^,* ^ugu^tine'^ Jlotias'terg, ■^^'■VS^diK ..moaaslary, Ca 3 1924 029 404 450 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029404450 ^VS^U. of St Huoustine's ^onastet^, (Tanterbut^. The Reverend R? j: E: BOGGIS, B.D. Sub- Warden of St. Augustinis College. Cantetburg : Cross & Jackman, iqoi. S/i "hi 0^ PREFACE THE Churchman or the Antiquarian cannot but feel a pang of regret as he turns over the pages of such a work as Dugdale's Monasticon, and notes the former glories of the Religious Houses of England before the hand of the spoliator had consigned them to desecration and ruin. Some of these homes of religion and learning have entirely disappeared, while others are represented by fragments of buildings that are fast crumbling to decay; and among these latter — possibly even among the former — would have been counted St. Augustine's, had it not been for, the pious and public-spirited action of Mr. A. J. Beresford Hope, who in 1844 purchased part of the site of the ancient Abbey, and gave it back to the Church of England with its buildings restored and adapted for the require- ments of a Missionary College. The outburst of en- thusiasm that accompanied this happy consummation of the efforts of the Reverend Edward Coleridge is still remembered by not a few devout Church people ; and there are very many besides, who rejoice in the fresh lease of life that has thus been granted to the PREFACE. old Foundation, and are interested in the service that is now being here rendered to the English Church of modern times. Such persons may like to have the opportunity of tracing the varied fortunes of the St. Augustine's of former ages, and I have therefore en- deavoured to set forth a sketch of its history during the 940 years of its existence as a Religious House, till the day when the Crown took possession of the Church's property, and "St. Augustine's Monastery" became " St. Augustine's Palace." I must here record my gratitude to Dr. A. J. Mason, to whom I am greatly indebted for many valuable suggestions and for correction of the proof-sheets ; to John Newnham, Esq., a.r.i.b.a., for an excellent ground-plan of the mediaeval monastery — as full and as accurate as it can at present be made ; and to the authorities of the British Museum and the Alcuin Club — the former for leave to photograph the seals of the monastery, and the latter for permission to reproduce the Augustinian altar-piece in Mr. St. John Hope's "English Altars." St. Augustine's College, Canterbury. June, iqoi. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. The Foundation of St. Augustine's, (a.d. 598-613.) 1 II. St. Augustine's during the Heptarchy, (a.d. 613- 827.), 19 III. The Times of the Anglo-Saxon and Danish Mon- archs. (a.d. 827-1070.) .. .. .. 31 IV. The Norman Builders (a.d. 1070-1151.) .. 42 V. The Revolt from Episcopal Jurisdiction. (A.D. 1151-1253.) 51 VI. The Age of Worldly Magnificence. (A.D. 1253-1334.) 70 VII. The Pressure of the Papal Yoke. (A.D. 1334-1405.) 96 VIII. Days of Decadence. (A.D. 1405-1538.) . . . . Ill IX. The Dissolution (a.d. 1538.) .. .. 119 List of the Abbots .. .. .. .. 126 APPENDIX. NOTE A. The Historians of the House. . . . . . . 129 B. St. Augustine's as a Benedictine Monastery. . . 133 C. The Abbey Church. .. .. .. .. 146 D. The Augustinian Calendar and Missal. . . . . 153 E. The Conventual Buildings. . . . . . . 159 F. The Library. . . . . . . . . . . 186 G. List of Authorities . . . . . , . , 195 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. The Great Gateway and St. Ethelbert's Tower in A.D. 1813. .. .. .. ,. Frontispiece. TO FACE PAGE. General view of the Remains of the Monastery in A.D. 1656 9 Ruins of the Abbey-Church in A.D. 1722. .. .. 2.5 Ruins of the Abbey-Chm-ch in A.D. 1822. .. 57 The Altar-piece and "Corpora Sanctorum" in AD. 141+- .. .. .. .. .. 113 Seal of the Abbey, A.D. 1188. .. .. 137 .( Seal of Abbot Robert of Battle, A.D. 1243. Seal of Abbot Roger of Chichester, a.d. 1253-1273. \ \ Seal of Abbot Thomas Fyndon, A.D. 1283-1309. / 9- 10. Privy Seal of the Abbot, 13th century. Prior's Seal, 13th century. Sub-Prior's Seal, 13th century. .. Treasurers' Seal, 14th or 15th century. Seal of the Abbey, A.D. 1351. Ground Plan. 161 193 End of Book. CHAPTER I. The Foundation of St. Augustine's, (a.d. 598-613.) THE moment when Augustine and his 40 companions first caught sight of the city of Canterbury — or Doruvernis as it was then called — must have been one of the most joyous and comforting of their lives. The toils and the terrors of their tedious journey from Rome were now things of the past ; the goal, which ever since the previous summer, they had been striving to gain, was now reached ; Ethelbert, though still heathen, was at least tolerant of their religion, and had even granted them permission to convert whom they could ; and Bertha, the Queen, was in faith already one of themselves. Truly the prospect was a fairer one than often . greets the arrival of the Christian missionary ! And even Nature herself added her cheer- ing influence, for it was now spring-time in the "garden of England" — and late spring-time, if we are justified in believing that the actual date was the Tuesday in Rogation week. May 20th, in the year of Grace sg-j.'^ As they then, with hearts overflowing with joy, descended the last hill before reaching the city itself, ' See Dr. Mason's Mission of St. Augustine, p. 236. A 2 THE FOUNDATION OF [598 their attention would be arrested by two buildings — fraught with immense interest for them — standing not far off on their right. Both of these were even then buildings of some antiquity, and both have been pre- served — the one in its entirety, and the other partially — to the present day. The first they would pass near the top of the slope, some zoo yards distant from their path. It is described in Bede as " a church dedicated in honour of St. Martin, and built long ago, when the Romans still occupied Britain, and in it the Queen, who, as we said before, was a Christian, was accustomed to worship."' The other edifice stood at the foot of the hill, and was within a stone's throw of the way ; for the road had not at this period been diverted to the south, but led on direct to Burgate. This too was a building of Roman origin, and was at that time utilized, so Thome tells us, as " a temple or idol-house, midway between St. Martin's Church and the city walls, where King Ethelbert and his nobles used to worship according to their national rites. "^ Having noticed these two houses of prayer, Augustine and his comrades passed on to the city gate, bearing aloft their " silver cross and the picture of our Lord and Saviour painted on a board," and chanting their penitential litany, " We beseech Thee, O Lord, of Thy great mercy, let Thy wrath and Thine anger be taken away from this city and from Thy holy house, for we have sinned. Alleluia ! " 3 It is not my purpose to enter into details about their temporary settlement at Stablegate, or their de- votional and ascetic manner of life, or their speedy successes — too speedy one would think, if Ethelbert's baptism took place at St. Martin's as soon as Whit 'Bede, H. E., I. 26. 'Thome, 1760. 3 Bede, H. E., I. 25. 613] ST. AUGUSTINE'S. 3 sun-eve, June ist of that same year.' But let us investigate a little more closely the history of their permanent settlement on the site of the present cathe- dral, and notice how the establishment of the cathedral system in Canterbury led as a natural consequence to the foundation of St. Augustine's monastery without the walls. The account that Bede gives of the foun- dation of Canterbury Cathedral is to the effect that Augustine "recovered within the royal city a church, which, he was told, had been built of old by the Roman Christians. This he dedicated in the name of the Holy Saviour, our Lord God, Jesus Christ, and there he established a residence for himself and all his successors." ^ To this account later historians add the statement that Ethelbert resigned his palace to Augustine, and himself retired to Reculver.s Such evidence as we possess is in favour of this statement concerning Ethelbert's palace, though it is a little disappointing that Bede is silent about it. But any- how it is quite certain that Augustine and his com- panions did obtain a site in the very heart of the city, and there founded a cathedral and established a capitular body, which were the first predecessors of the present Cathedral and Chapter of Canterbury. As soon, however, as the missionaries began to settle down in their permanent abode, a difficulty would naturally arise owing to the composite character of the community. Augustine's companions, indeed, are generally described as being all of them monks, but it seems quite evident that this was not the case. Some of them certainly were regulars, but on the other hand some were secular clergy. Thus Bede, in narrating 'John Brompton in Decern Scriptores, col. 730. Bp. Browne's Augustine, pp. 55, 56. Elmham, p. 84. = H. E., I. 33. Sprott in Dugdale's Mon., vol. I., p. 126. 3 Thome, 1760. 4 THE FOUNDATION OF [SQS how Augustine sent to Rome to report progress to Gregory, plainly informs us that his envoys were " Lawrence the priest, and Peter the monk."' Again, the very first of the ecclesiastical problems on which he consulted Gregory was, " Concerning bishops, how are they to live with their clergy ? " The difficulty arose from the fact that Augustine was at once a bishop and a monk. As a missionary bishop he ought to move about his diocese and mix up with the world ; but the normal life of a monk should be confined within the walls of a monaster}'. Gregory indeed gave his advice for Augustine's own guidance, viz : — that he should not sever himself from his clergy, although he was a monk ; but there would still remain a difficulty owing to the general body of his com- panions not being homogeneous, a difficulty that could only be removed either by inducing his cathedral clergy to adopt the regula and become monks, or by separat- ing the whole body into two communities. Augustine did not adopt the former alternative, and convert his cathedral clergy into monks, for he would thus have been " entirely at variance with the usages of the Roman Church in all lands, in which the ancient cathedrals are, and always have been, served by the secular clergy only. The exceptions in England, at Winchester and Worcester and so forth, are due to the monastic furore connected with the name of Dunstan, and his imitators at, and after the Conquest. The examples of cathedrals abroad served by monks or regular canons are all of the twelfth century, or later date." ^ ■ H. E., I. 27. Prof. Collins thinks that this implies that Lawrence had been freed from his monastic obligations. (Beginnings of English Christianity, p. i66.) = A. F. Leach, " Guardian " of 12th Jan., 1898. 613J ST. Augustine's. 5 At Canterbury "the monastic historians do, indeed, treat us to stories of the dying-ofF of monks by plagues and massacres, and the bringing in of secular clergy in their place. But these seem to be only stories invented to account for the very awkward facts, which are continually turning up, that the church was presided over by a dean and not a prior, and that undoubtedly there were secular clergy there." ' Even Dunstan was unable to alter the constitution of his chapter, and it was not until the time of Lanfranc that the change was effected and the secular clergy of the cathedral were finally replaced by monks. Certainly no priors are known to history until the time of Prior Henry, who took office in 1080; but the cathedral authorities have been able to recover the names of 12 early deans for inscription on the marble tablets which they have recently affixed to the west wall of their church. Thus Canterbury, with its secular clergy at the cathedral and its regulars at St. Augustine's, was like London with its St. Paul's and its Westminster Abbey ; or like Dublin, with its seculars at St. Patrick's and its regular canons at Christchurch ; or like Worcester, with St. Mary's Monastery close to the cathedral ; or like Rouen, with its cathedral almost rivalled by the conventual St. Ouen ; or like Saragossa, with its two cathedrals.^ As then it was out of the question that the monks should form part of the cathedral establishment, a new habitation had to be found for them. Bede merely gives us the brief record that " Augustine founded also a monastery not far from the city, on its eastern side ; and there, at his suggestion, Aedilberct (EthelberL) built the Church of the blessed Apostles ' Leach. ^ Walcott's ' Vestiges,' in Brit. Archjeol. Association, vol. xxxv., p. 2b. 6 THE FOUNDATION OF [59^ Peter and Paul, and endowed it with various gifts, in order that there might be laid to rest the bodies of Augustine and all the Bishops of Canterbury, and also the bodies of the Kings of Kent." ' Bede, it will be noticed, assigns no direct reason for the foundation of the monastery ; nothing further than is suggested by the natucal supposition that Christchurch (which he has just been mentioning) was to serve for the secular clergy, while this, as he tells us, was to be a residence for the monks. But from the reference to the place being used for the burial of kings and archbishops, later writers, both mediaeval and modern, have concluded that this was the principal object for the foundation ; and they have further supported this theory by declaring that it was unlawful to inter the dead within the walls of a city.= It is however hardly reasonable to suppose that the King and the Bishop would have gone to the trouble and expense of building a monastery for such a purpose as this. Surely it was possible for Ethel- bert's remains to be laid in the same place where his royal ancestors had been buried } or could not St. Martin's Church and churchyard have been utihzed i^ And the only evidence adduced to shew that intra- mural interments were illegal, is the enactment which is to be found in the Laws of the Twelve Tables, which ordain, " Hominem mortuum intra urbem ne sepelito neve urito." 3 But these laws would have no force in England after the withdrawal of the Roman government. Nor indeed does this special enactment seem to have been enforced here even in Roman ' Hist. Ecc, I. 33. 'Elmham, p. 81. Thome, 1760. Gostling, chap. vir. 3 Somner's Antiquities of Canterbury, part v., chap. i. 613] ST. AUGUSTINE'S. 7 times; for Mr. John Brent, in an article on "Roman Cemeteries in Canterbury," informs us that Canterbury- had three cemeteries of Roman date, and adds, " Besides these places of interment, Roman mortuary remains have been found, and are still frequently dug up in isolated spots, not only in the suburbs, but in the heart of the city itself." ' Thus there was no need for Ethelbert and Augustine to have built a monastery, if they were anxious to provide for their burial ; and they might even, had they been so dis- posed, have used Christchurch for the purpose — as was done a century and a half later, when the cathedral was adopted as the place of sepulture of the archbishops. Still there is no reason to doubt that the King and the Archbishop did arrange for their own inter- ment here, although other and greater reasons prompted them to found their monastery. There may even be some truth in the opinion of one or two later writers {e.g. Leland), who expressed the belief that a cemetery existed at this place before they made their selection of a site ; and this would explain the translation of the body of Liudhard into the newly-consecrated church, which otherwise is difficult to account for.^ Liudhard, it should be explained, who had been Bertha's chaplain at St. Martin's, would seem to have died before the arrival of Augustine, for we never hear of him afterwards ; if then his grave were close at hand, it would be quite natural that his body should be removed into the newly completed church at the same time that Augustine's remains were so treated. The site which was chosen for the erection of Augustine's monastery was one which had much to * Archaeol. Cant., vol. IV., p. 28. = Collectanea, vol. iv. 8 THE FOUNDATION OF [SgS recommend it. Privacy and quietude would be secured by its being outside the city. And yet it was easy of access ; for one end of the property was opposite Burgate, from which issued the high road to Rich- borough ; and the other end stretched down to Quenen- gate, whence started Queen Bertha's footpath which led up to St. Martin's Church.' Besides, the ground was low and sheltered, the soil was fertile, and there was a supply of water ready to hand. Here then, outside the city walls, and consequently quite distinct from the cathedral establishment, an estate was granted by Ethelbert of his royal bounty. Its boundaries are described in the copies of his charters which are preserved in the Chronicles of Thorne and Elmham.^ A careful study of those charters indeed convinces one that they were not written till centuries after the time of Augustine. But from the facts that the names of the boundaries appear in Saxon characters, (the charters themselves being in Latin,) and that the local descriptions were evidently unintelligible to those who composed these fictitious grants, I think that we are not wrong in inferring that the boundaries have been copied from ancient sources. Most of these names cannot now be identi- fied, but there is certainly one which is recognisable, and it is of some interest as being still in use. This is the north or north-western boundary, which then was called Drutingestraete or Drontingestrete,3 and was known in Thome's time as Drontynton."* Here we have " a name curious to trace through mediaeval documents, gradually evolving itself into our present " Brent's Canterbury, p. 58. = Thome, 1761. Elmhsm, p. iii. 3 The word is perhaps a synonj'm for " Quenengate." " Drorming " is still the Danish for " queen." ■•Dugdale, I., p. 127. '933 - - ^"S i— ' ' .3 i 'tc fM 7A tf^ IS o 613] ST. Augustine's. 9 " Old Ruttington Lane," perhaps the only street in England known to have kept its name for nearly 1300 years. "^ These boundaries enclosed within them a space of about 30 acres ; and we have no record of their ever having been altered, except on the south, where a narrow strip of land was added to the domain in the eleventh century. It was a well- defined space, and it remains so to this day, being still marked out by the mediaeval wall which surrounds it on almost every side.^ The date of the foundation of the monastery is not mentioned by Bede ; but Elmham in two passages assigns it to the year 598 (though in his Chronologia the year is 597), and Thorne, who gives no date in his history, in his Chronological list also decides for 598. It is impossible to decide on the exact day and month, for no writer seems to have recorded them. This is perhaps not very strange, but it is certainly remarkable that the Calendar of Feasts to be observed in the monastery should have no mention of the Foundation- day, especially as so many other local events are commemorated there. 3 Possibly — though the suggestion cannot be called more than possible — the monastery was founded on June 29th (the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, to whom the church was dedicated), and the observance of the Foundation-day was lost sight of, because it was merged into the Patronal Festival. The erection of the conventual buildings would occupy no long time, for they would probably be for the most part constructed of timber, which was the material generally used by the Saxons for such ' Canterbury till Domesday, by T. G. Godfrey-Faussett, p. 19. ° Canterbury till Domesday, p. 22. 3 MSS. in Cathedral Library, E. xix. 10 THE FOUNDATION OF [59^ purposes.' But Augustine would hardly be content with a wooden church, after being accustomed to worship in such substantial and imposing edifices as were common in Rome. He would doubtless model his church on the Basilican type, which was the usual type of that period, and would imitate the Roman churches by the employment of solid masonry, even though he could not hope to complete such a building for many years. While their church was in course of erection, the monks would not need to seek far for a building suit- able for a place of worship, for on their property, quite close at hand, stood the idol-temple already mentioned, where Ethelbert had practised his Teutonic rites. According to Elmham, it was the King himself (though prompted by Augustine,) who had this temple purged and the idol destroyed, and then "in ecclesiam syn- agogam mutavit."^ The chapel, thus rescued, Augustine dedicated in the name of St. Pancras, the boy-martyr of Diocletian's persecution ; and as it was so near to the monks' dwelling, it must have proved of great use to them as a temporary conventual church. Elmham and Thome, who were both rather credu- lous historians, seem to have accepted without demur the legend of the Devil's marks, which was connected with the consecration of St. Pancras' chapel. " There still exists," writes Thome, "in the south chapel of that church, the altar at which Augustine was wont to celebrate, on the very spot where the King's idol used to stand. And while Augustine was for the first time saying mass at that altar, the Devil, finding that he was going to be driven out of his house where he had dwelt so long, attempted utterly to overthrow ' E. L. Cutts, Augustine of Canterbury, p. 23. = Elmham, pp. 79-81. 613] ST. AUGUSTINE'S. 11 the church ; the marks of which attempt are still' visible on the outside of the eastern wall of that chapel."' That south chapel was demolished long ago, but the five marks of the Devil's claws, which were so miraculously imprinted on its east wall, have evidently retained their miraculous character, for until very lately they were shewn on the north wall of the principal chapel — or church, as Thorne calls it ! '^ But in very truth — to pass from fable to fact — we have here one of the most precious relics of early English Christianity. For the foundations of this south chapel still remain, and when the soil was recently removed, there were revealed the basements of the four walls of a small chamber built of Roman bricks. The chamber is nearly square, the length (east to west) being slightly less than the width (north to south), and its dimensions are externally 1 3ft. by 14ft., and internally g^ft. by lo^ft. Within this chamber, built against the middle of the east wall, is a mass of masonry, measuring 4ft. 2iu. by 2ft. loin., which bears every indication of having been the base of an old altar. This, without any doubt, is the base of the altar mentioned by Thorne at the close of the fourteenth century, and its claim to be identified with the very altar at which Augustine celebrated in 598, must be allowed to be at least a very strong one. 3 At first sight this dedication to St. Pancras — declared by Sprott and Elmham and Thorne to have been Augustine's first dedication in England — may per- haps seem to be a strange one.* But as a matter of fact, there was a somewhat close connection between these 'Thome, 1760. Elmham, pp. 80, 91. " Somner's Antiquities, p. 32. 3 Sprott, quoted in Dugdale, I. 126. « Elmham, pp. 80-84. 12 THE FOUNDATION OF [59^ monks and the boy-martyr of Rome. They had come from the Monastery of St. Andrew on the Caelian Hill, and "the record was, that Gregory's own house, out of which he founded the monastery of St. Andrew's, stood on ground which had been the property of Pancratius, and this would naturally give to all of them, from Gregory downwards, a special interest in the youthful martyr."' The first abbot chosen to preside over the new establishment was Peter, a monk in priest's orders, who had been one of Augustine's original companions.'^ With Lawrence he was despatched to Rome in 598 {i.e. about the same time that he was appointed abbot,) to carry tidings to Gregory of all that had been done, and to convey Augustine's questions on points concerning which he sought advice from his former superior. 3 The envoys did not return till 601 — if the received dates are correct — by which time the monks must have been sorely in need of someone to take the reins of government : but to Peter's credit it is recorded that he displayed a very great zeal for his monastery, and devoted himself to the sacred duties of his office. He and Lawrence brought back with them a great store of church goods, which were sent to Augustine by Gregory.* These church goods are described by Bede as being " all things that are requisite for the conduct of divine worship or for the use of the ministers — such as sacred vessels, altar hangings, church orna- ments, vestments for the priests and other ministers, relics of the holy Apostles and Martyrs, and also very many books. "5 We may probably rely on the substantial ' Bp. Browne, ' Augustine and his Companions, p. 132. ° Bede, I. 33. 3 Elmham, p. 94. ■•Elmham, p. 95. 5H. E., I. 29. 613] ST. augustink's. 13 truth of this statement, for Bade derived his informa- tion from Albinus, who was the ninth abbot of St. Augustine's, and from Nothelm, a priest of London (and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury), who him- self visited Rome, and carried on historical researches there. A detailed list of these treasures is supplied by Elmham, who adds that Augustine gave them all to Peter for the use of his monastery, as a token of the great love that he had for him.' The books are fittingly called by Elmham "the first-fruits of the books of the whole English Church." They were eight in number, and were these: — i. A Bible in 2 volumes, known as the Bible of Gregory. This was certainly extant as late as 1604. 2 and 3. Two Psalters. 4 and S- Two books of the Gospels. These are still in existence : one is in the Bodleian, and the other in the library of Corpus Christi College at Cambridge. 6. A Commentary on certain of the Epistles and Gospels. 7. A Passionary of the Apostles. 8. A Passionary of the Saints. = The vestments and most of the relics were believed by Elmham to be still recognisable in the vestry at St. Augustine's at the beginning of the 15th century. The vestments that he names are 2 purple copes, 3 purple copes worked with various colours, i blue cope, and I purple chasuble, all of them of silk. 3 Among the relics were a portion of the true Cross, a part of the seamless robe, some hairs of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a portion of Aaron's rod. The holy vessels of gold and silver had vanished long before the days of Thorne and Elmham, who ' Elmbam, p. q6. = Elmham, p. 99. Hook's Archbps, I. 166. Bp. Browne's Augustine and his Companions, p. 83. 3 Elmham, p. 99. 14 THE FOUNDATION OF [SQS could only recount the various theories that had been suggested to explain their disappearance.' Some thought that they had been hidden at the time of the Danish invasion, and had never been recovered ; others, that they had been put away in the troubles that befell the monastery after the Norman Conquest ; and others again, that they had found their way into the hands of the Duke of Austria as ransom for Richard Coeur ■de Lion. Anyhow they were not to be found at St. Augustine's at the close of the 14th century. There is little else to chronicle concerning the first years of the infant monastery, before the ' foundation ' could be said to be complete, for authentic history knows of nothing save the deaths of the founder and of the first abbot. Of the former loss Bede's brief record is this : — " Now father Augustine, the beloved of God, died, and his body was laid to rest close to the above-mentioned Church of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul — but outside, for the church was not yet finished or dedicated."^ It is noticeable that the historian mentions the day of his death — May 26th — but does not indicate the year : the most approved date however is 604, (so Hook, Wharton, Moberly,) though some writers, among them Bright,' assign it to 605. Three years later the monastery was bereaved of its first ruler, for Abbot Peter was " sent on a mission to Gaul " — this is all that Bede says, but it was probably some state-business of Ethelbert's — and never returned, being drowned in Ambleteuse Bay, near Boulogne. He was succeeded in the abbacy by one of the brethren named John.* ■ Thome, 1763. Elmham, p. loi. = Bede, II. 3. Thorne, 1765. Elmham, p. 125. 3 Early English Church History, p. 98. < Bede, I. 33. Thorne, 1766. Elmham, p. 12b. 613] ST. Augustine's. 15 It is affirmed by Elmham that Ethelbert, Bertha, and Eadbald, their son, together with Augustine and the other chief men of the land, assembled at Can- terbury in 60s to celebrate the festival of Christmas : and that at the commencement of the new year the King held a council of clergy and laity at the same place, and formally endowed the monastery with lands and valuable privileges.' A modern writer suggests that this may have marked the completion of the monastic buildings, and that the Christmas party was Abbot Peter's house-warming!' But apart from the serious difficulty of Augustine being represented as present — and all credible historians allow that he died on May 26th of either 604 or 605 — it is manifest that the form of " dotatio," which Ethelbert is said to have granted, is the production of a later age ; so that the whole story must be rejected as lacking trust- worthy evidence. It is by no means easy for us to form a fair judgment concerning the forging of •charters. But although it is impossible to defend the Augustinians as innocent in the matter, it is only right to add that such " pious frauds " were by no means unusual in mediaeval monasteries, and would not be regarded as heinous, as they would at the present time. At St. Augustine's too the great fire of 1 168, which consumed so many old documents, would provide the monks with a special inducement to replace those that had been lost. Thus it comes to pass that the first five charters preserved in Thorne and Elmham have to be rejected. 3 The first two profess to be Ethelbert's deeds of gift, one brief and one more lengthy, whereby he provided land for the erection of ' Elmham, p. 1 10. = E. L. Cutts' "Augustine of Canterbury," p. 122. ■i Haddan and Stubbs, iii. 54-67. Elmham, pp. no and in. Dugdale, vol. I., p. I2fa. 16 THE FOUNDATION OF [598 St. Augustine's: both are dated 605.' The third, which is also dated 605, claims to be a grant of land at Chislet, bestowed by Ethelbert for the endowment of the monastery.^ The fourth, undated, is the famous ' Privilegium ' of Saint Augustine, which played so im- portant a part in the mediaeval disputes with the archbishops : in it the founder is declared to have conferred on his monastery exemption from episcopal control.3 The fifth is called a bull of Boniface IV. : it is dated 611, and claims to be the papal confirm- ation of the foregoing privileges. Internal evidence makes it perfectly certain that all these are forgeries of much later date than the 7th century, and Haddan and Stubbs accordingly brand them all as "spurious."** The history of the foundation of Saint Augustine's closes in the year 613 with the completion and con- secration of the conventual church. The consecration ceremony was performed by Archbishop Lawrence in the presence of the King and a great multitude of people, and the church was dedicated in honour of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The dedication is an instructive one, for though in modem England we commemorate these two Apostles on separate days, it was not so in the early ages of Christianity ; but both in the Calendars and in early church-dedications, we find the names of the two great Apostles always linked together.s Bishop Browne has shewn how important a bearing this has on recent controversies, for it is one indication that the primitive • Elmham, p. 114. = Elmhara, p. Iig. Dugdale, vol. i., p. 127. 3 Elmham, p. 129. * Compare Hardwick's Elmham, p. xxx. Archasol. Cant., vol. xii., p. 177. Brent's Canterbury, p. 58. s Bp. Browne, Augustine and his Companions, p. 134. Lightfoot's Epistles of St. Clement, p. 46. 613] ST. Augustine's. 17 Church did not accept the modern doctrine of the "primacy of Peter." Upholders of that doctrine have claimed that "the first great abbey church of Canter- bury was dedicated to St. Peter," and have utilized this as an argument for the so-called "renewal of the dedication of England to St. Mary and St. Peter : " but they set at defiance the explicit accounts of Bade and other historians, who state that this church was dedicated in the joint names of St. Peter and St. Paul, and they are very justly convicted by Bishop Browne of at least a suppressio veri. True, the church is occasionally, even in charters, spoken of simply as " the Church of St. Peter " ' ; but this was evidently done merely for the sake of brevity, for there is no room for doubt about the real title, which indeed continued to be used as long as the monastery existed — as is proved by the sixteenth century Register of Leases, &c., where the full designation is employed in every instance.^ As soon then as this Church of St, Peter and St. Paul was finished and consecrated, care was taken to remove into it the bodies of the mighty dead. 3 First Augustine's remains were translated from the cemetery without and "honourably buried in the northern chapel (porticus)." Then the bodies of Bertha, and of her chaplain, Liudhard, formerly Bishop of Senlis,'* were disinterred, and laid in the Chapel of St. Martin— a southern chapel, corresponding to the former one on the north. Augustine's epitaph is quoted by Bede and the later historians, and though there are suspicious expressions in it that make me inclined to assign it to a later date than Augustine's death, •Bede H. E., 11. 6. = Cathedral MSS., E. xxiii. 3 Bede, II. 3. Thome, 1767. Elmham, pp. 125, 132. " According to Thome, 1767. B 18 THE FOUNDATION OF ST. AUGUSTINE'S. yet, as it is accepted as genuine by Haddan and Stubbs, I append it here, as a fitting conclusion to the chapter on " the Foundation of St. Augustine's " : — " Here rests the lord Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, who in former days was sent hither by the blessed Gregory, the Roman pontiff. He was endowed by God with the power of working miracles, and per- suaded King Ethelbert and his people to renounce the worship of idols and to believe in Christ ; and having fulfilled the time of his appointed task in peace, he died on May 26th, in the reign of the same king."' » Bede, n. 3. Elmham, p. 125. See Haddan and Stubbs, Eccl. Documents, vol. iii., p. 53. CHAPTER II. St. Augustine's during the Heptarchy, (a.d. 613 — 827.) THE great fire of the twelfth century, which destroyed a large portion of the edifice, is no doubt largely responsible for the paucity of historical records during the first ages of the existence of St. Augustine's.' Still the monastery does figure — and figure prominently — during the first two centuries of the Heptarchy, and was indisputably the one important Religious House of the kingdom of Kent. It is certainly a proof, though an indirect one, of the supremacy of St. Augustine's, that until after the Norman Conquest it stood without a rival in the south-east of England, and was able to receive as inmates all who in that part of the country aspired to wear the cowl. During the next century after its foundation as many as four nunneries were founded in different districts of Kent, viz : at Folkestone, Lymiuge, Minster in Thanet, and Sheppey;'' but until the coming of the Normans no other community of monks was established, except an unimportant monastery at Recul- ver, which seems to have died a natural death in the tenth century.3 •Thome, 18 15. = Dugdale, I. passim. 3 Dugdale, I. 454. 20 ST. Augustine's [613 And as being the one monastery of the Kentish kingdom and diocese, St. Augustine's was naturally regarded with special veneration both by sovereigns and by prelates, who for a century and a half made its church their usual burial-place ; so that, containing as it did, the tombs of seven kings and three queens and eleven archbishops, it became to Kent what Westminster Abbey was afterwards to England. The first of the seven kings to be interred here was, of course, Ethelbert, who had proved himself so true a friend and so generous a patron in his life- time. His body was laid beside that of his first wife. Queen Bertha, in the Chapel of St. Martin on the south side of the church, and over his tomb — according to the mediaeval historians — there was set this doggrel epitaph : — " Rex Aethelbertus hie clauditur in poliandro ; Fana plans certus Christo meat absque meandro." ' After his decease the Christian Church in England was apparently in imminent danger of being entirely swept away. Eadbald, his son and successor, had not fully accepted the Faith, or at any rate had never been baptized ; and on his accession to the throne he flung off all semblance of Christianity, married his step-mother, and threatened to persecute the Christians in his realm. So hopeless did resistance appear, that Archbishop Lawrence was on the point of following the example of Mellitus and Justus, the Bishops of London and Rochester, and seeking refuge in France. Bede tells us that he went over-night to St. Augustine's Monastery (apparently in order that he might be able to start unobserved the next morning), and "gave orders that his bed should be prepared that night in • Elmham, p. 142. 827] DURING THE HEPTARCHY. 21 the Church of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul ; and after offering many prayers to the Lord for the well-being of the Church, and shedding many tears, he laid himself down there and fell asleep." " Then follows the strange story of how St. Peter appeared to him in the night, blaming him for his cowardice, and even going so far as to scourge him — and that with such violence that the weals were visible on his back the next day. In the morning, instead of con- tinuing his flight, Lawrence repaired to Eadbald's presence and recounted the occurrence, corroborating his story by exhibiting the marks on his back ; where- upon Eadbald acknowledged his error, and professed himself convinced of the truth of Christianity. We are sorely puzzled to know how much of all this to believe. Can it be that the incident was a plot deliberately arranged by the Archbishop himself.? Or did one of the monks, disgusted by Lawrence's faint-heartedness, seize the opportunity of his presence in the monastery to visit his offence with rods and his sin with scourges ? Monks do sometimes possess the wisdom of serpents, and perhaps the latter sugges- tion is the true one ; and we may infer that Eadbald had come to the conclusion that he had made a mistake in proclaiming a crusade against the Church, and there- fore was quite prepared to accept Lawrence's story. Whatever the true explanation may be, Lawrence seems to have made good use of the opportunity, and to have spoken eloquently to the King — so eloquently indeed that Eadbald dissolved his illicit marriage, embraced the Faith, and " finally, in the monastery of the most blessed Prince of the Apostles, built the Church of the Holy Mother of God, which was ' Bede, II. 6. Elmham, p. 143. 22 ST. Augustine's [613 consecrated by Archbishop Mellitus." ' In addition to these tokens of repentance, the chroniclers have pre- served a charter of Eadbald dated 618 — the year of his conversion — in which he grants the Manor of Northbourne to St. Augustine's ; and though the evidences of late date are too strong to allow us to accept the document as genuine, yet in the absence of any rival theory we may safely credit the constant tradition which assigns this act of endowment to Eadbald.= After the lapse of half a century the monastery again comes into prominence, for Archbishop Theodore on his arrival in Canterbury in 669 seems to have put his celebrated companion, Benedict Biscop, in charge of St. Augustine's for a while. Bede and Thome, indeed, say nothing about this, and Elmham pointedly denies that Biscop ever held the abbacy ; but Gervasius and Higden of Chester both declare that he was abbot, and as their statement is accepted by Hook, Moberly and Stubbs, I include him here in the line of abbots.^ It may be that Elmham's denial is suflBciently explained by the fact that Gervasius, in recording that Biscop was appointed by the sole authority of the Archbishop, bases thereon an argument against the independence of St. Augustine's — which the Augustinian historian would be most eager to refute.* In any case Biscop's tenure of office could not have lasted more than a year or two, and he has left no mark on the history of the place, his fame being connected rather with Wearmouth and Jarrow and the North of England. ' Bede, II. 6. Thome, 1768. Elmham, p. 144. ' Elmham, p. 144. 3 Elmham, pp. 185, 204. Decern Scriptores, 1637. Hook, vol. i., p. 164. Moberly's Bede. Die. oi Chr. Biog., I. 308 ; IV. 927. * Gervasius, 1326. 827] DURING THE HEPTARCHY. 23 It has been generally allowed by modern writers that Theodore started a school at Canterbury — some being of opinion that it grew up under the fostering care of the Cathedral body, others that it was estab- lished at St. Augustine's Monastery. But Mr. A. F. Leach, in his article on " Which is our oldest School ?-" has pointed out that we have really no authority at all for the theory that Theodore founded any school at Canterbury ; and that the school in this city was •certainly in existence long before the time of Theo- dore, for we learn from Bede that King Sigebert, assisted by Bishop Felix, established a school in his kingdom of East Anglia as early as 631 — his school being an imitation of "the schools of France and of Canterbury." ' Thus the school at Canterbury must have been founded by one of the very early archbishops, probably by Augustine himself. And furthermore, it had no ■connection with either St. Augustine's or with the Cathedral, but was a grammar-school dependent only on the archbishop ; and so it continued until, at the time of the dissolution of monasteries, Henry VIII. removed the school to a new site within the Precincts, and placed it under the jurisdiction of his new Cathe- dral Chapter. On Biscop's return to Rome Theodore appointed in his place the famous Adrian, who had started with him from Rome, but had been detained for some time in Gaul.= Adrian had himself refused the offer of the archbishopric of Canterbury, and was content to be Theodore's zealous supporter in all his good works, accompanying him in his visitation-tour, and at the ' " Guardian,'' Jan. 12, 1898. ' Bede, IV. I. Elmham, p. 204. 24 ST. Augustine's [613 Council of Heathfield "throwing all others into the shade by the brilliance of his knowledge and under- standing." ' For twenty-one years the Archbishop and the Abbot together devoted themselves to the task of building up and organizing the Church of England, and when the greatest of all the occupants of the throne of Augustine at last departed in 690, at the age of 88, it was Adrian's duty to bury the body of his friend and patron in his own abbey-church.^ The northern chapel was already fully occupied by the graves of his six predecessors, so Theodore was laid in the nave, as near as might be to Augustine's remains ; and the seven archbishops are thus commemorated in a book called " De corporibus sanctorum," which is quoted by Elmham : — " Septem primates sunt Anglis et protopatres, Septem rectores septemque per aethra triones. Septem sunt stellae, nitet his haec area cellae, Septem cistemae vitae septemque lucernae." 3 Adrian's influence is said to have gained several papal privilegia for his monastery ; and a charter, which professes to have been granted by Adeodatus, and is preserved by Elmham, is accepted as genuine by Haddan and Stubbs, though some parts of it seem suspiciously modem.'' In it the Pope declares that no one, layman or ecclesiastic, of high station or of low, is to interfere with the monastery or its inmates, and that after Adrian's death no one is to succeed unless he is chosen by the common consent of the monks. From various English Kings, too, Adrian obtained grants of land, and to his influence St. Augustine's was indebted for valuable possessions at Lyminge, 'Thome, 1769. = Bede, H. E., V. 8. 3 Elmham, p. 283. * Elmham, p. 244. Eccl. Documents, III. 123. 827] DURING THE HEPTARCHY. 25 Stodmarsh and Littlebourne. After holding the abbacy for 37 years — longer than any other abbot at St. Aug- ustine's — he died in 708, and was buried in the Lady-chapel of his monastery." During his Hfe a very distinguished pupil came to St. Augustine's to study under its learned abbot — "fugiens ad pedes Adrian! philosophi," as an ancient work at Malmesbury expressed it.^ This was St. Aid- helm, a member of the royal family of Wessex, who, after studying for a while at Malmesbury, came here, probably about the year 675, and learned both Greek and Hebrew ; and then returning, after some years became Abbot of Malmesbury, and later the first Bishop of Sherborne. "Aldhelm," says Bishop Stubbs, " occupies a very important position in the history of English Literature. He was the first Englishman who cultivated classical learning with any success, and the first of whom any literary remains are preserved. His great merit must have been his exertion in the work of education, which made Wessex during the first half of the 8th century a rival of Northumbria, filling it with monastic schools." 3 Adrian's successor also was one who figures prominently in English Church history. Albinus was an Englishman — the first English abbot of St. Augus- tine's — but he was well versed in both Latin and Greek, having been educated by Theodore and Adrian, and Bede describes him as "a most holy man and one of most wide learning."'* The same writer acknowledges his own indebtedness to Albinus, who was his "principal authority and assistant" in the ' Bede, V. 20. Elmham, p. 293. ' Leland's Collectanea, IV., p. 158. 3 Die. of Chr. Biog., vol. I., p. 78. •> Bede's Preface to Eccles. Hist. Elmham, p. 295. 26 ST. Augustine's [613 composition of his Ecclesiastical History; for not only was it "chiefly through his persuasion that I was induced to venture upon this undertaking," but "with great care he transmitted to me, either in writing or by word of mouth, all that he thought worthy of record of what was done by the disciples of the blessed Pope Gregory either in the province of Kent or in the adjacent parts." In gratitude for this valuable help Bede sent his History first to Albinus, before any one else, so that he might make a copy of it ; and accompanying it was a message, " I earnestly beg you, beloved father, that together with the servants of Christ who are with you, you will often remember to pray to the righteous Judge for me in my weakness." At his death Albinus' remains were laid beside those of his great master, Adrian, in the Lady-chapel of the abbey-church.' Little else is known concerning the monastery during the period of the Heptarchy, except what is told us about the interments of royal personages and archbishops. Eadbald, who died in 640, was buried near his father in the Chapel of St. Martin, and two years later his wife. Queen Emma, was laid beside him ; and in the same place were interred the bodies of Eadbald's son. King Erconbert (664), and of Sex- berga his wife, of King Lothaire (684), of King Withred (725), and of King Ethelbert IL (762).^ Besides these there was the case of Mulus, or Wolf, who, with the aid of his brother, Cadwalla, King of Sussex, invaded Kent, and for six years was practically king of nearly the whole country.3 In an attempt upon Canterbury, however, he was defeated, and had to seek refuge in a hut with twelve of his comrades ; ' Elmham, p. 301. = Thome, 1769. 3 John Brompton in Decern Scriptores, 741. Thome, i/yO. 827] DURING THE HEPTARCHY. 27 his hiding-place was discovered, the hut was burnt over his head, and he perished in the flames, a.d. 687. His remains were carried to St. Augustine's and interred beside those of the Kings of Kent in St. Mar- tin's Chapel on the south side of the church. Of archbishops, the first ten, in accordance with Augustine's arrangement and their own desires, were buried " in the Church of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul," the ten comprising : — Augustine (604), Lawrence (619), Mellitus (624), Justus (627), Honorius (653), Deusdedit (664), Theodore (690), Brihtwald (731), Tatwine (734), and Nothelm (741)-' But with Cuthbert, the eleventh archbishop, came a change, and the cathedral henceforth became the customary burial-place of the archbishops.'' The alteration was regarded by the Augustinians as a very serious loss to them, indeed it provided them with a greater grievance than any- thing else in the whole history of the monastery, and Thome, writing from their point of view, describes the calamity in an injured tone that is evidently genuine. The account that he gives of this curious case is as follows : — " I have thought it well to mention for the information of future generations the right worthy manner in which that sly transference was brought about. In the year 743 Archbishop Cuthbert took much to heart the destitute condition of the church over which he ruled, for it had no great men buried within its walls, inasmuch as when an arch- bishop died his body was carried off to the monastery for interment, in accordance with the decrees of the popes. Therefore, conceiving sorrow and bringing forth ungodliness, he in his wickedness carefully thought out a plan for the changing of that custom ; and repairing • Elmliam and Thome, passim. ^ Thome, 1772. Elmham, p. 317. 28 ST. Augustine's [6ij to Eadbert, (who was then king of the land,) with tears streaming down his face, he, with the subtilty of the serpent, laid his case before the dove-like and harmless king, earnestly imploring him to alter the aforesaid custom of burial, and to confirm the altera- tion by his own royal command. With much difficulty, and more by the aid of money than by the power of his prayers, he at length gained his desire.' " Thus it came to pass that in the year of our Lord 74.8 [a mistake of Thome's for 758,] the afore- mentioned Archbishop Cuthbert, being scricken with heart-disease, and feeling that he was soon going to die, realized that the time had now arrived when the trick that he had planned might at length be played off against the Church of St. Augustine ; and that the serpent-like birth which had been so long in the womb, might now at last be produced, even though the birth-pangs brought death in their train. He was lying by himself in his own church as the end drew near, and summoning the whole household and his monks — who were nothing loth to obey — he bound them by a solemn oath not to divulge his illness or his death, nor to give any signal thereof by ringing of bells, nor to perform any funeral services for him, until he should have been buried for several days. All these commands were dutifully obeyed, for not till he had been three days in the grave were the bells rung for him, or tidings of his death published. On receiving the intimation Aldhun, Abbot of St. Augus- tine's, came with his monks, intending to carry away the archbishop's body, according to ancient usage. But when he found that he was already buried, and that the old custom of burial had been altered by the King's authority, he was greatly distressed, and returned "Thome, 1772. 827] DURING THE HEPTARCHY. 29 to his own house feeling that he had been defrauded of his heart's desire.' " Cuthbert was succeeded by Bregwyn, who, ad- miring his predecessor's action in the matter, followed the same sly course and obtained from the King, and, as some think, from the Pope too, confirmation of the change. The same secrecy was preserved about his decease, and his body was buried beside his prede- cessor's, and not till afterwards did the bells ring out the signal for the due celebration of his funeral rites. As soon as the tidings reached St. Augustine's, Jam- bert, who was then Abbot, proceeded to the Church of the Blessed Trinity {i.e. the Cathedral) with an armed band prepared to carry off the Archbishop's body by force, if he was not permitted to do so peace- ably. But when he discovered that Bregwyn too was already buried, and that the Augustinians had been supplanted these two times and must return empty- handed again, he sent oft-repeated complaints to the Pope, and appeals for the defence of the rights and liberties of his monastery. The monks of Holy Trinity therefore, feeling the want of their chief pastor's support, and noticing the determination of Abbot Jam- bert, combined with his prudence and wisdom in all matters both ecclesiastical and secular, were afraid lest by pressing on his appeals he might re-establish the ancient and right usage as to the burial of the arch- bishops. They therefore craftily demanded that Jambert should become their father and chief pastor, and thus the monks of St. Augustine's, having lost the guidance of their father-in-God, abandoned their appeals con- cerning the change of the place of burial — not however from want of zeal, but only because of their respect for Archbishop Jambert. But, alas! the sequel will show the extent of their loss." • Thome, 1773. Elratam, p. 318. 30 ST. Augustine's during the heptarchy. The loss was principally a loss of prestige, but more material benefits were at stake too, such as the burial-fees and the oflFerings brought by the crowds of pilgrims who would visit the tombs of the famous archbishops ; and these benefits, or at least a large share of them, would now be reaped by the rivals at Christchurch. True, Jambert reversed the policy of his two immediate predecessors,' and ordained that his old monastery should possess his remains — even, acord- ing to Gervasius,^ ensuring this by having himself conveyed thither while still alive. But this was the last instance of the kind, for Athelard the next primate was buried in his cathedral, and as the monks of St. Augustine's, " because of their too great simplicity, raised no protest," the custom became continuous. Several charters, granted during the Heptarchy, have been preserved, which prove that our monaster)' was the recipient of royal bounty from most of the rulers of Kent.3 From these charters we find that lands at Stodmarsh were granted by Lothaire, at Lyminge by Oswy, at Sturrj' by Suabert, at Littlebourne by Withred, and at Mongeham by Edbert. It seems too that the house was becoming famous throughout England, and gifts of estates at a place called Bewesfeld from Offa King of the Mercians in 765, and at West Lenham from Kenulph, another King of Mercia, in 804, are har- bingers of the time when St. Augustine's was to be venerated not merely as the monastery of one of the kingdoms of the Heptarchy, but as the " mater primaria"'' of all the monasteries of the realm of England. • Thome, 1774. = Gervasius, 1642. Hook's Abps., vol. I., p. 25^. Elmham, p. 336. 3 Dugdale, Elmharri, and Thome, passim. ♦Elmham, p. 21. CHAPTER III. The Times of the Anglo-Saxon and Danish monarchs. (a.d. 8Z7-1070.) WHEN Kent finally ceased to be an independent kingdom, and Egbert of Wessex became monarch of the whole of England in 827, Augustine's great monastery — so far at least as our present know- ledge of it extends — seems to have sunk into obscurity for several generations, an obscurity so profound that the veil is scarcely ever lifted for well-nigh two centuries. The abbots — mere names on the page of history — follow one another in monotonous and rapid succession ; so much so that one cannot help viewing the received chronology with some suspicion, when one reads of 16 consecutive abbacies together extending over only 79 years — an average of less than 5 years for each. These 16 brief reigns ended in the year 942, and except for the acquisition of estates at Snaves, Merton, Linchesore, Burwarmarsh, Fordwich, and Werburgyn- land in Thanet, and the grant of the right to coin money, there is really nothing known of St. Augus- tine's during all those years.' ' Thorne, 1776-1778. 32 THE TIMES OF THE ANGLO-SAXON [827 It was to King Athelstan that the monks were indebted for the honourable and lucrative privilege of being permitted to set up a mint ; for when that monarch issued his coinage regulations, and fixed the number of minters throughout his kingdom, he allowed seven mints to Canterbury, which was a greater number than any other town obtained except London.' Of these seven, one was granted to the Abbot of St. Aug- ustine's, the others being apportioned to the King, who had four, and to the Archbishop, who had two ; and the abbots continued to coin their own money for more than two hundred years, until the right was lost in the disastrous times of Abbot Clarembald's intrusion in the reign of Henry II.' According to the local chronicler, Athelstan's suc- cessor, Edmund the Elder, was a visitor here in 946, and here met his death by assassination. The following is the account as it appears in Thorne : — " King Edmund came to Canterbury on the festival of St. Augustine, the Apostle of the English ; and whilst he was sitting at table in the monastery, he caught sight of a robber named Loth, whom he had before banished for robbery. He at once sprang up and attacked the man, throwing him to the ground. The man, however, drew his dagger and killed the King; whereupon the King's attendants rose up against the robber and slew him. The King's body was carried to Winchester and buried there."3 There is some uncertainty about this incident, for according to other historians the murder took place at Pucklechurch in Gloucestershire. Still, Thorne was himself a monk of St. Augustine's, and it may be that he had suflScient authority for his statement ; anyhow, it is ■ Thorne, 1816. Brompton, 843. Hasted, iv., p. 431. Brent's Canterbury, pp. 64 and 115. "Thome, 1816. 3 Thome, 1779. 1070] AND DANISH MONARCHS. 33 difficult to account for his being mistaken if there was no truth in the story. We learn from Gervasius that throughout the Anglo-Saxon period the monastery was ever the object of the friendly patronage of the successive Archbishops of Canterbury, and he sadly contrasts the cordial feeling of former days with the altered relations of his own time. He describes how the archbishops, on account of the more healthy air of the place, would frequently lodge at St. Augustine's, hold their court there, say mass in the church, and resort thither at all hours of the day or night for private prayer and meditation, and furthermore would often enrich the monastery with gifts great and small, and defend it against all attacks of foes.' This account is supplemented by another writer, who adds that such was the filial reverence with which the abbot regarded the archbishop, that it was customary for him to escort his diocesan for a mile or two on his way when he left Canterbury ; and again, when the arch- bishop approached his primatial city, the abbot would travel the same distance to meet him and conduct him to his destination.^ There is a story too told of Dunstan, to the effect that when he was engaged in meditation in the Lady-chapel of the abbey-church, he saw in a vision a company of heavenly spirits — the Abbot Adrian being one of them — who, under the leadership of the Blessed Virgin herself, were singing the hymn, " Can- temus Domino sociae." 3 This story, if it proves nothing else, may at least be accepted as evidence that the Archbishop was accustomed to visit that ' Gervasius, 1326. ^Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. I., p. 128. 3 Thome, 1768. Gervasius, 1326. 34 THE TIMES OF THE ANGLO-SAXON [827 church for his private devotions. But apart from this we know that Dunstan paid an official and friendly visit in 978, for in that year he re-dedicated the abbey-church, adding l3ie name of St. Augustine to those of the original patrons, St. Peter and St. Paul.' The name of Siricus introduces to us the first abbot possessing any well-defined personality since the days of Jambert, who had been raised to the primacy more than two centuries before. Siricus was a monk of Glastonbury when, in g8o, he was chosen to preside over Augustine's monastery ; and after remaining here for only five years, Dunstan's influence and his own reputation obtained his removal to the See of Win- chester ; shortly after which he succeeded Dunstan as Archbishop of Canterbury, he and Jambert being the only two of the line of abbots who attained to this high dignity. His successor. Abbot Ulfric I., is credited with having been largely instrumental in substituting regulars for secular clergy at the Cathedral — a reform that even Dunstan had not been able to effect ; but in any case the change was not a permanent one, for Lanfranc certainly found seculars in possession when he became archbishop some 70 years after Ulfric's death." To most of the great religious houses of England the 9th and loth centuries were times of terrible disaster, for the Danish invaders very quickly dis- covered that the monasteries were the chief store-houses of all kinds of treasures, and consequently directed their attacks specially against them. And so successful were these attacks that almost all the important mon- astic establishments of the North and East of England were sacked and destroyed — until Christianity itself seemed in danger of being exterminated, as it had •Thome, 1780. 'Thome, 1780. loyo] AND DANISH JIONARCHS. 35 been four hundred years previousl)' through the coming of the Jutes and Saxons and Angles. The city of Canterbury several times fell a victim to the Danish onslaughts, the two earliest occasions being in 839 and 851, but both times the Cathedral and St. Augustine's escaped unharmed. The explanation of their escape is not forthcoming, though Dean Hook ingeniously suggests that Archbishop Ceolnoth saved his two religious establishments by bribing the enemy, basing his suggestion on our knowledge of his money matters — for Ceolnoth, though distinguished for the quantity of mofiey that he coined, left his Chapter very poor at his death. ^ Be that as it may, the Danes came again in 870, when Ceolnoth had been- succeeded by Ethelred, and though this time Christchurch suflFered severely, St. Augustine's again weathered the storm, its good fortune now being accounted for by its being strongly fortified.^ A more serious raid took place in 1 o 1 1 , when Canterbury was captured and burnt after a twenty days' siege, the cathedral and city were reduced to heaps of smouldering ruins, multitudes of both sexes were put to the sword, and Archbishop Alphege was carried away as a prisoner to die a martyr's death at Green- wich a few months later, s Historians are not agreed as to how the Danes succeeded in effecting an entry into the . city. Thorne says that the place was betrayed by Almeric the Arch- deacon and some of the citizens, while the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle openly charges Elmer, Abbot of St. Augustine's, with treachery, and hints that by this act of treachery he purchased immunity for his monastery.* ' Hook's Abps., vol. I., p. 292. = Gervasius Actus Pontif., 1643. 3 Thorne, 1781. 'A. S. Chron., A.D. loil. 36 THE TIMES OF THE ANGLO-SAXON [827 Neither of these explanations seems very credible ; for on the one hand the Archdeacon would surely have secured better terms for his cathedral and its ministers ; and on the other, Elmer was a man of specially holy life, who a few years later was appointed Bishop of Sherborne, and returning in his old age to end his days at Canterbury, was afterwards venerated as a saint — all of which is hardly consistent with the sup- position that he was the traitor who sold the city and cathedral to be destroyed by pagans, and was responsible for the martyrdom of the good archbishop. The fact that his monastery was spared when Christchurch was spoiled may have given rise to the suspicion of underhand dealing on the part of Elmer : but a different explanation is given by Thorne, for according to him the preservation of the monastery was due to a miracle. He says that some of the Danes sacrilegiously entered the abbey-church in search of plunder, and one of them seized the costly hanging that covered the tomb of Augustine, and hid it beaeath his cloak. But, wonderful to relate 1 so closely did it adhere to him, that he could not get rid of it, or even remove his fingers from it, until he had confessed his crime and asked for pardon. This prodigy so terrified the Danes that they did not dare to enter the place any more, and refrained from further molestation.' Our comment on this story is that we should hardly have expected these bold sea-pirates to be so easily daunted, and we are more inclined to believe that the safety of the monastery was secured either by the strength of its walls or by the payment of black-mail, the latter suggestion perhaps finding support in the expression used by Thorne, who remarks that Abbot Elmer "was allowed to take his departure." 'Thome, 1782. J 070] AND DANISH MONARCHS. 37 It was six years afterwards that Elmer became Bishop of Sherborne, and the following legend has been preserved of his old age : — " This Elmer, after ruling very zealously as bishop for many years, was stricken by God with blindness, and of his own accord resigned that ofKce which he had accepted against his own will. He returned to his old home at St. Augus- tine's, where, instead of a ruler, he became a subject, and lived a life of purity and devotion in the infirmary until the day of his death. One day when his lad went to the kitchen as usual to fetch him his dinner, a kite suddenly swooped down on the meat and carried it away in its talons. When the lad told his master what had happened, the servant of God secretly gave thanks, and determined that he would never eat meat again unless God should give him to understand that such was His will by causing the kite to restore the stolen portion. Knowing nothing of this the attendant went to the cook to ask for another allowance for Elmer ; but, marvellous as it seems, the bird brought back the meat, untouched, and laid it on the dish again. On hearing what had occurred the man of God partook of the meat with thanksgiving. " He was buried opposite the altar of St. John, not in his episcopal robes, but as a simple monk in his frock ; and over his grave a heavenly light was often seen to hover." ' In one respect, indeed, though indirectly, the Danish invasions proved a boon to St. Augustine's, for King Cniit in 1027 granted to Abbot Elstan and his monks all the lands and possessions of St. Mildred's Convent at Minster in Thanet, which had been ruined by the Danes. ^ Minster had been nearly blotted out of existence, and nuns were never re-introduced there ; 'Thome, 1782. Stubbs, Registrum Sac. Angl., p. 33. ' Thome, 1783. 38 THE TIMES OF THE ANGLO-SAXON [827 but, as Elmham expresses it, St. Mildred's abbey "lived again in the life of St. Augustine's," and this property was the most valuable that anyone ever bestowed on the monastery, for the grant comprised about half the Island of Thanet, as well as other estates on the mainland.' It included too the tomb of St. Mildred, the second abbess, who, next to Augustine, was the most popular of the Kentish saints ; and, happily, her remains had been left undisturbed when the place was laid waste by the Danes.^ Furnished then with royal authority Abbot Elstan and three companions proceeded to Minster, entered the church secretly at dead of night, opened the tomb, and, transferring the relics to a linen bag, made the best of their way home to Canterbury. Their errand, however, was very nearly a fruitless one, for the villagers, discovering what was their intention, armed themselves with weapons and clubs and started in pursuit, hoping to intercept the body-snatchers before they reached the arm of the sea which then separated Thanet from the mainland. In this they were not successful, for the Abbot and his comrades jumped into the ferry-boat, the only craft that was available, and bore their spoil off in triumph, leaving the disappointed natives to return empty-handed. The relics were afterwards enshrined in the choir of their abbey-church, in front of the high altar ; and at a smaller altar, specially erected at the spot, the monks' early mass was said daily, the custom being religiously observed by succeeding generations.3 During the remainder of this period there are not wanting indications that St. Augustine's was steadily growing in influence and renoAvn, and honours " Elmham, p. 222. ' Thome, 1910. 3 Archseol. Cant., vol. xil., p. 177. 1070] AND DANISH MONARCHS. 39 and dignities were conferred on its abbots both at home and on the Continent. The same Elstan, who has just been mentioned above, was high in favour with King Cnut, and through his patronage was ap- pointed to the bishopric of the royal city of Winchester — an honour, however, which he refused, in deference to the entreaties of his monks.' Cnut gave a further evidence of his friendship by granting to the abbots the right of "sac and soc," i.e. the administration of justice in all criminal and civil cases on the lands belonging to the monastery, though possibly he was not the first monarch to bestow this privilege.^ Elstan's successor, Ulfric II., was sent abroad in 1056 to represent the English Church at a Council held at Rome, and was received with marked favour by Pope Leo IX., who decreed that at his ecclesiastical councils the Abbot of St. Augustine's "should in future take precedence before all other abbots, English or foreign, except only the Abbots of Benedict's own monastery at Monte Cassino.3 Ulfric took advantage of the Pope's good-will to lay before his Holiness a scheme for the enlargement of his conventual church ; and having obtained his sanction, on his return to Canterbury he began the alteration by taking down the west end of the Lady-chapel and connecting that building with the east end of the church. The work however was interrupted by his death, which was popularly believed to have been due to the Blessed Virgin, who was conjectured to have disapproved of the enlargement scheme. It would be only natural to expect that the primates would frequently confer substantial marks of 'Thome, 1783. = Dugdale, vol. i., p. 139. Brent's Canterbury, p. 64. 3 Thome, 1784. Elmham, 89. 40 THE TIMES OF THE ANGLO-SAXON [827 favour on the monastery which, in the words of Gervasius, was as a daughter to Christchurch ;' and as a matter of fact, the records of a few such donations may still be rescued from the history of the distant past. For instance, Archbishop Eadsige in 1047 gave "2 good cups and loo marks for the building of the tower that was then in course of construction," as well as a parcel of land at Littlebourne which King Edward had recently granted to him ; and at his death, which occurred three years later, he bequeathed his property to St. Augustine's.^ Stigand too in 1064 presented, among other gifts, a great cross covered with silver : it was fixed over the screen in the nave of the church, and is described as a very beautiful ornament and a lasting memorial of the donor.3 Ulfric's successor, and the last abbot of the Anglo-Saxon period, was Egelsin."* This prelate was chosen to go as a special envoy to the Roman Court in 1063, apparently on behalf of the Confessor; and Pope Alexander U. conferred on him the right of wearing the mitre and other episcopal insignia — the first example in the history of Christendom of any abbot gaining this coveted distinction.s Egelsin's suc- cessors were to inherit this privilege after him, but as a matter of fact they were so much afraid of the archbishops' opposition that they allowed the right to remain in abeyance for more than a century. The first half of the history of St. Augustine's closes with the coming of the Normans. The Conquest was not accomplished without determined opposition in these parts, for the men of Kent decided to make a stand for their liberty, and put themselves under the 'Gervasius, 1326. 'Thome, 1784. 3 Hook, vol. I., p. 493. Thome, 1785. * Thome, 1785. Elmham, p. 89. s Taunton, vol. I., p. 78. 1070] AND DANISH MONARCHS. 41 command of Archbishop Stigand and Abbot Egelsin, who sent envoys to the Conqueror to declare that they would fight to the bitter end unless satisfactory terms were offered them.' William therefore thought fit to make fair promises, and thus persuaded them to be- come his liegemen ; but after he had been crowned as king, and felt himself securely established, he acted the part of a tyrant, and gave away the English estates to his followers. The Normans thus found opportunity to lay hands on some of the lands of St. Augustine's ; so Egelsin, inferring that his action had made him obnoxious to the Conqueror, withdrew from his monastery, and thinking more of his own safety than of that of his flock, fled into Denmark, never to return. Thereupon the king confiscated the abbey and all its possessions, " and thus the Lord's sheep, their shepherd having run away, became a prey to the wolves, and His chosen vine was broken down by the jackals. "== » Thorne, 1786. = Thome, 1787. CHAPTER IV. The Norman Builders, (a.d. 1070-1151.) IN a monastery where every duty and occupation had to be subordinated to the performance of divine service, the church would naturally be the most important and the most conspicuous part of the whole foundation. All the other buildings were grouped around it, and were always so arranged as to aiford easy access to it at all hours of the night and day. The chapter-house, the refectory, the cloisters, the dormitory would all be well built, and have a simple beauty of their own ; but it was upon the church that the monks chiefly lavished their architectural and artistic skill, striving to make it and its services not only inspiring to their own devotional life, but also worthy of Him to Whom they had consecrated their whole being.' At St. Augustine's very little information can now be recovered concerning the original church, which was completed in the year 613.= In all probability it was planned on the basilican model, which was the 'Jessopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 121. = Bede, H. E., I. 33. THE NORMAN BUILDERS. 4S type usually adopted in those days ; but the only feature that we have certain knowledge of, was the possession of two side-chapels, or porticus as they are called by the ancient writers.' These chapels were on opposite sides of the main building, one on the north, which was the burial place of the early arch- bishops, and the other, the Chapel of St. Martin, on the south, in which were interred the Kings of Kent. Very shortly after its completion, the church had received an important addition, for in 6i6 King Eadbald constructed at the east end the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as a votive offering in commemoration of his conversion. This Lady-chapel however did not actually form part of the original building, but was separated from it by a small strip of ground, which was used as a cemetery for the monks. ^ After this we hear of no further alterations for more than four centuries, until — as already mentioned — Abbot Ulfric II. about the year 1056 pulled down the west end of Eadbald's chapel, cleared out the monks' cemetery, and united the two churches into one edifice by building over the intervening space. 3 The Norman Conquest was a time of far-reaching religious revival, and introduced a period of archi- tectural industry such as England has never witnessed either before or in later days, the architecture being that new and magnificent style which already obtained in Normandy and other parts of the Continent. St. Augustine's was .by no means outside the influence of these innovations, for after Abbot 'Egelsin's desertion of his post, the estates of the monastery were alie- •Bede, H. E., II. 3, 5. Thorne, 1765, 1767. Cutts' Augustine, p. 123. = Thorne, 1768. Bade, H. E., II. b. 3Thorne, 1785. 44 THE NORMAN [107O nated by the Conqueror, and a Norman monk named Scotland was appointed to the vacancy.' This abbot was not in all points in entire agree- ment with his archbishop, for they had a difference of opinion in the matter of bell-ringing. For some reason (we are not told what it was,) Lanfranc forbad the monks of St. Augustine's to ring their bells for the canonical services until the Cathedral clergy should have done so first ; and this action naturally led to much heart-burning and also to some unpunctuality at the abbey — so much so that the monks besought the Abbot to appeal to the Pope for redress.^ Scotland, however, refused to adopt so extreme a course, and it was not till 38 years later that a papal Bull specially sanctioned the ringing of their bells for worship at any hours that they pleased. 3 However, the matter was not in any way a serious one, and with the King the most cordial relations were maintained, and many were the charters of privileges that were granted by William I. and his immediate successors to this highly-favoured royal foundation. Thus it came to pass that Abbot Scotland, being a Norman himself, and working more or less in harmony with a Norman King and a Norman Primate, began the re-modelling of the monastery on foreign lines. His friendship with the Conqueror enabled him to regain most of the sequestrated lands, and to obtain from the King the appropriations of the livings of Faversham and Milton and the grant of the manor of Newington ; while his acquaintance with archi- tecture and art, as they flourished on the other side of the water, inspired him with ambitious schemes for his own monastery.'' ■ Thome, 1787. = Thome, 1792. 3 Thome, 1797. < Elmham, pp. 348, 349. Dugdale, vol. i., p. 144. IISl] BUILDERS. 45 The years that followed the Norman Conquest were the period when almost all our cathedrals and principal churches were either erected or re-built. Durham, Norwich, Winchester, Ely, Gloucester, and others, are still-existing monuments of the building activity of those times, and there are but few others- that do not retain some traces of Norman architecture in their restored fabrics. Thus it was only in accord- ance with the spirit of the age that Abbot Scotland should feel dissatisfied with the simple basilica, which had lasted for so many centuries that it was now out of date, and should bring out plans for a more stately church that should be modelled after the fashion of the newly introduced style of Norman architecture. Scotland began his new undertaking by destroying Ulfric's work and puHing down the whole of the Lady-chapel, which he built afresh on a grander scale, with a crypt beneath.' This part of his scheme was completed in his life-time, as was also the re-building of the church itself as far as the commencement of the nave ; but his labours were then cut short by- death, and he had to leave his task half-done, his body being buried in his new crypt, before the- chancel-gate. His successor, Wido, however, continued his work, and finished the whole church in 1091, four years after Scotland's death. As soon as the fabric was completed a solemn "translation of relics" was- conducted by Gundulph, Bishop of Rochester, the remains of Augustine and the other archbishops being removed from their original resting places and re- interred in new tombs at the east end of the new church.^ The first structural alteration that we hear of was in 1 137, when King Stephen granted hcense to Abbot I Thome, ijSg. = Plan of Church in Elmham. 46 THE NORMAN [1070 Hugh II. to make battlements on the wall of his ■church, stipulating however that the height of the wall should not be increased except only by the battle- ments.' This was only a minor matter, but a more extensive change was wrought in the year 1168, when the church was partly destroyed by a disastrous fire. According to Thorne the loss was a very serious one, for he says that "the greater part of the abbey-church was burnt, and in the fire many ancient documents perished, and even the tomb of Augustine was sadly damaged, as well as the tombs of many other saints in the same place : and no wonder, for almost the whole of the church was consumed."^ The Pope, too, in a Bull referring to the event, described the church AS being " almost entirely destroyed.''^ With the con- sent of the King and the Pope the tithes of Faversham, Minster, and .Milton, were devoted to the expenses ■of the repairs, and the restoration seems to have been carried out, as far as we can tell, on the old lines. This restored building apparently lasted on till the Dissolution without verj- important change, though of course extensive repairs would be necessary from time to time. Thus the great west window, having been ■destroyed by an earthquake in 1382, was restored by Ickham at the cost of 186 marks — -doubtless in the perpendicular stj'le ; and "the northern part" of the church was re-roofed about the same time — Ickham providing 80 marks for the purpose; and again in J 43 2 we have mention of the very considerable sum ■of ;£^205 spent on repairs.^ The east end was perhaps rebuilt in Tudor times, but otherwise we have no •evidence for supposing that the fabric underwent any great alterations : and indeed the ruins still existing, .and the old drawings of other portions that have now » Elmham, p. ^by. " Thorne, 1815. 3 Elmham, p. 429. < Thome, 2158, 2196. Treasurers' Return. IISl] BUILDERS. 47 perished, both encourage the belief that the church was substantially a late eleventh-century building. Whether the whole monastery was re-created by these Norman builders we are not told, but it is certain that their work was not confined to the re- construction of the church, for the re-building included at least a large part of the rest of the convent. On the death of Abbot Wido in 1099 the vacancy was filled by the appointment of Hugh Flory (Hugh I.), whose history was an interesting one, for he had been formerly a Norman warrior, and had seen much service both in Normandy and in England.' He was a cousin and companion-in-arms of William Rufus, and being of a religious disposition, he came one day, while visiting Canterbury with the King, to say his prayers in the abbey-church ; and such was the sacred influence of the place that he was seized with sudden fervour, and declared that he would never leave the monastery again. He was therefore received as a novice, and though he had scarcely completed his year of probation when Wido died, he was constrained by the King to consent to succeed him — an honour how- ever which he long refused on the ground that he was unlearned and had had no experience in ecclesi- astical matters. This election, nevertheless, which at first sight seems so risky, if not imprudent, was in the end fully justified, for Hugh I. proved himself to be an excellent abbot, "well-pleasing to God and to man," and under him the monastery enjoyed a time of prosperity and progress. As a builder he occupies a prominent position among the abbots, for the chapter-house and the monks' dormitory were both his work, and were paid for out of his own private fortune ; and he also ' Thome, 1794. Gervasius, 1327. 48 THE NORMAN [1070 erected a screen in the church, and besides other objects gave a great brass candelabrum, called " the Jesse," which stood inside the choir. He furthermore obtained from William II. the concession of a five days' fair to be held in the precincts,' and instituted a com- memoration-day to be held annually on July 3rd in honour of the benefactors of the monastery and the kindred of the monks — on which day 30 poor people were to be fed in the conventual hall. He died after a beneficent rule of 25 years, and was buried in his new chapter-house.^ It seems probable that the other parts of the monastery were rebuilt at this period, though there is no evidence at hand to prove it, and the work may have been done by either Hugh I. or by his successor Hugh de Trottesclive. The latter was certainly the builder of the Hospital of St. Lawrence — which served at once as a sanatorium for the monks, and as a permanent almshouse for their immediate relatives — and he figures also as the organizer and consolidator of the government of the mother-house. He had gained experience as a monk of Rochester, and as chaplain to Henry I., to whose favour he owed his elevation to the abbacy of St. Augustine's ; and here he held office for the long period of 27 'years (1124- 1 1 5 1 ), during which he was found to be a wise and trusty ruler, and learned in all matters secular as well as monastic. 3 It was during the rule of this abbot that the first serious quarrel arose with the Cathedral authorities. This happened at the time when Archbishop Theobald in the course of his quarrel with King Stephen laid England under a five months' interdict ; for though Abbot Hugh •Thome, 1796. = Thome, 1798. Calendar (July 3rd). 3 Thome, 1810. I 151] BUILDERS. 49 Trottesclive meekly submitted and abstained from per- forming divine service, yet his prior, Silvester, (the future abbot,) and certain of the monks under the leadership of his own nephew William refused to pay regard to the interdict, and continued the daily offices in defiance of the Archbishop's authority — an authority that was backed by the Pope's approval.' Evidently this William was specially obnoxious to the Cathedral Chapter, for their historian Gervasius declares that he was known as William the Devil, and that by his diabolical mach- inations he wrought great evil — the evil consisting chiefly in his calling St. Augustine's by a new name, "the Roman Chapel."^ Theobald thereupon excom- municated the ringleaders at the monastery, and for a long while refused to grant them absolution, even when commanded by the Pope to do so ; and in the end it was arranged that inasmuch as the Augustinians had not obeyed the interdict at the proper time, they must observe it afterwards by silencing their bells and discontinuing their offices for the prescribed period. This led to a curious result, which was doubtless terribly galling to the Abbot and monks — if, indeed, the account of the Cathedral annalist is to be accepted as trustworthy. "In those days," he says, "King Stephen's Queen used to visit the court of St. Augustine's, because she was anxious to finish the building that she and the King had begun at Faversham ; and as silence had been forced on the Augustinians, she used to summon the monks of Christchurch to perform divine service for her at St. Augustine's." 3 We are not informed whether Stephen himself was actually a visitor at St. Augustine's, but at any rate the relations with him were of a friendly nature. One ' Thome, 1807. Elmham, p. 397. 'Gervasius, 1329. 3 Gervasius, 1366. D 50 THE NORMAN BUILDERS. instance on record is to the effect that he granted the convent leave to hold an annual fair at the monastery on the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.' Again, when the King was scraping money together to pay for his ransom at Lincoln, the Abbot and monks accommo- dated him with a loan of i oo marks ; and afterwards, in lieu of repayment, he bestowed upon them a water- mill — known as the King's Mill — which stood close to the East Bridge within the city of Canterbury.^ Hugh II. is to be reckoned among the benefactors of St. Augustine's, his great work, besides the building of the Hospital at St. Lawrence, being the defining of the several offices of sacristan, almoner, infirmarer, and chamberlain, each of which he endowed with a fixed income derived from certain benefices and estates belonging to the monastery. The last of the Norman builders died in the year 1151, and was buried in the chapter-house on the north side, opposite the grave of his predecessor. He left behind him a com- pleted monastery, newly erected — as far as we can judge — in every part, the church being the creation of Scotland and Wido, and the other conventual buildings the work of Hugh I. and Hugh II. For 80 years, or at least for the greater part of that time, the masons and carpenters had been employed in erecting a new St. Augustine's ; and now, except for making good the ravages of a conflagration, architects and builders were to find no employment for a whole century, and the attention of the inmates of the monastery was free for other interests — not always of so practical and pleasing a character. ■ Elmham, p. 383. ' Thome, 1807. Elmham, p. 367. CHAPTER V. The Revolt from Episcopal Jurisdiction, (a.d. 1151-1253.) THE most coveted privilege that any monastery could ever hope to obtain, and at the same time one of the most flagrant ecclesiastical abuses of the Middle Ages, was exemption from the authority and jurisdiction of the diocesan Bishop. It was a mark of the highest favour and confidence on the part of the Pope, and the happy recipients of such an honour were set free from all power of the Ordinary to interfere with their doings. Though in the diocese they were not of the diocese, for to all intents and purposes the Bishop ceased to exist — as far as that particular monastery was concerned — ■except when ordered by the Pope to perform certain official acts on his behalf. It was to the Pope, and to the Pope alone, that the community was responsible : and thus the oft-recurring phrases in Augustinian charters describe St. Augustine's as "ad Romanam ecclesiam nullo medio pertinens," and refer to Rome as " sedes apostolica cui nullo medio monasterium subest." And should the Archbishop or any other official attempt to interfere, an appeal would at once be sent off to the papal court — an appeal which 52 THE REVOLT FROM ["S' in most cases might be expected to result in favour of the Pope's prot6g6. The evils of such a con- dition are manifest ; and not only within the abbey- walls might all kinds of irregularities be practised, but the claim to exemption would be extended to whole manors and parishes in all parts of the diocese, which, as abbey-lands or appropriated livings, were subject to the Abbot's authority.' If abuses arose, the Diocesan was powerless in such cases, and could do nothing but refer the matter to Rome : and Rome was far away, and the expenses and the fees were very heavy, and even then one could not be sure of having equal justice meted out. Thus it is not to be wondered at that the Archbishops of Canterbury for more than two centuries constantly resisted the claim to exemption which was urged by the Abbots of St. Augustine's, and refused, even in the face of papal Bulls and papal excommunications, to acknowledge this " declar- ation of independence." Consequently the two parties were continually at war with each other, until at last, iff 1397, Archbishop Arundel, finding the Pope too strong for him, submitted with as good grace as he could, and formally recognised the exemption of the monastery. The earliest recorded instance of such exemption is that of the monastery of Fulda in central Germany, which was freed from the jurisdiction of the Bishop in 751, and the abuse gradually spread on the Continent. The introduction of the evil system into England was an indirect result of the Norman Con- quest, which did so much to undermine our insular independence, and bring the English Church under the influence of the Pope of Rome.= The first English ' Jessopp's Coining of the Friars, p. 146. ° Hardwiclc, p. viii, Cutts' Augustine of Cant., p. 120. 1 253] EPISCOPAL JURISDICTION. 53 example was St. Alban's Abbey, which was exempted about 1155 by Pope Adrian IV. (Nicholas Breakspear), as a token of the affection that he cherished for the house in which he himself had wished to be pro- fessed : and the other exempted monasteries of the Benedictine Order were St. Augustine's at Canterbury, Westminster, Evesham, and Bury St. Edmunds.' St. Augustine's claimed to have been thus exempted from its very foundation, and there was plenty of documentary evidence to appeal to in mediaeval times in support of this claim. Thus the charter of Ethel- bert, dated 605, declared: — "I have granted immunity for ever to all that belongs to that monastery : so that it shall not be lawful either for myself or for any of the kings who shall succeed me, or any authority ecclesiastical or civil, to make an}' encroach- ment therein, but all that is under the authority of the abbot is to be free."^ The famous ' Privilegium ' of Augustine, too, was adduced, which professed to have been granted by the founder in 605. Therein it was enacted that no archbishop or prince was to interfere with the monastery, and that the archbishop is to treat the abbot, not as " sibi subjectus," but as " frater, consors, collega, et comminister in opus dominicum : " nor is he to say mass or ordain or bless within the monastery unless specially invited by the abbot to do so. 3 A Bull of Boniface IV., dated 611, confirmed these privileges, and forbad any ruler, ecclesiastical or civil, to enter St. .Augustine's or to interfere with it, or usurp authority over it, or exact dues from it. Other Bulls, assigned to Popes Adeodatus (672), Agatho (677), and John XII. (955), are pre- served in the works of Thorne, Elmham, and Dugdale, and are of the same tenor as the others. 'Taunton, vol. I., p. 46. ^ Elmham, p. 112. 3 Elmham, p. 83. 54 TEIE REVOLT FROM ["S' These documents, however, may be unhesitatingly re- jected as spurious : for in the first place it is quite certain that exemptions were entirely unknown in England at so early a date ; ' and in the second place these charters and Bulls bear unmistakable internal evidence of having been composed at a later age ; and thirdly, the Litterae Cantuarienses supply us with an instructive account of the origin of certain privikgia, forged for St. Augustine's, which may not unreasonably be identi- fied with the documents in question. It is true that this account in the Litterae Cantuarienses is not sub- stantiated by other evidence, but there appears to be no reason for doubting its general truthfulness.^ The statement is to the effect that Hugh, Archbishop of Rouen, writing to Pope Adrian IV. about the year 1155, narrated to him how that long ago he had heard the Bishop of Chalons, at that time Abbot of St. Medard, declare that one of his monks on his death- bed had confessed to him that he had with his own hands forged papal privikgia for two monasteries, of which St. Augustine's at Canterbury was one.3 It seems most natural to suppose that the early exemp- tions were among these forgeries : and although the originals are said to have been condemned and burned, copies would doubtless have been made, and in an uncritical age would be accepted as genuine, until at last they gained the formal recognition of successive popes, and afterwards of Edward III. in 1363. Until after the Norman Conquest, then, nothing was heard of exemption, and no troubles arose be- tween the monastery and the archbishops : indeed Thorne declares that up to Lanfranc's time the only reverse that St. Augustine's had ever suffered was the 'Archseol. Cant., vol. xii., p. 177. = Hardwick's Elmham, p. xxx. 3 Lit. Cant., vol. III., p. 365. '2S3j EPISCOPAL JURISDICTION. 55 transference of the rights of burial to the cathedral.' The historians representing the two parties give rather ■divergent accounts of the course of events, but they concur in asserting that the disagreement between the archbishops and St. Augustine's arose through the action of Lanfranc, who attempted to deprive the monks of their right to choose their own abbot.^ In this he failed — at least that is the Augustinian account — but Wido, the monks' nominee, evidently took the customary oath of obedience to Lanfranc in Canterbury Cathedral. 3 The next Abbot, too, Hugh I., made the usual profession of obedience to Archbishop Anselm, but in this case there was a departure from the ancient precedent in one respect, for the ceremony took place in London instead of Canterbury.* The first time that trouble threatened was after the death of Hugh I., for the monks demanded that their candidate should receive the Archbishop's bene- diction at St. Augustine's, instead of in the Cathedral ; and when this was refused they brought the matter before Henry L and the papal representative.s It seems however impossible to deny that Hugh II. submitted himself to William of Corbeille, and made the usual profession to him in his Cathedral as all his pre- decessors had done : though the Augustinian annalist declares that this was not so, and that the Bishop of Chichester was specially commissioned to act instead of the Primate, and to perform the ceremony of benediction in the Abbey-church.^ ' Thorne, 1791. Cp. Gervasius, 1326. ° Thome, 1792. Gervasius, 1327. 3 Gervasius, 1327. Cathedral MSS., A. 41. ■•Gervasius, 1328. 5 Xhorne, 1798. Gervasius, 1328. « Cathedral MSS., A. 41. 56 THE REVOLT FROM ['IS' It was in the days of Silvester (1151-1161) that the revolt from episcopal jurisdiction really became a serious matter, for this Abbot flatly refused to make profession of obedience to Archbishop Theobald, and demanded that the latter should nevertheless come and grant him benediction in his own monastery. This of course the Archbishop would not do, and a length)- dispute arose over the case/ Thorne asserts that Silvester appealed to Rome, and elicited from the Pope so peremptory a rescript that Theobald at once gave \^ay/ He even declares that when the Archbishop afterwards complained that the Abbot had made no profession of obedience to him, the Pope wrote again forbidding him to require any such promise, and suggesting that the name "Theobaldus" is near akin to "turbaldus" — at which the poor Archbishop was " amazed and terrified."^ The real facts however seem to have been very different.'* A document, signed and sealed by seven bishops, and still preserved in the Canterbury Librar}-, certifies that though Silvester refused for awhile to take the oath of submission, yet that «hen he was commanded by the Pope to do so, and was satisfied that his predecessors had done the same, he too made profession in these words, ratifying the same with the sign of the cross: — "I, Silvester, Abbot of the Church of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and St. Augustine the first Archbishop of the English, pro- mise to the Holy Church of Canterbur)-, and to thee, re\erend father Theobald, Archbishop of the same Church, and to thy successors, canonical obedience in all things."5 "After this," says Gervasius, "Theobald and Silvester lived as father and son."* 'Thome, 181 1. Gervasius, 1329. = Thome, 181 1. Elmham, p. 404. 3 Thome, 1814. * Gervasius, 1330. Lit. Cant., vol. HI., p. 367. 5 Cathedral IISS., A. 41. * Ger\asius, 1331. 1 253] EPISCOPAL JURISDICTION. 57 The struggle was continued by Claremb^ld, the next Abbot ; but though he was never brought to submission as Hugh II. and Silvester had been, it was rather owing to the troubles that were at that time afflicting Church and State, and not to any success in advocating his cause, that he was able to maintain his independence.' Clarembald was a secular priest, intruded as Abbot by Henry II. without the consent of the monks ; and as Becket was absent or exiled from his diocese for many years, he succeeded in resisting all attempts to force him to take the oath of canonical obedience, until the murder of the Primate and the vacancy in the See left the matter undecided. All historians agree in painting Clarem- bald's character in the blackest colours, and he would even seem to have taken a somewhat important part in compassing the death of the .Archbishop who had refused to grant him benediction. The account of this is given by Gervasius, who says that the four assassins "spent the previous night, without going to sleep, in Saltwood Castle, which was in the hands of Robert Brock. And the next day, being four days after Christmas and a Tuesday, with a great crowd of their attendants they entered the court of St. Augustine's and conferred with Clarembald, the Abbot-elect of that monastery, as to what they were about to do. At length, having had the benefit of his advice " they made their way to the Archbishop's palace, and found their unfortunate victim at their mercy.^ This Abbot's, term of office was one series of repeated misfortunes ; the right of minting money, which had been enjoyed by the abbots since the days of 'Thome, 1816. Gervasius, 1331, 1384. Lit. Cant., in. 365. Elmham, p. 413. ' GeiTasius, 1414. 58 THE REVOLT FROM ["S' King Athelstan, was taken away; a disastrous fire des- troyed nearly the whole of the church, and consumed many of the ancient documents ; the King's Mill in the city was alienated and never recovered ; and through the maladministration of Clarembald the possessions and lands of the abbey were scandalously squandered, so that the community \\as saddled with heavy debts. Besides this there was a constant feud between the Abbot and his convent, for the monks from beginning to end con- tinued their protest against his appointment ; and though he succeeded in laying hands on all that belonged to St. Augustine's, they would never allow him to enter the chapter-house, or to say mass, or to perform other services in the church. At last the Pope appointed the Bishops of Exeter and Worcester and the Abbot of Faversham to investigate the case, with authority to deprive him if they thought fit : this they did, and Clarembald had to depart, after main- taining his position for 13 years (1161-1174). Henry II. is said to have been so angry at the ejection of his nominee, that he seized upon the monastery and the conventual estates, and kept the management of them in his own hands for 2 J 3-ears ; at the end of which time he sanctioned the election of Roger I., one of the monks of Canterbury Cathedral.' This Roger held the post of guardian of the altar that had been erected in the Martyrdom, at the spot where St. Thomas i Becket had been slain six years previously, and this circumstance is sjiid to have decided his election ; for the Augustinians were exceedingly desirous of possessing some relics of the saint, and looked to the guardian of his altar to manage this for them. Nor were they disappointed, for Roger brought with him " a large quantity of the ■ Hasted, iv. 650. Thome, 1S19. Gervasius, 1331. I2S3] EPISCOPAL JURISDICTION. 59 mart3'r's blood, a piece of the top of his head, and no small part of his brains." And in return for these treasures the monks of St. Augustine's agreed to an exchange of property, whereby the Christchurch Chap- ter were enabled to acquire and pull down some houses close to their Cathedral — thus avoiding the danger of another fire such as that which had so recently destroyed their buildings. This election how- ever does not appear to have proved a bond of union between the two communities, for Roger showed no filial affection for "the rock whence he was hewn," and at once rebelled against the Archbishop in the matter of exemption. And where Hugh I. and Sil- vester had been defeated, and Clarembald had left the matter undecided, the victory was won by Roger ; for it was he who obtained for himself and his suc- cessors the privilege of exemption from episcopal jurisdiction. In this all our early authorities are agreed — Thorne and Elmham on the Augustinian side, Gervasius and the Litteras Cantuarienses representing the Archbishop's party, and Radulphus de Diceto re- garding the case from an outside point of view — and the account that is to be gathered from the various writers is as follows.' When Roger was elected by the Augustinians as their abbot, he sought benediction at the hands of the Archbishop, Richard of Dover, but refused to take the oath of canonical obedience — or, at least, any but a very modified form of the oath — and he further demanded that the benediction should be bestowed upon him within his own monastery. To this the Archbishop of course objected, and refused to grant him benediction, except in the Cathedral, and unless he made the usual profession. As no other ' Thome, 1822. Elmham, p. 420. Gervasius, 1331. Lit. Cant., I. 341. Decem Scriptores, 600, 602. 60 THE REVOLT FROM ["S' bishop would consent to perform the ceremon}-, though application was made to the Bishop of Worcester and to others, the case was at last referred to the Pope, Roger appearing in person to plead his cause, and the Archbishop sending representatives. The Pope, Alexander III., after hearing both sides and examining the Augustinian charters — the forged 'Privilegium' of Augustine being specially mentioned — decided in favour of Abbot Roger, and ruled that in future the Arch- bishops were to bestow their benediction within the monastery without exacting any profession of obedience. And he provided further that if an Archbishop should fail to do this within 40 days of the election (except for some suflBcient and valid reason), the Abbot-elect was to repair to Rome and receive benediction from the Pope or his deputy. Roger's own case was settled by Alexander himself bestowing benediction upon him at his place at Tusculum in the presence of his Cardinals and other prelates ; and his triumph was enhanced by the renewal of the per- mission to wear the mitre and other episcopal insignia, which the abbots had not worn since the flight of Egelsin at the Norman Conquest, "because" (as Thorne signifi- cantly explains) " of the opposition of the Archbishops." No wonder that the cathedral annalist was moved to utter a bitter plaint, and to declare that "Archbishop Richard became the object of the anger of the Pope and his Cardinals, and neither the precedent of 575 years, nor the possession of the primacy backed by its privileges, nor the generous expenditure of gold and silver, (this rather supports Thome's charge of lavish bribery 1) nor the professions of so many abbots, nor the evidence of bishops, nor the history of the truth, nor continuous usage, nor St. Thomas' blessed and marvellous martyrdom, nor any other I 25 3 J EPISCOPAL JURISDICTION. 61 argument, availed to turn aside the wrath of his holiness Alexander, and prevent his vi^ithdrawing Abbot Roger from the jurisdiction of the Church of Canterbury, and slighting the Archbishop by granting Roger the right of wearing the mitre, ring, and sandals."^ Roger's benediction took place in 1179, and was followed three years later by a formal compact between the Archbishop and the Abbot, whereby it was enacted that the Archbishop should abandon his claim to the profession of obedience, and should be prepared to consecrate churches, ordain clergy, and perform other episcopal offices for St. Augustine's when required : and on his part the Abbot agreed that the clergy and laity of parishes belonging to the monastery should be subject to the Archbishop's and Archdeacon's courts and should pay the customary fees, and that nominees for vacant benefices should be presented to the Diocesan for institution —though the benefices whilst vacant were to be retained in the patron's hands.^ This compact led to one pleasing result, namely that on St. Augus- tine's Day in the year 1185 Archbishop Baldwin was invited to the monastery, and on his coming was honourably received. He celebrated mass in the Abbey- church, and consecrated two cemeteries ; and it was particularly noticed by the cathedral party that Abbot Roger, as a mark of respect, put aside his mitre and would not wear it until bidden by the Archbishop to do so. 3 Roger ruled at St. Augustine's for the long period of 3b years (11 76-1 212), and it was during his time that his monks were able to enjoy a sweet revenge for the intrusion of the inmates of Christchurch into their monastery in the interdict of Stephen's reign. ' Gervasius, 1331. ' Elmhair, p. /149. 3 Gervasius, 1475. 62 THE REVOLT FROM [I'S' The tables were now turned, when King John in 1207 ejected the Cathedral monks during the troubles that arose after the death of Archbishop Hubert, their crime consisting in their having voted for Stephen Langton's election. Armed soldiers were therefore sent to drive them out, with orders to slay them if they refused to quit : and on their fleeing to Flanders for refuge, their rivals from St. Augustine's were invited to per- form the services at the Cathedral — an invitation which they accepted with no small alacrity ! ' Roger's revolt from episcopal jurisdiction having resulted so favourably, his successors of course followed his example and claimed the like exemption. The next Abbot, Alexander, who was chosen by his fellow monks from their own body, was a man in every way fitted to cope even with such a mighty prelate as Stephen Langton.^ He is described as a man of great ability, a splendid theologian, and well versed in all branches of learning ; and such was his reputation that he was chosen as one of the two presidents at the general Chapter of the Benedictines of the Province of Canterbury at their first triennial meeting, which was held at Oxford in 1218.3 He was also in high favour with King John, whose intimate friend he had been from earliest child- hood, and remained loyal to him when Louis, the French Dauphin, invaded England in 1216. Louis landed at Stonar, and sent a letter to invite the support of the Abbot and monks, setting forth in full his claims to the English throne, and declaring that he was come to emancipate England's Church and realm from the tyranny of King John. The invitation, however, met with no response ; and fair words, prayers and threats, were alike of no avail. The Abbot even made bold to » Thome, 1865. Perry's Eng. Ch. Hist., vol. i., 294. Hook's Abps., vol. II., 671. => Thome, i8b4. 3 Taunton, vol. i., 37. 1253] EPISCOPAL JURISDICTION. 63- pronounce the sentence of excommunication against the invaders ; and though Louis . ravaged their property,, both in the Isle of Thanet and on the mainland, and almost laid hands on the monastery itself, the monks did not waver in their allegiance to their King.' Such was the man who demanded that Langton should come to him to grant him benediction in his own monastery, and at the same time denied his right to claim any profession of canonical obedience. The Archbishop, as was only to be expected, refused to acquiesce in his pretentions, so that the Abbot-elect had to appeal to Rome, as his predecessor had done before ; and the end of the matter was that Pope Innocent III. himself performed the ceremony of bene- diction, notwithstanding the cogent arguments that were adduced by Langton's representative. According to Thorne the Archbishop sent to Rome a Bull of Alexander III., which professed to revoke the exemption that had been gained by Roger ; but although he after- wards argued the case in person when he attended the Lateran Council in 12 15, he was defeated with shame,, not being able to prove the document to be genuine.^ The Archbishop happened to be abroad when the next vacancy occurred, and consequently it seemed natural enough for the candidate for benediction to seek it at the hands of the Pope, thus avoiding all occasion for actual contention with the ecclesiastical authorities at home. Still the process was a long and tedious one, and the narrative of the Chronicler at once supplies us with an interesting account of the various processes of an election to the abbacy, and also en- lightens us as to the extent of the papal influence, even in those early days, in a monastery that aspired to exemption. 3 'Thome, 1868. = Thorne, 1864. 3 Thorne, 1873. ■64 THE REVOLT FROM ["S' It appears then that on the death of Abbot Alexander in 1220, Pan;dulph, the papal Legate, obtained the guardianship of the abbey, and sent his Penitentiary to take charge during the vacancy. Acting on Pandulph's advice the monks sent two of their number to the King to ask for his conge (Telire ; and when this was obtained, they proceeded to elect " by means of ■compromise," i.e. they commissioned certain of their body (in this case three) to make the selection, and bound themselves to abide by their decision. The choice falling on Hugh the chamberlain, he was forth- with dispatched to London together with the prior and five of the brethren to petition the King for his assent, and the Legate for his confirmation of the election. On arriving in London the monks first conducted the Abbot-elect to Lambeth, and presented him to the Lord Chief Justice, the Bishop of Winchester ; after which they introduced him to the other great officers of state at the Treasury at Westminster, by all of whom he was favourably received. They next repaired to the Temple, where the Legate accepted their credentials and bade them come again next day. On doing this their candidate was formally welcomed by the Legate, the Lord Chief Justice and others, and took the oath of allegiance to the King. The following day he was received by the King himself, who treated him with great respect, and granted him letters patent, and also wrote to the Legate to ask him to confirm the election. This however Pandulph hesitated to do, till he should have seen the resolution of the Chapter of St. Augustine's with the signatures of all the monks; and as he was shortly to be in Canterbury ■on other business, he dismissed the Abbot-elect to his monastery, there to await his coming.' ' Thome, 1873. 1253] EPISCOPAL JURISDICTION. 65 On his arrival at St. Augustine's the Legate was escorted in procession to the chapter-house, where he summoned the Chapter to appear and explain fully to him their method of election, and what considerations guided them in their choice of an abbot. He next examined each monk separately as to the code of rules of the abbey, and then inspected all the documents that bore upon the matter in hand. Next day, acting on his apostolic authority, he at length confirmed the election ; whereupon the monks marched in procession to the church, a solemn Te Deum was sung, and the Legate himself said the collect and installed the elect with his own hands. But this was not by any means the end of the business, for the candidate had still to receive his benediction. As the Archbishop was abroad, the monks petitioned the Legate to grant a commission to some English Bishop to bestow the blessing on the new Abbot: but as he found himself unable to take this step without consulting the Pope, he sent to Rome two of the monks with all the documents that dealt with the privileges of the monastery, and the method of election, and also letters from the King, the Legate, and other great officials. The Pope ruled that Hugh must repair to Rome in person, so to Rome he went, furnished with more letters written on his behalf by the King, the Legate, the Lord Chief Justice, and many others ; and taking with him also the monks' formal petition for the bene- diction of their candidate, and many letters addressed to various cardinals, begging that the matter might be carried through successfully. On presenting to the Pope the petition for his benediction, "he gained his request without difficulty ; " and at last, after the lapse of just six months from the death of his predecessor, E 66 THE REVOLT FROM ['IS' he received the blessing from one of the cardinals, who was authorized to act on the Pope's behalf. After so lengthy and troublesome a process it is somewhat disappointing to find that Abbot Hugh died in 1224 — only three years after his benediction.' Trouble arose again after Hugh's death, when Robert of Battle (or de Bello) was elected by his fellow monks as their abbot: for Langton remained firm and refused to grant benediction, so that Robert was obliged to undertake the laborious and expensive journey to Rome. As the Archbishop did all in his power to oppose his suit, the Abbot-elect, "seeing that it could not be brought to a successful issue unless the Pope were won by promises and bribes," alienated to him the living of Littleboume, and presented it to him for the support of his newly-founded monastery of Monte Mirteto. On the strength of this the Pope com- missioned one of his cardinals to bestow the blessing on him in the Lateran Church, and he returned home triumphant, after the vacancy had lasted in this case also for six months." The matter in dispute was now virtually decided, and exemption from episcopal control was ensured for St. Augustine's by the action of Archbishop Edmund Rich, who, as far as he himself was concerned, surrendered the position and bowed to the inevitable. This gentle and peace-loving Prelate expressed a wish to heal the dissensions that had for so long a time existed between the Abbey and the Cathedral-body, and accordingly in the year 1237 a concordat was drawn up whereby terms of agreement were decided upon — terms which were greatly to the advantage of St. Augustine's.3 The Arch- ' Thorne, 1879. = Thome, 1880. 3 Thome, 1882. Hook, vol. in., p. 180. 12S3] EPISCOPAL JURISDICTION. 67 bishop on his part conceded the right of the abbots to receive benediction within the walls of their own abbey-church, and rehnquished all claim to any pro- fession of obedience : while on their part the Convent agreed to receive the Archbishop, whenever he should come to grant benediction, with procession and ringing of bells — not as Ordinary of the place, but as the Pope's representative. This friendly compact was further cemented in the following year by a visit of the Arch- bishop to the monastery, where he spent several days ; though we are specially informed that he was boarded at his own expense — doubtless in order that he might have no ground for any future claim to be there de jure^ After this concession on the part of the Archbishop there could of course be no doubt as to how the revolt of St. Augustine's would end. It is true that succeeding Archbishops showed no disposition to yield a condition of things that was so subversive of their authority ; and not only did Boniface of Savoy utterly refuse to institute the next Abbot, Roger of Chichester, and even turned a deaf ear to the papal mandate, but for several generations there was almost continual strife between the two rival powers in Canterbury.^ The results of all this were very unhappy for both parties concerned, for an abbot-elect could only qualify for his high office by journeying to the papal court, or by obtaining authority for some other bishop to grant benediction on behalf of the Pope. It seems lamentable too that Archbishops should have been constantly at enmity with so important a monastery, standing almost at their very doors. The actual distance between the archiepiscopal palace and St. Augustine's was only a few hundred yards ; but practically each yard was a mile, ' Red Book of Cant., 276. Thome, 1884. ^Thorne, 1899. 68 THE REVOLT FROM ["S' and the successive primates might look across from their palace to the towers of the abbey, longing in vain to see what was within those ponderous doors which were shut so closely against them, or to wander round the " corpora sanctorum," where so many of their canonized predecessors lay enshrined. Royal visits were fairly frequent, and other bishops, both Englishmen and foreigners, were often entertained here ; but the Diocesan was not welcome at St. Augustine's, and rarely came within its walls. It was not till the year 1397 that the Arch- bishops gave up the hopeless opposition against the pretensions of the monastery, backed up as they were by the power of Rome. In that year Archbishop Arundel published a declaration in which he stated that after full examination he finds that the claims of St. Augustine's are well founded, and that therefore he acknowledges that the monastery and all religious persons resident therein are exempt from all jurisdiction of the Ordinary, and are subject to the Pope alone. After this we are not surprised to read that in 1405 the same Archbishop granted benediction in St. Paul's Cathedral to Thomas Hunden, the Abbot-elect of St. Augustine's, requiring from him no " subjectio " or " obedientia," but calling him his " frater, consors, collega, et comminister," and paying him honour " according to St. Augustine's decree."' Thus after a struggle extending over more than two centuries, during which the monastery consistently followed out the policy of appealing to Rome, while the Archbishops strove to rescue the Church of England in its entirety from a foreign domination, St. Augustine's was at last successful in gaining recognition of its complete emancipation from the authority of ' Thome, 2290. Elmham, p. 71. I2S3] EPISCOPAL JURISDICTION. 69 the Archbishops of Canterbury, and of its entire submission to the Roman See. It remains to be seen what was the effect that the substitution of Ultramont- anism for Anglicanism had upon the welfare of St. Augustine's. CHAPTER VI. The Age of Worldly Magnificence, (a.d. 1253-1334.) AS soon as our monastery was assured of success in its efforts to free itself from the jurisdiction and interference of the Archbishops of Canterbury, it entered upon a long period of uninterrupted prosperity. During 80 years after the middle of the 13th century the annals are full of records of lavish expenditure on new buildings, of royal visits, of sumptuous banquets provided for thousands of guests, of rich legacies, of benefactions, and of honours and dignities bestowed upon the various abbots. The first of the four who ruled during these 80 years was Roger of Chichester, or Roger II., who commenced the rebuilding of almost the whole monastery except the church and the chapter-house. He began his work in 1260, and for well-nigh half a century the builders and carpenters seem to have been em- ployed with little or no intermission, the portions that were completed during Roger's life-time including the new refectory with its lavatory, a bath-house, a room for the Prior, a chapel over the gate-way, and the re- roofing of the great dormitory with lead.' The heavy ' Thome, 1899. THE AGE OF WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCK. 71 cost of these works was partly defrayed by the generosity of Adam de Kyngesnoth, chamberlain of the monastery, who not only liquidated the heavy debts of the house, but also gave largely for the improvement of the fabric, and for the benefit of the inmates in various respects.' In return for his good deeds his grateful monastery decreed in 1267 that when dead he should be commemorated by a " principal anniversary." At a later date Kyngesnoth received the honour of being appointed Abbot of Chertsey in Surrey, but the decree of the Augustinians was not forgotten, and the calendar of the monastery shews that even after the lapse of a century and a half his obit (on April 4th) was still remembered in the place that he had loved su welL= Among the details of Roger's administration were an agreement with the city authorities in the matter of the punishment of thieves caught on abbey-lands, the translation of the relics of St. Mildred to the north-east chapel of the choir, and the provision of professional barbers for the shaving of the monks — an improvement on the former arrangement whereby the monks used to shave one another. This Abbot presided over St. Augustine's for 20 years, during which the monastery seems to have enjoyed a time of prosperity and quiet progress ; the only exception being a natural calamity in 1271, when Canterbury was visited by a mighty storm of thunder, lightning and rain, which nearly submerged the whole city. The water burst into the great court of the monastery and flooded the church, and would have done great damage, " had not the power of the saints who slept there prevented it." s ' Thorne, 1913. = Cathedral MSS., E. xix. 3 Thome, 1920. 72 THE AGE OF [l2S3 Roger was succeeded by one of the ablest and best abbots who ever ruled over St. Augustine's. This was Nicholas Thorne, or De Spina, who was promoted from the post of third prior in 1273, and received his bendiction at Rome at the hands of one of the cardinals. Under him the building-activity of his predecessor was continued, and he was able to complete the erection of new cloisters in place of the old, and to build an inner chamber for the Abbot's own use. Among other benefits conferred on the monastery was the construction of a chapel connected with the dormitor)', with studies annexed — a work, which was found to be a great encouragement to devotion and reading. Furthermore he arranged that the church services should be considerably shortened, with the happy result that the offices were performed with greater care and reverence, and thus more time was available for stud}- and other useful occupations.' Thorne was evidently regarded both at home and abroad as a man of mark and influence, for the Pope appointed him " Conservator of the Praemonstratensian Order in England," and he was also chosen to preside over a general Chapter of the English Benedictines which met at Abingdon in 1279.^ That Chapter was one of considerable importance, for it decided that all the houses of the Order within the Province of Canterbury' should pay a yearly tax for the mainten- ance of a hostel at Oxford, wherein brethren from those monasteries might be fittingly lodged and boarded for the purposes of study at the University.s The Prior at that time, too, was honoured by being called upon to fill a post of considerable responsibility ; for when a tithe for six years was granted to Edward I. to aid him in the Crusades, one of the two collectors ■ Thome, 1920, 1935. "^ Thorne, 1925. 3 Thome, 1930. I33+J WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 73 appointed for the Diocese of Canterbury was William Wylmyngton, Prior of St. Augustine's, who signally proved his fitness for the post by raising the enormous sum of ;^S 1 25. 1 During the rule of this same Abbot there occurred a curious instance of the jealous care with which the monastery guarded its hardly-won privilege of exemption from episcopal control. Edward I. had been in France, where he had been doing homage to the French King for his foreign possessions, and on his return to England was lodged in St. Augustine's Monastery. To him came Archbishop Peccham on a friendly visit, with his archiepiscopal cross borne erect before him : but before he was permitted to enter the gate, he had to declare formally that his coming in this manner was not to constitute any encroachment on the independence of the monastery, by putting his hand to the following declaration: — "To all the faithful to whom this letter shall come, we, John, by God's permission the humble minister of the Church of Canterbury, etc. Know ye that whereas on the feast of St. Dionysius in the year of our Lord izyg, for the purpose of visiting the most Christian King and Queen of England sojourning therein, we entered St. Augustine's Abbey at Canterbury with our cross borne before us, we declare and fully acknowledge that thereby we do not intend — which indeed is far from our desire — to create any precedent to the detriment of the Abbot and convent, or in any respect to abate their ^j)rivileges either at the present time or in the future, or to gain any right for ourselves which does not already belong to us or our Church."^ On this occasion the practical wisdom and good management of the Abbot prevented any unfortunate "Thome, 1926. = Thome, 1929. 74 THE AGE OF [l^S? contretemps, such as arose later on ; and we are informed by the monastic chronicler that under him St. Augus- tine's "enjoyed peace and prosperity and exceptionally great privileges, so that among his predecessors there was none that I know of who was so beneficent a ruler, nor after him has there arisen his equal." We are not told the reason, but after ruling for only ten years, Nicholas Thorne withdrew from his high ofiBce, and joining the Carthusian Order took up his residence at Selby Abbey in Yorkshire.' The resignation of so able and successful an abbot must have been accepted with profound regret by his convent : and eleven years afterwards, when his health had been seriously under- mined by his ascetic habits, the grateful Augustinians unanimously voted him an annual allowance of ten marks for the rest of his life.= The Abbot under whom the monastery attained to its highest pitch of glory and prosperity was un- doubtedly Thomas de Fyndon, who succeeded Thome in 1283, and ruled for 26 years, the year 1300 marking the culminating point of " the age of worldly magnifi- cence." He was appointed to the abbacy by the Pope himself — on his sole authority, though with the approval of the retiring Abbot — and having travelled to Snow- don in Carnarvonshire to obtain the royal sanction, was admitted in London by the Archbishop of Dublin. ^ As soon as he took office he found himself in- volved in a disagreeable quarrel with the Prior of Canterbury Cathedral. Some few years before, trouble had arisen about the respective rights of the Abbot over his seaport of Stonar, and of the Prior over that of Sandwich : for Stonar and Sandwich being situated on opposite sides of the mouth of the river Stour, the two parties were often at logger-heads on the • Thome, 1937. ' Thome, 1964. 3 Thome, 1938. '334] WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 75 matter of harbour-dues and ferry-rights, or concerning the reclaiming of new land silted up by the sea.' A somewhat similar dispute now occurred nearer home at Fordwich, where the Prior of Christchurch, during the vacancy at St. Augustine's in 1283, had built a quay and a house on Augustinian property. As soon as the new A.bbot had the reins of government well in hand he promptly had these works destroyed, and on the Prior repeating the offence he again pulled down both house and quay and threw the materials into the Stour. Commissioners were appointed to settle the question according to law ; and at first they seemed somewhat favourable to the Prior, and allowed him to re-erect his buildings on certain compensation being made to St. Augustine's. After a while however they reversed their judgment, and on the ground that the tow-path was being obstructed, to the hindrance of the King's subjects and the tenants of the Abbot, they ruled that house and quay must again be removed, and the place be made as it was before.^ This dispute was protracted for two years, but evidently it left no rancorous feelings behind when at last the matter was settled, for a couple of years later we find St. Augustine's entering into a "friendly alliance" with Christchurch, as had already been done with Winchester and Bury St. Edmunds. According to this alliance it was agreed that whenever an Abbot of St. Augustine's died, the precentor was at once to inform the precentor of the Cathedral, and funeral services of the same dignity as those for an Arch- bishop would be performed there on his behalf; and on the death of a Prior of Christchurch, the same was to be done at St. Augustine's. Similar arrange- " Thome, 1919. Archseol. Cant., vol. XII., p. 331. " Woodruff's Hist, of Fordwich, p. 10. Thome, 1939. 76 THE AGE OF [l2S3 ments too were made in the case of a monk of one community dying, the other community agreeing to say the offices for the dead as though he were one of themselves.' - In Fyndon's sixth year occurred an almost exact repetition of the Peccham incident of lo years before — though with very different result, for on this occasion the monks were so anxious to safe-guard their liberties that the Archbishop was not allowed to set foot within the walls of the monastery. The whole episode is fully narrated by Thorne, whose account is this : — "In the year of our Lord 1289 King Edward, on his return to England from Gascony, was entertained at St. Augustine's, together with his Queen and his sons and many others ; and as the day was the vigil of the Assumption — the feast itself falling on a Sun- day — he invited Friar John Peccham, Archbishop of Canterbury, to dine with him on that festival, on which occasion there would be present also many other nobles who had come to meet the King. " But when the Abbot and monks heard of it, they were afraid lest their privilege of exemption might be encroached upon, if the Archbishop came with his cross borne erect ; and they therefore earnestly be- sought the King and his council not to permit him to come with his cross, lest their liberties should suffer, and a precedent be started injurious to their monastery. The king was still desirous that the Arch- bishop should come, and as the Archbishop would not enter unless his cross were carried erect before him, the King instructed his Chancellor to see that the Abbot and monks received letters both from the Arch- bishop and from himself to the effect that the Arch- bishop's coming with his cross erect involved no injury ' Thome, 1948. Lit. Cant., III. 368. '334] WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 77 at all to their liberties. The Abbot and monks had no power to resist, and did not dare to oppose the King's will ; and being afraid of incurring his serious displeasure, (which they considered would be a graver danger than the other,) they gave their consent that the King's wishes should be carried out, and that the Archbishop should come in with his cross— though they required the letter declaring the immunity of their liberties. Concerning the form however in which this letter should be couched a grievous quarrel arose be- tween the parties of the Archbishop and the Abbot. " Meanwhile on the other side, the Archbishop's clergy asked that they might be permitted to examine the charters on which the Abbot's party based their claim to refuse entrance to the Archbishop, and the Lord Bishop of Ely, who was Lord Treasurer, joined in the demand. To this the Abbot's party replied at much length to the effect that they could not be com- pelled to do this, and they refused to shew their charters to the Archbishop's clergy. Yet out of respect to the King they did shew some of them to the Bishop as a friend, and after the parties had withdrawn, the Lord Bishop of Bath, the King's Chancellor, came and saw the charters that had been already submitted to the Bishop of Ely; and having thus examined them, these Bishops were fully satisfied that the Archbishop had no right to come in. "The two parties however could not be brought to agree as to the wording of the letter, and the Bishop of Bath was therefore specially commissioned by the King to arrange the matter. A form was drawn up by the Abbot's party, and to it were added certain words on the advice of the King's clergy — the Abbot's party consenting to this that they might please the King and thus avoid the graver danger. The letter 78 THE AGE OF [lZS3 then ran as follows: — "To all the faithful in Christ to whom this letter shall come, we, Friar John, by God's permission the humble minister of the Church of Canterbury and Primate of all England, send greet- ing and everlasting peace in the Lord. Know this, all of you, that having been specially invited by our most Christian Lord Edward, the illustrious King of England, to dine with him on the feast of the Assump- tion of the glorious Virgin Mary in the year of our Lord 1289, and having at his urgent command entered, with our cross bonie before us, into the Abbey of the Monastery of St. Augustine of Canterbury, (which is subject only to the Church of Rome,) wherein the King together with his nobles was then keeping festival ; we do declare and fully acknowledge that thereby we do not intend — which indeed is far from our desire — to create any precedent to the detriment of the Abbot and convent, or in any respect to abate their privileges either at the present time or in the future, or to acquire for ourselves any jurisdiction or right thereby. And in confirmation of this, our seal has hereunto been fixed on ihe day and year aforesaid." "The Archbishop's party however altogether refused to seal this, and from his party there came again to the Abbot, the Archdeacon of Canterbury, Master Lucas the Archbishop's chancellor, and Master Reginald of Brandon, and with them Master William of Halebergh and the Lord John of Lewes, bringing to the Abbot this message in the Archbishop's name : — " His Grace the Archbishop sends you greeting ; and because, as ye know, my lord the King has invited him to dine with him to-day in this house, he asks you to allow him to come in with fitting state without establishing any pre- cedent to the detriment of your monastery ; for he has no wish to establish such a precedent or to oppose 133+] WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 79 your liberties. He would ask you then, either to consent to this, or else to induce my lord the King to excuse him from coming, and to grant him his leave to remain in his own palace." The Abbot, after holding a consultation about it, replied that his wish was, though he was unwilling to say so, that the King's command should be obeyed according to the form that had been drawn up. The representatives sent by the Archbishop at once returned, and when the matter had been reported to the King by his Chancellor, he took counsel thereon, and by the same Chancellor com- manded the Archbishop not to come, but to remain in his own house — the King paying for his day's enter- tainment. The Archbishop was highly incensed, and is said to have uttered threatening words against the Abbot's party, but he remained in his own house, and next day left the city."' Nothing more of importance transpired in Pec- cham's time, for though he is said to have nursed his wrath and tried to carry on the conflict against St. Augustine's, the Abbot went to Lambeth and desired peace, and submitted to his Grace various documents in support of the privileges which had been claimed. With this the Archbishop is said to have been satisfied, so that he dismissed the Abbot in peace.^ A few years later Edward I. was here again, and though Thome's narrative savours rather strongly of the marvellous, his main facts are very possibly correct. According to him, the King had designs on Minster in Thanet and other manors belonging to St. Augus- tine's, and he came to Canterbury, July 12th, 1294, intending to appropriate them to himself on the following day. That night, however, he had a dream. ' Thome, 1951-1956. Archzeol. Cant., vol. xiil., p. 512. = Thome, 1956. 80 THE AGE OF [1253 He thought he was at sea, and a great storm threatened to swamp the ship that he was on board of. He therefore made for the nearest shore, which happened to be the Isle of Thanet ; but as soon as he attempted to land, St. Mildred appeared and thrust his vessel out to sea again, so that he seemed in imminent danger of being dro\tned. He remonstrated with her for her cruelty in treating him in this manner, but she retorted that the cruelty was his, because of his in- tention to rob her of her lands. From this dream he was awakened by the sound of bells, and on enquiring he learned that they were the bells of St. Augustine's ringing for service, that day being the festival of St. JNIildred. He was so much struck by the strange coincidence that he sent a message to the Abbot to say that he would come to High Mass at the monastery ; and when he arrived he found the monks vested in albs and drawn up in line, who all prostrated themselves as he passed. He asked the Abbot what was the meaning of this. " Your majesty," he answered, " we are overwhelmed by alarm at your terrible decree, which is to rob us of the manors that were granted to us by Kings of long ago." To this the King replied : " Be of good cheer, my faithful servants, your con- solation is at hand." After High Mass the King " related his vision to the Abbot, and prompted by a feeling of reverence for the saints of the monastery, confirmed for all time the manors to which he had been so unjustly laying claim."' Edward I. was quite a frequent visitor here, for we find him visiting St. Augustine's yet again in the year 1297, on which occasion he made an offering of 7 shillings in the church at the reliquary which was known as the " caput Sancti Augustini," from its ' Thome, 1962. I334J WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 81 containing part of the remains of the Founder. His pious example was in after years followed by both Edward II. and Edward III., who repeated his offering at the same spot.' The domestic history of the monastery at this period betokens wealth and prosperity, for the re- erection of the conventual buildings, which had been in progress for nearly a quarter of a century before Fyndon's time, was carried to a successful conclusion under him. The magnificent entrance gateway, which still remains intact, the great stone kitchen near the re- fectory — a vaulted hexagonal building like the kitchens still extant at Glastonbury and Durham — the forensic chamber with the beautiful Abbot's chapel above it, the charnel-chapel in the cemetery, and other considerable works, were all erected at great expense by this princely abbot. His hospitality too was of a lavish description, for besides his entertainment of the King, as already described, we have records of one occasion in 1293 when he gave a banquet on St. Augustine's Day 'in honour of Justice Berewick ; and among the enormous party of 4500 guests present were "all the prelates of Kent," and the judges and lawyers who were on circuit at that time.^ And again, in 1305 Archbishop Greenfield of York was lodged here for a night, though he too, like Peccham, was called upon to declare formally his innocence of any intention to interfere with the privileges of the abbey, before he was allowed to cross its threshold. 3 With the See of Canterbury however Abbot Fyn- don's relations were never happy or friendly, and his quarrel with Winchelsea resulted in a serious reverse, • Archaeol. Cant., vol. XIII., p. 518. Thome's Chron., 2274. Elmham's Chron., p. 56. 3 TJiome, 2005. 82 THE AGE OF [l2S3 which seems to mark the turn of the tide in the fortunes of St. Augustine's. The trouble was com- menced by the Archbishop, for during the visitation of his diocese in 1297 he summoned the Abbot and monks to appear before him, that they might prove their claim to exemption and to the possession of the various livings that were appropriated to them. As they did not obey the summons, the Archbishop de- clared their livings vacant, and they in their turn appealed to Rome.' The case dragged on wearily for two or three years, but at last resulted favourably for the Augustinians ; for Pope Boniface VIII. issued a Bull in which he acknowledged the former charters to be genuine, and granted fresh privileges in addition to those that they already possessed. On the strength of this the Abbot took a step which seems to have been altogether " ultra vires," and which was certainly highly imprudent and led to a most humiliating defeat. This step was nothing less than the formation of three new and independent rural deaneries, which were to comprise the livings that were in the patronage of St. Augustine's. The deaneries bore the names of Sturry, Minster and Len- ham, and their rural deans were to be appointed by the monastery and to be subject and responsible to that body alone.^ This novel and unauthorized proceeding, which took place in 1300, at once roused the Archbishop to prompt and vigorous action. He and his Chapter unani- mously appealed to Rome against the claim of exemp- tion, which they declared to be an intolerable abuse ; he excommunicated all persons, clergy or laity, who should continue to obey the Abbot and his representa- tives ; he declared that such clergy, being excommuni- " Thome, 1966. " Thome, 1976. 1334] WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 83 cate, were incompetent to receive payment of tithes or other dues ; he appointed nominees of his own to the Augustinian livings thus vacant ; he sent armed bands to take forcible possession of the churches and parsonage-houses ; and he persuaded all his suffragans, by a tax levied on themselves and their archdeacons and other officials, to raise large sums for the expense of protecting the rights of the primatial see. To all this the Abbot responded by excommunicating the Archbishop, and sending two of the brethren to Rome to lay the matter before the Pope.' When the matter was tried at Rome, the main question, viz., the exemption of the monastery from the Archbishop's power, does not seem to have been discussed — apparently the Augustinian position was not assailable in that respect. But there were three subsidi- ary charges brought against the Abbot, and on these the judgment was given. The first was that the Abbot had claimed entire independence for all the parishes and inhabitants of his three deaneries : the second, that he had diverted from the Cathedral to St. Augus- tine's the annual Whitsuntide processions of all the parishes in his patronage : and the third, that whenever the Archbishop passed by, the Augustinian churches were locked and their bells were not rung, as a denial of his claim to jurisdiction over them. On all three charges, (after scandalous delay and much scheming and plotting — according to Thome,) the Abbot was condemned. It was ruled that henceforth he was not to exceed the powers of ordinary patrons — merely pre- senting his nominee to the Archbishop, and leaving to him the power of institution and deprivation ; and of those livings that were appropriated to St. Augustine's the temporalia only were to be paid to the Abbot, but the spiritualia were to belong to the Archbishop. ' Thorne, 1977. 84 THE AGE OF [l2S3 This was a serious reverse for St. Augustine's — the most serious that that great house ever suffered. The arrangement about the three deaneries had to be abandoned ; the clergy had no choice but humbly to submit themselves to the Archbishop, and accept depri- vation, excommunication, or pardon, according to his will ; the tenants and parishioners who had remained faithful to the abbey were compelled to perform various penances, and were scourged in the market-places, and each had to bring a candle to offer at the shrine of St. Thomas ; and the defeat was emphasized by a great service with procession held in the Cathedral, at which the Prior preached, and publicly proclaimed the papal rescript. Winchelsea knew how to make the most of his victory, and used his advantage to the full : and though the Abbot sent representatives all the way to Colchester to beg for peace, and then in abject humiliation himself sought an interview with the Primate at Dunmow, and afterwards gained the help of certain noblemen who interceded on behalf of St. Augustine's, the Archbishop deferred the day of reconciliation, and indeed the six years' quarrel seems never to have been formally healed. During Fyndon's latter years we have several hints given us to the effect that the financial condition of the monastery was far from satisfactor}'. No doubt one serious blow was the passing of the statute of Mortmain — really enacted in 1279, though Thome does not notice it till 1293 — a statute which drew from the chronicler a pathetic lamentation, as con- stituting a serious check to the good intentions of pious testators. Then the expenses incurred at that period must have been enormous, so that we marvel how the conventual exchequer could have met the bills for hospitality and for new buildings, besides paying 1 3 34 J WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 85 the costs involved by the elections of new abbots and by the struggles with archbishops, and such incidental demands as a yearly pension of ;^io for a foreign cardinal, Berald, Bishop of Albanum.' It is not surprising therefore to learn that heavy debts were contracted at this period ; and had it not been for two opportune benefactions, such extravagant expenditure might have led to serious difficulties. One of these benefactions came from John Peccham, a monk of St. Augustine's, who partly gave and partly be- queathed to his monastery the sum of over ;^iSoo (modern value ;£'36,ooo), and furthermore built at his own expense three splendid barns at Littlebourne, Northbourne, and Little Mongeham. The details of the benefaction are instructive, illustrating as they do the pecuniary embarrassment of the monks, and also the serious aspect the Roman claims were now begin- ning to assume. One portion of the money was to be devoted to the building fund, ;^5oo to wipe off debts, ;^5o for the expenses of the Abbot-elect (Bourne) at the Papal Court, and loo marks to save the convent from a threatened interdiction for not having paid the Pope's tithe. Enormous as this benefaction was, it was greatly surpassed by that of John Pontoise (or de Pontissara), Bishop of Winchester, which fell in about the same time. This prelate had for years been a fast friend of St. Augustine's, and had supported the abbey in its contentions with the Archbishops— even to the ex- tent of advancing at various times as much as £sooo (modern value ;^i2o,ooo). In 1304 tidings reached Canterbury that the Bishop was dying, so Abbot Fyndon at once seized the opportunity and went to him, entreating him to have pity on St. Augustine's by 'Thome, 1965. 86 THE AGE OF ['253 forgiving the debt. In a fit of generosity the Bishop at once sent for all the bonds, and in the presence of Fyndon destroyed every one of them : and not content with this, in his will he bequeathed a further sum of ;^ioo to the monastery.' Such timely and princely benefactions as these would doubtless do something more than stave oflf bankruptcy from St. Augustine's, but the period of its pride was gone, and the place was never again to make as brave a show as it had done before. One of the last notices of Fyndon is a record of his being summoned to Parliament as a spiritual peer in 1306; and three years afterwards he died, his palfrey, cup, ring, and kennel of dogs being claimed by the King as his royal perquisite, according to the usual custom. = He was buried in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin in the nave of his church, and left behind him the reputation of having been " as a ruler watchful and careful, as a judge wise and just, very long-suffering to the sick and weakly, and constant in relieving the wants of the poor."3 To succeed Abbot Fyndon the monks elected one of their own number, Ralph de Bourne, who, after he had gained the consent of Edward II. in London, was sent off to Avignon, where he received his benediction at the hands of one of the cardinals. On his return to his monastery he celebrated his installation by an enormous banquet, held on November isth, the vigil of the Consecration of St. Augustine. His predecessor had left the monastery burdened with debts, so that it is somewhat surprising that the new Abbot could venture on such lavish expenditure — and indeed during ■ Thome, 2003. 'Brent's Cant., p. 78. Hasted, vol. iv., p. 654. 3 Thome, 2009. >334j WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 87 the remainder of his 25 years he seems to have found it necessary to be very careful with the funds of the convent. The whole number of guests present at the banquet is not recorded, but we learn from Thorne that the first relay consisted of 6000, and that they shared 3000 dishes between them. Doubtless so vast a gather- ing would represent many more than the whole popu- lation of Canterbury, so that the feast probably took the form of a " free meal," open to all who cared to come to partake of it.' The cost of this extravagance amounted to ;^287 7s. (modern value about ;^68oo) and the various items are as follows : — £ s. d. S3 quarters of wheat . 19 58 casks of beer 17 10 1 1 tuns of wine 24 20 qrs. of oats . . 4 spices . . 28 300 lbs. of wax. . 8 500 lbs. of almonds . 3 18 30 oxen 27 100 pigs 16 200 sheep 30 1000 geese 16 500 fowls 6 5 463 chicken 3 14 200 sucking pigs 5 34 swans 7 600 rabbits 15 1 7 shields of brawn 3 5 partridges, mallards, bitterns. larks 18 1000 earthenware pots 15 salt 010 •Thome, 2009. Di igdale, 1 rol. 1., p. 144. 88 THE AGE OF [l2S3 1400 cups — — — 3300 dishes and plates — — — spoons and knives 8 4 fish, cheese, milk, garlic 2 10 9600 eggs 4 10 saflfron and pepper I 14 fuel, and fixing boilers and furnaces . . , , 2 8 300 ells of cloth 4 for making tables, tressels, , and dressers . . I 14 given to the cooks and their assistants . . , , 6 musicians . . . . . . 3100 After this the most salient feature in the history of the monastery during Bourne's rule ' was the unhappy quarrel with the See of Canterbury, for the two Primates Reynolds and Mepham both gave consider- able trouble by endeavouring to include St. Augustine's within their visitatorial power. Reynolds (1314-1327) in the visitation of his diocese cited Abbot Ralph de Bourne to show cause why he should not appear on behalf of his exempt churches, and profess obedience to him ; and he further threatened to come with his archiepiscopal cross into the monastery as Ordinary to preside over the services. This the Abbot forbad him to do, and after consulting his legal advisers, the Archbishop drew back, and took no further action.' In 1329 Archbishop Mepham held a general visita- tion of his diocese, and summoned the Abbot and monks to prove their title to the appropriation of their churches, and on their refusal pronounced them contuinacious : whereupon they again appealed to the Pope, and a » Thome, 2013. '334] WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 89' long-protracted struggle ensued." John XXII. appointed a canon of Salisbury, one Icherius de Concoreto, to- decide the case, or rather to give effect to the Pope's decision — for in his commission St. Augustine's is de- clared to have been " from the time of its very founda- tion exempted by special privileges granted by the apostolic see from all jurisdiction and power of any ordinary." The Archbishop was fined ;^7oo, which, he was ordered to pay to St. Augustine's, and when he failed to do this within a specified time he was excommunicated. = The sentence indeed was little re- garded at the time either by himself or by other people, but on his death occurring in 1333, his body could not be interred in his cathedral until it had been formally absolved by the Abbot of St. Augustine's. 3 The achievements of Abbot Bourne's 25 years of ofiice were but few, and it is evident that the crippled state of his exchequer prevented his emulating the architectural zeal of Thome and Fyndon. He accom- plished indeed the erection of a kitchen for the Abbot's lodge, and a stone cistern in the court ; but when in the year 1325 a new chapter-house was found to be an imperative necessity, his endeavours ended in failure. True, a praiseworthy attempt was made to provide the money, for the whole convent began to put aside all that they could save from their allowances and fees ;, but though the self-denial was continued for more than eight years, and the large sum of £^']1 was collected,, the scheme seems to have been shelved, and they did not get their new chapter-house for more than half a century — and then it was paid for by Ickham bene- faction.* 'Lit. Cant., vol. I., pp. 511-519. = Thome, 2039. Hook, vol. III., p. 508. 3 Thome, 2066. ■• Thome, 2038, 2039. •90 THE AGE OF [l^SS One other scheme proved a real success, and that was the laying out of the North-holme as a vineyard. It appears that this tract of ground, though within the conventual boundaries, had been not only a source of trouble to the monastery, but a scandal to the whole neighbourhood. A public path led through it, and. being rugged and overgrown by thickets, it afforded a shelter for thieves and people of bad character. By the King's permission the Abbot stopped the thorough- fare, cut down the trees, cleared away the undergrowth, filled up the hollows, and planted the place with vines, protecting it by building a great wall around the whole area. He thus effectually abated the nuisance, and added to St. Augustine's a valuable possession — for the vineyard was carefully tended, and is several times mentioned in the monastic records of later times.' Among those to whom hospitality was extended by Abbot Bourne, were Archbishop Seagrave, the Primate of Ireland, who came in 1322 and consecrated various church " ornaments," and Peter, a Hungarian Bishop, who three years later dedicated several altars, acting under the commission of Archbishop Reynolds.^ With the Christchurch monks too he seems to have been on friendly terms, for in 1320 he was invited to take a prominent part in the jubilee festivities held in honour of Thomas A Becket, and he celebrated mass and performed other services in the Cathedral with ^eat pomp. 3 About the same time a serious disturbance broke out in Thanet, for in 1318 the tenants of the abbey- estates rose in rebellion in consequence of a distraint imposed for dues not paid. A band of 600 men, armed ■with bows and arrows, swords and clubs, attacked the » Thome, 2036. jVrchasol. Cant., vol. 11., p. 226. = Thome, 2038. 'Thome, 2036. '334] WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 91 Abbot's manor-houses at Minster and at Salmeston near Margate, the monks in charge of the latter place being besieged for 15 days. The rising lasted for five weeks, and enormous damage, estimated at ;66oo, was done to property belonging to St. Augustine's, so that finally the civil power had to be invoked to quell the dis- turbance, the Abbot's bailiffs being quite unable to cope with it.' The results of this outbreak must have been disastrous to the finances of the monastery, which were already in a somewhat embarrassed condition ; and there is besides one piece of evidence to shew that as regards internal matters of discipline all was not quite satisfactory at St. Augustine's. " In the year of our Lord 1332," says Thorne, "certain constitutions for the reformation of the monastery were issued by Ralph the lord Abbot in the 22nd year of his rule, and were inserted in the martyrologium, so that all might read them. But when the Abbot died two years later, even before his body was buried, these constitutions were torn out of the martyrologium and burnt on the i>core of their undue severity, a resolution to that effect having been passed by some of the monks, including the president of the Chapter."^ Before we pass on from Abbot Bourne, mention must be made of one of his retainers, who, though not really a very important inmate, yet occupies a larger space in the chronicles of Thorne than does almost any other person or event in the whole history of the monastery ; and as the narrative affords an interesting insight into the life at St. Augustine's, I give here an epitome of his case. Peter de Dene (or Denne) was a man of noble birth and great ability, and had gained considerable repu- ' Thome, 2034. = Thorne, 2054. 92 THE AGE OF L'^S3 tation both as a lawyer and as an ecclesiastic — for he was a doctor of civil and canon law, and also held canonries in the cathedrals of York, London, and Wells, and in the collegiate churches of Southwell, and Wimborne.' " His advice and support were so much valued by the Chapter of St. Augustine's that in 1301 he became standing counsel of the abbey, with an annual stipend of £10, and by 13 12 he was received into confraternity as an adopted brother of the convent, and perpetual daily masses were appointed to be cele- brated for his benefit — a concession only made to eminent benefactors."^ Among his benefactions were the present of 200 marks "in time of great need," large sums of money given to Abbot Fyndon for his new buildings, a valuable collection of books, and the erection at his own expense of houses on the north side of the infirmary-chapel. His more intimate connection with St. Augustine's was brought about through troubles in the political world. For many years he had been employed about the court of Edward II., but afterwards he threw in his lot with the " Lords Ordainers " and became a partizan of the Earl of Lancaster ; and on his patron's defeat at Boroughbridge and subsequent execution in 1322, Peter de Dene sought asylum at St. Augustine's, and was admitted as a quasi-monk. He brought with him silver vessels to the number of 126 pieces, and having made his will in favour of the convent, he was permitted to build a private residence for himself and his household within the precinct, and to make a modified form of profession — assuming the habit, but not being bound to be in his place in choir, chapter- house and refectory.3 'Thorne, 2012, 2036, 2054. Lit. Cant., vol. 11., passim. ' Lit. Cant., vol. II., Introd. p. xxxix. 3 Thome, 2036. '334] WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 93 For eight years all went on satisfactorily ; but hear- in» that the political danger was now passed, the quasi- monk wished to return to the world again, and applied to Abbot Ralph de Bourne for his release. The Abbot however, who was doubtless loath to lose so valuable an inmate, did not see his way to grant his consent, and Peter therefore determined to make his escape — or to apostatize, as Thome describes it. In the dead of night on December 13th, 1330, he left his habit behind, and stealing away from his residence, attended by one of his servants, crept through the cellarer's garden until he reached the wall opposite St. Martin's Church. Here the rector of St. Martin's and his brother were awaiting them with ladders and horses, and by their aid they got safely away and hid them- selves in the brother's house at Bishopsbourne. A hue and cry was soon raised, the neighbourhood was searched, and after two or three days the unfortunate Peter was discovered, brought back to St. Augustine's amidst a scene of great excitement, and put into con- finement in the infirmary. For some while he refused to resume the habit and be shaved, but being at last starved into submission, he signed an explicit confession of his crime and a petition for re-admission, and was thereupon formally absolved by the Abbot. But this was by no means the end of the matter, for Peter still hankered after his emancipation, and at last succeeded in getting an appeal conveyed to the Pope ; the result of which was that the Pope speedily took action by issuing a commission to Richard Oxenden, Prior of Canterbury Cathedral, and certain others, to interview the petitioner and adjudicate upon his case. His mandate for the production of Peter de Dene being disregarded, the Prior went in person to St. Augustine's, and forcing his way into the church, pub- 94 THE AGE OF ['253 lished his monition in the midst of the choir during High Mass. As this too had no effect he next day took two or three hundred men with him, and again entering the church demanded that Peter should be brought in to be questioned by him. But though after considerable delay the man was produced, he was kept at such a distance from the Prior, and so great was the wrangling and confusion in the church, that nothing could be effected. On the following day the same process was gone tlirough again, but though Peter was still kept at a distance, and was surrounded by a crowd of monks, some kind of examination was possible. "Then the Prior asked Peter de Dene whether he was really a monk, and whether he wished to remain in that mon- astery. He replied in a loud voice that he was a real monk, and that he wished to remain." " I am," he said, "in the enjoyment of my freedom, and am a monk canonically professed in this monastery, and I wish this to be known to you and to all others ; and if I stay here till night-time you will get no other answer from me." He emphatically refused to acknowledge as genuine any recantation of his profession or any appeal to Rome averred to have been made by him ; and he even proceeded to level many abusive words against the Prior's advisers, declaring that they had done him a great wrong, and had made a mistake in urging the Prior to take action. Thereupon one of the Prior's party remonstrated with him, reminding him that they had been put to considerable trouble in the effort to help him ; and even now the Prior could obtain him a safe conduct to Rome, if he would like to lay his case before the Pope. He however forcibly reiterated his statement, adding however that he would have liked to have gone to Rome, if only he had been younger and I33+J WORLDLY MAGNIFICENCE. 95- in good health. He was asked why he would like to go to Rome. "To make enquiries," he replied, "about the wrong done to me by the Prior and his advisers." Of course on hearing this the Prior and his party had no choice but to retire to the Cathedral empty-handed and crest-fallen.' The story is a very suggestive one, and I cannot help suspecting that the real Peter de Dene was all the while confined in the infirmary or some other more secure place ; and that the monks found it ad- visable to run no risks with their wealthy testator, but personated him by one who might at a distance be mistaken for the man himself. Anyhow Prior Oxenden was by no means satisfied, and for many months after- wards continued to urge his fellow-commissioner,. William de Renham, to come down from London to settle the business, and he also wrote to beg the assistance of the Dean of Arches and others. His^ fellow-commissioner however appeared to be altogether unwilling to take any further steps ; and three years having now elapsed since the attempted escape, the case seems to have died a natural death, for we hear nothing more of this extraordinary episode, or of Peter de- Dene himself. ' Thorne, 2065. CHAPTER VII. The Pressure of the Papal Yoke. IN order to be in a position to judge of the effect that subjection to Rome had upon St. Augustine's, it is necessary to review its financial condition during the later mediaeval period, especiall}' as regards the various contributions that were levied by the papal ex- <;hequer. From this it appears that for about two centuries and a half after the Norman Conquest the monastery generally enjoyed a time of wealth and pros- perity : but in the 14th century the hard bondage of the Roman yoke began to press very heavily, and the enormous expenses incident to the succession of new abbots — chiefly fees to the Pope and his cardinals — brought St. Augustine's deeply into debt, and ensured its ultimate downfall. Towards the middle of the 14th century St. Augus- tine's was so unfortunate as to lose four abbots in the short space of fourteen years, and each election meant a severe tax upon the conventual exchequer. In the case of the first of these, Thomas Poncy, (otherwise Poucyn,) who was elected in 1334, we are able to glean ■some information as to the expense incurred by a journey to the Papal Court. The Pope was at that time residing at Avignon, so that the actual travelling would he less than half the distance of a journey to Rome : .but Poncy was delayed for sixteen weeks at Avignon THE PRESSURE OF THE PAPAL YOKE. 97 by his benediction and other business, for which his liabilities amounted to £gS ; and the whole trip, which occupied twenty-three weeks, cost the monastery £t/\.& (modern value ;^325o).' While still in that city, though much against his will, Poncy became involved in controversy, the subject in dispute being the condition of the saints after death. This was a favourite topic with Pope John XXII., who indeed had long laboured under suspicion of heresy, because he had set himself in opposition to the popular belief on the subject. On this occasion, what was con- sidered to be the orthodox doctrine was championed by a certain Friar named Thomas Wallis, who maintained that the saints have already been admitted into God's immediate presence ; whereas the Pope and almost all his cardinals held that they will not see His face till the day of judgment. Being a learned doctor of Theology, Poncy was asked to express his opinion ; but he cautiously excused himself on the ground that he had not his books with him, and that having come solely about his benediction he was anxious to avoid expending more time or money than was absolutely necessary. These excuses however did not help him, for the papal library was placed at his service, and he was not allowed to depart until he had given his reply. Having then carefully considered the case he boldly supported the tenet of Wallis in opposition to the Pope and his cardinals, and both spoke and wrote in its favour. Shortly afterwards the aged Pope died, but before he breathed his last — being terrified at the prospect of being remembered as a heretic — he sent messengers to all parts, revoking his former opinion as erroneous ; " and this revocation," says Thorne, " won for the said abbot much praise and renown." This would ■ Thome, 2067. 98 THE PRESSURE OF ['33+ appear to have been not the only incident that redounded to Poncy's credit, for when he died in 1343, after an administration of nine years, he left behind him the reputation of having been a good pastor of his flock . and a careful ruler of his monastery.' His successor William Drulege, a man " small of stature like Zacchaeus, but in protecting the rights of his Church, a giant in strength," held office for only three years ; and the next abbot, John Devenish, died two years after him, being succeeded in 1348 by Col- well.'^ There were thus four benedictions in fourteen years, and as all these abbots had to repair to Avignon to be admitted, the expenses incurred in so short a time could not but be ruinous, even for the princely rev- enues of St. Augustine's. That this was actually the case is amply evidenced in the history of the appointment of Devenish. This man had been elected by the monks of Winchester to be their bishop, but Edward III., being anxious to have some one else as bishop in his royal borough, had succeeded in securing the post for his favourite, to the exclusion of the monks' nominee. 3 The Pope there- fore told Devenish to stay with him, promising him the next piece of preferment that should fall vacant; and as Drulege happened to die just at this juncture, Devenish was appointed to succeed him. Meanwhile however the monks of St. Augustine's had proceeded with the election, and had chosen one of their own number, William de Keningtone, to fill the vacant post; and both they, and also the King and his nobles, offered a strenuous opposition to this flagrant example of papal interference with their rights. The King indeed wrote to the Pope a letter of remonstrance, 'Thome, 2067, 2081. = Thome, 2081. 3 Thome, 2082. 1405] THE PAPAL YOKE. 99 setting forth the sad financial condition of the house, how that owing to the frequent changes in the abbacy it was "badly crippled and deeply in debt," so that "the monastery is in a manner already ruined," and " its state of depression is notorious." However all expostulation was in vain, for the Pope sent over Devenish armed with Bulls and papal letters, and all that the King could do was to prevent him from taking possession of the monastery. By Edward's comniand the temporalities were withheld from him, and as he was not allowed even to enter St. Augustine's he took up his abode for awhile at Nackington a couple of miles distant, and then again went abroad to prosecute his case at the Papal Court. There he met with little or no encouragement, and losing all hope of success, died of grief in 1348, and was buried in the Franciscan church at Avignon.' His case is a scandalous instance of the extortionate expenses incurred by an exempt monastery, for his monks found themselves called upon to pay his debts, which amounted to the enormous sum of ;^iooo (modern value about ;^22,ooo). The sacristan of the monastery, Thomas Colwell, was chosen to succeed Devenish, and began his rule in the midst of the terrible visitation known as the Black Death, which well-nigh depopulated whole tracts of country both in England and on the Continent.^ There is no evidence to show how it affected St. Augustine's, and while some monasteries, such as West- minster, suffered severely, there is reason to believe that others, owing to efficient drainage and good water- supply, enjoyed comparative immunity from the plague. This was certainly the case at the Cathedral, where the death-rate of the monks was quite normal, and the Augustinians may possibly have escaped as well ; but 'Thorne, Var. Lectiones. = Thome, 21 17. 100 THE PRESSURE OF ['334- the obit-book is not discoverable, and history is silent about the matter.' This abbot was an intimate friend of the Pope, and was thus able to gain from him for himself and his successors several coveted privileges, such as the power of pronouncing solemn benedictions, and author- ity to reconcile his church or cemetery whenever it might be necessary.'^ The Pope also ordained that St. Augustine's Day should be observed as a public holiday and a ' double ' throughout England, and in- dulgences were offered as an encouragement to induce people to visit the monastery.^ With the King, too, Colwell was on very friendly terms, as indeed the Abbots of St. Augustine's always seem to have been. On three several occasions Edward III. was indebted to the monastery for monetary assist- ance — one of these occasions being a foreign trip, when he found himself without spare cash for his travelling expenses — and the total of the three loans amounted to as much as ;^266.'t All this took place before Colwell's time, for Poncy and Devenish were the abbots who had accommodated the King in this manner, but the same King proved himself a good benefactor of the monastery by granting an inspeximus in 1363, whereby a great number of ancient charters, some of them genuine, but some undoubtedly spurious, were formally accepted and received the royal confirm- ation.s In return for favours of this kind, the King naturally looked to St. Augustine's when in need of help, as was the case in 1372. In those times the estuary of the sea reached nearly as far as Canterbury, •Lit. Cant., vol. 11., Introd. p. xxii. "Thome, 2118. 3Xhome, 2119, 2122. * Dugdale, vol. I., p. 131. Hasted, vol. iv., p. 642. 5 Thome, 2123. 1405] THE PAPAL YOKE. 101 and Edward III. demanded that the Abbot should have a covered dock constructed for one of his war- vessels which he wished to put into winter-quarters at Fordwich, the expenses to be provided by the King. With very great labour the work was carried through, but the money supplied from the royal exchequer proved to be insufficient to pay the bills, and the Abbot had to find more than ;£'2o from his own resources.' Among other events of the reign of Abbot Colwell were a visit of the Cardinal-abbot of Clugny in 1361, who celebrated at the high altar in the presence of a vast congregation, and afterwards dined with the monks in the refectory;^ the donation in 1363 of the manor of Dene in Thanet by Juliana de Leyborne, Countess of Huntingdon, on condition that on every St. Anne's Day 200 pence should be divided between 100 poor people, and that a similar sum should be distributed to 200 poor on the anniversary of her own death; 3 and the jubilee of St. Thomas in 1370, when the Lord Abbot officiated at the festal services in the Cathedral, "and it is worthy of record," says Thome, "that during that celebration, both on the vigil and on the day itself, the Abbot was escorted before and after the service by the sacristan of Holy Trinity in the same manner as though he were the Archbishop himself."* Colwell died in 137s, after a wise rule of 27 years, during which he seems to have striven earnestly and not unsuccessfully to keep misfortune at bay, though no effijrts could avail to restore the prosperity of former days. An instructive instance of the extortionate demands made by the Papal Court, is supplied by the record of 'Thome, 2145. = Thome, 2122. 3 Thome, 2138. Archaeol. Cant., vol. I., p. 8. ■t Thome, 2145. 102 THE PRESSURE OF [l334- the election expenses of Michael Peccham, the successor of Abbot Colwell." As soon as the vacancy occurred, the monks most humbly petitioned the Pope to spare them the cost of sending their elect to Avignon for confirmation and benediction, begging him to com- mission some bishop in England to act on his behalf. As the monastery was saddled with heavy debts the Pope agreed to do this, and appointed the Bishop of Winchester as his representative. The monks thereupon elected Peccham their chamberlain to be abbot, gained the royal confirmation and the release of the tempor- alities, and when he had received his benediction, installed him at St. Augustine's. Doubtless this process was a much cheaper one than it would have been if he had gone to Avignon, and he also saved money by celebrating his installation merely by a quiet feast with his monks in the refectory, instead of providing a great banquet in the hall, as was customary. Still the expenses were truly enormous, for besides the .^400 payable to the crown during the vacancy, the bill for election and benediction amounted to ;^6o2. Almost the whole of this latter sum was incurred through the connection with the Papal Court: — viz., a fee of ^215 to the Pope and Cardinals; another fee of £183 to the same for their leave to have the benediction in England ; the proctors' journey to Avignon, and divers presents there, £12^; papal envoys bringing letters, etc., £$i ; the Bishop of Winchester's expenses, £g; to the Bishop's officials, £■] ; exchange of English money for Italian, £6; total, ;^S75. Thus through its obedience to the papacy, the appointment of its abbot cost St. Augustine's a sum equivalent to ;^i 0,600 in modern computation.^ One consequence of this was that Peccham's rule was a time of anxieties and troubles of all kinds, » Thorne, 2150. = Thome, 2152. 1405] THE PAPAL YOKE. 103 ("labores, tribulationes, taedia, et dolores,") and he found himself compelled to alienate a valuable property in London, a great hospital near London Bridge, which one Roger Schyrbroke had recently presented to St. Augustine's. "Thereby," says the historian, "not only did the monastery suffer loss, but also those who might be thinking of making us similar benefactions were discouraged."' At first sight indeed it looks as if the monastery were recovering at this period something of its former affluence and prosperity, for the masons and carpenters had a busy time for some years, the chapter-house, the cemetery-gateway, and St. Pancras' Chapel all being rebuilt about the year 1380, besides a new hall and rooms at Salmeston Grange. These works however were none of them paid for by the revenues of the convent, but were the outcome of a munificent bene- faction from Thomas Ickham, the sacrist, amounting to ;^2i68. We must not therefore infer that the finances of St. Augustine's were in a more favourable condition : on the contrary, everything tends to show that the monastery was not in a position to launch out upon any fresh expenditure.^ A new argument was introduced by Archbishop Sudbury into the contention between himself and St. Augustine's, for in 1378 he attempted to assert his authority over the monastery, not as diocesan, nor as primate, but by virtue of his being papal legate; and he therefore sent word that as " legatus natus '' he in- tended to come into St. Augustine's in full state to visit the tombs of the saints. The Abbot, nothing daunted, gathered together an armed band of his re- tainers, and prepared to repel the Archbishop at the gate. This made him pause, and he endeavoured to ' Thome, 2184. ' Thome, 2196. 104 THE PRESSURE OF ['33+ reduce Abbot Peccham to submission by laying the matter before the Pope.' The Papal Court however was just then in a very unsettled state, and when the Archbishop was murdered on Tower Hill two years later, the case was still undecided. His successor. Archbishop Courtenay, carried on the struggle on the same lines as before, but he met with no success, and an appeal to Rome taught him that he must look for no support in that quarter.^ The last election of which details have been pre- served is that of Peccham's successor, William Welde (1389-1405), who had a very unhappy experience of the abuses of the papal system, and had to endure a most trying series of delays before he could at last assume his mitre as Abbot of St. Augustine's. Peccham had died on February nth, 1387 (old style 1386), and seventeen days afterwards Welde was duly elected by the monks, and without loss of time set out to present himself before the King, in order to gain his consent, the King being at that time away in Lincolnshire. This consent being obtained, William Thorne, m'onk and chronicler of the abbey, was dispatched to the Pope with the candidate's credentials and also letters Trom the King and his nobles to petition for the confirm- ation of the election. The journey was considerably prolonged owing to storms at sea, which drove him out of his course, so that Thorne did not reach Lucca, where the Papal Court was then staying, till June nth.3 Then follows a sad narrative of almost endless procrastination, the object being to extort money from the unhappy envoy ; for though the Pope expressed his willingness to proceed with the business, he delegated the examination of the case to a certain Cardinal Reynold de Brancasiis, ("cupidus et avarus ac Simon- ■ Thome, 2155. = Thorfie, 2157, 2194. 3 Xhorae, 2184. 1405J THE PAPAL YOKE. 105 iaca labe ad plenum respersus,") who raised one trifling objection after another, and wasted month after month of precious time in doing nothing. Thome meanwhile constantly entreated him to have pity on the monas- tery, and to carry the matter to a conclusion ; and on one occasion, disgusted by his want of success, pre- sented a formal statement of the lamentable financial condition of St. Augustine's. He reminded the Cardinal that 12J months had now elapsed since the death of the last abbot, and he explained that for every month of the vacancy the monks had to pay to the King 100 marks, besides what was owing to the Pope; that inasmuch as the abbey property was near the sea- board, they were responsible, at very heavy expense, for the provision of 200 lancers and 500 archers for the French war ; and that their churches being seques- trated during the vacancy, the loss of their dues involved them in debts which, together with other sums owing to the King, now amounted to 10,000 florins, without counting Thome's own expenses at the Papal Court. He expressed his regret that the Abbot-elect was not there in person, but his coming had been forbidden by the King on account of the danger of capture by foreign foes and other perils of the way; and finally he hinted that though St. Augustine's was an exempt monastery, its burdens were much heavier than those of other monasteries, so that it would be better off' if it were not exempt at all. This remon- strance produced no effect whatever, and the unfor- tunate proctor continued to appeal from Cardinal to Pope, and from Pope to Cardinal, without meeting with any encouragement. At length however the Pope decided that the Abbot-elect must within four months appear personally before him, to plead his cause and be examined ; and Thome wrote off" to his patron and 106 THE PRESSURE OF [l33+ advised him to come at all hazards, for that thus only could he hope to get his election confirmed. Meanwhile, that he might make some good use of his time, Thome determined to prosecute enquiries as to the state of the Monastery of Monte Mirteto, for which, in accordance with the arrangement made by Abbot Hugh III., St. Augustine's had for the past 120 years been saddled with an annual payment of 120 florins (;^6o in modern value) from the tithes of Littlebourne.' After considerable difiiculty he discovered that it was merely a cell dependent on another monas- tery situated some 24. miles from Rome ; that it had been laid waste in recent wars and was now lying desolate ; and that the monastery and the cell together had only two monks attached to them— though one could hardly describe them as monks, for they were evil-livers, obeying no rule, and frequenting taverns and other low places. At length on November 20th the Abbot-elect arrived in Rome, and five days later was granted an audience by the Pope. All turned out favourably, for on the following day he gained the confirmation of his election, and on December 13th received his benediction at a great service in St. Peter's Church ; and the case of the pension to the Monastery of Monte Mirteto was settled by the abbot of that house consenting to forego the grant for nine years. Soon after Abbot Welde, having received the Pope's blessing and the kiss of peace, took his leave, and after a perilous but safe journey reached his home in the Holy Week of J389 — the monastery having now been without an abbot for two years and two months. The fees that were due to the Papal Court on this occasion amounted to over £190 (or in modern value ;£^4S5o) ; and in addition to this there were the ' Thome, 1879. Dugdale, vol. i., 129, 137, 138. 1405] THE PAPAL YOKE. 107 costs of the Abbot's journey, and the various journeys of the proctor, and his two years spent in Italy, with all the moneys extorted from him there ; and so heavy were the liabilities of the monastery at this time that the King mercifully remitted one half of what was due to himself. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that Welde too, like his predecessor, found it necessary to forego the customary installation banquet.' To Abbot Welde belongs the distinction of having healed the long-standing quarrel with the primatial see> Archbishop Courtenay indeed came uninvited and in the guise of a bare-footed pilgrim when he visited the tombs of the saints in 1389.^ But a few years later his successor Arundel, on the day of his enthronization (February i8th, 1397), was allowed to enter the monas- tery in full state, together with King Richard II., who had been present at the ceremony in the Cathedral. He first however made a formal declaration to the effect that the place was exempt from all jurisdiction of the Ordinary and was subject only to Rome ; and that he himself came, not by his own authority, but on the invitation of the Abbot and monks, and intended no encroachment on the rights and liberties of St. Augustine's, his sole purpose being to attend divine service in the monastery, and to visit the tombs of his predecessors and others lying there. A few weeks later a second visit is recorded, and the account proves that the old antipathy had disappeared. 3 " In the same year," says Thorne, " the Archbishop, being cordially invited, officiated in full state at High Mass and at vespers on St. Benedict's Day, and afterwards was enter- tained at a great banquet in the refectory together with one duke and many other lords." Evidently the Pri- mate found it wiser to bow to the inevitable, and to ' Thome, 2 184-2 194. ^Thorne, 2194. 3 Thome, 2198. 108 THE PRESSURE OF ['33 + recognise the fact that the coalition of St. Augustine's with Rome was too powerful to be successfully resisted. He therefore in that same year, 1397, published a statement to the effect that after full examination he found the claims of St. Augustine's were well founded ; and that the monastery itself, the Hospital of St. Law- rence, and Doge's Chantry, together with all religious persons resident therein, were exempt from all juris- diction of the Ordinary, and were subject to Rome only. He further acknowledges that to St. Augustine's belong the churches of St. Paul's in Canterbury, Sturry, Chislet, Minster with its chapels of St. John and St. Lawrence, Northbourne with its chapel of Sholden, Faversham with its chapel of Sheldwich, Milton, Lenham, Tenter- den, Selling, Preston, Kennington, Willesborough, Stone-in-Oxney, Brookland, Goodneston, and Little- bourne, all in the Diocese of Canterbury ; and the church of Plumstead with the chapel of East Wickham in the Diocese of Rochester ; together with certain annual payments from twelve other parishes, whose names he specifies in his formal document.' The above-mentioned visit of Richard IL, when he accompanied Archbishop Arundel, was not the first time that he honoured St. Augustine's by his presence. Four years previously the whole court had been enter- tained here, as we are informed by Thome, who was doubtless an eye-witness of the scene that he describes. "In the year 1393," he says, "his Majesty the King, together with the Queen, stayed in this monastery from the octave of the Ascension to the day after Trinity Sunday, being accompanied by his dukes, arch- bishops, earls, and barons, and a great number of other people. And on Whitsun-Day, and also on the next day when the festival of the holy father Augustine • Thome, 2199. 1405] THE PAPAL YOKE. 109 was celebrated, the King, wearing his crown and arrayed in his royal robes, took part in the procession and occupied a seat at table."' Further evidence, too, of the friendly feeling existing between the King and his loyal monastery, is to be found in the notices of loans raised to help him when he needed money; for he was thus assisted in his tenth and again in his twentieth year, the obligations reaching the sum of ;^l66.= It is quite possible that the entertaining of these distinguished guests was a duty that could not well be avoided, but certainly Abbot Welde is remarkable as having been very freely " given to hospitality," and one wonders how he was able to pay the bills so soon after his election expenses. Nor have we exhausted the list yet, for in 1394 he offered a welcome to the Provincial Chapter of the Dominicans, which met that year in Canterbury. On the Feast of the Assumption they came in solemn procession to St. Augustine's and marched through the choir and round the " corpora sanctorum," the rear of the procession being brought up by the Prior of the Cathedral and the Archdeacon of Canterbury. For three days the brethren were feasted by different hosts, and the Abbot of St. Augustine's was responsible for one day's entertainment at the cost Of;£'l0.3 Probably the most renowned potentate who at any time partook of the hospitality of St. Augustine's was Manuel, Emperor of the East. For a considerable time his imperial city of Constantinople had been threatened by the Turks, and he therefore set himself the task of journeying through western Europe to seek assistance against the Infidels. In the course of his travels he came to England in order to endeavour to 'Thome, 2197. ''Hasted, vol. iv., p. 642. 3 Thome, 2197. 110 THE PRESSURE OF THE PAPAL YOKE. arouse the sympathy of Henry IV., and having landed at Dover " he was entertained at Canterbury with due respect" by the Abbot and monks of St. Augustine's in December, 1400.' With the close of the 14th century we come to the end of anj^hing like a full or connected history of the monastery. Afterwards we can only glean scraps of information here and there, and a detailed narrative is impossible because of the lack of materials. We believe however that what has already been said, is sufficient to prove that not only had the golden age of St. Augustine's long ago passed away, but that the pressure of the Roman yoke was at least a large factor in reducing the monastery from its high estate to a condition of poverty and impotent subjection. ' Gibbon's Roman Empire, chap. 66. CHAPTER VIII. Days of Decadence, (a.d. 140S-1538.) THORNE'S history of the monastery ends with the year 1397; and though Thomas of Elmham, who was also an inmate of the house, undertook the task of writing another history about the year 1414, Iiis work was never completed. St. Augustine's seems to have had no later historian, and thus the materials for com- posing the rest of its record are but fragmentary ; but such as they are, they fully justify the title of this chapter, which describes the closing 133 years as "days of decadence." The first of the abbots of this period was Thomas Hunden, who was raised to the abbacy in 1405, and received his benediction in St. Paul's Cathedral at the hands of Arundel, the Archbishop freely acknowledging his exemption from episcopal jurisdiction, and addressing him as "frater, censors, collega, et comminister," and paying him honour " according to St. Augustine's decree." ' All that we know of him is the bare fact that he obtained a royal license to travel to the Holy » Thome's Chron., 2290. Elmham, p. 89. 112 DAYS OF ['.405 Land in the 13th year of King Henry IV.' Apart from this the fifteen years of his rule are a blank, as is the case also with his successors Marcellus Dandelyon (a member of the ancient family of that ilk near Margate), and John Hawkherst, each of whom held rule for only a very few years.* Of George Pensherst, who from being prior was promoted to the abbacy in 1431 and held the post for 26 years, but little is known. 3 We infer however that he sat in Parliament during his first year, and the Treas- urers' Return for a.d. 1432 proves that Henry VI. came to the monastery early in that year.'* The King was on his way from Dover, having just returned from his coronation at Paris, and the monks seem to have spared neither money nor trouble in the endeavour to do him honour. Thus one entry tells us that the sum of 6 IS. was paid "for repairing the robes of various gentlemen and attendants in preparation for the King's visit." Another item of 25s. sd- was for the expenses of the Lord Abbot and his suite " when they rode to Dover to meet the King." And apparently none of them considered his Latin sufficiently classical for so great an occasion ; for their Oxford scholar, Nicholas Godmersham, was brought all the way home at the cost of 14s. 8d. in order to make an oration before the boy-monarch. Nor were the members of the royal household forgotten, for among the disbursements for presents occur two sums of 6s. 8d. and 13s. 4d. for the King's musicians; and "tips" were given to the King's coroner (3s. 4d.), the King's valet (is. 8d.), the King's groom (3s. 4d.), and the King's messenger (3s. 4d.), while the Queen's messenger gets as much as 6s. 8d. ' Hasted, vol. iv., p. 656. " Dugdale, vol. I., p. 123. Simson's Historic Thanet, p. 156. 3 Dugdale, vol. I., p. 123. < Treasurers' Return in Cathedral MSS. £tntm(jnuri iflcrnrumi inpiiotnonu nnoVijEdfii yfCmquacrfdyjnrti^n^ifSinitajiiirfljrorffli ^J-jT?') rtnronrtiiirp mino^iii'ba'uiSno.A') ao n'Siinroi (a flii5ii|H V aiijfia quo mo fhj&nj fiitr rmpits fri tn\gitfhni h Ton) quo putt ifttiiitjiVti fliion jiiuis uircr (ffj'iil Tib*bim|rrtH in fnmrt f(^m to n>[rrt6 lie minTr 111 punni aquironan iifi 1110*111 f friiti [ct inanttumu fmi|iirt_\ibi mnut J froT^c^ti) S1106 iifqi nS Snu taur\vq" /)lnii(i^ifictirr) roimjin(r''iit6nipff((8lTa)Sii1Pi n itjf'nnjficpllai^fhiquTni "' ' '' "^ - "'' irui;tuaaiB)i»iin(iu " fninnnOTttuonfl y wtSjnc jjirttii . iTflii|tiitii»jV rauuefri miqji jH riinn pnbi flWfrti- flloai t^uo pitf i yma fctfa itinirt ii[q: iul^onoicJQ- ttli'rpiptniiT'rimiof pft otnii fun nfl ttna p (hjtfnn^ii fiMrin "KTptmt " •IffllT-iraf^f-tl 9E5g»qg0J3gaSJBfl(NQ«Da^XTv»; THH Ai lAK-I'lF.rK AXII ■■l.'CRFdRA S AXrTl.KUM A.I), I4I4. 1538] DECADENCE. 113 This Return reveals nothing about the Roman question, except that a Bull received from the Pope cost the monks £3 15s., and that £z los. was paid for " Peter's Pence." But it makes it perfectly clear that financially matters were coming to a very serious pass ; for the year's available income was only £2z^b, whereas the total expenditure was ^2844, leaving a deficit of ;^588; or rather, when certain unpaid liabilities were reckoned in, the deficit reached the alarming total of ;^i226. A considerable part of this expenditure was given for repairs of the fabric, the year's disbursements under this heading amounting to £''■11, of which as much as £io'i was spent on the church. The Queen who is mentioned in the above narra- tive was of course the Queen Dowager, Katherine of France, for Henry was not married till many years later. In 1446 however his young bride, Margaret of Anjou, honoured St. Augustine's by her presence, being ac- companied by Cardinal Beaufort. Henry himself did not come on that occasion, but in the same year he gave proof of his royal favour by granting a charter of privileges to the monastery.' One other striking testimony is forthcoming in this 15 th century which makes it perfectly evident that " home finances " were in a state that was utterly de- plorable. It is contained in a letter written by Henry Berry, one of the monks of St. Augustine's, to his cousin John Paston in London, imploring him to help the monastery in its dire distress. The letter was " writyn at Caunterbiry in hast the XXIIII*' day of Januare," 1464 — the year after Abbot Sevenoke had been succeeded by William Selling. He appeals thus: — " Worfor now late deyde the Abbot of our Monastery, and lefte us in grete ded (debt) ; the holdyst brother • Cathedral MSS., A. 65. H Il4 DAYS OF ['405 in our place never hard nor saw our chirche in that mysere that is now ; we have cast the perellys (perils) amongys us, and there is nowne other helpe, butt every brother that hath any worsschipfull kynne or frendys, every man to do his part to the well fare, socour, and releve of our monasteri ; therfor, worsschipfull cosyn, I, a brother of that worsschipfull monastery wer inne begoon the feyth of all thys lond, mekely besechyth you in the reverence of AUmygty God to render help, and socour us in our grete necessite ; for in London lyth to wedde many ryche jowells of ouris, with other grete detts, wych my brother wyll enforme you of. "Plesyth your goodnesse, for Godys sake, and all the Seyntts of evyn, and att my sympyll request, to have compassion upon us, ye havynge dooe swerte (due surety) both in obligacions and pleggs ; in the reverens of All myghti God, do your allmesse and charite ; hitt schall cause you to be prayed for, and all your kynne as long as the chirche stantt."' It was possibly with the object of putting the financial matters of the monastery on a sounder basis that Abbot Selling started off in 1468 to visit Rome and other places abroad. We know that the Prior of the Cathedral was ordered by the King to administer an oath of allegiance to him before his departure, and that he was allowed to take with him one monk and four servants, and might prolong his absence to the extent of five years, if he so desired ; but of the result of his trip we can glean no information.^ Of John Dunster, who succeeded to the abbacy on Selling's resignation in 1480, we know nothing; and of John Dygon we can discover no record except the mention of his name as one of the honoured ' Paston Letters, vol. 11., p. 146. ' Dugdale, vol. I., p. 123. Lit. Cant., vol. lii., p. 243. 1538] DECADENCE. 115 guests who sat at the high table at Archbishop War- ham's enthronization banquet in 7504 — a banquet of such princely magnificence that the cost of the pro- visions amounted to £513 — even though flesh-meat was not allowed, the day being Passion-Sunday.' A passing indication too that either the monastery or its ruler was favourably regarded by Henry VII. may perhaps be inferred from the fact that when that monarch made his will at the Archbishop's palace at Canterbury a few days before his death, he bequeathed money to found an anniversary mass at St. Augustine's as well as one at the Cathedral. = In the time of Thomas Hampton (1509-1522) a serious dispute arose with the Mayor and Corporation of Fordwich, who complained that the Abbot had in- terrupted their water-rights by the erection of a hedge, which prevented them from bringing their vessels to their own quays. The matter was brought before Lord Poynings, the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, (of which Fordwich was an integral part,) and an appeal was sent by the representatives of the Cinque Ports to the Abbot, petitioning him to restore these rights to the people of Fordwich — an appeal that he doubtless saw fit to consent to. 3 More pleasing is it to notice the honour that was shown to St. Augustine's and its chief ruler both by the King and by the citizens of Canterbury. Henry VIII. brought Katherine of Arragon to the city in 1513, on which occasion the mayor, aldermen and commons rode to Harbledown " to meet the King's grace," and the royal party accepted the hospitality of the monastery. ■♦ ' Dugdale, vol. I., p. 123. Battely's Somner, Appendix, p. 24. ^ Hasted, vol. IV., p. 736. 3 Dugdale, vol. i., p. 123. Woodruffs Hist, of Fordwich, p. 24. ■•Brent's Canterbury, p. 210. 116 DAYS OF ['405 And it is evident that Hampton was held in great respect by the citizens, for the city records have this entry concerning a graceful compliment that they offered him near the end of his life : — " paied for 2 turbottes gevyn to my lord Abbot of Seynt Austens at hys coming home from Rome, 4/-."' The last Abbot was John Essex or Foche — Foche being his family name, while he himself used the local surname, which seems to suggest that by birth he was an Essex man — though his family belonged to Kent, having been settled for several generations at River and other places in the neighbourhood of Dover.^ He was educated at Oxford, where he took his B.D. degree in 1515, and he ruled here from 1522 to 1538, his official Register — continued almost to the close of his term of office— being preserved in the Cathedral library.' This Register, which contains about 120 leases and other deeds, was kept by William Sellyng the precentor, and gives evidence of a time of sore pecuniary distress, when valuables had to be sold, and large sums of money borrowed, in order to meet pressing liabilities and impatient creditors. Thus in 1522 we find the Abbot and monks parting with a large quantity of plate (25 pieces, weighing 514 ounces,) to Dr. John Alen for the sum of ;^ioo, and concluding the deed of sale with the proviso that they should have their goods again if they returned ;£^ioo to the purchaser by the following Christmas — a proviso of which they seem to have been unable to avail themselves. In 1525 they borrowed ;^i 00 from a Kentish squire. Sir Thomas Cheyne. Four years later a London grocer named WiUiam Mery lent them a further sum of ;^6oo, which they bound themselves ' Brit. Archseol. Assoc, A.D. 1844, p. 325. = Dugdale, vol. i., p. 123. Hasted, vol. in., p. 764, vol. rv., p. 131. 3 Hasted, vol. tv., p. 657. Cathedral MSS., E. xxiii. 1538] DECADENCE. 117 to pay off in half-yearly instalments. Again in 153 1 they obtained ;^i20 on loan from a citizen and gold- smith of London named Trappe. And finally, in the following year, they appear to have experienced con- siderable difficulty in raising ^123 as a royal subsidy, which however they promised to pay within ten months. It is almost pathetic too to find records of abbey- lands being leased away for long periods, in ignorance or disregard of the great catastrophe that was so near at hand. Thus in 1530 Thomas Scotte of Hawkchurch obtained 40 acres on a 20 years' lease at a rental of £i; and Christopher Hales in 153 1 purchased a 20 years' tenure of the Vicarage of Milton ; and the lease of Roger Payne of London, drawn up in 1523, was to run for 70 years. One wonders what happened to these when St. Augustine's was swept away ! The official returns prove that the annual revenue of the monastery at the close of its history amounted to only ^5^1413 (the net income being even less — ;^i274); and this shews that it had suffered a very considerable diminution during the last century of its existence, for in 1432 the revenue had been ;^22s6.' This diminution is a sure indication that the glory of this great house was rapidly departing, and when we remember that the yearly tax payable to the Pope was 1300 golden florins, or ;^75o in modern value, it is evident that financial ruin could hardly be averted much longer.^ "In 1536 Henry VIII. passed through the Great Gateway with his Queen Jane Seymour, and his coming must have been watched with wondering eyes by the brethren. Already the Bill had passed the Commons, which ordered the suppression of the monasteries possess- ing less than ;^2oo a year, and it was plain that the ' Hasted, vol. IV., p. 658. Treasurers' Return. ' Hasted, vol. IV., p. 658. 118 DAYS OF DECADENCE. blow was about to fall."' Finally, two years later. Abbot John Essex and his 30 monks gave up the hopeless struggle, and performed their last official act by hand- ing over their monastery with all its possessions and estates to the King's commissioners, and henceforth the place was to know them no more.^ We have thus traced the fortunes of St. Augustine's Monastery from the Norman Conquest onwards, and have seen that from the early part of the 14th century those fortunes gradually declined, and financial troubles constantly pressed more and more heavily. Of course there is no denying that the abbots appear to have been culpably extravagant in their lavish hospitality and their domestic expenditure ; and we must not leave out of count the large sums of money that were swallowed up by the Royal Exchequer in the form of fines and subsidies ; nor do we forget that public enthusiasm for the cloistered life — and therefore public support too — was certainly waning. But after giving due weight to all these considerations, we hold that historical evidence proves conclusively that even if Henry VIII. had never dissolved them, the English monasteries were already doomed, because their pecuniary difficulties were bound to end at last in bankruptcy ; we believe that the ex- tortionate exactions of the Papal Court were the chief factor in those pecuniary difficulties ; and we are con- vinced that in the case of St. Augustine's those extortionate exactions were greatly increased owing to the fact that the monastery, being exempt from episcopal control, was, far more than those not exempt, helplessly at the mercy of the Popes of Rome. 3 " Maclear's St. Augustine's, p. 26. = Dugdale, vol. I., p. 123. 3 W. Cunningham's English Industry, etc., p. 153. CHAPTER IX. The Dissolution, (a.d. 1538.) THE idea of suppressing the religious houses seems to have originated with Henry VHI. himself, for he hoped thereby to strike a decisive blow against the papal cause in England, and also to fill his impoverished coffers without the necessity of wringing more taxes out of the already over-burdened people. But Parlia- ment was not altogether prepared to carry his wishes into execution, and at first could only be made to con- sent to suppress the lesser monasteries — those whose income did not reach ;^2oo a year. By this act of 1536 as many as 376 religious houses were blotted out of existence, and three years later the remaining monasteries shared the same fate — or rather those that still survived were suppressed, for the majority had found it more prudent to anticipate the evil day by a " voluntary submission." Among the latter was St. Augustine's, for on July 30th, 1538, the convent assembled for the last time in their chapter-house, and set their hands and seal to an instrument of surrender, whereby they delivered up everything to Richard Le}'ton, the King's official receiver. This document is most distasteful reading. 120 THE DISSOLUTION. ['538 and it is impossible to believe that it expresses the real mind of the signatories. It is rather the act of men in terror of their lives, who hope to make good terms for themselves by betraying their sacred trusts in as graceful a manner as possible. The following extract contains the most important part of the instrument: — "Be it known unto you that we, the aforesaid Abbot and monks, having unanimously and with one consent deliberated together, and acting with full knowledge and on our own initiative, because of certain good and sufficient reasons which have particularly influenced our minds and consciences, have entirely of our own free will g^ven and granted, and by this deed do give, grant, yield up and confirm unto our most illustrious Prince and Lord, Henry VIII., by the grace of God King of England and France, De- fender of the Faith, Lord of Ireland, and on earth supreme Head of the Church of England, all our afore- said monastery, house, or abbey, and the site, plot, territory, and precinct of our said monastery, house, or abbey, together with all our dues, cattle, and movable goods whatsoever appertaining and belonging to us or to our aforesaid monastery, house, or abbey, both those that we own at the present time, and also any that are owing on account of debt or any other cause either to ourselves or to our aforesaid monastery, house, or abbey."' At the time of the Dissolution the number of resi- dent monks had dwindled to exactly half of the full complement, for besides the Abbot there were only 30 now left to sign the deed of surrender. Of these 30 the majority were office-holders in the monastery, and in the list of signatures their official designations are added to their names : — viz. prior, sub-prior, third prior, ' Dugdale, vol. I., p. 123. 1538] THE DISSOLUTION. 121 fourth prior, precentor, sacristan, sub-sacristan, treasurer, chamberlain, cellarer, sub-cellarer, keepers of the in- firmary, of the refectory, of the vestry, of the door, and of the Lady-chapel, and chaplain of the Abbot. Thus it appears that there were only thirteen who were not distinguished as occupying official positions — whether permanent or temporary — at the time of the Dissolution.' The 31 signatories were all pensioned, the Abbot receiving £133 a year — the income of the manor of Sturry — and the monks being granted annual stipends varying from ;^13 6s. 8d. to ^5 — the average of the 30 being £6 3s. 6d. To be deposed from so splendid a position as the headship of St. Augustine's Monas- tery must of course have been a terrible degradation, but we cannot contend that, under the circumstances, Abbot Essex was treated ungenerously — for his pension would be equivalent to ;^i4oo of our money : he did not, however, long survive the downfall of his fortunes, for his name disappears from the list of pensioners some time before February, 1541.^ It is interesting to compare the names as they appear in the list of signatures with those in the list of pensioners that was issued two months later, for we notice that in only two cases do the surnames cor- respond.3 It is evident that precisely as the Abbot, as we have seen, signed himself John Essex, though his name was really John Foche, so did the monks use local surnames descriptive of their birth-places or homes, (e.g. Richard Canterbury, Robert Glastonbury, John Sand- wich, Robert Saltwood, &c.,) whereas the official list of pensions identified them by their patronymics. Cardinal Pole's book of pensions shews that in 1556 'Dugdale, vol. i., p. 124. ^ Dugdale, vol. I., p. 124. 3 Hasted, vol. IV., p. 658. 122 THE DISSOLUTION. ['S3* there were still i6 pensioners in receipt of their allow- ances, and there again they are described by their patronymic and not by their local surnames.' At the time of its surrender the yearly revenue of St. Augustine's, as already stated, amounted to ;^i4i3, or in modern value about ;^i 6,000, and the area of its estates was 19,862 acres, all of which, together with the buildings and the goods and chattels, were taken possession of by the King.^ It is impossible to trace the greater part of the treasures that were thus confiscated, but an official letter of Henry VIII., dated 1544, acknow- ledges that he has received from Sir Anthony St. Leger "these parcell of plate, jeuells, and other orna- ments of the goods of the late abbay of Seynt Augustines nygh our citie of Cantorbury." These goods were valued at £,^ 1 , and included 1 7 copes, 1 1 sets of vestments, and various holy vessels, &c., such as four chalices, two crosiers, and two mitres ; but these can only have formed a small portion of the original contents of the sacristy of so important and wealthy a house.3 At the present day there is but little of St. Au- gustine's Monastery left that has escaped from the greed of church-spoliators and the ravages of time. Of the fabric, Abbot Fyndon's great gate-way, the cemetery gate- way, the guest-hall with its adjoining rooms, and most of the precinct wall, alone remain intact ; and there are also fragments of the church, St. Pancras' Chapel, the guest-chapel, the cloisters, and a few other mouldering ruins. With the exception of sundry books — to be referred to more fully in the account of the Library — which are scattered about in various collections, there is scarcely anything remaining ' Archseol. Cant., vol. 11., p. 58. = Walcott, p. 29. 3 Dugdale, Mon., vol. I., p. 125. 1538] THE DISSOLUIION. 123 of all the movable goods formerly belonging to this great and glorious house. Mention should be made however of one curious relic — the grace-cup of the last Abbot, John Essex or Foche. It has been assigned to the year 1505, and is formed of a small cocoa-nut, raised on a round pedestal and mounted in silver-gilt, bearing on the rim the legend — "Velcom ye be, dring (drink) for charite."' This cup is in private hands, belonging to a member of the Fagge family, who are descendants of Henry Foche of Ripple, brother of the last Abbot of St. Augustine's. No chronicler has described for us the overwhelming sadness, the unutterable pathos, of the closing scene of the history of Augustine's monastery ; but our heart-felt sympathies are surely stirred as we try to imagine what must have been the feelings and the thoughts of the deprived monks on that great and terrible day. They ' were men who had left fathers and mothers, who had abjured the joys of married and family life, who had forsaken houses and lands for Christ's sake ; and they were men to whom St. Augustine's was all in all — their only interest, their only joy, their only earthly home. We picture them to ourselves, singing their last mass, listening for the last time to the notes of their organ, receiving the last broken-hearted blessing of the Abbot, and then wandering once more through the " corpora sanctorum," and (may-be) kneeling awhile in final fare- well before Augustine's tomb. Minds and emotions might be too crowded and confused to find expression in words, but doubtless there would flit through their imaginations some thoughts of their great founder and his foundation-work; thoughts of kings and primates > Archjeol. Cant., vol. xxi., p. liv. 124 THE DISSOLUTION. ['538 buried there, and of pious benefactors and of holy- worship maintained through 94.0 years ; thoughts of rivalries with Christchurch, of struggles with archbishops, of papal favours, — all henceforth to be forgotten ; thoughts too of cloister and refectory and chapter- house, and of the quiet cemetery where they too had looked to be laid to rest. But now all was to be swept away ; worship was to cease, tombs would be rifled, relics scattered to the winds, vestments and bells would be brought to the hammer, treasures confiscated to the King, and the holy site prostituted to secular and profane uses — verily it seemed a repetition of the time of which the Psalmist wrote, "the heathen are come into Thine inheritance." And yet it had to be. The monastic system in England had done its work, and done it well, but it was a system fitted rather for the ancient or the mediaeval Church than for the modern. For times had changed ; and the England of the 1 6th century was not the same- England as when St. Augustine's was made a praise in the earth ; nor were Englishmen of the new learning to be led heavenwards by the same methods that had been the inspiration of their ancestors' religion. The old fervour of self-devotion and the old enthusiasm for the cloistered life had passed away, and monasticism was dying a natural death. And while we equally deplore and condemn the means adopted for the coup de grace, as being utterly cruel and entirely indefensible, yet we recognise that at St. Augustine's, as elsewhere, the old order had to change and give place to the new ; and we find comfort in the reflection that here at least, in the providence of God, it has come to pass that the old system, which was so largely characterized by sentiment, has been re-born as a system, which, though not bereft of sentiment, is yet 1S38] THE DISSOLUTION. 125 so thoroughly practical and so well-calculated to supply the altered needs of the Church of modern times.' " Cp. Jessopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 164. LIST OF THE ABBOTS. I 598- 607. Peter. 2 607- 618. John. 3 618- 626. Rufinian. 4 6z6- 638. Gratiosus. S 638- 654- Petronius. 6 654- 667. Nathanael. 7 669- 671. Benedict Biscop 8 67,- 708. Adrian. 9 .708- 732- Albinus. 10 732- 748. Nothbald. 1 1 748- 760. Aldhun. 12 760- 762. Jambert. >3 762- 787. Ethelnoth. 14 787- 803. Guttard. '5 803- 822. Cunred. i6 822- 844. Wernod. '7 844- 863. Diernod. i8 8&3- 866. Wynher. 19 866- 874. Bewmund. 20 874- 879. Kynebert. 21 879- 883. Etans. 22 883- 886. Degmund. 23 886- 894. Alfrid. 24 894- 902. Ceolbert. 25 902- 907. Beccan. 26 907- 910. Ethel wold. 27 910- 917. Tilbert. LIST OF THE ABBOTS. 127 917- 920. Edred. 920- 928. Alcherind. 928- 935. Guttulf. 935- 937. Eadred. 937- 939- Lulling. 939- 942. Beornelm. 942- 955. Sigeric. 955- 971. Alfric. 971- 980. Elfnoth. 980- 985. Siricus. 985-1006. Ulfric I. 1 006- 1 022. Elmer. 1022-1047. Elstan. 1047-1059. Ulfric II. I 1059-1070. Egelsin. I 1070-1087. Scotland. 1087-1099. Wiilo. 1099-1124. Hugh Flory, or Hugh I. 1126-1151. Hugh de Trottesclive, or Hugh II. 1151-1161. Silvester. 1163-1176. Clarembald. 1176-1213. Roger de Surdingden, or Roger I. 1212-1220. Alexander. 1220-1224. Hugh III. 1224-1253. Robert of Battle, or de Bello. 1253-1273. Roger de Chichester, or Roger II. 1273-1283. Nicholas Thome, or de Spina. 1283-1309. Thomas Fyndon. 1309-1334. Ralph de Bourne. 1334-1343. Thomas Poncy. 1343-1346. William Drulege. 1346-1348. John Devenish. 1348-1375. Thomas Colwell. 1375-1387. Michael Peccham. 1389-1405. William Welde. 128 LIST OF THE ABBOTS. 63- 1405-1420. 64. 1420-1427. 65. 1427-1430. 66. i+3'-i4S7- 67. 1457-1463. 68. 1463-1480. 69. 1480-1497. 70. 1497-1509. 7'- 1509-1522. 72- 1522-1538. Thomas Hunden. Marcellus Dandelyon. John Hawkherst. John Pensherst. James Sevenoke. William Selling. John Dunster. John Dygon. Thomas Hampton. John Essex, or Foche. APPENDIX. NOTE A. The Historians of the House. ST. Augustine's was fortunate in having four chron- iclers of its own — all inmates and monks — to record the fortunes of the house and the doings of its members.' The first and the least important of these was Goscelin, who was rather a hagiographer than a genuine historian. He had been a monk of St. Berlin's at St. Omer, and came to England with Herman when the latter was appointed to the bishopric of Salisbury in 1058. Forty years later we find Gos- celin a resident of St. Augustine's, engaged in writing the lives of Canterbury saints. His principal works were a "Life of St. Augustine," written "in a singularly turgid and rhetorical style," and a detailed " History of the Translation of St. Augustine," both of which have been published in recent times. He also wrote accounts of St. Augustine's successors from Lawrence ' Archseol. Cant., vol. xii., p. 177. Hardwick's Elmham, p. xiv. 130 THE HISTORIANS to Theodore, and other " Lives " — the best known being a "Life of St. Mildred" — and a tract intended to defend St. Mildred's memory from the calumnies of detractors. From the fact that Gervasius refers to him as an authority on Abbot Elmer we infer that his " Lives " included the Abbots of St. Augustine's, but this work is not now discoverable.' Thomas Sprott was the author of a history or "Chronica" extending from the Creation of the world down to the year 1232 — which was doubtless his own time. It contained much information about St. Au- gustine's, and both Thorne and Elmham drew largely from his material in the compilation of their works. An ancient MS. bearing Sprott's name is preserved in the library of Canterbury Cathedral, but this appears to belong to a somewhat later age, and the genuine work seems to be no longer extant.^ The third historian was William Thome, whose chronicle of the Abbots of St. Augustine's covers the whole period of the history of the monastery as far as the year 1397, the earlier part up to 1232 being chiefly taken from Sprott.3 Thorne was a native of Thanet — probably of Minster, where the name Spina or Thorne occurs several times — and he was doubtless a connection of Abbot Nicholas Thorne, whose char- acter he describes in such glowing terms.* At St. Augustine's he was found so useful that in 1384 he was appointed assistant and attorney to Abbot Colwell in collecting a royal subsidy of one-twentieth from all ecclesiastical persons in the diocese.s He it was, too, who three years later was deputed by the monks to •Hardwick, p. xiv. Bic. of National Biog., XXII., p. 253. Die. of Christian Biog., i., p. 225. Hasted, vol. rv., p. 677. "Hardwick, p. xv. sHardwick, p. xvi. Thome, l88l. < Hasted, vol. iv., p. 324. sThome, 2179. OF THE HOUSE. 131 represent them at the Papal Court and to press on the confirmation of William Welde, the Abbot-elect.' His two years' detention in Italy, with its humiliating and costly procrastination, has been already described above. His tombstone — if the identity of names may be trusted — was once to be seen in Faversham Church, and the in- scription informs us that he died incumbent of that parish in the year 1408.'^ Thome's "Chronica," although he is no historical critic and writes entirely from the Augustinian stand- point, is an exceedingly valuable production. Generally speaking it is both full and trustworthy. He constantly inserts original documents, such as royal charters and papal Bulls, and he does not wander away from his special subject by describing matters which have no connection with the history of St. Augustine's. Our fourth and last historian is Thomas of Elmham — evidently a native of Elmham in Norfolk. He was treasurer of St. Augustine's from 1407 to 141 3, and in the following year, having joined the Cluniac Order, he became Prior of Lenton in Nottingham- shire.3 His chronicle starts from the commencement of the history of St. Augustine's, and was intended to have been continued down to his own time. The actual narrative however was never completed beyond the year 806 — except for a few sentences belonging to the year 1087 — though preparations were in a forward state for the continuation of the work, for a large number of charters and Bulls belonging to the period between the Norman Conquest and a.d. 1192 had been collected. The history was composed in or about the year 1414, and a copy, belonging to about the same date, is 'Thorne, 2184. ^Weever's Funeral Monuments, p. 276. 3 Hardwick, p. xvi. 132 THE HISTORIANS OF THE HOUSE. extant in the library of Trinity Hail, Cambridge, having been presented to that foundation by Robert Hare, a Cambridge Archaeologist, who died in 1611.' In giving the volume Hare made the condition that it should be restored to St. Augustine's if ever the monastery were re-founded, and he expressed his wishes thus on the first page of the book: — "Hac tamen conditione, ut, si imposterum (favente Deo) monasterium illud resedi- ficari contingeret, tunc magister et socii Collegii sive Aulae Sanctae Trinitatis praedictse eundem librum mon- achis ejusdem coenobii restitui facerent, quoniam ad eos de jure pertinere debet."= Elmham makes extensive use of Bade, William of Malmesbury, Sprott, and Thorne ; and had his work ever been completed it would have been much larger than Thome's, for the early history as we have it in Thorne is more meagre than the same period in Elmham. 3 But in other respects Thorne is greatly to be preferred ; for Elmham is more credulous, and more evidently biassed in favour of his own monastery, and also is marvellously discursive— devoting many pages to the history of Christianity in Northumbria and Mercia and East Anglia, and to other topics which have not the slightest connection with St. Augustine's. Still for the early period he is an exceedingly useful authority, and his collection of documents belonging to the Nor- man period is an unrivalled store of information. ' Hardwick, p. xvii. = Hardwick, p. xix. 3 Elmham, p. 77. NOTE B. St. Augustine's as a Benedictine Monastery. ST. Augustine's was a monastery of that great Bene- dictine Order, which during the tenth century became dominant throughout almost the whole of Europe, and which was so called because it was bound by the Rule or Constitution which had been drawn up by Benedict of Nursia, the sixth-century founder and first Abbot of Monte Cassino.' It is not certain when the Benedictine Rule was first introduced into England — whether by Augustine, or by Benedict Biscop, or by Wilfrith — but it rapidly became prevalent in very early times. Odo, who was Archbishop of Canterbury in the middle of the tenth century, was a zealous ad- vocate of the system ; but the man who was most active in enforcing the adoption of this Rule was Odo's suc- cessor St. Dunstan, whose efforts were so successful that at his death there were probably no Religious Houses in the land that were not subject to the " Regula " of Benedict. The first of these Houses, by order of foundation, was St. Augustine's ; and of the rest, among the most famous were Glastonbury, St. Alban's, Westminster, Bury St. Edmund's, Durham, Croyland, and Peterborough.^ ' Articles on Benedictine Rule and on Monasteries in Die. of Christian Antiq. ° Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i. 134 ST. Augustine's The five essential principles of the system may be summed up by saying that the life of a Benedictine was to be a religious life, a community life, a life of self-dedication, a life of obedience, and a life of work. Let us examine these five principles a little more in detail. Firstly then the Benedictine's was to be a religious life. For him the worship of God was of paramount importance, and to it he was to subordinate every thought and action, and to consecrate every hour of the day. He would abandon the world, with all its affections and occupations and ambitions — as far as was possible — in order to give himself up wholly to the main business of his life, viz., the salvation of his soul, and the fitting himself for a better world. It was no part of his duty to care for the souls of other people who were living in the world. Missionary or educational or philan- thropic works were merely accidental interests which might or might not be indulged in : they were certainly not of the esse of the system, which was solely con- cerned with assisting each monk to save his own soul alive.' Seeing then that such was the principal piurpose of the monastic life — and no one can say that it was a bad one, though perhaps somewhat selfish — it was of course above all things necessary to emphasize the idea of worship, and for this end day and night must be consecrated to God by a number of divine OflSces. Taking as his mottoes the two passages from the Psalms, " Seven times a day will I praise Thee," and " At mid- night I will rise to give thanks unto Thee," Benedict portioned out the 24 hours into an. almost unceasing round of prayer and praise.^ The Offices of matins ' Dr. Jessopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 120. = Benedictine Rule, Die. of Christian Antiq., vol. I., p. 190. AS A BENEDICTINE MONASTERY. 135 and lauds — which were reckoned as one service and said together — were recited some time between mid- night and sun-rise, and the rest of the " seven canon- ical hours " were prime, terce, sext, nones, vespers, and compline. Beside these, the brethren would assist at one daily mass — often at two — and were bound to communi- cate on every Sunday and greater festival. Such of the brethren as were absent from the house on business, or those whose duties could not be left, were of course dispensed from attendance at some of the Offices, but the others would probably all be in their places in the choir for each service. Truly this was a beautiful ideal ; and if the monk's life failed to be religious, it could not be said that it was because the Rule had neglected to care for his spiritual welfare, or to provide him with opportunities of drawing near to God in the worship of His sanctuary. It sounds rather paradoxical perhaps to say that a second characteristic of life in a monastery was that it must be a community life ; for, strictly speaking, the word monastery {/Lovaatrjpiov) means the dwelling-place of a fjiovaxo^, a monk, a solitary person, one who lives alone. People, indeed, often picture to themselves the typical monk as living in a cell, shut off — at least for the greater part of his time — from intercourse with any one else. But, as a matter of fact, there were no cells in the Benedictine monasteries ; the monk was never fiovos:, and could never count on enjoying solitude or privacy or seclusion. He was not like the Dominicans of San Marco at Florence, where each one had at least his own chamber, his own crucifix frescoed on his wall, his own threshold from which he could exclude visitors. He had no "study" of his own like our public schoolboy, and could not " sport his oak " like an undergraduate at the university.' No, there ' Jessopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 117, &c. 136 ST. Augustine's was no provision for personal rights and personal idiosyncrasies under the Benedictine Rule, but the individual was merged in the community. The monks were to possess no private property, for they had all things common : they fed side by side in one common refectory, they held their business meetings in one common chapter-house, they worshipped together in the same choir, and slept in one common dormitory, and studied in the cloisters which were frequented by all alike ; in short, it was from beginning to end a community life. Still, though such a life must some- times have proved terribly irksome, especially to men of sensitive and retiring dispositions, there was much to be said in its favour, and it would at least save men from some of the trials and temptations to which the hermits — who were fiovoi indeed — were particularly exposed. A third principle was that life in the monastery was a life of self-surrender. The black habit, the shaven face, the tonsured head, were outward reminders that the newly admitted brother had severed himself from the world. Marriage, family ties, property — all were abjured, for from henceforth his personality was to be surrendered, and nothing was to be his own. And when once he had finally put his hand to the plough, there could be no looking back : his vow of self-dedication was irrevocable — "vestigia nulla retrorsum" was the old adage — for retrogression would be equivalent to apostasy.' Great caution therefore was necessary lest a too hasty profession should leave the possibility of repenting at leisure. On his arrival the would-be novice was to be carefully questioned and his motives examined, so that his sincerity and the reality of his determination might be fully tested. ' Benedictine Rule, Die. of Christ. Antiq., vol. I., p. 187. AS A BENEDICTINE MONASTERY. 137 He was to stay for five days at the gate (ad portam) in a lodging specially provided for the purpose, before he was admitted further ; next, before joining the other novices, he had to spend two months in the strangers' quarters under the guardianship of one of the senior brethren ; and then for the remainder of his year's novitiate he was placed under the immediate super- vision of the Master of the novices. At the end of two months, and again at the end of eight months, and once again at the end of the year, the Rule was read over to him, and he was offered the opportunity of returning to the world if he pleased. At last, after a final examination, he presented to the Abbot his humble petition to be admitted as a brother, laying on the altar with his own hands the written form, of which one sentence ran as follows : — " Sir, I beseech you and all the convent, for the love of God, our Lady Saint Mary, St. John the Baptist, and all the Court of heaven, that ye would receive me to live and die among you in the state of a monk." Having been formally admitted by the Abbot, he was to prostrate himself at the feet of each of the brethren, kissing their hands and begging their prayers ; and, his self- dedication being now complete, he received the tonsure and was invested in the black robe of a Benedictine monk.' A further essential principle of this, as of all monastic Orders, was obedience — obedience to Holy Church, obedience to the Rule of St. Benedict, and obedience 'to the constituted authorities of the place, especially the Abbot. So exacting were the laws and regulations that had to be obeyed, that it almost seems to us as though the monks were treated like children Without the Abbot's "exeat" they were not allowed to ' Dugdale, vol. I., p. xxvi. 138 ST. Augustine's venture outside the precinct-wall ; when sent out on business they were not without leave to accept an invitation to a meal ; they might not receive letters from relations or friends, or write to them, except by special permission ; and one whole chapter, out of the 73 which compose the Rule, is devoted to the exact definition of the degrees of correction to be meted out to the lazy or careless monk who commits the offence of coming late into church or refectory. Perhaps obedience was most difficult in the matter of food, and the regulations in that department were of a somewhat more serious nature. The dietary laws, indeed, of the original Rule were indulgent as compared with those of the Oriental monasteries, and in England in course of time they showed a tendency towards further indulgence — notably by allowing flesh-meat to be eaten on certain days — but in the earlier ages the Rule was probably obeyed in its entirety, and certainly it appears sufficiently strict when judged by our modern habits. Abstinence from flesh-meat at all seasons was required from everyone, except only the sick and weakly, the usual food being bread, grain, vegetables, and a small measure of wine — though some authorities allowed also eggs, fish, and even fowls. From Easter to Whit- sun-day there were no fasts, but from VVhitsun-day till Sept. 13th (Translation of St. Augustine,) there were two fasting days in each week, and for the remainder of the year till Easter one genuine meal a day was to suffice. Truly the Benedictine Rule made consider- able demands upon a man's obedience ! Once more, the monastic life was a life of work, not merely manual labour, but — and this is a distinguishing mark of Benedict's Rule — mental and intellectual work also. "Idleness," he said "is the enemy of the soul, and therefore the brethren ought to employ themselves AS A BENEDICTINE MONASTERY. 139' at certain times in the work of their hands, and again at certain hours in divine reading." Of course some time must be allotted for rest and refreshment, but otherwise each day was occupied by an almost con- tinuous alternation of church-services and manual or mental work. There would be no lack of employment in a great institution which, before the age of shops, had to provide itself with everything that would be necessary for the every-day life of its inmates.' The pages of Thorne give us some insight into the varied and extensive nature of the duties that would thus have to be attended to at St. Augustine's. The Monastery had its own farm and grew its own corn, it had its ilour- mill on the Stour within the City, and its fish-ponds at Longport just outside the precincts ; and inside the walls was the vineyard at North-holme, and the con- ventual brew-house and bake-house and kitchen, and the cellerar's garden near St. Pancras ; and besides the erection of new buildings from time to time — and the abbots were dearly fond of bricks and mortar — the huge fabric was always needing repair somewhere. All these works would require a great deal of over- sight — apart from the manual labour, in which the monks doubtless took their share. Added to all this there was the care of the sick in the infirmary, the distribution of the daily charity in the almshouse outside the gate, and the attendance on the visitors- and pilgrims, who were so numerous in the days when pilgrimages represented our bank-holidays and summer outings. Then again, the thousands of leases and agreements and various deeds connected with the vast property of the monastery were penned by monks in the cloisters or in the scriptorium, as well as the ' Jessopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 143. 140 ST. Augustine's lengthy returns of receipts and expenditure, and the hundreds of all kinds of illuminated service-books which have now perished. A busy life it doubtless was, but nevertheless it ought to have been a happy life, for constant occupation leaves little opportunity for des- pondency, and there was ample variety of employment to stimulate the monks' interest. In his "English Black Monks of St. Benedict" the Rev. E. L. Taunton sketches for us an ordinary day as spent by the Benedictines. For them the day began a little before 2 a.m., when they would all rise from their beds and grope their way into the choir for the Service of matins and lauds, which lasted an hour and a half or two hours. After this came a restful interval, during which the monks would return to bed for about an hour, but five o'clock would find them in church again for the Office of prime. Next followed the chap- ter-meeting — an important and highly interesting feature of the day's programme, when each one made public confession of his transgressions of the Rule and had his penance allotted to him : then too the Abbot would oflfer words of spiritual counsel according as each had need, and would issue his instructions for the work of the day. At six the chapter-mass was sung, and after- wards in the cloisters came a long time of study lasting till nine o'clock, at which hour High Mass was cele- brated, preceded by terce and followed by sext. Ap- parently some spiced drink had been obtainable in the cloister at an earlier hour, but breakfast was not served till eleven, and on fasting days the first meal was deferred until after nones or vespers. This mid-day meal was the only meal worthy of the name throughout the whole day, and usually consisted chiefly of fish — though in later times meat was sometimes permitted.' ■ English Black Monks, vol. i., p. 75. AS A BENEDICTINE MONASTERY. 141 The dejeuner provided for the monks of Christchurch, Canterbury, is thus described by Battely — and doubtless the provision at St. Augustine's would be much the same: — "I have met with a short Bill of Fare, such as was allowed to every two Monks, which was as followeth : — To every two Monks, when they had Soles, there were four Soles in a Dish ; when they had Plaise, two Plaise ; when they had Herrings, eight Herrings ; when they had Whitings, eight Whitings ; when they had Mackrels, two Mackrels ; and when they had Eggs, ten Eggs. If they had anything more allowed them, beyond their ordinary Fare, it was either Cheese, or Fruit, or the like." " If he had meat," continues Taun- ton, " it would be three or four days in the week, and never during Advent or Lent. In his turn, he took his share of waiting on his brethren or reading to them during the meal from the high pulpit in the refectory. He would read to them from Holy Writ or from some other book comfortable to their souls. Dinner over, he went in procession, for such was the custom in some houses, with the rest of the monks to the cloister-garth where the dead were buried. There all bare-headed the brethren stood a certain long space, praying among the tombs and ' throwghes ' for their brethren's souls, being buried there. And when they had done their prayers they returned to the cloister and there did study their book."' At two the Office of nones was sung, after which followed more study or work till vespers at six. A light supper was then provided, if it were not a fasting day, and compline was over in time to allow all to be in bed before eight o'clock. Thus ended the long and toilsome day, of which "eight hours were given to choir work, for besides the day's Offices, there would be also the Office of the dead and that of Our ' Somner, Part ii., p. 96. English Black Monks, vol. i., p. 80. 142 ST. Augustine's Lady to be said as well ; eight hours were given to -the body for food, sleep, and recreation ; and the other eight to study, or to the administration of such offices as were committed to the monks' charge."' In constitution a Benedictine monastery consisted of an abbot and monks (always described as "abbas et conventus"), the Abbot being an absolute monarch who was not responsible to his subjects, though, •equally with them, he was bound by the Rule. The monks elected their own Abbot, and in electing they had perfect freedom of choice : there was no necessity for them to choose either the prior or the senior brother, nor indeed were they limited to the inmates ■of their own monastery.^ As a matter of fact they generally selected one of their own body, but this was not always the case, and in 1176 the Augustinians ■chose Roger, a monk of the rival monastery of Christchurch. 3 In troublous times indeed these rights were sometimes disregarded — as when the Norman Kings forced their own nominees upon the unwilling monastery — but as a rule the freedom of election does not seem to have been interfered with. This freedom however was not wholly unrestrained, for a full right of veto was reserved to the Archbishop. It is true that St. Augustine's claimed to possess royal charters and papal Bulls and, above all, the " privilegium" of Augustine, which declared that the monastery had always been exempt from episcopal control— the Arch- bishop being bound to accept the monks' candidate without demur and to grant him benediction. But these documents were certainly mediseval forgeries, and it is quite clear that until late in the twelfth century ■ Taunton, p. 86. ^ Preb. I. G. Smith in Die. of Christian Antiq., vol. i., p. 188. 3 Thorne, 1819. AS A BENEDICTINE MONASTERY. 143 the monks of St. Augustine's were always obliged to present their Abbot-elect to the Primate for his approval ; and until the candidate had received benediction from the Archbishop he was canonically debarred from per- forming the duties of his high office. The benediction too was only granted after profession of canonical obedience — at least until Roger I. in 1176 successfully rebelled against the primatial authority, and gained independence for himself and his successors. The originals of some of these " professions " are still preserved in the Cathedral library, and, though varying in mode of expression, were always of the same tenor. Two of them, belonging to the Norman period, were as follows: — "I, Scotland, Abbot-elect of the Church of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and St. Augustine, do promise to the holy Church of Canterbury and to the Vicars thereof, canonical submission (subjectio) " ; and again, " I, Hugh, Abbot-elect of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul and the blessed Augustine the first Archbishop of the English, do promise to the holy Church of Canterbury, and to thee. Reverend Father William, Archbishop of that Church, and to thy suc- cessors, all obedience." ' Within the jurisdiction of the monastery the Abbot's authority was supreme, for though of course he was himself bound to observe the Rule of the Order, his actions were otherwise unfettered. True, he was en- joined sometimes to summon the senior brethren to take counsel with him, or on especially important occa- sions the whole convent; but even then he was not necessarily bound by their opinions, and, once elected, he could not be called to account, save only by an appeal to the Archbishop— or in later times to the Pope. He was also sole judge in all matters within ' Cathedral MSS., A. 41, Nos. 2 and, 5. 144 ST. Augustine's the walls of the convent; and on any opponents of his authority, or any who were disobedient to the Rule, he had the power of inflicting punishment both corporal and spiritual, and in extreme cases could even excom- municate and expel the offenders.' In any monastery the monks were divided into three classes or ranks, being termed senior brothers or middle brothers or junior brothers, according to the length of their residence, or the time that had elapsed since their profession. The first class seems generally to have included the majority of the whole body, while the juniors were so few as to suggest that they were either the novices or those only who had been very newl)- admitted. An instance of this occurs at St. Augustine's in 1432, when without counting the abbot, prior, sub-prior and precentor, there were twenty-six senior brothers, eighteen middle brothers, and only one junior.^ The number of official posts in a monastery is surprisingly great — so that it must have been almost a distinction to be a mere monk. 3 Thus at St. Augustine's we have incidental references to the following — and probably this list is not exhaustive : — prior, sub-prior, third prior, fourth prior, precentor, succentor, sacristan, sub-sacristan, cellarer, sub-cellarer, chamberlain, two treasurers, almoner, sub-almoner, guestmaster, master of the novices, keepers of the infirmary, of the refector)% of the vestry, of the crypt, of the door, and of the chapel of the Blessed Virgin, and two chaplains of the Lord Abbot ; and in addition to these there were other monks who were responsible for the care of the various distant manors. It would seem then that almost every ■ JesEopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 135. ° Treasurers' Return, Cathedral MSS. 3 Jessopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 138. AS A BENEDICTINE MONASTERY. 145 monk had some special work assigned to him — for pluralists were not encouraged ! And doubtless the system must have had the excellent effect of counteracting the dull monotony of the cloister-life, by providing each one with an interest and occupation ; while the bestowal of these various pieces of preferment by the Abbot must have been a never-ending source of hope and curiosity and criticism, and would at least impart a zest to uneventful lives. People often imagine that the monks in our great monasteries were very numerous — sometimes even , reaching many hundreds of inmates in one house. Possibly when all the servants and various employes were included, the number of inmates might occasion- ally amount to hundreds, but it was certainly not the case when monks only were reckoned, for the two Canterbury monasteries were among the biggest in the land, and at Christchurch the full complement was only 75, and that at St. Augustine's 60. Besides, the number of monks actually in residence seldom reached the possible limit, and in the days of the decline of monasticism — when the establishments suffered from financial depression, and the fabrics fell into disrepair — the professions gradually but steadily decreased. In some houses this was more evident than at Canterbury, but still at Christchurch in 1538 there were left only the Prior and 52 monks, and at St. Augustine's only the Abbot and 30 monks, to sign the formal docu- ments whereby these monasteries were resigned into the hands of the King's commissioners.' ■ Dugdale, vol. i., pp. H2, 124. NOTE C. The Abbey-Church. THE church consisted of a choir, north and south transepts, (each transept having an eastern ap- sidal chapel,) nave with aisles, two towers at the west end, and a crypt beneath the choir. Its total length externally was 402 feet, and internally 386 feet, and the internal width of the nave and aisles was 72 feet ; while the nave by itself was 2 1 5 feet long and 34^ feet wide,' and was divided from the aisles by arcades of eleven bays. The only portions of the fabric now remaining, besides the foundations, are a part of the north wall of the nave, and the base of the north-west tower. They show that the north wall of the church was very lofty, and contained in it both the lower and the clerestory windows — a most unusual plan, which is found elsewhere only in Norwich Cathedral.^ The sketch in the Trinitj' Hall MS. seems to ndicate that the eastern limb of the church once ended in three circular chapels^ — the same arrangement that may still be traced in the crypt of Gloucester Cath- edral, and in the remains of the Church St. Martin-le- Grand at Dover, which were both of the same date as ' lis. in the Consuetudinaiy. " Walcott in Brit. Arch. Assoc, vol. xxxv, p. 29. 3 MS. plan in Elmham. THE ABBEY-CHURCH. 147 St. Augustine's.' It was, indeed, the usual plan adopted in Norman churches, such as Canterbury and Norwich Cathedrals ; , but in most instances later developments have obliterated this architectural feature, and at St. Augustine's the central apse was replaced by a square ending, probably in Tudor times. In these chapels were three altars :— that of the Blessed Trinity (formerly the altar of St. Augustine) in the central one, that of the Holy Innocents on the north, and that of St. Stephen on the south. And around this part of the church stood 1 3 shrines or reliquaries, containing the bodies of St. Augustine (over the Trinity altar), and (taking them in order of succession,) on the left those of Saints Lawrence, Justus, Deusdedit, Mildred (over the Innocents' altar), Nothelm, and Jambert ; and on the right those of Saints Mellitus, Honorius, Theodore, Adrian (over St. Stephen's altar), Brihtwald, and Tatwine, These reliquaries were probably set close to the wall, so as to leave the ambulatory clear for pro- cessions ; and from them the east end of the church was known by the name of the " corpora sanctorum. "= Somewhere in this part of the church — perhaps immediately behind the high altar — was set the " caput Sancti Augustini." This was a reliquary containing the Saint's head, which had not been replaced with the rest of the bones when his remains had been translated in 1221, but had been kept exposed "to encourage the devotion of the people." Abbot Hugh had it enriched with gold, silver and precious stones at his own expense, and thus it was preserved at least till the end of the 14th century. When Edward I. was here in 1 297 he made an offering of seven shillings at this spot, and both Edward II. and Edward III. did the same in after times'. Its repair ' Archjeol. Cant., vol. IV., p. 25. = MS. plan in Elmliam. 148 THE ABBEY-CHURCH. is mentioned in Thome's Chronologia under the year 1326, and no doubt it was carefully treasured until the Dissolution, and disappeared in the general de- struction of 1538, but nothing is known of its later history.' The high altar — which, as was usual in Norman churches, stood far down the choir, and not at its east-end — was originally dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, St. Augustine's name being added by Dunstan in 978, and the further name of St. Ethelbert in 1325. The Trinity Hall MS. of Elmham's history of the monastery contains a coloured drawing of the altar and altar-piece. Behind the altar was a silver reredos, given in 1 3 1 8 by brother Richard of Canterbury, the sacristan.^ It supported on a ledge the shrine of St. Ethelbert the King in the centre, flanked by two reliquaries in the form of arms standing erect; while near each end of the ledge was a large cross; and behind the shrine were set some books believed to have been sent by Gregory to Augustine, among which were a Psalter, a Passionary of the Apostles, a Passionary of various saints, and a Commentary on certain Epistles and Gospels. On the top of the reredos was the figure of the risen Saviour within an aureole, standing between two angels ; and on either side was a reliquary — the one that of Bishop Liudhard, and the other containing relics of various saints.3 In the choir, not far from the high altar, stood a great brass candelabrum called the "Jesse," which Abbot Hugh I. had purchased abroad and presented to the church ; and further westwards, in the centre of the church, was the matin-altar, or altar of St. Gregory ' Archseol. Cant., vol. xm., p. 518. ' Thome, 1780, 2036, 2038. 3 Elmham, p. 98, and MS. plsn. THE ABBEY-CHURCH. 149 at whicli was said the early daily mass.' This altar had once stood in the north chapel of the nave, and at it in Bede's time was said a mass for the dead on every Saturday." The ritual-choir, which was supplied with stalls by Abbot Fyndon in 1292, extended a con- siderable distance into the nave — probably including four bays — as was usual in Norman churches. The screen at the entrance of the choir was erected by Hugh I., and on it was doubtless placed the organ. The first mention of the organ is in 11 84, in which year the monastery granted the Church of St. Edmund near the Riding-gate to the nuns of the Holy Sepulchre, on condition that they should annually on St. Augus- tine's day pay twelve pence "for the repair of the organ." Over the screen was a rood-beam, the gift of Adam de Kyngesnoth in 1267. Outside the screen were two altars — that on the north the Holy Cross altar, and that on the south the altar of St. Catharine. Near the former was the grave of Abbot Hugh HI. (1224), and before the latter those of Roger U. (1273) and Thomas Poncy (i343).3 Near the east end of the north aisle of the nave was the Lady-chapel, occupying the place of the ancient chapel of St. Augustine, where the early archbishops were formerly buried. At this altar was said the daily mass " for the Church," and here were buried Abbots Robert of Battle (1253) and Thomas Fyndon (1309).* The corresponding position in the south aisle, where was the burial-place of the kings, was occupied by the Chapel of St. Anne, or the Countess's Chapel — so called after Juliana de Leyborne, Countess of Huntingdon, who, on account of her great possessions, was known as the Infanta of Kent. She had given to St. Augus- ■ Thome, 1796. = Bede, II. 3. 3 Thome, 1838, 1915, 2009. 4 Thome, 2008. 150 THE ABBEY-CHURCH. tine's the Manor of Dene in Thanet, and in 1367 was buried here, leaving money for a daily mass to be said at this altar." Here also were the tombs of Abbots Bourne (1334) on the south side, and Colwell (137s) on the north. There were several other altars in the church. The altar of St. John the Baptist and the altar of Saints Thomas, Blasius, Cosmas and Damian, were dedi- cated in 1325, and were probably in the transepts, together with the altars of St. Benedict and St. Bridget. Besides the altar of St. Anne, the Countess's Chapel contained also the altar of the Annunciation. And in the crypt the principal altar was that of Saints Mary, Michael and Gabriel ; and here were also the altar of St. Thomas the Apostle — before which was buried Abbot Ulfric I. in 1006, and the altar of St. Richard — before which was the grave of Wido (1099).* In addition to the tombs already mentioned, there were others worthy of notice in the church. Abbot John (618) was buried near the original altar of St. Gregory {i.e. in the north aisle of the nave) ; the grave of St. Brinstan, Alphege's archdeacon, was in the Lady-chapel ; that of Bishop Elmer was near the altar of St. John; and that of Abbot Scotland (1087) was in the crypt.3 The west towers were of the same date as the rest of the church, i.e. about 1090, and the northern one remained almost intact until the present centur)'. This tower was a massive square building of six storeys, with corner turrets terminating in octagonal tops, and was beautifully ornamented with Norman arcading. It was known as the tower of St. Ethelbert, and was " Archseol. Cant., vol, 1., p. 8. Hasted, vol. rv., p. 641. Thome, 2138. = Walcott in Brit. Arch. Assoc, vol. xxxv. Thome, 2038, 2039. 3 Leland's Collectanea, vol. IV., p. 7. Hasted, vol. rv., p. 641. THE ABBEY-CHURCH. 151 probably used as a bell-tower, containing the four bells founded by brother Thomas Ickham in 1358, and two other bells given by the same at the cost of 60 marks some years later. Besides these western towers there was a detached bell-tower, or campanile, of unknown date, situated to the south-east of the church.' The first notice that I find of this campanile is in the latter part of the 14th century, when it was evidently in good repair, being fit for the reception of new bells. But by the middle of the following century it was either in a hopelessly bad condition or had actually fallen down, for one William Berne in 1461 bequeathed "towards the rebuilding of the bell-tower of this monastery £g, to be paid as soon as the work should be begun ; " and two years later John Varedge gave £2 13s. 4d. "to the repair of the new bell-tower of this monas- tery." Other legacies were devised for the same purpose, but it appears that the work was never done, for as late as 15 16 moneys were still given "towards the building of a new steeple in the church-yard of St. Augustine's.^ Canterbury Cathedral had a bell-tower situated similarly to this one at St. Augustine's ; Chichester Cathedral and the Church of Brookland in Kent still have such campaniles ; and others formerly existed at Salisbury Cathedral, Worcester Cathedral, Benenden Church and other places. 3 Ickham gave two large bells costing 174 marks to be hung in the campanile, and there were others — though some of these may possibly have been in the Ethelbert tower. These included one given by Kyngesnoth ; another, evidently a very large one, ' Archaeol. Cant., vol. xxii., p. 46. = Hasted, vol. iv., p. 660. 3 Archaeol. Cant., vol. XXII., p. 46. 152 THE ABBEY-CHURCH. costing £^0, presented by Peccham ; the bell named "Austin, Mary and Gabriel," founded in 1358; and the bell Gabriel, also the gift of Ickham and costing 42 marks, which was rung for the Angelus. Besides these Ickham gave four other bells, which were appar- ently to be used for the Sanctus and like purposes, for they cost only 60 marks and must therefore have been quite small.' If we consider the position occupied by St. Augus- tine's among the great conventual churches of England, we find that it will hardly bear comparison with such enormous structures as Glastonbury (internal length 550 feet), Winchester (545 feet), St. Alban's (524 feet), Ely (517 feet), Canterbury (514 feet), Westminster (511 feet), and Bury St. Edmund's (505 feet). It could however fairly be ranked with Peterborough (422 feet), Glouces- ter (408 feet), Norwich (present length 407 feet), and Worcester (387 feet) ; and it was considerably longer than Chester (350 feet), Bath (original length 346 feet), Malmesbur}' (332 feet), Tewkesbury (317 feet), and Rochester (313 feet).'* 'Thome, 2008, 2121, 219b. ' Walcott's English Minsters, passim. NOTE D. The Augustinian Calendar and Missal. HAVING spoken somewhat fully of the abbey- church, I would now pass on to say something of the Holy-days which were observed therein, and the Missal that was used in its services. St. Augustine's Monastery had its own Calendar of Saints-days. The list included many names that have never been canonized by the Roman Church ; for in early ages each archbishop or bishop, and doubtless each important abbot too, would determine who should be venerated as saints in his own province or diocese or monastery. Indeed it was not until the end of the tenth century that a Pope of Rome ever made a "general canonization," i.e. decreed that any one should be publicly honoured in all the churches ; and not until the twelfth century did the popes attempt to take away from the bishops their ancient privilege, and reserve it to themselves ; while even as late as the seventeenth century individual bishops would occasion- ally pass acts of canonization, until finally forbidden by Urban VIII. in 1634.' This explains how it came to pass that the reliquaries of all the eleven archbishops of Canterbury who were buried in St. Augustine's ' Pelliccia, .Polity of the Christian Church, Bk. 4, chap. 6. 164 THE AUGUSTINIAN CALENDAR bore the title "Sanctus" upon them; for all these, as well as King Ethelbert and Bishop Liudhard, were among the canonized saints of the monastery.' A beautiful copy of the Calendar of St. Augustine's is preserved in the library of Canterbury Cathedral. The MS. must have been written between 1405 and 1420 ; for the obit of Abbot Welde (who died in 1405) is mentioned on July 12th — written in the original hand ; but the obit of Abbot Thomas Hunden (who died in 1420), occurring on August 17th, is evidently a later insertion. In this Calendar the Saints'-days are divided into three classes, coloured respectively blue, red, and black. Those marked in blue, of which there are 33, (without including the movable feasts,) are the principal festivals. The 60 red days are great feasts, but inferior to the blue days. The others correspond somewhat to our "black-letter saints' days," and are very numerous.^ Of the principal festivals in the Calendar there were five connected with the history of our Lord — the Annunciation, Christmas, the Purification, the Inven- tion of the Cross, and the Exaltation of the Cross. To these of course would be added Easter, Ascension-day, and Whitsun-day. There were twelve commemorating New Testament Saints, viz : — the Nativity and the Assumption of the B. V. Mary, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, St. Peter and St. Paul, St. John the Apostle, the octave of St. Andrew, St. James, St. Simon and St. Jude, St. Matthias, the Conversion of St. Paul, the Invention of St. Stephen, and All Saints. The other sixteen principal festivals, except those of St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Margaret, and St. Cecilia, had all of them a special local interest. These were the festivals of St. Gregory (12 March), the Consecra- ' MS. plan in Elmham. = Cathedral MSS., E. XIX. AND MISSAL. 155 lion of St. Gregory (3 Sept.), St. Ethelbert (24 Feb.), St. Augustine (26 May), the Consecration of St. Au- gustine (16 Nov.), Abp. Deusdedit, Abp. Theodore, Abp. Jambert, Abp. Thomas k Becket (29 Dec), Abbot Adrian, St. Martin, St. Mildred (13 July), and the Translation of St. Mildred (18 May). The red-letter days include a great variety of names- Apostles, Martyrs, Saints — besides events connected with our Lord's life. There are also a few that commem- orate incidents of local history, viz., the death of Abp. Tatwine, the Consecration of Abp. Dunstan, the Trans- lation of St. Augustine and his companions (13 Sept.), and the Dedication of the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary (27 Oct.). Among.the black-letter days are mentioned on 27th July "the seven holy Sleepers" (martyred at Ephesus A.D. 250); on loth July "the seven holy Brothers" (martyred at Rome with their Mother Felicitas a.d. 150); on 8th November "the four crowned Martyrs," who suffered at Rome in the Diocletian persecution ; on I St August "the Maccabees" (the mother and her seven sons); on 20th October "the 11,000 Virgins" (Ursula of Cologne and her companions, a.d. 383); and on 8th March "the Passion of 40,000 Saints." Of local saints we find — Ethelburga, daughter of Ethelbert and Abbess of Lyminge (11 Oct.); Eadbald's daughter Eanswythe, patron saint of Folkestone (31 Aug.); Ethelred and Ethelbrith, the murdered brothers of Domneva, Abbess of Minster (17 Oct.); Milburga, daughter of Domneva and sister of Mildred (23 Feb.) ; Abp. Honorius (30 Sept.) ; and the Translation of Thomas the Martyr (7 July). Nor must we omit two holy days of special conventual interest — " the Venera- tion of the Relics of this place" (27 April), and "the Commemoration of our Parents and all our Benefactors " 156 THE AUGUSTINIAN CALENDAR (3 July), the latter of which was instituted by Abbot Hugh I. about the year 1120.' There are several black-letter days in our present Calendar which did not find a place in the Calendar of St. Augustine's, e.g. the Transfiguration, the Name of Jesus, the Visitation of the B.V.M., Lammas-day, St. Cyprian, and the Venerable Bede. We might have expected that at least the majority of these would have been observed in our monastery, and the Calendar is the poorer for the omission of them. It is not generally known that St. Augustine's Monastery had a Missal peculiar to itself. A copy of it, belonging to Corpus Christi College at Cambridge, has been edited (in 1896) by Mr. Martin Rule of Ealing, who has written a most careful and scholarly intro- duction to it. He maintains that the MS. was executed in or about 1099 for the personal use of Hugh I., who in that year had been elected Abbot of St. Augustine's ; and he claims for the contents a very interesting and highly important genealogy. According to his view St. Gregory the Great himself revised his own Gregorian Sacramentary in the year 595 or early in 596 ; and when Augustine in the latter year set forth on his mission to England, he brought with him a copy or copies of this recent recension, which was the missal taken into permanent use in his Monaster)-. Of course, as time went on, slight modifi- cations would be necessary, such as the insertion of commemorations of newly-canonized saints ; and Mr. Rule believes that the scribe who wrote the Corpus MS. had before him a copy of the Gregorian Missal, together with another codex containing more recent additions — the Corpus MS. being "a first coadunation ' Thome, 1 798. AND MISSAL. 157 of primitive and of adventitious elements." Except however for these natural adaptations to time and place, Mr. Rule contends that the missal used at St. Au- gustine's was the same service-book that the founder had brought with him from Rome.' But though further investigation supports the date of the MS. which Mr. Rule has edited with such pains- taking care, his conclusions as to the origin of the" contents of the MS. must be abandoned as not proved : for the peculiarities of the Augustinian missal which he thought to be indicative of a very early ancestry, are now found to be common to some other service-books of comparatively late date.= We are therefore com- pelled to allow the inference that the MS., instead of being to a great extent a copy of the actual Gre- gorian missal, is simply a representative of the eleventh century type of missals, displaying the characteristic features that might be expected to have resulted from natural development and the exigences of time and place. It is worthy of notice that this missal provides two services each for the Wednesday, Friday and Satur- day after Whitsun-day — those days being Ember-days.* Several other missals, such as those of Sarum, York, Hereford, Exeter, Milan, and the Missale Romanum, regard these days merely as Ember-days, and accordingly have only one service for each ; but the Augustinian book has an extra service arranged for each of these days also as a ferial day in Pentecost week. In this respect indeed it is not unique, for the same feature is found also in the missals of other monasteries, ' Rule's Missal of St. Augustine's Abbey. = Guardian for 189b, p. 1451. Dr. A. J. Mason's Mission of St. Augustine, p. 240. 3 Rule's Introd., p. 20. 158 THE AUGUSTINIAN CALENDAR AND MISSAL. notably at Westminster, St. Alban's, Durham, Abingdon, Whitby, and Sherborne, but even in these there are differences in the details of arrangement.' Another peculiarity in this book is the great number of Prefaces which were formerly to be found in the various special masses, but which have been erased.^ To give one instance. In the Proprium de Tempore alone as many as fifty-five Prefaces have been erased from the Corpus IMS. — so that no more than 15 are left in the text, and the same has been the case also in other groups of masses. Lastly we notice, as in the Calendar, the names of several local saints occupying prominent positions in the book. Special masses were provided for these commemoration-days : — St. Augustine, Consecration of St. Augustine, Translation of St. Augustine (the festival was instituted in 1091), Archbishop Mellitus, Arch- bishop Justus, Archbishop Honorius, Archbishop Deus- dedit. Archbishop Theodore, Bishop Liudhard, Abbot Adrian, St. Mildred, and the Translation of St. Mildred. We notice one omission from the list which is a little surprising — there is no special service for King Ethel- bert. The omission seems to have been considered to be a serious one ; for we find that Richard II., when a guest here in 1393, gave orders that in future the feast of St. Ethelbert was always to be duly observed (cotidiana veneratione praecepit honorari). His in- structions were obeyed, and in the Calendar already referred to, St. Ethelbert's day (24 Feb.) appears as a principal festival.3 ■ Missale Westm., vol. III., p. 1481. (Bradshaw Soc.) = Rule's Introd., p. 166. 3 Thome, 2197. NOTE E. The Conventual Builtongs. — Their History and Purpose. THE various monastic buildings of any English Religious house were, in the majority of cases, placed on the south side of the church ; and such an arrangement had this very practical advantage — that the church would serve as a screen from the north wind, and the greatest possible amount of light and sunshine would be secured for the inmates. At Canterbury, however, both at the Cathedral and at St. Augustine's, the contrary plan was adopted ; and thus the cloisters, where the monks would spend the greater part of the day, were comparatively dark and cold, at any rate in the winter. The probable reason of this reversal of the more common-sense plan — at least at St. Augus- tine's — was that in the northern portion of the property, where the ground was slightly lower, there was a supply of water already at hand, and therefore the domestic buildings would naturally be placed there.' There were certain rules of arrangement which were almost invariably followed in planning a monas- tery. For instance, the cloisters, which were always square, occupied the angle between the nave and the 'Jessopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 123. 160 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. north or south transept ; the chapter-house was placed at the east side of the cloisters, separated by the slype from the end of the transept; and the refectory formed the side of the cloisters that was opposite the nave — being purposely put at a distance, lest any odour of food might invade the church.' At St. Augustine's the general disposition of the several parts was this : — the cloisters were bounded on the south by the nave of the church (or more accur- ately by the seven eastern bays of the nave), and on the north by the refectory ; on the west was the abbot's lodge, and the forensic chamber next to the church ; and in the centre of the east side was the , chapter-house, parted from the transept by the slype, or passage leading to the gardens, and having on its north the monks' parlour and other rooms, with the long dormitory above them. North of the refectory was another open square, known as the stone-court, nearly equal to the cloisters in size. Within it stood the kitchen, and it was bounded on the west by the great hall, and on the east by the continuation of the dormitory ; while the infirmary with its chapel probably stretched eastwards from the dormitor)-. To the west of the great hall and abbot's lodge was the great court, beyond which were the entrance gateway and the buildings set apart for lay visitors ; the general cemeter}' occupied the space to the south and west of the church ; the extensive gardens and vineyard stretched away to the east and north-east of the monastery ; the granary, brew-house, and various out- buildings were to the north ; and the almonry was outside the gate-way on the north-west. The whole precinct enclosed a space of 30 acres, and the principal ' Walcott's English Minsters. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 161 frontage, which included the entrance gateway and the cemetery gateway, measured 526 feet. I will now proceed to speak of each portion of the monastery somewhat more in detail. The Cloisters. The monks' day, %vhen they were not engaged in divine service, was mostly spent in the cloisters ; indeed, no monk was allowed to leave the cloisters, except with permission obtained from the prior or sub-prior. Here they would read or meditate or write or do manual work, and silence was always to be observed — except on such days or times as conversation might be specially allowed. Each monk had his own fixed place : the eastern cloister was reserved for the Abbot, except that the prior and the sub-prior occupied its northern and southern ends respectively : the third prior sat in the western cloister : the southern was used as the school for the novices and scholars : and the rest of the monks had seats in the northern and western sides, where they sat in line, one behind the other.' I can discover nothing of the history of the original cloisters, but I find that they were rebuilt, with new columns and roof, in 1276, when Nicholas Thorne was Abbot. His cloisters probably lasted until the Dissolu- tion, and the quantities of Early English stone-work lying about, or used in modern walls, may have formerly belonged to these 13th century cloisters.^ Walcott points out that they could only have had a shed-roof supported by an outer stone arcade, for there are no traces of vaulting shafts to be seen attached to the inner wall, and there are three corbels still in situ near the south-west angle. 3 ■ Taunton, vol. I., p. 296. = Thorne, 1923. 3 Vestiges of St. Augustine's, Brit. Arch. Assoc, vol. xxxv. K 162 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. The existing remains are full of interest. A part of the south wall (the north wall of the church) still remains, though the facing has been entirely stripped oif; and in it, near the south-west corner, is a large aumbry or cupboard in fair preservation. Close to it, in the west wall of the cloister, and now blocked up, is a noble Early English portal, originally flanked by five clustered columns on each side. This was the entrance to the forensic parlour, and above it, still intact, is the window of the same room. A few steps further on are two more walled-up doorways, -vvith a small window between them : these led to the base- ment of the Abbot's lodge, which is thought by some to have been occupied by the cellarer. Finally near the north end of the same side is another Early English doorway, which formerly gave access to the Abbot's parlour. The greater part of this west wall is said traditionally to be part of Augustine's original founda- tion, and antiquarians seem inclined to allow the claim. It is very rudely constructed of courses of unsquared material of various kinds — sand-stone, flints, and even blocks of Roman masonry, — and the cement is yellow and ver}' friable. The north cloister-wall was filled with canopied recesses, about twelve in number, of which several still remain — though in a very mutilated condition. The opening in this wall led to the refectorj-, and facing the entrance was the monks' lavatory, constructed in 1272 by Abbot Roger II. at his own expense, and cost- ing 300 marks.' Kyngesnoth had five years previously given sixty marks "for making a suitable lavatory"; but that probably referred to the smaller lavatory, which was in the south-east corner of the cloisters, close to the entrance into the church. Besides the daily use of ' Thome, 1918. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 163 the lavatory (for which five towels had always to be provided by the refectory-master,) the monks' weekly feet-washing would take place here, and also their shaving — once a fortnight in the winter, and twice in three weeks in summer, the actual days being fixed by the prior.' In ancient times, we are told, the monks used to shave each other, but because of the frequency of accidents through their unskil- fulness. Abbot Roger II. about 1264 began the employment of professional barbers. He at first set apart a room next the bath-house for the purpose, but afterwards the four barbers used to attend in the cloister. It is further recorded that the convent resolved to keep Abbot Roger's memory green ever after, by the recitation of three collects at their chapter-meeting on shaving-days, in token of their gratitude for this very real benefit. == The east wall of the cloister has entirely disap- peared, except for some traces of the foundations. Near its north end must have been a door leading to the monks' parlour, where conversation could be in- dulged in at certain times. In the centre was the entrance to the chapter-house, and further south the slype — as already mentioned. The space in the midst was known as the cloister- garth, and would doubtless have grass and flowers growing in it, and a fountain in the centre : but the modern practice of utilizing the cloister-garth as a burial-ground was almost if not quite unknown in' mediaeval monasteries, for abbots were as a rule laid to rest in the church or the chapter-house, and monks in an outer cemetery at the east end of the church.s ■Taunton, vol. 1., p. 292. ° Thome, 1915. 3 Jessopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 124. Walcott, English Minsters, vol. i., p. 47. 164 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. The cloisters at St. Augustine's were unusually small for so important a foundation, the dimensions being only 120 feet from north to south and 115 feet from east to west, and the width of the covered arcade 13 feet ; and one cannot help thinking that the sixty monks must have felt rather cramped in so confined a space. At the Cathedral the cloisters were considerably larger, measuring 144 feet each way, which was approxi- mately the size of those at Westminster, Durham, and Gloucester ; while the cloisters at Ely and at Bury St. Edmund's were even more spacious, the former being 183 feet by 143 feet, and the latter 157 feet each way.' This portion of the monastery was dedicated to the three deacon-martyrs, and bore the following inscrip- tion, carved on a stone : — " In honore Sancti Stephani protomartyris, Sancti Laurentii, et Sancti Vincenti."'^ The Chapter-house. To replace the old chapter-house, of which we have no knowledge, a new one was built early in the izth century by Abbot Hugh I. (Flory) at his own expense. It seems to have fallen into disrepair early in the 14th centur}-, for Peter de Dene bequeathed 50 marks for its restoration, and shortly afterwards the whole convent, as mentioned above, began to save money from their food and other allowances for a new chapter-house — an effort which seems to have proved abortive for the time, though as much as £,'^'n became thus available for the purpose. However the place was severely shaken by the great earthquake of 1382, the east window especially sustaining serious damage ; and (probably in consequence of this) the whole edifice was shortly afterwards rebuilt, the work ' Walcott's English Jlinsters, passim. ' Leland's Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 9. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 165 being materially helped forward by a gift of 1320 marks from brother Thomas Ickham.' The building is frequently mentioned iu deeds and leases, which regularly close with the formula — " given in our chapter-house ; " and the last time that it figures in history is when the convent met there on July 30th, 1538, to sign their deed of surrender. It must subsequently have been allowed to fall into ruins, for no trace of it now remains above ground. The following eight Abbots were buried in the chapter-house : — Hugh I., below the steps on the south side ; Hugh II., on the north side, opposite Hugh I. ; Silvester, twelve feet westwards from the lectern ; Roger I., on the north side ; Alexander, on the south ; Drulege, in the eastern part ; Peccham on the south ; and Welde, between the lectern and Silvester's tomb.'-' Taunton gives the following interesting account of a chapter-meeting, taken from the Consuetudinary. " One of the most important features in the govern- ment of the abbey was the daily chapter ; it was the main-spring of discipline and the upholder of fraternal charity. Without such an institution it would have been impossible to govern the house In chap- ter only those things which pertained to salvation were to be treated of, business matters being spoken about elsewhere ; but any pressing business which required the knowledge and assent of the whole convent could be briefly gone into after the main business was com- pleted. All in the house were bound to attend. The superior entered first and was followed in due order by the seniors ; and when all had taken their places a junior read the martyrology for the day. The tabula or list of duties and notices was then read, and each » Thome, 1796, 2037, 2039, 2158, 2ig6. = Thorue and Elmham, passim. 166 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. monk, on hearing his name, bowed. Then followed a discourse, if the superior thought fit, and at the end he said Loquamur de ordine noslro. At this point the non-professed novices rose and went out. " There were ' three voices ' recognised in the chapter : the accuser, the answerer, and the judge ; and another ' five voices,' to wit : — he who presided ; the guardians of the order ; the precentor and succen- tor ; the brothers charged with keeping the silence, 'because silence is called the key of the whole order'; and then the almoner and sub-almoner. These five in their order were the first to ' proclaim ' any one whom through their respective offices they knew to have in- fringed the rules. The monk so proclaimed had to go out into the centre of the chapter and, prostrating, make confession of his fault, and, saying mea culpa and promising amendment, then received penance and rebuke. Should he be accused falsely he could ' sweetly ' say that he has no recollection of the fault. . . . Every fault confessed has to be punished. If in penance a monk is ordered to receive stripes, the president appoints one, never the proclaimer nor a junior, to execute the sentence. . . . The list of punishments is given, and is divided into those for light faults, such as : — separation from the common table ; to take the meal three hours later than the community ; to take a lower place in choir and chapter ; not to cele- brate mass nor to assist ministerially ; not to read in public, nor sing, nor act as thurifer or acolyth ; not to make the offertory, nor receive the pax or the holy communion ; to prostrate during part of ever}- oflBce. For grave faults, perpetual silence (in choir as well as elsewhere) ; bread and water every Wednesday and Thursday ; the last place in the community. For the very grave crimes imprisonment according to the Rule. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 167 Such an one had also to lie prostrate in the doorway of the church at every hour, so that the monks passed over his body on entering or going out, and he had to sit outside the choir as one excommunicated. . . . "The proclamations over, any monk who had a petition to make then went into the middle, and prostrating, in answer to the Abbot's demand what he asked, replied, ' I ask and beseech God's mercy and yours for . . . ' according to his need. The business being completed, prayers for the dead were said by the president, and upon the signal the blessing was given and all retired."' The chapter-house at St. Augustine's was a very spacious one, its length internally being 87 feet, and its breadth 38 feet.^ It was thus one of the three largest chapter-houses, the two others being Bury St. Edmund's (97 by 32) and Winchester (88 by 38) ; and it exceeded Durham, Peterborough, and Gloucester, and was also slightly more spacious than the Cathe- dral chapter-house, which was exactly the same length, but was three feet narrower.3 The Refectory. The first notice that we have of the refectory is a statement that a new building was erected by Abbot Roger II., the work occuping nine years (1260-1269). Timber for the gable was provided by brother Adam de Kyngesnoth, and the place was whitened by Abbot Thome seven years after its completion.'* The refectory was in constant use for the monks' meals, and here would be entertained the ordinary visitors of the monastery, and even people of high ■ Taunton, vol. I., p. 298, Sec. ' Consuetudinary. 3 "Walcott's English Minsters. ■» Thome, 1905, 1915, 1918, 1923. 168 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. distinction when the great hall was not available, or when the expense of a state banquet could not be afforded. Thus the Cardinal-abbot of Clugny dined here in 1361, and Archbishop Arundel in 1396; and, as has been already mentioned, both Abbot Peccham and Abbot Welde held their installation-feasts quietly here instead of in the great hall.' The consuetudinary of St. Augustine's contains detailed rules of conduct for meal-times. " In the refectory the monks preserved their respective places. They had to wash their hands before entry, and each say the De profundis while taking his place. At the sound of the skilla, which the president strikes, grace is begun, always by the precentor or succentor. The monks stand facing the east. At the end of the grace the reader approaches the step before the high table and asks the blessing. Until he has read the first sentence the monks sit quietly at table .... The one who presides sits in the middle of the high table and has the little bell to give signals. The guests are placed on either of his sides .... No noise is to be made ; for instance, if there are nuts, they are not to be cracked with the teeth, but a monk is privately to open them with his knife, so as not to disturb the reader. Should he spill anything he has to go and do penance in the middle of the refectory, if strangers are not present. He is not to make signs across the refectory, nor to look about or watch what the others are doing ; he is not to lean on the table ; his tongue and eyes are to be kept in check, and the greatest modesty observed His ears, however, are always to be attentive to the reading and his heart fixed on his heavenly home. He eats with his head covered with the hood .... When the meal is finished the monk 'Thome, 2122, 2152, 2194. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 169 covers up the bread that has to serve for supper, and sets his knife and spoon and salt vessel in order. They then begin grace, and go out in procession to the church."' The ruins of the refectory have long since en- tirely disappeared, but the foundations were exposed some years ago, and showed that it was a iarge rectangular chamber of six bays adjoining the north side of the cloisters. The internal length was 103^ feet, and the width 41^ feet, the chamber being thus rather smaller than the average refectory of a great English monastery.^ The Kitchen. The abbey-kitchen was an immense hexagonal structure built of stone, and was probably very similar to the great kitchens still extant at Glastonbury and Durham. It stood in the stone court on the north side of the refectory and close to the north-east corner of the great hall, and its internal dimensions were 40 feet each way. Recent excavations laid bare its founda- tion-walls, but they have since been covered up again, and nothing of it is now to be seen — though existing- foot-paths still partly mark the outlines. It was built in the days of Abbot Fyndon, and Thorne gives this account of its erection: — "In the same year (1287) the convent kitchen was begun on the feast of St. Peter-ad-vincula by the brethrea Thomas de Chichester, William de Romenal, and Henry de Kokeryng, monks of this house. And it was finished by brother Henry de Kok in the 4th year after."3 The builders' expenses reached the goodly total of ;^4i4,. and its furniture seems to have been in keeping with its size and costliness — if we may judge by the gridiron, ' Taunton, vol. I., p. 297. ° Cousuetudinar)i. 3 Thorne, 1943, 2009. 170 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. for in 1432 a new "gredeyryn" was purchased for 12s. and weighed 72 lbs. — a fine specimen of its kind!' The Dormitory. The dormitory was a long upper chamber adjoining the north wall of the chapter-house, and running parallel to the great hall. It was the common sleeping- place of all the monks, the Abbot only excepted; and ■every one had to retire to rest before the curfew rang at eight o'clock. The night's rest would last rather less than six hours, for all must be in church for matins at two o'clock. After matins however the monks would return for an hour's sleep before prime, which began at five ; and they would all go to bed again for a short siesta at midday, or early in the afternoon. The dormitory rules, both as regards devotion and silence, were very strict, and every care was taken to •ensure cleanliness and simple comfort.^ The dormitor)' was rebuilt early in the 12th century by Abbot Hugh I. (Floiy) at his own expense. Adam •de Kyngesnoth gave ;^ioo for covering it with lead in 1267, and it was again entirely re-roofed with lead in 1294 at a cost of ;£596.3 Abbot Nicholas Thorne (1273-1283) constructed in it a chapel with little studies adjoining — which proved a great boon to the monks : and in 1321 a statue of the Blessed Virgin was placed here, being consecrated by the Archbishop of Armagh. + This block of buildings has now almost entirely dis- appeared, so that only two or three fragments of masonry are left standing, the most considerable being a massive wall which formed the north end of the dormitory. It was an exceedingly lengthy apartment, ' Treasurers' Return. ^ Vestiges, Brit. Arch. Assoc, vol. xxxv. Taunton, vol. 1., p. 303. 3Thome, 1796, 1915, 19(54- ■'Thome 1935, 2038. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 171 perhaps the longest dormitory in England, being 204. feet by 44, and was thus eleven feet longer than the great dormitory (still existing) at Durham, and 56 feet longer than the one at Christchurch, though, it must be added, this latter was 78 feet wide.' The Infirmary. The infirmary probably extended eastwards from the dormitory, and at its further end it had a chapel in which daily mass was said, but no portion now re- mains visible above ground. Here were lodged the sick, the infirm, and those who had lately been bled ; but it was specially ordained, as a precaution against imaginary ailments, that any one who petitioned to be put on the sick list, must remain in the infirmary for eight days at least. Bleeding was constantly practised in mediaeval monasteries, and a monk would sometimes ask to be bled, in order to get the comforts and richer diet of the infirmary. It was therefore ordered in the consuetudinary that no one was to be bled oftener than once in seven weeks, and that those who had been bled were to return to their duties on the third day. The infirmary however was not only used for invalids, for it was also the prison in which refractory monks were kept in confinement. Such inmates would probably not enjoy the same fare that the sick men had : — certainly poor Peter de Dene did not, when he was detained here in 1330.^ We read of the infirmary for the first time in the days of Abbot Hugh II. (1126-1151), for Thorne tells us that he assigned the tithes of Chislet to its main- tenance. There are also a . few incidental notices of it in later times: e.g. Adam de Kyngesnoth in 1267 • MS. in the Consuetudinary. Walcott's English Minsters. = Thome, 2057. 172 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. gave 20 marks for its repair, and a new altar of the Blessed Virgin was dedicated in 1325 by Peter, a Hungarian bishop, acting on behalf of the Primate.' Leland tells us that the infirmary bore the following de- dication, carved on the threshold : — " In honore Sanct» Mariae matris Christi, et Sanctae Mildrydae, omniumque Innocentium."^ The Forensic Parlour. This was the room set apart for conversation with visitors. It was situated below the Abbot's chapel, and must have been rather a dark room, for its only window was a small one, placed high up, which opened into the cloisters above the pentice roof. The window still exists — a curious aperture below the window of the Abbot's chapel. The forensic parlour had communica- tion with the cloisters and also with the church, and both doorways are still there, though both are now blocked up. I believe that this was " the new chamber with a great entrance," which, Thorne informs us, was built at the same lime as the Abbot's chapel by Fyndon (i283-i309).3 The Abbot's Lodge. The Abbot had a range of buildings appointed to- his own use on the west side of the cloisters, extending from the great hall to the church. He had a large household of officials and servants, and would have to entertain a great number of guests, and consequently would be likely to require the whole of this space for his residence. The lodge figures several times in the history of the monastery. Thus we read that " the inner room of the Lord Abbot" was made in 1276; and " Thome, 1799, 1915, 2039. = Collectanea, vol. iv, p. 9. 3 Thome, 2009. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 173 ten years later a papal Bull gave permission for meat to be eaten by the Abbot and monks " in the Abbot's private room"; and it was "in the Abbot's room" that Archbishop Courtenay washed his feet when he visited the church as a pilgrim in 1389.' This room was probably the large chamber which adjoined the great liall on the ground floor : the beautiful door-way in the north->vest corner of the cloisters led to it, and its site is now occupied by the stair-case of the college-library. A special kitchen for the Abbot's use was constructed in 1321, and the yearly wages of his cook in 1432 were £,^ — double the amount received by each of the two ■cooks of the monastery.^ Attached to his lodge was a spacious private chapel, above the forensic chamber, built against the north wall of the church. It was erected by Abbot Fyndons about the year 1300, and its large five-light east window with beautiful tracery was in good preservation at the beginning of the last century. Part of the window- opening is still standing, and the block of masonry which formed the back of the altar is clearly dis- cernible. On the ground-floor the Abbot had a private way into the north aisle of the church through an ancient ■door-way, which still remains, though walled-up. The Great Hall. The "magna aula" adjoined the Abbot's lodge •on the north, and there he entertained his most distin- guished guests at such times as he wished to make a greater display than was possible in the refectory or in his private dining-room. On the occasions when the Abbot dined in the hall, considerable state and ceremony were used ; and he would be accompanied ' Thome, 1923, 2194. Decern Scriptores, 2273. = Thome, 2038. Treasurers' Return. 3 Thome, 2009. 174 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. by his two chaplains and attended by the chamberlain, the seneschal, the marshal of the hall, the carver, the waiter, the pantler, the valet, and the cupboard-man, each of whom had his allotted duties of service to render to the Abbot.' The hall, with its stately staircase at its north- west angle, was still in good preservation in 1655 — as is proved by a print of that date. It was a fine chamber of six bays with battlemented wall and lofty roof, and it was internally 77 feet long and 38 feet wide.^ Another picture of 1722 shows that the hall had then entirely disappeared. 3 Some portions of the undercroft, however, especially the east wall, remained to the present century, and have been carefully in- corporated in the modern building. From these re- mains we gather that the structure belonged to the 13th century, and that the undercroft had two rows of columns, five in each row, supporting a groined roof. All these features have been reproduced as nearly as possible ; and the undercroft, which in former times was probably appropriated to the cellarer, is now used as the College Museum, the hall above being the College Library. The Great Gateway. Doubtless the monastery must have possessed a gate-house from very early times, but the first record of it that I can discover is in the year 1156, when Henry II. confirmed the appropriation of the church of Northbourne to the almshouse " which is before the gate of St. Augustine's." In 1267, as we learn from Thorne, a chapel was built over the portal, for brother Adam de Kyngesnoth gave in that year the sum of " Taunton, vol. I., p. 274. Thome, 2120. " Somner's Antiquities. Johnson's print. 3 Stukeley. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 175- 20 marks "ad capellam super portam construendam." Abbot Fyndon in 1300 obtained license from Edward I. to enlarge the great court, and began to build a new gate-way — towards which brother John Peccham contributed 20 marks. It was not completed until 1309, another royal license having been granted in the previous year permitting Fyndon to add battle- ments to his gateway.' The building stands intact to this day, together with the ancient doors, and is an exceedingly beautiful and imposing specimen of the architecture of that period. Its dimensions are — height (to top of turrets) 63 feet, width of front 35 feet, extreme depth from front to back 40 feet.'' The Prison. The monastery had a prison of its own — a dark, narrow chamber on the right of the entrance gateway, which is said to have had no window in its conventual days. It comes into notice in the reign of Henry III.,, when the Abbot confined in the prison of the monastery a woman accused of committing a felony in Longport, His action led to considerable trouble, for the citizens contended that the offence had been committed in their jurisdiction, and in retaliation attacked the Abbot's Mill, assaulting the miller and others, and doing damage to the value of 500 marks.3 The prison is mentioned again in the year 1268 in an agreement drawn up between the Abbot and the citizens, whereby it is laid down that if a thief, caught on abbey-lands, shall escape " de prisona dicti Abbatis," the Abbot and not the citizens shall be answerable to the King's justices.'* Another ■ Thome, 1837, 1915, 2009. == Brit. Arch^ol. Assoc, a.d. 1884, p. 137. 3 Brent's Canterbury, p. 233. ■'Thome, 1916 176 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. instance of its being brought into requisition occurred about 1308, when a certain Brice Scotard was detained here for 15 days pending his trial on a charge of robbery — a charge on which he was afterwards con- demned and hanged.' The Guest-hall and Chapel. Visitors of high degree would be lodged with the Abbot, and monks from other monasteries would be treated as brethren and would share with the Augustinian monks. But for the ordinary laity, such as pilgrims and others, a special range of buildirlgs was provided where they would eat and sleep and worship. These buildings were contiguous to the great gate-way and on the south side of it, and they comprised a hall and a chapel, with kitchen and various offices beneath the hall. The whole block seems to have been built in the 13th or 14th century, and has survived to the present day — except the chapel, of which little more than the west end, with its three lancet windows, can be claimed as original. The internal dimensions of the hall are — 48 feet long, and 27 feet wide. The chapel was 44 feet long and 18 feet wide. The Almonrv. The almshouse or hospital, where the doles were given away, and where — at least in the later days of the abbey — a home was provided for poor people, was situated close to the great gate-way, and outside the precincts. It was under the charge of one of the monks, who bore the title of eleemosinarius or almoner and whose duty it was to visit the almonry two or three times a day, and to superintend the daily distri- bution of food which was sent from the Abbot's table ' Thome, 2022. LATE 8. Prior's Seal, 13th Century. Privy Seal ok the Abbot, 13th Ontiiry. TREAsrRERS' SEAL, 14th Or 15th Century. Sl'B-Prkir'.s Sk.^l, 13th Ontnry. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 177 and from the monks' refectory. Money and clothing were given too, as occasion served, and " he also visited the sick poor of the neighbourhood and took them certain ' consolations,' and saw that they were properly provided with what was necessary."' The almonry was certainly in existence as early as the beginning of the twelfth century, for Abbot Hugh II. is known to have assigned to it for its maintenance the income of the church of Northbourne and the tithe of the profits of the Abbot's Mill.= Somner, who wrote in 1640, declares that it had a chapel of its own, "now desolate, and rotting in its own mines " : but I can find no support for his statement, and as he places the building "within the bounds" of the monastery, he may have mistaken it for another edifice. 3 This institution itself has long ago ceased to exist, but the cottages without the gate-way are still known by the name of " The Almonry." The Cejietery and Cemetery Gateway. The ground lying to the south-west of the church was utilized as a cemetery, and this in early ages was the general burial-place for the whole of Canterbury, though the monks from the very first used the plot at the eastern end of the abbey-church.* In course of time the Cathedral and various city-churches acquired burial grounds of their own, but St. Paul's, St. Mary Magdalen's, and St. Andrew's, which were appropriated to the monastery, continued to bury here up to the time of the Dissolution. s At first the space 'Taunton, vol. I., p. 291. = Thome, 1799, 1837. 3 Somner's Antiquities of Canterbury, p. 60. Brent's Canterbury, p. 116. ■tGervasius, 1333. s Somner's Antiquities of Canterbury, p. 63. Brent's Canterbury, p. 266. Hasted, vol. iv., p. 492. 178 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. was smaller than it is now, for the high road from Canterbury to Sandwich originally ran in a direct line from Burgate and St. Paul's Street to St. Martin's Hill; but in the time of Lanfranc the monks diverted the road southwards to its present position, and added on the newly-acquired strip of land to the cemetery. They built a wall around the enclosure, and erected a gate- way where the original road entered their property, leaving however a public path-way which followed the old course of the road and rejoined it at the gate-way still remaining near the present Sessions-hall.' The cemetery gate is mentioned in 1332, in which year the Prior of Christchurch with his armed band entered St. Augustine's by this gate when he came to demand an interview with Peter de Dene. It was rebuilt by brother Thomas Ickham the sacristan about 1390 at the cost of 610 marks, and it is still intact, though it has been somewhat transformed in restoration, and its portal is now blocked up.^ Within the cemetery was a charnel-chapel, consec- rated in 1299 by the Bishop of Hereford.3 It doubtless consisted of two storeys — an upper one for the cele- bration of masses for the dead, and a lower one for use as an ossuary, like the charnel-chapel still remaining near Norwich Cathedral. Its position here was south- west of the church, and not far from the cemetery-gate, but it has now entirely disappeared, and there is nothing to mark the site where it stood. The Chapel of St. Panxras. This chapel, according to Thome, was originally built by the Romans during their occupation of Britain ; and some portions of the present fabric — both brick- ' Somner, p. 17. 'Thome, 2196. 3 Thome, 1942, 1951, 1970. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 179 work and the bases of some stone columns — undoubtedly date from that period, It was in later times used by King Etbelbert as a heathen temple, and was afterwards bestowed by him on Augustine, together with the rest of the property on which he built his monastery.' Judging from the numerous pieces of Norman carvings that are embedded in the walls of the present edifice, we should infer that the chapel was rebuilt about the year 1 1 oo, but of this we have no documentary evidence. We next come across St. Pancras' in 1361, when a chaplain named Ralph took refuge in the chancel during a terrible hurricane. While he was praying there, prostrate before the image of the Virgin, a beam fell from the roof and killed him on the spot, and he was buried in the same place under a marble slab in front of the cross. ^ The chapel was rebuilt in the year 1387 by Thomas Ickham at the cost of 100 marks; and the greater part of the present ruins, including the arch of the east window probably date from that time. J After this we have a few incidental notices about the place. Two solemn processions were held here in 1432, for which the treasurers of St. Augustine's paid John Berham in fees 20s. and 3os.'f In 1475 Joan Mansion bequeathed money to endow a chantry here. In 1492 Hamo Beale left a legacy for the repairs of the chapel. And several persons of note were interred within its walls, e.g. John Alcock, who was Mayor of Canterbury in 1525, and William Rutland (1532) and Francis Rutland, who were both aldermen of the City.5 The walls are still standing, though in a sadly mutilated condition. They form an interesting study, being a curious patchwork of Roman and Norman "Thome, 1760. "Thome, 2122. 3 Thome, 2196. 4 Treasurers' Return. 5 Hasted, vol. iv., p. 661. 180 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. and Early English materials. As mentioned before, the foundations of the square chapel, south of the main building, in which St. Augustine is believed to have celebrated, have recently been uncovered : they are either of Roman workmanship, or were constructed more Romano in Ethelbert's time. Subsidiary Buildings, &c. There were other, less important parts of the monastery, which figure occasionally in the old records, but about which little can be discovered. Thus the prior, who ranked above all the inmates, the Abbot only excepted, had a private chapel and a room (cam- era) — though he was bound to slept in the common dormitory — but the position of these is not known.' Somewhat obscure too is the mention of the torale, which was built of stone in the time of Abbot Fyndon. There is no evidence to show what it was or where it stood, but possibly it was a bell-turret connected with the refectory ; for some means, other than the church- bells, would be needed for calling the monks together.^ The great court (curia) is mentioned several times in the 13th century, and in the next century the stone- court (curia lapidea) — a cistern being built in it in 1 321. The former was bounded on the north by a straight wall, which had a gate-way — known as the flint-gate — near its western end, and outside it a lane. This lane, which is still there, was certainly an ancient one, for Thorne and Elmham both notice it under the year 1283, when a royal charter sanctioned its being closed ; and it seems probable, running as it does in a direct line between the Quenengate and St. Martin's church, that it was the very path that Bertha used to follow when she went to attend the ministrations of ' Thome, 1915, 2068. = Thome, 2009. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDIKGS. 181 Liudhard and afterwards of St. Augustine.' Near the top of this lane are the mouldering remains of a massive flint wall which has (or had) three window- openings in it. It is the north gable-end of the great dormitory, and pictures of last century represent it with a block of two dwelling houses, facing west, built against its north side. These houses had mullioned windows, with neat mouldings over windows and doors — which seem to prove that the building was erected in the time of Henry IV., and adjoining it was an embattled gate-way leading to the North-holme.^ The land north of the lane was also part of the precincts, and possibly was used as a deer-park — of which a hint is giving us in J 43 2, when the stipend of the keeper of the deer is quoted at £1 6s. 8d.s Close by, perhaps on the site of the present malt- house, were the brewery, the bake-house, and the bath-house, all of which were included in Kyngesnoth's benefactions of 1267 — for he altered the two former, and built a new bath-house, which he supplied with baths. + All three are mentioned again in 1432, when the wages of the baker and the keeper of the bath were £1 6s. 8d. each, and the brewer received £j 13s. 4d.5 Not far from the north-west corner of the precincts stands the west end of an ancient building — probably the one which .Somner imagined to be a chapel for the almonry. The lowness and width of its roof, the provision for a very strong upper floor, and the small- ness of the two lancet-openings in the upper storey, make me believe that this was the granary of the monastery. ' Elmham, p. 54. Thorne, 2274. = S. Hooper's print, 1787. 3 Treasurers' Return. ■•Thome, 1915. 5 Treasurers' Return. 182 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. The fish-ponds were outside the boundary walls, on the south side of the Sandwich road, and close to the abbey-farm — whose name and site are yet pre- served in the mansion known as Barton Court. The ponds were four in number, and one of them is still in existence. The Vineyard and Gardens. The north-eastern part of the conventual enclosure was known as the North-holme — a name that occurs as early as 1268, for in an agreement of that date made by the Abbot and the citizens, it was determined that any thieves caught in the " cam pi de Northome" should be subject to the Abbot's Jurisdiction. The place was evidently a source of much trouble, for a public path-way led to it, and the thickets and broken ground afforded a hiding place for all kinds of bad characters.' In 1320 therefore, Abbot Bourne, as has been already mentioned, stopped the path-way, cut down the trees, filled up the hollow places, and built a wall around the whole.'^ In the days when the cost of importing wine was very heavy, a vineyard would be a valuable possession ; and the Abbot made good use of the ground, thus made available, by planting vines there. Some few years later the wages of the vine-keeper are quoted at £2 12s., while £z 3s. id. was paid to vine-dressers, and £1 13s. iid. for trellises, and ss. 2d. for tools. St. Augustine's owned another vineyard at Chislet, and the wages there were the same as those paid to the vine-keeper at North- holme. 3 The cellarer's garden occupied the upper part of the precinct, towards St. Martin's Church, and there was also a garden allotted to the Abbot for his own use.* 'Thome, 191b. = Thome, 2036. "i Archaeol. Cant., vol. II., p. 226. ■• Thome, 2059. the conventual buildings. 183 The Abbot's Mill. The monks' corn was ground at the Abbot's Mill, which was purchased at his own expense by Abbot Hugh II. in 1129. It remained in the possession of St. Augustine's until the Dissolution — when it passed into the hands of Henry VIII. — and there is still a reminder of its previous ownership in the name " Abbot's Place," which is borne by a narrow lane in the immediate vicinity.' The modern representative of this mill, designed by Smeaton, stands by the Stour near the bottom of St. Peter's Lane, on the same site that was occupied by the old one. Another mill, known as the King's Mill, close to East Bridge, was granted to St. Augustine's by King Stephen in 1136, in return for 100 marks which he had borrowed at the time that he was taken captive at Lincoln. This mill was alienated by Abbot Clarembald, and was never regained by the Monastery.^ The Hospital of St. Lawrence. This charitable and useful institution was founded by Abbot Hugh II. in 1137 for 16 brethren and sisters, with one chaplain and one clerk. It stood half a mile out of the city, on the right side of the Old Dover Road, and its name is perpetuated in the St. Lawrence Cricket-ground, which lies just beyond the ancient site. The hospital was endowed with the seven acres of land around it, and with various grants be- stowed both by the monastery and by private benefactors. It was primarily intended as a residence for any monks of St. Augustine's who might be suffering from leprosy ■Hasted, vol. IV., p. 438. Thorne, 1799, 2121. Archaeol. Cant., vol. xill., p. 84. Brent's Canterbury, pp. 129, 198, 226. Somner, p. 38. ^ Thorne, 1807, 1827. Hasted, vol. iv., p. 438. 184 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. or Other infectious disease ; and these were to be provided there with everything that they required, at the expense of the mother-house. It was also arranged that such parents, brothers or sisters of any of the monks, as might be reduced to such poverty as to have to beg their bread, might find a permanent home there. Its government was vested in one of the monks, entitled the Warden of the hospital, who acted under the direction of the Abbot ; and subject to him was a prioress, who had charge of the sisters. The hospital was not abolished at the time of the Dissolution of monasteries, but continued a struggling existence for a few years longer, till its charitable work ceased in the reign of Queen Mary. There is still left on the old site an interesting relic of the hospital, built into the wall beside the Old Dover Road, which was the boundary of the property. It is a stone carving of the martyrdom of St. Lawrence, who is represented lying on his gridiron, with a man standing at his head and another at his feet. This stone, which is now almost entirely defaced, once formed part of the western pier of the gate-way that led from the road to the hospital.' Doge's Chantry. Connected with St. Augustine's was a chantry, known as Doge's Chantry, situated on the east side of New Street — the present Chantry Lane. It was founded in 1264 by Hamo Doge, Rector of St. Paul's and Official of the Archdeacon of Canterbury, who endowed it with 57 acres of land and an annual income. He ordained that two chaplains should celebrate mass, one in the chantry and the other at the altar of St. John the Baptist in St. Paul's Church, for the souls of him- " Thome, 1810. Hasted, vol. IV., p. 668. Brent's Canterbury, p. 239. THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 185 self, his parents, and the abbots, monks and benefactors of St. Augustine's ; and that all powers of appointment, institution, etc., should belong to the monastery. The chantry, which enjoyed exemption from episcopal con- trol, continued under this constitution until the Dissolu- tion, when it was surrendered to the King.' ■ Thome, 1913. Hasted, vol. iv., p. 668. NOTE F. The Library. THE early importance of St. Augustine's Monastery in the learned world is referred to in eulogistic terms by Dean Stanley in his " Memorials of Canter- bury." After mentioning the books that were sent by Pope Gregory to St. Augustine — the books that were the " primitiae librorum totius ecclesiae Angli- canae " — he declares that " St. Augustine's Abbey was the mother-school, the mother-university of England, the seat of letters and study, at a time when Cambridge was a desolate fen, and Oxford a tangled forest in a wide waste of waters."' This literary importance was continued throughout the Middle Ages, when the Cathedral Monastery even surpassed St. Augustine's in reputation and influence. As containing two such great seats of learning the city of Canterbury is accorded by Dr. M. R. James higher honour than had generally been recognised as its due. " Besides being," he says, " to a great extent the centre of the ecclesias- tical life of England, Canterbury must, during several centuries, have been the centre also of its intellectual life. The two great Benedictine convents there, the Priory of Christchurch and the Abbey of St. Augus- tine, possessed at the Dissolution what must have been ■ Elmham, p. 99, Stanley's Memorials, chap. I., p. 41. THE LIBRARY. 18l7 nearly the two largest libraries of MSS. in England."' This writer considers that the bigger of these two collections was that at Christchurch, where the number of volumes (which dwindled to 500 or 600 before the Dissolution,) was 1900 or 2000 in the early part of the 14th century; but he proceeds to show that the Augus- tinian library was but little inferior to that of its powerful rival. The position of the room where the books were kept at St. Augustine's cannot now be ascertained with certainty, but one of the chambers under the dormitory may very probably have been used for this purpose : at the Cathedral the library was above the Prior's Chapel, on the south side of the Infirmary Cloister.^ In accordance with the arrangements cus- tomary in monasteries the books were under -the charge of the Precentor, who therefore bore the title of Armarius ; and it was ordained that either he or his assistant should always be in attendance to issue books to the brethren who might want them. At the beginning of Lent it was always his duty to remove the books into the Chapter-house, and on these occa- sions an interesting service was held — instituted by Abbot Fyndon in 1307— when the names of all bene- factors of the library, whether living or departed, were solemnly commemorated, the commemoration being fol- lowed by votive masses celebrated in the Abbey- church. 3 Doubtless each brother might read what books he pleased, and could at any time resort to the library for the purpose, or take out books to study in the cloisters ; but it would seem that the Librarian used 'The Ancient Libraries of Canterbury, Guardian, 1898, p. 758. Jessopp's Coming of the Friars, p. 128. Leland's Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 7. = Willis's Arch. History of Christchurch, p. 67. 3Thorne, 2008. 188 THE LIBRARY. to assign to each monk on this Commemoration-day some one profitable work, which he was bound to read through during the year. The account of this interesting proceeding occurs in Lanfranc's Statutes for the Order of St. Benedict. " On the Monday after the first Sunday in Lent, before the brethren go in to Chapter, the Librarian (custos hbrorum) ought to have all the books brought together in the Chapter- house and laid out on a carpet, except those which had been given out for reading during the past year; these the brethren ought to bring with them as they come into Chapter, each carrying his book in his hand. Of this they ought to have had notice given to them b)- the aforesaid Librarian on the preceding day in Chapter. Then let the passage in the Rule of St. Benedict about the observance of Lent be read, and a discourse be preached upon it. Next let the Librar- ian read a document (breve) setting forth the names of the brethren who have had books during the past year; and let each brother, when he hears his own name pro- nounced, return the book which had been intrusted to him for reading ; and let him who is conscious of not having read the book through which he had received, fall down on his face, confess his fault, and pray for forgiveness. Then let the aforesaid Librarian hand to each brother another book for reading ; and when the books have been distributed in order, let the aforesaid Librarian in the same Chapter put on record the names of the books and of those who receive them." ' The contents of the Library of St. Augustine's Monastery are known pretty exactly ; for an original catalogue, written on paper, and dating from the close of the 15th century, has been preserved, and is now in the possession of the authorities of Trinity College, 'Dr. J. W. Clark's trauslation in Guardian, 1900, p. 11 14. THE LIBRARY. 189 Dublin. This catalogue contains a list of 1784 MS. volumes, but it has been pointed out that the whole of the contents of the Library cannot be included here, for no mention is made of any works on civil law.' Not only is this omission a suspicious feature — and Christchurch had many representatives of this branch of learning — but we know from other sources that St. Augustine's did possess books on this subject ; for Hamo Doge, a benefactor who died in 1274, gave to the Monasitery " totum corpus Juris"; and in 1322 Peter de Dene bequeathed to the Library, among other books, five volumes of Civil Law bound in leather.^ The catalogue has been carefully examined by Dr. James, who notes that the books are tabulated accord- ing to the subjects, the first class consisting of Bibles with Commentaries, Concordances, and other helps — the list being headed by a great Bible in two volumes, which was believed to be the one sent by Pope Gregory to St. Augustine. This work is also mentioned by Thomas of Elmham as being kept in the Library in his time, and he tells us of the beautiful appearance of the purple and rose-coloured leaves that were in- serted in the beginning of the respective volumes.3 Other noteworthy features of the Library are the prominence of French works, of which there were' as many as twenty or thirty ; the lack of English books — for in the whole collection there was only one in the vernacular, though there were seventeen at Christ- church ; and the absence of any MSS. in the original Greek. This last point however is not really so strange as it appears at first sight, for Latin was the only literary language in those days, Greek being as yet almost unknown. Furthermore we find that the Library ' Dr. M. R. James, Guardian, 1898, p. 758. = Thome, 1922, 2037. 3 Elmham, p. 96. 190 THE LIBRARY. was very poor in ancient MSS., and the catalogue, which mentions the names of the donors of the various books, knows of scarcely any benefactors in the early centuries of the history of St. Augustine's. This is probably accounted for by the disastrous fire of 1168, which not only burnt the greater part of the Church, but also " destroyed many ancient documents."" The books were arranged in bookcases — technically called Distinctiones — of which there seem to have been seventeen in our Library, probably set at right angles to the wall ; and each Distinctio apparently contained six shelves or Gradus. Thus the locality of any book was easily shown in the catalogue by this dual system of class-marks. The list of donors of books includes very few famous names, most of the contributors being men of only local and contemporary interest. The two most generous benefactors mentioned were " Abbot Thomas " and " John of London," of whom the former gave more than a hundred books, and the latter eighty-one. " Abbot Thomas " would probably be Thomas Fyndon, the abbot who was such a munificent builder, and the same who instituted the commemoration-service in honour of the benefactors of the Library. "John of London " has been identified by Dr. James as a favour- ite pupil of Roger Bacon, fciught by him for five or six years in languages and mathematics, and sent by him to convey copies of his works to Pope Clement IV.' An analysis of his books makes it evident that this " John of London " was a man who was interested in mathematics, astronomy, astrology, medicine, history, grammar, and scholastic theology ; and the entries in the catalogue prove that he was a monk of St. Aug- ustine's. ' Thome, 1815. = Guardian, 1899, p. 1062. THE LIBRARY. 191 Of the contents of this Library about 150 volumes- are known to be still in existence, having been patiently traced and recognised by Dr. James. These are chiefly to be found in the Libraries at the British Museum, Lambeth Palace,' Canterbury Cathedral, the Bodleian, Cambridge University, the Colleges of Corpus, Trinity,. St. John's, and Caius at Cambridge, and Corpus at Oxford : some also are in private hands. Among the oldest extant MSS. are the Latin Gospels at Corpus,. Cambridge ; an Uncial Latin Acts, and Philippus Pres- byter on Job, in the Bodleian ; the Latin Gospels in the British Museum (Royal L E. VIIL) ; a Juvencus, containing an early German poem known as the Car- mina Cantabrigiensia, at Cambridge University ; and a Latin Miscellany containing a tract of Victorinus at Lambeth (MS. 414). " See MSS. in the Library at Lambeth Palace, by M. ^. James (Cambridge, 1900), p. 7 : " from St. Augustine's Abbey we have eleven volumes." NOTE G. The Seals of the Monastery. THE British Museum has a collection of ten diflfer- ent seals — either originals or sulphur casts — of St. Augustine's Monastery, and others are extant in different places. Of these ten the oldest is the common seal of the Abbey, belonging to the eleventh century. It is circular (diameter — 2J inches), and bears a very indistinct half-length figure of St. Augustine in full pontificals, with the legend : — >Ji Sigillum Sancti Augus- tini Anglorum Apostoli. The other nine seals are reproduced in this work, and I append here a brief description of each.' 1. (Plate 6.)— Seal of the Abbey, a.d. 1188: diameter zf inches. Obverse. Figure of St. Augustine, seated on a throne, between two quatrefoils, with the legend : — ^ Sigillum Ecclesie Augustini Cantaurie Anglorum Apostoli. Reverse. Figures of St. Peter and St. Paul, seated, holding a circular panel on which is perhaps a repre- sentation of the baptism of Ethelbert. 2. (Plate 7. No. I.)— Seal of Abbot Robert of Battle, A.D. 1243: dimensions 2 J by if inches. It bears a figure of the Abbot, standing on a carved corbel, and holding staff and book. On either ' Catalogue of Seals in the Dept. of MSS., British Museum, by \V. de Grey Birch, vol. i., pp. 485-9. T. THE SEALS OF THE MONASTERY. 193 side is a cinque-foil, and around is the legend : — Sigillum Roberti Dei Gratia Abbatis Sancti Augustini Cantuarie. 3. (Plate 7. No. 2.) — Seal of Abbot Roger of Chichester, a.d. 1253-1273 : dimensions 2^ by if inches. The Abbot, in full pontificals, stands in a canopied niche, between two oval panels, each containing the head of a monk. The inscription runs : — Sigillum Rogeri Dei Gratia Abbatis Sancti Augustini Cantuarie. 4. (Plate 7. No. 3.)— Seal of Abbot Thomas Fyn- dou, A.D. 1283-1309: dimensions 2f by i|- inches. The Abbot is represented in the act of blessing. On either side is a hand, one holding a key, the other a sword, as emblems of St. Peter and St. Paul. The legend is : — >i« Thomas Dei Gratia Abbas Sancti Augus- tini Cantuarie. 5. (Plate 8. No. i.) — Privy seal of the Abbot, 13th century: dimensions 2 J by if inches. St. Augustine is seated on a throne within a canopied niche : above are half-length figures of two saints, and below a half-length figure of the Abbot in prayer. Legend : — Sigillum Secreti Abbatis Sancti Augustini Cantuarie. 6. (Plate 8. No. 2.) — Seal of the Prior, 1 3th century : dimensions ij by i inch. The Virgin, seated on a throne, holds the Holy Child on her right knee : below is a half-length figure of the Prior in prayer. Legend : — ^ Sigillum Prioris Sancti Augustini Can - tuarie. 7. (Plate 8. No. 3.)— Seal of the Sub-Prior (.?), 13th century: dimensions 2|- by if inches. M 194 TME SEALS o¥ dTHE MONASTERY. A representation of the baptism of Ethelbert : above is a hand of blessing, and below the half-length figure of a monk in prayer. Legend: — Sigillum Subo Prioris Sancti Au- gustini Anglorum Apostoli Cantuarie. 8. (Plate 8. No. 4.) — Treasurers' seal, 14th or 15th century: diameter if inches. Two keys of St. Peter in saltire : between them, at the top, St. Augu.stine, seated ; at each side a monk holding a scroll of accounts ; below, the arms of the monastery charged with the letter T. Legend : — Sigillum Thesaurarie Monasterii Sancti Augustini Cantuariensis. 9. (Plate 9.) — Seal of the Abbey, a.d. 1351 : diameter 3|- inches. Obverse. A fanciful model of the Abbey-church contains a representation of the baptism of Ethelbert, with figures of St. Peter and St. Paul above : over the roof are two angels swinging censers. Around is the inscription : — *b Sigillum Monasterii Beatorum Apostol- orum Petri et Pauli Sanctique Augustini Anglorum Apostoli Cantuarie. Reverse. A series of ornamental niches contains, in the centre, St. Augustine, seated on a throne, bearing on his breast a reliquary with the figures of three saints ; on his right is St. Eiriuus, with Archbishop Theodore above ; and on his left is Queen Bertha, with Archbishop Justus above. Over St. Augustine are two small figures — probably early Archbishops; and at the top, two shields, being the arms of the monastery (sable, a cress argent). The legend is : — Anglia Quas Domino Fidei Sociatur Amore ^ Hoc Augustino Debetur Patris Honore. Authorities Chiefly Consulted. "Chronica Guill. Thome" — in the Decern Scriptores. " Historia Monasterii S. Augustini Cantuariensis," by- Thomas of Elmham. Edited by C. Hardwick, 1858. "Literae Cantuarienses," 3 vols. Rolls Series. Edited by J. B. Sheppard. " Registrum Monasterii S. Augustini," (MS. in Canter- bury Cathedral Library, E. xix.) " Registrum Domini Willielmi Selling, Prsecentoris," (MS. in Canterbury Cathedral Library, E. xxiii.) Bede's " Ecclesiastical History." " Chronica Gervasii " — in the Decem Scriptores. Dugdale's " Monasticon." •' Excerptae compoto thesaurariae Monasterii Sancti Aug- ustini, A.D. 1432." Hasted's "History of Kent," 4 vols., 1799. Haddan and Stubbs' " Councils and Ecclesiastical Docu- ments." "The English Black Monks of St. Benedict," by Rev. E. L. Taunton. Leland's " Collectanea." Various loose MSS. in Canterbury Cathedral Library. Hook's " Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury." " The coming of the Friars," by Dr. A. Jessopp. "Augustine and his companions," by Bishop Browne. "The Missal of St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury," edited by Martin Rule, 1896. 196 AUTHORITIES CHIEFLY CONSULTED. " Vestiges of the Abbey of St. Augustine's," by Rev. Mackenzie E. C. Walcott, 1875. Articles in "Guardian" on "Which is our oldest School.?" and "The ancient Libraries of Canter- bury," i8q8. Dictionary of Christian Biography. Dictionary of Christian Antiquities. " English Minsters," by Rev. Mackenzie E. C. Walcott. Archaeologia Cantiana. Other Authorities Consulted. " The Red Book of Canterbury," (MS. in British Museum. Cotton MS. Claudius, D. x.) " History of the Mitred Parliamentary Abbies," by Browne Willis, 171 8. Domesday Book of Kent. Stanley's " Memorials of Canterbury." " Canterbury in the Olden Time," by John Brent. Wm. Somner's "Antiquities of Canterbury,'' 1640. Goatling's " Canterbury." Ireland's "History of Kent," 1838. " Christchurch Letters." Edited by J. B. Sheppard. " Imagines Historiarum," by Radulfus de Diceto — in the Decern Scriptores. Weever's " Funeral Monuments." " History of the Town and Port of Fordwich," by Rev. C. E. Woodruff, 1895. Transactions of the British Archaeological Associations. Register in Lambeth Library — (MS. 589.) " Augustine of Canterbury," by E. L. Cutts. "Chronological History of Canterbury Cathedral," 1883. " St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Its Rise, Ruin, and Restoration," by Dr. Maclear, 1888. " Calendar of the Missionary College of St. Augus- tine's, Canterbury, 1855." PUAT^ 10, ^^j^v^VsTit^'e's /ibbey, CayUrbiVry. IWawks' Ce*ye're*'y —S- 7..r Ground Plan. ^i^iSi6if<^tXiiyA'A^j'/'Mi^Mii w^mmmMMM^Mis^imMMm^^^