THE CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL 
 PRAYER BOOK 
 
 WRITTEN AND ILLUMINATED IN ENGLAND BY 
 A LANCASTRIAN SCRIBE AND ARTIST 
 DURING THE EPISCOPATE OF 
 
 REGINALD PECOCK 
 (1450— 1457) 
 
Digitized by tlie Internet Arcliive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/chichestercathedOOchis 
 
HOURS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AND 
 OTHER OFFICES "AD USUM ANGLIAE" 
 WITH VARIATIONS AND ADDITIONS FOR 
 USE IN THE DIOCESE OF CHICHESTER 
 
 THIS unique manuscript dates from the Episcopate of 
 Reginald Pecock (1450- 145 7). 
 The Bishop was the author of the famous " Repressor 
 and of the recently discovered and unpublished " Reule of 
 Crysten Religioun " now in Mr. J. P. Morgan's library. 
 
 As no Prayer-book for the Diocese of Chichester has 
 hitherto been described, we have prepared the following 
 exact collation and details. 
 
 The British Museum possesses a Chichester Psalter, but 
 does not possess a Chichester Horae; no other, in fact, 
 appears to exist. 
 
 Fol. I. Within three side borders the Lord's Prayer, 
 preceded by an English alphabet illustrating the Gothic 
 letters used in the writing of the present MS. A large 
 Maltese cross forms the ornament of the page, the initial 
 opening to the Paternoster being much smaller — a gold 
 capital on a coloured panel. 
 
 Fol. I V. The Ave Maria and the Credo, followed on 
 fol. 2 V. by the Confession of Faith and the Absolution. 
 
 Fol. 3 V. Rubric referring to certain prayers and graces 
 for special days before and after dinner. 
 
 Fol. 6 V. Another rubric for certain other days. 
 
 Fol. 9. Similar rubric for Lent. 
 
 Fol. 13. The Calendar which, though it might have 
 been expected otherwise from the various additional portions 
 
4 
 
 of services, is nevertheless a strictly Anglican Calendar 
 but for the particular use either of Chichester Cathedral 
 itself or for the diocese of Chichester. 
 
 The Cathedral of Chichester is situated in the south-west 
 of England reaching to the English Channel, and was 
 erected in 1115. The See has yielded two Saints to the 
 Church and three Lords Chancellor to England. 
 
 Among the red-letter English Saints' days are: 
 
 Jan. 19. St. Wulstan. 
 
 Mar. 18. St. Edward the Confessor. 
 
 Mar. 20. St. Cuthbert. 
 
 April 3. St. Richard, the Bishop and Patron Saint of 
 Chichester. (See Appendix.) 
 
 July 7. Translation of St. Thomas of Canterbury. 
 
 Aug. I. St. Peter's Chains (or ''Lammas Day"). 
 
 Sept. 4. Translation of St. Cuthbert. 
 
 Nov. 20. St. Edmund (St. Richard's patron and devoted 
 friend; his altar is in Chichester Cathedral). 
 
 Dec. 29. St, Thomas of Canterbury. 
 
 Black-letter English Saints' days are very numerous. 
 
 Jan. 5. St. Thomas. 
 Mar. I. St. David. 
 Mar. 2. St. Chad. 
 April 19. St. Elphege. 
 May 19. St. Dunstan. 
 June 9. Translation of St. Edmund. 
 June 16. Translation of St. Richard (Bishop and Patron 
 Saint of Chichester. See Appendix). 
 June 20. Translation of St. Edward. 
 June 22. St. Alban. 
 June 23. St. Etheldreda. 
 
5 
 
 July 15. Translation of St. Swithin. 
 July 16. Translation of St. Osmund. 
 July 17. Translation of St. Kenelm. 
 July 28. St. Sampson (of St. David's). 
 Aug. 5. St. Oswald. 
 Aug. 31. St. Cuthberga. 
 Sept. 15. St. Edith. 
 
 Oct. 12. St. Wilfrid (the Founder of the See of Chichester. 
 See Appendix). 
 
 Oct. 19. St. Frideswide. 
 
 Nov. 16. St. Edmund (St. Richard's devoted friend; his 
 altar is in Chichester Cathedral). 
 Dec. 3. St. Birinus of Chichester. 
 
 It will be seen that this is an absolutely unique English 
 Calendar. 
 
 The page following the Calendar proves the special 
 Chichester use." 
 
 After enumerating a variety of special days which local 
 usage required, it says that there are three days in the 
 whole year that are to be kept before all the rest; viz., 
 April 3, August i, and December 3. These give us 
 red St. Richard of Chichester; red St. Peter's Chains 
 (Lammas Day); black St. Birinus. All these point to the 
 place of their celebration as being either the Cathedral City 
 of Chichester itself or somewhere else in the diocese of 
 Chichester. In the Cathedral was the magnificent Shrine of 
 St. Richard until it was desecrated and carried off by order of 
 Henry VIII, and to Chichester the memorial of St. Birinus, 
 Bishop of Dorchester, was transferred and where we may 
 conclude on Lammas Day " the famous relics of St. Peter 
 were specially honoured. In the year 1478, the crowd of 
 pilgrims who visited Chichester Cathedral on St. Richard's 
 
6 
 
 Day (April 3) was so great, that Bishop Storey had to make 
 stringent rules whereby the pilgrims might approach the 
 Shrine in a reverent manner. Heretofore the pilgrims had 
 used their staves to fight with for places, in consequence 
 bloodshed and even murder had taken place. These orders 
 of Bishop Storey were published on the Sunday preceding 
 the festival of St. Richard. The inventory of jewels, relics 
 and other valuables, taken when St. Richard's shrine was 
 desecrated by Henry VHI, still exists in the Public Record 
 Office. 
 
 But we shall return to this later. 
 
 The memorial of St. Birinus was eventually transferred 
 from Chichester to Winchester. It may be noted that no 
 other red Saint's day, except that of St. Richard of 
 Chichester, is noted on fol. 25 of this MS. 
 
 Fol. 26 begins the Office known as the Hours of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary," with a full border and a large finely 
 drawn initial D to the Invocation. 
 
 Fol. 27. The hymn is the usual Anglican, so is the 
 anthem, so are the Psalms and Lessons, etc., to the end of 
 Matins. 
 
 Fol. 36. Lauds. This Office is the same as the usual 
 Anglican to fol. 45 v. anthem for Memoriae of the Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 Fol. 46. Anthem for Memoriae of the Holy Trinity. 
 Fol. 46 V. Anthem for the Holy Cross. 
 Then on fol. 47 follow Commemorations of the Saints as 
 usual, down to fol. 55 v. 
 Fol. 56 v. Office of Prime, 
 
 Here we have the first large miniature, viz., the Betrayal. 
 The Lancastrian costumes and armour are very remarkable. 
 
 On the opposite page (fol. 57) begins the Office with 
 another fine initial D, the whole within a full border. 
 
7 
 
 Fol. 62. At the foot is the verse to the Office of the 
 Cross Hora prima," etc., it ends with two extras. 
 
 Fol. 63. Hymn and prayer on fol. 63 v. These are not 
 in the usual Anglican prayer-books. 
 
 Fol. 64 V. Ad terciam. 
 
 Large miniature of Christ before Pilate. The costumes 
 of the two Soldiers are very remarkable. 
 
 On the opposite page is the initial D of the service with 
 full borders. 
 
 The Hymn here varies in different English prayer-books, 
 but in this place it is the ordinary one, or rather parts of 
 two, " Veni Creator" and ''Memento Salutis," as in the 
 Paris "use," the Hymn of the Cross is on fol. 68, fol. 68 v, 
 and 69. These are additional to the ordinary English 
 prayer-books. 
 
 Fol. 70. Initial D of the service o{ Ad Sextam, and the 
 rest is the usual Anglican down to fol. 74, where it ends. 
 
 Fol. 75 V. Large miniature of the Stabat Mater to Ad 
 Nonam. 
 
 Opposite is the initial D of the service which, as before, 
 is of Anglican use, down to fol. 80. The last prayer is not 
 found in ordinary English Horae, 
 
 Fol. 82 begins with verses of Psalm 121 (the first for 
 the Hour) in the service of Vespers. 
 
 Fol. 87. Here begin a number of Memoriae to the 
 Holy Trinity, the Cross, Archangels, Apostles and Saints. 
 The latter are St. Laurence, St. Stephen, St. Thomas of 
 Canterbury, St. Nicholas, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Kathe- 
 rine, and St. Margaret, ending with Memoriae de face and 
 Memoriae de compassione to fol. 97. 
 
 Fol. 98. Ad Completorium, Begins with initial C of the 
 service for the Hour and a full border. 
 
 Fol. loi. Rubrics Capittdum. 
 
8 
 
 The whole service is the usual Anglican, with the ex- 
 ception of one or two extra prayers at the end. 
 
 Fol. 104. Another special Anglican feature is found in 
 the Salve Regina, 
 
 Fol. 106. Gaude Virgo, This is sometimes omitted in 
 Anglican prayer-books. 
 
 Fol. 108. Another Hymn to the Virgin generally omitted 
 in Anglican Ho7'ae, as are also the prayers. 
 
 These extra hymns and prayers to the Blessed Virgin 
 prove this Horae to be very notable, and entirely unusual. 
 Of course, it is not an ordinary public Service- Book, and 
 although we cannot say it was used in any particular church 
 in the diocese of Chichester, the probability is that the 
 particular church where the Lancastrian owner worshipped 
 was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
 
 Fol. no V. Here end the Hours of the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary. 
 
 Fol. 1 1 1 V. Large miniature of Christ enthroned on a 
 rainbow as Judge of the quick and the dead. The figures 
 of the risen dead are very extraordinary. 
 
 Fol. 112. Initial D of first of Penitential Psalms. Two 
 full borders. 
 
 Fol. 128. Three side border to the first of the fifteen 
 Gradual Psalms. The rest follows regularly to fol. 133. 
 
 Fol. 133. Here begins the Litany of the Saints which 
 usually precedes the Gradual Psalms. This particular 
 Litany is one of the fullest ever met with in an English 
 Prayer-book,^ containing apparently not only all the Saints 
 of the pre-Reformation Anglican usages," but those of 
 
 ' From the fulness of this Litany, which far exceeds that of the diocese 
 of Hereford, we may presume it was copied verbatim from the Breviary. 
 Or, perhaps, from the Martyrology, portions of which were read at Prime 
 daily in cathedrals. 
 
9 
 
 several French and Flemish "uses'* as well. It contains, 
 moreover, the whole of the Service, afterwards transformed 
 into the Common Prayer Book of the Edwardian Church 
 of England which was published in 1549. 
 
 The Litany of the Saints ends on fol. 143 v. 
 
 Fol. 144 V. Large miniature to Service or Office of the 
 Dead. Four ecclesiastics officiating in a Church at the Altar. 
 Two in black (symbolic of Death) and two in green (sym- 
 bolic of Hope and therefore of the Resurrection). 
 
 Fol. 145. Begins the Office of the Dead with the 
 Placebo, Dilexi quoniam, etc., sung at Vespers. It is called 
 the Placebo from the Anthem before the ist Psalm as above. 
 
 Fol. 147. The Psalm De profundis (4th in order) is the 
 129th in the Vulgate. 
 
 Fol. 150 V. Requiem eternam, etc., although here called 
 the Anthem is not so, it is the Collect sung instead of the 
 Anthem after each Psalm. 
 
 Fol. 151. Here follow instead of simply the ordinary 
 single prayer before the Dirige all the prescribed prayers. 
 
 Fol. 1 52 V. The Matins, Anthem, and Dirige are omitted. 
 
 Fol. 153. Verba 7nea, Psalm of the first Nocturne of the 
 Mass for the Dead. 
 
 Fol. 157 V. NeqicandOy etc. This seems to take the 
 place of the Dirige as it is immediately followed by the 
 Lessons, fol. 158 to 160 v. 
 
 Fol. 160 V. Regular as in purely Anglican books down 
 to fol. 168. 
 
 Fol. 168. The 3rd Nocturne (no Rubric here) for 
 Anglican use. 
 
 Fol. 174. Lesson 7th, Spiritus mens. The Rubrics are 
 omitted. 
 
 Fol. 177. At Lauds. Still Anglican use. Miserere meiy 
 Psalm 50 (Vulgate). 
 
 B 
 
lO 
 
 Fol. 182. The Song called the Canticle of Isaiah 
 (ch. xxxviii, 10-20). 
 
 Fol. 186 V. The Song of Zachariah. 
 
 Fol. 187. Psalm 29. Exaltabo te (an Anglican Psalm as 
 distinct from the Rome and Paris usages). 
 
 End of Office (fol. 191 v). 
 
 Fol. 192 V. Large miniature to the Office of Commen- 
 datio Animarum, Angels carrying the souls of the dead 
 to Heaven beneath the blessing of God. 
 
 Fol. 193. Initial B to Psalm 118, Beate immaculati in 
 via. This is the 119th Psalm in the English version. It 
 is in twenty-two sections, and goes down to fol. 207. 
 
 Fol. 207. Domine probasti (Psalm 138), this with its 
 anthem, the Requiem (here omitted), and prayer concludes 
 the Office. 
 
 Fol. 210 V. A rubric explaining the prayer composed 
 by St. Bernardino of Siena (fol. 211), with large handsome 
 initial O and three side borders. 
 
 Fol. 213. Another rubric in English, which, with all the 
 other English passages in the volume, is transcribed as 
 an Appendix to this monograph. 
 
 Fol. 2 1 5 V. Large miniature of the horrible Martyrdom of 
 St. Erasmus. This completely explains itself, although the 
 addition of the windlass ^ would seem to be the creation of 
 the Lancastrian artist's imagination, or else it is the Martyr- 
 ologist's embellishment of the story. The English costumes 
 depicted in this miniature are extremely curious. St. Eras- 
 mus, who is, perhaps, better known as St. Elmo, is specially 
 the patron and protector of sailors, and of lighthouses for 
 them. It must not be forgotten that the diocese of Chi- 
 chester has an extensive coast line to the English Channel. 
 
 ^ The windlass, however, is his ordinary symbolic accompaniment in 
 pictures of him and of this very scene at his martyrdom. 
 
1 1 
 
 The name and miniature of St. Erasmus and the fact that 
 he was the patron of sailors and fishermen is further proof 
 of the Chichester usage, and that of the Cathedral's vicinity 
 where St. Richard lived and associated with fishermen. 
 
 We have never before seen a miniature of St. Erasmus 
 in any English Prayer-Book. 
 
 Pol. 218. The Deus Misereahir as sung at Vespers, in 
 English (Psalm 67) at Evensong, alternatively with the 
 Nunc Dimittis, 
 
 Fol. 219. Prayer to the Holy Trinity, followed by a 
 repetition of the Deus Misereatur and other psalms. 
 
 Fol. 223. The Seven "Words" of Christ. Prayer with 
 fine initial D and full borders. 
 
 Fol. 226. Prayer, Deus propicius esto. Initial and three 
 side borders. 
 
 Fol. 227 V. A devote {devout) prayer for al master 
 tribulacons of a man or woman (in English) — ends on 
 fol. 228 V. 
 
 Fol. 229. Rubric to the following Prayer of St. Augus- 
 tine, with initial D and three side borders. 
 
 It may be interesting to read the translation of this 
 Rubric. Here beginneth the inquiry of the blessed 
 bishop Augustine concerning this prayer, on whatsoever 
 day anyone shall have repeated it devoutly the devil shall 
 not be able to hurt him nor any wicked man do him 
 any hindrance: and whatever he justly asks of God it 
 shall be given him: and if on that day his soul shall leave 
 his body, it shall not enter hell." 
 
 The prayer commences with a very handsome initial D 
 on a bright gold panel and three side borders. The prayer 
 extends over no less than sixteen pages. 
 
 Fol. 237. An invocation to all Holy Apostles. 
 
 Fol. 237 v. Another to all Holy Martyrs. 
 
12 
 
 Fol. 238. Another to all Holy Confessors. 
 
 Fol. 238 V. Another to all Holy Virgins. 
 
 Fol. 239. Another to all the Saints of God. 
 
 To all these is prefixed a painted initial and a side border. 
 
 Fol. 240. An English rubric to a prayer to Jesus Christ. 
 
 Fol. 241. The eight verses of St. Bernard. Initial I and 
 three side borders. 
 
 Fol. 243. Rubric of indulgences conceded by the most 
 holy lord the Pope to all readers of these suffragia. Initial 
 O and three side borders. 
 
 Fol. 244. Verses to St. Anne. Initial G and three 
 borders and prayer on fol. 244 v. 
 
 Fol. 245 V. Large miniature of Christ as Salvator 
 Mundi," with full all-round borders. 
 
 Fol. 246. The fifteen prayers of Christ's Passion known 
 as the Fifteen Oes." Initial O and three borders ending 
 on fol. 256. A thanksgiving to Jesus Christ ends fol. 257. 
 
 Fol. 257 V. Large full-length miniature of St. Anthony 
 the Hermit and founder of Monachism (not St. Anthony 
 of Padua), with full borders. 
 
 Fol. 258. Invocation to St. Anthony. Initial V and three 
 borders. 
 
 Fol. 259. Psalms of the Passion. Initial D and full 
 borders. 
 
 These Psalms are complete to end of volume, and ac- 
 cording to Anglican use. 
 
 Such are the contents of this handsomely written and 
 richly illuminated Chichester Horae. The miniature paint- 
 ings and the ornamental letters are in the finest style of 
 Lancastrian English art, and the very quaint costumes 
 are those worn by Englishmen and Englishwomen in the 
 reign of Henry VI, who was the last king of the house of 
 
13 
 
 Lancaster. The date of this style of ornamentation is from 
 the marriage of Richard II (to Anne of Bohemia) until 
 the reign of Edward IV (i 382-1 461). 
 
 The indications in this MS. point to the reign of 
 Henry VI, or circa 1450. 
 
 An illuminated Missal used in the diocese of Lincoln, 
 written about 1405, gives a Commemoration (but not a 
 miniature) of St. Erasmus, but English devotion to him 
 did not commence much before 1489. Thus his life is not 
 given in Caxton's Golden Legend" of 1483, but is in 
 that of 1489. St. Erasmus seems to have come into the 
 English calendar from the Dutch, as the representation of 
 his martyrdom occurs in a Dutch MS. in the Fitzwilliam 
 Library at Cambridge, in much the same form as the 
 Lancastrian miniature in this present manuscript. 
 
 We have never met with any other English Horae con- 
 taining a notice of St. Erasmus as early as the present. 
 The Lincoln MS. alluded to above, is a Missal, not a Horae. 
 
 The variations in the Burial Service suggest the in- 
 fluence of Bishop Pecock, during whose Episcopate this 
 present MS. was written. 
 
 Bishop Reginald Pecock became Bishop of Chichester 
 after the death of Bishop Molins, but his writings, as e.g, 
 his Do7iet} date some years earlier. The language of the 
 English passages in this Horae is precisely the same as 
 that of Pecock's " Repressor," and is more antiquated than 
 either Lydgate or Chaucer. The Repressor " is the earliest 
 known example of the English vernacular of the times 
 anterior to the Wars of the Roses. Notice, for example, 
 the use of the gutteral z iox y or gk, 
 
 ^ Donet or Donat was synonymous with Grammar in the middle ages, 
 from the Latin Grammar, in use, of Donatus the Grammarian. 
 Pecock wrote many other books; some are still extant as MSS. 
 
APPENDIX I 
 
 LIST OF ENGLISH VERNACULAR PRAYERS 
 AND PASSAGES IN THE MANUSCRIPT 
 
 Fol. 25. 
 
 Janner the fyrst day the ii the iii the V the X the 
 XVIIL 
 
 Februar the VII the XVII the XVIII day. 
 
 Marche the VIII the XVI & the XVII. 
 
 Apryll the VI the IX. 
 
 May the VI the XV the XVI the XVI 1 1. 
 
 June the VI day. 
 
 JuletheXVthe XIX. 
 
 August the IX the XV the XX. 
 
 September the VII, XV, the XVIII. 
 
 October the fyrst the VI. 
 
 November the XV the XVII. 
 
 December the VI the VII day. 
 
 Ther is III days in the yere (zer) to be kept befor al 
 othir The III day of the Kalender of Apryll The fyrst day 
 of august The III day of the calendar of december. (These 
 were the three greatest days in the Diocese of Chichester). 
 
 Fol. 81. Here me O L (intended for Hear me O Lord). 
 
 Fol. 213. Rubj^lc before the Commemoration of St. 
 Erasmus. 
 
 " Gode almygthi hathe grauntyd that wath mane woman 
 or chylde that redyth this prayer that foloweth every 
 
^jl^p ott almitgtin liatijc 
 
 pi^n gumu^d tijfittBmii 
 lowttli amy Ctf«ttu> ot;f 
 
 of jolt fttiO (cpnt cuifinf l)f 
 \ ftjfli liftiit^c wftt^ of pK^ 
 : j«ltcfi»rfti$tl)frtt)Cfffal 
 
 liatic itfoualilt ffoofc to lii^ 
 
 -tti fit 1(1$ cmni)« Clifli tiaue 
 uo ^loiuot td fo l)tm Ijanjtt 
 
 1) ' ( ■ 
 
(rtjaUjt tclvuet^D of all 
 titfttter ofli^ tiiljulaaott$ 
 
 caDlc ani) imiutoliit k lie 
 pftc mt^M M tipf lai 
 eubt Ije Crtifll t)ftuc tb grct? 
 
15 
 
 sonday or zevyth (giveth) any almys to a power mane or a 
 candyll of wax brynnyng (burning) in the worship of gode 
 and seynt erasme he shal have fyve yyftis (gifts) of god 
 The fyrst is that he schal have resonable goode to his lyves 
 ende. The secunde ys that his enmyes shal have no powere 
 to do him harme The thride ys what resonabile prayer that 
 he askyth ytt schalbe grauntyd hym. The fowrth ys that 
 he schalbe delyveryd of al maner of his tribulacions and 
 hys deseses boyth visable and vnvysable. The fyffte ys 
 that at hys last ende he schal have so grete repentance that 
 he shall not die withoute howsil and schryft (i.e, sacrament 
 of the Lord's Supper, and confession to a priest) and other 
 the sacramentis of holy chirch. And thys ys the prayer 
 that foloyth. Oracio bona et devote valde." 
 
 Fol. 227 V. Rubric. A devote (devout) prayer for al 
 maner tribulacons of a man or woman." 
 
 " Do synge these masses undyrwrittyne for hyselff or for 
 any othir of his frenedys in what nede of tribulacon or sike- 
 nesse tha they be yn they shalbe delyved be the grace of god 
 w*oute dowte wythyn X days and in the same maner for to 
 deliver the sowlis of the frendys oute of payne, for yt haith 
 ben preued. Item. Do synge a masse on the sonday in the 
 worship of the trinite ad a lyght iii candilis and fede iii pore 
 men or zeve (give) iii almys. Item. The monday a masse in 
 worship of seynte mychaell and of all angellis and a light IX 
 candellis and fede IX pore men or zeve IX almys. The 
 tuesday a masse of seynt spiritt and alight VII candellis 
 und fede VII pore men or zeve VII almys. Item. The 
 Wednysday a masse of seynt John the baptist i y^ wor- 
 ship of a pnarkas (patriarch) wt iiii candellis and fede III I 
 pore men or zeve IIII almys. Item. The thursday a 
 masse of seynt petyr and of al the apostilis w* XII candilis 
 
i6 
 
 and fede XII pore men or zeve XII almys. Item. The 
 fryday a masse of the cross w* V candills and fede V pore 
 men or zeve V almys. Item The satirday a masse of oure 
 lady and of all virgis III candills and fede III,^pore men 
 or zeve III almys. And all thes days you most (must) offer 
 some offring And wit it wele (mind it well) this prayer 
 shalbe harde (heard) w*in (within) shorte tyme." 
 
 Then follows fol. 229 the Rubric of which is translated 
 in the foregoing analysis. 
 
 Fol. 240 Rtibric, " This prayer foloyng ys written in a 
 ston in the chirche of seynte John laternensis (St. John 
 Lateran) in rome. And therto is grauntid to all the (them) 
 that seyith this prayer devotely knelyng upon ther kneys 
 oones (once) upon the day VIII hundreth thovsand yeris of 
 pardon for dedely synnes and tyme lost." Oracio bona. 
 
 This truly remarkable manuscript is strictly speaking a 
 Book of Offices" — including the Hours, and is entirely 
 English penmanship and EngHsh illumination for English 
 (private) use. The admission of the Commemoration of 
 St. Erasmus must have been a special request from the 
 original owner of the volume, for local reasons which have 
 already been stated. 
 
 For centuries Chichester Cathedral was called St. 
 Richard's Church.** 
 
APPENDIX II 
 
 ST. RICHARD OF WYCH, BISHOP OF 
 CHICHESTER, 1245-1253. 
 
 N ascetic devotee, an upholder of ecclesiastical power 
 
 l \ against a tyrannical King, a prodigal almsgiver during 
 life, a worker of miracles after death, he is a good repre- 
 sentative of the mediaeval Saint. 
 
 Richard of Wych, so called from Droitwich his native 
 town in Worcestershire, was the son of a farmer who had 
 been prosperous, if not wealthy, but after the father s death 
 the family fell into poverty through the mismanagement of 
 their property by guardians. Richard, the younger son, 
 laboured for several years as a farm servant upon the 
 land; until, through his industry and skilful management, 
 it yielded a comfortable income. Then he left his elder 
 brother to enjoy it, and betook himself to Oxford to gratify 
 his passion for learning. That university was in the full 
 meridian of its mediaeval renown. Thousands of students 
 thronged to the lectures of the saintly Edmund Rich, after- 
 wards Primate of England, the learned Grostete, Nicholas 
 de Lyra, and many more. Many of them, like Richard, 
 were rich in nothing but their zeal for learning; they 
 depended for food very much on the hospitality of rich 
 families, or of the great Abbeys of Oseney, Eynsham and 
 Abingdon. Fire was often an unknown luxury, and manu- 
 scripts and pens had to be cast aside while the poor scholar 
 ran about to warm himself. Richard and two companions 
 
 c 
 
i8 
 
 had but one warm tunic and one hooded gown between them, 
 in which they attended lectures by turns. Their usual fare 
 consisted of vegetables and bread with a very little wine: 
 fish and flesh they could not afford, except on high festivals 
 or when guests were invited. 
 
 From Oxford Richard went to Paris, and from Paris to 
 Boulogne, where he gained a high reputation for knowledge 
 of Canon Law, the great subject of study in that university. 
 In 1235 he returned to England. The fame of his piety and 
 learning had preceded him. He was made Chancellor of 
 Oxford and his former teachers, Edmund, now Primate of 
 England, and Grostete, now Bishop of Lincoln, contended 
 for the honour and advantage of securing him as Chancellor 
 for their respective dioceses. Grostete gave way to the 
 Primate, and Richard became Chancellor of the See of 
 Canterbury, and the faithful friend and companion of 
 Edmund, alike in the day of his prosperity and of his adver- 
 sity. When the Primate despairing of success in his contest 
 with the King and the Pope on behalf of the privileges of the 
 national Church, retreated, like St. Thomas a Becket, to 
 Pontigny, Richard went with him, and Richard was by his 
 side at Soissy in his mortal illness as he lay on the bare 
 ground, the only bed on which the ascetic Prelate would 
 consent to die. After the death of his patron, Richard went 
 to Orleans and studied theology in a Dominican house. 
 Here also he was ordained priest, after which he returned 
 to England, and in the quiet vicarage of Deal enjoyed for 
 a time that learned and pious leisure which was most con- 
 genial to him. He was not permitted to enjoy it long. 
 Boniface of Savoy, the successor, a.d. 1245, of St. Edmund 
 in the primacy, though not in his virtues and learning, had 
 yet the good sense to value a man like Richard of Wych, 
 who was both virtuous and learned, and he compelled him, 
 
19 
 
 much against his will, to resume the office of Chancellor of 
 the Diocese. 
 
 On the death of Bishop Ralph, the canons of Chichester 
 had elected Robert Passelew, one of their own body and a 
 staunch partisan of the King. The Primate in a provincial 
 synod, cancelled the appointment of Passelew, on account, 
 as was alleged, of insufficient learning and unsatisfactory 
 character. Richard the Chancellor was recommended to 
 the chapter, which readily assented to the recommendation. 
 The King, Henry III, was enraged, and refused to give 
 up the temporalities of the See. Richard had an interview 
 with him, but in vain. He submitted his grievances to the 
 Pope, Innocent IV, who confirmed his appointment and 
 consecrated him at Lyons. On his return to England he 
 found the property of the See being disgracefully wasted 
 by the royal sequestrators. 
 
 Again he strove to move the King's conscience to a 
 sense of mercy and justice, but again Henry was inexorable, 
 Richard became a homeless wanderer in his own diocese; 
 he lived on the hospitality of his clergy but he repaid them 
 by the assiduity with which he discharged the duties of a 
 chief pastor, travelling from parish to parish across the 
 woods and downs of Sussex on foot after the manner of a 
 primitive apostle. His chief abode was with a poor priest 
 of Tarring in Sussex, Simon by name, where, in the inter- 
 vals of his journeys, he would recur to the occupation of 
 planting, pruning and grafting, in which he had excelled 
 in the days of his youth spent amongst the orchards of 
 Worcestersh i re. 
 
 Pope Innocent did not abandon his cause, and after two 
 years the King was induced by threats of excommunication 
 to restore the temporalities of the See. Prosperity did not 
 blunt but rather quickened, the saintly virtues of the Bishop. 
 
20 
 
 He preached in all parts of his diocese, visited the poor 
 with such reckless bounty as to provoke the remonstrances 
 of his brother, who had become his steward. Your alms," 
 said he, " exceed your income." " Then sell my plate 
 and horse," was the prompt reply. In his private life he 
 observed the most rigid temperance and frugality, keeping 
 to the vegetable fare of his old Oxford days. He rose at 
 earliest dawn to say his Office, and if the birds had already 
 begun their matin chant, Shame on me," he would cry, 
 that these irrational creatures should be before me in 
 singing praise to God." 
 
 The severity with which he enforced ecclesiastical 
 discipline was as great as his tenderness towards the suffer- 
 ing and needy. A body of Statutes, which he compiled 
 with the aid of his Chapter, throws considerable light upon 
 the condition and character of the clergy at this period. 
 
 Many of them were still secretly married, though such 
 alliances were not recognized by Canon Law, and the 
 honourable name of wife was not granted to their domestic 
 partners. Bishop Richard set his face against the practice 
 with relentless austerity. By his statutes married clergy 
 were to be deprived of their benefices, their concubines were 
 to be denied the privileges of the Church during life and after 
 death; they were pronounced incapable of inheriting any 
 property from their husbands, and any such bequests were 
 to be applied to the fabric of the cathedral. 
 
 A vow of chastity was to be required of all candidates for 
 ordination. 
 
 Among the many reforms instituted by the Bishop were 
 — children to be confirmed within a year after baptism; 
 the Creed and the Lord's Prayer were to be learned in the 
 vulgar tongue. Priests were to celebrate mass in clean 
 vestments, thoroughly clean corporals, and at least two 
 
21 
 
 consecrated palls were to be placed on the altar ; the cross 
 to be set up in front of the celebrant, the bread to be of 
 the purest wheaten flour, the wine mixed with water. 
 
 In 1253 Bishop Richard undertook, at the request of the 
 Pope, to preach on behalf of a crusade. The flame of 
 enthusiasm for the recovery of the Holy Land was dying 
 out in Europe. The Bishop preached the crusade with 
 fervour in place after place along the south coast; but as 
 he drew near Dover, where he was to consecrate a church 
 to be dedicated to his former patron, the now canonized 
 Primate, St. Edmund, he was seized by illness. He lodged 
 in the Maison Dieu that night, and at early Mass in the 
 chapel next morning he fell; the clergy carried him out and 
 laid him on a bed from which he was not to rise again. 
 
APPENDIX III 
 
 ST. WILFRID (OR WILFRITH) 
 BISHOP OF YORK 
 
 BANISHED from his See by Ecgfrith, King of 
 Northumbria, Wilfrid sought refuge in Mercia, but 
 the King, who was connected with Ecgfrith by marriage, 
 bade him depart and the Bishop, journeying southwards, 
 sought shelter of Aethelwealh the Christian King of the 
 South Saxons. He was probably the first Englishman of 
 learning and culture to pierce the mighty forest of 
 Anderida, and his arrival was destined to be the introduc- 
 tion into Sussex (Chichester of course is in this county) 
 of Christianity and civilization. King Aethelwealh was glad 
 to welcome the powerful and learned Prelate, one of the 
 most renowned men of his age, who by a strange course of 
 events was now brought to his doors in the guise of a 
 homeless exile. Wilfrid, then, was courteously and hospit- 
 ably received at the royal dwelling. This was not at this 
 period at Chichester. The early English kings, true to 
 the habits and tastes of the Teutonic race, as described by 
 Tacitus, had no liking for towns and commonly resided at 
 a distance from them. 
 
 Aethelwealh's abode at the time was on the shores of the 
 flat and dreary but fertile peninsula of Selsey, which projects 
 into the sea about ten miles due south of Chichester. 
 
 It was a season of severe distress and famine in that part 
 of Sussex when Wilfrid arrived and he immediately found 
 means of alleviating the people's sufferings. 
 
 For several months Wilfrid went about preaching with 
 indefatigable zeal and great success. At last a huge 
 
23 
 
 multitude of people were baptized in one day, And on 
 that day," says Bede, " the rain so long withheld revisited 
 the thirsty land." Fresh vegetation and the new Faith burst 
 into life together. The grateful Aethelwealh made a grant 
 of lands in Selsey to Wilfrid. They contained a population 
 of eighty-seven families among which were two hundred 
 and fifty slaves of both sexes. Wilfrid immediately enfran- 
 chised them. Thus the peninsula of Selsey, now little 
 known to any except a few resident clergy, farmers and 
 peasants, was the original source and centre of Christianity 
 and civilization in Sussex. Here the King had his royal 
 dwelling; here Wilfrid built fhe^ church in which stood 
 his Episcopal cathedra or throne; stool "or settle " as it 
 is called in old English. This was the first cathedral church 
 in Sussex, and he dedicated it to St. Peter, mindful, doubt- 
 less, of his own greater cathedral church of St. Peter at York. 
 The church of Wilfrid at Selsey has long been swept 
 away by the encroachments of the envious sea; no vestiges 
 or traditions of its character remain. 
 
 Wilfrid s connection with Sussex came to an end about 
 the year 685 when Ecgfrith the Northumbrian King who 
 had driven him into exile fell in battle, and soon after 
 Wilfrid was restored to his See at York. 
 
 Among the converts to Christianity made during the 
 sojourn of Wilfrid in Sussex none are known to us by name 
 except one. This is Saint Lewinna. 
 
 The days in which Wilfrid came to Sussex were the 
 brightest period in the life of the early English Church. 
 
 The day of St. Wilfrid's deposition in the Calendar of 
 this Chichester Horae is October 12, which was not the 
 day of his death, for in the year 709 it fell on a Saturday 
 and St. Wilfrid died on a Thursday, probably October 3, in 
 his seventy-sixth year. 
 
CHISWICK PRESS : CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. 
 TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. 
 
GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE