancellor, Proctors, and
Regent Masters of the University, ordering them, ' under pain of our
heavy displeasure,' to observe the statute of I3I41. In 1421, in con-
sideration of remonstrances from the King and the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the University gave a solemn undertaking to carry out the
same statute, with some changes in detail 2. So long however as the
condition, that the canditate must have ruled in Arts, was inserted in
the 'form of licensing to incept in theology3,' the religious felt
themselves to be at a disadvantage in comparison with the seculars,
and bitterly resented their inferiority. When therefore, in 1447, the
University was raising funds for the erection of the new schools, the
Mendicants seized the opportunity to secure the abolition of this
clause, promising in return that each friar should pay 40^. to the
University at the time of receiving the licence *. This may however
have been only a temporary arrangement : the Registers of Congre-
gation supply little evidence as to its having been carried out 6.
The object of these statutes was partly to prevent the regulars from
having an undue advantage over the seculars in the matter of theo-
logical degrees, but they must have had the effect of ensuring to the
friars some preliminary training before the commencement of their
1 Close Rolls, ii Ric. II, m. 15; 12 had fulfilled or been dispensed from :
Ric. II, m. 45. Ibid. 391-2, 394.
2 Wilkins, Concilia, III, 400. * Ibid. 575,
3 Ibid. 574-5. The same form of » In 1459 John Alien, B.D. of Cam-
licensing was used for all faculties, and bridge, supplicated for incorporation
there was no mention of regency in at Oxford : one of the conditions im-
Arts in the licence for the faculty of posed was, ' quod solvat xls ad fabrica-
theology, strictly speaking : Ibid. 382- cionem scolarum.' This condition was
3. It was however contained among the withdrawn the same clay. Regist. Aa,
conditions which the licentiate swore he f. 119.
42 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. HI.
theological studies. Roger Bacon, as usual, has a decided opinion on
the necessity of such a training. Writing in 1271 l, he says : —
' During the last forty years there have arisen some in the Universities
(in studio) who have made themselves doctors and masters of theology and
philosophy, though they have never learnt anything of real value (dignum)
and are neither willing nor able to do so on account of their ' status' ....
They are boys inexperienced in themselves, in the world, in the learned
languages, Greek and Hebrew ; . . . they are ignorant of all parts and
sciences of mundane philosophy, when they venture on the study of
theology, which demands all human wisdom. . . . They are the boys of the
two student Orders, like Albert and Thomas and others, who enter the
Orders when they are twenty years old or less. . . . Many thousands enter
who cannot read the Psalter or Donatus, and immediately after making
their profession, they are set to study theology. . . . And so it was right
that they should make no progress, especially when they did not procure
instruction for themselves in philosophy from others after they entered the
Order. And most of all because they have presumed in the Orders to
investigate philosophy by themselves without a teacher — so that they
have become masters in theology and philosophy before they were
disciples — therefore infinite error reigns among them.'
The Oxford friars however could not have acquired their great
scholastic reputation unless they had been better fitted than the
seculars for the study of theology ; and Friar William Woodford had
little difficulty in pointing to many who, having entered the Order in
their youth,
' wrote many works of great wisdom, which remain for the advantage of
the Church V
The clause of the statute of 1253 which prohibited the extortion of
graces or dispensations by means of the letters of influential persons
was not altogether effective. When, in 1358, the bitter feeling against
the friars found a spokesman in Richard Fitzralph and again burst
forth into open hostility, the clause was re-enacted in a more stringent
form 3. Any one using such letters was declared for ever incapable of
holding or obtaining any degree at Oxford, and the University deter-
mined to hold up these ' wax-doctors ' to obloquy.
' These,' begins a proclamation of the same year 4, ' are the names of the
wax-doctors, as they are called who seek to extort graces from the
University by means of letters of lords sealed with wax, or because they
run from hard study as wax runs from the face of fire. Be it known that
such wax-doctors are always of the Mendicant Orders, the cause whereof
1 Opera Inedita, pp. Iv and 399. 3 Man. Acad. 206.
2 Twyne, MS. XXII, f. 1030 (De- 4 Ibid. 207-8.
fensorium, cap. 62).
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD. 43
we have found l ; for by apples and drink, as the people fables, they draw
boys to their religion, and do not instruct them after their profession, as
their age demands, but let them wander about begging, and waste the
time when they could learn, in currying favour with lords and ladies. . . .
These are their names : Friar Richard Lymynster incepted in theology by
means of the prince's letters, and his grace contained the condition that he
should incept and not lecture, but that Friar John Nutone his predecessor
should continue lecturing 2 : and Friar Giuliortus de Limosano of the
Order of Minors, who asserted that he was secretary of the King of Sicily,
extorted from the University, or rather from the theological faculty, by
letters of the King, grace to oppose.'
These instances hardly seem to justify the violent language of the
proclamation, and it is uncertain to what extent the Oxford Minorites
were guilty of the practice here denounced. Wiclif repeats the charge
against the Mendicants generally : —
' A what cursedness is this, to a dead man, as to the world, and pride and
vanitie thereof, to get him a cap of masterdom by praier of Lords 3 ! '
It remains for us to give an account of the academic, or rather
scholastic career of a Friar Minor at Oxford. As many of the
friars entered the Order in tender years, there is no doubt that boys'
schools formed part of many of the friaries4. There is no evidence of
such a school at Oxford, but at Paris one existed where the student
friars received a preliminary education5. It is probable that the names
of friars who showed ability were sent up by the various convents to
the Provincial Chapter and that a certain number were elected by the
' discreet men ' there assembled to go to the University 6. There is no
evidence of any definite rule fixing the number or proportion of friars
who might be sent from each convent, custody, or province, to
Oxford7. The average number of friars living in the convent at
Oxford at any time during the last quarter of the thirteenth and the
1 The following passage is taken with papal ordinance or election by the
some alterations from Richard de Bury's Order.
Philobiblon, p. 51 (edited by E. C. 7 Such as existed e. g. among the
Thomas). English Benedictines, one monk out of
a I do not know to which Order these every twenty being sent to the Univer-
two belonged. sity. Cf. the practice among the
3 ' Two Short Treatises,' &c., p. Dominicans, at Paris : ' Tres fratres tan-
30. turn mittantur ad studium Parisius (sic)
* Wadding, V, 300; statutes made at de provincia' (Constitutions, c. 1235, in
the General Chapter at Paris, 1 292. Archiv f. L. u K. Gesch. I, 189), and at
5 Ibid. II, 382. Oxford, whither two students were sent
6 Cf. Woodford, Defensorium, cap. from each province; Fletcher, The Black
8. Friars are sent to the University by Friars of Oxford, p. 6.
44
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
[Cn. III.
first half of the fourteenth century was probably between seventy and
eighty *.
A friar usually completed his eight years' study of Arts, and often
began his course of theology2, at his native convent . On coming up
to Oxford he at once entered on or continued his theological studies.
A secular student of Divinity during his first three years attended
' cursory ' lectures on the Bible and was admitted to oppose after the
end of the fourth year3. In the friaries the course of study would in
the main correspond with that adopted by the University. After six
years4 (instead of four) spent chiefly in the study of the Bible, a friar
was presented by his teacher, a Regent Master of the same Order5, to
1 As the estimates of the numbers of
friars and monks vary considerably, it
may be worth while to give the
evidence (which is entirely indirect) on
which this calculation is based. In
1255, there were, according to Eccleston,
49 Franciscan houses in England and
1242 friars, giving an average of rather
more than 25 to each convent (Mon.
Franc. I, 10). At London, according
to the Regist. Fratrum Min. London.,
there were about 100 friars, on the
average, in the fourteenth century (Ibid.
p. 512). The public records give more
trustworthy statistics. It was often
customary for the kings on their pro-
gresses to give pittances of ^d. each
to the friars of the places through
which they passed. I have found no
such grant to the Oxford Minorites :
but the statement in the text may be
compared with the following instances.
At London in 1343, there were 80
Minorites (Liberate, 28 Hen. Ill, m.
1 8 : cf. also Q. R. Wardrobe, % and f) ;
August, 1314, 64 (Q. R. Wardrobe, |3) ;
October, 1314, 72 (Q. R. Wardrobe, |$) ;
1315, 7-2 (Q- R. Wardrobe, ft) ; 1325,
72 (Q. R. Wardrobe, V). At Norwich
in 1326, 41 (Q. R. Wardrobe, 2T6). At
Lynn in 1326,^5 (Q. R. Wardrobe, ¥)•
At Gloucester in 1326, 40 (Q. R. Ward-
robe, Y). At Cambridge in 1326, 70
(Q. R. Wardrobe, V).
It is not often possible to compare
the numbers in the same houses at
different dates. In the northern con-
vents, before the Black Death, there
was a large decrease : thus at New-
castle in 1 299, provision was made for
68 Minorites (Q. R. Wardrobe, -&, f. 4) ;
about 45 years later, for 32 only (Chap-
ter-house Books, A -j^, 149) ; but this
may be explained by reference to the
special circumstances of the North.
Elsewhere we find an increase.
At Winchester, there were 23 Minor-
ites in 1243 (Liberate, 27 Hen. Ill, m.
2); 43 in 1315 (Q. R. Wardrobe, ft).
At Reading, there were i) in 1239
(Liberate, 23 Hen. Ill, m. 3) ; 26 in
1326 (Q. R. Wardrobe, Vs).
From these figures, and from the
Bull of Clement V in 1309 (granting
property of the Friars of the Sack to the
Grey Friars), we may. infer that the
numbers in the Oxford convent increased
rather than diminished up to A.D. 1349-
2 Mun. Acad. 388 : ' quidam in
eorum primo adventu in villam Oxo-
niae ... ad opponendum in sacra
theologia se offerunt inopinate.' Ibid.
390 : ' nisi prius dictas liberates artes
per octo annos integros in Universitate
vel alibi rite audierit,' &c. Friars some-
times however spent the whole time at
the University ; see Regist. G. 6, fol.
55 a (R. Burton); H. 7, fol. 124 (J.
Thornall).
3 Mun. Acad. 389 ; Lyte, 223.
4 Mun. Acad. 389. One of these
years at least must be spent at Oxford ;
ib. 388 : sometimes six or even twelve
years' residence in a University was
insisted on ; Regist. G. 6, f. 61 b
(Banester) ; H. 7, f. 73 (Thornall).
5 Ibid. 204, 388 : ' a doctore proprio
ejusdem ordinis et Regente.'
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD.
45
the Chancellor and Proctors ; special enquiry was then made as to his
knowledge of the liberal arts, his age, morals, and stature ; and if
he satisfied the University officers on these points, he was admitted to
' oppose in theology V Two more years elapsed before he could
become a ' respondent V Opposition or opponency and responsion
were the two sides of a disputation : some question in theology was
proposed, probably by the Master of the Schools ; the opponent took
one side (affirmative or negative) and put his case ; the respondent
then had to take the other side. The difficulty of the respondent's
task was probably augmented by his having to answer the arguments
of more than one opponent3. These regulations however were
apparently superseded in 1358, when it was enacted that no religious
who had not ruled in Arts should presume to read the Sentences until
he had opposed duly and publicly a whole year in the ordinary dispu-
tations of the Masters, no other person of the same Order opposing
at the same time *. This appears to have been the theory, and to
some extent the practice, during the times about which we have any
detailed information — i. e. the period covered by the early Registers.
In none of the supplications and graces of the Minorites is there
mention of the lapse of two years or anything approaching it between
opponency and responsion ; the latter exercise indeed is usually coupled
with opponency, and treated as a very secondary affair 5. A few
instances will be sufficient as illustrations. In 1 5 1 5 a grace was granted
to Friar W. German, scholar of theology, with the stipulation that half a
year should elapse between his opposition and responsion ; the condition
was subsequently withdrawn at German's request6. In 1457, Friar
Gonsalvo of Portugal supplicated that he might count two terms of
opponency as a year7; Richard Ednam in 1455 was allowed to count
eight oppositions pro completa forma oppositionis 8. Friar John Smith
was admitted B.D. six months after he was admitted to oppose 9. The
opponent had to dispute in each of the Schools of the Masters in
1 Mun. Acad. 204, 388.
8 Ibid. 389.
3 Cf. Univ. Reg. Vol. II, Part I, p.
22, disputations 'in Parvisis' (forB.A.).
* Mun. Acad. 206.
5 The usual form of application for
B.D. is : 'Supplicat frater Joannes Brown
ordinis minorum et scolaris in sacra
theologia quatenus studium 1 2 annornm
in logicis philosophicis et theologicis
sufficiat ut admittatur ad opponen-
dum in novis scolis qua habita una
cum responsione possit admitti ad lec-
turam libri sententiarum.' Reg. G. 6,
f. 107.
• Regist, G. 6, f. 254 b: cf. ibid. f. 187,
similar condition in the grace to Friar
W.Walle, 1513.
7 Reg. A a, f. 101 b.
8 Ibid. 87 b.
9 Reg. G. 6, f. I27b; ibid. i6oa.
John de Castro of Bologna became B.D.
four days after his admission to opposi-
tion (Boase, Register, p. 93).
46 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. III.
theology ' ; towards the end of our period, oppositions were held in
the new Schools of theology 2.
After nine years spent in theological study, the friar might be
admitted to read the Sentences of Peter Lombard publicly in the
Schools 8, that is, to take the degree of B.D. On the presentation of the
candidate to the Chancellor and Proctors, one at least of the Regents
in theology must swear that he knew him to be a fit person in morals
and learning, the other Regents, that they believed him to be such 4.
Within a year from this time 5, the new Bachelor had to begin his lec-
tures on the Sentences, which he continued for a year (three terms),
reading the text on most of the 'legible' days of each term, with
questions or arguments pertinent to the matter, giving the accepted
interpretation. He was not to raise doubtful points or attack the con-
clusions of another, more than once a term, except at the first and last
lectures on each book of the Sentences 6. In the first year also, he had
to preach an examinatory sermon, which before 1303 was usually
held at the Black or Grey Friars, after that date at St. Mary's7;
another Latin sermon, ' gut non sit examinatorius', at St. Mary's 8 ; and
a third, before his inception, in the Dominican church, according to
the statute of 1314'. In the next two years he had to continue his
studies, and perhaps lecture on a book of the canon of the Bible10: the
lecturing in this case was apparently to be done biblice ; i. e. without
commenting or discussing questions, except only on the text (guaestiones
. . liter ales] u. Further, after the lapse of a year from the conclusion
1 Reg. A a, f. 74 b : ' oppositio in century as ' sermo ad quern tenetur ex
singulis scolis' (J. Sunday, 1453)- novo statute.'
2 Reg. G. 6, and H. 7, passim. 9 Collectanea, II, 270. The registers
3 Mun. Acad. 389. make no mention of this sermon ; it
4 Ibid. : this ceremony was called seems to have been superseded by ser-
' deponing-.' mons at St. Paul's, St. Frideswide's, St.
5 Ibid. 395. Mary's, &c. See Reg. G. 6, f. 185 ; H. 7,
6 This seems to be the general sense f. 51 b, no, &c.
of the words : 'non replicet pluriesquam u Mun. Acad. 391, 396. From the
semel in termino, ultra introitus libro- latter passage (and from statute of 1253,
rum, et cessationes eorumdem ; introitus ibid. p. 25) it would appear that lectures
enim et cessationes librorum, ac recitatio on the Bible were a substitute for
locorum ad materiam propriam perti- lectures on the Sentences : ' et aliquem
nens, . . . pro replicationibus minime librum de canone bibliae vel sententiarum
computantur ; ' Ibid. 395. For these tech- Oxoniae in scholis theologiae publice
nical terms, cf. Twyne, MS. II, f. 147 b. legant.' This however does not seem
7 Collectanea, II, 225, 270; Mun. to have been the case in reality: see
Acad. 392. supplicat otl?T\a.T John Sunday, Feb. 5,
* Mnn. Acad. 395 : this is the ser- H5f , in Appendix : cf. Reg. Aa, f. 54
mon which is often alluded to in the (J. Florence), 122 (Ednam), f. 114, &c.
Supplications, &c. of the fifteenth Jl Mun. Acad. 392, 394 : ' biblice sen
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD. 47
of his lectures on the Sentences, he had to respond to eight Regents in
theology separately (or to all if there were less than eight) ; all or most
of these responsions were to be 'ordinary/ or at least 'concursive'
(concurstvae), and responsions at vesperies and inceptions were
included in the eight 1. Whether the rest of these responsions took
place at the terminal disputations in the Theology School is not
quite clear; but a later statute (1583) provides that none of these
terminal disputations shall count to any one l pro forma V The re-
sponsions were latterly held in the new schools : before these were built,
in the schools of the various Masters. The Bachelor had then com-
pleted the studies necessary for the degree of S.T.P. or D.D.
These exercises seem usually to have been insisted on, more or less
fully, even in the century before the Reformation. Friar John Sunday in
1454, having finished his lectures on the Sentences, supplicated for leave
to incept after responding to each of the doctors and completing his
course on the Bible : the grace was conceded on condition that he
should respond and oppose eight times 'pro forma] and respond twice
' preter formam V Friar Thomas Anyden, S.T.B., supplicated (1507)
that three responsions in the new schools with an examinatory sermon
and 'introitus' of the Bible should suffice that he should be admitted to
incept *. It was rarely that three years intervened before the admission
to read the Sentences and inception5. Thus Friar Gilbert Saunders
was admitted to oppose in Nov. 1511, and incepted in July i5is6.
Friar John Smyth was admitted B.D. in Dec. 1512, and D.D. in July
I5i37. Another of the same name however was allowed to incept in
1507 if he had spent four years in the study of theology after taking
the bachelor's degree8.
We now come to the exercises and ceremonies connected with
inception. First the grace had to be asked of Congregation ; there was
no fixed time for doing this9. Secondly came the ' deponing/ which
was done by all the regent masters in the faculty present ; all of them
cursorie.' For the explanation of the minimum ; Mun. Acad. 391 : the ex-
term 'cursory lectures,' see Clark's tension of the period to four years
Univ. Reg., Vol. II, Part I, p. 76. must be of later date; Clark, Reg.
1 Mun. Acad. 392, 394. I do not Vol. II, Ft. II, p. 139. An instance of
understand ' concursivae ' ; cf. note 6 on the later custom is found in 1507 ; Reg.
p. 81. G. 6, fol. 22 b.
2 Clark, Register of the Univ., Vol. « Reg. G. 6, fol. i68b, 187 b.
II, Pt. II, pp. 109-110. 7 Ibid. fol. 160, 187 b.
3 Reg. A a, f. 79 b (printed in Appen- 8 Ibid. fol. 22 b.
dix). » Registers, passim : cf. Clark, Re-
4 Reg. G. 6, f. 47 b. gister, Vol. II, Pt. I, 142 seq.f for the
3 Three years was theoretically the later customs.
48 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
had to swear that they knew the candidate to be a fit person ; he must
be of good life and honest conversation and not deformed in body
(corpore vitiati) '. He then received in the ordinary form the Chancellor's
licence to incept, after swearing to observe the statutes of the Univer-
sity and to incept within a year of his admission2.
On the day preceding the day fixed for his 'vesperies,' the
licentiate sent to each Master of Theology and requested him to
attend the latter ceremony3. Theological vesperies were in the thir-
teenth century held in the various schools ; a Franciscan celebrated his
vesperies in the school or church of the convent under the presidency
of his own master4. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, a
statute was passed enacting that every inceptor in theology should
celebrate his vesperies in St. Mary's Church5. It does not seem that
the masters in the faculty were bound to attend6, but the prospect of
an important or exciting discussion often attracted a large audience7.
The exercises at vesperies consisted of disputations on theological
questions proposed probably by the candidate8, and announced to Con-
gregation. All the masters present both at vesperies and at the Act
had the right to bring forward their arguments in turn9. Thus Friar
Hugh of Hertepol (c. 1280-1290) disputed 'in the vesperies before
the inception of Friar John de Persole at Oxford10.' About the
same time ' Sneyt (debated) a question in the vesperies of Robert de
Bromyard; Thomas of Malmesbury, preacher, responded11.' The
proceedings were terminated by a speech delivered by the presiding
master in praise of the inceptor12. Grostete is said to have presided
and given the oration at the vesperies of Adam Marsh13.
Inception followed the next day. Even this ceremony in the thirteenth
1 Mun. Acad. 379, 396. Clark, Register of the Univ.,Vol.II,Pt.I.
3 Ibid. 374, 377, 380, 450. p.i8o:thestatuteinMun.Acad.432 ('quo-
s Ibid. 432,433. The phrase 'tenere modo Regens,' See.} may mean that the pre-
Vtsfeneu' (cf. ibid. 429) perhaps refers siding master proposed the questions ;per-
to the Master who presided, ' celebrare haps this refers only to the Arts Faculty.
•vesperiasj to the incepting Bachelor. 9 See decree of 1586 in Clark, Reg.
Vesperies might be held in any faculty of Univ., Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 120 — evidently
on any day which was a dies legibilis an attempt to return to an older custom :
among the artists; Mun. Acad. 433. cf. Mun. Acad. 433-4, though this
Anstey (Ibid.) and Lyte (213) are probably refers only to the Act.
mistaken in thinking that this only 10 Assisi MS., No. 158, questio 185 :
applied to the Faculty of Arts. Hugh of Hertepol however probably
* Collectanea, II, 217, 222-3. presided in this case; see Part II.
6 Mun. Acad. 393 ; Collectanea, ibid. n Ibid, qwstio 159.
6 Mun. Acad. 432. 12 Trivet, Annals, p. 306; Lyte, 214.
7 Cf. Lyte, 106. » Bale, Script. Brit., Vol. I, p. 306 :
8 This at least was the later practice ; ' in vesperiis Adae.'
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD.
49
century took place sometimes in the churches of the friars1; but at the
beginning of the fourteenth century, it was certainly the custom to
hold the Act in St. Mary's2. The inceptor was admitted into the
gild of Masters by one of the Masters (not the Chancellor), who was
called the Father3. In the case of a Franciscan, the Father would
usually, though not always, be a doctor of the same Order4. Those
about to incept first read their lectures, then opened a discussion on
certain questions8. In later times the exercises consisted of the
discussion by all the inceptors, as opponents, of three questions
proposed by the respondent and sanctioned by Congregation ; the re-
spondent, while statutably a D.D., was usually some M.A. or B.D. who
was allowed to count this responsion pro forma6. In the more vigorous
days of scholasticism, it is probable that the disputation was more of a
reality — that the inceptor (who took the part of opponent) chose his
own subjects7 and was answered by a rival among the doctors8.
Many of the questions discussed at vesperies, inceptions, and other
disputations at Oxford at the end of the thirteenth century — probably
in the convent of the Minorites — are preserved in a manuscript at
Assisi9. The question on which Friar Hugh of Hertepol disputed at
the vesperies of Friar John de Per sole was : An Christus in primo
instanti potuit mereri perfeclione. Other questions of the same Friar
Hugh were: An deus eadem ratione formali videatur trinus et unus,
An incarnacio sit possibilis. The following are also among the
questions in the same volume : Utrum deus sit infinite potencie, Utrum
virgo concepit sine semine, An intellectus sit forma corporis, An deus sit
in omnibus rebus, An omnes beati equalizer participant beatitudine. An
ratio ymaginis est in actuali visions dei.
We may next enquire how far the statutable requirements as to the
1 Trivet, ut supra.
2 Mun. Acad. 392 : ' sicut in ecclesia
Virginis gloriosae honorem recipit ma-
gistralem.' Perhaps itwasalways unusual
to hold the Act anywhere except in St.
Mary's.
3 Rashdall, Early Hist, of Oxford ;
Church, Quarterly Review, Vol. XXIII;
Lyte, p. 213 seq. ; Mon. Franc. I, 135.
4 Friar John Smyth, Minorite, was
created D.D. by the Abbat of Winch-
combe ; Reg. G. 6, fol. 31 b. Cf. Mon.
Franc. I, 348.
5 Mun. Acad. 433 : ' Incepturi qui-
dem suas legant in principio lectiones,
deinde quaestiones, quas disputare vo-
luerint, proponcntes Magistris oppo-
nant.'
6 Clark, Regist. of the Univ., Vol. II,
pt. I, pp. 144, 180, 121.
7 Mun. Acad. 433 (passage quoted in
note 3 of this page).
8 Cf. Assisi MS. No. 158, queslio 117:
'questio domini Archidiaconi essexte in
inceptione sua : respondit archidiaconus
OxonV
' No. 158 in the Municipal (formerly
conventual) Library at Assisi. Some
of the questions have the names of Cam-
bridge friars attached to them (e. g.
Letheringfont ; and questio 104, frater
JohannesCrussebutapudCantebrigiam);
50 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
period of study were carried out : the only evidence obtainable is from
the registers, which begin about 1450. The statutes, as we have seen,
required that a religious should have studied Arts (i. e. philosophy) and
Theology for fourteen years before opponency. The periods mentioned
in the supplications vary from sixteen to eight years, the most usual
number of years being twelve. Before inception, six more years of study
were demanded, i. e. twenty in all. The period in the supplications
varies from fourteen to twenty years ; the usual number is eighteen.
There is however reason to believe that these figures are not very
exact. We have no means of checking them with regard to oppon-
ency, and the University was probably in the same position. But it
frequently happened, that a friar, who had been admitted to oppose on
the ground of having studied ' logic, philosophy and theology ' for
twelve years, supplicated two years later or less for grace to incept on
the plea that he had studied the same subjects for eighteen years1.
The expenses at inception were very heavy. The religiosi wore
their usual habit2, and Mendicants were exempted from the payment of
' commons ' to the University3. Further, when several inmates of the
same convent incepted on the same day, the charges (fees to the bedells
and others?) were the same as for one inceptor4. But these details
did not touch the largest expenses. According to ancient custom,
every inceptor on the day of his inception feasted the Regent Masters
(apparently of all faculties)5, and Wiclif inveighs against the Mendi-
cant Doctors for their
' great gifts and making of huge feasts of a hundred and many hundred
pounds V
Friar William Woodford, Wiclif s contemporary, started from London
to take his D.D. with £40 in his purse7.
Attempts were made to curtail the expenses of the friars. In his
constitutions for the reformation of the Franciscan Order in 1336,
Pope Benedict XII decreed8, that
two are disputations by Minorites at versity Registers to the end of the year
Paris and in curia. The names of 1525.
seculars and Friars Preachers also z Mun. Acad. 434.
occur. 3 Ibid. 480 ; cf. Regist. A a, f. 2.
1 See e. g. John Brown, Regist. G. 6, * Ibid. 450-1. 5 Ibid. 353, &c.
fol. 107, 185. Robert Sanderson, ibid. 6 Two Short Treatises, &c.(ed. 1608),
fol. 107 and 171 : contrast W. German, p. 30.
ibid., fol. 187, 301. The generalizations 7 See Part II.
in this paragraph are derived from an ex- 8 Bodleian MS. Canonic. Misc. 75,
animation and analysis of all the entries, fol. 79 b, cap. X. De expensis studen-
relating to the Franciscans, in the Uni- cium evitandis.
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD. 51
' at inceptions l of Masters of the Order in theology, or of bachelors
beginning the Sentences, they shall not spend in food and drink, except
once only, more than would suffice for the moderate refection of the
convent of the place where such inceptions take place. Other bachelors,
lecturers or other students, both at Paris and at other studio, geaeralia and
studio, particularia, shall not spend anything at their own inception or
scholastic act or at the inception or act of others.'
It became usual, both among religious and seculars, to commute the
expenses of the feast for a fixed money payment to the University.
According to the scale fixed by statute in I4782, seculars who were
able to spend at the University more than £40 and less than £100 (a
year), paid twenty marks in lieu of the feast; those able to spend £ 100
or more, paid £20. A monk's composition was assessed at twenty
marks; a friar's at ten marks or £6 13^. 4^. (equivalent to about
£80 of present money). The sums actually paid by the Franciscans
varied considerably. Sometimes the statutable amount was paid3.
Friar John Whytwell (14^$) paid £io4. Friar Richard Ednam (1463)
was required to give £15, as well as a liber ata to the Regents ex
sumplu proprio5. More often (especially in the sixteenth century) a
reduction of the sum was granted by the University, the concession
being usually accompanied by the condition that the friar should say
masses pro bono statu Regentium*. Friar Thomas Anneday was
allowed to pay seven marks, 'because he is poor and has few friends7.'
Others obtained a reduction of their composition by one half8 ; or the
whole sum might be remitted under certain conditions, as in the case
of Friar Nicholas de Burgo9. Sometimes Congregation refused to
allow the full reduction asked for10.
It was further customary for inceptors to provide robes for masters
and others attending their inception. Perhaps a trace of this custom
may be seen in the grace to Friar Gonsalvo of Portugal, who at his
inception was to
1 p'nis, principiis (MS.). die admissionis sue possunt sibi sufficere
3 Mun. Acad. 353-4. pro sua composicione. Hec est concessa
3 Regist.G. 6,f. i87b;J.Smyth(i5i3). condicionata quod quinquies dicat mis-
4 Regist. A a, fol. 7 (printed in sam de quinque vulneribus et ter dicat
Boase's Reg. p. 287). missam de trinitate pro bono statu
5 Reg. A a, f. 128; cf. ibid. 122. regentium ante Pascha.'
Ednam was probably in an exceptional 7 Regist. G. 6, fol. 169 b: cf. Regist.
position : shortly after this he became H. 7, f. 140, S. Thornall (printed in
Bishop of Bangor ; Le Neve, Fasti. Appendix).
6 e. g. on Nov. 27, 1506, 'supplicat " e. g. W. German, W. Walle : see
frater Johannes Smyjth ordinis minorum Part II.
s. t. b. quatenus secum graciose dispen- 9 Regist. H. J, f. nj.
sctur sic quod quinque libre solvendc in *" Reg. G. 6, f. 177, G. Sander.
E 2
52 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
' give a livery, i.e. cultellos, according to the ancient practice, to all the
Regents V
During the period of necessary regency, which followed inception, a
secular had the right to attend all meetings of Congregation, and was
bound to deliver ' ordinary ' lectures publicly in the schools for the re-
mainder of the year in which he incepted and the whole of the follow-
ing year2. A statute of 1478 states the custom as enforced in the
case of the Mendicants 8 : —
' Every one of them so incepting shall be bound to necessary regency for
twenty-four months to be reckoned continuously from the day of his
inception, including vacations, or he shall be regent and pay to the
University according to the ancient customs ; and although it happen that
some other of the same Order incept within the term of the said months,
he shall yet be bound to observe the foresaid form of regency, so that
however only one of them come to the house of Congregation, according to
the custom hitherto in use ; proviso, that none of them shall omit to
lecture (expendet) more than thirty days in a year by virtue of any grace
whether general or special.'
Perhaps the exclusion of the friars, except one of each Order, from the
house of Congregation and consequently from the government of the
University, dates from the middle of the fourteenth century4. In 1454
Friar John David, S.T.P., supplicated for leave
' to resume his ordinary lecturers and exercise the acts of regent excepting
the entry to the house of Congregation V
Dispensations from necessary regency were often obtained. In
1452 Friar Anthony de Vallibus, D.D., asked leave to absent himself
from all scholastic acts for a fortnight in order to visit his friends who
were sick8. Friar William Walle was dispensed from fifteen days of his
regency in I5i87; Friar John Brown from his regency during Lent in
15I48. Gilbert Sander and Walter Goodfeld were released from the
whole of their necessary regency9. John Smyth obtained a similar
grace as being 'warden of a convent and consequently very busy10.'
Dispensations from the sermon which was to be preached in St.
Mary's within a year of inception were also very frequent11.
These and other graces were usually granted subject to certain con-
1 Mun. Acad. 755 : cf. Ric. Ednam 6 Ibid. f. 62 b.
above. A monk gave robes to all the * Reg. H. 7, f. 6 b.
Regent Masters of Arts at his inception 8 Reg. G. 6, f. 207.
in 1360; Mun. Acad. 223. 9 Ibid. f. 104 b, and f. 199 b: cf. N.
3 Mun. Acad. 419, 451, 452. de Burgo, H. 7, f. 117 b.
3 Ibid. 453. lu Reg. G. 6, f. 194 b : cf. T. Frances,
* Or earlier : see Mon. Franc. I, H. 7, f. 68.
347. " Mun. Acad. 396; Reg. G. 6, f. 213 b
6 Regist. A a, f. 83. (R. Saunderson), 214 (G. Sawnder), &c.
CH. III.] FRANCISCAN SCHOOLS AT OXFORD.
53
ditions. The recipient was often to say masses ' for the pestilence ' or
' for the welfare of the Regents ' l : or he had to lecture gratuitously
on some specified book' 2 or preach a sermon3 ; or again the payment
of a sum of money was imposed as a condition4. Thus in 1515
Friar John Flavyngur was allowed to give extraordinary lectures on a
book of the Decretals,
' on condition that he would pay 6j. 8</. to the University on the day of his
admission and would read two books of the Decretals5.'
Friar Thomas Frances received permission in 1521 to incept
' on condition that he would pay 40^. within a month for the repair of the
staff of the junior bedell of arts and would preach a sermon at St. Paul's
within two years and an examinatory sermon before his degree 6.'
Franciscan students were maintained at the Universities by a system
of exhibitions. These were provided sometimes by private benefactors7,
usually by the native convent of the student out of the 'common alms/
with the occasional assistance of other convents8. From the few
traces which remain of the custom we may infer that the exhibition
was generally reckoned at £5 a year, and that this sum covered the
ordinary expenses of living9. Masters, lecturers and bachelors, as
already stated, were supported by the convent in which they lectured10:
1 Registers, passim.
a Reg. A a, f. 51 b, J. David (see
Appendix) ; G. 6, fol. 39, Gerard
Smyth; H. 7, fol. 117, N. de Burgo.
3 Regist. G. 6, f. 39 b, W. Gudfeld
(see Appendix), &c.
* e. g. Regist. A a, f. 119, John
Alien ; H. 7, fol. 119, N. de Burgo.
5 Regist. G. 6, fol. 257 b.
6 Regist. H. 7, fol. 51 b: cf. D.
\Villiams (ibid.) : . . . ' predicet unura
sermonem in ecclesia divi pauli London,
et solvat angelum aureum ad repara-
tionem baculi inferioris bedelli artium.'
Cf. ibid. fol. 64, the same friar was to
pay I id. for the same purpose.
7 See the will of William Maryner,
' citezein and salter of London,' in
Somerset House (P.C.C. Fetiplace, qu.
8), A.u. 1512 : 'Item, I bequeth to the
exhibucion of a vertuons scoler of the
said freeres M incurs (of London) to be
provided and ordeyned of the goode
discrecion of the said wardeyn of the
place, v" .' Cal. of State Papers, Hen.
VIII, Vol. Ill, p. 41)7: May 24, 1521,
'to a Grey Friar for his exhibition at
Oxford &/.' (weekly?).
8 Bullarium Romanum, I, 251 (' Mar-
tiniana,' A.D. 1430), cap. X : ' . . . ita
et taliter quod cuilibet student! pro posse
provideatur de suis necessariis, tarn pro
libris, quam pro reliquis opportunis, de
communibus eleemosynis per procura-
torem receptis pro quolibet conventu
sive loco native fratris ad studium pro-
movendi. Exhortantes strictissime in
visceribus Jesu Christi ceteros fratres
aliorum locorum, quod quum viderint
idoneos ad studia promovendos, totis
viribus eisdem impendent auxilium,
consilium et favorem, . . . quaerendo
pro eis eleemosynas, recommendando
valentibus subvenire,' &c.
• See note 7 : cf. Wiclif, Trialogus, IV,
cap- 35 (P- 369) : ' • • . quilibet consumat
annuatim in^persona sua de bonis regni
centum solidos et totidem in aedifica-
tionibus,' &c. Lyte, p. 93, on cost of
living at Oxford: cf. Palmer, in Reli-
quary, Vol. XIX, p. 76 ; the king sup-
ported Dominicans at Langley at the
rate of 3</. a day each, A.D. 1337.
10 liotil. MS. Canonic. Misc. 75, fol. So.
54 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
but their allowance was probably not much larger than that of the
ordinary student friars. Nicholas Hereford, preaching at Oxford in
138s1, asserted that those of the Mendicants who had graduated as
masters or bachelors, in addition to the ample allowance which they
got from their community, begged for themselves, saying, ' I am a
bachelor (or master) and require more than others, because I ought to
be able to live up to my position.' (Quta oportet me habere ad
expcndendum secundum statum meum.)
It is impossible to say what proportion of the Franciscans at Oxford
proceeded to a degree. In 1300 we have the names of twenty-two
members of the convent : of these, ten at least were then, or because
afterwards, Doctors of Divinity2. But the proportion of graduates to
non-graduates and B.D.'s in the whole convent cannot have been nearly
so large. The following statistics are derived from the University
Registers3. From 1449 to 1463, five Franciscans obtained or suppli-
cated for the doctor's degree ; five others for that of bachelor only.
From 1505 to 1538 (i.e. about thirty-three years, as some pages of
the Registers are missing), twenty-five Franciscans incepted or suppli-
cated for the degree of D.D. ; twenty-six others obtained or suppli-
cated for that of B.D. (one of them also for B.Can.L.) : three more
were admitted to oppose : one more supplicated for B.Can.L. The
proportion of D.D.'s to B.D.'s would generally be larger than this :
from 1532 to the dissolution in 1538 fourteen obtained, or supplicated
for, the degree of bachelor, two only became D.D.'s : we may reason-
ably suppose that some of the fifteen bachelors would have proceeded
to the doctor's degree had not the dissolution intervened.
The following figures will show the relative numbers of the various
religious houses in Oxford4. The Registers from 1449 to 1463 con-
tain the names of 10 Franciscans, 13 Dominicans, 12 Carmelites, 9
Austin Friars, 44 Benedictines, and 8 Cistercians: from 1505 to 1538,
of 57 Franciscans, 40° Dominicans, 24 Carmelites, 23 Austins, 169
Benedictines, and 44 Cistercians.
1 Twyne, MS. IV, 173. in Reg. G. 6, f. i. Simon Clerkson was
3 See Wood-Clark, II, 386. a Carmelite. Reg. I, 8, f. 279.
3 The Register as edited by Boase * Those described merely as friars or
has been relied on in the main. J. monks and whose Order I have not dis-
Whytwell, described by Boase as a friar, covered, I have omitted in this calcula-
was a Minorite (Reg. A a, fol. 23 b): tion.
similarly John Harvey (Acta Cur. Cane. * M. Gryffith (Boase, 168) is described
F, f. 212 b), and J. de Castro (ibid. F, in one place as Dominican, in another
f. 263). Edward Drewe (sup. for B.A. in as Franciscan : I have counted him
June, 1505; is called friar by Boase, not among the Dominicans.
CHAPTER IV.
BOOKS AND LIBRARIES.
Absence of privacy. — Books of individual friars. — The two libraries, and their
contents. — Grostete's bequest. — Extant manuscripts once in the Franciscan
Convent. — Alleged illegal detention of books by the friars in 1330. — Richard
Fitzralph's statements. — Richard of Bury on friars' libraries. — Dispersion of
the books. — Leland's description of the library in his time.
IT is difficult to realise the external conditions under which the friars
produced their works. At the end of the thirteenth and in the early
part of the fourteenth century — the period of their greatest literary
activity — privacy must have been almost unknown. Only ministers
and lectors at the Universities were allowed to have a separate chamber
or compartment shut off from the dormitory 1. But there can be little
doubt that, from Wiclif's time onwards 2, each Doctor of Divinity had
his chamber; and every student had some place allotted to him, in
which stood a sludium, or combined desk and book-case3. Every
student friar had books set apart for his especial use 4 ; these books
1 MS. Canonic. Misc. 75, fol. lib each ; Acta Cur. Cane. EEE, £
(Bodleian) : * Nullus frater cameram 249 b.
habeat clausam vel a dormitorio seques- a Wiclif, Two Short Treatises, &c.,
tratam, ministris exceptis et lectoribus cap. 13 (p. 30). The custom seems to
in generalibus studiis constitutis. Nee have been new in his time,
in studiis aliorum fratrum habeantur 3 Cf. note I. Several grants of timber
velamina vel clausura, quominus fratres to the Dominicans ' ad studio, facienda '
inter ( ? intra) existentes patere possint occur in the early records ; e. g. Close
aspectibus aliorum.' This MS. dates Roll, 42 Hen. Ill, m. 2 ; Liberate, 45
from the thirteenth and fourteenth Hen. Ill, m. 6 ; Close, 53 Hen. Ill, m. 6,
centuries, and contains ' Constitutiones seven oaks to the friars Preachers, Ox-
fratrum Minorum ' made at various ford, ' for the repair of their studies.'
times. This extract is from the con- Representations of these studia are not
stitutions of Bonaventura as re-enacted uncommon in mediaeval pictures and
in 1292. Cf. Mon. Franc. I, 195; illuminations. Savonarola's studium is
Lanerc. Chron. p. 130. In the sixteenth still in the Dominican monastery of S.
century the Oxford Carmelites seem Marco, Florence. Cf. alsoM.Lyte,p. 204.
to have had a separate ' cubiculum ' * Bullarium Romanum, I, 251.
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
[Cn. IV.
were obtained by gift or bequest1, by purchase2 or by assignation by
the Provincial 3 or Warden 4, or they had been copied out by the friar
himself 5. Alexander IV expressly declared that they were not the
private property of the individual friars 6 ; on the death of the friar
who had had the use of them, they reverted to the convent, or were
distributed to others ' by the Warden with the consent of the convent
and licence of the minister V
There is no reason to suppose that the friars had a chamber
specially set apart as a scriptorium ; they were comparatively free from
the legal routine or ' office- work ' which the administration of their
vast estates imposed on the monks and their clerks. But the tran-
scription of manuscripts was part of the regular work of the Oxford
Franciscans ; and it is indeed the only kind of manual labour ex-
pressly mentioned in connexion with the convent. Roger Bacon's
statement 8 that he could only get a fair copy of his works made for
the Pope by writers unconnected with his Order, means merely that
there were no professional scribes among the Minorites of Paris.
1 MS. Canonic. Misc. 75, f. Sob:
cap. x, ' de libris donatis vel legatis
cuivis communitati seu persone ordinis,'
&c.
2 Cf. Barney MS. 325 in principle :
' Istum librum emit Johannes Ledbury,
de ordine fratrum minorum, a magistro
Gilberto Hundertone, de elemosina
amicorum suorum.' (A.D. 1349.) ^
Liberate Roll, 30 Hen. Ill, m. 10, is a
grant of ten marks to a friar, apparently
a Minorite of Northampton, 'adunam
Bibliotecam emendam?
3 Mon. Franc. I, 359-360. Adam
Marsh writes to the Provincial, ' rogans
obnixius quatenus . . . Bibliam carissi-
mi P. de Wygornia piae recordationis
eidem (sc. fratri Thomae de Dokkyng)
ad usum salutarem assignare velitis. . . .
Insuper non desunt qui de pretio libri
memorati cumulatius, ut audio, satis-
faciant."
4 MS. Canonic, ut supra ; cf. Burney
MS. 5, Bible belonging to Minorites
of St. Edmundsbury, ' cujus usus de-
betur fratri Waltero de Bukenham ad
vitam.'
5 Mon. Franc. I, 349 : ' Plures, aut
audio, reperientur opportuni ad nunc
dictum fratris obsequiura (i. e. to act as
Secretary to Friar Ric. of Cornwall),
si scripturae quos ex studiosa praefati
fratris R. (Cornubiae) vigilantia manibus
suis conscripserint, singulis suae con-
cedantur in usus utilitatis privatae, tarn
ad communitatis profectum ampliorem.'
6 Bullarium Romanum, I, 1 10. Friars
Minors promoted to bishoprics, &c.
shall give up to the General or Pro-
vincial Minister 'libros et alia quae
tempore suae promotionis habent,' as
these must really belong to the Order.
(A.D. 1255.) The books were however
practically treated as private property ;
see e. g. a MS. in the Bodleiau, Laud.
Misc. 528, 'quondam Johannis Ston et
Agnetis uxoris ex dono Johannis, fratris
ordinis Minorum.' Cf. ibid. No. 176 ;
Ball. Coll. MS. 133, f. i.&c.
7 MS. Canonic, ut supra, where care-
ful and elaborate instructions are given :
e. g. ' meliores seu utiliores libri sem-
per remaneant in conventu ' ; ' Libri
vero ad communitatem custodie pertinen-
tes distribuantur in provincial! capitulo
fratribus ejusdem custodie tantum per
ministrum et diffinitores juxta dispo-
sicionem custodis et fratrum discrc-
torum,' &c.
8 Opera Ined. p. 13.
CH. IV.] BOOKS AND LIBRARIES. 57
The vellum which Adam Marsh asked the Custodian of Cambridge to
send at his earliest convenience ', may have been intended for original
compositions of the friars, but it was probably to be used for a careful
fair copy of some work — perhaps a Missal or a book of the Bible.
Several manuscripts, containing the works of Nicholas Gorham, are
still extant, which Friar William of Nottingham copied at Oxford
with ' tedious solicitude ' and ' laborious diligence,' at the expense of his
brother, Sir Hugh of Nottingham2.
It was naturally in the libraries that most of the literary treasures
were stored. In the fifteenth century there were two libraries in the
Franciscan convent at Oxford, the library of the convent and the
library of the student friars 5. There is no evidence that either was
founded by Grostete *. The convent probably received its first con-
siderable collection of books from Adam Marsh, to whom his uncle,
Richard Marsh, Bishop of Durham, bequeathed his library in I2265.
The next book we hear of at the Grey Friars is the volume of
Decretals purchased by Agnellus 6 — doubtless the Decretum of Gratian
with the additions codified by Raymund of Pennaforte and approved
by Gregory IX in 1230. In 1253, Grostete,
' because of his love for Friar Adam Marsh, left in his will all his books to
the convent of Friars Minors at Oxford7.'
From a rather obscure passage in one of Adam's letters8, this would
appear to mean all Grostete's writings ' both original and translated,'
not all the books which he possessed : on the other hand, a copy of
St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei is extant which the friars received from
Grostete 9. These works of Lincolniensis were in the library in the
middle of the fifteenth century, when Dr. Thomas Gascoigne was
allowed to consult them 10. He mentions particularly having seen a
1 Mon. Franc. I, 391. The MS. of • Mon. Franc. I, 634 (from Bar-
Adam Marsh's letters in the Cottonian tholomew of Pisa).
Collection was probably written in the 7 Nic. Trivet, Annales, 243.
Franciscan Convent at Oxford. • Mon. Franc. I, 185, letter to the
" Merton Coll. MSS. 168, 169, 170, Dean of Lincoln: 'scriptis . . . tarn
171. editis quam translatis.'
3 Gascoigne, Loci a libra veritatum ' MS. Bodl. 198.
(ed. Rogers), pp. 103, 140. Cf. Gottlieb, 10 Gascoigne, passim ; cf.noteinBalliol
Mittelalterliche Bibliotheken. Coll. MS. 129, fol. 7 (the handwriting
* Stevens, Wood, &c. : who however is, I think, Gascoigne's) : ' et nota quod
do not assert it positively. in illo armario sive libraria (sc. fratrum
5 Close Roll, 10 Hen. Ill, m. 6 (3rd minorum Oxon.) sunt optimi libri et
Sept.). The usual meaning of Biblioteca specialiter ex dono doinini R. Grostete
in mediaeval Latin is Bible, and this .... qui fecit plures libros ibi exis-
may possibly be the meaning here. tentes.'
58 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. IV.
complete copy of Grostete's letters l, his autograph gloss or exposition
on the Epistles of St. Paul 2, two copies (one of them autograph) of his
commentary on the Psalter s, a treatise against luxury *, and another
super textnm 5, both written by his own hand. Boston of Bury notices
his translation of the Testamenta Xll Patriarcharum in the same
place. Friar Thomas Netter of Walden refers to a book De Studio by
Grostete, with autograph notes by the author, which he had seen in the
Minorite convent"; and Wadding mentions two more treatises, or
rather sermons, which Grostete gave to the friars — one De Laude
Paupertatis, the other De Scala Paupertatis 7. Probably all these were
in the library of the convent 8. Another relic of Grostete preserved
there was his ' episcopal sandals made of rushes V
The statement that all Roger Bacon's works were in these libraries
rests on the authority of John Twyne 10, but it is not probable that his
writings were ever collected in one place. No doubt the works of the
scholastic philosophers, and chiefly of the Franciscan schoolmen u,
formed the bulk of the library ; which also contained a bibliographical
compilation of considerable value, namely the Caialogus illusirium
Franciscanorum, of which Leland often makes use 12. St. Jerome's
' Catalogue of Illustrious Men,' was there bound up with ' many other
good books13/ his commentaries on Isaiah and Ezechiel14, a book
1 Note in Bodleian MS. quoted in pre- quoted in Wood MS. F 29 a, fol. 166,
face to Grostete's Epistolae, p. xcvi. and 177 b. John Twyne lived c. 1500-
2 Gascoigne, pp. 102 and 174. 1581.
3 Ibid. pp. 126, 177. ll Wood Clarke, II, 405, books of
4 Ibid. p. 138. Richard Middleton; also some writings
s Ibid. p. 126. of Robert Kilwardby, mentioned by
6 Twyne, MS. XXI, 496 : ' ex tomo 2° Boston of Bury (Tanner, Bill.
et lib. 5° Doctrinalis Antiquitatis EC- p. xxxviii.
clesiae Th. Waldeni fratris Carrnelitae ia ' Libellus praeterea est instar
de Sacramentis, cap. 77.' catalog! de eruditis Franciscanis, quern
7 Annales Minorum, I, 364. The olim vidi, atque adeo legi in collegio
first of these sermons, if not both of ei sectae dicato propter Isidis Vadum.'
them, is contained in MSS. Royal 6 Leland, Script. 268 ; other references to
E v, 7 E ii, f. 251 b; Laud. Misc. 402, \\.,ibid. 269, 272, 289, 297, 302, 304,
f. 133; Phillipps, 3119, fol. 62. The 315, 325, 326,329, 406, 409, 433. It
sermon de laude paupertatis was preached must have been compiled in the I5th
on the feast of St. Martin to Franciscans : century.
' sumusque in loco paupertatis et inter l3 MS. Balliol Coll. 129, fol. 7-
professores paupertatis.' Cf. Mon. Franc. " Lambeth MS. 2O2,fol. 99 b : ' et pre-
I, 69. ter istas omelias super Jerimiam et ezec-
8 See Gascoigne, pp. 102-3. hielem, scripsit idem Jeronymus 18 libros
9 Ibid. 140. William of Wykeham super ysaiam prophetam et 14 libros
left his sandals to his college at Oxford ; super ezechielem, ut patet inter fratres
Register Arundel, fol. 215. Minores Oxonie, ubi isti libri sunt'
lu ' Comment, de rebus Albionicis] (note by Gascoigne).
CH. IV.]
BOOKS AND LIBRARIES.
59
called Speculum Laicorum'1, and a few Hebrew and even Greek
manuscripts 2.
Few only of the MSS. seem to have been preserved; very few at any
rate can be identified 3. Caius College possesses two of them, a copy
of the Gospels in Greek and a Psalter in Greek 4. The volume (already
referred to) containing St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei, with Grostete's
annotations, is now in the Bodleian 5. A thirteenth-century MS. of
some of Grostete's lesser works, with St. Augustine's De Concordia
qualuor Evangeliorum, given to Lincoln College by Gascoigne, was
perhaps obtained by him from the Franciscan library6. The copy of
Jerome's ' Catalogue of Illustrious Men,' which Gascoigne saw in this
library, appears to be extant among the MSS. in Lambeth Palace 7.
It may be reasonably conjectured that the single copy of Adam
Marsh's letters 8, and some or all of the treatises bound up in Phillipps
MS. 3119 9, were also kept, or at any rate written, in the Oxford con-
1 Wood, Hist, et Antiq. (Latin ed.),
p. 83 ; a note from Gascoigne : the book
contained a full account of Grostete's
quarrel with Innocent IV in the chap-
ter on Excommunication. MSS. of the
work are Royal 7 C. XV, and Caius
Coll. 184.
» Wood-Clark, II, 380 ; cf. R. Bacon,
Opera Ined. p. 88. Hebrew was taught
at Oxford in the fourteenth century ;
Twyne, MS. XXIV, 94, 101 : cf. Wad-
ding, VI, 199, on the efforts of Friar
Raymund Lully to secure the teaching
of oriental languages at Oxford and
elsewhere.
3 MSS. usually contained anathemas
against any one who should deface or
remove them. Persons into whose posses-
sion they came would naturally seek to
obliterate all traces of their former
ownership ; e. g. in Royal MS. 3 D. I
(fol. 234 b) the words ' conventui
fratmm minorum Lichefeldie ' (the for-
mer owners of the book) are almost
obliterated ; ' a fure viz. qui codicem
abstulerat,' remarks Casley : cf. Bodl.
MS. Canonic. Misc. 80 (a thirteenth-
century Bible), ' olim Fratrum ordinis
Minorum de . . .'
4 Nos. 348 and 403. It is not ex-
pressly stated whether the latter
belonged to the Oxford Franciscans ;
sec Smith's Catalogue, p. 166. I do not
know the age of either of these MSS.;
probably c. 1500.
5 MS. Bodl. 198.
6 Now Lincoln Coll. MS. 54 : see p.
6i,n. 7.
7 Lambeth MS. 202 (sec. xiii). It can-
not be certainly identified : the volume
has been rebound and several leaves cut
out at the end. There is nothing to indi-
cate to what house or Order the book
belonged. On fol. 8 1 occurs a note on
the title of the ' Catalogus ' of St.
Jerome, with the addition : ' Hoc Mag.
Thomas Gascoigne Oxonia in Collegio
de Oriell Ebor' diosic' natus; 1432.'
In Ball. Coll. MS. 129, f. 7, is the note,
apparently in Gascoigne's writing, 'qui
liber (sc. virorum illustrium) est in
armario fratrum minorum Oxonie; et
continet idem liber plures alios bonos
libros.' Lambeth MS. 202 contains
also several treatises by St. Augustine,
Isidore, &c. : see Todd's Catalogue.
8 MS. Cott. Vitell. C. viii : cf. Mon.
Franc. I, p. Ixix.
9 Among the contents are, treatises
against the Mendicant Orders, Gros-
tete's sermon in praise of poverty,
Eccleston's Chronicle, Impugiiacio Fra-
trum Minorum per Fratres Praedica-
tores apud Oxori, and other tracts
relating for the most part to the
Franciscans.
60 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. IV.
vent. The following interesting notes occur in a Digby manuscript
in the Bodleian l : —
'For the information of those wishing to know the principles of the
musical art, this book, which is called Quatttor principalia Musice, was
given by Friar John of Tewkesbury to the Community of the Friars
Minors at Oxford, with the authority and assent of Friar Thomas of
Kyngusbury, Master, Minister of England, namely A. D. 1388. So that it
may not be alienated by the aforesaid community of friars, under pain of
sacrilege.' . . . (At the end), ' This work was first finished on the 4th of
August, 1351. In that year the Regent among the Minors at Oxford was
Friar Symon of Tunstede, D.S.T., who excelled in music and in the seven
liberal arts. Here ends the treatise called Quatuor principalia, which was
put forth by a Friar Minor of the custody of Bristol, who did not insert bis
name here because some thought scorn of him' (propter aliquorum dedigna-
cionem).
Sometimes, if we may believe their accusers, the Friars obtained
books by less creditable means than gift, bequest, or purchase. In
I33O2 the Sheriff of Oxfordshire received a writ from the King
instructing him
'to command the Warden of the Friars Minors at Oxford and friar
Walter de Chatton to give back to John de Penreth, clerk, justly and
without delay, two books of the value of forty shillings, which they are
unjustly keeping, as he says ' ;
failing this the said friars shall be summoned to appear before the
King's justices at Westminster. The Sheriff forwarded this writ to
the Mayor, but the latter declared that the friars were not subject
to his jurisdiction, 'and therefore nothing was done in the
matter V
The friars had on all sides the reputation of being great collectors
of books. Richard Fitzralph, the famous Archbishop of Armagh, was
fond of exaggeration 4, and no one will accept without considerable
1 Digby MS. 90; this extract is stock; and the mention of P. de la Beche,
copied from the catalogue. The treatise sheriff, leaves no doubt on the matter
has been printed under the name of (see Wood, Annals, A° 1327).
Simon de Tunstede by E. de Cousse- 3 Twyne, ut supra : ' In dorso brevis,
maker, ' Auctores de Musica,' &c., Vol. ita : " Gardianus ordinis fratrum mino-
IV, pp. 220-299 (Paris, 1876). rum et frater Walterus de Chatton
4 Twyne, MS. XXIII, 488, 'ex chart o- confrater ejusdem Gardiani nihil habent
phylacio civitatis Oxon. In fasciculo in balliva nostra extra sanctuarium ubi
Brevium ' ; (this is not now among possunt summoneri seu attachiari ; ideo
the City RecordsX The date is, ' T. de eis nihil actnm est." '
meipso apud Wodestok, 28 die Martii « e. g. his statement that in his
a° regni nostri 4°,' i.e. Edward III (not time there were 30,000 students at
II, as Twyne), who was then at \\ ood- Oxford.
CH. IV.] BOOKS AND LIBRARIES. 6 1
modifications his statement, made before the Pope in 1257 l> tnat tne
riars have grown so numerous and wealthy,
' that in the faculties of Arts, Theology, Canon Law, and as many assert,
Medicine and Civil Law, scarcely a useful book is to be found in the
market, but all are bought up by the friars, so that in every convent is a
great and noble library, and every one of them who has a recognised
position in the Universities (and such are now innumerable) has also a
noble library.'
Some rectors of churches, whom the Archbishop had sent to the
Universities, had even been obliged to return home owing to the im-
possibility of getting Bibles and other theological books. Perhaps these
rectors were not filled with a passionate desire to learn. In 1373 the
University passed a statute against the excessive number of un-
authorized booksellers in Oxford 2.
Richard of Bury mentions the great help he received from
Dominicans and Franciscans in collecting his books 3, and bears testi-
mony to the magnificence of the libraries of the Mendicants which he
visited :
' there we found heaped up amid the utmost poverty the utmost riches of
wisdom *.'
But Richard of Bury notices a tendency among the ' religious ' to
subordinate the love of books to
' the threefold superfluous care of the belly, clothes, and houses V
and the tendency became much stronger after his time. The almost 6
total absence of books in the bequests to the Oxford Franciscans in
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries is the more striking because of the
frequency of such bequests to colleges. It is said that the Minorites
sold many of their books to Dr. Thomas Gascoigne 7. Certain it is
that in the latter days they parted with them, just as ' forcyd by
1 Sermon in Twyne, MS. XXII, 103 7 See note by Gascoigne in MS.
a-b. Bodl. 198, fol. 107 (A. D. 1433) : ' et
8 Mun. Acad. 233. nota quod omnes note et figure in mar-
* Philobiblon (ed. E. C. Thomas), gine istius libri fuerunt scripte propria
pp. 65-8. manu sancte memorie Magistri Robert!
4 Ibid. (§ 135). B Ibid. p. 47. Grosseteste Episcopi Lincolniensis, et
8 The will of Henry Standish con- librum dedit mini sponte sub sigillo suo
tains a bequest of five marks for books conventus fratrum minorum Oxonie.'
(X535) ! this is the only instance which Gascoigne is said to have given the
I have found. See list of bequests in books which he had from the Minorites
Chapter VII. On the other hand it to the libraries of Balliol, Oriel, Lincoln
must be remembered that a friary pro- and Durham Colleges ; this MS. was
duced its own books. given to Durham College.
62, THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. IV.
necessitie,' they parted with their jewels and plate *. The exclusion
of the Mendicant Friars from the use of the University Library by
the statutes of I4i22, cannot have been any real hardship to the
Franciscans so long as their own library was intact. In the sixteenth
century however this was no longer the case, and we accordingly
find some instances of Franciscans supplicating for admission to the
library of the University3. The earliest instance is in 1507; but, as
the registers from 1463 to 1505 are lost, it would of course be ridicu-
lous to attempt to draw from this fact any inference as to the date of
the dispersion of the books of the Minorites. Leland visited the
Friary shortly before the Dissolution, and we have from his pen the
last description of the once famous library * : —
' At the Franciscans' house there are cobwebs in the library, and moths
and bookworms; more than this — whatever others may boast — nothing, if
you have regard to learned books. For I, in spite of the opposition of all the
friars, carefully examined all the bookcases of the library.'
1 Cromwell Corresp. (Rec. Office), grantibus (aut ut verius loquar) vaganti-
Second Series, Vol. XXIII, fol. 709 b. bus sublata sunt'; quoted in Wood-
Leland, who was evidently received Clark, II, 381-2.
with scant courtesy by the Franciscans, 2 Mun. Acad. p. 264.
and who is consequently very bitter 3 Register G, fol. 35 a (A. Kell) ;
against them (he calls them 'braying Acta Cur. Cancell. F, fol. I56b (W.
donkeys'), remarks on the dispersion of German and J. Porret).
the books : ' Nam Roberti episcopi * Leland, Collect. Vol. Ill, p. 60.
volumina et exemplaria omnia, ingenti Cf. Wood-Clark, II, 381-2. Leland
pretio comparata, furto ab ipsis Fran- mentions only one library ; but he pro-
ciscanis, hue illuc ex praescripto commi- bably saw all that was to be seen.
CHAPTER V.
PLACE OF OXFORD IN THE FRANCISCAN ORGANIZATION.
Learned friars as practical workers among the people. — Their sermons. — Educa-
tional organization throughout the country. — Relations of the Oxford School
to the Franciscan Schools of Europe. — English Franciscans teach at foreign
Universities. — Oxford as the head of a custodia. — Provincial chapters held at
Oxford.
IF the Franciscans became leaders of scholastic thought, they were
first and foremost practical workers. ' Unfitted as the works of Roger
Bacon or of Raymond Lully might seem to the practical divine, it was
for him, not for the philosophic disputant, whether as a missionary
among the Saracens or a combatant of error and heresy at home,
that these works were written V In the case of Roger Bacon this is
abundantly evident.
' Before all,' he writes a, ' the utility of everything must be considered ;
for this utility is the end for which the thing exists. . . . The utility of
philosophy is in its bearing on theology and the church and state and the
conversion of infidels and the reprobation of those who cannot be
converted 3. . . . The end of all sciences, and their mistress and queen,' is
moral philosophy, ' for this alone teaches the good of the soul *.'
It is difficult to resist the temptation of quoting more passages of this
kind5 (illustrating as they do the Franciscan view of life), especially as,
in the dearth of records, actual instances are hard to find : one proof
however may be brought that it was not all theory. Among the
twenty-two Oxford Minorites, for whom in the year 1300 the Pro-
vincial, Hugh of Hertepol, claimed the episcopal licence to hear the
1 Brewer, Mon. Francisc. I, p. li.
See the rest of his luminous remarks
there, and in his preface to R. Bacon,
Opera Inedita.
a Opera Ined. pp. 19-20, Opus Ter-
tinm.
3 Cf. Ibid. p. 1 1 6, on the potential
value of burning-glasses in the Crusades.
* Ibid. 53. Cf. p. 50, ethical part
of moral philosophy : ' et haec est
pulchrior sapientia quam possit dici.'
5 e. g. Opus Majus, 46 ; Opus Tert.
pp. 3-4, lo-ii, 40, 48, 84; Opus
Minus, 323 ; Compend. Studii, 395, 397,
400 sqq., &c.
64 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. V.
confessions of the crowds who thronged to the church of St. Francis,
eight were then or afterwards doctors of divinity and^theological
lecturers to the Friars at Oxford, and among the others were two
names of yet greater fame, Robert Cowton and John Duns Scotus l.
It must however be added that, of the eight friars who were actually
licensed by the bishop to hear confessions, none appears as having
subsequently lectured or taken a degree 2.
Here however we may see how the Franciscans brought their
philosophy to the test of experience in the details of everyday life ;
and they possessed to a remarkable degree, in spite of — perhaps
because of — their learning, the power of appealing to the hearts of the
people.
* It is the first step in wisdom,' said Roger Bacon, ' to have regard to the
persons to whom one speaks 3,'
and his brethren followed this principle in their preaching. ' Their
sermons,' says Brewer, ' are full of pithy stories and racy anecdotes ;
now introducing some popular tradition or legend, now enforcing a
moral by some fable or allegory V It has often occasioned surprise
that the generation which saw the rise of poetry in England, saw also
the rise of English prose — that, in a word, Wiclif was the contem-
porary of Chaucer. When we remember that, for a century and a
half, men versed in all the learning of their time had been constantly
preaching to the people in the vulgar tongue in every part of the
country, we shall see less cause to wonder at the vigorous language,
the clear and direct expression, of ' the father of English prose.'
For the learning of the friars was not confined to the Universities 5.
To the Franciscans Oxford was more than a place for study ; it was the
1 Twyne, MS. II, fol. 23, from verba scientiae, nisi prius ea dixeris
Register of D'Alderby, bishop of Lin- quae versantur in corde ejus.'
coin ; printed in Wood, Hist, et Antiq. * Mon. Francisc. I, li. See ' Les
(Lat. ed.), p. 134, and in Wood-Clark, contes moralises' of Friar Nicholas
II, p. 386. It may seem bold to Bozon. Wiclif is less complimentary
identify 'Johannes Douns ' with the to Friars' sermons: they are 'japes'
great schoolman, but there is no doubt pleasing to the people, and ' rimes ' ;
he was a young friar at Oxford at the Select Works, III, 180. The old school
time (he lectured at Oxford c. 1304) ; of theologians, secular and monastic,
and he is in company with many and the clergy disliked them in-
other prominent schoolmen of the tensely,
time. 5 The Franciscans at Northampton
2 Two of them were already D.D.'s. receive ten oaks to build a house for
8 Opera Inedita, p. Ivi. Cf. Sir their schools ; Close Roll, 42 Hen. Ill,
Francis Bacon : ' non accipit indoctus m. 6 (dated Oxford, June 26).
CH. V.] THE FRANCISCAN ORGANIZATION. 65
centre of a great educational organization which extended throughout
the land.
' The gift of wisdom,' to quote Eccleston's words, ' so overflowed in the
English province, that before the deposition of Friar William of Notting-
ham, there were thirty lecturers in England who solemnly disputed, and
three or four who lectured without disputation. For he had assigned in
the Universities students for each convent, to succeed to the lecturers on
their death or removal V
However, in practice this rule was not very strictly adhered to.
Sometimes a friar would pursue his studies with a view to becoming
reader to a particular convent 2 ; but usually, when an ' extra-
university ' lectureship was founded or fell vacant, the convent applied
to the Provincial Minister for any lecturer they chose 3. Thus about
the year 1250, the brethren at Norwich requested that Friar Eustace
of Normanville should be appointed as their lecturer *. Eustace, after
consulting Adam Marsh, declined the office with the Minister's per-
mission, alleging in excuse his weak health and his want of the
necessary training and experience; and Adam informed Robert de
Thornham, custodian of the Cambridge ' Custody,' in which Norwich
was situated, of the decision 5. The appointments, like those of the
Oxford lecturers, were in the hands of the Provincial Chapter, and the
various convents obtained letters of recommendation from powerful
patrons in support of their candidate 6. The lecturer was appointed
1 Mon. Franc. I, 38. Brewer (p. deputandos duxeritis in lectores, sine
xlix) gives a misleading version of the cujusquam alterius licentia libere in
passage. The original of the last part domibus praedicti ordinis legere ac
runs thus : ' Assignaverat enim in Uni- docere valeant in theologica facultate
versitatibus, pro singulis locis, studentes, (illis locis exceptis in quibus viget stu-
qui decedentibus vel amotis lectoribus dium generale), ac etiam quilibet in
snccederent.' facultate ipsa docturns solemniter inci-
2 e. g. Thomas of York for Oxford, pere consuevit.'
Mon. Franc. I, 357. * Mon. Franc. I, letter 178. It is no
3 It was not necessary that he should doubt addressed to W. of Nottingham
have been at any studium generale. (who died 1251), as in a letter written
Thus the Dominicans complain that a later than this and referring to R. de
friar who has often lectured on the sen- Thornham, Adam mentions ' Peter
tences and Bible extra universitalem minister of Cologne,' i.e. P. of Tewkes-
cannot lecture on the Bible at Oxford bury, Nottingham's successor in the
unless he is a B.D. Acta Fratrum English Provincialate ; ibid, letter 183.
Praedicatorum, Collectanea, II, 226. * Ibid, letter 179.
Cf. Clement IV's constitutions for the ' Harl. MS. 431, fol. 100 b (printed
Friars Minors in 1265, Bullarium Ko- in Appx. B). Wadding, Vol. X,p. 156
manum, p. 130, § 5 : ' Fratres antem de (cap. viii of the ' Afarfint'ana,' A.D.
ordine vestro, quos secundum institu- 1430) ; Vol. XIII, 73.
tiones ipsius ordinis conventibus vestris
66
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
[CH. V.
for one year, and could be re-elected by the Provincial Chapter at the
request of the convent1. Nor was it only to brethren of their own
Order that the friars were sent. For many years a Franciscan was
theological lecturer to the monks of Christchurch, Canterbury, till at
length in 1314 one of his pupils was able to take his place. His
teaching, wrote the monks, in grateful recollection of their ' lector/
' in urbe redolet Cantuarie, ac plures nostre congregacionis fratres ipsius
sedulos auditores ita sacre scripture aspersione intima fecundavit, quod
ipsos ad lectoris officium in scolis nostris subeundum ydoneos reputamus ;
nos unura de fratribus et commonachis nostris predictis loco dicti fratris
Roberti ad hujusmodi ministerium exequendum duximus subrogare V
Thus the friars disseminated over the country, from the universities
outwards, the 'New Learning' of the thirteenth century.
But the fame of the Franciscan school at Oxford was not only English,
but European3. Friars were sent thither to study not only from
Scotland4 and Ireland5, but from France and Aquitaine6, Italy7, Spain8,
Portugal9, and Germany10; while many of the Franciscan schools on
1 Harl. MS. ut supra. Cambridge
Public Library, MS. Ee. V. 31, contains
letters addressed by the convent of
Christchurch, Canterbury, to the Pro-
vincial Minister and Chapter of the
Friars Minors in England, requesting
permission for Friar R. de Wydeheye
to continue to act as master of their
schools; the letter was written every
year; e.g. in 1285, 1286, 1287, &c. :
see ff. 21 b, 24 b, 28, 29, 34, &c. : cf.
Wilkins, Concilia, II, 122.
2 Cambridge MS. Ee. V. 31, fol.
156 b, 'Littera fratris Roberti de Ful-
ham quondam lectoris nostri de con-
versacione sua.' It is doubtful whether
he is the same as Robert de Wydeheye
mentioned in the preceding note,
and whether he had been at the Uni-
versity.
3 See Archiv f. L. u. K. Gesch. d.
Mittelalters, VI, 63 (A.D. 1292) and
Wadding, Sup. ad Script. 717 (A.D.
1467) ; printed in Appx. B.
4 Scotland for many years formed
part of the English province. Mon.
Franc, I, 32; Wadding, IV, 136.
6 Stephen of Ireland, Malachias of
Ireland, Maurice de Portu, &c.
8 William de Prato; perhaps N. de
Anilyeres, or Aynelers, or Anivers
(Mon. Franc. I, 316, 379, 380).
Several English students returned to
Oxford from Paris before taking their
degree (e. g. Ric. of Cornwall ; Mon.
Franc. I, 39) ; and probably many
came over during the dissensions at
Paris in the middle of the thirteenth
century. See also decree of Gen. Chap-
ter of Milan, 1285 ; ' Provintia Aquitanie
potest mittere unum studentem Oxonie ' ;
Archiv f. L. u. K. Gesch. d. Mittelalters,
VI, 56.
7 See Part II, Peter Philargus of
Candia (Alex. V), John de Castro of
Bologna, Nic. de Burgo, Francis de S.
Simone de Pisa, &c.
8 Rymer's Foed. IV, 30. It was
probably in Paris that Roger Bacon was
laughed at by the Spanish scholars at
his lectures ; Opera Ined. 91, 467.
9 Part II, Gundesalvus de Portugalia,
Peter Lusitanus, etc.
10 Mon. Franc. I, 313, Part II, Her-
mann of Cologne, Mat. Db'ring; Anal.
Francisc. II, 242 : ' Provinciae seu
studia, ad quas et quae Provincia
Argentinensis studentes de debito trans-
mittere potest ; videl. Oxoniae, Canta-
brigiae,' &c.
CH. V.]
THE FRANCISCAN ORGANIZATION.
67
the Continent, both in universities and elsewhere1, drew their teachers
from England, and, in England, mainly from Oxford. Eccleston
mentions a friar who studied with him at Oxford, where his lectures,
after some failures, won the admiration of Grostete ; afterwards, as
his fame increased, he was called by the Minister-General to Lom-
bardy, and enjoyed a great reputation even at the Papal court2.
Grostete, on his return from the Council of Lyons, was anxious to get
Adam Marsh out of the neighbourhood of Paris as soon as possible.
' It is not safe,' he writes to the Provincial Minister, ' to let Adam stay
there ; for many greatly desire to keep him at Paris, especially now that
Alexander of Hales and John de Rupellis are dead ; and so both you and
I shall be deprived of our greatest comfort V
At another time4 the General writes to the Provincial Minister of
England, requesting him to send English friars to Paris to teach ; it
was probably on this occasion that Richard of Cornwall5 left Oxford
to win the applause of his hearers at Paris. Peckham received his early
education in the schools of his Order at Oxford, and lectured at Paris
and at the Court of Rome15. Among those whom the Oxford Convent
1 Mon. Franc. I, 38 : ' Usque adeo
fama fratram Angliae, et profectus in
studio aliis etiam provinciis innotuit, ut
minister generalis, Frater Helias, mit-
teret pro Fratre Philippo Walensi et
Fratre Ada de Eboraco qui Lugduni
legerunt.' Lyons was not a generate
studium ; Denifle, I, 223.
* Mon. Franc. I, 39. As the pas-
sage is of great interest, it may be
quoted at some length : ' An excellent
lecturer, who studied with me at Oxford,
used always in the schools, when the
master was lecturing or disputing, to
employ himself in the compilation of
original things instead of attending to
the lecture. Now when he had become
lecturer himself, his hearers became so
inattentive, that he said he would as
lief shut up his book every day and
go home, as lecture ; and conscience-
stricken he said, " By a just judgment
of God, no one will listen to me, be-
cause I would never listen to any
teacher." He was besides, since he
consorted too much with seculars and
thus paid less attention to the brethren
than was usual, a living example to the
others, that the words of wisdom are
only learnt in silence and quiet. . . But
after he had returned to himself and
applied himself to quiet contemplation,
he made such excellent progress that
the Bishop of Lincoln said that "he
himself could not have delivered such
a lecture as he had delivered." So, as
his good fame grew, he was called to
the parts of Lombardy by the General
Minister, and in the very court of the
pope was in high repute. But at last, as
he was in the extreme agony, the Mother
of God, to whom he had always been
devoted, appeared to him, and drove
away the evil spirits, and he was held
worthy, as he afterwards revealed to a
friend, to enter happily to the pains of
purgatory. For he told him that he
was in purgatory and had great pains
in his feet, because he was wont to go
too often to a holy woman (religiosam
matronani) to console her, when he
ought to have been intent on his lectures
and other more necessary occupations ;
he begged him also to have masses
celebrated for his soul.'
8 Grostete, Epistolae, p. 334.
4 Mon. Franc. I, 354. s See Part II.
• Peckham's Reg. p. 977, and Part II.
F 2
68 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. v.
sent to teach in the universities of the Continent, were John Wallensis,
William of Gainsborough, Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus, and William of
Ockham1. All these names belong to the thirteenth or early four-
teenth century ; from that time onwards international jealousies and
wars rendered the connexion of the English universities with Paris far
less close, and contemporaneous with this breach was the beginning
of the intellectual decline of the Order of St. Francis.
Oxford was the head of a ' custody,' which contained, according to
the list given by Bartholomew of Pisa2, seven other convents, namely,
Reading, Bedford, Stamford (Line.), Nottingham, Northampton,
Leicester, and Grantham. What exactly the organization of a lcusto-
dia ' was, it is impossible to determine ; it was probably always rather
indefinite, and Bartholomew of Pisa points out that in early records
the word is used very loosely3. Perhaps it was originally intended to
hold chapters of custodies4, as well as of provinces and convents.
The Custodian had in early years the right of making and enforcing
byelaws in his custody ; thus
' in the custody of Oxford at the head of which Friar Peter was for twelve
years, the brethren did not use pillows up to the time of Friar Albert the
minister V
Each custody had its special characteristic, Oxford being chiefly
remarkable for study6. Two Custodians of Oxford, Peter of Tewkes-
bury and John of Stamford, became Provincial Ministers7. At first the
Wardens of the convents were appointed by the Custodian8, but in 1240
the right of election was transferred to the convents themselves, and many
friars at the same time demanded the total abolition of the Custodian's
office, on the ground that it was superfluous9. It continued however, to
exist down to the Dissolution and seems to have implied a general right
of supervision ; the Custodian was a kind of permanent visitalor™ .
1 For dates and authorities, see of Cambridge the brethren did not use
notices of these friars in Part II. ' mantles.'
2 Liber Conformitatum, fol. 1 26. This 6 Ibid. T See notices in Part II.
list does not always agree with Eccle- * Evers, Analecta, p. 60.
ston ; the latter mentions e. g. a ' cus- 9 Ibid., and Mon. Franc. I, 48. The
tody of Salisbury,' p. 27. custodian admitted novices to profession;
8 Liber Conform, f. 99. For a curious Archiv f. L. u. K. Gesch. VI, 89.
use of the word, see Liberate Roll, 10 Wright, Suppression of the Monas-
17 Hen. Ill, m. 10 ; the custodes of teries (Camden Soc.), p. 217. The
the houses of Friars Minors in Dublin word is sometimes used as equivalent
were seculars and trustees of their pro- to gardianus ; e. g. Acta Cur. Cancell.
perty. 'i. fol. 53 b. Cf. W. of Esseby, Warden
* Liber Conform, ibid. and Custodian of Oxford, Mon. Franc.
5 Mon. Franc. I, 27. In the custody I, 10, 27.
CH. V.] THE FRANCISCAN ORGANIZATION. 69
Several Provincial Chapters were held at Oxford. It was probably
a Conventual, not a Provincial Chapter, before which Grostete, then
' reading the act at the Friars Minors/ preached his sermon in praise
of poverty and mendicancy1. Here Albert of Pisa held his first
chapter as Provincial Minister of England, and announced the stern
principles which were to guide his government2. Soon after this
Elias instituted a severe visitation throughout the Order, and sent Friar
Wygmund or Wygred, a German, as visitor to England in 1237 or
I2383. He held chapters at London, Southampton, Gloucester, and
Oxford4. At the latter place the Warden, Friar Eustace de Merc,
was bitterly attacked and excluded a day and a half from the chapter,
though his innocence seems to have been eventually established5. The
inquisitorial methods adopted by the visitor raised a storm of opposi-
tion throughout the province, which found expression, on the com-
pletion of the visitation, in a Provincial Chapter held at Oxford in the
summer or autumn of 1238*. Here a solemn appeal to Rome was
formulated, and exemption claimed from all visitations, except those
authorized by the General Chapter7. The result of this and similar
appeals from the Order was the final deposition of Elias by the Pope
on the 1 5th of May, I2398.
In the spring or early summer of 1248 the Minister-General, John
of Parma, held a Provincial Chapter at Oxford,
« in which he confirmed the provincial constitutions concerning poverty in
living and buildings (de parsimonia et paupertate aediftciorum). And when he
1 Mon. Franc. I, 69. If we may 1238 (ibid. m. 15); the latter entry,
believe Eccleston, the sermon seems dated June 3Oth, runs thus : ' Rex balli-
hardly to have expressed Grostete's vis suis Oxon' salutem. Precipimus
real convictions ; he told W. of vobis quod de firma ville nostre Oxonie
Nottingham in private, ' quod adhuc faciatis habere fratribus minoribus Oxon'
fuit gradus quidam superior, scilicet X marcas ad sustentacionem suam et
vivere ex proprio labore.' On this fratrum suorum qui nuper convenient ad
sermon, see Chapter IV, p. 58. capitulum suum apud Oxon'.' These are
3 Ibid. 55; 'in festo Purificationis,' probably the chapters held by the visitor,
i.e. Feb. 2nd, prob. anno 1237. s Mon. Franc. I, 31.
3 Ibid. 29, 31 : in the Phillipps MS. 6 Ibid. 30.
of Eccleston (fol. 75) he is called 7 Ibid. : ' Igitur cum venissent fratres
Wygerius. Jordan's Chronicle gives ad Romam, mox petiverunt ut fratres
1237 as the date of the visitation, 1238 de cetero in suis locis visitarentur per
as the date of the appeal ; Analecta capitulum generale,' &c. It is no doubt
Franciscana I, pp. 18-19. to these events that Grostete refers in
4 Mon. Franc. I, 30. A chapter was his letters to Gregory IX and Cardinal
held in London about May i8th, 1238 Rinaldo Conti, Protector of the Order
(Liberate Roll, 22 Hen. Ill, m. u), at Rome; Epistolae, LVIII, LIX.
and at Oxford soon after June 3oth, * Wadding, Vol. Ml, sub anno.
70 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. V.
gave the friars the option of confirming or deposing the Provincial Minister
(W. of Nottingham), they unanimously asked that he might be con-
firmed1.'
Eccleston states that in the same chapter the Minister-General
'recalled the brethren to unity who had begun to surpass the rest in
singular opinions V
For this chapter the King provided one cask of wine and the neces-
saries of life3. In 1289 three of the four Orders celebrated their
Provincial Chapters at Oxford, that of the Minorites taking place on
the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin (Sept. 8)4. No account of the
proceedings remains.
The next Provincial Chapter at Oxford about which we have any
information was held in 1405, at a critical period in the history of the
Order in England. In 1404 'a great and very scandalous schism'
arose among the Franciscans owing to the arbitrary and unconstitu-
tional conduct of the Provincial, John Zouch5. The friars appealed
to the Protector of the Order, the Cardinal-bishop of Sabina, who
appointed Friars Nicholas Fakenham and John Mallaert commissioners,
with power to depose the Provincial, if necessary. The commissioners
deposed him in his absence, called a chapter at Oxford on May 3rd6,
and proceeded to elect a successor. The Vicar of the Provincial for-
bade the friars to attend the chapter.
' And the commissioners prayed the King to order the friars to assemble
at the chapter at Oxford for the reformation of their religion ; and they
obtained royal briefs about this matter 7 .'
John Zouche was afterwards reinstated by the Protector of the Order,
but does not seem to have ever made good his authority over the
English Province8.
1 Mon. Franc. I, 68. The date is quod fuit Robert! Blundi Vinetarii, et
fixed by the entry in Liberate Roll, 32 eisdem fratribus in die Capituli sui
Hen. Ill, m. 7 (May i6th, 1248). inveniat victui necessaria de elemosina
2 Mon. Franc. I, 50; probably an Regis' (Woodstock, May 1 6).
offshoot of the errors of Mendicants at * Osney Chron. in Ann. Monast. IV,
Paris, 1243; see Mat. Paris, Chronica 318; Peckham, Register, p. 958.
Majora, Vol. IV, pp. 280-3 » Martene 6 Eulogium Historiavum (continu-
and Durand, Thesaurus, &c., Vol. IV, atio), III, 403 ; Wadding, IX, 499.
p. 1686, § 8. 6 Eulog. Hist. Ill, 405. The di-
3 Liberate Roll, ut supra : ' Man- ploma of Innoc. VII (in Wadding,
datum est Vicecomiti Oxon' et Berkshire IX, 499) gives the names of the corn-
quod . . . cariari facial unum dolium missioners.
vini usque Domum fratrum Minorum 7 Eulog. Hist. ibid.
Oxon', quibus Rex illud dedit de celario 8 Wadding, ut supra.
CHAPTER VI.
RIVALRY BETWEEN THE ORDERS: ATTACKS
ON THE FRIARS.
Rivalry between Friars Preachers and Minors: proselytism. — Politics and Philo-
sophy.— Peckham and the Oxford friars. — Evangelical Poverty. — Contrast
between theory and practice. — Attack on the friars by Richard Fitzralph. —
Charge of stealing children. — Wiclifs early relations to the friars. — His
attack on them in his later years. — Charges of gross immorality made not by
Wiclif, but by his followers. — The University and the friars : summary of
events in 1382. — Unpopularity of the friars in the fifteenth century. — Foreign
Minorites expelled from Oxford. — Conspiracies against Henry IV; part
taken by Oxford Franciscans. — Conventual and Observant friars.
IT was inevitable that a spirit of rivalry should exist between the two
great Mendicant Orders; and the rivalry soon developed into antagon-
ism. In the thirteenth century one lecturer to the Friars Minors at
Oxford was removed from the convent, another was suspended from
lecturing, for causing offence to the Friars Preachers and at their
request1. An 'enormous scandal of discord/ in Matthew Paris' words2,
arose in the year 1243, each of the two Orders claiming precedence
of the other. Though there is little direct evidence on the point,
there is no doubt that Oxford was one of the chief scenes of conflict.
The controversy was carried on by ' men of education and scholars3,'
and some details of it are preserved in the pages of Eccleston. It
arose from the proselytising tendencies of the two Orders*. The
Dominicans, according to Eccleston 8,
1 Phillipps, MS. 3119, fol. 87 dorse * The proselytising fervour of the
(printed in Appx. C). This happened Dominicans is well illustrated in the
before 1 269 ; the names are not given. letters of Jordan, Master of the Order,
Perhaps the explanation of the following 1223-1236, Letters du B. Jourdain de
note to the list of lectors at Oxford in Saxe (Paris, 1865), pp. 28, 66, &c. ; p.
Eccleston's Chronicle is to be found 1 26 : ' Apud studium Oxoniense, ubi
here : ' Notandum quod secundum alia ad praesens eram, spem bonae captionis
chronica quartus magister . . . hie non Dominus nobis dedit' (A. D. 1230). But
nominatur,' &c. Mon. Franc. I, 552. Jordan cherished no ill-feeling against
" Chron. Majora IV, 279. the Franciscans: Mon. Franc. I, 22.
3 ' Viri literati et scolares,' ibid. 5 Mon. Franc. I, 56.
72 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VI.
' were wont to profess on the day of their entry, if they liked, as did Friar
R. Bacun 1 of good memory.'
Friar Albert of Pisa, when Provincial Minister of England, obtained a
bull from Gregory IX prohibiting this practice :
' the Friars Preachers were not to bind anyone so as to prevent him
entering any Order he chose, nor were the friars to admit their novices
to profession till the year of probation had been completed V
The Dominicans on their side claimed similar privileges, and obtained
a bull from Innocent IV to the effect that
' no Friar Minor should receive those bound to them (suos obligates) ; if he
did so, he should be excommunicated de facto ; and they consented to the
same privilege about those bound to us.'
Eccleston complains that the Dominicans made such good use of the
bull that ' they let scarcely any one go ; ' and regards this equitable
arrangement as a great hardship to his Order. ' But not long,' he
adds, ' did this tribulation last ; ' Friars William of Nottingham and Peter
of Tewkesbury obtained from Innocent IV a revocation of his con-
stitution 8.
The antagonism between the two Orders did not stop here, and in
many of the great questions of the day they are found on opposite
sides. The Oxford Franciscans, as we have already seen, were among
the staunchest supporters of Simon de Montfort ; the Oxford Domini-
cans seem to have sided with the King. The famous Mad Parliament,
which Henry III summoned to Oxford in 1258, met in the convent of
the Black Friars, and Prince Edward and his retainers stayed there
before the battle of Lewes 4.
The same rivalry made itself felt in the sphere of philosophy, and
1 i. e. Robert, not Roger, as Leland Order to receive the obligates of the
and others have supposed ; even Dean other ; the term is now declared not
Plumptre makes this mistake ; Contemp. to include novices during their year
Review, Vol. II. of probation.
2 Mon. Franc. I, 56. A Papal letter * Fletcher, Black Friars in Oxford,
containing the last clause and addressed pp. 6-7. John Darlington, one of the
to the Friars Minors is printed in King's nominees in the committee of
Wadding, III, 400; the date is 'X twenty-four appointed in 1258 to carry
Kal. April. Pontificatus anno xii,' i. e. out reforms, was a Dominican ; Pat. 50
1238. Hen. Ill, m. 42; Stubbs, Const. Hist.
3 Mon. Franc. I, 56. See letters of II, 77. The confessors of the English
Innocent IV (1244) to the Friars kings were almost invariably Domini-
Preachers and Friars Minors in Wadding, cans. Compare also the part which
III, 433-5. In these the Pope refers to the Oxford Dominicans took in the
other letters of his forbidding either Piers Gaveston struggle.
CH. VI.] RIVALRY BETWEEN THE ORDERS.
73
the Franciscans dealt a heavy blow at their more orthodox adversaries
by impugning successfully an important doctrine of Thomas Aquinas1.
The Angelic Doctor had held with Aristotle and against Averroes that
the individualising principle was not form but matter. How then,
asked his opponents, could the individual exist in the non-material
world 2 ? Such a doctrine was in contradiction to the mediaeval theory
of heaven and the life after death ; and the Church rallied to the
side of the Franciscans. At Oxford, Archbishop Kilwardby, Dominican
though he was, condemned this among many other errors in 1276, but
the sentence seems to have had little effect at the time3. It was chiefly
against this opinion that Peckham's measures in 1284 were directed4.
If the Dominicans had allowed the aspersion cast on their greatest
teacher to pass without serious protest when the condemnation came
from one of themselves, they were anything but content to submit to
the adverse judgment of one of their rivals. Peckham was attacked
1 Dean Plumptre (Contemp. Rev. II,
p. 376 note) identifies the ' unnamed
professor at Paris,' referred to by Roger
Bacon, with Thomas Aquinas, and I am
inclined to agree with this suggestion.
A passage in Royal MS. 7 F. vn. f. 159
(quoted in Part II, sub Richard of Corn-
wall) would at first sight seem to identify
the unnamed professor with Friar Ric. of
Cornwall. But there is no evidence that
the latterwasquoted as an authority in the
schools (like Aristotle, Avicenna, and
Averroes) during his lifetime (Bacon,
Op. Ined. p. 30), nor could the state-
ment that ' he never heard lectures on
philosophy and was not educated at
Paris or any other school where phi-
losophy flourishes' (ibid. 31 and 327)
apply to Richard (Mon. Franc. I, 39).
On the other hand, all the facts men-
tioned about the unnamed professor
coincide with what is known of Thomas
Aquinas (Quetif-Echard, I, 271). It
may then be assumed with some
probability that we have here Bacon's
judgment on his great contemporary.
' Truly,' he writes, ' I praise him more
than all the crowd of students, because
he is a very studious man, and has seen
infinite things, and had expense ; and
so he has been able to collect much
that is useful from the sea of authors,'
but he was fatally handicapped by not
going through the regular training
(Opera Ined. p. 327). His followers
maintain that philosophy as published
in his works is complete — that nothing
further can be added. ' These writings,'
Bacon continues, ' have four sins : the
first is infinite puerile vanity ; the second
is ineffable falsity ; the third superfluity
of volume . . . ; the fourth is that parts
of philosophy of magnificent utility and
immense beauty and without which
facts of common knowledge (quae vul-
gata sunf) cannot be understood — con-
cerning which I write to your glory —
have been omitted by the author of
these works. And therefore there is no
utility in those writings, but the greatest
injury to wisdom.'
3 Mullinger, Cambridge, I, 120-1.
3 Wood, Annals, sub anno 1276, p.
306. Peckham, Reg. Ill, 852, &c.
Kilwardby seems to have generally
supported his Order against the Fran-
ciscans : see Peckham's letter to the
Prior of the Friars Preachers at Oxford ;
he is amazed at the ' cruelty and incon-
sideration' of a letter of his predecessor's,
in which the latter apparently made an
attack on the Minorites ; Register, III,
117-118.
4 Ibid. Ill, 866, 898. Wood, Annals,
318 seq. ; Annales Monast. IV, 297
seq.
74 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VI.
both by the Provincial of the Black Friars in a congregation at Oxford l
and in an anonymous pamphlet apparently by a Cambridge Domini-
can 2 — ' a cursed page and infamous leaf/ as he describes it, ' whose
beginning is headless, whose middle malignant, and whose end foolish
and formless.' His action further involved the whole of the Francis-
can Order in England in the storm. He was accused of ' having
sown discord between the Orders3 ; ' and to defend himself against
the charge of unduly favouring the Franciscans, he denied that he had
consulted the latter on the subject and insisted on the previous con-
demnation of the same error by his predecessor 4. He claimed to be
actuated by no personal animus against the dead, whom he held in
high honour and whom he had himself defended ; his attack was
directed against ignorant and arrogant men who presumed to teach
what they did not know and to entice youths to the same errors.
' We cannot and dare not,' he urged, ' fail to rescue our children, as
far as we can, from the traps of error;' and he forbade 'curious
theologians ' to defend the condemned doctrines in ' the disputes of
boys ' (in certaminibus puerililus) at Oxford.
' We by no means,' he adds, ' reprobate the studies of philosophers, so far
as they serve the mysteries of theology, but the profane novelties which,
contrary to philosophic truth, have been introduced into the heights of
theology in the last twenty years, to the injuries of the saints.'
The question became a matter rather of feeling than of argument ; the
esprit de corps of the rival factions was involved, and the two Orders
further estranged 5.
Peckham lost few opportunities of advancing the interests of the
Mendicants at the expense of the monks and secular clergy, and of
his brother Franciscans against the other Orders. The discipline
and morals of the nuns of Godstow had suffered owing to the
proximity of their house to the university-town, and the Archbishop,
in his injunctions for the better government of the same, appointed
two Friars Preachers and two Friars Minors (or four of each if
necessary) as permanent confessors to the Convent6. In 1291 he
wrote to the Prior of St. Frideswide's urging him to confer the church
of St. Peter le Bailey on some one devoted to the Friars Minors and
1 Peckham, Reg. Ill, 864. opinion among philosophers does not
2 Ibid. 896-901, 943. dissolve friendship, but among modern
3 Ibid. 867. vain-talkers it has passed to the affec-
4 Ibid. 852, 866, 901. tion of the heart.' Reg. Ill, 900.
* reckham writes: 'Diversity of ' Ibid. 845-852 (A. D. 1284).
CH. VI.] RIVALRY BETWEEN THE ORDERS, 75
nominated by them 1. While strenuously asserting the right of the
Minorites to hear confessions in spite of the opposition of the parish
priests2, he forbade the Carmelites and Austin Friars at Oxford to
hear any confessions of any persons whatsoever, regular or secular,
clerk or lay, male or female, and ordered the Archdeacon, if they
disobeyed, to pronounce public sentence of excommunication on
them3. Arguing that 'it was lawful to change a vow for a better
one4/ he maintained that the Franciscans might, as they had hitherto
done, admit members of other religious bodies to their Order; he
would, he wrote to the Chancellor of the University of Oxford,
himself admit them, if he were still Provincial Minister.
' We have heard with great surprise,' he proceeds, ' that the Prior and
friars of the Order of St. Augustine in Oxford are imposing the mark of
excommunication on the Friars Minors of Oxford, and defaming them in
many ways, for receiving one of their friars in the aforesaid canonical form.
We therefore order you to go in person to the Austin friary and warn
them, in our name and by our authority, to cease from these detractions.
But if they assert that they have raised this tumult against the Minorites
on the ground of some privilege of theirs, you shall ask them to let me have
a copy of their privilege to compare with those of the Minorites which we
have to maintain ; and we will certainly not allow them to be molested
in contravention of their privilege; nor will we endure that the Friars
Minors be injuriously oppressed, for by so doing we should break the
commands of the Pope V
Peckham further, while condemning the erroneous opinions of the
Dominicans at Oxford, denied the claim to superiority which they put
forward 6. The Franciscans claimed precedence on the ground of
their humility (which of course dwindled in inverse ratio as their
assertion of it grew), and of their absolute poverty. The Archbishop
enunciated the formula which was condemned by the inquisitors and
the Pope in the next century, and which formed, so to speak, the
1 Peckham, Reg. Ill, 977. imprisonment on a false charge ; the
2 Ibid. 956: cf. 952, the Friars second time, the unfortunate man died in
Minors and Preachers have more power gaol. Ibid. 855. Perhaps there was also
than the secular priests, being liter a- a black sheep among the Oxford Fran-
tiores et sanctiores than the latter. The ciscans about this time ; an unbeliever
Franciscans no doubt contrasted favour- might suspect human agency in the ' me-
ably with their neighbour, the Rector of morabile factum' related in the Laner-
St. Ebbe's, at this time. In 1284 the cost Chronicle, p. i36;q.v. (A.D. 1290).
Rector of St. Ebbe's was summoned by 3 Reg. I, 99-100: A.D. 1280.
the Archdeacon to answer to a charge * Ibid. Ill, 838-840: A.D. 1284. But
of repeated adultery with the wife of a see Archiv f. L. u. K. Gesch. VI. 41, 88.
parishioner, William le Boltere ; it was * The passage has been somewhat
further alleged that to get the husband condensed in translating,
out of the way he had twice secured his 6 Reg. Ill, 867.
76 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VI.
text of the controversy, ' De paupertate Christi! He defined the
poverty of the apostles to be
' having no title to the possession of any property real or personal, private
or common 1 ; '
the Minorites in following this example were in a state of ' perfection/
and lived a holier life than any other Order in the Church.
The claim was generally admitted, and led to the exaltation of the
Minorites in the eyes of the world at the expense of the other Orders 2.
As early as 1269 a controversy on this point arose between the con-
vents of the two Orders at Oxford. A Dominican named Solomon
of Ingeham accused the Minorites of receiving money either with
their own hands or through a third party3. The Franciscans denied
the charge and demanded the punishment of Friar Solomon. The
Dominicans asked them to prove the falsehood of Solomon's assertion
and promised then to punish him. ' The burden of proof/ replied the
Franciscans, ' lies with you who affirm, not with us who deny.' The
Dominicans brought forward many instances in which they maintained
that the Minorites had actually received money. These, answered the
latter, were merely personal transgressions, and affected the com-
munity no more than any case of carnal sin or disobedience. The
Dominicans, however, based their contention mainly on the argument
that money bequeathed to the Franciscans must be received either by
them in person or by intermediaries on their behalf. The Minorites
answered
' that, according to the definition of lawyers, money left by will is counted
among the goods of the deceased until it passes into the dominium and
property of the legatee. But it cannot become ours by legal right or
pass into our dominium without our consent. Thus money, howsoever it
may be deposited by the executors or committed to anyone for the
brethren, is always counted among the goods of the deceased as long as it
remains unspent, and the executors can, by their own authority or by that
of the deceased, reclaim it at pleasure. How then can it be called ours ? '
1 Reg. Ill, xcix— summary of Peck- 3 Phillipps, MS. 3119, fol. 86, dorse :
ham's Liber Pauperis : ' nihil pos- ' Veniunt ad nos diversi seculares et
sessorie sibi intitulatum ; mobile vel im- religiosi comparacionem inter statum
mobile, proprium vel commune, nil dico et statum facientes, statum vestrum (i.e.
quod divicias saperet, vel delicias redo- Minorum) extollentes, et nostrum (Prae-
leret, aut secularem gloriam ministraret.' dicatorum) in hoc deprimentes, quod
Among the questions discussed by Peck- nos peccuniam recipimus, vos autem non
ham and others at this time was, ' Utrum recipitis, jndicantes nos in hoc minus
habere aliquid in communi minuat de perfectos mundi contemptores.'
perfcctione.' Archiv fur Litt. u. Kirch. 3 Phillipps, MS. 3119 fol. 86-88:
Gesch. IV, 46, &c. printed in Appx. C.
CH. VI.] RIVALRY BETWEEN THE ORDERS.
.77
Peace was eventually restored by the interposition of the Chancellor
and leading secular masters, at whose recommendation Friar Solomon
withdrew his words. It is curious that neither the document contain-
ing the account of this quarrel, nor Peckham, mention the explanation
which afterwards became the accepted theory, that the ownership of
the goods of the Franciscans was vested in the Pope. Yet this ex-
planation was originally given by Innocent IV in 1245 l.
As far as the bulk of the Franciscan Order was concerned, the
controversy on ' Evangelical Poverty ' was purely a theoretical one 2,
its ultimate importance rather accidental than real. The claim to
'this perfitnesse,' as Daw Topias contemptuously calls it, rested not on
fact but on a legal construction. The friars had only the use, not the
proprietorship, of their lands and houses and goods. John XXII by
his bull, 'Ad conditorem canonum,' issued on the 8th of December,
1322, and declaring that use was inseparable from proprietorship,
withdrew from the Order the right of holding property in the name
of the Roman See, and thus went far to destroy its theoretical claim
to precedence. The whole Order, instead of the party of the
Spirituales merely, was for a time banded against the Pope ; and
the dispute about a legal quibble became transformed under the
hands of Ockham into an examination of the position and claims of
the Papacy, and of the whole relation of Church and State.
Ockham probably studied at Oxford in his younger days, but it was
no doubt later in life, and under the influence of Marsilius of Padua,
that he developed the doctrines which made him ' at once the glory
and the reproach of his Order3.' In philosophy he had many followers
at Oxford in the fourteenth century, and the Franciscan Convent was,
like the rest of the University, divided on the questions of Nominalism
and Realism *. The dispute concerning the poverty of Christ was not
allowed to rest. It was this discussion which first brought the Arch-
bishop of Armagh into open hostility to the friars 5; and Wiclif men-
1 Wadding, III, p. 130. Cf. Nicholas
Ill's bull, 'Exiit qui semittat' (1279),
and Clement Vs 'Exivi de Paradiso '
(1312). Peckham held that the owner-
ship remained with the donors ; Regist.,
Vol. Ill, Preface, p. c (from Peckham's
declaration of the Rule in the ' Firma-
mentum trium ordinum ').
2 On the whole subject see Ehrle's
articles in the Archiv fur Litt. u. Kirch.
Gesch. on 'Die Spiritualen ; ' Vol. IV,
p. 46 seq. contains a clear exposition of
the basis of the ' theoretischer Armuths-
streit.'
3 Lyte, Oxford, p. 118; Shirley,
Introd. to Fasc. Zizan. p. xlix ; R. L.
Poole, Wycliffe, p. 41.
4 e. g. among the followers of Ockham
was Friar Adam Godham ; among the
realists, Friar John Canon, &c. Cf.
Wood, Annals, I, 439.
s Lechler, Johann v. Wiclif, 1, 2 18 seq.
7 8 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VI.
tions the controversy as being still carried on between the two Orders
in his time.
' Prechours seyn bat Crist hadde hije shone as )>ei have ; ffor ellis \volde not
Baptist mene ))at Crist hadde buongis of siche schone. Menours seyn bat
Crist went barfote, or ellis was shood as J>ei ben, for ellis Magdalene
shulde not have founde to bus have washid Cristis feet V
A great historian has said of the Middle Ages, that ' at no time
in the world's history has theory, pretending all the while to control
practice, been so utterly divorced from it2.' An extract from the
Patent Rolls s will afford a striking illustration of the truth of these
words as far as the learned Franciscans, the professors of evangelical
poverty, are concerned. The date is February 22nd, 1378 ; the writ
is issued in the King's name.
' Know that whereas certain horses, cups, books, money, silver vessels, and
diverse other goods and chattels, which belonged to our beloved brother
in Christ, John Welle of the Order of Friars Minors, doctor in theology,
have been abstracted and carried away out of his dwelling in London by
one Thomas Bele his servant and other evil doers, .... we have of our
special favour granted to the said John all the horses, cups, books, money,
vessels and other goods and chattels aforesaid, wheresoever they may be,'
&c.
It was probably the glaring contrast between the lofty claims of the
friars and their actual life, rather than any inferiority in their morality
as compared with the secular priests, which exposed them to the
bitterest denunciations and taunts of the reformers. The Mendicants
were far more in sympathy with the poor than were the endowed
monks, and possessed far more than the parish priests the confidence
of the people 4. Wiclif recognised this fact, while he lamented it.
Fitzralph had been deputed by Clement cord ; I have not been able to find
VI in 1349-1350 to inquire into this any names of London Wardens between
dispute; see his Liber de pauperie 1368 and 1398; Mon. Franc. I, 521,
Salvatoris, edited by R. L. Poole for 523-
the Wyclif Society, 1890 (p. 273). * This is clearly brought out in the
1 Select English Works of J. Wyclif, history of the peasant revolt of 1381,
I, 76. Cf. ibid. p. 20 ; among the ' fals if we may trust Walsingham's account
lores' sown by the friars, Wiclif men- of Jack Straw's confession (Hist. Angl.
tions ' of }>e begginge of Crist.' II, 10) : ' Postremo regem occidissemus,
2 Bryce, Holy Roman Empire, p. et cunctos possessionatos, episcopos,
121 (7th edition). monachos, canonicos, rectores insuper
3 Pat. i Ric. II, pt. 4, m. 37 (printed ecclesiarum de terra delevissemus. Soli
in Appx. B). John Welle may have mendicantes vixissent super terram, qui
been Warden, though the fact would suffecisscnt pro sacris celebrandis aut
probably have been stated in the re- conferendis universae terrae.'
CH. VI.] RIVALRY BETWEEN THE ORDERS. 79
' Though it raine on the Avvter of the Parish Church, the blind people is
so deceived, that they will rather give to waste houses of Friars, then to
Parish Churches, or to common waies, though men cattle and beasts ben
perished therein V
The first important attack on the friars in the fourteenth century
was that led by Richard Fitzralph, Archbishop of Armagh. He had
been Fellow of Balliol College before 1325 and Chancellor of the
University in 1333 2. While assailing the whole principle of men-
dicancy, his main charge against the friars, especially the friars at
Oxford, was that of ' stealing ' children, i. e. of secretly inducing them
to enter the Mendicant Orders. In 1357 the Archbishop was cited
to appear and defend himself before the Papal Court at Avignon ;
and on the 8th of November, in a solemn assembly of Pope
and Cardinals, he made a great speech in defence of the parish priests
against the Mendicants 3. The Archbishop stated that, owing to the
privileges of hearing confessions which the friars enjoyed, almost all
youths in the Universities, and in the houses of their parents (in nearly
all of which friars were to be found as ' familiar es '), had Mendicants
as their confessors.
' Enticed by the wiles of the friars and by little presents 4, these boys (for
the friars cannot circumvent men of mature age) enter the Orders, nor
are they afterwards allowed, according to report, to get their liberty by
leaving the Order, but they are kept with them against their will until
they make profession ; further, they are not permitted, as it is said, to speak
with their father or mother, except under the supervision and fear of a
friar ; an instance came to my knowledge this very day ; as I came out of
my inn an honest man from England, who has come to this court to obtain
a remedy, told me that immediately after last Easter, the friars at the
University of Oxford abducted in this manner his son who was not yet
thirteen years old, and when he went there, he could not speak with him
except under the supervision of a friar.'
Parents were in consequence afraid to send their sons to the Univer-
sities, and preferred to keep them at home as tillers of the soil. While
the numbers both of the friaries and of their inmates had enormously
1 'Two short treatises,' &c. p. 35 (1695), Vol. II, under the title, De-
(cap. 17). fensorium Curatorum. A short sum-
2 Hist. MSS. Comm. 4th Rep. 442 ; mary in old English will be found in
Lechler, I, 217. His principal oppo- Mon. Franc. IL
nent was also an Oxford man, Friar * Cf. statute of the University against
Roger Conway; see notice of him in ' wax-doctors' (A. D. 1358) ; Mun. Acad.
Part II. 207-8 ; ' Nam pomis et potu, ut popu-
3 Ibid. 220 seq. (full analysis of the lus fabulatur, puerulos ad religionem
speech). The original is printed in attrahnnt et instigant;' (from Richard
Edw. Brown's Fascic. Rer. Expetend. de Bury's Philobiblon), quoted on p. 42-
8o THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VI.
increased, the number of secular students in every faculty decreased ;
the students at Oxford, who in his time were reckoned at 30,000, had
now sunk to 6000.
Though these figures are of course preposterously exaggerated, and
though the main cause of the diminution of the number of students
was the Black Death, there can be no doubt of the essential truth of
the accusation. In 1358 the University of Oxford passed a statute
forbidding the admission of boys under eighteen to the Orders. The
statute deserves to be quoted at length 1.
1 It is generally reported and proved by experience, that the nobles of this
realm, those of good birth, and very many of the common people, are
afraid, and therefore cease, to send their sons or relatives or others dear to
them in tender youth, when they would make most advance in primitive
sciences, to the University to be instructed, lest any friars of the Order of
Mendicants should entice or induce such children, before they have
reached years of discretion, to enter the Order of the same Mendicants ;
and because owing to the admission of such boys to the Mendicant Orders,
the tranquillity of the students of the University has been often disturbed ;
therefore the said University, zealous in the bowels of piety both for the
number of her sons and the quiet of her students, has ordained and decreed,
that if any of the Order of Mendicants shall receive to their habit in this
University, or induce, or cause to be received or induced, any such youth
before the completion of his eighteenth year at least, or shall send such an
one away from the University or cause him to be sent away, in order that
he may be received into the same Order elsewhere : then e o ipso no one of the
cloister or community of such a friar, .... being a graduate, shall during
the year immediately following, read or attend lectures in this University
or elsewhere where such exercises would count as discharge of the statut-
able requirements in this University (vel alibi quod in hoc Vniversitate
pro forma aliqua sibi cedaf) \ and this penalty shall be inflicted on all those
of the Order of Mendicants, and the associates of all those, who shall be
convicted by credible persons of having withdrawn youths in any way
from the University, or from hearing philosophy.'
The friars did not deny the charge, but defended their conduct2,
and exerted themselves to the utmost to obtain a repeal of the statute.
Their efforts were successful. While a suit which they had begun
in the Roman Court was yet undecided, the Provincials of the four
Orders laid their grievances before the King in Parliament3. In 1366
the obnoxious statute was formally annulled, on condition that the
1 Mun. Acad. 204. pseudonym of Daw Topias says in
3 Wood, Annals, I, 475 (W. Folvyle, answer to this accusation, ' To tille folk
Cambridge Minorite); Twyne, MS.XXII, to Godward, I holde it no theft.' Polit.
f. 103 c (W. Woodford). The Oxford Poems, II, 83 (R.S.).
Dominican (?) who writes under the 3 Rolls of Parliament, Vol. II, p. 290.
CH. VI.] ATTACKS ON THE FRIARS. 8 1
friars' suits at Rome and elsewhere against the University should
cease1. The latter, however, did not abandon the struggle; its in-
fluence is probably to be seen in the petition of the Commons in
1402 2, that no one be allowed to enter any of the four Orders under
the age of twenty-one years. The King's answer was not favourable :
he ordained merely that no friar should admit to his Order an infant
under fourteen years without the assent of his father, mother, or
guardians. The ordinance applied to the whole of England, and the
petition of the Commons is a sign that the popularity of the friars
had suffered under the attacks of Wiclif.
It has been clearly shown by recent criticism 3 that Wiclifs enmity
to the friars was confined to the last few years of his life. His earlier
opponents were the monks — the religiosi possessionati. At one time
he compares the poverty and mendicancy of St. Francis with the
manual labour of St. Peter and St. Paul, in contrast with the pos-
sessions and worldly honours of the ecclesiastics of his time 4. He
seems to have been on terms of some intimacy with William Wood-
ford, who may be regarded as the leader of the Oxford Minorites in
their subsequent controversy with the reformer and his followers.
Woodford relates 5 that
'when I was lecturing concurrently with him on the Sentences 6 . . . . Wiclif
used to write his answers to the arguments, which I advanced to him, in a
notebook which I sent him with my arguments, and to send me back the
notebook.'
Wiclif had indeed many points of sympathy, especially on questions
of ecclesiastical polity, with the Friars Minors. He was in agreement
with them and in antagonism to the monks and many of the bishops,
in the opinion that the tribute to the Pope should be refused, and that
the secular power was, under some circumstances, justified in depriv-
ing the Church of its possessions 7. Eight or nine years before Wiclif
1 Rolls of Parliament, Vol. II, p. 290. duo Magistri in theologia, si velint,
3 Ibid. Vol. Ill, p. 502, § 62. possunt concurrere disputando.'
3 Lechler, J. v. Wiclif, I, 319, 374, 7 See the curious account in the
585 seq. Continuatio Eulogii Historiarum of
4 Ibid. 588. the council of bishops and lords held at
5 Twyne, MS. XXI, 502 ; from Wood- Westminster under the presidency of
ford's Quaestiones de sacramento altaris the Black Prince in 1374, the subject of
contra Wyclefum, qu. 63. discussion being the papal tribute.
6 ' Quando concurrebam cum eo in Four doctors of theology were present,
lectura sententiarum." I do not know namely, the Provincial of the Friars
the precise meaning of the phVase : cf. Preachers, J. Owtred, monk of Durham,
Mun. Acad. 393, ' Statutum est quod an opponent of the friars (see MS. Ball.
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
[CH. VI.
wrote his famous tract in defence of the Parliament of 1366, an Ox-
ford friar and doctor declared in his school that the King had the
right of depriving ecclesiastics of their temporalities ; he was ordered
by Congregation to recant this and other opinions solemnly after a
University sermon, and to pay loos, to the University1.
When, however, Wiclif began to call in question the Church's
doctrine on the Eucharist, he found himself in direct antagonism to
the friars ; and the quarrel, which began in a dogmatic difference in
the schools2, soon acquired a wider character. Wiclif's accusations
resolve themselves really into three 3 ; firstly, that the friars upheld
the ' idolatrous ' doctrine of the Eucharist ; secondly, that they main-
tained the theory of the mendicancy of Christ; thirdly, that they
taught the people to rely for their salvation on letters of fraternity
and prayers and masses, instead of on a good life ; whence a general
demoralization ensued.
Coll. 149, ff. 63-5), J. Mardisle, Friar
Minor, and an Austin Friar. The
Archbishop said, ' The pope is lord of
all ; we cannot refuse him this,' ' quod
omnes praelati seriatim dixerunt.' The
Dominican refused to give an opinion,
and suggested a hymn or mass. The
monk used the old argument about the
two swords. Mardisle promptly re-
torted with the text, ' Put up again thy
sword into his place,' showing that the
two swords did not mean spiritual and
temporal power ; ' et quod Christus
temporale dominium non habebat, nee
Apostolis tradidit sed relinquere docuit ;'
which he proved by a learned appeal to
scripture, authorities, and history. The
subsequent proceedings are very humor-
ously told ; Eulog. Hist. Ill, 337-8.
Four Mendicant B.D.'s were, at John
of Gaunt's wish, present at Wiclif's
trial in 1377, to support him by argu-
ment in case of need. Lechler, I, 369,
and note.
1 Mun. Acad. p. 208. He is called
merely ' Frater Johannes . . . Doctor,'
the surname and Order being omitted ;
but his ' heresies ' are those of the
Franciscans.
2 Lechler, I, 586. Of the twelve
doctors who condemned Wiclif's doc-
trines at Oxford in 1381 (or beginning
of 1382), six were Mendicants; Tyssyng-
ton was the only Minorite. Wood,
Annals, I, 499.
3 These are clearly stated in his
treatise ' De Blasphemia,contraFratres]
Select English Works, III, 402 seq. ;
Trialogus, Lib. IV, cap. 27-32. Ibid,
cap. 37, another charge is added, namely,
the opposition offered by the friars to
the ' Poor Priests,' of which Wiclif
says : ' Revera inter omnia peccata, quae
unquam consideravi de fratribus, hoc
mini videtur esse sceleratissimum prop-
ter multa ; emanavit enim integre ex
unicordi consilio et consensu omnium
horum fratrum.' The ' Poor Priests '
resembled the early Friars Minors in
many points, e. g. as itinerant preachers :
perhaps Wiclif, when organizing the
former, was led to look more closely
into the ideal which the latter professed
to follow ; and if so, he may well have
been shocked at the contrast between that
ideal and the reality. One change in the
life of the friars — their gradual approxi-
mation to the seclusion of the older
Orders, may be illustrated by two pas-
sages from Matthew Paris and Wiclif
(allowance being made for the prejudices
of the writers). The friars, says the
Benedictine historian,' wandered through
cities and villages,' and ' had the ocean
for their cloister' (Chron. Majora, V,
529). Wiclif attacks them for living
CH. VI.]
ATTACKS ON THE FRIARS.
' Popis graunten no pardoun to men hot if bei be byfore verrely contritte,
hot bese freris in hor lettres speken of no contricioun V
It is improbable, however, that the indulgences granted by the friars
differed from the other indulgences of the Middle Ages, which in
theory absolved from the temporal punishment, not from the sin and
eternal punishment. Wiclif may have classed with the friars the
' pardoners ' who did not belong to any of the four Orders 2. The
records relating to the Franciscan house at Oxford throw no light on
the matter, which indeed belongs to the general history of the Mendi-
cants, not to the history of a particular convent. Wiclif's charges
amount practically to this : the friars were the foremost champions of
the external, unspiritual form of religion, which he laboured to destroy :
they were no longer leaders of thought, but obstacles to progress.
Though Wiclif's writings, especially his English writings, are full of
violent invective against the friars 3, it is difficult to find in them any
definite accusations of the grosser forms of immorality. One instance
will sufficiently illustrate the difference between Wiclif and his followers.
' Friars also,' says the former, ' be foully envenomed with ghostly sin of
Sodom, and so be more cursed than the bodily Sodomites that were
suddenly dead by hard vengeance of God ; for they do ghostly lechery by
God's word, when they preach more their own findings for worldly muck,
than Christ's Gospel for saving of men's souls *.'
' Jack Upland ' improves on this, and does not scruple to impute to
the friars generally the vilest sins.
' Your freres ben taken alle day
with wymmen and wifes,
bot of your privey sodomye
spake I not yette5.'
At Oxford the seculars, always numerically strong and jealous of
the regulars, rallied to Wiclif's standard; while the Mendicants roused
' closed in a cloister,' instead of going
about among the people, ' to whom thy
maie most profite ghostlie . . . Charitie
showld drive Friars to come out amongst
the people and leaue Caymes Castels
that bin so needeless and chargeous to
the people.' (Two Short Treatises,
&c., p. ai.)
1 Select English Works, III, 424.
3 Wyclif, Latin Works, Sermones, II,
xlvii. Jusserand, La Vie Nomade, p.
1 86 seq. ; Rogers' Introd. to Gas-
coigne's Liber Veritatum, p. 123.
3 He accuses them, e.g. of stinking
covetise,' of ' simonie and foule mar-
chandise ; ' they are ' worse enemies and
sleers of man's soule than is the cruel
fende of hell by himself ; ' some of them
are 'damned divels;' Two Short Trea-
tises, Select English Works, passim.
Latin works, Sermones, II. Cf. Polit.
Poems (Rolls Series), I, 266 :
' Ther shal no saule have rowme in helle
Of frers ther is suche throng.'
* Two Short Treatises, cap. 48 (prin-
ted by Vaughan, p. 254).
8 Polit. Poems, II, 49.
G 2
84 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VI.
the anger of the University by appealing to external authority. The
friars were accused of having made use of their position as confessors
to stir up the peasant revolt. On the i8th of February, 1382, the
heads of the four Mendicant Convents at Oxford sent a letter to John
of Gaunt, denying the charge and begging his protection 1 ; all evils
were attributed to them, and their lives were in danger. Their chief
enemy was Nicholas Hereford. In Lent of the same year Hereford
preached a University sermon at St. Mary's, in which he argued that
no ' religious ' should be admitted to any degree at Oxford 2. He
was appointed by the Chancellor to deliver the principal English
sermon of the year at St. Frideswide's Cross on Ascension Day
(May 1 5th), and used the opportunity to attack monks and friars
and mendicancy in general3. On the ipth of the same month, the
' Council of the Earthquake ' met at the Blackfriars in London, and
condemned ten of Wiclif's conclusions as heretical and fourteen as
erroneous; among the seventeen doctors of divinity who took part
in the council were four Minorites, the Oxford Franciscans being
represented by Hugo Karlelle and Thomas Bernewell 4. The Arch-
bishop sent Peter Stokes, a Carmelite, to publish the condemnation at
Oxford. The Chancellor and Proctors resented this interference with
their rights, and the general feeling was strong in Wiclif's favour.
Stokes and his brethren went in fear of their lives ; when the Car-
melite 'determined' against Philip Repyngdon on the loth of June,
men were seen in the schools with arms concealed under their clothes.
At length, on June 1 5th, the Chancellor was compelled, by the King's
command, to publish the condemnation of the twenty-four con-
clusions ;
' and he thus so roused the seculars against the religious that many of the
latter feared death, the seculars crying out that they wanted to destroy
1 Fascic. Zizan. 292-5 : the letter is Confrere et obedientier du dit ordre
dated Oxford, ' sub sigillo priorum et ffrere Johan Gorry (or Grey ?) fait
gardiani conventunm et ordinum prae- excitacion et maintenance a les cotagiers
fatorum.' The part which the Francis- et autres tenauntz notre cher en dien
cans took in the peasant revolt still labbe de Midelton, laborers demorantz
remains obscure. An undated letter of dedeinz la Seigneurie mesme labbe, de
Richard II ' to the Minister of the Friars rebeller centre le dite Abbe leur seignur
Minors of Dorchester ' refers to an in- es choses queles ils sont tenuz et
dividual friar agitating among the denient fair a lui de reson selonc la
labourers about this time ; but whether forme de lestatut fait des laborers,' &c.
before or after the rising I cannot say. 3 Fascic. Zizan. p. 305.
The letter occurs in MS. Dd. Ill, 53, p. * Lyte, 264. A Latin version of the
97, in the Cambridge Public Library. sermon is in Twyne, MS. IV, 172-4.
' Nous auons entenduz coment votre * Fascic. Zizan. 287.
CH. VI.] ATTACKS ON THE FRIARS. 85
the University, though really they (the religious) only defended the cause
of the Church V
In November the University tried to turn the tables on its adver-
saries; in an assembly of the clerks at St. Frideswide's, the Chancellor
accused some of the orthodox party (among them a Minorite friar) of
heresy 2. But from this time the sacramental controversy tended to
retire into the background, and the alliance of monks and friars,
which Wiclif's attack on the faith had called into being3, came to
an end. In 1392, Henry Crompe, a Cistercian monk, who had been
a prominent opponent of Wiclif, was charged with having determined
on several occasions against the right of the friars to hear confessions4.
Friar John Tyssyngton and other Minorites took part in his con-
demnation in a Convocation held in the house of the Carmelites at
Stamford. In their anxiety to silence their adversaries, the Mendicant
Orders proved false to the tradition common to all the great mediae-
val Universities — the tradition of intellectual freedom; they upheld
the claim of Archbishop Arundel to visit the University, and lent their
support to the rigid censorship which he established5. But it is only
fair to remember that, years before this, the authority of the Church had
been invoked against the teaching of the friars themselves. In 1368
Simon Langham sent thirty errors of the friars to the University, and
it was enacted that no one should presume to defend or approve these
tenets in the schools or elsewhere 'on pain of the greater excommuni-
cation V
The history of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries affords many
other illustrations of the hostility with which the friars, and
especially the Minorites, were regarded by the University. The
subject of academical degrees, and of the action taken by the Uni-
versity against the ' wax -doctors,' has been treated elsewhere. A
statute, which probably dates from the first half of the fifteenth
century, provides that both the collatores of University sermons shall,
if possible, be seculars7. Wood says that in the years 1423 and 1424
there
' were nothing but heartburnings in the University occasioned by the Friers
their preaching up and down against tithes.'
The chief offender, Friar William Russell, warden of the Greyfriars of
1 Fascic. Zizan. 298, 301, 311, &c. Archbishop Arundel to John XXIII,
8 Lyte, 273 ; Wilkins, Cone. Ill, 172. dated Aug. 20 (1410?).
3 Polit. Poems, I, 259. • Wood, Annals, I, 481.
4 Fascic. Zizan. 343-357. 7 Mun. Acad. 289 ; the statute before
5 Twyne, MS. Vol. II, f. 229, letter of it is dated 1431, that after it, 1432.
86 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. VI.
London, taught that tithes might be given arbitrarily, i. e. not to the
parson legally entitled to them, but ' for the pious use of the poor/
according to the will of the giver. The University of Oxford con-
demned this doctrine and ordained that everyone taking a degree
should formally abjure it : the oath, which remained in force till 1564,
runs thus : —
Insuper, tu jurabisquod nullas conclusiones perfratremWilhelmum Russell,
ordinis Minorum, nuper positas et praedicatas, contra decimas personales,
et in nostra Universitate Oxoniae, necnon in venerabili concilio episco-
porum, anno Domini millesimo quadringentesimo vicesimo quinto celebrate
Londoniis, solemniter damnatas, nee alicujus earum sententiam tenebis,
docebis, vel defendes efficaciter publice aut occulte, nee aliquem doctorem,
tentorem vel defensorem hujusmodi, ope, consilio vel favore juvabis \
For a similar offence another Franciscan, William Melton, D.D.,
was arrested at the instance of the University, and compelled to
recant 2. The Alma Mater kept a vigilant eye on her sons wherever
they might be. In 1482 Friar Isaac Cusack, D.D., began to create
disturbances in Ireland by preaching the old Franciscan doctrine of
evangelical poverty; he was captured, sent to Oxford, and degraded
and expelled the University as a vagabond and a heretic 3.
The feeling of nationality fostered by the long French wars was not
without its influence on the friars in England and especially at the
Universities. In 1369 the Chancellor caused a royal proclamation to
be published at Carfax ordering all French students at Oxford, boih
religious and secular, to leave the kingdom4. In 1388 a royal writ
was issued to the Warden of the Friars Minors in Oxford at the advice
of the same convent, warning him to admit no foreign friars who
might reveal to the enemy ' the secrets and counsel of our kingdom,'
and to expel any such friars for whose good behaviour he would not
be responsible, or who would not pray or celebrate masses for the
King and the good estate of the realm 5.
Among the many problems presented by the reign of Richard II,
not the least obscure is the passionate loyalty with which the Francis-
cans regarded his memory6. Yet Richard II and his councillors
1 Mun. Acad. 376 ; for other refer- ' The Continuatio Eulogii Histo-
ences see notice of William Russell in riarum gives the reasons alleged by two
Part II. individual friars for their support of
2 Wood, Annals, I, 572. Richard :— (i) personal : ' teneor sibi
3 Ibid. 638. et tota parentela mea quia ipse promo-
4 Twyne, MS. XXIII, 188. vit illam,1 p. 390 ; (2) legitimist stand-
* Close Roll, 1 2 Ric. II, m. 42 (Appx. point : ' electio nulla est, vivente pos-
B). sessore legitimo,' p. 392.
CH. VI.]
ATTACKS ON THE FRIARS.
were suspected of Lollard}', while his successor posed as the champion
of orthodoxy. Henry IV. however, derived his support chiefly from the
wealthy ecclesiastics, and the Lollardy of the Court of Richard II was
rather political than dogmatic ; the opinions prevalent at the Court
were more in consonance with Wiclifs earlier teaching and with the
teaching of the Franciscan Order on the need of poverty in the
Church and the evils of its endowments, than with the Lollard
doctrine of the Eucharist. -In the early years of Henry IV the
Franciscans were active in organizing conspiracies l ; the pulpit and
the confessional were used to spread disaffection against the new
monarch 2 ; and the failure of his campaigns was attributed to the
magical arts of the Friars Minors3. In 1402, eight Minorites of the
convent of Leicester were seized, and convicted on their own admis-
sion of having organized an armed revolt to find King Richard and
restore him to the throne *. They were condemned to be hanged and
decapitated at Tyburn, and the sentence was carried out in the sight
of many thousands without any ecclesiastical protest. One of these
friars was Roger Frisby, an old man and Master in Theology 5. On
the Vigil of the feast of St. John the Baptist6 — the very day on which
the rebels were to meet ' in the plain of Oxford/ his head was taken
from London Bridge and brought to Oxford ;
' and in the presence of the procession of the University, the herald pro-
claimed: "This Master Friar Minor of the convent of Leicester in
hypocrisy, adulation, and false life, preached often, saying that King
Richard is alive, and roused the people to seek him in Scotland ; " and his
head was set on a stake there V
While subject to attacks from without, the Franciscan Order
suffered from rival factions within. The long-standing division between
1 Eulog. Hist. Ill, 388 seq. ; Stnbbs,
Const. Hist. Ill, 36.
* Eulog. Hist. Ill, 392.
3 Stubbs, ut supra.
* Eulog. Hist. Ill, 391 : it is men-
tioned with less detail in most of the
chronicles of the time, e. g. Walsingham,
Otterbourne. Adam of Usk's account
differs in some points ; ' undecim de
ordine fratrum minorum in theologia
doctores/ &c., p. 82.
* Eulog. Hist. Ill, 391, where his
defence before the King, or rather state-
ment of his position, is given. Before
his execution he preached on the text,
1 Into thy hands, Lord, I commend my
spirit.' ' Et devote recommendavit
omnes qui causa mortis suae erant ; ' ibid.
393. His name is given by Wylie,
Henry IV, Vol. I, p. 277. He was
D.D. of Cambridge (Fascic. Zizan. 287)
and perhaps had no further connexion
with Oxford than that mentioned in the
text.
• Nativitas (June 24) or Decollatio
(Aug. 29) ?
7 Eulog. Hist. Ill, 394. The whole
description of these events by the anony-
mous continuator of the Eulogium is
extremely graphic and powerful ; his
sympathies are strongly on the side of
the rebels.
88 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VI.
the lax or Conventual, and the strict or Observant parties, at length
received formal recognition in the Council of Constance (1415) when
the Observants were constituted a semi-independent branch under a
Vicar-General1. How did this arrangement affect Oxford as a
siudium generale ? The Observants as a body produced few students ;
the reformed houses on the Continent objected to send their brethren
to Paris 2. A few foreign Observants found their way to Oxford in the
fifteenth century 3 ; and when later in the century Observant friaries
were founded in England4, some of their members studied in the
Conventual house at the University 5. Whether any part of the
Convent was set apart for them is unknown : according to all appear-
ance, the brethren of both branches lived together in peace and good-
will.
1 Anal. Franc. II, 260. numerabiles dissolutions, quae multo
8 Ibid. 297 ; A. D. 1435 : the Obser- adhuc amplius vigent in conventibus
vants in answer to the reproach of the studiorum generalium, sicut Parisius
Conventuals ' quod non haberent magis- testatur locus, qui dicitnr infernus, prop-
tros in theologianec vellent studereetc., ter inhonestates tacendas, ne aures
dicebant, quod studere vellent et desi- audientium tinnire contingeret, et prop-
derarent, sed conqueri de hoc merito ter exactiones pecuniarias ampliores
deberent, quod ipsi de communitate quam apud saeculares, multaque alia
omnes conventus, in qui bus habet Ordo tacenda ; dicebant, se cum puritate
studium generale, vellent ipsi habere et regulae non posse ibi studere.'
nullum Observantibus dare, nee ipsi 3 E. g. Gonsalvo of Portugal,
vellent permittere, quod ibi promove- * The first according to Wadding
renturad studia.sed promotiones darent (XIV, 252) was Greenwich, A. D. 1480,
illis de sua vita. Sed et propter in- B E. g. John Billing, Ralph Creswell.
CHAPTER VII.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE FRIARS' MANNER OF LIFE AND
MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD : BENEFACTORS.
Lost records. — Mendicancy. — Procurators and limitors. — Career of Friar Brian
Sandon. — Charges of immorality against the friars. — Their worldly manner
of life before the Dissolution. — Poverty of the Convent. — Sources of income. —
Annual grants from the King and others. — Frequency of bequests to the
friars. — List of benefactors. — Classes from which the friars were drawn. —
Motives which led men to become friars.
OF the internal economy of the Franciscan house at Oxford, or
indeed of any friary in England, little is known or ever can be known.
The Registrum Fratrum Minorum Londoniae is, in Brewer's words,
'the only work of the kind extant. A painful proof, if such were
needed, of the utter devastation committed when the Franciscan con-
vents were dissolved, and their libraries dispersed1.' We may here
give some account of the records which must once have existed in
every Franciscan house or province. From the earliest times an
annual compotus'L or balance-sheet of income and expenditure was
drawn up, and if in later days this was sometimes omitted, an ex-
warden was always liable to be called to render an account to his
successor3. In each convent would also be kept a list of the brethren
who died there4 ; and lists both of living benefactors and of dead, for
whose souls prayers or masses were to be said5, while many in their
1 Mon. Franc. I, Ixxi.
2 Ibid. 8 : ' Unde accidit ut Frater
Angnellus, cum Fratre Salomone, gar-
diano Londoniae, vellet audire compo-
tum fratrum Londoniae, quantum sc.
expendissent infra unum terminum anni,
cumque audisset quod tarn sumptuose
processisset vel satis parca fratrum ex-
hibitio, projecit omnes talias et rotulos,
et percutiens seipsnm in faciem, excla-
mavit, " Ay me captum ! " et nunquarn
postea voluit audire compotum.'
3 Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, f. 124 b
(znd Sept. 1529), printed in Appx.
1 Wadding (VI, 108) refers to the
' tabula or index of the brethren who
died there (Cologne) such as is kept
commonly in the monasteries of the
Order.' See the curious necrology of
the Observant Friars of Aberdeen, Mon.
Franciscana, II, 123-140. Lansdowne
MS. 963 is said to contain notes by
Bishop Kennett, ' ex obituario conventus
Fratrum Minorum Guldefordiae, MS.
Norwic. 671 :' it is really notes from the
obituary of the Friars Preachers of
Guildford, now in the University
Library, Cambridge ; MS. LI. II, 9.
8 Polit. Poems and Songs, &c., Vol.
II, p. 24 (R.S.). Chaucer's 'Sompnourc '
9°
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
[CH. VII.
lifetime received 'letters of confraternity1.' In the decrees of the
General Chapter of Paris in 1292 it is commanded2 that each
minister should have the lives and acts of holy friars carefully collected
in his province and entered in special registers, and bring them to the
General Chapter ; also that all notable excesses of friars, grave crimes,
and credible accusations, the sentences passed and punishments
inflicted on the offenders, should be noted in books kept for the pur-
pose, preserved in the archives of the province, and faithfully handed
on to each succeeding minister. The acts of Provincial Chapters
were also kept3. Of these and similar records we have, besides the
London register already alluded to, only a few letters of fraternity*. Of
English Franciscan records originated by or relating to the convent at
Oxford, not one (unless the list of lectors and the account of the
controversy with the Dominicans in 1269 6 can be called records) is
known to exist6. Any account, therefore, of the internal life of the
convent must be meagre and unsatisfactory in the highest degree.
The hours and numbers of daily services seem to have differed little,
if at all, from those observed in other monastic institutions7. We
may therefore omit this subject and treat of the points which receive
additional elucidation from documents relating to Oxford.
offers an explanation of the disappear-
ance of these 'tables' (Poet. Works,
Vol. I, pp. 367-8 : Bonn's edition) : —
' His felawhad a staf typped with horn,
A payr of tablis al of yvory,
And a poyntel y-polischt fetisly,
And wroot the names alway as he
stood
Of alle folk that gaf him eny good,
Ascaunce that he wolde for hem preye.
And whan that he was out atte dore,
anoon
He planed out the names everychoon
That he bifom had writen in his
tablis.'
Mon. Franc. II, preface, p. xxxi.
Cf. Wills in Somerset House, Holder,
fol. 4 (will of J. Tate) ; Logge, f. 121
(J. Benet) ; Polit. Poems and Songs,
II, 29, 33 ; Wiclif, Two Short Trea-
tises, &c. (Oxford, 1608), cap. 15.
3 Wadding, V, 299-300.
8 Some of those relating to the Ger-
man provinces are given in Nicholas
Glasberger's Chronicle, Anal. Franc. II.
* Specimens will be found in Mon.
Franc. II ; Surtees, Hist, of Durham,
Vol. I, p. 27 ; Archaeologia, XI, 85 ;
Mullinger, Cambridge, Vol. I, p. 317,
mentions a letter of fraternity of a some-
what different kind.
6 Mon. Franc. I, 552 ; Appendix C.
6 The deed of W. Wileford (Appx. A.
i) is not a Franciscan record, any more
than the Public Records are. I have
not been able to find the seal of the
Oxford Minorites. It was attached to
the original letter addressed by the four
Mendicant Convents to John of Gaunt,
a copy of which is printed in Fascic.
Zizan. pp. 292-5. This is the only
mention of the seal which I can recall.
There are a few special references to
Oxford in the decrees of the General
Chapters ; see Index, under Franciscan
Order.
7 See Testament of St. Francis: 'Oure
dyvyne servyce the clerkis saide as
other clerkis.' Mon. Franc. I, 564. An
article in the Dominican statutes of 1228
(Dist. i, n. 4) provides that 'hours'
shall be said rapidly, ' ne fratres de-
CH. VII.]
MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD, ETC.
The first means of livelihood of the Mendicant Friars was naturally
begging. Certain of the brethren were appointed by the Warden to
' procure ' food for the convent during some fixed period1. There
were no definite rules as to how many friars should be sent as ' pro-
curatores ' or ' limitors ' 2 ; the details depended on the necessities
of the convent and the will of the Superior3. Each house had
definite 'limits' assigned to it, within which its members might
beg4. The friars went two and two, accompanied by a servant or
boy8 who carried the offerings, which were usually in kind. The
friar in Chaucer's 'Sompnoure's Tale,' himself a 'maister6' in the
schools, after preaching in the church went round the village —
' In every hous he gan to pore and prye
And beggyd mele or chese, or ellis corn V
A good deal of private begging was dene by the student friars to
obtain the means of study8. Roger Bacon appealed to his brother in
England, to his powerful and wealthy acquaintances, for money to
carry out the commands of the Pope 9.
' But how often (he writes to the latter) I was looked upon as a dishonest
beggar, how often I was repulsed, how often put off with empty hopes,
what confusion I suffered within myself, I cannot express to you. Even my
friends did not believe me, as I could not explain the matter to them ; so
I could not proceed in this way. Reduced (angujtiatus) to the last ex-
tremities, I compelled my poor friends 10 to contribute all that they had,
votionem amittant et eorum studium
minime impediatur.' Archiv. fur Litt.
u. Kirch. Gesch., Vol. I, p. 189.
1 Mon. Franc. I, 10-11 ; Bullarium
Romanum, I, 250.
2 Wiclif, Two Short Treatises, &c.,
p. 31 : ' and who can best rob the poore
people by false begging and other de-
ceipts shal have this Judas office.'
8 Bullarium, ut supra. Constitutions
of Martin V, cap. vi : ' Item quod omnes
fratres vadant pro eleemosyna confidenter
juxta discretionem Praelati praecipientis,
cujus arbitrio committimus discernen-
dum, qui congrue mittendi sunt pro
eleemosyna, vel qui non.'
4 Wadding, IX, 438 ; complaint of
the Minorites of Cambridge in 1395
that a house of the same Order at Ware
was trespassing on their limites, and bull
forbidding the same. Cf. Polit. Songs
and Poems, &c., Vol. II, pp. 21, 78.
s In early days they carried the offer-
ings themselves in their ' caparones ' or
under their arms. Mon. Franc. 1, 10-11.
6 Poet. Works, I, 382. This poem,
though banished, owing to its coarseness
in some parts, from polite society, con-
tains a more lifelike and graphic
description of the English mediaeval
friar than is to be found elsewhere in
literature.
7 Ibid. 367.
8 Burney, MS. 325, quoted above,
p. 56, n. 2. Cf. Twyne, MS. IV, 173,
sermon of N. Hereford in 1382 : ' Cum
eorum limitatores satis mendicaverint
pro sua communitate, statim mendicant
iternm pro seipsis, et sic falsi pravi
monstrant (se) esse apostatas et frangunt
regulam,' &c.
• Opera Ined. p. 16.
10 Familiares homines et pauperes,
prob.students or the common people (see
92 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VII.
and to sell many things and to pawn the rest, often at usury, and I
promised them that I would send to you all the details of the expenses
and would faithfully procure full payment at your hands. And yet owing
to their poverty I frequently abandoned the work, frequently I gave it up
in despair and forbore to proceed.'
Begging of this kind would either be unauthorized or legalized by
special license. The statutes of the Order1 enact that every convent
shall have its 'procurator' or 'syndicus,' who shall transact all the
legal business of the house and receive in the name of the Roman
Church for the use of the friars all pecuniary alms and bequests, or
all such alms and bequests as can be changed into money. The
express object of these constitutions was to
' preserve the Order in its purity and prevent the brethren being immersed
in secular affairs V
It would appear that at Oxford in the fourteenth century the office of
alms-collector was held by one of the brethren. This conclusion,
however contrary to the spirit and letter of the statutes, seems war-
ranted by a remarkable legal document of the year 1341". It is the
record of a suit in the Hustings Court, in which Friar John of
Ochampton, Warden of the Friars Minors at Oxford, ' through Friar
John de Hentham his attorney,' charged ' Richard de Whitchford
minor4,' with refusing to render an account of the sums received by
him when he was ' receiver of pence of the said warden,' and with
embezzling sixty shillings or more, which he obtained from various
people on the Monday after the feast of St. Michael, 1340. Two of
the sums are specified, namely, one mark by the hands of Richard,
servant of John de Couton, and i2.r. by the hands of Thomas of
London. The Warden claimed to have suffered loss to the extent of
one hundred shillings; Richard de Whitchford could not deny the
receipt of the money, but on his request the court appointed two
auditors, Richard Gary and John le Peyntour ; to these he rendered an
ibid. Pref. xx) : the word translated Bull ' Ad Conditorem ' forbade the
' friends ' above is amici. Cf. the frequent Franciscans to use the Bull of Martin
charges against the friars that they IV without special license of the Pope ;
' devour poore men's almes in wast, and Martin V allowed them to use it ' freely
feasting of Lordes and great men.' and lawfully.'
Wiclif, Two Short Treatises, &c., p. 31 ; » Wadding, X, 130.
Polit. Poems and Songs, &c., II, p. 28 ; 3 Twyne, MS. XXIII, f. 266 (Oxf.
Peacock, Represser, 550 (R.S.). City Archives): printed in Appendix B.
1 Bull of Martin IV, Kal. Feb. A° 2, * He is not called '/rafer,' but the
recited and confirmed by Martin V, omission of this word before ' minor ' is
Kal. Nov. A° 10. John XXII by his not infrequent.
CH. VII.] MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD, ETC. 93
account, and was found to be sixty shillings in arrears ; ' and/ the
record continues, ' as he cannot make satisfaction he is committed to
prison.'
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Oxford friars sometimes
employed laymen to represent them in the courts1 ; sometimes the
Warden appeared in person2, but most of the legal business in the
Chancellor's court at Oxford was undertaken by one of the brethren.
From 1507 or before, to the Dissolution, this duty was entrusted to
Friar Brian Sandon. His name does not occur in the University
Register, and he was, though a priest3, probably not a student;
indeed, his administrative business would hardly have left him time for
other occupations. Between 1507 and 1516 and between 1527 and
1534, he appears as plaintiff or defendant in some fifteen suits in the
Chancellor's court4. Some of these afford glimpses into the life of
the friars. On the 26th of March, 151 2 5, Father Brian instituted an
action against John Morys, his proctor, alleging that the latter
' did not according to the convention before entered into between the said
friar and John Morys, bring corn to the house of the friars minors;'
and on April 5th John Morys was committed to prison 'at the
instance of the provost (preposeti) of the friars minors for a debt6.'
But if the friars did not grow corn, they seem to have made use of
their meadows as pasture land. On the 2oth of May, 1529^ Friar
Brian sued Margery, widow of John Lock, for >js. 8d.,
' for certain cheeses which the husband of the said Margery bought from
the aforesaid Brian Sanden.'
Eventually the case was submitted to the arbitration of William Clare
the elder, and Edmund Irishe, bailiffs of Oxford, with the addition of
a third if necessary, each party binding itself to abide by the decision
of the majority under penalty of 40^., in case of disagreement, to be
paid to the party willing to accept the judgment.
While these and similar actions were instituted by Brian in fufil-
ment of the duties of his position, he was undoubtedly engaged in
others of a private nature. At one time he acts as attorney for a
1 e.g. Placita de Scaccario, 3 Hen. * Acta Cur. Cane. "5, ff. 5b, 1585,
VII, m. 35 ; Acta Cur. Cane. "5, fol. 159 b, 167, 2oo;b, 258 b; EEE, 72, 107,
262 b. 183, 202, 238 b, 251 b, 257, 272 b,
2 Placita de Scacc. 4 Hen. VII, m. 273.
34 d: cf. Acta Car. Cane. EEE, fol. 8 T, f. 159 b.
1 24 b ; &c. • Ibid. 160.
3 Chapter House Books, ATsr, fol. 3 1 b. 7 EEE, fol. 1 07 a-b.
94 THE GREY FRIARS .IN OXFORD. [Cn. VII.
priest1. At another he is charged with wrongfully keeping a knife,
the property of dominus Galfred Coper2. In I53I3 he had a dispute
with his tailor and appealed to the law, alleging
' that, whereas he had given to William Gos *, tailor, three yards and three
quarters of woollen cloth to make him a habit, the said Gos had purloined
one quarter of a yard, and that in consequence his clothes were too short
(nimis bre'vem et succinctam}.'
Brian having declared on oath that he had supplied the above-men-
tioned amount of cloth, Gos promised to give him i ^d. as satisfaction,
for the missing quarter of a yard. But later in the day he again
appeared and charged the friar with perjury. After some more
recriminations an agreement was come to out of court, and we hear
no more of the habit.
That his litigious spirit should sometimes have brought Friar Brian
into trouble we cannot wonder. Several times in the latter part of
his career he was in danger of 'bodily injury;' in 1532 5 he made
application to have Robert Holder bound over to keep the peace, and
in 1534 the judge ordered that James Penerton should not be released
from Bocardo till he found sufficient sureties that he would not inflict
bodily harm on Friar Brian or his friends (familiaribus}*. The same
year he complained of having been libelled by one Giles Mawket, a
carpenter (fabro h'gnario), in the parish of St. Ebbe's7. This was
probably a slander on his character, which was not above suspicion.
In I5358 'a woman of Radley named Anna' asserted in the Com-
missary's court that she was with child by Thomas Denson, Bachelor
of Laws :
' qui Denson (as the record puts it, reciting the evidence of Joanna Cowper,
another woman of ill-fame) egre tulit ut extraneus quisque familiaritate
dicte Anne uteretur; because (it is added in the margin) he tok fryer
Bryan wrastelyng wth her in a morning V
The records of the Chancellor's court contain charges of immorality
against two other Friars Minors10. The first was 'dompnus' Robert
1 EEE, fol. 257, action to recover 7 Ibid. fol. 272 b.
debt. 8 Ibid. fol. 324 b-325.
" "5 fol. 167. 9 Denson refused to clear himself by
3 EEE, fol. 183. compurgation and was sentenced to
4 On the same page occurs a ' W. three days imprisonment (commuted to
Gos conductor (ut asserit) stabuli cujus- a payment of loj. to the University) for
dam juxta collegium animarum.' his fornication, ' to the terror of others.'
5 EEE, fol. 239. 10 And a more serious one against the
6 Ibid. fol. 273. Carmelites j EEE, fol. 249 b.
CH. VII.] MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD, ETC. 95
Beste1, who was summoned before the court together with a scholar
of Broadgates Hall,
' on grave suspicion of incontinence and disturbance of the peace.' ' Then
the judge commanded ' dompnus' Beste to go to the prison house, namely
le Bocardo, and remain there for half-an-hour ' —
apparently while his case was considered. It does not appear what
the charge against him was, or what (if any) further steps were taken2.
His companion was warned to moderate his attentions to the same
Joanna, wife of William Cooper or Cowper, of St. Ebbe's, who
appeared in the trial above referred to.
Joanna seems to have taken a special interest in the Minorites. At
the end of 153 3s Friar Arthur, B.D., appealed to the court to stop
her spreading evil reports against him, which she had failed to prove ;
she was ordered to abstain in future
' from defaming the said friar or any of his house on pain of a fine of 40^.
to be paid to the Convent of friars minors, and banishment from the town ;
also that she shall not in any way lay traps (paret . . insidias) for the said
Arthur or any of his Order or cause such traps to be laid, under the afore-
said penalties.'
But if Friar Arthur was innocent, he was peculiarly unfortunate. A
few months later4 he again appealed for protection against the libels
of Nicholas Andrews and John Poker, scholars of Peckwater's Inn.
At this time Dr. Baskerfeld, Warden of the Grey Friars, was acting as
substitute for the Commissary, and he heard the case in the house of
the Minorites. The accusation has been carefully obliterated in the
Chancellor's book, evidently by the friars themselves, but the gist of it
can be deciphered.
' Judex interrogavit eosdem an voluissent prefatum Arcturum accusare et
denunciare : qui responderunt se nolle 5 hoc facere . . . ; a quibus judex
petiit ... an aliquid scandalosum et d . . . scirent contra dictum fratrem,
et interrogavit eos quid hoc erat : et dicebant ambo hiis verbis sequentibus
(tactis evangeliis) ; . . . they saw the seyde frere Arctur in a chambre at
the sygne of the Bere in all hollows parische in Oxoford with a woman in
a red capp .... both locked together in a chambre, and seid to the mayd
of the hous, " then ba . . . why . . . suche ale here to be kept ? It is not thy
masters will and thy mistres that ony suche ale shold be kept here." '
Friar Arthur strenuously denied the accusation, and the court adjourned
1 EEE, fol. 230 (A.D. 1530). s Ibid. fol. 257.
8 Ibid. fol. 238 b; in the margin 4 Ibid. fol. 271 b (nth May, 1534).
occurs the entry, ' {fryer Robert hora 5 From this point the entry is crossed
i* xvi° ' (sc. die Septembris). ont.
96 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VII.
for two hours. When it reassembled, the defendants refused to sub-
mit to Dr. Baskerfeld's jurisdiction, arguing that he was incompetent
to decide a case in which one of the members of his convent was so
deeply implicated. Two days later, however, they confessed before
the judge that they would not swear to their original statement, and
both sides promised to forgive and forget the whole matter.
Though none of these charges was actually proved, we must admit
that they show that the convent was not in a healthy state on the eve
of the Dissolution. There is certainly no trace of the religious fervour
by which even in the latter days some of the Observant convents were
honourably distinguished. We find the brethren at Oxford engaged
in money transactions, lending1 and borrowing2, 'buying and
selling3.' Friar John Arter4 kept a horse in the town and raised
difficulties about the bill; Randulph Craycoke or Cradoc, who had
charge of the horse, would not part with it till he had received ' about
ten shillings for food and grass,' which sum the friar refused to pay,
asserting that Randulph had worked the horse himself (laboravit dictum
equum diversis (?) oneribus). The court, to which the disputants
appealed, reduced the amount by zs. ; but Arter was probably unable
to pay : no one appeared at the time appointed to claim the animal,
' so we sent Cradoc away with the horse until his bill should be paid/
The Warden, Friar Edward Baskerfeld, D.D., was plaintiff in a
somewhat similar case5, in which both sides were represented by
counsel. In his evidence the friar deposed that he had lent Master
Richard Weston, LL.B.,
' a Roane hors of the value of zcu. in the hostel de flore de leust 6, and that
he had handed over the horse to the servant of the Subdean of Excestre in
the name of Richard Weston, and that he said these words, stroking (pal-
•pando) the belly of the horse : " how I delyver the hors sane and sound
without spurre gallyng I prey you delyver hym so ageyn," and that he
never saw hym to this day.'
1 Acta Cur. Cane. "5, f. 158 b, 'Friar platers and dyschys and i pece
Brian and J. Loo, tactis evangeliis, more.')
swore that Brian had lent Garret s EEE, f. 161 : ' R. Roberts petiit
Matthew i mark.' EEE, f. 95 b. ... xxv" sibi debitos ab eodem Roberto
2 Cf. 1, f. 210, 'Notandum quod Puller fratre ex causa emptionis et
magister Doctor Alyngdon, ord. frm. vendicionis,' &c.
minorum promisit se soluturum W. * Ibid. f. 74 b (1528). Prob. the
Hows IIB 4d,' &c. (Cf. ibid. fol. same as Friar Arthur above.
194 b: 'gardianus . . . obligavit se pro 5 Ibid. fol. 27ob-27i a (1534).
vicecustode domus sue quod dictus 6^Fleur de Lys, near Carfax: see
vicecustos restitueret Ric. Wynslo duas Wood's City of Oxford. Part of this
duodenas vasium electriorum 5 ly (?) entry is in Latin, part English, as often.
CH. VII.]
MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD, ETC.
97
The parties agreed to submit the dispute to the judgment of three
arbitrators, and the result does not appear in the records of the
court.
No doubt some of the friars had private incomes and emoluments
of their own l (apart from the allowance or ' exhibition ' which as
students they still received from their native convents or from
benefactors) ; and some may have lived outside the walls of their
monastery 2. But the convent itself was very poor ; the love of many
had waxed cold, and it was inevitable that in order to get a livelihood
they should resort to means forbidden by their Rule.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century3, the Warden, Dr. Goodefyld,
leased one of the gardens lying within the boundaries of the convent
to Richard Leke, brewer of Oxford. The terms of the agreement
are unknown, but the friars thought them — or Leke's interpretation of
them, very injurious to their interests, and in 1513 and 1514 de-
manded the repudiation of the contract. Feeling ran very high, and
Leke was in personal danger ; the Warden was bound over to keep
the peace, and promised
' that if his friars molested Richard Leke, he would keep them in safe cus-
tody until the matter had been more fully examined.'
Again the case was referred to arbitration and the decision is un-
known. It is interesting to find that Leke was fully reconciled to the
friars before his death4.
The poverty of the brethren was aggravated by the irregularity with
which payments, on which they might justly reckon, were made.
One of their chief sources of income was a royal grant of 50 marcs
per annum during the King's pleasure, to be paid in equal portions at
Easter and Michaelmas. It was first instituted by Edward I5 in 1289,
1 e. g. Friar Nic. de Burgo. See Chap,
iii, on the maintenance of the students.
Wadding, IV, 255 ; VI, 8, on 'per-
sonal annual incomes ' of friars. Be-
quests to individual friars sometimes
occur.
2 See Part II, N. de Burgo and J.
Kynton.
3 Acta Cur. Cane. "5, fol. 212 b;
197 b., 210.
4 See his will in Appx. B. To re-
ceive annual rents from lands was de-
clared illegal in 1302. Wadding, VI, 8.
(Cf. Barth. of Pisa, Liber Conform, fol.
98.)
5 Not Henry III, as often stated.
This is conclusively proved by Pat. i
Hen. VII, pt. i, m. 4. One entry on
this membrane mentions the grant of
25 marcs to the Friars Minors, Cam-
bridge, originally made by Henry III,
then follows an entry of the 27th Nov. :
'Sciatis quod nos intelligentes qualiter
dominus Edwardus primus post con-
questnm et alii progenitores nostri . . .
concesserint videlicet quilibet eorum
tempore suo Gardiano et Conuentui
fratrum minorum Oxonie quinquaginta
marcas percipiendas annnatim ad Scac-
carium suum, nos,' &c. Cf. Pat. i Edw.
II, pt. i, m. 17, i Edw. IV, pt. 3, m.
25, &c.
98 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. vn
and was continued by all the kings (with the exception of Edward V)
to the Dissolution1. Sometimes the sum was paid direct from the
treasury ; but often (and this seems to have been the general custom
as regards royal benefactions to religious houses) a sheriff or other
officer was held responsible for the payment ; either he was instructed
to send the requisite amount to the Exchequer, or he paid the money
directly ; and the sums which he paid were accredited to him when he
produced his accounts at the sessions of the Exchequer. As may be
proved by many instances, the system did not conduce to regularity of
payment Edward II, in December 1313, ordered Richard Kellawe,
Bishop of Durham 2, ' to send to our exchequer at Westminster within
fifteen days of the day of St. Hilary/ ten marks in partial satisfaction
of the grant*. But though this sum was to be the first charge on the
arrears in the Durham diocese of the tax of one-half of their income4
imposed on the clergy by Edward I (A.D. 1294), and though writs
were repeatedly8 issued to enforce payment, we find that on the 4th
of June, 1315, nothing had been done, 'unde vehementer admiramur6'
The fifty marks were never made a definite fixed charge on the
revenues of any one county nor were they levied year by year as a
single sum ; each year some sheriff or bishop was made responsible
for a fraction of the whole amount. The annuity was on several
occasions in arrear. Thus Henry IV in the first year of his reign
granted the friars ' of his abundant favour ' (de uberiori gratia nostra)
all the arrears that had accumulated during the reign of his predeces-
sor7. Affairs of State made themselves felt in the Franciscan convent.
In 1450 Parliament passed a general act of resumption, annulling all
1 The grant is mentioned in the fol- 3, m. 25 ; Pat. 17 Edw. IV, pt. 2, m.
lowing records: — Exchequer Q. R. 28; Rolls of Parliament, Vol. V, 520,
Wardrobe, f (17-18 Edward I) ; Patent 597 ; Vol. VI, 90 ; Harl. MS. 433 (i
Roll, 32 Edw. I, m. 13 ; Liberate Roll, Ric. Ill) ; Pat. i Hen. VII, pt. I, m. 4 ;
34 Edw. I, m. i ; Pat. I Edw. II, part Pat. i Hen. VIII, pt. i, m. 7 ; Crom-
i, m. 17; Liberate Rolls, 8 Edw. II, well Corresp. 2nd series, Vol. XXIII,
m. 3 and 5 ; 9 Edw. II, m. 2 ; Treasury fol. 710 b.
of the Receipt, ^ (16 Edward II) ; a Regist. Palat. Dunelm. (ed. Hardy),
Liberate Rolls, 10, n, and 12 Edw. Vol. II, p. 980 (nth Dec. anno 7).
Ill; Issue Roll of the Exchequer, 44 8 Ibid. p. 1065, 'in partem cujusdem
Edw. Ill, p. 78 (printed in 1835); Pat. annuae eleemosynae, quam de nobis
i Ric. II, pt. 6, m. 21 (referring to percipiant annuatim.*
Pat. i Edw. II, and i Edw. Ill) ; Pat. * Ibid. pp. 1027-8. Cf. Stubbs, Constit.
i Hen. IV, pt 2, m. 11 ; Rolls of Par- Hist. II, 130 (3rd edition),
liament, Vol. IV, 195-6 (A.D. 1422, 5 The Durham Register contains six
referring to the grant by Henry V) ; Pat. writs on the subject.
31 Hen. VI, pt. 2, m. 32 (referring to • Ibid. p. 1085.
Pat. i Hen. VI) ; Pat. i Edw. IV, pt. 7 Pat I Hen. IV, pt. 2, m. 21.
CH. VII.] MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD, ETC. 99
grants made since the King's accession, and the annuity to the friars
ceased to be paid1. The brethren represented to Henry VI the
hardships which this loss of revenue inflicted on them, and in 1453
the King ordered the arrears to be paid,
' in order that the same warden and friars may be in a happier frame of
mind (hillariorem animum habeani) to offer up special prayers for us to the
Highest2.'
Under the circumstances we cannot be surprised if the friars some-
times took legal measures to recover the debts due to them. It was
no doubt in connexion with this grant, that in 1466 Richard Clyff,
' custos ' of the Oxford Grey Friars (first in person and afterwards
through his attorney) sued John Broghton, late Sheriff of Kent, in the
Court of Exchequer, for loos, due to him from the preceding year,
and claimed damages to the amount of ten marks3. In 1488, in like
manner, Richard Salford, Warden of the Friars Minors at Oxford,
applied to the Barons of the Exchequer to compel John Paston, Knt.,
late Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, to pay a debt of £10 i8j., and
put in a claim to £10 damages; he recovered the debt, but the
damages were reduced to 265. 8d.4 On the same day he sued
Edmund Bedyngfeld, Knt., late Sheriff of the same counties of Nor-
folk and Suffolk, for a debt of ' seven pounds of silver ' and IQOS.
damages ; the amount of the debt and 205. damages were awarded
him8. The next year he again brought an action against the same
Bedyngfeld and recovered the debt (£4 2s.}, while the barons assessed
his damages at IQJ. instead of the £4 which he claimed6. We gather
from these instances that though the annuity was usually paid and
was not often much in arrear, it was not collected without considerable
trouble and expense on the part of the friars. These actions involved
a journey to London and the employment of an attorney7 : they were
never settled in one day, and weeks or months elapsed between the
first hearing and the second.
The Grey Friars were also in receipt of annual or weekly alms
1 Pat. 31 Hen. VI, pt. 2, m. 32 : s Placita de Scaccario, 6 Edw. IV,
' Que quidem littere nostre (Pat. of m. 20.
loth Dec. A° i) . . . ratione cuiusdam * Ibid. 3 Hen. VII, m. 35.
actus in parliamento nostro sexto die * Ibid. m. 35 in dorso.
Novembris anno regni nostri vicesimo * Ibid. 4 Hen. VII, m. 34 in dorso.
octavo editi vacue existunt et adnullate.' 7 In the first three of these pleas,
Stubbs, Const. Hist. Ill, 143, 150 (2nd Jacobus Bartelet was attorney for the
edition). friars; in the fourth Ric. Salford ap-
2 Pat. nt supra. peared all through ' in propria persona.'
H 2
100 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VII.
from others besides the King. Durham College paid them 50*.
yearly1.
' In ye accompts of S. Ebbs made before 1542, it appears in all, y* ye
churchwardens of S. Ebbs parish paid to ye warden of ye Grey Freyers
Oxon (>d. per annum V
The nunnery of Godstow3 gave every week alternately to the Friars'
Preachers and Minors
' fourteen loaves of the best wheat ' (pasto), worth in money value 8d. a
week, * for the soul of Roger Writtell ; and the aforesaid friars shall have
the seal of the monastery to the amount of 34^. a year.'
The nuns also gave annually to each of the four Orders of friars at
Oxford y. ^d. in money, and 'one peck (medium) of oytemell and
one of peas (pisarum) in Lent.' Among the ' perpetual alms ' of
Osney Abbey is mentioned a grant of zos. to the four Orders, as the
price of one ox, at Christmas, and of 4^. a week to each Orde
' according to ancient custom V
A large part of their revenue was derived from bequests. To
minister to the sick and the dying was one of the first duties which
St. Francis practised himself and enjoined on his followers : that in
this respect the English Franciscans followed his precepts may be
seen in the tradition of them which remained in the memory of this
country and which Shakespeare has expressed in ' Romeo and Juliet ' :
' Going to find a barefoot brother out,
One of our order, to associate me,
Here in this city visiting the sick,
And finding him, the searchers of the town,
Suspecting that we both were in a house
Where the infectious pestilence did reign,
Seal'd up the doors and would not let us forth.'
(Act V, Scene II.)
But work like this receives little notice in history, and where it is
mentioned it is usually upon the sordid aspect of the case — the greed
for legacies — that the chroniclers insist.
In connexion with Oxford there are perhaps in the extant records
only two instances of a Franciscan being found in the chamber of
sickness or death. On Nov. 24, 1357, the will of Robert de Trenge6,
1 Twyne, MS. XXI, 812. 5 Oxf. City Rec. Old White Book,
2 Wood, MS. D 2, p. 344. fol. 55 b. The Warden of Merton says,
3 Valor Ecclesiasticus, Vol. II, p. 'He died in 1351, it is said of the
191. plague.' Memorials of Merton Coll.
4 Ibid. p. 223. (O. H. Soc.), p. 157.
CH. VII.]
BENEFACTORS.
101
Warden of Merton, was proved by the sworn testimony of Friar John
of Nottingham of the Order of Friars Minors, and Master Walter
Moryn, clerk. The will itself is dated June 14, 1351, but in the
Middle Ages it was rarely that a man made his will until he felt that
his hours were numbered, and although Robert de Trenge seems to
have lived some time longer, he was probably now lying in expectation
of death, struck down perhaps by the dreaded plague.
The other instance is of later date, namely loth Dec., I5I41. A
scholar, John Eustas, had died intestate at Oxford ;
' at the instance of his administrators, Friar Richard of Ireland, of the
Order of Minors, appeared before us (the commissary), and confessed that
he had abstracted from the goods of the aforesaid dead man, without com-
petent legal authority, two mantles and thirty-one yards of linen cloth,
and in gold i is. 4</., which goods he has still in his possession.'
A few days later Friar Richard Lorcan was ordered by the court to
restore these goods under penalty of the law 2.
It is, however, in the wills of men and women of every rank and
every status that we get most insight into the work of the friars as
visitors of the sick. Unfortunately we possess but few wills as early
as the thirteenth or first half of the fourteenth century, while for
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the popularity of the
friars had greatly declined, they are fairly numerous. Taking those
proved in the Chancellor's court between 1436 and 1538, we find
that one will in every eight, roughly speaking3, contains a bequest to
the Minorites. In the 'Old White Book' (Oxford City Records)4,
the proportion is about one to every four or five, and in the last half
of the fourteenth century, one-third of the wills of Oxford citizens
contain bequests to the Franciscans ; and these figures are borne out
by the Oxford wills scattered through the early Registers at Somerset
House5. The legacies come from all ranks; tradesmen and
1 Acta Cur. Cane. T , fol. 2503.
2 Ibid. 254 b.
3 Some of the wills are not complete,
e.g. those of Phil. Kemerdyn (1446),
T. Cartwright (1532), and E. Standish
(1533).
4 As the Hustings Court was only
concerned with freehold property in
Oxford, it is rarely that the whole will
is found in the Old White Book.
About thirty date from 1348-9, but I
do not think that any one of them is
entire. Two Oxford wills of this date
are among the ' Early Lincoln Wills '
(p. 39), those of Ric. Gary and Alice
his wife, but contain no bequests to the
friars. This is perhaps the Ric. Gary
who granted land to the Franciscans
in 1319; his son, who died 1352. was
old enough to make a will (Old White
Book, f. 54).
5 Cf. Mon. Franc. II, pp. xxvi-xxvii.
' An analysis of a considerable number
of wills . . . from the Registers of the
Norwich Consistory Court . . , shows
that at a time when the Grey Friars
102 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VII.
merchants being especially well represented. Nor were the benefac-
tors confined to Oxford and its neighbourhood : the Convent, like the
University, occupied a national position. But it will be best to give as
complete a list as possible of the bequests to the Grey Friars, and
leave readers to draw their own conclusions.
John of Si. John^, clerk, by an undated will, probably about 1230,
left half a mark to the Friars Minors of Oxford.
Martin de Sancla Cruce, Master of the Hospital of Sherburn, near
Durham, left los. to them in 1259, with bequests to Friar Richard of
Cornwall and others2.
Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury, left them fifteen
marks at his death in i27o3.
Nicholas de Weston, citizen of Oxford, left them los. in 1271*.
Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester, Chancellor of England, and
founder of Merton College, bequeathed twenty-five marks to them at
his death in 1277 6.
Thomas Waldere, of Wycombe, left them zs. in izgi6.
Amaury de Montforf, papal chaplain, Treasurer of York, &c. in
an elaborate will dated Feb. 2nd, 130^, ordered that 'the goods
and revenues of the aforesaid Treasury owed to him ' should be
divided into three parts; one-third was to be subdivided into six parts;
the sixth part was to be again subdivided into three parts, one of
which was to go to the Friars Preachers of Oxford, Leicester, and
elsewhere ; the second
were falling out of favour, every third ' sed probatnm est illius testamentum
will conveyed a gift to them.' The . . . per A. Archidiaconun Oxon ; ' prob.
wills proved in the court of the Arch- Adam of St. Edmundsbury,whoheldthe
deacon of Oxford (now under the care office of Archdeacon in 1223 and 1234.
of Mr. Rodman at Somerset House) a Durham Wills (Surtees Soc.), Vol.
begin in 1529. Between 1529 and 1538 I, p. 9.
I found twenty-nine wills, in which the 3 Wadding, IV, 240, quotes his will
town of Oxford, or some person or (dated 1264) from ' Historia Guice-
persons resident in Oxford, are referred nonii,' Tom. 2, fol. 59 and 60-7, i. e.
to ; of these, thirteen contain bequests Samuel Guichenon.
to friars, nine of them containing be- * Twyne, MS. XXIII, 105.
quests to the Grey Friars, either alone 8 See abstract in Bp. Hobhouse's Life
or (more usually) in conjunction with of W. of Merton, p. 45.
other Orders. In the same register, out ' Hist MSS. Commission, Report V,
of forty-three wills, taken at random p. 560. ' This Thomas Waldere,' says
from the years 1529-30, 1534-5, nve Mr. Riley, ' was probably the wealthiest
only contained bequests to friars, three man of his time in Wycombe.'
of them mentioning the Minorites. 7 Roman Transcripts at the Record
1 Twyne, MS. XXIII, 89. His exe- Office, ' Archivio Vaticano Armar. I,
cutors according to Twyne were the Capsula 9, Num. 9.' Le Neve, Fasti,
Chancellor and Dean (?) of Oxford; 111,159.
CH. VII.]
BENEFACTORS.
103
' fratribus Minoribus, Carmelitis, Oxonii, Leycestrie, parisius, et fratribus
ordinis S. Trinitatis ; '
the third, to pay any debts he might leave. As Amaury was dispos-
sessed of the Treasurership in Aug. 1265 (after holding it only for a
few months), and never recovered it, these bequests were merely a
pious wish.
John de Dodinglon bequeathed 2OJ. to each of the four Orders in
Oxford in I3351.
Nicholas Ac/on2, parson of the church of Wystantowe (Salop), and
owner of property in London, left the Oxford Franciscans 40^. in
1337-
William de Burchestre left them one marc in 13 40*.
John son of Waller Wrenche, of Milton, spicer, by a will dated
May 4th, and proved on May 5th, 1349, gave to the Friars Preachers
and Friars Minors of Oxford each ten quarters of corn4.
Edmund Hereford5, lord of several manors near Oxford, in his will
dated Jan. 8th, 135^ and proved in 1354, gave, among many other
pious bequests, 20^. at his death and los. on his anniversary to the
Minorites.
' Item volo quod xij trisennalia celebrentur pro anima mea, videlicet . . .
in quolibet ordine fratrum j trisennale.'
Henry Malmesbury, citizen of Oxford, left them 2OJ. in i36i6.
John de Bereford1, citizen and sometime Mayor of Oxford, be-
queathed 13^. 4</. to each of the Orders in 1361,
' ut habeant animam meam inter eorum missas recommendatam . . . Item,
cuilibet ordini fratrum predicatorum Minorum Carmelitarum et Augusti-
nensium Oxon', die sepulture mee 21. 6d., et in die commemorationis
anime mee in mensem 2s. 6d.t et die anniversarii mei 2j. 6J.'
Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex (who died 1361),
devised
' to the students of each house of the four orders of Mendicants in Oxford
and Cambridge ^10 to pray for us 8.'
1 Wood, MS. D. 2, p. 6 1 (Lincoln
Coll. Archives).
a Sharpe's Cal. of Wills proved in
the Court of Hustings, London, Vol. I.
3 Wood, MS. D. 2, p. 59 (Lincoln
Coll. Archives).
* Wood-Clark, II, 388 note. Wood,
MS. D. 2, p. 540.
5 Lambeth Registers ; Islip, fol. 105-
106; proved in the court of the Arch-
bishop in Oct., in that of the Bishop of
Lincoln in Nov. 1354.
6 Twyne, MS. XXIII, 68 ; he belonged
to the parish of St. Mary Magdalen.
7 Ibid. 758, 'ex munimentis Coll.
Merton, B 7. 13.' Twyne says he was
Mayor in 29 Edw. Ill ; but J. de St.
Frideswide was then Mayor, and J. de
Bereford a leading burgess. Twyne,
MSS. Vol. II, fol. 8.
8 Nichols, ' Royal and Noble Wills,'
pp. 46-7.
104 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VII.
Richard Bramptone, butcher of Oxford, in 1362, left ics. to be
divided equally among the four Orders of friars1.
Walter de Berney"1, a wealthy citizen of London, with apparently no
near relations, was a benefactor: his will, made in 1377, contains,
among many similar bequests, the following :
' Item fratribus minoribus Oxon' et Cantebrig' equaliter x li.'
Richard Carsewell, butcher of Oxford, in 1389 left the house in
which he lived, 'without the South Gate of Oxford toward Grantpounde,'
to his executors, with instructions to sell it
' and to distribute to the poor friars minors of the money received for the
said tenement, ten marks V
John Ode or Okele, of Oxford, ' skinner/ left in 1390, 2OJ. a year for
three years to Friar John Schankton, of the Order of Minors, to
celebrate masses for the soul of the testator and his friends, in the
Franciscan church at Oxford. To the convent of Friars Minors he
bequeathed fjs., to celebrate divine service for him on the day or the
morrow of his death4.
Sir John Golafre, of Langley and Fyfield, knight, by will dated
Jan. i9th, I398, left the Minorites £10, if he were buried in their
church :
' et si ita contingat quod corpus meum sepultum fuerit alibi, tune volo
quod predicti fratres minores non habeant nisi tantum x li V
Richard de Garqford, of Oxford, who was buried in the Dominican
cemetery, left the Friars Minors 6s. Sd. in I3956.
John de Waltham, Bishop of Salisbury, left them 6s. 8d. in the same
year ' to pray specially for his soul V
John Maldon, Provost of Oriel, left 3$. ^d. to each of the Mendicant
Orders at Oxford in i4Oi8.
John Bannebury, of Oxford, left 40*?. to the Grey Friars in
i40i9.
Matthew Coke, of Oxford, in the same year, bequeathed 30^. to be
1 Balliol Coll. Archives, B 1 7. 2. I, fol. 155, where a memorandum is
8 Norfolk Antiq. Miscell. Vol. I, p. added to the effect that he was not
400 (Early Wills from the Norfolk buried at Oxford.
Registry). Sharpe's Cal. of Wills, &c., 6 Twyne, MSS. Vol. XXIII, 427.
Vol. II, p. 205. ' P. C. C. Rous, fol. 32 (at Somerset
3 Oxf. City Records, Old White Book, House).
fol. 69 b. " Register Arundel, Ft. I, fol. 198.
4 Ibid. fol. 71. 9 A. Gibbons, 'Early Lincoln Wills,'
5 Lambeth Registers ; Arundel, Part p. 94 (from Lurghersh's Register).
CH. VII.]
BENEFACTORS.
105
divided among the Orders of friars, ' to celebrate for my soul,' and
added the hope :
' et ultra hoc spero in voluntate uxoris mee V
John Thomas, priest, left by will made at Oxford 1413, IO.T. to the
Friars Minors there,
' to say one dirige for me with their other usual suffrages V
Lady Alienora de Sancio Amando in 1426 left £8 to be divided
amongst the four Orders at Oxford ' to celebrate for her soul V
Robert James, Esq., lord of Borstall, left 6s. 8d. to each Order at
Oxford in 1431*.
Agnes, wife of Michael Norton*, in 1438 willed to be buried in the
Minorite church at Oxford, and gave instructions that her tenement in
St. Ebbe's should be sold and that
' from the money so acquired an anniversary should be held in the said
church of the friars Minors of Oxford for my soul and the soul of Thomas
Clamiter (?) my late husband, for the space of twenty years, the friars
receiving for each such anniversary 6s. 8d.
James Hedyan, LL.B., and Principal of Eagle Hall, in 1445 be-
queathed 8s. to the Franciscans, in whose church he was buried, and
2od. to Friar Giles (his Franciscan confessor?)8.
Reginald Mertherderwa, doctor of laws and rector of the parish of
St. Crida the Virgin in the diocese of Exeter, in 1447 left 6s. 8d. to
each of the four Mendicant Orders at Oxford ; and to the convent of
Friars Minors
' to provide one breakfast or dinner among them, that they may the more
devoutly pray for my soul, three shillings and four-pence V
William Skelton, clerk, rector of the parish of St. Vedast, London,
left the Minorites 3$. ^d. in the same year8.
Walter Morleyse, ' de alta Sebyndon/ Co. Wilts, left them 5^.
(MS')9-
Richard Browne, alias Cordon™, LL.D. and Archdeacon of
Rochester, Canon of York, Wells, etc., provides in his will dated 1452,
that if he dies in or near Oxford, every Order of friars there shall have
one noble (6s. 8d.)
1 Ibid. p. 96.
J Regist. Arundel, Pt. II, fol.
he was buried in the church of the
Friars Preachers, at Oxford.
3 Regist. Chichele, Pt. I, fol. 392 b.
4 Ibid. fol. 425 b.
5 Old White Book (Oxford), fol.
90.
* Mun. Acad. p. 543 (Acta Curiae
Cancell.).
7 Ibid. 557 : ' pro refectione unius jen-
taculi sive coenae inter eoshabenda,'&c.
8 Lambeth Registers; Stafford, fol. 162.
• P. C. C. Rous, fol. 1 29.
10 Regist. Kempe, fol. 263 3-265 b »
and Mun Acad. 639-657.
106 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VII.
' for the labour of masses and other suffrages to be said for the salvation of
his soul and the souls of all the faithful dead.' Further, ' I give and
bequeath to Friar David Carrewe, Minorite, Master in Theology, 6j. 8^.'
William Lord Lovell1 made arrangements before his death ' to be
buried at the Grayfreris of Oxenford; ' (will dated 18 March, 145^,
proved Sept. i, 1455). In the arrangements a bequest would no
doubt be included.
Master Philip Polton, Archdeacon of Gloucester (buried in All
Souls Chapel), left 4O«/. to each Order of friars of Oxford by will
dated i46i2.
John Dongan in 1464 desired to be buried ' in the cemetery of the
Friars Minors of the University of Oxford,' to whom he gives 40^ 3.
John Russel, of Holawnton, Wilts, made his will in 1469*.
' Also I give and bequeath to the iiij ordyrs off ffrerys w* in }>e Vniuersite,
of Oxford iiij nowbles to haue myne obyte holden ther and to pray for my
sowle and the sowlys of sir Robert Russell, Knyght ' (and other members
of the family).
William Dagvyle, gentleman, left 30^. to the five Orders of friars
at Oxford in I4746.
William Chestur, ' marchaunte of the staple of Caleys and Citezein
and Skynnere of London,' bequeathed in 1476*,
' to euery of )>e iiij ordres of ffreres in Oxenforde xxxiijj. iiijV.'
Robert Abdy, Master of Balliol College, left £4 to the four Orders
of friars at Oxford in 1483 7.
Alice Dobbis, ' wif of John Dobbis of ye town of Oxenford Alder-
man,' gave and bequeathed 6s. 8d. to the 'ffreris Minours' in
I4888.
James Blacwode, of Oxford, in 1490 left to the Minorites there
' Vs et unum Gublet de Argento pouncede 9-'
Master John Martoke, elected Fellow of Merton College in 1458,
left each Order of friars at Oxford 6s. Sd. (will executed 1500, proved
Margaret Goldsmith in 1503 left 13^. \d. to be divided among the
four Orders".
1 Early Lincoln Wills, p. 186. 7 Testamenta Eboracensia (Surtees
2 Acta Cur. Cancell. A a a, fol. Soc.), Pt. Ill, p. 284. The will was
I94b. proved at Oxford and York.
3 Ibid. fol. 213. " Old White Book, fol. 135.
4 Old White Book, fol. I25b. 9 Ibid. 136.
s Wood, MS. D. 2, p. 6 1 (Lincoln lo Acta Cur. Cancell. d, fol. 48 b.
Coll. Archives). Memorials of Merton Coll., 238.
6 P.C. C. Wattys, fol. 174. " Ibid. f. 61.
CH. VII.] BENEFACTORS. 107
Thomas Banke, Rector of Lincoln College, willed in 1 503
' that the friars of each of the Religions in the town of Oxford should
celebrate exequies for him, and that each house should receive of his
goods 6s. 8*/.1 '
John Pereson (buried at St. Mary Magdalen), left the four Orders
135-. 4</. in I5072.
In the same year, Thomas Clarke, the executor of the will of John
Falley, promised to pay Dr. Kynton, Minorite, 26s. 8d. in four instal-
ments3.
Edmund Crofton, M.A., who made bequests to Brasenose College
and the convents of St. Frideswide, Osney, and Rewley, left 26s. 8d.
to the four Orders (1508)*.
William Hazard, of Magdalen College, Proctor of the University in
r495> by a will dated ipth Aug. 1509 and proved 3151 Aug. of the
same year, bequeathed los. to each house of friars,
' praying each Order to celebrate one trental for his soul with the exequies
of the dead and a mass on the day of his death V
' Richard ffetiplace, of Estshifford" (Berks) Squyer,' made a will in
1510 containing the entry :
1 Item I bequeth to the iiij orders of freers in Oxford xxvjj. viijV., and
eueryche of theym to kepe a solempne dirige and masse praying for my
soule.'
'Dame Elizabeth Elmys of Henley upon Thamys' in 1510 left to
each of the four Orders in Oxford, if she died in that neighbourhood,
IO.T. for a trental, &c.
' And I will that thos said places of freeres to whom my legacies shall
come, Immediatly aftir shall syng in their places oon masse of Requiem w*
placebo, dirige, laudes, and commendacion V
4 Sebyll Danversl widow, of Waterstoke, in the diocese of Lincoln
and county of Oxford, in 1511 left the four Orders 13^. $d. to be
divided equally among them8.
Thomas Dauys, of St. Edwardstowe, Worcester diocese, in 1511
gave in his will
' to the iiij orders of freeres for iiij trentalles to be said in Oxford xb.9.,,
William Perot, of Lambourne, Salisbury diocese, in 1511 left to the
' Grey freres of Oxon xx^/.10 '
Ibid. f. 209. ford-on-Thames).
Ibid. •*, f. 26. 7 Ibid.
Acta Cur. Cancell. 1 , f. 28. 8 Ibid. qu. 2.
Ibid. f. 59. 9 Ibid. qu. 1-2 : he bequeaths sheep
Ibid. fol. 96. to various parish churches.
P. C. C. Fetiplace, quire I (Shif- 10 Ibid. qu. 7 : Lambourn, Berks.
108 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VI I.
Richard Harecourt, Esquire, of Abingdon, left 26s. 8d. to the four
Orders in Oxford in 1 5 1 2 l.
William Besylis, Esquire, in 1515 bequeathed 'to the grey ffryers in
Oxenfford \\s. viijW.'2
Robert Throkmorton, Knight, willed in 151 8s, that
' ther be said for my soule in as shorte a space as it may be doon after my
deceas twoo trentalles in the Graye ffrieris of Worceter, ij Trentalles in
the grey ffreris of Oxford, ij trentalles in the grey ffreris of Cambrygge,
ij trentalles in the blake ffreris of Oxford (and same of Cambridge), and
for euery of thes trentalles I will there be gy ven xj. apece.'
Sir Richard Elyot, 'Knyght, one of the Kinges Justices of his corn-
men benche,' willed in 1520, that the four Orders at Oxford and
elsewhere,
' haue at my burying or moneth mynde to kepe dirige and masse for me
iijj. iiij*/.' *
John Tynmouih, Franciscan friar, Bishop of Argos, Suffragan of
Sarum, and parson of Boston, left to the Grey Friars of Oxford £5 :
the will was made in 1523, and proved in 1524*.
In 1526 Richard Leke or Leek*, 'late bruer of Oxford,' bequeathed
4</. to each Grey friar of Oxford being a priest, and zd. to each ' being
noo prest ; ' 6s. 8d. to the friars ' to make a dyner in their owne
place;' 6s. 8d. to the Warden 'to prouide for the premisses ;' 205.
for altars; and an additional los. to be paid in three instalments,
namely, ' at my burying,' ' at my monethes mynde,' and ' at my yeres
mynde.'
Waller Cur son, of Waterperry7, 'gentilman,' bequeathed a legacy in
these terms :
' Also I woll and gyue to the iiij orders of ffreers in Oxforde for iiij Tren-
talles to be doen and had for my soule and my ffrendes soules xlj. eqally
to be dewyded that is to wit to euery one of them xj.' (executed 24 Nov.
1526, proved 2 May, 1527).
John Rogers (Exeter College) in 1527 also bequeathed each Order
IOJ.8
John Coles (1529), left the four Orders 13^. 4</. (his executors were
M.A.'s)9.
1 P. C. C. Holder, qu. 2. s P. C. C. Porch, qu. 9 : see Appendix
2 Ibid. qu. 6. B.
3 P. C. C. Maynwaryng, qu. 2. 7 Ibid. qu. 19.
4 Ibid. qu. 24. * Acta Cur. Cane. EEE, f. 283 a.
4 Wood, MS. B 13, p. 14. ° Ibid. fol. 300 b.
CH. VII.] BENEFACTORS. 109
John Seman, of Oxford, by will dated 1529, gave
' vnto euery one of the iiij orders of ffryours in Oxford, so that they be at
my buryall and monethes mynde, xj.1 '
Anthony Hall, of Swerford, a considerable landowner, desired in his
will dated 1529 and proved 1530, to
' haue a trentall of masses to be said for me, the one half at our lady ffryers
(i.e. Carmelites), and the other half at the gray ffryers V
John Byrton, of ' Abburbury,' also a farmer or landowner, left in 1530
to the four Orders at Oxford 45.*
Thomas Goodewyn, of Alkerton (Oxon), a large sheepfarmer, be-
queathed 2s. 8d. to the 'gray ffryers of Oxford,' in 1530*.
In 1532 William Clare, of Hollywell, Oxford, left 3^. \d. to each
Order of friars at Oxford5.
Jane Foxe,oi Burford, in 1535 bequeathed her lands and tenements
and ' ii c (200) shepe ' to her son, and $s. 8d. ' to the iiij order of
frears in Oxford8.'
Henry Standi'sk7, Friar Minor, and Bishop of St. Asaph, in 1535
bequeathed
' five marcs to buy books to be placed in the library of the scholars of the
friars Minors in the University of Oxford,'
ten marks to the church of the same friars, £40 for the exhibition of
scholars" in the University of Oxford, and £40 to build an aisle in the
church of the friars Minors at Oxford.
Thomas Sowche, of ' Spellusbury,' left to the ' fore orders of freers in
Oxford, euery one of them iiij</.9'
Richard Elemens or Elemeus, of ' Welleford ' (Berkshire ?), in 1 536
left ' vnto the Gray freers yn Oxford xj.10 '
John Claymond, S.T.B., President first of Magdalen College, then
of Corpus Christi College, left 2OJ. to each of the convents of friars at
Oxford in 1536,
*ut celebrent in ecclesiis suis pro anima ejus11.'
1 Oxf. Wills and Adminis. Series I, ' Ibid. fol. 103.
Vol. I, f. 2. 7 P. C. C. Hogen, qu. 26. See notice
3 Oxford Wills, Series I, Vol. I, fol. of him in Part II.
i8b. He had land in Steeple Aston, 8 Prob. not ' religious students.'
Hooknorton, &c. : among his bequests 9 Oxford Wills, ut supra, f. 119: no
are, ' Item to our lady of pyte a shepe. date is given ; the will seems to have
Item to seynt Antony a shepe.' been proved in the early part of 1536;
Ibid. f. 36 b. Sowche was an owner of pasture lands.
Ibid. fol. 58 b. »o Ibid> foj I27.
5 Ibid. fol. 68 b. One of his sons was « Wood, MS. D. 2, p. 613.
a canon of Osney.
1 10 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VII.
Elizabeth Johnson, of Oxford, widow, in 1537 left
' to the four ordres of fryers four nobles to singe dirige and masse at All-
hallowes churche at the buryall and moneth mynde.'
The will was proved on Jan. i2th, 153^, — after the suppression of the
friaries 1.
Many testators authorized their executors to make due provision of
trentalls and masses ' for the wealth of their souls,' without specifying
where they were to be celebrated : the friars no doubt came in for a
share of these. Thus Thomas Hoye, Vicar of Bampton, in 1531
gives the following instructions2 :
' It is my will that the forsaid goodes be preysid and put to vendicion and
the money therof cummyng to be ordered and distributed by myn
executors for trentallys of masses off Requiem eternam and masses of the
V woundes of our lord to be celebrate and said for the welthe of my soule
and all Christen sowles. Amen.'
On the other hand, the parish priests or rectors of churches were
legally entitled to one-fourth of the gifts, bequests, and fees given by
their parishioners to the friars3: but it is impossible to say whether
the right was generally enforced. In 1521 Leo X,
* owing to the importunate exaction of the funeral fourth by some rectors
of churches,'
exempted the friars from the payment4.
Among other sources of revenue may be enumerated the institution
of annual masses for fees (of which the wills often make mention),
commutations of penances for money5, payment by the University
and others for the use of their church, schools, and other buildings
on various occasions6, and collections in church7. At the beginning
of the sixteenth century we hear of a
' gild of St. Mary in the church of the Friars Minors V
which no doubt supported one or more friars to say mass in one of
1 Ibid. fol. 65. The overseer of the ' The Friars suffren men to lie in sinne,
will was Dr. J. London, Warden of New fro yere to yere, for an annual rent.'
College ; the witnesses Alderman Ba- 6 Cf. Grey Friars at Cambridge, in
nister and W. Plummer. Willisand Clark, Architect. Hist. II, 724.
2 Oxford Wills and Adminis. Series 7 Cf. Chancer's Sompnour's Tale.
I, Vol. I, fol. 87 b: cf. ibid. fol. 5, &c. Forbidden 1260 ; Archiv. f. L. u. K.
3 Wadding, Vol. V, 342-3 (privilege Gesch. VI, 92.
of Boniface VIII, 1295); Mon. Franc. 8 Acta Cur. Cancell. ">!, fol. 135 b:
II, Pref. p. xvii. ' . . . Confessus est coram nobis Ric.
* Wadding, Vol. XVI, p. 134. Barlow quod debet magistris Gilde
5 Restricted by Constitutions of 1260; Sancte Marie in ecclesia fratrum mi-
Archiv. f. L. u. K. Gesch. VI, 92. Cf. norum tresdecim nobilia que mutuo a
Wiclif, Two Short Tracts, &c., p. 37 : predictis magistris recepit,' &c.
CH. VII.] MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD, ETC. \ 1 1
the ten chapels. Of manual labour there is little evidence ; the only
kind mentioned is the transcription of manuscripts of which we have
already spoken.
We may here say a few words on two other points. Firstly, from
what classes of society were the Franciscans mainly drawn? In the
thirteenth century a very large number of men of position, of high
birth, were attracted to the Order ; but that this was unusual may be
gathered from the rejoicings which took place over converts who were
' vakntes in saeculo1.' There is every reason to suppose that the Grey
Friars, as well as the other students at the University, were mainly recruited
from the sons of tradesmen, artisans, and villeins2. Friar Brackley, D.D.
was the son of a Norwich dyer3; and the towns probably supplied the
greater proportion of the Oxford Franciscans4. Secondly, what led
men to take the vows of the Minorites ? Excluding again the thir-
teenth century (when the highest motives were predominant), and con-
fining ourselves to the later times, we must admit that, apart from
those who entered the Order as boys, either from choice or at the
instigation or compulsion of relatives5 — the leading motive was a
superstitious belief in the externals of religion, in the efficacy of ' the
washing of cups and pots.' How strong this feeling was may be seen
from the fact that Latimer was at one time in danger of yielding to it.
' I have thought,' he wrote to Sir Edward Baynton, ' that if I had been a
friar in a cowl, I could not have been damned, nor afraid of death ; and in
my sickness I have been tempted to become a friar V
1 Mon. Franc. I. 541. 'apostate' friars must have been very
2 Lyte 196, and note i. considerable to judge from the frequent
8 Mon. Franc. II, preface. edicts against them.
4 See their designations or surnames, • Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII,
of London, York, Nottingham, Hartle- Vol. V, p, 607. Wadding, V, p. 139,
pool, &c. Pope Martin IV was buried in a Fran-
5 See e.g. John Cardmaker in Part ciscan habit, A. D. 1285. Cf. Ibid. XIV,
II. The proselytising tendency has al- p. 58 ; Polit. Poems and Songs (R. S.),
ready been referred to. The number of II, 19, 32.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE DISSOLUTION.
Attitude of the Grey Friars towards the Reformation in its intellectual, religious,
and political aspects. — The Divorce. — Visitation of Oxford in 1535. —
Suppression of the friaries in 1538. — Condition of the Grey Friary. — Expulsion
of the friars ; their subsequent history ; Simon Ludford. — Houses and site
of the Grey Friars. — Dr. London tries to secure the land for the town. — The
place leased to Frewers and Pye ; bought by Richard Andrews and Howe ;
resold to Richard Gunter. — Subsequent history of the property. — Total
destruction of the buildings.
THE intellectual torpor which oppressed Oxford for more than
a century after the disappearance of Wiclif and his followers was
due less to the repressive measures adopted by Archbishop Arundel,
than to the want of vitality, of adaptability to new modes of thought,
in the scholastic philosophy and method, with which the intellectual
life of Oxford had for so long been identified. The University as
a whole did not extend a warm welcome to the New Learning,
and it was to be expected that the Mendicant Orders especially
should be attached to the old state of things, with which their past
greatness was connected, and to which their present position and
any prestige they still possessed were due 1. The Grey Friars con-
sequently were inclined to oppose the revival of learning ; and
Tyndale no doubt classed them among ' the old barking curs, Duns'
disciples and like draff called Scotists, the children of darkness,'
who 'raged in every pulpit against Greek, Latin, and Hebrew2.'
Dr. Henry Standish, sometime Warden of the Grey Friars of London
and Provincial Minister of England, attacked Erasmus' version of the
1 The Franciscans still maintained a 263 a, 264 a and b ; EEE, fol. 362, 363,
certain reputation as theologians : one 366 b : the custom was probably of
of them was appointed each year to ancient origin. Cf. also the notice of
preach the University sermon on Ash- John Kynton.
Wednesday; Acta Cur. Cane. T, fol. 2 LUe, Oxford, p. 435.
CH. VIII.] THE DISSOLUTION. 113
New Testament in a sermon at Paul's Cross and in conversation at
Court, and seems to have been the recognised leader of the ' Trojan '
party in England1. But even among the Minorites there are traces
of the influence of the Renaissance. Another Provincial Minister,
Richard Brynkley, was a student of Greek, and was supplied with
a copy of the Gospels in Greek from the Franciscan Library at
Oxford. Friar Nicholas de Burgo seems to have been one of that
band of Humanists whom Wolsey attracted to Oxford, that they
might propagate in his own University the learning and culture
of Italy2.
The close historical relation, notwithstanding the fundamental
differences, between the intellectual movement and the religious
movement, was neatly expressed in a saying current among the
friars : ' Erasmus laid the egg ; Luther hatched it 3.' The beginnings
of the English Reformation in its religious aspect are to be sought
among the educated classes, especially at Cambridge. The Minorites,
while generally hostile to the new religion4, did not take a leading
part in suppressing it. And when it is remembered how very little
progress the Lutheran doctrines made in England before the Disso-
lution, the few instances of sympathy with those doctrines recorded
in the lives of Oxford Franciscans acquire a certain importance".
These, however, were exceptional cases. If we trace the fortunes
of individual Franciscans after the Dissolution, it will be found that
no generalization as to their attitude towards the Reformation can be
made. A few remained loyal to the old religion 6, others embraced
the new 7, and on both sides persecution was suffered for conscience'
I Calendar of State Papers, Hen. Gregory Basset. Foxe (Acts and Monu-
VIII, Vol. Ill, Nos. 929, 965. Cf. ments, IV, 642, A° 1531) says that Dr.
Seebohm's Oxford Reformers, 326-7. Call, 'by the word of God, through the
II See notices of R. Brynkley and N. means of Bilney's doctrine and good
de Burgo. life, whereof he had good experience,
3 Erasmus, Opera, III, 840 : ' Ego was somewhat reclaimed to the gospel's
peperi ovum, Lutherus exclusit. Mirum side.' William Call, D.D. of Cam-
vero dictum Minoritarum istorum mag- bridge, was at this time Provincial
naque et bona pulte dignum. Ego Minister of the English Franciscans,
posui ovum gallinaceum, Lutherus ex- In this connexion attention may be
clusit pullum longe dissimillimum ' drawn to the lectures on St. Paul's
(quoted by Mullinger, Cambridge, I, epistles delivered by Minorites ; see J.
588, n. 2). Porrett and W. Walker.
4 Kynton, e. g., took part in the con- 6 See notices of E. Ryley, Gregory
demnation of Luther's doctrines and Basset.
books at the conference in London, 7 See Thomas Kirkham (?), R. Beste,
April 21, 1521. John Joseph, Guy Etton, J. Cardmaker,
* See notices of John Rycks and R. Newman.
114 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VIII.
sake l ; others again contrived to reconcile themselves with both old
and new according to circumstances 2.
With the Reformation as a political movement, the Franciscans
had more sympathy. A large section of them had, long before this,
taught the supremacy of the State over the Church in all things
political3; they approved in principle the confiscation of Church-
property for the common good4; and Friar Henry Standish, in
defending the claim of the temporal courts to try and punish
criminous clerks, together with the broad principles on which that
claim rested, was only applying to present circumstances the time-
honoured traditions of his Order6. It is true that the Friars of
the Observance resisted the royal supremacy in 1534. But the
supremacy claimed by Henry VIII went beyond anything asserted
by his predecessors, involving, as it did in effect, the establishment of
a lay jurisdiction superior to all ecclesiastical courts in spiritualibus
as well as in temporalibus, constituting Henry ' a king with a pope
in his belly ' 6. The Franciscans at Oxford seem, like most of the
religious, to have accepted the supremacy in this extended form
and to have taken the oath without demur: at least there is no
evidence to the contrary 7.
The oath administered to the monks and friars involved an acknow-
ledgment, not only of the royal supremacy, but of the lawfulness
of Henry's divorce from Katharine and marriage with Anne Boleyn,
and a promise to preach the same on every occasion 8. The attitude
of the Oxford Franciscans to the divorce, so far as it can be ascer-
tained, may be briefly stated here.
Henry attached great importance to securing a decision in favour
of his divorce from the chief universities of Europe. The divorce
became the all-absorbing topic at Oxford ; and individual Minorites
took a prominent part in the discussions. But the convent as a whole
did not present a united front. Dr. Thomas Kirkham, a Franciscan,
is mentioned as one of the Doctors of Divinity who opposed the
1 One only, J. Cardmaker, appears to s Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII,
have been burnt. VoL II, Nos. 1313, 1314: Brewer,
2 See E. Bricotte, J. Crayford, H. Henry VIII, I, 250-3. Cf. R. L.
Glaseyere. Poole's Wycliffe, 32-3.
8 Eulog. Hist. Ill, 337-8. See notice 6 Gasquet, Henry VIII and the
of J. Mardeslay. English Monasteries, I, 215.
4 Cf. Munimenta Academica, p. 208. 7 Dixon, Church of England, I, 213;
In this respect the Franciscans were but see Gasquet, I, 248, note,
at one with Marsiglio of Padua and 8 Dixon, ibid.
\Viclif.
CH. VIII.] THE DISSOLUTION. 115
divorce and were ready to write against it ]. Dr. Kynton seems to
have been on the same side at first 2 ; Archbishop Warham com-
plained of his having spread calumnious reports about himself in
connexion with the ' King's matter/ and demanded his punishment.
But it is doubtful whether in the end Kynton had the courage of his
opinions; he was one of the committee of three appointed by the
theological faculty to decide the question with the assistance of thirty
other members to be nominated by the smaller committee3. This
body subsequently issued, in the name of the University, the qualified
declaration in favour of the King, the tenour of which is well-known.
The most active champion of the King's cause was also a Minorite,
Dr. Nicholas de Burgo, a native of Italy, who enjoyed the patronage
of Cardinal Wolsey4. The unpopularity of the divorce, among those
who were guided by their sentiments rather than by their personal
interests, is shown by the treatment he received at Oxford. He was
pelted with stones in the street, and the good women of the town
would have 'foyled' him 'if their handys might have served their
harts'6. In retaliation the friar caused about thirty women to be
locked up in Bocardo for three days and nights6. As we shall
see later on, his services did not go unrewarded7. The position
of Friar Nicholas, however, was exceptional, and his action cannot be
regarded as representative of the feelings of the Oxford Convent.
The causes which led to the dissolution of the monasteries do
not concern us here. The friaries were not included in the Act
of 1536 for the abolition of the lesser monasteries; they possessed
as a rule no estates except the site on which they were built, and
the gains to be derived from their disendowment were perhaps
regarded as insufficient compensation for the odium which the
measure would necessarily involve. The first blow had already fallen
upon the Observant Friars, the fearless champions of the legality
of the Queen Katharine's marriage and of the Papal supremacy.
The conventuals were left alone till Henry decided on the general
suppression of the religious houses throughout England. The object
of the royal party was then to obtain what was called a ' voluntary '
surrender of their property from the members of each religious
1 Wood, Annals, anno 1530. 'Wood, Annals, sub anno 1530;
3 Lyte, Oxford, 475. Lyte, Oxford, 474.
3 Wood, Annals, anno 1530. • Wood, ibid.
4 Boase, Register, 1 28. Cal. of State 7 See notice of N. de Burgo in
Papers, Hen. VIII, Vol. IV, Nos. 1334, Part II.
6619 ; Vol. V, 623 ; cf. V, No. 593.
I 2
ll6 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. viil.
community ; and among those who had the courage to offer op-
position were many houses of Franciscans, 'with horn/ writes the
Bishop of Dover, ' in every place I have moche besynes ' \ But
among these we cannot reckon the convent at Oxford.
In 1535 Cromwell sent his agent, Layton, and others, to Oxford
to reform the University. After abolishing the study of the school-
men 2, the visitors proceeded to deal with the religious students s.
For the reform of the monasteries, they were armed with a set
of eighty-six articles of inquiry and twenty-five injunctions4, the
real though not avowed object of which was to make monastic
life unbearable and so to prepare the way for ' voluntary ' sur-
renders B.
* We have further,' writes Dr. Layton to Cromwell on the rath of Sep-
tember e, ' in visitynge the religiouse studenttes, emongyste all other
injunctions, adjoyned that none of them for no manner of cause shall cum
within any taverne, in, alhowse, or any other howse whatsoever hit be,
within the towne and the suburbs of the same, upon payne onse so taken
by day or by nyght, to be sent imediatly home to his cloister whereas he
was professede. Withoute doubte we here say this acte to be gretly
lamentede of all the duble honeste women of the towne, and specially of
ther laundres that now may not onse entre within the gaittes, and muche
lesse within ther chambers, wherunto they wer ryght well accustomede.
I doubt not but for this thyng onely the honeste matrones will sew unto
yowe for a redresse.'
It is probable, that, between this time and the summer and autumn
of 1538, when the general dissolution of the friaries took place, many
of the Oxford Franciscans had left their house 7. The Friary, it will
be seen, was wretchedly poor and in a ruinous condition ; ' and few
do geve any almys to them ' 8. The commission to visit the Oxford
1 Wright, Suppression, p. 212 (Cam- 7 Of the nine Minorites (namely J.
den Soc.V Tomsun, T. Tomsun, W. David, R.
2 'We have sett Dunce in Bocardo,' David, W. Browne, G. Etton, H. Glase-
&c. Wright, Suppression, p. 71 (quoted yere, J. Crayford, and H. Stretsham)
by Wood, Dixon, Lyte, Gasquet, &c.). who were admitted to opponency or to
3 Wright, ibid. B.D. between 1534, when the troubles
4 Gasquet, I, 255. The articles and began, and July 1538, only one appears
injunctions are printed in Wilkins, in the list of those desiring ' capacities '
Concilia, III, 786, seq. They were at the dissolution. Many brethren in
drawn up with reference to the monks, other convents, and perhaps in this, fled
not friars ; but no distinction seems to to the Continent. Gasquet, II, 245-6.
have been made between the various Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII, Vol.
classes of religious students at the Uni- VII, Nos. 939, 1020.
versifies. 8 Cromwell Corresp. 2nd Series, Vol.
5 Gasquet, I, 255-7. XXIII, f. 71 1 a (J. London to T. Crom-
6 Wright, Suppression, 71. well, Aug. 14).
CH. VIII.] THE DISSOLUTION. Ii;
friaries in 1538 consisted of Dr. John London, the mayor (Mr.
Banaster) and ' master aldermen ' (apparently Mr. Pye and Mr. Fryer).
On the 8th of July J, Dr. London writes to Cromwell that he and
his fellow-commissioners have been 'at all the places of the
fryers in Oxforde,' and wishing ' to know your lordeships pleasur '
on certain doubtful points, he proceeds to give an account of his
work.
' At Mr. Pyei's comyng home Mr. Maier and Mr. ffryer wer at London,
and forasmoch as we dowbtyd of ther spedy comyng home, and Mr. Pye
and I wer creadable informyd that it wasse time to be doing among the
friers 2, we went to euery place of them and tok such a vew 8 and stay
among them as the tyme wolde permytt.'
After visiting the Carmelites and Austin Friars, they came to the Grey
Friars.
' The Grey ffryers,' continues London *, ' hathe prayty Ilondes behynde
ther howse well woddyde, and the waters be thers also. They haue oon
fayre orchard and sondry praty gardens and lodginges. It ys a great hoge
bowce conteynyng moche ruinose bylding. They haue impledged and
solde most of ther plate and juellys forcyd by necessitie as they do saye,
and that remaynyth ys in the bill. Ther ornamentes of ther church be
olde and litill worthe. Ther other stuff of howsholde ys ybill worth x il.
They haue taken vppe the pypes of ther condytt lately and haue cast them
in sowys to the nombre Ixxij, wherof xij be sold for the costes in taking
vppe of the pypes, as the warden saith. The residew we haue putt in safe
garde. Butt we haue nott yet weyd them. And ther ys yet in the erthe
remaynyng moch of the condytt nott taken vppe. In ther groves the
wynde hathe blown down many great trees, wich do remayn upon the
ground. Thees freers do receyve yerly owt of thexchequer of the
Kinges almys 1 markes. Thys howse ys all coveryde w* slatte and no
ledde.'
Before August the i4th the doctor had sent up the plate of the
Oxford friaries to Cromwell's servant in London, Mr. Thacker, and
received from him ' a bill indentyd conteynyng the parcels of the sayd
plate w* the nombre of ownces.' 5 The following is the list of
Juelles and plate in the grey ffryers °.
Imp'mis a crosse of sylu' and gylt .... liiij vnc'.
A chales all gylt xiiij vnc'.
1 Cromwell Corresp. 2nd Series, Vol. among themselves. Ibid.
XXIII, f. 709 a (J. London to T. Crom- 3 Or ' vow ' ?
well, Aug. 14). * Ibid. f. 709 b. 5 Ibid. f. 711 a.
a The White Friars had already sold 6 Chapter House Cooks, A^, f. 29
an annuity and divided the proceeds (Rec. Off.).
ll8 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VIII.
A nother all gylt . . xv vnc'.
A nother pcell gylt xiij vnc'.
A nother chales pcell gylt xiiij vnc' et di.
A pyxe of sylu' gyldyd w* o\vt a cou' . . . . xv vnc'.
A sensar of sylu' waynge xxxij vnc'.
A payer of small cruettes gylted ij vnc' iij qrt'.
V masers olde w* bonds of sylu' weyng w* the trees l . Ixxxxij vnc'.
A black home w* sylu' bonde and fot weyng w* the
home ......... x vnc' et di.
iij dosyn sponys xxxiij vnc'.
A knappe a of the cou' of a maser . . . . ij vnc'.
The treatment of the friars themselves was a more complicated
problem. All of them seem to have been willing to become secular
priests, and London urged
' that with spede we may haue ther capacyties, ffor the longer they tary
the more they will wast V
On the 1 4th of August4 he complains that
' as yet we haue nott the capacities and therfor be at the chardge in
fyndyng them mete and drink.'
On the 3ist of August, again, he writes to Cromwell from Oxford 5 :
* I have causyd all our fower ordre of fryers to change ther cotes, and have
despacchide them as well as I can till they may receyve ther capacities,
for the wiche I have now agen sent uppe thys berar doctor Baskerfelde 6,
to whom I do humblie besek your lordeschippe to stonde gudde lorde. He
ys an honest man, and causyd all hys howse to surrendre the same and to
chaunge ther papistical garmentes. I wrote to your lordeschippe specially
for hym to have in hys capacytie an expresse licens to dwell in Oxford,
altho he wer benefycyd ; and your lordeschipp then wrote that yt wasse
your pleasur he and all other shulde have ther capacities according to ther
desyer, and for that thys man is now an humble sutar unto your lorde-
schippe. He hath be a visitar of dyvers places wiche they do call custodies,
and knowith many thinges as well in London as otherwise, wiche he hath
promised me to declare unto your lordeschippe, if it be your pleasur he
schall so do.'
The list of Oxford Grey Friars who 'wold haue ther capacytis'
which was sent to Cromwell 7, contains eighteen names, thirteen of
them being priests, one subdeacon, and four not in holy orders. The
1 Mazer, a large drinking bowl (Skeat); * Ibid. fol. 711 a.
'trees' seems to mean merely wood. s Wright, Suppression, p. 217.
a ' Knob.' 6 Warden of the Grey Friars.
3 Cromwell Corresp. ut supra, fol. 7 Chapter House Books, AT*r, fol.
710 b. 31 b.
CH. VIII.] THE DISSOLUTION. 119
names are: Edward Baskerfelde, Warden, S.T.P. l ; Friars Brian
Sanden, Richard Roper, B.D., Rodulph Kyrswell, Robert Newman,
William Brown, John Covire (or Conire or Comre), James Cantwell,
Thomas Cappes, John Stafforde Schyer (?), William Bowghnell, James
Smyzth, Thomas Wythman, priests ; Friar John Olliff, subdeacon ;
and Friars Symon Ludforth, Thomas Barly, William Cok, and John
Cok, non infra sacros.
It is not often possible to trace the subsequent career of the friars
when they had been turned adrift on the world. The monks as a
rule received pensions, and the entries respecting the payment of these
in the Ministers' Accounts and other records, afford some clue to their
fate. The Mendicants except in a few isolated cases received no
pensions. Dr. London in his letter of the 8th of July 2 asked Cromwell
' what reward euery freer shall have . ... 3 at ther departinge,'
but the question no doubt refers merely to the gift of a few shillings,
which was usuaHy made to each friar on his dismissal. No instance
occurs in the records of a pension having been paid to any of the
Grey Friars who were at Oxford at the time of the suppression4. It
is probable that Baskerfeld, who was an important person in the
University, received a benefice with license to live in Oxford. Robert
Newman seems also to have been presented to a living5. But
the career of only one of these eighteen friars can be traced with
any certainty. Simon Ludford, a native of Bedford, became an
apothecary in London. On November 6, 1553, he supplicated for
the degree of M.B. at Oxford after six years' study in the medical
faculty. On November 27, he obtained the degree and was admitted
to practise. The College of Physicians remonstrated with the Uni-
versity and recommended that the degree should be revoked on the
ground of Ludford's ignorance. Though the University refused to
withdraw its license, the ex-friar proceeded to Cambridge, but the
Physicians hastened to warn the authorities there against him. They
had, they wrote to the University, already examined Ludford ' on the
1 7th day before the Calends of March, i553'(?)> and> finding him
completely ignorant of medicine, philosophy, and the liberal sciences,
and distinguished only by ' blind audacity,' unanimously voted against
his admission. Ludford left Cambridge, but persevered. In May 1 560,
1 The request that he may live in 4 W. Vavasour is I think the only
Oxford, &c., is here inserted in Latin. Franciscan who studied at Oxford
4 Cromwell Corresp. ut supra, f. whose pension is recorded. Cf. Gasquet,
71° b. II, 453-5.
3 Several words illegible in MS. 5 See Part II.
120 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VIII.
he supplicated for the degree of M.D. at Oxford, stating that he had
long practised in London by permission of the London College of
Physicians. In July he incepted as M.D. of Oxford. In April 1563
he was made fellow of the College of Physicians, and he was censor
of the same College in 1564, 1569, and I572.1
We turn now to the Minorites who had studied at Oxford, but who
were living in other convents at the time of the dissolution. Of these
a considerable number obtained benefices2, a few even rising to
positions of some importance in the Church 3. But what proportion
these successful cases bore to the unsuccessful cannot be even
approximately ascertained; it would naturally be higher among
friars who had received a university education than among the
common herd. Yet it is unlikely that a majority even of the former
were presented to livings. The number of disbanded monks and
friars seeking employment as priests must have been very large, and
at the same time the demand for priests was growing less and less.4
Some of the friars probably drifted into secular employments ; others
perhaps joined the ranks of the ' sturdy beggars ' of whom so much is
heard in the sixteenth century. It can hardly be doubted but that the
lot of many was one of hardship and suffering.
In the eyes of Cromwell and his royal master the only question of
real importance was the most advantageous disposal of the property.
The buildings of the Grey Friars were of little account, and the con-
vent was among those
' bowses of freres that have no substance of lead, save only some of them
haue smale gutters V
The site, however, was of considerable value, Dr. London was
anxious that it should be secured for the city ; and his letter 6 gives a
curious picture of the state of Oxford at the time of the dissolution.
' It ys rumoryd her that dyuers of the garde do intende to begge thees
howsys of the Kinges hyghnes, and that with other consideracions
moveth me now to be an humble petitioner vnto your lordeschippe for
my neybours. We haue in Oxforde two of the Kinges grace's seruantes
1 Boase, Register, p. 222 ; Munk,Roll * Private masses though declared to
of the Royal College of Physicians, 2nd be meet and necessary and agreeable to
ed., Vol. I, p. 64. Oxf. Univ. Arch. Reg. God's law, in the Six Articles, were no
1,8, fol. 138 b, 139, 1395, 190, igob, I92b. doubt falling into disfavour.
2 Some dozen instances will be found 5 Chapter House Books AT3T, 9-10.
in Part II ; a few are rather doubtful. 6 Cromwell Corresp. 2nd series, Vol.
8 See J. Cardmaker, J. Crayford, Guy XXIII, f. 710 a-b.
Etton.
CH. VIII.] THE DISSOLUTION. 121
Mr. Banastcr and Mr. Pye, two as burgerly and as honest men as lyveth
in any town and hathe no thing to lyve vpon, nother farmes abrode nor
fees saving oonly ther wages of the Kinges grace iiijV. a daye. Mr.
Banaster ys now mayer, and Mr. Pye hath be mayer, to hys great
chardge.'
The writer then urges that Mr. Banaster should have the site (' cyte ')
and profits of the White Friars, Mr. Pye those of the fair of the
Austin Friars.
rMr. Pye specially hath be diligent to bring vnto the Kinges grace's
hondes thees howses, and therefor I besek your gudd lordeschipp to be
gudd lord vnto hym. And syns Mr. Mayer com home he ys as diligent
as maye be and so is Mr. ffryer.'
London goes on to plead for his ' neybours of Oxford,'
'seying so gudd an occasion ys come wherin your lordeschipp may do
vnto them the hyest benefytt that euer dydd honorable man. The
greatest occasion of the povertie of thys town ys the payment of ther
fee-farme. ffor thys ys customablie seen, that such as befor they haue
be bayliffes hath be prety occupyers, if in ther yere corn be nott at a
hie price, then they be nott able to pay ther fee-farme. And for the
worschipp of ther town they must that yere kepe the better howsys,
fest ther neybours and wer better apparell, wich maketh them so pore
that few of them can recouer agen. If by your gudde lordeschips
mediation the town my^t haue the grey and black fryers growndes after
the Kinges grace hath be answerd for the wodd and buyldinges with
other thynges upon the same, and lykewyse the cytes of the Whyte and
austen fryers after the decese of Mr. Banester and Mr. Pye ; It wolde
mervelosly helpe the town, and geve them great occasion to fall to
clothynge, ffor vpon the grey and black fryers water be certen con-
venyent and commodiose places to sett fulling mylles vpon, and so
people myjt be sett awork. Now the baylys forcyd by necessitie
taketh such tolls of such as passith by the town with catell or any
maner of cariage as makith men lothe to com herbye : and Oxford ys
no great thorowfare whereby moche resort schuld helpe them. Thys
benefytt shuld lytill hynder the kinges maiestie and mervelosly helpe
thys pouer town ; and your lordeschipp schuld do a blessyd dede to helpe
so many pouer men wich by ther fee-farme be notably poverischyd. And
yet the Kinges grace schuld save a C markes yerly in hys cofers by reason
of the grey and black fryers wich hath euery of them C (sic) markes by
yere.'
The plan here sketched out, creditable as it is to its author, was
not carried into effect. On August loth, 1540, William Frewers and
John Pye of Oxford, obtained a lease of the house and site of the
Grey Friars, together with the grove containing by esiimation five
acres, for twenty-one years, at a rent of 2OJ. a year — half the amount
123 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. VIII.
of the rent which the same persons paid for the Black Friars l. Much
of the Grey Friars' property was expressly excepted from this lease ;
namely, the close called ' le Churcheyarde ' now held by Richard
Gunter of Oxford at an annual rent of y. 4^., the orchard or garden
called ' Paradise,' and the garden called ' Boteham,' now held by
William Thomas at an annual rent of 6s. 8d. Further all large trees
and shrubs were reserved to the King, together with all those buildings
within the precincts of the two friaries ' which the King had com-
manded to be levelled or taken away.'
In 1544 the tenants seem to have opened negotiations for the
purchase of the property. In the official 'particulars' sent up to the
royal commissioners we read :
' These houses of ffryers ar wythin the towne of Oxford and as I haue
lernyd they ar not nyghe eny of the Kinges houses neyther hys graces
parkes fforestes and chase by seven myles. And what ffyne wylbe gyuen
ffor the same I know not neyther can lerne. And they ar the ffermers
them selues y* desyreth to by the premysses 2.
The price which the tenants offered was probably unsatisfactory ;
the impecunious Pye with his wages of ^d. a day can hardly have had
a chance against wealthier speculators in monastic lands. In 1544 a
successful bid was made by Richard Andrewes of Hales, Esquire
(Glouc.), one of the largest of these speculators 3, who as usual was
acting in partnership with another, in this case John Howe. On
July 1 4th, 1544, the King granted to these two, in consideration of
£ 1094 3-r. zd. paid by Richard Andrewes, various monastic lands in the
counties of Derby, Middlesex, Oxford, &c., including the sites of the
Black and Grey Friars in Oxford 4.
' We give also and for the aforesaid consideration by these presents con-
cede to the said Richard Andrewes and John Howe, the whole site of
the house late of the friars Minors, commonly called " les Grey ffreers "
within the town of Oxford now dissolved. And also our whole grove
of land and wood with its appurtenances containing by estimation five
acres of land, now or late in the tenure or occupation of William ffrewers
and John Pye or their assigns ; and our whole close of land called ' le
Churcheyarde ' with its appurtenances, now or late in the tenure or
1 Augmentation Office Miscell. Books, that he and Howe were at that time in
Enrolment of Leases, Vol. CCXII, fol. any sense the ' farmers ' of the property.
195 (Record Office). 3 Cf. Dixon, Church of England, II,
2 Particulars for Grants, Augm. Office, 213.
35 Hen. VIII, sec. 4 (Record Office). * Tat. Roll, 36 Hen. VIII, Fait 3, m.
It is among the deeds relating to Richard 37 ; Originalia Rolls, 36 Hen. VIII, Pt.
Andrews, but there is nothing to show 4; V, m. 12.
CH. VIII.] THE DISSOLUTION. 123
occupation of James Gunter or his assigns; and our whole garden
or orchard called " Paradyse," and our whole garden called Bateham or
Boteham, now or late in the tenure or occupation of William Thomas
or his assigns, with all and each of their appurtenances situated within
the town of Oxford, lately belonging to the priory or house of the friars
Minors . . . . ; and all our houses, buildings, stables, granaries, curtilages,
gardens (ortos), orchards, gardens (gardina\ waters, ponds, vineyards, land
and soil whatsoever with their appurtenances lying within the said
boundary of the house of the friars Minors .... Which site of the late
house of friars Minors and all the aforesaid houses, buildings, gardens,
orchards, &c., belonging thereto, now amount (extenduntur) to the clear
annual value of 30 j. ... We except however always and totally reserve
out of the present concession, all the bells and the whole of the lead and
glass on the said houses of the friars Minors and Preachers, except the
lead and glass in the gutters and windows of the houses or mansions of the
same friars : and also in like manner all the buildings and structures of the
late churches, cloisters, refectories, dormitories, and chapterhouses of the
said friars.'
All the property granted was to be held by Richard Andrewes
and John Howe and the heirs and assigns of Richard Andrewes, in
chief, ' for the service of the twentieth part of one knight's fee.' An
annual rent was to be paid to the King from each parcel of property,
the rent of the site of the Friars Minors being 3^., that of the Friars
Preachers 4-$-.
The purchase was purely a matter of speculation, and the next
month (August 26th, 1544), Andrewes and Howe obtained from the
King, for a fine of gs., license to alienate the site of the Grey Friars,
with the grove, churchyard, Paradise, and Boteham, and the buildings,
except those already reserved for the King, to Richard Gunter, alder-
man of Oxford, and Joanna his wife, and the heirs and assigns of
Richard Gunter, to be held by them ' for the services due thence to us,
our heirs, and successors V It does not appear whether the leases of
Frewers, Pye, and Thomas, were cancelled or allowed to run their
course.
The subsequent history of the property is obscure, and probably
would not repay an exhaustive investigation. Wood states that the land
' being shifted through severall hands doth now acknowledg also severall
owners V
Part of it was ' now inhabited by tanners V The island or grove on
the south of Trill Mill stream belonged
Originalia, 36 Hen. VIII, Ft. 4, a Wood-Clark, II, 411.
m. xl. * Ibid. I, 310, note.
124
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
'to Sir William Moorton, Kt., Judge of the King's Bench, in right of
his wife Anne, daughter and heir of John Smyth of Oxford, Gent V
Writing about a century later, Peshall states that the site
now forms the messuage or Tenement and large Yard of Charles Collins,
Gent; the Garden, Orchard, and Tenement of Swithin Adee, M.D., late
Sir James Cotter's, Bart., and the large Garden and Orchard called
Paradise Garden. The Island in their possession ... is occupied by
Mr. Shirley, which serves partly for a Tan Yard and Buildings necessary
thereto V
In a short time little was left of the buildings — so complete was the
work of destruction. ' The trees were soon cut down, all the greens
trod under foot, the church thrown down, and the stones, with the
images and monuments of the greatest value, scattered about V
The name only survived; Agas in his map (1578) puts the Graie
Friers where the house of the Black Friars stood. ' The ruins of this
college are gone to mine,' wrote Wood, ' and almost lodged in ob-
scurity * : ' and the ' scanty fragments ' (rudera paucula) which were
visible to Hearne and Parkinson as they walked towards the Water-
gate 5 have long since vanished. Even the use to which the materials
were put is unknown. Some of the stones form no doubt the foun-
dation-work of many houses in St. Ebbe's : but while something
definite is known about the materials of the Houses of the other
Mendicant Orders, the records are silent respecting the greatest of the
friaries 6.
1 Wood - Clark, II, 361, 396,
note.
a. Wood-Peshall, Ancient and Present
State, p. 270.
3 Dugdale, Vol. VI, Part 3, p. 1529 :
Wood-Clark, II, 389.
* Wood-Clark, 11,411.
5 Heame's Pref. to Otterbourne ;
Parkinson was the author of Collectanea
Anglo- Minoritica.
* None of the printed books, so far
as I know, contain any notice of the
uses to which the materials of the
Franciscan convent were put. Among
MS. sources, I have examined the
church-wardens' accounts of Carfax (to
which the Rector kindly gave me the
fullest access). Wood MSS. C. i, 'ex
archivis S. Petri de Bailly;' and D. 2
(notes from parish archives). The early
records of St. Ebbe's and St. Giles' are
no longer to be found.
PART II.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
CHAPTER I.
CUSTODIANS AND WARDENS.
i. W. of Esseby, Warden and Gustos, c. 1225. — 2. E. de Merc., Warden, 1237. —
3. P. of Tewkesbury, Gustos, 1236-1248. — 4. J. of Stamford, Gustos, 1253. —
5. Martin, Warden, c. 1250. — 6. Adam of Warminster, Warden, 1269. — 7. J.
Codyngton, Warden, 1300. — 8. J. of Okehampton, Warden, 1340. — 9. R.
Clyff, Gustos, 1465.— 10. R. Salford, Warden, 1488. — u. W. Vavasour,
Warden, c. 1500. — 12. R. Burton, Warden (and Gustos), 1508. — 13. W.
Goodfield, Warden, before 1513. — 14. J. Harvey, Warden, 1513. — 15. E.
Baskerfield, Warden (and Gustos), 1534.
UNLIKE the Abbots and Priors of the religiosi possessionati, the heads
of the Mendicant Houses required no royal assent to their appoint-
ment. Their names consequently do not occur in the royal records,
and to this fact is due the incompleteness of the following list of the
custodians and wardens of the Grey Friars at Oxford. It is a note-
worthy if not surprising fact, that not a single original work by any of
these men can now be found.
William of Esseby (perhaps Ashby in Norfolk)1, the first warden,
was one of the four clerks who came to England with Agnellus in
1224 ; he was then a young man and a novice, having recently joined
the Order in France2, and only assumed the habit of a professus
when he became warden at Oxford 3. He was among the first three
Minorites authorized to preach in England \
When the English Province was divided into custodies (c. 1226?),
he was made custodian of Oxford 5. Afterwards he was sent to found
1 Jessop, Coming of the Friars, p. 36. 3 Ibid. p. 10. * Ibid. p. 21.
" Mon. Franc. I, p. 6. 5 Ibid. p. 27.
126 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. I.
the convent at Cambridge, and Eccleston draws a strange picture of
him solemnly chanting the service, with one other friar and a crippled
novice, in the wooden shed which served for a chapel1. Later William
is heard of at Northampton2. About 1238, he was sent by Friar
Wygmund, the German visilator of England, to visit Ireland ; his
mission here proved as abortive as that of the German in England ; on
his return he went to Cologne to join Wygmund 3. He had ceased to
be warden or custodian of Oxford before 1237 4. He was alive when
William of Nottingham became Provincial Minister, and died ' after
many years ' at London 5.
Eccleston gives him a high character. He was specially dis-
tinguished for his obedience.
'When Friar Gregory, the Provincial Minister of France, asked him
whether he would like to go to his native land, he said, he did not know
what he would like, because his will was not his own, but the Minister's •
so, whatever the Minister would, he would V
By his tact he did much towards winning for his Order the affection
of the world, and he was instrumental in leading many fit persons of
various ranks and ages ' to the way of salvation V
Cambridge Univ. Library, MS. li I. 24, p. 332. seq. (sec. xiv) contains
a sermon by the ' Prior de Essebi de artificioso modo predicandi* and
other sermons perhaps by the same author. Tanner and others
suggest that this Essebi may be the Franciscan : but ' Prior ' was
a title unknown in the Franciscan Order. The author was pro-
bably a Prior of Canons Ashby.
Eustace de Merc was a member of the Oxford convent in the
lifetime of Agnellus, and had license to hear confessions; he was
warden at the time of the visitatorial chapter held by Friar Wygred or
Wygmund in 1237-8. On this occasion many accusations were
brought against him, in consequence of which he was for a day and a
half excluded from the chapter ; the charges are not specified and do
not seem to have been proved. After fulfilling the duties of warden
1 Mon. Franc. I, p. 18. 41): 'Hie (W. de Esseby) aliqnando
2 Ibid. temptatus a carne amputavit sibi geni-
3 Ibid. p. 30. talia zelo pudicicie ; quo facto papara
4 When Eustace de Merc was warden, peciit et ab eo graviter correptus cele-
and Peter custodian. brand! divina meruit dispensacionem.
5 Ibid. p. 6. Phillipps, MS. 3119, Hie eciam Willelmus post multos annos
fol. 71, contains the following note in quievit London.'
an old hand (cf. Bale, Scriptores, II, 6 Mon. Franc. I, p. 6. 7 Ibid.
CH. I.] CUSTODIANS AND WARDENS. 127
for a long time, he became custodian of York. The date of his death
is unknown.
While he always showed to others 'the sweetness of an angelic
affection,' he subjected himself until the end of his life to the severest
discipline ; even in his earlier years, his fasts and vigils and self-
inflicted stripes endangered his health, and called forth the re-
monstrances of his superiors *.
Peter of Tewkesbury. It is uncertain whether 'Friar Peter,
custodian of Oxford ' is to be identified with Peter of Tewkesbury ;
but a comparison of the dates, so far as they can be ascertained,
brings out nothing inconsistent with this supposition, and we shall
put the facts about both of them together. Peter of Tewkesbury was
warden of London about 1234; about this time he went to Rome
with Agnellus and some Friars Preachers on behalf of the English
prelates 2. Agnellus confessed to him on his death-bed and constituted
him his vicar 3. When Albert of Pisa was Provincial, Friar Peter was
custodian of Oxford; he held the office for twelve years (1236-48 ?)4.
During the generalship of Haymo, ' Friar Peter, custodian of Oxford '
was one of the three friars chosen for the English province to note
doubtful points in the Rule6. In 1245 he again appears as custodian;
Adam mentions having written a detailed account to him about the
proceedings at or before the Council of Lyons 6. Peter of Tewkesbury
was at the general chapter of the friars at Genoa in 1244, and
remained afterwards to obtain and take back two Papal bulls about
the Friars Preachers and Minors, evidently the revocation1 of the bull
providing that no Minorite should receive the obligati of the Preachers
into his Order 7. When John of Stamford fell ill on his return from
Lyons, Peter of Tewkesbury was sent to Mantes to come back with
Adam Marsh, at Grostete's request8. In 1250 he was minister of
Cologne 9. It was probably in the next year that he was elected fifth
Provincial of England after the death of William of Nottingham 10 : he
was succeeded by John of Stamford about 1256 or 1257 u. He was
1 Mon. Franc. I, 31, 43, 58, 61 : see ' Mon. Franc. 63, 308, 313 : Gros-
Part I, Chapter I. tete was at the Roman court at this
2 Mon. Franc. I, 52. time. Cologne was constituted a separate
3 Ibid. 53, 54. province in 1239. Anal. Franc. I,
4 Ibid. 28. 290.
5 Ibid. 48-9. 10 Ibid. 71. For date, see W. of
• Ibid. 378. Nottingham.
7 Ibid. 377, 56. ll Ibid. : letter LXVIII.
8 Grostete, Epist. 334.
128 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. I.
an intimate friend of Robert Grostete, ' from whom he often heard
many secrets of wisdom/ Eccleston says of him :
' Friar Peter of Tewkesbury, minister of Germany, with God's grace
defended the state of the Order against the King, legate, and many false
brethren, to such an extent that the fame of the fact spread to many
provinces, and his zeal of truth was invincibly proved V
He was buried at Bedford s.
John of Stamford, custodian of Oxford 4, was a man of great
importance among the friars. He was at the council of Lyons in
1245 as socius of Adam Marsh5. The Pope had some thoughts of
sending him with others on an embassy to the Chorasmeni, Tartars,
and Saracens, who had attacked the Holy Land, but the plan was not
carried out6. On his return, he was taken ill at Beaune, and was
tended by Adam Marsh 7. John of Stamford was one of the three
friars to whom the general entrusted the confirmation of the election
of William of Nottingham's successor in the office of Provincial
Minister (1251) 8. Some time after 1245 he became custodian of
Oxford ; he held the office in 1253 when Thomas of York incepted9.
He joined about this time with Adam Marsh and Thomas of York in
a petition to the Provincial, begging for mercy for Hugh Cote,
probably a lay brother, who had stolen three horses of great value, and
then repented10. He succeeded Peter of Tewkesbury as provincial
minister about 1256 u. His friendship with Adam Marsh lasted to the
end of the latter's life 12 : feeling that his last days were approaching,
Adam begged Bonaventura, then General, to send to him John of
Stamford, the English Provincial, who was at this time (1257),
apparently abroad ls. As Provincial he procured an endowment (20.?.
per annum) for St. Owen's Church in London, the parish in which the
Minorites then had their house14. He is said to have died in 1264,
1 Mon. Franc. 64. vestros ; in quorum, si placet, sanctis re-
* Ibid. 63-4. cordationibus me et fratrem J. reno-
3 Ibid. 537, 559. vare velitis in Domino.' Mon. Franc.
* Ibid. 389. I, 378.
5 This is proved by Grostete's Letters, 6 Mon. Franc. I. 376-378.
No. cxiv. From a passage in a letter 7 Grostete, Epist. p. 334.
of Adam Marsh written at Lyons to the 8 Mon. Franc. I, 71.
English Provincial, it would seem that ' Ibid. 338, 387.
Adam was at first accompanied by 10 Ibid. 340.
another 'Friar J.' and afterwards joined ll Ibid. 537, 559, 305.
by J. de Stamford : ' Rogo salutari ob- M See Adam's letters to him in Mon.
sequio meo carissimos patres, fratres Franc. I, p. 387, seq.
Ric. de Wauz, J. de Stanford, reli- 13 Ibid. 305, 306.
quosque fratres socios sc. et filios " Ibid. 512.
CH. I.] CUSTODIANS AND WARDENS. 129
but there is no good authority for the statement '. He was buried at
Lynn, with which place he seems to have had some previous
connexion : Brewer calls him warden of Lynn 2.
Martin is mentioned in two letters from Adam Marsh to ' W.,
Minister of England ' as warden of Oxford ; but the superscription is
untrustworthy and the date of the letters uncertain3. This Martin
may have been identical with the ' Frater Martinus senex ' (mentioned
by Eccleston), who established the convent at Shrewsbury, and
delighted in the recollection of the hardships and poverty which he
had then experienced4. A Martin de Barton, who was also known to
Eccleston, and had often seen St. Francis, came to England in the early
years of the Order, and was afterwards vicar of the English Provincial
and filled many other offices 5. When custodian of York, Martin de
Barton enforced the strictest poverty, only allowing so many friars to
live in any place, as could be supported by mendicancy alone without
incurring debts 6.
Adam of Warminster was warden in 1269; he took part in
a controversy with the Dominicans at Oxford in that year, defending
his Order against the charge of being ' receivers of money V
John de Codyngton was warden in 1300, when he received
license from the Bishop to hear confessions in the Archdeaconry of
Oxford8.
John de Okehampton was warden in 1340 ; all that is known of
him will be found in the Appendix B.
Richard Clyff was custodian in 1465 and 1466. In the latter
year he sued John Broghton, sheriff of Kent for a royal debt. He
was sometime vice-warden of London and was buried in the church
of the Minorites there '.
1 Dugdale Monast. VI, Pt. 3, p. 1522. date. He is probably the warden re-
Wadding says he became Archbishop of ferred to in Letter CC.
Dublin in 1284 (V, 134): this was J. * Mon. Franc. I, 8. 5 Ibid. 25.
of Sanford; Rymer, I, 655. • Ibid. 27. In Phillipps MS. fol. 74.
1 Mon. Franc. I, 537 ; 42-43 ; 305, is the note, ' Iste frater Martinus (de
note. Barton) obiit Northamton.'
8 Letters CLXXVI and CCIII. Letter 7 Appendix C.
CLXXV was no doubt written to W. of 8 Wood-Clark, II, 387.
Nottingham (P. of Tewkesbury being • Exchequer of Pleas ; Plea Roll, 6
mentioned in it), but it is unsafe to Edw. IV, m. 20 (cf. chapter VII) ; MS.
ascribe the following letter to the same Cotton Vitell. F xii, f. 289 b.
K
130 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. I.
Bichard Salford was warden in 1488 and 1489; he recovered
debts from Sir John Paston, sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sir
Edmund Bedyngfeld, sheriff of the same counties ; the records of these
suits contain the only notices of him now remaining \
William Vavasor was studying at Oxford and transcribing
philosophical treatises in 1490 and 1491 2. He incepted as D.D. in
1500, and was warden of the convent about the same time3. In
Thomas Cromwell's list of learned persons not living in Oxford
(A.D. 1531) is the name of 'Dr. Vavysor, Grey Friar at....'*. At
the dissolution he was warden of the Grey Friars at York 5, and was
one of the few Mendicants who received a pension ; the amount was
£5 a year6.
Robert Burton was warden on April 12, 1508, when he applied
to the Chancellor's Court to recover a debt.
' Eodem die dedimus terminum domino Joanni Gardener principal! aule
bovine ad satisfaciendum fratri Roberto Burton gardiano fratrum Minorum
xxv8 viiid sibi debitos in fine quatuor septimarum,' &c. 7
As B.D. he supplicated for D.D. on March 8th, 150^ after
studying for twenty years at Oxford and Cambridge, preaching two
University sermons at Oxford, and six at Paul's Cross, &c. ; the grace
was conceded on condition that he should respond once more 8.
Afterwards he became regent of the Franciscan Schools in London.
The register of the Grey Friars, London, notes among those buried in
the chapel of All Saints in the Franciscan church,
frater Robertus Burton sacre theologie processor quondam) Regens loci,
qui obiit 8° die mensis Januarii A.D. 1522 9.
1 Exchequer of Pleas, Plea Rolls, 3 * Wood, Fasti, p. 5.
Hen. VII, m. 35 (printed in App. B) ; * Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII,
3 Hen. VII, m. 35, dorse ; 4 Hen. VII, Vol. V, §§ 6, 18.
m. 1 7, dorse ; 4 Hen. VII, m. 34, dorse. s Eighth Report of the Dep. Keeper,
3 MS. Corp. Chr. Coll., Oxon, 227, App. 2, under York,
fol. 46, contains Antonii Andreae trac- * Misc. Books, Augment. Office, 233
tatus de tribus principiis naturalibus : (30-31 Hen. VIII), fol. I54b.
(In calce) scriptus per me fratrem 7 Acta Cur. Cancell. 1 , fol. 53 b: in
Wyllelmum studentem Oxonie, a° in- the margin he is called ' custos fratram
carnacionis Dom. 1419 [1491 ?]. Ibid. Minorum.'
fol. 1 1 8 Duns Scotus super Metheororum * Reg. G 6, fol. 55. He was still at
libros ires priores: (In calce) 'Ex- Oxford in June 1509; Acta Cur.
pliciunt questiones . . scripte per manum Cancell. 1 , f. 93.
fratris Wyllelmi Vavysur eiusdem ordi- » MS. Cott. Vitell. F, XII, fol. 277 b.
nis, A.D. 1491.' MS. 228 was also Mr. Brodrick seeks to identify Robert
written by him in 1490. Burton, Fellow of Merton in 1480,
CH. I.] CUSTODIANS AND WARDENS. 131
Walter Goodfield was warden shortly before 1513 ; as warden
he leased one of the friary gardens to Ric. Leke, brewer \ From
the University Register2, it appears that on Nov. 27, 1506, he sup-
plicated to be admitted to opponency and to read the sentences, after
studying twelve years in logic, philosophy, and theology ; on May 10,
1507, in making the same supplication, he stated that he had studied
the same subjects fourteen years. He was admitted to oppose on
Dec. 10, 1507. On June 3, 1508, he supplicated as B.D. for
D.D.
* This grace was granted on condition that he has studied twelve years
in logic, philosophy, and theology, and that he proceed before Easter, and
that he preach once 'prefer formam,' after taking his degree, and read one
book of the sentences publicly and gratis.'
On March 19, i5j$, he was allowed to count a sermon to be
preached on Ash Wednesday as his examinatory sermon. On May 1 2,
1510, he was licensed in theology. On June 27, 1510, he was
dispensed ' pro suis lecturis minutis'. On July i, he was admitted
D.D.; on Oct. 28, 1510, he was with three others appointed a judge
to examine a sentence passed on Thomas Foster by the com-
missary3; and on Dec. 10, he was dispensed from his necessary
regency, possibly owing to his duties as warden. He seems to have
become warden of the London convent after this4. He died on the
6th of May, 1521, and was buried in the chapel of All Saints, in the
Grey Friars Church, London 5.
John Harvey succeeded Goodfield as warden ; he held the office
in Feb. 15 if 8, Feb. i5i£7, and probably for many years after-
wards. He had ceased to be warden in 1529, when he was
required by the vice-warden or sub-warden John Bacheler, in the
name of the then warden, to answer certain charges made against
him respecting his administration 8. The following details are known
about his scholastic career; he was admitted to oppose in theology
Dec. 6, 1514, and admitted B.D. on Jan. 20, 151$; he was still B.D.
in 1529 ; one of the same name took the degree of B. Can. L. on
April 3, 1530, but he is not described as a friar 9.
Proctor in 1489, with the Minorite * MS. Cott. Vitell. F, XII, fol. 277 :
(Mem. of Merton Coll. 241) ; this seems 'frater Walterus Goodfield, S.T.P. et
to me more than doubtful. gardianus loci.'
1 Acta Cur. Cancell. 1 , fol. 194: see 8 Ibid.
App. B. • Acta Cur. Cancell. 1 , f. 212 b.
2 The series of graces, &c., relating ' Ibid. f. 261 b, 262 b.
to W. Goodfield is printed in App. D. 8 Ibid. EEE, f. 124 b. See App. B.
3 Boase, Register, p. 298. » Boase, Reg. p. 68. Reg. G 6, f.
K 2
132 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. I.
Edward Baskerfild was probably the immediate successor of
John Harvey. In Jan. 152^ he held some office, being then 'in
London on the business of his house ' and likely to stay there some
months1; he is described as warden in 1533, as custos fratrum
minorum Universitatis Oxon' in I5342, and he was warden at the
time of the dissolution.
He supplicated for B.D. on April 12, 1526, after
' studying logic, philosophy, and theology for thirteen years, and preaching
some sermons at Exeter and Oxford,'
was admitted to oppose on June 13, and became B.D. on Feb. 18,
He supplicated for D.D. on Dec. 9, 1531, and March 5,
^, after sixteen years' study; and became D.D. on July 8, 1532 *.
He had previously obtained a reduction of his composition on incep-
tion first to five, and then to four marks ;
' Causa est quod est pauperior quam ut possit earn summam pecunie
(quinque marcas) solvere V
In Oct. 1532, he was dispensed from his necessary regency. In 1533
we find him at Exeter, trying to extract from Thomas Benet a recan-
tation of his heresies 6.
He acted as deputy of the commisary, or vice-chancellor, in .1534,
i535> J536, and 1537 7. In this capacity he sometimes held his court
in the Franciscan convent, as, for instance, when investigating the
charges of immorality against Friar Arthur 8. His pecuniary position
seems to have improved: he kept a horse in 1534 9, and in 1537, one
Robert Symon was admitted to the privileges of the University as
servant of Dr. Baskerfild 10.
At the dissolution he made his peace with the visitors by causing
his house to surrender at once u. Dr. London sent him to Thomas
Cromwell (Aug. 31, 1538), to obtain the 'capacities' for the Oxford
a 20. Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, 1 24 b. • Foxe, V, p. 20 : the Martyrologist
Reg. H 7, fol. 2 ii b. calls him ' an unlearned doctor.'
1 Reg. H. 7, fol. 185. 7 Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, fol. 173,
a Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, fol. 393 b, 270, 322, 387, &c.
270 b. " See Part I, Chapter VII : Acta Cur.
3 Reg. H. 7, f. 152 b, 153 ; Boase, Cancell. EEE, f. 321 a, ' Datum in edi-
Reg. 143. bus ffranciscanis,' &c.
* Reg. H. 7, fol. 257, 262 b. » Part I, Chapter VII.
* Ibid. fol. 263 b, 271 b; in the latter 10 Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, f.
place he is called ' pater edmundus 336.
Baskerfell frater ordinis minorum.' n Wright, Suppression, p. 217.
CH. I.] CUSTODIANS AND WARDENS. 133
friars, and begged Cromwell to allow him to live in Oxford ' altho he
wer benefycyd.' As
' visitar of dyvers places wiche they do call custodies,'
he possessed information concerning the friars in London and else-
where which might be useful to the King's agents, and which he was
willing to impart to them. He appears to have accompanied
Dr. London on his visitation after the dissolution of the friars at Oxford,
and we find him on Jan. 3, 1539, receiving in conjunction with the
doctor, the surrender of the Black Friars of Derby *. The name is
spelt in a variety of ways, e. g. Baskarwild, Bascafyld, &c. ; a fifteenth
century MS. in the Bodleian (Laud. Lat. 114, § 3), containing
Cantica Sacra, belonged to Edward Baskervile, D.D.
NOTE. Wood places Herveius de Saham among the wardens of
the Grey Friars (A.D. 1285). This is a mistake based on a misunder-
standing of the following passage in Peckham's Register (p. 895) :
' Et ne pro defectu acquietantiae solutionem dictae pecuniae retardetis,
damus magistro Herveo de Saham, auditor! compoti vestri de bonisdicti
defuncti, Oxoniae commoranti et regenti, et gardiano Fratrum Minorum
de eadem, tenore praesentium potestatem ut soluta dicta pecmiia in forma
praefata, plenam vobis faciant acquietantiam de eadem ' (May 6, 1285).
1 Reliquary, Vol. XVIII, p. 21.
CHAPTER II.
LECTORS OR REGENT MASTERS OF THE FRANCISCANS.
THE following sixty-seven names are classed together under a
separate heading simply because they are found in a list in an old
manuscript. The list is evidently intended to include all the Regent
Masters of the Friars Minors at Oxford1 in chronological order; it
seems to break off about the year 1350. Whether it is complete
up to that date may be doubted; but no contemporary, or nearly
contemporary, notice has been found of any Friar Minor Regent in
Theology or D. D. of Oxford before 1351, whose name does not
occur in this list2.
The list is found in two MSS : —
I. British Museum; Cotton Nero A IX, fol. 77 a-b, in Eccleston's
Chronicle. Names 1-5 are in the same hand as the rest of the MS. ;
6-21 in a hand rather larger but not perceptibly later. On the
reverse of the leaf, they are continued in a later fourteenth century
hand which ends at the 58th name ; then 59-66 have been added
not much later (the ink has faded a good deal in this part) ; the last
name is in a later hand, probably fifteenth century.
II. Phillipps, MS. 3119, fol. 76 (at Thirlestaine House). Names
1-2 1 are in the same hand as the MS., i.e. the text of Eccleston's
Chronicle; another scribe has added names 22-49 inclusive; then
the names are continued in another hand to Laurence Briton, where
the list ends. This MS. omits Henry Cruche and Walter de Chauton,
so that Laurence Briton is called the 53rd master instead of the 55th.
Lectors.
i . Adam Marsh or de Marisco was born probably at the end of
the 1 2th century in the diocese of Bath3. He was educated at Oxford,
1 See Part I, Chapter III. Eccleston but it is not certain to which Order
begins the list with the words : ' Ipsi he belonged ; see notice of him, A. D.
vero inceperunt nt magistri.' 1 290.
* Except perhaps Friar W. Lemster, s Trivet, Annals, p. 243.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 135
where he studied under Robert Grostete1, whose affectionate interest
in him dated from his early years2. His brother Robert was made
Archdeacon of Oxford by Grostete in 1248 and other members of
the family were in the bishop's service3. Adam's uncle, Richard de
Marisco, Bishop of Durham, from 1217 to 1226, gave him a living
near Wearmouth, which he held for three years4, and bequeathed to
him his library in I2265. At this time Adam was a Master, probably
of Arts. Soon afterwards, at the instigation of his friend and pupil 6
Adam of Oxford, who had recently become a Minorite, he gave up
' all worldly greatness and a large income 7 ' to enter the Franciscan
Order at Worcester, 'through zeal for greater poverty8.' He is said
to have been appointed by the General Chapter socius of St. Anthony
of Padua, the first theological student in the Order. The two then
proceeded, according to the same authority, to study under the
Abbat of St. Andrew's at Vercelli, where they made such progress
in five years that the Abbat confessed that his pupils had become his
teachers9. In 1230 St. Anthony and Adam Marsh are said to have
headed the opposition to the relaxations which Elias was attempting
to bring into the Order10; but this tradition is probably unfounded ;
Eccleston says nothing about it11. After his entry into the Order, Adam
probably resided for the most part at Oxford, where Grostete was
then lecturing to the Franciscans. Wood asserts that the latter
presided at his inception and made the customary speech in praise
1 Roger Bacon calls Grostete Adam's entered the Order in 1227, or perhaps
'master.' Op. Ined. 187. at the end of 1226. The entry on the
3 Mon. Franc. I, 145, ab annisjuve- Close Roll about the Bp. of Durham's
nilibus. library is dated Worcester, Sept. 3.
3 Ibid. pref. Ixxvii-lxxviii. Canon Creighton puts the date of
4 Lanercost Chron. p. 58, where Adam Adam's entry into the Order ten years
after his death is said to have appeared later. Diet, of Nat. Biogr.
to a friar and said it was well with him, 9 Wadding, II, 48. Evers, Analecta
' because I have escaped the judgment, (Hist, of Friar Nic. Glasberger), p. 33.
but that cursed church which I held for I have not been able to find any early
three years nearly gave me over to dam- authority for these statements. A letter
nation.' from Adam to the Abbat of St. Andrew's
5 Close Roll, 10 Henry III, m. 6. is extant Mon. Franc. I, 206. The
6 Mon. Franc. I, 15: ' fuit autem University of Vercelli was founded in
tune socius Magistri Adae de Marisco et 1228, and it is probably in this year,
ad robas suas.' if at all, that Adam went there. Denifle,
7 M. Paris, Chr. Maj. V, 619-20. Die Universitaten des Mittelalters, I,
8 Ibid. p. 1 6. The date of his entry 290.
must have been between 1226 (when he 10 Wadding, II, 340-1. St. Anthony
was Magistcr not Prater, Close Roll, died 1231.
ut supra), and 1230. See Grostete's u The account in Eccleston refers to
Letters, pp. 17-21 written before 1331 ; the deposition of Elias in 1239. Mon.
and Wadding, II. 240. He probably Franc. I, 45-7.
136 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
of the inceptor at the ceremony1; but the statement, though probable
enough in itself, lacks authority and seems to have originated from
a confusion between Adam and Robert Marsh2 : it is not unlikely
that Adam received his theological degree abroad. There is no direct
evidence of his having lectured on theology to the friars at Oxford
before 1252', but there can be no doubt that he began to do so not
later than 1247 (when Thomas Wallensis was elected Bishop of
St. David's), and he probably delivered lectures long before. He
was certainly before this time one of the recognised leaders of the
English Franciscans4. He was on a commission of three elected
by the English province to report on the Rule when Haymo was
general (1239-1244), and recommended that no change should be
made in the statutes of St. Francis5. He wrote a solemn exhortation
in the name of the English Minorites to Boniface of Savoy on his
consecration to the ArchrJfshopric of Canterbury in 1245". William
of Nottingham submitted to him the names of three friars from whom
he was to select one to act as Vicar in the Provincial Minister's absence
(i25o?)7 In his latter years he was one of the foremost men in the
church. At the instance of the Archbishop of Canterbury and for his
use, he wrote an address to the Pope on the occasion of Henry III
taking the cross (12 50) 8. He addressed a long letter of advice to
St. Sewalus on his appointment to the Archbishopric of York in 1255'.
In the same year he was nominated by Alexander IV to settle a
dispute between the Bishop and the Prior and Convent of Winchester10.
He was on a Papal commission to try a cause between the King and
the Bishop of St. David's, and between the same bishop and the
Abbat of Gloucester11, and on another commission appointed to
examine the claims of Richard de Wiche to canonization12. He
1 Cf. Trivet, Annals, p. 306. vincial of the Minorites (p. 613) : this
'* Mon. Franc. I, 135. Wood-Clark is a slip. Nor was he warden of the
II, 364: Wood refers to Gascoigne, London convent ; ' Frater A. Gardianus
Liber Veritatum, I, 663 : I have not Fratrum Minorum Londini ' (Mon.
seen the passage, which does not occur Franc, p. 181) was not A. de Marisco.
in the extracts edited by Hearae or See ibid. p. 396.
Rogers ; but Gascoigne cannot be re- 5 Ibid. 49.
garded as an authority in this matter. 6 Ibid. 77. Boniface was elected in
3 Ibid. 232 (prob. Nov. 1252), 281, 1240.
335 (Jan. 1253), letter CXC was how- 7 Ibid. 355.
ever probably written before this time, 8 Ibid. 414, seq.
c. 1250, but I can find no other reference 9 Ibid. 438-489.
to either of the lawsuits mentioned 10 Ibid. 95, 609-612.
there. n Ibid. 342.
* Brewer in one place calls him Pro- " Wadding, IV, anno 1256.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 137
supported Grostete in his revolt against the scandalous nepotism of
Innocent IV1. At Oxford his character, learning, and friendship \vith
the great, gave him a very important position, and he acted as spokes-
man now of the Franciscans, now of the whole University2. His fame
was European, and Grostete was afraid that the Parisians would
secure him to supply the place of Alexander of Hales (i245)3.
Among his correspondents and friends were many of the leading
men of the age, such as Walter de Cantilupe*, Richard de Wiche,
Walter de Merton, Richard Earl of Cornwall, John of Parma, and
Bonaventura. He assisted the Archbishop of Canterbury in his
visitation, and accompanied Grostete to the Council of Lyons. At
one time he is wanted to attend the Parliament at London6, at
another he is summoned by the Queen to Reading, to treat of ' matters
touching the King and his heirs6.' He incurred the royal displeasure
by an outspoken sermon at Court (Oct. i25o)7; but his advice was
asked and listened to by the King who afterwards called him his father8.
' When the Jews . . . had transgressed against the peace of the kingdom,
so that both by the judgment of the King and the princes of the land they
were judged worthy of death, he alone resisted their arguments and
forbade that they should be put to death V
In 1247 he was sent abroad with the Prior of the Dominicans on
the King's business, and forty marks were granted to buy horses
and harness for the ambassadors10. In 1257 he was sent with
Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester, on a similar mission, his
expenses being paid out of the treasury11. He was no less intimate
with the Earl of Leicester than with the Bishop of Lincoln. He
lectures Eleanor de Montfort on her duties as a mother and wife, and
on her excess in dress12. He speaks equally plainly to Simon de
Montfort.
' Better is a patient man than a strong man,' he writes to the hot-headed
earl, ' and he who can rule his own temper than he who storms a city 13.'
The friar took a keen interest in his friend's great deeds, recognised
his noble qualities, and the value of his efforts ' to purge, illuminate,
and sanctify the church of God,' and looked to him as the guardian
1 Mon. Franc. I, 139. • Lanercost Chron. p. 24.
3 Ibid. I, 99, 347. ' » Ibid.
* Grostete, Letters, 334. 10 Liberate Roll, 31 Hen. Ill, m. 4
* Cf. ibid. p. 302. (App. B).
* Mon. Franc. I, p. 105. u Ibid. 43 Hen. Ill, m. 3.
' Ibid. p. 152. a Mon. Franc. 294, 295, 298, 299.
7 Ibid. p. 275. " Ibid. I, 264.
138 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
of the public weal1. He encouraged the Earl to go forward in his
thankless task of saving Gascony, and tried to win the King over
to his side2.
' If,' he writes to the Earl in 1250 3, 'you have received the answers of
broken friendship and feigned affection, what else are you now suffering
than what you before expected ? The clear circumspection of your wis-
dom will remember, in how many conferences, after repeated and careful
examination, we drummed into each other's ears the execrable shameless-
ness of seductive cunning, such as we now see; although, considering the
trustworthiness of courageous fidelity, your wisdom did not think proper
to decline the danger of a truly grand exploit, for the imminent sus-
picion merely of some stupendous dishonesty.'
With all his other occupations Adam Marsh did not neglect the
poor and oppressed; he begs Grostete to assist two poor scholars
relatives of the bishop; he writes to Thomas de Anesti on behalf
of an able and honest schoolmaster who is in want of the very
necessaries of life; a weeping widow brings her troubles to him,
sure of sympathy and help4. His health gave way under the strain
of his manifold duties and the severe discipline of his Order: he
suffered from weakness of the eyes and other infirmities3. In 1253
he lost his lifelong friend Grostete, who bequeathed his library
to the Oxford Franciscans out of love for Adam Marsh6. In 1256
the King and Archbishop of Canterbury tried to force him into
the bishopric of Ely ; his rival Hugh Balsham who had been elected
by the chapter appealed to Rome and obtained a decision in his
favour on Oct. 6, 1257. His candidature, probably none of his own
seeking, seems to have laid the friar open to a charge of worldly
ambition, which must have embittered his last days7. Feeling the
end approaching, he wrote to Bonaventura to send the Provincial
John of Stamford,
'by whom, through God's blessing, I may be directed through things
transitory and my thoughts raised to things eternal 8.'
On Dec. 23, 1257, he was ordered abroad by the King9. He
probably died on Nov. i810, 1258, and was buried next to Grostete
1 Mon. Franc. I, 225, 264; and the long 5 Ibid. 305, 348, 367.
account ofhis trial, p. 1 2 2. Cf. Parti, p.32. ' Nic. Trivet, Annals, p. 243; Mon.
1 Ibid. 268, &c. Franc. I, p. 185.
3 Ibid. 266-7. A sentence at the end ' M. Paris, Chron. Majora, V, 619.
of the letter seems to refer to the defeat Cf. Mon. Franc. I, 412.
of St. Louis at Mansourah. Cf. pp. 8 Mon. Franc. I, 305.
278-9. (The translation is Brewer's.) 9 Liberate Roll, 42 Hen. Ill, m. 3.
4 Ibid. 137, 244, 398. See also 10 W. of Worcester, Itin. p. 8 1, from
Brewer's preface. Franciscan Martyrology of Salisbury.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 139
at Lincoln1. Besides the treatise mentioned below, none of his works
remain2 except the letters, which, stilted and obscure in style, do not
justify the title of Doctor tllustris, with which subsequent generations
honoured him 3. His reputation as a philosopher and theologian must
rest on the evidence of his contemporaries, and on the greatness of the
school which he did so much to found. Matthew Paris calls him
' literalus *.' Grostete found him
' a true friend and faithful counsellor, respecting truth not vanity,' — ' a wise
man and a prudent, and fervent in zeal for the salvation of souls V
His most famous pupil Roger Bacon had nothing but praise and
admiration for his master, who like Grostete was 'perfect in all
wisdom V
Extant works : — Epistolae.
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Cotton Vitell. c. viii. (sec. xiii-xiv).
Bodl. : Digby 104, fol. 90 (sec. xiii), letter 147 only.
Edited by Brewer, Monumenta Franciscana, I (1858).
Pastorale excerptum (perhaps merely an extract from the letters).
MS. Vienna : Bibl. Palat. 4923, fol. 40^42 b (sec. xv).
2. Ralph de Colebruge was the second Franciscan master who
lectured at Oxford. He entered the Order while regent in theology
at Paris, where he won some fame ; after finishing his course of
lectures, he was appointed by the General of the Order to rule in
theology at Oxford, probably before 1250; he was still a novice
when he entered on his duties at Oxford 7.
3. Eustace de Normaneville, probably took the Franciscan
habit at Oxford about 1250 or before8. His conversion was of
peculiar importance to the Order,
1 Lanerc. Chron. p. 58. Grostete's Rules for the Countess of
a Bale and Pits give lists of his Lincoln, are by Adam. Mon. Franc. I,
works, but produce no authority. Le- 582. Royal Hist. Soc., Walter of
land states on the evidence of the Henley, pp. xlii, 122.
Catalogus de eruditis Franciscanis, 3 Not his contemporaries, as Brewer
which he had seen in the Minorite states. I do not know when the title
convent at Oxford, that Adam wrote first originated.
' a fair number of commentaries on Holy * Chron. Majora, V, 619.
Scripture.' One edition of Earth, of 5 Epist. Nos. XX and XCIX.
Pisa (Bononiae, 1620) mentions as his * Op. Ined. 70, 74-5, 88, 186, 428.
works, Elucidarium Scriptnrae, and 7 Mon. Franc. I, 39, and n. I. Cf.
Theological Lectures. This passage is ibid. 542, ' Rodulphus de Corbrug.' Cf.
not in the edition of 1510. It is not Collect. Anglo-Minoritica, 48.
probable that the ' Ordinances for the 8 The good effects of Eustace's con-
household of Bishop Grostete,' or rather version were commented on by 'Peter,
140
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
[CH. II.
'because he was noble and rich, and had laudably ruled in arts and
decrees, and had been Chancellor of Oxford *, and was about to incept in
theology.'
It must have been soon after his entry that the friars at Norwich
asked him to become their lecturer. Adam Marsh was deputed
by the Provincial to make the proposal to him. Eustace refused the
honour on the plea of ill-health and ' unprepared aptitude of mind V
Eccleston mentions him as the third who lectured at the Oxford
Grey Friars as a master s. He was afterwards sent to Cambridge and
was the third regent master of the Franciscans there *.
4. Thomas of York (1253) is first mentioned in a letter of Adam
Marsh written at Lyons, 1245; the writer sends for various books,
among which is
' the chapter of the First Prophecy (Abbat Joachim ?) which the beloved
brother in Christ, Thomas of York had V
Soon afterwards we find him consulting with Adam, Grostete, and
the Vicar of the Provincial Minister, about sending English friars to
Denmark6. He wrote to Adam about the defeat of St. Louis and
minister of England,' 1251-1256 (Mon.
Franc. I, 40). But Eustace entered the
Order during the ministry of W. of
Nottingham. Two 'of the letters (Nos.
178 and 200) in which Adam Marsh
mentions Eustace as a friar are addressed
to ' Friar W., minister of England,' but
several of these superscriptions are
undoubtedly wrong and the rest conse-
quently of little value. Letter 179,
however, written at the same time as
178 and stating Eustace's refusal to
lecture at Norwich, is addressed to
Robert of Thomham, who was then
evidently custodian of Cambridge (Mon.
Franc. I, 62). In a letter to W. of
Nottingham (No. 173) Adam states that
this Robert was just starting for the
Holy Land, and as he certainly went
(Mon. Franc. I, 62), there is no reason
to suppose that he delayed long. What
then is the date of letter 173? That
the superscription is correct is shown by
the mention in the letter of Peter,
minister of Cologne, i. e. P. of Tewkes-
bury, William's successor in England ;
Adam also mentions his regret at being
unable to accompany Grostete to the
Roman court owing to his having to
assist the Archbishop of Canterbury.
These details fix the date of Robert's
departure (or resolution to depart) to
Palestine at 1250: thus letter 179 can-
not have been written later than 1250,
and Eustace must have entered the
Order in that year at latest. He wit-
nesses a charter as friar in 1 251 ; Wood,
MS. D 2, p. 537.
1 Le Neve and others place his chan-
cellorship in 1276 ; Eccleston certainly
says fuerat. Mon. Franc. I, 39, note
2, 41 ; Phillipps, MS. fol. 76 a.
2 Mon. Franc. I, pp. 319, 321.
3 Ibid. p. 39.
4 Ibid. p. 555.
5 Mon. Franc. I, 378. Cf. p. 395
(letter to Th. of York, 1252?), 'Mittit
vobis frater Laurentius (Adam's secre-
tary) quatemos matris prophetiae (?)
pro quibus misistis,' &c.
6 Ibid. p. 90-1. When John Erlandi
became Bishop of Roskild, I do not
know : he was translated to the
Archbishopric of Lundia in 1254;
Langebek, Script, rer. Dan. Vol. V, p.
583.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 141
the Crusaders in 1250, and Adam sent the letter on to Grostete1.
About the same time Adam remonstrates with him for breaking his
promises, especially for omitting to send him ' the table of the Trinity'
(? tabula trinitatisY- Another letter to him from Adam Marsh
refers to the anger of the King against Simon de Montfort, whose
friendship Thomas seems to have enjoyed and whose party he no doubt
supported. Perhaps it was before 1250 that Adam advised the
Provincial Minister to instruct Thomas,
' that he should apply himself to the study of Holy Scriptures by attending
the lectures of the learned and investigating their writings,'
with a view to his eventually becoming lecturer to the Grey Friars
at Oxford ; failing this, the writer hints that Thomas would probably
be summoned abroad 3. In the same letter he refers to his ' youthful
age.' At the beginning of 1253 * Thomas of York was presented to
incept in theology at Oxford, objections were raised on the ground
that he had not taken a degree in Arts. Eventually he was allowed
to incept, but a statute was passed to regulate the conduct of the
University on similar occasions in the future. The details of the
controversy are given elsewhere5. The vesperies took place on
Thursday, March i3th, and the inception on the following day,
under the presidency of Friar Peter de Manners, apparently a
Dominican; Adam Marsh, who as master of the inceptor would
naturally have presided, left Oxford on March iath. Thomas of York
now became lecturer to the Oxford Franciscans 6. He was afterwards
sent to Cambridge and occurs as the sixth in the list of ' Masters of
the Friars Minors ' there 7. Adam Marsh writes to him in the most
affectionate terms and speaks highly of his learning, and the brightness
of his intellect 8 ; he describes him to Grostete as an earnest, discreet,
and benevolent man, filled with a heavenly zeal for the salvation of
souls9. According to the Calalogus illustrium Franciscanorum he
wrote a commentary on Ecclesiastes 10.
1 Ibid. 114-5. be 'et quintus ponitur frater T. de
a Ibid. 392. In the same letter is the Eboraco.' 7 Ibid. 555.
sentence: ' Nuper mihi de curia Romana 8 Ibid. 357, 392-5.
allatum est Apostolicae Sedis privi- ' Ibid. 115. Cf. 393, 'Bene fecistis
legium, pro quo laborare sui gratia . . . qui pro patre secundum carnem
voluit amantissimus frater J., domini dilecti fratris J. de Beverlaco in negotio
papae nuntius.' Cf. reference to the suae salutis tarn consultum vigilantiae
same on p. 313 (A.D. 1250). fidelis adjutorium, nee non et in caeteris
3 Mon. Franc. I, 357. praesertim ad salutem animarum per-
* Ibid. 338, 346. tinentibus, tarn exquisita circumspectione
5 Part I, Chapter III. exhibere voluistis.'
6 Ibid. 39: but see ibid. p. 552, 10 Leland, Scriptores, sub nomine ; cf.
' Notandum,' &c. ; the last words should Part I, p. 58.
142
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD,
[CH. II.
Prater Thomas de Eboraco super Metaphysicam Aristotelis.
MS. Florence : Laurentiana, ex BlbL S. Crucis, Plut. xiv, Sin. Cod. V.
5. Richard Rufus of Cornwall 1 was a Master, probably of Arts,
when he became a Minorite at Paris
' at the time when Friar Elias threw the whole Order into confusion '
(c. 1238).
He came to England (where he made his profession) while the
trial of the Minister-General was yet pending in the Roman Court 2.
He is mentioned as speaking at a chapter at Oxford soon after coming
to England — probably either the visitatorial chapter or the chapter
held to protest against the visitor's conduct in 1238s. Soon after
1250 he received a command from the General to go to Paris as
lecturer, but he seems to have obtained leave to continue his studies
at Oxford owing to his weak health *. He probably lectured on the
sentences as B.D. about this time. But soon afterwards, ' ob vehemen-
tiores perturbationum occasiones 5,' in Adam Marsh's words, he formed
the ' inexorable resolution ' of going to France in accordance with the
General's permission : and Adam in the name of the other friars,
requested the Provincial to facilitate his departure by providing him
with suitable companions and the necessary manuscripts 8. Early in
12 53 again, Adam writes to the Provincial:
' I beg you to look out for some one competent to act as secretary to
Friar Richard of Cornwall V
1 That Ric. Rufus and Ric. of Corn-
wall were one and the same is proved
by Cotton MS. of Eccleston, f. 77, where
' rufns ' is added in an old hand in the
margin, and by Phillipps, MS. of Ec-
cleston, fol. 76 a, ' Ricardus Rufus Cor-
nubiensis.' Cf. Mon. Franc. I, 16. He
is probably identical with ' Ricardus le
Ruys,' whose commentary on the sen-
tences Bale saw at Norwich, ' in claustro
monachorum.' Script. II, 81.
2 Mon. Franc. I, 16, 39.
3 Phillipps, MS. 3119, f. 76 a. 'Iste
Ricardus veniens in Angliam narravit in
capitulo Oxon', quod, cum unus frater
Parisius extasi staret, visum erat ei quod
frater Egidius laicus sed contemplativus
sedit in cathedra legens autenticas sep-
tem peticiones dominice oracionis cuius
omnes auditores erant tamen fratres in
ordine lectores. Intrans autem S. Fran-
ciscus primo siluit et postea sic clamavit,
O quam verecundum est vobis quod talis
frater laycus excedit vestra merita sur-
sum in celo (?). Et qnia inquid sciencia
inflat, caritas autem edificat, plures sunt
venerati fratres clerici ... in eterno
regno dei.' (MS. imperf.)
4 Mon. Franc. I, 330, 365, 366.
5 Ibid. 360, 365. In an agreement
drawn up in 1252, after a quarrel be-
tween the Northerners and the Irish in
Oxford, and signed by representatives
of the two parties, the name of ' Ricar-
dus Cornubiensis ' appears among the
Irishmen (Wood, Annals, 246). This
was no doubt a namesake of the friar,
who is often confused with the friar ; he
is mentioned in Grostete's Epist. p. 138,
Mon. Franc. I, 135, Le Neve, Fasti, II,
184, &c.
6 Mon. Franc. I, 366. 7 Ibid. 349.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 143
It may then be inferred that he went to Paris in 1253, where,
according to Eccleston,
' he gave cursory lectures on the sentences and was judged a great and
admirable philosopher V
After lecturing in Paris, he returned to Oxford, it appears, and
became regent-master of the friars (c. 1255 ?) 2. It was here that he
developed the 'errors/ the verbal subtleties, which Roger Bacon
so unsparingly denounced. Writing in 1292, Bacon says3:
' Et optime novi auctorem * pessimum et stultissimum istorum errorum 5,
qui vocatus est Ricardus Cornubiensis, famosissimus apud stultam multitu-
dinem, set apud sapientes fuit insanus et reprobatus Parisius propter
errores quos invenerat et promulgaverat, quum sollempniter legebat sen-
tencias ibidem, postquam 6 legerat 7 sentencias Oxonie, ab anno Domini
1250°. Abillo M CC L igitur tempore remansit multitudo in huius magistri
erroribus usque nunc, scilicet per quatraginta annos et amplius, et maxime
invalescit Oxonie sicut ibidem incepit hec demencia infinita.'
Adam Marsh, though in somewhat general terms, gives a far more
flattering account of Richard 8.
Martin de Sancta Cruce, Master of the Hospital of Sherbourne,
bequeathed to him in his will dated November, 1259, unum habituvi
integrum, and a copy of the Canonical Epistles 9.
Assisi MS. 176 contains a compilation ascribed by a note in a late
hand to ' Master Richard Rufus of England ; ' the volume was in the
possession of the friars at Assisi in 1373, consists of 226 leaves, and
seems to contain more than one treatise : it is not rubricated.
Inc. 'Deus autem qui dives est in misericordia propter nimiam
caritatem suam.'
6. John Wallensis was B.D. of Oxford before he entered the
Order 10. He must have become D.D. and regent master of the Fran-
ciscan schools at Oxford before 1260". It was probably after this that
he went as lecturer to Paris, where he was honoured with the title of
1 Ibid. 39. Bacon says, 'solemniter * Auctorem, not in MS.
legebat ;' see below. ! MS. errorem.
2 It may be considered certain that 6 Charles reads priusquam.
Thomas of York became lector in 1253 7 MS. legeret.
and that Richard succeeded him — 8 ' Cui conversations honestas et
whether immediately or not is a little claritas scientiae, pietas affectionis et
doubtful ; the Cotton MS. of Eccleston opinionis integritas, facultas erudiendi
calls Richard sextus (lector), instead of et disserendi subtilitas,' &c. Mon. Franc.
quintus. I} 365.
8 Royal MS. (Brit. Mus.) 7 F, VH, » Durham Wills (Surtees Soc.), Vol.
fol. 81 ; cf. Charles, Roger Bacon, 415 ; I, pp. 10-11.
the MS. is very inaccurate, Charles still 10 Mon. Franc. L, 542.
more so. u See notice of H. de Brisingham.
144 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. IT.
Arbor Vilae1, and where he was buried2. But before his death he
was again in England. In October, 1282, 'Friar John Wallensis,
S.T.D.,' was sent by Archbishop Peckham as ambassador to the in-
surgent Welsh3. In 1283 he was one of the five doctors at Paris
who were deputed to examine the doctrines of Peter John Olivi 4.
He enjoyed a great reputation as a theologian, and the widespread and
lasting popularity of his works is shown by the large number of MSS.
and printed editions which have come down to us. His writings are
specially illustrative of the practical side of the Franciscan teaching.
Summa de Penitentia. Inc. ' Quoniam provida solertia est.'
MSS. Brit. Museum : Royal 10 A ix. f. 1-50 b (sec. xiii) ; 4 D iv. fol.
244 b (sec. xv) B.
Paris: — Bibl. Mazarine, 569, f. 86 b (sec. xiv).
Falaise: — Bibl. Publ. 38, p. 372 (sec. xiv).
Cf. Worcester Cathed. Libr. MS. 114 ( = 789) 'Jo. Wallensis ordinis
Praedicatorum summa de confessione V
Breviloquium de quatuor virtutibus cardtnalibus, or, de virtutibus
antiquorum principum et philosophorum : four or five parts:
i. De justitia; ii. De prudentia; iii. De temperantia; iv. De
fortitudine ; v. De ordinatione virtutum (this is sometimes included
in part iv). Inc. prol. ' Quoniam misericordia et veritas.'
MSS. Brit. Mus.: Royal 10 A ix., f. 67b-99 (sec.xiii); 12 E xxi, § 2, (sec.
xv); Burney 360, f. i (sec. xv); Harleian 632, f. 25 (sec. xv).
Oxford: — Bodl. : Bodley 58 (=2006); Laud, Miscell. 603, fol.
103 (sec. xiv).— Corp. Ghr. Coll. i87.— Oriel Coll. 34 (sec.
xiv ineuntis) *.
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 3706 (sec. xiv), 6346 (xiv), 6776 f. 1-54, (xiv)
imperf. at the beginning.
Toulouse, 340. Cf. MS. St. Omer, 400 (sec. xiv). Breviloquium
de sapientia . . . sanctorum doctorum, etc. : inc. ' Quoniam
unica est veritas ' ( = ' quoniam misericordia et veritas ? ')
Printed at Venice, 1496; Lyons, 1511 (fol. 200 seq.}\ Argentina, 1518
(fol. 151 b-i64) ; and sine annoet loco (Louvain 1485 ?) under
the title Liber de instructione principum per quatuor paries
secundum quatuor "vlriutes cardinales.
Ordinartum9, or, Alphabeium vitae religiosae : 3 parts :
1 Earth, of Pisa, Liber Conform. Lector of Freiburg ; see p. 1 50.
fol. 8 1. 7 Ascribed to Thomas Wallensis.
a Wadding, IV, 325. * Stated to have been composed at
3 Peckham's Register, II, 421-2. the request of Episcopus Maglonensis,
4 Hist. Litt. de France, t. xxv, p. i 78- i- e- Magalona, Narbonne.
5 This MS. belonged to the London ' Mentioned again by Tanner, as a
Franciscans. different work under the title, De ordi-
* Probably the Summa of John natione universali.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 145
i. Diaetarium ; ii. Locarium ; iii. Itinerarium. Inc.proL ' Nunquid
nosti ordinem coeli.' Inc. pars i. ' Quoniam omni negotto.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Harl. 632, f. i (sec. xv).
Bodleian: Tanner no, f. 124 (sec. xiv ineuntis) ; Laud, Miscell.
497 (sec. xv).
Dublin :— Trinity Coll. 138 ( = 278).
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 3588 (sec. xiv).
Charleville, 113 (xiv) and 272 (xiv).
Printed at Venice, 1496 (fol. 260); Lyons, 1511 (fol. 217-255); Ar-
gentina, 1518 (fol. 164).
Summa collectionum (or, collationum), or, Communiloquium, Summa
collationum ad omne genus hominum, or, De vitae regimine, or,
Margarita Doctorum, or, Communes loci ad omnium generum
argumenta. A compendium for the use of young preachers,
consisting of 7 parts :
i. De constitutione reipublice; ii. De colligatione membrorum
reipublice ; iii. De informacione hominum ; iv. De republica eccle-
siastica; v. De instructione scolasticorum ; vi. De instructione
religiosorum ; vii. De informacione hominum ut sint parati ad
mortem. Inc. prol. ' Cum doctor sive predicator evangelicus.' Inc.
pars i. ' Quoniam respublica, ut dictum est, est universale quoddam
corpus.' Inc. cap. i. ' Sed primo notandum est quod respublica est
res populi.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Harl. 632, f. 36 (xv).
Oxford :— Bodley 815 (=2684), f. 108 (sec. xv).— Balliol Coll.
274 (A.D. 1409). —Lincoln Coll. 67 (sec. xiv).
Cambridge: — Peterhouse 12 or 2-3-9. — Pembroke 123. Cf.
Public Library Kk II, n (sec. xv). 'Summa compilata a
fratre Johanne Walense ' — de republica added in the table
of contents.
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 3488 (sec. xiv), 3935, f. i (sec. xv).
Evreux n (sec. xiv).
Basel, F.I 1 1. 16.
Printed at Cologne c. 1467 by U. Zell; Augsburg, 1475; Ulm, 1481 ;
Venice, 1496 (f. 1-166); Lyons, 1511 (f. 1-139); Paris,
1516.
Floriloquium philosopher um, or, Floriloquium sive compendiloquium de
vita etdictis illustrium philosophorum, or, de philosophorum die Us
exemplis el vilis. i o parts :
i. On philosophy in general ; ii. On the name and profession of
philosophers ; iii. On the succession of illustrious philosophers and
L
146 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
their life ; iv. On the life and maxims of some less famous philo-
sophers; v. Of divers philosophic perfections; vi. On the four
principal sects of philosophers — peripatetics, stoics, academicians,
and epicureans; vii. On the seven liberal arts; viii. Poets and
authors of apologues ; ix. On the abuses of philosophy ; x. On the
places where philosophic studies have been most honoured (e.g.
Paris and Oxford mentioned). Inc. prol. i. ' Cum enim debeamus
apes imitari.' Inc. prol. open's. ' Cum ex vita gentilium.' Inc. opus.
' Circa primum notandum quod diversimode describitur philo-
sophia.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Royal 6 B xi. f. 127 (sec. xiv).
Bodl. : Laud. Misc. 603 (xiv).
Cambridge : — Corp. Chr. Coll. 307 (xv).
Paris : — Bibl. Mazarine 727, § 5.
Toulouse 340, vi. (xiv). — St. Omer 622 (A.D. 1346).
Printed at Venice, 1496 (f. 167-232); Lyons, 1511 (f. 140-194) ; Ar-
gentina, 1518 (f. 107-147).
Breviloquium de sapientia sanctorum. 8 chapters :
Inc. prol. ' Cum varii sint homines omnes. . . . Licet in priori
tractatulo1.' Inc. cap. i. ' Sapientia enim dicitur ab eo quod est sapere.'
MSS. Bodl. : Laud. Misc. 603, f. 99 (sec. xiv).
Cambridge : — Corp. Chr. Coll. 307 (xv).
Toulouse 340, vi. (xiv).
St. Omer 622, § 3 (xiv).
Printed at Venice, 1496 (f. 233) ; Lyons, 1511 (f. 195-200 b); Argen-
tina (f. 147 b-isi b), and sine anno et loco (Louvain 1485 ?).
Summa justitiae, or, Tractatus de sepiem vitiis ex \Gul. Alverno\
Parisiensi. 10 parts.
i. De peccato in generali ; ii. De superbia ; iii. De invidia ; iv.
De ira; v. De avaricia; vi. De accidia; vii. De gula; viii. De
luxuria ; ix. De quinque sensibus corporis ; x. De quibusdam pec-
catis, &c. Inc. prol. ' Summa justicie Christi fidelium est declinare
a malo et facere bonum.' Inc. opus. ' Justicia que est via ad regnum
ut supradictum est in duobus consistit.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Harl. 632, f. 168.
Cambridge : Peterhouse 89 (=1751).
Cf. MS. Oxford :— Exeter Coll. 7, § 4 (sec. xv). Jo. Wallensis Liber de
vitiis ex Parisiensi confectus : inc. ' Peccatum vitandum est.'
1 i. e. Breviloq. de IV virtutibus.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 147
Tractatus de vitiis et remediis eonim (doubtful).
Inc. ' Dicendum est de vitiis seu peccatis primo in general!.'
MS. Brit. Mus. : Royal 4 D iv. f. 226-244 (sec. xv).1
Cf. Anonymous Summa de •vitiis et virtutibus in MS. Paris: — Bibl.
Mazarine 924 (sec. xiv), which is compiled chiefly from the
Summa of William PeVaud.
Moniloquium vel collectiloquium. A work in 4 parts for the use of
young preachers :
i. De viciis; ii. De virtutibus oppositis dictis viciis; iii. De
penis ; iv. De gloria beatorum.
The object is thus set forth in the prologue :
'Cum almus Christi confessor beatus Franciscus, a summo magistro Ihu
Christo perfectissime edoctus et suo spiritu plenissime (?) inspiratus, in sua
sacra regula monuerit fratres suos, ut in suis predicacionibus sint eorum
eloquia casta et examinata ad edificacionem et utilitatem populi, annun-
ciando eis vicia et virtutes, penam et gloriam, cum brevitate sermonis : ad
occasionem dandam minoribus predicatoribus colliguntur dicta autentica
sanctorum de predictis 4 annunciandis.'
Inc. pro!. ' Cum almus,' &c. Inc. opus. ' Cum autem nostra sit
intencio ut dictum est aliqua auctentica in generali colligere.' Inc.
pars /'., dist. /., cap. i. 'De primo notandum quod describitur
vicium sub nomine mali.'
MSS. Brit. Mus.: Harl. 632, f. 248.
Cambridge : — Peterhouse 87 or 2-0-4, ' De quatuor predica-
bilibus ad omne genus hominum.' — Pembroke Coll. 123.
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 6776, f. 55-352 (sec. xiv). Imperf. at the
beginning ; fol. 58, ' Cum autem sit intentio.' — ' Explicit
summa de viciis et virtutibus compilata a fratre Johanne
Galensi ordinis fratrum minorum. Orate pro eo.'
Falaise :— Bibl. Pub. 38, p. 468.
Munich: — Bibl. Reg. 23595 (sec. xiv), < Distinctiones predica-
biles Johannis Gallensis de virtutibus.'
Legiloquium sive liber de decent preceptis, or, De decent mandatis divinis,
or, Summa de preceplis.
Inc. ' Scribam eis multiplies leges. . . . Omnipotens creator
omnium.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Harl. 632, f. 307 b (sec. xv) imperfect.
Oxford : — Bodl. Rawlinson C. 534, f. 106 (sec. xiii) : cf. Bodl.
2501, 'forte Jo. Wallensis.' — Lincoln Coll. 67, f. 143 (xiv).
Paris: — Bibl. Mazarine 569, f. 139 b (xiv).
1 The name of the author is given in a hand considerably later than the MS.
L 2
148 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
Bruges 239 (Haenel p. 756). — Falaise 38, p. 325 (xiv. ineuntis).
— Toulouse 340 (xiv).
Extracts printed by Charma, ' Notice sur un MS . . . de Falaise,'
1851.
Manipuhis Florum, begun by John Wallensis, finished by Thomas
Hibernicus, to whom it is usually ascribed ; excerpts from the
fathers, in alphabetical order.
Inc. prol. 'Abite in agro, &c. Paupercula non habet messem.'
Inc. opus. ' Abstinentia. Bonum est in cibo.'
MSS. Oxford : — Merton Coll. 129 (sec. xiv). — Lincoln Coll. 98 (xiv).
Cambridge : — Caius Coll. 402 (A.D. 1 306) .
Paris: — Bibl. Mazarine 1032, &c.
Troyes, 1785 (finitus A.D. 1306). — Basel, B iv. 9 (written A.D.
1324).
Printed at Piacenza 1483, Venice 1493, &c.
A similar work, ascribed in the same hand as the text to Friar John
Walensis, is contained in MS. Charleville 136 (sec. xiv);
inc. ' Accidia. Nota accidiosus est.'
De origine progressu et fine Mahumeti et quadruplici reprobatione
prophetiae ej'us, cap. xv.
Inc. ' Ad ostendendum quod Mahumetes.'
Printed at Argentina 1550. The editor, G. Fabricius says: 'hunc
Galensis libellum in dissipatis Bibliothecis inventum collegi.' No
MSS. of the work have been discovered, and its authenticity
seems very doubtful. It is not mentioned by the earlier biblio-
graphers, such as Philip de Bergamo and Tritheim. Except in
the number of chapters, it appears to differ entirely from the
Tract, contra Jahitates legis Machometi of Peter de Pennis : Quetif-
Echard I 569 ; MS. Chapitre de Bayeux 42.
Sermones de tempore et de sanciis.
MSS. Bodl. : i956=>E. B. i. 14, now Bodley 50; referred to by
Tanner.
Munich: — Bibl. Reg. 26941 (sec. xiv. ineuntis) contains a
sermon preached at Paris by John Wallensis.
Charleville 1 1 3 § 3 (sec. xiv and xiii), Sermones de tempore : inc.
' Dominica prima de adventu ' : these are anonymous but
follow some works by J. Wallensis in the MS.
Pos tilla super Johannem.
MSS. Vienna: — Bibl. Palat. 1533 (sec. xiv).
Florence : — Laurentiana, ex bibl. S. Cruets, Plut. xxvii. Dext.
Cod. iii. ' Tabula super Postillam Fratris Joannis de Val-
lensis (sic) super Joannem.' The work itself is missing.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 149
This appears to be identical with the Postilla in E-vangelium Joannis,
printed among Bonaventura's works. It is doubtful whether
the commentary should be ascribed to either of these
writers. (See Hist. Litt. xxv. 193-4.)
Collaliones in Johannem. Ascribed also to Bonaventura, and printed
among his works (edit. 1589, torn, ii): probably by the same
author as the preceding Postilla.
Gf. MSS. Oxford : — Exeter Coll. 39 (xiv), Thomas Wallensis; — Bruges,
338, 'Joannes Anglicus super Joannem ' (Haenel) ; or 474, ' Scripta
Johannis Anglici super Johannitium ' (Laude).
Commentaries on Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua,
Judges, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah.
MSS. Oxford : — Bodl. Laud. Misc. 345 (sec. xiv), ascribed to John
Wallensis. — Merton Coll. 196 (sec. xiv), and New College 30 (sec.
xv), ascribed to Thomas Wallensis. — Leland mentions the same
works in the library of Christ Church, Canterbury, where they
were ascribed to John Wallensis (Leland Collect. III. 7).
The following works are sometimes assigned to John Wal-
lensis : —
Expositio super Pater Noster.
MSS. Charleville 873 contains, according to Haenel (p. 120), Joannis
Wallensis . . . expositio super pater noster et dietarium super
vita religiosa.' In the new catalogue this treatise is given as
anonymous, the same volume, No. 272 (sec. xiv), containing the
Dietarium.
Monde"e Abbey (diocese Lisieux), Cod. 3, Joannes Galesius Ordinis
Minorum super Pater noster (Montfaucon, p. 1333).
In fabulas Ovidii, or, Expositions seu moralitates in lib. i. (?) Meta-
morphoseon sive fabularum (Leland and Tanner). This appears
to be the work generally ascribed to Thomas Walleys, and, by
M. Haure'au, to Peter Bercherius1. There is no real ground
for assigning it, as Leland does, to John Wallensis.
MSS. Oxford : Bodl. Auct. F. 5. 1 6 ( = Bodl. Sup. A. I Art. 86 or Bodl.
2581), Johannes Anglicus.
Brit. Mus. : Royal 15 C xvi, anon.
Cambridge : — Peterhouse 12 or 2-3-9 'afratre Thoma Waleys
de provincia Anglic ordinis Predicatorum.'
1 Memoirts de VAcadlmie des in- wrote at Avignon from 1320 to 1340.
scriplions, t. XXX, pp. 45-55 : Peter M. Haureau has no doubt made out his
was a Benedictine who lived and case.
150 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
Dublin : — Trin. Coll. 8, anon., but bound up with works by
John Wallensis.
Reims 741 (Haenel p. 405), ' Liber fabularum a magistro Joanne
Anglico compositus.'
Troyes 1627 (sec. xiv), Thomas Waleys.
Printed at Paris 1511, &c.
In mythologicon Fulgentii.
A commentary on this by John Wallensis is mentioned by Leland in the
Library of the Friars Minors at Reading (Collect. Ill, 57). Many
anonymous treatises on the work are extant ; e. g.
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Royal 7 C I f . 311.— Dublin :— Trin. Coll. 8 (§ 8),
bound up with works of John Wallensis.
Cf. notice of John Redovallensis.
Comment, in Valerium de non ducenda uxore.
Seen by Leland in the Franciscan Library, London. The incipit which
he gives is merely that of the work itself, and is no assistance in
identifying the commentary of John Wallensis. The latter refers
to the epistle in his Breviloq. de quatuor •virtutibus cardinalibus :
MS. Brit. Mus. : Royal 10 A ix, f. 83 b-84.
Cf. notice of John Redovallensis.
As to other works attributed to him with some show of reason by
the older bibliographers :
De cognitione verae vitae, mentioned by Wadding, is the same as the
Ordinarlum. An anonymous treatise with this title is in Royal MS.
10 A ix. f. 109-133 (which contains some works by John Wal-
lensis). Inc. ' Sapientia Dei que os muti aperuit.'
De visitatione infirmorum : Augustine's treatise on this is in the Royal
MS. above mentioned (fol. 134-145).
Declaratio regulae S. Francisci (printed at Venice, 1513 in Flrmamen-
tum Trium Ordinum), is usually attributed to John Peckham.
Pastoralia by J. Wallensis; formerly in Harl. MS. 632, f. 261 ;
(see old table of Contents); fol. 250-265 (old pagination) are
missing. Boston of Bury calls this De euro, pastorali : inc. ' Licet
beatus.' Expl. ' et haec ad David.'
Collectio eptstolarum decretalium Romanorum pontificum was by John
Gallensis of Volterra (c. 1200) : printed at llerda 1576, &c. :
MSS. Nat. Libr. Paris 3925, A ; Toulouse 368 (sec. xiii. med.).
Indices duorum operum ; an alphabetical table of contents in Harl. MS.
632, f. i33-i67-
Summa conftssorum ; by John Lector of Freiburg : see MSS. Troyes,
156 and 1492 (sec. xiv), &c. Inc. ' Quoniam dubiorum1.'
1 Another handbook for confessors is 622, § 6, Tract, de instruction* con-
occasionally found bound up with works fessorum, and Charleville 113, $ 2,
of John Wallensis. See MSS. St. Omer Libellus de modo aiidiendi confessiones.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 151
De oculo morali ; identical with the work attributed to Grostete and
Peter de Limoges. Inc. ' Si diligenter.' It may be noticed that
Boston of Bury attributes this to John Wallensis and does not
mention it among Grostete's works (Tanner, Bibl. pp. xxxiii,
xxxvii).
De correptione si-ve correctione. Inc. : ' Probata virtus.' Expl. f Commo-
rabitur ' (Boston of Bury).
De exortatione. Inc. ' Qui exortatur ' : Expl. ' Moderantis ' (ibid.).
De disciplina. Inc. ' Disciplina ad mentem instruendam ' (ibid.) *.
In quatuor libros Sententiarum. Inc. ' Quoniam teste B. Augustino '
(Barth. of Pisa, and Ph. of Bergamo).
De arte predicandi, ascribed to John Wallensis in MS. Paris : Bibl.
Mazarine 569, f. 80 b : really by Thomas Walleys.
7. Thomas Docking, also called Thomas Good2, was a native
of Norfolk and probably entered the Order at Norwich. In a letter
written A.D. 1 252-3 3, Adam Marsh asks the Provincial Minister to
assign the bible of the late P. of Worcester to ' friar Thomas de
Dokkyng,' who was distinguished by good morals and pleasant
manners, a clear head, great learning and ready eloquence ; his friends
were ready to pay handsomely for the book. He was evidently a
student at this time. He became D.D. and reader to the Franciscans
at Oxford about 1260*. In 1269, when he took an active part in the
controversy with the Oxford Dominicans, he is described as ' sometime
reader at Oxford5.' According to Blomefield, he was warden of
Norwich and died about 12 70". His theological works, chiefly
biblical commentaries, were long held in high repute 7 ; some are still
preserved.
Exposilio super librum Deuteronomii.
MSS. Brit. Mus : Royal 3 B xii (sec. xv).
Oxford : — Balliol Coll. 28 (A.D. 1442).
Lincoln : — Cathedral Libr. (Haenel p. 799), 'Thomas Bockering.'
Inc. : ' Simpliciores et minus expertos Ordinis Minorum, vocati Dockyng, eo
confessores.' It is by John Lector of quod natus fuit in villa vocata Dockyng.'
Freiburg : MS. Mazarine 1322. Hist. s Mon. Franc. I, 359-360 : the letter
Litt. xxv. 269. mentions ' the irrevocable intention of
1 There is an error in Tanner's ex- Friar R. of Cornwall.'
tracts from Bury (p. xxxiii) : ' Quoniam 4 Or 1 265 ? See notices of H. of
misericordia ' given as the incipit of Brisingham and W. of Heddele.
De disciplina belongs to the preceding * App. C.
work, Compendiloquium. Cf . Bale, MS. * Hist, of Norfolk, IV, 1 1 1 ; no
Seld. supra 64, fol. 83 ; Tanner, Bibl. authority is given.
435. 7 He is probably the ' Bokkyng '
a Royal MS. 3 B. XII (sec. xv) : quoted by William of Ockham (Goldast,
'Liber magistri Thome Gude, i.e. Boni, p. 957) ; and he is often referred to by
Uoctoris sacre Theologie Oxonie et Thomas Gascoignc.
152 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
Comment, on Isaiah.
MS. Oxford:— Ball. Coll. 29 (sec. xv).
Expositio super Epistolas S. Pauli.
MSS. Oxford : — Ball. Coll. 30 (sec. xv), containing Galatians, Ephe-
sians1, Hebrews.
Magd. Coll. 154, Galatians, imperf. (sec. xv).
Lectura super Apocalypsin, doubtfully ascribed to him.
MS. Oxford:— Ball. Coll. 149 f. 107. Inc. 'Panis ei datus. Querit
propheta.'
Expositio Decalogi, Inc. ' Non habebis deos alienos in conspectu
meo. Hoc est in corde.'
MS. Bodl. 2403 ( = T. Bodley NE. F. 4. 9), now Bodley 453, f. 57-90 2.
Questions on St. Luke.
MS. Paris: — Bibl. Nationale, 3183, § 8 (sec. xiv).
Questio utrum Job in prosperis fuerit altior coram Deo quam in
adversis.
MS. Ibid. § ii (sec. xiv).
Comment, super Sententias, mentioned in the Catalogue of Illustrious
Franciscans (Leland)3.
8. H. de Brisingham4 is probably the same as
' Frater Henricus Lector Oxoniensis Fratrum Minorum,'
who composed a Summa de Sacrameniis in 1261 5. He afterwards
became thirteenth master .of the Friars Minors at Cambridge 6.
Blomefield claims him as a Norfolk man, and says that he died about
i28o7. He is perhaps to be identified with ' Henricus de Oxonio
1 At the end of this commentary; ingredi'): cf. MS. Laud. Misc. 524, fol.
' Explicit lectura H. M. et d. Dockyng 67 b (olim Laud. F. 12).
super Epistolam ad Ephesios.' 3 Tanner (Bibl. 230) mentions his
a At the end of this MS. (sec. xv) : Correctiones in S. Scripturam, 'MS.
'Explicit expositio ffratris Thome olim in monast. Sion;' and Tabulam
Dockyng super preceptis decalogi se- super Grammaticam Dokking, MS.
cundum formam textus deutronomii Line. Cathed. Libr. F. 18.
quinti.' The same volume contains an * Brewer's reading ' A. de Brisigham '
anonymous treatise on the creed (' de is incorrect : MSS. Cott. Nero, A IX,
sufficientia articulorum in Simbolo,'&c. : and Phillipps, 3119, f. 76.
Inc. ' Estquedam mensura fidei '), which 5 MS. Laud. Misc. 2, fol. 159 b.
Bale (MS. Seld. sup. 64, f. 177) care- 6 'Frater T. Brisigham, sed in-
lessly identifies with Docking's Epos. cepit Oxoniae, &c.' Mon. Franc. I,
decalogi; and an anonymous treatise on 555.
the decalogue, which Tanner ascribes 7 Hist, of Norfolk, IV, p. 114. Cf.
to Docking (Inc. ' Si autem vis ad vitam Bale, Script.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 153
Chordigerae sec/ae' whose sermons were seen by Bale in the Franciscan
Library at Reading J.
The De Sacramentis Summa is his only extant work.
MS. Bodl. Laud. Misc. 2, f. 130 (sec. xiv. ineuntis).
9. William of Heddele (Durham or Northumberland ?) is
mentioned by Adam Marsh in a letter to the Provincial, c. 1253, as
'your desirable son Friar William de HedeleV We know from
another source that Heddele was reader at Oxford in 1269, when he
took part in the controversy with the Friars Preachers3. When
Prince Edward went to the Holy Land,
' he took with him,' in the words of the so-called Lanercost Chronicle 4,
' the reader and master of the Friars Minors at Oxford, Friar William
de Hedley, a man beloved of God and in favour with men.'
The chronicler puts these events in the year 1266. Edward took the
cross in 1268 and sailed in 1270. Friar William died on the outward
voyage in the sea of Greece :
' his corpse,' continues the same authority ' being given to the waves as
the custom is, followed the course of the ships for three days, until, at
Edward's command, it was taken again into the vessel and afterwards
committed to the earth.'
10. Thomas de Bungay (Suffolk) has been traditionally associated
with Roger Bacon and regarded as a wizard by later generations.
Very little is known of him. He perhaps entered the Order at Norwich.
He lectured as D.D. in the Franciscan convent at Oxford about 1270;
he seems like Roger to have attached a great importance to mathe-
matics and may have held his views on the value of natural science
and of induction. He lectured afterwards at Cambridge, being the
fifteenth in the list of Franciscan masters there. He was the eighth
English Provincial Minister, and was succeeded by Peckham, probably
in 1275. He was buried at Northampton8.
According to the Catalogue of Illustrious Franciscans he wrote
a Commentary on the Sentences ". None of his works are printed ;
only one seems to be extant in MS.
De celo et mundo : 3 books. Inc. ' Summa cognicionis, &c. Aristo-
teles probat hie tres questiones in primo capitulo. Prima est
1 Bale, Script. II, 93-4; MS. Seld. 8 Appendix C.
sup. 64, fol. 65 b; Wadding, Script. * Lan. Chron. p. 81.
1 66. This may equally well have 8 Mon. Franc. I, 537, 552, 555, 560.
been Henry de Apeltre, the twelfth Blomefield, Norfolk, IV, 114. Charles,
lector. Roger Bacon, p. 24.
3 Mon. Franc. I, 360. • Leland, Script, p. 302.
154 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
quod omne corpus est completum quo ad divisiones.' ExpL
' Hie terminantur questiones super 3 c. et m. a Magistro T. de
bungeya.'
MS. Cambridge : — Caius Coll. 509, § 3 (sec. xiv. ineuntis).
Cf. MS. Bibl. Nat. Paris 16144 (sec. xiii), 'Thomas super librum de
celo et mundo ' (Aquinas ?).
1 1 . John Peckham was born in Sussex and received his earliest
education in the Priory of Lewes 1. He took the Franciscan vows
about 1250 2; he was then tutor to the nephew of Master H. of Anjou,
perhaps in the University of Paris, but was probably for the time being
residing at Oxford s. On entering the Order he resigned the tutor-
ship. Adam Marsh calls him ' Dominus Johannes de Pescham Scholar is; '
he may therefore either have had no degree at this time, or that of
bachelor. He appears to have spent some time at Oxford, as in later
years he expresses his gratitude for the training he received in the
Franciscan convent of that University 4. He then returned to France,
studied under Bonaventura, and took the Doctor's degree at Paris,
where he ruled in theology 8. Among his pupils was St. Thomas of
Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford6. At Paris too he came in contact
with Thomas Aquinas and probably attended his lectures. He was
present when the latter submitted his doctrine about the ' Unity of form '
to the judgment of the masters in theology ;
' we alone,' the Archbishop wrote afterwards, ' stood by him, defending
him to the best of our power, saving the truth V
He was at Paris during the troublous times which followed William
of St. Amour's attack on the Mendicants, and wrote a defence of the
latter8. He returned to England probably about 1270 or soon after,
and was admitted at Oxford to the same degree as he held at Paris 9.
He now became lecturer to the Franciscans. On May 2, 1275, he
1 Peckham, Registrum, p. 902 : ' in * Registrant, p. 977. It is hardly
ipsius vicinia coaluimus a parvo, et ab necessary to add that he was not
ejusdem professoribus solatia recepimus a student at Merton ; as Archbishop,
et honores.1 he was patron of the college ; ibid.
2 Mon. Franc. I, 256. The date is 123.
uncertain. Adam Marsh describes him, 5 Mon. Franc. I, 537, 552. Trivet,
' quem et honestior con versa tio et litter- Annales, p. 299.
atura provectior commendabiliter illus- 6 Regist. p. 315.
trant.' For the spelling of the name, 7 Ibid. 866, 898. Henry of Ghent
cf. Rymer's Foed. I, 800, ' Peschan.' was also present ; see his Quodlibeia,
3 This is merely a deduction from the Quodl. II, quaest. ix.
fact that Adam Marsh wrote about his 8 Regist. Ill, xcvii, seq. (preface).
entering the Order. 9 N. Trivet, p. 299.
CH. ii.] LECTORS. 155
was with Friar Oliver de Encourt Prior of the Dominicans, appointed,
by the King's writ, to decide a suit in the University which had long
been under consideration in the Chancellor's court 1. It was probably
soon after this that he was elected ninth Provincial Minister and con-
firmed by Bonaventura 2. He did not hold this office long, being in
1277, summoned by the Pope (Nicholas III?) to lecture on theology
in the schools of the Papal Court at Rome 3. After lecturing here for
something less than two years, he was appointed Archbishop of
Canterbury by Papal bull in January 1279, and consecrated by the
Pope in the following March4. His official connexion with the
Order did not cease ; he was deputed by the Pope
' protector of the privileges of the Order of Minors in England,'
and frequently used his powers for the benefit of the Franciscans 5.
His relations to the Oxford Franciscans, as well as his condemnation
of erroneous doctrines at the University, have already been noticed.
While enforcing to the uttermost his legal rights, the Archbishop
evinced a special solicitude for the poor, feeding them in time of
famine, remonstrating with covetous abbats and careless landlords6.
He himself is said to have travelled on foot, to have surpassed all in
watchings and fastings and prayer, to have used none but vile garments
and bedding — in fine to have lived as became one who held perfection
to consist in the contempt of riches and the search for truth 7. He
died on December 8, 1292, and was buried 'among the monks' of
Canterbury near Becket's tomb 8. His heart was buried in the choir
behind the High Altar at the Grey Friars of London 9. He named as
his executors the Friars Minors of Paris 10. The Dominican Nicholas
Trivet sums up his character in these words n :
' He was a zealous promoter of the interests of his Order, an excellent
1 Close Roll, 3 Edw. I, m. 18, dorse. Archiepiscopate ; but it is not likely
2 Mon. Franc. I, 537, 560. Mr. that he was made lector by John XXI.
Martin says that Provincial Ministers Le Neve, Fasti ; Milman, VI, 410.
were at this time appointed by the * Registrum, pp. 210, 248.
General : this was the case at first, but ' Ibid. 715, 68-9, 38-9.
the custom was departed from as early 7 Lanerc. Chron. 144 ; Wadding,
as the time of William of Nottingham V, 53, 80 : Registrum, I, pref. Ix,
(1240). Mon. Franc. I, 59. xcix.
3 Mon. Franc. I, 560. Trivet, 299, 8 Mon. Franc. I, 537.
Lanerc. Chron. loo; Denifle, I, 301, » MS. Cott. Vitell. F, XII, f. 274.
seq. 10 Rymer, I, 800. An account of his
* Lanercost Chron. 100, 'post bien- bequests to Christ Church, Canterbury,
nium.' Nicholas III was elected Nov. will be found in the Public Library at
25, 1277 ; this leaves little more than a Cambridge, MS. Ee, V, 31, f. 74 b.
year before Peckham's nomination to the ll Annales, p. 299.
156 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
maker of songs, of pompous manner and speech, but of kind and thoroughly
liberal heart.'
A careful and valuable account of his works will be found in Mr. Trice
Martin's preface to Peckham's Register, Vol. Ill *.
A few additions may be made to Mr. Martin's list of his extant
writings.
Constituiiones Ottoboni cum expositions Peccham.
MS. Cambridge : — Pembroke Coll. 145 ( = 2073). Cf. Wilkins, Concilia,
II, 50-51.
Quaestiones ordinariae. Inc. ' Utrum theologia ex duobus.'
MS. Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 3183 (sec. xiv) ; containing the questions,
Utrum theologia sit prae ceteris Scientiis necessaria Praelatis Ecclesiae,
and, Utrum theologia ex duobus componi debuerit Testamentis. Cf.
MSS. ibid. 15805, Quodlibeta S. Thome, J. de Pechan, Guil. de Hozon ;
and 15986, f. 238 (sec. xiii), Responsio ad questionem Joh.dePeschant.
Tractatus Fratris Joannis Pecham Ord. Min. contra Fratrem Rogerium
(Ord. Praed.} olloquentem centra suum Ordinem (called by
Tanner, Contra Priorem Cisterciensium). Inc. ' Super tribus
et super quatuor sceleribus.'
MS. Florence :— Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Crucis, Plut. XXXVI. Dext.
Cod. xii. p. 25 (sec. xiv. exeuntis).
Formula confessionum. Inc. ' Sicut dicit b. Joannes.'
MS. Florence : — Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Crucis, Plut. IV. Sinist. Cod.
xi(A.D. 1433).
Scriptum super Ethicam.
MS. Florence : — Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Crucis, Plut. XII. Sinist.
Cod. xi.
12. Henry de Apeltre was the twelfth reader at Oxford, and
seventeenth master of the Friars Minors at Cambridge. Nothing
more is known about him 2.
13. Robert Cross or Crouche3 (de Cruce) must have lectured
at Oxford about 1280. In April of that year Peckham forbade an
Oxford Dominican to visit a certain ' college of women ' on account
1 Nicholas Glasberger says that he Derby, or in Northampton, or Apple-
wrote a life of St. Anthony of Padua, tree-Wick in Yorkshire ?)
' miro stiloj at the command of the 3 He may be the same as Robert de
Minister-General, Jerome of Ascoli. Sancta Cruce who went to the Minister
Anal. Franc. II, 91. General with a letter of recommendation
3 Mon. Franc. I, 552, 555. See H. from Adam Marsh (c. 1250?). Mon.
de Brisingham, note 5. (Appletree in Franc. I, 333.
CH. II.J LECTORS. 157
of grave suspicion, on the accusation of Friar Robert de Cruce *.
Leland states that he was immersed in philosophical studies to an
advanced age, and when at last he betook himself to theology he
showed greater skill in investigating speculative subtleties than in
exploring the literal sense ; the statement might be made with equal
truth of most of the scholastics. He became Provincial Minister
soon after 1280. The successor of John Peckham, Hugh of Bath,
died within a short time of his appointment, and was succeeded by
Robert Cross as eleventh minister2. He held the office in June
1284, when he obtained for the English Minorites exemption from
the payment of a custom due to the King from all who passed to
or from the Continent by the port of Dover 3. In Sept. of the same
year he held a chapter of the English Franciscans4; and in March
1285, he represented the English Province at the General Chapter of
Milan 5. He may have resigned the dignity at this Chapter ; on
Oct. 31, 1285, Peckham addresses a letter to ' W., Provincial Minister
of the Friars Minors ' ; this must be William of Gainsborough 6.
Robert Cross was buried at Bridgwater 7. None of his works remain.
Leland mentions his commentaries on the Physics and the Sentences,
on the authority of the Catalogue of Illustrious Franciscans.
14. B. de Toftis, called by Wood, Radulphus de Toftis.
15. Alanus de Hodano.
1 6. Roger de Marston or Merscheton 8 was D.D. of Oxford
and lecturer to the Franciscans before 1290. Some questions on
which he disputed, perhaps before he became doctor, are preserved
in a MS. at Assisi9. He subsequently lectured at Cambridge as
twelfth master of the friars 10. According to Ehrle, Marston's theo-
logical and philosophical teaching bears strong resemblance in some
respects to that of Peter John Olivi u. He became thirteenth Pro-
vincial Minister perhaps at the great Chapter of Paris in 1292,
1 Peckham, Reg. 117-8. 144. Qu. 134 runs thus: 'Disputacio
2 Mon. Franc. I, 537, 560. Roger! de Mirstun ordinis minorum.'
3 Pat. 1 2 Edw. I, m. 9. (Inc.) ' Circa emanacionem eternam.'
4 Peckham, Reg. 820. (At end): 'Ad(?) hanc questionem re-
5 Pat. 13 Edw. I, m. 27. spondetur quod essencia est principium,
* Peckham, Reg. 909. quo sit omnis productio.'
7 Mon. Franc. I, 537, 560. 10 Mon. Franc. I, 555: 'incepit
8 Mon. Franc. I, 552, 555, 560. Oxoniae.'
Other variations are Merston (ibid. 537, u Archiv f. Litt. u. K. Gesch. d. M.
and Assisi MS. 158, quest. 6) and III, 459; cf. 413. Are any of his
Mirstun (Assisi MS. 158, quest. 134). writings extant except the questions at
9 Assisi MS. 158, questions 6, 134, Assisi?
158 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
certainly between 1285 (when W. of Gainsborough was appointed)
and 1299 (when Hugh of Hertepol was Provincial). He is said to
have been warden of Norwich and to have died in I3O31. He was
buried at Norwich 2.
17. Alan de Wakerfeld3 was at Oxford in 1269, when he
represented his convent on several occasions in the controversy with
the Friars Preachers 4. He was not yet lector.
1 8. Nicholas de Ocham occurs in the Assisi MS. as Hotham,
Master Nicolaus de Hotham, and Frater N. de Ocham minor 5. He
lectured at Oxford towards the end of the thirteenth century. Except
the quaestiones disputatae at Assisi, it is doubtful whether any of his
works are extant 6. Leland says :
Catalogus eruditorum Franciscanorum "Nicholai Ochami meminit ; cujus
et depraedicat libros ; Commentaries, videlicet, in Sentential Petri Longobardi,
et opus, cui De Verbo titulus. Scripsit libellum De latitudine oppositionum,
ingeniosi iudicium astrologi 7.
Cf. MSS. Paris:— Bibl. Nat. 14565 f. 173 b (sec. xiv). 'Fratris
Nicholai minoris replicationes ; ' and Cambridge : — Caius Coll.
319, ' Nicholai super 2 et 3 sententiarum, in 3 libris.'
Another Friar Nicholas Minorite, (called by Sbaralea8, ' Specialis '), flou-
rished about the same time as, or soon after, N. of Ocham, and wrote
a chronicle on the Franciscan contest with the Pope, A.D. 1321-1328 (MS.
Bibl. Nat. Paris, 5154: Extracts in Bohmer's Fontes Rer. German. IV, 58 8 seq.)
19. Walter de Knolle was afterwards twenty-third master at
Cambridge 9.
20. Hugh de Hertepol or Hartlepool was a friar and a man of
importance in Oxford in 1282, when Devorguila appointed him to be
one of the two proctors to whom the government of the new college
of Balliol was entrusted ; the statutes of 1282 are addressed to ' Friar
Hugh de Hertilpoll and Master William de Menyl l0.' It was probably
1 Blomefield's Norfolk, IV, 112. 165 (of considerable length), 123,
2 Mon. Franc. I, 537. 'questio in vesperiis de Hotham'; and
3 Assisi MS. 158 twice mentions near the end of the volume, 'questio
Waker, who may be this Wakerfield. Hotham in vesperiis cnol (?) Oxon.
Quest. 76, and at the end of the volume Respondit persel.' The last letter in
' Waker dis(putavit) R(espondit) Perm- the name ' Cnol ' is uncertain ; but it is
(ard).' probably Walter de Knolle, Ocham's
4 Appendix C. successor at Oxford. Cf. H. de Herte-
8 In Devon's Exchequer Issue Rolls, pol and J. de Persora below.
Hen. Ill-Hen. VI, p. 114, there is 7 Tanner, Bibl. 556.
men tion of 'Master Nicholas de Ocham,' 8 Wadding, Sup. ad Script. 563.
30 Edw. I. ' Mon. Franc. I, 552, 556.
6 Assisi MS. 158, questions 161-3, 10 Savage, Balliofergns, p. 15.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 159
some years later that Hugh became S.T.P. and lecturer to the
Franciscan convent. His disputations seem to have been considered
valuable and several of them are preserved 1. He disputed
'in the vesperies before the inception of Friar John de Persole (i.e. Per-
sora, his successor) at Oxford V
He became fourteenth Provincial Minister, in succession to Roger
Marston. The date of his appointment or election is uncertain.
In April 1299", we hear of him going as Provincial, with Friar W.
of Gainsborough as his socius, to the General Chapter at Lyons ;
on this occasion the King gave to the two friars 10 marks. In 1300
(Aug. 7) at Dorchester (Oxon), he chose twenty-two friars of the
Oxford convent and presented them to Dalderby, Bishop of Lincoln *,
with the request that he would license them to hear confessions.
The bishop asked ' whether he was presenting them for all the
convents in the diocese of Lincoln,' and, finding that it was only for
the Oxford convent, refused to license more than four. At length
a compromise was effected, and eight of the friars were licensed to
hear confessions in the archdeaconry of Oxford. In isoi5, Hugh
was again abroad, probably at the General Chapter at Genoa. In
Sept. 1302, he was, with W. of Gainsborough and others, sent as
ambassador to the Court of Rome to negotiate for peace with the
King of France 6. While in Italy on this mission, he attended the
General Chapter at Assisi 7 ; he probably did not return to England,
as we are told that he was ' buried among the friars at Assisi 8.'
21. John de Persora or Pershore (c. 1390) called in the Assisi
MS. John de Persole (see above, under Hertepol).
22. John of Berwick lectured at Oxford before the end of the
thirteenth century. He was buried at Stamford. Bale identifies him
with a Brenlanlius who is referred to by John Pico de Mirandola
in his treatise contra Astrologos.
1 In MS. 158 at Assisi. See Part I, Script. 360.
Chapter III. 8 Mon. Franc. I, 537. The author
3 Ibid, quest. 185. of'Collis Paradisi ' (?) however quotes
3 Q. R. Wadr. f (R.O.), this refutes the following epitaph : ' Hie jacet Fr.
the statement in Collect. Angl. Min. Hugo de Hergilpol Anglicus Mag. in
that he was unanimously elected in 1300. S. T. quondam Minister Angliae, qui
4 Wood, MS. F, 29 a, fol. 178. obiit III id. Septembris A. D. MCCC
8 Q. R. Wardr. $$, m. i. Cf. Ry- sedo. Orate pro anima ejus.' Wadding,
mer's Foed. I, 936. ibid. The General Chapter met at
8 Almain Roll. 30 Edw. I (R.O.). Assisi in 1304, Archiv f. L.u. K. Gesch.
Cf. Mon. Franc. I, 514 (1302). VI, 67. Hugh was appointed ambassa-
7 Rodulphus, quoted by Wadding, dor to Rome, Sept. 9, 1302.
160 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
Joannis Anglici Ordinis Minorum Summa Astrologiae Judicialis, quae
anglicana vulgo nuncupatur (doubtful).
MS. Florence: — Laurentiana, in Plut. XXIX (Montfaucon, p. 237,
299).
Printed at Venice 1489, under the name of Joannes Eschvid (i.e.
Eshendon or Ashendon ; see MS. Bodl. 3467, p. 91).
Questiones Joannis de Berqyko de Ordine Fratrum Minorum de Formis.
MS. Venice : — Bibl. S. Anton. (Tomasin, p. 9).
Leland adds : ' Collaudat eruditorum Index Franciscanorum ejus
In longobardum elucubrationes l.
23. Thomas of Barneby, wrongly called by Brewer 'Johannes
de Barneby,' is identified by Wood, without much probability, with
the first Senior Dean of Merton College, who was appointed by
Kilwardby in I2762. He is mentioned in a record dated March 20,
1326, as 'master of the Friars Minors3.'
24. Adam of Lincoln, D.D. and regent master of the Franciscans
at Oxford, succeeded Hugh of Hertepol as fifteenth Provincial
Minister, probably in 1304*; he had ceased to hold the office in
i3io6. He was one of the doctors of theology appointed in the
Provincial Council of York in July 1311, to examine the charges of
heresy against the Knights Templars 6. He was buried at Lincoln.
The Register of the Friars Minors of London adds : qui fecit mira-
lilia ; probably some word like opera is to be supplied 7.
25. William of Gainsborough8 must have been Provincial
Minister before he lectured at Oxford 9. He was Provincial in Oct.
1285, being the twelfth in order10. He was doctor of theology in
1 Bale, Script. ,I.4i3;Leland,^n)>/., 7 Mon. Franc. I, 537.
326; J. Picus Mirand., Opera Omnia * Geynysborough,Geynisboru,Geines-
(Basel, 1572), Tom. I. Contra Astrol., burgh, &c.
Book XII. ' Mon. Franc. I, 553, 'qui primus
3 Wood-Clark, II, 371. Memorials (prius?) fuerat minister.' This was by
of Merton Coll. 185, n. i. no means unprecedented; Anal. Franc.
3 ' Fratri Baraabe Magistro fratrum I, 16 : ' Minister Generalis . . . absolvit
Minorum ; ' the rest of the passage is fratrem Simonem a ministerio Theu-
worn away : Q. R. Wardrobe, y (R.O.). toniae et lectorem instituit.' Cf. instances
The note in MS. Merton Coll. 55, f. among the Dominicans, Martene, Thes.
261, ' memoriale fratris Thome de Nov. Anecd. IV, pp. 1791, 1822.
Barneby pro 14 solidis,' is of the fif- 10 Peckham,Regist. 909. Mon. Franc.
teenth century. I, 537, 560. Cf. Chapter House Records
* Mon. Franc. I, 537, 560. (R-O.), A5V, P- 61 : ' fratri Willelmo
5 See notice of Richard Conyngton. de Geynesburg' ministro fratrum mi-
' Wilkins, Concilia, II, 399. nornm in Anglia revertenti in Angliam
CH. II.] LECTORS. 161
1294, when he was sent with Friar Hugh of Manchester, a Domini-
can, to the King of France, to protest against the latter's seizure of
Gascony and to renounce homage in the name of the English King '.
In 1299 he accompanied the Provincial, Hugh of Hertepol, to the
General Chapter at Lyons2. Early in 1300 he was called by Boni-
face VIII to lecture on theology in the Roman Curia3; the King
paid his expenses.
Fratri Willmo de Geynesburgh de ordine Minorum eunti ad curiam
Romanam ad mandatum Pape ad legendum de Theologia in palatio
ejusdem Pape, de dono Regis ad quatuor equos sibi emendos pro equita-
tura sua et socii sui et pro hernes' eorundem portand' versus eandem
curiam, 50 marc'. Eidem de dono Regis ad expensas suas morando in
eadem curia pro negotio predicto 50 marc', per manus Domini J. de
Broken' liberantis eidem denar' apud London' mense Maii. Eidem de
dono Regis nomine expensarum suarum eundo de Wysebech usque
London' pro dictis denariis ibidem recipiendis mense predicto 26s. Sd.
Summa 68 li 4.
During the two years that he remained at Rome5, his energies
were not entirely confined to his work as lecturer. Boniface was at
this time endeavouring to bring the war between France and England
to a close by arbitration. In Sept. 1300, Friar William of Gains-
borough was appointed by Edward I to act as one of his ' proctors
and special messengers' at Rome in this matter6; and in Sept. 1302,
he was employed with Hugh of Hertepol and others in the same
capacity7. On Oct. 24, 1302, the Pope, passing over the candidate
of the Chapter, nominated William, Bishop of Worcester; the con-
secration took place on Nov. 25, the enthronement on June 9, 1303 g.
As a protest against the Papal interference, the King imposed a fine
of i ooo marks on the new bishop 9, but granted him £ i oo for the
expenses for his inthronization in consideration of his great need10.
de Burdeg' ad expensas suas . . . de 5 Lanerc. Chron. 194; cf. date of his
dono Regis Ixvi* viiid sterl';' May 13 appointment to Worcester.
(1287 ?). 6 Almain Roll, 28 Edw. I (R.O.).
1 Trivet, Annales, 331. 7 Ibid. 30 Edw. I.
a Queen's Remembr. Wardrobe, f , m. 8 Le Neve, Fasti, III, 53. Annal.
i (R.O.). Monast. IV, 554, 555. For a full
3 ' Wardrobe Account 28 Edw. I,' ed. account of the inthronization, see
Topham, p. 164. Mon. Franc. I, 537, Thomas, Survey of Worcester, App.
553» 560, ' qui in curia Romana legit No. f6.
cursorie et ordinarie.' Lanerc. Chron. ' Pat. Roll, in Le Neve, III, 53, n.
says he was called to the Curia to read 96. Cf. Stubbs, Const. Hist. Ill,
theology ' coram cardinalibus," p. 194. 308-9.
* ' Wardrobe Account,' ut supra 10 Thomas, Survey, App. No 77 ; cf.
(May, 1300). Ann. Monast. IV, 556.
[62 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
William still continued to be employed in affairs of state1. In March
1307, at Carlisle, he demanded and obtained from the Papal nuncio
the excommunication of the murderers of John Comyn 2. On March
22, he was appointed to accompany Prince Edward on his journey to
France to claim the hand of Isabella 3. Later in the same year he
was sent on an embassy to Rome in connexion with the same affair 4 .
On his return journey6 he died at Beauvais (Sept. 17); as nearly all
his attendants died at the same time, it was believed that the calamity
was due to poison 6. The bishop was buried among the Friars
Minors at Beauvais 7.
26. John Basset.
One of this name is said to have written Chronica in English; he was
probably much later than this friar. Tanner, Bibl. 79.
27. Thomas Rondel or Rundel8 was lecturer at Oxford in the
last years of the thirteenth century, having previously read the
sentences at Paris9. In 1309 he was one of the commissioners or
inquisitors appointed to hear the accusations against the Knights
Templars ; he is then described as master of theology, and probably
resided in the convent at London 10, where he was buried n.
28. Adam of Howden or Hoveden or Houdene12 was D.D.
and probably regent master of the Franciscans at Oxford in 1300.
He was one of the twenty-two friars presented by Hugh of Hertepol
on July 26 of this year, to receive the bishop's license to hear
confessions at Oxford, and was one of the eight actually licensed u.
He afterwards read at Cambridge as the twenty-ninth master of the
Friars Minors M. An ' Adam de Houdene ' was chamberlain to W. of
Gainsborough, Bishop of Worcester (1302-7), but he was not a friar. 16
A sermon of his preached on the feast of Epiphany is in MS. Oxford,
New Coll. 92, f. 82 b16.
1 Cf. Rymer's Foed. I, p. 979. legerat sentencias Parisius.'
3 Lanerc. Chron. 206. 10 Wilkins, Concil. II, 336, 337, &c ;
3 Rymer's Foed. I, 1012; Lanerc. cf. 370, ' presentibus magistris minorum
Chron. 3 TO. et predicatorum, gardiano minorum,'&c.
4 Rot. Rom. i Edw. II, m. 10 (Le u Mon. Franc. I, 553.
Neve) ; Thomas, Survey, App. No. 78. 12 Phillipps MS., ut supra.
5 Thomas, ibid. l3 Wood MS. F, 293, f. 178.
fl Lanerc. Chron. 210. '* Mon. Franc. I, 556.
7 Mon. Franc. I, 537, 553. 15 Pat. 14 Edw. II, m. 9.
8 Assisi MS. 158, quest. 119: ' Dis- 16 'In festo Epiphanie ; Minorum;
pntavit Gilbertus (Stratton ?) ; Re- Houdene.' The MS. dates from the
spondit Rundel minor.' latter part of the i4th cent., but we may
9 Phillipps MS. 3119, fol. 76, ' qui without much hesitation identify ' II ou-
CH. IT.] LECTORS. 1 63
29. Philip of Briddilton or Bridlington was contemporary with
Adam of Hoveden, and like him was licensed as D.D. by the Bishop
of Lincoln to hear confessions in 1300 l. He responded in the schools
to Master Richard de Heddrington or Herington on the question
' an omnes beati equaliter participant beatitudine 2,' a problem which
agitated western Christendom in the early fourteenth century.
30. Peter de Baldeswell3 was at Oxford in 1300, when he was
presented by the Provincial to the Bishop of Lincoln, but not
licensed to hear confessions 4. He was not then D.D.
31. John de Horley, co. Oxon or Surrey (the same applies to
him as to P. of Baldeswell).
32. Martin of Alnwick was a member of the Oxford convent in
1300; he was among the twenty-two friars for whom Hugh of
Hertepol sought to obtain license to hear confessions, and was one of
those rejected. He was not a D.D. at this time 5. He took his
degree and lectured at Oxford between 1300 and 1311. In the
latter year he was summoned to Avignon to take part in the con-
troversy between the Conventual and Spiritual Franciscans, as one of
the four advisers of the General Minister. The matter was tried by
a commission of cardinals and theologians ; Martin and his fellows
pleaded the cause of the Conventuals, or Community of the Order.
The case was adjourned to the Council of Vienne and decided by the
bull Exivi de Paradiso (which was published in the last session of the
Council, May 6, 1313) in favour of the better section of the Con-
ventuals6. Martin of Alnwick was evidently one of the leading
Franciscans of the time. According to Bale he died 1336 and was
buried at Newcastle 7.
A universal chronicle, ' Flores temporum seu chronicon universale ab urbe
condita ad annum 1 349,' is sometimes attributed to him ; Leland, e. g.
says: ' Catalogus quoque Franciscanorum scriptorum Chronicorum
Alaunovicani meminit' (Tanner, Bibl. 515). See also MS. Arun-
del 371 (sec. xv). This is the chronicle of Hermann Gigas based
dene' with Adam of Hoveden, as the s Brewer's reading Haldeswel is
other preachers mentioned belong to the wrong. The Phillipps MS. also reads
end of the i3th century, e.g. Henry de Baldeswelle.
Sutton, friar minor, Symon de Gandavo, * Wood MS., ut supra.
Chancellor (Oxford), &c. * Wood MS., ut supra.
1 Wood MS. F, 29 a, f. 178. • Archiv f. Litt. u. Kirch. Gesch. II,
2 Assisi MS. 158, quest. 179. Ric. 361 ; III, 39; IV, 28 seq.
de Hederington succeeded to the prebend T Script, cent. V, 26.
of Ailesbury in 1 290. Le Neve, II, 95.
M 2
1 64 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
on the well-known chronicle of Martinus Polonus (printed 1750).
In the preface Hermann says that he has followed, ' inter moder-
nos, Martinum Romane sedis penitenciarium (?) de ordine fratrum
predicatorum ' (Ar. MS. 371, f. 2).
Several philosophical treatises by Martinus Anglicus are extant in MS.
Vienna : — Bibl. Palat. 4698 (sec. xiv).
33. Robert of Beverley.
34. Richard de Coniton or Conyngton (co. Cambridge or
Huntingdon) was at Oxford in 1300 and was one of the friars to
whom the Bishop of Lincoln refused the right to hear confessions '.
He became D.D. and lecturer to the Franciscans between 1300 and
1310. He was afterwards thirty-first master of the Minorites at
Cambridge 2. He was sixteenth Provincial of England, and held the
office in 13 io3. About this time the Order was disturbed by the
violent antagonism of the two parties within it — the ' Community/
the lax or moderate party which comprised the majority and included
the official heads of the Order, and the strict or ' Spiritual ' party.
A papal investigation into the causes of dispute and into the obser-
vance of Rule by the Order was instituted, and the leaders of each
party summoned to the Curia. Richard Conyngton as Provincial
was the official representative of the English Franciscans at Avignon
and Vienne (1301-1313)*. He was buried at Cambridge5.
He is said by Leland and Bale to have written a treatise De Christi
Domtnio against Ockham in defence of the papal authority 6.
Wadding states that he had seen Richard's Commentary on the
Sentences in the Vatican 7. Bale mentions his exposition on the
seven penitential psalms, ex monasterio Nordovicensi*.
Tr detains Magistri Richardi Conygion Minislri Angliae de pauper-
tate contra opiniones Fratris Petrijoannis (Oltvi). Inc. ' Beatus
qui intelligit super egenum et pauperem. Ps. Praecedit actus
meritorius.'
MS. Florence :— Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Cruets, Plut. XXXVI, Dext.
Cod. xii (sec. xiv exeuntis).
35. Thomas of Pontefract was at Oxford in 1300; when the
bishop of Lincoln refused to grant him license to hear confessions.
1 See above. 356 ; m> 39 5 Wadding, VI, 171.
a Mon. Franc. I, 556. * Mon. Franc. I, 538, 553. Bale gives
3 Ibid. 538, 560. Reports of Hist. 133° as the date of his death.
MSS. Commission, IV, 393 a, letter of * Leland, Script. 331 ; Bale, I, 404.
Gonsalvo, Minister General to ' Friar 7 Wadding, VII, 168.
R. minister of England,' 1310. 8 MS. Bodl., Seld. supra 64. iol.
4 Archiv f. Litt. u. K. Gesch. II, 160.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 165
He became D.D. and lecturer in theology some years after this. In
July 1311 he was one of the inquisitors appointed to extort confession
of heresy from twenty-four Templars in the Province of York 1.
36. Peter de Button; 'jacet Stanfordiae/ i.e. Stamford, co. Lincoln2.
37. Ralph of Lockysley3 or Lockeleye4 was regent master at
Oxford about 1310. He was buried at Worcester8. According to
Bale (I, 366) he wrote De paupertate evangelica, &c.
38. William of Schyrbourne (1312) was at Oxford in 1300; he
was one of the friars presented by the Provincial for license to hear
confessions, and rejected by the bishop of Lincoln 6. He was master
of the Friars Minors in 1312, and in this capacity gave some support
to the Dominicans in their controversy with the University 7.
Leland says : ' Ejus extant Quodlibeta Theologtca, lib. i.' (?) 8.
39. William of Nottingham is confounded with the fourth Pro-
vincial Minister by Wadding, Bale, Pits, and the Register of Friars
Minors of London 9. In a work attributed to him, but really com-
posed by his namesake, occurs the following note, in a hand of the
fifteenth century 10 —
' This Notyngham was secular canon and precentor of the Church of
York ' (and in another hand), ' afterwards he became a friar of the order of
St. Francis.'
In the absence of any confirmatory evidence, no weight can be attached
to this statement. No William of Nottingham occurs in Le Neve's
Fasti. At the beginning of the fifteenth century a John of Nottingham
held two prebends and was treasurer of York : and he may be the
person referred to in the first part of the note ; it is worthy of remark
1 Wood MS., ut supra; Wilkins' pro Inceptione in Theologia se dispo-
Concilia, II, 399 ; Lea, Hist, of the nenti, responsiones ad hoc secundum
Inquisition, III, 301. statuta Universitatis praedictae neces-
* Mon. Franc. I, 553. Cf. Digby MS. sario requisitae per magistrum Willel-
I54> f. 37 (sec. xiii, xiv) ; Letters of mum de Schireburn magistrum Fratrum
Friars P. de S. and others, to Roger de Minoram et alios etiam magistros prius
Merlawe, c. 1290-1300 (v. ibid. f. 38). concessae, de ordinatione ipsorum Can-
3 MS. Cott. Nero, A, IX. cellarii et Procuratorum ac quorundam
4 MS. Phillipps, 3119; Brewer's aliorum magistrorum, sunt penitns dene-
' Rockysley ' is a mistake. gatae.' (Oxf. Hist. Soc. Collectanea, II,
5 Mon. Franc. I, 553. 241.)
• Wood MS. F, 29 a, &c. 8 Tanner, Bibl. 668. Harl. MS. 5398
7 Twyne, MS. Ill, 327 (Acta fratrum (§ 3) contains a Sermon attributed to
Praedicatorum). ' Item Fratri Henrico John Schyrborn.
Croy conventus fratrum Praedicatorum 9 Mon. Franc. I, 70, 538.
antedicti, Baculario Sacrae Theologiae 10 Ball. Coll. MS. 33.
166 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
that the MS. originally came from York. William of Nottingham
must have been reader to the Franciscans soon after 1312. While
regent in theology at Oxford he was largely occupied in transcribing
MSS., especially the works of Nicholas de Gorham, the expenses being
defrayed by his brother Dominus Hugh of Nottingham 1. He succeeded
Richard Conyngton as seventeenth Provincial Minister2. In 1322 he
was at the General Chapter of Perugia, and, with the other ministers,
signed the famous letter in which the Franciscans declared that the
doctrine De paupertate Christi was not heretical but sane and catholic ;
this was the beginning of the revolt of the whole Order (as distinguished
from the Spirituals) against John XXII s. According to Bale he died
Oct. 5, 1336 4. He was buried at Leicester 5.
Bale ascribes to him Determinatio pro lege Christianorum, lib. i.
Inc. ' Numquid deus posset revelare aliquam legem.'
'Ex Redingensi Minoritarum cenobio.' (MS. Seld. sup. 64, f. 215.)
40. John de Wylton lectured at Oxford in 1314 : in February of
that year he appears, as representative of the Minorites, in a list of
twelve regent masters in theology (i. e. the theological faculty for the
time being), who condemned as heretical eight articles, chiefly con-
cerning the nature of the Trinity, in the convent of the Austin Friars 6.
Wood 7, Bale 8, and Tanner 9, call him an Austin Friar. Bale states
that he studied and lectured as master at Paris, and says that John
Baconthorpe, in his commentaries on Books I and II of the Sentences,
speaks of him with high praise 10. His works seem to have perished u.
41. John de Crombe (Cott. MS.) or Crombre (Phil. MS.) was
perhaps a native of Combs in Suffolk : he was buried at Oxford 12.
Compendium theologicae veritatis per fratrem Johannem de Combis,
lib. vii. Inc. ' Veritatis theologie cum superni.'
MS. Cambridge: — Caius Coll. 193.
1 Merton Coll. MSS. 166, 168, 169, * Script. Brit. I, 365.
170, 158. » Bibl. p. 778.
3 Mon. Franc. I, 538, 560. 10 I have not found this reference ;
3 Wadding, VI, 396-7 : he confuses Baconthorpe's commentaries on Sen-
William Provincial of England with tences I and II fill a folio volume of
William of Ockham ; VII, sub anno 378 leaves (Milan, 1510).
1323. u According to the Old Catalogue,
4 MS. Seld. sup. 64, fol. 215. MS. Bodl. 783 contains a treatise by a
8 Mon. Franc. I, 538. John Wylton (the monk of West-
6 Mun. Acad. p. 100. minster?) ; the entry is erroneous; the
7 Annals, sub anno 1270; elsewhere MS. (now Laud. Misc. 677) contains
Wood calls him John Middleton, nothing about John Wylton.
Minorite, ibid. p. 386. ia Mon. Franc. I, 553.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 167
Anonymous in MSS. Charleville 19 (written A.D. 1337), and Metz 448
(sec. xv) : generally ascribed to Albertus Magnus and printed at
the end of torn. xiii. of his works, Lyons 1651.
42. William of Alnwick is possibly identical with the friar called
Roger of Alnwick in the list of Oxford Franciscans presented to the
bishop of Lincoln in 1300 1. After lecturing at Oxford (c. 1315-1320?),
he was sent to the University of Naples, as Doctor of Theology 2. He
was present at the General Chapter of Perugia in 1322, and joined
with the other leading men in the Order in declaring that the doctrine
of Evangelical Poverty was not heretical3. In 1330 he was made
bishop of Giuvenazzo near Bari *. He is said to have died at Avignon
in 1332*. Bartholomew of Pisa mentions him among the famous
Franciscan theologians of the English nation6; William Woodford
places him among
'inceptores ordinis Minorum qui egregie scripserunt super sententias V
Questiones Almoich super primum Sententtarum.
Questiones Almoich in i et 2 Sententiarum 8.
MSS. Padua : — Bibl. S. Anton. (Tomasin, p. 61 b, 62 b.)
Cf. MS. Ball. Coll. 208 (sec. xiv), an abridgment of the commentary
of Duns Scotus on the 2nd book of the Sentences by ' Master
William of Alnwick, Friar Minor.'
43. William Herberd or Herbert, if we may credit the Lanercost
Chronicle, which is usually trustworthy at this period, was at Paris in
1 290 9. From his place in the list of masters, it might be inferred that
he lectured at Oxford about 1315-1320. But if the following works
ascribed to him are genuine, he must have flourished not much later than
1250-60. They are preserved in a fourteenth- century MS. formerly in
the library of Henry Farmer of Tusmor, Oxon, now in the Phillipps
Library at Thirlestaine House 10.
1 VfooAMS.,utstipra. Another Wil- 7 MS. Karl. 31, f. 96 b.
liamof Alnwick was bishop of Norwich 8 Tanner, Bibl. 354, says his com-
and Lincoln in the fifteenth century. mentaries on the Sentences ' extant
3 Mon. Franc. I, 553 : ' postea apud impr. . . . Lip.' (?)
Montem Bononiae Neapoli legit; de- * P. 135, a curious story about the
mnm Episcopus.' Jews at Paris; 'frater W. Herbert, qui
3 Wadding, VI, 396 ; Anal. Franc. vidit,' &c.
II, 129: 'Hugo de Novo Castro et 10 Bernard's Catalogues, Tom. II, no.
Gulielmus de Almuchia, sacrae theo- 9^59= Phillipps Catal. No. 8336 ; the
logiae doctores.' same volume contains some works of
4 Wadding, VII, 112, 169, 'ex Regest. Friar Nicholas Bozon ('Boioun'). I
Rob. Regis Siciliae.' have not had an opportunity of examin-
* Bale and Pits. ing these works of Herbert's, which are
* Lib. Conform, f. 81 b, ' Almoith.' probably of some value.
I 68 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
Sermo Fratris Willielmi Herebert in Ecclesia B. Mariae Virginis Oxon ;
in haec verba: ' Dixit mater Ihu ad eum, Vinum non habent.'
Sermo ejusdem Fratris in Ecclesia B. Mariae Oxon. in translatione
S. Edmundi Archiepiscopi in haec verba: 'Homo quidam erat dives et
induebatur purpura,' etc.
(St. Edmund was translated in 1247 ; the words however must mean in
festo translations, i.e. June gth.)
Ejusdem Fratris Epistolae summo Pontifici, Episcopo Coventrensi et
Lichfeldensi (Roger of Wesham?), Symoni de Montfort, etc.1
Historica quaedam de Papis Romanis (anon.}.
Tractatus de Veneno et Antidotis (anon.}.
Hymns in old English 2, quibus haec notula adjicitur : ' Istos Hympnos et
Antiphonas transtulit in Anglicum non semper de verbo in verbum, sed
frequenter sensum aut non multum declinando, et in manu sua scripsit
frater Willielmus Herebert ; qui usum horum autem habuerit, oret pro
anima dicti Patris.'
William Herbert was buried at Hereford, which was probably his
native convent3.
44. Thomas of St. Dunstan (Kent ?).
45. John of Beading (de Radingia) was buried at Avignon. He
had probably gone to the papal curia in connexion with the revolt of
Michael de Cesena and William of Ockham *.
Cf. MS. Florence :— Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Crucis, Plut. XXXV,
Dext. Cod. xi, Primus Fratris Joannis de Padingia (= Radingia?),
S.T.D. ord. Min. (super sententias ?).
46. John of Thornton ; the name is uncertain ; it may be Jornton ;
the Phillipps MS. reads Zortone.
47. Richard of Dray ton, was buried at Shrewsbury5.
48. Robert of Leicester seems to have been a prot£g6 of Richard
Swinfeld, bishop of Hereford, to whom he dedicated his first extant
work in 1294 6. He was S.T.P. and in residence at Oxford in 1325,
and probably lecturer to the friars about the same time. In this year
he was associated with Nicholas de Tyngewick, M.D. and S.T.B. as
' Magister Extraneus ' of Balliol College 7. The two were called upon
to decide whether the statutes of the College allowed the members to
attend lectures in any faculty except that of Arts, and ordained ' in the
presence of the whole community" that this was not permissible.
1 Not mentioned in the Phillipps * Ibid. 554.
Catalogue. * Ibid.
4 Inc.: 'Ha troe yat art so vayr y 6 MS. Digby, 2i2,f. 2.
kud ; ' Phill. Catal. 7 Hist. MSS. Commission, Report
3 Mon. Franc. I, 553. IV, 443 (deed in Ball. Coll. Archives).
CH. II.] LECTORS. 169
Among those present in the Hall of Balliol when the decision was
proclaimed was Richard Fitzralph, afterwards Archbishop of Armagh,
the great opponent of the Mendicant Orders *. Bale and Pits say that
Robert died at Lichfield in 1348; ' but,' adds Wood, ' I suppose 'twas
sooner.'
De compoto Hebreorum aptato ad Kalendarium, four parts with prologue ;
composed A. D. 1294. Inc. prol. ' Operis injuncti novitatem,
pater meritis insignissime, magister et domine R. Dei gratia
Herfordensis antistes ecclesie.'
Compotus Hebreorum purus. Inc. ' Prima earum est a creacione
mundi.'
Commentariolus supra tabulas in tractatu primo supra recensito
descriptas (or, De ratione temporum), written in 1295. Inc.
' Ad planiorem et pleniorem prescripti tractatus intelligenciam.'
These three works are contained in MS. Bodl. Digby 212 (sec. xiv).
Dis line Hones.
MS. Cambridge: — Pembroke Coll. 220, § i ; 'Enchiridion poeniten-
tiale ... ex distinctionibus . . . Rob. de Leycester (aliorumque).'
De pauper late Christi.
Attributed to him by Leland2.
49. Walter de Foxisley, or Pfoxle in Phillipps MS. (Norfolk
or Wilts ?).
50. Henry Cruche. A sermon by ' H. de Cruce, Minor/ is in
Merlon Coll. MS. No. 248, f. 170. This name is omitted in the list
given in the Phillipps MS.
51. John de Batforde (cf. 63rd master).
See MS. Bodl. Digby 216, f. 40, containing three theological ques-
tions to which the name ' Ratforde' is prefixed ; the MS. dates
from the fourteenth century : the questions are : ' an quilibet
adult us teneatur laudare Deum ; utrum ex sui meritl vel demeriti
circumstantiis juste debeat augeri -vel minui pena ; utrum ad omnem
actum creature rationalis concurrat necessario Dei ejflcientia specialist
52. John de Preston 3.
1 Hist. MSS. Commission, Report Hereberti synchronium, instructus serie
IV, 443 (deed in Ball. Coll. Archives). Catalogi De Scriptoribus Franciscanis ,
* Leland's authority was probably editi ;' Scriptores, p. 304.
the Catalogue of Franciscan writers in 3 A monk of this name is mentioned
which R. of Leicester was mentioned : in MS. 24 of Corp. Chr. Coll. Cam-
'colligo hunc (Robertum) fuisse Guil. bridge, A. D. 1348.
170 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
53. Walter de Chauton1 is no doubt identical with Walter de
Chatton, who with the warden was summoned to appear in the
Mayor's Court, to answer a charge, brought against the convent, of
wrongfully keeping two books, in I33O2; he evidently held some
official position at this time, presumably that of regent master. He is
said to have been warden of Norwich, probably his native convent,
and to have taught theology there s. He was one of the D.D.'s whom
Benedict XII consulted in drawing up his Statutes for the Franciscan
Order in 1336*. This fact lends some support to Bale's statement
that he became papal penitentiary and died at Avignon in I3438.
Bartholomew of Pisa mentions him among the famous writers of the
Order ; William of Woodford among those who entered the Order in
their youth, and ' wrote many works of great wisdom 6.'
Caihon sur les Sentences [W. Chatton7 or R. Cowton?].
MSS. Paris:— Bibl. Nat. 15886, 15887 (sec. xiv), two copies.
Questio fratris Galtheri magistri . . , de schaton, que est secunda in
ordine primi sui in prologo. Inc. ' Utrum Deus possit creare.'
Expl. ' Et ideo non est simile.'
MS. Cambridge: — Public Library, Ff. Ill, 26, f. 122, 123, 130 b.
Cf. MS. Harl. 3243, fol. 55, Adam Wodham de divisione, etc. contra
Cbatton.
54. John de Bidevaus, Rideval, or Bedovallensis, sometimes
called John de Musca, according to Bale 8, flourished about 1330. Of
the works attributed to him, the Commentary on Fulgentius seems to
be the same as that attributed to John Wallensis ; similarly perhaps
with the commentary on the letter of Valerius to Rufinus ; the moral
exposition of the Metamorphoses seems to differ from that ascribed to
Thomas Walleys and Peter Bercherius.
1 Chtantton (sic] in MS. Nero A, IX ; 3 Blomefield, Hist, of Norfolk, IV,
omitted in Phillipps MS. The name is p. 112. There is a Catton near Nor-
given in a variety of forms : Certhanton wich.
.or Certanton (Wood), Southampton 4 Baronius-Raynaldus, Ann. Ecclesi-
(Brewer), Catton, Gathon, Chattodunus ast. Vol. XXV, p. 92 ; Anal. Franc. II,
(Leland), Ceton, Cepton, Tepton (Barth. p. 166.
of Pisa, Pits, &c.), Schaton (N. Glas- 5 Script. Brit. I, 420.
berger, Analecta Francisc. II, 166), 6 Liber Conformitatum, f. 8ib; De-
Canton (' Chronologia historico-legalis fensorium, cap. 62 (Twyne, MS. XXII,
seraphici Ordinis Fratrum Minorum,' 1030).
Neapoli, 1650; quoted ibid, note 5), 7 Woodford refers to 'Chatone's'
Chvaton (Baronius-Raynaldus). commentaries on the Sentences ; MS.
2 Twyne, MS. XXIII, 488, from the Harl. 31, ff. 61, 96.
Oxford City Records ; cf. Part I, ch. iv. 8 Script. I, p. 409.
CH. IT.] LECTORS. 171
Leclura super Apocalypsi.
MS. Venice: — St. Mark, Class. I, Cod. 139, fol. 110-119 (sec. xiv),
' Extracta de lectura fratris Joannis Rydelbast super Apocalypsi,
ordinis Minorum.'
' Commentarius super Fulgencium continens picturas virtutum el vici-
orum sub ymaginibus deorum et dearum quos colebat vana super-
stitio paganorum editus afratre J. de Ridevall de ordinefratrum
minorum' Inc. ' Intencio venerabilis viri Fulgencii.'
MSS. Cambridge: — Pub. Libr. li II, 20, f. 121-162 (sec. xv) ; and
Mm I, 1 8, § 6 (xv).
Worcester Cathed. Libr. 154 ( = Bernard 829).
Venice : — St. Mark, Class. I, Cod. 139, f. 121-136 (xiv).
' Ovidii Metamorphoseos fabule ccxviii moraliter exposite? Inc. ' In
hujus expositionis initio.'
MSS. Cambridge : — Pub. Libr. li II, 20, f. 162-199 (anon, but in the
same writing as the Comment, super Fulgencium which it follows).
Wore. Cath. Libr. 89 (=764), 'Jo. Risdevallus.'
In Valerium ad Rufinum de uxore non ducenda. Inc. ' Loqui per-
hibeor.'
Cf. MSS. Cambridge: — Pub. Libr. Mm I, 18, § 5; and London: —
Lambeth Palace 330 (xv).
Commentaries on St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei. Inc. 'Magnus
dominus et laudabilis nimis in civitate Dei.'
MSS. Oxford :— C.C.C. 186 and 187 (sec. xv ineuntis)', on books
i, 2, 3, 6, and 7, by 'Jo. RydevalhV or 'Rydewall,' Friar
Minor '.
55. Lawrence Briton is perhaps the same as Laurentius Wallensis
mentioned by Tanner, who wrote a dialogue on free will 2. A sermon
by him is preserved in Merton College, MS. 248, f. 170. He flourished
about 1340. A Dominican of the same name was S.T.P. of Paris in
the thirteenth century 3. Among the MSS. mentioned in the old
catalogue (1381) at Assisi4, is a ' Summa mag. fratris Laureniii
Vualensis Anglici ordinis Minorum;' this is perhaps a mistake for
Johannes Wallensis.
56. John de Budinton or Rodyngton belonged to the custody
1 Cf. MS. Seld. sup. 64, f. 75. 3 Archiv f. Litt. u. Kirch. Gesch. II,
9 Tanner, Bibl. p. 473: 'MS. olim 171.
in bibl. Sion." The work is however * Fratini, Storia . . . del Convento di
printed and ascribed to Laurence Valla S. Francesco in Assisi (Prato, 1882),
(see Panzer, Ann. Typ.). p. 205.
172 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
of Oxford, and the convent of Stamford1. He was D.D. of Oxford2,
nineteenth Provincial Minister of England3, and is described in the
Register of the Grey Friars of London as ' vir sanctissimus V He
was buried at Bedford5; Bale and his followers mention 1348, the
date of the first great pestilence, as the year of his death.
Joannes Rodinchon in lib. i. Sententiarum.
Included by Joannes Picardus in his Thesaurus Tbeologorum (A.D.
1503) 6-
Johannis de Rodynton determinationes theologicae.
MS. Munich : — Bibl. Regiae, Cod. Lat. 22023 (sec. xiv).
Quaesliones super quartum librum Sententiarum (by the same author ?).
MS. ibid. fol. 18.
Questiones super quodlibeta rodincon,
MS. Bruges, 503 (sec. xv).
57. John de Howden (c. 1340).
[John Hoveden of London, S.T.P. and author of many works, was not
a friar ; he died A. D. 1275 : Tanner, Bibl. 415.]
58. T. Stanschaw, called by Brewer, G. Stanforth7, by others,
Thomas Stanchaw, Straveshaw, &c., was a Minorite of Bristol8. Bale
says:
'obiit Avenione A.D. 1346. Ex quodam Minoritarum registro9.'
Some sermons in MS. Merton Coll. 248 (sec. xiv exeuntis) are ascribed to
' Stanschawe.'
A number of works are attributed to him by Bale, ' ex Bibliotheca Nor-
dovicensi,' and ' ex officina Roberti Stoughton 10.'
59. Edmund Graf ton.
60. Stephen Sorel.
6 1. Adam Wodham or Godham was one of the most famous of
the later Franciscan schoolmen u. He is said to have lived chiefly at
1 Mon. Franc. I, 560 ; Tanner, Bibl. 7 The ' G ' is certainly wrong ; the
638. initial ' T ' is inserted in a later hand
2 Mon. Franc. I, 554, 560, 538. in Cott. MS. The name is doubtful ;
Cf. John Major, Gesta Scotorum, I, MS. reads Stanscfi or Stanftfr.
cap. 5. 8 Tanner, Bibl. 691.
3 Mon. Franc. I, 538, 554. * MS. Seld. supra 64, fol. 1 75 ; Script.
4 Ibid. 538. 5 Ibid. 1, 427-8.
* Willott, Athenae, pp. 237-8. Ac- '° MS. and Script, ut supra.
cording to Sbaralea, the Thesaurus was ll Earth, of Pisa,LiberConformitatnm,
approved in 1503, parts were printed at f. 81 b ; Wadding, VI, 344. John Major,
Milan in 1506, and the entire work was who edited a version of his Sentences in
preserved in the Franciscan Library 1512, calls him : 'Vir modestus, sednon
at Assisi ; Wadding, Sup. ad Script. inferioris doctrinae aut ingenii quam
p. 451. Ockam,' Gesta Scot. Lib. IV, cap. 21.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 173
Norwich, London, and Oxford 12, and was probably reader in theology
at several convents in succession. He was a follower of William of
Ockham in philosophy and probably attended his lectures. He may
be the Adam to whom Ockham's Summa logices was addressed *. The
date of his lecturing as regent master at Oxford is unknown ; it must
have been about 1340 or soon after. He was perhaps the 'Frater
Adam magister in sacra theologia de Anglia/ who went to Basel in
1339 to consult Friar James de Porta on some miracles alleged to
have been wrought there 2. He died, if we may believe Bale, at Bab-
well in 1358s.
Comment, in IV libros Sententtarum, abbreviated by Henry of Oyta.
Inc. prol. ' Ista est lex Adam.'
MSS. Paris:— Bibl. Nat. 15892 and 15893 (sec. xiv) *.
Bruges, 162, ' Magistri Adae lecturae super IV. Sententiarum ' (?).
Toulouse, 246, the abbreviated version of the lectures of Adam
Godham or ' Adam de Vodronio ' by Henry de Hoyta, written in
the Franciscan convent at Paris, A.D. 1399.
Rouen, 581 (sec. xiv-xv).
Printed at Paris, 1512. Perhaps some of the MSS. cited above
contain the original work of Adam Wodham. See Wadding,
Sup. ad Script. 2-3.
Quaesiiones variae philosophicae et theologicae, by Godham and others 5.
MS. Brit. Mus. : Harl. 3243 (sec. xiv).
Comment, super Can/tea Canticorum.
MS. formerly in the Franciscan Library in London (Leland, Collect.
Ill, 49).
Postilla super Ecclesiasticum, Lib. I.
' Ex registro Decani Nordovicensis ' (Bale MS. Bodl. Seld. sup. 64).
Deter minationes, or, Determinations XI. Inc. ' Utrum officina.'
Mentioned in Catalogus illustrium Franciscanorum, and by Bale (MS.
ut supra) ( ex bibliotheca Nordovicensi V
12 Tanner, Bibl. 329 ; Wadding, VIII, out any commentary.
1 39 ; J. Major's preface to Wodham's * Cf. notice of Walter Chatton.
Sentences, ed. 1512. • Bale adds that he wrote Sententias
1 Wadding, Sup. ad Script. 327. et conclusiones, Lib. I, ' Absolutio cri-
3 Analecta Franciscana, II, 177. minis sive peccati ' (on the power of the
3 Bale, Script. I, 447. Mendicantstohearconfessions.especially
* In the Bibliotheque de 1' Arsenal, against Wetheringsete), ex officina Ri-
MS. 5 1 4 (plim 55 1 ) has the note : cardi Kele ; Sententias Oxoniensis con-
' Verisimile est authorem hujus libri esse silii, Lib. I, 'Sententie septem pomm-
magistrum Adamum de Rodromo' (i.e. tur' (?). MS. Bodl. Seld. sup. 64, fol.
Wodham). The MS. really contains 9. For Wetheringsete or Wetherset,
only Peter Lombard's Sentences with- see Tanner, Bibl. 759.
174 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. II.
62. Robert de Redclive.
63. Thomas Radford (cf. 5ist master).
64. John Went or Gwent was a native of the Bristol custody l.
He probably incepted in theology and lectured to the Friars at Oxford
about 1340 or soon after. His character for holiness was such that
he was believed to have wrought miracles in his lifetime 2. He suc-
ceeded John de Rodyngton as Provincial Minister, being the twentieth
in Order, probably between 1340 and i35os. Bale adds:
'he died at Hereford A.D. 1348, as I have found in a register of the
Minorites V
It is however not improbable that he found only the first statement
in the register and added the date. Both the catalogues of the Pro-
vincial Ministers state that he was buried at Hereford 5.
65. Thomas Oterborne can hardly have written the chronicle
generally ascribed to him. The chronicle itself bears no marks of
having been written by a Franciscan ; even the notices of the Order
given in Walsingham and the Eulogium Historiarum are sometimes
omitted, and usually shortened, in the so-called Otterbourne. But
apart from this, the evidence of dates is fairly conclusive: the
chronicle, as edited by Hearne, leaves off abruptly in the year 1420,
and Hearne puts Otterbourne's death at 1421. Pits and Wood
suppose from MSS. which end in 1411 that the writer died in that
year. Hearne says
there are not wanting MSS. which bring the history hardly beyond
Edward III.'
But even assuming the existence of such MSS. it is practically
impossible that they can have been the work of the Franciscan doctor.
Thomas Oterborne must have lectured at Oxford before 1350. It is
true that the last nine names of lectors given in the list are in a more
recent hand than the earlier ones ; but the names of Went and Oter-
borne are in the same writing, and there can be no reasonable doubt
that they were contemporaries. The dates of Oterborne's two imme-
diate successors at Oxford are unknown 6, and the list of lectors here
comes to an end. We cannot therefore know whether there were
any more lectors before Simon Tunstede. Assuming that he was the
1 Mon. Franc. I, 560. are uncertain.
2 Ibid. 538. * Script. Brit. I, 432.
3 W. of Nottingham, 1 7th Minister in 5 Mon. Franc. I, 538, 560.
1322; Thomas Kingesbury, 26th Minis- ' Unless the conjecture about J.
ter in 1 380 ; the dates between these Valeys is correct.
CH. II.] LECTORS. 175
sixty-eighth lector, we may naturally conclude that the sixty-fifth read
several years before him, i.e. several years before 1351 when Simon
was ' regent among the Minorites at Oxford V It is therefore most
probable that Thomas was reader not later than 1345. The his-
torian was perhaps the Thomas Otterburn who became rector of
Chingford in 1393 and was ordained priest in I3942.
66- John Valeys 3 was perhaps the Friar John Wells who took a
prominent part in the disputed election to the Chancellorship in 1349,
as a supporter of John Wyllyot, fellow of Merton, whose conduct
seems to have been of a peculiarly riotous and lawless character *.
He may possibly be the John Welle, S.T.P. and Friar Minor 5, who
was robbed by his servant in London in 1377 ; some curious details
about this affair will be found in Appendix B.
67. Richard Malevile of the London Custody (c. 1350?); this
name is added in a still later hand.
1 Digby, MS. 90, f. 6b (i 4th century), clearly written in the Cott. MS : it may
in Bodleian. be Vilers : cf. Memorials of Merton
2 Tanner, Bibl. 567. The chronicle is Coll. p. 199.
in Brit. Mus. MS. Cotton, Vitell. F, IX. * Wood, Annals, A.D. 1349.
3 The name is unfortunately not 5 Pat. i Ric. II, pt. 4, m. 37.
CHAPTER III.
FRANCISCANS WHO STUDIED IN THE CONVENT AT OXFORD,
OR HAD SOME OTHER CONNEXION WITH THE TOWN
OR THE UNIVERSITY.
Agnellus or Angnellus of Pisa was custodian of Paris before
becoming first Provincial of England l. He is said to have been
made Provincial by St. Francis in 1 2 1 9 2 ; the order as given by
Francis a S. Clara 3 is as follows :
' Ego frater Franciscus de Assisio Minister Generalis praecipio tibi fratri
Agnello de Pisa per obedientiam, ut vadas ad Angliam, et ibi facias officium
Ministeratus. Vale. Frater Franciscus de Assisio.'
It may be doubted whether this letter is authentic, nor is the date
beyond dispute. It may be considered as certain that Agnellus did
not come to England till September 1224*. He was then a deacon,
and about thirty years of age 5. He landed with eight others at Dover,
went to Canterbury, and thence to London, establishing houses and
receiving novices. Such was his humility that he long refused the
order of priesthood, and only at length consented, when the Provincial
Chapter had procured a command from the General Chapter, that the
order should be conferred on him 6. He was a zealous guardian of
the primitive poverty of the Rule of St. Francis, and would only allow
houses to be built or areas to be enlarged where it was absolutely
necessary 7. He urged the demolition of a conventual building called
Valvert at Paris, and forbade the enlargement of the house at Glou-
cester : he had the infirmary at Oxford built so low that a man could
I Mon. Franc. I, p. 5. in Episcopio Audomarensi servabatur.'
II Wadding, I, 303 ; Anal. Franc. II, 4 Mon. Franc. I, p. 5. Cf. Lanerc.
pp. 14-15. Chron. p. 30; Annals of Wore. p. 416
3 Christ. Davenport, Opera omnia (Ann. Monast. IV).
(Duaci 1665), Tom. I, Hist. Minor, p. 2 : 5 Mon. Franc., ibid,
he adds, 'Originale meo adhuc tempore ' Ibid. 53-4. 7 Ibid. 34, 35, 36-7.
CH.I1I.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 177
scarcely stand upright in it. He built a school at Oxford of more
generous proportions, and encouraged the love of learning in the
Order l. The choice of Grostete as the first master of the Minorites
was due to Agnellus2. He was, according to Matthew Paris, on
familiar terms with the King, and was one of his counsellors s. In
December, 1233, he offered his services as peace-maker between
Henry III and the rebellious Earl Marshall, though his efforts to
induce the latter to submit were unavailing *. It would seem to have
been after this that he went to Rome on some business of the English
prelates 5, and he may also at the same time have attended a General
Chapter in Italy *. On his return, he was seized with dysentery at
Oxford ; it was believed that his health had never recovered from the
severities to which he was exposed while labouring for peace in the
winter of 1233 7. He recommended that the General Minister, Elias,
should be requested to appoint Albert of Pisa, or Haymo, or Radulf
of Rheims, as his successor. He constituted Peter of Tewkesbury his
Vicar, and made his last confession to him. He died at Oxford in
great pain, crying continually, ' Vent, dulcissime Jesu! The exact date
of his death is uncertain; it was probably early in 1235". He was,
says Eccleston,
' a man specially endowed with natural prudence and foresight, and con-
spicuous for every virtue '.'
He was buried in a wooden or leaden coffin in the choir of the
chapel before the altar. When this chapel was superseded by the
larger church, the friars came by night to remove the body; they
found the coffin and the grave
' full of the purest oil, the corpse with its garments incorrupt and smelling
most sweetly.'
His bones were laid with due pomp in ' a fair stone sepulchre ' in
the new church, and the miracles which were wrought at his tomb
were a source of honour and profit to the Convent at Oxford 10.
1 Mon. Franc. I, 37 ; cf. Earth, of
Pisa, fol. 79 b.
* Mon. Franc, ibid.
3 Chron. Majora, III, 257: 'familiaris
erat domino regi et consiliarins ipsius.'
4 Ibid. Cf. p. 251 ; Mon. Franc. I,
52 ; Ann. Monast. I, 92.
5 Mon. Franc, ibid.
6 He was present at the translation of
the body of St. Francis in 1230; ibid. 5.
7 Mon. Franc. I, 52-4, account of his
death, &c.
8 This
Nero A.
MCC 35
and Cott.
9 Mon.
10 Ibid.
80; 126, '
is supported by MS. Cott.
IX, f. 70 b : ' A° domini
frater Agnellus . . . obiit,'
Cleop. B. XIII, f. I46b.
Franc. I, 52.
54; Earth, of Pisa, fol. 79,
miraculis pluribus decoratus.'
178 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Richard de Ingewrthe or Indewurde (Norfolk) is named
second in the list of friars who came over with Agnellus in 1224.
He was a priest and advanced in years ; according to Eccleston he
was the first Minorite who preached to the people * citra monies!
With three other friars he established the first house of Franciscans
in London (at Cornhill) ; he then proceeded to Oxford with Richard
of Devon, hired a house of Robert le Mercer in St. Ebbe's, and thus
founded the original convent in the University town. The two com-
panions then went on to Northampton, where they again hired a house
and founded a friary. Richard of Ingewrthe afterwards became
custodian of Cambridge, which was specially noted for its poverty
under his rule. In 1230, when Agnellus attended the General Chapter
at Assisi, he was associated in the Vicariate of the English Province
with Henry de Ceruise or Treviso, a lay-brother from Lombardy.
Soon after this he was sent by the General, John Parens, as Pro-
vincial Minister to Ireland. At length he was released from the
office in General Chapter by Albert of Pisa (c. 1239), set out as a
missionary to Palestine, and died there l.
Richard of Devon, a young acolyte, was the third of those who
came over with Agnellus. He accompanied R. of Ingewrthe from
Canterbury to London, Oxford, and Northampton ;
'and (in Eccleston's words) left us many examples of longsuffering and
obedience. For after he had traversed many provinces in obedience to
commands, he was for fifteen years worn out by frequent quartan fevers
and remained continually at Romehale V
Adam of Oxford was a master before he entered the Order 3. The
account of his conversion given by Eccleston 4 is as follows :
Master Adam of Oxford, of worldwide fame 5, had made a vow that he
would do anything he was asked to do ' for the love of the blessed Mary ; '
and he told this to a certain recluse, who was a friend of his. She
revealed his secret to her friends, that is, to a monk of Reading, another
of the Cistercian Order, and a Friar Preacher; telling them that they
could gain such a man in such a way ; not wishing that Adam should
become a Friar Minor. But the Blessed Virgin did not permit anyone in
1 Mon. Franc. I, 5-7, 7, 9, 10, 27. out any foundation, so far as the former.
I have found no authority for the form is concerned ; see William of Esseby.
' Kingesthorp ' which Leland, and his s Mon. Franc. 1, 15. In the Phillipps
followers Bale and Pits, substitute for MS. of Eccleston he is called ' Ada de
Ingewrthe, except a late marginal note Exonia' (fol. 72 b).
in Phillipps MS. 3119, f. 71. * Ibid. 15-16.
2 Mon. Franc. I, 6, 7, 9, 10. Bale's s ' Toto famosus orbe,' probably when
statement that R. of Devon and W.Eton Eccleston wrote, i.e. after Adam's
' seipsos castrabant ' is probably with- death.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 179
his presence to make the needful request ; but deferred it to another time.
One night he dreamed that he had to cross a bridge, where some men were
throwing their nets into the stream, endeavouring to catch him: but he
escaped this with great difficulty and reached a very peaceful spot. Now
when by the divine will he had escaped all others, he went casually to see
the Friars Minors, and during the conversation Friar William de Colvile,
the elder, a man of great sanctity, said to him : ' Dear master, enter our
Order for the love of the Mother of God and help our simplicity.' And
Adam immediately consented to do so, as if he had heard the words from
the lips of the Mother of God.
He assumed the habit on January 25*, probably A.D. 1227. He
was at this time assistant, or secretary2, to the great Adam Marsh,
whom he soon afterwards induced to join the Franciscans. Shortly
after this, Adam of Oxford went to Gregory IX, and was at his own
desire sent to preach to the Saracens 3. From a letter of Grostete's,
addressed to Agnellus and the Convent of Friars Minors at Oxford,
relating to this subject, and written in or before 1231 *, we learn that
Adam had formed the resolution of going to preach to the infidels
before he entered the Order, and that he was induced to take this
latter step partly because it was likely to add to his influence as a
missionary. Grostete urges the Friars not to grieve for his loss :
' for the light of his knowledge is so bright that it ought to be concentrated
most there where it may dissipate the thickest darkness of infidelity.'
« Have no fear,' the writer continues, ' that he will be cut off from the
"Sacred Page;" he has humility, and no " haeretiea pravitas " will slip in.'
He died at Barlete, and miracles are said to have been wrought by
his relics or his memory 8.
William of York, ' a solemn bachelor,' was probably an Oxford
man, as he entered the Order on the same day as Adam of Oxford '.
Adam Rufus7 studied under Grostete in the early part of the
thirteenth century, presumably at Oxford. A letter from ' Robert
Grostete called Master/ written perhaps before he held any prefer-
ments, i.e. before 1210, addressed to 'Master Adam Rufus,' is
extant; it is a treatise on the nature of angels, and Grostete asks
Adam to inquire diligently the opinions of the wise men, with whom
he converses, on the subject. In another letter written about 1237,
1 ' In die conversionis Sancti Panli;' then Archdeacon of Leicester, an office
Mon. Franc. I, 15. which he resigned in 1231.
* 'Fuit autem tune socius Magistri 8 Mon. Franc. I, 16.
Adae de Marisco et ad robas snas;' 6 Ibid. 15.
ibid. 3 Ibid. 16. 7 See Grosseteste, Epistolae, Nos. I,
* Letter II (pp 17-21) : Grostete was XXXVIII, and p. 449.
N 2
180 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Grostete mentions having heard of Friar Ernulphus, papal peni-
tentiary, from 'Friar Adam Rufus of good memory,' formerly his
beloved pupil and friend. It may be inferred from his connexion with
Grostete and Ernulphus or Arnulfus, Vicar of the Order of Minorites l,
that the Order which he entered was that of the Franciscans.
Henry de Reresby, who entered the Order abroad, was vicar of
the custodian of Oxford about 1235 or before. He was made first
provincial of Scotland by Elias, but died before he could enter on his
duties*. According to Leland's notes from Eccleston he died at
Leicester ; according to another account, at Acre in Norfolk s. After
his death he appeared to the custodian of Oxford, and said that,
' if the friars were not damned for excess in buildings, they would at any
rate be severely punished,' and added, ' if the friars said the divine service
well, they would be the sheep of the Apostles V
Walter, a canon of Dunstable, and John, a novice of the same
priory, escaped from their house through a broken window and joined
the Franciscans at Oxford in 1233. Walter afterwards returned with
three Minorites to the Chapter of Dunstable, seeking absolution.
After submitting to corporal punishment, he was absolved ; he was
further ordered to restore the books and clothes (gualernos et pannos]
which he had taken with him, and to deliberate for a year — i.e. during
his noviciate — whether the discipline of the Order which he had
entered was more severe than that of the Order he had left ; if it were
so, he was to remain a Minorite ; if not, he was to return to Dunstable.
John was found by the Prior of Dunstable at London and similarly
absolved : he afterwards went to Rome 5.
John of Beading, who became Abbat of Osney in 1229*, joined
the Minorites in 1235, probably at Northampton 7. He is probably the
Abbat to whom Bartholomew of Pisa refers as having assisted with
his own hands at the building of the Franciscan Church at Oxford 8.
He was certainly at Oxford about 1250, when Adam Marsh wrote
1 Mon. Franc. I, 45, 47. 2 Ib. 25, 32. (Ann. Monast. Ill, 133-4).
3 Ibid. 549, cf. p. 32 : 'Fratrem 6 Annals of Osney, p. 70 (Ann.
Albertum in loco Leycestriae . . . rece- Monast. Vol. IV)
pit.' Leland's notes are from the T Ibid. 82 ; cf. Mon. Franc. I, 16.
Phillipps MS. of Eccleston, which differs M. Paris under the year 1241 writes,
in some respects from the Cotton and ' the Abbat of Osney smitten with
York MSS. But Phillipps MS. fol. 74 pusillanimity of mind, left the Order of
adds in a marginal note in an old hand, the great doctor Augustine and migrated
' obiit autem in Acria, plenus dierum.' to the Order of Minors, wishing to try
* Ibid. 25. the novelty;' IV, 163.
8 Annals of Dunstable, anno 1233 8 Liber Conform, fol. 79 b.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 1 8 1
to the Provincial that he was in ill-health and requested that Friar
Adam de Bechesoueres, the physician of the Order, might be sent to
Oxford to attend him1. Another 'Frater Johannes Anglicus de Redingis'
was Visitor of Germany in 1229, and Minister of Saxony 1230- 1232 2.
Albert of Pisa did not, as stated by Bartholomew of Pisa and
others, accompany Agnellus to England. He was (according to
Eccleston) Minister of Hungary, Germany (1223-1227), Bologna, the
March of Ancona, the March of Treviso, Tuscany, perhaps of Spain
in 1227 3. He was one of the three recommended by Agnellus as fit
persons to succeed him as Provincial of England, but he was not
appointed by Elias till almost a year after the death of the first
Minister* (c. 1236). He reached England on December 13, and
celebrated a Provincial Chapter at Oxford on February 2 5. On
another occasion Eccleston tells us —
' Friar Albert was present at the sermon of a young friar at Oxford ; and
when the preacher boldly condemned loftiness of buildings and abundance
of food, he rebuked him for vainglory V
Soon after his arrival, Albert appointed lecturers at London and
Canterbury 7, though he does not appear to have been a learned man
himself. His connexion with Oxford was slight, and his acts as
Provincial can hardly claim a place here. After remaining two years
and a half in England, he went to Rome to take part in the pro-
ceedings against Elias8. On the deposition of the latter (May 15,
1239), Albert was elected Minister General. He died in the same or
the following year 9 and was buried at Rome 10.
1 Mon. Franc. I, 320 (letter 178);
for the date see p. 139, n. 8.
2 Chronica Fratris Jordani in Anal.
Franc. I, 17, 18.
3 Mon. Franc. I, 54 ; Wadding,
Annales III, 22. The period of his
ministry in Germany is given by Jordan,
Anal. Franciscana I, II, 16 ; the au-
thority for his ministry in Spain is
Chronica Anonyma, ibid. 284.
4 Mon. Franc. 1, 53, 54.
4 Ibid. 55. • Ibid. 60.
7 Ibid. 38. • Ibid. 58, 47.
9 The list of General Ministers in the
Reg. Fratrum Minorum Londoniae
states : ' Frater Albertus Pisanus fuit
ivui generalis, et ministravit tribus
annis ; qui prius fuit minister in pro-
vincia Angliae.' Mon. Franc. I, 553.
Eccleston mentions no space of time,
but states that Haymo was made Minis-
ter of England in the same Chapter in
which Albert was elected General, that
he 'ministered one year in England,
and was afterwards elected General '
(ibid. 57, 59). There is no reason to
suppose that Haymo resigned the Pro-
vincialate before he became General.
The early dates in the Registrum are
untrustworthy. Further, a note to the
Phillipps MS. of Eccleston (fol. 76,
dorse') says, in a list of General Minis-
ters : ' quintus fuit frater Albertus de
Pysis bonus et sanctus homo qui non
vixit in ministerio nisi sex mensibus et
migravit ad dominum.' The handwriting
of the note is about contemporary with
that of the text
10 Mon. Franc. I, 48, 58.
l8a THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Ralph of Maidstone, bishop of Hereford 1234-1239, resigned his
see in December, 1239, and was admitted into the Franciscan Order
by Haymo1 . He took this step in accordance with a vow, made
perhaps before he became bishop 2. It is uncertain at which convent
he took the habit. Bartholomew of Pisa states that he helped with
his own hands to build the church at Oxford 3. It is not improbable
that he was there for some time. He was a Master of Paris, noted
for his learning, and was among the ' famous Englishmen ' who left
Paris owing to the disputes in 1229 and settled at Oxford on the in-
vitation of Henry III 4. According to a later addition in one of the
MSS. of Eccleston's Chronicle, he lived five years after assuming the
habit, staying for the most part in the convent of Gloucester 5. The
Dunstable Annals state that he was, for a time at any rate, rendered
incapable by a fall from a rock, but whether this took place before or
after he became a friar is not quite clear 6. He died at Gloucester
(c. 1245) and
' was buried in the choir of the brethren, in the presbytery, on the north
side under an arch 7.'
A most interesting relic of the friar-bishop is now in the British
Museum. Royal MS. 3 C. xi, a copy of the New Testament
with gloss (sec. xiii), belonged to the Friars Minors of Canterbury,
' ex dono Fratris Radulphi de Maydenestane, quondam Episcopi Herefordensis.'
He wrote a Commentary on the Sentences when he was Archdeacon
of Chester (c. A. D. 1220). This is mentioned in a treatise on
the Sacraments, ' secundum Mag. R. de Maidinstan archi-
diaconum Cestrensem super Sententias?
MS. London: Gray's Inn, 14, f. 28-32 (sec. xiii).
William of Nottingham was marked out by nature for a Mendicant
Friar.
' He told me,' writes Eccleston, ' that when he was living in his father's
1 Mon. Franc. I, 58. Eccleston gives obligatus.' Earth, of Pisa, Lib. Con-
a somewhat confused account of the form. f. 82, loib; an account of the
vision relating to the event ; the vision vision in consequence of which he
seems to have appeared to Haymo. See became a Minorite.
Annals of Tewkesbury (R. S.), sub anno 3 Liber Conform, f. 79 b.
1239; and Mon. Franc. I, 542 (A. D. * M. Paris, Chron. Majora, III, 168;
1239). cf. ibid. Ill, 305. Lyte, Oxford, p. 31.
2 M.Paris, Chron. Majora, IV, 163; 5 Mon. Franc. I, 59, note i. This
Hist. Angl. II, 374 : ' Magister Radul- passage does not occur in the Phillipps
phus de Madenestane, vir quidem mora- MS. of Eccleston.
lis et eliganter literatus, sed ordini 6 Ann. Monast. Ill, pp. 148, 156.
Praedicatorum (!) fidei interpositione 7 Mon. Franc. I, 59, n. i.
CH.III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 183
house and some poor boys came begging alms, he gave them of his bread,
and received the crust from them, because it seemed to him, that hard
bread, which was asked for the love of God, was sweeter than the delicate
bread which he ate and his companions ; and so, to make their bread sweet
like this, the little boys went and begged in their turn (ab invicem) for the
love of God V
William's brother, Augustine, was also a Minorite ; he was first in
the household of Innocent IV, accompanied the Patriarch of Antioch,
the pope's nephew, to Syria, and at length became bishop of Laodicea2.
William himself successfully championed the interests of his Order
against the Dominicans at the Roman Curia3. At one period he
lived for some time in the Franciscan convent at Rome, where, though
(to quote his own words)
'the brethren had no pittance except chestnuts, he grew so fat that he
often blushed V
He acted as vicar for Friar Haymo in England (1239), and in 1240
was himself
' elected and confirmed Provincial Minister by those to whom the appoint-
ment had been entrusted V
He had never held any subordinate office, such as that of custodian or
warden6. He was a diligent student of the Scriptures, and seems to
have attended Grostete's lectures at Oxford7. As minister, he was
energetic in furthering the study of theology, and in developing the
educational organization of the Franciscans in England8. During his
ministry, the friary at Oxford was greatly enlarged 9. Evidence of his
popularity was given in the Chapter held at Oxford by the General
Minister, John of Parma (c. 1248), when the friars unanimously
refused to sanction his deposition10. He was 'absolved' from the
ministry in the General Chapter of Metz, and sent on behalf of the
Order to the Pope ". It was probably in this Chapter, that, with the
assistance of John Kethene and Gregory de Bosellis, he carried a
decree ' almost against the whole Chapter/
1 ut privilegium indultum a Domino Papa de recipienda pecunia per pro-
curatores penitus destrueretur ; et expositio Regulae secundum dominum
1 MOD. Franc. I, 72 ; Phillipps MS. * Ibid. 59.
f. 80 b reads fueri for piurimi in • Ibid,
line 3. 7 Ibid. 69.
* Mon. Franc. I, 62. " Ibid. 38, 69, Part I, chapter v.
3 See Part I, chapter vi. ' Part I, chapter ii.
4 'Ut plurimum erubesceret,' Mon. '" Mon. Franc. I, 68.
Franc. I, 72. ll Mon. Franc. I, 70.
184 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Innocentium, quantum ad ea in quibus laxior esset quam Gregoriana,
suspenderetur V
The cause of his deposition is unknown, but the event excited
the displeasure of the English friars, who called a Provincial
Chapter and unanimously re-elected him2. A letter from Adam
Marsh, congratulating him on this second election and urging him
not to decline the office is extant3. But William of Nottingham
\vas already dead. When he reached Genoa on his mission to the
Pope, his soct'us, Friar Richard, was struck down by the plague ;
' while others fled, he remained to comfort his companion, and like him he
was struck down and died V
The date of the Chapter of Metz, and consequently of William's death,
is not quite certain ; it was probably in the spring or early summer of
1251 5. A few extracts from the chronicle of Eccleston (who knew
him personally) will illustrate the character of the man.
He sat very long in meditation after matins, and was unwilling to attend
to confessions and consultations at night, as his predecessors had done. . . .
Above all things, he was careful to avoid the vice of suspicion. Familiarities
of great persons and of women he most studiously avoided, and, with
wonderful magnanimity, thought nothing of incurring the anger of the
powerful for the sake of justice. He used to say that great persons entrap
those familiar with them by their advice, and women with their mendacity
and malice turn the heads even of the devout by their flatteries. He
studied with all diligence to restore the good name of those who were
defamed, provided that he thought them penitent, and to comfort the
hearts of the desolate, especially of those who held offices in the Order 6.
He represented the tendency to a less strict interpretation of the Rule in
regard to money than had hitherto obtained in England, holding that —
' the friars might in a hundred cases lawfully contract debts, and might with
their own hands dispense the money of others in alms. He said further
that it was right after a visitation to amuse oneself a little in order to
distract the mind from what one had heard V
1 Mon. Franc. I, 32. Eccleston says 244 : that by Innocent IV, ibid. Ill,
this took place in the Chapter of Genoa, 129.
i.e. either 1244, or 1254. But the Ibid. 70, 303.
letter of Innocent IV here referred to Ibid. 373.
was published on Nov. 14, 1245 > while Ibid. 70.
W. of Nottingham and Elias, who was English Historical Review for Oct.
also mentioned (ibid.\ were dead before 1891.
1254: see Ehrle, Archiv fur Litt. u. Mon. Franc. I, 70.
Kirch. Gesch. Vol. VI, p. 31,11. 6. The Ibid. 71. Cf. declaration of the
declaration of the rule by Gregory IX Rule by Innocent IV, on debts; \Vad-
elongati} is given in Wadding II, ding, III, 129-130.
Ch, III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 185
The following story may be regarded as an instance of his cynicism or
knowledge of human nature : —
' He used to narrate that St. Stephen, the founder of the Order of
Grammont, placed a chest in a secret and safe place, and forbade anyone
to go near it during his life. The brethren were very inquisitive, and
after his death could not refrain from breaking it open, and they found
only a piece of parchment with the words ; Brother Stephen salutes his
brethren and prays them to guard themselves from the laity. For just as
you held the chest in honour, as long as you did not know what was in it,
so they will hold you in honour V
That the well-known Commentary on the Gospels, called also Unum
ex quatuor, or De concordia evangelistarum, by Friar William of
Nottingham, was by this William, and not by his namesake, the
seventeenth provincial of the English Minorites 2, is proved by Eccle-
ston's words (Mon. Franc. I, p. 70) —
' . . . . Verba Sancti Evangelii devotissime recolebat ; unde et super unum
ex quatuor Clementinis (Phillipps MS. f. 80 reads dementis) canones
perutiles compilavit, et expositionem quam idem Clemens fecit complete
scribi in ordine procuravit.'
The commentary was founded on the work of Clement of Langthon 3,
and the number of MSS. of it still in existence attest its popularity in
the Middle Ages.
The work comprised 1 2 parts. Inc. ' Da mihi intellectual.'
MSS. Brit. Museum: Royal 4 E ii. (A.D. 1381); readers are asked to
pray ' pro anima Fratris Willielmi de Notingham, qui studio
laborioso predictam Expositionem ex variis compilavit.'
Oxford: — Bodl. : Laud. Misc. 165 (sec. xiv ineuntis), Balliol Coll. 33
(sec. xiv exeuntis). Merton Coll. 156 and 157 (sec. xiv). Mag-
dalen Coll. 1 60 (sec. xv). St. John's Coll. 2 (sec. xv).
Cf. Merton Coll. 68,fol. 121 (sec. xv), ' Questiones quas movet Notyng-
ham in scripto suo super evangelia extracte secundum ordinem
alphabeticum per Mag. Job. Wykham.' Inc. 'Abel. Queritur
super : ' Lincoln Coll. 78 (sec. xv), a similar work : Inc. 'Abraham.
Queritur super illo dicto.'
Comment, in Longobardum, perhaps by the other W. of Nottingham.
Mentioned in the Catalogue of Illustrious Franciscans (Leland,
Script.').
A. of Hereford (c. 1248) was assigned by the Provincial to Adam
Marsh as his secretary. Adam thought him too able a man to be kept
1 Mon. Franc. I, 59. 3 Tanner, Bibl. 183. MSS. Oxford,
* To whom it is attributed by the St. John's Coll. a, prologue ; Mag. Coll.
Reg. Frat. Minorum Lond. Mon. Franc. 160 in cake (see Coxe's Catalogues);
I, 538. and Brit. Mus. Royal MS. 4 E, ii.
1 86 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
in this subordinate position ; his learning and eloquence marked him
out for a teacher and preacher ; many of those appointed by the Pro-
vincial Chapter to lecture on theology were far inferior to him. In
addition to this his health would not stand the constant strain to which
the secretary of the indefatigable doctor was necessarily subjected.
Adam therefore requested the Provincial to send him to London to
pursue his studies, as A. of Hereford himself desired *.
Laurence de Sutthon was the friar whom Adam Marsh suggested
to the Provincial as A. of Hereford's successor. A ' Friar Laurence '
was with Adam in 1249, and the latter wrote to Thomas of York,
probably after 1250 :
'Friar Laurence sends you the books of the mother of philosophy (?) for
which you sent2.'
Hugo de Lyndun seems to have been a weak brother at Oxford
— weak in mind and body — whom Adam Marsh took under his
especial care (c. 1253)".
John of Beverley was a friar at Oxford when Martin was warden,
and was known to Adam Marsh. Friar Thomas of York laboured
for the salvation of the father of this J. of Beverley *.
Gregory de Bosellis was the first lecturer to the friars at
Leicester 5 (c. 1 240 ?). He was at the General Chapter of Genoa (i 244)
or Metz when he supported W. of Nottingham, Minister of England6;
and he was Vicar of the Province at the time of the same Minister's
death7. He was with the Earl and Countess of Leicester in Gascony8,
and went to the papal court with the Archbishop of Canterbury
in 1250% when the rules of the Order against riding on horseback
were relaxed in his favour10. He had studied at some University,
probably at Oxford, and was capable of filling Adam Marsh's place as
lecturer to the friars there, though it does not appear whether he ever
actually did so".
Thomas of Maydenstan, an invalid novice at Oxford, c. 1253;
1 Mon. Franc. I, 314-5. 8 Ibid. 307, 368, 380.
2 Ibid. 315, 374, 395. * Ibid.
3 Ibid. 360, 364 : ' Cui me spiritual!- lo Ibid. 369. Cf. Bodl. Tanner MS.
ter inter mortales teneri fateor.' 223, f. 161, a license from Innocent IV
4 Ibid. 317, 393. to the Friars accompanying the Arch-
5 Ibid. 38. bishop, ' equitare et subtelares et capas
6 Ibid. 32. portare,' Aug. a, 1249.
7 Ibid. 70. J1 Mon. Franc. I, 380.
CH.III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 187
Adam Marsh hearing a rumour that he was to be sent away from
Oxford begged the Minister to let him remain,
' as it is believed that his removal would do injury to the souls of several
persons of whose conversion no slight hope is entertained.'
The brethren at Oxford joined in the request *.
Thomas Bachun of the Convent of Nottingham was recommended
by Adam Marsh as a suitable person to act as private secretary or
amanuensis to Friar Richard of Cornwall, when the latter was about
to proceed to Paris, 1252. It is however uncertain whether he was
appointed or whether he studied at Oxford 2.
Adam de Bechesoueres or Hekeshovre3 occurs several times
in Adam Marsh's letters as the chief physician among the early
English friars. Thus at one time Adam writes to John of Stamford,
custodian of Oxford, requesting him to allow a poor sick scholar
named Ralph of Multon, a friend of the writer's, to consult Friar
A. de Bechesoueres, who has already done him good. The famous
Walter de Merton went to him once with a letter of introduction from
Adam Marsh. He was wanted again at Oxford to attend Friar John
of Reading, formerly Abbat of Osney. Adam Marsh recommended
Grostete to consult him about his health. At another time we hear
of him going to the General Minister in France, with a ' supplicatory
letter ' from Adam Marsh ;
' he promised,' adds the latter in a letter to the English Provincial, ' to
return to England soon and humbly submit in all things to the regular
discipline.'
N. of Anivers, Anilyeres or Aynelers, a youth of ability, fair
learning and great promise, was ordered by the Minister General to
go to France, probably about the year 1248. Adam Marsh, anxious
that the best should be done both for the young friar and the Order,
after consultation with Peter of Tewkesbury, custodian of Oxford,
obtained leave from the Provincials of England and France for him to
stay for a year or two in England, the consent of the General being
also secured :
' it is thought,' adds Adam in his letter to the Minister of France, ' that he
will at present find the requisite helps to the successful study of letters
more easily obtainable in England than anywhere else.'
N. de Anivers was therefore allowed to spend a year in theological
1 Mon. Franc. I, 357-8. * Ibid. 137, 320, 333, 388, 405.
a Ibid. 349.
1 88 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
study at Oxford, Cambridge or London. Adam Marsh maintained
his interest in his welfare, and, after the year was over, requested the
Minister of France to allow him to continue his studies in England
up to the ensuing Pentecost : it is probable that he was a pupil of
Adam's at Oxford 1.
William of Pokelington (Yorkshire) entered the Order about
1250 and made his profession at Oxford in i25i2. He was then
a master. Shortly before this he had been ill and perhaps took the
vows on his recovery 3. He was an intimate friend of Adam Marsh
and at one period acted as his secretary*. Adam employed him
several times as messenger to Grostete 5, who had a high opinion of
him and liked to have him as a companion 6.
Walter de Madele, Maddele or Maddeley studied in the
Franciscan Convent at Oxford (c. 1235 seq.). While here, he
ventured to disregard the custom which forbade the friars to wear
shoes.
' It happened,' says Eccleston 7, ' that he found two shoes, and when he
went to Matins, he put them on. He stood therefore at Matins, feeling
unusually self-satisfied. But afterwards when he was in bed, he dreamt
that he had to go through a dangerous pass between Oxford and Gloucester
called " boysaliz " (?), which was infested by robbers ; and when he was
descending into a deep valley, they rushed at him from both sides, shouting,
" Kill him ! " In great terror he said that he was a Friar Minor. " You lie,"
they cried, " for you do not go barefoot ;" and when he put out his foot
confidently, he found that he was wearing those same shoes : and starting
in confusion from sleep, he threw the shoes into the middle of the court-
yard.'
Walter was ' socius ' or secretary to Agnellus and was at Oxford at
the time of the latter's death (12 35)*. Later he was in Germany
with Peter of Tewkesbury, minister of Cologne, and returned to
England in 1249 with Friar Paulinus, perhaps a German, in obedience
to Peter 9. He enjoyed a considerable reputation as a theologian and '
was lecturer at a Franciscan Convent. Adam Marsh once sent for
him to come and see him at Oxford.
' I conferred with him as you desired,' he writes to the Provincial 10,
* about investigating the meaning of Holy Scripture in the original books of
1 Mon. Franc. I, Letters clxxv, ccxiv, 5 Ibid. 133, 137.
ccxv. He may have been a Frenchman 6 Ibid. 103, 118.
by birth. 7 Ibid. I, 28.
2 Ibid. 1 1 8. 8 Ibid. 53.
3 Ibid. 229. a Ibid. 308.
« Ibid. 133. 10 Ibid. 353 5.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 189
the saints, and he professed himself very ready to do this or anything else
which you thought fit to enjoin on him.'
This was not the only subject discussed at the interview. The
English Minister suspected Walter of a desire to go abroad and of
having obtained from the General the promise of a lectureship in
some foreign convent or University. The Provincial had indeed just
received an order from the General to send some English friars to
teach at Paris, and perhaps Madele's name was mentioned. Madele
however denied the imputation, and Adam recommended the Pro-
vincial to keep him in England, sending other friars to Paris, and to
remedy his grievances. Though he had long taught theology with
success, no competent provision had been made for him ; he had not
only to exhaust his mind by studies but also to wear out his body by
writing daily with his own hand, as he lacked the ' great volumes and
the assistance of companions,' which had been provided for his
predecessors in the office. Eccleston refers to him as dead when he
wrote his chronicle1. None of Madele's writings2 have been pre-
served.
G. of St. Edmund : Adam Marsh wrote to the Provincial (W.
of Nottingham) on behalf of Martin the warden and the other friars
at Oxford, requesting him to order without delay
' that Friar G. de Sancto Eadmundo be restored to the convent of friars at
Oxford V
Thomas of Eccleston, the earliest historian of the Franciscan
Order in England, was probably a native of Lancashire '. All that is
known of him is contained in his Chronicle. He was an inmate of
the London Convent when William of Nottingham was minister
(1240-1250), and speaks from his own experience of the poverty and
hard fare of the brethren there 5. He was a student at Oxford in the
lifetime of Grostete, whether before or after the latter became
bishop is not clear 6. He knew the earliest converts to the Order in
England, and enjoyed the intimacy of William of Nottingham7. His
history is dedicated to Friar Simon of Esseby — perhaps Ashby in
Norfolk or Lincolnshire 8. In the preface he states that he had been
1 Mon. Franc. 28. occurs in the title of the York MS.,
* Ibid. 355, 'in scriptis et eloquiis Mon. Franc. I, p. I.
tarn fratribus quam saecularibns utilis s Mon. Franc. I, p. 9; cf. 17.
et acceptus.' • Ibid. 39.
8 Ibid. 364. 7 Ibid. 10, 13, 71, &c.
4 Lewis, Topog. Diet. Cf. Mon. * Ibid. p. i, p. Ixvi, Jessopp, 'The
Franc. I, Ixvi. The name Eccleston Coming of the Friars.'
190 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
collecting and arranging materials for twenty-five years, and explains
his object in writing.
' Every upright man ought to judge his life by the examples of better
men, because examples strike home more directly than the words of reason.*
Other Orders have lives of their holy brethren; this Chronicle is
intended similarly to edify the Franciscans by giving them some
account of those who have sacrificed their all to enter the Order and
observe the Rule of St. Francis *. From this point of view, chrono-
logy was of little importance, and there is scarcely a date in the
whole book. It is impossible to give the exact date at which the
Chronicle was finished; the deaths of William of Nottingham and
of Innocent IV are mentioned2; and the work was probably not
completed before 1 260. It is certainly the narrative of a contemporary,
often of an eye-witness, and, apart from the manifest sincerity of the
author, the accuracy of the details can in some instances be tested by
independent and trustworthy authority. To take one example;
Eccleston's account of the reception of the friars at Cambridge (pp.
17, 1 8) may be compared with the following entry in Close Roll 22
Hen. Ill, m. 12, (June 15 1238):
Rex ballivis suis de Cantebr' salutem. Sciatis quod concessimus fratribus
Minoribus de Cantebr' domum illam cum pertinenciis in Cantebr5 que fuit
Magistri Benjamin Judei et quam prius vobis concesseramus ad Gayolam
nostram (or vestram) inde faciendam, ad clausum domorum predictorum
fratrum dilatandum, salvis domino feodi serviciis et redditibus ei inde
debitis. Et idem vobis precipimus quod eisdem fratribus de domo predicta
plenam saisinam habere faciatis.
The following MSS. of the Chronicle ' De adventu Fratrum
Minor um in Angliam ' are extant, all dating from the early fourteenth
century.
(1) A mutilated MS. in the Chapter Library at York; Brewer's text
for the earlier portion of the Chronicle is founded on this.
(2) Brit. Mus.: Cotton Nero A ix was used by Brewer as the guide
for the later part : this MS. begins with Collatio IX (i. e. Collatia
Fill in the York MS.).
(3) A fragment of the earlier portion of the Chronicle is contained in
a MS. at Lamport House ; this has been printed by Hewlett in
Mon. Franc. II ; it supplies most of the chapters wanting in the
Cottonian MS., of which it probably formed a part.
(4) No. 3119 of the MSS. of Sir T. Phillipps (Thirlestaine House,
Cheltenham), contains the whole Chronicle, though without many
of the incidents which occur in the York and Cotton MSS.
Neither Brewer nor Howlett knew of its existence. A short
1 Mon. Franc. I, p. i. a Ibid. 66, 70.
CH. HI.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 191
account of it will be found in ' The English Historical Review,'
Oct. 1890, p. 754.
In the same volume of MSS. is the treatise De impugnationc,
etc., printed in the Appendix C : Bale and Pits ascribe this to
Eccleston, but without sufficient authority.
Roger Bacon is said on the authority of John Rous l to have been
born at or near Ilchester in Dorsetshire. He came of a wealthy perhaps
noble family; he speaks of one brother as rich, of another as a scholar.
He was probably nephew of Robert Bacon the Dominican. Roger's
family espoused the royal cause in the Barons' war and suffered great
losses2. The year 1214 is usually given as the date of his birth.
The date is an inference from the following passage written in 1267 :
' I have laboured much at sciences and languages, and it is now forty
years since I first learnt the alphabet ; and I was always studious ; and
except for two of those forty years I have always been in studio V
The last phrase probably means ' at a University ' or some place of
study. Boys of ten or twelve years frequently began their education
at Oxford, and it is likely that Bacon went there at an early age *.
Roger of Wendover relates that Friar Robert Bacon preached before
the King at Oxford in 1233, and fearlessly rebuked him for listening
to evil counsellors, especially Peter des Roches. Matthew Paris gives
the story with the following addition :
' a clerk of the court of a' pleasant wit, namely, Roger Bacun, ventured to
make this joke : " My lord King, what is most harmful to men crossing
a strait, or what makes them most afraid ? " The King replied, " Those
men know who occupy their business in great waters." " I will tell you,"
said the clerk, " Petrae et Rapes5."'
It cannot be regarded as certain that this Roger Bacon was the
1 Hist. Regum Angl. pp. 29, 82. In 3 Op. Ined. p. 65.
John Argentein's Loci communes, * The report that he was edu-
written about 1476 (MS. Ashmole, 1437, cated at Brasenose Hall is merely a
p. 155) is the note: 'Hie Rogerus fuit tradition founded on a foolish legend,
filius Fugardi, et creditor quod erat Historical fictions die hard. In 1889,
Rogerus Baconus natus apud Witnam Mr. W. L. Courtney writes in the
juxta Oxoniam.' Fortnightly Review, Vol. XLVI, p.
2 Ibid. 82, 'de generosa prosapia.' 255, R. Bacon 'seems to have been
Op. Ined. pp. 13, 1 6 : ' Misi igitur fratri educated at Brasenose College in Oxford,
meo diviti in terra mea, qui ex parte although Merton College has also laid
regis consistens, cum matre mea et fra- claim to the honour of his youthful
tribus et tota familia exulavit, et pluries learning.' Merton College was not
hostibusdeprehensusseredemitpecunia; founded till Roger was advanced in
et ideo destructus et depauperatus, non years ; Brasenose College was founded
potuit me juvare, nee etiam usque ad more than two centuries after his death,
hunc diem habui responsum ab eo.' Cf. * Chron. Majora, IV, 244-5.
ibid. p. 10.
192 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
famous friar. The name was not uncommon; e.g. a Roger Bacon,
a Thomas Bacon, and a Peter Bacon occur in Pat. Roll 3 Edw I.
On the other hand Roger was certainly in Oxford in or before this
year. He states that St. Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, lectured
at Oxford in his time, i.e. Edmund Riche who became Archbishop in
I2331. At this period too, Roger attended Grostete's lectures and
made the acquaintance of Adam Marsh, for both of whom he always
retained the greatest admiration. He found in them that sympathy
with and understanding of his experimental method, which were denied
him in later life 2. It was doubtless his connexion with these men that
led Roger to enter the Franciscan Order. When or where this took
place is unknown : perhaps at Oxford before the death of Grostete.
He had clearly reached years of discretion when he took the step.
This may be inferred from his denunciation of those who entered the
Orders as boys and begun the study of theology before they had been
grounded in philosophy3. It is also implied in such passages as
these :
' When I was in another state, I wrote nothing on philosophy.' ' Men
used to wonder before I became a friar that I lived owing to such exces-
sive labour*.'
He began his studies on positive science before 1250*, and had by
1267 spent more than 2,000 librae6.
4 on secret books and various experiments and languages and instruments
and tables.'
It is not necessary to assume that this sum was expended before he
joined the Franciscan Order ; he could, and undoubtedly did, obtain
money by begging to carry on his experiments 7. Roger left Oxford
for Paris some time before 1245 ; he states that he had seen Alexander
of Hales with his own eyes8, and he heard William of Auvergne
1 Comp. Stud. Theol. Royal MS. 7, f. 3 Ibid. 327, 425.
vii, f. 154 (quoted in Charles, p. 412 ; * Ibid. 13, 65.
Brewer, p. Iv). The origin of the tra- * Ibid. 59 ; he writes in 1267, 'Nam
dition that Roger wrote a life of St. per viginti annos quibus specialiter
Edmund seems to be a passage in M. laboravi in studio sapientiae, neglecto
Paris, Chron. Maj. V, 369, where the sensu vulgi,' &c.
historian says that he was supplied with • Ibid. : this seems almost incredible ;
details for the life of St. Edmund by the Parisian libra at this time appears,
Robert Bacon. The confusion between from Paucton and Le Blanc, to have
the two Bacons is continually recurring. been a sum of 20 solidi, not (as Plumptre
Even in Luard's edition of Grostete's asserts) ' a silver coin about the size of
Letters there is an unfortunate misprint ; the more modern franc.'
on p. 65 Roger Bacon should be Robert. 7 See Part I, chapter vii.
2 Op. Ined. pp. 70, 75, 82, 88, 91, * Op. Ined. 325. A. of Hales died
186-7,329,428,472,474. 1245.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 193
dispute on the Intellects Agens before the whole University : William
died in 1248 J. Roger was in France in 1250 when he saw the chief
of the Pastoureaux, and remarked that
' he carried in his hand something as though it were sacred, as a man
carries relics V
He is said by Rous to have been made D.D. of Paris and to have been
incorporated as D.D. at Oxford3. When he returned to Oxford is
unknown ; probably soon after 1250. He must have lectured at this
time; he won some fame, as he says himself4, but without doubt made
many enemies. About the year 1257 or 1258 — when Adam Marsh
could no longer protect his great pupil — Roger was exiled from Eng-
land and kept under strict supervision in Paris for ten years 5. In
1263 he wrote an astronomical treatise called Computus Naturalium *.
Soon after this, a clerk named Raymund of Laon mentioned Bacon's
name to the Cardinal Bishop of Sabina and roused the latter's interest
in his discoveries7. Bacon sent a letter in reply to the Cardinal's
communication: this has not been preserved. In 1265 the Cardinal
became Pope Clement IV. On 22nd of June 1266, Clement
wrote requesting Roger to send him a fair copy of the work which
Raymond had mentioned, setting forth the remedies he proposed,
1 circa ilia, quae nuper occasione tanti discriminis intimasti ; ' the friar was
to do this, in spite of any constitution of his Order to the contrary,
secretly and without delay 8. The Pope's supposition that the work
was already written was erroneous ;
'for,' writes Roger9, 'whilst I was in a different state of life, I had
written nothing on science ; nor in my present condition had I ever been
required to do so by my superiors; nay, a strict prohibition has been
passed to the contrary, under penalty of forfeiture of the book, and many
1 Charles, p. 10 ; Op. Iiied. p. 74. That his name should be suppressed is
a Opus Majus, p. 190 (edition of not to be wondered at. (The Reg. of
1750). Friars Minors at London adds after the
3 Hist. Reg. Angl. p. 82. name of John of Parma, General Minis-
* Op. Ined. p. 7, ' famam studii quam ter, 1247-1256: 'Hie etiam scripsit
retroactis temporibus obtinui.' His fratri Rogero Bakon tractatum qui in-
name does not occur in the list of cipit, " Innominate magistro." ' This
masters of the Friars Minors at Oxford ; treatise usually ascribed to Bonaventura
a note appended to that list says, that is really addressed to a secular.)
' according to other chronicles the fourth
master is not mentioned here nor have I
elsewhere found his name.' Mon. Franc.
I, 552; Phillipps MS. 3119, fol. 76.
May not this have been Roger Bacon I
Op. Ined. p. 7 ; Charles, 24-25.
See below.
Op. Ined. p. xiv, seq.
Ibid. p. I.
Ibid. p. 13.
194 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
days' fasting on bread and water, if any book written by us (i.e. the
Franciscans) should be communicated to strangers V
However, although the book was not yet written, and notwithstanding
endless difficulties, want of money, want of mathematical and other
instruments and tables, the restrictions of the Rule, jealousy of his
superiors and brethren who, he says,
* kept me on bread and water, suffering no one to have access to me,
fearful lest my writings should be divulged to any other than the Pope and
themselves 2 ' —
the Opus Majus, the Opus Minus, and the Opus Tertium, were sent
to the Pope within fifteen or eighteen months after the arrival of the
papal mandate s. ' Such a feat ' says Brewer, ' is unparalleled in the
annals of literature.' The Pope probably used his influence in behalf
of Roger, as the latter seems to have returned to England about this
time and to have been freed from annoyance 4. The works sent to
Clement he regarded merely as handbooks ; at the same time that he was
writing them, he was engaged on a larger work which was to embrace
the whole range of sciences as then understood 5. He was working
at this in 1271 6. His attacks on all classes, including his own Order,
became even more violent than hitherto. In 1277 and 1278 synods
were held at Paris and Oxford to condemn erroneous doctrines. The
repressive movement extended to the Franciscans; in 1278, Jerome of
Ascoli, the Minister General, held a Chapter at Paris, and among other
friars Roger Bacon was condemned 'propter quasdam novitates V He
is believed to have remained in prison for fourteen years. Jerome of
Ascoli, who became Pope Nicholas IV in 1288, died in 1292. Ray-
mond Gaufredi, a man of liberal views, was elected General in 1289,
and released many friars who had been imprisoned for their opinions
by his predecessors. In 1292 he held a General Chapter at Paris, and
it is probable that among the friars here set free was Roger Bacon8.
1 This statute was included in the * Charles, p. 35.
Constitutiones Generates, passed in the 5 See below ; and Brewer, Op. Ined.
General Chapter of Narbonne, 1260; xlviii, seq.
the fast imposed was of three days' dura- 6 Op. Ined. p. Iv.
tion; Archiv f. L. u. K. Gesch. d. Mit- 7 Charles, 36-7 ; Wadding, II, 449.
telalters, Vol. VI, p. no. No record or contemporary account of
2 Op. Ined. p. xciv, from Wood's the trial remains.
Antiquitates (said to be taken from the 8 This tradition receives some support
Opus Minus}. from a note appended to the Verbum
3 Op. Ined. p. xlvi. Bacon's dim- abbreviatum of Raymund Gaufredi,
culties are fully described in Brewer's Sloane MS. 276 (sec. xiv), printed in
preface. Sanioris Medicinae . . . de arte chymiae,
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 195
It is certain that the last work of Roger's of which we have any notice
was written in 1292 1. The date usually assigned for his death (1294)
is a pure conjecture 2. John Rous says that he was buried among the
Friars Minors at Oxford s.
Such then is the chronological outline of his life, as far as it can be
ascertained. A list of his works will be more useful than a short
account of his character or philosophy.
Roger Bacon's Works were neglected and regarded with a pious
horror in the Middle Ages 4. The result is that many of those which
have survived at all have reached us in a fragmentary state. 'It is easier/
said Leland, ' to collect the leaves of the Sibyl than the titles of the
works written by Eoger Bacon/ The difficulty has to a considerable
extent been removed by Mr. Brewer's valuable preface to the Opera
Inedita, and by the labours of M. Charles. The following account
of Roger Bacon's works is based chiefly on these two writers. Some
additions have been made and some rearrangement attempted.
Miscellaneous works, lectures, &c., probably early : —
Computus naturalium, an astronomical treatise, is the earliest work
of Bacon's to which a date can be assigned ; it was written
A. D. 1263-4. Inc. 'Omnia tempus habent.'
MSS. British Museum: Royal 7 F viii. fol. 99-191 (sec. xiii).
Oxford : University College, 48.
Douai 691, § 2.
Summary printed by Charles, Roger Bacon, pp. 355-8.
&c., Frankfurt, 1603, p. 285 : 'Et ipse calls the accuracy of this statement in
Rogeruspropteristudopus ex praecepto question, Op. Majus, p. xi (ed. 175°)-
dicti Reymundi a fratribus ejusdem ordi- Bacon's influence however on his age
nis erat captus et imprisonatus. Sed was slight: 'not a doctor of the I3th
Reymundus exsolvit Rogerum a carcere or i4th century,' says Charles, p. 42,
quia docuit eum istud opus.' Cf. ibid. ' quotes Bacon ; not one combats or
p. 265, and Sloane MS. 692, f. 46. approves his opinions.' In an anony-
1 Namely, Compendium studii theo~ mous treatise, De recuperatione sanctac
logiae. Terrae, addressed to Edward III, c.
3 In Royal MS. 13 C i, fol. 152, is 1370, the author recommends the study
the following note in a hand of the 1 5th of mathematics, ' propter plures earum
or i6th century: 'Anno Christi 1292 in utilitates, praecipue tactas in libello super
festo Sancti Barnabe (June 1 1) obiit utilitatibus hujusmodi confecto per fra-
Rogerns Bacon professor theologie et trem Rogerum Bacon de ordine Mi-
quasi eruditus ut magister in octo scien- norum ; ' printed in Bongars, Orientalis
ciis liberalibus ubi alii clerici non posue- Hist. Tom. Secund. (1611), p. 339.
runt preter vii sciencie ' (' scie ' in MS.). W. Woodford refers to his ' curious
8 Hist. Reg. Angl. p. 29. book,' Deretardationesenectutis, Brown,
4 John Twyne says that the friars at Fasc. Rerum,Vol. I, p. 197. Some of his
Oxford fastened all his works with long contemporaries, such as Bungay, Peck-
nails to the shelves of their library and ham, William de Mara, seem to have
let them rot there. Jebb reasonably been more generally influenced by him
O 2
196 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
De termino Paschali, an earlier work, to which Bacon refers in the
Computus naturalium ; (Charles, p. 78).
Questions on Aristotle's physics.
MS. Amiens 406, f. 1-25 ; cf. MS. Bodl. Digby 150, fol. 42 (sec. xiii),
' Summa Baconis.'
Quaestiones super librum physicorum a magistro dido Bacon.
MS. Amiens 406, fol. 26-73.
De vegetabilibus (gloss on this work then attributed to Aristotle).
MS. Amiens 406 (intercalated in the preceding work).
In Aristotelis Metaphysica.
MS. Amiens 406, fol. 74.
Tractatus ad declaranda quaedam obscure dicta in libro Secreti Secre-
torum A ristotelis. Inc. ' Propter multa in hoc libro contenta
qui liber dicitur Secretum Secretorum Aristotelis sive liber de
regimine principum.'
MS. Bodl.: Tanner 116, fol. i (sec. xiii exeuntis) ; the same MS. fol.
1 6, contains Aristotle's supposititious Secretum Secretorum 'cum
glossa interlineari et notis Rogeri Bacon.'
Questiones naturales mathematice astronomice, &c. ' Expliciunt repro-
bationes Rogeri Baconis.'
MS. Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 16089, f- 93 (sec« xiii-xiv).
Bacon in Meteora. Inc. ' Cum ad noticiam impressionum habendam.'
MS. Bodleian: Digby 190, fol. 38 (sec. xiv ineuntis).
Processus fratris Rogeri Bacon . . . de invencione cogitacionis (astro-
logical fragment). Inc. ' Notandum quod in omni judicio
quatuor sunt inquirenda, scil. natura planetae/
MS. Bodl.: Digby 72, fol. 49 b, 50 (sec. xiv-xv).
De somno el vigilia.
MSS. Bodl. : Digby 190, f. 77 : Inc. ' De somno et vigilia pertractantes,
Perypateticorum sentenciam potissime sequemur.'
Cambridge: — Publ. Library li, vi. 5, fol. 85 b-88 (sec. xiii). Inc.
' Sompnus ergo et vigilia describuntur multis modis.'
Logic : —
Summulae Dialectices, an elementary treatise on logic, characterised
by Charles, who expresses a doubt as to its authenticity, as
very dry, unimportant, and intended for lecturing purposes.
Inc. ' Introductio est brevis et apta demonstration" ' Expliciunt
sumule magistri Roberti (sic) Baccun.'
MS. Bodl. : Digby 205, f. 48 (sec. xiv).
Syncategoremata. Inc. ' Partium orationis quaedam sunt declinabiles.'
MS. Bodl. : Digby 204, fol. 88 (sec. xiv).
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 197
Summa de sophismatibus et distinclionibus. Inc. ' Potest queri de
difficultatibus accidentibus.'
MS. Bodl. : Digby 67, fol. 117 (sec. xiii) ; fragment.
Traclatus de signis logicalibus. Inc. ' Signum est in predicamento
relationis/
MS. Bodl.: Digby 55, fol. 228 (sec. xiii).
Opus Majus, written A. D. 1266-1267; 7 parts. Inc. ' Sapientiae
perfecta consideratio consistit in duobus.'
MSS. of the whole work: Oxford: — Bodl. Digby 235 (sec. xv and
xiv).
Dublin: — Trinity Coll. 81 ( = 221); a transcript of this is in
Trinity Coll. Cambridge.
Paris: — Bibl. Mazarine 3488 (sec. xviii).
Rome: — Vatican 4086 (Montfaucon's Catal. p. 114), 'Rogerii
Baconi causae universales in septem partes distinctae ' ; pro-
bably the Opus Majus.
Parts I-VI edited by Jebb, 1733 : reprinted at Venice 1750.
The parts often occur separately.
I. On the four causes of human ignorance : authority, custom, popular
opinion, and the pride of supposed knowledge.
MS. Brit. Museum: Cott. Jul. F vii. fol. 186.
II. On the causes of perfect wisdom in Holy Scripture, or, On the dignity
of philosophy.
III. On the usefulness of grammar.
This part, Charles points out (p. 62), is not perfect in Jebb's edition:
see Opus Tertium, cap. XXVI, XXVII.
IV. On the usefulness of mathematics.
MSS. London: — British Museum: Cotton, Tib. C. V. (sec. xiv);
Julius D. V. ' De utilitate scientiartim ' ; Julius F vii. fol.
178 (sec. xv), ' Declaratio effectus verae mathematicae.' And
fol. 1 80, 'Demoribus hominum secundum complexiones et
constellationes.'
Royal 7 F vii, p. i (sec. xiii), ' Pars quarta compendii studii
theologiae'; pp. 82-125, ' Descriptiones locorum '; PP- 133~
140, ' De utilitate astronomiae,' or ' Tractatus de corporibus
coelestibus.'
Sloane 2629, f. 17, 'De utilitate astronomiae.'
Also Lambeth Palace Library 200 (sec. xv), ' De arte mathe-
matical
Oxford: — Bodl. E Musaeo 155, p. 185 (sec. xv ineuntis), 'Pars
quarta in qua ostendit potestatem mathematicae in scien-
tiis et rebus et occupationibus hujus mundi.' Univ. Coll. 49
(sec. xvii). '
198 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 7455 A (sec. xv), 'De utilitatibus scientiae
mathematicae verae.'
Cf. Bodl. : Digby 218, f. 98 (sec. xiii-xiv).
Printed, except the last two chapters, by Combach, Frankfurt 1614,
under the title : ' Specula Mathematica in quibus de specierum
multiplicatione . . . agitur,' &c.
V. Perspective and Optics.
MSS. London: — Brit. Mus. : Royal 7 F vii. p. 125 (sec. xiii), 'De
visu et speculis ' ; 7 F viii. f. 47 (sec. xiii), ' Perspectiva
quedam singularis,' ' Perspectiva R. Bacon, liber secundus.'
Sloane 2156, f. i (A.D. 1428), and 2542 (sec. xv) : Addit. 8786,
f. 84, ' Incipit tractatus de modis videndi.'
Oxford: — Bodl. Digby 77 (sec. xiv) and 91 (sec. xvi).
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 2598, f. 57 (sec. xv).
Venice : — St. Mark, Classis XI, Cod. 10 (sec. xiv).
Rome: — Vatican (Cod. Lat.) 828, f. 49 (A.D. 1349).
Printed by Combach, Frankfurt 1614, under the title, ' Rogerii Baconis
Angli . . . Perspectiva.'
VI. Experimental Science.
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Sloane 2629 (sec. xvi), extracts.
Oxford: — Bodl.: Digby 235, p. 389; Canon. Misc, 334, fol. 53,
'Alius tractatus ejusdem Fratris Rogeri extractus de sexta
parte compendii studii theologiae.' Univ. Coll. 49.
VII. Moral Philosophy. Inc. 'Manifestavi in precedentibus quod
cognitio linguarum.'
MSS. Brit. Mus.: Royal 8 F ii. f. 167-179 (sec. xv), three parts out
of six.
Bodl.: Digby 235, p. 421 J.
Omitted in Jebb's edition: extracts printed by Charles, pp. 339-348.
Printed at Dublin 1860 (?) \
Opus Minus, written in 1266-7, was mainly an abstract of the Opus
Majus with some additions on the state of scholasticism, on
alchemy practical and speculative, and on astronomy. Charles
gives the following description of it. It consisted of 6 parts :
i. Introduction or dedicatory letter; ii. Practical alchemy; iii.
Explanation of the Opus Majus ; the order of the sciences inverted,
i. e. they were arranged according to their dignity, moral philosophy
first; iv. Treatise on the seven sins of Theology; v. Speculative
alchemy, or, De rerum generationibus (see below) ; vi. De Coelestibus.
Of this work only the fragment edited by Brewer (Opera Incd.
1 Cf. MS. Sloane 2629, f. 54 b; inc. * Charles, Roger Bacon, p. 62, n. 7 :
' Moralis philosophia est finis omnium I have not seen this edition and can get
Scientiarum aliarum '; only a few lines. no information about it.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 199
311-390) from MS. Bodl. Digby 218, has been discovered. This
includes a few pages of Part ii., all of iii., most of iv., and part of v.
Wood quotes a passage from the Opus Minus which does not
occur in this fragment (Opera Ined. xciv. n. i). From this it has
been assumed that he had access to a MS. of the Opus Minus now
lost; but the passage is quoted by Leland, and probably copied
from him by Wood. It may perhaps occur in some other work of
Bacon's; thus the passage quoted in Op. Ined. pp. xcvii-xcviii,
from which Brewer argues that ' Wood must have seen some other
copy of the Opus Minus not now discoverable,' occurs in Brewer's
edition of the Opus Tert. pp. 272-3.
Part of the blank on p. 375 is to be filled up from the Opus
Majus, Pars VI, Exemplumll, where the passage 'Estautem — curabit
et ' occurs, word for word. How much of the Opus Majus was here
inserted is doubtful ; probably to the end of Exemplum II. Thus MS.
Bodl. Canonic. Miscell. 334, f. 53, begins with the words, ' Corpora
vero Adae et Evael Opus Minus, p. 373, and leaves off with the
words, ' et alibi multis modi's,' which occur at the end of Opus Majus,
Pars VI, Exemp. II.
The last part of the Opus Minus is wholly wanting in Brewer's
edition. The subject of this part may be gathered from Bacon's
words in Opus Tert., cap. xxvi (p. 96) :
' Nunc igitur tangam aliquas radices circa haec quas diligentius exposui in
Secundo Opere, ubi de coelestibus egi }: and (p. 99) ' Sed in Opere Minore
ubi de coelestibus tractavi, exposui magis ista.'
In Digby MS. 76, fol. 36 seq. (sec. xiii) is> a treatise on this
subject, forming part of the Physics in the great Compendium
Philosophiae (see below). It is not improbable, that, before being
incorporated in this larger work, it formed part of the Opus Minus
sent to the Pope ; on fol. 42 are the words :
'et est nunc temporis scilicet anno domini 1266.'
Opus Tertium, written in 1267 (see Opera Ined. p. 277), 75 chapters.
MSS. London :— Brit. Mus : Cotton Tiberius C. V. (sec. xiv) ; also
Lambeth Palace Library, 200 (chapters 1-45).
Oxford: — Bodl. E Musaeo 155 (sec. xv ineuntis) ; and Univ.
Coll. 49 (A.D. 1617).
Cambridge: — Trinity College, MS. Gale (transcript of the
Cotton MS.).
Douai, 691 (sec. xvii), wanting chapters 38-52 : this MS. has
been described by Victor Cousin, Journal des Savants for
1848 (5 articles).
Printed in Bacon's Opera Inedita (Rolls Series), pp. 3-310.
200 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH.IH.
Charles has been misled by a passage in the work called ' Com-
munia Naturalium ' into thinking that this latter formed part of the
Opus Tertium; Charles, R. Bacon, pp. 65, 83-4 ; his description of
Opus Tertium is consequently erroneous. The passage is from the
Mazarine MS. of the Communia Naturalium (i.e. No. 3576),
fol. 85 :
' Quod est improbatum in secunda parte primi operis, deinde in hoc tertio
opere explanavi hoc et solvi objectiones.'
These words refer to Bacon's doctrine that the intelledus agens is
not part of the soul, but God and angels. This is insisted on in
the Opus Tertium, cap. xxiii, and it is not likely that Bacon would
do more than refer to it again casually in the course of the same
work. The relation of the Opus Tertium to the Commun. Nat. is
probably as follows : the latter was written or begun first. Bacon
repeatedly mentions that he was, while writing his three Opera for
the Pope, engaged on a larger work, Scriptum Principale, which he
did not send to Clement l. Much of this larger work naturally
found its way, probably in a summarised form, into the Opus
Tertium as we know it, the treatise actually sent to the Pope.
Tradatus de multiplication specierum, or, De generatione specierum et
multiplicatione et corruptione earum, is inserted by Jebb in the
Opus Majus, pp. 358-445, between Part v and Part vi. The
subject is however discussed in Part iv, which is often quoted
or referred to in Part v. In the De multiplicatione^ &c. (p. 368),
are the words :
Ut tactum est in communibus naturalium.
Again (p. 358):
Recolendum est igitur quod in tertia parte hujus operis tactum est, quod
essentia, substantia, natura, potestas, potentia, virtus, vis, significant eandem
rem, sed differunt sola comparatione.
There is nothing about this in the third part of the Opus Majus ;
but it is found in the Communia Naturalium. The treatise De
multiplicatione specierum was therefore part of a work of which the
Communia Naturalium formed the third part. This large work was
according to Jebb, the Opus Minus; according to Charles, the
Opus Tertium 2; according to Brewer, the encyclopaedic Compendium
1 Op. Ined. 60. 'Patet igitur quod to separate works — the Communia
scriptum principale non potui mittere.' Naturalium to the Opus Tertium, the
u Charles is somewhat inconsistent 5 De multiplicatione (rightly) to the
in spite of Bacon's words, ' tertia parte fourth part of the Compendium Phila-
hujus operis,' he refers the two treatises sophiae (pp. 61, 89).
CH. in.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 2OI
Philosophiae. Brewer is no doubt right ; the De multiplications was
intended as a sub-section of the great treatise on Physics.
How then did the treatise come to be regarded as part of the
Opus Majus, and to be inserted in the MSS. of that work? There
can be little doubt that it was, in its original form, the treatise on
rays sent to the Pope with the Opus Majus, but as a separate work
(Opera Ined. pp. 227, 230). The references to the Communia
Naluralium are not inconsistent with this hypothesis : (i) the treatise
on rays does not seem to have been written specially for the Pope,
and consequently references to works which he could not know
were not unnatural ; (2) Bacon had already begun the encyclo-
paedic work, but found it impossible to get it finished or send it to
the Pope (Opera Inedita, pp. 60, 315).
Inc. 'Primum igitur capitulum circa influentiam agentis habet
tres veritates.'
MSS. London : — Brit. Mus. : Royal 7 F viii. f. 13 ; inc. 'Postquam
habitum,' &c. Addit. 8786, fol. 20 b : inc. 'Postquam habitum
est de principiis rerum naturalium ' : Sloane 2156, f. 40 (A.D.
1428) ; inc. 'Postquam,' &c.
Oxford : — Bodl. Digby 235, p. 305 (inserted in the Opus Majus).
Dublin :— Trinity Coll. 81 (in the Opus Majus).
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 2598 fsec. xv) : inc. 'Postquam,' &c.
Bruges, 490 (sec. xiii), called Philosopbia Baconis.
Printed in Jebb.
De speculis (on burning mirrors). Inc. 'Ex concavis speculis ad
solem positis ignis accenditur.
MS. Oxford: — Bodl. Ashmole, 440 (sec. xvi) ; cf. Digby 71.
Printed at Frankfurt 1614, in Combach's Specula Mathematica, p. 168.
Speculi Abnukefi compositio secundum Roger ium Bacon. Inc. c Quia
universorum quos de speculis ad datam distanciam.'
MS. Bodl. : Canonic. Misc. 408, fol. 48.
Cf. Brit. Mus. Cott. Vesp. A ii. f. 140.
Compendium Philosophiae, an encyclopaedic work, which if completed
would have formed a kind of revised and enlarged edition of
the Opus Majus, Opus Minus, and Opus Tertium. In the
Communia Naturalium, cap. i. (MS. Bodl. Digby 70) Bacon
gives a sketch of his plan. The work was to consist of four
volumes, and to treat of six branches of knowledge, viz., vol. i.
Grammar and Logic ; vol. ii. Mathematics ; vol. iii. Physics ;
vol. iv. Metaphysics and Morals. This Compendium seems to
have been known also as .Liber sex scientiarum. The latter
202 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
title is found in the collection printed at Frankfurt in 1603 * in
MSS. Bodl. Canonic. Misc. No. 334, fol. 49 b; ibid., No. 480,
fol. 33; and E. Musaeo 155, p. 689. In each of these MSS.
the same passage is quoted, as follows :
Dicta fratris Rogerii Bacon in libro sex scienciarum in 3° gradu sapiencie,
ubi loquitur de bono corporis et de bono fortune et de bono et honestate
morum. (Inc.) In debito regimine corporis et prolongatione vite ad
ultimos terminos naturales . . . miranda potestas astronomic alkimie et
perspective et scienciarum experimentalium. Sciendum igitur est pro
bono corporis quod homo fuit immortalis naturaliter (Expl~) ut fiant
sublimes operaciones et utilissime in hoc mundo, etc.
Charles identifies the Liber sex scientiarum with the Opus Minus ;
but this passage does not occur in the extant portion of the Opus
Mznus which deals with the same subject and expresses the same
ideas (Opera Ined., p. 370 seq.). It seems probable therefore that
this passage is an extract from the section on Alchemy in vol. iii.
of the Compendium Philosophiae.
Vol. I. Grammar and Logic. A portion of this has been edited by
Brewer, Opera Ined., pp. 393-519, under the title Compendium
Studii Philosophiae. It was written in 1271, and contains an
introduction on the value of knowledge and the impediments
to it, and the beginning of a treatise on grammar.
MS. Cott. Tiberius C. V. (sec. xiv).
Two other treatises on grammar by Roger Bacon are extant, and
probably formed part of the Comp. Phil. 2 :
(1) Inc. ' Primus hie liber voluminis grammatici circa linguas
alias a Latino. . . . Manifestata laude et declarata utilitate cognitionis
grammatice ' (chiefly on Greek grammar).
MSS. Brit. Museum : Cotton Jul. F viii. £.175 (sec. xv), a fragment.
Oxford : — Corpus Christi Coll. 148 (sec. xv) ; Univ. Coll. 47
(sec. xvii).
Douai, 691 § i (sec. xvii), copied from Univ. Coll. MS. 47.
(2) Inc. ' Oratio grammatica autem fit mediante verbo.' ' Explicit
summa de grammatica magistri Rogeri Bacon/
MS. Cambridge: — Peterhouse, r, 9, 5, James 3 (sec. xiv).
Vol. II. Mathematics ; 6 books :
i. Communia mathemalicae ; ii-vi. Special branches of mathe-
matics.
1 Sanioris medicinae, p. 7, where a grammar falsely attributed to Bacon ;
passage on alchemy is quoted. inc. ' Scientia est ordinatio depicta in
a Digby MS. 55 contains a treatise on anima.' See Opera Ined. p. Ixv.
CH. ill.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 203
Liber i. Inc. ' Hie incipit volumen verae matheraaticae habens
sex libros. Primus est de communibus mathematicae, et habet
tres partes principales.'
MSS. British Museum: Sloane 2156, f. 74-97 (sec. xv), ending in the
second part of the first book.
Bodl. : Digby 76, fol. 48 (sec. xiii), containing the remainder of
the first book (?). Inc. ' Mathematica utitur tantum parte.'
Libri ii-vi. An extant fragment of a commentary on Euclid by
Bacon may have belonged to this part ; in De Coelestibus (Comp.
Phil. vol. iii.) he often refers to his commentary on the Elements
of Euclid (Charles, p. 85).
MS. Digby 76, f. 77-8 (sec. xiii).
A treatise, De laudibus mathematicae, expressing the same ideas
as Part iv. of the Opus Ma/us, may have been intended as an
introduction to this volume.
MS. Royal 7 F vii. fol. 141-152 : cf. Digby 218, f. 98.
Vol. III. Physics. First came general physics (r book), then
particular sciences (3 books).
Liber i. Communia Naturalium, divided into 4 parts.
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Royal 7 F vii. f. 84 (sec. xiii), Liber Naturalium.
f Hoc est volumen naturalis philosophiae in quo traditur
scientia rerum naturalium, secundum potestatem octo scien-
tiarum naturalium quae enumerantur in secundo capitulo ; et
habet hoc volumen quatuor libros principales, Primum scilicet
De communibus ad omnia naturalia ; secundum De Coelestibus ;
tertium De Elementis, mixtis, inanimatis ; quartum De -uegeta-
bilibus et generabilibusJ (This MS. ends at the third part of
the first book).
Bodl. : Digby 70 (sec. xiv). Communia Naturalium. Inc. ' Post-
quam tradidi grammaticam ' [Desinit ad init. cap. vii].
Cf. Digby 190, f. 29 (sec. xiv ineuntis). De principiis naturae;
beginning illegible.
Paris : — Bibl. Mazarine 3576 ; olim 1271, f. 1-90 (sec. xiv). 'In-
cipit liber primus Communium naturalium Fratris Rogeri
Bacon, habens quatuor partes principales, quarum prima habet
distinctiones quatuor. Prima distinctio est de communibus
ad omnia naturalia et habet capitula quatuor. Capitulum
primum de ordine scientiae naturalis ad alias. (Inc.) Post-
quam tradidi grammaticam secundum linguas diversas.'
Extracts printed by Charles, pp. 369-391.
Libri ii, iii, iv. The special natural sciences, according to the
Royal MS, just quoted, were treated in three books. They were
204 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
seven1 in number, as Bacon enumerates them in the second chapter
of the first part of the Communia Naluralium,
f Praeter scientiam communem naturalibus, sunt septem speciales, vide-
licet perspectiva, astronomia judiciaria et operativa, scientia ponderum de
gravibus et levibus, alkimia, agricultura, medicin a, scientia experimentalis.'
Liber ii. (i) Optics or Perspective (a version of the De multipli-
catione specierum). Inc. ' Ostensum quippe in principio hujus
Compendii Philosophiae.'
MSS. Brit. Mus: Royal 7 F vii. p. 221 (sec. xiii), fragment, called
' Quinta pars Compendii theologiae'; and Addit. 8786, fol. a
(fragment).
[Cf. Bodl. Digby 183, fol. 49 (sec. xiv) ?]
See the references under Tract, de multlplicatione specierum.
(2) Astronomy, or, De coelo et mundo.
MSS. Oxford : — Bodl. Digby 76, f. i (sec. xiii), Compendium Philosophiae.
Inc. ( Prima igitur veritas circa corpora mundi est quod non
est unum corpus continuum et unius nature.' Ibid. fol. 36, De
corporibus coelestibus, sc. de zodiaco, sole, etc. Inc. ' Habito de
corporibus mundi prout mundum absolute constituunt' (cf.
Opus Minus). Cf. Ashmole 393 I, f. 44 (sec. xv), ' Veritates de
magnitudine . . . planetarum. Tractatus extractus de libris celi
et mundi,' etc. Also, Univ. Coll. 49, De corporibus coelestibus.
Paris: — Mazarine 3576, De coelestibus (five chapters). Inc.
' Prima igitur veritas.'
(3) Gravity, Scientia ponderum de gravibus et levibus.
Cf. Tractatus trium "verborum.
Liber iii. (4) Alchemy, or, De elementis a.
Liber iv. De vegetabilibus et generabilibus s.
(5) Agriculture.
See note in Brewer, Opera Ined. p. li.
(6) Medicine.
(7) Experimental Science.
Vol. IV. Metaphysics and Morals.
Inc. ' Quoniam intencio principalis est innuere nobis vicia studii
theologici que contracta sunt ex curiositate philosophic.'
1 Royal MS. 7 F vii (see above) scientia non modicam habet utilitatem
speaks of eight sciences, i. e. including . . . et est Alchymta speculativa.'
what Bacon calls ' scientia de communi- s The Breve Breviarium includes a
bus naturalibus.' treatise De vegetabililms et semibilibus,
' See the works under the heading, and another De medicinis et curis cor-
Alchemy: cf. 'Excerpta ex libro sex porum; edition of 1603, PP- "8 an<l
scientiarum ' in Sanioris medicinae, &c. 156; MS. Bodl. E Musaeo 155, pp.
(Frankfurt, 1603), p. 7: 'Quarta vero 549 and 553.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 205
MSS. Bodl. : Digby 190, fol. 86 b (sec. xiii-xiv). ' Methaphisica fratris
Rogeri ordinis Fratrum Minorum, de viciis contractis in
studio theologie ' (25 lines).
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 7440 (sec. xiv), fol. 38-40, fol. 25-32. 'Incipit
metaphysica Rogeri Baconis de ordine praedicatorum' (frag-
ment).
It is, however, probable that these MS. fragments ought to be
referred to Bacon's last work, the Compendium Sludii Theologiae,
rather than to the Compendium Philosophiae,
Compendium studii theologiae, Bacon's last work, bears the date 1292
(' usque ad hunc annum Domini 1292 '). Extracts from it are
printed by Charles, pp. 410-416. This work consisted of six
parts or more.
Part i. On ike causes of error.
Part ii. Logic and grammar in reference to theology.
These two parts are extant (though not complete) in MS. British
Museum, Royal F vii. pp. 153-161 : there is a long gap between
pp. 154 and 155.
According to this MS. the work consisted of two parts :
' Incipit compendium studii theologiae et per consequens philosophiae
ut potest et debet servire theologicae facultati, et habet duas
partes principales ; prima liberali communicatione sapientiae inves-
tigat omnes causas errorum, et modos errandi in hoc studio ....
Secunda pars descendit ad veritates stabiliendas et ad errores cum
diligentia exterminandos.'
Part v. is preserved in Royal MS. 7 F. viii. f. 2 (sec. xiii) (almost
complete) ; it is a treatise on optics.
Incipit : ' Acto prologo istius quintae partis hujus voluminis quam voco
compendium studii theologiae, in quo quidem comprehendo in
sumnia intentionem totius operis, extra partem ejus signans omnia
impedimenta totius studii et remedia, nunc accedo ad tractatum
exponens ea quae necessaria sunt theologiae de perspectiva et de
visu.'
Part vi. is mentioned in Part v. : it is to be a treatise, { De
multiplicatione Specierum'
In Part iv. also the words ' in partibus sequentibus ' occur.
Alchemy was treated in the Opus Minus and in the Compendium
Philosophiae. Bacon divides it into (i) Speculative alchemy, 'the
science of the generation of things from elements'; (2) Practical
alchemy, ' which teaches us how to make noble metals and colours/
&c., and the art of prolonging life (Opus Tertium, cap. xii). Wood
mentions a treatise of Bacon's De renm generalionibus, of which he
206 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
had seen two copies varying much. These may have been the versions
in the Opus Minus l and the Compendium Philosophiae 2. A number
of works on alchemy and medicine ascribed to Bacon have been
preserved, some of them are undoubtedly genuine, others apocryphal.
Epistolae fratris Rogerii Baconis de secretis operibus arlis et naturae
et de nullitate magiae [or, De mirabili potestate artis et naturae\.
The work consists of a letter or collection of letters in ten or
eleven chapters, the last five of which Charles considers doubtful,
addressed perhaps to William of Auvergne (who died in 1248), or
to John of London, whom Charles identifies with John of Basing-
stoke (d. 1252).
Inc. cap. i. ' Vestrae petitioni respondeo diligenter. Nam licet.'
MS. Brit. Mus: Sloane 2156, p. 117.
Printed at Paris 1542 ; at Oxford 1594 ; Hamburg 1613 ; in Zetzner's
Iheatrum Cbemicum, 1659; and by Brewer in Rog. Bacon Opera
Inedita, App. I.
The three following treatises were printed at Frankfurt in 1603,
under the title, Stations medicinae magistri D. Rogeri Baconis angli
de arte chymiae scripta, &c., and elsewhere.
Summary of Avicenna's De anima. Inc. 'In illius nomine qui major est.'
MS. Bodl: Ashmole 1467 (sec. xvi). [Cf. Charles, R. Bacon, p. 59;
Opera Ined. p. 39.]
Breve Breviarium, or, De naturis metallorum in ratione alkimica et
artificiali transformatione, or, Coelestis alchymia, or, De naturis
metallorum et ipsorum transmutatione.
Divided into two parts, speculative and practical alchemy; the work
contains no doubt some of the ideas incorporated in the Opus
Minus and the Comp. Philosophiae. The date is uncertain.
Inc. ' Breve breviarium breviter abbreviatum/
MSS. Brit. Mus : Sloane 276, f. 4 (sec. xv-xvi).
Bodl.: Digby 119, fol. 64 (sec. xiv) ; and Bodl. E Musaeo
155, P- 513.
Paris : — Bibl. Nat. new Latin collection, No. 1153. (Abbey of
St. Germain).
Tractatus trium verborum, or, Epistolae ires ad Johannem Parisiensem;
namely :
i. ' De separatione ignis ab oleo,' or, ' De modo projections ' ;
ii. ' De modo miscendi ' ; iii. ' De ponderibus.' Inc. ' Cum ego
Rogerus rogatus a pluribus.'
1 Printed in Opera Ined. p. 359 seq. Cap. vii of the Communia Naturalium
" The special treatise on alchemy in begins, ' De generacione. Habito ergo
this work does not seem to be extant. de principiis naturalibus generacionis.'
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 207
MSS. British Museum: Cotton Julius D.V. ; Harleian 3528, f. 174 ;
Sloane 1754, ' Mendacium primum, secundum, et tertium.'
Oxford: — Bodl : Digby 119, f. 82 (sec. xiv ineuntis) ; Ashmole
1448, pp. 1-25 (sec. xv) ; Corpus Christi Coll. 125, f. 84b ;
University Coll. 49.
Fragment on alchemy, without title.
MS. Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 2598, f. 138 (sec. xv), 'Explicit de subjecto
transmutationis secundum Rogerum Bachonis.' It perhaps
occurs in one of his larger works.
Libellus Rogerii Baconi . . . de retardandis senedutis accidentibus et
de sensibus conservandis (n chapters). This work is assigned
by Charles to the year 1276. Inc. prol. 'Domine mundi ex
nobilissima stirpe originem assumpsistis.' Inc. cap. i. (De
causis senectutis). ' Senescente mundo senescunt homines.'
MSS. Brit. Museum : Sloane 2320, fol. 56.
BodL : E. Musaeo 155, pp. 591-637 (sec. xiv-xv) ; Canonic. Misc.
334, fol. i (sec. xv) ; and 480, fol. i (sec. xv).
Printed at Oxford in 1596 (and in English, London 1683).
Aniidoiarius, a second part of this work. Inc. ' Post completum
universalis sciencie medicacionis tractatum.'
MSS. Bodl. : Canonic. Miscell. 334 (fol. 2ib to 25), and 480 (fol. 16) ;
E Musaeo 155, p. 645. Cf. MS. Canon. Misc. 480, fol. 38b-47, below.
Liber Bacon de sermone rei admirabtlis, sive de retardatione senectutis.
Inc. 'Intendo componere sermonem rei admirabilis domino
meo fratri E, cujus vitam deus prolonget/
MSS. Bodl. : E Musaeo 155, pp. 655-666 ; Digby 183, fol. 45 (sec. xiv
exeuntis) ; Canonic. Miscell. 334, fol. 25-31.
De universali regimine senum et seniorum. Inc. 'Summa regiminis
senum universalis est hoc ut dicit Avicenna.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Sloane 2629, fol. 57.
Bodl.: Canon. Miscell. 334, fol. i8b-2ib ; 480 (explicit fol. 16) ;
and E Musaeo 155, p. 638.
De graduac ione medicinarum compositarum. Inc. ' Omnis forma inherens/
MSS. Bodl. Canon. Misc. 334, fol. 32 ; 480, fol. 23b (the author's name
is obliterated in the MS.).
Tractatus de erroribus medicorum *. Inc. ' Vulgus medicorum.'
MSS. Oxford : Bodl. Canon. Misc. 334, fol. 42 ; 480, fol. 30 (author's
name obliterated); E Musaeo 155, pp. 669-689. Corpus Ch.
Coll. 127 (sec xv).
1 Sloane MS. 3744, p. 71 (sec. xv) elementum aut ex elementis compcsi-
contains Errores secundum Bacon. Inc. turn.' According to Charles (p. 71) this
' Scito enim quod omne corpus aut est is the De Erroribus medicorum.
208 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Canones pradici de medicinis compositis componendts, 'Cap. i. Extractum
de libro septimo Serapionis qui est antidotarium suum et est
theoricum capitulum.' (13 chapters.) Inc. 'Necesse est illi
qui vult componere medicinas.' 'Explicit tractatus de com-
positione medicinarum per fratrem rugerium bacon editus.'
MS. Bodl. Canon. Misc. 480, fol. s8b-47.
De leone viridt (on the manufacture of mercury) ; only the summary
by Raymund Gaufredi is extant. Inc. ' Verbum abbreviatum.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : — Sloane 692, f. 46 (sec. xv). Oxford : — Corpus
Chr. Coll. 277. Printed at Frankfurt, 1603 (Sanioris
mediclnae^ p. 264), &c.
A number of works on alchemy are attributed to Roger Bacon
erroneously or without any probability.
De consideration* quintae essenliae ; 3 books.
The author was a Franciscan who entered the Order at Tou-
louse 1. Inc. opus. ' Dixit Salomon sapientie cap. vii. Deus dedit mihi.'
MSS. Bodl. : Canonic. Misc. 334, fol. 59b. ' Primus liber de consider-
acione quinte essencie omnium rerum transmutabilium. In
nomine domini nostri Jhesu Christi. Incipit liber de famulatu
philosophic ewangelio domini Jhesu Christi et pauperibus euan-
gelicis viris Amen.' Fol. 94*", ' Explicit liber quinte essencie
secundum fratrem Rogerium Bacun de ordine minorum.'
Bodl. E Musaeo 155, pp. 431-507. 'Explicit liber tertius de
consideracione ste essencie secundum magistrum Rogerum
Bacon, correctus et scriptus per Johannem Cokkes manibus
suis propriis Oxon V
Brit. Museum: Sloane 2320, f. 73 (sec. xv-xvi).
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 7151 (xv).
Venice :— St. Mark, vol. IV. Cl. XIV., Cod. 39.
De expukione veneni. Inc. 'Ista subscripta sequerentur post capi-
tulum de hiis que expellunt venenum/
MS. Bodl. E Musaeo 155, p. 507 (not expressly ascribed to Bacon in
the MS. : see Brewer, Op. Ined. p. xl.).
Speculum alchemiae. Inc. ' Multifariam multisque modis.'
MSS. Brit. Museum: Addit. 8786,^62 ; 15,549; Sloane 3506 (English
translation).
Bodl.: Ashmole 1416, f. xor (sec. xv).
Printed in Zetzner's Iheatrum Chemlcum^ vol. ii., A. D. 1659; in
Mangel's Thcasurus, vol. i., &c., &c.
1 Charles, R. Bacon, p. 76. It is De Consideratione qnartae Sententiae S.
often, perhaps rightly, attributed to Magistri per Rogerum Bacon,' &c.
John de Rupescissa. His whole account of this MS. is not
2 Brewer reads, ' Explicit liber tertius very trustworthy; Op. Ined. p. xxxix.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 209
Speculum alchemiae. Inc. ' Speculum alchemiae quod in corde meo
figuravi.'
MS. Brit. Mus.: Harl. 3528, fol. 185.
Speculum secreiorum, or, Liber secrdorum. Inc. ' In nomine Domini
... ad instructionem multorum circa hanc artem.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Sloane 513, f. i78b (sec. xv).
Oxford: — Bodl. : Digby 28, f. 61 (sec. xiv) ; Digby 119, f. 9ob;
Ashmole 1467, f. 2o8b, and 1485, p. 117 (sec. xvi). Also
Corpus Christi Coll. 125, f. 86.
Printed at Frankfurt, 1603 (p. 387).
Secrelum seer e tor urn naturae de laude lapidis Philosopher um. Inc.
' Secretum secretorum naturae audiant secreti quae loquor.'
Printed at Frankfurt, 1603 (pp. 285-291).
Rogerina major et minor, two medical treatises ; neither by Bacon :
one is by a Roger Baron.
MSS. Bodl. 2626; Cf. MS. St. Omer 624 (sec. xiii) ; Charles, R.
Bacon, p. 75, note.
Cambridge, Publ. Libr. li, I. 16 (sec. xiv) and Ee, II. 20.
Brit. Mus. : Sloane 342, f. 146 (sec. xiii).
De Magnete. Inc. ' Amicorum intime, quamdam magnetis lapidis.'
MS. Bodl. E Musaeo 155, pp. 414-426 (anon.) : Charles (p. 18) ascribes
it to Peter de Maricourt.
Calendar, wrongly attributed to Bacon ; made by a Minorite at
Toledo 1297, and extracted from the Tabulae Toletanae.
MS. Cott. Vesp. A. II. f. 2 ; Cf. Opus Majus p. 140 (ed. Venet, 1750).
Semita recta alchemiae (or, Liber duodecim aquarum).
MS. Brit. Mus.: Sloane 513, f. i8ib-i88b (sec. xv) : ' Explicit semita
recta alkemie secundum Magistrum Rogerum Bakun.'
Cf. MS. Sloane 276, f. 21, an anonymous work on the same
subject, differing somewhat from the above.
Bodl. : Ashmole 1485, pp. 173-188 (sec. xvi), ' Liber aquarum.'
Thesaurus spirt luum, four treatises on the influence of planets, &c.
Inc. ' Hec est doctrina omnium experimentorum.'
MS. Brit. Museum : Sloane 3853, f. 3-40 (sec. xv). 'Hec est tabula
libri sequentis .... a quodam viro venerabili ordinis Minorum
fratre summa composita et ordinata, et a diligencia M. Rogero
Bakon ordinis Minorum nuper recognita, qui quidem liber pro
omnibus hujus mundi experimentis sufficit,' &c.
' Explicit liber qui secundum Robertum Turconem et Rogerum
Bakon fratrem Minorum Thesaurus spirituum nuncupatur.'
Cf. MS. Sloane 3850, f. i29b, De nigromantia, extracted from the
above.
p
310 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
De fistula.
MS. Sloane 238, f. 2i4b-2i6b (sec. xv). ' Secundum Rogerum Bacon
ut habetur in libro qui dicitur Thesaurus pauperum V
Necromanciae. Inc. ' Debes mundare manus et pedes ante visionem
characterum.'
MS. Sloane 3884, f. 44b (sec. xv-xvi) : ' Haecsunt quae Rogerus Bacon
de pura necromancia dixit.'
Other worthless recipes, fragments, &c., attributed to Bacon will
be found in MSS :—
Bodl. 3, 349, 'Index simplicium ' ; Ashmole 1423, iv. pp. 1-7 'Opus,'
'Opus Commune,' ' De conclusionibus ' ; Sloane 692, f. 102,
* Finalis conclusio'; Harl. 2269, art. i; Cott. Jul. D.V. ' De
colore faciendo ' ; Digby 196, f. i63b, ' Septem virtutes naturae ' ;
Ashmole 1485 (sec. xv), various.
De intellectu et intelligentia, and De nutrimenlo, which Charles considers
genuine, are printed among the works of Albertus Magnus.
MSS. Bodl.: Digby 67, f. 107 (sec. xiv), anon : and Digby 55, f. 193,
anon: Alb. Magnus, Opera, V. p. 239 and 175 (Lugd. 1657).
Tractatus de veritate theologiae in septem paries distributus, perhaps
by Robert Bacon. Inc. ' Flecto genua mea ad patrem domini
nostri Jesu Christi.'
MS. Bodley 745 (=2764) (sec. xiv) pp. 113-188 :' Incipit tractatus
fratris B.' Part i. de trinitate dei; ii. de creatura dei; Hi. de
corruptela peccati ; iv. de incarnacione verbi ; v. de gratia spiritus
sancti ; vi. de medicina sacramentali ; vii. de statu finalis judicii.
Tractatus super Psalterium, probably by Robert Bacon.
MS. ibid. pp. 193-497. 'Incipit tractatus fratris R. Bacun, super
psalterium. Beatus vir qui.'
Excerptiones Rogeri Bacon ex auctoribus musicae artis ; or correctly,
Excerptiones Hogeri abbatis, &c.
MS. Cambridge: — Corp. Chr. Coll. 260 (olim 189).
Cf. MS. Milan : — Ambrosiana, Rogerii de Baccono de generatione et
corruptione, de Musica, de prospect'rva (Montfaucon, p. 523). Cf.
Opera Inedita, 295 seq.
De sacrae scripturae profundis misteriis authore Rogero Bacon.
MS. London: — Gray's Inn, 17 (sec. xv) ; the title is in a later hand.
It is probably a version of the Expositiones Vocabulorum de sin-
gulis libris Bibliae Rogeri compotistae monachi S. Eadmundi ;
1 Cf. MSS. Sloane 284 (sec. xiv), 477 fauperum, libro scil. preceptorum medi-
(A. D. 1309), and 2411 ; Digby 150 (sec. cinalium.'
xiii), f. 106, • Extracciones a Thezauro
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 211
MSS. Oxford :— Bodl. Laud. Misc. 176 (sec. xiv) ; Magd. Coll.
112 (sec. xv).
John, Roger Bacon's favourite pupil, was certainly not John of
London \ or John Peckham 2. On the other hand it is impossible to
identify him with any known scholastic doctor. It is not certain
whether he was a friar or whether he was ever at Oxford. About
1260 Roger Bacon found him probably at Paris, as a poor boy of
fifteen eager to learn, but forced to beg his bread and to serve those
who gave him the necessaries of life s.
' I caused him,' says Roger *, ' to be taken care of and instructed for the
love of God.'
The boy repaid his master's care. Wishing to send a fit inter-
preter of his works to the Pope, Bacon writes B,
' I chose a youth whom for five or six years I have had instructed in
languages and mathematics and optics, in which is all the difficulty of what
I send ; and I instructed him gratis with my own mouth after I received
your command, feeling that I could not at present have another messenger
after my own heart.'
There was no one at Paris who knew so much of the roots of
philosophy as did Juvenis Johannes ; he was ' a virgin, not knowing
mortal sin,' and ' an excellent keeper of secrets V John was sent to
Clement with the Opus Majus and other treatises7 in 1267, the other
works, Opus Minus and Opus Tertium, being sent later and probably
by other messengers. From this time we have no authentic informa-
tion about him, and do not know whether he fulfilled Bacon's expecta-
tions :
' he has that which will enable him to surpass all the Latins, if he lives to
old age and builds on the foundations which he has V
Robert de Ware, in Hertfordshire 9, entered the Order at Oxford
between 1265 and 1268. In the prologue of his only extant work,
1 John of London was a master, and * Ibid. 61.
contemporary of Roger's ; Op. Ined. p. 5 Ibid.
34. ' Juvenis Johannes ' was aged 20 or ' Ibid. 62.
at in 1267, and had no experience in 7 Namely, a treatise on rays, Op. Ined.
teaching, ibid. 61. p. 230, and an elaborate one on mathe-
* The dates are conclusive ; Peckham matics and judicial astrology, ibid. 270 ;
entered the Order as a young man, not John took also a concave lens, ibid, p
as a boy, in the lifetime of Adam Marsh ; in.
Mon. Franc. I, 256. 'Juvenis Johannes* * Ibid. 62.
was about 12 years old when Adam » MS. Gray's Inn Libr. 7, f. 6a, 'a
died. quadam villa proxima que dicitur
* Op. Ined. 63. Herteford.'
P 2
212 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. III.
addressed to his younger brother John, he gives the following account
of his conversion * : —
I was the eldest son of my father ; at a tender age, tenderly beloved, I
was designed for a life of study. At length I came to Oxford, and then I
entered the Order of Friars Minors. At this my father was exceedingly
grieved, and did all in his power to force me to leave the Order, sending
my mother and brother and relatives and other friends to me, with
intreaties and promises ; and, I am told, with the help of some powerful
persons, he made every exertion to secure my liberation in the court of
Ottobon, who was then acting as legate in England 2. At length finding
himself thwarted because I would not give my consent, he became so
embittered against me that he absolutely refused to see me or speak with
me, nor could any of my friends pacify him. One day even, when I had
come to his gates with my companion-friar, and wished to enter, he
refused me admittance by his servants, drew his sword, and swore with a
mighty oath that he would kill me if I presumed to enter.
At length the father was stricken down by a mortal disease, and,
warned in a vision, he relented towards his son. The latter was
summoned hastily from London, and reconciled to his father, who
before his death gave proof of his devotion to the Order of St. Francis.
Twenty-five discourses on the Virgin Mary, by friar Robert de
Ware. Inc. prol. " Aue rosarium scripturarum per areolas."
MS. London: — Gray's Inn, 7, f. 62-138: (sec. xiii). No title; the
name of the author is given in a hand of the fourteenth century.
Walter de Landen, William Cornish, William de Wykham,
Dyonisius, and Robert de Cap(e)ll. were Franciscans at Oxford, and
took part in the controversy with the Dominicans in 1269. All that
is known about them will be found in Appendix C.
Nicholas de Gulac was at Oxford in 1269. Suffering from stone
and despairing of life, he at length prayed the Lord
' to cure him by the merits of his martyr Earl Simon de Montfort.'
On the next morning as he rose from his bed lut commingeret', the
stone fell at his feet, and he had no pain before or afterwards, being
completely cured on Easter Tuesday, 1269; to this miracle witness
was borne by the whole convent of Minorites at Oxford 3.
Laurence of Cornwall, to whose miraculous recovery from fever,
after prayer to Simon de Montfort, the same Friar N. de Gulac bore
witness, was probably at Oxford about the same time 4.
1 MS. Gray's Inn Libr. 7, f. 62. 3 Miracula SymonisdeMont/ori,p.g6
3 Ottobon came to England in (Camden Soc. 1840).
November, 1265, and left in July, 1268. * Ibid. p. 95.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 213
Stephanus Hibernicus, called also Stephen of Exeter and
Stephen of Oxford, was born in 1246, and became a Minorite at
' Mutifernana ' in 1263. These facts are contained in the Annales
Montis Fernandi (stve Minoritarum Muliifernanae) ab a° 45 usque ad
an. 1274, the authorship of which is usually ascribed to Stephen1. It
is very doubtful whether he was at Oxford.
The Annales are extant in 'MS. Bibl. Arch. Armachani,' according to
Hardy ; formerly MS. Clarendon 19, £32-44 (Bernard).
William of Ware, or William Warre, Guaro, Varro, &c., born
at Ware in Hertfordshire, entered the Order in his youth, according
to William Woodford2. It is not improbable that he studied at
Oxford, but there is no authority for the statement s. He was S. T. P.
of Paris, where most of his life was spent *. He is said to have been
a pupil of Alexander of Hales 5 (d. 1245), and master of Duns Scotus 6,
who went to Paris in 1 304. He was called doctor fundatus by later
writers 7.
His Commentaries on the Sentences were seen by Leland in the Fran-
ciscan Library, London8, and are now extant in the following MSS. :
Oxford: — Merton Coll. 103, 104 (sec. xiv). Inc. 'Utrum finis per se
et proprius theologie.'
Toulouse, 242, § i (sec. xiv), anon. Inc. ut supra.
Troyes, 66 1, § i (xiv). ' Questiones super I et III lib. Sentent.'
ascribed to Duns Scotus. Inc. ut supra.
Troyes, 66 1 § 2 (xiv). 'Questiones Wareti super tertium librum
Sententiarum.' Inc. ' Queritur utrum incarnacio sit possibilis
Quod non. Incarnacio est quedam.'
Vienna : — Bibl. Palat. 1424, and 1438 (xiv).
Florence : — Laurentiana, ex EM. S. Crucis, Plut. xxxiii, Dext. Cod. i
(sec. xiii).
Padua, Bibl. S. Antonii, in Pluteis xxiv and xxii. (Tomasin, pp. 62*, 6ob.)
1 Hardy, Descript. Catal. Vol. Ill, p. never doctor of Oxford ; see notice of
207, No. 352. Wadding, Script. 218, him.
Sup. ad Script, p. 667. » Dugdale, Monast. Vol. VI, Part III,
2 Twyne MS. XXII, 103 c. (Defen- p. 1529 (from Fr. a S. Clara),
sorium, cap. 62). Perhaps he is the * Earth, of Pisa, Liber Conform, f.
'Frater G. de Ver' who was at the 8 1, 'Johannes Guarro Anglicus magister
London convent, c. 1250, Mon. Franc. Scoti.' Duns Scotus mentions him twice
I, 328. in his works, Wadding, VI, 45. Cf.
3 Bale (I, 323) and Pits. Bibl. S. Antonii, at Padua, MS. in
* Pits calls him S.T.P. of Oxford ; Pluteo XXII, in cake : ' Varro pro-
his name does not occur in the list of fessionis Minoritae Doctorum Jubar et
Franciscan masters. Wadding (VI, praeceptor Divi Scoti famosus ' ; quoted
48) says that Duns Scotus was made by Tomasin, p. 60 b.
S.T.P. at Oxford when Ware was called 7 Willot, Athenae, p. 166.
to Paris. This is incorrect; Duns was 8 Collectanea, III, 51.
214 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Richard Middleton is said by Bale, Wood, and others, to have
studied at Oxford, but they produce no evidence for the statement l.
He was B.D. at Paris in 1283 2, when with other doctors and bachelors
he was appointed to examine the doctrines of Peter Johannis Olivi.
He appears to have incepted as D.D. soon afterwards 3, and is reckoned
among the masters of Duns Scotus. Like many other famous doctors
of his Order, he is said by Wadding to have written on the Immaculate
Conception 4. According to Willot he was known at Paris as Doctor
solidus et copiosus, fundatissimus et author atus B : at the Council of
Basel he was referred to as Doctor profundus 6.
Commentum super iv. Sententiarum, Inc. prologus, ' Abscondita
produxit.'
MSS. Oxford:— Bodl. 2 765 (now Bodley 744)— Balliol Coll. 198 (sec.
xiv) — Merton Coll. 98, f. 118 (sec. xiv).
Cambridge: — Caius Coll. 303 — Pembroke Coll. in, 113.
Canterbury : — Cathedral Lib. 4.
Munich : — Bibl. Regia, 3549 (sec. xv) and 8078 (sec. xiii-xiv).
Printed at Venice 1489, at Venice sine anno, and Venice 1507-9, &c.
Quaestiones quodlibetales (two parts). Inc. Pars 1. ' Queritur utrum
Deus sit summe simplex.'
MSS. Oxford: — Merton Coll. 139, fol. 2 (sec. xiv).
Troyes, 142 (xiv) ; Pars II incipit ut supra.
Florence : — Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Cruets, Plut. xvii, Sin. Cod.
vi (sec. xiv ineuntis).
Quodlibeta tria. (The first contains 22 questions; the second 31;
the third 27.) Inc. 'In nostra disputacione de quolibet.'
MSS. Oxford: — Merton Coll. 139, f. 162 (sec. xiv).
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 14305 (sec. xiii) Questions* de quolibet', this
may contain either the Quod/, tria or the Questiones Quodlib.,
or both.
1 A 'Richard Middleton' was fellow 1261, Wadding, IV, 57; Lanerc. Chron.
of Merton sub Edw. Ill ; of course he is 70 ; Mon. Franc. I, 555.
not to be confounded with the Minorite 3 Archiv, &c., II, 296 (from Angelus
doctor. de Clarino, Hist. Tribulat.).
a Wadding, IV, 54, 121. Archiv f. « Wadding, VI, 13; and Willot,
L. u. K. Gesch. Ill, 417. This date is Athenae.
sufficient to show that he cannot have 5 Athenae, 314-315 ; the two last
finished the Summa of Alexander of epithets are applied -to him in the edition
Hales at the command of Pope Alex- of his Quodlibets printed at Venice in
ander IV, as Davenport (Francis a S. 1509.
Clara) alleges, Opera, Tom. I, Hist. * Wadding, Sup. ad. Script. 633 ;
Minor, p. 12. The Summa was finished this is the earliest instance which I have
by Friar William of Middleton, D.D. of found of the special application of any
Paris (and probably fifth master of the such title to Richard Middleton.
Franciscans at Cambridge), who died
CH. III.J FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 215
Toulouse, 738 (sec. xiii).
Florence : — Laurent, ut supra.
Printed at Venice 1509, Paris 1519, and Brescia 1591.
De gradibus formarum.
MS. Munich 8723, fol. 175 (sec. xiv and xv).
Quaestiones disputatae, by R. Middleton and others.
MS. Assisi (see Fratini, p. 203).
Sermo fratris Ricardi de dilatatione sermonum (?). Inc. ' Quoniam
emulatores estis.'
MS. Oxford: — Merton Coll. 249, f. 175 (sec. xiii).
William de la Mare, de Mara, or Lamarensis, may have studied
at Oxford x before he went to Paris, where he was a disciple of
Bonaventura. In 1284 he published a criticism of Thomas Aquinas,
called Corredorium operum fratris Thomae 2, which afterwards won for
him the title of standard-bearer of the Anti-Thomists 3. This treatise,
which may perhaps be still extant in an Italian library, is generally
known only through the reply to it, attributed sometimes to Aegidius
Romanus, but with more probability to Richard Clapwell 4. ' The
serious part of the work of William de Lamarre,' says M. Charles,
' seems directly inspired by Bacon V He had no doubt come under
Roger's influence either at Oxford or Paris. William de Mara appears
also to have written in favour of a strict observance of the Rule of St.
Francis. In a dispute on the interpretation of the Rule in 1310,
Friar Ubertino de Casali, one of the leaders of the ' Spiritual ' party,
quoted, in support of his views,
' the opinion of St. Francis expressed in his Rule, and of Pope Nicholas in
his Declaration, of Friar Bonaventura in his Apologia, of Friars Alexander
and Rigaldus . . . and of Friar John de Peckham in his book on Evangelical
1 It is always assumed that he was an Pat. Roll, 10 Edw. I, m. 7 dorse ; Le
Englishman ; the available evidence on Neve, Fasti, vol. iii ; cf. forest of Mara,
the point is slight. MS. Borghes. 322, or Delamere in Cheshire,
f. 174 a (sec. xiv) has the note: 'Hie « Charles, Roger Bacon, p. 340. Cf.
loquitur (Petrus J. Olivi) stulte contra B. of Pisa, Liber Conform, fol. 81 :
fratrem G. de Mara et communem 'scripsit . . . contra fratrem Thomam
opinionem.' MS. Borghes. 358, £ 227 b de Aquino correctorium componendo.'
(sec. xiv) : ' Magister Guillelmus de » Wadding, Sup. ad Script. 323.
Anglia habet duas sententias in instru- « This reply was printed at Cologne,
mentis dnobus datas contra doctrinam 1624 (Charles, ibid.), and at Cordova
P(etri) J(oannis) . . .' &c. The second in 1701. See Merton Coll. MS. 267;
William here is probably W. de Mara MS. in Bibl. S. Anton. Venet. in pluteo
(Archiv f. L. u. K. Gesch. Ill, 472-3). xviii; Boston of Bury, in Tanner,
B. of Pisa and Tritheim say nothing Bibl. p. xxxviii.
about his nationality. The name was * Charles, Roger Bacon, pp. 240-1.
not uncommon in England ; see e. g.
2l6 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Perfection, and of Friar William de Mara, who were all solemn masters of
our Order1.'
From this it is clear that William died before 1310.
Some of his writings are extant in MS.
Summa Fratris Gul. de Mara contra D. Thomam.
MS. Venice : — Bibl. S. Anton, in Pluteo xix (Tomasin).
Correctorium Fratris Gul. de Mera . . . secundum dicta D. Thomae
de Aquino contra correctorium Fratris Joannis (?) de Crapuel
Ordinis Praedicatorum — perhaps the printed Defensorium seu
Correctorium.
MS. ibid, in Pluteo xviii.
Quaestiones de natura virtutis, by ' Gulielmus de le Maire, ordinis
Minorum.'
MS. Brit. Museum : — Burney 358 (sec. xiv) — mutilated at the be-
ginning.
Sermo Fratris Guillermi de la Mare regentis in Theologia. (On
St. Peter.) Inc. ' Precurrens ascendit in arborem sycomorum.
. . . Fratres orate ut sermo Dei currat et clarificetur.'
MS. Troyes, 1788 (sec. xiv).
Expositio libri Physicorum Aristotelis\ and Comment, in libros i, 2,
et 3, Sententiarum 2.
MSS. StaCroce, Florence 380, 381, 382, 383; mentioned in Wadding,
Sup. ad Script. These MSS. are now in the Laurentiana, ex Bibl.
S. Cruets, Plut. xxxiv. Sin. Codd. iv, v, vi, vii, but they do not seem
to contain the Physics.
Quaestiones ires philosophicae per Gulielmum (de Mara /) de Anglia,
fratrem ordinis Minorum. Inc. ' Est dubitacio utrum lineam
componam ex punctis.'
MS. Bodl. Canon. Misc. 226, f. 76 (sec. xv). There seems no reason
for attributing these to W. de Mara rather than to William of
Ockham, or any English Minorite named William 3.
John of Oxford, Friar Minor, was ordained priest by Peckham in
1284*.
Richard de Slekeburne (co. Durham), confessor of Devorguila,
played an important part in the foundation of Balliol College : this
1 Anal. Franc. II, 115. s Other works attributed to him by
2 ' Scripsit super sententias ad opus Sbaralea (Wadding, Sup. ad Script.),
domini fratris Bonaventure multa super- viz. Parafhrasis Musaei and Sylvarum
addendo et multa quodlibeta faciendo.' libri quatuor, are by W. de Mara, Bishop
B. of Pisa, Liber Conform, f. 81 : cf. of Constance in the fifteenth century.
Tanner, Bibl. 223. * Peckham's Reg. p. 1040.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 217
has already been referred to 1. There is no direct proof that Friar
Richard was himself at Oxford. Several documents relating to him
are preserved in the Balliol College Archives, and described in the
Reports of the Hist. MSS. Commission 2.
(1) A letter of Devorguila to him, in which she speaks of
'the alms of the poor scholars of our House of Balliol now studying at
Oxford,'
and urges Friar Richard by all means in his power to promote the
perpetuation of the said house, A. D. 1284.
(2) A grant by the executors of Sir John Balliol of sums to the
scholars, with the consent of Devorguila and at the advice of Friar R.
de Slekeburne (three deeds, 1285-1286).
(3) A confirmation by Friar Richard of another grant by Sir
J. Balliol's executors of debts due to Sir John : the confirmatory deed
is dated Coventry, 1287.
William of Exeter was summoned in 1289 from Oxford by
Deodatus, Warden of the Friars Minors of Exeter 3, to assist him in
choosing a new site for the convent 4.
William of Leominster is placed among the Franciscans by
Pits, but it is not certain that he belonged to this Order 6. He was a
friar and master of Oxford in 1290 ; in this year his name appears as
one of the masters who gave their consent on behalf of the University
to the compromise, effected by the intervention of the King and his
council, concerning the right of the bishop of Lincoln to confirm the
Chancellor-elect 6. Bale states that he had seen this friar's Collationes
Sententiarum and Quaesliones Theologiae, at London, 'm quadam
officina ' 7.
John Bekiukham appears to have been an Oxford Minorite ; he
was one of the friars to whom the royal alms of 25 marks was paid by
the exchequer in 1289 or 1290 8.
1 Part I, chapter i. of lectores, as it probably would have
2 Report IV, pp. 442-4. done had he been a Franciscan ; this in-
3 Oliver, Monasticon Diocesis Exon. ference however cannot be drawn with
p. 331. He is not to be confused with any certainty.
his namesake, the opponent of Ockham : 6 Rolls of Parliament, I, 16 a. Lyte,
he may possibly be the author of the p. 127. The name of ' Frater Willelmus
Tractatus de octo Beatitudinibus in MS. de Leominstre ' stands first in the list of
Laud. Misc. 368, fol. 106 (sec. xiv). the five magistri who represented the
* Cf. Inquisitio ad quod damnum 20 University.
Edw. I (Nov. 1291), in Mon. Franc. II, 7 Script. II, 98. Cf. MS. Seld. sup.
289. 64, fol. 48, 'ex officina Joannis Cocke.'
* His name does not occur in the list 8 Excheq. Q. R. Wardrobe, J, 17-18
21 8 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
John de Clara was executor of Hugh de Cantilupe, Archdeacon of
Gloucester, in 1285; he was at this time at Oxford1. In 1289 or
1290 he appears, in conjunction with John Bekinkham, as receiving
the royal grant of 25 marks in the name of the Oxford Convent 2. In
1299 he was entrusted with 10 marks out of the royal exchequer for
the expenses of Hugh of Hertepol and William of Gainsborough, who
were going to the General Chapter at Lyons3. In 1301 he was sent
with instructions to find the Provincial Minister with all speed, and
received of the royal bounty 245. %d. for his expenses4.
John Russell was private chaplain to Edmund, Earl of Cornwall,
in 1293. In a letter to Raymund, General Minister of the Friars
Minors, dated Aug. 29, 1293", the Earl thanks the Minister
'pro vestris muneribus preciosis, cultellis vestris videlicet nobilibus de
corallo atque insigni vase tiriaco, que in octavis virginis gloriose per manus
dilecti etdomestici nostri fratris Johannis Rossel .... recepimus .... Dat'
in manerio nostro de B. (Beckley ?) 6 prope Oxon',' &c.
Russell wrote about the same time to dominus R. de M. (Roger de
Merlawe) :
* Veni ad capitulum fratrum nostrorum Oxon', proponens vos personaliter
visitasse ; sed jam istud iter impedivit debilitas corporalis V
This John Russell was contemporary, and probably identical, with the
twenty-second master of the Franciscans at Cambridge 8.
Postilla in Cantica Canticorum. Inc. ' Cogitanti mihi Canticum .'
MS. London: — Lambeth Palace, 180, f. i (sec. xv).
Lectura super Apocalypsim. Inc. ' Statuit septem piramides. . . . Ac-
cedens ad expositionem.'
MS. Oxford: — Merton ColL 172, fol. 106 (sec. xiv), manu Will, de
Nottingham.
De poles tate imperatoris et pape.
Formerly in the King's Library, according to Bale (MS. Seld. supra
64, fol. i63b, 193) : it is not mentioned in Casley's Catalogue.
Edw. I (R.O.) : ' per manus fratram ad consensum expedicioni negociorum
Johannis de Bekinkham et Johannis de predictorum prestandum per manus pro-
Clara xviu. xiii* iiiid.' prias apud Berkhamstede eodem die
1 Peckham, Regist. p. 895. (March 29) xxiiij8 iijd.' The business
* Excheq. Q. R. Wardrobe, £ (R.O.). mentioned was connected with a bequest
3 Excheq. Q. R. Wardrobe, |, m. i. to the Mendicant Orders by Edmund,
* Ibid. |4 (m- 0 : ' ffratri Johanni de Earl of Cornwall.
Clare de ordine Minorum pro expensis 5 MS. Digby 154, fol. 38.
suis et conductione equitature pro se et ' Kennet's Parochial Antiquities, I,
socio suo eundo cum magna festinacione 362.
ad diversa loca pro fratre Hugone de 7 MS. Digby 154, fol. 37 b.
Hertpoul ministro ordinis sni querendo 8 Mon. Franc. I, 556.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 219
Henry de Sutton was warden of the Grey Friars, London, in
1302 \ and 1307, when the King (Edward I) gave him 40 marks
' pro pitancia fratrum Minorum in capitulo suo generali celebrando apud
Tolosam in festo Pentecost proximo 2.
He procured a legacy of 2 marks annually from Henry Waleys,
Mayor of London, for his convent s. The evidence of his connexion
with Oxford is very slight. His name occurs as the author of a
sermon in a collection of sermons which were probably delivered at
Oxford at the end of the thirteenth century *.
William Mincy, William de Newport, Roger de Barton
(Cheshire), Robert de Gaddestyn or Gaddesby, John de West-
burg, Robert de Mogynton (Derby), Franciscans at Oxford in
1300, were on the 26th of July in that year presented at Dorchester
by Hugh of Hertepol the Provincial, and licensed by Dalderby, Bishop
of Lincoln, to hear confessions, grant absolution, and enjoin penances,
in the Archdeaconry of Oxford. They were not at this time, and
probably never became, doctors of divinity B.
John de Stapleton, A. D. 1300, was similarly presented by the
Provincial, but rejected by the Bishop. The Register of the Friars
Minors at London says :
* Friar John de Stapilton, heir to great wealth and lordship, spurning wife
and heritage, became a Friar Minor.'
It is doubtful whether this refers to the same person 6.
Adam de Corf, Peter de Todworth, Walter Bosevile, and
Roger de Alnewyck, were in like manner presented by the
Provincial and rejected by the Bishop, A. D. 1 300. They were not at
this time D.D's. Nothing further is known of them, unless Roger
de Alnewyck is to be identified with William of Alnwick, 42nd reader
at Oxford 7.
John Duns Scotus8wasa Franciscan at Oxford in 1300. In
1 Mon. Franc. I, 514. 5 Wood MS. F 29 a, f. 178 (i. e.
2 Exchequer, Q. R. Wardrobe, Accts. Wood-Clark, II, 386).
yf, 35 Edw. I. (R.O.) • Ibid., and Mon. Franc. I, 553.
3 Mon. Franc. I, 512-3. See ibid. 7 Wood MS. ibid.
518 : ' Octavam fenestram vitrari fecit " There is no evidence as to the place
frater Henricus de Sutton, gardianus.' of his birth (the note which Leland
4 MS. New Coll., Oxford, 92 ; among triumphantly quotes — Merton Coll. MS.
other preachers mentioned is Simon of 59 — was written in 1455, and contains
Gaunt, Chancellor of the University in the baseless statement that he was
1291. fellow of Merton College) ; and the only
220 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
the list of friars presented to the Bishop of Lincoln he appears as
' Johannes Douns ' * ; the Bishop refused to grant him license to hear
confessions. Soon afterwards Duns lectured on the four books of the
Sentences as B.D. at Oxford2. At the end of 1304 he was called to
Paris to incept as D.D. The letter of the General Minister recom-
mending this choice is given by Wadding 3, who however has
misunderstood it. For this reason, and because it illustrates some
points in the educational system of the Minorites, the letter may be
quoted in full *.
In Christo sibi carissimis Patribus, Guillelmo Guardiano Parisiis, vel ejus
Vicario et Magistris, Frater Gondisalvus gaudens in Domino.
Ad expeditionem dilecti in Christo Patris Aegidii de Legnaco, de quo per
litteras vestras certificatus existo, cum de alio (ut moris est) eodem calculo
praesentando providere oporteat, et cum, secundum statuta Ordinis, et
secundum statuta vestri Conventus, Baccalaureus hujusmodi praesentandus
ad praesens debeat esse de aliqua provincia aliarum a Provincia Franciae,
dilectum in Christo Patrem Joannem Scotum, de cujus vita laudabili,
scientia excellent!, ingenioque subtilissimo, aliisque insignibus conditionibus
suis, partim experientia longa, partim fama, quae ubique divulgata est,
informatus sum ad plenum, dilectioni vestrae assigno, post dictum patrem
Aegidium, principaliter et ordinarie praesentandum. Injungo nihilominus
vobis ad meritum salutaris obedientiae, quatenus praesentationem hujus-
modi cum solemnitate solita sine multo dispendio facere debeatis ; si tamen
constiterit vobis, quod dominus Cancellarius velit duos simul licentiare de
nostris, volo et placet mihi, quod frater Albertus Methensis, si ad Con-
ventum redire poterit, cum praefato fratre Joanne debeat expediri. In
quo casu mando et ordino, quod dictus frater Albertus antiquitatis merito
prius incipere debeat, dicto fratre Joanne sub eo postmodum incepturo.
Valete in Domino et orate pro me. Datum in loco Esculi provinciae
Marchiae Anconitanae, xiv Kal. Dec. anno MCCCIV.
Duns probably taught at Paris till 1307. Wadding, indeed, asserts
evidence of his nationality is the name how far the name can be traced back ;
'Scotus,' and a note in the catalogue Merton Coll. MSS. 60, 61, 62, date
of the library at Assisi, written 1381: from the middle of the isth century.
' Opus super quatnor libros sententiarum Barth. of Pisa however says : ' Hie
mag. fratris Johannis Scoti de Ordine primo in Anglia Oxonie Sentencias legit.
Minornm qui et doctor subtilis nuncu- Deinde in studio Parisiensi.'
patur, de provincia Hiberniae.' 3 He says, e. g. on the authority of
1 Wood-Clark, II, 386. He must the letter, that Duns was at Paris in
have attained the age of thirty by this 1304 ; the letter implies exactly the
time ; Archiv f. L. u. K. Gesch. VI, opposite ; he was in ' some province
pp. 128-9. other than the province of France.'
a Wadding (VI, p. 48) cites some * Wadding, VI, 51, from Petrus
passages bearing on the date. Duns' Rodulphus, ' qui eas ex ipso exscripsit
great work on the Sentences is called autographo.'
Scriptum Oxoniense, but I do not know
CH. IH.J FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 221
that he was sent to Cologne by the General Minister in 1 305 l ; but
this is almost impossible, and the description which Wadding gives of
the scene is derived from later and unhistorical tradition. The state-
ment, however, that he was appointed Regent by the friars in the
General Chapter at Toulouse in 1307 sounds more plausible2; he
may have been made the first Regent at Paris, or he may have been
sent at this time as lector or Regent of the Franciscan schools at
Cologne. At any rate there seems no reason to distrust the notice of
his death which Wadding quotes from the list of friars who died at
Cologne 3.
* D. P. frater Joannes Scotus, sacrae Theologiae Professor, Doctor
Subtilis nominatus, quondam lector Coloniae, qui obiit anno MCCCVIII, vi
Idus Novembris.'
This entry, though certainly not contemporary, was probably
derived from some authentic record. Duns' title of Doctor Subtilis,
though it does not seem to have been given him in his lifetime, is of
considerable antiquity. It is mentioned by Bartholomew of Pisa at
the end of the fourteenth century 4, and by the MS. Catalogue at
Assisi, written in 1381 5.
A collected edition of his works was printed at Lyons in 1639.
Many of the works included in these twelve folio volumes are con-
sidered doubtful by the editors 6.
Some few treatises not included in this edition are assigned to him.
Johannis Scoii super Apocalypsin noiulae. Inc. liber : ' Liber iste prin-
cipaliter dividitur in tres partes.' (Doubtful.)
MS. Bodl. : — Laud. Misc. 434, f. i (sec. xiv).
\Ejusdem ?] super S. Matthaei Evangelium notae. Inc. ' Liber gene-
racionis,' &c. : ' Sicut fluvius de loco voluptatis egrediens.'
(Doubtful.)
MS. ibid. f. 75.
1 Wadding, VI, 107. 114.
a Ibid. 51. The passage is usually * Liber Conform, f. 81.
understood to refer to his regency at 5 Archiv f. L. u. K. Gesch. I, 368,
Paris. No record of the Chapter re- n. I. Ehrle adds that the epithet occurs
mains. in some MSS. which he puts in the first
3 Ibid. 116. The statement that he half of the fourteenth century ; ibid,
died at the age of 34 or 43 is a pure 8 See the critical notice prefixed to
guess. The tradition of his having been each work in the Lyons edition ; and
buried alive when in a trance is found Hist. Lilt. Vol. XXV, pp. 426-446.
in St. Bernardin of Siena ; Wadding, VI,
222 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. III.
' Utrum pluralitas formalitatum possit stare cum simpliciiate divine
essencte!
MS. Bodl. : Digby 54, f. 123 (sec. xv).
De perfections statuum1. Inc. c Quod status prelatorum sc. pastorum
ecclesie.'
MSS. Oxford :— Merton Coll. 65, f. 119 (A. D. 1456).
Cambridge: — Public Library Dd. III. 47 (sec. xv) ; Corpus
Christi Coll. 107, fol. 7 7-9 3 a (sec. xv).
Florence : — Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Cruets, Plut. xxxvi, Dext.
Cod. xii, p. 1 01 (sec. xiv exeuntis).
Opusculum Docloris Subtilis super aliquos canones A rzacheL (Doubtful .)
MS. Cambridge : — Public Library 1017, f. 14-15 (sec. xv). Cf. Tanner,
Eibl. p. 689, sub ' Stantonus.'
Tractates Johannis Dons Scoti de lapide philosophorum. (Apocryphal.)
MS. Paris:— Bibl. Nat. 14008, f. 156.
Bobert Cowton, or de Couton (co. York), according to W.
Woodford, entered the Order when young2. He was at Oxford
in 1 300, when the Provincial asked the Bishop of Lincoln to license
him, among others, to hear confessions, but Robert was among the
rejected3. At this time he was not a doctor. According to Bale
and Pits he studied philosophy at Oxford and theology at Paris: there
can be little doubt that he obtained the degree of D.D. in the latter
University. His title of ' the pleasant doctor * ' is not vouched for by
any early authority.
If we may draw any inference from the number of MSS. preserved,
few works by any Franciscan were more in demand in England 5 in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries than the Commentaries of Robert
Cowton on the Sentences. The following MSS. contain them, or parts
of them.
London : — Brit. Mus. Royal u B. i. n B. iv. — Gray's Inn, 20.
1 Rejected by Wadding without good MSS. 15886-7, be for Cowton. Valen-
reason : Hist. Litt. xxv, 447. tinelli proposes to identify Cowton with
8 Twyne MS. XXII, 103 c. ' Prater ven. doctor Robertas Anglicus
3 Wood MS. F 29 a, 178 : ' Rob. de ordinis Minorum,' the author of a Dia-
Couton ' is the eighteenth in the list of logus de formalitatibus inter Ochan-
twenty-two names. istam et Dumsistam (sic) : inc. l quod
* l Doctor amoenus vulgo vocatus est.' verbis vituperii satis abundas ' ; MS.
Pits, p. 443 (anno 1340). Venice ; St. Mark, Vol. I. Class. V,
5 I have not found any mention of Cod. 24 (sec. xv). The author was
Robert Cowton in any foreign library, probably later than Cowton ; perhaps
unless ' Cathon ' in Bibl. Nat. Paris Robert Eliphat.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 22$
Oxford: — Univ. Coll. 76, f. 455 — Balliol 192, 199, 200, 201 — Merton
91, 92, 93 — New College 290 — Exeter 43 — Lincoln 36.
Cambridge: — Caius Coll. 281, 324 — Peterhouse 73, 75 — Pembroke
107.
Malachias of Ireland is said by Wadding to have been a
Franciscan and B.D. of Oxford, c. 1310. According to the same
writer, he preached before Edward II, and was not afraid to rebuke
the King to his face 1.
Libellus septem peccatorum mortalium, or, Tractatus de Veneno (often
wrongly ascribed to Grostete.)
MS. Brit. Mus. : Cott. Vitell. C. xiv, § 6.
Printed at Paris 1518.
Walter Brinkley or Brinkel (co. Cambridge), called by Willot
' the Good Doctor/ ' the ancient Doctor and Sophist 2,' is said by Bale
to have been a doctor of Oxford and to have flourished A. D. 1310.
Bale and Pits give a list of his works, but nothing of a trustworthy
nature appears to be known about him 3.
John of Winchelsea, S.T.P. and Canon of Salisbury, a fellow of
Merton in the reigns of Henry III (?) and Edward I, entered the
Minorite Order in his old age at Salisbury, and died during the year of
his noviciate, A. D. 1326 4.
John Canon is said to have flourished c. 1320, and to have
attended the lectures of Duns Scotus at Oxford and Paris 5. Wood,
referring to the regestrum Ortell, says that his
' philosophicall treatises were soe much esteemed among the students of this
University that they were read to them by their tutors and by logick
lecturers in each society V
1 Ann. Min. VI, 176: Wadding re- rum, lib. IV; 'Utrum per aliquam
fers vaguely to ' Irish MSS.' Cf. Bale, disciplinam vel scientiam ' ; ex Coll.
Script. II, 242-3. Diet, of Nat. Regine Oxon. Brinquilis Minorita
Biography. anghis scripsit super sententias, lib.
* Willot, Athenae, 83. Bale, Vol. IV; 'Sit aliqua conclusio theologica';
II, p. 52 : 'Sophisticus doctor et scriptor Ex bibl. Carmel. Parisiensium.
antiquus.' William Woodford refers * Mon. Franc. I, 543 ; Brodrick, Mem.
on several occasions to 'Doctor anti- of Merton Coll., 197-8; Bale, Script. I,
quus' on the Sentences; Harl. MS. 31, 391.
f. 79, &c. B Tanner, Bibl. 150. All Souls MS.
3 Bale gives these notes in MS. Seld. 87 (A.D. 1473), ' Joannis Scoti discipu-
sup. 64, fol. 16 b : Brynkdey . . . scrip- lus.' The note in Peterhouse MS. 2-4-
sit distinctiones theologicas, lib. I; 'Ad 2, 'studiit Oxon et Paris,' is in a late
sciendam primam originem et finalem ' ; sixteenth-century hand.
ex Ramesiensi monasterio. Brenkyll * Wood-Clark, II, 402.
Minorita scripsit lecturam sententia-
224 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Comment, in libros octo Physicorum Aristotelis. Inc. prol. 'Venite
ad me omnes qui laboratis.' Inc. opus. 'Utrum substancia
finita.'
Of the MSS. of the work, which are very numerous, the oldest appears
to be Lambeth MS. 100, f. 103, which Todd refers to the
thirteenth century.
Printed at Padua 1475 1, St. Albans 1481, Venice 1481, 1487, 1492, &c.
John Stanle, friar, was appointed to receive at the Exchequer the
royal grant of 25 marks payable at Easter 1323 to the Friars Minors
at Oxford 2.
' Philippus a Castellione Aretino ' (Castello near Arezzo) in the
Tuscan province, is described by Wadding as, ' in theologia magister
insignis apud Oxom'enses! He flourished 1316, and wrote treatises on
the poverty of Christ 8.
William of Ockham, 'Auctor nominalium,' 'Doctor singularis/
'Doctor invincibilis *,' was born probably towards the end of the
thirteenth century. Whether he was a pupil of Duns Scotus is
doubtful. He studied at Oxford in the early years of the fourteenth
century, and became B.D. there5. After this he was called to Paris,
where he incepted as D.D. Here he became acquainted with
Marsiglio of Padua, over whom, according to Pope Clement VI,
he exercised a powerful influence6. It is probable that he was
present at the famous Chapter of Perugia (1322), though he was not
(as is usually asserted) Provincial of England7. From the first he
took a prominent part in the struggle against the Pope8. He was
1 At the end of the work in this 308 b ; among ' modern Oxonians,'
edition : ' Expliciunt questiones super singled out for special praise, is ' Occam
octo libris phisicorum Aristotilis doc- inceptor in theology.' Earth, of Pisa,
tons profundissimi fratris Johannis Liber Conform, f. 81 b, calls him
canonici ordinis fratrum minornm Anno ' Bacalarius formatus Oxonie.' Cf. MS.
1475 . . . Padue impresse.' At the end Bibl. Mazarine, Paris, 894 (sec. xiv),
of the volume : ' . . . compilatum a do- ' Questiones super primum librum Sen-
mino iohanne marbres magistro in arti- tentiarum de ordinacione fratris Guillel-
bus tholose et canonico,' &c. The mi de Okham de ordine fratrum
explicit of Book I and Book II attributes Minorum, Oxonie.'
these quaestiones to ' Doctor canonicus • Riezler, Die literarischen Wider-
magister Petrus Casuelis ordinis mi- sacher der Pdpste, &c. pp. 35, 241.
norum.' ~ Wadding, VI, 396; Riezler, p. 71,
a Record Off. Treasury of Receipt, ^. &c. The English Provincial was
3 Wadding, Ann. Min. VI, 246. William of Nottingham.
4 Wood says that Ockham received * Wadding cites a letter of John
the last title from the Pope. Annals, XXII dated Kal. Dec. A° vni (1323),
I, 439. ordering the Bishops of Ferrara and
4 Lambeth MS. 221 (sec. xiv), fol. Bologna to inquire into a report that
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 22$
imprisoned at Avignon about the end of 1327, and a process
was instituted against him in the Curia
' because of many erroneous and heretical opinions which he had written V
He remained in custody for seventeen weeks, and refused to modify
his opinions. It is said that a 'rich and noble lady/ in admiring
recognition of his staunch defence of ' Evangelical Poverty,' gave him
70 florins2. On May 25, 1328, he fled from Avignon with Cesena,
the General Minister, and Bonagratia, joined the Emperor in Italy,
and was excommunicated3. In Feb., 1330, he accompanied Louis
to Bavaria, and lived henceforth for the most part in the Franciscan
Convent at Munich4. His literary activity was enormous, as may
be seen from the list of his works. He took a direct part in the
affairs of state, being present at the Councils of Rense and Frankfurt
in 1 338s. From this time his writings, hitherto largely theological,
became more distinctly political*. In spite of excommunication, he
continued to support the Emperor's cause till Louis' death in 1347,
and even later7. But now few only of the rebel friars were left:
Cesena died in 1342, Bonagratia in 1347 ; and in 1349 Ockham sent
back the seal of the Order to the orthodox General Minister, and
professed his desire to be reconciled to the Church8. Clement VI
authorized the General Minister to absolve Ockham and his associates
on their confessing in set form their errors and heresies, and promising
to obey the Pope and his successors. Whether Ockham subscribed
the papal formula, nothing remains to show. The date of his
death is uncertain; it may however be concluded that he died at
Munich not before 1349*.
PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL WORKS.
Commentarii in Porphyrii librum : in Aristotelis Praedicamentorum
Ockham had upheld the doctrine of Riezler, 71.
Evangelical Poverty in a public sermon ; Ibid. 68-71 ; Anal. Franc. II, 143.
if so, he was to be sent to Avignon Riezler, 76-7.
within a month. Ann. Min. VII, 7, Ibid. 95 seq.
23. Ibid. 82.
1 Anal. Franc. II, 142. Among the In his treatise on the election of
writings must have been the treatise Charles, the creature of the Pope.
De paupertate Christi, which Leland • Wadding, VIII, 12-13, where the
and Wadding mention, but which has letter of the Pope to the General Minister,
not been identified. Cf. also Wadding, with the form of absolution, is given.
VII, 81-2, who states a work written at » Riezler; Wadding, VIII, pp. 10-
Avignon in 1328 was afterwards inserted 1 1.
in the Dialogm.
226 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
librum (or De decem generibus) : in Aristotelis de Interpretaiione
libros duo : in libros Elenchorum.
MSS. Oxford: — Bodl. Canonic. Misc. 558, fol. i, 24, 63b, 93 (sec. xiv).
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 14721.
Bruges 499, olim 59 (sec. xiii ?).
The first three of these works (and perhaps the last) were printed at
Bologna in 1496, under the title Expositio aurea super totam
artem Veterem.
In his Catalogue of the Bruges MSS., Haenel reads ethicorum
instead of elenchorum. Ockham seems to have written no distinct
work on morals, though another is attributed to him by a careless
blunder. Caius College MS. 200, § 3, contains, according to
Smith's catalogue, Correcciones Occami (Occam' in the old catalogue
of 1697) in Oculum moralem. The MS. really reads:
' Correcciones octaui capituli de Ira. (Inc.] nisi tibi iratus fuissem. Re-
fert eciam Valerius. (Expl.) et ei reuelauit archana. Cum igitur
sobrietas.'
In other words, it is merely a fragment of chapter viii. of the
well-known Oculus moralis attributed to Grostete or Peter de
Limoges. See e.g. MS. Bodl. Laud. Misc. 677, fol. 180 b, 2nd
column.
Summa logices (ad Adamum) : 3 parts. Inc. ' Dudum me frater et
amice. . . . Omnes logicae tractatores.'
MSS. London: — Brit. Mus., Arundel 367 (sec. xiv).
Cambridge :— Caius Coll. 464 1 : ' Logica Gul. de Occham in sex
tractatus divisa,' viz. (i) de terminis, (2) de propositioni-
bus, (3) de Sillogismo simplici, (4) de S. demonstrativo,
(5) de S. topico, (6) de S. elenchorum, (written at Magde-
burg, A. D. 1341): also Peterhouse 217.
Paris :— Bibl. Nat. 6430, 6431, 6432 (sec. xiv); Bibl. Mazarine
3521 (sec. xiv).
Laon 431 (sec. xiv).
Basel F ii. 25 (written at Oxford, A. D. 1342).
Florence : — Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Cruets, Plut. xii. Sin. Cod.
ii (sec. xiv), six books.
Printed at Paris 1488, Venice 1522, Oxford 1675, &c.
Quaestiones in octo libros physicorum. Inc. ' Valde reprehensibilis.'
MS. Oxford :— Merton Coll. 293 (sec. xiv). Cf. Vienna :— Bibl. Palat.
5460 (sec. xv).
Printed at Rome 1637 2.
1 On the last fly-leaf is a rude por- ham's works on the Physics was printed
trait of the author. at Strasburg in 1491.
* According to Tanner, one of Ock-
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 227
In the Bibl. Nat. at Paris, MS. 17841 (sec. xv) contains Quejt. Okam
super lib. Physic, et quotlibeta. The first leaf seems to have been
misplaced ; inc., ' (U)trum deus sit super omnia diligendus :
quod non.' The second leaf begins : ' Circa materiam de conceptu
questio (?) utrum conceptus sit aliquid fictum ' : the questions on
the physics end on fol. 26. They appear to differ from the
above \
Questiones Ockam super phisicam el tradatus ejusdem de futuris con-
tingentibus.
MS. Bruges 469 (sec. xiv).
Summulae in libros physicorum (called by Leland, De introitu scienti-
arum] : 4 parts. Inc. prol. ' Studiosissime saepiusque rogatus.'
Inc. Pars. I. ' Solent ante preambula indagare sapientes ante
scientie ingressum de ipsis scientiis. . . . Primo de ejus
imitate.'
MS. Rodez, 56, p. 107 (sec. xv), ' Philosophia naturalis.'
Printed at Venice 1506, and elsewhere.
Quaestiones (or Commentarii) in quatuor libros Sententiarum. Inc.
' Circa prologum primi libri Sententiarum quero primo utrum
sit possibile intellectui viatoris.'
MSS. Oxford : — Balliol Coll. 299, f. 7 (sec. xiv) ; Merton College 100
(sec. xiv).
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 15561, f. 246 (sec. xv).
Basel A vi. 12.
Printed at Lyons 1495, &c.
Ockham's commentary on the first book of the Sentences was
probably composed when he was B.D. of Oxford ; it is longer
than his commentaries on the other three books together, and is
often found separate.
MSS. Oxford :— Merton Coll. 106 (sec. xiv).
Cambridge: — Caius Coll. 325.
Paris : — Bibl. Mazarine 894 (sec. xiv), ' de ordinacione fratris
Guillelmi de Okham de ordine fratrum Minorum Oxonie.'
Troyes 718 (sec. xiv).
Printed separately (at Strasburg) in 1483.
It is possible that the commentaries on the last three books
exist in a fuller form in the following MSS. than in the printed
editions : —
MSS. Paris:— Bibl. Nat. 16398 (sec. xv), books 3 and 4; Cf. ibid.
1 Another work on the Physics prol. ' Philosophos plurimos ' : inc. opus.
ascribed to Ockham was preserved at ' Iste liber dividitur in duas partes.'
Assisi, and perhaps is there still : inc. (Wadding, Sup. ad Script. 328.)
Q 2
228 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
16708, f. 253b (sec. xiv), 'Circa tertium Sententiarum
secundum Okkam.'
Munich : — Bibl. Reg. 8943 (sec. xv), books 2, 3, and 4.
Quodlibeta septem. Inc. quodl. i. qu. i. ' Utrum possit probari per
rationem naturalem quod tantum unus sit deus : quod sic.'
MSS. Paris :— Bibl. Nat. i6398,f. 173 (sec. xv), and 17841, fol. 28 (sec.
xv) : the latter ends abruptly near the beginning of the
fourth quodlibet.
Venice : — Bibl. S. Anton. (Tomasin, p. 1 1 b).
Printed at Paris 1487, Argentina 1491.
At the end of the edition of 1491: ' Expliciunt quotlibeta septem
venerabilis inceptoris magistri Wilhelmi de Ockam anglici, veritatum
speculator-is acerrimi, fratris ordinis minorum, post ejus lecturam Oxoni-
ensem (super sententias) edita.'
De mo/u, loco, tempore, relatione, praedestinatione et praescientia Dei,
et quodlibetum.
MS. Basel F ii. 24.
Cf. MS. Paris:— Bibl. Nat. 14715, f. 82b (sec. xiv); 14909, f. iO2b ;
14579, f. 345; 14580, f. i iob. Incipiunt: ' Quia circa materiam de
predestinatione et prescientia sunt opiniones diverse.'
De successivts. Inc. ' Videndum est de locis.'
MS. Paris :— Bibl. Nat. 16130, f. 121 (sec. xiv). Cf. MS. Bruges, 500.
Propositio an sit concedenda ; essentia divina est quaternitas.
MS. Basel A vii. 13.
De sacramento altaris, and De corpore Christi: 2 treatises1. Inc. t.
1 Circa conversionem panis.' Inc. ii. ' Stupenda super munera
largitatis.'
MSS. Oxford :— Balliol Coll. 299, f. 196 (sec. xiv); Merton College
137 (sec. xiv).
Rouen, 561 (sec. xv).
Printed at Argentina 1491, at the end of the Quodlibeta ; at Paris
(1490 ?), and Venice 1516.
Centiloquium theologicum. Inc. prol. ' Anima nobis innata eo potius
naturaliter appetit cognoscere suum finem, quo pre ceteris
appetentibus omnibus corruptibilibus creatis ratione ditata ad
ymaginem et similitudinem dei Celsius eminentiusque figuratur.'
Printed at Lyons 1495, at the end of the Sentences.
1 The first, consisting of three quaes- forty-one chapters : 'Incipit accessus ad
/tones, is called : 'Tractatus quam glori- tractatum de corpore Christi.' Explicit :
osus de sacramento altaris, et in primis ' hec tamen simpliciter falsa est, corpus
de puncti, linee, superficiei, corporis, Christi est quantitas in sacramento
qnantitatis, qualitatis et substantie dis- altaris.'
tinctione,' &c. The second contains
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 229
Quaestiones Ocham in terminabiles Alberti de Saxonia.
MS. Padua: — Bibl. S. Joannis in Viridario (Tomasin, p. 37).
Sermones Occham, by William or Nicholas of Ockham ?
MS. Worcester: — Cathedral Library 74 quarto ( = Bernard, Tom.
II.piS).
Notes or disputations on theology and philosophy, to which the name
' Okam ' is appended.
MS. Paris:— Bibl. Nat. 15888, f. 163, 174, 181.
Gul. Ocham quedam scripta.
MS. Venice: — Bibl. SS. Joannis et Pauli (Tomasin, p. 25b).
POLITICAL WORKS.
The dates are taken for the most part from Riezler.
Opus nonaginta dierum (written between 1330 and 1333). Inc.prol.
' Doctoris gentium et Magistri Beati Pauli.'
MS. Paris:— Bibl. Nat. 3387,50!. 1-163 b (sec. xv).
Printed at Louvain 1481, Lyons 1495, and in Goldast's Monarchiat II.
993-1236.
This treatise corresponds to Dialogus, Part III, Tract vi. de gestis
fratris Micbaelis de Cesena (see below).
Epistola ad Fratres Minor es in Capitulo apud Assisium congregalos,
A.D. 1334. Inc. 'Religiosis viris fratribus minoribus universis
A. D. Millesimo cccxxxnii. in festo Petri apud Assisium congre-
gatis frater Guilhelmus de Ocham fidem defensare.'
MS. Paris :— Bibl. Nat. 3387, fol. 262 15-265 a (sec. xv).
This has not been printed and is not mentioned by Riezler ; it is
distinct from the letter of Cesena to the Friars Minors about to
assemble in Chapter at Perpignan or Avignon, dated April 25,
1331 (printed Lyons 1495), and the letter of Cesena to all the
Friars Minors, dated Jan. 24, 1331 (printed ibid.; Goldast, II.
1238, and Riezler, 248, give 1333 as the date of this last letter).
Dialogus ] inter magistrum el discipulum de Imperatorum et Pontificum
Potestate ; 3 parts :
i. De fautoribus haereticorum libri septem (written A.D. 1342 or
1343). Inc. ' In omnibus rebus curiosus existis.'
ii. De dogmatibus Johannis XXII, traclatus duo (A.D. 1333 or
1334). Inc. ' Verba oris ejus iniquitas et dolus.'
1 Ockham did not write the Disputatio inter milittm ft cltnciim. See
Riezler, 144-8.
230 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH.III.
iii. De gestis circa fidem alter cantium (A. D. 1342-3). (i) De
potestate papae et cleri; 4 books. (2) De potestate et juribus
Romani imperii ; 3 books. Inc. ' Discip. Salomonis utcumque
sequendo vestigia.'
MSS. London: — Brit. Mus. Royal 7 F xii, §§ i and 2 (sec. xv), Parts
I and II ; Harleian, 33 (sec. xv), Parts I and II ; Addit.
33243 (sec. xv), Parts I and II ; also Lambeth Palace
Library 168 (sec. xv), Parts II and III.
Oxford : — St. John's College, 69 (sec. xv), Part I.
Paris:— Bibl. Nat. 3657 (sec. xiv) Part I, fol. 1-208 ; Part II,
fol. 289-321 ; Part III, Tractatus ii, fol. 210-287, break-
ing off with the words nee antedicte sedis sell. Romane
antistitem in Lib. 3, cap. 16 of Tract, ii ; also 14313 (A. D.
1389), Parts I and II ; 14619, fol. 121-166 (sec. xv), Part
III, Tractatus ii, breaking off in Lib. 3, cap. 16 of Tract,
ii, as above; 15881 (sec. xiv), Parts I, II; and Part III,
Tractatus ii, breaking off in Lib. 3, cap. 16, as above. —
Bibl. de 1'Arsenal 517, fol. 17-303, Parts I, II, and III,
ending with the words ' Magister Hoc multls racionibus im-
probatur. Pr'imo . . .', in Chapter 17 of the 3rd book of
Tractatus ii of Part III1, — Bibl. Mazarine 3522 (sec. xiv),
fol. 149-198, Part III, Tract, ii, ending in Cap. 16 of
Lib. 3 ; fol. 200-246, Part III, Tract, i ; fol. 246-297, Part
III, Tract, ii, ending with Cap. 23 of Lib. 3, passibilis et
mortalis.
Rome: — Vatican, Bibl. Regin. Sueciae, 90 ; cf. 79, ' de potestate
papae.' (Montfaucon.)
Dijon 340 (sec. xv), Parts I, II, and III, ending with the words
' pro nunc tibi sufficient? as in the printed editions.
Auxerre 252, f. 88 (sec. xiv), containing Part III, Tract, ii
(3 books).
Avignon 185, containing Part I.
Toulouse 221 (sec. xiv), Parts I, II, and Part III, Tractatus ii,
which is called Tractatus iii in the MS.
Basel A vi. 5, Parts I, II, and III.
Florence: — Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Cruets, Plut. xxxvi. Dext.
Cod. xi (sec. xiv), Parts I and II.
Venice :— St. Mark, Vol. I, Cl. viii. Cod. 7 (sec. xv), Part I,
book 6.
Printed at Lyons 1495 ; reprinted in Goldast's Monarcbia II, 398-957.
Part III, according to the scheme drawn up in the Prologue2,
\vas to consist of nine treatises :
i. De potestate papae et cleri ; ii. De potestate et juribus Romani
1 I do not know whether this MS. bably, like most of the MSS., it omits it.
contains Tractatus i of Part III; pro- J Goldast, Monarchia, II, 771.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 231
Imperil ; iii. De gestis Johannis XXII ; iv. De gestis Domini
Ludovici de Bavaria ; v. De gestis Benedicti XII ; vi. De gestis
fratris Michaelis de Cesena ; vii. De gestis et doctrina fratris
Geraldi Odonis ; viii. De gestis fratris Guilhelmi de Ockham ; ix.
De gestis aliorum Christianorum, regum, &c.
The edition of 1495, of which Goldast's is a reprint, ends at the
23rd chapter of the 3rd book of Treatise II, with the words :
' passibilis et mortulis. Et haec de tertia parte Dialogorum pro nunc tibi
sufficiant.'
The last sentence Goldast surmises to be an addition of the
editor, Ascensius ; but it occurs at the end of the Dijon MS., and
both Goldast and Riezler are probably mistaken in thinking that
Ascensius had the whole work before him and arbitrarily omitted
Treatises III-IX1. These were probably never written. The Lambeth
MS. (the only MS. in England which contains Part III) and one
version in the Mazarine MS. end with the words 'passibilis et
mortalis,' like the printed editions, with the colophon (in Lambeth
MS.) : ' Dyalogorum venerabilis Guillermi Okam finis.' The five
other MSS. in Paris, which contain Part III, leave out the last seven
chapters of the printed edition, and the Auxerre and Toulouse MSS.
likewise do not go beyond the third book of Treatise II. It is possible
that the Vatican and Basel MSS. may supply the remaining treatises;
but this is unlikely. About the year 1400, Peter d'Ailly, who must
have had exceptionally good opportunities for getting information 2,
wrote a summary of the Dialogus s. In this he omits Treatise I of
Part III, and concludes with the i6th chapter of the third book of
Treatise II (like the Parisian MSS.), adding:
' et non plus de hoc notabili opere potui reperire ' *.
1 Goldast, Monarchia, II, 957 ; Riez- Petrus de Alliaco Episcopus Camera-
ler, 263. Goldast speaks of six treatises censis et postea cardinalis.'
only as missing, being apparenty under * Ibid. f. 101 b. His nomenclature
the impression that he has printed differs from that used here and (generally
three. The subdivisions are very con- though not consistently) in the printed
fusing, and lead to many mistakes. editions : thus he calls ' Pars I ' Trac-
3 He was B.D. of Paris in 1373; latus primus; 'Pars II,' Tractatus
D.D. in 1380; Chancellor in 1389; secundus ;' Pars III, Tract ii ' (the only
Bishop of Cambrai in 1 396 ; Cardinal portion of Part III known to him),
in 1411; he died in 1425. Oudin, Tractatus tertius. Thus fol. 98 b :
Scriptores, III, p. 2293. • Tractatus tertius est de viribus Ro-
* MS. Paris, Bibl. Nat. 14579, fol- ma"i imperii et habet 5 libros.' Books
88 — fol. loib: 'Explicit abbreviatio I, 2, and 3, correspond to those printed
Dyalogi Okan quam fecit mngister in Goldast (Pars III, Tract, ii, Libri i,
232 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Several of Ockham's other works correspond in substance to the
projected treatises of Part III ; these will be noted in due course.
Defensorium (de paupertate Christi] contra Johannem XXII (written
between 1335 and 1349). Inc. ' Universis Christi fidelibus. . . .
Primus error est quod Dominus noster.'
Printed at Venice 1513, and by Edw. Brown, Fascic. Rerum expetend.
II, 439-464.
De imperatorum et pontificum potestate ; 27 chapters or paragraphs.
Inc. prol. 'Universis Christi fidelibus presentem tractatulum
inspecturis, frater Willelmus da Okkham.' Inc. cap. i. ' Si
reges et principes ecclesiarum.'
MS. Brit. Museum: Royal 10 A, xv (sec. xiv).
Tractatus adversus errores Johannis XXII, or Compendium errorum
papae (written between 1335 and 1338). Inc. ' Secundum
Bokkyg (?) super sacram scripturam/
MSS. London: — Lambeth 168, fol. 289-314 (sec. xv).
Paris: — Bibl. Mazarine 3522, fol. 298-310 (sec. xiv).
Printed at Louvain 1481, Lyons 1495, and in Goldast II, 957-976.
Cf. Dialogus, Part III, Tract, iii.
Opusculum adversus errores Johannis XXII. Inc. ' Non invenit
locum penitencie Johannes XXII. . . . Ut pateat evidenter,
quod retractatio quam Johannes XXII fecisse refertur, ipsum
ab hereticorum numero non excludit.'
MS. Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 3387, fol. 175-2 i3b (sec. xv).
Tractatus ostendens quod Benedictus Papa XII nonnullas Johannis
XXII haereses amplexus est et defendit; 7 books (written
c. 1338). Inc. prol. 'Ambulavit et ambulat insensanter non
re sed nomine Benedictus XII in viis patris sui Johannis vidz.
XXII.' Inc. lib. i, ' Dogmatum perversorum que Johannes
XXII pertinaciter tenuit.'
MS. Paris :— Bibl. Nat. 3387, fol. 2i4b-262a (sec. xv).
Cf. Dialogus, Pars III, Tract, v.
Tractatus oqud (sic) de potestate imperiali. Inc. ' Inferius describuntur
allegaciones per plures magistros in sacra pagina approbate
per quas ostenditur evidenter quod processus factus et sentencia
lata in frankfort per dominum lodowicum quartum dei gracia
2, 3) : Book 4 discussed whether the treated ' de rebellibus, proditoribus, . . .
emperor should defend the rights of the Roman! imperii.' These two books
Roman Empire by arms ' etiam contra were not known to Peter d'Ailly, and
papam cardinales et clerum ' ; Book 5 are not now to be found.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 233
Romanorum imperatorem.' The decree of Louis referred to
is dated Aug. 6, I3381.
MS. Rome:— Bibl. Apostol. Vaticana, Codd. Palat. Latin. No. 679.
Pars I, fol. 117 (sec. xv).
Cf. Boehmer, Fontes rerum Germanicarum, Vol. IV, p. 592, 'ex libro
Nicolai Minoritae de controversia paupertatis Christi 1324-1338.'
Inc. ' Subsequenter ponuntur articuli et describunter de juribus
imperii.'
Octo questiones super potestate ac dignitate papali, or De potestate
pontificum et imperatorum (written between 1339 and 1342).
Inc. ' Sanctum canibus nullatenus.' Inc. quest, i. ' Primo igitur
queritur utrum potestas spiritualis et laicalis suprema.'
MSS. Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 14603, fol. 147-216 (sec. xiv): 'Explicit
tractatus venerabilis, theologi Guillelmi Okam de potestate pape.'
— Bibl. Mazarine, 3522, f. 104-148 (sec. xiv).
Cf. MS. Rome, Vatican, Bibl. Reg. Sueciae, 79, De potestate Papae ;
and 375, De potestate utriusque jurisdiction'u.
De jurisdictione Imperatoris in causis malrimonialibus, A. D. 1342.
Inc. ' Divina providentia disponente/
Printed at Heidelberg 1598; and in Goldast I, 21. It is of doubtful
authenticity ; see Riezler, 254.
De electione Caroli IV (written 1347-9). Inc. ' Quia sepe viri
ignari/
See Riezler, p. 271, 303, who refers to Hofler, Aus Avignon, 13.
The following treatises by Ockham are mentioned by Leland,
Wadding, and others, but have not been identified.
I. Philosophical.
De pluralitate format, contra Sutton (Leland, Tanner).
De invisibilibus (Leland).
Tractatus incip. : ' Dominus potest facere omne quod fieri vult non
includit contradictionem ' : —
seen by Leland in the Franciscan Library, London (Collect. Ill, 49):
Tanner identifies it with Defensorium Logices. Perhaps it is the same as
Dialectica Nova : inc. ' Contradictio in Deo non est.' (Bale, Pits).
Comment, in Metaphysicam.
Tanner refers to MSS. Peterhouse 217 (where however no mention of
it occurs), and Caius Coll. K. 5 (?), perhaps a mistake for H. 5 = 464,
which contains Ockham's logic.
1 Analecta Franciseana II, 169 sqq.
234 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Leland adds :
Vidi etiam tres libros Ochami, quorum primus De pri-vatione, de materia
prima, de forma quae est principium, et De forma artiftciali ; secundus vero
De causis material!, formali, efficiente, Jinali ; tertius De mutaticne subita
tractat.
[Cf. Quaestiones in lib. Physic ?]
De perfectione specierum (Wadding). Inc. ' Quia Magister.'
II. Political.
De pauperiate Christi et Apostolorum (Tritheim, Wadding).
This is probably incorporated in the Dialogus (see Wadding, Ann.
Min. VIII, 81-2). Cf. MS. Florence :— Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S.
Crucis, Plut. xxxi. Sin. Cod. iii (sec. xiv).
De actibus hierarchicis, lib. i (Wadding).
Wadding, Sup. : ' citat Joan. Picus Mirandulanus in sua Apologia
quaest. i.'
Errorum quos affinxit papae Johanni, lib. i (Wadding). Inc. ' Locuti
adversum me lingua.'
(Probably identical with one of the extant treatises.)
Defensorium (against the pope); mentioned by Leland, Bale, &c.
Inc. ' Omni quippe regno desiderabilis.'
This is the Defemor pacts of Marsilius of Padua.
NOTE. — In his catalogue of Vatican MSS., Montfaucon mentions,
among Praecipui codices MSS. Bibliothecae Vaticanae, '947, ad 956
Guill. Occhami opera.' See Montfaucon, Bibl. BibliotJiecarum MSS.
p. 100.
Henry de Costesey or Cossey (Norfolk) is reckoned among
the Oxford Franciscans by Bale and others, but without evidence.
He was forty-sixth Master of the Minorites at Cambridge (c. I336)1,
and is said to have died at Babwell2.
Commentarius super Apocalypsim. Inc. ' Apocalypsis Jhesu Christi
quam. . . . Dividitur enim iste liber sicut alii libri in prohemium
et tractatum.'
MSS. Bodl. : 2004 = >E. B. 3. 18, now Bodley 57. Laud. Misc. 85,
fol. 67 b (sec. xiv).
Cambridge: — Pembroke Coll. 175.
Comment, super Psalterium. Inc. ' Aperiam in psalterio.'
MS. formerly in the Franciscan library, London3: quoted in MS.
Bodl. Laud. Misc. 213, f. 192 (sec. xv).
1 Mon. Franc. I, 556. Tanner (Bibl. a Bale, I, 409.
202) confounds him with another H. de s Leland, Collect. Ill, 49.
Costesey in the fifteenth century.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 235
John de Hentham was a Minorite in the Oxford Convent in
1340, when he acted as attorney for the warden l.
Hugh de Willoughby or Wylluby, S.T.P., was the Chancellor
of the University in 1334. He held the prebend of Barnby, in the
diocese of York, in 1338. It is not known when he became
a Franciscan ; but it was no doubt in his declining years 2.
Peter de Qaieta was elected in the General Chapter at Assisi,
c. 1340, to take the degree of B.D. and lecture on the Sentences at
Oxford. When the appointment of a friar to read the Sentences
at Paris was discussed in the General Chapter at Marseilles in 13.43,
Peter obtained many votes. In the same year the degree of Master
in the University of Naples was conferred on him by the command of
Pope Clement VI. He had previously lectured on the Sentences
there, and been Minister of the Provinces of Apulia and Terra
Laboris s.
John Lathbury (Bucks), said to have been a native of the
Reading friary*, was D.D. of Oxford and flourished about the middle
of the fourteenth century5. The evidence for the date is found in
his own most famous work6; the passage may be quoted as an
authentic specimen of a subject of conversation between two Oxford
Franciscans :
' Item anno domini 1343 in capitulo provincial! Londoniis celebrate, et
in Oxonia plurimis vicibus prius et post in studio secum commoranti, frater
Hermanus de Colonia fratri Johanni de Latthebury retulit viva voce, quod
in patria sua est quedam villa que vulgariter dicatur Enger, de qua Anglia
vocaliter derivatur, et prope illam viliam ad distanciam unius miliarii est
quedam quercus, arbor ingens et antiqua, ad quam ipse cum esset puerulus
ex more patrie cum reliquis concurrebat. Nam omni nocte nativitatis
Christi, quasi nocte media, quercus ilia glandes grandes et perfectas subita
apparicione ex se profert et producit copiose. Unde et incole illius patrie
annuatim ilia nocte ad ilium locum turmatim ex consuetudine concurrunt,
et ibi cum luminibus et lanternis vigilantes, horam solitam expectant et
1 Twyne MS. XXIII, 266 ; cp. Part I, Vol. VI, Part III, p. 1509.
Chapter VII. 8 The assertion that he flourished in
3 Wood, Hist, et Antiq. II, 398 ; Le 1406 rests on a misunderstanding of the
Neve, Fasti III, 465, 170; Moa. Franc. explicit in MS. Merton Coll. 189:
1,542. 'explicit secundum alphabetum et sic
* Wadding, VII, 291. totum opus est completum A. u. 1406.'
* According to Bale he left several of This of course only refers to the writing
his works to the convent at Reading ; of the MS.
I have not found the authority for this * Liber moralium in Throws, cap.
statement. See Tanner, Uibl. 469. 106; Merton Coll. MS. 189, fol. 17*
Adam de Lathbury was Abbat of dorse.
Reading monastery in 1233. Dugdale,
236 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. III.
explorant, bibentes, edentes, ludentes et noctem insompnem ducentes,
habentes secum lapides, baculos et saculos pro fructu arboris excuciendo
et asportando.'
There appear to have been two contemporary Minorites of the
same name and family. Bale, after mentioning the commentaries
of John Ridevaus on the letter of Valerius to Rufinus and the mytho-
logies of Fulgentius, adds l :
' Hos libros cum multis aliis Joannes Lathbury senior contulit junior!
Joanni Lathbury A.D. 1348. Ex cenobio Minorum Radinge.'
The elder died at Reading at an advanced age in 1362, the younger
at Northampton in I3752. It is not clear which of the two was the
author.
The best known work of John Lathbury is his Commentary on
Lamentations, or Liber moralium in Threnos Hieremiae, or Lectura
super librum Threnorum. Inc. ' Juxta mores modernorum.'
MSS. Oxford :— Merton Coll. 189— Exeter Coll. 27, &c.
Printed at Oxford in 1482, being one of the first books issued by the
Oxford press.
Distinctionum liber theologicarum, or Alphabetum morale. Inc.
' Abstinendum est a carnalibus delitiis.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Royal n A xiii (sec. xv).
Oxford: — Exeter Coll. 26 (sec. xv), with the note 'Johannes
Latbury, doctor de ordine fratrum minorum, qui fecit lec-
turam super librum Trenorum, compilavit istum tractatum.
Cambridge : — Peterhouse 96.
De luxuria cleric or um.
Extracts from this treatise of Lathbury's are in MS. Bodl. James 19
(Cf. Bernard's Catal. I, 260 b), from MSS. in Exeter College: the
treatise itself seems to be extracted from the Distinctiones.
De timore et amore Domini, &c., secundum Johannem Lathbury,
Thomam de Alquino . . . aliosque.
MS. Oxford: — Magd. Coll. 93 (A.D. 1438); perhaps merely excerpts
from some other work.
Super Ada Apostolorum. Inc. ' Superedificati estis supra funda-
mentum apostolorum.'
Mentioned by Bale (MS. Seld. sup. 64, fol. 89) 'ex musaeo Rob.
Talbot.'
Hermann of Cologne was a contemporary and friend of John
Lathbury at Oxford, c. 1343s. It is impossible to identify him wilh
1 MS. Selden, supra 64, fol. 75. quodam Minoritarum registro.'
9 MS. Selden. supra 64, fol. 89, ' ex 3 See notice of Lathbury.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 237
any of the other Hermanns who belonged to the Minorite Order at
this time : e.g. Hermann of Saxony, the lawyer (fl. 1337), or Hermann
Gygas, the historian 1.
Robert (or John?) Lamborne,
' the son of a baron, and the last heir of that barony, entered the Order in
London V
He became confessor to Queen Isabella in 1327', and he still oc-
cupied this office, ' though he was so attenuated that he was almost
or quite blind/ in 1343, when Clement VI granted him certain
privileges 4. It is however very doubtful whether he was ever at Oxford.
The name occurs in the Old Catalogue of Fellows of Merton College,
under the reign of Edward III. If the two are identical, Lamborne
ought to be placed in the Catalogue under Edward II, as he was
clearly a friar in 1327; but there is no good reason for assuming their
identity : Robert Lamborn of Merton may be a mistake for Reginald
Lam born5. Friar John (?) Lamborne, confessor to Queen Isabella,
was buried in the choir of the Grey Friars Church, London6.
Reginald Lambourne was B.D. of Merton College (c. 1350-
1360), where he was a pupil of the famous mathematicians, William
Rede and John Ashendon 7. He then entered the Benedictine Order,
was at Eynsham Abbey in 136! and 1367, and incepted D.D. as
a monk 8. He afterwards took the Franciscan habit at Oxford, and
died at Northampton 9.
Epistola a Reginaldo Lambourne, monacho simplici Eynshamensi, ad
quendam Johannem London, de significations eclipsium lunae
1 hoc anno ins tan te, 1363.'
1 Wadding, Script. u6; Sup. ad bora confessor Regine Isabella et filius
Script. 341. Baronis et ultimus heres illius baronis.'
J Mon. Franc. I, 541. MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, fol. 276.
3 Record Office, Roman Transcripts, 7 Mon. Franc. I, 543 ; Mem. of Mer.
Regesta, Vol. V, f. 80-81, I Clement ton, 208.
VI ; ' per sexdecim annorum spatium * Mon. Franc, ibid. ; MS. Digby 1 76,
continue institit.' fol. 50, 40.
1 Record Office, Roman Transcripts, 9 Mon. Franc, ibid. He may be the
ibid. He has permission to con- same as Langberg or Langborow, fellow
tinue to reside in the London convent, of Merton in 1357, and S.T.P., who is
to have a decent chamber, one friar as said to have become a Minorite. Simon
socius, one clerk, two servants, and to Lamborn, fellow of Merton in 1347,
dispose of his books and other pro- Proctor in 1361, and S.T.P., is also said
perty. to have entered the Order, but Wood
4 Mem. of Merton, p. 208. reasonably supposes this incident to
* ' Item versus finem chori ex parte have been borrowed from the life of
Boriali a stallis sub fune lampadis jacet Reginald Lambourne. Memorials of
iub longo lapide ffrater Johannes Lam- Merton, 208 9.
238 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. IIT.
Epistola a Reginaldo Lambourne monacho Eynshamensi [ad. Gul.
Rede ut videtur] a° 1367, de conjunctionibus Saturni Jovis et
Martis cum prognostication* malorum inde in annis 1368-1374
probabiliter occurrentium.
MS. Bodl. : — Digby 176, fol. 50, and 40 (sec. xiv).
Robert Eliphat flourished in the middle of the fourteenth century;
he is placed among the Masters of the English Province by Bartho-
lomew of Pisa1. Pits states that he was famous at Oxford and Paris2.
There can be little doubt that he is identical with Robert Alifax or
Halifax, the fifty-sixth Master of the Franciscans at Cambridge 3.
Robertus Haliphax de sententiarum libris I et II.
MS. Assisi 161 (sec. xiv).
Primus Eliphat super sententias.
MSS. Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 14514 (sec. xiv).
Vienna :— Bibl. Palat. 1511, f. 110-120 (sec. xiv).
Quaestiones Rob. Eliphat.
MSS. Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 14576 (xiv), 15561, f. 243 (xv), 15880 (xiv),
15888, f. 1 8 1, (xiv)4.
Gilbert Peckham, fellow of Merton in 1324 and 1339, may be
identical with the fifty-ninth Master of the Minorites at Cambridge 5.
William Tithemersch (co. Northampton), 'of the custody of
Oxford,' was sixty-first Master of the Minorites at Cambridge, and
twenty-first Provincial, about 1350; he was succeeded by Roger
Conway, and was buried at Bedford '.
William Scharshille (co. Stafford),
'formerly a justiciary under Edward III, gave away all his temporal goods
and entered the Order, with great honour, at Oxford7.'
The date is not specified. A William de Shareshull, who is no doubt
the same person, was ordered to attend a parliament in Scotland
for the confirmation of a treaty between Edward III and Edward
Balliol, in 1333; he is mentioned as a justice of assize in 1337, and
he was appointed one of the examiners of some ecclesiastical petitions
to Parliament in 1351 8. In 1356 ' Dominus Willhelmus de Schars-
1 Liber Conform, f. 81 b. * Cf. also p. 222, note 5, above.
* Pits, p. 443. Bale is less definite, * Mon. Franc. I, 557; Mem. of
' Anglorum gymnasia . . . petiit.' 1,416. Merton Coll., 195, 346.
Cf. Wadding, VII, 170 (A.D. 1334). * Mon. Franc. I, 557, 560, 538.
3 Mon. Franc. I, 557. Tanner men- 7 Mon. Franc. I, 541.
tions him as Robert Eliphat, and 8 Rymer's Foed. Vol. II, Part. II, pp.
'Aliphat Anglus, Gregorii Ariminensis 870, 991 ; Vol. Ill, Part. I, p. 230.
auditor'; Bibl. pp. 259, 36.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 239
hull'' appears among the witnesses to an indenture between the
University of Oxford and Richard d'Amory 1.
Richard Lymynster and Giuliortus de Limosano are men-
tioned in a University decree as ' wax-doctors ' of the Mendicant
Orders at Oxford in 1358. It is uncertain to which Order the former
belonged. The latter was a Minorite from Sicily, who tried to obtain
the degree of B.D. by means of letters from the king of England 2.
Jerome of St. Mark is said to have been a Minorite and Bache-
lor of Oxford, and author of a treatise on logic. His date — or even
the century in which he lived — is unknown 3.
John of Nottingham was a member of the Oxford Convent in
the middle of the fourteenth century : he was one of the witnesses to
the will of Robert de Trenge, Warden of Merton, and perhaps his
confessor; the will was executed 1351, and proved 1357*.
Roger Conway, of the convent of Worcester and D.D. of Oxford,
in 1355 obtained papal license to live in the Franciscan Convent
of London
' for the spiritual recreation of himself and of the nobles of England,'
who were said to flock in great numbers to this friary ; Roger was to
be subject to the rules of the house like any other friar6. In 1357
he came forward as the champion of the Mendicant Orders against
the Archbishop of Armagh, and wrote and preached in London
' on the poverty of Christ ' and the right of the friars to hear con-
fessions 6. According to one account
' he strenuously defended his Order in the Curia against Armachanus V
In 1359 Innocent VI issued a bull confirming the decree Vas
ekctionis of John XXII,
' at the instance of Roger Coneway of the Order of Friars Minors, who
asserts that he needs these letters on behalf of the said Order V
He was twenty-second Provincial Minister of England9, and
1 Mun. Acad. pp. 173-180. * Copy in Lambeth MS. 1208, f.
2 Ibid. 208. See pp. 43-3 above. 99b-ioo: 'Copia bulle quam frater
8 Tanner, Bibl. 509. Rogerus Coneway optinuit in Romana
4 Oxf. City Records, Old White curia anno Christi 1359; ill Non.
Book, fol. 55 b. April, A° VII.' The date in Todd's
5 Wadding, VIII, 106, 457; the papal Catalogue is wrong. For the papal
letter is dated, iv Idus Feb. A° III; decree referred to, see Corpus Juris
Mon. Franc. I, 561. Canon., Extravag. Communium Liber
« Wadding, VIII, 127; Wood, Annals, V, Tit. Ill, cap. 2.
sub anno 1360. ' Mon. Franc. I, 538, 561.
7 Mon. Franc. I, 538.
240 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. III.
perhaps held the office at the time of the controversy with Richard
Fitzralph1. Bale and Pits state that he died in 1360; it is not
improbable that he lived several years longer. He was buried in the
choir of the Grey Friars Church, London 2.
A book formerly belonging to Roger Conway is preserved among
the MSS. of Gray's Inn; Codex i, formerly 17 (=1584 in Bernard) —
' Joannes Cassianus de Institutes Egyptiorum Coenobiorum. Cui haec notula
apponitur : " Iste est liber Fratris Rogeri de Goneway 3 ''.'
Defensio Religionis Mendicantium, against Armachanus, or De con-
fessionibus per regulares audiendis contra informationes Arma-
chani; known also by the opening words of the treatise
(preface) : ' Confessio et pulchritude.'
MSS. Oxford :— Bodl. sup. A I, art. 95 ; also Corpus Christi Coll.
182, fol. 37 (sec. xv).
Cambridge: — Public Library li. iv. 5. fol. 15 (sec. xv) ; also
Corpus Christi Coll. 333 (sec. xv).
Paris: — Bibl. Nationale 3221, fol. 206-46 (see. xv) ; and 3222,
fol. 117, under the title : ' Quedam informacio contra in-
tentionem domini Ricardi Archiepiscopi Armachani super
decretal i Fas electicnis, edita a ffratre Rogero Conewey
magistro in Theologia de ordine fratrum minorum.'
Vienna : — Bibl. Palat. 4127, f. 221 (sec. xv).
Printed at Lyons 1 496 ; Paris 1511 (among the works of Armachanus) ;
and in Goldast, Monarchia II, p. 1410, (under the name
' Chonoe ').
Intellec tus fratrum de constitutione Vas electionis quo ad Negativam
ibidem definitam. Inc. 'Verumptamen quia iste dominus
Reverendus dicit quod intellectus fratrum est erroneus.'
MS. Paris: — Bibl. Nat. 3222, fol. 133^158^: it is anonymous in this
MS., but is attributed to Roger Conway by Bale, MS. Seld. sup.
64, fol. i57b, and Tanner, Bibl. 197. The same MS. contains the
Replicationes of Armachanus against this work, ff. 159 sqq.
Quaestiones tres de Christi paupertate et dominio temporali. Inc.
1 Questio est hie de mendicitate ; or ' Utrum Christus hominum
perfectissimus.'
MS. Vienna: — Bibl. Palat. 4127, f. 249-269 (sec. xv).
1 His Defensio Mendicantium was et calnmniis pro viribns obviarem.'
written at the command of some superior; J MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, f. 274 b.
see cap. Ill (Goldast, Monarchia, Tom. s This volume, and MS. 12 in the
II) : ' Ad quern (Armachanum) dignatus same library (containing the 'Moralities '
est me rogare quidam venerabilis pater of Nicholas Bozon), were given by Con-
ac magister, qui me potuit obligare way when Minister to the Franciscans
mandate, quod eiusdem Domini dictis of Chester.
CH. Hi.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 241
Wadding (Script, p. 212) gives the second tncipit and says: ' Habeo
MSS.' These may be now in some Italian library; perhaps in
the Franciscan Convent at Rome, or MS. Vatican 3740, 'Trac-
tatus diversorum super quaestione de paupertate Christi et
Apostolorum ' (Montfaucon, p. no).
Simon Tunstede, de Tunstude, or Donstede, is said by Bale
to have entered the Order at Norwich, where, according to Blomefield,
he afterwards became Warden of the Franciscan Convent *. He was
Regent Master of the Friars Minors at Oxford in 1351 2, and according
to contemporary evidence was ' skilled in music and in the seven
liberal arts3.' He wrote on the Meteorics of Aristotle4, and made
some alterations in the horologe called Albion, invented in 1326 by
Richard of Wallingford, Abbat of St. Albans, and in the book which
the Abbat wrote about his invention6. He became twenty-third
Provincial Minister in succession to Roger Conway about 1360*.
He was buried among the Poor Clares of Brusyard in Suffolk 7 ; Bale
and Pits mention 1369 as the year of his deaih.
A work on music, Quatuor principalia musicae, or De musica
continua et discreta, cum Diagrammatibus, has been erroneously
ascribed to Tunstede 8 ; it was composed by a Minorite during
Tunstede's regency at Oxford, and perhaps under his supervision.
MSS. London :— Brit. Mus. Addit. 8866 (sec. xiv).
Oxford:— Bodleian; Digby 90 (sec. xiv); Bodley 515 (=2185)
(sec. xv).
Printed in E. de Coussemaker's Auctores de Musica, &c. Paris 1876.
Bobert de Wysete, Wyshed, or de Wycett, D.D. of Oxford,
succeeded Tunstede as twenty-fourth Provincial (c. 1370?)'. He
was buried in the choir of the Grey Friars' Church in London 10.
MS. Worcester Cathed. Library, fol. No. 35 : ' Wyneshed de motu
de locali et aliis Physicis ' (?) ; but the name here is probably an
error for Swymhcd; see MS. Cambridge, Caius Coll. 499.
1 Hist, of Norf. IV, p. 131. • Mon. Franc. I, 538, 561.
a Digby MS. 90, in cake. 7 Ibid.
3 Ibid. 8 See Part I, chapter iv : the treatise
* Leland, Script ; the work does not is printed under the name of Simon
appear to be extant Wadding suggests Tunstede in E. de Coussemaker's Auc-
that the commentary printed among the tores de Musica med. Aevi, Nova Series,
works of Duns Scotus (Vol. II) may be Vol. IV, pp. 220-298. Paris, 1876.
by Tunstede. The treatise, according to the editor, is
* Laud. Misc. MS. 657 (sec. xv) ; cf. very important, and forms in some sort
Pub. Libr. Cambr. MS. Mm III, n. the transition between the thirteenth and
For representations of Wallingford and fourteenth centuries.
the clock, see MSS. Cott. Claud. E IV, • Mon. Franc. I, 538, 561.
f. 201 ; Nero D VII, &c. 10 MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, f. 274 b.
242 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
John Mardeslay or Mardisle1, probably a Yorkshireman, in-
cepted as D.D. at Oxford before 1355. Early in this year he disputed
with the Dominican, William Jordan, in the Chapter-house and
Chancellor's schools at York, de conceptione B. Mariae Virgtnis,
upholding the Immaculate Conception 2. His manner of disputation
gave offence, and the Chapter of York issued letters testifying to his
good conduct (April 10, I355)3:
'in putting forward his opinion he behaved amicably, modestly and
courteously, without introducing any abuse or improprieties whatsoever.'
He was certainly an able debater. In 1374 he was summoned with
three other Doctors of Divinity to a council at Westminster, over
which the Black Prince and the Archbishop of Canterbury presided 4.
The subject of discussion was the right of England to refuse the
papal tribute. The Archbishop and bishops said : ' The pope is lord
of all, we cannot refuse him this tribute.' A monk of Durham brought
forward the old argument about the two swords. Mardeslay at once
replied with the text ' Put up again thy sword into his place,'
' showing that the two swords did not mean temporal and spiritual power,
and that Christ had not temporal diminion ; which he proved by the
scriptures and gospels, by quotations from the doctors, by the example of
the religious who leave worldly goods, and by the decretals ; and he related
how Boniface VIII claimed to be lord of all kingdoms, and how he was
repulsed in France and England.'
At the end of the day's sitting, the Archbishop said, ' There were
good counsels in England without the friars/ The prince answered,
' We have had to call them because of your fatuity ; your counsel
would have lost us our kingdom.' The next day the papal party
yielded. Between this date and 1380 Mardeslay was twenty-fifth
Provincial Minister5. The date of his death is uncertain; he was
buried at York 6.
Thomas of Portugal studied at Oxford and Paris, c. 1360, and
lectured at Lisbon and Salamanca. He was elected in the General
Chapter to lecture on the Sentences at Cambridge, and was promoted
to the degree of D.D. in the University of Toulouse by Pope Gregory
XI in 1371 7.
1 The forms Mardiston (Brewer) and 3 Tanner, ibid ; in Registro capituli
Marcheley (Leland, Bale, Pits) are S. Petri Ebor.
wrong ; they are derived from MS. Cott. 4 Eulog. Hist. Ill, 337-8.
Nero A IX, f. 103, where the name, 5 Mon. Franc. I, 538, 561 : cf. notice
though indistinct, is certainly Mardisley. of Th. Kyngesbury.
* Tanner, Bibl. 509; Wadding, Script. * Mon. Franc, ibid.
146; Bale, Pits. 7 Wadding, VIII, pp. 239, 249.
CH. HI.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 243
Philip Zoriton (?), according to Wadding « professor in the Uni-
versities of Oxford and Cambridge,' received the insignia of the
magisteriuni at the hands of Friar Francis de Cardaillac S.T.P. in
1 364 *. Zoriton appears to be a mistake for Torinton or Torrington.
Philip Torrington S.T.P. was made Archbishop of Cashel in I3732.
He was sent by Richard II as ambassador to Urban VI, and, on his
return in 1379, urged the English king to invade France in support
of the Pope, against the Antipope Clement VII. Philip died in
1380'.
Dalmacus de Eaxach and Franciscus de Graynoylles of the
kingdom of Aragon, friars Minors residing at Oxford for the purposes
of study, obtained royal letters of protection on Feb. 22nd, 1378*.
Francis de S. Simone de Pisis, called ' of Empoli,' is mentioned
by Bartholomew of Pisa as having studied at Oxford5, where he perhaps
became D.D. He flourished in the fourteenth century; according
to Wadding, 1376.
Determinatio Magistri Francisci de Empoli de materia montis (?)
MS. Florence: — Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Cruets, Plut. xxxi, Dext. Cod.
xi (sec. xiv or xv).
John Hilton, D.D. of Oxford, ' determined ' in the schools against
Ughtred Bolton monk of Durham, in defence of his Order. Bale
and Pits state that he died at Norwich, 1376".
Delerminationes de paupertate fratrum, et de statu Minorum, lib. ii.
Inc. ' Articulus pertractandus sit.'
Mentioned by Bale, ' Ex bibliotheca Nordovicensi ' 7.
Quaestiones.
One or both of these works may be the Opera Joannls Hilton in Bibl.
Eccles. Cathed. Sarisbur. MS. 94 (Bernard).
Hubert of Halvesnahen (?) Bachelor of Paris, Oxford and
Cambridge, and ' destinatus Lector Oxoniae,' received the degree of
1 Wadding, Vol. VIII, p. 178. of H. of Halvesnahen). Chronicon
2 Rymer's Foed. Vol. Ill, pt. II, p. Angliae 1328-1388 (R. S.), p. 222.
995. In a papal letter of 1376 he is * Rymer's Foed. IV, 30.
described as ' conservator privilegiorum 5 B. of Pisa, Liber Conf. fol. 81 b:
Fratribus Ordinis Minornm in Hibernia ' snis determinationibus Oxonie factis.'
a Sede Apostolica concessornm speciali- Wadding, VIII, 333.
ter deputatns,' Wadding, VIII, p. 592. • Bale, Pits; Willott, Athtnat, 229.
Cotton, Fasti Eccles. Hibern. I, 89. 7 MS. Seld. sup. 64, fol. 80
3 Wadding, VIII, 298 (see notice
R a
244 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. HI.
Master in 1376 by papal commission at the hands of Friar Philip
(Torrington), Archbishop of Cashel, who was then staying at Avignon1.
William de Prato, of the Order of Minorites, a native of Paris,
was in 1363 raised to the degree of Master in the University of Paris
by the Pope. In the papal letter 2 to the ' Chancellor of the Church
of Paris/ it is stated that he had
' studied many years at Oxford and lectured in the theological faculty, and
obtained the license of teaching in the said faculty and the honour of
Master ; he desired to lecture in the same faculty at Paris, and to give to
his country what he had acquired elsewhere by studious labours.'
The Pope bids the chancellor admit him freely on the papal
authority
'ad legendum determinandum disputandum et ceteros actus Magistrales
exercendum,'
just as though he were D.D. of Paris. The letter is dated XV Kal.
Dec. A° II. In 1370 he was sent to the Tartars by the pope, as
bishop of Pekin and head of the Franciscan mission in Asia s. The
papal letter 4 constituted him ruler of the Friars Minors in the lands
' Saracenorum, Alanorum, Gazarorum, Gothorum, Schytarum, Ruthe-
norum, Jacobitarum, Nubianorum, Nestorianorum, Georgianorum, Arme-
norum, Indorum, Mochitarum.'
De eruditiom Principum, by William de Prato, ordinis Praedica-
torum (?) 6.
MS. Vatican, Bibl. Reginae Sueciae, cod. 1960 (Montfaucon).
John Somer, of the Convent of Bridgwater6, was at Oxford in
1 380 7. It does not appear whether he was a doctor either at this
time or afterwards. He enjoyed a great reputation as an astronomer,
and is said to have made use of the astronomical researches of Roger
Bacon 8. Chaucer refers to him in his treatise on the Astrolabe 9.
1 Wadding, Vol. VIII, p. 332. The do not assign this treatise to him.
original document from which these 6 MS. Cott. Domit. A II, f. I.
facts are derived is not given in the 7 MS. Cott. Faust, A II, f. i.
Regestrum at the end of the volume: * Bale, Script. I, 513; he is said to
the date would be, Greg. XI, A° 6. have written Calendarii castigationes
a Wadding, VIII, 166, 500. (inc. : ' Corruptio calendarii horribilis
3 Ibid. 221, seq. est'), which I have not found. MS.
4 Dated, vil Kal. April, A° VIII formerly in Caius College (perhaps now
(Urban V). No. 141 ?). Cf. R. Bacon, Op. Ined. p.
8 Quetif and Echard (II, is6b), 272.
mention a Dominican writer, William ' Edit. Skeat, p. 3.
Piati or Prati; who flourished 1540, but
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 245
Somer is often coupled with the contemporary astronomer Nicholas
of Lynn *, and it is possible that the following passage in Mercator's
Alias, which is supposed by Hakluyt and others to refer to Nicholas,
relates to John Somer 2.
' That which you see described in this table of those foure lies is taken
from the journal of James Knox of Bolduc or the Busse 3, who reporteth *
that a certaine English Friar, minorite of Oxford, a Mathematician, hath
scene and composed the lands lying about the Pole, and measured them
with an astrolabe, and described them by a Geometrical instrument.'
To this account John Dee5 adds the date 1360, and calls the friar
a ' Franciscan of Lynn ' ; Hakluyt (among other details) gives the
name as ' Nicholas de Lynna a Franciscan Friar.' Nicholas of Lynn
was a Carmelite 6. On the other hand, supposing that the story has
a good foundation, it is more likely that the adventurous Friar was
a native of some seaport on the East coast than of a Western town
like Bridgwater.
Tertium opusculum Kalendarii (A.D. 1387-1462), composed
«ad instantiam nobilissime Domine, Domine Johanne Principisse Wallie,
. . . ac matris . . . Ricardi secundi . . . , ad meridiem tamen Universitatis
Oxonie, ex precepto reverendi Patris, fratris Thome Kyngesburi, Ministri
Anglic, ... a fratre Johanne Somur (or Semour) ordinis minorum, A. D.
1380.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : Royal 2 B viii. (sec. xiv). Cotton Faustina A II,
f. i- 1 2 ; and Cotton Vesp. E VII. f. 4-22.
Bodl. : Digby 5, f. 73 (sec. xiv).
Crom'ca quaedam brevis fratris Johannis Somour ordinis sancti
Francisci de conventu ville Briggewater.
MS. British Museum ; Cott. Domit. A II, f. i-6b.
The framework of the annals may be by John Somer : the entries
are short and scattered — some being later than the middle of the
15th century — and in different hands. Several refer to Bridg-
water, e.g. ad annos 1241, 1411. Ad. an. 1433 is the entry:
'E(clipsis) solis universalis 17 die Junii in festo S. Botulphi
secundum fratrem som."
1 E. g. by Chaucer (ut supra). 4 The Latin edition of Mercator, A. D.
3 Mercator's Atlas, translated by 1606, adds ' (quod tamen ab alio prius
Hexham, Vol. I, p. 44 ; Hakluyt, I, accepit) '.
134- 5 Quoted, without a reference, in
3 Elsewhere called ' Jacobus Cnoyen Hakluyt, I, 135.
Buscoiiucensis,' or 'of Hartzeuan Buske' • MS. Arundel 207, ad calcem : 'ego
(i. e. Bois-le-Duc, Mr. R. L. Poole frater Nicholaus de Linea, ord. beate
informs me) : I can find nothing about Dei genetricis Marie de Monte Car-
him. meli.'
246 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
His astronomical and astrological writings are frequently quoted :
Bodl. Laud. Misc. 674 (sec. xv), fol. 24 ; Regulae ad sciendum nati •vitam
secundum Jo. Somer, Ord. Minorum ; fol. 24b : 'Hoc receptum
inveni scriptum de propria manu J. Somour de ordine Minorum.'
See also fol. 42b, . . . and fol. 99b of the same MS.
Bodl. Digby 88 (sec. xv), ' An extracte of freer John Somerys
Kalender, of ille days in the yere,' fol. 62b.
Gf. Digby 119, fol. 25b.
Hugh Karlelle (Carlisle) and Thomas Bernewell, Oxford
Minorites, were among the Doctors of Theology who condemned
Wiclif s twenty-four conclusions at the council held at Blackfriars,
London, on May zist, 1382 \
William Woodford or Widford was one of the most determined
opponents of the Wicliffi tes. Wadding's desire 2 to claim this ' extirpator
of heretics ' as a fellow-countryman has led him to identify William
Woodford with the comparatively unknown Friar William of Water-
ford. There is no ground for this identification, and dates make it
almost impossible s. In his earlier days at Oxford, probably when he
was B.D., Woodford was on friendly or even intimate terms with
Wiclif. When the two were lecturing on the Sentences, they carried
on a courteous interchange of arguments and opinions on Tran-
substantiation 4.
Woodford's earliest extant work, of which the date is known, was
composed in 1381 ; it consists of theological lectures under the title,
'72 questiones de Sacramento Altar is] in answer to Wiclif s 'Con-
fession/ and was written in great haste ; these lectures were delivered,
perhaps at the Grey Friars London, within five weeks of the publication
of the ' Confession V He does not seem to have been D.D. at this
time. On the subject of his inception, a curious piece of information
has been preserved in a MS. of the i5th century;
« when he was going from London to Oxford to incept in theology he fell
among robbers, who took from him £40 V
In 1389 he was regent master in theology among the Minorites at
Oxford, and as such lectured in the schools of the Minorites against the
adherents of Wiclif7. In 1390 when he also lectured at Oxford on the
1 Fascic. Zizan. p. 287. p. 81.
4 Ann. Min. IX, 129, &c. 5 Fascic. Zizan. 517, 523.
3 Waterford wrote a treatise in 1433 ; 6 MS. Exeter Coll. 7, f. 4.
Wadding, IX, 129 ; Woodford lectured 7 MS. Digby, 170 ; at the end of the
at Oxford before 1381. third determinatio.
* Twyne MS. XXI, 502. See above,
CH.IH.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 247
same subject, he was vicar of the Provincial Minister1. Among his
pupils was Thomas Netter of Walden, afterwards Provincial of the
Carmelites and reputed author of the Fasciculi Zizaniorum 2. Wood-
ford appears now to have resided mainly at the Grey Friars, London :
in 1396 he obtained from Boniface IX a papal sanction of the special
privileges and graces which he enjoyed in this convent ; the chief of
them was the right to a private chamber or house 3. According to
Bale and Pits he died, and was buried at Colchester in 1397*. His
name however appears among those buried in the choir of the Grey
Friars Church, London.
' Et ad ejus (sc. Willelmi Goddard) dexteram sub lapide cruce exarato
Jacet bone memorie et hereticorum extirpator Acerimus frater Willelmus
Wydford doctor Egregius et minister V
The date of his death is uncertain ; but one of his works seems to
have been written in the reign of Henry IV 6.
Woodford's writings, dealing as they did for the most part with the
question of the hour, were very popular and often copied.
Commentaries on Ezechiel, Eccksiasies, S. Luke (cap. 6-9), 6". Paul's
Epistle to the Romans.
British Museum MS. Royal 4 A xiii (sec. xiv) 7-
De sacramento Eucharistiae, or, 72 quaestiones. Inc. 'Ratione
solemnitatis jam instantis.'
MSS. Brit. Museum: Royal 7 B iii. § 2, (sec. xiv): Harl. 31, fol.
1-94 (sec. xv), and 42 fol. i (sec. xv).
Oxford: — Exeter Coll. 7, fol. 4 (sec. xv) ; St. John's Coll. 144
(sec. xv).
Delerminationes quatuor ; lectures at Oxford 1 389-1 390. Inc. ' Utrum
motiva.'
MSS. Brit. Mus. : — Harl. 31 (sec. xv. ineuntis) : i8t lecture fol. 124-
132; 2nd i32-i63b; 3rd i63b-i7o; 4th 170-181: Harl. 42,
f. 1-124.
Oxford: — Bodleian 2766, f. 69; 2224, p. 33 (=Bodley 393);
3340; Digby 170, f. 1-33 (sec. xiv. exeuntis) : this last MS.
1 MS. Digby, fol. 33. 7 This MS. (f. 112) contains also
* Fascic. Zizan. 525, n. 2. Philosophia naturalis (inc. ' Queris,
3 MS. New Coll. 156, fly-leaf; printed venerande dux Normannorum '), erro-
in App. B. neously ascribed to Woodford, really
4 See Tanner. Bibl. 785. composed by William de Conchis : cf.
s MS. Cott. Vitell. F, XII, f. 274 b. MS. Bodl. Digby 107 ; Tanner, Bibl.
' Namely, De causis condemnationis p. 1^4.
arliculorum 18, &c. : sec below.
248 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
begins in the second determination with the words : ' et
nullum predictorum est impedimentum legitimi matrimonii.'
De causis condempnacionis articulorum 18 dampnatorum Johannis
Wyclif, 1396. Probably written later; Henry is mentioned as
King of England (Fasc. rer. p. 264).
MSS. British Museum: — Royal, 8 F xi. (sec. xv); Harl. 31, f. 95:
Harl. 42, f. 125.
Oxford:— Bodl. 2766, § i. [and Bodl. 3629^.216 ?] — Merton Coll.
198 § 3 (sec. xv) and 318, f. 84 (xv)— G. C. C. 183, f. 23 (xv).
Printed, Brown, Fascic. rerum expetendarum, I, 190-265.
De sacerdotio novi testamenti. Inc. ' Utrum sacerdotium Novi.'
MSS. British Museum :— Royal 7 B. III. § i.
Oxford: — Merton Coll. 198 fol. 14 (xv ineuntis).
Defensorium mendicitatis contra Armachanum, or, Defensorium contra
Armachanum, in Octavo libello de mendicitate Christi. Inc.
' Postquam dominus Armachanus.'
MSS. Oxford: — Magdalen Coll. 75 (sec. xv).
Cambridge :— Publ. Library, Ff. I. 21, f. 1-257.
De erroribus Armachani, or, Excerptiones xlii. errorum Armachani.
Inc. ' Quoad errores domini Armachani contentos.'
MSS. Cambridge :— Publ. Libr. Ff. I. 21, f. 258-265.
Oxford :— New Coll. 290 fol. 258.
Responsiones contra Wiclevum et Lollardos, or, ad Ixv. quaestiones
Wiclevicontrafratres. Inc. ' Primo quaeritur quot sunt ordines.'
MS. Oxford :— Bodl. 2766, p. 41. ( = T. Bodl. super O. I. Art. 9).
De veneratione imaginum.
MS. Brit. Mus. : — Harl. 31, f. 182-205; anon, and imperfect at the
beginning, but probably by Woodford ; 8 chapters. Inc. cap. 2.
' Aliter tamen senciunt doctissimi Christiani, oppositum osten-
dentes per naturam, per artem, per historiam, per scripturam.'
Epistola Episcopo Hereford, de decimis et oblacionibus contra Gualterum
Britte :
referred to by Woodford in De causis condempnacionis etc., but no
longer extant ; Fasc. Per. Expetend. I. 220, 222.
Super quinque capitula Evangelii S. Matthaei:
mentioned by John Wheathamstede among the books which he had
transcribed, but not now to be found : (Tanner, from MS. Cott.
Otho, B. IV ; this MS. was burnt in the Cotton library fire).
Questions on God and angels, ' fratris Willelmi ex Wodeford junioris.'
MS. Oxford :— Ball. Coll. 63, f. 100 (sec. xiv).
CH. in.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 249
Other works attributed to him :
De oblationibus jiendis in locis sanctorum, and De peregrinationibus ad
/oca sancta, mentioned by Tanner (Bibl. 785), appear to be the
same as Determinatio, An sancti sint orandi, vel oracio fienda sit
sanctis, an anonymous treatise in Harl. MS. 31, § 7.
Summa de Firtutibus is identical with the Summa by William de Wode-
ford, Abbat, in Caius Coll. Cambridge, MS. 454.
Tractatus de Religione, addressed to Cardinal Julian Caesarinus in 1433,
was the work of William of Waterford (Tanner Bibl. p. 364,
Wadding ix, 129).
Peter Philargi or Philargus de Candia (afterwards Pope Alex.
V) is said to have been of very humble origin, and to have begged his
bread of necessity x. Early in life he joined the Franciscans, who soon
recognised his ability. He was sent to England in his youth and
studied first at Norwich, and then at Oxford, where he became
Bachelor of Theology2 (c. 1370?). He lectured on the Sentences at
Paris in 1378s, and obtained the degree of D.D. in that University4.
In 1402 he became Archbishop of Milan, in 1405 Cardinal, and in
1409 he was elected Pope at the Council of Pisa, being then more
than seventy years old and famous for learning and piety 5. His brief
pontificate was chiefly remarkable for the favours and privileges
which he lavished on the Mendicant Friars. He died on May 3rd,
1410, it was believed of poison administered by order of his successor
John XXIII 6. He is described by an English chronicler as
'jocundus vir et eloquens in Latina lingua et Graeca, solemnis et nomina-
tissimus Doctor in Theologia V
Lectures on the Sentences.
MSS. Basel A II. 22. ' Conclusiones textuales super Magist. Sentent.'
Paris: — Bibl. Nat. Fonds de Cluni 54, =1467 of the Latin
Addit. MSS. (sec. xiv) fol. 8. ' Expl. collectiva pro primo
principio fratris Petri de Candia, quam compilavit Parisius,
a° M° ccc° Lxxvin0 xxmia die mensis Septembris, et xxvm
die ejusdem mensis in scolis legit, etc.'
Venice:— St. Mark, Vol. I, Cl. Ill, Cod. no (A.D. 1382),
Questiones in lib. i Sentent.) being lectures at Paris in 1379. —
1 Wood, Hist, et Antiq. Milman, conversatis, quodque multos honores et
Lat. Christ. VIII, 121. bona quamplurima suscepistis ibidem.'
2 Eulog. Hist. Ill, 415 (R.S.). Gas- 3 Bibl. Nationale (Paris), Fonds de
coigne, Lib. Veritalum, 161 : Cotton Cluni, Cod. 54, fol. 8.
MS. Cleop. E II, fol. 262 b, a letter of * Gascoigne, ibid.
Henry IV to Alexander V : the king 8 Milman, ut supra.
reminds him, 'qualiter a juventute ves- * Eulog. Hist. Ill, 415. Gascoigne,
tra fuistis in regno Anglic, ac eciam in 154.
preclaro Universitatis Oxonie studio 7 Eulog. Hist. Ill, 414, 415.
250 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Ibid. Cod. in (A.D. 1394), Questiones in lib. 2 et 3 Sentent.
' Explicit lectura super sententias ven. mag. fratris Petri de
Candia ordinis Minorum A.D. 1390 compilata teir.pore quo
Parisiis legebat sententias, quas de verbo ad verbum ut jacet
suis scolaribus in scolis antedicti ordinis prolegebat.
Officium Visitationis B. V. Man'ae, compiled by Peter when Bishop
of Novara.
MS. Florence : — Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Crucis, Plut. xxv. Sin. Cod. ix.
Prosae vel Sequentiae quinque, by Peter then Archbishop of Milan.
MS. Ibid.
Praefationes Ambrosianae.
MS. Rome: — Archiv. Basilicae S. Petri (Montfaucon, p. 158).
Conclusiones Petri de Candida Cardinalis Mediolanensis, S. T. P.,
pro moderno schismate auferendo (urging that a general Council
should be called).
MS. Brit. Mus. :— Harl. 431, fol. 30*. Cf. ibid. fol. 33b, 34^, 35 ; and
Cambridge : — Emmanuel Coll. I. § 29, Conclusiones P. de Candia
positae in Concilia.
De obligationibus Episiola.
Oxford : — Bodl. Canonic. 278, fol. 65.
Florence: — Bibl. Leopoldina (Laurentiana), Cod. Gaddian. 188
(sec. xv).
Thomas Kyngesbery, Kynbury, de Kyngusbury, D.D. of
Oxford, was twenty-sixth Provincial Minister from 1 379 or 1380 to 1390
or 1392 x. At the beginning of his ministry, which coincided with the
beginning of the great Schism, he obtained from the Minorites, both
in Provincial Chapter and in the separate convents, an oath of
obedience to Urban VI2. He appears to have been on terms of
some intimacy with the royal family3, and about 1390 or 1392*
Richard II urged Boniface IX to appoint him by provision to the next
vacant bishopric : the king describes him as
' virum, prout experiencia certa et ejusdem fama preclaris diffusa virtutibus
nobis constat, sciencie, vite, ac morum honestate perspicuum, et per omnia
graciosum, nedum in sciencia speculativa, sed in verbi dei predicacione
multipliciter preexpertum.'
This recommendation appears to have had no result: perhaps
Kyngesbery died about this time. He was buried at Nottingham5.
1 Mon. Franc. I, 538, 561 ; Cott. MS. * Ibid. Cf. notice of John Somer.
Vesp. E VII, f. 7 ; Digby MS. 90, f. 4 Bodl. MS. ut supra. As to the
6b; Bodl. MS. 692, f. 33. date, see English Hist. Review, Oct. 1891.
2 Bodl. MS. ut supra. 5 Mon. Franc. I, 538.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 251
Though none of his writings remain, it may perhaps be inferred, from
the fact that he is twice mentioned in connexion with scientific works
by Minorites, that he was a patron of science in the Order *.
John Tewkesbury, Minorite, gave a treatise called ' Qtiatuor
principalia mustcae '
' to the Community of the Friars Minors at Oxford, with the authority and
consent of Friar Thomas de Kyngusbury, Master, Minister of England,
A.D. 1 388V
John Tyssyngton subscribed the decree of the Chancellor Berton,
condemning Wiclifs twelve 'conclusions' on the sacraments, in
1381 3; he is the only Franciscan among the ten doctors whose names
appear, and was regent master of the Friars Minors at this time*.
Soon afterwards Tyssyngton made an elaborate reply to WicliPs
Confessio on Transubstantiation in the Franciscan Schools at Oxford,
and issued the lecture as a treatise B ; though this composition bears
marks of undue haste, it was considered to be of great value and was
ordered to be kept in the University Archives6. In 1392 Tyssyngton
was at the Council of Stamford where the heresies of Henry Crompe,
consisting chiefly of conclusions against the friars, were condemned 7.
He succeeded Thomas Kyngesbery as twenty-seventh Provincial 8. Bale
and Pits give 1395 as the year of his death : he was buried at London 9.
The only work of his extant is the Confessio contra confessionem
Johannis Wiclif, above referred to.
John Schankton, of the Order of Minors, appears to have been
confessor of John Okele, skinner of Oxford. The latter, in his will
dated October 2oth, 1390, left Schankton zos a year for three years,
' to celebrate masses for my soul and the souls of all those to whom I am
in any manner bound, and the souls of all the faithful dead, in the con-
ventual church of the Minorites at Oxford : '
1 See notices of John Somer and syngton (sic) de ordine Minorum et
John Tewkesbury. S.T. doctoris, quam edidit, et in scholis
a Digby MS. 90, f. 6 b. A writer of fratrum minorum Oxoniis determinando
the same name is mentioned by Bale promulgavit . . . A.D. 1381.'
and Pits, sub anno 1350. One was 6 Fasc. Zizan. p. 133, note 2, &c., and
Fellow of Merton, c. 1 340 : see Tanner, Eulog. Hist, ut supra. Mr. Shirley
Bibl. 706. says, ' Tyssyngton has evidently never
3 Fascic. Zizan. 113 (R.S.). seen most of the books he quotes; and
4 Eulog. Hist. Contin. Ill, 351 the references are often false.' He
(R.S.). attempts to give the general sense of
5 Fascic. Zizan. 133-180. That the the passages he refers to, apparently
work was originally a lecture is proved from memory.
by MS. in Corp. Chr. Coll. Cambr. No. 7 Fascic. Zizan. 357.
331. P- 583 (sec. xv), 'Explicit con- " Mon. Franc. I, 538,561.
fessio magistri et fratris Johannis Tas- 9 Ibid. 538.
252 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
if Schankton died in the course of those three years, he was, before
his death, to appoint another friar to fulfil the wishes of the testator1.
John Romseye, D.D., succeeded W. Woodford as regent master
of the Friars Minors in 1389*. He was buried in the Chapel of All
Saints in the Grey Friars' Church, London 3.
John Wastenays, Inceptor in theology at Oxford, and possibly
one of the ' wax-doctors/ is mentioned in the following letter given
under the privy seal, temp. Richard II 4 :
' Tres cher et bien ame. Nous vous prions, que, en ce que notre cher en
dieu frere Johan Wastenays de lordre dez Menours, Commenceour en
theologie, ad affaire deuers vous touchant son commencement en la
Vniuersitee doxon, lui veullez faire la grace et le fauour que bonement
purrey, sauuant lez estatutz et lez priuileges de la vniuersitee auantdicte.
Donne souz, etc. (i.e. souz notre priue seal).'
Jacob Fey of Florence studied at Oxford in 1393, when he trans-
cribed a manuscript formerly kept in the library of Santa Croce,
Florence, now in the Laurentian library 5. The colophon runs : —
' Explicit compilatio quaedam diversorum argumentorum recollectorum
a diversis doctoribus in Vniversitate Oxoniae ordinata satis pulchre per
Reverendum Fratrem . . . 6 S.T. Mag. ejusdem Vniversitatis de Ordine
Carmelitarum, scripta per me Fratrem J. Fey de Florentia Ordinis
Minorum in Conventu Oxoniae anno Domini MCCCXGIII die sequenti
festum 40 Martyrum ad laudem Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Amen.'
Fey was inquisitor in his native land in 1402 7.
Nicholas Fakenham (Norfolk) enjoyed the favour and patronage
of Richard II. He was doctor of Oxford and twenty-eighth Pro-
vincial Minister of the Order in 1395. On the 5th of November in
that year, on the occasion apparently of his inception, he ' determined '
at Oxford on the papal schism by command of the king. This lecture
has been preserved 8 ; the introduction may be given here, somewhat
abbreviated.
1 Oxf. City Rec. Old White Bk. fol. occurs as king in the two succeeding
71 a. entries and in several on the preceding
3 MS. Digby 170: 'Explicit 3* de- page. That this is Richard II is clear,
terminatio sive lectio magistri et fratris (i) from the writing; (2) from the
\V. Woodford contra Wyelevystas Oxon. mention on p. 97, of the Statute of
A. D. 1389 in scolis Minorum, et die Labourers.
vesperiarum fratris Johannis Romseye 5 Laurentiana, ex Bibl. S. Cruets,
proximi magistri regentis.' MS. Bodl. Plut. XVII, Sin. Cod. X.
393, fol. 58 b reads, ' anno domini 6 Name erased in MS.
M°CCC°LXXXXIX°.' 7 Bandini's Catal. Cod. Lat. Medicea
3 MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, f. 277 b. Laurentiana, tome IV, pref. p. xlii.
4 MS. Dd. Ill, 53, p. 101, in the " Harl. MSS. No. 3768, fol. 188.
Public Library at Cambridge ; Richard Transcript in Twyne MSS. XXII, 223.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 253
' Our mother, the Roman Church, is full of troubles and calamities. Yet
her daughter, the University of Paris, alone has tried to comfort her:
Paris has borne the burden and heat of the day, and may well upbraid us.
We too must work for the union of the Church and the reformation of
peace. I therefore, promoted to the degree of Master though unworthily,
through zeal for the religion of Christ and for the Church of God, and by
reason of the command of our lord the King, propose to move some
matters pertaining to the proposition, in the form of a question, not as
a formal determ'mator, but rather as a friendly speaker (famiiiaris con-
cionator), now on one side, now on the other, now as an impartial person.
In these writings I wish to say nothing against the Catholic Church or
good morals or Pope Boniface ; if I do so inadvertently I submit to the
Chancellor and others in authority. — Touching the reformation of the
desolate Church, I ask whether there is any reasonable way of restoring it
to its original unity.'
Then he treats learnedly about the schismatical churches and shows
that the Church can be reformed only by the punishment of those who
have disturbed its peace — namely, the Cardinals.
He ceased to be Minister some years before his death. In 1 405 he
was with Friar J. Mallaert appointed papal commissary to examine
into the charges made by the English Minorites against John Zouche,
then Provincial Minister. The commissaries deposed Zouche; and
on the latter's reappointment by papal authority, refused to obey him l.
According to Bale he died 1407 2 ; he was buried at Colchester3.
At the end of the ' delerminatio ' in Harl. MS., 3768 (fol. 196) is the
note:
'et incipiunt alie conclusiones ejusdem de eodem scismate cum epistola
directa domino Karolo Regi Francorum pro reformacione scismatis pre-
nominati.'
Some ' conclusions ' then follow.
(Richard) Tryvytlam or Trevytham seems to have flourished
about 1400; Hearne suggests that he was the same as Robert
Finingham, a Franciscan who lived about 1 460 4, but this is a quite
unwarranted assumption. Tryvytlam is only known from his rhymed
Latin poem, ' De laude Universilatis Oxontae,' a defence of the friars
and attack on the monks. From the poem it is clear that he was an
Oxford friar, and one line points to his having been a Franciscan :
'Minorum ordinem proclamat impium,' etc.5.
1 Wadding, IX, 499 ; Eulog. Hist. * Hearne's edition of Tryvytlam's
Contin. Ill, p. 403, seq. poem in App. Vitae Ric. II (Oxon.
2 MS. Seld. sup. 64, fol. 134 b, 'ex 1729"), p. 344, note 2.
quodam Minoritarum registro.' • Ibid. p. 358 (speaking of ' Owtrede '
3 Mon. Franc. I, 538. of Durham).
254 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Among the assailants of the mendicants he mentions by name
Ughtred of Durham, who flourished in the reign of Richard II. His
poem has been edited by Hearne (Oxon. 1729), from a fifteenth
century MS. then in the possession of Roger Gale, Esq.
MS. Paris: — Bibl. Nationale, MS. 1201 (sec. xv) contains: Ricardi
Trevithelani Supplicationes ad beatam Marlam Vtrglnem.
"William Auger or Anger, according to Leland *, studied in the
Franciscan convent at Oxford, and was afterwards made Warden of
the Grey Friars at Bridgwater, where he died and was buried, A.D. I4O42.
John Edes, Edaeus, or of Hereford, is said to have been a
Minorite of Oxford, and to have written commentaries on many of
Aristotle's works, as well as on the Sentences and Apocalypse s. He
afterwards retired to Hereford, where he was elected warden, and
where he died in 1406 *.
Quedam constitute. (?) 6 Johannis Ede de ordine minorum. Inc. ' Triplex
fuit beneficium abrahe, viz. preeleccio, conversacio, propagacio
. . . Questio utrum personarum accepcio sit peccatum.'
MS. Oxford: — Bodley 815 (=2684 in Bernard) f. 1-8, a fragment
(sec. xv). The MS. (fol. i) contains the note : ' Habetur liber
complete inter fratres minores Hefordie ' (sic) 6.
William Butler or Botellere was regent master of the Minorites
at Oxford in 1401, when he lectured against the translation of the
Bible into English7. He occurs as the thirtieth Provincial Minister and
successor to John Zouche 8. He was probably the person elected by
the Chapter at Oxford on the 3rd of May, 1406, on the deposition of
Zouche9. Though the latter was afterwards restored, he does not
1 Script. 401. alium . . . compilata a fratre Johanne
8 Bale, Script. II, 57. A ' Hugo Lectore Herfordensi ordinis fratrum
Angerius ' flourished in 1338, but he Minorum. This work, though ascribed
was probably not a friar nor an English- by Possevin and Tanner to J. of Here-
man; MS. Bibl. Nat. Paris, No. 5155, ford, is by John Lector of Erfurt.
§ 6. Wadding, Script. 139, Sup. ad Script.
3 ' Dr. J. Ede Herfordensis Minorita 415.
scripsit inter cetera opus egregium, sc. 7 Merton Coll. MSS. No. 67, f. 202
lecturam in apocalypsim lib. I. Ex seq. : at the end, ' Explicit determinacio
scriptis Th. Gascoigne." Bale in MS. fratris et magistri Will. Buttiler ordinis
Seld. sup. 64, fol. 36 b. minorum regentis Oxonie, A.D. 1401.'
4 Leland and Bale, who refer to the 8 Mon. Franc. I, 538, 561.
Catalogus eruditorum Franciscaiwrum. ' Eulog. Hist. Contin. Ill, 405. The
5 ' Opuscula quaedam Theologica,' in year is fixed by the words, 'Nuntius
Bernard's Catalogue. missus inveniens generalem mortuum.'
6 In MSS. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine, 287 Henry of Ast died in 1405. WTadding,
and 288 (sec. XIV) is a Tabula origin- IX, 267.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 255
seem to have been generally recognised in England, and was in 1408
made Bishop of Llandaff 1. Butler's tenure of office seems to have
been reckoned from 1408. A new ordinance was made at this time
that no Provincial of the Minorites should remain in office more
than six years2. William Butler resigned in 1413 or 1414, but was
reinstated by Pope John XXIII s. Whether he actually entered on
his duties again does not appear. The date of his death is unknown.
Bale and Pits state that he was buried at Reading 4. The Catalogue
of Illustrious Franciscans, as quoted by Leland, calls him ' Flos
universitatis temporibus suis.'
Besides the treatise against the English translation of the Bible
(Merton Coll. MS. 67) he is said to have written De indulgentiis
papalibus. Inc. ' Articulus pro finali cessatione lecture sentenciarum' 5.
Vincent Boys, D.D. of Oxford, was elected thirty-first Provincial
on the voluntary retirement of W. Butler in 1413. Butler was
reinstated by the Pope and the election of Boys quashed; but no
stigma was to attach to the latter 6. Tanner mentions a David Boys,
Carmelite, c. I45O7.
Peter Russel was D.D. of Oxford 8, and taught also in Spain. On
November 25th, 1399, Martin, king of Aragon, gave him power
' legend! docendi et dogmatizandi ubique locorum sui regni Artem generalem
ceterosque libros Raymundi Lulli.' 9
He was the thirty- second Provincial of England, and retired from
the office in 1420, having presumably held it for six years10.
He wrote or lectured in defence of Mendicancy. MS. Bodleian,
Digby, 90, f. 200, contains a reply to him :
' Determinacio magistri Johannis Whytheed de Hibernia in materia de
mendicitate contra fratres ; in quo respondet pro Radulpho Archiepiscopo
Armachano contra fratrem Petrum Russel.'
Robert Wellys or Wallys, D.D. of Oxford, was elected thirty-third
Minister on Russel's retirement in 1420. Martin V empowered the
1 Le Neve. Wadding, IX, 320, 499. 5 Bale, in MS. Scld. sup. 64, fol. 215,
* Wadding, IX, 493-4. Cf. Eulog. from MSS. in the Franciscan Friary at
Hist. Cont. Ill, 409. Reading.
3 Wadding, IX, 356, 529 : the papal • Mon. Franc. I, 539, 561 ; Wadding,
letter is dated XVI Kal. Jun. A° IV IX. 356, 529; Wadding calls him 'Bors.'
(May 17, 1414). 7 Bibl. p. 118.
* The list of Provincials in the Reg. 8 Mon. Franc. I, 538.
Fratrum Minorum, London, has ' Frater • Wadding, Sup. ad Script. 608.
Willielmus Butler, doctor Oxoniae, 10 Wadding, X, 53 ; Mon. Franc. I,
jacet . . .' 538, 561.
256 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. ill.
Minister of the Roman province to confirm the election, but Wellys
died in France before he had assumed the duties of his new office1.
Thomas Chayne, Minorite D.D., was one of the five friars
appointed by Congregation in 1421 to decide what should be done
with the pledges placed in the chests ' before the first pestilence2.' He
was buried in the chapel of All Saints in the Church of the Grey
Friars, London3.
Hugo David was D.D. and regent master of the Oxford Francis-
cans about 1 420". On the deposition of Roger Dewe or Days,
Provincial Minister, in 1430, Hugo David and John (?) Wynchelse
were appointed vicars of the province 5.
Determinacio Fratris et Magistri Hugonis Davidis, or dim's Fratrum
Minor um, in Universitate Oxoniensi Regentis, utrum peni tens,
peccata sua confessus Fratri Licentiate, teneatur eadem rursus
confiteri proprio Sacerdoti.
MS. Paris: — Bibl. Nationale, 3221, § 5 (sec. xv).
Robert Colman is said to have been a Minorite of Norwich6.
He was S.T.P. and Chancellor of the University in 1419 7. In 1428
he attended as Minorite D.D. the diocesan synod at Norwich, where
inquisition was made into the heresies of William Whyte 8. He is
said to have induced Walter Clopton, Knight, chief justice of England,
to enter the Order in his old age 9. Leland says :
' Illud non est silentio praetereundum, catalogum illustrium Franciscan orum
accurate Colemannum laudare, ac peritissimum carminis pronunciare ' 10.
Matthias Doring studied at Oxford in his youth ", and perhaps
entered the Franciscan Order there. He was certainly a Minorite in
1 Mon. Franc, ut supra. Wadding, ° Bale, Pits, &c. Clopton was chief
X, 53. justice under Richard II ; see e. g. Close
2 Mun. Acad. 274-5 (R.S.). Roll, 13 Ric. II, part 2, m. 4, in dorso.
3 MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, fol. 277 10 Leland, Script. 433.
'. . . jacet in piano frater Thomas u His epitaph contains the lines :
Cheyny, doctor theologie.' 'Anglia gaudet eum doctum fecisse
4 MS. Bibl. Nat. Paris, 3221, § 5. magistrum,
5 Wadding, X, 169 : perhaps Thomas
Wynchelse, who in 1427, • famosissimus Inhibit Oxonie musis nova pocula
doctor illius ordinis reputabatur ; ' the morum.'
only John Wynchelse, Minorite, men- See B. Gebhardt, Matthias Doring der
tioned elsewhere, died a novice about Minorit, Sybel's Hist. Ztschr. for 1888,
1326. See notice of him. pp. 251, 293-4. Most of the statements
6 Bale, I, 563. Blomfield, Norfolk, here are derived from Gebhardt's article,
IV, 115. a general reference to which will suffice.
7 Le Neve, Fasti, Vol. III. Wood, Cf. Wadding, Annales, XI, 49, 180;
Hist, et Antiq. Oxon, II, 404. XII, 276, &c.
8 Fascic. Zizan. p. 417.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 257
1422, when he matriculated at Erfurt as 'lector Minorum'1. He
seems to have been lecturing in the Franciscan Convent at Erfurt
some time before this event ; his lectures on the first book of the
Sentences were finished on April 2ist, 1422. He may have been at
Oxford about 1415 and perhaps took the degree of B.D. there. In
1423, at any rate, he appears as B.D., and became Provincial Minister
of Saxony in 1427*. He was one of the representatives of the
University of Erfurt at the Council of Basel in 1432, where he played
a leading part3. In 1433 he was sent by the Council as ambassador
to Eric, king of Denmark. Soon after this he returned to Erfurt. In
1438 he wrote a pamphlet entitled ' Confutatio primatus papaej with
the object of enlisting the support of the secular princes on the side of
the Council against the pope. He seems himself to have been a
trusted friend of his Margraf, Frederic of Thiiringen.
In his relations to his Order he appears as a consistent champion
of the Conventuals against the stricter Observants. In 1443 he was
elected General Minister of the former, and held the office till 1449.
In 1455 his name occurs among the Conventual Provincial Ministers;
after a struggle with the Archbishop of Magdeburg on behalf of the
Conventuals he resigned the Provincialate in 1461, and retired to
Kyritz, leaving the Archbishop in possession of the field. Doring
however seems to have been left in peace till his death, July 24th, 1469.
His chief works besides the treatise already mentioned were a defence
of Nicholas de Lyra against Paul Burgos, written between 1434 and
1440 (printed several times; e.g. at Basel, 1507); a defence of the
miraculous blood of Wilsnach ; and his Chronicle ; the latter was
compiled from notes taken at different times from the end of the
thirties onwards; and embraces the period from 1420 to 1464. It
has been twice edited, by Mencken and by Riedel ; both editions are
said to be inaccurate.
William Bussell, ' of the Convent of Stamford in the diocese of
Lincoln/ argued that a religious might lie with a woman without
mortal sin; this thesis was discussed and condemned in the Con-
vocation of Canterbury at St. Paul's on October i2th, 1424, and
1 Ibid. p. 251. Weissenbom, Aden temporalia quae Sylvestri a Constantino
der Erfurttr Univ. part I, p. 122. aint collata, in concilio Basiliensi 1432
a Anal. Franc. II, 287. ad disputandum proposita.' Gebhardt,
* He brought forward a ' propositio 257. Several of his discourses at the
circa Hussitarum articulum ; de Dona- Council are preserved in Balliol Coll.
tione Constantini, num justo titulo MSS. 164, 165.
clerici possideant bona Ecclesiarum
258 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Russell submitted to the decision of the clergy1. On May 15th, 1425,
he again appeared before Convocation to answer the charge of
having publicly held and preached on Jan. 28th, 1425, that tithes need
not be paid to the parish priest, but might be applied by the tithe-
payer ' in pios usus pauperum ' 2. At this time Russell was warden of
Friars Minors of London 3. At first he tried to defend his doctrine,
then submitted. The Archbishop enjoined on him, as a penance,
that he should next Sunday after service solemnly renounce his error
in set form * at Paul's Cross. At the time appointed Russell did not
appear and was in consequence excommunicated. The proceedings
against him dragged on for some time. On July nth, a letter of the
University of Oxford in condemnation of his doctrines was exhibited,
and later a similar letter from Cambridge; and on the i3th it was
decreed
' that he should be judged and condemned as a heretic and schismatic.'
Meanwhile, Russell, now no longer warden, fled to Rome ' to defende
the forsaide erronye doctrine'5. On August 1 2th, 1425, he was im-
prisoned by order of the Pope, first in the Pope's, then in the 'SoldanV
prison. The following January he escaped from prison and fled to
England, where he was received for one night by the Friars Minors of
London. He seems to have remained at large for more than a year.
He surrendered or was captured in March, 1427, and on the 2ist of
that month, in accordance with the papal decision, he read in English
a complete recantation of his doctrine on tithes at Paul's Cross 6, and
was then handed over to the Bishop of London to be imprisoned
during the Pope's pleasure. He was at liberty again in 1429 when he
incepted as D.D. at Oxford, and paid £10 to the University instead
of giving a feast to the Regents7. The University showed its
hatred of his teaching by adding to the oaths which had to be
1 Twyne MS. XXIV, p. 129 (from supposyng ther to have be socured.'
Reg. Chichele, part II, fol. 35). Ibid. 457.
a ' Into pitous use of pore men.' ' Ibid. 457-8.
Wilkins, Cone. Ill, 456. The whole 7 If it be the same, but he is here
process against Russell will be found in described as an Austin Friar. See the
Wilkins, Cone. Ill, 438-462. receipt for the £10, executed hi the
3 Ibid. 434. Cf. Mon. Franc. I, 520: names of the proctors, and dated Feb.
'ad has expensas (i.e. for the tiling of i, 14!$, in Oxf. Univ. Archives, F 4,
a roof in the London convent) dedit f. 15. ' Noverint universi per presentes
gardianus Russell iii libras.' nos . . . recepisse . . . de Fratre Willelmo
* Given in English, Wilkins, Cone. Russell ordinis Augustinencium decem
III, 438. iibras sterlingorum virtute cujusdam
s Ibid. 456. Russell says himself, grade sibi concesse de commutacione
' Y . . . went to the court of Rome convivii debiti in die incepcionis sue.'
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 259
taken by every inceptor in every faculty1, a disavowal of Russell's
teaching on tithes 2. The oath has already been quoted at length
in Chapter VI.
Super Porphyrii Universalia compendium, by William Russell, Friar
Minor.
Comment, in Aristotelis Praedicamenta, anonymous, but probably by
the same author.
MS. Oxford : — Corpus Christi Coll. 126, fol. i, and fol. 4.
William de Melton in 1427 went about the country preaching
against tithes,
' and teaching seditious doctrines among the common people in many places
by uncircumcised words.'
He had probably taken a degree at Oxford, as the University
was appealed to to stop his preaching. The University wrote to
the Duke of Gloucester and the King's Council, and secured his
arrest. Melton was brought back to Oxford, and is said to have
recanted over and over again on his knees3. He is probably the
same as William Melton of the Friars Minors, S.T.P.4, who was
preaching at York in 1426, on the subject of the mystery plays.
' He commended the play to the people, affirming that it was good in
itself and very laudable ; but for several reasons he induced the people to
have the play on one day and the Corpus Christi procession on the second,
so that the people might be able to come to the churches on the festival ' 8.
Roger Donwe or Days, D.D. of Oxford, became thirty-fifth
Provincial Minister in succession to John David between 1426
and 1430; in the latter year he was 'for just causes deposed by
the Minister General.' He was buried at Ware 6.
Richard Leke or Leech, D.D. of Oxford, was thirty-sixth Pro-
vincial Minister between 1430 and 1438. He was buried at Lichfield7.
1 Mun. Acad. 376. Toulmin Smith, p. xxxiv (the extract is
a Ibid. 370, note I. Wood, Annals, from the York City Records, Book A,
PP- 569-570- fol. 269).
3 Wood, Annals, sub anno 1427. * Mon. Franc. I, 539, 561. Wadding,
Correspondence of Bekynton (R. S.), X, 169. ' Friar Roger Dewe.' Wilkins
Vol. II, pp. 248-250. (Cone. Ill, 458) prints a letter from
4 ' Sacre pagine professor.' Drake, Archbishop Chichele to ' fratri Johanni
Eboracum, App. 29, translates this, David S.T.P.etordinisfratrumMinorum
' professor of holy pageantry.' This in Anglia ministro general!,' dated
curious mistake is repeated by the March 2, 1425, 'et nostrae translations
editor of Mon. Franc. Vol. II, preface, anno Xli' — i. e. 1426, new style.
p. xxviii. 7 Mon. Franc, ibid. Wadding, XI, 49.
5 York Mystery Plays, by Lucy
S 2
260 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Thomas Radnor or Radnor, of the custody of Bristol and the
Convent of Hereford, D.D. of Oxford, was Provincial in 1438, being
the thirty-seventh in order. He was buried at Reading \
John Feckyngtone, ' of the Order of Minors in Oxford/ was one
of the two Rectors of Balliol College in 1433, his colleague being
Richard Roderham, S.T.P. The Rectors, having, at the instance of
the College, inquired into the working of the statutes, recommended a
change in the clause of the first statute which provided that the Master
of the College, if he received a benefice of the clear annual value of
£ i o, was thereby incapacitated from holding his office.
' In witness whereof, because our seals are known to few, we have procured
that the seal of the Chancellor of the University of Oxford should be
appended to these presents. Given at Merton College, April 19, 1433 ' 2.
The matter was submitted to the Bishop of London, who cancelled
the objectionable clause 3.
John Whytwell, Minorite, on February 7th, 144$, was allowed
to count twenty oppositions pro completa opposition* 4. On January 25th,
14^$, it was decided in solemn congregation, that one-half of the
£10 paid by this friar at his inception as D.D. should be placed in the
Rothbury Chest to be used for the partial redemption of the University
jewels, and that the other half should be given to the proctors in pay-
ment of certain sums owed to them by the University 5.
John Argentine supplicated for B.D. on October 20th, 1449, on
the ground that he had studied philosophy for nine years, theology
for seven, and had opposed and responded formally four times. The
grace was conceded6. In 1470 a John Argentine challenged and
disputed against all the Regents of Cambridge ; he does not appear
to have been a friar 7 : he was probably the John Argentine, M.D.
and D.D., who was physician to the princes Edward and Arthur, and
held several prebends and livings in the dioceses of Ely, Lichfield,
1 Mon. Franc, ibid. Wadding, XI, * Register, A a, fol. 33 b.
49, in Registro Ordinis (says the latter) 5 Ibid. f. 7. (Boase, p. 287.)
is a list of the ' Rectors of the Pro- ' Reg. A a, fol. 36.
vinces,' A. D. 1438 : in England ' Ma- 7 MS. Cott. Julius F VII, f. 165 :
gister Thomas Roidnor. ' Actus magistri Jo. Argentyn publice
2 Original in Ball. Coll. Archives tentus in Univ. Cantebrigie,' &c. in
(described in Hist. MSS. Com. Report, verse. Above, some notes are written :
IV, p. 443). ' natus de Kyrkeby,' ' de collegio Regis
3 Statutes of the Oxford Colleges, in (Cantebrigia ?).'
Vol. I, Balliol, p. xx.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 261
Wells, and London, between 1487 and 1508 l. One of the same name,
with the degree of B.D. was Provost of King's College, Cambridge,
from 1501 to 1507*.
Antony de Valle or Vallibus was admitted B.D., February 6th,
i4*$3. He incepted as D.D. before March 2 2nd, 145^, when he was
permitted
' to absent himself from every scholastic act for a fortnight, that he might
be able to visit his friends who were sick ' 4.
John David, on March 4th, 145°, was allowed to curtail his
period of opponency and take the B.D. degree, on condition that
he would lecture on the first book of Isaiah in the public schools 5.
He became D.D. before June 5th, 1454, when he received permission
' to resume his ordinary lectures after the feast of St. Thomas next ensuing
(Ju'y 3rd), and to resume the acts of a Regent, except entry into the house
of Congregation ' 6.
Another of the same name was lecturer to the Franciscans of Here-
ford before 1416, D.D. of Cambridge, and thirty-fourth Provincial
Minister in I4267.
David Carrewe, S.T.P., in 1452 received 6s. 8d. under the will of
Richard Browne, alias Cordon, LL.D., Archdeacon of Rochester, &c.,
and benefactor of the friars of Oxford and elsewhere 8. This Carrewe
is probably identical with the Friar David Carron, S.T.P., who, in
1448, was with Friar Nicholas Walshe, S.T.B., appointed commissioner
to elect a Provincial of the Minorites in Ireland on the deposition of
William O' Really : their choice fell on Gilbert Walshe, a relative of
Nicholas, but O'Really was afterwards reinstated by the Pope 9.
John Foxholes (co. York) on April i4th, 1451, was allowed to
count opponency from Michaelmas term to Easter as his complete
opposition, on condition that he should preach one Latin sermon in
addition to those which he was bound to deliver by the University
statutes 10 ; this was equivalent to a supplication for B.D.
1 Tanner, Bibl. 48 ; Le Neve, Fasti, III, 459.
I, 597, 587, 620. 8 Man. Acad. p. 649. In the will of
3 Le Neve, III, 683. R. Mertherderwa (A. D. 1447) mention
3 Reg. A a, fol. 2. is made of a friar David Cam Domini-
4 Ibid. fol. 62 b. can, S.T.P. of Oxford ; Ibid. p. 558.
* Reg. A a, fol. 51 b. • Wadding, Ann. Min. XII, 10-11,
• Ibid. fol. 83. who adds, ' I have these from certain
7 Harl. MS. 431, fol. loob; Mon. Vatican records.'
Franc. I, 539, 551; \Vilkins, Concil. I0 Reg. A a, fol. 53.
262 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
We venture to identify John Foxholes with John Foxalls or
Foxal, Minorite, who lectured at Bologna and some other Uni-
versity1. In 1475 he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh by the
Pope, but died in England within a year or two, probably without
having visited his diocese 2.
He was the author of several works s —
Expositio Universalium Scott, Inc. ' Creberrime instantiusque
rogatus.'
Printed at Venice, 1508 and 1512, under the name Joannes Anglicus.
Opusculum super libros Posteriorum.
MS. Paris : — Bibl. Nationale, 6667 (A.D. 1501).
Printed at Venice, 1509 (?).
Opusculum de primis et secundis intentionibus, juxta mentem Scott,
Mqyronis, Aureoli, Boneti^ et Antonii Andreae. Inc. ' Quoniam
materia de primis.'
MS. Florence, dim Bibl. S. Crucis (nunc Bibl. Laurent. ?).
Expositio super melaphysicam Antonii Andreae.
MS. olim penes Wadd'mgum *.
John Sunday, on May i7th, 1453, was allowed to count 'opposi-
tion in each of the schools ' for about seven months, together with
eighteen additional oppositions, as equivalent to the statutable opposi-
tion of one year5. On June zoth, he was admitted B.D.6 On
February 5th, 145!, a^ter finishing his lectures on the Sentences, he
supplicated for D.D., and grace to incept was conceded under certain
conditions 7.
Richard Treners, S.T.B., obtained a grace on December znd, 1454,
to substitute one additional Latin sermon after taking his degree (of
D.D.) for two responsions before the degree 8.
William Goddard the elder, ' Doctor Oxoniae Disertissimus/
succeeded Thomas Radnor, according to the Register of the Grey
Friars of London, as thirty-eighth Provincial Minister 9. Radnor was
1 ' Dum Bononiae legebam,' quoted * Wadding, Script. 20 ; Sup. ad
by Sbaralea ; Wadding, Sup. ad Script. Script. 68, 420.
420. 8 Reg. A a, fol. 74 b.
2 Cotton, Fasti Eccles. Hibern. Ill, * Ibid. fol. 75.
17. T Ibid. fol. 79 b, printed in Appendix.
3 Sbaralea has collected from his 8 Ibid. fol. 86 b.
extant works references to works not as ' Mon. Franc. I, 539. English Hist,
yet discovered; Wadding, Sup. ad Review, Oct. 1891.
Script., 420.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 263
minister in 1438, and it is probable that Goddard was not his
immediate successor. At any rate, the latter was a leading man among
the friars, and probably provincial minister between 1450 and 1460.
Bishop Reginald Pecock wrote a letter addressed Doctori ordinis
fratrum minorum Godard, in which
' he calls the modern preachers pulpit-bawlers (clamatores in pulpitis) ' \
A little later, the friar had his revenge. On November 27th, 1457,
Pecock, being convicted of heretical opinions, abjured at Paul's Cross.
' And doctor William Gooddard the elder, that was provinciall of the Grey-
freeres, apechyd hym of hys erysys ' \
He was living in London many years after this event. In the will,
dated March 6th, 147^, of John Crosby, 'citezein and grocer and
alderman of London,' is the clause :
' Item, I bequeth to maister Godard thelder doctoure of dyvynyte to pray
for my soule C8 ' 3.
Similar bequests follow to the prior of the Austin Friars of London
and to the provincial of the same Order. From this entry it would
appear that Goddard was not provincial of the Minorites in 1472.
From the distinguished position which he evidently occupied in 1457,
and from the passage in the Grey Friars' Chronicle quoted. above, it
might be assumed that he had already held the office and retired. But
William Goddard is mentioned as provincial in a record dated Dor-
chester, October 4th, 1485*. Was this Goddard senior or junior"!
For there were two Franciscans of this name in the fifteenth century.
There is nothing to show that the younger Goddard was ever provin-
cial minister ; he was warden of the London convent, but was not
buried in the choir, where all the ministers mentioned in the Register
were buried 5. Further, the Register of the Grey Friars states that the
younger Goddard died on September 26th, 1485, i.e. before the record
was drawn up. The Register is, however, in the matter of dates
absolutely untrustworthy. Without further evidence it seems impossible
1 Gascoigne, Loci e libra veritatum, * Francis a S. Clara, Hist. Minor, pp.
p. 100. Tanner (Bibl. p. 584) gives a 37-8.
reference to this letter: 'MS. in BibL * MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, f. 282 b.
Gualteri Copi.' It is probably still ' In capella Apostolorum ... in medio
among the MSS. at Bramshill House, sub lapide jacet ffrater Willelmus Good-
Hants. The date of the letter is not ard sacre theologie doctor gardianus loci
given. et precipuus benefactor ejusdem qui
3 Chronicle of the Grey Friars of obiit 26° die mensis Septembris, A. D.
London (Camden Soc.), p. 20. 1485.' On fol. 310 he is called ' frater
3 P.C.C. VValtys, fol. 180 a. Willelmus Goddard junior.'
264 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
to decide with certainty which of the two was provincial in 1485 ; and,
if it was the elder, whether he held office twice. William Goddard the
elder was buried in the choir of the Franciscan Church in London.
' Ad cujus (Johannis Hastyng', comitis Pembrochie) dexteram in piano sub
lapide jacet venerabilis pater et frater Willelmus Goddard doctor egregius
et ordinis fratrum minorum in anglia Minister benemeritus. Qui obiit 30°
die Mensis Octobris a° domini 1437 ' l.
Aqua rite secundum doctrinam magistri Godard per Johannem Grene
medicum scriptum ; a short receipt in English.
MS. Brit. Mus. :— Sloane 4, p. 77 (c. A. D. 1468).
Richard Ednam supplicated on January 27th, 145-$, that eight
oppositions should stand for the complete opposition required by the
statutes 2 ; the grace was conceded without conditions, and Ednam was
admitted B.D., November 28th, 1455*. On April 2nd, 1462, he
supplicated for D.D., promising to pay £10 on the day of his incep-
tion ; the grace to incept was granted on condition
' that he should incept within a year and give the Regents the usual
livery ' *.
He did not take advantage of this grace, and on May 24th, 1463, he
again supplicated for D.D. ; the grace was conceded on condition
' that he should incept before the feast of St. Thomas (July 3rd), pay ^15
on the day of his inception, and give a separate livery to the Regents at his
own expense ' 8.
He was at this time clearly not in the position of a simple mendicant.
In March, 146^ he was made Bishop of Bangor6. The next year7
he was allowed to appropriate a benefice ' owing to the smallness of
the income of the episcopal table.' He died in 1496 8.
Gundesalvus (Gonsalvo) of Portugal was admitted to oppose
in theology in April, 1456*. In February, 1457-, he supplicated
that he might reckon the two terms, during which he had been
opponent, as a year, and proceed to the bachelor's degree10. On May
29th, 1459, having performed the exercises required for the doctor's
1 MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, fol. 274 b. 5 Reg. A a fol. 128 ; see App.
The date is obviously wrong. In the * Le Neve, Fasti, I, 103.
margin 1497 is written in a later hand, 7 'xix Kal. Feb. anno 1466.' Wad-
but crossed out. ding, Vol. XIII, p. 356.
3 Reg. A a, fol. 87 b. * Le Neve, ut supra.
3 Boase, Reg. p. 24. 9 Reg. A a, fol. 14 b.
* Reg. A a, fol. 122; see App. 10 Ibid. fol. 101 b.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 2,6$
degree, he supplicated for grace to incept in theology, 'notwithstanding
that he had not ruled in Arts.' The grace was conceded on condition
that he should incept in the first week of the next term, and
'give a livery, i.e. cultellos, according to the ancient custom, to all the
Regents ' J.
Among the Observant friars of Portugal who died in 1504 to 1505
was
' venerandus pater frater Gundisalvus, qui bis Vicarius Provincial is fuit ' 2.
Gundesialvi Libri de Divisione Philosophiae, Bodl. MS. 2596 (Bernard)
are probably not by this friar : cf. Cambridge MSS. No. 1025
(in Bernard) : and Bibl. Nat. Paris, 16613 ' Gumdissalvi Liber de
anima ' (sec. xiii).
John Alien, B.D. of Cambridge, was on December ist, 1459, in-
corporated as B.D. at Oxford under the following conditions: (i) he
was to respond twice in the first year of his incorporation, and (2) to
preach once to the University in the same period; (3) he was to pay
4oj. to the building of the schools, and (4) oppose twice before his in-
corporation. The last two conditions were on the same day withdrawn
at Alien's request 3. He may be the same as Friar John Alen, S.T.P.,
sometime warden of the convent at London, where he was buried, in
the Chapel of All Saints *.
Richard Bodnore and Roby,' friars of the Order of St. Fran-
cis,' at Oxford, had a quarrel in 1461, in consequence of which Roby
procured from the Archbishop of Canterbury an inhibition to prevent
Rodnore being admitted to the degree of D.D. At the inception on
June 27th, 1461, the Commissary refused to recognise the inhibition,
Rodnore took his degree, and three persons who had been employed
in presenting the Archbishop's command were imprisoned by the Con-
gregation of Regents as ' disturbers of peace and violators of privileges,'
and suspended from their office in the University5.
Laurentius Gulielmi6 de Savona, a man of noble birth, and friar
of the Province of Genoa, was for five years a pupil of Friar Francis
1 Reg. A a, fol. 117; printed in Mun. de capella Johannes (sic) ducis Bed-
Acad. 755. fordie et in eodem loco jacent frater
2 Anal. Franc. II, 536. Johannes Alen S.T.P. quondam gar-
' Reg. A a, fol. 119. dianus loci films Johannis Alen,' &c.
* MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, fol. 277. • Mun. Acad. 683.
' Sub secunda parte tercie fenestre jacet * Wadding adds ' de Traversagnis ; '
Johannes Alen pater Magistri quondam Script. 160 ; Ann. Vol. XIV, p. 232.
266
THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
[CH. III.
of Savona(whoin 1471 became PopeSixtus IV), at Padua and Bologna1.
After this Laurentius lectured at Paris and Oxford2. In 1478 he was
at Cambridge, writing on rhetoric 3. In April, 1485, he dates a letter
to William Waynflete, in praise of his foundation of Magdalen College,
' in almo Conventu S. Francisci Londonii/ where also he seems to have
written his Triumphus Amor is Domini nostri Jesu Christi*. He
subsequently returned to Savona, where he died in 1495 at the age of
eighty-one 5.
His treatise Nova Rhetorica or Margarita eloquentice, &c., was
printed at St. Albans in 1480".
Arenga fratris Gwilhelmi Sauonensis de epistolis faciendis. Inc.
' Conquestus mecum es.'
MS. Munich: — Bibl. Regia, 5238 (sec. xv).
Fratris Laurentii Gulelmi de Traversagnis de Saona, ord. Min., S.
Pag. Prof., in libros septem dialogorum, sive diredorium vitae
humanae, seu directorium mentis in Deum. Inc. prol. ' Quum
plures nationes:' written at Savona, 1492 7.
MS. Venice :— St. Mark, Vol. IV, CI. x. Cod. 246.
Isaac Cusack, or Cusag, in 1473, obtained letters from the
University testifying to his learning and good conduct, and certifying
that he had incepted as D.D., and
' laudably fulfilled his regency and all that pertains to the solemnity of such
a degree.'
Armed with this testimonial, he went over to Ireland with a Dominican
named Dionisius Tully ; and the two friars
' preached publickly that Christ preached from door to door, that Pope
John was a Heretic, and such like, telling the People withal, that they in
their proceedings had been encouraged by the University of Oxford.'
In 1 482 the University, hearing of their doings, had them arrested with
1 Wadding, ibid, and Sup. ad Script.
484.
8 Ibid. His connexion with Oxford
may be inferred from his Epistola nun-
cupatoria to Waynflete, in which he
speaks of the site, building, library, &c.,
of Magdalen College, Lambeth MS.
450; Wharton, Anglia Sacra, I, 326.
3 See explicit of his Rhetorica (ed.
1 480) : ' compilatum autem fuit hoc
opus in Alma universitate Cautabrigie,
A.D. 1478, die et 6 Julii.'
* Lambeth MS. ut supra.
5 Wadding, Script. 161.
6 Macray, Annals of the Bodleian,
and edition, p. 376, says 1489.
7 See also Wadding, Script, 160,
1 6 1 . ' Habentur ejus monumenta Saonae
apud Minores MSS. . . . Magnam lib-
rorum copiam eo in conventu coacer-
vavit.'
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 267
the co-operation of the Archbishop of Dublin, and sent back to Oxford.
Being convicted of heresy, they were (according to Wood)
'after recantation degraded and rejected the University as vagabonds.'
There seems to be no authority for Wood's surmise, that they were
afterwards reconciled to the University ' by their complaints to great
persons ' *.
William Dysse in 1477 represented the Friars Minors of Oxford
in the Court of Chancery. He may have been warden, more proba-
bly permanent or temporary ' syndicus ' of the house 2.
Menolaus (Menma) McCormic or McCarmacan is said to have
studied at Oxford. He was promoted to the see of Raphoe in 1484,
died on May 9, 1515 or 1516, and was buried in the Minorite Convent
of Donegal 3.
— Wyjht. The proctors in their accounts for the year ending
April 17, 1482,
* reddunt compotum de compositionibus 4 Doctorum Theologie, viz.
Morgan, Browne, et Richeford, fratrum ordinis predicatorum, et Wyjht
ordinis minorum, 26U 13" 4d.'4
Mauritius de Portu, or O'Fihely, a native of County Cork,
studied first at Oxford, then became regent of the Franciscan Schools
at Milan in 1488, and regent doctor in theology at Padua in 1491,
where he was honoured with the title of ' Flos Mundi.' He was
minister of Ireland in 1506 and took a prominent part in deposing
the General, ^Egidius Delphinus, in the first capitulum generalissimum
at Rome in that year. In 1506 also, he was made Archbishop of
Tuam by Julius II. He was present at the Lateran Council in 1512,
and died the next year; he was buried among the Grey Friars of
Galway 6.
1 Wood, Annals, Vol. I. p. 638. celland'tenoremirrotnlamentilitteranim
Oxf. Univ. Archives, F 4, f. 123!), predictarum ad requisicionem prefati
145 a (Letter 313). Willelmi duximus exemplificand' per
3 PaL 17 Edw. IV, Part II, m. 28. presentes. In cnjus, &c. T. R. apud
His business related to the royal grant Westmonasterium XIIIJ die Novembris.'
of 50 marks a year. ' Nos autem, pro 3 Cotton, Fasti Eccles. Hibera. Ill,
eo quod littere predicte casualiter sunt 349-
amisse, sicut ffrater Willelmus Dysse * Wood MS. D 2, p. 340.
coram nobis in Cancellaria nostra per- 5 Wood, Athenae, I, 16-18 ; Wad-
sonaliter constitutus sacramcntum pres- ding, Ann. Vol. XV, pp. 3I2> 423- ^e
titit corporale, et quod idem frater is said also to have superintended for
Willelmus litteras illas si eas imposterum some years the press which Ottaviano
reperiri contigerit nobis in eandem Can- Scotto opened at Venice in 1480; Cotton,
cellariam nostram restituet ibidem can- Fasti Eccles. 1 libcrn. IV, p. 1 1 .
268 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
For his writings, most of which have been printed, see Tanner, Bibl.
p. 605, Wood, Athenae I, 16-18. They relate for the most part to works
of Duns Scotus, ' whom (Wood remarks) he had in so great veneration that
he was in a manner besotted with his subtilties.' The Distinctiones or dine
alphabetico by ' Frater Mauricius Anglus' cannot be by Mauritius de Portu;
they exist e.g. in a fourteenth-century MS. in the British Museum (Royal
10 B. xvi), and in a thirteenth-century MS. at Paris1.
Petrus Pauli de Nycopia, friar, who transcribed a work of Duns
Scotus at Oxford, c. 1491, was probably a Minorite2.
John Percevall, D.D. of Oxford, was Provincial Minister about
i5oos. There appears to have been a contemporary writer of the
same name, a Carthusian, who studied at Oxford and Cambridge.
Among those buried in the choir of the Grey Friars, London,
' in piano sub lapide jacet venerabilis pater et frater Johannes Persevall
doctor egregius et ordinis minorum in anglia minister qui obiit 16 die
Mensis Decembris, A° Domini 1505° ' 4.
Thomas Roger, warden of the Grey Friars of Gloucester, is
mentioned in the following record of the Chancellor's Court ; it is to
be regretted that no explanation of the circumstances is forthcoming.
'Ultimo Februarii 1499 ( = Feb. 29th, 1500) W. Botehill de Gloucestre,
scitatus coram nobis ad instanciam fratris Thome Roger gardiani fratrum
minorum Gloucestrie, prestitit juramentum corporale quod ipse in persona
sua propria comparebit Gloucestrie responsurus obiciendis sibi pro parte
dicti Gardiani et hoc citra ffestum Pasche proximum ' 6.
John Kynton is once only described as a Minorite in the records.
' Eodem die (October 24th, 1507) Thomas Clarke executor testamenti
Joannis Falley promisit se soluturum domino doctori Kynton ordinis
Minorum xxvi8 viiid V
He was senior theokgus in 1503, and acted as commissary or
Vice-Chancellor in 1503, 1504, 1507, 1510, 1512, 1513; 'Dr.
Kyngton, senior theologusj was commissary in I5327. Kynton
preached the University sermon on Easter Sunday in 1 5 1 5 8. He
1 MS. BibL Mazarine, 1019; the * Wood, Athenae Oxon. I, 5-6.
author is here called ' Frater Mauricius Cooper, Athenae Cantab. I, pp. 6, 521.
Belvacensis ordinis fratrum Minorum.' MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, fol. 275.
a MS.C.C.C. Oxford, 227, f. i : ' Ex- Mon. Franc. I, 539.
pliciunt questiones doctoris subtil is super 5 Acta Cur. Cancell. Q, f. 30.
secundo et tertio de anima Oxonie scripte ' Acta Cur. Cancell. Q, f. 28.
per fratrem Petrnm Pauli de Nycopia. T Ibid. f. 27,49 b, 54, 78 : 1, f. io6b;
Lord Jhesu mercy.' Cf. notice of EEE f. 159. Boase, Register, p. 161 ;
William Vavasour. cf. 296.
3 According to Wood he became * Acta Cur. Cancell. 'i , f. 263.
D.D. about 1500, Fasti, 6.
CH.IH.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 269
was Divinity reader to Magdalen College, and afterwards third
Margaret Professor of Divinity : the latter post he resigned on October
5th, 1530 1. He was one of the theologians deputed by the University
to confer with Wolsey on the condemnation of Luther's books in
1521 ; he was further one of the committee appointed by the king's
command to examine more thoroughly the Lutheran doctrines at
Oxford in the same year2. He also took a prominent official, though
not very decisive, part in the proceedings at Oxford in connexion with
the king's divorce s. He was buried in Durham College Chapel ;
' for,' writes Wood, ' on a little gravestone there, yet remaining, is written
this : " Obiit Johannes Kynton, Frater Minor, sacrae Theologiae professor,
20 Januar. 1535 " V
John Smyth, B.D., on June 3Oth, 1506, obtained grace to incept
with the condition
1 that he shall say the mass Salus populi thrice for the good estate of the
regents.'
In January, 150^, he supplicated for the same grace, which was
granted,
' conditionata quod habet studium 4or annorum in sacra theologia post
gradum bacallariatus.'
He was licensed on January 22nd, and incepted on January 26th,
under Richard Kidderminster, Abbat of Winchcombe, paying £5 for
his composition. In July 1507, he was dispensed from the duty of
' deponing ' for that term, and in June 1 508 he was allowed to post-
pone a sermon till the next term 5.
John Hadley was B.D. in June, 1 506 6.
Christopher Studeley supplicated for B.D. on November i8th,
1 506, after studying for ten years. He was buried at the Grey Friars,
London, ' between the choir and the altars.'
' Et ad capud ejus (i. e. J. Seller, D.D. warden of London) sub lapide jacet
frater Xpoforus Studley electus [gardianus?] qui obiit 10 die mensis
Marcii A.D. 157° (sic) '7.
1 Wood, Athenae, 94. B ; see also EEE, fol. 265 a.
3 Wood, ibid. Lyte, 456. 5 Reg. G 6, fol. 22 b, 27 b, 29 b, 30,
8 Lyte, 475. 31 b, 43, 58 b.
4 Wood, ibid. Several other refer- • Reg. G 6, fol. 18. R. Hadley was
ences to him are found in the records of one of the Observants qui fugam
the Chancellor's Court : his servant, petierunt in 1534 ; Cal. of State
William Cooper, was convicted of an Papers, Hen. VIII, Vol. VII, No.
assault on a scholar in 1509, Acta Cur. 1607.
Cancell. "5, f. 94 b; in 1513 he took T Reg. G 6, f. 26 b. MS. Cott.
Richard Leke into his service. See App. Vitell. F, XII, fol. 288.
2 ;o THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Ambrose Kell, Friar Minor, and scholar of theology, in March,
150^, obtained from Congregation the right of free entry into the
University library on taking an oath not to injure the books 1.
Gerard Smyth, on May 4th, 1507, obtained grace to oppose and
proceed to the B.D. degree, after fifteen years' study, on condition
' quod legat tres primas questiones Scoti ' 2.
He was admitted B.D. on February 6th, i5o|3. He was still B.D.
in 1510, when he was appointed to preach the University sermon on
Ash Wednesday *.
Brian Sandon, Sandey, or Sanden was Syndicus, legal advocate
and bursar of the Franciscan Convent at Oxford from 1507 or before
till the dissolution. A sketch of his career has already been given 5.
Peter Lusetanus, or de Campo Portugaliensis, supplicated for
B.D. on June i5th, 1506, after studying for eight years. He was
admitted to oppose on May roth, 1507, and appears as B.D. in the
following March. He supplicated for D.D. in June
John Banester supplicated for B.D. on October 24th, 1508, after
studying for sixteen years ' in universitate et extra'.
' Hec est concessa conditionata, una quod habet studium 6 annorum in
universitate ; alia quod predicet semel preter formam in ecclesia b.
Virginis'7.
Thomas Rose, scholar of theology, was admitted to oppose on
March 150$ 8.
Thomas Anyden as B.D. supplicated for D.D. on November 2Oth,
1507 : the grace was conceded on condition that he would proceed
before next Easter. On the same day, at his request, the condition
was graciously cancelled. He was still B.D. in December, 1512. He
is probably identical with ' Thomas Anneday, frater ordinis minorum
et Inceptor in s. theologia,' who supplicated on April i2th, 1513,
' quatinus graciose secum dispensetur sic quod solvat tantum septem marcas
de compositione sua, causa est quia est pauper et habet paucos amicos.'
1 Reg. G 6, f. 35 a. Boase, p. 46.
8 Ibid. fol. 39. 7 Reg. G 6, fol. 61 b.
3 Ibid. fol. 51 b. 8 Reg. G 6, fol. 72 (two entries about
* Acta Cur. Cane. 1, fol. 264 b; the him). Another Thomas Rose, born c.
entry is crossed out. 1488, is mentioned by Foxe (Acts and
8 See Part I, chapter VII, where refer- Monuments, VIII, 581-590); he was
ences will be found. a priest but not a friar (ibid. 585).
• Reg. G 6, fol. 1 8 b, 39 b, 55.
CH. in.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 2JI
' Friar Thomas Any day' incepted July 4th, with three other Minorites,
and paid the above sum 1.
Hoduricus admitted to oppose in theology, June i2th, 1509; he
is perhaps the same as Roderic Witton, Franciscan, mentioned by Pits
and Tanner2.
Walter Goldsmyth was appointed to preach on Ash Wednesday,
John Tinmouth, or Maynelyn, Franciscan of Lynn, was educated
at Oxford and Cambridge. He was warden of the Grey Friars of
Colchester in 1493. ^n I511 he resigned the rectory of Ludgershall,
Bucks. In 1510 he had been made suffragan bishop of Lincoln with
the title bishop of Argos ; he held this office till his death. He was
vicar of Boston in Lincolnshire in 1518. In the same year he became
a brother, and in 1579 Alderman, of the Gild of Corpus Christi in
Boston. He died in 1524, desiring in his will to be buried at Boston,
' to the end that his loving parishioners, when they should happen to see
his grave and tomb, might be sooner moved to pray for his soul.'
He left £5 to each of the Franciscan houses at Lynn, Oxford, and
Cambridge. He is said to have written a life of St. Botolph 4.
Alexander Barclay, D.D. of Oxford, the translator and part-
author of the Ship of Fools, entered the Franciscan Order after 1514.
He died in 1552°.
Henry Standish, of Standish in Lancashire, was D.D. of Oxford,
and appears to have studied also at Cambridge 6. He was one of the
court preachers at the beginning of Henry VIII's reign, and frequently
received payments for his services : the earliest grant to him in the
State Papers was a sum of 20^. for preaching in 151 1 7. In 1514 the
King gave £ 10 to Dr. Standisshe and the Friars Minors for charges
at the general chapter to be holden at Bridgwater 8. The next year
1 Reg. G 6, fol. 47 b, 161, 169, 187 b. Regist. Sacrum Anglic, p. 143. Dug-
3 Boase, Reg. p. 66. Tanner, BibL dale, Monasticon, Vol. VI, p. 1511.
638. 8 Wood, Athftiae, 205. Diet, of
3 Acta Cur. Cancell. "5, fol. 266b; National Biography.
perhaps a mistake for Walter Good- ' Wood, Athen. Oxon. I, 92-4.
field? Cooper, Athen. Cantab. I, 55.
* Cooper, Athen. Cantab. I, 31. 7 Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII,
Notes and Queries, ist Series, Vol. XII, Vol. II, pp. 1450, 1467, 1470, 1474,
p. 430. MS. Wood, B. 13, p. 14. 1477 ; Vol. Ill, p. 1555.
Thompson's Boston (ed. 1856). Stubbs, " Ibid. Vol. II, p. 1465.
272 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
the friar was in debt to the extent of 100 marcs1. Standish was
probably at this time warden of the Grey Friars of London 2. The
time during which he was Provincial Minister cannot be determined s.
In 1515 he attended a council of divines and temporal lords summoned
by the King to consider a sermon preached by Richard Kidderminster,
Abbat of Winchcombe, on benefit of clergy. The Abbat maintained
that a recent act which deprived ' murderers, robbers of churches, and
housebreakers ' of their clergy if they were not in holy orders, was
contrary to the law of God and the liberties of the Church. The
Franciscan doctor defended the act, arguing that
' it was not against the liberty of the Church, because it was for the weal
of the whole realm.'
Soon afterwards he was summoned to answer for his opinion before
Convocation. He appealed to the King, and Henry quickly brought
the bishops to submission by an assertion of the royal supremacy and
a threat of praemunire 4. Standish thus won the goodwill of the court;
he possessed the confidence of the people. The feeling against foreign
traders was now very bitter in London, and in 1517 one John Lincoln,
acting as spokesman of the citizens, urged the warden of the
Franciscans
' to take part with the commonalty against the strangers '
in a sermon he was to deliver on Easter Monday 5. Standish refused,
wisely, as the event showed ; for an inflammatory sermon the next day
resulted in a serious riot. In 1518 Standish obtained the bishopric of St.
Asaph by royal influence, in spite of the opposition of Wolsey 6. In
1524 he was sent as royal ambassador to Denmark7. In 1528 he
was one of the ' counsellors appointed for the hearing of poor men's
causes in the King's Court of Requests ' 8.
His administration of his diocese was not altogether blameless. His
Vicar-General, Sir Robert ap Rice, was indicted for extortions on the
King's tenants in 1533, and relatives of Sir Robert had, three years
1 Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII, Hen. VIII, I, 250-253.
Vol. II, No. 1370. 5 Brewer, I, 245-250.
2 He was certainly warden in 1515. 6 Le Neve, Fasti, I, 73. Cal. of
Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII, Vol. State Papers, II, Nos. 4074, 4083, 4089.
II, No. 1313. T Strype, Ecclesiastical Memorials,
3 Mon. Franc. I, 539. I, i. 90. Rymer, XIV, 12.
4 Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII, 8 Eighth Report of the Deputy
Vol. II, Nos. 1313, 1314; Brewer, Keeper, App. 2, No. 5, p. 167.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 273
previously, been indicted for maintaining thieves and had not yet been
punished l.
But Standish is best known as a champion, probably the foremost
champion, of the ' Old Learning ' in England. He was, there can be
little doubt, the Franciscan theologian who in 1516 tried to organize
a combined critical attack on the writings of Erasmus2. It was some
years later — in 1520 — that he preached at Paul's Cross against
Erasmus' edition of the New Testament, and inveighed against his
writings in conversation at court3. He consequently became the
object of the famous scholar's satire and invective, and his memory
has suffered accordingly.
In 1528, when the royal divorce suit was proceeding, he
became Katharine's chief counsellor, being apparently chosen by
the queen herself4. During the long trial, however, he showed
little of the boldness which characterised Fisher's conduct, and
Katharine seems not unreasonably to have entertained some suspicion
of his sincerity 5. He was present at the coronation of Anne Boleyn,
June 1533 *• That he was willing to admit the royal supremacy7 is
not surprising. He proposed to add to the King's Articles (which
required the surrender, by Convocation, of the legislative powers of the
clergy), the words :
' Provided that the King allow those constitutions which are not contrary
to the law of God or of the realm to be put in execution as before V
He died on July pth, 1535 9. His will is dated July 3rd, 153510. He
desired to be buried ' inter fratres Minores ' (London ?).
' Item pro sepultura mea quadraginta libras. Item pro Tumba erigenda
xiij11. vjg viijd in ecclesia fratrum minorum ubi contigerit corpus meum
quiescere. Item pro exhibicione scolarium in Universitate Oxonie qua-
draginta libras. Item pro edificatione Insule ecclesie fratrum Minorum
Oxonie quadraginta libras.'
His bequest of £5 to buy books for the Oxford Franciscans, and his
appointment of two executors to distribute his own library should
make us hesitate to accept unreservedly the charge of ' gross ignorance '
which Erasmus brings against him ". Among other legacies may be
1 Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII, 66 1.
Vol. VI, Nos. 62, 1379. 7 See ibid. Vol. V, App. 9.
3 Seebohm, Oxford Reformers, 326-7. 8 Dixon, Church of England, I, 106.
3 Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII, » Le Neve, Fasti, I, 73.
Vol. Ill, 929, 965. i» P.C.C. Hogen, qu. 26.
4 Brewer, II, 304, 306. » Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII,
* Ibid. 339, 346. Vol. Ill, No. 929. Cf. Seebohm, Ox-
4 Cal. of State Papers, Vol. VI, No. ford Reformers, 383-4.
274 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
noticed £40 to the Church of St. Asaph lpro pavimenio chort,' 20
marcs to the Carmelites of Denbigh ' to build their cloister/ £ i o to
the Minorites of London for thirty trentals, £40 to the parish church
of ' Standisshe/ and a messuage in ' Wrixham ' to Nicholas Rygbye.
The will was not allowed to pass uncontested; 'for the law is plain,
that when a religious man is made a bishop, he cannot make a will ' 1.
Cromwell seems to have exacted heavy fines from the executors and
legatees 2.
Bobert Sanderson supplicated for B.D. on Jan. 22, 151°, after
studying twelve years. On May 30, 1511, he petitioned
' quatenus gratiose secum dispensetur ut respondeat sine aliqua oppositione
propter defectum schole. Hec est concessa et conditionata quod replicet
in scholis post responsionem.'
In April 1513, as B.D., he obtained grace to proceed to D.D.,
stating that he had studied for eighteen years. In June his composi-
tion was reduced by four nobles (=26^. 8d.), on condition
' that he will tell no one except those whom it concerns.'
He incepted on July 4, 1513, paying £5 8s. 8ds. At the time of
the dissolution he was warden of the Grey Friars at Richmond in
Yorkshire 4.
John Brakell obtained grace to oppose and proceed to the B.D.
degree on Jan. 27, 15 if, after studying for fourteen years5.
John Brown, having studied for twelve years, supplicated for B.D.
on Jan. 22, 151^; he obtained the Chancellor's license Nov. 19, 1512.
In June 1513, he supplicated as B.D. for D.D., after eighteen years'
study. The grace was conceded
'sic quod semel predicet in ecclesia B. M. V. infra annum, et non utatur
aliqua gratia generali vel speciali pro sua necessaria regentia infra annum.'
The second condition was afterwards deleted. Brown incepted on
Feb. 20, 151!, his composition being reduced by five marcs6. On
July 6, 1513, he appeared in the Chancellor's Court as witness of the
indenture between Dr. Goodfield, ex-warden, and Richard Leke 7.
John Smyth was admitted to oppose in June 1511, after studying
1 Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII, Keeper, App. II.
Vol. IX, 34. 5 Reg. G 6, fol. 107 b.
2 Ibid. 34, 35, 607, 771 ; X, 522. 6 Reg. G 6, fol. 107, 168 b, 185, 200,
3 Reg. G 6, fol. 107, 122 b, 171, 205 b, 206, 207, 215.
182 b, i68b, 187 b (and 213 b). 7 Acta Cur. Cane. "5, fol. 194. See
4 Eighth Report of the Deputy Part I, chapter VII.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 275
for fourteen years, and to the degree of B.D. in Dec. 1512. Six
months later he was licensed in theology, and allowed to incept as
having studied for eighteen years, with one responsion in the new
schools and two sermons in diebus Parasceues at the Friars Minors.
At his inception he paid £6 13*. \d. He was dispensed from his
necessary regency
' quia est gardianus alicujus loci et sunt ei magna negotia ' l.
Harmon, friar, who was admitted to oppose on Jan. 26, 15 1|, is
perhaps identical with ' Friar Simondez Harm,' lector of the Grey
Friars of Leicester in 1538 2.
Gilbert Sawnders, after sixteen years' study, was admitted to
oppose in Nov. 1511, provided
' he said the mass de Spiritu Sancto five times for the good estate of the
regents, and preached in propria persona at St. Mary's before Easter.'
In 1512 he was appointed to preach the sermon on Ash Wednes-
day 3. On April 13, 1 5 1 3, he supplicated for D.D. In May he asked
that 4oj. might be deducted from his composition ; he was allowed to
deduct 2 os. ; this was afterwards increased to four nobles,
' et nemini revelabit nisi quarum interest.'
He incepted on July 4, and paid £4 6s. Sd. In the following
November he was dispensed from his necessary regency, and in Feb.,
1514, from a sermon4. He died on July 16, 1533, and was buried
in the Chapel of All Saints at the Grey Friars, London 5.
John Sanderson, B.D., supplicated for D.D. on Dec. 14, 1512,
having studied for sixteen years,
* cum oppositione et responsione (?) in novis scolis et responsione in capi-
tulo (?) generali cum introitu biblie ' 8.
William German, or Germyn, or Germen, in Nov. 1511 ob-
tained leave from the Chancellor to enter the University library 7. He
supplicated for B.D. on Julys, I5I3> after studying ' logic, philosophy,
1 Reg. G 6, fol. 127 a, b, 160, 168 b, * Reg. G 6, fol. 133 b, 171 b, 177,
185 a-b, 187 b, 194 b. i68b, 187 b, 199 b, 214.
2 Boase, Reg. p. 79 ; 8th Report 5 MS. Cott. Vitell. F. XII, fol. 377.
of the Deputy Keeper. App. 2, p. 27. 6 Reg. G 6, fol. 160.
3 Acta Cur. Cane. '*, fol. 264. 7 Acta Cur. Cane. H, fol. 156 b.
T 2
276 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
and theology' for twelve years1. He was still only scolaris sacre
theologie in June, 1515, when he asked
' quatenus ilia particula olim posita in sua gratia, viz. quod sit medietas anni
inter oppositionem et responsionem possit deleri. Hec est concessa, sic
quod dicat unam missam de spiritu sancto pro bono statu regentium, et
aliam de trinitate, et aliam de recordare 2.'
In Nov. 1516, he obtained grace to incept, and asked fpr a reduc-
tion of his composition by one-half, which was probably granted3.
He did not, however, become D.D. till June, 1518*. He was one of
the executors of Henry Standish, Bishop of St. Asaph (d. 1535),
who left
* omnes libros meos distribuendos secundum discrecionem magistri Johannis
Cudnor S.T.D., nunc gardiani fratrum Minorum Londoniensium et
magistri Willelmi German eiusdem facultatis, et cuilibet ipsorum quinque
marcas pro labore V
Alyngdon, Doctor, friar Minor, in Jan. 1 5^f
' promised to pay William Hows i is. ^d. before the fourth Sunday in Lent
under penalty of the law V
Richard Lorcan, an Irish Franciscan, ' subtracted ' some goods
and money of John Eustas, a scholar, who died intestate, in 1514, and
was ordered by the Chancellor's Court to restore them 7.
John de Castro of Bologna was admitted to oppose on Dec. 6,
1514, and to read the Sentences four days later8. He made the fol-
lowing entry with his own hand in the Register of the Chancellor's
Court (sub anno 1514) :
' In die cinerum ego frater Joannes ordinis minorum italus de Castro
Bononiensi praedicabo sermonem dante domino V
Radulph Gudman on May 23, 1515, obtained grace to oppose,
&c., after studying for twelve years
' in hac universitate et Cantibrigie et in partibus transmarinis 10.'
1 Reg. G. 6, fol. 187. 7 Acta Cur. Cancell. "i, f. 250, 254 b.
2 Ibid. fol. 254 b. 3 Ibid. fol. 301. See Part I, chapter vii. A secular
4 Reg. H. 7, f. i. See also ibid. f. named Richard Lorgan is mentioned in
22. Boase's Register, p. 128.
5 P.C.C. Hogen, qu. 26. 8 Reg. G. 6, fol. 220.
6 Acta Cur. Cane. "5, f. 210 ; another » Acta Cur. Cancell. % fol. 263.
Alyngton is mentioned in Boase's Regis- Wadding {Script. 148) mentions another
ter, p. 99 ; for W. Hows, see Boase, Minorite of the same name.
Reg. p. 80. »° Reg. G. 6, fol. 253 b.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 277
William Walle, having studied for twelve years, obtained grace to
oppose, with the stipulation that six months should intervene between
his opposition and responsion (July 3, 1513). He incepted in June
or July. 1518, and half his composition was remitted. In Dec. 1518,
he was dispensed from his regency for a fortnight \
John Flavyngur or Flanyngur, scholar of Canon Law, suppli-
cated on June 20, 1515,
' quatenus studium octodecim annorum in eodem jure et in jure civili cum
multis lecturis publicis in cathedra doctoris et multis aliis locis sufficiat ut
admittatur ad lecturam extraordinariam alicujus libri decretalium. Hec
est concessa sic quod solvat yj8 viijd Universitati in die admissionis sue et
legat duos libros decretalium V
It is curious that a scholar should, before attaining the degree of
B.Can.L., lecture as a Doctor: most of the instruction in civil and
canon law was given by Bachelors 3.
Thomas Peyrson, elected Fellow of Merton College in 1520, is
said to have entered the Order of Observant Friars while still a B.A. *
Perhaps he is confused with
' Johannes Perse (or Person) electus et cursor theologie hujus loci (London),
qui obiit 18 die Mensis februarii 1527,'
who was buried at the Grey Friars, London, inter chorum et altaria 5.
Thomas Peyrson was an Observant Friar at Lynn in 1534, probably
as a prisoner : he was still there at the dissolution 6.
John Porrett or Parott obtained leave, on Nov. 19, ign, to
enter the University library 7. He supplicated for B.D. on April 26,
1520, having studied for sixteen years. He was not admitted till
May, 1526, after fourteen years' study (?)8. Early in the next year
he applied to have his composition reduced to £4 : this was granted
on condition that he would proceed at the next act, say five masses
for the regents, and interpret the epistles of Paul to the Galatians
1 Reg. G. 6, fol. 187, 301 ; H. 7, 1607. Eighth Report of the Deputy
fol. i, 6 b. Keeper, App. II, p. 30. One of this
a Reg. G. 6, fol. 257 b. name was Rector of Gedleston, Herts.,
3 Lyte, p. 222. from 1551-1558 ; Newcourt, Repert. I,
4 Brodrick, Memorials of Merton 827. Another was vicar of Clacton-
College, p. 251. parva and died before Jan. 1523 (ibid.
5 MS. Cott. Vitell. F XII, fol. 288 b, II, 155).
313. i Acta Cur. Cancell. '*, fol. 156 b.
• Cal. of State Papers, Vol. VII, No. 8 Reg. H. 7, fol. is6b.
278 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
before Easter. He does not appear to have fulfilled these conditions :
on May 23, the same grace was conceded,
' because he is very poor and scarcely has what is necessary to take a
degree,'
with the condition that he should read the first epistle of the Corin-
thians publicly in his house, schedulis fixis hostio ecclesie b. Marie
Virginis1, after graduating. He incepted on July 8. On Oct. 10,
1527, he was dispensed from his necessary regency as being Warden
of the Grey Friars of Boston : he was, however, to continue to deliver
his ordinary lectures till All Saints' Day 2.
David Williams, B.D., was allowed to incept, after fourteen years'
study, on condition of preaching at St. Mary's and St. Paul's, con-
tinuing his studies at the University for two years, and paying a
' golden angel ' to repair the staff of the inferior bedell of arts
(Jan. 24, i52^)8. In April his examinatory sermon was at his
request postponed till after his degree :
'Causa est quia dicit se plura beneficia a parentibus consequuturum si
fuerit inceptor quam non V
On May 13, he supplicated
4 quatenus graciose secum dispensetur ut posset iterum circuire non obstante
aliquo statuto in oppositum. Hec est concessa et conditionata ; conditio
est quod non circuerat [circueat ?] ante festum Penthecostes ' (i. e.
May i9)6.
The meaning of this is not clear ; perhaps he had already ' gone
round' once and failed to incept at the ensuing Congregation6.
Having secured a reduction of his composition to £4, he incepted on
July 9 7. In Oct. he obtained a dispensation from all scholastic acts
till the first Sunday in Advent, ' because he has to preach on that
day8'. In Feb. of the next year, he was dispensed from his necessary
regency 9.
1 To ensure publicity. . 5 Ibid. fol. 63 ; on circuitus, see
a Reg. H. 7, fol. 40, 153, 161 b, Clark, Reg. of the Univ. Vol. II, Part
171 b, 177 b, 178 b. I, p. 42.
3 Ibid. fol. 51 b. David Williams * He was, however, not licensed till
B. Can. L. must be a different person, June 3, 1521 ; Reg. H. 7, foL 58 b.
Boase, p. 104. 7 Ibid. fol. 64, 69.
4 Ibid. fol. 61. For similar dis- 8 Ibid. 72.
pensation to him, see ibid. fol. 64 9 Ibid. fol. 78 ; cf. 75, 7° b.
(May 5).
CH. ill.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 279
William Curtes was admitted to oppose on April 20, 1520.
Soon afterwards he obtained permission
' to respond in the new schools without having any opposition there
previously.'
In Feb. 152^, as B.D. he supplicated for D.D., having studied arts
and theology for eighteen years.
' Hec gratia est concessa sic quod solvat xl d08 ad reparationem baculi
inferioris bedelli sue facultatis et quod predicet sermonem ante gradum
susceptum et quod procedat ante paschaV
Richard Clynton supplicated for B.D., after eight years' study,
April 26, 1521. Among the conditions imposed was one
' that he should celebrate three masses for the plague and another for
peace V
Thomas Prances, B.D., had grace to incept (after sixteen years'
study) on condition of paying ^od. to mend the staff of the sub-bedell
of arts, preaching at St. Paul's within two years, and preaching an
examinatory sermon before his degree (Jan. 24, 152^). He incepted
on July 9, 1521, having three days before obtained a dispensation
from his necessary regency,
* because he is warden in some convent of his Order and cannot continue
in the University.'
The conditions on which this was granted were :
' (i) that he should say the Psalter of David before Michaelmas; (2) that
he should celebrate seven masses for the good estate of the Regents ; (3)
that he should pay his debts to the University before going away V
John Thornall, on Nov. 19, 1521, having studied for sixteen
years, was allowed to proceed to B.D., on condition
* quod studuit hie vel in alia universitate per xii annos.'
He was admitted B.D. in June, 1523, and obtained grace to incept
in May, 1524, after 'studying fifteen years in this University.' His
composition was reduced to five marcs on condition
' quod solvat illas quinque marcas in primis suis inceptionibus,'
and that he should incept before Easter 4. He failed to do so, and on
July n, 1525, was permitted to pay £5, instead of his full compo-
1 Reg. H. 7, fol. 38, 40 b, 78. s Ibid. fol. 38, 51 b, 68, 69.
a Ibid. fol. 61. 4 Ibid. fol. 73, 104 b, 124, 127, 130.
28o THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
sition, with the stipulation that he should distribute los. for the use of
poor secular scholars1. He incepted on July 17. In Oct. he was
dispensed for all scholastic acts for twenty ' legible ' days,
' because he has promised to preach at two places which are forty miles
distant from each other V
At the Dissolution he was living at the Grey Friars, London 3.
Nicholas de Burgo an Italian Minorite, native of Florence, B.D.
of Paris, was incorporated B.D. of Oxford in Feb. i52§4. A year
later (Jan. 25) he supplicated for the Doctor's degree, stating that he
had studied seventeen years, seven of them having been spent in
Oxford 5. On the same day he prayed that his composition to the
University on his inception might be remitted 6.
' Causa est quia est alienigena et anglice nescit, preterea multos hie labores
suscepit, legendo publice in hac academia hoc septennio, et pene gratis, et
lecturus est quoque perpetuo, et hie remoraturus, modo dignati fuerint
magistri Regentes tantum gratiarum sibi impartire. Hec gratia est con-
cessa sic quod legat unum librum sacre theologie publice et gratis post
gradum ad designationem Domini Cancellarii.'
A few days later he was dispensed from nearly all his necessary
regency, promising to preach ' on some day when there shall be a
general procession V In March, being ' unable to procure all that
was necessary to him/ he was allowed to postpone his inception till
after Easter, paying a fine of zos. to the University. The fine was
afterwards remitted and a sermon substituted, as Nicholas alleged
extreme poverty (June 20) 8. He incepted shortly after this. His
dispensation from necessary regency seems to have lapsed, for in Oct.
he obtained leave to absent himself for ten ' legible ' days,
' because he had been bidden to preach a sermon within twenty days,'
and had not time to fulfil the duties of regent 9. He preached at St.
Peter's-in-the-East on Ash Wednesday, I52810. He was patronized
by Wolsey, but whether he came to England at the Cardinal's invita-
tion is doubtful. In Nov. 1528, ' Fryer Nicholas of Oxford' received
£5 as a reward from Wolsey11. In 1529 the King desired that the
1 Reg. H. 7, fol. 140 ; App. D. 7 Ibid. fol. 117 b.
2 Ibid. 142 b, 143. 8 Ibid. fol. 119, 125 b.
* Eighth Report of Deputy Keeper, * Ibid. fol. 1 29 b ; in this entry he is
App. II. p. 28. described as Doctor.
4 Reg. H. 7, fol. 82 b, 98 b. 10 Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, fol. 362.
s Ibid. fol. n6b. u Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII,
• Ibid. fol. 117. Vol. V, p. 304.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 281
friar should have a benefice l ; payments to him from the Privy Purse
and other sources are frequently found 2. The Italian friar had
made himself useful by advocating the King's divorce 3. He was
perhaps the
' Franciscan, who was one of the chief writers in favour of the King,'
and who consorted with Dr. Barnes, the Austin Friar and friend of
Luther 4. His advocacy of the divorce rendered him very unpopular 5,
and perhaps after the fall and death of his old protector, Wolsey, he
felt his position less secure. In Dec. 1531, he came to London,
having ' disposed of his stuff at Oxford/ to ask leave to return to
Italy for his health. It was thought impolitic to let him go, ' he being
so secret in the King's great matter as he has been,' and means were
found to keep him in England 8.
Wolsey had already appointed him public reader in theology at
Cardinal College, in succession to Thomas Brynknell, at a yearly
salary of 53^. 4</., besides commons7; and in 1532, Henry VIII.
re-appointed him to the chair of divinity8. He was also divinity
1 Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII,
Vol. IV, No. 5875.
8 In a list of monthly wages for July,
1529, there is a payment of £6 iy. $d.
to ' Friar Nicholas, one of the King's
spiritual learned counsel ;' in Feb., 1530,
he received £3 i jj. by the King's com-
mand : ibid. Vol. V, p. 304. See ibid.
Vol. IV, No. 6187 (25), a grant of
denization to ' Nicholas Delborgo,
Minorite, S.T.P.,' Jan. 21, 1530.
3 In conjunction with Stokesley and
Edw. Fox he wrote (A.D. 1530) a book
on the King's marriage, which Cran-
mer translated into English with altera-
tions and additions : Cal. of State
Papers, VIII, 1054 ; cf. Vol. VII, 289.
He is probably the ' Friar Nicolas, a
learned man and the King's faithful
favorer,' who was employed in negotia-
ting with the University of Bologna for
a decision favourable to the divorce
(1530) : Cal. of State Papers, Vol. IV,
No. 6619. But there was another Friar
Nicholas at this time who was employed
by the Pope, Wolsey, Henry VIII, and
other princes. This was a German
Dominican, Nicholas de Scombergt or
Schomberg, usually called Iriar Nicho-
las or Fra Niccolo. He came to
England in 1517, the same year that
N. de Burgo began to teach in Oxford.
He was in England in 1526, and hoped
to be made cardinal. In Oct. 1532 he
was on his way to Capua (from
England?) : a few months previously,
Dr. Nicholas of Oxford (i. e. probably
N. de Burgo) was trying to leave
England. These facts are taken from
the Calendars of State Papers, Hen.
VIII, Vols. II- V.
4 Cal. of State Papers, V, 593 (Dec.
21, I530-
5 See Part I, chapter viii.
6 Cal. of State Papers, V, 623.
7 Ibid. Vol. IV, 6788, ii, iv, vii.
8 Ibid. V, 1181. When, after Wolsey's
fall, Cardinal College was in danger of
suppression, Dr. Nicholas extracted an
admission from the King as to the fate
of the rich vestments and ornaments
which had been sent to London to have
the Cardinal's arms removed ; ' he had
begged of the King " whitze copies for
the high days of Our Lady." The King
said, " Alack ! they are all disposed,
and not one of them is left." ' Tresham
to Wolsey, May 12, 1530; Cal. of
State Papers, Vol. IV, No. 6377.
282 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
lecturer in Magdalen College. In Jan. 1533, he writes to Thomas
Cromwell ,
' I have performed the duties of reader bestowed on me by the King, and
for greater advantage I have added public lectures. I have received no
remuneration, for those who distribute the King's gifts do so arbitrarily.
I have often asked in vain. Mr. Baxter retains the profits of my
benefice, and has not paid me the money due Michaelmas last1.'
This appeal was not fruitless: in June, 1533, Dr. Nicholas de
Burgo received £6 13$. 4^. from Cromwell2. In 1534 he was still
at Oxford, and acted as substitute for the Commissary in the Chan-
cellor's Court 3. Next year he obtained permission to return to Italy.
In Oct. he wrote to Henry VIII, expressing a hope that he would be
allowed to retain his fellowship at Oxford (locus collegn], and his
benefice *. In the same year he resigned the divinity lectureship at
Magdalen College 6. In July 1 53 7 he again wrote to the King from Italy,
renewing his previous request ; he was at present prevented by trouble
and illness from coming to England, but hoped to come next month6.
Thomas Kirkham was admitted B.D. in 1523, after twelve years'
study7. In 1526 he supplicated 'that four years' study after the
degree of Bachelor ' might entitle him to incept. He became D.D. in
July, 1527, his composition being reduced to £4, ' because he is very
poor,' and in November he was dispensed from the greater part of his
necessary regency as warden of the Grey Friars at Doncaster 8. He con-
tinued to hold this office till the Dissolution9. He was, in Wood's words,
' a very zealous man against the divorce of King Henry VIII from Queen
Katharine10.'
He seems to have obtained Church preferment immediately after
the Dissolution. In Feb., 1539, Thomas Kirkham was admitted to
the rectory of St. Mary's, Colchester11, and in 1548, to that of St.
1 Cal. of State Papers, Vol. VI, No. App. II, p. 19. See will of Thomas
75. The benefice was worth 257. a Strey, lawyer of Doncaster (Nov. 14,
year ; ibid. IX, 645. ir3°)j i° Testamenta Eboracensia
8 Ibid. Vol. VI, No. 717. (Surtees Society), Vol. V, pp. 294-7 :
3 Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, f. 274. ' Item I bequeth to Master Doctor of
* Cal. of State Papers, IX, 645. Grey Freres xxyjs viijd to bie hym a
8 Ibid. 1 1 20. cotte . . . Theis beyng witnes of this my
* Ibid. XII, ii, 282. said will, Sir Thomas Kirkham, doctor
7 Reg. H. 7, f. no, June 8; Boase of dyvinyte and warden of the Freres
calls him Robert Kyrkeham in this Minours in Doncaster' (and three others),
place (pp. 131, and 118). l° Wood, Fasti, 75.
* Reg. H. 7, f. 1040, 156 b, l6ob, " According to Newcourt (Repert. II,
I Sob; App. D. 174) this living was vacant by his death
3 Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, before Jan. 22, 1551. There may have
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 283
Martin's, Outwich : he resigned the latter living in 1553 or 1554 l.
From these dates it is clear that he had joined the Protestant party.
Richard Brinkley (co. Cambridge), D.D. of Cambridge, and
' Minister General of the Order of Minors throughout all England,'
was incorporated D.D. of Oxford on June 26, 1524 2. There is a dis-
crepancy about the dates, which seems to admit of no satisfactory
explanation. A Minorite called Peter Brikley was S.T.B. of Cam-
bridge in 1524. 'Brinkley frater minor' was admitted D.D. of
Cambridge in 1527, when he paid £5 6s. 8d. 'pro non convivando3.'
He was buried at Cambridge 4.
An illuminated copy of the Gospels in Greek, now MS. Caius
College 403, was lent to him out of the Franciscan Library at
Oxford, as the following inscription on p. i testifies,
' Iste liber est de con(ventu) fratrum minorum Oxonie omissus et
accommodatus fratri Ricardo Brynkeley Magistro.'
Another MS. in the Caius College Library (No. 348), containing
the Psalter in Greek, has this note (p. 113):
' here xeeld be n5 qweyr' off ye nubyr off 8, ffor her' ys all q ffr. Ric.
Brynkeley V
Edmund Bricott, Brycoote, or Brygott, born about 1495",
supplicated for B.D. in Jan. or Feb. 152^, having studied ten years
'here and at Paris.' He was admitted to oppose on June 13, and
became B.D. on June 28. In Jan. 152^, he obtained grace to incept
after fourteen years of study. He was licensed in Feb. i5§&. In
June he obtained a reduction of his composition to £5 on the score
of poverty, and a dispensation (in advance) from his necessary regency,
because he was warden of some house of Minorites. He incepted in
July, I53Q7. He was warden of Lynn at the Dissolution8. Like so
many others, he seems to have gone with the times ; he held the
living of Thorley, Herts., from 1545 to 1562; was collated to the
been two of the same name. Sir Thomas are not in the edition of 1572. Cooper,
Kyrkeham, priest, was among those Athen. Cantab. I, 34, 527.
arrested for conspiring at the Grey * Mon. Franc. I 539.
Friars London to refuse a subsidy to 5 Smith, Catalogue of Caius Coll.
the King in 1531. Foxe, V, 57. MSS. p. 197, 166.
1 Newcourt, I, 419. • Foxe, VI, 215.
* Reg. H. 7, f. 126. 7 Reg. H. 7, Vol. 150, 153, 184 b,
3 Wood, Fasti, 68 : he refers to Cam- 210 b, 234, 235, 237.
bridge tables at the end of Mat. Parker's 8 Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper,
Antiq. Brit. Eccles. first edition ; these App. II.
284 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
rectory of Wiley, Essex, in 1547, to that of Hadham, Herts, in 1548;
and became Prebendary of St. Paul's in 1554. He probably died in
1562 >.
Thomas Knottis was admitted B.D. in May, 1527. He may be
the same as the Thomas Knott who supplicated for B.A. in 1522 ; if
so, he became a Franciscan after that date 2.
Anthony Papudo, of Portugal, was admitted to oppose in June,
1526, and B.D. in May, 1527 s.
William Walker supplicated for B.D., June 3, 1527, after study-
ing fourteen years. The grace was conceded on condition
' that he will read the Epistles of St. Paul to the Ephesians and the Gala-
tians in his house ' (in edibus suis, i. e. the Franciscan Convent) *.
Robert Knowlys supplicated for B.D. in Jan. 152^ 5. In Oct.,
1529, as B.D., he obtained grace to incept, after eighteen years'
study,
sic quod procedat in proximo actu, et legat 2m et 3um Scoti super senten-
tias in Domo sua, et faciat sermonem latinum in templo Dive Virginis
intra annum post gradum susceptum, et alium etiam intra annum anglice
intra universitatem 6.
His composition was reduced to £5, owing to his poverty (June 22,
1530). He was dispensed from his necessary regency,
' because he was lecturing in some house of the Order of Friars Minors '
(June 2 8, 1530).
He incepted D.D. in July, I53O7.
John Art-ore kept a horse in Oxford in 1528 s. In May, 1533, he
supplicated for B.D., after fourteen years of study ; he was to preach,
before Christmas, a sermon at St. Mary's,
< another from the pulpit (e suggestu) of St. Paul's London, and another
e pulpito at Westminster V
In Dec. of the same year he sued Joanna Coper for libel : the
1 Wood, Fasti, 83; Newcourt, Re- Repert. II, 114; Will. Walker, Vicar
pertorium ; Foxe, VI, 215 (his evidence of Burnham, Essex, 1557-1582.
at the trial of Gardiner). Burnet, Re- s Boase, p. 145.
formation, II, i. 582, a curious account ' Reg. H. 7, fol. 2i8b; adm. to
of Bonner's visitation of Hadham in incept Feb. I, i5-f$> ibid. 2iob.
1554. Strype, Life of Grindal, p. 88. 7 Ibid. fol. 234, 235 b, 237.
a Reg. H. 7, fol. i69b; Boase, 124. 8 Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, fol. 74 b,
3 Ibid. fol. 153, 169 b. Part I, chapter vii.
* Ibid. fol. 174. Cf. Newcourt, 9 Reg. H. 7, fol. 288.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 285
scandal about him, and his doings ' at the sign of Bear' (May, 1534)
have already been noticed. Soon afterwards he was again in trouble,
and had to give bail for his appearance whenever he should be
required to answer certain charges, which are not specified in the
register *. About this time (1534-5) he was appointed warden of the
Grey Friars of Canterbury, according to his own account, by the
King, 'against the heart of the provincial2.' There was continual
war between himself and the brethren of the house. Each side
accused the other of hostility to the King. Arthur wrote that he kept
the observance somewhat strict because the friars rebelled against the
King and held so stiffly to the Bishop of Rome 8. On the other
hand a brother whom Arthur had imprisoned brought an accusation
of disloyalty against him. This seems to have been founded on a
sermon which Arthur was said to have preached in the Church of
Herne on Passion Sunday, 1535*, in which he 'blamed these new
books and new preachers for misleading the people ' and discouraging
fasts, prayers, and pilgrimages, especially to the shrine of St. Thomas.
* And he said, if so be that St. Thomas were a devil in hell, if the Church
had canonized him, we ought to worship him, for you ought to believe us
prelates though we preach false.'
Further he did not pray for the King as head of the Church, nor
for the Queen. As the result of this charge, Arthur was thrown into
prison by Cromwell's orders, and an Observant, ' his mortal enemy/
was made his keeper, while another friar was appointed warden.
Fearing to be starved, Arthur escaped to France, and wrote letters
from Dieppe to a servant of Cromwell, and to Browne, the Provincial
Prior of the Austin Friars, praying for his own recall and urging the
punishment of his enemies6. He appears to have returned, if the
dates in the Calendars are correct, and to have been again arrested on
Aug. 21, 1537 at Cromwell's command by ' Cardemaker V
John Baccheler was vice-warden or sub-warden of Grey Friars in
1529 and in 1534. At the latter date he became one of the sureties
for Friar Robert Puller. In June, 1533, ne supplicated for B.D.,
after studying twelve years : the grace was conceded on condition
of his preaching at St. Mary's and Paul's Cross, but it does not appear
whether the friar took advantage of it 7.
1 Acta Cnr. Cancell. EEE, fol. 257, 5 Ibid. 789.
271 b, 380 b, Part I, chapter vii. • Ibid. XII, ii, 557.
a Cal. of State Papers, VIII, 789. 7 Acta Car. Cancell. EEE, fol. 124 b,
3 Ibid. 161 : the date 1534 is uncertain, Reg.
4 Ibid. 480. H. 7, fol. 290.
286 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Gregory Based, or Basset, B.D., was at one time suspected of
heretical leanings and subjected to persecution.
' For in Bristol (writes Foxe, referring to John Hooker as his authority) he
lay in prison long, and was almost famished, for having a book of Martin
Luther, called his Questions, which he a long time privily had studied, and
for the teaching youth a certain catechism V
He afterwards abjured, and, to prove his orthodoxy, took a prominent
part in the examination and condemnation of Thomas Benet, who
was burned at Exeter in 1533 2. On December 20, 1534 (?), he
came forward as one of the sureties of Friar Robert Puller, for a debt
of 25^., in the Chancellor's Court at Oxford 3. He was still alive in
Mary's reign, and is mentioned by Foxe as ' a rank papist,' in
connexion with the trial of Prest's wife, a half-witted woman, who was
burned as a heretic at Exeter in 1558 4. In 1561 a warrant was out
for the arrest of ' Friar Gregory, alias Gregory Basset, a common
mass-sayer,' who was lying hid, it was thought, in Herefordshire 6.
Robert Beste was summoned before the Chancellor's Court on
September 30, 1530, to answer a charge of 'incontinence and
disturbance of the peace : ' he does not appear to have been convicted.
He continued to reside at Oxford during the next few years. In 1539
he became vicar of St. Martin's in the Fields; he supported the
reformation, and was expelled from his vicarage on Mary's accession.
He was afterwards reinstated, and resigned the living before January,
1572 6.
Nicholas Sail, admitted B.D. March, i53j7.
John Bycks, according to Wood, spent some time among the
Grey Friars at Oxford8. In 1509, John Rickes, M.A. (who may have
been the same person), was elected fellow of Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge 9. In a list of Franciscans written in Cromwell's hand, and
dated September 13, 1532, 'Father Rykys' appears as warden of the
Observant Convent at Newark (Notts.) 10.
1 Foxe, Acts and Monuments, V, 20. • Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, f. 230, 257,
1 Ibid. p. 20 seq. 270!), 380 b. Newcourt, Repertorium,
3 Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, f. 161 a. I, 692.
There is no year marked on this leaf; 7 Boase, Reg. 168.
on fol. 159, the years are 1534, 1536; 8 Athenae Oxon. I, 101.
on fol. 164, 1528; on fol. 170, 1533. • Athen. Cantab. I, 61. It seems
4 Acts and Monuments, VIII, 501 ; very doubtful whether these notices refer
he is probably the ' old friar ' mentioned to the same person.
ibid. p. 500. w Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII,
6 Strype, Annals, I, i. 415. Vol. V, No. 1312.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 287
' At length in his last days (being then esteemed a placid old man), when he
saw the pope and his religion begin to decline in England, he became
a zealous protestant V
He died at London A.D. 1536 2. His works are as follows : —
The image of divine love. Inc. ' Considering in my mind how.'
Printed at London 1525 3.
Against the blasphemies of the papists *.
Olio Brunsfelsius. A very true Pronosticacion with a Kalendar
gathered out of the moost auncyent Bokes ofryght Holy Astro-
nomers for the yere of our Lorde MCCCCCXXXVI, and for
all yeres hereafter perpetuall. Translated out of Latyn into
Englyshe by John Ryckes Freest*.
Printed at London 1536 : dedicated to Thomas Cromwell.
John Nottingham, or Nottynge, supplicated for B.D. in October,
1532, after studying for twenty years. He was admitted to oppose in
November of that year ; but in an entry two years later he is not
described as B.D 6.
Edward Byley was allowed to proceed B.D. in June, 1533, after
sixteen years' study, on condition of preaching at St. Mary's and St.
Paul's 7. He was warden of the Franciscan Friars of Aylesbury in
1534, and as such took the oath of Succession8. He seems to have
remained loyal to the old religion ; he held several livings in Mary's
reign, namely, Wakering Parva, and Peldon in Essex (A.D. 1555),
St. Mary at Axe (1556), which was united to the parish of St. Andrew
Undershaft in 1561 ; he resigned the living St. James Garlickhithe,
London, in 1560, and that of Stisted, Essex, in 1561 9.
John Williams was admitted to oppose in 1533, after studying
fourteen years. On May 4, 1534, in the dispute about a horse,
already referred to, between Dr. Baskerfeld and Richard Weston, he
was called as a witness on behalf of the former. In January, 153^,
1 Wood, Athenae Oxon. 101. ' Reg. H. 7, f. 273 b, 264 b, 310 b.
8 Ibid. 7 Ibid. f. 289 b.
3 Tanner, Bibl. p. 648; Bale (MS. Seld. " Cal. of State Papers, Vol. VII,
sup. 64, f. 76 b) gives the Latin incipit 665, ' Edward Tyley, S.T.B.' Burnet,
for this work, 'ex museo Nicolai Grimo- Reform. I, ii. 205, 'Edward Tryley,
aldi.' S.T.B.'
* Wood, and Tanner, ut supra. ' Newcourt, Repertorium. Strype,
5 Ames, Typographical Antiquities, Life of Grindal, p. 79.
pp. 486-7.
288 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
Baskerfeld bound himself on pain of imprisonment to produce John
Williams when required, to answer charges brought against him ; the
nature of the charges does not appear 1.
William Browne was admitted B.D. in January, 153*. He
was at Oxford when the friary was dissolved 2.
John Tomsun, ' Ordinis Franciscani,' was admitted to oppose on
October 17, I5343. The name appears among the twenty-seven
names appended to the deed of surrender of the Grey Friars, London,
November 12, 1538*.
Robert Puller was at Oxford about 1534; Richard Roberts,
scholar of Broadgates Hall, brought an action against him for the
recovery of
'xxv solidos sibi debitos ab eodem Roberto Puller fratre ex causa
emptionis et vendicionis.'
John Bacheler and other friars engaged to pay the debt 5.
John Notly, or Snotly, Minorite, was appointed to preach the
University sermon at St. Peter's (in the East ?) on Ash Wednesday,
David Whythede was at Oxford in January, 153^, when the
warden bound himself to produce him in the Chancellor's Court when-
ever required 7.
John Joseph, a Minorite of Canterbury, supplicated for B.D. in
June, 1533, a^ter studying for twelve years. He was licensed D.D. in
1541, and incepted in 1542, as vir litteris ac moribus ornatissimus. He
was dispensed from his necessary regency
' quia astringitur ad residentiam nee hie diutius manere potent.'
It is evident that he held some benefice at this time. In 154!, he
was dispensed from a sermon owing to ill-health 8.
1 Reg. H. 7, fol. 287, 284 b. Acta 7 Ibid. fol. 380 b. The year is not
CUT. Cancell. EEE, fol. 271, 380 b. certain. I have found no evidence to
Part I, chapter viii. connect him with David \Vhitehead,
2 Ibid. 303 b. Part I, chapter protestant preacher, who was recom-
viii. mended by Cranmer for the Arch-
3 Ibid. f. 303 b. bishopric of Armagh, fled on Mary's
4 Reports of the Deputy Keeper, Rep. accession, and became English pastor
8, App. II, p. 28. at Frankfurt ; Strype, Life of Cranmer,
5 Acta Cur. Cancell. EEE, fol. 161, 393, 399, 450.
230. 8 Reg. H. 7, f. 290; I. 8, f. 84 b, 85,
• Ibid. fol. 366 b. 88 : Boase, p. 175.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 289
He was one of Cranmer's chaplains, and a zealous member of the
reforming party, and was appointed preacher at Canterbury by
Cranmer1. In 1546 he became Rector of St. Mary-le-Bow 2. In
1547 he was made one of the commissioners for the visitation of the
dioceses of Peterborough, Lincoln, Oxford, Coventry, and Lichfield3.
In 1549 he preached at Paul's Cross against the observance of Lent4,
and, on another occasion, as substitute for the Archbishop, against the
rebellions in that year, concerning
' the subdewynge of them that dyd rysse in alle iij places, and how mysery
they ware browte unto, and there he rehersyd as hys master dyd before
that the occasyone came by popysse presttes V
In 1550 he was presented to a prebend in the Church of Canterbury6.
On Mary's accession he was deprived of his preferments, being
married. He fled to the Continent 7.
Hugh Payne, Observant Friar of Newark, who opposed the King's
divorce and upheld the papal supremacy in 1533-4, may have studied
at Oxford before he entered the Order; a Hugh Payne supplicated for
B.A. in 1523 8.
Richard Risby, warden of the Friars Observant at Canterbury,
was executed on May 5th, 1534, for being implicated in the conspiracy
of the Nun of Kent. It is doubtful whether he was identical with
Richard Rysby, B.A., Fellow of New College in 1506 9.
William David supplicated for B.D. in November, 1534, after
studying arts and theology for thirteen years 10. The grace was con-
ceded, and in February, 1535, he obtained permission to defer his
' Opposition ' until after he had taken the degree ll. He may be the
Dr. David, Grey Friar, who assisted at the condemnation of Thomas
Benet for heresy at Exeter in 1533 12.
Richard David, ' Ordinis Franciscani/ admitted to oppose, October
if, I53418-
1 Chronicle of the Grey Friars of 8 Boase, Register, p. 131; Cal. of
London (Camden Soc.), p. 62 ; Strype, State Papers, Vol. VI, Nos. 836, 887,
Cranmer, 229 ; Wood, Fasti, 114. 1370 ; VII, 923, 939, 1020, 1607, 1652 ;
Newcourt, Repert. I, 439. Gasquet, I, 166, 181-2. Cf. ibid. II,
Strype, Cranmer, 209. 420 ?.
Ibid. 295. ' Boase, Register, p. 71 ; Gasquet, I,
Chron. of the Grey Friars, p. 62. chapter iv; Froude, II, 178.
Wood, Fasti, 114; Rymer, /wafera, lu Reg. H. 7, f. 31 ob.
XV, 237. » Ibid. f. 315.
7 Wood, ibid. ; Strype, Cranmer, " Foxe, Acts and Mon. V, 20.
450, 468-9. 13 Reg. H. 7, f. 303 b.
290 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [Cn. III.
Thomas Tomsun supplicated for B.D. in November, 1534, after
studying philosophy and theology for fifteen years hie et Cantabricz,
and was admitted on January 29, 1534 l. With Gregory Basset,
he became surety for his fellow friar Robert Puller in December,
1534 (?)a-
One of this name was rector of Lambourne, Essex, in 1546 (and
died before April 16, 1557), and rector of Beamont, Essex, in 1555
(died before I559)3.
John Billing was admitted B.D. in 1537, after seven years' study *.
His name occurs in a list of Observant Friars of the year 1534, as
having fled to Scotland 5.
Guy Etton, or Eton, was admitted to oppose in January, 153!,
and was admitted B.D. in the same month. In October, 1535, he was
allowed to substitute for a sermon at St. Mary's,
' concionem ruri vel in suo monasterio ad placitum V
In 1553 (in Edward VI's reign) he was granted license to preach. In
Mary's reign he took refuge at Strasburg with John Jewell. In 1559
he obtained the archdeaconry and a prebend of Gloucester, which he
held till 1571 or later. In 1576 he was instituted Vicar of St.
Leonard's, Shoreditch, and died before June 14, I5777.
Anthony Brookby (Brockbey, Brorbe), sometime student in
Magdalen College, a man learned in Greek and Hebrew, entered the
Franciscan Order apparently after leaving the University. Bourchier
calls him licentiate in theology at Oxford ; Francis a S. Clara, Doctor
of Theology. He attacked the King 's anti-papal and anti-monastic
measures, was thrown into prison, tortured, and at length (July 19, 1 537)
strangled with his own cord 8.
John Forest, who entered the Franciscan Order at Greenwich,
about the age of seventeen, is said by Wood to have been instructed
afterwards in theology among the Friars Minors of Oxford, and to have
1 Reg. H. 7, 308 b, 303 b. T Strype, Memorials, II, ii. 277;
9 ActaCur. Cancell. EEE, f. 161. Life of Parker, II, 53; Wood, Fasti,
3 Newcourt, Repert. II. 98-9 ; Le Neve, Fasti, I, 446, 447 ;
* Reg. I. 8, fol. ai b, 23. Newcourt, Repert., I, 687. Wood says
5 Cal. of State Papers, Hen. VIII, he was Archdeacon of Gloucester in
Vol. VII, No. 1607 ; perhaps in con- Edward's reign.
nexion with the conspiracy of the Nun 8 Wood, Fasti, 106-7. Gillow, Bib-
of Kent, or with the refusal of the liograph. Diet of the Engl. Catholics
Observants to take the Oath of Sue- I, 313; Bourchier (ed. Paris, 1586), p.
cession. n.
• Reg. H. 7, f. 303 b; I. 8,f.9.
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 291
supplicated for B.D. There seems to be no evidence in support of
this statement. Forest was burnt in 1538, aged sixty-four, for denying
the royal supremacy l.
John Taylor alias Cardmaker, of Exeter, entered the Franciscan
Order when under age2. In Dec. 1532, after studying sixteen years
at Oxford and Cambridge, he obtained grace to proceed to B.D.8
He was warden of the Grey Friars at Exeter in 1534 *. At the time
of the Dissolution he preached against the Pope 8. In 1543 he
became vicar of St. Bride's in Fleet Street 6, then prebendary, and in
1547 Chancellor of Wells7. In the reign of Edward VI. he married
a widow (by whom he had a daughter) 8, and was appointed reader in
St. Paul's, where he lectured three times a week 9 ;
'his lectures were so offensive to the Roman Catholic party, that they
abused him to his face, and with their knives would cut and haggle his
gown 10.'
On the accession of Mary he tried to escape to the continent, dis-
guised as a merchant ; he was caught, committed to the Fleet, and
afterwards removed to the Compter in Bread Street11. Convened
before Gardiner and others, he appears to have shown some signs of
wavering at first.
' You shall right well perceive,' he wrote to a friend, ' that I am not gone
back, as some men do report me, but am as ready to give my life as any of
my brethren that are gone before me ; although by a policy I have a little
prolonged it, .... That day that I recant any point of doctrine, I shall
suffer twenty kinds of death 13.'
He was convicted of heresy, deprived of his preferments, and burnt
with others at Smithfield on May 30, 1555 ls.
John Crayford or Crawfurthe supplicated for B.D. in April,
1 Wood, Athenae, I, 107 ; Gasquet, lector in Powlles that if God ware a
I, 192-201. man he was a vj or vij foote of lengthe
8 Foxe, Acts and Monuments, VII, with the bredth, and if it be soo, how
p. 79. canne it be that he shuld be in a pesse
* Reg. H. 7, f. 276 b. of brede in a rownde cake on the awter :
4 Oliver, Monast. Exon. 331. what an ironyos oppynyone is this unto
s Wood, Fasti, 92. the leye pepulle.' Grey Friars Chron.
• He resigned the living in 1551 ; p. 63.
Newcourt, Repert. I. u Strype, Eccl. Mem. Ill, i. p. 322 ;
7 Le Neve, Fasti, I, 177. Foxe, VI, 627.
8 Cooper, Athen. Cantab. I, 126-7. 12 Fo*e, VII, 84.
9 Ibid., and Wood, Fasti. " Strype, Eccles. Mem. Ill, i. 166,
10 Wood, Fasti : his manner was not 347.
conciliatory : ' he sayd opynly in his
U 2
293 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. III.
1537, after studying fourteen years at Oxford and Cambridge1. He
was the last warden of the Grey Friars at Newcastle-on-Tyne, and
surrendered his house to the King on Jan. 9, 153^ 2. In 1543 he was
presented by Henry VIII to a canonry in Durham Cathedral. He
became vicar of Midford in Northumberland in 1546, and resigned
the living in or before 1561. He died in 1562, bequeathing legacies
to several of the canons, grammar-scholars, and others connected
with the church of Durham. To the library he left St. Augustine's
works in ten volumes, St. Basil in Greek and Latin, and Rabbi Moses
in print ; and to Sir Stephen Holiday, all St. Cyprian's works. He
willed his body to be buried in St. Michael's, Wytton-Gylbert, if he
died there ; otherwise in Durham Cathedral 3.
Hugh Glaseyere supplicated in 1535 that fourteen years' study
might suffice for his admission to oppose and read the Sentences. He
was admitted to oppose on July 13, and B.D. on July 14, 1538 *, i.e.
on the day of the dissolution of the Oxford friary. His name, how-
ever, does not appear in the list of Minorites at Oxford ' who would
have their capacities.' He conformed to the various changes in
religion. In November, 1538, he was instituted to the rectory of
Hanworth, Middlesex, on the presentation of the King ; he resigned
it in 1554. In 1546 he was appointed to the rectory of Harlington,
which he held till his death6. In 1541 he was appointed by Cranmer
to the difficult post of commissary-general of the Archbishop at
Calais6. In 1542 he was made canon of Christchurch, Canterbury7.
In Edward's reign he was reckoned ' an eager man for reformation,'
and preached at Paul's Cross (1547) that the observation of Lent
was only
' a politic ordinance of man, and might therefore be broken of men at their
leisure ' 8.
In 1553 he was presented by Queen Mary to the rectory of Deal9.
1 Reg. I. 8, fol. 22. Another of the The ten vols. of St. Augustine (ed. 1529")
same name was D.D. of Cambridge given by him are still in the library of
(1536), and Master of University College, the Dean and Chapter.
Oxford (1546). Boase, p. 120 ; Wood, * Reg. I. 8, fol. 6 b, 35 b.
Fasti, 123; Cooper, Athen. Cantab. 5 J3e\rcouTt,J?eflertortum,1, 629, 632.
Reg. H. 7, fol. 227 b, I. 8, f. i6b, 112. 6 Strype, Memorials, II, i. 40; Life
8 Eighth Report of the Deputy of Cranmer, 126, 133.
Keeper, App. II. 7 Le Neve, Fasti, I, 54.
3 Cooper, Athen. Cantab. 70, 532; 8 Wood, Fasti, 108; Strype, Mem.
Le Neve, Fasti, III, 308 ; Hutchinson's II, i. 40; Tanner, Bibl. 327.
Durham, II, 170; Durham Wills, Vol. » Rymer, Foed. XV, 350.
I, 1 94 (Surtees 800.1835), ' Crawfurthe.'
CH. III.] FRANCISCANS IN THE OXFORD CONVENT. 293
In March, 1558, Cardinal Pole appointed certain commissioners for
the suppression of heresy in his diocese, among them being Hugh
Glazier, S.T.B.1 Hugh did not survive the persecution in Kent which
followed. On the 27th July, 1558, 'Magister Glasier, sacellanus
cardinalis,' was buried at Lambeth 2.
Henry Stretsham supplicated for B.D. in May, 1538, having
studied twelve years at Oxford and Cambridge ; he was to preach
at St. Mary's and in some other church intra Universitatis pre-
cinctum s.
Richard Roper, B.D., was one of the Franciscans at Oxford who
desired ' to have their capacities ' at the dissolution *.
Radulph Kyrswell, or Creswell, was an Observant Friar at
Reading in 1534, having probably been sent there as a prisoner for
refusing to acknowledge the royal supremacy. At the time of the
dissolution he was at Oxford, and as priest supplicated for a
' capacity ' 5.
Robert Newman was one of the priests among the Oxford Fran-
ciscans at the dissolution who asked for ' capacities.' He became
vicar of Hampton in 1541, joined the reforming party, and was
deprived of the living on the accession of Mary 6.
John Comre (?), James Cantwell, Thomas Cappes, William
Bowghnell, James Smyth, Thomas Wythman, were among the
priests in the Franciscan Convent who asked for ' capacities ' at the
dissolution 7.
John Staffordeschyer, priest, was at Oxford when the friary was
suppressed 8. John Stafford, who was warden of the Grey Friars at
Coventry in 1519 and 1538, when he surrendered his house to the
King on the 5th October, seems to have been a different person 9.
1 Strype, Mem. Ill, ii. 120, who 62 ; Cal. of State Papers, Vol. VII,
gives 1558 as the date. Burnet puts this No. 1607. Cf. Gasquet, I, 191-2.
commission in 1557; Reformation, Vol. * Chapter House Books, A^-, p. 62;
III, Part i, p. 502. Newcomt, Repert. I, 624,
4 Tanner, Bibl. 327: Hugh's sue- 7 Chapter House Books, A -&. One
cessor at Harlington was instituted on Thomas Cappes was priest of St. Mary
Jan. 17, 155!; Newcourt, ut supra. Magdalen, Old Fish Street, London, in
3 Reg. I. 8, fol. 37. Henry Strensham 1540, and got into trouble for his Pro-
was rector of St. George's, Botolph testant tendencies ; Strype, Eccles. Me-
Lane, London, from 1541-4; Newcourt, morials, I, p. 566 ; he is not mentioned
Repertorium. in Newcourt's Repert. I, 453.
« Chapter House Books, A -ft, p. 62. 8 Ibid.
5 Chapter House Books, A^r> PP- '» Foxe, Acts and Monuments, IV.
294 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. [CH. Ill
John Olliff, sub-deacon, after asking for a 'capacity' on the
dissolution of the Oxford friary, joined the Grey Friars of Doncaster
and was among the ten brethren who signed the surrender of that
house on November 2oth, 1538 1.
Thomas Barly, William Cok, and John Cok, who were not in
holy orders, desired 'capacities' at the suppression of the Oxford
Convent2. A John Cooke subscribed the surrender of the Grey
Friars of Cambridge 8.
Simon Ludford was a Minorite at Oxford at the dissolution. An
account of his subsequent career has been given in Part I,
Chapter VIII 4.
557; 8th Report of the Depnty Keeper, 'Eighth Report of the Deputy
App. II, p. 17. Keeper, App. II, p. 14 ; the deed is not
1 Chapter House Books, A £r, p. 62 ; dated.
8th Report of the Deputy Keeper, App. * Boase, p. ri, 222 ; Reg. I. 8. foL
II, p. 17- *38b, 139, 139 b, 190, 190 b, 192 b.
a Ibid, ttt supra.
APPENDIX A.
DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE ACQUISITION OF LANDED
PROPERTY BY THE GREY FRIARS.
i. William son of Richard Wileford (c. 1228). — 2. Robert son of Robert Oea
(1236). — 3. Royal license to the Friars to enclose their lands (1244). — 4. Pur-
chase by the King of an island in the Thames (1245). — 5. Grant of the same
island to the Friars (1245). — 6. Thomas de Valeynes, grant of two messuages
(1245). — 7 Laurence Wyche, grant of a messuage (1246). — 8. Royal license
to enclose (1248). — 9. Royal grant to the Friars of the Sack (1265). — 10.
Grants from various persons (1310). — n. Grant by the King of the property
of the Friars of the Sack to the Minorites (1310). — 12. Regrant of the same
(1319). — 13. John Culvard, Inquisitio ad quod damnum (1319). — 14. Grant
by John de Grey de Rotherfield (1337).
Grant of a house by William de Wileford.
The following document is by far the earliest private deed relating
to the English Franciscans now extant *, and very few grants in the
Public Records are of greater antiquity. The original is to be found
in the Oxford City Archives (No. 17). It is not dated, but it was
executed during the mayoralty of John Pady, who held the office from
1227 to 1229 2. The document is in excellent preservation, and the
seal of W. de Wileford is still attached.
Notum sit uniuersis Christi fidelibus, quod ego Willelmus filius
Ricardi de Wileford concessi dimisi et liberaui Johanni Pady, tune
maiori Oxonie, et Andree Halegod et Laurencio Halegod et Philippo
Molendinario et ceteris probis hominibus Oxonie, illam domum meam
in parochia Sancte Abbe in Oxonia que aliquando fuit Ricardi de
Wileford patris mei cum omnibus pertinentibus eiusdem domus, ad
hospitandum fratres minores in perpetuum. Et si ita contigerit quod
fratres minores a uilla Oxonie discesserint, et ibi amplius manere
noluerint, ad hospitandum ibi aliquos probos uiros in elemosina, saluo
1 Except, I think, one mentioned in my reference to this.
the Reports of the Historical Manu- a Wood-Peshall, City of Oxford, p.
scripts Commission, but I have mislaid 355.
296 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
quod dicti probi homines Oxonie et eorum heredes faciant Capitalibus
dominis illius feodi annuale seruicium quod ad predictam terrain
pertinet, et reddendo michi et heredibus meis annuatim unam libram
cymini ad festum Sancti Michaelis pro omni seruitio. Et ego dictus
Willelmus et heredes mei warantizabimus predictum mesuagium cum
pertinenciis predictis probis hominibus hereditarie sicut prediuisum est
contra omnes homines et feminas, pro hac autem mea concessione
dimisione liberatione et warantizatione predicti probi homines Oxonie
ex elemosyna collecta dederunt michi quadraginta tres marcas
sterlingorum. Et ut hac predicta rata permaneant huic scripto sigillum
meum apposui.
Hiis testibus, Pentecost et Henrico filio Tome tune prepositis,
Roberto Oein, Henrico filio Henrici, Petro filio turoldi, Ricardo
Mol(endinario), Ricardo Taillur, Milone drapario, Benedicto Mercer,
Radulpho Palmer, Willelmo clerico, et aliis.
Grant of a house by Robert Oen, A.D. 1236.
Close Roll, ao Hen. Ill, m. 9.
Rex Maiori et probis hominibus suis Oxon' salutem. Quia per
litteras vestras nobis directas accepimus quod sponte suscepistis in vos
onus muragii ville Oxon' quod ad platiam quam Robertus filius
Roberti Oen tenuit iuxta domos fratrum minorum Oxon', et quam
idem Robertus eisdem fratribus dedit in augmentum mansionis sue :
Vobis mandamus quod eisdem fratribus de predicta platia plenam
seisinam habere faciatis ; Ita quod predictus Robertus, qui prius fuit
liber hospes prioris et fratrum sancti Johannis Jerusalem in Anglia in
predicta platia, eandem libertatem habeat in corpore domus sue in qua
nunc manet alibi in eadem villa in parochia sancti Michaelis ad portam
Borealem. Teste ut supra (i.e. Rege apud Gloucestriam iii° die
Julii).
License to enclose their possessions and throw down part of
the old wall, A.D. 1244.
Pat. 29 Hen. Ill, m. 9 (printed in Mon. Franc. I. 616).
Pro fratribus Minoribus Oxon'. Rex concessit fratribus minoribus
Oxon' ad maiorem quietem et securitatem habitacionis sue, quod
possint claudere uicum qui extenditur sub muro Oxon' a porta que
APPENDIX A. 297
dicitur Watergat' in parochia Sancte Ebbe usque ad paruum posticum
eiusdem muri uersus castrum; Ita quod murus karnollatus similis
reliquo muro eiusdem municipij fiat circa prefatam habitationem
incipiens ab occidental! latere dicte porte de Watergat', et se extendens
uersus austrum vsque ad ripam tamisie et inde protendens super
eandem Ripam uersus occidentem vsque ad feodum Abbatis de Becco
in parochia Sancti Bodhoci, iterum reflectatur uersus Aquilonem
usquequo coniungatur cum ueteri muro prefati Burgi iuxta latus
orientale prenominati posticij (sic] parui. Rex etiam concessit eisdem
ad continuandum locum nouum cum ueteri, quod possint prosternere
de muro antique quantum extenditur habitatio ipsorum infra eundem.
Saluo tamen semper nobis et heredibus nostris, Regibus Anglic, libero
transitu per medium loci noui, in quolibet aduentu nostro ibidem. In
cuius, etc. Teste Rege apud S. Albanum, xxii die Dec.
Et mandatum est vicecomiti Oxon', Maiori et Balliuis Oxon', quod
id fieri permittant. Teste ut supra.
4
Island in the Thames, A.D. 1245 (see below).
Liberate Roll, 29 Hen. Ill, m. 9.
Rex Baronibus de Scaccario salutem. Allocate Henrico filio
Henrici Simeonis in fine Ix marcarum quern fecit nobiscum eo quod
inponebatur ei quod interfuit interfectioni cuiusdam scolaris Oxon' xxv
Marcas quas debuimus Henrico Simeonis patri suo pro quadam Insula
in aqua Tamisis apud Oxoniam quam ab eo emimus, et quas ipse
petebat eidem filio suo in fine predicto allocari. Teste ut supra (i.e.
King at Windsor, April 22nd).
Grant of the island to the Friars Minors, A.D. 1245.
Pat. 29 Hen. Ill, m. 6 (printed in Mon. Franc. I. 615.)
Pro fratribus Minoribus.
Rex omnibus salutem. Sciatis quod ad ampliacionem aree in qua
de nouo hospitari ceperunt ffratres Minores Oxon', assignauimus
Insulam nostram in fluuio Thamis' quam emimus ab Henrico filio
Henrici Simeonis, concedentes eis et volentes, quod ipsi pontem fieri
faciant ultra brachium illud Thamis' quod currit inter insulam predictam
et domos suas, et quod Eandem Insulam ad securitatem domorum
298 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
suarum et tranquillitatem Religionis sue muro uel alio modo, sicut
sibi uiderint expedite, faciant includi. In huius Rei testimonium etc.
Teste ut supra (i.e. Rege apud Westmonasterium xxii die Aprilis).
Et mandatum est vicecomiti Oxon' quod Insulam illam eis habere
facial. Teste Rege apud Wind(esor) xxiiij die Aprilis.
6
Grant of two messuages by Thomas de Valeynes, 1245.
Feet of Fines, Oxon ; 29 Hen. Ill, m. 40.
Hec est finalis concordia facta in curia domini Regis apud West-
monasterium a die Purificacionis beate Marie (Feb. 2nd) in Tres
septimanas, anno regni Regis Henrici filii Regis Johannis vicesimo
Nono, coram Henrico de Bathonia, Rogero de Thurkelby, Roberto
de Notingham, Jollano de Nevill, Gilberto de Preston et Johanne de
Cobeham, Justiciariis, et aliis domini Regis fidelibus tune ibi
presentibus. Inter Thomam de Valeynes querentem et Symonem filii
Benedicti et Leticiam uxorem eius Inpedientes, de duobus Mesuagiis
cum pertinentiis in suburbio Oxon' unde placitum Warantie carte
summonitum1 fuit Inter eos in eadem curia, scilicet quod predict!
Symon et Leticia recognoverunt predicta mesuagia cum pertinentiis
esse ius ipsius Thome, ut ilia que Idem Thomas habet de dono pre-
dictorum Symonis et Leticie ; Habenda et Tenenda eidem Thome et
heredibus suis de capitalibus dominis feodi illius imperpetuum, faciendo
inde omnia seruicia que ad predicta mesuagia pertinent. Et predict!
Symon et Leticia et heredes ipsius Leticie Warantizabunt, adquietabunt,
et defendent eidem Thome et heredibus suis predicta mesuagia cum
pertinentiis per predicta seruicia contra omnes homines imperpetuum.
Et pro hac recognitione, Warantia, adquietancia, defensione, fine et
concordia, Idem Thomas ad peticionem predictorum Symonis et
Leticie attornauit et assignauit predicta mesuagia cum pertinentiis in
augmentum aree in qua hospitantur fratres minores Oxon' com-
morantes, in puram et perpetuam elemosinam, liberam et quietam ab
omni secular! seruicio et exactione in perpetuum. Et preterea idem
Thomas dedit et concessit predicte Leticie unum mesuagium cum
pertinentiis extra portam Aquilonarem Oxon' in angulo de Hors-
mongharestrete iuxta terram Reginaldi Gamages, simul cum fabrica
quam Hugo Marescall tenet, que scilicet Mesuagium et fabricam
Benedictus le Mercer pater predict! Symonis aliquando tenuit; Habenda
1 MS. Sum.
APPENDIX A. 299
et Tenenda eisdem Symoni et Leticie et heredibus ipsius Leticie de
capitalibus dominis feodi illius imperpetuum, faciendo inde omnia
seruicia que ad predicta tenementa pertinent : Ita tamen quod non
licebit predicto Symoni predicta tenementa dare, vendere, assignare, vel
legare, vel aliquo alio modo alienare, quominus ilia tenementa
remaneant predicte Leticie et heredibus suis in perpetuum.
Grant of a messuage by Laurence Wych, A.D. 1246.
Pat. 31 Hen. Ill, m. 8.
Pro fratribus Minoribus Oxon'. Rex omnibus etc. Salutem. Sciatis
quod (ad) amplificationem aree ffratrum Minorum Oxon' assignauimus
eis totum mesuagium illud cum pertinenciis quod laurencius Wych
maior noster Oxon' nobis reddidit et commisit ad amplificationem aree
predictorum ffratrum, concedentes eis et uolentes, quod, ad securitatem
domorum suarum et tranquillitatem religionis sue, muro uel alio modo,
sicut sibi uiderint expedire, illud faciant includi. In cuius etc. Teste
Rege apud Clarendon xxvij die Nouembris.
Et Mandatum est vicecomiti Oxon' quod mesuagium illud loco
Regis recipiat ad opus eorundem ffratrum.
8
License to enclose their new possessions ; the city wall
to be repaired, A.D. 1248.
Pat. 32 Hen. Ill, m. 10 (printed in Mon. Franc. L 617).
Pro fratribus minoribus Oxon'.
Rex omnibus etc. salutem. Noueritis nos intuitu pietatis concessisse
ut vicus qui extenditur sub muro Oxon' a porta que dicitur Watergat'
in parochia Ste. Ebbe vsque ad paruum posticum eiusdem muri uersus
Castrum claudatur propter maiorem securitatem et quietem fratrum
minorum iuxta dictum vicum habitancium, quamdiu domino loci
placuerit. Saluo tamen nobis et heredibus nostris, Regibus Anglic,
libero transitu per medium Noui loci in quolibet aduentu nostro ibidem.
Concedimus etiam ut latus aquilonare capelle in prefato vico constructe
et construende suplere (sic) possit prenominati muri interruptionem,
quantum se extendere debet, ceteris eiusdem muri rupturis in integrum
reparatis ut prius, excepto paruo posticu in dicto muro, per quod
possint dicti fratres ire et redire de nouo loco in quo modo hospitantur
300 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
ad priorem locum in quo prius hospitabantur. In cuius, etc. Teste
Rege apud Westmonasterium, x die febr'.
This concession is repeated and confirmed in Patent Roll 18 Edw.
III. m. 19 (A.D. 1344).
9
Royal grant to the Friars of the Penitence of Jesus Christ or
Friars of the Sack, 1265.
Pat. 49 Hen. Ill, m. 24.
As the Minorites subsequently obtained the ' area ' of the Friars of
the Sack, records relating to this property will naturally find a place
here. On May 7th, 1262, the king gave them permission,
quod in area sibi collata ', quam habent in parochia ecclesie Sancti Boduci
Oxonie, in qua ius patronatus habemus, oratorium construere possint ad
diuina ibidem celebranda (Pat. Roll 46 Hen. Ill, m. n).
On February 5th, 1265, he made them a further grant (Pat. 49 Hen.
Ill, m. 24), and on February 8th, 1265, this second grant was again
made in greater detail (ibidem). It is this last which is here quoted.
Pro fratribus de penitencia IfTu Xpi Oxon'. Rex episcopo
Lincolniensi salutem. Cum ecclesia sancti Budoci in suburbio Oxon'
nostri patronatus per amocionem et decessum parochianorum eiusdem
ecclesie iam in tantum depauperata sit et adnullata, quod fructus et
obuenciones eiusdem ad sustentacionem vnius capellani ministrantis in
eadem non sufiiciunt, vt veraciter accepimus ; ac fratres de penitencia
Ihu Xpi quendam situm habeant ibidem contiguum ecclesie predicte,
in quo domos suas construxerunt, deo famulari proponentes ibidem :
nos, intuitu caritatis et pro salute anime nostre et animarum anteces-
sorum et heredum nostrorum, dictis fratribus ecclesiam predictam cum
cimiterio eiusdem et domibus existentibus in eodem et ad ecclesiam
eandem pertinentibus, quantum ad nos pertinet, concessimus pro
nobis et heredibus nostris habendam sibi et successoribus suis, videlicet
ad faciendam inde sibi capellam in qua diuina celebrare possint inper-
petuum, ita quod cimiterium predictum tanquam cimiterium bene-
dictum in statu suo remaneat. In cuius, etc. Teste Rege apud
Westmonasterium, octauo die februarii. Et habent dicti fratres litteram
aliam (?) sub hac forma, ' Rex omnibus etc/2
1 For the grant of this area by the dated May 7, 1262, already mentioned ;
Abbat and Convent of Osney, at the Pat. 46 Hen. Ill, m. n. The word
instance of Ela Longespee, Countess of ' aliam ' is not quite clear ; it may be
"Warwick, see Wood-Clark II, p. 474. alteram.
3 This is a reference to the letter
APPENDIX A. 301
10
Grants from various persons, A. D. 1310.
Pat. 3 Edward II, m. 14.
Rex omnibus ad quos etc. salutem. Sciatis quod de gratia nostra
speciali concessimus et licenciam dedimus pro nobis et heredibus
nostris quantum in nobis est, dilectis nobis in Christo Gardiano et
fratribus de ordine Minorum Oxon', quod ipsi de Johanne Wyz et
Emma uxore eius quandam placeam terre in Oxonia continentem in se
ab oriente versus occidentem quinque perticatas et duos pedes terre et
ab aquilone versus austrum duas perticatas terre et dimidiam : et de
Henrico Tyeys quandam placeam terre iacentem inter placeam in qua
ecclesia Sancti Budoci edificata fuit et aqua (sic) Thamisis, que quidem
placea continet in se sex perticatas terre in longitudine et quinque
perticatas terre in latitudine; et quandam aliam placeam terre
extendentem se ab aqua Thamisis vsque ad predictam placeam terre
que fuit Ricardi le Lodere, et continentem in se in longitudine
quatuordecim perticatas et dimidiam et quinque pedes terre et in
latitudine quatuor perticatas et tres pedes terre : et quandam aliam
placeam terre continentem in se in longitudine ab aqua Thamisis vsque
ad viam regalem sexdecim perticatas terre et dimidiam et in latitudine
decem perticatas terre, placee dictorum Gardiani et fratrum ibidem
contiguas ; adquirere possint habendas sibi et successoribus suis ad
elargacionem placee sue predicte imperpetuum, statute de terris et
tenementis ad manum mortuam non ponendis edito non obstante. In
cuius, etc. Teste Rege apud Westmonasterium xxviij die Marcij;
per ipsum Regem.
11
Grant of the property of the Friars of the Penitence of Jesus Christ
to the Friars Minors, A.D. 1310.
Pat. 3 Edward II, m. 9.
Rex omnibus ad quos etc. salutem. Licet de communi consilio
regni nostri statutum sit, quod non liceat viris Religiosis seu aliis
ingredi feodum alicuius ila quod ad manum mortuam deueniat sine
licencia nostra et capitalis domini de quo ilia (sic) immediate tenetur ;
Volentes tamen dilectis nobis in Christo Gardiano et fratribus de
ordine Minorum Oxon' gratiam facere specialem, concessimus et
licenciam dedimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris, quantum in nobis
302 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
est, eisdem Gardiano et fratribus, quod ipsi quandam placeam terre in
suburbio Oxon' placee dictorum Gardiani et fratrum in eadem villa
contiguam, continentem viginti perticatas terre et dimidiam in longitn-
dine, et sex perticatas terre in latitudine ad capud australe, et ad capud
boriale duas perticatas et quatuor pedes terre, et medio inter capud
australe et capud boriale quatuor perticatas et septem pedes terre, in
qua placea aliquo tempore fuit quedam ecclesia parochialis sancti
Budoci cum quodam cimiterio pertinente ad eandem ecclesiam, quam
quidem placeam cum dicto cimiterio dominus H. quondam Rex
Anglie auus noster per cartam suam dedit et concessit fratribus de
ordine de penitencia Inu Xpi Oxon' pro quadam capella ibidem con-
struenda in qua diuina celebrare possent : Ita quod cimiterium pre-
dictum tanquam cimiterium benedictum in suo statu remaneret, sic(ut)
per quandam inquisicionem per dilectum et fidelem nostrum Walterum
de Gloucestria Escaetorem nostrum citra Trentam de mandato nostro
inde factam et in Cancellaria nostra retornatam est compertum de
predictis fratribus de penitencia Ihu Xpi, perquirere possint et
tenere sibi et successoribus suis ad elargacionem placee sue predicte
imperpetuum, Ita tamen quod Cimiterium predictum tanquam bene-
dictum in suo statu remaneat imperpetuum. Nolentes quod predict!
Gardianus et fratres aut successores sui ratione premissorum per nos
vel heredes nostros, Justiciaries, Escaetores, Vicecomites aut alios
balliuos seu Ministros nostros quoscunque occasionentur, molestentur
in aliquo, seu grauentur. In cuius, etc. Teste Rege apud West-
monasterium xxviij die Marcii per ipsum Regem.
12
Regrant of the property of the Friars of the Penitence of Jesus Christ
to the Friars Minors, A.D. 1319.
Pat 12 Edward II, part 2, m. 25.
This document was probably intended as a protest against the
claim implied in the papal grant of the same property, as already
explained (Chapter II), or perhaps merely as an additional confirmation
of the friars' title.
Pro fratribus de ordine minorum Oxon'. Rex omnibus ad quos etc.
salutem. Sciatis quod cum fratres de ordine Minorum Oxon' totam
illam aream que quondam fuit fratrum de penitencia Ihu Xpi
Oxon' in suburbio Oxon' aree dictorum fratrum de ordine Minorum
ibidem contiguam de eisdem fratribus de penitencia Ihu Xpi
adquisivissent, et iidem fratres de ordine Minorum aream illam
APPENDIX A. 303
adeo integre sicut ad manus suas devenit, nobis dederint et in mantis
nostras reddiderint habendam nobis et heredibus nostris imperpetuum :
Nos, ob affectionem quam ad dictum ordinem fratrum Minorum
gerimus et habemus, volentes eis graciam facere specialem, dedimus
eis et concessimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris, quantum in nobis
est, aream predictam nobis sic redditam cum pertinenciis, habendam
sibi et successoribus suis fratribus eiusdem ordinis apud Oxoniam
commorantibus, ad elargacionem aree sue predicte, in liberam puram
et perpetuam elemosinam, salvo iure cuiuslibet. In cuius, etc. Teste
Rege apud Eboracum vito die Marcii, per ipsum Regem.
13
Inquiry held at Oxford, A. D. 1319, into the advisability of allowing
John Culvard to grant land to the Friars Minors.1
Inquisitio ad quod damnum 1 2 Edw. II, No. 47.
Edwardus dei gracia Rex Anglorum dominus hibernie et dux
Aquitanie, Magistro Ricardo de Clare Escaetori suo vltra Trentam,
salutem. Mandamus vobis, quod per sacramentum proborum et
legalium hominum de Balliua vestra, per quos rei veritas melius sciri
poterit, diligenter inquiratis, si sit ad dampnum vel preiudicium nos-
trum aut aliorum, si concedamus Johanni Culuard de Oxonia, quod
ipse quandam placeam terre cum pertinenciis in Oxonia, manso
dilectorum nobis in Xpo Gardiani et fratrum de ordine minorum
in eadem villa ex parte orientali contiguam, continentem in se
in longitudine sex perticatas terre et in latitudine quinque perti-
catas terre, dare possit et assignare eisdem Gardiano et fratribus
habendam et tenendam sibi et successoribus suis ad elargacionem
mansi sui predict! imperpetuum, necne. Et si sit ad dampnum vel
preiudicium nostrum aut aliorum, tune ad quod dampnum et quod
preiudicium nostrum, et ad quod dampnum et ad quod preiudicium
aliorum, et quorum, et qualiter, et quo modo ; de quo vel de quibus
placea ilia teneatur, et per quod seruicium, et qualiter et quo modo ;
et quantum valeat per annum in omnibus exitibus iuxta verum
1 The following petition to the King Oxenford qil lour voille graunter la
(Parliamentary Petitions, 4299, in the mortificacioun de vne place en Oxenford
Record Office), probably refers to this qe ne vaut qe deux souz per an auxicome
grant, or possibly to the grant of Richard retonrne est en la chauncellrie et qe est a
Cary (p. 20); the petition is undated. nuly prejudice.' Endorsed; 'Soitveu(?)
' A notre seigneur le Roi si luy plest lenqneste et le Roi en dirra sa volorite.'
prient les poures freres Menours de
304 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
valorem eiusdem ; et qui et quot sunt (sic) medii inter nos et prefatum
Johannem de placea predicta ; et que terre et que tenementa eidem
Johanni remaneant vltra donacionem et assignacionem predictas, et
vbi et de quo vel de quibus teneantur, et per quod seruicium, et
qualiter et quod modo, et quantum valeant per annum in omnibus
exitibus; et si terre et tenementa eidem Johanni remanencia vltra
donacionem et assignacionem predictas sufficiant ad consuetudines
et seruicia tarn de predicta placea sic data quam de aliis terris et
tenementis sibi retentis debita facienda, et ad omnia alia onera que
sustinuit et sustinere consueuit, vt in sectis, visibus franci plegii,
auxiliis, tallagiis, vigiliis, finibus, redempcionibus, amerciamentis,
contribucionibus, et aliis quibuscumque oneribus emergentibus sus-
tinenda. Et quod idem Johannes in assisis iuratis et aliis recog-
nicionibus quibuscumque poni possit, prout ante donacionem
et assignacionem predictas poni consuevit. Ita quod patria per
donacionem et assignacionem predictas in ipsius Johannis defectum
magis solito non oneretur seu grauetur. Et inquisicionem inde dis-
tincte et aperte factam nobis, sub sigillo vestro et sigillo eorum per
quos facta fuerit, sine dilacione mittatis et hoc breue. Teste me ipso
apud Eboracum, v die Marcii, anno regni nostri duodecimo.
Inquisicio capta coram Escaetore domini Regis citra Trentam apud
Oxoniam xviii° die Maii anno regni Regis Edwardi filii Regis
Edwardi duodecimo, secundum formam breuis huic inquisicioni con-
suti, per sacramentum Johannis de Coleshull, Willelmi Pennard, Rogeri
Mymekan, Gilbert! de Grensted, Thome Somer, Willelmi de Whatele,
Roberti de Watlington, Johannis de Gunwardeby, Johnnis de Ew,
Henrici de Edrope, Ricardi de Hethrop, et Willelmi de Eueston. Qui
dicunt per sacramentum suum, quod non est ad dampnum nee preiu-
dicium domini Regis nee aliorum, si dominus Rex concedat Johanni
Culuard de Oxonia quod ipse quandam placeam terre cum pertinenciis
in Oxonia, manso Gardiani et ffratrum de ordine minorum in eadem
villa ex parte orientali contiguam, continentem in se in longitudine
sex perticatas terre et in latitudine quinque perticatas terre, dare possit
et assignare eisdem Gardiano et ffratribus, habendam et tenendam
sibi et successoribus suis ad elargacionem mansi sui predicti imper-
petuum: Ita tamen quod communitas ville Oxon' in omnibus tem-
poribus quando necesse fuerit liberum habeat introitum et egressum
ibidem ad murum ville predicte reficiendum reparandum et defen-
dendum. Et dicunt quod predicta placea tenetur de Willelmo de
Adreston' in capite per seruicium vnius denarii per annum pro omni
APPENDIX A. 305
seruicio ; et quod predicta placea valet per annum ijs in omnibus
exitibus iuxta verum valorem eiusdem ; et quod non sunt plures medii
inter dominum Regem et prefatum Johannem de placea predicta
nisi predictus Willelmus de Adreston'. Et dicunt quod eidem
Johanni vltra donacionem et assignacionem predictas remanent
sexaginta solidi terre tenement' et redditus in eadem villa que de
domino Rege tenentur in capite pro seruicio ij sol' per annum pro
omni seruicio. Et dicunt quod terre et tenementa eidem Johanni
remanencia ultra donacionem et assignacionem predictas sufficiunt
ad consuetudines et seruicia tarn de predicta placea sic data quam de
aliis terris et tenementis sibi retentis debita facienda, et ad omnia alia
onera que sustinuit et sustinere consueuit. Et quod idem Johannes
in assisis iuratis et aliis recognicionibus quibuscumque poni possit,
prout ante donacionem et assignacionem predictas poni consueuit.
Ita quod patria per donacionem et assignacionem predictas in ipsius
Johannis defectum magis solito non oneretur seu grauetur. In cuius
rei testimonium predicti Jurati huic Inquisicioni sigilla sua appo-
suerunt. Dat' predictis die, anno, et loco.
The license to alienate this land was granted to John Culvard on
the 8th of July of the same year, and is entered in the Patent Roll for
13 Edw. II, m. 44. The same year similar inquisition was held to
consider the petition of Richard Gary to grant land to the Friars
Minors at Oxford; Inquis. ad quod damnum 13 Edw. II, no. 31.
14
Grant of a parcel of ground by John de Grey de Rotherfield,
A.D. 1337.
Pat. Roll II, Edw. Ill, pt. II, m. 6.
A certain interest attaches to this deed as recording the last gift
of land to the Oxford Minorites, of which evidence remains — probably
the last gift ever made.
Pro Gardiano et fratribus ordinis Minorum Oxon' de acquirendo ad
elargacionem mansi.
Rex omnibus ad quos, etc. salutem. Licet de communi consilio
regni nostri statutum sit, quod non liceat viris religiosis seu aliis
ingredi feodum alicuius ita quod ad manum mortuam deueniat sine
licencia nostra et capitalis domini de quo res ilia immediate tenetur ;
Volentes tamen dilectis nobis in Christo Gardiano et fratribus ordinis
minorum in villa Oxon' graciam facere specialem ; concessimus et
x
306 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
licenciam dedimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris, quantum in nobis
est, dilecto et fideli nostro Johanni de Grey de Retherfeld, quod ipse
quandam placeam terre cum pertinenciis in villa predicta manso pre-
dictorum Gardiani et fratrum ibidem ex parte orientali contiguam,
continentem in se in longitudine sex perticatas terre et in latitudine
quinque perticatas terre, dare possit et assignare eisdem Gardiano et
fratribus, habendam et tenendam sibi et successoribus suis ad elar-
gacionem mansi sui predict! imperpetuum: et eisdem Gardiano et
fratribus, quod ipsi placeam predictam cum pertinenciis a prefato
Johanne recipere possint et tenere sibi et successoribus suis predictis
ad elargacionem mansi sui predict! imperpetuum, sicut predictum est
tenore presencium, similiter licenciam dedimus specialem. Nolentes
quod predictus Johannes vel heredes sui, seu predicti Gardianus et
fratres aut successores sui, racione statuti predicti per nos vel heredes
nostros inde occasionentur in aliquo seu grauentur Saluis tamen
capitalibus dominis feodi illius seruiciis inde debitis et consuetis.
In cuius, etc. Teste Rege apud Westmonasterium, xix die Augusti.
APPENDIX B.
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS.
i. Food for the Friars Minors, etc. (A.D. 1244). — 2. Adam Marsh as royal
nuncius (A. D. 1247). — 3. For the same (A. D. 1257). — 4. The Church of the
Minorites used as a Sanctuary (A.D. 1284-5). — 5. Royal grant of 50 marcs
(A .D. 1 289). — 6. Decree of the General Chapter at Paris (A.D. 1 292). — 7. Royal
grant of 50 marcs ; tally on the sheriff of Oxford for half the amount
(A.D. 1323); evidence of payment. — 8. ' Receptor denariornm gardiani Fratrum
Minorum Oxon' (A.D. 1341). — 9. Goods and chattels of Friar John Welle,
S.T.P. (A.D. 1378). — 10. Expulsion of foreign Friars Minors from Oxford
(A.D. 1388). — 11. Friar William Woodford; confirmation of his privileges by
Pope Boniface IX (A.D. 1366.) — 12. Appointment of a lecturer to the Convent
at Hereford (c. A.D. 1400). — 13. Decree of the General Chapter at Florence
(A.D. 1467). — 14. Recovery of debt from a Sheriff (A.D. 1488). — 15. Docu-
ments relating to the lease of a garden at the Grey Friars to Richard Leke
(A.D. 1513-1514). — 16. Extracts from the will of Richard Leke (A. D. 1526). —
17. An ex-warden called to account (A.D. 1529).
Food for Friars Minors, &c., A.D. 1244.
Liberate Roll, 29 Hen. Ill, m. 14.
Mandatum est Balliuis Regis Oxon' quod de firma ville sue habere
faciant fratri Rogero Elemosinario Regis die Mercurij in crastino
sancte Lucie Virginis decem Marcas ad pascendum mille pauperes et
fratres predicatores et minores Oxon' pro anima domine Imperatricis
sororis Regis in aniuersario ipsius Imperatricis sicut ei iniunxit Rex.
Et computetur etc. Teste ut supra (King at Woodstock, Dec. 1 2th).
2
Adam Marsh as royal nuncius, A.D. 1247.
Liberate Roll, 31 Hen. Ill, m. 4.
Rex Thesaurario et Camerario salutem. Liberate de Thesauro
nostro Herberto de Denmade quadraginta marcas ad Equos et Har-
nesium emendum ad opus1 . . . Mathei Prioris Prouincie ordinis
1 The edge of the parchment is worn away here.
X 2
308 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
fratrum predicatorum et fratris Ade de Marisco, quos mittimus In
Nuncium ad partes transmarinas, et ad expensas eorundem. Teste
Rege apud Clarendon' xviii die Julii.
3
For the same A.D. 1257.
Liberate, 42 Hen. Ill, m. 3.
Rex Vicecomiti Kancie salutem. Precipimus tibi quod venerabili
Patri W. Wygornensi Episcopo et fratri Ade de Marisco, quos mittimus
in nuncium nostrum ad partes transmarinas, facias habere festinum
passagium in portu nostro Douor' et illud aquietes et computetur l tibi
ad scaccarium. Teste me ipso apud Westmonasterium, xiij die De-
cembris, anno regni nostri xlij°.
Rex Thesaurario et Camerario, etc. Liberate 2 Johanni Marscallo
nostro xj11 ijd pro iiij equis emptis ad opus nostrum et liberatis per
preceptum nostrum iiijor fratribus ordinis predicatorum et minorum
euntibus in nuncium ad partes transmarinas, et Ixix8 vijd obolum pro
expensis eorundem equorum et garcionum custodientium eos per xxxv
dies. Liberate etiam eidem Johanni lxvja ixd pro hernesiis emptis ad
opus fratrum predictorum . . . Teste ut supra (Rege apud Westm'
xxi die Dec.).
The Church of the Minorites used as a Sanctuary, A.D. 1284-5.
Assize Roll 710, m. 55 3.
Adam de Kydmersford posuit se in Ecclesiam fratrum minorum
Oxon' et cognouit se esse latronem de pluribus latrociniis et abiurauit
regnum coram Coronatore. Nulla habuit catalla.
5
Royal grant of 50 marcs, 1289.
Exchequer, Queen's Remembrancer, Wardrobe Ace** ^, Anno 17-18, Edw. I.
This is the earliest mention which I have found of the annual grant
of 50 marks to the Oxford Minorites. After reciting the similar grant
to the Friars Preachers, the record goes on (nth October): —
1 Compr. 3 Formerly ' Placita de juratis et
s This entry occurs a few lines before assisis et corone 13 Edw. I, Oxon,
the foregoing on the same membrane; M ) ., >
it probably refers to the same embassy. $ \
APPENDIX B. 309
Et ffratribus Minoribus Oxon', percipientibus similiter annuatim
a Rege in subsidium sustentacionis L marcas, scilicet eodem modo ad
duos terminos pro Elemosina Regis predicti; de termino Sancti
Michaelis anno presenti per manus ffratrum Johannis de Bekinkham
et Johannis de Clara, xvi1* xiij8 iiijd.
Later in the same document occurs this entry : —
Pro Scaccario. ffratribus Minoribus Oxon' percipientibus 1 annuatim
L marcas de Elemosina Regis ad sustentacionem suam ad duos anni
terminos, vid. ad festum Sancti Michaelis et ad Pasch', pro eadem
Elemosina de termino Sancti Michaelis anno xvjm° finiente et de ter-
mino pasche anno xvij° xxxiij11 vj8 viijd.
6
Decree of the General Chapter at Paris, A.D. 1292.
The following extract is reprinted from Ehrle's ' Die altesten Re-
dactionen der Generalconstitutionen des Franziskaner-Ordens,' in
the ' Archiv fur Literatur- und Kirchengeschichte des Mittelalters,' vol.
VI. p. 63. The Franciscan School at Oxford evidently had at this
time a greater reputation and greater popularity than those at
Cambridge and London. But why the burden should be especially
heavy during the long vacation is not quite clear. Can the Mendicant
Friars have been to any large extent dependent on the alms of the
secular scholars ?
Memoriale ministro Anglic. Ut tempore vacacionis maioris onus
conventus Oxonie aliqualiter relevetur, ordinal generale capitulum,
quod studentes ibidem de provinciis inter ipsam Oxoniensem et
Londonensem et Ca.nteb[rigz'ensem] conventus pro tertia parte, con-
numeratis aliis studentibus extraneis, qui in prefatis Londonensi et
Cantebrugiensi conventibus fuerint, ad ministri provincialis ar-
bitrium dividantur.
7
Royal grant of 50 marcs ; tally on the Sheriff of Oxford for half the
amount, A.D. 1323; evidence of payment.
R.O. Exchequer, Treas. of Receipt ^.
Gardiano et conventui ordinis fratrum Minorum Oxon' xvj1*
xiij8 iiijd.
Liberatum eisdem xxv die Maij. In vna tallia facta .... Coll' xa et
'pc.
310 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
vjta i in comitatu Oxon' et Liberata fratri Johanni de Stanle videlicet
pro hoc termino Pasche de illis quinquaginta marcis per annum quas
Rex eis concessit ad scaccarium percipiendas de elemosina Regis ad
voluntatem suam per breue de Liberate datum apud Westmonasterium
primo die Aprilis anno xvj°. persolutum et est inter breuia de hoc
termino.
8
'Receptor Denariorum,' A.D. 1341.
Brian Twyne MS. xxiii. 266.
This document — the prosecution of the collector of alms by the
Warden of the Oxford Friars Minors for embezzlement — seems to
be the only one of the kind extant. As Twyne points out, we should
naturally have expected the suit to be tried by the Chancellor, not by
the Mayor and Bailiffs of Oxford 2. The original is no longer to be
found in the City Archives, and is probably irretrievably lost. Twyne's
reference is : ' Ibid. (i. e. Oxford City Archives) Husteng' Oxon' tent,
ibid' die D (lunce crossed out) proxim' post festum Epiphaniae Domini,
a° Ed. 3i 140.' (Jan. 134$.)
Ricardus de Whitchford minor summonitus fuit ad respondendum
fratri Johanni Ochampton Guardiano ordinis fratrum Minorum Oxon'
de placito computi, et unde idem Gardianus per fratrem Johannem de
Hentham attornatum suum queritur quod praedictus Ricardus iniuste
non reddit computum de tempore quo fuit receptor denariorum ipsius
Gardiani, etc. : et ideo iniuste, quia idem Gardianus dicit quod prae-
dictus Ricardus die Lunae proximo post festum Santi Michaelis anno
regni regis praedicti 14° (i. e. A.D. 1340) recepit apud Oxoniam de
denariis dicti Gardiani per manus diversorum ad summam 60 soli-
dorum et amplius, viz. per manus Ricardi famuli Johannis de Couton j
marc, per manus Thomae de Lundon xij9, etc., ad computum inde red-
dendum cum inde requisitus fuerit, etc.: unde idem Gardianus saepius
postea venisset ad praedictum Ricardum et ipsum rogasset ut com-
putum ei inde reddidisset, etc.; idem Ricardus computum inde reddere
recusavit et adhuc recusat, etc. : unde dicit quod deterioratus est et
1 Sic. Johannes de Westover et Isolda nxor
* Cf. Twyne MS. xxiii, 252, for an ejus venernnt ad curiam istam et obtu-
appearance of the Warden before the lerunt se clam(antes) versus Gardianum
Mayor's Court in 1287. ' Rot. Cur. die fratrum minorum Oxon. qui venit, et
Lunae Oxon. proxim. post festum petunt partes licentiam concordandi, et
assumptionis B. Mariae a° regni R. habent."
Edw. I. 15°. Memorandum quod
APPENDIX B. 311
damnum habet ad valorem c8 et inde producit sectam, etc. : et prae-
dictus Ricardus venit et non potest dedicere receptionem praedictam
et petit Auditores, etc.: et sic per curiam dantur ei Auditores, viz.
Ricardus Gary et Johannes le Peyntour, etc. : et idem Ricardus postea
computavit coram praefatis Auditoribus de summis praedictis, et in-
venitur in arreragiis de 6o8, unde non potest satisfacere, ideo com-
mittitur custodiae quousque, &c.
9
Goods and chattels of Friar John Welle, S.T.P., A.D. 1378.
Patent Roll, i Ric. II, Part 4, m. 37.
It is doubtful whether the following extract is entitled to a place in
this work. There is no evidence that Friar John Welle had any con-
nection with Oxford ' ; but we venture to print the document here as
illustrating in some degree the actual manner of life of a Franciscan
Doctor of Divinity of the later i4th century.
Pro fratre Johanne Welle. Rex omnibus ad quos etc. salutem.
Sciatis quod, cum quedam equi, salices (sic), libri, moneta, vasa
argentea, ac diuersa alia bona et catalla, que fuerunt dilecti nobis in
Xpo fratris Johannis Welle de ordine fratrum Minorum in theologia
doctoris, extra hospicium suum London' per quendam Thomam Bele
servientem suum et quosdam alios malefactores nuper elongata et
asportata fuerint, quorum quidem bonorum et rerum aliqua, vna cum
persona dicti Thome, per suspicionem occasione eiusdem mesprisionis
apud villam nostram Cantebrigg' arestata existunt, sicut per prefatum
fratrem Johannem coram nobis plenius est testificatum ; Nos, de gracia
nostra speciali, concessimus eidem Johanni omnia, equos, calices, libros,
monetam, vasa et alia bona et catalla predicta, vbicumque fuerint, seu
eciam denarios de eisdem bonis et catallis, in casu quo idem Johannes
eosdem denarios in manibus dictorum malefactorum seu aliorum,
quibus iidem malefactores partem eorundem bonorum et catallorum
vendiderint peruenientes, inuenire poterit, ac eciam bona et catalla per
eosdem malefactores de denariis per ipsos de dictis bonis et catallis,
que fuerunt dicti Johannis, receptis empta, habenda de dono nostro,
1 He is probably to be identified bus, ministro Tusciae, et Fratre Simone
with ' Johannes Vallensis Anglns, qui Bruni in Universitate Tolosana ; '
diu Londinii Theologiam docuit,' who Wadding, vol. viii. p. 209. Wadding
was promoted to the Magisterium in (viii. p. 533) gives a letter addressed to
1368 by order of Pope Urban V, John Welle, Minorite, S T.P. and papal
' laureante fratre Bernardo de Guasconi- chaplain, A.D. 1372.
312 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
si ea ad nos tanquam forisfacta seu confiscata occasione eiusdem
mesprisionis de iure debeant pertinere. In cuius, etc. Teste Rege
apud Westmonasterium, xxii die ffebruarii. per breue de private
sigillo.
10
Expulsion of foreign Friars Minors, A. D. 1388.
Close Roll, 12 Ric. II, m. 42.
De certis fratribus expellendis. Rex dilectis sibi in Christo Gardiano
ordinis fratrum Minorum de Oxonia ac fratribus Anglicis, de consilio
Conuentus eiusdem ordinis ibidem, qui nunc sunt vel qui pro tempore
fuerint, salutem. Quibusdam certis de causis nos et consilium nostrum
intime monentibus, vobis inhibemus firmiter iniungentes, ne aliquos
fratres alienigenas ordinis vestri predicti, nisi tantum eos pro quibus
respondere volueritis quod ipsi secreta et consilium regni nostri aduer-
sariis nostris in scriptis seu alio modo minime reuelabunt, in dictam
domum vestram vobiscum moraturos ex nunc recipiatis, et si aliquos
huiusmodi fratres alienigenas in dicta domo vestra ad presens como-
rantes, pro quibus in forma predicta respondere nolueritis, habeatis
seu qui ordinacionibus dictorum ordinis et Conuentus humiliter parere
ac missas, si sacerdotes fuerint, deuote celebrare, seu aliud diuinum
seruicium sibi iniunctum facere, aut pro nobis et statu dicti regni
nostri specialiter orare noluerint, prout alii fratres indigene dicti ordinis
faciunt et tenentur : tune eos omnes cuiuscumque gradus fuerint ab
eadem domo vestra et Vniuersitate dicte ville Oxon' de tempore in
tempus penitus expelli faciatis, Et hoc sub incumbenti periculo nulla-
tenus omittatis. Teste Rege apud Oxoniam tercio die Augusti.
11
William Woodford : confirmation of his privileges by Boniface IX,
A.D. 1396.
MS. New College 156.
This document is bound up at the beginning of vol. 156 of the
New College MSS. The first half of the last two lines has been torn
away. Compare the letter of Innocent VI to Roger de Conway in
Wadding Annales, vol. viii. p. 457.
Bonifacius episcopus servus servorum dei Dilecto filio Wilhelmo
Wodford ordinis fratrum Minorum professori, in Theologia Magistro,
APPENDIX B. 313
Salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Religionis zelus, litterarum
sciencia, vite ac morum honestas, aliaque laudabilia probitatis et
virtutum merita, super quibus apud nos fidedigno commendaris
testimonio, nos inducunt ut te favoribus apostolicis et graciis prose-
quamur. Exhibita siquidem nobis nuper pro parte tua peticio
continebat, quod quidam locus in Conventu domus fratrum Minorum
londonien' quern obtines, et nonnulla aliqua privilegia et gracie per
superiores tuos tibi fuerunt concessa. Quare pro parte tua nobis
fuit humiliter supplicatum, ut tibi, quod locum quoadvixeris cum
omnibus Cameris et pertinenciis suis retinere valeas, concedere ac
huiusmodi privilegia confirmare de benignitate apostolica dignaremur.
Nos igitur tuis in hac parte supplicacionibus inclinati, tibi, ut predic-
tum locum cum omnibus Cameris et pertinenciis suis quoadvixeris
retinere et possidere, et quod ab eo absque rationabili causa nulla-
tenus amoveri valeas, auctoritate apostolica concedimus ac huiusmodi
privilegia et gracias, si alias rite tibi concessa fuerint, confirmamus
per presentes, Constitucionibus apostolicis ac statutis et consuetu-
dinibus dicti ordinis contrariis non obstantibus quibuscunque. Nulli
ergo omnino hominum liceat hanc paginam nostre concessionis et
confirmacionis infringere vel ei ausu temerario contraire. Si quis
autem hoc attemptare presumpserit indignacionem om
et Pauli Apostolorum ejus se noverit incursurum. Dat' Rome apud
sanctum petrum Pontificatus nostri Anno septimo.
12.
Appointment of a lecturer to the Convent at Hereford, c. 1400.
Harl. MS. 431, fol. 100 b.
This letter illustrates the educational organisation — the ' University
Extension System' — of the Franciscans. Friar John David, the
lecturer mentioned, was D.D. of Cambridge l and does not appear to
have studied at Oxford ; but original documents relating to the subject
are so scarce that no apology will be necessary for inserting the letter
here.
The writer, John Prophet, was Dean of Hereford from 1393 to
1407 2. John David was Provincial Minister in 1425*.
1 Mon. Franc. I, 539. cessores mei decani et Capitulum here-
a It is clear that J. Prophet was Dean fordenses fundatores in parte domus
of Hereford when this letter was written; confratrum vestrorum hereford' dinos-
in another letter, referring to the same cantur existere.' Harl. MS. 431, f. loob.
appointment, he writes : ' Cum prede- * Wilkins, Concilia III, 459.
3 14 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
Scribit J. Prophete Prouinciali et Capitulo general! (sic) ad admit-
tendum quemdam fratrem J. Dauid in Lectorem et Regentem Domus
Hereford'.
Venerabiles ac religiosi viri in Christo carissimi. Post votiue salutis
ac salutacionis affectum : cum omnes de conuentu fratrum vestrorum
Hereford' in votis iam habeant ac desideriis intensis affectent, vt
instruor, fratrem Johannem Dauid, cum prepollens virtutibus ac
litterarum sciencia preditus et acceptus, vt dicitur, existat eisdem,
suum ibidem habere lectorem eciam et regentem anno proximo iam
future, vt ex sua inibi per tanti temporis interuallum exhibenda
presencia feliciori valeat gubernari regimine. Vestram reuerenciam
presentibus censui deprecandum ex corde, quatinus, desiderijs atque
votis huius predicti Conuentus graciosius annuentes de predicto fratre
Johanne, sub quo prefatus Conuentus maximam in religione ac
scolastica disciplina dinoscitur obtinere proficiendi fiduciam, in hoc
venerabili prouinciali vestro Capitulo eidem Conuentui eciam harum
precium mearum intuitu dignemini, si placeat, prouidere ; claro si
libeat considerantes intuitu, quod Conuentus ille predictus, qui in
perfeccione religionis et fame consueuerat hactenus haberi prefulgidus
nisi celerius prouideatur eidem, ad lamentabilem, vt informor, in
breui videbitur deuenire ruinam : Quod siquidem per ipsius confratris
Johannis presenciam, vt speratur a multis Conuentui predicto beneuolis
et amicis, apcius quam per alium poterit euitari. Ad scribendum
communi vestro cetui venerando pro expedicione felici votiui desiderij
supradicti Conuentus, pro tanto quod in fratrem de Conuentu predicto
receptus existo, ac de cognacione mea non pauci Conuentui predicto
beneuoli pro bono inibi exercendo regimine ad idem videre desiderant,
et parentes mei et alij de genere meo multi in Conuentuali ibidem
tumulantur ecclesia, multo procliuior sum effectus. Itaque super isto,
vt vtilis effectus inde exequi videatur, cogitare dignetur vestra reueren-
cia prelibata. Omnia conseruare etc.
13
Decree of the General Chapter at Florence, A. D. 1467.
In the Definitio studiorum quoted by Sbaralea (Wadding, Sup. ad Script, p. 717)
from the Acts of this Chapter, occurs the following clause.
Ad provinciam Anglic possunt mittere omnes provincie Ordinis, scil.
ad Studium Oxoniarum, Cantabrigie, et ad alia studia ejusdem pro-
vincie.
APPENDIX B. 315
14
Recovery of debt from a Sheriff, A. D. 1488.
Exchequer of Pleas; Plea Roll, 3 Hen. VII, m. 35.
Pro Ricardo Salford querente versus Johannem Paston Militem
nuper vicecomitem Comitatuum Norff ' et Suff ' defendentem in placito
debiti per billam.
Ricardus Salford Gardianus ffratrum Minorum Oxon' venit coram
Baronibus huius Scaccarii vicesimo die Maii hoc termino per Jacobum
Bartelot attornatum suum et queritur per billam versus Johannem
Paston Militem nuper vicecomitem Comitatuum NorfF et SufT
presentem hie in Curia eodem die, super compoto suo de officio suo
predicto hie ad hoc Scaccarium reddendo, per Edmundum Dorman'
attornatum suum, de eo quod predictus nuper vicecomes ei debet et
iniuste detinet decem libras decem et octo solidos argenti ; Et pro eo
iniuste, quod, cum dictus Rex nunc pro diuersis debitis in quibus
indebitatus fuerat prefato querenti, inter alia assignasset eidem querenti
decem libras decem et octo solidos predictos per quandam talliam curie
hie ostensam eandem summam continentem leuatam ad Receptam Scac-
carii dicti domini Regis apud Westmonasterium, terciodecimo die
Maii anno regni dicti domini Regis tercio, pro ffratribus Minoribus
Oxon', prefato querente tune Gardiano ffratrum Minorum predictorum
existente, de et super prefato iam defendente per nomen Johannis
Paston nuper vicecomitis dictorum Comitatuum Norff' et Suff' per-
cipiendam de ipso de exitibus balliue sue et de pluribus debitis suis ;
Et licet predictus querens decimo septimo die Maii dicto anno tercio
apud villam Westmonasterium in Comitatu Midd' per quendam
Jacobum Bartelot adtunc seruientem suum monstrauerit et ad de-
liberandum optulerit talliam predictam cuidam Edmundo Dorman'
adtunc attornato predicti nuper vicecomitis iam defendentis super
compoto ipsius nuper vicecomitis hie ad hoc Scaccarium faciendo pro
solucione decem librarum decem et octo solidorum predictorum
habenda secundum effectum tallie predicte, ac tune et ibidem ipse
querens requisiuit prefatum nuper vicecomitem iam defendentem ad
ei soluendum x11 xviij8 predictos iam in demanda ; Quo quidem decimo
septimo die Maii ipse iam defendens ibidem satis habuit in manibus
suis de dictis exitibus balliue sue predicte prouenientibus et de pluribus
debitis predictis, vnde ipse tune soluisse potuit prefato querenti x1' xviij9
predictos secundum effectum tallie predicte ; Ipse tamen nuper vice-
comes iam defendens x11 xviij8 illos siue aliquam inde parcellam
316 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
prefato querenti nondum soluit, set hoc facere contradixit et adhuc
contradicit; et vnde predictus querens deterioratur et dampnum
habet ad valenciam decem librarum. Et hoc offert etc.
Et predictus nuper vicecomes, per predictum attornatum suum
presens etc., petit auditum bille predicte, et ei legitur etc. : qua audita
dicit quod ipse ad presens non est auisatus ad respondendum prefato
Ricardo Salford in premissis. Et petit diem inde loquendi vsque
Octavis sancte Trinitatis citra quem etc. : quod per curiam concessum
est ei. Et idem dies datus est prefato Ricardo Salford hie etc. —
Ad quem diem (xxv die Junii, in margin) predictus Ricardus Salford
venit hie per predictum attornatum suum et petit quod predictus
nuper vicecomes ei respondeat in premissis. Et super hoc idem
nuper vicecomes ad respondendum prefato Ricard Salford in pre-
missis hie solempniter exactis etc., non venit set fecit defaltam etc.
Et super hoc idem Ricardus Salford petit iudicium suum in premissis
et debitum suum predictum vna cum dampnis suis predictis sibi in
hac parte adiudicari etc. Super quo, visis premissis per Barones
predictos habitaque inde deliberacione pleniori inter eosdem, con-
sideratum est per eosdem Barones quod predictus Ricardus recuperet
versus prefatum nuper vicecomitem debitum suum predictum decem
librarum decem et octo solidorum predictorum, et dampna sua, tarn
occasione iniuste detencionis debiti predicti, quam pro misis custagiis
et expensis suis circa sectam suam predictam in hac parte appositis (?),
taxata per eosdem Barones ad viginti sex solidos et octo denarios,
que quidem summe in toto se attingunt ad summam duodecim li-
brarum quatuor solidorum et octo denariorum ; et quod predictus nuper
vicecomes sit in misericordia domini Regis, etc.
15
Documents relating to the lease of a garden at the Grey Friars to
Richard Leke, A. D. 1513-1514.
Acta Curiae Cancellarii, Oxford Univ. Archives, "5, fol. 194, 197, 210, 212.
Eodem die (June 10, 1510) dominus doctor Kynton accepit sibi
in seruientem Ricardum Leke pandaxatorem promittens sibi 6a 8d
annuatim aut unam robam, quem juratum ad privilegia admisimus
(fol. 194).
Eodem die gardianus fratrum minorum Oxon' promisit, quod ab
isto die de cetero, donee maior communicacio in causa, que euidencius
in quadam indentura inde confecta liquet, inter prefatum gardianum
APPENDIX D. 317
et Ricardum Leke habeatur, non impediet, aut impediri procurabit
per se aut per alium, quominus predictus Ricardus Leke uti valeat jure
et libertate sibi concessis secundum effectum dictarum indenturarum
prefato Ricardo concessarum (ibid.).
Eodem die gardianus predictus promisit in verbis sacerdocii quod
litem istam et causam motam non trahet ad extra que pendet inter
prefatum gardianum et Ricardum Leke predictum (ibid.).
6° die Julii comparuit coram nobis doctor Goodefyld ordinis mino-
rum et olim gardianus eiusdem loci, qui fide media confessus est
Ricardum Leke recepisse in firmam ab eodem, tempore prioratus sui,
et conuentu eiusdem loci, quemdam ortum infra cepta sua secundum
tenorem cuiusdam indenture inde confecte, quam indenturam affirmat
eadem fide fuisse legittime factam. Hoc idem testificante fratre vocato
Brown bacallario sacre theologie eiusdem loci (ibid).
(Aug. 12). Gardianus fratrum Minorum promisit fide data quod
seruabit pacem domini regis pro se et suis, quantum in illo est,
aduersus Ricardum Leke, et si contingat fratres suos perturbare
predictum Ricardum, quod retinebit eos in salua custodia quousque
res maturius possit examinari, si possit deuenire in noticiam eorum
(fol. i97b).
(Jan. 23, i5if). Comparuit coram nobis gardianus fratrum mino-
rum et constituit suum procuratorem Magistrum Carew cum clausulis
necessariis, etc. (fol. 210).
Eodem die Mr. Carew nomine procuratoris pro ecclesia fratrum
minorum petiit restitucionem in integrum aduersus quemdam con-
tractum indentatum inter predictos fratres et Richardum Leke cuius
datum est, etc., et causa est quia predicta Ecclesia ut asseruit est
grauiter lesa et in futuro erit, ad quod probandum accepit terminum
viz. istum diem ad octo dies (ibid).
(Feb. 19). Comparuit coram nobis eodem die Ricardus Leke, et
conquestus est de fratre Johanne Haruey, gardiano fratrum minorum,
de et super quodam contractu indentato inter eos pro quodam gardino
et expensis factis circa idem infra precinctum fratrum predictorum : et
post multa communicata amicabilia inter partes predictas, tandem com-
promiserunt se expectare laudum, arbitramentum, et determinacionem
Johannis Cokkes, legum doctoris, et Willelmi Balborow, utriusque
juris bachularii, in alto et in basso, in omnibus causis, negociis, et
querelis, motis vel mouendis, inter predictos fratrem et Ricardum,
concernentibus se et conuentum suum, pro predicto gardino, edificio
murorum, et occasione eorundem, a principio mundi usque in pre-
31 8 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
sentem diem; ita quod feratur sentencia siue laudum per predictos
arbitros citra festum annunciationis B. Virginis .... (fol. 2i2b).
16
Extracts from the will of Richard Leke, A. D. 1526.
Prerog. Court of Canterbury, Register Porch, quire 9.
In the name of God amen. In the yere of our Lorde god a
Thousand fyve hundred twenty and six; The first day of May, I
Richard Leke, late Bruer of Oxford, beying of hole and perfite
mynde and sike of body, make my testament and last wille in this
maner and fourme folowing, ffirst I bequethe my soule to almighty
god to our blissed lady saint marye and to all the holy company of
hevyn, my body to be buried w* in the graye ffreres in Oxford before
the awter where the first masse is daily vsed to be saide . . . Item
I will that my body be first brought to the Church of saint Ebbe, and
there dirige and masse to be songe for me. Item I bequeth to two
hundred prestes two hundred grotes to say dirige and masse at saint
Ebbys and at the gray freres with other parishe Churches the day of
my burying . . . Item I bequeth to euery gray frere being prest w*in
the gray freres in Oxford iiijd, and to euery gray frere there being noo
prest ijd, to dirige and masse for my soule the day next after my
burying. Item I bequeth to the said gray freres yjs viijd to make
a dyner in their owne place, and also other vj8 viijd to the wardeyn of
the same gray freres to prouide for the premisses. Item I bequeth to
the said wardeyn of the gray freres xx9 to prouide the awters to be
prepared and ornated w* apparell for prestes to say masse w*in the
said freres. Item I bequeth to euery oon of the foure orders of freres
in Oxford x8 to be paid after the maner and fourme folowing, that is
to say, at my burying iij8 iiijd, at my monethes mynde iij8 iiijd, and att
my yeres mynde iij8 iiijd. And also to bringe me to Churche I woll
the foresaid iiij orders, and there to synge dirige and masse for my sonle
and to receyue their money after the manner aboue expressed . . .
The will was proved on the z6th of July, 1526.
17
An ex-warden called to account, A. D. 1529.
Acta Curiae Cancellarii, EEE, fol. 1 24 b.
(Secundo die Sepi^) Comparuit coram nobis (sc. Commissario)
Johannes Bacheler ordinis minorum Oxon' vicegardianus eiusdem
APPENDIX B. 319
ordinis, qui petiit, nomine gardiani eiusdem domus, a patre Johanne
Harwey S.T.B., eiusdem ordinis et loci dudum gardiano, quosdam
fideiussores produci ad reddendum compotum super omnibus et
singulis que eidem obicientur ex parte gardiani moderni; qui pater
Johannes in fideiussores produxit Willelmum Symcokes et Willelmum
Plummer Oxon', qui pro predicto Johanne Harwey fideiubebant in
summa x librarum sterlingorum, dicto gardiano et ordinis prefati
conuentui soluendorum, si dictus Johannes Harwey citra festum Pasche
proximum legittime compotum non reddidit secundum formam peti-
tionis prefati gardiani, cum ab eo requisitus et licite monitus.
APPENDIX C.
CONTROVERSY BETWEEN THE FRIARS PREACHERS AND
FRIARS MINORS AT OXFORD, A. D. 1269.
This curious treatise, here printed for the first time, is preserved in
Vol. 3119 (ff. 86-88) of the Phillipps MSS. at Thirlestaine House.
The MS., a folio with two columns on each page, is written in a clear
upright hand of the late i3th or early i4th century. The work, which
appears to have been "unknown to Wood, is attributed by Bale and
Pits to Eccleston, probably merely because it is bound up with a copy
of Eccleston's Chronicle : the MS. itself gives no clue as to the author,
and the style bears no close resemblance to that of Eccleston. It is
clearly the work of an Oxford Minorite who was an eyewitness of,
and probably a participator in, the events which he records. The
treatise is interesting as affording a glimpse from the inside into the
life of the Oxford friars, and as showing the shifts and quibbles to
which the Franciscans were compelled to have recourse in order to
establish their claim to be professors of ' perfect poverty/
Impugnac iofratrum Minorum per fratres Predicatores apud Oxoniam.
A.D. MCCLXIX circa quadragesimam venerunt fratres predicatores de
conventu Oxon', viz. Salomon de Ingeham et Robertus de novo
Mercato1 pro quibusdam negociis expediendis ad domum fratrum
Minorum Oxon'. Cumque tractarent de negociis suis cum tribus
fratribus minoribus, viz. Waltero de Landen, Willelmo Cornubienci,
Alano de Wakerfelde, nacta quacumque occasione, dixit frater Salomon:
' Vos fratres Minores peccuniam recipitis per interpositas personas
sicut nos in personis propriis.' Respondens frater Alanus dixit :
' Noli, frater, ita dicere, quia nobis est verbum hoc verbum scandali et
religioni nostre cedit in derogacionem et nobis omnibus in manifestam
offensionem; cum non recipiamus nee recipere possimus, et certi
sumus de nostra veritate quod non recipimus.' Ffrater Salomon cum
impetu sponte 2 (?) manum suam ad crucem in pariete depictam juravit
1 Afterwards Prior of Friars Preachers. 'erigens' is wanted to complete the
London, Q.R. Wardrobe £ (21 Edw. I). sense.
* spc. some word like 'elevans' or
APPENDIX C. 321
rlicens : ' In crucifixo juro quod vos recipitis ; ' ct adjecit : ' Ego non
sum magnus clericus nee homo magne litterature, et tamen constanter
hoc affirmo, et in presencia pape, si necesse fuerit, affirmabo.' Et
cum esset pluries increpatus ut taceret, sepius idem replicans affirmabat.
Hec in presencia duorum predicatorum et trium Minorum quos supra
memoravimus facta sunt, ideo certam probacionem habent.
Post hec fratres Minores, hiis non obstantibus, caritatis obsequia
predictis predicatoribus exhibuerunt, et accepto caritatis indicio, versus
domum suam conduxerunt. Cumque starent in porta fratrum
Minorum, frater Alanus ait, qui solus ibi tune aderat cum predicatoribus :
' Ffrater Salomon, rogo in lege fraterne caritatis, ut verbum istud
offensionis et scandali de cetero de ore tuo non procedat, quia plane
tibi facio constare, quod non recipimus peccuniam per nos nee per
alios; nee de professione nostra recipere possumus.' Respondit frater
Salomon : ' Ex verbis tuis sic arguo: vos de non recipiendo peccuniam
votum fecistis ; hec est major ; assume — et recepistis ; ac conclude ;
ergo vos estis in statu dampnacionis.' Ad hec frater Alanus respondit :
' Majorem concedimus, minorem negamus, quia simpliciter falsa est ;
et ideo non est mirum si conclusio sit falsa.' Hiis dictis recesserunt
fratres. Ad hec non modicum fratres turbati, turn propter im-
posicionem turn propter imponendi modum. Habita ergo deliberacione
diligenti, de consilio discretorum, missi sunt duo de minoribus ad
predicatores, rogantes humiliter errata corrigi et delinquentem regu-
lariter emendari. Post modicum temporis spacium, missi sunt duo
de predicatoribus ad minores pro pace reformanda, viz. frater Vin-
cencius le Sauvage et frater Robertus de novo Mercato; qui fratribus
minoribus in unum convocatis hoc inicium proposuerunt. ' Ffratres
nostri petunt, quod vos doceatis fratrem Salomonem errasse et falsum
vobis imposuisse, et extunc fratres nostri manum correctionis apponent
et delinquentem juxta peccata regulariter emendabunt.'
Ex parte minorum fuit responsum sic : ' Vos affirmatis nos pec-
cuniam recipere, et ideo partem affirmativam tenetis; nos negamus,
et negativam tenemus. Unde, si ad probacionem accedendum sit,
vestrum est probare, non nostrum ; quia affirmative, non negative, in-
cumbit probacio.' Quo dicto tacuerunt predicatores. Hec de
substancia nuncii.
Extra ordinarie proposita fuerunt ista verba, dicente fratre Roberto
de novo Mercato : ' Videtur sic posse persuaderi quod vos recipitis
peccuniam per interpositas personas ad minus. Pono quod aliquis
moriatur et in testamento suo unam summam peccunie vobis leget.
Y
322 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
Quero cujus sit ilia peccunia. Defuncti non est, quia nichil pro-
prietatis in ea aut in re alia defunctus habet aut habere potest;
vivencium enim et non moriencium est jus et proprietatem in rebus
habere, et in eis dominium vendicare. Executorum non est, constat.
Ergo aut omnino nullius erit, aut vestra erit.'
Ad hec frater Minor dupliciter respondit ; primo per instanciam sic :
1 Ponatur quod ilia peccunia legaretur alicui fabrice alicujus ecclesie ;
quero, cujus esset ilia peccunia. Non executorum, constat ; et
secundum te non est defuncti. Sed qua racione non est defuncti?
Si defunctus unde defunctus nichil proprietatis in rebus habet, nee
fabrice illius ecclesie erit, ut videtur ; cum non sit major racio a parte
fabrice non viventis, quam a parte defuncti non viventis, ut videtur.
Non est ergo necessarium dicere quod legatum semper transit in
dominium legatarii. Et ideo peccunia quamvis nobis legetur, non
est necesse dicere quod sit nostra. Ad quod accedit quod nunquam
in dominium consensimus, et nobis invitis et contradicentibus nullo
modo in dominium nostrum transire potest: vero ipsam tanquam
nostram petere possimus aut debemus nullo jure. Ex quo patet quod
racio vestra non valet.'
Secundo fuit sic responsum, quod, secundum diffinicionem jurisperi-
torum, peccunia legata in bonis annumeratur defuncti, quousque
transient in dominium et proprietatem legatarii. ' In jus autem
nostrum aut dominium nullo modo potest transire, nobis invitis et non
consentientibus. Unde, qualitercumque peccunia ab executoribus
deponatur seu apud quemcumque pro fratribus reponatur, quam diu
manet inexpensa, semper in bonis defuncti annumeratur, et possunt
earn executores, auctoritate propria vel defuncti, repetere quando
volunt. Quomodo l ergo dicetur nostra ? nullo modo.'
Ad hec predicatores, ut suam contra minores sentenciam roborarent,
plures casus personales proposuerunt, in quibus asserebant fratres
minores non posse excusari quin peccuniam per se vel per alios
recepissent. Ad hec frater minor respondit, dicens quod hoc in
nullo modo derogat communitati; quia communitas religionis a
principio tales transgressores punit et parata est semper punire,
ubicumque fuerint inventi. Item transgressio talium nullo modo pro-
bare potest, quod fratres stent cum transgressione sue professionis,
sicut vero2 lapsus carnis aut contumax inobediencia, si contingeret,
quod absit, alicujus persone singularis.
Circa hanc ergo materiam verbis cessantibus, dictum est a parte
1 Quo. * (or nee ?)
APPENDIX C. 323
Minorum : ' Mirum est, cum tot sint status religiosorum et tot status
secularium tarn in clero quam in populo, sicut cernimus, quare
diligencius et curiosius (in) statum nostrum quam aliorum exploratur,
et omnibus aliis tacentibus vos soli verba de statu nostro tintinatis 1 (?)
et de professione discutitis.' Respondit frater Vincencius le Sauvage,
'Hec est,' inquit, 'ratio. Veniunt ad nos diversi seculares et religiosi,
comparacionem inter statum et statum facientes, statum vestrum
extollentes, et nostrum in hoc deprimentes, quod nos peccuniam
recipimus, vos autem non recipitis, judicantes nos in hoc minus
perfectos mundi contemptores. Nos modo in declaracionem veritatis
et status nostri exaltacionem, dicimus vos hoc facere per interpositas
personas quod nos facimus in propriis personis.' Et cum inculcando
quereretur a fratre Vincencio, quare in ista materia haberent contra
minores faciem sic obstinatam, respondit : ' Quia nunquam duos
fratres minores in hoc articulo inveni consencientes.' Cui cum esset
responsum ex parte minorum ; ' En octo sumus congregati omnes
unanimes et uno corde et ore idem sencienteset asserentes;' respondit,
' Certe verum est, sed si seorsum vos haberem in privata collacione,
non ita esset; eciam vos duos,' demonstratis fratribus Willelmo de
Wykham et Dyonisio, ' habita seorsum collacione, invenirem discordes
et de vobis diversa elicerem.' Ista turbato animo et impetu sponte2 (?)
proferens, non minus fratri suo proprio quam eciam ipsis fratribus
minoribus offensionis materiam dedit. Quod cum averteret, ad pedes
fratrum se projecit in terram, culpam confitendo. Cui frater suus
proprius, verba contumeliosa equanimiter non ferens, sic ait : ' Cum
mihi capud fregeris, penam8 dabis.' Quo dicto domum redierunt
fratres.
Hie transeo unum diem in quo miserunt fratres minores ad
predicatores iterum postulantes sibi satisfied, et errata regulariter
corrigi ; quibus erat pacifice et mansuete responsum a parte predica-
torum et de emenda humiliter facienda promissum. Set in solucione
promissi inventi sunt minus habentes, unde tantum * facta fuit negocii
dilacio.
Cum vero pendente tempore predicatores juxta promissa nichil
facerent, minores injuriam personalem non multum ponderantes, sed
injuriam communitatis sue conniventibus oculis dissimulare non
poterant, et ideo de consilio discretorum miserunt ad predicatores
iterum, duo postulantes. Primum est, quod principalis transgressio
1 ftinat.' 3 spL
1 MS. tena. * (tamen ?)
Y 2
324 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
facta per fratrem Salomonem cmendaretur ; sccundum cst, quod fralrcs
pacifici et mansueti ex parte eorum ad tractandum de negocio pacis
et amoris mitterentur. Quo petito, habita deliberacione, missi sunt
quatuor predicatores ad minores, quorum principalis fuit frater
Willelmus de Stargil. Qui, convocatis minoribus, hoc nuncium
ex parte fratrum suorum proposuerunt : ' Ffrater Vincencius, qui in-
solenter apud vos se habuit in nuncio faciendo, fuit in nostro capitulo
a proprio socio fratre Roberto de novo mercato accusatus, a suo
superiore correptus, et secundum exigenciam sue religionis punitus.'
Quo dicto, siluit : et cum expectarent minores de principal! responsum,
sc. de facto fratris Salomonis, nihil est auditum. Et cum peterent
responsum sibi dari de principali, responsum istud secundarium non
multum ponderantes, respondit frater Willelmus de Stargil predicator
pro se et suis sociis, se non esse ad hoc missos. Hec de substancia
nuncii.
Extra ordinarie autem proposita ista verba fuerunt, dicente fratre
Thoma de Docking : ' Mirum est, quod vos non cessatis nos
impugnare in articulo de recepcione peccunie, et hac racione, vos
dicitis quod nos recipimus per interpositam personam ; nos e contra (?)
negamus et dicimus quod non. Mota est ergo lis et controversia
inter nos et vos, et ideo oportuit per judicem determinari, quia per nos
non potuit. Demigravimus ad judicem non quemcumque sed summum
pontificem, et ad ilium qui regulam nostram dictavit et mentem beati
francisci, eodem papa sibi ipsi testante, novit. Ipse pro nobis
sentenciavit. Quid ultra queritis ? quid impugnatis ? ' Et adjecit
idem frater Thomas de Docking, dicens : ' Occurrit racio idem dictans,
talis peccunia a quocumque data seu quocumque titulo pro fratribus
apud quemcumque deposita nunquam est nostra; ergo nunquam
recepimus earn nee per nos nee per interpositam personam.'
Ad hoc respondit frater W. de Stargil, predicator, dicens : ' Sic
possem arguere de capa quam porto que nunquam fuit mea, nee erit
nee est ; et tamen ego recepi earn.' Ad hoc obvium fuit instanciam
non valere ; Sic, ' quamvis tu non habeas personalem proprietatem in
capa tua, ordo tamen Urns totus et communitas ordinis tui in ea
proprietatem habet ; sed nee persona nee communitas ordinis nostri
aliquam proprietatem habet nee habere potest in peccunia a quocumque
oblata, data, seu deposita. Preterea in assercione vestra hoc in-
conveniens incurritis. Nos habemus regulam qua utimur secundum
declaracionem domini pape qui earn juxta mentem beati francisci
declaravit. In sua declaracione dicit, quod nos ipsam declaracionem
APPENDIX C. 325
cum regula observando peccuniam non recipimus per interpositam
personam. Vos ergo, si insistitis contrarium asserendo, notam
mendacii, ut videtur, domino pape inponitis.' Respondit frater pre-
dicator : ' Absit a nobis hec presumpcio, sed plane videtur quod
dominus papa non declaravit regulam juxta mentem beati francisci et
ipsius regule.' Ad hec frater Thomas de Docking sic opposuit :
' Papa in sua declaracione dicit quod intencionem beati francisci
plenius novit, et ad hoc persuadendum idem papa in sua declaracione
tres raciones posuit : prima, quia longam familiaritatem cum eo traxit,
in qua solent homines secreta cordium suorum mutuo communicare ;
secunda, quia in condendo predictam regulam sibi astitit cum esset in
minori officio constitutus ; tercia, quia in optinendo ipsius regule con-
firmacionem eciam sibi non defuit. Si ergo papa dicit et racionibus
convincit, se nosse intencionem beati francisci, ex quo eciam sequitur
declaracionem factam juxta intencionem ejusdem sancti, quid
dicetis ? '
Ad hoc quidampredicatordixit: 'Nullo modo videtur quod papa novit
intencionem beati francisci, quod probo sic. Voluntas testamentaria
fuit beati francisci, quod fratres nullo modo quererent litteras exposi-
torias a sede apostolica, sed hoc non obstante quesierunt et papa
annuente optinuerunt. Non solum ergo fratres sed et papa contra
intencionem ejus fecerunt ; ex quo videtur quod intencionem ejus non
noverunt ; quia si ipsam novissent contra ipsam non fecissent.'
Ad hoc frater Minor : ' Esto quod racio sit bona, cum illacio sit
satis mirabilis. Ex hac racione probatur papam vel mentitum esse
vel falsum dixisse; ipse enim dixit, plenius novimus intencionem
ipsius sancti. Preterea, ut ad unum sit dicere de testamento suo
quod non novimus, non respondemus, sed regulam quam observare
promisimus parati sumus defendere. Accedit ad hoc, quod nee fratres
nee dominus papa fecerunt contra intencionem beati francisci, quam
in condendo regulam habuit, sed contra intencionem petende declara-
cionis. Nee in hoc pape potuit in aliquo prejudicari in facienda
declaracione, maxime cum apud eum resideat plena potestas et auc-
toritas tocius ecclesie gubernande. Quo etiam in sua declaracione
dicente et probante, ut patet inspicienti, hoc non potest nee debet in
aliquo fratribus prejudicari.'
Inter hec et alia que proponebantur, ait frater W. de Stargil :
' Scimus quidem quia regulam et regule declaracionem ab eo qui
poluit dcclarare, habetis et utramque observatis; hoc et nobiscum
confitemur. Sed quomodo vos peccuniam non recipiatis, non vide-
326 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD. .
mus.' Ad hoc ffrater Thomas Docking sic respondit : ' Prater karis-
sime, audeo plane dicere, quod si habitum secularem haberes quern
ante habitum tue religionis portabas, facillime veritatem mee pro-
fessionis tibi persuaderem ; et ad spacium vii psalmorum quam nos
videmus luce ipse clarius videres.'
Hiis ergo transactis transivimus ad principale, petentes iterum
quod ipsi responderent nobis de principali, ipsum accessorium de quo
factum est nuncium non ponderantes. Respondit frater W. sicut
prius, dicens se non posse nee debere hoc facere, cum non esset ad
hoc missus; tamen peticionem nostram libenter fratribus suis nun-
ciaret. Quo facto domum redierunt fratres.
Hie transeo alium diem, in quo missi sunt de minoribus duo ad
predicatores, quibus facte fuerunt multe promissiones de correctione
facienda, sed in solvendo promissum inventi sunt iterum minus
habentes, ut videtur: unde tantum fuit dilacio negocii. Interim
pendente tempore et fratribus predicatoribus nichil respondentibus,
supervenit prior provincialis predicatorum1 Oxoniam. Ffratres Minores
pro pace mutua reconsilianda 2 et servanda miserunt 3 ad eum, cum
humilitate postulantes, excessum corrigi et sibi regulariter satisfied.
Prior vero provincialis, habita deliberacione et facta diligenti inquisi-
cione per fratres suos, sic respondit : ' Ego claudam os fratris de
cetero ne presumat talia dicere contra vos, et ego ipse dicam sicut
vos ipsi, cum de illo articulo agitur, dicitis ; et ut alii fratres sic dicant,
pro viribus inducam. Fratrem vero Salomonem, quern vos esse trans-
gressum (dicitis), aliter punire non possum, quia plane sicut dixit ita
et sentit, nee induci potest ad contrarium, quia sua consciencia est
quod vos estis receptores peccuniarum ad minus per interpositas
personas ; unde ego contra leges consciencie non possum. Misissem
autem ipsum pro culpa dicenda sua ad vos, sed timui ne ipse plus vos
provocasset et fierent novissima pejora prioribus.' Hie nota quod
frater non dixit ex surrepcione, sed ex plena deliberacione. Hec de
substancia nuncii.
Extra ordinarie autem allocutus priorem predicatorum quidam de
minoribus cum mansuetudine predicatoris 4 et obsecrans, ut ipse
partes suas de pace lesa reparanda et reparata jam fovenda vigilanter
juxta discrecionem a deo sibi datam interponeret. Adjecit autem
dictus frater minor cum mansuetudine dicens : ' Mirum est quod ita
1 Robert Kilwardby.
8 Sie.
* This word is added in the margin in a later hand. 4 p'toris.
APPENDIX C. 327
extranee de re nobis manifesta quidam de vestris senciunt, maxime
cum peccunia a quocumque legata seu donata nunquam ad dominium
nostrum transeat. Et propterea nullo modo dici possumus receptores
non per nos nee per interpositas personas.' Respondit prior provin-
cialis cum mansuetudine dicens : ' Unum est quod videre non possu-
mus. Cum peccunia in usus vestros quocumque titulo deputata
multociens sit apud multos deposita, et cum post deposicionem
transeat a dominio conferentis nee cedat in dominium depositarii —
hoc, inquam, est quod videre non possumus, quin peccunia ilia in
vestrum cedat dominium.'
Ad hoc respondit frater minor, quod peccunia, quocumque titulo ad
usus fratrum deputata, nunquam in eorum dominium transeat juxta
declaracionem domini pape, sed possunt fratres in suis necessitatibus
recursum habere ad recipientem, qui auctoritate domini principalis
potest fratribus, si vult et non aliter, subvenire ; quia jure debiti nullo
modo fratribus tenetur, nee nomine depositi aliquid1 exigere possunt
ab eodem. Auctoritas ergo et dominium peccunie quocumque titulo
tradite permanet penes ipsum tradentem, intantum quod nunquam
transit nee transire potest in fratrum dominium ullo jure : unde dicit 2
dominus papa quod principalis potest earn repetere si vult, quamdiu
manet inexpensa.
Ad hoc prior: 'Quid si peccunia penes ipsum recipientem est
centum annis aut plus remanserit ? ' Ad hoc frater Minor : ' Non
plus juris habent fratres nostri in peccunia in fine C annorum aut
cujuscumque alterius spacii quam in fine prime diei. Et hoc parati
sumus probare, et pro loco et tempore mundo manifestare.'
Ad hoc attonitus prior cum admiracione dixit : ' Vere si hoc con-
staret, mundo non sic habundaretis sicut habundatis.' Respondit
frater Minor: ' Quomodocumque habundancia se habeat, veritatem
professionis narro.' Tune exclamans quidam predicator, cujus nomen
ad presens ex causa retineo, factum eorum ut videtur non approbans,
ait : ' Eya, domine deus, verba que de vobis facimus ex malis que de
nobis dicitis occasionem 3 sumunt.'
Interim dum hec agebantur, fratres minores inter se contulerunt, et
habito consilio miserunt ad priorem provincialem gratias agentes de
sua oblacione, rogantes quod frater Salomon, ex quo conscienciam
suam non deponit nee culpam suam recognoscere proponit, pro
mutua pace concilianda et servanda, de loco, ex quo pacem pertur-
bavit, amoveretur. Respondit prior se super hoc velle deliberare.
1 MS. ad. " Dicit inserted in a later hand. * MS. occosione.
328 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
Ilabita vero deliberacione, sollcmpnes nuncios de ordine suo mittens,
sic respondit : ' Frater Salomon pro conventu Oxon' fratribus suis est
multum necessarius et utilis sicut bonus et ministerialis, in tantum
eciam ut difficile esset mihi invenire alium eis ita utilem et neces-
sarium, et ideo grave esset ipsum amovere. Item pro peccato private,
publica pena non debet adjungi. Hoc autem fieret si frater Salomon
de loco suo ad alium locum amoveretur. Unde peticio de dicto
fratre amovenda non videtur consona racioni. Nee debetis turbari,
quia peticionem vestram in hac parte non fulcio, quia, ut videtur, id
quod vobis primo optuli debet sufficere, viz. quod os ejus per obedien-
ciam claudatur, et ne de cetero a(liqua) sinistra contra puritatem
regule vestre dicere presumat.'
Ffacta ista responsione nuncii ex parte prioris tres faciebant peti-
ciones. Prima fuit, quod pro dicto unius stulti communitas fratrum
minorum non turbaretur; secunda fuit, quod caritas mutua ut olim
omnimodis signis ostenderetur. Tercia fuit quod regula nostra cum
exposicione vel exposicionibus eis ad tempus ostenderetur, ab illis
tantummodo et non ab aliis quam nos nominare decrevimus inspici-
enda. Hec de substancia nuncii.
Extra ordinarie autem facta sunt verba ista, dicente fratre Minore :
' Si stultus de sua stulticia corrigendus est, mirum est quod fratrem
Salomonem non corrigitis, qui in sua stulticia manet; quern eciam
vos ipsi stultum nominatis, cum petitis quod propter dictum unius
stulti communitas fratrum minorum non turbetur. Item si peccatum
est corrigendum, maxime vobis qui estis professores veritatis, mirum
est quod fratrem Salomonem non corrigitis, quem peccasse probatis,
cum pro eo allegatis quod pro peccato private publica pena non sit
injungenda.'
Post hec fratres Minores, habita diligenti deliberacione, perpendentes
quod fratres predicatores a principio in toto processu aut id negocium
distulerunt aut dissimulaverunt aut a principal! diverterunt, ut videtur,
miserunt ad eos fratres diffinitive sic respondentes ; ' Pendente princi-
pali, videtur fratribus quod peticionibus vestris accessoriis non sit
respondendum ; unde ad hue petunt fratres quod frater Salomon, qui
pacem mutuam turbavit, ammoveatur ; ad quod movere l potest pax
et tranquillitas mutua utriusque ordinis, que est magis ponderanda
quam utilitas ministerialis unius persone. Ad hoc autem quod vos
dicitis, quod penitencia publica peccato privato non sit imponenda, sic
responderunt fratres ; quod quamvis ammoveatur, peccatum suum non
or monere.
APPENDIX C. 329
publicatur. Est enim pene omnium sentencia una, tarn secularium
quam religiosorum, quod fratres vestri l conventuales ad prelacias et
ceteras dignitates, et studentes ad doctorum officia exercenda, cum
gloria et non cum ignominia, frequenter emittuntur et de loco ad
locum transferuntur. Unde ad hue petunt vel quod ammoveatur vel
quod culpam suam confiteatur. Et ad hoc movere debet, quod fratres
Minores in consimili casu personas multum dissimiles, viz. lectores, in
tantum humiliaverunt, quod pro levi occasione unum valde graciosum
ad pacem vestram conservandam de conventu suo ammoverunt, et
alium suspenderunt per annum a predicacione et confessione; et
usque hodie manet a lectione suspensus. Ad hoc autem quod vos
dicitis, quod nobis debet sufficere, quod os ejus obstruatur, ne mala
de nobis loquatur, respondent fratres, quod non debet sufficere, quia
ad hoc tenetur de communi lege caritatis eciam si nunquam aliquem
offendisset.' Cum vero fratres non solum bis aut ter, sed eciam
sepcies, pro correctione transgressionis postulanda missi fuerunt, nee
est eis in aliquo satisfactum, dicunt quod nolunt ulterius vexari, sed si
predicatores noluerint hac vice satisfacere, sedebunt in dorno patiencie
sue, expectantes tempora meliora. Hec de substancia nuncii.
Extra ordinarie autem fuit responsum a parte predicatorum ad
racionem de ammocione facienda sic: 'Ffratris minorum delictum
contra predicatores fuit publicum, et ideo non fuit mirum si publice
ammoveretur; sed istius fratris predicatoris peccatum fuit privatum,
et ideo non est simile.' Ad hoc frater Minor : ' Esto quod illius
fratris ammocio, cum esset persona valde gravis, in cujus compara-
cione, secundum judicium humane estimacionis, frater Salomon est
persona multum humilis, movere non debeat ; saltern moveat vos quod
alius lector fuit ammotus a loco suo pro pace vestra servanda, qui
eciam cum se in presencia quorundam predicatorum excusaverat,
nichil contra eum habuerunt nee habere potuerunt.'
Post hec, pendente dissencionis tempore et predicatoribus nihil
super petita respondentibus, urgente quadam necessitate, prior pro-
vincialis predicatorum repente de Oxonia recessit; qui nacta temporis
opportunitate rediit, ne (?) incepta feliciter consummaret. Quadam
vero die, clam fratribus Minoribus, credentes fratres predicatores ne-
gocium 2 melius agere per seculares magistros, necnon et dissencionem
et ejus occasionem celerius quam per semet ipsos extirpare, rogatus
est dominus Cancellarius cum magistris quatuor de sollempnioribus
tocius universitatis, ex parte predicatorum in causa dissencionis fortiter
1 Vestri inserted in a later hand. 2 Suu/n inserted in another hand.
330 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
instruct!, subito et occulte venerunt, et fratres Minores convocari
rogaverunt, antequam de responsione facienda aliquid deliberarent
aut deliberare potuerunt1. Convocatis igitur minoribus, ex parte
predicatorum, processum dissensionis supra memoratum quamquam
incomplete recitaverunt, hoc nuncium adicientes : ' Petunt fratres pre-
dicatores et nos cum ipsis petimus, consilium in id ipsum dantes,
quod vos descendatis in formam pacis et unitatis. Ipsi enim parati
sunt, vobis, juxta racionis exigenciam et discrecionem arbitrancium,
regulariter per omnia satisfacere V Inculcando vero adjecerunt : ' Nos
invenimus predicatores ad omnia secundum racionis exigenciam para-
tissimos, iniantes quantum possunt forme pacis et unitatis et fraterne
caritatis ; utinam in vobis contrarium non inveniamus.' Hec de sub-
stancia nuncii et consilii.
Ffacta autem ista peticione, deliberans penes se sicut potuit, quidam
frater Minor sic ait : ' Magistri mei et amici karissimi, duo verba tan-
tum ad presens vobis propono, unum pro devota gratiarum accione,
aliud pro humili peticione. Primo enim regracior vobis pro labore
vestro, quod vos pro nobis pauperibus dignati estis tantum laborare,
non minores gratiarum acciones exsolvens, quam zelum dei habentes
pro forma pacis et unitatis insudatis. Secundo peto quod, sicut hodie
principaliter pro predicatoribus laborastis, secundario pro nobis, ita
eras placeat vobis laborare principaliter pro nobis, secundario pro
predicatoribus, ut, vobis in unum ubicumque placuerit convenientibus,
super petita cum deliberacione respondeam, et totum processum plenius
manifestem.' Magistri vero instabant ut statim eis responderetur, si
fieri posset bono modo. Minores vero ad eorum instanciam ab eis
paululum divertentes, habita deliberacione, responderunt communiter
ad omnia que magistri ex parte predicatorum recitaverunt, in qua
nimirum responsione non declinabant in aliquo a responsionibus supra
memoratis ; adicientes quod, sicut predicatores, ita et semet ipsos, ad
formam pacis et unitatis paratos invenirent. Hec de responsionis
substancia.
Extra ordinarie autem facta fuerunt verba disputacionis magne inter
seculares magistros, fratribus minoribus nichil opponentibus aut re-
spondentibus ; ubi fratres perpenderunt quod fuerunt contra eos graviter
informati. Ipsi vero habili cautela redimentes tempus pertraxerunt in
longum. Unde, pendente tempore, accidit quod bedellus universitatis
missus fuit eciam bis ex parte universitatis, dominum Cancellarium
1 The whole sentence is utterly un- a Satisfacere inserted in another
grammatical, but quite intelligible. hand.
APPENDIX C. 331
pro quadam incepcione advocare ; quo vocato una cum magistris aliis
recessit. Magistrorum nomina, qui cum ipso ex parte predicatorum
venerant, erant hec : Magister Johannes de Wyntun', Magister Hugo
de Corbrug', Magister Hugo de Hevesham, Magister Willelmus l Po-
may. Nomen vero Cancellarii, Magister N. de Ewelm'.
Interim pendente tempore, minores quesierunt consilium, quid facto
opus esset discucientes. Ffacta vero discussione in hoc consenserunt,
quod amicos eorum, de quibus specialker confiderant, convocarent, et
eos secundum verilatem de toto processu informarent. Convocatis
autem quinque de majoribus tocius universitatis, frater unus capitulum
regule sue de recepcione peccunie, et ejusdem declaracionem secundum
dominum papam factam, recitavit. Quesivit frater si magistri intelli-
gerent. Respondit Magister, persona multum sollempnis, in utroque
jure peritus, Johannes le Gras nomine : ' Intelligo quidem ego/ Et
incepit volvere capitulum et revolvere, et super hoc sermonem con-
tinuare. Qui ita proprie vitam fratrum communem et vivendi modum
quern tenebant, et secura consciencia tenere poterant, instinctu nescio
quo descripsit, quasi ipse inter fratres vitam fratrum per longa tempora
duxisset. Admiratus quidam frater quod ita proprie loquebatur, que-
sivit an super hoc ab aliquo fratre fuisset informatus. Magister re-
spondit et cum juramento asseruit, se nunquam verbum super hoc a
fratre Minore prius audisse, adiciens hec verba : ' Ponamus quod papa
nunquam declarasset capitulum id, eciam secundum jura communia
possetis regulam vestram sancte et sincere observare. Nee dico vobis
aliud quam jura civilia et canonica communiter dicunt. Unde mira-
bile est, quod vobis imponitur recepcio peccunie ad utilitatem vestram
quocumque titulo deputate, ex quo in dominium vestrum non transit
nee transire potest ullo jure, sed semper remanet dominium et auc-
toritas peccunie penes principalem dominum, et earn repetere potest
quando volt quamdiu manet inexpensa.' Et inculcando adjecit dicens :
' Fratres, non oportet ut in hoc casu timeatis. Ego enim sum paratus
pro ista veritate defensanda curiam adire romanam, si necesse esset, et
aliquis se opponeret impudenter.' Magister Adam de Norfolk' hoc
idem sentit et idem dixit. Alii vero facta super hoc longa disputacione
idem senserunt.
Post hec ffrater unus totum processum a principio supra memoratum
eis enarravit. Quo audito obstipuerunt. Magistrorum vero nomina
qui ex parte minorum venerant hec fuerunt ; Magister Johannes de
Maydeston, Archidiaconus Bedeford', Magister Thomas de Bek',
1 de la inserted in another hand.
332 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
Magister Johannes le Gras, Magister Stephanus de Wytun', Magister
Adam de Norfolk'.
Post hec de istorum magistrorum consilio, rogaverunt minores
magistros, qui ex parte predicatorum venerant, ut iterum plenius
veritatem audituri convenirent. Qui cum venissent, et in uno loco
cum magistris, qui ex parte minorum venerant, congregati essent,
unus minorum sic exorsus est, dicens : ' Magistri boni, sicut scitis, ex
innrmitate condicionis humane orta fuit quedam dissensio, persuadente
generis humani inimico, inter predicatores et nos ; et1 injuria incepit a
predicatoribus ; petimus nos bis regulariter satisfied. Oblata fuit
quedam satisfactio, sed non sufficiens nee plena, ut videbatur ; et cum
Minores amplius habere non poterant, pacienter meliora tempora
expectabant. Negocium autem id publicare eciam amicis suis nolebant
duplici racione ; primo quia timebant animos infirmorum scandalizare,
secundo quia injuria a predicatoribus incepit et absque correccione a
suis superioribus dissimulata fuit, cum esset correccio pluries petita ;
et ideo non poterant minores, ut videtur, hiis et aliis causis, negocium
istud publicare, nisi aliqua2 verba dicerent que in predicatorum
derogacionem sonarent, unde minus in conspectu secularium com-
mendabiles redderentur. Igitur contra infirmorum scandala et contra
predicatorum derogacionem sanctam cautelam adhibentes prudenter
tacuerunt et humiliter dissimulaverunt. Modo autem quia predicatores
primo amicis suis divulgaverunt, urgente quadam necessitate, eciam
minores suis amicis publicare voluerunt.'
Quo dicto, incepit idem frater omnes in communi informare sicut
prius specialiter Minorum amicos informabat. Quo facto ceperunt
Magistri, qui prius ex parte predicatorum venerant, aliqualiter magis
pie quam prius sentire. Facta igitur longa disputacione, de discretorum
consilio facta deliberacione, ail frater Minor : ' Magistri karissimi,
nos parati sumus per omnia in hac causa stare arbitrio vestro et
provisive discretioni in forma pacis et unitatis, scientes quod nunquam
sitivimus nee adhuc sitimus penam fratris, sed tantum correccionem
et emendam. Nee multum ponderamus fratris emissionem de suo
loco, sed omnis satisfaccio, quantacumque exilis, que precludit viam
et occasionem resumendi de cetero consimilia verba contra nos, potest
et debet nobis sufficere. Tamen, si placet, duas peticiones vobis facio ;
primo, ut sic provideatis de forma pacis ut non detur 3 predicatoribus
'One letter, prob. c ( = cum) is 2 MS. a* (alia ?).
illegible here, owing either to intcn- 3 detur inserted in another hand,
tional erasure or a flaw in the parchment.
APPENDIX C. 333
aut fratri, qui dcliquit, occasio itcrum delinquendi. Ncc hoc dico
sine causa, quia si decrcveritis ipsum non errasse nee deliquisse, in
future tempore, nacta aliquali occasione, posset dicere, " sic et sic pro
isto tempore dixi, toti universitati constabat, nee1 judicabat me in
aliquo deliquisse ; quare eciam modo similiter non dicerem ? " Hec
future dissensionis occasio piis cautelis est precludenda. Secundo peto
quod vos, ex quo vobis constat secundum jura, prout quidam vestrum2
dicunt, quod frater ille est in errore consciencie, Priorem suum pro-
vincialem adeatis et persuadeatis ei, quod ipse informet fratrem suum
ad conscienciam contrariam, ut videlicet errorem deponat, et pie, sicut
debet, de Minoribus senciat.' Quod quidam se secures (?) spoponde-
runt. Hec de substancia negocii.
Extra ordinarie autem allocutus est Gardianum in secreto unus de
magistris sollempnibus, Johannes le Gras nomine, sic dicens : ' Ffrater
karissime, fratres vestri non deberent 3 in aliquo turbari si fratres pre-
dicatores de eis mala dixerint, quia pro constant! habeatis, quod quo
pejora de vobis dixerint, deterius eciam eis in hominum estimacione
eveniet, nee vobis cedet aut cedere potest in nocumentum, si tantum *
claustra labiorum custodieritis et bona de ipsis semper predicaveritis.'
Cui Gardianus hec verba dixit : ' Unum est de quo doleo et
verecundor nimis, et inde est quod fratres multum verecundantur ;
videlicet, quod istius dissensionis noticia jam inter seculares est
publicata, et que per nos discuti poterat, per ipsos est discussa.'
Ad hoc Magister : ' Nolite in hoc contristari aut verecundiam pati,
sed magis gaudere et diem letum ducite, et hac racione ; Modo mani-
festa est nobis omnibus veritas, que prius fuit occulta ; unde nos, qui
sumus majores tocius universitatis, jam veraciter super facto isto in-
formati, alios informabimus. Sed et ego omni quo possum conatu
omnes informare studebo, et ipsos precipue predicatores conabor in-
formare.'
Superveniens autem Magister alius, Hugo de Evesham nomine, hoc
exaggerando inculcavit, dicens : ' Crede mihi, ffrater Gardiane, quod
nos quinque magistri, qui prius ex parte predicatorum venimus ad
vos, eramus omnes heri in presencia predicatorum constituti, ubi eciam
prior ipse provincialis non defuit ; nee memini me unquam in vita
mea forciorem disputacionem audivisse, opponentibus nobis pro facto
vestro secundum diffinicionem utriusque juris et exigenciam racionis,
1 n° (nullo) or u° (vero) in MS. : or s non deberent inserted in another
nc (nee) ? hand.
a vrm. * MS. cum ?
334 THE GREY FRIARS IX OXFORD.
predicatoribus communiter respondentibus ; facta vero longa dispu-
tacione, ita predicatores omnes racionibus vexavimus et convicimus,
quod sedentes omnes in pace et obstupescentes tacuerunt, in tantum
quod prior ipse provincialis, inter alios plus motus et spiritu sancto
plenius, ut arbitror, informatus, dixit : " Eya, dilectissimi Magistri,
quid plura ? quid ulterius inculcatis ? Ecce ego paratus sum discal-
ciatis pedibus Minores, si vultis, adire et eis per omnia satisfacere." '
Adjecit autem Magister Hugo Corbrug' occasionaliter hec verba in
predicatorum presencia dicens, ' Karissimi, audeo plane dicere, quod
ille qui dicit eos recipere peccuniam per se vel per interpositam per-
sonam, qui declaracionem domini pape super regulam fratrum
Minorum observaverit (sic), audeo inquam plane dicere, quod nee jura
novit nee terminos juris.' Alias autem in predicatorum eorundem
absencia dixerunt Magistri Johannes le Gras et Adam de Norfolch ' ;
'Eciam si papa nunquam regulam declarasset, possent earn fratres
absque prevaricacione observare, maxime cum peccunia ad eorum
utilitatem quocumque titulo deputata nunquam in dominium eorundem
transeat1 ipsis invitis.' Et cum supplicaret Gardianus Magistro
Stephano de Witon' quod propter deum fratres predicatores secretius
juxta scita legum informaret, zelo accensus magister A. de NorP
dixit : ' Mirum est quid ipsi habent intromittere se de professione
vestra, et de regula vestra verba tintinare, cum nee sunt superiores
vestri, nee in aliquo spectat ad eos vos corrigere, si, quod absit, con-
tingeret vos in aliquo contra professionem vestram aliquid attemptare.
Quod autem petitis de informacione facienda juxta scita legum, non
est necesse sic petere; sed petasut juxta veritatem vestram informentur,
omni eciam jure consopito.' Et adjecit Magister Stephanus dicens :
' Non solum paratus sum predicatores pro vobis informare, sed eciam
personaliter pro causa vestra curiam adire romanam.'
Interim pendente tempore, iverunt Magistri quinque primo
nominati, quorum principalis fuit Cancellarius, ad predicatores, et
efficaciter pro parte minorum persuadentibus, tandem fratrem Salomo-
nem, qui offensam fecerat, de assensu et voluntate sui prioris provin-
cialis necnon fratrum suorum, ad fratres minores duxerunt, cum quo
venerunt quinque 2 fratres predicatores subscripti; Adam de Lakeor,
cum socio Willelmo de Hodum'3, eorum cursore de sentenciis, Radul-
phus de Swelm', quondam prior localis Oxon', Johannes de Mesley,
tune eorum visitator. Fuerunt eciam cum predictis quinque
1 transeat inserted in another hand. 3 Afterwards lector at Paris, and
a Only four mentioned. Provincial Prior of England.
APPENDIX C. 335
Magistris, sex fratres minores subscript! ; Adam de Werministre, tune
Gardianus, Thomas de Doking, quondam lector Oxon', Willelmus de
Heddel,' tune lector Oxon', Dyonisius, Robertus de Cap(e)ll', Alanus
de Wakefend'. In quorum omnium conspectu pro bono pads frater
Salomon hec verba nomine culpe in scriptis recitavit, et recitata eciam
in scriptis Gardiano tradidit ; verba autem sunt hec : ' Per ilia verba
que protuli, non intellexi quod vos receperitis vel recipitis per vos vel
per alios peccuniam contra regulam vestram et ejus interpretacionem,
nee intendebam communitati vel ordini derogare. Et si ex modo
dicendi fuistis provocati, doleo, et peto quod remittatis/ Hie finis
negocii et reformacio pacis, per omnia benedictus deus in secula
amen.
Memorandum autem quod cum extra ordinarie facta essent verba
inter magistros seculares de veritate processus memorati, dixerunt inter
se1, aliquid in processu propositum est falsum et calumpniabile, et
maxime quod pro fundamento erat positum. Ffrater N. predicator,
nunquam se fecisse illam racionem, ubi est conclusio de statu
dampnacionis, manifeste dicit, sed dicit fratrem Alanum minorem
fecisse premissas. Ipse vero subintulit ; ' Si ita est sicut vos dicitis,
sequitur conclusio de statu dampnacionis/ Aliud autem calumpnia-
bile non receperunt. Quod cum minoribus constaret, vocatus fuit
frater Alanus minor, in conspectu Cancellarii et Magistri Johannis de
Wynton' requisitus super hoc, dixit : ' Verum est, solus ego frater
Minor eram in porta cum eis, et ideo probacionem non habeo ; sed
tantum confido de veritate fratris Roberti de Novo Mercato et ipsius
eciam Salomonis, quod si ipsi requisiti dicant in veritate deliberate
consciencie, quod frater Salomon ipsam racionem non fecit, ego
libenter subiciam me pene, tanquam sufficienter essem de falsi imposi-
cione convictus.' Post hec ait unus ffrater Minor : ' De ista racione
magna vis non est, quia de racione cujus (?) non disputamus, sed de
hoc quod ipse nobis imposuit, quod negare non potuit, scilicet
peccunie recepcionem, emendam quesivimus et emendam, benedictus
deus, recepimus.' Terminata fuit ista dissensio Anno domini
MCCLXIX^Non' Junii.
1 se added in margin.
APPENDIX D.
SUPPLICATIONS AND GRACES FROM THE REGISTERS
OF CONGREGATION.
John David.
(I45y)- 4° die Marcy supplicat etc. ffrater Johannes Dauid ffrater
ordinis sancti ffrancisci, quatinus eius oppositio, incepta in termino
sancti Michaelis vltimo et continuata vsque ad festum Pasche proxi-
mum, sufficiat sibi pro completa forma sue oppositionis.
Hec gratia est concessa sub condicione quod legat primum librum
ysaie in scolis publicis. (Regist. Aa. fol. 51 b.)
(June 5, 145!). Supplicat frater Johannes Dauid ordinis minorum
et doctor sacre pagine quatinus secum graciose dispensetur vt valeat
post festum sancti Thome proximo sequens resumere lecciones
ordinarias et regentis actus exercere, ingressu in domum congrega-
cionis dumtaxat excepto.
Hec gratia est simpliciter concessa, et ab altero procuratore etc.
(Ibid. fol. 83.)
John Sunday ; inception.
(Feb. 5, 145!). Supplicat etc. frater Johannes Sunday de claustro
minorum qui compleuit lecturam sentenciarum quatinus cum singulis
respondent doctoribus completaque lectura Biblie, incipere valeat in
theologica facultate.
Hec gratia est concessa et condicionata 2ci condicione ; prima
condicio est quod octo vicibus respondeat pro forma et octies opponat ;
2a condicio est quod bis respondeat preter formam et sub hiis con-
dicionibus etc. (Regist. A a. fol. 79 b.)
Richard Ednam ; inception.
(April 2nd, 1462). Supplicat frater Ricardus Ednam, bacallarius
sacre theologie, quatinus 8 argumenta, 8 responsiones, introitus biblie,
lectura libri sentenciarum, sermo examinatorius, sermo ad quern
tenetur ex nouo statute, sufficiant sibi ad effectum quod possit admitti
ad incipiendum in sacra theologia, ita quod die inccptionis sue soluat
APPENDIX D. 337
Vniuersitati x li. Hcc gratia est concessa condicionata ; condicio est
quod incipiat infra annum ; alia condicio quod det Regentibus libera-
tam consuetam. (Reg. Aa. f. 122.)
(May 24th, 1463.) Supplicat frater Ricardus Ednam de ordine
Minorum quatinus tres responsiones, introitus biblie, introitus libri
sententiarum, sermo examinatorius, sermo ad quern tenetur ex nouo
statute, sufficiant sibi ad effectum quod possit admitti ad incipiendum
in sacra theologia. Hec gracia est concessa cum multis condicionibus ;
prima est quod incipiat ante festum S. Thome, 2a quod soluat xv li.
in die inceptionis sue, 3 quod det liberatam regentibus distinctam ex
sumptu proprio. (Ibid. f. 128 a.)
Supplications and Graces of Walter Goodfleld,
Warden of the Franciscans.
(Nov. 27, 1506). Eodem die supplicat frater Walterus Goodfelde
ordinis minorum et scolaris sacre theologie, quatenus studium xii
annorum in logicis philosophicis et theologicis sibi sufficiat ut admit-
tatur ad opponendum in sacra theologia, qua oppositione habita vna
cum responsione in nouis scolis possit admitti etc. Hec est concessa
contra quod legat tres primas questiones canonici publice et gratis
ante pascha ; 2a quod dicat vnam missam de quinque vulneribus, cum
ista colecta Deus summa sfes, pro anima primi fundatoris vniuersitatis,
et aliam missam de trinitate pro bono statu magistrorum regentium.
(Regist. G. 6. f. 27 b.)
(May 10, 1507). Supplicat frater Walterus Gudfeld ordinis
minorum quatenus studium 14 annorum in logicis philosophicis
theologicis sufBciat ad opponendum in nouis scolis qua oppositione
habita vna cum responsione in eisdem possit admitti ad lecturam
libri sententiarum. Hec est concessa conditionata quod predicet
vnum sermonem preter formam infra annum. (Ibid. fol. 39 b.)
(June 1 6, 1507). Supplicat frater Walterus Goodfyld ordinis
minorum et sacre theologie scolaris quatenus vnus sermo per eum
post gradum susceptum dicendus ei sufficiat pro gradu baculariatus
in sacra theologia. Hec est concessa simpliciter. (Ibid. fol. 41 b.)
(He was admitted to oppose on Dec. 10, 1507.)
(June 3, 1508). Supplicat frater Walterus Goodfylde, ordinis
minorum et sacre theologie baccalarius, quatenus 4or responsiones in
nouis scolis cum introitu biblie, vna cum sermone examinatorio, suffi-
z
338 THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD.
ciant ei ut admittatur ad Incipiendum in eadem facultate. Hec est
concessa conditionata quod habuit studium 12 annorum in Logicis
philosophicis theologicis et quod procedat ante pascha et quod semel
predicet semel (sic) preter formam infra annum post gradum et quod
legat vnum librum sententiarum publice et gratis. (Ibid. fol. 58.)
(Jan. 24, i5o|). Supplicat frater Walterus Goodfyld ordinis
minorum et bachallarius sacre theologie quatenus studium quod
habuit post gradum bachallariatus cum quattuor responsionibus cum
sermone examinatorio et introitu biblie sufficiat ad incipiendum in
eadem. (Ibid. fol. 67 b.)
(March 19, i5f§). Supplicat frater Walterus Gudfylde (B.S.T.)
quatenus sermo per eum dicendus in die cinerum possit stare pro
sermone suo examinatorio. Hec gratia est concessa simpliciter.
(Ibid. fol. 82b.)
(On May 12, 1510, he was licensed in theology, fol. 86.)
(June 27,1510). Supplicat frater Walterus Gudfyld, ordinis minorum
et in sacra theologia licentiatus quatenus si contingat eum realiter
incipere in sacra theologia secum gratiose dispensetur pro suis lecturis
minutis. Hec est concessa sic quod compleat toto isto tempore et
postea secundum disposidonem commissarii tune presentis. (Ibid.
f. 92.)
(He was admitted DD on July i, 1510.)
(Dec. 10, 1510). Supplicat frater Walterus Gudfylde doctor sacre
theologie quatenus secum gratiose possit dispensari pro sua neces-
saria regencia secundum dispositionem commissarii. Hec est con-
cessa et ille disposuit post proximum actum. (Ibid. fol. 104 b.)
John Thornall, July n, 1525.
Eodem die supplicat frater Johannes Thornall ordinis minorum et
licenciatus in sacra theologia, quatenus cum eo graciose dispensetur
ut composicio sua diminuatur ad quinque Libras ; causa est quia est
admodum pauper et uix habet pecunias necessarias pro gradu sus-
cipiendo.
Hec gracia est concessa, et condicionata, quod causa non sit ficta,
et celebret unam missam contra pestem, aliam pro bono statu regen-
tium, et compleat necessariam regentiam, et distribuat decim solidos
illarum peccuniarum jam diminutaram in vsum pauperum scolarium
secularium. (Reg. H. 7, fol. 140.)
Thomas Kirkham, Nov. 14, 1527.
Eodem die supplicat Mr. Thomas Kyrkam doctor in sacra theologia
APPENDIX D. 339
in ultimo Actu Creatus et necessarius Regens quatenus cum oe
graciose dispensetur pro sua necessaria Regentia : causa est quia est
gardianus cuiusdam loci ordinis minorum in villa Dancastrie, unde
non potest commode hie adesse et interesse actibus scolasticis ad quos
teneretur Racione sue necessarie Regentie. Hec gratia est concessa
et condicionata ut facial quinque missas de 5 vulneribus celebrari pro
bono statu Regentium et continuet lectiones suas usque ad proximum
actum. (Reg. H. 7, fol. i8ob.)
z x
INDEX.
A., warden at London, 136, «. 4.
A., of Hereford, secretary to Adam
Marsh, 33 ; biographical notice of,
185.
Abburbury, 109.
Abdy, Robert, Master of Balliol, be-
quest, 106.
Aberdeen, Observant friars at, 89, n. 4.
Abingdon, monks of, 2, 12, n. 2; men-
tioned, 1 08.
Acre (Palestine), 8.
Acre (Norfolk ?), 180.
Acton, Nic., bequest, 103.
Adam of Bechesoueres, physician, 181 ;
notice of, 187.
Adam of Bury St. Edmund's, Arch-
deacon of Oxford, 1 02, n. i.
Adam of Corf, friar Minor, 219.
Adam Godham : see Adam Wodham.
Adam of Hekeshovre : see Adam of
Bechesoueres,
Adam of Hoveden or Howden, lector,
mentioned, 163; notice of, 162.
Adam of Kydmersford, robber, 308.
Adam de Lakeor, Dominican, 334.
Adam of Lathbury, abbat of Reading,
235. «• 4-
Adam of Lincoln, lector and provincial,
notice of, 160.
Adam Marsh or de Marisco, upholds
Franciscan poverty, 4, and n. 8, u,
22; books bequeathed to him, 57;
royal ambassador, 7, 307-8 ; influence
at Oxford, 8 ; relations to Walter de
Merton, 9, and Richard Earl of
Cornwall, 25, n. 2 ; friendship with
Simon de Montfort, 32, Grostete, 32,
48, 57, Walter of Madele, 189, Roger
Bacon, 192, 193; lecturer to the
friars at Oxford, 31-32, 36. 37, 186,
188 ; letters illustrating the position
of lector and socius, 33-4, 56, «. 3 ;
his socius, 185, 186, 188 ; controversy
on theological degrees in 1253, 38-9 ;
his activity and reputation, 32, n. 2,
3 ; 67 ; at the Council of Lyons, 127,
128; obtains a papal privilege, 141,
«. 2 ; his letters, 57, n. i, 59 ; men-
tioned, 57, 65, 128, 129, 139, n. 8,
140, 141, 142-3, 151, 153, 154, 156,
n. 3, 179, 181, 184, 186, 187, 189,
ail ; biographical notice, 134-139.
Adam of Norfolk, secular master, 331,
332, 334-
Adam of Oxford, missionary, 7 ; pupil
of Adam Marsh, 135 ; biographical
notice, 178.
Adam Rufus : see Rnfus.
Adam of Warminster, warden at Ox-
ford, notice of, 129 ; controversy with
Dominicans, 333-5.
Adam Wodham, lector, nominalist, 77,
n. 4, 170, 226; notice of, 172.
Adam of York, lectured at Lyons, 66,
n. 10.
Adee, Swithin, 124.
Adreston (Adderstone ?), see William
of.
/Egidius de Legnaco, 220.
^Egidius Delphinus, general minister,
267.
yEgidius Romanus, 215.
Agas, Map of Oxford, 1 24.
Agatha (daughter of Walter Gold-
smith ?), 20.
Agnellus of Pisa, first provincial, comes
to England, 1-2, 125; character of
the province under him, 3 ; royal
ambassador, 7 ; opposes extension of
areas, 13 ; builds infirmary and
school at Oxford, 3, 21, 30 ; secures
Grostete as lecturer, 30 ; holds pro-
vincial chapter at Oxford, 69 ; buried
there, 21, 26; mentioned, 57* 89, w.
2, 126, 127, 178, 179, 181, 188; bio-
graphical notice, 1 76.
Agnes, widow of Guido, grant of land to
the Franciscans at Oxford, 14, 15, «.
2, 17.
Ailly, Peter d' : see Peter.
342
INDEX.
Alan of Rodan, lector, 157.
Alan of Wakerfeld, lector, 158, 320,
321, 335-
Albert the Great, Dominican, mentioned
by Roger Bacon, 42 ; works ascribed
to, 167, 210.
Albert of Metz, 220.
Albert of Pisa, provincial, his sayings,
4, 6 ; knew St. Francis, 6, «. 7 ; his
connexion with the Oxford friary, 3,
n. 7, 68; policy as minister, 7, 13,
72; opinion of the English province,
u, «. 3; mentioned, a, ». i, 127,
177, 178, 180, n. 3; notice of, 181.
Alexander IV, pope, 136, 214, n. 2.
Alexander V, pope, mentioned, 66, n.
7 ; biogr. notice of, 249.
Alexander of Hales, 67, 137, 192, 213,
214, n. 215.
Alien, John, mentioned, 41, n. 5, 53, n.
4 ; biogr. notice, 265.
Alienora de S. Amando, bequest by,
105.
Alifax, Rob. : see Eliphat.
Alkerton, 109.
Alnwick : see Martin, Roger, William,
of.
Alyngdon, doctor, mentioned, 96, n. 2 ;
276.
Amaury de Montfort, see Montfort.
Ambassadors, Franciscans employed as,
7, 128, 137, 138, 144, 159, 161, 162,
177. 243. 272, 307-8.
Amory Richard d', 239.
Amour, William de St. : see William.
Ancona, march of, 181.
Andrewes, Richard, of Hales, buys site
of Grey and Black Friars, Oxford,
122, 123.
Andrews, Nic., of Peckwater's Inn, 95.
Anesti, Thomas of: see Thomas.
Anger: see Auger,
Anivers (Anilyeres, Aynelers), Nic. de :
see Nicholas.
Anjou, master H. of, 154.
Anna of Radley, 94.
Anneday, Thomas, mentioned, 47, 51 ;
biogr. notice, 270.
Anthony of Padua, St., 135, 156, «. I.
Anthony Papudo, biogr. notice, 284.
Anthony de Vallibus, 52 ; biogr. notice,
261.
Antioch, Patriarch of, 183.
Antonius Andreas, 130, n. 2, 262.
Anyden, Thomas : see Anneday.
Apeltre, Henry of: see Henry.
Apulia, Franciscan province, 235.
Aquinas, St. Thomas : see Thomas.
Aqnitaine, Friars from, at Oxford, 66.
Aragon, Minorites from, at Oxford,
243 ; Peter Russel teaches in, 255.
Arctur, John : see Arthur.
Arezzo : see Philip of Castello.
Argentina : see Strasburg.
Argentine John, biogr. notice, 260; cf.
191, n. i.
Argos, bishop of: see Tinmouth.
Aristotle, 73.
— Commentaries on 254.
De coelo et mundo, 1 53.
Ethics, 156.
Logic, 225-6, 259, 262.
Metaphysics, 142, 196, 233.
Meteorics, 130, n, 2, 196, 241.
Physics, 157, 196, 216, 224, 226,
227.
[Secretum Secretorum], 196.
[Vegetabilia], 196.
Armagh, Archbishops of: see Richard
Fitzralph ; Foxholes, J. : see also 288,
«. 7.
Arnulphus, vicar of the Order, 180.
Arter : see Arthur, John.
Arthur or Arter, John, Friar Minor,
charges against him, 95-6, 132 ;
kept a horse, 96 ; biogr. notice, 284.
Arthur, prince, 260.
Arundel, Thomas, Archbp., 85, 112.
Ascensius, editor of Ockham's Dialogus,
231.
Ascoli : see Jerome of.
Ashby, 125, 189; prior of Canons
Ashby, 126.
Ashendon, John, mathematician, 160,
237-
Asia, Franciscan mission, 244.
Assisi; MS. at, 143; burial at, 159:
general chapters at, 159, 177, 178,
229, 235.
Anger, William, biogr. notice, 254.
Augustine, St., work in the Franciscan
Library, Oxford, 57 ; mentioned, 150,
292.
Augustine, brother of William of Not-
tingham, 183.
Aureolus, 262.
Aurifaber, Walter : see Goldsmith.
Austin Canons, join Minorite Order,
1 80.
Austin Friars, 7, «. 2, 75, 80, 263,
281, 285.
Auvergne, William of : see William.
Averroes, 73.
Avignon, 163, 164, 167, 168, 170, 172,
239 : see Clement V; Ockham im-
prisoned at, 225 ; General Chapter at,
229.
Aylesbury, 163, n. 2 ; Grey Friars of,
287.
Aylmer, John and Christiana, property
granted to Minorites, 16.
Aynelers : see Nicholas of Anivers.
INDEX.
343
B.
Babwell, Grey Friars at, 56, «. 4, 173;
see Bury St. Edmund's.
Bacheler, John, Friar Minor, vice-war-
den at Oxford, 131, 288, 318; biogr.
notice, 285.
Bachun, Thomas, biogr. notice, 187.
Bacon, Sir Francis, quoted, 64, ». 3.
Bacon, Peter, mentioned, 192.
Bacon, Robert, Dominican, signs charter
of Henry III for the University, 9 ;
professed on day of entry, 68 ; uncle
of Roger Bacon, 191 ; preaches to
the King, ib. ; life of St. Edmund by,
192, n. I ; works by, 196 (?), 210.
Bacon, Roger, buried at Oxford, 26 ;
quoted, 31 ; on the study of theology,
37, 42 ; nature and object of his
writings, 37, n. I, 63, 64 ; writings in
the Franciscan Library at Oxford, 58 ;
lectures to Spanish students, 66, n. 8,
at Paris, 68 ; sends works to the
pope, 56 ; begs for alms, 91 ; pupil
and friend of Grostete and Adam
Marsh, 135, n. I, 139; his pupil
John, 33, n. 4, 211 ; his opinion of
Thomas Aquinas, 73, and Richard of
Cornwall, 143; influence on Bungay,
153, W. de Mara, 215, and J. Somer,
244; biographical notice, 191-5;
works, 195-210.
Bacon, Roger, mentioned, 192.
Bacon, Thomas, mentioned, 192.
Baconthorpe, John, Carmelite, 166.
Balborow, William, 317.
Baldeswell : see Peter de.
Balliol College : see Oxford.
Balliol, Edward, 238.
Balliol, Sir John de, 9, 217.
Balsham, Hugh, Bishop of Ely, 138.,
Bampton, Vicar of, no; Hugh of, see
Hugh of Bath.
Banaster or Banister, Alderman and
Mayor of Oxford, visits the friaries,
no, n. i, 117, 121.
Banester, John, mentioned, 44, n. 4;
biogr. notice, 270;
Bangor : see Ednam, Ric. Bp. of.
Banke, Thomas, Rector of Lincoln Coll.,
bequest, 107.
Bannebury, John, bequest, 104.
Barbeur, William le, and Alice his wife,
16, 20, n. 5.
Barclay, Alexander, 271.
Ban, 167.
Barlete, 179.
Barlow, Richard, debt, no, n. 8.
Early, Thomas, Friar Minor, 119, 294.
Barnby, prebend, 235.
Barncby, Thomas of: see Thomas.
Barnes, Dr., Austin Friar, 281.
Baron, Roger, work by, 209.
Bartelot, Jac., attorney, 99, n. 7, 315.
Bartholomew of Pisa, quoted, 2, 6, n. 4,
30, 72, 167, 170, 180, 181, 182, 238,
243.
Barton : see Martin de, Roger de.
Based : see Basset.
Basel, mentioned, 173 ; Council of, 214,
257-
Basil, St., works of, 292.
Basingstoke : see John of.
Baskerfield, Edward, Warden at Oxford,
95, 288 ; his horse, 96, 287 ; sur-
renders his house, 118, 119; biogr.
notice, 132.
Basset, Gregory, Minorite, mentioned,
113, n. 5, 6 ; 290 ; biogr. notice, 286.
Basset, John, lector, 162.
Bath, 2, 134; see Henry of, Hugh of.
Baxter, Mrs., 282.
Baynton, Sir Edw., in.
Beamont, 290.
Beatrice of Falkenstein, wife of Ric.
Earl of Cornwall, buried at Oxford,
25-
Beaune, 128.
Beauvais, W. of Gainsborough buried
at, 162 : see 268, n. i.
Bee, fee of the Abbat of, in Oxford, 1 6,
20, 297.
Beche, Phil, de la, Sheriff, 60, n. 2.
Bechesoueres : see Adam of.
Becket, Thomas, Archbishop, 155, 285.
Beckley, 218.
Bedford, Minorite convent in the Oxford
custody, 68; burials at, 128, 172,
238.
— Simon Ludford, Friar of, 119.
— Duke of, 265, n. 4.
— Archdeacon of, 331.
Bedyngfeld, Edmund, Sheriff, 99, 1 30.
Bek' : see Thomas de.
Bekinkham : see John.
Bele, Thomas, servant of Friar J. Welle,
78, 3H.
Benedict XII, pope, constitutions for
Friars Minors, 35, 36, 50-1, 170.
— Attacked by Ockham, 231, 232.
Benedict le Mercer of Oxford, 16, 296,
298 ; Symon, son of: see Simon.
Benedictines ; students at the Universi-
ties, 43, n. 7.
— Franciscan lecturers to, 66.
— Monks enter Minorite Order, 2,
237-
Benet, John, will mentioned, 90, n. \.
Benet, Thomas, martyr, 132, 286, 289.
Benjamin, Jew of Cambridge, 190.
Bercherius, Peter, 149, 170.
Bereford, Edmund, bequest, 103
344
IXDEX.
Bert-ford , John of, Mayor of Oxford,
bequest, 103.
Berg.imo, Philip of: see Philip.
Berkhamstede, 218, n. 4.
Berkshire, Sheriff of, 22.
Bernard of Gascony, Minister of Tus-
cany, 311.
Bernardin of Siena, St., 221, n. 3.
Bemewell, Thomas, at Council of the
Earthquake, 84, 246.
Berney, Walter de, bequest, 104.
Berton, William, Chancellor, 251.
Berwick : see John of.
Beste, Robert, charge of incontinence,
94-5 ; joins reformation, 113, «. 7;
biogr. notice, 286.
Besylis, William, bequest, 108.
Beverley : see John of.
— Robert of.
Bible, the study of the, 36-7, 38, 44, 46,
47> 61, 65, n. 3, 141, 183, 185, 188,
197, 261, 275, 277, 279, 336-8.
— MSS. of, in possession of the Friars ;
56, notes 2, 3, 4, 57, 58 and n. 14,
59and«. 3, 113, 143, 182, 283.
— An Oxford Franciscan lectures against
the translation of, into English, 254.
— Works on, 139, n. 2, 210.
— Commentaries on books of Old Testa-
ment, 32, n. 4, 141, 147, 149, 151,
152, 164, 173, 210, 218, 234, 235, n.
6, 236, 247.
— New Testament, edited by Erasmus,
273.
Commentaries on Gospels, 148,
149, 152, 185, 217, n. 3, 221, 247,
248.
Acts, 236.
Epistles of St. Paul, 58, 113, n. 5,
152, 247, 277, 278, 284.
Revelation, 152, 171, 218, 221,
234, 254-
Billing, John, Observant, 88, «. 5, 290.
Bilney, Thomas, martyr, 113, n. 5.
Black Death, 3, n. 7, 44, n. i, So, 172.
Black Friars : see Dominican Order.
Blacwood, James, bequest, 106.
Blund, Rob., vintner, 70. «. 3.
Bockering : see Thomas Docking.
Bohun, Humphrey de, E. of Hereford
and Essex, bequest, 103.
Bokkyg : see Thomas Docking.
Boleyn, Anne, 114, 273, 285.
Bologna, Albert of Pisa, Minister of,
18 1 ; Bishop of, 224, n. 8.
— John Foxalls lectures at, 262.
— see 266, 281.
Bologna : see John de Castro.
Boltere, William le, of St. Ebbe's, 75,
n. 2.
Bonagratia, friar, 225.
Bonaventura, general minister, men-
tioned, n, «. i, 128, 137, 139, 154,
155, 215, 216, «. 2.
— Works ascribed to, 149, 193, n. 4 ;
— his constitutions, 55, n. i.
Bonetus, 262.
Boniface VIII, pope, grants land to
Minorites at Oxford, 18 ; calls W. of
Gainsborough as lecturer to Rome,
161 : see also 242.
- IX, pope, 247, 250, 253, 312-3.
Boniface of Savoy, Abp. of Canterbury,
bequest, 102 ; mentioned, 32, ». 3,
136, 137, 138, 139, n. 8, 186.
Bonner, Bp., visits Hadham, 284, n. I.
Bordeaux, 160, «. 10.
Borstall, 105.
Bosellis : see Gregory de.
Bosevile : see Walter de.
Boston, parson of: see J. Tinmouth.
— Gild at, 271.
— Grey Friars at. 278.
Boston of Bury, 58, 150, 151.
Botehill, W., 268.
Botolph, St., life of, 271.
Bowghnell, William, Friar Minor, 119,
293.
Boys (Bors), Vincent, biogr. notice, 255.
' boysaliz,' 188.
Bozon, Nicholas, 37, n. 2, 64, n. 4, 167,
n. 10, 240, n.
Brackley, Friar John, of Norwich, in.
Brakell, John, Minorite, 274.
Bramptone, Ric., bequest, 104,
Brenlanlius : see John of Berwick.
Brewer, Mr., quoted, 63, 64, 89, 129,
194, 208, n. a.
Brian Sandon : see Sandon.
Bricott, -Edmund, biogr. notice, 283.
Bridgwater, Grey Friars at, 157, 244,
245, 254; chapter at, 271.
Bridlington or Briddilton : see Philip of.
Brikley, Peter, Cambridge Franciscan,
283.
Brill, 5.
Brinkley, Ric., provincial, studies Greek,
113 ; biogr. notice, 283.
Brinkley or Brinkel, Walter, biogr.
notice, 223.
Brisingham, A., H., T., of: see Henry of.
Bristol, Minorites of, 60, 172, 174, 260,
286.
Britanny, John of, E. of Richmond,
benefactor of the friars, 18.
Briton, Laurence : see Laurence.
Britte, Walter, 248.
Broadgates Hall : see Oxford.
Broghton, John, Sheriff, 99, 129.
Bromyard : see Rob. of.
Brookby (Brorbe), Anthony, Minorite,
catholic martyr, 290.
INDEX.
345
Brown, John, sup. for B.D. 45, «. 5, 50,
«. I, 52 ; biogr. notice, 274.
Browne, Oxford Dominican, 267.
Browne, provincial of Austin Friars,
285.
Browne, Ric. (alias Cordon), bequest,
105, 261.
Browne, William, Minorite, 116, n. 7,
119, 288,317.
Bruni : see Simon.
Brunsfelsius. Otto, 287.
Brusyard (Suffolk), Poor Clares of, 241.
Brygott : see Bricott.
Brynkley : see Brinkley.
Brynknell, Thomas, 281.
Bucks, 271.
Bukenham : see Walter de.
Bungay : see Thomas of.
Burchestre, W'illiam de, bequest, 103.
Burford, 109.
— see Henry of.
Burgo : see Nicholas de.
Burnham (Essex), 284, «. 4.
Burton, Robert, warden at Oxford, 44,
n. a ; biogr. notice of, 130.
Bury : see Boston of.
— see Richard of.
— St. Edmund's : see Adam of: see Bab-
well ; monk of, 210.
Butler, William, regent master and pro-
vincial, biogr. notice, 254-5.
Byrton, John, bequest, 109.
C.
Calais, staple of, 106; commissary
general, 292.
Call, William, provincial minister, leans
to reformation, 113, «. 5.
Cambrai, 231.
Cambridge, mentioned, 311.
— reformation begins at, 113.
— University, 258, 260.
— Caius College, 59, 226.
— Corpus Christi College, 286.
— King's College, 260, 261.
— Austin friar at, 7, ». 2.
— Carthusian at, 268.
— Dominicans at, 74, 103, 108.
— Franciscans at; custody, 57, 65, 68,
n. 5, 139, ». 8, 178.
friary; foundation, 126; burial
at, 283 ; grant of a house, 190; gifts
and bequests, 97, «. 5, 104, 108, 271 ;
numbers, 44, «. I ; Unities, 91, «. 4;
dissolution, 294.
schools, 34, n. 2, 35, «. 2, 66, n.
10, no, «. 6, 309, 314; Oxford
Franciscans study or lecture in, 130,
140, 141, 153, 156, 157, 158, 162,
164, 214, 218, 234, 238, 242, 243 (2),
J 261, 265, 266, 271, 276, 283, 290,
291, 293.
see also 49, «. 9, 80, n. 2, 113, n.
5, 119, 313.
— Jew of: see Benjamin.
— Mendicant Orders at, 103.
Cambridgeshire, 164, 223, 283.
de Campo Portugaliensis : see Peter
Lusetanus.
Candia : see Alexander V.
Canon, John, realist, 77, ». 4; biogr.
notice, 223.
Canterbury : Archbishops : see Arundel,
Thomas; Becket; Boniface of Savoy ;
Cranmer, Thomas; Edmund Rich;
Kilwardby, Robert ; Langham, Simon ;
John Peckham ; Warham, William ;
also 41, 81, n. 7, 84, 155, 242, 258,
265.
— convocation of, 257.
— preachers at, 289.
— Christchurch, monastery : Franciscan
lectures at, 66.
Peckham's burial and bequest,
155, and n. 10.
shrine of St. Thomas Becket, 285.
canon, 292.
— Franciscans at, 2, 176, 178, 285, 288,
289; their school, 181.
MS. belonging to, 182.
Cantilupe : see Hugh, Thomas, Walter,
of.
Cantwell, James, at Oxford at Dissolu-
tion, 119, 293.
Capell : see Robert de.
Cappes, Thomas, at Oxford at Dissolu-
tion, 119, 293.
Capua, 281, n. 3.
Cardaillac : see Francis de.
Cardmaker, John, entered Minorite
order young, in, «. 5; becomes
reformer, 113, n. 7, 120, n. 3 ; arrests
Friar Arthur, 285 ; burned, 114, n. i;
biogr. notice, 291.
Carew, Mr., 317.
Carlisle, 162 : see Hugo Karlelle.
Carmelites, 75, 80, 84, 85, 103, 245,
255. 274-
Cam, David, Dominican, 261, n. 8.
Carrewe, David, Minorite bequest to,
106 ; biogr. notice of, 261.
Carron, David : see Carrewe.
Carsewell, Richard, bequest, 104.
Carthusian monk, 268.
Cartwright, Thomas, 101, n. 3.
Gary, Richard, Mayor of Oxford, grants
land to the Franciscans, 19-20, 303,
**• *> 3°5 ! represents Oxford in Par-
liament, 21 ; auditor, 92, 311; will,
101, n. 4.
Alice his wife, 101, n. 4.
INDEX.
Castello : see Philip of.
Castro : see John de.
Casuelis : see Queswell.
Catalogus illustrium Franciscanorum,
58, 139, n. 2, 141, 152, 153, 157, 158,
160, 163, 169, n. 3, 173, 185, 254,
255> 2?6-
Catton (Norwich), 170, «. 3 : see Walter
de Chatton.
Ceruise : see Henry de.
Cesena: see Michael de.
Charles IV, Emperor, 225, «. 7, 233.
Charles VI, King of France, 253.
Charles, M., life of Roger Bacon, 195,
215.
Chatton : see Walter de.
Chaucer, 64, 89, n. 5, 91, 244.
Chayne, Thomas, biogr. notice, 256.
Cheshire, 215, n. i, 219.
Chester, archdeacon of, 182 ; Francis-
cans at, 240.
Chestur, William, bequest, 106.
Chichele, Henry, Abp., 258, 259.
China, Franciscan mission in, 244.
Chingford, 175.
Chorasmeni, 128.
Cistercians, 85, 156, 178.
Clacton Parva, 277, n. 6.
Clamiter, Thomas, 105.
Clapwell, Richard, Dominican, 215,
216.
Clara : see John de.
Clare : see Richard of.
Clare, William, bailiff of Oxford, 93 ;
bequest, 109.
Clarendon, documents, dated at, 299,
308.
Clarke, Thomas, 107, 268.
Claymond, John, president of Magdalen
and C.C.C., bequest, 109.
Clement IV, pope, constitutions for
Minorites, 65, n. 3 ; relations to
Roger Bacon, 91, 193-4, 200, 201,
211.
Clement V, pope, grants property to
the Oxford Franciscans, 18, 44, n. I,
302 ; bull, 77, n. i.
Clement VI, pope, 224, 225, 235, 237.
Clement VII, antipope, 243.
Clement of Langthon, 185.
Clerkson, Simon, Carm., 54, ». 3.
Clopton, Walter, chief justice, Minorite,
256.
Clyff, Richard, custodian at Oxford,
99 ; notice of, 1 29.
Clynton, Richard, Minorite, 279.
Cobeham : see John of.
Cocke, John, bookseller, 217, n.
Codyngton : see John de.
Cok, John, Minorite, 119, 294.
— William, Minorite, 119, 294.
Coke, Matthew, bequest, 104.
Cokkes, John, scribe at Oxford, 208.
LL.D., 317.
Colchester, Grey Friars, 247, 253,
271.
— rector of St. Mary's, 282.
Colebruge : see Ralph de.
Coles, John, bequest, 108.
Coleshull : see John of.
Collins, Charles, 124.
Colman, Robert, Minorite, Chancellor
of Oxford, 256.
Cologne, 126; Franciscans at, 89, «. 4;
studium at, 221.
— minister of : see Peter of Tewkes-
bury.
— see Hermann of.
Colvile : see William de.
Combis : see John de Crombe.
Combs (Suffolk), 166.
Comre, John : see Covire.
Comyn, John, murder of, 162.
Confessions: Franciscan friars as con-
fessors, 63-4, 74-5, 79, 105, no, 126,
127, 129, 159, 162, 163, 177, 219,
220, 239, 251.
— works on, 144, 173 n. 6, 239-240,
256.
Coniton : see Richard de Conyngton.
Constance, canon of, 216, n. 3.
Constantine, donation of, 257, n. 3.
Conti : see Rinaldo.
Conway, Roger : see Roger.
Conyngton : see Richard de.
Cooper, Joanna, wife of William, 94,
95, 284.
Cooper, William, 269, n. 4.
Coper, Galfred, 94.
Corbrug : see Hugh de ; Ralph de Cole-
bruge.
Cordon : see Browne, Ric.
Corf: see Adam of.
Cork, county, 267.
Cornish, William, Minorite, 212.
Cornwall, Archdeacon of, 9.
— Earls of : see Edmund ; Richard.
— see Laurence of ; Richard of, secular ;
Richard Rufus of, Franciscan.
Cossey, or Costesey : see Henry of.
Costard, John, and Margery his wife,
16.
Cote, Hugh, 128.
Cotter, Sir James, 124.
Countess (Comitissa), Jewess at Oxford,
9-
Couton : see John de.
Coventry, 217, 289; Grey Friars, dis-
solution, 293: see Roger of Wesham.
Covire, John, Minorite, 119, 293.
Cowton : see Robert.
Cradoc, or Craycocke, Ralph, 96.
INDEX.
347
Cranmer, 281, n. 3, 288, n. 7, 289, 292.
Crayford, or Crawfurthe, John, Minorite,
1 20, n. 3; biogr. notice, 191.
Creswell, Ralph, Observant, 88, «. 5,
119, 293.
Crofton, Edmund, bequest, 107.
Crombe : see John de.
Crompe, Henry, Cistercian, 85, 251.
Cromwell, Thomas, reforms university,
116; disposes of friars and their pro-
perty, 120; letters to, 117, 118, 119,
282 ; mentioned, 130, 132, 274, 285,
286, 287.
Crosby, John, citizen of London, 263.
Cross, Crouche (de Cruce) : see Robert.
Croy, Henry, Dominican, 165, n. 7.
Cruche (de Cruce) : see Henry.
Crusades, 7, 8, 63, 136, 138, «. 3, 140,
153, 195, n, 4 : see also Missionaries.
Crussebut, J., Cambridge Minorite, 49,
n. 9.
Cudnor, John, warden of Grey Friars,
London, 276.
Culvard, Andrew, and Alice his wife,
20.
— John, Mayor of Oxford, grants land
to Minorites, 20, 303-5 ; represents
Oxford in parliament, 2 1 .
Curson, Walter, bequest, 108.
Curtes, William, Minorite, 279.
Cusack, Isaac, preaches in Ireland, 86 ;
biogr. notice, 266.
Cyprian, St., works of, 292.
D.
Dagvyle, William, bequest, 106.
Dalderby, John, bishop of Lincoln, 63-4,
129, 159, 162, 163, 164, 165, 167,
219, 22O, 222.
Dalmacus de Raxach, Minorite from
Aragon, 243.
Danvers, Sebyll, bequest, 107.
Darlington, John, Dominican, 72, n. 4.
David, Hugo, regent master, biogr.
notice, 256.
— John, lecturer to Minorites at Here-
ford, 34, n. 3, 261, 313-14; pro-
vincial minister, 259.
— John, D.D., Oxford, 52, 53, ». 3,
336; biogr. notice, 261.
— Richard, Minorite, 116, n. 7, 289.
— William, Minorite, 1 16, «. 7, biogr.
notice, 289.
Davys, Thomas, bequest, 107.
Daynchurch : see Oliver de Encourt.
Days, Roger : see Dewe.
Deal, 292.
Dee, John, 245.
Delamere, forest, 215, «. i.
Delphinus, ^Egidius, general minister,
267.
Denbigh, Carmelites of, 274.
Denmade : see Herbert.
Denmark, English friars wanted for,
140 ; king of, 257 ; Standish sent to,
272.
Denson, Thomas, 94.
Deodatus, warden at Exeter, 217.
Derby, surrender of the Black friars, 133.
Derbyshire, 122, 156, n. 2, 219.
Devon : see Richard of.
Devorguila, wife of John Balliol, 9,
158, 216-7.
Dewe, Roger, provincial, 256 ; notice
of, 259.
Dieppe, 285.
Divorce of Henry VIII : see Henry VIII.
Dobbis, Alice, bequest, 106.
Docking : see Thomas.
Doclington, John of, bequest, 103.
Dominican Order, constitutions of, 1228,
37, n. 6, 90, n. 7.
— Master of : see Jordan.
— in England, 7, 8, 55, n. 3, 61,
72, 7.}, seq., 80, 81, n. 7, 127, 137,
156, 178, 183, 307, 308, 326, 334,
n. 3.
see Cambridge, Derby, Guildford,
Langley Regis, Leicester, London,
Oxford.
Doncaster, Grey Friars at, 282, 294,
339-
Donegal, Minorites of, 267.
Dongan, John, buried in Grey Friars'
cemetery, 27 ; bequest, 106.
Donstede : see Simon Tunstede.
Donwe, Roger : see Dewe.
Dorchester (Oxon.), 63, 159, &c.: see
Hugh of Hertepol.
Dorchester (Dorset), Friars Minors at,
84 ; mentioned, 263.
Dorchester : see Warin of.
Doring, Matthias, Minorite, 66, n. 10 ;
biogr. notice, 256.
Dorman, Edmund, 315.
Dorsetshire, 191.
Dover, 2, 157, 176, 308; bishop of, 116.
Draper : see Milo.
Drayton : see Richard of.
Drewe, Edward, 55, n. 3.
Droken', J. de, 161.
Dublin, Friars Minors of, 68, «. 3.
— Archbishops of, 129, «. i, 267.
Duns : see John Duns Scotus.
Dunstable, canons of, become Fran-
ciscans, 1 80.
Dunstan : see Thomas of St.
Durham, bishops of, see Ric. Marsh,
Ric. Kellawe, Ric. of Bury.
— tax on clergy in the diocese, 98.
— Church of, 292 ; library, ibid.
— County, 153, 216.
348
INDEX.
Durham College : see Oxford.
Dyonisius, Minorite, 212, 323, 335.
— Tully, Dominican, 266.
Dysse, William, Minorite, 267.
E.
Eccleston : see Thomas of.
Edes, John, biogr. notice, 254.
Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, 218.
Edmund, St. (Rich), Abp. of Canter-
bury, 1 68, 192.
Edmund : see G. of St.
Ednam, Ric., Minorite, bishop of
Bangor, 45, 46, «. 10, 51, 52, n. I,
336-7 ; biogr. notice, 264.
Edrope : see Henry of.
Edward I, employs Minorites as am-
bassadors, 7, 161 ; his Crusade, 8,
153; stays at the Black Friars,
Oxford, 72 ; grant to the Oxford
Minorites, 97, 308-9 ; grant to friars
in General Chapter, 219.
Edward II, assigns to the Minorites the
property of the Friars of the Sack in
Oxford, 18-19, 301-3 ; supports
Dominicans at Langley Regis, 22,
53> n- 9 ! grant to the Oxford Minor-
ites, 98, 309 ; marriage with Isabella,
162 ; mentioned, 223.
Edward III, stays at the Grey Friars,
York, 27, n. 9 ; mentioned, 60, ». 2,
238, 239, 300.
Edward IV, 98.
Edward V, 98.
Edward VI, 291, 292.
Edward, the Black Prince, 81, n. 7, 242.
Edward, prince, 260.
Elemeus, Ric., bequest, 109.
Elias, general minister, 67, «. I, 69,
135, 142, 177, 180, 181, 184, n. i.
Eliphat, Robert, 222, «. 5 ; biogr.
notice, 238.
Elmys, Elizabeth, bequest, 107.
Ely, bishopric of, 138, 260.
Elyot, Sir Ric., judge, bequest, 108.
Empoli : see Francis de S. Simone.
Encourt : see Oliver de.
Enger (near Cologne), curious custom
at, 235.
Erasmus, 112, 113 ; relations to Henry
Standish, 273.
Erfurt, University, Franciscans at, 257 ;
254, n. 6.
Eric, King, of Denmark, 257.
Erlandi, John, bp. of Roskild, 140, n. 6.
Ernulphus : see Arnulphus.
Eschvid, John : see Ashendon.
Esseby : see Simon of.
— see William of.
Essex, Archdeacon of, 49, «. 8 ; Earl
of : see Bohun.
Essex, 284, 287, 290.
Eton, William : see Will, of Esseby.
Etton, Guy, Minorite, and reformer,
113, n. 7, 116, n. 7, 120, n. 3 ; bio-
graphical notice, 290.
Eneston : see William of Euston.
Eustace de Merc, warden at Oxford,
compelled to eat fish, 6 ; excluded
from chapter, 69 ; biogr. notice, 1 26.
Eustace de Normanville, lector, declines
to lecture at Norwich, 65 ; biogr.
notice, 139.
Eustas, John, scholar, dies intestate,
101, 276.
Evangelical Poverty , dispute concerning,
75-8, 86, 129, 163, 164, 166, 167,
225, 266, 320-335 ; cf. 92.
— works on, 164, 165, 169, 215-6, 222,
224, 232, 234, 239, 240, 243, 248,
255, 266; cf. 320-335.
Evesham, Simon de Montfort, buried
at, 33 (set Corrigenda).
— see Hugh of.
Ew, see John of.
Ewelme, see N. de.
Exeter, diocese of, 105 ; dean of, 7 ;
subdean, 96.
Exeter : Grey Friars' house at, 27, «. 9,
217, 291 ; studium at, 35, ». 3.
— friars preach at, 132.
— persecution at, 132, 286, 289.
— Adam of : see Adam of Oxford.
— Stephen of: see Stephen of Ireland.
— see William of.
Eynsham, abbey, 237.
F.
Fabricius, G., quoted, 148.
Fakenham : see Nicholas of.
Falkenstein : see Beatrice of.
Falley, John, 107, 268.
Farmer, Henry, of Tusmor, 167.
Faversham : see Haymo of.
Feckyngtone, John, Minorite, Rector
of Balliol Coll., 10 ; biogr. notice,
260.
Ferrara, bp. of, 224, n. 8.
Fetiplace, Ric. bequest, 107.
Fey, Jacob, biogr. notice, 252.
Fisher, John, 273.
Fitzralph : see Richard.
Flavyngur, John, Minorite, lectures on
decretals, 53 ; biogr. notice, 277.
Flemengvill : see Robert de.
Florence, general chapter at, 314.
— friars Preachers at, 55, n. 3.
— see Fey (Jacob), Nicholas de Burgo.
Florence, John, Minorite, 46, ». 10.
Foliot, Alice, 15, n. 2.
Folvyle, W., 80, n. 2.
INDEX.
349
Foreign friars at Oxford : see Oxford.
Forest, John, Catholic martyr, 290.
Foster, Thomas, 131.
Fox, Edward, 281, n. 3.
Foxal, Foxalls : see Foxholes.
Foxe, Jane, bequest, 109.
Foxholes, John, Minorite, biogr. notice,
261-2.
Foxle : see Walter de.
France ; kings of, and country, 138, ».
3, 140, 159, 161, 243, 253, 285.
French students expelled from Oxford,
86.
French Minorites at Oxford, 66, 187,
244 ; expelled, 86.
— see Paris.
— Provincial of the Minorites in, 126,
187.
— Rob. Wellys, dies in, 256.
Frances, Thomas, inception, 52, n. 10,
53; biogr. notice, 279.
Francis, St., of Assisi, I, n. I, 129, 176;
appears in visions, 2, 142, ». 3 ;
church at Oxford dedicated to, 22,
24; his condemnation of learning, 29;
mentioned, 6, n. 7,81, 100, 129, 177,
n. 6.
— his Rule, observance and relaxations,
7, n, 14, 22, 29, 33, 36, 55, 69, 91,
97, "7, 135, 136, 147, 176, 181,
183, 186, 187, 188, 190, 193, 194,
215. 325, 327, 328, 331 : see Gregory
IX, Benedict XII.
Francis de Cardaillac, 243.
Francis de Graynoylles, Minorite from
Aragon, 243.
— de Mayronibus, 262.
Francis de S. Simone (of Pisa or
Empoli), 66, n. 7; biogr. notice, 243.
Francis of Savona (Sixtus IV), 265-6.
Franciscan Order, General Chapters, n,
35, 66, notes 6 and 10, 90, 127, 135,
157. 159. !6i, 166, 167, 176, 177,
178, 183, 186, 194, 218, 219, 221,
324, 229, 235, 242, 267, 275(?), 309,
314-
— Decrees relating to Oxford, 35, 66,
notes 6, 10, 309, 314.
— see Evangelical Poverty.
— England ; character of the Order in,
4, n. i, n, ». 3, 13, 14, 27, «. 9,
29-30, 61, 69, 78-9, 82-3, 100, 101,
n. 5, in, 113, 115-6, 129, 320, seq.
Provincial Chapters ; held annu-
ally in England, 36, n. 4, 66, n. i .
at Oxford, 4, 5, 69, 70, 126, 142,
181, 183, 184, 218, 254.
elsewhere, 69, and n. 4, 157, 176,
184, 235, 250, 271, 314.
— records of the, lost, 89, 90.
— Provincial Ministers of England,
appointment or deposition of, i, n. i,
70, 127, 128, 177, 181, 183-4, 253,
254» 255. 256, 259.
Franciscan Order in England, custodies,
68, 125, 133.
— Studia : see Cambridge, Oxford.
— 34 and n. 3, 35 and n. 3, 44, 51,
64, «. 5, 65, 186, 188, 189, 249, 270,
275 C2?6), 277, 284, 309, 311,313-4,
SH-
— Lecturers, appointment or election
of, 30, 34, and «. 3, 35, n. 2, 36, 43,
65, 66, 139, 140, 141, 142, 177, 181,
183, 186, 189, 220, 235, 242, 313-4;
cf. 329.
— Monastic school at Canterbury
presided over by a Franciscan, 66.
— Monks and Canons enter the Fran-
ciscan Order, 2, 3, 180, 237.
Other friars become Minorites, 75.
— Limit to age of admission to Order,
80-1.
— Dress of the Friars, 4 .
— Letters of Fraternity, 82, 90.
— Suppression of the friaries, 116;
pension to a Franciscan, 130.
— Political teaching, 32-3, 81-2, 84, 85,
86, 87, 114, 137, 141, 191, 242, 272.
works on politics, 144, 145, 218,
229-234, 244.
— Individual friars : privileges granted
to, 141, «. 2, 237, n. 5, 239, 247, 312.
alms and exhibitions, 53-4, 91-2,
97'v.
bequests, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107,
108, 143, 251, 261, 263, 268, 282, ».
9, 3i8.
private property, 78, 96, n. I,
1 08, 109, 271, 273, 311.
— Spiritual and Observant Friars, 77,
88, 89, «. 4, 96, 114, 115, 163, 164,
166, 215, 257, 265, 269, n. 6, 277,
285, 286, 289, 290, 293.
— Rivalry between Mendicant Orders,
71, seq., 127, 183: see Dominican
Order in England.
— Convents : see Aberdeen, Aylesbury,
Babwell, Bedford, Boston, Bridg-
water, Bristol, Brusyard (Poor Clares),
Cambridge, Canterbury, Chester, Col-
chester, Coventry, Doncaster, Don-
egal, Dorchester, Dublin, Evesham
(see Corrigenda), Exeter, Galway,
Gloucester, Grantham, Greenwich,
Hereford, Ipswich, Leicester, Lich-
field, Lincoln, London, Lynn, Newark,
Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich,
Nottingham, Oxford, Reading, Rich-
mond, Salisbury, Shrewsbury, South-
ampton, Stamford, Ware, Winchester,
Worcester, York.
35°
INDEX.
Franciscan Order : see Ambassadors.
Catalogus illustrium Francisca-
noriim.
Confessions.
Heresies.
Missionaries.
Frankfurt, council of, 225, 232 ; men-
tioned, 288, «. 7.
Frederic II : see Isabella, wife of.
Frederic of Thiiringen, 257.
Freiburg : see John Lector of.
Frewers : see Fryer.
Friars : see Austin Friars ; Carmelites ;
Dominicans ; Franciscans ; Sack,
friars of tie ; Trinitarians ; and Men-
dicant Orders.
Frideswide, St. : see Oxford.
— see John of.
Frisby, Roger, Minorite, executed, 87.
Fryer, William, alderman, visits Oxford
friaries, 117, 121 ; obtains lease of
Grey Friars, 121, 122.
Fngardi, Rogerus nlius, 191, n. i.
Fulgentius, commentaries on, 170.
Fulham : see Robert de.
Fullo, Radulph, Thomas, William, 15,
n. 2, 19, n. 3.
Fyfield, 25, n. 9, 104.
G.
G. de Sancto Edmundo, biogr. notice
of, 189.
Gaddesby or Gaddestyn : see Robert de.
Gaieta : see Peter of.
Gainsborough : see William of.
Gallensis, Gnalensis : see John Wallensis.
Gallensis, John, of Volterra, 1 50.
Galway, Franciscans of, 267.
Gamages, Reginald, land in Oxford,
298.
Garaford : see Richard de.
Gardener, John, principal of Beef Hall,
ISO-
Gardiner, Stephen, trial of, 284, n. i ;
mentioned, 291.
Gascoigne, Thomas, Chancellor of Ox-
ford, on the Franciscan library, 57-9,
6 1, n. 7 ; quoted Thomas Docking,
151, n. 7.
Gascony, Simon de Montfort in, 138,
186.
— seized by French King, 161.
Gaufredi : see Raymond.
Gaunt, John of, Earl of Lancaster, 81,
n. 7, 84.
Gaveston, Piers, 22, 27, n. g.
Gedleston (Gilstone?), 277, n. 6.
Genoa, general chapters at, 127, 159,
184, n. i, 1 86.
— Franciscan province, 265.
— plague at, 184.
Gerald Odonis, Spiritual Minorite, 231.
German, William, Minorite, 45, 50, n.
i and 8 ; admitted to Univ. library,
62, «. 3; biogr. notice, 275.
Germany, provincial ministers of, 128,
1 60, n. 9, i Si, 1 88 : see Wygmund.
— Minorites from, at Oxford, 66, 237,
256.
Ghent : see Henry of ; Simon of.
Gigas : see Hermann Gygas.
Gilbert of Grensted, of Oxford, 304.
Gilbert Peckham, Minorite, fellow of
Merton, biogr. notice, 238.
Gilbert of Preston, 298.
Gilbert (Stratton), 162, n. 6.
Giles, friar, 105.
— (Egidius), Minorite, 142, n. 3.
Giuliortus de Limosano, wax-doctor, 43 ;
biogr. notice, 239.
Giuvenazzo, bp. of, 167.
Glaseyere, Hugh, Minorite, 116, n. 7;
biogr. notice, 292.
Gloucester, Abbat of, 1 36 ; Archdeacons
of, 106, 218, 290; Minorites at, 44,
n. i, 69, 176, 182, 268.
— mentioned, 188, 296.
— duke of, 259.
— see Walter of.
Goddard, William, provincial, 247 ;
biogr. notice, 262-4.
— Warden, London, 263.
Godham : see Adam WTodham.
Godstow, nunnery; reformed by Peck-
ham, 74 ; alms to Oxford friars, 100.
Golafre, Sir John, buried at Grey Friars,
Oxford, 25.
— John, lord of Langley, benefactor,
25, 104.
— William, buried at Grey Friars, Ox-
ford, 25.
Goldsmith, Margaret, bequest, 106.
Goldsmith, Walter, Minorite, 271.
Goldsmith, citizen of Oxford, 15, 20.
Gonsalvo, minister general, 164, n. 3,
220.
Gonsalvo of Portugal, Observant Mino-
rite, 45, 66, n. 9, 88, n. 3 ; inception
of, 51-2 ; biogr. notice, 264.
Good (Gude), Thomas : see Thomas
Docking.
Goodewyn, Thomas, bequest, 109.
Goodfield (Goodfylde, Gudfeld), Walter,
Warden at Oxford ; 36, n. 9, 52, 53,
«. 3 ; leases land, 97, 317 ; mentioned,
27I> n- 3> 274> biogr. notice, 131.
— graces to, 337-8.
Gorham, Nicholas, works of, 57, 166.
Gorry (or Grey), John, Minorite of
Dorchester, agitates among labourers,
84, «. i.
Gos, William, tailor, 94.
INDEX.
351
Grafton, Edmund, lector, 172.
Grammont, Order of, 185.
Grantham, Minorite Convent in the
Oxford custody, 68.
Gras : see John le.
Gratian, decretum of, 57.
Graynoylles : see Francis de.
Greek, study of, 42, 59, 112, 113, 249,
283, 290.
Greenwich, Observant friary, 88, 290.
Gregory IX, pope, 8, 57, 69, 72, 179,
184; explanation of the Rule of St.
Francis, 325, 327, 331, 334.
Gregory X, pope, 18.
Gregory XI, pope, 242.
Gregory, provincial minister of France,
126.
Gregory de Bosellis, Minorite, 183 ;
biogr. notice, 186.
Gregory of Rimini, 238, «. 3.
Grene, John, 264.
Grensted : see Gilbert.
Grey de Retherfeld, John, gives land to
Minorites, 20, 305-6.
Grey Friars : see Franciscan Order.
Grostete, Robert, bishop of Lincoln ;
his sayings, 6 ; influence at Oxford,
8 ; lectures to the Franciscans, 30,
32, 67, 69, 177, 180, 183, 189, 192;
bequeaths books to the Franciscans,
57~9> r38 5 friendship with Adam
Marsh, 48, 67, 127, 135, seq.\ in-
fluence on Roger Bacon, 37, 139,
192 ; sermon in praise of poverty,
69 ; quarrel with Innocent IV, 59,
n. i; works ascribed to, 151, 223,
226 : see also 4, 61, n. 7, 62, n. i,
128, 140, 141, 179, 187, 188, 189.
Gryffith, Maurice, Dominican, 54, n. 6.
Guaro : see William of Ware.
Gudman, Ralph, Minorite, 276.
Guido : see Agnes.
Guildford, Dominicans at, 89, n. 4.
Gulac : see Nicholas de.
Gunter, James, has lease of part of the
Grey Friars, 123.
— Richard and Joanna, have part of
the Grey Friars' property, 122, 123.
Gunwardeby : see John of.
Gwent : see Went, John.
H.
H. M., 152, n. i.
Hadham, 284.
Hadley, John, Minorite, 269.
— R., Observant, 269, n. 6.
Haldeswel : see Peter of Baldeswell.
Halegod, Andrew, citizen of Oxford,
295-
— Laurence, citizen of Oxford, 295.
Hales : see Alexander of.
— see Andrewes, Ric.
Halifax, Rob. : see Eliphat.
Hall, Anthony, bequest, 109.
Halvesnahen : see Hubert of.
Hampton, 293.
Hanworth, 292.
Hanyden : see Anneday.
Harecourt, Ric., bequest, 108.
Harlington, 292.
Harm', Simondez, 275.
Harmon, 275.
Harvey, John, warden at Oxford, 54,
«• 3> 132, 3J7> 3J9; biogr. notice,
131-
Hasard, William, proctor, bequest, 107.
Hastings, John, E. of Pembroke, 264.
Haureau, M., 149.
Haymo of Faversham, 7, n. 7 ; pro-
vincial of England, 14, 177, i8i,w. 10,
182, 183 ; prefers manual labour to
mendicancy, 14; general minister, II,
127, 136.
Hearne, Thomas, 124, 174.
Hebrew, taught at Oxford, 59, and n. 2 ;
at reformation, 112, 290.
Heddele, Hedele, Hedley: see William
of Heddele.
Heddrington, or Herington, Ric., 163.
Hedyan, James, buried in Franciscan
Church at Oxford, 26 ; bequest, 105.
Hekeshovre : see Adam of Bechesoueres.
Henley, 107.
Henry III, King of England, grants to
friars at Oxford, 5, 13, 14, 16, 17,
18, 21, 22, 69, 70, 296-300, 307-8 ;
Cambridge, 97, n. 5 ; Reading, 22 ;
calls Mad Parliament at Oxford, 72 ;
takes cross, 136 ; relations to Adam
Marsh, 137-8; mentioned, 177, 191,
302 ; his queen, 137.
Henry IV, 70, 81, 87, 98, 247, 248,
249, n. 2.
Henry V, 98, n. i.
Henry VI, 98-99 ; his council, 259.
Henry VII, 98, n. i.
Henry VIII, grant to Oxford Minorites,
98, n. i ; royal supremacy, 114, 272,
273> 287, 289, 291, 293; divorce,
114-15, 269, 273, 280-1, 282;
suppression of monasteries, 115,
290 ; treatment of the friars' pro-
perty in Oxford, 120, 122; court
preachers of, 271 ; appoints N. de
Burgo reader at Cardinal College,
281, 282 : see also 285, 292.
Henry of Apeltre, lector, 153, «. i ;
biogr. notice, 156.
Henry of Ast, minister general, 254,
n. 9.
Henry of Bath, 298.
352
INDEX.
Henry of Brisingham, lector, 143, n. u,
151, «. 4; biogr. notice, 152.
Henry of Burford, Minorite, n.
Henry of C cruise, vicar of the pro-
vincial, 178.
Henry of Costesey (Cossey), biogr.
notice, 234.
Henry C ruche, lector, 134, 169.
Henry de Edrope (Heythrop?), of Ox-
ford, 304.
Henry of Ghent, 1 54, «. 7.
Henry, son of Henry, citizen of Oxford,
296.
Henry Lector, of Oxford, 152, 156.
Henry of Oyta, 1 73.
Henry of Reresby, 22 ; biogr. notice of,
1 80.
Henry Simeonis, his island in the
Thames, 16, 17, 297.
Henry Standish : see Standish.
Henry Stretsham : see Stretsham.
Henry of Sutton, 162, ». 16 ; biogr.
notice, 219.
Henry, son of Thomas, bailiff of Oxford,
296.
Hentham : see John of.
Herberd, Herbert, Herebert, William,
lector, 169, ». 2 ; biogr. notice,
167-8.
Herbert of Denmade, 307.
Hereford, Grey Friars at, 254, 260;
school, 34, n. 3, 261, 313-4; burials
at, 168, 174, 254.
— bishop of : see Ralph Maidstone,
Thomas of Cantilupe, Swinfeld (Ric.),
248.
— dean of, 313.
— Earl of, stays at Grey Friars, Exeter,
27, n. 9: see Bohun.
— see A. of.
— J. of: see Edes, John.
— Nicholas, sermon against the friars,
54, 84, 91, n. 8.
Herefordshire, 286.
Heresies, eastern, 8, 63, 179: see
Knights Templars.
— Franciscan, 70, 82, 85-6, 166, 167,
257-9, 266-7: see William of Ock-
ham.
— at Oxford, 70, 73, 82, 85, 86, 166.
— elsewhere, 251, 256, 263.
— see Reformation.
Hermann of Cologne, Minorite student
at Oxford, 69, «. 10, 235 ; biogr.
notice, 236.
— Gygas (or Gigas), 163, 237.
— of Saxony, 237.
Herne, church of, 285.
Hertepol: see Hugh of.
Hertford, 211, 213.
Hertfordshire, 277, n. 6, 283, 284.
Hertilpoll : see Hugh of Hertepol.
Herveius de Saham, Chancellor, 133.
Hevesham : see Hugh of Evesham.
Heythrop : see Richard of.
Hibernicus, &c. : see Ireland.
Hilton, John, biogr. notice, 243.
Hoger, abbat, 210.
Hokenorton (Hooknorton), 15, n. 2,
19, n. 2, 109, n. 2.
Holawnton (Wilts.), 106.
Holder, Robert, 94.
Holiday, Sir Stephen, 292.
Horley : see John of.
Hotham : see Nicholas of Ocham.
Hoveden or Howden: see Adam of,
John of.
Howe, John, buys sites of Friaries at
Oxford, 122, 123.
Hows, Will., 96, «. 2, 276.
Hoye, Thomas, vicar of Bampton, will
of, no.
Hoyta : see Henry of Oyta.
Hozon (Hotham ?) : see William of
Hodum.
Hubert of Halvesnahen, biogr. notice,
243.
Hugh Balsham, 138.
— of Bampton, or Bath (Bathamp-
ton?), provincial, 157.
— of Cantilupe, 218.
— of Corbrug, secular master, 331, 334.
— of Evesham, 331, 333.
— of Hertepol, lector and provincial :
proctor of Balliol Coll., 10; disputes
at Oxford, 48, 49 ; presents twenty-
two friars to the bishop for license
to hear confessions at Oxford, 63,
129, 162, 163, 164, 165, 167, 219,
220, 222 ; employed as ambassador,
7, «. 10, 161 ; mentioned, 158, 160,
218 ; biographical notice of, 158-9.
— Karlelle, at the council of the
earthquake, 84, 246.
— of Lyndun, biogr. notice, 186.
— of Manchester, Dominican, 161.
— of Mistretune, Dominican, 38.
— of Newcastle, 167, «. 3.
— of Nottingham, 57, 166.
— Willoughby (Wylluby), chancellor
and Minorite, notice of, 235.
Humphrey de Bohun : see Bohun.
Hundertone, Master Gilbert, 56, «. 2.
Hungary, Minorite province, 181.
Hussites, 257, n. 3.
I.
Ilchester, R. Bacon bom at, 191.
Ingeham : see Solomon of.
Ingewrthe : see Richard of.
Innocent IV, pope, 59, n. I, 72, 77,
136. 137, i83» l84. 190-
INDEX.
353
Innocent VI, pope, 239, 312.
Inquisition, 160, 162, 165, 252.
Ipswich, Grey Friars at, 27, n. 6.
Ireland; Friars from, study at Oxford,
66 ; visitation of, 1 26 ; provincial
ministers of, 178, 261, 267: see 142,
n. 5, 243, n. 2, 266.
— see Carrewe (David) ; Cusack
(Isaac) ; Hubert of Halvesnahen ;
John Duns Scorns (?) ; Lorcan, Ric. ;
Malachy of Ireland ; Maurice de
Portu ; Menelaus McCormic ; Stephen
of Ireland ; Thomas of Ireland ;
Whythead, John.
Irishe, Edmund, bailiff of Oxford, 93.
Isabella, wife of Frederick II, 6, 307.
— wife of Edward II, 162, 237.
Italy, 281, 282 ; friars from, at Oxford,
66 : see Agnellus ; Albert of Pisa ;
Francis de S. Simone ; Fey (Jacob) ;
John de Castro ; Laurentius Gul. de
Savona ; Nicholas de Burgo ; Peter of
Gaieta; Philip of Castello.
J.
J., friar Minor, at Council of Lyons,
128, n. 5.
' Jack Upland,' Lollard writer, 83.
James de Porta, Minorite, 173.
James, Rob., bequest, 105.
Jerome (.St.), works of, in Franciscan
library, Oxford, 58.
Jerome of Ascoli (Nicholas IV), general
minister, 156, n. i ; holds chapter at
Paris, 194.
Jerome of St. Mark, notice of, 239.
Jewell, John, 290.
Jews, protected by Adam Marsh, 137 :
see also 9, 167, n. 9, 169, 190.
Joanna, princess of Wales, 245.
Joanna, wife of Walter of Wycombe, 20.
John XXI, pope, 155, n. 4.
John XXII, pope, bulls in favour of the
Dominicans at Oxford, 40; con-
troversy with the Franciscans, 77, 92,
«. i, 158, 166, 224-5, 229 «?•» 239>
266.
John XXIII, pope, 249, 255.
John, friar, Dr. of Oxford, advocates
disendowment, 82.
John, Minorite, gives away a book, 56,
n. 6.
John, Roger Bacon's pupil, 33, n. 4 ;
biogr. notice, 211.
John of Basingstoke, 206.
— of Bekinkham, Minorite, 217, 218,
3°9-
— of Berwick, lector, biogr. notice of,
159-
John of Beverley, Minorite, 141, «. 9 ;
biogr. notice, 186.
— Canon : see Canon.
— de Castro (Bologna), Minorite, 45,
n. 9, 54, n. 3, 66, n. 7 ; biogr. notice,
276.
— de Clara, 309 ; biogr. notice, 218.
— of Cobeham, 298.
— of Codyngton, warden, biographical
notice, 129.
— of Coleshull, citizen of Oxford, 304.
— of Couton, benefactor of the friars
92, 310.
— de Crombe, lector, biogr. notice, 166.
— Duns Scotus, presented for license to
hear confessions, 64 ; lectures abroad,
68; mentioned, 112, 116, n. 2, 130,
n. 2, 167, 213, 223, 224, 241, n. 4, 262,
268, 270, 284 ; biographical notice of,
219-222.
— of Dunstable, joins Oxford Francis-
cans; notice of, 180.
— of Ew, of Oxford, 304.
— Feckyngtone : see Feckyngtone (John) .
— Gallensis of Volterra, 150.
— of Gaunt : see Gaunt.
— le Gras, secular master, expounds
Franciscan Rule, 331 — 334.
— of Gunwardeby, of Oxford, 304.
— of Hentham, ' syndicus,' 92, 235,
310.
— of Hereford : see Edes, John.
— of Horley, lector, 163.
— of Hoveden or Howden, lector, 172.
— (of Kent), papal nuncio, 141, «. 2.
— of Kethene, Minorite, 183.
— of Lathbury, Minorite, 236 ; biogr.
notice, 235 (cf. 56, n. 2).
— Lector of Erfurt, 254, n, 6.
— Lector of Freiburg, 144, n. 150.
— of London, 206, 211.
— London, 237.
— London, warden of New College :
see London.
— of Maidstone, archdeacon of Bedford,
33i-
— Mardisle : see Mardisle.
— Marshall, 308.
— of Meslay, visitor of the Oxford
Dominicans, 334.
— Nottingham, Minorite, 287.
— of Nottingham, Minorite, witnesses a
will, 101, 239.
treasurer of York, 165.
— of Okehampton, warden, 92, 310 ;
biogr. notice, 129.
— of Oxford, Minorite, 216.
— Parens, minister general, 1 78.
— of Parma, minister general, praises
the English province, 11, «. 3; holds
chapter at Oxford, 69, 70, 183 ; fiiend
A a
354
INDEX.
of Adam Marsh, 137 : set also, 187,
193, n. 4.
John Peckham (Pecham, &c.), royal
commissioner, 9 ; at Oxford, Paris,
and Rome, 67 ; condemns errors at
Oxford, 73 ; relations to Thomas
Aqninas and Dominicans, 73> se<?- >
favours Franciscans, 74, sends John
Wallensis as ambassador, 144; works
by, 150, 215 ; influenced by Roger
Bacon, 195, «. 4 ; mentioned, 153,
156, 157, 211 ; biographical notice,
154-
— of Persole, Pershore, lector, 48, 49,
158, n. 6 ; biogr. notice, 159.
— le Peyntour, auditor, 94, 311.
— Picard, 172.
— of Preston, lector, 169.
— of Ratforde, lector, 169.
— of Reading, abbat of Osney, joins
Franciscans, 3 ; mentioned, 187 ; bio-
graphical notice, 180.
— of Reading, lector, 168.
— of Reading, minister of Saxony, 181.
— de Ridevaus, lector, 150, 236 ; biogr.
notice of, 170-1.
— of Rodyngton or Rudinton, lector
and provincial, 174; notice of, 171.
— de Rupellis, Minorite, 67.
— de Rupescissa, Minorite, 208, n. I.
— of St. Frideswide, mayor, 103, n. 7.
— of St. John, bequest, 102.
— of Sanford, Abp. Dublin, 129,
n. i.
— of Stamford, custodian of Oxford,
187; Provincial, 68, 138; at Lyons,
127 ; biographical notice, 128.
— de Stanle, Minorite, 224, 310.
— of Stapleton, biogr. notice, 219.
— of Tewkesbury, Minorite, gift to
library, 60, 251.
— of Thornton, lector, 168.
— Tynmouth : see Tinmouth, John.
— Tyssyngton : see Tyssyngton.
— Wallensis, lector, 37, n. i, 170; at
Paris, 68 ; biogr. notice, 143 ; works,
144-151.
— Wallensis, Minorite, 311, n. i.
— of Waltham, bishop of Salisbury, be-
quest, 104.
— of Ware, 212 ; cf. 213, «. 6.
— of Westburg, Minorite, 219.
— of Westover, and Isolda, his wife,
310, n. a.
— of Winchelsea, Minorite, notice of,
223 ; cf. 256.
— of Wylton, lector, biogr. notice, 166.
monk, 166, n. u.
— de Wyntun, secular master, 331, 335.
— of Zortone : see John of Thornton.
Johnson, Elizabeth, bequest, no.
Jollan of Nevill, 298.
Jordan of Saxony, Master of Friars
Preachers, 71, n. 4.
Jordan, William, Dominican, 242.
Jornton : see John of Thornton.
Joseph, John, Minorite, 113, n. 7 ; bio-
graphical notice, 288.
Julian Caesarinus, cardinal, 249.
Julius II, pope, 267.
K.
Karlelle : see Hugo.
Katharine of Aragon, 114, 115, 273,
282 : see Henry VIII.
Kell, Ambrose, Minorite, admitted to
University library, 62, n. 3 ; 270.
Kellawe, Ric. bp. of Durham, 98.
Kemerdyn, Phil., 101, n. 3.
Keneyshame, Robert, bedell, his will,
26.
Kent, 168; sheriff of, 99, 129,308.
— nun of, 289, 290, «. 5.
— persecution in, 293.
Kethene : see John of.
Kidderminster, Ric., abbat of Winch-
combe, 49, n. 4, 269, 272.
Kilwardby, Rob., Abp. of Canterbury,
73, 160; provincial of the Dominicans,
326, 327, 328, 329, 333, 334; upholds
private judgment, 326.
Kingesthorpe, Ric. : see Ric. of Inge-
wrthe.
Kingsbury : see Thomas of Kyngesbery.
Kirkby, 260, n. 7.
Kirkham, Thomas, Minorite, 113, n. 7;
opponent of King's divorce, 114;
grace to, 338 ; biogr. notice, 282.
Knights Hospitallers, house in Oxford,
13-
Knights Templars, 160, 162, 165.
Knolle : see Walter de.
Knottis, Thomas, biogr. notice, 284.
Knowlys, Rob., Minorite, 284.
Knox, James, of Bois-le-Duc, 245.
Kydmersford : see Adam.
Kydmynster, Ric. : see Kidderminster.
Kynton, John, 97, n. 2, 107, 112, n. r,
316; opposes reformation, 113; atti-
tude to divorce, 115; biographical
notice, 268.
Kyritz, 257.
Kyrswell : see Creswell, Ralph.
Lakeor : see Adam de.
Lamarensis : see William de Mara.
Lambeth Palace, MS. from Franciscan
library, Oxford, 59.
— burial at, 293.
Lambourn (Berks) 107, (Essex) 290.
INDEX.
355
Lambourn, Reginald, fellow of Merton
Coll., Minorite, biogr. notice, 237.
— Robert (or John), Minorite, biogr.
notice of, 237.
— Simon, of Merton Coll., 237, n. 9.
Lancashire, 189, 271.
Lancaster : see Gaunt, John of.
Landen : see Walter de.
'Lanercost Chronicle,' written by an
Oxford Minorite, i, n. I, 27, 30, 167.
Langberg, of Merton Coll., 137, ». 9.
Langham, Simon, Abp. of Canterbury,
85.
Langley (Regis), Dominicans at, 22,
53, «• 9-
— see Golafre, John.
Laodicea, bp. of, 188.
Laon : see Raymund of.
Lathbury : see John of.
Latimer, Hugh, bp. of Worcester, 1 1 1 .
Laurence Briton (Wallensis), lector,
134. J7i.
— of Cornwall, Minorite, 212.
— of Sutthon, socius of Adam Marsh,
34, 140, n. 5 ; biogr. notice, 186.
Laurentius Gulielmi de Traversagnis
de Saona, biographical notice of, 265.
Layton, sent to reform the University,
116.
Lector : see John.
Ledbury, John, buys a book, 56, n. 2
(cf. John Lathbury).
Legnaco : see ^Egidius de.
Leicester, four Orders at, 103.
— Dominicans at, 102.
— Minorite convent, in the Oxford
custody, 68; lectures at, 186, 275;
rebel friars at, 87 ; burials at, 166,
1 80.
— Earl of : see Montfort, Simon de.
— Grostete, archdeacon of, 1 79, n. 4.
— see Robert of.
Leke (Leech), Ric., provincial, 259.
Leke, Ric., brewer, buried at Grey
Friars, Oxford, 26 ; lease of land to,
97, 131, 274, 316-8 ; bequests, 108,
318; servant, of John Kynton, 269,
n. 4, 316.
Leland, John, visits Franciscan library,
62 ; on R. Bacon's works, 195 ;
mentioned, 149, 150, 199.
Lemster : see William of Leominster.
Leo X, pope, 1 10.
Lethcringfont, Minorite, Cambridge,
49, n. 9.
Letitia, wife of Simon, son of Benedict,
15, 298 9.
Lewes, battle, 72 ; priory, 154.
Lichfield, Minorites of, 59, n. 3 ; burials
at, 169, 259.
— bp. of: see Roger Wesham.
Lichfield, diocese, 260, 289.
Limoges : see Peter of.
Limosano : see Giuliortus de.
Lincoln, burials at, 139, 160.
— bishops of : see Grostete, Richard of
Gravesend,Sutton (Oliver), Dalderby.
— William of Alnwick, Suffragan of,
271.
— archdeacon of, 9; diocese of, 257,
289.
— see Adam of.
— John, citizen of London, 272.
Lincolnshire, 189, 271.
Lisbon, University, 242.
Llandaff, bp. of, 255.
Lock, Margery, 93.
Lockylsey : see Ralph of.
Lodore : see Richard le.
Lollards, 83, 87, 248 : see Wiclif.
Lombard, Peter : see Sentences.
Lombardy , an Oxford Minorite teaches
in, 67.
London : Austin Friars, 263.
— Black Friars, council of the Earth-
quake at, 84, 246 ; prior of, 320, n.
i.
— Grey Friars : foundation, 2, 176,
178.-
house and convent, 28, 89, n. 2,
128, 132, 180, 189, 239, 258, 263,
266, 274, 280, 311 ; numbers, 44,
n. i.
political meeting at, 282, n. n.
privileges to inmates, 237, 239,
247. 312-3.
property of a London Minorite,
?8, 3"-
church, 25.
— burials in, 126, 129, 130, 131,
155, 162, 240, 241, 247, 251, 252,
256, 263, 264, 265, 268, 269, 273,
275, 277.
Chapters at, 69, and n, 4, 235.
custody, 1 75.
schools, 35, n. 3, 130, 172, 181,
186, 188, 246, 277, 306, 311.
exhibition for a London Mi-
norite, 53, n. 7.
library, 144, n. 5, 150, 173, 233,
234-
dissolution, 288.
— — Wardens, 78, n. 3, 83, 89, n. 2,
112, 127, 131, 136, n. 4, 212, 258,
263, 265, 269, 272, 276.
Vice-warden, 129.
— bishops of, 10, 258, 260 281, n. 3,
284, n. i ; diocese, 261.
— St. Paul's, convocation at, 257 ; pre-
bendary of, 284 ; Cardmaker reader
in, 291.
Cross, sermons, 46, «. 9, 53, 113,
A a 2
356
INDEX.
130, 258, 263, 263, 278, 279, 284,
285, 287, 289, 292.
London, Parishes ; St. Andrew Under-
shaft, 287 ; St. Bride's, Fleet Street,
2Qi ; St. George's, BotolphLane, 293,
n. 3 ; St. Leonard s Shoreditch, 290 ;
St. Martin's in the Fields, 286 ; St.
Martin's Outwich, 283 ; St. Mary at
Axe, 287 ; St. Mary at Bowe, 289 ; St.
Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street, 293,
n. 7 ; St. Owen's, 128 ; St. Vedast's,
105.
— Bridge, head of a Franciscan rebel
on, 87.
— Smithfield, burnings at, 291.
— Compter (prison), 291.
— Fleet (prison), 291.
— College of Physicians, 119-120.
— Parliament at, A. Marsh called to,
137 ; 32, «. 3-
— foreign traders in, 272.
— mentioned, 99, 103, 104, 106, 281.
— see John of; Thomas of.
London, Dr. John, Warden of New
College, no, n. i, 166, n. 8 ; Visits
the Oxford friaries, 117-121, 132 ;
and other friaries, 133.
Longespee, Ela, countess of Warwick,
300, «. i.
Loo, J., 96, «. i.
Lorcan, Richard, Irish Minorite at
Oxford, 101, 276.
Louis IX (St.), King of France, 138,
n. 3, 140.
Louis of Bavaria, emperor, 225, 231,
232.
Lovell, William Lord, buried in Grey
Friars Church, Oxford, 26, 106.
Ludford, Simon, Minorite, becomes
apothecary and physician, 119, 294.
Ludgershall, 271.
Lull, Lully, Raymund, 59, n. 2, 255.
Lundia, abp. of, 140, n. 6.
Lusetanus : see Peter.
Luther, Martin, 113, 269, 281, 286.
Lymynster : see Richard.
Lynn, Grey Friars, numbers, 44, ». I,
283 ; burial at, 129; mentioned, 271.
Observant at, 277.
Lyons, council of, 15, 18, 67, 127, 128,
137, HO.
— general chapter at, 159, 161, 218.
— Franciscan school at, 66, «. 10.
Lyra : see Nicholas de.
M.
McCarmacan, or McCormic: see Me-
nelaus.
Madele : see Walter of.
Magalona (Montpellier), bp. of, 144,
«. 8.
Magdeburg, abp. of, 257
Mahomet, works on, 148.
Maidstone : see John of ; Ralph of ;
Thomas of Maydenstan.
Major, John, 172, n. n.
Malachias of Ireland, Minorite, student
at Oxford, 66, n. 5 ; 223.
Maldon, John, provost of Oriel, bequest,
104.
Malevile, Richard, lector, 175.
Mallaert, John, Minorite, 70, 253.
Malmesbury, Henry, bequest, 103.
— see Thomas of.
Manchester : see Hugh of.
Manners : see Peter of.
Mansourah, battle of, 138, n. 3, 140.
Mantes, 127.
Mara, forest of, 215, n. i.
— see William de Mara.
Marbres, John, 224, n. i.
Mardisle (Mardeslay), John, provincial,
argues against papal tribute, 81, ». 7,
biogr. notice, 242.
Maricourt (Maharncuria) : see Peter de.
Marseilles, general chapter, 235.
Marsh (de Marisco) : see Adam ; Richard ;
Robert.
Marshall, Earl, 7, 177.
Marshall, Hugh, his tenement in Oxford,
16, 298.
— John, 308.
Marsilius of Padua, 77, 114, «. 4, 224,
234-
Marston : see Roger.
Martin IV, pope, 92, «. i, in, n. 6.
— V, pope, constitutions for Friars
Minors, 53, «. 8, 65, n. 6, 92, n. i,
255-
— king of Aragon, 255.
— Warden at Oxford, mentioned, 186,
189 ; biogr. notice, 129.
— the old, Minorite, 1 29.
— of Alnwick, lector, biogr. notice,
163.
— de Barton, Minorite, 129.
— de Sta. Cruce, bequests, 102, 143.
Martinus Polonus, 164.
Martoke, John, fellow of Merton, be-
quest, 106.
Mary, the Virgin, works on, &c., 49,
67, n. 2, 212, 214, 242, 250, 254; cf.
178-9.
Mary, queen, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290,
291, 292, 293.
Maryner, William, citizen of London,
53, »• 7-
(Matthew), provincial of Dominicans,
signs Charter for University, 8 ;
ambassador, 137, 307.
Matthew, Garret, 96, n. i.
Matthew Doring : see Doring.
INDEX.
357
Maurice de Portu, Minorite at Oxford,
66, n. 5 ; biogr. notice, 267.
Mawket, Giles, carpenter in Oxford,
94-
Maynelyn : see Tinmouth, John.
Mayronis : see Francis de Mayronibus.
Mediavilla : see Richard Middleton.
Melitona, Middleton, Milton : see Wil-
liam of Middleton.
Melton : see William de.
Mendicant Orders, 78, 79, 80-85.
— bequest to, 218, n. 4.
— pensions at the Dissolution, 1 19, 130.
— provincials of, 80.
— see Oxford, Mendicant Orders at ;
Richard Fitzralph, Wiclif.
Menelaus MacCormic, or MacCarma-
can, biogr. notice, 267.
Menyl : see William de.
Mepham, Ric., archdeacon of Oxford,
grants land to the Minorites, 15, 17,
21.
Merc : see Eustace of.
Mercator's Atlas, 245.
Mercer : see Benedict le.
Mercer : see Robert le.
Merlawe : see Roger de.
Merschton : see Roger Marston.
Mertherderwa, Reginald, bequest, 105,
261, n. 8.
Merton : see Walter de.
Merton College : see Oxford.
Meslay : see John of.
Metz, general chapter, 183, 186: see
Albert of.
Michael de Cesena, general minister,
168, 225, 229, 231.
Middlesex, 122, 292.
Middleton, John : see John de Wylton ;
Richard ; William of Middleton.
Midelton, abbey of, 84, ». i.
Midford, 292.
Milan, general chapter, 66, n. 6, 157 ;
Franciscan schools, 267.
— abp. of, 249.
Miller : see Philip, and Richard.
Milo, draper of Oxford, 296.
Milton (near Oxford), 103.
Mincy, William, Minorite at Oxford,
219.
Minorites : see Franciscan Order.
Mirandola, J. Pico de, 159, 234.
Missionaries, friars as, 7, 128, 139, n. 8,
140, 178, 179, 183, 244.
Mistretune : see Hugh of.
Mogynton : see Robert de.
Monks, 78, 114, 119; attacks on, 8r,
253 : see Benedictines, Cistercians,
Oxford.
Montfort, Amaury de, bequests, 102,
103.
Montfort, Eleanor de, 137, 186.
— Simon de, Earl of Leicester, friend
of Adam Marsh and Grostete, 32,
137; honoured by the Franciscans,
32-3> 72» I4I> 2I2 ; letter to, 168;
Gregory of Bosellis with, 186.
Morgan, Oxford Dominican, 267.
Morleyse, Walter, bequest, 105.
Morton, Walter, grants land to Minor-
ites, 20.
Morton, Sir William, 16, ». 3, 124;
Anne his wife, 1 24.
Moryn, Walter, 101.
Morys, John, 93.
Moses, Rabbi, works, 292.
Muliner : see Miller.
Multifemana (Meath diocese), 213.
Multon, Ralph de, scholar, 187.
Munich, 225.
Musca : see John de Ridevaus.
Mymekan, Roger, of Oxford, 304.
N.
N. de Ewelme, Chancellor, takes part
in controversy between Dominicans
and Franciscans, 77, 329, 330, 331,
334, 335-
Naples, University, William of Alnwick
teaches at, 167 ; Peter of Gaieta, D.D.
of, 235.
Nar bonne, 144, n. 8 ; general chapter
at, 194, «. i.
Netter, Thomas, of Walden, Carmelite,
58 ; pupil of W. Woodford, 247.
Nevill : see Jollan of.
Newark, Observant Friars of, 286,
289.
Newcastle, Grey Friars, numbers, 44,
n. i ; school, 35, n. 3 ; burial at,
163 ; dissolution, 292 : see Hugh
of.
Newman, Rob., Minorite, reformer,
1][3. »• 7» I195 has a living, 119;
biogr. notice, 293.
Newmarket : see Robert of.
Newport : see William of.
Nicholas III, pope, 77, n. I, 155,
215.
— IV, pope : see Jerome of Ascoli.
— of Anivers, 66, n. 6 ; biogr. notice,
187.
— de Burgo, lectures at Oxford, 36, «.
9> 53> n- 2> 66, n. 7 ; his composition
remitted, 51 : see 97, «. i ; humanist,
113; supports royal divorce, 115;
biogr. notice, 280.
— of Fakenham, commissioner to de-
pose provincial, 70 ; biogr. notice,
252.
— de Gulac, biogr. notice, 212.
— Hereford : see Hereford.
358
INDEX.
Nicholas, of Lynn, Carmelite, 245.
— de Lyra, Minorite, 32, n. 4, 257.
— of Ocham, lector, mentioned, 229 ;
biogr. notice, 158.
— de Schomberg, or Scombergt, Ger-
man Dominican, 281, n. 3.
— Specialis, Minorite historian, 1 58,
233-
— de Tyngewick, 10, 168.
— of Westou, citizen of Oxford, bequest,
102.
Norfolk, 99, 125, 130, 151, 169, 178,
180, 189, 234, 252, 315 : see Adam
of.
Normanville : see Eustace of.
North Pole, voyage of an Oxford
Franciscan to, 245.
Northampton, Grey Friars, foundation,
126, 178; in the Oxford custody,
68; school, 64, n. 5; a friar of, 56,
n. 2 : see also 180; burials at, 129,
«• 6, 153. 236, 237.
— archdeacon of, 4.
Northamptonshire, 156, n. 2, 238.
Northumberland, 153, 292.
Norton, Agnes, buried in the Fran-
ciscan Church, Oxford, 26 ; bequest,
105.
Norwich, Grey Friars at, numbers, 44,
n. I ; school, 64, n. 5, 65, 139, «. 8,
140, 172, 249 : see also in, 151, 153,
158, 170, 241, 243, 256.
— library, MSS. in, 172, 173.
— bp. of, 31, «. I, 167, ». i.
— synod, 256.
Notly, John, Minorite, 288.
Nottingham, Grey friars at, in the
Oxford custody, 68, 187, 250: see
Augustine of; Hugh of; John of;
Robert of; William of (2).
— county, 286.
Nottynge : see John Nottingham.
Noyf, Roger, 12, n. 2.
Nutone, John, friar, lectures at Oxford,
43-
Nycopia : see Peter Pauli de.
O.
Observant Friars : see under Franciscan
Order.
Ocham : see Nicholas of; William of
Ockham.
Ochampton : see John of.
Ockham : see William of.
Ocle or Okele, John, bequest, 104,
251.
Oen or Owen, Robert, citizen of Oxford,
296.
Oeu or Owen, Robert, son of Robert,
I3> 20, «. 5, 296.
O'Fihely : see Maurice de Portu.
Oliver de Encourt, Dominican, 9,
155-
Olivi : see Peter John Olivi.
Olliff, John, Minorite, 119, 294.
O'Really, William, provincial of Ire-
land, 261.
Oterborne, Thomas, lector, biogr. notice
of, 174.
Ottaviano Scotto, printer at Venice, 267,
»• 5-
Otto Brunsfelsius, 287.
Ottobon, legate, 156, 212.
OXFORD : ENDOWED ORDERS.
Monks, expenses at inception, 51,52;
inception of a monk, 237.
— numbers of students (Benedictine
and Cistercian), 54.
Dissolution, 1 16, n. 4, 119: see Bene-
dictines, and Monks.
Bee, fee of the abbat of: see Bee.
Osney Abbey (Austin Canons), 15,
«. 2, 19, n. 2, 100, 107, 109, n. 5,
300, n. I : see John of Reading.
Rewley Abbey (Cistercians), 107.
St. Frideswide's (Austin Canons), 15,
n. 2, 46, n, 9, 74, 84, 85, 107 : see
John of St. Frideswide.
MENDICANT ORDERS.
alms and bequests, 54, 100, 103-110,
3i8.
feasts and expenses at inception, 50,
5L 246.
necessary regency, 52.
numbers of students, 54.
excluded from congregation, 52, 261,
336.
— library, 62.
attacks on and unpopularity of, 40,
79, 84, 90, n. 6.
support Abp. Arundel, 85.
wax-doctors, 43, 239, 252.
visitation and suppression, 116, 117,
124.
Austin Friars, 75, 103, 121, 160 ;
258, ». 7 : see Oxford, Mendicant
Orders.
Carmelites, 55, ». i, 75, 84, 94, n. 10,
103, 109, in, 121, 252 : see Oxford,
Mendicant Orders.
Dominicans, receive the Minorites,
2 ; controversies with them, 59,
n. 9, 71-8, 129, 151, 153, 155,
156, 158, 212, 320-335; cf. 80,
n. 2.
— provincial prior signs charter for
the University, 8.
— controversy with the University,
39-41. 65, «. 3, 165.
— academical exercises at the Black
Friars, 46, 49.
INDEX.
359
OXFORD : — MENDICANT ORDERS.
Dominicans, schools and scholars, 37,
notes 4, 5, 6 ; 43, «. 7, 267.
— numbers, 54.
— prior of the, 9, 73, «. 3.
— Mad Parliament at, 72 ; Edward
(I) stays at, ibid.
— feasts at the burial of Piers Gaves-
ton, 27, ». 9.
— accused of stirring up rebellion,
84.
— burial at, 104.
— alms, 6, 23, n. i, 55, n. 3, 100,
307, 308.
— bequests to, 102, 103,104, 105, 106,
107, 108, 109, no ; 261, ». 8.
— (Preachers' Bridge, 17, n. 4.)
— Dissolution, 1 18 ; lease of the site,
121-124: see Oxford, Mendicant
Orders.
Franciscans: j^Table of Contents;
Franciscan Order.
Custody, 68, 171-2, 180, 238.
Friary, foundation of, 2-3, 178.
— houses, 3, 12, 21-8, 176-7, 295,
seq., 318, 320.
Vice-chancellor's court at, 95-6,
132.
— Church, 3, 6, 21-6, 39, 46, 49,
104, 105, 106, 117, 123, 124, 177,
180, 182, 251, 273, 299, 318.
sermons in, 46, 181, 275, 290.
used as a sanctuary, 308.
gild in, 24, no.
— Churchyard, 17, 19, 27, 106, 122,
123,300,302.
— Property, held for the friars by the
city, 3, 13, 295 ; by the King, 17,
299 ; cf. 76-7, 322.
— Boteham, 122, 123.
— Paradise : see Oxford City.
— garden leased to Richard Leke :
see Leke.
— Library, Part I, Ch. IV ; 195, n.
4, 251. 273» 283.
- Schools, Part I, Ch. Ill ; 21, 66,
67, n. 2, 177, 186, 189, 246, 251,
278, 284, 329.
payments at inceptions, 41, 50-
2, 132,258, 260, 264, 265, 267, 269,
270, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279,
280, 282, 283, 284, 336-8.
gratuitous lecturing, 36, 53,
131, 280, 338.
foreign friars at, 18, 66, 309,
312: see under names of the various
countries.
Oxford Franciscans at other
Universities, 66-7, 276 : see- Bo-
logna, Cambridge, Naples, Padua,
Paris, Rome, Toulouse.
Friary, Relations to Dominicans : see
Oxford, Dominicans.
— Number of friars, 43-4, 54.
— Royal grant of 50 marcs, 97-9,
129, 130, 217, 218, 224, 267, «. 2,
308,309,315.
— wardens, Part II, Ch. I ; vice-
warden : see Bacheler (J.).
— warden at the capture of Tripoli, 8.
— chronicles by Oxford Franciscans :
see Lanercost, Thomas of Eccleston ;
cf. Bassett (J.), Martin of Alnwick,
Oterborne (T.), Somer (J.).
— voyage of an Oxford Franciscan to
the North Pole, 245.
— Dissolution, Part I, Ch. VIII;
132, 292, 293, 294.
Sack, Friars of the (or of the
Penance of Jesus Christ), settle in
Oxford, 17, 300; place bought
from Walter Goldsmith, 20.
— property comes into the hands of
the Franciscans, 18, 19, 20, 44, «.
if 301-3-
OXFORD CITY :
state of, at time of the Dissolution,
I20-I.
citizens subscribe to buy a house for
the Grey Friars, 13, 295-6.
the poor of Oxford, 5-6, 307.
Pestilence, 53, 279, 338.
Robbers in the neighbourhood of, 4,
1 88, 246.
Document dated at, 512.
Government and officers.
Burgesses, 21.
Mayors, 13, 17, 20, n. 5, 60, 103,
117, 121, 170, 295, 296, 297, 299,
3io.
Aldermen, 106, no, n. I, 117, 121,
123.
Bailiffs, 5, 69, n. 4, 93, 296, 297, 307,
310.
jurisdiction over the friars, 60, 92,
310.
Hustings Court, 92, 101, 310.
sworn inquisitions, 15, n. I, 19, 20,
28, n. 2, 303-5.
firmaburgi, 5, 69, «. 4, 121, 307.
Local Divisions.
Churches and Parishes —
All Saints, 95, 1 10.
Carfax, proclamation at, 86 ; re-
cords, 124, n. 6.
Holywell, 109.
St. Aldate, 14, «. 5.
St. Budoc (Bodhoc), 14, 16, 17, 19,
297. 300, 301, 302.
St. Ebbe, parish, 2, 12, 13, 14, 15,
28,94.95. "4,178,295, 297,299 ;
alms to friars, 100; church,23, 26,
36°
INDEX.
OXFORD : CITY — Churches and Par-
ishes.
n. 2,318; rector, charge of adul-
tery against, 75, «. 2 ; tenement
in, 105.
St. Giles, 124, n. 6.
St. Mary Magdalen, 103, n. 6, 107.
St. Mary the Virgin : see under
Oxford, University.
St. Michael, 13, 296.
St. Peter le Bailey, 74, 124, ». 6.
St. Peter in the East, sermon at,
280, 288.
Streets, &c.—
Beef Lane, 28.
Bridge Street, 27.
Charles Street, 17, n. 4, 28.
Church Place, 23, 28.
Church Street, or Freren Street, 13,
28.
Grandpont (Folly Bridge), 104.
Horsemonger Street, 298.
Littlegate Street, 14, 16, 1 7, n. 4,28.
Norfolk Street, 16, n. 3.
Paradise garden, place, and square,
15, «. 2, 16, n. 3, 19, 23, 122,
123,^24.
Penson's Gardens, 27.
Preachers' Bridge, 17, n. 4.
School Street, 37.
Wheeler's Garden, 23.
Cherwell, 28.
Thames, 28; island in the, 16-17,
297.
Trill Mill Stream, 16, 19, 22, 27,
123, 297, 301.
Buildings and Institutions —
Bear inn, 95, 285.
Fleur de Lys, 96.
Bocardo, 94, 95, 115.
Castle, 14, 297, 299.
Eastgate, 12, «. 2.
Hospital of St. John, 12, n. 3.
Littlegate : see Watergate.
Northgate, 16, 296, 298.
Southgate, 14, n. 5, 104.
Watergate (or Littlegate), 14, 17, n.
4> 23, 297, 299.
Westgate, 16, 19, 23, 297, 299.
Wall, 13, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23, 296,
297, 299, 304.
— mural mansion, 13, 296.
Fair at Austin Friars, 121.
Gild of St. Mary in the Grey Friars
Church, no; cf. 24.
Hospitallers (St. John of Jerusalem),
house belonging to, 13, 296.
— see Jews.
OXFORD: UNIVERSITY.
University : visited by Abp. Arundel,
OXFORD : UNIVERSITY.
85, 112: reformed by Cromwell,
Government and Officers.
Charter of Hen. Ill to, 8.
Chancellor, delegate of the bp. of
Lincoln, 8, «. 5, 217; election of,
175-
— court and jurisdiction, 8, 9, 93-7,
101, 130, 155, 268, 274, 276, 286,
310.
— proclamation against French stu-
dents. 86.
— conferment of degrees, 31, n. 10,
38, 39, 4°, 4*> 45, 46, 48» 49»
165, n. 7, 253, 265, 274, cf. 280,
330-1-
— relation to the friars, 75, 77.
— attitude to Wiclif, 84, 85, 251.
— executor of a will, 102, n. i.
— seal of, 260.
— see Berton, William ; Colman,
Robert, Minorite ; Eustace of Nor-
maneville, Minorite ; Gascoigne,
Thomas ; Hugh of Willoughby,
Minorite ; N. de Ewelme ; Radulph
of Sempringham; Richard Fitz-
ralph ; Symon of Ghent.
Vice-Chancellor, or Commissary, 95,
1 10, 131, 132, 265, 268, 282, 316-7,
318-9, 338 : see Chancellor, court.
Proctors, 38, 40, 41, 45, 84, 107,
130, «. 9, 165, n. 7, 258, n. 7,
260, 267, 336.
Congregation, 38, 40, 47, 48, 51, 82,
141, 256, 260, 265, 270.
— exclusion of friars from, 52 : see
Oxford, Mendicant Orders.
Bedells, 26, 50, 53, 278, 279. 330.
Faculties ; study of Arts before The-
ology, 37-42, 45, 5°> I41' J92> 265.
Miscellaneous.
Poem De laude Univ. Oxon, 253.
Lutheran doctrines condemned, 269.
Secular students ; numbers accord-
ing to Ric. Fitzralph, 79-80 ; be-
quests to, 109, 273 ; gifts to, 280,
338; expenses at inception, 51;
murder of a scholar, 17, 297;
assault 011 a scholar, 269, n. 4.
Northerners and Irish students, 142,
n. 5.
Local Divisions. —
Colleges and Halls —
All Souls.
Balliol, connexion of Franciscans
with, 9, 158, 168, 216-217, 260.
— library, 61, n. 7 : see also, 79, 106.
Beef Hall, 130.
Brasenose College and Hall, 107,
191, n. 4.
INDEX.
361
OXFORD : UNIVERSITY — Colleges ami
Halls—
Broadgates Hall, 95, 288.
Christ Church, or Cardinal College,
281.
Corpus Christi, 109.
Durham, 61. n. 7 ; alms to friars, 100 ;
burial at, 269.
Eagle Hall, 105.
Exeter College, 108.
Gloucester : see Oxford, Monks.
Lincoln, 59, 61, n. 7, 107.
Magdalen, 107, 109, 266, 269, 290;
N. de Burgo lectures at, 282.
Merton, founder, 9, 102; warden,
loo-i ; fellows, 106, 130, n. 9,
J75> 25Jt n- 2; mentioned, 260;
fellows of, become Franciscans,
223,237,277.
— Franciscans claimed asMertonians,
154, n. 4, 160, 191, n. 4, 214, ». i,
219, n. 8.
New, 7, n. 3, 58, n. 9, 289 : see
London, J., warden of.
Oriel, 59, n, 7, 61, n. 7, 104.
Peckwater's Inn, 95.
St. Bernard's College : see Oxford
Monks.
St. John's, 25, «. 9.
Institutions and Buildings —
University Chests, 256, 260.
University Library, exclusion of the
friars from, 62 ; admission to, 62,
27°, 275, 277.
— Bodleian, 59, 60.
— MSS. written at Oxford, 166, 208,
225, 268, cf. 59, 60, 245, 252.
— Books printed at, 226, 236.
— Booksellers at, 61.
— Archives, Tyssyngton's treatise
kept in, 251.
University Church (St. Mary's), 44,
48, 49, 52, 84, 168, 270, 274, 275,
278, 284, 285, 287, 290, 293.
Schools, 31, 37, 41, 45, 46, 47, 261,
262, 274, 275, 279, 336; building
of, 41, 265.
Margaret Professor of Divinity, 269,
OXFORD COUNTY, 122, 163.
Sheriff, 5, 14, n. 7, 17, 23, n. i, 60,
70, n. 3, 297, 298, 309.
— receives land for the use of the
Franciscans, 299.
OXFORD DIOCESE, 289.
Archdeacon of: see Mepham, Ric.,
Robert Marsh ; 49, n. 8, 75, 101,
n. 5, 102, «. i.
Archdeaconry of, 1 29 (see Confessions}.
Oxford, see Adam of; John of;
Stephen of Ireland.
Owayn, Henry, heirs of, 20.
Owen, Robert : see Oen.
Owtred, J.: see Ughtred Bolton.
Oyta : see Henry of.
P.
P. of Worcester, his bible, 56, «. 3,
151.
Padua, 266, 267 : see Anthony of,
Marsilius of.
Pady, John, mayor of Oxford, 13, 295.
Palestine, 139, n. 8, 178 : see Saracens,
Missionaries, Crusades.
Palmer, Ralph, of Oxford, 296.
Papudo : see Anthony.
' Pardoners,' 83.
Parens : see John.
Paris, synod at, 194.
— University, 66, «. 5, 73, n. i, 231,
n. 2, 253.
teaching of theology, 36-7.
— Carmelites, 103.
— Dominicans at, 36, 39, 43, n. 7,
334, «• 3-
— Franciscans : general chapters at
Paris, 157, 194, 309.
at, school for boys, 43.
statutes, &c., respecting, 35, 51 :
cf. 220, 235.
English, called to, 67, 137, 189.
Oxford Franciscans teach or study
at, 139, 142, 143, 154, 162, 166,
167, 182, 187, 192, 193, 213, 214,
215, 220, 222, 223, 224, 238, 242,
243, 244, 249, 283; Cf. 211, 266,
280.
— degrees conferred by pope, 244.
appointment of lecturers, 220.
bequest to, 103.
Observant Friars, 88.
see also 49, n. 9, 56, 155, 176.
Paris, Matthew, quoted, 31, 82, n. 3,
139, 177, I9I-
Parkinson, 124.
Parma : see John of.
Parott, John : see Porrett.
Passelewe, Rob., justice in Eyre, 23,
n. i.
Pastoureaux, 193.
Paston, John, Knt., Sheriff, 99, 130,
3I5-
Paul, St. : see Bible.
Paul, Burgos, 257.
Paulinus, 188.
Payne, Hugh, Observant, 289.
Peasant Revolt, 78, n. 4, 84.
Peckham : see Gilbert.
— see John.
Pecock, Reginald, bp. of St. Asaph and
Chichester, 263.
Pekin, Franciscan bishop of, 244.
362
INDEX.
Pcldon, 287.
Pembroke, Earl of, 264.
Pcnerton, James, 94.
Penitence : see Sack, friars of the ; and
Oxford, Mendicant Orders, Friars of
the Sack.
Pennard, 158, n. 3.
— William, of Oxford, 304.
Pennis : see Peter de.
Penreth, John, 60.
Pentecost, bailiff of Oxford, 296.
Peraud : see William de.
Percevall, John, provincial minister,
biogr. notice, 268.
Pereson, John, bequest, 107.
Perot, William, be,quest, 107.
Perpignan, general chapter, 229.
Persole (Pershore) : see John of.
Person, John, lector at London, 277-
Perugia, general chapter, 166, 167,
224.
Peshall, Sir J., 124.
Pestilence : see Oxford, City.
Peter, lecturer to the friars, bp. in
Scotland, 30, 31.
— d'Ailly, cardinal, 231.
— of Baldeswell, lector, 163.
— of Gaieta, biogr. notice, 235.
— John Olivi, 144, 157, 164, 214
215, «.
— of Limoges, 151, 226.
— Lombard : see Sentences.
— Lusetanus, Minorite, 66, «. 9 ;
biogr. notice, 270.
— of Manners, Dominican, 39, 141.
— of Maricourt (Maharncuria), 209.
— Pauli de Nycopia, Oxford friar, 268.
— de Pennis, work on Mahomet, 148.
— Philargus of Candia : see Alexander
V.
— of Sutton, lector, 165.
— of Tewkesbury, custodian of Oxford
and provincial, n, 68, 187 ; obtains
papal privileges for the Order, 72 ;
minister of Cologne, 188 ; vicar of
Agnellus, 177; mentioned, i, «. I,
65, n. 4, 126, n. 3; 139, n. 8, 142;
biographical notice.
— son of Thorald, Mayor of Oxford, 20,
n. 5, 296.
— of Tod worth, Minorite, 219.
Peterborough, diocese, 289.
Peyntour : see John le.
Peyrson, Thomas, Minorite, 277.
Philargus : see Alexander V.
Philip the Fair, King of France, 159,
161.
Philip, miller, Oxford, 295.
— of Bergamo, 148, 151.
— of Briddilton, or Bridlington, lector,
163.
Philip of Castello (Arezzo), Minorite,
biogr. notice, 243.
— Torrington, bp. of Cashel, biogr.
notice, 224.
— Wallensis, lectures at Lyons, 67, n. I.
— Zoriton : see Phil. Torrington.
Pico, J., of Mirandola, 159.
Pisa : see Agnellus of, Albert of, Bar-
tholomew, Francis de S. Simono.
— council of, 249.
Plummer, WTilliam, of Oxford, i lo, «.
I, 318.
Pokelington ; see WTilliam of.
Poker, John, 95.
Pole, Cardinal, 293.
Polton, Philip, bequest, 106.
Pomay : see William.
Pontefract : see Thomas of.
Pope, confers degrees, 35, 235, 242,
243-4, 244.
— influence in appointing provincial
ministers, 70, 254, 255, 256, 261.
— English tribute, 81, 242.
Porrett, John, Minorite, admitted to
University library, 62, ». 3 ; lectures
on St. Paul, 113, «. 5 ; biogr. notice,
277.
Porta : see James de.
Portn : see Maurice de.
Portugal, friars from at Oxford, 66;
Observants of, 265 : see Anthony
Papudo, Gonsalvo of Portugal, Peter
Lusetanus, Thomas of Portugal.
Poverty : see Evangelical.
Prato : see William de.
Prest, wife of, burned, 286.
Preston : see Gilbert of, John of.
Prophet, John, dean of Hereford, 313-4.
Pulet, Isaac, Jew, 9.
Puller, Robert, Minorite, 96, n. 3, 285,
286, 288, 290.
Pye, Alderman, visits Oxford friaries,
117, lease of the Grey Friars, 121-3.
Q-
Quesuell, Peter, 224, n. i.
Quinton (Quainton?), 25.
R.
R. de Wydeheye, lecturer to the monks
at Canterbury, 66.
Radford : see Thomas.
Radley, 94.
Radnor, Thomas, provincial, 262 ;
biogr. notice, 260.
Ralph of Colebruge, lector, 34, n. 3 ;
biogr. notice, 139.
— of Lockysley, lector, 165.
— of Maidstone, Minorite, bp. of Here-
ford, helps to build Franciscan Church
at Oxford, 3; biogr. notice, 182.
INDEX.
Ralph, of Rhcims, 177.
— of Swelm (Ewelme?), Dominican
prior at Oxford, 334.
— de Toftis, lector, 157.
Raphoe, bp. of, 267.
Ratforde : see John of.
Raxach : see Dalmacus de.
Raymund Gaufredi, general minister,
194; work by, 208 ; letter to, 218.
— of Laon, recommends Roger Bacon
to pope, 193.
— Lullus : see Lully.
— of Pennaforte, 57.
Reading, Grey Friary, 4, n. i, 22, 23,
27, notes 3, 5 ; 235-6, 255, 293.
numbers, 44, «. i ; in the Oxford
custody, 68 ; burial at, 260.
— library, &c., 150, 166, 235-6.
— Adam Marsh called to, 137.
— monk of, 1 78.
— see John of.
Redclive: see Robert of.
Rede, William, of Merton, 237, 238.
Redovallensis : see John de Ridevaus.
Reformation, 113, 269, 272, 273, 2S3,
285, 286, 287, 289, 290, 291, 292,
293-
Reginald de sub muro, 19, «. 3.
Rense, council, 225.
Repyngdon, Philip, Lollard, 84.
Reresby: see Henry of.
Retherfeld (Rotherfield), 20, 305-6.
Rice: see Robert ap.
Richard, II, 25 ; favours Mendicants at
Oxford, 41, cf. 252 ; Franciscans
loyal to his memory, 86-7 ; grant to
the Franciscans in arrear, 98: see
243, 245, 250, 253, 311, 312.
— Earl of Cornwall and King of the
Romans, benefactor of the Oxford
Franciscans, 25 ; his heart buried in
their church, 25 ; known to Adam
Marsh, 137.
— socius of W. of Nottingham, dies at
Genoa, 184.
— servant of J. de Couton, 92, 310.
— Brynckley: see -Brinkley.
— de Bury, bp. of Durham, 61.
— of Clare, escheator, 303.
— of Conyngton (Coniton), lector, pro-
vincial, 1 60, n. 5, 1 66; biogr. notice,
164,
— (Rufus) of Cornwall, lector; his secre-
tary, 56, «. 5, 187 ; at Paris, 66, «. 6,
67 : bequest to, 102 ; mentioned, 151,
«. 3 ; biogr. notice, 142-3.
— of Cornwall, secular, 142, «. 5.
— of Devon, Minorite, 2, 178.
— of Dray ton, lector, 168.
— Fitzralph, abp. of Armagh, attack
on the Mendicant Orders, 42, 77, 79,
239-240, 248, 255 ; remarks on friars'
libraries, 60-1 ; fellow of Balliol and
chancellor, 79, 169.
Richard, of Garaford, bequest, 104.
— of Gravesend, bp. of Lincoln,
3°°.
— of Heythrop, of Oxford, 304.
— of Ingewrthe, Minorite, 2, 178.
— of Ireland : see Lorcan.
— le Lodere, grants land to the Oxford
Franciscans, 19, 301.
— Lymynster, wax doctor, 43, 239.
— Malevile : see Malevile.
— Marsh, bp. of Durham, leaves library
to Adam Marsh, 57, 135.
— Middleton, works in Franciscan
library, 58, n. n ; biogr. notice of,
214.
— the Miller, leases and grants house
to Franciscans at Oxford, 3, 12, 13:
see also 20, n. 5, 296.
— Rufus : see Richard (Rufus) of Corn-
wall.
— le Ruys, 142, n. I.
— of Slekeburne, or Slikeburne, con-
fessor of Devorguila, 9 ; biogr. notice
of, 216.
— of Wallingford, abbat of St. Albans,
251.
— de Wauz, Minorite, 128, n. 5.
— de Whitchford, collector of alms,
92, 310.
— de Wiche, bp. of Chichester, 136,
'37-
Richeford, Oxford Dominican, 267.
Richmond : see Britanny, John of.
— (Yorkshire), Grey Friars of, 274.
Rickes, John : see Rycks.
Rigaldus, Minorite, 215.
Rinaldo Conti, protector of the Order,
69, n. 7.
Risby, Richard, Observant, 289.
Robert, of Beverley, lector, 164.
— of Bromyard, Dominican provincial,
48.
— of Capell, Minorite, 212, 335.
— of Cowton, presented for license to
hear confessions, 64 ; mentioned,
170 ; biogr. notice, 222.
— Cross, de Cruce, lector and pro-
vincial, biogr. notice, 156-7.
— de Sancta Cruce, 156, n. 3.
— Eliphat : see Eliphat.
— of Flemengville, 9.
— of Fulham, Minorite, lecturer to the
monks at Canterbury, 66.
— of Gaddesby, Minorite, 219.
— Grostete : see Grostete.
— Halifax : see Eliphat.
— of Leicester, lector, proclor of Balliol
Coll., 10 ; biogr. notice, 168.
INDEX.
Robert Marsh, archdeacon of Oxford,
135. 136-
— le Mercer, lets house to Franciscans
in Oxford, 2, 12, 13, 178: see also
20, n. 5, 296.
— of Mogynton, Minorite, 219.
— of Newmarket, Dominican, 320, 321,
324, 335-
— of Nottingham, 298.
— of Redclive, lector, 173.
— ap Rice, 272.
— of Thornham, custodian of Cam-
bridge, 65, 139, n. 8.
— de Trenge, warden of Merton, too,
239-
— of Ware, biogr. notice, 211.
— of Watlington, of Oxford, 304.
— de Wysete (Wyshed), provincial,
241.
Roberts, Ric., 96, n. 3, 288.
Roby, Minorite at Oxford, 265.
Rochester, bp. of: see Merton, Walter
de ; Fisher, John.
— archdeacon : see Browne, Ric.
Rockysley : see Ralph Lockysley.
Rodano : see Alan of.
Roderham, Ric., proctor of Balliol
Coll. 10, 260.
Roderic Witton, Minorite, 271.
Rodnore, Ric., Minorite at Oxford, 265.
Rodromo : see Adam Wodham.
Roduricus, Minorite, 271.
Rodyngton : see John of.
Roger, king's almoner, 5, 307.
— Dominican, 156.
— Bacon : see Bacon.
— de Barton, Minorite, 219.
— Compotista, monk of Bury, 210.
— Conway, provincial, mentioned, 79,
238, 241, 312 ; biogr. notice, 239.
— Frisby : see Frisby.
— de Marston, lector and provincial,
mentioned, 159; biogr. notice, 157.
— de Merlawe (Marlow), 165, n. 2, 218.
— of Thurkelby, 298.
— of Wendover, 191.
— of Wesham, lecturer to the friars,
bp. of Lichfield, 30, 31 and n. 5, 168.
Roger, Thomas, warden of Fanciscans,
Gloucester, biogr. notice, 268.
Rogers, John, bequest, 108.
Rome; appeals to the pope, 39, 81,
138, 186, 258.
— Lateran Council, 267.
— Franciscans, general chapters, 35,
267 ; Roman province, 256 ; Oxford
friars at, 127, 180; as ambassadors,
159, 161, 177; as lecturers, 67, 155,
161 ; deposition of Elias, 69, 181.
— Albert of Pisa buried at, 181.
— mentioned, 313.
Romehale, 178.
Romseye, John, regent master, 252.
Roper, Richard, Minorite, 119, 293.
Rose, Thomas, Minorite, 270.
Roskild, bp. of, 140, n. 6.
Rous, John, at Oxford, 25, n. 4, 26 ;
quoted, 191, 193, 195.
Rums, Adam, biogr. notice, 179.
— Richard: see Richard (Rufus) of Corn-
wall.
Rundel, Thomas, lector, biogr. notice,
162.
Rupellis : see John de.
Rupescissa : see John de.
Russell, John, Minorite, biogr. notice,
218.
— John, bequest, 106.
— Peter, provincial biographical notice,
255-
— Sir Robert, 106.
— William, Warden of Grey Friars,
London, heresies of, 85-6 ; biogr.
notice, 257.
Rycks, John, Minorite, reformer, 1 13, n.
5 ; biogr. notice, 286.
Rygbye, Nicholas, 274.
Ryley, Edward, Minorite, 113, n. 6;
biographical notice, 287.
S.
Sabina, cardinal bp., protector of the
Order, 70 ; see Clement IV.
Sack, Friars of the, suppressed, 18 : see
Oxford, Mendicant Orders.
Saham : see Herveius de.
St. Alban's, abbats of, 241, 248 ; docu-
ment dated at, 297.
S. Amando : see Alienora de.
St. Andrew's, Vercelli, 135.
St. Asaph, church of, 274 : see Standish,
Henry.
St. Crida, parish of (Exeter), 105.
St. Cross : see Martin de Sta. Grace ;
Robert Cross.
St. David's, bp. of, 30, 31, 136.
St. Dunstan : see Thomas of.
St. Edwardstowe, 107.
St. John : see John of St. John.
St. John of Jerusalem, brethren of, 13.
St. Simon : see Francis de S. Simone.
Salamanca, University, 242.
Salford, Richard, Warden at Oxford,
sues for a debt, 99, 315 ; biogr. notice,
ISO-
Salisbury, 104, 223.
— Grey Friars, martyrology, 138, n. 10 ;
Convent, 223.
Sail, Nicholas, Minorite, 286.
Salomon : see Solomon.
Sanders, Gilbert, Minorite, 47, 51, n.
IO> 52; biogr. notice, 275.
INDEX.
365
Sanderson, John, Minorite, 275.
Sanderson, Robert, Minorite, 50, n. i,
52, n. 11 ; biogr. notice, 274.
Sandon, Brian, syndicus of the Oxford
Minorites, legal business, 93, 94;
scandal about, 94: see also 96, w. i,
119, 270.
Sanford : see John de.
Saracens, 8, 63, 128, 178, 179, 244.
Sauvage : see Vincent le.
Savernak forest, 2 1 .
Savona, 266.
Savonarola, 55, «. 3.
Saxony, Franciscan province, 181, 257,
237-
Sawnders : see Sanders.
Scharikton, John, Minorite, bequest to,
104,251.
Scharshille, William, biogr. notice,
238.
Schaton : see Walter de Chatton.
Schism, the great, 249, 250, 252-3.
Schomberg (Scombergt) : see Nicholas
de.
Schyrboume : see William de.
— John, 165, n. 8.
Scotland, Minorites in, 66 ; provincial
of, 1 80.
— parliament in, 238.
— mentioned, 290.
Scotto : see Ottaviano.
Scotus : see John Duns.
Sebyndon, 105.
Seller, J., warden at London, 269.
Seman, John, bequest, 109.
Sentences of Peter Lombard ; study of,
37, 38, 45, 46, 47, 65, n. 3, 81, 131,
143, 162, 242, 246, 249, 250, 257,
262, 284, 292, 336-338 ; works on,
151, '52, I57, ^8, 160, 164, 166,
167, 168, 170, 172, 173, 182, 213,
214, 216, 217, 220, 222, 223, n. 3,
224, n. 5, 227, 235, 238, 242, 249,
254-
Serlo, dean of Exeter, 7, «• 5-
Sewal, St., abp. of York, 136.
Sherburn (Durham), master of the
hospital, 102.
Shifford, 107.
Shotover, 5.
Shrewsbury, Grey Friars, foundation,
129; burial at, 168.
Sicily, Minorite of, wax doctor, 43,
239-
Simcox, William, of Oxford, 319.
Simeon : see Henry Simeonis.
Simon, son of Benedict, 15, 298-9.
— Brani, Minorite at Toulouse, 311,
«. i.
— of Esseby, Minorite, 189.
— minister of Germany, 160, «. 9.
Simon, of Ghent, Chancellor of Oxford,
162, «. 16, 219, n. 4.
— de Montfort : see Montfort.
— Tunstede, regent master, provincial,
60, 174; biogr. notice, 241.
Sixtus IV, 266.
Skelton, William, bequest, 105.
Slekeburne, or Slikeburne : see Richard
of.
Smith, Gerard, Minorite, 53, n. 2 ;
biogr. notice, 270.
— James, Minorite, 119, 293.
— John, Minorite, 45, 47, 51, n. 3,
52 ; biogr. notice, 274.
Minorite, 47, 49, n. 4, 51, «. 6;
biogr. notice, 269.
gent., 124.
Smyth : see Smith.
Sneyt, 48.
Snotly : see Notly.
Solomon, warden of the London Fran-
ciscans, 89, n. 2.
Solomon of Ingeham, Dominican,
accuses Franciscans, 76, 320, 321,
324, 326, 327, 328, 329, 334-5.
Somer, John, Minorite astronomer, 250,
n- 3, 25 r> n- x » biogr. notice,
244-6.
Somer, Thomas, of Oxford, 304.
Sorel, Stephen, lector, 172.
Southampton, wine at, 5 ; chapter of
Minorites at, 69.
— see Walter de Chatton.
Sowche, John, bequest, 109.
Spain, friars from, at Oxford, 66, 243.
— Peter Russel teaches in, 255.
— Albert of Pisa minister of, 181.
Spellusbury, 109.
Stafford, John, warden at Coventry,
293-
Staffordshire, 238.
— John, Minorite, 119, 293.
Stamford, Grey Friars, in Oxford
custody, 68, 172 ; school at, 25,
n' 3 (?) ; burial at, 165 ; mentioned,
257- '
— Carmelites, convocation, 85, 151.
— see John of.
Stan dish (Lanes.), 271, 274.
— E., 101, n. 3.
— Henry, Minorite, bp. of S. Asaph,
bequests to Grey Friars, Oxford, 24,
61, n. 6, 109, 276 ; opposes new
learning, 112; upholds secular power,
114; biogr. notice, 271-4.
Stanle : see John de.
Stanschaw, Thomas, lector, biogr.
notice, 172.
Stapleton : see John de.
Stargil : see William de.
Steeple Aston, 109, n. a.
366
INDEX.
Stephen, St., founder of the Order of
Grammont, 185.
— of Ireland, Minorite, 66, n. 5 ;
biogr. notice, 213.
— Sorel : sec Sorel.
— de Wytun, secular master, 332, 334.
Steventon priory, 16, n. 2, 20.
Stisted, 287.
Stokes, Peter, Carmelite, 84.
Stokesley, John, bp. of London, 281,
«. 3.
Ston, John and Agnes, 56, «. 6.
Stonghton, Rob., bookseller, 172.
Strasburg (Argentina), province, 66, n.
10: see 290.
Stratton, Gilbert, 162, «. 8.
Straw, Jack, his confession, 78, n. 4.
Strensham, Henry, 293, n. 3.
Stretsham, Henry, Minorite, 116, n. 7,
293.
Strey, Thomas, of Colchester, 282, n. 9.
Studeley, Christopher, Minorite, biogr.
notice, 269.
Suffolk, 99, 130, 1 66, 241, 315.
Sunday, John, Minorite, 46, «. I, lo,
336 ; biogr. notice, 262.
Surrey, 163.
Sussex, 154.
Sutthon : see Laurence of.
Sutton, 233: see Henry of, Peter of.
— Oliver, bp. of Lincoln, 18.
Swelm (Ewelme ?) : see Ralph of.
Swerford, 109.
Swinfeld, Ric., bp. of Hereford, 168,
169.
Swynshed, 241.
Sylvester, pope, 257, ». 3.
Symon, Rob., servant of Dr. Basker-
feld, 132.
Syria, 183: see Saracens.
T.
Taillur, Richard, of Oxford, 296.
Talbot, Rob., 236.
Tartars, 128, 244.
Tate, J., will mentioned, 90, «. i.
Taylor, John : see Cardmaker.
Taler, Henry le, and Alice his wife, 1 6,
20, n. 5.
Templars: see Knights.
Terra Laboris, Franciscan province, 235.
Tewkesbury : see John of ; Peter of.
Thacker, Cromwell's servant, 117.
Thomas, of Anesti, 138.
— Aquinas, as viewed by Roger Bacon,
42> 73> n- l J his teaching impugned,
73-4, 154; attacked by W. de Mara,
215, 216; works by, 154, 156, 236.
— of Barneby, lector, biogr. notice,
1 60.
Thomas, de Bek', secular master, 331.
— Berne well : see Bernewell.
— of Bungay, lector and provincial,
influenced by Bacon, 195, n. 4;
biogr. notice of, 153.
— of Cantilupe, St., bp. of Hereford,
pupil of Peckham, 154.
— Docking, lector, 36, n. 5, 37, «. T ;
bible assigned to, 56, n. 3 ; takes
part in controversy with Dominicans,
324> 325» 326, 335 ; biogr. notice,
151-2.
— of Eccleston, his chronicle quoted,
i, 6, ii, 30, 65, 70, 71, 72, 126, 128,
I29» J34» 13S, MS, 177, I78> 1 80,
181, 182, 184, 185, 189, and notes
passim; mentioned, 320; student at
Oxford, 67 ; biogr. notice, 189-191.
— of Ireland, doctor of the Sorbonne,
148.
— of Kingsbury (Kyngesbery, &c.),
provincial, 60 ; mentioned, 242, «. 5,
245> 251 ; biogr. notice, 250.
— of London, benefactor of the Oxford
friars, 92, 310.
— of Maid stone (Maydenstan), biogr.
notice, 186-7.
— of Malmesbury, Dominican, 48.
— Netter of Walden : see Netter.
— Oterborne : see Oterborne.
— of Pontefract, lector, 164.
— of Portugal, biogr. notice, 242.
— Radford, lector, 1 74.
— Radnor : see Radnor.
— Rundel, lector, 162.
— of St. Dunstan, lector, 168.
— Stanschaw, lector, 272.
— de Valeynes, grants land to the
Minorites at Oxford, 15, 2r, 298.
— Wallensis, lecturer to the Minorites,
bp. of St. David's, 30, 31, 136.
— Wallensis, or Walleys, Dominican,
144, n. 7, 149, 150, 151, 170.
— of Wycombe : see Waldere, Th.
— of Wynchelse, Minorite, 256.
— of York, lector, inception of, 38-9,
128; lectures at Oxford, 65, n. 2;
mentioned, 143, n. 2, 186 ; biogr.
notice, 140-142.
— John, bequest, 105.
— William, obtains part of the Grey
Friars' property, 122, 123.
Thorald : see Peter, son of.
Thorley, 283.
Thornall, John, Minorite, 44, n. 4, 51,
n. 7 ; grace to, 338 ; biogr. notice,
2 79-
Th ornham : see Robert of.
Thornton : see John of.
Throckmorton, Rob., bequest, 108.
Thitringen, 257.
INDEX.
367
Thurkelby : see Roger of.
Tinmouth, John, Minorite, bp. of
Argos, bequest to Oxford Minorites,
108 ; biogr. notice, 271.
Tithemersch : see William.
Todworth : see Peter of.
Toledo, Minorite of, 209.
Tomsun, John, Minorite, 116, n. 7,
288.
Tomsun, Thomas, Minorite, 1 16, «. 7,
290.
Toulouse, Minorite of, 208 ; general
chapter, 219, 221.
— University, 242, 311, «. I.
Treners, Ric., Minorite, 262.
Trenge : see Robert de.
Trent (river), 302, 303, 304.
Treviso, Albert of Pisa, minister of, 181 ;
see Henry de Ceruise.
Trinitarian Friars, bequest to, 103.
Tripoli, heroism of an Oxford Fran-
ciscan at, 8.
Tritheim, 148.
Trivet, Nicholas, Dominican, on J.
Peckham, 155.
Tryley : see Ryley.
Tryvytlam (Trevytham), Ric., biogr.
notice, 253.
Tuam, abp. of, 267.
Tully, Dionisius, Dominican, heretical
teaching in Ireland, 266.
Turco, Robert, 209.
Tunstede : see Simon.
Tuscany, Albert of Pisa, minister of,
181 ; Bernard of Gascony, minister
of, 311, «. i.
Tyburn, Franciscans executed at, 87.
Tyeys, Henry, grants land to the
Minorites at Oxford, 19, 301.
Tyndale, quoted, 112.
Tyngewick : see Nicholas de.
Tyssyngton, John, Minorite, regent
master, 82, n. 2, 85 ; biogr. notice,
251.
U.
Ubertino de Casali, Minorite, 215.
Ughtred, Bolton, monk of Durham,
81, n. 7, 242, 243, 253, «. 5, 254.
Urban V, 311, n. i.
Urban VI, pope, 243 ; oath of obedi-
ence to, taken by English Franciscans,
250.
V.
Valeynes : see Thomas de.
Valeys, John, lector, 175.
Valla, Laurence, 171, n. 2.
Vallibus : see Anthony de.
Varro : see William of Ware.
Vavasour, William, warden at Oxford,
pension to, 119, «. 4; mentioned,
268, n. 2 ; biogr. notice, 130.
Venice, printing press at, 267, n. 5.
Ver, G. de : see William of Ware.
Vercelli, abbot of St. Andrew's at,
135.
Vienne, Council of, 163, 164.
Vilers : see Valeys, John.
Vincent Boys : see Boys.
— le Sauvage, Dominican, 321, 323,
324-
Vodromio : see Adam \Vodham.
Vollerra, J. Gallensis of, 150.
Wrakerfeld : see Alan of.
Wakering Parva, 287.
Walden : see Netter, (Thomas) of.
Waldere, Thomas, of Wycombe, be-
quest, 102.
Wales, 31 ; John Wallensis sent as
ambassador to rebel Welsh, 144.
Waleys, Henry, mayor of London, 219.
— Thomas : see Thomas WTallensis.
Walker, William, Minorite, lectures on
St. Paul, 113, n. 5, 284.
Walle, William, Minorite, 45, n. 6, 51,
n. 8, 52; biogr. notice, 277.
Wallensis : see John ; Laurence Briton ;
Philip; Thomas.
WTallingford : see Richard of.
Wallys : see Wellys, Robert.
Walonges : see Thomas de Valeyns.
Walshe, Gilbert, Minorite, 261.
— Nicholas, Minorite, 261.
Walter de Berney, bequest, 104.
— de Bosevile, Minorite, 219.
— Brinkley : see Brinkley.
— de Bukenham, friar of Babwell, 56,
n. 4.
— of Cantilupe, bp. of Worcester,
I37» 308-
— de Chatton, lector, 60, 134; biogr.
notice, 170.
— canon of Dunstable, becomes Minorite,
180.
— de Foxle, lector, 169.
— of Gloucester, escheator, 303.
— de Knolle, lector, 1 58.
— de Landen, Minorite, 212, 320.
— de Madele, lecturer in some Fran-
ciscan convent, 34 ; biographical
notice, 188.
— de Merton, bp. of Rochester, &c.,
friend of Adam Marsh, and benefactor
of the friars, 9, 102, 137, 187.
Waltham : see John of.
Ware (Herts.), Grey Friars of, 91, ». 4,
211, 213 ; burial at, 259.
— see John of; Robert of; William of.
368
INDEX.
Warham, \Villiam, abp. of Canterbury,
23, "5-
Warin of Dorchester, and Juliana his
wife, 1 6.
Warminster : see Adam of.
Warwick, countess of, 300, n. i.
Wastenays, John, Minorite, biogr. notice,
252.
Waterford : see William of.
Waterperry, 108.
Waterstoke, 107.
Watlington : see Robert of.
Wanz : see Richard de.
Wraynflete, W'illiam, bp. of Winchester,
266.
Wearmouth, Adam Marsh had a living
near, 135.
Welle, John, Minorite D.D., his property
stolen, 78; 175, 311.
Welleford, 109.
Wells, diocese, 261 ; canon of, 105 ;
chancellor of, 291.
-John, 175.
Wellys, Robert, provincial, 255.
Welsh : see Wales ; Wallensis.
Wendover : see Roger of.
Went, John, lector and provincial, 174.
Wesham : see Roger of.
Westburg : see John of.
Westminster, burial at, 25 ; sermon at,
284; council at, 81, n. 7, 242;
mentioned, 267, n. 2, 298, 300, 301,
302, 306, 308, 310, 312, 315.
Weston : see Nicholas de.
— Ric. LL.B., 96, 287.
Westover: see John of.
Wetherset, 173, «. 6.
Whatele : see William of.
Wheathamstede, John, abbat of St.
Albans, 248.
Whitchford : see Richard de.
Whitehead, David, reformer, 288, n. 7.
Whyte, William, heresies, 256.
Whythede, David, Minorite, 288.
Whytheed, John, of Ireland, 255.
Whytwell, John, Minorite, 51, 54, «. 3;
biogr. notice, 260.
Wiche : see Richard de.
Wiclif, quoted, 27, 43, 50, 78, 79; his
English prose, 64 ; on friars' sermons,
64, n. 4 : his poor priests, 82, n. 3 ;
points of agreement with the friars,
8 1, 114, n. 4; attack on the friars,
81, seq. ; relations to W. Woodford,
81, 246; works written against him,
246, 248, 251; mentioned, 55, 112.
Wileford, William, son of Richard de :
see William.
Wiley (Essex), 284.
William, warden of the Franciscans at
Paris, 220.
William, clerk of Oxford, 296.
— of Adreston, 304-5.
of Auvergne, 192-3, 206.
— de Colvile, Minorite, 179.
— de Conchis, 247, n. 7.
— Cornish, 212, 320.
— of Esseby, warden of the Grey Friars,
Oxford, 7, «. 7, 1 78, «. 2 ; biogr.
notice, 125-6.
— of Euston, of Oxford, 304,
— of Exeter, Minorite, biogr. notice, 217.
— of Gainsborough, lector, lectures at
Rome, 68, provincial minister, 157,
158 ; royal ambassador, 7, n. 10, 159 ;
attends general chapter, 159, 218;
bp. of Worcester, 162 ; biographical
notice, 160-2.
— of Heddele, lector, accompanies
Prince Edward on Crusade, 8 ; men-
tioned, 151, n. 4, 335 ; biogr. notice,
153-
— de Hodum, Hozon (Hotham ?), 156 ;
cursory lecturer, 334.
— of Leominster, friar, 134, n. 2 ; biogr.
notice, 217.
— lord Lovell : see Lovell.
— de Mara, Minorite, influenced by
Roger Bacon, 195, «. 4 ; biogr. notice,
215.
— of Constance, 216, n. 3.
— de Melton, heresies of, 86 ; biogr.
police, 251.
— de Menyl, proctor of Balliol College,
10, 158.
— of Middleton, Minorite, 214, n. 2.
— of Newport, Minorite.
— of Nottingham, provincial minister,
126, 127, 128, 187 ; signs Henry Ill's
charter to the University, 8 ; increase
in the friars' property under him, 14 ;
retort to a friar, 28 ; extends Univer-
sity teaching, 65 ; friend of Grostete,
69, «. I ; popularity, 70 ; obtains
papal privileges for the Order, 72 ;
mentioned, 1 26, 1 27, 1 28, 1 29, 1 36, 1 39,
«.8, 141, 155, n. 2, 165, 186, 187, 189,
190; biographical notice, 182-185.
— of Nottingham, lector and pro-
vincial ; copies works of Nicholas
Gorham, 57 ; mentioned, 185, 224,
n. 7 ; biogr. notice, 165.
— of Ockham, lectures abroad, 68 ;
followers at Oxford, 77, 173 ; on
evangelical poverty, 77, 164 ; men-
tioned, 151, «. 7, 166, n. 3, 168, 172,
«. ii, 216, 217, «. 3.
— biographical notice, 224; works,
224-234.
— de Peraud, 147.
— of Pokelington, Minorite, biogr.
notice, 188.
INDEX.
William de la Pomay, secular master,
331-
— de Prato, French Minorite, bp. of
Pekin, 66, n. 6 ; biogr. notice, 244.
— of St. Amour, 154.
— of Schyrbourne, lector, biogr. notice,
165.
— of Shareshull, 238.
— de Stargil, Dominican, 324, 325, 326,
— Tithemersch, provincial, biogr.
notice, 238.
— of Ware, Minorite, biogr. notice, 213.
— of Waterford, Minorite, 247, 249.
— of Whatele, of Oxford, 304.
— son of Richard de Wileford, of Ox-
ford, his house bought for the
Minorites, 13, 90, n. 6, 295-6.
— de Wodeford, abbat, 249.
— Woodford (Widford, Wydeforde,
&c.), Minorite; on the clothing of
the Grey Friars in England, 4, n. i ;
on the statutes of Benedict XII, 35,
». 2 ; robbed, 5 ; defends admission
of children into the Orders, 80 ; re-
lations to Wiclif, 8 1 ; papal privileges
to, 312-3; quoted or mentioned, 42,
167, 170, 195, n. 4, 213, 222, 252;
biographical notice, 246-9.
— of Worcester, description of the
Grey Friars Church, Oxford, 24.
— of Wykeham, 58, n. 9.
— of Wykham, Minorite, 212, 323.
— of York, Minorite, 179.
Williams, David, Minorite, 53, «. 6 ;
biogr. notice, 278.
— John, Minorite, biogr. notice, 287.
Willoughby : see Hugh of.
Wilsnach, miraculous blood of, 257.
Wiltshire, 169.
Winchcombe : see Kidderminster (Ric.),
abbat of.
Winchelsea: see John of; Thomas
Wynchelse.
Winchester, Grey Friars at, 4, «. 4;
numbers, 44, n. i.
— bp. of (Aymer de Lesignan), 136.
— prior and convent of, 1 36.
Windsor, documents dated at, 297, 298.
Winslow : see Wynslo, Richard.
Wisbech, 161.
Witnam, near Oxford, said to be Roger
Bacon's birthplace, 191, n. i.
Witton, Roderic, 271.
Wodham : see Adam.
Wolsey, Cardinal, 113, 115, 269, 272,
280, 281.
Wood, Anthony, 12, 23, 30, 85, 123,
"4, '33, ^s, '99-
Woodford : see William.
Woodstock, documents dated at, 60, «.
a, 3°7-
Worcester, Grey Friars at, 108, 239;
Adam Marsh enters the Order at,
135 ; burial at, 165.
— bps. of: see Walter of Cantilupe,
William of Gainsborough.
— see P. of, William of.
Wrenche, John son of Walter, bequest,
103.
Writtel, Roger, alms in memory of, 100.
Wrixham, 274.
Wych (Wyth), Laurence, mayor of
Oxford, grants land to the friars, 17,
20, 299.
Wychewood forest, 5.
Wycombe : see Joanna, wife of Walter of.
— see Waldere of.
Wydeheye (or Sydeheye) : see R. de
Wydeheye.
Wygmund (Wygerius), German friar,
69, 126, 142.
Wykeham : see William of.
Wykham, master John, 185.
Wyllyot, John, fellow of Merton Coll.,
175.
Wylton : see John of.
Wynchelse : see Thomas.
Wynslo, Richard, 96, n. 2.
Wyntun : see John de.
Wysete (Wyshed): see Robert de.
Wystantowe, 103.
Wythman, Thomas, Minorite, 119, 293.
Wytton-Gylbert, 292.
Wytun : see Stephen de.
Wyz, John and Emma, grant land to
Minorites in Oxford, 19, 301.
Wyjht, Minorite, 267.
Y.
York, abp. of : see Sewal.
— provincial council of, 160, 165.
— canons, &c., of, 102,105, 165,166,235.
— schools and chapter at, 242.
— mystery plays at, 259.
— Grey Friars of, 27, n. 9; studium,
35> «• 3 5 burial at, 243.
custodians, 127, 129; warden, 130.
— documents dated at, 303, 304.
— see Adam of; Thomas of; William of.
Yorkshire, 156, n. 2, 188, 22«, 242,
261, 274.
Zoriton : see Philip Torrington.
Zortone : see John of Thornton.
Zouche, John, provincial, deposed, 70,
253, 254-
FINIS.
Bb
Ibistorical Society
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6. Magdalen College and King James II, 1686-88. A series of
documents collected and edited by the Rev. J. R. BLOXAM, D.D.,
with additions, pp. lii+ 292. (i6j., to members of Magdalen 12^.)
7. Hearne's Collections, as No. 2 above. Vol. II. (20 Mar.
1707 — 22 May 1710), pp. viii + 480. (i6s.)
PUBLICATIONS (continued}.
8. Elizabethan Oxford. Reprints of rare tracts. Edited by Rev.
C. PLUMMER, M. A. (Contents : — a. Nicolai Fierberti Oxoniensis
Academiae descriptio, 1602 : b. Leonard Hutton on the Antiquities
of Oxford; c. Queen Elizabeth at Oxford, 1566 [pieces by
J. Bereblock, Thomas Nele, Nich. Robinson, and Rich. Stephens,
with appendixes] : d. Queen Elizabeth at Oxford, 1592, by Philip
Stringer : e. Apollinis et Musarum Eidyllia per Joannem Sandford,
PP-
1887.
9. Letters of Richard Radcliffe and John James, of Queen's
College, Oxford, 1749-83: edited by MARGARET EVANS.
pp. xxxvi + 3o6. (15^., to members of Queen's IQJ. 6d.)
10. Register of the University of Oxford, vol. 2 (1571-1622),
part 1. Introductions. Edited by the Rev. ANDREW CLARK, M.A.
pp. xxxii + 468. (i8s.)
1887-8.
11. Do. part 2. Matriculations and Subscriptions. Edited by
the Rev. ANDREW CLARK, M. A. pp. xvi + 424. (i8s.)
1888.
12. Do. part 3. Degrees. Edited by the Rev. ANDREW CLARK, M.A.
pp. viii + 448. (17*.)
13. Hearne's Collections, as No. 2 above. Vol. III. (25 May
1710 — December 14, 1712), pp. viii + 5i6. (i6s.)
1889.
14. Register of the University of Oxford, vol. II, part 4. Index.
Edited by the Rev. ANDREW CLARK, M.A., pp. viii + 468. (i7-r.)
15. Wood's History of the City of Oxford. New Edition. By the
Rev. ANDREW CLARK, M.A. Vol.1. The City and Suburbs. With
three Maps and several Diagrams, pp. xii + 66o. (25*. : to
citizens of Oxford zos. : the two Maps of old Oxford separately,
not folded, is. 6d. : to citizens is.)
1890.
16. Collectanea, 2nd series, edited by Professor MONTAGU BURROWS.
(Contents :— a. The Oxford Market, by O. Ogle ; b. The Uni-
versity of Oxford in the Twelfth Century, by T. E. Holland ;
c. The Friars Preachers of the University, edited by H. Rashdall;
d. Notes on the Jews in Oxford, by A. Neubauer; e. Linacre's
Catalogue of Grocyn's Books, followed by a Memoir of Grocyn,
by the Editor; f. Table-Talk and Papers of Bishop Hough,
1703-1743, edited by W. D. Macray; g. Extracts from the
' Gentleman's Magazine ' relating to Oxford, 1731-1800, by F. J.
PUBLICATIONS (continued).
Haverfield. Appendix: Corrections and Additions to Collectanea,
vol. I. (Day-book of John Dome, Bookseller at Oxford, A.D.
1520, by F. Madan, including 'A Half-century of Notes' on
Dome, by Henry Bradshaw.) With one diagram, pp.xii + 51 7. (i6s.)
17. Wood's History of the City of Oxford, as No. 15 above.
Vol. II. Churches and Religious Houses. With Map and
Diagram, pp. xii + 5 50. (zos.: to citizens of Oxford, i6s. : Map
of Oxford in 1440, separately, not folded, gd. ; to citizens, 6d.)
1890-91.
18. Oxford City Documents, financial and judicial, 1268-1665.
Selected and edited by J. E. THOROLD ROGERS, late Drummond
Professor of Political Economy in the University of Oxford,
pp. viii. + 439+2 loose leaves. (i2s.)
1891.
19. The Life and Times of Anthony Wood, antiquary, of
Oxford, 1632-1695, described by Himself. Collected from
his Diaries and other Papers, by the Rev. ANDREW CLARK, M.A.
Vol.1: 1632-1663. With Illustrations. (20^.)
20. The Grey Friars in Oxford. Part I, A History of the Con-
vent ; Part II, Biographical Notices of the Friars, together with
Appendices of original documents. By ANDREW G. LITTLE, M.A.
pp. xvi + 372. (i6s.)
Forthcoming Publications.
1892.
Reminiscences of Oxford, by Oxford men. Selected and
edited by Miss L. QUILLER COUCH (nearly ready).
History of Kidlington, Yarnton, and Begbrook. By the
Hon. Mrs. STAPLETON (in course of printing).
The Life and Times of Anthony Wood, antiquary, of
Oxford, 1 632-1 695, described by himself. By the Rev. ANDREW
CLARK, M.A. Vol. II (nearly printed).
(The Cartulary of St. Frideswide, Place names of Oxfordshire, Berk-
shire and Buckinghamshire, Berkshire Wills, Oxford and the
Neighbourhood during the Civil War, Hearnes Collections, vol. IV.,
and other volumes are in preparation.)
A full description of the Society's work and objects can be obtained by applica-
tion to any of the Committee (Rev. C. W. BOASE, Exeter College ; Rev. ANDREW
CLARK, 30 Warnborough Road ; C. R. L. FLETCHER, Esq., 22 Norham Gardens ;
P. LYTTELTON CELL, Esq., Headington Hill; and FALCONER MADAN, Esq.
(ffon. Treasurer), 90 Banbury Road, Oxford). The annual subscription is one
guinea, and the published volumes as a set can be obtained by new members
at one-fourth the published price.
BX 2618 .08 L7 1892 IMST
Little, Andrew George,
1863-
The Grey friars in
Oxford : part I: A
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