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BRITISH MONACHISM; 
 
 OR, 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 JWonfes anti Jluns of €nglantj. 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 
 
 I. PEREGRINATORIUM RELIGIOSUM ; OR, MAN- 
 NERS AND CUSTOMS OF ANCIENT PILGRIMS. 
 
 II. THE CONSUETUDINAL OF ANCHORETS AND 
 HERMITS. 
 
 III. SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CONTINENTES, OR 
 PERSONS WHO HAD MADE VOWS OF CHASTITY. 
 
 IV. SELECT POEMS IN VARIOUS STYLES. 
 
 By THOMAS DUDLEY FOSBROKE, M.A. F.A.S. 
 
 HON. ASSOC. R.S.L. &C. LATE VICAR OF WALFORD, HEREFORDSHIRE. 
 
 THIRD EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS. 
 
 iUItiveesity; 
 
 LONDON : 
 M. A. NATTALI, 23, BEDFORD STREET, 
 
 COVENT GAKDEN. 
 
 1843. 
 
TO. THE RIGHT REVEREND 
 THE LORD BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER AND BRISTOL, &c. &c. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 The kind and courteous manner in which your 
 Lordship has been pleased to accede to my request for permission to 
 inscribe the Third Edition of my late Father's Work on British 
 Monachism to your Lordship, adds to the many favours already con- 
 ferred upon my family, 
 
 I feel assured I could do no greater honour to the memory of 
 the Author, nor one more congenial to the sentiments of respect 
 which I ever heard him express for your Lordship's public and private 
 worth, than by the dedication of his favourite Work to so eminent a 
 Scholar and distinguished a Prelate. 
 
 I have the honour to remain, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 with every respect, 
 
 Your Lordship's most obliged and humble servant, 
 
 YATE FOSBROKE. 
 
 Vicarage House, St. Ives, 
 Jan. 23, 1843. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 The favourable reception of the original edition of this Work 
 in two thin 8vo. volumes, 180*2, induced the author to revise and 
 enlarge his composition, (to form the quarto edition of 18 17,) under 
 the circumstances, and the manner, described in his own Preface, of 
 which a copy is annexed. 
 
 It was very gratifying to its J^uthor that this enlarged and im- 
 proved edition was respectfully quoted by Sir Walter Scott, in his 
 novel of the " Monastery ;" and it was also favourably noticed in the 
 " Quarterly Review," and in the other literary journals. The pubHc 
 generally having justified this favourable opinion by the work again 
 becoming scarce, Mr. Fosbroke was induced shortly before his 
 lamented death, to prepare for the press the present Edition, which 
 was one of the latest acts of his laborious literary life. 
 
 This present Edition has been printed in a compressed manner, 
 as a companion to the new and improved Edition of Mr. Fosbroke's 
 " Encyclopedia of Antiquities." 
 
 J. B. N. 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 yet their virtue was negative, except in acts of charity ; * although 
 many things were only culpable, as deviations from the Order, still it 
 ought not to be dogmatized, that the austere Monastic System is 
 possible, in an universal view, to be correctly exhibited, in union with 
 riches. The liberal ideas of modern Society are not of course in- 
 cluded in this question. The Monks were wealthy, consequently 
 luxurious, and frequently debauched. The strange means adopted 
 (and in the Middle Age forsooth) for creating models of ascetic seve- 
 rity were independence, celibacy, and luxury ; but luxury and inde- 
 pendence have never had so corrective an operation upon the Bat- 
 chelors of any age ; nor will they ever be deemed by political econo- 
 mists, the measures suited to produce that bigoted superstition, or 
 morbid feeling, which, except tuition from infancy, can alone effect 
 the result proposed. The .complaint is grounded upon the good cha- 
 racters which occasionally appear in the Monastic Annals ; and the 
 liberalized, amiable, and benevolent habits of modern Monks, who, 
 influenced by a better state of society, substitute these pleasing 
 qualities for ancient asperities. This is all in their power. Modern 
 thinking only could have emboldened the learned Benedictines of 
 St. Maur, to have tried the experiment of commuting certain 
 tiresome duties of the Rule, as unworthy the reason of the age 
 in which they lived, for learned pursuits, which would enable them 
 to issue frequently some valuable publication. b The dispensation 
 was refused, for Popery, afraid of innovation, must of necessity be a 
 consistent whole, although it manifestly implies tenacity of obsolete 
 barbarism. 
 
 These are objections to be treated with respect by the Author. 
 The book is merely professed to be a work, filled to the utmost 
 of its dimensions with information, upon the subject of which it 
 treats. 
 
 The public having also kindly received the Poems, they are annexed 
 for the sake of preservation. 
 
 Waif or d, on the Banks of the Wye^ July 17, 1817. 
 
 a See the Chapter of Modern Monachism, p. 298. 
 
 b This anecdote is taken from D' Israeli's " Curiosities of Literature. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 Chap. I. Principles of Monachism . . 1 
 
 Chap. II. Asceticks —Glastonbury . . 10 
 
 Chap. III. Monachism among the Britons, 
 Scots, Irish, and Anglo-Saxons, till the 
 reign of Edgar . • .13 
 
 Appendix to Chap. III. — The Egyp- 
 tian Rule of Pachomius followed by 
 the Britons . . . .23 
 
 Chap. IV. Benedictine Monachism, from the 
 
 reign of Edgar to the Norman Conquest 28 
 Appendix to Chap. IV.— The Rule of 
 Fulgentius . . • .37 
 
 Chap. V. Benedictine Monachism, from the 
 
 Norman Conquest to the Dissolution . 39 
 Appendix to Chap V. — Decrees of the 
 
 Council of Lateran, anno 1215 . 59 
 
 Constitutions of Benedict the Twelfth, 
 
 anno 1336 . . . .60 
 
 Extracts from Barclay's Ship of Fooles . 62 
 Chap. VI, — Rules of the Orders which ob- 
 tained in England . . .65 
 
 I. Benedictine Rule . . .66 
 
 1. Clugniacs . . . .68 
 
 2. Cistercians . . . .69 
 
 3. Grandmontines . . .70 
 
 4. Carthusians . . .71 
 
 II. Three Augustinian Rules : 
 
 1. Prsemonstratensians . .72 
 
 2. Trinitarians . . . 73 
 
 3. Dominicans . . .74 
 
 4. Knights' Hospitallers . . 75 
 Rules blended, or unconnected with the 
 
 Benedictine and Augustinian : 
 
 1. Knights' Templars . . .76 
 
 2. Gilbertines. . . .77 
 
 3. Carmelites . . . .78 
 
 4. Franciscans . . . ib. 
 
 5. Franciscan Nuns, Minoresses, or 
 Nuns of St. Clare ., . .79 
 
 6. Brigettine Nuns . . .80 
 
 7. Augustinian Eremites . . 82 
 
 8. Nuns of Fontevraud . . i6. 
 
 9. Bon Hommes (Augustinians) 
 10. Brothers of the Sack 
 Chap. VII. Monastic Officers : 
 
 Abbot, Abbess 
 Chap. VIII. Obedientiares 
 Chap. IX. Prior . 
 Chap. X. Cellarer 
 Chap. XI. Precentor, or Chantor 
 Chap. XII. Kitchener 
 Chap. XIII. Seneschall 
 Chap. XIV. Treasurer or Bursar 
 Chap. XV. Sacrist or Secretarius 
 Chap. XVI. Lecturer 
 Chap. XVII. Almoner 
 Chap. XVIII. Master of the Novices 
 Chap. XIX. Infirmarer 
 Chap. XX. Porter 
 Chap. XXI. Refectioner . 
 Chap. XXII. Hospitaler . 
 Chap. XXIII. Chamberlain 
 Chap. XXIV. Other Officers of the House 
 Chap. XXV. Officers among the Friars 
 Chap. XXVI. Nuns' Confessor 
 Chap. XXVII. Monks— Nuns, &c. 
 
 Order of St. Victor at Paris 
 Chap. XXVIII. Friars 
 Chap. XXIX. Novices 
 Chap. XXX. Lay Brothers 
 Chap. XXXI. Servants 
 Chap. XXXII. Monastic Buildings 
 Chap. XXXIII. Church— Architecture, &c. 
 
 Page 
 82 
 ib. 
 
 83 
 110 
 112 
 118 
 120 
 123 
 124 
 125 
 126 
 128 
 130 
 132 
 135 
 136 
 138 
 140 
 141 
 143 
 145 
 147 
 148 
 164 
 168 
 175 
 191 
 195 
 197 
 198 
 
 Classification of Churches and Castles : 
 
 , British Castles — Anglo-Saxon Castles . 198 
 Norman Castles . . .199 
 
 Castellated Mansions . . .201 
 
 British Churches . . .198 
 
 Anglo- Saxou Churches . . 199 
 
 Norman Churches . . • 201 
 
 Various Peculiarities in Antient Churches ib. 
 Altars— ThePix— Pall— Corporal— Pertic8e202 
 Lecterns — Candlesticks . . 203 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Organ — Piscina — Lockers — Pensile 
 Tables— Roodlofts, &c. 
 
 Confessionals — Gallilees — Lady Chapels, 
 or Retro-choirs — Cripti 
 
 Tapers — Saints' Bells — Towers — Trifo- 
 ria — Pulpits .... 
 
 Painted Glass .... 
 
 Attributes of the various Saints 
 
 Encaustic Pavements . 
 
 Bells . . 
 
 The Nuns' Church 
 
 Music —Singing 
 
 Sermons .... 
 
 Chap. XXXIV. Churchyard 
 Chap. XXXV. Refectory . 
 Chap. XXXVI. Chapter . 
 Chap. XXXVII. Dormitory 
 Chap. XXXVIII. Cloister . 
 Chap. XXXIX. Infirmary . 
 Chap. XL. Guest-hall 
 Chap. XLI. Locutory, or Parlour . 
 Chap. XLII. Almonry 
 Chap. XLIII. Library — Museum . 
 
 Remarks on Monastic Literature— Divi- 
 nity— Philosophy, Arts, &,c. . 
 
 Natu ral H istory — Medicin e — Geograph y 
 — History .... 
 
 Gothic Architecture — Latin Language . 
 
 Classics and Versification 
 
 Works of Humour— Bulls— Acrostics- 
 Poetry .... 
 
 Museum .... 
 
 Chap. XLIV. Scriptorium— Domus Antiqua- 
 1 riorum ..... 
 ^Chap. XLV. Studies of the Monks 
 Chap. XLVI. Prison 
 Chap. XLVII. Monastic Courts . 
 Chap XLVIII. Misericord 
 Chap. XLIX. Sanctuary . 
 Chap. L. Dependant Churches 
 Chap. LI. Cells— Granges . 
 Chap, LII. Song School . 
 Chap. LIII. Common House 
 Chap. LIV. Mints— Exchequer . 
 Chap. LV. Kitchen 
 Chap. LVI. Bakehouse 
 Chap. LVII. Garden 
 Chap. LVIII. Abbey Gate- Dovecote, &c. 
 
 Page 
 
 204 
 
 205 
 
 206 
 ib. 
 
 207 
 208 
 209 
 ib. 
 210 
 211 
 213 
 214 
 222 
 227 
 229 
 233 
 233 
 243 
 244 
 245 
 
 247 
 
 248 
 249 
 250 
 
 251 
 253 
 
 £54 
 260 
 261 
 •262 
 264 
 268 
 269 
 271 
 273 
 274 
 275 
 276 
 278 
 279 
 281 
 
 Chap. LIX. Sacristy — Vestiary — Costumes 
 
 Articles of Clothing belonging to the va 
 rious Orders . 
 
 Augustinian Canons 
 
 Augustinjan Eremite Nun 
 
 Benedictines . 
 
 Brigettine Nuns and Friers 
 
 Carmelites 
 
 Carmelite Nun . , 
 
 Carthusians 
 
 Cistercians 
 
 Cistercian Nuns 
 
 Clugniacks 
 
 Dominicans 
 
 Dominican Nuns 
 
 Franciscans or Grey Friers 
 
 Franciscan Nun, or Minoress or Poor 
 Clare 
 
 Friars of the Sacks 
 
 Capuchin Nun . 
 
 Nun of the Order of Penance 
 
 Gilbertines 
 
 Gilbertine Nuns 
 
 Prsemonstratensians 
 
 Ti'initarians 
 
 Knight Templars 
 
 Knight Hospitallers 
 Chap. LX. Specimens of English Ecclesias 
 tical Costume, from the earliest period 
 down to the sixteenth century, selected 
 from Sculptures, Paintings, and Brasses 
 remaining in this Kingdom. Drawn and 
 designed by John Carter, F.S.A . 
 Chap. LXI. Hospitals 
 Chap. LXII. Modem Monachism . 
 
 Protestant Nunnery at Gedding Parva, 
 Huntingdonshire 
 
 Projected Colleges for the education of 
 young women 
 
 Lady Maiy Astell's College 
 
 Modern Monks in England 
 
 Monastery of La Trappe in Lulworth . 
 
 Nuns of Spettisbury 
 
 Benedictine Nuns 
 
 Appendix. Remarks on the Dissolution of 
 Monasteries .... 
 
 The Benedictine Ceremonial of the 
 Nuns of St. Cyr 
 
 Page 
 
 282 
 
 286 
 
 ib, 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib, 
 287 
 
 ib, 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib, 
 288 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 289 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 290 
 297 
 298 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 299 
 
 ib, 
 306 
 
 ib, 
 
 307 
 309 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 Page 
 
 Peregrinatorium Religiosum ; or Man- 
 ners and Customs of Ancient Pilgrims 
 Introduction — Costumes of Pilgrims 
 Costumes of Crusaders 
 
 Chap. I. Antiquity of Pilgrimage — British 
 Pilgrims ..... 
 
 Chap. II. Pilgrimages of the Scots, Irish, 
 and Anglo-Saxons 
 
 Chap. III. Consecration of Pilgrims 
 
 Chap. IV. Preparatory Steps to the Journey 
 
 Chap. V. Manners and Customs on Ship- 
 hoard ..... 
 
 Chap. VI. Manners and Customs on the 
 Journey by land .... 
 
 Chap. VII. The Arrival at Jerusalem — 
 Consequences of the Crusades — and Mis- 
 cellaneous Observations on Crusaders 
 Sir Richard Torkington's account of a 
 Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, in 1517 
 
 Chap. VIII. Return Home — Palmiferi, or 
 Palmers ..... 
 
 Chap. IX. Pilgrimages of Punishment and 
 Penance ..... 
 
 Chap. X. Pilgrimages to Rome 
 
 Chap. XI. Pilgrimages to Compostella 
 
 Chap. XII. Provincial Pilgrimages to Shrines, 
 Wells, &c. .... 355 
 
 QHAP. XIII. Mourning Pilgrimages — Incog- 
 
 313 
 315 
 
 319 
 
 322 
 
 32o 
 326 
 
 328 
 
 330 
 333 
 
 337 
 
 ib. 
 
 344 
 
 346 
 350 
 
 352 
 
 Page 
 nito Pilgrimages — Political Pilgrimages — 
 Pilgrims Adventurers — Pilgrims against 
 Heretics . . . . .361 
 
 Chap. XIV. Love Pilgrims . . 363 
 
 Chap. XV. The Office of Pilgrims in the 
 Church of Rouen . , . 369 
 
 ConsuetuJiual of Anchorets and Hermits 
 Hermits ..... 
 Hermitages .... 
 
 Continentes — Vows of Chastity 
 
 Select Poems (in various styles) by 
 Mr. Fosbroke : 
 
 1. Economy of Monastic Life, in the man- 
 ner of Spenser .... 
 
 2. Triumph of Vengeance ; an Ode, in the 
 manner of Gray .... 
 
 3. The Red Man; or, the Address of Buo- 
 naparte's familiar Damon ;en Ode, in the 
 manner of Gray and Collins 
 
 4. The last Fifty Years ; a Parody on Col- 
 lins' s Ode to the Passions 
 
 5. On a Lady Bathing, in the manner of 
 The Italian Concetto 
 
 6. Epitaph on Charles Hay ward, Esq. in 
 the German manner 
 
 General Index .... 
 
 370 
 379 
 381 
 
 383 
 
 389 
 
 410 
 
 414 
 
 417 
 
 420 
 
 421 
 423 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 Page 
 Portrait of the Author .... Frontispiece. 
 
 Engraved Title-page. 
 
 Forms of British and Anglo-Saxon Churches . . . 198 
 
 Costumes of Monks and Nuns ..... 282 
 
 Veil and Wimple, and Hermit's Dress (on the letter press) . 284 
 
 Habits of Religious, drawn from existing Specimens, by John 
 
 Carter, F.S.A. : 
 
 Class I. . . . . . . . .291 
 
 Class II. . ...... lb. 
 
 Class III. . . . . . . .292 
 
 Class IV. ib. 
 
 Class V. ....... 293 
 
 Class VI. . . . . . . .294 
 
 Class VII. . . . . . . .295 
 
 Habits of the Monks of La Trappe, at Lulworth . . . 306 
 
 Pilgrims . . . . . . . . 321 
 
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHpR^^^^ 
 
 IVERSITY 
 
 The Rev. Thomas Dudley Fosbroke, M.A., F.S.A , Honorary Associate of 
 the Royal Society of Literature, Honorary Member of the Bristol Philosophical 
 Institution, &c. was descended from a respectable family first settled at Fos- 
 broke, in Staffordshire. » Of his more immediate ancestors many were clergy- 
 men, it having been a custom of the family for several generations to have one 
 of the sons educated for the Church. The great-grandfather of the late Mr. 
 Fosbroke was the Rev. William Fosbroke, vicar of Diddlebury and rector 
 of Aston Scott, both in Shropshire. He was imprisoned in Hereford Gaol for 
 praying for the King, during the Commonwealth ascendancy, and otherwise 
 injured in estate. His grandfather, Thomas, seems to have squandered the 
 family estates at Diddlebury, which had been in the family at least 200 years. His 
 father, William, was, agreeably to the family custom, educated for holy orders, 
 but migrated to London. By his second wife, Hester, daughter of Thomas 
 Lashbroke, of South wark, he had an only son, the subject of this memoir. 
 
 He was born May 27, 1770; and was named Dudley, after a cousin, a squire 
 of Lebotwood Hall, Shropshire. He lost his father in 1775, and his mother 
 married a second husband, James Holmes, Esq. Ensign in the Coldstream 
 Guards, and afterwards Adjutant of the West Essex Militia. His mother lived 
 to an extreme old age, and died at Walford, in 1831. Her great-grandmother, 
 Mrs. Dodgson, was cousin to Thomas Guy, Esq. the founder of the Hospital in 
 Southwark. 
 
 Mr. Fosbroke was educated under the Rev. Mr. Milward, of Billericay, in 
 Essex, and at Petersfield, in Hampshire, until he was nine years old, and was 
 then removed to St. Paul's school, London, under the care of Dr. Roberts, from 
 whence he was elected, in 1785, to a Teasdale Scholarship at Pembroke College, 
 Oxford, where he proceeded B.A. 178-, M.A. 1792. It had been suggested, 
 that he was to be a Special Pleader, but it was his father^s dying wish that he 
 should be placed in the Church. 
 
 ■ Mr. Fosbroke has given accounts of his own family, in his " History of Gloucestershire," i. 407 ; 
 in " Ariconensia,'' p. 168; and in his Autobiographical Sketch, prefixed to the quarto edition of his 
 *' Encyclopaedia of Antiquities." A more enlarged and elaborate history of the early branches of the 
 Fosbroke family, is appended to the present pages, from an original MS. which he left in the hands of a 
 friend. 
 
 b 
 
10 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 In 1 792 he was ordained Deacon, upon the title of his scholarship ; and 
 settled in the curacy of Horsley, co. Gloucester, for which he was ordained 
 priest in 1794, and he held that curacy till 1810. 
 
 In 1796 Mr. Fosbroke published the " Economy of Monastic Life,^' a poem 
 in Spenserian measure and style, written upon the doctrine of Darwin, of using 
 only precise ideas of picturesque effect, chiefly founded upon the sense of vision. 
 The poem is again reprinted in this volume. 
 
 In 1799 he was elected F.S.A. He then devoted himself to archaeology 
 (including the Saxon language), and studied eight or nine hours a day. Deter- 
 mined to publish only records, MSS. or other matters new to the public, he 
 compiled his " British Monachism,'^ from the rich stores of the British Mu- 
 seum and the Bodleian Library, in two vols. 8vo. 
 
 All the reviewers were flattering ; and, the work soon becoming scarce, the 
 author published a second edition in 1817, in a handsome quarto volume, much 
 enlarged, and enlivened by reflections. The original work was almost wholly 
 limited to MS. authorities ; but the reprint incorporated the important informa- 
 tion in the Glossary of Du Cange, various Chronicles, and other authorities. 
 This work was respectfully quoted by Sir Walter Scott, in his novel of the 
 " Monastery,'^ and was favourably noticed in the " Quarterly Review." A 
 third edition of this valuable work is now presented to the pubhc. 
 
 He next engaged in an original History of the County of Gloucester. Being 
 possessed of a copy of the Inquisitiones post Mortem completed to the reign of 
 Richard III. he was enabled sooner to perfect his collections from the public 
 offices and libraries ; and the work was published by subscription, under the 
 title of " Abstracts of Records and Manuscripts respecting tlie County of Glou- 
 cester ; formed into a History, correcting the very erroneous Accounts, and 
 supplying the numerous Deficiencies, in Sir Robert Atkins and subsequent 
 Writers/' 2 vols. 4to. I8O7. 
 
 On finishing his County History, he engaged with Sir Richard Phillips in an 
 Encyclopaedia of Antiquities ; but the work was never published, owing to the 
 failure of that bookseller in 1810. 
 
 At this time Mr. Fosbroke removed from Horsley to Walford on the banks of 
 the Wye. Soon afterwards he had the honour of illustrating the unpubhshed 
 statues in Mr. Hope's collection. 
 
 In 1814 he pubhshed an '' Abridgment of Whitby's Commentary on the New 
 Testament," for which he received the unrestricted praise of Dr. Napleton, Chan- 
 cellor of Hereford, and other dignitaries. 
 
 In 1819 he pubhshed "An original History of the City of Gloucester, almost 
 wholly compiled from new materials ; supplying the numerous Deficiencies, and 
 correcting the Errors, of preceding Accounts ; including the Original Papers of 
 the late Ralph Bigland, Esq. Garter Principal King at Arms.'' On this work 
 
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 11 
 
 Mr. Fosbroke was engaged by Messrs. Nichols, as a continuation of Mr. Bigland's 
 work; but, by compressing Mr. Bigland's numerous but uninteresting lists of 
 epitaphs, and supplying a large mass of tlie latent materials concerning the city, 
 and by a judicious arrangement of the whole, he produced a work highly credit- 
 able to his taste, and, what used to be unfrequent in topographies, of a readable 
 nature throughout. 
 
 Mr. Fosbroke published at least three editions of a pleasing little work, under 
 the title of " The Wye Tour ; or, Gilpin on the Wye, with picturesque additions 
 from Wheateley, Price, &c. and Archaeological Illustrations.^' 
 
 As a companion to this Tour, in 1821 he produced " Ariconensia ; or, Archae- 
 ological Sketches of Ross and Archenfield : illustrative of the campaigns of 
 Caractacus 5 the Station Ariconium, &c. and other matters never before pub- 
 lished.'^ 
 
 In 1821 Mr. Fosbroke edited the "Berkeley Manuscripts: Abstracts and 
 Extracts of Smyth's Lives of the Berkeleys, illustrative of Ancient Manners 
 and the Constitution, including all the Pedigrees in that ancient Manuscript. To 
 which are annexed, a copious History of the Castle and Parish of Berkeley, con- 
 sisting of matter never before published ; and Biographical Anecdotes of Dr. 
 Jenner, his Interviews with the Emperor of Russia,'' &c. 4to. Much use of 
 Smyth's MSS. had been made by Mr. Fosbroke in his " History of Gloucester- 
 shire," where that collector's accounts of property were incorporated. In the 
 present work, the principle upon which the selections were formed are, that of 
 preserving every thing of a constitutional, topographical, archaeological, or genea- 
 logical bearing. The Biography of Dr. Jenner was at the time novel, and 
 written with a friendly and judicious hand. 
 
 Mr. Fosbroke's " Grammar of Rhetorick " was surreptitiously published, 
 without acknowledgment, in Pinnock and Maunder's Catechisms. 
 
 In 1824 Mr. Fosbroke published his largest and most important work, the 
 " Encyclopaedia of Antiquities, and Elements of Archaeology," in two vols. 4to. 
 This work was most favourably received by his subscribers, and the public in 
 general, as it supplied a deficiency then much wanted by all aspirants in the 
 study of archaeology. A second edition, with improvements, appeared in one 
 very large volume in 1840. 
 
 It was followed, in 1828, by a uniform volume, entitled " Foreign Topogra- 
 phy ; or, an Encyclopediack Account, alphabetically arranged, of the ancient 
 Remains in Africa, Asia, and Europe ; forming a Sequel to the Encyclopaedia of 
 Antiquities," 4 to. and abounding with a large mass of latent, curious, and 
 instructive information. 
 
 In 1826 he published, " A Picturesque and Topographical Account of Chel- 
 tenham and its Vicinity. To which is added. Contributions towards the Medical 
 
 b2 
 
12 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Topography, including the Medical History of the Waters^ by [his son Dr.] 
 John Fosbroke.^' The object of this work was to give some literary character 
 to the account of Cheltenham, by treating the subject according to the rules of 
 great authorities in scenery and archaeology. 
 
 In the same year he produced, " The Tourist^s Grammar ; or Rules relating to 
 the Scenery and Antiquities incident to Travellers; compiled from the first 
 authorities, and including an Epitome of Gilpin's Principles of the Picturesque," 
 12mo, in which the knowledge requisite to form a correct taste upon the subject 
 is brought into a cheap and accessible form. At this time, also, he was solicited 
 by the Duke of Newcastle, to give his assistance in elucidating some difficulties 
 in the Saxon line of his Grace's pedigree ; and with extraordinary perseverance 
 he collected sufficient matter from various sources to supply a continuous bio- 
 graphy of the very ancient noble family of the Clintons, filling three large folio 
 volumes of MS. which are now in the possession of his Grace, and highly valued 
 by him. 
 
 In 1827 Mr. Fosbroke had the gratification of being elected an Honorary 
 Associate of the Royal Society of Literature. He contributed to their Transac- 
 tions, "Extracts from MSS. relative to English History," (vol. i. p. 36,) and 
 " Illustrations of the Constitution of our ancient Parliaments." (vol. ii. 268.) 
 
 A similar acknowledgment of the literary merits of this distinguished Author 
 was paid him by the Bristol Literary and Philosophical Society, who elected 
 him an honorary member of their institution, and communicated the honour 
 conferred upon him in terms expressive of their admiration of his talents and 
 services in the cause of literature. 
 
 In 1830 Mr. Fosbroke was presented to the vicarage of Walford (where he 
 had been twenty years curate) by the Rev, Thomas Huntingford, precentor of 
 Hereford Cathedral, and nephew of the late very learned and amiable Bishop of 
 Hereford. To this vicarage is annexed the parochial chapelry of Ruardean, co. 
 Gloucester, of which place Mr. Fosbroke communicated an account to the Gen- 
 tleman's Magazine in June 1831, p. 488. 
 
 Mr. Fosbroke was for several years intimately connected mth the Gentleman's 
 Magazine, and contributed largely to its review department; in which office he 
 always acted towards authors with a fair and liberal spirit. His notices were full 
 of original observations. The connection terminated a few years before the 
 commencement of the present series of that Miscellany in 1834. 
 
 He had latterly with great labour prepared for the press a new work, as a 
 companion to his Encyclopaedia of Antiquities, under the title of a " New and 
 original Synopsis of ancient English Manners, Customs, and Opinions, derived 
 from old Chronicles, local Histories, and other authentic Documents." This 
 may hereafter be published. 
 
 Mr. Fosbroke was highly distinguished as a Freemason, and had the honour 
 
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 13 
 
 of being appointed in three successive years Chaplain of the Provincial Grand 
 Lodges of Hereford, Monmouth, and Gloucester. The MSS. of several sermons, 
 illustrative of the ancient History, Arcana, and objects of Freemasonry, 
 preached before these Lodges, are now in the possession of his widow, and will 
 probably be published at some future period. 
 
 In 1796 he was married to Miss Howell, of Horsley, and had issue by her 
 four sons and six daughters, of whom seven are now living. His eldest son, 
 John, is a doctor of medicine, and author of several works and essays on pro- 
 fessional subjects. His second son, Yate, is a clergyman, and vicar of St. Ive's, 
 in the county of Huntingdon. His third son, Thomas Dudley, is First Lieut, in 
 the Royal Marine Corps, whose commission was presented to him by Sir James 
 Graham, (at that time First Lord of the Admiralty,) through the recommenda- 
 tion of the Duke of Newcastle, as a mark of his Grace's favour and esteem for 
 his father. His fourth son, Wm. Michael Malbon, is now a doctor of medicine 
 of the University of Edinburgh. Of his three surviving daughters one only is 
 married, Hester Elizabeth, to Charles Ransford Court, esq. of Wrington, in the 
 county of Somerset. 
 
 A portrait of Mr. Fosbroke, " eetat. 46," was prefixed to the Encyclopaedia of 
 Antiquities, and is also given in this volume. 
 
 This distinguished antiquary and archaeologist died at his vicarage at Walford, 
 Herefordshire, on the 1st of January, 1842, in the 72d year of his age. 
 
 J. B. N. 
 
14 
 
 MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 
 
 BY THE REV. T. D. FOSBROKE. 
 
 Fortunately for me, I am able to vindicate the pretensions of my Family 
 (for whom I entertain all the pieties of nature) upon the best legal evidence, 
 and in so doing to add some illustrations of archaeological interest, which may 
 be deducible from even dry records and pedigrees. 
 
 Camden says,^ of local surnames, that the bearers of them ^^ may assure them- 
 selves that they originally came from [such places] or were born at them.'^ 
 There is a place still called Fosbrooke in Staffordshire, and, so recently at least as 
 the year of the treaty of Amiens, there were persons resident at it, and named 
 from it. Of the place and them no more is known to me, nor is it to my purpose. 
 It is sufficient to say, that in the Roll of the Chancery, or Antigraph of the Pipe- 
 roll of the 3d of John (anno 1201), under " Staffordsh.''§ De placitis foreste 
 is an item, "De viii s. de Rad de Dulvne et Osbro de Focebroc.^'^ The general 
 opinion is, that the severity of the forest laws originated in preservation of the 
 game ; and, under that presumption, the above fine might have been levied for 
 poaching. But antiquaries know that forests were existent among the Britons 
 upon military principles ; and that so indifferent were the people to conscien- 
 tious ideas about the game, that this indifference founded the archaism, still 
 prevalent, that, as the animals were ferm naturce, poaching violated no law of 
 property ; nor was the game the first object of the Norman King, and his suc- 
 cessors, further than as prevention of poaching impeded trespass. The inten- 
 tion of William the Conqueror was to make the New Forest a convenience for 
 landing troops from Normandy ; and, besides the amusement of hunting, such a 
 large income was derived from the Royal woods, that they were objects of the 
 first moment to the then Chancellors of the Exchequer. So minute were the 
 regulations, that mere " coppices were reserved for the fencinge and incloseinge 
 of newe woods to be raised, that the number of trees sould might be trebled by 
 plantinge.'^*^ For what kind of offence, therefore, the said Osbert was fined, is 
 not apparent ; nor are all similar delinquents in the Pipe Rolls to be deemed 
 offenders against the vert and venison. It is presumptive that he was of Anglo- 
 ticall brightnesse, or light of the family,^' occurs in Asser Menevensis;^ and the 
 
 * Remaines, 126, ed. 6th. 
 
 <= Rot. Cane. 3 Joh. p. 49, published by the Record Commission, 8vo. 1833. 
 
 •I Lodge's Life of Sir Jul. Caesar, 23— 2r). « Remaines, 82. ' Camd. Scriptor. p, 5. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 15 
 
 name of Walter de Focebroc, brother of Osbert, is also a derivative from the 
 German Waldher, Who and what they were does not appear, further than that 
 they were members of the establishment of William Basset; for, in a benefac- 
 tion charter of his to the Priory of Roucester, occur among the attestators, 
 ^^ Osberto de Fotesbroc, Johanne fratre ejus, W altera fratre ejus." This charter, 
 as published by Dugdale,g shows, among other instances, the inaccuracy of his 
 scribes ; for Wodeford, the benefaction, is labelled Wo//eford ; nor can there be 
 a doubt but that the Focebroc of the Pipe Roll was the Fo^esbroc of the charter. 
 John being the favourite Christian name of my ancestors, it seems most probable 
 that we are descended from this John^ brother of Osbert, and the continuation of 
 that name in his issue implies that the parents wished him to be imitated by his 
 posterity.^ 
 
 The Basset Northamptonshire estates descended to the StafFords, and when 
 our pedigree commences regularly in 1392, the family are found to be feudato- 
 ries of those hereditary representatives of the Bassets. As all such feudatories 
 or connectives did, they bore, of course, when occasion required, the badge or 
 cognizance of the chief Lord. With us it was the Stafford Knot, and accord- 
 ingly I have placed it above the shield of our arms, or used it singly. 
 
 How many generations passed with the preenomen John from the first men- 
 tioned John I do not know, and it is evident that, whatever may have been their 
 private worth, they could not have had any historical or biographical conse- 
 quence. In an Inquisition taken upon the decease of Thomas Earl of Stafford 
 in 1392 (16 Ric. II.) Richard Clowne and John Fossebrok are found to hold of 
 him two knights' fees in Barton Segrave, Raundes, and Cranford, co. Northamp- 
 ton. Of course the tenure shows, that this Richard and John were subject to 
 military service, as Esquires. This John presented to the living of Cranford in 
 1391, as did Margaret his widow in 1403.^ A Clause-roll ^ which records a quit- 
 claim from John Towers of the purchase made from Richard Clowne and Agnes 
 his mother, shows a curious instance of the caution used in identifying persons. 
 It is made to John Fossebroke, who succeeded another John, and the son 
 and father are thus distinguished : " Johes Fossebroke, pater pdci Johis fiP 
 Johis.'^ This John the son was presumptively an able man of business- 
 character, for in 1399, as a trustee of the Holt family, he presented with 
 others a John Depyng to the living of Whilton, co. Northampton.^ If, as Ed- 
 mondson says, in his Dictionary of Arms, the name of Fo^broke was aliased 
 Fo/broke, there is in the Agincourt Roll, among the retinue of Sir de Harington, 
 a John Fo/broke, Lance, as one of those who were present at the battle,^ and, as 
 
 » Monast. ii. 269, ed. 1st. >» Camd. Remaines, 53. 
 
 * Bridges's Northamptonshire, ii. 227. " 14 Hen. IV. ra. 10 dorg. (Feb. 20, 1412.) 
 
 ' Baker's Northamptonshire, i. 234. «» Sir Harris Nicolas's Agincourt, p. 21. 
 
16 MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 
 
 the same arms were borne by both names, the mere variation of the letter / for s 
 cannot destroy the identity of family. Such was the unsettled state of sur- 
 names, that a testator, in his will, dated Nov. 6, 1336, says, that he was some- 
 times called Russel from his complexion, or De la Clive from the place of his 
 birth." This John Fo^broke died Oct. 7th, 1418, and his effigies, from a brass 
 plate in the chancel of Cranford Church, is engraved in the "Encyclopedia of 
 Antiquities,^' sect. Monumental Effigies, Fig. 11. 
 
 He married Matilda, a lady of the noble house of Stafford; she survived her 
 husband many years, and when a widow was dry-nurse to King Henry the 
 Sixth, it being the strict etiquette antiently for royal infants to have a nobly de- 
 scended nurse.o Her stipend was £10 per annum, "for decent support of her- 
 self about the royal person " [pro ipsa circa personam nostram honeste sustent- 
 anda.] Of this sum she complained as insufficient, and it was accordingly 
 doubled 6 Hen. VI.P Seventeen years [anno 1444] afterwards, when she is 
 styled in the writ " quondam sicc(B nutrici nostrce,^' ^ she had a grant for life of a 
 dolium ^ of red wine of Gascony per annum. The same formula of wine (com- 
 muted for money) was recently, perhaps now, usual in the royal household ; and 
 Mr. George Ellis says of this kind of donation, ^^ In the reign of Edward the 
 Third the value of the mark in our present money maybe estimated at £10, and 
 Chaucer's original annuity at £200. The grant of wine was of the same value, 
 because it was afterwards exchanged for an annuity of 20 marks.^^ s jjer will, 
 dated Dec. 21, 1447, and proved 27 Feb. following, is still preserved at Doctors' 
 Commons.* Some things are noticeable. She leaves to Ann, wife of her son 
 Gerard, among other articles, "unam zonam de serico stripat* argent' et 
 deaurat', et unum primarium '' [i. e. a girdle of silk striped with silver gilt, and 
 a primer] . It is singular, that this word primarium does not occur in Ducange, 
 Charpentier, or Lyndwood, nor primer in Tyrwhitt, Cotgrave, or any English 
 Glossary known to me. But as ladies, in subsequent ages, carried prayer-books 
 pendant from their girdles,^ I think that some liturgical book, perhaps a collec- 
 tion of psalms, was here meant, not a school primer in the modern sense. In 
 the legacies to her grandchildren John and Elizabeth, she limits the benefit of 
 survivorship to below the age of eighteen.^ Then follows this clause, " Item, 
 lego et volo q^d pdca Alic' filia pdc' Gerardi habeat unum par lintheam' et pro 
 nutricione sua qualibet septimana per unum annum ixd. et post ilium annum 
 
 ° Owen, &c. Shrewsb. i. 540. ° Percy Anecdotes, part iv. p. 8. 
 
 p Pat. 6 Hen. VI. pars i. m. 15. in Rymer's unpublished Collections, entitled, " Capitula Actorum," 
 MS. B. Mus. (Ayscough's Catal.) 4605, fol. 6. i Claus. 23 Hen. VI. m. 17. 
 
 «■ In Charpentier Dolium is rendered by cupa major, lacus vinarius. In Seyer's Bristol, ii. 152, the 
 word was applied to shipping, as of 100 tonSt in Latin rendered dolia. 
 
 « Ellis's Old Poets, i. 204. * In libr. vocat. Llufnam, f. 34. » See Prayer-book, c. ix. 
 
 * Ses Cowel, v. Age, and Ducange, v. ^tas, et auctor. ibi citat. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 17 
 
 habeat qualibet septimana p unum quarterium anni vie?. Item, lego eid Alic ad 
 inveniend sibi vestimenta et alia necesaria sibi opportuna xxs," The said Alice 
 was to have for board and nursing 9c?. a week for one year, and 6d, a week for the 
 next quarter. The testatrix died in 1447, and was buried at Cranford with her 
 husband. A brass plate with the figures of both was placed over the slab, and 
 had the following inscription : " Hie jacet Johes Fossebrok, armig, qui obiit vii 
 die mensis Octobris, anno Dni Mittmo ccccxviii. et Matilda uxor ejus, quae fuit 
 sicca nutrix Dfio Regi Henric (sic) Sexti. Quorum aiabus propitietur Deus. 
 Amen." y 
 
 The figure of Ankaret, wife of Thomas Talbot, Esq. who died in 1436, is in 
 similar costume.^ Malliot makes it a frequent practice for females to be repre- 
 sented on their tombs attired as religieuseSy possibly from some superstition, like 
 as the interment of men in monks' cowls, and it seems likely that widows, who. 
 as was common, had taken a vow of chastity, never to marry again, were desig- 
 nated by this surplice-formed robe. [See figure of Matilda, in Plate of English 
 Costume, in " Encyclopedia of Antiquities/' fig. 13.] 
 
 She left a son named Gerard in her will, whereas, in certain old pedigrees » 
 he is styled Edward or Gerrard. How this prsenomen occurs once, and 
 once only in our family, may be thus explained. It was not unprecedented, 
 for the feudal commanders of military companies, or their ladies, to become 
 sponsors for the children of their retainers,^ and this name of Gerard seems to 
 have been derived from Sir Gerard Ufflete. In the Chapter House, Westmin- 
 ster, is preserved a presumed Muster Roll of the Agincourt Army^ previous to 
 embarkation. That able antiquary and genealogist Mr. Stacey Grimaldi, F.A.S. 
 has kindly communicated the following extract : '^ Under the command of Sir 
 Gerard Ufflete, chr, are Lionell frat ejus, Nich'us Fossebroke, Johes Harford, and 
 sixteen others, all Lances, i. e. Esquires." What relative this Nicholas was to 
 John, father of Gerrard, I know not, only that Mr. Stacey Grimaldi says, '' that 
 in the Roll the companies of troops are arranged under the leaders' names, such 
 leader being presumed to be the great man of the district whence these young 
 knights, squires, and men, came.^^ 
 
 " This Gerrard c married Anne by whom he had issue John, of 
 
 Cranford, whose wife was Dorothy daughter of Robert Drewell, of Little Ged- 
 ding, CO. Huntingdon.e This was an ancient family, for a John Druell was 
 sheriff of Northamptonshire, 18 Ed. I. [a° 1290.]^'^ 
 
 T Bridges's Northamptonshire, ii. 228. * Engraved in Owen and Blakeway's Shrewsbury, ii. 287. 
 
 * Visitat of Northamptonshire for 1566, in the Coll. of Arms, p. 39. MS. Harl. 1467, fol. 27 b. and 
 1553, f. 38. " See Rot. Pari. ii. 292. 
 
 <= Visitat. of Northamptonshire, in the Coll. of Arms, for 1566, p. 39. 
 
 ^ Will of Matilda Fosbroke, ubi supr. ^ MSS. Harl. 1467, f. 27 b. ; 1553, fbl. 38. 
 
 ' MS. Harl. 5171, f. 22. 
 
18 MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 
 
 As if some superstitious charm, or rather an advertisement of good descent, 
 attached to the christian name of John in the family, a practice which still 
 subsists in the perpetual prsenomina annexed to members of certain high 
 families, Robert the son of the last John was aliased with a John by the Har- 
 leian Pedigrees and Bridges. There happens to be in the Records & a pedigree 
 from this Robert down to John his grandson, and it states that a marriage set- 
 tlement was made upon an Elena Doveton [not Boveton, as the pedigrees] 
 upon her marriage with Robert. This Robert died in 1518, having had issue 
 by Elena a John, who died s. p. ; a Robert, brother and heir ; a Richard, and 
 others.^ Elena survived her husband, as she did a second one named Ash ton, 
 and was living when her daughter-in-law Juliana, the wife of her son Richard 
 (who died 7th Aug. 1541) became a widow also.» This appears by the will of 
 Richard, which is to be found in the Inquisition taken at his decease, 33 
 Hen. VIII. (1541). Juliana, the widow of Richard (and misnomered Judith in 
 an Harleian MS.),^ was the daughter of William Kynnesman of Lodington, co. 
 Northampton, by Joyce, daughter of Thomas Stokes of Stoke,* co. Warwick, her 
 grandmother being Isabella daughter of Fasakerley of Warrington, co. Northamp- 
 ton. Her son and heir John, who was 16 years old at the time of his father 
 Richard's decease,"^ married two wdves, and by Dorothy the first wife had a second 
 son Richard,^ who settled at Diddlebury, co. Salop, in 1584, his father John being 
 then alive. In their time a circumstance happened, which evinces the oppres- 
 sive operation of Extents of the Crown. The proceedings in Chancery in the 
 Tower of London [Ff. 8, N" 27], show that 4th January, 1583, William Fos- 
 broke of Cranford, co. Northampton, complains, that he bought of Richard 
 Gray, son of Peter Gray, Receiver General of Her Majesty's Revenues, sundry 
 cattle, which after he had so done were seized by the crown, the said Peter 
 Gray having been greatly in her Majesty^s debt. W^ith this Richard, the son, 
 
 8 Liberat. Dom. Cap. Westm. v. iii. p. 153. 
 
 h Inq. p. in. 10 H. VIII. ' Id. 33 Hen. VIII. " No. 1187, f. 53. 
 
 J Of which very ancient family, see Dugd. Warw. p. 130, ed. 1st. 
 
 ™ Index Hered. Nobil Famil. MS. Cott. Claud. C. viii. 
 
 » MSS. Harl. 1467, 1553. This John Fosbroke died in 1602, about the age of 80, and upon a brass 
 plate in the church of Cranford, embellished with his figure between his two wives, is the following 
 epitaph : " Here lyeth John Fosbroke, Esq. who departed this life the 12th of March anno 1602, about 
 the age of 80, who buried before him two wives ; by the first he had issue 4 sonnes and 4 daughters ; 
 and the last, whos name was Awdre, [daughter of Robert Lenton, of Woodford, co. Northampton. 
 Harl. MSS. ubi supra.] died in anno 1589, having issue by him four sonnes [John, Parson of Cranford, 
 inter alios. Harl. MSS.] and 12 daughters, being in her life-time bountiful to the poore, and esteminge 
 no time well spent, wherein she did not some good either to poore or rich. He saw issue of his children 
 by both his wives above 70 grand-children ; to 18 of his children he gave portions, and relieved his 
 grand- children. Yet he was zealous of God's glorye, loved the saints, relieved the poore, and defended 
 the helples, and hath laid up in store a sure foundation in Heaven." — Copy made by the Rev. B. 
 Hutchinson, Rector of Cranford, May 1820. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 19 
 
 terminated our connection with the parent Northamptonshire line, which is now 
 represented by the Fosbrookes of Ravenstone Hall, co. Derby.^ 
 
 " Stemmata quid faciunt ?" 
 
 One answer is the law of primogeniture, entails, and a soubriquet. A noble- 
 man of the sister island having had many poor relations, it has become prover- 
 bial to designate generically these mourners by that Peer^s title, so that if poor 
 relations have no legacies in a will, it is said that Lord ***** gets nothing. 
 Money however among our ancestors was not so omnipotent as now ; and the 
 law of hereditary succession did not always supersede superior qualifications in 
 younger brothers. Instances are known in our early reigns [as that of Edw. I. 
 See Trans. R. Soc. Literat. v. i. p. ii. art. iv.] where the King has transferred 
 the descent of a peerage from a senior to a junior son, upon the account alle- 
 gated ; and a Lady, writing about a proposed marriage, says, " remembring the 
 wisdome of my seid Lady, and the good wise stok of the Grenes, whereof she is 
 CO men, and also of the wise stok of the Parrs of Kendal.' 'P The married 
 couples were also expected to be sized like soldiers ; for Sir William Cecil says 
 in a letter (Ellis, ii. 299, 2d ser.), "Here is an unhappy chance and monstruous. 
 The Serjeant Porter, being the biggest gentleman in this Court, hath married 
 secretly the Lady Mary Grey, the lest of all the court,'' and they were impri- 
 soned in consequence. 
 
 Blumenbach says, that the qualities of the mind are hereditary : so too our 
 ancestors thought, and there is reason for it ; because if the mere bodily consti- 
 tution of our parents decided our characters, then. Old Parr with his longevity 
 would be superior to Alfred with his wisdom, and duration be superior to con- 
 struction. I therefore hope that I do not philosophically err, if I think well of 
 the intellect of these Northamptonshire Fosbrokes, because two authors are 
 found among them of meritorious pretensions.^i 
 
 The aforesaid John Fosbroke, Esq. had by his first wife " four sons and four 
 daughters ; and by his second wife four sons and twelve daughters, making in 
 the whole twenty -four children. He lived till about 80, buried both his wives, 
 and saw issue by their children above seventy grandchildren. To eighteen of his 
 children he gave portions, and relieved his grandchildren." 
 
 How John Fosbroke, Esquire, the last of my ancestors bearing that title, 
 contrived to portion seventeen children, and relieve above seventy grandchildren, 
 without depriving the eldest of the manor, advowson, and estate, is a subject 
 
 Burke's Commoners, ii. 626, where is an account of them. p Whitaker's Richmondshire, i. 387. 
 
 1 Sermons by John Fosbroke, B.D. late of Sidney College, Cambridge, Rector of Cranford, co. 
 Northamp. 4to. Cambr. 1633. A Nathaniel Fosbrooke published, in 1605, «' Falshood in Friendship, 
 or Union's Vizard, or Wolves in Lambskins, &c. &c." See Harleian Miscellany, x. 445. See more of 
 his books in Moule's Bibliotheca Heraldica, p. 70. 
 
20 MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 
 
 which presents an opportunity of elucidating the habits of our forefathers in 
 regard to their younger children. Shakspere, in his " As You Like It/' has, 
 under the character of Orlando, made actual representations of the painful 
 situations of such post-opulent members of a family; and Mr. Douce has 
 produced instances where they were made menials, and wore the livery of the 
 elder brother. Any other mode of provision for them was in fact promotion 
 above a servile condition. The clown in King Lear (A. iii. sc. 3), among some 
 prophecies in doggrels, has " No Squire in debt, and no poor knight/' and, 
 to show the needy state of country gentlemen, there is a book, " The 
 Mystery and Misery of lending and borrowing,'^ which contains an illustra- 
 tration of the Fool's sarcasm."" 
 
 Sir Robert Naunton ^ says, that the ancient mode of providing for younger 
 children was to send them to the City to learn trade ; and this was done with my 
 ancestor, who migrated into Shropshire, where others of his family were also 
 settled / and, so far from professions being preferred to trades. Lord Shaftes- 
 bury^ mentions a Lady who was going over to Holland, " to settle her son at 
 some school, where he may be best taught the languages and rudiments of 
 a trade ; for, though as the eldest child he will be entitled to a moderate estate^ 
 yet it being not such as to maintain him properly in the rank of gentry, she 
 prudently resolves to bring him to business, for, if he gains little by it, he may at 
 least learn industry, avoid idleness, acquire a good habit of frugality, and learn to 
 improve what he has of his own'' I omit Fortescue's well-known account of sons 
 being sent to the Inns of Court. 
 
 Thus does it appear that, in conformity to the passage quoted from Whitaker, 
 our ancestors took great pains to make their children wise. 
 
 As to daughters. Sir William Dugdale'^ sent one of his to be a lady's 
 maid, and yet he was a country gentleman of independent fortune. My great- 
 grandfather portioned his girls off in the following manner. Being an Incum- 
 
 ' Reprinted in the Gentleman's Magazine, June 1829, p. 595. 
 
 • Fragm. p. 104. 
 
 * In two Liberationes in the Chapter House (Pars xiii. 463, 3 Jac I. and Pars xviii. 18 Jac. I. p. 41l) 
 are two writs of livery of an estate belonging to the Fosbrookes at Ticklarton in Eaton, co. Salop, to the 
 last of which is annexed the following pedigree : 
 
 William Fosbrooke.=f=Anne, ob. May 12, 3 Jac. I. [1605]. 
 
 I 
 
 Thomas Fosbrooke, ob. 7 Sept. 16 Jac. I.=f=Anne, dau. of Edward Blackwey ; mar, 
 [anno 1618], set. 30 3 Jac. I. | June, 39 Eliz. [1596], 
 
 I ' 
 
 Francis, aged 20 16 Jac. I. [anno 1618]. 
 
 Q ? if from this family of Blakeway the late learned and ingenious historian of Shrewsbury was 
 
 descended. 
 
 » Letters of Locke, &c. 256. * Hamper's Life of Dugdale, 226, 228. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 
 
 21 
 
 bent of two livings, he says in his will, " as to my whole parsonage of Acton 
 Scott, together with all the goods and cattle thereupon, I have long since 
 bestowed them upon Mr. Richard Baldwyn, as a portion with my said daughter 
 Sarah, upon which parsonage (paying taxes, curate,y and repairs), he is to 
 continue until such time as a portion equivalent to what he deserves be raised 
 out of it/'z 
 
 The pedigree in Burke's Commoners, concerning the Fosbrokes of Cranford, 
 being very meagre, I shall give the remainder so far as it appears in the Har- 
 leian MSS.* 
 
 Dorothy, dau. of Robert=pJohn Fosbroke, Esq.=pAudrey, dau. of Robert Lenton of 
 ob. Mar. 12, 1602. Woodford, co. Northampton, ob. 
 1589 : 2d wife. 
 
 Drewell, of Little Gad- 
 ding, CO. Huntingdon 
 1st wife. 
 
 William,^ Agnes, dau. 
 
 eldest and coh. 
 
 son and of Rob. 
 
 heir. Wolston, of 
 
 Burton, co. 
 Northamp- 
 ton. 
 
 l—i r-r-| 
 
 Richard, of Margaret. 
 
 Didle- 
 bury ; 
 of whom 
 postea. 
 Ralph, mar. 
 .... dau. 
 of Benja- 
 min Cow- 
 dry. 
 
 Bridget, 
 mar.John 
 Paget, of 
 Walde- 
 grave. 
 
 Catharine. 
 
 rn — 
 Eliza- 
 beth. 
 Osith. 
 
 1st w. Su-= 
 san, dau. 
 of Geo. 
 Lynn, of 
 South- 
 wike, CO. 
 Westmor- 
 land. 
 
 John, of Cranford,: 
 son and heir ; he 
 presented to the 
 living in 1641. 
 
 ^Margaret, one of the nine 
 daughters of Geo. Lynne, 
 of Southwicke, by Isabel, 
 dau. of Miles Frost. 
 
 William, 
 
 8. p. 
 Robert, 
 
 s. p. 
 Thomas, 
 
 ob. at 
 
 London. 
 
 T-\ 
 
 John, 
 Par- 
 son 
 of 
 
 Cran- 
 ford. 
 
 :2d w. Jane, 
 dau. of 
 Rev. Wm. 
 Pelshant, 
 of Market 
 Bosworth, 
 CO. Leic. 
 
 Sarah. 
 Ann, mar. 
 Edw. Top- 
 sell, orTap- 
 hall. Curate 
 of St. Bo- 
 tolph's, Al- 
 dersgate, 
 both bur. 
 there. 
 
 Margaret, mar. 
 to Rob. Monk, 
 of Thatcham, 
 CO. Sussex.'' 
 
 Mary. 
 
 — n — ; 
 
 Lydia, ob. inf. 
 Margaret, mar. 
 to Francis 
 Barret, of 
 Spatwicke, co. 
 Northampton. 
 
 WiUiam. 
 John. 
 Eusebius. 
 Ann. 
 
 I r — 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 John. Francis, Henry, 15 years Maud. Catharine. Martha. Mary. Lucy. Sarah. 
 s. p. old in 1618. 
 
 Of the Fossebrokes this Manor of Cranford was purchased by the family of 
 Maidwell, from whom it came to the Walcots, and was sold to the present pos- 
 sessor, Sir James Robinson, Bart, by Captain Bernard Walcot, of Oundle.<= 
 
 r A Mr. William Mansell was his Curate at one time, whose stipend was 13/. 13*. per annum, pay- 
 able quarterly. Tithe-book, pen. T. D. F. 
 
 * From his will in the Registrar's Office, Hereford, proved Sept. 13, 1726. * Nos. 1467 and 1553. 
 
 '' It is a law of Heraldry, that where only the same Arms, or mere variations of branches, are borne by 
 persons of the same name, they had one common ancestor. Thus, according to Edmondson, Heraldry, 
 
 vol. ii. : 
 
 Monke bore, Argent, three leopard's heads sable ; to which a branch made alterations thus, Gules, a 
 chevron between three lion's heads erased argent. 
 
 According, therefore, to the Heraldic Law, the Monks of Orchard and Okehampton, co. Devon (Esc. 
 22 Edw. IV. n. 8), the celebrated Duke of Albemarle, the present Lord Bishop of Gloucester and 
 Bristol, and others of the name, are descended from the same common ancestor. 
 
 « Bridges. 
 
22 MEMOIR OP THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 
 
 Line of Richard of Diddlebury. 
 
 This Richard settled at Diddlebury, co. Salop ; and married there Elizabeth 
 Street, June 16, 1584, by whom he had issue Juliana, bapt. at Diddlebury 
 Aprils, 1585; Michael, baptized there February 27, 1587, s. p. ; and John, 
 bapt. April 11, 1591. This John declined a Baronetcy, when James I. offered 
 for sale his Ulster patents, observing that he had rather be a wealthy yeoman 
 than a poor knight ; and the yeomen of those days are described as men of 
 opulence by Shakspere and HoUinshed. The latter says, " Our ancient yeo- 
 men were wealthy, and sent their sons to the University." To this family sys- 
 tem of one member being always a clergyman my ancestors have scrupulously 
 adhered ; and, by a singular concurrence of circumstances, I had no opening in 
 life left for my second son, but in the Church ; and he is now the family repre- 
 sentative in that profession of a long line of good men. Clerks also, for centu- 
 ries past. This John had issue William, matriculated at St. Mary Hall, Oxon, 
 March 31, 1671, and graduated M.A. July 3, 1677- He was Vicar of Diddle- 
 bury, and Rector of Acton Scott, co. Salop ; and dying July 10, 1726, aged 75, 
 is commemorated by the following epitaph, still existing. ^* In memory of the 
 Rev. and Learned William Fosbrooke, M.A. Vicar of Diddlebury, and Rector 
 of Acton Scott, who departed this life the lOth of July 1726, aged 75.'^ He 
 married two wives, one of whom was a sister of Admiral Caldwell (a name well 
 known in the Navy), and had issue three sons, viz. I. William, incumbent of 
 
 Cold Weston, co. Salop, who married Frances, daughter of Baldwin of 
 
 Diddlebury, was executor of his father's will, proved 13th September 1726, and 
 died without issue. II. Edward, Vicar of Stirchley and Dawley, co. Salop, who 
 had issue John, Vicar of Childerditch, Essex, and others, all s. p. III. Tho- 
 mas, who was, by the partiality of his father, endowed with a good estate at 
 Diddlebury, part freehold, part leasehold for lives, which had been in the family 
 for at least two hundred years. This estate he squandered. The eldest son 
 became tenant of the father's estate ; the second, educated for orders, who 
 migrated to London, was my father : and the only attestation of former note in 
 the native village of my more recent ancestors, is the communion plate of the 
 church, which was the joint benefaction of the Baldwins (a very ancient family, 
 see Collins's Baronetage, v. 43) and Fosbrokes, who had more than once been 
 connected by intermarriages. 
 
 The Arms of the family a.Te— Azure, a saltier between four cinquefoils ardent ; 
 and seem to have been granted or taken up in consequence of the alliance with 
 the Stafford family through the lady mentioned ; for a branch of the StafFords 
 bore a saltier between four pears. The tinctures of blue and white were pro- 
 bably derived from the livery of the house of Lancaster, the above Maud 
 
MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF FOSBROKE. 
 
 23 
 
 Fossebrok having been nurse to King Henry VI. The name is and ought to 
 have been spelt Fosbroke, for such is the orthography in Glover's Ordinary of 
 Arms, the Cranford brass, and the early Diddlebury register ; and the error of 
 amplifying the Anglo-Saxon broc, as putting 'Pembj'ooke for Pembroke, alters 
 the accent, from Pembroke to Pembrooke, whereas the English always lay the 
 emphasis on the first syllable if possible. 
 
 " Vixi, et cursum quem dederat fortuna peregi." 
 
 T. D. FOSBROKB. 
 
BRITISH MONACIIISM. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF MONACHISM. 
 
 Real Christianity consists in Pu- 
 rity, Justice, Contentuient, Self-com- 
 mand, Philanthropy, and a P^aith which 
 produces a sublime disregard of human 
 events. Its virtues and its benefits 
 are only exhibited with justice to its 
 exquisite philosophy, when they are 
 exemplified in the social duties of the 
 Parent, the Conjugal character, the 
 Friend, the Neighbour, and the Citizen. 
 Prudence and Virtue, " the wisdom of 
 the Serpent with the innocence of the 
 Dove,'^ are the real methods of en- 
 joying sublunary happiness ; and the 
 hope of a superior state of existence is 
 the best medicine against the numerous 
 evils and imperfections attached to 
 material animal existence, under the 
 stimulation of wants and passions. 
 Unfortunately, there exists a perver- 
 sion, resulting from inevitable states of 
 society, which, on one side, sacrifices 
 the Virtues to Pleasure or Convenience, 
 on the other to Superstition. Illustra- 
 tions of this evident truth, by anEccle- 
 siastick, will plainly be of less avail than 
 the cool philosophy of Adam Smith. 
 
 It would be injurious not to give at 
 length a passage which elucidates the 
 great principle of Monastick success. 
 
 "In every civilized society, in every 
 society where the distinction of ranks 
 has once been established, there have 
 been always two different schemes, or 
 systems of moralit)', . current at the 
 same time ; of which, the one may be 
 called the strict or austere, the other, 
 the liberal, or, if you will, the loose 
 
 system. The former is generally 
 admired and revered by the common 
 people, the latter is commonly more 
 esteemed and adopted by what are 
 called people of fashion. The degree 
 of disapprobation with which we ought 
 to mark the vices of levity, the vice§ 
 which are apt to arise from great pro- 
 perty, and from the excess of gaiety 
 and good humour, seems to constitute 
 the principal distinction between these 
 two opposite schemes, or systems. In 
 the liberal, or loose system, luxury, 
 wanton and even disorderly mirth, the 
 pursuit of pleasure to some degree of 
 intemperance, the breach of chastity, 
 at least in one of the two sexes, &c. 
 provided they are not accompanied 
 with gross indecency, and do not lead 
 to falsehood and injustice, are generally 
 treated with a good deal of indulgence, 
 and are easily either excused or par- 
 doned altogether. In the austere sys- 
 tem, on the contrary, these excesses 
 are regarded with the utmost abhor- 
 rence and detestation. The vices of 
 levity are always ruinous to the com- 
 mon people ; and a single week^s 
 thoughtlessness and dissipation is often 
 sufficient to undo a poor workman for 
 ever, and drive him, through despair, 
 upon committing the most enormous 
 crimes. The wiser and better sort of 
 the common people, therefore, have 
 always the utmost abhorrence and de- 
 testation of such excesses, which their 
 experience tells them are so imme- 
 diately fatal to people of their condition. 
 
 B 
 
PRINCIPLES OF MONACHISM. 
 
 The disorder and extravagance of seve- 
 ral years, on the contrary, will not 
 always ruin a man of fashion : and 
 people of this rank are ever apt to con- 
 sider the power of indulging in some 
 degree of excess, as one of the advan- 
 tages of their fortune ; and the liberty 
 of doing so without censure or reproach, 
 as one of the privileges which belong 
 to their station. In people of their 
 own station, therefore, they regard such 
 excesses, either very slightly, or not 
 at all. 
 
 " Almost all religious sects have be- 
 gun among the common people, from 
 whom they have generally drawn their 
 earliest, as well as their most numerous 
 proselytes. The austere system of 
 morality has accordingly been adopted 
 by these sects, almost constantly ; or 
 with very few exceptions, for there 
 have been some. It was the system 
 by which they could best recommend 
 themselves to that order of people, to 
 whom they first proposed their plan of 
 reformation, upon what had been before 
 established. Many, perhaps the greater 
 jjart of them, have even endeavoured to 
 gain credit, by refining upon this austere 
 system, and by carrying it to some de- 
 gree of folly and extravagance : and 
 this excessive rigour has frequently re- 
 commended them, more than any thing 
 else, to the respect and veneration of the 
 common people.'"^ 
 
 History has ever confuted the pre- 
 tensions of Fanaticism to produce the 
 Golden Age; that is, a race of men 
 without vice or misery. The approba- 
 tion of the vulgar can be no standard ; 
 for they believe in quackery and for- 
 tune-telling. Indeed, who can judge 
 correctly of what he does not know? 
 But Fanaticism will ever have success. 
 It treats upon a subject where there is 
 a general feeling and interest ; and acts 
 by operating upon Passion, which is 
 always contagious and intelligible ; be- 
 cause the sensations of all mankind are 
 similar, though their understandings 
 may differ. 
 
 AVithout a common interest, nnani- 
 
 * Smith's Wealth of Nations, III. p. 202, & seq. 
 
 mity is impossible ; and this common 
 interest extends only to religion at 
 large ; particular modes of professing 
 it are questions unconnected with the 
 feelings; which, therefore, do not at- 
 tract the ignorant, who expect the 
 senses to be roused, by the inebriating 
 pleasures of what may be called the 
 spiritous liquors of Divinity. Provi- 
 dence, however, favours the liberal 
 system (if it be not abused by Vice or 
 Intemperance) ; for Wealth of every 
 kind must inevitably be dispersed 
 among the population : interest of mo- 
 ney not existing without a profitable 
 channel of expenditure ; and vegetable 
 or animal products being insusceptible 
 of accumulation without decay. " Lux- 
 ury,^' says Gibbon,^ "though it may 
 proceed from Vice or Folly, is, as the 
 world is formed, the only means of 
 correcting unequal distribution of pro- 
 perty, by diffusing comforts and plea- 
 sures among Artisan s,^^ &c. 
 
 The Monks practically, though not 
 scientifically, understood the certain 
 success of the austere system. The 
 Ssecular Clerks were men of family, 
 and worldly consequence. Therefore, 
 the only method of ousting them was 
 by the reputation of a superior sanctity, 
 which the Monks made to consist in 
 the mechanical offices of religion, and 
 personal privations. This they there- 
 fore established by means of rules upon 
 a military principle of automatical ac- 
 tion ; and thus abstracted the people 
 from their rivals of the day.^ The 
 laity was then, by admiration, attached 
 to ascetic severities.*^ Pleasure was 
 destruction,^ because mortification was 
 deemed the sole means of acquiring 
 the favour of God, and avoiding tem- 
 poral misfortunes.^ Aldhelm, in an 
 epistle to his pupil Adelwold, desires 
 him to avoid conviviality, the culpable 
 exercise of riding, or any "' accursed 
 pleasures of bodily indulgence. ^^^ 
 
 Even the first affection of nature, 
 parental love, if extended to the indul- 
 
 »> Gibbon, I. pp. 65, GQ, edit. 4to. " Eadmer 
 (Vita Dunstani) Angl. Sacr. II. 213. "^ Angl. Sacr. 
 I. 797. « Id. I. 213. f Anglia Sacr. II. 133. 
 s Id. II. p. 6. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF MONACHISM. 
 
 gence of cliildren, though only in the 
 natural appendages of station, called for 
 the vengeance of Providence in the in- 
 fliction of future misery upon such 
 children.^ 
 
 Power and Benevolence are the most 
 perfect and conspicuous attributes of 
 Deity ; and maxims, which represent 
 Man as a Criminal, and God as a Ty- 
 rant, as in truth nonsense, if not blas- 
 phemy, would in vain be addressed to 
 an enlightened mind. (The gay plumage 
 of birds was pronounced contrary to 
 God's commandment.)^ But the igno- 
 rance which renders Barbarians incapa- 
 ble of conceiving or embracing the 
 useful restraints of laws, exposes them 
 naked and unarmed to the blind terrors 
 of superstition .c It has been affirmed 
 that these superstitions were necessary 
 in the early ages of the Church, on 
 account of the ignorance of the people ; 
 at least, under such circumstances, they 
 were natural, and therefore excusable ; 
 but when the world became wiser, 
 these mummeries should have been 
 abolished.^^ As human means, because 
 we are not to do evil that good may 
 come, such palliations are not teaable ; 
 but they have a different aspect, when 
 considered with relation to Providence. 
 The ferocity of a barbarous age, inclined 
 to war, is only to be controlled by 
 superstition ; and, in the earlier middle 
 age, Christianity was very considerably 
 extended by means of the sword, by 
 Baptism exempting the Prisoner of 
 War from slavery or death.^ In such 
 an age pure reason would have been 
 unavailing. It was( the policy of the 
 Papal religion, to force itself into every 
 ramification of existence ; and the su- 
 perstition, which prompted these daring 
 innovations upon reason, does not dis- 
 gust the Philosopher, who takes human 
 nature as it exists in various states of 
 society, and conditions of life. When- 
 ever the spirit of Fanaticism, at once 
 credulous and crafty, has insinuated 
 
 "^ An.^l. Saor. II. 69G, 697. ' ^ See Golden Le- 
 gend, cited in Chap. Hi. " Gibbon, I. 279, Ch. 
 37, V. vi. p. 239, ed. 8vo. VIII. 320. '^ Warton, 
 Diss. Gesta Roman, xvii. « Solorzanus de India- 
 rum Jure, L. ii. Chap. xvi. p. 2G3. 
 
 itself, even into a noble mind, it inevi- 
 tably corrodes the vital principles of 
 Virtue and Veracity.^ Pious frauds 
 continued to the days of the well- 
 meaning Fox, the celebrated Historian 
 of the English Martyrs, who published 
 the murders of persons who were long 
 after living. 
 
 That historical reasoning can never / 
 be correct which is not founded upon ' 
 contemporary ideas. The superstitions/ 
 of all nations were incorporated in the'' 
 religion of the middle ages ; to which 
 were added the temporal judgments 
 which formed the Theocratick Govern- 
 ment of the Old Testament, and the 
 heretical perversions of the New Cove- 
 nant. This shall be shown in detail. 
 
 The progress is curious. The Barba- 
 rians, after the conquest of the Roman 
 Empire, were admitted to a share of the 
 estates possessed by the Romans; and 
 Barbarian and Roman were classed to- 
 gether. Afterwards those were called 
 Barbarians who did not speak or under- 
 stand the Latin or Roman Tongue; as all 
 the nations beyond the Rhine, especially 
 the Teutonick. Lastly, the word signi- 
 fied those who did not profess Popery .s 
 
 Scecular Misfortunes. The misfor- 
 tunes of Arthur were attributed to his 
 loss of the patronage of Saint Dubri- 
 cius.^ 
 
 If a man died a sudden death, it was 
 thought that he was a bad man, and 
 taken oiF in judgment.^ 
 
 Robert Duke of Normandy is said to 
 have been unfortunate from the time 
 of his rejection of the Kingdom of Je- 
 rusalem, to which he was miraculously 
 elected by the spontaneous illumination 
 of a taper which he held in his hand.J 
 
 A tower was thought to have fallen 
 down in Winchester Cathedral, because 
 William Rufus was buried near it.^ 
 
 The Scotch took the plague which 
 raged in England, for a judgment, and, 
 invading the country, caught it them- 
 selves.l 
 
 Barrenness, Famine, and other evils, 
 
 f Gibbon, II. Ch. 22, p. 14, ed. 8vo. « Du 
 
 Cange, v. Barbarus. ^ Angl. Sacr. II. 659. ' Id. 
 I. 212, 213. J Angl. Sacr. I. 270. '' Id. I. 
 
 270, 271. ^ Decern Scriptores, 2G00, 
 
 n 2 
 
PRINCIPLES OF MONACHISM. 
 
 were supposed to proceed from disfi- 
 guring an image of the Virgin Mary.^ 
 
 The appearance of a Comet foretold 
 pestilence or famine, or war, or change 
 of the kingdom.^ 
 
 Temporal good, or evil, was respective- 
 ly connected ivith good or evil conduct 
 towards religious persons. 
 
 Whoever shall enrich Monks shall 
 cause his progeny to prosper, both in 
 this world and the other.^ 
 
 Robert Fitzharding is supposed to 
 have established the foundation of his 
 Castle at Berkeley, and continuance 
 of his family, by building an Abbey at 
 Bristol/^ 
 
 Gerard Try, a Priest, sent Henry 
 Lord Berkeley a Letter of five Texts of 
 Scripture, respecting retention of an 
 estate which Gerard claimed, ^^lest it 
 should consume the rest of his sub- 
 stance/^^ 
 
 William Rufus says, I am certain that 
 I shall go to Hell, if I die while I retain 
 the See of Canterbury in my own 
 hands/ 
 
 111 usage of religious persons was 
 thought to bring down Divine hatred. & 
 
 Pope Paschal adduces the prosperity 
 of Henry the First, and his having a 
 male child by his wife, as a reason why 
 he ought to be quite favourable to the 
 privileges of the ChurchJ^ 
 
 It was believed that Henry the First 
 obtained a victory over his brother 
 Robert in Normandy because he was 
 reconciled to Anselm.i 
 
 Anselm says, that money extorted 
 from Priests by Lay Authority, not to 
 mention injury of the soul, would not, 
 upon expenditure, be of such worldly 
 servic'e as would recompense the harm 
 which it would efFectJ 
 
 If Kings oppressed the Monks, de- 
 position and loss of life were presumed 
 to be the Providential^ punishments. 
 
 Founders or Benefactors were to 
 
 » Script, p. Bed. 382, b, ed. 1596. ^ Dec. 
 
 Script. 961. Scr. p. Bed. 512. <= Dunst. Con- 
 cord. Regul. Proem. Spicil.Eadm. 156. ^ Smythe's 
 Lives of the Berkeleys, MS. pen^s W. Veel, Esq. p. 
 62. « Ib.p 760." ^ Eadmer (Hist. Novor.) 
 
 p. 17. 8 Id. 42. '•Id. 74. * Eadmer 90. 
 
 i Id. 85. ^ Eadgari Constit. — Eadmer 157. 
 
 expect tranquillity, plenty, prosperity, 
 and longevity here ; and future happi- 
 ness hereafter. Spoliators the con- 
 verse evils. 1 
 
 Tithes were paid with the hope of 
 increased crops."* 
 
 The ordinances of Religion were made 
 to supersede the moral duties ; and its 
 influence supported by the most visionary 
 terrors, and curious frauds. 
 
 La Tour, who wrote a book (upon 
 Education, for the benefit of his 
 daughters!) in the 15th century, tells 
 the following story in that very book : 
 A knight, who had been three times a 
 widower, took it into his head to en- 
 quire of a holy Hermit, what was the 
 fate in the other world of his three 
 wives ? The latter after various prayers 
 and revelations, informs him, that, out 
 of the three, two were damned ; one 
 for using rouge, the other for having 
 loved dress. The third only was in 
 Paradise. This last, it was true, was 
 in the constant habit of committing 
 adultery ; but_, not having done so with 
 a married man, or a Priest, or Monk, 
 or had a child, she was, through confes- 
 sion upon her death-bed, let off for a few 
 years of purgatory." 
 
 Death without confession and the Sa- 
 crament, was deemed disgraceful. ^ A 
 person who was going to commit a de- 
 liberate murder, thought fit to take the 
 Sacrament first.P 
 
 When Prince Edward, son of Henry 
 the Third, took the Castle of Glouces- 
 ter, and imprisoned the Burgesses, who 
 expected to be hanged, Robert of 
 Gloucester thus describes their distress, 
 lest they should die without confession: 
 
 Prestles^ horn was wel wo, that hii^ nere issrive-'. 
 Robert of Caumpedene, that hosebond'* was on, 
 Vor he was a lute^ clerc, he shrof^hom ech on.i 
 
 1 Without Priests. 2 They. ^ Confess. 
 
 "^ Housekeeper. ^ Little. ^ Confessed. 
 
 Clemency and Mercy to enemies was 
 alledged as a reason for the assassina- 
 tion of a King.** 
 
 ' Eadgari Constit.— Eadmer 158. «> XV Script. 
 379. « Notices des MSS. dans la Biblioth. Na- 
 tionale, Paris, t. V. p. 163. '^ Matt. Puris, 5.^79, 
 oil. P Dec. Scriptor. 2485, b. •'Vol.11. 544. 
 Ed. Hearne. ' Scriptor. p. Bed. 191, a. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF MONACHISM. 
 
 Edgar says of Almsgiving, ^'^ OhJ ex- 
 cellent Almsgiving I Oh, worthy reward 
 of the Soul ! Oh, salutary remedy of 
 our Sins !"" It was usual to recom- 
 mend this, as a means of liberation 
 from Guilt.^ The Sick were taught to 
 expect cures by the same inode.^ It 
 was a general opinion, that persons 
 who had no issue should give Alms 
 and found Charitable Institutions.^ The 
 Papal Bulls often prevented Alms, at 
 last, by dependence upon pardons for 
 the remission of sins.^ Thus we see 
 that the Rich had no necessity for re- 
 pentance. They, as well as their infe- 
 riors, used to put a written schedule of 
 their Sins under the cloth which cover- 
 ed the Altar of a favourite Saint, 
 accompanied by a donation ; and a day 
 or two after, re-examined the schedule, 
 which the virtues of the Saint converted 
 to a blank.^ 
 
 The decorum attached to the proper 
 exercise of the ecclesiastical profession, 
 was not suitably regarded by the Great. 
 There was a Jester who used to pelt 
 the King (Henry III.), Geffrey his bro- 
 ther, and other Lords, with turf, stone^ 
 and green apples, as well as squeeze 
 sour grapes upon their eyes ; yet to 
 this man the King gave a Church-living, 
 and he was by profession a Clergy- 
 man. & 
 
 The Devil and Evil Spirits were ac- 
 tively introduced to prevent the opera- 
 tion of Reason, lest the universality of 
 Religion should be invalidated. The 
 delay of Anselm's return to England, 
 though evidently arising from opposi- 
 tion to the King, was believed to be a 
 contrivance of the Devil to destroy all 
 Christianity in that nation.'^ Aymeric 
 du Peyrat, Abbot of Moissac, in the 
 14th century, pretends that Pope Syl- 
 vester was given to the Devil for be- 
 coming Pope ; and that his bones made 
 a great noise in the tomb every time a 
 Pope was at the point of death.^ In 
 
 » Spicileg. in Eadmer. 163. ^ Dec. Scriptor. 
 1018, 1263, 2383. <= M. Paris, 61. ° Smythe's 
 Lives, MS. 93. « Id. MS. 429. ^ Golden Le- 
 gend, fol. cxvi. clviii. « M. Paris, 733. ^ Eadm. 
 Hist. Nov. 80. » Chronique MS.— Notices, VI. 
 83, 84. 
 
 mischief and riots the Devil was sup- 
 posed to be an active personal agent.*^ 
 Epidemical Complaints, if they affected 
 the senses, were attributed to the in- 
 fluence of evil spirits. The Patients 
 were bound, and brought to the 
 Churches, by ten or twelve at a time, 
 and left there till cured.^ 
 
 Saying the Lord's Prayer backward, 
 was deemed a part of Magick."^ 
 
 William Bishop of Lichfield and Co- 
 ventry was publickly defamed, for 
 having done homage to the Devil, kissed 
 him on the back, and spoken to him." 
 
 If prayers to God and the Saints 
 were not granted, the Devil was in- 
 voked.o In the Romance of Robert 
 the Devil, the Duke and Duchess had 
 long prayed for issue; but, having 
 often been disappointed of a chiWj 
 
 ** The Ladye saide, the Devyll nowr send us one, 
 For God will not oure petycion heare. 
 Therefore I trowe power hath he none." p. 6.p 
 
 The result was, that his birth was at- 
 tended with dreadful tempests, and his 
 early life very wicked. It was always 
 understood, that when a man was on 
 his death-bed, the Devil or his agents 
 attended, in the hope of getting posses- 
 sion of the soul, if it should happen 
 that the party died without receiving 
 the Sacrament of the Eucharist, or 
 without confessing his sins. In various 
 wood-cuts these Fiends personally 
 appear, and with great anxiety besiege 
 the dying man ; but, on the approach 
 of the Priest and his attendants, they 
 betray symptoms of horrible despair at 
 their impending discomfiture.^ In the 
 prints, the Soul is represented as is- 
 suing with a stream of breath from the 
 mouth of the dying person^ and caught 
 by the Devil in his arms^i* and in 
 6ther old cuts of Christ expelhng a 
 Devil, a Fiend issues from the mouth 
 of the Dsemoniac.s It was an old su- 
 perstition ; for both Greeks and Jews 
 
 " Decern Scriptores, 2636. ' Id. 2609. " Script, 
 p. Bed. 161. b. » Bulla Bonif. VIII. Rynier 
 
 IL 932. « Script, p. Bed. 358, b. 
 
 P Parents consecrating their children to the De- 
 vil was no novelty. See Golden Legend, fol. clix. 
 1 Douce on Shakspeare, II. 19. ' Notices ut 
 
 sup. vol. VI. p. 63. » Postilla Erasmi Sarccrii, 
 12mo. ir)6l, p. 146. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF MONACHISM. 
 
 supposed that the soul was conveyed to 
 its final residence by Spirits.* 
 
 The Monks also maintained the doc- 
 trine of Guardian Angels,^ and warped 
 to their purpose natural and other 
 phaenomena. 
 
 Thunder produced astonishing ter- 
 ror f and if it happened in November, 
 or the Winter, it was thought to foretell 
 famine, mortality, or some dreadful evil.^ 
 Visions were a pretended mode of 
 conveying information to the Great.^ 
 The most coarse and clumsy imposi- 
 tions were practised in this form. At 
 the College of St. Omer's, in the IJth 
 century, was placed as a pupil a ^^ Mr. 
 Henry Fairefax, sonne to Sir Thomas 
 Fairefax, who not yielding to their 
 inch anting allurements^ one night being 
 asleepe in his bed, two Jesuites, clad 
 in gorgeous white, as they had beene 
 Angels, approaching his bedside with 
 two good disciplines in their handes, 
 the ends of some stucke with wyery 
 pricks ; having uncovered him, they 
 did after so savage a manner raze his 
 skinne, that hee became for a while 
 sencelesse, speaking unto him in Latine, 
 that they were Angels sent from the 
 Virgin to chastise him for some oifences 
 by him committed^ viz. for resisting the 
 power and reviling the proceedings of 
 his superiors/^ This they did in imi- 
 tation of the two Angels who whipped 
 St. Jerome.^ 
 
 If a person lay in a Trance, an idea 
 was always entertained that it was for 
 some supernatural communication, as 
 of Heaven or Hell.e 
 
 Great attention was paid to Dreams, 
 as the means of learning future events ;^ 
 a superstition probably much assisted 
 by a book on the subject, falsely 
 ascribed to the Prophet Daniel.^ Nol* 
 was this the only means adopted 
 for ascertaining these. Independent 
 of Judicial Astrology, and brazen heads 
 formed under planetary signs, the study 
 
 » Plat. Dial. p. 287, ed. 2, 8vo. Whitby, vol. 
 I. p. 381,399. ** Angl. Sacr. II. 195, 205. 
 
 « Script, p. Bed. 372, b. ^ m. Paris, 329. « De- 
 cern Scriptores, 2395, 2410. ^ Wadsworth's English 
 Spanish Pilgrime, p. 20. & M. Paris, 186. Dec. 
 Script. 2424. ^ Dec. Script. 2426, 2530. i Du 
 Cange, v. Somnialia. 
 
 of Avinity was supposed to be reward- 
 ed by God with the gift of Prophecy.'' 
 Vaticination was indeed in enormous 
 vogue,^ and the most respectful atten- 
 tion was paid to it."^ Some prophecies 
 were inscribed on Stone Tables, and 
 much valued." 
 
 The influence of Omens was not in- 
 ferior. In 1282, the City of Norwich 
 was laid under an Aterdict ; and at the 
 publication of it, it is noted that a very 
 fine day was almost turned into night, 
 and a bell in the Belfry fell down and 
 was broken. o Even at the consecra- 
 tion of Bishops, the text of the Gospel 
 was held over the elect by the assisting 
 Prelates, and the top of the page exa- 
 mined afterwards, as by Divine inter- 
 ference, applicable to the person's 
 future character, or actions, or mission.? 
 Extraordinary coincidences were deem- 
 ed w^orthy the gravest notice of His- 
 tory. In the year 1240, while the 
 Bishop of Lincoln was persecuting his 
 Canons, one of them in a querulous 
 Sermon on the subject said (possibly is 
 made to have said), ''If we were to 
 hold our tongue, the very stones would 
 cry out for usP The stone-work of the 
 New Tower happening to fall at the 
 same time, itwas deemed a sad presage.^i 
 Astrology met with a regard which 
 has been often well exposed. In the 
 Acts of St. Sebastian is mentioned a 
 Chamber entirely of glass, in which the 
 whole of the celestial Globe was con- 
 structed by Art ;r indeed Orreries were 
 not rare. Predictions were reduced to 
 writing in the form of solemn Epistles, 
 and circulated.^ Every day had its 
 particular duties. When the Moon 
 was in conjunction with Venus, it was 
 good " to seek the love of women, for 
 now they be tractable;" and on the 
 Sextile to " take a wife, for women be 
 fond.'' On other days it was eligible 
 
 •^ XV. Script. 515. ^ Dec. Script. 2393, 2394, 
 2541. Scr. p. Bed. 160, 191,340. "^ Rous, 215, 
 219. " Script, p. Bed. 386, 387. • Angl. Sacr. 
 I. 399. 
 
 p M. Par. 15. De Foe makes Robinson Crusoe 
 always practise this divination. He both knew 
 the manners of early Anchorets, and was possibly 
 indebted to this source for some of his materials. 
 
 1 M. Paris, 468. ' Du Cange, v. Holovitreum. 
 » M.Paris, 1173. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF MONACHISM. 
 
 " to sow, plant, and take phisicke," but 
 " bad to journey and marry a widow/^ 
 Two days after we are recommended 
 ^^ to buy beasts, and seek to widows/^* 
 
 With Astrology was connected Ma- 
 gick. Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of 
 Lincoln, when at Oxford, invented 
 charms for expelling diseases, words 
 for exorcising fiends, and mysterious 
 characters of wonderful power, which 
 w^ere inscribed on valuable gems.^ 
 Pierre de Boniface, a great Alchemist, 
 and much versed in Magick, who died 
 in 1323, is the reputed author of a 
 manuscript Poem on the virtues of 
 Gems, of which the celebrated Nostra- 
 damus gives the following pretended 
 extract : " The Diamond renders a man 
 invincible ; the Agate of India, or 
 Crete, eloquent and prudent, amiable 
 and agreeable; the Amethyst resists 
 intoxication ; the Cornelian appeases 
 anger; the Hyacinth provokes sleep ;<^ 
 and various properties are in similar 
 manner ascribed to other kinds. Gems 
 were valuable presents,^ and much 
 esteemed by the Anglo-Saxons. <^ King 
 John was a great admirer and coUec- 
 tor of them, and with good reason, for 
 they w^ere supposed to cure diseases, to 
 render a person invincible,^ even invi- 
 sible ;& and, with the properties of 
 animal life only, to detect poison by 
 change of col our. ^^ 
 
 The Imaginarii were Sorcerers, who 
 made images, which they were said to 
 transmit to governing spirits, that they 
 might be instructed by them in doubtful 
 matters .i 
 
 The speaking Brazen-head was the 
 united effort of Alchemy, Astrology, 
 and pretended Magick ; is said to have 
 been actually made by Gerbert, after- 
 wards Pope Sylvester II. ;J and traced 
 by Selden to an imitation of Orpheus's 
 head in Lesbos. Conceding that the 
 Lesbians did consult this head as an 
 oracle,^ it rather appears to be of 
 
 * Hopton's Concordancie of Years, b. 1. 75, 77. 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. II. 332, 333. «= Notices ut supr. V. 
 704. ^ XV. Script. 262. «'Id.302. ^ M. Paris, 
 187,318, 1010. i J. Rous, 206, 207. ^ Decern 
 Scriptores, 2435. ' Du Cange. J Malmsb. 
 
 de Gest. Reg. L. ii. '' Encycl. des Antiquitcs, v. 
 Orph^e. 
 
 Oriental origin, introduced through the 
 Arabians in Spain. Naudeus thinks 
 that there may be a head or statue so in- 
 geniously contrived that the airwhich is 
 blown into it may receive the modifica- 
 tions requisite to form a human voice.l 
 
 In 1287j, at a place called Bilebury, 
 near Wroxeter (the famous Roman 
 town), the Devil, compelled by a cer- 
 tain enchanter, appeared to a boy, and 
 showed him urns, a ship, and a house 
 with immense towers. i" Here we see 
 a property of the Devil, evidently bor- 
 rowed from the Arabian Genie. There 
 were persons accused of keeping Devils 
 in the form of cats;" but this is of 
 Northern origin, and refers to witch- 
 craft, or direct communication with 
 Fiends, chiefly confined to Jews and 
 women,o and very different from scien- 
 tific magick, mostly brought from Se- 
 ville, says John Jlous, who adds, " that 
 nothing made by necromancy can de- 
 ceive the sight of those who behold it 
 ' in water,^^P a perversion of specific 
 gravity. 
 
 Cups, basons, swords, glasses, mir- 
 rors, and other smooth substances, were 
 used for Divination ; and this supersti- 
 tion was fathered upon the Patriarch 
 Joseph,^i as Dreams were upon Daniel. 
 
 The ancient Augury was also studied.'^" 
 
 Medicine was mostly professed by 
 Clerks, because they alone were capable 
 of reading the Latin works on the art 
 of healing; and Physicians were not, 
 till 1451, allowed to marry, the age 
 seeming to think that a Father of a 
 family could not heal so well as a 
 Priest.s From the nature of some of 
 their prescriptions, there ajipears an 
 evident intention of confining this art, 
 as well as others, to the dogmas of 
 the existing religion, for which rea- 
 son relicks were introduced into the 
 Materia Medica. The hairs of a Saint's 
 beard dipped in Holy water were taken 
 inwardly.'^ A ring taken from the body 
 of Saint Remigius, and dipped in water. 
 
 * Hawkins's Music, II. 40. " Angl. Sacr. I. 509. 
 ° Decern Scriptores, 2535. « M. Paris, 128. 
 P P. 146. '1 Du Cange, v. Specula. ' Decern 
 Scriptores, 940. » Notices ut supr. V. 492, 507. 
 ' M. Paris, 554. 
 
8 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF MONACHISM. 
 
 is said to have produced a drink^ very 
 good in fevers^ and different diseases.^ 
 Relicks were also hawked about, and 
 money given to the bearers for access 
 of the sick to them.^ This pretended 
 property of miraculous healing, no 
 doubt conciliated the vulgar to the su- 
 perstition in a remarkable degree, espe- 
 cially as there was one very convenient 
 rule upon the subject. Limbs, it 
 seems, were as valuable as whole bodies, 
 because the Saint, knowing that he 
 was not entire without the limb, would 
 of course attend to that as much as to 
 the rest of the body.^ 
 
 Saints were not estimated, unless 
 their lives w^ere read by the inhabitants, 
 or Miracles recorded of them.^i With 
 these, and a Legend, the Monks of 
 course invested almost every religious 
 man upon his decease. Publicity was 
 easily given to Miracles, for they were 
 cried and proclaimed by Archiepiscopal 
 authority.^ Canonization was equally 
 easy. The Holy See granted to the 
 Bishop or simple Prelates the faculty 
 of consecrating, jointly with a synod 
 of their Priests, altars over the bodies 
 of persons who died in the odour of 
 sanctity, and of celebrating Mass there 
 on certain days ; and thus they were 
 in fact canonized.^ Some of these mi- 
 racles were merely natural phaenomena. 
 Mandubnauc, an Irish Monk of Rose 
 Valley, carried off the Bees of that 
 place to Ireland, on board the ship in 
 which he embarked. This Miracle, as 
 it was purposely called, was no doubt 
 effected by secreting the queen hee.s 
 Hugh Bishop of Lincoln used to feed 
 birds out of his hand ; and this was a 
 celestial attestation of the sacredness 
 of his character.^^ Sometimes Mira- 
 cles were real absurdities, originating 
 only in the mere propensity and duty, 
 as conceived, of creating them for the 
 good of the Church. Peyrat says, there 
 was a miraculous fountain at Moissac, 
 where Lepers came in crowds to bathe, 
 
 * Angl. Sacr. II. 416. ^ Script, p. Bed. 23, b. 
 c Eadm. Hist. Novor. p. 78. «* Script, p. Bed. 
 168. b. ^ Du Cange, v. Prseconizare, Prseconi- 
 zatio. ' Notices ut sup. VII. 61. if Angl. Sacr. 
 II. 636. ^ Decern Scriptoreg, 2417. 
 
 and were healed by the merits of a 
 Saint, whose relicks were deposited in 
 the Abbey; but the Lepers communi- 
 cated their disease to the Monks, of 
 whom a great part died ; which induced 
 the others to shut up the fountain, for 
 their repose and health.^ Now is it 
 not ridiculous that the Saint should 
 not screen the Monks, while he saved 
 the Lepers, or that the former should 
 not have the same easy method of 
 cure ? The most common use of Mi- 
 racles was to whitewash the reputation 
 of popular criminals,J by pretending 
 that these wonders ensued at their 
 tombs after death ; and to this the 
 women were very prone.^ Legislative 
 notice was taken of the practice,! which 
 is of Classical ancientry. With better 
 ideas Miracles were presumed to hap- 
 pen in proof of Innocence, and revela- 
 tion of Murder."^ It is to be doubted, 
 however, whether Miracles did not 
 sometimes ensue from methods by 
 w^hich the Apotheosis of Romulus was 
 established.^ I shall close this detail 
 by observing that Baptism was delayed 
 by the Anglo-Saxon Kings and Nobles, 
 in order to indulge in rapine and plun- 
 der of other Countries, until Monastic 
 retirement was resolved on.^ 
 
 Nonsense should be treated with the 
 contempt which nonsense deserves ; 
 but when a popular character said, in 
 the event of a contested election, that 
 he should take the nonsense of the 
 People, and leave the sense of it to his 
 adversary, he spoke truth, so far as 
 concerned the influence of certain ideas. 
 Dreams, Ghosts, Fortune-telling, and 
 Empiricism, are not yet expelled ; and 
 the Monks were determined to propagate 
 Religion by means whicli could alone 
 prevail in the ages of their existence. 
 Knowledge is of no general avail where 
 Polytheism exists; and the Roman 
 Catholic Rehgion has perpetuated the 
 customs of the Heathens, at first in- 
 
 ' Chronique — Notices ut supr. VII. 12. J De- 
 cern Scriptores, 1591, 2402,2437. ^ Id. 2552. 
 ' Pat. 16 Edw. II. in Fosbroke's Gloucestershire, 
 I. 289. '» Script, p. Bed. 166, 167. b. 513. b. 
 » See Malmsb. in Id. 138. b. • Script, p. Bed. 
 192, 193. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF MONACHISM, 
 
 9 
 
 evitably adopted. Existence could 
 alone be retained by such compliances ; 
 and Providence, which does not deem 
 it necessary to act by Miracles, knew, 
 that where Christianity exists, civiliza- 
 tion and useful knowledge would fol- 
 low of course. Without Miracles, it 
 could never have been effective by 
 means unsuited to the ideas which it 
 had to influence. It seems too to be a 
 method of Providence, that temporary 
 evils shall produce ultimate good. The 
 state of ideas at the first propagation 
 of Christianity was evidently to under- 
 go a change; and the Roman power 
 would not have fallen for the civiliza- 
 tion of the North and West, if the di- 
 version of the public mind to Christian- 
 ity and controversy, the natural result 
 of a public interest on any subject, had 
 not destroyed the military spirit, which 
 has a tendency to Violence, Luxury, 
 and Pleasure. This pacific, lowering 
 principle, continued to operate upon 
 the fever, rapine, and debauchery of 
 the rude successors of the Romans, 
 with great comparative success ; for in 
 certain states of disease, alterative and 
 opposite medicines are indispensable. 
 Turity of mind and body was presumed 
 to result through insulation from the 
 world ;^ and through humility and ab- 
 stinence, self-command and cheerful- 
 ness were deemed easy acquisitions.^ 
 In a vicious and rude age, it was justly 
 conceived impossible for any one who 
 mingled with the world, to lead a life 
 sufficiently conformable to the character 
 and duties of a Minister of Rehgion. 
 Now who could think otherwise, if he 
 were to reside among such a people ? 
 Rude as were the methods for pre- 
 serving purity, they were indubitably 
 efficient where they were practised. 
 Much reading, prayers, scanty food, 
 confinement to the Monastery, and im- 
 mersion in water up to the shoulders, 
 even in the most rigorous seasons, till 
 the whole Psalter had been sung 
 through, were, as methods to preserve 
 subjugation of appetite, though rude. 
 
 * Eadmer, 156. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 yet effectual substitutes, for the happier 
 and more noble methods of principle 
 and honour.^ Inducements to lust 
 were less efficaciously removed, in con- 
 versing with women, by singing or at 
 least conning the Psalter.^ The inde- 
 pendence of the Monks in point of 
 l)roperty, was founded on the principle, 
 that otherwise, for the greater good of 
 the Souls in Purgatory, they could not 
 serve God night and day incessantly.^ 
 And as Man is the creature of educa- 
 tion ; as they did not invent, but 
 received their system of Religion, which 
 dictated deletion of the vices of others 
 in this form, they were rather passive 
 agents in its promotion, than knaves. 
 If they limited the propagation of vir- 
 tue to mechanical, rather than intel- 
 lectual processes, they only adopted 
 methods best fitted to the mind of the 
 subjects upon which they were to act. 
 Corporeal punishments have ever been 
 indispensable where grossness of cha- 
 racter prevails. As Providence un- 
 doubtedly permitted Barbarism to exist 
 (whether Monks had ever been or not), 
 Luther's reply to Melancthon should be 
 considered. The latter was complain- 
 ing of the times. " Do,^^ says he, 
 '^ brother Melancthon, let God govern 
 the World as he thinks best.^^ Unless 
 Providence chose to act by miraculous 
 visible interference, the argument is un- 
 deniable, that Religion can exist in no 
 other than a superstitious form among 
 Barbarians. The Clergy of all nations 
 has ever fewer vices than the other 
 classes of People ; and their faults exist 
 more in the prevalent states of society, 
 and bad institutions, than in themselves, 
 for no body of men is so amenable to 
 the public for their well-being and 
 happiness. In some parts of Spain, 
 Abraham is represented as armed with 
 a pistol, with which he is going to shoot 
 Isaac.^ Is such an absurdity founded 
 in fraud ? Rude ideas, barbarous so- 
 ciety, Egyptian superstitions, and the 
 Roman Catholic religion, solve all the 
 errors of Monachism. 
 
 c Angl. Sacr. II. 13. ^ Ibid. <= Id. 198, 199. 
 ' Bourgoanne, I. 1B3. 
 
10 
 
 ASCETICKS — GLASTONBURY. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ASCETICKS GLASTONBURY. 
 
 In the controversy concerning the an- 
 tiquity of the two Universities, Anaxi- 
 mander and Anaxagoras are affirmed to 
 have studied at Cambridge, and Belle- 
 rophon to have been an Oxford-man.^ 
 Of the first extraordinary assertion 
 John Lidgate was the author ; and he 
 only acted in conformity to a medieeval 
 fashion of endowing favourite places 
 and persons with the most remote pos- 
 sible ancientry^ as essential to their 
 dignity. It was a received opinion 
 that St. Martial did not come into 
 France but under the empire of Decius 
 in the third century : this was too re- 
 cent a date for the Limousins^ and 
 there appeared towards the end of the 
 tenth century some false acts of St. 
 Martial, fabricated on purpose to 
 establish the position, that this Saint 
 had been one of the seventy-two disci- 
 ples who had been ordained by Christ 
 himself, and received the Holy Ghost, 
 and the Gift of Languages, with the 
 twelve Apostles.^ The arrival of Jo- 
 seph of Arimathea at Glastonbury is 
 supposed by Archbishop Usher to have 
 been a similar fiction, invented after 
 the Conquest f and the preceding in- 
 stances corroborate his opinion. 
 
 Eusebius, TertuUian, Arnobius, and 
 Theodoret, however, confirm the affir- 
 mation of Gildas, that Christianity was 
 introduced into this island, with partial 
 success, at a very early period ; but by 
 whom, is not now to be ascertained 
 upon authentic evidence. 
 
 Ammonius Saccas, who taught with 
 the highest applause in the Alexandrian 
 School, about the conclusion of the 
 second century, laid the foundation of 
 that sect which was distinguished by 
 the name of the New Platonists. To 
 
 * Seidell's Encomium, prefixed to Hopton's Con- 
 cordancie of Years. ^ Notices ut supr. VII. 
 
 400. c jVntiq. Eccles. Brit. c. ii. p. 7, seq. 
 
 ' a monstrous coalition of heterogeneous 
 doctrines, its fanatical Author added a 
 sublime rule of life and manners for 
 the wise : it was to raise the divine and 
 celestial soul above this world, by the 
 towering efforts of Holy contemplation, 
 and the extenuation of the sluggish 
 body by Hunger, Thirst, and other 
 mortifications. To this doctrine, under 
 the specious pretext of the necessity of 
 contemplation, was owing the slothful 
 and indolent course of life subsequently 
 practised by the Monks.^ 
 
 In the same century certain Christian 
 Doctors, either through a desire of 
 imitating the nations among whom they 
 lived, or in consequence of a natural 
 propensity to a life of austerity, a 
 disease common in Egypt, Syria, and 
 other Eastern nations,^ were induced 
 to maintain that Christ had established 
 a double rule of Sanctity and Virtue 
 for two different orders of Christians ; 
 the one ordinary for persons in the ac- 
 tive scenes of life ; the other for those, 
 who, in a sacred retreat, aspired after 
 the glory of a celestial state. This 
 double doctrine produced a new order 
 of men, who considered themselves 
 prohibited from wine, meat, matrimony, 
 and commerce, and obliged to observe 
 solitude, vigils, abstinence, labour, and 
 hunger. These persons were called 
 Asceticks,^ and wore a peculiar garb. 
 At this time (the second century) they 
 submitted to all these mortifications in 
 private, without withdrawing from the 
 concourse of men. But in process of 
 time they retired into deserts ; and 
 after the example of the Essenes and 
 Therapeutse, inhabitants of Egypt long 
 before the coming of Christ, formed 
 
 ^ Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. 1765. I. p. 83—86. 
 Ed. 4to. 1763. " Winckelman, Hist.de I'Art. 
 
 I. c. 2. s. i. § 2. p. 54, ed. Amstelod. 
 
 f S-TTovSaio/, ExXsxTo/, and Philosophers, besides. 
 
ASCETICKS — GLASTONBURY. 
 
 11 
 
 themselves into Societies. The obvious 
 reason of the origin of this sect was 
 the ill-judged ambition of imitating the 
 Heathen Philosophers^ whose maxims, 
 habits, and indeed whole plan of life 
 and manners, procured them high re- 
 verence, especially the Platonists and 
 Pythagoreans. « The heat of the cli- 
 mate caused a natural love of solitude 
 and repose ;^ the distracted state of 
 the Roman Empire produced numerous 
 fugitives, to avoid military conscrip- 
 tion f and the ancient Philosophers set 
 the example, in the intellectual luxury 
 which they cultivated by elegant re- 
 tirement.f^ The escape from a state of 
 Slavery was a further powerful means 
 of filling the deserts with these De- 
 votees. ^ 
 
 By the early Canons, the Asceticks 
 are forbidden to enter a public house, 
 or to bathe with women, because it 
 occasioned scandal among the Hea- 
 thens.f 
 
 Upon these Canons, it is fit to note, 
 that baths of the two sexes, at first se- 
 parate, were latterly mingled together.? 
 The custom does not appear to have 
 obtained in this country, though the 
 Britons and Anglo-Saxons had baths, 
 and the Monks styled them poisoned 
 hot-beds.^' 
 
 The Gangran Canons observe that 
 the Asceticks used a particular garment, 
 called Peribolceum, probably from in- 
 vesting the whole body ; that females, 
 under pretence of being Asceticks, put 
 
 » Mosheira. I. 95, 96. ^ Id. p. 141. «= His- 
 
 toriae Augustse, Script, t. III. p. G30, ed. Sylburgii. 
 
 ^ Menagiana, I. 338. « Chalced. Canon. 4. 
 
 ' Laod. Canons, 24, 30. 
 K Pownall's Provincia Romana, 185. We hear 
 
 of double baths of this kind in the Middle Age. — 
 
 Du Cange, v. Gerninarium. 
 
 •> Se'ninaria Venenata, Dugd. Monast. I. p. 88. 
 
 We do indeed find in their later seras (MS. Harl. 
 
 913, fol. 2.) 
 
 ** Whan the somer is dai is bote 
 The zung nunnes takith a bote 
 Whan hi beth fur from the Abbei 
 Hi maketh hem naked for to plei 
 And lepeth dune into the brimme 
 And doth ham sleili9h for to swimme 
 The zung monks that hi seeth, &c. 
 A cometh to the nunnes anon 
 And each monke him taketh one." 
 
 Warton, I believe, has printed this extract ; but I 
 
 copied the MS. 
 
 on male habits, and utterly deserted 
 their husbands and families ; that chil- 
 dren did the same with parents ; and 
 that it was the custom to feast upon 
 Sunday, and contemptuously neglect 
 the prescribed fasts of the Church .^ 
 
 The Legend of St. Margaret says, 
 that " soon after marriage, she kept her 
 from the companye of her husbonde, 
 and at midnight she commended her 
 to God, and cutte of her hayre, and 
 cladde her in the habyte of a man, and 
 fledde fro thens to a monastery of 
 monkes.^'J 
 
 Theodora and Eugenia also assumed 
 masculine habiliments for the same 
 purpose.^ The abstinence from meat 
 and wine on festival days, was founded 
 upon an opinion that the Creation was 
 evil, and that the world was not made 
 by the Father of Christ.^ 
 
 These passages, indispensable to the 
 elucidation of the habits introductory 
 to Monachism, properly so called, shew 
 the heresy of some Asceticks ; and such 
 must have been the first Religious of 
 Glastonbury, if WilUam of Malmesbury 
 was correctly quoted, as to their follow- 
 ing the Egyptian rule."^ But William 
 only says," that St. Philip, after the mar- 
 tyrdom of Stephen, travelled into Eu- 
 rope, for the purpose of converting the 
 Franks, from w^hence he sent twelve 
 of his brethren, whom he previously 
 ordained (Asceticks and Monks being 
 in those ages held as Laymen) with 
 Joseph of Arimathea at their head, to 
 communicate Christianity to the Bri- 
 tons ; but the barbarous King of the 
 Country withholding permission, only 
 allowed them, from the sacred ideas of 
 Hospitahty, the uncultivated tract of 
 Glastonbury, or Inis-witrin, fi^r their 
 residence and support. Here they 
 erected a thatched Chapel, wattled in- 
 stead of walls, according to the known 
 method of the Gauls and Britons,^ 
 subsequently practised by the Welsh.? 
 
 ' Can. 12 to 19. •* Golden Legend, fol. clxxx. 
 •^ Id. fol. xxxvi. ex. ' Johnson's Canons, p. ii. 
 
 p. 27. 31. '» Eadm. Spicileg. 200. " XV 
 
 Script. 292. " See the Gaulish Houses on the 
 
 Antonine column in Montfauc. Suppl. v. III. 
 B. ii. c. 8. P Girald. Cambrens. inter Camd. 
 Scriptor. p. 890. c. 17- 
 
12 
 
 ASCETICKS — GLASTONBURY. 
 
 A pretended representation of this 
 Church, with Gothic Windows, is given 
 by Samnies^ and Staveley.^ The au- 
 thority quoted by WiUiam is Frecul- 
 phus, an Abbot and Bishop of the 
 ninth century,^ who again copied Isi- 
 dore, also a transcriber, in this respect, 
 of the Hieronymian Martyrology, It 
 is there affirmed, that PhiHp was the 
 Apostle of the French, and both Isi- 
 dore and Freculphus join in asserting 
 the conversion, by means of this Apos- 
 tle, of the neighbouring countries, con- 
 nected by the Ocean,^ but do not men- 
 tion Glastonbury or Joseph's Mission ; 
 for Archbishop Usher has copied the 
 very words of these Authors, and thus 
 proved the mis-quotation of William. 
 No genuine writer has ever brought 
 Phihp or Joseph into these parts of 
 the Globe. The charter of Patrick, in 
 which he mentions the names of the 
 second religious of Glastonbury, is 
 known to be forged, and some are 
 Saxon appellations.e 
 
 The age of Joseph is anterior to the 
 Ascetical; and, if the fact were con- 
 ceded, the Glastonbury Missionaries 
 must have assimilated other itinerant 
 priests, who, under Apostolical autho- 
 rity, propagated the Gospel. 
 
 Eddius, who wrote in the beginning 
 of the eighth century, observes, that 
 many of the donations to Abbeys were 
 of holy places, deserted by the British 
 Clergy on account of the wars with the 
 Anglo-Saxons.^ This passage eluci- 
 dates the foundation by Ina, whose 
 charter refers to traditions, certainly 
 not of coeeval invention ; and all the 
 early evidence, concerning Glastonbury, 
 
 * Britannia, p. 213. •* Churches, p. 42. 
 
 *= Fabricii Bibl. Med. ^vi. t. II. p. 603. d Us- 
 serii Antiq. Eccl. Brit. p. 8. ^ Fuller's Church 
 Hist. Cent. 5. p. 34. ^ XV Scriptor. p. 60. 
 
 leads to the opinion, that it was used 
 successively as a place of refuge by 
 various religious persons, on account of 
 local situation (it being the custom of 
 the Britons to seek retreats in marshes), 
 which colonization produced its tradi- 
 tional sanctity. Alfred sought similar 
 security in the neighbouring isle of 
 Athelney ; and the Tor is cut into Ter- 
 races, exactly resembling the fortress 
 ascribed to him ; both being adapted to 
 the British and succeeding methods of 
 defence. 
 
 From the lives of the Saints in these 
 early periods, and innumerable autho- 
 rities, it also appears, that it was custo- 
 mary with Devotees to migrate from 
 country to country, until a situation 
 for settlement was found, suitable to 
 inclination and convenience : and the 
 site desired was to be solitary, and yet 
 pleasant. 
 
 The Druids are affirmed to have 
 been divested of all authority by King 
 Lucius about the year 1775» by whose 
 means Glastonbury is said to have been 
 re- occupied by twelve new Religious, 
 who resided, as Anchorets, in the iden- 
 tical situation of their predecessors.^ 
 
 This early abbey of Glastonbury was 
 probably a Laura, i. e. a kind of Mo- 
 nastery, of which the name is derived 
 from the separate habitations forming 
 Xavpoiy i. e. alleys between the cells, as 
 in towns. These Religious led an ere- 
 mitical life; lived for five days upon 
 bread, water, and in the East dates, and 
 remained silent in their cells. On Sa- 
 turdays and Sundays they took the 
 Sacrament at Church, and then drank 
 a little wine.^ 
 
 e Strutt's Horda, I. 12. 
 » Du Cange, v. Laura. 
 
 ^ XV. Script. 295. 
 
MONACHISM AMONG THE BRITONS. 
 
 13 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MONACHISM AMONG THE BRITONS, SCOTS, IRISH, AND ANGLO-SAXONS, TILL 
 
 THE REIGN OF EDGAR. 
 
 The Mystick Theology, which 
 sprung from the Platonic School in the 
 third century, held that the Divine 
 nature was diffused through albhuman 
 souls ; and that its latent virtues, and 
 power of instructing men in the know- 
 ledge of divine things, were to be eli- 
 cited by silence, tranquillity, repose, 
 solitude, and mortification. This pro- 
 bably induced Paul the Hermit to fly 
 into the deserts of Thebais ; such a 
 manner of life being common in many 
 parts of the East long before the coming 
 of Christ. From the Oriental super- 
 stition concerning Demons, and the 
 powers and operations of Invisible , 
 Beings, adopted by the Platonists, and 
 borrowed from them by the Christian 
 Doctors, originated in the third cen- 
 tury the use of exorcisms in baptism, 
 spells, frequent fasting, aversion from 
 wedlock, discipline, penance, and non- 
 intercourse with unbaptized or excom- 
 municated persons, because supposed 
 to be under the influence of a malignant 
 spirit. In the next century Platonism, 
 and the fictions which it occasioned, 
 introduced extravagant veneration for 
 departed Saints, purgatory, cehbacy of 
 priests, and the worship of images and 
 relicks. At the same time, from the 
 preposterous commixture of Paganism, 
 arose processions, worship of the Mar- 
 tyrs, modelled upon that paid to the 
 Gods before Christ, pious frauds, and 
 sham miracles (tricks practised by the 
 Heathens), lustral water, and decora- 
 tion of churches with images. These 
 professors of Mysticism, so numerous 
 in the deserts of Egypt, from an opi- 
 nion that to elevate the soul to a com- 
 munion with God it was necessary to 
 macerate the body here below, Anthony 
 and his disciples formed into societies 
 governed by rules, who took the name 
 of Coenobites. There still continued, 
 however, Anchorets, Hermits, and Sa- 
 
 rabaites, or wandering Fanaticks, who 
 gained a subsistence by fictitious mira- 
 cles and the sale of rehcks. From the 
 East all the classes travelled to the 
 West, where the ability of the Orientals 
 to bear a rigorous and abstemious mode 
 of Hving, through cUmate, did not 
 exist ; and accordingly differences en- 
 sued in point of austerity.^ The three 
 orders of Coenobites, Anchorets, and 
 Hermits, obtained in Britain from the 
 earhest periods ; and we find imitators 
 of the Sarabaites (besides various no- 
 tices in early national councils) in the 
 itinerant Monks, who travelled about 
 with an ass to carry the books for ser- 
 vice.b 
 
 Collegiate Institutions existed among 
 the Druids f but with these History 
 has not presumed to connect the Mo- 
 nachism of the Britons, the introduc- 
 tion of which is ascribed to the fourth 
 century. d It would be irrational to 
 think that the British forms of the 
 Monastick profession varied from those 
 of contemporary date in other coun- 
 tries ; and we find that the Egyptian 
 Rule, according to the Institutes of 
 Pachomius,e apparently introduced by 
 the simultaneous coincidence of fre- 
 quent pilgrimages to Jerusalem and 
 the East,^ was that professed by the 
 first British Monks. 
 
 The Monks of the age of Augustine 
 and Jerom professed obedience to a 
 superior, and division by tens and cen- 
 turies, each officer of the last having 
 the nine deans under him. They had 
 separate cells, but no property; and 
 performed a daily proportion of work, 
 which, when finished, they gave to the 
 Dean, who carried it to the Store- 
 
 * Mosheim, Cent. 3 and 4. ^ S. Dunelm (X 
 Script.), 43. <= Henry's History of Great Brit. 
 
 I. 142—7. ^ Id. I. '^27. Fiftii Pref. Monast. 
 
 &c. " Reyneri Apostolatus Benedict, p. 119. 
 ' Usserii Antiq. Eccles. Brit. pp. 109, 110. 
 
14 
 
 MONACHISM AMONG THE BRITONS. 
 
 house. At three p.m. they assembled 
 at Church, to the number of 3000 at 
 least ; and^ after smging Psalms and 
 reading Scripture, and praying, they 
 seated themselves, and a lecture was 
 begun by the Abbot. When this was 
 finished, every Decury put themselves 
 at table with their l)eans, and took 
 their meal of bread, pulse, and herbs. 
 They never drank wine. After grace, 
 they withdrew to their cells, and con- 
 versed till evening. What remained 
 was given to the poor. 
 
 Martin, the celebrated Bishop of 
 Tours, introduced the Monastic system 
 into Gaul, and was imitated by his re- 
 lative Patrick, the Hibernian Apostle.^ 
 Martin (whose rule is pronounced by 
 Reyner to be Egyptian) resided in a 
 cell made of twigs interwoven. Many 
 of his disciples occupied caverns. No 
 one had any property, or bought and 
 sold ; but all things were common. No 
 art was exercised but writing, in which 
 the juniors alone were occupied ; the 
 seniors devoting their time to prayer. 
 They rarely left their cells, unless to 
 assemble at the place of prayer. They 
 took their refection together, after the 
 hour of fasting. None but the sick 
 drank wine. Many were clothed with 
 the bristles of Camels, and a softer 
 habit was esteemed criminal. Among 
 them were several of marriageable age, 
 who, though far otherwise educated, 
 had compelled themselves to humility 
 and patience. Some even of these af- 
 terwards became bishops.^ 
 
 The dress of Camel's hair in Gaul 
 is singular ; but Sulpitius is clear and 
 precise in his words fde setis Camelo- 
 rum). ^lian mentions a stuff made 
 of such materials ; and the Monks 
 certainly wore garments of this kind.<^ 
 Hats were also formed of the same 
 hair;<i but by the term Camblet was 
 understood, at least in subsequent 
 times, cloth made of Goat's wool.^ As 
 Chrysostom^ mentions garments worn 
 
 a Joscel. c. 12. — Reyner, 118. — Mosheim, Cent. 
 4. ** Sulpitius Severus in vit^ Martini, L. i. p. 9. 
 <= Du Cange, v. Camelocum. ^ Du Cange, v. 
 Camelaucum. " Id. v. Barracanus^ Camale, 
 
 Camalius. ^ Lopez's Epitome Sacrorum Sanc- 
 torum, L. 15. ch. iv. 
 
 by the Egyptian religious, some of 
 Goat's hair, some of Camel's, the ana- 
 logy between that rule and the Marti- 
 nian is sufficiently proved either way. 
 
 Ricemarch, a Welsh Bishop of the 
 eleventh century, in his Life of David, 
 says, that he is concise in his account 
 of the manners and customs of the 
 Monks of Rose Valley, because they 
 were similar to those of the Egyptian 
 Monks.s Unfortunately, the Institutes 
 of Pachomius consist chiefly of prohi- 
 bitions and penalties; on which ac- 
 count the conformities of the British 
 Monks can only be illustrated partially. 
 
 Persons applying for admission to 
 the order were to stay at the Gate 
 many days, be taught the Lord^s Prayer, 
 as many Psalms as they could learn, 
 and then be put to the trial of fitness 
 in renunciation of the world, and other 
 ascetical pre-requisites. If found fit, 
 they were to be instructed in the re- 
 maining ordinances. Then, after being 
 clothed in the habit of the Monks, 
 they were to be consigned to the Por- 
 ter, who, at the hour of Prayer, was to 
 put them in the place appointed.^ 
 
 This denial of admission to Novi- 
 tiates, founded upon, or at least similar 
 to, the prohibition of Catechumens, 
 under certain circumstances, from en- 
 tering the Church,^ is distinctly marked 
 in the establishment of David. A can- 
 didate for the order was obliged to 
 remain for ten days before the Gates 
 of the Monastery, exposed to rebuke 
 and insult, to prevent pride.J If he en- 
 dured it with patience till the tenth 
 day, he was consigned to the Senior, 
 who had the care of the gate, as his 
 servant, and there for a long time con- 
 demned to hard labour, and intellectual 
 suffering, which probation at length in- 
 sured him admission into the society.^ 
 
 All things were common, according 
 to the rules mentioned of the Fathers 
 and Martin ; nor did any one dare to 
 call a book or other thing his own, 
 
 « Angl. Sacr. II. 646. ^ Regula Pachomii ap. 
 Stellartius de regulis et fund. Monachorum, p. 115, 
 seq. • Johns. East. Canons, 52, 53. J Vita 
 Bernardi, L. i. ch. ix. See Devoirs de la "Vie Mo- 
 nastique, I 419— 450. '' Ricemarch in Angl. 
 
 Sacr. 11. G46. 
 
MONACHISM AMONG THE BRITONS. 
 
 15 
 
 without immediate subjection to severe 
 penance.^ The precise similarity of 
 this particular rule to the Benedictine,^ 
 favours Rudborne^s affirmation, that it 
 is the same in substance as the Egyp- 
 tian, but mitigated, and rendered more 
 efficacious.^ 
 
 After the Monastery of Rose Valley 
 was finished, David, who is styled, ac- 
 cording to the Egyptian rule^ Father, 
 not Abbot, established the following 
 consuetudinal : " Every Monk was to 
 pass his life in common and daily 
 manual labour, according to the Apos- 
 tolical direction, that he who would 
 not labour should not eat. This labour 
 was that of husbandry. During the 
 employment there was no other conver- 
 sation than what necessity required; 
 but every one performed his task, either 
 praying or rightly thinking .^^^ 
 
 These are regulations plainly conform- 
 able to the Eastern rules before men- 
 tioned, from Augustine and Jerom. 
 
 " Upon concluding the rustic work 
 they returned to the Monastery, and 
 passed the remainder of the day till 
 evening in reading, writing, or praying. 
 (This evening was three o'clock p. m.) 
 And then they immediately at the sound 
 of the bell, without a moment's delay, 
 proceeded to the Church in silence. 
 After conclusion of the Psalmody, they 
 remained in genuflexion until the ap- 
 pearance of the Stars proclaimed the 
 close of the day. When they were all 
 withdrawn, the Father alone prayed in 
 private for the good of the Church.'^e 
 
 The succession of the ecclesiastical 
 duty to that of manual labour, is before 
 noted. None of the Eastern Monks 
 wxre allowed to eat till they had said 
 nones, which were then assigned to 
 three o'clock.^ The rule of Pachomius 
 mentions attendance, without delay, 
 upon Divine service, and the rejection 
 of any excuse. Aidan, a disciple of 
 David's, when occupied in reading, left 
 it at a moment's warning, when order- 
 ed by a Prior to attend two oxen and 
 
 « Ricemarch in Angl. Sacr. II. 646. ^ C. xxxiii. 
 Sanctor. Patr. Regulw Monast. fol. 30, b. 12mo. 
 1571. «= Angl. Sacr. I. 222. ^ Ricemarch, 
 
 ubisup. p. 643. « Ricemarch, loc. cit. ^ Johns. 
 East. Canons, p. 10.9. 
 
 and a cart, sent to fetch wood.s In the 
 Monasteries of this aira it was not un- 
 usual to have unceasing Divine service, 
 by means of successive choirs ;^^ and 
 this Oriental practice is thus alluded 
 to in the fictitious Abbey described in 
 the legend of S. Brandon, " and always 
 twelve of us goo to dyner, whiles other 
 twelve kepe the quere."i 
 
 After this service in the Church, and 
 its subsequent offices, " they assembled 
 at the talile, where the refection was 
 adapted to the age, labour, or state of 
 health of the parties. Bread and herbs 
 seasoned with salt was the food in ge- 
 neral, and accompanied with a mode- 
 rate beverageJ of milk and water ."'^^ 
 
 Eusebius^ notices the subsistence of 
 the Oriental Monks upon bread, water, 
 salt, and herbs ; which last, Chrysos- 
 tom adds, as a luxury."^ 
 
 " After grace was said they returned 
 to the Church, and there passed three 
 hours in vigils, prayers and genuflex- 
 ions ; during which time they were not 
 allowed to cough, sneeze, or spit. The 
 nocturnal recreation of sleep followed ; 
 but they rose again at cock-crowing, 
 and prayed till day-light."n 
 
 Chrysostom says, " At sun-rise (nay 
 many before day-light) they rise from 
 their beds, and, forming a choir, dili- 
 gently praise God with hymns."o 
 
 The Father (or Abbot) passed the 
 day in attending the sick, schools, visi- 
 tors, poor, widows, orphans, and in 
 other offices of regulation and inspec- 
 tion, and in prayers, and ascetical se- 
 verities. Among these was the conse- 
 cration of the Eucharist, and a succeed- 
 ing immersion in cold water, '^ to subdue 
 all carnal provocations."? 
 
 David went to the Isle of Wight to 
 Paulinus, a disciple of Germanus, who 
 received young persons for education ;^ 
 and this was usual in these ages. 
 
 He used to sup in the refectory ; but 
 had a scriptorium or study in his cell,^ 
 
 « Angl. Sacra, II. 634. •» As of Bangor 
 
 in Ireland. Reyner, 151. ' Golden Legend, 
 
 ccxxxi. J Ricemarch, ubi supra. '' Cres- 
 
 sey's Church History, p. 236. ' B. II, c. 
 
 17. "* Lopez, ubi sup. •* Cressey, ubi supra. 
 • Lopez, ubi sup. p Ricemarch, ubi supra. 
 
 'i Girald. Cambrens. Anglia Sacr. II. 632 — 655, 
 662. ' Anglia Sacra, II. 635. 
 
16 
 
 MONACHISM AMONG THE BRITONS. 
 
 being a famous scribe. When he was 
 a boy his schoolfellows declared that 
 they often saw a w^hite dove teaching 
 and advising him ;» and in this age 
 every person designated for a Bishop or 
 Saint was so attended when officiating, 
 and the dove continued till the service 
 was finished.^ In the old wood-cuts of 
 the Golden Legend the Popes are uni- 
 formly distinguished by a Dove, whis- 
 pering in their ears. 
 
 We have a few further scattered par- 
 ticulars of these Monks of Rose Valley. 
 
 The situation was chosen because it 
 was solitary and pleasant. Thus also 
 Dubricius, contemporary with Arthur, 
 set up a school, or college, in a spot 
 which abounded in woods. 
 
 These ancient Monks were instructed 
 from childhood in the Old and New 
 Testaments; and they w^orked very 
 hard in manufactures and agriculture, 
 even in road-making.^ 
 
 Very superstitious ideas w^ere at- 
 tached to Bells ;^ and the opposition 
 to the Pelagian Heresy, and the Drui- 
 dical Triads united, probably produced 
 that singular exhibition of veneration 
 for the Trinity, which is thus recorded. 
 Three Clergymen of St. Teliau's three 
 Churches claimed his body when dead ; 
 upon which three several corpses ap- 
 peared, and one was buried in each of 
 these Churches.^ Thus Giraldus Cam- 
 brensis records, that three persons sat 
 down to table in honour of the Trinity 
 long after this age.*" 
 
 The Abbot's licence upon all occa- 
 sions, the Benediction before a journey, 
 and visitations to correct abuses,& occur 
 in these, as in subsequent ages. 
 
 In these early centuries the Monks 
 w^ere not deemed of the Clerical order.^^ 
 
 Very few were ordained even in 
 the most numerous houses ; but some 
 were necessary to perform ecclesias- 
 tical offices, and these were distin- 
 guished by the addition of Presby- 
 ter, as Jerom Presbyter, Beda Pres- 
 
 • Anglia Sacra, II. 631. ^ Id. II. 658. «= Id. 
 II. 629, 655, 662. ^ See British Pilgrims. 
 
 « Angl. Sacr. II. 665. * Ed. Frankf. c. 18, p. 
 
 892. «f Angl. Sacr. IT. 629, 636, 658. »> Cos- 
 tumes de Maillot, &c. III. p. 5. 
 
 byter.^ From Saturday night till the 
 first hour of Sunday, these Monks w^ere 
 engaged in religious offices, except only 
 one hour after mattins. They con- 
 fessed to the superior ; and David, like 
 the Oriental Abbots, held " divinity 
 converzaciones ;"J of which we have 
 specimens in the rule ascribed to Basil. 
 
 William of Malmesbury says, that 
 stone buildings wxre deemed miracu- 
 lous by the Britons ;k and the addition 
 of a Choir or Chancel was a great or- 
 nament to the Churches of this age.l 
 Thatched and wattled work, no doubt, 
 formed all the offices of these abbeys, 
 as long afterw^ards. 
 
 Costume, It was a peculiarity of 
 the early British Monks, that they 
 shaved the head from the top to the 
 level of the ears, and thus did not 
 use the tonsure of either Peter or Paul.'" 
 The Egyptian Monks wore the short 
 cloak of the Greek Philosophers f- i. e, 
 the Tribonium, to be seen in statues 
 of Diogenes. Ricemarch says that these 
 British Monks wore common leather 
 jerkins,® usual also with the Egyptian 
 Religious.P Reyner adds white cowls.^ 
 In the 5th century the Monks of Gaul 
 had, besides cloaks, girdles and Avalk- 
 ing sticks.^ Chrysostom mentions the 
 hair-shirt as part of the Oriental Mo- 
 nastic habits ;s and it no doubt ob- 
 tained here at least for penance, as in 
 the Egyptian rule. These shirts reached 
 from the elbows to the knees,* and were 
 made of goat's hair ^ w^orked into fine 
 threads, and woven by weavers on pur- 
 pose.^ That w^orn by Becket w^as 
 washed by his Chaplain ;^ but it was 
 rare if there was no vermin in them.y 
 A halter and hair shirt were often worn 
 in token of penitence before death.^ 
 The feet and legs were, without doubt, 
 bare ; for visitors w^ere received among 
 tHe Anglo-Saxons by giving them water 
 to cleanse their hands, washing their 
 
 i Reyner, 129. J Angl. Sacr. II. 637, 646. 
 '' Script, p. Bed. 155, a. ^ Angl. Sacr. II. 659. 
 "> Maillot, 16. ° Jortin's Remarks, III. 25. 
 
 *> Angl. Sacr. II. 646. p Lopez, ubi supr. 
 
 1 P. 118. *■ Maillot, ubi supr. * Lopez, ubi 
 
 supra. » Hoved. 298, a. " M. Paris, 554. 
 
 " Hoved. ubi supr. y Knigliton, 2433. » Ho- 
 ved. 354, a. 
 
MONACHISM AMONG THE BniTONS. 
 
 17 
 
 feet, wiping them with a towel, and 
 inviting them to dine at nine in the 
 morning ;» and the rule of Pachomius 
 orders that the feet of visitors be 
 washed, even if Clerks or Monks. 
 Of the manners and customs of the 
 
 BRITISH NUNS, 
 
 I can give little more than analogous 
 information from the Eastern customs, 
 which of course obtained with the 
 Nuns as well as Monks. 
 
 Winifred was sent to school to a 
 Saint named Beuno, who instructed 
 her religiously, and afterwards veiled 
 and consecrated her in a Nunnery, 
 where she stayed seven years ; during 
 which time she and her fellows made a 
 chesible of silk work for her holy pa- 
 tron. From hence she went to another 
 house, where Religious of both sexes 
 resided, and became Abbess over the 
 sisters.^ 
 
 Paulina, a noble Roman lady, whose 
 life was written by Jerom, visited the 
 Monks of Egypt, and "founded in 
 Bethleem an Abbaye, in whyche she 
 assembled virgynes, as well of noble 
 estate as of mydle and low lygnage. 
 And departed them in thre congrega- 
 cyons, soo that they were depart- 
 ed in werke, in mete, and in drynke.^ 
 But in saying theyr psalter and adour- 
 ing were they togydre at houres, as it 
 apperteyned. And she enduced and 
 enformed all the other in prayer and in 
 worke by ensample gyvyng. She was 
 never ydle. And all they were of one 
 habyte. And they had no shetes, no 
 lynnen cloth but too drye theyr hondes. 
 And they myglit have no lycence to 
 speke to men; and them that came 
 late to the houres, she blamed debo- 
 nayrly or sharply; and suiFred not 
 that oony of them shold have ony 
 thyng, save the livinge and clothingCj 
 
 • Decern Scriptores, 788. ■ * Golden Legend, 
 ccii. « The Jcoemiii, Achimitenses,yf ere Monks 
 who celebrated Divine service without ceasing, the 
 society being therefore divided into three compa- 
 nies . Du Cange. 
 
 for to put away avaryce fro them. She 
 appeased them swetely that stroof ; and 
 also she brake and mortefyed emonge 
 the yonge maydens theyr fleshely de- 
 syres by continuelly fastinges. For 
 she hadde lever have them good, suf- 
 fryng sorowe and sekenes, than theyr 
 herte should be hurte by fleshly wyll. 
 And she chastysed theym that were 
 nyce and quynte, sayen that such 
 nycete was filthe of the sowle, and 
 sayd also that a word sowninge to ony 
 ordure or fylthe sholde never yssue 
 out of the mouth of a vyrgine. — She 
 that so spake and was rebuked ther- 
 fore, yf she amended it not at the first 
 warning, ne at the second, ne at the 
 thyrd, she sholde be dysseveryd fro 
 the other in etyng and in drinkynge, by 
 whyche she shold be asshamed; and 
 thus shold be amended by debonayr 
 correccyon : and yf she wold not, she 
 shold be punyshed by ryght grete mo- 
 deration. She was merveyllous debo- 
 nayr and pyteous to them that were 
 seke, and comforted them, and served 
 them ryght besely. And gaaf to them 
 largely for ete, suche as they asked; 
 but to herself she was hard in her 
 sekenes and skarse. For she refused 
 to ete fleshe how wel she gaf it to 
 other ; and also to drynke wyn. She 
 was ofte by them that were seke, and 
 leyde the pylowes aryght and in poynt, 
 and froted (rubbed) theyr feet, and 
 chaufFed (boiled) water to wasshe them; 
 and her semed that the lasse she did to 
 the seke in servyse, soo moclie lasse 
 servyse dyde she to God, and deserved 
 lasse mercy : and therfore she was to 
 them pyetous and nothing to herself. 
 In her ryght grete sekenesses she wold 
 have no softe bedde, but laye upon the 
 strawe, or upon the ground, and toke 
 but lytyll reste. For the most parte 
 she was in prayers, bothe by daye and 
 by nyght; and she wepte so moche, 
 that it semed of her eyen a fountayne. 
 And whan we said to her oftymes 
 that she shold kepe her eyen fro 
 wepyng so moche, she said the vysage 
 oughte to be like the fowl, by cause it 
 hath so moche be made fayr and gaye, 
 agenst the comaundement of God ; 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 MONACHTSM AMONG THE SCOTS. 
 
 and the body ought to be chastysed 
 that hath had soo moche solas in thys 
 world ; and the lawhyngys ought to be 
 recompensed by wepyngis, and the 
 softe bedde and the shetes ought to be 
 chaungyd in to sharpness of hayer." 
 
 This good lady, a genuine friend to 
 superstition and misery, understood 
 Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and French ; 
 *^redde coursably the Scryptures in 
 thys foure languages,'^ but " sholde her 
 more to the spyrituell understondyng, 
 than too thystoryes of the Scripture.'' 
 At her death, " anone all the congre- 
 gacyon of vyrgines made noo crye in 
 wepyng as don the people of the 
 worlde ; but redde devoutly theyr psal- 
 ter, not only unto the time that she 
 was buryed, but all the daye, and all 
 the nyghte/^''^ 
 
 Costume. In France, during the 
 fifth century, the widows of simple in- 
 dividuals took nearly the costume of 
 Nuns. This was a hood and wimple, 
 and a gown resembling a surplice.^ 
 
 MONACHISM AMONG THE SCOTS. 
 
 The Scottish writers consider the 
 Culdees as the immediate successors of 
 the Druids. c It is certain that the 
 Clergy were called Culdees [Colidei, 
 Cultores Dei, i. e. worshippers of God] 
 as soon as there were Clergy among 
 the Scots j but the old pure Scottish 
 Culdees were similar to the inferior 
 Clergy in the primitive Church — itine- 
 rant preachers under the Bishop, not 
 Monks. t^ They seem to have been 
 those Religious which the Topographi- 
 cal Accounts of Ireland call Canons, 
 in foundations long anterior to the 
 existence of that order. 
 
 Ninian, the Apostle of the Southern 
 Picts, who had seen Martin, and 
 lived some time with him, founded a 
 Monastery at Whitehern, according to 
 Martin's rule. Columba, his contem- 
 porary, in the sixth century, was the 
 first author of Monastic Institutions in 
 
 * Golden Legend, Ivii. »> Maillot, III. p. 5, 
 
 24, 32. PI. iii. %. 7. «= Campbell's Journey 
 
 from Edinburgh, I. 190. '«» Skinner's Eccle- 
 
 siastical History of Scotland, Lett, 10. 
 
 the celebrated lona, or Uy ;^ one for 
 Monks, the other for Nuns; the former 
 conformably, says Fordun,to the Bene- 
 dictine, the latter to the Augustinian, 
 rule.f The Rule of this Columh, or Co- 
 lumbkill, was similar to that of the other 
 Columb, or Columbanus, Brendan, Con- 
 gall, &c. according to Fabricius ;& and 
 Reyner supports Fordun, by observing 
 that Columbus rule resembled the Be- 
 nedictine, except in the modes of peni- 
 tence and silence, and the addition of 
 the practice of Bangor in Psalmody, 
 which was that of unceasing divine ser- 
 vice by means of successive choirs ; a 
 division of Psalmody, which was abo- 
 lished by the Council of Aix in 817, 
 through the variety of practices thus in- 
 troduced in different houses.^ 
 
 Columba died in 59? ; and Adamna- 
 nus, a succeeding Abbot in the next 
 century, was a Benedictine.^ 
 
 Columba is called the founder of 
 the Culdees [a mistake], who fixed 
 themselves in isles, upon places sanc- 
 tified by the Druids. It is known that 
 both Druids and Druidesses had oc- 
 cupied lona. Parish Churches, from 
 policy, were also founded upon the site 
 of Druidical temples.^ The Church of 
 Bennachie in Marr is built within a 
 Druidical circle, probably to draw off 
 the new converts from their old super- 
 stitions.l 
 
 In Incrallen parish, in Murray, is a 
 stone circle and groves, one of which 
 was in the last age a burial-place for 
 poor people, and is so still for unbap- 
 tized children and strangers."* 
 
 In the parish of Duthell, in the 
 county of Strathspey, are two circles 
 of stones called Chapell Piglag, from 
 a lady of that name, who they pretend 
 used to celebrate there (as a Druidess) 
 before the Church was built in these 
 parts ; and within half a mile of it is a 
 small grove of trees, held in such ve- 
 neration that nobody will cut a branch 
 
 e Skinner's Ecc. Hist. I. 76, 77. Lett. 15. Usser. 
 Antiq. 359. ^ Id. 361. s Bibl. Med-^Evi, 1. 1125. 
 •» P. 151, 2. Columb's rule is printed in Hol- 
 stein's Codex, Messingham's Florilegiuni, Stenge- 
 lius, and Usher's Sylloge. * Fabric. Bibl. Med. 
 iEv. I. 14. ^ Ledwich's Ireland, 73, 115. 
 
 » Gough'B Camden, 1789, III. 421. » Id. 430. 
 
MONACHISM AMONG THE IRISH, 
 
 19 
 
 of it ; and there the neighbouring wo- 
 men pay tlieir thanks to God after 
 chikl-bearini^. In the middle of it is a 
 well, called the Well of the Chapel, 
 and held sacred.a 
 
 MONACHISM AMONG THE IRISH. 
 
 One of Howard's prisons, if the re- 
 ligious offices be excluded, conveys a 
 clear idea of ancient Irish Monasteries, 
 in habits of living and solitude. 
 
 In the interesting Legend of St. 
 Brandon, which, for ingenious fiction, 
 is nearly equal to the admirable Ara- 
 bian Nights, we have various allusions 
 to the ancient Irish Monks, who were 
 of such holy celebrity, that Paul, the 
 Egyptian Hermit, is, to the astonish- 
 ment of the learned, made to say, 
 " somtyme I was a Monke of Saynt 
 Patrikes Abbey in Yrelonde, and was 
 wardein of the place, whereas men entre 
 into Saynt Patrikes purgatory.*^^ Saynt 
 Brandon himself was " Abbote of 
 an hows, wherehi w^ere a thousand 
 Monkes ;"^ of whom, in opposition to 
 Anchorets, supported by others, he ob- 
 serves, " we be Monkes, and most la- 
 bour for our mete f^^^ for the Irish 
 Coenobiarchs, all great travellers, vi- 
 sited and studied the institutions of 
 Rose Valley,^ which their societies fol- 
 lowed; but, through Patrick, mixed 
 with the Martinian system, both being 
 Egyptian. The pretended Monks of 
 Saint Patrick's Abbey, however, ^^ never 
 spake to each other ;" and this is the 
 peculiarity of silence alluded to in the 
 preceding remarks of the variation of 
 the rule of Columban from the Bene- 
 dictine. We also hear of Mervoc, an 
 Irish ^^ Monke of grete fame, whyche 
 had grete desyre to seke aboute by 
 shippe in divers co'tres to fynde a so- 
 litarye place, wherein he myght dwelle 
 secretely out of the besynesse of the 
 world, for to serve God quyetely with 
 more devocyon. And I conseylled him 
 to sayle in to an ylonde ferre in the 
 
 • Cough's Camden, III. 432. '^ Golden Legend, 
 ccxxxii. Md.ccxxx. •• Id. ccxxxii. * Angl. 
 Sacr. II. 632, seq. 
 
 See. x\nd thenn he made hym rcdy, 
 and saylled theder with hys Monkes.''^ 
 
 These institutions of solitary silence 
 account for the frequency of Monas- 
 teries in the small islands upon the 
 coast of Ireland, and the peculiar con- 
 struction of their dwellings, now to be 
 described. 
 
 [It is to be recollected that in the 
 second Synod, ascribed to Patrick, 
 Monks are designated as solitary j)€r- 
 sons, who dwelt, without earthly pos- 
 sessions, under the government of a 
 Bishop or Abbot.e Hence the cells iu 
 these fabricks were indispensable ; for 
 in fact, these monasteries were Colleges 
 of Anchorets, or Laurie.] 
 
 At Inis Murray is an inclosure of 
 walls from 5 to 10 feet thick, rough, 
 and built of large stones without mor- 
 tar. Within are cells covered with 
 earth, thrown up so as to make them 
 in a manner subterraneous (some are 
 found in others alike horrid and 
 gloomy), having a small hole in the top, 
 and another on the side, seemingly to 
 give air, not light. They have all been 
 vaulted with the same rude stone. A 
 cell at the entrance is lighted by the 
 door, and appears to have been the 
 place where the candidate remained 
 before admission into the other close. 
 The entrance into the inclosure is so 
 narrow as scarcely to admit a man to 
 pass. Within are three square chapels, 
 dedicated to St. Melas and Columbkill, 
 built of stone and lime in a rude man- 
 ner, but modern compared with the 
 rest of the building. An altar or sin- 
 gle stone is inclosed within another 
 square wall.^' Dun Angus, in the isle 
 of Arran, on the coast of Galway, is a 
 circle of monstrous stones without ce- 
 ment, of which the Monastic appellation 
 is Mandra.^ Within one of these Man-' 
 drcBy or stone circles, stood, among the 
 Orientals, the pillar which Symeon Sty- 
 lites occupied : a well-known supersti- 
 tion ; for St. Luke of Stiris, the Greek 
 Saint, who lived in the earlier part of the 
 
 ^ Golden Legend, ccxjcx. » Wilkins's Concilia, 
 I. p. 3. »» Gough's Camden, 1789, III. 596. 
 
 ' I^edwi<h'5 Ireland, p. 141. 
 
 C2 
 
20 
 
 MONACHISM AMONG THE IRISH. 
 
 10th century, met with at Petrac one of 
 these livmg statues, then not unfre- 
 quent, ministred to him for ten years, 
 fishing, getting \vood_, and dressing 
 victuals ; preventing him from starving, 
 and enabhng him to preserve his foot- 
 ing on his pedestal.a 
 
 Though the British Pilgrims to Je- 
 rusalem visited Simeon, this ridiculous 
 superstition never obtained in these 
 Irish Mandrae.^ The appropriation of 
 them to the early Monastic uses, is 
 proved by Bede's description of a re- 
 ligious house built by Cuthbert. The 
 building was constructed around four 
 or five porches, made between wall and 
 wall. The wall on the outside was the 
 height of a man, in the inside higher ; 
 so made by sinking a huge rock, which 
 was done to prevent the thoughts from 
 rambling, by restraining the light. The 
 wall was neither of squared stones or 
 brick^ nor cemented with mortar ; but 
 of rough unpohshed stones, with turf 
 dug up in the middle of the place, and 
 banked on both sides of the stone all 
 round. Some of the stones were so 
 large that four men could hardly lift 
 one. Within the walls he constructed 
 two houses and a chapel, together with 
 a room for common uses. The roofs 
 he made of unhewm timber, and 
 thatched them. Within the walls was 
 a large house to receive strangers, and 
 near it a fountain of water.c 
 
 This large house was the Xeno- 
 dochinm, mentioned in the rule of Pa- 
 chomius, and borrowed from the Jews, 
 who had such places near their Syna- 
 gogues.f^ The fountain of water was 
 for washing the feet of the visitors upon 
 their arrival. At the pretended Abbey 
 of St. Patrick's Monks, "the Abbot 
 welcomed Saynt Brandon and his fe- 
 lawship, and kyssed them full mekely ; 
 and toke Saynt Brandon by the honde. 
 
 * Chandler's Greece, 62. 
 
 ^ It was attempted at Treves, but immediately 
 suppressed. In the East it lasted till the 12th 
 century. Mosheim, I. 254, 255. 
 
 «-• Ledwich's Ireland, 140. ^ MTiitby's Para- 
 
 phrase, II. p. 700. 
 
 and ledde hym wyth his Monkes into 
 a fayr halle, and sette them down a 
 rewe upon the benche ; and the Abbot 
 of the place washe all tlieyr feet with 
 fayr water of the well, that they sawe 
 before.''*^ The size of the stones may 
 be traced to the Cyclopean Architec- 
 ture, which prevailed before the inven- 
 tion of the orders ; and the absence of 
 cement, and the construction of the 
 cells, was derived from Druidism. The 
 houses of the Druids were without 
 lime or mortar, of as few and un wrought 
 stones as possible, and capable of hold- 
 ing only one person. These little houses 
 were their sacella, sacred cells, to which 
 the people were to have recourse for 
 divining, or deciding controversies^ or 
 prayers.^ 
 
 This construction was not the only 
 Druidical or Pagan interpolation. At 
 Kildare, where once stood a temple re- 
 sembling Stonehenge, was a nunnery 
 said to have been founded by St. Bri- 
 gid before 484 ; and about the same 
 time an Abbey was also founded under 
 the same roof for Monks, but separated 
 by the walls from the Nunnery. In 
 1220 Henry de Loundres, Archbishop 
 of Dublin, quenched the fire, called 
 unextinguishable, which had been pre- 
 served from an early period by the 
 Nuns. This fire was however re-lighted, 
 and continued to burn until the total 
 suppression of Monasteries.^ 
 
 In the first synod, ascribed to Pa- 
 trick, it is enacted_, that a Monk and 
 Nun from different houses should not 
 lodge together ; ride in a chariot from 
 towm and town,^ or be constantly gos- 
 siping ; that a Nun should not marry ; 
 and if she did that she should be ex- 
 communicated, her husband dismissed, 
 and neither of them be suffered to 
 dwell together in the same house or 
 town.^ This Synod shows the inter- 
 
 * Golden Legend, ccxxxi. ' Borlase's Corn- 
 wall, 150. s Sir R. C. Hoare's Tour, 161. 
 
 '' Festus mentions two persons, sitting together 
 in a henna or car ; and hence they were denomi- 
 nated Combennones. Du Cange in voce. 
 
 * Wilkins's Concil. I. p. 3. 
 
MONACHISM AMONG THE EARLY ANGLO-SAXONS. 
 
 21 
 
 course betwixt Monks and Nuns. As 
 to the Fire, whether it was DriAiical, 
 Vestal, or merely Heathen, is not 
 easily decided ; for such Fires were 
 kept up in the Temples of Jupiter,^ and 
 the Pagan Fires continued lon^ after 
 the introduction of Christianity/^ 
 
 At Inismore, or Church Island, in 
 Sligo, in a rock, near the door of the 
 Church, is a cavity called our Lady's 
 Bed, into which pregnant women going, 
 and turning thrice round, with the re- 
 petition of certain prayers, fancy that 
 they shall not die in child-bed.^ 
 
 [Here is an evident commixture of 
 the Druidical Deasuil; and others 
 might be found ; but the inquiry is not 
 connected with Monachism.] 
 
 MONACHISM AMONG THE EARLY 
 ANGLO-SAXONS. 
 
 The Hypothesis, that Benedict was 
 the last Composer of a Monastic rule,'^ 
 afterwards so amplified by Reyner, and 
 so ably supported by what he calls ir- 
 refragable conjectures,^ is sufficiently 
 confuted by the silence of Bede,^ and 
 the various rules which were composed 
 long after the age of Benedict by various 
 British and Hibernian Coenobiarchs. 
 ^^ Probably,^' says an eminent Anti- 
 quary, "no particular order was observed 
 in the Saxon monasteries ; but the Ab- 
 bot or Abbess prescribed such rules as 
 they thought best ; and were directed 
 in their choice, by regard for those 
 they had been used to in the houses 
 where they had received their edvica- 
 tion, or such as were practised and 
 most approved in other Monasteries at 
 home or abroad. '^ff 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon Monasteries at first 
 consisted of mere assemblages of re- 
 
 ' Virgil, JEn. IV. line 200. ^ De Valancey in 
 Collect. Reb. Hybern. No. IL p. 1G5. "■ Gough's 
 Camden, 1789, IIL 590. 
 
 *• Sanctus Benedictus Abbas ultimas compositor 
 regulse Monacborum. Tractatus de Praerogativ. 
 et Dignit. Ord. Monast. MS. Cott. Claiul. E. iv. 
 p. 325. « P. 120. ' Biogr. Brit. v. II. p. 133, 
 ed. 2. B Bentham's Ely, p. 54. 
 
 ligious people, around the habitation 
 of some person eminent for sanctity, 
 who led an eremitical life, and presided 
 as Abbot. He often acted as a Preceptor 
 of Youth to obtain subsistence. Such 
 was Malmesbury in its origin.'* Elphe- 
 gus refounded the Abbey oif Bath nearly 
 in the same manner.^ The first Mo- 
 nastery of Abingdon in the latter end 
 of the seventh century was one of this 
 description. The building was round 
 in the eastern and western parts, and 
 in the circuit of it were twelve habita- 
 tions and as many chapels, in which 
 were a like number of monks, who 
 ate, drank, and slept there. They 
 were inclosed by a high wall, nor did 
 any one go to the gate except from 
 manifest necessity, or the use of tlie 
 House, and then with license of the 
 Abbot. A woman never entered the 
 place; nor did any but the tioelve 
 Monks, and the Abbot, the thirteenth^ 
 reside there. They had a house at the 
 gate for a Locutory, where they con- 
 versed with acquaintance and friends ; 
 and on Sundays, and the principal 
 feasts, they assembled at Mass, and ate 
 together.^ 
 
 Alfred founded a Monastery with dif- 
 ferent orders intermixed;"^ and Osbern, 
 a Norman Monk, says, that before the 
 Reformation by Dunstan in the reign 
 of Edgar, " there was no common rule 
 of living, and that the name of Abbot 
 was scarce heard of;"" but that de- 
 votees, singly, or with companions, 
 emigrated from their native places, and 
 set up Schools (as before observed) 
 until they had obtained an endow- 
 ment.^' The first Anglo-Saxon Monas- 
 teries in the ecra mentioned (as Whar- 
 ton remarks upon the passage) were 
 merely convents of Secular Clerks, who, 
 
 h Moffat's Malmesbury, 36. ' Osbernus Vita 
 
 iElpbegi. Anglia Sacra, II. 124« 
 
 ^ '« For threttene is a covent as I gxies," Cbau- 
 cer, Sompnoure's Talc. See too M. Paris, 413. 
 Dec. Script. 1807. The idea was borrowed from 
 Christ and the Twelve Apostles ; for a founder as- 
 signs this reason in Marculli Formulte, L. ii. c. I. 
 p. 12. Tit. de magna re, &c. 
 
 » Dugd. Monast. I. p. 98. "> Asser Menevens. 
 p. 29. "Angl.Sacr. II. 91,92. 
 
22 
 
 MONACHISM AMONG THE EARLY ANGLO-SAXONS. 
 
 though they were bound by certain 
 rules^ and daily performed the sacred 
 offices^ yet enjoyed all the privileges of 
 other Clerks, and were even married. 
 Exceptions, though not numerous, may 
 be found to this affirmation ; but it is 
 sufficient to observe, that the Monastic 
 orders, over every quarter of the globe, 
 before the ninth century, when the 
 Benedictine absorbed all the other 
 orders, followed various rules and me- 
 thods of living, altered them at plea- 
 sure, and were not only negligent in 
 observing them, but were licentious and 
 profligate to a proverb,^ though learn- 
 ing and study received encouragement.^ 
 These premises are necessary to explain 
 the following passages of Bede and the 
 early Synods. The former observes 
 that it was the fashion in his days for 
 noblemen and others to purchase crown 
 lands upon pretence of founding a 
 monastery; upon which they made 
 themselves Abbots, collected a Con- 
 vent out of expelled Monks, and their 
 own servants, and led a life perfectly 
 secular, '' bringing wives into the Mo- 
 nastery," and being husbands and Ab- 
 bots at the same time. The King's 
 servants also adopted the fashion, and 
 the same persons became Abbots and 
 Ministers of State. 
 
 The following enactments of the 
 earlier Synods are therefore not smgu- 
 lar. Bishops and Abbots are di- 
 rected to exhort Abbots and Monks, 
 to set a good example, and treat their 
 famihes, not as slaves, but children f 
 to provide necessaries for them; be 
 vigilant against theft, and inculcate 
 reading both in Monks and Nuns. The 
 latter were not to be contentious, or 
 wear pompous dresses.^^ 
 
 Edgar exclaims against the Nuns for 
 wearing ermine upon the bosom ; ear- 
 rmgs, rings, and dresses of linen and 
 purple.^ 
 
 Monasteries were not to be recep- 
 
 " Mosheim, Cent. V. p. 2. Ch. ii. § 9 p 245 
 Cent. VLp. 2. Ch. ii. § 6. Cent. VIL p. 2. Ch i* 
 § 1. Cent. Vin. p. 2. Ch. ii. § 13. ^ " 
 
 H txr.?,^'*^*. ^ ' Hutchinson's Durham, I. p. 25. 
 
 tacles of ludicrous arts, of poets, harp- 
 ers, fiddlers, and buffoons, whence en- 
 sued a vicious familiarity with laymen, 
 especially in less orderly Nunneries. *^ 
 
 There were itinerant Musicians, as 
 now, among the Anglo-Saxons for vo- 
 luntary pay.ff The abuse mentioned in 
 the Synod existed till the dissolution 
 of Abbeys.^ 
 
 Nunneries were also not to be houses 
 of gossiping and drunkenness, and 
 beds of luxury ; but of sober and pious 
 livers ; of people given to reading and 
 psalm-singing, not employed in work- 
 ing fine cloaths.i 
 
 Small Houses or Oratories were com- 
 mon in these eeras for reading and 
 praying ; and the Nuns of Coldingham 
 used them for feasting, drinking, and 
 gossiping. These Nuns also employed 
 themselves in working fine cloaths, 
 dressing themselves like Brides, and 
 acquiring the favour of strange men.*^ 
 
 They were not all of this description, 
 for we hear of Anglo-Saxon Nuns 
 writing the Psalter with their own 
 hands.' 
 
 Monks were not to get drunk : or 
 desire worldly honours.*" 
 
 Drinking after dinner was common 
 with the Anglo- Sfixons.n 
 
 Abbots and Abbesses were to be 
 chosen of approved life : not irreputa- 
 ble for fornication, homicide or theft, 
 but leading regular lives, prudent and 
 acute in speech. ^ 
 
 Several of the Anglo-Saxon Kings 
 and Nobles were notorious for the 
 constupration of Nuns.P But over all 
 Europe in this age Monks kept con- 
 cubines, or vrere married; and Kings 
 conferred Abbeys even upon Soldiers, 
 who became Bishops and Abbots.^ 
 Concubinage was antiently a kind of 
 legal contract, inferior to that of mar- 
 riage, in use, where there was a consi- 
 derable disparity between the parties ; 
 
 ^ Wilkins's Concilia, ubi supra. ^ Script, p. 
 
 Bed. 26, b. ^ Warton's Hist. Poetry, II. 205. III. 
 324, &c. ' Wilkins, ut supra. ^ Sim. Dunelm. 
 L. i. ch. xiv. L. ii. ch. vii. ^ Dec. Script. 1907. 
 '» Wilkins, p. 97. 134. ° XV. Script. 542. 
 
 o Wilkins, 147, 170. p Malmsb. de Gest. Reg. 
 L. i. ch, lY. 1 Mosheim, Cent. X. p< 2. ch. ii* 
 § 10, 
 
EGYPTIAN RULE OF PACHOMIUS. 
 
 23 
 
 the Roman law not suffering a man to 
 marry a woman greatly beneath him ; 
 but he was not to have a wife.^ In 
 the third century the Clergy took con- 
 cubines instead of wives, the people 
 thinking that married persons were 
 most subject to the influence of malig- 
 nant daemons, and therefore most unfit 
 to instruct others.^ 
 
 The Danes discouraged conversion, 
 and especially persecuted the Monks, 
 lest the number of their effective troops 
 should be thus diminished, and the 
 converts refuse to fight against their 
 ministers.^ By this means, in the time 
 of Alfred, none but boys were wilhng 
 to become Monks, and Monachism was 
 extinct.^ Indeed it is said that in the 
 tenth century there were no Monks 
 in England, except at Glastonbury and 
 Abingdon.e But I presume that this 
 remark does not apply to Canons of 
 both sexes, who occupied the Monas- 
 teries, and whose saccular habits occa- 
 sioned their overthrow. 
 
 The immense Abbey of Bangor, with 
 its three thousand Monks, continued 
 long after the Conquest/ Bede informs 
 us, that the Britons would not impart 
 what knowledge they had of the Chris- 
 tian faith to the Angles ; and hence, 
 among other reasons, we hear of no 
 such enormous estabhshment out of 
 Wales and Ireland. 
 
 It is to be recollected, that Cloisters 
 were not in use till the ninth century, 
 and therefore that cells were not till 
 then superseded by this substitute.^ 
 
 » Thus Grose (Autiq. II. 17.), who by the way 
 has borrowed this from Du Cange, v. Viceconjux, a 
 termed used in Inscriptions, and alluded to by 
 Julian. 
 
 «> Mosheim, I. 137. «= Angl. Sacr. II. 132. 
 
 •1 Spelmanni Vita Alfredi (by Hearne), p. 131, note, 
 c Angl. Sacr. I. 1G5. ^ Eadmer. Spicileg. 209. 
 
 » See Cloister. Note. Many interesting par- 
 ticulars of Monachism in this sera will be found 
 hereafter, under Anchorets and Hermits. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE EGYPTIAN RULE OF PACHOMIUS^ 
 FOLLOWED BY THE BRITONS. 
 
 The punishment of speaking or laugh- 
 ing during Psalmody, praying or speak- 
 ing in the midst of the lesson, was 
 loosing the girdle, inclination of the 
 head, depression of the hands to the 
 lower parts, a standing position before 
 the altar, and a reprimand from the 
 Chief of the Monastery. The same 
 was to be done in the Convent when 
 assembled for refection. The punish-^ 
 ment of tardiness when the Trumiiet i 
 sounded to convoke the congregation 
 in the day was similar. No one was to 
 leave the congregation without permis- 
 sion. The Monks were to remember 
 orders. On Sundays no divine service 
 was permitted without leave of the 
 Father and Seniors of the House. In 
 the morning, after prayers, the Monks 
 were to study the weekly disputations 
 made by the Prelates in their cells. If 
 any one was asleep during these dispu- 
 tations, he was to rise ; if asleep in a 
 sitting position, he was to be compelled 
 to rise, and so continue till the Su- 
 perior ordered him to sit. The IMonks 
 were to assemble at the signal, but not 
 to Ught the fire before the disputation. 
 At the dismissal of the Congregation 
 they were to meditate in their cells 
 bareheaded,butto dine covered. When 
 ordered to pass from one table to 
 another, they were to go, and not to 
 hold out their hands before the Su- 
 periors, nor gaze at others eating. 
 Laughter or speaking during refec- 
 tion, and tardiness in coming to it, 
 were forbidden, and silence enjoined. 
 The officers were to have only the com- 
 mon food of the brethren. The Monks 
 
 »' Pr. Stellartius de regulis et fund. Monachorum, 
 p. 115, seq. , f T) 11 
 
 » The Jews used Trumpets instead of Bells. 
 Antiq. Vulgar. 15, ed. Brand. The Royal Mm- 
 strels among us blew their trumpets to s«pper. 
 Hawkins's Music, II. 291. The subject might be 
 traced much further. 
 
24 
 
 EGYPTIAN RULE OF PACHOMIUS, 
 
 were not to strike. He who gave 
 diilciamina (sweetmeats) to the retiring 
 Monks^ before the doors of the refec- 
 tory, was, in giving them^ to meditate 
 something from Scripture.^ Presents 
 were to be divided. The sick were 
 not to enter tlie cellar, kitchen, or take 
 any thing from thence, or dress them- 
 selves what they wanted, but to have 
 all necessaries from the Governors of 
 the House. The Infirmary was only 
 to be entered by the sick ; and the lat- 
 ter were not to have access to the Re- 
 fectory, and eat what they liked, unless 
 brought there by the officer. Nothing 
 was to be carried from thence to the 
 cells. Cooks of the gruel or broth 
 (pulmentaria) were to send it to the 
 eaters without tasting. Wine and Li- 
 quamen ^^ were not to be eaten out of 
 the Infirmary. Those on a journey, or 
 tlie sick, who desired such liquamen, 
 were to have it furnished separately by 
 the servants. No one was to visit the 
 sick without leave. [Then follows the 
 passage concerning Novitiates given 
 in § British Monks, p. 14.] No one 
 was to give eatables to any one, but to 
 send him to the gate of the Xenodo- 
 chiuniy [explained in § Irish Monks, p. 
 20.] When any person came to the 
 gate of the house, if Clerks or Monks, 
 they were to be received with greater 
 honour, and after their feet were washed 
 be ushered into the Xenodochium. If 
 this happened at the time of divine 
 service, the officer of the Xenodochium 
 was to inform \hQ father, and thus they 
 were to be brought to pray. [See this 
 rule practised in the Life of David, ^?i^/. 
 Sacr. ii. 638, and all the subsequent 
 Monastic rules.] Infirm brethren and 
 women were to be respectively received 
 in different places. The porter was to 
 announce the request of visitors to see 
 any Monk, and such Monk was to see 
 him with a companion. If any present 
 
 * This, I apprehend, is the " right thinking " of 
 "Bice-march J in Angl. Sacr. II, 64.'>. 
 
 '' Stellartius, in the margin, renders it liquor 
 ix piscibus ; but as it is used (I think in Falle's 
 Jersey) for cider or perry, so Du Cange quotes the 
 very passage, and renders it po Ins ex Hguore, wliich 
 corroborateis Falle'g definition, 
 
 was brought, the Porter was to receive 
 it. If any thing proper to be eaten 
 with bread, it was to be taken to the 
 Infirmary. When the sickness of a 
 relative was announced, a companion 
 was sent with the Monk, who was then 
 to eat only in consecrated places,*^ and 
 no other than the usual food of the 
 house. If any edible was given him, he 
 was to use only a sufficiency for the 
 journey, and give the rest to the In- 
 firmary. The Monks were not to at- 
 tend the funerals of relatives without 
 leave of the Pater. They were not to 
 go out alone upon business, or, when 
 returning, tell what they did or heard. 
 When at work, they were to meditate 
 the Scripture, and say nothing. They 
 were not to sit without leave. They 
 had no power to send any one to any 
 place. They were to wash their cloaths 
 with a companion.<i They were not to 
 take herbs from the garden without 
 leave of the gardener; not to carry 
 away the palm leaves, of which the 
 baskets were made, without leave; 
 not to eat unripe grapes, or ears of 
 corn, or any thing, before it was fur- 
 nished in common to the brethren. 
 The Cooks were not to eat before the 
 others, nor the Orcharders or Vine- 
 yarders, but to have their portions with 
 the others. The wind-falls of the ap- 
 ples were to be put in a heap, at the 
 roots of the trees. Bread and salt were 
 only for those who affected greater ab- 
 stinence. Nothing was to be cooked 
 out of the common kitchen. They 
 were to have nothing unallowed in the 
 cell, "a little money,^^ nor property. 
 When removed from one house to 
 another, they were to take only what 
 was necessary for daily use in their 
 
 *= Taverns were brothels (Suet. Ner.). A similar 
 prohibition occurs in Apost. Can. 46. Laod. 24, 
 &c. In the middle ages travellers rarely used inns, 
 but sought hospitality from private persons, whe- 
 ther acquainted with them or not. X Script. 910, 
 1058. M. Paris, 966, 981. Script, p. Bed. 439, 
 a, &c. &c. 
 
 •* This was done by the lay-brothers among the 
 Gilbertines, when there were no fullers : but wash- 
 ing then consisted in treading the cloths in a tub 
 (Dugd. Monast. II. 739), as recently in Scotland, 
 See the print in Birt's Letterst 
 
FOLLOWED BY THE BRITONS. 
 
 25 
 
 dress. No one was to walk in or out 
 of the house without leave ; nor to 
 carry tales; nor to tell what he saw 
 done^ or had heard. They were not to 
 sleep but upon a sloping seat [7'eclwam 
 sellulam^~\ ; nor to speak to any one 
 when they laid themselves down. If 
 they waked, they were to pray. They 
 were not to drink, though thirsty, if a 
 fast day was at hand. No one was to 
 wash or anoint another without leave. 
 They were not to speak to another in 
 the dark, and to sleep alone. In walk- 
 ing, sitting, or standing, a cubitus dis- 
 tance was to be observed between 
 each. They were not to shave their 
 heads without leave, to make exchanges, 
 or add any thing new to their dress. 
 On going to refection, they were not to 
 leave the book unchained. The pro- 
 per officer was to attend to the books 
 after Nones. They who were Aveak, 
 but not confined to their beds, were to 
 receive what they wanted from the 
 officer. They were not to go to the 
 town unless sent, nor to ride double 
 upon the bare back of an ass,^^ nor up- 
 on the pole of a waggon. The Priors 
 were to go alone to the shops of the 
 different tradesmen. They were not 
 to go to another's cell, to receive 
 presents, or hoard any thing in the 
 cell without leave. The Prior was to 
 delegate his office to another when 
 going out. When making bread, they 
 were not to speak, but to meditate the 
 Psalms.c The Bakers only were to 
 
 • This was the Scimpodium, a kind of chair and 
 bed united, the feet resting upon a stool. In the 
 Acta S. Triphillii, Tom. 2. Jan. p. 681, we are told 
 that when he mentioned that text, " Take up your 
 bed and walk," he used to say ** take up your *eiV«- 
 podium,^^ &c. Bosius exhibits beds of this kind in 
 his Roma Subterranea, p. 83, 91, 101. Du Cange, 
 V. Scimpodium, iibi plura. 
 
 *» This was unknown to the Romans, *' Do you 
 think that two can ride upon one horse ?" (Mart. 
 L. V. Epigr. 89. Uno credis, S(c.) But it was very 
 common in the Middle Ages, especially after battles, 
 to save the wounded. Dec. Script. 2518. Two 
 Templars had often only one horse between them. 
 See Watts's Matt. Paris, § Adversaria, &c. Stowe, 
 &c. 
 
 •^ In whatever occupatioma monk or any reli' 
 gious person, clergyman, or layman was engaged, he 
 was always to have a Psalm in hismouth or thoughts. 
 See among innumerable authorities, Angl. Sacr. II. 
 
 ?61, 695. TUe Psaiter was thought YirtuaUy to 
 
 stay in the baking-place when the flour 
 was to be mixed. If on a voyage tlie 
 other brethren resting upon the benches 
 and decks, in the inner part of the ship, 
 no one was to sleep, or suffer secular 
 persons to sleep witli \\\mA Women 
 were not to sail with them without 
 leave of the Pater. No one was to 
 make a fire in his house but for the 
 common use. Laughter, whispering, 
 talking, or tardiness in prayer, was to 
 be punished. They were not to talk 
 of secular concerns when at home in 
 the house, but to meditate on such 
 scriptural matters as the Prior might 
 have taught from the Scriptures. There 
 was to be a punishment for breaking 
 any earthen vessel, or useful necessary. 
 If a Monk went to sleep, the whole fra- 
 ternity were to attack (prosequorj him. 
 No one was to go out, speak, or stay 
 without leave. They were to attend 
 divine service at the signal given ; not 
 to begin the Psalms till ordered, nor 
 to join another without leave when 
 they were finished. They were not to 
 go out of their rank, nor walk before 
 the Prior. The loss of any thing was 
 to be punished. On finding any thing 
 they were to hang it up three days be- 
 fore the congregation, that those who 
 knew it might take it. No one was to 
 wash his house but by direction of the 
 Prior. Lost rank was not to be re- 
 stored without the order of a Senior. 
 If any one ignorant of his letters en- 
 tered the house, he was to be forced to 
 
 contain the substance both of the Old and New 
 Testament, and to exceed the Scriptures in expel- 
 ling Doemons, &c. (Lyndw. 184. Oxf. ed.) The 
 Psalms were not only learned by children, &c. 
 (Malmesb. 148. a. X Script. 130". M. Par. 98) ; 
 but we find instances likewise of saying over the 
 whole Psalter before eating on Sundays and Festi- 
 vals (X Scr. 2432), and Psalm- singing the common 
 employ of the devout when alone (M. Par. 401, 
 818) ; sometime the whole Psalter sung over every 
 night (Id. 519.) I omit many curious passages in 
 the histories of Musick ; and familiar books. See 
 § Baker. 
 
 ^ The sailors used to sleep upon the benches. 
 There was a place at the poop where the Trierarchs 
 slept, on their stragulre or blankets. Those of the 
 steersman (Gubernator) were merely mats (Casaub. 
 in Theophrast. 338.) The hammock does not occur 
 in Lye, Cotgrave, or Sherwood ; though the car- 
 riage-hammock engraved iu Strutt's liorda, I. pi. 
 ix. p. 45, is Anglo- fSaxoa. 
 
26 
 
 EGYPTIAN RULE OF PACHOMIUS, 
 
 learn them. They were not to pretend 
 occupation in Psalmody and Prayer, as 
 if they coidd not go ; or if engaged in 
 any journey or office, to omit such 
 Psalms or prayers.* No one was to 
 see the Nuns, unless he had a mother 
 or other relative there. If a paternal 
 estate had belonged to them before 
 their conversion, visitors could see them 
 with a man of approved age. When 
 the Nuns had renounced it, they could 
 be seen with the seniors of the house. 
 There was to be no conversation con- 
 cerning secular affairs. Punishments 
 were to be made of negligence of 
 orders, detraction, anger, false testi- 
 mony, perverting the minds of the 
 simple ; murmuring, disobedience, 
 laughing, playing, and intimacy with 
 the boys ; contempt of the commands 
 of the officers and rule ; exciting quar- 
 rels ; neglect of inquiring the cause of 
 vexation in an Officer or Monk ; which 
 Officer or Monk so injured was to be 
 satisfied by castigation of the offend- 
 ing party. They who left the order, 
 returned upon promise of penance, 
 and then pretended to be sick, were to 
 be put among the sick, and fed with 
 them, till they performed their pro- 
 mises. Boys given to play and idle- 
 ness, if incorrigible, were to be corrected 
 for thirty days successively, until fear 
 
 " Wulstan, Bishop of Worcester, as soon as lieliad 
 mounted his horse, began the Psalter, and added 
 Litanies, &c. according to the distance. This was 
 done that they might unlearn the vain fables, 
 which chiefly obtruded themselves upon travel- 
 lers (Angl. Sacr. IL 2(50), for pilgrims used to 
 amuse themselves by telling tales on their 
 journeys (Wart. Poetr. I. 397); and in 1279, 
 when Roger de Mortimer had jousts at Kenilworth, 
 be set out from London with one hundred knights 
 well armed, and as many ladies going before singing 
 joyful songs, a practice mentioned by Virgil, Eel. 
 ix. 64, 65. (Smythe's Lives of the Berkeleys, MS. 
 160.) Thus the intention was to avoid secular 
 singing. Sometimes a due portion of the Hours 
 was deemed sufficient. (Angl. Sacr. IL 306). We 
 hear of a bishop and his chaplain singing psalms in 
 turn, when on horseback. (Id. 311). A book of 
 prayers was commonly used by travellers, which 
 began with the song of Zachary (Du Cange, v. Iti- 
 nerarium.) In some religious orders those who 
 could not read the psalms were notwithstanding to 
 carry tables of them in travelling, and meditate 
 upon them (Id. v. Superpositi.) This was called a 
 
 Tabula Peregriaaatium, (Id. in voge,) 
 
 was excited. Unjust judges were to 
 he justly condemned by others. Con- 
 senting to and abetting the vicious was 
 punishable with the severest reprimand, 
 but pardon was to be extended to igno- 
 rance. Humility, moderate labour, 
 peace, concord, and mutual deference, 
 were prescribed. The Patres were to 
 correct delinquents, and to compel ob- 
 servation of the punishment in every 
 point, either in the society of the house, 
 or in the greater congregation, that is, 
 to subject them to the sentence of all 
 the Patres. The next in rank was to 
 take the office of the Prior when absent. 
 There was to be reproof for borrowing 
 a book from another house without the 
 knowledge of two. The Monks were to 
 live blameless, and to do all necessary 
 business, even without the order of the 
 Prior. They were to make the six even- 
 ing prayers, according to the example of 
 the greater congregation. There was to 
 be no ennui or weariness. If any one 
 went out and was hot, he was not to be 
 compelled to go to church, if the brethren 
 were already gone there. When the 
 Priors taught tliebrethren^'^of the con- 
 version of holy life," no one, unless 
 extremely sick, was to be absent. 
 Whatever brother was sent out, he was 
 to have the rank of an officer, and 
 command accordingly. If any dispute 
 arose, the Seniors were to settle it, and 
 reprimand the oiFender. If it was be- 
 tween an Officer and Monk, the brethren 
 of approved conversation and fidelity 
 were to settle it between them. If the 
 ^^ Father" of the house was a party, 
 and absent, his return, if his stay was 
 not too long, was to be waited for. 
 
 Superfluous garments were to be 
 brought to the keeper of them, and be 
 under the care of the Prior. If a Monk 
 came too late to receive his portion of 
 work for the next day, he was to have 
 it in the morning ; and if he wanted 
 work, the Senior was to appoint him 
 what to do. No work was to be de- 
 stroyed through negligence or other- 
 wise. Punishment was to be levied 
 for a garment spread to the sun on the 
 third day; for contradiction; conten- 
 
FOLLOWED BY THE BRITONS. 
 
 27 
 
 tion, lying? hatred, disobedience, de- ; 
 traction, and other crimes ; for losing j 
 or "suffering to perish" skins, boots, | 
 and girdles.^ Tliere was to be a penance 
 for theft, part of which was beating by 
 thirty-nine Monks ; expulsion ; bread 
 and water ; wearing a hair shirt and 
 ashes during prayer-hours. Fugitives 
 were to be punished in like manner. 
 The Prior was to be reprimanded if be- 
 fore three days he did not inform the 
 Pater of any thing lost. If he was a 
 simple Monk, and did not mention it 
 before three hours, he was to be guilty 
 of the loss unless he found it. There 
 was to be a three days' penance for 
 causing a brother to elope. If it was 
 not notified to the father of the house 
 '' the same hour he eloped,'' he was to 
 be guilty of the crime. The Prior was 
 to be reprimanded if he saw the fugi- 
 tive in his house and did not notify it. 
 There were to be six prayers every even- 
 ing in every house, and the psalmody 
 to be completed according to the order 
 of the greater congregation.'' Disposi- 
 tions were arranged by the Prior every 
 week. No one was to have any thing 
 in his house but what the Prior ordered, 
 who was himself to be informed against 
 if neghgent. The Prior was not to get 
 drunk_, nor sit in the meaner places 
 "near the utensils of the house^" or 
 ^'^sleep in lofty chambers.''^ 
 
 The Institutes of Pachomius, accord- 
 ing to Palladius,^ were these. Work 
 and food were to be apportioned to the 
 respective powers of the Monks. There 
 
 • I purposely decline entering copiously into this 
 ample subject, as travelling out of the record. We 
 hear of an Abbot who wore a brazen girdle, as be- 
 fore an iron one, in order that if his belly projected, 
 it might not be a pleasure but a torment (Angl. 
 Sacr. II. 45.) The leathern strap was chiefly worn 
 by Monks. Du Cange, v. Mastigia. 
 
 ^ It is well known that these enormous Societies 
 were divided into portions of two or three hundred 
 monks, of whom one portion was always officiating 
 in the church, while the others were employed 
 elsewhere. 
 
 «= Non inveniatur in excelsis cubilibus. Marg. 
 Note. 
 
 «> Stellartius de Regulis, &t. p. 115—133. 
 
 • Id. p. 134, seq. 
 
 were to be different cells in the same 
 "house," and three in a cell. They 
 were to take their refection in one 
 place, and to sleep in a kind of sitting 
 position upon sloping seats. At night 
 they were to wear lebitones (linen tu- 
 nicks), and to eat and sleep in a Me- 
 loies, or white wrought skin. They 
 were to go to the Communion on Sab- 
 baths*^ and Sundays in a hood only. 
 There were to be soft hoods as for 
 boys, with a purple cross. There were 
 to be twenty-four orders of Monks, 
 from the twenty-four letters, each order 
 being denoted by A. B. r. and so on ; 
 the more simple having the distinction 
 of an I. the more difficult by a. and in 
 like manner to every order. Visitors 
 from a house of a different rule were 
 neither to eat, drink, or have entrance 
 to them. No one was to be admitted 
 who could not undergo a trial of three 
 years.g They were to eat with their 
 hoods on, that one might not see the 
 other. They were not to speak in re- 
 fection, nor turn their eyes beyond 
 the quadra ^ and table. There were to 
 be twelve prayers in the day ; twelve in 
 the nightly vigils ; twelve in the morn- 
 ing ; at the ninth hour three. Before 
 eating every order was to anticipate 
 every prayer by a psalm.* 
 
 ' Saturday in the ancient canons (Laod. 29, 49, 
 51, &c.) The Communion was celebrated on that 
 day ; Saturday as well as Sunday being anciently a 
 stated feast. (Johns. East. Can. 118.) But the 
 elements were consecrated on the Sunday pre- 
 ceding. 
 
 « Here seems an allusion to the hearers in the 
 Primitive Church, or to penitents after transgres- 
 sion without necessity. See Nicene Can. 11, and 
 Johns. Note, p. 52. 
 
 •* A Trencher in the usual acceptation, but this is 
 not certain. At llerculaneum (says Winckelman) 
 were found two entire loaves of the same size, a palm 
 and half diam. five inches thick. Theywere marked 
 by a cross, within which were four other lines ; and 
 so the bread of the Greeks was marked from the 
 earliest periods. Sometimes it had only four lines, 
 and then it was called Quadra. The bread had 
 rarely any other mark than a cross (which the first 
 Christians constantly used), which was on purpose 
 to divide and break it more easily. Encycl. des 
 Antiquit. v. Pains. The'*Heus! mensas consu- 
 mimus" of Virgil will occur to mind. See Hot- 
 cross buns, Chap. V. 
 
 * Stellartius, ut supra, p. 134, seq. 
 
28 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM EDGAR 
 
 CHAFfER IV. 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE REIGN OF EDGAR TO THE 
 NORMAN CONQUEST. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon Kings were remark- 
 ably prone to Religion— even pros- 
 trated themselves before preachers ;» 
 and virtue among the Anglo-Saxons 
 consisted in abstinence from pleasure.^ 
 
 It was objected to the Secular Ca- 
 nons, that they deputed indigent Vicars 
 to officiate for them^ and neglected the 
 services for the dead, who were thus 
 supposed to suffer in j:)urgatory; and 
 that the benefactions of pious donors 
 were not expended upon the service of 
 the Church, nor support of the poor.c 
 
 Desire of the popularity essential to 
 sovereigns naturally induced Edgar, a 
 great hypocrite, addicted to low plea- 
 sures, to favour the general wish for an 
 exhibition of religion by the more aus- 
 tere Monastic system, suited to the 
 ideas of the age. Accordingly this 
 'Prince,and a noble Anglo-Saxon named 
 Alfreth, gave a manor to Ethelwold, 
 Bishop of Winchester, on condition, 
 that he should translate the Rule of 
 Benedict from Latin into Anglo-Saxon, 
 which he accordingh' did j*^ and such a 
 version now exists, as well as a short 
 tract of that Prelate^ s, " of the Rule of 
 the Monks/'^ From its contents it 
 might be inferred that the Monastick 
 offices consisted almost wholly of 
 singing psalms and the rubrics of the 
 times and services. Among these were 
 " twegen sealmes for tham cynge and 
 
 " Eddius, XV Scr. 46, 55. ^ Script, p. 
 
 Bed. 139, b. <^ Angl. Sacr. I. 289, 290. 
 
 * Hist. Eliensis, L. i. c. xlix. 
 
 * MSS. C. C. C. Cant Cott. Tiber. A. iii. Titus 
 A. iv. &c. Bodl. Archiv. Seld. D. 52. In this 
 MS. is the Anglo-Saxon Rule of Fulgentius : 
 whether the African Bishop who died A.D. 533, or 
 the Spanish prelate who lived in the next century, 
 does not appear from the enumeration of their 
 works in Fabricius (Bibl. Med. Al\i. II. 655, 672). 
 As the Rule of Benedict was followed literally only 
 by the Cistercians, that of Fulgentius conveys, in 
 my opinion, a better idea of Benedictine Mona- 
 chism than the institutes of the founder ; it is there- 
 fore aruaexed to the couclusioa of this chapter. 
 
 thsere cwene.'^ Two Psalms for the 
 King and Queen. Oswald, Archbishop 
 of York, in the same eera, " enlarged 
 the Rule by his own authority /^^ All 
 these, however, as Junius observes,^ 
 were consolidated in the *' Concord of 
 Rules by Dunstan,^^ which regulated 
 the practice of the Monks till the year 
 
 107 7> 
 
 For the due understanding of the 
 following customs, it is necessary to 
 premise an account of the canonical 
 hours or services of the Romish Church, 
 a division originating among the an- 
 cient Monks.^ Because the Jews se- 
 parated the day into four quarters or 
 greater hours, each containing three 
 lesser or common Jiours, so each canon- 
 ical hour was presumed to consist of 
 three smaller; and the whole night 
 and day was thus divided into the 
 eight services^ of Mattins, Lauds, 
 Prime, Tierce, Sext, Nones, Vespers, 
 and Completorium or Complin. 
 
 DUNSTAN S CONCORD OF RULES 
 
 For the sake of perspicuity, I shall 
 divide the day according to the inter- 
 vals of the canonical hours. 
 
 From Unthj-ang (Mattins and Lauds) 
 midnight, lill Priinpng (Prime, 6 
 
 A.M.) 
 
 At every season in the nocturnal 
 hours, when the Monk rises to divine 
 service,™ let him first sign himself with 
 
 ' Malmesb. Gest. Reg. L. 2, c. 8. « MS. 
 
 Bodl. Archiv. Seld. D. 52. ^ Reyner, 208. 
 
 ' Bingham's Antiq. b. 13. c. ix. sect. 8. * God- 
 win's Moses and Aaron, 103. 
 
 * From Reyner, p. 208 ; where it is printed at 
 large. Selden (Spicileg. ad Eadmer.) has published 
 the Proemium. 
 
 "* The Monks went to bed at 8 p.m. and rose the 
 next day about 2 a.m. Lauds commencing at 3 
 A.M. or nearly so. ** The order of nightly hours'* 
 (says Jgha de TuiTecremata) *• begins from Lauds, 
 
TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 
 
 29 
 
 the cross^ and invoke the Holy Trinity. 
 Then, after certain prayers, let him pro- 
 vide for the bodily necessity of nature^ 
 and so hasten to the Church, repeat- 
 ing a Psalm with such care and reve- 
 rence as not to disturb others praying; 
 and tlien on his knees, in the usual and 
 suitable place, repeat three prayers. 
 Let one bell be rung until the Novices 
 enter the Church, who from reverence 
 to the Trinity shall use the triple 
 prayer.'^ This being finished by the 
 boys, let the second bell be rung, all 
 sitting in their seats in order, and 
 singing fifteen psalms, '^singly in a 
 triple division ; so that the seven supe- 
 rior or former, kneeling after five 
 psalms, at a sign from the Prior, and 
 after the remaining bells were rung and 
 psalms finished, may begin Nocturns,^ 
 and, these concluded, certain psalms/* 
 After these psalms let there be a very 
 short interval, as the rule requires,^^ 
 and in summer is convenient ; during 
 which the Chantor and Choir, and those 
 who need it, may retire for ])odily ne- 
 cessities, and the rest continue in the 
 Church praying. Then let Lauds fol- 
 low; Lauds for the dead, and other 
 services. 
 
 Duties from Primj-ang.^ 
 {Prime, 6 a. m.) to Un- ( On common 
 dcpi-dng (Tierce, about 9 i days, 
 
 A. M.) ■ 
 
 which are called Mattins, because they are celebrated 
 atdaybreak" (Comm. iuReg. Bened. p. 180. Tr. 69, 
 in C. xii.) ; and Hugo a S. Victore fixes the time by 
 observing, that " morning Lauds claim the last part 
 of the night; viz. the fourth watch, which is ex- 
 tended to day-break." (Erud. Theol. de Offic. 
 Eccles. Lib. 2, c. x. p. 1393.) The watches from 
 the Jews began first at G p.m. ; the second at 9 
 P.M. ; the third at 12 p.m. ; the fourth at 3 a.m. 
 (Godwin ubi supra.) 
 
 • In Ethelwold's Tract, " De consuetudine Mo- 
 nachorum," all the prayers and psalms are specified. 
 It is in Anglo-Saxon. (MS. Bodl. Arch. Seld. D. 
 52.) 
 
 ^ The nightly hours are Mattins, Prime, and Com- 
 plin ; the daily, Tierce, Sext, Nones, and Vespers 
 (Provinc. Angl. 227, ed. Oxf.) Thus Lyndwood ; 
 but others make their Nocturns to be Mattins. 
 (Godw. ubi supr.) 
 
 «^ " In the time of Mattias in which there is an 
 interval before Lauds." (Dugd. Monast. I. 952.) 
 Carthusian Rule. The Saxon appellations of the 
 Hours are taken from Lambard's Archaionomia, 
 p. 131. 
 
 If the office of Lauds be finished by 
 day-break as is fit, let them begin 
 Prime without ringing ; if not, let them 
 wait for day-light, and, ringing the bell, 
 assemble for Prime. This service and 
 its appendages finished, let the Monks 
 attend to reading till the second hour 
 (7 A.M.) ; and then at the bell-ringing 
 (and not before, the officiating ministers 
 excepted) return and put on their day- 
 cloaths. Let no one without leave 
 omit this duty. Afterwards let the 
 whole convent, silently psal/nodizing,^^ 
 wash their faces and proceed to the 
 Church. Let the Sacrist ring the bell, 
 and the triple prayer being finished by 
 the seniors first, and children after- 
 wards, let every one take his place, the 
 bell ring, and Tierce commence, to be 
 followed by the morning Mass. 
 
 From Unbeprang {Tierce,^ ^ 
 
 about 9 A.M.) to ^'^^'""^'(^-^o^^^'s 
 rang {Sea^t, about 12.) J ni n ys. 
 
 After Tierce and Morning Mass, the 
 Prior making the sign, and going first, 
 let them proceed to the Chapter, salute 
 the Cross with their faces to the East, 
 and bow to the surrounding brethren. 
 Then all being seated, let the martyr- 
 ology or obituary be read, and ])e fol- 
 lowed by [a certain divine service.] 
 Then let the Rule be read to them 
 sitting ; or, if it be a Saint's day, the 
 Gospel of the day, upon which the 
 Prior shall make a discourse. After 
 this, let any one who acknowledges 
 himself guilty of a fault, humbly asking 
 pardon, request indulgence. Let every 
 Monk, when chidden, before he speak 
 a word, solicit pardon ; and, when in- 
 terrogated why he made this solicita- 
 tion, confess his fault, and afterwards, 
 upon command, arise. Let him, who 
 upon reprimand does not immediately 
 request pardon, be subject to severe 
 punishment. After this let them sing 
 five psalms for deceased brethren. 
 
 The Concordia Regularum here com- 
 mences the exception on Festivals, &c. 
 hereafter given ; and so intermixes the 
 duties, that it cannot be followed regu- 
 
 «> See Pacbomius's Rule, note «, p. 25. 
 
3a 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM EDGAR 
 
 larly in the division of the offices of the 
 day according to the canonical hours. 
 The custom, however, was as follows : 
 
 From GDibbaesj-ang fSea^t, l p^^^^„ 
 about 12) to Nonrans {Nones, [ ^TT 
 about 2 or S.)^ ) ^^' 
 
 After Chapter, the Monks went to 
 work or read till Sext, when, after the 
 service, from Easter to Holyrood day, 
 they dined. Then followed the meri- 
 dian or sleep at noon, unless any one 
 preferred reading. Then Nones. 
 
 From Nonj-ang [Nones,^ 
 
 about 2 or Sv.M,) to ^^en-f ^ 
 
 ,rr ^ T^' A Common 
 ran5. fFespers, First > ^ 
 
 Vespers, Liicernarmm\ ^ 
 
 about 4 o'clock,^) J 
 
 From Holyrood day to Lent, Wed- 
 nesdays and Fridays in the summer, 
 and all the fasts of the order, the Monks 
 did not dine till Nones. Then reading 
 or work till Vespers, if there was 
 time. 
 
 From ^penj-ans {Vesper s,>. 
 4o'cIock),\to Nihrpingj {Com- I Common 
 plin, Second Vespers, 7 | days. 
 o'clock.^) J 
 
 After Vespers followed reading, till 
 Collation ; then Complin ; confession 
 of sins, evening prayers, and retirement 
 to rest at eight. 
 
 Exceptions on particular Days and 
 Seasons. 
 
 The duties (proceeds the Concord of 
 Rules) which were to be performed 
 after Tierce on Common Days, were to 
 be done before on Sundays ; yet so, 
 that there might be time for confession 
 to the Abbot, or in his absence, his 
 
 * Bishop Fox says (Rule of St. Bennet, bl. letter, 
 1516, fol.) " at Sext, about an hour before noon," 
 and " Nones about 2." 
 
 •* Vespers have been placed at six o'clock ; but it 
 was after dinner, among the Monks, about four. 
 A visitation injunction says, " Item quod cuncti 
 eant ad vesperas ad horam quartam et non ante, 
 tarn aestate quam hyeme." Item, that all go to 
 Vespers at four o'clock, and not before, both in 
 winter and summer. MS. Ashmol. Mus. 1519, 
 p. 15. 
 
 «= Thus Fuller, (Church Hist. B; 6, p. 2T8 ;) but 
 Davies (Rites and Monuments of the Church of 
 Durham) earlier. 
 
 vicegerent. If the Monks were too 
 numerous to confess on that day, they 
 were to do so on the following, without 
 excepting even the Novices. They 
 were to confess also at all other times, 
 when prompted l)y temptation of body 
 or inclination. 
 
 But on Feast Days, on account of 
 the observation of silence and study,^ 
 Prime was to be so extended, that the 
 chapter being finished [and a succession 
 of religious services], the Monks might 
 after the Peace,^ receive the Sacra- 
 ment. AVhen the Mass was finished, 
 the officiating Ministers were to take 
 some mixtus^ by way of refreshment, 
 while the rest staid in the Church ; and, 
 at the bell ringing, Sext commenced ; 
 and afterwards the Monks went to 
 dinner. 
 
 On a festival day a solemn silence 
 was to be observed during the whole 
 day in the Cloister. After the Chapter, 
 let certain psalms be said for the de- 
 ceased; and if the Monks have no 
 work,& a simple Benedicite from the 
 
 "^ No work upon holidays of course. 
 
 * The giving the Peace [the peace of the Lord be 
 ever with you] was instituted by Innocent (Walafr. 
 Strabo. de reb. Eccles. Ch. xxii. p. 683.) A kiss 
 (prohibited between men and women) immediately 
 followed the above words, and preceded the com- 
 munion (Amalarius, L. 3, Ch. xxxi. xxxiv. p. 433.) 
 The reason was to shew that we were members of 
 his body, who died, was crucified, and rose again 
 for us (Rab. Maurus de Instit. Cleric. L. 1. Ch. 
 xxxiii. (Additio de Missa, p. 586.) In the thir- 
 teenth century the Queen of France when at 
 church happened to embrace a courtezan, whom, 
 by her dress, she mistook for a lady, (Maillot, Cos- 
 tumes, III. 107), and through consequences of this 
 kind, the pax-bord, what Bishop Jewell calls " a 
 little table of silver, or somewhat else,'' with the 
 picture of the Virgin Mary, was substituted in sub- 
 sequent seras. See § Abbot. 
 
 ' A little bread and wine by way of breakfast ; 
 but it was 'given here, lest there should be any re- 
 mains of the Sacrament which could be spit out 
 (Du Cange in voce.) It is also a small portion of 
 broth, or similar thing, but not here; for Da\nes 
 mentions an Almery, ** wherein singing bread and 
 wir)e were usually placed, at which the Sacristan 
 caused his servant or scholar daily to give attend- 
 ance from six of the clock in the morning, till the 
 High Mass was ended ; out of which to deliver 
 singing bread and wine to those who did assist and 
 help the Monks to celebrate and say Mass." A 
 Council of Mexico^ in 1585, orders Priests not to 
 smoke tobacco before celebration of Mass. Du 
 Cange, v. Picietum. 
 
 t The idle and infirm had work giYenthem. Reg. 
 Bened. 
 
TO THE NORMAN CONCIUEST. 
 
 31 
 
 Prior, and the reply of Do7ninns ;« but 
 if they have, certain short prayers. 
 Let the work be clone, till the bell ring 
 for ^^ robing themselves for Sext/' 
 When Sext was ended, the Mass com- 
 menced, and was followed by the first 
 bell of Nones, and a short prefatory 
 prayer, as usual before every canonical 
 hour. After this prayer, the officiating 
 Monks of the week took their mixtuSj 
 while the others continued in psalmody, 
 till another sound of the bell proclaimed 
 the commencement of Nones, and the 
 prayers appended. Dinner immediately 
 followed ; and, after this, reading or 
 psalmody^ and if anything remained 
 to be done, the table^ was struck, and 
 it was directly set about. 
 
 Vespers were expedited; and after 
 prayer in the Choir, while the bells 
 were ringing, the Juniors were em- 
 ployed in spiritual reading, and the 
 Seniors in divine prayer, sitting. After 
 Vespers, they retired to put off their 
 diurnal shoes [Davies calls them day- 
 socks], and take their nocturnal ones.^ 
 If it was a Saturday, they washed their 
 feet^ after that their shoes,^and emptied 
 
 * Houses just after the Conquest, through many 
 of the noble Anglo-Saxons flying to the woods and 
 turning thieves, were obliged to be strongly fortified 
 and secured. Prayers, as in a storm at sea, were 
 said by the master of the house ; and in shutting 
 the doors and windows, Benedicite, and the answer 
 Dominus, reverently resounded. This custom con- 
 tinued till the reign of Henry III,; perhaps later. 
 M. Paris, 999. See the explanation liostea, Chap. 
 XXIX. § Novices. 
 
 ■• The Tabula was a wooden hammer, called also 
 Ferula, struck when a Monk was dying, that the 
 rest in the Infirmary might pray for him, and the 
 others hasten to it. — When the breve or obit of a 
 stranger deceased Monk was announced — to assem- 
 ble the Chapter — to proclaim the arrival of a strange 
 brother (among the Franciscans) — at the Maundy 
 — for work — for licence of conversing ; and also 
 during the days in Passion-week, when bell-ringing 
 was suspended. Du Cange, v. Ferula, Tabula; 
 who (v. Matratum) makes it a kind of rattle like a 
 watchman's, or a clapper. 
 
 ' Mr. Strutt thinks that these were a thick kind 
 of shoes, made large enough to receive the foot with 
 the common shoe upon it, which was certainly done, 
 though not in this express instance perhaps. 
 Dresses, I. p. 48. 
 
 •^ Many people observed Saturday for a fast in ho- 
 nour of the Holy Virgin. It was also usual to make 
 every thing clean on tliat day (lioccac. Decamer. 
 D. II. Nov. 10.) ; but Friday was also among us a 
 general cleaning day (Harrington's Nug. Autiq. II. 
 270.) In Bernardus (de ord. Cluniac.) it is said, 
 " on every Wednesday, if it be a private day, and 
 
 the vessels, at the ringing of a bell by 
 the Prior. After the washing was 
 finished, the hammer was struck, and 
 the Monks went to the Maundy,^ After 
 the Maundy was finished, the Collation^ 
 commenced. At another sound of the 
 bell, they entered the refectory to re- 
 ceive their charities s (cups of wine), 
 while the Collation was reading modi- 
 fied in length by the time and inclina- 
 tion of the Prior ; and when that was 
 over, the Prior said a certain prayer.^ 
 On other days they went to the refec- 
 tory after changing their shoes. 
 
 The bell was then rung for Comple- 
 tory ;i after which, at a sign from the 
 Prior, they mutually confessed.'*^ The 
 
 on every Saturday, the boys, after Vespers, wash 
 their shoes ; they wash also their patini by custom, 
 before the birth-days of Peter and Paul ; but they 
 do not suspend them to dry upon a cord, as the 
 other brothers do, but only lay them on the grass- 
 plat of the cloister." Du Cange, v. Patini (lighter 
 shoes). 
 
 e •* The Church," says Rupert Tuitiensis, " imi- 
 tates that woman who anointed the feet of Christ ; 
 i. e. refreshing them with alms, who although they 
 are his lowest members, and, as it were, his feet, so 
 they are esteemed the extreme parts of his great 
 body." (De Divin. Offic. p. 951.) In some monas- 
 teries a Maundy occurred on every Saturday, and 
 the feet of as many poor people were washed, as there 
 were monks. Some Abbeys, after washing the feet, 
 gave linen to the poor. Warm water was used. 
 (Du Cange, v. ^ceolum. Mandatum.) At this sera 
 there was a Maundy for washing the feet of three 
 of the poor belonging to the house, and distributing 
 refection to them every day (besides that of Maun- 
 dy Thursday) ; and this is the Maundy alluded 
 to. Augustine is first quoted for the custom, ac- 
 cording to Du Cange. 
 
 f '« As soon as they shaU have risen from supper, 
 let all sit in one place, and one read Collations, or 
 lives of the fathers, or anything else edifying." 
 (Reg. Bened. C. xlii.) Late suppers took their 
 name from hence. (Du Cange in litt. C. p. 749, ed. 
 Bened.) 
 
 ^ Given on Festivals, Anniversaries, &c. to re- 
 mind the Monks of benefits received; and first 
 mentioned in Eddius's Life of Wilfrid, about the 
 year 700. Du Cange, v. Caritates. 
 
 1' Let the Abbot say after the drinking, " Blessed 
 be the name of the Lord." After this drinking, let 
 the hour of rest take place. Abbas dicet post po- 
 tum, sit nomen domini benedictum ; post banc po- 
 tationem teneatur bora quietis. Missale de Oseney, 
 MS. Arch. A. Bodl. 73, § Depotu Caritatis. 
 
 ' So called because it completed the duties of the 
 day ; and the service ending with that versicle of 
 the Psalms : "Set a watch, O Lord, before my 
 mouth, and keep the door of ray lips," silence was 
 strictly observed till the next day. Fuller's Church 
 History, Book G, p. 289. 
 
 " This was usual in all orders. " Wulstan at- 
 tended the collation of the monks, that, having 
 
32 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM EDGAR 
 
 Complin was concluded by certain 
 prayers; at the end of which the Hebdo- 
 madary (the officiating minister of the 
 week) sprinkled the Monks with holy 
 water, as was done also to the Dormi- 
 tory. And if any one staid longer for 
 private prayer, he was indulged till the 
 bell of the Sacrist, rung for that pur- 
 pose, warned him to depart. 
 
 From the calends of November to 
 the beginning of Lent access Avas 
 granted (in silence) to the fire, and a fit 
 place chosen for that purpose.^ The 
 same customs were observed here as in 
 the Cloister, where in tranquil seasons 
 the Monks abode. No one went from 
 hence without leave of the Prior. 
 
 At this season the Monks rose ear- 
 lier to Vigils ;^' and after Mattins, 
 Lauds, Prime, and other services 
 finished, attended to reading. From 
 the feast of St. Martin ^ the bell of 
 Nones rung, which Nones no drinking ^ 
 followed, till the Purification of the 
 Virgin Mary. This was done on all 
 solemn days ; but on others they put 
 on their shoes, &c. as before directed. 
 
 In Advent let the fat of Bacon ^ be 
 forbidden except on holidays. 
 
 made the general confession with them, and given 
 the benediction, he might retire to rest." Knighton 
 in X Script, col. 2367. 
 
 =» See Chap. LIII. § Common House, 
 
 ^ These, says Linwood, (Prov. p. 102) were eves 
 of certain feasts, in which they not only fasted, but 
 prayed and watched the whole night. There were, 
 however, two nightly services on the chief festivals, 
 one in the beginning of night ; and this seems 
 to be the Vigils here alluded to. Du Cange, v. 
 VigilicB. 
 
 '•• The Latins observed three Lents ; the greater 
 Lent of forty days, and the two others of St. Mar- 
 tin's and John the Baptist before Christmas, latterly 
 compressed into one. It began upon the octaves 
 of All Saints ; and Egbert (De Eccles. Institut.) 
 says, that the English nation, in the full week before 
 Christmas, not only fasted on Wednesday, Friday, 
 and Saturday, but spent twelve whole days before 
 Christmas, in fasts, vigils, prayers, and almsgiving ; 
 which practice obtained both among the monks and 
 people. Du Cange, v. Quadragemna. 
 
 '' These were called Biberes, and were usual in 
 iummer after Nones. Du Cange, v. Biberes 
 Nonales. 
 
 « Stocks of Bacon were laid in for winter provi- 
 sion by our ancestors (M. Paris, 527) ; and this 
 season, being the smaller Lent, it was forbidden, 
 as being a luxury. We are told, that none of the 
 Monks ate meat or blood till the time of Charle- 
 magne, who obtained by devout prayers from Pope 
 
 In Advent, Vespers were celebrated 
 at the usual time after dinner. On the 
 Vigil of Christmas day, whilst that 
 event was recited by the reader in the 
 Chapter, all, rising together, kneeled 
 down to thank our Lord for the piety 
 of his sacrifice. On Easter-day the 
 Gospel was read by the Abbot. Before 
 Lauds the ministers went out in si- 
 lence, to shoe, wash, and clothe them- 
 selves in haste. After Prime the Chap- 
 ter was held ; and, after other spiritual 
 duties, the Monks besought indulgence 
 of the Abbot for their faults ; and the 
 Abbot, throwing himself at their feet, 
 did the like from them. After the 
 Chapter they robed themselves for 
 Tierce. 
 
 On the Purification of the Virgin 
 Mary,f they went in surplices to the 
 Church for Candles, which were conse- 
 crated, sprinkled with Holy Water, and 
 censed by the Abbot. Every Monk 
 took a Candle from the Sacrist and 
 lighted it. A procession was made. 
 Tierce and Mass were celebrated, and 
 the Candles ofi'ered to the Priest. 
 
 Palm Sunday s was celebrated in a 
 
 Leo the use of blood ; and procured for the Monks 
 on his side of the Alps, the fat of bacon, the others 
 having olive oil. Monachorum nemo came vel 
 sanguine vescebatur ante tempora Caroli Magni ; 
 qui devotis optinuit a Leone Papasupplicationibus, 
 usum sanguinis Cismontanis Monachis impetrans 
 eis oleum Lardinum, qui non haberent Laurinam, 
 ut Transmontani. MS. Bodl. Wood, II. p. 213, 
 from W. Mapes, de Nugis Curialium. Query, J. 
 Sarisb.? 
 
 ' Candlemas Day. The candles at the Pu- 
 rification, says Alcuinus (De Divin. Offic. p. 231), 
 were an exchange for the lustration of the Pagans ; 
 and candles were used from the parable of the wise 
 virgins. Du Cange observes, that it was a substitute 
 of Pope Gelasius for the candles, which in February, 
 the people used to carry in the Lupercalia (v. Can- 
 delaria.) Another reason was, that the use of 
 lighted tapers, which was observed all winter at 
 Vespers, and Litanies, was then wont to cease till 
 the next All Hallow Mass (Antiq. Vulg. 221.) 
 The people used to go to Church carrying candles 
 in their hands. In the ancient Danish calendars, 
 a hand holding a torch was painted, in allusion to 
 the day. Du Cange. 
 
 & Branches of box-wood (Palms not being to be 
 obtained here) were carried in procession in me- 
 mory of the Palms strewed before Christ. (Du 
 Cange, v. Dominica Dies. Lignum Paschale.) The 
 Host was carried on an ass, bushes were strewed 
 in the road, cloths of the richest kind spread and 
 bung about (Antiq. Vulg. 237, ed. Brand.), and 
 
TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 
 
 33 
 
 similar manner l)y a procession, conse- 
 crating, sprinkling, and censing the 
 Palm branches, which were immediately 
 afterwards distributed, and, at the end 
 of a religious service, offered like the 
 Candles at the Altar. 
 
 In the first nights of the Passion 
 Week,» if Mattins were ended l)efore 
 day-break, they retired to rest, though 
 it was more laudable if they remained 
 watching. After Prime on these days 
 the whole Psalter was gone over in the 
 Choir : after that the Litany was sung 
 in a prostrate position ; then they read 
 till the time for shoeing themselves ; 
 and after Chapter unshod and washed 
 the pavement of the Church and the 
 Altar with holy water. No Mass was 
 said till this was done to the Altar ; 
 after which they washed their feet and 
 re-shod themselves. After Sext there 
 was a Mass, and such a number of 
 poor as the Abbot approved having 
 been collected in a fit place, they pro- 
 ceeded to the Maunday^ [which was 
 
 tlie heads of children and adults, become dirty, 
 through Lent, washed in preparation for confirma- 
 tion (Du Cange, v. Cajritilnvmm). See the next 
 Chapter. 
 
 » The weeks of Lent had their several denomina- 
 tions from certain duties, now obsolete, as the 
 Hebdomada casta (Chaste week) ; because Chastity 
 was to be observed throughout Lent. Hebdomada 
 Indulgentiae, the Holy week, when penitents were 
 absolved in it. Hebdomada Mediana, the fourth 
 week, when ordinations were held, especially of 
 Priests (Du Cange, v. Hebdomada). [This con- 
 tains Mid-Lent, or Mothering Sunday, imperfectly 
 explained in the Antiquitates Vulgares. It is 
 founded on the Roman Hilaria, or feast in honour 
 of the Mother of the Gods, upon the 8 Ides of 
 March (of this see Danet. v. Calendar) ; which 
 Mother of the Gods was converted by Christianity 
 into the Mother Church, whence in the second step 
 the Antiquitates Vulgares deduce the origin.] Heb- 
 domada muta, when the bells were bound up. Heb- 
 domada })8enalis, Passion Week, to be passed in 
 the strictest fasting for the memory of Christ. Du 
 Cange. 
 
 '' Bishop Jewell says (in addition made to what 
 has been before said), "The bodies of them that 
 had appointed to be baptized (at Easter), being ill- 
 cherished, by reason of the Lenten fast, would have 
 had some loathsomeness in the touching, uulesse 
 they had been washt at some time before ; and that, 
 therefore, they chose this day cljierty to that pur- 
 pose, upon which day tlie Lord's supper is yearly 
 celebrated." Bishop Jewell's Defence of his Apo- 
 logy, p. 87. 
 
 done by washing, wiping, and kissing 
 their feet], and giving them water [to 
 wash their hands], money, and provi^ 
 sions, and singing suitable Antipho- 
 nars.c 
 
 After Nones they cloathed them- 
 selves if they chose, and the Sacrist 
 carried to the Church gate a spear with 
 the image of a serpent.^ A light struck 
 from a flint was consecrated by the 
 Abbot ; and the candle, fixed on the 
 spear like a serpent, was lighted from 
 it.e The Convent then entered the 
 Church, and a taper was lighted from 
 the candle. In the same ceremony on 
 Friday the Serpent was carried by the 
 Dean, on the Saturday by the Prior, 
 after which Mass followed. When con- 
 cluded they took Mixtus ; and the 
 Abbot, with certain of his Monks, per- 
 formed his own Maunday ; after which 
 Vespers commenced, and was followed 
 by the conventual refection. Tlie 
 Monks had then their Maundy, This 
 was succeeded by the commencement 
 of the collation, a certain part of the 
 Gospel was read, and the whole Con- 
 vent with tapers and frankincense, and 
 the Deacon reading the Gospel, went 
 to the refectory, and sat down while 
 the reading was still continued. The 
 Abbot went round with the cup of 
 drink, and kissed the Monks^ hands ; 
 then, upon his being seated, the Prior 
 and other oflicers drank to him again. 
 
 c Alternate chaunts of two choirs. They origi- 
 nated with Ignatius among the Greeks, and were 
 introduced by Ambrose among the Latins. They 
 were taken from the two Seraphim, and intended to 
 represent the two covenants mutually answering 
 each other. Rab. Maur. de Instit. Cler. L. ii. Ch. 
 50, p. G15. See too Du Cange, v. Antiphonar. 
 
 ^ Du Cange says, that it was a wooden rod made 
 in a spiral form, from whence the name Serpent 
 (v. Serpens). Zosimus tirst instituted it; the ta- 
 per was Christ, and expressed the column of fire 
 which preceded the Israelites. The new fire lighted 
 from it was the new doctrine of Christ (Gemma 
 Anim», 1281). In the Holy Church of Jerusalem 
 a pretended Angel descended to light it (La Brec- 
 quiere, p. 12). It was lighted through the roof at 
 Durham. (Davies.) 
 
 •= The flint was Christ, the fire Avas the Holy 
 Ghost (Rup. Tuitiens. L. v. Ch. xxviii. § de novo 
 igne). See more in the next Chapter concerning 
 the Taper, and the note under Agnus Dei. 
 
34 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM ^ROM EDGAR 
 
 When tlie Gospel was finished^ and 
 the cups emptied^ they unrobed them- 
 selves^ and went to Complin. 
 
 At Easter Lauds were as before. 
 At Prime all were bare-footed^'^ till the 
 Cross was worshipped.^' On the same 
 day at Nones,^ the Abbot and Convent 
 went to the Church, and, after the 
 prayer, while he was robed, he came 
 from the Vestry, before the Altar, to 
 pray ; and then, silently going to his 
 seat, the Sub-deacon began a service 
 relating to the Passion of Christ ; and 
 when they came to " they parted my 
 vestments among them," the Dea- 
 con stripped the Altar of the silk, 
 which had been placed under the Mis- 
 sals, in the manner of thieves. ^ This 
 was followed by prayers : the Abbot 
 returning to the Altar began others; 
 the first without genuflexion.^ Then 
 the Cross was held at a short distance 
 from the Altar by two Deacons,^ and a 
 short service was performed in Latin 
 and Greek.? The Cross was then 
 brought before the Altar, and an Aco- 
 lyte followed with the cushion on 
 which the Cross was put. Then fol- 
 lowed a religious service, during which 
 the Cross was exalted, and then un- 
 
 a Of this see § Pilgrims. 
 
 ^ Of this veneration of the Cross, see Angl. 
 Sacra, II. 316. 
 
 *= Because at the ninth hour Christ cried, ** Fa- 
 ther, into thy hands I resign my spirit." Rup. 
 Tuitiens. L. vi. Ch. iv. p. 959. 
 
 *' Because our Lord was stripped of his clothes. 
 Rup. Tuitiens. L. v. Ch. xxx. p. 955. 
 
 ^ "At what hours or times among the public 
 services we are not to pray with genuflexion, the 
 Canons mention : i. e. on Sundays, and the greater 
 feasts, and Quinquagesima ; according to which 
 Canons, the public penitents are, however, always 
 to kneel.'' (Walafr. Strabo de reb. eccles. Ch. 
 XXV. p. 686-7.) Ljoidwood says, genuflexions are 
 not to be made at the hours from Easter to Pente- 
 cost inclusive, in sign of the Resurrection ; nor on 
 any Sunday; but it was otherwise upon Fast- days 
 (p. 298.) See too Justin Martyr, p. 468. 
 
 ^ Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, who 
 begged our Lord's body from Pilate. Rup. Tnit. 
 L. vi. Ch. xxxiii. p. 967. 
 
 « There were Alleluias, Osannas, &c. i. e. Greek, 
 Latin, and Hebrew, in the Mass; because our 
 Lord's title on the cross was drawn up in tliese 
 languages. Hug. ^ S. Victore, Ch. ii. 12. 
 
 covered.'* This denudation of the 
 Cross continued until the Sub-Deacon 
 turned to the congregation. Upon this 
 the Abbot and all the Convent of the 
 right choir thrice prostrated themselves 
 before the Cross, and said the seven 
 penitential Psalms,* and suitable pray- 
 ers. After these they kissed the Cross,^ 
 the Abbot returned to his seat; and 
 the left Choir and all the congregation 
 and people did the same. 
 
 Further, because on that day was the 
 burial of our Saviour, an image of a 
 Sepulchre was made on a vacant side 
 of the Altar, and a veil drawn around 
 it, where tlie Cross was laid until it 
 should have been worshiioped in this 
 form. The Deacons bearers wrapping 
 it in silk in the places where it had 
 been worshipped, brought it back to 
 the tomb, singing certain psalms, and 
 there laid it, with more psalmody. There 
 it was watched till the night of Easter 
 Sunday, by two, three, or more Monks, 
 singing psalms.^ After this followed 
 the Communion. Every one sung 
 Vespers, as Complin afterwards, si- 
 lently,™ in the manner of the Canons,» 
 in his place, after which they went to 
 the Refectory. Other matters were as 
 
 ^ This signified, that, when Christ gave up the 
 Ghost, the veil of the Temple was rent in twain, 
 and from that time all the Mosaic law, and arcana 
 of the Jews, were manifested to the Gentiles. Rup. 
 L.vi. Ch. XX. p. 965. 
 
 • 1. Domine ne in furore. 2. Miserere raei 
 Deus. 3. Miserere mei Deus mens. 4. Deus 
 misereaturnostri. 5. Deusin Adjutorium. 6. In- 
 clina, Domine. 7. De profundis. (Du Cange, v. 
 Psalmi.) 
 
 ^ They bowed as low as possible at its approach, 
 and then with extended arms took it, and kissed it. 
 Ang. Sacr. II. 316. 
 
 ' Because our Lord rested that day in the tomb, 
 and the Disciples passed all the following night in 
 sorrow. Rup. Tuit. L. vi. Ch. xxii. p. 966. 
 
 '" Becau.se the Apostles, after they had sung a 
 hymn, and gone with Christ to the Mount of Olives, 
 being oppressed with sorrow, were silent from the 
 common praise. Therefore that deep silence was 
 begun from Complin, because about that hour 
 when our Lord said, '* Behold, he is at hand who 
 sliall betray me," they began to be sorrowful, and 
 slept from grief. Rup. Tuit. L. v. Ch. xxxii. § 
 Cur bonis sub silentio cantamus. 
 
 " A dictate of Gregory in his Antiphonarium. 
 Concord. Regul. p. 89. 
 
TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 
 
 35 
 
 usual ; but upon any vacant time, after 
 the veneration of the Cross, the officia- 
 ting priests or boys shaved and l)athed, 
 if the Society was too large for it to be 
 done on the morrow, vSaturday. In 
 the Chapter and elsewhere every thing 
 was as usual, except that on these 
 three days all matters in the Refectory 
 were accompanied with benediction/'* 
 
 On the Sunday the same ceremony 
 followed, as before described, respect- 
 ing the Serpent,^ with this difference : 
 that after the consecration, two Aco- 
 lytes held lights at the right and left 
 horn of the Altar. A divine service 
 followed, during which the Abbot and 
 convent singing five Litanies, went to 
 consecrate the Fonts f and upon their 
 
 * Benedictions were taken from Moses. Deut. 
 xxviii. Rab. Maur. de instit. Cler. L. ii. Cli. Iv. 
 p. 619. 
 
 ^ It was carried before the Candidates for Bap- 
 tism, because the fiery column preceded the Is- 
 raelites to the Red Sea, which prefigured Baptism 
 (Gemma Animse, p. 1281). By others it is said, 
 our baptizates, their past sins being extinguished, 
 are led to the Church, the taper preceding them, 
 whence it is understood that it ought to be lighted 
 for no other purpose in any place, except for ex- 
 citing a recollection of the illumination of the Holy 
 Spirit, whilst they are going to the Church (Albinus 
 de Div. Offic. p. 262). 
 
 *^ There is a long account of this in the " Ordo 
 Romanus de DivinisOfficiis,'' pp. 80, 82 ; and a for- 
 mula in MS. Bodl. Barl. VII. p. 32 : but I prefer 
 giving matters more archaeological than ritual. 
 The greater churches had rooms adjoining to them, 
 in the middle of which was the Bason or Font, into 
 wliich springs flowed by pipes and aqueducts often 
 of the figure of stags, sometimes of lambs. We 
 hear of Fonts of rich work, supported by twelve 
 oxen, and " Ecce Agnus Dei" (Behold the Lamb of 
 God) inscribed upon them. The Baptisteries had 
 Oratories and Altars in them, and were adorned 
 with various pictures : such as John baptizing our 
 Lord, Peter, Cornelius, &c. There were also 
 grottoes in the middle of church-yards, whence 
 springs burst forth ; sometimes mere basons (Du 
 Cange, v. Baptist nrium, Deductorium, Agnns fun- 
 dens aqnam, Canthari Fans, Nymphcea.) See Ro- 
 binson's History of Baptism. Of Luton Font, &c. 
 &c. I decline speaking ; and proceed to matters 
 connected with Baptism, but curious and little 
 known. 
 
 1st. of Godfathers. 
 
 The Ordo Romanus, above quoted, orders God- 
 fathers to hold the children in their riglit arms, 
 while the priest said the baptismal prayers. Adults 
 placed one foot upon that of'the Godfather. A cake 
 was given every year by the Sponsors, on the Vigil 
 of Christmas-day, to the children, until they were 
 
 return to the Altar, the Chantor cried 
 " Light " faccendite). All the Candles 
 were instantly lighted,^^ the Abbot be- 
 ginning '^ Glory to God on high," and 
 all the bells were rung. After this fol- 
 lowed a religious service, a Maundy 
 and Complin, as above, 
 
 On Easter-day the seven canonical 
 hours were to be sung in the manner 
 of the Canons ; and in the night before 
 Mattins,the Sacrists [because our Lord 
 rested in the tomb^] were to put the 
 Cross in its place. Then, during a re- 
 ligious service, four Monks robed them- 
 selves, one of whom in an alb, as if he 
 had somewhat to do, came stealingly to 
 the tomb, and there holding a palm 
 branch, sat still, till theresponsory was 
 ended ; when the three others, carrying 
 censers in their hands, came uj) to him. 
 
 grown up (says Du Cange, v. Pompa -. whenever 
 they asked a blessing. Cowell, v. Kichell.) Ruf- 
 finus says, that he had a Godfather, who was to him 
 both a teacher of the Creed and the Faith (Du 
 Cange, v. Pater.) We hear of a Godfather sparing 
 the life of a Godsonin battle, on account of thatcon- 
 nexion (Chron. Sax. 58.) The presents of Apostle- 
 spoons are well known. It was the custom formerly 
 for one name to be given by the parents to children 
 after birth, to which others were sometimes added 
 in Baptism (Du Cange). The names were often 
 given from vows of the parents to particular Saints 
 — from relatives — from inclination — from their 
 own names— but mostly from the first cause (M. 
 Par. 97, 414, 480, 526, 575, 669. Rous, 204.) 
 As to surnames, &c. it is not my intention to give 
 extracts from Camden's Remains, Du Cange, v. 
 Cognomen, &c. &c. Infants for eight days were 
 clothed in white ; and in this dress they were 
 brought to Church every day to be christened, on 
 the Sabbath, at Easter, or Pentecost, with candles : 
 at least this was the custom in some places (Du 
 Cange, v. Capa). Baptism was delayed by the 
 Anglo-Saxon kings and nobles, in order to indulge 
 in plundering other countries ; nor were they often 
 baptized till monastic retirement was resolved on 
 (Scr. p. Bed. 192, 193). 
 
 '^ Upon the principle of illuminations, it was uni- 
 versally kno^n, that the joy of the Church was 
 signified by the light of tapers and lamps. Upon 
 this particular occasion, "all the lights," says 
 Amalarius [except the serpent taper, and another 
 lighted from it] " remain extinguished till the last 
 litany, which belongs to the office of the Mass of the 
 Resurrection. Then the lights of the Church and 
 newly baptized [who carried candles : see the pre- 
 ceding note] are lighted, to show that the whole 
 world was illuminated by the resurrection of Christ." 
 De Ordine Antiphonarii, Ch. xliv. p. 541. 
 
 «= Rup. Tuit. L. vi. Ch. xxii. p. 99G. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM EDGAR TO THE CONQUEST. 
 
 step l)y step, as if looking for something. 
 As soon as he saw them approach, he 
 began singing in a soft voice (dulcisone), 
 ^' Whom seek ye }'' to which was rephed 
 by the three others in chorus, " Jesus 
 of Nazareth/' This was answered by 
 the other, " He is not here, he is risen/' 
 At which words, the three last, turning 
 to the choir, cried, '^ Alleluia, the Lord 
 is risen /^ The other then, as if calling 
 them back, sung, " Come and see the 
 place ;^' and then rising, raised the 
 cloth, showed them the place with- 
 out the Cross, and linen cloths in 
 which it was wrapped. Upon this 
 they laid down their censers, took the 
 clothes, extended them to show that 
 the Lord was risen, and singing an 
 Antiphonar, placed them upon the Al- 
 tar. The whole was concluded with 
 suitable offices. ^'^On these seven days,'^ 
 says Dunstan, ^^ we do not sing."*' 
 
 From the Octaves of Easter, and all 
 summer, after Mattins, there was an 
 interval according to the Rule, and 
 Lauds followed ; after which, if they 
 were finished at day-break, as they 
 ought to have been, the Monks left the 
 Church, put on their shoes, washed, 
 said their prayers, and sat in the clois- 
 ter reading till Prime. If it was not 
 day-break, the Prior, if willing, allowed 
 them to go to bed again imtil morning, 
 when they did as above during all 
 summer, except Sundays and Festivals. 
 After Prime, the Morning Mass and 
 Cliapter, they did what was to be done, 
 till the first bell of Tierce rung. After 
 this service they washed their hands 
 and went to dinner. Having dined, 
 they retired to bed till half-past two 
 [the meridian, or sleep at noon, com- 
 mon with all ranks, through the classical 
 and middle ages^'], when the first bell 
 
 • This has been before explained; but Mattins 
 were not s.-iid, like the hours, in sileiace, because the 
 latter signified the presence of Christ's passion ; 
 but the nightly vigils, the former times, in which 
 the Prophets foretold the approaching sufferings of 
 our Lord, ** who were not killed silent," non ta- 
 centes interfecti sunt. Rup. Tuit. L. v. Ch. xxxiii. 
 p. 955. 
 
 *• The Romans went to sleep about 2 p.m. after 
 
 of Nones rang, at which signal they 
 arose, washed themselves, and sang the 
 service. After this, the Biberes, or 
 drinking followed ; and then they were 
 I to do what was necessary, for the re- 
 I maining hours were devoted to reading 
 and silence ; as ^^ from the first bell of 
 tlie evening course^' there was no 
 speaking till the conclusion of the 
 Chapter on the morrow,^ except in the 
 Auditory [Locutory or Parlour], which 
 was so named, " because there was to 
 be heard what was ordered," not that 
 idle talk was to be indulged there 
 or elsewhere. Vigils for the dead, 
 psalms for benefactors, and litanies be- 
 
 bathing. Lubin. in Juven. p. 69. Nott's Catull. 
 I. 88. XV. Script. 268. Scr. p. Bed. 408, b. 
 Neubrig. L. i. Ch. 3 ; " writan in my sleeping time 
 at afternone on Wytsonday." Paston Lett. III. 
 282. 
 
 ^ This, and the concluding duties of private 
 prayer, confession, and the evening prayer, obtained 
 in all orders. Amalarius says, "Complin is so 
 called because therein is completed the daily use of 
 meat and drink, which is necessarily taken for sup- 
 port of the body, or common conversation. Whence 
 the custom is observed among the Monks, from the 
 Benedictine rule, that, after that office, they are 
 silent, and do those things which are foreign from 
 common conversation, till they again return to 
 their labours." (De Eccl. Offic. L. iii. Ch. viii. p. 
 458.) Lanzo, a Prior at Lewes, had never spoken 
 after Complin since he became a Monk (Malmesb. 
 Script, p. Bed. 97, a.) Among the Dominicans 
 the direction is, " Ante completorium turn legatur 
 lectio in hoc * Fratres sobrii este ' " {i. e. the colla- 
 tion), et facta confessione et Deo completorio det 
 benedictionem, qui prseest, et Ebdomadarius asper- 
 gat aquam benedictam (Deer. Lanfr. Ch. xiv.) et 
 cantent fratres " Salve Reginu" (MS.Cott. ><ero A. 
 12, Const. Fratr.j ; i. e. Before Complin, let the 
 reading be in this, ** Brothers, be sober;" and 
 after confession and Complin, let the presiding 
 officer give the benediction, the minister of the 
 week sprinkle the Friars with holy water, and the 
 Brethren sing, " Hail, Queen, blessed mother of 
 our Lord." This Salve Regina (though among the 
 Friars, as above, the prayer was different at different 
 seasons), which Davies calls the Salvi, was, says 
 Du Cange (in voce), the sequence which Peter 
 Bishop of Compostella composed, though in 
 another place he denominates it the Antiphona de 
 Podio, because made by Audemar Bishop of Podia 
 (in voce : perhaps a correction of the Benedictine 
 editors, unless it alluded to its being sung rfe Podio, 
 part of the seat called Misericord). Jordan, age- 
 \ neral of the Dominicans, introduced it about 126G 
 I (Hospinian de orig. et progressu Monachor. p. 393), 
 j However, it was a Gaudium, or common song (Du 
 ' Cange, v. Gaudia), especially sung by beggars at 
 people's doors. (Hawk, Music, II. 89.) 
 
THE RULE OF FULGENTIUS. 
 
 37 
 
 fore Mass, were then omitted, because 
 tliere was no genuflection on account 
 of the Resurrection. At the Calends 
 of November, tlie Vigil [Mattins of 
 the dead] was done after Mattins, 
 wliich, tlirougli the short days, could 
 not ])e done on the evening, except 
 on the Festivals, in which the brothers 
 were to sup. Then, after supper, they 
 performed the Vigil, the officiating mi- 
 nisters supping in the interim, that, 
 afterwards, according to the Rule, all 
 might meet at collation. This order 
 respecting the Vigil was to be observed 
 till the beginning of Lent ; and then, 
 and during the whole summer, it was 
 to be said after supper, or if there was 
 none, after Vespers. 
 
 The Sabbath was the general clean- 
 ing day ; oiHng of shoes, washing of 
 clothes, &c. ; and no one was to omit 
 his duty at divine service, or do any 
 thing without leave of the Prior. 
 
 All these customs, though Anglo- 
 Saxon as to us, but really foreign in 
 origin, subsisted till the dissolution, 
 rather enlarged than mutilated by sub- 
 sequent repetitional institutes.^ 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Rule of Fulgentius. — {Laiiii 
 and Anglo-Saxon — MS, Bodl. ArcJdv, 
 SekL D. 52.) 
 
 1. Introduction. 
 
 2. From the calends of October to 
 Easter, at the ninth hour, till Tierce, 
 eleventh hour, and at all times in the 
 Church, silence. 
 
 3. Seniors to call the Juniors breth- 
 ren ; the Juniors to call the Seniors 
 Non7ios [equivalent to Uncle] ; the Ab- 
 bot Dominus or Pater. 
 
 4. To use no oath, but crcde mihi 
 (believe me), or plan^ (evidently)^ or 
 certe (surely). 
 
 5. Voluntary i^enitence. 
 (u Obedience. 
 
 • See MS. Bodl. Barlow,'7 ; where all the for- 
 mulfE of Passion week, &c. ; but the affirmation is 
 proved by Green's Worcester, I. 127, Davies, 
 Anglia Sacra, &c. 
 
 7. Juniors to say to the Prior and 
 Seniors Benedicite, whenever they met 
 them, and to rise from their seats when 
 a senior passed. 
 
 8. The punishment of envy, malice, 
 &c. 
 
 9. To address the Abbot and Se- 
 niors with Benedicite on going, or re- 
 turning, from the Convent, beginning 
 
 any 
 
 work, &c. 
 
 [To be deprived of the 
 Benediction among the Monks was to 
 be sent to Coventry, Du Cangc, v. 
 Benedictio.] 
 
 10. Voluntary acknowledgment of 
 faults on losing or breaking anything 
 in the refectory, kitchen, cellar, or other 
 place; prostration upon the ground, and 
 holding the thing broken in the hand. 
 
 1 1 . To beware of laughter and fre- 
 quent conversation with friends or re- 
 latives ; not to speak with any one 
 alone, but in the presence of others. 
 
 1 2. To go in the house only where 
 ordered. 
 
 13. To speak low. 
 
 14. To do no work without permis- 
 sion or benediction of the prior. 
 
 15. To give or receive nothing with- 
 out the Abbot's permission, and to have 
 nothing of their own but what he al- 
 lowed. 
 
 16*. To have no more of meat, drink, 
 or clothes than the rule allowed. 
 
 17. Not to return to past vices. 
 
 18. Seniors to correct small faults 
 by private reprimand, large ones from 
 the rule. 
 
 19. To be lenient and cautious in 
 correction. 
 
 20. To recur to confession for wicked 
 thoughts. 
 
 21. To converse humbly among them- 
 selves. 
 
 22. To attend the Church at the ca- 
 nonical hour, on the bell ringing. 
 
 23. Not to be contentious. 
 
 24. Not to eat or drink but at stated 
 times, the sick and infants excepted. 
 
 2o, Not to calumniate^ or notice 
 those who did. 
 
 2G. To preserve peace. 
 
 27. To shun seecular gossiping (fa- 
 bulas). 
 
38 
 
 THE RULE OF FULGENTIUS. 
 
 28. To attend to manual labour at 
 tlie stated times. 
 
 29. At other times to read silently 
 in the Cloister. 
 
 30. In summer time, after dinner, to 
 retire to bed, or to read. 
 
 31. No Monk to call anything his 
 own, but always our, except in faults, 
 then my. 
 
 32. Instant obedience to the Abbot's 
 commands. 
 
 33. Unison in the Choir. 
 
 34. When the hour of refection came, 
 after the service was ended, to wait in 
 the Church silently psalmodizing {ta- 
 cites psallentes), [The Monks do not 
 seem to have understood the real He- 
 brew meaning of Psallo, which is to 
 sing to an instrument. All other ac- 
 ceptations of the word are corrup- 
 tions.] 
 
 35. At the sound of the bell, having 
 washed their hands, to enter the re- 
 fectory, saluting the Cross and look- 
 ing to the East. 
 
 36. At the second sound of the bell, 
 all together to say the verse and the 
 Lord^s Prayer, kneeling. 
 
 37. At the Benediction given by the 
 Prior, all to sit in their seats in or- 
 der. 
 
 38. No one to take any meat or 
 drink before the Abbot. 
 
 39. Each Monk upon taking the 
 first bread, and first draught of drink, 
 to say Befiedicite to his companion, 
 w^ho was to answer Deus. 
 
 40. The reader first to ask for the 
 
 Benediction before the Monks began 
 to eat. 
 
 41. The Prior to bless the meat or 
 drink standing. [Thus Grace was said 
 over liquid food. One Anglo-Saxon 
 grace before dinner was by signing the 
 dish wdth a Cross. Eddius in XV 
 Script, p. 77* The form used by the 
 Clergy in this age is in Alcuini Poemata, 
 14(j. Du Cange, v. Benedictio. See 
 the preceding remarks upon the Psal- 
 ter.'] 
 
 42. The Monks to take apples or 
 fruit as divided by the Cellarer, equally, 
 Avhether at dinner or supper ; and they 
 were to be eaten immediately after 
 other food, at a side table. The read- 
 ing to cease at the termination of the 
 meal. 
 
 43. Upon leaving the table after a 
 verse was said, the left Choir go out 
 first, the Abbot last, singing the 50th 
 Psahn ; and upon entering the Church 
 to incline themselves and kneel to the 
 glory. 
 
 44. After Vespers to meet in the 
 evening Chapter, and read. 
 
 45. The reading over all to rise at 
 once, and the Abbot to say, " Adjuto- 
 rium 7iostrum ;" and the rest to an- 
 swer, '^ PFho made Heaven and Earth:' 
 
 46. Complin. 
 
 47. Silence, prayer, retrospect (?'e- 
 cordatio) of sins. 
 
 48. The evening prayer. 
 
 49. Caution and care in the Church 
 and Dormitory. 
 
 50. To remember and con the Rule. 
 
BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST. 
 
 39 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST TO THE 
 
 DISSOLUTION. 
 
 After the year 1077^ on account of 
 failure in the observance of Dunstan's 
 Concord of Rules, through the conse- 
 quences of Danish Invasions, Lanfranc, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, found it 
 necessary to issue new institutes.^ 
 Matthew Paris says, that the Church 
 of St. Alban^s became the school of 
 discipline and pattern of the rule, 
 through all England ; because Paul, 
 the fourteenth Abbot, had brought with 
 him the decrees of Lanfranc.^^ These, 
 Reyner says (erroneously), were pre- 
 vented from taking firm root by the 
 peculiar circumstances under which 
 the Norman Kings reigned in this 
 country. To remedy this defect of 
 influence in the decrees of Lanfranc, a 
 synod of Lateran issued emendatory 
 statutes in the year 1215. Upon the 
 superannuation of these, Benedict the 
 Xllth, in the fourteenth century, pub- 
 lished constitutions which biassed Mo- 
 nachism till the Dissolution. These 
 are printed in Wilkins^s Councils (Vol. 
 ii.) As the two last codes are more 
 visitational than novel, the Anglo-Mo- 
 nastic Consuetudinal is rather to be 
 sought in the institutes of Dunstan and 
 Lanfranc, which the most indubitable 
 evidence attests to have subsisted till 
 the Dissolution, with few or no varia- 
 tions of moment.c 
 
 ORDINARY OF THE WHOLE YEAR, OR 
 DECRETALS OF LANFRANC. 
 
 From October to Advent, 
 
 On private days, till All Saints^ Day, 
 Nov. 30, the Monks were to return to 
 
 • Reyner, p. 208. '' p. lOOl. 
 
 « Tlie Paschal, the Maundy, the Burial service, 
 &c. &c. are all included in Davies's Rites and 
 Monuments of the Church of Durham, published 
 after the DissolutioQ. 
 
 their beds after Mattins ; and at day- 
 break,the ])rethren in their night-clothes, 
 and infants '1 and youths*^ with their 
 candles, were to come to the Church, 
 sing Prime, and afterwards sit in the 
 Cloister. The boys were ^^ first to read 
 loudly " {2)rhniius attt legayit), and af- 
 terwards, if necessary, sing ; and be- 
 fore they read, no one was to read or 
 sing in the Cloister, except silently, or 
 go to confession, i Before the warning 
 bell of Tierce, no one was to put ou 
 his day- clothes excejit officers engaged 
 out of the Cloister ;) nor they, before 
 they had sat there and waited till the 
 children had first read. When Tierce 
 approached, the Sacrist was to ring a 
 small bell, and the Monks to go to the 
 Dormitory, to put on their day-shoes,^ 
 and take their knives ;S and from thence 
 to the Lavatory,^ where they were to 
 wash and comb themselves ; and then, 
 coming to the Church, take holy water. 
 
 •^ All under fifteen years of age. Fuller's Church 
 Hist. B. vi. 289. 
 
 «= All under twenty, I infer, from Reyner, Ap- 
 pend. 1G5. 
 
 ' See §§ Chamberlain, Vestiary. 
 
 E Every Monk had a table-book, knife, needle, 
 and handkerchief; and they slept without their 
 knives for fear of injury (Reg. Bcned. Ch. Iv. Ful- 
 ler, ubi supr. p. 288). Men used to carry needle- 
 cases (cylindrical and hooped) about their persons, 
 to mend their clothes when necessary. The Beau 
 of the fifteenth century, just risen in the morning, 
 before he has completed his dress, is represented as 
 taking a needle from his needle-case on purpose to 
 sew or baste his sleeves. Strutt's Dresses, 11.292, 
 and plate cxxxii. As Ada is sewing thread, and 
 Aciarinm a needle case, in Du Cange, probably the 
 former was included. The needle, according to 
 Chaucer, was of silver, resembling probably a bod- 
 kin ; but, as tlic Encyclopaidie des Antiquitt's, by 
 the way, says, that no needle of the classical age 
 has ever been found, it is fit to note, that one exists 
 in the Hamilton Collection at the British Museum. 
 See the Catalogue for Visitors. 
 
 ^ Described in § Cloister. 
 
40 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 and lie prostrate*'^ till the children came. 
 Wlicn these were washed^ and began 
 to comb themselves, the greater bell 
 was to ring for the hour, and the 
 infants to come and take holy water. 
 The bell was then to cease, and all to- 
 gether to begin the triple prayer. After 
 this the smaller bell was to ring, and 
 Tierce commence ; and when the psalm 
 Miserere was begun, they were to rise 
 for the celebration of Mass, make their 
 cmte and retro^'> (a bow to the Altar first 
 ante, and to the Abbot at the bottom of 
 the choir i-etro), and go to clothe them- 
 selves. After the Mass they were all 
 to sit in the Choir, except some Con- 
 verts,^ who were to assist the Priest, 
 and those who served at Mass ; and, 
 when they had done this, return to the 
 Choir. Then^ at the Abbot's order, 
 the Prior was to ring the least bell, 
 and they were to go to the Chapter, 
 two and two, according to seniority, 
 the children last. After the Chapter, 
 the table being struck^ the Abbot or 
 Prior was to say Benedicite, and the 
 Monks to converse in the Cloister, and 
 the infants hold their Chapter, and af- 
 terwards go to the refectory. After 
 Sext, no one was to speak in the 
 
 » There were psalmi prosfrati, those said on the 
 ground, the same as the penitential. Dii Cange. 
 See further on. 
 
 ^ The ante and retro was a method of bowing 
 among the Monks when they entered or left the 
 choir, so contrived, that the back was lower than 
 the loins, and the head than the back. Du Cange, 
 in voce. 
 
 « Persons who entered into religion late in life, 
 and Lay -brothers, were both called Converts (Du 
 Cange, v. Conversi.) '' In the Lanthorn, called 
 the New Work," says Davies, "hung three fine 
 bells, rung always at twelve o'clock at night, the 
 Monks going to Mattins at that hour. Four men 
 were appointed to ring these bells at midnight, and 
 at such times of the day as the Monks went to 
 serve God. Tico of the said men belonged to the 
 Revestry, and kept the copes, the vestments, and 
 five pair of silver censers, with the other ornaments 
 pertaining to the High Altar, and lay in a chamber 
 over the west end of the Revestry. The other two 
 men lay in a chamber in the North Alley, over 
 against the Sacrist's Exchequer : they swept and 
 kept the Church clean, and filled the holy water 
 stones every Sunday morning with clean water be- 
 fore it was hallowed, aud locked the Church-doors 
 every night." 
 
 Cloister till the children had gone from 
 the Church, and the youngest said 
 " Benedicite." Then, after a space, 
 during the ringing of the skilla^^ for 
 warning of Mass, and the signwn^ for 
 Mass, while the preparatory prayer 
 and a litany was performed by a child, 
 the officiating ministers were to robe 
 themselves. On Wednesdays and Fri- 
 days,^ if after Sext and before Mass, 
 there was to be a procession through 
 the Cloister, the Sacrist was to omit 
 the Mass-bell, and ring another when 
 the time of procession approached ; 
 and upon this there was to be instant 
 silence in the cloister. They were to 
 unshoe themselves, wash their hands, 
 go to the procession, after Mass say a 
 prayer, the hebdomaclaries of the kitchen 
 and reader of the table to take mixtus, 
 and those absent from Mass through the 
 business of the house, with the Abbot's 
 or Prior^s consent, to have bread and 
 beer ; the others in the interim sitting 
 in the choir, and those who chose it 
 reading. Upon the return of the ser- 
 vants to the choir the Ijell was to be 
 rung, Nones to be celebrated; and, 
 this concluded, the Prior to go to strike 
 the cymhalum f and the hebdomada- 
 ries of the kitchen, and others, to their 
 respective offices. 
 
 ^ The names of bells. See Spelman's Gloss, v. 
 Campana. 
 
 ^ On the calends of November, at midnight, they 
 were to sit in the clioir ; the children with their 
 lights to remain with their masters in the Chapter 
 singing ; or if they rose in the depth of night to 
 rest, " jacentes ad sedilia sua," lying at their seats. 
 At this interval, the Prior, with a dark lantern, was 
 to go through the choir, to see how regularly they 
 sat ; afterwards through the altars, and parts of the 
 Church, lest any one should be asleep there. If 
 any one was praying, he was to pass him by in si- 
 lence ; if asleep, to awake him, and, by a sign, order 
 him to return to the choir. Then he was to 
 go through the Chapter, and see how the masters 
 and scholars behaved. Then were to follow Mat- 
 tins and Prime ; at the former of which, the Sacrist 
 was to take care so to arrange the hour of Lauds, 
 that all should be finished by day-break ; but if he 
 was mistaken, and there was any darkness after the 
 Litany, the Monks were se to manage as above di- 
 rected, that none but the minnti (those who had 
 been bled) should return to bed. At daybreak 
 they were to sit in the cloister, 
 
 ' The name of a bell. 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 41 
 
 Festivals between October and Advent 
 tioiv observed. 
 
 All Saints, The devout vlsitocl all 
 the Altars of the Churchy and required 
 the suffrages of all tlie Saints/'^ 
 
 All Sonls -svas to be passed in devo- 
 tions for diminishing the pains of the 
 souls in purgatory J' 
 
 § F?'owi Advent to Lent, 
 
 On the Sunday preceding Advent a 
 sermon was to be preached in the Chap- 
 ter. On the Vigil of St. Thomas the 
 Apostle, if it was a Sunday, the Monks 
 were to be shaved ; and those who 
 wished to bathe so manage that two 
 days before Christmas they might all 
 be bathed. If necessary they might do 
 this on the above Saint^s day. The 
 day before, the Abbot or keeper of the 
 order was to appoint a Senior, whose 
 office was to give the Monks notice of 
 the time, see how they behaved, observe 
 whether matters were duly prepared, 
 see that the servants were men ad- 
 vanced in years, and give notice, if 
 any thing was amiss, to the Chamber- 
 lain. After this he was to return to 
 the Cloister, inform the Monks, and 
 take care that the Juniors and Novices 
 did not go with the Seniors. The 
 Monks appointed, after they were 
 shaved, taking the fresh clothes they 
 were to put on, were to go to the place 
 appointed for bathing, and there strip- 
 ping, as in the Dormitory, enter every 
 one where he Avas told, and putting- 
 aside the curtain, which hung before 
 them, sit silent. If they wanted any- 
 thing they were to make a sign to the 
 servant, who was to lift the curtain, 
 give it them, and instantly retire. They 
 were to stay no longer than till they 
 were washed, and having put on their 
 shoes, and washed their hands, to return 
 to the Cloister. The children were to go, 
 and return with their masters. The 
 Monks might bathe at all hours from 
 Prime to Complin, but no one without 
 leave of the superintending Monk. 
 
 Qold. Leg. cchsxm. 
 
 i* Id. 
 
 Festivals between Advent and Christmas 
 how observed. 
 
 Of St. Catherine's and St. Clement's 
 days, see Strutt.^ 
 
 The Boy-bishop was elected on >S7. 
 Nicholas's day, December (>. It is too 
 well known to say more of it.'^ 
 
 St. Thomas's Day. On this day, 
 called Mumping-day, the poor in Here- 
 fordshire go around the parishes, beg- 
 ging corn, &c. MumjJers, in an old 
 Dictionary, are ^'^ gentile beggars.'^ 
 Mumping is making mouths (see Cot- 
 grave, V. Mourd) ; and in the English 
 Plutarch's Morals, III. 116, we have 
 " mercenary Gypsies, and nmmjnng 
 Charlatans.'^ Gypsies in Plutarch ! 
 
 On Christmas day, after the Morning 
 Mass, the bell of Chapter was to be 
 rung later tlian usual; that, laying 
 aside all occupations, they might as- 
 semble at Chapter, and when the Nati- 
 vity was announced, fall prostrate on 
 the ground.^ Upon the President of the 
 Chapter (an unfixed officer) having 
 finished his prayer, the Gospel was to be 
 read^ and a Sermon preached upon it. 
 
 On the night of Christmas day, after 
 Mattins of All Saints at the Altar of St. 
 Mary, they were to repair to the Dor- 
 mitory. The Monks robed to celebrate, 
 were to go to an excellent hre, pre- 
 pared by the Chamberlain's servants, 
 and have materials for washing their 
 hands. For this time only they were 
 to comb their heads before they w'ashed. 
 Afterwards they were to celebrate Mass. 
 This and some private Masses finished, 
 they returned to bed ; and, on the bell 
 ringing at day-break, all were to rise; 
 and those who were to celebrate, to 
 wash their hands and faces, and rol)e 
 themselves. AVhen the Mass was over, 
 the Monks were to go to the Dormitory 
 to put on their shoes, and afterwards, 
 having washed, to say the usual three 
 prayers, and make a procession. 
 
 " Sports, &c. p. 270. 
 
 '• See Brand's Popular Antiquities, 4to. &c. 
 
 *-' From the Shepherds at the angelic vision, in 
 the Gospel of St. Luke, who iu old prints lie 
 prostrate. 
 
42 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 FESTIVALS OBSERVED UPON CHRIST- 
 MAS DAY. 
 
 After the nocturnal office of Christ- 
 mas (L e. the Vigil) ^ was celebrated at 
 Rouen^ and probably here, the 
 
 Office of the Shepherds, 
 
 After the Te Deum a stable was pre- 
 pared behind the Altar, and the image 
 of the Virgin Mary placed in it. A boy 
 from above, before the choir, in the 
 likeness of an angel, announced the 
 Nativity to certain Canons, or Vicars, 
 who entered, as shepherds, through the 
 great door of the Choir, clothed in tu- 
 nicks and amesses. Many boys in the 
 vaults of the Church, like angels, then 
 began the Gloria in excelsis. The 
 shepherds, hearing this, advanced to 
 the stable, singing Peace, Goodwill, SfC. 
 As soon as they entered it, two Priests 
 in dalmaticks, as if midwives (quasi 
 obste trices), who were stationed at the 
 stable, said, " Whom seek ye ? " The 
 shepherds answered, ^*^Our Saviour 
 Christ," according to the angelick an- 
 nunciation. The Midwives, then open- 
 ing the curtain, exhibited the boy, say- 
 ing, "The little one is here, as the 
 Prophet Isaiah said/^ Then they 
 shewed the mother, saying, '' Behold 
 the Virgin," &c. Upon these exhibi- 
 tions they bowed and worshipped the 
 boy, and saluted his mother. The 
 office ended ])y their returning to the 
 choir, and singing Alleluia, &c. Du 
 Cange, v. Pastorum Officium. 
 
 Upon Christmas-day was also cele- 
 brated a Feast of Asse^ (there being 
 more than one feast so called, as will 
 appear hereafter), which Mr. Warton 
 mentions, as obtaining among our- 
 selves; and his account, so far as it 
 goes, corresponds with the following, 
 complete, except the prayers. (Hist. 
 Poetry, I. 249.) 
 
 After Tierce the Prophets were dres- 
 sed according to order, and a furnace 
 was prepared in the nave of the Church 
 with linen and towi A procession then 
 
 moved from the Cloister, and two clerks 
 in copes from the second seat, directed 
 the procession, singing verses, which 
 were repeated by a chorus. 
 
 Clerks, Of the glorious and famous. 
 
 Chorus, Glorious. 
 
 Clerks, Whose birth. 
 
 Chorus, Glorious. 
 
 Clerks. Who was about to be. 
 
 Chorus, Glorious. 
 
 Clerks, Of the impious Jews. 
 
 Chorus. Glorious. 
 
 Clerks. But the Jews. 
 
 Chorus, Glorious. 
 
 Clerks. To unbelieving Israel. 
 
 Chorus, Glorious. 
 
 Clerks, From whence the Gentiles. 
 
 The procession then stopped in the 
 middle of the Church, and six Jews 
 were ready on one side, and six Gen- 
 tiles on the other. The latter then 
 demanded the Vocatores, or Callers. 
 All the Gentiles said, "The Lord is 
 made man." Here the Callers turned 
 themselves to the Jews, and said, 
 
 Vocatores. " Oh, Jews ! the word 
 of God. Your laws prove it.^' 
 
 Jeivs, That we are to govern you. 
 
 Vocato7'es, (to the Gentiles) " And 
 you unbelieving Gentiles." 
 
 Gentiles, The true King, King of 
 Kings. 
 
 Vocatores. ^^ Call Moses first — you 
 Moses, the Legislator.^^ Then Moses, 
 holding the tables of the law open, 
 clothed in an alb and cope, and a horned 
 forehead, bearded, Avith a rod in his 
 hand, advanced and spoke ; after which 
 he was led beyond the cauldron. He 
 was followed by 
 
 Amos, an old man bearded, carrying 
 a wheat- ear. 
 
 Isaiah^ bearded, with a red stole 
 across his forehead. 
 
 Aaron, in a mitre and pontificals, 
 holding a flower. 
 
 J(?remi^A, bearded, robed like a priest, 
 and holding a roll. 
 
 Daniel, clothed in a green tunick, 
 having a juvenile aspect, and carrying 
 a wheat-ear. 
 
 Habukkukf a lame old man, in a dal- 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 43 
 
 matick^ with a scrip full of radishes, 
 which lie ate, while he spoke, and long 
 palms to strike the Gentiles. 
 
 Balaam, dressed up, sitting upon an 
 ass (whence the name of the feast), 
 spurred (very large ones, says AVarton), 
 holding the reins, and spurring the 
 Ass, which a young man with a sword 
 opposes. Some one under the Ass 
 then says, " Why do ye hurt me so 
 with your spurs?" the young man then 
 added, " Do not comply with the com- 
 mand of Balak." 
 
 Callers, ^^ Balaam, Balaam, pro- 
 phesy.'^ This he did, and was followed 
 by 
 
 Samuel, clothed religiously. 
 
 David, in royal robes. 
 
 Osea, a man with a beard. 
 
 Joel, dressed in parti-colours, and 
 bearded. 
 
 Abdias, dressed as Joel. 
 
 Jonas, bald, dressed in white. 
 
 Micah, dressed as Joel. 
 
 Naiim, an old man. 
 
 Sophonias, bearded. 
 
 Aggai, an old man, or marked as 
 such (senilem vultum gerens). 
 
 Zacharius, bearded. 
 
 ^^ejciel I j>r^^ distinction specified. 
 
 Malachi J 
 
 Zacharias, dressed as a Jew, husband 
 
 of 
 
 Elizabeth, like a pregnant woman. 
 
 John the Baptist, barefooted, holding 
 the Bible. 
 
 Symeon, an old man. 
 
 Virgil, a well-dressed young man. 
 [Mr.AVarton says, that he spoke Monk- 
 ish verses. Here they are, " Eccepolo 
 demissa solo,"^ 
 
 Here the ceremony was interrupted 
 by the appearance of Nebuchadnezzar, 
 dressed like a King, showing an image 
 of two armed men, whom he orders to 
 exhibit the image to three youths. 
 They refuse to worship it, and make a 
 reply of ^^Deo soU digno coh" (God 
 alone is worthy to be worshipped). 
 The armed men then led them to the 
 cauldron, and after being placed upon 
 it, it is lighted j but the youths are 
 
 immediately liberated, to the astonish- 
 ment of the King. The calling, and 
 replies, reconnnence with the Sibyll, 
 crownBd and dressed like a woman. 
 All the Prophets and Ministers then 
 began a chaunt, with which the feast 
 ended. Du Cange, v. Festum Asino- 
 rum. 
 
 The custom of ornamenting the 
 Church with boughs is variously ex- 
 plained, but founded upon Evergreens,^ 
 In the West of England, the Churches 
 are dressed at AVhitsuntide with deci- 
 duous boughs.^ It seems, from the ear- 
 liest aeras, to be no more than a com- 
 mon token of rejoicing, to carry or 
 exhibit branches of trees ; and there- 
 fore the explications are not satisfac- 
 tory. The twelve days of Christmas 
 were kept with great festivity, and 
 without limitation of meals or habits. 
 In the Legend of St. Brandon, Judas, 
 on his island of remission, says, " Of 
 ryght my place is in the brennyng 
 helle. But I am here but certeyne 
 tymes of the yere, yt is, fro crystmasse 
 to twelfth daye; and fro ester to whyt- 
 sontide be past, and every festeful daye 
 of our lady, and every satyrday none 
 tyll son day ye evening ben don. But 
 all other tymes I lye still in Helle in 
 full brennynge lire with pylate, herode, 
 and cayaphas.^'*^ The hfty days from 
 Easter to Pentecost, were rejoicing 
 seasons from memory of the Resurrcc- 
 tion.f^ A brother of the order of the 
 Temple of Syon, writing to Sir 
 John Paston, says, " in which place 
 (Temple of Syon) in this season of 
 the year (Christmas) it is accustomed 
 to be (have) all manner of disport ;"® 
 and what this disport was^ may be seen 
 fully in Mr. Nichols's Progresses, the 
 Antiquitates Vulgares, and Strutt's 
 Sports. Homicides and traitors were, 
 at Christmas, indulged with peace and 
 
 <* Antiq. Vulgar. Strutt, &c. &c. 
 t> Flowers and Roses have been used upon the 
 vigils of Saints' days. Du Cange, v. Gabia, 
 « Gold. Leg. fol. cexxxii. 
 •1 Fuller's Church Hist. B. vi. 288. 
 « PastQu Letters, III. 422, 433. 
 
44 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 joy. a Ships sailed only with the fore- 
 mast_5 in honour of the season.^ Barons 
 then gave their annual new clothes to 
 domestics^c ^nd feasted the whole 
 country. A whole boar (whence brawn 
 at this season) was put on the table^ 
 sometimes richly gilded.^ — Without 
 entering into well-known matters^ it 
 nia}^ be worth while to explain tivo cu- 
 rious customs. Andrews and others 
 note, that Christmas was represented 
 by an old man^, hung round with savory 
 dainties. It escaped the recondite Mr. 
 Douce, in his elegant Illustrations of 
 Fools and Clowns, that the Bauble is a 
 Phallus, actually represented in Bois- 
 sard (and Montfaucon, vol. I. p. 2, b. i. 
 ch. 28) in a Avoman's hand ; and that 
 the Cock's head, Ass's head, ^c. are re- 
 licks of the Priapeia. In the same 
 manner, this old man of Andrews is 
 the Priapus of Petronius,*^ made by 
 the baker, who held in a very large bo- 
 som all kind of apples and grapes. 
 
 Tire-lire is the only French for 
 Christmas-box, or money-box cleft on 
 the side. Conceding that the benefac- 
 tions originally were for servants, to 
 procure masses for their souls, at 
 this season of joy, Count Caylus gives 
 a tire-lire of pottery, found under 
 Mount Ceelius at Rome, with another 
 of similar proportions ; and exhibiting 
 Ceres seated between two figures, stand- 
 ing. The other, much more finished, 
 has a head of Hercules.^ 
 
 On the three following festivals of 
 Stephen^ John the Apostle,^ and Inno- 
 cents,^ the Church was to remain orna- 
 mented, as at Christmas ; the bells to 
 be rung, and candles lighted^ with 
 all other ceremonies usual on double 
 feasts, and of the second rank.^ 
 
 * M. Paris, 104. ^ DuCange, v. Trinchetum. 
 
 ^ M. Par. 604. X Script. 2727. 
 
 '' Smythe's Berkeleys, MS. 
 
 e I. 306, ed. Nodot. / Rec. III. pi. liii. 
 
 « See Strutt, and Antiq. Vulgar, of the popular 
 customs on these days. 
 
 ^ There were certain feasts, called Feasts of 
 Candles, on which candles were lighted, as Christ- 
 mas, St. John, Stephen, Innocents, the Circumci- 
 sion, &c. ; but there were limitations of the lights 
 at some of the hours. Du Cange, v. Festum. 
 
 » This was a gradation made according to the 
 
 The Refectory was to be unorna- 
 mented on the fifth day of Christmas. 
 On the Morrow after the Circiinicision, 
 after Lauds and Mattins, they were to 
 return to their beds, and do so till the 
 octaves of the Epiphany, unless it was 
 a feast of twelve lessons.^ On the Vi- 
 (jil of the Epiphany, there was to be no 
 fast, nor procession, unless it was a 
 Sunday ; but at Vespers, Antijihonars 
 and Psalms were to be sung till the 
 evening Chapter, as at Christmas. 
 
 Mummeries observed at or about 
 this Season. 
 
 The chief of these was the celebrated 
 Feast of the Calends, called by us the 
 Feast of Fools ^ which, though so far 
 familiar, as Strutt's pleasing work upon 
 Sports has communicated to the pub- 
 lick, is yet too curious not to be de- 
 tailed from more recondite sources. 
 
 FEAST OF FOOLS, &C. 
 
 Peter Gregorius, upon the authority 
 of the Canonical and Civil Laws, lays 
 it down as an axiom, that every time 
 has its own manners, to which the 
 laws are to be accommodated;™ and 
 therefore, we are not to wonder, that 
 
 several merits of the Saints, &c. of which there is a 
 full explanation in Durandi Rationale, L. vii. ch. 
 i. ; and a liturgical solution in Du Cange, v. Festum. 
 A list and classification of these feasts is in the 
 Portiforium sec. Usum Sarum. fol. cxi. 
 
 There were some festivals on which work was al- 
 lowed. See Lyndw. (Ch. de Feriis) ; but on the 
 others transgressors were to stand for three Sun- 
 days in their shirts and breeches before the Altar. 
 In some statutes the rich paid five shillings to the 
 lights of the Church ; and the poor followed the 
 procession for five Sundays, in a shirt and breeches, 
 having upon their necks the instrument with which 
 they worked. The festival of the next week was 
 given out by the Deacon after communion on the 
 Sunday. Du Cange, v. Festum. 
 
 ^ One in which twelve lessons were read. Du 
 Cange. Amalarius (L. ii. ch. i. 2, p. 374.) says, 
 that lessons were anciently read in Greek and La- 
 tin, from the congregation consisting of both na- 
 tions ; and assigns other unsupported explana- 
 tions. 
 
 ^ Cowell (v. Caput anni) confines it to New 
 Year's day. 
 
 »> De Republ. L. x. ch. v. n. 10. 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 45 
 
 the SaturnaUa were ingrafted into Ec- 
 clesiastical ceremonies, though it was 
 admitted that all idolatrous customs 
 were mere inventions of the Devil, tJie 
 Monkey and Fool, ivhom the Almighty 
 kept for his amusement.^ Epicurus re- 
 commended princes, who were lovers 
 of the Muses, to entertain themselves 
 with the scurrilities of drolls and buf- 
 foons ; and when the slaves celebrated 
 the Saturnalia the din was intolerable.^ 
 Lucian brings in Saturn, speaking thus: 
 " During my whole reign no public or 
 private business is to be done; but 
 only to drink, sing, play, create imagi- 
 nary kings, place servants Avith their 
 masters at table, smut them with soot, 
 or make them leap into the water with 
 head foremost, when they do not per- 
 form their duty well."c These con- 
 formities to the Feast of Fools, indis- 
 putably prove its just appropriation to 
 the Satimialia; both terminating in 
 the innocent exhibition of Twelfth-day, 
 and its King and Queen of the Bean, 
 Cake, &c. 
 
 In the Calends of January it was 
 usual for the sexes to change dress, 
 even assume the form of beasts ;^^ and 
 the custom was so prevalent, that it 
 could not be suppressed by Bishops, 
 Councils, &c. Fasts and Litanies were 
 prescribed to take off the guilt ; but 
 even when the laity had left it off, the 
 Clergy still retained it. Hence came 
 the term Feasts of Sub- deacons, not 
 because they were kept by that body 
 of men in particular, but because Diet- 
 ores sauols signified "Saturi Diaconi," 
 drunken clerks.e Belethus says, '^ the 
 Feast of Sub-deacons, which we call of 
 Fools, is performed by some on the 
 Circumcision, by others on the Epi- 
 
 • A Diabolo summi Dei simia ct improbo his- 
 trione excogitata. Solorzanus tie Indiar. Jure,p. 
 110, §1)-L This version has been blamed, but 
 fiistrio is the word used, and being coupled with 
 slmia, vindicates the presumed meaning. 
 
 '' Plutarch de volupt. sec. Epicurum. 
 
 •^ Danet, v. Sahirnalia. 
 
 •• Du Cange, v. Cervelua. 
 
 « Mr. Douce (Archseologia, XV. 227) disputes 
 this etymon of Du Cange. 
 
 phany or its octaves. But there are 
 four (sic) sports of Ecclesiasticks in 
 the Church after Christmas, of the 
 Priests, of the Boys, i. e. Juniors in 
 age and order, and the Sub-deacon, 
 which is an uncertain rank ; whence it 
 happens that this rank is sometimes 
 accounted a holy order and sometimes 
 not, which is expressly signified by 
 this : that it has no fixed period, and 
 is celebrated in a confused manner.'^^ 
 Now as the injunction quoted in the 
 article Friars, that these rehgious 
 should not, on St. Nicholas's day (the 
 exhibition not being limited to a par- 
 ticular day),s pvit on masquerade, even 
 female habits, or lend theirs to seculars 
 for that purpose, certainly alludes to a 
 Feast of Fools, there is no reason to 
 admit any other acceptation than that 
 of actual Sub-deacons. This folly of 
 Bishops, or rather of Clerks, seems to 
 have been taken from the Greeks; 
 among whom some of the Laymen, 
 who altered their hair into the form of 
 a tonsure, and took ecclesiastick gar- 
 ments, made mock elections, promo- 
 tions, consecrations, &c. ; sometimes 
 sharp calumnies and depositions of 
 Bishops. From a passage of Anasta- 
 sius upon this subject, it appears that 
 these mockeries were not then known 
 in the West. 
 
 Because, therefore, this feast took 
 place about the end of December, 
 it was called " Libertas Decembrica." 
 Belethus, who lived in 1182, says, 
 there are some Churches in which it is 
 common that even Bishops and Arch- 
 bishops should play with their sub- 
 jects in Monasteries at the game of ball 
 '[the equality of the Saturnalia] ; and 
 indeed this libertyis therefore called 
 the liberty of December ; because, for- 
 merly, it was the custom among the 
 Gentiles ; and in this month, the slaves, 
 and maid servants, and shepherds, were 
 privileged with a kind of lil)erty, and 
 put in the same condition with their 
 
 f Divin. Offic. Explicat. Ch. Ixxii. 
 e Strutt's Gliggamena, 260. 
 
46 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 masters, making common feasts after 
 the celebration of Harvests [the Reader 
 will recollect the modern Harvest-home] . 
 But although the great Churches, as that 
 of Rheims, observed this custom of 
 playing, it seems more laudable not to 
 play.^ [A King of Fools was prohil:)ited 
 at Beverley in 1391.] 
 
 On the 17th of December (con- 
 tinues Du Cange) all the petty clerks 
 assembled to elect an Abbot of Fools ; 
 upon whose election a Te Deum was 
 sung, and then he was chaired upon 
 the shoulders of his fellows, and 
 taken to the house where the rest were 
 assembled to drink ; and put in a place 
 especially ordered and prepared for 
 this purpose. At his entrance all rose, 
 even the Lord Bishop, if he were pre- 
 sent ; and due reverence being paid to 
 the elect by his fellows and companions, 
 fruit, spices, wine, &c. were given to 
 him. The drink being taken, the same 
 Abbot, or elder Sub-chanter in his ab- 
 sence, began singing in a ludicrous 
 manner, with bawling, hissing, howl- 
 ing, laughing, clapping hands ; each 
 party endeavouring to conquer the 
 other. A short dialogue afterwards 
 was followed by a sermon from the 
 Porter. The Abbot and others then 
 rushed out of the Church, followed by 
 the younger Canons, Choristers, and 
 Bishop^s Esquires, into the City, sa- 
 luting every body whom they met. 
 In this visit, which lasted every day to 
 the Vigil of Christmas in the evening, 
 the Abl)ot was to wear a dress, feather, 
 and mantle or tabard, or cope, with a 
 hood of vair.^ [Sir S. R. Meyrick now 
 possesses, by bequest of Mr. Douce, a 
 girdle, reported to have been worn by the 
 Abbot of Fools upon his entrance into 
 office. It consists of 35 square pieces 
 of wood, let into each other, upon 
 which are carved ludicrous and gro- 
 tesque figures of fools, tumblers, hunts- 
 men, animals, and indecent representa- 
 tions.^] Very probably also the indeco- 
 rous carvings upon the stalls of Churches 
 
 Du Cange, v. Kalendce. 
 Archseol. ubi supra. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 have, in reality, an allusion to this fes- 
 tival; for certain it is, that several 
 carvings on stone in Anglo-Saxon 
 Churches of a bizarre kind, allude to 
 the mummeries of our ancestors. 
 
 It was the Abbot's place, if any thing 
 indecorous was done in the Choir, 
 to correct and chastise it. 
 
 On the Feast of Innocents, a Fool 
 Bishop was elected in the same manner 
 as the Abbot of Fools ; and afterwards 
 lifted up by the petty clerks, and, with 
 a little bell before him, taken to the 
 house of the Bishop, at whose arrival, 
 the gates of the house, whether the 
 Bishop was at home or not, were to 
 be instantly opened, and in one of the 
 windows of the Great Hall he was to 
 be put down, and standing, give there 
 again his benediction towards the 
 town. The Fool Bishop, at Mattins, 
 High Mass, and Vespers, with his 
 chaplain, was to preside for three days 
 pontifically on the episcopal marble 
 throne, properly adorned ; from whence, 
 on the introit of the said hours, he was 
 to be clothed in the Vestiary with a 
 common silk cope, and adorned with a 
 mitre and silk gloves. The Chaplain 
 was to be clothed likewise in a common 
 silk cope, carrying on his head a little 
 cushion, instead of the cap, or birretum. 
 Incense-bearers, and the apparitor, 
 preceded the Fool-bishop to the epis- 
 copal throne. There, with his chaplain 
 sitting at his feet, having always a 
 cross in his hand, he sat as long as the 
 above hours were celebrating. The Sub- 
 deacon, who was to sing the Epistle, 
 or the Deacon the Gospel, with one 
 knee bent, made him a supplication, 
 whom he marked with his right hand. 
 Mattins, Mass, and Vespers, being 
 finished, his Chaplain said with a loud 
 voice, " Be silent, be silent, keep si- 
 lence.'' The Chorus replied, " Deo 
 GratiasJ" The Fool-bishop, Adjutc- 
 7'ium nostrum, §t. Chorus, Qui fecit, 
 Sfc. Then the Bishop gave the bless- 
 ing, indulgences, &c. 
 
 The Feast of Fools was celebrated 
 as before in various masquerades of 
 women, lions, players, &c. They 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 47 
 
 danced and sung In the Choir, ate fat 
 cakes upon the horn of the Altar, 
 "vvhere the celel)rating Priest played at 
 dice^^ put stinking stuff from the lea* 
 ther of old shoes into the censer, ran, 
 jumped, &c. through the Church. 
 
 In a MS. of the Church of Beauvais, 
 al)out the year 500, it is said that the 
 Chantor and Canons shall stand hefore 
 the gates of the Church, which were 
 shut, holding each of them urns full of 
 wine, ivith glass cups, of whom one 
 Canon shall begin the Canons of Ja- 
 nuary. 
 
 The following were assimilations or 
 off-shoots of the Feast of Fools. The 
 Council of Treves, in 122?, says, " Let 
 not the Priests permit vagrant scholars, 
 or Goliards, to sing verses upon the 
 Holy Agnus Dei in Masses, or divers 
 services ; because by this the Priest in 
 the Canon is very much hindered, and 
 the hearers offended. The Council of 
 Tours speaks, in 1231, of these ribald 
 Clerks ; and the Council of Cologn, in 
 1300, forbids them to preach in the 
 Church, and carry indulgences to sell. 
 Matthew Paris, in 1229, explains this 
 by saying, that they used to comj^ose 
 ridiculous verses, and were so named 
 from one Golias, a scoundrel who com- 
 posed libels in this kind of verse. 
 
 In the Church of Roan were certain 
 jesters, calling themselves Conor di, 
 who elected an Abbot by a majority of 
 votes, for which he canvassed the 
 others. He rode dressed in a mitre 
 and pastoral staff, once a year, through 
 Rouen in a chariot ; at Evereux, upon 
 an Ass, surrounded by his comrades. 
 He jested upon all persons whom he 
 met, as well as the absent. He issued 
 mock letters-patent electing persons to 
 Cardinalships, &c., and was himself 
 elected upon St. Barnaljas^s day ; be- 
 
 " However horrible was this profanation, I could 
 <luote a passage, where in part of a serious penance, 
 actions most indecent were to be publickly per- 
 formed upon the Altar-fable; and therefore our 
 ancestors had plainly not the ludicrous ideas of 
 these mummeries as ourselves. 'J'liey were the 
 mere coarse festivities of the age, which delighted 
 in low humour. 
 
 cause, as Le Beuf supposes, the GaUic 
 trumpeters were the same as the Co- 
 nardi, who had St. Arnulph the Trum- 
 peter for their patron, and his day was 
 the same as that of Barnabas. Conardi 
 arc elsewhere called fools. Du Cange 
 thinks, that these ridiculous spectacles 
 were derived from the Feast of Fools. 
 
 The above are from Du Cange, v. 
 Kalendae, Goliardi, and Abbas Conar- 
 dorum, except where other authors are 
 specified. 
 
 There were games played in Churches 
 abroad with Bertelli, perhaps the 
 French Bretilles. Du Cange, v. Ber- 
 tilliis. Dancing in Churches also oc- 
 curred. Id. V. Choreare. 
 
 Tumblers used to attend burials of 
 the poor, and throw somersets. Id. v. 
 Corbitores, 
 
 On the Feasts of the Calends, the 
 people gave suppers in the manner of 
 the Romans. Id. v. Festum. 
 
 Upon the Epiphany was performed 
 the Office of the three Kings ; or. Feast 
 of the Star. 
 
 Three Priests, clothed as Kings, 
 with their servants carrying offerings, 
 met from different directions before 
 the Altar. The middle one, who came 
 from the East, pointed with his staff 
 to a star. A dialogue then ensued ; 
 and, after kissing each other, they began 
 to sing, ^^ Let us go and enquire ;" after 
 which the Precentor began a respon- 
 sory, " Let the Magi come.^' A pro- 
 cession then commenced ; and as soon 
 as it began to enter the nave, a crown, 
 hke a star, hanging before the Cross, 
 was lighted up, and pointed out to the 
 Magi, with "Behold the star in the 
 East." This being concluded, two 
 Priests, standing at each side of the 
 Altar, answered meekly, "We are 
 those whom you seek;" and, drawing a 
 curtain, shewed them a child, whom, 
 falling down, they worshipped. Then 
 the servants made the offerings of gold, 
 frankincense, and myrrh, whicli were 
 divided among the Priests. The Magi 
 in the mean while continued praying 
 till they dropped asleep ; when a boy. 
 
48 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 clothed in an alb, like an Angel, ad- 
 dressed them with, "^ All tilings which 
 the Prophets said are fulfilled." The 
 festival concluded with chanting ser- 
 vices, &c. 
 
 AtSoissonSja rope was let down from 
 the roof of the Church, to which was 
 annexed an iron circle, having seven 
 tapers intended to represent Lucifer, 
 or the morning star ; but it was not con- 
 fined to the Feast of the Star. Du 
 Cange, v. Stella, Stellce officium. 
 
 On the lith of January was another 
 
 FeaH of Asses, intended to represent 
 the flight of the Virgin Mary into 
 Egypt. A very pretty girl seated upon 
 an ass, elegantly trapped, and holding 
 a child, was led in procession to the 
 Church, and placed upon the ass, at 
 the Gospel side of the Altar. Kyrie, 
 the Glory, Greedy &c., were then 
 chaunted, and concluded with Hinham. 
 At the end of the service, the Priest, 
 turning to the people, instead of dis- 
 missing them, said three times Hinham; 
 to which they replied Hinham^ Hinham, 
 Hinham, Du Cange, v. Festmn Asi- 
 norum. 
 
 On the 21st of January was the 
 Feast of St. Agnes, on which it was 
 usual to make presents. Du Cange, v. 
 Agnecten^ Festum, 
 
 On the Purification, after Tierce, a 
 carpet was to be laid before the Altar, 
 and the candles upon it. After con- 
 secration, one was to be given to each 
 Monk. A particular psalm (Lumen ad 
 Revelationem^) was to be sung when 
 they began to be hghted. After which^ 
 religious services, procession, and 
 Mass, were to follow. After dinner 
 they were to sit in the Cloister, till the 
 servants had done, and then sing Nones. 
 This finished, the Prior was to ring the 
 bell, and the Monks to go to the Refec- 
 tory. This custom, except on fasts, 
 w^as to last until Palm Sunday.'^ 
 
 * See ch. iv. Cowell, &c. say, the candles im- 
 plied the light of the Gospel, from old Simeon's 
 hymn. 
 
 ^ Ou St. Blaze's-day (Feb. 3), the people were 
 
 § From Septuagesima to Passion 
 Sunday, 
 
 On the first Sunday of Septuagesima 
 they might eat fat (see Ch. iv.) ; but 
 were afterwards to abstain till Easter, 
 On Ash- Wednesday, after Sext, they 
 were to return to the Cloister to con- 
 verse ; but, at the ringing a bell, be 
 instantly silent. They were to unshoe 
 themselves, wash their hands, and go 
 to the Church, and make one common 
 prayer. Then was to follow a religious 
 service ; after which, the Priest having 
 consecrated the ashes, and sprinkled 
 holy water on them, was to throw them 
 on the heads of the Monks, saying, 
 " Remember that you are but dust, 
 and to dust must return."^" Then the 
 procession w^as to follow. 
 
 Festivals, Fasts, ^c. Shrove Tues- 
 day and the Monday before were days 
 of sport and pastime;^ but the Tuesday 
 derived its name from the confession 
 usual on that day, preparatory to the 
 Lent Fast. 
 
 Pancakes, The Norman Ginspella 
 (Du Cange) are evidently taken from 
 the Fornacalia on the 18th of February, 
 in memory of the method of making 
 bread, before the Goddess Fornax in- 
 vented ovens. 
 
 Ash-Wednesday, The ashes were 
 made of the branches of brush- wood, 
 properly cleansed, sifted, and conse- 
 crated, and were .worn four times a 
 year, as in the beginning of Lent.e On 
 this day the people were excluded 
 from Church ;f and husbands and 
 wives parted beds.g The ancient pe- 
 nitents wore sackcloth and ashes.^ 
 
 accustomed to burn lights for their houses and cat- 
 tle, and bestow alms. Du Cange, v. Festmn. 
 
 *= Rupert Tuitiensis adds, '•' bare -footed ;'''' be- 
 cause, besides creation from earth, we are deprived 
 of our glory by sin, and are naked among enemies, 
 wanting the grace of God. L. iv. ch. x. p. 917. 
 § Cur cineres capitibus imponimus. 
 
 ^ M. Paris, 298. See Strutt. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Cinis. 
 
 ( Eadm. 23, XV. Script. 262. 
 
 « Malmesb. G. Pont. L. ii. 
 
 ^ Antiq. Vulgar. 285. 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 49 
 
 The Rule says, ^^ that on the first 
 Sunday of Septuagesima the Monks 
 might eat fat ; but were afterwards to 
 abstain/^ Upon Carnwora^ or Mardl- 
 gras, the Thursday before Lent, the 
 remains of meat were eaten, and the 
 Septuagesima Sunday was the first day 
 of Lent fast, according to WiUiam of 
 Newl)orough ; i. e, the time before 
 Lent, when they began to abstain 
 from meat. Before the ninth century 
 Lent began upon Quadragesima Sun- 
 day ; but afterwards, to fulfil the forty 
 days, four days of Quinquagesima were 
 added.* Elsewhere we have Sexagesi- 
 ma Sunday called Carniprivium,hec3.\ise 
 they ceased eating meat on that day : 
 Quinquagesima, when they left off eat- 
 ing cheese and eggs. On the first Sun- 
 day of Lent they renewed the worship of 
 the images.^ From the Sabbath before 
 Palm Sunday, to the last hour of the 
 Tuesday after Easter, the Christians 
 w^ere accustomed to stone and beat the 
 Jews, which the latter commuted for a 
 payment in money .<^ 
 
 The Lent fast differed from all the 
 others, because the refreshment was not 
 taken till after Vespers; in others after 
 Nones.J And we find instances of fast- 
 ing everyday but Sunday until the even- 
 ing ; and then eating only a little bread, 
 an egg, and some milk and water -.^ but 
 this Fast was allowed to be performed 
 by another vicariously .^ The most sa- 
 cred ideas were annexed to Lent.^ 
 Froissart says, there were daily deliver- 
 ed to the Germans in the army ten 
 tons of Herrings for Lent and 800 
 Carp, without counting different sorts 
 of fish, which cost the King immense 
 sums ;& so that probably the dispensa- 
 tions so often printed, could not have 
 been obtained even by royal authority 
 for mere convenience ; or it w^as not 
 prudent to solicit it. 
 
 On the first day of Lent in the even- 
 ing boys used to run about with fire- 
 brands and torches.*! 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Carniprivium. *• Id. v. Do- 
 
 minica dies. «= Id. V. Colaphi Judceorum. 
 
 '^ Id. ialitt. J. p. 1299. « Dugd. Monast. 
 
 I. 03. ' Dec. Script. 874, 2468. « XII. 
 
 30". Ed. Jolines, " Du Cange, v, Brandones. 
 
 Absence from the Church and mar- 
 riage bed, and dereliction of the 
 use of the sword and horse, occur 
 during the whole forty days ^ among 
 the laity. 
 
 Because the Scripture was concealed 
 in the Prophets till the coming of 
 Christ, therefore the Altars, &c. were 
 veiled. The removal in the week be- 
 fore Easter was the manifestation by 
 the veil of the Temple being rent in 
 twain. k 
 
 On the first Sunday of Lent, after 
 Complin, a curtain was to be hung 
 between the Choir and Altar. On Mon- 
 day before Tierce, the Cross, &c. were 
 to be covered. 
 
 Before they entered the Chapter the 
 keeper of the books was to have the 
 books in Chapter laid out on a carpet, 
 such excepted as had been lent to read 
 the preceding year : for these the bor- 
 rowers were to bring in their hands, 
 according to a notice for that purpose, 
 given the day before by the above Li- 
 brarian ; then the sentence of the Be- 
 nedictine Rule for the observation of 
 Lent was to be read in the Chapter, 
 and, after a sermon made upon it, the 
 Librarian read the schedule of the 
 books lent to the Monks on the year 
 past. As every one heard his name 
 called over he was to return the book 
 lent to him ; and he who had not read 
 it was to solicit pardon. Then the 
 keeper was to give each Monk another 
 book, and register their names as they 
 received them. If this day was a feast 
 of twelve lessons there were two read- 
 ings in succession, one of the Gospel, 
 the other of the observance of Lent. 
 On that day was to begin the peniten- 
 tial or prostrate psalms, and the car- 
 riage of a lantern at the second lesson . 
 On the Mondays, Wednesdays, and 
 Fridays, till Easter, the table was not 
 to be struck after Chapter, nor were 
 they to speak in the Cloister. On 
 the two last days, after Nones, they 
 
 ' Id. V. Catena. 
 
 ^ Rupert Tuitiens. L. iv. p. 916. 
 
50 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 were to sit in the Cloister ;» and, after 
 an interval, at the bell ringing, unshoe 
 themselves, wash their hands, and go 
 to Church. This was to be followed 
 by a procession, where every one was 
 to be bare-footed, except the Priest and 
 Deacon ; and those who from disease 
 could not go with bare feet, were to 
 stay out of the procession. When they 
 returned, they were forbid to put on 
 their shoes without leave. After the 
 Mass and prayers, antecedent to Ves- 
 pers [and every service] , they were to 
 wash their feet and hands, and perform 
 Vespers.^ 
 
 If a festival was celebrated in Lent f 
 on the day before, the curtain was ga- 
 thered up, and the forms ^ taken from 
 the Choir. After Mattins of the dead 
 they were to return to their beds. Af- 
 ter Chapter they were to sit silent in 
 the Cloister till the bell of Tierce ; and 
 the children, after their Chapter, coming 
 from the Dormitory, sit in school, and 
 read. After Complin, the curtain was 
 to be extended, and the forms brought 
 back to the Choir. 
 
 Passion-Week, There was to be a 
 procession in the Cloister, as usual on 
 
 » The conversations in the Cloister were after 
 Chapter, and after Nones on certain seasons. These 
 conversations were very licentious (Thorpe's Cus- 
 tumale, p. 235) ; and therefore the visitors of Ed- 
 mundsbury ordered, " that the common conversa- 
 tions, which were sometimes allowed to be made, 
 relate to the Scriptures, edification, observation of 
 the order, and, as far as practicable, in the hearing 
 of a guardian of the Rule." And again, " Also we 
 forbid discourses through the Cloister and Infirmary, 
 as far as the Prior's chamber, as well by Monks as 
 others, that the peace of those in the Cloister may 
 not be disturbed." Communes locutiones quae in 
 Claustro aliquando fieri permittuntur de Scripturis 
 sint, et edificatione et de ordinis observatione, et in 
 quantum fieri potest in audientia custodis ordinum 
 fiat. Item, discursus per Claustrum et per infir- 
 marium usque cameram Prioris tam a monachis 
 quam aliis prohibemus, ne traquillitas Claustralium 
 turbetur. MvSS. Cott. Julius, D. II. 157, a. 161, b. 
 
 ^ On the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, the 
 bells were rung, in honour of the Salutation of the 
 Angel. Du Cange, v. Festum. 
 
 " Thomas (2d) Lord Berkeley used to feast seve- 
 I'al Convents in Lent. Smythe's Berkeley MSS. 
 
 '^ For prostration upon ** jaceant supra form as, 
 dicentes orationem Dominicam (let them lie on the 
 forms, saying the Lord's-prayer.) Missale de 
 Oseney, MS. Arch. A. Bodl. 73. The face was 
 downwards. Osculantes furrnulas, says the Porfi- 
 forium sec. usum Sarum, 1540, fol. Ixiii. b. Of 
 this elsewhere. 
 
 Sundays. The Abbot, or Priest, was 
 to consecrate the pahns, flowers, and 
 leaves, which were laid upon a carpet 
 before the high altar, sprinkle holy 
 water on them, and cense them. The 
 Sacrists were then to distribute the 
 palms to the Abbots, Priors, and nobler 
 persons, and flowers and leaves to the 
 others. When this was done, and they 
 made a stand in the procession which 
 followed, two Priests were to bring the 
 Paschal e in which the Crucifix was laid, 
 and stand still. The banner and cross- 
 bearers were to file ofT to the right and 
 left of them, and the boys and convent 
 so to arrange themselves, that, after a 
 short service, the Priests, with the 
 tomb, headed by the banner and cross, 
 might pass between the Monks, who 
 were to kneel as they passed. When 
 they came to the city-gates, they were 
 to divide again into two sides, and the 
 shrine to be put on a table, covered 
 with cloth. Above the entrance of the 
 gates a place was to be handsomely 
 prepared with hangings. The boys 
 then, and those whom the Chanter had 
 appointed to be with them, were to 
 sing, "Gloria, Laus,'^ Glory, Praise, 
 
 « The Paschal (see Du Cange, v. Sepultura 
 Crucifixi) was a tomb for the burial of Christ at 
 Easter. Davies describes one ; but the most cu- 
 rious is that at St. Mary Redcliff's Church, Bristol, 
 which I give from an original MS. of Chatterton, 
 when very young, in my possession. 
 
 The furniture of Redclift Church in 1470. 
 
 Memorandum. That Master Cannings hath 
 delivered, the 4th day of July, in the year of our 
 Lord 1470, to Master Nicholas Pelles, Vicar of 
 Redclift, Moses Conterin, Philip Berthelmew, and 
 John Brown, Procurators of Redclift, beforesaid, a 
 new Sepulchre, well gilt with fine gold, and a civer 
 thereto ; an image of God Almighty rising out of 
 the same Sepulchre, with all the ordinance that 
 longeth thereto ; that is to say, a lath made of tim- 
 ber and iron work thereto. Item, thereto longeth 
 Heven made of timber and stained cloths. Item, 
 Hell made of timber and iron work thereto, with De- 
 vils the number of thirteen. Item, four knights arm- 
 ed, keeping the Sepulchre with their weapons in 
 their hands ; that is to say, two spears, two axes with 
 two paves (pavaches, shields.) Item, four pair of 
 Angel's wings, for four Angels, made of timber, 
 and well-painted. Item, the Fadre, the crown and 
 visage, the well {sic, read holt) with a cross upon 
 it, well gilt with fine gold. Item, the Holy Ghost 
 coming out of Heven into the Sepulchre. Item, 
 longeth to the four Angels, four Chiveliers (Pe- 
 rukes.) [This is printed in Barrett's Bristol, 578, 
 &c. &c.] 
 
V TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 51 
 
 Sic. After a procession through the 
 city, they were to return to the Con- 
 vent-gate, where the shrine was to be 
 laid on a table, covered with cloth, and 
 a religious service to be performed. 
 They were next to return to the 
 Church, and make a stand before the 
 Crucifix then uncovered. Then Mass 
 was to be performed ; and, after they 
 had communicated, the Deacon first 
 and the rest afterwards, were to offer 
 their palms and flowers. The tables 
 of the Refectory were to be covered. 
 After dinner they were to go to sleep, 
 and at Nones to arise, wash their hands 
 and faces, comb themselves, and go to 
 the Choir ; and upon the entrance of the 
 infants, after their having washed and 
 combed likewise, make the preparatory 
 prayer, and sing Nones. After this 
 the Prior was to ring the bell, and the 
 Monks go to the Refectory. This was 
 to be the rule all summer, till the Ca- 
 lends of October, except on Fast-days. 
 
 The Feast of the She Ass, upon 
 which Christ sitting was worshipped by 
 the people, was not kept (says Lind- 
 wood), because the praise was human, 
 and therefore not to be regarded. P. 
 102. Ed. Oxf. [It was kept: see Note 
 on Palm Sunday before.] 
 
 On Tuesday the Monks in the Clois- 
 ter were to shave, and on the morrow 
 to bathe ; on which day there was to 
 be no procession, and after Complin 
 the curtain was to be removed. 
 
 On Thursday [Shire-Thursday, which 
 was a general day for communicating], 
 as many candles were to be lighted as 
 there were antiphonars and responses ; 
 and at singing each of them, a candle 
 was to be extinguished ;^ the last,^ 
 
 ■ Extinction of the lights. Honorius Gailus 
 says, "On these three days we celebrate the burial 
 of our Lord ; but the three days and nights we 
 reckon for 72 hours. And therefore we extinguish 
 so many lights, because we mourn the true light ex- 
 tinguished on these days, and express the sorrow of 
 the 72 disciples, which they had on account of the 
 setting of the eternal day and sun of Justice, whose 
 hours they were. For three hours, to wit, from 
 the 6th to the 9th, there was darkness when Christ 
 hung on the Cross. These three hours we repre- 
 sent by three nights, which we observe by extinc- 
 tion of the lights. By the day illumined by the 
 Sun, Christ— by the night illumined by the Moon, 
 
 when the Chantor began the Antipho- 
 nar ( Traditor autem), " But tlieTraitor." 
 At one psalm, masters, children, young 
 and old, were to mix together in a dis- 
 orderly manner. Then, after prostra- 
 tion on the forms, and singing certain 
 psalms, at a signal from the Abbot or 
 Prior, they were to make their bow to 
 the Altar and Abbot, and stand in their 
 places till the master ])rought lighted 
 lanterns and gave them to the children. 
 The Sacrist was then to light the can- 
 dles at the Altar for the children to 
 hght theirs at. After lighting their 
 candles they were to return to their 
 beds ; and at day-break, that the boys 
 and youths might come out without 
 lights, the sacrist was to ring the bell 
 late (modicej. The Monks were im- 
 mediately to rise, put on their night- 
 shoes, and, coming into the Choir, in- 
 cline over the forms till the children 
 came; and while they were coming, 
 after the prayer of preparation, begin a 
 service at a sign from the Abbot, which 
 was to end in confession. After this 
 they were to sit in the Cloister till 
 Tierce, which was to be followed by 
 the Chapter, reading the sentence of 
 the Rule, the sermon made on it, the 
 correction of abuses, and the arrange- 
 ment of the customs and ordinances for 
 the morrow's Chapter, and the whole 
 day. After this was to follow an 
 appropriate service if any Monk was 
 dead, or they had received a breve or 
 
 the present Church— by the twelve hours of the 
 day or night, the twelve Apostles are signified ; 
 because therefore the hours of the day and night 
 are 24, and on feast days 24 Gloria Patries are sung, 
 therefore the 24 lights are illuminated on these 
 nights, which we distinguish at each canticum, be- 
 cause, like] the Apostles, we mourn the setting of 
 the true Sun." Gemma Animae, p. 1279. Ama- 
 larius says, the extinction of the lights signified the 
 sorrow in the hearts of the disciples, while Christ 
 lay in the Sepulchre ; and that they were extin- 
 guished when beginning the chant, that in every arti- 
 cle of any unforeseen joy we might be affected with 
 sorrow. De Ordine Antiphonarii, ch. xliv. p. 541. 
 Rupert says, the darkness signified the blindness 
 of the Jews, and the darkness of the Crucifixion ; 
 the lights, the saints ; the extinction, the slaughter 
 of them. L. v. ch. xxvi. p. 953. 
 
 ^ Our Lord himself. Id. ch. xxxiii. p. 955. See 
 further Rup. L. vi. ch. xxix. p. 970 ; Albinus 
 Flaccus de Divin. Offic. p. 247 ; and Amalarius, L. 
 iii. ch. xxii. p. 472. 
 
 £2 
 
52 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 obit from another house. At the beat- 
 ing of the table they were to talk in 
 the Cloister, and after Sext again. 
 Then was to follow a Mass for the 
 Poor introduced by the Almoner, who 
 were to take the Sacrament, and re- 
 ceive refection ; after which Nones 
 were to commence, and the forms, as 
 then usual, to be removed. On these 
 four days no one was to absent himself 
 from the communion without a rea- 
 sonable cause; when the Mass was 
 nearly ended, the forms were to be 
 brought back, and Vespers began upon 
 them. In the mean while the Priest 
 following the procession was to go to 
 the place where the body of Christ 
 was laid, having been censed both be- 
 fore and after its deposition there, and 
 with a light constantly burning before 
 it. This over, they took a mixtus. 
 Upon entering the Refectory they were 
 to bow before their seats, and, sitting 
 down, take a mixtus of bread only, 
 and drink, which was to be put ready 
 by the Refectioners. Then the poor 
 (who washed their feet first) were to 
 be introduced to the Maundy. The 
 Monks who died that year w^ere to 
 have their poor in this Maundy [see 
 Infirmary], as well as those whom the 
 Abbot selected ; in this service no 
 Monk, but those deputed to the office, 
 were to interfere. As long as this 
 office of washing the feet and hands 
 lasted, they were to sing ; and those who 
 wished it might sit in the same man- 
 ner as it was usual to sit in the Choir, 
 namely, one between two standing ; 
 but when the drinking commenced they 
 might sit how they liked. Then Ves- 
 pers were to follow. If any stranger 
 from without sought benediction on 
 any of these three days [see Hostrey] , 
 he was to receive it ; the tables of the 
 Refectory were to be covered ; at the 
 bell, and over the Abbot's table were 
 to be placed tables with hammers.^ 
 
 » Bells signified the Apostles, the heralds of 
 Christ, and were not then rung, because they de- 
 serted him ; and there was a wooden hammer sus- 
 pended in a table, and sounding, (" ligneus mal- 
 leolus in tabula suspensus et personans,") because 
 Christ was then solum torcular calcans (see Isaiah, 
 ch. Ixiii. V. 3. J solus in ligno crucis, alone on the 
 
 The verses and benediction in the re- 
 fectory were to be omitted, and the 
 Miserere after dinner read in a low 
 voice. The reader was not to wait for 
 the benediction, and to end without 
 tu autem domine.^ Whilst the Monks 
 were in the fratry the Sacrists were to 
 uncover all the Altars, and get ready 
 two reading desks (the one in the 
 Chapter and the other in the Church), 
 which were to be carried, before col- 
 lation, into the Refectory. After the 
 Monks rose from table, and, as usual, 
 returned from the Church and Dormi- 
 tory, they were to wash their feet as 
 on a Sabbath, and preparation was to 
 be made for a Maundy in the Chapter, 
 which was to take place after a drink- 
 ing in the Refectory. This Maundy 
 over, the Abbot and others, entering 
 the Chapter, the Convent rising as he 
 passed to his seat, were to go to their 
 places. When the hymn was over the 
 Sacrist was to strike the table for col- 
 lation, and the Deacon to enter with 
 the Gospel, preceded by three converts, 
 carrying the candlestick and censer. 
 Upon their entrance the Convent was 
 to rise till the first verse of the Gospel 
 was read, and, at a proper time, the 
 Abbot nodded to the Prior to strike 
 the table ; upon which they were all to 
 rise, and, preceded by the Deacon and 
 the above Converts, go to the re- 
 fectory for a charity. The Deacon was 
 to put the Gospel upon the lectern 
 brought from the Church, and cense 
 both ; and, at a nod from the senior 
 Prior, who then officiated in the Ab- 
 bot's room, to begin reading in the 
 place where he had left off. The Re- 
 fectioner was next to strike the table, 
 and the Abbot and brothers, who had 
 assisted him in the Maundy, to go to the 
 place where the drink of charity was 
 prepared, with bottles, or the cups of 
 the Monks in their hands. When these 
 were filled, the reader was to be silent. 
 
 wood of the cross, and the sole witness to the 
 truth. Rupert Tuitiens. L. v. ch. xxix. 
 
 ^ Beginnings and ends were left out, because, 
 ** I am alpha and omega, &c. ; and he who is our 
 head and beginning Jesus Christ was in these days 
 taken away from us." Id. L. v. ch. xxv. 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 53 
 
 and they were to go to the step ; and till 
 they came thither the Refect ion er was to 
 strike the table from the time they had 
 received the drink and began to go ; 
 and upon their arrival^ three or four 
 times more quickly, and then stop. 
 Then was to follow the benediction by 
 the Priest of the week, and, after this, 
 the Abbot was to give drink to the 
 Prior and others, according to seniority, 
 kissing their hands, those who assisted 
 him in bringing the drink to the step 
 ministering to him. When all the 
 Monks and children were served, the 
 Abbot was to go to the Deacon, who 
 read the collation, and, when he had 
 ended the verse he had begun, give him 
 the drink, and so afterwards to those 
 who carried the candlesticks and cen- 
 sers. These the Abbotts assistants 
 were in the mean while to hold, then 
 to carry the cups of the Deacon and 
 others to the Abbotts table, and when 
 they came to the step, to make a bow, 
 and sit down. Then the like drink, 
 and kissing of hands, was to be done 
 to them. The Abbot was next to go 
 to his seat, the Convent rising as he 
 passed, and the Prior to administer the 
 drink to the Abbot, and kiss his hands. 
 A nod of the Abbot was then to ter- 
 minate the reading of the Deacon, who 
 was to shut the book, make his bow, 
 and lay his officiating robes upon the 
 desk. The Converts were to carry the 
 candlesticks and censer to the Abbotts 
 table, make an inclination, and, with 
 the Deacon, sit down at the table and 
 drink. The Abbot was then to strike 
 the table once, and as many times as 
 the bell was struck on a common sab- 
 bath at the charity after the Maundy, 
 and the Priests to carry the two desks 
 and robes to the Church. Thither the 
 Abbot and Convent were to go in pro- 
 cession, and the wonted confession to 
 be made and Complin said, and after 
 this the three usual prayers. 
 
 On Good Friday the table was to be 
 struck before Mattins in the Cloister, 
 before the cellar and infirmary, to 
 awake the sleepers, and the service to 
 be the same as on Thursday. At Prime 
 the table was to be struck, and they 
 
 were to go barefooted to the Church, 
 and so continue till the office of the 
 day was finished : when it was very 
 cold the Abbot might order them to 
 put their shoes on, in which case of 
 extreme cold they were only to be 
 barefooted at the office. Afterwards 
 they were to sit in the Cloister ; and, 
 the Abbot beginning to say the whole 
 Psalter, after which those who chose it 
 might go to confession. When Tierce 
 approached they were to go as usual to 
 the Dortour, and, being combed and 
 washed, to the preparatory prayers and 
 Tierce. After these they were to go to 
 the Chapter, a verse was to be said in 
 silence, a sentence of the Rule read as 
 on Thursday, a discourse made on it, 
 and matters arranged for the morrow's 
 Chapter. They were next to sit in the 
 Cloister, neither talking, singing, or 
 reading. After Nones the officiating 
 ministers were to robe themselves, and 
 the Priest and Deacon go to the Altar, 
 covered with a single linen cloth. Du- 
 ring the service, at the part " they di- 
 vided my vestments among them,'' two 
 of the robed ministers near the Altar 
 were to draw out two cloths, which 
 before the office had been sent there, 
 the linen still remaining under the 
 Missal. Then was to follow a religious 
 service, and the prayer for all orders of 
 men, except the Jeivs.^ When this 
 was over, two Priests, appointed by the 
 Chantor, were to go to the Cross, pre- 
 pared and coveied at the Morning 
 Altar, and bear it, advancing by de- 
 grees, and singing (as well as the Con- 
 vent) to the High Altar. They were 
 then to uncover it, begin the Antipho- 
 nar, ecce lignum, and bow the knee. 
 After more religious services, carpets 
 were to be laid before the Altar, and 
 the Abbot and others successively to 
 prostrate themselves, pray, kiss the 
 foot of the Crucifix, and afterwards 
 return to the Choir. If there were 
 any clerks or laymen who wished to 
 adore the Cross,b it was to be carried 
 
 » Because, till the fulness of the Gentiles, no 
 manner of prayer could expel their blindness. Rup. 
 Tuit. L. vi. ch. xviii.p. 9()4. 
 
 ^ At Durham was " an image of our Lady, which 
 
54 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 to another place, and the Monks to 
 kneel as it passed. When this Adora- 
 tion was entirely over, the bearers 
 were to elevate the Cross, and take it 
 to its place ; the Monks seeking par- 
 don on their knees. Then the Priests, 
 &c. were to go to the place where the 
 host was laid on Thursday, cense it, 
 and give it to the Deacon to carry. As 
 they approached the Altar, the Monks, 
 kneeling, were to adore the host, which 
 was placed upon the Altar,^ and wine 
 and water mixed in the chalice. After 
 confession and prayer the Priest was to 
 cense the host and chalice. Then was 
 to follow the communion without the 
 Pax, and the preparatory prayer of 
 Vespers. These ended they were to 
 go to the Cloister, wash their feet with 
 warm water, and put on their diurnal 
 shoes. Then Vespers were to be said 
 in silence ; and after these they were 
 to take their refection of bread and wa- 
 ter, and raw herbs only, though the 
 usual viands were cooked, but distri- 
 buted in alms. After the refection of 
 the Convent, the Sacrists, assisted by 
 as many priests as were necessary, were 
 to wash the Altars, first with water, 
 then with wine.^ When the servants, 
 after returning from the Church and 
 Dormitory, had taken their refection, 
 the Monks were to go to the Refectory 
 for the Rule's sake, but to drink water 
 only. Upon their leaving this and 
 sitting in the Cloister, the table was to 
 be struck for collation ; after which 
 
 was made to open with gimmers (hinges) from her 
 breast downwards ; and within was painted the 
 image of our Saviour, finely gilt, holding up his 
 hands, and betwixt his hands a fair and large Cru- 
 cifix of Christ, all of gold ; which Crucifix was to 
 be taken out every Good-Friday ; and every man 
 crept unto it that was then in the Church.'* Davies, 
 &c. 
 
 Hot-cross Buns. In the life of St. Severus 
 (Abbat. Agath.) ch. ii. we hear of bread sent for 
 presents in the manner of Eidogice [explained in 
 the Chapter of Rules] ; which bread was marked 
 with a cross, and the eating of it so marked had a 
 mystical allusion. Du Cange, v. Artona. 
 
 » By the host left on the Altar, was implied, 
 that Christ lay in the Sepulchre, and was deserted 
 by his disciples. Raban. Maur. de Instit. Cleric. 
 L. i. ch. xxxiii. Addit. de Missa, p. 586. 
 
 '' Because blood and water issued from the 
 wounded sides of our Lord. Rup. Tuit. L. v. ch. 
 xxxi. 
 
 they were to go to the refectory *^ to 
 drink a charity.'' 
 
 On the Saturday till Prime all was 
 to be done as on Friday. In the Chap- 
 ter the sentence from the Rule was to 
 be read, and all things arranged till the 
 Easter Chapter. Before and after Chap- 
 ter the Sacrists were to adorn the 
 Church and all the Altars ; to put the 
 tapers where they ought to be, and 
 place the one for consecration in its 
 proper placed [the Serpent Taper in 
 the Concordia Regularum]. In this 
 taper was to be written the year of our 
 Lord ;d and the Cross to be marked 
 with five grains of incense in five 
 places [from the five wounds of Christ] . 
 Then were to follow the censing^ pro- 
 cession and consecration of the taper^ 
 (much as in the Concord of Rules) ; 
 and a candle was to be lighted in the 
 lantern, to light the taper if it went 
 out; and this lantern was to be carried 
 by one of the masters of the Novices. 
 At this procession the candlesticks 
 were not to be carried. The holy fire 
 which remained in the Cloister was to 
 be collected by the Cellarer's servants ; 
 and from this taper all the fires s before 
 extinguished in all the offices were 
 again to be lighted.^ The children, if 
 too little, were not to stay till after 
 Vespers for refection. 
 
 *^ At Durham, upon the Paschal, besides six 
 branches or candlesticks, three on each side, stood 
 '* a long piece of wood, reaching within a man's 
 length to the uppermost vault or roof of the Church, 
 upon which stood a great long squared taper of 
 wax, called the Paschal, having a fine convenience 
 through the said roof of the Church to light the 
 taper." Davies ; see before, ch. iv. 
 
 •• Because Christ is the acceptable year of the 
 Lord, whose months are the twelve Apostles, whose 
 days are the elect, and whose hours are the children 
 baptized. Gemma Animse de Antiq. rit. Missar. L. 
 iii. p. 1281. 
 
 ^ This the Deacon did, because the women who 
 came to the burial of Christ brought spices. Rup. 
 Tuit. ch. xxxi. p. 971. 
 
 ' The Deacon consecrated it, because the weaker 
 sex announced the Resurrection to the Apostles. 
 Ibid. 
 
 s The fire was extinguished at Sext, and re- 
 lighted at Nones, on account of the ecbpse of the 
 Sun during the Crucifixion at those hours. Gemma 
 Animse, p. 1280. 
 
 ^ All the tapers were re-lighted from the new 
 fire, because our Lord, on the day in which he 
 arose from the dead, though it was late, standing in 
 the midst of his Disciples, and showing them his 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 55 
 
 Easter-day and during Easter there 
 was to be a procession to the Crucifix 
 after Lauds and after Vespers through 
 the whole week; on Easter-day in 
 Cappis, 
 
 Festivals in cappis (rich robes) were 
 in general, not always, the most grand 
 of all. The cappa (or cope, says Ho- 
 norius, is the proper robe of singers^ 
 cantorum), which seems to be substi- 
 tuted for the acintine tunic of the law 
 (pro tunica acintina legis), from whence 
 as that was adorned with bells so this 
 with fringes. By this robe holy con- 
 versation is represented, therefore it 
 is used by every order. It has a 
 hood above, which marks the joy of 
 Heaven. It reaches to the feet, because 
 in good living we must persevere to 
 the end ; by the fringes the labour is 
 denoted by which the service of God 
 is consummated. It is open before, 
 because eternal life lies open to the 
 ministers of Christ who lead a holy life. 
 Gemma Animee, ch. ccxxviii. p. 1238. 
 
 On Easter-day was performed the 
 
 Office of the Sepulchre, of which a 
 slight notice was given in the preceding 
 Chapter. The more full service was 
 this; previous to which it is fit to 
 note, that Mary Magdalen, Mary of 
 Bethany, and the sinner of Naim, were 
 three different persons, though often 
 confounded :* Three Deacons clothed 
 in dalmaticks and amesses, with their 
 heads in the manner of women, and 
 holding a vase in their hands, came 
 through the middle of the Choir, and 
 hastening towards the Sepulchre, with 
 downcast looks, said together this 
 verse, " Who will remove the stone 
 for us V^ Upon this a boy, clothed 
 like an angel, in albs, and holding a 
 wheat-ear in his hand, before the Se- 
 pulchre, said, '^ Whom do you seek in 
 the Sepulchre ?*' The Maries answered, 
 ^^ Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.^' 
 The angel answered, " He is not here, 
 but is risen ;^' and pointed to the place 
 
 hands and his side, breathed upon them, and said, 
 " Receive ye the Holy Ghost." llup. Tuit. ch. 
 xxix. p. 971. 
 
 * Menagiana, II. 98, 99. 
 
 with his finger. The angel then de- 
 parted very quickly, and two Priests, 
 in tunicks, sitting without the Sepul- 
 chre, said, " Women, whom do ye 
 mourn for ? Whom do ye seek ?" 
 The middle one of the women said, 
 " Sir, if you have taken him away, say 
 so.'^ The Priest, shewing the Cross, 
 said, ^' Because they have taken away 
 the Lord.^^ The two Priests, sitting 
 said, "Whom do ye seek, women ?" The 
 Maries, kissing the place, afterwards 
 went from the Sepulchre. In the mean 
 time a certain Priest, in the character 
 of Christ, in an alb, with a stole, hold- 
 ing a Cross, met them on the left horn 
 of the Altar, and said, " Mary.^' Upon 
 hearing this, the mock Mary threw 
 herself at his feet, and, with a loud 
 voice, cried, Cabboin, The Priest nod- 
 ding replied, ^^Noli me tangere '^ (touch 
 me not). This being finished, the 
 Priest again appeared at the right horn 
 of the Altar, and said to them as they 
 passed before the Altar, " Hail ! do 
 not fear." This being finished, he 
 concealed himself; and the women, 
 joyful at hearing this, bowed to the 
 Altar, and turning to the Choir, sung 
 " Alleluia, the Lord is risen .'^ This 
 was the signal for the Bishop or Priest 
 before the Altar, with the censer, to 
 begin aloud, " Te Deum.^^ Du Cange, 
 V. Sepulchri Officiiim, 
 
 Another office was the 
 
 Burial of Alleluia. The observation 
 of this ceremony is mentioned in Er- 
 nulph's Annals of the Church of Ro- 
 chester, and by Selden in his notes to 
 Eadmer, as observed just before the 
 octaves of Easter. Austin says, tliat it 
 used to be sung in all Churches from 
 Easter to Pentecost ; but Damasus or- 
 dered it to be performed at certain times, 
 when it was chaunted on the Sundays 
 from the Octaves of the Epiphany to 
 Septuagesima,and on the Sundays from 
 the octaves of Pentecost to Advent. 
 One mode of burying the Alleluia was 
 this : in the sabbath of Septuagesima at 
 Nones, the choristers assembled in the 
 great Vestiary, and there arranged the 
 ceremony. Having finished the last 
 
56 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 Benedicamus, they advanced with 
 crosses, torches, holy watep, and in- 
 cense, carrying a turf (Glebam) in the 
 manner of a coffin, passed through the 
 Choir, and went howhng to the Clois- 
 ter, as far as the place of interment ; 
 and then, having sprinkled the water, 
 and censed the place, returned by the 
 same road. According to a story 
 (whether true or false) in one of the 
 Churches of Paris, a Choir-boy used to 
 whip a to]), marked with Alleluia, 
 written in golden letters, from one end 
 of the Choir to the other. In other 
 places Alleluia was buried by a serious 
 service on Septuagesima Sunday. Du 
 Cange, v. Alleluia, 
 
 Another ceremony, though probably 
 practised only abroad, is given here 
 for its curiosity. A ball, not of size to 
 be grasped by one hand only, being 
 given out at Easter, the Dean and his 
 representative began an Antiphone 
 suited to Easter-day ; then taking the 
 ball in his left hand, commenced a 
 dance to the tune of the Antiphone ; 
 the others dancing round hand in hand. 
 At intervals the ball was bandied, or 
 tossed to each of the choristers. The 
 organ played according to the dance and 
 sport. The dancing and Antiphone 
 being concluded, the Choir went to 
 take a refreshment. It was the privi- 
 lege of the lord, or his locum tenens, to 
 throw the ball; even the Archbishop 
 did it. Du Cange, v. Pelota Percula. 
 Anthony, the Egyptian Abbot, used to 
 play with his Monks, that he might, as 
 he alledged, be afterwards more strong 
 to serve God. Gold. Leg. fol. xlviii. 
 But the above was taken from a cir- 
 cumstance recorded in the Acta Sanc- 
 torum. 
 
 Du Cange suspects that there was a 
 horrible custom in the thirteenth cen- 
 tury of seizing all Ecclesiasticks who 
 walked abroad between Easter and 
 Pentecost (because the Apostles were 
 seized by the Jews after Christ's pas- 
 sion) ; and making them purchase their 
 liberty by money, v. Prisio, 
 
 In the Easter week the Monks were 
 not to converse in the Cloister : but 
 till the Ides of September on private 
 
 days, unless when they left the Refec- 
 tory, they were to go to the Chapter, 
 perform a very short service, and after- 
 wards speak in the Cloister. 
 
 On the Octaves, at the Lections, 
 there were to be Paschal Sermons.* 
 
 At the Rogation Days, after Mattins 
 for the dead, the Monks were to re- 
 turn to their beds, and those who 
 wished it to sleep longer than usual ; 
 for in these days there was to be no 
 meridian or sleep at noon, nor were 
 they to be awakened by any sound, as 
 usual at other times ;^^ but at a proper 
 season the masters were to awake the 
 children as quietly as possible f and 
 while they were reading in the Cloister 
 those in their beds were to rise with- 
 out delay. After the Mass de jejuniOy 
 the sentence of the Rule was to be 
 read in Chapter, and the procession ar- 
 ranged. <^ After Tierce, the boys and 
 infirm, who could not fast, took mixlus ; 
 from Sext they were to go to the Dor- 
 mitory, as at another time, when they 
 were used to sleep at noon ; then, with 
 naked feet, they were to leave the 
 Dormitory, wash their hands, and, 
 going to the Church, say a prayer. 
 This was to be followed by a religious 
 service and procession, in which the 
 Chamberlain's servants were to de- 
 liver staves*^ to the Monks to support 
 them ; and when they were to come to 
 the Church, tvherethey weregoiny, and 
 
 * Because our whole life is the revolution of 
 seven days, the eighth or octave signified eternity ; 
 and this was the mystical reason, why octaves were 
 annexed to festivals. Sparrow on the Common 
 Prayer, 232. Du Cange adds, because our Lord 
 rose on the 8th day (including Sunday to Sunday, 
 says Alcuinus), the octave of a feast was the day 
 on which the whole solemnity closed, v. Octava. 
 
 Boys used to claim hard eggs or small money at 
 the feast of Easter, in exchange for the ball play 
 before mentioned. Du Cange, v. Roulleta. 
 
 ^ Alluding to the state of the disciples, between 
 the passion and ascension of Christ. 
 
 * The Rogations were processions for the good 
 of the future harvest ; and the three days before 
 were to be spent in fasting, that the purified soul 
 might ascend with Christ on the Thursday follow- 
 ing. Sparrow, p. 160. 
 
 ^ " Sometimes we use this staff, sometimes not. 
 When we have Christ at hand we need no support. 
 If he has left us on account of our sins, we have 
 need to seek a support ; i. e. the prayers of the 
 saints.'' Ciampini Vetera Monumenta, ch. xv. 
 p. 119. 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION, 
 
 57 
 
 the Chantor began a chant to the ho- 
 nour of the patron saint, the Monks, 
 as they entered, returned the staves to 
 the servants, to take them again when 
 they went out.* Then there was to be 
 another Mass dejejunio, a single prayer 
 to be said for the patron saint, and 
 two Monks to go to the gate of the 
 house to sing an Agnus Dei,^ and then 
 to come back, taking with them some 
 of the servants to sing the Litany,^ 
 which the Convent was to do upon 
 their return. When the procession 
 came to the gate of the Church, they 
 
 * The staff was human assistance, and they did 
 not need it when Christ was present. Expositio 
 Missse de vetusto Codice, p. 2172. ** When we 
 make a procession to another church," says Hono- 
 riuSj *' we go as it were to the land of promise ; 
 when we enter the church singing, we arrive as it 
 were rejoicing at our home (patriam)." Gemma 
 Animse, L. i. ch. Ixx. p. 1200. The churches to 
 which the procession was made were sometimes 
 the Cathedrals, see Provinc. Angl. p. 9. n. 1. voc. 
 minoribus Ecclesiis ; but not always these. See 
 Monast. I. p. 212. 
 
 ** This, besides a chant in the Mass, had another 
 signification. Pieces of the Paschal taper, conse- 
 crated at Easter, were given to the people, to make 
 perfumes for their houses, protect them from sor- 
 cery, &c. This custom only prevailed out of Rome ; 
 for there, instead of the taper, the Archdeacon 
 used to consecrate some wax, mixed with oil, and 
 distribute pieces in the form of a lamb to the peo- 
 ple. This was the origin of those waxen images of 
 the lamb, which the Pontiffs themselves consecrated 
 in a more august form. Du Cange, in voce. 
 
 *= St. Mark's day, says Davies, was commonly 
 kept a fast through all the country, and no flesh 
 eaten upon it. Also upon this, and the three first 
 days of Cross, or the Rogation week, there were 
 processions by the Prior and Monks of Durham to 
 one of the Parish Churches, and a sermon preached 
 at each. Upon Holy Thursday was a procession 
 with two Crosses, borne before the Monks, and 
 each in rich copes ; the Prior in one of cloth of 
 gold so massy, that his train was supported. 
 Shrines and relicks were also carried. There were 
 two Litanies performed twice in the year, the 
 greater and the less ; the first on St. Mark's day, 
 instituted by Gregory, on account of a pestilence, 
 called also the black cross from the black cloaths, 
 worn from weeping and penance ; or " peraventure, 
 because they covered the Crosse and auters with 
 blessed hay res. ' ' The smaller Litany was sung three 
 days before the Ascension, and was called the Ro- 
 gations, Processions, &c. ; because then a general 
 procession was made, the Cross borne, bells rung, 
 and, in some Churches, a Dragon with a great tail, 
 filled full of chaff, emptied on the third day, to shew 
 that the Devil, after prevailing the first and second 
 day, before and under the Law, was on " the thyrde 
 day of grace, by the passion of Jhesu criste, put 
 out of his reame." Gold. Legend, fol. xvi. a. b. 
 ubi pluia. 
 
 were to end the Litany; after which 
 the two selected Monks were to stand 
 with naked feet before the gates, and 
 sing an Agnus Dei. The Litany was 
 to be followed by the preparatory 
 prayer of Nones ; and, after this, they 
 were to go to the Cloister to wash 
 their feet, then return to the Choir, 
 and, at the ringing of another bell, sing 
 Nones. 
 
 Whitsuntide, This week the fasts 
 were to be begun, which the Rule re- 
 quired on Wednesdays and Fridays, 
 till the Ides of September,^ unless 
 there was a reason why the Abbot or 
 Prior should twice grant a license of 
 refection.^ On a Vigil that fell on 
 these days there was to be a Mass, 
 but no procession. After the Chapter 
 on Fast days they were to sit in the 
 Cloister conversing. After Tierce the 
 servants, and minuti, and sick, were to 
 take mixtus. After Sext they were to 
 go to sleep, and next bring their shoes, 
 barefooted, to the Cloister. Then they 
 were to wash and comb themselves, 
 and go to Church. In this season to 
 the calends of October they were only 
 to converse once in the Cloister, from 
 after the Chapter till Tierce. After 
 Sext they were to go to the Dormitory, 
 and Mass be celebrated after that 
 hour. 
 
 Presents of roses were made on 
 Whitsunday.^ 
 
 Festivals, 8fc. how observed, 
 
 Whitsuntide. In some Churches 
 abroad water was let down, afterwards 
 
 d Benedict prescribed fasting from Holy-Cross 
 day (Sept. 14.) to Easter, and from Pentecost to 
 Holy-Rood day, every Wednesday and Friday. 
 On the fasts prescribed by the Order, the Monks 
 were to make but one repast at Nones (3 p. m.), 
 and on the Church-fasts, not till the evening colla- 
 tions. Reg. ch. xli. This fast was by no means 
 observed. Reyn. Append. 165. 
 
 e The dispensation extended to growing youths, 
 the sick, weak, minuti, and " those who bore the 
 burden of the day." M. Paris, p. 1059. Const. 
 Cap. Gen. Northamp. a". 1225. § Hospitalitate. 
 By the const, of the same place, a". 1444, ch. viii. 
 the Monks were not to sup on any Friday in the 
 whole year, except a Christmas -day fell then. 
 Fasting twice a week was borrowed from the Pha- 
 risees. Pictet. Serm. sur. Matt. 19. 
 
 f Du Cange, v. Rosa. 
 
58 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 wafers, from a hollow place in the mid- 
 dle of the Church, in commemoration 
 of the descent of the Holy Ghost.* 
 The Ordinary of the Church of Rouen 
 says, "Whilst Feni Creator is begun 
 some of the Treasurer's people, being 
 in the lower deambulatories of the 
 tower, shall throw down before the 
 Crucifix, and, as far as they can, be- 
 low the Choir, oak-leaves, unconse- 
 crated wafers, and burning tow, in a 
 large quantity : and, at the Gloria in 
 excelsis (Glory to God on high), shall 
 let fly towards the Choir small birds, 
 with unconsecrated wafers tied to their 
 legs ; and continue the above till the 
 Mass, and not cease till the Gospel be 
 said. All this was be at the expense 
 of the Treasurer and Chapter in equal 
 proportions.^ Elsewhere at the Feast 
 of Pentecost we find, among the so- 
 lemnities of High Mass, unconsecrated 
 wafers, with burning torches, thrown 
 down from the highest vaulting among 
 the Choir.^'*^ Lambarde (after de- 
 scribing the Office of the Sepulchre 
 by Puppets, in which was one watch- 
 man, who seeing Christ arise, made a 
 continual noise, like the metynge of two 
 sticks, and was therefore nick-named 
 Jack Snackes) thus describes the Whit- 
 sun tide-ofiice : " I myself, being then a 
 child, once sawe in Poule's Church, in 
 London, a feast of Whitsuntyde, 
 wheare the coming downe of the Holy 
 Ghost was set forth by a white Pigeon, 
 that was let to fly out of a hole, that 
 yet is to be scene in the mydst of 
 the roof of the great isle ; and by a 
 long censer, which descendinge out of 
 the same place, almost to the verie 
 grounde, was swinged up and downe 
 at such a lengthe, that it reached with 
 thone sweepe almost to the West gate 
 of the Church e, and with the other to 
 the quyre staires of the same, breath- 
 inge out over the whole Churche and 
 companie, a most pleasant perfume of 
 such swete things as burned therein. 
 With the like doome shewes also, they 
 used everie where to furnish sondrie 
 
 * Coryatt's Crudities, I. p. 3. ^ Du Cange, v. 
 Nebulce. ^ Id. v. Oblatce. 
 
 parts of their Church service, as by 
 their spectacles of the Nativitie, Pas- 
 sion, Ascension, &c."^ In some Coun- 
 cils of Spain it is enacted, that there 
 be no representation of the emission of 
 the Holy Ghost at this season, during 
 Mass and Vespers, nor mock thunders, 
 which had done much damage.^ 
 
 On the principal Feasts every thing 
 was to be done usual on a holy sab- 
 bath. On the Vigil the whole Monas- 
 tery and all the Altars were to be 
 ornamented to the best ability of 
 the place. The Offices and Cloister 
 were to be cleaned, the seats of the 
 Refectory, Chapter, and Cloister, were 
 to be covered, and rushes strewed on 
 the forms. At the reading of the Gos- 
 pel the Altar was to be uncovered, and 
 all the tapers lighted. Festival cloths 
 were to spread upon the Refectory 
 tables, so that they might hang before, 
 besides the daily ones upon which the 
 Monks were to eat. They were to 
 have towels to wipe their hands with 
 at the first refection only, and late at 
 supper. 
 
 On the principal /easts of the second 
 class, the Altars, Presbytery, Choir, 
 and members of the Church, on both 
 sides the Choir, were to be ornamented 
 on the Vigil, the bells rung, as on 
 principal feasts, two parts of the tapers 
 of the crown of the Presbytery, all 
 about the High Altar, and the one be- 
 fore the Crucifix lighted. On Ascen- 
 sion-day there was to be a procession 
 in alhs (a kind of surplice, the white 
 garment that Herod put upon Christ.)^ 
 On the Feast of the Dedication of the 
 Church, the tapers lighted at the Ves- 
 pers preceding through all the Altars 
 were not to be extinguished before the 
 morrow's Complin. A Mass was to 
 be celebrated at every Altar, if there 
 were Priests enough ; and after that a 
 procession in albs, either around the 
 Church, if there was a proper place 
 for it, or through the Cloister. 
 
 On Feasts of the third class the two 
 Altars of the Presbytery, the Presby- 
 
 <i Warton's Poetry, I. 241, &c. « Du Cange, 
 V. Zamborio. ^ Lewis's Thanet, p. 154. 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 59 
 
 tery and Choir, were to be dressed on 
 the Vigil. In the Exaltation of the 
 Cross, the service was to be similar to 
 that of the Invention, except that on 
 the latter the Cross was to be worshiped, 
 on the former not. In the latter, after 
 Tierce, the Choir was to be strewed 
 with carpets up to the High Altar. 
 Two Monks were to bring the Cross, 
 covered, to the step nearest the Altar. 
 It was then to be uncovered, and at 
 the ecce lignum cruets all were to kneel, 
 and afterwards prostrate themselves 
 before it, and kiss the foot of it accord- 
 ing to seniority. This ended the two 
 bearers were to begin an Antiphonar, 
 super omnia, and all to kneel. The 
 Cross was then to be returned to its 
 place, and Mass performed. 
 
 On the five principal Sundays {\ Adv. 
 Septuag. 1 Lent, Midlent, and Palm 
 Sunday) the ornaments were to be si- 
 milar to those of principal feasts. 
 
 On all the feasts of twelve lessons, 
 and all days within the octaves, the 
 Monks were not to converse in the 
 Cloister. 
 
 On Trinity Sunday there was at Dur- 
 ham a grand procession, and especially 
 on Corpus Christi Day, instituted by 
 Urban IV., and great pardons granted 
 upon it. All the trades in the city, 
 with banners and candles, and a shrine 
 containing the pix (or chrystal-box en- 
 closing the host), went in procession, 
 and were joined by the Convent, who 
 worshipped it ; and had a service in the 
 Choir. Of the play, &c. &c. upon this 
 day, see Weever, Fun. Mon. 405. 
 Strutt, Gliggam. 118. Archeeological 
 Library, 161, et alios. It was abohshed 
 by James I. ; and the citizens, in some 
 parts of England, to make themselves 
 amends, substituted Show-days, and 
 erected arbours in the town-meadows, 
 where they feasted, &c. Phihps's 
 Shrewsbury, p. 202. Upon the Trans- 
 figuration of Christ (Aug. 6), new wine, 
 if it could be found, was used in the 
 chalice, or sometimes a ripe grape 
 squeezed into it, and the branches con- 
 secrated. From this they communi- 
 cated. Du Cange, v. Festum, 
 
 Among the Anglo-Saxons, at least, 
 
 every Christian of age fasted three 
 days on bread and water before the 
 Feast of St, Mic/tae/, and went to church 
 to confess barefooted, &c. Leg. Ethel- 
 redi, 2, ap. Brompton. Du Cange, v. 
 Jejunium, 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF LATE- 
 RAN, ANNO 1215.a 
 
 It enjoins visitations and general 
 Chapters — forbids new religions — or- 
 ders no Monk or Abbot to have a 
 place in more than one house, nor to 
 play at dice or draughts — prohibits 
 players and jesters — mentions Abbots 
 spending almost half the night in su- 
 perfluous talk and dissolute habits, 
 and never performing divine service 
 four times in a year — enjoins the reh- 
 gious not to be bail for persons with- 
 out leave of the Abbot or Convent — 
 forbids Abbots invading Episcopal 
 Offices by " meddling with matrimonial 
 causes, enjoining public penances, 
 granting letters of indulgences, and si- 
 milar presumptions^^ — prohibits the re- 
 ceipt of tythes from lay-hands^ — repro- 
 bates persons deputed to collect alms 
 stopping in taverns or other unfit 
 places^ — and censures simony. Labbei 
 
 * The Monks cite various constitutions, not to 
 be found in Labbe. Swapham says, " it was de- 
 creed in the Synod of Lateran, that the Monks 
 should fast, as contained in the Rule, namely, from 
 Holy-rood to Easter. The Abbot returning home 
 from the said council, made it known to his Con- 
 vent, and obtained, by his requests, that the afore- 
 said fasts should be observed for the above time." 
 Hist. Coenobii Burgensis, p. 111. Matthew Paris 
 too (p. 1063) insinuates, that an alteration was 
 made in the burial of Abbots after the Lateran 
 Council. But the printed councils are notorious 
 for omissions. See Selden's Titles of Honour, 
 239, ed. 2. Tythes, c. viii. § 4, 5, 10, 26, &c. 
 
 •* i. e. arbitrarily, without the Bishop's consent. 
 See Selden on this passage. Tythes, c 6, § 7. 
 
 « The cynical and querulous Barclay is bitter 
 upon this subject. He says, 
 '* The Abbot and Prior, and also their Covent, 
 Are so blinded with unhappy covetise. 
 That with their own can they not be content. 
 But to have more they alway meanes devise ; 
 Yea in so much that some have found a gyse, 
 To fayne their brethren taken in captivitie, 
 That they may begge so by authoritie ; 
 They fayne miracles, where non were ever done. 
 And all for lucre : some other range about. 
 To gather and begge with some fayned pardon, 
 
60 
 
 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 Concilia, sub anno 1215. [See § Monks 
 and Nuns, for the practices alluded 
 to.] 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS OF BENEDICT THE 
 TWELFTH, ANNO 1336. 
 
 Common and Provincial Chapters 
 once in three years — appointment of 
 visitors — general Chapters annually to 
 correct abuses, and audit the accounts of 
 those whohadbeen charged withan office 
 — aids and collections — daily Chapters 
 in Abbeys of more than six Monks — 
 masters to teach the Monks — to send 
 students to the University — to grant 
 pensions to them — against waste of 
 the woods by improper sales, and 
 granting pensions for life — against 
 deceitful contracts. '^They also, by 
 themselves and others, pretend to have 
 made loans; sometimes in their own 
 names, and their securities ; and even 
 make use of the names of others. 
 Sometimes they acknowledge, by pub- 
 lic instruments, to have borrowed from 
 a father, relative, servant, or merchant, 
 wine, corn, money, cattle, or other 
 goods, for the use of their houses, when 
 they never received any such thing '' — 
 Abbots to take an oath not to sell, 
 alienate, mortgage, or enfeoff anew the 
 lands destined "to the table of the 
 house" — not to appropriate to them- 
 selves the goods of vacant offices, 
 priories, and benefices— inventories or 
 registers ordered — places not to be let 
 to farm unless from necessity — prelates 
 and officers not to obtain privileges 
 " by which the liberties, possessions, 
 property, and rights of their offices are 
 strengthened,^^ and various valuables 
 
 And at the Jle -house at night all drinketh out. 
 So run these beggers in company rowte, 
 By streetes, tavernes, towns, and villages : 
 No place can well be free of their outrages. 
 Some begge for buildinges, some for reliques 
 
 newe 
 Of holy saintes, of countreys farre and strange ; 
 And with their wordes fayned and untrue, 
 For cause of lucre about they runne and range, 
 But in a simple village, farme, or grange, 
 Whereat these beggars most simple men may 
 
 finde, 
 With their false bones, as relickes, they them 
 
 blinde. 
 
 Ship of Fooles, 119, b. ed. Seb. Brandt. 
 
 of their houses transferred to, or held 
 in, the hands of relatives and friends — ■ 
 against Monks having property, scra- 
 ping up money, buying estates, or 
 causing them to be bought in other 
 names, or their own; giving others 
 cattle to keep to produce interest or 
 profit to themselves or another, and 
 driving many various bargains like 
 tradesmen — against money being given 
 them instead of victuals — no secular 
 clerks or laymen, or Monks of another 
 house, to farm the kitchen — against of- 
 ficers keeping women, although mo- 
 thers and sisters, in the same house — 
 not to have other horses or servants 
 than office required — suite of Abbots 
 and officers limited, except in case 
 of war or personal danger — punctual- 
 ity in payment of the funds for the 
 necessaries of Monks at the usual 
 times — fit persons, or those likely to 
 be so, only received as Monks — against 
 deviations in dress — punishment of il- 
 licit absence, a severe beating with a 
 ferula, in Chapter — against Monks 
 dwelling alone in offices or priories, 
 and single Monks being placed in towns 
 and parish churches — the usual hours 
 to be sung in the priories, and the 
 Monks to take their weeks in celebra- 
 ting Mass once a day — with note 
 where three or four more, and then 
 one Mass at least every day — to lie in 
 a Dormitory, not in separate chambers 
 — to obey the Prior — to abstain from 
 flesh, and not to have partitions in the 
 Dormitory — Masses to be celebrated 
 once a week at least, in Priories and 
 Schools, and elsewhere — persons, not 
 Priests, to confess every week, and 
 take the Sacrament once every month 
 — proper provision for the books and 
 necessaries of the Church — no person 
 to be made a conventual Prior till 
 twenty-five years old, and within a year 
 after such promotion to be ordained 
 Priest — Claustral Prior^to be a prudent 
 and discreet man — Monks not to hold 
 offices or benefices in other churches 
 or houses — ancient number of Monks 
 to be kept up, and the usual procura- 
 
 • See § Prior, 
 
 I 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 
 
 61 
 
 tions paid — Presidents of Provincial 
 Chapters to restore decayed discipline 
 in bad houses, by sending them fit 
 Monks for such purpose — Monks who 
 had injured the property of their 
 
 » houses to be sent to others — Mendi- 
 cants ^ claiming administrations, of- 
 fices^ and similar privileges, among 
 the Monks, to exhibit the papal au- 
 thority for this assumption — no Monk 
 defaming his superior to be attended 
 to, unless willing to sustain the punish- 
 ment of failure of proof — against con- 
 spiracies — concerning the promulga- 
 tion of the constitutions in the pro- 
 vincial Chapters. 
 
 [Fo7^ the Regular Canons. None but 
 fit persons, or those likely to be so, to 
 be received — to be instructed by a 
 proper person during the time of pro- 
 bation, " in a place where at least 
 seven canons resided " — creation of 
 them to belong to the Prelate and 
 Convent ; to the former, with counsel 
 of a third of the seniors, if the Convent 
 delayed after a month's warning — pro- 
 fession, not clandestine, and with Mass 
 — no clerk to be received to a Prebend 
 or portion, who had not first resigned 
 se ^ sua (himself and property) to the 
 house — a Claustral Prior in every 
 house not having a superior, or more 
 than twelve Canons, or (though usually 
 fewer) having a head — regular Chapters 
 at least once a week, or oftener — annual 
 Chapter of superiors — provincial one 
 from four years to four years — no 
 large suite to be brought there — office 
 of visitors — not to be visitors the same 
 year of those who had visited them — 
 not to stop above two days unless from 
 urgent occasions — not to extort mo- 
 ney by themselves or others, except 
 for expenses b — collections to be made 
 — masters to be appointed to teach 
 
 * Friers. 
 
 ^ In theVisit.of Oseney,byPeacham, "procura- 
 tionem visitationis — non in esculentis et poculentis 
 ut assolet exigebat, sed in pecunifl numerata juxta 
 consuetudinem pristinam ;'' i. e. he required his 
 procurations to be paid not in eatables and drinks 
 ables, but in ready money, according to ancient 
 custom. MS. Wood, in Mus. Ashmol. 8563, 
 pp. 2, 12. So that episcopal and conventual visi- 
 tors were on diflerent footings. 
 
 the Canons in the primary sciences, 
 and afterwards in the divine and canon 
 laws — one out of twenty to be sent to 
 study at the university — number to be 
 made up by joining dependent and 
 parent houses — pension to doctors, 
 lecturers, scholars, and others — distri- 
 bution of books among the students: — 
 government of them by a Prior — Pre- 
 sidents of the Provincial Chapter to 
 manage the affairs of the students in 
 pecuniary respects — no one to take de- 
 grees without previously engaging only 
 to expend a certain sum — Canons in 
 benefices and cells as the Benedictines 
 before — usual number to be preserved 
 — excess of horses and servants for- 
 bidden — immoderate feasts of superiors 
 and their servants prohibited — Reli- 
 gious to go out with company — Abbots 
 or other Prelates to have two compa- 
 nions with them — beneficed men or of- 
 ficers to be ordained Priests — regula- 
 tion of dress — illicit absence punished 
 as among the Benedictines — no aliena- 
 tions of property without licence of the 
 Papal See — fraudulent and deceitful 
 contracts forbidden as in the Benedic- 
 tine Constitutions — recovery of debts 
 from them only after a consultation of 
 at least two distinct days, with the 
 Chapter or Convent — against unwise 
 and injurious leases ^ (locationes) — to 
 have registers and archives — punctua- 
 lity of payment in money or pensions 
 for aliments and revenues — no flesh to 
 be eaten on Sabbath, and all Advent — 
 on Wednesday and Septuagesima ac- 
 cording to local statute— to reside in 
 the Cloister, and sleep in a Dortour, 
 not private chambers — privileges and 
 moveables as in the Benedictine Con- 
 stitutions — Mass in Convents at least 
 twice a week — in Priories and Cells 
 once — in schools or elsewhere at least 
 once in fifteen days — Confession the 
 same — Sacrament every month — Mass 
 to be said, not by running it over, or 
 shortening it, but gradually and dis- 
 tinctly [see the end of this article 1[^] 
 
 «= From the BuUarium Romanum, V. I. p. 242 — 
 274. The deviations alluded to in these and the 
 preceding Constitutions will be severally discussed 
 in their respective places. 
 
62 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM FROM THE CONQUEST 
 
 — care to be taken of the relicks and 
 Church ornaments — not to be forced 
 to secular courts — against hunting and 
 fowhng, " unless they had vivaria * or 
 warrens of their own, or a right of 
 sporting in others, in which case it was 
 
 allowed, so that they did not keep 
 dogs within their precincts, or lent their 
 personal presence to hunting" — not 
 to have arms without leave — against 
 detraction and other crimes as in the 
 Benedictine code.^] 
 
 %^ The abuse of the service in Churches under the Monks, Canons, and 
 Clergy is delineated in a very curious and interesting manner by Barclay : 
 
 There be no tidings nor nuelties of warre. 
 Nor other wonders done in any straunge lande. 
 Whatsoever they be, and come they never so farre. 
 The Priestes in the queere, at first have them in hande. 
 While one recounteth the other to understande 
 His fayned fable, barkening to the glose. 
 Full little adverteth howe the service goes. 
 
 The Battayles done perchaunce in small Britayne, 
 In Fraunce, or Flaunders, or to the worlde^s ende. 
 Are told in the quere (of some) in wordes vayne. 
 In middest of Matins in steede of the Legende, 
 And other gladly to heare the same intende. 
 Much rather then the service for to heare, 
 The Rector chori is made the messanger. 
 
 He runneth about like to a pursevant 
 
 With his white-stafFe c moT'ing from side to side; 
 
 Where he is leaning tales are not scant, 
 
 But in one place longe doth not he abide. 
 
 So he and other themselves so lewdely ^ gide. 
 
 Without devotion by their lewde negligence. 
 
 That nothing can binde their tonges to silence. 
 
 And in the morning when they come to the quere. 
 
 The one beginneth a fable or a historic ; 
 
 The other leaneth their eares it to heare. 
 
 Taking it in stede of the invitorie. 
 
 Some other maketh respons, antem, and memory. 
 
 And all of fables and jestes of Robin Hood, 
 
 Or other trifles, that scantly are so good.^ 
 
 Ship ofFooles, 182, 183. 
 
 The behaviour of the Laity in these Churches is also admirably described thus : 
 
 '^ And whyle the Priestes also them exercise. 
 
 In mattins, praying, sermon, or preaching devine, 
 
 •^ These were mostly fish-ponds or stews, but they meQ.n parks here. See Lyndwood, p. 200. 
 
 b Bullarium Romanum, ubi supra. 
 
 e Collins mentions this (Peerage, VI. 419) ; but an Angel in a vision uses a reed, not a wand. Du 
 Cange, v. Arundinetum. See § Precentor hereafter. 
 
 d Lewdely, licentiously. Steevens. 
 
 « The account of St. Paul's Church, as the Mart of News, in Mr. Douce on Shakespeare, well illustrates 
 this passage. 
 
TO THE DISSOLUTION. 63 
 
 Of other due thinges, that longe to their service ; 
 Teaching the people to vertue to encUne ; 
 Then these fooles, as it were roving swine, 
 With their jetting a and tales of viciousnesse, 
 Trouble all suche service, that is said, more and lesse. 
 
 Into the Church then comes another sotte,^ 
 
 Without devotion, jetting up and downe. 
 
 Or to be scene, and to showe his garded ^ cote : 
 
 Another on hisfiste, a Sparhauke or Fawcone,^ 
 
 Or els a Cokow,^ and so wasting his shone (shoes), 
 
 Before the aulters he to and fro doth wander. 
 
 With even as great devotion as a gander. 
 
 In comes another his houndes at his tayle, 
 With lynes and leases,*^ and other like baggage. 
 His dogges barke, so that withouten fayle 
 The whole Church is troubled by their outrage. 
 So innocent youth learneth the same of age. 
 And their lewde sounde doth the Church fill. 
 But in this noyse the good people kepe them still. 
 
 One time the hawkes bells jangleth hye. 
 
 Another time they flutter with their winges. 
 
 And nowe the houndes barking strikes the skye ; 
 
 Nowe sounde their feete, and nowe the chaynes ringes, 
 
 They clap with their handes ; by such maner thinges. 
 
 They make of the Church for their hawkes a mewe, 
 
 And canell (kennel) for their dogges, which they shall after rewe. 
 
 There are handled pleadinges, and causes of the lawe, 
 
 There are made bargaynes of divers maner thinges, 
 
 Byinges and sellinges scant worth a hawe. 
 
 And there are for lucre contrived false leasinges ; 
 
 And while the Priest his Masse or Matins singes. 
 
 These fooles, which to the Church do repayre. 
 
 Are chatting and babling, as it were" in a fayre.e 
 
 Some gigle and laugh, and some on maydins stare. 
 And some on wives with wanton countenance, 
 
 * To Jet is to strutt. Steevens. Cotgrave (v. Fringuer) extends the meaning. 
 
 »» Sot, not a drunkard. Sherwood says, ** A sot. Sot, fol, bedault, hadelori, grue, oison bride, jan^ 
 giponjobelin, micon, minchon, bedier, bejaune.'* Here it means a vain trifler. 
 
 * Laced. 
 
 ^ The English and French nobles never travelled but in a warlike or hunting equipage ; the bird upon 
 the fist, and the dogs running before. The bird upon the fist was the most unequivocal proof of nobility 
 in women, and those not yet made knights. Maillot, III. 67. 
 
 ^ Though it was usual to carry a Hawk upon the fist, I never before heard of a Cuckow : only that rank 
 was distinguished by the kind of Hawk. 
 
 ' Cotgrave has lesse ; a leash to hold a dog, &c. 
 
 s In the reign of Henry III. a law-suit was settled in St. Peter's Church, Bristol ; and each party took 
 a solemn oath, and agreed to forfeit ten marks for every article of the agreement which might be broken 
 (Smythe's Berkeley MSS. 119). The people used to come early in the morning on law matters, begging 
 to have Mass first said by the Priest (Sim. Dunelm. 35). This business was mostly done in the Porch. 
 Eadmer (p. 26) mentions persons assembling there on business, which is an extremely ancient custom ; 
 the aisles and bodies of the Heathen temples being expressly devoted to such purposes, if desired. Godw. 
 Rom. Hist. Anthol. p. 21. See, too, Livy, I. 30, &c. 
 
64 BENEDICTINE MONACHISM. 
 
 As for the service they have small force or care, 
 But full delite them in their misgovernaunce. 
 Some with their slippers to and fro doth praunce^, 
 Clapping with their heeles in Church and in queare, 
 So that good people cannot the service heare. 
 
 What shall I write of maydens and of wives^ 
 Of their roundinges » and ungoodly communing ; 
 Howe one a slaunder craftely contrives, 
 And in the Church therof hath her talking ; 
 The other have therto their eares leaning ; 
 And then when they all have heard forth hir tale. 
 With great devotion they get them to the ale. 
 
 Thus is the Church defiled with vilany. 
 
 And in steede of prayer and godly orison, 
 
 Are used shameful bargayns and tales of ribawdry, 
 
 Jettinges and mockinges and great derision ; 
 
 There fewe are or none of perfect devotion ; 
 
 And when oure Lorde is consecrate in fourmc of bread, 
 
 Therby walkes a knaves, his bonet on his head. 
 
 * Whispering, A. Sax. punian, " called than to him a dark, and rowned with him." State Trials, 
 p. 36, col. i. ed. Fol. 
 
65 
 
 CHAPTER VI, 
 
 RULES OP THE ORDERS WHICH OBTAINED IN ENGLAND. 
 
 In the 13th century Guyot de Provins, 
 at first a Minstrel^ afterwards a Monk, 
 wrote, what he has (oddly to us) deno- 
 minated a Bible, though only a poem, 
 religious, moral, and satirical.a It con- 
 tains some curious passages of various 
 Monastick orders, which he often ge- 
 nerally designates, as does James de 
 Vitry and others, by Black Monks, or 
 those who follow the Benedictine Rule ; 
 and White Monks, who adopted the 
 Augustinian Institutes, or, in reform- 
 ing themselves, had quitted the black 
 habit for the white. 
 
 Cistertians. "The Abbots and Cel- 
 larers have ready money, eat large fish, 
 drink good wine, and send to the Re- 
 fectory, for those who do the work, 
 the very worst. These Monks,^' he 
 says, *^I have seen put pig sties in 
 Church-yards, and stables for asses in 
 Chapels. They seize the cottages of 
 the poor, and reduce them to beggary.'^ 
 
 Cay'thusians, "I know the Car- 
 thusians,^^ says he, ^^ and their life 
 does not tempt me. They have each 
 habitation; every one is his own cook; 
 every one eats and sleeps alone ; and 
 I do not know whether God is much 
 delighted with all this. But this I 
 well know, that if I was myself in Pa- 
 radise, and alone there, I should not 
 wish to remain in it. A solitary man 
 is always subject to bad temper. Thus 
 I call those fools who wished me to 
 immure myself in this way. But what 
 I particularly dislike in the Carthu- 
 sians is, that they are murderers of 
 their sick. If these require any little 
 extraordinary nourishment, it is pe- 
 remptorily refused. I do not like re- 
 ligious persons who have no pity ; the 
 very quality which, I think, they espe- 
 cially ought to have.'^ 
 
 " MS. Bibl. Nationale h. Paris, marked La Va- 
 liere, 2707, &c. The extracts are from the Notices, 
 &c, vol V. 285, seq. 
 
 Grandmontines. ^^ Besides fondness 
 for good cheer, they were remarkable 
 for the most ridiculous foppery. They 
 painted their cheeks, washed and co- 
 vered up their beards at nights (as now 
 women do their hair), in order that 
 they might look handsome and glitter- 
 ing on the next day. They were en- 
 tirely governed by the Lay-brothers, 
 who got possession of their money; 
 and with it, buying the Court of Rome, 
 obtained the subversion of the Order .^^'> 
 
 Regular Canons, " Augustin, whose 
 rule [i, e, the Rule composed by Ivo 
 de Chartres from the writings of Au- 
 gustin, says Mosheim, &c.] they allow 
 was more courteous than Benedict. 
 Among them one is well shod, well 
 cloathed, well fed. They go out when 
 they like, mix with the world, and 
 talk at table.'' 
 
 Clugniacs. " When you wish to 
 sleep they awake you : when you wish 
 to eat they make you fast. The night 
 is passed in praying in the Church, 
 the day in working, and there is no re- 
 pose but in the Refectory : and what 
 is to be found there ? Rotten eggs, 
 beans with all their pods on,c and 
 (boisson des boeufs) liquor fit for oxen. 
 For the wine is so poor {mouillt, wa- 
 tered), that one might drink of it for a 
 month without intoxication." 
 
 Templars, "They are honoured in 
 Syria, much dreaded by the Turks, and 
 their order would suit me well enough, 
 were it not necessary to fight ; but 
 they are too brave.^ As to me, if I 
 die, it will never be, I hope, through 
 prowess or courage. I had rather be 
 a living coward than have the most il- 
 lustrious death in the whole world. 
 These worthies [preux) of the Temple 
 
 ^ Of this Monastick quarrel, see Fleurv, Hist. 
 Eccl. XVL 73. 
 
 *= These were eaten. Du Cange, v. Govssa. 
 •1 They were never to fly. M. Paris, 374. 
 
 ¥ 
 
66 
 
 RULES OF THE ORDERS 
 
 are very exact in all which concerns 
 the service of the Church ; and, re- 
 specting that point, I should yield to 
 them in nothing; but the moment 
 fighting commenced^ ^your servant/ 
 they should go without me. A battle 
 is not wholesome (saine). I willingly 
 leave that honour to them ; and, please 
 God, I hope to be neither killed nor 
 wounded." 
 
 Hospitalers, " I have lived with 
 them at Jerusalem, and have seen 
 them proud and fierce. Besides, since 
 by name and foundation they ought 
 to be hospitable, why are they not so 
 in reality ? A Monk in vain leads a 
 very hard life, fasts, labours, chaunts, 
 and reads the Scriptures, if he is not 
 charitable ; it is only an uninhabited 
 house, where the spider weaves his 
 web.'^ 
 
 Converts of St. Antony, "They 
 have established an Hospital, which 
 has neither funds nor revenues ; but, 
 by the abundant alms which they have 
 the secret of amassing, it procures 
 them immense riches. With a bell in 
 the hand, preceded by relicks and a 
 cross,* they run over, begging, not only 
 all France, but Germany and Spain. 
 There is neither fair, nor town, nor 
 oven, nor mill where they have not a 
 purse suspended. At the season of 
 the vintage they go into the country 
 to beg wine. The good wives give 
 them linen, rings, hoods fguimper), 
 clasps, girdles, cheeses, gammons of 
 bacon, in one word, all they have got ; 
 and every thing comes alike to them. 
 This year their pigs will bring them 
 5000 silver marks ; for there is not a 
 town or castle in France where they 
 are not fed/'^ 
 
 " In their Hospital there are fifteen 
 
 *» In the wood-cuts of the Golden Legend, An- 
 thony has a tau cross (called from him Antonius. 
 Du Cange in voce) ; i. e.. like a crutch, with a bell 
 hanging from one of the beams, a book in his hand, 
 a round hat, long gown, and a pig by his side. Fol. 
 xlvii. b. 
 
 <= The officers charged with the oversight of the 
 markets in the City of London did several times 
 take from the market people pigs starved, or other- 
 wise unwholesome for man's sustenance. These 
 they used to slit in the ear ; and one of the Proc- 
 
 Converts, fat and large. There they 
 buy and sell ; they are tradesmen. 
 There is not one among them who is 
 not worth 500 marks : some even a 
 thousand. Besides {du reste) each of 
 them has his wife or his kept woman 
 (s'amie) ; they marry their girls ad- 
 vantageously, leave a good property 
 to their children, and keep a good 
 house ; but, in all this, Saint Antony 
 goes for nothing.'^ 
 
 In the manuscript life of Gerard de 
 Sala, we have the following anecdote 
 of the 
 
 Nuns of Fontevraud. Having en- 
 tered their chapter to preach, he saw 
 an abomination to God and Man. The 
 Nuns with their hair dressed, and the 
 horned head-dress [common in Strutt] 
 above. Having beheld these reason- 
 able beasts, he began to rave, and they 
 were all soon after shorn.<^ 
 
 I. BENEDICTINE RULE. 
 
 Abbot to represent Christ — to call 
 all his Monks to council in important 
 affairs, and afterwards adopt the ad- 
 vice he thought best. Obedience with- 
 out delay — silence, no scurrility, idle 
 words, or such as excite laughter — 
 humility, patience in all injuries ; ma- 
 nifestation of secret faults to the Ab- 
 bot — contentment with the meanest 
 things and employment — not to speak 
 when unasked — to avoid laughter — 
 head and eyes inclined downwards — 
 to rise to Church two hours after mid- 
 night — every week the Psalter to be 
 sung through — to leave the Church 
 together at a sign from the Superior — 
 a Dean over every ten Monks in large 
 
 tors for St. Anthony's Hospital (in London), having 
 tied a bell about the neck of one of them, and 
 turned it to feed on the dunghills, no man would 
 hurt or take it up ; but if any gave them bread, or 
 other feeding, such they would know, watch for, 
 and daily follow, whining till they had somewhat 
 given them. From whence arose the Proverb, 
 ** T^at such a one would follow such a one, and 
 whine like an Anthony Pig." If one of these Pigs 
 grew to be fat, and came to good liking, as often- 
 times they would, then the Proctor took it up for 
 the use of the Hospital. Maitland's London, 845 ; 
 from Stowe. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Mantica. 
 
AVHICH OBTAINED IN ENGLAND. 
 
 67 
 
 houses. Light in the Dormitory — to 
 sleep cloathed, with their girdles on, 
 the young and old intermixed. Upon 
 successless admonition and public re- 
 prehension excommunication ; and, in 
 failure of this, corporal chastisement. 
 For light faults the smaller excommu- 
 nication, or eating alone after the 
 others had done — for great faults se- 
 paration from the table, prayers, and 
 society, and neither himself nor food 
 to receive the benediction — those who 
 joined him or spoke to him to be 
 themselves excommunicated — the Ab- 
 bot to send seniors to persuade him 
 to humility and making satisfaction 
 — the whole congregation to pray for 
 incorrigible, and, if successless, to pro- 
 ceed to expulsion (vide § Chapter). 
 No person expelled to be received after 
 the third expulsion. Children to be 
 punished by fasting or whipping. Cel- 
 larer to do nothing without the Abbotts 
 order, and in large houses have assist- 
 ants. Habits and goods of the house 
 to be in the hands of proper officers ; 
 the Abbot to have an account of them. 
 No property. Distribution according 
 to every one's necessities. The Monks 
 to serve weekly, and by turns, at the 
 kitchen and table. Upon leaving their 
 weeks, both he that left it, and he 
 that began it, to wash the feet of the 
 others, and on Saturday to clean all 
 the plates, and the linen which wiped 
 the others feet. To resign the dishes 
 clean and whole to the Cellarer, who 
 was to give them to the new Hebdo- 
 madary. These officers to have drink 
 and food above the common allow- 
 ance before the others, that they might 
 wait upon them cheerfully. The Heb- 
 domadaries, both enterini^ and retirinff 
 from office, were on solemn days to 
 continue till the Masses ; after Mattins 
 on the Sunday to kneel and beg the 
 others to pray for them ; then, those 
 going out to say a certain prayer three 
 times, and receive the benediction ; 
 the one coming in to do the same, and 
 after benediction go into office. — Infir- 
 mary. Its officer. Use of the baths, 
 and flesh for the sick ordered. Rule 
 mitigated to children and old men. 
 
 who had leave to anticipate the hours 
 of eating. Refection in silence, and 
 reading Scripture during meals. What 
 was wanted to be asked for by a sign. 
 Reader to be appointed for the week. 
 Two different dishes at dinner, with 
 fruit. One pound of bread a day for 
 both dinner and supper. No meat 
 but to the sick. Three quarters of a 
 pint of wine per day. From Holyrood 
 day to Lent dining at Nones ; in Lent 
 till Easter at six o'clock ; from Easter 
 to Pentecost at Sext ; and all summer, 
 except on Wednesdays and Fridays, 
 then at Nones. Collation or spiritual 
 lecture every night before Complin 
 (after supper), and. Complin finished, 
 silence. Loss of rank, subtraction 
 of wine or their allowance, or sit- 
 ting in the place of disgrace, for tar- 
 diness at Church or talile. Prostra- 
 tion with the face towards the ground, 
 without the Church-gate, when the 
 Monks went to prayers, for the ex- 
 communicated. Immediate pardon to 
 be sought for a fault in the chant; 
 faults in other places, or breaking any 
 thing, to be spontaneously acknow- 
 ledged before the Abbot and congrega- 
 tion. Abbot to give the signal for 
 going to Church, and nobody to sing 
 or read there without his leave. Work 
 from Prime till near ten o'clock from 
 Easter till.cal. Octob. ; from ten till 
 near twelve reading. After refection 
 at twelve, the meridian or sleep, unless 
 any one preferred reading. After 
 Nones labour again till the evening. 
 From cal. Oct. to Lent reading till 8 
 A.M. then Tierce, and afterwards la- 
 bour till Nones, After refection read- 
 ing or psalmody. In Lent reading till 
 Tierce; doing what was ordered till 
 ten ; delivery of the books at this 
 season {vide Dec. Lanfr.). Senior to 
 go round the house, and see that the 
 Monks were not idle. On Sunday all 
 reading except the officers, and the idle 
 and infirm who had work given them. 
 Particular abstinence in Lent from 
 meat, drink, and sleep ; and especial 
 gravity. Monks travelling to say the 
 canonical hours wherever they hap- 
 pened to be. Monks staying out be- 
 
 v2 
 
68 
 
 RULES OF THE ORDERS 
 
 yond a day not to eat abroad witliout 
 the Abbot's leave. No other use than 
 that of prayer to be made of the 
 Church.a Strangers to be received 
 with prayer (by them and the Monks) ; 
 the kiss of peace, prostration and 
 washing their feet, as of Christ, whom 
 they represented ; then to be led to 
 prayer, the Scripture read to them, 
 after which the Prior might break his 
 fast (except on a high fast). Abbot's 
 kitchen and the visitors' separate, that 
 guests coming in at unseasonable 
 hours might not disturb the Monks. 
 No letters or presents to be received 
 without the Abbot's leave. Abbot to 
 invite his Monks when he had no 
 strangers. Workmen in the house to 
 labour for the common profit. Novices 
 to be tried by denials and hard usage 
 before admission ; a year of probation ; 
 rule read to them in the interim every 
 fourth month ; admitted by a petition 
 laid upon the altar, and prostration at 
 the feet of all the Monks. Parents to 
 offer their children by wrapping their 
 hands in the pall of the altar, promis- 
 ing to leave nothing to them (that they 
 might have no temptation to leave the 
 house) ; and, if they gave any thing 
 with them, to reserve the use of it 
 during their lives. Priests requesting 
 admission to be tried by delays; to sit 
 near the Abbot, but not to exercise 
 sacerdotal functions without leave, and 
 conform to the rule. Strange Monks 
 to be received, and if of good intreated 
 to stay. Monks, ordained priests, to 
 be subject to the rule and officers, 
 or else expelled. Precedence accord- 
 ing to the time of profession. Elders 
 to call the juniors brothers ; the juniors 
 to call the elders nonnos ;^ the Abbot 
 domnus or pater. When two Monks 
 
 '■ Thus Theodulphus, Bishop of Orleans, after 
 Bennet's sera, says, " Videmus crebro in ecclesiis 
 messes et foeuuin congeri" (we see corn and hay 
 
 often stored in Churches). Epist. p. 2f)3. The 
 
 canon against carrying on " trades in Churches," 
 in Lyndwood, is well known. 
 
 ^ There is no satisfactory definition of this word. 
 Cancellieri (Lettera sopra Dominus e Domnus^ 
 Rom. 1808) notes, that in Italy, children use 
 Nonno and Nonna to Grandfathers and Grand- 
 mothers. Magas. Encycloped. Tom. V. p. 204. 
 
 met, the junior was to ask benediction 
 from the senior ; and when he passed 
 by, the junior was to rise and give him 
 his seat, nor to sit down till he bade 
 him. Abbot to be elected by the 
 whole society and plurality of votes ; 
 his life and prudence to be the qualifi- 
 cations. Prior elected by the Abbot ; 
 deposable for disobedience. Porter to 
 be a wise old man, able to give and re- 
 ceive an answer, who was to have 
 a cell near the gate, and a junior for a 
 companion. If possible, to prevent eva- 
 gation, water; a mill, garden, oven, 
 and all other mechanical shops to be 
 within the house. Monks going on a 
 journey to have the previous prayers 
 of the house, and, upon return, pray 
 for pardon of excesses on the way. 
 Impossible things ordered by the su- 
 perior to be humbly represented to 
 him ; but, if he persisted, the assist- 
 ance of God to be relied on for the 
 execution of them. Not to defend or 
 excuse one another's faults. No blows 
 or excommunication without the per- 
 mission of the Abbot. Children might 
 be corrected with discretion. Mutual 
 obedience; but no preference of a pri- 
 vate person's commands to those of the 
 superiors. Prostration at the feet of 
 the superiors as long as they were 
 angry. 
 
 Sanctorum Patrum Regulse Monas- 
 ticse, Louv. 12mo. 1571, fol. 9 — 51. 
 Joh. de Turrecremata, Concordia Re- 
 gularum, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 From this Rule proceeded the 
 
 1. Clvgniacs, 
 Benedictines, says Bouthillier de la 
 Ranee, according to the spii'it of the 
 Rule. Their pecuharities were — two 
 solemn Masses every day ; on private 
 sccred days no labour allowed, except 
 out of the hours of divine service. 
 Every day each alternate choir "offered 
 their hosts" (singulis diebus suas sin- 
 guli hostias alterni chori offerebant), 
 although five only on Sundays, and 
 three on common days, were used to 
 communicate, the rest taking the con- 
 secrated wafers before their common 
 
WHICH OBTAINED IN ENGLAND. 
 
 69 
 
 food in the manner of Eulogiae.* In 
 solemn masses of the dead, and the 
 three days of rogations, both choirs 
 made an offering. In greater solem- 
 nities the Deacon communicated from 
 the wafer of the celebrating Priest, the 
 rest from the other wafers. The Com- 
 nmnion was extended to all three days 
 before Easter. If any one on the holy 
 Saturday (Sabbath) wished privately 
 to perform divine service (sacrum facere) 
 he did not use a candle, because the new 
 fire was not yet consecrated (see Cone. 
 Regul. & Deer. Lanfr.), (especial pecu- 
 liarities were used in making the host.) 
 Constant silence in the day-time ; al- 
 most death to violate it before Prime ; 
 hence the use of signs among them 
 instead of words. From the ides of 
 November the seniors attended to me- 
 ditation in the Church after Mattins, 
 w^hilst the juniors diligently studied 
 singing in the Chapter. Manual la- 
 bour was accompanied with the repeti- 
 tion of psalms. The proclamation 
 of crimes was usual among them. 
 Strangers were not admitted after 
 Complin, nor leave of refection after 
 that time granted to the Monks who 
 were absent from the common table. 
 A Monk just going to mount his horse 
 to go out, if the bell for divine service 
 happened to ring, was to delay his 
 journey, and proceed to the Church. 
 In the fasts they nearly observed the 
 Rule of Benedict. From the ides of 
 September they ate only once a day ; 
 but in feasts of 12 lessons and the 
 octaves of Christmas and Epiphany 
 twice. On those feasts, after dinner 
 and reading in the Cloister, Nones 
 having been said, they went to the re- 
 fectory to drink ; but on private days 
 this was done only after Vespers and 
 reading ; and when that was over read- 
 
 *^ These were loaves oflFered in the Church for 
 alms, and consecrated, from a part of which the 
 host was taken, and they were given to those who, 
 from any impediment, could not take tlie sacrament. 
 They were given utter the Mass by the Priest, a 
 little before the dismissal, and were kissed before 
 eating. Eulogice privatce were loaves consecrated, 
 and sent as presents, by Ecclesiasticks, to each 
 other. Du Cange, v. Eulooice. See llot-cross 
 Buns, Ch. V. 
 
 ing again ; then the spiritual lecture 
 or collation before Complin. The re- 
 mains of the bread and wine were 
 given by the Almoner to pilgrims pe- 
 destrians. Eighteen poor were fed 
 every day ; but in Lent an amazing 
 number. The manual labour, says 
 Udalricus, was " to shell unripe beans, 
 or weed in the garden, and sometimes 
 make bread in the bake-house " (fabas 
 novas et nondum bene maturas de fol- 
 liculis suis egerere, vel in horto malas 
 herbas et inutiles, et quae bonas herbas 
 sufFocabant eruere, et aliquando panes 
 formare in pistrino). Udalricus Anti- 
 quiores Consuetudines Cluniacensis 
 Monasterii in D'Acherii Spicilegium, 
 IV. 39. The above is from this writer, 
 and Mabillon^s Annales Benedictini, 
 III. 389, seq. The abuses and dege- 
 neracy of this order may be seen in the 
 Appendix to Reyner's Apost. Benedict, 
 and MS. Cott. Tiber, b. XIII.; extracts 
 from which MS. (i. e. from the parts 
 unpublished in Anglia Sacra, vol. II.) 
 are given elsewhere. — [The Rule is ex- 
 cessively voluminous, and defies abridg- 
 ment regularly ; therefore the learned 
 must go to the original. I am indebted 
 principally to Mabillon. Ceremonies, 
 not customs, form the mass of the 
 Rule.] A reformation of it in BuUa- 
 rium Roman, vol. I. p. 101. 
 
 2. Cistercians. 
 Benedictines, according to the letter 
 of the Rule, without mitigation (" in 
 quo,'' says Mabillon, " regula sine uUa 
 mitigatione ad apicem servaretur.") 
 Their peculiarities I shall give from 
 Dugdale^s Warwickshire, which I have 
 compared with Malmesburyand Knigh- 
 ton. "First, for their habits they 
 wear no leather or linen, nor indeed 
 any fine woollen cloth ; neither, except 
 it be on a journey, do they put on any 
 breeches, and then upon their return, 
 deliver them fair washed. Having two 
 coats with cowls, in winter time they 
 are not to augment, but in sumnier 
 if they please may lessen them ; in 
 which habit they are to sleep, and 
 after Mattins not to return to their 
 beds. For prayers, the hour of Prime 
 

 
 RULES OF THE ORDERS 
 
 tliey so conclude, that before the 
 Laudes it may be day-break, strictly 
 observing their rule, that not one iota 
 or tittle of their service is omitted. 
 Immediately after Laudes they sing 
 the Prime ; and after Prime they goe 
 out performing their appointed hours 
 in work. What is to be done in the 
 day they act by day-light 5 for none of 
 them, except he be sick, is to be absent 
 from his diurnal hours, or the Com- 
 pline. When the Compline is finished 
 the steward of the house and he that 
 hath charge of the guests go forth, but 
 with great care of silence serve them. 
 For diet, the Abbot assumes no more 
 liberty to himself than any of his Con- 
 vent, every where being present with 
 them, and taking care of his flock, 
 except at meat, in regard his table is 
 always with the strangers and poor peo- 
 ple. Nevertheless, wheresoever he eats 
 he is abstemious of talk or any dainty 
 fare, nor hath he or any of them ever 
 above two dishes of meat ; neither do 
 they eat of fat or flesh except in case 
 of sickness ; and from the ides of Sep- 
 tember till Easter they eat no more 
 than once a day, except on Sundays, 
 no not on any festivals. Out of the 
 precints of their Cloyster they go not 
 but to work,a neither there nor any 
 where do they discourse with any but 
 the Abbot or Prior. They unweariedly 
 continue their canonical hours, not 
 piecing any service to another except 
 the vigils for the deceased. They 
 observe the oflice of St. Ambrose, 
 so far as they could have perfect 
 knowledge thereof from MilJain; and 
 taking care of strangers and sick peo- 
 ple, do devise extraordinary afflictions 
 for their own bodies, to the intent their 
 
 * Their manual labour was as follows : *' In 
 Summer, after Chapter, which followed Prime, 
 they worked till Tierce, and after Nones till Ves- 
 pers. In Winter, from after Mass till Nones, and 
 even to Vespers during Lent. In harvest, when 
 they went to work in the farms, they said Tierce, 
 and the conventual Mass immediately after Prime, 
 that nothing might hinder their work for the rest 
 of the morning ; and often they said divine service 
 in the places where they were at work, and at the 
 same hours as those at home celebrated in the 
 Church." Dev. Vie INIonast. II. 337. 
 
 souls may be advantaged.*^ Hospinian 
 says thus, De Orig. et Progr. Monach. 
 p. 313, of them; a year's probation — 
 no reception of fugitives after the third 
 time — all fasts observed according to 
 the rule — prostration to visitors and 
 washing their feet — Abbot's table al- 
 ways with guests and pilgrims — labour 
 more than the rule required — delicate 
 habits exploded — obsolete and primi- 
 tive fervour endeavoured to be revived 
 by them. — Avarice was the great vice 
 of this order. They were great deal- 
 ers in wool ; generally very ignorant ; 
 and, in fact, farmers more than 
 Monks. The authors who have writ- 
 ten upon this order (and indeed every 
 other) are enumerated by Fabricius; 
 and I wish the learned may have the 
 good fortune to find them, which I had 
 not (at least most of them), though I 
 tried the best library in the kingdom, 
 the Bodleian.^ 
 
 3. Grandmontines, 
 
 Benedictines, with certain exceptions 
 directed against the wealth, luxury, and 
 secular conduct of the parent Monks. 
 By these exceptions poverty and obe- 
 dience were especially inculcated; no 
 lands or Churches were allowed beyond 
 the limits of the house. They were to 
 reserve nothing offered for Masses, 
 nor exercise a right of penance over 
 others. On Sundays and festivals se- 
 culars were not admitted to their 
 Church. Possession of cattle was for- 
 bidden. If oppressed by poverty they 
 w^ere to have recourse to the bishop ; 
 and, if he did not relieve them, after 
 fasting two days, two brothers, sturdy 
 in religion, were to beg alms from door 
 to door. Fairs, traffic, and trials were 
 forbidden. Women were not admitted 
 into the order, nor men of another or- 
 der, nor seculars under twenty years 
 of age. Silence in the Church, Clois- 
 ter, Refectory, and Dormitory, and 
 from Complin till after Chapter. Care 
 of temporals in the lay-brothers ; even 
 the ornaments of the Church to be 
 
 ^ Tlie Usus Cisterciensium is the main book. 
 
WHICH OBTAINED IN ENGLAND, 
 
 71 
 
 sold for alms. The flesh both of birds 
 and quadrupeds was forbidden. Re- 
 fection twice from Easter to the Exal- 
 tation of the Cross. From Exaltation 
 to Easter perpetual fast (except Sun- 
 days and Christmas), and then one re- 
 fection after Nones ; from Lent to 
 Easter after Vespers. From All Saints 
 to Christmas only Lent food ; but on 
 other days out of Lent eggs and cheese 
 were allowed. At the election of the 
 Prior of Grammont, two brothers from 
 every cell assembled at Grammont, 
 out of which twelve were elected to 
 choose the Prior, six clerks, and as many 
 lay-brothers. When elected, he could 
 not leave the Cloister of Grammont 
 but from urgent necessity. The Rule 
 in short turned upon three points : im- 
 prisonment in the house ; perpetual 
 silence ; and a distinction of the Her- 
 mits, totally absorbed in contemplation, 
 and Lay-brethren, who had the care of 
 the Temporals, and of course took ad- 
 vantage of the others. This silly Rule 
 is in Martene's Anecdota, Vol. IV. ; 
 whence extracts are given in this 
 work. 
 
 4. Carthusians, 
 
 Variety of superstitious gestures and 
 ceremonies ; as faces totally hid at the 
 canon of the Mass (i. e. words of con- 
 secrating the Eucharist), shewn at 
 other times; fingers not clenched; legs 
 not extended, spread, or crossed. Pri- 
 vate prayer at the Altar once a day ; 
 omitted when any frailty had been in- 
 curred. " In the time of Matins, in 
 which there is an interval before Lauds, 
 no one left the Church but from neces- 
 sity. Between Matins and Tierce every 
 day spiritual exercises ; from Tierce to 
 Sext, and from Nones to Vespers, ma- 
 nual labour; to be interrupted with 
 short prayers ; from Vespers to Com- 
 plin manual labour; reading, however, 
 not excluded at these times. No dis- 
 ciplines, vigils (not of this institution), 
 nor abstinences, except those of the 
 order, allowed. Hours not to be said 
 in another's cell, unless the brother 
 
 was there at work with the inhabitant ; 
 silence in the cell ; cell door not open, 
 unless another person was with the in- 
 habitant. To ask for what they wanted 
 after Nones on a talking day. If any 
 brother came to the cell he was inter- 
 rogated, whether he had the Prior's or 
 his substitute's licence ; if not, the but- 
 ler or porter was to procure it, other- 
 wise they could not be conversed 
 with. Departure from another's cell 
 or elsewhere after Complin. No con- 
 versation with persons coming up with- 
 out the Prior's licence, but only with 
 those they were working witli. Not to 
 enter the cells of otliers without licence. 
 No letters to be sent or received. Not 
 to leave the cell except to confession or 
 conference by the Prior's order. No 
 pottage or pittance, only raw herbs 
 and fruits to be kept in the cell. Every 
 inhabitant to have two books to read, 
 besides other writing and necessary 
 utensils. In Chapter no speech, but 
 at confession or when the Chapter was 
 held. In the Refectory dining bare- 
 headed; drinking with two hands; bow- 
 ing to those who brought or removed 
 anything; no wiping of hands or mouths 
 at the cloth. Plates not uncovered, nor 
 cloths turned up before the presiding 
 officers. No speech in the Fratry, 
 Cloister, or Church. To go out to 
 common labour only thrice on three days 
 in the year : 1. In the second week 
 after the octaves of Easter; another 
 in the second week after the festival of 
 Peter and Paul; 3d. in the first week 
 after Michaelmas. A Novice to be re- 
 commended to a senior, who at suitable 
 times was to instruct him in saying 
 the hours and other observances, which 
 he was to take great pains about for a 
 week, or longer if necessary ; and, till 
 such Novice could say the hours, no 
 one was to visit the cell but the Prior 
 or Proctor. The summer meridian or 
 sleep. Conversation after Nones, from 
 November to Easter, of the customs 
 of the order ; afterwards of the Gos- 
 pels. From Exaltation of the Cross, 
 eating only once a day. General con- 
 
72 
 
 RULES OF THE ORDERS 
 
 fession on the Sabbath ; private con- 
 fession besides. — From the rule in 
 Monast. Anglic. I. 951 — 958. 
 
 II. THREE AUGUSTINIAN RULES. 
 
 Rule I. PROPERTY rehnquished 
 by the applicant for admission. Pro- 
 bation by the Prior. Nothing to be 
 taken away by a Canon leaving the 
 order from necessity. Any thing offered 
 to be accepted by the Prior's approba- 
 tion. The rule to be observed from 
 the Superior downwards. Punishment 
 denounced for contumacy, and offences 
 declared to the Preepositus^ before 
 whom disagreements were also to be 
 laid. Property detained through ne- 
 cessity as above to be delivered to the 
 Superior. — Rule il. What Psalms, &c. 
 to be sung at the hours and nightly 
 readings immediately after Vespers. 
 Labour from the morning till Sext, 
 and from Sext till Nones reading. After 
 refection work till Vespers. Two to 
 be sent together on the Convent busi- 
 ness. No one to eat or drink out of the 
 house. Brothers sent to sell things not 
 to do any thing against the Rule. No 
 idle talk or gossiping, but sitting at 
 w^ork in silence. — Rule III. Union in 
 one house. Food and raiment dis- 
 tributed by the Superior. Every thing 
 common. Consideration to be had of 
 infirmity ; against pride on account of 
 difference of birth. Concord. Atten- 
 tion to divine service at the proper 
 hours. Not to make other use of the 
 Church than that it was destined to, 
 except praying in it, out of the proper 
 hours, when they had leisure or incli- 
 nation. When psalm-singing to re- 
 volve it in the heart. Not to sing but 
 what was enjoined to be sung. Fast- 
 ing and abstinence. Those who did 
 not fast to take nothing beyond the 
 usual time of dining, except when sick. 
 Reading during dinner. Better food 
 for the sick, not to make the others 
 discontented. Better provisions and 
 clothes for those of delicate habits, 
 not to disgust the others. Sick to be 
 treated in recovery as suitable ; return 
 to the usual habit when well. Habit 
 not conspicuous. To walk together 
 
 when going out, and stand together 
 at the journey's end. Nothing offen- 
 sive in gait, habit, or gestures. Not 
 to fix their eyes upon women. Mu- 
 tually to preserve each other's modesty 
 when two together, in a Church where 
 women were. Punishment by the Su- 
 perior for such offences. Receipt of 
 letters or presents to be punished un- 
 less voluntarily confessed. Cloaths 
 from one common vestiary, as food 
 from one cellar. Labour for the com- 
 mon good. Vestments sent by relatives 
 to be stored in the common vestiary. 
 Same punishment for concealment as of 
 theft. Clothes washed, according to the 
 order of the Superior, either by them- 
 selves or fullers. Washing the body 
 in case^f infirmity by medical advice, 
 or, on refusal of that, by the order of 
 the Superior. Not to go to the batlis 
 but by two or three, and then with 
 the person appointed by the Superior. 
 Sick to have an Infirmarer. Cellarers, 
 Chamberlains, or Librarians, to serve 
 the brethren with good-will. Books 
 not to be obtained but at the stated 
 hour. Clothes and shoes to be dehvered 
 w^hen needed. No lawsuits or quarrels, 
 or terminated as quick as possible. 
 Satisfaction to be made for offences, 
 and speedy forgiveness in the offended. 
 Harsh expressions avoided, and an 
 apology made when uttered. Obe- 
 dience to the Superior, who, if he 
 spoke harsh, was not to beg pardon. 
 Obedience to the head over them, but 
 especially to the Priest, who had the 
 care of the whole house. Superior, 
 when his authority was not sufficient, 
 to have recourse to that of the Elder 
 or Priest. Superior to govern in Cha- 
 rity ; to be strict in discipline, yet aim 
 more to be loved than feared. Rule to 
 be read in the presence of the Monks 
 once a week. Monast. Anghc. vol. IL 
 &c. &c. 
 
 To this Rule were adapted the fol- 
 lowing orders : 
 
 1. Pracemonstratensians. 
 
 Novices to be of a proper age ; able 
 before profession to read well, under- 
 stand grammar, and know Latin. Ille- 
 gitimates not to be admitted, accord- 
 
WHICH OBTAINED IN ENGLAND. 
 
 ing to the decree of Sixtus the Fifth ; 
 but Abbots might dispense with this 
 on account of merit. Novices con- 
 fessed to the Masters : not to be pro- 
 fessed before eighteen. The object of 
 the institution pure contemplative life. 
 
 The Summer regulations were — Daily 
 chapter. Twice refection from Easter 
 to Holyrood, except certain days. 
 From Chapter (after Prime) work. Af- 
 ter Tierce great Mass, immediately 
 followed by Sext, then reading, then 
 refection ; after this sleep till Nones ; 
 after Nones drinking, then Vespers ] 
 after Vespers reading till collation. 
 On Sundays the same, except reading 
 instead of work. In fasts Mass after 
 Sext ; reading till Nones ; after Nones 
 refection and sleep. In harvest times 
 Mass early in the morning ; same in 
 feasts of twelve lessons " which were 
 not observed in the dioceseJ" At this 
 period working from Prime to Sext, 
 and dining out of the house, if needful, 
 and sleeping, if not above a French 
 mile from the Abbey ; if afar off to 
 w^ork till Vespers, and, after singing 
 them in the fields, to return home. 
 
 Winter regulations. — From Sept. 14, 
 to Easter, continual fast and dining 
 after Nones, except Sundays and 
 Christmas ; Tierce after Chapter with- 
 out an interval ; after Tierce mixtus 
 for the boys and infirm, after Tierce 
 work till Sext; after Sext Mass; read- 
 ing till Nones ; after Nones refection ; 
 then reading or work till Vespers ; after 
 these reading till collation. On feasts 
 of nine lessons and Sabbaths Tierce 
 delayed ; Mass said after it, and im- 
 mediately followed by Sext; others 
 the same. Sundays same as in Sum- 
 mer, except that Nones was said after 
 refection, because there was no sleep 
 before it. On all festivals, when there 
 w^as no work, to read instead in the 
 working hours. In Lent the seven 
 penitential Psalms were said by the Con- 
 vent prostrate ; Tierce followed with- 
 out interval ; Mass after Nones ; refec- 
 tion after Vespers ; after refection read- 
 ing, and, in case of any necessity, work. 
 Bibliotheca Preemonstratensis, vol. I. 
 p. 24, 789, DO, where the Rule, filling 
 nearly a folio volume. Their Abbots 
 
 were never to use any episcopal insig- 
 nia. All the Abbots to meet once a 
 year at Premontre, to consult about 
 the affairs of the order : penalty for 
 non-attendance to be taken off only 
 by the Pope himself. Abbots to have 
 power of excommunicating and ab- 
 solving their Monks. Differences 
 arising to be composed among them- 
 selves, and no appeal to be allowed to 
 secular courts. Not to keep or feed 
 dogs, hawks, swine, &c. Exemption 
 from the Bishop's jurisdiction. Ordi- 
 nation upon refusal of the Diocesan 
 from any other Bishop. No schools 
 for the education of youth among them. 
 Id. The Praemonstratensian Nuns did 
 not sing in the Choir and Church ; 
 prayed in silence. Priests and Clerks 
 dwelt apart, who instructed them in 
 Scripture at certain seasons, and heard 
 their confessions. Launoii Opuscula 
 varia, III. 134. 
 
 2. Trinitarians. 
 
 Government by a minister. Vow 
 of chastity and poverty. Third part of 
 comings-in (the properest term) to be 
 devoted to the redemption of Christian 
 captives from infidels. Of cloaths and 
 shoes, and small matters for use, the 
 Convent to deliberate whether they 
 should be sold or not, in the Sunday 
 chapter; if sold, the third part to be 
 used as above. All the churches to be 
 of plain work, and dedicated to the 
 Trinity. Three clerks and three lay- 
 men in the house besides the Minister. 
 Sleep in their cloaths ; no feather beds 
 nor counterpanes, only pillows allowed. 
 Gowns to be marked. To ride upon 
 asses. Wine to be drank so as not to 
 invade sobriety. Fasting from the ides 
 of September on Monday, Wednesday, 
 Friday, and Sabbath (except festivals 
 intervening and Sundays), till Easter 
 on Lent food. Usual fast of the 
 Church. Minister might relax it from 
 age, travelling, or any just cause. Flesh 
 only on certain Sundays. To buy 
 nothing but beans, peas, pulse, pot- 
 herbs, oil, eggs, milk, cheese, and fruit ; 
 no flesh, fish, nor wine, except for the 
 sick, minuti, or poor, or in great so- 
 lemnities they might buy and bring up 
 
74 
 
 RULES OF THE ORDERS 
 
 articles of food. Wine allowed spa- 
 ringly on journeys, and fish in Lent if 
 necessary. The residue of presents to 
 undergo the triple division. The whole 
 if they were on a journey to redeem 
 captives, after expenses were paid, to 
 be devoted to that purpose. In towns 
 where there were houses of the Order 
 to eat only in them. Allowed to drink 
 water in creditable houses, but not to 
 sleep elsewhere than above, or use 
 taverns. Same food, clothing, dormi- 
 tory, refectory, and table for Brothers, 
 Clerks, and Laymen. Sick to sleep 
 and eat apart under a lay or clerk In- 
 firmarer. Sick not to require delicate 
 food. Strangers to be received, but no 
 oats, except to poor religious, if any 
 was to be bought in the place. Labour. 
 Silence in Church. Fratry. Dormi- 
 tory. SjDeech of necessary matters at 
 fit times, in a low voice. Chapter 
 every Sunday. Accounts of the re- 
 demption-money interchangeably set- 
 tled bet^veen the Minister and Brethren. 
 Sermon to the whole establishment. 
 No accusation without proof, or the 
 accuser to undergo the punishment the 
 accused had been liable to. The pu- 
 nishment of raising scandals or striking 
 in the breast of the minister. To beg 
 pardon even to three times of the party 
 offended. If it should become public 
 pardon to be solicited at the feet of the 
 Minister, who was to settle the matter 
 ad arbitrium. When the offence existed 
 only between brother and brother, and 
 no other person knew it, private admo- 
 nition, to repent and not do the like 
 again, from the party inj ured, for three 
 times. General chapter once in the 
 year in the octaves of Pentecost. Debts 
 about to be contracted first canvassed 
 in Chapter. In case of violence done 
 to the property of the house, admoni- 
 tion first to the party from the Convent, 
 afterwards from the neighbours. Elec- 
 tion of the Minister of the order by 
 common consent; to be a priest or 
 clerk fit for orders. Minister of the 
 order to hear the confessions of all the 
 brothers of all the houses ; lesser Mi- 
 nister those of his own house. Minis- 
 ter to see the rule observed. Deposi- 
 
 tion by the greater Minister, and three 
 or four lesser ones : if the greater 
 Minister was too far off, by lesser ones 
 deputed by him. Greater Minister 
 deposed by four or five lesser ones 
 authorized by the general Chapter. 
 Year's probation of Novices, longer if 
 necessary, during which he retained 
 his property. Men received if agree- 
 able to the Convent, and there was a 
 vacancy. No one to be received before 
 twenty years old. Profession in the 
 will of the Minister. No pledges {jpig- 
 nora ; I am not certain whether it may 
 not have a more extensive meaning), 
 except tithes with the Bishop's consent, 
 or oaths allowed, except on very extra- 
 ordinary occasions, with licence of the 
 Minister of the order, of the Bishop, 
 or any one executing apostolical func- 
 tions. Faults in things sold to ])e 
 notified to the buyer; no deposits of 
 money, &c. to be received. Sick to 
 confess, and communicate the first 
 day of their coming. Every Monday 
 after Mass, except at certain seasons, 
 absolution of all faithful persons buried 
 in the cemetery. Every night, at least, 
 in the guest-house or almonry (hospi- 
 talis) in the presence of the poor, 
 prayer for the holy Roman Church, 
 all Christendom, pious benefactors, &c. 
 Manner of St. Victor in the regular 
 hours. Tonsure of St. V. Laymen not 
 to shave their beards. Monast. II. 
 830, L 
 
 3. Dominicans. 
 
 Followed, according to the " Scrip- 
 tores Ordinis Pr£edicatorum,^^ vol. I. 
 p. 12, the Rule of Austin, with severe 
 additions in food,- fasts, bedding, gar- 
 ments, and utter dereliction of property. 
 Of the first Dominicans (says Surius, 
 1. VI. V. IV. p. 544, seq, in August.), 
 the Novices w^ere perfectly instructed. 
 Silence was rigidly observed ; and, af- 
 ter Complin till Tierce, praying 100 or 
 200 times a day. Complin. Salve 
 regina, &c. Disciplines. Confessions 
 before Mass. Wonderful abstinence, as 
 stopping eight days without drink. Vast 
 respect for the Virgin Mary. Frequent 
 preaching. A general Chapter yearly 
 
WHICH OBTAINED IN ENGLAND. 
 
 /.^ 
 
 (says Hospinian^ de Orig. et Progr. 
 Monach. o92,3). Long fasts, for seven 
 months together^ from Holyrood-day 
 till Easter, and at other times on Fri- 
 days, with some other days. No flesh 
 except to tlie sick. Only woollen in 
 dress and beds, nor even with counter- 
 panes (culcitris). No intercourse with 
 women. Silence at certain places and 
 hours ; that at table first founded by 
 Jordan of Paris, general of the order 
 about 1226. Buildings low, suitable 
 to their poverty. Cloister and in it 
 cells accommodated for study, and in 
 the cells an image of the Virgin Mary 
 and Crucifix. More particulars of this 
 order may be found in the citations I 
 have given from MS. Cott. Nero A. 
 XII. Constit. Fratrum ; which, from 
 the single term fratreSy should belong 
 to the Dominicans. 
 
 4. Knights Hospitalers, 
 
 Vows of chastity, povert)^, and obe- 
 dience. To have nothing but bread, 
 water, and clothes. Clerks to serve at 
 the Altar in white dresses. Priest, 
 Deacon, and Sub-deacon, and, if neces- 
 sary, another clerk. Light in the 
 Church night and day. Priest with the 
 Host, Deacon, or Sub-deacon, or other 
 clerk, wdth the lantern and a sponge 
 with holy water, to visit the sick. 
 Knights to go out (not alone) but by 
 two or three, with companions order- 
 ed by the masters, and to stand to- 
 gether at their journey's end. No wo- 
 men to wash their heads or feet, or 
 make their beds. To ask food only in 
 begging alms, and buy nothing else. 
 Not to receive either lands or pledges, 
 but to give an account of what they 
 received to the Master, and he to send 
 it with that writing to the house. Mas- 
 ter to have the third part of the bread 
 and wine and food (nutrimentum) of 
 all obediences ; the superfluity to alms. 
 None to go to the collections but those 
 whom the Chapter and Master of the 
 Church sent. In their collections to 
 put up with such food as the other 
 Knights had amongst themselves, and 
 to carry a light, and have that light 
 burning before them in every house 
 
 (hospitales) they went into. Not to 
 wear unsuitable clothes. To eat but 
 twice in a day, and on Wednesday and 
 Sunday, and from Septuagesima to 
 Easter, no flesh, the infirm and sick 
 excepted. Never to sleep naked, but 
 clothed in camelot (see chap. III.) li- 
 nen or woollen, or some such dress. 
 A Knight committing fornication to 
 repent privately and enjoin penance 
 upon himself; if discovered, he was, 
 upon a Sunday after Mass, in the town 
 where he had committed it, in the pre- 
 sence of all the people, to be stripped 
 and beat by the master and brethren, 
 and then expelled : if, however, he did 
 suitable penance for a whole year, in a 
 strange place, he might be received 
 again if the Knights chose it. The pu- 
 nishment of altercation was seven days 
 dining on the ground, without table 
 and cloth, and fasting Wednesday and 
 Friday on bread and water. Any one 
 who struck another to be in the forty 
 days' fast. If any one eloped from the 
 house or master he had been committed 
 to, similar forty days' penance, besides 
 staying in a strange place as long as 
 the time of his absence, except it was 
 so long that the Chapter thought fit to 
 moderate it. Silence in dinner and in 
 bed, and no drinking after Comphn. 
 Brothers incorrigible after a third ad- 
 monition to be sent to Jerusalem on 
 foot. Not to strike the servants. If 
 any Knight took the property of a 
 deceased one (so I venture to render 
 '^ in morte sua proprietatem habuerit, 
 et magistro suo celaverit, ac postea 
 super eum inventa fuerit"), and the 
 money was found upon him, it was to 
 be tied round his neck, himself severely 
 beaten by the others, and the forty- 
 days' fast enjoined as above. Trental 
 or thirty-days' Mass for the dead : in 
 the first Mass an offering of a candle 
 or money by every Knight, which mo- 
 ney was given to the poor; Priest who 
 sung the Mass, if not of the house, to 
 have a procuration ; upon the end of 
 the office the Master to make a charity 
 for him ; all the clothes of the deceased 
 given to the poor ; brothers priests to 
 say prayers for him ; the clerks to sing 
 
7^ 
 
 RULES OF THE ORDERS 
 
 a Psalter^ and laymen say 150 Lord's 
 prayers. Chapter for deciding on 
 crimes, business, and accusations. Sick 
 received with confession; communion; 
 afterwards carried to bed, and then, 
 according to the ability of the house, 
 charitably refreshed every day before 
 the Knights went to dinner. Every 
 Sunday the Epistle and Gospel sung, 
 procession and sprinkling of holy water. 
 If any obedientiary (officer) gave the 
 goods of the house to secular persons, 
 for the sake of governing, to be expel- 
 led. If two or more Knights went to- 
 gether, and one behaved ill, he was not 
 to be exposed, but one of the others 
 was to reprimand him in a friendly 
 manner ; and, if he would not amend 
 himself, to get two or three others to 
 join him and chastise him; if this 
 would not do to be punished as the 
 Master and Chapter directed. Not to 
 accuse another without proof. The 
 cross to be worn upon their robes and 
 cloaks. When any one wished to be 
 admitted a Knight, he was to come to 
 the Chapter on a Sunday, ask the con- 
 sent of the house, and, on consent of 
 the majority, be received; after certain 
 exhortations and engagements, to take 
 the missal in both his hands, make an 
 oath, go to the Church, lay the book 
 upon the altar, and bring it back ; the 
 person who was to make him a Knight 
 then to take the missal from him, and 
 give him the missal with a suitable 
 prayer. Those who sought the frater- 
 nity only, to take a like oath upon the 
 missal ; to promise to love the house 
 and Knights ; to defend them with 
 their utmost ability from all evil-doers 
 (malefactoribus) ; defend the property 
 of the house, and, if not able to do 
 this, make the evil known ; to engage 
 that, if they took any religious order, 
 it should be that ; and, if they died 
 without, to be buried in their cemetery, 
 and make an annual present to the 
 house. Upon this to receive the peace ; 
 and their names, and what they pro- 
 mised to give annually, to be entered 
 in the register. Monast. Anglic. II. 
 493—7. 
 
 These miUtary orders, it seems, were 
 augmented by the entrance of many 
 noble persons abroad, after the de- 
 parture of the two kings (Richard I. 
 and Philip of France) ; which noble 
 persons bestowed all their transmarine 
 property upon them. — Unicum tamen 
 memorabile hoc tempore contigit quod 
 multi ingenui et nobiles viri post regum 
 et principum discessum in terra sancta 
 permanserunt, atque sese militaribus 
 ordinibus adjunxerunt, omnibus suis 
 bonis transmarinis iisdem attributis. 
 Pantaleon de Ord. Joannitarum, 1. II. 
 p. 63, anno 1193. 
 
 Rules blended, or unconnected with 
 the Benedictine and Augustinian. 
 
 1. Knights Templars, 
 
 Rule composed by Bernard. Regu- 
 lar service ; so many Lord's Prayers 
 instead if they could not attend. Mass 
 for a dying Knight, and 100 Lord's 
 Prayers for him afterwards for seven 
 days; same allowance as to him when 
 alive to a poor man for forty days. 
 Chaplains only to have food and rai- 
 ment. Seven days of support to a 
 poor man for the brothers deceased 
 who lived with them only for a term. 
 No offerings to be made. Not to 
 stand immoderately long during divine 
 service. Eating in one common refec- 
 tory ; reading there. Flesh only three 
 times a week except on certain festivals. 
 Two meals on Sunday; the armigeri 
 and client es only one. Refection by 
 two and two ; wine singly in equal 
 portions. Monday, Wednesday, and 
 Saturday, two or three meals of escu- 
 lents ; Friday Lent food. Grace after 
 meals. Tenth loaf to the poor. Col- 
 lation before Complin, whether of 
 water only, or water mixed with wine, 
 in the regulation of the master. Silence 
 after Complin. Not to rise to Matins 
 when fatigued. Same food to all. Three 
 horses to every Knight. One Servian t 
 to every Knight, who was not to be 
 beaten by them. Horses, arms, &c. to 
 be found for Knights who staid with 
 them for a term ; at going away part 
 
WHICH OBTAINED IN ENGLAND. 
 
 // 
 
 of the price to be paid by the Knight, 
 the rest from the common stock. To 
 do nothing from their own will. Not 
 to go to the town without leave of the 
 master. Not to go alone. Not to 
 seek what they wanted by name (no- 
 minatim). Regulation of their bri- 
 dles, spurs, &c. Not to speak boast- 
 ingly of their faults. Not to keep any 
 presents till permitted by the master. 
 Not to make or use bags for their 
 horses to eat out of, but have bas- 
 kets. Not to exchange or seek any 
 thing. Not to hawk. Not to kill 
 beasts with bow or cross-bow. To at- 
 tend to justice. To have lands and 
 property. Necessaries to be given to 
 the sick. Not to provoke one another 
 to anger. Married Knights to be ad- 
 mitted, provided they gave after their 
 death a portion of their substance, and 
 whatever more they had acquired, to 
 the society. Not to have sisters. Not 
 associate with excommunicated persons. 
 Secular Knights to be received into the 
 order if after probation they conformed 
 to the rule. AH the Knights not called 
 to the secret rule to observe silence in 
 their praying. To receive the service 
 of servants, except they behaved with 
 theft or indecency. No little boys to 
 be received into the order. Old men 
 always to be respected. Knights tra- 
 velling to observe the rule. Equal 
 food to all. Allowed to have tithes. 
 Expulsion for disobedience, obstinacy, 
 and rebellion. Linen shirts allowed 
 from Easter to All Saints, ex gratia ; 
 woollen at other times. Sleeping in 
 their shirts and breeches. To avoid 
 murmuring. Not to give kisses to 
 women. Stellartius de Reg. et Fund. 
 Monachor. p. 469. D'EmiUiane (Short 
 Hist, of Monast. Orders, p. 279) says, 
 that their greatness and power occa- 
 sioning jealousy in the Pope and seve- 
 ral Kings, their destruction was re- 
 solved on ; and, before execution, 
 several horrid crimes published, none 
 of which could ever be proved. Their 
 guilt, however, is very strenuously in- 
 sisted on by the Abbe Barruel, Mem. 
 of Jacobinism, II. 372 — 387. 
 
 2. Gilbertines, 
 
 The rule is considered generally as a 
 compound of those of Bennet and Au- 
 gustine ; but it seems more accurate 
 and close to say, that the Canons were 
 Premonstratensians, and the Nuns Cis- 
 tercians. This rule had Canons and 
 Nuns separated, but under the same 
 roof. Master of the whole order ; 
 chosen by thirteen Electors (four De- 
 puties, five Priors, and four Claustrals) ; 
 had two Canons for Chaplains, and a 
 Lay-brother for a servant ; received 
 persons into the order ; heard confes- 
 sion ; his sanction necessary to buying 
 and selling ; disobedience to him to be 
 considered as incurring the penalty of 
 excommunication ; appointed certain 
 officers; Scrutators and Scrutatrices for 
 visiting Monks and Nuns : same of- 
 ficers in the Cloister ; four officers in 
 every house, called a Prior, Cellerer, 
 Proctor, and Grangiary, for managing 
 and distributing the goods of the house. 
 Novices not to be readers nor atten- 
 dants at the table, but sometimes at 
 collation and chapter : after Profession, 
 under custody of the Masters forty days, 
 or a little more. Canons^ garments 
 washed by the lay sisters. A Canon 
 inspector and superintendant of the 
 work-shops. From cal. Nov. to Eas- 
 ter, sleep or reading after Matins, 
 Prime, then Mass and the private ones 
 before Tierce, if possible, if not, after ; 
 after Tierce, the Chapter. From Eas- 
 ter to September Chapter after Prime, 
 and the conventual Mass after Tierce, 
 and between Prime and Tierce labour. 
 After Chapter reading in the Cloister. 
 Dinner. After dinner reading in the 
 cloister, or sleeping in the Dormitory 
 (during Summer.) Collation ; Com- 
 plin; Dormitory. — Of the Nuns. Tith- 
 ing of lambs, and the whole substance 
 of the house under the care of the 
 Nuns. Three Nuns to keep the com- 
 mon seal and money. One to cut and 
 distribute the cloth. The same Nuns 
 to take care of washing the clothes, 
 and patching and mending them. Ac- 
 counts of money expended before it 
 came to the Nuns to be notified to the 
 
78 
 
 RULES OF THE ORDERS 
 
 Prioress. Nuns to be shut in by a 
 ditch and wall, or fence. Entrance to 
 their court prohibited. No presents 
 or letters sent to them. No conversa- 
 tion allowed between the Canons and 
 them. Fire not to be begged of them 
 at night. No one to have admission 
 to the Nuns whilst they w^ere singing 
 the hour, or were in the Refectory or 
 Dormitory. If any entered on business 
 to be in a number, and to take care 
 not to see or to be seen by the Nuns. 
 If the grand Prior entered a number 
 of them were to surround him imme- 
 diately, at least three or four, and none 
 to be alone with him, except to confess, 
 and then with others in sight. One 
 cellar and kitchen to all, under the care 
 of a Prioress and Nuns. Shirts or 
 breeches of the Canons not to be cut 
 out or sewed by the Nuns. Place to 
 be appointed in the court for Nuns 
 and Sisters to talk with the Prioress 
 and Cellaress, standing, and two only 
 with her. Maundy. Adoration of the 
 Cross. Lay-sisters to clean the area 
 of the Church at Easter while the Nuns 
 were at dinner ; Cloister and Chapter 
 after Complin. No Nun to be re- 
 ceived compulsorily. Nuns not to go out 
 to labour, or to receive shoes of cord- 
 wain, to use or " ad erogandum '^ (per- 
 haps, let out). To be shaved at Easter, 
 Mary Magdalen's day, and All Saints, 
 at least. To wash their hoods seven 
 times a year. Not to go to another 
 house ; punishment of disobedience. 
 Not to be intimate with the lay-sisters. 
 Readings four times a year by the 
 nuns to the lay-sisters, as by the canons 
 to the lay-brothers. Discord to be shun- 
 ned between the Canons and Brothers, 
 Nuns and Sisters. Bath prohibited. 
 Monast. Anglic. II. 699-790. Abridged 
 in the Abridgement of the Monasticon 
 assigned to Capt. Steevens. — It is sin- 
 gular that, notwithstanding the story 
 of the poor Nun in Alfred of Rievesby 
 and Bale, Nigel Wireker says nothing 
 of tliis order iDut what observation of 
 the rule implies ; but it was yet young 
 when he wrote. — ^As there is a more 
 copious account of nuns to be found 
 
 here than elsewhere, I shall cite largely 
 from this long rule in the course of my 
 work. 
 
 3. Carmelites, 
 
 Rule founded upon that of Basil ; 
 but even that is disputed ; for Lynd- 
 wood and others say, that all the reli- 
 gious followed one of the three orders, 
 Benedictine, Augustinian, or Francis- 
 can (p. 213). The rule was — Prior 
 elected unanimously, or by majority. 
 To have places in deserts or elsewhere ; 
 separate cells ; common refectory and 
 reading. Not to change their places 
 without the prior^s leave. Prior's cell 
 near the entrance of the house, that he 
 might be the first to meet comers. All 
 to remain in their cells, meditating day 
 and night. At fit hours in church. 
 Cloisters. To stay and walk freely and 
 lawfully {liber e et licit e). Canonical 
 hours. Paternosters by the ignorant. 
 All things common. Asses or mules 
 allowed, and nourishment of animals 
 or birds. Church in the middle of the 
 cells. Sundays, or at other times, as 
 necessary, the correction of abuses. 
 No flesh but to the sick. To carry 
 with them, to eat on journeys, dump- 
 hngs (pulmenta, a very equivocal term 
 among the monks) drest with flesh. 
 Fast every day except Sunday from 
 Holyrood-day to Easter, except the 
 sick and infirm. Chastity ; labour ; 
 silence after Complin till Prime ; might 
 talk at other times moderately. P. 
 Stellartius, ut supra, p. 4()1. — There is 
 a mitigation of this rule. Anno 1247, 
 in the BuUarium Romanum^ vol. I. 
 p. 116. 
 
 4. Franciscans, 
 
 Novitiates to be received by the 
 provincial Priors, and no others, after 
 a year's profession ; dereliction of pro- 
 perty and wives. Divine service ac- 
 cording to the Romish Church, except 
 the Psalter, of which they were to have 
 breviaries (excepto Psalterio, ex quo 
 habere potuerunt brevia). Paternos- 
 ters by lay-brothers instead. Fasting 
 from AH Saints to Christmas (besides 
 
WHICH OBTAINED IN ENGLAND. 
 
 '9 
 
 Lent from Epiphany) ; another till the 
 Resurrection ; at other times on Fri- 
 days. In times of manifest necessity 
 not l)ound to corporal fasting. Not 
 to ride but from manifest necessity. 
 On journeys to eat whatever was set 
 before them. Not to take money. To 
 receive necessaries, not money, as re- 
 wards of their labours. To have no 
 property. To beg lustily (confidenter) . 
 For penitence to go to the provincial 
 Priors only. If these were not priests, 
 to get priests to enjoin this penance for 
 them. General elected by the provin- 
 cials and wardens in the chapter of 
 Pentecost held every third year, or a 
 shorter or longer term, as the General 
 thought fit. Provincials always to 
 come there. General removable for 
 insufficiency. Not to preach in any 
 bishoprick without the Prelate's leave, 
 or unless examined and approved by 
 the General. Short sermons, because 
 our Lord's was such. Ministers to 
 visit and advise obedience. Brothers 
 unable to observe the rule to recur to 
 the ministers. If unlearned not to 
 learn. Not to enter houses of nuns, 
 or be godfathers of children. Mission- 
 aries, with license of the Provincial, to 
 have a Cardinal for their protector. 
 Stellartius, &c. — There being great dis- 
 putes in this order about property, 
 and vast varieties or modifications of 
 the rule (at large in Bullarium Roma- 
 num), but since impossible to be men- 
 tioned here, and given in essentials by 
 Dr. Mosheim, it is sufficient to note, 
 that the more austere Franciscans were 
 called Observants. 
 
 5. Franciscan Nuns, Minor esses, or 
 Nuns of St, Clare, 
 
 Novices examined at their reception 
 as to their Catholic faith. A year's 
 probation. Divine service read not 
 sung. Pater-nosters for the ignorant, 
 and those who were unable to attend 
 the hours. Fast all the year. Christ- 
 mas, every Friday refection twice. Dis- 
 pensation of fasting in favour of the 
 young and weak. Confession twelve 
 times in the year. Communion seven ; 
 for which purpose Chaplains were then 
 
 allowed to celebrate. No one to be 
 elected Abbess unless professed. To 
 observe the order of the society (com- 
 munitatem servare) in all things; espe- 
 cially in the church, dorter, fratry, in- 
 firmary, and clothing; in a similar 
 manner her Vicaress or deputy. Chap- 
 ter and confession (private) at least 
 once a week. No deposits. From Com- 
 plin to Tierce silence (service excepted 
 out of the house), always in the church 
 and dormitory, and while they ate in 
 the refectory ; infirmary excepted, 
 where they might speak in a low voice, 
 and briefly insinuate what they should 
 find necessary. Not to talk in the 
 parlour or at the grate without leave, 
 and at the former in the presence of 
 two sisters, at the latter of three. At 
 the grate, a cloth to be put on the in- 
 side, not to be removed but at divine 
 service, or when any thing was said to 
 any body. A gate with two locks, 
 always to remain fast (in the night es- 
 pecially) except in time of divine ser- 
 vice. No one to speak at the gate be- 
 fore sun-rise or after sun-set. At the 
 Locutory, the cloth, which might not 
 be removed, always to remain within. 
 In St. Martin's Lent and greater Lent 
 no one to speak at the locutory but at 
 confession or in urgent necessity. 
 Work after Tierce, which was assigned 
 in the chapter. Same public disposi- 
 tion w^ith regard to alms sent for the 
 sisters. No letters or receipt or gift 
 of any thing out of the house allowed 
 without leave of the Abbess. If any 
 thing were sent by parents or others, 
 the Abbess might have it given to her, 
 and take it to herself if she wanted it, 
 if not, she might give it to one who did. 
 Abbess and obedientiaries to dispose of 
 money for things Avanted. Abbess to 
 see into the infirmary. Penitences; 
 bread and water in the refectory for 
 the contumacious after admonition 
 twice or thrice. Chaplain and two 
 lay-brothers for the relief of their po- 
 verty. Chaplain not to enter the 
 house without a companion ; upon en- 
 trance to be in a public place where 
 he might be seen by others ; might en- 
 ter for confession of the sick, extreme 
 
80 
 
 RULES OF THE ORDERS 
 
 unction, absolution, &c. ; grave-diggers 
 also allowed. — From the rule in BuUa- 
 rium Romanum, vol. I. pp. 123, 124. 
 
 In a mitigation of this rule it was 
 enacted as follows. Lay-sisters allow- 
 ed to go out on the convent business. 
 All and the Abbess to lie in the com- 
 mon dormitory, and separate beds, 
 the Abbess's so placed that she could 
 see them all around her. Allowed to 
 talk from Nones to Vespers on festivals 
 and certain other times. From Easter 
 to Christmas sleep till Nones unless 
 any one preferred prayer, contempla- 
 tion, or quiet labour. Id. 152, seq, 
 [The remaining parts of this rule will 
 appear in the sections Infirmary, Por- 
 ter, Dormitory, and Cloister.] 
 
 6. Brigettine Nuns, 
 
 No property whatever. Beds of 
 straw ; two woollen coverings or blan- 
 kets, bolster and pillow covered with 
 linen. Veil to represent the form of 
 the cross. Speech after Mass of Vir- 
 gin Mary until the table was conse- 
 crated (quod mensa consecratur) ; after 
 the grace, reading in the church till 
 vespers began ; then silence till after 
 supper they had given thanks in the 
 church ; speech again till collation ; 
 after that, silence till the Mass of the 
 Virgin Mary on the day following. No 
 secular person, male or female, to en- 
 ter the house. Speech, sitting at the 
 window, from Nones to Vespers. Fast 
 on the proper food from Advent to 
 Christmas. Friday before Lent till 
 Easter on common food. Holy-rood- 
 day till Michaelmas fish and white 
 meats (lacticinia). All Saints to Ad- 
 vent same. On certain days only 
 bread and water. On all other days of 
 the year, flesh on Sunday, Monday, 
 Tuesday, Thursday, and in the even- 
 ing fish and white meats. Wednesdays, 
 the whole year, at dinner and sup2)er, 
 fish and white meats. Fridays, the 
 whole year,common fast-food. Sabbath 
 fish and milk food. All other fasts 
 according to the rule of the Church. 
 Persons requesting admission to be 
 sent away successively, first, for three 
 
 months, then to return, and be asked, 
 whether she continued in the same 
 mind ; the like after a longer lapse ; 
 then the rule to be proposed, its aspe- 
 rities, contempt of the world, forgetful- 
 ness of parents. After a year, profes- 
 sion and admission ; when the Bishop 
 at the gate of the Church put several 
 questions to her ; whether she was free 
 from matrimony, from any tie of the 
 Church or excommunication, &;c. and 
 whether she desired entrance there in 
 the name of Jesus Christ and the Vir- 
 gin Mary. Upon her affirmative reply, 
 the Bishop introduced her, when the 
 two candles were lighted, which were 
 carried before the standard that pre- 
 ceded the Nun, and burned during the 
 Mass. The Bishop consecrated the 
 ring and put it on her finger, and con- 
 crated the Nun, after which Mass was 
 performed. The Bishop went to the Al- 
 tar, and began the Mass of the Trinity, 
 w^iile the Nun stood at the Altar; who, 
 when the offertory began, went there, 
 and afterwards returned to her place. 
 Then she was called to the Altar by a 
 priest, when they were barefooted, and 
 put off her outward garment in order 
 to put on her consecrated ones. Then 
 the tunic, hood, veil, &c. in which 
 the Bishop fixed a pin, were severally 
 put on and consecrated. She returned 
 to her place. The Bishop began Mass, 
 and, when he came to that part in 
 which the priest at the wedding cere- 
 mony was used to bless the husband 
 and wife, put the crown on her, fixed 
 the pin on it, said a prayer, and she 
 returned to her place till the Mass was 
 over. Then she came to the Altar, 
 prostrated herself upon her face, and a 
 Litany and absolution followed ; after 
 which she took the Sacrament, and 
 four sisters brought in the coffin 
 (which at the beginning of the Mass 
 stood in the gate through which the 
 nun was introduced, and had earth 
 sprinkled on it) into the house. Then 
 the Bishop went to the gate, and com- 
 mended her to the Abbess, who made 
 a suitable reply. The nun was then 
 led to the Chapter, for the first eight 
 
WHICH OBTAINED IN ENGLAND, 
 
 81 
 
 days was exempted from discipline, 
 and stood in the bottom of the Choir. 
 At the expiration of this term she be- 
 gan the observance of the order, and 
 sat last at the Choir and table. There 
 were thirteen Priests, who had a hall 
 (aula) in which they resided, from 
 which there was an entrance into the 
 Church, the lower Choir belonging to 
 them, and the upper (roof) to the Nuns ; 
 four Gospellers, who were to be priests 
 if they chose ; eight servants ; all of 
 whom (with the nuns) made the thir- 
 teen apostles and seventy- two disciples 
 (See FuUer^s Sarcastic Remarks). 
 There never could be more than twenty- 
 five brothers, who had a form of bene- 
 diction similar to the Nuns, except that, 
 instead of the ring, they laid hold of 
 the Priest's hands, and used a similar 
 ceremony instead of the veil. Their 
 hair was cut in a circle as in other 
 monasteries. The Abbess was elected 
 by the Convent, and the Confessor out 
 of the thirteen Priests, who were obe- 
 dient to the Abbess, and the sisters and 
 Lay-brothers to him. The thirteen 
 priests alone managed divine service, 
 did no secular service, fasted on bread 
 and water on the evening before the 
 greater festivals, and all other days ce- 
 lebrated the vigil by preaching. Con- 
 fession three times a year at least by 
 the Nuns, though one of the thirteen 
 Priests was every day ready to hear it. 
 On evenings preceding the greater 
 feasts fasting on bread and water. 
 Communion on Maunday Thursday ; 
 at Easter, the Ascension, Whitsun- 
 tide, Christmas, and every Sabbath, 
 with advice of the Confessor. Chapter 
 every Thursday. A sick sister who 
 had property was absolved, and did 
 penance when convalescent. One in 
 health, who did not confess it, and was 
 convicted before three witnesses, on 
 the first day of the Chapter had the 
 usual allowance, but on the next Fri- 
 day had bread and water, at the time 
 of divine service staid in the Church- 
 yard, did not speak a word to any one, 
 and prostrated herself at the feet of 
 each passing Nun. When the evening 
 of Friday was over, and the Convent 
 
 went out in due order, the Abbess raised 
 her, brought her to the Altar, the con- 
 vent interceded for her, and she was 
 absolved. If, however, any one died 
 with property, her body was placed 
 on the bier, brought to the Church- 
 door, the Abbess pronounced a denun- 
 ciation of the crime, Ave Maria was 
 said, and the body brought into the 
 Choir, after Mass carried again to the 
 Church-door, and buried by the bro- 
 ther. Neither presents nor property 
 allowed the Nuns or Abbess. No 
 Monastery to be inhabited till fully 
 built, and they could peaceably and 
 quietly live there. No fewer sisters 
 or Priests to be received than were 
 necessary for divine service, and the 
 number to be afterwards completed. 
 Those who entered the house after the 
 first foundation to bring with them suf- 
 ficient for their maintenance in good 
 and bad times; and when the number 
 was full, and they had revenues enough 
 to furnish allowances of meat and 
 drink annually, no more necessary to 
 be brought in. Vestments of the dead 
 and her daily provision given the poor 
 till another was chosen in her room. 
 All surplus money or food given to 
 the poor, and on this account no visi- 
 tors allowed. Deductions were, how- 
 ever, made from this, in case of appa- 
 rent necessity, for the ensuing year; 
 but as far only as seemed sufficient. 
 Old cloaths given to the poor. Abbess 
 not to build unnecessary or splendid 
 buildings. Presents at admission not 
 to be of permanent revenues ; but that 
 they might not come with empty hands 
 before God, it was fit to offer something. 
 Extreme poor received gratis. Such 
 presents not to be converted to private 
 use, but given to " poor Churches " 
 (egenis et pauberibus ecclesiis) ; ex- 
 ception in case of necessity. Inquiry 
 to be made whether these gifts were 
 honestly obtained ; if not, rejected, 
 provided the Convent had no need of 
 them. Nuns not to be admitted till 
 eighteen years old, nor to enter the 
 house before the year of probation. 
 Priests and brothers to profess at 
 twenty-five years of age. Manual la- 
 
82 
 
 RULES OF THE ORDERS* 
 
 hour at times not devoted to divine 
 service, and the fruits of such labour 
 given to the poor. Disciplines re- 
 jected and reprobated. Same portion 
 of meat and drink. Confessors (and 
 Lay-brothers) not to enter the house 
 unless in company with others to give 
 the Sacrament to a dying Nun. If she 
 happened to die all the Priests and 
 Lay-brothers with the Confessor enter- 
 ed, and carried her to sepulture with 
 chanting and prayers and the usual 
 rites. The Bishop was to be the visi- 
 tor ; the Prince protector and advocate ; 
 Pope a faithful guardian (fidelis tutor) 
 over both Bishop and Prince. In the 
 house was a grave constantly open, 
 which the Abbess and Convent visited 
 daily, and performed a divine service 
 at. A coffin (whether the same thing 
 as alluded to in the preceding sentence, 
 or not, appears to me rather dubious, 
 I think not) to be placed at the en- 
 trance of the Church, that the persons 
 entering might see and remember 
 death. Hospinian, 506-514. There 
 is too a large folio volume in B.L. with 
 wood-cuts of the ^^ Revelation of S, 
 Bridget." 
 
 7. Augustinian Eremites. 
 
 Of this order I could find nothing. 
 In MS. Bodl. Digby, 113 (Disquisitio 
 Fratrum Eremitarum), it is said, " il- 
 1am non puto fuisse regulam quee com- 
 
 muniter apud particulares religion es 
 legitur et tenetur ; sed alia cujus pars 
 recitatur in canon e n. q. p^ti non dicta- 
 tis.^' [I do not think that to be the 
 rule which is commonly read and held 
 in particular religions, but another, 
 part of which is recited in the canon n. 
 q. &c.] Notwithstanding this, it is 
 plain that Alexander the Fourth, who 
 concentrated the hermits into this or- 
 der, gave them the rule of Austin^ 
 without any such distinction, as all 
 writers agree. 
 
 8. Nuns of Fontevraud. 
 
 Of this rule too I could obtain no 
 information. All I know of them is, 
 that they followed the Benedictine 
 rule amplified : that the several Monas- 
 teries of Monks and Nuns ^vithin the 
 same inclosure were subject to an Ab- 
 bess ; and that, according to Malms- 
 bury (s. 96, p. 2.), they never spoke 
 but in Chapter. 
 
 9. Bon Homines {Augustinians). 
 
 Their peculiarities, according to the 
 Monast. II. 357, are to be found in 
 MSS. C. C. C. Cant. MiscelL G. 
 
 10. Brothers of the Sack. 
 
 These were Tertiaries of St. Francis. 
 See Bullar. Rom. I. and Maclaine^s 
 Mosheim, in C. xiii. p. 2. C. ii. § 40, 
 n. 9. 
 
MONASTIC OFFICERS.— ABBOT, ABBESS, 
 
 83 
 
 ;ESIt:' 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. — ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 Abbot is a Syriac term, signifying 
 Father, and was anciently applied to 
 all Monks, especially those who were 
 venerable for years and sanctity.^ If 
 authenticity be conceded to the rule of 
 Basil, it should seem to have been 
 first used in the scriptural form of Ab- 
 ba,^ a mode of compellation, by which 
 a son expresses his confidence and de- 
 pendence on his father's kindness, or 
 conveys a petition.^ Domnus, or pater, 
 was the more recent mode of address.^ 
 Among the Egyptian Monks the Abbot 
 was called David; whence, perhaps, 
 the name of the Welch Saint.^ 
 
 Abbots and Priors, as heads of 
 houses, are usually considered, except 
 in Cathedrals, where there were no Ab- 
 bots, on account of the Bishop, syno- 
 nymous terms. But there is an express 
 injunction of a founder, that the Supe- 
 rior shall only be stiled Prior ;^ and in 
 another place it seems that, if the 
 king granted his charter of liberties 
 and protections, the superior was to 
 have the style of Abbot.g This appears 
 from the speech of Geffrey- Fitz-Peter 
 to the Abbot of Walden, " Oh, my Lord 
 Abbot y you and your Monks have disin- 
 herited me and my heirs, by turning my 
 Priory into an Abbey, and throwing me 
 off, by subjecting yourselves wholly to 
 the royal power ''^ The king's right in 
 Abbeys was considered to extend to 
 the advowson and presentation;^ and 
 as Thomas Lord Berkeley, in the four- 
 teenth century, bought the advowson 
 
 • Du Cange Gl. As also to Seculars, who had 
 care of souls. Lyndw. p. 32, whence the modern 
 abhc, abbate. 
 
 >> Reg. C. 33, 38, &c. 
 
 <= Hammond on Luke, c. 8. v. 15. N. a p. 47. b. 
 •* Reg. Bened. c. G3. The term was at first pro- 
 per only to Popes. Du Cange. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. David. ^ Monast. Angl. 
 ii. 301. » Id. 328. »» Dugd. Monast. i. 
 455. » Eadm. 24. 
 
 of the Abbey of Kingswood, of Richard 
 Chedder, it shows the loss by such 
 practices.^ Upon the same principle, 
 we find only Prioresses appointed in 
 Nunneries, that obedience might not 
 be withdrawn from the parent house 
 or founder.l Perhaps in allusion to 
 this King John confirmed to William 
 Marshall, earl of Pembroke, and his 
 heirs, the gift of a pastoral staff to the 
 Abbey of Nutley, to have and hold for 
 ever, with all matters, liberties, and 
 free customs appertaining to the dona- 
 tion of such pastoral staff."^ The Au- 
 gustinian Order, says Reyner by mis- 
 take, had no Abbots till the aera of 
 Eugene the Fourth (cent. 15th.), and 
 then with very small authority.'^ 
 
 There were anciently Lay-abbots,o 
 which, it seems, was owing to the laity 
 seizing the church lands, and leaving 
 only the altars and tithes to the clergy.? 
 Lay-abbots were also called Abba- 
 comites, and Abbates-milites, noble Ab- 
 bots, and knightly Abbots.^ They 
 were great persons, under whose pro- 
 tection the Monasteries voluntarily- 
 placed themselves; but these protec- 
 tors became their oppressors.'^ They 
 had another title, that of commendatory 
 Abbots, and often filled the first offices 
 in the court and army.s 
 
 During the vacancies of Abbeys, un- 
 less the right was purchased t or rehn- 
 
 k Smythe's Berkeley's MSS. 424. » Angl. 
 
 Sacr. ii. 290. "* Monast. Angl. ii. 156. 
 
 n Reyner, 101. See an instance, temp. H. II. 
 Monast. ii. 933. 
 
 ° Spelm. Gl. V. Abbas and Comorban. Chron. 
 Saxonic. p. 67, Concil. Clovesho, § 5. 
 
 p Gir. Cambr. in Ware's Ireland, p. 42, 1. 17. 
 Bede's complaint above might be an additional 
 motive. 
 
 1 Du Cange. ' Notices, vii. 13. ■ Mail- 
 lot, iii. 52. 
 
 » W. Thome, c. 34, § i. Knight, a". 1363. M. 
 Par. p. 745. 
 
 q2 
 
84 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS, 
 
 quished,^ they escheated to the pa- 
 trons,^ or, in case of their minority, 
 their guardians,^ which patrons, at this 
 period, according to their respective 
 claims, placed a man and horse at the 
 gate,^^ presented the Superior,^ or re- 
 served only the grant of the conge 
 d'elire, and confirmation, fealty, and 
 homage of the elect/ The king's 
 clerks in custody committed great de- 
 predation for themselves and their 
 master.^ In Nunneries subservient to 
 monks, the Prioress was elected by the 
 Abbot, and he appointed a guardian in 
 vacancies.^ In houses possessing the 
 right of election, that right, where the 
 number of Monks or Canons was not 
 sufficient, was resigned to the Bishop.i 
 Reading abbey, when vacant, was to 
 be in the disposition of the Prior and 
 Chapter, because the Abbot had no 
 separate revenues,^ an arrangement 
 sometimes made on account of the 
 debts they often contracted.! 
 
 Vacancies were thought to leave the 
 Monks room for secular indulgences, 
 and occasion them to die without con- 
 fession."^ 
 
 The inquiries of the Roman court, 
 respecting the qualifications of the 
 person elected, were directed to his age, 
 profession (monastic), free or servile 
 condition, legitimacy,"^ competency of 
 literature, sobriety, gravity, prudence 
 in spirituals and temporals, zeal for 
 the order, and fair character, and whe- 
 ther before his entrance he was a cour- 
 tier ;<> but it seems, that science and 
 
 • Monast. ii. 1045, 1047. 
 
 ^ Since the reign of Rufus ; before they were in 
 the Bishop's hands. 
 
 «= Monast. ii. 326. «» Id. 243. 
 
 ^ Lyttelton's H. II. iii. 247.— Stat. Provis. 25 
 Ed. III. 
 
 f Monast. ii. 236. e M. Paris, 751 . »> Mo- 
 nast. i. 489. 
 
 ' See the formula, "Rev. in Christo patri hu- 
 miles et devoti filii et legitimi oratores Williem. 
 Whaddon et Joh. Lambe canonici regularis prio- 
 ratus de A. Ord. S. Aug." &c. in MS. Harl. 670, 
 fol. 76. 
 
 ^ Monast. i. 418, 471. i So I infer from 
 
 Reyn. Append. 165. '« Eadmer, 24. " From 
 the Canons. 
 
 « X Script. 2185. (Curialis.) 
 
 '* Hed et alii plures de Anglis causidici per id 
 
 noble birth were frequent considera- 
 tions,? and simony more than any.l 
 The Celts considered beauty and dig- 
 nity of person, as characteristick of 
 nobility and family .»" Indeed person 
 was enormously regarded by our an- 
 cestors f and deformity deemed a pro- 
 vidential denotation of crime, as in 
 the question of the Jews concerning 
 the blind man, put to Christ. A poor 
 Abbot afflicted with a hernia, and having 
 a mutilated finger, is thus stigma- 
 tized;* and person was deemed an 
 important consideration in electing an 
 Abbot.^ 
 
 The form of election, to which I 
 have found most analogies, is this. 
 Licence from the patron to elect was 
 read^ — Hymn of the Holy Ghost sung 
 — all in the Chapter who had no right 
 in the election ordered to depart — 
 Patron's letter of licence read — votes 
 taken separately by three Scrutators'^ — 
 election proclaimed by the Chantor — 
 all approved, except the elect, who 
 
 tempus in abbati^ ista habebantur, quorum colla- 
 tioni nemo sapiens refragabatur. Siquidem regis 
 officiales illis diebus hominibus in ecclesiae posses- 
 sionibus diversis locorum manentibus multas infe- 
 rebant injurias. Cui abbati Aldelmo (he died a« 
 1084) plurimum auxilii ferebant, duo ecclesise hu- 
 jus monachi, germani quidem fratres, quorum major 
 natu Sacolus, junior vero Bodicius vocabatur.'' 
 Registr. de Abendone, MS. Cott. Claud, c. ix. 
 
 " But also many other English curiales at that 
 time resided in the house, to whose maintenance 
 no prudent man objected. For the royal officers 
 in those days did many injuries to the residents in 
 the different possessions of the Church ; and to this 
 Abbot Aldelm much assistance was rendered by two 
 brothers. Monks of the house, the eldest named 
 Sacolus, the younger Bodicius." I thought fit to 
 note the above, because curialis has various appli- 
 cations. See Du Cange in voce. 
 
 p Monast ii. 700. 
 
 ^ Vivebas Simeon, sed tu non tempore vivis, 
 Subtractus morti vivere semper habes. 
 Simeon you lived ; but still all time survive, 
 Snatch'd from death's claws eternally alive. 
 
 MS. Cott. Vitell. a. xii. fol. 129^ de Simone Ab- 
 bate. 
 
 ' Macpherson on Ossian, § Sulmalla of Lumon. 
 
 " M. Paris, 312, 414, 494. Scriptor. p. Bed. 
 192, &c. Rous. 196 et alii. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Ruptura. 
 
 " Angl. Sacr. i. 755, ii. 195. 
 ' For the election of Priors a verbal consent was 
 sufficient. Reyn. 125. 
 
 * If each Monk voted singly, the Pope declared 
 the election not universal or inspired by the Holy 
 Ghost. Angl. Sacr. i. 735. 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 85 
 
 remained silent — the Monks lifted up 
 the elect, and, singing Te Deum, car- 
 ried him to the High iVltar. Here 
 having reclined him, they said the usual 
 prayer over him — the election was pub- 
 lished in English to the Clergy and 
 Laity then in the Monastery — and an- 
 nounced, and accepted in form, by the 
 elect, next day .a At St. Alban's there 
 were twelve electors deputed, no one 
 of whom could be chosen.^ 
 
 In Cathedral Priories (at least some) 
 the Bishop appointed one out of a 
 number nominated, and at Rochester 
 was besides the Scrutator.^ At Ely, 
 the Prior, after election^ was examined 
 by Doctors in Divinity.^ 
 
 In these elections interest was often 
 used,^ and sometimes in a very bois- 
 terous form. It is recorded of Cocker- 
 sand, that " for as moche as the said 
 howse was many tymes troublyd at 
 the tyme of their allecion of theyr Abbot 
 with the jentylmen of the countre, 
 theyre neghbours, they mad sewt to 
 the kyng, for his mantenance to have 
 free aleccion amongst theymselff, and 
 bound their sayd howsse for that 
 preveley to gyve at every aleccion 
 xxs. to the kyng, and his heyres 
 kyngs.^^^ The Abbots so elected were, 
 however, deposeable for various causes, 
 by the ceremony of breaking their 
 seals,^ as was done at their natural de- 
 mise, by a hammer upon one of the 
 steps before the Altar,^ and depriving 
 them of the stole and ring. Some- 
 times they retired upon pensions, or 
 became monks daraigne, quitted their 
 profession and married.i 
 
 » Barrett's Bristol, i. 259, 601. »> M. Paris, 
 
 1047. «= Angl. Sacra, i. 372, 550. '•Id. 
 
 673. c Monast. i. 275, &c. 
 
 ' MS. Coll. of Arms, D. 4, North coronat. 
 Convents were very liable to injury from their 
 neighbours : ** My lorde attendant dwellyng nigh 
 the said (Abbey of Harwolde), intyssede the yonge 
 Nunnes to breke up the coffer wheras the Con- 
 vent sealc was, and John Mordaunt then present 
 ther, persuading them to the same, causid ther the 
 Priorisse and hir folisshe yonge folke to seale a 
 wry ting made in Lattyn, nether the Priores nor hir 
 sisters can telle," &c. MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. p. 
 131. 
 
 s Willis's Abbies in Westm. M. Par. 406. 
 
 ^ Id. 1064. Du Cange, v. Stola. This was not 
 always done as to the Seal. X Script. 1B72. 
 
 » W. Thome, c. 23, § U. Pennant's White- 
 ford, &c. 34, 269. 
 
 Of these Abbots, so elected, some 
 were exempt from the Bishop, others 
 not; a privilege which, says a most 
 elegant and plausible writer; originated 
 in the excessive i)ower assumed by the 
 Bishops, whose grants of exemptions 
 from temporals had opened the door 
 to this privilege,^^ " and who, by the 
 meanness of their stile ^ in these grants, 
 seem to have acted under that fear 
 of emperors and princes, to whom, says 
 Mosheim, the Monks fled for refuge 
 from the odious task of collecting con- 
 tributions, which the Bishops, to sup- 
 port themselves in their luxuries, had 
 imposed upon them.^^"^ These exempt 
 Abbots, after the decree made to that 
 effect by Innocent the Third, in the 
 synod of Lateran, were confirmed by 
 the Pope,n and for their journey to 
 Rome, the fees of which court were 
 most enormous,^ the convent agreed 
 to pay their expenses. P The penalty of 
 £10,000 was levied upon a Bishop, 
 for invading the privileges of exempt 
 houses ;^ and it seems they occasioned 
 " disobedience, hatred, the inflation of 
 haughtiness, and venom of pride.^''' 
 By wits they were derided, for, says 
 Nigell Wireker, " Mulus et Abbates 
 sunt in honore pares.'' (" Abbots and 
 mules are in honour alike."s) Those 
 who were not exempt, made protesta- 
 tions of canonical obedience to the 
 Bishop.* 
 
 Upon every new election of an Ab- 
 bot (of Gloucester) the Abbey was 
 obliged to maintain one of the king's 
 clerks, whom he thought fit to name, 
 and accordingly a corrody for life was 
 granted to him. In the reigns of 
 kings Hen. VII. and VIII. the value 
 of those corrodies or grants was £5 a 
 year.^ 
 
 ^ Jenkins's Fra. Paolo on Eccles. Benef. 34, 35. 
 
 * Marculfi Formulae, p. 4. "' Eccles. Hist. 
 
 V. i. p. 321, ed. 4to. " M. Paris, 1063. 
 
 " Hutchinson's Durham, ii. 89. p Monast. 
 
 1.299. 1 Id. 291. 
 
 •■ " Tumorem elevationis et superbiee venenura." 
 Petr. Blses. MS. Roy. Libr. 8. F. xvii. 
 
 » Spec. Stultor. MS. Harl. 2422, &c. &c. and in 
 print. 
 
 » Registr. Hereford in Rudder's Gloucester- 
 shire, p. 449. — Junius has a satirical passage 
 about exemptions in MS. Bodl. James, No. 6, pp. 
 120, 1. 
 
 « Archd, Furney in Rudder's Glouc. p. 147. 
 
86 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 The newly-elected Abbot received a 
 large sum from the monastic tenants, 
 under the name of providing him a pal- 
 frey,^ for, upon doing homage to the 
 king, the MarshalPs fee from Abbots 
 or Priors holding a whole barony, was 
 a palfrey, or the price of it ;^ in ade- 
 quate proportion, from those who held 
 only a part of a barony, and from those 
 who held in free alms nothing ; a rea- 
 sonable fee was due to the Chamber- 
 lain also, from Abbots or Priors, hold- 
 ing an intire barony ; from those that 
 hold neither the whole, nor part of one, 
 their upper garment or its price.*^ On 
 doing homage to the Patron, Abbots 
 omitted the form of Laymen.^ The 
 installation feast was very sumptuous, 
 as is well known ; but, to spare expense, 
 he sometimes dined with the Convent 
 alone.*^ 
 
 Between the election and benedic- 
 tion, the Abbot (at St. Alban's) used 
 the Prior's chamber, instead of the ab- 
 batial great lodgings. No one upon his 
 rising from the celebration of the elec- 
 tion in the Church, as had been some- 
 times the case, was to solicit the mo- 
 nastic habit from him or necessaries of 
 life, as a test of his future liberality. He 
 chose his companions or Chaplains, 
 appointed the messengers whom he 
 wished to send to Rome, and invited 
 those whom he liked to dine with him, 
 who, however, had the Prior's pre- 
 vious leave: nor without this leave 
 could any one but the principal Cel- 
 larer, Chamberlain, Infirmarer, and Sa- 
 crist, go out on horseback. The Elect 
 dined alone in the Refectory on Was- 
 tel bread; but the Prior sat at the 
 high daisy^ and took the first place, 
 except in processions, where he went 
 last, on the Abbof s side,& like another 
 senior.ii 
 
 * X Script. 1921, 1939, &c. 
 
 ^ 5 marks the horse, ^ a mark the harness. Ed- 
 mondson's Heraldry, i. 69, ubi pi, 
 
 «= Stat. 13 E. I. c. 42. 
 
 •1 Only saying I " do homage to you," instead of 
 ** I become your man." Spelm. Archseol. 357. 
 
 « X Script. 2152. 
 . ' The desk or canopy over the high table. War- 
 ton's Hist. Engl. Poetry, i. 40, 422. 
 
 K The Abbot's place in processions was '' di- 
 rectly after the Convent; and in the middle." Mo- 
 nast. ii. 935. b M, Paris, p. 1069. 
 
 The affairs of the Abbey were un- 
 settled till the Abbot was confirmed.^ 
 
 The form of the benediction which 
 fixed him in his authority was this : 
 Mass was begun, and before the Gos- 
 pel the Elect entered, and was interro- 
 gated by the Bishop, whether he would 
 " he well '^^ with them, refrain his 
 manners from evil, keep the Rule, pre- 
 serve divine affairs, instruct the others, 
 maintain chastity and sobriety, and 
 obey the Bishop and his successors. 
 Then the schedule of profession was 
 read, after which carpets were laid 
 before the Altar, the Bishop and Elect 
 lay prostrate, and litanies and prayers 
 were chanted. After the Litany the 
 Bishop rose, and pronounced the bene- 
 diction ; at the end of which the Ab- 
 bot rose, and the Bishop gave him the 
 Rule, with a suitable exhortation ; then 
 the pastoral staff, and if he was to 
 be ordained priest the sacerdotal belt.^ 
 A hymn followed, and after the Gos- 
 pel, he offered to the Bishop two 
 loaves, and two lighted tapers, and 
 communicated.™ Instances appear, 
 where this ceremony was invalid, be- 
 fore the Abbot had sworn that nothing 
 prejudicial to the Royal interest was 
 contained in the bull of benediction,"* 
 and others, where no money was to be 
 extorted for it.^ 
 
 The Sacrist, however, of the Church 
 where the Abbot was confirmed, had 
 a present usually of the copes or of 
 vestments, or of materials to make 
 them.P This was contrary to papal 
 edicts.^ Fees too were paid.^ 
 
 Eddius says, that Wilfrid was bles- 
 sed Abbot, and ordained Priest after 
 that period f but Eadmer makes the 
 ordination indispensable before Bene- 
 diction, and adds, that the latter cere- 
 mony alone gave the Abbot full power 
 over the conventual affairs ; notwith- 
 standing this, even prior to the Synod 
 
 ' Eadm. 93. ^ Bene esse. ' See an in- 
 
 stance, Monast. u 288. °» Rituale Antiquum. 
 
 MS. Harl. 2866. » X Script. 2152. « Mo- 
 
 nast. ii. 937. 
 
 p Archd. Furney, & Angl. Sacr. in Rudder's 
 Glouc. 143. 
 
 1 X Script. 253, 327. » At least sometimes. 
 X Script, 1798, 2152. ' Vit. WUfr. c. 8. 
 
 P. 92, 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS, 
 
 87 
 
 of Lateral!, when exempt Abbots were 
 to 1)6 confirmed by the Pope, such 
 confirmation gave the AbbotfuU power, 
 and rendered the benediction a mere 
 conclusory ceremony.^ 
 
 The next ceremony was his formal 
 admission. He was to put off his 
 shoes before the doors of the Church, 
 and, with devotion and giving of 
 thanks, proceed to meet the convent,^ 
 who were to advance in a procession 
 previously arranged by the Chantor. 
 After his entrance, he was to pray 
 upon a robe put upon a carpet laid 
 upon the upper step of the Choir.^ 
 The Bishop, or his deputy,'^ then in- 
 troduced him into the Choir,^ and he 
 was placed in his stall. The Monks, 
 according to seniority, even those of 
 another house, kneeling, gave him the 
 kiss of peace upon the hand, and 
 afterwards rising, upon the mouth.* 
 All this time the Abbot held his staff, 
 which he did not either in his admis- 
 sion or introduction. He then entered 
 
 • X Scriptor. p. 1813. 
 
 ^ Abbas calceamenta amovebit ; pro foribus eccle- 
 sise calceamentis amotis cum devocione et gratia- 
 rum actioue conventui obviam debet procedere. 
 MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 183. (Consuetud. de 
 Abendone.) 
 
 '^ Quo iatroducto ad summum gradum chori in- 
 cumbet orationi, pallio, ut prius tapeto, supposito. 
 
 '' Thus a commission. *• Thomas permissione 
 divina Wygorniensis Ep's dilecto nobis magistro 
 Jacobo de Cobeham, doctori decretorura canonico- 
 que Wellensis Ecclesiae, omnem gratiam et bene- 
 dictionem. Ad admittendum nominationem sep- 
 tem monachorum nostri capituli Wygorniensis 
 prioris solacio destituti nobis juxta forraam compo- 
 sitionis super hoc editee tempore bonee memorise 
 Will'i le Bloys predecessoris nostri presentandi ex- 
 aminandique eosdem monachos, et ad approbandum 
 unum ex illis septem, necnon perficiendum eundem 
 debite inpriorem ; vobis vices nostras committimus, 
 cum ad id vacare non possimus, aliis arduis et inevi- 
 tabilibus negotiis impediti. Dat' London, xi. kal. 
 Decembris anno D'ni mill'o ccc."*" xlvii. conse- 
 crationis nostrte anno primo." (MS. Bodl. 2508. 
 p. 65.) As the substance is expressed above, a 
 translation is unnecessary. 
 
 ^ The Decreta Lanfranci, sect, de abbate, con- 
 form to the MS. 
 
 ' Postmodum omneaex ordinepostpriores,etiam 
 monachi extranei, osculum pacis et amoris porri- 
 {fent abbati primo manui genibus flexis reliquis per 
 ordinem subsequentibus, dcinde se erigendo oscu- 
 lum porrigent ori. Abbasque quousque omnes ei 
 osculum perrexerint baculum in manu sxxk tenebit. 
 Sed in admissione abbatis nee introductione abbas 
 baculum portabiU MS. Cott. ut supra. 
 
 the Choir with that ensign of dignity, 
 put on his shoes in tlie vestiary, and 
 the vestments being laid by in the 
 Choir, a Chapter was held, and the 
 Bishop preached an appropriate ser- 
 mon. The Abbot retired to his cham- 
 ber, and the Convent to the Cloister. 
 At the feast of his admission the 
 Convent had every man a gallon of 
 wine, a whole loaf, and three handsome 
 dishes of fish.s The day after, the Obe- 
 dientiaries laid the keys of their offices 
 at his feet.h 
 
 The Abbot, say the Consuetudines, 
 shall sleep at night in his chamber, 
 with the Chaplains whom he shall 
 chuse out of the Convent. The Abbot's 
 bed shall not be transferred from his 
 chamber on account of any one under 
 Royal or Metropolitan rank. One of 
 his Chaplains ought always to be with 
 him.i The Abbot shall celebrate Mass 
 on festival days, and dine in the Re- 
 fectory.^ The Prior of the weekly 
 Mass, if a worthier person be not pre- 
 sent, shall introduce him to the great 
 Altar. If the Prior be absent, his own 
 Chaplain. It is in the disposition of 
 the Abbot to celebrate Mass in the 
 profession of Monks ; and if so, he 
 shall give the benediction. ^ On Sun- 
 days, as often as he is disengaged^ he 
 ought to be in the procession, and 
 begin the antiphonar in the entrance of 
 the Church ; if he is indisposed, the 
 Chantor. In the processions he shall 
 
 « 1 galonem vini unicuique : placentam integram : 
 tria fercula piscium honorabilia. MS. Cott. ut 
 supra. 
 
 >» ** In his first Chapter." Dec. Lanfr. 
 
 ' Abbas in camera sua noctibus recumbet cum, 
 capellanis suis quos de conventu eliget. [See Athon, 
 p. 150, who says, that, notwithstanding his sepa- 
 rate apartment, he was never alone, having his ba- 
 julus, i. e. domestick monk (Mabillon Annales 
 Benedictini, iii. 244,) always with him at least.] 
 Nullius auctoritate et reverentia cubiculum Abba- 
 tis transferetur de camera sua nisi prse person^ re- 
 gia vel metropolitana — ex consuetudine unus capel- 
 lanorum debet semper cum abbate esse. Id. f. 
 184, a. 
 
 ^ The Prior and sub-prior were often put in his 
 room on the table of the High Mass. Cap. Gen. 
 Northampt. anno 1444, Stat. 9. 
 
 ' In Abbatis est dispositione in professione Mo- 
 nachorum missam celebrare — benedictionem faciefe 
 guper monachos professuros, f. 185, b* 
 
88 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 enter the Choir with the Convent.^ 
 The Abbot, after the triple prayer,^ 
 made in the morning, shall visit the 
 sick ; and when he comes to celebrate 
 from afar ; in like manner after pray- 
 ers for excesses in the way he shall 
 visit the sick upon his return from the 
 Church.c Three days before Easter, 
 and other festivals, he was to head 
 the procession to the Chapter .^ If he 
 made an error in the pronunciation of 
 a chant, he was to ask pardon. He 
 could reprove and accuse a Monk, 
 which was not allowed to the Prior, or 
 any other. In every accusation the 
 Abbot could remit the sentence except 
 in the transgression of silence, and then 
 he could modify it.^ [It was his duty 
 to attend the Cloister in the morning to 
 hear what the Monks had to say.^] 
 While the boys conversed with the 
 Abbot or Prior in confession, no one 
 could call any of the confessed to 
 confession. If any Monk, after the 
 Chapter, spoke with the Abbot in 
 confession, the Chapter of the boys e 
 was dispensed with that day.^^ All 
 were to incline to the Abbot as he 
 passed by. In every conference, when 
 the Abbot was present, the Prior 
 alone was to sit by his side, and no 
 
 * Abbas diebus dominicis quotiens expeditus fue- 
 rit ad processionem debet esse, et in introitu eccle- 
 sise antiphonam incipere. Si aliquo incommodo 
 corporis prseoccupatus fuerit, cantor debet incipere, 
 in processionibus cum conventu Chorum intrabit. 
 f. 186. a. 
 
 ^ See Concordia Regularum. 
 
 * Abbas post tres orationes mane facias iniirmos 
 visitabit ; et cum de longinquo canere veniet ; in- 
 emptidem per orationes pro excessibus in via sub- 
 ripientibus, fratres infirmos visitabit cum de eccle- 
 sia redierit. Ibid. 
 
 •^ Anticipare processionem conventus ad capitu- 
 lum. 
 
 * Abbati licitum est monachum reprehendere 
 eundemque clamare, quod nee priori nee alii licet. 
 In quolibet clamore Abbas sententiam potuit re- 
 laxare, nisi in silentii transgression e ; hoc etiam 
 erit in sua dispositione. 
 
 ' Eadm. 8. 
 
 fif Held after that of the Monks. See Cone. Re- 
 gul. and Dec. Lanfr. supra. 
 
 '' Dum pueri cum Abbate vel cum Priore lo- 
 quuntur in confessione, nulli licet aliquem confesso- 
 rum ad confessionem vocare (i. e. a second time). 
 Si quis monachorum post capitulum cum Abbate 
 loquitur in confessione, magister puerorum non 
 tenebit capitulum illo die. 
 
 other without his order.* Adults and 
 aged persons were to sit opposite upon 
 the form of the Cloister ; the younger 
 at his feet.^ When he entered the 
 Chapter, all descending one step were 
 to rise and bow to him, and stand on 
 the same step till he sat down.^ When 
 he was in the Cloister, neither Prior 
 nor other, without his leave, was to 
 speak in the Locutory, or elsewhere, 
 for any business, or to drink in the 
 Refectory. He could make a search 
 whenever he chose ; and whenever he, 
 or a Prior, or Monk, except in scru- 
 tiny, passed through the Convent, he 
 was to move his hood."^ Before re- 
 fection, after washing his hands, he 
 was not to go to the Lavatory ; but his 
 Chaplains, and the other Monks pre- 
 sent, were to minister with basins and 
 towels.^ In the morning, or other 
 times, he went to the Lavatory. He 
 was not to follow the Convent after re- 
 fection, but with his Chaplains '' give 
 thanks to the Lord.^^ He could visit 
 his manors without benediction if for 
 not more than three days. He was to 
 order Monks and Officials to obey the 
 Prior in respect to the admission of 
 visitors and external and internal dis- 
 pensations. When he went out with 
 benediction, the Monks were to meet 
 him on their knees, and give the kiss 
 of charity to his hand first, and to his 
 mouth afterwards, if he offered it. The 
 monks delivered any thing to him on 
 their knees, kissing his hand,® if he 
 was seated ; if standing, without genu- 
 flexion. He was to give orders to 
 the Prior, when he wished to be let 
 
 » Dec. Lanfr. 
 
 *■ In omni claustriloquio, abbate prgesente, solus 
 prior sedebit ei coUateralis, nullusque alius sine 
 praecepto abbatis. Senes et maturae personse ex 
 opposite super tabulatum claustri sedebunt ; junio- 
 res pedibus abbatis se humiliabunt. f. 186, b. 
 
 * Ibid. Omnes uno gradu descendentes cum in- 
 clinatione ei assurgent. Eodemque gradu stabunt 
 donee abbas in consistorium reclinetur. f. 186, b. 
 
 «» Quociens abbas vel prior vel aliquis fratrum 
 transient per medium conventus araovebit capu- 
 tium, nisi fecerit scrutinium. f. 186. 
 
 " Ibid. — Ante cibi perceptionem post ablutionem 
 manuum abbas non ibit ad lavatorium, sed capel- 
 lani sui et reUqui fratres prsesentes cum pelvibus et 
 manutergiis ministrabuutt f. 186, b. 
 
 " Deer. JLiOnfr, 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 89 
 
 blood. When present in the Choir at 
 mattins, he was to shew the lantern 
 to the Prior, if he went to sleep.** He 
 could speak when he found it neces- 
 
 sary, 
 
 as 
 
 could 
 
 The Monks too then gave him 
 
 <^ Tn the comme- 
 
 was to sing 
 
 his Chaplains, or any 
 other with him. When a sick man was 
 dying, tlie Infirmarer was to inform 
 him, and, postponing all business, he 
 was to hasten to him.^ When he went 
 to foreign parts, the leave of the Chapter 
 was requisite.^* He stood first at go- 
 ing from Chapter, and received the kiss 
 from the departing Monks. He was 
 admitted upon his return as at first, 
 except that he did not pull off his 
 shoes. 
 
 the kiss of charity.^^ In 
 moration of parents he 
 Mass.« 
 
 To this confused detail of the cus- 
 toms respecting Abbots at Abingdon, 
 shall now follow the orderly narrative 
 (literally rendered) of other duties and 
 privileges appertaining to Ensham.* 
 
 * Abbate ad matutinas in choro prsesente lucu- 
 brum ostendet priori si obdormierit. f. 187. 
 
 ^ This was a very common request of a dying 
 Monk. The Hebdomadary and certain Priests 
 were to go to him in Deer. Lanfr. 
 
 •-■ Of the King at St. Alban's. M. Paris, 1051. 
 Licet abbati ubicunque viderit expedire loqui ; lo- 
 qui licet etiam suis capellanis et cuihbet alii exi- 
 gente necessitate loqui cum abbate. f. 187. Quando 
 infirmus laborat in extremis infirmarius maturti 
 abbati indicabit. Abbasque omni negotio postha- 
 bito ad infirmum festinabit. Id. 188, b. 
 
 •^ M. Paris (1051) adds to this, ** the acceptation 
 of small Venice or pardons." 
 
 '^ In commemoracione parentura abbas cantabit 
 missam. MS. Harl. 209, p. 12. 
 
 * From MS. Bodl. Barlow, vii. fol. 2—32. Ab- 
 bas in vii fest' et sollempni processione debet 
 utrasque vices, tertiam vel sextam pro tempore can- 
 tare, et missam si vacaverit celebrare. In tabulari 
 etiam debet ad matutinas in prsedictis festis, et item 
 in vigilia natalis domini, et dominica palmarum, et 
 in tenebris, dummodo in partibus cisniarinisexistat. 
 In festis vero caparum, in voluntate ipsius, est dic- 
 tum officium implere. Sed et in ceteris festis et 
 in feriis interesse poterit, quandocunque voluerit. 
 Sciendum item quod cum missis in capis, vel in 
 albis interesse voluerit revestiat se, et teneat cho- 
 rum. Dum abbas vesperas voluerit can tare, ponatur 
 in vestiario vestimentum et capa, ad opus ejus 
 aqua inbacinis argenteis, et manutergium, pecten, 
 et mitra, cirotecte et baculus. Abbas vero pecti- 
 nato capite etlotis manibus in vestiario, revestiat se 
 alba, capa, mitra, cirotecis, annulo et baculo, capel- 
 lanis ejus in omnibus humilitcr ministrantibus. 
 Eo revestito pulsetur classicum cum omnibus sig- 
 ))ig. Qui jngredieus chorum superius cantoribus, 
 
 The Abbot in the seven feasts and 
 solemn procession sung both seasons, 
 
 et priore pro tempore indutis proeuntibus procedat 
 ad stallum suum inferius. Et notandum quod 
 quando stallum sive sedile abbas incessurus fuerit, 
 semper ornetur quarello sive sit revestitus sive non. 
 Post cldssicum, abbas stans in stallo incipit Diusin 
 adjutorium, et post inceptionem primi psalmi capiat 
 senior baculum ejus, osculata ipsius manu, et 
 reponat juxta eum. Et sciendum quod quandocun- 
 que quis aliquid tradiderit abbati sive ab eo aliquid 
 accepit, semper osculetur ejus manus. Sedente 
 abbate, capellanus manitergium ex transverse gremii 
 sui apponat, sicut semper quum est revestitus. Fi- 
 nitis psalmis surgat, thuribulum sumat seniore tra- 
 dente, capellani vero ejus ministrent sibi de capi- 
 tulario* et de absconsa pro tempore abbas dicat 
 capitulum cum mitra, sicut semper. Item in vii fest' 
 et in sollempnibus processionibus, et in festis ca- 
 parum pro tempore abbas, praimunitus apreecentore, 
 incipere debet a ' super psalmum Magnificat,' vel 
 psalmum Benedictionem pro tempore, et notandum, 
 quod quicquid abbas can tare vel legere aut incipere 
 debuerit, precentor eum praemunire. Ad inchoa- 
 tionem psalmi Magnificat vel Benedictus, abbas 
 stans in stallo suo ponat incensum in thuribulum, 
 capellano seu priore pro tempore ministrantedea'craf 
 et incenso, et minintro seu capellano pro tempore de 
 thuribulo, et sic procedant ad altare, priore pro 
 tempore accepto thuribulo a sinistris abbatis eunte, 
 et capellano thuribulum abbatis a dextris defei-ente, 
 dicentes psalmum Magnificat, vel Benedictus, sive 
 submissa voce psallentes pro tempore. Et flexis 
 genibus super gradus ante altare tradat capellanus 
 thuribulum abbati, et sustentet laciniam capae suae ; 
 sicque incensetur altare a dextris et a sinistris, prop- 
 terea feretrum S. Egwini, deinde feretrum S. Wis- 
 tani, prseterea tumba S. Wulsini : quo facto tradat 
 thuribulum capellano, rediens ad stallum suum ; 
 capellanus vero ejus et item prior pro tempore in- 
 censetur eum. Item capellani ministrent ei de libro, 
 et mitra, et absconsa pro tempore. Post Dominus 
 vobiscum ante Oremus deponatur mitra, et in fine ad 
 Per omnia recipiatur ; et hoc servetur ad omnes 
 collectas. Praeterea quum ad collectas super horas, 
 quae semper dici debent cum mitra, post Bencctica- 
 mus primae collectae det abbas sollempnein bene- 
 dictionem, sicut semper post vesperas, post matu- 
 tinas, post missam suam cum celebraverit sive ca- 
 pellanus ejus, nisi fuerit pro defunctis, et post 
 prandium statim jjost gratias, ante ps. De profun- 
 dis, vel si sit in conventu ante ps. Miserere, Istud 
 observet abbas ubicumque fuerit, nisi legatus fuerit, 
 seu archiep' vel ep'us, cui voluerit deferre. Forma 
 sollempnis benedictionis primo faciat crucem cum 
 pollice super pectus, dicens, " Sit nomen Domini 
 benedictum ;^^ postmodum signans se subjungat, 
 " Adjutorium nostrum in yiomine Domini.'^ Deinde 
 erigat manum signando populum, ** Benedicat nos 
 omnipotens Dens, Pater, et Filiiis, et Spiritus ejus." 
 Si processio post vesperas facienda sit tunc, finitis 
 commemorationibus procedat abbas ad altare ubi 
 facienda fuerit, cantoribus praeeuntibus cum cereis, 
 et conventu processionaliter subsequente. Quo 
 cum pervenit, sumpto thuribulo incenset altare, et 
 incensetur a capellano ; et dictis dicendis, redeatad 
 vestiarium cantoribus praeeuntibus, et devestiat se. 
 De officio Abbatis ad collationemet adcompleto- 
 rium. Si contingat abbatem collation! interesse, 
 
 * The Gospel. t a'bra, MS, 
 
90 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 Tierce or Sext, according to the time, 
 and celebrated Mass, if at leisure. He 
 
 procedat in medio manicis cancellatis et capite dis- 
 cooperto inclinans aliquantulum usque ad gradus, et 
 facta inclinatione eat sessum. Ad cujus adventum 
 omnes surgant, et stent super inferiorem gradum 
 inclinantes dum transit. Et notandura, quod ubi- 
 cumque transit abbas per officinas regulares, preter- 
 quam in dormitorium, singuli stando inclinent ad 
 eum. Sedente eo duo juvenes surgant, et discalcient 
 cum flexis genibus : cum autem discalciatus fuerit, 
 incipiat antiphonam Mandatum novum cantore pre- 
 muniente : lotis ejus pedibus, juvenes, qui prius, 
 recalcient eum, et sic revertantur ad sedes suas. 
 Postea surgat, lavet manus suas, ministris mandati 
 ministrantibus, et resideat ; finitisque omnibus an- 
 tiph' et lectore dicente Jube Domine henedicere, 
 det benedictionem Angelorum cusiodia, &c. Ce- 
 teris vero noctibus dicat Noctem quietam, &c. 
 Post ea cimba percuss^ surgat, et procedat ad re- 
 fectorium conventu processionaliter prseeunte et 
 duobus juvenibus pro tempore cereos coram eo de- 
 ferentibus : cum pervenerit ad refectorium, proce- 
 dat in medio capite discooperto, inclinans usque ad 
 superiorem gradum, et facta inclinatione, eat ses- 
 sum : delude percusso tintinnabulo a refectorario 
 surgat unus de capellanis abbatis, cum cseteris mi- 
 nistrantibus de potu, et sumpta cuppa stet in me- 
 dio ante cseteros. Cetera fiant secundum librum. 
 Notandum quod duo juvenes stent utrumquo. ad di- 
 gitum, et ministretur sicut semper quum abbas est 
 presens. Et dum biberit unus eorum subministret 
 ei cum cooperculo, sicut semper ciphis coram con- 
 ventu sufficienter appositis. Percutiat abbas men- 
 sam cum palma manus et terminetur lectio, et mit- 
 tatur cuppa una lectori. Deinde facto congruo in- 
 tervallo tintet tintinnabulum semel. Et cum con- 
 ventus sufficienter potaverit, tintet vero ter, et 
 surgat. Et stans in gradu mediocri in medio in- 
 clinet ad crucifixum, et ereotus dicat Adjutorium, 
 Sec. et iterum inclinet et exeat. Notandum autem 
 quod durante coUacione inquirant capellani volun- 
 tatem abbatis, si velit remanere de completorio, vel 
 item interesse, in voluntate enim ejus est semper 
 remanere. Si velit remanere, capellani ejus cum 
 accensA. lanterua divertant sinistrorsum extra hos- 
 tium ; et notandura quod quandocunque necesse 
 fuerit, quocunque abbas ierit, preterquam in dor- 
 mitorio, capellanus deferat lanternam accensam co- 
 ram eo. Si ad completorium ierit, capellani ejus 
 procedant cum conventu in ecclesiam, et dicantur 
 quae dicenda sunt, Priore seu custode ordinis faciente 
 signa quae ad ordinem pertinent. Et notandum 
 quod abbas nusquam faciet hujusmodi signa nisi in 
 refectorio cum sederet ad digitum.* Finito com- 
 pletorio inclinet abbas, et exeat ; ante trinam ora- 
 tionem capellani vero ejus prsesto sint extra chorum 
 cum lanterna pro tempore ut cum ipso divertant. 
 Quod si trinse orationi voluerit interesse, inclinet 
 solus sicut semper, et hoc stando vel jacendo super 
 formam pro voluntate sua, postea exeat primus, 
 ceteris processionaliter subsequentibus, et asper- 
 gantur aqua benedicta. Et notandum, quod ubi- 
 cumque abbas aspergi debeat, tradatur ei asper- 
 sorium, preterquam si interfuerit completorio. 
 De Matutinis, In septem festis et in sollempni 
 
 * Digitus is a certain quantity of water ; in this 
 MS. it plainly giguifieiB the washing of his hands at 
 dinner. 
 
 was in the table of Matins in those 
 feasts, and also in the Vigil of Christ- 
 
 processione Abbas si vacaverit debet matutinis in- 
 teresse, et in primo A° secundam vel tertiam ant' 
 pro tempore inchoare, octavum respons. cantare, et 
 ultimam lectionem atque evangelium legere. Abbas 
 det benediction es ante lectiones, sicut semper 
 quando est prsesens. Cum abbas lecturus sit lec- 
 tionem, procedat aliquantulum manibus cancellatis 
 et capite discooperto, et inclinet. Cui omnes as- 
 surgant et inclinet dum intersit, sicut semper quum 
 intersit per medium conventum ; post lectionem 
 praesto sit capellanus suus, qui de manu ejus ab- 
 sconsam accipiat : ipse vero procedat aliquantulum, 
 sicut prius, et capiat parvam veniam, et revertatur 
 ad stallum. Post ultimum responsoriura sic inci- 
 piat Te Deum, &c. semper quum est prffisens, et 
 inclinet. Notandum quod cum abbas lecturus sit 
 Evangelium, sic. in vi fest. et in process, sol- 
 lempn. post inceptionem hymni Te Deum prsesto 
 sit capellanus ejus retro chorum cum lanterna ac- 
 censa qui ipsum prsecedat in vestiarium. Et posito 
 manutergio contra humeros abbatis, pectinetur, et 
 lavet manus suas, capellanis ministrantibus ; postea 
 induatur qui cantaturus missam exceptis sandaliis. 
 Et accepto baculo procedat ministris prseeuntibus, 
 capellanus sequitur in frocco usque ad gradus, et 
 accipiens baculum dextrorsum, abbasque inclinans 
 dicat, Da michi Domine sermonem rectum, &c. 
 Postea erectus, deosculetur altare, et signet se. 
 Deinde ponat iucensum in thuribulo, etincens (sic) 
 altar', ministro laciniam casulae sustentante ; pos- 
 tea minister accepto thuribulo incenset abbatem, 
 rpo dico incUnanie (q. if ipso [et] diacono inclim 
 nante.) Sicque vadat ad analogium : subsacrista 
 praesto sit cum absconsa, quam tradat abbati deos- 
 culando ejus manum, libro prius super analogium. 
 Ad GVa tibi Domine, capellanus prop6 stans depo- 
 nat mitram, quam reponat dicta oratione, evange- 
 geliuni et baculum tradat, sicque incipiat abbas 
 Deus in Adjutor. et revertatur in vestiarium. Si 
 laudes cantare voluerit, exutus casula stola et ma- 
 nipulo induatur capa mitra cirotecis et baculo, et 
 ingrediatur chorum superius, ciroferariis proceden- 
 tibus usque ad gradus chori. Si non abbas prsesens 
 fuerit, et non legerit, sed laudes cantare voluerit, 
 tunc post inchoationem hymni Te Deum, &c. exeat 
 ut super, et revestiatur, ingrediaturque chorum 
 superius, et eat ad stallum suum inferius, lectoque 
 evangelio incipiat ipse Deus in Adjutor. &c. Et 
 [si] capellanus vero ejus inter yranum revestiatur 
 ad ministrandum ut supra ad vesperas, alius capel- 
 lanus ejus ministrgt sibi de capitulario et de ab- 
 sconsa. Dictaque oratione et data bened. si velit 
 exeat, et capellanus revestitus remaneat, et dicat 
 dicenda, aliter capellanus ipsum sequatur. Si vero 
 abbas processioni interesse voluerit, capellanus pro 
 voluntate sua dicat dicenda, et postea cnm abbate 
 procedat. Si abbas praesens fuerit matutinis, et 
 voluerit interesse laudibus, exeat post inchoationem 
 Deus in Adjutor. capellanis suis cum lanterna extra 
 chorum praesto exeuutibus. Et notandum quod 
 quotienscumque abbas revestitus interesse voluerit 
 processioni post vesperas, vel post matutinas, seu 
 ante missam, capellanus deferat ei baculum pasto- 
 ralem. 
 
 DepHvata missa^bbHs. Si abbas missam pri- 
 vatam voluerit celebrare, capellani ejus ministrent 
 ei cum omni humiUtate et reverentia in praepara- 
 tione calicifi et replicatioae vestimeatonuu; et in- 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 91 
 
 mas and Palm Sunday, and in the ' 
 te)iebr(By^ if he was in inland parts. 
 
 CKteris necessariis. Et unus eorum legat episto- 
 1am. Si capellanus ejus celebret, abbas dicat Con- 
 fiteor, sicut semper. Ante vero Evangelium ca- 
 pellanus petat beuedictionera ab abbate, missfi pro 
 defunctis dicens, Jube Dompne ben. &c. Abbas 
 respondeat Domhw.s sit in corde tuo, &c. vel aliud 
 quod voluit. Post evangelium alter capellanus de- 
 ferat abbati librum ad deosculandum evangelii, ni 
 fuerit missa pro defunctis. Item deferat ei Pacem 
 post Agnus Dei, ni fuerit Prior prsesens. Post ora- 
 tionem Placeat tibi Sancta Trinitas det abbas be- 
 nedict, num ipse celebraverit sive capella' ejus, ni 
 fuerit missa pro defunctis. 
 
 De sessione Abbatis in Claustro. Abbas, quando 
 voluerit et vacaverit, sedeat in claustro ante hos- 
 tium capituli, et deferatur ei liber ad respiciendum 
 si voluerit ; maxime autem ibi sedeat diebus domi- 
 nicis antepvimam, vel tertiam, ad audiendum con- 
 fessiones fratrum et precipue novitiorum, qui in 
 initio suae conversionis diligenter sunt instruendi. 
 Deputet et abbas aliquos fratres, quos viderit sa- 
 pientores, qui una cum Priore confessiones fratrum 
 audiant quando ipse non vacaverit. 
 
 De Capitulo. Abbas cum voluerit, et aliqua ex- 
 pedienda habuerit, intret capitulum, conventu ibi 
 exeunte. Intret autem ut supra ad coUationera ; 
 ad ejus adventum conventus inclinet ut supra. 
 Prior etiam seu prsesidens et senior abb'i propin- 
 quior ex alia parte accedant ad deosculandam 
 manum ob paternam reverentiam ; et notandum 
 quod licet ad coUationem vel alias quam hor^ sta- 
 tuta capituli abbas capitulum intraverit, non deos- 
 culetur ejus manus. Posttabulam lectam dicat abbas 
 *'AnimcB fratrum" &c. conventus respondeat Amen, 
 et ille Be)iedicite,et ille Dominus,iter\\mi\leLoqua- 
 mur de ordine nostra ; ad quod omnes inclinent ei, 
 et postea tractentur quae tractanda sunt. Et ter- 
 minet ipse capitulum more solito, exiens cum capell' 
 dicendo Verba mea. Notandum autem quod in 
 vigilia natalis Domini, die ccense, die parascevae, et 
 in vigilia paschse et pentecostes, Abbas si vacaverit, 
 ante capitulum veniat in chorum, et precedat con- 
 ventum in cap'lum ; cap'lo finito abb' inclinans 
 versus conventum dicat Confiteor ; ceteri incli- 
 nantes respondeant Misereatur, et postea Con- 
 fiteor, et abbas dicat Misereatur : et post absolu- 
 tionem, et omnes flectant genua ; postea exeat ut 
 supra. 
 
 De Dominican processione. Si voluerit abbas 
 procession! in diebus dominicis interesse, ingre- 
 diatur chorum superius dum aqua benedicitur, et 
 stet ibi in stallo suo, capellano h. dextris ejus cum 
 baculo prop^ astante. Sacerdos vero qui aquam 
 benedixit, aspers^ tumba sc'i Wulsini, et inclinans 
 et deosculans manum abb 'is, tradat ei asper- 
 sorium. Qui aspergat seipsum, et postea sacer- 
 dotem, et retradat aspersorium. Quo facto, 
 capellanus tradat ei baculum pastoralem, et 
 fiat processio, Abbate ultimo in medio gradiente 
 (sic) cum baculo. Cum perveniunt in ecclesiara 
 fiat statio, abb'e stante in medio, subtus fontes. 
 Finite (sic) responsorio vel antiph. procedat cantor 
 ad abbat. et dedicat (sic) cum eo De profundis, et 
 fiat absolutio animarum abbatum ibidem quiescen- 
 tium et omnium fidel' defunct'. Ad introitum in- 
 
 a The nights in the Passion week, when the 
 candles were extinguished. 
 
 In the feasts of copes it was at his 
 option to perform the above duty, but 
 
 cipiet abbas responsor. vel antiph. pro tempore 
 prsemuniente. Et notand' quod ejus semper inci- 
 pere antip. vel resp' ad introitum quum est prse- 
 sens. Introitu ecclesic abbas divertat dextrorsum 
 capellanis, unus eorum reponat baculum pastora- 
 lem, et alius cum eo procedat. 
 
 De sollempni processione. Si abbas in aliquo festo 
 caparum ad horam ante missam majorem, vel ad 
 processionem prsesens esse voluerit, prsemunitus }\ 
 prsecentore ingredietur vestiarium cum capellanis 
 suis ; primo pectinetur, postea lotis manibus in- 
 duatur alb^ stoia cap^ mitr^ cirotecis et annulo, 
 capellanis semper ministrantibus. Deinde sumpte 
 (sit) baculo pastorali ingrediatur chorum superius, 
 et stet in stallo suo. Interim fiat exorcismus aquse 
 benedictse si dominica fuerit, et aspersio ut supra, 
 hoc adjuto quod abbas teneat baculum in manu si- 
 nistra, dum aspergit se et sacerdotum. Aspersaque 
 aqua bened. dicatur oracio dominica, priore faciente 
 signa sicut semper item cum sit prsesens, et inci- 
 piatur hora. Si abbas prsesens fuerit cantet horam, 
 et capell"'* ejus ministret sibi de capitulario et aliis 
 necess. Hor^ cantata si soUempnis fuerit proces- 
 sio, fiat thurificatio a Priore more solito, ita quod 
 abbas incensum imponat, sicut semper quum est 
 preesens. Tunc exeat processio, junioribus pr»ce- 
 dentibus, abbas sequatur ultimus in medio, capel- 
 lanus ejus eat post seniores cum manitergio ; cum 
 autem processio eat per coemiteria, fiat statio in 
 coemiterio monachorum cum ps. De profundis, et 
 absolvantur animse ibidem et ubicumque in Christo 
 quiescentium. Cumque pervenerint in ecclesiam 
 fiat statio, et absolutio animarum abbatum ibidem 
 quiescent, et omn' fidel' defunct. Si autem re- 
 sponsor' cantand' sit ad stationem, sedeat abbas 
 usque ad repetitionem retractus post versum, vel 
 ! prosam pro tempore, et tunc fiat sermo si fuerit 
 I habendus ; sin autem, fiat absolutio ut prius. Sta- 
 tim finito retractu abbas prsemunitus a cantore in- 
 cipiat ad introitum antiph' vel respons' pro tem- 
 pore, et tunc fiat sermo si fuerit habcndus ; sin 
 autem, fiat absolutio ut prius. Statim finito re- 
 tractu abbas prsemunitus a cantore incii>iat ad in- 
 troitum antiph' vel sespons' pro tempore sicut sem- 
 per quum est prtesens. Conventu ingrediente 
 chorum abbas divertat dextrorsum usque in ves- 
 tiarium, et prseparet se ad missam fuerit celebra- 
 turus. Si vero missam non fuerit celebraturus, et 
 interfuerit processioui, nihilominus divertat ut su- 
 pra, et procedat ad altare cum quocunque missam 
 celebraturo, ibidem more solito Confiteor et cetera 
 dicturus ; postea regat chorum cum cantoribus, si 
 velit interresse missae ; sin autem, revert atur in 
 vestiarium, et devestiat se. Et notand' quod abbas 
 semper quum est praesens procedere debet ad altare 
 cum missam celebraturo, et ibidem dicere Confiteor^ 
 et caetera ut supra, seu sit revestitus seu non. 
 
 Qualiter Abbas prccparet se ad Missam. Si mis- 
 sam fuerit vii festum, deposita mitra et capa sedeat 
 et discalcietur, ac sandaliis cum pertinenciis recal- 
 cietur. Deinde lotis manibus tunica et dalmatica 
 induatur capellanis et ministris ministrantibus et 
 
 psaUentibus hos ps'os Hac oracione dicta 
 
 procedat abbas versus altare, Priore eunte t\ dextris 
 ejus et capellano a sinistris. Diaconus vero cum 
 baculo pastorali, et subdiaconus cum texto procedat 
 et ceteris ministris. Ad Gloria yero officium in- 
 
92 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 in other feasts and common days he 
 was present when he pleased. It is to 
 
 trent, et procedant usque ad gradus, et diaconus 
 tradat abbati baculum, caeteris circumstantibus, ca- 
 pellanoque mitram deponente, dicat abbas Confite- 
 mini Dotnino, &c. postea Confiteor, &c. Ad ab- 
 solutionem et remissionem flectant omnes genua. 
 Quo dicta deosculetur abbas [abbis in MS.] tex- 
 tum apertum sicut semper, et reponatur mitra. 
 Postea tradat capellano baculum, et ascendat gra- 
 dus coram altari, dicendo " Domine, exaudi ora- 
 cionem meam, &c." Et inclinet dicens oracionem 
 " Aufer h nobis, ^'' &c. qu^ dicta erectus deoscule- 
 tur altare, et signet se in erigendo ; dicat Adjutor'' 
 nostr^ de more solito. Et notand* quod induatur 
 sandaliis solum in vii fest. et tunc solum cantantur 
 praedicti psalrai cum antiph. Item non induatur 
 tunica et dalmatica, nisi in festis cum solempni 
 process. Caetera vero omnia fiant semper ut supra. 
 Item nuUus collateralis cum abbate incedat nisi ad 
 missam. Incepto Kyrie eleeson thurificet abbas 
 altare mitratus. Ad inchoandum ** Gloria in ex- 
 celsis " deponatur mitra, et statim reponatur. Post 
 Dominus vobiscum ante Oremus, iterum deponatur, 
 et ad Per omnia reponatur. Ad Epistolam sedeat 
 usque ad Evangel, capellano sustinente laciniam 
 casulse ex un^ parte, et diacono ex alia. Capellanus 
 et diaconus in vii festis canant submissa voce co- 
 ram abbate. Item abbas semper det benedictio- 
 nem super legentes et cantantes, ad gradus, statim 
 expletis eorum officiis. Ad inceptionem Evangel, 
 surgat, capellano juvante, et baculum sibi tradente, 
 atque mitram deponente. Post Credo in unum in- 
 ceptum reponatur mitra, facta offerenda, colloca- 
 toque calice et thuriticato deponatur annulus et 
 cirothecse : lavet suas menus Priore ministrante, 
 siprsesens fuerit ; et notand' quod quociens abbas 
 missam celebrat in capis, Prioris est conducere 
 eum ad altare, et facere ofFertorium, et ministrare 
 in ablutione manuum, tam post offert. quam post 
 perceptionem si prsesens sit, sin autem preecentor 
 debet. Lotis manibus abbas vertat se ad altare 
 dicendo orationem consuetam. Ad In sjiiritu hu- 
 milit. deponatur mitra, et peragatur totum sine 
 mitra. Post communionem lotis manibus abbas 
 cirotecas resumat, annuloque digito imposito finiat 
 missam more solito. Post oracionem Placeat tibi, 
 surapto baculo vertat se ad populum, et det bene- 
 dictionem, ut supra, ad vesperas, nisi fuerit missa 
 pro defunctis. Tunc recedant ab altari usque in 
 vestiarium eodem ordine quo prius acceperant ; 
 abbate tunc baculum in dextra gestante et dicente, 
 " Benedicite Sacerdotes," &c. cum priore et capel- 
 lano, et aliis ministris sicut semper, et hoc in 
 capis. 
 
 De Prandio. Cum abbas in refectorio comedere 
 voluerit, ponantur sex panes coram eo ad prandium 
 de proprio silicet pane, et tres ad coenam. Sex vero 
 ad eleemosynam, et duos ad s'cisiones faciendas in 
 mensa. Ponatur etiam coram eo magnum potum 
 cervicise. Et quociens fuerit caritas, vini dimidium 
 sextarium ponatur ad opus suum. Tempore igitur 
 congruo intretrefectorium, etprocedat ut supra ad 
 collationem usque ad digitum, ubi lavet manus suas, 
 Priore fundente aquam, et aliis ministrantibus de 
 manutergio. Et notandum, quod refectorarii est 
 providere manutergium et bacinos cum aqua. Ma- 
 nibus lotis fciciat inclinationem, et pulset tintinna- 
 bulum aliquantulum morose, et dicantur gratiee 
 paore solito, ipso item dante benedictionem lectori. 
 
 be noted also, that when he chose 
 to be present at Masses in Copes, or 
 in Albs, he robed himself, and held the 
 Choir. When he pleased to sing Ves- 
 pers, the vestment and cope for his 
 use, water in silver basins, towels, the 
 comb^ mitre, gloves, and staff, were 
 placed in the Vestiary. The Abbot 
 then having combed his head, and 
 washed his hands, clothed himself in 
 the Vestiary with the alb, robe, mitre, 
 gloves, ring, and crosier, his Chaplains 
 humbly attending upon him. Upon 
 his being robed, a peal of all the bells 
 struck up ; and entering the upper 
 Choir preceded by the Chantors and 
 Prior robed for the occasion, he went 
 to his stall below, which whether he 
 was in pontificals or not, was to he 
 adorned with acarrel.a When the bells 
 had done, the Abbot, standing in 
 his stall, began Deus in Adjiitorium ; 
 and after the beginning of the first 
 psalm, a Senior, kissing his hand, 
 took the crosier, and laid it near him ; 
 which ceremony of kissing his hand 
 was to be always used upon the receipt 
 or delivery of any thing from or to 
 him. When he was seated, a Chaplain 
 was to place a towel athwart his bosom, 
 as was always usual when he was in 
 pontificals. When the psalms were 
 finished, he rose, and took the censer 
 from a Senior, and his Chaplains at- 
 tended him with the Gospel and lantern 
 
 for the occasion : he then said the 
 
 Duo juvenes stent ad digitum ex ima et ali^ parte, 
 i et ministrent ei sicut quum est ad digitum. Capel- 
 I bums etiam ejus ministrent de coquina sicut sem- 
 per quando preesiderit, uno de ministris digiti, vel 
 { ambobus cum necesse fuerit ipsum juvantibus ; unus 
 I etiam eorum subministret ei cum cooperculo dum 
 I bibit, sicut semper. Tempore congruo faciat soni- 
 tum cum cochlearibus suis, et coUigantur cochlearia. 
 ( Cumque omnes comederunt, percutiat ter mensam 
 cum cultello, et coUigatur relevium. Quo coUecto 
 faciat signum cum manu super mensam, et termi- 
 netur lectio. Et facta inclinatione a lectore, pul- 
 set tintinnabulum ut supra, et dicantur gratise. 
 Post Affimus tibi gratias, statim det solempnem 
 benedictionem, ut supra ad vesperas, Conventu 
 eunte ad ecclesiam Miserere, remaneat ipse cum 
 priore et aliquibus de senioribus in refectorio : 
 finiant gratias. Interim lavet sibi manus, priore 
 et ceteris, ut prius, ministrantibus ; postea ducat 
 COS in cameram suam ad potum. 
 
 * Pew. There is a similar injunction in the 
 Dec. Lanfr. § de abbate (with one or two additions), 
 given in Mr, Tindal's Evesham, p. 178, 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS, 
 
 93 
 
 Gospel with his mitre, as he always did. 
 Also in the seven feasts, and solemn 
 processions, and in the feasts of copes, 
 the Abbot, pre-admonished by the 
 Chantor, was to begin the Antiphonar 
 after the psalm Magnificat^ or Benedic- 
 tionem, according to the occasion ; and 
 it was to be noted, that the Abbot was 
 always to be forewarned by the Chan- 
 tor of what he was to sing, read, or 
 begin. At the beginning of the Mag- 
 nificat, or Benedictus, the Abbot, stand- 
 ing in his stall, put incense in the cen- 
 ser, the Chaplain or Prior for the occa- 
 sion assisting with the materials of the 
 incense, and an assistaiit or Chaplain 
 for the occasion with the censer ; and 
 thus they were to proceed to the Altar ; 
 the Prior for the occasion, with the 
 censer, going on the left of the Abbot, 
 and the Chaplain, with the Abbofs 
 censer, on the right, saying the Magni- 
 ficat, or Benedictus, or singing with a 
 low voice, according to the occasion. 
 The Chaplain then kneeUng upon the 
 steps before the Altar, gave the censer 
 to the Abbot, and supported his 
 train : and thus the Altar was to be 
 censed on the right and left, also the 
 shrines of certain saints : after this, 
 the Abbot gave the censer to the 
 Chaplain, and returned to his stall, 
 and the Chaplain and Prior also for the 
 occasion censed him. The Chaplains 
 too attended him with the book, 
 mitre, and lantern for the time. After 
 the Dominus vobiscum before the 
 Oremus, the mitre was to be laid 
 down, and in the end at the Per omnia 
 resumed ; and this use was to be ob- 
 served at all the collects. Besides at 
 the collects after the hours, which were 
 always to be said with the mitre, after 
 the Benedicamus of the first collect the 
 Abbot gave his solemn benediction, 
 as usually after Vespers, after Mat- 
 tins, after his Mass, when he or his 
 Chaplain celebrated (unless it was a 
 Mass for the dead), and after dinner 
 immediately next to the grace ; before 
 the psalm De profundis, or, if he was 
 in the Convent, before the Miserere .^ 
 
 ■ Sung upon going out from dinner. 
 
 and this he was to observe, wherever 
 he was, unless there was a Legate, 
 Archbishop, or Bishop, to whom he 
 wished to pass the compliment. In 
 giving the l)enediction he first made a 
 cross with his finger upon his bosom, 
 saying, " Blessed be the name of the 
 Lord.'' Then, pointing to himself, he 
 added, " Our help is in the name of 
 the Lord.'' Then he was to elevate his 
 hand as a token to the people, and 
 say, ^^ Almighty God, the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost, bless us/' If a 
 procession was to be made after Ves- 
 pers, when the commemorations were 
 finished, the Abbot was to go to the Altar, 
 to which the procession was to be 
 made, the Chantors preceding him 
 with tapers, and the Convent following. 
 When he came there, he censed the 
 Altar, was himself censed by the Chap- 
 lain ; and having performed the due 
 service, returned to the Vestiary, pre- 
 ceded by the Chantors, and unrobed. 
 
 Of the Office of the Abbot at colla- 
 tion and com'pletory , If the Abbot 
 happened to be present at the colla- 
 tion, he proceeded up the middle with 
 his arms across^ and head bare, some- 
 what bowing as far as the steps, and 
 having made his inclination, went to 
 his seat. At his coming all arose, and 
 stood upon the lower step, bowing as 
 he passed. And (continues the ru- 
 bric) ^^ when soever the Abbot passes 
 through the regular offices, except to 
 the Dormitory, every one shall bow to 
 him standing. When he is seated two 
 youths shall rise and pull off his shoes 
 kneeling. When he has his shoes off 
 he shall begin the antiphonar Man- 
 datum novum, the Chantor forewarning 
 him. The feet-washing ended, the 
 young men shall put his shoes on, and 
 return to their seats. Afterwards he 
 shall rise, wash his hands, the servants 
 of the Maundy assisting, and sit 
 down. When all the antiphonars are 
 done, and the reader says '^Jube Domine 
 benedicere,'^ he shall give the benedic- 
 
 •• From the customs of the Monks, I follow 
 Pliny's sense of cancello (See the Lat. Diet.) in 
 which sense it is used in the Carthus. Rule. Mo- 
 nast. Anglic, i. p. 951. 
 
94 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 tion Angelorum custodia, &c. if it be a 
 sabbath ; but, on other nights, he shall 
 say, Noctem quietam, &c. (Good night, 
 &c.) After this, the bell being struck, 
 he shall arise, and go to the Refectory, 
 the Convent preceding in proces- 
 sion, and the two youths, for the oc- 
 casion, carrying tapers before him. 
 "When he comes to the Refectory, he 
 shall proceed up the middle with his 
 head bare, bowing as far as the upper 
 step, and having made his inclination, 
 sit down. The llefectioner then having 
 struck the bell, one of his Chap- 
 lains, with the attendants, ministering 
 the drink, shall rise, take a cup, and 
 stand in the middle before the rest. — 
 It is to be noted, that the two youths 
 shall stand at either side the digitus, 
 and the service shall be that usual 
 when the Abbot is present. AVhilst 
 he drinks, one of them shall attend with 
 a cover, as is usual with the cups {when 
 complete) laid before the Convent. The 
 Abbot shall then strike the table with 
 the palm of his hand, the reading 
 shall end, and a cup be sent to the 
 reader. Afterwards, at a proper in- 
 terval, the bell shall ring once. And 
 when the Convent has sufficiently 
 drank, it shall ring three times; he 
 shall then rise, and standing in the 
 middle step in the centre, make a bow 
 to the crucifix, and then standing say 
 ^^ Adjutorium, &c.'^ and again bow 
 and retire. It is to be observed, how- 
 ever, that during the collation, his Chap- 
 lains shall inquire whether he chuses 
 to stay from Complin, or be present at 
 it, for it is at his option always to 
 stay if he chuses it. His Chaplains 
 with lanterns shall turn to the left out 
 of the gate, and it is to be noted, that 
 whenever it shall be necessary, wherever 
 he goes, except in the Dormitory, a 
 Chaplain shall carry a lighted lantern 
 before him.^ If he should go to Com- 
 plin, his Chaplains shall proceed to 
 the Church with the Convent, and 
 the necessary service be said, the Prior 
 or guardian of the rule making the 
 
 * Add. to Dec. Lanfr. in Tyndal's Evesham, 
 p. 178. 
 
 proper signs. And it is to be noted that 
 the Abbot shall never make signs of 
 this kind unless when he sits at the 
 digitus in the Refectory. At the end 
 of the service the Abbot shall bow and 
 retire ; and before the triple prayer, his 
 Chaplains shall be ready out of the 
 Choir with a lighted lantern for the 
 occasion, that they may go out with 
 him. But if he wishes to be present at 
 the triple prayer, he shall bow alone 
 as usual, either by standing or lying 
 upon the form as he likes, and after- 
 wards shall retire first, the others fol- 
 lowing in procession ; who all shall be 
 sprinkled with holy water. And it is 
 to be noted, that whensoever the 
 Abbot ought to be sprinkled, the 
 sprinkle shall be given to him, unless 
 he is present at Complin.^^ 
 
 Of Mattins, In the seven feasts, and 
 days of solemn procession, the Ab- 
 bot, if at leisure, was jDresent at Mat- 
 tins, and in the first course of anti- 
 phonars, according to the occasion, 
 began the second or third antiphonar, 
 sang the eighth responsory, and read 
 the last lesson and gosjiel. He gave 
 the benedictions before the lessons, as 
 always when present. When he was 
 going to read the lesson, he advanced 
 somewhat with his arms crossed, and 
 head uncovered, and bowed. All rose 
 and bowed to him, as was usual ^ when 
 he was present in the Convent as- 
 sembled. After the lesson his Chap- 
 lain was to be ready to take the lan- 
 tern from him ; he advanced a little as 
 before, took a small venia^^ and re- 
 turned to his stall. After the last re- 
 sponsory he began jreDe2<m always when 
 present, and bowed. It is to be 
 noted, that when he was going to read 
 the Gospel, if it was in the six feasts 
 and in solemn procession, after the be- 
 ginning of Te Deuin, his Chaplain was 
 to be ready behind the Choir with a 
 lighted lantern, to go before him to the 
 Vestiary ; and a towel being put over 
 his shoulders, he combed himself and 
 washed his hands, his Chaplains as- 
 
 *» After the antiphonar was begun. Dec. Lanfr. 
 *= Penitential inclination, or genuflexion. Du 
 Cange. 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 95 
 
 sisting ; and he wlio was to celebrate 
 clothed himself for singing Mass, the 
 sandals excepted. Then taking the 
 crosier, he advanced, and the Minis- 
 ters going first, and the Chaplain follow- 
 ing in his frock, as far as the steps, and 
 taking the crosier from him on the 
 right side, the Abbot bowed, and said. 
 Grant me, Lord, a right conversa- 
 tion, &c. Afterwards, erect, he kis- 
 sed the Altar, and crossed himself. 
 Then he put incense in the censer, and 
 censed the Altar, the Chaplain hold- 
 ing his train ; who afterwards, taking 
 
 the censer, censed the Abbot, 
 
 Thus he went to the 
 
 Lectern. The Subsacrist was ready 
 with a lantern, which he delivered to 
 the Abbot, kissing his hand, the book 
 being first laid on the Lectern. At the 
 Gloria tibi Domine, the Chaplain stand- 
 ing near, took off the mitre, which he 
 put on again, when the prayer was 
 said; and delivered the gospel and 
 crosier. The Abbot then began Beus 
 in adjutorium, and returned to the 
 Vestiary. If he wished to sing lauds, 
 putting off the chesible, stole, and 
 maniple, he was robed in the cope, 
 mitre, gloves; and crosier, and en- 
 tered the upper Choir, the taper- 
 bearers proceeding to the steps of the 
 Choir. If he was not present, and 
 would not read, but wished to sing 
 lauds, then, after the beginning of the 
 Te Deum, he went out, as above, robed 
 himself, entered at the upper Choir, and 
 went to his stall below, and the Gospel 
 being read, began himself Deus in 
 adjutorium, &c. If his Chaplain, du- 
 ring the hymn, was robed for minister- 
 ing at Vespers, as above, another at- 
 tended on him with the text and lantern. 
 After the prayer and benediction he 
 went out, if he chose, and the Chaplain, 
 robed, remained and celebrated what 
 was to be done ; otherwise he followed 
 the Abbot. If the latter wished to be 
 present in the procession, the Chaplain, 
 according to his wish, said what was to 
 be done, and afterwards joined the 
 Abbot. If the Abbot was present at 
 Mattins, and wished to be at Lauds, he 
 went out after the beginning of the 
 Deus in adjutorium^ his Chaplains at 
 
 hand, with a lantern out of the Choir, 
 going forth [with him]. And it is to 
 be noted, that, as often as the Abbot in 
 pontificals wished to attend the pro- 
 cession after Vespers, or after Mattins, 
 or before Mass, the Chaplain brought 
 him his crosier. 
 
 Of the Abbot's private Mass. If he 
 wished to celebrate a private Mass, 
 his Chaplains attended him with all 
 humility and reverence, preparing the 
 chalice, unfolding the vestments, and 
 performing other necessary services; 
 and one of them was to read the epis- 
 tle. If the Chaplain celebrated, the 
 Abbot said as usual, Confiteor, Before 
 the Gospel, the Chaplain solicited 
 benediction from the Abbot, saying, in 
 the Mass for the dead, Jube Dompne 
 ben. &c. to which the Abbot replied, 
 Dominus sit in corde tuo, &c. or any 
 thing else he liked. After the Gospel, 
 another Chaplain brought him the text* 
 to kiss if it was not a Mass for the 
 dead : and if the Prior was not present, 
 the Paa^ after the Agnus Dei, After the 
 prayer, Placeat tibi Sancta Trinitas, 
 the Abbot gave the benediction, whe- 
 ther he himself or his Chaplain cele- 
 brated, unless it was a Mass for the 
 dead. 
 
 Of the Abbot's sitting in the Cloister. 
 The Abbot, when he liked, and was 
 disengaged, sat in the Cloister before 
 the door of the Chapter, and a book 
 was brought to him to peruse, if he 
 chose it ; but he sat there especially 
 on Sundays before Prime or Tierce, 
 to hear the confessions of the Monks, 
 and especially of the Novices, who, in 
 
 » A book of the Gospels, with the image of 
 Christ, or the Virgin Mary, on the cover. The 
 pax was of like use, only of silver, ivory, or even 
 board. Davies says, *' a marvellous fair book, 
 which had the Epistles and Gospels in it ; which 
 book had on the outside of the covering the picture 
 of our Saviour Christ, all of silver, of goldsmith's 
 work, all parcel gilt, very fine to behold, which 
 book did serve for the Pax in the Mass." The 
 Gospel was brought to the Abbot, and the Pax 
 likewise, to be kissed ; for they were distinct things ; 
 the kiss of peace at the Mass was instituted by In- 
 nocent I. in the year 407; the Pax after the Agnus 
 Dei, by Leo II. in 681. The kiss of peace fol- 
 lowed the consecration of the Host, when the Priest 
 said '• The Peace of our Lord," &c. but the third 
 day before Easter it was omitted on account of the 
 Passion. Du Cange, v. Osculum Pads. 
 
96 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 the commencement of their conversion, 
 were to be carefully instructed. The 
 Abbot deputed some of the more pru- 
 dent Monks to join the Prior in hear- 
 ing the confessions, when he was him- 
 self engaged. 
 
 0/ the Chapter. The Abbot, when 
 he liked it, and had any business, 
 entered the Chapter, upon the Con- 
 vent's retiring. He entered as above at 
 Collation ; and the Convent, as above 
 also, bowed at his arrival. The Prior 
 also, or President and Senior, next to 
 the Abbot, came from the other side 
 to kiss his hand from paternal re- 
 verence ; and it is to be noted, that 
 whenever at Collation or not the stated 
 hour of Chapter, the Abbot entered 
 that place, his hands were not kissed. 
 After the table was read, the Abbot 
 said, " The souls of all deceased breth- 
 ren and all believers rest in peace ;'^ 
 to which the Convent replied, ^^ Amen.'^ 
 And he again, ^' Benedicite,^^ again 
 " Dominus,^' and then, '' Let us speak 
 of the order .^^ All immediately bowed, 
 and the business commenced. He 
 finished the Chapter in the usual 
 manner, by going out with his Chap- 
 lains and saying Verba mea. It is to be 
 observed, that if he was at leisure on 
 the Vigil of Christmas day, Maundy 
 Thursday, Easter-day, and the Vigils 
 Easter and Whitsuntide, he came be- 
 fore the Chapter to the Choir, and pre- 
 ceded the Convent in going to the 
 former place. When it was over, bow- 
 ing to the Convent, he said, Confiteor^ 
 to which the others bowing answered 
 Miser eatur, and they afterwards Confi- 
 teor, and he Misereatur. After the ab- 
 solution, and all had knelt, he went 
 out as above. 
 
 Of the Sunday Procession, If the 
 
 Abbot wished to be present at the 
 Sunday Procession, he entered the 
 upper Choir, while the water was con- 
 secrating, and stood there in his stall, 
 his Chaplain standing near on his right 
 with the crosier. The Priest who 
 consecrated the water, having sprinkled 
 the shrine of Wulsin, bowed, kissed the 
 Abbotts hand, and gave him the 
 sprinkle. He then sprinkled himself, 
 and next the Priest, to whom he then 
 returned the sprinkle. After this the 
 Chaplain gave him the crosier, and the 
 procession began, the Abbot last, going 
 in the middle with his staff. When 
 they came into the Church, a stand was 
 made, the Abbot being in the middle 
 beneath the fonts. The response, or 
 antiphonar, being over, the Chantor 
 proceeded to the Abbot, and said, with 
 him, De Profundis, Absolution was 
 then pronounced of the souls of all 
 the Abbots there lying, and all faithful 
 persons deceased. The Abbot began 
 the responsory, or antiphonar, accord- 
 ing to the occasion and warning of the 
 Chantor at the entrance of the pro- 
 cession, when he was present. Upon 
 entering the Church, the Abbot turned 
 to the right with his Chaplains, one of 
 whom was to put by the crosier, and 
 the other proceed with him. 
 
 Of solemn Procession, If the Abbot 
 Avished to be present in any feast of 
 capce at the hour before the greater 
 Mass, or at procession, according to 
 the warning of the Chantor, he entered 
 the Vestiary with his Chaplains, first 
 combed himself, and then having 
 washed his hands, put on the alb, stole, 
 cope, mitre, gloves, and ring, his Chap- 
 lains always attending upon him. 
 Then he took his crosier,^ entered at 
 the upper Choir, and stood in his stall. 
 
 * There were times when this was to be borne, and others when it was to be laid aside, at least in the 
 same houses ; thus the customs of Abingdon say, among other instances :- 
 
 Abbas si missam pro defunctis celebraverit ba- 
 culum non portabit. Ad matutinas in processuad 
 altare, nee in pronuntiatione evangelii baculum 
 habebit. MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. p. 184, 
 
 Quotiens abbas in conventu celebraverit velcho- 
 rum tenueritaut revestitus fuerit, baculum et ciro- 
 tecas habebit. Fol. 184. b. 
 
 In processionibus cum conventu chorum intra- 
 bit, sed per medium chorum baculum minimi por- 
 tabit ; sed capellanus sinister in introitu chori ba- 
 lum de abbate accipiet, et ad locum solitum re- 
 feret. Fol. 186. a. 
 
 If the Abbot celebrates the mass for the dead, he 
 shall not carry his crosier ; nor at mattins in going 
 to the altar, nor in reading the gospel. 
 
 As often as he celebrates in the convent, or holds 
 the choir, or is in pontificals, he shall have the 
 crosier and gloves. 
 
 He shall enter the choir with the convent in 
 processions, but by no means carry his crosier 
 through the midst of the choir ; his chaplain on 
 the left hand shall take it upon entering the choir, 
 and carry it to its usual place. 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 97 
 
 In the interim, the holy water was 
 consecrated, if it was a Sunday, and 
 sprinkled as above, with this addition 
 that the Abl)ot held his crosier in his 
 left hand while he sprinkled himself 
 and the priest. After the sprinkUng, 
 the Lord's prayer was said, the Prior 
 making the signs, as was always usual 
 when he was present, and the hour 
 was begun. If the Abbot was present 
 he sang the hour, and his Chaplains at- 
 tended him with the Gospel and other 
 necessaries. The hour being sung, if 
 there was a solemn procession the 
 censing was made by the Prior, except 
 that the Abbot put in the incense, as 
 he always did when he was present. 
 Then the procession went forth, the 
 juniors preceding ; the Abbot followed 
 last in the middle, his Chaplain next 
 to the seniors with a towel. When 
 the procession went through the 
 Church-yards, a stand was made in 
 the coemitery of the Monks, with the 
 psalm De pro/undis, and the absolution 
 of all souls there and every where 
 sleeping in Christ. When they came 
 to the Church a like stand was made, 
 and an absolution of the souls of Ab- 
 bots there resting, and all faithful per- 
 sons deceased. But if the responsory 
 was to be sung at the standing, the Ab- 
 bot was to sit till the repetition of the 
 retractus^ after the verse or prose 
 according to the occasion; and then 
 a sermon was made, if it was so to be ; 
 if not, absolution, as before. As soon 
 as the retractus was over, the Abbot, 
 forewarned by the Chantor, began at 
 the entrance the antiphonar, or re- 
 sponsory, according to the season, as 
 usual tvhen he was present. Upon 
 the convent's entrance of the choir, the 
 Abbot turned to the right to go into 
 the Vestiary and prepare himself for 
 Mass, if he meant to celebrate ; if not, 
 but to attend the procession, he still 
 turned off as above, and proceeded to 
 the Altar with the person who was to 
 celebrate, to say there, in the usual 
 manner, the Confiteor, &c. and after- 
 wards lead the choir, with the Chantors, 
 
 • The retractus was the return of Tractus in the 
 chant. 
 
 if he meant to be present at the Mass : 
 if not, he returned to the Vestiary, 
 and unrobed himself. The Abbot al- 
 ways, when he was present, was to 
 proceed to the altar with him who was 
 to celebrate, and there to say the 
 Confiteor, &c. as above, whether in 
 pontificals or not. 
 
 How the Abbot prepared himself for 
 Mass. If he was going to celebrate 
 Mass, and it was one of the seven 
 feasts, he laid aside his mitre and cope, 
 and put on the sandals and appurte- 
 nances. Then he washed his hands, and 
 robed himself in the tunic and dalmatic, 
 his chaplains and servants attending 
 upon him, and singing certain Psalms. 
 When this prayer was over, the Ab- 
 bot proceeded towards the altar, with 
 the Prior on his right, and the Chap- 
 lain on his left. The Deacon ad- 
 vanced with the crosier, and the Sub- 
 deacon with the text and the other 
 attendants. At the Glory they entered, 
 and proceeded to the steps ; and the 
 Deacon delivering the crosier to the 
 Abbot (the others stood by), and the 
 Chaplain taking the mitre off, the 
 Abbot said, ^' Confess to the Lord,'^ &c. 
 and afterward Confiteor, &c. At the 
 absolution and remission all kneeled. 
 After which, the Abbot kissed the 
 Gospel, which lay open, as usual, and 
 the mitre was put on again. He then 
 gave the crosier to his Chaplain, and 
 ascended the steps before the Altar, 
 saying, ^^ Lord, hear my prayer,^' &c. 
 When he said the prayer, ^^Aufer 
 a nobis,^^ &c. he bowed, and, when it 
 was over, kissed the altar, and crossed 
 himself as he was rising. He then 
 said the Adjutorium, &c. in the name 
 of the Lord. And it is to be noted, 
 that he wore his sandals only in the 
 seven feasts, when only the above 
 psalms and antiphonars were sung. 
 Neither did he wear the tunic and dal- 
 matic except in feasts with solemn 
 procession. All other things were done 
 as usual. No one walked abreast with 
 the Abbot, except to Mass.^ At the 
 beginning of the Kyrie eleeson the 
 
 *» Addit. to Deer. Lanfr. sect. De Abbate, in 
 Tyndal's Evesham, p. 178. 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 Abbot censed the altar in his mitre, 
 which was put oif at the commence- 
 ment of the Gloria in excelsis, and 
 immediately resumed. After the Do- 
 minus vobiscum, before the Oremus, 
 it was again taken off, and repla(;ed 
 at the Per omnia. At the epistle he 
 sat till the Gospel, the Chaplain holding 
 his train on one side, and the Dea- 
 con on the other. On the vii feasts the 
 Chaplain and Deacon sang in a low 
 voice in the presence of the Abbot. 
 The Abbot also always gave the bene- 
 diction to those who read and sung, at 
 the steps, immediately after their duty 
 was over. At the beginning of the 
 Gospel he rose, the Chaplain assisting 
 him, delivering the crosier, and taking 
 off the mitre. After the Creed was 
 begun, the mitre was replaced, and (the 
 offering made, and the chalice placed 
 and censed), the ring and gloves were 
 pulled off. He then washed his hands, 
 the Prior attending upon him, if pre- 
 sent ; and it was a rule, that as often 
 as the Abbot celebrated Mass in capis, 
 the Prior should lead him to the 
 altar, and make the offertory, and 
 minister in the washing of his hands 
 both after the offertory, and after the 
 communion, if he was present; if 
 not, the above duty devolved to the 
 Chantor. When he had washed his 
 hands, the Abbot turned himself to the 
 altar, and said the usual prayer. At 
 the In spiritu humilitatis the mitre was 
 taken off, and the rest of the service 
 said without it. When the Abbot had 
 washed his hands after the commu- 
 nion, he resumed his gloves, put on his 
 ring, and finished the Mass in the 
 usual manner. After the Placeat tibi^hQ 
 took his crosier, turned himself to the 
 people, and gave the benediction, as 
 above, at Vespers, unless it was a Mass 
 for the dead. They then departed 
 from the Altar to the Vestiary in the 
 same order as before, the Abbot then 
 carrying his crosier in his right hand, 
 and saymg, '^ Benedicite Sacerdotes, 
 &c.'^ with the Prior and Chaplain and 
 other attendants as usual ; and this in 
 capis. 
 
 Of Dinner, When the Abbot chose 
 to dine in the Refectory, six loaves of 
 his own bread (wassel, the finest sort) 
 were put before him, six for dinner, 
 and three for supper. There were six 
 for alms, and two for cutting from at 
 the table. Besides these, there was a 
 great jug of beer ; and as often as there 
 was a charity, half a sextary of wine. 
 At a suitable time, therefore, he enter- 
 ed the Fratry, and proceeded as above 
 at the collation to the digitus, where 
 he washed his hands, the Prior pour- 
 ing out the water, and others attend- 
 ing with a towel. And the rule was, 
 that the Refectioner should provide a 
 towel and basons with water. When 
 he had washed his hands, he made a 
 bow, and rang the bell somewhat late. 
 Then grace was said in the usual man- 
 ner, himself giving the benediction ta 
 the Reader. Two young men stood 
 at the digitus from the lowest and other 
 side, and ministered to him as when he 
 was at the digitus. His Chaplain also 
 ministered from the kitchen as always 
 when he presided, one of the servants 
 of the digitus, or both, if necessary, as- 
 sisting him. One of them, too, minis- 
 tered to him with the cover, when he 
 drank, as was usual. At a fit time he 
 made a noise with the spoons, and 
 they were collected. W^hen all had 
 dined, he struck the table three times 
 with his knife, and the fragments were 
 collected. After this he made a sign 
 with his hand upon the table, and 
 the reading ceased. The reader having 
 made a bow, he rang the bell as above, 
 and grace was said. After the Agimus 
 tibi gratias, he immediately gave the 
 solemn benediction, as above at Ves- 
 pers. The Convent going then to the 
 Church with Miserere, Ps. 51st, he re- 
 mained with the Prior, and some of 
 the Seniors in the Refectory, and 
 grace was ended. In the mean while, 
 he washed his hands, the Prior and 
 others assisting as before ; after which 
 he took them to his chamber to 
 drink. 
 
 Besides these high distinctions, dis- 
 cipline was to be always observed in 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 99 
 
 his presence ; and in reproof, the de- 
 linquent was to stand till he ordered 
 him to sit, and repeatedly solicit par- 
 don as long as he was angry. The 
 Abbot was, however, to shun this be- 
 fore Seculars. When he was in the 
 Choir, no one was to discipline the 
 children without his orders ; and while 
 he was a-bed in the morning, the mas- 
 ter was to wake them at the proper 
 hour, by striking the rod upon their 
 bed-clothes; after which they were to 
 wash, comb themselves, say their pray- 
 ers, go to their school, and sit silent until 
 the Abbot rose. When he sent letters 
 to the Convent, all were to bow and 
 kneel, as to those of the Pope and King; 
 for other persons they only bowed.* 
 If he gave a command, the Monk who 
 received it was immediately to kneel. 
 If a Monk came to him, he was to say 
 Benedicite, and then tell the cause of 
 his coming ; nor was he to sit in his 
 presence, or depart without his leave ; 
 after which he was again to say Bene- 
 dicite, and go. If any thing new was 
 done in his absence, it was to be sub- 
 mitted to his discretion upon his re- 
 turn ; and when he staid out a whole 
 night, a Monk, penanced with absti- 
 nence, was, upon his return, ab- 
 solved.^ 
 
 Abbots had separate tables, because 
 living in penitence, and using only the 
 common viands, strangers would be no 
 expence to them. The frugal would 
 there see an example to confirm them 
 in that virtue, and the bon-vivant a 
 condemnation ; the presence of the 
 Superior would, too, impress respect, 
 and prevent deviation from bienseance 
 and edification. Very different conse- 
 quences, however, caused the Council 
 of Aix in the ninth century, and Dun- 
 stan after them, to decree that the Ab- 
 bot should dine in the common Refec- 
 tory ; and, though the Cistercians, who 
 
 ■ " When their (the Barons') letters were read 
 upon occasions in any assemblies, the Commons 
 present would move their bonnets." Smith's Lives 
 of the Berkeley Family, MS. 270. See also State 
 Trials, vol. I. p. 25. Fol. Ed. 
 
 '' Deer. Lanfr. de Abbate. 
 
 professed to follow the rule of Bennet 
 in its literal strictness in reviving the 
 separate table, took precautions to pre- 
 vent the consequence, excess and good 
 cheer, these precautions,*^ whatever 
 may be the elegant and judicious 
 Malmesbury^s assertion,^ were useless.^ 
 Fastred reproaches an Abbot for having 
 himself served in his guest^s hall when 
 he had no company, on purpose to 
 have more means of satisfying his ap- 
 petites, for imitating in his dress and 
 furniture the magnificence of Dives, 
 for having exquisite food, fresh fish 
 seasoned in different manners, and 
 bread made out of the house by wo- 
 men.^ By the injunctions too of the 
 villains, whom the villain Henry ^stiled 
 his visitors, the Abbot's table was " not 
 to be somptious or full of delicate and 
 forayne dishes, but honestlye furnished 
 with comon meate, at which table 
 the said Abbot, or some Senior in 
 his stede, shall sit to receive the 
 guests.'^h 
 
 Notwithstanding these accounts, se- 
 parate habitations for Abbots are men- 
 tioned as early as the reign of Alfred 
 the Great ;^ and yet ^Ethelstan, Abbot 
 of Ramsey, is described as dining with 
 his Monks in the common Refectory.^ 
 It is plain, by Lanfranc's Decretals or- 
 dering the master of the novices so to 
 wake the children in the morning as 
 not to disturb the Abbot, that he was 
 supposed to sleep in the common Dor- 
 mitory ; yet the Synod of London, 
 held in the reign of Henry I. was 
 obliged to order that they sliould eat 
 and sleep in the same house with their 
 Monks, unless prevented by any ne- 
 
 * Devoirs de la Vie Monastique, vol. II. p. 
 307-11. 
 
 «* Who says they never had but two dishes for 
 themselves or others. De W. 2. p. 72. 
 « Dev. V. M. ut sup. « Id. p. 312. 
 
 » Drayton says, that, temp. H. "VIII. the worst 
 man in the house was elected Abbot ; 
 
 That, by the slander which from him should 
 
 spring. 
 Into contempt it more and more might bring. 
 
 Leg. of T. Cromw. E. of Essex. 
 »> MS. Cott. Cleop. E. IV. p. 22. a. 
 » M. Par. 992. ^ Hist. Ramer. c. Ixxxix. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 cessity.^ These passages show, that 
 some separate abbatial habitations and 
 tables existed, by the abuse of retain- 
 ing the primary practice previous to 
 the revival of it by the Cistercians. 
 
 It was expected of Abbots that they 
 should associate with their Monks in 
 preference to Seculars.^ The customs 
 of Abingdon enjoined, that before 
 Easter the Abbot should invite, twice 
 or thrice in the week from custom, 
 sixteen or seventeen, or twelve Monks 
 to his table alternately, or any other 
 at a diiFerent time, whom he should 
 chuse (though boys and youths were 
 neither to go there or elsewhere at any 
 time without masters) ; in which case, 
 the Abbot's Chaplain was to announce 
 the invitation to the Refectioner, and 
 he to the Prior, presiding in the Fra- 
 try.c At Croyland, every principal 
 feast three Monks were to dine at the 
 Abbotts table, every second feast two, 
 and on certain days the Prior. It was 
 also enacted, that every day in the 
 year two Monks should dine in the 
 Abbotts hall, whether he was present 
 or not.^ This invitation, however, the 
 Abbot was to extend no further than 
 when he had not other visitors.^ The 
 Monks thus invited used to absent 
 themselves from celebrating Masses 
 on that day;f and the preference in 
 point of precedence s at the table, of 
 juniors to seniors, through office, or 
 otherwise, occasioned, it seems, dis- 
 
 " Eadm. 68. b M. Paris. (2d) 1048. 
 
 *= Abbas quemcunque de conventu ad mensam 
 convivarum vocare voluerit, vocabit ; pueri autem 
 et adolescentes, sine custodia, nee ad refectionem 
 abbatis nee alibi aliquando debent esse, vel incedere. 
 Si abbas aliquem vocabit ad mensse convivium ca- 
 pellanus abbatis indicabit refectorario, refectorarius 
 .referet priori qui ad mensse consistorium sederit. 
 MS. Cott. Claud. B. VI. p. 187. Abbas ex con- 
 suetudine bis vel ter in ebdomad^ senos vel sep- 
 tenos, denos vel duodenos, ad mensse convivium 
 alternatim vocabit. Id. 188. 
 
 •» Contin. Hist. Croyl. 499. 
 
 « Cap. Gen. Northampt. a° 1444. c. vii. 
 
 ' Ibid. 
 
 « The Abbdt promoted Monks by only saying to 
 them in Chapter ''^o sit next to that person :'' aiter 
 which they always took that rank. Dec. Lanfr. 
 There was a promotion called Emancipation, which 
 released Monks from Obedience. Du Cange, v. 
 Emanciitatio. 
 
 content.^ The Monks, too, behaved 
 ill : ^^not abstaining from detractions, 
 contentions, and vain gossipings.^'^ The 
 guests of Abbots, however, no doubt, 
 consisted, at least some, of their secu- 
 lar relatives, whom they had constantly 
 on visits to them.l^ 
 
 The power of an Abbot was limited 
 only by deviations from the rule ;l and 
 latterly at least, there was no appeal 
 allowed, because it would be to appeal 
 from the law itself.™ But whatever 
 was his power, if he or any officer was 
 too rigid, the Monks either fled," or 
 made his life uncomfortable ;« accord- 
 ingly, in the latter seras of Monachism, 
 in case any dispute arose between the 
 Prelates of different houses, or the 
 Prelates and their Convents, it was to 
 be referred to the visitors of those 
 houses, or presidents of the last gene- 
 ral Chapter ; who were to appoint ar- 
 bitrators, and if they failed it was to be 
 delayed till the general Chapter.P But 
 in the reign of Henry YIII. it was 
 lawful to appeal to his visitors ; and 
 the Prior of Walsingham says, if he 
 offered correction, his Monks " would 
 rather appeal, as this man did, to the 
 intent that in so doing they may lyve 
 in great liberty.^^<i The Monks, too, 
 
 ^ C. G. North, ut sup. c. x. 
 
 * Similiter ita cum fratres ad mensam abbatis 
 vel prioris vocati fuerunt, vel in oriolo comederunt, 
 a detractionibus, contentionibus, et vanis confabu- 
 lationibus, omnino abstineant. MS. Cott. Claud. 
 E. IV. f. 243. 
 
 "* M. Par. 1100. The number of the Abbotts 
 and Convent's visitors was sometimes settled be- 
 tween them. When he was at home all belonged 
 to him ; when absent, all who had more than 13 
 horses, if they were religious or specially invited 
 by the Prior. Monast. i. 299. (S. Edm. de Burgo.) 
 Whiting of Glastonbury entertained 500 persons of 
 fashion at one time ; and upon Wednesdays and 
 Fridays all the poor of the country were relieved by 
 his particular charity. Collinson's Somers. II. 256. 
 The Prior of Durham constantly maintained four 
 old women. Davies, &c. The master of the song- 
 school too, had his diet in the Prior's hall among 
 the Prior's gentlemen. Ibid. 
 
 ' Bernard in Dev. Vie Mon. v. I. p. 226. 
 
 ™ Du Monstier. 504. 
 
 " Qui cum eis arctius frsena teneret, ccepit dis- 
 plicere aliquibus, de quorum numero iv. a fuga non 
 abstinentes, i. e. being too strict four took disgust 
 and fled. MS. Bodl. Wood, II. p. 213. 
 
 " Monast. from memory. 
 
 p Reyn. App. 130, 162. 
 
 1 MS. Cott. Cleop. E. IV. f. 101, a. 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 101 
 
 had other modes of vexing the Abbot. 
 He liad one key of the place where 
 the Convent seal was kept, and the 
 two others, or more, were in the hands 
 of fit persons appointed by himself or 
 the Convent. This seal could not be 
 applied without consent of the Chapter; 
 and a visitor was obliged to order, 
 " that the Abbot should diligently ex- 
 hort and persuade his Monks, easily 
 and lovingly, to give consent to expose 
 and bring out the common seal to seal 
 the deeds, which the Abbot, with the 
 counsel of the more prudent, thought 
 good to be sealed for the benefit of the 
 house.^^a 
 
 Commensurate with the power of 
 an Ab])ot, w^ere his pri\aleges. At one 
 time to make knights ^ — to confer the 
 lesser orders ^ — to dispense with irre- 
 gularities in his Monks — to give the 
 benediction any where — to consecrate 
 Churches and cemeteries, and other 
 Ecclesiastical appendages ^ — to appoint 
 and depose Priors of cells ^ — to hold 
 visitations once a year, and if there 
 w^as a necessity oftener^ — to regulate 
 the reception of Nuns in subservient 
 houses,^ and to give the benediction to 
 subject Nuns.h — Besides parliamentary 
 honours, they were sponsors to the 
 
 * Ut abbas diligenter exhortet et inducat fratres 
 ut facile et diligenter consensum praebeant ad ex- 
 ponendum et perducendum sigillum suum com- 
 mune, ad sigillandum ea quse abbas in consilio sa- 
 niorum domiis pro utilitate et necessitate mon. 
 duxit sigillandum. MS. in the Ashmol. Mus. 
 1519, p. 26, a. See too § Monks and Nuns. 
 
 >> Hearne's Antiq. Disc, I. p. 82-90. 
 
 ^ The bishop of the diocese conferred the greater, 
 as in several bulls of privilege appears ; but of this 
 Bee Lyndw. 32. The formula for Abbots making 
 Clerks is in MS. Bodl. Barlow, 7. 
 
 «* Chronol. Augustin. Cant. « M. Paris, 1033. 
 
 ' Ibid. In these visitations they received the 
 homage of tenants (Monast. i. 299), corrected 
 abuses (id. ii. 940), and enacted statutes for the re- 
 gulation of their subject Nuns and Ecclesiastics 
 (MS. Cott. Claud. E. iv. f. 369), who then swore 
 fealty, i. e. not to appoint or depose a Prior, receive 
 a Nun, nor grant or alienate territory. Monast. 
 i. 353. Accounts were then also taken of the 
 Monastic property, dues, &c. MS. Ilarl. 1005. 
 f. 69, b. As to fealty. Abbots also made it to one 
 another. See Gutch's Collectanea Curiosa, p. 53. 
 33 Ed. III. Thomas de Browiial, Abbot of Croy- 
 land, made to Robert de Camiley, Abbot of Peter- 
 borough, fealty for lands which he held. MS. Ilarl. 
 604, f. 3, a. 
 
 K Monast. i. 489. ^ M. Paris, 1035. 
 
 children of the blood royal.i Some of 
 the higher order had the privilege of 
 coining, but that of impressing their 
 own name and effigies was limited 
 (Ruding thinks)^ to Archbishops only. 
 Bells were rung in honour of them 
 when they passed by Churches be- 
 longing to them.' They rode with 
 hawks on their fists, on mules with 
 gilded bridles, saddles,"^ and cloths of 
 blood colour," and with immense reti- 
 nues.o The noble children, whom they 
 educated in their private families, 
 served them as pages. P They stiled 
 themselves by " divine permission,^' 
 or the " grace of God,^' and their sub- 
 scription was their surnames, and name 
 of the house.q They associated with 
 people of the first distinction, and 
 shared the same pleasures with them, 
 being accustomed to visit and dine 
 with them.r The Abbot of St. Alban's 
 usually sat alone at the middle of the 
 table of the great hall, [because the 
 
 ' Lodge's Illustrations, i. 27. Monast. i. 160-5. 
 Mitred were not consequently Parliamentary Ab- 
 bots, the summons merely depending upon the te- 
 nure. Cowell, V. Mitred /ibbots. 
 
 " Coinage, iv. 163. Ed. 2. 
 
 ' X Script, col. 1920, 1923. 
 
 «" The reformation of the Clugniacs, A" 1233, 
 forbids their Abbots and Priors riding without a 
 saddle and crupper. Bullarium Romanum, v. i. 
 p. 101. 
 
 n Warton's History of English Poetry, ii. 330, 
 395. 
 
 o M. Par. 1101. When Abbot Whiting went 
 abroad, which he did seldom but to national synods, 
 general chapters, and parliaments, he was attended 
 by upwards of 100 persons. Collinson (from San- 
 ders) ut supra. 
 
 p Wart. ii. 445. Fiddes's Wolsey Collect. 23. 
 Whiting had near 300 pupils (credat Judseus), be- 
 sides others of a meaner rank, whom he fitted for 
 the universities at home. Collinson and Sanders. 
 
 ^ Morant's Colchester, 144. Latymer Wygorn. 
 is the signature of the Prior of Worcester, in MS. 
 Cott. Cleop. E. iv. 
 
 ' Brit. Topogr. ii. 461.— In MS. Harl. 913, 
 fol. 8 — 10, is a song made against the '* luxurious 
 Abbot and Prior of Gloucester, in vile Latin 
 Rhythms on purpose.'' Here are a few stanzas, 
 the whole being in my History of Gloucester City : 
 
 Quondam fuit factus festus, 
 Et vocatur ad comestus 
 Abbas, prior Gloucestrensis, 
 Cum tot^ famili^. 
 
 Abbas ire sede sursum, 
 Et prioris juxta ipsum. 
 Ego stavi semper dorsum 
 Inter rascabilia. 
 
102 
 
 MONASTIC OFfiCfiRS. 
 
 Lord's seat was there; strangers of rank 
 sitting above a] where he was served 
 in plate ; and when any nobleman^ or 
 ambassador, or strangers of eminent 
 quaUty, came thither, they sat at his 
 table towards the end of it.^ Like 
 the nobiUty too, they had their " privy 
 
 Vinum (oblHer.J 
 Ad prioris et abbatis, 
 Nichil nobis paupertatii^ 
 Sed ad divites omnia. 
 
 Abbas bibit ad prioris > 
 
 Date vinvun ad majoris. 
 
 Prosit esse de minoris 
 
 Si se habet gratia. 
 
 Hoc est bonum, sic potare 
 Et conventui nichil dare, 
 Quorsum volant nos clamare 
 Dura in capitulo. 
 
 The Prior then proposes going away for a time. 
 
 Surge, cito recedaraus, 
 Hos'tes* nostros relinquamus, 
 Pro termin-o Jam precamus, 
 Ibimus in claustra ; 
 
 Post Completiimf redeamus, &c. 
 Dixit abbas ?ld prioris, 
 Tu es homo boni moris. 
 Quia semper sanioris 
 
 Mihi das consilia. 
 Post completum rediere, 
 Ad currinum J combibere, 
 Potaverunt usque flere, &c. 
 
 That is, 
 The Abbot and Prior of Gloucester, and suite, 
 Were lately invited to share a good treat ; 
 The first seat took the Abbot, the Prior hard by, 
 With the rag, tag, and bobtail below was poor I. 
 [For] Wine [for the Abbot and Prior they call] , 
 To us poor devils nothing, but to the rich all. 
 The blustering Abbot drinks health to the Prior, 
 Give wine to my lordship, who am of rank higher ; 
 If people below us but wisely behave. 
 They are sure from so doing advantage to have ; 
 We'll have all, and leave ijought for our brothers 
 
 tp take. 
 For which shocking complaints in the Chapter 
 
 they'll make. 
 Says the Prior, " My lord, let's be jogging away. 
 And to keep up appearances, now go and pray.'* 
 ♦' You're a man of good habits, and give good ad- 
 vice," 
 The Abbot replies — they return' d in a trice. 
 And then without flinching stuck to it amain, 
 Till out of their eyes ran the liquor again. F. 
 
 * Forhogpites — guests, 
 
 f Complin, a fine piece of oblique satire, as will 
 appear hereafter. 
 
 X i. e. till the return of day. 
 
 * Archaeologia, xiii. 321. 
 
 b Brit. Topogr.ii. 462, See Archseol.xiii.p.Sgl, 
 
 councils'^ of certain monks,<^ called 
 maturi fratres. In the very old Rules?, 
 Seniors were deputed (as many as 
 twelve in large houses) to assist and 
 advise the Abbot ; and they were to 
 be men remarkable for probity and 
 science.^ 
 
 Their secular tenures introduced 
 them into a variety of incongruous 
 offices, as that of going to war,^ though 
 substitutes of knights were mostly 
 sent,^or tenure in free alms pretended. s 
 Some of them were justices itinerant,^ 
 in violation of the Rule ;i and till the 
 dissolution they were employed to col- 
 lect the dismes, "a shrewde labor" 
 (says the Prior of Bromholm) "for 
 us a grete cost, a shrewde juparde.^^'' 
 This office they commonly shifted off 
 upon one of their Monks ;^ and, to 
 prevent malice, they were not to be 
 appointed by any Bishop to collect 
 dismes out of the country of their resi- 
 dences.'^"* 
 
 Besides skill in writing and illumi- 
 nating, and various arts, we find Ab- 
 bots Physicians." I apprehend they 
 were in general good agriculturists. 
 Thomas Lord Berkeley in the 13th 
 century, when part of his pupilage was 
 spent, was endowed by his father witli 
 the manor of Bedminster, near Bristol, 
 not only for his expences, but to initiate 
 him in husbandry, where he continued 
 till he married ; the Abbot and Prior 
 of St. Augustine^s, and the Master of 
 St. Catherine's hospital, being his in- 
 structors and tutors in it/'o Many 
 of the large number of pupils, which 
 Whiting, Abbot of Glastonbury, and 
 others had, might have been sent for 
 the acquisition of similar knowledge, 
 if not intended for the Church; for 
 arms and agriculture were in these ages 
 
 <= Five of the older and healthier Canons to be a 
 council to the Abbot on business of the house. 
 Barrett's Brist. 265. Du Cange, v. Discretce. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, y. Seniores Monasteriorum, 
 
 e Dodechini Append. toM. Scot, sub anno 1110. 
 Du Cange in v. Host is. 
 
 f Walt, de Whittleseye, p. 172. 
 
 « Ayloffe in Edmondson, i. p. 72. 
 
 •> Brinkeland in Hearne's Antiq. Disc. i. p. 64. 
 
 ' M. Paris, 770. ^ Fasten Letters, iii. 406. 
 
 1 W. Thome, c. 37, § 3. ™ Stat. 9 H. V. c. .9. 
 
 " M.Par. 242, " Smythe's Berkeley's MS. 166. 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 103 
 
 the chief branches of Baronial educa- 
 tion. 
 
 The public dress of an Abbot is 
 known to have consisted of the Epis- 
 copal ornaments of the Dalmatic or 
 seamless coat of Christ, signifying 
 holy and immaculate piety; of the 
 Mitre, emblematic of Christ, the head 
 of the Church, whose figure Bishops 
 bore ; of the Crosier, or pastoral care ; 
 of the Gloves, which, because occa- 
 sionally worn or laid aside, typified the 
 concealment of good works for shun- 
 ning vanity, and the demonstration of 
 them for edification ; of the Ring, as 
 Christ was the spouse of the Church, 
 and Scripture mysteries were to be 
 sealed from unbelievers, and reveal-ed 
 to the Church :* and of the Sandals, 
 because, as the foot was neitlier covered 
 nor naked, so the Gospel should neither 
 be concealed nor rest upon earthly be- 
 nefits.^ The Mitres appear to have 
 been worn, like those of Bishops, 
 though, it is said, the Episcopal were 
 gold, the Abbatial argent garnished 
 gold, all of them with Murrey labels,c 
 a mere distinction of the writer or 
 painter,^ Their parliament robes ['^a 
 perlement robe of quite furry d with 
 lettese,^^ says an inventory <^] were how- 
 ever different from the Episcopal, for 
 they wore gowns, hoods, and cassocks.^ 
 The inventory adds, "an abbet lynt 
 with quite (white) sattin ; a kirtill of 
 white ; a quite abbet furred ; a blak 
 gown furred with shanks (the shank of 
 a kidde, says Minshew, which bearetli 
 the fur that we call budge) and a hood. 
 The pastoral crooks (called the staves 
 of justice and mercy &) were sometimes 
 barely curled, sometimes more orna- 
 
 ■ Gemtna Animw de antiquo ritu Missarum, c. 
 211, 12, 14.15, 16. 
 
 *• Rab. Maurus de instit. Cleric. L. i. c. 22, 
 p. 574, 
 
 •^ Fiddes's Wolsey Coll. p. 113. 
 
 * In the MS. Coll. of Arms cited above, the la- 
 bel is in fol. 28. b. Murray ; in 34 a. Green; in 
 37 b. Or ; in 47 b. White. 
 
 ' MS. in Mus. Ashmol. 1519, p. 142, a. Let- 
 tice was a white fur, called also Lituit. See Blorae's 
 Heraldry, p. 17. 
 
 ' Fiddes, ut supra. 
 
 « Du Cange, v. Investiiura. Some were of 
 Ivory. Id. v. Crochia, 
 
 mented, sometimes like beadles' staves, 
 more like maces than crosiers. In the 
 9th century we have one very short, 
 like a lituus}^ but as there is mention 
 of a choral staffs which they carried in 
 the Choir,i perhaps there were two 
 kinds of Crosiers ; at least one for 
 state only. Though the ferula Abba- 
 turn was a Crosier, yet a Crosier might 
 not be a ferula, and the wooden pas- 
 toral staff, often found in the tombs of 
 Abbots, might be the common ferula, 
 distinct from the state Crosier,*' which 
 would be preserved from value, not bu- 
 ried. The rings worn on various fingers 
 were either of a circular or oval form, 
 and set often with seals of arms and de- 
 vices, and antique gems.^ The Bull of 
 Honorius, respecting the privileges of 
 St. Alban's, only allows the Abbot to 
 use his pontificals^" within his own 
 churches and cells on festival days, and 
 on other times within the house to wear 
 the habit conformable to the rule;» 
 and they did so, though with trifling 
 uncanonical variations.o Some Abbots 
 of Evesham clothed themselves from 
 the Monks, common chamber.P The 
 foppish prelate who wore the taberd, 
 which the French called Canis,^ de- 
 spising the common round robe of 
 Priests, and had double garments of 
 scarlet, crimson, and party-coloured, 
 scarcely reaching to the knees, and 
 boots without a fold, " like the sign of 
 the leg,^^ is a singular instance.'' 
 
 Bishops sometimes did not choose 
 to appoint Abbesses, but kept the 
 
 ^ Maillot's Costumes, iii. 52, pi. 13, f. 2, 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Baculus Chorali9, 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Ferula. 
 
 ^ Gough's Sepulch, Mon, vol, i, Introd. cliii, 
 clxxi. 
 
 *" Of respect had to revenue in the use of these, 
 see Wilk. Concil. iii. 142, 
 
 n Monast. i. 180. ° Reyn. Append. 195, 6. 
 
 P Monast, i. p. 148. 
 
 S Or Camis, a thin gown. See Spens. F. Q. 
 B. ii. c, 3, St. 3(xvi. 
 
 ' Spreverat in sacerdotibus rotundam communis 
 habitus capam, et taberdam quam Gallici canem 
 appellant, induerat : vestes ejus ex scarletd moretd 
 vari^ duplices erant vix genua contingentes. Ocreas 
 habebat in cruribus, quasi innatse essent, sine plicA 
 porrectas. MS. Bodl. James, N" 6, p. 121. The 
 last sentence is in print in Tyrwhitt, and John^oa 
 and Steevens, 
 
104 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 government in their own hands ; or 
 where there was no competent Nun^ 
 would commit the Temporals to one, 
 and the Spirituals to another. Ab- 
 bessess too were deposed by complaint 
 of the Nuns ; even for inattention to 
 repairs of buildings, a point very strict- 
 ly impressed upon all governors of re- 
 ligious societies.^ 
 
 Abbesses were distinguished by the 
 pastoral staif,^ and veil of prelacy con- 
 ferred at sixty years of age.^ The 
 dress of an Abbess of the twelfth cen- 
 tury consists only of a long white 
 tunic, with close sleeves, probably made 
 of linen, and a black surcoat of equal 
 length with the tunic, the sleeves of 
 the surcoat being large and loose, and 
 the hood drawn up so as to cover the 
 head completely.^ Elmston Abbesses 
 have wimples finely plaited and com- 
 ing upon the chin, and on one of them 
 it covers the sides of the face like a 
 hood ; both have the mantle. The 
 Abbess at Goring, in the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, has very little of the appearance of 
 a religious ; her mantle resembles those 
 of Lay ladies ; her gown is buttoned 
 in front down to the toes ; she wears 
 the mitten sleeves buttoned ; her head- 
 dress is reticulated and studded ; and 
 her tresses fall loose upon her shoul- 
 ders.6 
 
 We hear of learned Abbesses.^ In 
 the Anglo-Saxon eera they attended 
 Provincial Synods.^ 
 
 The great duty of an Abbot was to 
 set the example in the observation of 
 the rale.h The Abbot of Fevershara 
 says, " The cheyf office and profession 
 of an Abbot [is] (as I have ever taken 
 it) to lyve chaste and solytarilye, to 
 be separate from the intromeddlynge 
 of worldleye thinge, and to serve God 
 quietlye, and to distribute his facul- 
 ties in refreshing of poore indigent per- 
 sons, to have a vigilant eigh to good 
 ordre, and rule of his house, and the 
 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. i. 362, 364, 375. ii. 287. 
 b Eadmer, 142, 3. <= Lyndw. 202. 
 
 ^. Strutt's Dresses, i. p. 125. 
 « Gough's Sepulchr. Mon. vol. i. Introd. clxxxvi. 
 * XV. Script. 241. « Hutcbiason's Dur- 
 
 ham, i. 31. ^ Reg. Beued. c. 65. 
 
 flock to him commytted in God.^'i 
 But both the duties and virtues of a 
 good Abbot, in an appropriate view, 
 will be amply shown by the following 
 character of WiUiam Abbot of St. Al- 
 ban^s : " Whenever he returned from a 
 journey, he had all the poor brought to 
 the gate to receive refection. Every 
 day he attended the duties of the Chap- 
 ter and the greater Mass ; present 
 even on private days, he stimulated the 
 others by his spirited chanting ; and 
 on the greater and simple feasts came 
 to Vespers, and to Complin daily. He 
 assisted indefatigably at Mattins of 
 twelve lessons, by reading the lesson, 
 singing the response, beginning Te 
 Deiim, standing with those who stood 
 according to their turns, and animating 
 the whole Choir by his example. He 
 was always present mitred in the midst 
 of the Choir at the Mass of Comme- 
 moration of the Blessed Virgin, and 
 on principal feasts always celebrated 
 the Mass at the great Altar. On the 
 double feasts he held the Choir in his 
 Mitre, and on other days, standing in 
 his stall, led the band, and sang the 
 whole service with spirit. When the 
 Convent was in copes, or albs, he sang 
 his response in the Mass, at the nod of 
 the Chanter. He altvays attended the 
 unction of the sick, not far from his 
 stall, about the middle of the Choir, 
 and performed the funeral service in 
 his own person. He never professed 
 a novice but at the great Altar ; at- 
 tended all processions (especially those 
 of Sundays), and never anticipated the 
 hour v.hen the Convent was wont to 
 eat.'^ He lent effectual aid to the fa- 
 bric of the Church, and its buildings 
 and ornaments. He studied books, 
 preached in the Chapter,^ and was 
 
 * MS. Cott. Cleop. E.IV\f. 33. b. 
 
 ^ See Watt's Gl. M. Paris, in v. Nona, and 
 Econ. Monast. Life, p. 7. 
 
 * Samson, Abbot of Edmundsbury, used to preach 
 English to the people in the Norfolk dialect, where 
 he was born and bred, for which purpose he had a 
 pulpit in the Church. Reyn. Append. 143. In 
 the receipts, Sec. of the Priory of Huntingdon : 
 •' Item, for our master's costes in Huntingdon 2 
 Sondays in Lenton after the sermons to di'inke 
 with the pai-ishioners." Nichols's Manners and 
 Expenses of Autieut Times, p. 292. Of this else- 
 where. 
 
ABBOT^ ABBESS. 
 
 105 
 
 kind to the writers and their masters. 
 Both ill doubtful ordinances of the 
 rule, and in divine services, he took 
 the previous advice of his Convent, 
 and even instructed the old, and re- 
 moved their doubts. He was always 
 the first speaker upon arduous busi- 
 ness, and an efficacious assistant re- 
 specting the wine, and otlier matters 
 concerning him ; and he was either the 
 donor of it, or a brisk and faithful 
 principal agent of procuring it.^ 
 
 This Abbot was plainly a Monk in 
 se ; but in most others, Monachism was 
 the mere graft of a profession upon a 
 common man, as will appear from their 
 vices, detailed in the inquiries which 
 the visitors of Henry VIII. were ap- 
 pointed to make. To prevent the ef- 
 fects of commiseration in the public 
 mind, every article was insidiously con- 
 trived to have its existence in fact, or 
 to imply the breach of a Canon. The 
 inquiries were, — Whether the Abbot 
 fulfilled the injunctions of the last vi- 
 sitation — Whether lawfully elect — 
 Whether simoniacally — Whether born 
 in wedlock — Whether of sufficient li- 
 terature to instruct the brethren — 
 Whether of good living and fame — 
 Whether he had the companie of any 
 suspect person, and what woman was 
 most in his companie — What was his 
 character in the neighbourhood^ — 
 Whether he preached the word of God 
 sincerely at the time and places con- 
 venient — Whether he came to divine 
 service daily and nightly, as bound to 
 do — Whether he caused the statutes 
 of the house to be declared to the 
 brethren — Whether he himself kept 
 them — Whether he looked into their 
 being kept by others ^ — Whether of 
 
 * Et dator, vel principalis auctor alacer et devotus. 
 M. Paris, 1064. Heprovidedit for feasts. Id. 1008. 
 
 ^ In MS. Harl. 913, f. 4. b. MS. Ashmol. 1519, 
 fol. 28. MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. are numerous 
 passages concerning the debauchery of Abbots, but 
 omitted here on account of their indelicacy. The 
 Abbot of Fountains is described thus by the visitors ; 
 " Pleas it your mastershippe to understand, that 
 the Abbot of Fontans hath so gretely dilapidated 
 
 his howse, wasted the woddys, defamed 
 
 k toto populo, &c." MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. 
 f. 114. 
 
 *= Prelates were remarkably negligent. Reyn. 
 Append. 195. 
 
 temporal wisdom and prudence — 
 Whether he spent the revenues of the 
 house ydelly,^ or in vaine, as in dysing,e 
 huntinge,^taverne haunting,^ promoting 
 his kynne,^ purchasing lands, costly 
 bancketing, kepyng many ydell ser- 
 vaunts, riding furthe to oft to the 
 
 •^ In courtliness, prodigality, or liberality. Reyn. 
 Append. 168. There was a bull at St. Aug. Can- 
 terb. that they should not be compelled to pay 
 debts, unless contracted for the use of the house. 
 Chron. August. Cant. "As for the Abbot of 
 Bury, we found nothing suspect as touching his 
 living, but it was detected that he laye moche forth 
 in his granges ; that he delited moche in playing at 
 dice and cards, and therein spent moche money, 
 and in buylding for his pleasure ; he did not 
 preache openly. Also that he converted divers 
 farmes into copyholds, whereof poor men doth 
 complayne. Also he seemeth to be addict to suche 
 suspicious ceremonies, as hathe been used hereto- 
 fore." Cotton. MS. ut supra, 120, b. At S. 
 August. Cant, the Monks obtained a bull, that the 
 Abbot should not devote the revenues of the sacrist 
 and almonry elsewhere without the knowledge of the 
 Chapter. Chron. Aug. Cant. Similar restrictions at- 
 tended the kitchen (see § Cook) ; for there are com- 
 plaints ** of insufficient bread, not of corn or other 
 grain;" " de pane insufficienti, non de fruraento 
 et aliis granis." MS. Ashmol. Mus. 1519, 126. 
 
 ^ The Abbot of Welbeck is accused of spend- 
 ing the whole day and night in games " tabularum 
 et aliorum ludorum," draughts, and other sports. 
 MS. Ashmol. Mus. 1519, 286. " Tesseras qua- 
 tere," (to shake the dice) says Malmsbury of the 
 Norman Monks, 118. 
 
 ^ 30 Edw. I. an agreement was made between 
 Lord Berkeley and the Abbot of Kingswoode, that 
 the latter should not hunt, nor bring bows, arrows, 
 cross-bows, nor other engines, or dogs, on the ma- 
 nor of Wotton. Smith's Lives of the Berkeley 
 Family, MS. 210. The furniture of a Prior's ma- 
 nor is described to have consisted of carpenter's 
 and agriculturer's tools, partridge and lark nets, 
 purses with counters,* a glass of steel gilt, and 
 ibx nets with bellis to take foxes. MS. Harl. 
 604, fol. 104, a. William de Clowne, Abbot of 
 Leicester, who died 1377, was so intimate with the 
 king, that he asked permission in jest to have fairs 
 for buying and selling greyhounds and dogs of any 
 kind. The king, thinking him in earnest, granted 
 his request, but the Abbot was unwilling to urge 
 it. In hare-hunting he was the most famous of all 
 the noblity ; so that the king himself, his son Ed- 
 ward, and many noblemen, were retained to hunt 
 with him under an annual pension. Knighton, 
 col. 2631. Hunting was a science. Dallaway's 
 Herald. Inq. 161. 
 
 If See § Monks and Nuns. 
 
 ^ The foundation-charter of Waltham orders 
 that no relative of the Abbot shall have the steward- 
 ship or other office. Mouast. ii. 15. v. Mantissa.'. 
 
 * Which the Monks used to cast accounts with. 
 See Pinkerton and Snelling. 
 
106 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS- 
 
 graunges, manors, &c.'' a — Whether 
 there were dilapidations^ —Whether 
 hospitaUty was kept, especially to the 
 poore^c or els for pompe, pride, and 
 mayntenaunce of his own will — Whe- 
 ther he kept up the doles and anniver- 
 saries — Whether he kept a reckoning 
 of his administration ^ — Whether he 
 had sold or alienated the conventual 
 property.^ (Other items to a like pur- 
 port) — Whether he was sober and 
 modest of his wordes and conversa- 
 tion,^ as well towards the brethren as 
 without e — Whether he had punished 
 or menaced any of his brethren for de- 
 nouncing or proffering to denounce any 
 thing against him ^ — Whether he had 
 made a covenant with any of his brethren 
 to conceal any fault in him ^ — Whether 
 he kept a schoolmaster for the Novices, 
 &c.^ — Whether he found of the breth- 
 
 * The general chapter held at Northampt. 1225, 
 and 1444, allows them to be absent only for three 
 months ; and Wolsey's decretals for the Augusti- 
 nians but for one. Reyn. Append. 116, 17, 19, 
 and 167. Monast. ii. 568. 
 
 ■» '* Resediticet claustrum suum," let him rebuild 
 his Cloister. MS, Ashmol. Mus. 1519, p. 33, 34, 
 ct passim. 
 
 ^ See Almonry. 
 
 ^ He was not bound to this if his revenues 
 were separate from the Conventual. Lyndw. 204. 
 <= H. Abbot of Buildewas, finding his mother 
 distressed with a large family, granted a certain 
 relative '* a certain service, with livery and wages 
 for his life.'' Monast. ii. 915. 
 
 ' Sub quo mundi climate, sub quo mundi signo. 
 Est Abbas vel Pontifex pectore benigno. 
 Under what climate of the world or zone. 
 Are Priests or Abbots with kind bosoms known. 
 MS. Harl. 978. See too § Cells and Chapter. 
 
 K Piers Ploughman says of a religious : 
 And but if hys knave knele that shal hys cope 
 
 brynge 
 He loured on Lim, and ask who taught him 
 curtcsic 
 
 f. 50. Ed. Crowley, 2d of 3, 2d Ed. 
 >» Thus MS. Harl. 913, f. 10. 
 Tunc exinde tu cavebis, 
 Malum loqui sic tacebis, 
 Prselatorem non spernebis. 
 Juxta tuum regulam. 
 
 See § Prison. 
 i. e. And if I tell any tales they taken hem together, 
 And do me fast Fridayes to bred and to water. 
 Piers Plowm. foL xxiii. 
 ' Juramentis si qua de tacend^ veritate Abbas 
 extorserit relaxatis (the oaths which the Abbot 
 may have extorted to conceal the truth being dis- 
 solved.) MS. Bibl. Reg. 8, F. ix. (no pages.) 
 
 '' Ut Juniores insequantur Grammaticam satis ; 
 that the younger may sufficiently follow their gram- 
 mar. MS. Ashmol. Mus. 1519, p. 37, a. See 
 Cap. Monks and Nuns, § Ignorance. 
 
 ren at the Universityl— Whether there 
 be any vertues of holy write kepte or 
 observed in this house, and whether 
 ther ought any such to bee by the fun- 
 dacion, ordinaunce, or custom of this 
 house— Whether he provided sufficient 
 necessaries for the house and sick — • 
 Whether he took any Novices for mo- 
 ney, friendship, affection, before suffi- 
 cient age, or enticed or compelled 
 them against their free will™ — Whether 
 he distributed offices for money, friend- 
 ship, or favour" — Whether he made 
 the officers give in accounts yearly and 
 quarterly — Whether there was any 
 faire, market, or pedler's shop, kept 
 within the precincts of the house," or 
 at the Church door on Sundays or ho- 
 lidays by his sufferance p — Whether 
 the doors were shut, and the keys 
 brought to him every night ^ — how 
 much money he spent at his table and 
 chamber.!* 
 
 M. Paris gives regularly the faults of 
 each Abbot of St. Alban's. Wulsig, 
 the third Abbot, changed his dress 
 both in shape and colour ; used silk 
 ones ; hunted much ; was choice in his 
 table ; courted the favour of great 
 persons'; invited vast numbers of wo- 
 men of rank to dine with him in the 
 house ; married his -female relatives to 
 great persons at much expence, and 
 enriched others with the conventual 
 property. Wulnoth, the fourth, besides 
 hunting, spent much upon jesters and 
 similar persons. [There is a civil law 
 MS. in Pembroke College Library, 
 Oxon, which mentions Abbots spend- 
 ing half their incomes upon players and 
 prostitutes.] Eadfr^ith, the fifth, was 
 always in his chamber, seldom in the 
 Cloister, never in the Choir. Paul, 
 the fourteenth, was careless of the 
 conventual property, and, as did his 
 
 ^ See § Novices. «" See id. " See § Obe- 
 dientiaries. ° See Parlour. 
 
 P Trades were not to be carried on in the 
 Churches, unless at fair-times. M. Par. 1096. 
 The Monks were very fond of fairs, see id. 724, 
 and kept shops at them. Wart. Hist. Engl. Poetry, 
 i. p. 280. 
 
 q Fuller's Ch. Hist. § vi. p. 291. The Prior, 
 or other officer, had them, as will appear by aud 
 by. 
 
 ' MS. Harl. 791, f. 18, 19, v. Mantissa. 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 107 
 
 successor, enriched his kindred with it. 
 Geffrey^ the sixteenth, besides neglect- 
 ing and aUenating it, portioned liis 
 sister with one of the manors. Ralph, 
 the sevententh, besides carelessness of 
 the conventual property, persecuted 
 his Prior with inexorable hatred. Ho- 
 9ert, the eighteenth, aUenated part of 
 the estates without consent of the 
 Convent, and wheedled the latter into 
 the grant of others. Symon, the nine- 
 teenth, ran his Convent into debt ; and 
 cut down the woods to enrich his re- 
 latives. Robert, the twentieth, fol- 
 lowed his own will exclusively ; perse- 
 cuted and dispersed for this purpose 
 the senior part of the Convent ; exalted 
 the Novices; relaxed the rule to gain fa- 
 vour with the effeminate ; and cut down 
 the woods, for which purpose he had an 
 office, where twenty timber-merchants 
 were more or less every Saturday in the 
 habits of coming to deal; and this 
 money was raised, not for erecting edi- 
 fices for the Convent, but to gain fa- 
 vour with the king and queen by pre- 
 sents, and to spend lavishly. Those 
 who blamed him he sent to remote 
 cells. John, the twenty-first, sent the 
 Monks obnoxious to him from cell to 
 cell, or rather, during his infirmity, his 
 parasites in his name; and enriched 
 his relatives with the Ecclesiastical 
 property. William, the twenty-second, 
 was complained of for associating with 
 Seculars in preference to his Monks. 
 Besides these, they used to turn out 
 the Divines the Bishops had settled in 
 Churches,^ and employ the Monks on 
 out-door business.^ 
 
 The inquiries concerning Abbesses, 
 omitting the items similar to those of 
 Abbots, were, whether she saw divine 
 service duly performed :c whether all 
 ornaments and necessaries appertain- 
 ing thereto were duly kept and repair- 
 
 » Sim. Dunelm. 253. 
 
 »' Prsecipimus fratribus tarn senioribus quam 
 junioribus quod adexteriora officia non deputentur. 
 We order that neither seniors nor juniors be sent 
 on out-door offices. MS. Ashm. 1519, f. 65, b. 
 See too Chaucer in the Shipman's Tale. 
 
 c To do divine service duly nythe and daye. In- 
 junct. to the Nuns of St. Helen's. Monast. ii. 
 895. 
 
 ed — Whether the ladies resorted to di- 
 vine service at the proper seasons — 
 Whether she taught her sisters tlie 
 rule — Whether she overlooked them, 
 and set them to work in some honest 
 exercise, and hearing the divine ser- 
 vices — Whether she punished and cor- 
 rected them charitably and impartially «! 
 — Whether there was convenient ke- 
 pyng and sustentacion for the sick^ — 
 Whether suspected of incontinency, 
 and with w^hom — Whether used to 
 lye at the grange, or to walk abroad, 
 and with what company — Whether she 
 found any *^ auncyent, sadd, and ver- 
 tuous^* woman, as mistress of the No- 
 vices ^ — Whether the word of God was 
 preached to the sisters, and how often 
 in the year — Whether the Confessor 
 or Chaplain did his duty, and how 
 many of them there were ?& 
 
 It seems that Abbots of piety, while 
 in their last sickness, used to be car- 
 ried into the Chapter to receive disci- 
 plines, or to absolve and be absolved 
 by the Monks ^ in the following form : 
 "Wherefore I seek absolution from 
 you, as much as appertains to you, 
 and benediction, and I absolve you 
 from obedience to me, and give you my 
 benediction.''* The last Abbot of Per- 
 shore appears only as a simple Monk 
 upon his tomb, perhaps from this vo- 
 luntary humiliation.^ 
 
 ABBOT S OFFICERS, AND OFFICES. 
 
 The office of the Chaplain was, it 
 seems, to receive at the Bowcer's hands 
 all such sums of money as were pay- 
 
 <* See Nuns, § Quarrelling. 
 
 « Also we enjoyne you, Prioresse, that ye kepe 
 yowre dortour, and lye therein by nythe, &c. 
 Monast. ii. 895. ; and again " toordeyne a conve- 
 nient place of furmarye, where the seeke sustrcs 
 might be honestly kepte and relieved." Ibid. 
 
 * A good teacher of the sustres to be kept. Ibid. 
 
 i MS. Harl. 791,f. 20, b. 
 
 t W. Malmsb. M. Paris, &c. 
 
 ' Quamobrcm peto a vobis absolucionem, quan- 
 tum ad V08 pertinet, et benedictionem, et ego vos 
 absolve ii cura mea, et do vobis benedictiontm 
 meam. MS. Bodl. Fairfax, 17, § Lamentatio 
 Gervasii Abbatis. Of their burials, see § Infir- 
 mary. 
 
 ^ Gough'g Sepulchr. Monum. latrod. i. civ. 
 
108 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS, 
 
 able by him to the Lord Prior's use for 
 his maintenance, the expence of his 
 whole household, and other necessa- 
 ries. He was to provide apparel for 
 the Lord Prior, and to see all things in 
 good order in the hall, and the furni- 
 ture for his table to be sweet and 
 clean ; and that every man executed 
 his office diligently as he ought to do ; 
 and that no debate or strife should be 
 within the house. He had in his cus- 
 tody all the Lord Prior's plate and 
 treasure, as well for delivering it out, 
 as receiving it again. He was also to 
 discharge and pay all the gentlemen, 
 yeomen, and all other the servants and 
 officers of the Lord Prior's house their 
 wages, and to discharge all other debts 
 of the house whatsoever. His cham- 
 ber was adjoining to the Prior's cham- 
 ber :^ for he never slept in the Dor- 
 mitory, but in the absence of the Ab- 
 bot; of whom, as stated above, he 
 was to be a constant spy. Part of 
 the service in the Abbot's chamber at 
 midnight was said by the Chaplains 
 by heart, without a candle, a small 
 lamp only shining through a glass 
 window.^ " He was to attend to every 
 conventual service when unoccupied, 
 as well as to take his turn in the 
 weekly service of the Mass/'^ ^he 
 principal Chaplain, from carrying the 
 Abbot's seal, was called Portitor Si- 
 gilUA If the Abbot had two Chap- 
 lains, to comply with the constitution, 
 which, that he might have more wit- 
 nesses of his good life in case of scan- 
 dal,e enjoined an annual change of 
 them, he needed only change one ; and 
 where the Abbey was not exempt, the 
 Bishop could make the requisite change 
 for a reasonable cause.^ His privi- 
 lege of sleeping out of the Dorter was 
 not peculiar to him ; for, says a com- 
 plaint, '' Ther be certeyn officers, bro- 
 durs of the howse, whiche have all 
 way be attendant upon the Abbot, as 
 
 " Davies, &c. »> M. Par. 1042. 
 
 «= Capellaui Abbatis debent ebdomadarii ecclesise, 
 et omni servitio conventils, cum expediti fuerhit 
 interesse, Abbate absente in Dormitorio jacere. 
 MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. 184, a. 
 
 •1 M. Paris. « Reyn. App. 117. 
 
 i Lyndw. fOG. 
 
 his Chaplyn, Steward, Celerer, and on 
 or two officers more, if they shulde 
 be bounde to the first two articles 
 (dining in the Miserecord, and sleep- 
 ing in the Dormitory), it shulde much 
 disappoynt the order of the house."g 
 A council of Paris, held in 1212, or- 
 dered Abbots not to have irreligious 
 Chaplain s.h The Chaplains were also 
 called Monitores, because they inform- 
 ed the Abbot of every thing done by 
 the Monks.i 
 
 At Abingdon there were two Monks 
 to ease the Abbot, the Proctor and Cu- 
 riarius.^ The former was to manage 
 his revenues. The latter was to have 
 the whole care of the house, and always 
 admit visitors, whose arrival was to be 
 announced to him by the porter, ac- 
 cording to the difference of their rank. 
 He was also to pay particular atten- 
 tion to the parents of the Monks (who 
 were to announce their arrival to him 
 only), coming from other parts.l 
 
 Because the care of souls was a su- 
 perior object to all temporal concerns,m 
 the council of Mentz forbad Abbots to 
 appear in secular causes without the 
 consent of the Bishop, and enjoined 
 them to appoint advocates or agents, 
 an office which several Canons per- 
 mitted a religious person, with the 
 consent of his Abbot, to undertake.^ 
 Accordingly we find them appointing 
 their Monks attorneys.^ Several sta- 
 tutes exist, allowing the privilege of 
 appointing attorneys to Abbots,P and 
 also their credentials.^ 
 
 s MS. Cott. Cleop. E. IV. f. 39. 
 
 ^ C. iv. apud Labbe. » Du Cange, v. Bajulus, 
 
 ^ MS. Cott. Claud, B. vi. f. 187, b. 
 
 ^ Curiario incumbit ut curam totius curiae a^at, 
 hospites admittat usque secundum personarum dif- 
 ferentias, in adventu hospitis janitor indicabit cu- 
 riario. Parentibus Monachorum aliunde venienti- 
 bus summa cura a curiario impendetur. Et paren- 
 tum adventus per monachos ei et non alteri indica- 
 bitur. Id. 187, b. 188, b. 
 
 ^ Bened. Reg. 24. « Dev. Vie Mon. ii. 47, 8. 
 
 ° X. Script, col. 2078. 
 
 P 9 H.VI. c. 10. 15 H. VI. C.7. 
 
 9 Attornatum nostrum ad sectas hundredi tui 
 pro nobis faciendas. Alberto de D. Domino Se- 
 nescallo et ballivis hundredi, &c. MS. Had. 209. 
 fol. 11 ; but it seems, that the Abbot's consent was 
 not alone sufficient. Faciet abbas attornatum in 
 prsedictd loquelaquemcunque voluerit coram aliquo 
 qui ad hoc habeat potestatem per breve regis. 
 Rot. Pari. 6 Ed. I. No. 34. Vol. I, 
 
ABBOT, ABBESS. 
 
 109 
 
 The meaner officers appear to have 
 been the Barber, who had 105. per 
 yere wages f- the Cook, who used to 
 ride sometime before them, when on 
 journeys, to prepare refreshment for 
 them,^ and was allowed a horse ;^ the 
 Porters at different gates ;^^ and doubt- 
 less others for other necessities ; for it 
 seems, that their number was so great, 
 that the houses, after their decease, 
 were burdened with an indefinite ex- 
 pence, on account of their wages, on 
 which account it was enacted that they 
 should receive fixed and annual sti- 
 pends.e 
 
 Though we hear of Abbots going 
 out to sport with servants, carrying 
 bows and arrows,^ yet while the at- 
 tendants of Laymen carried bugles, it 
 was deemed indecent for an Abbot's 
 servant to blow a horn,s however com- 
 mon. 
 
 The great Hall, which was ascended 
 by numerous steps, was at St. Alban's 
 adorned with tapestry,^ at Gloucester 
 with portraits of the kings of England 
 in fresco ;^ and the furniture of such a 
 place appears to have consisted of 
 four fixed tables, four forms, one table 
 with two tressels at the high bench, a 
 cupboard, a chair, a chaffer.^ The Study, 
 or Library, was adorned with curious 
 painted imageries and divers inscrip- 
 tions.! There w^as a Gallery, Chapel, 
 and another ; a Fish-house for dry and 
 salted fish ; a Brew-house, and Kitch- 
 
 ^ Nichols, ut sup. 288. •* M. Par. 1032. 
 
 <= Monast. i. p. 7. ** Davies, &c. « Cap. 
 
 Gen. Northampt. a° 1225. ^ Angl. Sacr. i. 511. 
 
 fs Du Cange, v. Coreizare. ^ Rous, p. 64. 
 
 * Dallaway's Herald. Inq. 116. '' Steevens's 
 Monast. i. 487. ^ Chauncey'sHertfortshire,445. 
 
 en."* Their Chapels were not only for 
 prayer, but celebration ;" and Matthew 
 Paris mentions an Abbot sleeping in 
 his chamber with his Chaplains, while 
 the Monks were at Mattins, and the 
 Chaplains awaking to perform divine 
 service ;» but the Chapel and Oratory 
 were distinct apartments, the latter 
 being an annexation.? It is well known 
 that the nobility had what were called 
 Secret houses, whither they retired at 
 certain seasons to religious privacy, and 
 declined society ;<i in like manner Wul- 
 stan had an Oratory between his hall 
 and private house, known only to his 
 domesticks, where he secluded him- 
 self, especially in Lent, from morning 
 after Mass, till dinner, or the time of 
 the hours .'^ Gundulf had a little Ora- 
 tory attached to each of his manerial 
 habitations, where his Chamberlain 
 used to put his prayer-book for his re- 
 ligious exercises, during the interv-al 
 between Mass and the hours.s 
 
 Ethelwulf, speaking of an Abbot of 
 Lindisfarn, says, that while the Monks 
 were asleep at night, he was singing 
 psalms and hymns.^ 
 
 At Canterbury, over the Prior's 
 Chapel, was a Library for the use of 
 the studious ; and next to his cham- 
 ber was a tower called the Prior's Study, 
 it being the fashion to study in towers." 
 
 Abbesses had a maid,^ besides as- 
 sistant Nuns, called DiscretceJ 
 
 ^ Steevens's Monasticon, i. 448. 
 
 n Lyndw. 234. " P. 1042. p Angl. 
 
 Sacr. i. 148. i Paston Letters, &c. "■ Angl. 
 Sacr. ii. 262. " Id. 282. * Du Cange, v. 
 
 Odare. « Angl. Sacr. i. 145. See § Church. 
 
 » Id. i. 364. y Du Cange. 
 
110 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 i 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OBEDIENTIARIES, 
 
 These were all officers under the 
 Abbot ; to be appointed to which, inter- 
 est was made, to a great degree, as 
 well as to be kept in them, and have 
 out-door employment ;» and they were 
 often conferred by the Abbot for fa- 
 vour or money .^ The consequence was, 
 that very unfit persons were appointed ; 
 for, says Nigell. Wireker, 
 
 Istud contingit in religione frequenter, 
 Quod major servit, proficiturque minor, 
 Digna sub indignis vivunt ; quod rosa saluncis 
 Lilja sub tribulis. 
 
 Spec. Stultor. MS. Cott. Tit. A. 20. 
 This evil too oft in religion we have, 
 The worse is a ruler, the better a slave — 
 The worthy to unworthy subject ; as grow 
 The rose and the lily wild brambles below. 
 
 Walter Mapes says, " that the Monks 
 were parasites and flatterers of the 
 Abbot, soothing his ears with honied 
 words, deceiving those above them with 
 cunning, making presents to their infe- 
 riors, and granting every thing the 
 Abbot asked, however impossible ; such 
 men, he says, in whose hearts were 
 found deceit and guile, with honey in 
 their mouths, were the persons who 
 were chosen to offices. They preten- 
 ded to be simple and modest in the 
 eyes of their brethren, till they gained 
 their purpose, and then it was ^Hold 
 your tongues, wretches,^ to the Monks, 
 you know nothing ; we will govern the 
 house ; to which harsh language they 
 were in the habits of contemptuously 
 adding Thee and Thou.^ Without 
 doubt, continues Walter Mapes, some 
 of the brothers are prudent, modest, 
 and moral, but find no favour with the 
 Abbot, because they cannot flatter .^ 
 
 * Cap. Gen. Northampt. a" 1444. c. v. 
 b Cap. Gen. Northampt. a°1225. M- Par. 1096. 
 «= Cap. G. North. a° 1444. c. x. De Novitiis. 
 ^ En adulatio plena fallaciis, 
 
 Nares prselati lambentes ambiunt, 
 
 Verbis et mellitis aures reficiunt, 
 
 Procaci superos fallunt hastucia. 
 
 Inferioribus prsebent munuscula, 
 
 Among the Nuns it was enjoined that 
 ^^no sisters be admitted to any office, 
 unless of good fame.^'^ 
 
 It is not to be admired that the 
 Monks were so ambitious of office ; for, 
 says an old song : 
 
 Altera prsepositis, altera regula nobis : 
 Nos infelices vini nescimus odorem, 
 Praepositi vinum, nos digeramus acetum ; 
 Nos extra claustrum prohibemur figere gressum, 
 Et dominis camerse licet ad sua tecta redire ; 
 Fit rogus in medio, celebrantur et orgia Baccho, 
 Siccantur cuppse, spumanti nectare plense. 
 
 MS. Cott. Vitell. A. xii. 129. a. 
 One law for our rulers, another for us — 
 To us wretches the smell ev'n of wine is unknown. 
 The vinegar's ours — the wine all their own — 
 Not a peg from the cloister must we dare to roam. 
 While the lords of a dwelling withdraw to their home. 
 To a smoking good fire then sit themselves down. 
 And with nectar of Heaven their blest moments 
 crown. 
 
 It seems, " that they were dishonest 
 persons, who were guilty, to a bare- 
 faced degree, of illicit and fraudulent 
 practices ; exercised prohibited and un- 
 just trades; oppressed people with 
 violence or unfair exactions, or made 
 their servants do so ; frequented taverns 
 and other indecorous places ; had the 
 company of women in private places, 
 and to eat and drink with them in cham- 
 bers within the precincts of their Mo- 
 nastery or Priory, and carried bows, 
 swords, and arms; took persons in, 
 in buying and selling ; borrowed money 
 (for which abuse they were limited to 
 
 Abbas si proferet impossibilia 
 Blandis sermonibus concedunt omnia. 
 Cor dolo plenum est ; os profert dulcia, 
 Jacent in animo fraus et fallacia, 
 Hi tales digni sunt obedientiA. 
 Fingunt se simplices fratrum conspectibus, 
 Set mutant animum susceptis clavibus, 
 " Tacete miseri" dicunt claustralibus, 
 Vos nichil sapitis — nos domum regemus^ 
 Set procul dubio quidam de fratribus, 
 Prudentes, simplices, omati moribus, 
 Omnia non vacant adulationibus, 
 Non habent gratiam coram pastoribus. 
 MS. Cott. Vespas. A. xviii. 168, b. 169. a. 
 and Tit. A. 20. 161, 
 « Monast. ii. 895. 
 
OBEDlENTIAUtES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 IOO5.) ; pretended to be engaged in 
 offices, when it was tlieir duty to attend 
 in the Church ; kept a vast number of 
 servants, and rode out to the manors, 
 and staid there when they liked with- 
 out a companion,* obtained letters of 
 confirmation not to be removed, and 
 offices or profession in many houses,^ 
 The inquiries of the visitors respecting 
 them were, ^^how many officers, and 
 what their portion — how many tables 
 kept or ought to be kept — what allowed 
 to each of the officers for this purpose 
 — whether any of the said officers be 
 in debt or arrears — whether they give 
 in accounts yearly, or quarterly, as 
 bound to do — whether they have spent 
 or pawned any jewels, plate, &c. belong- 
 ing to their offices — how many of them 
 
 ■ Precipimus ut semper se honeste habeant, 
 prsesertim in conspectu populi, ab illicitis et dolo- 
 sLs contractionibus omnino abstineant ; mercimonia 
 prohibita vel inhonesta non exerceant. Nullum vi 
 aut injustis exactionibus opprimant, seu a minis- 
 tris operam faciant ; tabernas vel alia loca inhonesta 
 intrare non praesumant ; consortia mulierum in 
 omni loco penitus evitent, in caraeris, vel locis 
 privatis infra septa monasterii vel prioratus non 
 comedant vel bibant. Inhibemus et ipsis obedien- 
 tiariis et quibuscumque aliis fratribus nostris ne 
 arcum (See Lysons's Env. Lond. i. 343,) gladium 
 (See Fuller's Ch. Hist. b. vi. 285.) seu qusecumque 
 arma ubique sine nostr^ sptciali licentid tenere 
 prjesumant. MS. Cott. Claud. E. IV. f. 245. a. 
 In empcionibus aut vendicionibus et aliis contrac- 
 tibus nullum studeant decipere. Nullusque obe- 
 dientiarius nostri monasterii cujuscumque fuerit 
 status, pecuniam ultra summam centum solidorum 
 absque nostr4 spec, licent. mutuo recipere prsesu- 
 mat. Ibid. Quia monachi — quibus officia forin- 
 seca et intrinseca committuntur, fingunt, cum pos- 
 sent et debent in choro divinis officiis interesse, in 
 officiis forinsecis et commissis multociens occu- 
 pari. MS. Harl. 328. p. 5. b. Thus too among 
 the Nuns. *' Thus done oft tymes suche remowers 
 about, yat mow not long rest in the silence of the 
 Cloister, and in comune praieries of the quere, but 
 they starte aboute from one office to another, and 
 whan the belle ringith to houres than thei begynne 
 first to occupy them in her offices." MS. Bodl. 
 Laud. D. 52. Alii preterea provecciores, certis 
 officiis deputati, ad maneria et loca alia equitant 
 quum placet, ibidem manentes nuUo commonacho 
 itineris in socium assignato. Familiares questum- 
 que quos monachi officiarii et alii, in numero ex- 
 cessivo retinent. MS. Harl. 328. p. 5. p. 10. 
 
 ^ M. Paris, 1096, 8, Cap. G. Northampt. a* 
 1444. c. v. 
 
 are removable — how many not — whe- 
 ther they rode forth over-sumptuously 
 with a grete number of men and horses 
 — whether they lye in granges abroad 
 very oft at will, and indulge in banquet- 
 ting, and women resorte to them?'^^ 
 
 When they were extremely sick, they 
 were to give in their accounts and 
 resign, because if they died unexpec- 
 tedly, the Monks used to steal the 
 Ecclesiastical property.^ They • were 
 not excused from Collation and Com- 
 plin, but from imperious necessity, and 
 then with the Abbot's leave.® Certain 
 constitutions ordered them not to give 
 or receive any thing without leave of 
 the Superior — denounced frauds on the 
 conventual property — the false imposi- 
 tion of crimes upon others — confede- 
 racy to overthrow emendatory statutes 
 — private persecution from hatred 
 or ambition, and personal property/ 
 They were bound to find the students 
 going to Oxford their travelling money, 
 and lend them their horses,^ which 
 animals they kept, it seems, beyond 
 what was necessary for office.^ The 
 subordinate officers among the Clugni- 
 acs were only persons sent from abroad 
 to collect money .^ 
 
 The Priors of cells, and chief Offi- 
 cers, were called Master Obedientiaries,^ 
 
 The Monks observed sometimes a 
 gradation in their promotions, with 
 a view to the improvement of the 
 officer^ 
 
 •= MS. Harl. 791, f. 21. 
 
 «* Cap. North, ut sup. The Abbot might restore 
 them, when well. Ibid. * M. Par. 1095. 
 
 ' Id. 1096. « C. North, a" 1444. c. v. 
 
 ^ Nee aliquis obedientiarius equum in stabulo 
 teneat, ni eum pro administratione sui officii equum 
 habere oporteat. MS. Cott. Jul. D. 2. p. 160. 
 
 * Reyn. Append. 147. — Certain of these officers 
 were allowed gloves and Christmas stockings. Isti 
 debent habere glove-silver contra autumpnum. 
 Prior, hostilarius exterior, &c. Isti debent habere 
 Christmesse stockes contra natale Domini, Wel- 
 lelmus le Wodward, &c. MS. Harl. 1005, p. 53. 
 They also invited friends to dinner. W. Thome, 
 c. 36, sect. 1, div. 3. 
 
 " Angl. Sacr. i. 753. » Ibid. ii. 246. 
 
112 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 
 PRIOR. 
 
 In the Rule of Pachomius, a disputa- 
 tion (i. e. scriptural lecture) is orderd 
 to be made three times a week by the 
 Propositi Domorum,^ for every Monas- 
 tery of the East had Patres or Abbots, 
 Stewards, Hebdomadaries, Ministers, 
 and Prcepositi Domorumy or Gover- 
 nors of houses, because those large 
 Abbeys consisted of numerous houses, 
 each containing 30 or 40 Monks, under 
 one of these Prcepositi ; and from these 
 Preepositi descended the Prior and 
 Sub-Prior (Secundus in the Rule of 
 Pachomius) terms only known from the 
 Pontificate of Celestine the rifth,^ Ao 
 1294. This officer was next only to 
 the Abbot, and had the first place in 
 the Choir, Chapter, and Refectory. 
 He was censed after the Abbot, could 
 depose malversant officers, and could 
 call at pleasure a chapter of the ser- 
 vants, and punish delinquents.^ He 
 liad a Chaplain, two servants, two pal- 
 freys, a baggage-horse, and two others, 
 at Edmondsbury.d At St. Alban^s, 
 says M. Paris, they were provided by 
 the Convent with an apartment, horses, 
 retinue, and equipage. ^ 
 
 The greater Prior represented the 
 Abbot, and performed all his offices, 
 except making or deposing Obedienti- 
 aries, and consecrating Novices. Whe- 
 ther the Abbot was present, or absent, 
 he struck the cymbalum, beat the table 
 for work, and monitum in the Dormi- 
 tory, as well as corrected the faults of 
 the readers in the Church and Chapter. 
 The Claustral Prior was his Vicar, and 
 remained always in the Cloister.^ 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Disputatio. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Prcepositus. Prior. 
 
 ^ Deer. Lanfr. sect. De Priore. 
 
 ^ Ad stabulum Prioris habet Prior quinque equos, 
 vid. Prioris capellanus duos palefridos et summa- 
 rium, qui est tertius. Item duobus armigeris duos 
 equos. Lib. Alb. Edm. de Burgo. MS. Harl. 
 1005, fol. 44. 
 
 "■ M. Paris, 1094, 1144. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Prior. 
 
 His privileges and offices at Abing- 
 don were these : * He had one man. 
 
 * MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 179, 189, seq. 
 Prior habebit unura hominem, ad corrodium in aul£, 
 et praebendam ad unum equum. Licitum est 
 Priori equos habere, sed Abbas eosdem equos in 
 negotiis suis potuit accipere. Soli Priori licet in 
 scol^ puerorura sedere, per scolaoi transire, lecti- 
 onem audire, capitulum tenere, et eos caedere 
 except^ magistrorum admissione. Licet Priori 
 omnibus horis canonicis sedere. Priore capitulum 
 intrante omnes in supremo gradu stantes, sine incli- 
 natione ei assurgent, priusquam sedit nullus sedebit. 
 Si Abbas in transmarinis, vel in nimium remotis 
 partibus fuerit. Prior secundum modum culpae 
 extendet disciplinam in carcere, vel in gravioribus 
 culpis, excepti ecclesiae suae quantul^cumque abali- 
 enatione, et caputii abscissione. Quando ecclesia 
 pastore vacaverit licet Priori aliquem monachari. 
 Licet Priori cuilibet mature moribus licentiam dare 
 uno die ire eodemque redire, et instanti^ neces- 
 sitatis transigere spatium unius noctis. Prior 
 nusquam proficiscetur sine uno vel duobus mona- 
 chis. Licet Priori ad consistorium sedenti celle- 
 rario semel vel bis ciphum pro impletione mittere, 
 nee cellerarius renuere debet. Si Prior in ordine 
 suo discubuerit unus puerorum sibi ministrabit. 
 Non Priori, nee alii alicui in ordine suo sedenti, 
 licet ciphum cum operculo. Si clerici vel laici in 
 refectorio discubuerint ob consolationem eorum 
 Prior remanebit. Prior post conventum cum cle- 
 ricis vel laicis remanens, quos de conventu, unum, 
 vel duos, vel tres evocare voluerit, vocabit. Prior 
 ad hostium claustri apponet caputium capiti, 
 idemptidem omnes alii. Sicque Prior, et omnes alii 
 h. processione non declinaturi precedent usque ad 
 Dormitorium, quo secessum naturae sunt petituri. 
 In reditu suo Prior ante lectum suum morose sede- 
 bit, donee major pars conventus discubuerit. 
 Prior prime faciet scrutinium ad locutorium hos- 
 pitum ; si hespites defuerint, nisi gratiam menachis 
 quos ibi inveniet conferre voluerit, ostia obserabit. 
 Si hospites praesentes fuerint, cum clavibus per- 
 transibit ad monasterium, et in chore, et in circuitu 
 chori, et si hestia haec aut ilia reserata fuerint, ut 
 videat quid agatur, faciat scrutinium postmedum 
 ad locutorium, &c. Si aliqui de claustriloquio 
 egrediuntur ut in loquutorio loquantur, magna est 
 ordinis transgressio ; ne aliquo ingruente negocio, 
 si claustriloquio defuerunt quam plurimi, licet 
 Exploratori eos prosequi. Explorateri incumbit 
 explorationem facere, quociens viderit expedire. 
 Abbate, vel Priore, in claustro praesente, si Sub- 
 prior, vel tertius Prior, in locuterio lequuntur, nee 
 ipsi Exploratori verbo indicaverint, aut siguo signi- 
 ficaverint, se liceat loqui, clamabunt. Si Priori in 
 loquutorio loquatur Explorator eo viro pertransibit, 
 sic Sub-prior et tertius Prior, nee illi qm cum illo 
 sunt, clamabuntur. Ac Exploratori explorationem 
 faeienti licet signa facere ; sed nusquam si aliquis 
 Priorum praesens fuerit sine licentia loqui. Prior 
 
\ 
 
 PRIOR. 
 
 113 
 
 who had a corrody in the hall, and 
 maintenance for a horse. He was also 
 allowed horses, but the Al)bot might 
 take them for his own business. He 
 only could sit in the school of the 
 
 qui in ordine erit, si in locutorio loquatur, licet 
 Exploratori signum non fuerit, non clamabitur. 
 Prior debet cum primis primus esse, cum ultimis 
 ultimus, &c. In tabuUl positus ministrabit. In 
 festis quse celebrantur in cappis, si Prior terciam 
 oantaverit, post terciam cantatara stola amota, si 
 processio fuerit, cappam induct, et in ordine suo 
 incedet. Licet Priori ad matutinas, si in choro 
 fuerit, alium rogare de officio suo vice sua minis- 
 trare. Ubivis Prior venerit in loquutorio, vel 
 promptuario, vel ubi licitum fuit Monacho loqui, 
 omnes assurgent ei, etiam collaterales Abbati. 
 Priore in cboro prsesente, nuUi licet inter eum in 
 formam transire. Prior pro voto suo clamorem in 
 prtesentiam abbatis diiferret, sed interventu Con- 
 ventus Prior potuit reclamare commissum secun- 
 dum modum culpae per se emendare. Priori licet 
 Monachum sententise subdere se : ii cibo potuque 
 abstinentiam, lanternam, custodiam, ultimamque 
 positionem, ignorante Abbate ; sed sententiee car- 
 ceris, vel gravioris culpse, nullum potuit subjicere 
 Abbate dorai prsesidente, sed res referetur ad 
 Abbatem, et pro voto suo frater illae sententise 
 subdetur. Abbate prsesente Prior potest compe- 
 tenter clamari. Abbate peregre profecto, &c. non 
 licet Priori, nisi ad succurrendum aliquem in 
 monachatum adraittere ; nisi pro magno commodo 
 ecclesiae. Priore in locutorio, vel alibi scrutinium 
 faciente, omnes loquentes assurgent, et dicent, 
 quod se ipsius licentia loqui. — Prior in ordine suo 
 sedens, si sonum fecerit, vel potum fudit ad pran- 
 dium, puer ei ministrans, ne aliquid malum impu- 
 nitum videtur, pro ilia offensd ante consistorium 
 veniara accipiet. Si prior cum servitoribus discu- 
 buerit in ordine suo, cum illo quem secum discum- 
 bere voluerit, discumbet, nee licentiam discumbendi 
 a sedente ad consistorium accipiet. Quociens 
 aliquis abbas ad prandium sederit ad consistorium, 
 si dies jejunii fuerit, per vesperas ad potum prior si 
 prsesens fuerit in refectorio pulsabit signum. Prior 
 pro voto suo ante lectum suum morabitur ; post- 
 raodum de dormitorio egredietur, quo egresso 
 donee servitores discubuerint quo voluntas eum 
 direxit ibit. Post servitorum refectionem prior 
 faciet cxplorationem, et ostia loquutoriorum obse- 
 rabit. Postmodum gratiel et licentia prioris de 
 meridian^ remanebunt, cum priori ipsi ; et omnes 
 alii ad meridianam ibunt. Si hospites cum servi- 
 toribus discubuerint, graciil prioris per refectionem 
 sine excessu ; et minuti etiam remanebunt. Prior 
 si expeditus fuerit ad completorium erit. Prior 
 post completorium scrutinium faciet cum lucis 
 appositione, et in sestate etin hieme lucubnim feret. 
 Item quociens fuerit necesse lucubrum feret cum 
 lucis appositione. — Priore absente ad lectum prioris 
 qui fuerit in ordine. Hoc tantum licet prioribus 
 post completorium, identidem ad meridianam. 
 Si prior morbo laboraverit in infirmitorio recumbet 
 et discumbet ex consuetudine set alibi gratis. 
 Intuitu enim auctoritatis ipsius ipsi est condescen- 
 dum, et ab omnibus deferendum. Si prior infirma- 
 tus, aliquis minister notus et in ecclesid educatus 
 pro voto suo, prceter ministros infirmitorii priori 
 
 Novices, pass through the school, hear 
 their lessons, hold a chapter of them, 
 and beat them, but could not appoint 
 the masters. He could sit at all the 
 canonical hours, [his stall was at the 
 entrance of the Choir, opposite the 
 Abbot's.] When he entered the Chap- 
 ter, the Monks standing on the upper 
 step,^ rose to him without bowing, and 
 did not sit down before him. When 
 the Abbot was abroad, or very far off, 
 the Prior, according to the fault, could 
 extend the discipline to the prison, 
 or greater punishment, amoval from 
 the Church and deprivation excepted. 
 When the Abbacy was vacant, he could 
 profess Monks. He could give licence 
 to any Monk of good character to go 
 out and return on the same day ; and, 
 upon the pressure of necessity, to 
 I exceed the space of a night. He could 
 I go nowhere without one or two Monks ; 
 i the Abbot found him his expences, 
 and licence was not to be denied him. 
 When he sat at the table he could send 
 his cup to the Cellarer to be filled once 
 or twice, and that officer was not to 
 deny him. When he sat professedly 
 in office, one of the Novices was to 
 attend him. He was not allowed, nor 
 any other, to have a cup with a cover. 
 If clerks, or laymen, dined in the Refec- 
 tory, he was to stay for the sake of the 
 company, and to ask two or three of 
 the Monks to do so besides, those 
 
 ministrabit. Omnia enim respicienda ad ordinem 
 debent referre ad priorem et disponi qui fuerit in 
 ordine. f. 192 a. Ad potum per vesperas cum prior 
 vidit conventum competenter Iransisse, semel cum 
 manu percutiet tintinnabulum, et post ilium ictum 
 uullus prsesumat intrare ad potum. Postmodum 
 prior sollicite circumspiciat, ut videat conventum 
 perbibisse, et ciphos reposuisse. Deinde trina 
 percussione in tintinnabulo factft de consistorio se 
 eriget, et ante tercium ictum nuUus de tabuld 
 surget, sed post tercium ictum omnes. Identidem 
 fiet ad potum post collationem, et ad potum post 
 nonam, benedictione dict^, antequam aliquis pr8B- 
 sumat bibere, semel debet tintinnabulum tangere, 
 et postmodum omnes licenter potum haurire. 
 Si quis frati'um abbatis praicepto sententiae cibi aut 
 potus subditus per biduura, vel triduum, aut per 
 majus spacium, prior, si ad consistorium discubuerit, 
 ilium fratrem illo die pro voto suo s\ sententift 
 relaxabit, postero die frater iile sententiam reitera- 
 bit, et Jl sententiil non relaxabitur, donee in capi- 
 tulo absolvatur, ut sententia compleatur. f. 192 b. 
 » Suppidaneis. Dec. Lanfr. 
 
114 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 whom he chose. After Complin, he 
 was to put his hood on at the gate of 
 the Cloister, as were all the others; 
 and thus they were to proceed in 
 procession to the Dormitory ; the Prior 
 sitting upon his bed some time, till the 
 greater part of the house were in bed. 
 He was to make his search first at the 
 guests' parlour; if there were none, 
 unless he wished to oblige the Monks, 
 whom he found there, he was to lock 
 the doors. If there were visitors, he 
 was to pass by with the keys to the 
 Church, to see what was done in the 
 Choir and circuit of it ; and if such and 
 such gates were unlocked ; and after- 
 wards make a search at the locutory. 
 If any left the Cloister-conversation to 
 talk in the parlour, it was a great breach 
 of the Order; if in urgent business 
 there were but few at the Cloister-con- 
 versation, the searcher might follow 
 them. It was the duty of the Explo- 
 rator to make a search whenever it 
 seemed proper.^ When the Abbot or 
 Prior was present in the Cloister, if 
 the Sub-prior or third Prior were talk- 
 ing in the Cloister, and did not sug- 
 gest to the Exploratory^ by a word. 
 
 * The Egyptian Monks had an officer, similar 
 to the Circa, or Circator, who went round the 
 cells of the Monks silently, and listened outside for 
 the detection of abuses. Du Cange, v. Circa. 
 
 ^ In the Anglo-Saxon and Norman institutes, 
 there was a peculiar oflScer, called the Circa, or 
 Circuitor. His duty was to search the whole house, 
 and to proclaim the abuses in the Chapter of the 
 next day ; to which also he was to bring any books 
 or vestments he found in the Cloister, and to put 
 the lantern before a Monk who was asleep during 
 the lesson ; which Monk, when awake, was to 
 beg pardon kneeling, take the lantern, and go 
 round the Choir. In the Norman sera (just before 
 Mattins was his proper time for scrutiny), he was 
 never to speak, but make a complaint in the Chap- 
 ter of the next day. Those whom he found sleep- 
 ing in the Dormitory, he just made a sound 
 sufficient to awake. His complaints were made 
 first in the Chapter, after the Venice, or voluntary 
 solicitations of pardon for oflFences. The Gilbertine 
 Nuns had also Scrutatrices. The duties of the 
 Circa or Circator, were to go round the house at 
 the hours when the Monks were engaged in read- 
 ing ; to the officer, to notice the abuses of the lay- 
 brothers ; to the Cloister if any Monk should be 
 idle ; to the Dormitory to wake the Monks, or any 
 where, to collect the Monks for the canonical 
 hours, for which he rang the signum. In the 
 Rule of S. Victor he is ordered to be chosen from 
 the most religious, zealous, and impartial Monks ; 
 
 or a sign, that they had leave so to do, 
 they were to be accused in Chapter. 
 If the Explorator spoke to the Prior 
 in the parlour, he was to pass by that 
 person, and thus the Sul3-prior, and 
 third Prior, and those that were with 
 him, would not be accused in Chapter. 
 When this officer was making his 
 search, he was allowed to make signs, 
 but not to speak any where without 
 leave, if any one of the Priors was 
 present. The Prior on duty, if he 
 spoke in the parlour without making a 
 sign to the Explorator, was not to be 
 accused. The Prior was to be first in 
 rank with the first, and last with the 
 last : if absent from Mattins, by disease 
 or otherwise, he was to celebrate at the 
 lectern of the guests. On the days of 
 Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, if 
 the Abbot was absent or unable, he 
 was to be put in the table,^ and cele- 
 brate. In the feasts celebrated in 
 cappce, if the Prior sang thirds, he was 
 to put off the stole, when the service 
 was over ; and if there was a procession, 
 put on his robe, and walk in his rank. 
 He could ask another to officiate in 
 his stead, when he was himself at Mat- 
 tins. Whenever he came to the par- 
 lour, or store-room, or wherever the 
 Monks were allowed to speak, all were 
 to rise to him, even the Abbot's officers.^ 
 When he was in the Choir, no one was 
 to pass by him to the form. If any 
 contention arose in the Chapter, he 
 could (at option) defer the accusation 
 till the Abbot was present ; but if the 
 Convent interfered, he could claim 
 cognizance of it himself. He could 
 
 and was to visit all the offices, and note breaches of 
 duty. He was to take his walk in so silent and 
 solemn a manner, as to strike terror in the specta- 
 tors ; but not to speak, or make a sign to anyone. 
 He made his circuit at all times, except during 
 Chapter and Collation, when the doors of the Clois- 
 ter were locked. It was his especial duty to see 
 that no Monk was absent from the hours, or spoke, 
 where and when he ought not. Du Cange, v. 
 Circa, Circator. 
 
 «= A board, where the names of the ebdomada- 
 ries, who were to officiate during the week, were 
 set down. See sect. Church. 
 
 ^ Any where out of the Cloister or Choir ; when 
 he wished to sit in the former, those only near 
 him. Dec. Lanfr. 
 
PRIOR, 
 
 116 
 
 subject a Monk to the penance of fast- 
 ing, carrying the lantern, custody, and 
 last rank, without the Abbot's know- 
 ledge: but he could subject no one to the 
 sentence of imprisonment, or severer 
 punishment, when the Abbot was at 
 home ; but the matter was to be refer- 
 red to him, and the Monk be punished 
 with tliat sentence according to his 
 award. When the Abbot was present, 
 the Prior could be accused. When 
 the Abbot went abroad, the Prior 
 could not, unless for succour's sake, 
 admit any one a Monk, and then with 
 advantage to the Church. If the Sub- 
 prior held the Chapter, tlie Prior was 
 not to enter, unless asked, or from 
 urgent necessity.** When the Prior 
 nade a search in the parlour, or else- 
 where, all who were talking were to 
 rise, and say that they talked by his 
 leave.^ If the Prior sitting on duty 
 made a noise, or spilt the drink at 
 dinner, the Novice that waited on him, 
 lest any evil should seem to be unpun- 
 ished, was to receive pardon for that 
 offence before his seat. If the Prior 
 on duty dined with the servants, he 
 might sit with him whom he chose 
 should be that person ; nor was he to 
 receive licence of doing so from the 
 president of the table. When any 
 Abbot sat at dinner at the high desk, 
 if it was a fast day, the Prior at the 
 drinking during Vespers was to strike 
 the bell in the Refectory. If he found 
 a journey troublesome, he could send 
 the Sub-prior, and release him then 
 from all his offices. After dinner, 
 when the Convent went to the Dormi- 
 tory, he was to sit before his bed until 
 the rest were laid down. There he 
 was to sit as long as he liked, and 
 afterwards go away where he chose, till 
 the servants had dined. After this, he 
 was to make a search and lock the 
 doors of the parlours. Those who had 
 licence from the Prior were to stay 
 with him, and be absent from the 
 meridian ; but all the others were to go 
 to sleep. The Prior, if disengaged, 
 
 » Decret. Lanfr. sect. De Priore. 
 ^ Ibid. sect. De Circuitoribus. 
 
 was to be at Complin, after which he 
 was to make a search with a lantern, 
 which he was to carry both in winter 
 and summer, at that time, and every 
 other, when necessary. Whoever locked 
 the gates was to carry the keys to the 
 Prior's bed, and in his absence to that 
 of the Prior on duty. To search the 
 Dormitory was allowed only to Priors 
 after Complin, and at the Meridian, or 
 sleep at noon. At the drinking during 
 Vespers, when the Prior saw the Con- 
 vent had sufficiently drunk, he was to 
 strike the bell with his hand once, and 
 after that no one was to presume to 
 enter. Afterwards he was carefully to 
 look round and see whether the Con- 
 vent had all drunk, and put the cups 
 by. Afterwards, at a triple blow of 
 the bell, he was to rise from his seat, 
 and all the Convent with him, but not 
 before. The same was to be done at 
 the drinking after collation, and after 
 Nones; when the benediction was 
 given, he was to strike the bell once, 
 and then and not before, the Monks 
 were to drink. If any Monk, by the 
 Abbot's order, was penanced with fast- 
 ing for two or three days, or longer, 
 the Prior, if he dined at the head of 
 the table, might on that day relax the 
 sentence : but, on the next day, it was 
 to be renewed, and there was no 
 further remission, till he was absolved 
 in chapter, in order that the sentence 
 might be executed. 
 
 If the Prior was sick, he was to lodge 
 and dine in the Infirmary from custom, 
 but elsewhere by favour; for respect 
 was to be paid to him by all, on 
 account of his authority. Any servant, 
 known and brought up in the Church, 
 whom he chose, was, except the com- 
 mon servants of the Infirmary, to wait 
 upon him ; and all things, respecting 
 the Order, to be referred to the Prior 
 on duty. Notwithstanding these regu- 
 lations, it seems, that they affected to 
 be second Abbots, and did not look 
 much after the Cloister and care of the 
 Order.c 
 
 The Sub-prior's chamber, says Da- 
 
 Reyn. Append. 198. 
 
 I 2 
 
116 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 vies, was over the Dormitory door, 
 that he miglit hear if any stirred or 
 went out. His office was to go every 
 night as a private watch before and 
 after midnight to every Monk's cham- 
 ber door, and to call upon him by 
 name, to see if any were wanting, or 
 stolen out in pursuit of any unlawful 
 business. The Sub-prior also sat 
 always among the Monks at meat, to 
 see that every man behaved himself 
 according to the Order he had betaken 
 himself to. He always said grace at 
 dinner and supper, and, after five 
 o'clock at night, Avas to see all the 
 doors locked : as the cellar-door, the 
 frater-house door, the Fawden-gates,^ 
 and the Cloister doors. He kept the 
 keys of these doors all night till five in 
 the morning, and then returned them 
 to the porters and other proper officers. 
 
 The Sub-prior (in Abbeys) had the 
 same power and privileges as the major 
 Prior in his absence. When the Abbot 
 was also away, he could permit the 
 sick to retire to the Infirmary, and, if 
 necessary, eat meat. The visitation 
 of the Infirmary was his peculiar care ; 
 and, like the Prior, he could punish 
 the servants, but not add to, or turn 
 them away. Every day after Complin, 
 having received the holy water with 
 the others from the hebdomadary, he 
 was to stand, while the Convent pass- 
 ed, to notice those who walked irreve- 
 rently, and without their hoods on. 
 After this, he took a lantern, and 
 searched the whole house. ^ 
 
 At Abingdon he was elected by the 
 Abbot and choice of the Prior and 
 more sage of the Convent. At the 
 four days of Christmas, Easter, or 
 Pentecost,^ when the Abbot or Prior 
 was absent, he was to take his place. 
 If he himself was absent, the Chan- 
 tor. He was to search the Dormitory 
 before Mattins. Before the Chapter 
 he was to observe the gates of the 
 Locutory and other gates. If the 
 
 ^ Falb, A. S. a sheepfold, stable, a bishop's 
 stall ; viderint Dunelmenses. 
 
 ^ Deer. Lanfr. Sect. De Priore. 
 
 «= The reader will recollect Trinity Stmday in- 
 cluded ia the Pentecost Term. 
 
 Prior held the Chapter, he was to 
 sound the bell in his stead.*i 
 
 Dean was the old appellation of 
 Prior,^ for to every ten Monks there 
 was a Prior.^ Instances appear where 
 the Deans were actual Sub-priors in 
 office. s " The rule ordered them to 
 be selected from the best that could be 
 found ; "^ and the licence for absence 
 from Chapter was to be had from 
 them.^ In Nunneries, says B. Fox, 
 '^ If the covent be great, we woll that 
 certeyne of the susters of good proufe 
 and holy conversacion be made 
 Deanes;'^^ with whom agrees the 
 Anglo-Saxon rule of Bennet, adding 
 that they were " to divide the burden 
 with the Abbess. '^1 The Prior and 
 Deans were called Guardians of the 
 Order among the Cistertians;™ but these 
 Monks had this peculiarity : a Monk 
 who presided joro tempore over a 
 particular study or office, was not to 
 be called Prior, but Provisor, and 
 every where out of his office was to 
 stand in the right Choir, directly after 
 the Abbot.n 
 
 Prioresses, Among the Gilbertine 
 Nuns there were three Prioresses, one 
 of which presided i^i turn, and had 
 then the first stall, one of her coadju- 
 tors standing on the right hand, the 
 other on the left. The presiding Pri- 
 oress held the Chapter, enjoined the 
 penances, granted all the licences or 
 allowances, visited the sick, or caused 
 them to be visited by one of her com- 
 panions. She had obedience and res- 
 pect paid to her by all. She could 
 
 ■* Cimbam vice sui pulsabit. MS. Cott. Claud, 
 b. vi. 192. b. « Du Cange, v. Decanus. 
 
 ^ Wilkins's Concil. ii. 719. " Decanum et 
 monachos quoscunque ad custodiam manerii et 
 ecclesiae (de Leorainstre cellse abbatise de Reading) 
 deputatos :" (Monast. Angl. i. 25.) I render, 
 " The Prior and Monks deputed to the custody of 
 the manor and church,'* &c. 
 
 e Du Cange, v. Norma. 
 
 ^ Nam jubet regula decanos fieri, de melioribus 
 quipossunt eligi. MS. Cott. Vesp. A. xriii. 169. 
 a. Reyner, 120. 
 
 • Cap. gen. Northampt. a° 1444. c. 3. 
 
 '' R. of S. Benn. for the Mynchins or Nuns, b. 1. 
 1516, c. 21. 
 
 1 Abbatissse partiantur onera. MS. Bodl. Ar- 
 chiv. Seld. D. 52. (no pages). 
 
 "* Du Cange, v. Custos, * Id. v. Provisor. 
 
PRIOR. 
 
 117 
 
 not depose the Sub-prioress or Cel- 
 laress without consulting the gene- 
 ral Prior. The food was distributed 
 by the Cellaress, but the vestments of 
 the Nuns cut, sewed, and divided by 
 the Prioresses. No Prioress could sit 
 near any man in their houses, without 
 some discreet sister sat between ; nor 
 elsewhere, if it could be conveniently 
 avoided. She could send the Sub- 
 prioress into the Infirmary, to take 
 the ve7ii(£, if she was herself engaged. 
 The Prioress was to endeavour to visit 
 the Nuns, unless she happened to be 
 in the kitchen, or was detained by 
 sickness. If any one wished to confess, 
 she signified to the Prioress, if she was 
 in the Cloister or Church, or confessed 
 to her or any person she ordered. On 
 holidays, she sent some learned Nun 
 with a book to her sisters, to teach 
 them somewhat of the profit of the 
 soul, and rigour of the Order. She 
 herself presided over the Chapter of 
 the sisters, and one of her coadjutors 
 often took their veni(B in the evening 
 Chapter. On festival days she visited 
 them if she had time, and diligently 
 inquired of their Order and religion. 
 If she left the Dormitory after dinner, 
 or after Complin, she did not go out 
 without Nuns. She was obliged to 
 indicate the cause of her departure to 
 the Prior of all. If she left the Church 
 through sickness, she confessed in the 
 Chapter, and no one stood in her stall, 
 except at Mass, and necessity required 
 it. If she was in the kitchen, she 
 
 could take the ve^iice of others in her 
 scapulary. When she was serving in 
 the kitchen, and made a mistake in the 
 Refectory, she begged her pardon there. 
 She was to shun conferring with the 
 scrutatrices (or visitors) of another 
 house, deputed to her, or to make 
 search of any thing, except in the 
 common Chapter. If she was in the 
 Infirmary, she was to conduct herself 
 more reservedly, and not speak with 
 more together than two, and that in a 
 bounded place, unless perhaps neces- 
 sity compelled her to talk with more 
 for the sake of consultation, or when 
 she happened to hold the chapter of the 
 sick. She could upon great necessity, 
 hold the Chapter of the Convent, and 
 receive confessions. If she was con- 
 fined by extreme illness, she could, like 
 the rest, talk in bed. 
 
 Sub-prioress, She could not become 
 Prioress, unless the Prior of all, or 
 Scrutatrices, judged it necessary. She 
 could not enter the chamber of the 
 Novitiates to take their Venice, unless 
 called by a sign from their mistress. 
 If in the absence of the Prioresses she 
 spoke of any thing, except of labour, 
 she confessed having done so in the 
 Chapter. If it happened that another 
 spoke in the absence of the Prioress, 
 the Sub-Prioress notwithstanding took 
 the Venice in the Chapter and out of it. 
 But she could not go to the gate of the 
 window without a sage companion.* 
 
 ^ Monast. Anglic, ii. 760, 1. 
 
118 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CELLARER. 
 
 This officer, who was to be the father 
 of the whole society, had the care of 
 every thing relating to the food of the 
 Monks, and vessels of the cellar, 
 kitchen, and refectory. He was to be 
 careful of the healthy, but especially of 
 the sick. He was to do nothing of 
 greater moment, without the advice 
 of the Abbot or Prior. He was to ask 
 the Chantor some days before, when 
 his sentence of the Rule was read in 
 the Chapter, and then to solicit abso- 
 lution, and make a handsome refection 
 for the Monks, which, if the sentence 
 of the Rule fell upon an improper day, 
 was deferred by leave of the Prior and 
 Chapter to another.* He was allowed 
 absence from Masses, Completory, 
 and all the hours, except Mattins, Ves- 
 pers, and Prime. He was to be present 
 at the great Mass upon feast days, 
 till the Gospel was read; also every 
 day in Lent, till the verses of the 
 oiFertory were sung. He was to weigh 
 the bread daily, and in collecting the 
 spoons after dinner he was to carry 
 the Abbot's in his right hand, and the 
 rest in his left. But if there were two 
 or more Abbots at the high table, one 
 of the Brothers, invited by the Refec- 
 tioner, and attending on the left hand 
 with the spoons, was to take the spoons 
 of the Abbots in his right hand, and 
 collect the rest, with the assistance of 
 the spoon-officer, in his left. He was 
 to wait upon the Visitors, Minuti, and 
 Monks returning from journeys. He 
 was to take care that no one sat down 
 before the Abbot or Prior, and, when 
 any one asked for bread and beer in 
 reason, was to give it to him.^ At 
 
 " Dec. Lanfr. sect, de Cellerario. 
 
 ^ MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. 201, b. Si autem 
 fuerunt duo, vel plures abbates ad consistorium 
 discumbentes, unus fratrum a refectorario rogatus 
 lev^ parte de cochlearibus ministrans abbatum 
 cochlearia dextra manu feret, ceetera autem coch- 
 
 Edmundsbury he held his court of 
 thieves and robbers; and had power 
 over the highways, so that no one 
 could dig chalk or clay without his 
 leave. He or his agents had the pre- 
 emption of all food for the use of the 
 Convent if the Abbot was not at home.<^ 
 There was sometimes a Cellarer for 
 in-door business, and another for 
 out-door.^ Davies says, '^ His office 
 was to see how much was expended in 
 the kitchen, both for the Prior's table, 
 the whole Convent, and for all stran- 
 gers that came. It was his office also 
 to see all things orderly served, and 
 in due time. His chamber was in 
 the Dorter." e 
 
 The Cellaress was to see, when she 
 came into her office, what was owing 
 to it by different farmers and rent- 
 gatherers; to receive certain sums 
 yearly of the different collectors on the 
 Nunnery estates; to take account of 
 all the ox-hides, inwards of them, 
 tallow, and every mess of beef sold ; 
 to charge herself with the hay sold at 
 any farm belonging to her office ; to 
 purvey all the provision for the house, 
 and pay certain offerings, wages, and 
 gifts ; to hire pasture for her oxen, and 
 attend to the mowing and making 
 of hay, and repairs of building.^ 
 
 The Cellaress of the Gilbertine Nuns 
 was not to talk in private with the 
 yearly visitors from another house, 
 nor with any other concerning any 
 
 learia cum cocleatorio manu sinistra colliget. 202. 
 b. Cellerarius vigilanter provideat ne ante recu- 
 bitum abbatis, vel prioris, aliquis recubet. Id. 201. 
 b. Nulli panem et cervisiam consideranter petenti 
 debet renuere. Id. 201. b.— The keys of the cola- 
 torium or strainer, for straining the beer, were also 
 in his custody. Ibid. 
 
 <= Monast. i. 300. d M. Par. 1096, etalii. 
 
 « A secular performed this office at Winchester, 
 but was removed by William of Wickham. MS. 
 Harl. 328. 
 
 f Monast. 1. 80, 83. For the reason of the 
 agricultural direction of her office, see sect. Nuns. 
 
CELLARER. 
 
 119 
 
 Canon or Nun (de aliquo vel aliqua), 
 that the visitors might hear ; nor serve 
 in the kitchen, where the Sub-cellaress 
 was to take her place. She was to 
 have a Lay-sister associated with her 
 to help her, with whom she might talk 
 of necessaries openly in the cellar. In 
 the cellar, however, no one was to 
 speak except the Prioress and Cellar- 
 ess, and Fenestraria, or Window-por- 
 teress, Lay-sister of the Hostrey, that 
 of the kitchen, and the assistant of 
 the Cellaress. The Cellaress was not 
 to speak in the Infirmary of the Lay- 
 
 sisters sitting ; and a fault of this kind 
 was to be examined. The bread of 
 the sick and the whole society was to 
 be distributed according to her direc- 
 tion. All the food was too in her 
 disposal, and no one but the Prioress 
 had besides any controul over it. When 
 she left the Dormitory, after dinner or 
 complin, and broke silence, she was to 
 declare the cause of both in the Chap- 
 ter ;^*nor was to go out without more 
 Nuns. a 
 
 » Monast. ii. 761. 
 
120 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PRECENTOR, OR CHANTOR. 
 
 The office of Precentor was one of 
 those which could only be filled by a 
 Monk who liad been educated in the 
 Monastery from a child/^ He was 
 only to be set down in the table to the 
 lesson and responsory in the Abbotts 
 absence, in order that he might then 
 take his place. He was to correct all 
 mistakes in the choral service, which 
 was entirely at his disposal, to distri- 
 bute the robes at festivals, and to 
 make the tables of the Monks for 
 divine service. No one was to leave 
 the Choir before Mass was over with- 
 out his leave. His place was in the 
 middle of the Choir, and on the right 
 side. He was censed next to the 
 Abbot and Prior. He began the chant 
 first, and was followed by the right 
 Choir. In all principal feasts which 
 fell on Sundays, he was put into the 
 table of office, with two others whom 
 he chose. On Sundays, and festivals 
 of that kind, another held the Choir, 
 and made a sign to the Chantor when 
 he began the verse of the offering, 
 which salutation was returned by a 
 bow ; and, upon the beginning of every 
 verse, he and all the children bowed. 
 In times of manual labour, he either 
 read or showed the master of the 
 Novices where the children were to 
 begin reading. He notified to the 
 Abbot all the chants which he sang or 
 began .^ 
 
 At Abingdon he was elected by the 
 Abbot, Prior, and Convent. *It was 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Nutriti. 
 
 ^ Deer. Lanfr. sect. De Cantore. 
 
 * MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 193. seq. Officium 
 cantoris est officio cantandi et legend! omnes ex- 
 amussim docere etinstruere, primo abbatem, deinde 
 priorem, postraodum omnes alios. Si quis de 
 accentu, aut pronuntiutione, aut alio modo hesita- 
 verit, cantor illud dubium certificabit. Si abbas 
 morbo praeoccupatus matutinis interesse non possit, 
 per capellj-num suum cantori mandabit, et cantor 
 postnaodum officium abbatis procurabit. In pro- 
 
 his office to teach all the Monks to 
 sing and read, to the most exact degree, 
 first the Abbot, afterwards the Prior, 
 and then all the others. If any one 
 hesitated respecting an accent or pro- 
 nunciation, or any thing else, the 
 Chantor was to rectify that doubt. 
 [The officiating Monks were accus- 
 tomed to rehearse the services, and 
 receive the key, &c. from the Precen- 
 tor] .c When the Abbot was diseased, 
 and could not be present at Mattins, 
 his Chaplain notified it to the Chantor, 
 
 cessionibus in monasterio abbas nichil incipiet, 
 nisi cantor prsesignaverit. Cantor a nuUo officio 
 ebdomadario liber erit. Si abbas prsesens fuerit 
 monitu cantoris incipiet ; et si abbas expeditus non 
 fuerit, et in festis quos abbas non incipit, cantor 
 succedet. Cantor negligentes in choro corripiet — 
 quando alicui innuet ut cantet, frater illi inclinare 
 debet. Cantori licet, sine reprehensione horis 
 canonicis et ad missas libros inspicere, exceptis 
 libris ad officium missje assignatis. Quociens 
 cantor chorum tenuerit quoddam excepto communi 
 de coquina habebit. In festis quse celebrantur in 
 cappis aliquis fratrum monitu cantoris bacula festiv. 
 in chorum deferet, et cantor concantoribvis distri- 
 buet. Quisquis tabulam scripserit cantor ante capi- 
 tulum providebit. A diebus fratrum anniversariis 
 lector martirologii monitu cantoris prout cantor 
 disposuerit, dispositionem in capitulo pronuntiabit. 
 In precipuis anniversariis triduo ante pronuntia- 
 tionem cantor cellerario et coquinario intimabit 
 [the same with the Abbot's anniversaries]. Si 
 quis ad missam sederit, monitu cantoris surgens 
 inclinabit. A depositione alicujus fratris nomen 
 ispsius in martyrologio providentia cantoris debet 
 inscribi. Arciva cantori debent assignari, per 
 cantorem eleemosynario tradi. In omnibus festis 
 in quibus processio fuerit cantor processionem 
 ordinabit, et ad ostium chori sociura socio parifi- 
 cabit pro ordinatione processionis monachos de 
 choro in chorum transponet. Quae ad proces- 
 sionem sunt ferenda, monitu cantoris ferentur. 
 Cantoris dispositione annuse disponenter rasturee. 
 Si quis morbe praeoccupatus licentia capituli infir- 
 mitorium adierit, de quocunque ebdomadarius fue- 
 rit cantor procurabit ; idemptidem procurabit, si 
 quis quoque cum benedictione ierit, 194. b. Can- 
 tor pro transgressione mendacii et negligentia in 
 choro officii^ puerorum aures eriget, capillos disti- 
 nct, manu caedet. Cantor almaria puerorum juve- 
 num et alia in quibus libri conventus reponuntur, 
 innovabit, fracta praeparabit, pannos librorum 
 bibliothecse repperiet, fracturas librorum reficiet, 
 193. b. 
 « Pu Cange, v, Aweuitare* 
 
PRECENTOR, OR CHANTOR. 
 
 121 
 
 and lie made provision for supplying 
 his place. In the processions in the 
 Monastery, the Abbot was to do 
 nothing unless forewarned by the Chan- 
 tor. The Chantor was free from no 
 weekly office. When the Abbot was 
 present, he began at the warning of the 
 Chantor ; and if the Abbot was en- 
 gaged, the Chantor took his place, as 
 well as in festivals, which that prelate 
 had not begun. He reproved the 
 negligent in the choral service, and 
 when he nodded to any one to sing, 
 that Monk was to bow to him. He 
 could inspect the books at the canoni- 
 cal hours and Masses, those only 
 excepted assigned to the office of the 
 Mass. As often as he held the Choir, 
 he had an allowance beyond the com- 
 mons of the house. On the feasts of 
 Copes, some Monk, by his direction, 
 brought the festival staves into the 
 Choir, and he distributed them to his 
 fellow- chantors. Before the Chapter 
 he made provision of the person to 
 write the table. Upon the anniver- 
 saries of the Monks, the reader of the 
 martyrology, by his direction, pro- 
 nounced in the ChajDter how he had 
 arranged matters. On the principal 
 anniversaries (and those of Abbots) he 
 intimated the arrangement to the Cel- 
 larer and Kitchener three days before 
 the annunciation. If any one sat at 
 Mass, he rose and bowed at the direc- 
 tion of the Chantor. At the decease 
 of a Monk, his name, by the provision 
 of this officer, was registered in the 
 martyrology or obituary. The archives 
 belonged to him, and were delivered 
 by him to the Almoner.a In all the 
 feasts in which there was procession, 
 he arranged the procession and paired 
 the Monks at the door of the Choir ; 
 and also transposed the Monks from 
 Choir to Choir. Every thing borne 
 at the procession was under his direc- 
 tion. The Q.mma\ rastnra^ were dis- 
 posed by him. If any sick Monk, by 
 leave of the Chapter, went to the 
 
 » To make out the hrevia from. See Almoner. 
 
 ^ Rasturoy in the Gilbertine rule, is the shaving of 
 
 the head ; but rasura, in Du Cange, is bread raspings. 
 
 Infirmary, he provided who should be 
 Ebdomadary; and, in the same man- 
 ner, when any one went out with bene- 
 diction, or for a time. He could lug 
 the ears of the boys, pull their hair, 
 and chastise with his hand, the Novices 
 who told lies, and were negligent in 
 the Choir. He mended the presses or 
 almonries of the Novices, youths, and 
 others, where the Convent books were 
 deposited, repaired them, and found 
 cloths for the library books, and repair- 
 ed their damages. 
 
 During service the Precentor held in 
 his hand a kind of musical instrument 
 made of bone, called tabula. In a will, 
 dated 83 7> they are called singing tabu- 
 la, prepared (ornamented) with gold 
 and silver. t^ Amalarius says, he holds 
 them in his hands as a substitute for 
 organs, without any necessity of read- 
 ing, that he may represent that of 
 the Psalmist, "They shall praise his 
 name in the Choir with timbrel and 
 psalter.^^'l Among the classical an- 
 cients, the Coryphaeus, or leader of the 
 band, not only beat time with his foot 
 and the scaltilla, or crupezia, but with 
 the hand also, putting the fingers of the 
 right hand upon the hollow of the left, 
 for which purpose they sometimes used 
 oyster-shells, the shells of other fish, 
 as well as the bones of animals,^ &c. 
 The roll of parchment now used, is 
 merely a copy of the Contaciiim, a stick 
 with several skins rolled round it, con- 
 taining the offices to be recited by the 
 Priest.^ Some accounts say, that the 
 Precentor held a silver staff while the 
 service was performed, which was 
 taken, says Honorius, from the staff 
 held by the Israelites, who, eating the 
 Paschal lamb, travelled to their coun- 
 try.g 
 
 * The Subchantor was to be elected 
 by the choice and request of the Chan- 
 tor, whose place he was to fill. The 
 keys of the lockers, where the yearly 
 
 •= Du Cange, v. Tabula. 
 
 «> L. 3. c. 16, p. 411. 
 
 e Bumey's Hist, of Musick, i. 75. ' Du Cange, 
 V. Contacium. « Id. v. JBaculari Cantorum. 
 
 * Succentor. Dispositione prsecentoris et peti- 
 tione succentor conistituatwr, Claves alraariorum 
 
122 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 books and singing books were locked 
 up^ were to be in his custody. By the 
 constitutions of Walter de Wickwane, 
 Abbot of Winchcombe, for the govern- 
 ment of the house, it was enacted, that 
 no letter with the Convent seal, what- 
 ever might be the emergency, should 
 be carried out of the Cloister before it 
 was entered by the Succentor, or a per- 
 son deputed by him, in the Landl)ok, 
 or elsewhere, as the business required. 
 The Succentor or Subchantor pre- 
 sided over the left Choir ; the Chan tor 
 
 in quibus libri annualos (sic) et libri cantus reclu- 
 duntur custodise succentoris assignabuntur. 194. b. 
 Et quod nulla litera sigillo conventuali (quodcun- 
 que contingat) aliquando extra claustrum deferatur 
 priusquam per succentorem aliumve per eum depu- 
 
 began, and the Subchantor answered ; 
 sometimes (the Precentor having only 
 that one appellation) the Succentor 
 was called Chantor.^ 
 
 Precentrix, When the Precentrix 
 served in the Kitchen (says the Gil- 
 bertine Rule), her companion had the 
 key of the Book-case, which was locked 
 always, except in Reading-time. She 
 and her companion, in the first 
 Sunday of Lent, when the Chapter was 
 over, divided the books at the Prior- 
 ess's order. She was to provide the 
 book for the Collation.^ 
 
 tatura in Landbok seu aliis locis prout negocium 
 requirit scribatur. MS. Cott. Cleop. B. ii. f. 225 b. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. PrcBcentura^ Succentor. 
 
 ^ Monast. Angl. ii. 767. 
 
KITCHENER. 
 
 123 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 KITCHENER. 
 
 At Abingdon he was free from every 
 weekly office, except the great Mass 
 and the Virgin Mary^s. He was never 
 absent from Chapter unless engaged. 
 He might leave the Dormitory before 
 the bell rang, and was to visit the sick 
 in the morning to see what they wanted. 
 The Abbot could not, without his leave, 
 contract any of the manors assigned 
 to the kitchen. He sat on the left of 
 the Prior at meals, and gave the licence 
 to the reader^ as well as that of dining 
 and drinking. *After dinner, on what- 
 soever duty he should be, he observed 
 the rank of the Prior by walking last 
 after the servants. When he sat at 
 the table of the servants, any Abbot 
 coming thither might dine there ; and 
 the Kitchener, notwithstanding, dining 
 according to his duty, attended no less 
 upon any of the servants with a meal, 
 for change of place was not an altera- 
 tion of rank. A consolatory compa- 
 nion, or solatium, was allowed him. 
 At dinner time he went round the ta- 
 bles of the sick to see what they wanted. 
 The Vacarius, or lierdsman, was sub- 
 ject to him. At Winchcombe it was 
 ordered that the Refectioner and Kit- 
 chener, for tlie time, should shew them- 
 selves ready to deUver to the servants 
 of the Minuti what was necessary, that 
 they might not be obliged, on this ac- 
 count, to decline the society, or com- 
 mon table of their brethren.^ At Eve- 
 
 * MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. p. 200, a, b. Post 
 prandium cujuscunque ordinis fuerit, ordinem pri- 
 ons postrerao post servitores incedendo servabit. 
 Cum discubuerit ad consistorium servitorum, ali- 
 quis abbas superveniens discubuerit ad consisto- 
 rium : coquinarius in ordine suo discumbens non 
 minus quemlibet servitorem uno ferculo visitabit, 
 loci enim mutacio non est dignitatis alteratio. 
 
 * Refectorarius autem et coquinarius qui pro tem- 
 pore fuerit, sic se minutorum ministris exhibeant 
 paratos, et sibi liberent quee debentur, quod non 
 sit necesse cuiquam de minutis pro suis necessariis 
 perquirendis a contubeniio declinare. MS. Cott. 
 Cleop. B. II. p. 228. 
 
 sham he had a horse allowed him, and 
 used to attend markets.^ It may be 
 gathered from statutes, that he was 
 sometimes in the habit of distressing 
 the Monks, by giving them always the 
 same dishes.^ A familiar modern says, 
 the office of chief Cook in Monasteries 
 was never conferred on any but such 
 as had made the art their study -A and 
 another, more antient, says, that they 
 had Lay-cooks able to please the pa- 
 late of Apicius himself.6 I find that 
 there were at Abingdon, besides the 
 Abbot's Cook, Bo, the Cook of the 
 Monks, and Am, the Cook of the house- 
 hold, nicknames, or names oddly 
 spelt.f 
 
 -^Ifstan, a Monk, who afterwards 
 became a Bishop, was Cook at Abing- 
 don. Alone, and unassisted, he cooked 
 the viands, gave them out, lighted the 
 fire, fetched the water, and washed the 
 dishes, which, as well as the pavement, 
 he kept in the cleanest state.s 
 
 Cooks. Among the Gilbertines, one 
 of them was to assist the Cellaress in 
 carrying bread and drink into the Re- 
 fectory ; all to carry the remains of the 
 pittances into the Cellar, and them- 
 selves serve the Nuns at supper. They 
 were to have their refection after the 
 Nuns, and, as well as the servants, take 
 mixtus.^^ 
 
 ^ Monast. Anglic, i. p. 148. 
 
 «= Cap. Gen. Northampt. a<» 1444. c. v. De Obe- 
 dientiariis. 
 
 '^ Andrew's Gr. Brit. vol. i. p. 2, from Croyl. 
 Hist, apud Gale. 
 
 e FuUer's Ch. Hist. b. vi. 
 
 ' Cocus abbatis ii panes parvos, pro companagio 
 iii ob. et cervisiam in aula. Bo cocus monacho- 
 rum, &c. Am cocus de familia. (MS. Cott. Claud. 
 B. vi.p. 178.; I am inclined to think from the 
 universality of soubriquets in my own parish and 
 elsewhere, that there were formerly, notwithstand- 
 ing baptism, persons who never were known by 
 any other, because the family denomination was 
 not sufficiently distinctive. 
 
 e Angl. Sacr. i. 165. 
 
 •^ Monast. Anglic, ii. 761, 762. 
 
124 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS, 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SENESCHALL. 
 
 This Obedicntary, often a Layman 
 of rank^ whose office was held by fee, 
 was to hold the courts^ to do the Ab- 
 bot's business with the king, by pay- 
 ing money into the Exchequer, and 
 transacting other matters of a like 
 kind.a For all this he had certain very 
 valuable fees, and privileges in hos- 
 pitality and other respects. There ap- 
 pears, however, to have been a Senes- 
 chall of inferior dignity. This officer 
 was to be always ready to do the Con- 
 vent business with the Prior and Cel- 
 larer, which was to be done out of the 
 house.^ He was to make the presents,c 
 when sent to persons lodging in the 
 town. When at home he was to have 
 the corrody of one Monk, to carry a 
 rod in his hand, and to arrange the 
 matters of those who sat at table in the 
 guests' hall. His annual wages were 
 10/. When he rode out with the Prior 
 and Cellarer beyond the gate, for the 
 business of the house, he had a ser- 
 vant, who attended the guests in the 
 hostrey, drew beer for liveries, carried 
 presents at the direction of the Cel- 
 larer, and received every day from the 
 cellar bread and beer, and culinary 
 fare, as persons in the hostrey. This 
 Seneschall had also the Bishop's habi- 
 tations in custody .d 
 
 The following charter of the Abbey 
 of Winchcombe shows the office and 
 emoluments of an inferior Seneschall. 
 
 a Monast. i. 290,302,361. 
 
 ^ Curia. c Exenia. 
 
 ^ Thorpe's Custumale Roffense, p. 29. 
 
 ^As long as he continued in office, 
 he was to have the same commons in 
 the Hall as the Cellarer, or even the 
 Abbot's Chaplain. 
 
 His servants were to fare the same 
 as other servants. 
 
 He had provender for two horses ; 
 the same allowance as for the Cellarer's 
 two horses. 
 
 He had also a robe of Clerk's cloth 
 once a year, with lamb's fur, for a su- 
 per- tunick,^ and for a hood of budge 
 fur,e and an allowance for his servant 
 the same as the Cellarer's servant. 
 
 He had also 405. sterling every year 
 at Michaelmas. 
 
 For this he was to hold their man- 
 erial courts twice a year, at least ; at- 
 tend to other business, and even go 
 abroad, if required, upon affairs of the 
 house, in which case his expenses were 
 alio wed. h 
 
 ^ Videl. quod habeat et percipiat quoad vivit in 
 officio Senescallatus nobis deservienti de nobis et 
 nostro monasterio in victualibus, sicut nostro celle- 
 rario etiam capellano deservitur in aula. 
 
 Et habeant sui garciones sicut ceeteri garciones. 
 
 Habeat insuper duos equos pro quibus habeat in 
 prsebenda, sicut pro duobus equis cellerarii libera- 
 tur. 
 
 Habeat insuper robam unam de panno clerico- 
 rum annis singulis cum forura agnina pro supertu- 
 nica, et pro caputio de bogeto : Et pro roba unius 
 garcionis, sicut garcioni cellerarii liberatur. 
 
 Et quadraginta solidos sterlingorum annis singu- 
 lis in festo S'i Michaelis percipiendos. 
 
 ' In the Norman sera, a dress like a smock-frock, 
 without sleeves, worn between the tunick and gown 
 (Strutt, i. 94), but varying in subsequent seras. 
 
 « See Abbot's dress, Ch. vii. 
 
 ^ Registrum parvura Abbatise de Winchcombe 
 pen^s prseaob. Doujin, Sherborne, fol. 240. 
 
TREASURER, OR BURSAR. 
 
 125 
 
 CHAPTER XIV, 
 
 TREASURER, OR BtTRSAR. 
 
 Davies says, " His exchequer was a 
 little stone house, joining upon the 
 coal-garth a pertaining to the great Kit- 
 chen, a little distant from the Dean's 
 hall-stairs. His office was to receive 
 the rents of the house, and all other 
 officers of the house made their ac- 
 counts to him. He discharged all the 
 servants' wages, and paid all the ex- 
 penses and sums of money laid out 
 
 » A yard or fold. A. S. geajib. 
 den. Watson's Halifax, Gloss. 
 
 Hence Gar- 
 
 ahout any works appertaining to the 
 Abbey, or that the house was charged 
 withal. His chamber was in the In- 
 firmary, and his meat was served from 
 the great kitchen to his exchequer." 
 This is all the notice I have seen of 
 this officer, except a denomination of 
 Capsarius in Du Cange, and Bursar 
 elsewhere^, for in many houses the ex- 
 terior Cellarer supplied his place. 
 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. i. 767. 
 
126 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS, 
 
 CHAPTER XV, 
 
 SACRIST OR SECRETARIUS, 
 
 He was to uncover the Altar after 
 the Gospel in feasts of twelve lesson s, 
 to carry the text to the Vestiary, which 
 the Priest bore, as in his robe he pro- 
 ceeded every day to the Altar ; to carry 
 a lantern before the Priest in his way 
 from the Altar to the Lectern, and, 
 after the collect, put the text upon the 
 Altar, and to ring the bell, or tell others 
 to do it ; for which he was to ask no 
 leave, unless at Prime, or Collation, or 
 at Thirds and Vespers, when the Ab- 
 bot sat in the Cloister with the Monks 
 conversing. He distributed the can- 
 dles for the offices ; took care of all 
 burials; washed the chalices twice a 
 week, or oftener, as necessary ; and the 
 corporals a before Easter, or when ex- 
 pedient, provided he was a Priest or 
 Deacon, and for this he had brazen 
 vessels used for nothing else, the water 
 of which was thrown in the piscina, 
 or, as it is otherwise and there called, 
 Sacrarium.b He had the charge of 
 preparing the host, and of washing the 
 ampullae^ for wine and water on Thurs- 
 days and Sundays, which he supplied 
 every day for the officiating ministers, 
 and furnished the wafers to the com- 
 municants. He lighted the candles 
 after the collect, at the Lessons and 
 Lauds ; and, if any indiscreet delay 
 ensued, he lay prostrate before the 
 step of penan(;ed till a certain part of 
 the service was ended, after which he 
 departed without leave. The intricacy 
 of this office occasioned a recommen- 
 
 * Cloths the host was wrapped in. 
 
 ^ Hist, of Hampton Poyle, by Mr. Ellis. MS. 
 
 c Vessels to pour the wine into the chalice with. 
 The ceremony of preparing the host is given at 
 large in Tindal's Evesham, p. 185 ; but, though 
 verbaiim the same as in the Dec. Lanfr. the officer 
 is there the Infirmarer. If the host happened to 
 fall, an appropriate religious service was performed, 
 and whatever thing it touched was cut off and 
 thrown into the Sacrarium, or Piscina (of the va- 
 rious uses of which I shall speak in Sect. Church). 
 Dec. Lanfr. c. ii. 
 
 ^ The step where the benedictions were received ; 
 but see art. Chapter, sect. Penances and Disci- 
 pline. 
 
 dation that it should be committed to 
 a master and servants.^ 
 
 At Al)ingdon* the Sacrist was 
 elected in the same manner as the 
 Chantor. When unoccupied, he was 
 in the orde?', and exempted from no 
 weekly office. He had the care of the 
 vestments of the Church, bells, and 
 banners. He could not give, sell, or 
 pawn any of the official ornaments of 
 the Church, nor even pledge any small 
 matter for a short time, without the 
 witness of his fellows. He could not 
 speak at any time with a Monk, or any 
 other in the Church. As often as any 
 one of the congregation of the servants, 
 or persons coming from other places 
 (not a respectable person) should sit or 
 
 '^ Deer. Lanfr. c. 6. De Secretariis, &c. 
 * MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. 19o, seq. Eodem 
 ordine, eadem dispositione, qua Cantor eligitur et 
 instituitur, debet Secretarius eligi etinstitui. Quo- 
 ciens secretarius expeditus fuerit, in ordine erit, et 
 a nuUo officio ebdomadarii absolutus erit. Orna- 
 menta ecclesise nee aliqua sibi assignata sacrista 
 dare, vendere, nee impignorare potuit, autem [aut] 
 aliquod modicum, pro modico tempore, sine soci- 
 orum testimonio impignorare. Non licet secre- 
 tario aliquando cum monacho, aut alio aliquo loqui 
 in monasterio. Quociens aliquis in congregatione 
 ministrantium, vel aliunde venientium, nisi reve- 
 renda fuerit persona, in conspectu conventus sede- 
 rit, aut steterit, sacrista eum amovebit, exceptA 
 Nativ. S. Mar. Homo Sacristarii cirpum ad or- 
 natum ecclesise in dominio abbatis, et militum, et 
 omnium aliorum accipiet ; non illato damno prato- 
 rum aut segetum. Quociens matutinae tam morose 
 pulsantur ut collecta ad laudes possit sine apposi- 
 tione candelse vidi etpronimtiari, sacrista ad preces 
 ante gradum veniam accipiet ; et ibidem donee in- 
 choetur collecta prostratus recumbet ; postmodum 
 surgens ordinem suum adeat. Si hoc fecerit nee 
 ab abbate, nee ab alio clamabitur ; sin alias molestt^ 
 in capitulo reprehendetur. Ne via cenulenta, vel 
 aquosa [fuerit] sacristalocumitineriscantoridenun- 
 tiabit. — Sacrista habebit totara ceram totius ydro- 
 melli in promptuarium monachorum relati : excep- 
 tis XX secretariis, abbati assignatis. Licet secreta- 
 rio et subsecretario jacere in monasterio, quod non 
 licet aliis, nisi prsecepto aut licentia abbatis vel pri- 
 ons. Infra septa embrii monachorum nullum con- 
 stituetur stabulum. Sacrista curabit ut urticse et 
 omnes herbse eradicandse ab embrio radicitus extir- 
 pentur, nee equus, aut aliquod animal in embrio 
 frequentetur. Sacrista habebit de granario cotidie 
 prsebendam suo palefrido. Licet secretario cum 
 subsecretario unum habere solatium consolato- 
 rium. 
 
SACRIST OR SECRETARIUS. 
 
 127 
 
 stand in view of the Convent,^ the 
 Sacrist was to remove him, except on 
 the nativity of the Virgin Mary.^ The 
 Sacrist's man was to take rushes to 
 ornament the Church, in the demesne 
 of the Abbot and Knights, and all 
 others, so as no damage was done to 
 the meadows or corn. As often as 
 Mattins were rung so late that the 
 Collect at Lauds could be seen with- 
 out the use of a light, the Sacrist was to 
 take a small venia at prayers before the 
 step ; and there lay prostrate till the 
 Collect was begun ; afterwards, rising, 
 he went to his place. If he did this, 
 he was not to be accused in Chapter 
 by the Abbot or any other ; if other- 
 wise, severely reprimanded. At the 
 procession of the rogations, lest the way 
 should be dirty or watery, the Sacrist 
 was to point out the road to the Chan- 
 tor, the Chantor to the Chapter. The 
 Sacrist was to have all the wax of the 
 ydromel^ brought into the store-house 
 of the Monks, except the twenty Se- 
 cretaries'^ assigned to the Abbot. He 
 was to appoint a Subsacrist, who was 
 to keep the keys in his absence ; to 
 take the corn necessary for the guests, 
 and to go out from the Refectory be- 
 fore the Convent, to see that there was 
 no negligence in the time of ringing 
 the bell. The Sacrist and Subsacrist 
 were to sleep in the Church,^ which 
 was allowed to no one else without 
 the order or leave of the Abbot or 
 Prior. The Sacrist was to take care 
 that no nettles or weeds grew in the 
 church-yard, nor horse or other ani- 
 mal frequented it, or any stable be 
 there. He had from the granary a 
 daily allowance for his palfrey; and 
 
 * See Church, sect. Lady-chapel. 
 
 •• This was the grand day, for an obvious mysti- 
 cal reason, on which the parents of Monks used to 
 visit them. See Hostrey. 
 
 « Mead. 
 
 «* The Glossaries have been tried. The Abbot, 
 &c. had a livery of wax every week. Monast. i. 298. 
 I think them candles. 
 
 « In a stall (pulpitum). X Script. 1911. I. 14. 
 The words are " lying in a stall I saw (watching 
 or waking) vigilans." 
 
 was allowed, with his deputy, a sola- 
 tium, or companion. 
 
 Besides what is here mentioned, re- 
 specting the wine and candles, Davies 
 ad ds, " H is office was also to lock up every 
 night the keys of every Altar in the 
 Church, every Altar having its several 
 almery, and some two ; to lay the said 
 keys forth every morning between 
 seven and eight o'clock, upon the top 
 of the almery, which was of wainscot, 
 wherein they were locked, which stood 
 within the North quire door, that every 
 Monk might take the key, and go to 
 what Altar he was disposed to say 
 Mass at. The Sacristan's chamber 
 was in the Dorter, and he had his meat 
 served from the great kitchen in his 
 exchequer.^' 
 
 In the Order of St. Victor, the Sa- 
 crist had a servant, called Matricula- 
 rius^ a poor man from the Almonry, 
 who rang the bells, regulated the ho- 
 rologe, wakened the Monks in the 
 Dormitory, shut and opened the 
 Church-doors, and answered strangers 
 who knocked at the Church-door. 
 He assisted the Sacrist in sweeping 
 the Church, cleaning the lamps, 
 and other duties. He slept in the 
 Church, as did the Sacrist, and a third 
 man, whom the Abbot appointed.^ 
 
 Sacrist of the Gilbertine Nuns. 
 When the Sacrist rose at night to ring 
 the bell, she was to have at least two 
 Nuns with her, whom the Prioress as- 
 signed. She was to ring the bell to 
 Chapter, and all the daily hours. She 
 and her companion was to adorn the 
 area of the church in the Vigil of 
 Easter, and the Altar after Sext. She 
 was to light the lamp in the interval 
 at the lessons ; to prepare the coals for 
 the censor; to receive the holy-water 
 at the window ; and the Pax-bord {lapi- 
 dem pacts), which she was to carry 
 round to the Nuns and sisters, begin- 
 ning always to give the Pax in the right 
 Choir, whether the Prioress was pre- 
 sent or absent.? 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Mairicularius. 
 t Monast. Anglic, ii. 763. 
 
J28 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LECTURER. 
 
 In a visitation of Hales Abbey^ in the 
 year 1270, the educated Monks are 
 ordered to expound the Scriptures.*'^ 
 Among the mendicant rehgious, there 
 was first in one place, and then in an- 
 other, ^^ a due exercise weekly of the 
 scholars in disputation;'^'^ a practice 
 which originated as to the thing itself 
 with Lanfranc.^^ The Friars Preach- 
 ers too of Oxford had schools within 
 their habitation, where Robert Bacon 
 and Richard Fishaker read divinity- 
 lectures ; ^ and Michael is recorded as 
 a divinity-lecturer of certain Fran- 
 ciscans.e In the fourteenth century 
 Peter de Dene, Doctor of both laws, 
 Canon and Prebendary in several 
 Churches, was admitted a Monk not 
 as others absolutely, but on condition 
 of exemption from assembling with 
 the Monks in Church, Chapter, Refec- 
 tory, Dormitory, or Cloister, or per- 
 forming any other service whatever, 
 but to retain all his property, and 
 reside with his family in a mansion he 
 had built within the precincts of St. 
 Augustine's, Canterbury.^ In this state, 
 and wearing the habit of the professed, 
 he went where he pleased, and read 
 lectures publicly for days and years on 
 the canon law to Monks and Seculars. s 
 
 a MS. Bibl. Reg. 12 E. xiv. ^ J. Rous, 74. 
 
 ^ Malmesb. de G. Pontif. 1 1 8. p. 2. 
 
 «> Trivet, p. 193. 
 
 e Archdall's Monast. Hybern. i. 33. 
 
 i W. Thome, c. 3G, sect. 1, art. 2. 
 
 9 A constitution of Otho, a" 1238, forbids secu- 
 lar clerks, resident in abbies, to interfere in any 
 monastic concerns or offices. M. Par. 405. In- 
 gulphus long before informs us of several literati, 
 who would not assume the Monastic profession, 
 for whom Abbot Turketil made some regulations 
 in respect to the performance of divine service and 
 uniformity of dress. Hist. Croyl. 500. a. Ed. 
 Sav. 1599. Lodging, food, and a pension, was a 
 common thing granted to secular priests, who offi- 
 ciated at altars, or did other duties (H. Knighton, 
 col. 26G6), and this pension was made from the 
 common alms, or other source. Cap. Gen. Nor- 
 thampt. a" 1444. c. 2. De Divinis Officiis. 
 
 The names of Athon and Ljmdwood 
 confer honour upon their perform- 
 ances in jurisprudence; but the ordinary 
 lectures of John Laurence, Monk of 
 Worcester, professor of divinity, pub- 
 licly read in the divinity-school in the 
 years 1448-9, are fantastic, void of 
 mind, and full of point. 
 
 "In a gem, he says, is splendour, 
 worth, and vigour : thus in a prince 
 who governs others, ought to dwell 
 the splendour of exercising virtue, the 
 worth of exhibiting dignity, and the 
 vigour of levying punishment.''^ Not 
 much to blame, therefore, were those 
 Monks, of whom Henry Abbot of 
 Warden thus complains : '^ Item, That 
 whereas wee, by the said foundacions, 
 be commanded to have dailie lecture 
 of divinitie, wee have non : and when 
 it is redde, fewe or non of the Monks 
 com to it. Item, I did assigne Dampne 
 Thomas Lomley to rede the divinitie- 
 lecture, and he indiscretely unknow- 
 inge to me did read the boke of Cain's 
 (WicklifF's) Omelies, which boke be 
 all carnal, and off a brutal understand- 
 ing, and entreat of many things, the 
 which are anenst the determinacyon of 
 the Churche of Englande; and so 
 soone as I had knowledge of their 
 premysses, I toke from him his said 
 boke, and sent to Lomley, to be deli- 
 vered to Master Doctor (Leghe one of 
 Henry VIII. 's visitors), and discharged 
 the said Dan Thomas of his reading, 
 and cawsid mi brother to rede the 
 lecture, and then fewe or none of them 
 woUde com at him.''^ 
 
 The following letter to Cromwell, 
 Henry's Vicar General, explains one 
 
 ^ In gemma vero est splendor, valor, et vigor. 
 Sic enim in principe aliis praesidente residere debet, 
 splendor virtutis exercendse, valor dignitatis exhi- 
 bendse, et vigor punicionis inferendae. MS. Bodl. 
 2508. 
 
 i MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 163, a. 
 
LECTURER. 
 
 129 
 
 practice of the Abbatial visitors, con- 
 cerning tins office of Lecturer : 
 
 "Ryght honurable M»". Secretary, 
 my duty premised, plesitli it yow to 
 be advertized, that whereas ye have 
 appoynte me to rede the pure and 
 syncere worde of God to the Monkes 
 of Wynchcombe, and to be charged 
 also over the congregation or parische, 
 1)eying the Al)bot's impropried bene- 
 fyce, ther likewise to prech the true 
 worde of God, to scrape the scai' (Qu.) 
 of Rome out of the harts of men, and 
 to sett forth and open to the people 
 the true and just tytle of our Sovc- 
 reigne and M^'. our supreme cyvill 
 hedd yn yerth of this his politicke 
 body of England ; besyde that I have 
 small favor or lesse assestance, chiefly 
 among the more parte of the phary- 
 saical papists, yet among all other the 
 Abbot of Haylys, a valyaunt knight 
 and sowdyar, under Antechriste's 
 banner, doth moch resyst, fyting with 
 all his power to kepe Christ in his 
 sepulchre. This Abbot hath hired a 
 grete Golyath, a sotle Dunys [a great 
 disputant from Duns Scotus] man, yea 
 a great clerk (as he sayith), a bachlor 
 of dyvinitye in Oxfourth, which man 
 obstruct et capiet me in sermone, and 
 whereas I preach, &c. he precheth, &c. 
 As this grete clerke prechethe not the 
 worde of God truly, nithir prechethe in 
 worde for to prove our Princes just 
 auctoryte, nor yet agenst the usurped 
 power of the Bishoppe of Rome, so he, 
 lyke a sotte (foolish Fr,) Sophyster, 
 and crafty Dunys, maingleth and by 
 colour speketh all that he may, rather 
 
 for the maintenaunce of his usurped 
 power. Now ])ycausc I know your 
 worshipp to be the faithful minister to 
 God, and our most christen and lovinge 
 kinge, therefore I am so bolde to cer- 
 tify you l)y this l)rynger, of two ser- 
 mons, which I and thys bringer and 
 many others did hear him preche lately 
 at Hayles. Mytliink these thinges 
 sound ill both to God and our soverain 
 Lord, therfor I nothyng dowt but by 
 your discresyon you will shortly see 
 thereyn a reformation, and moche the 
 sooner, bycause the said Abbot of 
 Hayles, for the maintenaunce of this 
 man, saith that y^ worship sent him 
 thither, and will maynteyn him, by 
 which he causith a tumulte both of 
 gentilmen, and also of othir people of 
 the cuntre hyred thereto (as I am very 
 sure) of the Abbat, to jake and force 
 ayent me ; and wher as I intende not 
 to contende with them, yett both I and 
 thys brynger, as he can more largely 
 certify your worshippe, stand daily by 
 ther procurement in jeopardy of our 
 lives. Furthermore, as concerninge 
 my lecture, I hartily beseche you to 
 appoynt me a convenient howze to 
 rede to the Monks in the forenone. I 
 cannot brynge them therto at that 
 tyme in a due houre, they sett so moche 
 by ther Popishe service, &c. 
 
 Anthonye Sawnders.^'* 
 The Carmelites elected Lecturers in 
 their Synods .^ 
 
 » MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 47, b. 
 b Bale, ed. i. 4to. fol. 210. 
 
130 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS, 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 
 ALMONER,* 
 
 He was to find mats» in the Choir, &c. 
 to put under the feet of the Monks in 
 the Vigil of All Saints; also under 
 those of the boys and youths. He 
 was besides to find mats in the Chap- 
 ter, Cloister, in both the parlours, and 
 upon the stairs of the Dormitory. 
 This he was to have strewed with 
 rushes twice a year, at the assumption 
 and nativity of the Virgin Mary ; and 
 find ivy leaves at Easter for the Clois- 
 ter and Chapter. He was to provide 
 the rods for the Chapter, Chapel, and 
 boys' school, and brooms, plates, bas- 
 kets, and sweepers for the Refectory. 
 He was to sweep yearly the walls of 
 the Dorter, and three days before the 
 assumption of St. Mary, clean that 
 place with a small circled He was to 
 
 * MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. 203, 4. Sub pedibus 
 monachorum inveniet mattas in choro, &c. in vigi- 
 \\k omnium sanctorum ; identidem sub puerorum et 
 juvenum ; prseterea inveniet mattas in capitulo, in 
 claustro, in quolibet locutorio ; super ascensorios 
 gradus dormitorii ; bis cirpabit dormitorium per 
 annum, sc. ad assumpt. et nat. S. Mar. ; inveniet 
 folia hsederse ad pascha, in claustro, in capitulo, in 
 scoIeL puerorum procurabit disciplinas, in refectorio 
 scopas, discos, scoparios, sportas. Scopab it annua - 
 tim macerias dormitorii, et triduo ante assumpt. S. 
 Mar. mundabit dormitorium circulo tenui. Quo- 
 ciens abbas vir aut alius in camer^ discubuerit unus 
 ministror' elemosynar' presentiam suam exhibeat, 
 
 ut eleemosynam recipiat Identidem fiet in 
 
 coquina cotidie. — Baculum boxeum, vel alium 
 magis idoneum de manu in manum sunt assignaturi : 
 idemque ministri cum janitore, vel cum ministro suo 
 processionem hue et illuc anticipabunt, ut viam 
 hominum impedimento aliorumque impedientium 
 expediant. Licet eleemosyuario pro negotiis do- 
 mus uno die ire, eodem redire, non petita licentia. 
 Annuatim contra natale domini paunos sotulares 
 emit, viduis, orphanis, et maxim^ clericis quos 
 precipu^ egere consideraverit, distribuet. Ex con- 
 suetudine non licet eleemosynario per tabulas, aut 
 aliud aliquid colligere. Si quicquid per tabulas 
 sibi porrectum fuerit, licet ei recipere et ad elee- 
 mosynam deferre : post prandium autem conventus 
 de egressu refectorii licet ei tabulas ambire, quic- 
 quid potus de caritate remanserit eleemosynse des- 
 tinare. f. 204 b. 
 
 * Du Cange says, the Monks used to sleep on 
 mats, pray on them, hold their collations on them, 
 and strew them under the dead, (in voce). 
 
 ^ Not in Du Cange. It is used for interval. 
 See sect Servants. 
 
 make out the^rma^ (or annunciations 
 of the deaths of Monks), and give 
 them to the Chantor. He was to find 
 the necessaries for the maundy; to 
 send the account of the deaths of the 
 brethren to the neighbouring houses, 
 and to take care that a servant con- 
 stantly guarded the gates of the Locu- 
 tory, and honourably to admit the 
 visitors. As often as an Abbot, or 
 other person, dined in the chamber, 
 one of his servants was to attend to 
 receive the alms ; and the same was 
 daily to be done in the kitchen. At 
 the Rogation processions, two of his 
 servants were to stand at the gate of 
 the house, and give to every Monk a 
 boxen staff, or other more suitable, 
 from hand to hand ; and the same 
 servants, with the porter, or his man, 
 were to go before the procession this 
 or that way, that they might clear the 
 way from people pressing in, or other 
 hindrances. On business of the house, 
 he could go out on one day, and return 
 on the same, without asking leave. 
 He was to buy annually against Christ- 
 mas, cloth and shoes for widows, 
 orphans, and especially clerks, and 
 those whom he thought to need it 
 most. He was not allowed to collect 
 any thing through the tables. If any 
 thing was handed to him from thence, 
 he could take it, and devote it to alms. 
 After dinner, when the Convent had 
 left the Refectory, he could go round 
 the tables, and destine to alms the 
 drink which remained of the charity. 
 
 At Evesham, it was his office to 
 receive half a mark from the Abbot on 
 Maundy Thursday, to be distributed 
 among the Monks to give to the poor, 
 
 «: See MS. Harl. G52, f. 44. b. MS. Cott. Tib. 
 A. III. f. 74 b. same in substance as printed in 
 Cone. Reg. 
 
ALMONER. 
 
 131 
 
 and to have the care of the Monks' 
 garden. a 
 
 The Almoner was to reserve the 
 nice pieces which were left^ for the 
 sick and infirm poor, who were instruct- 
 ed by him to eat them privately apart.^> 
 
 By the Norman Institutes, his office 
 was to find out poor, sick, and infirm 
 persons, for which, when he went him- 
 
 » Monast. i. 148. 
 
 ^ Ord. Vict. MS. Du Cange, v. Eleemosynarius. 
 
 self, he was to have two assistant 
 servants, to send all women out of 
 such house before his coming, and then 
 console the sick, and supply their 
 wants as they wished. Where the sick 
 were women, one of the servants per- 
 formed this office. In the disposition, 
 however, of his alms, he was to give 
 previous notice to the Abbot or Prior, 
 and attend to their directions.^ 
 
 « Dec. Lanfr. c. 9. De Cellario. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MASTER OF THE NOVICES. 
 
 The Prior, say the Constitiitions of 
 the Friers, shall choose, for the instruc- 
 tion of the Novices, a diligent master, 
 who shall instruct them in the Order, 
 stimulate them in the Church, and 
 where they hehave themselves negli- 
 gently, endeavour to amend them as 
 much as he can by a word or a sign, 
 and, as far as he is able, provide 
 necessaries for them. He could grant 
 pardon for open negligences, when they 
 sought it from him, or accuse them in 
 Chapter. He was to teach them to 
 be humble in heart and body, and 
 endeavour to bring them up to this 
 point according to the text, " Learn of 
 me, who am meek and lowly in heart ;" 
 to instruct them how to receive disci- 
 plines, and not talk of the absent, even 
 that which was good ; how to drink 
 with two hands, and how to sit ; how 
 carefully they ought to guard the 
 books and vestments, and other goods 
 of the house ; how intent they ought 
 to be in study, and be reading some- 
 thing day and night in the house and 
 when on journeys ; how they should 
 work, how they should meditate, how 
 they should endeavour to get by heart 
 every thing they could ; how fervent 
 they should be in preaching in good 
 tinie,-^ 
 
 * Prior noviciis magistrum diligentem in instruc- 
 tionem eorum proponat, qui eos de ordine doceat, 
 in ecclesiri excitet, et ubi se negligenter liabuerint 
 verbo vel signo quantum poterit studeat eos emen- 
 dare, et necessaria quantum potest debet eis procu- 
 rare. De apertis negligenciis, dum ante eum veniam 
 petierint veniam potest dare, vel eos in capitulo 
 proclamare. Humilitatem cordis et corporis doceat 
 habere, et studeat ad hoc ipsum instituere juxta 
 illud, " Discite j\ me, qui mitis sum, et humilis 
 corde." Quahter disciplinas suscipient, et non 
 loquantur de absente non quae bona sunt. Quod 
 duabus manibus sit bibendumetsedendum. Quara 
 diligenter debeant custodire libros et vestes alias- 
 que res monasterii. Quam intenti esse debent in 
 studio, ut de die et nocte, in domo in itinere, legant 
 aliquid ; ut operentur, ut meditentur, ut quicquid 
 poteriut retinere corde tenus nitantur. Quam 
 
 By the Norman Institutes, they were 
 to shave the boys, and the boys them. 
 The latter were to wash tlie heads of 
 the boys too little to shave themselves.^ 
 By the Benedictine Constitutions, a 
 master was to be provided, wlio was 
 to teach the Monks the primitive 
 sciences of grammar, logic, and philo- 
 sophy :^ but there were Lay-teachers f 
 and Monks themselves used to travel 
 from house to house to teach music 
 or singing.^ Lyndwood says, the 
 masters of the Novices were to be old 
 men.<^ 
 
 In the Order of St. Victor, the 
 master is ordered to instruct the No- 
 vices how to unshoe or to cover them- 
 selves, and not to enter the Necessary 
 unless with the head covered.^ 
 
 Davies says, "There were always 
 six Novices, who went daily to school 
 within the house, for the space of seven 
 years together ; and one of the eldest 
 and most learned Monks was consti- 
 tuted their tutor. The said Novices 
 had no wages, but meat, drink, and 
 apparel for that space. The master, or 
 tutor^s office, was to see they wanted 
 nothing; as cowls, frocks, stamyne, 
 bedding, boots, socks ; and as soon as 
 they needed any of these necessaries, 
 the master had charge to call at the 
 Chamberlain's for such things. 
 
 The satire of Nigell Wireker, a Monk 
 of Canterbury, upon the pupil of the 
 middle age, under the figure of an ass, 
 is so piquant, so elegant, and exhiljits 
 so fine a state of mind in its author, 
 that I shall here digress to give it : 
 
 ferventes esse debeant in praedicatione tempore 
 Optimo. MS. Cott. Nero, A. xii. f. 160. 
 
 « Dec. Lanfr. C. 12. 
 
 •» See, respecting this vague term, Mosheim's 
 Ecc. Hist. i. 569. Ed. 4to, 1765. 
 
 '•■ Wart. Hist. Eng. Poetry, ii. 429, 435. 
 
 ^ Lyndw. 210. « Id. 144. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Necessaria, 
 
MASTER OF THE NOVICES. 
 
 133 
 
 Jam pertransierat Burnellus tempora rnulta, 
 
 Et prope completus septimus annus erat. 
 Cum nichil ex toto quodcumque docente magistro, 
 
 Aut socio potuit discere propter Ya. 
 Quod natura dedit ; quod soec'ium detulit illuc, 
 
 Hoc habet; hoc illi nemo tulisse potest. 
 Cura magistrorum multum quum diu laborabat 
 
 Demum defecit victa labore gravi. 
 Dorso se baculus, lateri se virga frequenter 
 
 Applicat ; et ferulam sustinuere manus : 
 Semper Ya repetit : nichil est quod dicere possit 
 
 Afiectus quovis verbere preeter Ya, 
 VeUicat hie aurem ; nasum quatit ille recur vum ; 
 Hie secat^ hie urit ; hinc solvitur inde legatur ; 
 
 Intonat iste minas ; porrigit ille preces ; 
 Sic in eo certant ars et natura vicissim ; 
 
 Ars rogat, ilia jubet ; hsec abit^ ilia manet : 
 Quorum principia constat viciosa fuisse 
 
 Aut vix, aut nunquam convaluisse valent ; 
 A primo didicit Burnellus Ya : nichil ultra 
 
 Quam quod natura dat retinere potest. 
 
 Spec. Stult. MS. Cott. Titus, A. xx, &c. 
 
 Now a very long season Burnellus had past, 
 
 And the seventh of years was near ended at last ; 
 
 When of all that his comrade and master had taught^ 
 
 To learn nothing but Ya could Burnellus be brought; 
 
 What Nature had given, what Time had brought there. 
 
 That he had ; and that none could away from him tear. 
 
 The masters, when long they had labour'd in vain. 
 
 No longer the burden would bear to sustain : 
 
 To his back went the stick, and the rod to his side. 
 
 And the ferula oft to his hands was applied. 
 
 Still Ya he cries out ; still could only say Ya, 
 
 And blow upon blow nothing else could outdraw ; 
 
 This pulls at his ear ; that twists his nose round ; 
 
 This cuts, and that burns; now he^s loosed, now he^s bound; 
 
 This menaces thunders ; that stoops to request ; 
 
 And Nature and Art both the matter contest ; 
 
 Art begs ; Nature orders ; this goes ; that remains : 
 
 Where the foundacion 's bad, ^tis no use to take pains ; 
 
 Nought but Ya from the first had he learned ; nor aught 
 
 Could pogr Burnell retain, but what Nature had taught. 
 
 Of the absurd sciences, which pre- 
 vailed in the neras of which I treat, it 
 is unnecessary for me to say more, 
 than that the tendency of such was, 
 and ever will be, to create not a man 
 of science, l}ut a mixture of the puppy, 
 pedant, and pettifogger, a pert, liti- 
 gious, captious, vain, and ostentatious 
 character, quibbling but not able, quick 
 but shallow, Taste and mind are only 
 
 to be formed in the school of the Clas- 
 sics. 
 
 The Mistress of the Novices, among 
 the Gilbertines, when she served at 
 the table, was not to speak in the 
 interim with the Novices, nor enter 
 their cell. She might, however, look 
 through the gate, to sec whether they 
 behaved in an orderly manner. She 
 could not grant them licence to do any 
 
134 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 work, nor speak in their cell after 
 Vespers, lest they should lose the time 
 of reading. Nor could she take their 
 private pardons, or discipline them 
 without the Prioress's order. In the 
 winter, when it was required, she 
 explained the Rule before Tierce, to 
 the Novices going to make profession ; 
 
 and, if she could not finish it before 
 Tierce, after Chapter. She was very 
 seldom to grant them leave to sit in 
 the parlour, at the time assigned for 
 their instruction in the Order.** 
 
 » Monast. Anglic, ii. 770. 
 
INFIRMARER. 
 
 135 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 INFIRMARER. 
 
 By the Decrees of Lanfranc^ he was 
 to liave a Cook and kitchen separate 
 (if possible), that he might have every 
 thing ready for the sick in its proper 
 season ; to administer all their meals, 
 and sprinkle holy water after CompUn 
 on the beds. After making the triple 
 prayer before Mattins, to go round 
 them with a lantern, to see if any able 
 to rise staid in bed ; to proclaim in 
 Chapter all negligences ; to order his 
 servants to warm the water for wash- 
 ing the corpse, when he saw a Monk 
 was at the point of death. Care and 
 management of the bier was in him 
 and his servants, as well as of the 
 table the Prior struck. After the wash- 
 ing and removal of the corpse, he was 
 to wash the place where it lay to be 
 cleaned, and have it fresh strewed with 
 straw or rushes. 
 
 At Abingdon,^ after the daily office 
 was finished in the Infirmary, he was 
 at all hours to be present in the Con- 
 vent, nor then have the care of the 
 sick. Vespers were excepted. In all 
 feasts of robes he was to be present 
 till Lauds, nor be absent from Vespers. 
 He was to lie constantly in the Infir- 
 mary, and those who lay there were to 
 receive licence of being bled from the 
 Infirmarer. He was to attend to the 
 sick, with two brethren to assist him, 
 
 » MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. p. 205. Officio 
 diurno in infirmitorio expleto, omnibus horis erit in 
 conventu, nee curara infirmorum gerat tantum, 
 vesperis exceptis. In omnibus festis, quse celebra- 
 buntur in cappis, usque ad laudes inierit matutinis, 
 nee deerit vesperis. Jacebit in infirmitorio conti- 
 nue ; in infirmitorio recubantes licentiam minuendi 
 accipient de infirmario. — Si quis angistro, qui ab 
 angendo dicitur, et alio nomine ventosa k suspirio 
 vocatur, minui voluit, infirmario indicabit. Infir- 
 marius ministro illi administrationi deputato opus 
 suum adimplere precipiet, candelamque ad illam 
 administrationem inveniet Abbas assensu capituli 
 t^dem infirmarium constituat, ut infirmorum con- 
 Jpessionem pro inopinatse rei eventu recipere possit 
 et debeat, f. 205. 
 
 and to take care that the Monks under 
 his protection went to their beds and 
 rose with regularity. There was to be 
 silence after Complin, a punishment of 
 sloth, and on Sundays the Sacrament. 
 The alms of the sick, till the Prime of 
 the next day, was to be under the cus- 
 tody of the Infirmarer. He was to 
 provide provision for the sick, and to 
 find a light for the Monks who lay 
 constantly in the Infirmary, or who 
 dined or drank there, as often as it 
 was necessary. He was to go to the 
 kitchen daily, and receive w^hat he 
 wanted for the sick. If any one dis- 
 eased with the agi strum, so called ab 
 angendo (from choaking), and by an- 
 other name, windy, from short breath- 
 ing, wished to be bled, he was to 
 announce it to the Infirmarer, who 
 was to order the servant, to whom 
 that office belonged, to do it ; and find 
 him a candle for it. The Abbot, with 
 the consent of the Chapter, was to 
 appoint such a person Infirmarer as 
 might be able, in case of sudden ac- 
 cident, to receive the confession of the 
 sick. 
 
 The Infirmaress had a Lay-sister as 
 an assistant, and neither of them had 
 an office out of the Infirmary when 
 any one was very sick. The Infirma- 
 ress was allowed to be present at 
 the Mass till the Post-communion, 
 unless any necessity of the sick hin- 
 dered her. If she could not indicate, 
 by a sign, what she wanted, the Cel- 
 laress was to come, and, in her hearing, 
 she was to mention her necessities. 
 She never served in the kitchen when 
 she had persons grievously sick. She 
 gave the Peace to the sick when the 
 sick said Confiteor,^ 
 
 • Monafit. ii. 776» 
 
136 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 PORTER. 
 
 The office of Porter was for the most 
 part committed to men of mature age, 
 and unl)lameable life/'^ The Benedic- 
 tine Porter had a deputy, who was 
 never absent while his master took a 
 message to the Cellarer. He only 
 entered the Kitchen, Refectory, Infir- 
 mary, and residence of the Superior, to 
 deliver a message when visitors came, 
 which office the deputy could execute 
 when his master was absent. He al- 
 ways lay at night at the gate, and had 
 a horse, that, as often as the Superior 
 or Cellarer wished, he might attend 
 their summons, and ride with them. 
 He had always a boy, who lay at the 
 gate with the Sub- porter, and took the 
 key, after curfew^ to the Cellarer's bed, 
 which he fetched again in the morn- 
 ing, sooner or later, as necessary.^ In 
 some accounts we find, that as soon as 
 the. bell rang for Complin, the Porter 
 locked the gates, and carried the keys 
 to the Abbot.c We hear also of deaf 
 and dumb Porters.^ Of the Augusti- 
 nian Porter Mr. Steevens gives us the 
 following account: "Adjoining to the 
 said gate (of Oseney), was a little cabin^ 
 or cell, for the Janitor to lodge in, who, 
 according to their Rule, was to keep 
 the gates for the most part shut, not 
 to let any in without leave from 
 the Abbot ; to have an eye towards the 
 young Canons in their wandering to 
 and fro ; to keep out Lay-people and 
 young women, especially men bearing 
 weapons, or suspicious varlets, who 
 not only came with an intent to filch, 
 but also to pry into the actions of the 
 Canons, and so thereby take advan- 
 tage to slander their conversation, and 
 render them odious to the vulgar ; he 
 was also to receive poor people, and 
 
 " Du Cange, v. Portarius. 
 
 ^ Thorpe's Custum. RofFen. £9. 
 
 *= Du Cange, v. Completa, 
 
 ^ Gold, Legend. Iv, 
 
 pilgrims, with love and in the name of 
 God ; not to let them abide long at the 
 gate, to the disturl:)ance of the quiet, 
 but send them away with refreshment, 
 for which purpose he liad several loaves 
 appointed by the Cellarer to be laid in 
 his cell to distribute to them, especi- 
 ally on fasting days, when there was 
 no oiFal meat from the Refectory .^ Be- 
 sides this bread, the Preemonstraten- 
 sian, i. e, Augustinian Porter, was to 
 sleep by day, if he was a Canon, and 
 also by night, if he was a Convert, at 
 the gate, but not alone. As soon as 
 he heard the bell for the Hour, even 
 though he was a Canon, he was to stay, 
 while the Hour was celebrating, con- 
 ducting himself, as well as he could, 
 like the brethren in the Church. He 
 was to be present at the Chapter, 
 Mass, Vespers, and Mattins, especially 
 if he had a companion ; when he was 
 absent, his deputy was to watch the 
 gate, distribute the alms, and perform 
 other his duties.^ The right of appoint- 
 ing the Porter was sometimes reserved 
 by the founder, in right of dominion, 
 which Porter, at the installation of 
 every new Prior, was to receive five 
 shillings only, or an ox.? He had also 
 very valuable fees and privileges, as 
 '^ two corrodies, a Monk's loaf, ii coro- 
 nati^ and two meals a day, and beer ; 
 an allowance from the Abbot's store- 
 room, and another from the Refectory 
 cellar; benefits of certain lands; an 
 offering of As, ^d. at Christmas, he 
 and his man, and at Easter 2i-c?.» Du 
 
 e Steevens's Monast. ii. 120. 
 
 * Bibliotheca Preemonstratensis, v. i. p. 808. 
 
 c Monast. i. 358. 
 
 ^ Du Cange has Panes coronati (v. Panis), 
 loaves in the form of a crown. 
 
 ' Petrus portarius duo conredia habet ; panem 
 monachi et ii coronates, et ii fercla per diem, et 
 cervisiam, unam mansuram de proraptuario abba- 
 tis, et aliam de cellario auloe. Scepinga ejus iiii 
 acras (div. in div. loc.) et habet oblationem iiiis. et 
 ob. in natale Domini, ipse et homo suus, et in 
 paschaii ob. MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. p. 178. 
 
PORTER. 
 
 137 
 
 Cange mentions various Porters, as 
 one at the gate, where the poor ap- 
 plied for alms ; the Porter of the court, 
 a Lay-brother ; the Porter of the Clois- 
 ter, a Lay-brother also,** who was to 
 prevent strangers from entrance or 
 inspection. John de North wold e, in 
 his tract of Minor Offices, mentions a 
 Porter and his boy, as in the service of 
 the Infirmarer.^' Tlie White book of 
 Edmundsbury mentions the Janitor at 
 the great gate, and a Portarius, or 
 Porter, for another f for, however, as 
 
 " In voce Portarius. 
 
 ^ In obedientia infirmarii officium janitoris et 
 garciouis ejusdem. MS. Harl. 743. f. 209. 
 
 Tanner notes, the terms Janitor and 
 Portarius might be confused, Walafrid 
 Strabo justly observes, the toxinjanua 
 was proper only to the entrance of a 
 house.^ John de North wolde also 
 mentions a Portership of the Refectory, 
 with all its members and appurtenan- 
 ces, with an annexed serjeanty.^ Va- 
 rious Porters are also mentioned by 
 Davies, of which notice will be taken 
 in their respective places. 
 
 }ad magnam portam. MS. Harl. 
 1005. f. 44. 
 
 •= Janitor, 
 Portarius, 
 
 •J C. 6. p. mQ. 
 
 ^ Quandam serjantiam spectantem ad custodem 
 1 ostii refectorii, cum omnibus membris et pertinen- 
 I tiis. MS. Harl. 743, p. 210. 
 
138 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 REFECTIONER.* 
 
 He was to take care that the pots^ or 
 noggins^ were washed at certain feasts ; 
 and the same care was to be taken 
 with regard to the cups. The tables 
 were to be wiped daily. He was 
 to find from his revenues, cups, 
 pots, table-cloths, mats, basins, double 
 cloths, candlesticks, towels, saltsellers. 
 If the cups were broken, they were to 
 
 * MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 202. Obbacdebent 
 ablui prudenti^ Refectorarii, sc. ad festum Oran. S. 
 ad Nat. Dom., ad Purif. S. Mar., in anniv. Faricii 
 et Vincentii, ad Pasch., ad fest. reliqu. Pentecost, 
 assumpt. et nativ. S. Mar. Identidem omnes ciphi 
 debent ablui. — Refectorarius de redditibus sibi 
 assignatis inveniet in Refectorio ciphos, obbas, 
 mappas, mattas, pelves, duplomata, candelabra, 
 manutergia, salina. Si ciphi franguntur, laminis 
 argenteis cura Refectorarii reparabuntur. Die 
 ccense Domini post completorium prudentia refec- 
 torarii scopabitur refectorium. Quociens poma 
 distribuuntur in refectorio pomarius dabit xxx poma, 
 excepto communi refectorario. Hostilarius hos- 
 pites in refectorium introducet ; sic refectorarius 
 obbas secundum personarum differentias constituet, 
 accubitusque discumbendi significabit. Ter in 
 anno, sc. ad festum Omn. Sanct. ad Nat. Dom. 
 ad Pasch. habebit quinque honera stramentorum 
 de bertona fratrum pedibus in refectorio supponen- 
 dis. 5 honera foeni refectorio jaciendi. Quinquies 
 in anno inveniet cirpum in refectorio sc. ad Ascens. 
 D. Pentec. ad fest. S. Job. ad assumpt. et nativ. S. 
 Mar. Si monacho per tabulas panis apponatur, 
 refectorarius panem et caseum manibus suis cuilibet 
 monacho proponet. Si abbas in conventu discu- 
 buerit, pelves, aquam, manutergium ante prandium 
 poni procurabit ad lavatorium. Identidem in refec- 
 torio post prandium. Ad caritatem cumidromelli, 
 ¥el aliusmodi potus, sono signi excitabit fratres, ad 
 administrationem caritatis, pulsabitque signum ad 
 benedictionem, identidem ad coUationem. Provi- 
 dentia debet refectorarii vinum in promptuario abba- 
 tis accipi, quociens in conventu vinum debet distri- 
 bui, et mensurare sc. quum viderit necesse. In 
 restitutione et donacione caritatum supra ferias 
 semel tacto signo excitabit fratres administrationi 
 potus, sed benedictio non dabitur. Secundum 
 temporis exigentiam refectorarius de prandio surget, 
 ut in cifis caritatem tenentibus potum infundet. 
 Refectorarius prseest aliis unji caritate. Abbati, 
 monachis abbatis, monachis infirmariis, monachis 
 pocionariis inveniet caritatem ; Abbati autem duas 
 caritates, si in camera discubuerit. Minister qui 
 prseest aliis in infirmitorio habet caritatem idro- 
 melli et ne'nius (f. err. pro vini.) Nulli exteriori 
 victum de promptuario habenti dabitur caritas idro- 
 melli et vini, vel alicujus poculi, nisi in anniv. 
 Faritii et Innocentii, 203 b. 
 
 be repaired with silver plates. On 
 Maundy Thursday, after Complin, he 
 was to have the Refectory swept. 
 When apples were distributed in the 
 Refectory, the Pomarius, or apple-offi- 
 cer, was to give thirty, besides the 
 common allowance, to the Refectioner. 
 As the Hosteler was to introduce the 
 visitors into the fratry, so the Refec- 
 tioner was to place the pots according 
 to the rank of the persons, and appoint 
 them their places to dine at. Three 
 times in the year, at All Saints, Christ- 
 mas, and Easter, he was to have five 
 bundles of straw from the Barton, to 
 put under the feet of the Monks in the 
 Refectory, and five burdens of hay for 
 that place. He was to find rushes for 
 the same place five times in a year.* 
 He was to weigh the cheese. He was 
 not to be absent from Mattins nor 
 Prime. He was to be busy at morning 
 Mass and Tierce for cutting and put- 
 ting cheese ; and when a person was 
 wanting, to take in the cheese. Pre- 
 sent at great Mass, and to go out after 
 the gospel. He was absent from Sext, 
 and also from Nones, when the ser- 
 vants happened to dine at that hour. 
 He was present at Vespers, and at 
 Complin, unless hindered by the pre- 
 sence of visitors, to whom he was 
 silently to attend with his hood on. 
 He was dismissed from the service of 
 the week at Church ; and attended on 
 the minuti and visitors at whatever 
 hour they dined. When bread was 
 put before any Monk at table, the 
 Refectioner was to distribute the bread 
 and cheese with his own hands. If the 
 Abbot dined in the Convent, he was to 
 cause basins, water, and a towel before 
 dinner to be placed at the lavatory, and 
 
 * In the Rule of S. Victor, the Refectioner is to 
 find mats, snuffers, and cocks for the Lavatory, and 
 clean the Lavatory as often as necessary. Du 
 Cange, v. Muscatoria, 
 
REFECTIONER. 
 
 139 
 
 in the same manner in the Refectory 
 after dinner. At the charity, whether 
 of idromel or any other kind of drink, 
 he warned the Monks, hy the sound of 
 a bell, to the ministration of the charity, 
 and rang the bell for the benediction ; 
 in like manner at the collation. The 
 Refectioner was to receive wine from 
 the store-house or cellar of the Abbot 
 as often as it was to be distributed in 
 the Convent, and to measure it if neces- 
 sary. In the restitution and donation 
 of charities on week-days, he warned 
 the brethren to the ministration of the 
 drink, but no benediction was given. 
 He rose from dinner according to the 
 exigencies of time, to pour the drink in 
 the cups that contained the charity. 
 The Refectioner exceeded the others 
 by one charity. He found the charity 
 
 for the Abbot, the Abbot's Monks (or 
 chaplains), the Monks assisting in the 
 Infirmary^ and those who attended and 
 helped at the charity ;» for the Abbot 
 he provided two charities if he dined m 
 earner d. The servant who presided 
 over the others in the Infirmary had a 
 charity of idromel, and not of that only. 
 One of idromel and wine, or of any 
 drink, was granted to no person having 
 allowance from the cellar, except on 
 the anniversaries of Faritius and Inno- 
 cent.^ 
 
 * See Dec. Lanfr. in the Charity, ut supra. 
 
 ^ Besides the Refectioner, there was an obscure 
 officer, called the Pittancer, or dispenser of allow- 
 ances over commons on festivals ; and he was to 
 distribute the charities on certain feasts. Monast. 
 i. 149. 
 
140 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 HOSPITALER.' 
 
 A LANTERN wiis founcl for him by the 
 chamberlain^ and candle by the Sacrist. 
 He had annually the taleaparia^ of the 
 best of the old shoes for the visitors that 
 wanted slippers, to serve them in a 
 morning. He was allowed to drink 
 with any orderly person^ for the sake 
 of sociality^ at the direction and request 
 of that person, without asking leave. 
 But he could not^ without permission, 
 dine with any persons, except Abbots 
 of the Order, or their vicegerents. By 
 the Norman institutes, he was to have 
 in the hostrey beds, seats, tables, tow- 
 els, table-cloths, cups, plates, spoons, 
 basins, and similar articles ; as well as 
 w^ood, bread, beer, and other viands 
 from the cellar. He was to observe 
 
 * MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 207. Habebit 
 pristerea vetustarum crepitarurn quce meliores fue- 
 rint annuatim taleaparia ad opus hospitum crepitis 
 carentium, ad raatutinas crepitas calciatura. Licet 
 hostilario cum qualibet ordinata (perhaps it means 
 " in holy orders,") persona, gratia consolationis, 
 precepto et personae peticione non petita licentia 
 bibere. Non licet cum aliquibus discumbere, nisi 
 cum nostri ordinis abbatibus, vel vicem abbatum 
 gerentibus, nisi gratili licentiee. Perhaps there was 
 an officer of this kind, sometimes created for extra- 
 ordinary occasions ; for I find in MS. Cott. Cleop. 
 B. ii. p. 221, mention of the hospitaler ivho should 
 he for the time for receiving the parents, guests, and 
 friends coming to the Monks, &c. '- Hostilarius 
 qui pro tempore fuerit, pro suscipiendis parentibus, 
 hospitibus, et amicis, ad confratres monachorum 
 venientibus, &c." 
 
 * Talaria are shoes even with the ancles. Du 
 Cange. Talus and Par make the game. 
 
 the officers, whether they had proper 
 servants, and regular chambers, and to 
 make complaints of their ill behaviour. 
 If strange clerks wished to dine in the 
 Refectory, he was to notify it to the 
 Abbot or Prior, and, upon consent, to 
 instruct them how to behave in the 
 Refectory ; and, after ringing a bell, 
 introduce them into the parlour, where 
 the Abbot, or Prior in his absence, 
 was to give them water to wash their 
 hands, and afterwards conduct them to 
 the Abbotts table. When dinner was 
 over, he was to remain alone with the 
 Abbot, or Prior, follow the procession 
 of the Convent with the visitors, and, 
 after it had passed the Refectory door, 
 lead them out of the Cloister, singing 
 a psalm in a low voice. He was to 
 conduct a strange Monk through the 
 Cloister into the Church to pray ; and 
 introduce into the Chapter Seculars 
 who sought the fraternity of the house. 
 He was to shew the offices to those 
 who Avished to see them, unless the 
 Convent was in the Cloister, or they 
 were booted or spurred; or barefooted, 
 or only in breeches. He was also to 
 bring Novitiates at their first entrance 
 into the house to the Chapter, and 
 instruct them how to make their first 
 petition.^ 
 
 ^ See more of this officer in Hostrey. 
 
CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 141 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 By the decrees of Lanfranc he was to 
 find every thing necessary for tlie 
 clothes, bedding, cleanhness, and sha- 
 ving of the Monks. He was to find 
 the glass for making and mending the 
 Dormitory windows ; shoeing for the 
 horses ; gowns, garters, and spurs for 
 the Monks travelling; and once in a 
 year have the Dormitory swept, and 
 the straw of the beds changed. At 
 iVbingdon* he was to find annually for 
 every Monk a pilch before the feast of 
 All Saints, and the same allowance of 
 gowns and hoods ; and two pilches, 
 a hood and gown for the Abbot. He 
 attended fairs. Three times in a year, 
 at Easter, Christmas, and the Nativity 
 of the Virgin Mary, he was to provide 
 the use of the baths for the refresh- 
 ment of the bodies of the Monks. He 
 was to find the beds in the Dormitory, 
 and straw, pucas,^ ropes, and stools. 
 He could, to repel the wants of the 
 Monks, search the beds ; and no one 
 
 * MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 198. Annuatim 
 inveniet cuilibet monacho pelliciura ante festum 
 Omnium S'ctor. idemque de coopertoriis et caputiis 
 inditium ; abbati annuatim duo pellicea, et cucullam 
 et tunicam. — Ter in anno, sc. Pascha, ad Nat. Domi- 
 ni, ad Nativ. S. Mar. ad recreationem corporum 
 procurabit usus balnearum. In dormitorio inveniet 
 cubilia, et cubili stramina, pucas, et funes, et sca- 
 bella. Licet camerario lectos, ut fratrum indigen- 
 tiam expellat, explorare in dormitorio. NuUi licet 
 de lecto in lectum vestimenta removere, camerario 
 ignorante. Omne inventum k camerario, datum 
 vel dandum in capitulo, repositum, et annulo cog- 
 nitum, camerario erit depositum. — In admissione 
 novitii vestes camerario debent assignari, et sub 
 ipsius custodia, sine distributione aliqud donee, 
 professus fuerit, reponi. In amissone cultelli, 
 pectinis, nova dari. Ex consuetudine novitiis 
 
 novaculas, et manutergia debet invenire De 
 
 coense dominico mandatum pauperes, cum eleemo- 
 synario et janitore, introducet, primo parentes 
 monachorum egentes, deinde clericos, et peregrinos, 
 unicuique tres praebiturus denarios. In usu fratrum 
 balneario camerarius conducet quendam ministrura, 
 cui pertinet administratio balneatoria, cum ministro 
 ablutorum. f. l[)[) a. 
 
 • Peivke Angl. is a gown. Perhaps it should be 
 l)ertica, a beam to hang things on. See Dormitory. 
 It is not in Du Cange or Charpentier. 
 
 could remove the clothes from bed to 
 bed without his leave. Every thing 
 provided by the Chamberlain, granted 
 or to be granted in Chapter, was laid 
 up and sealed by him, and in his care. 
 At the Maundy on Holy Thursday he 
 was, with the assistance of the Almo- 
 ner and Porter, to introduce the poor, 
 first the necessitous parents of the 
 Monks, afterwards the clerks and pil- 
 grims, bestowing upon each of them 
 three pence. In the admission of a 
 Novice, his clothes were to be assigned 
 to the Chamberlain, and laid up in his 
 custody, without any distribution, until 
 he should have professed. Upon the 
 loss of a knife, or comb, he was to find 
 new ones. He was, from custom, to 
 provide the Novices with razors and 
 towels. Chalk, at his order, was to be 
 brought to the persons employed in 
 mending. He was to hire a servant 
 for the service of the baths, besides 
 the one devoted to the bathed. His 
 servants seem to have been in the 
 habit of extorting money from the 
 Monks for making their clothes.^ He 
 had a taylor and two bathers in his 
 service.^ The Sub-chamberlain* was 
 to be conformable to the will of his 
 immediate superior ofiicer. He was to 
 be present at Mass, and the hours when 
 the Chamberlain was. The Monks 
 
 *» Injungimus camerario quod provideat ne ser- 
 vientes sui i\ monachis quorum vestimenta praepa- 
 rant invitis, aliquod pro labore suo exigent. MS. 
 Cott. Jul. D. II. p. 161 a. 
 
 <^ In obedientid camerarii officium unius scissoris 
 et duorum balneatorum. MS. Harl. 743. f. 209. 
 
 * MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 19B b. Pro voto 
 camerarii fiet instructio subcamerarii. — Sonitu sub- 
 camerarii ad usum balnearum precedent monachi. 
 Camerario absente, licet subcamerario, licenti^ pro- 
 vent^ i\ priore, usum balnearum concedere. Minis- 
 ter ablutorum feret et referet vestimenta fratrum in 
 dormitoriura comitante subcamerario ; minister 
 numerabit vestimenta in prtesenti^ subcamerarii cum 
 feret, identidem cum referet. NuUus ministrorum 
 sartorum prsesumet ire in dormitorium, nisi ductu 
 subcamerarii. f. 198 b. 
 
142 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 were to go to the baths under his 
 direction ; and, in the absence of the 
 Chamberlain, he could grant the use 
 of them with the Prior's consent. He 
 was to accompany the servant of the 
 bathed in bringing and carrying back 
 the clothes of the bathed into the Dor- 
 mitory ; and that servant, in his pre- 
 sence, was to count the clothes, both 
 in bringing them and returning them. 
 No servant of the menders was to go 
 to the Dormitory but under his 
 guidance. The clothes were to be dis- 
 tributed by his direction, and all the 
 old ones were in his custody. He 
 was allowed to give out girdles, and 
 other matters of that kind. He was 
 to prepare the beds of the Novices, 
 and to light and extinguish the can- 
 
 dles in the Dormitory at twilight or 
 day-break. 
 
 Davies says, "The Chamberlain's 
 office was to provide stamyne, other- 
 wise called linsey-woolsey, for sheets 
 and shirts for the Novices and the 
 Monks, for they were not permitted to 
 wear linen. He kept a taylor daily at 
 work^ in making socks of white wool- 
 len cloth, both whole and half socks ; 
 and making shirts and sheets of linsey- 
 woolsey in a shop underneath the 
 Exchequer. This taylor was one of 
 the servants of the house. The cham- 
 ber where he laid was in the Dorter.'* 
 
 * The Taylor's shop was to be without the inner 
 shops of the Cloister ; i. e. in a place where the 
 secular servants, if necessary, might be admitted. 
 Du Cange, v. Sartrinum. 
 
OTHER OFFICERS OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 143 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 OTHER OFFICERS OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 Terrier of the House, This officer, 
 mentioned by Davies, was to see 
 all the guests' chambers cleanly kept, 
 and all the napery in the chambers, 
 as sheets and pillows, to be sweet and 
 clean. He always provided two hogs- 
 heads of wine to be ready for the 
 entertainment of strangers, and likewise 
 provender for their horses, that 
 nothing should be wanting, when 
 strangers came, of whatsoever degree 
 they were. Four yeomen were allowed 
 to attend strangers. His chamber was 
 in the Infirmary. 
 
 Granetariusy or Keeper of the Gar- 
 ners, " His office,'^ says the same 
 writer, "was to receive all the wheat 
 and barley that came, and give account 
 what malt was used weekly; as also 
 what barley was delivered to the kiln, 
 and what malt received from it, and 
 how much was used in the house. 
 His chamber was in the Dorter.'^ 
 
 Master of the Common House, " His 
 office,^' says Davies, "was to provide 
 all such spices against Lent, as should 
 be comfortable for the Monks under 
 their great austerity both of fasting 
 and praying ; and to have a fire con- 
 stantly in the Common-house hall, for 
 the Monks to warm themselves at 
 when they pleased; and to provide 
 always a hogshead of wine for the 
 Monks ; and for keeping his O, called 
 O Sapientia;^ and to provide figs and 
 
 » "Then by reason of these antiphonars, and 
 others which begin with the letter O," says Udal- 
 ric, in D'Acherii Spicileg. iv. p. 100. Amalarius, 
 in his chapter of the Antophonars which begin 
 with O, says, " By this O the Chantor means to 
 intimate that the words following belong to some 
 wonderful vision, which relates rather to the con- 
 templation of the mind, than the narration of the 
 singer. The antiphonar, which is the first of the 
 eight present in the text of the antiphonary, and is 
 inscribed 'O Wisdom, which proceeded from the 
 mouth of the Most High,* is partly taken from 
 the book of Jesus, the son of Sirach, partly from 
 the Wisdom which is commonlyascribed to Solomon, 
 for that wonderfully commends wisdom." Amala- 
 rius de ordine Antiphonarii, C. 13, p. 520. 
 
 walnuts for Lent. His chamber was 
 in the Dorter.'* 
 
 Firgultarius, or Orcharder}^ He 
 was not excepted from any of the 
 Church duties ; was to have straw 
 from the Barton to lay under the 
 apples, which he was to deliver to the 
 visitors before Complin, after Complin 
 the Refectioner, or the same fruit 
 which the Convent had for refection. 
 
 Operarius. He could talk with his 
 workmen in the Cloister, Church, and 
 elsewhere, without exclusion of any 
 place, but not with the Monks or 
 others, except in case of necessity. 
 The Collation in summer was to be 
 somewhat delayed, if there were per- 
 sons at work in the Church. The 
 Operarii were not to go through the 
 Cloister, cloked, unshoed, buttoned up, 
 nor any others. A part of his office 
 was to take care that all slippery mat- 
 ters of the glass-shops, and filth of 
 such kind, were carried out of doors. 
 Other filth the master was to look to.<^ 
 
 Porcarius, This was an office held 
 by serjeantry at Edmundsbury ;d he 
 had for his profit tlaefructus de cauda 
 (perhaps the offal, perhaps the dung) 
 of every pig fed in the house ;^ for 
 
 i> MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. 207. a. Stramenta 
 pomis supponenda et proponenda habebit de Ber- 
 tona. Ante completorium hospitibus dabit poma 
 virgultarius, post completorium refectorarius, vel 
 eundem fructum quo conventus reficitur. f. 207 b. 
 
 •^ Licet operario cum suis operariis loquiin claus- 
 tro, in monasterio et alibi, nullo excluso loco, sed 
 non licet loqui cum monachis, vel aliis, nisi tem- 
 pore necessitatis. In sestate collatio aliquantulum 
 morosi^ pulsabitur, si operarii infra septa monas- 
 terii operantur. Operarii non ibunt per claustrum 
 palliati, discalceati, fibulati, nee aliqui alii. Procu- 
 rabit labinas omnium officinarum vitrorum, sordes- 
 que labinarum ejus curU et prudentia exterius defe- 
 rentur ; alise sorde (sic) cura magistri. MS. Cott. 
 ut sup. f. 207 b. 
 
 •^ Scriptum de officio custodis porcorum per ser- 
 jantiam. MS. Harl. 743, f. 210. 
 
 '^ Idem omni porco qui nutritur in curisi fructum 
 de Cauda habebit porcarius. MS. Cott. ut sup. f. 
 178 b. 
 
144 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 these animals were of great regard 
 among the Monks. How many pigs 
 the Abbots ought to have in Kinges- 
 frid was settled at Abingdon ;» and 
 there are clauses of this kind in nume- 
 rous edited charters. Walter Mapes, 
 ridiculing the Cistertians for their 
 pretences of abstaining from flesh, says, 
 *^ Pigs they keep, many thousands of 
 them, and sell the bacon, perhaps not 
 all of it; the heads, legs, and feet, 
 they neither give nor sell, nor throw 
 away; what becomes of them God 
 knows ; likewise there is an account 
 between God and them of fowls, that 
 they keep in vast numbers.^^^ Nigell 
 Wireker says of the hermits of Grand- 
 mont, ^^ that they sent no fat pigs to 
 the woods. ^^<^ 
 
 • Quot porcos debeat abbas habere in Kingesfrid. 
 Id. 173. a. 
 
 ^ Porcos tamen ad multamillia nutriunt, bacones 
 inde vendunt forte non omnes, capita, tibias, 
 pedes, nee dant, nee vendunt, nee dejiciunt, quod 
 deveniant Deus scit ; similiter et de gallinis inter 
 Deum sit et ipsos, quibus habundant maxim^. MS. 
 Bodl. Wood, II. p. 216. 
 
 « ** Nee faciunt pingues in nemus ire sues.'' 
 Spec. Stultor. 
 
 Besides these officers, there was 
 sometimes the Cancellarius, Registrary, 
 Auditor, and Secretary of the Convent, 
 it being his proper business to write 
 and return letters, and manage the 
 most learned employments in the Mon- 
 astery. The Butler, who at Abingdon 
 ate in the Refectory, and had 20*. wages 
 from WilHam de Cumbe, and a ser- 
 vant that had the same privilege of 
 dinner.'^ The Lardenarius, or keeper 
 of the larder ; Squelenarii, keepers of 
 the baskets ; and in short, for every 
 mean employment, proper officers, 
 who had again secondaries, or assist- 
 ants. Among these was the Baker, 
 and sub-bakers,^ who in the manu- 
 script Constitutions of the Clug-niac 
 Order, are directed not to sing psalms, 
 like the other Monks, when at work, 
 lest any saliva should fall into the 
 dough .^ 
 
 ^ Dapifer comedat in aula, et xx sol. habebit pro 
 stipendio de Will° de Cumbe, famulus suus comedat 
 in aula. MS. Cott. ut sup. 178. 
 
 « Angl. Sacr. i. 343. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Breiare. 
 
OFFICERS AMONG THE FRIARS- 
 
 145 
 
 i 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 OFFICERS AMONG THE FRIARS. 
 
 General of the Order, His election 
 and offices the Chapter of Rules and 
 next article shew. Among the Domi- 
 nicans, Hospinian says, that they had 
 at first Abbots, afterwards Masters of 
 the Order, and that the other inferior 
 prelates were called Priors and Supe- 
 riors. The resignation of the General, 
 he adds, was not accepted unless on 
 account of perpetual impediment.^ 
 Armachanus says (i. e. Fitz Ralph, the 
 famous Archbishop of Armagh), that, 
 because the Rule of Francis ordered 
 that no brother should preach peni- 
 tence to the people, unless examined, 
 approved, and licensed by the General 
 Minister, that the Friers obtained pri- 
 vileges to get rid of this examination.^ 
 In the amoval and appointment of 
 Priors General of the Carmelites bribery 
 and corruption interfered. ^^In that 
 Chapter/^ says the syllabus of them, 
 " resigned the reverend Master, bro- 
 ther John Grossi, a most worthy doc- 
 tor in divinity, and he governed the 
 Order forty-two years, and would have 
 continued longer, if money had not 
 interfered.'^c 
 
 In the Heroi-comic Poem of the 
 Nouveau Renard (New Fox), written 
 by Jacquemars Gelee in the 13th cen- 
 tury, the Dominicans perceive, that the 
 poverty which they professed was inju- 
 rious to them, and that, if they were 
 richer, they would be more respected. 
 In consequence, they hold a Chapter ; 
 
 * De orig. et progr. Monach. p. 492, 3. 
 
 '' Regula Francisci precipit quod nuUus fratrum 
 populo poenitentiam audeat predicare, nisi a minis- 
 tro generali fuit examinatus et etiam approbatus, 
 et ab eo predicationis officium sibi concessutn 
 [fuerit] : et fratres, ut non examinentur a miuistro, 
 privilegium procurarunt. MS. Bodl. 2737, f. 
 14, b. 
 
 •^ In illo capitulo resignavit reverendus magis- 
 ter frater Johannes Grossi in sacra paginA, dignis- 
 simus doctor, et ordinem rexit annis xlii. et magis 
 rexisset, nisi fuisset pecunia. MS. Harl, 1819, f. 
 108, a. 
 
 one of them makes a speech ; and 
 after having advanced that without 
 Reynardism, they should be always 
 beggars, they propose to send a depu- 
 tation to Reynard, to induce him to 
 take their habit, and become General 
 of the Order, in the hopes that under 
 such a chieftain the Society would not 
 fail to extend itself, and abound in 
 money. Reynard answers, that he 
 cannot accept their offer, but proposes 
 to them his eldest son, who has already 
 exhibited great ability. They agree, 
 and renouncing poverty, go, like the 
 other Orders, to inhabit the castle of 
 Pride. 
 
 The Franciscans come to Reynard 
 with the same request, and he gives 
 them his second son. In vain does 
 their Rule oppose innovations. They 
 allow latitude of conscience, and miti- 
 gate their austerities. d 
 
 From this passage we have a full 
 idea what a General of the Order was 
 expected to be, that is, a skilful Jesuit. 
 
 Prior Provincial had the same pow- 
 er in his province as the Ruler of the 
 Order, namely, in receiving persons 
 under eighteen years of age, and dis- 
 pensing with those who could not 
 competently read or sing; and that 
 without special licence of the Ruler. 
 He was to have the same respect shown 
 to him by the brothers of the province 
 as the General had, who was not to 
 harass his Provincials when present. 
 He was bound to visit, either person- 
 ally or by deputy. Persons particu- 
 larly able and likely to be useful he 
 was to send to places of study, and 
 they were not to be occupied elsewhere.*' 
 
 «> MS. dans la Biblioth. Nation. N". 7615, &c. 
 Notices, V. 326. 
 
 « Prior provincialis eandem potestatem habeat m 
 sua provinciA, quanti est rector ordinis, sc. reci- 
 piendis minoribus xviii annis, et illis qui nesciunt 
 competenter legere et cantare dispenset; et sine 
 
146 
 
 MONASTIC OFFICERS. 
 
 The Friers could not give presents to 
 women, nor send them orally or by 
 writing without his leave. A Consti- 
 tution of the Minors, or Franciscans, 
 ordered that the Friers should not 
 take orders without this officer's con- 
 sent.a 
 
 Diffinitors, says Hospinian, were 
 officers "who had the power of appoint- 
 ing and ordaining, respecting the pre- 
 sident and whole [general] chapter 
 during the sitting of the same, regard 
 being had to the authority of the Gene- 
 ral. Theodoric de Appoldia was the 
 author of them/^^ The Statutes of 
 the Franciscans ordered, that those 
 should not be Diffinitors in the pro- 
 vincial chapter next following, who had 
 
 licentia special! rectoris. Et eadem reverentia, i. e. 
 quse fratribus suse provincise exhibeatur, quee et 
 rectori exhibetur, nee rector prsesens exerceat pro- 
 vincias suas. Priores provinciales visitare tenentur, 
 quod si commode non valuerint committere pote- 
 rint vices suas. Curet prior provincialis, ut si 
 habuerit aliquos utiles ad docendum, &c. mittere eos 
 ad studium ad loca ubi viget studium, et illi ad 
 quos mittuntur eos in aliis non audeant occupare. 
 MS. Cott. Nero, A. xii. f. 167. 
 
 * Munuscula sine licencia prioris provincialis 
 mulieribus non dentur a quocunque, nee aure, verbo, 
 vel Uteris mandentur. Id. 157, b. Item fratres 
 sacros ordines non suscipiant sine sui vicarii provin- 
 cialis licenciji. MS. Bodl. 1882, p. 52, b. 
 
 ^ Of the Dominicans, 392. 
 
 filled that office in the one preceding.^ 
 Among the Benedictines and Augusti- 
 nians, says Du Cange, of societies lately 
 instituted and reformed, and others, 
 the Diffinitors are nine Superiors elect- 
 ed in the time of the general Chapter, 
 who have the principal power of the 
 whole assembly, whether in respect to 
 the elections of Superiors, or to enact 
 and constitute whatever affected the 
 Monastic discipline. In certain other 
 orders the Diffinitors are called assist- 
 ants, or advisers of the Superior, even 
 out of the time of the general Chapter. 
 Wardens (of the Franciscans). The 
 general Statutes say, "We enact, that, 
 in future, the wardens be elected in 
 every place by the Convents of such 
 place. Also, that no one shall have 
 a vote who is not twenty-five years of 
 age, and in holy orders; but where 
 they have wardens, the custom hither- 
 to observed in the election of them 
 shall be retained.^^<i 
 
 •= Qui fuerint diffinitores in provincial! capitulo 
 proximo prsecedenti non sint diffinitores in cap° 
 proximo sequenti. MS. Bodl. 1882, f. 65, b. 
 
 ^ Statuimus ut deinceps gardiani in singulis locis 
 elegantur per conventus eorundem locorum. Nul- 
 lus vocem habeat, non saltern qui 25 suse setatis 
 annum attigit, et in sacris fuit ordinibus consti- 
 tutus ; ubi autem custodes habent, fuerit in eorum 
 electione consuetudo liactenus observata. Idem. 
 61, b. 
 
NUNS CONFESSOR. 
 
 147 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 NUNS CONFESSOR. 
 
 One officer remains to be mentioned, 
 peculiar to the Nuns, as well as two fe- 
 males, the Portress and the Formaria.^ 
 This officer was the Nuns' Confessor, 
 appointed, says Lyndwood, by the 
 Bishop, and who was, where there was 
 no particular person ordained, the 
 incum])ent of the parish in which 
 they resided.^ This Confessor did 
 duty in the Church, in which he was 
 assisted by the Chaplain or Chaplains.^ 
 Whether the Professor was a man of 
 learning and discretion, was one of the 
 inquirenda of Henry's visitors.*^ 
 
 Among the Nuns of Sempringham, 
 as soon as the Confessor came, his 
 arrival was announced. If the Pri- 
 oress then found it necessary that any 
 one should confess, she was told to go 
 to the place of confession. When the 
 confession was made in the house, two 
 discreet sisters sat apart from the 
 window to see how the Nun confess- 
 ing behaved. The Confessor too was 
 to shun talking vain and unnecessary 
 things ; nor ask who she was, whence 
 she came, and such things ; nor to talk 
 to her, about who he was, and whence 
 he came. His behaviour too was also 
 to be watched. No other obedi- 
 ence was due to him than that of 
 confession.^ 
 
 The Brigettine Nun was to confess 
 at a latticed window, so as to be heard 
 but not seen.^ 
 
 It was the opinion of those eeras, 
 that ^*^the office of a Confessor and 
 Preacher was that of a midwife, whose 
 duty it was to entirely eradicate sin 
 from the heart, that it might after- 
 wards bring forth a new man f^ but the 
 
 ' Aubrey says, that the last priest [at the nun- 
 nery of Kington St. Michael, co. Wilts] was 
 Parson Whaddon, whose chamber is that on the 
 right-hand of the porch with the old fashioned 
 chimney. Britton's Beauties of Wilts, iii. 154. 
 
 '' Lyndwood, p. 211. 
 
 •= Const, ii. Monial. de Sopewell, &c. &c. 
 ^ MS. Harl. 791, f. 21. 
 
 « Monast. Anglic, ii. 775. f Ex Regulft. 
 
 « Officium obstetricum nil aliud est quam offi- 
 
 Confessors of Nuns often attended only 
 to the latter part of the injunction in a 
 corporeal sense. Amours of this kind 
 are upon record concerning very ex- 
 tensive powers of absolution for cer- 
 tain vices ; writing love letters ; inter- 
 views at grated windows, and employ- 
 ing smiths to remove the bars, as well as 
 holy contemplations in the Church at 
 night between two lovers,^ 
 
 The Porteress of the Nuns of St. 
 Clare was, during the days, to reside 
 in an open chamber without the gate ; 
 and to have a companion to take her 
 place when necessary. They were to 
 take care the gate never stood open 
 when it was improper.* Among the 
 Gilbertines, two Nuns attended at the 
 Versatile window, who went to Mass 
 and Chapter alternately .^ 
 
 The Formarius was a Fugle-man, or 
 pattern Monk, who instructed the rest 
 by his example. He was also called 
 Titulus} 
 
 The Formaria was the Nun men- 
 tioned in the Benedictine Rule, "as the 
 senior fitted to gain souls," who was, 
 says Du Cange, (as the Formarius 
 among the Monks,) "to watch and in- 
 spect them curiously.'^ 
 
 Thus terminates the account of the 
 Monastic Officers; and such was the 
 effect of Puritanical principles, that 
 the very names became odious; and, at 
 the dissolution, the Dean and other 
 officers of Exeter Cathedral requested 
 to be styled by the scriptural appella- 
 tions of pastor and preachers."^ 
 
 cium confessoris et pradicatoris, quorum officium 
 est penitus educere peccatum de corde, ut postea 
 pariat novum hominem. MS. Gardiner, in Pemb. 
 Coll. Libr. Oxf. (ancient sermons.) 
 
 ^ Visitor's letter in Fuller's Ch. Hist. b. vi.315. 
 
 ' Ex Reguia. " Dugd. Monast. ii. 758. 
 
 * Du Cange. 
 
 " MS. Harl. 604, f. 135. a. This was one of 
 those Genevese Innovations (see Aerius Redivivus, 
 p. 208—14), which terminated (as all religious 
 zeal, except that of promoting the virtues of Chris- 
 tianity, will ever do) in faction, blood, sedition, 
 and harassing, if not overturning, the State, — a 
 direction it instantly assumes, when it has raised a 
 strong party. 
 
 T. 9. 
 
148 
 
 MONKS, NUNS^ &C. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIL 
 
 MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 The duties of Monks were these, "To 
 pray, groan, and weep for their faults ; 
 to subdue their flesh ; to watch and 
 abstain from pleasures ; to bridle their 
 tongues, and shut their ears from vani- 
 ties ; to guard their eyes, and keep 
 their feet from wandering ; to labour 
 with their hands, exult with their lips, 
 and rejoice at heart in the praises of 
 God ; to bare the head, bow down, 
 and bend the knees at the feet of the 
 
 Crucifix ; to obey readily, never to 
 contradict their Superiors ; to serve 
 willingly, and assist speedily, the sick 
 brethren ; to throw off cares of 
 the world, and attend to celestial con- 
 cerns with their utmost endeavours ; 
 not to be overcome by the arts of 
 Satan, and do every thing with pru- 
 dence/** The following Leonines form 
 a summary. 
 
 » MS. Bodl. Archiv. Seld. D. 52. 
 
 INSTRUCTIO PERBREVIS PRO NOVITIIS IN SACRA LIRINENSI INSULA. 
 
 Attende Tibi. 
 
 Monacho, ad quid venisti 
 Quare mundum reliquisti, 
 Cur flocum induisti 
 Et mundi pompam despexisti. 
 Nonne ut Deo servires 
 Et cor tuum custodires ? 
 Cum ergo sic vagaris 
 Et vana meditaris ? 
 Muitum peccas evagando 
 Tempus perdis otiando : 
 Evagari non est tutum 
 Otiari grande vitium ; 
 Fabulando perdis prsemium, 
 Operando vitse tsedium, 
 Orando quaere subsidium, 
 Mane ergo in ccenobio, 
 Vive caste sine proprio. 
 Fuge, tace cum Arsenio, 
 Sede solus cum Machario, 
 Ssepe ora cum Antonio, 
 Jejuna cum Evagrio. 
 Vigila cum Hilario, 
 Sustine dolores cum Laurentio, 
 Despice honores cum Vincentio, 
 Dilige Jesum cum Ignatio, 
 Fer rerum damna cum Eustachio, 
 Confitere Christum cum Tibnitio, 
 Resiste Draconi cum Honorato, 
 Perfere injurias cum Donato, 
 Lege, scribe cum Hieronymo, 
 Canta hymnos cum Ambrosio, 
 Stude, doce cum Augustino, 
 Disce mori mundo cum Gregorio, 
 Perseveraudo in Monasterio, 
 Imitare Sanctum Benedictura, 
 Serva verbum tibi dictum, 
 Bonum est laborare manibus. 
 Melius orare cum fletibus, 
 Quaire Jesum cum Bernardo, 
 Cum Hugone, cum Richardo, 
 Prsemiaberis cum Confessoribus, 
 
 Si abnegaveris te in omnibus 
 
 Cave curiosa legere 
 
 Qu8e possunt mentem distrahere, 
 
 Stude vitia cognoscere, 
 
 Et viriliter eis resistere : 
 
 Ambula cum simplicibus, 
 
 Adhsere innocentibus, 
 
 Benefac tibi contrario, 
 
 Supplica pro adversario, 
 
 Et eris gratus Dei filio, 
 
 Ac dignus sanctorum consortio, 
 
 Monachorum est orare, 
 
 Gemiscere et plorare. 
 
 Pro suis defectibus, 
 
 Carnem suam castigare, 
 
 Vigilare, jejunare 
 
 A voluptatibus ; 
 
 Linguam refrsenare, 
 
 Aures obturare 
 
 A vanitatibus : 
 
 Oculos custodire, 
 
 Pedes prsemunire, 
 
 Ab excursibus. 
 
 Manibus laborare, 
 
 Labris exultare, 
 
 Corde jubilare, 
 
 In Dei laudibus : 
 
 Caput denudare, 
 
 Bass6 inclinare, 
 
 Genua curvare, 
 
 Crucifixi pedibus ; 
 
 Prompts obedire, 
 
 Nunquam contra ire, 
 
 Suis majoribus; 
 
 Libenter servire, 
 
 Cito subvenire 
 
 Infirmis fratribus : 
 
 Curas mundi abjicere, 
 
 Coelestibus intendere 
 
 Totis conatibus. 
 
 Ne vincaris a Dsemonio, 
 
MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 149 
 
 Omnia fac cum consilio, 
 
 Et non facile aberrabis, 
 
 Nescis enim quamdiu hie eris, 
 
 Certum est quod morieris, 
 
 Nunquam tamen desperabis, 
 
 Esto internus Deo devotus, 
 
 Mundo ignotus 
 
 Et eris semper Icetus. 
 
 Multum tibi vilis et despectus, 
 
 Fratri tuo pius et subjectos. 
 
 Maturus et facetus. 
 
 De bonis Deo tribue gloriam, 
 
 De malis pete veniam, 
 
 Omnem remittens injuriam, 
 
 Sicque per Dei Gratiam 
 
 Pervenies ad Patriam, 
 
 Post hujus seecli miseriam, 
 
 Ubi Jesu et Marisi, 
 
 In summ^ gaudent Gloria 
 
 Cum tota coeli curia : 
 
 Ad quam post multa pericula, 
 
 Perducat Agnus sine macula 
 
 Cui laus per seterna secula. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 To Monastic._^perfectio7i it seems 
 eight things were requisite ; keeping 
 the Cloister, silence, no property, 
 obedience, no detraction or murmur- 
 ing, mutual love, performance of 
 the appointed duties, and confession.^ 
 Besides these, they were to be imita- 
 tors of Christ, love an abject and lowly 
 habit, be cloathed in vile garments, 
 walk simply in discipline,^ upon rising 
 to Mattins meditate upon their ac- 
 tions f to bear patiently the injuries of 
 others; to him that struck upon one 
 cheek, to turn the other, — so that such 
 a change of character would be pro- 
 duced, ^'that they who were prone to 
 quarrels, and passionate, would now 
 bravely endure the curses of others ; 
 not be broken by contempt or injury, 
 but bear all things with a resolute 
 heart, and preserve their peace of mind, 
 and rest amidst reproaches ^'^ to con- 
 
 * MS. Roy. Libr. 7. A. lit. sect. Quod sint 
 octo, &c. 
 
 *> Christi imitatorem debetis agere ; abjectum et 
 humilem habitum amare ; pannis vilibus involvatur ; 
 in disciplina simpliciter ambulare. MS, Harl. 
 209, f. 19. 
 
 *= Ex quo surgit ad vigilias vitse sure tempora per 
 monita singularia debet computare. MS. Harl. 
 103, f. 114. 
 
 ^ Quod ab omni perfectione longe distat, qui 
 non verbum aliorum pacienter non sustinuit ; per- 
 cutienti te in maxillam priebe ei alteram ; non 
 repunget per verba contumeliosa, &c. MS. Harl. 
 1750, f. 105, b. andf. 113, b. 
 
 Ad lites facilis fuit hie ; ad jurgia prseceps ; 
 
 Fortiter alterius nunc maledicta feret ; 
 
 ^Qn bunc coutemptui, non hunc injuria frangit \ 
 
 verse of and meditate the last judg- 
 ment, wait for the Lord, and dread the 
 anger of the judge ;^ never to laugh, 
 because being charged with the sins of 
 the people as their own, constant 
 lamentation was their duty ;^ to have 
 no private friendships, because preju- 
 dicing the concord of the community, 
 by generating parties, and causing 
 detraction ;& to be silent and solitary, 
 because dead to the world ;^ to use 
 private prayer, when under a vicious 
 impulse, because such prayer reminded 
 them of their crimes, and made them 
 think themselves more guilty ;i to have 
 respect for their habit in act, speech, 
 and thought; not to be querulous, an- 
 gry, slanderous ; not to regard rashly 
 the lives of their Superiors, nor to be- 
 come rebellious, by beholding their 
 faults ; and to walk with their heads 
 down,k a custom borrowed from the 
 Pharisees.^ 
 
 " Because,'^ says Bouthillier de la 
 Ranee, ^^the Monks inflame themselves. 
 
 Omnia robusto corde molesta feret ; 
 Pax animi quies inter convicia duret.* 
 
 MS. Bibl. Reg. 8. A. xxi. 
 
 e '*Expecta Dominum, formida Judicis iram." 
 MS. Bibl. Reg. ut sup. Dev. Vie Monast. i. 542, 
 543. 
 
 ' Id. i. 574, 5. Bernard reproaches the Clug- 
 niacs for calling raillery and laughter an honest and 
 allowable recreation. Cachinnatio diciturjucundi- 
 tas. Dev. Vie Mon. iii. 274. 
 
 g Dev. Vie Monast. i. 339, 342, and Monast. 
 Anglic, ii. 783. 
 
 ^ Dev. Vie Mon. ii. 20. 
 
 * Quociens quolibet tangitur vitio, totiens adora- 
 tionem (sic) se subdat. Smaragdi Diadema Mona- 
 chorum. MS. Bodl. 2401, p. 2, b. Cum enim 
 oramus, ad memoriam culparum reducamur, et 
 magis reos tunc nos esse cognoscamus. Id. 3. a. 
 Admonendus est monachus, ut reverentiam habitus 
 sui in actu, in locutione, in cogitatione su4 semper 
 circumspiciat. p. 19, a. Qui querulus est, mona- 
 chus non est ; qui iracundus est, monachus non 
 est ; qui fratri suo detrahit, monachus non est. 
 Id. 33, b. Ammonendi sunt subditi, ne praeposi- 
 torum suorum vitam temere, si quid eos fortasse 
 agere reprehensibi liter viderint, reprehendant ; 
 ammonendi sunt subditi, ne cum culpas prseposito- 
 rum considerent, contra eos audaciores fiant. Id. 
 37, b. 
 
 '' Reg. Bened. &c. 
 
 1 Pictet. Serm. sur Matt. xv. 9. 
 
 * It is to be observed, that reproaches and con- 
 tumelies were purposely used to prevent pride, and 
 greats fyrtitud^, Dev. Vie MQuastf ii. 20. 
 
150 
 
 MONKS, NUNS, &C, 
 
 and grow angry by discourses, we see 
 very rarely honesty, respect, and cha- 
 rity among them : they divide by dif- 
 ference of sentiment; they contract 
 friendships and intimacies quite human, 
 which are the ruin of holy and true 
 charity ; or rather they canvass, when 
 conversing together, the faults of their 
 brethren, which renders them contemp- 
 tible in their eyes, and hinders their 
 esteeming them/^a Upon these ac- 
 counts silence was a principal duty of 
 a Monk, the rule of which obtained, 
 during divine service, meals, mid-day, 
 between Mattins and Prime, and after 
 Complin. The Prior, Sub-prior, Deans, 
 Master of the Novices, and Cellarer, 
 had a right from office to speak. On 
 account, however, of the danger of 
 nightly interviews, to speak after Com- 
 plin was subject to the severest punish- 
 ment; and, in some places, the law 
 was so strict, according to Bernard, 
 that it did not permit a person labour- 
 ing under blame, to excuse himself, — 
 or one who entertained suspicions, to 
 divulge them.^ We are even told of 
 persons who carried stones in their 
 mouths, that they might learn to ob- 
 serve duly this injunction of silence.^ 
 Lindwood gives the following curious 
 reason for silence : " Silentium, Quod 
 est justitiee cultus.^^^ In consequence, 
 therefore, of this prohibition from ex- 
 hortation, advice, and every kind of 
 communication, it became necessary 
 that they should do by signs what they 
 could not effect by words.^ These 
 signs were not optional, but transmit- 
 ted from antiquity, and taught like the 
 alphabet;^ the use of them was, how- 
 ever, prohibited when silence was com- 
 manded ; for, says Nigell de Wireker, 
 in his Monita Moralia : 
 
 » Dev. Vie Monast. i. p. 336. 
 
 *• Dev. Vie Monast. ii. 220, 1, 2, 3. 
 
 •= Qui lapides in ore portabant, ut tacitumita- 
 tem addiscerent. MS. Harl. 1750, f. 105, b. " Aga- 
 thon the Abbot (says the Golden Legend, ccxxxv. 
 b.) bare thre yere a stone in hys mowthe tyll that 
 he had lerned to kepe scylence." 
 
 d Prov. 207. 
 
 « Dev. Vie Monast. i. 308. 
 
 f Id. ii. 221. '^Si^a scire studeant omnes ne- 
 cessaria ;'' (let all endeavour to learn the necessary 
 signs.) M. Paris, 403, See too sect. Novices. 
 
 Si jubet ut taceas, statua tacitumior esto, 
 Nee redimas nignia verba negata tibi,^ 
 As statues still, if ordered so, abide. 
 Nor seek by signs the speech that is denied. 
 
 Notwithstanding this, the Monks did 
 so, for they were perpetually making 
 unnecessary signs in the Choir, Refec- 
 tory, and other undue places.^^ 
 
 However ridiculous this may appear 
 to us, signs, to a given extent, have, in 
 relation to speech, the expedition of 
 short-hand writing, and might be made 
 in part to supply the place of universal 
 language. With relation to the Monks, 
 they admirably contributed to the pre- 
 servation of order. Du Cange has 
 preserved a catalogue of them; and 
 the following are extracts : 
 
 Fish. Waive the hand like a fish's 
 tail in the water. 
 
 Book, Extend the hand, and move 
 it as a leaf is moved. 
 
 Milk. Press the little finger on the 
 lips, because an infant sucks milk.^ 
 
 There were signs not only for per- 
 sons and things, but actions and qua- 
 lities, as seeing, hearing, good, evil, &c. 
 
 Crashaw, who seems to have known 
 that the felicity which is so rarely at- 
 tainable in divine poetry, by attempts 
 at the sublime, is well substituted by 
 blending taste and elegance with fer- 
 vour, thus describes the duties of a 
 religious house : 
 
 A hasty portion of prescribed sleep. 
 Obedient slumbers that can wake and weep, 
 And sing, and sigh, and work, and sleep again, 
 Still rolling a round sphere of still returning pain ; 
 Hands full of hearty labours, pains that pay 
 And prize themselves ; do much that more they may; 
 And work for work, not wages : let to-morrow's 
 New drops wash off the sweat of this day's sorrows. 
 A long and daily-dying life, which breathes 
 A respiration of reviving deaths. 
 
 The state of reason among the 
 Monks may be ascertained from some 
 Old Rhymes of the Monastic Life, 
 published by Fabricius.^ The mecha- 
 nical modes of avoiding some bad ha- 
 bits are thus pourtrayed. 
 
 i MS. Cott. Jul. A. VII. 
 
 ^ Cap. Gen. Northampt. anno 1225, sect. De 
 Hospitalitate. See too sect. Refectory. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Signum. See also the signs used 
 in the nunnery of Syon, co. Middx. in Aungier's 
 Hist. ofjHounslow and Syon Monastery, 8vo. 1840, 
 
 k Bibl* Med, ^Ev. v, vii, 913, seq. 
 
 I 
 
MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 151 
 
 Omnem horam occupabis 
 
 You shall occupy ever hour 
 
 Hymnis, psalmis ; et amabis 
 
 In hymns [and] psalms ; and you shall like 
 
 Tenere silentium. 
 
 To keep silence. 
 
 Super hoc orationem 
 
 Besides this, you shall love 
 
 Diliges et lectionem, 
 
 Prayer and reading, 
 
 Nutricem claustralium. 
 
 The nurse of cloisterers. 
 
 Habens vestitum et victum, 
 
 Having raiment and food, 
 
 Ut fert Apostoli dictum. 
 
 As the Apostle's saying directs, 
 
 Nihil quseras amplius ; 
 
 You must not seek any thing further ; 
 
 De colore ne causeris. 
 
 Do not talk of the colour, 
 
 Si fit vilis tunc loeteris, 
 
 If it be mean, then be glad, 
 
 Et ficeris sobrius. 
 
 And thus you will be sober [minded] . 
 
 Cave ne fis curiosus 
 
 Take care not to be foppish 
 
 In vestitu, nee gulosus 
 
 In [your] dress, nor dainty 
 
 In diversis epulis. 
 
 In [your] different meals. 
 
 Sic non eris somnolentus, 
 
 Thus you will not be lethargick, 
 
 Nee in potu vinolentus, 
 
 Nor vinolent in your drink. 
 
 Nee vacabis fabulis, 
 
 Nor waste your time in gossiping ; 
 
 Nimis est periculosum 
 
 It is too dangerous 
 
 Esse claustralem verbosum. 
 
 For a cloisterer to be verbose, 
 
 Cum silere debeat ; 
 
 When he ought to be silent ; 
 
 Joci quidem sunt ferendi, 
 
 Jests, indeed, must be endured, 
 
 Nunquam tamen referendi, 
 
 But never repeated, 
 
 Quos proferre pudeat. 
 
 For it may be disgraceful to utter them. 
 
 Maxims derived from the Vulgate 
 may be seen in detail in Stellartius, p. 
 351. Some of the Epistles and Gos- 
 pels are unnoticed, and Tobit sub- 
 stituted where these had been better 
 quoted instead, 
 
 Monachism was an institution 
 founded upon the first principles of 
 religious virtue, wrongly understood 
 and wrongly directed. If Man 
 be endowed with various qualities, 
 in order to be severely punished 
 
 for using them, God is made the temp- 
 ter of Vice, and his works foolish. If 
 voluntary confinement, vegetable-eat- 
 ing, perpetual praying, wearing coarse 
 clothing, and mere automatical action 
 through respiration, be the standard 
 of excellence, then the best man is 
 only a barrel-organ set to psalm tunes. 
 Sleep, according to this plan, ought to 
 be virtue ; but the fact is, that it is not 
 possible to pursue a system exclusively 
 directed to suppress faults, without 
 reducing the character to a caput mor- 
 tuum,^ Mere innocence was, indeed, 
 the qualification for a Monk ; and the 
 error is, that all its merit was limited 
 to that. The result of such system is 
 the ruin of the public and patriotic 
 character, and the elevation of An- 
 thony and Francis over L^onidas and 
 Socrates; for the consideration was 
 not what sacrifices any one made for 
 the good of society, but how many 
 dinners he could go without in a week ? 
 what aversion he had from matrimony? 
 and how many prayers he said in a 
 day ? but, alas ! superstition has its 
 basis in the will, and therefore Mona- 
 chism never succeeded but when it 
 was an act of volition. As soon as its 
 duties became mechanical operations, 
 the work was performed, and the prin- 
 ciple disregarded, while the heart, left 
 open to the world, was constantly 
 prompting those aberrations, which 
 naturally result from the opposition 
 of will to duty. Shame is of no avail, 
 where security is to be gained from co- 
 parceny, evasion, or secrecy. Hence 
 the vices of the Monks : gluttony, their 
 grand crime, is the natural pleasure of 
 those who are debarred from other en- 
 joyments, whether by physical or moral 
 causes. What these crimes were, in 
 the greater part, the ^' Inquirenda circa 
 Co7wentum'' of Henry's visitors will 
 show. These were, — of what rule ? of 
 what age ? what vows ? what local sta- 
 tutes ? whether of good company^ and 
 living? whether defamed for inconti- 
 
 " See this position admirably illustrated in the 
 Edinburgh Review for 1813, p. 180*. 
 ^ See sect. Refectory. 
 
152 
 
 MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 nence^a apostasle, paedarastia}^ heresie, 
 treason/ perjury, or any noted crime? 
 Whether possessed of property un- 
 known to the Superior? Whether 
 they carry on any bargaining, chevi- 
 saunce, or such worldhe business for 
 their own profit }^ Whether they use 
 
 * Very indelicate proofs of this occur in MS. 
 Harl. 913, f. 2. MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 115, 
 b. The principal pretence for the entrance of wo- 
 men was for washing the clothes. Monast. Anglic. 
 ii. 566 ; and there is a visitation injunction, that 
 they should not take any women to carry pots into 
 the Infirmary, Refectory, or place called Jordayn 
 chamber; " ne aliquas sumant mulieresin Tnfirmar. 
 Kefector. vel domum vocatum jordayn chameram 
 ollas deferre." MS. Mus. Ashmol. 1519, f. 84, a. 
 Women were admitted into the Dormitory. Id. 97, 
 a. Mulieres de incontinentia seu furto suspectse 
 (women suspected of incontinence or theft) are 
 mentioned in the same MS. 25, b. By the order 
 of Henry's visitors, no women were to enter but 
 by leave of the king or his visitors ; nor no entrance 
 to the house but by the "great forgate." MS. 
 Cott. ut supr. 
 
 ^ Hincmar of Rheims (Epist. 600 b, c.) speaks 
 of* negotiatorem clericum aut inhonestis aut lucris 
 turpibus intuantem." Of superstition, apostacy, 
 treason, incest, adultery, &c. &c. see the above 
 MS., f. 147, 8, 9, et passim. I decline giving the 
 passages. Whatever may have been invented, and 
 much was so no doubt by Henry's visitors, still 
 ancient visitation injunctions (MS. Ashm. ut supra, 
 &c.) say nearly the same ; and it would be absurd 
 to suppose, that, in so large a body of men, and in 
 the middle age, instances of vice, in its most gross 
 form, should not sometimes be found, especially as 
 the institution made no provision for satiating ap- 
 petite ; and the Monks had fastidious ones, as will 
 soon appear, which occasionally, we know, conquer 
 all restrictions. 
 
 *^ Vel sunt furatores, ^ Or they are thieves, 
 
 Vel faciunt numismata I Or fabricate the mo- 
 
 regni, ^ ney of the reabn, 
 
 Proditores. 
 
 / 
 
 Traitors. 
 
 MS. Cott. Cleop. B. n. p. 59. Invectivum 
 contra Monachos, &c. t. R. II. In the 
 Notices des MSS. are more proofs of coin- 
 ing. 
 A Monk of Peterborough stole jewels, &c. to 
 give them to women in the town. Gunton, 55. 
 Thomas Strutt sold privately the pix of the Monas- 
 tery of Drax (vendidit clam pixidem monasterii, 
 &c.) MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 154, a. Furtum 
 (theft) is mentioned in the general confession of 
 crimes which might happen to Monks in MS. Cott. 
 Calig. A. I. Henry, Prior of Tupholme, was very 
 ingenious in making false money. Monast. Angl. 
 ii. 629. One William Pigun, a INIonk of St. Al- 
 ban's, forged tlie Convent seal. M. Paris (1st), 
 1048. Ed. Watts. 
 
 ^ Quia nonnulli firmas ecclesiarum maneriorum 
 et aliarum possessionum, qure mercatoris instar 
 obtinere dicuntur, recipiunt indecenter. (Because 
 some indecently receive the farms of Churches, 
 Manors, and other possessions, which, like a 
 tradesman, they are said to acquire, &c.) MS, 
 
 any unlawful art, as nycromancye, sor- 
 cerye, alchemistry,^ &c.? Whether 
 they leave the house by day or night 
 without leave ?^ Whether they have 
 any children lying with them by night, 
 or conversant with them in the day- 
 times, and for what purpose?^ Whether 
 any one of them be a diser, carder,^ 
 
 Harl. 328, f. 7, a. Whether they keep any bake- 
 houses, or farms in hand against the statutes .'MS. 
 Harl. 791, f. 25. Ne aliquid emant seu vendant, 
 ni quod erit abbate mandatum, necessitate vesti- 
 mentorum excepta ; i. e. let them not buy or sell 
 any thing, except clothes, without the Abbot's 
 order. MS. Ashm. 1519, f. 68, a. See the ar- 
 ticle Obedientiaries. Lyndw. Const. Othob. tit. 
 43, and Stat. 21 Henry VIII. which mentions 
 their tan-yards, dealing in wool (the Cistercians 
 especially), cloth, &c. They used to sell wine at 
 taverns, by deputy, some Lay-brother, or other. 
 Monast. Anglic, ii. 746. It was certain, too, that 
 they used to buy corn, wine, or other moveable 
 goods, that they might afterwards sell them dearer, 
 without the knowledge of their superiors. Biblio- 
 theca Praemonstrat. i. p. 835. The Benedictine 
 Constitutions given before say more on this head. 
 
 ^ W. Thorne (col. 2146) mentions, upon some- 
 thing being stolen, the application of the necro- 
 mantic art, to discover the thief, without success. 
 . Chaucer's Canon the Alchemist, &c. &c. is well 
 ! known. 
 
 ^ Quia nonnulli monachi etiam juniores oppor- 
 I tunitate captata extra septa raonachorum absque 
 I societate honesta evagandi, etiam nulla super hoc 
 obtenta licentia, se gesserunt pluries indecenter. 
 (Because even some of the junior Monks, watch- 
 ing their opportunity, have rambled alone out of 
 the precincts of the house, and many times behaved 
 themselves indecently.) MS. Harl. 328, p. 5. 
 These Charter-house Monks (say Henry VIII. 's 
 visitors) "would be called solitary ; but to the clois- 
 ter-door there be above xxiiii keyes in the hande of 
 xxiiii persons, and it is lyke many letters, unpro- 
 fitable tayles and tydings, &c. comin ther by reason 
 therof ; also to the buttery-door ther be xii sundry 
 keyes in xii mens hands." Cott. MS. Cleop. E. 
 IV. f. 35, a. The Nuns of St Helen's, London, 
 were forbidden to have keyes of the posterne door. 
 Monast. ii. 896. To punish this evagation it was 
 ordered, that, after their return, they should take 
 the last rank, lose their vote in chapter, and so 
 continue till pardoned. M. Paris, 1096. They 
 were not to leave the cloister for 15 days in Cap. 
 Gen. Northampt. a'^ 1444. C. 10, de Prselatis ; by 
 which chapter it appears, that the inferior officers 
 took the liberty of granting this licence of going 
 out, and that in these rambles the Monks used to 
 call upon religious or sajculars by the way. 
 
 s Cohibendum est ei pueros nutrire niei conces- 
 sum fuit episcopali auctoritate. " He (the monk) 
 is not to bring up children unless by episcopal au- 
 thority." MS. Cott. Jul. A. IX. f. 12, b. (De 
 vita Reclusorum.) 
 
 •» Barclay says (Ship of Fooles. 91, a.) 
 *' The moukes think it lawful for to play, 
 When that the abbot bringeth them the dice." 
 la the Confessionale generate de casibus qui contn 
 
MONKSj NUNS, &C. 
 
 153 
 
 I 
 
 tavern-haunter,^ or hunter,^ or resorter 
 to suspecte places, or with suspect 
 persons? Whether they sit up late, 
 or be surfett or overlyen with drinke ?<^ 
 
 tnnniter posmnt accidere monachis. MS. Cott. 
 Calig. A. I. f. 223, a. is peccavi — in ludo taxillo- 
 rurn, scaccorum. ** I have sinned in playing at 
 draughts and chess." Rob. Holcot, a Dominican, 
 wrote a book of the game of Chess, and of course 
 phiyedat this game. (Bale, ed. 4to, 1554, p. 148, 
 b.) But, in the Statutes of the Savoy Hospital, it 
 is enacted, " Statuimus, &c. quod nullus magister, 
 vicemagister, capellanus perpetuus vel conductitius, 
 aut aliquis alius minister, vel servitor hospitalis 
 prsedicti, pro tempore existens, ad talos, cartas, vel 
 aliquos alios jocos illicitos et prohibitos, infra hos- 
 pitale prsedictum, clam vel palam, quoquo modo 
 ludet. Poterint enim omni tempore ludere ad 
 scaccos, et tempore Nat. Dominicee, per quadra- 
 ginta dies ad tabellas, sine fraude, et blasphemiA, 
 et magnA, pecuniarum summa ; i. e. We enact, 
 &c. that no master, vice-master, perpetual or tem- 
 porary chaplain, or any other minister or servant 
 of the aforesaid hospital, for the time, shall in any 
 manner, openly or privately, within the aforesaid 
 house, play at dice, cards, or other illicit and 
 prohibited games. But they may at all times play 
 at Chess, and at Christmas for forty days at 
 draughts, so as they do not cheat, blaspheme, and 
 lose much. Cott. MS. Cleop. C. v. xxiiii. a. In 
 the inquiries touching the chaplains and other mi- 
 nisters of the Savoy, It. ii. is, ** Whether any of 
 theym be a fighter, a seditious person, a drunkard, 
 a common haunter of taverns or alehouses, or a 
 dice7', carder, or walker abrode by night ?" MS. 
 Harl. 791, f. 33. 
 
 * The Peterborough monks'haunted a tavern near 
 the house. Gunton, 55 ; and in MS. Ashmol. Mus. 
 1519, p. 70, a. is, "Tabernasque frequentaudo, ad 
 matutinas cum fratribus ssepius non consurgendo." 
 (By frequenting taverns, and seldom rising to mat- 
 tins with the brethren.) 
 
 •* The fondness of the Monks for hunting is well 
 known, and ancient, for it is reprobated by Am- 
 brose (Lopez Epitora. ii. p. 4.) ; but, notwithstand- 
 ing this, it is to be observed, that the purchase of 
 freewarren was made, sometimes at least, on a dif- 
 ferent account, as is plain from the Abbot and 
 Convent of Warden, who bought this right of the 
 king, because the servants of the neighbouring 
 noblemen tore up their fences, run over their 
 ploughed lands, and beat and abused the brothers, 
 who were employed in cultivating them, and the 
 keepers (custodes). M. Paris, 740. But it is fur- 
 ther to be noted, that, though hunting for plea- 
 sure's sake was a mortal sin, even in a Layman ; 
 for health or necessity, or need of body {indiyentia 
 corporis), it was allowable in a clerk (Athon. 147.) ; 
 and accordingly we find that Bishop Juxon was a 
 keen sportsman, and said to have kept the best 
 pack of hounds in England (Acta Regia, 787.) 
 The Monks we should call poachers; for "per 
 noctem venaciones et piscationes '' (huntings and 
 fishings by night) are inhibited in MS. Ashmol. 
 Mus. 1519, f. 71, b. ; but to stay up all night in 
 this sport is mentioned in Xenophon's Cyropee- 
 dia (B.p. 135.), andSmythe's Berkeley MS., as usual. 
 
 «= In MS. Ashm. Mus. 1519, one Wm. Glou- 
 cester is described as staying out all night, " biben- 
 
 Whether they sleepe together in the 
 Dormitory, or eate together in the Re- 
 fectory ?^ Whether they keep silence 
 in the Cloister, Dormitory, and at 
 meat,c and observe their fasting and 
 other ceremonies?^ What shete and 
 shirte, linen and woollen, they lie in, and 
 what bed, whether of feathers or wool? 
 Whether they attend the divine ser- 
 vices ?& how many professed and not 
 professed, and how many the founda- 
 tion required? What wages eche of 
 
 do et rixando" (drinking and quarrelling), f. 39, a, 
 (See sect. Dormitory.) In MS. Harl. 913, f. 58, 
 is the Passio unius monachi secundum Bacchum, 
 where mention is made of a Monk, who, postquam 
 incaluerat mero (after he had got warm with wine), 
 timens ne per continentiam morbus perrepat ad 
 vitalia, * fearing lest by continence disease should 
 creep to his vitals,' went out to find some one to 
 cure his languor, and at length meets a woman sit- 
 ting, &c. To the same purpose is the Missa 
 de potatoribus, or parody on the Mass. (MS. 
 Harl. ut supra.) ** Intrabo ad altare Bacchi. Ad 
 vinum, quod Isetificat cor hominis. Confiteor Deo 
 Baccho omnipotent! et reo vino coloris rubei, et 
 omnibus ciphis, et vobis potatoribus, me nimis gu- 
 lose potasse, per nimiam nauseam rei (sic) Bacchi 
 dei mei potacione, sternutacione, oscitatione, max- 
 ima mea cipha, mea maxima cipha. Ideo precor 
 beatissimum, et omnes ciphos ejus, et vos fratres 
 potatores, ut potetis pro me addominum reum Bac- 
 chum, ut misereatur mei. Misereatur nostri ciphi- 
 potens Bacchus, et permittat nos perdere omnia 
 vestimenta vestra, et perducat nos ad vivam taber- 
 nam ; qui bibit et potat per omnia pocula poculo- 
 rum." f. 11, b. It does not admit of translation. 
 Nigell Wireker says of the Black Canons : 
 
 Causa datur vino, debetur culpa bibenti. 
 
 Cum caput aut membra caetera mane dolent. 
 The fault, due to the drinker, is laid to the wine, 
 when the head aches on the morning. — Spec. 
 Stult. 
 
 '^ Aut in doraibus ssecularium edent, aut come- 
 dent infra leugam a Monast. [Or eat in the houses 
 of Sseculars within a league from the house.] MS. 
 Mus. Ashm. 1519, f. 93, b. See Dormitory and 
 Misericord. 
 
 ^ Quia, &c. comperimus evidenter, quod silen- 
 tium inter vos minimti observatur. MS. Harl. 328. 
 f. 2. i. e. ''Because we find clearly, that silence is by 
 no means observed among you," &c. It was owing 
 to the negligence of Abbots. Reyn. Append. 195. 
 Nigell Wireker says of the Grandmontines, " Ab- 
 dita claustra colunt, et nulla silentia servant." 
 ♦' They live in secret Cloisters, and keep no silence.' * 
 Spec. Stult. MS. Cott. Tit. A. xx. &c. 
 
 ' The book of Visitations of Abbeys, in MS. 
 Ashm. Mus. 1519, is full of items, implying 
 breaches of these. 
 
 « Nee licet alicui de conventu, qui horis et mis* 
 sis his interesse tenetur, ab eisdem quomodolibet 
 absentare ; i. e. no one of the Convent, who is 
 bound to be present at these hours and masses, 
 ought, on any account, to be absent from the 
 same. MS. Harl. 3^8, f. 2, but see sect. Church, 
 
154 
 
 MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 them hath a yere ?» What lyveries, 
 or allowances of meat and drink ?b 
 How do they bestowe the surplus of 
 these ?c What guests resorte to the 
 tables ; to what use the revenues for 
 these tables were bestowed ? Whether 
 the Abbot used to receive the revenues 
 of vacant benefices ? What portions 
 were reserved for the use of the house ? 
 Whether inventories were always kept 
 between the Abbot and Convent of all 
 the goods, &c. belonging to them ? 
 
 The Inquirenda, as to the Cistertians 
 and Preemonstratensians, were, " Whe- 
 ther they labour and till theire owne 
 ground, or any parte thereof, with 
 theire hands ;d what procurations they 
 paid ; what the paternal house ?^'^ 
 
 Further Inquirenda were, whether 
 women usith and resortyth myche to 
 this monastery bybackewayes, or other- 
 wise ? '^ Whether ye doo were your 
 religiouse habite continually, and never 
 leve yt of but when ye goo to bedde ? 
 
 * Vesturee Prioris et Convent. Master Prior, 
 three quarters of a year, 40*. Subprior and Monks, 
 do. 20*. Noviciate, 10*. Nichols's Manners and 
 Expences of Ancient Times, 288. By the decre- 
 tals of Wolsey (a° 1519), "60*. per annum was to 
 be paid to every Canon Priest, and 30*. to a Canon 
 Layman." Monast. Anglic, ii. 566. The reli- 
 gious had pensions, or money (forbidden in the 
 Augustinian Rule), from their parents or others, 
 to buy clothes ; and some held that this was allow- 
 able with the consent and knowledge of the Abbot, 
 (Athon. 205.) Nor could he dispense with a sta- 
 tute that allowed money for vestments, unless it 
 tended to injury. Lyndw. 205. It seems that the 
 Chamberlain was in the habit of giving, and the 
 Monks of taking, money in lieu of vestments. Cap. 
 Gen. Northampt. a° 1225. sect. De Vestimentis. 
 The general chapter of 1338 allowed money to be 
 given and taken for small necessaries. Reyn. Ap- 
 pend. 102. (They had also legacies. Lowth's 
 Wykeham, 391.) But, notwithstanding these al- 
 lowances, there was a great want of punctuality in 
 the payment of them by the officers. Cap. Gen. 
 Northampt. a° 1444. C. v. sect. De Officiariis. 
 
 *» At the visitation of Peterborough it was or- 
 dered that one Reginald Bray should have a due 
 proportion for number of dishes. Gunton, 55. 
 Steevens's Monast. i. 485. 
 
 •= See Almonry. 
 
 •1 The Cistertians professed to follow the Rule 
 of Benedict in its literal strictness, of which ma- 
 nual labour formed a part; and Nigell Wireker says 
 of them, "They make every body work, lest any 
 one should be idle or at leisure among them." Om- 
 nibus injungunt operas, ne desidiosus, aut quando- 
 que vacans inveniatur ibi. Spec. Stult. MS. Harl. 
 2422 &c. 
 
 « MS. Harl. 791, f. 19, 23. Oftea m print. 
 
 Whether any of them have left the 
 house since profession, and during his 
 absence changed his habit ?'^^ The 
 veracity of miracles was also to be 
 strictly ascertained.^ 
 
 Other crimes were common, as quar- 
 rels and their most dreadful conse- 
 quences. Detraction and reproach for 
 faults,^^ you lie, swearing by the body 
 of Christ;^ and striking one another 
 with their fists or knives.^ Giraldus 
 says, ^^ One thing is very common ; 
 whilst the Monks indulge themselves 
 in immoderate drinking, contentions 
 ensue, and they begin fighting with 
 the very cups full of liquor. ^ In a 
 quarrel between an Augustinian Canon 
 and a Carmelite, the former cut off the 
 hand of his opponent with a sword."^ 
 Two Trinitarians in London, having 
 frequently quarrelled about some goat^s 
 wool, one murdered the other." Three 
 murders ensued among them in the 
 year 1248.o Monks that struck one 
 another, were to be punished by their 
 respective Abbots, not sent to the Ro- 
 man see.P 
 
 Their gluttony was excessive. Who 
 does not know the noble institution of 
 
 f MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 146, f. 22. A 
 Monk of Westminster is upon record, who, hav- 
 ing obtained the heirship of his parents, resided 
 upon it like a Layman. Monast. Anglic, i. 293. 
 
 s Two Cistertian Abbots at Canterbury were 
 boasting of the miracles of S. Bernard, upon 
 which John Planeta told a story of his attempt- 
 ing to cast a devil out of a young man, when the 
 event was, that he pelted the Abbot with stones, 
 pursued him from street to street, and at last, 
 when the people had caught and bound him, kept 
 his eyes savagely fixed on him. MS. Bodl. Wood, 
 ii. p. 219. 
 
 •» Reyn. Append. 190. 
 
 ' Nomen Dei ssepissim^ in vanum assumpsi (I 
 have very often taken the name of God in vain) is 
 (in the " Confessionale generale de casibus qui 
 communiter accidere possunt monachis) in MS, 
 Cott. Calig. A. I. p. 223. 
 
 ^ Cap. Gen. Northampt. a« 1444, eh. x. De 
 Novitiis, &c. 
 
 ^ Unum plerumque contingere solet, ut dum 
 potionibus monachi immoderatis indulgent, ad 
 rixas et pugnas persilientes cum oUis ipsis liquore 
 plenis se invieem percutiunt. MS. Cott. Tiber. 
 B. 13. (Gir. Cambrens. contra Excess. Mona- 
 chorum.) 
 
 ™ Manum ense fratris Carmelitee infortun^ ab- 
 scidit dextrara. MS. in the Ashmolean Museum, 
 1519. f. 99, b. 
 
 » M. Paris, p. 799. 
 
 « Id. 653. 9 Id. 405. 
 
MONKS^ NUNS, &C. 
 
 155 
 
 Monks ? says an old poet : the fame of 
 them has pervaded the whole world : 
 they consume all things, and yet they 
 are not satisfied with the birds of 
 Heaven, and the fishes of the sea ; 
 they seek many dishes, and a long time 
 in eating them.^ Another adds, "Feed 
 them but well, they care for nothing 
 else."b Nigell de Wireker charges 
 them with hiding many things, and 
 pocketing provisions to eat on fast 
 days.<^ And one of their own body 
 says, "All fowlowe our owne sensya- 
 litye and pleser ; and thys religyon, as 
 I suppose, ys alle in vayne glory/'^ 
 
 They were equally remarkable for 
 the fastidiousness of later ceras. " In 
 this present age," says Peter of Blois, 
 " religious men, and persons of the 
 sacred order, contend about the num- 
 ber of their meals. If a religious finds 
 that he has a quick pulse, or an in- 
 flamed urine, or a dull appetite, he 
 consults medical men, searches out 
 spices, makes electuaries, and uses no 
 salt-fish, which are not seasoned with 
 cinnamon, cloves, and other spices. 
 Such a religious is rather a disciple of 
 Epicurus than of Christ. This, he says, 
 hurts the head; this, the eyes ; this the 
 stomach ;this, the liver ; butter is of a con- 
 vertible nature; beer occasions flatu- 
 ence; cabbages are melancholy; leeks 
 inflame choler ; peas generate the'gout; 
 beans excite phlegm; lentils hurt 
 the eyes ; cheese is worst of all ; to stand 
 long at prayer weakens the nerves ; to 
 fast hurts the brain ; to watch drys it/^^ 
 
 * Quis nescit quod monacliorum nobilis ordo ? 
 In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum : 
 Omnia consumunt, nee eos possint saturare 
 Vol acres coeli et pisces maris, 
 Fercula multa petunt, et longum tempus edendi. 
 MS. Harl. 913, f. 55. 
 ^ Si bene pascatur, monachus nil amplius optat. 
 MS. Cott. Titus, A. XX. f. 86, a. 
 ^ Multocies carnes et pinguia saepe vorare, 
 In feri^ sexta seepe licebit eis, 
 Pellicias portant, et plura recondita sumant. 
 Quae non sint sociis omnia nota suis. 
 Spec. Stultor. MS. Harl. 2422, and Cott. Tit. 
 A. XX. 
 
 *» MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 161, a. 
 
 •= Hodie viri religiosi et sacri ordiuia professores 
 
 de ferculorum numerositate contendunt ; si invenit 
 
 religiosus circa se aut pulsum velocem, aut urinam 
 
 inceusam, aut hebetem appetitum; consulit medi- 
 
 " I boasted much of nourishing my 
 person, the bloom of my countenance, 
 and whiteness of my skin," ^ is one of 
 the articles of Monastic confession; 
 and Simon of Gaunt complains that, 
 '' theo thet shculden one leenen hore 
 soule mid heorte bereosunge ^ and 
 fleshes pinunge vorwurded fisiciens 
 and liccomes'^ leche." » 
 
 Wichff" charges the Monks with stu- 
 dying the constitutions and physiology 
 of women in books, and thence teach- 
 ing, that to lie with them in the absence 
 of their husbands, was very wholesome 
 against various diseases.'' 
 
 For this purpose, as well as for pro- 
 fit, they studied or professed the medi- 
 cal art; ^'for to beon so angressful 
 hereafter," says the last ancient writer, 
 "nis nout god I wene, and God and 
 his deciples speken of foule lechekrefte 
 and ypocras (Hippocrates) and galien 
 (sic) of licomes hele (bodily health) ; 
 the on thet was bett ilered of jhu cristes 
 deciples seid that fleshes wisdom is 
 dead of the soule.^'' Giraldus Cam- 
 brensis describes ^Hwo vagabond 
 Monks, who, without throwing off 
 their habit, yet leading a beggarly life, 
 committed various enormities, and en- 
 deavoured to make a trade of the me- 
 dical art, though they had never stu- 
 died Hippocrates or Galen, or heard 
 
 cos, examiuat species, electuaria facit, niillis utitur 
 salsamentis (salted food, I suspect, not salt fish)^ 
 quae non sunt condita ex cinnamomo et gariophillo, 
 et nuce muscata Cnutmeg). Religiosus talis dis- 
 cipulus potius est Epicuri, quj\m Christi. Hoc 
 capiti, inquit, hoc oculis, hoc stomacho, hoc epati, 
 nocet ; butirum convertibilis est natura; ; cervisia 
 ventos facit, caules melancholici sunt, porri chole- 
 ram accendunt ; pisa guttam generant, faba con- 
 stipat ; lentes exciecant ; caseus universaliter est 
 pessimus ; diu ad orationem stare nervos debilitat ; 
 jejunare cerebrum turbat ; vigilare desiccat. MS. 
 Roy. Libr. 8 F. XVII. 
 
 ' Gloriabar valde de rostro colendo, faciei can- 
 dore, albedine cutis. MS. Cott. Caligula, A. i. 
 f, 221. 
 
 n I suspect for bereavinge. 
 
 '' Body doctors. A. Sax. 
 
 » MS. Cott. Nero, A. xiv. f. 202, a. Not to 
 indulge his person too much is among the duties 
 of Monks in MS. Harl. 103, f. 114, b. 
 
 '' De Hypocrisi ap. Bale, v. i. p. 475, The 
 well-known story of St. Louis refers to this pre- 
 tended remedy of disease, which the Monks con- 
 verted into a license for illicit pleasure. 
 
 » MS. Cott. ut sup. 
 
156 
 
 MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 or read a single lecture on the subject, 
 either in the schools, or elsewhere."^ 
 
 Avarice, accompanied with villany, 
 also characterised them. A certain 
 knight had left 100 marks by will to 
 a certain house, and lay there sick; 
 upon getting well, the Monks, that 
 they might not lose the money, plotted 
 his death by poison or suffocation.^ 
 ^^The Churches of Wales,'^ says the 
 same writer, "are deprived of their 
 parishioners by them, both living and 
 dead;'^c and he also adds instances of 
 a small house of Nuns being oppressed 
 by them,'^ and of an Archbishop cheat- 
 ed out of his books which he had 
 collected from his juvenile years.^ 
 Barclay reproaches their avarice for 
 begging alms over the country, though 
 wealthy;^ and Nigel Wireker says of 
 the Cistertians, who are elsewhere 
 censured for singularity, avarice, and 
 little communication with the world, 
 that '•' they wished their neighbours to 
 have landmarks, and none them- 
 selves. '^s Nor from this avarice can it 
 excite wonder, that, as says an antient 
 poet, "they neither loved, nor were 
 beloved by any one."h 
 
 * Monachos duos domorum suarum desertores 
 gyrovagantes, et de loco ad locum circumeundo 
 discurrentcs, nee taraen habitum abjicientes. Hii 
 vero inter excessus enormes varios et multos, qua- 
 tinus trutannicam vitam suam victumque lucro- 
 sam efficere possent, et pecuniosam artis medicina- 
 lis peritiam profiteri non minus imprudenter quam 
 impudenter prsesumpserunt, cum tum Hippocra- 
 tem aut Galenum cseterorumque librorum faculta- 
 tis illius, nunquam in scolis, aut alibi lectionem 
 unam audissent aut legissent. MS. Cott. Tiber. 
 B. XIII. (no pages.) 
 
 ^ Quatinus propter pecuniam tan tarn, qua domus 
 illorum per ejus convalescentiam fraudaretur, aut 
 venenato poculo militem extinguerent, aut subitis 
 eundem et violentis oppressionibus subfocarent. 
 MS. Cott. Tib. B. xiii. 
 
 ^ De communi coenobiorum Walliae vitio per 
 quod baptisraales ecclesie parochianis suis sicut vivis 
 sicut mortuis per monachos destituuntur. lb. 
 
 '' De domo monialium exili et exigua per mona- 
 chos opulentos oppressa. Id. See too Monast. 
 ii. 785. 
 
 «= Thesaarum librorum suorum quos a puerilibus 
 annis usque in provectam cetatem tam studiose 
 coUegerat. Id. ' Ship of Fooles, 119, b. 
 
 K iVgrorum cupidi nunquam metas sibi poni ; 
 Vicinis vellent, &c. Spec. Stultor. Monast. 
 Anglic, ii. 61. 
 
 ^ * ' Dum vivunt monachi, nee amant, uec amantui' 
 ab uUo," MS, Harl. 913, f. 55. 
 
 They were detractors, disobedient, 
 proud, dissatisfied, rebellious, and 
 otherwise criminal. Alas! says Alfred 
 of Rievesby, I am ashamed to say how 
 they get together, and abound in de- 
 tractions and contentions. For, to be 
 silent of lovers of the world, whose 
 whole discourse is of gain or baseness ; 
 what shall I say of them, who, having 
 professed to renounce the world, only 
 dispute and converse of the belly, I will 
 not say the delight of it, but burden.^ 
 
 They were in the habits of persecu- 
 ting some of their prelates or brethren, 
 from hatred or ambition, or of malici- 
 ously defending others.^ They used 
 to exalt their heads above their Seniors, 
 through the negligence of Abbots.^ 
 Acharius, Abbot of Peterborough, used 
 often to say in the Convent, " My 
 Lords, my Lords, if some of you had 
 not opposed me, I should have done 
 you much good,^^™ and visitation in- 
 junctions enjoin obedience to the Ab- 
 bot." They were extremely deceitful,^ 
 and their society was dangerous through 
 the frauds they practised.P Their pride 
 was conspicuous in their treatment of 
 the clergy. Roger, Prior of Lantony, 
 wishing to celebrate Mass at Canter- 
 bury, modestly addressed a Monk 
 whom he happened to meet; the other, 
 turning his head back, and looking at 
 him scornfully and askant, asked him, 
 if he was not a secular clergyman? 
 Yes, replied the Prior's companion ; 
 Go, then, said the haughty Monk, and 
 hear or say Mass in some of the Cha- 
 pels of the town.q This shows how 
 
 i Bibliotheca Patrum, xiii. p. 16, col. 2, 
 
 ^ Cap. Gen. Northampt. a*^ 1225. 
 
 ^ Reyn. Append. 195. 
 
 ^^ Hist. Coenobii Burgensis, p. 107. My Lord 
 was the title of a Monk as well as of an Abbot. 
 Chaucer, Gervas, i. 415, 1. 44, &c. 
 
 » Ut fratres sint obedientes mandatis sui proprii 
 preelati. MS. Ashmol. Mus. 1519, f. 71, b. 
 
 ° Rara fides fratrum, &c. Nigell Wirek. Spec. 
 Stult. of the Cistertians. 
 
 1' De monachi societate dolosa. De librorum 
 emptione subdola, seu potius ademptione non per 
 abbatis *«wplicitatem, sed magis monachonim du- 
 plicitatem et dolositatem. MS. Cott. Tib. B. xiii. 
 
 1 Qui cum monachum quondam loci ejusdera 
 sibi tunc obvium, super hoc humiliter conveniret ; 
 ille statim caput et collum cervicose retorquens, 
 eumque superciliose nimis et valde oblique respi* 
 
MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 157 
 
 absurd the Monastic maxim was^ that dif- 
 ferent orders were instituted^ that whilst- 
 the lesser paid deference to the greater, 
 and the latter returned it with affection^ 
 true concord might ensue.*^ They 
 were flatterers of the rich, and gallant 
 to the ladies.^ Sometimes so much so, 
 that, says Giraldus, the townsmen of 
 Lannaneveri, on account of their wives 
 and daughters, which the Monks every 
 where and openly abused, prepared 
 themselves for leaving the place en- 
 tirely, and departing to England.<^ 
 When they were at leisure they were 
 always revolving temporal matters.<^ 
 "Sometimes," says an antient sermon, 
 addressed to them, "when a Monk 
 goes into the country under pretence of 
 health, he returns to his place of nati- 
 vity, there to breathe a free and accus- 
 tomed air for some days, and perhaps 
 bring back some present to the bre- 
 thren from their friends. When a 
 Monk goes out under pretence of 
 serving the Convent, he becomes an 
 importunate suitor to great persons, 
 calling profit, however made, piety ; 
 and, when he returns, he carefully 
 inquires the hour of the day, lest he 
 should be obliged to go to the common 
 table and Church ; and though he pro- 
 fesses to do all this from public good, 
 the true cause is, he does not like the 
 half-boiled vegetables of the Convent, 
 and wine mixed with water, and thinks 
 silence and sitting in the Cloister a 
 prison. He wants to eat better, drink 
 
 ciens, Nonne vos, inquit, Clerici estis ? Canonicus 
 respondit, Utique sumus ; et ille, In villain igitur 
 ite, et in aliqua capellarum exteriorum inter cleri- 
 cos missam audiatis vel dicatis. MS. Cott. Tiber. 
 B. XIII. 
 
 ' Ordines constituit esse distinctos, ut dutn 
 reverenciam minores pocioribus exhiberent, et 
 pociores minoribus dilectionem impenderent, vera 
 concordiafieret. MS. Roy. Libr. 8 F. IX. (nopages.) 
 
 '' Bernard in Dev. Vie Mon. ii. p. 18. They 
 were often attendants upon the ladies, and rode 
 about with hounds and a servant. Wart. i. 282. 
 
 •^ Dicens etiam quod Burgenses hii de castello 
 eodem (Lannaneveri) propter uxores suas et filias 
 quibus monachi passim et palam abutebantur, vil- 
 lani suam ex toto relinquere, et in Angliam recedere 
 jam parabant. MS. Cott. Tib. B. xiii. 
 
 '' Pravae monachorura mentes temporalium renim 
 tumultus intra semet ipsos versare non cessant, 
 etiam cum vacent. MS. Bodl. 2401, p. 19, a. 
 
 more savorily, speak more freely, lie 
 more softly, watch more seldom, pray 
 less. Thus staying in the Cloister, he 
 does not even suppress the vice of 
 curiosity,"^' a term which among the 
 Monks signified restlessness, and in- 
 vestigation of the lives of others, a 
 common fault.^ " He who is singular," 
 says the same antient sermon, "despises 
 others, and conceives himself alone 
 able to live piously. He sows dis- 
 cord and hatred among the Monks by 
 whispers ; from some he detracts ; the 
 advantages he openly depreciates ; his 
 hand is against every body, and every 
 body's against him."g Others became 
 negligent in the following manner: 
 For two months, three, or a year, they 
 began to have a certain boldness ; after 
 that boldness, security; then becoming 
 negligent, they began first to love their 
 own will, and through this, unwilling to 
 follow that of another. This caused 
 them to ask the reason, when ordered to 
 do any thing against their will. Then 
 they complained of the heat and cold, 
 and how they should fare in that sea- 
 son. When any thing upon an urgency 
 was ordered them, they began to mur- 
 mur, or asked for various articles of 
 good cloathing, or thought others had 
 
 ^ Quandoque enim sub obtentu sanitatis egre- 
 diatur monachus ad provincias, ad natale solum 
 redit, ut ibi liberum et consuetura aera bibat per 
 aliquos dies, et forte aliquam refectionem referat 
 fratribus ab amicis. Quandoque sub obtentu 
 utilitatis fratrum egreditur monachus, ad principes 
 terrae rogator importunus, questum quocunque fac- 
 tum appellans pietatem; cum redierithoram ingres- 
 sus sui diligenter explorat, ne oporteat eum ingredi 
 ad comraunem fratrum mensam, et orationem 
 communem ; et cum obtentu boni hsec se facere 
 proponat, verier tamen causa quod olera claustri 
 semicocta fastidit et vinum aqufi mixtum; silen- 
 tium, sessionem in claustro carcerem reputans. 
 Appetit enim edere cautius, bibere sapidius, loqui 
 licentius, cubare moUius, vigilare parcius, orare 
 tenuius. Sic nee manens in claustro viciumcuriosi- 
 tatis condit. MS. Harl. 1712, f. 23, a. b. 
 
 ' Nam ille monachus alienum agit negotium, 
 qui curiositatis vitio suam oblitus vitiosam discu- 
 tere, vitam alienam investigare sollicitfi curat. 
 Inquietudo ergo quae et alio nomine curiositas 
 appellatur. MS. Bodl. ut sup. f. 56, a. 
 
 8^ Qui singularis est aspernit cceteros, &c. Su- 
 surro in fratribus fomitem odii et seminaria dis- 
 cordise ministrans. Quibusdam latenter detrahit, 
 quorundam beneficia patenter decolorat; manus 
 ejus contra omnes, et manus omnium contra eum, 
 MS. Harl. ut sup. 23. 
 
158 
 
 MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 better than themselves. They were 
 ambitious and intriguing. An ass is 
 introduced into the Churchy says Nigeil 
 Wireker, a silly animal, that wishes to 
 have a different and larger tail than 
 nature has given him. Thus a reli- 
 gious_5 not content with his condition, 
 no more than the ass with his tail, 
 scorns the claustral life, in which he 
 ought to continue to the end, seeking 
 by every method to be plucked away 
 and transplanted from it ; that he may 
 be able to increase himself with a new 
 and long tail, lay hold of a Priory or 
 Abbacy, and insert nearer him a long 
 suite of relatives; who, afterwards, 
 wherever he goes, may rejoice in 
 dragging his tail for him.b He also 
 adds, of Abbots, with an allusion to 
 ih^iT first state, that they are harassed 
 with envy and ambition ; that their 
 first labour is to rise ; and that they 
 are next tormented with worldly cares, 
 and that they may gain wealth.^ Their 
 
 * Iste aliquando per duos menses et tres et per 
 annum incipit habere quandam audaciam ; post 
 audaciam securitatem ; post securitatem devenit 
 negligens, discit vel incipit experiri quod dicit 
 sapiens, qui modica spernit paulatim decidit. 
 Incipit prim6 amare propriam voluntatem, et per 
 hoc incipit esse piger ad sequendam voluntatem 
 alterius. Inde incipit quserere causam quura 
 aliquis ei prsecipit aliquod contra voluntatem suam. 
 Tunc de frigore et de sestu causatur, et per quam 
 se nutrierit in isto tempore. Quum aliquod ei pre- 
 cipitur propter aliquam necessitatem, incipit 
 immurmurare, aut queerit bonas tunicas, bona pallia, 
 bonam cappam, bonam cucullam, et incipit semper 
 considerare pannos aliorum, et ssepe putat quod alii 
 habeant meliores quam ille. MS. Harl. ut supr. 
 f. 34, b. 
 
 ^ Introducitur ecclesiae asinus animal, sed stoli- 
 dus, volens caudam aliam et ampliorem qukm 
 natura contulerit contra naturam sibi inseri. Qui 
 non contentus condicione su^, sic nee asinus cauda 
 su^, vitam claustralem in quS, deberet usque in 
 finem perseverare, ut salvus fieret, omnino fastidit, 
 quserens omnibus modis qualiter ab ed evellatur et 
 transplantetur : ubi nov4 cauda et prolixa possit se 
 accrescere, ut prioratum vel abbatiam possit sibi 
 apprehendere, ubi parentum suorum sequelam 
 copiosam possit proprius inserere. Et postea qui 
 caudam pro se quocunque ierit trahere gloriantur. 
 Prsef. Spec. Stultor. MS. Harl. 2422. 
 
 «= Invidise stimulis vexantur et ambitiosis 
 ^stibus assiduis precipueque tribus : 
 Primus ut ascendant labor est ; sequitur peri- 
 turum 
 Indiscretus amor, cura ; quiete carent : 
 Hsec omnes ardent; hac omnes febre laborant, 
 Hsec tenet impium postpositura Deum ; 
 
 ignorance was so great, that they did 
 not often understand what they read, 
 were unacquainted with the canonical 
 hours which they sung, and as they 
 were reading, put short accents for long 
 ones.^ Among Henry Abbot of War- 
 den's reasons for desiring to resign, 
 was the following : ^^ Item, they be in 
 nombre xv brethren, and except three 
 of them, non understand or knowe their 
 Rule, nor the statutes of ther reli- 
 gion .'' Nor did they wish to learn; 
 for he says before, "Item, forasmuch 
 as I did perceave ignorance was a great 
 cawse whi that theis my bretherne was 
 thus farre out of good order, and in 
 continuall inquietnesse, to thentent 
 that I wolde somewhat induce them to 
 understanding, I caused [a] boke of 
 gramer to be bowghte for eche of theim, 
 and assigned mi brother to instructe 
 them : but ther wolde com non to him 
 but one Richard Balldock and Thomas 
 Clement/'e They were fond of Law. 
 Peter of Blois says, "There is not a 
 seat of justice in which religious men 
 have not a concern, and eagerly obtrude 
 themselves ; for, deceiving the world 
 with a specious appearance of religion, 
 they are wretchedly deceived; and, 
 while dead to the world, barter for and 
 hunt after what belongs to it/'^ It 
 seems they were in the habit of attend- 
 ing to law concerns for parents and 
 friends, and being bail for Seculars.^ 
 Their neighbourhood was dreaded 
 much, perhaps on account of this liti- 
 gious spirit, since they took the pro- 
 perty of others away.^ Pawning was 
 
 Hinc ut opes habeant summa virtute laborant 
 Possideantque brevi tempore parta diu. 
 
 Spec. Stult. 
 
 '• Item quia nonnulli commonachi et fratres, 
 non intelligentes quid legant, horasque prorsus 
 ignorantes dum psallunt, ut legunt accentum brevem 
 pro longo ponunt. MS. Harl. 328, f. 3. b. 
 
 « MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. 163. a. 
 
 ' Non est hodie aliquod forum judiciale, aut 
 venale, cui se viri religiosi non immisceant, et cui 
 se importunissim^ non imponunt. Mundum enim 
 qu^dam simulatoria religione fallentes falluntur 
 pessim6, et mundo mortui negotiantur et venantur 
 qua mundi sunt. MS. Bibl. Reg. 8. F. XVII. 
 
 g Monast. ii. 751. 
 
 ^ Voces cunctorum vicinia quos premit horum, 
 defiant atque gemunt quod eis monachi sua demunt. 
 MS. Ashmol. Mus. 8496, p. 133, b. 
 
MONKS^ NUNS, &C. 
 
 150 
 
 not an uncommon thing among them.'* 
 From the levity of indolence, they 
 indulged themselves in writing lam- 
 poons,^ or hunting after news;<^ and, 
 to conclude this catalogue of faults, that 
 they might go on with impunity, per- 
 
 De his qui augiiria et diviniationes et 
 sacrihgia attendunt,^ 
 
 Nullus sibi percantatores adhibeat. 
 NuUus ex vobis observet qua die de 
 domo exeat, qua die iterum revertatur : 
 ridiculosas sternutationes considerare 
 et observare nolite. 
 
 Sed quociens vobis in quacumque 
 parte fuerit necessitas prosperandi, sig- 
 nate vos in nomine Christi, et simbo- 
 lum et orationem dominicam fideliter 
 dicete, securi de Dei adjutorio iter agite. 
 Et quia quando supradicta omnia sacri- 
 legia Deo vobis inspirante contempnere 
 et despicere ceperitis, moleste hoc ac- 
 cepturus diabolus, quod vos videt de 
 amicitia et societate sua discedere et 
 sacrilegia per quae vos decipiebat con- 
 tempnere, ob aliquas nequitias vobis 
 factas aut infirmitatem aliquam inmis- 
 sums aut aliquod animal aut per mor- 
 tuum aut pervagationem ablaturus, quia 
 ad vos probandos hoc fieri permittit 
 Deus, ut agnoscat utrum ad ipsum fide- 
 liter venistis. — F. 97- a. 
 
 Symbolum et orationem dominicam 
 et ipsi tenete et filiis vestris ostendite. 
 — F. 111. b. Scitote vos fide-jussores 
 pro ipis ad Deum exstitisse, et ideo tam 
 illos qui de vobis nati sunt quam illos 
 quos de fonte excipitis semper castigate 
 atque corripite. — Ibid, 
 
 In ecclesia stantes nohte ssecularia 
 expectare, sed lectiones divinas paten- 
 ter audire. Qui enim ecclesia verbo- 
 
 » In dispositione fore praelati ad solutionem 
 suorum debitorum et redemptionem librorum per se 
 impignoratorum. MS. Ashm. Mus. 1519, p. 15, b. 
 Wm. Burton pignorasset et in vadura, &c. tres 
 libros. Id. f. 25, b. 
 
 *» Nonvult eum (Benedictus) ad satiras offensas 
 in rugfi. nasura contrahere. Nonvult eum ad sati- 
 ras scribendas studium applicare ; — transgressores 
 dne Bemarde ejus instituti existunt qui talibus 
 scriptis ex otio intendunt. MS. Ashm. Mus. 
 1285, p. 3. 
 
 * Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, soon after a treaty 
 
 secuted those who led better lives than 
 themselves. '^ How superstitious and 
 profane they and others were, appears 
 from a MS. in the Bodleian Library, 
 marked 2401, and entitled " Smaragdus 
 Diadema Monachorum.^^ 
 
 0/ those tvho attend to auguries, and 
 divinations and charms. 
 
 Let no one apply to fortune-tellers. 
 Let no one take notice what day he 
 goes out, and what day he returns : 
 do not consider or notice ridiculous 
 sneezings. 
 
 But as often as you have any neces- 
 sity of prospering, mark yourselves in 
 the name of Christ, and enjoy the 
 Creed and Lord's Prayer, set out on 
 your journey, secure in the favour of 
 God. And because, when from God 
 inspiring you, you begin to despise all 
 the above charms, the Devil takes it 
 ill, because he sees you depart from 
 his friendship and society, and despise 
 the witchcraft by which he deceived 
 you, on account of wickedness com- 
 mitted by you, may send some disease 
 or take away some animal by distem- 
 per or straying, because God permits 
 this to try you, whether you have faith- 
 fully come to him. 
 
 The Creed and Lord^s Prayer both 
 learn yourselves and teach your chil- 
 dren. Know, that your godfathers 
 promised this, and therefore always 
 chastize and correct, not only your own 
 children, but those ivhom you have re* 
 ceived from the font. 
 
 While standing in the church, do not 
 attend to secular matters, but patiently 
 listen to the divine lessons, for he who 
 
 had been made, upon entering a Carthusian mo- 
 nastery, was instantly accosted with, *' What are 
 the conditions of the peace ?'^ Gruteri Spicileg. ii. 
 234. from Surius. 
 
 '' And if that one live well and virtuously, 
 In way of grace, like as he ought to go, 
 The remanent assaile him with envy, 
 And him oppresse with grievous payne of wo, 
 Until he folowe like as the other do. 
 
 Barclay's Ship of Fooles, 256, b. 
 "^ It appears from the Fathers, in passages too 
 frequent to be cited, that all these superstitious 
 practices were derived from the Heathens. 
 
160 
 
 MONKS^ NUNSj &C, 
 
 rari voluerit, et pro se, et pro aliis 
 malam redditurus orationem dum ver- 
 bum Dei nee ipse audit, nee alios audire 
 permittit.-— F. 112. a. 
 
 Omnes viri quando ascessuri sunt ad 
 altare, lavant manus suas, et omnes 
 mulieres nitida linteamina exhibent, ubi 
 corpus Christi accipiant. — F. 114. a. 
 
 Among their levities was a fondness, 
 quite inconsistent with their profession, 
 for sights and amusements. Giraldus 
 tells a story of a Monk who ran out to 
 see a whale, and who, his feet slipping, 
 tumbled into a pit, and was lugged out 
 with ropes and poles hooked with 
 iron.* Minstrels, whom some houses 
 maintained on purpose, contributed to 
 their amusement at festivals and other 
 times ;^ though it is said they were dis- 
 gustful to the severer Orders, particu- 
 larly before the Norman conquest, 
 when they were considered as brethren 
 of the Pagan Scalds.*^ To these are to 
 be added Bearwards.d The Friars 
 
 * Ex vapore pinguedinis monstri ilHus lubrice 
 magis effecte, lapsis pedibus utrisque retro cadens 
 subito totus in apercionem illam resupinus intra- 
 vit ; a qua cum funibus et perticis longis ferro 
 aduncatis vix tandem ferro extractusemersit. MS. 
 Cott. Tib. B. XIII. sect. De Monacho ad mon- 
 struosam belluam inspiciendum occurrente, &c. 
 These exhibitions were probably more interesting 
 than now ; for, in the wood-cuts of Ambrose 
 Parey's Works, p. 619, representing the manner of 
 cutting up the whale, a drummer and fifer are 
 standing upon it and playing ; drum -beating and 
 bell-ringing being the signal given to the inhabitants 
 of Aquitain, at sight of a whale. The lard was 
 boiled, and eaten with fish in Lent, that gormand- 
 izers might have something to serve them instead 
 of flesh, then forbidden. The houses of the fish- 
 eaters were built with their bones, and orchards 
 fenced with them. Ibid. 
 
 ^ Warton's History of English Poetry, i. p. 92. 
 
 *= Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, i. xli. 
 lix. Ed. 2. 
 
 '' Warton, ut sup. The Romans kept bears 
 tame under a keeper, and upon lamps we see show- 
 men leading them ; one among others is mounted 
 upon a ladder (Encyclop. des Antiq. v. Ours.) 
 Bearbaiting is alluded to by Apuleius; and it was a 
 pastime in much vogue here, generally upon Sun- 
 days after service. (Strutt's Sports, &c. xxxix.) 
 The maintenance of bears was a tax sometimes 
 imposed upon the Feudal Vassal ; and the public 
 ovens paid, at every baking, each a loaf to the 
 Ursarius, or Instructor, for which the tenants were 
 to see the sport upon holidays. (Du Cange, v. 
 Ursarius f Ursorum pastus.) Kings made presents 
 
 likes to talk in the church must give 
 but a bad account both for himself and 
 others, whilst he neither hears the word 
 of God himself nor permits others to 
 do it. 
 
 All men, when about to go to the 
 altar, wash their hands, and all the 
 women put on clean clothes when they 
 take the sacrament. 
 
 Minors of Francis having passed into 
 Englandj and taking their way towards 
 Oxford, stopped at a Benedictine Ab- 
 bey, where a young Monk, thinking 
 them, by their ridiculous habit, to be 
 some jugglers, ran immediately to give 
 notice of it to the Abbot, who, in hopes 
 of having some good sport, bad them 
 come in. But they having made them 
 to understand that they were poor 
 Friars, who came to implore their cha- 
 rity, the Abbot and Monks commanded 
 they should be turned out of doors. ^ 
 There were even Masquerades in Ab- 
 beys, as far back as the time of Gre- 
 gory of Tours .^ 
 
 The Inquirenda, in the visitation of 
 Nuns, were these ;& whether they used 
 to have intercourse with strangers, men 
 and women, without licence, especially 
 in secret places,^ and in the absence of 
 their sisters ; whether used to go any- 
 where without the gates ;i whether any 
 
 of them, and a Lady sent one to a Tournament, 
 for the reward of him who behaved best. M. Paris, 
 113, 523. Of sports with bears, see further Strutt's 
 Sports, 182, 193, 194, and Horda, iii. 150. The 
 bear formerly existed in Britain, Archseologia, x. 
 162. Our taste for bear-baiting and boxing was 
 that of the Roman vulgar : 
 
 Media inter carmina poscunt 
 
 Aut Ursum, aut Pugiles. 
 
 Horat. L. ii. Ep. i. v. 185. 
 
 * D'Emilliane's Monastical Orders, p. 169. 
 
 f Du Cange, v. Barbatoria. 
 
 « Items similar to those of the Monks are omitted. 
 
 *» See Monast. Angl. ii. 895. " Item, that non 
 of your sisters bring in, receave, or take any Lay- 
 man, Religious, or Secular, into the chambre or 
 any secrete place day or night, nor with thaiminsuch 
 private places to commune, ete, or drinke, without 
 lycense of your Prioresse." Monast. Anglic, i. 910. 
 It seems, from the 7th Item of the Constitutions of 
 the Nuns of Sopewell, that the taylors of the house 
 were the persons thus invited into private places. 
 
 ' In Monast. Anglic, ii. 896, is mention of 
 " Nonnes having keyes of the posterne doore," 
 and "moche comyng in and owte unlefulle tymys." 
 The Capitularies of Charlemagne say, " In some 
 
MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 161 
 
 do not use her habit continually out of 
 her cell ; whether any familiarity with 
 rehgious or secular priests, not near 
 kinsmen. Item, whether any of them 
 use to wryghte any letters of love^ or 
 [lascivious fashions]^ to any person, or 
 receive any suche, and have any prevye 
 messengers comyng and resorting to 
 them with tokens or gifts from any 
 maner seculer person or other ;^ whe- 
 ther they talked without leave with any 
 manner of persons, "by gratis or backe- 
 windows ;"^ what sporte or game they 
 used in their playing days;e how often 
 they were confessed; whether any of 
 them were suspected of incontinence ;^ 
 
 small Monasteries, where the Nuns are without 
 Rule, we order, that their Cloisters be well locked* 
 and that they do not write or send Love-letters. 
 Du Cange, v. Winileodes. 
 
 * The Nuns of St. Helen's were prohibited from 
 receiving letters, or sending them, without license 
 of the Prioress, and witnesses to attest the pro- 
 priety of the contents. Dugd. Monast. ii. 895. 
 
 •» Blank in orig. but filled up from MS. Cott. 
 Cleop. E. IV. p. 19. 
 
 •= A very ancient writer says, "Nuns support 
 and exercise their bodies in woollen work (lanificio) 
 (which, and cooking, was of Egyptian origin), 
 and deliver the garments to the Monks, receiving 
 in return what is needful for their support (victui). 
 Isidor. deeccles. Offic. L. 2, C. 15, p. 213 (a°630). 
 Hence perhaps the custom of presents. Secular 
 women, going backwards and forwards, are forbid- 
 den the Nuns of Sempringham, as likely to be 
 messengers rather of evil than good. Monast. ii. 
 699. The Gilbertine Nuns were not to make 
 purses except of white leather^ and without coloured 
 silk. Monast. ii. 784. See Chapter of " Ancho- 
 rets," &c. 
 
 •* "No loking nor spectacles owterwarde, through 
 the wiche ye my the falle in worldly dilectacyone. '' 
 Monast. ii. 805. The 5th Constitution of the 
 Nuns of Sopewell orders, at certain times, " les 
 fenestres devers la cuysine clos. ' ' 
 
 " " Also we enjoyne yow, that alle dauncyng 
 and revelling be utterely forborne among yow, 
 except Christmasse, and other honest tymys of 
 recreacyone among youreselfe, usid in absence of 
 Seculers in alle wyse." Monast. ii. 896. Itine- 
 rant players, principally boys, used to be admitted, 
 and play mysteries before them. Warton's English 
 Poetry, iii. 324. The well-known instance of 
 Juliana Bernea shows skill in hunting, hawking, and 
 field sports. 
 
 ' This crime they committed from the earliest 
 periods; (Charlton's Whitby, 39.) and they des- 
 pised the statutes made to correct it. Athon. 155. 
 A visitor at a Convent of Gilbertine Nuns near 
 Lichfield, "foundetwo of the said Nunnes ; one 
 of them impregnant (supprior domus) : anothyr 
 a yonge mayd." Also at another, called Harwolde, 
 " wherein was iiii or v Nunnes with the Prioress, 
 one of them had two faire children, another one, 
 
 whether stubborn, incorrigible, sedi- 
 tious, a brawler, envious, yrefull, given 
 to voluptuousness and sloth ;g whether 
 
 and no mo." MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 131. It 
 is well known, that the Bishop of Lincoln, about 
 1251, in his visitations, ordered the nipples of the 
 Nuns to be squeezed, that he might be physically 
 convinced of their chastity. Various amulets for 
 pregnant women were common in Nunneries : 
 thus the Nuns of Gracedieu had part of St. Fran- 
 cis's coat, deemed beneficial to lying-in women 
 (partem tunicae Sancti Francisci, quae ut creditur 
 parturientibus conducunt). Nuns of St. Mary of 
 Derby had part of the shirt of St. Thomas, in 
 veneratione apud raultoties pregnantes. Those of 
 Wrelsa, apud Mewse, had the girdle of Bernard, 
 " prsegnantibus aliquando vestitum," (sometimes 
 worn by breeding women.) MS. Cott. ut sup. 
 147, 150, &c. &c. The Nuns of Yorkshire took 
 potacions " ad prolem conceptum opprimendum." 
 Cott. MS. ut sup. f. 115, b. Sometimes the chil- 
 dren were murdered: "Hie cum juvenis esset 
 decorus forma, instinctu antiqui hostis sororem suam 
 illico amore concupivit, etexeaprolem procreavit;" 
 which offspring ' ' propriis manibus sufTocavit ne ad 
 homines incestus ipsius perveniat ; et reversus 
 (sic) ad peccatum suum secundo et tertio de eodem 
 fratre concepit atque partus suffocavit." MS. 
 Harl. 2385, f. 56, i. e. " The monk, being young 
 and handsome, fell in love with a nun, and had 
 children by her, which children, even to a second 
 and third parturition, she suffocated." Some of the 
 laws against this were as follows : "To carry off a 
 nun was 120*. fine— Leges Aluredi, 1. 31, in Lamb. 
 Whoever indecently handled her breasts, if she 
 was unwilling, double the penalty (5*.) of doing so 
 to a Lay- woman. Id. c. 33. By the laws of 
 Edmund, made a° 946, the ravisher was punished 
 like a homicide with the fine of all his fortune (74/.) 
 In the penitentiary canons of Edgar, a guilty nun 
 was punished with a twenty years penance (Can. 
 32.) with perpetual penance and imprisonment 
 among the Gilbertines (of which Alfred of Rievesby 
 relates a shocking instance, copied by Bale), with 
 severe discipline; (MS. Harl. ut sup. f. 55, b.)and 
 by the I3th of Edward I. it was three years impri- 
 sonment for carrying off a nun, besides satisfaction 
 made to the convent. Sir Osbert Giffard, for steal- 
 ing two nuns out of Wilton abbey, was ordered 
 never to enter a nunnery more ; not to be in the 
 presence of a nun without leave of his diocesan ; to 
 go thrice naked in his shirt and breeches to Wilton 
 church, but not in the presence of the nuns, and 
 be each time beaten ; and so likewise in Salisbury 
 market, and Shaftesbury church ; not to wear the 
 insignia of knighthood, but russet with lamb or 
 sheep fur, and calf-leather shoes, nor use a shirt 
 after he was beaten ; and this until he should have 
 been three years in the holy land, or the king recal- 
 led him. Tit. of Honour, p. 790, and Weever. 
 « Bertram Walton says (Invective against Nuns) : 
 " But there was a lady, that hizt dame Pride, 
 " In grete reputacion they her toke, 
 " And pore dame Meekness sate beside, 
 " To her unethys ony wolde loke, 
 " But all as who seyth I her forsoke, 
 " And set not by her nether most ne leste, 
 " Dame Ypocrite loke upon a book, 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 MONKS NUNS, &C. 
 
 they do understand first the articles of 
 their faithe, and then the Rule ;» whe- 
 ther surfeit with drink ;^ how many 
 howsholders are in their house, and 
 who keepeth them.c Besides these 
 
 " And bete herself upon the brest : 
 *' I wolde have sene dame Devowte 
 " And sche was but with few of that route, 
 " For dame Sclowth and dame Vayne Glory 
 " By vilens had put her owte. 
 " And than in my harte I was full sorry, 
 *' That dame Envy was there dwelling, 
 *' The which can selth strife in eny state, 
 *' And another ladye was there wonnyng 
 *' That hight dame Love inordinate, 
 "In that place both erly and late, 
 " Dame Lust, dame Wantonness, and dame Vyce, 
 " They were so there enhabyted, I wotte 
 *' That few token hede to Goddys service." 
 He afterwards complains that ** Dame Envy, 
 " In every corner had great cure ; 
 " That another lady there was 
 " That hyzt dame Disobedient." 
 
 MS. Cott. Vesp. D. ix. f. 182, 3. 
 " By this hede you schall understond suche 
 cloistereris, the whiche thinken that thei ben more 
 discrete, more witty, more kunning, than other ; 
 and therfor alle such natural witty cloistereris ben 
 more lothe to be spoiled, and to be made naked 
 from her owen willes than other simple cloistereris, 
 ffor ther suche live witte is ther is ofte moche 
 indignacion, and ofte tymes conflicte multiplying of 
 many wordis, and pride of konnyng, yei have gret 
 indignacion, whan thei ben in any wise withstond 
 from her owen willes, thei weine that thei have 
 grete wrong gif other ben clepid to counseil and 
 not yei." MS. Bodl. Laud. D. 52. (Regulse 
 inclusarum.) " I forbede not wordis of recreation, 
 yough I forbede noyous wordis." Id. 
 
 * Monast. ii. 895. " where one of the intelli- 
 gent sisters is ordered to teach the other." 
 
 ** The drinking after complin of the Prioress of 
 Rumsey has got into all our familiar books. 
 Among the injunctions to the Convent of Appleton, 
 a° 1489, is one; ''Item, that non of your sisters 
 use the alehouse, nor the water syde, where course 
 of strangers dayly resorte.'' Monast. Anglic, i. 
 910. In the inquiries touching the Savoy, it 
 was inquired, "whether any of the susters do 
 cherish them moste that hath any money, and 
 causeth them to spende the same when they be 
 within at good ale or otherwise, wherby the same 
 might have any pleasure or profit theymselff. Item, 
 whether any of the susters be comenly drunke." 
 MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 33, b. 
 
 «= MS. Harl. 791, f. 22. " Also we ordeyne and 
 injoyne, that nunnes have ne receyve noo schuldrin 
 with hem into the house forseyde, but yif that the 
 profite of the comonys turne to the vayle of the 
 same house." Monast. ii. 896. In the injunction 
 to the nuns of Appleton, they are to have noe per- 
 hendinancers or sojorners, but children and old 
 persons, by which profit may come to the place. 
 Monast. i. 910. No man or woman in a secular 
 habit was to be received to make a stay in the 
 house of Nun-Cotun, unless any one slept there 
 for the sake of hospitality. Monast. i. 925. Item, 
 that the prioresse suffer no man to lodge under the 
 
 faults, they were finical in their hair- 
 dressing;^ fond of tales and gossiping ; 
 apt to give the lie, and strike one ano- 
 ther. ^^Ticle of her tonges," says Piers 
 Plowman, "and must all secretes tell;"^ 
 fond of flattering, stroking, and smooth- 
 ing themselves;^ receiving male visi- 
 tors with the salutation of ^^my love,^' 
 and adding minstrelsy and dancing ;ff 
 affected ;^ used to adorn the walls of 
 their chambers with pictures, for such 
 are mentioned by Alfred of Rievesby 
 (see Anchorets), and the Rule of Ceesa- 
 rius for Nuns orders no wax tablets or 
 other pictures to be affixed to the 
 walls ;i delighted in keeping dogs,'^ par- 
 rots,l and geese, hens, and other birds ; 
 for it seems they used to stay at the 
 grange for the nourishment of animals, 
 and that two would eat from one loaf, 
 that they might keep the other whole 
 for their dumb dependants."^ What- 
 ever, nevertheless, the faults of the 
 
 dorter, or onn the backside, except such sad per- 
 sones by whom the house might be holpyne, and 
 secured without slander or suspicion. Id. i. 910. 
 
 *• Ric. Hagulstad. p. 327 — tortur^ capillorum et 
 compositione capillorum. 
 
 e Fol. xxiii. Ed. 2d. of 32d Ed. (See Percy's 
 Ball, and Herbert's Ames.) 
 
 f MS. Cott. Nero. A. 3. f. 15, b. 
 
 » Wart. Emend. V. i. p. 11. 
 
 ^ MS. Cott. Nero, A. 3, p. 19, b. * C. 42. 
 
 ^ Chaucer's Prioress kept a number of small 
 dogs ; 39 loaves of coarse bread to the dogs in every 
 manor per week. Monast. i. 498. 
 
 * Nigell Wireker mentions an unlucky parrot, 
 who had the habit of telling tales : he says, by 
 poisoning him they taught him to die earlier than 
 to speak. 
 
 Saepe mala 
 Phittacus in thalamum doming redeunte puellas 
 
 Prodit, et illorum verba tacenda refert ; 
 Nescius ille loqui ; sed nescius immo tacere 
 
 Profert plus sequo Phittacus oris habens ; 
 Hinc avibus crebro miscente aconita puella, 
 
 Discat ut ante mori quam didicisse loqui ; 
 Sunt et aves alise quee toto tempore vitse 
 
 Relligiosorum claustra beata colunt. 
 
 Spec. Stultor. 
 
 Ver Vert, or the Nunnery parrot of Gresset, 
 translated by Cooper, is well known, and modem. 
 
 •« Monast. i. 925. ii. 768. The rage for keeping 
 domestic animals was very strong among our ances- 
 tors. Rob. Betun, Bishop of Hereford, says on 
 his death-bed, " I had in my house a black white 
 footed dog, a domestic tame deer, a four-homed 
 ram, cranes and peacocks, all which I used to feed 
 from my table." (Angl. Sacr. ii. 318.) We hear 
 also of a tame crane who stood before the table at 
 dinner, and knelt and bowed his head when a Bishop 
 gave the Benediction. (Id. 400.) Tame deer 
 
MONKS, NUNS, &C, 
 
 163 
 
 poor Nuns were, says Nigell Wireker, 
 *'they have this virtue, which wipes 
 away every thing, incessant tears, that 
 are penitently poured before the throne 
 of God : whilst they are thus contrite, 
 they merit pardon, and obliterate every 
 crime they commit/^" ^ 
 
 Nuns were sometimes styled "La- 
 dies, Reverend Ladies,'^^ but burial 
 entries exist where they are called 
 Dames, as Dame Ann Preston, &c.il In 
 a Monastery at Brabant, the Canon- 
 esses were created Knightesses by some 
 noble Count, with a drawn sword 
 struck upon the back, and the usual 
 words. 6 
 
 To redress these evils in the conduct 
 of the religious,^ the expedient was 
 
 (as in Virgil) were very common among the Anglo- 
 Saxons, and sometimes they wore a collar, and 
 were taught to bow to their masters. (Ibid, and 
 Dugd. Monast. i. 84. ii. 120.) There were some 
 of them, at least, decoy-deer, which hunters sent 
 into the woods, that, mixing with the others, they 
 might draw them into the nets ; and they had col- 
 lars, or some other marks, that the hunters might 
 not shoot them with their arrows. (Du Cange, v. 
 Extellarius, n. p. 276.) S. Gregory kept a cat, 
 and was very fond of it. Ugutio calls it a certain 
 ingenious animal, viz. a mouse-catcher. (Id.) 
 Tame ravens were kept even by an Earl, and were 
 sometimes supposed to be spirits in that form. 
 (J. Rous, 207.) We hear too of weazels, with 
 little bells round their necks. (Du Cange, v. Pel- 
 teolus.) Parrots are of classical antiquity, as every 
 school-boy knows. Singing birds were artificially 
 taught. '(X. Scr. QQG. M. Par. 140.) Both par- 
 rots and monkeys were also curiously instructed. 
 Du Cange, v. Mammones. 
 
 * Sed tamen illud habent quod cuncta refellit, 
 Ante Deum lachrymas quse sine lege fluunt ; 
 Hiis dum placent semper veniamque merentur 
 His sua cuncta lavant crimina, quicquid agunt. 
 
 Spec. Stult. MS. Cott. Tit. A. 20. 
 
 '' The Gilbertine Nuns were not to talk Latin 
 unless a suitable occasion required ; or to privately 
 hide or steal any thing. Monast. ii. 766. 
 
 «= Angl. Sacr. i. 629, 654. 
 
 ^ Lysons's Britannia, i. 52. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Militisaa. 
 
 ^ All Monks and Nuns were not of the above 
 vicious description. Pensions were granted at the 
 dissolution according to the characters of the Monks, 
 and the visitors recommended such for preferment, 
 as they did one Randall Wylmyston, Monk of 
 Norton, calling him "a gud religious man, discrete, 
 and well grounded in leming, and hath many gud 
 qualities." MS. Harl. 604, f. 54. And the Nun- 
 nery of Legbome petitioned to be preserved, saying, 
 *' We trust in God, ye shall here no complaint 
 against us, nether in our living nor hospitalitie- 
 keeping." MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. 270, b. 
 
 adopted of General Chapters and Visi- 
 tations: The first General Chapter 
 was one of the Cistertians in Burgundy, 
 which afterwards became annual, and 
 set the example to the other Orders. s 
 When this first Chapter of the Cister- \ 
 tians was held, is not mentioned by \ 
 Mabillon ; but it seems it was in 1116.« \ 
 The Benedictines first assembled for 
 this purpose at Oxford in the year 
 1219.^ When the Friars held a Ge- 
 neral Chapter, sustenance was found 
 them by persons of high rank.'^ In all 
 Orders provisions were laid-in weeks 
 before.^ These assemblies were meet- 
 ings of the Abbots and Priors, or their 
 Proctors, once in three years, when 
 visitors of the different houses were 
 appointed, and emendatory statutes 
 enacted. "1 The forms and methods of 
 proceeding in them may be seen in the 
 Appendix to Reyner.^^ 
 
 In the year 1232, Gregory appointed 
 visitors to correct abuses. These were 
 in the exempt houses, not Bishops, 
 but Abbots, principally of the Cister- 
 tian and Preemonstratensian Orders, 
 and appointed by the Pope^ or the 
 General Chapter. Their harshness, 
 insolence, and severity, occasioned fre- 
 quent appeals to Rome ; the result of 
 which was the appointment of others. 
 Those who refused to admit the visita- 
 tion were to be suspended by the visi- 
 tors (pay 10/. say later Constitutions) ;P 
 but, upon seeking absolution, were to 
 receive it, upon condition of giving 
 security to obey the judgment of the 
 General Chapter, and receive the visi- 
 tation in future. Transmarine Monks 
 were to assign reasons, if they were 
 unwilling to be visited.^ The visitors 
 were to beware putting the Convent to 
 
 8^ Mabillon's Annales Benedictini, v. 617. 
 
 ^ See Fabricii Bibl. M. ^vi, iii. 55.9. 
 
 » Knighton, 24.30. ^ M. Paris, 677. 
 
 » Howes'sStowe, 284. 
 
 " Athon. 52. Reyner, Append. &c. 
 
 ■ I have published the full ceremonial of one in 
 the Archseological Library, p. 167, from an Abbey 
 Register. It is not important. 
 
 W. Thome, 2114. 
 
 P Cap. Gen. Northampt. a° 1444. c. 12. 
 
 1 M. Paris, 1097. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 
 
 MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 superfluous expence. They were to 
 order delinquent Monks to be punished 
 by the Abbot, who, if remiss, was him- 
 self punishable by the General Chap- 
 ter ; and, till such Chapter was held, if 
 the Abbot was not exempt, his Dioce- 
 san was to find him a coadjutor.** If 
 one of the visitors could not perform 
 his office, another was to be appointed 
 by the Abbots who presided over the 
 General Chapter.^ No one could the 
 same year be the visitor of one who 
 had been deputed to inspect his own 
 Abbey.c They were to be suspended 
 from the celebration of divine service 
 if they neglected their duty ; and, if 
 a crime was rumoured of any house, 
 they were to send word and visit it as 
 soon as possible.^ Informers at visi- 
 tations were not to be vexed or perse- 
 cuted afterwards by the Abbot or 
 officers.^ Visitors were to reduce to 
 writing what they had discovered in 
 their visitations, where it was neces- 
 sary to have the advice of the President 
 of the Chapter.^ The ceremony ob- 
 served was this. Notice was given of 
 the intended visitation ; an agreement 
 was made respecting the time ; and in 
 
 the mean while the Abbot promised 
 the declaration of every thing amiss 
 before their coming; all which he 
 would himself, in process of time, 
 amend. On the morrow after the 
 arrival of the visitors, a sermon was 
 preached in the Chapter, and the com- 
 mission and statutes made in the Pro- 
 vincial Chapter read. Then, if after 
 a minute scrutiny of every Monk no 
 offence was found, they departed, 
 having made only a stay of a few 
 days.g These visitations gave birth 
 to many defamatory libels and letters 
 from those who happened to pass by 
 any house and heard the vices of it, 
 and from malicious persons ; as well 
 as to confederacies of the Monks to 
 overthrow emendatory statutes.^ Mat- 
 thew Paris says, that, in consequence 
 of the local constitutions thus made, 
 scarce two houses were found alike 
 in their rule of living ;i but, as the 
 Canons of Ottoboni were uniformly 
 enforced by them, this may be ques- 
 tioned. Many acts of successive Ge- 
 neral Chapters, the same vices conti- 
 nuing, are mere transcripts of one 
 another. 
 
 ORDER OF ST. VICTOR AT PARIS.*^ 
 
 This is the form of holding a Gene- 
 ral Chapter^ according to the man- 
 ner of the Order of Saint Victor of 
 Paris, 
 
 The convent of the place in which 
 the general chapter is celebrated, shall 
 rise early in the morning of that day ; 
 and the signal being given in the dor- 
 mitory, the brethren shall go to the 
 church, and there say all the hours of 
 the day and high-mass, and the 25 
 psalms, if it be Lent, except the last 
 hour of nones, and the service of the 
 Virgin Mary, which all the brethren 
 shall say by themselves, that they may 
 all be present at the general chapter. 
 When this is finished, they shall imme- 
 diately ring for the general chapter. 
 
 « M. Paris, 405. 
 
 *> Reyn. Append. 97. 
 
 •^ C. North, ut supr. c. 12. 
 
 ^ "Wilkins's Concil. iii. 147. 
 
 Id. 103. 
 « Ibid. 
 
 Hcec est forma tenendi Capitulum Ge- 
 nerate juxta modiim ordinis Sancti 
 Victoris Parisiensis, 
 
 Conventus loci^ quo capitulum cele- 
 bratur, summo mane surget illo die, et 
 dato signo in dormitorio fratres ibunt 
 ad ecclesiam, et ibi dicent omnes horas 
 diei et missam magnam et xxv psalmos, 
 si quadragesima fuerit, excepta ultima 
 hora none et lioris Ve Marie, quas sin- 
 gli dicent per se, ut omnes fr'es inter- 
 sint capit'lo generah. Istis completis 
 statim pulsabunt ad cap^lum generale. 
 
 g M. Paris, 713. 
 
 >» C. North, ut supr. ' P- 323. 
 
 ^ From an Abbey Register at Berkeley. 
 
MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 165 
 
 And when all the brethren have entered 
 the chapter, and are seated, the brother, 
 l)efore he begins to preach the word of 
 God, shall immediately rise, and say, 
 Jube Domine benedicere; and the presi- 
 dent shall say, that all may hear, Domi- 
 nus sit in corde tuo et lahils ad pronun- 
 ciandum sacra Dei eloquia. In note p, 
 etfr. &c. and all shall say Ameii. The 
 sermon being therefore completed, the 
 president shall say Benedicite, and all 
 shall answer Dominus ; and he shall say 
 to the proctors, "You conventual proc- 
 tors have somewhat to say,'^ and they 
 shall answer, " Yes, sir f and one of the 
 proctors shall say first, "Father, we 
 have the souls of our brethren and 
 friends first to be recommended, if it 
 pleases," and shall say thus : " We of 
 the convent of such a place ask, that 
 you have these souls of our brethren, 
 and the souls of our friends lately de- 
 ceased, to be recommended, to wit, the 
 souls of brother N., and brother N., 
 and brother N., our special canons 
 lately deceased ;" and afterwards read 
 our intimates, to wit. Will. N., Rich. 
 N., and John N., and even of our spe- 
 cial benefactors lately deceased: and 
 the president shall answer to every 
 proctor, when he reads over the bro- 
 thers and friends, '' Requiescant in 
 pacer Each of these being read over 
 in order, they shall say. Be profundis 
 clamavi, and the pater-noster, and 
 three prayers, to wit, Deus venie largi- 
 tor, Deus indulgenciarum, et fidelium 
 Deus, Afterwards the president shall 
 say, in the name of all the presiding 
 officers," We enjoin all our canons, who 
 are able to celebrate masses, that for 
 the souls here recommended, they each 
 say a mass ; and the other brethren 
 not celebrating, a psalter ; and every 
 one of the convent bretliren a hundred 
 pater-nosters, and as many Ave-Ma- 
 rias.'^ Then the president shall say, 
 "Ye conventual proctors, where are 
 your credentials?'^ and they shall show 
 and deliver them to the president, to 
 examine if they be sufficient ; and, after 
 examination, the president shall return 
 them. Then the president shall say, 
 
 Et cum omnes fr^es cap'lum sunt in- 
 gressi, et in sedibus suis collocati, fra- 
 ter priusquam ad predicandum verbum 
 Dei statim surget, et coram preesidente 
 inclinabit et dicet : Jube D'ne benedi- 
 cere, etproesidens dicet ita ut ab omni- 
 bus audiatur : Dnus sit in corde tuo et 
 in labiis tuis ad pronunciandum sacra 
 Dei eloquia. In noie p. et s. &c. Et 
 omnes dicent Amen. Sermone itaque 
 completo, presidens dicet Benedicite et 
 omnes dicent Dns, et dicet procurato- 
 ribus : Vos procuratores conventuales 
 habetis aliquod dicere : et responde- 
 bunt etiam Dne, et dicet unus de pro- 
 curatoribus primo : Pater, habemus 
 ai'as fratrum et amicorum primo recom- 
 mendandas si placet, et dicet sic, Nosde 
 conventu talis loci rogamus ut habeatis 
 istas ai'as fratr' nostror^ et animas ami- 
 corum nuper defunctorum recommen- 
 dandas, scil^ ai'as fratris N. et frat. N. 
 et fratr. N. canonicorum nostrorum 
 specialium nuper defunctorum, et pos^ 
 tealeget familiares, sc.Will'm N. Ric'm 
 N. et Joh'nem N. et etiam benefacto- 
 rum nostrorum specialium nuper de- 
 functorum : et respondebit preesidens 
 unicuique procuratori cum perlegerit 
 fr^es et familiares, Requiescant in pace, 
 Quibus per ordinem singlis perlectis 
 dicent, De profundis clamavi et Pat. 
 Nr. et tres orationes, sc. Deus venie 
 largitor, Deus indulgenicarum, et fide- 
 lium Deus. Postmodum dicet preesi- 
 dens vice omnium preelatorum, Nos 
 injungimus omnibus canonicis suis qui 
 missas celebrare possunt, ut pro istis 
 ai'abus pie recommendatis dicant sin- 
 gli singlas missas et ceteri fr^es non 
 celebrantes unum psalterium et unus- 
 quisque conversorum fr^m C. pr. nr. 
 cum totidem ave-maria. Deinde dicet 
 prsesidens, vos procuratores conventu- 
 ales, ubi sunt vestra procuratoria ? et 
 ipsi ostendent procuratoria sua, et tra- 
 dent prsesidenti ad examinandum si 
 sint sufficiencia. Quibus examinatis 
 o'ia eadem procuratoribus restituet. 
 Tunc prsesidens dicet o'ibus assistenti- 
 
166 
 
 MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 all assisting, "My brethren, lo ! we are 
 here summoned and assembled, in the 
 name of our Lord, to see and correct 
 the defects and excesses in divine mat- 
 ters in persons and things, and to set- 
 tle, by common assent, upon these, 
 what may please God and profit our 
 brethren, and to the salvation of their 
 souls : and that, in the present general 
 chapter, we may be able so to do and 
 perform what must be done to the 
 praise of God, and the honour of all 
 saints, and the holy church, and the 
 edification of all our souls, let us invoke 
 the holy spirits to our aid/^ And then 
 they shall say the hymn Veni Creator, 
 &c. after which the president shall say 
 the prayer, Deus, qui cor da fidelium ; 
 and then shall say to all, "Have you 
 any legitimate motions to make upon 
 defects or excesses in the divine offices, 
 respecting either persons or things, 
 which can be emendated in this chap- 
 ter?'^ And they who have any thing 
 to propose, shall answer, "Yes, sir," 
 and then shall read their motions in 
 writing ; and a president shall then, by 
 common assent, be elected for a future 
 time. Who being elected, and sitting 
 before the tribunal, the past president 
 shall rise and standing before the pre- 
 sident elect, shall resign his office, say- 
 ing, " My beloved brethren, I beg you 
 to make allowances for me if in the 
 execution of my duty I have been neg- 
 ligent or remiss for calling upon the 
 name of God. I received the office, 
 and before you, brethren and witnesses, 
 I, reverend father, now resign it :'^ and 
 the president shall answer, " God be 
 merciful to you,^^ and all the brethren 
 shall say "Amen." Afterwards four 
 persons at least shall be elected by com- 
 mon consent to examine the proposi- 
 tions there made by the brethren, which 
 persons may be approved for virtue 
 and religion. Who, after due delibe- 
 ration, may settle and define upon the 
 propositions by common consent, what 
 may best suit divine worship and the 
 salvation of their souls : and let those 
 things which they shall approve 
 according to God and the canon laws. 
 
 bus, fr'es mei ecce in no'ie Dni sumus 
 hie vocati et congregati ad vidend' et 
 emend^ defectus et excessus in divinis 
 officiis in personis et rebus, et ad statu- 
 endum per communem assensum super 
 eisdem, quae Deo placeant, et fratribus 
 ac notis proficeat (sic) ad salutem a'ia- 
 rum : et ut in praesenti Capitulo gene- 
 rali possumus sic agere et perficere ea 
 quae agenda sunt ad laudem Dei et ad 
 honorem oi^um sc'orum et sc^oe ecclie, 
 et ad ai'arum nostrarum utilitatem 
 s'ctum spr'm in adjutorium invocemus. 
 Et tunc dicent hymnum Veni Creator 
 spr'us, quo dicto dicat prsesidens oracio- 
 nem scil. Deus qui corda fidelium, et 
 tunc dicet o^ibus, Habetisne aliqua 
 motiva legitima proponenda super de- 
 fectibus et excessibus in officiis divinis 
 aut in rebus aut in personis quae per 
 istud cap'lum poterunt emendari? Et 
 respondebunt illi qui habent aliqua pro- 
 ponenda, dicendo Etiam Due, et tunc 
 legent fr'es pragponentes sua motiva in 
 scriptis. Et tunc eligatur unus praesi- 
 dens per communem assensum pro 
 tempore futuro. Quo electo et pro 
 tribunali sedente surget praesidens 
 praeteritus, et stans coram praesidente 
 electo, officium suum resignet coram 
 o'ibus dicendo : Fr'es mei dilecti pro 
 Deo rogo mihi parcatis si in officio 
 mihi commisso negligens extiterim vel 
 remissus, nam nomine Dei invocato 
 suscepto praesidentis officio coram vo- 
 bis fr'ibus et testibus illud, pater reve- 
 rende, resigno. Et praesidens respon- 
 debit, Indulgeat tibi Deus, et omnes 
 fr'es dicent amen. Postea elegantur 
 quatuor personae ad minus per commu- 
 nem assensum, ad via motiva per fratres 
 ibidem proposita examinanda qui reli- 
 gion e et discrecione' sint approbati. 
 Qui habito super hiis nactatu diligent! 
 statuant et diffiniant super propositis 
 per communem assensum ea quae magis 
 cultui divino, et ai'arum saluti sibi vide- 
 rint expedire, et ea quae secundum 
 Deum et jura canonica approbaverint 
 
MONKS, NUNS, &C. 
 
 167 
 
 be approved by them, and remain per- 
 manent according to the chapter de 
 statu Monachorum, and the chapter 
 which thus begins: In singhs provinciis 
 [They are constitutions of Ottobon, 
 and are printed in Lindwood] and be 
 reduced to writing in due form, that 
 they may be held for authentic, and be 
 sent to every convent of the province 
 under the seal of the president. These 
 things being done in due form, let the 
 visitors of the past time be called to 
 answer for the office committed to 
 them, and if they have any thing to 
 reveal, let them relate what they have 
 to say, yet by no means exceeding the 
 bounds of their office : and if the above 
 visitors shall have been found negUgent 
 in the office of visiting, or have exceed- 
 ed their duty, they shall be corrected, 
 and deservedly punished according to 
 their merits, so that their punishment 
 may be an example to others, because 
 their office is especially dangerous, if 
 they have not acted in a proper man- 
 ner. After these things, let three visi- 
 tors be elected by common consent for 
 a future time, who may know how to 
 execute the office of visitation in a due 
 form, as is fit, so that no one may visit 
 in their own houses, but be visited 
 among the other brethren by their two 
 colleagues. Afterwards let the place 
 and day of the next general chapter be 
 named, so that they by no means be 
 protracted beyond the next term, and 
 be written in the end of the statutes, 
 that they may be known to all the bre- 
 thren, and it is to be observed, that as 
 often as a necessity of visiting shall 
 exist, it shall be announced by letter to 
 the visitors, and the convents of the 
 places have due notice. 
 
 ab o'ibus approbentur, et rata debent 
 permanere secundum quod legitur 
 capit'lum de statu Monachorum : et 
 cap'lum qui sic incipit. In singlis pro- 
 vinciis : et in singlis redigantur modo 
 debito ut pro autenticis teneantur, & 
 sub sigillo preesidentis singlis conventi- 
 bus provincise liberentur. Hiis cum 
 deliberatione peractis vocentur visita- 
 tores temporis praeteriti ut de officio 
 illis commisso respondeant, et si quid 
 habeant revelandum revelent, et quod 
 dicendum est referant : Metas tamen 
 visitationis minime excedendo, et si 
 iidem visitatores in officio visitandi 
 negligentes extiterint vel in visitando 
 in aliquo excesserint super hoc corripi- 
 antur, et juxta ipsorum merita condigni 
 puniantur ita qd poena eorum sit caete- 
 ris in exemplum, quod eorum officium 
 est diversimode periculorum nisi debito 
 modo in visitando proceperint. Post 
 heec eligantur iii visitatores per coem 
 as sen sum pro tempore futuro, qui sci- 
 ant officium visitandi debito modo exe- 
 qui prout decet. Ita vero ut nullus 
 eor' in propriis domibus visitet sed inter 
 alios fr'es a duobus collegis suis visiten- 
 tur ut ceeteri. Postmodum no'ientur 
 locus et dies proximi capitli futuri. Ita 
 qM ultra proximum terminum minime 
 preefigantur et in fine statutorum con- 
 scribentur ut omnibus fratribus valeant 
 innotescere, et notand' quod quoties 
 necessitas visitandi extiterit per preesi- 
 dentem literatoriee debent visitatores 
 excitari et conventus locorum suffici- 
 enter premuniri. 
 Ex Registro Abbatice Sancti Augustini 
 
 BristollicB in Castro de Berkeley, p* 
 
 ult. 
 
168 
 
 FRIARS, 
 
 CHAPTER XXVllI. 
 
 FRIARS. 
 
 The sciennes of Physiology, Chemistry, 
 Natural Philosophy^ and Astronomy, 
 by their stupendous developements of 
 the grandeur of Deity, are the firmest 
 friends of rational Piety; for they exhi- 
 bit Fanaticism in the light of a Procu- 
 ress, who wishes to palm oiF a painted 
 Prostitute for a blooming Virgin. They 
 who are not ignorant, will not be cre- 
 dulous ; and only because the multi- 
 tude cannot be informed, it is easy to 
 dupe them. Of pious harlotry (for 
 the Scriptures designate false worship 
 by the term Fornication), the most 
 successful agents in the middle age were 
 the Friars. They differed only from 
 Monks, in being by profession beggars, 
 lliis voluntary mendicity, to a certain 
 extent infringed,^ produced, of course, 
 the practice of mean arts. Dread of 
 knowledge, not prejudice, occasioned 
 the persecution of Galileo; and we find 
 from Spain, that whenever, as Swift 
 would say, a country is over-run with 
 religious vermin, an interest is created 
 for perpetuating ignorance, and that 
 grovelling character which annexes no 
 value to the noble and useful qualities 
 of honour, ingenuousness, bravery, 
 patriotism, and high reason, as the 
 governing principle of the whole man. 
 ^'We never swear, only cheat and lie,^^ 
 is the Jesuitical adage of many who sup- 
 port their characters by abstaining from 
 pleasure ; but the Friars, more clever, 
 united both at the public expence. 
 
 Pontifical edicts restricted the Fri- 
 ars to the four Orders of Dominicans : 
 Jacobites, or Preachers,^ Franciscans, 
 Carmelites, and Augustinian Eremites. 
 
 * They pretended that the property was in the 
 Pope, the use only in themselves. Gutch's Collec- 
 tanea Curiosa, i. p. 80. 
 
 *» The Jacobites were so named from the follow- 
 ing circumstance : 
 
 Quo tempore, 11 98, fuit in eadem civitate quidam 
 famosus Anglicus de villa Sancti Albani, oriundus 
 magistro Johanne, dictus de Sancto Albano, 
 
 The evils of poverty were not, how- 
 ever, felt by the mendicants.*^ Neither 
 
 physicus prfecipuus et regis Franciae curam gerens. 
 Hie cum ditatus fuisset auro Francise, sibi quoddam 
 hospicium comparavit in civitate prsedict^ (Paris) 
 pen6 dilapsum et dirutum, in quod solebant ex 
 ionginquis partibus venientes causa peregrinationis 
 versus Sanctum Jacobum in Hispania divertere 
 peregrini, et ibidem per dies aliquot exhiberi, sed 
 deficientibus redditibus et eleemosyna subtract^, 
 est et hospicium desolatum. Emit ergo Johannes 
 dictum zenodochium, et exinde fecit sibi hospitium 
 correspondens fortunse suae. Qui cum vidisset 
 dictos fratres cotidie missas celebrare, oracionibus 
 instare, et praedicationibus invigilare, motus devo- 
 tione quam pietate, contulit eis prsedictum zeno- 
 dochium in habitaculum sempiternum, ex cujus 
 hospitalis vocabulo nomen traxerunt preedicti fratres, 
 ut Jacobitse vocarentur ab adjecto nomine hospi- 
 talis. — Tractatus de ortu ac prioritate ordinis 
 Monachor. MS. Cott. Claud. E. iv. 322, b. 323. a. 
 
 At which time (1198) there was in the same 
 city a certain famous Englishman of the town of 
 St. Alban's, descended from one master John, and 
 named from St. Alban's, an excellent physician, 
 who had the care of the King of France. Having 
 got rich with French gold, he purchased in the 
 same city (of Paris) a dilapidated and almost ruined 
 hospital, where the pilgrims going to St. James's 
 in Spain were used to resort, and to receive refresh- 
 ment for some days, till decay of revenue prevented 
 it. The above John, therefore, bought the place, 
 and made an hospital of it suitable to his fortune, 
 and when he had seen the said brothers daily cele- 
 brating Mass, urgent in prayer, and diligent in 
 preaching, from instigations of devotion, he gave 
 them the house for a perpetual dwelling ; and from 
 the previous name of the house, they were in con- 
 sequence called Jacobites [or Preachers.'] * 
 
 •= Some writers say there were three sorts of 
 poverty among the Friars ; to have nothing either 
 of their own or in common {Franciscans, true only 
 of some branches of them) ; another, nothing of 
 their own, but something in common, as books, 
 clothes, and food (Dominicans ;) the third, some- 
 thing of both, but only necessaries, food and clothes. 
 Speed remarks, that every householder paid to 
 each of the five orders of Friars, one penny per 
 quarter; the amount of which contribution, being 
 j6:'43,333. 6s. Sd. per annum, is equaltoa fourth 
 of the gross revenues of all the other religious 
 houses, as given by that author. Taylor's Index 
 Monast. Pref. viii. 
 
 * " When the Pope was going to write to Domi- 
 nick on business, he said to the notary, * Write to 
 master Dominick and the preaching brethren ;* and 
 from that time they began to be called the Friars 
 Preachers.^^ Jansenius Vita Dominici, L. i. C. 
 vi. p. 44, Antw, 12mQ, 
 
FRIARS. 
 
 169 
 
 King nor Bishop^ says an antient poet, 
 "have any thing done so soon as these 
 esteemed religious;'^" and, says Barclay, 
 "the Freres have store every day 
 of the week/'^ To shew how they 
 were obtained, Faustus the country- 
 man says^ 
 
 We geve wool and cheese, our wives coyne and eggs, 
 When freres flatter and praise their proper legges ; 
 
 to which he adds^ that one had two 
 or three cheeses of him for a score 
 of pinnes, and two or three needles, 
 and 
 
 Phillis gave coyne because he did her charme, 
 Ever sith that time lesse hath she felt of harme.*= 
 
 Firing was given them by grant,^! and 
 clothing sent by cart-loads at a time.^ 
 If an estimate of their conduct may 
 be formed from that of foreign religi- 
 ous not long after their eera, who resem- 
 bled them in other respects, denial of 
 their requests was extremely perilous, 
 If refused, they were in the habits of 
 extracting scandal from the servants, 
 dispersing it, and sometimes fabrica- 
 ting a charge of heresy, in case they 
 had little chance of injuring in the for- 
 mer w^ay.f They had rich garments or 
 valuable furniture, and delighted much 
 in having or borrowing moveables of 
 this kind.? They took persons with 
 them to collect money, because they 
 could not receive it themselves.^^ Their 
 taxes were paid for them by the nobi- 
 lity ;i and they obtained mansions and 
 
 • Nee Rex nee Episcopus, ut satis est probatum, 
 Habent opus aliquod tarn cito paratum, 
 Quam qui cotidie vadunt mendicatum. 
 
 MS. Cott. Cleop. B. ii. p. 59. 
 
 ^ Barclay, Egl. i. «= Id. 5. 
 
 ^ Morant's Colchester, 152. 
 
 « M. Paris, p. 718. 
 
 ' Buchanani Franciscanus. " Illius ancillas 
 famulosque accerse loquaces,'^ &c. Poemata, 268. 
 Amstel. 12mo. 1687. See also Notices, v. 408. 
 
 IS Non habere debent apparamenta aut preciosa 
 vasa ; et fratres in hujusmodi rebus precipue glori- 
 antur. MS. Bodl. 2737, p. 15. Insuper fratres 
 non habeant nee mutuent vasa aurea vel argentea, 
 vel utantur eisdem, vel aliis jocalibus preciosis. 
 MS. Bodl. 1882, p. 49, b. 
 
 ^ Quod secum ducat ad colligendos denarius 
 receptores. MS. Bodl. 2737, p. 14, b. 
 
 * ♦' In the ninth of Edward III. when the houses 
 of the Friars, Carmelites, and other houses of Friars 
 in Bristol and Gloucester, were taxed to pay any 
 15th or other duty to the king, this lord sent to 
 them either all or most part of the money." MS. 
 Ijives of the Berkeley Family; 292. 
 
 dwellings by sending messengers to 
 the Papal See, to cheat the Monks of 
 them, in which, however, they received 
 a check.k 
 
 Chaucer's Friar is a pleasant scoun- 
 drel, a religious FalstafF. He was 
 wanton and merry ; full of dalliance 
 and fair language ; had made full many 
 a marriage of young women at his own 
 cost ; was intimate with yeomen over 
 all the country and worthy women of 
 the towns; was licentiate of his Order, 
 and had power of confession, more 
 than any Curate ; instead of weeping 
 and prayers, by way of penance, he pre- 
 scribed money to the "poor Freres;" 
 could sing and play well; knew the 
 taverns, hostelers, and tapsters, in 
 every town, but shunned the beggars ;1 
 courteous and lowly of service when 
 any thing was to be got; gave a certain 
 farm for his grant; could toy like a 
 whelp; lisped somewhat for wanton- 
 ness, to make his English sweet upon 
 his tongue ; when begging at the bed 
 of a sick man, he asks him for his 
 money to make their Cloister, and pre- 
 tends that they had fared a long while 
 upon muscles and oysters to raise mo- 
 ney for it; that they owed forty pounds, 
 and if they could not get wherewith to 
 pay it, must sell their books ; that the 
 Friars were the sun of the world, which 
 must go to destruction but for their 
 preaching, and that Elisha and Elias 
 were Friars ; at last he pretends that 
 they had prayed in their Chapter day 
 and night for his health, and adds 
 that a trifle is nothing parted among 
 twelve. 
 
 ^ M. Paris, 354. Hence the satire **Cur vos 
 Nudipedes, ad Papse curritis sedes ?" ** Why, bare- 
 foot Friers, run ye to the Pope?" in MS. Cott. 
 Jul. D. VII. p. 128. 
 * And how the Fryers followed folke that was 
 ryche, 
 And folke that was pore at little price they set, 
 And no cors in hir kirkeyard nor kirke was 
 
 buried 
 But quik he bequeth hem ought or quite part 
 of hir dets. 
 
 Piers Plowman, f. Lxi. 
 They had standing hearses always ready. See Lib. 
 Cotid. Contrar. Garderob. 28 Ed. I. p. 46. And 
 compelled splendid funerals. Bale, i. 664, 5 Ed« 
 Oporin, 
 
170 
 
 FRIARS. 
 
 The Constitutions enacted, that no 
 one should become a General Preacher 
 before he had studied theology for 
 three years. Persons fit were present- 
 ed to the General or Provincial Chap- 
 ter, and an inquiry was made into their 
 characters from the brothers they lived 
 with. When sufficient attestation was 
 adduced of their learning, piety, and 
 fervour of zeal in purpose and inten- 
 tion, the decision was made, whether 
 they should stay longer in study, or 
 whether they should proceed to preach 
 with others more advanced in age, or 
 by themselves.^ Thus qualified, they 
 began their pernicious office. Matthew 
 Paris describes them as expecting to 
 be received by procession, as entering 
 into noble Monasteries^ upon pretence 
 of performing their duty, and depart- 
 ing on the morrow ; but instead, feign- 
 ing sickness, and making a temporary 
 wooden super altar ^ receiving the confes- 
 sion of many parishioners, to the injury 
 of the Parish Priests.c In I246theFriars 
 Preachers obtained the Papal licence to 
 hear confessions and enjoin penances 
 any where. They called the Secular 
 
 Clergy idiots ; and those who were 
 restrained from committing sin by 
 unwillingness that their Parish Priests 
 should know it, encouraged themselves 
 by saying, we will confess to some Friar 
 passing this way, whom we have never 
 seen before, and shall never see again.*^ 
 Erasmus mentions a Parish Priest who 
 refused them hospitality, because, said 
 he, if you should see any poultry in my 
 house, I should be traduced in your 
 sermon to-morrow.^ With the great 
 they were the favourite Confessors;^ 
 they strove to be inmates at the houses 
 of nobles, to gain favour with whom 
 they suppressed the truth, taught them 
 fables and falsehoods, and often, to 
 extort money, preached matters con- 
 trary to the true faith.s The Pope 
 ordered them, when attending dying 
 people, to persuade them to make their 
 wills to the use and help of the Holy 
 Land, that he might extort money 
 upon recovery, or from executors upon 
 decease.^ Nor was their preaching 
 practical and useful; for, says Robert 
 Langland, 
 
 Friars and fel^ other masters that to the lewd men preach en 
 Ye moven matters immesurable to tel of the trynity 
 That ofttimes the lewde people of their beliefe douten.^ 
 
 They took vows of chastity from 
 women, or induced them to pay obe- 
 dience to themselves; became judges 
 and arbiters; and on St. Nicholases 
 day, about the time of the Feast of 
 Fools, put on secular, clerical, or female 
 garments, and lent their own to lay 
 
 a Statuimus ne ullus fiat prsedicator generalis 
 antequam theologiam audierit per tres annos. MS . 
 Cott. Nero, A. xii. 171, b. Post hsec qui idonei 
 ad prsedicandum ab aliquibus estimantur prsesentes 
 capitulo generali, vel provinciali, ubi diligenter 
 inquiratur a fratribus, cum quibus conversati sunt, 
 &c. de studio et religione, et caritatis fervore in 
 proposito ac intentione ; utrum ipsi fratres adhuc 
 in studio debeant morari, vel cum fratribus provec- 
 tioribus in prsedicatione exeant, vel idonei sint vel 
 utiles per se preedicatoris officium exercere. Id. 
 168. b. 
 
 ^ At St. Alban's a hostrey was built on purpose 
 for them below the gate of the court, and they 
 came there almost every day to dine or preach. 
 M. Paris, 715. 
 
 <= P. 354. This is admirably ridiculed in the 
 F\m\is of Erasmus. 
 
 persons for secular games and sports. 
 
 ^ M. Paris, p. 607, 8. 
 
 « Colloq. 269, § Franciscani. 
 
 ' " For sith charitie was chapman and chefe to 
 shrive lordes." Piers Plowm. f. i. b. 
 
 & Tu, Carmelita, (Chaucer's Friar in the Sompn. 
 tale was of that order,) mundum deserere quseris, 
 ac nobilium domos frequentare anhelas. Favere 
 magnatibus divitibusque cupiens veritatem tacesj 
 fabulas et fallacias doces, et ut ssepe pecuniam 
 extorqueas fidei contraria prsedicas. MS. Harl. 
 1819, f. 120, b. (Sermo Johan. Egidii.) 
 
 '^ M. Par. 753. They were very reluctantly the 
 Pope's agents. Id. 696. 
 
 * Many. ^ F. Ixxviii. 
 
 ^ Item nuUus frater "k muliere votum continentise 
 requirat, seu oblatum recipiat, sen ad faciendam 
 sibi obedientiam inducat Item fratres non sint judi- 
 ces nee arbitri. MS. Bodl. 1882, f. 54. Caveant 
 fratres in festo S. Nicholai, &c. ne vestes exeuntes 
 religiosas, seu seculares, aut clericales, vel muliebres 
 . . . sub specie devotionis induerent, nee habitus aut 
 vestes ordinis secularibus pro ludis faciendis, aut 
 secularibus velom' accommodenter. Id. 51 . b. From 
 this it seems most probable, that the Friar in the 
 morris-dance was not an actual Franciscan, as Mr, 
 
FRIARS. 
 
 171 
 
 Erasmus says, that he had seen a 
 Domestic Fool, who wore tlie long gown 
 and cap of a Doctor of Divinity ; ob- 
 served a grave look, and disputed 
 upon subjects with as much enter- 
 tainment of great men, as any other 
 Fool.^ Eating with Seculars, the 
 Canonists decided, was allowable to 
 them as a fit return for the services 
 rendered to them.^ 
 
 They denied that their Rule pre- 
 scribed labour, obtained Papal letters, 
 and glossed the Rule to their own liking.^ 
 Admitted murderers into their society,^ 
 and obtained money to procure par- 
 dons for condemned criminals,^ were 
 great liars,^ and contentious,^ fraudu- 
 lent, usurious, simoniacal, rapacious, 
 proud, and domineering over others, 
 epicures, hated long prayers, dreaded 
 penances,*^ haunted suspicious places 
 
 Toilet supposed, but a Ssecular to whom the habit 
 was leat. 
 
 * Franciscani Colloq. 277. 
 
 ^ Nam qui alterius negotium gerit utilitatis, et 
 ignorantis et absentis licit^ recipit expensas ; unde 
 satis videtur per hoc quod fratres prsedicatores, qui 
 eunt ad raptores ut eos inducant ad poenitentiam et 
 restitutionem faciendara, excusari [debent] si come- 
 dant apud illos maxime, si non possunt invenire 
 cibos apud alios. Ra} mundi Summula. MS. Pemb. 
 Coll. Libr. Oxford. 
 
 "^ Dicunt esse errorem, illud quod in sua reguljL 
 continetur. Dicitur enim in regula isto modo. 
 Fratres quibus dedit gratiam laborandi laborent 
 fideliter et devote. MS. Bodl. 2737. Regula 
 Francisci precipit quod verba regulge non glosentur ; 
 et fratres laborant ut verborum sensus toUantur, 
 specialiter de Uteris h, sede apostolic^ non petendis. 
 Id. 14. b. (This was the grand source of conten- 
 tion between the mild and austere Franciscans.) 
 
 ^ M. Paris, 775. The motive here was probably 
 not so pure as the Magdalen principle (Ecce ovis 
 errans) upon which a thief was admitted, in MS. 
 Harl. 2385, f. 517. " Id. 792. 
 
 f " Falsenes for feare then fledde to the Friers." 
 Piers Plowman, f. xi. a. 
 
 » " I am wrath, quod he, I was continually a 
 Fryer." Id. fol. xxiii. Gravis culpa est, si quis 
 inhonestum (sic) in audienciA sseclariorum cum 
 aliquo contendit; si frater cum fratre intus vel 
 exterius lites habuerit. MS. Cott. Nero, A. xii. f. 
 161 , a. (It is a great fault if there are any disgraceful 
 contentions in the hearing of Saeculars, if one Friar 
 quarrels with another, either in door or out.) 
 
 ^ Ceteros vero terrenis inhserentes avaricise stu- 
 dio, fraudibus, usuris, symonid rapin^que loculos et 
 cor (quod insaciabile est) anxiS, cum solicitudine 
 implere concupiscere vides. MS. Harl. 1819, f. 
 120, a. Alios nempe ambitione superbos videtis 
 aliis dominare velle, f. 120, a. Tu vero guise deli- 
 cias quseris, f. 120, b. Video vos prsestantissimi 
 
 fratres oratione Igogiore t^ci t?edlQ^ fi 121; a. 
 
 to enjoy gossipping, and made idle and 
 useless visits to women, and received 
 presents from some of them of bad 
 character,* for with the women they 
 were great favourites : 
 
 For when the godeman is fro hame. 
 And ye frere comes to onie dame, 
 He spares nought for synne ne shame. 
 If women seme of hert full stable. 
 With faire behest and with fable 
 Yay can make yer hertes chaungeable.'' 
 
 This favour was additionally gained 
 perhaps by their military manners and 
 habit. We have had Bishops famous 
 Generals, as Peter de Rupibus, Bishop 
 of Winchester;! and Knighton de- 
 scribes one John of the Franciscan 
 Order as "brave in warlike arms;'^«» 
 and John Giles reproaches the Car- 
 melites with dressing like soldiers in 
 the same stuff and like particularity.*^ 
 Hence too the irony of these lines : 
 
 Prieste ne Monke ne no Chanon, 
 
 Ne no man of religion, 
 
 Gyfen so to devocion, 
 
 As don thes holy Frers, 
 
 For some gyveu ham to Chivalry, 
 
 Some to riote and ribaudry. 
 
 But Freres gyven ham to grete study .° 
 
 On the favourable side there appear 
 instances of disinterestedness, in re- 
 jecting a royal present of clothing 
 criminally obtained ;P of their religious 
 zeal, in attempting the conversion of 
 the Jews ;^ of their learning in being 
 
 Multi nempe religionis poenitentias horrentes nedum 
 juvenes, sed et setate cani .... in luxurise laqueo 
 capiuntur, f 122, b. 
 
 ' Insuper firmiter inhibemus ut loca suspecta, 
 fabulaciones, visitationes mulierum viciosas et 
 inutiles penitus caveatis .... Prohibentes nihilo- 
 minus ne munuscula a suspectis mulieribus capian- 
 tur. MS. Cott. Nero, A. xii. f. 157, b. 
 
 ^ MS. Cott. Cleop. B. ii. f. 62, 63. 
 
 * See Grose's Military Antiquities, i. 69. Anglia 
 Sacra, &c. 
 
 "* In bellicis armis strenuus. Sub. ao 1381. 
 
 " Tu ut miles eodem panno e&que curiositate 
 vestiaris. MS. Hai'l. 1819, p. 120, b. See also 
 M. Paris, 630. 
 
 '* But nothing is viler, nor moving more to wepe, 
 
 Than a Priest a rayler, disdaining his honour, 
 
 Or clothed as a Courtiour, or cruel Soldiour, 
 
 With weapon or armour, as one ready to fight." 
 Barclay, § Preface to " Mirror of good Manners." 
 
 ° MS. Cott. ut supr. f. 26. Grete study in 
 perhaps mere irony. See sect. Studies* 
 
 p M. Paris, p. 718. 
 
 9 ToT^y's ApgU» JudMCft; p< ^16; seq* 
 
1^2 
 
 FRIARS. 
 
 collectors of books for literary Prelates/ 
 and referees in heretical matters.^ 
 
 I shall conclude this account with 
 the description of them, given by the 
 revered WicklifF. 
 
 " And here men noten many harmes 
 yat Freris doen y the cherch; yei 
 spuyle ye peple many weies by ypo- 
 crisie or other lesyngis [lies] ; and bi 
 these lesyngis/ and bi this spuylinge, 
 yei bilden caymes ^ castels, to harm of 
 cuntries ; yei stelen pore mennes chil- 
 dren® yat is worse yan stele an oxe; 
 and yei stelen gladlich eiris. I leve 
 to speke of stelyng of wymen ; and yat 
 thei maken londis bareyne, for wyth- 
 drawing of werkmen not aloonli in 
 defaute of cornes, but in beestis and 
 oyir good, for yei reversen Goddis 
 ordynaunce in preceptis of the chirche, 
 yei maken men to trowe fals on hem, 
 and letten almes to be gomin by Goddis 
 lawe [i. e, hinder their being given 
 according to God's law] ; and thos yei 
 letten by gabbingis [idle talk, lies] 
 office and luf of trewe prestis, for hei 
 letten [hinder] hem for to preche/ and 
 speciali Christes gospel ; yei move 
 londis to batels and pesible persones 
 to plete ; yei maken many divorsis and 
 many matrimonyes unleeful, bothe by 
 leesyngis made to parties and bi pravy- 
 leges of the court. I leve to speke of 
 fizting yat yei doen in oor lond and 
 other, and of other bodili harmes yat 
 
 * Cave's Historia Literaria Prolegom. p. 111. 
 
 ^ Spenser's Life of Chicheley, 75. 
 
 ^ Abbas de Bruereimplacitavitfratresprgedicato- 
 res Lond' in Gwy Aula de uno mes' ibidem qui 
 dixerunt quod non debeant respondere sine rege qui 
 eis tenementa sua in puram eleemosynam confir- 
 mavit. Et quia dominus rex dictum mesuag' eis 
 non dedit, quod respondeant ulterius eidem. (i. e. 
 the Abbot of Bruere has a trial with the Friars 
 Preachers of London, in Guild Hall, of a messuage 
 there ; and the Friars say that they are not to answer 
 to it witliout the king, who confirmed it to them in 
 pure alms. And because our lord the king did not 
 (five it to them, that they answer further to the same.) 
 Rot. Pari. 18 iE. I. N° 15. (vol. i.) 
 
 *• Caym is Cain, a synonym ; and by this term 
 Wickliff designated the four mendicant Orders, 
 from the initials C, Carmelites, A, Augustinians, J, 
 Jacobites, M, Minors. See Fuller. 
 
 « There were laws against this. St. 4 H. IV. 
 C. 17. They were to receive no infants into their 
 Order under 14 years of age, without consent of 
 parents. Parliament. Rolls, 4 H. IV. 
 
 f Well exposed by Erasmus in his Colloquies, 
 
 tung is sufficen not to telle ; for as 
 moche as yei dispende, as moche and 
 more yei barmen rewmes .... but, as 
 spyritual thing is better than bodili 
 thing, that Ihe mai see, so spiritual 
 harm is more yan bodili harm ; yei 
 dooen him gostth harm and al man- 
 kinde; whereof yei ben and is thou seist 
 that non be freris ; but if yei ben, ye 
 better to God; for holinesse of ther 
 cumpany maketh many goode that ellis 
 wolden be schrewis;? stryve we not 
 when this may falle; but graunteweon 
 tothir side that many wolde be lesse 
 yvel out of these ordris^ than in hem ; 
 and sith they witen not who is beterid 
 by entryng into yese ordris they doen 
 as a blynd man castyth his staff to 
 bring ony to ther ordir. Crist seyth 
 that Pharisees been to blame for this 
 dede, and Scarioth was the worse for 
 beeing in this hooly cumpany he hadde 
 not thus traied Crist and be moost 
 unkinde traitour; and sith coventis of 
 freris ben schrewis for the moest part 
 or moche no wonder yf thei envenime 
 men that come thus unto them for 
 yhei moven to oolde errours yat thei 
 h olden among them, as thei tellen to 
 grete avaunt yat thei be charious^ to 
 the peple in ther synful begging, and 
 zit yei blasfemen m' Crist, and seien 
 that he beggide thus, to maynteyne 
 ther owne syne : suche blasfemyes be 
 founden and contynued in these sectis, 
 that unethis thei be evir purgid fro' 
 servyce that thei ben browzt in as Crist 
 techyth in his gospel. Now what men 
 shulde snybbe ther britheren in their 
 tymis and aftirward forsake ther cum- 
 pany as venim; thes sectis han fordo 
 the gospel ; for nether thei doen thus 
 snybbe their britheren, ne forsake them 
 at the farye time ; for yf yei doen yei 
 schulen be deed or enprysoned long 
 tyme; ellis haastily be killed; and 
 whanne synne regneth among grete 
 
 e Persons of bad temper and habits. Tyrwhitt. 
 It is a loose general term for bad people. See 
 Paston Letters, iv. 23. State Trials, 19, col. 2. 
 ^ Of some poor freers is made more curiously, 
 Then is some abbey or riche monastery. 
 The first hath their trust in God our creatour, 
 The other trusteth upon their vayne treasour. 
 Barclay's Egloges, Egl, i. 
 
FRIARS. 
 
 173 
 
 men, and thei dreden of worldli harm, 
 thei doen not snybbe men of thys synne 
 leest ther ordir leese worldli helpe ; 
 but wher is more heresie than to love 
 this ordre more than God, or to 
 do yvelUs for hope of good, that Poul 
 forfendyn men to do. Also yese 
 sectis empugne the gospel, and also 
 the oold lawe, for thei chargen more 
 yer owne statute, al if it be agens God- 
 dis lawe,a yan yei doen the lawe of the 
 gospel, and ^^us thei loven more ther 
 ordre than Crist ; al if it were never so 
 moche nede to go out and preche God- 
 dis lawe, to defende our modir holi 
 churche, zit yer ordir letteth this but 
 if yei han ther priour's leve, al if God 
 bidde to do this ; and communli thes 
 privat priours lette ther felowis here to 
 go out,^ and so be thei never so riche, 
 thei schulen not helpe ther fleshli eldres 
 (erased), for all ther goodis ben ye 
 housis sith they have nowgt propre but 
 synne, and thys errour repruveth Crist 
 in the Pharisees, yat sizen the gnat and 
 swallowen the camel ; for yei chargen 
 lesse more harm ; also thes Pharisees 
 chargen moche ther fastyngis and 
 other thyngis, that thei han foundun ; 
 but kepyng of Goddis mauntementes 
 thei chargen not halfe so moche, as he 
 schulde be holden Apostata that lefe 
 ye abite for a dale, but for levyng of de- 
 dys of charite schulde he nothyng be 
 blamed; and thus yei blasfemen in God, 
 and seien whoso dieth in this abyte 
 schall never go to helle,*^ for holynesse 
 
 * See Menagiana, i. 302. 
 
 *> There are Limitours, Friars allowed to beg and 
 preach within limits, and Listers, without bounds. 
 
 ^ Quidam monachi dicunt omnes esse monachos, 
 qui in paradise erunt, vel potius nullum ibi esse non 
 monachura. (Certain Monks say, that all are Monks 
 who shall gain Heaven ; or rather that there is no 
 one there not a Monk.) MS. Royal Library, 7. A. 
 III. (No pages. ) Accordingly, it is no wonder some 
 people were desirous of being buried in their habits ; 
 but others took care not to wear it while living. 
 Lewis the Landgrave said, ** As soon as I am dead, 
 put on me the hood of the Cistertian Order ; but 
 take very diligent care not to do it while I am alive." 
 (Mox ut mortuus fuero cucullam ordinis Cister- 
 ciensis mihi induite, et ne fiat me vivente diligen- 
 tissime cavete.) Many took the habit in sickness, 
 and afterwards left it. Muratori Rer. Italic. Scrip- 
 tores, iv. 316. The Monthly Reviewers for May, 
 1801, p. 77, have extracted a curious passage from 
 Mr. Gough's Monuments on this subject. 
 
 that is therein ;J and so ayens Cristis 
 sentence, they semen an oolde cloute 
 in a nevve cloeth, for yer order yei sein 
 is gederid of the old lawe and the 
 newe ; and zit thei han founden herto 
 newe thingis, that thei kepon as gos- 
 pel ; and thus thei chargen ther owne 
 fasting and other ritis that thei kepen, 
 more than biddyngis of Crist, for thei 
 ben no newe maundementis to them. 
 Suche hid sinnes among freres doen 
 more harm to christen men than ben 
 the bodili harmes, which the world 
 chargyth more; and thes errours in the 
 world ben hyth maynteynid by freres, 
 for wynning of worldli good or worldli 
 worschip that thei covetin,^ as lettris 
 of fraternity,^ and dowring of other 
 
 ^ Sir Thomas More said to his Lady, that the 
 consideration of the time (for it was Lent) should 
 restrayne her from so scolding her servants; '* Tush^ 
 Tush, my Lord,'^ said she, '^looJce, here is one step 
 to heavenward,'^ shewing him a Frier's girdle. "/ 
 fearme,^^ said he, ^^this one step will not bring you 
 up a step higher.'^ Camden's Remains, 276. Thus 
 it appears, that Ladies wore Friers* girdles in Lent. 
 
 « I found ther the fryers, all the four orders, 
 Preached to the people for profite of hemselves, 
 Glosed the gospel as hem good liked. 
 
 Piers Plowman, Fol. i. b. 
 See too Maitland's London, i. 142. Of getting 
 wills made in their favour, see Rapin, iv. 437. It 
 is well known they were great instruments of sedi- 
 tion. WickliiF himself (and others) says, '* Yf they 
 seien that it (the host) is goddis body, and many 
 freris seien the contrary.'' MS. Roy. Lib. 18. B. 
 IX. f. 187, b. 
 
 ' For while Fortune is thy friend, Friers will the 
 love, [beseche 
 
 And fetche the to their fraternitie and for the 
 To her prior provinciall a pardon to have. 
 
 Piers Plowman, f. liii. b. 
 
 There were letters of fraternity, of various kinds. 
 " Lay people of all sorts, men and women, married 
 and single, desired to be inroUed in spiritual frater- 
 nities, as thereby enjoying the spirituall prerogatives 
 of pardon, indulgence, and speedy dispatch out of 
 purgatory." Smith's Lives of the Berkeley Family, 
 MS. iii. 443. Those, however of the Friers had a 
 peculiar sanctity. Piers Plowman, speaking of the 
 day of judgment, says, 
 
 A poke full of pardon, ne provincial letters 
 
 Though ye be founden in the fraternitie of the 
 iiii orders. f. xxxviii. b. 
 
 These letters of fraternity are of the most remote 
 antiquity, and several of them have been published. 
 There were also letters of fraternity between diffe- 
 rent Convents for mutual defence ; for, in the year 
 1251, certain Prelates and Religious, finding that 
 the Popes and Bishops, formerly their friends, 
 became their persecutors and oppressors, combined 
 together, that bearing one another's burthens, they 
 might be less heavily felt (M. Paris, 700 ;) and a 
 similar thing was enjoined in 1444, on account of 
 
174 
 
 FRIARS. 
 
 prestes al if it be agens himself, is 
 stifl^ susteyned bi freris, and so men 
 sufficen not to tell insensible errours 
 that thei susteynen, and zit for privy- 
 lege of the Pope, none othir man dar 
 biame hem, for thei ben exempt fro 
 Goddis lawe bi prevelygees that they 
 
 general dislike. Cap, Gen. Northamp. ejusd. ann. 
 cap. ix. It seems, that by letters of confederation 
 between different houses (it is not precisely men- 
 tioned of what kind), the Monks bound themselves 
 down to what they could not perform, and on this 
 account a remedy was to be found by the General 
 Chapter. Reyn. Append. 108. W. Thome men- 
 tions agreements between different houses to receive 
 in hospitality each the other's Monks ; also if any 
 Monk, not convicted of a notorious crime, came 
 there, he was to be charitably entertained till con- 
 signed in peace to his own house ; and if an Abbot 
 was elected from another house, the brethren of 
 such house were to come to the other to celebrate 
 the election canonically. C. 16, sect. 9. C. 23, 
 sect. 4. C. 28, sect. 8. The object of some of these 
 confederations was, that the Monks, when driven 
 from one place, should have a refuge in another. 
 Ibid. They lapsed into oblivion in many places, 
 though preserved at St. Augustine's, Canterbury. 
 "W. Thome, 1924. The spiritual privileges of the 
 first kind of letters of fraternity were also extended 
 to Monks, Clerks, and Canons ; and such perons 
 were called Fr aires extemi. Du Cange, in voce. 
 The form of admitting a Monk into fraternity was 
 this: he was introduced into the Chapter; and, 
 
 han getun'; but Peter was not exempt 
 fro scharp snybbyng of Poul theiling 
 that John forfendide hath no virtu 
 among these freris ; for they saluten 
 often fiendis more than thei doe Cristis 
 children/^a 
 
 after Benedicite, prostrated himself on the step ; 
 the question was then put, what he wanted, which 
 was suitably answen d by the Abbot, who ordered 
 him to rise, and he receivedthesociety of the house 
 by the book of the Rule. The Abbot then gave 
 him the kiss of peace, which he returned by pro- 
 stration at his feet ; then he returned to the step, 
 made three genuflexions, and the Monks continued 
 bowing to him till he went to the seat the Abbot 
 ordered. To an Abbot the Convent rose when he 
 entered the Chapter, and he sat next the Prelate of 
 the house, and kissed the Monks when they left 
 the Chapter. A Secular person took the society 
 upon the Gospel, and, if male, kissed the Monks in 
 circuit. Dec. Lanfr. Wickliff takes another 
 opportunity of censuring these letters of fraternity. 
 See Dialog!, pars 4, c. 30, fol. cxlix. seq. of the 
 Ed. 1525, of which, as being excessively scarce, it 
 is necessary to note, there are two later editions, 
 and perhaps more. 
 
 N. B. The curious reader will find much valuaWe 
 information of the Mendicant Orders in one of 
 the Chapters of Mr. Warton's History of English 
 Poetry. 
 
 ^ MS. Roy. Libr. 18. B. IX. f. 186, 7. (WickUff's 
 Oraelies.) They were printed, I believe, in the 
 16th century at Leipsic. 
 
NOVICES. 
 
 175 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 NOVICES. 
 
 The profession of Monachism was 
 considered as a kind of second bap- 
 tism: a but the main motive for being 
 so baptised^ was, it seems, good eating^ 
 Except, however, in the Mendicant 
 Orders, who stole and kidnapped chil- 
 dren, this privilege was by no means 
 easily obtained. The difficulty suffi- 
 ciently appears^ by the king^s some- 
 times sending letters to request admis- 
 sion for certain persons,^ and founders 
 and benefactors reserving a right of 
 having a Monk or Nun of their own 
 appointment.^ Instances are upon 
 record of poverty and insufficiency, 
 upon examination, being respectively 
 causes of rejection, and of a preference 
 given to noble or at least legitimate 
 birth being complained oL^ John, 
 21st Abbot of St. Alban^s, made a 
 statute, that the number of Monks in 
 that Ai)bey should never exceed 100, 
 unless any person was famous for rank 
 or science, or his admission requested 
 by a powerful man, whom it might be 
 dangerous to ofFend.f Richard the 
 First complained of the Monks and 
 Canons of his aera, that they associated 
 to themselves tanners and shoe-makers, 
 not one of whom ought, with propriety, 
 or his knowledge, to be made a Bishop 
 or Abbot ;S and this complaint, which 
 is re-echoed in the Plowman^s tale, 
 erroneously ascribed to Chaucer, re- 
 ceives further confirmation by an 
 injunction [from the Augustinian 
 Rule] , that " suche as enter power into 
 Religion [should not] looke with hye 
 contynaunce because they be associat 
 
 * Calvin, Instit. Theol. 451. 
 
 '' Ut bene pascantoranes cupiunt monachari, 
 Moab et Agarem, Gebal et Ammon. 
 All wish to be Monks for the sake of good 
 eating, &c. MS. Harl. 913, f. 55. 
 
 «= Monast. ii. 804. <> Id. i. 691. 
 
 * M. Par. 268, 995, 996, 1016, 1019. 
 
 * Id. (2d.) 1043. « Gervas, 1595. 
 
 with theym, unto whom they durste 
 not come, when they were abrode in 
 the worlde.^^ ^» Benedict allowed pre- 
 sents to be made at admission of 
 Monks, provided that the use of them 
 was reserved by the donors for their 
 lives.^ Simony, however, was common 
 under the name of the price of their 
 clothes, and customs of the house j^ and 
 lands were frequently given, as the 
 purchase of admission.^ Sometimes 
 only mere interest was used ; ^' Also 
 she had two doughters, whiche bothe 
 were made Nonnes at Catesby in North- 
 amptonshire, by the labor of theyr 
 broder Edmunde.^' ^ 
 
 The age of admission and profession 
 it is not very easy to decide. In some 
 Rules, the boys offered to Monasteries 
 were not to be younger than ten or 
 twelve years, because they did not 
 then require attention, and knew how 
 to avoid faults." Any Monk, say the 
 Clugniac Rules, can offer a boy, and 
 the Chamberlain then took him to the 
 Vestiary, and clothed him in the 
 habit of a Novice, except that he did 
 not wear a stamin, but a linen shirt. 
 He was then offered in the same man- 
 ner as a boy presented by his parents ; and 
 he was professed at fifteen years of age. 
 The Monks of St. Augustine^s, Can- 
 terbury, obtained a bull, that boys 
 under fifteen years of age should not 
 be received in the house, because seve^ 
 ral Abbots, through fear or interest, 
 had admitted children to the habit who 
 had scarcely left the breast.^ In the 
 Anglo-Saxon period four infants, not 
 seven years old, were educated under 
 
 »> MS. Bodl. 3010. » Reg. C. 59. 
 
 ^ Cone. Oxon. a" 1222. Can. 39. Dev. Vie 
 Mon. ii. 497, 501, 4. 
 
 • Monast. i. 39, 42. 
 
 «» Gold. Leg. cexvii. 
 
 » Du Cange, v. Nuiriti Oblati. 
 
 « Chronol. August. Cant. & W. The. C. 12, 
 sect. 13. 
 
176 
 
 NOVICES. 
 
 the Rule of Religion.^ Hugh the 
 Lincolne Saint, ^«^whan he was ten 
 yere, was put into a Monastery for to 
 lerne the rules of discypline^ and there 
 was made and professyd a Chanon 
 reguler ; wherein he lyvid so devoutly 
 that when he was xv yere olde he was 
 deputet for to be a Priour of a certayn 
 celle/' ^ One William Pigun, a Monk 
 of St. Alban's, applied to his Abbot for 
 the admission of a nephew; but the 
 Abbot decHned it "because he was 
 under age, and therefore unfit;" but 
 he was nevertheless received at Peter- 
 borough.c The Canons ordered no one 
 to be professed a Monk till eighteen 
 years old, without a necessity, as a 
 deficiency of Monks for divine service, 
 or utility, as powerful connections, 
 skill in art or science, or temporal wis- 
 dom. This statute. Canonists said, 
 was special in islands, on account of the 
 superior severity of the climate and 
 religion, but they confessed that they 
 did not find it observed even there.^ 
 Alexander III. forbad any profession 
 of virginity till the age of fourteen 
 years ; the council of Trent till sixteen ; 
 more ancient councils till twenty-five ; 
 Gregory the First not before sixty; 
 Bellarmin till the age of puberty, 
 fourteen in males, and twelve in 
 females. e There was a statute made, 
 that boys under twelve years of age, 
 should not be received by the Mendi- 
 cants into their Orders ; which was 
 opposed by William Folville, a Fran- 
 ciscan of Lincoln.^ The renewal of 
 the Gregorian statutes ordered no No- 
 vice to be professed till he had attained 
 his fifteenth year, and the Convent of 
 St. Alban^s returned '^observed^'^ to 
 this as well as other points of the 
 Benedictine Rule on this head, except 
 that they were admitted to profession 
 before the termination & of the year of 
 probation.^ A General Chapter^ of 
 
 * Hist. Rames. C. Ixvii. They did not become 
 Monks. 
 
 ^ Gold. Leg. f. ccxviii. b. *= M. Par. 1048. 
 '1 Lyndw. 202. Fuller's Ch. Hist. 297. 
 
 * Le Voeu de Jacob, iv. 29. 
 
 ' Fabric. Biblioth. M. ^vi, iii. 432. 
 
 « Deer. Lanfr. C. 18. ^ M. Par. 1098, 1040. 
 
 ' North, a"^ 1225. sect. De Proprietate. 
 
 the thirteenth century enacted, that 
 unless from commendable utility. 
 Monks should not be received under 
 twenty years of age. The general sta- 
 tutes of the Franciscans, in the recep- 
 tion of Novices, prescribe, that, "they 
 shall be legitimately born, and sixteen 
 years old at least; '^'^ and Henry's visi- 
 tors order, "that no man be sufFeryd 
 to professe, or to were the habit of reli- 
 gion in this house, or he be xxiiii years 
 of age ; and that they entice or allure 
 no man with skeusacions and blan- 
 diments to take the religion uppon 
 him.'^l The lawful age of profession 
 in Nuns was after they had passed 
 their twelfth year; and they were, ipso 
 Jaclo, to be judged professed, after they 
 had passed more than a year in the 
 society, though they were to be con- 
 secrated by the Bishop, at the proper 
 season, when twenty-five years old, 
 and not before."^ However, Alan, 
 Canon of Beneventum, was nearly five 
 years a Novice of Canterbury.'^ M. 
 Paris mentions a person who had lived 
 three years a Novitiate. ^ And among 
 the Clugniacs many were never pro- 
 fessed, and others forty years before 
 that took place, owing to their being 
 obliged to go beyond sea, for such 
 purpose.? 
 
 Novices were of various sorts, as 
 Clerks, Laymen, and those already 
 Monks, of which there were three 
 kinds. 1. Those from other Monas- 
 teries. 2. Thos^.from their own cells. 
 3. Those fronoi 'a Monastery of their 
 own Order.q f. 
 
 Certain forms of the habit worn 
 were alone sufficient, among other spi- 
 der's webs equally frivolous, to consti- 
 tute, without profession, an obligation 
 to remain in the Order)'^ 
 
 It appears, that wonj^n were much 
 
 ^ De novitiorum receptione, setatem attingens 
 xvi annorum ad minus, legitime natus. MS. Bodl. 
 1882, p. 44. 
 
 1 MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 24. a. See Stowe, 
 a" 1535. 
 
 «« Lynd. 202. 
 
 " Gervas, 1456. ° P. 1031. 
 
 P Reyner, Append. 148, 9. 
 
 *i Du Cange, v. NovUii. 
 
 ' Lyndw. 202, 203. 
 
NOVICES. 
 
 177 
 
 more ready to take tlie vows tlian men, 
 es2)ecially when in trouble ; that a per- 
 son under tlie age of puberty could not 
 take them without the consent of the 
 father; nor a woman after cohabitation 
 without that of the husband; nor a 
 Bishop^ but by papal permission;^ that 
 old persons were advised not to do it, 
 lest after tonsure they should wish to 
 withdraw ;i» and that many were deter- 
 redj by dread of having the lives of the 
 Saints, and divine service, to get by 
 heart, in consequence of which suita- 
 ble dispensations were granted.^ As 
 to making Nuns by force, Peter of 
 Blois loudly declaims against it.<l The 
 nobility so crowded Nunneries, that 
 Papal prohibitions were often obtained.^ 
 By the Norman Institutes,^ persons 
 coming to conversion^ were received 
 where other guests were, and the arri- 
 val announced to the Abbot, who, or a 
 deputed person, spoke on the subject 
 with the applicant. Then, after the 
 opinion of the Chapter was taken, if 
 the Abbot decided upon his admission, 
 the Hosteler introduced him into the 
 Chapter, where he lay prostrate ; upon 
 this, some questions were put to him, and 
 the severities of the Order announced.^ 
 If after this he persisted, the Pre- 
 
 » Lyndw. 203, 4. 
 
 ^ Cunique senex fueris non debesclaustrasubire, 
 ne post tonsuram fortasse velis resilire. MS. Bodl. 
 2159, f. 207. 
 
 •^ Nonnulli etiarn viri hilares religionem nostram 
 ingredi aflfectantes cum historiarum raultitudinem 
 solicite considerant, timore percussi e proposito 
 recedunt ; prsedictasque historias una cum reliquo 
 totius anni servicio [cum] omnes inter nos religio- 
 nem ingredientes more antiquitus observato, plene 
 corde tenus reddere teneantur : salva dispensatione 
 cum viris multum habilibus, seu in scolis statum 
 habentibus, in toto vel in parte, prout abbas indica- 
 verit facienda : considerantes etiam noctium brevi- 
 tatem tempore sestatis, volumus, et ordinaraus, &c. 
 [to dispense with them at given times.] MS. 
 Cott. Claud. E. IV. f. 242, a. (Const. Tho. Abb. 
 S. Alb. a. 1351.) 
 
 *• Adelicia neptis vestra quod earn in monasterium 
 detrudere et claustrali vultis invitam et renitentem 
 custodise mancipare, &c. MS. King's Library 8. 
 F. xvii. sect. Quod non est mulier monachanda 
 invita. 
 
 e Parkin's Norwich, 298. 
 
 ^ Deer. Lanfr. C. 18. De Novitiissuseipiendis. 
 
 ^ Those who entered adults. See Du Cange, v. 
 Nutriti. 
 
 ^ A person newly coming to conversion has 
 
 sident of the Chapter proclaimed his 
 admission, and the Novice kissing his 
 feet, retired to the Church, and sat 
 down before one of the Altars out of 
 the Choir till the Chapter was finished. 
 Then followed the benediction of the 
 tonsure, shaving of his head, and 
 robing him in the Monastic habit, all 
 which was accompanied with suitable 
 religious offices. Thus prepared, he 
 was led into the Convent ; and went 
 last of the Clerks, it a Clerk ; of the 
 Laymen, if a Secular ; and took rank 
 in the Processions, Chapter, and Re- 
 fectory, according to the time of his 
 conversion. He slept in the chamber 
 of the Novices, or, wdiere there was no 
 such appointment, in the Dormitory ; 
 he did not read in the Convent ; never 
 sung alone ; did not offer at Mass ; did 
 not take the peace; sat apart in the 
 Cloister with his master in the place 
 appointed for the Novices ; and no one 
 spoke to_, or made. a sign to him, with- 
 out leave of the Master; but when any 
 one of the Monks conversing in the 
 Cloister wished to reprove or advise 
 him, he could, by leave of the Master, 
 do so. When he was accused of a 
 fault, he immediately rose and solicit- 
 ed pardon, like the Monks in Chapter, 
 nor sat till his Master ordered him to 
 do so. For greater faults, he was 
 either chidden or beaten in the Chap- 
 ter or Chamber of the Novices. He 
 went out daily from the Chapter, and 
 remained in the interim in the Church, 
 except he staid for punishment. He 
 made frequent confessions of the faults 
 he committed, both before and after 
 he took the habit, to the Abbot, Prior, 
 or person deputed by them. After 
 certain days the Master advised him to 
 procure the Prior and some Seniors to 
 intercede with the Abbot for his bene- 
 
 not an easy admission, but is mocked (deluditur), 
 and proved in various ways according to that text 
 of the Apostle, '' Try the spirits, whether they be 
 of God." It then mentions a parent, who was 
 ordered to throw his son into a river, in order to try 
 his obedience, who was however restrained by the 
 Monks. After this he was treated as above. (Of 
 the Cistertians.) Monast. Thuringianum, p. 890. 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 NOVICES, 
 
 diction and profession. Upon a fixed 
 day, after the reading of the Rule was 
 finished in the Chapter, he prostrated 
 himself at the Abbofs feet, and made 
 his petition; he was then ordered to 
 rise, and the severities of the Order 
 were announced to him; upon his 
 answer, that he would patiently endure 
 them, the Abbot consulted the Monks 
 upon his request, and if they consented, 
 he went to the Abbot or presiding offi- 
 cer's feet, then returned to his place, 
 and bowing, thanked the Monks for 
 their intercession. Afterwards, upon 
 the Abbotts order, he retired with his 
 master ; and, if he could write, wrote 
 out the schedule of profession; or, if 
 he could not write, another, provided 
 by the Chantor, did it for him ; and he 
 only made a cross. Then, till the time 
 of benediction, he took off his hood 
 from his gown, and remained out of 
 the Choir; which time, whether before 
 the beginning of Mass, if the Abbot 
 did not celebrate, or after the Gospel, 
 if he did or not, was in the option of 
 the Abbot ; though it was his duty to 
 celebrate that office if convenient. 
 The Gospel then being read, he enter- 
 ed the Choir, his master preceding 
 him, and prostrated himself at the step 
 of the Altar, while a psalm was sung, 
 upon the conclusion of which he rose 
 and read his profession (or his master 
 instead, if he could not read), and then 
 laid it upon the Altar. After this 
 he knelt before the Altar, and request- 
 ed pardon; then going to his former 
 place, he said three times, kneeling, 
 ^^ Receive me, O Lord!" which was 
 each time re-echoed by the Convent. 
 At the Doxology he turned round and 
 prostrated himself Then followed a 
 religious service ; after which the 
 Novice arose, and the Abbot sprinkled 
 him and his hood with holy water. He 
 then took off his gown, as he knelt 
 before him, saying, "7%e Lord take 
 away from you the old man with his 
 deeds f and, putting on the hood, bade 
 him be clothed with the new man ; to 
 all which the Convent returned. Amen, 
 Then, after a prayer, while the Novice 
 kneeled; the Abbot kissed him, and put 
 
 the hood on his head;^ then he was 
 led through the Choir for all the Monks 
 to kiss him, and was placed last. For 
 three days he took the Sacrament, and 
 on the third the hood was taken from 
 his head.'' Before that time he pre- 
 served a constant silence; left the 
 Chapter after the sentence of the Rule 
 was read, went in no procession, and 
 slept in his hood. In the first Chap- 
 ter, in which he was allowed to speak,^ 
 his master solicited licence for him to 
 read and sing in the Convent like the 
 others; to which assent was given, and 
 he could then perform all services 
 except Mass, which he could not cele- 
 brate till a year after, unless by especial 
 commission. 
 
 When a boy was offered, after his 
 hair was cut round,^ he was presented, 
 carrying the Host and Chalice, by his 
 parents to the Priest celebrating at the 
 Mass. The parents then wrapped his 
 hands in the pall of the Altar, and read 
 a written promise, that they would use, 
 directly or indirectly, no inducement 
 for him to leave the Order, or knowingly 
 give him any thing ; which promise 
 they laid uj^on the Altar. The Abbot 
 
 ^ Novices did not anciently wear hoods at St. 
 Alban's. M. Paris, 1045. 
 
 ^ In the Capitula of Theodore (Abp. Cant.) it 
 is ordered, that the Abbot in the profession of a 
 Monk should say Mass and three prayers over his 
 head for seven days, cover his head with a hood, 
 and on the seventh take the veil from the head, as 
 the Priest did from that of infants in Baptism, the 
 susception of Monachism being considered by the 
 fathers as a second baptism. Du Cange, v. Velum. 
 
 <= Novices were to leave the Chapter immediately 
 after the portion of the Rule appointed for the day 
 was read (though some Abbots allowed them to 
 stay), lest, taking disgust at the disciplines, they 
 should decline profession, and expose the secrets 
 of the house. Reyn. App. 196. However, on 
 the third day after profession, they took their first 
 seat, and then swore, [at S. Aug. Cant.] to the 
 utmost of their power, not to sufifer the house to 
 be bound for other's debts, or reveal its secrets. 
 X Script. 2062. The Friers never allowed them to 
 attend the Chapter at all. Speght's Chaucer, 617. 
 
 ^ Cutting off the hair in the Monks was a sym- 
 bol of servitude to God, slaves being shorn. When 
 Monks were shorn, the first locks were cut off by 
 the King, or great men. To offer a lock of hair to 
 a Monastery was to become partaker of its prayers, 
 &c. In 697, an offerer pulled off his shoes, went 
 to the Altar, and offered a lock of hair. (Du 
 Cange, V. Capilli.) The beard was also consecrated 
 to God, when they became Monks. (Id. v. Bariam 
 radere.) 
 
NOVICES- 
 
 179 
 
 then consecrated his hood, and, after 
 divesting him of his Secular habit, 
 put it on with a preceding prayer. He 
 was then taken out to be shaved and 
 robed, according to the Order. Later 
 ceras used this supphcation, "Attend, 
 O Lord, to our prayers, and deign to 
 bless this thy servant, upon whom, in 
 thy holy name, we place the habit of 
 religion, that, by thy assistance, he may 
 continue devout in the Church, and 
 deserve to inherit eternal life.^^* These 
 Norman institutes formed the basis of 
 all subsequent English Monachism, 
 and, like a great Roman road, are to be 
 conspicuously traced in the later forms 
 of profession. ^At Abingdon, when 
 the Abbot said, " We speak of the 
 Order," the candidates for profession 
 rose, and went to the reading-desk, and 
 solicited pardon. The Abbot then 
 asked them, what they said ? to which 
 they replied, " We ask permission of 
 the Virgin Mary, and our master, St. 
 Benedict, that you would grant us 
 leave to be professed.^^ Then the 
 Abbot spoke what was usual on such 
 occasions ; after which, they advanced 
 and said, "By the Grace of God, and 
 the blessing of you and the Convent, 
 we will behave well." This was fol- 
 lowed by prayers, and kissing the hands 
 and feet of the Abbot; after which they 
 went to the place where they had sat 
 in the beginning of the Chapter, made 
 their incHnation, and went in the usual 
 
 * Ad pueros sacro hahitu induendum. Adesto, 
 Domine, supplicationibus nostris, et hunc famulum 
 tuum benedicere dignare, cui in hoc sancto nomine 
 habitum sacrae religionis imponimus, ut te largi- 
 ente et devotus in ecclesi^ persistere, et vitam per- 
 cipere mereatur seteraam. MS. Cott. Tiber. B. 
 VIII. f. 115, b. 
 
 ^ Cum dixit abbas, " Loquimur de ordine 
 nostro," tunc surgant qui petunt professionem, et 
 eant ad analogium ; sibi capiant veniam : tunc dicet 
 abbas, Quiddicitis? tunc dicet prior eorum,petimus 
 veniam de Sanctse Marise et nostri magistri Sancti 
 Benedicti, &c. ut vos concedatis nobis benedictio- 
 nem monachatus. Tunc dicet abbas quse dicenda 
 sunt : postquam perrexerint dicent ipsi qui petunt 
 professionem, per graciam Dei et vestram benedic- 
 tionem etconventus faciemus bene. Tuncdicetabbas 
 (prayers to which the Convent answered Jmen) : 
 tunc osculentur pedes et manus abbatis ; tunc ibunt 
 ad locum quo prius sedebant in principio capituli, 
 et faciant ibi ante et retro et exeant more solito et 
 eant ad ecclesiam. MS. Cott. Claud. C. ix. f. 184. 
 
 manner to the Church. The ritual 
 from this period thus takes up the 
 ceremony. The Convert was led into 
 the Church, and the psalm Miserere 
 was sung ; after which followed appro- 
 priate prayers, then such as were suited 
 to the consecration of the habit ; and 
 to putting off the secular, and assuming 
 the monastic one. This was succeed- 
 ed by a particular prayer, and the kiss 
 of peace being given by all, the Novice 
 remained silent in Albs till the third 
 days 
 
 At Ensham,^ when the Candidates 
 
 "= Permaneat cum suramo silentio in albis, usque 
 in tertium diem. MS. Cott. Tiber B. vin. f. 114, 
 b. Athon says, where the habits of the Novitiates 
 and Professed are not different, the habit ought to 
 be blessed at the time of profession. P. 143. 
 
 •^ MS. Bodl. Barlow, 7, fol. 61. Deprofesgione 
 Novitiorum. Quando novitii facere debent profes- 
 sionem, inter Evangelium vel ante pro tempore 
 ducantur ad altare S. Petri in vestiario, ubideponant 
 cucullas suas, indutique tunicis et froccis, habentes 
 cucuUas suas super sinistra brachia, ducantur post 
 Evangelium ante majus altare, singuli novitii singulis 
 monachis, ita quod primus a priore. Dicemus in 
 eundo psm. Miserere. Quo finito stantes coram 
 abbate, legant singuli singillatim voce mediocri 
 professionem suam manibus propriis scriptam hoc 
 modo [several of these have been printed.] Hac 
 lecta tradat quilibet professionis libellum in manura 
 abbatis, et abbas ponat super altare. Quibus factis 
 dicant omnes simul flexis genibus alta voce hunc 
 versum, Suscipe me secundum eloquium tuum, et 
 vivam ; et non confundas me ah expectatione mea ; 
 hie versus u conventu repetatur, et ita usque tertio 
 ab eis dicatur, et a conventu repetatur, et ultimo 
 (sic) cum Gloria prosternant se novicii super gradum 
 medium in modum satisfactionis, et sequatur (a 
 religious service). Interim novicii jaceant incurt^ 
 venia ; hie surgant novicii, et ponant cucullas suas 
 ad pedes abbatis. Abbas vero benedicat eos hoc 
 raodo (pr.) Hie aspergat cucullas aquA benedicta, 
 er tunc exuat primum novicium frocco, et dicat 
 exuendo, ^^ Exuat te d'mnus veterem hominem cum 
 actibus suis.^' Et omnes respondeant, .4men. Et 
 cooperiat abbas capud novicii cum capucio, usque 
 ad medietatem faciei, et ita faciat de singulis. Et 
 tunc iterum prosternant se novicii super gradus in 
 satisfactione ; et dicat abbas cum astantibus psal- 
 mum, &c. Hie surgant novicii, et det eis abbas 
 osculum pacis ; et sic semper velato capite ducantur 
 in Chorum 'singuli i\ singulis monachis osculum 
 pacis recipientes. Quibus peractis sedeant ultimi 
 in choro cum psalteriis suis, dum missa celebratur, 
 et cum ventum fuerit ad Agnus Dei procedant, et 
 recipiant osculum ab abbate, et postea communicent, 
 et redeant ad stalla sua et psalteria. Et notandum 
 quod licet ultimi sunt in choro, tum quicunque 
 procedere debent cum conventu alii eos precedant ; 
 et sciendum quod quandocunque fit processio ab 
 eccl'i^ in dormitorium, eant cum conventu ; quando 
 vero in claustrum, remaneant in eccl'iA. Capitulum 
 non intrent ; ante terciam oracionem eant in dormi- 
 torium et ad lavatorium ; et faciant trinam oracionem 
 
 n2 
 
180 
 
 NOVICES. 
 
 for profession tverc to make it, during 
 the Gospel^ or before^ they were led to 
 the Altar of St. Peter in the Vestiary, 
 where they put aside their hoods, and, 
 in their tunics and frocks, with their 
 hoods on their left arms, were brought 
 after the Gospel before the great Altar, 
 every Novice being led by a Monk, 
 the first by the senior Prior. In going, 
 the psalm Miserere was sung; after 
 which, standing before the Abbot, 
 every Novice, singly, in a low voice, 
 read his profession written with his 
 own hand, and then dehvered it to the 
 Al)l)ot, who placed it upon the altar. 
 After this, all together kneeling said, 
 in a loud voice, the precatory petition 
 for reception, which was repeated three 
 times both by them and the Convent 
 in answer ; after which, at the Doxolo- 
 gy, they prostrated themselves upon 
 the middle step of the altar, while a 
 religious service was performed. Then 
 they arose and put their hoods at the 
 Abbot's feet, who consecrated them, 
 sprinkled them with holy water, and 
 stripped the first Novice of his frock, 
 with the preceding form, to which the 
 Convent replied Amen. The Abbot 
 then covered the head of the Novice 
 with his hood, as low as half of his 
 face, and did the same with the rest. 
 The Novices then again prostrated 
 themselves, and the Abbot and stand- 
 ers-by sung a psalm. Here they arose, 
 the Abbot gave them the kiss of peace, 
 and to receive this from the other 
 Monks they were led round the Choir 
 with their heads covered. After these 
 ceremonies, they sat last in the Choir, 
 with their psalters, while the Mass was 
 
 semper velato capite ; et nichil ad diurnas horas alta 
 voce apponant, sed dimisse (sic) omnia dicant cum 
 conventu. Noctibus vero induti cucullis jaceant 
 ante matutinas in dormitorio ; post matutinas vero 
 post processionem in dormitorium ducantur in 
 ecclesiam, et residuum noctis in meditatione sc'a 
 et psalmis, &c. peragant ; et ita fiat per duos dies 
 et duas noctes. Tertia vero die veniant admissam 
 abbatis, sive abbas celebret, sive eo impotente cele- 
 l)rare alius missam celebraverit ; et cum ventum 
 fuerit ad Agntts Dei suscipiant osculum pacis ab 
 abb'e, et communicant ; et cum communicant abbas 
 discooperiat capita eorum : et post missam faciat 
 abbas eis sermonem, exponens eis quod talis debet 
 esse prima mouachi, qualem jam inceperunt, et 
 postea ducantur in conventum. 
 
 celebrated, and at the Agnus Dei pro- 
 ceeded to receive the kiss from the 
 Abbot, and afterwards communicated, 
 and returned to their stalls and psalters. 
 Although last in the Choir, those who 
 were to go out with the Convent went 
 before others ; and when there was a 
 procession from the Church to the 
 Dormitory, they went with the Con- 
 vent ; when to the Cloister, they staid 
 in the Church. They did not enter 
 the Chapter ; they went to the Dormi- 
 tory and Lavatory before the triple 
 prayer, which they said with their hoods 
 on, and sung nothing at the daily hours 
 with the Convent with a loud voice, 
 but joined the Convent at all services 
 in a lowly form. At nights, before 
 Mattins, they slept in the Dormitory 
 with their hoods on. After Mattins, 
 when the procession to the Dormitory 
 was finished, they passed the rest of 
 the night in the Church, in meditation 
 and psalmody ; and this was done for 
 two days and nights. On the third 
 day they came to the Abbot, or who- 
 ever celebrated the Mass, and at the 
 Agnus Dei received the kiss of peace 
 from him, and communicated; upon 
 which the Abbot uncovered their heads; 
 and, after the Mass, he made a sermon 
 to them, explaining, that such as they 
 had begun, so they ought to conti- 
 nue ; after which, they joined the 
 Convent.^ The professions of the 
 Monks were entered in a book called 
 Pactum.^ 
 
 Their previous duties as Novices 
 still however remain to be shown. 
 
 * It seems that there was a liberty in some places 
 of sending to what bishop they pleased to make 
 professions and confer orders upon their monks, 
 and that they sometimes selected in this respect 
 with a view to prevent exaction. Hist. Eliens. 
 L. 2. C. 9. However, the usual Rule was for 
 them to be ordained by the bishop of the diocese ; 
 for this is a common item in bulls of exemption. 
 Monast. i. 54, &c. Notwithstanding which, ordi- 
 nation by any bishop was a proof of exemption. 
 M. Paris, 1020". It seems, upon being promoted 
 to priesthood, great feasts were given with a large 
 assembly of Seculars. Monast. ii. 718. After 
 profession, they were named from the places they 
 came from ; but it is strange that they should be so 
 absurd as to name a Monk Henricus de Urinaria. 
 Smith's Catalogue of the Cottoji MSS. p. 201, 
 under Tiber. A. viii. 
 
 '' Du Cange, in voce. 
 
NOVICES. 
 
 181 
 
 Among the Gilbertines they were not 
 set down in the tal)le to any Church 
 duty, or were readers or attendants at 
 dinner, as among the Benedictines 
 (where I suspect the custom crept in 
 latterly. M. Paris, 1045.) though they 
 rose for this purpose when necessary. 
 They performed only certain parts in 
 divine service, nor celebrated Mass, 
 though Priests. They read only occa- 
 sionally at Collation and Chapter ; nor 
 went to work constantly till they had 
 learned the whole service. They com- 
 municated (having previously confessed 
 to the master) eight timesper ann. He 
 was punishable in Chapter for their 
 misbehaviour.^ The Prior was to 
 awake the Monks at such an hour, say 
 Lanfranc's decretals, that the boys, 
 after the usual prayers, might read in 
 the Cloister ; who, when they began 
 to read loudly, were to sit so far apart, 
 as not to touch one another either with 
 their hands or clothes. No sign, speech, 
 or locomotion, was to be made without 
 the knowledge or leave of the master ; 
 and one of these, wherever they went, 
 was to be between two boys. They 
 bowed to the Monks in passing, which 
 was returned by those who were sitting. 
 One lantern was to be enough for two 
 Novices ; if there were three, a third 
 carried another; and so in proportion. 
 They neither gave nor took any thing 
 without leave, and in fit places, except 
 from the Chantor, with regard to the 
 books they read or sung in, or when 
 serving at an Altar. They were beaten 
 in their Chapter ; and in confession, 
 while one was with the Confessor, an- 
 other sat on a stool, their master being 
 just by. If they w^ere tardy in entering 
 the Refectory or Choir, they went to 
 their usual places, made their bow, and 
 their master took the place of those who 
 were late. Abstinence of meat or drink 
 could not be enjoined on the Novice 
 that attended tlie Abbot, without his 
 order ; in which last case he was either 
 indulged, or, in the interim, removed 
 from his office. When the Abbot 
 was present in the Choir, no one beat 
 
 • Monast. ii. 718, 
 
 or stripped them without his leave ; 
 but, in his aljsence, the Chantor might 
 correct them in matters relating to his 
 office, and the Prior where they be- 
 haved with levity. No one but these 
 could make a sign to or smile upon 
 them ; or enter their school, or talk 
 to them, without licence. At mid- 
 day they only rested in their beds 
 covered; and at night, till they were 
 covered, the masters attended with a 
 lantern. 
 
 The boys had breakfast in the morn- 
 ing, and ate meat till fourteen years old. 
 The Rule was explained to them every 
 day, and they sung in the Choir, im- 
 moveably, with their faces inclined to 
 the ground. b 
 
 Young men brought up in the house, 
 or just come from the world, were 
 treated in many things in a similar 
 manner ; sitting apart; never going any 
 where without a keeper ; carrying lan- 
 terns two and two, and making their 
 confessions only to the Abbot, Prior, 
 or deputed person ; not reading at 
 midday in their beds; not writing; 
 not doing any work ; only sleeping 
 covered, the beds being either before 
 or between those of the masters; if they 
 wanted to rise, they awoke their mas- 
 ters ; and, a lantern being lighted, they 
 accompanied them for the purpose 
 needed. In their own place, no one 
 sat near, spoke, or made a sign to them 
 without leave; and then the master 
 sat between ; nor could they talk toge- 
 ther, unless the masters were between 
 or before them. When they went to 
 sleep, the masters stood before them 
 till they were laid down. In the 
 Church, Fratry, and Chapter, they 
 mixed with the Seniors, without obser- 
 ving rank, if necessary. If they read 
 at the table, or served in the kitchen, 
 they went with the Monks, when they 
 rose from table, to the Church, and, 
 after saying a prayer, returned with 
 their keepers to the Refectory ; two 
 together, or more, if possible, remaining 
 of the Convent. In case, however, of 
 a paucity of Seniors, and a great number 
 
 Du Cange, v, Comestio, InfanUs, 
 
182 
 
 NOVICES. 
 
 of Juniors, sufficient guardians were 
 deputed ; and^ if the custom of some 
 houses was more agreeable, they sat 
 apart in the Cloister in separate places ; 
 every one carried a lantern ; and 
 their guardians never left them, unless 
 under the care of another in whom they 
 could confide. 
 
 Among the Friars, ^^ during silence 
 they were to beware making a noise at 
 others ; whenever reproved by the 
 Superior, to ask pardon ; to contend 
 with nobody, but in all things obey 
 their master; in processions to wait 
 for their comrade, and not talk at impro- 
 per places and seasons. When any 
 garment was given them, to bow hum- 
 bly, and say lowly [thanks] ; if they 
 saw any thing done licentiously, to 
 conceive the bad good, or suspect it 
 done with a good intention, when there 
 was no accusation in the Chapter, or 
 reproof elsewhere.^' ^ They were not 
 to have an office till they knew by heart 
 what they had to learn ; nor till then 
 be dismissed from custody, or pro- 
 moted to Priesthood ; nor were they 
 to sleep or dine out before they had 
 been laudably conversant in the Clois- 
 ter, nor to have a chest, or key, or 
 out-door office, or be sent out of the 
 house till they had been two years 
 well behaved ; except in cases of ur- 
 gency or utility, or except they were 
 old men.^ They had recreations of 
 play, it seems, in the morning,^ and 
 
 * Ut aliis rugitum non faciant, ubicumque repre- 
 hensi fuerint a prselato veniam petant. Ut cum 
 nemine contendere prsesumant, sed in omnibus 
 magistro suo obediant ; ubique ad processionem 
 socium sibi collateralem attendant, et non loquantur 
 locis et temporibus interdictis. Quum quodpiam 
 vestimentidabitur,profundeinclinantes .... demis- 
 sius dicant &c. Si quae ab aliquo fieri viderint 
 licenter, videantur mala, bona suspicentur vel bonS, 
 intentione facta ; quum nemo in capitulo vel ubi- 
 cumque reprehensus fuerit, sic faciendum. MS. 
 Cott. Nero, A. xii. f. 170, b. 
 
 *» M. Par. 1095. Cap. Gen. Norths 1444. C. 10. 
 
 « Nee etiam ludendi causa matutinali tempore, 
 cum aliis egrediendi, &c. MS. Cott. Cleop. B. ii. 
 p. 229, sect. Pro Noviciis, &c. " Sometimes in 
 the week, at suitable hours, by leave of their mas- 
 ters, they were used to alleviate the severities of the 
 Rule by puerile discourse and conversation (locfl- 
 tione, orig. it should be, I think, locMtione) out of 
 the Cloister. On a certain day, therefore, as usual, 
 going out to play with an attendant, they ran to the 
 
 perhaps in the afternoon ; for, says an 
 old poet. 
 
 The zung Monkes each daie, 
 Aftur met goth to plai.** 
 
 Such discipline was observed in 
 some Monasteries, that, in a proces- 
 sion of the Infants, apples were order- 
 ed to be thrown upon the Church pave- 
 ments to allure the boys, but no one, 
 even of the smallest, appeared to attend 
 to it.e 
 
 According to the scriptural declara- 
 tion, '^ He that hath said to his father 
 and mother, I knowe yee not, and to 
 his bretherne I knowe ye not, and hath 
 not knowne his owne children, they 
 have kept thy worde;"^ they were to 
 forget filial affections, "and this not of 
 any stifnes or hardnes of harte, for if 
 a meere stranger unto them be in 
 miserie, they mourne as easily for him 
 as for another, but the sworde is yt 
 that we spake of, that is in their harte, 
 and hathe cut them awaye from their 
 wonted aquayntance and affinitie, not 
 for that they have to love hem still, that 
 love also their very enimyes, but be- 
 cause they have cast awaie all carnall 
 love which groweth often to meere do- 
 tage, and have converted the same 
 wholly to spirituall charitie.'^s Both 
 duty and affection still however sub- 
 sisted.h 
 
 To be reduced to the state of a No- 
 vice was a punishment.! 
 
 This article would be unsatisfactory 
 were there not added some cursory 
 Observations upon the Education of 
 Monks and Nuns, in a brief view ; for 
 more would require a volume. 
 
 Learning the Service and the Rule, 
 was the chief part of the Education of 
 
 ropes and broke the bell.** Hist. Rames. Cap. 
 Ixvii. See sect. Common House. 
 
 ^ MS. Harl. 913, f. 4. It is possible that this 
 may allude to the conversations allowed after 
 Nones ; but it is equally possible that the season of 
 relaxation for Monks was that also of Novitiates. 
 
 «= Du Cange, v. In/antes. f Deut, 33. 
 
 e MS. Harl. 1805, f. 57, b. (Tract of Novices.) 
 
 ^ Eadmer. Histor. Novor. p. 8, records an 
 instance of a pension paid by a Monk to his 
 mother, from money given by Lanfranc. See too 
 §§ Guesthall, and Almonry, 
 
 » Du Cange, v. Novitiu 
 
NOVICES. 
 
 183 
 
 a Nun, as well as of a Monk.^ Psal- 
 mody was so urged, that the Novice, 
 when studying in the Cloister, was to 
 make himself perfect in his Psalter, 
 so as to say it by heart to a word.^ 
 Bede remarks, that those who knew 
 only their native language, were to be 
 carefully taught to sing; for many 
 became Monks late in life, and were 
 called Conversiy as those who had been 
 brought up in the house, and knew 
 Latin, were distinguished by the term 
 NutritL^ After acquisition of the 
 Psalter by heart, Latin (common be- 
 cause the language of the Septuagint) 
 was taught by the usual methods of par- 
 sing and the parts of speech. ^^ Though 
 Langland says, that the Latin Grammar 
 used was a Donat,^ so called from Do- 
 natus, a Grammarian of the 4th century, 
 whose works, together with those of 
 Priscian, were used by ^Elfric ; yet, in 
 fact, there were only three Grammars 
 in use from the 6th to the 16th century. 
 These were, Priscian^s, and Ville Dieu's 
 Doctrinale Puerorum in verse, which 
 appeared in the 13th century, and was 
 superseded by Despautiere's in the 
 sixteenth.^ The Dictionary was from the 
 11th century that of Papias, which was 
 enlarged by Ugution, and Hugh de Pisa f 
 and these works were, no doubt, the 
 bases of the Promptorium Parvulorum 
 of Richard Fraunceys, a preaching 
 Friar, the first printed English and 
 Latin Dictionary, which appeared in 
 1499.h The Cato, the Doctrinal, writ- 
 ten by Sauvage, and other books, were 
 works for construing, consisting of 
 sentences, moralities, maxims of con- 
 duct, and even precepts of behaviour ; 
 some were composed of lessons and 
 examples united, as the Chastisement 
 
 * Dugd. Monast. ii. 895. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Firmare Cantum. 
 ' Id. V. Idiota, Nutriti. 
 ^ Id. V. Partes edere. 
 
 * Of the Donat of Wynkyn de Worde, which was 
 very imperfect, see Dibdin's Ames, ii. 30(j, where 
 is given a curious wood-cut of a Master and 3 boys. 
 
 * Notices des MSS. v. 500—513. Mem. de 
 Petrarque, ii. 179. 
 
 K Ibid. Of those preceding, see Preface of Du 
 Cange, and others. 
 
 •» Dibdin's Ames, ii. 416. See other books of 
 the same kind noticed ib. pp. 155, 585. 
 
 of a Father ; but the morals were very 
 insipid.^ Virgil was used by the Roman 
 children, that so great a genius might 
 not lapse into obUvion.^ When the 
 French language was universally taught 
 from the Conquest to the 14th century, 
 and children after learning to speak 
 English were compelled to construe 
 their lessons into French, a Virgil in 
 that language was daily learned in 
 schools.l In Monasteries, numerous 
 quotations show, that it was familiar in 
 the original. Ovid, iEsop's Fables, 
 Boethius, and others, occur as favourite 
 authors ; but bibliographical discussion 
 is not within the plan or track of read- 
 ing of the author. Writing was taught 
 by copy-books, called Breviales Tahu- 
 /«;»« and Arithmetick, or rather the 
 Compotus, by counters, &c. of which 
 elsewhere.^ 
 
 The Education at Court was so bad, 
 that from thence came first the Anglo- 
 Saxon Eddel-knaven ; and from this 
 term, our Lazy ScoundreL^ It is not 
 singular then that Bishops should 
 undertake the tuition of youths, whom 
 they made Priests or Monks, or sent 
 when adults in arms to the king;P or 
 that it should be a privilege of founders 
 for Abbeys to educate their children.^ 
 They were first trained at home religi- 
 ously, by their mothers, and taught a 
 catechism.^ When sent to the Monas- 
 tery, about seven years old, or above, 
 they were successively instructed in the 
 Psalter by heart, the Septenary Arts, 
 Musick, French, Latin ; often Agricul- 
 ture, and the Mechanical Arts.^ Hunt- 
 ing, as a science and pastime auxiliary 
 to warlike habits and strength of con- 
 stitution, was understood by all Anglo- 
 Saxon boys,* and Monks and Clergy- 
 men of the whole middle age, Asceticks 
 excepted. 
 
 ^ Notices, v. 159. 
 
 '' Augustin. de Civit. Dei, p. 6. 
 
 ^ Biographia Britannica, iii. 351, 374. 
 
 ™ Du Cange. 
 
 " See Scriptorium and ExcJiequer. 
 
 ° Spelm. Archseologus, v. Adelscalc. 
 
 p XV Script. 62. i Smythe's Berkeley MS* 
 
 ' X Script. 1056, 2647. 
 
 » Script, p. Bed. 171, 509. X Script. 16, 77. 
 
 t XV Script. 256. Script, p. Bed. 13. 
 
184 
 
 NOVICES. 
 
 The Education of Monks, in the 
 early centuries, consisted of Psalmody, 
 Musick, Notation of it, Accounts, 
 Grammar, Writing, Turning, and Car- 
 pentry;*'^ but in truth;, every art known, 
 especially Embroidery, was practised 
 in Monasteries. Because idleness is 
 inimical to the soul, manual labour 
 was prescribed.^ Ednoth, Monk of 
 Ramsey, superintended building, and 
 worked at it.^ In Jewellery and Gold- 
 smith's work, instances of skill are 
 numerous, from Dunstan downwards. 
 Walter de Colchester, Sacrist of St. 
 Alban's, was an excellent Painter and 
 Sculptor.^ Thomas de Bamburgh, 
 Monk of Durham, was employed to 
 make two great warlike engines for the 
 defence of the town of Berwick f and 
 Sir John Paston requests Harcort, of 
 the Al:)bey, '' to send him a little clokke 
 which was sent him to be mended.^' ^ 
 An astronomical clock, made by Light- 
 foot, Monk of Glastonbury, about 
 the year 1325, is still preserved at 
 Wells. 
 
 The Monks too engaged in civil and 
 external avocations. Among the Clerks 
 of the household to Edw. III. was a 
 Monk of Bury ;& and they were often 
 Ambassadors.^ Henry VII. employ- 
 ed them as Spies.^ They travelled 
 from Monastery to Monastery, to teach 
 musick.k 
 
 The courtesies were duly regarded. 
 Every Novice was to be instructed how 
 to incline his head, not with an arched 
 back, as was common to some ungen- 
 teel persons, but in the Ante tind lietro 
 fashion,^ before explained. This ap- 
 plied to the Inclination a salutation 
 made only to the Abbot and Prior. ^^ 
 The Elders approved by the voice, the 
 Juniors by a bow of the head ; the 
 
 » Du Cange, v. Notes Musicce. 
 
 »» Theodulph. Aurelian. Epist. p. 263, 
 
 *: Hist. Rames, 1. 54. 
 
 d M. Paris, 1054. 
 
 e Liber Garderobse, 28 Ed. I. p. 73. 
 
 ' Paston Letters, ii. 30. 
 
 g Royal Houseliold, p. 10. 
 
 !» J. Rous, p. 73. M. Paris, 844. 
 
 ' Henry's History of England, xii. 469. 
 
 ^ See Master of the Novices. 
 
 * Du Cange, v, B(rvere>itia, « Id. 
 
 Abbot nodded in token of assent." 
 Peter of Clugny says, " whenever the 
 brethren meet, the Junior seeks bene- 
 diction from the Prior, by saying Bene- 
 clicite \m.e] if he should be out of the 
 regular places, and humbly inclines; 
 but he says nothing if he meets the 
 Prior in the regular offices.'^ They 
 used to say Benedicite, and others to 
 answer Dominus, in like sort, as the 
 Priest and his penitent were wont to 
 do at confession in the Church." The 
 reply of Dominus [sit vobiscum'] '^ the 
 Lord be with you,'^ was the usual 
 salutation of Priests.P This may ex- 
 plain a passage before left in doubt. 
 
 Punishments and Reivards. The 
 Ferule and Rod are Anglo-Saxon, ^i but 
 where the children were too young for 
 this, the soles of their feet were pared 
 with a knife.^' Common Schoolmas- 
 ters used to give their boys even fifty- 
 three stripes at a time, and carry peb- 
 bles in their pockets to pelt them 
 with.s Ingulphus however says, that 
 Abbot Turketul visited the school at 
 least once a day, and distributed rewards 
 of fruit and sweetmeats to deserving 
 boys. 
 
 Notwithstanding what has been said 
 of Arithmetick, it was often a late 
 study, commenced only at the Uni- 
 versity.t 
 
 Pious Students kissed the bible when- 
 ever they opened it for reading." 
 
 Education of Nuns, In the Rule of 
 Fontevraud, it is said, that Claustral 
 Nuns knew little more than to sing 
 Psalms, whence it is there ordered, that 
 no Nun of this kind, through inability, 
 should be made Abbess.^ If, ho\v- 
 ever, a girl was intended for a Nun, it 
 was a matter of course to instruct her 
 in letters ;y and Nuns not only wrote 
 upon parchment,^ but even works in 
 
 n Du Cange, v. Capitis inflexio. 
 
 » Holinshed, ii. p. 9. (new edit.) 
 
 p Du Cange, v. Officina — Pax. 
 
 1 Angl. Sacr. ii. 102, 103. 
 
 "• Vita Alcuini. Du Cange, v. Acra. 
 
 « Hawkins's Musick, ii. 125. 
 
 t X Script. 2433. "" Id. 2434. 
 
 " Du Cange, v. Claustrum. 
 
 Y M. Paris, p. 80. 
 
 « X Script. 378, Du Cange, v. Punctare, 
 
NOVICES. 
 
 185 
 
 Latin.^ Among the duties of Ancho- 
 resses and Nuns, is mentioned " vorst- 
 ing of her sautre [Psalter], redyng of 
 EngHsche, oder [or] of French, holi 
 meditaciuns,'^ ^ Henry says, that Nun- 
 nery Education consisted of writing, 
 drawing, confectionary, needle-work, 
 physick, and surgery. Sir H. Chauncy 
 says, that there was taught in them 
 working, singing by notes, dancing, and 
 playing upon instruments of musick.^ 
 Tumbling, playing, and dancing, all 
 occur in Nunneries, the two former by 
 professors itinerant.^ Aubrey, speaking 
 of the Nunnery of Kington St, Michael, 
 says, " Oq the East side of the House 
 is a ground facing the East, and the 
 delightful prospect on the South East, 
 called the Nymph Hay. Here Old 
 Jaques, who lived on the other side, 
 would say, he hath seen 40 or 50 nunnes 
 in a morning, spinning with their wheels 
 and bobbins/'e Fuller says. Nuns with 
 their needles wrote histories also ; that 
 of Christ his passion, for their Altar- 
 clothes, and other Scripture (and moe 
 legend) stories in hangings to adorn 
 their houses.^ One particular accusa- 
 tion against them was a miserly atten- 
 tion to housewifery.^ It was only 
 ascetical asperity to make the remark. 
 Joan Lady Berkeley, in the 13th cen- 
 tury, when she came to the farm-houses, 
 as oft as she did, to oversee, or take 
 account of her dairy affairs, oftentimes 
 spent in provision, at a meal there, the 
 value of Ad. and 4\d.\ and also a cheese 
 of 2lbs. w^eight was at each time spent 
 by her attendants.!^ The extraordinary 
 accomplishments of Juliana Barnes are 
 not singular. A young wife is described 
 by Boccaccio as beautiful in her person, 
 mistress of her needle, waiting at her 
 husband's table as well as any man- 
 servant, thoroughly discreet and w^ell 
 bred, skilled in horsemanship, and the 
 management of a hawk, and in ac- 
 
 ■ Du Cange, v. Non decern. 
 
 ^ MS. Cott. Nero, A. xiv. p. 10, a. 
 
 «^ Hertfordshire, p. 423. 
 
 •• Athon. p. 154, col. 2. note a. 
 
 « Britton's Beaut, of Wilts, iii. 154. 
 
 ' Church Hist. B. vi. p. 298. 
 
 % MS. Cott. Nero, A. III. p. 2. b. Sqq Anchorets. 
 
 i» Smythe's Berkeley MS. 216, 227. 
 
 counts as clever as a merchant.^ The 
 sage reformer Erasmus saw no impro- 
 priety in publishing an obscene word, 
 and says, in defence of it, that though 
 he has put it into the mouth of a pros- 
 titute, it was in general use, even among 
 chaste Matrons.*^ This passage ex- 
 plains the indelicacy of the Nun, Juli- 
 ana Barnes ; and it was much owing 
 to the vile education-books then in 
 use, which recommended only prayer, 
 fasting, submission to the Church, assi- 
 duity in religious offices, mortification 
 and solitude, as precepts of conduct. 
 The Chastisement des Dames gives 
 very detailed advice how women ought 
 to walk, salute, talk, behave themselves 
 at church, at table, in love tete-a-tetes ; 
 and ends with a long disquisition upon 
 love. La Tour, a French gentleman, 
 who in 1371 wrote the first treatise 
 upon Domestic Education, professes 
 to teach by Historiettes, in which he 
 uses obscene stories, and even words. 
 To induce his daughters to say their 
 prayers in a morning, he tells them a 
 tale of two daughters of an Emperor, 
 of whom one neglected this duty, the 
 other never. Both were entangled 
 in love, and had each made an assig- 
 nation with their lovers on a certain 
 morning. The youngest, who said 
 her prayers as usual, was disappointed 
 in meeting her lover, who was compel- 
 led to fly by fancying that he saw 
 armed guards, compelling him to re- 
 treat. The other, who did not say 
 her prayers, fell a victim to seduction. 
 The sad effect upon morals, which for 
 many ages was produced by these tales, 
 so common in Monasteries, is well 
 pourtrayed by the following story in 
 this very book : "Deux individus ayant 
 insulte a la religion en couchiant (c'est 
 son expression) sur un autel avec des 
 femmes, ils en sont punis d'une fa9on 
 bien extraordinaire, et restent dans cet 
 etat tout un jour, jusqu'a ce qu'enfin 
 Ton vient en procession prier ^ Dieu 
 pour eux et obtenir leur delivrance." ^ 
 Whoever has heard of the ceremony 
 
 * Decameron, Day ii. Nov. ix. 
 
 " De Colloq. Utilit. inter Colloq. p. 650, 
 
 * Notices, V. 159—166, 
 
186 
 
 NOVICES. 
 
 called Le Congres, only abolished in 
 1677^ through the satire of Boileau, 
 will not be surprised even at this shock- 
 ing profanation.^ 
 
 Though abstinence from blows to- 
 wards females be a test of refinement, 
 because it shows elevation of senti- 
 ment, the basis of that quality, it was 
 not then deemed reproachable for a 
 Saint to have a girl of an age of pu- 
 berty flogged naked.^ The famous 
 Heloisa was to be lashed, though 22 
 years old.^ 
 
 It appears, from Chaucer^s Miller's 
 Wife, that Education in a Nunnery was 
 presumed to confer a right to take the 
 title of madam. 
 
 At a certain period ^ the most able 
 of the Novices were sent to the Uni- 
 versities.e The constitutions respect- 
 ing them at these places were these : a 
 doctoral chair in the College : not to 
 study but under a tutor of the same 
 religion and science, if there was such 
 a one : a Prior of the Students to be 
 elected, for which vast interest was 
 made, and great tumults, and who 
 were very negligent in their duty : 
 Monks not to study with Seculars : to 
 have divine service in the house : 
 Chambers vacant for more than half a 
 year to be immediately filled, though 
 with an obligation, that any occupier 
 was to give way to another sent from 
 the house that built or repaired such 
 Chamber : disputations to be held, and 
 preaching both in Latin and EngHsh, 
 at least four times a year: Convents 
 negligent in sending Students : old 
 men not to be sent, at least for learn- 
 ing philosophy, for Priors used to be 
 sent: not to plead before Secular judges, 
 
 ^ Hymen, or the Marriage Ceremonies of all 
 Nations, p. 29. ^ X Script. 2483. 
 
 *= Hawkins's Musick, ii. 23, 124, 125. 
 
 •^ " At eighteen years of age at least,'' in Gutch's 
 Oxford, 388. 
 
 « There was great negligence in this respect. 
 The Abbot of Malmesbury withdrew a scholar from 
 Oxford for two years ; the Abbot of Abbotesbury 
 for seven. See Wilk. Condi, iii. 425, where other 
 instances. No mendicant Frier was to receive the 
 degree of Master in Divinity, without the approba- 
 tion of the Provincial Chapter and competency ; 
 for many unfit persons obtained it by money. 
 Parliamentary Rolls, 20 Ric, II. 
 
 but to settle their disputes by means 
 of the Prior and Seniors : vast interest 
 made to be sent. The proportion of 
 Students to be sent was from one to 
 more in houses of twenty Monks, 
 according to the circumstances of such 
 house ; though Convents of less than 
 twenty conceived that they were not 
 obliged to send any.*^ The ablest to 
 be sent, and young persons :S disputa- 
 tions in philosophy and theology at 
 least once a week : a philosophical 
 reader to be appointed : Monks to host 
 together not less than ten : to be under 
 the subjection : and with respect to 
 the confession and the Eucharist, of 
 one of their own body : not to be gra- 
 duated but under a Doctor of the Or- 
 der. It seems that there was much 
 sleeping out and frequenting taverns 
 by the Students,^ as well as disobe- 
 dience.^ The manner of living at this 
 period in the Universities, is curious. 
 Students rose daily between four and 
 five in the morning, and from five to 
 six attended the Chapel ; from six to 
 ten used private study, or attended the 
 common lectures. At ten they went 
 to dinner upon a penny piece of beef 
 among four, with pottage, made of the 
 broth of the same beef, and salt and 
 oatmeal. After this slender dinner, 
 
 ^ Item, " Whereas the said Monastery (of Hyde) 
 is charged by the king's highness, in his various 
 visitations, to find three scolers, students at one of 
 the Universities in England ; it shall be lefull for 
 the said Abbot, during his lieff, to appoint and gyve 
 exhibicion to some scoler and student to be ac- 
 compted in the same nombre, being an Englishman, 
 or borne M^thin some of the king's dominions, 
 whiche shall applye his study and learning in the 
 partes beyond the sea, within any Universitie there." 
 MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. p. 49. 
 
 s Thomas Leigh (one of Henry's visitors), in his 
 letter from Wilton, desires Cromwell to consider 
 whom he will send to Oxford or Cambridge ; for, 
 he says, that opposite results may occur, either all 
 virtue and goodness, ** or the fountain of all vice 
 and mischief." Id. 
 
 ^ Cap. Gen. Northampt. a^ 1444. c. 13. Reyn. 
 Append. 177, 198,9,200, 1,2. 
 
 ' Vestris epistolis nuper nobis transmissis acce- 
 pimus, quod non absque cordis lajticid contemplati 
 sumus, quod de emolliendo eradicandoque ipsum 
 inobedientise tribulum, qui nuper elationis frondi- 
 bus succreverat in vinea vestra vos patres-familias 
 cooperatores ibi venistis inveniendos [inventuros] , 
 aut quid simile. MS. Bodl. 2508, p. 39. JDe 
 prmdenU ad students Monachos Oxon, 
 
NOVICES. 
 
 187 
 
 they were either teaching or learning 
 till five in the evening, when they went 
 to supper, which was not much better 
 than their dinner; immediately after 
 which they betook themselves to rea- 
 soning upon problems, or some other 
 study, till nine or ten, when being 
 allowed no fire, they walked or ran 
 about half an hour to get their feet warm 
 before they went to bed.« The poor 
 Scholars, at least, were obhged to scrape 
 the trenchers clean for dinner.^ A 
 General Chapter of the Benedictine 
 Order, held at Reading (ao 1279), the 
 statutes of which were afterwards miti- 
 gated, ordered that every house of 
 religion should give two-pence out of 
 every mark they received in spirituals i 
 and temporals to the reparation and 
 support of the mansion of the Bene- j 
 dictine Students at Oxford, whence it | 
 grew into a custom, that, at every 
 Provincial Chapter, a collection was 
 made for this purpose.^ Accordingly 
 we find instances of such collection,<^ 
 and of a Student being sent with a 
 full purse of 60s. sterling.^ Still their 
 pensions were ill paid,^ for the Monks 
 grudged paying money for them,s and 
 they used to take their degrees with 
 such parade,^ and consequently ex- 
 pence,^ that they were very often cal- 
 led home in order to stop their proceed- 
 ings in graduation.^ To moderate the 
 feasts, games, and excessive banquets 
 given by scholars on taking degrees, 
 it was ordered at Toulouse in 1324, 
 that the Graduate should be attended 
 by only two trumpets and a drum ; and 
 in 1329, dances, banquets, comedians, 
 &c. were prohibited, l In the Grand 
 Compounder, traces of this practice still 
 remain. The feast at taking degrees, 
 
 * Hawkins's Music, ii. 348. 
 
 ^ Douce on Shakspeare, i. 17-18. 
 
 «= W. Thome, col. 930. 
 
 •^ Nichols's Manners and Expences, p. 286. Of 
 contributions fraudulently withheld ; see Wilk. 
 Concil. iii. 464. 
 
 « Casley's Catalogue of MSS. in the King's 
 Library, p. 131. 
 
 ' Reyn. ut sup. b: Athon. 143. 
 
 ^ Warton's Hist, of English Poetry, i. p. 290. 
 
 » Const. B. 12. ut sup. 
 
 '' C. G. North, ut sup. c. xiii. 
 
 * Maillot, Costumes, iii. 128. 
 
 for pure ostentation, is classed with that 
 of the installation of Bishops. "» Doc- 
 tors and Graduates had precedence to 
 others, after Priors and Sub-priors in 
 Cathedrals. « 
 
 Nuns. The chief ceremony was 
 the Consecration of a Nun, In the 
 year 446, Pope Leo ordered that a 
 Nun should receive the veil, consecra- 
 ted by a Bishop, only when she was a 
 virgin.o A widow could not be conse- 
 crated, because the continence of a 
 virgin might be complete, that of a 
 widow was only semiplena. P Accord- 
 ing to Du Cange, the ceremony takes 
 date with the age of Charlemagne. It 
 diiFered from profession ; that applied 
 to any woman, whether virgin or not, 
 could be done by an Abbot or visitor of 
 the House, after the year of probation, 
 and change of the habit ; but consecra- 
 tion could only be made by the Bishop. 
 Nuns were usually professed at the age 
 of sixteen, but they could not be con- 
 secrated till twenty -five ; and this veil 
 could only be given on festivals and 
 Sundays. A particular mantle, called 
 Allivis, was placed by the Bishop over 
 the Nun during the ceremony .^ ^ This 
 
 •» Angl. Sacr. i. 377. 
 
 » C. G. North, ut sup. c. x. and xiii. 
 
 ** Mar. Scotus sub anno. 
 
 P Lyndw. 206. Jnnulum. Ed. Oxf. 
 
 *> Du Cange, 1 110. ii. 981. v. Allivis. Beuedictio 
 Virginum devotarura, Consecratio. Inq. p. mort. 
 Elean. Duciss. Glouc. 1 Hen. IV. Glouc. Lyndw. 
 202. 
 
 ■■ Consecratio virginis quae in diebus solennibus 
 facienda est ; vid. aut in Epiphania, aut in festis 
 S. Marise, aut apostolorum, aut Dorainicis diebus, 
 Yirgo Deo dicanda post introitum missse et collec- 
 tain priusquain legatar epistola, veniat ante altare 
 induta albis vestibus, habitum religionis in dextra 
 manu tenens, et cereum extinctum in sinistra ; et 
 ponatur vestimentum ad pedes episcopi ante altare, 
 et cereum in manu retineat. Benedicat ergo epis- 
 copus vestimentum liis subscriptis benedictionibus. 
 Tunc det ei episcopus vu'ginitatis vestimentum, et 
 tantum velamen apud se faciat retineri dicens : 
 ** Accipe puella pallium, quodprseferas sine macula,'* 
 &c. Tunc ipsa virgo vadat ad sacrarium, et indicat 
 se ipso vestimento benedicto, accipiensque unum 
 cereum in manus suas ardentem veniat in chorum 
 cantans,'/'Amo Christum incujus thalamumintroivi ." 
 Tunc legatur epistola, et evangelium, et post evan- 
 gelium et Credo in unum, dicat episcopus: "Venite, 
 venite, venite, filise, audite me, timorem Domini 
 docebo vos." Tunc veniat virgo ante altare cantans, 
 et nunc sequimur in toto corde ; quo finito pros- 
 temat se episcopus super tapetuw ante altwe, et 
 
188 
 
 NOVICES. 
 
 was to be made on solemn days, namely, 
 either in the Epiphany, or on the festi- 
 vals of St. Mary, or of the A.po sties, 
 or Sundays.^ The Virgin to be con- 
 secrated, after the beginning of the 
 Mass and Collect, before the Epistle 
 was read, came before the altar, robed 
 in white, carrying the religious habit 
 in her right hand, and an extinguished 
 taper in her left, which habit she laid 
 before the altar, at the Bishop's feet, 
 and held the taper in her hand. The 
 Bishop then consecrated the habit, 
 and gave it her (the veil excepted), say- 
 ing, " Take, girl, the robe, which you 
 shall wear in innocence ;" upon which 
 she went to the Revestry, put it on, 
 and returned with a lighted taper in 
 her hand, singing, " / love Chins t, into 
 whose bed I have entered.''^ Then, 
 after the Epistle, Gospel, and Creed, 
 the Bishop said, " Come, come, come, 
 
 et virgo retro episcopum, et cantetur interim letania 
 a duobus clericis festive choro respondente. Epis- 
 copus vero et ministri altaris cantent interim vii 
 psalm. Post letaniam, surgat episcopus, etincipiat 
 festiv^, " Veni Creator spiritus." Post hymnum, 
 surgat virgo, et veniat ante altare ; tunc imponat 
 episcopus velameu super caput virginis inclinatee. 
 Tunc virgo incipiat banc, ** Induit me Dominus," 
 vel quamlibet antipbonam quae conveniat de bistoria 
 S. Agnetis aut S. Agatbse. Hie episcopus faciat 
 bannum, ne quis prtesumat illud sanctum propo- 
 situm violare ; postea faciat virgo banc professionem, 
 si tempus fuerit. Deinde signum crucis faciat in 
 fine professionis, et ponat super altare. His expletis, 
 abbatissa ipsam petitionem accipiat ab altari, et 
 servandam tradat. Tunc professa stet ante altare, 
 et tertio bunc versum dicat, ** Suscipe me, Domine, 
 secundum eloquiura tuura," &c. qui versus tertio 
 repetatur ab omnibus, et in fine, "" Gloria Patri," 
 &c. et postea, " Kyrie, et Pater Noster." Interim 
 professa prosternat se coram altare, quo facto 
 dicat episcopus, et ne nos induce, &c. Et subse- 
 quentes psalmos incohet ; Domine, quis habitabit ; 
 Dominus regit me, et Salvum me fac Domine, quern 
 intraverunt, quibus ad omnibus decantatis statim 
 subjungat haec capitula, " Salvam fac ancillam 
 tuam,'' &c. Post hsec tradat alicui puella cereum 
 ad tenendum, et offerat panem et vinum episcopo, 
 iterumque accipiat cereum, et stet inclinata, usque 
 communicet, et missa finiatur ordine suo. Item 
 episcopalis benedictio super earn. Post missam 
 offerat virgo cereum super altare, et discendat cum 
 pace. MS. Cott. Tiber. B. viii. f. 120, seq. 
 
 * Wearing veils originated with the Pontiff Soter 
 in the year 178 ; and Gelasius, who was Pope in the 
 fifth century, decreed that they should not be veiled, 
 except in cases of extreme sickness, but on the 
 Epiphany, Paschal Albs, or the Nativities of the 
 Apostles. Johnson's Canons of the Eastern 
 Church, p. 320. 
 
 ^ See the Chapter of Confinentes, 
 
 daughters, I will teach you the fear of 
 the Lord;'' upon which the Nun came 
 before the altar, singing, ''Arid now 
 we follow with our whole heartsP 
 When this was finished, the Bishop 
 prostrated himself upon the carpet 
 before the altar, and the Nun behind 
 him ; and in the mean while the Litany 
 was sung by two Clerks, the Choir 
 making the responses ; but the Bishop 
 and Ministers of the altar sang in the 
 mean time the seven psalms. After 
 the Litany, the Bishop rose, and began 
 the Veni Creator; after which the Nun 
 rose, and came before the altar, when 
 the Bishop put the veil upon her head, 
 as she stooped. After which, she 
 began Induit me Dominus, or some 
 suitable antiphonar from the histories 
 of Agnes or Agatha. This was follow- 
 ed by a curse from the Bishop, against 
 all those who presumed to disturb her 
 holy purpose. The Nun then made 
 her profession, if she had time, put 
 the signature of the cross to the end 
 of it, and laid it upon the altar, from 
 whence the Abbess took it, to be laid 
 by. Then the Nun stood before the 
 altar, and said this verse three times, 
 '' Receive me, O Lord!'' which was 
 each time repeated by all, and con- 
 cluded with the Boxology, Kyrie elee- 
 son, and Lord's Prayer. In the mean 
 time the Nun lay before the altar, and 
 certain psalms were sung; after which 
 she gave the taper to some one to hold, 
 and offered bread and wine to the 
 Bishop ; which over, she again took the 
 taper, and stood inclined till she had 
 conmiunicated, and the Mass and Epis- 
 copal benediction was concluded. After 
 the Mass, she offered the taper upon 
 the altar, and descended in peace. The 
 second was the Order ^ how a Nun was 
 
 «= Ordo qualiter virgo faciat professionem, si ante 
 fuerit benedicta sine professione. Quocunque festo 
 voluerit cantabit episcopus missam, et post evan- 
 gelium incipiatur psalmus, " Miserere mei, Deus," 
 cum ** Gloria Patri." Quo decantato ab omnibus 
 accedat virgo ante altare, et legat professionem 
 suam, '* Ero soror," sicut superius prsenotatum est. 
 Tunc dicat episcopus (M.) ; tunc incipiat episcopus 
 excelsa voce hymnum. Hie se erigat virgo acce- 
 datque ad episcopum, et episcopus ponet velamen 
 super oculos ejus ; quo facto, iterum se prosternat 
 iucipiati^ue preesui huuc p^?dmuin [th^n^ an anti-* 
 
NOVICES. 
 
 189 
 
 to make professio7i, if she had been, bles- 
 sed be/ore ivithoiit profession. Upon 
 whatever festival he chose, the Bishop 
 sung Mass, and after the Gospel the 
 51st Psalm, and Gloria Patri was sung 
 by all. The Nun then advanced before 
 the altar, and read her profession, 
 whicli was succeeded by a religious ser- 
 vice by the Bishop. She then rose, 
 and advanced to that prelate, who put 
 the veil over her eyes ; after which she 
 prostrated herself again, and a psalm 
 and antiphonar was sung by the Bishop. 
 The third was the form^ how a Nun 
 
 phonar] ab episcopo. MS. Cott. ut supra, 135, 
 seq. Without profession alludes to its omission 
 for want of time. 
 
 •» MS. Harl. 561. f. 107. 114. b. Forma quali- 
 ter sanctiraonialis non virgo, vel alia facere debet 
 professionem suam. Quocunque festo solempni 
 episcopus voluerit, induat se sacris vestibus, vid. 
 sandaliis, superpellicio, sudario, amissio, interim 
 dum se induit percantentur h clericis ad hoc assig- 
 natis preces consueti, &c. [then some religious 
 services.] Et tunc episcopus ponat se in phildis- 
 torio honeste^ praeparato coram medio altaris facie 
 conversa ad occidentem. Et interim mulier pro- 
 fessura accedat prseparata per ostium chori inferius, 
 cum duabus vel tribus sororibus ipsam comitantibus, 
 portans habitum, quae religio sua requirit, super 
 brachium sinistrum, in quo infigatur velamen capitis 
 cum annulo, et in dextera manu scedulam habeat 
 scriptam suae professionis pleno visu continue in eam 
 intendendo. Deinde dum procedit usque altare 
 episcopus cum ministris suis mediocri voce dicat 
 clero vel choro altematim constrepente, " Miserere 
 mei, Deus," &c. cum " Gloria Patri," et " Sicut 
 erat." Positis autem habitu, velamine, et annulo 
 ad pedes episcopi, et completo psalmo, mulier pro- 
 fessura stans super medium gradum altaris legat 
 professionem suam hoc modo : "Ego soror promitto 
 stabilitatem meam, etconversionemmorummeorum, 
 et obedientiam coram Deo omnibusque Sanctis ejus, 
 secundum regulam Sancti Benedicti, in loco qui 
 est consecratus in honore S. N. et in praesentid 
 domini episc. N. vel abbatissae N." Qua lecta 
 genuflectendo faciat crucem cum penn^ in fine 
 professionis super genua episcopi, et osculata manu 
 ejus, surgat et prosternat se super tapetum vel 
 terram ante inferiorem gradum altaris, super quam 
 sic prostratem episcopus stando has sequentes dicat, 
 &c. Deinde erigatur mulier, et remotis velamine 
 et annulo, benedicat episcopus habitumsic dicendo; 
 deinde asperso habitu aquabened. induat episcopus 
 professuram cum ea sic dicendo ; postea convertat 
 se episcopus, cum ministris genuflectendo ad altare, 
 professura retro episcopum prostrata incipiat altii 
 voce. Veni Creator, &c. ut supra in benedictione 
 abbissae ; dicto hoc, surgat episcopus et conversus 
 ad mulierem dicat ... hie erigat se a terrd sancti- 
 monialis episcopo interim velamen ejusbenedicente 
 sic... tunc imponatunus sacerdos et non episcopus 
 velamen capiti mulieris, episcopo interim dicente ; 
 quo dicto, benedicat episcopus amissium hoc modo ; 
 tunc tradat ei episcopus annulum sic dicendo ; 
 delude trahit episcopus velamen super oculos ejus 
 
 not a Virgin, or other, ivas to make her 
 profession. Upon whatever festival 
 he chose, the Bishop robed himself in 
 pontificals, and while he was doing 
 this, the usual prayers were said by 
 Clerks appointed for this. The Bishop 
 then placed himself in a chair before 
 the middle of the altar, with his face 
 towards the west. The Nun in the 
 mean while advanced through the lower 
 gate of the Choir, with two or three 
 sisters accompanying, carrying the 
 habit on her left arm, in which was 
 fixed the veil with the ring, and in her 
 right the schedule of profession, upon 
 which she kept her eyes fixed. While 
 she was advancing, the Bishop, Minis- 
 ters, and Choir, in a low voice, sung a 
 certain service. When this psalm was 
 over, and the habit, veil, and ring laid 
 at the Bishop^s feet, the Nun, stand- 
 ing upon the middle step of the altar, 
 read her profession in this form : '^ I 
 sister [A] promise stedfastness, and 
 the conversion of my manners, and 
 obedience before God and all his saints, 
 according to the Rule of St. Benedict, 
 in the place which is consecrated to 
 the honour of S. N. and in the presence 
 of our lord Bishop N. or Abbess N/' 
 After this, she knelt and made a cross 
 with a pen in the end of the profession 
 upon the knees of the Bishop, and 
 having kissed his hand, rose and pros- 
 trated herself upon the carpet or ground 
 
 incipiendo antiphonam ; deinde dicat episcopus 
 stando super istam prostratam sequentem orationem 
 cum praefacione ; si sit de ordine S. S. Augustini 
 vel Francisci sic. Deinde legatur evangelium 
 dictoque officio ac interim dum a choro cantatur 
 professa procedendo offerat genibus flexis ad manum 
 episcopi, manu ejus ab e^dem prius osculata. 
 Postea offerant alii qui volunt. Professa continue 
 super tapetum vel terram se prosternente, usque 
 post receptionem corporis et sanguinis Christi, ab 
 episcopo plene factam. Et tunc ante resuperacio- 
 nem (sic) professa erigatur, episcopus veniens ab 
 altari cum corpore Christi patena imposito com- 
 municet eam super gradum altaris superioris devott^ 
 genuflectentem sic dicendo ; tunc osculata manu 
 episcopi surgendo ducatur in chorum osculetque 
 sorores tres universas. Ac nichil omnino illorum 
 vestimentorum, quae in benedictione habuit, exuendo 
 sive mutando, subtalaribus pedum tan turn modo 
 exceptis ; sed die nocteque psalmis, hymnis, et 
 canticis spiritualibus, magis devocione cordis quam 
 modulacione vocis, domino jam Christo cui se 
 devovit jugiter servire intendat, ultimo etiam stabit 
 in loco usque in tercium diem. 
 
190 
 
 NOVICES. 
 
 before the lower step of the altar, over 
 whom the Bishop standing then said 
 certain prayers. She was then raised, 
 and the veil and ring being set aside, 
 the Bishop consecrated the habit, and, 
 after it had been sprinkled with holy- 
 water, put it upon her, with certain 
 prayers. He then turned with his 
 attendants to the altar, kneeling, and 
 the Nun prostrate behind him, begin- 
 ning with a loud voice, Veni Creator ; 
 after this he rose, and turning to her, 
 said certain prayers. She then rose, 
 and the veil was consecrated, and one 
 of the Priests, not the Bishop, put it 
 upon her head, while the Bishop said 
 certain prayers. The amess^was then 
 consecrated, the ringb given to her,c 
 and the veil drawn over her eyes, 
 which was followed by certain prayers 
 over her as she lay prostrate. Then 
 the Gospel was read, and while the 
 service was singing by the Choir, she 
 kissed the Bishop^s hand, and made 
 her offering kneeling, as afterwards 
 did those who chose it. She then 
 continued prostrate till the Commu- 
 nion was over, when she arose, and 
 the Bishop brought her the patin to 
 communicate, as she knelt upon the 
 step of the high altar. After this, 
 she kissed the Bishop's hand, was led 
 into the Choir, and kissed all the three 
 
 * Worn on the head : it signified the rag of linen 
 wherewith the Jews blinded Christ in mockery, 
 when they smote and buffeted him. Gutch's Col- 
 lectanea Curiosa, ii. 179. 
 
 ^ A small ring of gold with a sapphire at Ames- 
 bury. Lib. Cotid. contrar. Garder. 28 Ed. I. p. 
 348. The constitutions complained of their wear- 
 ing several. 
 
 *= Though there is a Canon in Lyndwood (p. 
 206), that only consecrated Nuns should wear 
 rings, yet widoivs made the vow of chastity, by a 
 ring only, without habit or veil. See an instance 
 in Speed, 616. 
 
 sisters. She then continued in silence 
 for three days, never changed any part 
 of her clothes, except her shoes, but 
 day and night devoted to psalms and 
 hymns, and spiritual songs, studied 
 how she should serve God constantly, 
 and took the last rank, till the third day. 
 The duties of the female Novitiates 
 were similar to those of the male.^ 
 When taken sick, the Infirmaress was 
 to follow them, and they were to 
 have no communication with their 
 companions, unless a curtain or wall 
 intervened, e 
 
 ^ Monast. ii. 770. " Id. ubi sup. 
 
 N. B. There is an injunction in MS. Ashm. 
 Mus. 1519. f. 37, a. that a Canon should not be 
 received from the profession of another house. 
 (Nee uUum canonicum ex professione alterius 
 domus ordinis nostri recipiat.) They were refused 
 admission without dimissory letters (M. Paris, 
 1015,) which assigned asareason, that they could no 
 longer stay, with quiet of their souls, or a sound 
 conscience or observation of the Rule. " Licentia 
 pro monacJio eundi ab una domo in aliam. Abbas 
 sive prior et conventus A. B. salutem. Cumsicut 
 exhibita nobis pro parte tua, &c. peticio, &c. 
 (MS. Harl. 670, fol. 100, a.) continebat quod in 
 dicto monasterio per causas certas et literas nobis 
 ministratas, non possis cum tuae quiete animse et 
 sana conscientia vel amplius remanere, neque dicti 
 ordinis regulam observare in eadem, transeundi ad 
 aliud monasterium ejusdem ordinis indulgentiam 
 nobis humiliter supplicavisti, &c." (MS. Harl. 
 2179, f. 7B, a.) But he might leave his Order, 
 without leave of the Superior, if that he proposed 
 to go into was more austere. (Dev. Vie Monast. i. 
 243.) If it was to a more remiss one, the papal 
 licence was necessary ; unless there was a cause, 
 and the Monk was young or old, and the cause 
 required celerity, and then the Bishop's was suffi- 
 cient. Lyndw. 210. But if he went into the 
 same Order, dimissory letters were taken. Monast. 
 i. p. 41. They might change their Order when the 
 irregularity and bad example of the religious endan- 
 gered their salvation. Dev. Vie Monast. ii. 25. 
 In 1247 the Friars Preachers obtained a privilege, 
 that no one should leave their Order, because many 
 who had entered into it were disappointed. M. 
 Par. 637. The Abbot's licence was necessary even 
 to be elected Abbot of another house. Id. 1031. 
 
LAY-BROTHERS, 
 
 191 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 LAY-BROTHERS. 
 
 A Lay-brother made his petition 
 prostrate in the Chapter, in this form : 
 " I seek charitably the habit of a bro- 
 ther, for the salvation of my soul/^ 
 Upon his being raised, the Abbot or 
 Prior said that it was necessary he 
 should swear to observe chastity, to 
 be faithful to the Church, and obedi- 
 ent to his Superiors, as well as to re- 
 nounce property and his own will. 
 Afterwards a brother was deputed to 
 him to teach him his Pater Noster, 
 Ave Mary, Creed, and other rehgious 
 offices, to serve at the Masses, and 
 graces at dinner, as well as to say the 
 hours, in a form peculiar to themselves.^ 
 These were professed Lay-brothers ; 
 but there were also Oblati, persons 
 who devoted themselves to servitude 
 by giving four-pence, and sometimes 
 bmding their necks in a bell-rope ;t> 
 and Fratres ad succurendumy assistant 
 brothers, who wore only a short scapula- 
 ry, while the professed Lay-brother had 
 the habit of the Order .^ Some persons 
 gave themselves, and all or part of their 
 property, to the house, and professed 
 obedience to the Abbot, and received 
 food and clothing. There were infe- 
 riors to these, who, with their families, 
 became vassals to the Church .^^ Of 
 this kind of persons, or others, they 
 had, it seems, a long train : for the Ab- 
 bot of Feversham, writing to Crom- 
 
 * Secularis habitum fratrum suscepturus faciat 
 peticionem in capitulo prostratus in huac modum, 
 *' Ego peto caritative habitum fratris pro animA, 
 raed salvand^." Quo erecto, dicat abbas, seu prior, 
 quod oportet eum supra textum vovere castitatem, 
 et jurare fidelitatem ecclesie, et obedientiam suis 
 superioribus abrenuntiando etiam proprietati et 
 proprise voluntati. Deinde deputetur el aliquis pater 
 qui doceat eum Pater Noster, Ave Maria, Credo, 
 Confiteor, Psalmos de Profundis, et Miserere. Et 
 ad serviendum ad missas et gracias ad prandiura. 
 Item doceatur dicere horas hoc modo. Ad quam- 
 libet horam dicat (prayers). MS. Bodl, Bar- 
 low, 7. 
 
 '' Du Cange, in voce. 
 
 •= Bibliotheca Prsemonstratensis, i. p. 24. 
 
 •* Du Cange, v. Oblati^ ubi plura. See also v. 
 Donati, 
 
 well, says, "I have sent to 
 
 yow a 
 vyttell 
 
 paper of suche proportyon of 
 and other, as the Lay-brothers hyre 
 tellyth me of necessite must be provyd- 
 yde for them ; now they not regarding 
 this derthe, would have and hathe that 
 same fare contynuall that then was 
 usid, and wold have like plenty of brede 
 and ale and fishe given to straungers 
 in the butterye,or at the butterye doore, 
 and as large lyveries of bredde and ale 
 to all ther servaunts, and to vagabunds 
 at the gate, as was than usid."^ 
 
 The Gilbertine Rule goes minutely 
 into their duties. ^ These were, ex- 
 communication (if impenitent) upon 
 transgression ; to wash their own cloaths, 
 if there were not Fullers; or else to 
 have it done by some poor person 
 found by the Porter, and to be washed 
 only by the foot ; Chapter to be held 
 at the same time, and in a similar form 
 to that of the Canons ; Novices to be 
 professed ; brothers coming to conver- 
 sion not to be admitted under twenty- 
 four years of age;S at Mattins and 
 daily hours to use certain prayers; from 
 the ides of September, till Maundy 
 Thursday, on private days, and such 
 feasts as they worked on, a special bell 
 to be rung to wake them ; after Vigils 
 and Lauds to keep silence till Prime, 
 which over, to go to their work ; to say 
 the other hours, on the places where 
 they worked. From Easter to Sep- 
 tember, on working days, to sleep till 
 Lauds, because they had no meridian 
 sleeps from the Rule, but of favour. 
 
 ^ MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. p. 35, a. 
 
 ' Monast. ii. 732, seq. In the Bodleian Cata- 
 logue of the contents of MS. Ashm. 1285, there is 
 mention made of "Institutio Laicorum Fratrum." 
 The MS. contains no such thing, according to my 
 research. 
 
 « Thus the Franciscans enacted, ** that no one 
 should be received for a Lay-brother under twenty- 
 four years of age, nor beyond forty-three, unless 
 he was a person very remarkable and famous.*' 
 (Et nullus recipiatur pro laico omnino intra xxiiii 
 ann. nee ultra xliii, nisi erit persona multum nota- 
 bilis et insignis.; MS. Bodl. 1882. p. 45. 
 
192 
 
 LAY-BROTHERS, 
 
 namely^ those who were in the liouse 
 from Easter to hay harvest ; those in 
 the Granges, from the feast of Holy 
 Cross till the same term. On feasts 
 that they did not work on^ to rise to 
 Mattins ; and from September to Eas- 
 ter, to both Vespers : on other days to 
 attend to their work, as long as it was 
 light; when the work was over, to 
 strike the table and sing Complin. 
 Those in the Granges from the calends 
 of November till the Chayring of St. 
 Peter f to ivatch till the fourth part of 
 the night ; ^^ and from the chairing of 
 St. Peter till Easter, and from the ides 
 of September till the calends of No- 
 vember, to rise so as to end Vigils and 
 Lauds before day-break; after this, 
 work : from Easter to the above ides, 
 to rise with day-break ; from the oc- 
 taves of Pentecost to Christmas, and 
 of Epiphany to Easter, every Friday, 
 disciplines ; to come to the communion 
 eight times in the year, Novices three ; 
 silence in all the offices, except on in- 
 dispensable occasions ; no entrance 
 into the offices without leave; work- 
 men of the house, as shoemakers, 
 tailors, weavers, and other artificers, 
 not to speak but standing, and in a 
 place out of their shops of necessary 
 matters. A place within the shops to 
 be only granted to smiths (fabris). 
 The evening chapter to be held every 
 week on Thursday, after Vespers in 
 winter, and after supper in summer, 
 except hay-harvest and August ; one 
 or two Canons to assist, and delin- 
 quents be beaten in the next Chapter; 
 no signs to be made, or gossippings, 
 unless for fire, theft, or things of that 
 kind. Necessity excused from this of- 
 fice the brothers engaged with the 
 guests, grangiaries, neatherds, and 
 grooms : on feast days on which they 
 worked, allowed to be present at the 
 Complin of the Nuns; those in the 
 Granges to keep silence in the Dor- 
 mitory, Refectory, and Calefactory in 
 
 » The chairing of St. Peter was the 8 Cal. Mart. 
 22d of February. 
 
 •* Viyilcnt circum qtiartam partem noctis, [per- 
 haps " to wake about the fourth part of the night," 
 i. e. to Lauds.] 
 
 the appointed limits ; but allowed to 
 converse with the Grangiary standing 
 and two together ; a brother travelling 
 to keep silence in all the Churches, and 
 in refection ; and after Complin to con- 
 form to the Rule, though not to fast, 
 but as the rest in Granges ; upon com- 
 ing to a house or grange of the same 
 Order to do in all things like the others ; 
 allowed to converse about necessaries 
 with the groom, as of shoeing horses, 
 and when he gave them hay, and in 
 matters of that nature, but standing; 
 if a brother went out with leave, he 
 was to do as ordered ; no gossipping, 
 nor carrying tales to and fro ; upon en- 
 tering an office, to seek what was want- 
 ed by a sign ; none to refuse going in 
 a cart in order that they might ride ; 
 shepherds and cow-keepers to return 
 the salutation of a traveller, or inform 
 him of his road, if he asked the ques- 
 tion ; but if he asked any further, to 
 inform him they were not allowed to 
 speak ; in their Refectory to dine with 
 their Prior or the Grangiary, vAt\v 
 similar religious ceremonies as the 
 Canons ; not to dine with their clothes 
 oif ; to lose their beer, if they missed 
 the verse three times, and dine last, 
 and make prostrations, if they spilt 
 their drink or soup, and ask pardon 
 in the Chapter, if they cut their fin- 
 gers ; in the Granges after dinner to go 
 to the Oratory ; to have no bells, but 
 wooden balls,^ to assemble them ; not 
 to fast but on the principal feasts, and 
 in Advent, and Fridays in the w^in- 
 ter, when they had every one of them 
 a certain allowance of bread ; pittances 
 to the sick persons returning from 
 journeys, and those who had been 
 bled. 
 
 The Gi'angiary or Bailiff was to 
 manage the farms ; to converse with 
 the brothers of labour and walking, if 
 needful ; not to enter the Court of the 
 Nuns; not to go any where without 
 orders from the Prior ; to have a com- 
 panion to watch him in the absence of 
 the Prior or Cellarer ; not to take any 
 thing to himself out of things bought 
 
 • Lignea Bulla ; not in Du Cange. 
 
LAY-BROTHERS. 
 
 193 
 
 or sold ; the Prior or Cellarer to punish 
 those who did not obey him. 
 
 A Canon to assist the Lay-brothers 
 in buying and selling : the Emj)tor to 
 be assisted alternately by one of three 
 brethren who was to be a spy upon 
 him^ if possible a lettered person ; si- 
 lence under certain modifications; al- 
 lowed to talk with their footboy on 
 necessary occasions ; not to buy or sell 
 without leave of the Prior, Cellarer^ 
 Grangiary^ and Proctor ; give an ac- 
 count upon their return ; punctually 
 to restore every thing borrowed ; who- 
 ever went to fairs to buy the things 
 (notified in writing) for the use of the 
 house ; which persons to consist of 
 one Lay-brother, two lettered persons, 
 and as many more as the Prior thought 
 fit ; their purchases (for the Nuns at 
 least) to be exhibited to the Prior, Cel- 
 larer, and others ; not to buy super- 
 fluous fish for themselves to eat, or 
 dehcacies, or drink wine unless well 
 watered ; to be content with two messes 
 of pottage ; not to eat but in places 
 provided by the officers, and then to- 
 gether ; no silk to be bought for worldly 
 vanities ; no wool to be mixed with 
 that of others ; no one to speak oflfen- 
 sively of another in his presence ; the 
 artificers to have chests to put their 
 tools in, locked with two keys, one in 
 the hands of the Prior ; no artificer, a 
 guest, to become a brother without 
 consent of the principal Prior ; no dwell- 
 ing out of the gates of the house, un- 
 less for animals ; bricklayers, carpen- 
 ters, and those who worked aloft, 
 to wear breeches ; after autumn, a bro- 
 ther and threshers to be sent to the 
 Granges, to thresh as much corn as 
 would serve the Convent for a year; 
 also another to have the care of the 
 cheese and butter; geese, hens, bees, 
 honey, and eggs, under the care of the 
 hospitalis frater yrangicp,^ and assist- 
 ants. Of these the best to be sent 
 to the Abbey, when wanted, by the 
 care of certain of these Lay-brothers ; 
 the hospitalis frater to be continually 
 
 • Housekeeper. Mansionarius. Du Cange. 
 
 at home, if possible, and keep the keys 
 of the Grange, in preference ; if not, 
 a faithful brother in his stead : mea- 
 sures of allowances for persons coming 
 to the granges, and horses, &c. to be 
 established, and to be uniform every 
 where ; a check to be kept by an itine- 
 rant brother of the quantities of corn 
 threshed out; the tithes to be regu- 
 larly separated, and no stranger's corn 
 put in their custody without leave ; wo- 
 men not to milk in houses, but in 
 fields ; not to enter the Granges with- 
 out leave, and, as far as possible, to be 
 neither young nor pretty; the Lay- 
 brothers not to go near them ; to be 
 assisted by boys ; their refection to be 
 made in a house out of the gate, and 
 the presiding Lay-brother to oversee 
 them silently through a hole, and to 
 have a faithful mercenary to attend 
 upon them, and such a person to over- 
 see them in their work ; not to ride or 
 overload their horses, or overwork 
 themselves ; to come to the bake-house 
 at the proper season, and the baker to 
 strike the table at the time of mass; 
 punishments to be established for theft 
 and other crimes. 
 
 Lay-brothers retained their beards, 
 while the Monks were shaved, and 
 were therefore called Bearded Bro- 
 thers '^ they were also called Viatores^ 
 from frequently travelling on the Con- 
 vent business.*^ 
 
 Lay-sisters, Not to be admitted to 
 the habit before twenty years old ; not 
 to wait for the nuns to begin their 
 work, which consisted of washing, cu- 
 linary employments, attendance, and 
 other menial offices ;^ not to enter the 
 Church but at the times appointed for 
 them; to hold their Chapter every 
 Sunday, and twice in the week ; not to 
 
 '' Du Cange, v. Barbati fratres. 
 
 * Du Cange, in voce. 
 
 d There is a constitution in Lyndwood (Provinc. 
 207, Ed. Oxon.) which prohibits the services, by 
 Nuns, of females who worked in silk, acted as lady's 
 maids, or prepared baths. These were called vo- 
 luptuous and delicate servants. Others, in matters 
 connected with food, necessary servants. Among 
 these were not only Bakers (Pistrices), but Furna- 
 riw, whose duty appertained to the oven. 
 
194 
 
 LAY-SISTERS. 
 
 weave (texere) any thing to be sent or 
 sold out of the house ; when they rose 
 from their beds to say the nocturnal 
 synaxis before they did any work, but 
 not Prime until the proper season ; to 
 finish, however, what they had begun, 
 if it could not be delayed ; in a work- 
 ing day of twelve lessons, to rise before 
 the sixth psalm; on entering the church, 
 to sit upon the forms called miseri- 
 cords, and say the usual prayer, though 
 the Nuns had ended part of the ser- 
 vice ; from All Saints to the chairing 
 of St. Peter every day before Lauds 
 and Prime, a season to be granted 
 them for attending to devotions ; from 
 Holyroodday to All Saints, Prime to be 
 said at such an hour as they might 
 very soon (mox) go to their work. 
 When at their devotions, any one to 
 be allowed to join them after they had 
 said two Pater Nosters ; but if more, 
 such to say it by themselves ; all to 
 say Complin together except those 
 engaged ; after Prime and Complin to 
 sprinkle themselves with holy water; 
 to communicate eight times joer annum; 
 Novices three ; the latter to leave the 
 chapter at the " Let us speak of the 
 Order ;^^ and after it was ended, enter 
 again, and take their venia. In their 
 refection (which was attended with 
 prayers like those of the Canons), not 
 to sit before their Prior; those who 
 
 served at the table in Lent, and others 
 who were not allowed to eat with the 
 Convent, to eat after Nones when they 
 had said Vespers. In feasts, when the 
 Nuns went to their biberes, to go to 
 theirs ; to drink with leave after Ves- 
 pers if the brothers or sisters professed 
 on a working day; to take the sacrament 
 on the Sunday following; those em- 
 ployed in brewing to say the hours in 
 their house ; the mistress of those em- 
 ployed in offices out of doors to have 
 some old woman to speak in her stead, 
 when she gave orders ; the mistress to 
 strike one blow before she said bene- 
 dicite at the table ; a Lay-sister to at- 
 tend in the infirmary to dress the vic- 
 tuals, wash the linen, carry the weak, 
 lead the blind, and otherwise assist the 
 sick; intimacy forbidden between them 
 and the Nuns ; punishments for crimes ; 
 not to receive the sacrament on the 
 Sunday, if they had concealed any crime 
 during the week which ought to have 
 been proclaimed in Chapter. 
 
 There were persons called Fellow 
 sisters, sisters, being virgins, or wo- 
 men who gave themselves and their 
 goods, or at least a part, to Abbeys, in 
 the same manner as the Oblati among 
 the Monks.a 
 
 » Du Cange, v. Consoror. 
 
SERVANTS. 
 
 195 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 SERVANTS, 
 
 All those within the house took an 
 oath of fidelity, and not to reveal the 
 secrets of the house.* Instances ap- 
 pear, where they had been brought 
 up in the house from childhood, and 
 were persons judiciously selected. 
 The Abbot of Feversham says : '^ Yet 
 have I such faithful approved Ser- 
 vaunts, whome I have brought upp in 
 my poure house, from their tender 
 yeares. And those of suche wit and 
 good discresion, joyned unto the long 
 experience of the trade of suche worldly 
 thing, that they are able to furnishe 
 and supply those partes, I know, right 
 well in all poynts."^ In the time of 
 "William Rufus, the Servants at Eves- 
 ham amounted to sixty-five ; five in 
 the church ; two in the infirmary ; two 
 in the cellar ; five in the kitchen ; seven 
 in the bakehouse ; four brewers, four 
 menders, two in the bath, two shoe- 
 makers, two in the orchard, three gar- 
 deners ; one at the cloister gate, two 
 at the great gate ; five at the vineyard ; 
 four who served the Monks when they 
 went out ; four fishermen ; four in the 
 Abbot's chamber, three in the Hall.c 
 At the Nunnery of Yedingham, there 
 were a miller and boy, shoemaker, car- 
 ters, cowherds, porter, reaper, two gar- 
 deners, servant of the Granges, four 
 maids, maids of the infirmary, keeper 
 of the geese.tl Elsewhere are men- 
 tioned a Servant of the parlour, two 
 tailors, in an upper chamber, two Ser- 
 vants in the Vestiary, who rung the 
 bells f the barber ;^ one of the fires. 
 
 • C. Northampt. a° 1444. Cap. vi. sect. De In- 
 finnitorio. 
 
 »» MS. Cott. Cleop. E. IV. f. 33. a. 
 
 « Monast. Anglic, i. 146. •* Id. 498. 
 
 « Serviens parlorii ; duos cissores in nigro sola- 
 rio ex consuetudine. In vestiario duo servientes 
 qui pulsant carapanas (Davies has a similar item 
 of Durham). MS. Harl. 1005, p. 44. 
 
 ' By Lanfranc's Decretals, Prime, Tierce, and 
 Chapter, were expedited, and no Chapter held by 
 the children, but they went to their school, and 
 when every thing was ready in the cloister, the 
 
 who was constantly every fifteen days 
 to clean the spittings under and near 
 the forms, and strew them plentifully 
 with hay;S servants of the laundry, 
 who washed the table-cloths of the 
 Refectory ; the Servants of certain of- 
 ficers.^ At Tewkesbury, at the Disso- 
 lution, there were 144.i The Con- 
 vent of St. Alban's did not return ob- 
 served, to the prohibition that women^ 
 
 Abbot began a religious service. No one was 
 shaved in his hood ; but, like the persons who per- 
 formed the office, both the shaving and shaved were 
 in their frocks. They shaved one another, but 
 the Refectioners first, in winter, when the minuti 
 and sick had mixtus after Chapter, that they might 
 find every thing ready for them. While the psalms 
 were singing, no one was to wash his head, pare 
 his nails, or leave the cloister without leave : but, 
 after the psalms, and a benedicite and answer, they 
 might speak. Then a bason was brought, and they 
 washed their heads. If the bell rung for Church, 
 those went whose beards were either shaved or un- 
 touched. On the shaving day the cloths were 
 changed in the Refectory ; on days, when conver- 
 sation in the Cloister was allowed, any one who 
 thought it necessary, might be shaved with consent 
 of the Abbot or Prior. C. 12. Till the year 1266, 
 the Monks of St. Augustine's, Canterbury, used 
 to shave one another in the Cloister, but frequent 
 injuries ensuing through their awkwardness in that 
 office, secular persons were hired (W. Thome, C. 
 25. sect. 3) ; and it is plain, from Davies and others 
 mentioning the barber's stipend and fees, that this 
 example was followed by other houses. In the 
 Sempringham rule (Monast. ii. 721) the Canona 
 were shaved seventeen times per annum ; but one 
 of the Inquirenda of Henry* s visitors was, *' Whe- 
 ther ye bee wyckely shaven." MS. Cott. Cleop. 
 E. IV. Shaving the beard began about the year 
 1200. Le Voeu de Jacob, i. 851. Lest the Eu- 
 charist should be violated by it. 
 
 « Minister focarum continue circulo quindecim 
 dierum screationes subtus et prope formas mun- 
 dabit, et foenum competens copios6 ibidem ma- 
 gistri distributione curabit jacere, &c. MS, Cott. 
 Claud. B. vi. f. 197. b. Spenser (Fairy Queen, 
 B. VI. C. xii. St. 24) mentions the dirtiness of the 
 Monks : and I think this passage, and one in the ar- 
 ticle Refectioner, sufficiently prove it; notwith- 
 standing Thomas Heame's indignation (Lib. Nig. 
 Scaccarii, ii. 456) at the charge. 
 
 ^ Monast. i. p. 149. 
 
 « See Mr. Dyde's neat and pleasing History 
 of that place, p. 146. 
 
 •' In ministerio reclusi nulla maneat mulier, 
 neque neptis, neque aliena, nee soror, nee mater. 
 [In the service of a Monk there shall be no wo- 
 man, neither a niece, uor stranger, sister, or mo- 
 
 o2 
 
196 
 
 SERVANTS. 
 
 should notbe personally admitted in the 
 service of Anchorets."* By the Nor- 
 man institutes, it was enacted, that the 
 Servants should sup in the Refectory, 
 and in their way to the Church, while 
 they passed before the chapter, go 
 bowing till they had passed, and before 
 the entrance of the chapter raise them- 
 selves, and, turning to the east, in the 
 usual manner, make an humble incli- 
 nation. This salutation was to be re- 
 turned by the Monks in the chapter, 
 rising from their seats and bowing.^ 
 
 In Edmund de Hadenham^s Annals 
 of Rochester, are long details, by which 
 it appears, that these Servants were 
 married men, not Lay-brothers, and 
 transferred from one avocation to an- 
 other, however different, upon the prin- 
 ciple of promotion and favour only, 
 leaving them to acquire the requisite 
 qualifications successively .^^ 
 
 ther.] MS. Cot. Jul. A. IX. f. 12. b. (de vitk 
 
 Reclusorum.) 
 
 , » M. Paris, 1100. 
 
 ^ Deer. Lanfr. 
 
 '^ Angl. Sacr. i. 343, 344, 389. 
 
 Bishop Kennet has been often cited 
 for the blood-coloured liveries 'worn by 
 the Prior of Burcester's Servants : 
 liveries being anciently general, and 
 families supposed to be guided in the 
 colours, by the tinctures of their armo- 
 rial bearings. This, however, is rather 
 an exception, than a general rule. 
 Donne says, 
 
 "Nor come a velvet Justice with a long 
 Great train of blew-coats, twelve or fourteen 
 strong." Sat. i. 
 
 Blue was the colour in which the 
 Gauls cloathed their slaves,^ and from 
 this British custom, for many ages, 
 blue-coats were the liveries of servants 
 and apprentices, even of younger bro- 
 th ers,^ as now of the blue-coat boys, 
 blue schools in the country, &c. Hence 
 the proverb in Ray.^ ^' He ^s in his 
 better blew clothes ;' i. e, thinks him- 
 self very fine; and strumpets doing 
 penance in blue gowns.s 
 
 ^ Plin. N. H. xvi. 18. 
 
 * Douce on Shakspeare, 334, Strutt*s Dresses, 
 302, 315. 
 « P. QQ. 
 « Steevens. 
 
MONASTIC BUILDINGS. 
 
 197 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 MONASTIC BUILDINGS. 
 
 Monastic Buildings, like Roman 
 temples,* were erected by the gifts of 
 great men, the alms of the people,^ and 
 the substraction of a part of the annual 
 revenues, devoted to another purpose.^ 
 The Abbey of Vale Royal cost the king 
 32,000/. sterhng, and the Abbot drew 
 for the money by instalments.^^ When 
 they were impoverished and decayed 
 by fire or other cause, all the Abbots 
 of the order were to endeavour to re- 
 
 * Suetonius, in August, c. 29. 
 
 ** Bishop Hooper says, ** The people are made 
 so blind by the falsehood of Antichristes minis- 
 ters, that they will rather give a golden crowne to 
 the buildinge of an abbeie, foundation of a chan- 
 trie, or for a masse of requiem, then one silver 
 penie for the defence of their Commonwealth." 
 Sermons, b. 1. 57. b. 
 
 c W. Thome, C. 34. sect. 6. 
 
 ^ Monast. ii. 928, 9. It is singular, that in- 
 stances appear, where they had no idea of ivater 
 carriage, " Ad omnia edificia quod fecerat abbas 
 
 store them;e and petitions were pre- 
 sented to the king.*^ Low sites were 
 chosen (absurdly) upon account of 
 convenience for fish :& and picturesque 
 spots selected.^^ 
 
 Several of our English Monasteries 
 were fortified, and capable of enduring 
 a siege. Taylor's Index Monast. pref. 
 iii. who mentions Binham Priory, St. 
 Bennet's and Ewenny Priory, in South 
 Wales, as an interesting specimen. 
 
 (Faritius) prsedictus trabes et tigna de regione 
 Wallensium venire fecit cum magno sumptu et 
 gravi labore. Sex enira plaustra ad hoc habebat, 
 et ad unum quodque illorum xii boves. Sex vel vii 
 ebdomadarum erat eundi et redeundi, nam juxta 
 Salopesbiriam transire oportuit." Hist. Abban- 
 dunensis, MS. in Bibl. Cott. 
 
 e C. G. Northampt. a° 1444. C. ix. 
 
 f Rot. Pari. 18 Ed. I. No. 89. m. 4. (Vol. I.) 
 
 8 Morant's Colchester, ii. See Ray's Wisdom 
 of God. 
 
 ^ See Lanthony in Dugd. Monast. ii. 
 
198 
 
 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 The later periods of mediaeval Ar- 
 chitecture are so thoroughly under- 
 stood^ as to render investigation un- 
 necessary ; but that of the early ages is 
 by no means established ; and as Mr. 
 King^s elaborate work upon Castles 
 (though of great merit in elucidating 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 British, The simplest kind is that 
 of the old Chapel of Glastonbury^ made 
 of wattled work^ as described by Wil- 
 liam of Malmesbury^* and (the win- 
 dows excepted) accurately sketched by 
 Sammes. Whoever considers the Bri- 
 tish houses upon the Antonine column 
 [see fig, 1] ; knows, that the remains 
 of British houses near Clun Castle 
 are circular buildings, detached from 
 each other, with foundations only, and 
 door-posts of stone, and no windows 
 or chimneys ;^ and that the old Poem 
 in Higden says, that the Welsh build 
 houses of wattle and dab detached 
 from each other ;<^ and that Froissart 
 says the same of Scotch houses : will 
 from such knowledge acquiesce in 
 Sammes^s design, except that the win- 
 dows should be round-headed and 
 long. Great windows appear in the 
 most ancient Welsh Churches,^ Mr. 
 Wilkins, in his Magna Greecia, shows 
 that the Temple of Jerusalem was of 
 the barn-like form of the Parthenon/ 
 and from this Greek fashion of Tem- 
 ples, not Warburton's vista of trees, 
 undoubtedly came the long bodies of 
 our ancient and modern Churches. 
 
 Very old Welsh Churches are of the 
 Bam form, but without Towers : the 
 wall at one end is raised above the 
 
 the interior parts) does not determine 
 the easy acquisition of ascertaining their 
 aera by their construction, the Archi- 
 tecture of Churches shall be classified 
 in one column, that of Castles in the 
 other. 
 
 CASTLES. 
 
 British, Gildas mentions strong 
 fortified houses very lofty, built upon 
 the top of a hill (ex edito), and Nen- 
 nius (arces) with gates and Castles, 
 both of brick and stone.^ This Bri- 
 tish Castle, from Trercaeri and other 
 specimens, is known to have been a 
 round hill, hooped with walls, like a 
 churn, within which were caverns, and 
 circular British houses for the garrison, 
 but at the very summit a large Tower, 
 sometimes round, more rarely square, 
 for the habitation of the Prince. Castle 
 Corndochen, and Castle Prysor, as- 
 cribed to the Romans, have a square, a 
 round, and an oval Tower .& Launces- 
 ton Keep, Mr. King very justifiably 
 makes a British remain. 
 
 Anglo- Saa^on Castles. However true 
 is Sir William Dugdale^s remark, that 
 there were very few Anglo-Saxon 
 Castles, their chief fortresses being 
 earth-works, yet the Keep of Corfe, 
 because called Edgar^s Tower, is an 
 undoubted remain. It has the light 
 upper rooms, or solaria, of which the 
 Anglo-Saxons were so fond.^ Col- 
 chester, considered by Strutt of the 
 same sera, is cased with Caen stone, 
 and only one fabrick raised out of the 
 ruins of another, i, e, a Gundulf Keep, 
 such as Rochester, Dover, Canter- 
 
 • XV Scriptores, 293. Any other Churches must have been very rare. See Chap, iii, 
 
 * Britton*8 Architectural Antiquities, ii. 57. ' XV Scriptores, 188. 
 ^ Rowland's Mona Antiqua, 158. « Introd. viii. ix. 
 
 f XV Script, ch. 2. 30, seq. i Gough's Camden, ii. 545. 
 
 ^ XV. Scriptor. 957. X Script. 750. I believe the direct ascent, as at Conisborough, to be Anglo- 
 Saxon ; the side-long itairs to be a Norman improvement. 
 

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 S 
 
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 m 
 
CHURCH ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 109 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 roof, and has arches, under which hang 
 two bells exposed to the air. 
 
 At the same time superior Churches, 
 in the style of that of the 5 th and 
 followingf centuries [see fig. 2 from 
 Maillot], might exist at Bangor or 
 Val Rosine. For Gregory of Tours, 
 who lived in the same sixth century, 
 says, " This Church has in length 155 
 feet, in breadth 6*0,^ in height to the 
 chamber or vaulting 45, windows in 
 the Altar (i. e. Choir) 32, in the Cap- 
 sura (Nave) 20, pillars 41; in the 
 whole edifice 52 windows, 120 pillars, 
 8 doors, 3 in the Choir, 5 in the 
 Nave." Again, " he made a Church 
 150 feet long, 60 broad, 50 feet high 
 from the Nave to the Vaulting, 42 
 windows, 'J2 pillars, 8 gates.^^ The 
 Naves of Monastic Churches were 
 sometimes far shorter.^ In the year 
 709 (see fig. 3, 4, from Maillot) are two 
 Churches, one with the long round- 
 headed door of the British house ; the 
 other, a fac-simile of the Anglo-Saxon 
 house in Strutt, whose copies of an- 
 cient illuminations coincide in other 
 respects, as appears by the plate. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon Churches.^ A round 
 Tower at the West end, and a semi-cir- 
 cular termination of the Chancel, are 
 admitted to be undisputed denotations 
 of Anglo-Saxon Churches. A modern 
 sweeping position consigns nearly all 
 to the Norman s,d because the anterior 
 specimens are rare. (The west front of 
 Malmsbury, still existent, is a work of 
 Aldhelm, and very fine.e) One remark 
 is alone sufiicient to show its error. 
 
 CASTLES. 
 
 bury, Norwich, &c. was erected, for 
 the opposite materials prove the altera- 
 tion. Corfe, Limme in Kent, and 
 other ugly Towers, often with herring- 
 bone work, especially Coningsborough, 
 are, therefore, as Mr. King in the 
 latter instance thinks, probably Anglo- 
 Saxon. He is supported by strong 
 reasons ; for, however similar may be 
 the exterior forms of Oxford Keep- 
 tower, and Hedingham, of later date, 
 as well as others, the entrance in these 
 Norman fabricks is not by a strait 
 flight of steps, but one side-long and 
 flanking : nor has the interior of those 
 Keeps, called Anglo-Saxon by Mr. 
 King, the same conveniences and arti- 
 ficial annexations as the Norman. Dif- 
 ferences, therefore, do exist, though 
 not externally apparent, the staircase 
 excepted, which undoubtedly (from the 
 Keeps in Cornwall, where Norman 
 customs were comparatively recent,) 
 is more ancient when strait than pa- 
 rallel. Besides, there is a rude an- 
 cientry of structure at Coningsborough, 
 &c. aided by the tradition of Saxon 
 proprietors. 
 
 Norman Castles, The Anglo-Saxon 
 Keep-tower is, besides interior addi- 
 tions, dilated and amplified into a 
 Gundulf-keep, so as to have an addi- 
 tional large central room; or, as at 
 Berkeley, a ballium, with a range of 
 apartments around the inside. This 
 Keep, sometimes octangular, sometimes 
 with circular angular Towers, is mostly 
 square, with whole or demi-towers at 
 the angles. Such are Dover, Roches- 
 
 * Willis says (Cathedrals, ii. 763), that the height of the Vaulting is generally the breadth of the Nave 
 and side ailes ; but at Stewkeley, &c. is an upper-croft over the Vaulting. ^ Du Cange, v. Capsum. 
 
 «= From the grotesque animal ornaments of monstrous heads, and interlaced dragons, I seriously 
 believe maybe distinguished Anglo-Saxon from Norman Churches ; for they abound in our earliest MSS. 
 and Norman figures more resemble Nature. That very curious Anglo-Saxon Church Kilpeck, in Here- 
 fordshire, has no West door ; and tfiree compartments, the Porticus, i. e. West end, the Nave, and 
 a semi-circular Chancel. Each is divided by large round arches, upon the pilasters of which are figures 
 of Saints, like Caryatides. There is no staircase to the rood-loft. The intersection of the zig-zag 
 groins, arched roof, and narrow round-headed windows, exhibit the Chancel most pleasingly from the 
 West end. The wall of the Western point-end rises above the roof, to hold two bells under ai-ches. 
 There is a rich South-door case, which had no Porch, full of interlaced serpents, &c. Around the whole 
 Church runs a frieze of monstrous heads, &c. ; among which, is a tumbler holding his leg, from the 
 Bhows of the Anglo-Saxon Gleemen. Others have the hair parted on each side, in true Anglo-Saxon 
 costume. As interlaced Dragons have been found at Hyde Abbey, I believe also, that the Crypt of St, 
 Peter's, Oxford, &c. is not Norman, notwithstanding recent publications. 
 
 •» Messrs. Lysons are laudable exceptions : and where are more experienced Antiquaries ? 
 
 « XV Scriptores, 349. 
 
200 
 
 CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 Stewkeley, inter alia, has been deprived 
 of its Anglo-Saxon antiquity. Now it 
 has an upper-croft, as has Elkstone in 
 Gloucestershire, &c. &c. ; and upper- 
 crofts obtained in Irish Churches, 
 where the first Normans never reign- 
 ed.* The Church was the parochial 
 fortress, especially the Steeple;^ and 
 the upper-crofts were made on account 
 of the Danes. Wooden Churches were 
 constantly exposed to depredation and 
 fire. ^^ There were no other means of 
 saving the sacred reliques, vestments, 
 &c. of the Churches, and the wealth of 
 the inhabitants, than by hiding them 
 in subterraneous caves. The method, 
 therefore, of building Churches en- 
 tirely of stone, with upper-crofts, was 
 a great improvement, as it gave a place 
 of security to the goods of the inha- 
 bitants, as well as to the sacred uten- 
 sils : for the Churches being entirely 
 of stone, could not be easily burnt; 
 and the entrances into the upper crofts, 
 being only by narrow newel stairs, or 
 by ladders, through stone trap-doors, 
 they could not be plundered without 
 pulling down the building, which, in 
 these desultory expeditions, they had 
 seldom time to do.^^*^ Here then we 
 have three proofs of Anglo-Saxon fa- 
 bricks : 1 . Cylindrical Steeples. 2. 
 Circular East-ends. 3. Upper-crofts. 
 Conceding the similarity of the Anglo- 
 Saxon and Norman styles, it is ad- 
 mitted, that Hexham, built by Wil- 
 frid, was very lofty in the walls, had 
 three tiers or stories, columns, pon- 
 tices,d &c. Now in a Church, built 
 in the time of Charlemagne (see fig. 
 5, from Maillot), it is very lofty, is 
 divided into stories, and plainly shows 
 the origin of the Spire ; i, e, the py- 
 ramidal roof of a tower rounded and 
 elongated, e So also Strutt's drawings 
 
 CASTLES. 
 
 ter, Durham, York, &c. If the Anglo- 
 Saxon Keep -towers occasionally oc- 
 cur, they have side-long, not direct, 
 ascents. 
 
 Twelfth Century, Berkeley, of this 
 age, has the large high Norman Keep, 
 but is surrounded to prevent mining 
 (the usual method of siege) with a 
 terras walk, exactly conformable to the 
 description of an old Poem in Warton.*^ 
 There are no walls with Towers ; only 
 the Barbican, and Demi-bastions. The 
 ascent to the Keep is sidelong.? 
 
 Hitherto the test of Castles is re- 
 duced to a very simple standard : the 
 lofty commanding character of the 
 Keep, and the lowness of the tvalls, and 
 paucity of contiguous buildings. This 
 is well exhibited in the second volume 
 of Grose^s Military Antiquities, where 
 is a Gundulf-keep, &c. in perfection 
 (Fortification, pi. 1). 
 
 The Normans (says Strutt) defend- 
 ed the base-court from the keep, but 
 a defence from many towers must be 
 better than from one. Accordingly, in 
 1190, towers are ordered to be an- 
 nexed to the walls of Paris -^ and, in 
 1241, lofty towers and double walls 
 occur.^ The garrison, after defending 
 the walls, upon their demolition, fled 
 to the keep.^ To augment the fortifi- 
 cations, therefore, so that, in fact, se- 
 veral Towers became Keeps, was a 
 desideratum which appears to have 
 been supplied by Edw. I. in the con- 
 struction of Caernarvon. Others were 
 altered : and at Godrich, the old Saxon 
 Keep being retained (Godric not being 
 a Norman owner), a wall and four 
 Towers were placed at the angles; 
 each Tower being a Keep of itself in 
 strength. Accordingly, in the end of 
 the Thirteenth Century, the charac- 
 teristicks alter from a lofty command- 
 
 » Transact. Royal Irish Academy for 1789, pp. 80—83. ^ Hutchinson's Durham, i. 94 ; ii. 578. 
 
 « Transactions Royal Irish Academy, ubi supra. 
 
 •* Bentham's Ely, 22, 23. I believe, from very ancient illuminations, that grotesque capitals of 
 columns are almost always Anglo-Saxon. 
 « A subsequent rule for Spires was, the same height as the length of the Church. Du Cange, v. Turrile. 
 * Poetry, i. 84. g A guard-room afterwards over the stairs. 
 
 > Du Cange, v, Tornella, » M. Paris, 504. ^ X Scriptores 623, 
 
CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 201 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 from undoubted Anglo-Saxon manu- 
 scripts. Tickencote Churchy without 
 a fac-simile in Grose, through its pro- 
 fusion of carved work, does not assi- 
 milate a Norman specimen. In the 
 county of Berks alone, Welford, with a 
 round Tower, Padworth, Finchamsted, 
 Remenham, (with semi-circular Towers 
 at the East end), Tidmarsh and Aving- 
 ton,'^ are undoubtedly rescued from 
 the hands of those Normans, who 
 altered everything in England, and yet 
 had a similar architecture. The Nor- 
 man fabricks appear to have had less 
 carved work, but much more elegant 
 proportions, and greater beauty and 
 pattern as a whole, than Anglo-Saxon 
 Churches. Luton Church is said to 
 be of conventual fashion, because it 
 has two Porches to the North and 
 South each, and two Chapels adjoin- 
 ing to the East end of the North and 
 South ailes.^ That this was not ex- 
 clusively a Conventual fashion, nor 
 was an invariable form of Abbey- 
 Churches, is evident, whatever may 
 be the grounds upon which Dr. Du- 
 carel broached this position. Paro- 
 chial Churches, though not appro- 
 priated, were, if situate upon abbatial 
 estates, at least sometimes distinguish- 
 ed by transepts, though the erection 
 of the Church was at different periods. 
 The splendor of Conventual Churches 
 is thus explained: personal expence, 
 or secular indulgence, was culpable in 
 a Monk ; but what was expended in 
 ornamenting the Church, was thought 
 to be glorifying God.c 
 
 Ancient Churches, most splendid in 
 the reign of the first Edward,^ had 
 various peculiarities now unknown, 
 which shall be respectively detailed. 
 As the High Altar represented the 
 Church, and had four corners, because 
 the gospel was extended through the 
 four quarters of the globe,^ that shall 
 be first considered. Its dimensions 
 are thus stated by Bishop Hakewill : 
 
 CASTLES. 
 
 ing Keep, which designates the whole 
 as an object of import, to a large and 
 conspicuous Tower, commonly at an 
 angle, from greater command every 
 ivay^ and to numerous high Turrets and 
 Towers, with high walls between; all 
 one whole building as to external aspect, 
 not of disjunct parts, as the Anglo- 
 Saxon and Norman Castles. The outer 
 ivalls too are quite high. In short, the 
 whole Castle is a Keep enlarged into a 
 walled and towered Court. Such is 
 Caernarvon, &c. 
 
 Fourteenth Century, This is a single 
 Castle, square, with angular towers 
 and machicollated gateways, sometimes 
 flanked by slender round towers. Thus 
 Lumley, built in 1389, Hilton, Boden- 
 ham, and Cowling, in Kent. Mr. 
 King says, that the low flat round 
 Keep of Windsor was found there 18 
 Edw. III. by WiUiam of Wickham; 
 but as another occurs at Leeds in 
 Kent, also built by Wickham, and 
 Queenborough of this age, however 
 modernized, has similar Towers, they 
 also are fashions of this sera. 
 
 Fifteenth Century, The general cha- 
 racteristick is lightness; light slender 
 machicollated Towers. So Caister in 
 Norfolk. 
 
 In the rich illuminated Roman d^A- 
 lexandre in the Bodleian Library, are 
 numerous representations of 
 
 Castellated Mansioiis, They are like 
 Beverstone in Gloucestershire, built 
 temp. Edw. III.; lofty compact Keeps, 
 but windowy, with angular demi-towers 
 square ; the faces diagonal to the build- 
 ing, but differing from Castles, in 
 having pine-end roofs. Hurstmon- 
 ceaux, and the Oxford College, and 
 Quadrangular Mansions, are no more 
 than single-castles housified, begotten, 
 in jockey language, from Gundulph 
 Keeps, whose dam was the lofty old 
 Keep-tower. 
 
 Sixteenth Century, The Castle adapt- 
 ed to residence and war, occurs at 
 
 • Lysons's Britann. i. 205, 322. ^ Bibl. Topogr. Britann. vol. iv. No. VIII. p. 11. 
 
 *= Eadmer, 109, The idea was taken from the splendour of the Heathen X^mples. See Hor. Od. 82. 
 Od. 14, «> Callaway's Heraldig Enquiries, p. 36, seq. « Jvo CarnoteAsis, 787, 
 
202 
 
 CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 " Allowing then an Altar of three foote 
 and an halfe high, and a rising to it 
 from the lower floore of a foote high; 
 the height of the Altar from the lower 
 floore will be foure foote and a halfe, 
 or three cubits, which is the measure 
 required in the Leviticall Law, and 
 differs little in height from the Altars 
 in forraine parts, or those which are 
 yet standinge with us, if wee likewise 
 take their height from the lower floore ; 
 which, by reason of the continued and 
 easie degrees of ascent to them, may 
 not unfitly be counted their basis or 
 foote/' ^ The authentic mark of an 
 Altar-table was its five crosses.^ As 
 no Altar could be consecrated without 
 relicks,^ there was a small stone, called 
 the Sigillum Altaris, by which the 
 aperture for insertion of the relicks 
 was closed up^ by mortar tempered in 
 holy water. What are the horns of 
 the Altar has been doubted by War- 
 ton. ^ They have been called the corners 
 of the Altar.f Du Cange says, the 
 horn of the Altar is the side, where the 
 epistle and gospel w^ere read.s Sym- 
 machus, Gregory of Tours, and others,^ 
 mention the Siborium, an arch over the 
 altar, supported by four lofty columns, 
 in imitation of the Propitiatory, which 
 covered the ark. It was sometimes 
 illuminated and adorned with tapers. 
 Where there was no Siborium, a mere 
 canopy^ hung over the Altar, which 
 was most common among us ; a fine 
 stone screen full of niches being the 
 back of the Altar, from which the 
 canopy projects. Curtains called the 
 Tetravelum were annexed, and drawn 
 round, that the Priest might not be 
 confused by view of the spectator s.^^ 
 Under this ciborium or canopy, hung 
 the Pi^, or box, containing the Host, 
 
 * Apologie, p. 221. 
 t Gent. Mag, for 1799, p. 860. 
 *^ Lyndw. Provinc. 249. 
 ^ Du Cange in voce, and v. Malta. 
 e I. 302. Emend, v. ii. 
 ' Pictet. Serm, sur Gen, c. xxviii, v. 17. 
 s V. Cornu Altaris. 
 
 ^ Bishop Jewell's Reply to Harding, p. 311, 312. 
 » Called Umhraculum. Du Cange. 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Ciborium^ Cortona, Propitia* 
 iorium, Tetra-velum, 
 
 CASTLES. 
 
 Thornbury. The range of apartments 
 is affixed to a strong Tower at one 
 end, which flanks and protects them. 
 There is also a large Court, with bar- 
 racks and loop-holes. 
 
 Mr. King's opinion is, that there is 
 no rule in the construction of Castles, 
 from their difi'erent aspects : certainly 
 not, if, instead of taking pure speci- 
 mens, of which the dates are known, 
 recourse be had to mongrel buildings, 
 altered at various times ; but, in the 
 construction of all Fortresses, rule and 
 plan are matters of course. 
 
 commonly a Dove of Goldsmiths 
 I work,i esteemed so sacred, that upon 
 j the march of hostile armies, it was 
 ! especially prohibited from theft; and 
 I Henry the Fifth delayed his army for 
 a whole day, to discover the thief who 
 had stolen one."^ A common Altar- 
 piece was a picture of the General 
 Judgement, called Mappa Mundi;^ but 
 others occur, o though, I am inclined 
 to think, no subject was admissible, 
 which was not either contemporary 
 with, or posterior to, the passion of 
 Christ. Over the Altar was put the 
 Palla, carried out against fires; and 
 over the Pall^v the Corporal, always 
 made of linen, according to an order of 
 Sextus in the year 133.1 The Ante- 
 pendium was a veil which hung before,"^ 
 as the Dorsale behind.^ Behind and 
 about the Altar were Pertica, or beams, 
 ornamented at the great feasts with re- 
 liquaries of ivory, silver, &c.t Besides 
 Piscinas, hereafter described, were the 
 stalls, where the officiating Ministers 
 retired, during parts of the service per- 
 formed by the choir .^ Du Cange says. 
 
 1 Bp. Jewell, ubi supra. 
 
 « Tho. de Elmham in Vit^ Henrici V. p. 39, 53. 
 
 n Cough's Sepulchral Monuments, Introd. vol. 
 ii. p. 3. ° Lysons's Britannia, ii. 117. 
 
 p Du Cange, v. Palla Altaris. 
 
 < M. Polonus sub anno. 
 
 ' Du Cange. It is the frontale of Staveley, 
 Churches, 187. " Du Cange. 
 
 t Du Cange, v. Pertica, See Dec. Scriptor. 
 col. 1300. 
 
 « Hoc facto, sacerdos cum suis ministris in sedi- 
 bus ad hoc paratis se recipiat* Missale Antiq. 
 MS. Femb. Coll. Oxon. 
 
CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 203 
 
 " The Sedes Majestatis is a seat by the 
 side of the Altar, in which the Minister 
 about to celebrate sits, while the Kyrie, 
 Gloria, and Creed, are sung ; from 
 whence, as often as he arose, the Deacon 
 removing his hood, or amess, used to 
 comb his hair ; although that office is 
 now done in the Vestiary [see § Abbot] 
 before he comes to the Altar." 
 
 The Altar-plate stood upon a side 
 table called Credentia, or Ministerium.^ 
 
 Besides this, were the Altaria Ani- 
 marum, where Masses were said for 
 the dead;^ rarely attended but by the 
 Priest, a boy to assist him, and perhaps, 
 a relative or two of the deceased. ^ 
 
 Lecterns, where the epistle and gospel 
 were sung, and certain services of the 
 dead performed. <^ Some Lecterns were 
 made in the shape of an Eagle, to de- 
 signate St. John the Evangelist.*^ The 
 Analogium was a reading-desk of 
 Spanish metal cast, over which hung a 
 gilt eagle with expanded wings. It 
 was sometimes taken for the Martyro- 
 logy, or Necrology, because that book 
 was always laid upon it, to read from 
 it what belonged to the service of the 
 day.f 
 
 Candlesticks. The first of these 
 known in the Church were some of the 
 form of crosses, presented to the Arians 
 by the Empress Eudocia, and borne 
 by them in procession.g Afterwards 
 in the Choir were candlesticks called 
 Arbores or trees, with many lights 
 rising from the ground. ^^ The Statutes 
 of Clugny say, " On the above festivals 
 in which that iron machine is accus- 
 tomed to be lighted, which is com- 
 monly called Ezra, because it was il- 
 luminated by glass lamps. ^'i There 
 were also pendent chandeliers, called 
 Coronoi,^ In different parts of the 
 
 * Du Cange. ^ Du Cange, v. Altare. 
 
 « Dugd. Monast. ii. 367. Peck's Desider. Cu- 
 riosa, 229. 
 
 ** Davies, ch. xxi. sect. 10. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Aquila. 
 
 ' Du Cange. A very fine one is engraved in 
 Notices des MSS. dans la Biblioth^que Nationale, 
 vol. vi. PI. I. 
 
 9 Socrates, l.vi.c. 8. *» Du Cange, v. ^rJorc*. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Ezra, 
 
 ^ Ibid. At the Chapel of Ford Abbey in De- 
 Tonshire, when on a visit to J. F. Gwynne, esq. I 
 
 Church, sometimes in front of the 
 High Altar, were Uerses or stages, de- 
 corated with palls, tapers, &c. in me- 
 mory of deceased great persons.^ 
 
 The seats of those who sung in the 
 Choir, consisted of two parts : Ant tea 
 and Postica. In the Postica were the 
 folding seats, which were raised when 
 the singers were to stand. The fold- 
 ing part afforded a kind of seat, called 
 a misericord. The part Antica made 
 a leaning stock, upon which they re- 
 clined when the Fe/iia was to be sought."^ 
 For though Fenia was a general term 
 for genuflexion, prostration, or similar 
 gesture, there was the greater Metanaa, 
 very low inclination of the body ; the 
 smaller only bending the neck and 
 head." Thus the Oseney Missal says, 
 ^^ Let them raise themselves, and lift 
 their seats, and lye upon the forms, 
 saying the Lord's Prayer.^'o To un- 
 derstand this, [it is necessary to ob- 
 serve, that the seniors only leaned 
 upon the forms; the juniors and the 
 boys lay prostrate upon the pavement 
 opposite the stalls ;P for to be raised to 
 a forma, the word for a stall, was a 
 promotion.^ Kneeling cushions and 
 hassocks were common.^" The Monks 
 bowed at the Gloria Patri, except at the 
 hours of the Virgin Mary ; and sat at 
 all the psalms, at least in this service.^ 
 The stalls were ornamented with tapes- 
 try on festivals '^ and the whole Church 
 hung with black on funerals of state : 
 as were the houses of the deceased, 
 and black curtains over the pictures. 
 Over the body was put a black pall, 
 with armorial escutcheons.^ 
 
 The Naves of Churches were not 
 
 was astonished to find two beautiful Altar-candle- 
 sticks, exact faC'Similes of some classical Cande- 
 labra. 
 
 * There is a very fine specimen in the Prints 
 concerning Abbot Islip, in the Vetusta Monumenta. 
 
 " Du Cange, v. Forma, " Ibid. 
 
 ° Erigant se, et levent sedilia, et jaceant supra 
 formas dicentes orationem Dominicam. MS. Ai-ch. 
 A. Bodl. 73. 
 
 V Reyner, Onomast. v. Prosiernales Psalmi, 
 See Dugd. Monast. i. 951. 
 
 1 Du Cange, v. levari supra Chorum. 
 
 ' Id. V. Genufiectile, Genuflexorium, Basse, 
 
 ■ Du Cange, v. Horce. 
 
 * Id. V. Tapetias. 
 
 " Id. Y. Listra, Scttiellum, 
 
204 
 
 CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 always paved,a whence the use of 
 rushes, according to Cowell,'^ for warmth 
 and better kneehng. Men used to 
 stand on the right hand or South side; 
 women on the left or North.c 
 
 Organ, This was of very different 
 form to the modern, the pipes being 
 exposed ; and such an organ was, and 
 perhaps is now, at Uley Church in 
 Gloucestershire. The organist Avas an- 
 ciently no separate officer, but one of 
 the society.^ We hear of an Arch- 
 deacon playing upon one in the Anglo- 
 Saxon sera.e The Anglo-Saxon had 
 copper pipes. f Wulstan, in his pro- 
 logue to the life of St. Swithin, men- 
 tions one with twelve pair of bellows 
 above, fourteen below, four hundred 
 pipes, and seventy strong men required 
 to work it.g In 1450 that of St. Al- 
 ban^s was the best in the kingdom.^ 
 In the 14th century they were very 
 general in Abbies :i Davies mentions 
 more than one in a Church. 
 
 Piscinas^ or sinks, where the Priest 
 emptied the water he washed his hands 
 in, and where flies (because the em- 
 blems of unclean thoughts) and other 
 filth in the chalice, in short, all conse- 
 crated waste stuff that could be so, 
 w^ere poured out.^ 
 
 Du Cange calls it the font, where 
 the Priest washed his hands before he 
 performed the sacred offices, in allusion 
 to the psalm, ^' I will wash my hands 
 in innocency,'^ &c. We order, says an 
 ancient synod, a font for washing the 
 hands of the celebrating Priests, which 
 may be either affixed to the wall or 
 Pensile, and furnish water with a linen 
 pall.^^ The Lavatory is also called the 
 horn of the Altar, where the Priest 
 washed his hands in the Mass.^ Pisci- 
 
 * Nichols's Progress of Q. Eliz. ^ v. Cirpus. 
 *^ Du Cange, v. Pars Virorum, 
 
 ^ Warton's Sir T, Pope, 424. 
 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. ii. 43. 
 
 ^ Histor. Rames. ch. liv. 
 
 i Du Cange, v. Organa. What clumsy ma- 
 chines they were, may be seen by the prints in 
 Strutt, Hawkins, and Burney. 
 
 »» Warton's Sir T. Pope, 345. 
 
 » Burney's Musick, ii. 376. 
 
 *' Lyndw. et Du Cange, v. Piscina, 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Pons Lavatorium, 
 
 nas are sometimes double ; sometimes 
 single."^ 
 
 Lockers, or small niches, held the 
 Ampullar, or cruets of mixed wine and 
 water for the Altar ; and of oil for holy 
 unction and chrism." In the Old 
 Anglo-Saxon Church of Kilpeck in 
 Herefordshire, there are tAvo Lockers, 
 but no Piscina. In a corner, stands a 
 moveable double stone bason, formed 
 like a dice-box, or hour-glass, without^ 
 feet; used either for a Piscina or holy 
 water, there being a large font besides. 
 
 Pensile Tables, containing genealo- 
 gies of buried persons f number of 
 pardons granted to those who prayed 
 for the deceased ;P registers of miracles ;^ 
 histories ; and duties of the temporary 
 Priests."^ 
 
 Excubitoria, or apartments for per- 
 sons who watched the whole night. ^ 
 
 In Lincoln Cathedral is a chamber 
 of timber, where the searchers of the 
 Church used to lie ; under which, every 
 night, they had an allowance of bread 
 and beer. At the shutting of the 
 Church- doors, the custom was to toll 
 the greatest of our Lady^s bells, forty 
 tolls ; and after, to go to that place and 
 eat and drink, and then to walk round 
 and search the Church.* 
 
 Roodlo/ts, or galleries across the 
 Nave, at the entrance of the Chancel, 
 or Choir, where were the images of the 
 Crucifixion, Mary, and John, and some- 
 times rows of Saints, on either side, 
 and where the musicians played. 
 
 "* Lysons's Britannia, ii. 61. 
 " Du Cange, v. Jmpullce. 
 
 MS. Cott. Jul. F. vii. 
 
 P Herbert's Ames, i. 420. 
 
 1 Willis's Cathedrals, 1. 35. 
 
 *■ To make these was the Chanter's office. I'he 
 following was the form of one of them : ** Tabula 
 sic fiat, 1. evang. fr. ille. 1. pl'am fr. ille Gr. ille 
 et ille. R. cantores." ** Tabula sine invit. fiat, 
 post I'c. et Ix' Ix^*' ponatur mensse lector." MS. 
 Arch. A. Bodl. 73. Any one prevented by infir- 
 mity or otherwise from officiating, gave notice to 
 the Prior (of Winton), or his substitute, who no- 
 minated another. Lowth*s Wykeham, 282. It 
 seems, that at Shene, there were no less than 
 thirty -four tables hanging up in the Nave (devo- 
 tionsd ones). Itiu. S. Simeon, ct W. Worcest. p. 
 299. 
 
 ■ Custumale Roffense, p. 171. 
 
 » Peck's Degiderati* Curipsa, 305« 
 
CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 205 
 
 There is a remarkable similarity in 
 the style of Roodlofts. The gallery is 
 commonly supported by a cross beam, 
 richly carved with foliage, sometimes 
 superbly gilt ; and underneath runs a 
 screen of beautiful open Tabernacle 
 work. One at Honiton in Devon, pre- 
 cisely resembles that engraved by Sir 
 R. C. Hoare.*^ Mary and John were 
 not always the images which accom- 
 panied the Crucifix, for we find the 
 four Evangelists substituted instead.^ 
 At Gilden Morden in Cambridgeshire, 
 the Roodloft is very large and com- 
 plete, having a double screen, forming 
 two pews, about six feet square, on 
 each side of the passage to the Chan- 
 cel; the upper parts of light open 
 Gothic work of the 15th century; the 
 lower part is painted with flowers, and 
 figures of Edmund and Erkenwold, 
 with their names and inscriptions 
 added.c 
 
 Confessionals, At Gloucester, it is 
 a large chair by the side of a door. At 
 the ruined Abbey of Maig Adare in Ire- 
 land, are stalls with oblong holes cut 
 in them for confession.^ Some are 
 arched stone vaults, through which was 
 a passage from the Choir to a Chapel, 
 formerly very dark. Here the people 
 stood, the Priest being within the 
 Altar rails, and the voice passing 
 through a wall made hollow for the 
 purpose.^ On each side of the Altar, 
 at Crewkerne in Somersetshire, is a 
 door leading into a small room; that 
 by which the penitents entered for 
 confession has two swine carved over 
 it, to signify their pollution ; that, by 
 which they returned, two angels, to 
 signify their purity.^ At Gloucester 
 two angels look upwards : it is more 
 probable that this was a pictorial re- 
 commendation of confession, founded 
 upon the principles of its absolving and 
 saving power, mentioned in the first 
 chapter. 
 
 • Giraldus, Plate 5, f. 3. 
 
 »» Warton's Sir T. Pope, 348. 
 « Lysons's Britannia, II. 59. 
 •> Sir R. C. Hoare'8 Tour, p. 51. 
 
 * Parkin's Norwich, 187. 
 
 ' Collinson's Somersetshire, II. 262. See Sir 
 R. C. Hoare's Giraldus, I. 29. 
 
 Galilees, where the processions end- 
 ed : places or pcivs aloft, for the Abbotts 
 family to view processions from ;S lines 
 cut in the pavement to show the room 
 to be kept clear for processions; and 
 circular stones, to mark where eacli 
 should take his stand at such times.^* 
 In the Nave of the Church of York are 
 small circles, engraved on the pave- 
 ment, marking each place in the length 
 of this Nave, which, being twelve times 
 repeated, make exactly an English 
 mile. They showed us twelve holes 
 against the great door, with a little 
 peg, which served to mark the miles, 
 to any one chusing to measure them, 
 changing every time this peg into a 
 fresh hole, in order not to misreckon.i 
 
 Lady-chapels, or Retro-choirs. This 
 Chapel was so called, because, in gene- 
 ral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The 
 sick and strange Monks commonly sat 
 there. In th« Rule of the Order of 
 Victor of Paris, it is said, '^ Those, who 
 from sickness, are in the Retro-choir 
 by licence.'' Again [ch. xxxix], " As 
 long as a brother is in the Retro-choir, 
 they ought not to be put in the table 
 for officiating. The sick, who are in 
 the Retro-choir, ought to stand, if they 
 can, at the Te Deum, Benedictus, and 
 Gospel.'' Thus [in ch. lii], ^^ After 
 the glory of the first psalm, let no one 
 enter the Choir without licence. After 
 half an hour, let no one enter at all, 
 but go to the Retro-choir, and after- 
 wards beg pardon in the Chapter."^ 
 A deformed child, waiting for a mira- 
 culous cure, lay, on his birth-day, and 
 that following, in the Lady-chapel at 
 Malmsbury.l After the Reformation, 
 it was often given to the scholars of 
 free-schools for the purpose of morn- 
 ing prayers, &c.™ 
 
 Cripts, for»^ clandestine drinking, feast- 
 ing, and things of that kind° Oswald, 
 
 tf Or where the Monks were exposed in penance. 
 
 »» Gostling's Canterbury Walk, 203. 
 
 ' Antiquarian Repertory, II. 217. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Retro-chorus. 
 
 ' Anglia Sacra, I. 42. 
 
 •" Phillips's Shrewsbury, 95. 
 
 " Cust. Roff. 235. 
 
 " The holy-water stones were filled with fresh 
 water every Sunday morning by the bell-ringers, 
 or servitors of the Church, and a Monk copse- 
 
206 
 
 CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 afterwards Archbishop of York, re- 
 ceived from his Abbot a secret place in 
 the Church, that he might indulge in 
 private prayer. This secret place was 
 a Crypt^ called a Confessional; before 
 the door of which, twelve poor, all 
 clerks, used to receive daily alms ; and 
 the Cript had an Altar where he cele- 
 brated Mass.a 
 
 Tapers, ornamented with flowers, 
 used on high festivals to burn before 
 particular images, and be borne in pro- 
 cessions.^ 
 
 Saint^s bells, the use of which was 
 this, saysM. Harding, "We have com- 
 monly seen the Priest, when he sped 
 him to say his service, ring the saunce- 
 bell, and speake out aloud. Pater Nos- 
 ier, by which token the people were 
 commanded silence, reverence, and 
 devotion/^ c According to Staveley, 
 and Warton from him, it was rung 
 when the Priest came to the " Holy, 
 holy. Lord God of Sabaoth, or Trisa- 
 gium, in order that all persons without 
 might fall on their knees in reverence 
 of the Host, then elevated.'^ d They 
 then bowed the head, spread or ele- 
 vated the hands, and said, " Salve, Lux 
 Mundi,'^ &c. Hail, Light of the World, 
 &c.® In opposition to Barclay before 
 quoted, Erasmus says,^ No person ever 
 passed by a Church or cross, without 
 pulhng off his hat or bowing. 
 
 Towers, for the juniors to learn the 
 Church service in.e 
 
 Tri/oria, or upper ways round the 
 Church, for the convenience of sus- 
 pending tapestry and similar ornaments 
 on festivals. h 
 
 Pulpits, which generally faced the 
 West, that the people^s faces, in all 
 acts of devotion, might look towards 
 
 crated it early in the morning before divine service. 
 Davies, &c. 
 
 a Ang. Sacr. II. 195. 
 
 b M. Paris, 1056. 
 
 c Bp. Jewell's Reply, p. 133. 
 
 ^ Du Cange mentions a wheel, appended to the 
 wall near the Altar, full of bells, and whirled 
 round on this occasion, v. Rota. One occurs in 
 an Anglo Saxon Church. Dugd. Monast. I. 104, 
 1.40—50. ^ Lyndw. 249. 
 
 * Monit. Psedagog. CoUoq. 35. 
 Gervas. Cant. 1292. »» Ibid. 1295. 
 
 the East, according to the custom of 
 the primitive times ; the change to the 
 South, or other direction, being a re- 
 form of the Puritans ; and Sir Walter 
 Mildmay, in the foundation of the 
 Chapel of Emanuel College, Cam- 
 bridge (which stood North and South 
 out of opposition), first setting the 
 example.^ 
 
 In the annals of Dunstable Priory is 
 this item : " In 1483 made a clock over 
 the pulpit/^ k A stand for an hour- 
 glass still remains in many pulpits. A 
 Rector of Bibury used to preach two 
 hours, regularly turning the glass. Af- 
 ter the text, the Esquire of the parish 
 withdrew, smoaked his pipe, and re- 
 turned to the blessing.^ Lecturers' 
 pulpits have also hour-glasses."* The 
 Priest had sometimes a watch found 
 him by the parish." 
 
 Painted Glass. Warton says, that 
 the stem of Jesse was a favourite sub- 
 ject. Sugerius thus proves it : ^^ I have 
 caused to be painted a beautiful variety 
 of new windows, from the first, which 
 begins with the stem of Jesse in the 
 Caput EcclesicE [the part where the 
 Altar was erected, Du Cange] as far as 
 that which is over the principal gate.'^<> 
 Any miraculous events happening to 
 persons, were represented in their Cha- 
 pels and Churches in stained glass, or 
 such as happened within the knowledge 
 of the erector.P Common subjects 
 were, a genealogical series of benefac- 
 tors — arms and figures of donors of 
 lights — the seven sacraments of the 
 Romish Church — many crowned heads 
 with curled hair and forked beards, re- 
 present the Edwards, Richard II. and 
 Henry IV. — whole length figures, with 
 crowns and sceptres, Jewish Kings, 
 connected with some scriptural history, 
 universally so when in profile.*i The 
 Saints are known by the following at- 
 tributes : 
 
 » Heylin's Hist. Presbyterians, 329. 
 
 ^ Bibl. Topogr. Brit. vol. IV. No. VIII. p. 11. 
 
 * Rudder's Gloucestershire, in Bibury. 
 
 «" Wood-cuts in Hawkins's Musick, II. 332. 
 
 «» Manning's Surrey, I. 531. 
 
 o Du Cange, v. Jesse, 
 
 P Joinville, I. 230. « Dallaway's Arts. 
 
CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, — &C, 
 
 207 
 
 Peter, The keys and a triple cross; 
 sometimes a Church. 
 
 PaiiL A sword, sometimes a book, 
 or drawing a sword across the knee. 
 
 Gabriel, A lily, a flower pot full of 
 which is frequently placed between him 
 and the Virgin. 
 
 John the Baptist. A long mantle 
 and long wand, surmounting by a small 
 shaft, forming a cross ; and a lamb is 
 generally at his feet, or crouching, or 
 imprest on a book in his hand, or on 
 his hand without a book. 
 
 John the Evangelist, A chalice, with 
 a dragon or serpent issuing out of it, 
 and an open book. 
 
 James the Great, A club and a saw. 
 
 Thomas. A Spear. 
 
 Simon. A Saw in a boat. 
 
 Matthew. A Fuller^s club. 
 
 James the Less. A Pilgrim's stafi\, 
 book, scrip, and hat, with an escallop 
 shell in it. 
 
 Bartholomew. A knife. 
 
 Philip. A crosier. 
 
 Anthony. A rosary on his mantle, a 
 tau-cross, at his feet a pig, with a bell 
 round his neck. 
 
 Nicholas, A tub, with three or four 
 naked infants in it. 
 
 Margaret. Treads on or pierces a 
 Dragon, with a cross ; sometimes holds 
 a book, sometimes wears a crown. 
 
 Clare holds the expositorium. 
 
 Apollonia, A palm branch and tooth. 
 
 Barbara, A palm branch and book, 
 or tower, wherein she was confined. 
 
 Mary Magdalen. Dishevelled hair, 
 and a box of ointment. 
 
 Mary Egyptiaca, Her hair all round 
 her. 
 
 Elizabeth, St. John and the Lamb 
 at her feet. 
 
 Anne. A book in her hand. 
 
 Dorothy. A basket of fruit. 
 
 Sebastian, Pierced through with 
 arrows. 
 
 Edward the Confessor. Crowned, a 
 ring on his right hand, sometimes a 
 short spear. 
 
 Edmund, An arrow. 
 
 Ursula, A book and arrow. 
 
 St. John of Beverley, Pontifically 
 
 habited, his right hand blessing, his 
 left holding a cross. 
 
 Thomas of Becket. A mitre and 
 crosier ; his hand elevated to give the 
 Benediction. 
 
 Asaph. A bishop with a crosier, 
 hand elevated. 
 
 Bridget, A book and crosier. 
 
 Christopher, A gigantic figure, cross- 
 ing a river, with the infant Saviour 
 upon his shoulder. 
 
 St, John Almoner. A pilgrim with 
 a nimbus, a loaf in the right hand, pil- 
 grim's staiF in the left, and a large 
 rosary. 
 
 St. Flower. Her head in her hand, 
 and a flower sprouting out of her neck. 
 
 St. Lucy. A short staff" in her hand, 
 like a sceptre, and the devil behind her. 
 
 Agnes. Carries her breasts in a dish 
 full of blood. 
 
 Eugene, as St. Lucy. 
 
 Stephen, A stone in his hand, and 
 book. 
 
 Paul the Hermit. A long robe, and 
 string of beads. 
 
 Paulinus. The Devil looking her in 
 the face. 
 
 St. Loy. A crosier and hammer. 
 
 Seven Sleepers, As many persons 
 praying. 
 
 Felix, &c. Triple crown and anchor. 
 
 Lawrence. A book and gridiron. 
 
 Roche. Boots, a wallet, dog sitting 
 with a loaf in his mouth; Roche shows 
 a boil on his thigh. 
 
 Exaltation of the Cross. A King 
 kneeling and worshipping the Cross, 
 held by a person in heaven. 
 
 Invention of the Cross. The cross 
 lifted out of a tomb amidst spectators. 
 
 Cosme and Damian. One holds a 
 round box, the other a big-bellied round 
 bottle. 
 
 Michael, in armour, with a cross, or 
 pair of scales. 
 
 Francis. A Fryer^s dress, with a 
 figure half human, half a cross, from 
 which issue lines to his heart, feet, and 
 hands, for the five wounds of Christ. 
 
 Denys holds his head in his hand. 
 
 Eleven thousand Virgins, Young 
 women crowned, kneeling. 
 
208 
 
 CHURCH — ARCHITECTURE, &C. 
 
 Crispin and Crispinian, At work in 
 a shoemaker*s shop. 
 
 Catherine, Her wheel, or a spear, 
 with the point downwards. 
 
 Erasmus Hes on the ground while 
 his bowels are extracting, by being 
 wound round a windlass above. 
 
 St. Lewis^ King of France. A King 
 kneeling, at his feet the arms of France, 
 a dove clroi^ping on his head, a bishop 
 blessing. 
 
 Popes have the triple crown and 
 anchor, or triple cross, and a Dove 
 whispering in their ears. 
 
 This catalogue is from Gough's Se- 
 pulchral Monuments, aided by the 
 wood-cuts in the Golden Legend, &c. 
 &c. 
 
 At the Reformation, the pictures in 
 stained-glass, even of benefactors, were 
 removed as superstitious.^ 
 
 It was usual for guests of rank, after 
 a long visit, to give an escutcheon of 
 their arms in stained-glass, to the bow- 
 window of the Hall.'^ King Charles I. 
 and Queen Mary, being entertained by 
 the Clergy in the Deanery of Winches- 
 ter, his arms and initials, together with 
 those of the Q,ueen, were, as a memo- 
 rial, placed in one of the windows of 
 the Dean^s Hall, where they remain to 
 this day.*^ King Henry VIII. and 
 Anne Boleyn made a visit to Prink- 
 nash, near Gloucester, and their arms 
 still remain in the windows. 
 
 Encaustic Pavements. In the Nor- 
 man centuries there is abundant proof, 
 that Mosaic work was adopted, as an 
 embellishment of the High Altar, and 
 before shrines; at first exhibiting scrip- 
 tural stories, painted upon glazed bricks 
 and tiles of an irregular shape, fitted 
 together as the colour suited; and upon 
 the same plan as the stained glass in 
 windows. As an improvement in the 
 succeeding ages, the bricks were made 
 equilateral, and about four inches 
 square, which, when arranged and con- 
 nected, produced an effect very resem- 
 
 » Warton's Sir T. Pope, 199. «> Id. 233. 
 
 c Hist, of Winchester, cr. 8vo, 1761, II. 126. 
 
 blant of the Roman designs ; yet, want- 
 ing their simplicity and taste. The 
 wreaths, circles, and single compart- 
 ments, retain marks of Gothic incor- 
 rectness, and of as gross deviation from 
 the original as the Saxon mouldings. 
 At what period herald ick devices were 
 introduced, cannot be ascertained with 
 precision; but, it is probable, that 
 when they were carved, or painted 
 upon escutcheons, or stained in glass, 
 the floors received them likewise as a 
 new ornament. The arms of founders 
 and benefactors were usually inserted, 
 during the middle centuries, after the 
 Conquest (though doubtless there are 
 earlier instances), when many of the 
 greater Abbies employed kilns for pre- 
 paring them : from which the Conven- 
 tual and their dependent parochial 
 Churches were supplied. Some have 
 conjectured, that the painted tiles were 
 made by Italian artizans settled in this 
 country ; and, it has been thought, that 
 Monks, having acquired the art of 
 painting and preparing them for the 
 kiln, in the manner of porcelain, amused 
 their leisure, by designing and finish- 
 ing them. Exquisite delicacy and va- 
 riety (though seldom of more than two 
 colours), are particularly discernible in 
 those of a date when this branch of en- 
 caustick painting had reached its high- 
 est perfection. It should be remarked, 
 that the use of these painted bricks was 
 confined to consecrated places, almost 
 without exception ; and that all of them 
 discovered since the Reformation have 
 been upon the sites of Convents, pre- 
 served either in Churches, or in houses 
 to which strong tradition confirms their 
 removal. Amongst those of latter date, 
 arms impaled and quartered, as well as 
 scrolls, rebuses, and cyphers, are very 
 frequent ; and, interspersed with other 
 devices, are single figures, such as gry- 
 phons, spread-eagles, roses, fleurs-de- 
 lis, &c. of common heraldic usage in- 
 deed, but not individually applied. d It 
 appears, that in some instances, they 
 formed a kind of tesselated pavement, 
 
 •* Dallaway's Heraldic Enquiries, p. 107 — 109. 
 
CHURCH. 
 
 209 
 
 the middle representing a maze or 
 labyrinth, about two feet in diameter, 
 so artfully contrived^ that a man fol- 
 lowing all the intricate meanders of its 
 volutes^ could not travel less than a 
 mile before he got from one end to the 
 other. The tiles are baked almost to 
 vitrification; and wonderfully resist 
 damp and wxar/'^ 
 
 Actual tesselated pavements once 
 existed. A manuscript Anglo-Saxon 
 Glossary, cited by Junius, says, "Of 
 this kind of work, Mosaick in small 
 dies, is little in England. Howbeit I 
 have seen of it a specimen upon Church 
 floors, before Altars, as before the High 
 Altar at Westminster, though it be but 
 gross.'^^ 
 
 The bells (of which the ropes had 
 brass, and sometimes silver rings, at 
 the end, for the hand,) were anciently 
 rung by the Priests themselves, after- 
 wards*^ by servants ; and sometimes by 
 those incapable of other duties, as per- 
 sons who were blind.^ At certain sea- 
 sons the Choir was strewed with hay, 
 at others with sand. On Easter sab- 
 bath with ivy-leaves ; at other times 
 with rushes.^ The doors were locked 
 till Prime, and from dinner to Vespers ;f 
 
 * Henniker Major on Norman Tiles, pp. 8, 9, 
 13. ^ Cowell, V. Mosaick Work. 
 
 '^ DaCange,v. Circuity Campana, In the clock- 
 tower was a Nolula, or double-bell. Spelm. Gloss. 
 V. Campana. 
 
 ^ Davies, &c. " In the Monasterye of "SVest- 
 minster ther was a fayre yong man, which was 
 blynde, whom the Monkes hadde ordeyned to rynge 
 the bellys." Gold. Leg. f. clxxxviii. b. 
 
 « Vigili^ Omnium Sanctorum et Nat. Dom. ja- 
 cietur fenum copios^ in choro et in circuitu chori ; 
 ferid secunda post dominicam in ramis Palmarum 
 ipsius (cantoris) prudentia scopabitur Ecclesia. 
 Eodemque die jacietur fenum in choro, et in cir- 
 cuitu chori copiose. Sabbato autem Adventu Do- 
 mini et primo die Quadragesimce in choro jacietur. 
 Sancto sabbato Paschee spargentur solia ederse. 
 Quatuor soUempnitatibus, sc. Pentecostes, sancti 
 Athelwoldi, assumptione sanctse Marige, et Nativi- 
 tatis, in choro et in circuitu chori cirpus sufficien- 
 ter spargetur. In quatuor solempnitatibus, sc. 
 Ascensionis, sc. Joh. Baptist, sc. Bened. sc. Mich, 
 tantum in choro jacietur. MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. 
 195, 19C. 
 
 ' Ad sonitum nee ante primam diluculo pulsatam 
 reserabuntur hostia Ecclesia; ; conventu ad pran- 
 dium urgente, usque ad vesperas obserabuutur. Id. 
 198, \>, See White's Selborne, 
 
 and the books in the Choir, at least 
 some of them, were covered with 
 cloths.g 
 
 The Niius^ Church, Lyndwood de- 
 scribes as entirely surrounded Ijy walls,*^ 
 which answers to Jerom's account of a 
 Nunnery, " That it should be so in- 
 closed, as scarcely to leave an entrance 
 forbirds.^^i Visitation injunctions or- 
 der a door at their Choir, " That no 
 straungers may look on them, nor they 
 on the straungers, during divine ser- 
 vice.^' ^ 
 
 The Brigettine Nuns took the sacra- 
 ment through a window, where they 
 could be both seen and heard : ^ and 
 the mitigated Rule of the Order of St. 
 Clare directs, that in the wall, which 
 divided the Nuns from the Church, an 
 iron grate, or perforated plate, with 
 projecting spikes outward, should be 
 made, and have a small door of an iron 
 plate, through which the Priest could 
 give them the chalice and paten. '" 
 
 It seems that divine service was very 
 much abused. The Saxon Monks were 
 censured for velocity.'^ The services 
 were not sung in the proper tone and 
 note,o and the psalmody immoderate 
 and indistinct.? The prayers were 
 shortened in the manner of persons at 
 work or on a journey ;^ for the Monks 
 even then said their hours.^ The fes- 
 tivals were neglected. Secular customs 
 were intermingled with the Mass. The 
 hours were not observed through fault 
 
 g Ad pannos abluendos qui sunt supra libros in 
 choro, sive contra Natale, sive contra Pentecosten, 
 sive contra festivitatem S. Marise, si opus fuerint, 
 ut laventur cellerarius debet preebere prsecentori. 
 Id. 201. b. 
 
 h P. 153. » Lopez's Epit. S. S. p. 405. 
 
 1' Monast. ii. 896. * Ex regula* 
 
 «» Bullarium Romanum, i. p. 155. 
 
 " In nimia velocitate psallendo Deum potius ad 
 iracundiam inconsiderate, quod absit, provocent. 
 MS. Harl. 652. 
 
 " Prsecipimus ut cantent capitula, preces, versi- 
 culos, et coUectas, tam in ecclesiA. quam in caplo, 
 secundum tonam et notara nostri almi religionis. 
 MS. Ashm. Mus. 1519. f. 14. a. 
 
 P Ut psalmodia in choro moderate et distincte 
 celebraretur. Id. 27. a. 
 
 1 Curiae ad modum laborantium et itinerantiam. 
 MS. Mus. Ashm. 1519, f. 27. 
 
 ' Monast. i. b76, 
 
210 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 of the clock.a The services of founders 
 and benefactors were unattended to.^ 
 They did not even give personal at- 
 tendance,c through the negligence of 
 Abbots.d Some scarcely celebrated 
 four times in the year/ though every 
 one in priest's orders was to do so at 
 least once in eight days.^ There was 
 much disorderly noise, tumult, laughter, 
 gossiping, and disputes, as well as loung- 
 ing about the Church, conversing with 
 brethren, or seculars, and idly turning 
 over the books. s The nocturnal office 
 was ill-sung, through those who needed 
 light not having candles.^ 
 
 The Bell which rung to Mattins was 
 called the FooUwakeVy in ridicule of 
 those who got up when it rung,^ 
 
 Their music [cantus fractus et divi- 
 sus) consisted of a method of figurate 
 descant, in which the various voices 
 following one another were perpetually 
 repeating different words at the same 
 time;'' and it may be inferred, from 
 Bernard's directions respecting psalm- 
 ody, that the latter was very much pro- 
 tracted; the metre and close of the 
 verse not sounded together or dismiss- 
 ed together ; and the note held too long 
 or too soon left off; that some began 
 before others, went on too fast, or lag- 
 ged behind ; or kept the note too long ; 
 and that another's part was taken up 
 
 » Festa visitationis B. Mariee, &c. observanda. 
 MS. Ashm. ut supr. 24. a. usibus ssecularibus 
 omnino spretis, f. 35. defectu orologii ; f. 81. a. 
 
 ^ Negligunt et omittunt fundatorum aliorum 
 atque benefactorum suorum animas. MS. Harl. 
 328. f. 2. 
 
 c Noa licet alicui de conventu, qui horis et 
 missis his interesse tenetur ab eisdem quomodoli- 
 bet absentare. Ibid. But see on the contrary, M. 
 Paris, 1140. 
 
 ^ Reyn. App. 195. 
 
 e Sunt et alii qui missarum solempnia vix cele- 
 brant quat. in anno, MS. Bibl. Reg. 8. F. ix. 
 
 ' WUk. Concil. ii. 245. 
 
 fs C. G. North. a° 1444. C. 2. sect. De Divin. 
 Offic. Monast. i. 951. In loco benedictionis con- 
 fidentes sacerdotes nullus debet in discretis vocibus 
 perstrepere aut quibuslibet tumultibus perturbare. 
 Nullus etiam fabulis vanis vel agresti risu, (risibus, 
 MS.) vel quod est deterius obstinatis disceptacioni- 
 bu8 tumultuosas voces effandere. MS. Bibl. Reg. 
 ut sup. 
 
 ^ C. G. North, a" 1444. C. 2. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Evigilam stultum. 
 
 ^ Mason's Essay on Cathedral Music. 
 
 before he had done, instead of begins 
 ning when and where he stopped.' 
 
 The service among the Nuns was 
 performed by the Confessor and Chap- 
 lains.'" Their singing, among such or- 
 ders as did sing, was exquisite.*^ The 
 Nuns of Sempringham indirectly psalm- 
 odized;^ those who did so stood in one 
 choir, and the rest in another. They 
 began at the direction of the Prioress, 
 and no one did this duty who had not 
 been previously exercised in the Refec- 
 tory and Chapter. An old Nun stood 
 at the further end of the Choir, to see 
 that they did not behave amiss. No 
 Nun in summer, after thirds, when the 
 priest was robed, was to leave the 
 Church. The Nun, who had the care 
 of the Collect, and could do nothing 
 else, did not minister at the drinkings 
 after Nones, but a junior served in- 
 stead, In Lent they sung Vespers in 
 the place where they worked, as also 
 Nones, after Holyrood-day, and Ves^ 
 pers in summer. Nuns who could not 
 read or perform divine service, worked 
 at reading time, although they knew 
 the psalter ; notwithstanding which, 
 they prayed when the others did. All 
 could stand or sit at the lessons of the 
 Mass. If they did not come to prayer 
 before prime in summer, and thirds in 
 winter, on working-days, they were to 
 confess it in Chapter ; and if they ex- 
 ceeded the first glory of the hour, on 
 private days, they were to solicit par- 
 don on the ground. If any Nun, ex- 
 cept those who ate after Nones, did 
 not rise in the summer, after the first 
 bell of Nones, she was to confess it 
 
 ' C. G. North, ubi supr, 
 
 » Monast. i. 498. 924. 
 
 " Vocibus altisonis adeo modulamine dulci 
 Cantant, syrenes quod cecinisse putes. 
 
 Spec, Stult. MS. Cott. Tit. A. 20. 
 
 ° Besides this humming , if it so meant, (perhaps 
 chanting, or half-singing, which I rather think is 
 the meaning of indirecte psallere,) there was in the 
 ritual cum nota, et sine nota. The cum nota is 
 plain enough ; and it seems the sine nota meant 
 celebrating in a low voice, gradually, distinctly, and 
 openly. ** Similiter etiam csetera omnia quae sine 
 nota in conventu sunt agenda voce mediocri, trac-. 
 tim, distinct^, et apert^. MS. Cott. Claud. E. iv. 
 f. 241. a. 
 
CHURCH. 
 
 211 
 
 the day after in the Chapter. The lay- 
 Nuns stood in their stalls at the Masses 
 and Gratias^ only. The Nuns, who 
 had misericords of sleeping, were di- 
 vided into two choirs, of which one 
 slept one nighty the second the other. 
 If there were two or one^ they slept in 
 the Infirmary.^ 
 
 Davies says^ "Every Sunday a ser- 
 mon was preached in the Galiley from 
 one to three in the afternoon ; previous 
 to which, at twelve, the great bell of 
 the Galiley tolled three quarters of an 
 hour^ and rung the fourth quarter till 
 one o^clock^ that the people might have 
 warning to come and hear the word of 
 God preached. ^^ The Friars also 
 preached there^^ and there were ser- 
 mons on saints' days^ and other solem- 
 nities.d Some of these sermons were 
 very strange and ridiculous, as the fol- 
 lowing extracts will show : " A lark is 
 a bird which sings a song proceeding 
 from recollection of the benefits of God. 
 For the lark, when she begins to mount, 
 lightly sings Deum, Deum, Deum; when 
 she comes a little higher, she sings many 
 times Deum, many times Deum: when 
 she comes highest of all, she sings en- 
 tirely Deum, Thus does the pious soul 
 from gratitude." e Similar instances 
 are before given of the nightingale. In 
 another it is said, that in these two 
 things, the election of a Monk, and 
 keeping his rule, the whole of Monas- 
 
 * The meaning of this word may be got at from 
 the following passage. Et tarn post prandium quam 
 post coenara sen collationem, adeant ecclesiam gra- 
 tias reddendo ; tempore estivali, post prandium, 
 dictis yratiis dormiant more aliorum religiosorum. 
 These are hospital statutes from Monast. ii. 370; 
 and gratia of course are thanks rendered in the 
 church after meals> by the lay-sisters. See too 
 the Brigettine rule, and Ch. lx. 
 
 ^ Monast. ii. 763, 4. 
 
 *= For sixpence a sermon. Warton's Hist. Engl. 
 Poetry, ii. 106. 
 
 ^ As by the Prior. Gold. Leg. f. clxxxix. 
 
 * Avis est alauda, quce cantat canticum, quce 
 procedit ex recordacione beneficiorum Dei. Alauda 
 enira quum incipit ascendere, leviter cantare Deum,' 
 Deum, Deum. Quum venit parum altius cantat 
 plu. Deum, plu. Deum. Quum venit in summo 
 cantat tot. Deum, tot. Deum. Sic anima sancta 
 quae cogitat beneficia, &c. MS. Harl. 1750, f. 
 118, a. 
 
 tic discipline consists ; and is like a 
 great joint in a small dish. They were 
 also enlivened with stories and curious 
 metaphors. " Moreover,^' it says, 
 " how wholesome is the obligation of 
 profession, you may by a short story 
 learn. A father had a sick son, who 
 could not be cured without the knife 
 and cautery. The father asks the lad, 
 whether he would wish to be bound ? 
 Anxious for his health, he replies, that 
 he has no objection to be bound and 
 burned. Accordingly he is so ; but no 
 sooner does he feel the knife and file, 
 than he storms, rages, and begs to be 
 loosed ; but no, says the father, not till 
 you are healed. In the same manner 
 acts the Monk, who has willingly and 
 knowingly taken the vows.^' One of 
 their metaphors was this : '^ You have 
 seen a man carrying a lighted candle 
 in the open air, and guarding it with 
 his hands lest it should be blown out.^^ 
 The Monk's soul was the candle, his 
 body the part illuminated; the three 
 winds liable to blow it out were the 
 world, the flesh, and the devil ; the two 
 hands that held the light were alms 
 and fasting.^ A sermon for the Nuns, 
 upon flowers emitting odour, like the 
 lily,s is a string of allegorical puns. 
 Another, in the manner of the old 
 black-letter story of the " Abbaye of 
 the Holy Ghost,'' originally in Latin 
 by the famous B. Alcock, says, " the 
 first girl is Chastity, the second Humi- 
 lity, the third is Mercy, and she is eel- 
 
 f In his duobus summa totius monasticse reli- 
 gionis disciplinse regularis est, tamque grande fer- 
 culum in vase brevi. MS. Harl. 1712. f. 22. 
 Porro quae salubris est professionis obligatio brevi 
 exemplo perpendere potestis : Pater filium habet 
 segrotum qui sanari non potest absque incisione et 
 cauterio. Pater consulit filium utrum ligari velit. 
 Ille sanitatem desiderans rogat se ligari ac uri. 
 Ligatur, autem cum ferrum et ignem incipit sen- 
 tire, clamat, furit, solvi se deposcit, sed li patre 
 non solvitur, donee sanetur. In hunc modum 
 monachus qui se regulari disciplinse sponte et 
 scienter obligavit, &c. Id. — Vidisti quempiam sub 
 dio ambulantem ceream faculam succensam feren- 
 tum in manibus utque manu circumposita custodit 
 eam, ne vi ventorum extinguatur, et si quando 
 aduritur ustionem sustinet patienter. Id. f. 24, 
 
 e Eccles. c. 39. MS. Harl. 52. f. 128. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 Uress, which provides meat and drink ; 
 the fourth is Modesty^ and she is mis- 
 tress of the novices ; the fifth is the 
 infirmaress, and she is Patience; the 
 sixth is Obedience." A third discourse 
 
 has the following cHmax : " And this is 
 great, greater, greatest ; great, to abjure 
 and scorn the world ; greater, to re- 
 joice in tribulation ; greatest, to pant 
 sweetly after God.^' » 
 
 a Prima puella est Castitas ; secunda puella est Humilitas ; tertia puella est Misericordia, et est 
 celleraria, quae cibum et potum procurat ; quarta puella est Verecundia, quae est magistra disciplinte ; 
 quinta puella est magistra infirmarum, et est Paciencia; sexta, Obedientia, &c. MS. Harl. 1750, 
 f. 91. — Et haec est magna, major, maxima, magna sc. mundum abjiciendo, et contemnendo ; major 
 in tribulacione gaudendo ; maxima Deo dulcissime inhiando. Id. 93. b. 
 
CHURCH-YARD. 
 
 213 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 CHURCH-YARD. 
 
 The Church-yard was called Polyan- 
 drium^a and no large Cemetery was 
 anciently made without an Altar to St. 
 Michael, who, in every Mass for the 
 dead, was named Signifer, for the Re- 
 surrection.^ The ceremonial of bu- 
 rials was as follows : By the institutes 
 of Dunstan, the body was washed and 
 clothed in a clean hood, boots, and 
 cowl (and, if a Priest^ a stole), and car- 
 ried to the Church, all singing psalms, 
 and the bell ringing ; and, if he died 
 in the night, or early in the morning, 
 he was buried (if possible) after Mass 
 before dinner ; but, if they could not 
 attend without intermission to psalm- 
 singing, the body was interred imme- 
 diately. The Norman decretals add to 
 this, a cross at the head of the corpse 
 before burial, and a burning light at 
 the head and feet, constant watching, 
 and psalmody, unless when the Con- 
 sent was at Church ; religious services 
 for him ; silence in the Cloister as 
 long as he was unburied ; the corpse 
 censed by the Deacon ; absolution of 
 the deceased by the Abbot after a ser- 
 mon in the Chapter ; a variety of duties 
 postponed and altered on account of 
 the burial ; procession to the grave, 
 with tapers and holy water, with which 
 both the corpse and grave were 
 sprinkled ; pall (or bed) extended over 
 the grave ;<^ burial by persons descend- 
 ing into it ; a written absolution laid 
 upon his breast, and buried with him. 
 
 • And Camarium, &c. &c. See Du Cange. 
 ^ Gough's Sepulchr. Monum. Intr. ii. ccxxxvi. 
 *= A veil concealed corpses from the Pontifex 
 Maximus. 
 
 As soon as this was over, the lights 
 were extinguished, and the bells 
 silent. Other ceremonials, besides 
 similar devotions, mention unction of 
 the corpse, upon a stone in the Infir- 
 mary for that purpose ; and, with re- 
 spect to Abbots at least, a public ex- 
 hibition of the corpse in the Church.^^ 
 Davies adds, a chalice of wax was 
 placed on the breast, ^ and with re- 
 spect to superiors, perhaps of silver 
 or other metal. It seems that the 
 Abbot and others were used to convert 
 to private uses the goods, money, and 
 other articles, belonging to deceased 
 brethren.^ 
 
 After the burial, a Monk was sent 
 with the breve,^ or notice of his 
 death, to other houses, and when it 
 was entered in their obituary, he took 
 a copy of the entry, which was 
 called TituluSy and brought it back 
 with him.h 
 
 In the thirteenth century, Reginald 
 de Homme, Abbot of Gloucester, made 
 the following ordination for the obits 
 of the Monks : 
 
 <• M. Paris, 1063. Peck's Desiderata Curiosa, 
 p. 244. For more prolix information, I refer the 
 reader to the authors I have cited, and to MSS. 
 Cott. Claud. B. vi.and Bodl. Barlow, 7.; MSS. in 
 their respective walks of information, I have found 
 unique. For Nuns, v. Monast. ii. 779, 80. 
 
 *= This was borrowed from the heathen custom 
 of depositing sacred utensils in Sepulchres (Vetusta 
 Monumenta, iv. p. 3) ; and the construction of 
 wax, from ancient Gaulish drinking vessels of that 
 material. 
 
 f C. G. Northampt. anno 1444. St. 10. de 
 Prselatis. 
 
 i The form of the Brevia of the obits of Monks, 
 see in Du Cange, v. Precatorium, 
 
 •» Desiderata Curiosa, 242. 
 
214 
 
 CHURCH-YARD. 
 
 Statutum est ordinacione et volun- 
 tate dompni Reginald! AbV assensu, 
 et peticione totius conventus, ut cum 
 aliquis frater profess^ ab hac vit^ mi- 
 graverit, statim scribantur brevia pro 
 dicto fratre absque familiaribus, et 
 tradantur Eleemosynario intrinseco, 
 qui per suos ad hoc idoneos ad omnes 
 prioratus nostros ceterasque domos 
 vicinas cujuscunque relig^ et precipue 
 ad illas ubi sunt inter nos certse con- 
 venciones, omni dilatione remota, 
 faciet deportari. Et quum hujus- 
 modi negotium sine expens^ fieri non 
 poterit^ festinanter ordinatum est, ut 
 obedientiarii subscript!, qui pro tem- 
 pore fuerint quand' parvam inter se 
 faciant contributionem sicud inferius 
 potes videre. Celerarius xiid. Ele- 
 mosynar' xiid. Camerarius yid. Sa- 
 crista Yid, Sub-elemosynarius yid. 
 Precentor Hid. Infirmarius Hid. ; et 
 sic ista parva summa pecuniae soluta 
 absque ulla excusacione vel dilatione 
 illo die quo frater defunctus traditus 
 fuerit sepultures : quod si aliquis de 
 predictis obedientiariis, quod absit, a 
 solucione predicta se aliquo modo vo- 
 luerit excusare, quum ad diem redda- 
 tur statutum porcionem suam dupli- 
 cabit. Et ad hoc faciendum per 
 cap^lum compellatur. Ista predicta 
 pecunia Sub-Elemosynario tradatur, 
 qui hujus modi negotium no^i^e con- 
 ventus procurator erit et exsecutor.^ 
 
 The allowance of the deceased was 
 also given for a year following to a 
 pauper ;b and, as an Abbot had his 
 annale, so a Monk had his tritennale, 
 or thirty days Mass afterwards ; ^ 
 
 ^ Vitee Alibatum S. Petr. de Gloucestri^, MS. 
 Queen's Coll. Libr. Oxon. 
 
 ^ Monast. i. 149. thirty days, Deer. Lanfr. 
 
 *= Monast. ubi supr. A curious circumstance is 
 connected with the institution of the Trental. It 
 is well known, that among the Heathen Northern 
 Nations, the Bards celebrated the funeral exequies 
 by eulogistic songs of the deceased, over his bar- 
 row (see Ossian). The Irish Howl was derived 
 from this practice, being, says General de Val- 
 lancey (Collect. Reb. Hibern. No. ix. p. 579), 
 a panegyrick of the deceased, in order to make 
 the hearers sensible of their loss. These and 
 other superstitious practices at funerals, were con- 
 tinued long after Christianity, and, from their ori- 
 gin, were denominated liardicatio. Gregory the 
 Great, therefore, substituted the Trental (Du 
 
 It is resolved by the ordination and 
 will of our Lord Abbot, and the peti- 
 tion of the whole Convent, that when 
 any professed brother died, the brevia 
 shall be immediately written and de- 
 livered to the interior Almoner, who, 
 by means of proper persons, shall 
 directly transmit the same to all our 
 Priories, and neighbouring religious 
 houses, of whatsoever order ; and 
 especially to those with whom we are 
 connected by charters of confedera- 
 tion. And since this cannot be done 
 without expense, it is resolved, that 
 the undersigned Obedientiaries shall 
 make a small contribution ; viz. the 
 Cellarer and Almoner 1 2d. each ; the 
 Chamberlain, Sacrist, and Sub-almoner 
 Gd. each ; the Precentor and Infirmarer 
 3c?.; which money shall, without any 
 excuse or delay, be paid upon the day 
 of such Monk^s burial, under penalty 
 of forfeiting twice the sum, payment 
 of which shall be enforced by the 
 Chapter. This money shall be paid 
 to the Sub-Almoner, who shall ma- 
 nage the business. 
 
 which trental, or part of it, was the 
 ceremony with which, perhaps, from 
 the utter silence of all others, Davies 
 has confounded the Monks, ^^ being 
 used to go after dinner through the 
 Cloisters into the centry garth, where 
 they all stood bareheaded a good 
 space, praying among the tombs for 
 the souls of their brethren buried 
 there.^' The visitation of the grave ^ 
 
 Cange, v. Bardicatio, Tricenarium). If the tune 
 be uniform in these howls, it is probably a part at 
 least of the Celtick musick on the occasion, used 
 by the old Bards ; for in all other respects there is 
 a coincidence. There is a curious account of Tren- 
 tals in the Golden Legend, f. cci. b. 
 
 ^ Peter Diaconus, in the Chronicle of Casino, 
 says, ** Singing psalms let them go to the Cemetery, 
 and there praying, afterwards dissolve the Chapter 
 according to custom." Du Cange, y. Oratio. 
 
CHURCH-YARD. 
 
 215 
 
 for thirty days, it says, shall be con- 
 stantly made in iliis form. After 
 morning Mass, the celebrating Priest, 
 having put oiF the chesible, and re- 
 taining the stole and maniple, shall be- 
 gin the Miserere or Gloria Patri, 
 Standing before the Crucifix there in 
 the vestiary, the Deacon being with 
 the cross on the right, and the aquee- 
 bajulus on the left, he shall add this 
 antiphonar. After this, the priest, 
 kneeling before the Altar with con- 
 summate devotion, shall say [certain 
 prayers], and the rest kneeling like- 
 wise shall answer [suitably]. After 
 this is thrice done, they shall proceed 
 to the grave singing verba mea; and 
 when arrived there, the Priest shall 
 sprinkle the grave. After the psalms 
 [absolution, prayer for all faithful per- 
 sons deceased, and others, they re* 
 turned to the Church] . However, on 
 the thirtieth day after the Chapter, 
 when the verba mea, or dirige, is said, 
 the Prior, or his Vicar, in the amess. 
 
 stole, and robe, shall enter the Choir 
 with the cross, tapers, censer, and holy 
 water, (the attendants not being 
 robed,) and standing before the steps, 
 with the Convent around him, begin 
 the Miserere,^ 
 
 * Visitatio tumuli per triginta dies continue fiat 
 hoc modo. Post missam matutinalem sacerdos qui 
 earn celebraverit, exut4 casul^, stol& et manipulo 
 retentis, incipiat Miserere, sive Gloria Petri, (q. 
 sine.) Et stans ante crucifixum ibi in vestiario, 
 diacono cum cruce stante a dexteris et aquae- bajulo 
 h sinistris, subjungat hancantiph', &c. Qu^finitft) 
 sacerdos genuflectendo coram altari cum summ^ 
 devocione dicat, &c. ceteri genuflectendo respon- 
 deant, &c. hoc ter fiat, deinde procedant ad tumu- 
 lum cantantes verba mea. Quo cum perveniant, 
 aspergat sacerdos tumulum. Finitis psalmis dlcat, 
 &c. In tricesimo ver6 die post capitulum dicto 
 verba mea, vel dirige, pro tempore, Prior vel ejus 
 Vicarius indutus amictu, atolk, et capA, ingredia«- 
 tur chorum cum cruce, cereis, thuribulo, et aquAbe- 
 nedicta, ministris non revestitis. Qui stans ante 
 gradus, Conventu circumstante, incipiat Miserere, 
 Et fiant omnia, &d. MS. Bodl. Barlow 7* 
 
 Daviea says the barber was the grave-digger, 
 and had the bed held over the grave (velum in Mo- 
 nast. ii. 779,) for his fee. 
 
216 
 
 REFECTORY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 REFECTORY. 
 
 Refectory, This room, as described 
 by Davies, was a large hall, wainscotted 
 on the North and South sides ; and 
 in the West and nether part, a long 
 bench of stone, in mason work, from 
 the cellar door to the pantry or cove 
 door. It had a dresser in it.** Above 
 the wainscot was a large picture of 
 Christ, the Virgin Mary, and St. John; 
 but in most places, or there perhaps, 
 the Cross or Crucifixion.^ Within the 
 door on the left hand was an Aimer y, 
 where stood the grace-cup/ out of 
 which the Monks, after grace, every 
 day drank round the table ; and ano- 
 ther large one on the right, with 
 smaller within, where stood the mazers, 
 of which each Monk had his peculiar 
 one, and an ewer and bason, which 
 served the Sub-prior to wash his hands 
 in at the table, of which he sat as 
 chief.d At the West end was a loft 
 above the cellar, ascended by stairs 
 with an iron rail, where the Convent 
 and Monks dined together, the Sub- 
 prior sitting at the upper end of the 
 table. At the South end of the high 
 table, within a glass window-frame, 
 was an iron desk, ascended by stone 
 steps with an iron rail, where lay a 
 bible; out of which one of the Novices 
 read a part in Latin ^ during dinner, 
 
 » Du Cange, v. Directorium. 
 
 •* Festinent lotis manibus introire in Refecto- 
 rium, salutantes crucem, versis vultibus ad orien- 
 tem [Let them hasten after they have washed their 
 hands, to enter the Fratry, saluting the Cross, with 
 their faces towards the East]. Reg. Fulgentii. 
 MS. Bodl. Archiv. Seld. D. 52. See also Speed, 
 411. sect. 4. 
 
 •^ The classical cup, a^aGoy laifxovot, handed 
 round at the end of a feast. Plin. L. 28, c. 2. and 
 not. Pintian. 
 
 ^ This is plainly the ceremony of the digitis al- 
 luded to in sect. Abbot. 
 
 *^ The readers at the table were to give ear to the 
 Prior, in case of error ; and if they did not under- 
 stand his correction, they were to begin the verse 
 again, even repeatedly, until they comprehended 
 the Prior's meaning. Reg. Vict. Par. Du Cange, 
 v. Esgrinire* 
 
 the master of them, when he had done, 
 ringing a silver bell,^ hanging over his 
 head, to call one of the Novices to 
 come to the high table and say grace.? 
 At the East end was a neat table, with 
 a screen of wainscot over it, for the 
 master of the Novices, the Elects, and 
 Novices to dine and sup at. Two 
 whidows opened into the Refectory 
 from the great kitchen, the one large 
 for principal days, the other smaller 
 for every day ; and through these the 
 meat was served. l» Over against the 
 door, in the Cloister, was a Conduit or 
 Lavatory ^ for the Monks to wash 
 their hands and faces,*^ of a round 
 form, covered with lead, and all of 
 marble, excepting the outer wall, with- 
 out which they might walk about the 
 Laver. It had many spouts of brass, 
 with twenty-four brazen cocks about 
 it, and seven windows of stone work 
 in it ; and above, a dovecoat covered 
 with lead. Adjoining to the East side 
 of the conduit door hung a bell ^ to 
 call the Monks at eleven o'clock, to 
 come and wash before dinner.™ In 
 the closets or almeries on each side of 
 
 ' The Skilla was the appellation of a small bell, 
 often of very sweet sound, rung by a cord in the 
 Dormitory and Infirmary to awaken the Monks, 
 and struck in the Refectory by the Prior with a 
 single blow when the dinner was finished. Du 
 Cange, v. Skilla. 
 
 e A small bell hung at the Abbot's table, by 
 which he, or the presiding ofiicer, signified the 
 conclusion of the Lecture, or of the meal. Reg. 
 Vict. Cistert. &c. Du Cange, v. Nola. 
 
 '' See too Du Cange, v. Damadarius. 
 
 » Water was often conveyed into a stone recep- 
 tacle at the entrance, by subterraneous pipes, for 
 washing the hands. Du Cange, v. Concavarium. 
 
 ^ At the striking of the CymlDalum, a small bell 
 hung in the Cloister, the Monks went in proces- 
 sion, if they were at Church, to the Lavatory first 
 to wash their hands. Reg. Ord. Victor. Id. v. 
 Lavatorium Cymbalum. 
 
 ' Struck with a hammer, not a clapper. Ibid, 
 v. Timpanum. 
 
 ™ At other places was, besides, a small stone ba- 
 son on the side of the fratry door. 
 
REFECTORY. 
 
 217 
 
 the Frater-house door in the Cloisters, 
 towels were kept white and clean to 
 dry their hands upon.a At St. Alban's 
 was an ascent of fifteen steps to the 
 Abbot's table,^ to which the Monks « 
 brought up the service in plate/l and, 
 staying at every fifth step, which was 
 a landing-place, they sung a short 
 hyrnn.^ After the Monks had waited 
 awhile on the Abbot, they sat down at 
 two other tables, placed at the sides of 
 the hall, and had their service brought 
 in by the Novices, who, when the 
 Monks had dined, sat down to their 
 own dinner/ Fires were ordered from 
 All-hallows day to Good Friday,^ and 
 the wood was found by the Cellarer> 
 
 Pinnafores, or Super-tunicks, to 
 protect the cloaths at dinner, are men- 
 tioned by Lyndwood, and occur in 
 foreign consuetudinals.i 
 
 Giraldus Cambrensis,^ on dining 
 with the Prior of Canterbury, noted 
 sixteen dishes besides intermeals ;^ a 
 superfluous use of signs ; much send- 
 
 * Changed every Friday. Du Cange, v. Manu- 
 tergia, Manutergiolum. 
 
 ^ Who only dined there on great days : the Ab- 
 bess of Barking five times in the year. Monast. 
 i. 83. 
 
 c Elsewhere the Novices. Reyn. Append. 143. 
 
 ^ Trays and waiters for the cups to stand on 
 occur (Du Cange, v. Musta, Tabularius). A cup- 
 board of plate. \di.\. Trisorium. See Angl. Sacr. 
 i. 60. 
 
 ^ Certain Psalms, called Psalmi Refectionum, 
 were sung, both at laying and removing the t^ble, 
 and adapted to praising God for the food, &c. 
 These were sung on Sundays and Holidays, anti- 
 phonally or with Alleluia. Du Cange, v. Psalmi 
 Refectionum. 
 
 ' British Topography, ii. 462. 
 
 « MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 22 b. 
 
 »» Monast. i. 149. 
 
 ' Lyndw. 124. Du Cange, v. Mantellum, Men- 
 sale. 
 
 •* Angl. Sacr. ii. 480. 
 
 ' " There are cei-tain times and days in which 
 the Convent of Peterborough, and other Monks, 
 were used to eat twice in the day ; from Holyrood 
 day to October 1 ; and from October 1, every i2th 
 day, till Advent, and every day within the octaves 
 of St. Martin ; and from Christmas-day till the oc- 
 taves of the Epiphany ; and from them, every 12th 
 day, till Quinquagesima ; in all which on days of 
 robes, during the above times, the Convent was 
 used to have one meal at supper with cheese. But, 
 on other days, viz. the 12tb, a certain intermeal of 
 sixteen dishes, cum servientibus .- all which, on ac- 
 count of the alms, the same Abbot enjoined, that 
 what used to be brought up at supper should be so 
 at dinner," Swapham, 111. 
 
 ing of dishes from the Prior to the at- 
 tending Monks, and from them to the 
 lower tables, with much ridiculous 
 gesticulation in returning thanks,^^ and 
 much whispering, loose, idle, and 
 licentious discourse;" herbs brought 
 in, but not tasted ; ° numerous kinds 
 of fish, roasted, boiled, stuflbd, fried ; 
 eggs ; dishes exquisitely cooked p with 
 spices ; ^ salt meats to provoke appe- 
 tite ; wines of various kinds,"^ piment, 
 claret, mead, and others.^ Respecting 
 these, Bernard says, it was not unusual 
 
 "» Anciently, when the Abbot dined with the 
 Monks, they used to take the cups with reverence 
 and silence, and did not say, as was afterwards the 
 custom, " Pardon." Du Cange, v. lynosce. 
 
 " Monks were to dine without detraction, laugh- 
 ter, secular stories, and gossiping. Athon. 150. 
 As the Monks complained of the hardship of con- 
 tinual silence at dinner, it was resolved, that after 
 the reading was over, which the presiding officer 
 finished at discretion, they might talk in a low 
 voice. Reyn. Append. 102. But it seems, on 
 account of this liberty they had at certain times of 
 talking English, they became so loquacious, that 
 it was one reason why the statute was made, that 
 on all public occasions they should speak only Latin 
 or French. C. G. Northampt. a** 1444. C. vii. 
 As to presents, Acharius, Abbot of Peterborough, 
 "every day sent his own wassal bread into the 
 Refectory." Hist. Coenob. Burgens. 107. One of 
 the Priors of Durham used to send wine into the 
 Fratry. In the Decret. Wolsey, for August Ca- 
 nons, " No layman was to attend upon the Canons, 
 nor any one to send out any kind of meat or drink 
 without leave." Monast. ii. 568. See Almonry. 
 The distinction of dishes is thus alluded to : ** Also 
 we forbid singularity in the Refectory ; and, if any 
 thing be placed before a claustral and obedientiary, 
 besides what suits the Convent, let it be put before 
 the President, to be disposed of by him as he 
 chuses." Item singularitatera in Refectorio prohi- 
 bemus, et si alicui claustrali et obedientiario ali- 
 quod fuit in Refectorio appositum prseterea quod 
 Conventui convenit, apponatur illud prsesidenti, 
 ab ipso pro voluntate sua precipiendum. MS. Cott. 
 Jul. D. II. 161, b. 
 
 " Perhaps sallads. Menotus says, " John the 
 Baptist went into the Wilderness to eat sallads, 
 but without oil.'' Sermones, fol. 64. Du Cange, v. 
 Sallada. John is pretended to have been a Monk. 
 Lopez. Epit. ii. 26. 
 
 I' A plain good Monk is described as " not angry 
 with the cooks, for he is not used to a splendid 
 table." Non iratus cocis, lautioris enim mensse 
 consuetudinem non habet. MS. Harl. 1712. 
 f. 79, a. 
 
 *i Pipere. 
 
 ' The younger Monks mixed wine and water 
 for the brethren, when the Cellarer rung the bell, 
 for saying grace over the drink. Du Cange, v. 
 Miscere. 
 
 • MS. Cott. Tiber. B. 13. [printed in Angl. 
 Sacr. ii. 480.] Piment was made of wine, honey, 
 and spices. 
 
218 
 
 REFECTORY. 
 
 to see brought a vessel half full, to try 
 the goodness and flavour of the wine, 
 after proving which, the Monks de- 
 cided in favour of the strongest-^ 
 There were always superior dinners 
 upon the feasts of the Apostles. ^ 
 
 It seems that it was not lawful to 
 eat the flesh of any animal nourished 
 on the earth, because this had been 
 cursed by God ; but this curse not ex- 
 tending to the air and water, birds 
 were permitted, as created of the same 
 element as fish.<^ Hence the prohi- 
 bition of quadrupedsA But, notwith- 
 standing this, it was found both im- 
 possible and impracticable for inland 
 Monasteries to have fish enough,^ and 
 to eat flesh became unavoidable ; me- 
 dical considerations and the augmen- 
 tation of alms by this means, also in- 
 terfered/ It was also placed on the 
 table for visitors. s However, to the 
 great rule all their articles of food bore 
 relation ; which were bread, beer, soup, 
 beans for soup, all Lent ; oats for 
 gruel Thursday and Saturday in that 
 season ; flour for pottage every day in 
 the same season ; fried dishes, wastels, 
 or fine bread for dinner and supper 
 on certain feasts; flathos or cakes in 
 Easter ; formictce, or fine flour cakes, 
 in Advent, Christmas, against Lent, 
 Easter, Pentecost, and certain feasts ;^ 
 fat things ^ were frequent with the 
 
 ^ Videas ter vel quater in uno prandio semiplenum 
 calicem reportari, quatinus diversis vinis magis odo- 
 ratisque potatis, Dec tam haustus quam attractus 
 celeri cognitione, vinura quod fortius est eligatur. 
 MS. Mus. Ashmol. 1285. f. 5, 6. 
 
 b Angl. Sacr. i. 56. 
 
 c Le Voeu de Jacob, 656, 658. 
 
 ^ Though otters were eaten by the German Car- 
 thusians, as not included in the prohibition of flesh. 
 Gentleman's Recreation, p. 116. Ed. 8vo. 
 
 e Fishponds, which flow into one another, 
 so common in Monastick sites, were made on 
 purpose to catch the fish, in the lower pools. Du 
 Cange, v. Lapsus. 
 
 f Reyn. Append. 143, 165, 168. 
 
 g Ang. Sacr. ii. 309. 
 
 1' Monast. i. 149. See Du Cange, v. ProfioU. 
 
 ' Pinguia concedens quae sunt affinia carni, 
 Sic tamen ut nunquam sit manifesta caro. 
 Spec. Stultor. 
 These fat things, which resembled flesh, appear to 
 have been lacon. Quia carnibus quidam monachi 
 non vescuntur, de bacone turn grandi, turn grosso, 
 quicquid pulchrum est, et pingue non devoratum 
 nichil omnino relinquunt. MS. Cott. Tib. B. 13. 
 
 Prsemonstratensians ; black beans and 
 salt with the Clugniacs ; k general bad 
 fare with the Cistertians.^ Drinking 
 with both hands was a fashion peculiar 
 to the Monks.™ 
 
 At Barking Nunnery, the annual 
 store of provision consisted of malt, 
 wheat, russeaulx (a kind of allowance 
 of corn) in Lent, and to bake with eels 
 on Sheer Thursday; green pease for 
 Lent;" green pease against Midsum- 
 mer ; oxen by the year ; herrings for 
 Advent ; red ones for Lent ; almonds, 
 salt fish, salt salmones ; figs, raisins, 
 ryce all for Lent; mustard; two-pence 
 for cripsis (some crisp thing) and crum 
 cakes [cruman is friare. Skinner.o] at 
 Shrovetide ; mutton for the vicar ; 
 wheat and milk for frimite on St. 
 Alburg^s day ; bacon-hogs twice in the 
 winter ; vi Grecis (fat Jun.) vi sowcys, 
 vi inwards ; bread, pepper, saffron for 
 the same ; three gallons good ale for 
 besons {besoins, Fr.), mary-bones to 
 
 Thus too an allowance for anniversaries was 
 beer. [British beer, i. e. Welsh ale, a kind of su- 
 perior quality. See Toulmin's Taunton, p. 25. (Of 
 brewing without hops, Horda Angelcynnan, iil. 73.) 
 M. Paris says the conventual beer was much im- 
 proved by a mixture of oats, of which husbandry 
 Mr. Smith says, " Much of wheat, barley, and oats 
 was yearly made into malt, an husbandry almost 
 lost in this age" (about 1600). Lives of the Berke- 
 ley Family. MS. 266. Oat ale was poor stuff : 
 
 What though he quaffe pure amber in his bowle 
 Of JMarch-brew'd wheats yet sleeka my thirsting 
 
 soul 
 With palish oat frothing in Boston clay. 
 
 Hall's Sat. B. v. Sat. ii.] 
 Part sweetened with honey, meed, fat cows, wethers, 
 gammon of bacon, cakes, pure bread. Monast. i. 
 139. A grant in Mr. Rudder's Cirencester, p. 96, 
 mentions the Convenes beer, and Chaplain's beer. 
 Owrbeer, saysM. Paris, consists of barley and oats, 
 p. 1074. Wheat was forbidden to be made into 
 malt a° 1315. Stowe, sub a°. There is a regular 
 history of malt liquof in the Archaeological Library, 
 222, seq. 
 
 ^ Esse niger monachus si velim forte Cluniaci 
 Qua fabasque nigras cum sale ssepe dabunt 
 Spec. Stultor. 
 1 Sabbata rara colunt, mal^ respondente coquina 
 Est ibi virga frequens, atque diseta gravis. 
 
 Ibid. 
 " Du Cange, v. Scyphus. 
 
 " ** If one will have pease soone In the yeare fol- 
 lowinge, such pease are to bee sowenne in the waine 
 of the moone at St. Andro's tide before Christmas." 
 Order and Government of a Nobleman's House, 
 p. 373. 
 ° Cruma^ A. S. crumb. 
 
REFECTORY. 
 
 219 
 
 make white wortys for the Covent. At 
 St. Andrew^s tyde a pittance » of fish 
 for my lady and the Covent ; eight 
 chickens for my lady abbess against 
 Shrove tide; "bonnes for the Covent; 
 and four gallons of milk for the same 
 time ; fish for tlie Covent on every 
 Sunday in Lent ; stubbe eels and shaft 
 eels baked for Sheer Thursday ; ^ red 
 wine on the same day and Easter 
 evening; ale every week in Lent; eggs 
 for all times except Lent ; half the 
 quantity in Advent, or money instead, 
 called Eysilver ; butter at feasts, pork, 
 pigs sowse, geese, hens, pittance mut- 
 ton three times per annum ; eggs for 
 supper ; every lady two, and four for 
 the doubles or higher officers ; bacon 
 for the time before Christmas ; oat- 
 meal.c But, as this discussion is not 
 a matter of much novelty, I shall end 
 it, as far as concerns the Monks, with 
 the bill of fare of one of their fish 
 feasts : 
 
 First Course. 
 
 Elys in sorry, ^ 
 Blamanger, 
 Bakoun Herryng, 
 Mulwyl tayles,^ 
 Lenge taylys, 
 JoUys of Samoun, 
 Merlyng ^ Sope, 
 Pyke, 
 
 Grete Plays, 
 Leche burry,^ 
 Crustade ryal.^ 
 
 » A Commons was given to each person upon a 
 plate to each. A pittance was an allowance in 
 one plate between two, and the administration of 
 either was a distinct duty among certain officers, 
 as well as the component materials. Du Cange, v. 
 Generate. 
 
 ** In 1247, mackerel were allowed to certain re- 
 ligious on the third day of the Rogations. Du 
 Cange, v. Mequerelltis. 
 
 <= Monast. i. 83. 
 
 ^ Were eels and parsley boiled in water, to 
 which were added wine, spicery, sage, grated 
 bread, brothe of the eel, ginger. MS. Bodl. 
 Hearne, 197. 
 
 « Melwell is asellus, a cod. Collection of obso- 
 lete words. MS. pen^s me. 
 
 ' Whiting. Skinner. 
 
 » Leche is (/elatina, jelly in obsolete words. 
 
 •» Crustade (singly), chekyns, pejons, small brid- 
 des in a brothe, with poudur of pepur, clowes, ver- 
 jouse, saffron, make coffyns (pies) with rasynges of 
 
 Second Course. 
 
 Mammenye,^ 
 
 Crem of Alemaundys,^ 
 
 Codlyng, 
 
 Haddock, 
 
 Fresh hake,^ 
 
 Solys y sope, 
 
 Gurnedd broylid with a sy- 
 ruppe,'" 
 
 Brem de mere, 
 
 Roche, 
 
 Perch e, 
 
 Memise fryedd," 
 
 Urchouns, 
 
 Elys y rostydd, 
 
 Leche Lumbarde," 
 
 Grete crabbys, 
 
 A cold bakemeate.P 
 It seems, that in certain solemnities, 
 the Convent was in the habit of re- 
 tiring with the Abbot, leaving a few 
 in the Refectory, in order to eat meat 
 elsewhere ; ^ and that they frequently 
 dined in apartments,"^ where they used 
 to bring women to talk, eat, and drink 
 with them.® On the feasts of the de- 
 dications of the churches of the order, 
 they used to eat and drink very intem- 
 perately.* Sometimes money was 
 given to them instead of viands, and 
 
 corance, and ginger, and canell, and raw egges. 
 Append. Ordin. Royal Household. 
 
 ' Vemage wine, almonds, ginger, &c. boiled up 
 in ale. MS. Harl. 279, p. 87. 
 
 ^ A compound of them with thick milk, water, 
 salt, and sugar. Id. p. 12. A favourite dish. See 
 Gale's Scriptores, i. 498, 9. 
 
 ' Hakot is Lucius piscis. Obsolete words, ut 
 sup. 
 
 '» Hyeca. Id. See Johnson and Steevens's 
 Shakspeare, v. 390. 
 
 ^ Parsley, ale, sause saffroned, &c. with pykes 
 or others. MS. Bodl. ut sup. 
 
 ° Clarified honey, ale, grated bread, almonds, 
 ginger, &c. MS. Bodl. supr. 
 
 p MS. Harl. 279, p. 49 b. The Liber Viventium 
 was a book in which the commons of the Monks 
 were entered. Du Cange. The Meat was cut into 
 commons for each Monk, by an officer called 
 Particulariua ; Twickere of the Anglo-Saxons. 
 Du Cange, in voce. 
 
 1 In Refectorio nuUus omnino came vescatur, 
 nee in quibusdam solempnitatibus, sicut aliquando 
 fieri consuevit. Conventus esKcat cum Abbate, pau- 
 cis ibi reUctis, ut extra refectorium carnes edant. 
 MS. Bibl. Reg. 8, f. ix. See Misericords. 
 
 ' M. Par. 1098. 
 
 " Reyn. Append. 166. 
 
 ^ Monast. ii. 752. 
 
220 
 
 REFECTORY. 
 
 the tahlefarmed.^ Notwithstanding the 
 canons^^ and the furiousness of the 
 Bishop of Lincoln against cups with 
 circles or feet/ they had such cups/^ 
 as personal property, besides spoons 
 and other gold or silver trinkets. ^ Se- 
 culars used often to dine and sup with 
 them/ and very often low people, & 
 and they took advantage of meal times 
 to receive the visits of women. ^» These 
 too used to come after dinner; and 
 the statute made to correct this abuse 
 permitted them to come with license 
 of the Abbot, or in his presence, and 
 makes an exception wdth regard to 
 noble women, as to season and time, 
 as seemed fit to the superiors.^ 
 
 It appears, that there was refresh- 
 ment before dinner in the Refectory,^ 
 (for, after leave obtained, they could 
 enter the Refectory at any time to 
 drink, if thirsty) ; ^ and that a statute 
 w^as made, forbidding supper on any 
 Friday in the year, except on a Christ- 
 mas day."* Pure wine, or bread dipped 
 
 « Procurari (perhaps it means obtained by Pro- 
 curatioHy as the royal table.) C. G. North, a® 1444. 
 c. vii. See Const. B. 12. Kings had numerous pa- 
 laces, in order by short residences not to burden the 
 neighbourhood too much in the supply of provi- 
 sions. Du Cange, v. Palatium. 
 
 ^ Athon. 149. 
 
 " M. Paris, 705. The reason why these were 
 forbidden is, according to M. Paris, p. 1098, because 
 they were conceived too great distinctions for sim- 
 ple Monks. 
 
 *' Sparke's Scriptores, 105. 
 
 « Reyn. Append. 166. 
 
 f Ne ssecularis comedat cum conventu in firma- 
 ria, nee in refectorio, nee intersit suis collocacio- 
 nibus, potacionibus, et recreationibus. MS. Mus. 
 Ashmol. 1519, f. 14 b. 
 
 « Ignobiles personae a prandio conventus penitus 
 excludentur. MS. Cott. Jul. D. 2. f. 158 a. 
 
 ^ NuUus et monachus habeat colloquium cum 
 muliere cognata aut extranea, in temporibus inde- 
 bitis, sicut prandii, et coense, et horse meridianae, 
 aut tempore potus assignati. Id. 159 a. 
 
 i M. Paris, 1096. 
 
 k Monast. i. 296. See Misericords. 
 
 1 Lyndw. 211. 
 
 «» C. G. North, ut sup. Erasmus says of the 
 English, respecting Friday^ "The common peo- 
 ple during Lent, have a regular supper every alter- 
 nate day. No one wonders at it. If any one sick 
 of a fever wished for chicken broth, it would be 
 worse than committing sacrilege. In Lent they 
 have suppers without scruple ; but if you was to 
 attempt it, out of Lent, upon a Friday, no one 
 would bear it." Icthyophagia inter Colloq. 431. 
 
 into it, were allowed upon occasions, 
 and before eating ; also on account of 
 labour to the brethren at certain 
 times.i^ The drinking after Nones, or 
 Btberes, as well as the noon-day re- 
 freshment of sleep after dinner in 
 summer, has been already mentioned. 
 
 A late supper was made after col- 
 lation, which the Monks called Con- 
 solatia.^ 
 
 The etiquette of dining was as fol- 
 lows among the Gilbertines. The 
 Prior, or a person appointed by him, 
 rung the bell ; the Monks washed and 
 wiped their hands, and entering the 
 Fratry, and bowing to the high table, 
 stood till the Prior came ; or, if he 
 staid long, sat down. When he came, 
 they rose to him, and he bowed before 
 his seat, and rung the bell, which con- 
 tinued while the 51st psalm was sing- 
 ing. Then followed a short religious 
 service by way of grace. The Prior 
 then gave the benediction to the reader, 
 and, at the end of the first verse,P 
 they uncovered the food, the prior be- 
 ginning. The soup was then delivered 
 round by the servants, and two plates 
 laid, one on the right, another on the 
 left, and the pittances, if there were 
 any, also carried round. No one wiped 
 his knife with the cloth, unless he had 
 first used his bread for this purpose. 
 They took salt with their knives. 
 What was wanting was required from 
 the servant or cellarer, and when it 
 was brought, both the bringer and 
 receiver bowed. When the Prior sent 
 any thing to another, he bowed to the 
 messenger, and then rising, to that 
 officer. If any fault was committed 
 by a person dining or attending, he 
 begged pardon before the step; and 
 when the Prior made a noise with 
 his knife, rose, bowed, and went to 
 his place. When the plates and 
 
 ° Du Cange, v. Merus. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 v If a Monk came too late, after the 1st, 2nd, 
 or 3d verse had been said, he was subject to a 
 small venia, or penitence : and this was called 
 Perdere versum, or losing the verse. Du Cange, 
 V. Verms. 
 
REFECTORY. 
 
 221 
 
 spoons were moved, the Prior ordered 
 the reading to conclude hy a Tu auttm, 
 and the reply of Deo gratias ; the 
 reader then bowed, the remaining 
 food was covered ; the bell was rung; 
 the Monks rose ; a verse of a psalm 
 was sung, and they bowed, and re- 
 tired two and two, singing the Mise- 
 rere, Delay in coming before the be- 
 nediction was punished by a prayer 
 before the step ; prostration on the 
 floor ; deprivation of wine or beer ; for 
 negligent servants, in regard to food 
 
 and drink, beating. At the Refectory 
 door of the Nuns sat a steady Nun, 
 who entered with them when they 
 went to drink ; or some other in her 
 stead, with respect to the application 
 of persons who had been bled. After 
 the refection of the Convent, the bell 
 called the servants to dinner, and the 
 Nun reader said the Jube Domine at 
 their table before the benediction.^ 
 
 » Monast. ii. 728, 767. 
 
222 
 
 CHAPTER, 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 CHAPTER. 
 
 This room had three rows of stone 
 benches one above another,^ a reading 
 desk and bench,'* a place called the 
 Judgment in the middle,^ a seat for the 
 Abbot higher than the others,^ and a 
 crucifix to remind them, during disci- 
 plines, that their sufferings were no- 
 thing in comparison of those of Christ.^ 
 There were footstools on purpose for 
 the VenicB, by kneeling/ About nine 
 of the clock in the morning, says Da- 
 vies, and others seven,^ the Monks 
 seated themselves, and religious ser- 
 vices commenced, which were followed 
 by the sentence of the rule, read from 
 the desk ; then the table was read (on 
 certain days), and any person who had 
 omitted an office prescribed to him so- 
 licited mercy. This was succeeded by 
 the commemoration of the dead,^ which 
 
 * Hutchinson's Durham, ii. 266. 
 
 ^ W. Thorne, 1815. Chronol. Aug. Cant. a° 
 1386. 
 
 " M.Paris (2d), 1045. 
 
 ^ Id. 1040. Abbots of another house, if present, 
 sat near the Abbot. Id. 1032. 
 
 ^ Propterea dilectissimi in capitulis crucifixi 
 imago ante oculos habetur, ut quicunque flagella 
 subeunt quicquid tulerint pro nichilo ducant, pro 
 nichilo reputent : recordantes crucis angustise, do- 
 minicse passionis anxietatis. MS. Harl. 1712. f. 
 137. b. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Salutem Mandare. 
 
 « Econ. Monast. Life, p. 86. 
 
 ^ There was the MarUjrology ^ in which were re- 
 gistered the names of those to whom the religious 
 granted their letters of fraternity, and the Obituary, 
 which contained the deaths of the Abbots, Priors, 
 &c. Gutch's Coll. Curios, ii. 275, b. The Anno- 
 tatio RegulcB was the description of the names of 
 benefactors, the days of their death, and of the be- 
 nefits received from them, placed at the end of the 
 Rule ; viz. in the Necrology annexed to it, for it 
 was usual after the Martyrology and Rule had been 
 read in the Chapter, after Prime, to recite the 
 names of benefactors, and all prayed for them. 
 The Martyrology was, in later ages, taken for the 
 Necrology, or Obituary and Rule, which were gene- 
 rally in the same volume. The Martyrology was 
 also called Liber Vitse. The custom obtained from 
 the beginning of the sixth century. The Necrology 
 was also called Regula, from being in the same 
 book with the Rule : and all these were included 
 in one volume, because the services in the Chapter 
 ■were connected with eaeh other, 1st, a portion of 
 
 ended with "Requiescant in pace,^' 
 (may they rest in peace !) The reader 
 then gave the book to the presiding 
 officer, and he expounded the sentence 
 of the rule. This finished, the Chantor 
 read the brevia or obits of strange 
 Monks, if any had been sent, which 
 terminated as the commemoration of 
 the deceased. The voluntary solicita- 
 tions for pardon by persons who had 
 been guilty of faults next followed ; 
 after which began the accusation or cla- 
 matio of offenders. The presiding of- 
 ficer (which was unfixed)^ was not to 
 lose his temper, or " speake greate or 
 harde wordes," ^ unless " by the ordi- 
 nary observyng of humylite, the aucto- 
 ritye of governinge [was] broken 
 amongst them, which ought of duetie 
 to be subjecte." ^ 
 
 The Rule of Victor says, whilst the 
 accusation was made, no one was to 
 speak except the accuser, the Abbot, 
 and the accused. The first merely said, 
 
 " I accuse brother .... of ^' 
 
 The other, as soon as he heard his 
 name, made no answer from his seat, 
 but coming before the Abbot, and first 
 bowing, afterwards raising himself, 
 stood still, patiently expecting what the 
 
 the Rule, read every day to insure remembrance ; 
 2d, the Necrology, for prayers for those admitted 
 to fraternity ; 3d, the names of the dead and bene- 
 factors, for commemoration of the days of their 
 obits. Cardinal Bona says, that the custom pre- 
 vailed in many Monasteries, of sending to each 
 other mutually the names of their brothers, friends, 
 and benefactors, to be entered in the Diptichs ; 
 but when this custom had ceased, they were en- 
 tered in the Necrology, selected from thence on the 
 day of their decease, and a De Profundis, and suit- 
 able prayers, said. Du Cange, in vocibus. 
 
 » W. Thorne, c. 35, sect. 4. 
 
 ^ From the Rule of Basil, because he was not to 
 fall into the sin he wished to deliver others from, 
 and entertain the sentiments of a father and physi- 
 cian. Dev. Vie Monast. i. 432. 
 
 1 MS. Bodl. 3010. Nor was he to beg pardon if 
 he did. Reg. August, and Const. Fratr. B. Marise 
 de Mercede, &c. 4to. Rot3e,1630,p. 2d.—Puppup, 
 whence Pho,Pho, was the Anglo-Saxon term of 
 contempt used by Aldhelm. Pu Cange, v. Puppup^ 
 
CHAPTER, 
 
 223 
 
 accuser had to alledge against him. 
 The accuser, to avoid exaggeration, 
 simply said^ '^ He did so and so/' The 
 other, if he knew himself guilty, imme- 
 diately asked pardon, and confessed his 
 fault. If not guilty, he said shortly, 
 ^' Sir, I do not recollect to have said or 
 done what brother .,,.,. affirms/' 
 Upon this the accuser, bowing to the 
 Abbot, did not repeat his charge, but 
 went to his seat ; and if he knew that 
 his charge was true, was allowed to ad- 
 duce evidence. The accused was not 
 permitted to recriminate upon the ac- 
 cuser, — Similar forms occur in other 
 orders. » 
 
 A Monk reprimanded stood in the 
 middle of the Chapter, and, after the 
 definitive sentence was pronounced, he 
 humbly bowed, and retired to his seat.^ 
 A person condemned to receive disci- 
 pline c was beaten, according to the 
 Norman institutes, with one single twig 
 over his shirt, clothed and prostrate, or 
 naked J sitting, with a rod, which, in 
 later times, was called a balais,^ and 
 applied, according to Piers Plowman, 
 to that part where its tingling sensa" 
 tions are still frequently experienced. 
 During the discipline (which could not 
 be performed by the accuser,^ the 
 
 » Du Cange, v, Clamare. 
 
 ^ M. Paris, 1031. 
 
 <= Disciplines consisted of rods of flexible twigs 
 (Dec. Scriptores, 1190). Hugh Nonant, Bishop of 
 Lincoln, not only flogged his back, but his mouth 
 for lying, detraction, &c. when he was a private 
 man cAngl. Sacr. ii. 333). In times of drought it 
 was thought that no rain could be procured but by 
 this process of flagellation, and then all ranks disci- 
 plined themselves in person, or by proxy. Mem. 
 de Petrarque, i. 236 ; and Don Quixote, ii. 284. 
 Disciplines were thought to prevent the punishment 
 of the fault in another world, on which account no 
 reply was to be made to the reprover. Du Cange, 
 V. Distringere. 
 
 ^ The place where he was stripped for this pur- 
 pose in the Chapter was called Spoliatorium. Du 
 Cange. 
 
 « M. Paris, 731. Gl. Watts and Tyrwh. to 
 Chauc. 
 
 * Quislibet sacerdotum abbatis prsecepto discipli- 
 nam faciet in cap'lo excepto priore, vel eo qui loco 
 prioris fuerit et clamante, i. e. Any one of the 
 Priests may, by the Abbot's command, perform the 
 disciplines, unless the Prior, or he who presided in- 
 stead, claimed the privilege. MS. Cott- Claud. B. 
 vi. p. 186, It is most probable, from what M. Paris 
 says, p. 1045, that the discipliJieB were performed 
 
 Monks hung down their heads, and re- 
 garded the sufferer with pity. 
 
 Du Cange mentions a hand-bell rung 
 behind the delinquent by the brother 
 who was to chastise him.^ It termi- 
 nated at the order of the presiding of- 
 ficer, and was proportioned to the of- 
 fence. In the statutes of the Order of 
 St. Victor of Paris, it is said, the delin- 
 quent shall kneel, and strip himself 
 from his girdle, and so prostrate him- 
 self, or shall only say, " it is my fault : 
 I will correct myself." No one in the 
 interim shall speak, unless one of the 
 Priors intercedes for him v/ith the Ab- 
 bot. If the latter pardons him, such 
 Prior shall assist him to put on his 
 clothes, but he shall remain clothed 
 and standing, till the Abbot bids him 
 sit down, and then bowing, he shall go 
 to his place. He could not be pu- 
 nished by a person of inferior rank.^ 
 The whole chapter concluded with a 
 short religious service.* These were 
 held daily in most Orders, but only 
 once a week in others.^ Latin or 
 French was only to be spoken in it, 
 and all public places, one reason of 
 which was, besides that before alledged, 
 to put an end to ignorance in those 
 languages.^ No person was allowed to 
 enter the Cloyster, while the Chapter 
 was held, on account of the secrets of 
 it \ which besides were never to be re- 
 vealed."* It seems that the presiding 
 officers had frequent contentions in it;" 
 and the statutes insinuate, that the 
 Monks used to grumble at the accusa- 
 tions and sentences, which last they re- 
 probated, to make frivolous appeals, 
 and reproach one another after they 
 had undergone sentence." Those were 
 
 in a chair upon the place called the Judgement, in 
 the middle. 
 
 t' V. Corrigiuncula. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Disciplina. 
 
 ' Deer. Lanfr. Monast.ii. 722, 3. 
 
 •' Ordinamus, quod capitulum culparura sicut 
 assuetum est semel in ebdomada ad minus cele- 
 bretur. MS. Bodl. 1882. p. 63. 
 
 1 See auct. cit. sup. 
 
 m W. Thome, C. 1208. C. 2062. 
 
 " Inhibemus districte tam priori quam cjeteris 
 preesidentibus conventus contentiones in cap'lo ha- 
 bere. MS. Mus. Ashmol. 1519, f. 35. a. 
 
 « C. G, North, a" 1444, C. 3. M. Paris, 1096* 
 
224 
 
 CHAPTER. 
 
 especially rebellious who had powerful 
 friends.a 
 
 * Rebellibus ob suam pcrtinaciam vel potenciatn 
 amicorutn. MS. Roy. Libr. 8. f. ix. The Monks 
 divided crimes into leves and graves (small and 
 great), which are respectively defined in various 
 rules, and to which their punishments were accord- 
 ingly apportioned. To the former belonged car- 
 rying the lantern puhlickly, though when out of 
 penance privately it carried no shame with it. Mu- 
 ratori Rer. Italic. Script, iv. 212. The lantern of 
 penance was called the greater lantern, and not the 
 one carried round the choir at night to awaken the 
 drowsy. M. Paris, 1003. Sometimes an old sack 
 was borne round the neck. Rastall's Southwell, 
 145. Repetition of a psalm, kissing the feet of the 
 brethren were others. Constit. Fratr. ut sup. p. 
 77. Fasting (severest) bread and water, (slightest) 
 bread, ale, and pulse. Lysons's Environs, i. 343. 
 But the most common was prostration, and a con- 
 tinuance in that position. Dev. Vie Mon. i. 473, 
 5. Other punishments for light offences were, 
 sitting alone upon a chair in the middle of the 
 choir. Angl. Sacr. i. 739. Walking barefoot to 
 the Cross. Gold. Leg. clxvi. Standing with the 
 arms expanded in the form of a cross ; it is men- 
 tioned in the Anglo-Saxon Canons ; and if a per- 
 son could stand so, immoveable, while the Gospel, 
 Lord's Prayer, &c. were recited, he was deemed 
 innocent. Du Cange, v. Crucis Judicium. The 
 Disciplina condigna, was either fasting, or castiga- 
 tion, imposed on those who neglected to learn 
 the Creed and Lord's Prayer. Du Cange, v. Dis- 
 ciplina. Fasting on bread, and drinking water de- 
 filed by the excrement of a fowl. Marten, Anecdot. 
 iv. 22. Repetition of psalms and being cuffed. Du 
 Cange, v.Pcenitentia. — Penitentiary processions. A 
 charter of the year 1240 says, They ought to be pre- 
 sent at the procession with naked feet, only in their 
 shirts and breeches, and holding rods in their 
 hands, and to come before the Ebdomadary, and 
 there on their bent knees be beaten by him for pe- 
 nitence, sometimes walking with naked feet and 
 shirt only. Du Cange, v. Processiones Publicce. 
 Repetition of psalms only. Id. v. Pcenitentia 
 Psalmorum. Silence. Id. v. Silentium. Sending 
 to Coventry for theft, v. Sagus. Prostration upon 
 the joints of the hands without motion, for small 
 faults, as forgetfulness in the service, v. Fallacia. 
 Separation from the table, and deprivation of the 
 Abbot's Benediction, v. Mensa. In the lesser ex- 
 communication, when the offender dined three 
 hours later than the others, he lost his rank, per- 
 formed no divine service, except with the others, 
 and at a certain office prostrated himself, and lay 
 there for a time. During dinner, he staid in the 
 Church, and so continued till the Abbot sent a 
 Prior to him, who made a sign to him to rise, upon 
 which he went to that prelate, bowed, and went to 
 his place. Dec. Lanfr. c. 17. 
 
 For severer faults, after discipline, the Monk was 
 committed into custody, and his keeper led him to 
 and from Church, and secretly enquired of the 
 Abbot how he was to live, and when he was to eat. 
 No one spoke or associated with him, and when the 
 bell rung for divine service, he lay prostrate at the 
 Church gate till the Convent passed, and when that 
 was done, kneeled while the hour was singing, and 
 bowed to every one who happened to pass. When 
 
 tUe Convent kft the Church; the prostration was 
 
 The Chapter of the Nuns was simi- 
 lar;^ the second constitution of the 
 Nuns of Sopewell orders, that there 
 shall be only three voices in it, of the 
 President (suhprioress or other), mis- 
 tress of the rule (challenger), and the 
 person challenged. Their Chapter was 
 strewed on Easter Sabbath.c 
 
 They who wished to sit near the Ab- 
 bot (among the Cistercians) in the 
 Chapter, or all places except the 
 Church, bowed to him profoundly from 
 their places. ^^ 
 
 After the Chapter, some staid be- 
 hind, or ought to have done so, to con- 
 fess, which confession was to be short, 
 and of a peculiar relation to certain 
 faults. An old writer says, " After the 
 saying of Sant Bernard, and other holy 
 
 repeated, and the passing Monks said, ^^ Lord have 
 mercy upon you.''' He was then led back to his 
 place ; received disciplines in the Chapter on stated 
 days ; and at last, upon promise of amendment, 
 and by the intercession of the Monks, was par- 
 doned. A contumacious Monk was sent to the 
 prison till he was humbled, and afterwards treated 
 according to his fault. A fugitive Monk was not 
 admitted into the house for some days, but staid in 
 the hostrey, and was afterwards very severely dis- 
 ciplined in the Chapter. Dec. Lanfr. Another 
 penance was, " Dwelling at the gate for a long tyme, 
 and living on a morsel of bread a day," and, " upon 
 re-admission being enjoyned to do all the ofFyces 
 that were most foulle.'' Gold. Leg. f. Ixxxix. 
 When a Monk was sent to another house for peni- 
 tence sake (which Monks were those who were 
 disturbers of the common peace, and the reason be- 
 cause it was better that one should perish, than the 
 whole society, Reyn. Append. 124), the Bishop or 
 president of the general Chapter was to compel 
 such house to receive him ; the term being expired, 
 the Abbot was to recall him. Vestments, among 
 which were bed things, were to be found by the 
 Convent that sent him, food by the other ; but on 
 this head there were opposite opinions. Lyndw. 
 207, 8. By the constitution, however, of certain 
 general Chapters, the receiving-house was to find 
 him necessaries, to the amount of two-pence a day, 
 unless there was any agreement to the contrary. 
 Reyn. 161, &c. App. This dismission did not take 
 place but when the Monk's own house was negli- 
 gent or dissolute. Lyndw. ut supr. 
 
 An expelled Monk, according to the rule, could 
 not be admitted after a third offence ; but Monastic 
 expulsion was the imposition of perpetual penance, 
 viz. exclusion from the common table, chapter, and 
 dormitory, and imprisonment. Athon. 143. 
 
 Correction, in the first place, belonged to the Ab- 
 bot ; and, in defect of that, to the Bishop after- 
 wards ; in some cases, the Monks might be held to 
 answer to that prelate. Athon, 148. 
 
 ^ Monast. ii. 765. 
 
 «: Id. 767. It does not appear with what, 
 
 ^ Ptt Cange, y. Suf^Hcare, 
 
CHAPTER. 
 
 225 
 
 tloctours, when an^^ man usytli to con- 
 fesse chiijlc or oft e tymes lie sholde nott 
 make a longe confession, but shorte, 
 of syclie as his conscience is most 
 grevyd wyth, and first of dydly sinnys, 
 i. e. those that he is in dowt whether 
 they be dedly or veniall, and secundly 
 of suche venial syns in general, that 
 cannot be expressyd specially as thes 
 be ; ydell words ; vayne thoughts ; nec- 
 ligence ; dulness in redyng or praying; 
 losse of tyme ; and distraction of hart 
 or wandryng mind in saying his service 
 or other prayers ; unthankfulnes of the 
 gudness of God; more besy for the 
 body than nede ware ; lyght turbacions 
 agaynst his neghbure ; lyght inchinge 
 of other men ; lyght suspecion ; to be 
 not content with all that God dothe ; 
 and nott to use the grace and gyfte that 
 God hath gefFyn him ; with other suche 
 that cannot be flede, and well for- 
 borne ; of a feble and a weak sawle ; 
 Avhen it suffers suche agayns its wyll 
 they are butt lyght venial ; neverlesse 
 they wolde be confessyd in generall/' « 
 Accordingly such sins were confessed 
 in the following manner^ among the 
 
 • MS. Cott. Nero, A. iir. f. 138, b. 
 
 •* Ordo confessionis quotidiancB apud Cysterci- 
 enses. Nostrates confitentur super genua coram 
 Confessore. Quserit Confessor, ^id dicite ? Red- 
 det, Meas culpas. Erigit eum confessor, di- 
 cens, Surge in nomine Domini. Benedicite. Con- 
 fitens, Dominus. Confessor, Deus sit nobis- 
 cum. Confitens, ^me«. Confiteor Deo, Sfc. quia 
 peccavi nimis. Fact^ autem confessione, dicit poe- 
 nitens, De iis et aliis peccatis meis meum reatum 
 confiteor; veniam deprecor. Et oro ie patrem 
 orare pro me. Confessor, Deo gratias. Miserea- 
 ttir tui omnipotens Deus. Dimittat tibi omnia pec- 
 cata iua, et perducat te ad vitam ceternam. Amen. 
 Indulgentiam et remissionem omnium peccatorum 
 tuorum tribuat tibi omnipotens et misericors Deus. 
 Amen. Dominus nosier Jesus Christuste absolvat, 
 nt ego auctoritaie ipsi?is absolvo te a peccatis tuis. 
 In nomine pairis, etjilii, et spiritus sancti. Amen. 
 Meritum passionis Domini nostri Jesu Cfiristi, in- 
 tercessio beatissimee Virginis Marice et omnium 
 sanctorum, humilitas hujus confessionis, bonum 
 propositum quod habes, et mala quce pro Deo pa- 
 cienter sustinebis, profuit tibi ad remissionem pec- 
 catorum tuorum. Et si hcec modica venia non sit 
 peccatis vestris condigna, passio Christi suppleat 
 residuum. — Retribnat tibi Dominus vitam ceternam. 
 MS. Harl. 2363. f. 7, b. Constitutions enact, that 
 every Monk should confess at least once a week, 
 and besides private confession of daily faults, twice 
 or at least once a year to the Abbot. Quilibetetiam 
 monachus ad minus seroel omni ebdomadd confite- 
 atur, et prseter illas privatas confessiones de cotidi- 
 anis delictis regulariter facieudis, bis vel semel in 
 
 Cistertians : Our Monks, says the or- 
 dinance, confess on their knees before 
 the Confessor. The latter enquires, 
 '^ What do you say ?" the other replies, 
 " My faults/* The Confessor raises 
 him, saying, " Rise in the name of the 
 Lord, Benedicite ;" the Monk returns 
 " Dominus ;" the Confessor, " God be 
 with US;'' the Monk, ^'^ Amen. I con- 
 fess to God, that I have deeply sinned." 
 When the confession is made, the pe- 
 nitent says, " Of these and all other my 
 sins I confess myself guilty. 1 seek 
 pardon, and beseech you, father, to 
 pray for me.'^ The Confessor returns, 
 " Thanks to God ; the Lord have mercy 
 on you, forgive you all your sins, and 
 bring you to eternal life. Amen. The 
 Almighty and merciful God grant you 
 indulgence and remission of all your 
 sins. Amen. Our Lord Jesus Christ 
 absolve you, as I, by his authority, ab- 
 solve you from your sins, in the name 
 of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 Amen, The merit of the passion of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the intercession of 
 the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the 
 Saints, the humility of this confession, 
 the good intentions which you have, 
 and the evils which you will patiently 
 endure for the sake of God, profit you 
 to the remission of your sins. [For a 
 special penance nevertheless.] And if 
 this small pardon be not sufficient for 
 your sins, the passion of Christ supply 
 the residue." It concluded with an 
 interchangeable religious salutation* 
 and " The Lord grant you eternal life, 
 from the Confessor rising. Some con- 
 stitutions enact, that no Monk should 
 confess to any secular, or man of other 
 order, unless on a journey, or unable to 
 obtain the assistance of a Monk ; ^ 
 notwithstanding which, other injunc- 
 tions allow them what Confessor they 
 
 anno saltern suo confiteatur prrelato. MS. Cott. 
 Claud. E. IV. f. 244. M. Paris says, that daily 
 confession took place when necessary, besides the 
 general monthly one, p. 1095, 1097, 1140. 
 
 «^ NuUusque monachus sub nostrS. obedientift 
 constitutus confiteatur alicui secular! aut viro alte- 
 rius religionis quin nostrae ; nisi in itinere consti- 
 tutus vel monachi copiam nequeant obtinere. MS. 
 Cott. Claud. E. IV. f. 244. Thus too, Monast. i. 
 147. 
 
226 
 
 CHAPTER, 
 
 liked,* whether regular or secular.^ 
 The office of external Confessors the 
 Monks found so profitable, that they 
 obtained grants for ^ve years, on pur- 
 pose to exercise that function, from the 
 papal see.<^ It seems, that the Monks 
 confessed very reluctantly ;d and that 
 it was a very difficult duty to young be- 
 ginners. ^ It was a rule, that whatever 
 guilt the Monks had contracted from 
 the hour of Nones, it was to be con- 
 fessed before Complin. Those also 
 who had assembled to sing Prime, after 
 it was over, and before the 50th Psalm 
 [sung by the procession when retiring], 
 used to say to each other, ^' I confess 
 to the Lord and you. Brother, that I 
 have sinned in thought and deed, 
 wherefore I beg you to pray for me ;" 
 
 * Chronol. August. Cant. 
 
 *• Licentia ut eligere possitis confessorem ido- 
 neum ssecularem vel regularem. MS. Mus. Ash- 
 mol. 1519, f. 12, b. 
 
 " Reyn. Append. 190. 
 
 ^ ** Vald^ abhorrebam confiteri peccata." MS. 
 Cott. Calig. A. I. f. 221. 
 
 « Joan. Solorzani de Indiar. Jure, 186. 
 
 and he answered, " Almighty God hav® 
 mercy upon you/^f 
 
 I shall end this account of the Chap- 
 ter, with observing, that to be buried in 
 it was an honour,? though the view was, 
 for the Monks to retain a fresher me- 
 mory of the deceased's services.^ 
 
 In the Statutes of the Clugniacks, 
 adjoining to the Chapter, were rooms 
 called Trisantice, with seats on both 
 sides, where the Monks were to retire 
 after shaving and conclusion of the 
 psalmody. Conversation was allowed, 
 and they were to take a book, and cut 
 their nails if necessary. After Complin 
 and collation, some retired there from 
 the Chapter, till the whole Convent 
 had withdrawn. They who sat on one 
 side of the Trisantia began one verse, 
 those on the opposite replied. These 
 Trisantice were places of rendezvous, 
 especially connected with Chapter bu- 
 siness.i 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Completa — Confessionea dare. 
 « M. Paris, 1018, 104. »> Monast. i. p. 456. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Trisantia. 
 
DORMITORY. 
 
 227 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 DORMITORY. 
 
 ^^ On the West side of the Cloyster/' 
 says Davies, '^was a large house, called 
 the Dorter, where the Monks and No- 
 vices lay. Every Monk had a little 
 chamber to himself. Each chamber » 
 had a window towards the Chapter,^ 
 and the partition betwixt every cham- 
 ber was close wainscotted, and in each 
 window was a desk to support their 
 books.'' 
 
 In the ancient Orders, at least some, 
 the Abbot's bed was in the middle of 
 the Dormitory, near the wall, and he 
 made a sonnd to raise the brethren in 
 the morning.*^ The Prior's bed in the 
 Dormitory, with a study and other 
 apartments annexed.^! " On the West 
 side of the said Dorter were " [similar 
 chambers, and on the South, those of 
 the Novices, who had also one each, 
 but neither so close nor so warm as the 
 others were, and without any other light 
 than what came in at the foreside.] 
 " At each end of the Dorter was a 
 square stone, in which was a dozen of 
 cressets, wrought in each stone, being 
 always filled and supplied by the cooks" 
 [in order to afford light]. " Adjoining 
 to the West side of the Dormitory was 
 the privy, with separate seats wains- 
 cotted and partitioned, each lighted 
 with a little window. The middle part 
 of the Dormitory was paved with fine 
 tile-stones, the whole length.'' At 
 Ford Abbey in Devonshire, a Dormi- 
 
 * The obedientiaries used to seir these chambers 
 according to the goodness of them/ C. G, North- 
 ampt. a" 1444. c. 3, sect. De Dormitorio. 
 
 *• Windows in the door ; and the latter to have 
 no lock, are ordered. Ut in Dormitorio in singu- 
 lorum cellae, sive camerse ostio parvulas fenestras 
 fieri, &c. per quas procedentes fratrum laudabiles, 
 nostri ordinis consuetudinem, introspicere liber^ 
 queant, nuUusque canonicorum in Dormitorio ja- 
 cencium prsesumat ostium camerse suae Intro quovls 
 ingenio firmare. MS. Ashm. 1519. 
 
 «= Du Cange, v. Donnitorium. 
 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. i. 143. 
 
 tory remains complete. It is a long 
 narrow gallery, with lancet windows on 
 both sides, one window to each apart- 
 ment or partition, now removed. Se- 
 veral constitutions enact, that the beds 
 should not be curtained, that they 
 should be without perticce,^ (patibufa 
 for hanging things on) ; that, among 
 the Friars, they should not have coun- 
 terpanes, sheets, or pillows,^ and that 
 they should not sleep naked ;S an in- 
 junction which the Monks extended 
 only to their shirts and breeches.^ It 
 was deemed injurious to sanctity for 
 Monks to sleep with naked legs.* They 
 too at least had blankets,*^ and besides 
 common bed furniture of curtains of 
 red, green, white, or a mixed colour,^ 
 silk pillows (still to be seen in ancient 
 beds), and coverlids with teasters.™The 
 nuns of St. Clare were permitted to 
 have sacks of hay or chaff, and a pillow 
 of chaff or wool, if they could not 
 have religious culcitra " of wool. " The 
 keys of the Dortour were carried to 
 the Prefect or Vicar by the servitor be- 
 longing thereto, and by him again at 
 
 * Et ut omnis suspicio mala tollatur, lecti mona- 
 chorum velaminibus et perticis, si qui fuerunt, 
 amotis, ita sint ordinati, ut in ipsis lectis existentes, 
 sine obstaculo quocunque die nocteque continue 
 valeant k custodibus ordinis, et aliis transeuntibus 
 intueri. MS. Cott. Claud. E. iv. f. 242, b. Non 
 cortinatos. Cust. Roflfens 235. 
 
 ' Super culcitrum non dormiant fratres. MS. 
 Cott. Nero, A. xii. f. 159, b. Item fratres saniin 
 Dormitorio, culcitris, lintheaminibus, ac pulvinari- 
 bus non utantur. MS. Bodl. 1882, p. 48, b. 
 
 *f Ibid. A custom of Egyptian origin. Gruteri 
 Spicileg. ii. 132. *» Reyn. Append. 166. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Pedana. 
 
 ^ W. Thome, c. 32, sect. 3. 
 
 * Reyn. Append. 195. 
 
 "• i pulvinar de serico, i coverlit cum tester. MS. 
 Harl. 1005. f.69, b. The bedsteads were of oak. 
 M. Par. 1054. According to some rules, no one 
 in the time of summer was allowed to sleep out of 
 his bed, except the Prior ordered him to sleep in 
 the open air, for custody of the area. Du Cange, 
 V. Nuhilum. 
 
 ° Here it means a bed. 
 q2 
 
228 
 
 DORMITORY. 
 
 the appointed time in the morning 
 opened; then each Monk receiving 
 their summons to rise/ had half an 
 hour, or thereabouts, allowed them both 
 in making up themselves and their 
 beds.i^ 
 
 In some Rules the meridians began 
 on Palm Sunday, in others on the ides 
 of May; and in some ended on the 
 ides of September, in others on those of 
 October. The order of St. Victor says, 
 " In the summer, at mid-day, any one 
 who chuses may read in the Dormi- 
 tory, provided they do not make a 
 noise in turning over the leaves. In 
 that hour the brethren ought to lie in 
 their cloaths ; and take care not to ex- 
 tend their feet outside the bed, or ap- 
 pear naked in it. The meridians after 
 Sext on fast-days were very short.'^ ^ 
 
 It seems that these meridians, or 
 sleep at noon during summer, were neg- 
 lected by the Monks, in order that they 
 might attend to drinking or gossiping 
 elsewhere ;d and that both they, the 
 Nuns, and Friars spent almost half the 
 night in similar indulgences both there 
 and in other places ; so that they could 
 scarcely be prevailed on to rise in the 
 morning ; e that the Friars made great 
 
 ^ In some rules certain Monks were deputed to 
 wake the others to Matins » which office they took 
 in weekly rotation ; and they were called Vigiliarii, 
 or Vigili-Galli, from the wakefulness of cocks. Du 
 Cange, v. Vigiliarii. 
 
 ^ Steevens's Monast. ii. 121, of Oseney. The 
 Friars might lie out of the house, for the conveni- 
 ence of the guests. Extra domum etiam jacere po- 
 terunt sicut fueriteis constitutum, ne hospites mo- 
 lestentur. MS. Cott. Nero, A. xii. f. 159, b. 
 
 •= Du Cange, v. Meridiana. 
 
 *• Aliquos de Conventu extra Dormitorium pro 
 potacionibus vel vanis confabulacionibus, sicut an- 
 tiquitus solebant, notare, &c. MS. Cott. Claud. E, 
 IV. f. 244, a. — Comestiones atque potationes in 
 Dormitorio inhibemus. MS. Ashmol. Mus. 1519. 
 
 ^ Quidam contra commessationes superfluas et 
 confabulationes illicitas, ut de aliis taceamus, fere 
 medietatem noctis expendunt, et sompno residuum 
 relinquentes, vix ad diurnum Conventum avium 
 excitantur. MS. Bibl. Reg. 8, f. 9. «« Fratres 
 nolumus vos iguorare de dormientibus, ut non con- 
 tristemini sicut ethnici qui spem non habent." 
 MS. Harl. 913, f. 11. Item quod morosse sessiones 
 et famulationes post completorium, multa mala et 
 pericula mittunt in religionem, precipimus, ut tem- 
 pest! ve in quantum possent, cubent. MS. Cott. 
 Jul. D. II. f. 158, b. See also C. G. Northampt. 
 a° 1444. ch. 2. Item post completorium ex quo 
 signum Dormitorii factum fuerit, aliquis comedere 
 
 noises in talking ; ^ that the Nuns made 
 many useless signs,g as did the Monks, 
 who went to the beds of the others to 
 converse ; ^ did not rise to mattins ; 
 and disturbed the quiet brethren » with 
 singing or dancing till the hours of ten 
 or eleven at night — an abuse thus al- 
 luded to by Barclay : 
 
 The frere or monke in his frocke and cowle, 
 Must daunce in his dorter, leping to play the foole.'' 
 
 It also appears that seculars slept 
 there ^ as well as in nunneries, whose 
 dormitories were not much used by the 
 sisters.™ They were all, except officers, 
 to be in bed by eight o'clock.'^ Among 
 the Premonstratensians they were not 
 to get into bed upright; but sitting 
 down, turn round. A prayer was said 
 by the Senior Prior.^ The Dormitory 
 was the place for dressing. The Rule 
 of Victor says, of the Brethren going 
 to work, '^Let them ascend into the 
 Dormitory, and there preparing them- 
 selves put on woollen tunicks above, 
 small subtalares, or shoes not higher 
 than the ancles, gloves," &c.p 
 
 : non preesumat, nee alicubi in locutionibus remanere. 
 I MS. Cott. Nero, A. xii. f. 158, b. NuUus in Dor- 
 i mitorio prsesumat se a matutinis absentare. MS. 
 Ashm. f. 33, et pass. 
 
 ' Hortamur enim ut fratres assuescantur ubique 
 religiose et sine clamore loqui, et maxime in dormi- 
 torio. MS. Bodl. 1882, p. 47, b. 
 
 i Monast. ii. 766. 
 
 ^ Nullus etiam fratrum ad lectum alterius acce- 
 dat ad confabulationem, vel signum aliquod facien- 
 dum, nisi hii quibus ex officiis eorum incumbit. 
 MS. Cott. Claud. E. iv. f. 242, b. 
 
 ' Gunton's Peterborough, 55 ; and verbatim from 
 him, Steevens's Monast. i. 485. 
 
 ^ Ship of Fooles, 116, a. Ed. Cawood. This 
 was uncandid. Fordun mentions dancing and 
 singing till midnight (XV. Script. 678). Aldhelm, 
 when he returned from abroad, was received by 
 the people with dancing (Angl. Sacr. i. 19) ; and 
 always when Hugh Prior of Durham was at home, 
 the poor of the town used to dance before him, 
 and he ordered them refreshment in the kitchen 
 (Id. i. 740). This could not have been, if crimi- 
 nal ideas had been attached to dancing. However, 
 Orderic Vitalis says, that the Dormitory, Infirmary, 
 and other private places of Monasteries, were open 
 to buffoons and prostitutes. Du Cange, v. Cron- 
 tochium. 
 
 ' Ne aliquis saecularis de ccetero in dormitorio 
 nocte requiescat. MS. Ashmol. Mus. 1519. f. 
 123, a. '» Monast. i. 910, ii. 895. 
 
 " Ut cuncti sint in lectis ad horam octavam, ex- 
 ceptis officiariis. MS. Ashmol. 1519, p. 15. 
 
 " Du Cange, v. Gambesa, Collocare. 
 
 p Ibid. v. Mainfula, 
 
CLOISTER. 
 
 229 
 
 CHAPITER XXXVIII. 
 
 CLOISTER. 
 
 Several antient canons enacted, that 
 cloisters « should be erected near the 
 Church, where the clerks might attend 
 to Ecclesiastical discipline ; ^ and con- 
 finement to it originated in the gossip- 
 ing practices of the antient Monks, 
 which Benedict was determined to pre- 
 vent.c There was a green in the midst 
 of it (sometimes called Paradise), " sig- 
 nifying/^ says Wicliff, " the greenness 
 of their virtues above others ;^' and a 
 tree in the middle, which implied ^^ the 
 ladder, by which, in gradations of vir- 
 tue, they aspired to celestial things.^' d 
 Its four sides had also particular desig- 
 nations; the western side was appro- 
 priated to the school; that which joined 
 the Church to moral reading ; and the 
 uses of the two others (for Du Gangers 
 extract is imperfect) seem to be con- 
 joined with the duties of the Church 
 and Chapter.<5 The form was square, 
 that the Monks might be secluded from 
 intercourse with the world ; ^ and the 
 idea of the building itself was taken 
 from Solomon's Porch, erected near the 
 temple.s Sometimes it had a fountain 
 in the middle, and the doors were con- 
 secrated with relicks.h 
 
 Davies ^describes it as having a seat 
 (fastened to the wall, four feet high, 
 with a back of wood, and boarded un- 
 der feet for warmth), on which sat the 
 
 » There were antiently Curia Claustrales^ de- 
 pendencies of Cloisters, residences of Canons. Ma- 
 gasin Encyclopedique, vi. p. 195. 
 
 ^ Le Voeu de Jacob, iv. 504, 5. 
 
 *^ Dev. VieMon. ii. 14, 15. 
 
 «* Dialogi cxliii. 4to. 1525. For the tree, see 
 also D'Emiliane's Monastical Orders, p. 170. 
 
 *= Du Cange in v. Claustrum, from Peter of Blois, 
 who has ** in ipsa ecclesia meditatio spiritualis" 
 [omitted by Du Cange,] and ** ad Orienteni [Ori- 
 entalem, Du Cange] in capitulo correctio [omit. 
 Du Cange] materialis." 
 
 ' Du Cange. 
 
 K Gemma Animae, cap. 148, De Claustro. Mr. 
 Warton says it was adorned with carols (texts or 
 Inscriptions). See Angl. Sacra, i. 140. 
 
 )» Du Cange, v. Atrimu 
 
 porter ; and, on the same side, a long- 
 bench of stone for children at the 
 Maundy, at the end of which were 
 almeries, or closets, of pierced work, 
 to admit air to the towels there kept, 
 with which the Monks wiped their 
 hands when they washed and went to 
 dinner. The North alley, he says, was 
 finely glazed, and in every window 
 were three pews or carrels, in each 
 of which was a desk, where every 
 one of the old Monks had a carrel se- 
 verally to himself, to which, after din- 
 ner, they resorted,^ and there studied 
 their books till even song ; and opposite 
 to these, against the Church wall, were 
 almeries full of books, at all times 
 open to them. In the West alley was 
 the treasury, in the midst of which was 
 an iron grate, having a strong iron 
 door of the same work, " with a lock, 
 and great slots of iron ;'^ and within, a 
 square table covered with green cloth, 
 for telling their money .'^ Within this 
 
 ' They could either study or sleep. Monast. 
 II. 730. 
 
 ^ Seals of a round form generally denoted, ac- 
 cording to Lewis and Blomfield, " something of 
 royalty in the possessor, or a more than ordinary 
 extent of temporal jurisdiction." Monasteries of 
 royal foundation had commonly round seals. 
 Bishops and superiors of houses had usually oval 
 seals. The former hold the pastoral staff in their 
 left hands ; Abbots in their right. The earliest con- 
 ventual seals commonly bore mere rude represen- 
 tations of the patron saints ; the more recent were 
 highly finished : the most common device being the 
 superior praying to the patron saint above. From 
 the reign of Edward the Confessor to that of Ed- 
 ward III. that is, from A. D. 1041 to 1337, the 
 Kings of England were represented on their broad 
 seals, sitting upon thrones, but without catiopies. 
 From Edward III. down to the present time, they 
 are seated under canopies. Previously to the time 
 of Edward IIL the convent seals represented the 
 patron saints and abbots seated upon thrones ; but 
 after this period they constantly exhibited these 
 figures sitting or standing beneath canopies and 
 arches. The patron saint subduing and treading upon 
 the dragon being symbolical of his overcoming 
 sin ; a star, the symbol of the Epiphany, and a 
 crescent of the increase of the Gospel, are fre- 
 cjuently introduced into the seals. Taylor's Inde^ 
 Monasticus, Pref, .\xi. sefj, 
 
230 
 
 CLOISTER. 
 
 treasury was kept the best muniments, 
 the Chapter seal,^ and evidences of 
 several gentlemen^s lands in the coun- 
 try, in three great chests well locked.^ 
 Opposite to this, was a stall of wain- 
 scot, where the Novices were taught; 
 and their master had a seat of the same 
 kind, upon the South side of the trea- 
 sury-house door, opposite to the stall, 
 where the Novices studied. There he 
 instructed them both forenoon and af- 
 ternoon, no strangers or other persons 
 being permitted to molest the Novices 
 or the Monks in their carrels,*^ while at 
 study in their Cloisters, a porter at- 
 tending for that purpose at the Clois- 
 ter-door. A little South of the trea- 
 
 * See sect. Abbot. In general the custody of it 
 was ill observed. MS. Mus. Ashmol. 1519, f. 34. 
 In the Cistertian and Prsemonstratensian Orders 
 It was in the custody of the Prior and four more 
 eligible. Id. 50, a. Through the scarcity of no- 
 taries public, a constitution of Otto ordered Abbots 
 and Priors, whose benefices were perpetual, to have 
 a seal of their own, separate from that of the house, 
 which Dr. Pegge is of opinion was not the case, 
 except where heads of great and opulent founda- 
 tions had jndeed their own seals conformable to the 
 regulation, or at least by favour of his holiness the 
 Pope (Essay on the Matrices of Conventual Seals, 
 p. 3.) Abbeys too had not only different seals for 
 different purposes, but these were frequently altered 
 and changed (Id. p. 7) ; though, from the seal of 
 Hyde Abbey being worth 15 marks (Monast. i. 
 210j, I apprehend it must have been extremely ex- 
 pensive to have them sculped. — So careless were 
 the Monks of it, that M. Paris mentions its being 
 thrown among a chest of papers (p. 1048). The 
 Abbot's bajulus, or domestic Monk, was also the 
 bearer of this seal (Id. 1051). A silver seal and 
 chain, sigillium argenti cum cathena, is mentioned as 
 a plain Monk's in MS. Harl. 1005, f. 69, b. 
 
 '' Of this see Prsef. Notit. Monast. It is well 
 known that W. I. &c. caused the Abbeys to be 
 searched for treasures of this nature. There are in- 
 junctions not to receive secular deposits, on account 
 of the danger of so doing. (Deposita secularia 
 nun suscipiet, quia multus ad pericula varia trax- 
 erunt.) MS. Cott. Jul. a. ix. f. 12. b. Accord- 
 ing to certain constitutions they were to be received 
 ■with consent of the Abbot and four Monks of 
 '♦laudable testimony." M.Paris, 1096. These 
 matters, as they were deposited for security, were 
 also removed, after leave obtained, with the most 
 profound secresy. Paston Letters, iii. 354. The 
 custom seems to arise from the Roman deposits in 
 the Temple of Vesta. At St. Alban's the charters 
 were kept in chests, upon which, withinside, was a 
 table of contents. M. Paris, p. 1035. At a Fran- 
 ciscan Abbey at Donegall, in the Cloister are two 
 narrow passages one over the other, seemingly 
 placed for depositing valuable effects in times of 
 danger. Sir R. C. Hoare's Tour, 191. 
 
 ^ These carrels were locked, and contained vari- 
 ous things. Cowell V. Caro/*. 
 
 sury, he adds, was a convenient room, 
 wherein was established the song- 
 school, for the instruction of boys for 
 the use of the Choir ; the song-school 
 in the South aile of the lanthorn being 
 decently furnished with a reading- 
 desk, convenient seats, and all other 
 requisite conveniencies, appropriated 
 to the service of God ; where morning 
 prayer was daily celebrated at six in 
 the morning throughout the year, ex- 
 cept on Sundays and holidays. 
 
 A number of constitutions forbid 
 women to have access to the Cloister, 
 except noble patronesses and others to 
 whom entrance could not be denied, 
 unless on passing through on certain 
 festivals, or going to the Church for 
 devotion, and taking their way through 
 (not talking or standing in the cloister), 
 to the places deputed for the visitors, 
 the hospitia of Abbots, or in great 
 houses, the lodgings of Priors ; ^ but it 
 was confessed only, that such regula- 
 tions ought to be observed.^ Among 
 the Friars they were allowed to follow 
 processions, and be present whenever 
 there was preaching.^ It seems too, 
 that the Convent was much disturbed 
 by persons of both sexes passing 
 through,^ and that the Monks were in 
 the habit of gossiping in the corners in 
 small parties,'^ in consequence of the 
 injunction of reading instead of manual 
 labour.^ The Monks had each of 
 them a book, except those studying 
 the divine service, to whom the chantor, 
 or a person deputed by him, attended. 
 They sat side by side, never asked 
 questions except of long or short ac- 
 
 ^ M. Paris, 1100. Monast. ii. 566. C.G. North- 
 ampt. a° 1444. c. ix. 
 
 e M. Paris. 
 
 ' Quum non fuerint processiones eos sequi po- 
 terint ; et ubi prsedicabitur semper poterint inte- 
 resse. MS. Cot. Nero, A. xii. 
 
 s Item quia transitus communis personarum 
 utriusque sexds per claustrum, incongruis tempo- 
 ribus exercetur, et potissim^ horis illis, quibus 
 fratres de conventu et contemplatione sancta studiis 
 quoque ac lectionibus variis inibi occupantur, unde 
 dissolutiones plurimse pervenerunt. MS. Harl. 328, 
 f. 3. 
 
 ^ Non bini aut terni seorsim per angulos claustri 
 vacant. MS. Cott. Faustina, B. iv. f. 128. (Dis- 
 quis. de Grandimont.j 
 
 i Dev. Vie Mon. ii. 395, b. 
 
CLOISTER. 
 
 231 
 
 cents, or beginnings of lessons at table, 
 collation, and mattins, which questions 
 were very short. When they found it 
 necessary to go away for a time, they 
 put their books in the case, or con- 
 signed them to a Monk that sat nigh 
 them.* Angry looks and signs were 
 much reprobated. 
 
 Embroidery, though forbidden in 
 the rule of Ceesariusj'o was a common 
 employment of Monks : and others 
 were not rare. The ancient Monks of 
 Egypt worked in masonry, upholstery, 
 carpentry, braziery, agriculture, cloth- 
 making, shoe- making, basket-making, 
 rope and net making, tanning, fulling, 
 dressing and colouring the papyrus, 
 fine writing, indeed every employment, 
 agricultural and mechanical, necessary 
 for the use of life.^ 
 
 The Nuns too, as the Monks, sat 
 in their Cloister side by side, with one's 
 back to the other's face, except they 
 were reading in the same book, or sew- 
 ing in the same cloth. No person 
 passing bowed to any one but the 
 Prioress ; nor could any lettered Nun, 
 after Prime, be in the Cloister without 
 a book ; and, if she sat idle at it, work 
 instead was enjoined her.d But there 
 were peculiarities attendant upon their 
 Cloisters. There was a wheel made in 
 the outer wall, too small for persons to 
 go in and out at, but so managed, that 
 though it precluded vision, necessaries 
 could be administered by it ; and on 
 either side of it was a strong door of 
 small size (locked at night, and in sum- 
 mer during the meridians), for the use 
 of the attendant porteress, to manage 
 her business. There was also only 
 one door to enter the Cloister by, 
 made so high, that it was accessible 
 only by a ladder ; and this ladder, 
 during the above periods, was fast 
 bound by an iron chain on the Nun^s 
 side ; and a porteress attended to keep 
 it locked. The grate, or locutory, 
 consisted of an iron plate perforated, 
 not to be opened, and strengthened 
 
 » Monast. ii. 724, 5. 
 
 ^ C. 42. « Dev. Vie Monast. ii. 406. 
 
 * Monast. ii. 765. 
 
 externally with projecting nails, over 
 which, on the inner side, a black cloth 
 was so placed, that they could neither 
 see nor be seen. There they were 
 allowed to converse at certain times, 
 except from Complin to Prime, eating- 
 time, the meridian, or during Divine 
 Service.e Their processions were to 
 be made within the yards and gardens 
 surrounding their Cloister, with beat- 
 ing of bells, hoods on, walking two and 
 two, and the cross borne before.^ 
 The day of the Month was pro- 
 
 « Mitig. Rule of S. Clare. The versatile window 
 of the Sempringham Nuns, for necessary purposes, 
 was not quite two feet high and broad. That of 
 confession and conversation with parents, &c. once 
 or twice a-year, a finger's length and breadth. 
 Monast. ii. 757, 8. 2. 
 
 ' Athon. 157. Processions were founded upon 
 Christ's ordering his disciples to go forth into 
 Galilee. Rup. Tutiens. L. vii. C. 21. p. 991. In 
 the Nuns' processions (Ord. Sempr.) they were made 
 through the Cloister, and curtains hung at every 
 corner of it, to obstruct vision. Monast. ii. 765. 
 The Sunday procession originated with Agapetus 
 the First, a" 537. M. Polonus, sub a°. 
 
 The standards of the Church, representing the 
 Trinity, Saints, &c. made in the form of the La- 
 barum, at least sometimes,* were, after the proces- 
 sion was over, erected in the Church : f but there 
 was a standard made of hair- cloth for reconciling 
 penitents. After nones was sung, a Priest went to 
 the western gate of the Church, clothed in sacer- 
 dotal vestments, and a red silk cope, with two 
 Deacons in white amesses, without the Sub-Dea- 
 con, and without the cross, through the middle of 
 the Choir, the hair-cloth standard preceding. Thus 
 the penitent was introduced. t In all processions 
 the cross was carried before, and when elevated 
 signified temporal dominion. § Relicks were carried 
 upon a fork sometimes. || The Cistertian Nuns 
 wore a large and wide hood, called Culla, in pro- 
 cessions.^ 
 
 Shrines, containing relicks, were carried in pro- 
 cession with singing and bell ringing, in imitatioa 
 of the Israelites carrying the ark.** 
 
 The statio was a stoppage at the Oratories, or 
 other places, and prayers were said, Antiphones 
 sung, and Mass celebrated. They are said to have 
 been taken from a custom of the first Christians to 
 hold meetings at public Churches, or Oratories, to 
 transact business.f f 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Auriflamma* 
 
 \ Id. V. Vexillum, 
 
 X Missale Sarisb. 
 
 § Notices des MSS. vi. 83. 
 
 II Du Cange, v. Branchada, 
 
 % Id. V. Culla. 
 
 ** Id. V. Scrinium* 
 
 j-j. Id. V. Statio, 
 
232 
 
 CLOISTER. 
 
 claimed in the Cloister every morning 
 after Prime by the boys.* 
 
 Books were chained in the Cloister 
 for the instruction of the Novices, of 
 which ^sop's Fables is known to have 
 been one. From a book of tales of 
 this kind, a specimen shall now be ex- 
 hibited of the wrong conclusions of the 
 middle age. These tales begin with 
 the moral, not conclude as is the mo- 
 dern fashion ; and one of the stories 
 intended to warn persons against lust^ 
 is this. A king's son, till a certain 
 age, was kept from the society and 
 knowledge of the female sex, and then 
 shown every thing in the world ac- 
 cording to its kind, men apart, women 
 apart, houses apart, and elsewhere 
 gold, silver, jewels, and every thing 
 which could charm the eyes of the be- 
 holders. He comes to the women, 
 and asks, what those were ? The ser- 
 vant answers sportively, these are de- 
 vils, which seduce men. The heart of 
 the boy began, however, to feel desire ; 
 and when the king asked him, what he 
 liked best of all which he had seen ? 
 the other replied, " I like the devils 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Luna. 
 
 ^ Valde cavendum in viris religiosis, ne superen- 
 tur in temptacione diaboli, &c. unde legimus, &c. 
 MS. Harl. 463. f. 2, 3. 
 
 which seduce men, better than all the 
 others.^^ ^ 
 
 In orders Eremite, the cells opened 
 intp the Cloister. That of the Car- 
 thusians, at Shene, contained about 
 thirty cells.^^ Nigel Wireker says, 
 jocosely, " If I get among them, I must 
 go to bed without a light." ^ 
 
 The tendency of perpetual solitude 
 is to produce insanity. Intercourse 
 with society is the regulator of the 
 clockwork of reason. Judgment is the 
 distinction of men of the world. Eras- 
 mus says, that he never knew a Car- 
 thusian Monk who was not mad, or an 
 ideot.f Petrarch says otherwise ; but 
 he proves the existence of social in- 
 tercourse in Carthusians. 
 
 ^ Omnia quse sunt in mundo secundum genus 
 suum, vid. viros seorsim, mulieres seorsim, seorsim 
 equos, et alio loco aurum, argentum, et lapides pre- 
 ciosos, et omnia quse delectare possunt oculos in- 
 
 tuentium ; servus respondit ludendo, ** Ista 
 
 sunt dfemoues, homines seducentes ;" cor vero 
 pueri illarum desiderio certis rebus anhelabat. 
 Cumque rex quaereret a puero, quid magis ex om- 
 nibus quae viderat amaret, respondit, ** Magis 
 diligo dsemones illos qui homines seducunt, quam 
 omnia alia quae vidi." Ibid. 
 
 '' Itin. S. Simeon, et W. Worcest. p. 258. 
 
 « *' Et sine luce raeum solus adibo thorum." 
 Spec. Stultor. 
 
 f Ichthyophagia CoUoq. 439. 
 
INFIRMARY. 
 
 233 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX, 
 
 INFIRMARY. 
 
 This place had a Chapel" annexed, 
 where divine service from a Breviary 
 on purpose was celebrated ;b a great 
 table, with a bell over it, to assemble 
 the Monks at meals ; c a stone where 
 the dying sick were washed and re- 
 ceived the extreme unction and sacra- 
 ment/^ and where Monks, aiFected 
 with e7inui and languor, were directed 
 to sit and meditate;^ wood, coals, and 
 other necessaries, saltcellars, spoons, 
 candlesticks, towels, beds, and the 
 straw of beds, and tables, in the Re- 
 fectory of it ; it was also strewed with 
 hay, rushes, straw, or other matters, 
 when necessary/ There were also 
 chambers duly provided with chimneys,^ 
 a distinction made by our ancestors. 
 A common appendage to it was a gar- 
 den or court for recreation of the sick. 
 At Norwich w^as a long inclosed gallery 
 for the same purpose.** A Nun sick^ of 
 a cancer, who disturbed the rest by the 
 smell, was removed by the Infirmaress, 
 into a place called the Antexenodo- 
 chium^ 
 
 By the Anglo-Saxon institutes, a 
 Monk taken severely sick announced 
 his disease to the Abbot or the whole 
 congregation, and having received the 
 benediction, retired to the Infirmary. 
 To this the Norman decretals added, 
 that, from the day he began to eat 
 flesh there, he should walk with his 
 
 * A little chapel and lobby, or covered gallery 
 for walking in. Du Cange, v. Lobia, 
 
 ^ W. Thome, c. 32, sec. 5. Angl. Sacr. i. 393, 
 399. 
 
 «= M. Paris, 1009. 
 
 d Id. 1045. 
 
 «= Cum se senserit tsedio quodam et languore 
 mentis affici componat se supra petram, in qua la- 
 vantur mortui, et tractet apud se solicits quod vid. 
 tractentur ibidem sepeliendi. MS. Harl. 103. f. 
 115, a. 
 
 ' MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 205. a. 
 
 * Angl. Sacr. i. 142, 646. 
 *» Parkins's Norwich, 163# 
 I Du Cauge, 
 
 hood on, and leaning on a staff; a 
 trick which young and healthy Monks 
 often played, to get admitted on pre- 
 tence of illness.*' As soon as he got 
 well, after being shaved, he was to 
 attend Divine Service at the hour be- 
 fore the Chapter, and, if there was a 
 Mass afterwards, not offer at it. When 
 the Chapter commenced, he was then 
 to enter as soon as the affairs of the 
 Order began to be discussed, solicit 
 pardon prostrate for having eaten meat, 
 and, after absolution from the Abbot 
 and Convent, throw himself at the 
 feet of the Abbot, return thanks to 
 him and the Convent for the assist- 
 ance furnished to him in his sickness, 
 and make three genuflexions. After 
 that he was allowed mixtus that day, 
 and as long as w^as necessary. If, how- 
 ever, he had not eaten meat, it was in 
 the Abbotts disposition when he should 
 return to the Convent, and how con- 
 duct himself afterwards. At St. Alban's 
 the custom was for them, if they did 
 not get well in three days, to enter the 
 Infirmary, and then to be contented 
 with regular food, unless by accelera- 
 tion of disease they were compelled to 
 eat meat.l Medical assistance, though 
 this was much neglected, was engaged 
 to attend upon them, and medicines 
 thus provided."^ 
 
 Phlebotomy was in much fashion in 
 the middle ages ; for, in the fifteenth 
 
 '' Bern. Dev. Vie Mon. iii. 48. 
 
 ' M. Paris, 1009, but they had an Oriel for per- 
 sons not so bad as to be sent to the Infirmary. 
 
 •» Unus medicus de bonis communibus ipsius 
 ecclesiee debits procuretur, qui monachis et fra- 
 tribus ejusdem infirmis de medicinis congruis, cum 
 opus fuerit, provideat. MS. Harl. 328. p. 4. As 
 they had no Monk of this description, they were to 
 seek medical aid from elsewhere. Ibid. 
 
 The Benedictines of S. Vitalis at Ravenna had 
 a dep6t of Pharmacy for all kinds of medicines, a 
 complete surgery, and anatomical subjects, and in- 
 struments for all kinds of operations. Observat, 
 sur r Italic, t. i. 323, 324, 
 
234 
 
 INFIRMARY. 
 
 century, it was the subject of a poem ;* 
 and Robert Boutevylleyn, a founder, 
 claimed in the Abbey of Pipe well four 
 bleedings /;er annum.^ Among the 
 Monks, this operation, which was per- 
 formed by a servant, was termed minu- 
 tion. A complete set of surgical in- 
 struments was found at Herculaneum, 
 a lancet excepted, but it is very clearly 
 described and distinguished from the 
 fleam by William Brito, and perhaps it 
 was the Blod-sex of the Anglo-Saxons.^ 
 In some Abbeys was a bleeding-house 
 called FlebotomariaA By the Norman 
 institutes, leave was to be asked imme- 
 diately after Chapter, and the hour 
 declared to the Cellarer ; in Winter, 
 after the Gospel of the great Mass ; in 
 Summer, after Vespers, having put on 
 their nocturnal shoes, bowed, and 
 turned to the east, they undressed. 
 They were not to speak but from very 
 urgent necessity, and then softly. Ex- 
 emption from the Choir duty was 
 granted till the commencement of the 
 Chapter,^ on the next day, or longer, 
 if necessary. f On the morrow they 
 put on their nocturnal shoes, for two 
 days had mixtus, and performed a 
 short religious service ; accordingly, as 
 it was the season when the Convent 
 took refection once or oftener, the Be- 
 nediction was given by the senior 
 Priest, the reading recited from me- 
 mory, and the whole done in the Re- 
 fectory. On the morrow, if any one 
 of them was accused in Chapter, his 
 minutmi was notified to the Prior, and 
 he might solicit and receive pardon for 
 a small fault ; but if it was irremissible, 
 the discipline was to be delayed. There 
 were certain festivals when this bleed- 
 ing was not allowed ; as the festival of 
 All Saints, because on the morrow all 
 the Priests were to celebrate masses of 
 the dead, and the rest say the psalms 
 
 * Ayscough's Catal. ii. 833. 
 ^ Monast. i. 818. 
 
 <= Du Cange, v. Lanceola. Phlehotomum, 
 ^ Du Cange. 
 
 * They did not attend Divine Service even on 
 festivals. Reyn. Append. 165. 
 
 ' From Sunday till Thursday, or a v^reek, was 
 sometimes the term allowed, Monast. ii. 274. 
 
 appointed. It seems, that fire was 
 allowed them in the Infirmary,^ and 
 that the Monks desired often to be 
 bled, on account of eating meat.^^ 
 
 In the order of St. Victor the bre- 
 thren were bled five times a year, in 
 September, before Advent, before Lent, 
 after Easter, at Pentecost, which bleed- 
 ing lasted three days : after the third 
 day they came to Mattins, and were in 
 the Convent. On the fourth day, they 
 received absolution in the Chapter. In 
 another rule, one Choir was bled at 
 the same time in silence and psalmody, 
 sitting in order in a cell. Other rules 
 forbid a stated time of bleeding.^ 
 
 By the Anglo-Saxon institutes, when 
 a Monk was sick beyond prospect of 
 recovery, it was notified to the Abbot 
 and Convent by the Infirmarer, and 
 they immediately attended him, gave 
 him extreme unction, afterwards the 
 Eucharist, and this continued till his 
 death approached ; at which period 
 they went to witness his departure, 
 and begin the commendation of his 
 soul. According to the Norman de- 
 cretals, he was visited at first only by 
 a deputation,'' consisting of the Heb- 
 domadary. Sacrist, and four Converts, 
 who sprinkled him, confessed him, 
 absolved him^ (he likewise them), 
 kissed him, gave him extreme unction, 
 and the sacrament. Certain prayers 
 
 ^ Quia infirmi fratres, et qui opus habebant mi- 
 nui sanguini, igne carebant, idem Abbas Faritius 
 consensu totius capituli concessit omnes redditus eis 
 maneriorum subnotatorum, &c. MS. Cott. Claud. 
 B. VI. f. 158. a. 
 
 '» Ubi juxta ordinis monastici rigorem in refec- 
 torio carnes, aut in publico non comeduntur longe 
 avidius longeque voracius et immoderancius in pri- 
 vato sumuntur, dum propter hoc crebras monachi 
 simulant egrotaciones, dumque creberrimas ob hoc 
 sanguinis appetunt et affectant minuciones, &c. 
 MS. Cott. Tiber. B. 13. Nee extra refectorium in 
 infirmitorio esum carnium credant sibi licere. MS. 
 Bibl. Reg. 8 F. IX. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Minuere. 
 
 ^ The Prior's chaplain only. Davies. 
 
 I Ego auctoritate Dei et beatorum Apostolorum 
 Petri et Pauli, et domini nostri, domini Nicholai 
 Pap(B quinti, michi in hac parte specialiter com- 
 missi, et tibi concess^, absolvo te. MS. Bibl. 
 Reg. 2, A. 2. Instead of this blasphemous inser- 
 tion of the Pope's name, in the above absolution, 
 (the one used on these occasions,) on a par with that 
 of God, that in Herbert's Ames, i. 310, has only 
 ' '< virtute papalis indulgentiw." 
 
INFIRMARY, 
 
 235 
 
 were made for him in the Mass : and 
 this was done till he seemed likely to 
 recover ; but, if the contrary appeared 
 manifest, he was never without two 
 Monks,^ who constantly read to him 
 the passion of our Lord, and the Gos- 
 pels, while he was sensible (and also 
 said their hours there) ; and when he 
 was deprived of his understanding, 
 never ceased singing the Psalter.^ As 
 soon as he appeared upon the verge of 
 dissolution, a servant laid a hair-cloth 
 over him,^ and sat watching'^ till he was 
 just departing, and then, with the two 
 Monks, ran to the Cloister- door, and 
 beat upon a table, to give notice to 
 the Convent to come to him ; which 
 they accordingly did, and began a reli- 
 gious service, after which they again 
 retired, certain of them remaining to 
 say the Psalter. Afterwards they re- 
 turned again to perform the commen- 
 dation of his soul. " Thence,^^ says 
 Davies, whose account agrees with the 
 Norman institute, " he (the deceased) 
 was carried to a chamber called the dead 
 man's chamber, in the Infirmary, there 
 to remain till night. The Prior's chap- 
 lain, as soon as he was conveyed to 
 the dead man's chamber, locked the 
 chamber door where he died, and car- 
 ried the key to the Prior. At night he 
 was removed from the dead man^s 
 chamber into St. Andrew's Chapel, ad- 
 joining to the said chamber and infir- 
 mary, there to remain till eight o'clock 
 in the morning, the Chapel beinga place 
 ordained only for solemn devotion.® The 
 night before the funeral, two Monks, 
 either in kindred or kindness, nearest 
 to him, were appointed by the Prior to 
 
 ■ The Bajuli Obituum were officers in Abbeys, 
 whose duty it was to receive and distribute legacies, 
 and attend to the service of the hours and obits. 
 Du Cange. Perhaps these were the two Monks of 
 Davies. 
 
 •» See this in Angl. Sacr. i. 654. 
 
 <= It should be under him, together with the 
 ashes consecrated on Ash Wednesday (Du Cange, 
 V. Cinis), from " Dust thou art, and to dust thou 
 shalt return." 
 
 •* Servientes etiam qui vigilant circa fratrem 
 proximum morti. Monast. i. 149. 
 
 e First there occurs, positoque corpore in loco, 
 ubi poni solet ,- afterwards, locato in ecclesia cor- 
 pore. Deer. Lanfr. 
 
 be especial mourners, and to sit all 
 night on their knees at the dead 
 corpse's feet;^ and the children of the 
 Almery, sitting on their knees in stalls 
 on either side of him, were to read 
 David's Psalms & till eight in the 
 morning, when the corpse was carried 
 to the Chapter-house, where the Prior 
 and the whole Convent met it, and 
 there said their dirge and devotion; 
 none being permitted to approach the 
 Chapter-house during the time of their 
 devotion and prayers for his soul.^ 
 When their devotion was ended, the 
 corpse was carried by the Monks from 
 the Chapter-house through the par- 
 lour, into the centrygarth, where he 
 was buried. i 
 
 It was the duty of the Infirmarer to 
 give the communion to the sick, when 
 they wished, especially on every Sun- 
 day ,k and he had a claustral Monk to 
 assist him in respect to revenues.^ The 
 Prior, Sub-prior, Kitchener, or per- 
 son deputed by them, were to visit the 
 Infirmary before Prime,"* and such vi- 
 sitations were observed." The Prior, 
 or in his absence the President, twice 
 or once at least in the week, were to 
 visit the Infirmary personally ; ° and 
 the Infirmarer was to certify the Ab- 
 bot, when he could not visit himself, 
 of the state of matters.? 
 
 Sawing billets in rooms for exercise 
 upon medical principles was a common 
 employment of the sick in these ages, 
 and was borrowed from Galen.^ 
 
 ^ Deputenturaliquifratres, qniibiremaneant. Id. 
 
 tf Quicquid superest noctis infantes cum magis- 
 tris canendo expendant. Id. 
 
 h Facto in capitulo sermone absolvat eum Abbas, 
 &c. Id. The last part, of never approaching the 
 Chapter when the Convent was there, was at all 
 times usual. 
 
 ' Confession, absolution, &c. and similar burial 
 for lay-brothers. MS. Bodl. Barl. 7. p. 270, 1. 
 
 ^ Ad infirmarium pertinet infirmos fratres com- 
 municare cum voluerint, et precipue omni die do- 
 minica. MS. Bodl. Barl. 7. p. 185. 
 
 1 Dec. Script. 2113. 
 
 «» Wilkins's Concil. ii. 723. 
 
 " M. Par. 1099. 
 
 o Wilk. Concil. ii. 247. 
 
 p M. Par. 1009. 
 
 ^ Galen de Sanit. tuenda, ch. 8. v. 2. p. 148. 
 Smythe's Berkeley's MS. 21 7. " In her elder years 
 she [Joan Lady Berkeley, t. H. III.] used to saw 
 
236 
 
 INFIRMARY- 
 
 It was usual for Moaks, in chronic 
 infirmities^ to spend their remaining 
 days in the Infirmary.^ Secular per- 
 sons used to have access (and to eat) 
 there in crowds, so as to be trouble- 
 some,^ and the place was full of gos- 
 siping and scandal .c Seculars were 
 admitted at all hours to carry necessa- 
 ries to the sick/l The sick did not 
 dine at the common table ;<^ and there 
 seems to have been an excess of ser- 
 vants, besides the usual ones, who 
 never slept out of the place, or ought 
 not to have done so/ It was resorted 
 to for private treats. When John de 
 Whitefeld, Monk of Rochester, preach- 
 ed in the Chapter about his Bishop, it 
 was said that the brethren bribed him 
 in the Inlirmary with wine.s The 
 Monks were in the habit of going 
 there, and to the hostrey, after com- 
 plin, and used both to feign sickness, 
 and be loth to leave it. The Monks too, 
 oppressed with old age, the Sempectce, 
 spent their remaining days there ;^^ 
 
 billets and sticks in her chamber for part of phy- 
 sick, for which purpose she bought certain fine 
 hand sawes, which commonly cost 11 fZ. a piece." 
 Taylor the water-poet says (p. 241), "Now all 
 their exercise is privately to saw billets." 
 
 '^ Monast. i. 301. Dec. Scriptores, 1783. Ang, 
 Sacra, i. 299. 
 
 •> Injungimus etiam ipsis prioribus et fratribus, 
 ut non permittant tantum ad infirmariam concur- 
 sum fieri ssecularium, exceptis medicis et servito- 
 ribus ad infirmorum curam deputatis. MS. Cott. 
 Claud. E. iv. f. 245, a. Hoc autem summopere 
 caveatis, ne alicui seculari ibi comedere cum mo- 
 nachis concedatur. Id. Jul. D. ii. 158C>. 
 
 «= A superfluis et vanis sermonibus abstineant ; 
 prohibeantur etiam ruraores sseculares in infirmaria 
 de fratre, et secreta, quae inter fratres audierint, 
 publicare. Ibid. 
 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. 1. 360. 
 
 • Statuimus insuper ut nuUus infirmus ab infir- 
 morum mensa communi se subtrahat, nisi tanta 
 corporis invaletudine sit detentus, quod ad ilium 
 accederenequeat sine scandalo et grav amine corpo- 
 ris evidenti, prseter gistarios et illos cum quibus ex 
 gratis nostra speciali fuerint dispensati. MS. Cott. 
 Claud. E. IV. f. 245. 
 
 ' Noct. et dieb. in infirmaria recubabunt et ex- 
 cubabunt. MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 205. d. M. 
 Par. 1096. Reyn. App. 127. 
 
 » Angl. Sacr. i. 373. 
 
 ^ Quod aliquis ad infirmariam vel domum hos- 
 pitum non audeat acccdere ni specialiter vocatus. 
 MS. Cott. Nero, A. xn. f. 158, b. Fratres autem 
 infirmi, cum ab ipsorum infirmitatibus, vel alias, 
 quum meliorati fuerint, quum competenter cum 
 <iwteris in cooventu laborwe potuerint ; ulteriws in 
 
 and there appears to have been very 
 good living in it ; for, says Piers Plow- 
 man, 
 
 By this daye, syr doctour, quod I, than ye be not 
 
 in dowel. 
 For ye have harmed us two, in that ye eate the 
 
 puddinge, 
 Mortreux,' and other meate, and we no morsel had, 
 And if ye fare so in yoxnr farmery,^ 
 
 This was very illiberal satire, for our 
 ancestors rarely used medical assist- 
 ance. Burton, from Paulus Jovius and 
 Levinus Lemnius, observes, "That 
 there was of old no use of physicke 
 amongst us, and but little at this day, 
 except it be for a few nice idle citizens, 
 surfetting courtiers, and staulfed gen- 
 tlemen lubbers. The country-people 
 use kitchen physicke,'' &c.^ Matthew 
 Flint, tooth-drawer of London, received 
 from the crown QcL a day for life, to 
 exercise his art upon the poor without 
 fee or reward.^^^ These passages show 
 the reason why there was such neglect 
 of medical aid ; viz. because good living 
 or kitchen physick was most in vogue : 
 whence the rich dishes used in the In- 
 firmary. 
 
 Davies says, that four aged women 
 lived in the Infirmary, who had each 
 chambers, were fed from the Prior's 
 table, and had Mass said to them every 
 holiday and Friday in the Infirmary 
 Chapel, by the master of the Infirmary 
 School, whose chamber and place of 
 teaching certain poor children, called 
 the children of the Almery, were over 
 that place of worship. 
 
 In the Infirmary of the Order of St. 
 Clare, the Nuns might lie in sacks and 
 
 infirmaria, residere, aut infirmitates fingere non 
 prjesumant. Gistarii (Gista is Jits Hospitii. Du 
 Cange) autem et qui solum senectute gravantur, 
 communibus cibis in quantum possint sint content!. 
 MS. Cott. Claud. E. iv. f. 245. 
 
 ' A rich soup. Tyrwhitt is right in the ingre- 
 dients ; add only hraivn of fesantes^ as well as of 
 capons. See MS. Bodl. Hearne, 197, in sect. 
 Mortraws eweas. •* F. Ixvi. 
 
 * Burton's Anat. Melanch. p. 368, ed. folio. 
 
 "' Pat. 1 H. IV. pars 6 m. 10. in Vincent's MSS. 
 Coll. of Arms. The toothdrawing instrument is 
 pretended by Erasistratus to have been taken from 
 the temple of Apollo at Delphos ; but assuredly is 
 very ancient. Du Cange. makes it similar to the 
 present pincers ; but his authorities and extracts do 
 not support this affirmation. See v. De?itiducum, 
 
INFIRMARY. 
 
 237 
 
 chaff, ])ut with pillows of feathers at 
 their head. Those who wanted woollen 
 stockings, and culcitrce,^ might have 
 them. They might too converse, con- 
 cisely, with visitors.^ 
 
 The ceremonial, with regard to dying 
 Nuns, was similar to that of the Monks, 
 except that they were anointed on the 
 throat above the breast and chin, 
 instead of the navel and throat in 
 males. The confession and unction in 
 the Order of Sempringham was admi- 
 nistered by deputed Priests ; the sick 
 who were able to take the communion 
 with others went to it in common with 
 them, at the window, or had it admi- 
 nistered, as their situation demanded, 
 by two religious and a lay-brother, who 
 had a private way to go to them for this 
 purpose, that they might not be seen. 
 The Prajcentrix appointed the sick 
 some task to execute : none of the 
 hours were said in the Infirmary before; 
 they were began in the Church, except 
 sext and the evening synaxis in Lent. 
 If any Lettered Nun was sick, another 
 said the hours for her ; the use of the 
 lay-sisters was to suffice, if there was 
 no substitute. 
 
 At St. Alban's was an Oriel,^ or 
 apartment for persons not so sick "^ as 
 to retire to the Infirmary ; and there 
 were regulations among the Sempring- 
 ham Nuns of this kind. The sick 
 
 • Either quilts or beds ; the latter here, I suppose. 
 
 »' Ex Reguia. 
 
 •^ The Oriel appears to have been sometimes at 
 least a porch, atrium, or pentice. Du Cange, v. 
 Oriolum, 
 
 •* The Rule of St. Victor says, that there were 
 three kinds of sick in the Infirmary ; some who 
 kept their beds, others who were recovering and 
 walked, but yet staid there for the recovery of their 
 strength ; others lived constantly there, as the old, 
 nfirm, blind, &c. Du Cange, \. Infirmaria. 
 
 not in the Infirmary attended all 
 the daily hours, but the prayers only of 
 those of the nocturnal synaxis. In case 
 of sudden attack, the sick Nun did not 
 join the labour of the Convent, unless 
 she had before been united with it in 
 divine service. They only ate and 
 drank in the Refectory or Infirmary. 
 They were exempted from offices which 
 had been imposed upon them. They 
 did not enter the Church to pray when 
 the Convent was present. They were 
 prohibited from making signs at the 
 table, either after Complin or before 
 Prime, or at mid-day, unless from im- 
 moderate sickness. While the Con- 
 vent was at refection in summer, they 
 could do any work or read. Those 
 who v/orked could do so in their sca- 
 pulary, and sleep by day ; and at night 
 in their hoods. Woollen mitrcB, a sort 
 of hoods hke those of the lay-brothers, 
 were granted to the brethren when at 
 work or travelling ; as Avell as to the 
 sick, when sitting before the Infirmary 
 in super pelliceis, [garments belonging 
 to Canons, differently formed in various 
 countries.] e Any one who left the 
 Choir from sickness, before the Venite 
 was over, lawfully entered the Infir- 
 mary. The sick who could walk had 
 leave to speak with their parents at the 
 window. Nuns, or lay sisters, conti- 
 nually sick, had periodical indulgences 
 of fifteen days or more at a time, twice, 
 thrice, or four times in a year, of eating 
 meat. All the Sick, able to leave their 
 beds, ate together, in fixed places and 
 hours, and regularly said their canonical 
 hours.^ The neglect of the Nuns in 
 general, respecting the Infirmary, has 
 been already mentioned. 
 
 '■ Du Cange, v. Mitra, ' Monast. ii. 775—7. 
 
239 
 
 GUEST-HALL. 
 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 GUEST-HALL. 
 
 This place was, at Canterbury, forty- 
 feet broad, and not less than one hun- 
 dred and fifty long, situated where it is 
 was least likely to interfere with the 
 privacy of the Monks, or business of 
 their servants, and had a covered way 
 or pentice leading to the cellarer's of- 
 fices.* The Guest-Hall was a large 
 room with columns, like the body of a 
 Church, and called Palatium, Palace, 
 anciently meaning a place of short re- 
 sidence. It had on both sides bed- 
 rooms, to each a privy and cloaths' 
 closet. Passages of communication led 
 to staircases, cellars, and the buttery. 
 B. Willis, in his Mitred Abbies, says, 
 that John de Hertford, Abbot of St. 
 Alban^s, in 1260, built a noble hall for 
 the use of strangers in that abbey, 
 adding many chambers to the same, 
 with an inner parlour, having a chim- 
 ney with a noble picture, and an entry, 
 and a small hall; also a most noble 
 entry with a porch, and many very fair 
 bedchambers, with their inner cham- 
 bers to receive strangers honourably. 
 Here we see, that this hospice consisted 
 of two sets of apartments, one for com- 
 mon pilgrims and travellers, the other 
 for persons of rank.^ There was an 
 edifice, or room before the Guest-Hall, 
 called Pro-aula, the Greeting- House of 
 iElfric, or Salutatorium, a place where 
 persons were first received. It appears 
 to have been the same as the visitor^s 
 parlour, and perhaps, as the Fulsato- 
 rium, (so called from ''Knock and it 
 shall be opened unto you,'') where Can- 
 didates for admission to the Order 
 stayed and waited upon strangers, &c. 
 because it adjoined the Hostrey.^ 
 
 » Gostling's Canterbury Walk, 152, 3. 
 
 ^ Owen and Blakeway's Hist, of Shrewsbury, 
 ii. 50. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Palatium, Pro-aula, Pulsato- 
 riuniy Salutatorium. Cowell,v. Garderoba. Col- 
 lect. Reb. Hybern. No. IX. 680. M. Par. 1071. 
 Britton's Architect. Antiq. ii. 78. 
 
 In the admission of visitors, as soon 
 as they were disengaged, they made a 
 trifling venia at the gate of the house. 
 At getting up they sprinkled them- 
 selves with holy water. When the 
 Convent sat in the Cloister, or where- 
 soever absent^ they made a prayer for 
 excesses on the way in the choir in the 
 presence of the Convent, and did the 
 same before the altar of the vestiary. 
 If the Convent was on the form, they 
 took their venia; if not, they bowed 
 and made their prayer. The hosteler 
 met them in the parletory, and gave 
 the kiss of peace, after the Benedicite, 
 which was properly the Abbot's office ; 
 but the officer, if he liked it, could 
 confer it upon any person of note, or, 
 as it is precisely said in the same con- 
 suetudinal, the benediction for excesses 
 was received, the hosteler went out of 
 the choir, and met the visitor; and 
 then, after the kiss of peace, and tender 
 words of love and consolation, returned 
 to the service in the choir. If he came 
 before dinner to the refectory, notice was 
 given to the refectioner. If he was too 
 late to dine with the Convent, he staid 
 in the locutory till the refectory was 
 swept, and then was introduced. The 
 hosteler provided all things fit for mass 
 for the visitors; and if he was pre- 
 vented, any one asked by him sung the 
 mass and hours to them, for they had 
 divine service as well as the Convent. 
 They had meat and drink at solicitation, 
 and the hosteler was to fetch the 
 viands, according to the rank of the 
 person ; ^ all which was, however, ac- 
 
 ^ In admissione hospitum hospites omnimodo 
 expediti ad hostium Monasterii parvee venise incum- 
 bent. In venise elevatione in introitu ecclesi» 
 aqua benedicta se aspergent. Conventu in claus- 
 tro residente, vel quoquam (f. 1. q. quoquo*) ab- 
 sente orationem pro excessibus in via surreptis in 
 choro facient, conventu praesente ; ante altare ves- 
 tiarii identidem fiet. Si conventus super formam 
 * See Monast. ii. 769. 
 
GUEST-HALL. 
 
 239 
 
 companied with the unpleasant ap- 
 pendages of a dirty table-cloth^* very 
 indifferent wine, grease in the salt, and 
 a clownish servant.^ The Hosteler 
 could not introduce them to the colla- 
 tion before the end of the first verse. 
 Whe7i this was over, he lighted his lan- 
 tern, with which the visitors waited be- 
 fore the Chapter door. He then intro- 
 duced them into the parlour; after 
 which they had refection, and Comp- 
 lin was sung to them. If they wished 
 to be bled, their inclination was noti- 
 fied by the Hospitaler to the Abbot, 
 and every thing usual on such occasions 
 was done under the care of the former 
 officer. If they desired to see any one 
 of the Convent, the Hosteler took care, 
 with leave of the Prior, that their re- 
 quest should be gratified ; and the 
 Monk had liberty to speak without re- 
 mission of the license.^ They could 
 not leave the Cloister but by permis- 
 sion of the hosteler, who was to guide 
 them out. If the visitors wished to 
 speak with their servants, lodged within 
 
 recubuerit veniam accipient, sin alias se inclinando 
 orationem facient. . . . Hospite in locutorio intro- 
 ducto, hostilarius dicet Benedicite ; benedictione 
 pro excessibus accept^ ; osculoque pacis dato tene- 
 risque verbis amoris et consolationis ad horam hos- 
 tilarius in Chorum regredietur. Si in discubitu 
 conventus tarn morosus fuerit ejus adventus quod in 
 conventu discumbere non possit, non introducetur, 
 sed in locutorio erit donee scopatio fiat in refecto- 
 rio ; postmodum hostilarius eum introducet. . . . 
 hospitibus expeditis missam celebrare. MS. Cott. 
 Claud. B. VI. f. 205, 6, 7. 
 
 * In the advice of a father to his son (Hawkins's 
 Musick, ii,465), the son is directed to be careful 
 that his table be covered with a clean cloth. I could 
 add numerous other authorities. 
 
 »» In MS. Harl. 913, f. 58, b. is a short poem 
 entitled, ** Hospitalitas monachorum et salutatio 
 de claitsiro ;" of which the only parts of import are, 
 the above " Sordidun^ mappale ; paniscoctus melle ; 
 vinum tale quale ; oleus in sale ; mancipium rusti- 
 cale." 
 
 * Hostilarius hospites non introducet ad coUa- 
 cionem ante primi versus determinacionem. CoUa- 
 tione terminate prout tempus exegit lanternam ac- 
 cendet. In regressu terminatee coUationis hospites 
 ante hostium capituli cum lantern^ praestolabun- 
 
 tur. Postmodum in locutorium eos ducet si 
 
 hospes minui voluerit hostilario significabit, hostila- 
 rius abbati et indicabit, et omnia consuetudinaria 
 minutionis habebit, hostilariusque curam minuto- 
 riam ei exhibebit. Si hospes aliquem de Conventu 
 venire voluerit hostilarii cura loquetur licenti^ k 
 priore expetit^. [If refused, the Monk was not to 
 know it. Deer. Lanfr.] Illi licet sine remissione 
 licentia loqui cum hospite. Id. 
 
 the gates of the court, the hosteler 
 caused the keeper of the locutory to 
 deliver the message ; if they lodged 
 without the gates, the porter performed 
 the office. If any breach of silence or 
 great disorder was made by a visitor, 
 he was detained till the Chapter of the 
 next day ; and, emendation having 
 been made, according to the will of the 
 Prior and Chapter, he made his bow, 
 and departed. When the visitors 
 wished to depart before day-break, or 
 at that time, the hosteler took the keys 
 of the parlour from the Prior's bed, 
 and dismissed them according to the 
 rule and their rank; after which he 
 again locked the doors, and carried the 
 keys back to the Prior's bed. On 
 Sundays, before procession, no one 
 could receive the benediction, or cere- 
 mony of dismission. — [Whence our 
 farewell of God bless you, or Goodbye, 
 i. e. God be with you. The King did 
 not leave England without the bene- 
 diction of the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury. It consisted in that Prelate's 
 making the sign of the Cross upon the 
 King's head, who stooped for that pur- 
 pose.] ^ — If necessity urged, they could 
 receive it[at Mattins ; and guests not re- 
 turning the same day, at Prime and all 
 other hours, except Vespers. Similar 
 regulations obtained with respect to 
 Nones, rung after dinner.^ 
 
 Persons of rank were received with 
 procession and high honours. One of 
 the great bells was struck three times, 
 
 d Eadm. 25,41. 
 
 ^ Hospes claustrum non egredietur nisi licentia 
 ab hostilario detur, ut ductu ejus egrediatur. Si 
 hospes cum famulis suis infra portas curiae hospitalis 
 loqui voluerit, hostilarius per custodem locutorii 
 eos mandabit. Si portas curiae transgredietur, 
 idemptidem faciet administratione janitoris. Quo- 
 tiens ante lucifragum, vel die lucescente abire volue- 
 runt, hostilarius claves loquutorii ad lectum prion's 
 accipiet, hospitesque ordinate, et pro personarum 
 dignitate emittet, postmodum secundum temporis 
 exigentiam hostia reobserabit, clavesque ad lectum 
 reportabit. Dominicis diebus ante processionem 
 nuUi licet accipere bmedictionem [apres ceo prist il 
 beneyson, et conge de 1' Abbe et du covent. Monast. 
 ii. 219.] Si necessitas instat ad matutinns bene- 
 dictionem accipiat. Primse et omnibus aliis horia 
 hospites non revertentes eodem die benedictionem 
 debent accipere. Nullus ad vesperas benedictionem 
 proficiscendi accipiat. Idemptidem fiet ad nonam 
 post praudium pulsatam. Id. 
 
240 
 
 GUEST-HALL. 
 
 to give the Monks notice of assem- 
 bling in the Church to robe themselves. 
 The Sacrist spread a carpet and a 7?a/- 
 lium above, before the great Altar, upon 
 the upper step, also before the rood. 
 Upon the near approach of the visitor, 
 the two greater bells were rung. When 
 the procession made a stand, at the re- 
 ception of the guest, the Abbot gave him 
 the holy-water sprinkle, afterwards the 
 incense, and the Prior the text, if he 
 was a Bishop ; other persons the Abbot 
 sprinkled himself. When they entered 
 the Church, and made a stand before 
 the crucifix, the boys stood between 
 the two Choirs ; and the bearers of the 
 holy water and other things advanced 
 through the midst, and stood before the 
 crucifix with their faces towards it. 
 In the mean while the visitor continued 
 praying ; and, when he arose, a service 
 was begun in honour of the patron 
 saint. Then the bearers advanced to 
 deposit the respective processionalia as 
 soon as they came to the Altar. The 
 infants and others followed, filing off 
 on each side the Altar according to 
 seniority. The visitor again prayed ; 
 and, when the chaunt was over, (if a 
 Bishop, after he had given the bene- 
 diction,) kissed all the Monks ; who, 
 however, because in copes, or robed, 
 were not to kneel before him, as was 
 usual with a Bishop, Abbot, or Prince, 
 but humbly bowing, proceed to the sa- 
 lutation. If he was a spiritual person, 
 and the Abbot wished to be expedi- 
 tious, the Monks were unrobed, and sat 
 in Chapter, where the visitor was in- 
 troduced, and requested the benedic- 
 tion. This was followed by a reading 
 from Scripture ; after which, if he chose, 
 he preached. If he was an Abbot he 
 kissed the Monks at the entrance of 
 the Chapter, as they retired ; and if he 
 did not enter that place, at a fit season, 
 he did it in the Cloister.* The flatter- 
 ies and homage paid to great visitors 
 were such, that a dying Abbot said, 
 "Thou well knowest what flatteries 
 and adulations thou hast made, for tem- 
 poral and perishable things, to secular 
 
 » Deer. Lanfr. 
 
 persons, not in truth but falsehood, 
 against your conscience." '^ These 
 flatteries are thus in the most piquant 
 style satirized l)y an ancient GoUard or 
 Jester, " When it is dinner time, dine 
 with the great man ; fill the glasses 
 with exquisite wine. When it is cold, 
 sit at the fire, hold the richest wine in 
 your hands, fill the empty cups ; per- 
 suade him to drink and drink again. 
 When he has well soaked, have a bed 
 for him ; he will gladly stay with you. 
 When he looks in his purse, throw out 
 a hint how much he has drank : if he 
 has l)een intemperate, take it kindly : 
 say nothing of what has passed.^^^ In 
 an exemplification of this satire, we are 
 told of an Abbot w^ho, in order to exhi- 
 lirate the mind of a certain knight, and 
 gain his good will, plied him well with 
 choice liquor, in the English fashion. 
 In order to provoke him to drink 
 better, instead of Wesheil, the Abbot 
 gave for the toast Pril, to which the 
 other w^as instructed by the Abbot, in- 
 stead of Dynnkheil to reply Wril ; and 
 thus drinking and toasting with Pril 
 and Wril, and assisted by the Monks, 
 lay brothers, and servants, they went 
 on till midnight.^ Thomas Pennant, 
 
 ^ Tu bene nosti, quot favores et adulationes pro 
 temporalibus et caducis faciebas secularibus homini- 
 bus, non veritate sed fictione, contra conscientiam 
 tuam. MS. Bodl. Fairfax, 17. § Laraentatio Ger- 
 vasii Abb. 
 
 •= Et hora cum fnit, cum ipso prandete. Mero 
 delectabili calices implete. Tempus cum sit frigi- 
 dum ad prunas sedate. Vinum meracissimum ma- 
 nibus tenete. Calices si fuerint vacui replete. Ut 
 bibat et rebibat saepe suadete. Si bene potavit, 
 lectum tunc habete. Vobiscum raoram faciet li- 
 benter et Iset^. In bursa dum reperit stantes mo- 
 nete, De dono haustae fuerint quindecim metretae, 
 &c. Modura si excesserit blande sustinete. Quod 
 fit in consorcio pandere cave^. MS. Harl. 978, f. 
 58, b. 
 
 •1 Abbas autem ut militis animum exbilararet, 
 ipsumque sibi placabilem magis efficeret, calices ei 
 crebros de potu electo more Anglicano propinari 
 fecit. Ipsemet quoque quatinus ad melius potan- 
 dum militem provocaret, et efficacius invitaret, loco 
 Wesheil ait ei Pril. Ille vero ignorans quid 
 respondere deberet, edoctus ab Abbate, pro Drink- 
 heil respondit ei Wril, et sic provocantes ad invi- 
 cem et compotantes cum monachis et fratribus as- 
 sistentibus et servientibus ingeminare pril, wril, et 
 alternatim saepius usque noctis ad horam profundio- 
 ris inculcare non destiterunt. MS. Cott. Tiber B. 
 B. 13. [bpixl is reaj9roca^io;pril,wril,hob,nob.] 
 This was against all rule : Neubrigensis says (154) i 
 
GUEST-HALL. 
 
 241 
 
 Abbot of Basingwerk, is said to have 
 given twice the treasure of a king in 
 wine ; «* and they were profuse of more 
 humble hquors.lJ The apartments for 
 the reception of persons of quahty, as 
 says Davies and others, were furnished 
 in a most splendid style. 
 
 Visitors were allowed to make a stay 
 of two days and nights; and on the 
 thirds after dinner, they were to depart. 
 If by accident a guest could not then 
 go, the Hosteler signified his request to 
 the Abbot, Prior, or Curiarius, for a 
 longer stay. If he was taken ill, his 
 stay was regulated by the disposition of 
 the Prior, and the exigency of the dis- 
 ease. If in health, he was to be present 
 at Mattins, unless he had leave to the 
 contrary, and follow the Convent in 
 every thing.c If a visitor exceeded 
 three days^ among the Friars Minors, 
 he mentioned his fault in the Chapter, 
 and, after receiving pardon, departed.*^ 
 
 Constitutions enact that hospitality 
 should be shown to all, to religious per- 
 sons, especially those of the order (who 
 were to be consigned to the tables of 
 
 that prayers were said during drinking, and our Sa" 
 viour's name mentioned. The old Danes and Nor- 
 mans, says James Delmerus, used to drink in ho" 
 nour of Odin, Thor, &c. ; but after conversion, t^ 
 the Saints. The form of this toast is given bY 
 Christ, de Scala, in the life of St. Wenceslaus, p. 
 56. '* Again, sitting in the eating-room, and taking 
 the cup, he says, with a loud voice, let us drink this 
 cup in the name of the holy Archangel Michael, 
 begging and praying him to introduce our souls into 
 the peace of eternal exaltation." To this the vi- 
 sitors replied Amen, and drank the cup. If they 
 were going to part, the kiss of peace, as now shak- 
 ing hands, went round. See Du Cange, v. Bibere 
 in amove Sanciorum, for more on this subject. 
 
 =» Pennant's Whiteford, 33. 
 
 *» British Topography, ii. 461. 
 
 ^ Licet hospiti biduo continuationem duarum 
 noctiura morari tertioque die donee discubuerit. Si 
 casu incidente, profectio ejus expedita non fuit, 
 hostilarius Abbati, vel priori, et curiario ejus im- 
 portunitatem significabit. Si infirmitate oppressus 
 fuerit, indulta erit, &c. Si sanitate exhilaratur, 
 matutinis, nisi licentiam petat, intererit, conven- 
 tumque omnimodo sequatur. MS. Cott. Claud. B. 
 VI. f. 206, b. 
 
 •* This was the old Celtic period of visits. See 
 Ossian, in Carthon, Colna-dona. Fingal. B. iii, 
 Temora, B. ii. It is explained by Cowell, v. Ho- 
 genhine, Third-night. Du Cange, &c. 
 
 ^ Ipsi vero hospites in locis ubi ultra tres dies 
 moram traxerint, dicant in capitulo culpas suas, et 
 dict4 culp/i acceptfique pardona egrediantur. MS. 
 Bodl. 18B2, p. 52, a. 
 
 the A])])0ts, or other fit and honourable 
 places), and to the Friars, who were to 
 be excluded the Refectory and private 
 places deputed for the recreation of the 
 Monks. f Women were to be received, 
 who came with an honourable suite.s 
 Particular attention was to be paid to 
 the parents of Monks ; for whom ne- 
 cessaries and food were to be found 
 w^henever they came to see their chil- 
 dren ; especially on the Nativity of the 
 Virgin Mary, wheresoever they took 
 refection in the town or house ; and 
 they were to be honourably received on 
 the vigil.^^ 
 
 It seems that the Monks were in the 
 habit of often going to the visitors ; ^ 
 and, as if pitying the miseries of the 
 poor, asking abundance of questions of 
 the peace of the nobles, making 
 speeches of the cruelty of knights, and 
 the superfluity of clerks, interrupting 
 their conversation with sighs, as from 
 compassion; and then, when the bell 
 rung, tripping ofi^, after a previous 
 whisper, that if the Abbot 'or Prior 
 should come, the visitors would not 
 forget to say a kind word in their fa- 
 vour.^ It seems too that the sons of 
 donors, when unable to injure the 
 Monks by means of law, would burden 
 them with continual visits and hospi- 
 tality;^ and that, from the heavy weight 
 
 f C. G. Northampt. a° 1343. c. xvii. and a« 1444. 
 c. ix. 
 
 8 Honesta comitivfi. Custum. Roffens. 235. 
 
 ^ Item parentes monachorum ad domum istam 
 (Edmundsbury) divertentes honorificentius solito 
 admittantur ; et uberius procurentur, maxime pa- 
 rentes claustralium. MS. Cott. Jul. D. ii. f. 160. 
 b. Quociens parentes monachorum eos visitare ve- 
 nerint, omnia necessaria eis et victus sunt decer- 
 nenda. Maxim^ in nativ. S. Mar. ubicunque co- 
 mederint in villa vel in curi&. Item debent recipi 
 honorifice in vigiliji. MS. Cott. Claud, b. vi. p. 
 
 187. 
 
 ' The hosteler sometimes separated them against 
 their will. Monast. i. p. 2. 
 
 '' Crebrius egreditur (monachus) ad hospites, et 
 quasi calaraitatibus pauperum compaciens de pace 
 principum terrse quserit, sermones faciens de acer- 
 bitate militumet de superfluitate clericorum, inter- 
 polatis suspiriis, tanquam misericordia motus super 
 eos. Ad sonitum campanse necessarium abire pro- 
 ponit, nee omittit in auribus instillare ut cum vene- 
 rit abbas, aut prior, meminerint apud eos ipsum, 
 commendare. MS. Harl. 1712. f. 236. 
 
 » Hist. Raraes. prol. pars 2. 
 
242 
 
 GUEST-HALL, 
 
 of the latter, several statutes were made 
 to ease them ; » and indeed they were 
 not only liable to this expense, but to 
 stabling for horses, the maintenance of 
 sporting dogs, hawks, servants, (claims 
 of founders,) and convert Jews.b 
 
 In the Hostrey of the Nuns, she 
 who received the visitors was allowed 
 to speak to them. Cloths were kept 
 for their feet. The place was inclosed 
 in the Nuns' court, but excluded from 
 their view. No Nun entered the Hos- 
 trey, but the Prioresses and obedien- 
 tiaries. Lay-sisters of the Hostrey in- 
 troduced them into the Oratory pre- 
 pared for them while the Nuns were 
 singing the hours, but brought them 
 back before they left the Choir. Two 
 or three Nuns presided over the 
 Hostrey, and conversed with the bet- 
 
 « 5 Ed. L 9 Ed. II. c. ii. West. 1 Ed. III. 
 «> Monast. i. 818 ; II. 459. Tovey, 227, HEdw. 
 III. St. 4. c. 1. 
 
 ter sort of visitors ; Lay- sisters served 
 them, and slept there when necessary. 
 If the visitors were to be brought any 
 where within the Nuns* courts, they 
 were introduced by Nuns. No meat 
 was given them to eat without the 
 master's especial license ; nor was any 
 one permitted to bathe, be bled, or ex- 
 ceed the stay of one night, without 
 tliat of the Prioress. The Nuns con- 
 versed with the guests or relatives, and 
 none were excluded from their maundy, 
 unless sick ; the table for this office 
 was struck after the Convent was gone 
 to the Dorter. The Lay-sister spoke 
 only to female pilgrims, and no Nun 
 entered, if a visitor brought a boy 
 with her.c 
 
 «^ Monast. ii. 769. All Davies says of import 
 concerning the hostrey is, that it was like the body 
 of a church, with pillars on each side, and a large 
 range for the fire in the midst of it, with chambers 
 and lodgings belonging to it. 
 
LOCUTORY, OR PARLOUR. 
 
 243 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 LOCUTOBY, OR PARLOUR. 
 
 Du Cangb says, that there were three 
 parlours among the Clugniacks and 
 Cistercians ; and that in a parlour, the 
 Monks assembled for conversation ; 
 and that the Monastic Schools were 
 held there.a — Of these apartments 
 there were two, one for the Monks, 
 another for the visitors. This apart- 
 ment was for conversation, when 
 silence was enjoined in other places. 
 The rule of St. Victor of Paris speaks 
 thus : When any thing required im- 
 mediate discourse, the Precentor led 
 the persons to the Parlour, who briefly 
 explained themselves. No one was to 
 enter it, unless called by the Abbot or 
 Prior. The latter, the Sub-prior, and 
 Officers, came, however, without li- 
 cense to converse upon business, but 
 not the Claustrals. The servants, in- 
 troduced there for any necessary or- 
 ders or information, were not to sit 
 down, or make any stay 5 and those 
 who had license, were not to sit long, 
 or be more than four at a time. No 
 strange Monk or Canon was to be 
 brought into the regular Locutory to 
 converse, only those of the house, 
 with license, who were not to talk 
 elsewhere. No Claustral could come 
 into the other Locutories, without 
 summons from the Abbot or Prior. 
 There was a forensic Locutory, where 
 Monks and Nuns could converse with 
 Seculars ; the Sacrist's Locutory, Lo- 
 cutories in the Church for Confession, 
 and others.^ — Davies says, the Locu- 
 tory was the place where merchants 
 used to expose their wares. After 
 dinner was the time allowed for con- 
 versation ; c but, in consequence of 
 
 * V. Auditorium. 
 
 •* Du Cange, v. Locutorium. 
 
 *^ Post prandium,supplicandum pro peccatis scil. 
 eorum quorum eleemosynia sustentatur, si forte 
 Tocatur ad colloquium secundum regulam, levi- 
 ter et sine risu pauca verba et rationabiUa loquatur. 
 MS. Harl. 103. f. 114. b. 
 
 abuses, for the Monks used to talk 
 nothing but trifles, raillery, and small 
 talky^ meditations and reading were 
 substituted instead.^ The Minuti had 
 an indulgence of going to the Locu- 
 tory of the guests to converse imme- 
 diately after refection and grace, and 
 from complin to curfew.^ Entrance to 
 the parlour, both in Monks and Nuns, 
 was very seldom allowed, except when 
 necessary for taking Venice ; s or to say 
 any thing which could not be explained 
 by a sign. A sign was made at the 
 door, and then, if permitted, they en- 
 tered, and not more than two together, 
 unless it was needful, talked together 
 with the Prior at reading-time. When 
 their business was over, they departed 
 immediately. Conversation was also 
 allowed with visitors of a certain kind. 
 The Nun who took the vetiice, when 
 many were assembled to confess, sat. 
 Those sat too who talked with the 
 guests and scrutatrices. No one 
 could enter there unasked, when the 
 Prioress was conversing with any one. 
 In the Parlour too the Nuns were 
 taught standing the exposition of the 
 rule.h The constitutions of those of 
 Sopewell order them not to converse 
 with Seculars unless their necks and 
 faces were covered with a kercheif and 
 veil. 
 
 In the Nuns* Parlour was a grating 
 covered with a curtain, not to be re- 
 moved but when a person spoke to 
 them, or they received the commu- 
 nion, which was administered in the 
 Parlour.i 
 
 "* Bern. Dev. Vie Men. iii. 147. 
 
 « M. Paris, 1095. " After dinner read or hear 
 somewhat of holy scripture." MS. Cott. Cleop. 
 E. IV. f. 23. a. 
 
 f M. Paris, 1043, 1045. 
 
 If Pardons for the omission of duties, &c. Monast. 
 ii. 767, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 ^ Monast. ii. 731, 769. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Gratis. 
 
244 
 
 ALMONRY. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 ALMONRY. 
 
 The Almonry was sometimes a stone 
 house near the Church.^ This was 
 its proper and usual situation^ from 
 the connection of charity and rehgion.^ 
 Alms-houses are still common in 
 Church-yards. Some Abbots have 
 been reproached for moving it to the 
 gate, in order to get rid of the poor 
 from the Refectory doors after din- 
 ner.<^ We hear of Priests' halls, and 
 various edifices annexed to Almonries. ^ 
 The alms were, according to Basil, in 
 the application of them, an exclusive 
 concern of the superior ; ^ and it seems 
 they thought so; for they bestowed 
 them upon their secular kindred and 
 acquaintance.^ They were, says Lynd- 
 wood,& generally to be given to per- 
 sons unable to work, or kindred, be- 
 cause we are directed to provide for 
 our own house first ; according to 
 which principle Henry enjoined, that 
 none of the brethren ^' send any parte 
 of his meate, or the levynge thereof, 
 to any person ; '' but that the alms 
 should be collected with special con- 
 sideration of ^^ soche before other as be 
 kinnesfolke to any of the said breth- 
 ren .^^^ A preference was also to be 
 made of piety and utility, as well as 
 
 • Monast. i. 273. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Matricula. 
 
 * Grose, under Reading Abbey. 
 ^ Ang. Sacr.i. 143. 
 
 • Dev. Vie Mon. ii. 91. 
 ' Monast. i. 418,471. 
 
 » P. 209. 
 
 »» MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 22. a. 
 
 the degree of connection with the 
 house, whence proceeded the custom 
 of maintaining from them certain poor 
 children, who went there to learn 
 grammar. After all, there was no 
 certain rule, but discretion ; and a 
 common rehgious could give them, if 
 he saw any one likely to perish with 
 hunger, though his Abbot forl^id it, be- 
 cause he was to obey God more than 
 man.i Beer was brought into the 
 Refectory to give to the poor;^ dif- 
 ferent allowances were made at differ- 
 ent festivals ; ^ the distribution of the 
 alms at Glastonbury, and most other 
 houses, on Wednesdays and Fridays."* 
 It seems that the obedientiaries and 
 others were in the habits of thus sup- 
 porting their servants, especially the 
 Almoners, who are charged with giving 
 the alms to their workmen or out-door 
 servants." Certain scholars (the chil- 
 dren alluded to by Lyndwood) had 
 constant residence in the Almonry of 
 St. Augustine, Canterbury ; and the 
 poor and sick flocked to it from all 
 quarters. The whole revenues of cer- 
 tain churches, besides the Abbot's 
 alms, were devoted to it.<* The Tenth 
 of all the Monastic proceeds was to be 
 given in alms to the poor.P 
 
 * Lyndw. ut sup. 
 " M. Par. 1095. 
 
 * Monast. i. 149. 
 »» Reyn. 224. 
 
 " M. Par. 1094. C. G. North. a° 1343. c. x. & 
 a" 1444, c. vii. 
 
 « W. Thome, 1801. 
 
 P Du Cange, v. Eleemosynarius^ 
 
LIBRARY, 
 
 245 
 
 CHAPTER XLIIL 
 
 LIBRARY — MUSEUM. 
 
 Tins place was under the care of the 
 Chantor, as well as the muniments of 
 the house. He could neither sell^ 
 pawn^ or lend the books, without an 
 equal or more than equivalent pledge ; 
 he might, however, with respect to 
 neighbouring Churches, or persons of 
 consideration, relax somewhat of the 
 strictness of this rule.^ It seems that^ 
 on a new foundation, the king some- 
 times sent letters patent ^ to the dif- 
 ferent Abbeys, requesting them to give 
 the new religious theological books ; 
 though these were only perhaps for 
 the use of the Church; and he gave 
 them sometimes himself.^ Duplicates 
 and triplicates of the same work were 
 imported/^ The catalogues of their 
 Libraries, of which several exist, were 
 very artificial, pedantic, and whimsical, 
 as will appear from the following ac- 
 count of that of Dover Priory, made 
 in the year 1389.^ " Note, first, says 
 
 * Bibliotheca erit sub cantoris custodid, omnes 
 ecclesise cartse cantori, &c. assignatae. Cantor non 
 potuit libros accommodare, nisi pignore, qui tanti 
 vel majoris fuerit reposito, &c. MS. Cott. Claud. 
 B. vi.f. 191.b. 
 
 «> 55 H. III. m. 24. Monast. i. 936. 
 
 <= Monast. ii. 924. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Pandecta. 
 
 * Primo quod tota haec bibliotheca in novem 
 separatis distinctionibus secundum novem primas 
 alphabeti literas, literas ipsis distinctionibus paten- 
 ter affixas dividitur. Quia vero in multis volumi- 
 nibus plures continentur tractatus, nomina ipsorum 
 tractatuum licet non semper congrue baptisatorum 
 in singulis voluminibus poscebuntur, et figura nu- 
 meralium algorismi ipsis nominibus, designans 
 folium in quo tractatus ipse incipiat, consequenter 
 apponitur, cum A litera vel B, protinus subjuncta 
 hac parte. Ipsa etiam volumina singula non solum 
 exterius in tegimine verum etiam interius juxta no- 
 mina contentorum in sui principio affixas liabent 
 literas suas distinctionales ; modica figura algoris- 
 malis includitur per quam quotus sit liber in ordine 
 locationis gradus memorati plenius declaratur. In 
 secundo aut tertio, vel quarto folio voluminum, vel 
 prope illud in margine inferiori, prcemissis iterum 
 literis distinctionalibus, et figuris gradualibus prse- 
 dictis, nomen voluminis inseritur, et post modico 
 spacio dimissum quo modo folium illud, quod pro- 
 batorium cognitionis dicetur, incipiat, protinus titu- 
 latur : quotque folia in ipso toto Yolvu»i»e conti- 
 
 the preface, that the whole of this 
 Library is divided into nine separate 
 distinctions, according to the nine first 
 letters of the alphabet, the letters 
 being affixed to the distinctions. Be- 
 cause, however, many tracts are con- 
 tained in many volumes, the names of 
 those tracts, although not always suit- 
 ably christened, will be required in 
 every volume, and the figure, of the 
 numbers of the Algorism, marking the 
 leaf in which the tract begins, is con- 
 sequently affixed to the titles, with the 
 letter A or B immediately added, so 
 that A may designate the first side of 
 the leaf, and B the second. Each 
 volume itself, not only outwardly in 
 the cover, but inwardly according to 
 the names of its contents, has its dis- 
 tinctional letters affixed to the begin- 
 ning of it, and a small algorismal figure 
 is added by which what the book is in 
 the order of its place in the above gra- 
 dation is more fully declared. In the 
 second, or third, or fourth leaf of the 
 volumes, or near it in the lower mar- 
 gin, the aforesaid distinctional letters 
 and gradual figures being again pre- 
 mised, the name of the volume is in- 
 serted, and afterwards being in a little 
 time dismissed, how the leaf begins, 
 which may be called the touchstone of 
 knowledge, is immediately entitled; 
 the first number of the algorism then 
 following, tells how many leaves are 
 contained in the whole volume ; and 
 another number instantly adjoined, the 
 
 neatur, primus numerus algorismi tunc sequens 
 declarabit, adjunctns protinus ibidem finaliter nu- 
 merus alius figatur [figitur], numerum[que] ejus- 
 dem voluminis contentorum tractatuum pandit 
 manifeste. Prsemissis igitur retentis, memorise 
 finaliter commendatis, patebit manifeste quibus 
 distinctione gradu loco vel ordine singula volumina 
 totius bibliothecse debent coUocari, quibusque foliia 
 et foliorum lateribus singulorum principia tracta- 
 tuum poterint reperiri. MS. Bodl. 301i?, in prsef. 
 [Upon every statute that is abrygid in any of the 
 chapyters of this boke be ^tt figures of algorkme.^ 
 Herbert's Ames, i. 479. 
 
246 
 
 LIBRARY. 
 
 tracts contained in the volume. When 
 these premises are committed to me- 
 mory, it will plainly appear in what 
 distinction, degree, place, or order, 
 every ;;volume of the Library should be 
 placed, and in what leaves, or sides of 
 leaves, the beginnings of the tracts 
 may be found.'^ 
 
 Leland's story a of the Library of 
 the Franciscans at Oxford has been 
 often told; it was only accessible to 
 the Warden and Bachelors of divi- 
 nity; was full of cobwebs, moths, and 
 filth ; and contained no books of 
 value, the best having been surrepti- 
 tiously carried away. The custom of 
 chaining books, which I saw retained 
 at Magd. Coll. Library, Oxon, was 
 very ancient. We are told by Euse- 
 bius ^ that the Roman Senate in the 
 time of Claudius, ordered Philo- 
 Judeeus's treatise of the Impiety of 
 Caligula, to be chained in the publick 
 Library as a famous monument. 
 
 The magnificent Roman Libraries 
 were paved with marble, and orna- 
 mented with gold ; the walls were co- 
 vered with glass and ivory; the presses 
 for the books were made of cedar and 
 ebony,c and carried as high as the 
 roof. Though the books were in rolls, 
 they had elegant fronts and titles.^ 
 The booksellers^ shops had pillars, on 
 which were inscribed the names of the 
 works for sale, and the books were 
 kept in iiidi, drawers or pigeon-holes, 
 the best in the upper, the worst in the 
 
 lower.e — Among the Egyptian Monk 
 the books were kept in a window,^ by 
 which I suppose, is meant a cup- 
 board arched in the wall, which was 
 the depository among the Britons,s 
 and appears centuries after in the 
 frontispiece of Trivet^s Annals. The 
 Monasteries had painted presses or 
 almeries.^ Chests were also used,* 
 and shelves.'^ Glass-globes, like orre- 
 ries, before mentioned (Ch. L) have 
 been found at Herculaneum,^ and are 
 mentioned by Ingulphus, as occurring 
 in Monastic Libraries. 
 
 As from the variety of knowledge 
 interspersed in scholars' books, and 
 the vast bulk and quantity of such 
 books in the world, the merit of every 
 compilation both does now, and must 
 in future, depend much and unavoid- 
 ably upon indexes, I shall, as far as 
 lies in me, present to the respect of 
 the public an Ayscough or Wanley of 
 Antiquity, John Brome, Prior of 
 Gorlestone, who, in the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, put indexes to almost all the 
 books in his library.'^ The proportion 
 in which the Monks cultivated the re- 
 spective sciences appears, from a cur- 
 sory enumeration, sufficiently accurate 
 for this purpose, of the works of 
 authors in Bale, to have been nearly 
 this : Divinity, 1 75 ; Scholastic Lite- 
 rature, 89 ; Epistles, Controversy, 
 Miscellanies, 65 ; History, 54 ; Bio- 
 graphy, 32 ; Arts, Mathematics, Astro- 
 logy, &c. 31 ; Philosophy, 14 ; Law, 6. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Disquisitions upon Monastic Litera- 
 ture have been given by Mosheim, 
 Warton, and others, but they are all 
 treated in reference to modern think- 
 ing. The following merely respect 
 contemporary ideas, and taste. They 
 show undeniably that the state of 
 
 * De Scriptor. p. 286. 
 
 * B. 2, ch. 18. 
 
 «= Astle's Writing, Introd. vii. L, p. 197. 
 ^ Senecft de TranquUlit. c. 9. 
 
 mind was very contemptible, as to 
 literature properly so called, though 
 in the mechanical arts there was much 
 excellence : but that is no proof of 
 civilization. 
 
 e Martial L. i. Ep. 118. 
 
 ' Regul. Pachom. C. 82. 
 
 i M. Paris, 994. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Libellare. 
 
 •* Ancient illuminations. 
 
 * Barthelemy's Tour in Italy. 
 
 « Bale, 1st ed, f. 194, 
 
 J» Ibid. 1038. 
 
LIBRARY. 
 
 247 
 
 Divinity. It has been elsewhere 
 noted, that the study of Theology was 
 presumed to confer the gift of Pro- 
 phecy. Divinity consisted in forced 
 and ridiculous allegorical interpreta- 
 tions of the Scriptures ; ^ and these 
 and other religious works of the most 
 bizan'e kind were thought to expiate 
 In 1435, a Shearer of cloth in 
 
 snis. 
 
 France, and a great lover of Tennis, 
 wrote a ballad upon that game. When 
 he was old and sick in bed, he wished 
 by another kind of writing to expiate 
 his sins, and had his work reviewed by 
 a Dominican. He accordingly alle- 
 gorized the game of Tennis. The wall, 
 he says, means faith, which ought to 
 have a solid foundation, and in other 
 parts of the game he finds the Cardinal 
 Virtues, the Evangelists, active and 
 contemplative life, the Old and New 
 Law, &c.^ It is a most insipid pro- 
 duction : but not more so than innu- 
 merable volumes of Divinity manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 Philosophy, Arts, ^c. In the 13th 
 Century, Omons, the Lucretius of his 
 day, wrote a singular work entitled 
 The Picture of the TVorld, in which are 
 passages strongly illustrative of the 
 Philosophy of the Middle Age. In 
 the Metaphysical department, by ma- 
 terials borrowed from Thales, Anax- 
 agoras, Epicurus, and Plato, God is made 
 an idle being, w^ho, when he created 
 matter, also created Nature, who, he 
 says, executes the will of God, as the 
 ax in the hands of the carpenter, but 
 sometimes makes deformities, through 
 want or excess of matter, because the 
 more the latter abounds, the more she 
 works ; and if it be wanting, she stands 
 still. The Liberal Arts he divides 
 into the usual septenary arrangement, 
 adopted so early as the fifth Century 
 by Marcianus Capella. Alcuinus had 
 done the same in the eighth Century, 
 with no other difference, than includ- 
 
 * The lessons in the Portiforiutn of Sarum, the 
 proems of the Saints' Lives in the Golden Legend, 
 show, amidst innumerable authorities, that this 
 quibbling divinity lasted for many ages. 
 
 ^ Notices, V. 157. 
 
 ing Arithmetick, Geometry, Musick, 
 and Astronomy, under the general 
 term of Mathematicks. Omons makes 
 Arithmetick, not the mere science of 
 numbers, but the knowledge of every 
 thing which has produced any regular 
 order whatever ; and Rhetorick in- 
 cludes judicial verdicts, decretals, laws, 
 &c. The term liberal was only applied 
 to an art which exclusively appertained 
 to the mind; and therefore Medicine, 
 Painting, Sculpture, Navigation, the 
 Military Art, and Architecture, though 
 in their theories as intellectual as 
 Arithmetick and Astronomy are, be- 
 cause applicable to bodily purposes, de- 
 nominated mere trades. The term 
 Philosophers means only men versed 
 in the occult sciences of nature, for 
 Plato is called the Sovereign of Philo- 
 sophers, merely because he had dis- 
 covered traces of the Trinity in the 
 Unity of God; and among the later 
 Philosophers, no one was so eminent 
 as Virgil. This was not the Mantuan 
 Bard, but an ugly lame Italian, who 
 performed feats of legerdemain i^ These 
 were an inextinguishable lamp ; a long 
 bridge, which supported itself, without 
 being propped in any of its parts; a 
 speaking head, which pronounced ora- 
 cles, and answered questions put to it; 
 an impenetrable garden, enclosed only 
 by a wall of air; a brass fly, which 
 when it found in the room a living fly, 
 flew upon it and killed it; a brazen 
 horse,*^ of such virtue, that sick horses, 
 who looked upon it, were instantly 
 cured ; and lastly an Qgg, in which was 
 built a very large town, which fell to 
 pieces when the egg was moved, but 
 in a moment afterwards re-established 
 itself. [These are important details, 
 for they throw light upon the best ex- 
 isting picture of Oriental manners, the 
 exquisite " Arabian Nights,^^ the first 
 tales of fiction in the World.] Our 
 Author says, that whoever thoroughly 
 
 ^ Ignorance of this distinction has produced in- 
 conceivable confusion in writers upon mediaeval 
 subjects. 
 
 '' The wooden horses, flying by turning a peg, 
 are fictions, formed upon ships with rudders. The 
 Auglo-Sa^Lons called ships, sea horses. 
 
248 
 
 LIBRARY. 
 
 understood Astrology, might effect 
 things, which though natural, would ap- 
 pear miraculous to the rest of mankind. 
 An adept in this science might have 
 during life all that he could desire.a It 
 is certain, that the Ancients did believe a 
 miraculous power to be conferred upon 
 material substances, by various modi- 
 fications of them under certain astrolo- 
 gical signs. In an old Magical MS. 
 of the 14th Century,^ are the following 
 processes. " When you wish to pro- 
 voke a girl to folloio you : make an 
 image of a woman, under the second 
 face of Cancer, of tin, and touch the 
 girl you wish with it, and she will fol- 
 low you.'^ And again, '^ When you 
 wish to enter where there are dogs, that 
 they may not hinder you, make a tin 
 image of a dog, whose head is erected 
 towards his tail, under the first face of 
 Sagittary, and say over it, I bind all 
 dogs by this image, that they do not 
 raise their heads nor bark ; and enter 
 where you please.'* ^ The fallacy of all 
 this is conspicuous ; but failure did 
 not produce contempt, because, as ap- 
 pears from Grosthead's brazen head, 
 it was ascribed to error in the astrolo- 
 gical process. It is however certain, 
 that automata were very commonly 
 made in the fourteenth Century ; that 
 speaking through heads and statues is 
 a very easy and old trick ; ^^ that the 
 construction of whispering galleries 
 shows a fondness for such deceptions ; 
 and that the feats ascribed to Virgil, 
 are only hyperbolical exaggerations of 
 mechanical ingenuity or legerdemain ! 
 Slight of hand, or Thaumaturgicks, was 
 
 * Notices, V. 246—256. 
 
 ^ Presented to me by Edw. Wilbraham, Esq. of 
 Cirencester. In it is a process for raising the 
 devil. 
 
 « Cum volueris provocare puellam ut sequaris te, 
 fac imaginem mulieris sub 2 da facie Cancri ex 
 stanno, et tange cum ea quam volueris, et obediet 
 tibi. 
 
 Cum volueris intrare uhi canes sunt, ut non 
 impediant te, fac imaginem canis stanneam, cujus 
 caput sit ad caudam erectum, sub primA, facie Sa- 
 gittarii, et die super id, ligo omnes canes per banc 
 imagiuem, ut non erigant capita sua, uec latrent ; 
 et intra ubi volueris. 
 
 ^ Sec Beckman's excellent paper on Jugglers, &c. 
 Inventions, iji. 293—337. 
 
 called Mechanica, and a part of Necro- 
 mancy.^ 
 
 Natural History — Medicine, Jerom 
 in S. Hilarion, says, " A dragon of 
 wonderful magnitude, which the Dal- 
 matians in their native language call 
 Boas, because they are so large that 
 they can swallow oxen.^^ Hence it 
 should seem, that the boa snake may 
 have given birth to the fiction of dra- 
 gons.^ 
 
 The coup de soleil appears to have 
 been ascribed to a daemon, called 
 dcemon meridianus,^ 
 
 Geography. This abounds with 
 marvellous accounts, from which are 
 borrowed many of the exquisite fic- 
 tions of the " Arabian Nights.^' In 
 the year 1545, was published at Ant- 
 werp the Cosmography of Peter Apia- 
 nus, expurgated from all faults by 
 Gemma Frisius, a physician and ma- 
 thematician of Louvain. It is suffi- 
 cient to say, that in this correct ex- 
 purgated work, Scotland is an island, 
 of which York is one of the chief 
 cities.^ 
 
 History, The fugitive Trojans, and 
 their descendants, not only com- 
 menced the Empires of Italy and 
 Great Britain, but also that of France. 
 A Priam junior, nephew of the old 
 Trojan King, in union with An tenor, 
 founded Venice, which last shortly 
 afterwards separated himself from his 
 companion, and established Padua. 
 At his death, his troop, like strolling 
 players, removed again, and settled in 
 Germany, where finding a third Priam, 
 descended from the Venetian, they 
 chose him for King.i Thus there was 
 no conscientious restriction from mix- 
 ing favourite hypotheses with history, 
 as serious truths. 
 
 History is in general a dry diary of 
 incidents, and yet, acknowledging the 
 elegant Latinity of Malmesbury, a pro- 
 
 6 Du Cange, v. Mechanica, 
 ' Du Cange, v. Boa. 
 s Du Cange. 
 »> Fol. 44. b. 
 
 > Tresor de Brunetto Latini, MS. Bibl. Na^ 
 tional, Paris. Notices, v. 273. 
 
LIBRARY. 
 
 249 
 
 fessed imitator of Livy in his national 
 histories, and the interesting descrip- 
 tions of Froissart, the chivalrous vo- 
 tary of heroic love and pleasure, is 
 rather adapted to reference than read- 
 ing. Except the last author, they are 
 uniformly ill-natured writers. The ap- 
 parent original of their style, in mixing 
 and relating the private affairs of their 
 Abbeys, &c. is the family narrative of 
 the classical Actuarkis, or historio- 
 grapher, who was called in to read and 
 recite to the company.^ The only 
 qualification required was that of a 
 senior class school-boy, an ability to 
 write grammatical Latin ; and even he 
 would not have dared to show to his 
 master the following sentence, that " if 
 night had not terminated the battle, 
 they would have all been shaved with 
 the razor of death /^^ What a frigid 
 unintelligible simile is this ! " Fore- 
 thoughts are like gnats/ '^ Gothic Ar- 
 chitecture is the only sublime inimitable 
 monument of the Middle Age, but it 
 was a trade, and the Monks did not 
 know, that nothing great in the Arts 
 can be produced without intercourse 
 with society; for solitude and single 
 mind is debarred from the division of 
 labour, is satisfied like Crusoe, having 
 only itself to gratify, with rude expe- 
 dient, nor could have a motive, where 
 superstitious mortification was suffi- 
 cient. What was excellent, was in- 
 tended to bias the public mind, and no 
 other motive is adequate to the pro- 
 duction of the great in any thing.^^ A 
 solitary, though often a mere selfish 
 man, is under numerous circumstances, 
 a wise, a happy, and with reading 
 
 • See the form of these in Petronius, i. 162. Ed. 
 Nodot. 
 
 •» Qui profecto, nisi nox prselium diremisset, 
 omnes mortis novacul^ abrasi fuissent. Gemmeti- 
 censis inter Camdeni Scriptores, p. 669. 
 
 *= Du Cange, v. Rebones. 
 
 ^ An opinion directly opposite has been given. 
 The Chartreux of Ferrara had very fine paintings 
 in their Churches ; and excellent prints adorned 
 most of the cells of Monks of this Order. The 
 Author regrets, that painting and engraving were 
 not labours imposed on these Monks, because the 
 concentration of ideas in solitude and other results 
 might produce chef-d'oeuvres. Observat. gur 
 ritalie, torn. i. 361. 
 
 habits, which inculcate only what is 
 good, a virtuous and enviable one, for 
 Book-worms never know ennui. The 
 Monks, however, must not be deprived 
 of the chief merit in this Architecture. 
 In building Roslyn Chapel, the founder 
 caused drawings to be made upon 
 boards, which being carved accordingly 
 by carpenters, were given as patterns 
 to the masons.® This, no doubt, the 
 Monks often did, and after a common 
 practice of even Bishops,^ carried 
 mortar, and worked themselves. 
 
 Latin language. This, always con- 
 sidered a universal language, because 
 immutable, was deemed an essential 
 qualification,^ but how far with general 
 success, may be determined from the 
 errors condemned in the University by 
 Peacham. These are, — 
 
 1. Ego currit is good Latin. 
 
 2. Currit, legit, is as perfect speech 
 as curro, lego, 
 
 3. Sum ego is as good as Ego sum, 
 
 4. Socrates legere : and so in every 
 case.^ 
 
 Who would suppose that such bar- 
 barous words as Honorificahilitudo, and 
 Honorificabilitudinitas, for Dignity or 
 a term of address to Sovereigns, were 
 words in serious use ; yet they occur in 
 the twelfth century, at least in Italy.^ 
 
 Philosophers, who accede to the 
 high reason and noble sentiment of the 
 Classical Authors, cannot eulogize the 
 learned languages in the warm style of 
 Linguists and Philologists. If a lan- 
 guage, as is the euphonous and versa- 
 tile Greek, with even the advantage of 
 an alphabet founded upon modifications 
 of the voice, cannot be elegantly or 
 correctly written by a modern, during 
 the study of a whole life, its construc- 
 tion must be as bad as the Chinese, in 
 the opinions of all who consider lan- 
 guage as a convenient means of expe- 
 diting science and business, not a cum- 
 brous, however ingenious machine, 
 
 * Britton's Architectural Antiquities, iii. 51. 
 
 f M. Par. 171. « Angl. Sacr. i. 761. 
 
 •'MS. Wood, in Mus. Ashmol. 8563. prs. 2. 
 p. 12. 
 
 ' Du Cange in vociOus, from Muratori and 
 Ugtrolli. 
 
250 
 
 LIBRARY. 
 
 impeding both. Such, however, is the 
 influence produced by the fine senti- 
 ment of the Greek writers, that deep 
 Grecians are commonly very excellent 
 men. The perfection of the mental 
 powers certainly existed in the Morea; 
 and the steam-engine of their language 
 was easily worked by them : but then 
 only because it was native. It is in- 
 dispensable to construe the Classicks 
 fluently, because mind is not to be 
 formed in any other school. But 
 French, or grammatical literal Latin, 
 better perhaps, as a safer and far easier 
 substitute for universal language, ought 
 to supersede writing in elegant Latin, 
 because it is productive of obscurity, 
 and is confined to scholars. 
 
 The advantage of using terminations 
 instead of prepositions, though it may 
 be convenient for versification, is far 
 beneath that of juxta-position of the 
 words; and is limited to sound, not 
 sense. The very alphabets of the learn- 
 ed languages have not the ingenuity of 
 the curves and lines of short hand, 
 because founded upon scientific prin- 
 ciples, much less of the Chemical No- 
 menclature ; and Home Tooke has ex- 
 posed the ignorance of real grammar. 
 Selden has justly observed, that the 
 Monkisli Law Latin is better, because 
 more intelligible and preservatory, than 
 idiomatic style ; and Professor Stewart 
 adds, " The deranged collocation of 
 the words in Latin composition ren- 
 ders that language an inconvenient 
 medium of philosophical communica- 
 tion, as well as an inconvenient instru- 
 ment of accurate thought.^^*'^ 
 
 Classicks and Versification, The 
 Church permitted no ideas that were 
 not dogmas dictated by itself. Study 
 of the Classicks and Mythology were 
 reprobated by Aldhelm as tending to 
 corruption of manners -^ and he is not 
 singular, the Heathen Gods being de- 
 bauchees.c In the 13th century, Homer 
 was the only Greek poet known. ^ 
 
 * Philosophy of the Human Mind, p. 201. 
 
 b Angl. Sacr. ii. 14. « Ibid. ii. 249. 
 
 ^ Notices des MSS. v. 502. The Greek lan- 
 guage was never wholly extinct in Italy, but in the 
 14th century, there were scarcely six persons who 
 
 In the Chronique d' I dace, a manu- 
 script of the eleventh century, more 
 than 200 verses are extracted from 
 different authors, as Virgil, Ovid, Juve- 
 nal, &c. ranged in order, apparently 
 for no other reason, but to determine 
 the prosodial quantity .^ False quan- 
 tities are too common to need illustra- 
 tion ; but notwithstanding the evident 
 pains bestowed upon the study of con- 
 struction, they terminate Pentameters 
 with adjectives.^ In the beginning of 
 the 14th century there were only four 
 Classicks in the Royal Library at Paris, 
 Cicero, Ovid, Lucan, and Boethius.& 
 In the catalogues given by Leland of 
 Abbatial Libraries, there are only the 
 following Classicks, Cicero and Aris- 
 totle (common), Terence, Euclid, Q. 
 Curtius, Sidonius ApoUinaris, Jul.Fron- 
 tinus, Apuleius, and Seneca.^ From 
 this disregard of the Classicks, not the 
 shameful destruction only of the Mo- 
 nastic Libraries at the dissolution, 
 probably ensued that loss of the Decades 
 of Livy, &c. which has been so justly 
 lamented.^ 
 
 The extreme ignorance of classical 
 habits is conspicuous by the following 
 account of the Colisceum, Bede pro- 
 phesied, that while the Coliseeum last- 
 ed Rome would stand, but when that 
 
 had even a slight knowledge of it. Mem. de Pe- 
 trarque, i. 405, 406. 
 
 « Ibid. V. 231. 
 
 f See an instance in Angl. Sacr. 1. 513. 
 
 g Nichols's Appendix to the History of Leices- 
 ter, i. p. 107, n. 6. 
 
 ^ Collect, iii. 7. 17. 28. 54. 60. 66. 159. 
 
 ' I give here the admirable remarks of Petrarch 
 upon the utility of profane literature in ecclesiasti- 
 cal studies. " I know by experience how much 
 human learning may contribute to give just notions, 
 to make a man eloquent, perfect his morals, and 
 what is more, defend religion. If it be not per- 
 mitted to read the poets and heathen authors, be- 
 cause they do not speak of Christ, whom they did 
 not know, with how much more reason ought we 
 to prohibit heretical works ; yet the defenders of 
 the faith studiously peruse them. Profane litera- 
 ture, like certain solid aliments, does not hurt a 
 good stomach, only a weak one. Reading, whole- 
 some for a sound mind, is a poison to a feeble in- 
 tellect. I know that letters are no obstacles to 
 holiness, as some pretend. There are many roads 
 to heaven ; Ignorance is that which the idle take : 
 the Sciences may produce as many saints as Igno- 
 rance : and surely we ought not to compare an 
 ignorant devotion to an enlightened piety, ^^ Mem, 
 de Petrarque, iii. 606. 
 
LIBRARY. 
 
 251 
 
 fell Rome would fall^ and with Rome, 
 the World. This famous Amphitheatre 
 is described as a place, where were the 
 images of all the provinces, and that 
 of Rome in the middle, holding a golden 
 apple, as Queen of all; which images 
 were so disposed by necromancy, that 
 if any province wished to rebel, the 
 image of Rome immediately turned its 
 back upon that province.^ 
 
 Works of Humour. Irony and Satire 
 are quite common ; but otherwise pro- 
 fessed works of wit, turn chiefly upon 
 practical jokes, coarse indecency}^ or 
 ludicrous adventures. Now and then 
 a good pun occurs, and ingenious quib- 
 bles. I met with the following epi- 
 gram in a MS. of the Ashmole Library, 
 of which I have never seen a copy; 
 but as it was in a collection, made in 
 the 16th century, of Poems, I cannot 
 tell its age. 
 
 Marriage, saith one, hath oft compared bin 
 Unto a fest, where meet a public rout, 
 
 Where those, that are without, would fain get in. 
 And those, that are within, would fain get out. 
 
 Bulls, Ssc. These blunders owe their 
 use to a warmth of feeling, prompting 
 a rapidity of utterance, by which, time 
 not being allowed for reflection, one 
 idea trips up the heels of another. In 
 print, however, such errors are ex- 
 ceedingly rare. In the Acta Sancto- 
 rum, a narrow ])lace is described, where 
 a person could not stand except by 
 lyingS^ 
 
 Acrosticks were known to the Greeks,^ 
 but the Monks used hieroglyphical 
 kinds, impossible to be divined. In 
 hollow stonework over the kitchen 
 chimney in Kingswood Abbey, Wilts, 
 is a Tyger, ^eart, ostrich, mermaid, «ss, 
 and 5wan, for the founder's christian 
 name, Thomas,^ 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Colisaum, 
 
 ^ The Monks were the most bitter censors of 
 Boccacio, because he exposed them ; for it is cer- 
 tain, that the most licentious of the tales in the 
 Decameron, were found in Conventual Libraries, 
 and taken by him from thence. Vannozzi, how- 
 ever, says truly, '* It would frighten us to know 
 how many harlots the Decameron has produced." 
 
 " Quia aliter stare non poterat, nisi jacendo. 
 Du Cange, v. Estramen. 
 
 d Antholog. 1. i. c. 28. 
 
 * Parsons's MSS. in Bibl. Bodl. f. 91, 
 
 Poetry. Under this term ought never 
 to be included mere strings of un- 
 idea'd verses; for no sensible man reads 
 poetry in general. It is immersion in 
 a cold bath. The Antiocheis of Joseph 
 Ischam, and the Virgil of Gawin Doug- 
 las, are as admirable in the heroic, as 
 Chaucer is in Horatian vivacity and 
 terseness; though the versification of 
 neither is classical, nor the language 
 pure, nor the taste correct. Poor War- 
 ton,f deprived of preferment, because 
 he had not that ponderous gravity, re- 
 sembling the benumbing property of 
 the torpedo, which Englishmen reve- 
 rence, and enlightened foreigners de- 
 spise, under the name of Tristitia, has 
 the following exquisite passage, given 
 for its beauty. '^ The customs, insti- 
 tutions, traditions, and religion, of the 
 Middle Ages, were favourable to Poetry. 
 Their pageants, processions, spectacles, 
 and ceremonies, were friendly to ima- 
 gery, to personification, and allegory. 
 Ignorance and Superstition, so oppo- 
 site to the real interests of human so- 
 ciety, are the parents of Imagination. 
 The very devotion of the Gothic times 
 was romantic. The Catholic worship, 
 besides that its numerous exterior ap- 
 pendages were of a picturesque and 
 even of a poetical nature, disposed the 
 rnind to a state of deception, and en- 
 couraged, or rather authorized, every 
 species of credulity. Its visions, mi- 
 racles, and legends, propagated a gene- 
 ral propensity to the marvellous, and 
 strengthened the belief of spectres, 
 demons, witches, and incantations. 
 These illusions were heightened by 
 churches of a wonderful mechanism, 
 and constructed on such principles of 
 inexplicable architecture, as had a ten- 
 dency to impress the soul with every 
 false sensation of religious fear. The 
 savage pomp and the capricious he- 
 roism of the baronial manners were 
 
 f Mr. Douce has excellently defended this ill- 
 used Scholar, " whose literary body'' (to use the 
 expression, from Shakespeare, of the Author of 
 the Pursuits of Literature) '* had been punched full 
 of deadly holes," in a very ill-natured way. Minis- 
 ters sneered at Warburton for recommending him 
 for preferment 1 
 
252 
 
 LIBRARY. 
 
 replete with incident^ adventure^ and 
 enterprize ; and the untractable genius 
 of the feudal policy, held forth those 
 irregularities of conduct, discordancies 
 of interest, and dissimilarities of situa- 
 tion, that framed rich materials for the 
 Minstrel Muse. The tacit compact of 
 fashion, which promotes civility, by 
 diffusing habits of uniformity, and 
 therefore destroys peculiarities of cha- 
 racter and situation, had not yet ope- 
 rated upon life, nor had domestic con- 
 venience abolished unwieldy magnifi- 
 cence. Literature and a better sense 
 of things, not only banished these bar- 
 barities, but superseded the mode of 
 composition, which was formed upon 
 them. Romantic poetry gave way to 
 the force of Reason and Inquiry; as its 
 own inchanted palaces and gardens in- 
 stantaneously vanished, when the Chris- 
 tian champion displayed the shield of 
 Truth and baffled the charms of the 
 Necromancer. The study of the Clas- 
 sicks, together with a colder Magick 
 and a tamer Mythology, introduced 
 method into composition ; and the uni- 
 versal ambition of rivalling those new 
 patterns of excellence, the faultless 
 models of Greece and Rome, produced 
 that bane of invention. Imitation. Eru- 
 dition was made to act upon Genius ; 
 Fancy was weakened by Reflection and 
 Philosophy. The fashion of treating 
 everything scientifically, applied specu- 
 lation and theory to the arts of writing. 
 Judgment was advanced above Imagi- 
 nation, and rules of Criticism were 
 established. The brave eccentricities 
 of original Genius, and the daring har- 
 diness of native thought, were intimi- 
 dated by metaphysical sentiments of 
 perfection and refinement. Setting 
 aside the consideration of the more 
 solid advantages, which are obvious, 
 and are not the distinct subject of our 
 contemplation at present, the lovers of 
 true Poetry will ask, what have we 
 gained by this revolution ? It may be 
 answered, much good sense, good taste, 
 and good criticism; but in the mean 
 time, we have lost a set of manners, 
 ^nd a system of machinery more suitable 
 
 to the purposes of poetry, than those 
 which have been adopted in their place. 
 We have parted with extravagances 
 that are above propriety, with incredi- 
 bilities that are more acceptable than 
 truth, and with fictions that are more 
 valuable than reality .^^ 
 
 The " Scottish Chiefs '' of Miss Por- 
 ter, an exquisite Epic Poem, (though 
 denominated a Romance), which has 
 not been equalled for years, is entirely 
 founded upon chivalrous ideas in war 
 and love. It appears to be a work, 
 which, for a continual support of the 
 sublime in the two leading characters, 
 is superior to any thing ever written : 
 it is the only modern work which 
 shows the elevation of soul produced 
 by Warton^s Middle Age ideas. Mil- 
 ton or Virgil do not surpass it in sen^ 
 timent. 
 
 Mr. Nichols has made the following 
 excellent remarks, upon the Library of 
 Leicester Abbey : " From this cata- 
 logue it seems rather doubtful, whether 
 in the Library of this religious house, 
 there might be any one complete col- 
 lection of all the Holy Scriptures. Sup- 
 posing Biblie, in the first article, to 
 have included both the Old and the 
 New Testaments, it was a tome defec- 
 tive and worn. The second consisted 
 of each book of the Old Testament 
 only; and the third of the Gospels, 
 without any mention of the Acts of 
 the Apostles, of the Epistles, or of the 
 Apocalypse. There is however, a se- 
 parate mention of " Actus Aplor' gloss', 
 Apocalyps' gloss', Eple Pauli [of no 
 other Apostle] gloss', Eple Canonice," 
 and among the last occurs the " Can- 
 ticus Canticorum." Perhaps there 
 might be some of those Augustine 
 Monks, to whom the divine oracles in 
 the learned languages would have been 
 of little use ; and yet to these was not 
 indulged a translation in English, there 
 being in the Consistorial Acts at Ro- 
 chester, the minutes of a rigid process 
 against the Precentor of the Priory of 
 that Cathedral, for retaining an En- 
 glish Testament in disobedience to the 
 general injunction of Cardinal Wolsey 
 
LIBRARY — MUSEUM. 
 
 253 
 
 to deliver up these prohibited books to 
 the Bishops of the respective dioceses. 
 Knighton, a Canon of St. Mary-le- 
 Pre, has, to his own disgrace, recorded 
 his bitter condemnation of the transla- 
 tion made by his contemporary WiclifF 
 (X Script, col. 2644). " Christ in- 
 trusted his Gospel/^ says that Eccle- 
 siastick, " to the Clergy and Doctors 
 of the Church, to minister it to the 
 laity, and weaker sort, according to 
 their exigences, and several occasions ; 
 but this Master John WicUfF, by trans- 
 lating it, has made it vulgar, and has 
 laid it more open to the laity, and even 
 to women, who can read, than it used 
 to be to the most learned of the Clergy, 
 and those of the best understanding; 
 and thus the Gospel Jewel, the Evan- 
 gelical feast, is thrown about, and 
 trodden under feet of swine. '^ Such 
 language, as an ingenious and learned 
 Divine has justly observed, was looked 
 upon as good reasoning by the Clergy 
 of that day, who saw not with what 
 
 satire it was edged against them- 
 selves." 
 
 Petrarch always carried all his books 
 with him upon extra horses, when he 
 made a long journey.^ 
 
 Towers were the most usual places 
 for studies, and libraries.^ The Prior 
 of Canterbury's study was a tower, 
 next to his bed-room, but over his 
 chapel was also a library for the use of 
 the studious/^ 
 
 Museum, Adjoining to the Library, 
 says Erasmus, was a certain small but 
 elegant Museum, which, upon the re- 
 moval of a board, exhibited a fire- 
 place, if the weather proved cold ; 
 otherwise it seemed a solid wall.c Co- 
 ryatt saw a stuffed crocodile in an 
 Abbey.f 
 
 * Nichols's Appendix to the History of Leices- 
 ter, vol. i. p. 108. 
 
 ^ Memoires, &c. iii. 614. " Ibid. 616. 
 
 d Angl. Sacr. i. 145. 
 
 « Conviviura Religios. Colloq. 142. 
 
 f Crudities, i. 182. In Beckmann's Inventions, 
 iii. 43, seq. is a history of Museums. 
 
254 
 
 SCRIPTORIUM — DOMUS ANTIQUARIORUM, 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 SCRIPTORIUM — DOMUS ANTIQUARIORUM, 
 
 This is commonly called the Writing- 
 room ; but by it was sometimes signi- 
 fied a more remote place, not so des- 
 tined to writing, but there was room 
 for other employments. » The Abbot, 
 Prior, Sub-prior, and Precentor, were 
 the only persons admitted to the 
 writers. There was an especial bene- 
 diction of the Scriptorium.^ Writing 
 books as a Monastic employment is to 
 be found in the earliest eeras.c Among 
 British Monks, David had a study, or 
 writing-room, and began the Gospel of 
 St. John in golden letters with his 
 own hands. *i The Anglo-Saxon artists 
 possessed eminent skill in the execu- 
 tion of their books,^ and the character 
 which they used had the honour of 
 giving rise to the modern small beauti- 
 ful Roman letter.^ But after the Nor- 
 man Invasion, degeneracy of skill oc- 
 casioned the manuscripts, subsequent 
 to that period, to be of difficult read- 
 ing. The missals, and other books of 
 divine offices, were indeed curiously 
 done, through extraordinary expence 
 laid out upon works of this nature; 
 and in compliance mth an injunction, 
 that no books should be brought into 
 places of devotion, which could not be 
 easily read. Such copies as were written 
 in a larger hand were for more aged 
 persons ; and those illuminated with 
 extraordinary beauty for Nuns of su- 
 perior quality, and other persons of 
 distinction. Great caution was also 
 observed in writing the Fathers and 
 Classicks ; but the execution of books 
 which concerned the National and Mo- 
 nastic History was an object of small 
 
 • Du Cange, v. Scriptorium. ^ Ibid. 
 
 «= Gruteri Spicileg. ii. 132. 
 
 ^ Girald. Cambrens. in vita Davidis. Angl. Sacr. 
 ii. 635. 
 
 « Warton, Diss. Introd. Learning. 
 
 ' Lowthorp's Abridgment of the Philosophical 
 Transactions, iii. p. 2. p. 440, 1. 
 
 concern, unless the books were intend- 
 ed for presents.^ 
 
 " The Anfiquarii in Monasteries 
 were industrious men, continually em- 
 ployed in making new copies of old 
 books, either for the use of the Mo- 
 nastery, or for their own emolument. 
 These writing Monks were distinguish- 
 ed by the name of Antiquarii. They 
 deprived the poor Librarii, or common 
 Scriptores, of their business, so that 
 they found it difficult to gain a sub- 
 sistence for themselves and their fa- 
 milies.^'h Thus Mr. Astle; but Du 
 Cange says, that the Antiquarii were 
 those Scribes, who repaired, composed, 
 and re-wrote books, old and obsolete 
 with age, in opposition to the Librarii, 
 who wrote both new and old books.* 
 Eccard junior says, those religious 
 whom he found more dull at the study 
 of letters, he emploj-ed in writing, and 
 making lines.^ It appears, that the 
 Monastic Scribes were certain persons 
 selected by the Abbot. ^ Boys and 
 Juniors, says Du Cange, were espe- 
 cially employed in writing; the elder 
 Monks on the Church books.™ The 
 Boys or Juniors were undoubtedly em- 
 ployed in letter writing, and matters 
 which required expedition.^ All Monks 
 were in fact instructed to write, if 
 wanted, according to the statutes. In 
 those of the Canons Regular are two 
 verses specifying that they had simple 
 girdles, tablets, comb, needle, thread, 
 
 !>' Leland's Collect, vi. 77, 78. 
 
 ^ Astle's Writing, p. 192. 
 
 i V. Antiquarius. Neither definition corre- 
 sponds with the classical Antiquarii, who were, 
 I. Inspectors of copyists, and keepers of the Anti- 
 quarium, where the books were kept. II. CicC' 
 roni. III. Purists, who affected old words. IV. 
 Scholiasts. Encycl. des Antiquit. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Capitana liter<B, 
 
 ^ Id. V. Scriptores. 
 
 ™ Warton ubi supra. Du Cange, v. Scriptorium, 
 
 ° XV. Scriptores, 153. 
 
SCRIPTORIUM— DOMUS ANTIQUARIORUM. 
 
 255 
 
 a style, paper or parchment (chartas), 
 ink, and a pen case.» Du Cange men- 
 tions a singular kind of scribes, called 
 Brodiatores, who wrote books, and 
 letters, in the manner of Embroiderers, 
 so lightly representing the object, that 
 it almost escaped the sight. Perhaps 
 Petrarch alludes to such writers in the 
 following passage : ^' His writing was 
 not w^andering, nor loaded like that of 
 writers, or rather painters of our age, 
 who flatter the eye from afar, and 
 fatigue it when near.'^^ 
 
 The writing instruments were pens, 
 chalk, pumice stones for rubbing the 
 parchment, pen-knives, other knives 
 to scrape the parchment, a punctorium 
 or awl to make dots, a plummet, a 
 weight to keep the parchment down, a 
 ruler, inkstands, a large knife for cut- 
 ting the parchment,^ and styles made 
 of iron or bones/^ for the ancient mode 
 of writing on wax sometimes obtained 
 with respect to the tables of the offi- 
 ciating Ministers of the Choir .<^ It is 
 said that vellum had taken place of 
 waxen tablets in the time of Alfred, 
 and pens consequently succeeded to 
 styles^ Metal pens were used.s In 
 a MS. of Nigel Wireker at the British 
 Museum, the vellum has the lines and 
 numeration of the pages, in the same 
 manner as the water-mark in paper. 
 Large estates were set aside for the ex- 
 pences of making books.^ The custom 
 of carrying a pen behind the ear, lately 
 common, is ancient. In the life of S. 
 Odo is the following passage : '' he saw 
 a pen sticking above his ear, in the 
 manner of a writer.'^^ As to paper, 
 Mabillon says, that he could find no 
 paper books more ancient than the 
 tenth Century : but the pen made of a 
 
 * Cingala simplicia, tabulas, et pecten acumque 
 Fila, stilum, cartas, encaustum pennaculumque. 
 
 Du Cange, v. Pennaculum. 
 
 •* Memoires, iii. 701. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Asciatus. Artavus. Calamarium. 
 Comicularius. Linea. Punctorium. Scarpellum, 
 Scriptionale. Scripturale. 
 
 ^ Archseologia, ii. 7G. 
 
 e Warton, iii. 151. 
 
 * Archseologia, ii. 76. 
 s Warton, Diss. 2d. 
 
 »» Angl. Sacr. i. 278. 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Penna, 
 
 feather was certainly common in the 
 seventh Century ; and though ascribed 
 to the classical Antients, by Montfau- 
 con's mistaking a passage of Juvenal, 
 is first mentioned by Adrian de Valois, 
 a writer of the fifth Century.^ This 
 rather precedes Beckmann, who places 
 the first certain account in Isidore.^ 
 Ancient ink had nothing common with 
 ours, except the colour and gum ; for 
 instead of gall nuts and copperas, soot 
 or ivory black was the chief ingre- 
 dient.m 
 
 Some peculiarities are noticeable in 
 the practices of these ancient Scribes. 
 Omissions in the text were to be noted 
 in the margin." The Monks used to 
 transcribe their bulls of privilege, not 
 only into one, but several books of a 
 various nature, as missals and others, 
 as well as make marginal notes of the 
 aifairs of their Abbeys in books of 
 Histories. The Martyrology some- 
 times contained acts of general chap- 
 ters.o In the Acta Sanctorum, it is 
 said ^' Lest the Life and Miracles of S. 
 Francis de Paula should lapse into 
 oblivion, we have dispersed them 
 through these four volumes of S. Jerom, 
 tegminatim ;" i. e. on the covers.P The 
 Scribes also memorandumed their in- 
 terhneations. In the Processus de 
 Vit^ S. Yvon, in the Acta Sanctorum, 
 the Copyist says, " I have written it 
 with my own hand, together with in- 
 terlineations and erasures, made in 
 seven distinctions f and in the Bulla- 
 rium of the Carmelites much greater 
 particularity is used. The Scribe says, 
 " I have signed it with the sign follow- 
 ing, and made a certain interlineation 
 which says Redis, and another which 
 
 •* Encycl. des Antiquit. v. Plume. It is to be 
 noted, that the French writers denominate the 
 Century from the first figures, not the next in 
 order, as we do. 
 
 • Invent, ii. 207, seq. 
 
 "> Astle's Writing, 211. ubi plura of Inks. 
 
 «» Script, p. Bed. f. 19. 
 
 ® Decem. Scriptores, 1801, 1770. Selden's 
 Titles of Honour, 690. ed. fol. It was the cus- 
 tom of all persons, to write in the book, which 
 they most often read, the things they wished most 
 to remember. In Petrarch's favourite Virgil, is 
 his memorandum of Laura's death. Memoires, ii. 
 493. 
 
 p Du Cange, v. Tegminatim. 
 
256 
 
 SCRIPTORIUM — DOMUS ANTIQUARIORUM. 
 
 says Ordinis, and another which says 
 Ordini, and another which says Circa ''^ 
 The importance which was annexed to 
 this practice may be seen by referring 
 to the rules of Ruinartius in his Apo- 
 logia, &c. for determining interpola- 
 tions in Manuscripts. 
 
 What is done often is done care- 
 lessly; but to the credit of the Mo- 
 nastic Scribes, very few instances of 
 bad writing have occurred during my 
 researches. In one Manuscript indeed, 
 there is a shocking scrawl, which I 
 think the writing of a Nun ; the lines 
 being irregular, and the letters of va- 
 rious size and of rude make.^ Writing 
 was neglected by the Anglo-Saxons 
 after the Norman Invasion.^ 
 
 In one point they were too careless. 
 Numerous Titles of Manuscripts are 
 very indecisive of their contents. This 
 is remarkably shown, by an instance 
 supremely ridiculous. In the 13th 
 Century, Richard de Furnival wrote a 
 Bestiary, or treatise of the manners of 
 Animals, to which he sometimes an- 
 nexed moral paraphrases, but mostly 
 addresses to his Mistress ; these of 
 course turn chiefly upon points of love 
 and gallantry. To distinguish this 
 Manuscript from the Bestiaries of other 
 writers, the Copyists entitled it "Bes- 
 tiarium Amoris,^* i. e. the Bestiary of 
 Love!^ 2i. surpassing incongruity of 
 terms and meaning. 
 
 It is not the intention of this account 
 to reprint the Nouvelle Diplomatique, 
 or the various Authors upon Ancient 
 W"riting ; but it is worth while to no- 
 tice, that Leonard Wirstlin, Monk of 
 S. Udalrick, describes no less than one 
 hundred different hands, the names of 
 which are given by Du Cange.^ A 
 neat running epistolary hand is quite 
 modern : except among papers, writ- 
 ten by lawyers. Hamlet says, 
 
 <• I once did hold it, as our statists do, 
 A baseness to \yrite fair." 
 
 ■ Du Cange, v. Interlineatura. 
 ^ MS. Cott. Cleop. C. VI. p. 200. 
 •^ Script, p. Bed. 518, b. 
 «* Notices des MSS. t. 278. 
 * V. Scriptura, 
 
 Engrossing was formerly denomi- 
 nated a neater kind of writing.^ 
 
 Illumination of Manuscripts. These 
 works admirably show the general taste 
 of the Middle Ages, in matters of art 
 and decoration, that is, gorgeous heavi- 
 ness, the rich laced court-dress of the 
 last Century. Simple elegance and 
 airy lightness never appear in ancient 
 furniture, or works of ingenuity. They 
 perished with the conquests of the Bar- 
 barians,? and were revived with the 
 classical taste, introduced by modern 
 artists, within these few years. The 
 first i^ainters of the age illuminated 
 Manuscripts. h 
 
 In the National Library at Paris, is 
 a superb history of the Bible, of which 
 M. Camus has given an account ex- 
 pressly adapted to illustrate the paint- 
 ings. He compares it with another 
 manuscript of similar rich ornaments, ^ 
 and his- remarks apply to illuminated 
 writings in general, matters excepted, 
 which purely refer to the nature of the 
 work. 
 
 Every painted column contains two 
 pictures; the first represents what is 
 passed, the second, that which is to 
 ensue after the annunciation contained 
 in the first painting. 
 
 The first initial letters of every ar- 
 ticle are richly adorned with gold and 
 azure}^ The first letter of the Latin 
 text is gold; that of the translation 
 azure. The Alinea are terminated by 
 strokes (traits) covered with gold and 
 azure. The first letter of every book 
 is distinguished by very multiplied or- 
 naments. The pages have a running 
 title formed of capitals, alternately ^o/5 
 and azure. The initials and the Capi- 
 tals are placed upon a ground orna- 
 mented with extremely dehcate touches 
 red and blue.^ 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Grossator. 
 
 ^ The age of classical taste ends with Constan- 
 tine, say all the works on the fine Arts. 
 
 *» Mem. pour la Vie de Petrarque, i. 402, 403. 
 
 i Both MSS. are marked 6829. 
 
 •' The favourite colours of iUuminers. Warton, ii. 
 89. 
 
 * Notices, vi. 109. 
 
p 
 
 SCRIPTORIUM — DOMUS ANTIQUARIORUM. 
 
 257 
 
 The vellum was left without colour 
 to form the ground of the pictures. The 
 lieads, the difterent parts of the body^ 
 the draperies, &c. are designed, and 
 washed with an ink, approaching that 
 which we call Indian ink. The pic- 
 tures are then, properly speaking, black 
 cameos : only in the upper part there 
 is a little azure blue to represent the 
 clouds. Red is used to mark fire ; green 
 or blue, water ; green for trees, and red 
 to give effect to carnation tints : gold is 
 employed for the crowns, vases, pieces 
 of money, and the nimbi of Saints.^ 
 
 There is no perspective or propor- 
 tion observed. The men are as large 
 as the gates, and as tall as the houses 
 and trees. The figures are commonly 
 slender, but the arms, hands, and feet 
 are excessively long and slim : and the 
 drawing very incorrect in the attitudes. 
 
 The most original figures are those 
 of devils. They are in very great num- 
 ber, and the artists appear to have ex- 
 ercised their talents in varying them. 
 In general they have made of them 
 beings of black colour, and hairy, arm- 
 ed with claws and horns, with a crook 
 for a sceptre, and sometimes they have 
 attached to their shoulders the wings 
 of a bat : but what is singularly plea- 
 sant, is the form which they have given 
 to the mouth, to make them grin, and 
 the manner in which they have trans- 
 formed into hideous heads, their bo- 
 soms, their legs, and the lower part of 
 the belly ; in short, their different atti- 
 tudes. They are always in motion; 
 and of extraordinary vivacity.^ 
 
 In the other Manuscript the vellum 
 is finer, and the pictures, instead of 
 being lines and shading, are paintings ; 
 some in miniature, others en gonache, 
 all heightened with gold and azure. 
 The book is divided into sheets or com- 
 partments, each of eight pages or four 
 leaves of vellum, and the last page of 
 each sheet is generally appointed to 
 
 » Notices, vi. 110. 
 
 ^ P. 111. Among the costumes, &c. is a hand- 
 organ, carried by a man, but played upon by a 
 young woman. Persons in bed are represented 
 stark naked, as was the custom of the day ; of 
 which see Strutt's Dresses. 
 
 the same artist as did the following 
 sheet, on purpose that the disparity of 
 the different styles might not be too 
 perceptible.*^ 
 
 The painting is in general a la go- 
 nacheA After having drawn the prin- 
 cipal lines upon the vellum, they have 
 put colours of a middling tint, upon 
 which they have laid shades and lights <^ 
 to form the draperies, and distribute 
 the lights ; but some pictures are real 
 miniatures, where they have employed 
 for every part the tints which are suit- 
 ed to them, without laying a first mass 
 of colour. Gold and sometimes silver 
 are employed in two manners, in many 
 of the paintings. Sometimes they have 
 begun by employing a mass, destined 
 to give some force to the colour, which 
 they have laid above, and they have 
 seldom left any parts of their bed of 
 gold apparent. Sometimes they have 
 apphed fine gold as a last laying,^ either 
 hyjiletss or in masses, by means of a 
 mordant. Further there are parts of 
 gold, which they have polished ^^ to 
 adorn the frames of the pictures. The 
 gold employed to ornament the capi- 
 tals, is equally brightened. Silver is 
 used in the pictures to paint heraldry, 
 and sometimes gold. All these pic- 
 tures are of a dazzling lustre, when held 
 up to the light ; because in general, the 
 white predominates, and not being 
 painted in oil, it does not absorb a 
 single ray of the sun, but reflects them 
 all.i Antichrist is represented with 
 three faces ; one full face, two others 
 in profile ; three noses, three mouths, 
 and only two eyes.^ 
 
 The artists who worked at this kind 
 of painting, did not finish each picture 
 separately, but performed successive 
 operations upon the same painting. 
 Thus they bedded at first in gold and 
 
 ' P. 115. 
 
 •^ This word is not in the French Dictionaries. 
 
 •= Des bruns and des clairs. 
 
 ' En dernier couche. 
 
 B Filet d'or, in Boyer, is a fillet of gold on a 
 book. 
 
 '» Bruni, which also signifies darkened. 
 
 » P. 115. 
 
 »* P. 118. In the History of Ruth is a woman 
 upon her knees, threshing corn with a flail. 
 
258 
 
 SCRIPTORIUM— DOMUS ANTIQUARIORUM. 
 
 silver, or rather in copper and tin, the 
 parts to which these leaves of metal 
 were to give effect: afterwards they 
 laid on blue, green, or yellow upon 
 many pictures, the whole in masses 
 and flat, to darken or lighten it accord- 
 ing to the lights and shades. a 
 
 [Portraits were taken upon parch- 
 mentjb and some, excluding the want 
 of relief from proper shades, are very 
 beautiful. F.] 
 
 Allegorical figures occur, but they 
 are in too bad taste to merit notice.*^ 
 
 [Fantastick interpolations show that 
 the gout de singulier may not always 
 proceed from the ennui du beau: the 
 latter, in pure Grecian taste, being ut- 
 terly unknown in the middle age. F.] 
 
 In a manuscript abridgment of Uni- 
 versal History, the serpent who tempts 
 Eve has the head and body of a wo- 
 man. This Egyptianized painting ac- 
 cords with the text where it is said, 
 that the tempter took the form of a 
 serpent, with the head of a female.^ 
 
 Caricatures are sometimes discover- 
 able. In the Livre de Pierre Salmon, 
 a beautiful Manuscript illuminated on 
 purpose for Charles the Sixth, the 
 French King, John Sanspeur, Duke of 
 Burgundy, is characterized in the illu- 
 mination by his robe {semee de rabots), 
 powdered with carpenters^ planes. He 
 had adopted this tool for a symbol, and 
 said, that with his planes he would 
 level France. The heads are portraits. 
 That of Pope Alexander V. has too 
 little resemblance to merit confidence. 
 The line where the nose terminates is 
 much too near that of the eyes, and the 
 mouth too far from the nose. This 
 imperfect resemblance exaggerates the 
 faults of the original ; and is therefore 
 presumed to be a caricature. ^ So far 
 M. Camus. 
 
 » P. 120. b Angl. Sacr. ii. 385. 
 
 «= Notices, V. 173, 174, where are specimens. 
 
 d Notices des MSS. v. 152. 
 
 ^ Notices, V. 416. [As this is only presumptive 
 evidence, it is fit to note, that Caricatures have 
 been found at Portici, &c. (Caylus Rec. iii. pi. 76. 
 n. 1.) but they all or most turn upon the figure of 
 an ass or ass's head. Warton (Sir Tho. Pope, p. 
 58) describes a bitter caricature of our Queen 
 Mary ; and see Mr. Douce on Shakespeare. F.] 
 
 Two motives appear to be conspi- 
 cuous in respect to these beautiful Ma- 
 nuscripts ; one, that perusal might thus 
 be invited ; the other^ that they might 
 be presents of value, for the art of 
 writing was very unusual. Petrarch, 
 when at Liege, had great difficulty to 
 obtain ink to copy two orations of Ci- 
 cero ; and what he did get was as yel- 
 low as saffron.^ Ervenius, an Anglo- 
 Saxon, was very skilful in writing and 
 illuminating. He committed two books, 
 the Sacramentary and Psalter, in which 
 he had decorated the principal letters 
 with gold, to the care of Wulstan, when 
 a boy. Admiration of the workmanship 
 invited Wulstan to a studious perusal. 
 But Ervenius consulting advantage of 
 the age, as affirmed, with the hope of 
 greater reward, presented the Sacra- 
 mentary to Canute, and the Psalter to 
 Emma his Queen.? 
 
 Du Cange and various authors men- 
 tion receipts for the colours, which I 
 omit. Where red occurred, to give it 
 eflfect, an iron colour was laid, as a 
 ground.^ 
 
 Vignettes are not modern. Du Cange 
 supposes that Paginator means a per- 
 son who adorned pages with pictures 
 and vincolis, which he calls vignettes, 
 both terms being evidently derived from 
 the ornaments of foliage, which ap- 
 peared in wood-cuts long after the in- 
 vention of printing. 
 
 The Gilbertine rule prohibits hired 
 writers, by which I apprehend is meant 
 limnersA However, there were such 
 writers, or Hmners, at St. Alban's, who 
 had commons from the alms of the 
 Monks, and cellar, that they might not 
 be delayed by going out to buy food.^ 
 They had the frequent drunken habits 
 of Artisans, who, because every man, 
 says Johnson, is discontented T\dth his 
 avocation, from the obligation to pur- 
 sue it at all times, whatever be the state 
 of his mind or will, too often abuse 
 relaxation. 
 
 ^ Mem. pour la Vie de Petrarque, 
 
 » Angl. Sacr. ii. 244. 
 
 ^ Gemmeticensis, 670. 
 
 • Dugdale's Monast. ii. 767. 
 
 ^ M. Paris, 1063. 
 
 207. 
 
SCRIPTORIUM — DOMUS ANTIQUARIORUM. 
 
 259 
 
 Barclay, without knowing that sti- 
 mulants, however injurious in a pru- 
 dential and medical view and never a 
 good means, prevent, by the providen- 
 tial extraction of good from evil, much 
 hypochondriacal influence and tedium, 
 which might end in insanity or suicide, 
 says : 
 
 But if thou begin for drinl<e to call and crave, 
 Thou for thy calling such good rewarde shall have, 
 That men shall call thee malapart or dronke, 
 Or an Abbey lowne, or limner of a Monke. 
 
 Eglogue 2d. 
 
 The invention of printing occasioned 
 the following results. The scribes hav- 
 ing less employment, there were very 
 few good artists in this kind, and writ- 
 ing lost much of its beauty.a About 
 the year 1546, limners and scribes were 
 reduced to great distress for want of 
 employ ; ^ for besides Printing, Engrav- 
 ing, invented about 1460,*^ superseded 
 the illumination of initials and margins. 
 The last specimen was the Lectionary*^ 
 of Cardinal Wolsey at Oxford.^ Be- 
 sides the rule, it was inquired " whe- 
 ther the Monks had made, taken, and 
 received the King^s age and succession 
 
 ■ Notices, vi. 113. ^ Warton, iii. 145. 
 
 * Walpole's Catalogue of Engravers, p. 3. 
 
 * Code of proper lessons for the year. Spelm. 
 Gloss. 
 
 * Warton, iii. 146. 
 
 according to Act of Parliament,*' ^ for 
 they were obliged to record these, and 
 the births of the Royal Family, as well 
 as other public e vents. & 
 
 Bookbinding was occasionally very 
 gorgeous : Gold, relicks, silver plates, 
 ivory, velvet, and other expensive 
 adornments, were bestowed upon the 
 books, relating to the Church service, 
 but not confined to them ; ^» for we hear 
 of a book of poems, finely ornamented, 
 bound in velvet, and decorated with 
 silver-gilt clasps and studs, intended 
 for a present to the King.i Books 
 were written in purple vellum in order 
 to exhibit gold or silver letters ; and 
 adorned with ivory tablets.^ The most 
 common binding was a rough white 
 sheep -skin, lapping over the leaves 
 sometimes, with or without immense 
 bosses of brass, pasted upon a wooden 
 board ; and sometimes the covers were 
 of plain wood_, carved in scroll and 
 similar work. There were formerly 
 leaden books with leaden covers,^ and 
 books with wooden leaves. "» 
 
 f MS. Harl. 791. f. 25. 
 
 e MS. Cott. Tiber. E. iv 
 p. 30. 
 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. i. 147, 622, 644. 
 xiii. 220, 221. 
 
 * Froissart, x. 127. 
 
 •* Du Cange, v. Memhranum, 
 
 1 Du Cange, v. Coopertum. 
 
 "^ Decern Scriptores, 2435. 
 
 Smith's Catalogue, 
 ArchsBologia, 
 
 B 2 
 
2G0 
 
 STUDIES OF THE MONKS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 STUDIES OF THE MONKS. 
 
 Richard Kidderminster, Abbot 
 of Winchcombe, made his house a little 
 University. He studied night and day 
 in a small cell, and had a constant Di- 
 vinity lecture.^ 
 
 The divine offices were moderated 
 to allow time for study; and exemp- 
 tion from learning by consequence of 
 performing the daily services, in some 
 constitutions, and from all Church- 
 duty, in others, were privileges of let- 
 tered persons.^ The Friars too enact- 
 ed, " that a greater opportunity might 
 be afforded for the study of prayer,^ 
 that every day after Complin was said, 
 all the brethren except the infirm, those 
 engaged out, and their servants, should 
 shut themselves up either in the clois- 
 ter, library, dormitory, or necessary, till 
 the first bell of the day following/^ ^ 
 Elsewhere, however, there were the 
 superior conveniences of appropriate 
 studies furnished with presses and ca- 
 binets, either over the cloister, or an- 
 nexed to a chapel in the dormitory,^ or, 
 as is plain from Davies, in the boarded 
 division of the latter place. 
 
 An Abbot, in Erasmus,^ says, "I 
 
 • Hist, et Antiq. Oxon. I. i. p. 248. See more 
 of Studies in § Library. 
 
 *» Decern Scriptores, 1935. Willkins, Cone. ii. 
 723. Monast. ii. 708. 
 
 •= Reading the Psalter through, every day, was 
 called the study of Eloquence, t. e. reading. Du 
 Cange, v. Eloquentia. 
 
 ^ Et ut studio orationis major prsestetur occasio, 
 volumus quod singulis diebus a dicto completorio, 
 fratres omnes prseter infirmos ac forenses et eis 
 servientes, infra spatium comprehendens curiarum 
 sevocatarum, (aut quid simile) claustrum, libra- 
 rium, dormitorium, et secretse naturalitatis locum, 
 usque ad priraum signum diei sequentis se recolli- 
 gant et includent. MS. Bodl. 1882. p. 47. b. 
 
 •^ Dec. Script. 2146. 1935. Leland's Coll. 1.249. 
 
 f Abbatis et Eruditae Colloq. 285. 
 
 have sixty-two Monks, yet you will 
 not find a book in my bed-room.'^ 
 
 That the Monks had books of their 
 own is clear, from William of Malmes- 
 bury^s acknowledgement^ and Chaucer's 
 Monk, although it was prohibited. Still, 
 however, the studies of the Monks took 
 a pleasurable rather than severe direc- 
 tion ; for it seems they preferred Ovid 
 to Augustine, and Ulpian and Trogus 
 to the gospel of Christ ; and practised 
 desultory reading, not to instruct them- 
 selves, but to get rid of the day.? Even 
 these, it is probable, were not always 
 found the inhabitants of their studies ; 
 for we find the appendages of the sports- 
 man filling their prohibited chests,!^ an- 
 cient great coats, saddles, and spurs. 
 Hearne says, there were seldom more 
 than five or six books in these private 
 studies. i 
 
 Abbesses had studies.^ 
 
 & Hie enim (monachus) in manibus libentius 
 gestat Ovidium quam Augustinum ; avidius legit 
 Ulpianum et Pompeium quam Christi Evangelium. 
 Cotidie novas excogitat occupationes, novas lec- 
 tiones divisas non ad edificandum sed ad fallendum 
 diei spatium. MS. Harl. 1712. f. 23. b. f. 138. a. 
 
 •' Statuimus insuper ut nuUus prorsus nisi pro 
 officio sibi commisso arcam, sive cistam cum clave, 
 sive armariolum, absque supprioris licentia spe- 
 cial! detinere prsesumat, quae cum prselatus clavem 
 petierit ei sine difficultate tradatur. MS. Cott. 
 Claud. E. IV. f. 245. b. Notwithstanding this, be- 
 sides spurs and a saddle, I find, among the property 
 of a deceased monk, armariola. Cistse duo magna 
 et cistulse cum omnibus aliis sc. argentum et aurum 
 cum jocalibus pertinent, ad thesaurum. MS. Harl. 
 1005. f. 69. b. Nullus et claustralis capam plu- 
 vialem, (a large cloak, thrown over the other cloaths. 
 Strutt's Dresses, ii. 156.) vel sellam, vel alia, ad 
 equitatum pertinencia penes se retineat. MS. Cott. 
 Jul. D. II. f. 160. a. 
 
 » Lei. Collect, vi. 87. 
 
 " Du Cange, v. Studiolum, 
 
PRISON. 
 
 261 
 
 CHAPTER XLVL 
 
 PRISON. 
 
 The arbitrary power of an Abbot is 
 supposed to have originated in the 
 selfish considerations of Benedict ; but 
 it should be remembered^ that the se- 
 verity of monastic duties necessarily 
 required very extensive powers to main- 
 tain them. Of this power they occa- 
 sionally made a full use. Alexander 
 de Langley, a Monk of St. Alban's^ who 
 was deranged and behaved sillily and 
 haughtily, was^ by order of the Abbot, 
 accused in Chapter, and beat to a plen- 
 tiful effusion of blood ; but, as this did 
 not humble him, the Abbot sent him 
 to the cell of Binham, where he was 
 solitarily imprisoned in fetters, and 
 dying was buried in them.^ Very use- 
 ful too was this place (though not ap- 
 pertaining to every house ^) to vicious 
 Abbots. Christopher Levyns, one of 
 Henry's Visitors, says of the Prior of 
 Christ Church, Canterbury, " Those 
 Monks who had informed against this 
 Prior, shall by him be poysoned or 
 murthered in prysone, as the comen 
 reporte of the Monks of the same house, 
 is, that he hathe murthered dyverse 
 other." c Davies says, " Within the 
 Infirmary, underneath the Master's 
 lodge, [he kept the keys of it;^ and 
 
 * M. Paris, 1051. The prison was called Vade 
 in pace, because those who were put into it were 
 to stay there till death. Du Cange, v. Vade, &c. 
 
 »» Monast. ii. 56«. C. G. North. a» 1444. c. iiii. 
 
 « MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 124. a. 
 
 ^ MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. f. 205. Alic^uo fra- 
 
 when any Monk was confined there, 
 the Monk's keeper*^ brought the keys 
 back, and brought and carried him 
 back according to the directions of the 
 Abbot and Chapter] was a strong 
 Prison, called the Lying-house, or- 
 dained for great offenders ; as for 
 Monks guilty of felony or adultery, 
 where they were imprisoned in chains 
 a whole year, without seeing any one, 
 except the master of the Infirmary, in 
 letting down their meat through a trap- 
 door by a cord, and that at a great dis- 
 tance from the prisoners." He is cor- 
 rect: the Clugniac Statutes mention 
 the Prison as a place >accessible only 
 by a ladder, without window or door. 
 The fetters were some lighter, some 
 heavier ; and there were also a kind of 
 stocks, or boi(s, handcuffs and iron col- 
 lars, fastened by chains, through the 
 wall on the outside.^ "Bishops used 
 to imprison offending clerks there, s 
 But if any of the temporal men belong- 
 ing to the house offended in the pre- 
 mises, they were punished by the tem- 
 poral law 5^^ that is, in the Monastic 
 Courts. 
 
 tre in ergastulo truso, magister illius fratris claves 
 feret, illumque secundum abbatis et capituli deli- 
 berationera ducet et reducet. Id. 
 
 « In a Visitation of Hales Abbey (MS. Bibl. 
 Reg. E. 14, a" 1241) a keeper of the Prison is or* 
 dered to be appointed. 
 
 f Du Cange, v. Boffa, Boia, 
 
 9 Wilkins, Concil. iii. 495. 
 
262 
 
 MONASTIC COURTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 MONASTIC COURTS. 
 
 These at Canterbury were held in 
 the conventual church. » They had all 
 kinds of cognizance of their own men^ 
 except judgment of life and limb, in 
 some places ; and in others more ex- 
 tensive powers. If in the Abbots^ 
 courts justice was not done, the Founder 
 and his heir were to compel it, and this 
 sometimes even in his own Conventual 
 Court ; or there was an appeal to that 
 of the King. Sometimes the Monks 
 obtained from a Founder, that, if any 
 of their servants should do any injury 
 to his people, justice should be sought 
 in their Court.^ There were servants 
 of the Monastery of Hexham, who used 
 to serve summonses, levy distresses, 
 and carry rods.c It is singular, that 
 that spirit of equivocating plain lan- 
 guage (which marks modern pleading, 
 which every honest jury should, where 
 possible, overrule, and which had its 
 origin, in my opinion, in scholastic 
 subtlety, or quibbling on weak sides, 
 corrupting the exquisite ratiocination 
 and perfect discrimination of the civil 
 law), should, so early as the reign of 
 the first Edward, have compelled the 
 Abbot of St. Mary^s, York, to petition 
 that the general terms of cognizance of 
 pleas, murder, and other crimes, which 
 designated his legal privileges, should 
 be more particularized, on account of 
 the subtlety of the moderns. ^ The 
 
 * Decern Scriptor. 1982. Church-porches are 
 known to have been law-courts. Julius (pontiff a. 
 340,) enacted that no clerk should be brought to 
 trial in pubUc, except into a church. 
 
 »> Monast. i. 202. 377. 1055, ii. 911. 
 
 = Id. ii. 92. 
 
 ^ Rot. Pari. 18 Edw. I. No. 146. (vol. i.) Of 
 the subtlety of feudal claims take the following 
 anecdote : 
 
 In the 14th Century the Augustinian Monastery 
 of Windsheim in the province of Overyssel wished 
 to erect a windmill, but the neighbouring lord ob- 
 jected, saying, that the wind in that district be- 
 longed to him. The Monks complained to the 
 Bishop, who gave them permission, aflirming, in 
 
 manerial Courts (and perhaps the others) 
 were held by the Seneschal,^ and Wol- 
 sey orders, that the Canon, who sat 
 with the Seneschal in holding the 
 Courts, should behave so piously, and 
 so seriously attend to the benefit of 
 the house, that he should seem rather 
 to regard this than his own recreation.^ 
 The author of the Plowman's Tale 
 charges the Monks with slighting their 
 tenants on these occasions, and rejoic- 
 ing the higher they were amerced. It 
 was, I presume, in these Courts, that 
 tenants sought or purchased that li- 
 cence of marrying their daughters,^ 
 which was the real marchet tenure, so 
 absurdly made obscene, and was no 
 other than what has been elsewhere 
 called maiden rents.^ The King's jus- 
 ticiaries held gaol-deliveries of the pri- 
 soners.^ 
 
 The form of a trial in one of these 
 Courts is thus related by a Monk of 
 St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Certain 
 Flemings were brought into the Ab- 
 bot's Court of Stonor, in Kent, for 
 murder. They were arraigned by the 
 Seneschal and Court, to which they 
 pleaded not guilty, and placed them- 
 
 anger, that the wind in the whole province (of 
 Utrecht) was his property.* However absurd this 
 seems, the Roman Law ruled, that all the air over 
 a person's houses or estates was his own ; some 
 Emperors even had tribute for air and shade ; and 
 it was decided at Naples, that a criminal was enti- 
 tuled to Sanctuary who hung by his hands from a 
 window which overlooked a Church-yard.f Houses 
 in cities are pushed aloft, as high as the Proprietor 
 pleases, in the present day, but only because it in- 
 jures no one. 
 
 * Monast. ii. 551. <" Id. ii. 569. 
 
 & Memorandum, quod anno, &c. die, cepit Ri- 
 cardus Avystaine de Draitone licentiam maritandi 
 Agnetem filiam suam. Registr. de Abingd. MS. 
 Harl. 209. p. 12. 
 
 k Watson's Halifax, 268. » Monast. i. 242. 
 
 * Beckman's Inventions, i. 269. 
 
 t Cujacius, L. 10 Obs. c. 7. Petr. Greg. Syn- 
 tagm. L. 3. c. 10. n. fin. and the Roman Laws 
 quoted in Solorzanus, L. 3. c. 3. p. 387. 
 
MONASTIC COURTS. 
 
 263 
 
 selves upon the tovm of Stonor. The 
 men of Stonor were then ordered to 
 inquire into their guilt or innocence, 
 and to give judgment accordingly. 
 They returned them innocent, and the 
 Seneschal, in the presence of the whole 
 Court, acquitted them. Goods and 
 chattels of the convicts belonged to 
 the King, or, by charter from him, to 
 the Abbot. Instances appear of the 
 issue of summonses three days before 
 the holding the Court; of records of 
 proceedings ; of perquisites ; and of 
 numerous thieves being taken and 
 hanged by their authority, as a result 
 
 of the privilege of infangentheoff; of 
 the Coroner entering their precincts 
 to do his duty ; of the responsibility 
 of the Abbot in cases of escape ; and 
 of the King's Justiciaries taking cogni- 
 zance of prisoners, in crimes to which 
 the Abbot's privilege did not extend.* 
 
 » W. Thome, 1839. 1917. 1919. 1928. 1930. 
 1933. 2021. If I rightly understand this Monk in 
 p. 1843, men were imprisoned for coming there in 
 arms. The History of Ely, c. xxvii. mentions a 
 large Court held at the Abbey door. W. Thorne 
 also mentions citations, punishments for contempt, 
 &c. as now. 
 
264 
 
 MISERICORD. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 MISERICORD. 
 
 This was a hall in which were tables 
 and a dresser. The word Misericord 
 also implied stated indulgences and 
 allowances, according to circumstances, 
 of food, drink, wine or beer, or cloath- 
 ing or bedding, beyond the rule.» 
 
 The use of this office is in part ex- 
 plained by the following injunction. 
 " Also, that all and singular Brethren 
 and Monks of this Monastery take the 
 refection altogether in a place called 
 the Misericorde soch dayes as they 
 ete fleshe, and all other dayes in the 
 Refectory .^^ ^ By the constitutions of 
 Ottoboni, two parts of the Convent were 
 to eat in the Refectory ; but the sta- 
 tute w^hich forbad fiesh being eaten in 
 the Convent, the Monks used to evade, 
 by leaving a few in the Refectory, and 
 eating meat elseivhere, and those who 
 did dine in the fratry also took meat at 
 supper in another place.^ To this the 
 constitution, or rather permission, just 
 quoted, alludes. But, as the word ad- 
 ditionally implies the relaxations grant- 
 ed to the Monks, I shall take this op- 
 portunity of discussing them. Miseri- 
 cords, established by the authority and 
 dispensations of Abbots, were, says 
 Lyndwood, in some places, exonera- 
 tions from the duties of the Choir and 
 Cloister, granted to the Monks alter- 
 nately by weeks. An account was 
 given in to the Chapter how they be- 
 haved during that time ; and they were 
 not to refresh themselves but in the 
 presence of two seniors,^ who were to go 
 out from the Monastery, return with 
 them, converse with them in the Miseri- 
 cord, and restrain their levities by re- 
 proof, which was the especial i^rivilege 
 
 »> MS. Colt. Cleop. E. iv. f. 22. 
 *^ Athon. 150. and C. G. Northampt. a° 1444. 
 C. VII. See too Erasmi IX0YO$AriA. 
 d Lyndw. 211,212. 
 
 of seniors over juniors. Other writers,*' 
 misled by the glossarist of Matthew 
 Paris, have called a Misericord a guzzle 
 of wine} an imperfect definition, taken 
 from the refreshment of that liquor 
 granted during the above period. s It 
 seems that a license was thus granted 
 to the Monks of conversing, disputing 
 on learned topicks, talking of business, 
 histories, tales, news of the world, and 
 raillery ; ^» and Wolsey, finding that the 
 Augustinian Canons absented them- 
 selves from the Choir for whole weeks, 
 and neglecting the regular observances, 
 mingled in dishonourable games,^ and 
 the company of suspected persons, 
 ordered that the Canons, not singly, 
 but in a number together, regulated 
 by the superior, and accompanied by 
 one or two elder brethren, should re- 
 create themselves, not in the towns, 
 villages, and taverns, but in sunny, 
 large, and pleasant places, near their 
 houses, where they should be satisfied 
 with religious and modest exercise of 
 the body ; not mix with seculars, or 
 go to houses of laymen to eat and 
 drink without leave of the superior, 
 but carry their provisions with them ; 
 and, on every such day of recreation, 
 return at night, unless they stopped at 
 
 «= Lewis's Thanet, p. 110. 
 
 f These Charities did not consist of wine only, 
 but Cowell says of beer, indeed of various refresh- 
 ments, for we find a Charity, consisting of a sallad, 
 seasoned with honey. (Du Cange, v. Oxgorafim.^ 
 
 s De vino niisericordiarum. Decern Scriptores, 
 col. 2039. 1.21. 
 
 ^ Dev. Vie Mon. ii. 650. 
 
 * Perhaps there is an allusion here to the Jrietem 
 levare, a game among the English Religious, for- 
 bidden in several of our councils. The Ram was 
 raised upon wheels, and the standard of the Church 
 preceded the sport with it. Bishop Kennet sup- 
 poses that it was a kind of Quintain, i. e. a mark at 
 which they tilted witli poles. (Du Cange, v. Jrie/em 
 levare.) Concerning the Quintain, perhaps Strutt 
 has not quoted Menestrier of Tournaments and the 
 Dis<iuisitiou iu the Mem. Acad, des. luscript. v, xx. 
 
MISERICORD. 
 
 265 
 
 the Granges with the Abbot, then at 
 any of those places/'^ 
 
 '' Sum is aid and feel:)le, and is the 
 lesse dread of/'^ was a Monastic 
 maxim ; and accordingly, says the 
 Golden Legend, " when a relygyous 
 man hath contynued in his ordre fyfty 
 yere, thenne he shall be admytted to 
 make hys jubilee, and that made, he is 
 pardonned, and hathe remyssion of 
 many observauntes before he was 
 bounden unto/^ ^ 
 
 Every Convent was divided into 
 three Orders. Juniors, who, up to the 
 24th year of their profession bore all 
 the burdens of the Choir, Cloister, and 
 Refectory. The next sixteen years 
 they were exonerated from the duties 
 of Chantries, Epistle, Gospel, and simi- 
 lar labours. They undertook the im- 
 portant business of the House. From 
 the 40th to the 50th year they were 
 called Seniors, and were excused from 
 the offices of the Cellar, Almonry, and 
 Kitchen. In the 50th year they be- 
 came SempectceA 
 
 These Sempectce^ had a chamber in 
 the Infirmary, with a boy to wait upon 
 them, and a Junior for a companion. 
 They went in and out about any part 
 of the house without restriction ; were 
 never, from an elegant refinement, 
 told any thing unpleasant, or received 
 any offence ; and thus they waited their 
 dissolution.^ The consequences of 
 privileges and exemptions in favour of 
 old Monks were bad : for they took 
 the liberty of examining, judging, and 
 censuring every thing ; and there were 
 
 » Monast. ii. 569. 
 
 b MS. Cott. Cleop. C. VI. fol. 4. a. 
 
 «: F. CXI. a. 
 
 «* Du Cange, v. Semjjecta. 
 
 •= 2vfiiraiKTai. Du Cange. In Mr. Cough's 
 Second Appendix to his History of Croyland, p. 
 283, it is supposed a corruption of Senecta : but 
 the authorities cited in Du Cange will best settle 
 the question. The Benedictine Editors were 
 Monks ; and they make the word Greek. 
 
 f Ingulphi Hist. 504. Ed. Savile ; in which edi- 
 tion the reader will observe, that the Licentiam 
 habet, &c. belongs to the Prior and not to the 
 Sempecta, as is plain from the Oxford Edition, p. 
 50, which supplies the defect of Sir H. Savile's 
 MS. (See Prsef. Angl. Sac. and Watson's Hali- 
 fax, for an account of Sir Hepry's MS.) 
 
 as many superiors as old men in the 
 Monastery, which banished piety, 
 ruined discipline, and introduced a 
 scandalous irregularity and confusion.^ 
 Favouritism and cynical asperity are 
 often found together in aged persons. 
 
 Henry's Visitors allowed the Abbot 
 " to goe out and take three or four of 
 his brethren with him" at inclination ; 
 and also allowed the " said Abbot to 
 give the Prior, Supj^rior, and other 
 officers, being suche as he shall thinke 
 men of discretion, licence thre or four 
 tymes at the most in the yeere, to goo 
 abrod for their refresse and recreacon, 
 taking to him or them so having li- 
 cense, four of the other brethren at 
 the least." ^^ This was a hard consti- 
 tution for Obedientiaries and Monks, 
 who, as before has been shown, took 
 great liberties in this respect ; though 
 the Canons, which allowed them to 
 visit friends and relatives, even in fo- 
 reign parts,^ with leave of the Abbot, 
 only granted the indulgence very sel- 
 dom (only for once in a year was the 
 request of the articles against them), on 
 good cause, and for a small time, and 
 with a companion.^ The Monks mu- 
 tually kissed each other, when going 
 out.^ The Obedientiaries who had 
 horses were then bound to lend them 
 to the Monks, if the request was not 
 made too often."^ John, 21st Abbot 
 of St. Alban's, wishing to spare the 
 trouble and expences of Monks tra- 
 velling, who did not abound with mo- 
 ney, made a statute, that if they could 
 not finish their journey in time to get 
 to St. Alban's, they should go to any 
 of the nearest monastic farms." By the 
 decretals of Wolsey, for the Augustinian 
 Canons, no one was to go out without 
 leave, and the term of his return ap- 
 pointed ; not to have dogs or hawks 
 with him ; not to drink in the town. 
 
 s Dev. Vie Monast. i. 331. 
 " MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 49. 
 * Or for study. See Richard of Cirencester'a 
 Itinerary by Stukeley, Preface. 
 ^ M. Par. 1331, 1100. Reyn. Append. 166. 
 ' Du Cange, v. Osculum pacts. 
 "» C. G. North, ao 1444, c. v. 
 « M. Paris (2d) 1043, 
 
266 
 
 MISERICORD, 
 
 unless sick or by special permission ; 
 to have such companions as the supe- 
 rior appointed^ and money found from 
 the common stock ;^ the well-known 
 pictures of Chaucer's Monk, and Lid- 
 gate, render it unnecessary for me to 
 describe their habits as travellers^ By 
 the Norman Institutes, the rehgious 
 did not receive both benedictions of 
 going and returning, unless he staid 
 out for more than two days ; but either 
 benediction alone, as the circumstances 
 of his going out or return were with- 
 in that period. This benediction of 
 going out was never given at Vespers 
 or Complin; and a Monk, who had 
 received it, if the bell of the hour rung 
 before he left the Cloister, returned to 
 the Church, though, if he had passed 
 the Court-gate, he staid out of the 
 Choir. He did not enter the Cloister, 
 when gartered or girdled, or with a 
 cope on. When they said their hours 
 on their journey, or made a prayer, 
 they kneeled, but never bowed, nor 
 upon a mistake begged pardon, except 
 they were in Church. On such days 
 as the hours in the Convent were said 
 on the Misericords, if on horseback 
 they descended, and having begun the 
 hours, and taken a venia, they pulled 
 the gloves from their hands and hoods 
 from their heads, and re-mounting their 
 horses, finished them. If they had a 
 necessity of speaking, they began afresh 
 when that was over. Until the hour 
 was sung,c in an inn, or when they ate 
 in their frocks or hoods only, they said 
 the psalmody, which they could not sing 
 at night on horseback. They also said 
 Complin before going to sleep ; and, if 
 interrupted by a necessity of speaking 
 before Mattins, began it afresh, and 
 afterwards observed silence. Where- 
 ever they were they had a light burn- 
 ing all night. Eagerness, says Pe- 
 trarch, to execute your orders has 
 made of me a traveller by nighty against 
 my character and principles A Thus it 
 
 • Monast. ii. 567. 
 
 •> Attended with three or four horsemen. Hut- 
 chinson's Durham, ii. 92. 
 « Dum hora canitur. 
 
 * Memoires &c. ii. 142, 
 
 was deemed irreputable to journey by 
 night. 
 
 The constitutions allowed a Nun to 
 be absent only from disease ; for re- 
 creation ; to make or receive a cure f 
 to console sick parents, or attend their 
 funerals ; for three days only when 
 absent for the sake of relaxation, and 
 in case of illness for six only, after 
 cure, unless by episcopal dispensation.^ 
 A permission of making pilgrimages, 
 and of visiting relatives from their own 
 inclination, or light occasions, wan- 
 tonly granted, is reprobated in visit- 
 ing injunctions. 8 An episcopal license 
 on this occasion only mentions the re- 
 quest for absence by a noble female, 
 and enables the Prioress to grant it, 
 adding, that the Nun must have a 
 companion, and might go on horse- 
 back,h though in opposition to the 
 customs of the house.i The Gilbertine 
 Nuns, in their way to the general 
 Chapter, travelled in carriages, and 
 shunned all hospitia of religious per- 
 sons, unless there was a habitation of 
 women there. They did not talk by 
 the way; and no speech was made 
 unheard by the attendant canon and 
 lay brother.l^ — Erasmus gives an anec- 
 dote of two Nuns on a visit, at which 
 he was present. They were at the 
 house of a relative. The servant by 
 forgetfulness had omitted to bring their 
 book of prayers. A great disturbance 
 ensued. They did not dare to eat 
 their supper, without first saying their 
 evening prayers, nor would they accept 
 
 e Female medical talents, and theirs, among 
 others, are spoken of by Mr. Warton and others. 
 
 i Lyndw. 212. 
 
 8 Monast. i. 910. 925. 
 
 ^ Forbidden. Monast ii. 787. 
 
 ' Licentia pro moniali exeundi de domo sua. P. 
 &c. Priorissse, &c. precibus charissimse nobis in 
 Christo filiae Dominse J. consanguinis Domini Wla 
 militis nostri dioc' favorabilius inclinatus , ut ad earn 
 justis et honestis ex causis, domina M. hujus dicti 
 vestri prioratus commonialis, cum ali^ ejusdem 
 prioratus ipsam associante accedere valeant; va- 
 leant equestri, non obstantibus vestris consuetudi- 
 nibus contrariis, dispensatione, ex causis Ileitis 
 nobis sufficienter doctis, in quantum de jure pos- 
 sumus, quatinus obedientiam et honestatem disci- 
 plinae regularis, literarum tenore praesentium duxi- 
 mus indulgendum, &c. &c. MS.Harl. 2179. 
 
 " Monast. ii. 706. 
 
MISERICORD. 
 
 267 
 
 of any other book than their own. In 
 the mean while, the whole house was 
 eager for supper. What was to be 
 done? The servant returned to his 
 horse, and fetched the book, when 
 night was far advanced. The Prayers 
 were said, and it was ten o'clock (a 
 very late hour in that age) when they 
 sat down to supper .» 
 
 Farm-houses were anciently used as 
 inns ;b and there is a grant of a place 
 on condition of paying twelve-pence 
 annually, and finding an hospitium for 
 the Prior and Chapter passing that 
 way ; though no further than the space 
 of the house to stay inS William, Ab- 
 
 » Ichthyophagia inter CoUoq. 428. 
 •> Smythe's Lives of the Berkeley Family. MS. 
 p. 145. 
 
 o Monast. ii. 818. 
 
 bot of St. Alban's, bought a house at 
 London for the accommodation of his 
 Monks, with a Chapel, numerous beds, 
 orchard, stable, kitchen, court, garden, 
 and well ; and a perpetual servant re- 
 sided there to keep it.<i The punish- 
 ment of exceeding the allotted time of 
 absence, according to the constitutions 
 of Benedict the Twelfth, was a severe 
 discipline. 6 This liberty was very dif- 
 ficultly granted at St. Alban's even 
 after three years continuance in the 
 state of a novice.^ 
 
 * M. Paris, p. 1057. 
 
 « He was led naked from the gate, in his shirt, 
 carrying his cloaths and bl ferula , to the Chapter, 
 and there beaten. Wilkins's Concil. ii. 608. (Const. 
 Bened. xii. § De licentia eundi extra Monaste- 
 rium.) ' M. Paris, 1031. 
 
268 
 
 SANCTUARY. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 SANCTUARY. 
 
 This was the method by which an- 
 ciently the rigour of common law was 
 moderated. It allowed the criminal 
 time for making restitution, or under 
 the Anglo-Saxon laws, he must have 
 suffered immediate pains and punish- 
 ments/'^ 
 
 The old Sanctuary of Westminster 
 consisted of two Churches one over 
 another, in the form of a cross.^ 
 
 Margaret, Countess of Shrewsbury, 
 was said to have hired one Chamber- 
 lain, a Sanctuary man at Westminster, 
 to meet Will. Marquess Berkeley with a 
 great company on the road, and assassi- 
 nate him. As soon as this news, though 
 false, came to the Abbot's ears, he 
 sent for this Chamberlain, and called 
 the Archdeacon c and others to exa- 
 mine the matter, and because the 
 story was raised by Chamberlain's as- 
 sent, the Abbot decreed, that he should 
 be brought to an open place in the 
 Sanctuary, on purpose for punishment, 
 and made him to be arrayed in papers 
 printed with signes of untroth, sedi- 
 tion, and doubleness, made him go 
 before the procession in this dress, and 
 afterwards set him in the stocks, that 
 the people might see him.^^ 
 
 At Durham certain men lay in two 
 Chambers over the North door to let 
 in offenders whenever they knocked, 
 however late ; after which they tolled 
 the Galilee bell, in notice of such 
 
 * Hutchinson's Durham, i. 39. 
 *> Archseol. i. 39. 
 
 «= Some Monasteries had Archdeacons over their 
 own jurisdictions ; as that of Worcester, &c. 
 
 * Smythe's Berkeley MS. 539. 
 
 event. When the Prior heard of it, 
 he sent orders that they should keep 
 within the Sanctuary, Church, and 
 Church-yard, and wear a black gown 
 with a yellow cross, called St. Cuth- 
 bert's cross (a token of the privilege 
 granted to that Saint's shrine) ; and 
 that they should lie ujDon a grate made 
 only for that purpose, adjoining to the 
 Galilee South door. They had also 
 meat, drink, and bedding, for thirty- 
 seven days, being only such as were 
 necessary for such offenders,^ until the 
 Prior and Convent could get them 
 conveyed out of the diocese. Accounts 
 w^ere given in to the King of the goods 
 of felons,^ which, it seems, were some- 
 times distrained by conventual bailiffs, 
 and preserved in the house till their 
 persons were sent to gaol.s This pri- 
 vilege, to be granted by the King alone, 
 was not to be claimed without char- 
 ter, and extended only to criminal of- 
 fences. '^ Living in Sanctuary was very 
 expensive, and the demands exces- 
 sively extortionate;^ bawds and whores 
 took refuge there.k 
 
 ^ In the Gravamina Eccles. Anglican, art. 22, 
 it is said, " when any fugitive flies to the protec- 
 tion of the Church, Church-yard, or stair-case of 
 the Church, he shall be guarded by Lay -keepers, 
 because he cannot expect to be provided for in 
 viands by the Church." Hence the expence of 
 living in Sanctuary, hereafter noted. 
 
 f Jones's Index to Records, vol. ii. tit. Beaulewe 
 and Berkyng. 
 
 8^ Monast. ii. 348, 9. 
 
 ^' Staveley on Churches, p. 170. 
 
 ' Paston's Letters, ii, p. 10. 
 
 ^ Maitland's London, p. 771. PI. in Stowe, 442, 
 &c. and Mr, Pegge on the subject. 
 
DEPENDENT CHURCHES. 
 
 269 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 DEPENDENT CHURCHES. 
 
 According to the Council of Chal- 
 cedon, a decree of Alexander II. and a 
 general Chapter of the year 1215, 
 Monks were not to preach to the 
 people, under penalty in the latter of 
 deposition to an Abbot, and expulsion 
 to a simple religious.^ The idea was, 
 however, reprobated by their own 
 body:^ and Athon^ says positively, 
 (very ancient constitutions allow them 
 to do parochial duties so far back as 
 the seventh century,^!) that a religious 
 could be instituted in secular Churches 
 by leave of the Bishop, Abbot, and 
 the common law, without a dispen- 
 sation, and that he might live upon his 
 ])enefice, like another Rector. An or- 
 dinance too of a late general Chapter, 
 ordered that those who were able and 
 fit should preach, and they did so both 
 in their convents and in public.^ Vi- 
 sitation injunctions forbid interest 
 being made for benefices ; and the dis- 
 mission of a religious from his house 
 to fill one, mentions good life and mo- 
 rals, the consent of the house for his 
 departure, the episcopal dispensation, 
 and superior's license.^ Burn says, 
 that Rectors only, not Vicars, were ex- 
 pected to preach ; sometimes all who 
 were ordained Priests.? As to vicar- 
 ages, it appears that they " scarcely 
 among xx set one sufficient Vicar to 
 preach;'^ and that in some places 
 
 • Dev. Vie Monast. ii. 21. 184, 5. 
 
 »» Reyner, 245. « p. 145. 
 
 • Malmsb. 112. 
 
 • Reyn. App. 102. Lei. deScriptor. p. 146, &c. 
 ' Ne soUicitent seu laborare faciant seculares pro 
 
 beneficiis. MS. Mus. Ashmol. 1519. f. 2G. b. (Ord. 
 Aug.) Vitse ac morum honestas — de collegio nostro 
 liberumdimittimus quatinus dejure, &e. dispensa- 
 tio episcopi, &e. licentia magistri dicti hospitalis in 
 hac parte petitd primitus et obtentii. MS. Harl. ut 
 sup. f. 88. a. where the form of the Abbot's writ 
 for arresting vagabond Monks, f. 88, and other/or- 
 mula. « Angl. Sacr. ii. 487. 
 
 there was preaching ^^ but ones in a 
 year/'^ Such Vicars were, in some 
 places, answerable to the Bishop for 
 the cure of souls ; to the Monks for 
 temporals.^ There were often in these 
 Churches peculiarities, (as being in 
 the local site of cells,) thus described 
 by Mr. Hasted : — " At the west end of 
 the Chancel (Lenham) there are six- 
 teen stalls, eight on each side, though 
 of a diiFerent size, for the use of the 
 Monks of St. Augustine's, when they 
 visited their estate in this parish, and 
 for such other of the Clergy as should 
 be present at the services of the 
 Church.''^ Dormitories, &c. were an- 
 nexed to the Rectories, for accommo- 
 dation of the Monks.^ 
 
 If the benefice was given to the 
 table of the Monks, and so not appro- 
 priated in the common form, but 
 granted by way of union in full right, 
 it was served by a temporary Curate, 
 belonging to their own house, and sent 
 out as occasion required. The like 
 liberty of not appointing a perpetual 
 Vicar was sometimes granted by dis- 
 pensation, in benefices 7iot annexed to 
 their tables, in consideration of the 
 poverty of the house, or nearness of 
 the Church.^" To their vicarages the 
 Abbot presented;" and in those be- 
 longing to the Alien Priories, there was 
 particular neglect of duty.« " Sacra- 
 legious Monks buyers of Churches,'* 
 
 ^ Selden's Tythes,4to. 1618. p. 487. The recall 
 of canons in the Prsemonstratensian order, who offi- 
 ciated in cures, is insisted on with vehemence in 
 Biblioth. Prsemonst. i. 837. 
 
 ' Monast. ii. 854. 
 
 ^ Hist, of Kent, V. 439. Sec tooiii. 511. Ed. 8vo. 
 
 • Angl. Sacr. i. 146. 
 
 •" Gibson and Burn. 
 
 " Monast. i. 297, 8. 
 
 ° Selden's Tythes, 106. Henry's injunctions 
 charge the Abbot with taking the revenues of 
 Churches to bis own use. 
 
270 
 
 DEPENDENT CHURCHES, 
 
 says Gualo Britannus.^ Chapels were 
 built on the manerial demesnes from 
 the fear of war.^ 
 
 Pensionsjfrom these Churches were 
 common ; and, by a synod held in the 
 reign of the first Henry, it appears the 
 Monks so stripped the Churches of 
 their revenues, that the officiating 
 priests could scarcely live.^ By some 
 regulations it seems, that when 
 Churches were vacant, the keys were 
 brought to the Chapter, and the Re- 
 venues taken possession of by the Ab- 
 bot and Convent 5 and the Abbot 
 
 * Sacrilegis monachis emptoribus ecclesiarum, 
 Composui satyram, &c. MS. Cott. Tit. a. xx. f. 
 105. &Fabr. Bibl. M. ^v. iii. 322. 
 
 '^ Capellam, quam pater meus tempore Regis 
 Stephani propter metum guerrte construxit. Re- 
 gistr. Abbat. de Winchcombe pen. Dom. Sher- 
 borne, fol. 431. 
 
 ^ Eadmeri Hist. Novor. p. 68. 
 
 bound to present within forty days. 
 By others, the keys were brought to the 
 Chapter, or Prior of the manor ; an In- 
 .ventory was taken of all the books, 
 vestments, and other moveables ; the 
 above Prior was to appoint some Priest 
 to do the duty ; to take care of the 
 profits of the benefice ; to be present 
 (unless any one was sent on purpose by 
 the Abbot) at the institution of the in- 
 cumbent ; and to cite him (upon neglect 
 of so doing, when suspension was the 
 consequence), to come and do fealty in 
 the Convent. Delinquent clerks, at 
 least in exempt houses, were suspended 
 and excommunicated by the Abbot's 
 commissary. The Prior of the manor 
 was to see that no new Chantries were 
 made.^ 
 
 •J W. Thorne, p. 1956. 1961. 1980. c. xxvU. 
 
 sect. 7. 
 
CELLS — GRANGES. 
 
 271 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 CELLS — GRANGES. 
 
 Cells were either places of recreation, 
 where the Monks used to stop for this 
 purpose by turns ; ^ or where Monks 
 of bad character were sent,^ and others 
 sometimes by the Abbot in a fit of 
 passion.^ It was thought a great griev- 
 ance to be sent to remote Cells, or from 
 Cell to Cell ; for the people used to say, 
 ^^ this man has done something bad, or 
 the Abbot hates him, and envies him^ 
 because he is better than himself, or 
 contradicts his errors, and reproves his 
 excesses/^ The Monks resident were 
 to conform to the practice of their Ab- 
 bies in respect to divine service, sleep- 
 ing in dormitories, and other religious 
 practices. e It was the custom anti- 
 
 » Dec. Scriptores, 1937. Leland's Collect, ii. 
 330. Chapel and Infirmary annexed to them. 
 Lewis's Thanet, 154. Also a Dormitory, Angl. 
 Sacr. i. 146. 
 
 •» The bad behaviour of the Monks in them is 
 sufficiently shown by the following extract : " Mo- 
 nachus quidam Sagiensis Coenobii de cella quadara 
 in partibus Anglise longinquis ad aliam cellam loci 
 ejusdem remotis in Walliae finibus super mare Mil- 
 verdicum et Hibernicum gyrovagando discurrens, 
 ne solus esset in vi^, quia vse soli, — non socium sibi, 
 sed sociam elegit ; ejus turpitudo terque quaterque 
 turpiter deprehensa fuit. Adeo quidem quod a 
 Castellanis parcium illarum demum captus et in 
 carcerera missus, sociaque ipsius et confusionis 
 causa ribaldis exposita fuerat et garcionibus prosti- 
 tuta. Tales autem honores et tales honestates ex 
 monachis ad cellulam missis ordine monastico per- 
 venire Solent. MS. Cott. Tiber. B. 13. 
 
 A certain Monk, who was rambling about from a 
 cell in the remote parts of England to another in 
 Wales, lest he should be alone on his journey, took 
 a companion on his way ; not a he one, but a she 
 one ; three or four times he was most unluckily 
 detected ; and at last put into gaol by some Castel- 
 lans of that neighbourhood, whilst his poor lady 
 was exposed to all the indecencies of the rabble 
 among them. Such honours and such graces, says 
 Giraldus, adorn the Monastic order, from the 
 Monks who are sent to cells. 
 
 <= C. G. North. a° 1444, c. x. 
 
 ^ M. Paris, 1046, 7. 
 
 « Prior vero in cellis, quanto frequentius com- 
 mode possit, intersit matutinis, nee extra dormito- 
 rium jacere prsesumat, nisi ad minus quatuor de 
 fratribus in dormitorio ipso absente remaneant. 
 MS. Cott. Claud, E. iv. f. 242. b. 
 
 ently, when any of the Monks belong- 
 ing to a Cell went out upon business, 
 not to take refreshment out of the Cell.^ 
 The Priories were much sought after 
 even by Novices ;S and it seems that 
 they were matters of commerce; that 
 the Abbot, in granting a farm of them, 
 received or required securities ; that the 
 Priors made dishonest contracts, un- 
 just claims, and sold too dear for a 
 time.li Certain Alien Priories chose 
 their own Prior, were entire societies 
 within themselves, received the reve- 
 nues for their own use, and paid only a 
 yearly pension, as an acknowledgment 
 to the parent-house.^ Foreign Abbies 
 could sometimes compel any Monk of 
 the subject Cells, except the Prior and 
 Cellarer, to come to them when wanted.^ 
 They were places of enjoyment for the 
 foreign superiors. William of Exeter, 
 Abbot of Grestain, in Normandy, a 
 house which had property in England, 
 used to stay above two years at a time, 
 upon pretence of Conventual business 
 in this country.! A Preceptory or 
 Commandery was a convenient man- 
 sion belonging to the Knights Hospi- 
 talers, of which sort they had several 
 on their different estates, in each of 
 which they had a society of their bre- 
 thren placed to take care of their lands 
 and rents in that neighbourhood. The 
 respective Priors, or Preceptors, ac- 
 counted to the Order in general, for the 
 overplus of the profits of the respective 
 estates; but in process of time, a certain 
 rent called a responsion was paid in- 
 stead."^ A mark was paid by Cells 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Responsum. 
 ^ MS. Roy. Libr. 8 F. XVII. sect. Cuidam no- 
 vitio, qui aflfectabat prioratum. 
 »» M. Paris, 1098. 
 ^ Hasted's Kent, 8vo. viii. 180. 
 ^ Monast. i. 595. 
 
 ' Du Monstier's Neustria Pia, p. 532. 
 " Collinson, iii. 97. 
 
272 
 
 CELLS — GRANGES, 
 
 sometimes as a token of dependence, ^^ 
 and procurations upon the decease of 
 Abbots.^ At Santoft, in the county of 
 Lincoln, a Cell of St. Mary's, York, a 
 mastiff was granted to the Monk to 
 keep his house, a croft for out-door 
 animals, and whatever he could gain by 
 the common marsh, and things sold 
 for his use.c It is singular, that Giral- 
 dus Cambrensis should say that the 
 Cistercians avoided all the bad conse- 
 quences of Cells in the irregularities of 
 their inhabitants, by having none, and 
 remedying all defects by visitors and 
 chapters.^ The Monks used to reap 
 and make hay themselves.^ 
 
 In the rules of St. Victor, the bre- 
 thren who staid at Cells were to be 
 three in every place, if possible, or two 
 at least. In food, and clothing, and 
 the tonsure, they did not vary from the 
 common institution. They kept si- 
 lence at table, and did not speak in the 
 Church. They sung Complin at an 
 early seasonable hour in summer and 
 winter, and did not run about the vil- 
 lage or elsewhere.^ 
 
 A good Prior is recorded for paying 
 more money than his farm amounted 
 
 * Monast. i. 340. ^ Id. ii. 347. 
 <= Id. i. 405. 
 
 '1 Circumspecte vero Cistercienses in liiis et simi- 
 libus cavendis sibi providerunt, dum et cellis per 
 totum ordinem carent, et cuncta supervacanea, et 
 honestati ordinis contraria per visitatores et capitula 
 resecar icurarunt. MS. Cott. Tiber. B. 13. Now 
 Kingswood was considered as a Cell of Tinterne, and 
 so de ceteris. 
 
 * Henry, vi. 175. ^ Du Cange, v. Obedientia. 
 
 to ; for selling the wool well, and mak- 
 ing good Granges. By some regula- 
 tions he was ordered to see that cham- 
 bers and gowns were provided for the 
 use of the Monks who came there by 
 turns for recreation ; and not to erect 
 buildings above a certain cost, except 
 sea-walls, and things of that kind. 
 
 The Nuns too held manors under 
 the care of a Prioress. & 
 
 Granges were the farms and abbatial 
 residences, and parks were often an- 
 nexed to them. Thomas Lord Berke- 
 ley, 18 Edward I. being ill, went to a 
 Grange of the Abbot of St. Augustine's, 
 Canterbury, for change of air, till he 
 recovered. The Abbot's bill came to 
 2d, which the Abbot received.^' Upon 
 the Grange at Cuddesdon, in Oxford- 
 shire, there were, it seems, corn, cattle, 
 common utensils, benches, tables, 
 forms, and '^ a carte, the wheles bound 
 with iron.'^ i The housekeeper, or hos- 
 pit alls f rater grangice, has been already 
 mentioned. 
 
 In a Synod of Cologn, held anno 
 1300, it appears, that persons hung 
 torches and letters annexed, at the gates 
 of Abbies and Granges, in which they 
 threatened fires, homicides, &c. unless a 
 certain sum of money was given them 
 in a limited time.*' 
 
 e W. Thorne, 1931. 2008, c. xxvii. sect. 7. 
 '» Smythe's Berkeley MS. p. 179. 
 i MS. Ilarl. 607. p. 7. a. 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Teda. 
 
SONG-SCHOOL. 
 
 273 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 
 SONG-SCHOOL.* 
 
 "This school, ^^ says Davies, "was 
 built within the Church, and was neatly 
 wain SCO tted within, round about, two 
 yards high, and had a desk from one 
 end of the school to the other to lay 
 their books on. The floor was boarded 
 for warmness, and round about it long 
 forms were fastened in the ground for 
 the children to sit on : and the p^ace 
 where the Master sat and taught was 
 all close boarded for warmness. His 
 office was to teach the six children to 
 sing and play on the organs every prin- 
 cipal day, when the Monks sang their 
 high mass, and at even song ; ^ but 
 when the Monks were at martins, and 
 service at midnight, one of them played 
 on the organ himself and none else. 
 The Master had his chamber adjoining 
 to the song-school, where he lodged, 
 and his diet in the Prior's hall, among 
 the Prior's gentlemen, and his other 
 necessaries were supplied at the com- 
 mon charge." 
 
 Gregory had a whip, with which he 
 threatened the young clerks and sing- 
 ing boys, when they were out, and 
 failed in the notes. They also fasted 
 the day before they were to chant, and 
 constantly ate beans. ^ Erasmus says 
 
 * Musick was so prevalent in the Middle Age, 
 that even tvhistling was a fashion and amusement, 
 being asked for by an Archbishop.* 
 
 '' The Faucetum or pitch-pipe was used in some 
 orders. Cowell, v. Faucetum. 
 
 " Hawkins's Musick, i. 396. 
 
 » Sir R. C. Hoare's Giraldus, ii. 84. 
 
 "We have introduced into the 
 Churches a certain elaborate theatrical 
 species of Music, accompanied with a 
 tumultuous diversity of voices. All is 
 full of trumpets, cornets, pipes, fiddles, 
 and singing. We come to Church as 
 to a Play-house ; and for this purpose 
 ample salaries are expended on organ- 
 ists and societies of boys, whose whole 
 time is wasted in learning to sing. Not 
 to mention the great revenues which 
 the Church squanders away on the sti- 
 pends of singing-men, who are com- 
 monly great drunkards, buffoons, and 
 chosen from the lowest of the people. 
 These fooleries are so agreeable to the 
 Monks, especially in England, that 
 youths, boys, &c. every morning sing 
 to the organ the Mass of the Virgin 
 Mary with the most harmonious modu- 
 lations of voice, and the Bishops are 
 obliged to keep choirs of this sort in 
 their families.^' ^ 
 
 At the singing and grammar-schools 
 of the Convent of Norwich, the mas- 
 ters, after induction by the Archdeacon, 
 generally published the Bishop's inhi- 
 bition, prohibiting all other persons to 
 teach grammar or singing in the city.® 
 Schools were attached to religious 
 houses, as early as the seventh cen- 
 tury.^ 
 
 ^ Warton's Sir T. Pope, 427. 
 
 * Parkins' s Norwich, 269. 
 
 ' Taylor's Index Monast. pref. iii. 
 
274 
 
 COMMON HOUSE, 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 COMMON HOUSE. 
 
 " On the right hand/^ says the same 
 writer, '^ at going out of the cloysters 
 into the infirmary was the Common 
 House. It was instituted to have a 
 fire constantly by day in winter for the 
 use of the Monks, who were allowed no 
 other fire ; but the master and officers 
 of the house had their own several 
 fires. A garden and bowling alley be- 
 longed to the said house, towards the 
 water, for the Novices sometimes to 
 recreate themselves, leave being first 
 granted ; their master attending to see 
 to their good order. In this house 
 once in the year, betwixt Martinmas 
 and Christmas,^ the master of it kept 
 
 » Dec. 14th. Du Cange says,— "The ^w^2>Ao«« 
 majores de O, : the Antiphonars beginning by the 
 interjection O, which are sung seven days before the 
 Nativity of Christ." See too Cowell, v. 0. 
 
 his O sapientia, a solemn banquet, at 
 which the Prior and Convent were en- 
 tertained with figs, raisins, ale, and 
 cakes, but not to superfluity or excess. 
 Here, with the Prior's leave, they 
 warmed themselves when needful. 
 
 Du Cange calls Pyrale the Con- 
 ventual Hypocaust or fire place, in 
 which the Chapter was celebrated, and 
 where the rod of discipline was hung 
 up [over the fire-place]. Eckhard has 
 this passage : " being tied to a pillar of 
 the Pyralis, he was severely beaten 
 with rods.*' ^ The Chapter and Com- 
 mon House were certainly, however, 
 distinct rooms, at least in most Abbies. 
 
 b Du Cange, v. Pyralis. 
 
MINTS — EXCHEQUER. 
 
 27 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 MINTS EXCHEQUER. 
 
 The Abbatial Mints, of early Saxon 
 origin, had the stamps given them to 
 coin with as incident to that privilege, 
 which in some houses was soon lost.a 
 The Abbot placed a keeper over it.b 
 In a charter of Reading Abbey it seems 
 the money was coined there at the Ab- 
 bot's expence, and sent to the Exche- 
 quer.c 
 
 Exchequer, At Ely was a chamber 
 with a square table in it for calcula- 
 tion.d It was also called Counting- 
 room; or Cubiculum computaiorium.^ 
 Gervase of Tilbury describes an Exche- 
 quer Table as square, about ten feet 
 long and five broad, covered with a 
 black clock, divided by stripes in the 
 manner of a chess-board/ Summing, 
 for want of the Arabick numerals, being 
 a most difficult process, this cloth was 
 for the arithmetical process by count- 
 ers, of which the Monks struck several, 
 still known by the name of Abbey 
 Pieces, Mr. Pinkerton gives some 
 account of the process, but it applies to 
 one method only. One was, where the 
 
 » Leake's Historical Account of English Money, 
 pp. 17. 50. 
 
 " Dec. Script. 1816. c id. 92. 
 
 d Angl. Sacr. i. 646. « Id. i. 779. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Saccarium. 
 
 table had six lines. 1. Units, 2. Tens^ 
 3. Hundreds, 4. Thousands, 5. Ten- 
 thousands, 6. Hundred-thousands. 
 Where there were no lines, there were 
 set in their stead, " so many counters 
 as shall need, for each line one.'^ In the 
 Merchanfs Method, the lowest line 
 served for pence, the next above for 
 shillings, the third for pounds, the 
 fourth for scores of pounds ; the space 
 between was never occupied but by one 
 counter, which above the pence signi- 
 ged Qd. above the shillings 10^. above 
 the pounds £\0, The Auditor's Me- 
 thod made one counter at the left of a 
 line signify 5, at the right lO.s Before 
 counters, stones were used, the Augrim 
 stones of Chaucer,^' the \i^r](l>oL and cal- 
 culi of the Greeks and Romans, and 
 the use of them was the first arith- 
 metick taught to their children. Upon 
 a bas-relief of the Capitol is a Trajan 
 and Plotina ; near them is an Abacus in 
 the hands of a young man, upon which 
 are placed ranks of counters.* 
 
 g Mellis's Ground of Arts, b. 1. 1632. The in- 
 structions occupy 43 pages. 
 
 ^ Astle's Writing, 183. 
 
 • Diog. Laert. Solon, 39. Juven. xi. 131. Cay- 
 lus, Rec. vii. pi. 7. No. 3, 4, et alii. 
 
 T 2 
 
276 
 
 KITCHEN. 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 
 KITCHEN. 
 
 Galbert, in the Life of Charles Earl 
 of Flanders^a says, that the Church of 
 St. Donatian was built round, and high 
 roofed, with bricks and earthen mate- 
 rials only that fire might not burn it. 
 The Kitchen of Glastonbury, and others, 
 was octagonal, had no wood about it, 
 and the smoke escaped, or rather steam, 
 either by concealed chimnies or from a 
 turret in the roof. At Stanton-Har- 
 court were shutters above, which were 
 opened or shut according to the direc- 
 tion of the wind.'^ 
 
 Kitchens anciently were much larger 
 concerns than at present; as will ap- 
 pear from the following details of their 
 departments and apparatus. 
 
 A large Paste ry with five ovens new 
 built, some of them fourteen feet 
 deep.*^ 
 
 A great Kitchen with four ranges, 
 and a boiling place for small boiled 
 meats .<! 
 
 A Boihng House for the great 
 boiler.e 
 
 Bellows: for in the thirteenth cen- 
 tury there were bellows-blowers in 
 royal kitchens, who were also to take 
 care, when the soup was on the fire, 
 that it was neither burnt nor smoked.^ 
 
 Dresser. A term out of the Kitchen, 
 given to the sideboard, furnished with 
 plate.g 
 
 Trigoni, Versatile Gibbets for hang- 
 ing cauldrons over the fire.^ 
 
 Perpendicula, Handles or chains, by 
 which cauldrons were carried.^ 
 
 Copper and Brazen Vessels, tinned as 
 
 » N. 62. ^ Grose. 
 
 «= Nichols's Progresses, 3. This was the common 
 size of even public ovens. 
 
 d Nichols, ubi supra. ^ Nichols, ubi supra. 
 
 t Joinville, i. 409. 
 
 » Du Cange, v. Dressorum, Dretectorium. 
 
 h Du Cange. 
 
 i Thus an old Poet in Du Cange, 
 
 ** Cum perpendiculo defertancillalebetim." 
 
 now.^ The Romans lined theirs with 
 silver. 
 
 Kitchen Towels,^ 
 
 Irons, in the fire-places for a prodi- 
 gious number of spits and stoves."^ 
 
 Large Chopping-blocks,^ 
 
 Massy wooden tables, hollowed out 
 into a sortof basons, by way of kneading 
 troughs for pastry, o 
 
 Poker and Tongs, Tongs, as now, 
 but larger : the poker, called fire-forke, 
 ended in a fork.? 
 
 The process of malting is of classical 
 antiquity ; ^ and in the Brewhouses were 
 coppers, mash-vats, leaden troughs (in- 
 stead of wooden coolers), set in the 
 ground or on curbes, &c.'^ 
 
 In a Manuscript in the Ashmole Mu- 
 seum, No. 1519. fol. 141. b. is the fol- 
 lowing inventory of the minor culinary 
 articles, viz, "In coquind, two pannes, a 
 kettell, a littil pot, a bassen, a bassen 
 with holis [i, e, a colander], a chawfer, 
 a bras mortar and pestell, a chawfing 
 dish, two spetis, a brandlet [and-iron], 
 a skimmer, and a laddell of latten, xi 
 platters, xi dishes, vii sawcers [sauce- 
 pans], four potts, a great pann, ii rakis 
 [racks], ii gridiryns, bufet, tongs, fire- 
 forke [poker], tray, pott for sauces,^' 
 Jack [with wheels in Dugd. Monast. 
 Eccl. Coll. iii. 186.] 
 
 Udalrick, in the customs of the 
 Clugniacks, mentions sleeves used in the 
 Kitchen, lest the shirts of the brethren 
 should be dirtied; and gloves, that 
 they might not burn their hands in 
 moving the caldron on the fire.^ Ber- 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Stagnatus. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Torsorium Culince. 
 
 "» Britton's Architect. Antiq. ii. 78. " Ibid. 
 
 ° Ibid. P Id. ii. p. 99. 
 
 1 Du Cange, v. Torra. 
 
 "■ Du Cange, v. Tap-troughe. Warton's Sir T. 
 Pope, 372. 
 
 s Consuetud. 1. 2. The Nuns who cooked, had 
 each a glass of wine on account of the work.* 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Merus. 
 
KITCHEN. 
 
 277 
 
 nard, speaking of the same Order, says, 
 tliat the Kitchen was swept clean with 
 brooms every Saturday after Nones or 
 Vespers ; and that, when the bell rung 
 for putting on their shoes, the Monks 
 walked into the Kitchen, to wash their 
 hands and faces, and comb themselves.* 
 Visitation injunctions order no one 
 to enter the kitchen or cellar to eat 
 there ; ^ and the Sempringham rule for 
 the Nuns the same, with dispensation 
 only to the Prsecentrix, to smooth the 
 table, warm the ink, the Nuns Writers 
 to dry the parchment, and the Sacrist 
 to light the candle, or for other pur- 
 poses (except the Cooks, or Infirmaress 
 on duty) ; nor the former, when there 
 was fire enough in the calefactory or 
 common house. The wood for the 
 Kitchen, water, herbs, and other neces- 
 saries, were found by certain Lay-bro- 
 thers and the Gardener, and the care of 
 it was in the Nun-kitchener and Lay- 
 sisters, who did the drudgery work.c 
 A visitation injunction directs a hatche 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Peripsima, Pexere. 
 ^ Et nullus coquinamseu cellarium ingredi audeat, 
 aut in eis comedere. MS. ut. sup. f. 26. b. 
 «= Monast.ii. 768. 9. 
 
 with iron spikes to be made, in order to 
 prevent the entrance of strange people.** 
 A servant of the Almoner's attended 
 here daily to collect the alms.e 
 
 Fat pigs were killed in the winter as 
 now.*^ 
 
 At St. Alban's there were fifty-three 
 farms devoted to the Kitchen, every 
 one of which was valued at forty-six 
 shillings per annum, A certain part 
 was devoted to nine carriers, who 
 brought provisions from London ; and 
 the rest divided between the Cellarers 
 of the Monks and the household. To 
 these were added allowances from other 
 manors ; the odd or fifty-third week 
 was devoted to the culinary uten- 
 sils. Similar regulations obtained else- 
 where. The above Abbey had also a 
 house at Yarmouth to lay up fish, 
 especially herrings, for the use of the 
 Convent.^ 
 
 Our ancestors at Martinmas salted 
 vast loads of provisions for winter. 
 
 ^ Monast, ii. 896. 
 
 e MS. Cott. Claud. B. vi. 204 a. 
 
 ' ** More sues proprio mactat December 
 adultos." Chroniques d'Idace MS. Notices, v. 
 231. (nth cent.) 
 
 i M.Paris, 1007, 1057. 
 
278 
 
 BAKEHOUSE, 
 
 CHAPTER LVL 
 
 BAKEHOUSE, 
 
 The manner of preparing the Host 
 is curious. The care of making it lay 
 with the Infirmarer. The corn^ if 
 possible, was to be selected grain by 
 grain. Then being put into a clean bag^ 
 made of good cloth, and used for this 
 purpose only, it was carried to the mill 
 by a servant of good character. When 
 brought there, the servant saw that 
 some other corn was ground first, that 
 the flour for the Host might not be 
 polluted with any fretts from the mill. 
 When the flour was brought home, the 
 Sacrist was to put a curtain round the 
 vessel and place where the flour was 
 to be boultedj and provide a trusty per- 
 son to do this work. One of the ser- 
 vants sprinkled the flour upon a very 
 clean table with water, and moulded 
 and kneaded it. The servant who held 
 the irons, in which the Host was 
 baked, had his hands covered with 
 rochets ; and also while the Host was 
 making and baking ; silence was also 
 observed during the same processes. 
 The man, however, who held the iron, 
 might, if necessary, make short indica- 
 tions to the servant who made the fire 
 and brought the wood, which was to 
 be very dry, and prepared on purpose 
 many days before.^ 
 
 " The Host,'' says Du Cange, " be- 
 fore consecration was called Oblata'' 
 These Oblatce, not consecrated, though 
 blessed on the altar, were given by the 
 Priest, before food in the Refectory, to 
 those Monks who had not received the 
 Sacrament. Oblatse of this kind were 
 in the earliest ages made in an iron 
 mould, called by the French Ohlie, of a 
 small pattern, in the form of money : 
 and these, as well as the Host, were 
 
 » Tyndal's Evesham, p. 185, 
 
 made of the purest flour by the Monks 
 themselves, with stated ceremonies and 
 prayers, in a mould, marked with cha- 
 racters.^ Sometimes pious matrons, 
 whom they used to call Sanctimonia, 
 undertook the office of making them, 
 which was without leaven. These un- 
 consecrated Oblatcs, there is reason to 
 think, were sometimes placed upon 
 the bosoms of the dead. They were 
 baked in a clibanus, or oven. The 
 Oblata was a name from thence given 
 to very fine bread made of flour and 
 water, baked at a fire, in iron presses.*^ 
 The Host, before consecration, was 
 cut in the form of a cross, by an espe- 
 cial knife,^ and the vessels in which 
 it was preserved made in the form 
 of small towers.*^ The Host was mys- 
 tically divided into nine parts, 
 called Gloria, &c.^ It was deemed he- 
 resy to make the Host of fermented 
 bread.s 
 
 Loaves called Eulogies, were conse- 
 crated before taking food, or dinner, 
 by Bishops and Priests, and sent to 
 Friends or Visitors in token of Com- 
 munion; they were also taken when 
 parties had disagreed, and were recon- 
 ciled. 
 
 At Christmas the people offered 
 loaves to the Priest, from Leviticus 
 (chapter 22), '^ You shall offer two 
 loaves to the Priest,^' &c. 
 
 Loaves made in some countries in 
 the form of a wedge, and composed of 
 finer flour, eggs, and milk, were pre- 
 sented at Christmas by Tenants to 
 their Landlords.^ 
 
 ^ Ferramento characterato. 
 
 «^ Du Cange, v. Oblata, 
 
 ^ Ibid. V. Lancea. e Ibid. v. Turres, 
 
 ^ Ibid. V. Gloria, s Ibid. v. Panis, 
 
 ^' Ibid. V. Fanis. 
 
GARDEN. 
 
 270 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 GARDEN. 
 
 Turs place had arbours, and abound- 
 ed with fruit-trees and herbs proper for 
 making salves." The Anglo-Saxon 
 Gardens had cabbage-beds, commonly 
 called wyrt-heds^ and the Gardener 
 called Leac-weardy^LVi^ Orceard-weard ; 
 whence leeks were probably much in 
 use, and orchards not infrequent.*^ The 
 Gardens made by the Romans were 
 also preserved ;d and the Anglo- 
 Saxons much esteemed those in the su- 
 burbs of towns.e Upon new building 
 the latter, gardens were assigned to the 
 tenements.^ Apples, Pears, Beans, 
 and other esculents grew in them ; & 
 and pot-herbs [not allowed to be pick- 
 ed upon Sunday] were plucked up by a 
 wooden instrument.^* John of Salis- 
 bury mentions Flower-gardens, and 
 others viridaria, where trees and whole- 
 some herbs were planted.^ Our ances- 
 tors not only promenaded in their gar- 
 dens,'^ but played at chess in them '} 
 and slept in them, after dinner, in 
 the open air, upon a pillow.m A walk 
 in them after morning mass, or din- 
 ner, was common. There were grass 
 plats near houses, where the sick 
 walked to have a purer air from the ex- 
 halation of the flowers of the herbs." 
 " This done,'^ (Prime) says an old 
 Monk, " we are sent to work in a gar- 
 den, to work and delve for near two 
 hours more ;" » and I find orders, ^^ that 
 the Brothers do work in the gardens 
 
 • Wart. i. 301. 455. «> Lye, v. Bedd, 
 
 «= Ibid. d X. Script. 1165. 
 
 « X. Script. 1248. M. Paris, 993. 
 
 ' Script, p. Bed. 515. b. 
 
 K Turner's Anglo-Saxons, iii. 63, 64. X. Scrip- 
 tor. 2093. i» Dugdale's Monast. i. 91. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Areola— Florarium—Lilietura. 
 
 ^ For exercise or pleasure. XV. Script. 426. 
 M. Paris, 682. i J. Rous, 207. 
 
 "» Neubrigens. p. 11. Script, p. Bed. 398. b. 
 
 » Ibid. 155. b. ° Desid. Curiosa, i. 231. 
 
 from morning till Vespers/^ P But 
 these were peculiarities of certain 
 orders ; and the uses the Monks made 
 of them, foreign to their obvious one, 
 for esculents (and medical herbs), 
 were to walk in ; <i exhibit shows in 
 them ;•* and have drinkings and dis- 
 courses there.s Gardens of Priors and 
 Cellarers are mentioned ; t and the 
 Monks of Mailross had private gar- 
 dens. The Visitors say to the Abbot, 
 that they heard he permitted " from 
 the year last past, his Monks to 
 have portions," pensions, and private 
 gardens, against their injunctions.^^ 
 The religious begged a dispensation 
 for these indulgences, and promised to 
 distribute the remainder of their por- 
 tions, as seemed fit for them. The 
 Visitors permitted it upon these, among 
 other conditions, that no one Monk 
 should have more than another; that 
 there should be no passage from gar- 
 den to garden ; and that they should 
 not keep a servant beyond a year.x 
 The garden had a cross in it.y The 
 best fruit-trees in Scotland are found 
 in the gardens of the religious houses. 
 
 P Ut fratres k mane usque ad vesperas faciant 
 opera in ortis. MS. ut sup. 1519. f. 37. a. The 
 house is styled /S'. Radgunde, of Prsemonstraten- 
 sians perhaps. According to the Statutes, adds the 
 Visitation. i Hist. Rames, C. Ix. 
 
 ' Ne fratres ad nuptias transeant (let not the 
 Brothers atten weddings), sive gardinio spectacla 
 de (setero exerceant (of Cokersand). MS. ut sup. 
 p. ]21. a. Burial grounds were the most usual 
 places. See Archaeoi. xiii. 237. 
 
 * Inhibemus potaciones sive discursus in ortis 
 fieri. Id. MS. f. 37. a. 
 
 * X. Script. 2056. Monast. ii. 936. 
 
 ° Parcels of tythes given to farm (Lyndw. 167.) 
 Separate revenues. Monast i. 297. 
 
 * Ab anno jam elapso porciones, pensiones, ac 
 hortos particulares, contra dictse chartee tenorem, 
 &c. hoc tamen servato, quod nemo fratrum ultra 
 annum servitorem retineat. MS. Harl.2363. f. 
 i — vi. 
 
 r Warton's Hist, of English Poetry, i. p. 3016. 
 
280 
 
 GARDEN 
 
 and they are all planted on circular 
 causeways of flat grounds.* 
 
 Aubrey, speaking of the Nunnery 
 of Kington St. Michael, co. Wilts^ says, 
 " In the old hedges belonging to this 
 Priory, and in the hedge of the Priory 
 Downe, are yet a great number of bar- 
 berry trees, which it is likely the Nuns 
 
 • Newte's Tour, p. 156. 
 
 used for confection, which art they 
 taught the young ladies that were 
 brought up there : for in those dayes 
 the women were bred at nunneries ; no 
 such school as Hackney or * * * 
 for women till since the Reforma- 
 tion.b" 
 
 Britton's Beauties of Wilts, iii. 155. 
 
ABBEY GATE — DOVECOTE, &C. 
 
 281 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 * 
 
 ABBEY GATE DOVECOTE, &C. 
 
 Thomas RuTHALL^Bishopof Durham, 
 repaired the Abbey Gate, with the cell 
 of the Porter, in which he slept, and 
 over them made a Chapel, where all 
 the Lay-men assembled twice a day to 
 hear Mass, which was celebrated by 
 Priests deputed by the Prior and Con- 
 vent, and in the same building was a 
 chamber in which the Priest slept.^ 
 This custom of Mass for workmen was 
 not unusual elsewhere. 
 
 Dovecote, This, at Bredsall, con- 
 sisted of four hollow truncated hexago- 
 nal cones, from a larger to a smaller 
 size, placed one above another, and 
 with a little turret at top.^ They were 
 distinct allocations. The Dovecote 
 near the capital messuage of Tatter- 
 wyke, called Turneyes Court, was let 
 separately.*^ 
 
 Besides the offices treated of in this 
 
 » Angl. Sacr. i. THl. 
 
 ** Topograph. Miscel. vol. i. where is a plate of it. 
 
 * Registr. Abbat. de Bath. MS. Harl. 3970. 
 
 and the preceding chapters, there were, 
 Vaccaria, or Cow-house, under an of- 
 ficer, subject to the Kitchener, where 
 none were to go without the abbatial 
 licence ; ^ shoemakers' and other arti- 
 ficers' shops ; necessary and modern 
 offices ; stables, of which that for the 
 guests at St. Alban^s was large, to con- 
 tain nearly 300 horses, which animals 
 the Monks kept in excellent condi- 
 tion ; ^ (it had a lamp burning in it all 
 night) ;^ bathing-houses ; kilns, and 
 others, of which the names alone explain 
 the use, and it is needless for me to 
 speak. 
 
 ^ Sine abbatis licentid exeuntes ad vaccariam, 
 sive ad alium quemcunque locum deinceps apos- 
 tatas decrevimus. MS. Ashm. Mus. 1519. f. 
 71. b. Cow pastures were of great use in pro- 
 viding aliments for the younger Monks. M. Par. 
 1002. Si mal^ administraveri de vaccatione [vac- 
 carius], coquinario incumbit emendare. MSS. 
 Cott. Claud. B. VI. p. 200. b. 
 
 e M. Paris, 737. Athon. 143. pi. ap. Fuller, 
 B. vi. 
 
 f M. Paris, 1035. 
 
282 
 
 SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 SACRISTY VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 
 
 Double Vestries adjoining the Altar 
 are mentioned ; in one, the garments 
 and Ceimelia of the Church were pre- 
 served; in the other, the priests at- 
 tended to reading the sacred Books. 
 What we should call Vestries were also 
 the Secretaria or Sacristies, where 
 Councils and Consistories were held, 
 and the Priests sometimes resided. At 
 Gloucester, the ancient Vestiary for 
 the Church-robes is a series of stone 
 closets, formed of Gothic arches front- 
 ed with iron lattices, at one end of a 
 transept ; but the clothes of the Monks 
 were, if not in their chambers in the 
 Dormitory, certainly deposited in a place 
 called Vestiaria, perhaps the same as 
 the particular room, sometimes under 
 the Dormitory, called Pisalis, and espe- 
 cially used for a Wardrobe.^ 
 
 Eustathius, condemned in the Gan- 
 gran Council, was the first Author of 
 the vestments of Monks.^ The Hood 
 and Tunick were intended to represent 
 the six wings of the Cherubim, viz. the 
 hood two, the sleeves two others, and 
 the body part completed the number.^ 
 Notwithstanding varieties of fashion, 
 the articles were but few, and by the 
 following description every habit may 
 be easily identified. 
 
 Mantle or Cloak, A large mantle, 
 like a modern dragoon's cloak, without 
 sleeves.^ A hood is commonly at- 
 tached. It was the same in Nuns. 
 (See the Plate, fig. 1.) 
 
 Cowl, is simply a hood; but is ap- 
 plied by Stevens, &c. to a gown, with 
 large loose sleeves like a counsellor's 
 gown. (See fig. 2.) 
 
 Rochet. Simply two strips hanging 
 before and behind (see f^g. 3), open at 
 the sides. See also Tabard, p. 284. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Secretarium, Pisalis, Vestiaria. 
 ^ Le Vseu de Jacob, 827- 
 •= Reyner, 76. D'Emilliane, 223, et alii. 
 '' Du Cange, v. Cuciilla, culla. 
 
 Scapulary, a sleeveless tunick, which 
 sat close to the skin^ (see fig. 4), not- 
 withstanding other definitions of it. 
 It signified armour against the devil,^ 
 and was given to the Monks that they 
 might spare their cloaks, when at 
 work.s 
 
 Wimple, A dress covering the neck 
 and coming close under the chin (see 
 fig. 5). Of this hereafter, p. 284. 
 
 Canon's Cap, see fig. 6. 
 
 Tunicks. Under garments, in the 
 fashion of shirts (sometimes with 
 sleeves, like those of coats), only sitting 
 closer to the body. They resembled 
 a mail-jacket in form, the longer reach- 
 ing to the ancles, the shorter to the 
 knees. The Anglo-Saxon Monks wore 
 both these under the cowl.^ 
 
 Frock, a long and ample gown with 
 sleeves. i It mystically signified the 
 protection of God.^ 
 
 Stamin. The Benedictines, instead 
 of a penitentiary hair shirt,i used what 
 Davies calls Stamins, i. e. shirts made 
 of woollen and linen. Perhaps it was 
 the same same as the inner tunick ; for 
 some orders, as the Franciscan, wore 
 only a woollen tunick next the skin.°* 
 
 Breeches, The Highland Campestre, 
 or fillibeg, was probably the Celtick 
 dress of the British Monks, for the 
 Irish in the 14th century did not wear 
 breeches. n The fillibeg occurs in later 
 orders,© as do Stockings and Breeches 
 in one piece among the Anglo-Saxon 
 Monks,P and Breeches.^ 
 
 c Specimen Monachologiae, Tab. ii. fig. 9 to 13. 
 f D'Emilliane' s Monastical Orders, p. 223. 
 s Du Cange, v. Scapulare. 
 
 ^ Stnitt's Dresses, i. 65. Kirtles were kinds of 
 tunicks often substituted for shirts. Id. ii. 349. 
 * Du Cange, v. Cuculla, culla. 
 ^ D'Emilliane, ubi supra. 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Staminea. 
 "* Specimen Monachologiae, p. 20. 
 n Froissart, x. 161. 
 «* Specimen Monachologiae, plates, 
 p Strutt, i. 65. 1 Du Cange, v. Infirmitates. 
 
Judinttjnt^. 
 
 MOKASTICK COSTUJME . 
 
SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 
 
 283 
 
 Stockings were usual.^ 
 
 Boots, Leathern Boot-stockings 
 were worn by Cuthbert,^ and they ap- 
 pear to have given rise to all boots,<^ 
 which were first substituted for Sotu- 
 laritty fastened with thongs, in the 12th 
 century at St. Alban's,d from superior 
 convenience in more expeditious dress- 
 ing, not soihng the hands in putting on, 
 &c. The Abbotts boot, hke the sign 
 of the leg, was no doubt like that of 
 Henry VI. engraved in Whitaker^s 
 Cravren Deanery (p. 106), buttoned up 
 the side as now gaiters. 
 
 Shoes, Socks, Shoes occur in some 
 orders/ and Slippers or Socks ^ made 
 of feltjff for day or night. The old Irish 
 Monks wore Brogues.^ Shoe-cleaning 
 was strictly enjoined, and was done by 
 a man on purpose, called Frico,^ The 
 process merely consisted in washing 
 them, and then applying soap, grease, 
 or other unctuous materials.^ Black- 
 ing is first mentioned in the 16th cen- 
 tury. We then hear of " a pair of 
 pumps on his feet, with a cross, cut at 
 the toes for corns, not nue indeed, but 
 cleanly blakt with soot, and shining 
 like a shoeing horn.'^^ It was proba- 
 bly brought from Italy : for it is said, 
 that the shoes of the Neapolitan Fac- 
 tors upon the exchange in London 
 shone with blacking.'" 
 
 Ctoffs. Pattens or ironed Socks, from 
 noise, were forbidden to certain ca- 
 nons,^ and Bishop Jewel mentions 
 some Monks and Friars stalking upon 
 paten s.o Pattens were not usually 
 worn by men.P One Rule orders 
 wooden clogs, lest the bed-clothes 
 should be soiled by dirty feet.^ 
 
 Knife. 
 
 Among the Grandmontines 
 
 * Du Cangc, v. Pedules. ^ Id. v. Tibrucus, 
 " Id. V. Osa. ^ M. Paris, 1044. 
 
 * Specimen Monachologise, Tab. iii. fig. 7. 
 ' Du Cange, v. Nocturnales, Diurnales. 
 
 8 Sometimes at least. Du Cange, v. Feltrum, 
 Veltro. ^ Id. v. Fico. 
 
 * Id. V. Frico. 
 
 ^ XV. Scriptor. 260. Du Cange, v. Sajto-Sevum, 
 
 ^ Nichols's Progresses, ii. 31. 
 
 "» Howell's Letters, 55. 
 
 " Du Cange, v. Patinus. 
 
 ° Defence of his Apology, p. 322. 
 
 P Antiq. Repert. ii. 275. 
 
 1 Du Cange, v. Cuajjus, 
 
 it was worn with a steel, and without 
 ornament.*" Folding knives are an- 
 cient.^ 
 
 Comb, We hear of ivory combs,* 
 but the Grandmontine were to be of 
 horn, and the case of small value." 
 Among the Romans they were'^ made 
 of box or ivory ; and both among them, 
 and in the middle ages, they were 
 adorned with bas-reliefs between the 
 rows of teeth, which were, as now, of 
 unequal size,y sometimes with only 
 studs .2 The ancient Germans made 
 combs of horse-tail.^^ The Britons had 
 combs.^^ The ivory was partly gilt in 
 some instances,^'^ and that material 
 formed the comb used by the Clerks 
 and Monks before officiating at Mass.^^l 
 St. Neot's comb was two fingers broad, 
 made of a small bone, with the teeth 
 of fish, inserted like those of the jaws of 
 the sea- wolf.ee \Ye also hear of a '^ faire 
 kemb, with a spoonge deintly dipt in a 
 Httle capon^s grease,'' which made the 
 hair shine, like a mallard^s wing.f^ 
 Neglect of combing the hair was deem • 
 ed by the Romans a token of military 
 bravery,bg and it was not usual here 
 every day till the Anglo-Norman 
 times,^^ except among the Danes, who 
 were great fops in this respect. After- 
 wards it was deemed a great luxury to 
 have the hair combed,^^ and thought 
 essential to have it well done.^^ 
 
 Handkerchief, Of Roman ^ and An- 
 glo-Saxon"^"^ origin, was worn on the 
 left side.^n 
 
 Needle-case, occurs in the Grand- 
 
 ' Marteni Anecdota, iv. Col. 1234. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Investitura. 
 
 * Id. V. Pecten. "^ Marten, ubi supra. 
 
 * Martial, Apophor. xxv. Juven. v. s. 14. 1. 195. 
 y Montfaucon, Supplem. iii. c. 5. Archseologia, 
 
 XV. pi. xli. * Strutt's Dresses, pi. xci. 
 
 »» Plin. ix. 45. 
 
 '''' Nennius in XV. Scriptor. 108. 
 
 " Id. 229. 781. d'» Du Cange, v. Pecten, &c. 
 
 " Leland's Collect, iii. 13. 
 
 '' Nichols's Progresses, i. 30. 
 
 w Juven. ubi supra. *»•» Eadm. 23. 
 
 " Joinville, i. 350. Froissart, v. 21. 
 
 '''' Du Cange, v. Pecten. 
 
 " Apul. Oper. ii. 57, 59, 60. Ed. Biss. Suet, in 
 Nero, xxii. Juvenal, iv. Sat. xi. v. 193. 
 
 •""* Du Cange, v. Facitergiuniy Sudarium, Muc- 
 cinium, &c. 
 
 "" Fuller's Church Hist. B. vi. p. 290. Du 
 Cange, v. Mappula, 
 
284 
 
 SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 
 
 montine rule before quoted. It was 
 usual for all persons to carry them, in 
 order to take up loose stitches, &c.^ 
 
 Girdles, ought to have been leather 
 straps, sometimes mere ropes. There 
 was great abuse in wearing fur or silk 
 girdles, adorned with gold or silver.^ 
 
 Reliquaries, Relicks enclosed in 
 little crosses, boxes, &c. were divided 
 by the Sacrist, among the Monks, to 
 be worn suspended from the neck.^ 
 
 Tippets, Tippets were garments of 
 both sexes, worn about the neck, 
 which, though often narrow, in the end 
 became so large, that they soon sup- 
 plied the place of mantles.*^ 
 
 Tabards, were garments covering the 
 front of the body and back, but open 
 on both sides :e it is difficult to distin- 
 guish this robe from the Rochet, which 
 was sometimes without sleeves, and 
 open on the sides. Indeed the Rochet 
 was only a sleeved Tabard sewed up a 
 short way under the arm-pits.^ 
 
 Head-coverings. Among the Monks 
 this was the hood, but Canons had a 
 particular cap ^ or bonnet, resembling 
 that worn by the Scots.^ 
 
 » Stnitt's Dresses, pi. 132. 
 
 ^ Zonam de serico cum apparatu argenteo. MS. 
 Harl. 1005, f. 69. b. Forbidden, MS. Harl. 328, 
 f. 9. and by canons. 
 
 •= Du Cange, v. Nuxa, Capsa. 
 
 ^ Stnitt's Dresses, ii. 377. 
 
 e Id. p. 151. ' Id. 373 and plates. 
 
 9 This was an ancient difference of costume 
 from Monks. Rejrner, 76. 
 
 •» St. Louis fastened his bonnet with a ribband, 
 tied in a bow in front ; whence originated Cockades, 
 Maillot, iii. 109, pi. xxxv. f. 2. 
 
 £^ 
 
 Tonsure, The Tonsure signified the 
 crown of thorns worn by our Saviour,^ 
 and also denoted humility, and the 
 service of God, slaves being shorn ; ^ 
 but though the Westerns used a small 
 circle of short hair round the head, 
 called the Tonsure of St. Peter, some 
 orders had dropped it in the 14th cen- 
 tury.! Various Tonsures appear : 
 
 1. The hair preserved with only a 
 bald spot upon the crown of the head. 
 
 2. A bristly head with a small circle. 
 
 3. Shorn, with a hemisphere of hair. 
 
 4. Shorn, with a continuous circle of 
 hair. 
 
 5. Shorn, with an interrupted circle.«i 
 
 The Nuns had similar habits, except 
 in some rules. 
 
 Filches,^ i. e. Petticoats, and 
 Veils. Wimples, The first is well 
 known ; the latter is the habit which 
 comes up to the chin, and covers the 
 bosom. The two were sometimes 
 united ; sometimes one was substituted 
 for the other.o The Wimple, accord- 
 ing to Strutt, appeared about the 1 2th 
 century .P 
 
 ' D'Emilliane, ubi supra. 
 
 ^ Maillot, Costumes, iii. 16. 
 
 1 Id. iii. 16. 139. 
 
 "* Specimen Monachologise, Tab. i. fig. 1 to 5. 
 See Reyner, 112. 
 
 " From Pellicium, a garment made of skins, or 
 furs, but the skins of lambs or sheep only allowed 
 to the nuns. The same as Tippets in the first co- 
 lumn of this page. 
 
 ** Strutt, pi. 40. Cotgrave, v. Guimple. 
 
 P MaiUot, iii. 118, 121, 134, 175. 
 
SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 
 
 285 
 
 In the preceding Plate, Fig. 1, is St. 
 Radegonde from Mezeray in Maillot 
 (vol. iii. pi. iii. fig. 7)^ to illustrate the 
 Veil and Wimple of a British Nun in 
 the sixth century. 
 
 Fig. 2, is St. Bathilde in the seventh 
 century, from the same Writers (vol. 
 iii. pi. vi. fig. 5), for the like illustration. 
 
 Fig. 3, is a Hermit's Costume, from 
 a wood-cut in the Golden Legend, 
 printed in 1503. 
 
 In a Manuscript communicated by 
 Mr. Nichols is the following passage 
 concerning Abbots' Mitres, When Ab- 
 bots began to wear the Mitre, the 
 Bishops complained bitterly, that their 
 privileges were invaded by the Monks, 
 and they were shocked, above all, that 
 there was no distinction between them 
 in the Councils and Synods. On this 
 occasion. Pope Clement IV. ordered 
 that Abbots should wear the Mitre 
 embroidered with gold only, and leave 
 
 precious stones for Bishops. This law 
 was not observed. See p. 293. 
 
 There were great abuses of dress 
 among the Monasticks, but two singu- 
 larities shall only be adduced. The first 
 is mentioned by Petrarch, and in part 
 at least applies to the religious. " Who 
 can see,'' says he, " with patience, 
 hoods with wings, peruques with tails 
 toupees ; men frizzed up with ivory- 
 headed pins, such as the women put 
 in their hair ; and bellies confined with 
 stays (ressorts), a species of torture 
 which was imposed on the martyrs ?"» 
 Aldhelm, speaking of Nuns, says, that 
 they had not only Acus Discriminates, 
 or Hair-bodkins, but Trinkets hanging 
 from the neck, ornamented with cres- 
 cents, set with jewels, and smelling- 
 bottles, or boxes^ The excesses of the 
 Monks are regularly catalogued by 
 Reyner, ^ and the secular Clergy are 
 thus reprobated in an old song : 
 
 '' Ye poope holy Prestis full of presumpcion, 
 With your wyde furrid hodes, voyd of discretion, 
 Unto your owyn preching of contrary condicion. 
 Which causith the people to lesse devocion. 
 
 ^^ Avaunced by symony in cetees and townys. 
 
 Make shorter your taylis and broder your crownis, 
 
 Leve your short stuffide doubelettes and your pleyted gownis. 
 
 And kepe your own bowsing, and passe not your boundis.*'<l 
 
 The names of the Monks were sewed 
 in their frocks, hoods, shirts, and 
 breeches ; ^ and the clothes were also 
 pronounced in danger of ^* being cor- 
 rupte and spylte by reason of moths, 
 or any other chaunse, if they were not 
 beaten and layde abrode."^ The old 
 ones were given to the poor, or sold if 
 the Convent was in debt.^ According 
 to Wolsey's Decretals, the garments 
 were to be cleaned by some of the Ca- 
 nons, and a fuller on purpose ; and the 
 washing was done by a lay-brother, 
 
 • Memoires, iii. 675. 
 
 •* Olfactoriola Nardi. Du Cange (v. Matricu- 
 lariij has the passage. 
 
 «= Append. 105. ^ MS. Harl. 372, fol. 113. 
 
 «■ Custumale Roffense, 31, 32. 
 ^ MS. Bodl. 3010 (De vita Monachorum). 
 B Lyndw. 205. 
 
 suited to this work.^ The admission of 
 women for washing has been already 
 mentioned, as well as the Taylor's shop 
 for mending. By the Gilbertine Rule 
 the washing and mending were to be 
 done by the Lay-sisters.^ 
 
 Instead of ironing, the clothes were 
 polished by a glass cylinder, called a 
 Lischa.k Heated irons are recent. 
 Large stones inscribed with a Scripture 
 text were used about the reigns of Eli- 
 zabeth and the first James.l One of 
 these was in the Museum of the late 
 Sir Ashton Lever. 
 
 »• Dugdale's Monast. ii. 566. 
 
 ' Fol. 720, 762. " Du Cange, in voce. 
 
 ' Whitaker's Craven Deanery, p. 401. Note. 
 
286 
 
 SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 
 
 Articles of Clothing belonging to the 
 several Orders,^ 
 
 Augustinian Canons. A white tunick, 
 with a hnen gown under a black cloak, 
 and a hood covering the head, neck, and 
 shoulders. See the Plate, p. 282, ^g. 
 6.) 
 
 The costumes of France and Eng- 
 land were the same, at least till after 
 the twelfth century.^ In the ninth 
 century the Canons were almost all 
 shorn, and wore a mantle and two tu- 
 nicks, one down to the heels, the upper 
 only to the mid-leg : between the two 
 the stole went round the neck ; and in 
 their hands they carried the orarium.^ 
 
 Augustinian Canoness, In the Plate, 
 (p. 282, fig. 5) she has a long cowl, 
 hood, and wimple ; a short upper tu- 
 nick or rochet, over a long one. 
 
 Augustinian Eremite, In the house, 
 a white tunick, and scapulary over it. 
 In the Choir or out of doors, a sleeved 
 cowl and large hood, both black ; the 
 hood round before, and hanging to the 
 waist in a point, girt with a black lea- 
 ther thong. (See the Plate, p. 282, fig. 
 2.) [Thus Steevens : the cowl is the 
 gown, which is the costume of hermits 
 in the cuts of the Golden Legend. (See 
 the Plate, p. 284, fig. 3.) In the Spe- 
 cimen Monachologise, they wear a 
 black round quinque partite cap; naked 
 neck ; fillibeg, instead of breeches ; 
 slippers ; black cloth tunick, tied with 
 a black thong ; hood, as before, a black 
 mantle down to the thighs, and woollen 
 shirt.] <i 
 
 Augustinian Eremite Nun. A hood 
 black ; white wimple ; and black long 
 tunick, tied with a black thong. 
 
 Benedictines, '^ As for the habits of 
 the Monks," says Steevens, "they 
 were left to the discretion of the Ab- 
 bots, according to the nature of the 
 country, as it was either hotter or 
 colder. In temperate climates a cowl 
 
 * The authority, where not otherwise expressed, 
 is Steevens' s Translation of Dugdale's Monasticon. 
 to MaiUot, iii. 6Q, " Id. pi. xiv. 
 
 ^ P. 24. 
 
 and a tunick w^ere sufficient ; the cowl 
 thicker for winter and thinner for sum- 
 mer ; and a scapular to work in. The 
 scapular was the upper garment during 
 the time of labour, which was put off, 
 and the cowl worn during the rest of 
 the day. Every one had two tunicks 
 and two cowls, either to change at 
 night or to wash them. The stuff they 
 were made of was the cheapest the 
 country afforded. To the end, that no 
 man might have any property, that is, 
 any thing he could call his own, the 
 Abbots found them all with every thing 
 that was necessary, that is, besides the 
 habit, a handkerchief, a knife, a needle, 
 a steel pen, and tablets to write. Their 
 beds were a mat, a straw bed, a piece 
 of serge, a blanket, and a pillow. 
 
 " St. Benedict did not decide of what 
 colour the habit should be ; but it ap- 
 pears by ancient pictures, that the gar- 
 ment the first Benedictines wore was 
 white, and the scapular black. That 
 scapular was not of the same shape, 
 that those of the same order do use at 
 present. It was more like the jerkins 
 worn by mariners, saving that it was 
 not open before, but only a little in the 
 sides. That sort of garment had been 
 long before the common garment of the 
 poor and of peasants.^' (See the Plate, 
 p. 282, fig. 4.) [Thus Steevens : but in 
 the ancient Benedictines, he has for- 
 gotten a coif upon the head. The 
 Specimen Monachologiee clothes the 
 Benedictine Monk in breeches ; a black 
 woollen robe, covering the whole body 
 and feet ; hood loose, obtuse, oval, and 
 broad ; scapulary plain, of the breadth 
 of the abdomen ; girdle broad ; a black 
 cowl descending to the ancles ; inner 
 tunicks in general black ; shirt narrow 
 at the wrist.] e But in the house the 
 Monk lays aside the hood, girds his 
 scapulary, and wears a crested or two- 
 fold cap on the head.^ 
 
 Benedictine Nun, A black robe, with 
 a scapular of the same, and under the 
 black robe, a tunick of wool that has 
 not been dyed ; others wear the tunick 
 
 « Maillot, iii. 14. f Id. 15. 
 
SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 
 
 287 
 
 quite white. In the choir, or upon so- 
 lemn occasions, they wear over all a 
 black cowl, like that of the Monks. 
 Thus Steevens. [A black veil and 
 white wimple, as in the Plate, p. 282, 
 fig. 5.]" 
 
 Brigettine Nun and Friers, The sis- 
 ters had two shifts of white coarse 
 woollen, one to wear, and the other to 
 wash ; a tunick of coarse grey woollen, 
 a cowl of the same, and a mantle made 
 fast with a wooden button, which 
 mantle in the winter was lined with 
 lamb-skins. For their head attire they 
 had a caul or coif covering their fore- 
 heads, and coming down close to the 
 cheeks, fastened on the top of the head 
 with a pin : over that coif or hood a 
 veil of black cloth, fastened with three 
 pins, and on the black veil a crown 
 or circle of white linen, with five 
 small red pieces on it [for the five 
 wounds of Christ], which crown was 
 also pinned on. 
 
 The Friers had two shirts of white 
 coarse woollen, a tunick of coarse 
 grey woollen, a cowl of the same, to 
 which was attached a hood and a mantle 
 on the left side of it. The Priests wore 
 a red cross in memory of our Saviour's 
 passion, and in the midst of the cross 
 a bit of white cloth in form of a host, 
 in memory of the Holy Sacrifice which 
 they daily offered. The Deacons wore 
 a white circle, to represent the wisdom 
 of the Fathers of the Church ; and on 
 that circle four red pieces of the form 
 of fiery tongues ; and the Lay-brothers 
 a white cross to betoken innocence, in 
 which were five little red pieces for the 
 five wounds of Christ. 
 
 Carmelites, Their first habit was 
 white, as well as their mantles, of 
 which the bottom was laced thick with 
 many yellow bands ; an ornament sup- 
 pressed by Honorius IV. They then 
 assumed the robe of the Minims, 
 and a white mantle.^ In the Speci- 
 men Monachologiae,^ the costume is 
 breeches, a tunick, and white mantle, 
 with loose hood of the length of the 
 
 • Maillot, iii. 15. »> Id. P. 116. « P. 27. 
 
 tunick, another tunick shorter, a linen 
 shirt, and woollen under-waitcoast. 
 
 The Carmelite Nun, besides her head, 
 veiled her face, and in the choir wore a 
 longer cowl than the Friars.^ 
 
 Carthusians, Their bed, says Stee- 
 vens, is to be straw, and on it a felt or 
 coarse cloth ; their pillow a covering of 
 the coarsest sheep-skins and cloth ; 
 their clothing two hair-cloths, two 
 cowls, two pair of hose, cloak, &c. all 
 coarse. 
 
 Cistercians, Their habit was a white 
 robe in the nature of a cassock, with a 
 black scapular and hood ; their garment 
 was girt with a black girdle of wool : 
 in the Choir they had over it a white 
 cowl, and over it a hood, with a rochet 
 hanging down round before to the 
 waist, and in a point behind to the calf 
 of the leg ; and when they went abroad 
 they wore a cowl and a great hood, all 
 black ; which was also the Choir habit. 
 The Lay-brothers were clad in dark 
 colour, their scapular hung down about 
 a foot in length before, and was 
 rounded at the bottom. Their hood 
 was like that which the Priests wore 
 over their cowl, excepting the differ- 
 ence of the colour. In the Choir, they 
 wore a cloak or mantle reaching to the 
 ground, of the same colour as the habit. 
 The Novices, who were clerks, wore the 
 same habit in the Church, but it was 
 all white. Their scapular was not of 
 the same length in all places ; for some- 
 times it reached only half way down 
 the thigh, in others to the mid-leg, or 
 even to the heels. 
 
 Cistercian Nuns, A white tunick, a 
 black scapular and girdle. In the Choir, 
 most of them wore cowls, others only 
 mantles. The habits of the Lay-sisters 
 were of a dark colour. The Noviciates 
 were clad in white. [Add a black veil 
 and white wimple.] 
 
 Clugniacks, A large full-sleeved cowl; 
 a hood down to the elbows ; a rochet or 
 tabard from the chin to the feet, over a 
 long tunick. 
 
 Dominicans, A white woollen tunick, 
 
 ^ Specimen Monachologise, p. 29. 
 
288 
 
 SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 
 
 bound with a thong ; a hood ; a white 
 collar ; a long black woollen cowl, when 
 they went out, with a hood and pectoral 
 bill, and a dorsal black, covering the 
 inner white dress. Inner vestments 
 chiefly white. The Lay-brothers had 
 no cowl, and never laid aside the hood 
 and black scapulary. 
 
 The Dominican Nun, except a black 
 veil, had the same habit.^ The Nun in 
 the Plate (p. 282, fig. 5.) has the arms 
 crossed upon the bosom. This was the 
 posture of a Priest,^ and occurs in va- 
 rious images of the Middle Age. 
 
 Franciscans, or Grey Friers, from 
 their habit ; a long grey coat down to 
 their heels, with a hood ; see the Plate, 
 p. 282, fig. 1.) girdle of cord ; c and 
 were under an obligation of wearing 
 cloth next to their very skin night and 
 day.d Steevens says, from the Rule, 
 that the Habit of Probation was two 
 tunicks without a hood, a girdle, 
 breeches, and cloak to the waist, unless 
 God upon any occasion thought good 
 to order it otherwise. When the year 
 of Probation was expired, they were to 
 have one tunick with a hood, and ano- 
 ther without a hood, if they would have 
 them. Upon necessity, they were to 
 be shod, but to adopt mean habits, and 
 even mend them with sacks and scraps. 
 In the Specimen Monachologiee,^ they 
 have no breeches, a tunick, a moveable 
 hood, with an appendage, pendent be- 
 fore and behind, hanging below a w^hite 
 linen robe ; no scapular ; but a cloak, 
 hanging below the loins, fastened at the 
 bosom with a bone fibula. No shirt, 
 only a woollen under waistcoat. The 
 tunick was full of pockets for receiving 
 edibles, &c. for they were called Men- 
 dicants because pretending to Evange- 
 lical perfection, and begged from door 
 to door.^ 
 
 The Franciscan Nun, or Minoress or 
 Poor Clare, w^ore a black veil, but 
 otherwise imitated the males. s 
 
 Friers of the Sack, The name of the 
 
 * Specimen Monachologiae, p. 16-18. 
 " M. Paris, 720. 
 
 «= Somner's Canterbury, pp. 99, lOO. 
 
 ^ Collectanea Anglo-Minoritica, p. 2. 
 
 * P. 20. f Somner's Canterbury, 99, 100. 
 ^ Specimen Monachologise, p. 21. 
 
 Sack, says Steevens, was given them 
 because they wore garments made like 
 sacks, or from their scapulary being 
 made of the same sort of coarse cloth 
 as sacks ; but their true name was 
 Friers of the Penance of Jesus Christ. 
 Their Habit was made like that of the 
 Capuchins. They went bare legged and 
 had only wooden sandals on their feet. 
 [The head was partially shorn; but they 
 retained the beard and mustachoes on 
 their upper hps. Neck and posteriors 
 naked ; a tunick, hood (funnel formed) 
 no scapulary. Thus the Specimen 
 Monachologige ^ of Capuchins ; but the 
 tunick in Steevens is surmounted w^ith 
 a tabard of different colours. They are 
 said to have had pockets in the hood, 
 and under the arms.] i 
 
 The following beastly practices are 
 mentioned of the Capuchins : '^Tunica 
 replicata, absque impedimento cacat et 
 mingit, anum fune abstergit.'^ And 
 again : "Aurum et argentum non tangit, 
 sed venatur pediculos, quibus vexatur 
 et quos non occidit.'^k 
 
 The Capuchin Nun had an upper veil 
 black ; the lower w^hite ; naked neck ; 
 on the breast a w^hite handkerchief. 1 
 
 In Steevens, the Nun of the Order of 
 Penance has the veil as above ; a narrow 
 half mantle only behind, a girdle, tu- 
 nick, and bare feet with wooden clogs. 
 
 Gilbertines. The garments of the 
 Canons were to be three tunicks, one 
 coat of full grown lamb-skins, and a 
 white cloak sewed before, four fingers 
 in breadth, and having furs to put on 
 if the cloak were not furred, and hood 
 lined with lamb-skins, and two pair of 
 stockings ; a pair of woollen socks, and 
 day-shoes and night-slippers ; as also a 
 linen cloak for divine service. At time 
 of w^ork they had a white scapulary. 
 Their beds like the Cistercian Monks. 
 — Exceptions were made in the case of 
 donation of habits. 
 
 The Prior and Cellarer had boots, 
 reaching a little above their knees to ride 
 in; the Dorterer kept two or three other 
 pairs of boots for the use of such at rode 
 out, who were to restore them at their re- 
 
 ^ Specimen Monachologise, p. 22. 
 
 ' Specimen Monachologise, 22. ^ Id. 22, 23. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
SACRISTY — VESTIARY — COSTUMES. 
 
 289 
 
 turn. All the shoes of the Canons 
 were of red leather, and of a moderate 
 height. 
 
 Gilbertine Nuns. Five tunicks ; three 
 for labour, and two large, i, e. cowls to 
 wear in the Cloister, Church, Chapter, 
 Refectory, and Dormitory, and a sca- 
 pulary for labour. All had a coat of 
 lamb-skins, and a shift of coarse cloth 
 if they would, and black linen caps. 
 All cloths for their hoods were black 
 and coarse, and so their veils. 
 
 Premonstratensians. The Common 
 Habit was not inelegant, viz. a tunick 
 girt round the waist, a leaf-formed 
 hood, and head-part to throw back ; and 
 a bonnet in fashion at the end of the 
 eleventh century.^ (See the Plate, p. 
 282, fig. 3.) 
 
 Trinitarians, The Rule says, they 
 were to have white woollen vestments; 
 and a pilch and breeches each, which 
 they were not to put off in bed. They 
 were not to have feather beds, only pil- 
 Iows.l> In the Specimen Monacholo- 
 giee, the costume is a hemispherical 
 tonsure, a fillibeg, white woollen tunick 
 tied with a black thong, a loose white 
 hood, with a short round pectoral hang- 
 ing before, a longer pointed dorsal be- 
 hind. A close scapulary shorter than 
 the tunick. A mantle and hood, besides 
 that of the tunick. The scapulary and 
 left side of the mantle marked with a 
 red and blue cross, a shirt and wool- 
 len vest. 
 
 When one of this Order went abroad, 
 he fed only upon tripe. " The husband, 
 whose home,'^ says Baron Bozn, "a Tri- 
 nitarian Monk frequented, should re- 
 member the horned stag, who always 
 accompanied the fathers of the species, 
 John de Matha and Felix a Valois, and 
 warned all of their impending danger.^^c 
 
 Knight Templar. The following ac- 
 count is from Nicholses Leicestershire, 
 iii. p. 943. 
 
 " As for their habit on their heads, 
 they wore linen coifs (like to the Ser- 
 jeants at Law) and red caps close over 
 them ; on their bodies shirts of mail, 
 and sw^ords girded unto them with a 
 
 " Maillot, iii. p. 71, 72, pi. sxii. fig. 4. 
 
 '' Dugd. Monast. ii. 830. 
 
 *^ Specimen Monachologiee, 25,26. 
 
 broad belt ; over all which they had a 
 white cloak reaching to the ground, 
 with a red cross on the left shoulder, 
 partly to the end that having such a 
 triumphal figure instead of a buckler, 
 they should not flee from any infidel, 
 whilst they were armed with so great a 
 protection, and that to the intent they 
 might be distinguished from other re- 
 ligious persons ; and that they used to 
 wear their beards of a great length 
 (whereas most other religious orders 
 shaved), appears from the testimony of 
 King Edward IL made in behalf of an 
 eminent servant in his court. The 
 King, &c. " Since our beloved servant 
 Peter Auger, bearer of these presents, 
 has made a vow, that he will not shave 
 his beard, until he has made a pilgrim- 
 age in a certain place in foreign parts, 
 and the said Peter is afraid that some 
 persons, by reason of his long beard, 
 will take him for a Templar and use 
 him ill ; we therefore grant him this 
 testimony, that he never was a Tem- 
 plar, only a servant of our chamber, 
 and only wears a long beard for the 
 reason before stated." 
 
 Maillot says, " The Templars at 
 first used without distinction all colours 
 in their dress, diiFering in that from the 
 religious, whom they did not distin- 
 guish from the Templars but by the 
 colour ; but the Council of Troyes, in 
 1146, when they adopted the rule com- 
 posed by Bernard, ordered that they 
 should wear the white cross as well as 
 the cloak, to which Eugene IH. added 
 a red cross ; which cloak descended 
 almost to the feet. Upon the head 
 they wore a cap, like a salade or bowl- 
 scull cap. The long beard a V orientate 
 was the distinctive mark of this Order ; 
 and their standard was half black, half 
 white.^^ 
 
 Knights Hospitalers. Pope Honorius 
 III. assigned to them for their dress, a 
 black mantle with a white cross in the 
 fore-part thereof.^ The rest of the 
 dress, consists of a chapeau in the he- 
 raldick form, a surcote, and mail, and 
 plated armour mixed, with a long sword 
 and belt round the waist. 
 
 «* Costumes, 123, pi. 38. f. 11. 
 <• Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. iii. 
 U 
 
290 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 CURIOUS AND SELECT COSTUMES OF VARIOUS ECCLESIASTICKS. 
 
 The following interesting Chapter was 
 kindly contributed by an intelligent 
 and industrious Artist; who sedu- 
 lously applied the labours of a long 
 professional life to the study of our 
 National Antiquities, and more es- 
 pecially those which relate to our 
 Ecclesiastical and Monastic Remains. 
 
 It being understood that I had de- 
 voted much of my time to the study of 
 our ancient Costume, civil, military, 
 ecclesiastical^ and regal, by sketches 
 (pencilled drawings taken from the ori- 
 ginals on the spot, and afterwards made 
 into finished drawings^ done from such 
 remains, exemplified in sculptures, 
 paintings, and brasses, I was referred 
 to, by my old and worthy friend Mr. 
 Nichols, in order to make some select 
 drawings for the Ecclesiastical Cos- 
 tumes, with explanations ; which are 
 submitted in the following Plates, en- 
 graved by Mr. James Basire, junior, 
 under my superintendence and cor- 
 rections. 
 
 J. Carter. 
 
 Specimens of English Ecclesi- 
 astical Costume, from the 
 earliest period down to the 
 Sixteenth Century, selected 
 FROM Sculptures, Paintings, 
 and Brasses remaining in this 
 Kingdom. 
 
 Among the various selections from 
 our antiquities, in series arranged chro- 
 nologically, that of Ecclesiastical Cos- 
 tume has not hitherto engaged parti- 
 cular attention. Whether the pursuit 
 has not interested any exploratory hand, 
 or that such subjects are held as too 
 much connected with the original reli- 
 
 gion of the country, from an over- 
 zealous study on the features thereof 
 raising an interest incompatible with 
 the present orthodox precepts of the 
 Established Church, it is rather difficult 
 to determine. With impartial minds, 
 not swayed by bigoted impressions, 
 such ideas must give way to more 
 useful study, guided by the opinion 
 that every line of information, whether 
 it squares exactly with our real senti- 
 ments, must impart something that 
 merits notice ; no part of science 
 should be avoided, or lost ; and surely, 
 that vestige, which once rendered this 
 land magnificent, if it deserves no other 
 appellation, ought to engage attention. 
 On such grounds, therefore, the present 
 Collection is submitted ; not alone to 
 exhibit the variety of Habits worn at 
 different periods, but as examples of 
 the Progress of the Arts of Sculpture, 
 Painting, &c. theii prevailing. And it 
 may be asserted that our ancestors 
 were conspicuously eminent for more- 
 enlightened ideas than those of Laws 
 and Arms, which seem to be all the 
 mental gifts allowed them, though their 
 descending gigantic and splendid works 
 of Architecture are standing in majestic 
 state still before us. Why therefore 
 not give them credit for possessing 
 every other gift enriching the human 
 sense then, as well as now, by those 
 who live ? To think or maintain opi- 
 nions to the contrary, is to pass but a 
 cold compliment on the capabilities of 
 Englishmen at any period ! Thus pre- 
 mising, we enter on the main purpose 
 of the ensuing objects, which is to re- 
 store, though in the smallest degree, a 
 regular representation of Antient Reli- 
 gious Costume, in aid of historical in- 
 formation, both in Literature and the 
 Arts, before the originals are oblite- 
 rated from the public eye, by disfigure- 
 ment or utter annihilation. 
 
CLASS I 
 
 '/n^-^t^^ij,. 6yo 
 
 ,M^/nu^^f4^l 
 
 7- 
 
 j\o'iM.'^{//6^^ . 
 
 
 -TT4 
 

 
^lac/ieJ-Z^K //Og. 
 
 U,f}^^^' 0/f.y/f^< I J^//7.A^?n>>.f//y t ^' . r:/7a /f ^/^r// / / 2P . 
 
 [:J)Mi/uZ'rfi. //oJ. 
 
 L_ 
 
 Jfartfr del. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 
 
 291 
 
 Class I. 
 
 Malmesbury, anno 675. Figure, 
 among others of the Apostles, in basso 
 reUevo, of St. Peter, in the south porch 
 of the Abbey-Church of Malmsbury, 
 Wiltshire. Sketched 1801. Saxon 
 work. The double keys in the right 
 hand (head of the church), book with 
 jewels of the New Testament (suppose) 
 in the left; the robes are becoming, 
 and well disposed; jewels on the border 
 of the neck ; feet bare. 
 
 Malmesbury. Figure of a Religious 
 in basso relievo on door-way at the 
 entrance into the church ; the dress is 
 the simple Monk's habit. Hood, &c. 
 
 Winchester, 963. Figure of a Bishop, 
 in basso-relievo on the font ^ (Saxon 
 work) in the Cathedral. Sketched 1 790. 
 The Sculpture i^ not by the best hand : 
 but the Costumic information imparted 
 supersedes that consideration ; crosier 
 extremely simple (shepherd's crook) ; 
 mitre simple also and low ; outer robe 
 enriched with beads, and diagonal em- 
 broidery; under diagonals maniple 
 beaded. 
 
 Norwich, 1100. Statue of a Bishop 
 in a niche on West front of the Cathe- 
 dral. (Saxon.) Sketched 1786.b Cro- 
 sier, meer crook ; no mitre ; robes not 
 enriched ; right hand giving the bene- 
 diction. 
 
 In a Saxon MS, circa 1066, in pos- 
 session of of F. Douce, Esq. Sketched 
 1787. Figure of a Bishop; pastoral 
 stafT, cross on top has four beads ; 
 mitre very high, a few beads and jewels; 
 robes not enriched ; the colours express 
 for the outer robe a gold ground, under 
 robe red ; extreme under robe white, 
 with a gold fringe ; red boots. 
 
 In a Saxon MS. in the British Mu- 
 seum. Sketched 1810. Figure of a 
 female ; the lines in ink tinged with 
 red. Understood to represent St. Mary 
 Magdalene with the vessel of precious 
 ointment: attitude chaste, robes ele- 
 gant, and drawing excellent. 
 
 * The font engraved in Carter's " Antient Ar- 
 chitecture." 
 
 •* Engraved with the niche in Carter's ** Antient 
 Architecture." 
 
 Class II. 
 
 Rochester, 1109. Statue in a niche 
 on West front of the Cathedral. (Sax- 
 on.) Sketched 1783. In this statue 
 the head of crosier, mitre, and right 
 hand restored; neck border of outer 
 robe beaded ; on the breast a broach ; 
 under robe ornamented ; extreme under 
 robe, reticulated ornament ; right hand 
 giving the benediction. 
 
 Peterborough. Statue lying in South 
 aile of the Choir of the Cathedral. 
 Sketched 1783. Cannot give precise 
 date, as the sculpture is not now dis- 
 posed on any sepulchral memorial or 
 tomb ; appears to have been brought 
 from some other situation ; supposed 
 however to be of early work, that is, 
 soon after the Conquest, as the sculp- 
 ture is Saxon, therefore introduced in 
 this place. Crosier, the simple crook ; 
 no mitre; book in left hand; robes 
 plain. 
 
 Peterborough. No date. Statue lying 
 with the foregoing ; of course to be ac- 
 counted for in the same way. Crosier, 
 simple crook ; no mitre ; outer robe, 
 embroidered with a centrical cross; 
 rich foliage on the breast ; in left hand 
 a book with clasps. 
 
 Carew Castle, Pembrokeshire. No 
 date; but supposed, from the mode of 
 sculpture, requisite to be brought for- 
 ward at this juncture. Sketched 1803. 
 A Priest in plain robes, but with an 
 inverted cross embroidered centrically ; 
 supposed officiating, and holding be- 
 tween the hands the consecrated wafer 
 in the shape of a heart. 
 
 Llandaff. 1120. Statue on West 
 front of the Cathedral. Sketched 1803. 
 A good performance; crosier, the simple 
 crook ; mitre plain, as are the robes ; 
 right hand giving the benediction. 
 
 Durham. 1154. Figure of a Bishop 
 painted on the side of the altar of our 
 Ladie of Pitie in the Gallilee at West 
 front of the Cathedral. Sketched 1795. 
 Crosier, little more than the simple 
 crook, is painted to represent gold ; 
 mitre, gold, has a few jewels with de- 
 pending drapery; outer robe red, jewels 
 
 u 2 
 
292 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 
 
 on neck border and bottom; under 
 robe blue ; extreme under robe white ; 
 shoes white; right hand giving the 
 benediction. 
 
 Class III. 
 
 Lichfield. No date. Statue of a 
 Bishop in the Cathedral. Judged, from 
 the mode of sculpture and Costume, 
 to be of the above period. Sketched 
 1782. Crosier, crook; foliaged dra- 
 pery depending from the staff: robes 
 plain, except a jewel on the breast, 
 though full and graceful ; gloves ; right 
 hand giving the benediction. 
 
 York, No date. Figure of a Bishop 
 painted on the walls of the Chapter- 
 house of Cathedral. Sketched 1790. 
 Since obliterated. Judged, from mode 
 of dress, to be of the above period. 
 StaiFhas a cross gilded with its depend- 
 ing drapery ; mitre, few jewels, gilded; 
 outer robe green edged with gold, open 
 in front and fastened with a brooch on 
 the breast ; under robe white, with at- 
 tached brown drapery on each side; 
 white gloves and shoes ; right hand 
 giving the benediction. 
 
 Wells. No date. Statue of a Bishop 
 in the Cathedral. Sketched 1784. Judg- 
 ed to be of the above period ; has no 
 sepulchral memorial ; said to have been 
 brought from the Abbey-church of Glas- 
 tonbury. Crosier foliaged ; mitre plain ; 
 outer robe plain ; on left arm the ma- 
 niple ; right hand on the heart, an em- 
 blem of Truth. 
 
 Hexham, Northumberland, No date. 
 Statue of Prior Richard on North side 
 of Choir of the Abbey church. Sketch- 
 ed 1 7^5. Judged to be of the above 
 period. Robes are those of a Priest, 
 and plain ; hood drawn over the face ; 
 attitude, devotional. The statue is laid 
 on a low tomb. 
 
 Ingham, Norfolk, No date. Figure 
 of a Bishop seated, painted on board 
 in a series of historical subjects in the 
 Church. Sketched 1787. Apprehend 
 still of the same period. Mitre, few 
 jewels and gilded ; outer robe blue, and 
 gold edges, with the like foliage em- 
 
 broidered at neck ; under robe red i 
 edged with gold fringe ; depending gold 
 foliage and tassels; extreme under robe 
 white; white gloves and black shoes. 
 Attitude, devotional. 
 
 Connington, Huntingdonshire, No 
 date. Statue of a Knight in ring ar- 
 mour, over the armour a Monk^s habit. 
 Sketched 1798. The above date going 
 on. Girdle is the knotted cord. Atti- 
 tude, devotional. The singularity as 
 well as the curious turn of the sculp- 
 ture (and it is believed no other exam- 
 ple exists), is that of a Warrior being 
 thus habited; but the intent is obvious; 
 a military man retires into a Monas- 
 tery, where, notwithstanding having 
 taken the order, he is so biassed to his 
 former life, as to be unable to put aside 
 his warlike accoutrements. 
 
 Class IV. 
 
 Louterell Psalter; circa 1300. A 
 most beautiful and Costumic illumi- 
 nated folio MS. in the possession of 
 Thomas Weld, Esq. of Lulworth Cas- 
 tle, Dorsetshire. The variety of dresses, 
 suiting all degrees of persons, are in- 
 finite and interesting; from among 
 which is selected this ecclesiastical ob- 
 ject, a female as a Lady Abbess. Co- 
 l^ied 1793. Crosier, foliaged crook gild- 
 ed; outer robe, black; under robe, 
 wimple, and shoes white ; attitude, giv- 
 ing the benediction, but with the left 
 hand. Query, if such was the practice 
 with religious women ? 
 
 Louterell Psalter, Priests officiating, 
 by chanting part of the service from a 
 book sustained on the Eagle desk. The 
 principal Priest has a blue reticulated 
 outer robe lined with red ; white under 
 robe. Other Priests, in white robes. 
 
 St. Cross. 1382. Brass in the Church 
 of the Hospital of St. Cross, near Win- 
 chester. Sketched 1789. It represents 
 the figure of John de Campden, grand 
 vicar and confidential friend of the il- 
 lustrious William of Wickham, and 
 master of this hospital. The outer robe 
 has an enriched diamond-formed bor- 
 der; attitude, devotional. 
 
C1,ASS III, 
 
 %^^ 
 
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 iy(€U}n4i 
 
 ^^/. 
 
 (^(^rtTv^ftaZ^y^i 
 
 ■'rt«r dgl. 
 
 im:. 
 
CJLASS TV 
 
 Cu/r.r// -^!ur//rr 
 
 /.../vvV/ /A.r//.r 
 
 f/'Vrt^Jj.-iS'Z. 
 
 Qjorc/r./.. 
 
 J.Ou^r^rJ,/ . 
 
r 
 
 CX.ASS y o 
 
 '-ya^nA/te-u/ J^/^. iw^^. 
 
 ^^^^u^A^z^^?t/ 
 
 '^^7:eAr./S97 . 
 
 J.Carter del. 
 
 Jf3a'firf.' 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME, 
 
 293 
 
 Dorchester. No date. Supposed, from 
 mode of work, to belong to this class. 
 Small statues attached to the mullions 
 of the South window in Choir of the 
 Abbey-church of Dorchester near Ox- 
 ford. Sketched 17^3. They represent 
 a funeral procession, said to be that of 
 St. Berinus, patron of the Church. In 
 order to accommodate the several fi- 
 gures to the space allotted in the plate, 
 they are necessarily brought closer to- 
 gether than seen in the existing sculp- 
 ture. First statue, Priest with holy 
 water sprinkler and ditto vessel. Se- 
 cond statue, bearing the processional 
 cross. Third and fourth statues with 
 books ; fifth and sixth statues bear on 
 their shoulders parts of the staves which 
 sustained the body in a coffin, or shrine 
 of St. Berinus, which, of course by 
 ignorant hands, foes to antient art, has 
 been destroyed. Seventh statue, Bi- 
 shop or Abbot officiating, with plain 
 crosier and mitre, in the attitude of 
 reciting some portion of the solemn 
 service. Eighth, ninth, and tenth sta- 
 tues. Priests following with books, &c. 
 This mode of funeral observance has 
 been most scrupulously adhered to, and 
 brought down to the present times 
 among Catholicks, which I have often 
 witnessed, and particularly so, Monday 
 Jan. 28, 1793, being the Monday after 
 the horrid Martyrdom of Lewis XVI. 
 when his funeral obsequies were cele- 
 brated in the Spanish chapel, Manches- 
 ter square. The Bishop of Limoges, 
 who had been tutor to the unfortunate 
 Monarch, read the awful ceremonial. 
 
 Class V. 
 
 Sawtry All Saints, Huntingdonshire, 
 Brass half-length figure of a Priest, 
 (with the flagellarium,) in the church. 
 No date. Conceive from the Costume, 
 to be of the period under discussion. 
 Sketched 1798. 
 
 Durham, Statue placed (as lumber,) 
 in a disused Chapel in basement story 
 of the Bishop's Palace. Sketched 1795. 
 It is crowned, which is an extraordi- 
 nary circumstance, unless it is to be 
 considered as an allusion to the princely 
 jurisdiction which the Bishop of this 
 
 See maintains. The robes are full and 
 stately ; the right arm probably, when 
 perfect, shewed the hand giving the 
 benediction : what object the left hand 
 sustained it is difficult to form any 
 conjecture. 
 
 Wensley, No date. Brass figure of 
 a Priest in Wensley Dale Church, 
 Yorkshire. Sketched 1790. Costume 
 appears still in continuation for this 
 eera. Robes express the full officiating 
 detail, and highly enriched, the under 
 one particularly so. Attitude, devo- 
 tional ; hands crossed, which uphold 
 the chalice. 
 
 St, Aldan's, Brass in the Abbey- 
 church. Sketched 1783. Supposed of 
 Thomas de la More, Abbot 1396. Cro- 
 sier much foliaged and studded with 
 jewels, as is the mitre [see p. 285] ; 
 the enrichment of the border to the 
 robes, maniple, &c. a mixture of circles 
 and diamond forms. Depending deco- 
 ration over the under robe has com- 
 partments of four turns ; shoes en- 
 riched. Attitude, devotional ; hands 
 crossed. 
 
 Beverley, No date ; yet supposed of 
 this eera. Sketched 1790. Statue of a 
 Priest on a tomb in the Minster. The 
 enrichments to the borders and other 
 parts of the robes consist chiefly of 
 shields of arms, evincing this personage 
 to have been of high birth and charac- 
 ter. Attitude, devotional; hands, crossed. 
 
 Exeter, Statue of Bishop Walter 
 Branscomb, 1281, (or 1397,) when exe- 
 cuted, in his sumptuous monument on 
 South side of our Lady's Chapel in the 
 Cathedral. Sketched 1 792. As we are 
 arrived in due order at the zenith of 
 splendour, the reign of Edward III. 
 when every power of the human mind 
 seemed so pre-eminently conspicuous, 
 more immediately in Laws, Arms, and 
 Architecture, of which such extraordi- 
 nary documents are on record, and in 
 actual existence, particularly the latter 
 subject; it is not to be wondered at 
 that the sculpture of the statue before 
 us is so excellently brought forward in 
 the crosier, mitre, and robes : how ele- 
 gant in disposure, how gorgeously en- 
 riched ! From this specimen of eccle- 
 
294 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 
 
 siastical magnificence an opinion may 
 be adduced what extreme splendour per- 
 vaded the whole field of Church Em- 
 bellishment, in recurring to York cathe- 
 dral ; Durham cathedral; Bishop Hat- 
 field's throne and monument, and High 
 Altar screen therein ; St. Stephen's 
 chapel, Westminster; Percy monument, 
 Beverley minster; Earl Crouchback's 
 monument, Westminster Abbey, &c. 
 &c. From these, and other the like 
 objects in various parts of the king- 
 dom, are adduced the strongest proofs 
 of the taste of painting, gilding, &c. 
 overlaying the internal face of the walls, 
 monuments, statues, painted ornaments, 
 coloured paving-tiles, enamelled brasses, 
 &c. Hence it may be accounted why 
 the present statue is so minutely co- 
 loured in the above mode. Gilded fo- 
 liaged crosier,^ inclosing small statue 
 of a Saint ; mitre, diamonded compart- 
 ments with jewelry work, &c. the exe- 
 cution of which (painting) is most won- 
 derfully elaborate : I speak without fear 
 of contradiction but by those who have 
 never studied or drawn from this, or 
 other like remains. Having most scru- 
 pulously copied this example to the 
 fullest scale in many large draw^ings, I 
 may thus presume on the certainty of 
 what I now advance in its praise ; in- 
 deed too much cannot be said to cause 
 general observation and general regard : 
 (I allude principally to the statue it- 
 self.) Outer robe, gold embroidery 
 with jewels ; under robe, and extreme 
 under robe, white with gold fringe ; the 
 same to the crosier drapery, and the 
 white gloves; shoes embroidered and 
 jewelled. Right hand giving the bene- 
 diction. 
 
 Class VI. 
 
 As all things submit to changeful 
 habitude, our Costumic theme owns 
 the truth of this dogma. The succeed- 
 ing reigns shew less superb embellish- 
 ments ; an insensible diminution of the 
 
 * See William of Wykeham's actual Crosier of 
 this time in New College Chapel, Oxford. En- 
 graved in Carter's "Antient Sculpture and Paint- 
 ing." 
 
 painter's labours takes place, more tin- 
 assuming, and bearing a tendency to 
 bring the whole mass of work to the 
 united skill alone of the mason and 
 sculptor, still not the less refined and 
 high-wrought than formerly, painted 
 glass excepted. But of this branch of 
 art hereafter. 
 
 Ashbtj de la Zouch, Leicestershire, 
 No date. Having fixed on the begin- 
 ning of the fifteenth century as above, 
 it is concluded from similar costumes 
 that our thread of chronological order 
 is correct. Sketched 1800. Represents 
 some dignified personage, who having 
 previously, it is supposed, been on a 
 pilgrimage to the Holy Land, request- 
 ed on his return that his effigies after 
 death might be sculptured in his Pil- 
 grim's habit, as here represented. This 
 statue is on his monument in the 
 church. The staif with cross at top, 
 hat with escalop shells (St. James the 
 Fisherman the Patron of Pilgrims) ; 
 scrip slung over the shoulders, with 
 cross band and shells : outer robe, half 
 open sleeves, shewing close robe under 
 them ; sandals laced 3 collar of S. S. 
 Attitude, devotional. 
 
 Oxford, No date ; our present eera 
 is still in progress. Sketched 1792. 
 Brass Figure of John Bloxham (Mas- 
 ter) in Merton College chapel. Robes 
 consist of a flowing gown and mantle. 
 Attitude, devotional. 
 
 Winchester, Statue of Cardinal Beau- 
 fort; in his monumental Chapel on 
 South side of grand East aile of Choir 
 of the Cathedral. He died 1447. Sketch- 
 ed 1790. The robes worn by Cardinals 
 of this period w^ere rather plain ; that 
 before us graceful; it is painted; round 
 hat, and depending knotted tassels red; 
 outer robe red, sleeves of under robe 
 purple; shoes black. Attitude, devo- 
 tional. It is to be pointed out, that, 
 notwithstanding the other statues in 
 the Church, Wykeham, Waynflete, &c. 
 have been much disfigured, particularly 
 in the noses (an almost universal bar- 
 barous custom throughout the king- 
 dom,) and as miserably repaired by 
 some ignorant mechanic, the statue of 
 the Cardinal, maugre the invidious cha- 
 
CLASS Vll 
 
 '^.my&i^ ttfi^ /a/ u-cu^^Ay. 
 
 ?\ U4y. 
 
 ?$^<S^/!^^//^//v^^t<?y^.'^!^?*/^ (O/xe^r ,/4o3 . ■^^.<5^^!!:/d^^^,-^W«5^^«/. 
 
 TFa 
 
I 
 
CLASS Til 
 
 J.Cartef d&l . 
 
 J.3aj-irf . 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 
 
 295 
 
 meter bestowed by Shakespeare,* re- 
 mains perfect, imparting to unpreju- 
 diced minds sentiments of the utmost 
 awe and veneration. 
 
 All-hallows Church, York, No date ; 
 yet this sera may be considered as of 
 course. Sketched 1790. Painted figure 
 of a Bishop in a window of the Church. 
 Pastoral staff has a rich jewelled cross, 
 supported by canopies gilded; mitre 
 foliaged and gilt, jewels, &c. Outer 
 robe white, with an embroidered cross 
 inclosing smaller ditto ; ground of robe 
 worked in small gold flowers and edged 
 with jewels ; under robe purple, edged 
 with jewels and green fringes 5 extreme 
 under robe, white with gold edgings ,• 
 gloves and shoes white. Right hand 
 giving the benediction. The paintings 
 of this aera, and those more imme- 
 diately on glass, partook of a less de- 
 gree of high colouring than those of 
 the late reign : while those branches of 
 art under the direct sway of architec- 
 tural design were profuse and unbound- 
 ed efforts both in masonry and sculp- 
 ture ; and it is found that in the six- 
 teenth century, exclusive of heraldic 
 blazonings, the only colour used in 
 glass painting was yellow. 
 
 Exeter. Statue of Bishop Oldham 
 in his monumental Chapel on South 
 side of South aile of Choir of the Ca- 
 thedral. He died 1453. Sketched 1792. 
 Work of the crosier elaborate in foliage 
 and jewels ; the depending drapery from 
 it pleasingly bound about the staff, a 
 mode then in general practice, as is 
 witnessed in numerous instances among 
 our sepulchral remains. Mitre, richly 
 studded with jewels, as is also the 
 maniple ; under robe fringed, extreme 
 under robe and depending drapery 
 fringed ; gloves with jewels and tas- 
 sels. Attitude, devotional. 
 
 Guildhall, London, Erected in the 
 fourteenth century. Female statue on 
 the South or entrance front over the 
 porch of the hall. Sketched 1783. The 
 greater part of this porch has been de- 
 
 » He appears, in Milner's ** History of Winches- 
 ter," to have been a most exalted and praise- 
 worthy Ecclesiastick. 
 
 stroyed, except the door- way and ave- 
 nue into the hall, and in its place a 
 most odious and ridiculous upright in 
 the mock East Indian style set up, 
 more to the City's reproach than ho- 
 nour. This, with three other female 
 statues in the same tier, expressed Dis- 
 cipline (having taken the veil). Justice, 
 Fortitude, and Mercy, all equally deli- 
 cate and beautifully executed : they 
 have been dispersed into various hands; 
 but, being considered as the work of 
 some unknown and remote English 
 artist, therefore no real interest became 
 their portion, so necessary to fix them 
 in a final resting-place, either in some 
 private or public repository, the British 
 Museum for instance, like those there 
 seen of Roman or Grecian Pagan ido- 
 latry. The costume is that of a Nun, 
 with outer and under robes, veil and 
 wimple. Attitude, devotional. 
 
 Class VII. 
 
 Barnack, Northamptonshire, No date ; 
 however, the period is proceeding on 
 with. Sketched 1780. The figure of 
 a Bishop carved in oak pannel in low 
 relief, in some pew fences in the church. 
 Mitre has jewels ; its dependant dra- 
 peries plain ; outer robe shews a bor- 
 der of jewels, and fastened on the breast 
 in front by a brooch or fibula. Here 
 is found a great change in the make of 
 the outer robe, not less than the fore 
 part of it being left open, and merely 
 brought together and secured on the 
 breast as above stated. Antecedently, 
 the outer robe appears to have been 
 one covering, and put on by casting it 
 over the heads of the Clergy ; the arms 
 raised the sides of the robe, which, 
 with their occasional actions, brought 
 the whole covering into fine disposed 
 drapery, as witnessed in our progress 
 hitherto. Under robe fringed, cross 
 band over front of it ; extreme imder 
 robe plain. Attitude, admonitory. 
 
 London. No date : our progress con- 
 tinued. Sketched 17B2. Figure of a 
 Bishop painted in East window of Tri- 
 nity Hall chapel, Aldersgate street, 
 (Chapel destroyed) of " St. Basil the 
 
296 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 
 
 Great ^' (in an inscription under the 
 feet). After the removal of the paint- 
 ing, it came into the possession of the 
 late Mr. Kirgate, Printer, Strawberry 
 Hill. Pastoral staff, gold ; mitre, with 
 jewels and gold work; outer robe, pur- 
 ple lined with blue; and purple ena- 
 meled broach ; mantle, green bordered 
 with blue embroidered ornament : under 
 robe (seen on the breast) diamonded 
 form gold brocade; extreme under robe 
 white; shoes blue. Attitude, giving 
 the benediction. 
 
 Hexham, Northumberland, No date : 
 sera in succession. Sketched 1 795. 
 Painting on board, in the Abbey-church 
 of St. Acca. There are five more of 
 the same kind, as St. Almundus, St. 
 ^ata, St. Wilfridus, St. John of Bever- 
 ley, and St. Fredbert. They are the 
 size of life, finely painted on board, in 
 their original frames, and display the 
 most strict studied Costume. Crosier 
 fohaged, supported by canopies, gilded; 
 mitre, jewels, and gold work; outer 
 robe, white sprig ornament on light 
 brown ground, and edged with gold 
 fringe ; brooch, gold ; under robe of 
 similar embroidery with outer ditto ; 
 extreme under robe, white ; with its 
 collar, sleeves, &c. ; gloves white, and 
 jewels at their backs, black shoes. At- 
 titude, giving the benediction. 
 
 East Dereham, Norfolk, 1468. Fi- 
 gure of a Priest in basso-relievo, on the 
 font in the Church; confirming. Sketch- 
 ed 1786. There are seven more basso 
 relievos on the font ; Baptism, Penance, 
 Eucharist, Ordination, Marriage, Ex- 
 treme Unction, Crucifixion.^ 
 
 Winchester, 1489. Sketched 1788. 
 Figure of Thomas Silksted, Prior of 
 the Cathedral, painted with other sub- 
 jects relating to the miracles of the 
 Blessed Virgin, in her Chapel at the 
 East end of the Church. The above 
 date refers to the period when exe- 
 cuted.^ Crosier slightly foliaged on 
 plain canopies gilded ; mitre plain, ex- 
 cept two jewels gilt (it is placed on his 
 altar desk) ; Missal, leaves and clasps 
 gilded; outer robe black. It appears 
 the Priors of this Convent had the pri- 
 
 * Engraved ia Carter's " Antient Sculpture and 
 Painting." b Ibid. 
 
 vilege of this insignia of crosier and 
 mitre. He is on his knees. In conti- 
 nuation of the painting, there is a sta- 
 tue, to which he is praying. 
 
 Westminster, 1519. Sketched 1783. 
 Figure in bronze of Abbot I slip, on the 
 tomb of Henry VII. in his Chapel in 
 the Church ; first stone laid by Islip. 
 This Abbot and Sir Reginald Bray were 
 the joint Architects who constructed 
 that wonderful pile. The tomb from 
 whence this subject is selected, is the 
 work of Torregiano, a Florentine artist, 
 and the portrait is by traditionary re- 
 port believed to be that of the good 
 Islip; the circumstance expressed in 
 the performance of which this effigies 
 makes a part is, Edward the Confessor 
 delivering the famous ring to the Con- 
 vent, and, in compliment to the meri- 
 torious Abbot Islip (setting aside all 
 reference to Edward's time, but under- 
 standing the whole a vision), makes 
 him the receiver thereof.*^ Outer robe, 
 hanging sleeves open to the upper half 
 of the arm, and fringed at the edges ; 
 under robe plain ; mantle and maniple, 
 fringed. Attitude, devotional, and 
 mixed with some degree of surprise 
 and devout attention. 
 
 The proposed thread of illustration, 
 as full and as explicit as my experience 
 and exploratory collections of sketches 
 would admit, being expended, I have 
 but to hope that my zeal and reverence 
 to preserve from obloquy relicks of the 
 above cast may be taken in good part ; 
 and that no particular reflections will 
 be cast on my ardent zeal, which may 
 have been too strong to avoid, in some 
 instances, in giving too warm praise, or 
 too much honour, to the Manners and 
 Costume (ecclesiastical) of former times. 
 
 The gradual declination seen in the 
 two last Classes of superb ecclesiasti- 
 cal raiment is remarkably striking; as 
 well as is the circumstance of the outer 
 robe being open in front, with other 
 particulars ; but not of that great im- 
 port as need detail. The eye alone 
 will be sufficient to render that part of 
 the performance discernible. 
 
 A pril, 18 17. J. Carter. 
 
 ^ Series of the basso-relievos on the tomb, in 
 Carter's " Antient Sculpture and Painting." 
 
HOSPITALS. 
 
 297 
 
 CHAPTER LXL 
 
 HOSPITALS, 
 
 These were generally founded ac- 
 cording to the Augustinian Order ; and 
 the following Consuetudinal of S. Leo- 
 nard's, York^ is an excellent summary 
 of the usual Monastick method of 
 living. 
 
 As the reception of pilgrims and 
 poor travellers was formerly one of the 
 principal uses of the Hospitals, they 
 were generally situated by a road 
 side.a 
 
 Every lettered brother and Chaplain 
 had a desk in the Cloister. All rose 
 to Mattins ; and a few being left after- 
 wards to celebrate the Mass of the 
 Virgin Mary, they studied in the Clois- 
 ter till Prime. That service over, they 
 went to the Chapter, and from thence 
 again to the Choir for the celebration 
 of the other hours, belonging to the 
 time of day. After these, they repair- 
 ed to the Refectory, where the dinner 
 was accompanied by reading : and left 
 
 " Taylor's Ind. Monast. pref. xiii. 
 
 the Fratry to return thanks in the 
 Church. In the Summer they next 
 went to sleep, but in the Winter to 
 their books in the Cloister, where they 
 staid till Vespers. These celebrated, 
 they again returned to their books, till 
 the hour of supper, which meal was 
 attended with reading. After this sup- 
 per or collation, they said Grace, sung 
 Completory and a Salve Regina, &c. in 
 the Church ; and after it was over, their 
 private prayers in the Choir or Clois- 
 ter, till bed-time, when they slept in a 
 common Dormitory. They could not 
 eat, drink, or enter the Refectory after 
 Complin, nor speak in the Cloister, 
 Refectory, or Dormitory. They were 
 shaved every fifteen days.^ 
 
 Where the Paupers or others could 
 not say the Hours, so many Paters and 
 Aves were substituted ; and the statutes 
 modified accordingly; but still the Mo- 
 nastic tenor was retained. 
 
 ^ Dugd. Monast. u. 370, 371. 
 
298 
 
 MODERN MONACHISM. 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 MODERN MONACHISM. 
 
 After the partial restoration of Mo- 
 nachism by Mary, the Accession of 
 EKzabeth totally ousted the Monks 
 and Nuns; and, in 1609, one Robert 
 Buckley, alias Father Sebert, a profess- 
 ed Monk of Westminster, aged 90 years, 
 was the only survivor.^ Foreign houses 
 were established, whither the candi- 
 dates for Monachism were surrepti- 
 tiously conveyed.^ A Convent of Ca- 
 puchins was set up at Somerset- House, 
 according to the marriage articles of 
 Queen Henrietta Mari a, in 1 633 . Prynne 
 places two Convents in London in the 
 year 1640, but Fuller doubts the fact :c 
 and in 1677^ Sir Thomas Gascoigne es- 
 tablished and endowed a Nunnery at 
 Dolebank in Yorkshire.^ James II. 
 filled England with Monks; but this 
 work is not historical, and there are 
 only three things within the plan. I. 
 The Establishment of a Protestant 
 Nunnery at Little Gedding. II. Some 
 attempts at the revival of Monastick 
 Female Institutions, chiefly for the 
 purpose of education. III. The mo- 
 dern introduction of Monasticks, owing 
 to the Political Surgery of the French 
 Revolutionary Charlatans, who ampu- 
 tated limbs with hatchets, and drew 
 teeth with blacksmith^s pincers. 
 
 I. — Protestant Nunnery, In 1633, 
 Charles I. on his progress to Scotland 
 to be crowned, went to see a Protest- 
 ant Nunnery, at Gedding Parva, near 
 Stilton in Huntingdonshire, instituted 
 and appointed by Mrs. Farrar, a widow 
 of eighty years of age, who said, that 
 she had bidden adieu to all fears and 
 hopes in this world, and only desired 
 to love God. In this house, none were 
 
 * Reyner, Append, i. seq. 
 
 *> Fuller's Church Hist. B. ix. p. 88. Archseo- 
 logia, xiii. 251. seq. 
 
 *= Fuller, B. vi. p. 366. Cent. xvii. p. 119. 
 d State Trials, iii. 6, 7. Ed. fol. 
 
 permitted to reside who would not de- 
 vote themselves to prayers at certain 
 hours. Morning, Noon, Evening, and 
 Night, and eat and drink by measure. 
 Within her Chapel was a rich Altar, 
 Crucifix, and wax-candles, and before 
 the reading of prayers, they bowed 
 thrice to the Altar, as they went up 
 and came down. They were at liberty 
 to use any vocation within the house, 
 as binding books, teaching scholars, or 
 studying, and if any of the Society were 
 inclined to marry, they had free liberty 
 to depart.^^ 
 
 This Protestant Nunnery was no 
 other than the old Beguines, or devout 
 women, who appeared about the 13th 
 century,^ and wearing a religious habit, 
 with a private profession of conti- 
 nence and regular life, yet would not 
 be confined to a Cloister, or adopt a 
 rule. Lindanus thus describes the 
 Flemish Beguines, contemporary, or 
 nearly so, with these Protestant Nuns. 
 They observe a middle course between 
 a Monastic and secular life. They live 
 under certain rules, but from their 
 own funds, and without vows. If they 
 think fit to marry, they leave the house 
 and do so. The old Beguines did 
 sometimes, however, make a vow of 
 marrying God, by cutting off their 
 hair. In France, by degrees, the or- 
 der was converted into Tertiaries of 
 Francis.^ 
 
 II. — In 1696, the learned Mary 
 Astell projected a College for the edu- 
 cation of young women, and an Asylum 
 for the unfortunate, of which an ample 
 endowment was promised.** Learned 
 
 "• Acta Regia, 771. 
 
 ' See the two Matthews, Paris and Westminster, 
 a° 1243, but earlier evidences exist. 
 
 & Du Cange, v. Begharde^ &c. 
 
 * Mr. Nichols kindly communicates the facts 
 upon which the reflections annexed are founded. 
 
MODERN MONACHISM, 
 
 299 
 
 or able persons ought not to think in 
 extremes. The common occurrence 
 of results, which cannot be anticipated, 
 may justify caution, but not the vulgar 
 habit of allowing weight to frivolous 
 objections ; and thus sanctifying pre- 
 judice. Because the plan assimilated 
 conventual institutions, Bishop Bur- 
 net, notoriously a man of defective 
 judgment, and Swift, by profession a 
 libeller, in sentiment not a man, suc- 
 ceeded in robbing posterity of much 
 probable benefit. 
 
 Lady Masham, about 1700, medi- 
 tated, as I presume, a similar educa- 
 tional plan, in a tract in which she 
 shows the necessity of a reform in fe- 
 male education, and expatiates upon 
 the ignorance of English Gentlemen. 
 Squire Western was in his day a real 
 character, but a lineal descendant in 
 manners and habits of the feudal land- 
 holder, whom field-sports inured to 
 military duties. Though this coarse- 
 ness was ameliorated by Chivalry ; im- 
 provements in the state of society, with 
 far greater effect, have produced an 
 alteration, which could not possibly re- 
 sult from simple education, whether 
 Monastic or not, unsupported by such 
 important auxiliaries. 
 
 A kind of Royal Society of Philoso- 
 phers of both sexes had been monas- 
 tically governed in Germany, at the end 
 of the 17th century, by Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Frederick V. King of Bo- 
 hemia. A rich and fashionable groupe 
 of Bas-blues were assembled upon a 
 conventual plan, in a rural retreat, by 
 the accomplished Harriet Eusebia Har- 
 court, who died in 1745. According 
 to nature, as the feminine duties are 
 pointed out by her, and sensitive timi- 
 dity and soft grace rendered woman's 
 chief attractions, fine taste, delicate 
 sentiment and tender feeUngs are more 
 appropriate than philosophical habits, 
 which produce masculine, disputatious, 
 and deterring characters, certainly un- 
 suited to the conjugal or maternal sta- 
 tion. Monasteries of learned women 
 would be injurious to Society, because 
 they might be much better employed. 
 
 Hopeless as to the revival of Monas- 
 
 tick Institutions, some advocates, by 
 way of insinuation, have used the fol- 
 lowing arguments. One pleads the 
 advantageous result, as he supposes, oi 
 similar restraints upon indulgence Oj. 
 the passions : but he does not know, 
 that the riotous, corrupt, and prurient 
 imagination, occasioned by these re- 
 straints, destroys the effect proposed, 
 through invigoration of the passions,^ 
 
 Another, upon medical principles, 
 palliates ascetical austerities, by display- 
 ing various intellectual and corporeal 
 injuries, which ensue from too gene- 
 rous food, and consequent dispeptic 
 habits ; but this proves not the neces- 
 sity of Monasteries, only of temper- 
 ance. A third, under the persuasion, 
 that an unjust libel upon numerous 
 pious, charitable, and even amiable 
 women is a serious truth, gravely re- 
 commends Monastick Institutions, as 
 remedies, eradicating the spleen and 
 fidgets in Old Maids ; as if dogs be- 
 came better tempered from being 
 chained or kenneled, or there was no 
 quarrellin^r in Alms-houses of old wo- 
 men. A rigid monastery would at 
 least be a more proper punishment of 
 Adultery than a pecuniary mulct. 
 
 III. — Modern Monks in England, 
 The most eminent of these is the Mo- 
 nastery of La Trappe, settled by the 
 bounty of Mr. Weld, at Lul worth in 
 Dorsetshire. The first Abbey of La 
 Trappe, [in Normandy,] was founded 
 by Retrou Count de Perche, in 11 40 : 
 but was converted in the I7th century 
 into its present form, by Bouthillier de 
 La Ranee, the once celebrated author 
 of the Devoirs de la Vie Monastique, a 
 rhapsody, with learned ascetick quo- 
 tations, often cited in this work. He 
 is said in early life to have been a man 
 of elegant mind and pleasurable ha- 
 bits, who at the age of fourteen pub- 
 lished an edition of Anacreon. Two 
 accounts are given of his change of 
 manners : one, that it was owing to a 
 providential escape when a gun burst 
 
 » See this ingeniously and ably exhibited by 
 Zimmerman, in his work upon Solitude. 
 
300 
 
 MODERN MONACHISM. 
 
 upon his shoulder; another, that in- 
 tending to surprise a favourite female 
 by an unexpected visit after long ab- 
 sence, he rushed into her room, and 
 found her a corpse, disfigured beyond 
 conception by the small pox, and the 
 surgeon about to separate the head 
 from the body, because the coffin had 
 been made too short. The shock was 
 terrible ; but had he been a confirmed 
 libertine, would have been soon for- 
 gotten, except by occasional painful re- 
 collections. 
 
 Too rigid education (for he had been 
 tutored under an Archiepiscopal uncle) 
 produced an exaggerated estimate of 
 pleasure. But being undeceived by 
 experience, and elevated above mere 
 grossness by literary habits, he recurred 
 to early impressions. Warm feelings 
 united with an active mind must ever 
 have a hobby, which it pursues fanati- 
 cally; and through the Monastick Fene- 
 lon system of his education,^ a system 
 which, in its pursuit of faultless cha- 
 racter, forgets that to be void of excel- 
 lence is the greatest of all faults, 
 Bouthillier de la Ranee, unfortunately 
 for the world, considering his abilities 
 and energy, directed his attention to 
 the creation of feeble character and 
 useless innocence. As he does not 
 quote the sacred writings but to sup- 
 port the Postils of the Ascetick fa- 
 thers, he did not know that one object 
 of the Holy Apostles in the Epistles 
 was to fix all the necessary forms of 
 Christian Communities. Unacquainted 
 with the real tendency of Apostolical 
 Philosophy, to produce, by means of 
 faith, Purity, Contentment, and Pru- 
 dence, a sublime mind, and a happy 
 temper, he did not also know, that 
 Christianity has, by this means, the 
 promise of the life which now is, as well 
 as of that which is to come. In his Mo- 
 nastick reforms, he places the minds of 
 his followers immovable in the stocks, 
 and makes them corporeally mere 
 dumb working animals, always in har- 
 
 » See this argumentatively illustrated in the 
 Edinburgh Review of 1813, p. 136. 
 
 ness, and prevented, except by agri- 
 cultural industry, from rendering com- 
 mon services to mankind, much more 
 for making those active exertions for 
 the good of society, of producing which, 
 under happier religious principles, no 
 man would have been more capable. 
 Prompted, too, in his choice of an 
 object by soured feelings, he recurred 
 to the Carthusian Rule, which, he 
 knew, had degenerated the least of any, 
 because Degeneracy, at least ostensi- 
 ble, is impracticable in solitary con- 
 finement ; where, in fact, the Convent 
 is a mere well-regulated prison: and 
 the Keeper is exonerated from the se- 
 verities. Baron Borne says of the 
 Monk of La Trappe, "he only of all 
 Monks labours, ploughs, and digs the 
 ground ; but the superiors of the spe- 
 cies, who live and dine pleasantly, enjoy 
 the fruits of their labours .^'^ 
 
 Bernard, a stern unamiable fanatick, 
 whose sole pleasure was the gratifica- 
 tion of his pride, was the darling au- 
 thor of Bouthillier; and the latter, 
 taking the Benedictine Rule as his 
 basis, superadded to it, as leading dis- 
 tinctions of his reform, insulation of 
 the Monks from each other, because 
 being thus estranged they neither quar- 
 rel nor form parties ; perpetual silence ; 
 frugal fare, because persons, who live 
 luxuriously, require sleep, and cannot 
 rise to mattins, with content ; and ma- 
 nual labour, instead of reading, be- 
 cause, he says, the Oriental Monks 
 subsisted whole countries by their la- 
 bours ; and cultivation of the soil 
 would enable his followers to assist 
 pilgrims, comfort the poor, and enter- 
 tain strangers.*^ As a corrective peni- 
 tentiary system, applied to characters 
 injurious to society, his plan is worthy 
 the serious attention of political Eco- 
 nomists, but no government ought to 
 permit the power of inflicting such 
 misery upon innocence. Add to this 
 the following remark of Lady Mary 
 
 ^ Specimen Monachologise, p. 31, seq. This does 
 not appear at Lulworth. 
 
 *^ AH this the reader may see in his Devoirs, i. 
 339, 342, ii. 340—345. iii. 47. and other places 
 quoted in this work. 
 
MODERN MONACHISM. 
 
 301 
 
 Wortley Montague upon a Monastery 
 of La Trappe : " I cannot well form a 
 notion of that spiritual and extatick 
 joy, that is mixed with sighs, groans, 
 hunger and thirst, and the other com- 
 plicated miseries of monastick disci- 
 pline. It is a strange way of going to 
 work for happiness, to excite an en- 
 mity between soul and body, which 
 Nature and Providence have designed 
 to live together in an uninterrupted 
 friendship, and which we cannot sepa- 
 rate, like man and wife, when they 
 happen to disagree.'' 
 
 These Lulworth Monks, though of 
 course mere automata, are humble, 
 inoffensive, and moral. Superstition, 
 compatible with all religious, and even 
 infidel principles, does not necessarily 
 include vice ; and these noble-minded 
 Asceticks maintained 80 orphan chil- 
 dren of the murdered French Noblesse, 
 and refused an asylum from the Em- 
 peror of Russia, because they would 
 not rob a legitimate proprietor of his 
 estate. 
 
 Messrs. Gough and Nichols made a 
 visit to the Refugees of Lulworth, and, 
 besides their own remarks, have print- 
 ed a the accounts of a hostile and a 
 friendly visitor. The two latter are 
 evidently ignorant of the Romish Ca- 
 nonical hours, and invariable Monas- 
 tick habits. In Manners and Customs 
 they are both inaccurate. Without 
 rejecting their description, it is there- 
 fore better to premise the rule, which 
 their imperfect lights only show in 
 almost all points observed. 
 
 Rule, The hour of rising is marked 
 by the Dormitory bell, which rings at 
 2 A. M. on working days, at 1 on Sun- 
 days and festivals, and at midnight [on 
 account of Vigils, F.] for grand festivals. 
 They go immediately to the Church 
 to say Matins and Lauds till four. 
 They employ themselves till five in 
 prayers at Church, or in reading Di- 
 vinity in the Cloister. They return 
 to Church to say Prime, after which is 
 
 * In Hutchins's Dorsetshire, new edition (vol. 
 iv. p. 349, seq.) Additions to vol. i. whence all the 
 accounts here are taken. 
 
 held, for half an hour, a chapter of 
 faults ; they then go to work for an 
 hour and a half; and leave off at the 
 bell which calls to Church to Tierce, 
 High Mass, and Sext ; after which they 
 repair to the Refectory. In winter 
 Nones are said at noon, and in summer 
 at one o'clock. After Nones they re- 
 turn to labour for an hour and a half, 
 and leave off when the bell calls to 
 Church to pray for the King, which 
 lasts about a quarter of an hour. At 
 four o'clock they say Vespers ; at five 
 go to the Refectory, till half after 
 six ; a quarter of an hour is spent in 
 praying in the Church, or in reading 
 together in the Cloister. At seven they 
 say Complin, and at eight they go to 
 bed. 
 
 These and some other of the subse- 
 quent regulations are simply Benedic- 
 tine, except the manual labour, and the 
 rigorous injunction of silence, which is 
 not only perpetual, but prohibits com- 
 munication by writing or signs, or even 
 two standing near together. 
 
 Every Saturday at La Trappe was a 
 Maundy, or feet- washing in the Clois- 
 ter; and Communion every Sunday 
 and principal festivals by all the Reli- 
 gious not Priests. The Deacon having 
 received the kiss of peace from the ce- 
 lebrant, while they were singing the 
 Agnus Dei, went down to give it to the 
 Sub-deacon, who carried it to the en- 
 trance of the Sanctuary to the oldest 
 Monk, who was to communicate, and 
 he to the next following, and so the 
 rest. This kiss of peace was received 
 at the place where the Sub- deacon 
 chaunted the epistle. They afterwards 
 kneeled down six and six in the Sanc- 
 tuary, and communicated on the epis- 
 tle side of the Altar ; then returned to 
 their places. Conferences [religious 
 converzationes] were usually held in a 
 room, garden, or other place, at the 
 ringing of the bell by the Superior 
 every Sunday, and on festivals, when 
 they fell on the middle of the week. 
 
 The sick or infirm religious had 
 meat only by leave of the Superior, and 
 after five or seven attacks of fever. 
 The hifirm never drank wine, unless a 
 
302 
 
 MODERN MONACHISM, 
 
 remedy against fainting. No sugar or 
 sweetmeats were used.* 
 
 When Motraye visited La Trappe, 
 which was while our James II. made a 
 temporary visit there for edification in 
 his own way of Ite^ missa est, [Go, it is 
 the hour of mass J he was received by 
 the porter in a coat Hke a Quaker, of 
 the coarsest grey stuff, who, after kneel- 
 ing before him in silence^ beckoned to 
 him to follow him, and brought him to 
 another brother in the same dress, 
 who, after kneeling, led him into a hall, 
 whither the Father Porter, who was al- 
 lowed to speak, introduced him to 
 Ranee, who had resigned through age. 
 
 In 1800 Mr. Gough, Mr. Nichols, 
 and Mr. Basire, visited Lulworth. 
 They say, " When the French Revolu- 
 tion drove these religious from their 
 situation in Normandy, Mr. Weld, of 
 Lulworth Castle, gave them refuge on 
 the sea-coast, near Lulworth Cove, a 
 few fields from his park-gate, and al- 
 lotted them 400 acres, which they cul- 
 tivate, and send the produce that ex- 
 ceeds their own consumption to Poole. 
 Their house consists of an outer court, 
 with stables or other buildings, through 
 which you pass to the principal door, 
 where the Porter, who is permitted to 
 speak, receives and conducts you, from 
 a small hall or lobby, into a parlour, in 
 the window of which lay Thomas a 
 Kempis, and a French Quarto of the 
 Rules, &c. of the Orders.'^ Another 
 Traveller says, " Ringing at the gate 
 of the Monastery, we were received by 
 the Porter. It is impossible to give 
 an accurate idea of the hideousness of 
 this man^s dress, which was composed 
 of a tunick made of coarse, thick, and 
 heavy woollen cloth. Over his shoul- 
 ders he wore a cope made of the same 
 material ; this was partly thrown back, 
 so that his face was visible. (See the 
 Plate,p.306,fig.3.) The Porter, though 
 one of the brotherhood, was sufficiently 
 communicative. He complained, in- 
 deed, that the Superior, by continuing 
 
 » Of this Carthusian Regulation, see Chapter of 
 Rules, p. 65. 
 *» A mere compliment ; not the Rule. 
 
 him for two years in an office which 
 ought to be occupied by each brother 
 in his turn, had grievously interrupted 
 those devout meditations, in which it 
 was his ardent wish to be uninter- 
 ruptedly employed. Intercourse with 
 strangers, he said, led his thoughts back 
 to that world, which he wished to for- 
 get :'' [thus proving the justice of the 
 remark, that Monachism disqualifies 
 mankind for any duties but its own.] 
 
 The friendly Visitor says, " The 
 entrance to the Monastery is on the 
 west side, near the Porter's Lodge, un- 
 der a long narrow building, which 
 serves for offices of the meaner kind. 
 The Porter who received us, was dress- 
 ed in the habit of a convent-brother, 
 wearing a long brown robe of coarse 
 cloth, and a cowl of the same colour 
 over his head, a leathern girdle encir- 
 cled his waist, from which were sus- 
 pended his keys : he spoke to us in a 
 whisper, and desired us to be silent.^^ 
 (See the Plate, p. 306, fig. 3.) 
 
 On the right and left of the gate at 
 La Trappe was the farm of the Abbey, 
 where the secular brethren, thrice a 
 week, under a pent-house, distributed 
 bread to numerous poor. There they 
 lodged in bed-chambers a great num- 
 ber of guests. After passing the gate 
 at the further end of the court, was on 
 the left the Chapel, where the women 
 heard mass, not being admitted into the 
 Church. On each side was a suit of 
 buildings for the use of the Monastery, 
 such as presses, forges, stables, maga- 
 zines, &c. At Lulworth the confor- 
 mity of structure is at least upon the 
 same plan, and women equally ex- 
 cluded ; and all these offices are in an 
 outer court, as at La Trappe. One of 
 the Travellers says, " As we passed 
 through the first court at Lulworth, we 
 fancied ourselves in former days, when 
 the Monastick orders flourished ; and 
 strange and unusual seemed the ap- 
 pearance of the Monks in the full habit 
 of their order, gliding along intent on me- 
 ditation, or employed in manual labour, 
 but not a word spoken. ^^ The other 
 
 Traveller 
 
 saySj 
 
 that their faces were 
 
 covered, so that only their eyes and 
 
MODERN MONACHISM. 
 
 303 
 
 ^oses were visible. This is precisely 
 according to the Rule and Custom of 
 the Parent House, where they never 
 spoke, read, wrote, or looked any per- 
 son in the face, but always on the 
 ground. There were only two excep- 
 tions, of which hereafter. 
 
 At Lul worth are a Chapel or Church, 
 Chapter, Cloisters, Refectory, Dormito- 
 rij, Visitors'' Parlours, and Bed-room ; 
 of which, in order. 
 
 Church, At La Trappe the Churcli 
 was descended into by six steps, and 
 consisted of a nave and two choirs for 
 the converts and the brethren. At the 
 service the religious appeared like ma- 
 chines singing without book; their 
 eyes shut or fixed on the earth, their 
 hands crossed before them, and kiss- 
 ing the ground at going in and coming 
 out. Their chaunt was unaccompanied 
 by the organ or any musical instru- 
 ment whatever, and no decoration was 
 permitted in the Church. Messrs. 
 Gough and Nichols describe the Cha- 
 pel at Lulworth, as neatly fitted up 
 with deal stalls on each side ; in the 
 centre, as at La Trappe, a turret with 
 a dome. The anti-chapel, over which 
 is a gallery, has on each side the door 
 two whole-lengths of the Virgin Mo- 
 ther, with L H. S. on a heart on the 
 South, superscribed on the frame, 
 " Do all that he will tell you.'' On 
 the North, " Mother, behold your 
 Son." Over the door, our Lady of 
 Pity. At a table, lifted up under the 
 North Picture, the Abbot celebrated 
 High Mass, attended only by an Aco- 
 lyte. He finished the service at the 
 High Altar ; which has, under a taber- 
 nacle, the Virgin and Child, seemingly 
 in terra cotta or painted wood; the 
 arms with wax lights, issued from the 
 heart, and L H. S. ; and there was a 
 small plain chandelier. In the way to 
 the Vestry was a good Picture of St. 
 John's Baptism, over a table ; and in 
 the Vestry, in two sets of drawers, the 
 maniples and vestments for solemn 
 festivals; a large cross of wood with 
 an inscription on the shaft and trans- 
 verse ; and a silver chalice, embossed 
 with Scripture histories in compart- 
 
 ments, the oldest piece of plate which 
 they possess. One of the Travellers 
 says, the names of the Monks were 
 inscribed on the stalls, and in each 
 stall was a large old Missal on vellum, 
 guarded at the corners and sides, and. 
 large clasps ; a lamp burning perpetu- 
 ally during the presence of the Eucha- 
 rist. The rood-loft contained an organ 
 [a deviation from the custom of the 
 parent house]. 
 
 Opposite to the Chapel were private 
 oratories, embellished with crucifixes 
 and religious paintings. 
 
 Chapter, At La Trappe the Chaptei 
 opened into the Cloister, where the 
 Abbot, on a raised seat, addressed his 
 reproof to the brethren, and near it 
 was a way into the garden, in which 
 the religious, on a signal given by 
 their Superior, returned to their work. 
 In the old Rule was a Morning Chap- 
 ter, as in almost all Orders. Of Lul- 
 worth, one Traveller says, ^' From ano- 
 ther part of the Cloisters we entered 
 the Chapter-house, whither the Monks 
 retire after their meal is over, not to 
 beguile away their time in trifling con- 
 versation,^ but in reading religious 
 books, saying vespers and other evening 
 prayers, and in public self-accusation : 
 the walls of this room are covered with 
 religious prints, and at the entrance 
 hung up a board with pegs, on which 
 were suspended bits of wood, in- 
 scribed with the names of all the Monks 
 that had been and are now in the Con- 
 vent ; P. Dionysius, P. Hyacinthus, P. 
 JuUanus, P. Barnardus, P. Martinus, 
 P. Matthseus, P. Pius, and others, to 
 the number of eighty-six : on another 
 board were inscribed a list of the dif- 
 ferent ofiices of the Church for the 
 day, and the names of such of the fa- 
 thers as officiated, set opposite ; below 
 it, an exhortation in Latin and French, 
 pointing out the advantages of devo- 
 tion, and the importance of self-denial." 
 At La Trappe the religious might speak 
 to confess their evil thoughts to the 
 Abbot, and to accuse or proclaim 
 
 * Alluding to the conversations after Nones, and 
 the Biberes, in other Orders. 
 
304 
 
 MODERN MONACHISM. 
 
 themselves in full chapter, on which 
 they prostrated themselves to the 
 ground, and remained till the Abbot 
 stamped with his foot. 
 
 Cloisters, At La Trappe the Clois- 
 ter was within the house, wherein they 
 passed all their leisure time, and at- 
 tended lectures and conferences. At 
 Lulworth, one modern Visitor says, 
 " The Cloisters are used for air and 
 exercise in bad weather, having a large 
 cistern at one end for the Monks to 
 wash/-* At La Trappe on the right 
 hand of the Garden was the cemetery 
 of the religious, and in the middle of 
 it the tomb of De Ranee their founder, 
 under a building 9 feet by 6. The 
 graves of the common religious were 
 distinguished only by a wooden cross, 
 with the name, diocese, and town of 
 the deceased, inscribed on a plate of 
 lead. When in a dying state, they 
 were carried into the Choir, and laid 
 on straw, over which ashes had been 
 previously strewed in form of a cross,^ 
 and were buried in their habit, with- 
 out any pomp. At Lulworth, Messrs. 
 Gough and Nichols noted in the ce- 
 metery a grave of a boy, at the head 
 and feet of which were a wooden cross ; 
 and an open grave. One Traveller 
 says, passing from the Chapter through 
 a Cloister, we visited the burpng 
 ground, which occupies a small inner 
 court. " Two graves, already tenanted 
 are marked by two wooden crosses ; 
 and one grave is always kept open [as 
 a memento mori was the intention of 
 De Ranee. F.] ready to receive the 
 next deceased. Our conductor assured 
 us, that each individual of the frater- 
 nity prayed sincerely that he might him- 
 self soon become the next occupant.'^ 
 The other Traveller says, "This Monas- 
 tery is of a quadrangular shape, with 
 a schilling in the inside, forming the 
 Cloisters, and the area a depository for 
 the dead. We observed seven graves, to 
 some of which Were added a wooden 
 cross, either at the head or feet.'^ 
 
 * The ashes on Ash-Wednesday and these times, 
 •were to commemorate "that man is but Ashes and 
 Earth, and thereto shall return." Fuller's Ch. 
 Hist. Cent. xvi. p. 222. 
 
 Refectory. At La Trappe, on one 
 side of the Cloister, was the Refectory 
 of the Monks, and by the side of it 
 that of the convert brothers, with a 
 communication between them, that 
 both might hear the reading in the 
 great Refectory. It ended at the kit- 
 chen, which, by a little court, commu- 
 nicated with the court of the converts, 
 where in diiferent shops each followed 
 his respective trade. Their fare was 
 only pulse, herbs, and boiled roots, 
 without butter or oil, and very brown 
 bread, and no fish, or flesh, or eggs, 
 only milk. Messrs. Gough and Ni- 
 chols say, that at Lulworth, "the Clois- 
 ter led on the South to the Refectory, 
 opposite to which are the Kitchen and 
 Buttery with two doors. At the up- 
 per end of the Refectory, which runs 
 from North to South, is the Abbot's 
 table under a crucifix; and on each 
 side, on the East, the table of the re- 
 ligious, and on the West, that of the 
 Seculars and Acolytes, all spread with 
 coarse cloth, wooden platters and 
 spoons, stone jugs and horns, filled 
 with water. One of the Seculars from 
 the Kitchen, through the door, carried 
 up two bowls full of boiled rice, cab- 
 bage, potatoes, and milk to the Abbotts 
 table, making three bows in the Refec- 
 tory, and afterwards took from the 
 hatch the bowls of the others singly. 
 East of the Refectory is the scullery 
 and workshop, where they turn, make 
 and mend their habits, bind their books, 
 and write their musick.^^ One Travel- 
 ler describes the Refectory as " a very 
 plain room with white-washed walls, 
 furnished with a rude table, and two 
 or three wooden-bottomed chairs.'* 
 In the next account there must be 
 some mistake, for it mentions soup 
 and bread, quite black, as the only fare 
 allowed to the Monks, of which they 
 partook twice a day in summer, and 
 once only in winter ; whereas the other 
 Traveller says, they have only one 
 meal. The former says, that a wood- 
 en bowl and spoon and a coarse earth- 
 enware cup for each person, composed 
 the whole of their table utensils. The 
 latter describes the Refectory "as a 
 
MODERN MONACHISM. 
 
 305 
 
 very long room, containing a wooden 
 bench, extending on each side ; upon 
 the tables were placed a wooden tren- 
 cher, bowl and spoon, with a napkin 
 for each Monk, and the name of each 
 inscribed over his seat ; and at the up- 
 per end sat the Prior, distinguished 
 from the rest of the convent, only by 
 his pastoral staff. During the repast, 
 the Lecturer delivered a discourse, as 
 usual in all orders ; and still retained 
 in many Colleges of the two Univer- 
 sities. 
 
 Dormitory, At La Trappe the up- 
 per story was occupied by distinct 
 Dormitories for each order, and the 
 Monks slept on straw mattrasses^ with- 
 out sheets : and at eight went to bed. 
 At Lul worth, Messrs. Go ugh and Ni- 
 chols found the Dormitory a long gal- 
 lery lighted by one window to the 
 South, with 12 bedsteads, straw mat- 
 trasses, and pillows on each side ; and 
 on the teasters the respective names 
 of the Monks. The cynical Traveller 
 agrees with them in the construction 
 of the Apartment, but makes the beds 
 or rather cells, 24 or 25, separated 
 from each other by wooden partitions. 
 In these cells, the whole fraternity re- 
 pose on bare boards, covered with only 
 a blanket and rug. The friendly 
 Visitor says, that the Dormitory " ex- 
 tends the whole length of the building, 
 and on each side are ranged the cells 
 of the Monks, in which they recline 
 themselves on wood, with one blanket, 
 and a coarse rug. There is a window 
 at each end, to ventilate and air the 
 room, which is dark and gloomy : and 
 a clock is stationed near the entrance 
 to warn the Monks of the hour of Mat- 
 tins.'' 
 
 Visitors' Parlour and Bed-room, 
 These at La Trappe had the usual 
 large accommodations of the great Ab- 
 beys: a Hall, Chambers, &c. One 
 Traveller describes it at Lulworth, as 
 a kind of common sitting-room, 
 where were about two dozen of super- 
 stitious books, mostly in French, some 
 few in Latin, the whole of their library. 
 Messrs. Gough and Nichols say, that 
 
 over the parlour are two neat small 
 plaster chambers, with check bed-fur- 
 niture, and white quilts, for strangers. 
 
 The Rule of the Founder prescribed 
 manual labour, as being the first pu- 
 nishment annexed to sin, and an exer- 
 cise extremely well suited to the state of 
 the poor and of the penitent, and as a 
 very powerful means to sanctify them in 
 their profession. This work they were 
 to perform, neither indolently nor vio- 
 lently; that is, in the Festina Lente 
 manner of Baron Born's description. 
 At La Trappe, when at work, they 
 threw off the great hood, and retained 
 only a shirt, of white thin serge, with 
 their long gowns of the same stuff, but 
 thicker, which they tucked up and 
 confined in the ends of the scapulary, 
 under their leathern girdle. The first 
 Traveller to Lulworth says, ^' The 
 Monks whom we met did not so 
 much as look at us when we approach- 
 ed them ; they turned aside their heads, 
 and crossed themselves in silence.'^ 
 The second Visitor says, '^ The Monks 
 observe perpetual silence, scarcely even 
 look at each other, and never speak 
 but to their Prior, and only on urgent 
 occasions : they never wander from 
 their Convent without permission of 
 their Superior, but go each morning 
 cheerfully to such work as they are 
 directed to perform. As we passed 
 these poor humble unoffending Monks at 
 their work they received us with courtesy 
 and humility, but never spoke."' The 
 ground attached to the Monastery con- 
 tains about 400 acres, w^hich is culti- 
 vated by the Monks, with the assist- 
 ance of a carter and his boy. 
 
 Costumes. At La Trappe their habit 
 was a long white woollen gown, tied 
 with a leathern girdle, a black scapu- 
 lary, and a wide hood ; but novices 
 wore a kind of capote of coarse brown 
 wool, without sleeves. The first Tra- 
 veller describes them at Lulworth, as 
 habited like the Porter (seep. 302), with 
 stockings of coarse cloth, and wooden 
 shoes, about three inches thick in the 
 sole. The second Traveller mentions 
 a vestment-room, where the vestments 
 
306 
 
 MODERN MONACHISM, 
 
 of the Choir-brothers were hung up, 
 with the name of each inscribed. 
 
 Explanation of the Print. The sub- 
 jects of this Plate are selected from 
 several very spirited sketches by Mr. 
 Basire, taken when on a visit to Lul- 
 worth with Messrs. Gough and Ni- 
 chols, in the year 1800. 
 
 Fig. 1, is a portrait of the Abbot, in 
 his costume. 
 
 Fig. 2, is a portrait of one of the 
 Monks, in meditation and prayer. 
 
 Fig. 3, is a striking portrait of the 
 talkative little Porter. 
 
 Fig. 4, is another of the Monks. 
 
 Fig. 5, the Monks at Church, exhi- 
 biting the attitude of the Venia, 
 
 Fig. 6, is a Monk in prayer at 
 the High Altar. 
 
 In the back ground of figures 2, and 
 4, are very slight distant views of the 
 Monastery at Lulworth. 
 
 Nuns of Spettisbury. A Mrs. Mary 
 Wiseman, a professed Nun of the Fle- 
 mish Convent of St. Ursula in Lou- 
 vain, established in the last place, in 
 the year 1609, a house of Canonesses 
 of the Augustinian order. They were 
 governed by a Prioress, and educated 
 young ladies. This house enjoyed con- 
 siderable funds, and subsisted till the 
 French Invasion in 179"^^ when the 
 members of it fled out of the Low 
 Countries.^ Thus the Abbe Mann : 
 According to other authorities,^ the 
 house was founded by some English 
 members of a Flemish community. 
 When they sought an asylum in their 
 native country, in 1799, they were 
 received by an hospitable friend, till 
 a residence was hired for them at 
 Amesbury in Wiltshire, where they 
 resided till the year J 800. Since then, 
 Spettisbury house, in Dorsetshire, has 
 been their mansion. The Society is 
 at present composed of 33 members. 
 The principal apartment of the house 
 is occupied by young ladies, whom 
 they educate. They are about 70 in 
 family. There is also a separate build- 
 ing, in which their Chaplain and some 
 
 ' Archseologia, xiii. p. 264. 
 
 b Hutchins's Dorsetshire, new Edit. iii. p. 135. 
 
 respectable boarders reside. These 
 ladies express much gratitude to the 
 Nation at large ; and particular obliga- 
 tion to a lady who boarded with them, 
 and built them a private Chapel, over 
 the entrance of which her arms are 
 placed. 
 
 Benedictine Nuns. In the year 1651, 
 this Monastery was founded by the 
 interest of Clementina Cara, daughter 
 of the celebrated Viscount Falkland, 
 killed in the wars of Charles I, After 
 five several habitations in Paris, they 
 at last, in 166*4, fixed themselves in the 
 Rue du champ d^Aloutte, Fauxbourg 
 St. Marcel, where they remained till 
 their expulsion by the Revolution in 
 1793.*' After imprisonment with other 
 Nuns in the Castle of Vincennes for 
 four months, and removal from thence 
 to another Convent of Nuns, they at 
 length, in March 1795, were liberated; 
 and with much delay and difficulty ob- 
 taining, by great interest, the necessary 
 passports, and selling what little was 
 left to pay their passage, they arrived 
 at Dover, July 3, 1795; at London 
 two days after.d In the same year 
 they retired to MarnhuU, co. Dorset. 
 The Society consisted of eighteen 
 ladies, all English, (one a sister of the 
 late eccentric Philip Thicknesse,) under 
 Mrs. Johnson, as Abbess. The sister 
 and heir of the late Cuthbert Tonstal, 
 Esq. was a frequent visitor and bene- 
 factress. She lived and slept in the 
 house, and had a separate table ; but 
 her maid servant, being a Protestant, 
 did not sleep there. They have two 
 Priests for Chaplain and Confessors, 
 one of whom, by the importation of a 
 valuable library in several large chests, 
 subjected them to an absurd suspicion, 
 that these chests concealed arms, and 
 actually persons. This foohsh affair 
 was soon set at rest by the Magis- 
 trates and Gentry of the neighbour- 
 hood. The burial of one of the sisters 
 
 «= Abbe Mann's Account of English Convents, 
 &c. on the Continent, in Archseologia, v. xiii. p. 
 
 269. , , 
 
 ^ Account of British Subjects suflferers by the 
 late Revolution. Part ii. p. 9— 16. 
 
Ai4^tet sculp 
 
 7/z4 ^^ /y]ty . A 
 
 ''T^V?^?^ /X 
 
 '/- y^y/yyjTT^^ ^JjrK^ityi/^ 7/! . 
 
MODERN MONACHISM, 
 
 307 
 
 in the garden, without a coroner, 
 created another alarm, which was in 
 Uke manner removed. During the 
 search thus occasioned, were found 
 four alabaster bas-reUefs of the Pas- 
 sion and Crucifixion. 
 
 In 179^? there were seventeen, in 
 the Benedictine Costume of black 
 
 gowns and veils. They have since re- 
 moved to a house near Bridgewater in 
 Somersetshire.^ 
 
 It has been reported, that there are 
 other Societies now in the kingdom. 
 
 * Hutchins's Dorsetshire, new Edition, iv. \GA. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The particulars attending the Dis- 
 solution of Monasteries are wellknown; 
 but, as I have seen some unpublished 
 matter on this subject, I shall here 
 give it. 
 
 The famous prophecy of Robert 
 Langland, in the Vision of Piers Plow- 
 man, of the destruction of Monasteries, 
 is not unique. In MS. Cott. Titus, D. 
 XII. Sect. 8. (Smith's Catalogue,) 
 there are or were " Versus prophetici 
 rhythmici de destructione monasterio- 
 7'um;'^ and it is by every thing probable 
 that Langland, and this writer, merely 
 expressed a general opinion. It was 
 said of the Lollards : " They also per- 
 suade the great persons of the land, 
 that the Church-possessions are to be 
 taken away, and given to knights. '' ^ 
 
 As Henry VIII. acted on this idea, 
 it is fit to note, that if an estate is 
 bought subject to tithes, the purchase 
 money is proportionably less ; and if 
 tithes be taken away, the landlord will 
 have the amount in increased rent, 
 with whom the tenant can never make 
 so good a bargain as with the clergy- 
 man. 
 
 Now it happens most unluckily, that 
 the gifts to the Religious were of con- 
 siderable national benefit ; and that 
 they were the great loanmongers of 
 their days ; (Toulmin's Taunton, p. 8.) 
 and that large possessions in the hands 
 of those very knights only served to 
 
 ^ Hii quoque suadent terrae magnatibus aufe- 
 rendas esse possessiones ecclesise, et militibus dis- 
 tribuendas. MS. Cott. Claud. E. iv. f. 330, a. 
 
 promote bloodshed and misery; that 
 what learning and what religion there 
 was resided among the religious ; that 
 the want of the one would reduce 
 this Country into the pohtical imbeci- 
 lity of Turkey, and that the necessity 
 of the other is conspicuous enough. 
 
 In MS. Harl. 604. f. 63. a. is the 
 Abbot of Athelney's solicitation for 
 mercy, &c. respecting the payment of 
 their debts, " that he may be out of 
 trobell and sute of the law.^^ 
 
 The form of the certificate returned 
 in at the Dissolution was as follows : 
 names of the houses; clere value of 
 lands ; number and pensions of the 
 religious ; clere money remaining ; 
 stock and domestic articles; rewards 
 with the portions paid unto the 
 Priors; remainder of the price of 
 goods and chastels sold ; lead and bells; 
 wood and underwood; plate and Jewells. 
 Id. 92. 
 
 The King and Queen (Philip and 
 Mary) discharged the purchasers of 
 lands of all expence and incumbrance, 
 except leases. The purchaser was to 
 discharge the Kinge and Queen's Ma- 
 jesties of all the fees and repryses go- 
 ynge out of the premises. MS. Harl. 
 6O7. p. 74. a. An inquiry was con- 
 stantly made in parting with the Ab- 
 bey-land, whether they lay near the 
 Royal manors, castles, or houses. Id. 
 46. a. It may please your honnors 
 further to understande that because all 
 the possessions belonge to the said late 
 Monasterye of Saint Agathe's, were 
 immediately upon the dissolution there^ 
 
 X 2 
 
308 
 
 APPENDIX — DISSOLUTION OF MONASTERIES. 
 
 of letten to the Lord Scrope without 
 havinge respects to value. Id. 25. a. It 
 was done to create an interest which 
 might destroy all hopes of restitution. 
 
 The Visitors took care of the Church- 
 duty. "It is needful/' one of them 
 says, " to have a Vicar indowde in the 
 saide collegiate churche, beside th' 
 other pastors, at the leaste to serve 
 the cures ther; that is to say, one 
 to be assistant to the Vicar in the saide 
 collegiate churche, and uther to serve 
 the cure in the Castell Churche, and 
 the third to serve the cure in Horton 
 Churche.'' MS. Harl. 605. f. 56. 
 
 The Convent would disclose nothing; 
 and, says the Visitor, " I fermely bi- 
 leve and suppose, that they had con- 
 federed and compacted before our 
 coming, that they should disclose no- 
 thing : and yet it is confessed and 
 proved, that there was here suche fre- 
 quencie of women coming and reassort- 
 ing to this Monastery, as to no place 
 more." MS. Cott. Cleop. E. iv. f. 
 120. b. 
 
 "The Abbey (of Newark) here is 
 
 confederyde we suppos, and nothing 
 will confesse ; the Abbot is an honest 
 man, and doth vara well ; but he hath 
 here the most obstinate and factiouse 
 Canons that ever I knewe. This mor- 
 nynge I will objecte against divers of 
 them ; . . . , and adulterie, et sic spe- 
 cialiter descender e, whichel have lerned 
 of othir, but not of any of them, which 
 I shall finde I cannot tell.'' Id. 13 1 . b. 
 The different valuations in Dugdale 
 and Speed, Dr. Smith (Catal. of Cott. 
 MSS. xxxix.) professes to explain, by 
 saying the one valuation gives the nett 
 sum after the deductions made, the other 
 not\ now, in Sir H. Ellis's Shoreditch, p. 
 292, are no less than seven valuations 
 of one place ; in p. 321, five ; and it is 
 in vain to enquire the cause of this, 
 since various reasons, all of equal pro- 
 bability, might conspire jointly or 
 severally to produce it. A defect in 
 value, or enumeration, is, however, the 
 most likely in my opinion. No doubt 
 both these events ensued as best suited 
 the purpose. 
 
 '^i^ The following verses on the 
 Dissolution have more than sufficient 
 merit for publication. They are en- 
 titled "A Tale of Robin Hoode, dia- 
 logue-wise, between Watt and JefFry." 
 The moral is the overthrow of the 
 Abbeys : 
 
 Adem Bell* was ware and wise, 
 
 When hee first began to rise, 
 
 As the bee in summer's prime 
 
 Sucks the marigolde and thyme, 
 
 Sucks the rose and dafFodill, 
 
 Leaving, taking what she will, 
 
 And from flow'r to flow'r doth glide. 
 
 Sweetly by the river side ; 
 
 Where chrystal streames delightfull runninge, 
 
 Are ever sweet'ned with his cumminge. 
 
 * Manachi»m. 
 
 Such was Adam in his prime, 
 In the flower of his tyme, 
 Soe he tastes every sweete 
 Till with fatt he fell asleepe ; 
 As he slumb'red in the dale, 
 Spread upon the gentle vale, 
 A famisht lion came that way, 
 [Hungry pantinge] for his pray. 
 In his grasping pawes he hente" him, 
 And in pieces all to rent him ; 
 Yet his cabin doth remaine 
 Beaten with the windes and raine, 
 Spoyled of all the passers by 
 Whose huge frame doth terrify ; 
 All that wondrous monument, 
 All the world's astonishment ; 
 When the wolves'^ and foxes'* saw 
 Adam in the Lion's paw. 
 Ours is Robin's strength they cried, 
 And sett him round on every side. 
 
 MS. Harl. 3G7. f. 150. 
 
 *> Seized. 
 
 <^ Puritans. 
 
 Politicians. 
 
 I 
 
CEREMONIAL OF THE NUNS OF ST. CYR. 
 
 309 
 
 The Rev. Francis Vyvyan Jago 
 Arundel having very obligingly 
 communicated a curious MS. enti- 
 tled, " The Benedictine Ceremonial of 
 the Nuns of St. Cyr/' in the Park of 
 Versailles^ compiled from ancient 
 documents, abstracts are here given 
 of such passages as are not analogous 
 to preceding matters. 
 
 Chap. I. At the sound of the bell, 
 the Noviciates and professed Juniors 
 hastened to the Church, followed by 
 their mistress and her assistant; the 
 others meditating the Rule (C. 43, 48.); 
 to prefer nothing to divine v^^orship. 
 At the Church-door they said the Ver- 
 sicle, " I will enter into thy house,'^ 
 and then dipping their fingers in holy 
 water, crossed themselves, saying, 
 '' Asperges,'^ &c. This they did at all 
 times of entering or leaving the Church, 
 except when in procession. They next, 
 in the anti-choir, put on their full 
 dress, and tied their wimples on cer- 
 tain days, but on others untucked their 
 robes, and dropped the sleeves over 
 their hands. At two steps from the 
 entrance they made a low bow to the 
 Host, one not so low to the Superior, 
 another similar to the Prioress, and 
 upon arrival at their stalls (chaires) 
 again lowly inclined to the Host. These 
 ceremonies were used at going out and 
 passing by. 
 
 The Juniors, down to the tenth year 
 of their profession, said nothing by 
 heart, except the most common things, 
 and the office of Complin. Those ex- 
 onerated legitimately from singing or 
 psalmody arranged themselves last, 
 that they might not interrupt those 
 who sang. The Nuns placed them- 
 selves according to the seniority of 
 their profession on each side of the 
 Choir, particular places of distinction 
 being allotted to the Abbess, her Coad- 
 jutrix, the Prioress, and Sub-prioress. 
 
 All descended by the nearest steps, the 
 Juniors first. When the Abbess said 
 her part of the service, the Nuns stood, 
 as they always did in every place, until 
 she was seated. When she entered or 
 left the Choir, they rose and bowed. 
 No one, except officers on duty, left 
 the Choir during service, without stat- 
 ing the occasion to the presiding Nun. 
 Those released from the daily service, 
 placed themselves below the stalls at 
 Tierce, Vespers, and the Benediction of 
 Complin, which they were obliged to 
 attend, except by dispensation or ne- 
 cessary engagements elsewhere. The 
 candles were lighted and snuffed by 
 some of the youngest. Any sister who 
 had business with another, was to call 
 her out into the anti-choir, that the 
 service might not be impeded. — There 
 were other minor regulations, pp. 
 1—9. 
 
 Chap. II. The attitude in the Choir 
 was to be — the body erect, the head a 
 little inclined, downcast eyes (les yeux 
 demi in terre), the hands under the 
 scapulary or in the sleeves of the full 
 dress, unless when holding the book. 
 Spitting, blowing the nose, and irreve- 
 rent gestures to be avoided, pp. 10. 14. 
 
 Chap. III. '" Our holy Patriarch 
 seems to us to distinguish (signer) two 
 kinds of psalmody, or chant ; the first, 
 which is varied by antiquity or note ; 
 the second, which has no variation, but 
 is of the same tenor .'^ p. 14. Certain 
 services were to be celebrated accord- 
 ingly. 
 
 Chap. IV. regulates the psalmody. 
 Small mistakes noticed by kissing the 
 ground in their places : great errors by 
 doing so before the presiding Nun. pp. 
 18—20. 
 
 Chap. V. Two kinds of bows. The 
 greater, bending the body till the hands 
 touched the knees ; the other, just in- 
 clining the head, the body a little bent, 
 pp. 20—25. 
 
 Chap. VII. Prostration and kissing 
 the ground at certain offices. 
 
310 
 
 CEREMONIAL OF THE NUNS OF ST. CYR. 
 
 CiiAP. XXII. A weekly officer of 
 the Choir appointed for certain minor 
 religious services. 
 
 Chap. XXIII. Except on particular 
 days the cross was placed on the Ab- 
 bess's bench (au banc de L'Abbesse). 
 Tapers were borne before her when she 
 went to the grate, in process! on s^ &c. 
 The cross was carried a little before her 
 on the right side ; but the bearer did 
 not touch it with the naked hand. The 
 cross-bearer also presented the holy- 
 water sprinkle at a certain office. 
 
 Chap. XXV. Method of the Holy 
 Water Benedictiofi, The Nuns ranged 
 themselves in front of the stalls, the 
 Sacrist gave the sprinkle to the Abbess 
 kneeling, and kissing her hand, retired 
 a little behind her, both she and the 
 Abbess having their backs turned to 
 the Altar. The Prioress and rest of 
 the Nuns then made a low reverence 
 to receive the holy water. At other 
 times the Nuns formed a circle, and 
 were sprinkled by the presiding officer 
 in the centre. 
 
 Chap. XXVI. contains the Regula- 
 tion of the whole day. If the Abbess 
 has no want of her sister (sic) she 
 waked the Society, and had the care 
 of the clock; otherwise, another Nun. 
 Nearly the whole Society rose at 4 a.m. 
 the otliers \ past. She then opened 
 the doors, grate, &c. and at ^ past 4 
 rung the first bell of Mattins. Lauds 
 followed immediately without ringing ; 
 then half an hour^s prayer, unless it 
 was abbreviated for justifiable reasons. 
 Prime and Chapter succeeded; and 
 until 8 they withdrew to dress, or of- 
 ficial duties, or those enjoined. At 8, 
 Tierce, followed by Mass, and, till 1 0, 
 manual employment, except on certain 
 ■days. At 10, Sextt On the fasts of 
 the Rule about | past 10 ; if there was 
 a double office, i past 10. On the 
 fasts of the Church they left work at 
 •^ past 1 0, and withdrew to their cells, 
 if they had no business in the offices. 
 At ^ past 11, Nones. Then to the 
 Kefectory in procession, from whence 
 to the Church to say grace, ranged 
 filong the benches, from top to bottom. 
 
 "If there be no fasts, they go from 
 
 11 to 1 2 to refreshment all together : if 
 there be fasts of the Rule, from ^ past 
 11 or thereabouts, till 1. Upon fasts 
 of the Church, from \ past 12 till 2. 
 Upon days when there is no fast, si- 
 lence at noon, and nones at 1. Work 
 till 3. Upon fasts of the Rule, silence 
 from after 1 to 2 ; and upon fasts of the 
 Church from after 2 to 3 there is no 
 work. Upon fasts of the Rule, the 
 hour of labour is from 2 to 3 ; so that 
 Vespers is always at 3. After this there 
 is prayer for an hour. It must finish 
 a little before ^ past 4. If it be a fast 
 they withdraw to their cells; are occu- 
 pied in their offices, or may walk in the 
 garden, or visit the sick.^^ At | past 5 
 the collation in the Refectory, from 
 whence in procession to the Church to 
 Complin. Afterwards the Benediction, 
 Sprinkling with holy water, and at 9 at 
 latest the Dormitory, pp. 102 — 108. 
 
 Chap. XXXVI. A retirement once 
 a year for eight or ten days, when they 
 communicated once a day, and passed 
 the time in holy meditation. 
 
 Chap. XXXVII. Confession twice 
 a week, upon Wednesdays and Satur- 
 days, except upon certain festivals, &c. 
 In the Confessional were half-hour 
 glasses to regulate the time for confes- 
 sion allowed to each Nun ; at first only 
 a third of the sand, but this limitation 
 being found to cramp the conscience, 
 the whole half hour was allowed. 
 
 Chap. XLI. records a custom of 
 drawing tickets inscribed with the name 
 of a month and some particular virtue. 
 Each then drew one; and engaged to 
 study that virtue during the time. 
 
 Chap. XLII. On the Vigil of Ja- 
 nuary the first, the Abbess brought to 
 every cell some fine paper and a small 
 candle ; and the next day, at the end of 
 Prime, the Society wished the Abbess 
 a happy new year, and received her 
 Benediction. The Novices did the 
 same also with their mistress, and the 
 others at meeting kissed each other in 
 token of amity. 
 
 Upon the Vigil of the Epiphany, after 
 the Benediction of the supper, or the 
 collation, one or more cakes was placed 
 upon the Abbess's table, and the 
 
CEREMONIAL OF THE NUNS OP ST. CYR. 
 
 311 
 
 youngest noviciates drew each a part. 
 She who had the bean went to eat her 
 portion at the Abbess's table. A wag 
 would smile at the indulgencies granted 
 to the sisters y consisting of suspensions 
 of the law of silence after dinner, and 
 in the evening, upon the Epiphany, the 
 Sunday following, and Tuesday and 
 Thursday before Septuagesima. 
 
 Chap. XLIII. Candlemas Day, The 
 consecrating Priest wore a violet-co- 
 loured cope. 
 
 Chap. LXVIT. Festival of St Cyr. 
 Flowers were thrown upon the proces- 
 sion as it passed. 
 
 23 June. Vigil of St, John, A bonfire 
 being made in the evening before the 
 garden gate, all the Nuns assembled 
 around it. The Abbess set fire to it, 
 and, after a short religious ceremony, 
 they withdrew in silence, ^' to imitate 
 that of the Saint in his solitude.'^ [Here 
 is Druidism, &c. &c.] 
 
 Chap. LXXXI. Cells in the Dormi- 
 tory, Doors to be always shut except 
 in hot weather. The only furniture 
 [except, of course, beds, &c.] an image 
 framed in black, like a picture, and two 
 or three others quite simple : only six 
 books allowed, except those which they 
 had " dans le particulier.'^ Not to take 
 physick in the Dormitory unless there 
 were many sick, nor to bring any thing 
 to eat there, except to the sick ; but on 
 account of preserving silence in the 
 Dormitory, always to prefer removal to 
 the Infirmary. Those who " font des 
 refmedes,^^ without sleeping in the In- 
 firmary, to retire at 8 o^clock, and not 
 to speak afterwards. No noise to be 
 made by moving the furniture, knock- 
 ing, &c. No one to leave it during the 
 hours of silence ; and on this account 
 pails of water to be provided every 
 night for the use of the Nuns. No 
 sweeping in the house, except during 
 the garden promenades in the evening. 
 — An Apothecary^s shop mentioned in 
 this chapter and elsewhere, as belong- 
 ing to the house, under the care of an 
 Apothecaress. 
 
 Chap.LXXXII. The CommonHouse, 
 Open, except in the hours of silence, 
 when permission was necessary for 
 
 work or reading while they warmed 
 themselves. But they could not go 
 there in a night dress, or to dress and 
 undress without leave. 
 
 If a Nun found herself there alone, 
 she might request another to come, 
 that the fire might be employed, p. 
 254. 
 
 Chap. LXXXIV. At the Colla- 
 tion, about a quarter to six, humilia- 
 tions of kissing the feet of any sister, 
 &c. were practised. 
 
 Chap. XCI. Infirmary. Phlebo- 
 tomy in the foot is mentioned, p. 280. 
 
 Chap. XCII. Garden, "They shall 
 not go to the Garden alone without a 
 great necessity, except on Festivals and 
 Sundays, or (ou) it is permitted, and 
 when they go there after Complin. It 
 is usual to go there for a little more 
 than three months during the heat of 
 summer, after leaving Complin, till 8 
 o^clock.'^ The Abbess renewed the 
 permission every year in Chapter of 
 going to the Garden. No flowers ex- 
 cept jessamin and violet to be picked, 
 unless by assent of the Sacristan. Not 
 to go there in a night or undress, but 
 to put on the great scapulary at least 
 for propriety's sake. Promenades in 
 the Garden permitted at the hour after 
 Prime, and at that after the prayers, on 
 fast days. pp. 283, 284. 
 JPorm of investing (a la vesture) a Choir 
 
 Girl, i, e, making her a Noviciate, 
 
 At the Chapter preceding the cere- 
 mony, she begged on her knees the 
 habit from the Abbess, who replied by 
 a suitable exhortation. On the Vigil 
 the Mistress of the Novices took the 
 girl to ask pardon of the Mothers and 
 Sisters. Upon the day. Prime, Tierce, 
 and Sext were said successively with- 
 out singing, that the sisters might go 
 to dress, and after Mass and Commu- 
 nion, the girl after the Abbess, the So- 
 ciety went to breakfast in the Refectory 
 upon some meat and wine. If the girl 
 had parents or near relatives, she was 
 to solicit their blessing before the cere- 
 mony. Upon their arrival there were 
 placed in the middle of the Choir a 
 large carpet, a prie, Dieu covered with 
 carpeting, upon which the crucifix was 
 
312 
 
 CEREMON[AL OF THE NUNS OF ST. CYR. 
 
 laid, a careau, a chair; and before a 
 taper, ou il doit avoir une piece dor; 
 near the Abbess's seat, a small table 
 covered with a carpet, upon which were 
 laid all the religious habits, a silver 
 basin, scissars (une plote et des es- 
 pingles), qu? a pincushion and pins. 
 Chairs were put for the Society ; and 
 the Sacrist consecrated, sprinkled, and 
 censed the habits. At the offering the 
 Mistress of the Novices brought the 
 girl to the grate, the taper being carried 
 before her. The girl then having kissed 
 the Pax, dropped the piece of gold into 
 the silver bason held by the Sub deacon, 
 and bowing, retired to her seat. After 
 Mass and the Sermon, the Cross-bearer, 
 accompanied by the Mistress, leaning 
 the crucifix on the right arm, led the 
 girl to the Abbess seated; she made her 
 request, kissed the ground, bowed to 
 the Abbess, and returned to her seat. 
 The Chantress then commenced a ser- 
 vice, each of the Nuns holding a lighted 
 taper. After the response, the Mis- 
 tress conducted the girl to the Sacristy, 
 where she was stripped of her worldly 
 habiliments, and re-clothed in a tu- 
 nick, dishevelled hair, a crown of 
 thorns upon her head, and the crucifix 
 in her arms. As she entered the Choir 
 a service commenced, at the end of 
 which the Sacrist went to present the 
 Ceremonial to the Abbess. The Mis- 
 tress brought the girl to the Superior 
 to give her the habit. The Sacrist held 
 the book open all the time the girl was 
 being drest. The Superior then cut off 
 a lock of her hair in the form of a cross. 
 
 adding a prayer signifying excision of 
 superfluities and secular vanities. The 
 girl was next clothed in the robe, 
 girdle, scapulary, and white veil, with 
 suitable prayers. Being thus arrayed, 
 she kissed the feet of the Superior, re- 
 sumed the crucifix, which she placed 
 upon its stand in the middle of the 
 Choir, and prostrated herself before it, 
 the Convent performing a service. The 
 girl next offered her taper to the Holy 
 Virgin, over the Altar of the anti-choir. 
 After some more prayers the girl re- 
 turned and knelt before the Abbess, 
 who said, ^' My daughter, you shall no 
 more be called, ' My sister so and so,' 
 but, ^ My sister' [after the name of some 
 Saint] .^* The Superior then embraced 
 her, and the Mistress led her round to 
 embrace the community ; the Convent 
 singing Te Deum, and the bells ring- 
 ing. After that the grate was closed, 
 and all that day the Novice dined at 
 the table of the Abbess. '' Si elle fait 
 la retraite elle aura son voile baisse 
 celle qui ont des parends, qui les veulle 
 voir en de hors, Fon les fait sortir la 
 veille mais elle ny couche point.^' 
 
 Remark (sic). The day of her invest- 
 ment they made a small Altar, which 
 they placed in the Chapter, properly 
 dressed, and put upon it the rod, which 
 was kept in the Dormitory. 
 
 The ceremony was the same with a 
 convert girl, only the bench was differ- 
 ently placed, and there was no careau. 
 Part ii. pp. 1 — 11. 
 
 The forms of consecrating and pro- 
 fessing Nuns have been before given. 
 
PEREGRINATOmUM RELIGIOSUM; 
 
 OR, 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 OF 
 
 ANCIENT PILGRIMS 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 COSTUMES OF PILGRIMS. 
 
 The particular designations of Pil- 
 grims were the Scrip, Staffer Bourdon, 
 Palmer* s Staff, Scarf, Bell, Sclavina, 
 Hat, Rosary, Scrobula. 
 
 The Scrip was derived from the 
 Monks of Egypt. Charlemagne wore 
 a golden Scrip when he went to Rome.^ 
 It was the pouch or wallet in which 
 Pilgrims carried their necessaries. Thus 
 Chaucer, 
 
 " In scrippe he bare both bread and leeks." '' 
 
 It was made of leather. In the Life 
 of S. Margaret is this passage : " And 
 you shall visit me with a pilgrim's staff, 
 the scrip hanging from your shoulder ;" 
 and in a compotus from the year 1333 
 to 1336 is an entry "for a scrip of seta," 
 which I think not leather only, but 
 leather with the hair on.<^ In the Ro- 
 man de la Rose MS. it is coupled with 
 the Bourdon, as will hereafter appear. 
 Small ones are mentioned.*^ We find a 
 Scrip and Mantle united^^ and Pilgrims 
 were called Manticulati from Mantica, 
 the scrip.^ The Anglo-Saxons had 
 Scrips, and they were worn at the side.g 
 The term Scrip also applied to the 
 whole of a pilgrim's baggage, so far as 
 concerned packages.^* A Sack instead 
 of a Scrip occurs, as carried by a fe- 
 male poor pilgrim.^ 
 
 Scarf, The Abbot of Cheminon, says 
 a Pilgrim, gave me my Scarf, and bound 
 it on me ; and likewise put the Pil- 
 grim's Staff in my hand. I made pil- 
 grimages to all the holy places in the 
 
 • Du Cange sur Joinyille, Diss. 15. p. 151. Ed. 
 Johnes. 
 
 ^ Id. Gloss. V. Pera. *= Id, v. Scarcella. 
 
 ^ Id. V. Perula. ^ V. Mantiperium. 
 
 ' Du Cange. 
 
 B Lye, V. Codd. XV. Script. 370. M. Paris, 836. 
 
 ^ See Ch. V. » Gold. Leg. fol. cxix. 
 
 neighbourhood, on foot, without shoes^ 
 and in my shirt.^ 
 
 Authors often use the word Scarf 
 instead of Scrip, because these Scrips 
 or wallets were commonly attached to 
 the Scarfs with which they begirded 
 the pilgrims.l In general the Scarf is 
 a mere leather thong or belt. 
 
 In the thirteenth century, the French 
 began to wear over the Cuirass the 
 white Scarf, which afterwards charac- 
 terized their military men. It was 
 sometimes worn as a girdle, sometimes 
 as a belt or baudrick. With them it 
 was sometimes white; sometimes red. 
 The Spaniards preferred it red; the 
 Bavarians and Catalans black ; the Pa- 
 latines, Inhabitants of the Rhine, the 
 Danes and English blue,^ Accordingly 
 in old portraits of our military men in 
 armour, we find it of blue silk : of that, 
 or some similar material, as a designa- 
 tion of officers, so late as the middle of 
 the last century,'^ and at last converted 
 into a sash, and worn around the waist. 
 We hear of a Scrip being supported 
 by a girdle or belt, and both occur in 
 plates.^ The arms borne by the name 
 of Tasborough are, 1 . Argent, a chev- 
 ron, between three stirrups pendent on 
 as many palmers' staves. Sable. 2. Ar- 
 gent, a chevron, between three pilgrims' 
 staves, with pouches hanging on them, 
 Sable, garnished Or. 
 
 Bourdon Staff, He had a long staff 
 in his hand, with a nobbe in the middle, 
 according to the fashion of this Pil- 
 grim's Staff.P The fashion of all the 
 
 ^ JoinvUle, i. p. 118. 
 * Du Cange sur Joinville, Diss. 15. 
 >« Maillot, iii. 112. 
 
 » Grose's Militaiy Antiquities, vol. i. p. 362. 
 Plate of Salutes. 
 ° Du Cange, v. Peramentum. 
 r Coryatt's Crudities, i. 20. 
 
316 
 
 COSTUMES OF PILGRIMS, 
 
 staves, except the Palmers', is similar 
 in the Plate, (p. 323,) and shows the 
 error of the theatrical costume, in fur- 
 nishing pilgrims with a long cross. 
 Upon the arms of Sempringham is what 
 is called a pilgrim^s crutch, i. e. this 
 long cross.^ Taylor's Ind. Monast. p. 
 32. Qu. ? If this be not a misnomer. 
 
 The Staff was also called Bourdon, 
 being, according to Hawkins, a walk- 
 ing stick, excavated into a musical in- 
 strument. 
 
 The same author says, Bourdoun the 
 base part in Chaucer ; the Bourdon in 
 French is still not only in use, as the 
 drone of a bagpipe, whence the burden 
 of a song, but for the double Diapason, 
 or lowest stop in French and German 
 organs.^ Burney says, the Bourdon 
 was a kind of drone-base under the 
 voice part.c It was doubtless applied 
 to the use of pitching the note, or ac- 
 companying the songs which Pilgrims 
 used to recreate themselves on their 
 journies, and supposed by Menestrierd 
 to be Hymns and Canticles. It has 
 been elsewhere noted, that it was cus- 
 tomary for all ranks to sing aloud along 
 the road while travelling. Pollux de- 
 scribes the Embaterion as a flute used 
 by the Greeks for recreation in travel- 
 ling, e 
 
 This Etymon from a musical use is 
 more than doubtful. The barbarous 
 Greek 'Qophovia signified a beast of bur- 
 den,^ and the Bourdon was a staff of 
 support. Besides it was a fashion 
 which came from Syria. In the Roman 
 D'Aubery MS. is the following line : 
 
 S'il ait esclavine et hordon de Surie.e 
 
 To which it may be replied, that the 
 bordon de Surie, was perhaps the Pal- 
 mer^s Staff, and of different fashion 
 from the round knobbed Pilgrim's bour- 
 don ; if so, both staves were called 
 
 * Taylor's Ind. Monast. p. 32. Qu? if this be not 
 a misnomer. 
 
 ^ Hawkins's Hist, of Musick, iii. 374. 
 
 <= Musick, i. 430. «> As cited in Burney, ii. 326. 
 
 « Enc. des Antiq. v. Embaterienne. 
 
 ' Rigaltii Glossarium Tacticum Grseco-barbarum, 
 p. 45. 
 
 « Du Cange, v. Sclavina. 
 
 bourdons. But all this is very uncer- 
 tain ; for an old Romance says, ^' he had 
 palm, and scarf, and good ferruled 
 Bourdon ;" ^ where the latter was no 
 doubt the common Bourdon, because 
 palm is mentioned as accompanying it. 
 
 The Roman de la Rose MS. says, a 
 " bourdon grant et fort,'^i (a bourdon 
 great and strong.) Du Cange, under 
 the word Bordonatus, says, '^ turned 
 [in a lathe] and terminated in the man- 
 ner of a Pilgrim's Staff." Pilgrims who 
 carried very large Bourdons were called 
 by the Albigenses, Burdonarii.^ 
 
 Palmer^s Staff. Peter Damian says, 
 " Coming from Jerusalem, he bore a 
 Palm in his hand.l" One Palmer is de- 
 scribed as carrying a great club in 
 hand ;"^ but Somner, in his Glossary of 
 the Decem Scriptores, mentions a staff 
 or boughs of Palm. However common 
 palm branches may be, as attributes of 
 female Saints, or Confessors, [i. e. holy 
 men who died a natural death, not by 
 martyrdom,] it is plain that they could 
 not be preserved during so long a jour- 
 ney as that from the Holy Land ; and 
 as Jerusalem was a great mart for nick- 
 nacks in that sera, they appear to have 
 been supplied with staves of palm, of 
 which the make was not always uniform. 
 See the Plate, and explanation of it, p. 
 323. 
 
 A palm tree is the symbol of Judeea, 
 as well as of Phenicia, upon Monu- 
 ments." 
 
 Bell, I have seen no account of any, 
 except that of S. Brigid, the Irish Saint, 
 in the second Chapter ; and the Can- 
 terbury Bells, hereafter mentioned. 
 
 Sclavina, Du Cange says, the Sola- 
 Vina, which Somner o by mistake calls 
 Sclauma, is a very long coarse robe, 
 sometimes at least of shaggy stuff, like 
 the military Sagum, and was worn by 
 slaves, whence the appellation. It was 
 the common habit of Pilgrims, for an 
 old Chronicle says, '^ walking on foot 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Palmata. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Peregrinatio. 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Burdones. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Palmaia. 
 
 "* Decem Scriptores, col. 2322. 
 
 ° Enc. V. Judce. ^ Gloss. X. Script. 
 
 1 
 
COSTUMES OF PILGRIMS. 
 
 317 
 
 in tlie habit of a Pilgrim, which is com- 
 monly called Sclavina/' Herbert de 
 Miraculis says, " like any Jerusalemite, 
 adorned with a palm, scrip, and staff, 
 and covered with the Sclavina." ^ In 
 the description of the habit of a Palmer 
 it is white.^ 
 
 Hat. We hear of a Masquerade Pil- 
 grim, clad in a coat of russet velvet, 
 fashioned to his call, his hat being of 
 the same, with scallop shells of cloth of 
 silver.^ The figure of this hat, turned 
 up in front, appears upon the Plate; 
 and at Kingswood Church, in Wilt- 
 shire, near VVotton Underedge, is a fine 
 head in stained glass, with a hat of this 
 kind, and the escallop in front. It ap- 
 pears plain from the passages hereafter 
 given from Strutt, that the hat con- 
 tained on the turn-up front, tokens of 
 the respective Pilgrimages, as 
 
 I. Jerusalem Pilgrims, had the signs of 
 Sinay, These, Strutt says, were relicks, 
 brought from thence, and from the 
 Holy Land. 
 
 II. Pilgrims to Rome. The signs 
 were, a cloak marked with cross keys, 
 and the Veronique, or Vernicle (of 
 which under Chapter X.) in front ; but 
 whether of the Cloak, or Hat, does not 
 appear. 
 
 III. Compostella Pilgrims, The es- 
 callops, being denominated by ancient 
 authors, the Shells of Gales, or Gallicia, 
 plainly apply to this pilgrimage in par- 
 ticular. Fuller however says, the es- 
 callop shells were assumed by the Pil- 
 grims, because used for cups and dishes 
 by the Pilgrims in Palestine ; and that 
 Nicholas de Villers, the first of the fa- 
 mily, who attended Edward I. to the 
 holy wars, bore the escallops to denote 
 a tour to Palestine,^ whereas it was 
 usual to return by way of Compostella, 
 and the shells appear to have imf)lied 
 this, in the instance mentioned. 
 
 It appears by the Figures (see the 
 Plate, p. 323.) that this hat, though ge- 
 neral, was not universal; and that a 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Sclavina. 
 
 «» Decern Script, i.^322. 
 
 ^ Nichols's Progresses, i. 3. 
 
 " Church Hist. Cent. xii. p. 42, 43. 
 
 head-covering, evidently intended for 
 shooting off wet, was a frequent substi- 
 tute. 
 
 Rosary, This is a term, properly 
 speaking, only applied to chaplets of 
 beads, used in prayers to the Virgin, 
 but all chaplets of beads ^ are now so 
 called. Coryatt's Pilgrim had chains 
 about his neck of extraordinary great 
 beads, whereon was the picture of our 
 Lady, and Christ in her arms.^ As 
 connected with prayers, the first Chris- 
 tian mention is made by Augustine, 
 about the year 366 ; s but Du Choul l» 
 is quoted for the same use of them 
 among the classical Ancients.^ Malms- 
 bury mentions the use, that no prayers 
 might be omitted.^ Peter the Hermit 
 invented a mode of praying by 55 cal- 
 culi, or beads, so distinct in order, that 
 after 10, each of the largest was affixed 
 to the thread ; and, as many as the lat- 
 ter were, so many times they recited 
 the Lord's prayer; as many as the 
 other, so many times the Angelas salu- 
 tation, by going over the number three 
 times ; thrice also they went over the 
 shorter creed, which they called the 
 Psalter of the Virgin Mary. It was in- 
 vented, according to Polydore Virgil, 
 about 1090. 
 
 Of Rosaries, Dominick was the Au- 
 thor. A Rosary consisted of a series of 
 beads, 15 large, 150 small, intermixed, 
 which they ran over, in reciting the 
 Pater-Noster, from the larger, the Ave- 
 Marias from the smaller, in honour 
 of the 15 mysteries of Christ, whose 
 consors {i, e, associate in worship) was 
 the Virgin Mary.l These chaplets of 
 beads were respectively of amber, or 
 coral, or glass, or chrystal, or gold, or 
 silver. The Nuns sometimes wore 
 them from their necks. °^ The beads 
 were called Gaudia,^ and run over in 
 
 < Douce, i. 32. ' Crudities, i. 20. 
 
 g Hanmer's Eusebius, 586. ^ P. 255. 
 
 ' Roma Antiqua et Recens,p. 177. 
 
 ^ Gest. Pont. L. iv. — Mr. Douce on Shakespeare, 
 i. 32. thinks that they were brought by Crusaders 
 from the East. 
 
 ■ Du Cange, v. Rosarium. 
 
 '" Du Cange, v. Pater nosier. 
 
 " Ibid. V. Gaudia. 
 
318 
 
 COSTUMES OF PILGRIMS. 
 
 repeating Ave-Marias. Sometimes the 
 prayers were said by counting the 
 fingers instead of beads.* An Ave- 
 Maria, said with one of the aforesaid 
 grains, was presumed to deliver a soul 
 from Purgatory .b They were mostly 
 made of glass.c A pair of Paternosters 
 of great pearl were among the effects of 
 Maur. Lord Berkeley in the reign of 
 Edw. 11.^ In Spain few women go 
 without the doors, walk, play, or toy, 
 without a rosary in the hand. The men 
 are never without one hanging round 
 their necks. In the comedies, if the 
 Devil be chained, it is with a rosary ; 
 and he then makes a dreadful howl, by 
 which the good people are much edi- 
 fied.e 
 
 Scrobula. This was the robe, worn 
 by female Pilgrims, and, except closer 
 sleeves, like to that of the men. Saint 
 Odoric says, " but these w^omen walk 
 unshod, wearing Scrobulse, even to the 
 ground.^^ ^ It was essential, as will 
 soon appear, that the garments of Pil- 
 grims should be of woollen ; and the 
 Roman de Vache says, 
 
 " En Jerusalem fist Peregrination 
 
 En langes et nus piez a grant devotion ;" 
 
 i. e. a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in wool- 
 len, and naked feet, with great devotion. 
 In the 14th century, breeches were ge- 
 nerally made of linen, and considered 
 a part of dress, essential to ease and 
 indulgence ; hence in an old romance, 
 where one of the heroes is resolved 
 upon pilgrimage, it is mentioned, as a 
 great instance of mortification, that he 
 refused to take with him either shirt or 
 breeches ; and it was common, for Piers 
 Plowman, speaking of the poverty of 
 Pilgrims, says, " In poure cotes for Pil- 
 grimage to Rome — no breeche be- 
 twene.'' s 
 
 Bare-feet. This was a very essential 
 part of penitentiary pilgrimage. Ter- 
 
 " Angl. Sacr. i. 13. 
 
 ^ English Spanish Pilgrim, 4to, 1630, p. 18. 
 
 « Du Cange, v. Roscida. 
 
 «> Smyth's Berkeley MSS. • 
 
 « Bourgoanne, iii. 359, 360. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Scrobula. 
 
 s Strutt's Dressess, ii. 336. 
 
 tuUian ^ mentions the annunciation of 
 Nudipedalia, during drought, among 
 the classical antients ; but the first ap- 
 pearance of the custom in the later eeras, 
 was, according to Evagrius, in a sect of 
 Hereticks, mentioned by Augustine, 
 about the year 435, who went so from 
 mistaking certain passages in Scripture. 
 The Apostles are represented by Pe- 
 trarch to have gone bare-footed.» It 
 was a custom annexed to some civil 
 punishments.**^ We read of a religious 
 person, who pulled off his shoes, when 
 in sight of a monastery, because he was 
 unwilling to approach dwellings of 
 martyrs, without a martyrdom on his 
 own part.* 
 
 In the wood-cuts of the Golden Le- 
 gend, published by Julian Notary in 
 1503, is the image of S. Roche, with 
 the hat, staff, scrip, &c. He holds up 
 his clothes, that, as Sir David Lindsay 
 says. 
 
 Saint Roch well scaled men may see 
 A boil new broken on his thie. 
 
 Monarchy, B. ii. p. 64. 
 
 to shew the effects of the pestilence 
 which had seized him. The dog is 
 Gotarde^s Hound, " that by the purve- 
 aunce of God brought fro the Lordes 
 horde brede unto saint Roche'' whole 
 loaves at a time."^ 
 
 "It seems,'' says Strutt, "to have 
 been almost as fashionable, in the days 
 of Chaucer, to make occasional visits 
 to the tomb of some favourite saint, as 
 it now is to frequent the different wa- 
 tering-places.^ Particular habits were 
 appropriated to these occasions ; it is 
 indeed certain, that they were not ab- 
 solutely necessary ; but few, I presume, 
 who were actuated by real principles of 
 religion appeared without them. Such 
 Pilgrims abstained from all secular va- 
 nities, travelled barefooted, clothed in 
 garments of the coarsest cloth, and 
 
 ^ P. 7l3.Ed. Rigalt. 
 
 • Mem. de Petrarque, ii. 95. 
 
 •^ Du Cange, v. Arestara et Arrestare. 
 
 1 Angl. Sacr. ii. 301. 
 
 •" Golden Legend, fol. cxliv. 
 
 " Tyrwhitt (Gloss. Chaucer) nolei that the verb 
 to play in one sense signitied to go upon a pil- 
 grimage. 
 
COSTUMES OF PILGRIMS. 
 
 319 
 
 subsisted upon the charitable contri- 
 butions of those they met with on their 
 journey. In the Romance of the Four 
 Sons of Aymont, which probably is 
 about the twelfth century, one of the 
 heroes, renouncing all secular pursuits, 
 determines upon a pilgrimage, and re- 
 quests for that purpose, a coat, or tu- 
 nick, to be made of coarse cloth, and a 
 large hat or hood, and [a bourdon fer- 
 ruled * with iron] ; to which his friends, 
 contrary to his wishes, added shoes 
 made of cows' skin [neat leather, the 
 thickest, best for duration and wear], 
 but could by no means prevail upon 
 him to accept of breeches, stockings or 
 a shirt, or any other soft or comfort- 
 able garment. 
 
 In Pierce the Ploughman's Visions 
 a personage is introduced apparelled 
 as a Pilgrim, bearing a burden bound 
 about with a broad list upon his back, 
 and a bag and a howl b by his side ; his 
 cloak was marked with crosses, inter- 
 spersed with the Keys of Rome (two 
 keys crossed) and a vernicle in the front 
 [see Ch. X.] Upon his hat were placed 
 the signs of Sinay, and shells of Gules ; 
 that it might be known by these tokens, 
 for whose sake he had travelled ; there- 
 fore being a'sked whence he came, he re- 
 plied, " Ye may see by the signes that 
 sitteth on my cappe," and added that 
 he had visited Sinai, the Holy Sepul- 
 chre, Bethlem, and variety of other 
 places. "The pilgrim's habit, as it 
 was delineated in the fourteenth cen- 
 
 tury, is given in the Plate,c p. 323, fig. 
 1. His hat is turned up in the front, 
 with an escallop-shell affixed to it : he 
 is barefooted, and holds a staff in his 
 left hand. This figure in the original 
 painting is intended for the portraiture 
 of Saint James : and for that reason, 
 by way of distinction, I presume, the 
 border of gold is added to the sleeves, 
 and at the bottom of the garment ; for 
 all such ornaments were generally con- 
 sidered as highly indecorous to the 
 profession of a pilgrim." 
 
 The figure just described appears 
 with a long beard : It was dangerous at 
 the commencement of the thirteenth 
 century, for a stranger to appear with 
 a beard.d 
 
 ^' Peter Auger, valet to Edward the 
 Second, obtained from that Monarch 
 letters of safe conduct, he being desir- 
 ous of visiting the holy places abroad, 
 as a Pilgrim ; and having made a vow 
 not to shave his beard, was fearful, 
 without such documents, of being taken 
 for a Knight Templar, and insulted. It 
 was by no means uncommon with Lay 
 Pilgrims to make such a vow, and to 
 extend it still further to the hair of their 
 head ^ and their finger nails : conceiv- 
 ing, I suppose, that the resemblance to 
 a savage was a positive mark of piety 
 and humbleness of mind." ^ 
 
 A female pilgrim, with the staif, scrip, 
 hat, and scrobula, is engraved in Strutt's 
 Dresses, pi. cxxxiv. 
 
 COSTUMES OF CRUSADERS. 
 
 In 1094, Urban II. preached the first 
 Crusade. The Crusaders received from 
 the hand of a Priest or some other Ec- 
 clesiastick a cross of red stuff, which 
 
 was placed upon their hood or left 
 shoulder. 
 
 Upon the stained glass, about the 
 time of the first croisade, the Pilgrims 
 
 * Un bourdon ferre / which Strutt by mistake 
 calls a staff headed with iron. 
 
 ^ See chap. VII. 
 Copied from Royal MSS. in British Museum, 
 IT) D. iii. This figure is also engraved by Strutt, 
 IM. cv. 
 
 •^ So far as concerns Pilgrims, Strutt here re- 
 quires explanation. In the 12th Century the 
 Laity and Clergy had all renounced the beard ; the 
 
 peasants only, and those who had travelled to the 
 Holy Land, did not shave, aftar the example of the 
 Orientals. Costumes, &c. par Maillot, iii. 89. 
 
 <= Communem gerens peregrinationis consuetu- 
 dinem, baculum et peram circumferens, comd. ca- 
 pitis, et barba prolixa. De Secundo Philosopho, 
 Scriptor. p. Bed. 464, a. 
 
 ' Strutt's Dresses, ii. 318. seq. 
 
a20 
 
 COSTUMES OF CRUSADERS. 
 
 carry a cross upon their banners, their 
 helmets, their mail jacket, sleeves, and 
 hoods ; their bucklers were still with- 
 out heraldick distinction, and they had 
 for arms only a lance and sword.* 
 
 Philip 11. having determined to un- 
 dertake a Croisade in 1188, came to 
 St. Dennis to take the oriflamme, scrip, 
 and bourdon. The Crusaders, who 
 followed them, put then a cross of red 
 stuiF behind their habit.^ 
 
 Though the use of Arms is very an- 
 cient, yet they did not become here- 
 ditary till the Crusades.c The Cru- 
 saders invented Arms to distinguish 
 themselves in battle. They were at 
 first only particular marks or colours, 
 which they put upon their bucklers, 
 their coats of arms, their banners, the 
 trappings of their horses : and whole 
 families adopted them, no doubt to 
 make it know^n that they belonged to 
 conquerors, but these marks did not 
 become hereditary till the age of Louis 
 IX. towards the year 1230. 
 
 If the shields of the warriors before 
 the Crusades contained any distinction, 
 it was but an emblem, and most com- 
 monly their monogram or cypher. Many 
 Crusaders took crosses, of which they 
 changed the form and the colour. Those 
 of the French in general were white ; 
 of the Spaniards, rec?; of the Italians, 
 blue; of the Germans, black, or orange; 
 of the English, yellow or red; of the 
 Saxons, green A 
 
 Besides the bearings with which they 
 decorated the coat of arras, the shield, 
 &c. they wore a scarf, of which the co- 
 lour distinguished the province from 
 which they came. The colour of the 
 Earls of Flanders was a deep green; 
 that of the Earls of Anjou was a grass 
 green ; of the Dukes of Burgundy, red; 
 of the Earls of Blois and Champagne, 
 sky blue; of the Dukes of Lorraine, 
 yellow; of the Dukes of Brittany, black 
 and white. The Vassals of these differ- 
 ent Princes wore scarfs of their Princes' 
 
 * Maillot, Costumes, iii. 71. pi. ^23. 
 b Id. p. 91. "^ Id. p. 8G. 
 
 ^ Id. p. 93. 
 
 colours, and such, even of these Vas- 
 sals, as were aUied to them, or who 
 possessed any considerable office about 
 their persons, affected to join to the 
 colours of their particular liveries, a 
 little band or fringe, more or less large, 
 of the livery of their lord.e 
 
 The crosses or badges, says Du 
 Cange, were generally of cloth, inter- 
 woven with gold, or silk, latterly of any 
 cloth. In an expedition against Man- 
 fred of Sicily, as a Heretick, they wore 
 across divided in colours, of which one 
 part was white, another red. On some 
 other expeditions, in distinction from 
 those of Jerusalem, they wore a cross, 
 not on their shoulders, but on the 
 breast, and there were other distinc- 
 tions not within our subject.^ 
 
 The crosses were sometimes of fine 
 Goldsmiths' work.g 
 
 The cross of the French King and 
 his followers was of vermillion.^ The 
 English carried a red cross upon a 
 white ground, the French a lohite cross 
 upon a red ground, i The figure of a 
 Crusader, completely armed, has a 
 close helmet, mail gorget, the rest of 
 his armour, partly mail, and partly 
 plaited. Upon his shield, his breast, 
 and his square banner, attached to his 
 lance, is St. George's cross, i. e. red or 
 gules upon a white ground.^ This iter- 
 ation of arms in the days of chivalry 
 was intended to denote a resolution to 
 atchieve some great feats of arras. 
 
 Sir John Chandos, says Froissart, 
 w^as dressed in a large robe, which fell 
 to the ground, blazoned with his arms, 
 in white sarcenet, "Arg. a pile gules," 
 one on his breast, the other on his 
 back. 
 
 Thus he appeared resolved on some 
 adventurous undertaking} 
 
 The information on this subject to 
 be found in Heraldick works, is of 
 course declined here. 
 
 e Maillot, p. 94. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Crux. 
 
 i See Chapter VII. 
 
 ^ Froissart, iii. 105. 
 
 * Erasmi Franciscan! Colloq. 276. 
 
 ** Lysons's Environs, i. 529. * iv. 45. 
 
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COSTUMES OF CRUSADERS. 
 
 321 
 
 Explanation of the Plate.^ Fig, 1 . is 
 a simple Pilgrim. (See p. 319.) Fig. 2. 
 was designed by Mr. Alexander^ from a 
 monumentin Ashby de la Zouch Church, 
 Leicestershire. (See before p. 294.) This 
 and the next figure, both sJiod, are 
 
 » For the drawings used in this Plate, the Editor 
 was indebted to the late eminent Draughtsman and 
 truly amiable man, William Alexander, esq. of the 
 British Museum. 
 
 Palmers, The staves differ ; and there 
 is another different, engraved in Archae- 
 ologia, vol. xiv. pi. xxxvii. f. 2. The 
 shoe, like the countryman*s half-boot, 
 is the Doric Cretan shoe worn by Diana 
 succinctay and hunters, to save the 
 ancles in leaping rocks. See M. Mil- 
 lin in Magas. Encyclop. for 1809, 
 p. 115. Fig. 3. is copied from Brit. 
 Mus. Cott. MSS. Tib. A. vii. ; and 
 Fig. 4, from Royal MSS. B. VII. 
 
322 
 
 ANTIQUITY OF PILGRIMAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANTIQUITY OF PILGRIMAGE. — BRITISH PILGRIMS. 
 
 Cicero, in a letter to Atticus, says, 
 that if he did not accept the offer which 
 Ca3sar made to him of serving under 
 him in Gaul, in the quality of Lieute- 
 nant, he had a pretext for leaving 
 Rome, that of going elsewhere to fulfil 
 a vow.^ An old Spanish poet pretends, 
 that Alexander the Great, after con- 
 quering Egypt, went to the Temple of 
 Jupiter Ammon [in the Oasis ; see 
 Brown] and took the Scrip and Bour- 
 don.^ It would be needless to produce 
 more instances of so well-known a 
 practice, as making visits^ upon parti- 
 cular occasions, to celebrated Temples, 
 or Oracles. Such a practice is a natu- 
 ral impulse of religious sentiment and 
 pious regard. The custom, however, 
 increased towards the decline of the 
 Roman Republick,^ and from a pre- 
 posterous desire of imitating Paganism, 
 and blending it with Christian worship, 
 arose, in the fourth century, Pilgrim- 
 ages to Palestine and the tombs of the 
 Martyrs.^i They were said to be found- 
 ed upon the approbation of the Fa- 
 thers :^ and formed part, under circum- 
 stances, of the Sacrament of Penance. 
 Accordingly in this century Pilgrimages 
 from Britain to Jerusalem were com- 
 mon. Gregory of Nice and Jerom both 
 say, " The Celestial Court equally lies 
 open from Jerusalem and Britain : for 
 the Kingdom of God is within you. 
 Antony, and all the swarms of Monks 
 of Egypt, and Mesopotamia, Pontus, 
 Cappadocia, and Armenia, have not 
 seen Jerusalem : and the gate of Para- 
 dise lies open to them, without that 
 city. The blessed Hilarion, though he 
 was a native of Palestine, and lived in 
 that Country, only saw Jerusalem for 
 
 • Opera, ii. 134. Ed. fol. Lond. 1681. 
 
 • Du Cange, v. Burdo. 
 
 «= Encyclopedic des Antiquites, v. Voeu. 
 d Mosheim, i. 191. Ed. 4to. 
 
 • Lyndewood's Provinciale, p. 298. 
 
 one day, that he might neither seem to 
 despise the holy places, on account of vi- 
 cinity, nor on the other hand to inclose 
 God in a particular spot.^' A further 
 evidence that the Bintons resorted to 
 Palestine, among other Nations, is the 
 relation concerning Melania, by Palla- 
 dius, in his Lausiac History, and the 
 epistle, written by Jerom, in the name 
 of Paula and Eustochius. This Mela- 
 nia, one of the most noble of the women 
 of Rome, and daughter of Marcellinus, 
 who had been once Consul, made a 
 voyage to Jerusalem, where she was so 
 celebrated for her virtue and humility, 
 that she received the name of Tecla.^ 
 She, and Rufinus, her particular com- 
 panion, received all the Pilgrims at Je- 
 rusalem with hospitality ; " which,^^ 
 says Palladius, " it is not only my duty 
 to mention, but that of the inhabitants 
 of Persis, Britain^ and all the Isles. 
 Neither East, West, North and South, 
 has been without the kindness and 
 bounty of this immortal woman.'^ Je- 
 rom, writing in the name of Paula and 
 Eustochius, says, " The Briton, divided 
 from our world, if he has made any 
 progress in Religion, leaving the West, 
 seeks a place known only to them by 
 fame, and the relation of the Scrip- 
 tures;'^ and a little after, speaking of 
 other visitors, he says, " They meet to- 
 gether, at these places, and exhibit to 
 us a specimen of various virtues. Their 
 language is indeed different ; but their 
 Religion the same. There are almost 
 as many Choirs of Psalm-singers, as 
 there are diversities of nations.'* This 
 unity of religion, and conformity of the 
 Britons, in this respect, not so much 
 
 ' It is remarkable, that at Tiddenham in Glou- 
 cestershire, (part of Wales, before the reign of 
 Henry VIII.) was a Chapel of St. Tecla (now 
 under water,) corrupted into treacle : but no such 
 dedication occurs in England. Possibly the Bri- 
 tish Pilgrims took shipping here. 
 
BRITISH PILGRIMS. 
 
 323 
 
 with the Roman Church in particular, 
 as with the CathoHck and Universal, 
 he further shows in an Epistle to Eva- 
 grius: "Neither is there one Church of 
 Rome, and another of the whole world. 
 Both the Gauls, and Britons, and 
 Africa, and Persia, and the East, and 
 India, and all the barbarous nations, 
 worship one Christ, observe one rule 
 of truth. If authority be required, the 
 world is larger than a city. Whereso- 
 ever there is a bishop, whether at Rome, 
 or Eugubium, or Constantinople, or 
 Rhegium, or Alexandria, or Tanis, it 
 has the same husband, the same priest- 
 hood." Notwithstanding, the Britons 
 visited Rome in common with other 
 nations, and setting sail from Porto 
 Romano, not only passed over into Pa- 
 lestine, but even the neighbouring Sy- 
 ria, whither they were attracted by the 
 fame of Simeon Stylites, the Ascetick, 
 who passed his life upon a pillar.^ To 
 this Simeon refers the following passage 
 of Theodore t, who wrote the life of this 
 lunatick during his existence : " Many, 
 who inhabit the extremes of the West, 
 Spaniards, I say, and Britons, and 
 Gauls came thither.^^ Jerom, in his 
 epitaph of Fabiola, the celebrated lady, 
 who is well known as the first founder 
 of an Infirmary, says, '' All the world 
 has heard of the Xenodochium, situ- 
 ated at Porto Romano. In one sum- 
 mer, Britain has learned, what the 
 Egyptian and Parthian have known in 
 the spring.'^b Hence it appears, that in 
 this, as in the later eeras. Pilgrims were 
 eminent for conveying news. 
 
 Lewis, in his Life of Caxton, p. 77^ 
 &c. says, " The practice of going in 
 pilgrimage to Jerusalem or the Holy 
 Land was new in the fourth century ; 
 when about the latter end of it, Gregory 
 Nyssen wrote a learned letter to dis- 
 suade Christians from going thither on 
 that errand; and was at last, here in 
 England, treated with contempt and 
 ridicule, as only a pretence for sloth 
 and laziness /'c 
 
 * Of him, see postea. 
 
 ^ Usserii Antiquit. Eccles. Britannic, pp. 109, 
 110. 
 " Dibdia's Typographical Antiq. i. 176, 
 
 We have an account of some man- 
 ners and customs of these British Pil- 
 grims in the lives of David, and the 
 accounts of his two friends and com- 
 panions, Eliud or Teliaus, and Pater- 
 nus. An Angel appeared to David and 
 Eliud, as another had done to the mo- 
 ther of Saint Roche, the Patron Saint 
 of Pilgrims, and urged the journey to 
 Jerusalem upon the very next morn- 
 ing. The two companions were added 
 from the old British respect for the 
 Trinity. They went on shipboard, down 
 the Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and 
 the Mediterranean, passing their days 
 and nights in psalms, hymns, spiritual 
 canticles, and divine converzationes. 
 They did not, as many Pilgrims, take 
 much money with them, not even a 
 staff and scrip, but trusted to Provi- 
 dence. The hospitality of Believers 
 furnished them with all necessaries, 
 which, as it is very probable most of 
 our early religious professed some know- 
 ledge of medicine,^ they repaid by cur- 
 ing diseases, actions assigned to their 
 sanctity. When they met with robbers, 
 they offered them what they had ; but 
 these (according to a respect usually 
 paid to all Pilgrims, of which hereafter), 
 not only refused to take it, but guided 
 them, till they arrived at places of safety. 
 At Jerusalem they were received by all 
 the people in procession with psalms 
 and hymns, and so conducted to the 
 Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and 
 placed in ^Aree remarkable chairs.*^ They 
 preached alternately, by this means in- 
 tending to convey an idea of the Tri- 
 nity, and to confirm their hearers in 
 the belief of that doctrine. They were 
 consecrated Bishops in this Temple, 
 plainly without any appointment from 
 home, and received valuable presents, 
 suited to their qualifications. Patemus 
 received a staff (in token of his being a 
 
 ^ See Marianus Scotus, a" 593-4. 
 
 « The Druidical Deasuil, or triple procession, 
 the Triads, &c. paved the way for this veneration 
 of the Trinity. In the Pilgrimage to Holy Wells 
 the Druids prescribed tfiree several tours; and if 
 the patient died before the Pilgrimage was finished, 
 some intimate friend concluded it. Smith's Gaelic 
 Antiq. p. 79. 
 
 y 2 
 
324 
 
 BRITISH PILGRIMS. 
 
 rector c^ori'^'^and a choral cope, wrought 
 ^ith very valuable silk, because he was 
 an excellent singer; David, a conse- 
 crated portable altar; and Teliaus, a 
 small hand-bell, of exquisite sound, and 
 wonderful properties. It condemned 
 the perjured, cured the sick, and sound- 
 ed every hour, without any one moving 
 it, unless it was touched by the pol- 
 luted hands of a sinner.^ Probably it 
 contained some mechanism, sufficient 
 to strike the hours,^ and hand-bells 
 were used by the Welsh, till recently, 
 at funerals.^ 
 
 In Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Ac- 
 count of Scotland, vol. xvii. p. 377) 
 under Killin Parish, co. Perth, Mr. 
 Stuart, the minister, says, "There is a 
 bell, belonging to the chapel of St. Fil- 
 lan, that was in high reputation among 
 the votaries of that saint in old times. 
 It seems to be of some mixed metal. 
 It is about a foot high, and of an ob- 
 long form. It usually lay on a grave- 
 stone in the church-yard. When mad 
 people were brought to be dipped in 
 the Saint's Pool, it was necessary to 
 
 « See before, pp. 62, 120. 
 
 »> Angl. Sacr. ii. 637. 663, seq, 
 
 •= Beckman (Invent, i. 442,) allows something of 
 this kind to the Monastick Horologe ; but he dis- 
 putes the ancientry of every thing, 
 
 d Hoare's Giraldus, i ^i2. 
 
 perform certain ceremonies, in which 
 there was a mixture of Druidism and 
 Popery. After remaining all night in 
 the chapel, bound with ropes, the bell 
 was set upon their head with great so- 
 lemnity. It was the popular opinion, 
 that, if stolen, it would extricate itself 
 out of the thief's hands, and return 
 home ringing all the way." e 
 
 From the preceding accounts the 
 Pilgrimage of Arthur to Jerusalem was 
 not perhaps an invention ; ^ for more 
 than 90,000 Christians perished in the 
 Holy Land when Chosroes took Jeru- 
 salem in the seventh century.? Many 
 years afterwards a Hospital was found- 
 ed at Rome for Welsh Pilgrims by 
 Cadwallader, King of Wales. ^^ 
 
 From the further instance of Regu- 
 lus the Abbot being directed by an 
 Angel, to make a Pilgrimage, in order 
 to effect the translation of the relicks 
 of St. Andrew to Scotland,^ there is 
 every reason to infer, that a visitation 
 of this celestial kind was a common 
 superstition of this age, as a preliminary 
 of Pilgrimage. 
 
 « Popular Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 594, n. p. See 
 the subject continued in the next page, 
 f Nennius, XV Script. 115. 
 ^ Cluveri Universalis Historia, p. 386. 
 ^ Fuller's Church Hist. B. ix. p. 86. 
 i Fordun, L. 2, c. 46. XV Script, p. 6^4. 
 
PILGRIMAGES OF THE SCOTS, IRISH^ AND ANGLO-SA 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 PILGRIMAGES OF THE SCOTS, IRISH^ AND ANGLO- 
 
 'university 
 
 Among the usual Pilgrimages, com- 
 mon to the other nations of the same 
 eeras, the Scots and Irish intermingled 
 Druidical practices. At loiia is the 
 base of a cross, in which are certain 
 stones, which Pilgrims turn three times 
 round, supposing that the end of the 
 world will not ensue until the stone in 
 which they are is worn through. They 
 probably succeeded to three white mar- 
 ble globes, placed in three stone basons 
 to be turned round, but at the Refor- 
 mation, thrown into the sea.^ 
 
 It is pretended, that through the 
 false story of the interment of Patrick 
 at Glastonbury, it was the custom of 
 the Irish to make Pilgrimages there, in 
 order to kiss his relicks. Among these 
 holy visitors was Brigid in the year 
 488, who left behind her as a memo- 
 rial, her scrip, monile,t» bell,<^ and tex- 
 
 * Cough's Camden, iii. 715. 
 
 *» Monile. An old Author says, "Monile is an 
 ornament of the breast, qiiasi munile a munio, be- 
 cause it protects the bosoms of women, so that 
 Lecatores (Lechers) cannot thrust their hands into 
 them." Du Cange, v. Lecator. Isidore calls it a 
 necklace of gems, resembling a serpent. Id. v. 
 Serpentum. 
 
 •^ The origin of the bell (says Mr. Stuart) is to 
 be referred to the most remote ages of the Celtic 
 Churches, whose ministers spoke a dialect of that 
 language. Ara Trode, one of the most ancient 
 Icelandic historians, tells us, in his second chap- 
 ter, that when the Norwegians first planted a co- 
 lony in Ireland, about the year 870, " Eo tempore 
 erat Islandia silvis concreta, in medio montium et 
 littorum : tum erant hie viri Christiani, quos Nor- 
 wegi Papas appellant : et illi peregre profecti sunt, 
 ex eo quod nollent esse hie cum viris Ethnicis, et 
 relinquebant post se Nolas et baculos ; ex illo pote- 
 rat discerni quod essent viri Christiani." Nola 
 and Bajula both signify hand-bells. See Du Cange. 
 Giraldus Cambrensis, who visited Ireland about the 
 end of the 12th century, speaks thus of these re- 
 licks of superstition : " Hoc non pretereundum 
 puto, quod campanaSf bajulas, baculosque sancto- 
 rum, ex supperiore parte recurvos, auro et argento 
 aut tere confectos, tam Hibernise et Scotise, quam 
 et Givalliffi populus et Clerus in magnjl reverentia 
 habere soiet ; ita ut juramenta supra hsec, long^ 
 magis quam super Evangelia et prsestare vereantur 
 et perjurare. Ex vi enim quadam occult^, et iis 
 quasi divinitus insitA, nee non et vindictA (cujus 
 prsecipue sancti illi appetibiles esse videntur) ple- 
 rumque puniuntur contemptores." He elsewhere 
 si)eaks of a bell in Ireland, endowed with the same 
 locomotive powers as that of St. Fillan, who is 
 said to have died in O'-J.O. Popular Antiquities, ii. 
 595. note *. 
 
 t7'ilia arma, whether it 
 &c. or scarf, or clothes.^^ 
 
 Besides the other pilgrimages, com- 
 mon to all nations and eeras, it appears 
 from the Legend of St. Brandon,^ that 
 nautical Pilgrimages were made to 
 Islands which they denominated Para- 
 disc, but were, in fact, according to For- 
 dun, the Fortunate Islands.^ They are 
 the Canaries, where it is certain that 
 Strabo, and other Ancients, from the 
 fecundity of the soil, and perpetual 
 spring, placed the Elysian Fields. It 
 is pretended, that after the decline of 
 the Roman Empire, they were unknown 
 till the year 1291 ; s but in fact, Colum- 
 bus derived the knowledge of America 
 from some Spanish- Arabian Voyagers.^* 
 In short, any country very fertile and 
 pleasant, was denominated Paradise.^ 
 
 In this migratory age. Pilgrimage 
 was a kind of Tyrocinium, or appren- 
 ticeship, served in various places, in 
 order to acquire a stock of novel eccle- 
 siastical customs and knowledge, with 
 which to enlighten the barbarous inha- 
 bitants upon their return. This appears 
 in the Lives of nearly all the early 
 Saints. The Irish and Scots were re- 
 markable beyond other Nations for 
 restless Pilgrimages over the whole 
 world ; often in severe colds, and sum- 
 mer heats.*^ The Pilgrimages of the 
 Anglo-Saxons commenced, according 
 to Eddius, about the year 700.^ 
 
 Rome was the favourite destination 
 of the Anglo-Saxons. Ina grew old 
 there, " cloathed in a plebeian habit 
 among beggars.'^ ^ 
 
 There appear to be no particular 
 customs, which did not obtain in sub- 
 sequent seras. 
 
 '^ Guil. Malmesbury in Antiquit. Glaston. XV 
 Scriptores, p. 298. 
 
 « Golden Legend, ccxxx. b. 
 
 f Scriptores, 635. 
 
 8^ Mem. de Petrarque, ii. 200. 
 
 ^ See a paper in the Notices. 
 
 i Bunting's Itinerarie, 1636, 359. 4to. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Scoti. 
 
 ' Id. v. Pereyrini. "' XV Scriptores, 248. 
 
326 
 
 CONSECRATION OF PILGRIMS, 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CONSECRATION OP PILGRIMS. 
 
 The Pilgrims first confessed all their 
 sins,» after which they lay prostrate 
 before the Altar. Particular prayers 
 and psalms were then said over them, 
 and after every psalm [with manifest 
 skilful appropriation] the Gloria Patri ; 
 the Psalm, Ad te, Domine, levavi ; and 
 the Miserere. At the end of these, the 
 Pilgrims arose from their prostrate po- 
 sition, and the Priest consecrated their 
 scrips and staves, saying, '^the Lord 
 be with you,^^ and ^' let us pray, &c.^' 
 He next sprinkled holy water upon 
 their scrips and staves, and placed the 
 scrip around the neck of each Pilgrim, 
 with other religious services. After- 
 wards he delivered to them the staif 
 with similar prayers. If any of the 
 Pilgrims were going to Jerusalem, their 
 garments were in readiness, marked 
 with the cross, and the crosses were 
 consecrated, and holy water sprinkled 
 over them. The garments and crosses 
 were then delivered to the Pilgrims, 
 accompanied by appropriate prayers. 
 The service concluded with the Mass, 
 Be Iter Agentibus.^ 
 
 Offerings were paid for consecration 
 of the Scrip. In the Penitential of 
 Theodore it is said, " In the aforesaid 
 Church, the Priest is accustomed to 
 consecrate the Scrip and Staves of the 
 
 Pilgrims, and receive \d, from the ob- 
 lation.c^' 
 
 Elsewhere it appears, concerning Je- 
 rusalem Pilgrims, that immediately after 
 the Sermon, preached on the occasion, 
 the cross was sewed upon the shoul- 
 ders, and at least placed there by the 
 Bishop ;<^ for according to Du Cange, 
 to affix the cross was a privilege of that 
 order only.^ 
 
 Kings even assumed the Scrip and 
 Staff. King Richard the First, at 
 Tours, in sign of his immediately un- 
 dertaking the pilgrimage to the Holy 
 Land, received the Scrip and Staff. ^ 
 
 The arms of the Pilgrims were also 
 consecrated.? 
 
 By the Laws and Customs of Nor- 
 mandy, a Pilgrim having received 
 licence, was led out of the Parish when 
 going to Jerusalem, Rome, or St. 
 James's, or any other pilgrimage, with 
 the Cross, Holy Water, and Procession.^ 
 
 In Pilgrimages of Penance and Punish- 
 ment, this previous consecration, at 
 least sometimes, did not take place. 
 In the Metrical Romance of Robert the 
 Devil; Robert, become penitent, travels 
 without any ecclesiastical ceremony to 
 the Pope, who, after hearing his con- 
 fession, directed him to go to a hermit, 
 three miles off. 
 
 In the morning Robert walked over hyll and dale. 
 
 He was full werye of his labourynge. 
 
 At the last he came in to a greate vale, 
 
 And found same hermyte standinge. 
 
 He spake with the hermyte, and shewed of his lyvinge, 
 
 And tolde that he was sente fro the Pope of Rome. 
 
 But when that holy man hearde hys confession. 
 
 He sayed, brother, ye be right welcome. 
 
 * This was deemed indispensable before pilgrim- 
 £ige. Gold. Leg. f. cxviii. 
 
 ^ Manuale ad usum Ecclesise Sarisberiensis, 4to. 
 b. lett. 1554. fol. l.vx. seq. Tit. Ordo ad Serviiium 
 Pcreyrinorum. 
 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. ii. 490, 
 
 •^ Du Cange, v. Pera. 
 
 * Litt. c. p. 1183. 
 
 f Girald. Cambrens. Angl. Sacr. ii. 387. 
 
 i Du Cange, v. Armorum Benedictio. 
 
 '• Id. V. Peregritiatio, 
 
CONSECRATION OF PILGRIMS, 
 
 327 
 
 And for your synnes ever you must be sorye. 
 
 For as yet I will not assoylle youe. 
 
 In a lyttell chappell all nyght shall youe lye. 
 
 Do ye as I do youe councelle nowe ; 
 
 Aske God mercy, and let youre hearte bowe ; 
 
 For all thys nyght I wyll wake and praye 
 
 Unto oure Lorde, that I maye knowe 
 
 Yf in salvacion ye do stande in the waye/' — Page 33. 
 
 Robert is dismissed with his pe- 
 nance ; of which hereafter ; but that 
 only, for the consecration appears to 
 be withheld, partly on account of the 
 
 penance, not admitting the Pilgrim's 
 habit, partly because the absolution 
 could not be added. 
 
328 
 
 PREPARATORY STEPS TO THE JOURNEY. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PREPARATORY STEPS TO THE JOURNEY. 
 
 In 1187, the Pagans having obtained 
 by their incursions a great part of the 
 Holy Land, Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of 
 Durham, animated by the example of 
 other Bishops and Abbots, took the 
 Cross, and extorted from his tenants a 
 large sum for his traveUing expences ; 
 he built also for himself and his reti- 
 nue a very handsome ship for his own 
 safety, and the conveyance of stores. 
 He also carried culinary utensils, and 
 different vessels of silver ; as well as a 
 seal of that metal, admirably executed 
 and beautiful, that he might surpass 
 the glory of other Bishops and Dukes.^ 
 Giraldus Cambrensis says, that he 
 had sold the corn of the Church of 
 Landu, and all the revenues of the 
 Archdeaconry for three years, under 
 the privilege of Crusaders, to two 
 Burgesses of Aberhotehni, because be- 
 fore he had made his journey to the 
 Roman Court, he had affixed the cross 
 to his shoulders.^ 
 
 In 1240, Simon de Montfort, Earl 
 of Leicester, after coming to Court, 
 went to his estates for collecting money, 
 and selling woods and lands, to pro- 
 vide the necessaries for his journey 
 to Jerusalem. The Hospitalers and 
 Canons of Leicester then bought of 
 him the noble wood of Leicester for 
 lOOOZ.c 
 
 This shows, that the Monks and 
 other religious had great advantage by 
 the Crusades ; and that, estimating the 
 expence of a Journey to Palestine in a 
 Nobleman, it amounted to an enormous 
 sum in modern monev. King Ed- 
 ward I. devised 30,000/. for 140 Knights 
 to go to the Holy Land,<^ i. e. about 
 214/. each. These expences, with re- 
 spect to Crusading Pilgrims, were in- 
 
 Angl. Sacr. i. 723. *» Id. ii. 601. 
 
 M. Paris, 470. "^ Warton's Poetry, i. 110. 
 
 dispensable, for they had horses, arms, 
 and various necessaries to purchase.^ 
 
 The Privileges of Crusaders were, to 
 be released from any obligation to pay 
 their debts, until they returned, or for 
 a certain number of years; and they 
 were exempted from paying interest of 
 money owing during that time. They 
 were to be free from tallages, unless of 
 a particular kind (reales). They had 
 hberty to mortgage their lands without 
 license of the Lord. Their goods and 
 persons were under the protection of 
 the Pope and Bishops. Their causes 
 were tried in the Ecclesiastical Courts. 
 But all these privileges ceased in cri- 
 minal cases; indeed they were of no 
 use, for as nobody would let them 
 have money under such privileges, they 
 were obliged to renounce them.^ 
 
 It seems that the susception of the 
 Cross induced an obligation to observe 
 strictness of conduct. Richard the 
 First, because he had taken up arms 
 against his father after he had taken 
 the Cross, was absolved by the Arch- 
 bishops of Roan and Treves before he 
 set out.? 
 
 When they had taken the Cross, 
 they learned a particular song, called 
 Ultreia, by singing which they ani- i 
 mated themselves upon their journey.*' 
 It was also usual for them to insult 
 and persecute Jews, whenever they 
 met them. 
 
 The King of France engaged w^th 
 Richard the First not to attack his j 
 People or States, as long as Richard 
 continued in Pilgrimage, nor after his 
 return, before the expiration of forty 
 days.i So that Sovereigns secured 
 
 « M. Paris, 671. ^ Du Cange, v. Ciuje. 
 
 K Triveti Annales, 94. 
 
 ^ Du Cange. 
 
 » Triveti Annales, 108. 
 
PREPARATORY STEPS TO THE JOURNEY. 
 
 329 
 
 their States before they undertook this 
 hazardous expedition. 
 
 Three years the term limited to pil- 
 grimage of Richard I.» 
 
 An oeconomy at home, correspon- 
 dent to the expense, was dictated. In 
 the year 1188, at a Council at Geytin- 
 ton, where Baldwin, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, presided, and took the 
 cross with many others, it was enacted 
 concerning the People of England, that 
 no one should use scarlet cloth, sable 
 
 • Angl. Sacr. ii. 385. 
 
 or vair furs, or vestes laqueati (laced), 
 or more than two dishes at dinner, 
 because the King and all the great 
 men of the Kingdom were going to the 
 Holy Land at great cost.^^ 
 
 After taking farewell of their friends 
 and making their wills, the Pilgrims (at 
 least for the Crusades) met together at 
 one place to fix a day for their de- 
 parture. <^ 
 
 ^ Decern Scriptores, 1149. 
 
 «= M. Paris, 671. Du Cange, v. Manaia. 
 
330 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ON SHIPBOARD. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ON SHIPBOARD. 
 
 Some of the English Pilgrims, des- 
 tined for Jerusalem, went by way of 
 Sicily, the greater part from Marseilles." 
 
 In a Synod held under King Pepin, 
 it is enacted as follows, " In like man- 
 ner we appoint, that when Pilgrims go 
 to Rome or elsewhere, on account of 
 God, that they be not detained at 
 bridges, or excluded (for toll), or in 
 voyages, on account of their scrippa ;'' 
 a term by change of a letter probably 
 put for scirppa, which were baskets 
 made of rushes, used by travellers to 
 hold their baggage.^ 
 
 In the eighth century, the profession 
 of Christianity appears to have been 
 grossly abused by the English mer- 
 chants, who carried on a singular kind 
 of smuggling trade, in foreign countries. 
 In order to elude the payment of duties 
 abroad, they put on the habit of pil- 
 grims, and pretended that they were 
 travelling to Rome, or some other 
 place, for religious purposes. The bales, 
 which they carried with them, they 
 insisted, contained only provisions for 
 their journey, and were exempt from 
 paying any duty. But the collectors 
 of the customs, a suspicious kind of 
 men in all ages, often searched the 
 parcels of those pretended pilgrims, 
 and either seized them, or imposed a 
 heavy fine on the owners of them.*^ 
 
 In other enactments it is said, ^^ for 
 any other Pilgrims, having a place 
 from the mast, i. e. the midship, to 
 the forecastle, with their provisions 
 and armour, they shall pay a mark.^^^ 
 These were inferior Pilgrims, who had 
 no cabin, and carried their own pro- 
 visions. 
 
 A Capitulum Metense, cap. 6, in the 
 year 7^7^ orders, that no claim shall 
 
 * M. Paris, 475. ^ Du Cange, v. Scrippum. 
 *= Thomson's Ocellum Promoiitorium, p. 34. 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Habuisia, 
 
 be made from Pilgrims for their scrips.® 
 This imposition on account of their 
 baggage and provisions was rendered 
 quite nugatory by the truly ascetical 
 Pilgrims ; for Godrick of Finchale, the 
 celebrated Hermit, on the whole of 
 the journey, ate only barley-bread and 
 drank water; never washed or changed, 
 or mended his clothes.^ 
 
 It therefore appears, that, upon this 
 plan, a pilgrimage to Rome or Jeru- 
 salem was not an absurd undertaking 
 for the wife of a weaver (as Chaucer 
 says), on account of the assistances 
 which they received by land,? soon to 
 be mentioned. 
 
 By some Statutes of Marseilles, no 
 master of a ship was to have more 
 than four Pilgrims for his own fvianda) 
 profit or freight ; except from charity. 
 He was also compelled to take an oath, 
 that he would keep good faith with the 
 Pilgrims, perform his engagement, buy 
 good victuals for them,^ and have no 
 contracts with the masters or part- 
 owners of other ships, relating to the 
 cargoes or provisions of Pilgrims. * 
 
 The manner of embarkation was 
 curious. The ports of the vessel were 
 opened to allow entrance for the horses, 
 which they intended to carry with 
 them. When they were all on board, 
 the port was caulked and stopped up, 
 as close as a large tun of wine, because 
 when the vessel was at sea, it was un- 
 der water.^ The horses were soon 
 landed again; for Froissart says, no 
 horses were to be embarked, because 
 the voyage from England to Lisbon 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Scrippum. 
 ' M. Paris, 99. 
 
 » Hawkins's Musick, ii. 109. He did not kno w 
 
 their resources. 
 
 '» An abuse alluded to in Chapter IV. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Cargator. 
 
 ^ Joinville, i. 118. Ed. Johnes. 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ON SHIPBOARD. 
 
 331 
 
 was too far.a Horses were sometimes 
 conveyed upon deck.^ 
 
 When the Priests and Clerks em- 
 barked, the Captain made them mount 
 to the castle (round-top) of the ship, 
 and chaunt psalms in praise of God, 
 that he might be pleased to send them 
 a prosperous voyage. They all with a 
 loud voice sang the beautiful hymn of 
 Veni Creator, from the beginning to 
 the end, and while they were singing, 
 the mariners set their sails in the name 
 of God,c [singing " Salve Regina/'^] 
 which was the Celeusma of the Middle 
 Age. A Priest having said, that God 
 and his mother would deliver them 
 from all danger if processions were 
 made three times on a Saturday, a pro- 
 cession round the mast was accordingly 
 begun on that day.® 
 
 The Host was carried by the pious, 
 and a tent in a fit place erected over it 
 of silk and gold.^ 
 
 In hard gales, the bulkheads or par- 
 titions of cabins were removed, and 
 vows made to St. Nicholas of a silver 
 ship, if they escaped the storm.s 
 
 The Galleys of the rich Crusaders 
 were painted within and without with 
 escutcheons of their arms ; and some 
 galleys had full 300 sailors on board, 
 each bearing a target of their Lord's 
 arms, and upon each target was a small 
 flag with his arms likewise, of beaten 
 gold.^ In the Norman ship in the 
 celebrated Bayeux Tapestry, the crew 
 are ranged along the sides, with each 
 a shield, as in the preceding descrip- 
 tion.i 
 
 Proper attention was paid to the 
 Compass, which was contained in a 
 Binnacle, for the advantage of light in 
 
 • V. 330. b Du Cange, v. Boudron. 
 
 « Joiaville, i. 119. 
 
 ^ Erasmi Naufragium inter CoUoquia, p. 203, 
 et alibi. « Joinville. 
 
 ' Joinville, i. 262. This was only an especial 
 privilege allowed to S. Louis ; it not being per- 
 mitted to other Pilgrims. Du Cange, v. Eucharistia 
 in navibus. 
 
 « Joinville, i. 227. All this is admirably detailed 
 in irony by Erasmus in his dialogue de Naufragio. 
 CoUoquia, £01. »» Joinville, 125. 
 
 'Engraved in Maillot, Costumes, iii. pi. xxi. 
 Froissart is copious on the gorgeousness, &c. of 
 ancient ships and private barge?. 
 
 the evening, as now. Hugh de Berry 
 says, (in the thirteenth century) the 
 sailors in the dark nights, to avoid 
 losing their route, lighted a candle, to 
 observe the needle every now and 
 then.k 
 
 Men and their wives had the usual 
 accommodation of the moderns, for 
 they could have separate small cabins 
 to themselves.^ 
 
 Provisions were not matters of se- 
 rious difficulty, for Bacon and Corn 
 were the chief, almost the only stores- 
 laid in, in provisioning Danish and 
 Norman ships ;"^ and William Brita 
 mentions biscuit and wine.^ 
 
 The regulations of Richard the First 
 for the conduct of his subject pilgrims, 
 show the rude punishments of the age, 
 always certain tests of barbarism^ if 
 every other information was wanting. 
 
 " Richard by the Grace of God, &c. 
 to all his men about to go to Jeru- 
 salem by sea. Greeting. Know ye, 
 that we by the common counsel of 
 our honest men, have made the follow- 
 ing regulations : 
 
 " I. If any man kills another in the 
 ship, he shall be fastened to the corpse^ 
 and thrown into the sea. 
 
 '^11. If he commits murder on the 
 land, he shall be bound to the dead 
 man, and buried with him. 
 
 " III. If any one shall have been con- 
 victed by lawful witnesses of having 
 drawn his knife to strike another, or 
 shall have actually done so to the effu- 
 sion of blood, he shall lose his hand ; 
 but he, who shall have struck another 
 with the palm of his hand without 
 shedding blood, shall be three times 
 ducked in the sea. 
 
 " IV. If any one shall abuse, insult, 
 or privately slander his fellow, he shall 
 pay an ounce of silver for every offence. 
 
 " V. A robber, convicted of theft, 
 shall be shaved in the manner of a 
 champion ; and boiling pitch poured 
 upon his head, and the feathers of apil- 
 
 ^ Joinville, i. 348. 
 
 ^ Boccaccio, Decameron, Day ii. Nov. vii. 
 "' Gemetic. c. iv. inter Camd. Script, p. 611. 
 " Philipp. L. 4. Du Cange, v. Panis. 
 
332 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ON SHIPBOARD. 
 
 low shaken over his head to distinguish 
 him ; and be landed at the first Port 
 where the ships shall stop.* 
 
 * Hoveden, sub anno 1189. This passage shows 
 the antiquity of Tarring and Feathering, used by 
 the Anglo-Americans : who apply it to the whole 
 body; but this is also not new. " The Bishop of 
 Halverstadt having taken a place, where there were 
 two monasteries of Nuns and Friers, caused divers 
 featherbeds to be ript, and all the feathers to be 
 
 " For the execution of these statutes^ 
 Justices were appointed by the King 
 over every ship.^* 
 
 thrown in a great hall, whither the Nuns and 
 Friers were thrust naked, with their bodies oiled 
 and pitched, and to tumble among these feathers." 
 Howell's Letters, 135. One of the Masquerade 
 Characters in Strutt's Dresses has evidently the 
 aspect of one of these disguises ; though it was only 
 an assumed cover, for the mask resembles a Hawk. 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ON THE JOURNEY BY LAND. 
 
 333 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ON THE JOURNEY BY LAND. 
 
 This journey was often attended with 
 considerable difficulties, in foreign coun- 
 tries. 
 
 Canute, on his return from a pil- 
 grimage to Rome, bought a free passage 
 for pilgrims in many places at a great 
 expence.* The Jerusalem Pilgrimage 
 called Via Dei and Via Sanctorum, 
 appears by an old charter to have ex- 
 empted the Pilgrims from paying cus- 
 tomary tolls. ^ The constitutions of 
 Pepin, in the preceding chapter, men- 
 tion the detention of them at bridges 
 and roads, for want of money to pay 
 the numerous tolls, usual in those 
 ages; and amounting to a large sum 
 in journeys of so many miles. Cer- 
 vantes mentions pilgrims on foot, who 
 had a design to embark for Italy in 
 order to go to Rome, and had yet 
 among them only 60 rials. Being over- 
 taken by Banditti,^ the Captain of the 
 latter (a genteel Robin Hood) not only 
 restored their money to the pilgrims, 
 but added more to it.^ Facilitation of 
 their progress was therefore a leading 
 concern of Kings and benevolent No- 
 blemen. The former expedited their 
 passage by munificent assistance in 
 some instances.^ Among the reforms 
 in the police of Italy, effected by 
 Rienzi, in 1347, one mentioned is, that 
 pilgrims went and came without dan- 
 ger.^ And John Mansel obtained for 
 the pilgrims, going to St. James of 
 Compostella, that they should choose 
 their lodgings at pleasure in the cities 
 under the dominion of the King of 
 Spain, and have liberty of purchasing 
 
 • XV Scriptores, 275. 
 
 *» Du Cange, v. Via Sanctorum. 
 
 « Cirrha (about 585 B. C.) by its extortions and 
 oppression of Pilgrims, deserved the wrath of the 
 Amphictyonic confederacy, and was therefore de- 
 stroyed. Muller's Dorians. Thus ancient was 
 the plunder of Pilgrims. 
 
 '' Don Quixote, P. ii. B. iv. c. 8. 
 
 « M.Paris, 475. * Mem, dePetrarque,ii.332. 
 
 their own provisions without asking 
 permission of their landlords.^ They 
 travelled in companies ; and in the 
 legend of S. James, it is said " Thirty 
 men of Loreyne wente togyder on Pyl- 
 grymage to Saynte James, and all 
 made fayth to other yt every man 
 shold abide and serve other in all 
 estates yt shall happen by the waye.^'^ 
 They had horses, and other matters, 
 suited to their respective circumstances ; 
 and except the dress^ or particular case 
 of Vows, with no variation from the 
 usages of common journey s,^ unless in 
 customs detailed in Chapter XII. 
 Their persons were secure from rob- 
 bery by one of those wonderful in- 
 fluences of superstition, which are not 
 uncommon in ignorant minds in a bar- 
 barous, though not a refined age. 
 " Richard Lynsted cam this day from 
 Paston, and letyt me wete, that on 
 Saturday last past Dravayle, halfe 
 brother to Waryn Harman, was taken 
 wt enemys walkyn by the Se side, and 
 have hym forthe with hem, and they 
 token ii pylgrimys, a man and a woman, 
 and they robbyd the woman and let 
 her gon ; and ledde the man to the 
 See, and whan they knew he was a 
 pylgreme, they geffe hym money, and 
 sette hym ageyn on the Lond.^^^ A 
 similar instance of respect has been 
 before mentioned.! If however, coming 
 from an enemy's country, they claimed 
 this protection in the country of that 
 enemy, they were, at least sometimes, 
 made prisoners.™ They were, notwith- 
 standing, much robbed at inns. The 
 Legend of S. James abounds with in- 
 stances. Among these, it says, " There 
 
 8 M. Paris, 751. 
 
 •* Golden Legend, f. cxviii. 
 
 ' Angl. Sacr. ii. 594. 
 
 ^ Paston Letters, iii. 304. 
 
 * Chap. L It has exceptions, see further on. 
 
 •" Anglia Sacra, ii, 594. 
 
334 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ON THE JOURNEY BY LAND. 
 
 was a Frensche man, about the yere of 
 our Lorde a M. and a C. wolde eschewe 
 the mortalyte, that in Fraunce, (sic' 
 and wolde visyte Saynte James, and he 
 tok his wyf and children and went 
 thyder : and whan they came to Pam- 
 pelone, hys wyff deyde and hys hoost 
 take fro hym all hys money and hys 
 Jument, upon whych is children were 
 borne."a — The statutes for the Cru- 
 saders enacted, that they should take 
 no women with them in their pil- 
 grimage, except a laundress on foot, of 
 whom there could be no suspicion ;^ 
 an exception founded upon their known 
 character, as the harlots of the middle 
 age.c But these were not the only 
 female companions, notwithstanding 
 the statute; in instances, however, 
 where the transgression implied no 
 breach of propriety. When Godric of 
 Finchale set out for Rome, his mother 
 desiring to become his companion, he 
 consented, and, being a foot pilgrim, 
 he carried her on his shoulders,^ where 
 the roughness of the road required it. 
 At London they picked up another 
 woman of great beauty, but totally 
 unknown to them, and insuperably re- 
 served in concealing herself. She ac- 
 companied them the whole journey, 
 washed and kissed their feet, and was 
 singularly obsequious. When they re- 
 turned, she suddenly disappeared, and 
 though probably some noble Magdalen, 
 crossed in love, who had imposed upon 
 herself this voluntary penance, was, 
 through her secrecy and imperceptible 
 departure, converted into the Virgin 
 
 » Golden Legend, fol. cxviii. 
 
 «> Guil. Neubrigens. L. iii. c, 22. p. 291. Ed. 
 Antw. 1567. 
 
 «= Meretricem et Lotricem. Knighton, in X 
 Scrip. 242-2. In the 17th century the city laun- 
 dresses used to treat young men with saffron [cakes 
 I presume] and eggs, in order to lure them. 
 Peacham's Complete Gentleman, 31. It was a 
 Franch fashion, and they swarmed about inns. 
 Erasmi Diversoria, CoUoq. p. 211. 
 
 ^ A common custom with respect to infirm wo- 
 men. M. Paris, 347. *' What gave me the 
 greatest concern, was to see Zorayda travelling on 
 foot among the flinty rocks, for though I sometimes 
 tool- her on my shoulders, she was much more 
 fatigued with seeing me weary, than refreshed by 
 finding herself exempted from walking." Don 
 Quixote, ii. 187. 
 
 Mary, who had shown the Hermit this 
 mark of respect.^ 
 
 Some Pilgrims declined any female 
 attendance. Gilbert Beket, father of 
 the celebrated Archbishop Thomas, 
 when a young man, took the Jerusalem 
 cross, but would have no other com- 
 panion than a servant named Richard.^ 
 
 Female Pilgrims often suffered much 
 on the journey. " Thre knyghtes of 
 the diocese of Lyon went to Saynt 
 James ; and one was requyred of a pore 
 woman, for the love of Saynt James, 
 to here her sacke upon hys hors ; and 
 he bare it; after he founde a man 
 seke, and set hym on hys hors, and 
 toke the bur don of the man, and the 
 sacke of the said woman, and followed 
 hys hors afote.^s 
 
 The poorer Pilgrims provided for 
 themselves by mendicity and the aid 
 of charitable institutions. 
 
 It was sometimes a part of the Papal 
 absolution of those who had vowed a 
 Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but were too 
 poor or old to undertake the journey, 
 that they should give money to those 
 who did go, and pecuniary aid for the 
 repair of a Church.^^ Monasteries 
 received them courteously,! and gave 
 them for three days lodging and diet, 
 without question whence they came.^ 
 Such hospitals were regularly endowed 
 with tythes.^ 
 
 In the legend of St. John the Almo- 
 ner, it is said, ^^ There was a poure 
 man in the habyte of a Pilgrim came 
 too Saynte Job an, and demaunded al- 
 messe; and he called his dyspenser 
 and badde to gyve that poure man vi 
 pens.'^na In the Romance of the Re- 
 nard Contre/ait^ (so called because an 
 imitation of the others), written by an 
 anonymous inhabitant of Tholouse, 
 between the years 1328 and 1.S42, is 
 the character of these Mendicant Pil- 
 
 * M. Paris, 98. ' Decern Scriptores, 105$ 
 ? Golden Legend, fol. cxix. 
 
 '» Angl. Sacr. ii. 495. 
 
 ' Revner Apostolatus Benedictinorum, p. 224. 
 
 ^ Cough's Brit. Topography, ii. 462. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Nona. 
 
 '^ Golden Legend, f. 55. 
 
 * MS. dans la Bibliotheque Nationale k Paris. 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ON THE JOURNEY BY LAND. 335 
 
 grimages. The Confessor announces 
 to Renard his Penitent, that he is not 
 able to give him absolution, and that 
 he must go to Rome to demand it of 
 the Pope. The Convert submits, takes 
 the scarf and bourdon^ and commences 
 his journey. Our Pilgrim, on his 
 road, meets the ass, and Belin, the 
 sheep, who stop and converse with 
 him. This conversation leads on both 
 sides to long discourses, intermixed 
 with historiettes, among which is that 
 of Count Renard de S. Marcel who 
 was a robber on the high road, and 
 who, one day that he saw a carter 
 stuck fast in the mud, advanced in 
 charity to assist him, was killed by 
 him, and ascended to Heaven directly. 
 His two acquaintance asked Renard, 
 w^iy, instead of going to beg upon the 
 road to Rome, he did not pursue an ho- 
 nest trade, in which, after all, he could 
 ensure his salvation, as well as by the 
 vagrant life which he was going to 
 adopt. He answers the question by 
 a satire upon the different professions 
 and trades, exposes their several 
 rogueries, and concludes, by observing, 
 that it is not so bad a trade as thiev- 
 ing. After this he renounces his de- 
 votion, and returns home.^ This cha- 
 racter of Pilgrims was assumed by the 
 Gipsies. On April 17th, 142?, there 
 came to Paris twelve Penitents, one 
 Duke, one Earl, ten knights, and one 
 hundred and twenty men and women 
 with a number of infants. They said, 
 that they were Christians, expelled 
 from Egypt by the Saracens, who came 
 to the Pope for confession, and were 
 ordered to wander seven years, nor 
 during that time to rest in a bed. They 
 had many followers, till the Bishop 
 compelled them to change their ha- 
 bitation, for theft, and fortune- telling, 
 and other offences. In 156'0 they were 
 expelled from Gaul, and soon after^ in 
 1591, banished Spain.c 
 
 * Of these ia the Chapter of Costumes. 
 
 •» Notices, V. 345, 346. 
 
 •= Du Cange, v. yEyyptiaci. This account cor- 
 responds with that given in the Antiquarian Re- 
 pertory, i. 56, as the most probable origin of these 
 vagrants. 
 
 This assumption of the character of 
 Pilgrims by the Gipsies was not mal 
 apropos, Erasmus mentions a man^ 
 who supported himself and two ser- 
 vants, on his journey to Jerusalem, by 
 chiromancy and fortune-telling;^ and 
 when he got there, he quartered him- 
 self upon a very rich Pilgrim, who, 
 though 70 years old, could not die in 
 peace till he had been to the Holy 
 Land. It was a rule to extend bene- 
 factions to Pilgrims, whatever might 
 be their rank. Eadmer says of Lan- 
 franc. Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 " What Pilgrim of whatsoever order of 
 men, ever asked relief from him, and did 
 not obtain it?'^^ Anselm being in 
 doubt what he should do with the pro- 
 perty which devolved to him by the 
 death of his father, revolved in his 
 mind, among other things, whether he 
 should not build a house for the recep- 
 tion of Pilgrims.^ St. Roche, the Pa- 
 tron Saint of Pilgrims, used in part of 
 his duties, to visit hospitals ; " but 
 when he had been long in hospitall of 
 Placence, and had almost heled the 
 seke men therin, about mydnight he 
 herd in his slepe an angel thus sayeng, 
 O Roche most devout to Crist, awake, 
 and know yt thou art smitten with the 
 pestilence, studye now how thou mayst 
 be cured. And anone he felte himself 
 sore taken with the pestylence under 
 both his armes, and he therof gaaf 
 thankinges to our Lord, and he was so 
 sore vexed with ye payne, that they yt 
 were in thospital were deprived of theyr 
 slepe and rest of the night ; wherefore 
 Saynt Roche arose fro his bedde, and 
 went to the utterest place of thospitall, 
 and layd hym downe there abyding the 
 light of the day. And whan it was 
 daye the people goinge by sawe him, ac- 
 cused the mayster of the hospytall of 
 offence yt he suffred the Pijlgrime to lye 
 without ye hospytall, but he purged hym 
 
 ** Colloquium Senile, p. 265. 
 
 * Hist. Novor. p. 8. 
 
 f Angl. Sacr. ii. 156. The Hospital of Ledbury 
 in Herefordshire was founded for the relief of Pil- 
 grims and poor men. Dugdale's Monast. ii. 453. 
 Kings invited them to refreshment. X Script. 
 2322. 
 
336 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ON THE JOURNEY BY LAND, 
 
 of the defaute sayenge yt the Pylgrime 
 wae smyten with the pestilence, as ye 
 see and unwittynge to us he went out, 
 Thenne the Cytezens incontynent put 
 out Saynt llochefro the cyte and su- 
 burbes, leest by him the cytee myght he 
 the more infected,''^ Thus it appears, 
 that the obligation to lodge Pilgrims 
 was imperious, except in cases of con- 
 tagious disease. 
 
 This is the more natural, if it be 
 considered, that whatever might be the 
 abuse of Mendicant Pilgrimage, it was 
 deemed meritorious. Saint Roche, 
 from the text " In the sweat of thy 
 brow,'^ &c. persuaded Gotarde to leave 
 all his goods to his heirs, to follow the 
 way of Christ, which he makes to con- 
 sist in begging " brede and almesse,'^ 
 and " in the name of Jhesu." ^ it was 
 was even done by men of very estima- 
 ble character and habits, who often 
 found asylums in the houses of the 
 great. ^^ I was a poor Pilgrim,^' says 
 one of these, " when I came to your 
 court ; I have lived honestly and repu- 
 tably in it, on the wages you have 
 given me ; restore to me my mule, my 
 wallet, and my staiF, and I will return 
 in the same manner as I came/^ ^ 
 
 This was not the only attention paid 
 to Pilgrims on their route. Trees were 
 planted at crosses, and other accom- 
 
 • Golden Legend, fol. cxliiii. ^ Ibid. 
 
 <= History of the Troubadours, p. 300. 
 
 modations placed there, for shade, and 
 rest to them.t^ 
 
 In their migrations they were the 
 great instruments of conveying news. 
 A woman on her return from a Pil- 
 grimage to our Lady of Boulogne, 
 being weary, seated herself in the mar- 
 ket-place, where there were crowds of 
 people, who asked her for news.<^ — Sir 
 John Paston says, " I kan not her by 
 Pylgrimys yt passe the kontre, nor 
 noon other man.'^ ^ 
 
 The Pilgrims, on their journeys, 
 used to amuse themselves by narrating 
 tales. & 
 
 The Jerusalem Pilgrims of the richer 
 sort took tents with them. Baldwin 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, ordered 
 those which he intended to take with 
 him, to be elevated in Lambeth field.** 
 Kings and great men took letters of 
 safe conduct ; * and the destruction of 
 the places where they were in the ha- 
 bit of plundering Pilgrims, was the 
 punishment inflicted.^ 
 
 Many of the Pilgrims to Jerusalem 
 were detained at Marseilles, for want 
 of vessels to convey them, till their 
 money was spent.* 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Albellus, 
 
 « Froissart, v. 103. 
 
 f Paston Letters, ii. 76. 
 
 ^ Warton's Poetry, i. 397. 
 
 ^ X Scriptores, 1564. » X Scriptores, 1126. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 1118. ' Ibid. 1173. 
 
CRUSADERS. 
 
 337 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE ARRIVAL AT JERUSALEM. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS OF CRUSADERS. 
 
 It is not the intention of this essay 
 to detail historical matters, or be nar- 
 ratory ; as possessing no novelty, and 
 much tediousness. — The bells were 
 rung when the Pilgrims appeared off 
 the port, where they were to land.^ 
 
 The Pilgrims, not engaged in the 
 military department of the Croisades, 
 visited the Holy Sepulchre, and other 
 religious places. Godric of Finchale, 
 after doing this, proceeding to the 
 River Jordan with the hair shirt, and 
 cup, which he carried in his scrip, en- 
 tered the waters of that river [in imi- 
 tation of Naaman, the Syrian]. Then 
 for the first time after leaving England 
 he stripped and washed himself: pull- 
 ed off his shoes, and said, " God Om- 
 nipotent, who hast walked barefooted 
 in this land, and suffered your feet to 
 be pierced with nails on my account, 
 henceforth, I will not put shoes on my 
 feet.'^ Having thus performed his 
 vow of Pilgrimage, he returned to 
 England.^ 
 
 They delighted to pick up relicks 
 during their Peregrinations.*^ Balsam 
 was sold at Jerusalem,^^ images, and no 
 doubt many other articles. 
 
 Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, and 
 William his Archdeacon, for the sake of 
 exercising the flesh, and fixing in their 
 memories the Incarnation, Passion, 
 and Ascension of Christ, made a visit 
 to the Holy Land.e Erasmus, however, 
 says, that the Pilgrims saw nothing 
 but ancient monuments, to which only 
 legendary accounts were attached, and 
 that even the precise situation of an- 
 cient Jerusalem was not certainly known 
 by the residents there. The Pilgrims, 
 
 » Neubrigensis, 276. More will appear in Tor- 
 kington's Journal following. 
 
 •> M. Paris, p. 99. c £adm. 88. 
 
 •' Du Cange, v. Munerba. 
 >-• Angl. Sacr. ii. ^74. 
 
 he adds, abounded with marvellous 
 tales, and false stories of what they 
 had seen and heard,^ but returned with 
 injured health. 
 
 There is preserved an account of a 
 Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, made by a 
 Sir Richard Torkington in 1517? of 
 which the following extracts Avere pub- 
 lished by Mr. Wheeler, from the iden- 
 tical MS. Diary .g 
 
 " Thys ys the begynnyng of the pyl- 
 grymage of Syr Rychard Torkyngton, 
 person of Mulberton in Norffolke. 
 And how he went towardys Iherusa- 
 lem all a lone to the tyme he came to 
 Venesse.^^ 
 
 '^ ffyrst the ffryday a for Mydlent 
 that was Seynt Cuthberdys day And 
 the XX day of Marche in the vij yer of 
 kyng herri the viij.^^ And the yer of 
 ower lorde god M.CCCCCxvij. abowte 
 viij of the cloke the same mornyng I 
 shippyd at Rye in Sussex. And the 
 same day a bowte x. of the cloke at 
 nyght I londed at Depe. in Normandy. 
 And ther I lay in the Shippe all 
 nyght," &c. &c. 
 
 " At Cambray I hard a ffamus Ser- 
 mon of a Doctor which began at v. of 
 the cloke in the mornyng and conty- 
 nuyd tyll it was ix of the clok. In hys 
 s'mon at on time he had a balys [rod] 
 in hys bond a nother tyme a schorge 
 the iij.^e tyme a crowne of thorne the 
 iiij.^li tyme he shewyd the pepyll a 
 pictur poyntyd on a clothe of the pas- 
 sion of o.'* lorde. And aft. that he 
 shewyd them the ymage of god crucy- 
 fyed upon a crosse and thanne all the 
 peple bothe yong and old they fell 
 downe upon ther knes and cryed with 
 lamentable voce om'a the p'cher the 
 peple they weppe marvell it was to see. 
 
 f Colloq. § De Votis, &c. p. 22. 
 B Gentleman's Magazine, Octob. 
 
 1812. 
 
338 
 
 CllUSADERS. 
 
 " We com [29. April] to the goodly 
 and fFamose Cite of Venys. Ther I 
 was well at ese, fFor ther was no thyng 
 that I desired to have but I had it 
 shortly. At Venyse at thefyrsthowse 
 that 1 cam to except oon the good man 
 of the howse seyd he knew me by my 
 face that I was an englysshman. And 
 he spake to me good englyssh thanne 
 I was jous and glade. iFor I saw nev'. 
 englyssh man ffrom the tyme I dep'ted 
 owt of Parys to the tyme I cam to 
 Venys. which ys vij or viij C. myles.^^ 
 
 '^ In Candia sive Creta was musyke 
 fyrste founde And also Tourneys and 
 exercyse of Armys fyrst founde on 
 horse bake. Ther was lawe fyrst put 
 in wrytyng. Armour was fyrst ther 
 divisyd and founde. And so was remys 
 and rowyng in bootts. 
 
 " Satirday the xj day of July a bowyt 
 iiij of the cloke at aftyr noon we had 
 sight of the holy londe. Thanne the 
 Maryners song the letany And aftyr 
 that all the pylgryms w.^ a joy if uU voyce 
 song Te Deum laudamus. and thankyd 
 all myghty god that he had yoven us 
 such grace to have onys the sight of 
 the most holy lande.'^ 
 
 *^ At Jaffe begynnyth the holy londe 
 and to ev.y pylgryme at the fFyrst foote 
 that he sett on the londe ther ys 
 grauntyd plenary remission De pena et 
 a culpa. In JafF Seynt Petir reysid 
 iFrom Deth Tabitam. the sarvaunt of 
 the Appostolis. And fast by ys the 
 place where Seynt Petir usyd to ifysh 
 And o^ Savior Crist callyd hym and 
 §eyd sequere me, 
 
 " At Rama we war receyvyd into 
 Duke Philipps hospitall And it ys 
 callyd so by cause L)uke Philippe of 
 Burgone byldyd it of hys grett Cha- 
 rite to Receye Pylgryms therin. We 
 found no thyng ther in but bar walles 
 and bar florethes excepte oonly a well 
 of good ffresh watir whiche was myche 
 to o.^ comforth. Nev'theles ther com 
 to us Jacobyns and other feynyd 
 Cristen peple of Soundry Sectis that 
 browght to us mattes ffor o.'^ mony to 
 lye upon And also brede sodyng egges 
 and sumtyme other vetallyes as mylke 
 grapys and appyllys." 
 
 *^ Satirday [18. July] a bowyt vj or 
 vij of the cloke at aftyr noon we cam 
 to Iherusalem and were receyvyd in to 
 the Mounte Syon. 
 
 " Whanne Masse was don [Sunday 
 19. July] we went all to Dyn'. in the 
 place wher we war ryghg honestely 
 sVyed. And at medys of the dyner 
 the ffather wardyn made a right holy 
 sermon and shewyd ryght devowtly 
 the holynesse of all the blyssyd choseyn 
 place of the holy londe And exortyd 
 ev'y. man to confession and repent- 
 aunce. And so to visite the seyd holy 
 placis in clennes of lyff. And w^ 
 shuch Devocion as all myghty god 
 wold yeff unto them of hys most spe- 
 ciall grace.'^ 
 
 " At the Mounte of Olivete we came 
 to the place under an holow Roke wher 
 o.^ savyor preying fell in suche an 
 agony that he swete watir and blode. 
 That the droppes fell in grett plenty 
 from hys eyne to the erthe seying. 
 Pater si possihile est ut transeat a me 
 calix iste ; verumtamen no\ sicut ego 
 voloy s\ sicut tu vis.ffiat voluntas tua, 
 Clene remission." 
 
 ^' Ffrom thens descendyng a stonys 
 cast we came to the place wher o^. Sa- 
 vyor Crist left Petir Jamis & John. 
 Sedete hie donee vadam illuc et orem 
 vigilate et orate. Also wher the Pos- 
 tyllys made the Crede of ower feyth. 
 Also wher ower Savyor Crist taught 
 hys Discipulis to pray seying Cum orat\ 
 it a dicite, Pater noster,'^ 
 
 '^ The stonys of that place wher 
 ower lady was born ys remedi and 
 consolation to women that travell of 
 Chylde.'^ 
 
 " We went to the howse of Dives » 
 Epulonis, qui sepultus est in Inferno,'' 
 
 '' We cam to the howse of Veronica 
 wher as o^. blyssid Savyor impressyd 
 the ymage of hys iface in hyr wymple 
 whiche vs at Rome. And it ys callyd 
 ther the Vernacle. 
 
 " The Churche of the holy sepulcre 
 
 * Whitby says, that the story of Dives and La- 
 zarus is only a parable taken from the Gemara Ba- 
 bylonicum ; but Chateaubriand, from Chr} sostom, 
 makes it a real history. Trav. ii. 27. F. 
 
CRUSADERS. 
 
 33d 
 
 ys founde myclie leke the form and 
 makyng of the Temple at London saff 
 it ys excedyng fer in gretnesse and 
 hath wonder many yles Crodes and 
 vowtes Chapellys high and lowe in 
 grett nowmber and mervell it ys to see 
 the many deferens and secrete places 
 ^vt.in the sayd temple." 
 
 " Under the Mounte of Clavery [Cal- 
 vary] ys a nother Chapell of oj blyssyd 
 lady and Seynt John Ev'ngeliste that 
 was callyd Galgatha and ther ryght 
 under the morteys of the Crosse was 
 founde the hede of o.^' fore father 
 Adam." 
 
 " We cam to Bethelem it was callyd 
 in old tyme Effrata wher of it ys 
 wretyng Ecce audivimus eum in Ef- 
 frata, And bytwyne Citie and the 
 chirche ys the flod floridus where the 
 fayer mayd shuld a ben brent and was 
 savyd harmesse by myracle for the fyer 
 chaunged into Rosis.'^ 
 
 " At the Est ende of the Chirche of 
 Bethlem ys a cave in the grounde wher 
 sumtyme stod a Chirch of Seynt Ni- 
 cholas. In the same cave entred ower 
 blyssid lady w^ hyr Sone. And hyd 
 hyr for fFer of Kyng Herrod. the gronde 
 ys good for Norces that lake my Ik for 
 ther Childern.'* 
 
 '' The last day of July a bowy t v. of 
 the cloke in the mornyng we made 
 sayle to warde Cypres homward w*. 
 ryght grett joy and solas.^' 
 
 " The xxt. day of August that was 
 Seynt Bertilmews day the morne aftyr 
 Seynt Bertilmew decessyd Roberd 
 Crosse of London Pewterer and was 
 buryed in the Chirche yard in Salyus 
 [in the Island of Cyprus]. And xxvij 
 day of August decessyd Syr Thomas 
 Toppe a prestof the West countre. And 
 was cast ov'. the borde As was many 
 moo whos soules god assoyle. And 
 thanne ther remayned in the shippe 
 iiij Englyssh prestis moo.^^ 
 
 " Of o.^ chere and well entretyng at 
 the Rody [Rhodes] and what comfort 
 was don to us and speciall that was 
 seke and disesyd by Syr Thomas New- 
 porte and Mayster WiUiam W^eston 
 and Syr John Bowthe and aftyrward 
 
 by other Jentylmen of Englond ther 
 it War to long to wrytte. 
 
 " Sunday [3. January] the wynde 
 began to ryse in the north And mun- 
 day all day and all nyght it blew owt- 
 rageously. Indured a wondred grett 
 Tempest aswell be excedyng wondors 
 blowyng of wynde as by contynuall 
 lythynyng So that the capteyne and 
 the patron And all the knyghtys of 
 the Rode whyche war ther to the 
 noy>rmbyr of xiiij wended we shulde a 
 be lost." 
 
 '^ The same nyght a bowte x of the 
 cloke we all p'mysyd pylgrymage to 
 ower lady of grace of Missena in Ce- 
 cylia. And ev'y man delyv'ed hys 
 offeryng the same tyme to the patrone 
 of the shippe. 
 
 ^^ Wedynsday the vj. day of Januarij 
 the wynde rose a yens us w^. grett 
 tempest thounderyng and lyghtnyng 
 all day and all nyght So owt rageously 
 that we knew not wher wee war. And 
 thanne we putt us all in the mercy of 
 god beyng in grett peyne and woo 
 both day and nyght voowyng sum of 
 us pylgrylmages to o.'^ blyssyd lady of 
 Lorett^ in Ytalya and sum to o.'" lady 
 of Walsyngh'm. and sum to Seynt 
 Thomas of Cannterbury we that war 
 Englysshmen. The patrone of o."^ 
 shippe gaderd mony of us for to make 
 o.^ ofFerying to the iij kyngs of Colo- 
 ney^ And as sone as we cam on londe 
 we shuld have messe in honor of 
 them.'' 
 
 " And in thys fforsayd long conty- 
 nuall tempeste and storme we war 
 dreiFbakward iij. C. myle.^' 
 
 " In the yle callyd Swafana in 
 Turkey we a bode v. dayes and dyv'se 
 knyghtes of the Rodes wont on lond 
 w*. ther hande gonnes and slew horse 
 for ther hawkes that war in the sheppe 
 ther war in the shippe I. C. hawkes 
 and moo." 
 
 " Saturday a for the fyrst Sounday 
 
 • The iii Magi, who worshipped the infant 
 Christ, called in the legend Kings, and of Cologn, 
 because their bodies were pretended to have been 
 brought first to Milan, and from thence to Cologn. 
 Golden Legend, fol. vi. — viii. F. 
 
 z2 
 
340 
 
 CRUSADERS. 
 
 of clene lent the xx. day of flfebruary 
 we went in to the Castell [of Corfu] a 
 mong the Jewys it was ther Sabaday. 
 The same day ther was a Jewe maryed 
 and aftyr Dyner I saw them danse in 
 a grett Chamber bothe men and wo- 
 men in ryche apparell Damaske Saten 
 velvett weryng a bowte their nekkys 
 chenys of fyne gold w*. many rynggs 
 on their fFyngers w*. stonys of grett 
 pryce. She that was maryed she had 
 upon hyr hede a crowne of gold. — On 
 of the Jewys be gan to syng And than 
 all the women dannsed to gedyr by the 
 space of an owre. And aftyr that ther 
 cam in yong men on of them sang 
 Thanne the men and women danncyd 
 to gedyr Aftyr that they callyd in ther 
 mynstellys and so they danncyd iij 
 long howrys. They be fayer women 
 wonderfull werkes in sylke and gold and 
 many goodly thyngs they have to sell, 
 in thys cetye we a bode by the space of 
 xiiij dayes.^' 
 
 '^ Munday that was the xvij day of 
 Apryll we cam to Dover and lay ther 
 all nyght.'' 
 
 " Tewysday a for Whith Sounday 
 we cam to Cannterbury to Seynt Tho- 
 mas Messe and ther I oiferyd and 
 made an Ende of my Pylgrymage — 
 Deo graciaP 
 
 '^ We war owt of Englond in ower 
 seyd pylgrymage the space of an holl 
 yer v. wekys and iij dayes." 
 
 As to the Military, they lived in the 
 same habits as at home. Statutes 
 were made for the regulation of them, 
 of which the following is an abstract. 
 
 I. All the Pilgrims who died on the 
 road, had a power of disposing of their 
 arms, horses, and cloaths, provided 
 they sent nothing home : as to Clerks, 
 they could dispose at will of religious 
 furniture. 
 
 II. Knights and Clerks were allow- 
 ed to play for money, provided they 
 did not lose more than 205. in 24 
 hours. But all servants, except the 
 King's, were to be punished by three 
 day^s beating through the army, and 
 mariners were to be ducked once a day 
 for three days, if they meddled with 
 games. 
 
 III. Money borrowed on the jour- 
 ney, was to be paid during the journey, 
 but not that borrowed before. 
 
 IV. Runaway servants were not to 
 be harboured, under penalty of excom- 
 munication, &c. 
 
 V. No merchant of any trade was to 
 buy bread to sell again in the army, 
 nor any foreigner to speculate in corn, 
 unless he made bread of it, or detained 
 it to carry with him ; nor was any one 
 to buy dead meat to sell again, or a 
 live beast, unless he killed it in the 
 army. 
 
 VI. The same regulation was made 
 about regrating in wine.* 
 
 Other regulations order the Cru- 
 saders not to swear enormously; not 
 to gamble at dice ; and to be content 
 with two meals.b But their liberti- 
 nism was so notorious, as in its conse- 
 quences to be a leading cause of their 
 final ill success. 
 
 Joinville is a work of such easy 
 access, that it is quite unnecessary to 
 make large extracts. The knowledge 
 of the useful arts was considerably 
 augmented by this intercourse with 
 the East. The following short notices 
 betray the strangest inconsistencies. 
 Friday's fast was diligently observed ;c 
 and there were tents in the form of 
 chapels, with the Annunciation of the 
 Virgin Mary embroidered on the in- 
 side ;d and yet brothels were kept 
 even within a stone's threw of Sairit 
 Louis's pavilion, by his attendants.^ 
 
 The name of our Richard I. was so 
 terrible, that it was used by the Sara- 
 cen women to frighten children.^ 
 
 LaBrocquiere mentions 30,000 Ama- 
 zons, with bows and arrows and curi- 
 ous quivers.? 
 
 In Tacticks the present admirable 
 method of defending infantry from ca- 
 valry, was successfully practised.^ 
 
 La Brocquiere says, that a dwarf and 
 
 » Script, p. Bed. 384. 
 
 ^ Neubrigensis, 1. 3. c. 22. p. 291. 
 
 • Joinville,!. 167. ^ Id. 119. 
 
 •^ Id. 128. i Id. 274. 
 
 s P. 150. A woman with only one breast occurs 
 on Indian Monuments. Gough's Indian Monu- 
 ments at Salset, PI. v. p. 18. 
 
 ^ Triveti Annales, 120. 
 
CRUSADERS. 
 
 341 
 
 two young persons acted the parts of 
 fools with the Sultan ; and that the 
 custom was introduced by the Cru- 
 saders to the Christian Courts.^ Now 
 it has been said that our interesting 
 acquaintance in infancy, Tom Thumb, 
 was a dwarf in the Court of King Ar- 
 thur, who only imitated Augustus in 
 keeping a dwarfs La Brocquiere may 
 be correct, for they were mostly then 
 brought from Syria and Egypt.^ 
 
 All the pomp of the Gothick Ages 
 was derived, by means of the Crusades, 
 from the riches and magnificence of the 
 Eastern Cities. Before this eera old 
 Poetry consisted of the achievements 
 of King Arthur and the Knights of the 
 Round Table, and Charlemagne and his 
 twelve peers ; but after these expedi- 
 tions of the Sol dans, Caliphs, Trebi- 
 zond, and other cities. Whole legions 
 of Poets embarked with the Military for 
 the Crusades. d 
 
 The Pisans, when the Crusades first 
 took place, fitted out small vessels 
 loaded with provisions, which they sold 
 to the Crusaders, and brought back 
 columns, sculptures, bas-reliefs, &c. 
 from ancient Greece, as well as Greek 
 artists ; and from hence commenced 
 the revival of the Arts in Italy.e 
 
 The Crusades gave birth to the ma- 
 ritime powers, of which Venice, Genoa, 
 and Pisa were the first; and occa- 
 sioned the establishment in Europe of 
 naval commerce, which, till then, had 
 been in the hands of the Greeks and 
 Arabs.^ 
 
 About the year 1060, when the Pa- 
 gans obstructed the Journey, the Pil- 
 grimage was still made by stealth.^ 
 But it being a misfortune which oc- 
 curred from possession of the country 
 by the Saracens, that the Pilgrims were 
 enslaved when they came to the Holy 
 Land,'^ Antioch, which was taken by 
 
 * P. 254. »» Sueton. C. xliii. in Augusto. 
 
 *= See figures of them in Kircher (Edip. ^gypt. 
 ii. 522. and Count Caylus, Rec. d'Antiq. vl pi. 
 88. f. 1,2. 
 
 •^ Warton's Poetry, i. 110, 111. 
 
 « Bromley's Arts, ii. 306, seq. 
 
 f Observat. sur Tltalie, tom. iii. 261. 
 
 p Du Cange, v. Tapiuatio. 
 
 ** See instances X Script. 1052. 
 
 the Crusaders in 1098, was the most 
 convenient place. Tyre not being then 
 in the possession of the Christians, for 
 Adventurers and Pilgrims to land at. 
 When, however, they had debarked, 
 they had 200 miles of a barbarous 
 country to traverse before they could 
 reach Jerusalem ; hence arose the ne- 
 cessity of a constant guard to protect 
 them,^ and a subsistence when arrived 
 at this new capital of the Christian Em- 
 pire. 
 
 These circumstances produced the 
 only two religious Orders which were 
 established in the Holy Land ; the first 
 of which were the Knights Hospitalers 
 in 1113, who undertook the accommo- 
 dation of the Pilgrims at their Hospi- 
 tium or Inn, during their stay in Jeru- 
 salem. As many, however, were at- 
 tacked by the Saracens in their journey 
 from Antioch, the second Order, that 
 of Templars, took place in 11 8 S, who 
 professed to escort the Pilgrims to their 
 quarters with the Knights Hospitalers.^ 
 
 The fanaticism for making pilgrim- 
 ages to the Holy Land has been sup- 
 posed extreme ; and it is certain, that 
 in 1199, John Bishop of Faenza went 
 to the Holy Land with 200 of his Dio- 
 cesans, no small number for the popu- 
 lation of his town,l and it is also cer- 
 tain, that even children engaged to 
 take the cross."^ Much art, however, 
 was practised. At the approach of 
 Christmas, when it was customary for 
 great men to give new cloaths to their 
 dependants, the French King, Standard- 
 bearer of the Cross, [for that ensign 
 always preceded their march], assumed 
 to himself, in a new manner, the office 
 of Preacher, and Procurator of the bu- 
 siness of the Cross ; he ordered to be 
 
 ' This protection was no doubt particularly ne- 
 cessary with relation to our countrymen, of whom 
 continental hatred thus expressed itself: " In my 
 youth," says Petrarch (Fara. 1. 21. Ep. 3.), ** the 
 inhabitants of Great Britain, whom they call En- 
 glish, were tlie greatest cowards of all the barba- 
 rians, inferior even to the vile Scotch." This is the 
 only time a modern Italian perhaps ever talked of 
 the cowardice of our countrymen. 
 
 '' Archseologia, ix, 128. These orders are ho\r- 
 ever charged in some French MSS. with becoming 
 Banditti to rob the Pilgrims. 
 
 * Notices, vi. 53. «» M, Paris, 502. 
 
342 
 
 CRUSADERS. 
 
 got ready many more gowns than he 
 used to have, with their appurtenances, 
 of the mostjirecious cloth, and different 
 furs and crosses, made of fine goldsmith's 
 work, to he sewed upon the shoulder 
 parts of the gown, privately in the night. 
 When therefore the courtiers attended 
 Mass in the morning, they were asto- 
 nished to find the Cross upon each 
 other's shoulders ; but seeing the 
 King's motive, were ashamed to re- 
 move thern.^ This art was necessary. 
 A father wisely excuses himself from 
 undertaking a foreign pilgrimage, on 
 account of leaving his wife and chil- 
 dren to the care of others. ^ At the 
 predication of the Crusade by Giraldus 
 Cambrensis, Philip Mangonel, a knight, 
 observed that no man, who professed 
 integrity to his country, would take the 
 Cross, upon his preaching, orthe Arch- 
 bishop's.c Sovereigns vehemently op- 
 posed these Jerusalem Pilgrimages, as 
 robbing the country of effective men, 
 and separating relatives of worldly ser- 
 vice to each other. Indeed they openly 
 called it (according to our modern lan- 
 guage) crimping and kidnappingA 
 When they did patronize them, it was 
 for the reason assigned by Henry IV. 
 in Shakespeare, who says, that to avoid 
 being dethroned, I 
 
 " — had a purpose now 
 To lead out many to the Holy Land, 
 Lest rest and lying still might make them look 
 Too near into my state :" 
 
 an idea which, by the way, was sug- 
 gested from ^lian,e and Justin, who 
 relates the same of Dionysius the Ty- 
 rant. 
 
 An obligation to enter either of the 
 military orders was substituted for the 
 punishment of exile. William de Berke- 
 ley, 56 Henry III. came before the 
 King, then at the Tower of London, 
 and promised to render himself into 
 the religion of St. John of Jerusalem or 
 of the Templars, before the 15 th Pasch. 
 in that year, and to go towards Jerusa- 
 lem, or to any other place out of the 
 
 » M. Paris, 604. *» Du Cange, v. Inoleiivus. 
 « Angl. Saer. ii. 491. «* Id. 492. 
 
 «- L. ix. c. 25. 
 
 kingdom of England, as he should be 
 directed by the brethren of that order, 
 never afterwards to return into Eng- 
 land, and thereof took his oath, and put 
 in fourteen sureties to perform the 
 same: which banishment was occa- 
 sioned by his former insurrections.^ 
 This record is important, because it 
 shows of what persons these Orders 
 were chiefly composed, probably of 
 desperate malcontents, and explains 
 much of their history. 
 
 Thomas Lord Berkeley, who died in 
 1.321, having made a vow to go to the 
 Holy Land, his son Maurice gave £100 
 to Sir John Veel to go in his stead, and 
 thus absolve his father^s vow.e These 
 vows were also redeemed, especially in 
 relation to old men, invalids, women, 
 the infirm, and children, for money, 
 through preaching of the Friars.^J The 
 reason was, that, unless the papal ab- 
 solution was obtained, death was pre- 
 sumed to result from non-performance 
 of the vow.^ The Pilgrims themselves, 
 by their own weariness of the Crusades, 
 no doubt discouraged the people. In 
 1192, when King Richard had held a 
 council concerning the Siege of Jerusa- 
 lem, he was dissuaded, among other 
 reasons, because it would require a 
 strong garrison to keep it, and the 
 people were very desirous of finishing 
 their pilgrimage, and returning to their 
 own country : some actually did so, 
 even before the business was completed 
 of delivering the Holy Land.^ Pil- 
 grimages to Jerusalem were turned to 
 great advantage in some instances. 
 About 1520, one Mabon, Dean of Jer- 
 sey, made the journey, and after return 
 contrived, by lengthening the East end 
 of a Chapel, and excavating a place 
 under the altar, to form a representa- 
 tion of the Holy Sepulchre. He then 
 ^' feigned visions and apparitions in 
 this place,'^ by which he got numerous 
 
 ' Hill, placit 56 Hen. IIL rot. 18. Smythe's 
 MSS. 
 
 « Smythe's Berkeley MSS. 328. 
 
 »' M. Paris, 502. 
 
 ' Erasm. IXeYO^AriA. Colloq. 412. 
 
 " Trivet, i. 120, 123. 
 
CRUSADERS. 
 
 343 
 
 offerings to be made there ; and consi- 
 derable profit to himself.* It is pro- 
 bable, that the clerical pilgrims turned 
 their tours to good account in various 
 ways. 
 
 Lastly, when the Christians began to 
 grow lukewarm upon the subject of 
 these Jerusalem expeditions, the Mos- 
 lems took it" up, and recommended a 
 pilgrimage there to the Mosque Alarsa, 
 as prayers said in that Mosque ob- 
 tained expiation of sins, and other spi- 
 ritual advantages.^ It must, however, 
 always be an interesting tour ; and the 
 recent destruction by fire of the Church 
 
 • Falle's Jersey, 271. Ed. Morant. 
 
 ** See an exhortation to souls, upon a pilgrimage 
 to Jerusalem, by Bourhan Eddin Alkazaoni, MS. 
 Bibl. Nation. Notices, iii.605. 
 
 of the Holy Sepulchre is to be seriously 
 regretted upon many accounts. 
 
 Monks were not allowed to take the 
 Cross. An Abbot, named Edmund, 
 says Matthew Paris,^ to the derision of 
 every body, in violation of his vows, 
 and injury of the Order, attempted a 
 most pernicious precedent, by taking 
 the Cross to flatter the King. 
 
 After the Soldan of Babylon had 
 taken Acre in 1291, the Christians were 
 entirely driven out of the Holy Land, 
 and there was not a single place left 
 where troops could land. 
 
 Pilgrimages to the Holy Land, as a 
 general fashion, ceased with us about 
 the time of Henry V. 
 
 <^ P. 671, 696. 
 
344 
 
 RETURN HOME.— PALMERS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RETURN HOME. PALMERS. 
 
 Pilgrims returned from the Holy- 
 Land by whole ship-loads at a time, 
 and were then called Palmiferi,^ When 
 they began their journey, they went 
 with scrip and staff; but after they had 
 accomplished their pilgrimage^and when 
 they were onthe point of returninghome, 
 they cut off branches of palm-trees, 
 which are common in Palestine, and 
 brought them home. On their arrival 
 they went to Church to thank God for 
 the happy success of their Pilgrimage, 
 and for the proof of the fulfilment of 
 their vows, proffered the Palms to the 
 Priests, who placed them upon the 
 Altar.^ Durand gives another reason. 
 They who come from Jerusalem carry 
 a palm in their hands, for a sign that 
 they fought for the King, who was ho- 
 nourably received in Jerusalem with 
 palms, and afterwards there fought a 
 victorious battle with the Devil. That 
 the Jerusalem Pilgrims returned into 
 their own countries with a palm, many- 
 writers attest, but they chiefly used the 
 Palmajuncta. When they came home 
 they were received with an ecclesiastick 
 procession.*' 
 
 Erasmus says, they who have been 
 at Jerusalem are called Knights, style 
 each other Brethren, and seriously 
 practise a ridiculous ceremony on Palm 
 Sunday, i. e. drag along a wooden ass 
 with a rope. The Compostella Pil- 
 grims imitated this.*^ I presume that 
 the Host, or Crucifix, or figure of 
 Christ, was placed upon the ass,e to 
 complete the allusion to the Hosanna 
 procession. 
 
 Somner, in his Glossary to the De- 
 cem Scriptores,f says, "That Pilgrim, 
 
 ■ Du Cange, v. Palmifer. 
 
 ^ Du Cange. Diss, sur Joinville, 15, p. 152. 
 
 <= Id. V. Palmarius. ^ De Colloq. Utilit. p. 653. 
 
 « See Antiquitates Vulgares. 
 
 i T>:i range, v. Palmarius. 
 
 whom our countrymen commonly call 
 a Palmer, the name which they are ac- 
 customed to take from staves e or 
 branches of palm. But a Pilgrim and 
 a Palmer, according to some, remark- 
 ably differ in these respects : a Pilgrim 
 has a fixed residence ; a Palmer none : 
 a Pilgrim goes to a certain and prefixed 
 place ; a Palmer to none in particular, 
 but to all : a Pilgrim goes at his own 
 expence ; a Palmer professes voluntary 
 poverty: a Pilgrim can renounce his 
 profession ; a Palmer never, unless he 
 had first obtained the palm, i. e. con- 
 quered his spiritual enemies by death.'' 
 It is certain that a Palmer distinguished 
 a Pilgrim to Jerusalem from another. 
 Thus Giraldus Cambrensis : '^Asseruit 
 ipsos de Gisortii partibus esse et pal- 
 miferos omnes, et Sepulchri Dominici 
 peregrinos ; prseter Archidiaconum so- 
 lum, quem de Roma venientem Papiee 
 primo repereunto.^' ^ 
 
 There is no reason to dispute the fact 
 that there were persons who vowed 
 perpetual (rather a long) pilgrimage and 
 poverty, and ended their days in a 
 hermitage ; and who also, having been 
 to Jerusalem and returned, were thus 
 Palmers ; but to say that they became 
 Palmers from the first vow, is an erro- 
 neous distinction.! Henry, Emperor of 
 Germany, repenting that he had impri- 
 soned his own Father and the Pope, left 
 (as it is said) his kingdom in a Pilgrim's 
 habit, and became a hermit at Chester, 
 under the name of Godstall.^ 
 
 A Pilgrim and Palmer of the above 
 
 ^ Of these Staves, see the Chapter of Costumes, 
 p. 315. 
 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. ii. 594. 
 
 > Tyrwhitt (Gloss. Chaucer) defines Palmers by- 
 Pilgrims to foreign parts. It is incorrect. The 
 palm denoted Jerusalem Pilgrims. The Veronique, 
 or Vernicle, Pilgrims to Rome. The Escallops to 
 Compostella, See Introduction, p. 317. 
 
 •' Angl. Sacr. i. 270, 271. 
 
RETURN HOME. — PALMERS. 
 
 345 
 
 description was also the famous Guy, 
 Earl of Warwick, concerning whom 
 Knighton, who lived in an age when 
 tliese matters were quite common, uses 
 the term Pilgrim and Palmer indiscri- 
 minately. He had returned from the 
 Holy Land, but before his hour of re- 
 freshment, visited all the Churches 
 of the City to pray ; and afterwards, 
 when his peregrinations were ceased, 
 came to Warwick, and lived there as a 
 hermit, unknown to his wife, Felicia, 
 to whom he did not discover himself 
 till his death.a 
 
 Of the journey and return of a less 
 rigid Pilgrim we have the following ac- 
 count. William de Mandeville, Earl 
 of Essex, took the cross, and, after 
 procuring suitable necessaries, took 
 with him a retinue, and among them a 
 chaplain to perform divine offices. For 
 all these he kept a daily table, but be- 
 fore he set out, went to Gilbert Bishop 
 of London for his license and benedic- 
 tion. These were of course granted, 
 and he passed as far as Rome, over 
 France, Burgundy, and the Alps, leav- 
 ing his horses at Mantua. He visited 
 every holy place at Jerusalem, and on 
 his route ; made his prayers and offer- 
 ings at each, and so returned. Upon 
 his arrival he made presents of silk 
 cloths to all the Churches of his See, 
 
 * Decern Scriptores, 2322. Leland, &c. 
 
 for copes or coverings of the Altars. 
 The Monks of Walden met him in pro- 
 cession in albs and copes, singing, 
 " Blessed is he who cometh in the 
 name of the Lord ;" and the Earl com- 
 ing to the High Altar, and there pros- 
 trating himself, the Prior gave him the 
 benediction. After this he rose ; and 
 kneeling, offered some precious relicks 
 in an ivory box, which he had obtained 
 in Jerusalem and elsewhere. This of- 
 fering concluded, he rose and stood 
 before the Altar, the Prior and Convent 
 singing Te Deum. Leaving the Church, 
 he went to the Chapter to give and re- 
 ceive the kiss of peace from the Prior 
 and Monks. A sumptuous entertain- 
 ment followed for himself and his suite; 
 and the succeeding days were passed in 
 visits to relatives and friends, who con- 
 gratulated him upon his safe return,^ 
 
 The Pilgrims upon their return from 
 Jerusalem, used to present their 
 Scrips and Bourdons to their Parish 
 Churches. c 
 
 Coryatt says, that he saw cockle and 
 muscle shells, and beads, and other re- 
 ligious relicks, hung up over the door 
 of a little chapel in a nunnery.*^ These 
 were deposits and offerings made by 
 Pilgrims to Compostella, when they re- 
 turned and gave thanks. See Costumes, 
 p. 317. 
 
 ^ Dugd. Monast. i. 452, 453. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Spera. ^ Crudities, i. 18. 
 
346 
 
 PILGRIMAGES OF PUNISHMENT AND PENANCE. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PILGRIMAGES OF PUNISHMENT AND PENANCE. 
 
 Pilgrimages of punishment are or- 
 dered in the Canons of Patrick, in 
 Ware, and the laws of our Henry I. A 
 Priest revealing a confession is to re- 
 pent in disgrace, by a Pilgrimage for 
 life: a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land 
 within two years is directed for the soul 
 of a murdered person. Other Pilgrim- 
 ages might be redeemed for money.^ 
 
 In 1284, John Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury gave the Cross to one of the Ca- 
 nons of Dunstable for his irregularities, 
 and by the authority allowed to Cru- 
 saders, absolved him from his bad be- 
 haviour, provided, in his expedition, he 
 could redeem himself, as far as he could 
 get money from his own chamber or 
 his friends, without hurting the Mo- 
 nastery.^ 
 
 Some Monks having borrowed money 
 from a certain Burgess, delivered him 
 the curtains of the church in pawn. 
 Afterwards, at the festival of the Holy 
 Virgin, the Monks asked him to lend 
 them the curtains, that the church 
 might not be without its usual orna- 
 ment, promising to return them after 
 the festival. The man refused, because 
 his wife had recently laid in, and the 
 curtains were put around her bed, and 
 could not be removed. The Virgin 
 Mary appeared to the woman, in pu- 
 nishment of her impiety, and after me- 
 nacing death to her child and husband, 
 ordered her to go to her church in 
 Bethlehem, and having beheld the 
 three sepulchres there, to choose one for 
 herself: but she got absolution by papal 
 means.*^ 
 
 In the famous romance of Reynard 
 the Fox, an heroi-comick poem, writ- 
 ten by Pierre de St. Cloud in the thir- 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Pei'egrinatio. 
 
 »» Bibl. Topograph. Brit. viii. 126. 
 
 •■ Trivet, 30. 
 
 teenth century,^ Reynard is condemned 
 to die for his sins, and, being without 
 resource, begs to take the Cross, and 
 in expiation of his sins, to visit the 
 holy places beyond sea. The Lion 
 answers, that these foreign Pilgrimages 
 have, as yet, reformed nobody : that he 
 knew even people who had gone out 
 good, return bad : and as to the delin- 
 quent, there was no hope of his reform 
 by going to the Holy Land, as he would 
 return just as bad as before. Upon 
 conditiofi, however, that the Crusade 
 should be for life, consent is granted. 
 The cross is then put upon his shoul- 
 ders, the scarf and bourdon are brought 
 to him, and he is told, that if he dies, 
 he will go directly into Paradise, Those, 
 whom he had offended, pardon him 
 and advise him to repent. The hypo- 
 crite promises every thing, while his 
 only object is to escape. They let him 
 go, and he immediately insults and in- 
 jures his benefactors. ^ 
 
 Of these Pilgrimages for punishment, 
 some were greater, some less. Those 
 w^hich w^ere greater were directed to St. 
 James's, Rome, or Jerusalem : the 
 smaller to visiting the Oratories, within 
 the Pro^dnce or Kingdom. The Pil- 
 grimage was, according to the crimes, 
 harder or lighter. They who had com- 
 mitted great crimes, as homicide, for 
 instance, were bound to carry iron 
 chains,^ through the holy places, until 
 they were liberated. In an ancient 
 Manuscript Consuetudinal, it appears, 
 that this custom prevailed in the inte- 
 rior parts of France, that whoever had 
 killed his next relative with the sword, 
 and afterwards repenting, should relate 
 
 •^ I am aware that Mr. Douce assigns it an earlier 
 origin, &c. 
 
 « Notices des MSS. a Paris, v. 303, 304. 
 
 ' A knight with iron chains is engraved in the 
 Frontispiece of Strutt's Dresses, vol. i. 
 
PILGRIMAGES OF PUNISHMENT AND PENANCE, 
 
 347 
 
 his crime to the Priest, by direction of 
 the latter was to have the sword made 
 into an iron chain ; and the chain 
 closely bound, around his neck, belly, 
 and arms, and so be expelled from his 
 own country and native soil. In the 
 mean time, until the divine mercy 
 should order these chains to be loos- 
 ened, he should be compelled to travel 
 first to Rome, and afterwards, through 
 the different places, to ask pardon of 
 the saints.^ 
 
 It was customary to impose for pe- 
 nance the wearing an iron ring upon 
 the arm, which was not to be laid aside, 
 till after many Pilgrimages to the se- 
 pulchres of saints, and the rings were 
 loosed by some miracle.^ 
 
 Of these Pilgrimages for punish- 
 ment, that of Robert the Devil is very 
 curious and entertaining, on account of 
 the penance : 
 
 The hermite with that shortlye did awake 
 
 And called Robert, and spaeke to him. 
 
 And saide heare now the pennaunce that ye shall take, 
 
 God commaundeth thee to counterfet a foole in all thinge. 
 
 Meat none to eate without a dogge do yt bringe 
 
 To the in his mouth, then must thou yt eate. 
 
 No worde to speake, but as domb ever beinge. 
 
 With dogges every night also thou must sleepe. 
 
 TV* •TV' ^» W 5jC 
 
 Then poore Robert departed fro the hermyte 
 
 And blessed hym and agayne went to Rome 
 
 For to do hys pennaunce in the strete. 
 
 And whan that he thether was come, 
 
 Like as he had ben a foole he dyd ronne 
 
 And lepte and daunced from one syde to another. 
 
 Many folke laughed at him soone 
 
 And wende he had bene a foole, they knewe non other. 
 
 Boyes folowed hym throughe the strete 
 Castynge styckes and stones at hym. 
 And some with roddes his bodye dyd beate. 
 The children made great shoutes and cryenge, 
 Burges of the cyttie at Robert laye laughynge 
 Out of theyr wyndowes to se him playe, * 
 
 The boyes threwe dyrte and myre at him. 
 Thus continued Robert manye a daye. 
 
 Thus he played the foole on a season. 
 
 He came on a tyme to the Emperours courte, 
 
 And sawe that the gate stood all open, 
 
 Robert ranne into the hall and beganne to worke. 
 
 So daunced and lept and aboute so starte, 
 
 At the last the Emperoure had pyttie on hym, 
 
 Howe he taere hys clothes and gnew his shyrte, 
 
 And bade a servaunte meate hym for to bringe. 
 
 Thys servaunte brought Robert plentye of meate 
 So proferde hyt him and saide go dyne, 
 Robert sate styll he woulde not eate. 
 Yet God wotte his belly greate pyne. 
 
 Du Cange, v. Peregrinatio. 
 
 ^ Id. V. Circuit ferrei. 
 
348 PILGRIMAGES OF PUNISHMENT AND PENANCE. 
 
 At last theaiperour sayde yonder is a hounde of mine. 
 And bade hys servaunte throwe him a bone, 
 So he dyd, and when Robert yt had spyne, 
 Alack thought Robert he shall not eate it alone.* 
 
 He lepte from the table and with the dogge faught. 
 
 And all for to have the bone awaye, 
 
 The Hounde at the last by the fyngers him caught. 
 
 So stylle in his mouth he kept hys praye. 
 
 When Robert sawe that, downe he laye 
 
 The dogge gnewe the one ende and Robert the other. 
 
 The Emperour laughed when he that sawe, 
 
 And sayde the dogge and he fought harde together. 
 
 The Emperour sawe that he was hongrye. 
 
 And bade to throwe the dogge a hole lofe. 
 
 Whan Robert sawe that he was glad greatelye. 
 
 For to lose his parte he was right lothe. 
 
 And again to the dogge he goeth. 
 
 So brake the loffe asonder and to the hounde 
 
 He gave the one halfe to say the sothe 
 
 And eate the other, as the dogge dyd on the grounde. 
 
 The Emperoure saide, syth that I was borne 
 Sawe I never a more foole natural!. 
 Nor such an ydeot sawe I never beforne 
 That had lever eate that, that to the dogge did fall 
 Rather then that that was proffered hym in the hall. 
 Than Robert toke hys staiFe and smote at forme and style. 
 What sorowe was in his hearte they knewe not all, 
 These men were gladde to see hym playe the foole ^ 
 
 At the last Robert went into a garden 
 
 And there he founde a fayre fountayne. 
 
 He was a thurst, and whan he had dronken 
 
 He went in to hys dogge agayne 
 
 To folowe hym ever he was fayne 
 
 Thus under a stayre at nyht laye the hounde. 
 
 And ever his pennaunce Robert did not dysdayne, 
 
 Alwaye hys bed was with the dogge on the grounde. 
 
 Whan the Emperoure espyed hym lye there, 
 Fett hym a bed to a man dyd he saye, 
 And lett yt be layed for hym under the stayre, 
 So they dyd and Robert poynted as naye, 
 And woulde have them to beare the bed awaye. 
 Then they fett hym an arme full of strawe. 
 And thereupon by hys dogge he laye. 
 All men marveyled that yt sawe. 
 
 Much myrthe and sporte he made ever amonge. 
 
 And as the Emperoure was at dyner on a daye 
 
 A Jue sate at the borde, that great rowme longe 
 
 In that house beare, and was receyved all waye. 
 
 Than Roberte hys dogge toke in hys armes in faye 
 
 And touched the Jue, and he over hys sholder loked backe, 
 
 * Roberte the Devyll, a Metrical Romance, from an ancient illuminated Manuscript, p. 35. 
 »• Ibid. p. 36. 
 
PILGRIMAGES OF PUNISHMENT AND PENANCE. 
 
 349 
 
 Robert set the dogges [tail] to hys mowth without naye. 
 Full soore the Emperoure loughe, whan he sawe that.* 
 
 Robert sawe a bryde that should e be maryed 
 
 And soone he toke her by the hande 
 
 So into a foule donge myxen he her caryed 
 
 And in the myre he let her stande. 
 
 The Emperoure stoode and behelde hym longe. 
 
 At the last Robert toke a quycke^ caLte 
 
 And ranne into the kechyn amonge the thronge 
 
 And threwe her quycke into the beefe potte. 
 
 Lordes and barons loughe that they could not stande 
 To see hym make myrth withoute harme. 
 They sayd he was the meryest in all that lande/^ 
 
 A very singular custom prevailed in 
 some Pilgrimages of Penitence. Cer- 
 tain Penitents imposed upon them- 
 selves the penance of receiving blows 
 with ferules, upon the palms of their 
 hands : which they commuted by strik- 
 ing the ground instead. Peter Damian 
 mentions a man who wore an iron 
 corslet next his skin, had iron rings 
 
 around his limbs, with difficulty per- 
 formed his Metaneas [penitential in- 
 clinations], and very often dashed the 
 palms of his hands upon the pavement,^ 
 In Strutt^s Dresses is a female Pilgrim, 
 lying on the ground, apparently to per- 
 form this penance.d 
 
 * Robert the Devyll, &c. p. 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Palmata. 
 
 37. •» Alive. 
 
 •* PI. cxxxiv. 
 
350 
 
 PILGRIMAGES TO ROME. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PILGRIMAGES TO ROME. 
 
 Lewis, in his Life of Caxton, p. 77? 
 says, " About 709, an odd and surpris- 
 ing opinion of the merit and hoUness 
 of pilgrimages to Rome, wonderfully 
 prevailed among the English, insomuch 
 that all ranks and degrees of every sex 
 and age of the people of this nation 
 travelled to Rome, and placed a mighty 
 confidence in visiting the tombs of the 
 Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and of 
 such other holy men, &c. as had there 
 suffered for the sake of Christ. The 
 consequence of tliis was, that about the 
 middle of this century, this humour so 
 far increased, that the English Nuns 
 ran to Rome ; and there were so many 
 lewd women of the English nation 
 abroad in Lombardy, France, &c. that 
 Boniface. Archbishop of Mentz, com- 
 plained of them to the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, and recommended to him 
 the suspension of this practice of pil- 
 grimaging, as of very bad and scandal- 
 ous consequence.^^ ^ 
 
 The general reason for Pilgrimages 
 to Rome in the whole Middle Age was 
 to obtain absolution from the Pope. 
 There were however exceptions. 
 
 The Noble Anglo-Saxons went there 
 with immense retinues on horseback, 
 for the purpose only of praying to the 
 Holy Apostles there.^ 
 
 Petrarch thus explains this appella- 
 tion : " What pleasure,^' says he, " is 
 it for a Christian to behold a town ce- 
 mented by the blood of the Martyrs ; 
 built, in some fashion, of their bones 
 and nerves ; to contemplate the image 
 of our divine Master, the sacred ves- 
 tiges of the feet of his Apostle, engrav- 
 ed in the rock ; the tombs of the Saints, 
 the chambers of the Apostles, and all 
 the precious remains of incipient Chris- 
 tianity which it contains in its bosom.^^ c 
 
 * Dibdin's Typographical Antiquit. i. 176. 
 
 ^ Anglia Sacra, ii. 79. 
 
 <■ Memoires pour la Vie de Petrarque, i. 284. 
 
 The Limina Apostolorum were churches 
 of the Apostles,*^ or their bodies buried 
 in chapels of the great Church.^ Stuke- 
 ley makes the Limina Apostolorum the 
 subterraneous oratory of St. Peter's, 
 Rome, f 
 
 The British and Irish Saints also 
 made this Pilgrimage, and called at the 
 eminent Abbies upon their return.? 
 
 The Pilgrims to Rome were called 
 Romei and Romipetce, but Romipeta- 
 gium was a term not confined to this 
 pilgrimage, but extended to others.^ 
 i It was a favourite destination for 
 voluntary penitentiary pilgrimages. In 
 the Romance of Reynard the Fox, 
 Reynard, become old, feels some re- 
 morse for the errors of his hfe, and 
 wishes in penitence to go in pilgrimage 
 to Rome. But meeting with some un- 
 pleasant incidents upon his road, he 
 returns home convinced, that he may 
 be as honest a man in his own house 
 as in running to strange countries.' 
 
 Jubilees drew numerous pilgrims to 
 partake of the Indulgences.*' The cele- 
 brated John Talbot, Earl of Shrews- 
 bury, when released from imprison- 
 ment by the French King, did not use 
 his liberty to take up arms again, but 
 went to Rome to profit by the indul- 
 gences of the Jubilee.* 
 
 These indulgences were plenary re- 
 mission of all sins. The concourse of 
 pilgrims was prodigious, nearly a mil- 
 lion, in the Jubilee of 1350. All the 
 inhabitants of Rome turned Innkeep- 
 ers ; and made the Pilgrims pay dear 
 for the support of themselves and their 
 horses. As the strangers came from 
 
 ^ Du Cange. e jj, y. Capellani. 
 
 ' Iter Boreale, p. 62. 
 8 Anglia Sacra, ii. G35. 
 ^ Du Gauge, v. Romipeta. 
 ' MS. Biblioth. Nation. Notices, v. 311. 
 ^ Memoires pour la Vie de Petrarch, i. 103. 
 * Conqu^te de la Normandie, MS. per Rob. 
 Blondel. Notices, vi. 92. 
 
PILGRIMAGES TO ROME. 
 
 351 
 
 all countries, and for the most part 
 knew only their mother tongues^ they 
 were obliged to employ interpreters, 
 in confession, who published what they 
 had heard, unless they were hand- 
 somely paid for silence. This abuse 
 occasioned the establishment of Peni- 
 tentiaries who understood the lan- 
 guages. » 
 
 In the middle of the fourteenth Cen- 
 tury, it was an established custom to 
 make pilgrimages to Rome from all 
 parts of the Christian world, in order 
 to see the portrait of Christ. Petrarch 
 says, that even old men made this tour 
 with impatience. Two portraits were 
 exhibited, which equally excited the 
 curiosity of the devout. 
 
 One was the Veronique^ a handker- 
 chief, which a Jewish woman is pre- 
 tended to have thrown over the face of 
 Christ, when he was carrying his cross, 
 in order to wipe off the blood and 
 sweat, with which it was covered. His 
 portrait remained impressed upon it. 
 It was brought to Rome, as affirmed, 
 under the empire of Tiberius, but Ma- 
 rianus Scotus, an author of the eleventh 
 Century, is the first who mentions it. 
 It used to be kept at the Church of 
 the Holy Ghost, but Boniface VIII. 
 removed it to St. Peter's, and placed it 
 between the altars of St. James and 
 Mary Magdalen. 
 
 The other was that which appeared 
 miraculously upon the top of the 
 
 » Villani, &c. 
 
 •* See Tyrwhitt's Gloss. Chaucer, v. Yeronique. 
 See § Costumes. 
 
 Church of St. John Lateran, on the 
 day upon which they were celebrating 
 the dedication of that Church, which 
 the Emperor Constantine built soon 
 after his Baptism. It is in Mosaic, 
 and the history of its appearance is pre- 
 served in a Manuscript of this Church, 
 written on parchment of the ninth cen- 
 tury, with this title, " Discourse of the 
 Dedication of this Church of our Sa- 
 viour.'^ It is said, that no fires have 
 ever injured it. Nicholas IV. in re- 
 building the vault of the Church in 
 1291, placed there the miraculous 
 image. It was a more stern and reve- 
 rential portrait^ than the Veronique, as 
 appears from the verses of Petrarch 
 quoted below ;^ and in 1318, John 
 XX 11. granted an indulgence to those 
 who went to see this image, which was 
 believed to have been painted by di- 
 vine hands.e 
 
 The Pilgrims, who for the represent- 
 ation of the Passion, opened the first 
 theatre at Paris, brought there from 
 Italy, the taste and first idea of the 
 Drama.^ 
 
 •^ In Duppa's ** Subversion of the Papal Govern- 
 ment, 1798," p. 20, is a short account of this head, 
 called '* II Santo Volto," and an engraving of it> 
 After exhibition, it was removed to the Chapel of 
 the Sancta Sanctorum at the Scala Santa. Id. 
 p. 30. 
 
 '' Faciemque agnoscere Christi, 
 
 Vel quae fcemineo servatur condita panno, 
 Vel populo quae visa olim sub vertice templi 
 Emicuit, perstatque minax horrore verendo. 
 
 Carm. 1. 2. Ep. 5. 
 
 « Memoires pour la Vie de Petrarque, v. ii. pp. 
 204, 205. 
 
 ' Observat. surl'Italie, i. 339. 
 
352 
 
 PILGRIMAGES TO COMPOSTELLA. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 PILGRIMAGES TO COMPOSTELLA. 
 
 In the form of bidding the beads on 
 the Sunday, or, as it was sometimes 
 called, " The Dominical Prayer in the 
 pulpit/' is the following clause : " Also 
 ye shall pray for all true Pilgrims and 
 Palmers, that have taken their way to 
 Rome, to Jerusalem, to Saint Katha- 
 rine's, or to Saint James, or to any 
 other holy place, that God of his grace 
 give them time and space well for to 
 go and to come to the profit of their 
 lives and souls." By this it appears, 
 that at the time of composing this form, 
 these were the fashionable pilgrimages. 
 In a more ancient form, no particular 
 places or saints are mentioned, but this 
 clause is expressed as follows, " Ye 
 shall bids for hem that in good ways 
 beest ywent other wendyt other thenkit 
 to wenthe her sins to boot, that our 
 Lord Jesus Christ ward and shield 
 them from all misadventures, and grant 
 them so going and coming, that it be 
 him to worship, and them in remission 
 of their sins, for them and for us, and 
 all christian folk/' This seems to inti- 
 mate, as if, at the time when this an- 
 cienter form was drawn, the Saints 
 Katharine^ and James of Compostella 
 were not in so great request, or had in 
 so much veneration as they were after- 
 wards.^ 
 
 In the General Historie of Spaine, 
 written in French by Lewis de May erne 
 Turquet, and translated into English by 
 Edward Grimeston, Esquire,^ is the fol- 
 lowing passage. " To this is added the 
 finding out of the Sepulchre of the | 
 Apostle St. James, neere unto Iria, by ; 
 the Bishop of that place, called Theo- i 
 demir, at the relation of two men, which 
 the Historie of Compostella, in Latine, 
 calls Personatos, that is to say, masked, 
 who said they had scene Angels and 
 
 * Of Sene in Italy, canonized 1461. 
 ^ Dibdin's Typographical Antiq. i. 175. 
 *= London, fol. 1612. 
 
 torches, about the place where his bodie 
 was found in a coffin of marble in a 
 wood in the year 797, whereat the Spa- 
 niards themselves do much wonder, 
 seeing they find no mention in their 
 Histories of S. James Sepulcher in 
 Spaine, in all the time which past since 
 his death, unto the raigne of this Al- 
 phonso : no not in the time of Miron, 
 the first Christian King of the Sueves 
 in Gallicia, who first erected the King 
 of the Gothes, that were Christians, 
 nor yet since. It was revealed at that 
 time by such apparitions to Theodemir, 
 who believed it to be the verie body of 
 S. James, and so persuaded the King 
 D. Alphonso, who was wonderfull joy- 
 ful thereof, and built a temple, endow- 
 ing it with great revenues, taking this 
 manifestation for a singular favour of 
 God. The Spaniards have since made 
 him their patron and protector of their 
 Countrie, calling on him in all their 
 necessities, especially in the warre. 
 Neighbour Princes were amazed at this 
 relicke ; for we read that Charlemaigne 
 (in whose times D. Alphonso began to 
 raigne) being advertised of this inven- 
 tion, posted thither, and afterwards ob- 
 tained from Pope Leo the Third, sitting 
 at Rome, that the Episcopal See of 
 Iria should be removed to Compostella, 
 under the Metropolitane of Braga, from 
 the which it was since exempt, as wee 
 will shew hereafter.'^ ^ 
 
 Lewis, in his Life of Caxton, says, 
 " St. James I take to be St. James of 
 Compostella in Spain ; hither, it was 
 said, the bones or relicks of James, the 
 brother of John, who was killed by 
 Herod, were translated. But it does 
 not appear that much notice was taken 
 of them till Calistus or Calixtus II. 's 
 time, who was chosen Pope of Rome, 
 A.D. 11 IJ). He not only wrote a tract 
 
 ^ Pp. 179, 180. 
 
PILGRIMAGES TO COMPOSTELLA. 
 
 353 
 
 of the miracles of this saint, done at 
 Compostella, but advised the English 
 Pilgrims in particular rather to go for 
 pilgrimage to this saint than to Rome, 
 and promised them, on account of the 
 length of the journey, that if they went 
 twice to Compostella, they should have 
 refunded to them the same advantage- 
 ous benediction which they had who 
 went once to Rome.* 
 
 In 975 the Moors sacked the town, 
 and carried away the small bells in the 
 steeple of the Church, the Spaniards 
 saying ^' that the Apostle's Sepulchre 
 could not be violated, the Moors being 
 terrified with a great light that came 
 out of it/'^ In 1125 it was made an 
 Archiepiscopal See,^ and long after, 
 Ferdinand and Isabella founded a hos- 
 pital for the relief of the poor, and of 
 Pilgrims. d 
 
 Cervantes gives the following inte- 
 resting account of Pilgrims in Spain. 
 '^ He saw coming towards them six 
 Pilgrims with their staves, of that sort 
 which begs charity by singing. So 
 soon, therefore, as they approached 
 them they made a lane, and raising 
 their voices together, began to sing in 
 their language, though Sancho under- 
 stood nothing of what they said, except 
 the word charity. He offered them 
 food ; but they replied that they want- 
 ed money. These Pilgrims were well 
 provided with wine, &c. in their wal- 
 lets, and were clothed in rochets or 
 mantles over their doublets. In giving 
 an account of themselves, they say, 
 that a great number of them were used 
 to come to Spain yearly, upon pretence 
 of visiting the holy places there, which 
 was their Indies, as being productive 
 of most certain gain. They traverse 
 the whole country, and there is not a 
 village from which they are not dis- 
 missed with a bellyful of meat and 
 drink and a rial in money. Thus at 
 the end of their pilgrimage, they are 
 above a hundred crowns in pocket, 
 which, being changed into gold, they 
 conceal in the hollow of their staves, 
 
 ■ Dibdin's Typographical Antiq. i. 176. 
 ** General Historie of Spaine, &c. p. 215. 
 ' R 278. J P. yi7. 
 
 or in the patches of their cloaks, and 
 by management thus carry off their 
 gains to their own country, in despite 
 of the guards at the passes and gates 
 where they are examined and regis- 
 tered.^'e 
 
 A custom of two-pence was taken 
 from every person going and returning 
 by the river Thames on pilgrimage to 
 the shrine of St. James. ^ 
 
 In the year 11 70 Godrick returned 
 from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem by way 
 of Compostella.^ Henry son of Henry 
 II. wished to make this pilgrimage to 
 escape from his father's superintend- 
 ance,^^ and the King himself sent Am- 
 bassadors to Spain stating his inten- 
 tion of visiting Compostella, and re- 
 questing letters of safe conduct for his 
 journey and return.* This was neces- 
 sary ; for it was a custom, at least be- 
 fore the pnnishment of them by Ri- 
 chard I. for the people of Serges and 
 Lespurmi in Gascony to plunder the 
 Pilgrims going to St. James^s,^ and the 
 privileges obtained for them by John 
 Mansel have been before mentioned.^ 
 In 1386, when John Duke of Lancas- 
 ter claimed the Crown of Spain, he was 
 attended to St. James's by vast num- 
 bers of Pilgrims.'" 
 
 Erasmus mentions a person in dan- 
 ger of shipwreck, who vowed a pilgrim- 
 age to Compostella, with bare feet and 
 head, only an iron corslet on his body, 
 and begging his bread all the way.^ 
 
 Godrick, the celebrated hermit, was 
 brought up to business, and was owner 
 of half of one ship and a fourth of an- 
 other. Thus sailing through different 
 countries, he carried on trade, and 
 made pilgrimages at the same time to 
 the Shrines of the Saints, and recom- 
 mended himself to their patronage. 
 When engaged, he of course minded 
 his concerns, but when alone, he used 
 to ruminate upon the Lord's prayer 
 and creed.o This custom of carrying 
 
 « Don Quixote, iv. 139-143. Edit. Glasg. 1803. 
 ' Bayley's Tower of London, ii. 655. 
 f M. Paris, 98. ^ Decern Scriptores, 1110. 
 » Id. 1126. k Id. 1118. 
 
 * C. vi. "> Knighton, sub anno. 
 
 « Colloquia, 204. ° M. Paris, 97. 
 
 2 A 
 
354 
 
 PILGRIMAGES TO COMPOSTELLA. 
 
 on commerce and pilgrimage at the 
 same time, appears to have been quite 
 common in the journies to Compos- 
 tella. In Mr. Lodge's Shrewsbury- 
 Papers, Thomas Allen, writing to the 
 Earl of Shrewsbury in 1516, has the 
 following passage : " The saying is her, 
 yn some places there was a ship, fraygth 
 in Tempnes with goods of the religion 
 of Saynt Jamys/' Upon this Mr. Lodge 
 remarks thus : " The property of the 
 Pilgrims to Compostella in Spain, the 
 supposed burial place of the Apostle 
 St. James. Great numbers of these 
 went annually from hence, in ships re- 
 gularly licensed for that purpose ; pre- 
 viously binding themselves by an oath, 
 not to discover the secrets of England, 
 nor to take more money with them, 
 than might be necessary for the ex- 
 pences of their journey. It should 
 seem from this passage, that the origi- 
 nal motive to pilgrimage was now giv- 
 ing way to that spirit of traffick which 
 prevailed in proportion to the decay of 
 pious superstition.^' a It appears how- 
 ever to have been always held, that 
 the interchange of Commerce and Hos- 
 pitality was essentially necessary for 
 the propagation of the faith, b 
 
 * Illustrations of British History, i. p. 12. 
 
 * Solorzanus de Indiarum Jure, p. 300. 
 
 The Pilgrims to Compostella went 
 by the name of Jacobitce and Jacobi- 
 petce. There was an hotel at Paris, on 
 purpose for receiving the Pilgrims on 
 the road to St. James's; but the re- 
 venues failing, it was purchased for the 
 Dominicans.^ 
 
 Sir John Hawkins says, that the 
 Pilgrims to St. James of Compostella, 
 excavated a staff or walking stick into 
 a musical instrument for recreation on 
 their journey.^ This ascription of the 
 invention of the Bourdon to these Pil- 
 grims in particular is very questionable. 
 
 Erasmus says, that the Compostella 
 Pilgrims, upon return, were loaded with 
 scallop shells, pewter or leaden images, 
 chains of straw, and a rosary on the 
 
 Those, who undertook pilgrimages 
 to St. James's shrine at Compostella, 
 or to St. Peter's at Rome, were distin- 
 guished by the escallop shell, affixed to 
 their hats and cloaks ; a badge, which 
 denoted the wearer's intention of cross- 
 ing the seas, and which further re- 
 minded him of the occupation of those 
 Apostles, as fishermen.^ 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. JacoUtce. 
 d Hist, of Musick, iv. 139. 
 « Peregrinatio Religionis ergo, inter Colloquia, 
 p. 353. 
 
 ' Taylor's Ind. Monast. pref. xviii. 
 
 J 
 
PROVINCIAL PILGRIMAGES TO SHRINES, WELLS, &C. 355 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PROVINCIAL PILGRIMAGES TO SHRINES, WELLS, &C. 
 
 That fierce Puritan (in principle) Sir 
 David Lindsay, in the second Book of 
 his Monarchy, thus speaks of these 
 kinds of pilgrimage, in his chapter 
 ^' Of Images used among Christian 
 Men/^ a After detailing the images of 
 Saints, and their attributes, he goes on, 
 
 " All these on altars stately stands 
 Priests crying for their oiFerands ; 
 To whom we commons on our knees 
 Do worship all these imageries 
 In church or queer or in the cloyster 
 Praying to them our Pater-noster. 
 In pilgrimage from town to town 
 With offering and adoration, 
 To them ay babbling on our beeds 
 That they may help us in our needs. 
 What differs this, declare to me 
 From the Gentiles idolatrie ? 
 If this be true that thou reports 
 It goes right near the self-same sorts; 
 But we by counsel of Clergy 
 Have license to make Imagery.^ 
 
 " P. 64. Ed. Glasg. 1754. 12mo. 
 
 *» In 1407, says Archbishop Arundel, *' Beyonde 
 the sea are the beste Peynters that ever I saw. 
 And, Syrs, I tell you this is their Maner, and it is 
 a goode Maner. Whan that an Ymage maker shall 
 kerve, caste in moulde, or peynte ony images, he 
 shall go to a Prieste, and shryve him as clene, as if 
 he sholde than dye, and take Penaunce, and make 
 some certeyne vowe of fasting or of praying or of 
 pilyrimage, doinge, praying the Priests, specially 
 to pray for hym, that he may have grace to make a 
 faire, and a devout ymage.'' (State Trials, i. 25. 
 col. 2. ed. fol.) The makers of them were called 
 AnthropoformitdPf and carried them to fairs for 
 sale. (Du Cange.) Orders were also given to buy 
 them from abroad, as from Jerusalem, where there 
 was a particular place for selling them (M. Paris, 
 176.) The crucifix and the Virgin Mary were the 
 most common, because, while the power of other 
 Saints was limited, that of the former extended to 
 all things (Catholick Doctrine of the Church of 
 England, 4to. 1675, p. 133), and the latter was 
 able to attend her own candle, which, of course, 
 saved much trouble (Bishop Jewell's Reply to 
 Harding, bl. lett. 1609. p. 381). We find images 
 of Christ in breeches. (Du Cange, v. /intiphoneti.) 
 Mosheim says, that the image of Mary and the 
 child Jesus obtained the first place on account of 
 the Nestorian controversy, Maclaine'a Edit.i. 258, 
 4to. 
 
 Which of unlearned been the books 
 For when the laicks on them looks. 
 It brings them to remembrance 
 Of Saints lives the circumstance : 
 How the faith for to fortify 
 They suffered pain right patiently. 
 Seeing the image on the rood 
 Men should remember on the blood 
 Which Christ into his Passion 
 Did shed for our salvation. 
 Or when thou seest the portraitour 
 Of blessed Mary virgin pure, 
 A pleasant babe upon her knee,^ 
 Then in thy mind remember thee 
 The word which the prophet said 
 How she should be both mother and 
 
 maid. 
 But who that sitteth in their knees 
 Praying to many imageries 
 With oration and offerands 
 Kneeling with cup into their hands 
 No difference been I say to thee 
 From the Gentiles idolatrie. 
 Right so of divers nations 
 I read the abominations. 
 How Greeks made their devotion bail 
 To Mars to save them in battel. 
 To Jupiter some took their voyage 
 To save them from the stormy rage : 
 Some prayed to Venus from the spleen 
 That they their lovers might obtain : 
 And some to Juno for riches 
 Their pilgrimage they would address: 
 So doth our common popular 
 Which were too long for to declare. 
 Their superstitious pilgrimages 
 To many diverse images. 
 
 Nicholas Dovedale, Prebendary of 
 Clonmethan, belonging to St. Patrick's, 
 Dublin, in a petition preferred by him 
 to parliament! 4thEdw. IV. stated, that 
 divers persons, aliens, strangers, and 
 
 «^ So distinguished from onr Lady of Pity, where 
 she is weeping over a dead Christ in her lap, while 
 (says La Brocquiere, 227) Nicodemus was pre- 
 paring the tomb. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
35(5 PROVINCIAL PILGRIMAGES TO SHRINES, WELLS, &C. 
 
 denizens, did frequent, in considerable 
 numbers, by way of pilgrimage, the 
 Chapel of St. Catharine the Virgin 
 and Martyr, of Feldstown, which was 
 appropriated and annexed to the Pre- 
 bend of Clonmethan, being for the 
 health and safety of their souls and 
 accomplishment of their petitions and 
 prayers ; those persons he complained 
 had been at divers times vexed and 
 molested on divers pretences, by reason 
 of which they were obliged to lay aside 
 said devotions and pilgrimages : this 
 was a case that peculiarly interested 
 the feeling of such an assembly at that 
 time; the parliament accordingly or- 
 dained, that the persons and properties 
 of all such pilgrims should, during their 
 pilgrimage, be under the protection of 
 the king, nor should the person of any 
 such be arrested on any writ or autho- 
 rity whatever, for debt, treason, felony, 
 or trespass, until said pilgrimage should 
 be accomplished ; provided that during 
 their going thither, dwelling there, and 
 returning, they did behave peaceably to 
 the king's liege subjects ; they ordained 
 likewise that any officer who should 
 vex or arrest the persons, or molest 
 the houses of such pilgrims, contrary to 
 this statute, should forfeit, for every 
 such offence, the sum of twentypounds.a 
 
 Doors of chapels were ordered to be 
 left open on particular holydays, that 
 pilgrims might have free access to 
 them.^ 
 
 The appearance and manners of Pil- 
 grims, in these domestick peregrina- 
 tions, are admirably described in a cu- 
 rious dialogue, between, as I think, a 
 captious disciple of the great Heresiarch 
 (as WicklifF was styled) and Arundel, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, in the reign 
 of Henry the Fourth. ^^ Also, Sir, he 
 says I knowe well, that whan diverse 
 men and women will go thus after their 
 own willes, and findyng out one pil- 
 grimage, they will orden with them be- 
 fore to have with them, both men and 
 women, that can well synge wanton 
 
 » Stat. Roll. 14 E. IV. Mason's Dublin, pp. 
 33. 34. 
 
 '• Dugdale'sSt. Paul's, p. 91. ed. Ellis. 
 
 songes ; ^ and some other pilgremis wil^ 
 have with them bagge pipes, so that 
 every towne they come throwe, what 
 with the noyse of their singyng and 
 with the sound of their pipyng, and 
 with the jangling of their Canterbury 
 bellis, and with barking out of doggis 
 after them, that they make more noise 
 than if the kinge came there awaye with 
 all his clarions, and many other men- 
 strelles.^ And if these men and women 
 be a moneth in their pilgrimage, many 
 of them shall be an half-year after great 
 janglers, tale-tellers, and lyers.^' 
 
 The Archbishop justifies part of this, 
 by observing, " that pilgremys have 
 with them both syngers,and also pipers, 
 that whan one of them that goeth bare- 
 foote striketh his too upon a stone, and 
 hurteth him sore, and maketh him to 
 blede, it is well-done, that he or his 
 fellow begyn than a songe, or else take 
 out of his bosome a bagge-pipe, for to 
 drive away with soche myrthe the hurte 
 of his felow. For with soche solace 
 the travell and werinesse of pylgremes 
 is lightely and merily broughte forth .^^« 
 
 A gallant and learned nation will 
 smile at the following record of their 
 ancestors. The Scotch Pilgrims were 
 so notorious for lying and fabulous ad- 
 ventures, that to " lie like a Scotch- 
 man'^ became a proverb -J but it ap- 
 pears from preceding passages, that 
 Pilgrims of other nations also told lies. 
 
 Heaps of stones, on which crosses 
 were erected, were laid together by 
 them when they came within view of 
 the end of their journey, and were 
 called Mountjoyes^ This term " Mount 
 of the joy of God'^ was certainly the 
 denomination of some heaps of stones ; 
 
 •= Love-songs were sung instead of psalms. Du 
 Cange, v. Jmor. Sternhold and Hopkins (says 
 Warton) translated the psalms for superseding 
 these amorous ditties, but in vain. Juliana Bernes 
 (a Nun) published obscenities. 
 
 «* Even Noblemen did not travel without a 
 trumpeter precediug. See Phillips's Shrewsbury, 
 p. 47. Of the King's Clarions and Minstrels, see 
 Ordinances of Royal Housholds. 
 
 e State Trials, i. p. 27. ed. fol. 1730. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Escotus. 
 
 K Hutchinson's Durham, ii. p. 312. 
 
PROVINCIAL PILGRIMAGES TO SHRINES, WELLS, &C. 357 
 
 and also of little hills where saints had 
 suffered martyrdom." 
 
 This pilgrimage to Churches and 
 Shrines is the most ancient and uni- 
 versal of all the kinds. The feast of 
 the consecration of the Temples was 
 celebrated annually in Hindostan, and 
 every temple dedicated to some parti- 
 cular deity. The feast lasted ten days, 
 and was attended by Pilgrims and of- 
 ferings.b The parishioners of Glaston- 
 bury wxre told, that if they did not at- 
 tend church and keep Dunstan's day 
 as a holiday, but minded their business 
 and labour, nothing prosperous would 
 happen to them during that year, or 
 they would sustain some heavy losses 
 in their cattle or estates. c At the tomb 
 of St. Teliaus, among the Ancient Bri- 
 tons, the sick, it is said, were often 
 healed, the blind restored to sight, and 
 the deaf made to hear ; wherefore, says 
 his historian, celebrate his festival, 
 with the whole energy of your mind, 
 go to the church, and according to your 
 respective means give alms to the poor.^' 
 It was the custom in the Anglo- Saxon 
 eera to prefer the patronage of the saints 
 to all worldly matters.^ These passages, 
 while they throw light upon the festival 
 of the dedication of the church, show 
 the uncommon force of the principle 
 which produced pilgrimages to shrines. 
 Those who could not go abroad were 
 encouraged to these domestick pil- 
 grimages instead. An antient verse, 
 about the proportion of pardons given 
 to pilgrims for these visits, says, that 
 two pilgrimages to St. David's equalled 
 in merit one to Rome : 
 
 "Roma semel quantum, bis dat Menevia tantum."^ 
 
 Pilgrimages to Shrines. The Canopy 
 over Shrines called Mandualis, whence 
 Mantel-piece, Requies, liipa, &c. was 
 sometimes so richly adorned with gold, 
 silver, gems, and other ornaments, as 
 to make a very brilliant appearance, on 
 which account, the Shrines were covered 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Monft Gaudii. 
 »> Sketches of the Religion of the Hindoos, i. 1 14. 
 «■ Angl. Sacr. ii. 231. •* Id. 666. « Eadm. .51. 
 ' Fuller's Church Hist. cent. xii. p. 24. 
 
 in Lent.s Formerly, in foreign coun- 
 tries at least, a golden dove was placed 
 on the top of the canopy,*^ and gifts 
 and offerings were hung round the 
 Shrines.^ 
 
 The form and condition of the Shrine, 
 and the annexation of an image to it, 
 was of importance, because such tombs 
 had greater privileges than plainer mo- 
 numents. Sometimes offerings were 
 made at the tombs of persons not ca- 
 nonized.'^ 
 
 It is observed of the tomb of Ralph 
 de Shrewsbury, fifteenth Bishop of 
 Bath and Wells, that he was buried at 
 Wells, between the steps of the Choir 
 and the High Altar, in an alabaster 
 tomb, and that over his tomb was 
 placed an image very like him. From 
 whence more indulgences were granted 
 to all who visited the place of his bu- 
 rial, and prayed devoutly for his soul.l 
 When the tombs of eminent saints 
 were visited for the purpose of reco- 
 vering health, and also in return for 
 vows J if there remained any token of 
 the disease, as congealed blood, &c. it 
 was sometimes enclosed in silver, and 
 suspended to the shrine of the saint 
 who effected the cure.™ St. Cuthbert^s 
 Shrine at Durham had four seats or 
 places convenient underneath for the 
 pilgrims or lame men, sitting on their 
 knees, to lean and rest on, in the time 
 of their devout offerings and fervent 
 prayers to God and holy St. Cuthbert, 
 for his miraculous relief and succour." 
 The old Gauls used to hang the members 
 or feet of men made of wood, or wool 
 stuffed, upon consecrated trees in the 
 high roads, thinking by this means to 
 be cured of divers diseases ; and instead 
 of this it is ordered in councils, that 
 persons should keep Vigils in the 
 Church .0 At St. Paul's, London, if 
 the pilgrims offered burning tapers, 
 they were extinguished, melted, and 
 the wax sold, and if money or obla- 
 
 « Du Cange, v. Ripa, &c. ^ Id. v. Pendeniiee. 
 
 ' Du Cange, v. Sepulchrum. 
 
 ^ Taylor's Index Monast. pref. xviii. 
 
 > Angl. Sacr. i. 569. •" Id. i. 648. 
 
 » Antiq. of Durham by Patr. Saunderson, p. 6. 
 
 " Du Cangp, v. Perviffiiiwn. 
 
358 PROVINCIAL PILGRIMAGES TO SHRINES, WELLS, &(?. 
 
 tions, were put into an iron box, and 
 applied to the use of the Dean and 
 Chapter." Porphyry (de Abstinentia) 
 says, that Amasis substituted figures of 
 wax of the human size for the human 
 victims used at lUthyia near Latopolis.^ 
 Solon made the Thesmothetae or 
 guardians of the Laws, promise for 
 every law which they broke to dedicate 
 a golden statue at Delphi, of the same 
 weight as themselves.^ These obser- 
 vations may explain some very curious 
 offerings. It was formerly the custom 
 to weigh sick children at the shrines or 
 sepulchres of saints, and offer their 
 weight in corn, bread, or other things, 
 adding a sum of money. Metellus 
 mentions a person who weighed him- 
 self there in bread and cheese, which 
 he afterwards gave to the poor.^ King 
 Edward the First offered his measure 
 in wax, to the Church of Orcheston in 
 Wilts ;^ and John Paston's mother, 
 upon the sickness of her son, vowed 
 that she would present an image of 
 wax of the weight of him to our Lady 
 of Walsingham.f Of these offerings 
 of wax of the weight of the person, the 
 anonymous writer of the Miracles of St. 
 Thomas, published by Stapleton, treats 
 largely.^ They appear to be, in some 
 instances, tapers of the stature or 
 height of the person,^ and are called in 
 the miracles of Simon the Hermit, Sta- 
 tual Tapers. In the life of St. Stephen, 
 it is said, when the above man found 
 his oxen stumble, fearing lest they 
 should die within the house, he ordered 
 his wife to take them far away, lest 
 they should infect the other animals, 
 but his wife recommending waxen sta- 
 tuaries to be made for them, this was 
 accordingly done, and the oxen led to 
 the Shrine of the Saint, and the sta- 
 tuaries offered. i When persons could 
 not well tame or manage their hawks, 
 they sent waxen images of a hawk^ or 
 
 » Dugdale's St. Paul's, p. 14. ed. Ellis. 
 ^ Savary's Egypt, ii. 440. <= Plutarch in Solon. 
 ** Du Cange, v. Ponderare. 
 « Liber Garderob8e,28 Ed. I. p. 34. 
 ' Paston Letters, iii. 21, 22. « C. 23, 37, 63. 
 ^ Of twisted long tapers, &c. See Du Cange, 
 , Longitudo. 
 ' Id. T. Statualis, Statuarius cereus,Sta(uarium. 
 
 other prssents, to St. Tibbe for better 
 success. ^^ After the battle of Poitiers, 
 when John the French King was taken 
 prisoner, a taper was lit at the Church 
 of Notre Dame, before the Altar of the 
 Virgin Mary, which burned without 
 ceasing. It is said to have been rolled 
 round the circle of a wheel, and to 
 have been as long as the whole circum- 
 ference of Paris.^ 
 
 Behind the Shrine of St. David are 
 two holes of a circular form, in which 
 the offerings were deposited."^ At St. 
 PauFs, an iron box was affixed to the 
 pillar where the image stood.». 
 
 It was a common practice to hire a 
 pilgrim to visit a certain image, the 
 distance of the journey being regulated 
 by the wealth or the piety of the indi- 
 vidual.® 
 
 The profits of these offerings were 
 sometimes matters of dispute. Some 
 arbitrators appointed the profits of the 
 Shrine of Wulstan at Worcester to be 
 divided between the Bishop and Con- 
 vent, and the former to appoint one 
 keeper, and the latter another.? 
 
 Ladies made these pilgrimages to 
 Shrines in all their finery, but met with 
 a sad fate. In a MS. of the fourteenth 
 century, many miracles were wrought 
 at the Church of Roch-madame in 
 France upon numerous ladies and che- 
 valiers, who had washed their hair in 
 wine to make it beautiful and glossy, 
 and coming in pilgrimage to this 
 Church, could not enter the door until 
 they suffered their tresses to be cut off; 
 and these tresses were afterwards hung 
 up in the Church, as mementos before 
 the image of our Lady.^ 
 
 Instances appear where the compa- 
 nions or friends attendant upon a sick 
 man, if he owed his recovery to the 
 presumed assistance of a Saint, vowed 
 a pilgrimage to the Shrine of that Saint 
 bare-footed (for travelling thither on 
 
 ^ J. Rous, p. 71. 
 
 1 Hist, de Paris, i. fol. 639. Mem. de Pe- 
 trarque, iii. 544. 
 
 "» Sir R. C. Hoare's Giraldus, i. 26. 
 
 ° Dugdale's St. Paul's, p. 14. 
 
 ° Taylor's Index Monasticus, pref. xviii. 
 
 p Angl. Sacr. i. 545. 
 
 9 Strutt's Dresses, ii. 243. 
 
PROVINCIAL PILGRIMAGES TO SHRINES, WELLS, &C. 359 
 
 f^oot was deemed essential), and the 
 sick person himself made a similar pil- 
 grimage and offering.a 
 
 A Prior having been healed at St. 
 Edward's Shrine, preached a sermon 
 on the feast of that Saint, ^^ in whiche 
 he tolde of the myracle, howe he was 
 hoUe." b 
 
 Shrines were also visited before 
 taking a voyage, to have the prayers of 
 the Saints for safety, and also upon de- 
 livery from danger.c 
 
 Sometimes annual Pilgrimages were 
 mode to certain Shrines. " Ther was 
 a knyght, wyche hadde a custome 
 every yere to go a pylgrimage unto the 
 bodye of Marye Magdalene." ^ 
 
 Women in pregnancy used to make 
 these pilgrimages.^ " Tho. (5th) Lord 
 Berkley and his wife went a kind of 
 pilgrimage to divers religious houses, 
 his wife being then great ^^dth child, or 
 newly delivered of her son Thomas.^^ ^ 
 
 Caxton, in the Epilogue to his Cor- 
 dyale, printed in 1480, says, " it is to 
 be noted, that since the time of the 
 great tribulation and adversity of my 
 said Lord [Anthony Earl Rivers] he 
 hath been full virtuously occupied as 
 in going of pilgrimages to Saint James 
 in Galice, to Rome, to Saint Bartholo- 
 mew, to Saint Andrew, to Saint Mat- 
 thew, in the realnie of Naples, and to 
 Saint Nicholas de Bar in Puyle [Apu- 
 lia], and other divers holy places/^ s 
 
 These kinds of pilgrimage were made 
 a pretence by labourers and artificers 
 to escape from their hundreds. In the 
 statute of labourers, anno 1388, it is 
 enacted, that no servant or labourer, 
 whether man or woman, should depart 
 at the end of his term, out of his hun- 
 dred, rape, or wapentake, where he is 
 resident, to serve or dwell elsewhere, 
 under colour of going afar off in Pil- 
 grimage, unless he has letters patent 
 containing the cause of his going, and 
 time of his return.*^ 
 
 » Angl. Sacr. i. 654. 
 
 b Gold. Leg. fol. clxxxix. b. « M. Paris, 505. 
 
 ^ Golden Legend, fol. ex v. 
 
 " Decern Scriptores, 2432. 
 
 ^ Smythe's Berkeley MS. 
 
 K Dibdin's Typographic, Antiquit. p. 79. 
 
 »' Decern Scriptores, 2730, 
 
 In 1346, the beautiful but volup- 
 tuous Isabella de Fiesco, Princess of 
 Milan, having been delivered of twins, 
 made a pilgrimage to St. Mark of Ve- 
 nice, accompanied with the most gay 
 lords and ladies, in the style of Cleo- 
 patra's voyage down the Cidnus. 
 Feasts, balls, and every kind of plea- 
 sure, attended her progress, and the 
 husbands of the married ladies in her 
 company, after their wives return, in- 
 formed of their lot, were doomed to 
 console one another, upon the univer- 
 sality of their misfortune. The Lady 
 herself set the example with the easy 
 principles of the Egyptian Queen. ^ In 
 the middle age the manners of all 
 countries were nearly alike; and the 
 sober English, not then checked by an 
 exemplary reformed clergy, and austere 
 sectaries^ made a similar use of pil- 
 grimage. " Frier Donald," says Cam- 
 den, "preached at PauPs Crosse, that 
 our Ladie was a virgin, and yet at her 
 pilgrimages, there was made many a 
 foule meeting. And loud cried out, Ye 
 men of London, gang on yourselves 
 with your wives to Wilsdon, in the Di- 
 veFs name, or else keepe them at home 
 with you with a sorrow.'" ^ 
 
 The Canterbury Pilgrimage was pro- 
 bably the most common. In the se- 
 cond week of Lent, Edward the Third, 
 and his mother, made a pilgrimage 
 there,^ and, I apprehend, this was the 
 most general season for these pilgrim- 
 ages. Becket's shrine had probably 
 such a preference, because he was the 
 peculiar Saint of Sinners, and therefore 
 of universal application. «i 
 
 Giraldus Cambrensis says, " the Bi- 
 shop saw me and my companions 
 marked with the tokens of St. Thomas 
 suspended from my neck." "^ Giraldus 
 on his return from abroad had visited 
 the shrine of Becket ; and these signa- 
 cula were, I apprehend, the " Canter- 
 bury Bells " mentioned before, and 
 
 * Mem. de Petrarque, ii. 427. 
 " Camden's Remains, p. 281. 
 > Angl. Sacr. i. 368. 
 
 ■" Catholic Doctrine of the Church of England, 
 I 4to. Cambr. 1675, p. 133. 
 " Angl. Sacr. ii 481. 
 
360 
 
 PROVINCIAL PILGRIMAGES TO SHRINES WELLS, &C. 
 
 worn in token of the performance of 
 the pilgrimage. 
 
 Erasmus amply describes the exhi- 
 bition made to the Pilgrims ; the skull 
 of Thomas Becket, cased in silver; the 
 blade of the sword which killed him ; 
 the altar at which he was celebrating ; 
 his hair shirt, &c.; at the sight of all 
 which the Pilgrims dropped on their 
 knees, and kissed each relique. The 
 jewels and rich gifts were exhibited by 
 the Prior with a white wand, but they 
 were strongly secured by gratings. a 
 
 According to Erasmus, the Walsing- 
 ham Pilgrimages were mere imitations 
 of those to Loretto ; but there is an 
 apparent mixture of fiction in his ac- 
 count of this our famous provincial Pil- 
 grimage, which precludes quotation.^ 
 
 Holy Wells are of Classical and 
 Druidical Ancientry. On a spot called 
 Nell's Point, is a fine well, to which 
 great numbers of women resort on 
 Holy Thursday, and having washed 
 their eyes in the spring, they drop a 
 pin into it. A kind of fair is held 
 round St. Caradoc's Well, cakes sold, 
 and country games celebrated.*^ Once 
 in a year, at St. Mardrin's Well, two 
 lame persons went on Corpus Christi 
 evening to lay some small offering on 
 the altar there, to lie on the ground all 
 night, drink of the water there, and in 
 the morning after take a good draught 
 
 ■ Peregrinatio Religionis ergo, inter CoUoquia, 
 p. 377, seq. *» Id. p. 362. 
 
 «= Hoare's Giraldus, i. 133, 198. 
 
 more, and carry away some of the 
 water each in a bottle at their depar- 
 ture.*^ At Muswell Hill was formerly 
 a chapel called our Lady of Muswell, 
 from a well there, near which was her 
 image, that was continually resorted to 
 by way of Pilgrimage.^ At Walsingham 
 a fine green road was made for the Pil- 
 grims, and there was a holy well, and 
 cross adjacent, at which Pilgrims used 
 to kneel while drinking the water .^ It 
 is remarkable that the Anglo-Saxon 
 laws had proscribed this, as idolatrous.? 
 Such springs were consecrated, upon 
 the discovery of cures effected by 
 them.*' In fact, these consecrated wells 
 merely imply a knowledge of the pro- 
 perties of mineral waters, but through 
 ignorance, a religious appropriation of 
 those properties to supernatural causes. 
 Taylor, Index Monasticus, p. 66, has 
 the following curious items : 
 
 Saint Spyrite. Legacies were left in 
 the old wills for persons to go in pil- 
 primage to " St. Spyrite .^^ 
 
 St, Margaret of Horstede. Legacies 
 were occasionally left to pay Pilgrims 
 to repair to these images. 
 
 The " good Swerd of Winferthinge.^' 
 This sword was much visited by those 
 whose goods had been stolen, and by 
 wives, who prayed for the shortening 
 of their husbands lives. 
 
 ^ Antiq. Repertory, ii. 79. 
 
 « Simpson's Agreeable Historian, ii. 622. 
 
 ' Beauties of England (old edition) ii. 118. 
 
 8f Brompton, X Script. 923. 
 
 ^ Decern Scriptores, 2417. 
 
MOURNING PILGRIMAGES. 
 
 361 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MOURNING PILGRIMAGES. — INCOGNITO PILGRIMAGES. — POLITICAL PILGRIM- 
 AGES. PILGRIMS ADVENTURERS. PILGRIMS AGAINST HERETICKS. 
 
 Mourning Pilgrimages. Catherine, 
 widow of Thomas (4th) Lord Berkeley 
 in the 14th century, after the death of 
 her husband, had a licence to take a 
 journey beyond sea, for a year in Pil- 
 grimage. Her lord's grandfather's wife 
 had before done the same.» The Earl 
 of Stafford, in the ninth year of Richard 
 the Second, made a pilgrimage to Je- 
 rusalem, probably on account of the 
 loss of his son, and died the ensuing 
 year, at Rhodes, when on his return.^ 
 
 Incognito Pilgrims, Anselm Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, when banished 
 by Rufus, took the scrip and staff of 
 Pilgrims before the high altar in the 
 Cathedral church of Canterbury, pre- 
 vious to his journey.^ 
 
 Fitzalan, when Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, and on an embassy to France, 
 came to Valenciennes, stopped at the 
 Swan Hotel in the Market Place, and 
 having staid there three days to reco- 
 ver himself, pursued his journey, not 
 as Archbishop of Canterbury, but like 
 a simple Monk on a pilgrimage ; thus 
 concealing both his rank, and the bu- 
 siness in which he was engaged.^ 
 
 Agapit had married a relative of 
 Pope Boniface, by whose order he was 
 separated from his wife. In the Jubilee 
 of the year 1300, he entered Rome, in 
 the disguise of a Pilgrim, and saw her.® 
 Cervantes mentions the return of 
 Moors, by this disguise, into Spain, 
 after expulsion upon pain of death. 
 
 Political Pilgrimages, In the reign 
 of John, Pilgrimages were made the 
 vehicle of seditious meetings of the dis- 
 
 • Smythe's Berkeley MS. 
 
 t» Froissart, vii. 70. ' Eadmer, 41. 
 
 ^ Froissart, x. 115. 
 
 « M^moires pour la Vie de Petrarque, i. 103. 
 
 contented Barons. Many of them met 
 at Edmundsbury under this pretence.^ 
 
 Pilgrims Adventurers, In the 1 2th 
 century Gilbert Talbot, an English 
 knight, assumed the habit of a Pilgrim, 
 and sailed over into Normandy. He 
 stopped there for two years, wander- 
 ing here and there in search of Ela, 
 Countess of Salisbury. Having found 
 her, he dropped the Pilgrim's habit, 
 and taking that of a Minstrel,^ entered 
 her court, and staid there. As he was 
 a man of humour, and well versed in 
 old Chronicles}^ he was received as an 
 agreeable visitor, upon a familiar foot- 
 ing, and when a proper time came, he 
 brought the Countess with him into 
 England, and presented her to King 
 Richard, who most graciously received 
 her, and married her to his brother, 
 William Longespee.i 
 
 Another Pilgrim Adventurer of in- 
 ferior rank is before mentioned.^ 
 
 Pilgrims against Hereticks, These 
 were Crusaders against unfortunate 
 
 ^ Smythe's Berkeley MS. 
 
 9 Minstrel, i. e. of a Jongleur or Troubadour. In 
 the history of the latter, p. 338, is the following 
 passage : ** My lord said, I had a father, who was 
 well accomplished ; he was a marvellous singer, an 
 agreeable and copious storg -teller : I trust I resem- 
 ble him." — Our storyteller, as a synonym for 
 Liar, is derived from ** great Janglers (Jongleurs), 
 tale-tellers," &c. given in Chapter xii. 
 
 '' In the Liber Niger Domus Regis Edw. IV. 
 is the following item : *' These esquires of hous- 
 hold of old be accustumed wynter and somer in 
 aftyrnoones andin evenynges to draw to lordes cham- 
 bres within courte, there to keep honest company 
 after they re cunning, in talking of crony cles of 
 Kings and of other polycyes, or in pypeyng, or 
 harping, singing or other actes martialles to help 
 occupy the courte, and accompany straungeis till 
 the tyme of departing," p. 47. Knights errant 
 learned the Histories of celebrated Knights and 
 Ladies. S. Paiaye. 
 
 « Dugd. Monast. ii. 341, 342. 
 
 '' Chapter vi. 
 
632 
 
 MOURNING PILGRIMAGES. 
 
 Dissenters from the Romish Church. 
 The chief of these was against the Albi- 
 genses. It was no more than a design 
 for Simon de Montfort to acquire a 
 great and powerful sovereignty, at the 
 expence of the Earl of Toulouse and 
 his family ; and for the Pope^s Legates 
 
 to arrogate authority over the Lords 
 and Burghs of these fine and unfortu- 
 nate provinces.* It has no connexion 
 with our subject, except in Costume. 
 
 • Notices des MSS. a Paris, vi. 201 . 
 
LOVE-PILGRIMS, 
 
 363 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 LOVE-PILGRIMS. 
 
 We are now arrived to Chivalry, 
 that exquisite part of the History of 
 the Middle Age, which is its brightest 
 feature, because it inculcated the most 
 heroic, tender, and benevolent senti- 
 ments. Ours is a branch of Chivalry, 
 romantic and noble ; unconnected with 
 that degradation of character, which 
 superstition always introduces. How- 
 ever foolish were the Monkish fictions, 
 and the absurd adventures of Chivalry, 
 the Nobility and Gentry were too ig- 
 norant to see their absurdity; and 
 Chivalry, by the romantick deeds of 
 arms, which it daily presented, so 
 turned their heads, that the more ex- 
 traordinary and absurd were romances 
 of adventurers, the more they were in 
 vogue. All this is ridiculed in the Dit 
 d^Aventures, a Manuscript of the thir- 
 teenth century, written in the manner 
 of Munchausen, long before the time 
 of Cervantes : a to whom it probably 
 suggested his excellent Don Quixote. 
 We are not therefore to be surprised 
 at the following singular exhibitions of 
 a prevailing mania of Chivalrous he- 
 roism. 
 
 Some young knights bachelors had 
 one of their eyes covered with a piece 
 of cloth, so that they could not see 
 with it, for they had made a vow to 
 some ladies not to use but one eye, 
 until they had performed some deeds 
 of arms, nor would they make any re- 
 ply to whatsoever question was asked 
 them.^ Another lover, smitten with a 
 lady of Carcassowne, called Louve de 
 Penautier, caused himself to be called 
 Loup or Wolf in her honour, and en- 
 gaged himself to submit to all the pe- 
 rils of being hunted in a wolfs skin 
 for her sake. In this disguise, the 
 
 • Notices des MSS. v. 398. 
 ^ Froissart, i. 114. 
 
 shepherds, with their mastives and 
 greyhounds, drove him into the moun- 
 tains, and pursued him there ; and so 
 cruelly was he mangled, for he would 
 not suffer the dogs to be taken oflf him, 
 till they had almost killed him, that 
 they carried him home for dead to his 
 mistress.^ 
 
 The explanation of these customs, 
 and of those which will conclude this 
 Chapter, by M. Porte-du-Theil, are 
 admirable : '^ In all ages, and among all 
 civilized nations, love, like the other pas- 
 sions, has borrowed the forms and the 
 language which, according to the man- 
 ners and customs of the time, appeared 
 to it most proper to express its senti- 
 ments towards the beloved object. 
 When the inhabitants of all Europe 
 were divided into masters and slaves, 
 the metaphorical language of love was 
 borrowed from the ideas of Slavery : 
 and this first foundation of amorous 
 language subsists to the present day. 
 
 " When the feudal system was 
 established, and vassalage superseded 
 slavery, the ideas and forms of feodahty 
 were applied to love. The mistress 
 called her lover her5«ro7i,and he styled 
 her his Lady, He demanded of his 
 mistress the mouth and the hands in 
 the form of homage, A Troubadour of 
 the twelfth century, compares his mis- 
 tress to di freehold which paid no rents 
 or services, to which he wishes should 
 be at least attached, the payment of 
 some kisses. Love assumed the cha- 
 racter as well as the language of vas- 
 salage ; its respective obligations were 
 reduced to rules; the acknowledged 
 lover had his rights recognised ; he 
 owed to his lady fidelity and services; 
 she, to him, attachment and favours. 
 
 "In the mean while the Feudal sys- 
 
 <= Hist, of the Troubadours, 332. 
 
364 
 
 LOVE-PILGRIMS. 
 
 tern was brought to bed of Chivalry. 
 Private wars, the unfortunate results 
 of feudal rights, had turned all minds 
 towards arms. The Lords, obliged to 
 defend, without ceasing, their own 
 possessions, and those of their vassals, 
 were occupied only with military ideas ; 
 they carried them even into their love 
 affairs. 
 
 " Chivalry, founded at the same 
 time for a proof and reward of valour 
 and generosity, imposed upon itself, as 
 its principal duty, the protection of 
 the ladies ; and gallantry became, 
 almost as much as bravery, the distinc- 
 tive character of a knight. To form 
 the eulogium of an accomplished 
 knight, it was said, that no one better 
 understood to break a lance, and kiss 
 a lady. 
 
 " The Crusades had redoubled the 
 heroism of the knights, by a kind of 
 enthusiasm, mingled with ideas of 
 glory and religion, which incited them 
 to the most hazardous enterprises. 
 This enthusiasm immediately laid hands 
 upon Love. They devoted themselves 
 for their mistresses to the most peril- 
 ous, and sometimes the most bizarre 
 attempts. If an opportunity did not 
 offer, they created one. They main- 
 tained, with arms in their hands, that 
 the woman whom they loved was the 
 most beautiful in the world, and they 
 found knights who accepted the chal- 
 lenge. Nothing w^as so common as 
 this proof of love in the thirteenth 
 century. They wished to appear the 
 most brave, as well as the most ena- 
 moured, because valour, carried to ex- 
 cess, was then the quality most fitted 
 to make themselves beloved in re- 
 turn ; the ladies became fond of a 
 knight upon the mere recital of his 
 exploits. Chivalry had so ennobled 
 love, that it had rendered it a passion 
 purely heroick. In the Roman de Rose,^ 
 it is affirmed, that the knights were 
 more estimable, and the ladies lived 
 better and more chastely : 
 
 • MS. fol. 80. 
 
 ' Les chevaliers mieux en valoient, 
 Les Dames meilleures etoient 
 Et plus chastement en vivoient.' 
 " Far from regarding Love as a 
 criminal passion, they associated it 
 with the ideas and practices of devo- 
 tion. A Troubadour of the thir- 
 teenth century said, that he burned 
 tapers, and caused masses to be said 
 for the success of his love. The mis- 
 tress of the Lord of Craon, when 
 upon her death-bed ready to receive 
 the Sacrament, called God to witness, 
 ' that Craon had never made a request 
 to her, which her father might not have 
 made ; non, dit elle, qu'il ne couchdt en 
 mon lit, mais a fin sans vilence et sans 
 mat y penser.'^^ Notwithstanding, Love 
 was not always thus pure, even in the 
 times when this passion was carried to 
 its highest point of heroism. It be- 
 came debased insensibly. In the fif- 
 teenth century Eustace des Champs ' 
 often complained, that luxury had effi- 
 minated the knights; that they thought 
 to please more by their dress, than by 
 their exploits and virtues ; and that 
 gallantry as well as Chivalry was 
 strangely declined. Notwithstanding, 
 in this century, they still fought. Na- 
 tion against Nation, for the honour of 
 the ladies, as in 1402 did seven French 
 knights against seven English knights. 
 " In the end all this heroism was 
 eclipsed, Brantome says, that in the 
 16th century. Love was no more than 
 libertinism. It was the age of devices 
 and amorous emblems.*^ Afterwards, 
 
 •' Agnes de Navarre, wife of Phcebus, Count de 
 Foix, was in love with William de Machaut, one 
 of the best French poets, of the age of Petrarch. 
 She made verses for him, which breathed the lan- 
 guage of passion. She wished him to publish in 
 his own the details of their love. He was jealous 
 without a cause ; she sent her Confessor to him, 
 to testify not only the truth of the sentiments 
 which she had for him, but further, her fidelity, 
 and the injustice of the suspicion which he had 
 conceived against her. Notwithstanding this, 
 Agnes de Navarre was a very virtuous Princess. 
 Mem. pour la Vie de Petrarque, i. 118. F. 
 
 •= Classical symbols and mottoes derived from the 
 chiefs of the Neapolitan wars, in the close of the 
 fifteenth century, and common in England in the 
 next. Dallaway's Heraldic Inquiries, p. 391. Sir 
 Philip Sydney's works abound in them. Edit. 10. 
 
LOVE-PILGRTMS. 
 
 365 
 
 from this period, we hear no more of 
 heroick Loves. Devout Loves still 
 existed, when the general manners 
 xoore the livery of devotion ; then 
 lovers, in pious processions, whipped 
 themselves,, by way of gallantry, under 
 the windows of their mistresses. Men 
 carried, in their Breviaries, under the 
 figure of the Virgin Mary, the portrait 
 of the woman whom they loved : and 
 the women had that of their lovers, 
 under the representation of Christ or 
 some Saint. 
 
 " From the whole of this discussion, 
 it appears that Love was simple and 
 tender in the tenth century ; severe 
 and impassioned in the eleventh ; that 
 it participated of the heroick or su- 
 perstitious enthusiasm of the three 
 following centuries ; and sometimes 
 elevated itself even to a virtue ; but in 
 the fifteenth century declined, till it was 
 almost always a vice, and scarcely a 
 passion ; in the sixteenth century, the 
 spirit, which mingled with it, was subtle 
 and cold; the ideas of piety, which 
 were allied with it from time to time, 
 instead of warming and ennobling it, 
 as before, completed its degradation 
 by introducing all the meannesses 
 of superstition and hypocrisy. The 
 other forms, which it has taken in the 
 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 
 show that it has constantly followed 
 the modifications of society. Thus, 
 Love, in all times subject to fashion, 
 which seems to have so little empire 
 over the passions, has always under- 
 gone the same variations as exterior 
 manners and customs." » 
 
 Pleasure and courtship are still lead- 
 ing habits of the modern military; 
 and, without doubt, derive their origin 
 from the feudal ages. 
 
 This curious and interesting history 
 of courtship, explains the Petrarchism, 
 or heroic love, which characterized the 
 Pilgrimages of the Troubadours, a term 
 
 p. 30, 62, 179, 180, &c. Some Augustin Monks 
 in Flanders represented the whole life of that Saint 
 in a series of these impressions. Sylloge Symbolor. 
 &c. by Menestrier, p. 355. See Camden's Remains. 
 • Notices des MSS. v. p. 695, seq. 
 
 derived from trohar to invent, because 
 they sung extemporaneous effusions, 
 or pretended to do so, Petrarch com- 
 plaining of their application to him for 
 assistance. They were natives of the 
 South of France, who, being stimu- 
 lated by their genius, and the warmth 
 of the climate, to poetry, musick, and 
 Love, were, as President Renault styles 
 them, the knights errant of gallantry, 
 travelling from castle to castle, singing 
 and making love.b 
 
 Accordingly one of them says, " The 
 beauty I adore shall behold me, for her 
 sake, clad in a woollen habit^ and with 
 a pilgrim's stafF.^^^ 
 
 The following account of one of these 
 Pilgrims is singularly curious : ^^ It was 
 in the month of October, I well re- 
 member, I ordered two of my pages to 
 take two falcons, and the third a goss- 
 hawk, the best that ever was, with 
 dogs and hares. We were ten knights 
 well mounted, and all eager for the 
 chace. At the moment of our depar- 
 ture, behold, there came to us a knight 
 in the habit of a Pilgrim. He was the 
 most beautiful and elegant figure that 
 was ever seen in the robe of penitence. 
 He advanced with slow steps, as if 
 overwhelmed with fatigue, and he hung 
 down his head as if plunged in sorrow. 
 When he was come up to me, without 
 any salutation, or speaking a single 
 word, he took my horse by the bridle, 
 drew me aside, and, casting on me a look 
 of tender sorrow, he paused a moment 
 from the fullness of his grief. At last he 
 said, ^For the sake of God, my Lord, have 
 pity on my state, I come from a dis^ 
 tant country to ask your council in love; 
 for you are the only man in the world 
 capable of giving me advice, I love a 
 lady, as excellent for virtues as re- 
 nownedfor beauty, I have used every 
 effort, and cannot obtain her love, I 
 know not what to do ; in pity teach me 
 how I ought to act. My Pilgrimage has 
 no other object, but to seek instruction in 
 Love' 
 
 Mdmoires pour la Vie de Petrarque, i. 77. 
 
 c Hist, of the Troubadours, p. 50 
 
366 
 
 LOVE-PILGRIMS. 
 
 ^^ At these words^ I said to my Ba- 
 rons, permit me to put off our party to 
 another day; for at present, I must 
 converse of joy and pleasure with this 
 young stranger, and our discourse must 
 be private. Immediately dismounting 
 from my horse, I took the unknown 
 knight by the hand, and conducting 
 him in, I begged him to defer our con- 
 versation till the morrow, that I might 
 have time to reflect on his situation, 
 and be able to give him the advice he 
 stood in need of. But I would know, 
 added I, to whom I speak, that I may 
 form some judgment of the advice I 
 ought to give. His answer was as 
 courteous as my request ; and when I 
 heard his name, I held him in great 
 esteem. After he was refreshed, he 
 sat down to play at chess and draughts. 
 We sung songs, and told a thousand 
 tales,^ till sunset ; when they informed 
 us, that supper was served in the great 
 hall, where many guests were assem- 
 bled. After supper, as our new guest 
 wanted repose, we all retired to rest. 
 After a sound sleep, we rose, the Priest 
 having summoned us to mass.^ After 
 mass was said, we went to the dinner, 
 which Bidans my constable had served 
 up ; it was good, and we were long at 
 table. At last I rose, and taking the 
 stranger by the hand, we left the com- 
 pany in the hall, and went down into 
 an orchard," where I seated him under 
 a laurel tree, by my side. Then, ad- 
 dressing myseK to him, I said. Friend, 
 what you desire of me I wish I may 
 be able to grant. You will find in me 
 neither much knowledge nor skill, but 
 courtesy, courage, and joy ; and it is in 
 those, the most illustrious lovers of all 
 
 • If a Jugleur or Minstrel was not present, our 
 ancestors used to sit round the fire, and tell an- 
 cient gests or stories. Warlon. Gesta Romanorum, 
 Ixiv. Hence the numerous collections of Tales, 
 which we have in Manuscript. 
 
 •* Froissart (ii. 157.) mentions an oratory of the 
 Black Prince near his bed-chamber, where mass 
 was said the first thing in the morning, sometimes 
 before sun-rise (Id. ii. 135), even in the bed- 
 chambers. 
 
 *= It appears to have been usual to take exercise 
 in the garden, after Mass, or in the morning. 
 Stowe's Annals, 500, 535. Ed. Howes. 
 
 times have excelled. Remember well 
 what I am going to say, and you will 
 surpass all others in Love. Be always 
 dressed neatly and elegantly, whetlier 
 your cloaths are rich or plain. Let 
 your linen be very fine and white ; let 
 your shoes, your stockings, and your 
 waistcoast, be so well adjusted, that all 
 who behold, shall admire you ; let your 
 robe be rather short than long ; let it be 
 made wide before ; the breast can then 
 be left open without any impropriety. 
 Let your cloak be of the same stuff"; and 
 let the girdle and the clasp be neatly 
 fastened. Nothing gives a man so much 
 advantage as the beauty of his hair ; 
 wash your head often; wear not your hair 
 too long ; it is more becoming to have 
 it somewhat shortened. Your whiskers 
 and beard ought also to be neatly cut ; 
 it were better they were too short than 
 too long ; but no excess of fashion is 
 ever becoming ; be particularly atten- 
 tive to that. By the eyes and the hands 
 a man is often judged : there should be 
 a dignity and delicacy in both. Never 
 fix your eyes, with a saucy assurance 
 and effrontery, on any: and let your 
 hands be placed with decency and care. 
 If you see any one with something in 
 their hands you wish to look at, and 
 which strikes you with admiration 
 never be guilty of such unpoliteness 
 as to take it from him to gratify your 
 own curiosity. If you would gain the 
 hearts of ladies, you must be magnifi- 
 cent in your house; you must have 
 ^squires to attend you ; you must have 
 two in particular, who are handsome, 
 and who know how to please : the rest 
 need only to be courteous and polite ; 
 but they must converse with grace and 
 with discretion, that if you send them 
 any where, they may not incur the 
 laugh at your expense, and it be said 
 of them, * like master like man/ When 
 you receive company, show great kind- 
 ness to all you receive ; invite them to 
 make good cheer; let them be well 
 served, and set them the example of 
 gaiety and freedom. None will fre- 
 quent you, if your house wears the face 
 of poverty, and they do not meet with 
 plenty and hospitality. When the day 
 
LOVE-PILGRIMS. 
 
 367 
 
 appears, do not set yourself at the table 
 to eat alone : nothing is more unpolite. 
 Place your guests near you in a neat 
 apartment. Do the honours of your 
 table not only yourself, but be careful 
 your attendants are assiduous in the 
 service ; and let the fire be well re- 
 plenished. Recommend in particular 
 to your servants, that they never come 
 in, and interrupt the repast, by whis- 
 pering in your ear. Be careful also 
 never to speak to them in a low voice ; 
 this has the air of poverty and stingi- 
 ness. Before you place yourself at 
 table, give all your orders for the day 
 as to wine, hghts, and other accommo- 
 dation. Take care, that the horses, 
 the attendants, and grooms of your 
 guests, have all they want ; for if they 
 have not plenty of provision, you will 
 hear murmurs shamefully reproaching 
 to a gallant knight. 
 
 '^ If you hold a court or assembly, 
 spare for nothing. Let there be no 
 gate locked at the entrance of your 
 house ; no porters » to keep back with 
 their staves, the grooms, pages, hangers- 
 on, and Jongleurs, who would enter. 
 Do not follow the example of those 
 rich misers, who retire secretly from 
 their feasts. Heaven forbid, you should 
 be the first to quit the company, when 
 you ought to be the last. Your house 
 ought to be open to all the world, and 
 you ready to receive, at all hours, those 
 who shall present themselves. Play 
 high ; it will do you honour ; continue 
 playing. It is shameful and base to 
 take up the dice, and leave off imme- 
 diately. If you should lose, express 
 
 * Porter. " Here a Porter, tall of person, big of 
 limbs, stark of countenance, with club and keys of 
 quantity according, in a rough speech, full of pas- 
 sion in metre, while the Queen [Elizabeth] came 
 within his ward, burst out in a great pang of impa- 
 tience to see such uncouth trudging to and fro ; 
 such riding in and out, with such din and noise of 
 talk, within his charge ; whereof he never saw the 
 like, nor had any warning once ; ne yet could make 
 to himself any cause of the matter. At last, upon 
 better view and aduertisement, he proclaims open 
 gates and free passage to all ; yields over his club, 
 his keys, his office, and all, and on his knees, hum- 
 bly prays pardon of his ignorance, and impatience : 
 which her Highness graciously granting," &c. 
 Kurd's Dialogues, 98. 
 
 no ill-humour ; change not your place, 
 nor clap your hands together, like an 
 enraged man, nor give any signs of dis- 
 pleasure; for if you do, you will be 
 made a jest of. In short, spend your 
 fortune in a generous and hospitable 
 reception of all the world. Unless you 
 do this, you must for ever renounce 
 gallantry. Be well mounted; have a 
 horse light and nimble for the course ; 
 easy to manage, and have it continually 
 led in your train. Let your arms be 
 bright, and valuable; and let your lance, 
 your shield, and your cuirass, be well 
 proved. Let your horse be well equip- 
 ped, in saddle, bridle, and breast-lea- 
 thers ; let the saddle and crupper be 
 of the same colour with your shield, 
 and the streamer of your lance. Have 
 a war-horse to carry a change of arms.^ 
 
 ^^ The reason I recommend these 
 things, is, that if you have not prepared 
 them in readiness and set them in or- 
 der, on the first injury done you, on 
 the first war that happens, you will be 
 obliged to seek them, with precipita- 
 tion ; and ladies are never fond of those 
 knights who are not always ready for 
 war and tournaments. They will pre- 
 fer those who seize every occasion of 
 procuring fame and honour. 
 
 " If my exhortations do not weary 
 you, I would recommend to you the 
 love of Chivalry, and to attach your- 
 self to the means of pleasing univer- 
 sally. Be vigilant against all unfore- 
 seen attacks ; fear neither cry nor mur- 
 mur; be the last in retreat, and the 
 first in charge; for such is the man 
 who is conducted by Love. 
 
 " When you are at the tournament, 
 have a halbert and a helmet in change; 
 your steel-armour, and your sword, 
 which you must brandish to animate 
 your horse. Let his breast be garnish- 
 ed with bells well hung; nothing is 
 more proper to inspire confidence in a 
 Knight, and terror in an enemy. Put 
 up with no loss, nor damage; and re- 
 
 •* Two horses generally accompanied Knights, a 
 Hackney, and a Charger, that the latter might not 
 be wearied, upon coming into action. Numerous 
 instances occur in Froissart. 
 
368 
 
 LOVE-PILGRIMS. 
 
 turn not without some engagement. 
 When once your arm is raised^ if your 
 lance fails, draw your sword directly, 
 and let heaven and hell resound with 
 the clash. Thus have I levelled my 
 strokes since I was a knight, and thus 
 have I possessed the love of many beau- 
 tiful and worthy ladies/^ » 
 
 The old Knight was correct in his 
 
 • Hist, of the Troubadours, 471—475. 
 
 advice. In a satirical catalogue of a 
 pretended Museum, one article is " Tfie 
 skin of the Serpent which seduced Eve,'* 
 A lady said, the colour of it must cer- 
 tainly be scarlet. The favouritism shown 
 to officers, may be enough to convince, 
 that bravery, attention to person, cour- 
 teous manners, pleasurable habits, and 
 living in style, are the methods, which 
 experience proves, to be best suited to 
 procure success in Love. 
 
THE OFFICE OF PILGRIMS IN THE CHURCH OF ROUEN. 369 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE OFFICE OP PILGRIMS IN THE CHURCH OF ROUEN. 
 
 The following account shews a de- 
 duction of Pilgrimage from the journey 
 of the Disciples to Emmaus. 
 
 The Office of Pilgrims ought to be 
 done in this form. Two of the second 
 stall, who may be put in the ta])le, at 
 the pleasure of the writer, shall be 
 clothed in a Tunick, with copes above, 
 carrying staves across, and scrips in 
 the manner of Pilgrims ; and they shall 
 have capelli^ over their heads, and be 
 bearded. Let them go from the Ves- 
 tiary, singing a hymn, "Jesus, our re- 
 demption,'^ advancing with a slow step, 
 through the right aisle of the Church, 
 as far as the Western gates, and there 
 stopping, sing a hymn, as far as that 
 place, " You shall be satisfied with thy 
 likeness.^' Then a certain Priest of the 
 higher stall, written in the table, cloth- 
 ed in an Alb and Amess, bare-footed, 
 carrying a cross upon his right shoul- 
 der, with a look cast downwards, com- 
 ing to them through the right aisle of 
 the Church, shall suddenly stand be- 
 tv/een them, and say, " What are these 
 discourses.^' The Pilgrims, as it were 
 admiring, and looking upon him, shall 
 say, " Are you a stranger," &c. The 
 Priest shall answer, "In what ?" The 
 Pilgrims shall answer, " of Jesus of 
 Nazareth." The Priest, looking upon 
 both of them, shall say, " O fools, and 
 slow of heart," which being said, the 
 Priest immediately shall retire and pre- 
 tend to be going further : but the Pil- 
 
 grims hurrying up, and following him, 
 shall detain him, as it were inviting 
 him to their inn, and drawing Lim with 
 their staves, shall show him a castle, 
 and say, " Stay with us.'^ And so sing- 
 ing, they shall lead him as far as a tent 
 in the middle of the nave of the Church, 
 made in the resemblance of the Castle 
 Emmaus. When they have ascended 
 thither, and sat at a table ready pre- 
 pared, the Lord sitting between them 
 shall break the bread ; and being dis- 
 covered by this means, shall suddenly 
 retire, and vanish from their sight. 
 But they amazed, as it were, rising with 
 their countenances turned to each other, 
 shall sing lamentably " Alleluia," with 
 the verse, " Did not our heart burn," 
 &c. which being renewed, turning them- 
 selves towards the stall, they shall sing 
 this verse, "Tell us, Mary." Then a 
 certain person of the higher stall, cloth- 
 ed in a Dalmatick and Amess, and 
 bound round in the manner of a wo- 
 man, shall answer, "The Sepulchre of 
 Christ; the Angels are witnesses." 
 Then he shall extend, and unfold a 
 cloth from one part, instead of clothes, 
 and throw it before the great gate of 
 the Choir. Afterwards he shall say 
 "Christ is risen." The Choir shall 
 sing two other verses, following, and 
 then the Master shall go within; a 
 procession be made ; and Vespers be 
 ended.^ 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Peregrinorum Officium. 
 
 A Hat or Bonnet. Du Cunge. 
 
 2b 
 
CONSUETUDINAL 
 
 OP 
 
 ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 The Hermits of Egypt dragged out 
 a wretched life in perfect solitude, and 
 were scattered here and there in caves, 
 in deserts, in the hollows of rocks, 
 sheltered from the wild beasts only by 
 the cover of a miserable cottage, in 
 which each one lived sequestered from 
 the rest of his species. 
 
 Philo-Judeeus, A.D. 41, was the first 
 who introduced the Philosophy of 
 Plato and Pythagoras into the Gospel. 
 As he lived at Alexandria in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the Desert, and gives (it 
 is believed) the earliest account of the 
 contemplative life of worshippers, Eu- 
 sebius shews that the figures and hie- 
 roglyphics of the Egyptian Philosophy 
 are verified and manifested in the Scrip- 
 tures. ^ 
 
 The order of the Anachorites was 
 yet more excessive in the austerity of 
 living than the Eremites. They fre- 
 quented the wildest deserts, without 
 either tents or cottages ; nourished 
 themselves with the roots and herbs 
 which grew spontaneously out of the 
 uncultivated ground ; wandered about, 
 without having any fixed abode; and 
 reposed wherever the approach of night 
 happened to find them.^ 
 
 The origin of that curious supersti- 
 tion, the habitation on a pillar by Si- 
 meon Stylites, is thus given in Christie's 
 Greek Vases, p. 99 : 
 
 "The ancient temple at Hierapolis 
 
 " Euseb. S.ii. c. 41. 17, 18. 
 '' Mosheim, i. p. 199. cmt. 4. 
 
 in Syria ( Lucian de Ded Syridj is re- 
 ported to have stood upon an eminence 
 in the middle of the city, the base of 
 which eminence was enclosed by a 
 double wall. Near the gates to the 
 North were erected two phalli (of the 
 enormous height of thirty fathoms), 
 one of which a man ascended twice 
 every year, swarming fsic) it by a 
 chain, as was practised by the Arabs 
 in climbing the palm-trees of their 
 country. Arrived at the top, he coiled 
 his clothes so as to form a nest or seat, 
 and having let down another chain, 
 which he carried with him, and drawn 
 up by the means of it food and neces- 
 saries, he remained upon the phallus 
 seven days. Seated aloft, he prayed 
 for all Syria ; but whilst he prayed, he 
 rang a bell.^^ 
 
 Perhaps the first instance of relicks 
 being held in reverence was in the case 
 of Simeon Stylites, whom the people 
 of Antioch thought Leo the Emperor 
 left among them for their defence 
 against enemies. ^ 
 
 The distinction of Anchorets and 
 Hermits was quite different in the suc- 
 ceeding ages. The former were persons 
 who passed their whole lives in cells, 
 from which they never moved. The 
 latter were indeed solitary persons, but 
 wandered about at liberty. These be- 
 ing the respective definitions of An- 
 chorets and Hermits,^ the subject shall 
 be treated accordingly. 
 
 "= Evagr. b. i. c. 1- 
 
 * Heremitse solivagi aut Anachoritse conclusi 
 
CONSUETIIDINAL OF ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 371 
 
 Anchorets. "In the first ages of 
 Monachism, the custom was introduced 
 in certain Abbies, of choosing some one 
 of the religious, whom they thought 
 most advanced in perfection, and of 
 shutting him up apart, on purpose that 
 he might be able for the rest of his life 
 to indulge without distraction in the 
 contemplation of divine things. Com- 
 monly the cell was near the Church, 
 placed in such a manner that the re- 
 cluse had the faculty of seeing the Altar, 
 and hearing the service. The door 
 was locked upon him, often even wall- 
 ed up, but they left a kind of garret 
 window, by which he received the com- 
 munion and the necessaries of life." 
 
 The same custom existed in female 
 convents ; there were even many in- 
 stances of men who became Anchorets 
 in Nunneries, and of women in Abbies 
 of Monks.a 
 
 " Particular ceremonies were esta- 
 blished for these solitaries. Gregory of 
 Tours describes those which were in 
 use in his aera.^^ 
 
 " Many Councils, and particularly 
 that of G92, which is called of Trullo,^ 
 that of Frankfort in 7^7^ and others, 
 treated of this kind of life, and endea- 
 voured to modify and confine it to rules 
 and forms. ^^ 
 
 Charlemagne forbade it, but the abuse 
 still prevailed. There were even Ab- 
 bies, such as that of Vallombreuse, for 
 example, where they supported a per- 
 
 (i. e. Hermits, solitary wanderers, or Anchorets, 
 immured). Angl. Sacr. ii. 436. De Foe makes 
 the same distinction in Robinson Crusoe. 
 
 * Helyot. Ordr. Monastiques Disc. Prelim. 
 
 •* The Trullan Canons say : ** They who affect 
 to be Anchorets, shall first for three years be con- 
 fined to a cell in a Monastery ; and if, after this, 
 they profess that they persist, let them be examined 
 by the Bishop or Abbot ; let them live one year at 
 large ; and if they still approve of their first choice, 
 let them be confined to their cell, and not be per- 
 mitted to go out of it, but by consent and benedic- 
 tion of the Bishop in case of great necessity." 
 Canon 41. 
 
 " Hermits who stroll up and down in towns in 
 black habits and long hair, and converse freely with 
 both sexes, shall be either shorn and go into some 
 Monastery, or be driven into the Wilderness, from 
 whence they have their names." Canon 42. 
 
 There are strong anathemas against -Anchorets 
 in the Gangran Canons. Canon 9. 17. 
 
 Johnson's Eastern Canons, 83, 85, 274, 275. F. 
 
 petual Anchorage, uninterruptedly oc- 
 cupied by a religious, who voluntarily 
 secluded himself. The penitent not 
 only vowed eternal silence, but abso- 
 lutely saw no person but the brother 
 by whose hands he received his nou- 
 rishment.'^ c 
 
 " Towards the end of the ninth cen- 
 tury, a certain person named Grimlaic 
 made a rule for those who wished to 
 adopt this anachoretical life. By this 
 rule, their cells were to be near a 
 church, but it was permitted to them 
 to join to it a small garden. Many 
 
 might even dwell together in one com- 
 es o 
 
 mori enclosure, and even have commu- 
 nication by a window, provided that 
 every cell was separate. They lived 
 there, either by the labour of their 
 hands or by alms, or by what the neigh- 
 bouring monasteries bestowed. Their 
 dress was a frock. Notwithstanding, 
 if they were Priests, they used a cope, 
 and had the right of confessing. There 
 were some of them who brought up 
 disciples, but these lived out of the 
 common enclosure, and the candidates, 
 after a certain time of noviciate and 
 trial, were obliged to become Anchorets 
 in their turn.^'d [M. D'Aussy has 
 omitted the dreadful task in Grimlaic's 
 Rule of learning the gospels, and other 
 Scriptures by heart.] 
 
 " The Bishop performed the cere- 
 mony of seclusion. He put his seal 
 upon the Anchorage, which could not 
 be removed but when the recluse had 
 need of assistance, or was sick.^'^ 
 
 Thus M. Le Grand D'Aussy. That 
 all this w^as purely Egyptian, will ap- 
 pear from the legend of Thaysis, a 
 prostitute, converted by the Abbot 
 Pafuncius. " She went to the place 
 whiche th' abbot had assygned to her. 
 And there was a monasterye of vyrgyns, 
 and there he closed her in a celle, and 
 sealed the door with led. And the celle 
 
 •= Vallombreuse is situated in the Apennines, not 
 far from Florence. Upon the liills around are her- 
 mitages occupied by religious, who lead a very- 
 austere life, according to the Benedictine Rule. F. 
 
 '^ C. 64. The Rule is printed in Holstein's 
 Codex. 
 
 ' Noticeg des MSS. v. p. 287, 288. 
 2 B 2 
 
372 
 
 CONSUETUDINAL OF ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 was lytyll and stray te, and but one 
 lytell wyndowe open, by whiche was 
 mynistred to her poor lyvinge: For the 
 abbot commau/ided that they shold 
 gyve to her a lytill brede and water. 
 And whan th^ abbot sholde departe^ 
 Thaysis sayde to him, fader, where 
 shall I shedde the water, and that 
 whyche shall come fro the conduytes 
 of nature. And he sayde to her, in thy 
 celle, as thou art worthy. And thenne 
 she demaunded how she sholde praye : 
 and he answered ; thou art not worthy 
 to name God, ne that the name of the 
 Trynite be in thy mouth, ne stratche 
 thy hondes too heven by cause thyn 
 lippes ben full of Inyquytes and thyn 
 hondes full of evil attouchinges andfoule 
 ordures'^ ^ Thus the last sentence 
 shows how she was to extricate herself 
 from a most annoying embarrassment 
 of her situation. 
 
 In [Rader's] Rule of the Solitaries,^ 
 the Cell of an Anchoret is to be of 
 stone, 12 feet long, and as many broad, 
 with three windows, one opposite the 
 Choir, by which the sacrament was re- 
 ceived ; the second for admitting food ; 
 the third, light, which was to be closed 
 with horn or glass. 
 
 Osbern, in his Life of Dunstan, men- 
 tions the Destina (for so these anchor- 
 holds or stalls affixed to larger build- 
 ings were called),^ occupied by Dunstan 
 soon after he became a Monk. It was 
 annexed to the Church of the Virgin 
 Mary at Glastonbury, where he had 
 been professed. Osbern says, he scarcely 
 knew what to call it, whether a Cell, or 
 Destina, or Cave, since it was made by 
 Dunstan^s own hands, and more re- 
 sembled a Sepulchre than a human ha- 
 bitation. For to bear testimony, he 
 says, of a thing which he had himself 
 seen, the length, as far as his estima- 
 tion went, could not be more than five 
 feet, and the breadth, two feet and a 
 half. Further, the depth was about 
 the height of a man, supposing any 
 one was standing in a pit, otherwise it 
 
 * Golden Legend, f. clxxx. b. 
 
 ^ C. 16. A Bavarian Rule. 
 
 «= By Bede, 1 3. c. 17. Wharton's note. 
 
 would not reach up to the breast ; and 
 from hence it is plain, that he slept 
 lying, and always prayed to God stand- 
 ing. The door formed one whole side. 
 In the midst of the door was a small 
 window, which gave light to the person 
 at work within ; for Dunstan was a ca- 
 pital goldsmith.^l Thus it appears, that 
 the habitation resembled a cobbler sstall,^ 
 in point of fact. From these origins, 
 there arose regular ancho7'-holds or an- 
 chor-houses annexed to Abbatial or Pa- 
 rochial Churches.^ Some Anchorets 
 were even placed in Churches to look 
 after them.? Alms boxes were annex- 
 ed to them. Piers Plowman says, 
 
 " Ne in ancres there a box hangeth.^^ 
 Fol. Ixxx. 
 
 They were the great emporia of the 
 village news,^ an abuse quite foreign 
 to the institution. 
 
 It was strictly enacted, that no An- 
 chorets or Anchoresses should be put 
 in any place, 1 . without the special 
 license of the Diocesan, 2. due consi- 
 deration of the situation, 3. quality of 
 the person, and, 4. means of support. 
 The first article, as commented by 
 Lyndwood, shows that Monks might 
 become Hermits by license of the Ab- 
 bot, but not Anchorets. The second 
 refers to the place, whether it was near 
 any church, or far separated from it ; 
 whether it were in the city or in the ^ 
 country; because there was a more 
 speedy provision for such a recluse in 
 his wants in the city than in the coun- 
 try, where the inhabitants in general 
 were poor. It was also to be consi- 
 dered, whether it was near any Monas- 
 tery, by whose alms the Anchoret could 
 be supported. The quality of the per- 
 
 ^ Angl. Sacr. ii. 96. 
 
 " I use this term because it is ancient. Domitian 
 removed the stalls which blocked up the streets of 
 Rome (Mart. vii. 60) ; and the Acts of S. Ber- 
 trand say, " He was sitting in his stall, as is the 
 custom of the shoemakiny trade.^* Du Cange, v. 
 Scapinus. 
 
 ' Weever's Fun. Monum. 150. 
 
 s Parker's Norwich, 259. 
 
 ^ Vrom mulne (mill), and vrom chepyng (mar- 
 ket), vrom smid'de' (smith's shop), and vrom an- 
 crehuse, men tidinge bringeth. MS. Cot. Nero, 
 A. xiv. f. 21. a. 
 
CONSUETUDINAL OF ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 373 
 
 son regarded his profession, whether 
 rehgious or secular, clerk or layman, 
 young or old. The means of his sup- 
 port was to be regarded, because, if he 
 liad not property of his own, or being 
 a Monk, had claims upon his house, 
 he could not well be included in one 
 spot ; and the Bishop was to look into 
 this, because otherwise the Anchoret 
 might be starved to death, or the Bi- 
 shop be compelled to support him, in 
 the manner of a clerk, ordained with- 
 out a title.a At St. Augustine's Can- 
 terbury, Anchorets were not to be 
 made, except by the Ordinary, nor by 
 the Ordinary without consent of the 
 Abbot.^ 
 
 Anchor-holds were not, however, al- 
 ways near cities or churches. Goluen- 
 nus chose a place for himself near the 
 shore, most fit for divine contempla- 
 tion, and built there a small house 
 square in the form of an oratory, which, 
 in the language of the Britons, is call- 
 ed Peniti, that is, the house of Peni- 
 tence, or of a Penitent, There Goluen- 
 nus shut himself up within the pre- 
 cincts of the Penititium. In the acts 
 of St. Goeznoveus, MS. it is said, that 
 he built an oratory in a grove, near a 
 river, in a place four miles distant from 
 a city, which place was called Peniti- 
 tium S. GoeznoveiS Guthlack went to 
 a retired spot, and the remains of his 
 chapel are still called Anchor-church- 
 houseA He is said to have been our 
 first Anchoret.^ 
 
 The ceremony of including an An- 
 choret was as follows. He was to be 
 advised by the Bishop, or some other 
 priest, to examine his conscience, whe- 
 ther he acted from piety sincere or 
 feigned ; and, if the answer was favour- 
 able, the Priest was, by the order of 
 the Bishop, to shut him up. Provi- 
 sion was first to be made for his con- 
 
 » Lynd. 214, 215. ^ Lewis's Thanet, 48. 
 
 •^ Du Cange, v. Peniti. 
 
 ^ Second Appendix to the History of Croyland 
 (Bibl. Topogr. Brit.), vol. III. p. 287. 
 
 " Fecerunt quandum domum super solum Re- 
 gis, in qua quicdain Anachorita modo inhabitat 
 quse valet p' annum, &c. Rot. Pari. i. 419. a° 
 1324 and 5. 
 
 The site was ** Lc Droynes de Loundres." 
 
 fession, and that, on the day preceed- 
 ing the ceremony, he received the re- 
 fection of bread and water. On the 
 night following he passed devout vigils 
 in the Church nearest the Hermitage. 
 On the morrow, after an exhortation 
 to the people and the Anchoret, the 
 Priest began a responsory ; and, upon 
 the conclusion of it, prostrated himself 
 with his ministers, before the step of 
 the altar, and said certain psalms. Af- 
 ter these, the mass was celebrated in 
 the neighbouring church, and an espe- 
 cial prayer said for the Anchoret. Af- 
 ter the gospel, he offered a taper, which 
 was to burn upon the altar at the mass.^ 
 The Anchoret then read the schedule 
 of his profession (which consisted only 
 of the vows of obedience, chastity, and 
 stedfastness),g at the step of the altar ; 
 and, if he was a layman, the priest read 
 it for him. He then made a sign of his 
 intention, and offered it upon the altar 
 kneeling. The priest consecrated the 
 habit, and sprinkled that and the An- 
 choret with holy water. Then followed 
 
 ^ Qualiter hii qui in ordine anachoritarum de- 
 beant se habere, sequencia secundum usum Ssrum 
 declarabunt. Non oportet quenquam inclusum, 
 fieri sine episcopo constitutum ; ut ab episcopo, aut 
 ab aliquo alio presbytero, radietur ac moneatur, 
 quatinus ipse devotus suam conscientiam scrute- 
 tur, viz. utrum bona an mala sanctitate appetit, 
 &c. quod cum se pro regno Dei, &c. includat eum 
 sacerdos jussu episcopi. Imprimis, provideat sibi 
 qui includendus est, quod de omnibus peccatis suis 
 quae suse memorise occurrere possunt sit bene con- 
 fessus. Et quod in die diem inclusionis praece- 
 dente pane et aqua tum reficiatur. In nocte inse- 
 quente in ecclesia inclusario suo vicinS, cum suo 
 coereo accenso devote maeroribus vigiliarum tene- 
 tur. In crastino factS, exhortacione ad populum 
 et ad eum qui est includendus sacerdos incipiat hoc 
 modo responsorium, &c. Functo hoc cum suo 
 clerico,* prosternat se sacerdos cum suis ministris 
 ante gradum altaris, et dicant hos psalmos ; his 
 dictis incipiatur missa de quocunque voluerit quae 
 celebrabitur in ecclesia, juxta quam includi debeat, 
 et ad eandera missam dicatur hsec oratio specialiter 
 pro includendo. Post Evangelium ofFerat inclu- 
 dendus cereum qui super altare ad missam semper 
 ardeat. Postea fietf includendus ad gradum al- 
 taris et legat .... professionem suam. MS. 
 Harl. 873. f. 18 25. a. 
 
 K Non ancre bi mine rede ne schal makien pro- 
 fessiun, that is, behoten ase best bute three thinges, 
 that beoth obedience, chastete, and studestathel- 
 vestnesse .... obedience of hire bischope other 
 (or) of hire herre (lord). MS. Cott. Nero, A. xiv. 
 f. 2. 
 
 * Or choro. 
 
 t Orfuerit. 
 
374 
 
 CONSUETUDINAL OF ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 mass and litany ; after which they 
 went in procession to the hermitage. 
 The Priest took him by the right hand 
 and led him to the house, which was 
 »then blessed and shut from without. 
 The Priest, with the assistants, retired, 
 leaving the Anchoret within, and ad- 
 vised the standers-by to pray for him.'* 
 
 A similar ceremony ensued with re- 
 spect to female Anchorets ; for in 1351 
 Lucy de Newchirche received letters of 
 the Bishop of Worcester, after due en- 
 quiry made into her life and morals, 
 addressed to the Archdeacon, directing 
 him to include the said Anchoress in 
 the hermitage of St. Brandon, near 
 Bristol ; so that though Anchoi'ets were 
 not Hermits, anchor-holds (the old 
 English word) were styled Hermitages.^ 
 
 There exist some very old and cu- 
 rious Rules respecting these female 
 Anchorets, which shall be here given, 
 and changing the sex, they are equally 
 applicable to these male Solitaries. 
 
 Though Recluses, as leading an an- 
 choretical life, were not analogous to 
 Nuns, yet a similar rule attached to 
 both,c and Recluse and Nun were sy- 
 nonymous. 
 
 A very ancient Rule is that of Simon 
 de Gandavo [or of Ghent] to his sis- 
 ters. Anchoresses, whom also he styles 
 N?ms. After mentioning the vow be- 
 fore given, he adds, '' that hes ne schal 
 then stude nevermore chaungen, bute 
 vor nead, one alse strengde and deathes 
 dred,^^ i. e. the vow was not to be in- 
 fringed but by the most imperious ne- 
 cessity or fear of death. ^ 
 
 Meat not to eaten, " Also of mete 
 and of drunch flesch forgon." « The 
 next of the Eucharist painted in the 
 
 * Si vero laicus fuerit a presbytero legatur pro eo 
 professio. Deinde faciat includendus signum qu[od 
 velit] facere scedulam professionis suae, et earn 
 offerat super altare genibus flexis. Post hoc bene- 
 dicat sacerdos habitum professionis et tunc asper- 
 gat sacerdos habitum et suscipientem, &c. de foris 
 doraus claudatur. MS. Harl. ut supra. 
 
 ^ Barret's Bristol, p. 61. 
 
 •^ In Bennet Coll. Libr. Cambridge, is a MS. en- 
 titled, '' Arule for Nunnes and Recluses,*' in old 
 English written in Saxon characters. Hickes's 
 Grammat. Anglo- Saxonica, p. 164 (in Catalogo 
 Libror. Septeutrion.) 
 
 •* MS. Cott. Nero, A. xiv. f. 2. « Fol. 2. 
 
 chamber of Nuns J " Also se schulen 
 don, whon the preost halt hit ette 
 messe,^ and bivore the confiteor hwon 
 ze schulen beon ihuseled ^ efter this 
 valleth acneon » to other crucifix mid 
 teos vif gretunges.'^^ 
 
 *^ Nonnes must not foulle their ho- 
 liday cloaths." 1 Their studies were to 
 be " versling of hire sautere [their 
 Psalter], reding of Englischs oder [or] 
 of Freinchs holi meditaciuns.^'"* 
 
 Grace occurs before drinking. " Bi- 
 tweone mete who so drinken wuU sigge 
 [say] Benedicte.^' ^ 
 
 Another article allegorizes the dress. 
 "That blake clod betockned that ze 
 beoth blacke and unwurde toward the 
 worlde: that hwite creois limpetho to on 
 vor threo manere creorices beoth reade 
 and blake and white ; that reade limpeth 
 to theo, that beoth vor godes luve mid 
 horeblod-scheddingeireaded (reddened) 
 ase the martiris weren : the blake croiz 
 limpeth to theo, that makied id^e [in 
 the] worlde hore penitence nor lod- 
 licke sinnen : that white croiz limped 
 to hwit meidenhed and to clennesse.^^ 
 
 Rule of Silence. " Everich vrideie P 
 of de zer holdeth silence, bute zif [un- 
 less] hit beo duble feste, and teonne 
 holdith hir sum other dai i the wike 
 ithen advent and i the umbridayes, 
 wodnesdays and fridayes in the lanten 
 three dayes and al the swith' wike vort 
 non ; of Ester even to oyr meiden ze 
 muyen thaut siggen [say] mid lut [lov- 
 ing] wordes, what ze wulled, and zif 
 eni god mon is of feorrene ikumen, 
 herched, his speche and onswerid mid 
 lut wordes to his askunge.^^^ 
 
 He then reprobates embraces of men. 
 " God hit wot ase me were muchele 
 dole leovere thet ich iseie on alle threo 
 mine leove sustren wummen me leo- 
 
 ^ Eucharista depicta in conclavi Nonnarum. 
 
 « Elevates, or holds the Host at Mass. 
 
 ^ Hoseled, i. e. receive the sacrament. 
 
 » Fall on your knees to the crucifix with these 
 lively salutations. 
 
 " Fol. 4. a. 1 Fol. 4.b. » Fol. 10. a. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 ° Belongeth, from the Anglo-Saxon hnopian, 
 pertinere. 
 
 P Instances have been repeatedly given of the 
 uncommon sanctity attached to Fridays. 
 
 1 Fol. 16. 
 
CONSUETUDINAL OF ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 3/5 
 
 vest hongen on a gibet vort wid buyen 
 suniie then ich iseie on of ou (you) ziven 
 enne e Ipi col to eni mon on eorde, so 
 ase ich mene leh am still of demore 
 nout on monglinde honden .... hire- 
 sulf beholden hire ovvene honden wliite 
 ded'herji to moni ancre.'^ i. e. he had 
 rather see them hanged on a gibbet^ than 
 taking any man round the neck, light 
 of gesture and demeanour, joining 
 hands, and keeping the latter white ; on 
 the contrary, like the Monks of La 
 Trappe, 
 
 They were every day to scrape up the 
 earth for their graves, with their hands. 
 ^' Heo schulden schreapien evViche deie 
 the eorde up of hore putte ther heo 
 schulden rotien inne.^^ * 
 
 Monks and Priests were not to be 
 called by their proper names, '^ Mid 
 thus thu micht siggen [say] a munuch 
 oder a preost, and nout Willam ne 
 water, though ther ne beon non oder.^^ 
 
 Their cor^essors were not to be young. 
 " Ich ne der noutthat heo deopluker ^ 
 schrive [confess] hire to yunge preos- 
 tes her abuten.^^ 
 
 This Manuscript ^ is of the thir- 
 teenth century, for the author was Bi- 
 shop of Sahsbury from 1297 to 1315,^^ 
 and it is a curious specimen of the 
 Saxon English of the time. 
 
 A more interesting rule is that of Al- 
 fred of Rievesby, in Latin and English, 
 (the latter professed to be a translation, 
 but by no means faithful,) the former 
 intituled De Institutis Inclusarum,^ 
 the other " Rewle of a Recluse." The 
 following are extracts from the first : 
 '• Surely if you have any necessary 
 food, or cloathing of value, you are not 
 a Nun*" ^ " I do not like a pimp of 
 
 • Fol 29. 
 
 •» From the Anglo-Saxon beoplicop. Penitus. 
 V. Lye. 
 
 * There is a Latin Translation of this MS. at 
 Magdalen College, Oxon. See Warton's Emend, v. 
 i. p. 11. 
 
 •* Britton's Cathedrals, in Salisbury, p. 30. 
 
 « MS. Cott. Nero, A. 3. 
 
 ' F. 3. Certe si pretii necessariura victum et 
 vestitum aliquem habes monacha non es. . . . Nolo 
 ut insidiatrix pudicitiae vetula mixta pauperibus ac- 
 cedat ; propius deferat ab aliquo monachorum vel 
 clericorum eulogias nee blanda verba in aure susur- 
 ret ; ne pro accept^ eleemosyna osculans manum 
 venenum insibilet. f. 3. b. 
 
 an old woman, mixed among the poor, 
 bringing eulogiae, [presents of conse- 
 crated bread, see the Chapter of Rules,'] 
 and whispering soft words to you from 
 some Monk or Clerk, lest she should 
 insinuate poison, when she kisses your 
 hand for alms received. 
 
 Care is also to be taken, that the 
 Anchoress be not burdened in showing 
 hospitality to religious women ; for 
 often among the good, some very bad 
 come, who sitting down before the an- 
 choress's window, after prefacing with 
 a few pious speeches, run off to secular 
 matters. Thence she begins to frame 
 love affairs, and pass nearly the whole 
 night without sleep. Beware of such 
 persons, &c.s 
 
 " Therefore let some old woman be 
 chosen, not garrulous, not litigious, 
 not gadding about, not a tale-bearer. 
 Let this woman guard the door of the 
 cell, and admit and repel whom she 
 ought.^ 
 
 '' Let her have a girl to carry bur- 
 dens; fetch water and wood; dress 
 beans or pot-herbs, or, if infirmity re- 
 quires it, procure superior viands.i 
 
 " Grant no access to boys and girls. 
 There are certain x\nchoresses, who are 
 occupied in teaching girls, and turn 
 their cell into a school. She sits at the 
 window, they in the porch. She be- 
 holds each, and during their puerile 
 actions, now is angry, now laughs, now 
 threatens, now soothes, now spares, 
 now kisses ; now calls the weeping 
 child to be beaten, now strokes her 
 face, draws up her head, and eagerly 
 
 8 Cavendum prseterea est, ut nee obsusceptionem 
 religiosarum fceminarum quodlibet hospitalitatis 
 onus inclusa suscipiat. Nam inter bonas plerura- 
 que tam pessimse veniunt, quae ante inclus* fenes- 
 tram discumbentes, promissis valde paucis de reli- 
 gione sermonibus, ad saecularia devolvuntur. Inde 
 subtexere amatoria et fere totum noctem insompnem 
 ducere. Cave tu tales, &c. fol. 3. b. 
 
 •• Itaque eligatur anus aliqua non garrula, non 
 litigiosa, non vaga, non rumigerula : Haec ostium 
 cellse custodiat, et quos debuerit vel admittat, vel 
 repellat. fol. 4. 
 
 * Habeat sibi ad onera sustinenda puellam, 
 
 quae aquam et ligna comportet ; coquat fabas, aut 
 olera ; aut si hoc infirmitas exegerit, praeparet po- 
 ciora. fol. 4. 
 
:'y76 
 
 CONSUETUDINAL OP ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 embracing her, calls her her daughter, 
 her love.» 
 
 " That we may not impose upon you 
 perpetual silence, let us see with whom 
 you may honestly converse. If it be 
 possible, let there be provided, in a 
 neighbouring monastery or church, 
 some old priest of sound morals, and 
 good character. With him conversa- 
 tion may now and then be holden con- 
 cerning confession and edification of the 
 soul; advice be received in doubtful, 
 consolation in sad affairs. But as even 
 old age may not be insusceptible of b 
 amatory emotions, you are not to give 
 him your hand to touch, or feel. Let 
 no discourse be held concerning his at- 
 tenuated features, lean arms, and 
 Avrinkled skin, lest where you seek a 
 remedy, you incur danger." 
 
 Speak with no visitors unless a Bi- 
 shop or Abbot, or Prior of high charac- 
 
 » Puevis et puellis nullum ad te concedas acces- 
 sum. Sunt qusedam inclusae, quae docendis puellis 
 occupantur, et cellnmsuam vertunt in scolam. Ilia 
 sedet ad fenestram ; istes in porticu resident. Ilia 
 intuct'ir singulas ; et inter puellares motus, nunc 
 irascitur, nunc ridet, nunc minatur, nunc blanditur, 
 nunc parcit, nunc osculatur, nunc flentem pro 
 verbere vocat ; ipsius palpat faciem, stringit col- 
 lum ; et in amplexum mens, nunc filiam vocat, nunc 
 araicam. t'ol. 4. a. 
 
 ^ Quod perpetuum ni cum \iris indicere possi- 
 mus silentium cum quibus honestius loqui possit 
 videamus. Igitur si tieri potest jirovideatur in vi- 
 cino monastei-io, vel ecclesia presbiter aliquis senex, 
 niaturis moribus, et bonse opinionis. Cui raro de 
 confessione et animiE edificatione loquatur a quo 
 consilium accipiat in dubiis, in tristibus consola- 
 tionem. Verum quia (I decline inserting the next 
 pait) emoUit mortuam senectutem, nee ipsi manum 
 suam tangendam prsebeat vel palpandam. Nulla 
 nobis de macie vultus, de exhillaritate (sic) bracliio- 
 rum, de cvxtis asperitate, sermocinatio lit ; ne ubi 
 queeris remedium incurras perriculum. fol. 5 b. 
 
 Cum nuUo advenientium, praster episcopum aut 
 abbatem, vel magni nominis priorem, sine ipsiiis 
 presbyteri licencia vel prsecepto loquaris, et tunc 
 al.quo prsesente, fol. 5. 
 
 Nunquam inter te etquemlibet virum quasi occa- 
 sioue exliibendse caritatis vel invitandi atfectus vel 
 expc'tendoe familiaritatis, aut amicilise spiritalis dis- 
 currant nuncii ; nee eorum raunuscula litterasque 
 susoipias ; nee illis tua dirigas ; sicut plerisque 
 moris est, quce zonas vel marsupia diverso stramine 
 vel sub tegmine variata ; et cetera hujusmodi ado- 
 le/centioribus monachis vel clericis mittunt. fol. 
 6. a. 
 
 Nemo se palpet ; nemo blandiat se ; nemo se 
 fallat ; nunquam ab adolescentibus, sine magna 
 cordis contritione, et carnis afflictione castitas con- 
 qp.ciiUu- et servatur. fol. lo. b. 
 
 ter, without the license or direction of 
 the Confessor, and then in the pre- 
 sence of some other person. 
 
 Never let any messengers run to and 
 fro between you and any man, under 
 colour of exhibiting charity, or inviting 
 regard, or courting spiritual familiarity 
 or friendship; nor receive their presents 
 or letters ; or direct yours to them, as 
 is the custom of many, who send girdles 
 or purses, made of various coloured 
 straw, or diversified under a case or 
 covering, and other things of this sort, 
 to young monks or clerks. 
 
 Let no one stroke herself ; let no one 
 flatter herself; let no one deceive her- 
 self. Chastity is never sought or pre- 
 served with out great contrition of heart, 
 and affliction of the flesh. 
 
 There is also a certain hope of vanity, 
 in being delighted even within a cell by 
 some affected decoration: as ornament- 
 ing the walls with various pictures or i 
 carvings ; the oratory with a variety of \ 
 tapestry and images.^ 
 
 The Old English Paraphrase (ac- 
 cording to the language") of the fifteenth 
 century, shall now be given, so far as 
 concerns its contents not of a mere ge- 
 neral or moral kind. It is entitled *^ 
 " Eetvle of a Recluse ^ that seynt Alrede 
 wrote to his suster/' 
 
 " Omine also ben,^ which ben busy 
 in gadrynge of worldly good in bestaile 
 in wolle, in multipling of peny to peny 
 and shilyng, so that they oughten ra- 
 ther to be called housewyves, than re- 
 cluses. They ordeyne mete for her 
 bestes, verder for her cattell, and atte 
 yere's end, they loke after the nombre 
 or after the price ; after this followeth 
 
 *= Est et qusedam spes vanitatis in affectata aliquii l 
 pulchritudine et intra celiulam delectari parietes * 
 variis picturis vel celaturis ornare, oratorium pan- 
 norum etimaginum decorare. fol. 19. b. 
 
 J MS. Bodl. 'i322. 
 
 ^ Recluse mostly signified an Anchoress, as is 
 plain from the Anglia Sacra, ii. 269, yet there are 
 passages in this rule, as of keeping cattle, &c. 
 which appear to me to api-ly to Nuns. Inclusus 
 also denoted an Anchoret. Id. 
 
 f The original is '* Quod fere vicium per omnes 
 hujus temporis serpit inclusas pecuniae aggregandae 
 vel multiplicandis, ptcoribus inhiant." MS. Cott. 
 Nero. A. 3. fol. 2. This is more than decisive 
 proof of the looseness of the translation. 
 
CONSUETUDINAL OF ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 377 
 
 byinge and sellinge, of the wliicli Com- 
 eth covetise and avarice/' ^ 
 
 " First chose an honest ancient wo- 
 man in lyvinge, no jangler ne royler 
 about, noo chider, noo tidinges teller, 
 l)ut sucli oon, that may have witnesse 
 of hir good conversacyon and honesty. 
 Ilir charge shall be to kepe thyn hous- 
 hold and thy lyflod to close thy dore ; 
 and to resccve that shuld be resceyved, 
 and to voide that shuld ])e avoided ; 
 under her govarnaile shuld she have a 
 yonger woman of age to here greter 
 charges in fettynge of woode and water, 
 and sethynge and guithynge of mete 
 and drynke. 
 
 " Also hoiv a recluse should speke, and 
 ivhanne. Now sith I have tolde the of 
 silence, I shall also shew the of speche. 
 Whan thou shalt speke. From exalta- 
 cyon of the crosse unto Estern, after 
 tyme complyn is seyde unto pryme be 
 do a morrowe to speke with noon saaf 
 after pryme with the mynistres that 
 serven the yit under fewe wordes of 
 such thinges as the nedith ; and fro that 
 tyme tyl thou have ete, kepe the in si- 
 lence in devoute praiers and holy me- 
 ditacions. And than use communica- 
 cioun tyll evensonge tyme. After even- 
 songe is do to speke with thy ministres 
 of thyngesthat thebehoveth till tyme of 
 coUacioun, and to kepe silence for al 
 that nyght, from Estern til the exalta- 
 cion of the crosse come ayen. After 
 tyme that complyn is seide til the 
 Sonne arise amorwe, to kepe silence, 
 and than to speke with thy ministres. 
 After tyme prime is seide tyl the thridde 
 houre to commine with othir that co- 
 men honestly, and under fewe wordes. 
 In the saam wise shalt thou do bi- 
 tweene the houre of noon after thou 
 hast ete tyl evensonge tyme, and after 
 evensong is adon than to speke with 
 thy ministres tyl the tyme of collacyon. 
 But in Lente keepe silence, that thou 
 speke with noon saaf with thy confes- 
 sour and thy mynistres, or ellys but it 
 be soni body that cometli from fer con- 
 tre. After tyme thou hast sayde divyne 
 
 fol. 178. 
 
 servyce, thou shalt occupie the with 
 some honest labour of thy hondes — be 
 well wer of multitude of psalmes in thy 
 pryvat prayer,^ and put it in noo cer- 
 toyn but as long as thou delitist ther 
 inne so long use hem : and when thou 
 beginnest to waxe hevy of hem, orwery, 
 then take a boke and rede, or do som 
 labour with thy hondes. Thus shalt 
 thou be occupied bitwene every divyne 
 houre of the nyght, and of the day from 
 the kalendes of November unto Lente, 
 so that a little before complyn thou be 
 occupied with redynge of holy faders 
 prively by thiself in stede of tliy colla- 
 cyon that thou mightest, by grace, gete 
 the som compuncyon of teres and fer- 
 vour of devocion in saienge of thy com- 
 plyn. And whan thou art thus replet 
 and fedd with devocion reste the, and 
 go to to (sic) thy bed restynge the ther 
 unto the tyme that it be passed myd- 
 nyght her than thou beginne thy ma- 
 tyns, for thou shalt slepe no more of all 
 day. This same rule shalt thou kepe 
 from Estern unto the kalendes of No- 
 vember, saaf that thou shalt slepe after 
 mete afore the hour of noon. Loke 
 also that thou be in bed after complyn 
 by than the sonne goo to reste.'^ 
 
 In Lent, " The manner of thy slep- 
 ynge in this tyme a fore mydnyght shall 
 be lasse than in another tyme." 
 
 Eating what — 'Svith so many of pot- 
 age of worteSjC or of peses or of benys, 
 or elles of formage^ medled with mylke 
 or with oyle, to put away or avoyde 
 the bitterness, and with o kynde of 
 fFyshe, with apples or with herbes. And 
 upon the Wednesday, Friday, and Sa- 
 turday, to use but Lent metes. In 
 Lente one maner of potage every day, 
 l)ut c sicknesse it make — every Friday 
 brede and water. And the tyme of thy 
 meles shall be every day at hye none 
 and in Lente tyme after evensonge 
 
 »* A sick nun of Barking " at suche tyme as her 
 sickness came entryd in to her oratorye, and sayde 
 the seven psalmes and letanye." Golden Legend, 
 fol. clxxxix. V. 
 
 •= Cabbage, Sax. All kinds of Pot-herbs. Junius. 
 
 '^ Fromagc, cheese, will naturally occur to mind, 
 hut Jirmiti/ is no doubt meant. See Refectory. 
 
 •^ Without. Sax. 
 
378 
 
 CONSUETUDINAL OF ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 from Estern to Whitsondye ontake* 
 Rogacion days and With sone eve, thou 
 shalt ete at midday and sithen^ at even- 
 ing. This rule shall tow kepe al the 
 somer tyme ontake ^ Wednesday and 
 Friday, and other solempne vigils. 
 Also thou maist and thou wilt, every 
 fastynge day in the somer season, by 
 cause thou hast noo merydian after 
 noon, to slepe bitwene matyns and 
 pryme. Thy vesture that thou shalt 
 use ben these; a warme pylche^ for 
 winter, and oo kirtel^ and oo cote for 
 somer with a black habite above hem, 
 and every either time ii stamyns ^ — also 
 loke the veyle of thyne hed bee of noo 
 precyouse clothe, but of amenes black, 
 be also wel war that thou have no more 
 than the nedith to hoson and to shoon, 
 and of other thynge that longeth to thy 
 feet.^^ 
 
 " Arraye thyn auter with white lyn- 
 nen clothe, the whiche betokeneth both 
 chastite and simplenesse.^^ In this auter 
 sette an image of christis passion, that 
 thou may have mynde and se hou he 
 sette and spredde his armes abrood to 
 resceyve thee and al mankynde to mercy 
 if thaie wil axe it. And if it plese the 
 sette on that oo side an ymage of our 
 Lady, and another on that other syde 
 of Seint John, for commendacyon of 
 more chastite, bothe of man and of 
 woman; the which be ended in our 
 Lady and seint John.i'^ 
 
 An eminent Anchoret, whom Mat- 
 thew Paris calls " holy and solitary," 
 
 * On privativ. Sax. 
 
 •» Afterwards. 
 
 c *• Outtake'^ is a true old English word. See 
 Tyrwhitt's Glossary to Chaucer. 
 
 ^ Pilch was a garment made of Skins ; a furred 
 one I suppose here. 
 
 e A tunic or waistcoat, says Tyrwhitt, perhaps, in 
 its common acceptation, a petticoat. Johnson and 
 Steevens's Shakespeare, v. 510. ed. 2d. 
 
 i Woollen shifts. k Middle. 
 
 »» Fol. 186. 
 
 i Ibid. Fuller (Waltham Abbey, 17,) has the 
 following extract from Church-wardens' Accounts 
 in 1554 : ** Item, For Mary and John that stand in 
 the Rood-loft 26*. 8rf. Christ (John xix. 26. &c.) 
 on the Cross saw his mother^ and the Disciple whom 
 he loved, standing hy. In apish imitation whereof 
 the Rood (when perfectly made with all the appur- 
 tenances thereof) was attended with these two 
 images." 
 
 was Wulfric of Haselborough, a Priest, 
 in early life fond of hounds and hawks, 
 but converted by the information of a 
 beggar, that he had money in his purse, 
 with which he w^as not acquainted. At 
 first he was a humble friend at the table 
 of the Lord of the Manor, where he was 
 born. But panting for solitude, he re- 
 tired to Haselborough, where he passed 
 his life in a cell, contiguous to the 
 Church. Not content with a hair shirt, 
 [but becoming one of the Loricati,] he 
 begged an old iron corslet of chain 
 mail,k which from becoming thin, at 
 last incumbered him, by falling to his 
 knees, when he said his prayers. He 
 used to say the Psalter, and immerge 
 himself in a tub of cold water, during 
 the time, at night, to subdue the flesh. 
 Strangers resorted to him, but he never 
 conversed with them, except with the 
 windows closed. When he died, he 
 was buried in his oratory at Haselbo- 
 rough.i Anchorets were always sup- 
 posed to hold direct intercourse with 
 Heaven, and converse familiarly with 
 angels.™ For this reason even that in- 
 sufferable coxcomb, Giraldus Cambren- 
 sisj thought proper to visit an Anchoret, 
 within his own Archdeaconry, in order 
 to take his opinion, upon relinquishing 
 the court for a life of study, and have 
 his blessing, because the Anchoret was 
 full of the Holy Spirit. This Anchoret 
 had been to Jerusalem, and afterwards 
 shut himself up in his prison. After 
 mass, he called the Priest to his win- 
 dow, to read the Gospel, and at the 
 hour of refreshment, his servant brought 
 him his meal to his window. In order 
 to comprehend the missal, he learned 
 Latin, but only to be understood, with- 
 out attention to the grammar, tenses, 
 or cases, and always spoke in the infini- 
 tive mood ; thus instead of saying (to 
 render his words, in English) " i went 
 to Jerusalem and visited the Sepulchre 
 
 •' Very religious persons for mortification wore 
 an iron corslet next the skin, which they never 
 took off. They were called Loricati. (Du Cange, 
 in voce.) It was also presumed to prevent tempta- 
 tion by carnal weakness. Dugd. Monast. ii. 59. 
 
 1 M. Paris, 78, 79. 
 
 » Du Cange, v. Festum Nativitaiis S. Mari<B, 
 
CONSUETUDINAL OF ANCHORETS AND HERMITS. 
 
 379 
 
 of Chr'ist^^ he said, " I to go to Jeru- 
 salem and to visit the Holy Sepulchre.'^ 
 However filled with the Holy Ghost, 
 it appears, that some Cistercian Monks 
 had persuaded him not to put his hand 
 through his window, and cure the bhnd, 
 lame, and sick, who resorted to his cell, 
 and that he was in doubt how to act, 
 until Giraldus had advised him to exert 
 his faculty of healing.^ Thus the ab- 
 
 surdity of supposing, that the Holy 
 Spirit was ever in doubt, was not un- 
 derstood, even by Giraldus ; who 
 blindly acted from the superstition be- 
 fore mentioned. 
 
 There are strong distinctions made 
 by Piers Plowman, in reference to 
 the characters of Anchorets and Her- 
 mits respectively. Of the former, he 
 speaks well. 
 
 And for the love of our Lorde, lyveden full harde, 
 As Ankers and Hermits, that hold him in her sells. 
 And coveten nought in contrey to carien aboute. 
 For no liquerouse livelode ^ her likam to please. 
 
 Fol. i. 
 
 A Church in Normandy being set on 
 fire, two Anchoresses were burnt to 
 death in it, because they thought that 
 their cells were not to be deserted, 
 even in such a necessity;^ but this 
 opinion was not general. These Fe- 
 male Anchorets, who were sometimes 
 distinguished by the vulgar prefix of 
 mother,^ were not always steady. At a 
 part of the Abbey of Whalley, Lanca- 
 shire, near the gate, one Isold Heton, 
 widow, who had petitioned Henry VI. 
 to be admitted Anchoress there, after- 
 wards went away disgusted ; and it ap- 
 pears that other anchoresses and re- 
 cluses had done the same before, and 
 that divers of their servauntes attendant 
 had been gotten with child within the 
 said place.e The prohibition of loco- 
 motion necessarily, as before noted, re- 
 quired attendants in their service, but 
 with respect to themselves, it is pre- 
 scribed in the visitation of Edmunds- 
 bury, " that the Monks do not hold 
 frequent and familiar conversations 
 with the Nuns near the Monastery, 
 
 with recluse women, that so all ground 
 of suspicion may be taken away.'^^ 
 
 At Bicknor, in Kent, is a shed^ or 
 hovel, called the rector s house, built 
 against the North side of the Church, 
 with a room projecting nearly across 
 the aisle, and under the same roof.s 
 This was, possibly, an anchor-hold; 
 though very rare instances do occur, 
 of such residences for incumbents. 
 
 Abroad they were sometimes of 
 elegant fashion. Agnellus says, " At 
 the sides of the said Church, he sub- 
 joined little Monasteries, all which 
 were ornamented with gilt tessellse, and 
 the name of Maximianus carved upon 
 the tops of the pillars, together with 
 lith o strati ck, tesselated, or Mosaick 
 work, in the Monastery, forming words. 
 It was the style of Roman pavements.** 
 
 Anchorages were situated in Churches, 
 Church-yards, over the Church porch, 
 and at Town gates. They had often 
 Chapels annexed.^ 
 
 Anchorets were denominated ^^ Sir,^' 
 as " Sir Thomas the Anchorite,^' in 
 Taylor^s Index Monasticus, p. 65. 
 
 HERMITS. 
 
 Godrick of Finchale was a Hermit 
 of high note in his day. He learned 
 the Psalter by heart, and lived in a 
 cottage, excavated out of the ground, 
 
 • Angl. Sacr. ii. 497. 498. 
 
 Hie Heremita sacer non parvo tempore vixit 
 Saepius Angelicis felix affatibus usus. 
 
 Alcuin. de Pontif. Ebor. v. 662. 
 
 ** This is explained further on. 
 
 c Angl. Sacr. i. 262. ^ Ballard's Ladies, p. 1. 
 
 « Weever's Funer. Monum. 154, 5. ed. fol. 
 
 and covered with turf. To it was an- 
 nexed an oratory, which had not only 
 a crucifix, but an image and altar of 
 
 ' Interdicimus et monachis frequentia et fami- 
 liaria coUoquia cum monialibus huic monasterio 
 vicinis, cum mulieribus reclusis, ut ita tollatur 
 omnis materia suspicionis. MS. Cott. Jul. D. ii. 
 f. 139. a. 
 
 « Hasted's Kent, v. 568. 
 
 •» Du Cange, v. Lithostratce Literoe. 
 
 ' Taylor's Index Monasticus, p. 65. 
 
380 
 
 HERMITS. 
 
 the Virgin Mary, as well as another 
 altar of John the Baptist, possibly 
 from the eremitical character of that 
 saint. He lay at night upon the ground, 
 his pillow being a stone, which served 
 him also for a table. Being deter- 
 mined to live by manual labour only, 
 for which purpose he cultivated a piece 
 of ground, he refused all presents, and 
 provisions, which were offered to him. 
 He reduced the branches and roots of 
 herbs to ashes, which he mixed w^ith 
 barley flour in such proportion, that 
 the ashes contained a third part. As 
 he abstained often for six whole days 
 without food, and never ate without 
 the most urgent necessity, famine re- 
 conciled him to this coarse diet; nor 
 did he drink any thing, but a very 
 small quantity of water, which he took 
 only when urged by thirst. In the 
 Winter, often during the whole night, 
 he immerged himself naked in a frozen 
 river, up to his neck, and there said 
 prayers and psalms. This usual pro- 
 cess, for subduing carnal appetites, w^as 
 called offering himself a living victim 
 to the Lord. At times, he sat in his 
 oratory, ruminating upon the Psalter ; 
 and upon holidays or other great days, 
 a Priest or Monk attended to say Mass 
 to him in that Oratory. He wore a 
 hair-shirt, and an iron corslet for fifty 
 years. He never occupied a bed, but 
 lay naked in his hair shirt. Like all 
 other Anchorets and Hermits he was 
 presumed to have frequent intercourse 
 with the inhabitants of the celestial 
 world. a 
 
 It was usual with Hermits to say the 
 Psalter every day,^ and they were fa- 
 vourite Confessors. Don Quixote 
 makes them the especial, perhaps only 
 Confessors of Knights Errant. In the 
 romance of the Nouveau Renard, wTit- 
 ten in the 13th century, Renard goes 
 to confess to a Hermit, who tells him, 
 if he turns to that profession, he must 
 walk bare-footed, wear a hair shirt, 
 and live upon water and roots,^ though 
 barley-bread and water was a common 
 
 * M. Paris, 97—99. ^ Id. 284. 
 
 e Notices des MSS. v. C22. 
 
 food.^ To this there were exceptions. 
 In the " Enseignmens of the Chevalier 
 de la Tour Lundri,'' a MS. of the 14th 
 century, we hear of a Hermit who ac- 
 cepted hospitahty and lodging from a 
 female. 6 
 
 In the ^^ Acta Sanctorum '^ it is said, 
 that they invited William the Hermit 
 to dinner, and placed before him Mac- 
 caroons, a kind of dehcate sweetmeat.^ 
 To this good fare, from hospitality. 
 Piers Plowman alludes by the words 
 "lyqerouse livelihoode'^ before quoted, 
 and additionally illustrated further on. 
 
 It was generally thought, that they 
 had the power, from sanctity, of curing 
 diseases, and working miracles.? 21 
 Ed. III. Thomas Lord Berkeley found- 
 ed an Hermitage at Bedminster, near 
 Bristol, and placed one John Markes 
 therein for life, so that Hermitages 
 passed under the advowson form.^ 
 Unlike other religious, they could pos- 
 sess property, and make a will.^ They 
 commonly followed trades or occupa- 
 tions. Bilfrid, an Anglo-Saxon An- 
 choret, was an excellent goldsmith, and 
 worked at that trade.^ It was often 
 usual for Bishops, or Abbots, to retire, 
 and end their days as Hermits.! Emi- 
 nent Hermits sometimes drew female 
 Anchorets around them. Roger, a 
 Monk of St. Alban's, lived, as a Her- 
 mit, in obedience to his Abbot; under 
 whom was one Christina, as an An- 
 choress, in a cell, contiguous to his 
 oratory. He never saw her face, and 
 she was so concealed by boarded con- 
 trivances, as to be invisible to any 
 person, externally; and instead of a 
 door, was a hard trunk of wood, which 
 was too heavy to be moved by her. 
 She lay upon the cold stone, condemn- 
 ed to sit immovably, be tortured, and 
 remain in silence, nor had any means 
 of summoning Roger to her, but by 
 the voice and knocking ; and this she 
 
 ^ Gemeticensis, 622. *= Notices, v. 1G2. 
 
 f Du Cange, v. Maccarones. 
 s P. de Comines, B. vi. c 8. Gold. Leg- ccxliv. 
 M. Paris, 98, &c. 
 
 h Smythe's Berkeley MS. f. 357. 
 
 i Lyndw. 167. ^ X Script. 22. 
 
 1 M. Paris, 993. Angl. Sacr. &c. &c. 
 
HERMITS. 
 
 381 
 
 was afraid to do, even to sigh, lest any- 
 one besides Roger should be present, 
 and discover her retreat, which she 
 dreaded more than death ; nor except 
 in the evening " exire foras, non nisi 
 seroUcebatadeaquoe natura poposcit."''* 
 As she was a famous em])roideress_, 
 
 possibly she amused herself in that 
 employ. 
 
 Whatever might be the estimation 
 in which particular Hermits were held, 
 many of them were worthless rogues 
 and vagabonds. Piers Plowman, though 
 he speaks well of Anchorets, thus de- 
 scribes Hermits : 
 
 In habyte as an Hermit unholie of workes. Fol. i. 
 
 Hermets on a heape with hoked staves 'j 
 
 Wenten to Walsingham and her wenches after. 
 
 Great loubeis and longe that loth were to swynke, 
 
 Clothed hem in copes to be knowen from other 
 
 And shopen hem hermits her ease to have. Fol. i. b. 
 
 To understand this, it is fit to note, 
 that Lob, Lubber, Looby^ and Lobcock, 
 says Steevens, all denoted inactivity of 
 body and dulness of mind : and swinke 
 is labour. As to the copes, the cos- 
 tume of Hermits is a long gown with 
 a hood covering the whole body, with 
 jirm-holes, a tunick, and rosary : beard 
 very long,c but their dress was often 
 ragged. 
 
 •* Or clothed in some hermit's ragged reed," 
 
 says George Fletcher.^ To this add a 
 rope for a girdle, a hair-shirt, and what 
 vras peculiarly affected, a Knight^s iron 
 corslet.e Langland, the author of 
 Piers Plowman, is well supported by 
 other authorities. " The Hermit of 
 Dursley was awarded at the court of 
 the Manor of Ham, 8 Henry VIII. 
 bind manu (a form of arraignment I 
 believe belonging to the Clergy,^) with 
 two hands, to prove, that the horse 
 which had thither strayed, and there 
 been taken up, was not thiefe-stolen 
 by him, but his own proper goods.?" 
 Their presumed sanctity was not al- 
 
 * Dugd. Monast. i. 350. seq. 
 
 '' Bearded Hermits' staves ; Shakespeare, 2 
 Hen. IV. Act 5. Scene i. In the frontispiece of 
 MS. Bodl. 3010, is a Monk, with a staff, topped 
 by a cross botonnee ; but the wood-cuts of the 
 Legend have no staff at all, in the costumes of 
 Hermits. 
 
 <= Cuts in the Golden Legend, fol. xliv. ccxlix. 
 
 ^ Christ's Triumph, &c. st. Ixii. 
 
 « Dugd. Monast. ii. 59. See note of the Lori- 
 eatiy p. 378. 
 
 f I think I have seen such a form in the State 
 Trials. 
 
 «f Smythe's Berkeley Hernesse MS. fol. 179. 
 
 ways a protection to them, probably 
 from frequent bad character. We hear 
 of one Edwin a Hermit, who made a 
 turning bridge over a ditch, round his 
 Hermitage ; and also had begun an 
 outer ditch in a marsh, against the 
 shepherds, who wished to burn down 
 his dwelling; but the men of Saltrey 
 hindering him and driving him away, 
 he could not secure himself till the 
 Lord permitted him to make the outer 
 ditch pro numine suo.^ One William 
 de Swinderby, a fanatical itinerant 
 preacher, being nearly stoned by the 
 women, for preaching against their 
 dress, finding his condonations of no 
 avail, turned Hermit, and was main- 
 tained by the charity of John of Gaunt, 
 but had no resolution to persist in 
 his profession, though the devotees of 
 Leicester gratuitously offered him vio- 
 tuals.^ 
 
 Hermitages. Interesting remains of 
 these are still exhibited in the County 
 of Worcester, and are ranges of ca- 
 verns.'^ They were sometimes very 
 sanctified spots. That year, says Cer- 
 vantes, the Heavens had withheld re- 
 freshing showers from the earth ; and 
 through all the villages of that district, 
 the people instituted processions, dis- 
 ciplines, and prayers ; for this purpose 
 the inhabitants of a neighbouring vil- 
 lage were then going in procession, to 
 a holy hermitage, built on an emi- 
 
 »> Dugd. Monast. i. 852. 
 
 ' Decern Scriptores, col. 2660. 
 
 ^ Engraved in Nash's Worcestershire. 
 
382 
 
 HERMITAGES. 
 
 nence, that skirted the valley. « The 
 Hermits of the time of Gregory Na- 
 zianzen lived on bread and water in 
 caves, and wore garments of skin and 
 hair.'' Fiacre, the eminent hermit, 
 seeking a place '^ to lede hys lyfe here- 
 myticke and solitarily,'^ begged for that 
 purpose " a lytill place within a wood "c 
 and " ferre fro abydinge of ony folk,^^ 
 where he " founded a chyrche," and 
 ^^ beyonde it a lytill way thens he 
 bylded a lytil hous wherin he dwelled^ 
 and there herberowedde the pour that 
 passed by ;' but these visitors becom- 
 ing very numerous, in order to be 
 healed of diseases, and have his prayers 
 and advice, he found that " of nedes 
 he muste make hys habtacyon or hows- 
 yng more specious and gretter, than 
 hyt was. And thought to hym good 
 and necessary to make a grete gardyne 
 wheryn he sholde have alle manere of 
 herbes good for to make potage wyth 
 for to fede the poure, whan they shold 
 retourne towarde hym.^'d 
 
 Not far from hence, says the student 
 in Don Quixote,^ is an hermitage, 
 where lives an Anchorite, who is said 
 to have been a soldier. — Adjoining to 
 the Hermitage is a little house, built 
 by the labour of his own hands, which 
 though narrow is large enough to re- 
 ceive travellers. ^^ Can that same Her- 
 mitage produce any poultry?'^ said 
 Sancho. " There are few Hermitages 
 destitute of that provision,''^ answered 
 the Knight, " for the Anchorites of 
 these days are not like those who dwelt 
 in the deserts of Egypt, clothing them- 
 selves with palm-leaves, and subsist- 
 ing on the roots of the earth. Accord- 
 ingly they called at the Hermitage for 
 some of the best wine, but were an- 
 swered by the Under- hermit, his mas- 
 
 * Don Quixote, ii. 284. 
 
 '» Du Cange, v. Anachoreta. 
 
 « Drayton (Battle of Agincourt) describes the 
 blazon of the Stafford men to be a Hermit in his 
 homely suit, because many hermits formerly lived 
 there, it being all foresty. 
 
 ^ Golden Leg. fol. cclxix. * P. ii. b. 2. c. 7. 
 
 ' We hear of an Irish Anchoret of the 17th 
 Century, who had Proctors, as they were called, 
 who went about the country begging corn, geese, 
 turkies, &c. for the ** Holy Man of the Stone." 
 Collect. Reb. Hybern. No. i. p. 64. 
 
 ter not being at home, that they had 
 no wine, but were welcome to water.'* 
 Hermitages were common at the ends 
 of bridges, in Churchyards, and in the 
 Gates of towns, and in Chapels. g 
 
 Hence it appears, that the various 
 Hermitages, w^hich we find so roomy, 
 were for the above hospitable purposes: 
 a common Hermitage being a mere cell 
 and chapel. The Hermitage of Wark- 
 worth, a most elegant cavern hewn 
 out of a rock, is one of the sweetest 
 and most picturesque secessions in the 
 whole world. At Tottenham, the Her- 
 mitage was, I believe, a house_, with 
 apartments, unless these were modern.*^ 
 The Hermitage of S. Briavel was a 
 chantry of two Monks, and had de- 
 mesne lands, upon which corn was 
 grown for their support.^ Hermits 
 were in the habit of assarting wood 
 lands by their own labour ; and foun- 
 ders of Churches exempted such lands 
 from tythes, at least in some instances.*^ 
 Some were either actual farms or made 
 such. " Tradidimus ad firmum Her- 
 mitagium quod vocatur Hemeryes- 
 chirche in parva Pakintona.^^l Gar- 
 dens were indeed common appendages."^ 
 A sequestered situation was an essen- 
 tial characteristick, for we are told, 
 that Chetwood in Buckinghamshire 
 was called a Hermitage purely upon 
 account of its solitude, though no 
 Hermit ever occupied the spot." 
 
 Miscellaneous. An Anglo - Saxon 
 charter says, " The venerable Father 
 of the Monastery Saxulf having Monks, 
 lovers of Anchoretical Life, has sug- 
 gested to me, that he wished to found 
 an Abbey in the adjacent desert, with 
 Hermit^s cells, that the Coenobites may 
 live as Anchorets or Monks at option.^'o 
 
 In the Hospital of St. Bartholomew 
 at Gloucester, there w^as always one 
 Priest in the habit of a Hermit pre- 
 siding as Governor.? Perhaps, because 
 he had a lay office, united to the 
 clerical. 
 
 9 Taylor's Index Monastic, pp. 65, iiQ. 
 
 ^ Lysons's Environs, iii. 540. 
 
 ' Dugd. Monast. i. 927. " Id. ii. 990. 
 
 > Angl. Sacr. i. 527. ™ M. Paris, 993. 
 
 " Dugd. Monast. ii. 339. ° Id. i. 64. 
 
 P Id. ii. 456. 
 
CONTINENTES — VOWS OF CHASTITY. 
 
 383 
 
 CONTINENTES VOWS OF CHASTITY, 
 
 The term Continentes, though in one 
 sense the mere Latin Appellation of 
 the Greek Asceticks, yet applied to 
 Persons who, upon a demi-monastick 
 principle, took Vows of Chastity.a 
 There were various classes of these 
 persons. 
 
 Honorius pretends, that Dinah daugh- 
 ter of Jacob was the first before the 
 law, with whom the custom began : 
 Judith and others followed under the 
 law ; Anna, &c. under the Gospel.^ 
 
 Infants made the vow at seven years 
 old,c as did Pirgins, even girls, after 
 which the Parents could not force them 
 to marryd because they Avere deemed 
 already affianced to God. Christ is 
 pretended to have affianced Catharine 
 in this manner, putting a ring on her 
 finger, &c.6 
 
 Erasmus makes a Nun say, ^^ I am 
 married to one, who, when he sees me, 
 may not chuse to have me,'^ in allusion 
 to the custom of affiancing before ma- 
 trimony, to which all the preceding 
 matters have a relation ; as appears 
 from various passages in Tertullian, 
 and Isidore, as cited by Rosinus. 
 
 The term Continentes also applied to 
 
 1. fVomen, who lived in Monasteries 
 with Nuns, 
 
 2. Tertiaries of St, Francis. 
 
 3. Women who sung psalms at the 
 celebration of funerals.^ 
 
 The following were distinguished by 
 name. 
 
 Holy or consecrated widows or Pries- 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Continentes. ^ Id. v. Vidua. 
 
 *= Id. V. Castimoniuniy Castimoniales. 
 
 ^ Notices des MSS. iv. 186. 
 
 « Golden Legend, ccxxv. There was anciently 
 among the classical Ancients and ourselves, a ce- 
 remony called affiancing^ betrothing, espousals, 
 &.C. forming a contract of marriage, which might 
 not take place for years afterwards. Mr. Smythe 
 says (Berkeley MS.) that it was usual at 6 or 7 
 years old among the Nobility, as well as very early 
 subsequent union, to prevent imprudent connec- 
 tions by falling in love. Mr. Donee's account of 
 it (i. 108 seq.) may be preceded by the long de- 
 scription of the Roman Sponsalia in Rosinus, 
 Antiquit. Roman, p. 444, upon which the custom 
 was founded. 
 
 ^ Du Cange, v. Continentes. 
 
 tesses. Similar orders existed among 
 the Heathens. Tertullian (inter alia) 
 says, ^^ We know that widows are oc- 
 cupied in the service of the African 
 Ceres, who are weaned from matrimony 
 by the most severe oblivion. s Calvin 
 says, w^idows serving the Church, con- 
 fined themselves to celibacy, not that 
 they thought there was any thing reh- 
 gious in it, as it w^as afterwards held ; 
 but, because if not their own mistresses, 
 and entangled with the marriage yoke, 
 they could not perform the office." In 
 the earlier ages of the Church, the 
 wives of Priests or Deacons, married 
 before the latter were ordained, used 
 to preserve the connection in a sisterly 
 form, and perform the duties of the 
 ancient Deaconesses. They were called 
 PresbytercB or Priestesses, which term 
 was also applied to the elder widows, 
 who attended to Church duties. They 
 used a far more modest habit than 
 other women. Otto Vercellensis says, 
 as those who were called Priestesses 
 took the office of preaching, ordering, 
 or teaching; so the Deaconesses took 
 the office of ministering, or baptizing, 
 which now is by no means expedient.^ 
 These widows lived often in almshouses 
 near the Church,^ whence now old 
 females in many towns. 
 
 Converse, or Penitent Prostitutes, 
 after the manner of Mary Magdalene, 
 took the habit of widows, and in the 
 Greek Empire lived in Penitentiaries 
 on purpose.* 
 
 Pyrocarce. In the 13th century ap- 
 peared in Italy, women called Pyrocarce, 
 similar to the Beghins of France, who 
 made vows of chastity, and were or- 
 dered to be loaded with prayers and 
 fasts, because some of them had broken 
 their vows by marriage."^ 
 
 Convert Husbands and Wives, Epi- 
 phanius and other fathers mention hus- 
 
 s Du Cange, p. 185. Ed. Rigalt. 
 
 •» Instit. Theolog. p. 455. 
 
 ' Du Cange, V. Presbyterce. 
 
 ^ Id. V. Matricularice. • Id. v. Converses. 
 
 ™ Du Cange, v. Pyrocarce. 
 
384 
 
 CONTINENTES— vows OF CHASTITY. 
 
 bands who lived apart from their wives, 
 and wives from their husbands/'* These 
 vows were taken from Mary and Jo- 
 seph,^ and held sacred long after the 
 dissolution of abbeys. ^ Among us 
 men and their wives took them when 
 growing old ;^ and certain hospitals 
 required these vows before admission.^ 
 
 The mostcommon vow was, however, 
 that of widowers and widows to observe 
 chastity in honour of their deceased 
 wives or husbands. These widows 
 were called Viduce pullatce (from the 
 habit), or as they maybe termed Mourn- 
 ing Widows, 
 
 Mourning WidowsS These vows 
 among us are very ancient. Gildas 
 mentions Cuneglass's wife's sister, a 
 widow who had made a vow of chastity.? 
 The Anglo-Saxon women also made 
 them, and the women wore a ring and 
 russet gown.'* The Bishop of the 
 Diocese issued a commission ; and be- 
 sides observing the vow, the widow 
 was for life to wear a veil, and a mourn- 
 ing habit.i Both w^ere duly conse- 
 crated. The veil was put on by the 
 Priest; but the ring only was suffi- 
 cient, whether they took the veil or 
 habit or not.'^ 
 
 The following is the literal transla- 
 tion of the ceremonial of making a 
 vow of this kind, by a widow : ^ 
 
 13 March, 1393. Lady Blanch, re- 
 lict of Sir Nicholas Styvecle, Knt. al- 
 ledging that she was a parishioner of 
 John, Lord Bishop of Ely, humbly 
 supplicated the said Bishop, that he 
 would think worthy to accept her vow 
 of chastity, and from consideration of 
 regard, confer upon her the mantle and 
 
 * Du Cange, v. Continentes. 
 •* Le Voeu de Jacob, iv. 176. 
 
 «= Wilkins's Concilia, iii. 846. Henry's Gr. 
 Brit. iii. 398. ^ M. Paris, 950. 
 
 « Dugd. Monast. ii. 377, 390. 
 ' Du Cange, v. Vidua. s XV Scriptor. p. 11. 
 »' M. Paris, 707. X Scriptor. 1906. 
 
 * Dugdale's Warwickshire, 1013, et alii, 
 k M. Paris, 398. 
 
 ^ From Gough's Sepulchr. Monum. v. i. p. 171. 
 In MS. Cott. Tiber, b. viii. is the Benedictio 
 Vestis Viduarum, f. 145 ; and f. 146, the Benedic- 
 tio Viduarum, and then '* Post hsec ponas pallium 
 super caput ejus, et dicas, Accipe, Vidua, Pal- 
 lium," &c. 
 
 ring, &c. ; and afterwards the said Lady 
 Blanch in the chapel*" of the Manor of 
 Dodyngton, in the Diocese of Ely, be- 
 fore the high altar, in the presence of 
 the said reverend father, then and there 
 solemnly celebrating Mass, made so- 
 lemnly lier vow of chastity as follows 
 in these words : 
 
 " I, Blanch, heretofore wife of Sir 
 Nicholas de Styvecle, Knt. vow to 
 God, and our holy Lady Saint Mary, 
 and all Saints, in presence of our Re- 
 verend Father in God, John, by the 
 grace of God, Bishop of Ely, that I 
 will be chaste from henceforth during 
 my life.'^ And the said Reverend 
 Father received her vow, and solemnly 
 consecrated and put upon the said 
 Vowess^ the mantle and ring in the 
 presence of, &c. — One of the witnesses 
 is a Notary Public. 
 
 The Veil occurs in foreign councils.^ 
 In some ancient constitutions, the 
 widows, if they became unchaste, were 
 lined in money, and thrust into a Mo- 
 nastery.? The mendicant orders are 
 bitterly reproached by Wickliffi for 
 inducing women to make vows of chas- 
 tity. In the Secreta Monita of the 
 Jesuits, there are three chapters'" which 
 throw considerable light upon these 
 vows of chastity, and the tirade of 
 WicklifF. 
 
 The title of the sixth chapter is of 
 the proper methods for inducing rich 
 widows to be liberal to our Society. 
 Such members of the Society were 
 only to be chosen for this purpose, 
 as were of a lively complexion and 
 agreeable conversation. They were to 
 display the advantages of a single life ; 
 and the confessor to worm himself 
 into the w^idow's confidence, so that 
 she should do nothing without his 
 advice. She must be exhorted to the 
 frequent use and celebration of the 
 
 "* In some councils the ceremony was to be per- 
 formed in the Sacristy. Du Cange, v. Vidua. 
 
 " Vowess. Leland mentions the habit of a Vow- 
 ess, i. e. Nun; as Votarist in Comus (1. 189) 
 in Palmer's weed, is a Pilgrim. Mr. NicJiols. 
 
 " Du Cange, v. Pallium, v Id. v. Wera. 
 
 1 See Ch. of Friars. 
 
 " vi. vii, xvi. 
 
CONTINENTES — VOWS OF CHASTITY. 
 
 385 
 
 sacraments, but especially that of pen- 
 ance, because in that she freely makes 
 a discovery of her most secret thoughts, 
 and every temptation.*^ Having weaned 
 her from matrimony, it will then be 
 time to recommend to her a spiritual 
 life, but not a recluse one, the incon- 
 veniences of which must be magnified 
 to her, but such a one as Paula^s or 
 Eustochius's, &c. ; and let the con- 
 fessor, having as soon as possible 
 prevailed upon her to make a Vow 
 of Chastity, for two or three years 
 at least, take due care to oppose 
 all tendencies to a second marriage ; 
 and then all conversation with men, 
 and diversion even with her near rela- 
 tives and kinsfolk, must be forbidden 
 her, under pretence of entering into a 
 stricter union with God.b 
 
 If they have made a Vow of Chastity , 
 let them, according to our custom, 
 renew it twice a year ; and let the 
 day upon which this is done, be set 
 apart for innocent recreation with the 
 members of the society.^ 
 
 Let them be frequently visited, and 
 entertained in an agreeable manner. 
 If widows prove faithful and liberal to 
 the Society, allow them in moderation. 
 
 P. 41. 
 
 b Pp. 44, 45. 
 
 P. 47. 
 
 and without offence, whatever pleasure 
 they have an inclination to.^^ 
 
 If they secretly steal into the garden 
 or college, seem as if you knew it not, 
 and allow them the liberty of conver- 
 sation and private diversions with 
 those whose company is most agree- 
 able to them.e 
 
 Let widows and others who have 
 given us almost all they possessed, 
 though then they are on an equal foot- 
 ing with others, be treated with much 
 more rigour, lest people should ima- 
 gine that the greater indulgence of 
 others proceeds from our hopes of se- 
 cular advantages/ 
 
 Erasmus mentions a widow, who, 
 by the will of her husband, because 
 she refused to become a Nun, was 
 compelled to wear the robe of a Beguin^ 
 a middle order between Nuns and Lay- 
 women, who lived by manual labour, 
 and were so denominated from the 
 head-dress, called Beguin, A twelfth 
 part of her husband^s fortune was de- 
 vised to her, upon half of which she 
 was to live, the other half going to the 
 religious house to which she should 
 belong.^ 
 
 d P. 49. " P. 51. f P. 117. 
 
 ^ Funus. Colloq. 452, 453. Of Beghitis, see 
 chap. Modern Monachism before, p. 298, 
 
 2 c 
 
SELECT POEMS, 
 
 (IN VARIOUS STYLES) 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. T. FOSBROKE. 
 
 1. ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE Spenser. 
 
 2. TRIUMPH OF VENGEANCE ; AN ODE . . . Gray. 
 
 3. THE RED MAN; OR, THE ADDRESS OF BUONAPARTE^S 
 
 FAMILIAR DEMON; AN ODE . . . Gray and Collins. 
 
 4. PARODY ON COLLINSES ODE TO THE PASSIONS. 
 
 5. ON A LADY BATHING The Italian Concetto. 
 
 C. EPITAPH The German Manner. 
 
 2 c 2 
 
ECONOMY 
 
 OF 
 
 MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 PART THE FIRST. 
 
 What, though our way unfeeling Fate denies 
 Where Plato thronged the academic grove ? 
 That not for us, a mountain ruin lies 
 The mighty dome of Capitolian Jove, 
 Where bony Gauls for Latian laurels strove ; 
 'Though we but know from antiquarian tale 
 That plain, a youth exulting chanced to rove. 
 Charmed with the Doric fanes, the fragrant gale. 
 And verdant sky of land in Peestum's vale.* 
 
 Yet we have eyed with awe the stony heap, 
 Where solemn Druids hymn'd unwritten rhyme ; ^ 
 The hills of green turf, where old heroes sleep ; 
 And towers the Norman liege-lord reared sublime. 
 Whose builders fondly smiled contempt at time : 
 Much we have loved o'er fallen fanes to stray. 
 What time we hear the sheep-belPs distant chime. 
 The beetle's drowsy horn, and that sweet lay 
 With which Night's solemn bird proclaims the close of day. 
 
 Now we stray here,^ for yonder arch hung high 
 Displays, in pride of picture greatly fine, 
 Nature's night- magick to the wondering eye ; 
 The meek Moon blends her light and shade divine ; 
 A robe, on plates of silver foil where shine 
 Rich knots of spangles, covers yonder mound. 
 Its Vinca blue ^ and prickly Eglantine ; 
 No flower that grows that beauteous place around. 
 But has its painted head with flame innocuous crown'd. 
 
 * The ruins of Psestum, the classical " rosaria 
 Peesti," dewy meadows, containing several Doric 
 temples, were accidentally discovered by a painter's 
 apprentice. 
 
 '' Stonehenge. Mr. Davies and Mr. Maurice, 
 upon the authority of Diodorus's round Temple of 
 j^pollo [or Bel the Sun, &c.] in Britain, seem to 
 
 have discovered its real appropriation. The ap- 
 pellation Chorea Gigantum explains its rude con- 
 struction, as being of the Cyclopean Architecture, 
 termed the *• work of Giants." 
 
 *= Netley Abbey. 
 
 ** Periwinkle. 
 
390 
 
 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 This arch, more picture thus, the tall ash » shades. 
 On whose lank arms, the Autumn's early spoil,^ 
 The hallowM misletoe a green wreath braids ; ^ 
 Admitted we revere a long-drawn aile, 
 The Church conventual of a ruin'd pile ; 
 Brackets of plaistered faces, posterns low. 
 And mouldings richly wrought by fretter's toil^ 
 And windows, erst where robed in gorgeous show 
 Of Jesse's honoured race were ranged a tinted row.^ 
 
 Time's palsied hand a ragged outline leaves 5 
 In every rift, (for he is wont to fling 
 The berry there) sequacious ivy weaves 
 A nappy frieze to hide unsightly thing, 
 The ill-faced owl, and bat with devil's wing : 
 Beneath the walls in safeguard fence is spread 
 The evil race of weeds that quickly spring. 
 The tetchy nettle with its venom dread. 
 And arm'd like porcupine, the thistle's threatening head. 
 
 Thus wicked Time, with his scythe-weapon'd hand. 
 Has ^reft the fane of its antique array ; 
 I would, we could suspend his rash command. 
 And take the surly dotard's scythe away, 
 More mischievous than wayward infant's play ; 
 Thou, hated History, shalt pen the strain. 
 For thou canst hold him by his forelock gray. 
 And stay his wonted hurry, to explain 
 What ancient glories deck'd the desolated fane. 
 
 In days of old, near Egypt's slimy land. 
 Their feathery leaves where nesh Acacias spread. 
 Leaving the haunts of man, a mournful band 
 By Providence and friendly midnight led. 
 From chase of shouting Persecution fled ; ^ 
 Of branches lithe their wattled walls they knit. 
 Of moss and ivy made their evening bed. 
 And on the green banks at their doors would sit. 
 Hymning grave canticles, or conning holy writ. 
 
 Like birds, unprison'd from a darkling grove. 
 That the bright eye of prowling hawk beguiled. 
 The godly race rejoiced at ease to rove ; 
 Some rear'd thatch'd chapels, that on hillocks smiled 
 O'er bushy tufts, and tamed a region wild ; 
 Some, by a martyr's grave, with busy spade 
 
 » Fraxinus excelsior, Linn. 
 •» The leaves of the ash are the latest which ap- 
 pear in Spring, and the first which fall in Autumn, 
 c See Brown's Vulgar Errors, b. 2, c. 6. 
 
 ^ A favourite subject for painted gla.«s, &c. 
 Warton, v. i. p. 210. Gostling's Canterbury Walk, 
 323. Ed. 2. 
 
 « So Bishop Tanner, &c. but others deny it. 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 A small room scoop'd beneath the greensward mild ; 
 An uncouth cross upon the round roof laid, 
 And of the plot anear a cultured garden made.* 
 
 Some, where a ring of rugged stones was laid, 
 Like statues, on a pillar's tow'ring height. 
 With knees, which Faith had changed to marble, prayed ; 
 Their hoar trees drippM with harmless dews of night. 
 Their fix'd eyes gazed unhurt meridian light ; 
 — As when Jove^s eagle condescends to play. 
 His plumes he ruffles, droops his winged might, 
 Fronts his full eye to the attacking ray. 
 And dares the burning power of Him, the Lord of Day. 
 
 Some hermits were, who dwellM within a rock 
 Hollow, indented in a sloping ground. 
 Above, an ancient tree's inclining stock 
 Spread branchy arms, that shaded all around, 
 Its crooked roots for beams the loose roof bound ; 
 Before the entrance rude, a gentle stream 
 Adown the vale its serpent courses wound. 
 Seen here and there through breaks of trees to gleam, 
 Gilding their dancing boughs with Noon's reflected beam. 
 
 From oozy pores within, depended down 
 Congealing stalactites in whiteness pale. 
 Those mosses interwove their fibrils brown. 
 Where slimy slug and house-upbearing snail 
 Their tardy way in glossy streamlets trail ; 
 Fearful of day, along the midnight walls 
 The armed beetle shone in sable mail. 
 And insect hammered loud,^ that much appalls 
 The rest of beldame old, who this the death-watch calls. 
 
 Aged the sires, who dwellM such caves within. 
 Head-shaking sages, prone to moralize, 
 And him disciple, who there made his inn ; 
 Their cheeks were hollow, slender was their size. 
 And ever on the ground they bent their eyes ; ^ 
 One book they had, the book of holy lore. 
 Against the wall a cross stood leaning- wise, 
 A table small a scull and cross-bones bore. 
 And bosky ivy hid the bell above the door. 
 
 In days when such was virtue, where a wood 
 Edges a green knoll, and a wide stream flows. 
 Where he that woos the Moon, the vassal flood 
 His march announcing, oft to greet her goes,d 
 
 391 
 
 * Plantet, inserat, riget, aquas ferat, cseteraque 
 Monachorum faciat opera, &c. Lopez's Epit. ut 
 sup. V. 2, pp. 393, 402. 
 
 *> Ptinus fatidicus, Linn. ; engraved in Shaw's 
 Naturalist's Miscell. v. iii. pi. 104. 
 
 « This Benedict prescribed to his monks. 
 C. 7. Specimen Moaachologiee, p. 14. 
 <* The Southampton ^stuar^. 
 
 Reg. 
 
B92 
 
 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 From royal boon, a holy mansion rose « 
 Witli spires and great tow'r, topp'd with gilded vane. 
 That emblem meet of man inconstant shows ; 
 The far-off seaman knew where stood the fane 
 By shades, that laid at length their huge limbs o'er the main. 
 
 Thence Vecta's ^ nymph '^ who checks the westring tide ' 
 With a sleek sister-lady, Ocean's queen, 
 Is seen in state along the main to ride j 
 Before the team of dolphins yoked is seen 
 The TritoH Herald, with his tresses green ; 
 While all the region-nymphs their lyres employ. 
 In pairs parading o'er the marge serene. 
 To where Southampton's youths and daughters coy 
 Uncoil the tangled dance to tipsy tones of joy. 
 
 On adverse shores, where dark woods ^ brow the strand. 
 And boat of fisherman floats tilting by, 
 The massy outwarks of beak'd Calshot stand. 
 Breasting the noisy waves, that quarrel nigh ; 
 Work of that King,<i where awe was wont descry 
 Lust's putrid eye-ball. Pride's oppressing stare. 
 Hatred's black frown. Ambition's bosom high 
 Musing sublimely-wicked deeds of dare — 
 Ah ! never Pity's dove was seen to nestle there ! ^ 
 
 In middle front the gate-house high was rear'd ; 
 An arch beneath o'erhung an entrance wide ; 
 Within through cloisters dim the rare light peer'd ; 
 The Church conventual fill'd one stately side. 
 Boasting its window train in mitred pride ; 
 The eaves were hid by an embattell'd screen ; 
 The vacant court was simply beautified. 
 All Nature's melody of colour, green. 
 Had it not here and there with daisies powder'd been. 
 
 Just as a giant guards, with ample stride, 
 A conquer'd brother underneath him flung. 
 On straddling arches, in its sturdy pride 
 Stood the great tow'r — there the loud bells were hung. 
 Each under each, with graduated tongue. 
 Supreme lords of a boundless world of tone ; 
 The great bell shone its meaner peers among 
 In portly pride, and its high rank was known 
 By learned scroll, inscribed around its ample zone. 
 
 « Netley Abbey, founded by Henry III. ; 
 where however the King only joined in a founda- 
 tion, he was considered as sole founder. See 
 something similar to this of royal rights in reli- 
 gious foundations in Dean Pierce (of Sarum) 1683. 
 Vindication of the King's Sovereign Rights, 
 pp. 6, 7. 
 
 b Isle of Wight. 
 
 « New Forest. 
 
 d Calshot Castle, built by Henry VIII. 
 
 e Imitated from Collins' s sweet line, *' Nor ever 
 vernal bee was heard to murmur there," a thought 
 which he took from Euripides, ** MeXto-o-aXei/xcoi/," 
 &c. Hippol. Barnes's Edit. p. 220, v. 36. 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 393 
 
 Methinks I listen, at what horrid time 
 Fork'd lightnings cleft the tented sky in twain, 
 Together when these madding bells 'gan chime. 
 When pealing organs stunn'd the vaulted fane, 
 Mix'd with a gabbling wild discordant strain 
 Of fathers hurrying fast the bead-roll * round. 
 When wild hail pelted on the painted pane, 
 When thunder roar'd along the blue profound, 
 And all was one strange grand bewildering war of sound.'' 
 
 From other tower, upon whose vane the bird 
 Of pertness would his dusky plumage preen, 
 A stately horologe ^ was hourly heard, 
 At prime it waked the hinds, at eve serene 
 It timed their gossip on the village green ; 
 To the tow'r corners pinnacles were join'd. 
 Of work ^ that let the blue sky peep between. 
 With numerous mouldings all about entwined. 
 Fretted in waves, like lakes just ruffled by the wind. 
 
 Within the Church, each side the door of wires,^ 
 Were blessed Saints, that stood in rows along,^ 
 And stalls, that upwards shot their many spires. 
 Lamps, pendent from a vaulting, light yet strong 
 With groins, bright fields of heraldry among ; 
 A Choir of gilded tubes, whose voices deep 
 Witli storms of musick swell' d the ritual song ; 
 Hangings that shook in undulating sweep ; 
 Tassels that flamed like suns, and cushions " soft as sleep." e 
 
 Aloft the silken gonfalons were rearM, 
 That led to Palestine the bold Crusade, 
 Hard by some blade, that much by Paynim fear'd 
 Enchanter Merlin^s liveried spirits made ; ^» 
 The bearded Martyr in scoopM niche displayed 
 The lifted cross and brow to Heaven upraised ; 
 On high installM beneath a sculptured shade. 
 The Patron-Saint's enamell'd image blazed. 
 For wonder-working deeds and healing virtue praised. 
 
 Along a tomb, which painted sculpture dress'd, 
 Arm'd as for tourney, the Knight-warrior lay. 
 His crossing legs a couching lion press'd, 
 A helmet was his head's supporting stay. 
 His limbs were maiPd in battailous array, 
 A plaited gorget girt his shoulders wide,i 
 
 » '* The King's enemies were curst by name 
 in the bead-roll at Paul's." Bacon's Hist. H. VII. 
 p. 72. 
 
 •» This ceremony was supposed to repel evil 
 spirits ; see more upon this subject in Hospiu. de 
 Orig. Tempi. 1. 4, c. 9, de consec, campan. 
 
 •= Abbey Orloge. 
 
 ^ Tabernacle or open work. 
 
 « Choir doors latticed. Old prints. 
 
 ' In niches in the screen. 
 « Theocr. Id. 14, v. 125. 
 »> Spens. F. Q. b. 3. c. 4, st 
 
 Id. 
 
 59. 
 
 Tomb of the Black Prince at Canterbury. 
 
394 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 His belt was studded thick with bosses gay. 
 The sword appendant kissed his stony side. 
 Of rich work were his spurs, the knight's distinguished pride. 
 
 Long ailes of arches sharp and pillars fine, 
 A pomp of fretted pinnacles upbore. 
 To form the Founder-Saint^s superior shrine ; 
 Like canopy the prostrate image wore, 
 A model of the fane its breast before 
 One hand sustain^ ; in scrawls and figures quaint. 
 And letters black, that legendary lore, 
 Monks loved to tattle of their valued Saint, 
 They not forgot along the neighb'ring wall to paint. 
 
 On the high cross a bleeding Christ was raised, 
 Of ivVy wrought ; from types of diamonds bright 
 Inlaid in gold, a sparkling '' Inri^^ blazed ; 
 From every gem a drop of twinkling light 
 Shot hues of rainbows on the dazzled sight ; j 
 
 Like glitter on the reliquary played, < 
 
 Imbost with sculptures of that heav'nly fight. 
 When fell a shower of Hosts in arms array 'd 
 Through Chaos, and his realm of anarchy dismay'd. 
 
 Beneath the eastern window^s pictured pane, 
 A canopy of fretted stone was spread, 
 Pavilioning an altar's marble plain ; 
 Each corner rested on an AngeFs head. 
 Within lay relicks of the sainted dead ; 
 Two giant torches blazed perennial fires, 
 A smoke of odours from the censer fled. 
 The pall, that gorgeous Altar^s proud attire, 
 A crimson noon-day glared around the coloured choir. 
 
 How changed that choir, when cease of noble breath 
 Was thunder'd by the great bell's sullen tongue. 
 And train conventual did the rites of death ; 
 The holy walls in feral black were hung, 
 A dim relief the painted scutcheons flung, 
 A vista reach'd down to the doorway wide 
 Of lights, lamps hung the coloured stalls among, 
 Yet darkness reigned, but in its starry pride. 
 Its gloomy majesty attempered, dignified. 
 
 At the Choir end, the Altar high before, 
 A hearse uprear^d its melancholy mien,* 
 Its fringes flounced a pomp of scutcheons bore. 
 At here and there, a painted flag was seen ;^ 
 Where now the nodding of a plume had been. 
 Like that sweet tree of sorrow, wont to grow 
 
 • A fabric reared ia the church. »» See the account of the funeral of John of 
 
 Gaunt in Dugd. St. Paul*s, p. 23. 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 395 
 
 Forlorn, upon some river's margin green, 
 And weeping, o^er the hurrying waves to throw 
 The graces of its branch, in elegance of woe. 
 
 By sinner rear'd for wrongful deed of yore, 
 To the side Chantry, a low postern led ; 
 Shrouded in such attire as beadsmen wore, 
 In its dark house was laid the founder dead, 
 A row of tapers a bright lustre shed. 
 The name and race armorial ensigns told. 
 Around the bier a sable pall was spread, 
 A bright fringe guarded every curling fold. 
 With threads, in warrior files with glittering spears of gold. 
 
 About the roof a maze of mouldings slim. 
 Like veins that o'er the hand of lady wind, 
 Embraced in closing arms the key- stone trim. 
 With hieroglyphs and cyphers quaint combined, 
 The riddling art that charm'd the Gothic mind ; 
 To form the floor, a scroll- depicted train 
 Of glossy tiles, one seemly order join'd ; 
 Deep in the wall, as far as arm could strain. 
 An iron lattice mesh'd a richly tinted pane. 
 
 Beneath that window, flowery arbours lay 
 Their arms abroadwhere harlot woodbines flung, 
 And shameless wOo'd the winds with them to play ; 
 In allies strait, espaliers prim among. 
 The rough-skinn'd pear and glossy apple hung ; 
 On the carved rood, that filled the central place. 
 Stood hoary saints and angels " ever young ;'' 
 Herbs of ill savour filled the vacant space. 
 With thyme, and balm^ and rue, a plant renown'd for grace. 
 
 An adverse window, shaded by a tree, 
 Betray'd the school-house, with its little fry 
 Buzzing, as if a civil polity 
 Of bees were wont there to and fro to fly. 
 And diverse trades within their straw shops ply ; 
 More pleasing sounds, when to the chaunted rite 
 Of holy church, they wound their voices high. 
 Soft was the winged musick's downy flight, 
 And Echo silent was from exquisite delight. 
 
 There too, before the monkish cowl was worn, 
 Two hoary Pedagogues » tyrannic reign 
 (Soon as his youthful locks were closely shorn) 
 Tutor'd the Novice to a life of pain. 
 Harsh as of maids, whom aunts unmarried train 
 Deceiver man at distance meet to hold ; 
 When of the bright-hair'd monarch's fiery wain 
 One journey through the pictured signs was told. 
 In list of Monks profess'd that Novice was inroll'd. 
 
 The masters of the novices were to be old men. Lynd. Oxf. ed. p. 144. 
 
396 
 
 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 He, on such day, in a sequester'd cell, 
 On all the hierarchies of Heaven would call, 
 To witness that he bade the world farewell ; 
 Ere long the Prior fill'd his fretted stall. 
 And hooded many lined the Chapter wall. 
 Ere long the sound of coming feet they hear'd, 
 A gentle buz began of murmurs small, 
 Against the door a trembling form appear'd, 
 Whose pale looks marked how much the solemn scene he fear'd. 
 
 Slowly he moved with head upon his breast, 
 And bent his knee the Prior's throne before ; 
 His hands were by the trembling Prior prest : 
 All silent gazed, the book of holy lore 
 In solemn step the grave Precentor bore. 
 A due pause made to aid his faulting tongue, 
 A triple piety of vows ^ he swore. 
 His lips thrice on the quiv'ring volume hung. 
 And thrice a loud Amen along the arches rung. 
 
 Then two and two they march'd, and loud bells tolPd, 
 One from a sprinkle^ holy water flung. 
 This bore the relicks in a chest of gold, 
 On arm of that the swinging censer hung. 
 Another loud a tinkling handbell rung. 
 Four fathers w^ent that ringing Monk behind. 
 Who suited psalms of holy David sung. 
 Then o'er the cross a stalking sire inclined ; 
 And banners of the church went waving in the wind.<^ 
 
 Next, while the fane with unwont splendour blazed 
 Against the lighted altar's velvet plain,*! 
 Behold him kneel, his hands to Heaven upraised ; 
 Visions of glory burst upon his brain, 
 Jesu's meek form, and the immortal train 
 Of white-robed Saints a bright procession hold. 
 Ambrosial dews in misty fragrance rain. 
 And woven light from Seraph skirts unrolPd 
 Gleams on their sattin plumes of pure white dropt with gold. 
 
 Louder and louder swells the choral song. 
 The mighty sounds a grander dream inspire. 
 The holy hosts around the Altar throng. 
 In sudden extacy the Seraph quire 
 With God's own Antiphonar strike the wire ; 
 Dark clouds upon the burning glory rest. 
 And light excessive vaults the fane with fire ; 
 He joins the bright assemblage of the blest. 
 And glides with them away, a Heaven-admitted guest. 
 
 * Poverty, constancy, and obedience. 
 
 ^ Holy-water sprinkle. 
 
 «= Besides these there were the ceroferarii or can- 
 
 dlestick-bearers, the deacon reading the gospel, &c. 
 ^ Highly illuminated on festivals and great occa- 
 sions. Monast. V. 3. Ecc. Cath. p. 241 . 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 397 
 
 PART THE SECOND. 
 
 With clouted shoon at tiptoe peep of morn. 
 Oft as the herdsman shook the dews away, 
 He eyed from window small, the forehead shorn 
 Of elder Monk, with curl of silver gray. 
 Gazing if foul or fair uprose the day ; 
 And chanced the bell of prime to tinkle, while 
 His lowing herds would wander from the way. 
 To top the wall he scaled the neighbMng stile. 
 And view'd the gownsmen march by pairs into the aile. 
 
 In stately wise first stalked the Abbot proud. 
 And every footstep shook his hood behind, 
 A man much greater than the monkish crowd,* 
 And called My Lord, his ceremonious mind 
 Was to the study of his state confined ; 
 The Monks that heard him, ever would commend 
 What fine words he with lordly gestures joined ; 
 This Abbot when he willed to condescend. 
 Would courteous smile, and call ignoble Monk his friend. 
 
 Next hied the Cell'rer, to whose belt was joinM, 
 A clang of keys ; a man quite lank and spare 
 Through fretting much lest aught should be purloined ; 
 Whenever he assized the daily fare, 
 He surely talked of loss, and waste and wear,^ 
 Next he,c to whom, at to-fall of the year. 
 The louting vassals were enjoined to bear 
 The portioned kingly coin, or autumn's cheer ; J 
 They knew how much he chid, nor dared to leave arrear. 
 
 With an hoar compeer next the Sacrist went. 
 Of things religious he had custody, 
 It was his bliss, the holy ornament, 
 At the magnificence of mass, to see 
 In order meet and seemly decency : 
 The pure stream he in silver vase ^ would bring 
 For pious needs, and on his doubled knee 
 Would bid a bead, and wet each holy thing ; 
 No lurking fiend but yell'd, and sped his leathern wing/ 
 
 * Vestri autem ocuuli omne sublime vident, 
 &c. St. Bern, of Abbots, in Ep. 42. Ad Hen. 
 Senon. Arch, apud Lopez's Epit. V. 2, p. 401. 
 Quando plus desiderant in palatio regis versari (viri 
 religiosi) St. Greg, in p. 405. See also L. 14, C. 
 30, 31. 
 
 '' This character is entirely fictitious. 
 
 ° Thesaurarius, or Bursar. 
 
 •J Full. Ch. H. 298. Spellra. in Firmis. 
 
 •-■ One of silver, enchased with images and vine - 
 leaves, a handle of two dragons, and a sprinkle of 
 ivory, belonged to St. Paul's Cath. Monast. v. 3. 
 Ecc. Cath. p. 310. 
 
 ' See the form of consecrating holy water in the 
 Salisbury Manual. 
 
398 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 His compeer hoar the Leech's « calling plied, 
 Herbs aromatic, dangling in a noose, 
 For medicines to the sick-house beams he tied ; 
 He knew the learned name of each, the juice. 
 And moon's age when it should be culPd for use; 
 If 'chance his herbs were unavailing found, 
 He would, from a much-treasured volume, chuse 
 The powers of words of most unwieldy sound. 
 And add the gestures meet that to those words were bound, 
 
 Then with the Dean came he ^ who bore the seal, 
 In him the Chapter band were wont confide 
 Concerns to chronicle of common weal ; 
 Evening in vain in vernal skies has tried 
 The tints to pencil ^ this old sire supplied ; 
 Within his stall, less noble Monks before, 
 A stand w^as raised, and there in lifted pride 
 Leading the Choir his arm aloft he bore. 
 His bony tablets shook, and stamped the sounding floor. 
 
 Last came the trusty man of watch and ward, 
 A massy key from his bent elbow hung. 
 Of goers all he kept a keen regard. 
 Or question'd them with peremptory tongue ; 
 At prime and eve his larum bell he rung,^ 
 If to his lodge enquiring strangers went. 
 His turning window on its hinge he flung, 
 And, if he so could tell his mind's intent. 
 Would talk by alphabet of arms and fingers bent. 
 
 At cease of bell, ere yet the rites began. 
 By massy bolts the latticed doors were bound. 
 The speeding Chantor through the office ran ; 
 And now the Choir turn'd to the east around. 
 Or bow'd at name of Jesu to the ground ; 
 The prying Dean would sum the gather'd band. 
 And truant Monk if frequent truant found. 
 With pursed-up brow and angry waving hand, , 
 To scanty fare, and jail of fearful thought command. 
 
 (For some there were, when blew the tasselM horn. 
 And all the bosky valleys shook for dread. 
 On the hill tops who met the Youth of Morn, 
 As from the waves he reared his glorious head ; 
 O'er gossy heaths on fleeting palfreys sped ; 
 With jolly hunters not ashamed to hoot. 
 Haply if roused from her rush- woven bed, 
 Upsprung the fearful game with flying foot, 
 And all the chase began a musical pursuit.) 
 
 * Physician. 
 
 ^ Precentor, or Chantor. 
 
 " For the Limners. 
 
 «» Spens. F. Q. b. 2, c. 9, st. 25. 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 399 
 
 On that most holy clay that heads the seven, 
 Acting his wavy arm and goggling eyes, 
 The Preacher Monk would mix the lore of Heaven 
 With talcs the Phrygian sage ^ was wont devise. 
 And Fancy's wildest world of quaint surprise. 
 (Scorn not the light step of the airy maid. 
 Nature herself, albeit that she is wise, 
 To make the insect's wing besought her aid. 
 And sweetly smiled to see what beauteous tints she laid.) 
 
 To Chapter next, the gown'd procession came 
 For sage consult, and Founder's daily rite 
 To chant, at each articulated name 
 A saintly form shot by in robes of white. 
 And features indistinct of palest light, 
 Selected next from guiltless Monks among. 
 Exposed delinquents trembled with affright, 
 These on their breasts their silly faces hung, 
 While language barb'd with fire flew from the Prior's tongue. 
 
 While thus the Monks, before the open'd gate 
 A mincing palfrey, with a waving load 
 Of gorgeous trapping, shook his bells ^ in state. 
 Seeking his neighbour baron's arm'd abode. 
 O'er quilted sell c the lordly Abbot strode. 
 Spurring his palfrey o'er the field amain. 
 With tarsel perch'd upon his fist he rode. 
 And now he lean'd upon the jingling rein. 
 And his lank dogs of speed ^ ran stretching o'er the plain. 
 
 While thus the Abbot, to the elmy shade 
 That girt the grange,^ the humbler Cell'rer hied, 
 A swinging porthose from his girdle play'd. 
 Close to his cheek his russet hood was tyed ; 
 Unlike that Abbot swell'd with worldly pride 
 He rode a steed ^ of most ill-favour'd view, 
 Sharp hips, and staring ribs, and shaggy hide ; 
 Going, the shame of loit'ring monk he knew. 
 The shame of shoulders streak'd with stripes of livid blue.ff 
 
 Meanwhile along the cloister's painted '» side. 
 The Monks (each bending low upon his book 
 With head on hand reclined) their studies plied 5 
 Forbid to parly, or in front to look. 
 
 * Esop. * Common appendages to bridles, 
 e Saddle. 
 
 ** Greyhounds. See Wart. v. 2, p. 221. 
 
 * Abbey Granges abounded with timber. Full. 
 Ch. H. 337. 
 
 f Ordered to be despecti et deformes, in Monast. 
 V. 2, p. 750. 
 
 ' No Monk in Const. Bened. 12 Nigr. Monach. 
 was to travel without his hood close, and portvoise, 
 porthose or breviary, and if he exceeded his al- 
 lotted time, was to carry half-naked a ferula from 
 the parletory door through the cloister to the chap- 
 ter, and there be beaten. Concil. v. 2, p. 608. 
 
 »• With texts called carols, &c. Wart. v. 2, 
 p. 424. 
 
400 
 
 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 Lengthways their regulated seats they took ; 
 The strutting Prior gazed with pompous mein, 
 And wakeful tongue, prepared with prompt rebuke. 
 If Monk asleep in sheltering hood was seen ; 
 He wary often peep'd beneath that russet screen. « 
 
 Hard by, against the windows' adverse light, 
 Where desks were wont in length of row to stand. 
 The gown'd artificers inclined to Avrite ; 
 The pen of silver glisten'd in the hand ; 
 Some on their fingers rhyming Latin scann'd ; '^ 
 Some textile gold from balls unwinding drew. 
 And on strain'd velvet stately portraits plann'd ; 
 Here arms, there faces shone in embryo view. 
 At last to glittering life the total figures grew.*^ 
 
 Perchance with train immense of knights and squires. 
 Some noble Dame admires the cloister wall. 
 Its scrolls of texts and painted gests admires, 
 The Prior points with white wand ^ long and small. 
 And whispers low what this, what that to call ; 
 Perchance he shows in pictures of the loom. 
 Some Chief who fills in Glory's fane a stall, 
 Some King, who living look'd a nation's doom, 
 Or Hero arm'd, whose nod shook conquest from his plume.^ 
 
 At noon-hour (did no fleshless day betide) ^ 
 On posied trenchers s the plain cates were spread, 
 The snow-white egg, the fish's corned side. 
 Domestic fowl by barn-door plenty fed, 
 And best of nutriment fermented, bread ; 
 No thirst was their's but what that juice could pall. 
 The sugarM ears of bearded barley shed ; 
 An aged Monk ^ was marshal of the hall, 
 There walking to and fro the servitours ^ to call. 
 
 From due ablution, at the vaulted door, 
 The entering Monks stood each one with his mate, 
 At the two tables of the lowest floor. 
 Their looks directing to the spiry state 
 Of chair much-sculptured, where the Prior sate ; 
 To this where transversely a board was spread. 
 Inferior lordlings of the convent ate ; 
 As pass'd the Prior, all depress'd the head. 
 Loud rung a tinkling bell, and wonted grace was said. 
 
 a WUkins's Concil. v. 2, pp. 45, 610. 
 
 ^ The Leonine verse, whose origin Warton 
 leaves uncertain. Lord Roscommon attributes to 
 the Druids. Poems, ed. Tons. 1717, p. 47. But 
 instances have been found sportively among the 
 classicks. A conceit always pleases bad taste ; 
 and hence it became admired and frequent. 
 
 •= Embroidered vestments. 
 
 «» Coll. Peer. v. 6, p. 419. 
 
 ^ Tapestry, in which the gests of Alexander, the 
 Trojan heroes, &c. were favourite subjects. Wart. 
 V. 1, p. 210, V. 2, p. 227, &c. 
 
 f When they fasted till the evening collations. 
 
 s With flowers in the centre, and posies round 
 them. Gent. Mag. 1794, p. 407. 
 
 ^ The Refectioner. 
 
 ' Famuli refectorii, &c. Concil. v. 2, p. 246. 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 401 
 
 The Prior gave the signal word, aloud 
 The Reader 'gan the lore of God reveal ; 
 At the first stated pause, the holy crowd 
 TurnM to the board in instantaneous wheel, 
 And solemn silence » mark'd their instant meal ; 
 The Prior to the Reader bow'd, again 
 They turned, the Sacrist rang a tinkling peal, 
 Last grace was said, and carolling a strain 
 Of David, two and two withdrew the hooded train. 
 
 Then while the bright sun march 'd along the sky. 
 With his spread banner broad of golden sheen. 
 Kind Sleep his soft hand laid on monkish eye, 
 Silence reserved enjoy'd the peaceful scene. 
 And musing stalk'd the space of beds between ; 
 He who did nought these brethren friends esteem, 
 Would at a cloister window studious lean. 
 Gazing with fix'd eyes in a kind of dream, 
 Or stooping with low brow to pore upon his theme. 
 
 (He thought, where ancient I sis winds her way. 
 To hear Apollo^s lute of silver sound. 
 And sisters nine chant their alluring lay. 
 To see by all their worshippers renowned. 
 About his brows a laureat wreath be wound, 
 A train of convents to parade his praise, 
 A train of abbots proud, with mitres crownM, 
 Of knights, whose helmets stole the sunny rays, 
 And barons witH wrought cloaks of gorgeous noon-day blaze.) *> 
 
 Then where the Porter in his lodge secure, 
 With open porthose ^ sat, and conn'd his prayers, 
 A multitude of old and female poor 
 Assembled, canvassing their own affairs. 
 Usage unneighbourly, or household cares. 
 Ere long the Almoner in lifted view 
 Beckon'd their way unto the gatehouse stairs ; 
 Their puckered aprons into folds they drew, 
 And Almoner therein the victual fragments threw.^ 
 
 Soon as the weary day was westering far, 
 And nightmares squab with waking howl upsprung. 
 To drag some ugly dream's fantastic car. 
 The branchy lamp a yellow radiance flung. 
 
 * In this, as in other respects, resembling the 
 Essenes. Prid. Connect, ed. 2, 8vo. v. 3, p. 485, 
 seq. Also the ancient monks, Lop. Epit. v. 1, 
 p. 552. 
 
 " The monks took their degrees with prodigious 
 parade. 
 
 *= Breviary — suspended to the monks' girdles, 
 for their constant study at times of leisure. 
 
 '^ The almoner or servants of the refectory only, 
 were to collect the fragments after dinner, and 
 distribute them to the po^r. Wilkins's Concil. 
 V. 2, p. 246. 
 
 2 o 
 
402 
 
 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 And to his harp the hosted Minstrel sung » 
 His chiming song ^ of Wizard, Fay, or Sprite, 
 Along the wires his lightning fingers rung. 
 His meteor eyeballs blazed with strange delight, 
 And sparkling flames outrushM and skirmished with the night. 
 
 Or p'rhaps while melody that minstrel made, 
 Some proper Tutor and the Novice train, 
 In dress dramatic holy writ arrayed ; 
 Here with bright eyes and cheek of rosy stain 
 A smiling David tripp'd o^er Elah's plain ; 
 There in the studied looks of Saul were shown. 
 Hoped and yet fear'd success, dissembled pain ; 
 (A youth by his ungainly limbs overgrown. 
 Strutted with weighty sword the man of mighty bone.) 
 
 (Were it a certain mirth-exulting day. 
 The Abbot-fool, through the high windowM hall, 
 With rabble comrades marched in rude array. 
 Deck'd with the mitre, sandals, staff, and pall. 
 He scaled the laughing choir's superior stall. 
 His ruffian train pair'd off on either side, 
 Strange was the scene, when they endeavour'd all 
 The chanted mass with discords to divide. 
 And howl'd and yelFd and grinn'd and hiss'd and laughed and cried.) <^ 
 
 Or perhaps was dragg'd into some area forth. 
 To sturdy Mastives that stood watching nigh, 
 A Bear, the hairy native of the North ; 
 Methinks I see him roll his angry eye. 
 Against his furry sides the Mastives fly. 
 They snap, and show their teethes embattled row. 
 He growls and on his hind feet ramping high. 
 Between his closed paws grasps a dying foe. 
 Whose eyes jut from his head, and flaggy tongue hangs low. 
 
 Or perhaps a train of jigging Puppets ^ dance 
 Their wooden muscles hard and nerves of wire. 
 Or here and there the nimble fingers glance 
 Of Tregetour,e with him in quaint attire 
 Who ribbands eats, and vomits flames of fire ; 
 Quite happy Monks, did nature's general law 
 Let simple man to feats so great aspire. 
 But no, beneath the covered board they saw. 
 The grand fiend^s visage grim and horns and horrid claw. 
 
 » To minstrels supping in the painted chamber 
 with the sub .prior, &c. &c. Comput. Maxt. Pri. 
 in Wart, v 2, p. 106. See more in v. 1, p. 89, seq. 
 
 *• The minstrel versification is remarkable for 
 alliteration, or words beginning with the same 
 
 letter, and a monotonous modulation proceeding 
 from the absence of the caesura. 
 
 «= Feast of Fools. 
 
 ^ The most ancient amusement in this country. 
 Wart, from memory. 
 
 « Juggler. 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 403 
 
 Or perhaps to gambol in the slanting sun, 
 The menial train to grassy leas withdrew, 
 With pension'd sires whose days of deed were done, 
 Then where two banks of green turf met the view, 
 They tugg'd alternately their bows of yew. 
 And 'chance the grove of bristling shafts among, 
 A gifted one had pierced the centre true, 
 With peals of loud applause the welkin rung, 
 And the gray sires ^gan tell what they atchieved when young.* 
 
 All sudden stoppM — the great bell's sullen roar 
 Proclaimed the day's, the toiFs, the pastime's close, 
 The dormitory oped its massy door. 
 From pendent lamps a circling smoke arose, 
 The fleecy pallets lay along in rows. 
 Each proper one by wall between confined-. 
 There couch'd the Monk, nor doffed his russet cloaths, 
 For he who dared his cover'd limbs unbind. 
 Was surely chid, and deem'd to freakish sins inclined. 
 
 PART THE THIRD. 
 
 In iron times when laws of battle were, 
 That weakly folk, of prowess small in fight. 
 The galling gyves of vassalage should bear ;^ 
 Ere Castle Seneschalls with pale affright 
 Heard the shrill horn wind of the errant knight, 
 A foeman firm affianced to be 
 To all who wronged the feeble of their right ; 
 Such folk the Church let from their thraldom free, 
 A deed that had not shamed the knight of chivalry .^ 
 
 The holy Church too in those iron times. 
 With dreadful sanctity of forms array'd, 
 A pomp of shows for cognizance of crimes. 
 It might false charge uncourteous rumour laid. 
 Of foulest blot on fame of gentle maid ; 
 Her eyes were veiled, her lilly feet were bare, 
 A burning row the ploughshares nine displayed. 
 The guileless maid was heaven's peculiar care, 
 Angels her veil upheld, and Cherubs cried " Beware.^* 
 
 Was it that sin so much to beldames' shame. 
 Of horsing broomstaves through the vault of night. 
 And calling talon'd devils up by name. 
 Who coming would for sport the neighbours fright ; 
 
 * Antiq. Selb. p. 414. Servants were even 
 obliged to travel with bows and arrows, in order 
 to practise with them. Daines Barrington's letter 
 on Archery, in Archseol. v. 7- 
 
 '' The feodal system. 
 
 « Manumission of slaves. Roberts. Ch. 5, ed. 
 
 8vo. V. 1, 329 seq. Manumission began in the 
 reign of Constantine, Eus. Vit. Const, b. 2, c. 32 
 and was performed in the Church before three wit- 
 nesses. Dion. Exig. Justell. Biblioth. Afi. Can. 
 64, Bever. Trul. Can. 85. 
 
 2 D 2 
 
404 
 
 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 Such beldames^ arms and feet they corded tight^ 
 Pkinged them in pools, and on the green banks stood 
 Wond'ring, if they to the arch-wicked sprite 
 In helHsh deed had signed their names in blood. 
 For such bad beldames always sunk beneath the flood. 
 
 Judicial duels (so the times behoved, 
 When men were wont oft from her lifted throne 
 To shoulder Justice) holy Church approved ; 
 With heaps of arms the sacred courts were strown. 
 And glittering death on points of lances shone, 
 A beauteous band of blue-eyed maidens came. 
 And she whose guilty love was over- thrown. 
 Would hide her eyes, and hang her head for shame. 
 Tearing the silken gifts of that unworthy flame. 
 
 And in those iron days, if fell despight 
 Of feodal chieftain galFd the bosom sore ; 
 The relick hoard was sunn'd by unknown hght. 
 And on the thighbone of a saint he swore, 
 jSpite to eschew, as taught God's holy lore. 
 Nor dared false fear that feodal chief to feign. 
 For monk would deep in his remembrance store 
 The ruthful banquet of a bragging Dane, 
 Who was by sword unseen of scorn'd St. Edmund slain.* 
 
 And in those iron times, no forest wide 
 But shrouded robbers and assassins fell. 
 For Justice knew not well her way to guide. 
 Not having Custom^s clue, to that lorn cell 
 Where they were wont 'mid ferns and briars dwell ; 
 Can there be one in better ages born. 
 Who has not heard exulting infants tell. 
 Of Robin Hood, his bow and bugle horn. 
 And how he chased the deer o'er Sherwood's wilds forlorn ? 
 
 Ah me ! much irks it fearful mind to tell, 
 Such trespass vile how holy Church dispraised ; 
 In middle mass, the great reluctant bell 
 By minutes toll'd, the cross on high was raised. 
 And now the lighted torch that sudden blazed. 
 As sudden quench'd, a dreary symbol shew'd;^ 
 The kneeling sinner in dumb horror gazed, 
 The mass priest's cheek with burning blushes gJow'd, 
 While slowly syllabled these formal curses*^ flow'd. 
 
 ^^ Dark be those eyes, that dare with lust behold 
 " Another's earnings, in eternal night :" 
 Amen, and slowly once the great bell toll'd ; 
 " Those hands be shrivell'd by a withering blight, 
 
 » Swearing upon relicks. King Sweyne was 
 thus said to have been punished at Gainsborough, 
 for having threatened to plunder the Monastery 
 and relicks of St. Edmund's Bury. Lyd. Life of 
 St. Edm. in Wart. v. 2, p. 56. 
 
 •» Ceremonies of the greater excommunication. 
 
 •^ This imprecatiott is taken from a formula 
 printed in Robertson's Ch. V. § Proofs, &c. vol. 1, 
 p. 398, ed. 8vo. 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 405 
 
 *' That wealth purvey by deeds of unjust might/^ 
 Amen^ and once the great bell tolled again ; 
 '* Like fortune on the guilty limbs alight, 
 " Such hands that aid ;^^ at end of every strain 
 The great bell tolFd, Amen responded all the train. 
 
 " Be all thy days incessant cursed with toil j 
 " Be void of rest, and yet to rest inclined ; 
 " Be all thy booty but another's spoil ; 
 *' Bewild'ring jeopardies o'erhang thy mind, 
 *' Nor backward look but foes pursuing find ; 
 " Of peril quit, still to thy listening ear 
 '^ A speeding horseman sound in every wind ; 
 ^^ Till lacking crimson life thy carcase fear, 
 ** Through never-ceasing pain shall press an early bier. 
 
 " And soon as doom'd to press that early bier, 
 " In damned talons be thy soul convey'd 
 " To the accursed house of Death and Fear 
 *' And Darkness ; there be thy allotment made 
 " With Judas a who the Lord of Life betray'd ; 
 '^ Refining in expurgatory flame, 
 " Be there thy agonizing spirit laid, 
 '^ Until immaculate of sin and shame, 
 ^^ It meet be to invoke a Saviour^s hallo w'd name. 
 
 " Long as such sins thy guilty soul imbue, 
 '^ So long these curses in dread force remain, 
 " So long these curses shall those sins pursue ;''^ 
 Amen — Amen returned the total train, 
 Fiat — a general Fiat shook the fane ; 
 Still kneel'd that robber, with erected hair 
 And features smiling horribly with pain. 
 Now Frenzy roU'd his eyes, and now Despair 
 Changed them to sightless orbs with petrifying stare. 
 
 Such were the customs of our days of old. 
 For not those days the sun of science cheered; 
 Our song historical must now unfold 
 More mournful tales ; when holy Henry c steer'd 
 The bark of state, a novel race appear'd, 
 Who rules to preach and proselyte obeyed. 
 Though for their home a proper fane was rear'd, 
 No annual bounty to the fane was paid. 
 For all the Friar race were mendicants by trade. 
 
 Unwise it was, for mendicants by trade 
 Are skill'd their tongues, as chrystal smooth, to file. 
 Their fanes were with unequal pomp arrayed, 
 Much as these sons of honey-dropping guile, 
 
 * A common denunciation in early charters. 
 See Monast. v. 3. Ecc. Cath. pp. 126, 303, 4, 5, 
 &c. Canute consigns the infringers of one of his 
 charters to torture by devils in iron fry ing -pans , — 
 ferreis sartaginibus. Id. p. 130. 1 
 
 •» Roberts, C. 5, ed. 8vo. v. 1, p. 398. Com- 
 pare an anathema in Wilkins's Concil. v. 1, p. 
 283. * H. Ill, A. D. 1221. 
 
406 
 
 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 Could flatter, talk, profess, and cringe and smile ; 
 " For ever they to conscience would appeal, 
 ^^ If idle Monk ought live by other's toil^ 
 " No envy their^s, it was becoming zeal 
 " To speak the truth of those, who damaged public weal/'** 
 
 Who sees not faults ? and faults in Monks there were. 
 The Monk not scorn'd to play the juggler's part,^ 
 Penance aloft his whip of wire might bear, 
 More mighty Nature would disdain the smart; 
 The hand that toil'd not, could but waste the mart ; 
 And crimes were rife, for crimes through them had grace,c 
 The Monk not knew within his bounded hearty 
 That scope of feeling for our general race. 
 That, like the eye of God, admits no bound of place. 
 
 The day was come, and what has not its day ? 
 All things regard from use or pleasance gain. 
 Nor longer needed was the dread array 
 Of superstitious thunder, to restrain 
 Hunters and warriors in a feodal reign ; 
 Commerce was building bourses ^^ on the land. 
 Aided by Industry, Art's handmaid train, 
 And Plenty boon, a nymph was with the band 
 CalFd Printing, almost deem'd to wield a magic wand. 
 
 The day was come — Fame trumpeted abroad 
 A six-times-wedded Monarch's ban of wrath ; 
 Upstarting War unsheathed his instant sword. 
 Rebellion ^ led her rabble-legions forth. 
 Her flag unfurling in the stormy North ; 
 Along the clamorous vanguard stalk'd Despair, 
 While busy Superstition nerved the loth ; 
 Pale Injury laid her bleeding bosom bare. 
 And Reverence show'd with dust defiled his hoary hair. 
 
 This horrid while, against the fane forlorn 
 The banded fiends of hell unwearied toiFd, 
 High on a pinnacle stood grinning Scorn, 
 The axe of false Zeal charms of art defiled. 
 And talon'd Sacrilege looked up and smiled. 
 With severing engine as she vestments shore. 
 Recorded good erasing Envy spoiPd, 
 While snatching Violence the charters tore. 
 And scrambling Rapines off the flying fragments bore/ 
 
 » The Jesuitical practices of the begging orders 
 first brought the Monks into disrepute. See their 
 character in Thynne's Chauc. p. 617, and Somp- 
 nour's Tale. The writings of Wickliff destroyed 
 their reputation in return. See Knighton, col. 2665. 
 Conscious of the superior learning of the Friars, the 
 Monks built small colleges at Oxford for the better 
 education of their novices, and thus began our Uni- 
 versities on their present footing. Wart. v. 1, 
 p. 288, seq. 
 
 ^ False Miracles, images with springs, &c. 
 
 <= Sanctuary. 
 
 •* The term is here used figuratively. 
 
 " In A.D. 1536 on account of the dissolution 
 of monasteries. It was called the Pilgrimage of 
 Grace, and in their ensigns they had our Saviour 
 crucified, the host and chalice, &c. MeduU. 
 Histor. p. 207. Godwin's Annals, p. 65. 
 
 ' The visitors destroyed the Monasteries imme- 
 diately on their falling into their hands. Will. 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 407 
 
 For Monk until a figure new they made, 
 Four fiends were busied in a secret nook, 
 The fit materials stammering Ign'rance laid, 
 For Prejudice, that could but one way look. 
 Hypocrisy, that thumbM the sacred book, 
 And crabbM Austerity, that smiling blamed ; 
 For speech they texts of holy scripture took, 
 For his stiiF neck a band dependent framed, 
 And this their figure new a Puritan surnamed.** 
 
 Sedition meanwhile in black gall imbued, 
 A sheaf of arrows from her quiverM store. 
 And with that archery the monks pursued. 
 Who fled the Giant Danger^s strides before. 
 And trunk of tree his breadth of shoulder bore ; ^ 
 The deed was done ; the looking fiends were dumb ; 
 When fleeing all at once, the air they tore 
 With yells that midnight travellers benumb. 
 Groans of the damned in hell, and shrieks of Doomsday come. 
 
 So fell the Monkish fane, and we might deem 
 Were here and there not ivied ruins spread. 
 It ne^er had been, or but a first sleep's dream ; 
 It fell, and doom'd to hide her banishM head 
 For ever, Gothic Architecture fled ; ^ 
 Forewarned she left in one most beauteous place. 
 That much might of her ancient fame be said. 
 Her pendent roof, her windows' branchy grace. 
 Pillars of cluster'd reeds, and tracery of lace.^ 
 
 Be courteous. Commerce — in no sullen mood 
 Too harshly gibe the Monk's less active bent ; 
 For from thy foeman Baron's wassails rude. 
 Where sanctuary a holy dwelling lent, 
 The wattled flocks, the craftsman's canvas tent. 
 The morrice-dancer with his marrion queen. 
 And the famed dog of British hardiment 
 Baiting the bull and bear, were frequent seen 
 In motley crowds to sport along the peopled green .^ 
 
 Be courteous. Commerce — there are bridges high. 
 Ranging their salient angles o'er the strand. 
 Which the Monks rear'd ; where some proud dwellings lie, 
 A fane exorcised agues from the land ; ^ 
 
 Mitr. Abb. Introd. p. 53, seq. Id. Princ. Relig. 
 Hous. p. 274. Religious buildings did not cease 
 to be plundered till the 14th Eliz. upon a criminal 
 process being issued against the offenders. Dugd. 
 St. Paul's, p. 45. 
 
 * Puritanism arose from the translation of the 
 Bible becoming common, being misunderstood, 
 and the aversion from popery producing a contrary 
 extreme. Wart. v. 2, p. 547. Bands are said to 
 be invention of this sect. 
 
 •» The Court of Augmentations appointed the 
 disincorporated monks to vacant benefices, in or- 
 
 der to ease the exchequer of their salaries ; and the 
 endeavours of these men to restore their perished 
 institution produced the proclamation of 1547 
 against preaching. Id. v. 3, p. 197. 
 
 «= Gothic architecture first became mixed with 
 the Greek style in Henry the Eighth's reign. 
 
 ^ Henry VII. 's chap, at Westminster. 
 
 « Monasteries assisted commerce by procuring 
 markets and fairs. Spelm. Gloss, p. 26'4. 
 
 ' Croyland Abbey reared upon piles in the fens 
 of Lincolnshire. Bibliotheca Topographica Bri- 
 tannica, vol. iii. No. zi. 
 
408 
 
 ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 
 
 Hard by conceive its buttress rows to stand. 
 And fine perspective of a range of spires ; 
 Where lie yon leas, uppluckM by monkish hand. 
 Their rushes crackled on the daily fires. 
 Monks delved that foss where-through the brumal flood retires.* 
 
 Be courteous. Learning — think what Monks would write. 
 Figuring strange signs they had wizards seen; 
 Seen dapper fairies by the Moon's pale light. 
 In quaint rings dance about their tiny queen ; 
 Grim ghosts with stony eyes flit o^er the green ; 
 Steeds of bright brass that to the board updrew, 
 "Where sat the Soldan with astonished mien ;^ 
 Or dragons, such as George of Britain slew. 
 Spout smoky hurricanes of flame and sulphurs blue.^ 
 
 (Truth, I would fain but cannot thee commend. 
 For thou art Superstition's enemy. 
 And she to Song has been an ancient friend ; 
 Can'st thou not hide the terrors of thine eye. 
 Hold down thy mirror, and pass smiling by ? 
 Must we thy beams depopulating rue ? 
 Yes, and the visionary race must fly; 
 But stay thy steps, imperious maid, and view 
 One backward glance of scorn, their noble proud adieu.) 
 
 Be courteous, Learning — tales of times of old 
 Of Troynovant, of ancient British land, 
 For you the monkish Chroniclers have told ; 
 Before you, lo ! the greybeard Fathers stand. 
 Holding the holy Martyrs by the hand ; 
 Lo classic Bards, with their thrice triple train 
 Of Attic ladies, sing at your command ; 
 Say could a gifted Poet form a strain 
 For Oxford's earl,d that not attends the monkish fane ? 
 
 Learning, some monks were very deeply taught. 
 Speech they could all into its parts divide,^ 
 But these knew how to prank a showy thought,^ 
 And a minutely-subtle science plied. 
 Drawn from the lore that man to God allied ;S 
 Our laws they tinctur'd with that Emp'ror^s page, 
 Amalfi's rocks were fated long to hide,^ 
 Who could like them with mighty quibbles wage. 
 The syllogistic war of famed Stagy ra's sage ;i 
 
 • For the improvement of desart lands by mo- 
 nasteries, see Roberts. C. 5th, ed. 8vo. v. i. p. 
 244 ; Andrew's Anecdotes, art. Lazy Monks. 
 
 b Chauc. Squier's tale. Milt. P. L. b. 1 , v. 763. 
 To ride through the hall to the high table, was a 
 fevourite custom in the days of chivalry. 
 
 « The monks often wrote for the minstrels. 
 Wart. V. 1, p. 87. 
 
 ^ Alluding to the Harleian collection of MSS. 
 
 « Grammar. ' Rhetoric. 
 
 e Scholast. Theology. 
 
 ^ Pandects of Justinian. Andrews from Pfeffel 
 asserts, that the Civil Law was studied before the 
 discovery of Justinian's code at Amalfi, for the 
 history of which romantic place, see Swinb. Trav. 
 v. 2, p. 149. * Logic. 
 
ECONOMY OF MONASTIC LIFE. 409 
 
 Learning, this lore is deemed of nought to be. 
 Unlovely we from trial sad attest, 
 Yet hence the scornful Nymph Philosophy, 
 In robe succinct for loosely-floating vest, 
 Was by the matron strict Precision drest ;'* 
 And had not hooded Superstition flung 
 On speech o^er vulgar wont her high behest, 
 The sluggard schoolboy ne'er had hsp'd the tongue, 
 That TuUy chastely spoke, and Maro chastely sung. 
 
 Shades of past fame, farewell ! the glooms ye cast ! 
 The melancholy pleasure ye have bred ! 
 There are, who fain would fly into the past. 
 And where I but a weeping pilgrim tread. 
 As cowFd monks hide for aye the aching head ! 
 Alas ! there now are no Elysian bowers. 
 To sepulchre among the living dead, 
 A lost thing, when Lifers day in tempests lours, 
 And Grief the painted wings rends of the shrieking Hours. 
 
 Pause, cries a willowed Youth, in shades like these. 
 With hopeless flames a virgin victim glows. 
 The pride of needy ancientry to please, 
 For ever lost to love, my only rose. 
 The sweetest flower of all my Eden blows. 
 Go, weeping girl ; and I for life must bear 
 An icy soul, enwrapt in winter^s snows. 
 And corpse-eyed visage, of white marble glare, 
 ' So changed by gazing on the Gorgon ghost. Despair. 
 
 • Scholastic learning introduced precision into Philosophy. Life of M. Turgot, p. 1 ; 
 
410 
 
 €l)t Criumpjg! of Vengeance j 
 
 OK 
 
 THE COUNT OF JULIAN. 
 AN ODE. 
 IN THE MANNER OF GRAY. 
 
 This Ode is founded on the following event in the Spanish History, as related 
 by Heylyn (Cosmography, p. 213) : "Of this province (Tingitana) was Julianus 
 Governor in the time of Roderick, who (Julian) being of the faction of the sons 
 ofVitiza (the last king), stomached his (Roderick's) advancement to the king- 
 dom ; and thereby got the greater portion of the king's displeasure ; who send- 
 ing him upon an embassy to the Moors of Africa, in the mean time deflowered his 
 daughter, named Cava (Cuba in Mr. Russel), which the father took in such 
 indignation, that he procured the Moors, amongst whom he had gotten much 
 credit, to come over into Spain. This request they performed under the con- 
 duct of Musa andTariiF, and having made a full conquest a^ 729, subjected it to 
 the great Caliphs or Mahometan Emperours.'^ 
 
 There is a translated poem on the same subject in a collection by Mr. Russel, 
 published at Oxford some years ago. I remember no more of it, than that it 
 interested me extremely, and was one of the finest of that fine wreath of Par- 
 nassian Flowers. The excellent moral of the story will be visible : and this was 
 my inducement to reduce it to verse. 
 
 I. 1. 
 
 From the morning grey and still 
 
 Fast the dews of night retire ; 
 Wide along the heathy hill. 
 
 Burns a blazing stream of fire ; 
 Dark before the glittering gleam. 
 
 Shadows black of horsemen dance ; 
 A steely light with starry beam. 
 
 Glimmers from the shivering lance : 
 Down the mountain, grand and slow. 
 Processioning in state they go : 
 In a bright cloud they close their firm array ; 
 
 Throbbings of glory from the clarions sound ; 
 Before them rolls the thunder of their way ; 
 
 Before them darkness sweeps the shaking ground ; 
 Heard ye the shout, that rent the air ? 
 Saw ye the brandish'd spear, and flash of fiery glare ? 
 
TRIUMPHS OF VENGEANCE. 411 
 
 I. 2. 
 
 Like the wood's edge at deep of night 
 
 Striking back the heedless eye ; 
 Gazing for the coming fight ; 
 
 Dark and terrible we lie ; 
 Silence dread and whispers low, 
 Panting expectation show ; 
 With outstretched arms and streaming eyes. 
 Thus the impassioned father cries ; 
 " Flower of hope, of fragrance wide, 
 
 " Gem, that deck'd the green bank's swell, 
 " No more upon thy painted pride, 
 
 (i My gazing tenderness will dwell. 
 '^ Lightnings of Fury through my eyeballs dart, 
 *^The worm of shame sleeps not, that twines around my heart.'' 
 
 1.3. 
 
 " Maiden of the shining eyes, 
 
 ^^ Cava dear and Cava fair, 
 ^' Starting tears, and stealing sighs, 
 
 " Would a father's pride declare ; 
 " Sweet the summer breeze, that blows 
 *^ Lightly from the dancing rose ; 
 " Soft the silver glitter shed 
 " From the violet's weeping head ; 
 " Gay the bird's new-feather'd wing, 
 " Gay the fresh-bom leaf of spring : 
 " So sweet, so soft, so gay, 
 "The meeken'd lustre of her vernal day; 
 " When in the dance her graceful way she moved, 
 '' In speechless agonies of bliss I loved ; 
 " The flushes of her beauty sunk my eyes, 
 ^' To thoughtless vacancy, and melting soft surprize/' 
 
 n. 1. 
 
 See the wind (the day is still) 
 
 The poplar's twinkling verdure shed ; 
 Ah ! the judgment from the hill 
 
 Shows through the cloud his awful head ! 
 Speedy death and present fear, 
 
 Guilty King, there vow to thee 
 Men, that never shed a tear. 
 
 Stormy or sullen as the sea ; 
 Does the robber ever laugh ? 
 
 Does the wolf's eye lose its fire ? 
 These the bleeding life that quaff. 
 
 No human sympathies inspire : 
 Revenge, that shows what man can do. 
 Unfurl our banners thus, and terrify his view. 
 
 II. 2. 
 
 Now the mountain's steep beneath, 
 
 The winter's flood has found its shores ; 
 Now the north wind sweeps the heath 
 
 On our driving battle pours ; 
 
412 
 
 TRIUMPHS OF VENGEANCE. 
 
 O'er the billows of the war, 
 
 Rodorigo shines afar; 
 
 The Northern Bear, with ruffian sway. 
 
 That bore the Eagle's spoil away ; 
 
 Alarick*s tremendous name 
 
 Burn his cheek with rage and shame ; * 
 
 Seven nights, asleep, awake. 
 
 Fast the bubbles rise and break ; ^ 
 
 Mighty warrior, mighty lord ! *^ 
 
 Will not greatness ease afford ? 
 
 Round him teazing visions fly. 
 
 Suspense's shifting form and writhing agony. 
 
 II. 3. 
 
 Seven nights and seven days 
 Will he gain a hero's praise — 
 Wide the doors enchanted throw. 
 Blast his souPs desire and show ! 
 King, those swarthy warriors see. 
 Foes, that will thy victors be ; 
 Read the characters of fate. 
 They proclaim thy kingdom's date ; ^ 
 Urging is the unseen pow'r. 
 
 End of doubt and end of strife ; 
 Soon will come the fatal hour, 
 
 Last of war, and last of life ; 
 Vain the ardour, vain the toil. 
 Thine is not the joy of spoil ; 
 Stony horror fills thine eyes ; 
 Trumpets of Glory sound, and swell him till he dies, 
 
 III. 1. 
 
 Live, Hope ; prediction is but vain ; 
 Mists gather to disperse again ; 
 Does the thunder rend the skies ? 
 In innoxious tears it dies — 
 Ah ! who is that, in deep despair. 
 
 Retiring with the lion's shame. 
 The fury of his glowing air, 
 
 A fire's expiring flash of flame ; 
 By Fate's unmoving gaze downcast. 
 Weary, mad, forlorn, and last : 
 Flown are his bands ; alone remain 
 Drops of the tempest's ceasing rain ; 
 
 » Roderick was the last of the Gothic line of 
 kings. 
 
 b Roderick had 130,000 foot, and 35,000 horse. 
 Tariff had 30,000 horse and 180,000 foot. The 
 battle continued for seven days together from 
 morning to night. 
 
 * "Mighty victor, mighty Lord. '* Gray, 
 
 ^ Roderick, upon hopes of treasure, opened a 
 part of his palace, of long time forbidden to be 
 touched ; but found nothing but pictures resem- 
 bling the Moors, with a prophecy, that, when- 
 soever the palace was there opened, the people there 
 resembled should overcome Spain. 
 
TRIUMPHS OF VENGEANCE. 413 
 
 " Low the gasping Hero lies/'* 
 
 (Hear the exulting Father's yell) 
 " Gambol/' he screams, " ye fiends, before his eyes, 
 ** And greet his harrowed ears with howls of Hell. 
 
 III. 2. 
 
 " Is he gone, the Lord of Light, 
 
 " The Sun, that spread his beams so wide? 
 " Woe to Spain and endless night ! 
 
 " Shone he high in noon of pride ? 
 " No, it was with a glimmering flame, 
 
 '^ The mockery of a winter's morn ; 
 ^^ Where is the odour of his fame ? 
 
 " Gone with the fleeting flow'r, for ever, ever gone.'* 
 
 III. 3. 
 
 Julian, hear my dying breath ; 
 
 (Prophetic is the voice of death ;) 
 
 Think 'st thou that belongs to thee. 
 
 The mighty of the mightiest decree ? 
 
 He grants the infidel an hour 
 
 To punish Vice's lawless power ; 
 
 Why pass those sages o'er the vale ? 
 
 All hail, ye unborn nations, hail. 
 
 With beaming eyes of brighter rays ! ^ 
 
 Turn, instrument of Heaven, and gaze — 
 
 Ah ! famish'd in a dungeon deep. 
 
 At the bright day does Julian weep ? 
 
 Dead do thy wife, thy children, lie ? 
 
 Liv'd they with wishes but to die ? 
 
 Blest is Roderick that's gone — 
 
 Forget not in thy woes this parting smile of scorn.^ 
 
 * What became of Roderick was never known | ^ The introduction of science into Europe was a 
 
 (says Heylin) ; his soldiers took one arrayed in his consequence of the arrival of the Saracens in Spain, 
 
 cloaths, whom, upon examination, they found to *^ Julian, after seeing the miserable death of his 
 
 be a shepherd, with whom, after the discomfiture, wife and children, was starved in prison by the 
 
 the king had changed his cloaths. However, as it Moors, 
 
 is generally understood he perished, the poetical ) 
 variation (inevitable) is of no moment. 
 
414 THE RED MAN. 
 
 THE RED MAN. 
 
 AN ODE, 
 
 IN THE MANNER OF GRAY AND COLLINS. 
 
 The Red Man, or Vhomme rouge, so called because a little muffled figure, 
 wholly attired in red, is the daemon, or familiar, who in vain warned Buonaparte 
 of every impending danger. [See Paul's Letters, pp. 430, 431.] Upon this 
 legend; the Comet; which appeared over Corsica about the period of Napo- 
 leon^s birth; that of 1811 ; and the newspaper account of a figure seen in the 
 Sun, with a banner, at first erect and surrounded by other figures, but at last 
 prostrate and broken in pieces, this Ode is founded. As it was a subject, purely 
 suggested by a favourable bearing to Poetry, and the Author merely speaks in the 
 character of the Red Man, nothing pohtical is intended. 
 
 L 1. 
 
 " Lo ! A King of the Sky comes forth, 
 
 ^' Marching stately tow'rds the North ; 
 
 " Awful stranger ! dost thou bear 
 
 " Omens, sparkling on thy hair? 
 
 ^' Does thy train of blazing glow, 
 
 " The battlers hurly burly show ? 
 
 '* Or does thy pale orb^s misty gleam 
 
 ^' Show that widows' tears must stream ? 
 
 " Dost thou come in pomp to bring, 
 
 '^ Or wrath to take away a King ? 
 
 ^^ Making now and now undoing, 
 
 " Gamboling with Fate and Ruin ? 
 
 " Art thou come to show God's ire, 
 
 ^^ A migratory world on fire ? 
 
 " Or, art thou He, who at the birth 
 
 " Of GaUia's Lord alarm'd the earth ? 
 
 " Is the Eagle, soon to fly 
 
 " Where he'll droop his wing, and die ?" 
 
 Thus the wond'ring Red Man spoke 
 
 As his sleep an Earthquake broke. 
 
 I. 2. 
 
 Ah ! the Earthquake shakes again ! 
 The tumbling Column^ strews the plain. — 
 How like the Waterfall, what time the Star 
 Of Night comes pacing up the dusky West, 
 Back'd by dark groves, bright glistening from afar 
 I saw thee, France, in robes of Glory drest ; ^ 
 
 * Erected by Buonaparte in imitation of that of French Revolution, when social perfection and 
 Trajan. happiness were to result frona a system, which held 
 
 ^ This and the following stanza (which I 
 published years ago, in the collections of a poetical 
 friend), allude to the pompous pretensions of the 
 
 in utter disregard religion and virtue ; a monstrous 
 absurdity 1 
 
THE RED MAN. 415 
 
 Fine as the waving light of summer noon. 
 
 Soft as the breeze that sweeps the evening deep. 
 
 Thy distant Peeans in luxurious swoon 
 
 Made my exulting ear enchanted sleep ; 
 
 Ah ! where is he, who knows not to admire 
 
 The meteor blaze of Fame, and twinkling dance of Fire ? 
 
 I. 3. 
 
 Oh ! I have gazed enraptur'd with the scene 
 Till fairy dreams upraised my buoyant soul ; 
 Sounds of delight " from airy harps unseen,^' 
 Shades of the blest, *^ whose glittering skirts unrolP' 
 Elysian groves, whence cooling odours blow, 
 Immingled roses in deep burning blush. 
 Essential light in streaming gales, that throw 
 O'er softest glades of green a lustrous flush ? 
 The dancing Hours and Nymphs of purpled wing. 
 Sporting with smiling Loves and Zephyrs of the Spring. 
 
 II. 1. 
 
 Alas ! while thus we sleep and dream. 
 
 How sad to breathe but pestilential steam ; 
 
 Pity and Hope go hand in hand 
 
 To sue, where Fate does not command, 
 
 But cannot bear a form to see 
 
 More ugly, than Adversity ; 
 
 Ages, like the waters, sweep 
 
 In rolUng volumes to the deep ; 
 
 And Grandeur's perishable pride, 
 
 A bubble floating down the tide. 
 
 Glitters in the noon-day beam. 
 
 Then bursts and mingles with the vulgar stream. — 
 
 II. 2. 
 Sorrow, Red Man, thou must not feel 
 Hammer and forge thy soul to steel ; 
 Thou must away to pull the bell 
 "Which tolls a dying Empire's knell ; 
 While, o'er his writhing prey, a lion roaring 
 Shakes his majestick mane, and mocks the tone deploring. 
 
 II. 3. 
 
 Loudly once the Red Man knocks ; 
 
 The doors unfold, the chamber rocks ; 
 
 " Hero, doom'd to flight and shame ; 
 
 " Listen to him, thou canst not name ; 
 
 " Dost thou hear the thunder roll ? 
 
 *' It bodes a tempest in thy soul. 
 
 " Will thy Wolf attempt to tear 
 
 ^' His white beard from the Northern Bear ^ 
 
 " KnoVst thou not, his breath alone 
 
 " Can freeze the ruffian into stone ? 
 
 " Ah ! look not thus with sneering eyes, 
 
 " The Summer with the swallow flies. 
 
 "Is ambition void of woe ? 
 
 " Russia is a Hell of Snow. 
 
416 
 
 THE RED MAN. 
 
 III. 1. 
 
 " Close thy imperial ashes in an Urn,* 
 
 " Thy soul, an ^tna, will for ever burn. 
 
 " Giant of France, and Husband of her choice,^ 
 
 " The Oracle of Victory thy voice ! c 
 
 ^' Spur again the horse of War ; 
 
 " Ah ! what but Vapour is the falling star ? 
 
 " Those warriors old, who scornM to fly, 
 
 " In dumb astonishment must die : 
 
 "Is the Emperor and King 
 
 ^' An insect now without a sting ? 
 
 " Shoulder'd from his gaudy throne 
 
 " By those, whom he was proud to own ;^ 
 
 " Fair was the bride of Austria, fair the Morn, 
 
 " When he the Csesar King was bom. 
 
 '^ Screw the torture to his heart ? 
 
 " The Father from his only Child must part ; 
 
 " Are his Marshals false and hollow ? 
 
 " Will Birds of Prey not carrion follow ? 
 
 " In black procession to inter his fame 
 
 " They stalk ; but still the smoke betrays surviving flame." 
 
 III. 2. 
 " What dost thou laugh in scorn ? Ah ! then 
 "Thou dog within a lion's den, 
 ^' Take the boon contempt will give ; 
 " A statue on a pedestal to live ; 
 " Gaze on to-morrow's Sun. and see 
 " The signs that Heaven shows to thee ; 
 " Say then, ' I see ; but not believe f 
 " Hereafter, ^ I have seen ; and grieve.' '* 
 
 III. 3. 
 
 " Land of the bravest brave and fairest fair ! 
 
 " Thou land, that worshippest God's blessed Son ! 
 
 " Thou land, that teachest to forgive and spare ! 
 
 " Thou land, that praisest, when God^s will is done ! 
 
 " Too great to fear, and too humane to hate, 
 
 " Royal in mind, he 's still in patience great ; ® 
 
 " Let Nature's saintly milkiness, in grace 
 
 " Grant to the Sire once more a Son's embrace ; 
 
 **' A Belisarius without a home 
 
 " Who fears ? who now regards his pageant reign of Rome ?'^ 
 
 * Elba. 
 
 »> It is well known, that Universal Conquest 
 was a favourite project in France, long before the 
 time of Buonaparte. He only married the Na- 
 tional Vanity for her fortune, and was governed 
 by his wife, an imperious fury. 
 
 « As soon as the Emperor appeared in the field 
 
 at the commencement of any battle, the soldiery 
 rent the air with shouts. Labaume. 
 
 ^ The Austrian family, whose junction with the 
 Allies, first turned the scale against him. 
 
 * From his character, dispassionately drawn, in 
 the Edinburgh Review. 
 
417 
 
 THE LAST FIFTY YEARS. 
 
 A Parody on Collinses Ode to the Passions. 
 
 When Revolution, iidler blind, was young, 
 (While yet in modern France he sung) 
 The Democrats to hear him sing 
 Thronged around the vulgar ring ; 
 Exulthig, trembling, raging, fainting. 
 Fuddled, beyond the Muse's painting ; 
 By turns they felt a moon-struck mind; 
 To castle-building much inclined ; 
 With fresh supplies of gin then fir'd, 
 Fiird with fury, rapt, inspir'd ; 
 They snatch'd from the surrounding boys 
 Their various instruments of noise ; 
 And, as they oft had heard apart 
 From thieves, the signal-whistle's art ; 
 Each, for madness rul'd the hour. 
 Would prove his own seditious power. 
 
 First Hardy* came his skill to try 
 Amongst the Corresponding trade ; 
 And back recoil'd — he well knew why — 
 Of neck-extension sore afraid. 
 
 Tom Paine, combustible most dire. 
 Next made the rich Stockholders sAveat ; 
 The hangman to his tail set iire,t 
 And off he scamper'd, deep in debt. 
 
 In Parley's meadows, John HorneTooke 
 With parts of speech his grief beguiPd 3 % 
 The Verbo-philosophic book 
 By fits was fine, by starts was wild. 
 
 But thou, O Fox, with speech so fair. 
 
 What was thy opposing measure ? 
 
 Still it whisper'd pensioned pleasure, 
 
 And bade the places good at distance hail ; 
 
 Still would his touch the strain prolong. 
 
 And from the India Bill's sad tale. 
 
 He call'd on Westminster through all the song : 
 
 And when to toast the Sov'reign mob he chose. 
 
 His title lost,§ he mourn'd at every close ; 
 
 * Secretary to the Corresponding Society, and 
 tried for treason. 
 
 t The Age of Reason was burnt by the common 
 hangman. 
 
 X The " Diversions of Parley," which reduce 
 the parts of speech to only the noun and verb. 
 
 § Mr. Fox's name was erased from the Privy 
 Council for this toast. 
 
 2 E 
 
418 THE LAST FIFTY YEARS. 
 
 And Fox neglected wept, and wav'd his pig-tail'd hair ; 
 
 Yet longer had he sung — but with a frown, 
 
 BuRDETT impatient rose ; 
 
 And threw his bonnet rouge in thunder down ; 
 
 And with his Palace- Yardian look, 
 
 The mob-collecting trumpet took ; 
 
 And blew a blast so loud and dread, 
 
 Ne'er were the Cornish Burghs so full of woe ; 
 
 And ever and anon he beat. 
 
 The CoBBETT Drum with furious heat ; 
 
 And though at times, each dreary pause between, 
 
 Th' Attorney General at his side, 
 
 His soul- subduing voice applied. 
 
 Yet still he kept his wild unalter'd mien, 
 
 Till in the Tow'r close shoppM, he laid his aching head. 
 
 Thy numbers, Cochrane, to the Funds were fixM, 
 
 Sad proof of thy distressful state ; 
 
 Of war and politics the theme was mix'd. 
 
 And now he woo'd employ, now raving called on hate. 
 
 With eyes uprais'd, as one inspir'd, 
 
 Pitt in the Treasury sat retir'd; 
 
 And from his snug official seat, 
 
 In notes, by Lucre made more sweet, 
 
 PourM through the Commons' House his winning soul ; 
 
 From Opposition Rocks around 
 
 Burke jump'd away, and hailM the sound; 
 
 Through corp'rate towns the safety-measures stole, 
 
 And o'er the bottle's talk with fond delay. 
 
 Jacks in office port-wine boozing. 
 
 Constitution toasts diffusing. 
 
 At civic banquets drank away. 
 
 But, oh ! how alter'd was its marching tone, 
 
 When Government, a nymph of brawny hue. 
 
 With Habeas Corpus o'er her shoulder flung. 
 
 And Volunteers in buskins gemmed with dew. 
 
 Blew an inspiring air, that inn and post-house rung. 
 
 The soldier's call, to tippling idlers known ; 
 
 The Cyprian fair, and their dram-drinking queen, 
 
 Drummers and corporals were seen, 
 
 Peeping from forth our alleys green ; 
 
 Pipe-clay'd Militia-men rejoic'd to hear, 
 
 And six-foot tailors grasp'd the sergeant's spear. 
 
 Last came Finance's dubious trial. 
 
 He with the income-tax advancing ; 
 First to the yellow Gold his hand address'd. 
 But soon he saw the Bank-restriction viol. 
 Whose more prolific notes he lov'd the best ; 
 They would have thought, who heard the strain. 
 They saw in Lombard street the Bankers mad. 
 All bills discounting, whether good or bad ; 
 To rising Stock perpetual dancing ; 
 
THE LAST FIFTY YEARS. 419 
 
 While, as his flying fingers kiss*d the strings, 
 Pitt and the Bank fram'd a fantastic round ; 
 Loose were her tresses seen, her zone unbound. 
 And he amidst his froHc play, 
 As if he would one time or other pay. 
 
 Exchequer Bills shook from his paper wings. 
 
 Oh ! Money, earth-extracted maid ! 
 
 The lender's loss, the borrower's aid, 
 
 Say, Goddess, why to us denied, 
 
 Layest thou prices high aside ; 
 
 As in that loaf -in-seven- days year *, 
 
 When things were most confounded dear; 
 
 Link'd arm in arm, O Nymph endear'd. 
 
 Thou hast with strumpets forg'd appear'd — 
 
 Where is thy native form unlying. 
 
 Scales and weights and dirt defying ? 
 
 Arise as in that elder time. 
 
 Sweated and clipped, but still sublime ; 
 
 Thy wonders in that golden age 
 
 Fill England's subsidizing page. 
 
 'Tis said (and I believe the tale) 
 That Guineas were expos'd to sale ; 
 And that our latest cask of beer. 
 The Sinking Fund, was tapp'd this year ; 
 Pitt, I with weeping say, seduc'd 
 The Bank, and left her much reduc'd ; 
 Scarce left her bare back clothes enough. 
 And made her Fame a Lottery PufF; 
 Abortive drugs were given by Pitt — 
 But now laid in, she bears gold yet. 
 
 ■ Some years back the consumption of bread was restricted to a quartern loaf per week for each person. 
 
 2 E 2 
 
420 
 
 ON A LADY BATHING. 
 
 In the manner of the Italian Concetto, 
 
 Be hushed, ye winds, ye tempests, cease. 
 My Love now tries the faithless main ; 
 
 Be still, ye waves, and glide in peace. 
 Until my Love returns again. 
 
 But should the wat'ry mountains roll. 
 And overwhelm their lovely prize ; 
 
 ^Twere just, for she their treasures stole 
 Their brightest glitt'ring gems for eyes. 
 
 But see, more bright in all her charms. 
 
 My darling girl returning see ; 
 She tells me all her soul's alarms. 
 
 What boldly dar'd the saucy sea. 
 
 That down her hair in fond embrace. 
 The raptur'd waves enamour'd clung. 
 
 And loth to leave so sweet a place. 
 In pearls adown her tresses hung. 
 
 That one fond wave upon her breast 
 
 To die in ecstasy resolv'd ; 
 And weeping, that it was so blest. 
 
 In show'rs of joyous tears dissolved. 
 
 Yet, grateful still for so much bliss, 
 
 It left a gift its love to prove, 
 And fixM its coral in a kiss 
 
 Upon her ruby lips of love. 
 
421 
 
 EPITAPH. 
 
 In the German manner. 
 
 Humanity, sweet sister of Sympathy, 
 
 Gratitude, beauteous daughter of Honour, 
 
 Ye delicious melodies of applauding Conscience ; 
 
 Ye smiling eyes of undefecated Affection ; 
 
 Ye overpowering felicities of unutterable Sensation ; 
 
 Ye meek Cordialities ; ye holy Pieties of Nature ; 
 
 Welcome into eternity 
 
 The friend of those who wanted friends, 
 
 CHARLES HAYWARD, Esquire, of Quedgley: 
 
 An elegant scholar, 
 
 His bright mind was a continual sunshine ; 
 
 A generous patron, 
 
 Genius and Learning felt not the spurn of sensuality ; 
 
 A friend to the best interests of his country, 
 
 He blended the patriot and the subject : 
 
 A man of opulence. 
 
 He founded not his character upon it ; 
 
 A man of family. 
 
 He spoke not unwisely, or acted perniciously. 
 
 Almighty Father ! 
 
 May thine own energies of thine own religion 
 
 Now make him as thyself. 
 
 All glorious ! All happy ! 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 ABBEY-GATE, 281. 
 
 pieces, what, 275. 
 
 Abbot, I appellation, 83. 
 
 Abbess, J rank, 83. Lay Abbots, 83. Elec- 
 tion, 84, seq. Qualifications, 85. Exemp- 
 tion, 85. Benediction, 86. Customs, duties, 
 &c. 87—93. Table, residence, 93, 94. 
 Power, &c. 101, 102. Dress, 103. Charac- 
 ter, 104, 105. Vices, 106, 107, spq. Deaths, 
 107. Officers, 107, seq. Apartments, 108. 
 Mitres, 285. 
 
 Accomplishments, female, what, 185. 
 
 Advent, duties of, &c. 32. 
 
 Albs, 56. 
 
 Alleluia, burial of, 56. 
 
 All Saints, 1 , , ^ A^ 
 
 All Souls, jhowkept, 41. 
 
 Almoner, various of, 130. 
 
 Almonry, various of, 244. 
 
 Altar, various of, 201, 
 
 Amazons, modern, 340. 
 
 Amess, 189. 
 
 Anchorets, 370, seq. 
 
 Anchor-holds, 372, seq. 
 
 Angels instigating Pilgrimage, 323, 324. 
 
 Animals kept, 162. 
 
 Antiquity, forged, 10. 
 
 Antony, St. converts of, QQ, 
 
 Anthony Pig, QQ. 
 
 Ara Frode, 325. 
 
 Arms, why iterated, 320. 
 
 Asceticks, 10, 11. 
 
 severities, laity attached to, 2, 
 
 Ash -Wednesday, 48. 
 Asses, feasts of, 42, 48, 5L 
 Astell, Mary, her college, 298. 
 Astrology, 6. 
 Auguries, 7, 159. 
 
 Augustinian Rules, 72. Costume, 286. Ere- 
 mites, 82, 236, 237. Costume, 286. 
 Austere system, effects of, J, 2. 
 Bacon, when allowed, 32. 
 Bakehouse, 278. 
 Bakers, 193. 
 Ball-play, 56. 
 Bangor Abbey, 23. 
 Baptism, 35. 
 Barbarians, who, 3. 
 Bare-feet, 318. 
 Baths, 11. 
 
 Bauble, origin of, 44. 
 Bear-baiting, &c. 160. 
 Beard, why worn, 319. 
 Beds, 227. 
 Beguines, 298, 385. 
 Bells, various of, 16, 52, 209, 392. 
 — — of Pilgrims, 316. 
 
 Benedicite salutation, 30, 184. 
 
 Benedict XIL constit. 60. 
 
 Benedictines, Rule, GQ, 68. Costume, 286. 
 
 Benedictions, origin of, 35. Farewell, 239. 
 
 Of Abbesses, 292. 
 Benett's, St. Priory, 197. 
 Billets sawing, 235. 
 Binnacle, ancient, 331. 
 Binham Priory, 197. 
 Blacking, first use, 283. 
 Blue -coats, origin, 196. 
 Bon-hommes, 82. 
 Bookbinding, 259. 
 Boots, origin of, 283. 
 Bourdon, 315. 
 Brazen-heads, 7. 
 Breeches, 282. 
 
 Brigettines, Rule, 80. Costumes, 287. 
 Brothers of the Sack, 82. 
 Buonaparte, character of, 414. 
 Burials, Monastick, 213. 
 
 in a cowl, 173. 
 
 Buildings, Monastick, 197. 
 Bursar, 125. 
 Camel's-hair, what, 14. 
 Candlemas day, 32, 311. 
 Candles, when lighted, 35. 
 Candlesticks, 203. 
 Canonical hours, 28, 29. 
 
 Canons, {^,11^^,%^ ^^, 
 
 Canterbury bells, 356. 
 
 Caricatures, 258. 
 
 Carmelites, Rule, 78. Costume, 287. 
 
 Carter, John, his Specimens of English Eccle- 
 siastical Costume, 290 — 296. 
 
 Carthusians, 71. Costume, 287. 
 
 Castles classified, 198, seq. 
 
 Catharine, St., the Virgin and Martyr, chapel 
 of, 356. 
 
 Cats, devils, 7. 
 
 Caym, what it meant, 172. 
 
 Cellarar, cellaress, 118. 
 
 Cells, 271. 
 
 in orders Eremite, 232. 
 
 in the Dormitory, 311. 
 
 Chamberlain, 141. 
 
 Chapter, various of, 222. 
 
 Charities, what, 31, 264. 
 
 Chivalry, 263. 
 
 Choir-girl, form of investing, 311, 312. 
 
 Choristers, 373. 
 
 Christmas day, various of, 41. 
 
 Christmas box, 44. 
 
 Chronicles, who versed in, 361. 
 
 Church, 198. British, and a Saxon, what, 16, 
 198. Ornamenting of, 43. Service, 62, 
 209. Of Nuns, 309, seq. 
 
424 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Church-yard, various of, 213. 
 
 Cistertians, 65, 69. Costume, 287. 
 
 Clergy, why denied matrimony, 23. 
 
 Cloaths of the Monks, 286. 
 
 Clogs, 283. 
 
 Cloister, various of, 23, 49, 50, 229, seq. 
 
 Clugniacks, 65, 68, &c. Costume, 287. 
 
 Cockade, origin, 284. 
 
 Collation, 31. 
 
 Combs, various of, 283. 
 
 Comets, prophetick, 4. 
 
 Common-house, 274,311. 
 
 Commons, what, 219. 
 
 Completory, Complin, 30, 31. 
 
 Compostella, shrine of St. James at, 354. 
 
 Concubines, what, 23. 
 
 Confession, various of, 225, 226. 
 
 Confessional, 205, 310, 
 
 Convent, what made, 21. 
 
 Conversae, or Penitent Prostitutes, 383. 
 
 Convert Husbands and Wives, 383. 
 
 Cook, 123. 
 
 Copes, 55. 
 
 Corporal, 202. 
 
 Corpus Christi day, 59. 
 
 Costumes, various of, 16, 18, 282, 290—296, 
 
 305, 306, 320. 
 Counters, arithmetick, 275. 
 Courtesies, Monastick, 184. 
 Courts, Monastick, 262. 
 Cowhouse, 281. 
 Cowl, 282. 
 Cripts, 205. 
 
 Crosiers, various of, 96, 103. 
 Cross, various of, 34, 35, 55. 
 Crusades, 340—343. 
 
 Crusaders, various of, 319, 328, 337—343. 
 Cyr, St. Ceremonial of the Nuns of, 309—313. 
 
 Festival of, 313. 
 Dais, high, 86. 
 Dancing, various of, 228. 
 Danes, why they destroyed the Monks, 23. 
 Day-socks, 31. 
 Deans, 116. 
 
 Death, without confession, &c. 3. 
 Degrees, expensive, &c. 187. 
 Dependent Churches, 269. 
 Deposits in Abbeys, 230. 
 Devil, various of, 5, 7. 
 Diffinitors, 146. 
 Dinner, various of, 219. 
 Disciplines, various of, 223. 
 Dissolution of Abbies, 308. 
 Divination, various of, 7. 
 Divinity, study of, how rewarded, and what, 6, 
 
 seq. 
 Dominical prayer, clause in, 352. 
 Dominicans, 74. Costume, 287. 
 Dormitory, 227, 311. 
 Dove at the ear, 15, 16. 
 Dovecote, 281. 
 Dreams, prophetick, 6. 
 Dress, various of, 4, 285. 
 Druidism, 18, 21. 
 Dwarfs, 340. 
 
 Easter, ceremonies of, 34. 
 Economy of Monastic Life, a Poem, ?89. 
 Education, various of, 183, 185, 186. 
 Embaterienne, 316. 
 Epitaph on C. Hayward, 421. 
 Ewenny Piiory, 197. 
 Exchequer, 275. 
 
 Exercise, when taken, 366. 
 
 Expulsion, what, 224. 
 
 Fanaticism, various of, 2. 
 
 Farm-houses, inns 267. 
 
 Fasting, when, 57 
 
 Feasts, what, 44. 
 
 Fellow-sisters, 194. 
 
 Festivals, various of, 41, 357. 
 
 Fifty years, lines on the last, 419. 
 
 Fillan, St. bell in the chapel of, 324, 325. 
 
 Fish-ponds, 218. 
 
 Flesh, why forbidden, 218. 
 
 Fontevraud Nuns, 82, 160. 
 
 Fonts, various of, 35. 
 
 Fool, domestick, 171. 
 
 Fools, feast of, 44. 
 
 Fool-waker, 210. 
 
 Forms for prostration, 50. 
 
 Franciscans, 78, 79. Costume, 288. 
 
 Fraternity, letters of, 173. 
 
 Freewarren, why, &c. 153. 
 
 Friars, various of, 168, seq. 
 
 Friday, how sacred, 57, 220. 
 
 Frock, what, 282. 
 
 Fulgentius, rule of, 37. 
 
 Furnariae, 193. 
 
 Galilees, 205. 
 
 Garden, 279, 311. 
 
 Gedding, Protestant Nunnery at, 298. 
 
 Gems, variety of, 7. 
 
 General Chapters, 163. 
 
 General of the Order, 145. 
 
 Genuflections, 34. 
 
 Gilbertines, 77. Costume, 288, 289. 
 
 Gipsies, 335. 
 
 Girdle, 27, 284. 
 
 Glastonbury, 11, 12. 
 
 Good-bye, origin of, 239. 
 
 Grace-cup, origin of, 216. 
 
 Grace-saying, 38. 
 
 Grandmontines, 65, 70. 
 
 Granges, 271, 399. 
 
 Grave, visitation of, 214. 
 
 Greeting-House, 238. 
 
 Guest-Hall, 238. 
 
 Hair, cutting off, 178. 
 
 Hair-shirts, various of, 16. 
 
 Hammocks, unknown, 25. 
 
 Handkerchief, 283. 
 
 Hand organ, how played, 257. 
 
 Hayward, Charles, epitaph on, 421. 
 
 Head-coverings, 284. 
 
 Hebdomadary, who, 32. 
 
 Hermitages, 381. 
 
 Hermits, 370, 379. 
 
 Heroick love, 364, 365. 
 
 Herses, 203. 
 
 Historical reasoning, when correct, 3. 
 
 Holy-water-basins, 205. Aspersion of, 310. 
 
 Holy-wells, 360. 
 
 Horse -back, two on, 25. 
 
 Hospitaler, 140. 
 
 Knights, 66, 75. Costume, 289. 
 
 Origin, 341. 
 Hospital, Statutes, 297. 
 Host, various of, 206, 278. 
 Hot Cross buns, origin of, 54. 
 Houses, British, 198, 
 Housewifery, 185. 
 Hunting, various of, 105, 153. 
 Ignorance, what favourable to, 3. 
 Illumination of MSS. 256. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 425 
 
 Images, various of, 355. why on tombs, 257. 
 
 Impresses, 3G4. 
 
 Impiety of Caligula, Philo-Judaus's treatise of, 
 
 246. 
 Indelicacy, female, 185. 
 Infirmarer, Infirmaress, 135. 
 Infirmary, 233, 311. 
 Intermeals, 217. 
 Ironing, substitute for, 285. 
 Jacobites, 168. 
 
 Jerusalem, pilgrimage to, 323. 
 John's Day, bonfire on, 311. 
 Jongleurs, 361. 
 Jubilees, 350. 
 Judgment, what, 222—224. 
 Juniors, who, 265. 
 Kilpeck Church, 205. 
 Kings, oflace of the three, 47. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon, 28. 
 
 Kington, St. Michael, Nunnery of, 185. 
 
 Kirtle, 282. 
 
 Kiss of peace, 95. 
 
 Kitchen, 276, 277. 
 
 Kitchener, 123. 
 
 Knife, 283. 
 
 Lady bathing, verses on, 420. 
 
 Lady-chapels, 205. 
 
 Lady of Pity, 355. 
 
 Lateran Council, decrees of, 59, 60. 
 
 La Trappe, Monks of, 299, seq. 
 
 Lavatory, 216. 
 
 Laundresses, what, 334. 
 
 J /brothers, M91. 
 
 ^^y 1 sisters, S 193. 
 
 Lazy Scoundrel, whence derived, 183. 
 
 Lecterns, 203. 
 
 Lectionary, 259. 
 
 Lecturer, 128. 
 
 Lents, various of, 190. 
 
 Leonine verse, 400. 
 
 Letters, dimissory, 190. 
 
 Library, various of, 245. 
 
 Lights extinguished, 51. 
 
 Literature, Monastick, various of, 246. 
 
 Lockers, 204. 
 
 Locutory, various of, 243. 
 
 Love-making, various of, 368. 
 
 Lulworth Monks, 299, seq. 
 
 Magick, 6, 7. 
 
 Malt-liquor, various of, 218. 
 
 Mantle, what, 282. 
 
 Mark, St. day of, 57. 
 
 Martin, Rule of, 14. 
 
 Martyrology, 222. 
 
 Masham, Lady, 299. 
 
 Masquerades, 160. 
 
 Mass, when said, 366. 
 
 Mats, how used, 130. 
 
 Maundy, 30, 33. 
 
 Medicine mixed with reliques, 7. 
 
 Meridians, 36, 227. 
 
 Midlent Sunday, origin of, 33. 
 
 Minstrels, various of, 165. 
 
 Minution, 234. 
 
 Mints, 275. 
 
 Miracles, various of, 8, 9. 
 
 Misericord, 264. 
 
 Misfortunes, how construed, 3. 
 
 Mitre of Abbots, 285. See too Abbot. 
 
 Monachism, why successful, 8, 9. British, 13. 
 
 Scotch, 18. Irish, 19. Early Anglo-Saxon, 
 
 21, seq. Modern, 298, seq. 
 
 Monastic life, rhymes on, 150, 151. 
 
 Monks, Nuns, various of, 148, seq, 
 
 Mountjoyes, what, 356. 
 
 Museum, 253. 
 
 Necrology, 222. 
 
 Needle, antiquity of, 39. 
 
 Needle-case, 39, 283, 284. 
 
 Needle-work of Nuns, 185. 
 
 Novices, Master of, 132. Mistress of, 133. 
 
 various of, 173, seq. form of investing 
 
 female, 311. 
 
 Novitiates, British, 14. 
 
 Nuns, British, 17, seq. Costume of, Plate, 
 284. Faults of, 177, seq. Stile of, 178. 
 Consecration, &c. 187, seq. Customs at 
 Church, &c. 309, seq. 
 
 Nuns' Confessor, 147. 
 
 Obedientiaries, 110. 
 
 Obscene words used, 185. 
 
 Octaves, what, 56. 
 
 Officers, inferior, 143. 
 
 Omens, influence of, 6. 
 
 Organs, 204. 
 
 Oriel, 237. 
 
 Otters eaten, 218. 
 
 Pachomius, Rule of, 23. 
 
 Painted Glass, various of, 206. 
 
 Palace, meaning of, 220, 238. 
 
 Pall, 202. 
 
 Palmers, 344. Staves, 316. 
 
 Palm-Sunday, 32,33. 
 
 Palm tree, 316. 
 
 Pancakes, origin of, 48. 
 
 Paradise, where, 325. 
 
 Parental indulgence deemed criminal, 2, 3. 
 
 Parlours, various of, 243. 
 
 Paschall, 50, 54. 
 
 Passion-week, 33, 50. 
 
 Pattens worn, 283. 
 
 Pavement, Encaustick, &c. 208, seq. 
 
 lines cut in, 205. 
 
 Pax, what, 95. 
 
 Peace, giving the, 30. 
 
 Penance, curious, 349. 
 
 Pensile tables, 204. 
 
 Penitents, reconciliation of, 231. 
 
 Phlebotomy, 233. in the foot, 311. 
 
 Physick, kitchen, 236. 
 
 Pilch, 284. 
 
 Pilgrimage, signs of, 316. of Grace, what, 406. 
 
 Pilgrims, Costumes, 315. Antiquity of Pilgrim- 
 age, British Pilgrims, 322. Consecration of 
 Pilgrims, 326. Preparatory steps to the jour- 
 ney, 328. Manners and Customs on shipboard, 
 330 ; on the journey by land, 333. Arrival at 
 Jerusalem — consequences of the Crusades, 
 343. Miscellaneous of Crusaders, 387. Re- 
 Rtura ome.— Palmers, 344. Pilgrimages of 
 Punishment and Penance, 346. Pilgrimages 
 to Rome, 350 ; to Compostella, 352. Pro- 
 vincial Pilgrimages to Shrines, Wells, &c. 
 355. Mourning, Incognito, and Political 
 Pilgrimages, Pilgrims Adventurers, Pilgrims 
 against Hereticks, 361. Love Pilgrims, 363. 
 Office of Pilgrims in the Church of Rouen, 
 369. 
 
 Piment, 217. 
 
 Pinnafores worn, 217. 
 
 Pious frauds, 3. 
 
 Pittance, what, 219. 
 
 Plumage of birds, opinion of, 3. 
 
 Porch (Church), 63. 
 
426 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Porter, Porteress, 130, 147. 
 
 — of Barons, 367. 
 
 Portraits, what, 184. 
 
 Praeraonstratensians, 72. Costumes, 289. 
 Praecentor, 120. 
 Prsecentrix, 122. 
 Prior, 112. 
 
 General, 145. 
 
 • Provincial, 145. 
 
 Prioresses, 116. 
 
 Prison, 261. 
 
 Processions, various of, 231. 
 
 Abbot's place in, 86. 
 
 Professions, various of, 179. 
 Promotion of Monks, 100. 
 Psalra-singing, 25, 309. 
 
 • on journeys, 179. 
 
 Pulpits, 206. 
 
 Punishments, various of, 222, 223. 
 
 Puritanism, origin of, 407. 
 
 Red Man, an Ode, 414. 
 
 Refectioner, 138. 
 
 Refectory, 216, 297. 
 
 Religion, how perverted, 3, seq. 
 
 Reliquaries, 284. 
 
 Repentance, rich exonerated from, 4, 5. 
 
 Retro-choir, 205. 
 
 Richard I., pilgrimage of, 329. 
 
 Riding, criminal, 2. Through the hall, 408. 
 
 Rings of Nuns, &c. 190. 
 
 Robert the Devil, 347. 
 
 Rochet, what, 282. 
 
 Rogation days, 56. 
 
 Roodlofts, various of, 204, 378. 
 
 Rosary, 317. 
 
 Rushes, church strewed with, 209. 
 
 Sabbath, when, 27. 
 
 Sacrist, 126. 
 
 Sacristy, 282. 
 
 Saints, various of, 3, 8, 11. attributes, 207, 
 
 208. bells, 206. 
 Sallads, 217. 
 Sanctuary, 268. 
 
 Saturday, various of, 27, 31, 37. 
 Scapulary, what, 288. 
 Scarf, 320. 
 Scrip, 315. 
 
 Scholastic learning, result of, 409. 
 Seats in the Choir, 203. 
 Seals, conventual, 229. 
 Seneschals, 124. 
 Sepulchre, Officer of, 55. 
 Seniors, who, 265. 
 Serpent, ceremony of, 33. 
 Servants, 195, seq. 
 Sermons, Monkish, 211, 212. 
 Shaving of the Monks, 195, 
 Shepherds, office of, 42. 
 Shire Thursday, 51. 
 Shoes, 283. 
 
 Shoulders, women carried on, 334. 
 Shrove Tuesday, 48. 
 Signs, Monastic, 150. 
 Silence, duty of, 149, 150. 
 Sisters, who, 194. 
 Smelling-bottles, 285. 
 Socks, 283. 
 Song-school, 273. 
 Spettisbury Nuns, 306. 
 Stable, 281. 
 Stamin, 282. 
 
 Standards of the Church, 231 . 
 
 Statuaries, waxen, 358. 
 
 Stonehenge, what, 389. 
 
 Story-teller, whence derived, 361. 
 
 Studies, 260. 
 
 Sub-prior, 1 16. 
 
 Succentor, 121, 122. 
 
 Sudden death, why, 3. 
 
 Superstition, where unavoidable, 3. 
 
 Tabard, 284. 
 
 Table, what, 114. singing, 121. 
 
 Tabulae, singing, 121. 
 
 Tapers, 206. 
 
 Tarring and feathering, 331, 332. 
 
 Taverns, various of, 24. 
 
 Tecla, Saint, 322. 
 
 Templars, 65, 66, 76. Costumes, 289. foun- 
 dation, 341, 342. 
 
 Temporal good and evil, how connected, 4. 
 
 Terrier of the house, 143. 
 
 Thomas's day, custom of, 41. 
 
 Threshing on the knees, 257. 
 
 Thunder, effects of, 6. 
 
 Tickets, drawing, 310. 
 
 Tippet, 284. 
 
 Toasts, drinking, 240. 
 
 Tonsure, various of, 284. 
 
 Tooth-drawing, 236. 
 
 Towers, what for, 206. 
 
 Trance, how construed, 6. 
 
 Trappe, La, Monks of, 299, seq. 
 
 Travellers, custom of, 26. 
 
 Travelling of Monks, 265. by night how re- 
 puted, 266. 
 
 Treasurer, 125. 
 
 Trental, 214. 
 
 Trinitarians, 73. Costume, 289. 
 
 Trinity, respect for, 16, 323. 
 
 Sunday, 59. 
 
 Triumph of Vengeance, an ode, 410. 
 
 Troubadours, who, 365. 
 
 Trumpets for bells, 23. 
 
 Tumbling in Nunneries, 185. 
 
 Tunicks, 282. 
 
 Twelfth-day, 310. 
 
 Vagrant Monks, 269. 
 
 Vaticination, 6. 
 
 Veils, 188, 284. 
 
 Vestiary, 282. 
 
 Veronique, Vernicle, 351. 
 
 Victor, St. Order of, at Paris, 104. 
 
 Vigils, 32. 
 
 Vignettes, 258. 
 
 Virgin Mary 50, 54. 
 
 Visions, 6. 
 
 Visitations, 59, 163, 164. 
 
 Visitors, 238. 
 
 Vows of Chastity, 383, seq. 
 
 Universities, mode of living in, 180. origin of, 
 406. 
 
 Upper-crofts, 199. 
 
 Wardens (Franciscans), 146. 
 
 Washing, how done, 24. 
 
 Whale, exhibition of, 160. 
 
 Whitsuntide, 57, 58. 
 
 Whistling, admired, 273. 
 
 Widows mourning, 384. 
 
 Wimple, 282, 284. 
 
 Witchcraft, 7. 
 
 Writing, variety of, 255. 
 
427 
 
 INDEX OF LATIN TERMS EXPLAINED. 
 
 Acoemiti, 17. 
 
 Agnus Dei, 57. 
 
 Allivis, 187. 
 
 Altaria Animarum, 203. 
 
 Ampullae, 126, 204. 
 
 Analogium, 203. 
 
 Annotatio Regulee, 222. 
 
 Ante and Retro, 40. 
 
 Antependium, 202. 
 
 Antexenodochium, 233. 
 
 Anticse, 203. 
 
 Antiphonar, 33. 
 
 Antiquarii, 254. 
 
 Arbores, 203. 
 
 Arietem levare, 264. 
 
 Bajuli obituum, 235. 
 
 Barbarus, 3. 
 
 Barbati fratres, 193. 
 
 Bardicatio, 214. 
 
 Benedicite, 30, 184. 
 
 Biberes, 32. 
 
 Breve, 213. 
 
 Brodiatores, 255. 
 
 Capelli, 369. 
 
 Caritates, 31, 264. 
 
 Ciborium, 202. 
 
 Circa, Circator, 114. 
 
 Clamatio, 223. 
 
 Combennones, 20. 
 
 Consolatio, 220. 
 
 Consorores, 194. 
 
 Contacium, 121. 
 
 Continentes, 383. 
 
 Conversi, 40. 
 
 Conversae, 383. 
 
 Coronae, 203. 
 
 Credentia, 203. 
 
 Cubiculura computatorium, 275. 
 
 Culcitrse, 227. 
 
 Culla, 231. 
 
 Curise claustrales, 229. 
 
 Curiarius, 108. 
 
 Cymbalum, 216. 
 
 Destina, 372. 
 
 Digitus, 98, 216. 
 
 Dorsale, 202. 
 
 Eulogise, 69. 
 
 Evigilans stultum, 210. 
 
 Excubitoria, 204. 
 
 Explorator, 114. 
 
 Ezra, 203. 
 
 Ferula, 31. 
 
 Forma, 203. 
 
 Formaria, Forraarius, 147. 
 
 Fratres, externi, 174. 
 
 ad succurrendum, 191. 
 
 Frico, 283. 
 Grangiarius, 192. 
 
 Gratise, 211. 
 Imaginarii, 7. 
 Jacobitae, 354. 
 Laura, 12. 
 Lebitoues, 27. 
 Liber Vitae, 222. 
 
 Viventium, 219. 
 
 Liraina Apostolorum, 350. 
 Liquamen, 24. 
 Loricati, 378. 
 Mandualis, 357. 
 Mandra, 19. 
 Manticulati, 315. 
 Mappa Mundi, 202. 
 Matricularius, 127. 
 Melotes, 27. 
 Metanaea, 203. 
 Mixtus, 30. 
 Monile, 325. 
 
 Nota|^l^°^?210. 
 (^ sme \ 
 
 Nutriti, 183. 
 
 Oblatae, 278. 
 
 Oblati, 191. 
 
 O Sapientia, 274. 
 
 Palmiferi, 344. 
 
 Panes coronati, 136. 
 
 Particularius, 219. 
 
 Paschall, 50, 54. 
 
 Pax, 95. 
 
 Peniti, 373. 
 
 Perticae, 202. 
 
 Pisalis, 282. 
 
 Piscina, 202. 
 
 Pix, 202. 
 
 Portitor Sigilli, 108. 
 
 Postica, 203. 
 
 Praepositus, 112. 
 
 Presbyterae, 383. 
 
 Pro-aula, 238. 
 
 Proctor, 108. 
 
 Psalmi prostrati, 40. 
 
 Pulsatorium, 238. 
 
 Pyrale, 274. 
 
 Pyrocarae, 383. 
 
 Quadra, 27. 
 
 Regula, 222. 
 
 Requies, 357. 
 
 Retractus, 97. 
 
 Retro-chorus, 205. 
 
 Romei, Romipetae, Romipetagium, 350. 
 
 Sacrarium, 126. 
 
 Salve Regina, 36. 
 
 Salutatorium, 238. 
 
 Sanctimoniae, 278. 
 
 Scimpodium, 25. 
 
 Sclaviua, 316. 
 
 Scrippa, 330. 
 
428 
 
 INDEX OF LATIN TERMS EXPLAINED. 
 
 Scriptorium, 254. 
 Scrobula, 318. 
 Scrutatrices, 114. 
 Secretarius, 126. 
 Sedes Majestatis, 203. 
 Sempecta, 265. 
 Siborium, 202. 
 Sigillum Altaris, 202. 
 Skilla, 216. 
 Spoliatorium, 223. 
 Static, 231. 
 Tabula, 31 ; singing, 121. 
 
 Tetravelum, 202. 
 
 Titulus, 213. 
 
 Triforia, 206. 
 
 Trisantiae, 226. 
 
 Venia, 203, 306. 
 
 Vestiaria, 282. 
 
 Via Dei, Via Sanctorum, 333. 
 
 Viatores, 193. 
 
 Viduae pullatae, 384.' 
 
 Vigiliarii, 228. 
 
 Ultreia, 328. 
 
 Xenodochium, 20. 
 
GENERAL LIBRARY U.C. BERKELEY 
 
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