The Grey Friars in Cambridge: 1225–1538 (Cambridge Library Collection - Cambridge)

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Cambridge The city of Cambridge received its royal charter in 1201, having already been home to Britons, Romans and Anglo-Saxons for many centuries. Cambridge University was founded soon afterwards and celebrates its octocentenary in 2009. This series explores the history and influence of Cambridge as a centre of science, learning, and discovery, its contributions to national and global politics and culture, and its inevitable controversies and scandals.

The Grey Friars in Cambridge This is the story of the Franciscan friary in Cambridge, founded in 1225. It describes the new alliance between poverty and learning that was to give fresh vigour to the Order, deeply influencing the life of England as a whole. It provides biographical notes on many Cambridge Franciscans, including the Custodcs, Wardens, Vice-Wardens and Lectors, and on the dispute of 1303-6 between the friars and the university. It ends with the dissolution of the Cambridge house in 1538, and the driving out of the friars. The book is an extended version of John R. H. Moorman's Birkbeck Lectures of 1948-9.

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The Grey Friars in Cambridge 1225-1538 JOHN RICHARD HUMPIDGE MOORMAN

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge New York Melbourne Madrid Cape Town Singapore Sao Paolo Delhi Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: wwwcambridge.org/9781108002837 © in this compilation Cambridge University Press 2009 This edition first published 1952 This digitally printed version 2009 ISBN 978-1-108-00283-7 This book reproduces the text of the original edition. The content and language reflect the beliefs, practices and terminology of their time, and have not been updated.

THE

GREY FRIARS IN CAMBRIDGE 1225-1538

THE

GREY FRIARS IN CAMBRIDGE 1225-1538

The Birkbeck Lectures 1948-9 BY THE

REVEREND

JOHN R. H. MOORMAN M.A., D.D., Emmanuel College

CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1952

PUBLISHED BY THE SYNDICS OF THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY London Office: Bentley House, N.W.I American Branch: New York Agents for Canada, India, and Pakistan: Macmillan

PRESS

Printed in Great Britain by The Carlyle Press, Birmingham, 6

CONTENTS Preface

page vii

Chapter I II III IV V VI

The House of Benjamin the Jew: 1225-1267 The Friars and the University: 1225-1306 The New House Domestic Affairs Some Activities of the Friars The Franciscan School at Cambridge in the Fourteenth Century VII The Latter Years VIII The Dissolution and After

Appendix A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. Index

Custodes, Wardens, Vice-wardens and Lectors Biographical Notes on Cambridge Franciscans The Dispute between the Friars and the University of Cambridge, 1303-6 James Essex's Observations on the Old Chapel of Sidney College in Cambridge Fragment of an Account-book belonging to the Cambridge Franciscans Legacies Documents connected with the Dissolution Seals of the Cambridge Franciscans

1 19 39 62 76 93 114 127 143 146 227 239 242 246 259 261 263

PLATES I

Account Sheets of 1363-6

facing page 70

(From J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex)

II

List of Cambridge Masters

144

(From A. G. Little, Franciscan Lists, Papers and Documents)

III

Brass of Friar William Gernemuth

page 179

(From Norfolk Archaeology)

IV

Old Drawing of the Refectory

facing page 240

(From A. R. Martin, Franciscan Architecture in England)

MAPS AND P L A N S 1.

Part of J. Essex's plan of Old Cambridge

40

2.

Part of Lyne's map of Cambridge (1574)

43

3.

Part of Hamond's map of Cambridge (1592)

47

4.

Suggested reconstruction of the site

50

5. Leases granted at the Dissolution

VI

138

PREFACE ' F I F T Y YEARS AGO', wrote Dr A. G. Little in 1942, 'I wrote a book about the Grey Friars in Oxford. Since then I have often urged Cambridge friends to write the history of the Grey Friars in Cambridge. My efforts have not been successful.' As a matter of fact the present volume was planned and even begun no less than twenty-three years ago when the author was an undergraduate at Cambridge. Various things combined to prevent any progress being made, and it was not until quite recently that the work could be undertaken in earnest. When things were well under way the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, did me the honour of inviting me to deliver the Birkbeck Lectures in Ecclesiastical History, and the most important part of the material collected in this book was given as a course of six lectures in Cambridge in the autumn of 1948. Many people have helped from time to time in the production of this book. I should like to express my gratitude to Professor G. R. Potter of Sheffield for kindly looking through the manuscript and giving me the advantage of his experience and knowledge. I am also grateful to the Bishops of Ely, Norwich, Lincoln and several other sees for permission to consult the medieval episcopal registers of their dioceses, the Dean and Chapter of Durham for permission to consult and to print the roll which forms Appendix C. of this book, and the Librarian of Caius College for similar permission to examine the fragments of a Franciscan accountbook now in the possession of the College. All students of English Franciscan history owe a debt of gratitude and respect to the late Dr Little, who has helped and inspired us in many ways to explore the history of the mendicant

vii

PREFACE

orders, and especially the Order of Saint Francis. I am only sorry that he did not live to know that one of his 'Cambridge friends' had in fact written 'the history of the Grey Friars in Cambridge'. JOHN R. H. MOORMAN CHICHESTER 1950

Vlll

CHAPTER I

THE HOUSE OF BENJAMIN THE JEW: i225-1267

IN the year 1209 two events took place, neither of which was in itself of very great importance though both, in the end, proved to have far-reaching results. One of these events took place at Oxford, where three clerks were hanged for a murder in which they probably had no part, and the rest of the University, as an act of protest, left Oxford and betook themselves some to Cambridge and some to Reading.1 The other event took place a thousand miles away at Rome, where a young man called Francis Bernardone, with eleven companions, obtained access to Pope Innocent III and, kneeling before him, asked for permission to live according to the poverty and humility of the Gospels.2 Neither incident in itself would have appeared of much significance at the time. Migrations of masters and students were quite common occurrences in the early days of the Universities and often left no trace behind them, while young men who are dissatisfied with the state of the Church and think that they have found a better way of following Christ have appeared in all ages. But the two events of 1209 left a far more permanent mark on the history of the world than contemporaries might have anticipated, for the one was an important factor in the foundation of the University of Cambridge while the other marked the birth of the Order of Friars Minor. 1 Matthew Paris, Chronica Maiora, ii, pp. 525-6. The University of Oxford, in its turn, appears to have owed its origin to a similar migration from Paris in 1167 (Rashdall, Universities of Europe, new edition, iii, pp. 12-16). 2 See the account in Bonaventura, Legenda S. Francisci, iii, 8-10 which is largely based on 1 Celano, §§ 32-3 and 2 Celano §§ 16-17, but Bonaventura has added, from some unknown source, the account of the intervention of John of S. Paul. For the date of this incident see Paschal Robinson, 'Quo anno ordo Fratrum Minorum inceperit' in Archivum Franciscanum Historicum, 1909, p. 194.

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Both were signs of a movement of the Spirit which was affecting the life of man in various ways. Intellectually, this showed itself in a revival of learning and the founding of the earliest Universities, thus preparing the wayforthe full flowering of scholasticism in the thirteenth century. Spiritually, signs of growth and progress are to be found in the general desireforreform andforthe clearing away of abuses which hindered the work of the Church in the parishes, in the religious houses, and in the higher spheres of ecclesiastical authority. All of those who had the spiritual welfare of mankind at heart welcomed this movement, hoping that it would lead to real reform. There was much ignorance and superstition in the world, and now heresy had raised its head and begun to capture the minds of men whom the Church had too long neglected. The danger was great, but so was the opportunity; and men were beginning to wonder how this challenge could be met. Clearly there must be a greater and profounder study of the truth about God, but also there must be a more determined effort to bring the truth to the people. The need, therefore, was not only for scholars and students but for teachers and preachers. Reform was in the air, but not on merely negative lines such as the prevention of simony or of clerical incontinence, but in the positive fields of a more carefully trained clergy and a better instructed laity. In spite of the vast number of clergy the people were too often 'as sheep having no shepherd' and therefore a prey to heresy and false teaching. Now the time had come for the Church to go out, as Christ had gone, with a message of hope for a sinful and suffering world. Men's hearts were aching for the Good News of redemption and forgiveness and of the eternal presence of Christ in His Church. Typical of those whose hearts were aflame with this Spirit was S. Dominic, who created his Order of Preachers to meet this very need. He and his followers were determined to make full use of the new Universities and of every opportunity of preparing themselves to preach the Gospel, and were then to go out, unencumbered by possessions or worldly ties, to be used as and where they were most needed. But meanwhile a greater than Dominic was laying his plans for capturing the world for Christ. Francis of Assisi

THE HOUSE OF BENJAMIN THE JEW: I225-I267

shared to the full in the desire for reform and for a new proclamation of the Gospel. But he was, at the same time, highly suspicious of the passion for learning which had taken hold of so many of his contemporaries. To the mind of S. Francis the task was quite simple. All that they had to do was to imitate the humility and poverty of Christ and trust that the example which they set would touch the hearts of men. What need had they of learning so long as they knew Christ? But Francis went even further than this. Unlike most of those who were in the forefront of reform he had a positive dislike and suspicion of learning. He saw that scholarship was incompatible with absolute poverty, for the student must have books and somewhere to read them, while a Friar Minor was to be without possessions of any kind. Thus, when he was consulted by one of his leading men after his return from the East in 1220 about the question of books, he cried: 'I ought not, and I cannot go against my conscience and the observance of the Holy Gospel which we have professed',1 while to a novice who asked permission to have his own psalter the Saint replied: 'Don't you worry about books and knowledge but about godly works, for knowledge puffs a man up but charity is edifying',2 and in the Rule of 1221 he states clearly that the friars must not handle any money even for the buying of books.3 But if the rule of absolute poverty proved inimical to the pursuit of knowledge, even more so did the demand for absolute humility. S. Francis was convinced that scholarship led almost inevitably to pride. This was partly due to the scholastic method of disputation whereby success tended to be measured not always by weight of learning, but by the power of scoring off an opponent. But it was also due to the fact that learning gives a man something which others have not got, and therefore, to some extent, puts them in his power or at least in an inferior position. This would grossly interfere with S. Francis' ideal of the Friar Minor, idiota et subditus omnibus, who was to regard himself as beneath the contempt of even the most ignorant and depraved of 1

Intentio Regulae, § 5 in Documenta Antiqua Franciscana, ii, p . 87. Speculum Perfectionis, § 4. 3 Regula Prlma, cap. viii, in Opuscula S. Franclsci, ed. Lemmens, p. 35. 2

THE HOUSE OF BENJAMIN THE JEW: I225-I267

his fellow men, and it explains the Saint's remark that when a great clerk joined the Order he ought, in some way, to resign even his learning, so that, having stript himself of the last of his possessions, he might offer himself naked to Christ.1 Such was the ideal of S. Francis, but it was not one which was shared by all the brethren. Some years before the death of the Saint in 1226 a party had grown up in the Order, led from within by Brother Elias and supported from without by Cardinal Ugolino, which was not altogether satisfied with the methods of S. Francis and was anxious, among other things, to modify the standards of absolute poverty and humility in order to make the friars of more use to the Church. That Francis bitterly opposed this tampering with his ideals is well known. But though the force of his personality was enough to keep any such movement strictly in check during his lifetime, it was almost inevitable that big changes should take place after his death. And one of these inevitable changes was the lifting of the ban against study. The Order of Friars Minor was attracting some of the best and keenest minds of the rising generation; and, great though their reverence for S. Francis was, they were not going to throw up all activity of the mind in order to wander about the countryside as ignorant tramps. S. Francis died on October 3rd, 1226, and so great had been his personal influence that there is by that time little evidence of any of the friars demanding greater opportunities for study. Friaries had in fact been set up in the university towns of Bologna, Paris, Oxford and Cambridge, but not, apparently, with any idea that the friars should associate themselves with the schools. But within a few years great changes took place. In 1228 a friar was appointed by John Parenti to lecture in theology to the friars of Germany,2 in 1229 Agnellus of Pisa invited Robert Grosseteste, one of the leading scholars of the day, to become 'lector' to the friars at Oxford,3 and by 1230 the friars in Paris had begun to interest themselves in the affairs of the University there.4 Thirty 1

2 2 Celano, § 194. Chronica Jordani, ed. Boehmer, p. 47. Eccleston, de Adventu Fratrum Minorum in Angliam, ed. Little (1908), p. 60. 4 Rashdall, Universities of Europe, new ed., i, p. 348 and n.

3

THE HOUSE OF BENJAMIN THE JEW: I225-I267

years later the schools of the Franciscans had become the most famous in Europe and the leaders of the Order were almost exclusively drawn from men who had risen to prominence in the Universities. It was in view of this situation that Brother Giles is said to have remarked: 'Paris, Paris, thou hast destroyed AssisiI'1 S. Francis was still alive when, on September ioth, 1224, a party of nine of his disciples landed at Dover and set out to establish the Order in England. They appear to have been men after S. Francis' own heart, simple friars devoted to poverty, simplicity and humility and untouched by the desire to modify the intentions of their founder and turn the Order into something which it was never intended to be. Agnellus of Pisa, their leader, had been 'custos' of Paris and was a man 'specially endowed with natural prudence and foresight, and conspicuous for every virtue,'2 but he was not a scholar. Richard of Ingworth, the only priest in the party, was known as a good preacher,3 but the other two ordained men were both young and one was only a novice. Five were lay brothers, one of whom had been some kind of artisan.4 The choice of this group of quite undistinguished men shows that the Order did not intend that they should attempt to capture the Universities or take any part in the intellectual life of the country. They came, as the early friars had gone out, to seek for the poor and the neglected and the depressed and to bring them joy and peace in the power of the Holy Spirit. After their arrival at Dover the friars made their way to Canterbury. Here the party divided into two, five remaining to begin their apostolate while the other four went on to London. Here again it was decided to form a centre of activity, and two of the brethren stayed there while Richard of Ingworth and Richard of Devon pressed on to Oxford. But it is unlikely that they were attracted to Oxford through any desire to enter into the activities of the University. It is much more likely that their immediate concern was to increase their numbers, and a University town 1

Cf. Moorman, Sources for the Life ofS. Francis, p. 141. Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 94. 3 Ibid., p. 4. 4 Ibid., pp. 5-7. Laurence of Beauvais is said to have worked 'in opere mechanico' for some time after joining the Order. 2

THE HOUSE OF BENJAMIN THE JEW: I225-I267

was a likely place in which to find suitable young men. As Dr Little said, they regarded the University 'not as a place of study but as a place where young men of impressionable age congregated—a place where there was hope of a "good catch" of souls'.1 Strange to say, Thomas of Eccleston, who is our prime authority for the early history of the Franciscans in England, does not record the coming of the friars to Cambridge. Having told of their arrival at Oxford and of their first settlement at Northampton he goes on to give the names of the first Wardens: Peter Hispanus at Northampton, William de Esseby at Oxford, Thomas de Hispania at Cambridge and Henry Misericorde at Lincoln.2 This, though it gives us no actual date for the foundation of the Cambridge house, suggests that it followed soon after those of Oxford and Northampton, probably some time during the year 1225. And we have a further piece of evidence in support of that date. According to Bartholomew of Cotton, who was a monk of Norwich and had access to certain local histories, the Franciscan house at Norwich was founded in 1226.3 If it had been founded earlier than the house at Cambridge it would almost certainly have been chosen as the head of the Eastern custody when the province was divided up. But when this was done, in spite of the claims of Norwich as the most important city in East Anglia, Cambridge was made the head of the custody. It is reasonable, therefore, to suppose that the friary at Cambridge was founded before that of Norwich, and probably in the year 1225.* 1 A. G. Little, 'The Friars and the Faculty of Theology at Cambridge' in Melanges Mandonnet, ii, p. 396. 2 Eccleston, de Adventu, pp. 12-13. 3 Bartholomew of Cotton, Historia Anglicana, p. 113. 4 Eccleston (de Adventu, pp. 42-5) records the division of the province of England into six custodies but does not give a date when this was carried out. Obviously it was shortly after the coming of the friars, and the fact that Richard of Ingworth was 'custos' of the Cambridge custody for some time before his going to Ireland in 1230-1 proves that the custody must have been set up at an early date. Rashdall gives the date of the Cambridge friary as '1224 or 1225' (Universities of Europe, new ed. iii, p. 294), probably taking the date from Cooper (Annals of Cambridge, i, p. 39). Little gives 'c. 1226' as the date (Franciscan Papers, Lists and Documents, p. 219). Dr Gray puts it as early as 1224 (The Town of Cambridge, p. 53).

THE HOUSE OF BENJAMIN THE JEW: I225-1267

In the year 1225 the University of Cambridge (if such it could be called) was only in its infancy. In 1209 a large number of the masters and students from Oxford had migrated here1 and for a time enormously swelled the schools which already existed in the town. These were probably little more than the type of grammar school which then existed in most towns of the size and importance of Cambridge, for there is no real evidence of a studium there at that date. Dr Rouse Ball, one of the warmest champions of Cambridge in recent years, wrote of schools at Cambridge near the end of the twelfth century . . . when men of scholarly tastes, especially those resident in religious houses, were conscious of their ignorance of recent developments in theology as set out by Peter Lombard and in Canon Law, and were keen to study these subjects and scholastic logic.2 But this is to give a false picture of Cambridge at that date. Whatever else there may have been, there was certainly no faculty of theology, nor is there any evidence of monks leaving their monasteries to go to the schools until the end of the thirteenth century. All we can safely suppose is that Cambridge had some kind of schools in the twelfth century and that their reputation was good enough to attract the Oxford migrants there in 1209. They stayed for only five years, but during that time the foundations of the University were laid. It is not unlikely that some of the masters who had come to Cambridge in 1209 stayed on there when their fellows returned to Oxford in 1214; at any rate the migration taught the Cambridge scholars how to organise themselves on the lines of a studium generate. The next few years, however, were so unsettled that little progress could be made. Thomas Fuller, in describing this period, says 'the scholars there had steady heads and strong brains if able to study in these distempers, when loud drums and trumpets silenced the sweet 1

Matthew Paris says that up to 3,000 masters and students left Oxford in this migration, not a single man remaining (Chronica Maiora, ii, p. 526). The Lanercost Chronicle (ed. Stevenson, p. 4) suggests that a few stayed behind, which, in fact, is true (cf. Munimenta Academica, i, p. 3). But even if 2,000 migrated and the majority went to Reading, it would still leave several hundreds to settle at Cambridge. 2 Cambridge Papers, pp. 180-1.

7

THE HOUSE OF BENJAMIN THE JEW: 1225-1267

but low harp of Apollo.'1 Consequently, when the Friars Minor arrived in Cambridge in 1225 they found the University still in a very rudimentary stage. But there were probably a few hostels already established, and some magistri regularly lecturing, while by 1226 there is evidence that the University had progressed far enough to have a Chancellor.2 According to Eccleston the friars' first house in Cambridge was in a dwelling known as 'the house of Benjamin the Jew' but it is not known for certain where this stood. The part of Cambridge which came to be known as the Jewry was near to the Round Church, but this was probably not where the Jews lived, deriving its name rather from the fact that the full title of the church was 'the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Judaea or the Jewry'. According to William Cole, the antiquary, the land allotted to the Jews in Cambridge was 'all that piece of ground now occupied by a range of houses situate on the east side of the Butcher Row and extending eastward as far as the Guildhall'.3 This is supported by the fact that when the foundations of the Guildhall were being dug in 1782 remains of an old Jewish cemetery were discovered, one tombstone bearing traces of a Hebrew inscription.4 It seems, therefore, probable that the first settlement of the friars was in this quarter of the town. The house of Benjamin the Jew was divided into two parts, one half serving as a dwelling-house and the other as a synagogue. In 1224 it stood empty and was sold by the King to the bailiffs of Cambridge for the sum of forty marks in order that they might convert it into a jail.5 Only one half of the building was used for this purpose, the other remaining unoccupied. A few months later the first party of Friars Minor arrived in Cambridge and immediately applied to the townsfolk for assistance. They seem to have been sympathetically received by the burgesses, who, no doubt, had heard something of their good work in other cities, and they were given the empty part of the house of Benjamin the 1

Fuller, History of the University of Cambridge, ed. Nichols, p. 17. See note by H. E. Salter in Eng. Hist. Rev. xxxvi, pp. 419-20. 3 B. M. Add. MSS 5810, ff. 235-7. 4 Cooper, Annals of Cambridge, i, p. 40 n. 5 Ibid., pp. 39-40. 2

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Jew for their settlement.1 Here the friars made their home for over forty years until they were able to build their own more spacious quarters on the land where Sidney Sussex College now stands. Conditions cannot have been very satisfactory for a religious community, but these were the early days of the Order when the friars rejoiced in their hardships and glorified in squalor and privation. At Canterbury they had to be content with a cellar under a school, from which they emerged in the evenings after the boys had gone home.2 In London they were living in some home-made huts in Cornhill, so draughty that they had to plug the holes with grass.3 The old synagogue at Cambridge cannot have been less comfortable than these and may well have been more so. But, none the less, the position was unsatisfactory. The single entrance to the building meant that the friars and the turnkeys had to come in and out by the same route, and it was difficult, in such circumstances, to create and maintain the right atmosphere for a religious community. It is not to be wondered at that Eccleston speaks of the vicinity of the jail as being 'intolerable'4 nor that the citizens should have realised how unsatisfactory the arrangement was and, in 1230, have offered the King the sum of five marks for a vacant place in the town where the friars might build themselves more comfortable lodgings.5 This attempt to benefit the friars proved, however, unsuccessful, and they were obliged to make the best of their old synagogue and the company of the jailers for several more years. The Franciscan community at Cambridge was at first very small. Eccleston informs us that there were only three clerks— William de Esseby, who was one of the original contingent of nine friars who came over in 1224, Hugh de Bugeton and a lame novice called Elias.6 But in addition there were some lay brothers, 1

Eccleston, de Adventu, p . 28. Ibid., p. 8. 3 Ibid., p . 11; Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p . 16. 4 Op. dt., p . 28. 'Intolerabilis (erat) vicinia carceris fratribus, quia eundem ingressum habebant carcerarii et fratres'. 5 Memoranda Roll of the Kings Remembrancer, 1230-1, p. 8. c Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 28. 2

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including Thomas de Hispania, the first Warden.1 Yet though the community at Cambridge was small it was renowned for its devotion, the chronicler singling it out for special praise and recording that the friars there 'sang the office devoutly with notation'.2 Equally was it renowned for its poverty, since up to the time when Albert of Pisa, the successor of Agnellus as Provincial Minister, visited the province in 1236-7 the friars of the Cambridge custody, though living in one of the coldest and dampest parts of England, are described as having no cloaks.3 Thus it seems that, in these early days, the Cambridge friars were well living up to the Franciscan ideal. They were poor, they were living in considerable discomfort, they must often have suffered bitterly from the cold; but their zeal was unquestioned, and their devotion an example to the whole province. It was thus, in a very quiet way, that the Friars Minor made their first appearance in Cambridge, and it is unlikely that the activities which went on in the house of Benjamin the Jew aroused much interest in the town or in the University. For Cambridge at this time was full of life and growth and development. In 1229, in view of the disturbed conditions in the University of Paris, Henry III invited to this country any students who cared to come, and there is little doubt that a good many of these found their way to Cambridge,4 so filling the town that the University authorities were hard put to it to maintain order, while the landlords of the hostels seized the opportunity of putting up their rents to an exorbitant figure. The organisation of the University found itself unable to keep pace with the growth in numbers, and the inevitable consequence was that there were disputes and quarrels among 1 Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 13. He is probably to be identified with the Thomas Hispanus Knight, who was one of the distinguished laymen who joined the Order soon after its establishment in England. Little considered this identification unlikely, but does not say why {Ibid., p. 24 n.). 3 Ibid., p. 28. 'Cantaverunt officium solemniter cum nota.' 2 Ibid., p. 44. The word used is mantellum. According to the Rule the friars were allowed 'unam tunicam cum caputio et aliam sine caputio qui voluerint habere' (Opuscula S. Francisci, ed. Lemmens, p. 65). The mantellum probably represents the tunica sine caputio which was allowed to the weaker brethren. But then the Rule was written with the climate of Italy in mind, not that of the 4 Fens! Cooper, Annals, i, p. 40.

10

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the students themselves, between students and masters, and between students and the keepers of the hostels. In this difficulty the King was obliged to interfere and issue a number of writs in May 1231, empowering the Bishop of Ely and the Sheriff of Cambridgeshire to punish clerks who refused to submit to discipline, to see that every student was under the authority of some master, and to fix the rents which the keepers of the hostels might charge their lodgers.1 Thus a big effort towards the control of the students was made which was, no doubt, conducive to better teaching and to more efficient organisation of the University. In all this the friars took little or no part. They had not come to Cambridge for purposes of study, but to work among the poor and in the hopes of finding, among the young men and boys, recruits for their Order. But within a year or two of their arrival in Cambridge big changes were taking place in the Order which were destined to alter the whole purpose of the Cambridge house and to convert it from a centre of spiritual and evangelistic work into a most important part of the teaching function of a great university. Reference has already been made to the modifications which took place shortly after the death of S. Francis when the original ban on learning was lifted and the friars began to appoint lecturers and to organise an educational system for their own members.2 In 1229 the first move was made in England when Robert Grosseteste, at the invitation of the Provincial Minister, took the Friars Minor of Oxford under his special care and became their lecturer for six years until his election as Bishop of Lincoln in 1235. Immediately the whole character of the Oxford house was changed. Grosseteste was not only Chancellor of the University at the time but also the foremost scholar and teacher in theology, so that the friars' school instantly acquired a great reputation and was resorted to by all who were anxious to avail themselves of the lectures of so great a scholar. If this was happening at Oxford it is natural that the Cambridge friars, who found themselves in the midst of a younger but no less flourishing University, should want to do the same. But there was this difference. At Oxford in 1229 there was already a faculty of 1

2

Cooper, Annals, i, pp. 41-2. II

See above, p. 4.

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theology and a number of learned, secular teachers, of whom Grosseteste was one. At Cambridge there appears to have been as yet no sign of such a faculty, such teaching as there was being confined to the ordinary 'arts' course. The friars, therefore, were unable to draw on the University for their teaching and were obliged to find their own lecturers from among their own order. The man whom they chose to be their first teacher was Vincent de Coventry. According to Eccleston, Vincent was already magister, though he does not say of what University, when he joined the Order of Friars Minor on January 25th, 1225; and he was a man of considerable reputation as a scholar.1 He must have begun his teaching at Cambridge soon after Grosseteste began at Oxford,2 and he was the first of a long series of lecturers, many of whom were men of international reputation, who brought the Cambridge friars' school to a position of considerable eminence. Thus by the early 1230's the house of Friars Minor at Cambridge had become far more important than its original members had expected; and when the Provincial Minister of the Order decided, about this time, to divide the province into 'custodies'3 it was natural that Cambridge should have been chosen as the head of the East Anglian district. The first man to be chosen as 'custos' of this area was Richard of Ingworth, one of the original party of nine friars who had come over to England in 1224.1 But he cannot have held office for more than a few months, as in 1231-2 he was sent to Ireland to become Minister of the new province founded there—an indication that he was a man of considerable 1

Eccleston, de Adventu, pp. 21, 71. It is impossible to say exactly when Vincent began his teaching at Cambridge. At Oxford we are told that the school was founded shortly after the acquisition of the house of William de Wileford, which occurred in 1229. Vincent de Coventry must have inaugurated his lectures at Cambridge shortly after this, for in 1236-7 he was appointed lector at London (Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 62), being succeeded at Cambridge by John de Weston (ibid., p. 63). But we know that John de Weston was fourth lector at Cambridge (ibid., p. 71), so that even if each man held office for only one year it would put Vincent's tenure back to about 1232 at the latest. 3 See Little's essay: 'List of Custodies and Houses in the Franciscan Province of England' in Franciscan Papers, Lists and Documents, pp. 217-29. 4 Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 44. 2

12

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ability.1 He was followed by Robert de Thornham, who had been the first Warden of the new convent at Lynn (c. 1230-2) and was then 'for many years' custos of Cambridge.2 The multi anni of which Eccleston speaks probably lasted from his appointment in 1232 to the time of his departure from England in 1250 on a mission to the Holy Land in search of martyrdom.3 During his years of office as custos three new houses were founded in his area (in addition to the existing friaries of Cambridge, Norwich and Lynn)—at Bab well, near Bury S. Edmunds in 1233, at Ipswich some time before 1236 and at Colchester about the same time.4 Meanwhile the friars were rising to fame and the Cambridge house was already being talked about in East Anglia. As early as 1230 this friary was well enough known to be mentioned in the Mortuary Roll of Lucy, foundress and first prioress of the Benedictine nunnery of the Holy Cross and S. Mary at Hedingham in Essex,5 whilefifteenyears later we find, among a list of churches which offered prayers for the soul of Lucy, Countess of Oxford, who died on February 3rd, 1245, mention of the Church of the Friars Minor at Cambridge.6 Thus the friars at Cambridge were beginning to play a part in the general life of the community besides the work which they were doing, both evangelistic and academic, in Cambridge. And 1 Ibid., p. 4; Fitzmaurice and Little, Materials for the History of the Franciscan 3 Province of Ireland, pp. xi and I. Eccleston, de Adventu, p. n o . 3 'Non sine fervore triumphalis martyrii' says Adam Marsh in a letter to William of Nottingham; Monumenta Franclscana, i, p. 313. 4 Little, Franciscan Papers, Lists and Documents, pp. 219-20. For an account of the troubles experienced by the friars at Bury S. Edmund's, see 'Processus contra Fratres Minorcs qualiter expulsi erant de villa S. Edmundi' in Arnold's Memorials oj S. Edmund's Abbey, ii, pp. 263-85. 5 Little, op. clt., p. 128, from Brit. Mus. MS Egerton 2849, and see New Palaeographical Society, vol. i, Pt. i, plate 21. The entry reads: 'Titulus fratrum minorum commorantium apud Kantebr'. Anima Dotnine Lucie priorisse de Hengham et anime omnium fidelium defunctorum per misericordiam dei requiescant in pace. Amen. Concedimus ei commune beneficium ecclesie nostre. Oravimus pro vestris. Orate pro nostris.' 6 Hist. MSS Commission, 5th Report, p. 322. Nearly a century later we find the house mentioned in a Mortuary Roll sent out by the Prior and Convent of Ely on the death of John de Hotham, Bishop of Ely, in 1337: 'Titulus ecclesie fratrum minorum Cantabriggie'; Cambridge Antiquarian Society, Proceedings, i, p. 139.

THE HOUSE OF BENJAMIN THE JEW: I225-I267

yet they were still uncomfortably housed in the old synagogue, living cheek by jowl with jailors and criminals. If, as appears probable, they had but the use of a single large room, it must have served them as chapel, refectory, kitchen, dormitory, chapterhouse and lecture room. This might have been tolerable in the early days when there were only five or six friars, but it must have proved most inconvenient when the numbers started to grow, and when students other than the friars began to attend lectures in the friary. It was clear, then, that some enlargement of the quarters was essential. The first step was to build a chapel; and so, on some piece of land adjoining the house, the friars put up their first place of worship. It was small and simple enough, for Eccleston describes it as 'so very poor that a carpenter in one day made and set up fifteen pairs of beams'.1 Presumably he means that these beams were enough to support the whole roof of the chapel, and the fact that the work was done by a man single-handed implies that the beams were small and light. At any rate the suggestion is of a very humble building such as would have delighted S. Francis, who, in his Testament, appealed to the brethren to see that all their churches and other buildings were poor and insignificant.2 But the erection of a chapel, admirable enough in itself, did little to relieve the pressure on the rest of the house. Nor could this pressure become anything but greater as the work and numbers of the friars grew. The earliest date for which we can give an exact figure for the Cambridge house is 1277, when there were thirty friars there.3 But as early as 1239 there were thirteen friars 1 Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 28: 'ut carpentarius una die faceret et erigeret xv coplas tignorum'. What precisely this means is a little obscure; see Little, Franciscan Papers, Lists and Documents, p. 129 n. for a discussion of the correct translation of the phrase 'coplas tignorum'. Eccleston's subsequent statement that, at the time of the building of the chapel, there were only three 'fratres clerici' shows that it must have been in the early days of the foundation. 2 Testamentum S. Francisci in Opuscula, ed. Lemmens, p. 80; cf. Documenta Antiqua Franciscana, ii, pp. 97-8, for other indications of S. Francis' views about building. 3 P.R.O., E101/350/23: 'Item in pascendis fratribus minoribus Cant' per duos dies per elemosinarium regis, xxs'. This, at the rate of A,d. each per diem would allow for 30 friars.

14

THE HOUSE OF BENJAMIN THE JEW: 1225-1267

at Reading1; and four years later there were fifteen at Chichester and Winchelsea, sixteen at Lewes and twenty at Salisbury and Southampton.2 There can be very little doubt that the Cambridge house was at least as big as Salisbury and Southampton if not bigger, so that it is probable that by 1240 there were at least twenty to twenty-five friars there. It was clear, then, that the single room of their lodgings, even with the addition of the tiny chapel, was becoming hopelessly inadequate for their purposes. It was no wonder, then, that in 1230 the townsfolk tried to acquire a better site for them, or that, when that attempt failed, they sought about obtaining the other part of the house of Benjamin the Jew. Eccleston writes as follows: When the vicinity of the jail proved intolerable to the friars, since there was but one entrance for jailers and friars, the lord King gave ten marks to buy the rent, whereby satisfaction should be made to his exchequer for the rent of the area.3 This transaction actually took place in 1238, for the Close Rolls record that in June of that year Henry III wrote to the burgesses of Cambridge to inform them that he has granted to the Friars Minor of Cambridge, for the extension of their quarters, the house and buildings which had formerly belonged to Benjamin the Jew and had been used as a jail, while he also cancelled the rent due to him and gave the bailiffs ten marks towards building a new jail.4 This was of great advantage to the friars, making it possible for them to spread themselves over the whole house and relieving them of the embarrassment of having to share their entrance with the jailers. The increased accommodation made it possible for the next Provincial Chapter to be held at Cambridge. It was held some time during the summer of 12405 and probably lasted three days, 1

Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 174. Roles Gascons, ed. F. Michel, i, p. 252. In this year the number at Reading had increased to seventeen (ibid., p. 254). 3 Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 28. The chronicler then goes on to describe the building of the chapel, but, in so doing, he appears to fall into some confusion. It is pretty clear that the building of the chapel took place some years before the attempt to buy the other part of the house in which the friars lived. 4 Cal. of Close Rolls, Henry III, 1237-42, p. 61. 6 Little, Franciscan Papers, Lists and Documents, p. 209. 2

15

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being presided over by William of Nottingham, then vicar of the Provincial Minister, Haymo of Faversham. The King gave ten marks (£6 13s. 4^.) towards the expenses of the Chapter, and a further gift of ten marks was sent by the Queen.1 If we assume that the King's gift was reckoned on the usual basis of fourpence a day for each friar it would appear that the Chapter was attended by about 130 friars. It is, of course, impossible to say where they all slept or where their meetings were held. Since it can hardly be supposed that the house of Benjamin the Jew would have been large enough to accommodate them all, many must have slept out, and it is probable that one of the local churches was borrowed for their corporate worship and discussion.2 But it was not only at times such as these that the old house was proving itself inadequate. The number of friars at any time resident at Cambridge was undoubtedly growing, and their school was attracting students not all of whom were members of the Order. It was clear that preparations would have to be made for a new building where the friars could be more comfortably housed. In making this decision the Cambridge friars came into line with most of the other Franciscan communities in England. The days of damp cellars and draughty huts were passing away. Gradually and perhaps inevitably the friars were settling down to a more static kind of life than that envisaged by S. Francis, who would have nowhere to lay his head and was not above destroying with his own hands the modest houses which the friars were beginning to build.3 For forty years the Cambridge friars had been content with the Jew's house and the tiny chapel which they had built; but it clearly could not be their permanent home. Their numbers were rising, their congregations were increasing, their influence in 1 Cal. Liberate Rolls, Henry III, i, p. 501; Cal. CloseRolls, Henry III, 1237-42, p. 208. The Queen orders that, notwithstanding a previous command of the King to give 100s. to the Friars Minor of Cambridge, if not already given to them, ten marks are to be sent for their Chapter. This is dated July 20th, 1240. 2 Another Chapter was held at Cambridge in August 1246, but no more, so far as is known, until 1279. After that they were held there in 1285, 1292, possibly 1316, and 1334 (Little, Franciscan Papers, &c, pp. 209-11). 3 See the story of the destruction of the house at S. Mary of the Angels in

2 Celano, § 57, Speculum Perfectionis, § 7.

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the town was growing rapidly. Expansion, therefore, was essential. They must have a place where they could carry on their evangelistic and teaching work in comfort. As early as 1238 the Dominicans had been busy building their friary on the site where Emmanuel College now stands,1 and in 1249 the Carmelites, after a short sojourn at Chesterton, moved to Newnham, 'where they built', says Cooper, 'a handsome church, cloister, dormitory and all necessary apartments, occupying altogether three acres of land or more'.2 Hitherto the Franciscans had been the guests of the citizens and it was, therefore, to them that the friars appealed for help in acquiring a better house. The townsfolk seem to have recognised the reasonableness of their plea and enquiries were made as to a suitable site. The position finally chosen was an area, reckoned as six acres or more,3 on the corner of what are now Sidney Street and Jesus Lane.4 The land appears to have been already built on, but all existing tenements were destroyed in order that the friars might build their convent there. The text of the Hundred Rolls suggests that the new friary was built by public subscription. With the building of the new house we reach the end of the first chapter in the history of the Cambridge Franciscans. For over forty years they had endured the inconvenience of a most inadequate house which, for part of the time, they had had to share with the town jail. Yet those forty years had been a time of real progress. The repeated efforts made by the townsfolk to 1

Cal. Close Rolls, Henry III, 1233-42, p. 61, and cf. W. Gumbley, The Cambridge Dominicans, p. 7. 2 Cooper, Annals, i, p. 45. The Austin Friars did not come to Cambridge until nearly the end of the century. 3 It was more likely three acres; see below, p. 40, n. 1. 4 Rotuli Hundredorum, ii, p. 360. The date is 1274 and the text is as follows: 'Item fratres minores in villa Cantabrigiensi commorantes similiter habent quendam locum ubi manent et ubi ecclesia eorum fundata est, qui quidem locus continet in se sex acras terrae et amplius in longitudine et latitudine, in quo loco diversae solebant esse mansiones in quibus multi inhabitabant qui solebant esse geldabiles et ausiliant ad villam predictam. Hunc vero locum habent et tenent dicti fratres in perpetua eleemosina de perquisitis et de dono plurimorum. De quibus vero habent locum predictum, et utrum habeant confirmacionem antecessorum domini regis vel non, ignorant'. c

17

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assist the friars show that the work of the community was appreciated, and it is natural to suppose that the friars were giving good service to the town in preaching and in works of mercy. Nor was it only in the town that the friars had made their mark. They had come to Cambridge as evangelists but they soon began to acquire a reputation as scholars, and the theological school of the friars played an important part in the growth of the University.

18

CHAPTER II

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: 1225-1306

once the Friars Minor had decided that it was both unreasonable and impracticable to forbid the brothers to take any interest in scholarship it was not long before plans were made and the foundations laid of an educational system which should embrace all members of the Order. Mention has already been made of the changes which took place about the year 1230 when the friars' schools at Paris, Oxford and Cambridge all came into existence. By the time of the General Chapter of Narbonne, which was held in 1260, we find an educational system well established with provision for the proper training of teachers to lecture to the friars in each convent.1 It had now become obligatory on all friars, except the illiterate, to devote part of their time to reading and writing, while the Order gave permission for each province to send two friars to study at Paris. The general scheme for the education of the friars was as follows. Each convent was to have its own lecturer, partly to give the necessary groundwork to novices and young friars, but also to deliver lectures to the whole community in order to help them in their preaching. Then, in each custody, there was to be set up a school for more advanced work, so that younger men who showed promise might go ahead with their studies without having to go too far afield. Finally, there were to be the schools in the Universities to which the most apt pupils could be sent in order that they might graduate in theology and themselves become lecturers in the other convents. It was thought desirable that each WHEN

1 The Chapter of Narbonne is the first of which the full decrees arc knownThey are printed in Archiv fiir litteratur- und Kirchengeschichte, vi, pp. 33-5 and 87-138. They have been re-edited by Fr. Bihl in Arch. Franc. Hist. vol. xxxiv (1941), pp. 13-94.

19

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community should have always one friar as a lecturer, and one in training to take his place when the time came. The choice of those who were to be trained at the Universities was in the hands of the Provincial Chapters, while the friars thus selected were known as studentes de debito. This, however, was not intended to prevent any individual convent from sending one or more of its men to the University if it could afford to do so. Such students were known as studentes de gracia.

Various regulations were laid down from time to time as to the conduct of these students. In the first place, they must have devoted at least three or four years to scholastic training before going to the University, and they were to go only on the authority of the Provincial Chapter and Minister. They must be intelligent, healthy, eloquent, peaceable and of good report, and they must continue with their studies for four years. On their return to their own convents they must bring with them satisfactory reports on their work and their behaviour.1 Later Chapters added to these regulations. In 1282, student friars were ordered to take their share in begging and to go out boldly (confidenter).2 In 1310 they were forbidden to have more books than were necessary for their work or such as were outside their immediate subject.3 In 1316 they were expressly forbidden to dabble in alchemy.4 In 1331 they were ordered to keep to their studies for a whole year at a time, except during those periods when it was their duty to go out and preach or beg.5 These all show that student friars were expected to take their part in the general life of the community, and were not to regard themselves as superior people or as exempt from the more disagreeable duties which fell to a mendicant. So far as England is concerned the prime mover in the development of the educational organisation was the second Provincial Minister, Albert of Pisa. He succeeded to this office in 1236, on the death of Agnellus, and held it for two and a half years until he was elected to succeed Brother Elias as Minister General. During the time in which he held office in England he appointed lecturers 1 3

Archiv fur Lit. and Kirch, vi, pp. 54, 108-10. 4 Ibid., p. 69. Arch. Franc. Hist, iv, p. 293. 2O

2 5

Ibid., vi, p . 50. Ibid., ii, p. 413.

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at seven convents—London, Canterbury, Hereford, Leicester, Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford.1 His work was continued by William of Nottingham and the appointment of lectors went ahead, for Eccleston tells us that by 1254 the friars in England maintained thirty lecturers who solemnly disputed and a further three or four who lectured without disputation.2 At this time there are known to have been about forty houses in England, so that if Eccleston's statement is correct it means that the ideal of each convent having its own teacher had been practically achieved. And indeed there is little doubt that this was so. To the places which are mentioned in the Chronicle it is possible to add Gloucester, where schools of theology were in existence in 1246,3 Norwich, which was applying for a teacher in 1250 or 1251,4 and Northampton, where a school was being built in 1258.5 And we know that in later years even the remoter convents had their lector. For example, among those licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Carlisle in 1355 was a friar called William de Dacre who was then lector to the Franciscans of Carlisle.6 1

Eccleston, de Adventu, pp. 62-3. * Ibid., p. 63. 3 Cal. Close Rolls, Henry III, 1242-y, p. 447. 4 Monumenta Franciscana, i, pp. 319, 321. 5 Cal. Close Rolls, Henry III, i256-c>, p. 241. 6 Carlisle Registers: Welton, f. 118. In addition to the list of lectors at Oxford and Cambridge the following are known to have held such office in the friaries: BODMIN, Alfred, c. 1350 (Regist. T. Grandisson, i, pp. 420-1); BOSTON, Simon Jorz, 1300 (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 237), John de Moreton, 1318 (Lincoln Registers: Dalderby, iii, ff. 411-2); BRIDGWATER, Aaron, 1318 (Regist. J. Drokensford, p. 11), Geoffrey Pollard described as legista, c. 1450 (V. C. H, Somerset, ii, p. 152); BRISTOL, Gilbert de Cranfort, c. 1235 (Eccleston, p. 63). John Fraunceys, 1382 (Regist. R. Salopia, p. 95); CANTERBURY, Henry de Coventry, c. 1235 (Eccleston, p. 62); CARLISLE, (See above); CHICHESTER, Thomas Hatton, 1373 (Canterbury Registers: Wittlesey, f. 62b); COVENTRY, John Bredon, 1421 (Coventry LeetBook, pp. 35-6), William Wall, 1532 (Martin, Franciscan Architecture, p. 66); HEREFORD, William de Leicestria, c. 1235 (Eccleston, pp. 62-3), Walter de Raveningham, c. 1260 (Ibid., p. 72n.), Walter, 1293 (Ann. Monast., iv, pp. 513-4); LEICESTER, Gregory de Bosellis, c. 1235 (Eccleston, p. 63), Simondez Harmer, 1538 (Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 27); LEWES, John Cavendish, 1373 (Canterbury Registers: Wittlesey, f. 62b); LONDON, Vincent de Coventry, c. 1236 (Eccleston, p. 62), John Attewille, 1368 (Little and Easterling, Franciscans and Dominicans of Exeter, pp. 23-4), William Thorpe, 1468, John Furner, 1483, Henry Sedbar, 1489, Ambrose Kell, 21

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: I225-I306

The English friars were therefore successfully carrying out the plan of providing a teacher for each convent. They seem also to have been equally successful in setting up a more advanced school in each custody, though there is no real evidence of this from the thirteenth century. The first definite piece of evidence that such studia were in existence is in the papal constitutions of Benedict XII in 1336, where it is provided that No friar shall be chosen to lecture on the Sentences (i.e. to qualify for the degree of B.D.) in the Universities of Paris, Oxford or Cambridge unless he has previously lectured on the four books of the Sentences, together with the writings of the approved doctors, in other places of study which are reckoned as studia generalia in the Order, or in the following convents, viz. Rouen, Reims, Metz, Bruges, London, York, Norwich, Newcastle, Stamford, Coventry, Exeter, Bordeaux, Narbonne, Marseilles, Asti, Nagy-Varad (Hungary), Prague, Pisa, Erfurt, Rimini and Todi. 1

The seven English houses here mentioned represent the seven custodies into which the province was then divided. Thus, in addition to the ordinary lecturer assigned to each convent, these seven houses were providing a more advanced course in theology exactly in conformity with the plan which the Order had intended to put into action. Lastly we come to the highest stage in the educational scheme —the schools at Oxford and Cambridge. They were probably the earliest to be established and were making rapid progress during the thirteenth century. To them would come students who had first performed the necessary exercises in the schools of the 1514, and John Pereson, 1527, all called cursor theologiae (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, pp. 65-8), Gilbert Mylbourne, custos pkilosophiae, 1523 (London Registers: Tunstall); NEWCASTLE, Robert de Brun, cursor summariorum, 1350 (York Registers: Zouche, f. 279b); NORWICH, Dr Vergraunt (?), 15th c. (See below, p. 338); RICHMOND (Yorks), Robert Lexham, 1350 (York Registers: Zouche, f. 280); SOUTHAMPTON, John de Pageham, 1326 (Winchester Registers: Stratford, f. 15); WINCHESTER, William Chitterne, before 1326, and William de S. Albano, 1326 {Ibid., f. 15); WORCESTER, Robert de Crull, 1285 {V. C. H. Worcs., ii, p. 169), Robert de Foston, n.d. (Worcester Cathedral Library, MS Q. 89). YORK, William Softlaw, 1398 (York Registers: Scrope, f. 226b.). 1 Sbaralea, Bullarium Franciscanum, vi, p. 30; quoted by Little, Studies in English Franciscan History, pp. 166-7. These constitutions are also printed in Arch. Franc. Hist, xxx (1938), pp. 309-90. 22

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: I225-I306

custodies. This meant that the convents in the University towns were unlike the ordinary convents anywhere else. No doubt eacli contained a group of friars who carried on the ordinary business of the community, but probably the majority of those who lived and worked there were students sent thither for purposes of study. Most of these came from other parts of England, but there is evidence that both the English University schools attracted a large number of students from abroad.1 The first mention of Cambridge in the official documents of the Order is in the constitutions of the Chapter of Paris in 1292, when a letter was sent to the Provincial Minister in England to say that if there were found to be too many foreign students in the house of the Friars Minor at Oxford, especially during the vacations, some might be sent to either Cambridge or London.2 This does not tell us very much, but it shows that Cambridge was by then known as a suitable place to which scholars might be sent. The next reference to Cambridge in the official documents of the Order is in 1336, in the Constitutions drawn up by Benedict XII, where we find Paris, Oxford and Cambridge repeatedly mentioned as the three most important schools in Europe.3 More than a century later, in 1457, the General Chapter at Florence declared that 'all provinces of the Order may send students to the province of England, namely to Oxford and Cambridge and other studia of the same province'.4 It is clear, then, that in the educational system of the Franciscans —not only in England but overseas as well—the two schools at Oxford and Cambridge held a most important place. If they did their work well and turned out, year by year, a steady stream of well-trained and fully-qualified teachers to lecture in the convents, then there was hope that the whole system would work well and smoothly. But if they failed, the system would break down. It was, therefore, of the utmost importance that these two 1 This applied to many of the other Franciscan Schools in England; see my article 'The Foreign Element among the English Franciscans' in English Hist. Review, 1947, pp. 289-303. 3 Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, p. 817; Arch.fiir Lit. undKirch, vi, p. 63. 3 Sbaralea, Bullarium Franciscanum, vi, pp. 25-40. See below, p. 94. 1 Quoted by A. G. Little in Arch. Franc. Hist., 1926, pp. 818-9.

23

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schools, together with the school at Paris, should be well organised, and that the quality of their teaching should be of the highest. When the Franciscans came to Cambridge in or about the year 1225 the University was still in a very rudimentary state. If we date its real beginnings as a studium generale from the Oxford migration in 1209 it had still had but little time to develop, and much of that time had been most disturbed. The Interdict which largely paralysed all Church activity from 1208 to 1213, and the civil disturbances (especially in East Anglia) which followed it, were not conducive to steady growth and progress. Yet the University had gone ahead and was busy organising itself more or less on the same lines as Oxford, with a Chancellor and a body of regent masters to determine the policy of the society and to exercise authority. As yet, however, there was no sign of a faculty of theology. This is not surprising, for such a faculty was by no means common in medieval Universities. Indeed, during the thirteenth century there were only three Universities in Europe which had a fully developed theological faculty—Paris, Oxford and Cambridge.1 The normal University course was the 'arts course', which lasted seven years and was based upon the Trivium (Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric) and the Quadrivium (Music, Geometry, Arithmetic and Astronomy). Theology, like Law, was what we should call a post-graduate course which was taken by comparatively few students, only those, in fact, who were likely to become themselves teachers of divinity. The course of study for a degree in theology was a formidable affair lasting some sixteen or seventeen years and demanding lecturing as well as merely learning and taking part in disputations.2 The student began with a study of the Bible and the 'Sentences' of Peter Lombard and continued with this for eight or nine years. At the end of this he 'responded', that is to say, he 1

Little, Franciscan Papers, &c, p. 122; but see below, p. 36, n. 3. There is a good account of the theological course at Oxford by Little in Arch. Franc. Hist., 1926, pp. 825-31, to which further details were added by Fr. Pelster in Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 25-6. The Cambridge course was, no doubt, similar. 2

24

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took part in a public disputation with one of the masters of theology, after which he was required to lecture on the 'Sentences'. This he was obliged to do for one whole year and then to reside for another two years, during which he lectured on the Bible. He was also required to preach three sermons, and both to oppose and respond publicly in all the schools of theology. This brought him to the time of his 'inception'. After the necessary graces had been passed, and testimonies as to his character and ability delivered, the candidate knelt before the Chancellor and proctors and swore to observe the statutes and customs of the University. The Chancellor then gave him leave to incept. Lastly came the 'vesperies' orfinaldisputation (which, in the case of a friar, would normally be held in his own church), immediately after which the candidate was formally admitted into the gild of masters in the presence of his friends and companions. As a sign of his indebtedness to the society which had thus received him into its fold he was expected to feast the regent masters. The degree in theology was thus a prize for which a man must work hard and long, and the University authorities were, naturally, jealous of their rights both in conferring this degree and in organising and controlling the schools in which the candidate served his apprenticeship. No one could expect to come and set up as a teacher in a University town without the permission of the regent masters, and no school of theology could be established that was not acceptable to the University authorities. Consequently the arrival, first at Paris, then at Oxford and Cambridge, of the Dominicans and Franciscans, and the establishment of schools which owed no allegiance to the recognised officers of the University, created a very serious problem. The University authorities could not but regard the friars with a certain degree of suspicion, while the friars naturally resented any attempt on the part of the University to put limits upon their activity or to discriminate against them. The problem was inevitable, and the tension was particularly acute in the earlier years before the Universities had really found their feet. As Thomas Fuller puts it in his quaint way: These Friars living in these convents were capable of degrees, and 25

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: I225-I306

kept their Acts, as other University-men. Yet were they gremials and not-gremials, who sometimes would so stand on the tiptoes of their privileges, that they endeavoured to be higher than other students: so that oftentimes they and the scholars could not set their horses in one stable, or rather their books on one shelf.1 Each of the three Universities which had theological faculties and which were also embarrassed by the presence of the mendicants had to face this problem; and in order to understand the issue at Cambridge it is necessary to see what was happening at Paris and at Oxford. At Paris the friars first came into prominence in 1229. In this year there occurred the great dispersion of the University and the schools were left more or less desolate.2 A number of students, however, remained, as did also the mendicants who were not concerned in the quarrel and were no part of the University. The regent masters stayed away for about two years, during which the school of the Dominicans continued its work. At the same time it opened its doors to such secular students as had remained behind when the others left. When the masters and students returned to Paris in 1231 they did not immediately see the significance of this, nor did they show any resentment at this development. But shortly afterwards an unexpected event took place. A secular master, John of S. Giles, in the course of a sermon on voluntary poverty, stepped down from the pulpit, was invested with the habit of a Preaching Friar, and then continued his discourse. This immediately created a new problem. That the Dominicans should have their own school of theology with their own teacher was serious enough, but that doctors holding a recognised position in the University should become friars and so, as it were, remove both themselves and their schools from the jurisdiction of the University was another matter altogether. The University authorities at Paris realised that a crisis had occurred. The Dominicans now had two schools and two masters: was there anything to prevent the whole body of secular masters from going over to the ranks of the mendicants if they chose to do so? Meanwhile the 1 2

T. Fuller, The History of the University of Cambridge, ed. Nichols, p. 47. Rashdall, Universities of Europe, new ed. i, pp. 334-43. 26

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: 1225-1306

Franciscan school was rapidly rising into prominence under the leadership of the Englishman, Alexander of Hales, who, after having lectured for some time as a secular, joined the Order of Friars Minor about the same time that John of S. Giles startled the University by becoming a Dominican.1 The University was thus faced with a difficult problem, though no immediate steps were taken against the friars. But the tension was growing and was not eased by papal intervention in favour of the friars. The first 'attack' on the schools of the mendicants came in 1251-2, when a formal statute was passed by the members of the theological faculty with the intention of limiting the rights and powers of the friars. According to this statute each 'college of religious' was to be content with one master and one school, and no bachelor was to be admitted doctor unless he had lectured in the school of one of the masters recognised by the faculty.2 The friars naturally protested against this attempt to interfere with their work and their liberties, and showed their independence in the following year by refusing to obey an order, put out by the University, that all lectures should cease while a certain 'town and gown' dispute was being investigated.3 This incident, as Rashdall says, brought out more clearly than ever the fact that the friars were claiming to enjoy the privileges of membership of the masters' college while they refused to submit to its authority.. . . No one denied the right of a friar duly licensed by the chancellor to teach theology to members of his own order or to others. What the masters asserted was the hitherto unquestioned right of the university to impose its own regulations upon its own members, to refuse professional association to masters who did not choose to comply with them, and to exclude from their society the pupils of such unrecognised extra-university masters. The question which was thus really at stake was the autonomy of the society.4 1 The Dictionary of National Biography gives the date of Alexander's joining the Franciscans as 1225. This is almost certainly too early. It is unlikely that this took place before 1228: Felder, Geschichte der Wissenschaftlichen Studien im Fran^iskanerorden, p . 178. 2 Denifle et Chatelain, Chart. Universitatis Parisiensis, i, No. 200. 3 Rashdall, Universities of Europe, new. ed. i, pp. 377-8. 4 Hid., pp. 378-9. I say nothing here of the secondary dispute which arose over the controversy between Gerard of S. Donnino and William of S. Amour,

27

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: I225-I306

The dispute continued for some time, but the friars were in a strong position. They had most of the best teachers and were attracting such large numbers of pupils that some of the other schools found themselves very thinly attended. But the secular masters continued to fight for their right, and by 1251 had managed to impose limitations and restrictions upon the friars in various ways. One was that the faculties of arts and medicine refused in future to admit regulars as their pupils, another that no religious house (with the exception of the Dominicans) should have more than one doctor as regent. A further result of all this was that secular students now more or less ceased to attend the friars' schools, which were thus left very much to themselves. So much for Paris. At Oxford the same problem as to the status of the friars in the University was bound to arise sooner or later. But there was here this great difference that, so far as the Franciscans were concerned, the first four lecturers in their school had not been friars but seculars—Grosseteste, Master Peter, Roger de Weshem and Thomas of Wales.1 The initiative in starting a school at Oxford had certainly come from Agnellus of Pisa, the Provincial Minister, but the fact that he was able to prevail upon Grosseteste to accept the position of first lector to the friars forged a link between them and the secular body of the University which created a situation very different from that at Paris. Nevertheless the same tension between regulars and seculars was bound to arise in time. It came to a head in 1253, the year of Grosseteste's death. In this year a Franciscan, Thomas of York, a man of great reputation as a scholar, made his application to become a regent master in theology. Immediately a problem arose, for Thomas of York, like most other friars, had not graduated in arts, while the rule of the University was that no one should proceed to lecture in theology who had not previously ruled in arts. The matter was discussed for some time, and the regent body finally agreed that an exception should be made on this occasion in favour of Thomas which only served to exacerbate the hostility between the seculars and the mendicants. 1

Little, Grey Friars In Oxford, p. 30.

28

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: I225-I306

of York but that in future no one should incept in theology unless he had first graduated in arts, as well as delivering the customary lectures and sermons which a degree in divinity demanded.1 The matter seems to have been settled quite amicably, this being largely due to the high reputation of the friars' schools at Oxford, the reasonable and friendly attitude adopted both by Adam Marsh, the leader of the Franciscans at the time, and his opponents, and the fact that until six years previously the Franciscan school at Oxford had been presided over by a secular master. But though the particular problem of Thomas of York's graduation was solved, the more general problem of the relation of the friars to the University remained, and sooner or later difficulties were bound to arise. There is no record of any dispute at Cambridge at this time when both Paris and Oxford w7ere disturbed by the problem of the friars. This is no doubt due to the fact that the University of Cambridge was of later growth and that the faculty of theology was still in its infancy. The Franciscan school had been in existence since 1230 or thereabouts, and the Dominicans must have founded their school soon after their arrival in 123 8, but we have no direct evidence of a theological faculty until about the year 1250. The first evidence of such a faculty is contained in a letter written by R. de Gedeneye, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and the other regent masters to Henry III.2 The letter is not dated but was probably written about 1260. It refers to an elderly scholar, John Auvere, who, after the death of his wife, had 'turned to the fruit of a better life' and for the last eight years had been attending lectures in the faculty of theology at Cambridge.3 About the same time we have further evidence of the school of theology in a bequest made by William of Kilkenny, 1 Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 38; Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, pp. 823-5. The account which Little gives is based on a series of letters written by Adam Marsh to the Provincial Minister: Monumenta Franciscana, i, pp. 338, 346-9. 2 Public Record Office, Ancient Correspondence, vol. iii, No. 2, printed in Shirley, Royal Letters, ii, pp. 165-6. 3 The letter states that John Auvere had formerly been a merchant, upon which Dr Little's comment is: 'It is noteworthy that the first secular student of theology at Cambridge whose name is preserved was a retired tradesman', Franciscan Papers, &c, p. 125.

29

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Bishop of Ely, who died on September 22nd, 1256. In his will he left 200 marks to the Prior and Convent of Barnwell to find two chaplains 'students of theology in the University of Cambridge' to say Mass for his soul.1 But though the actual date of the foundation of the faculty of theology at Cambridge is uncertain, there is no doubt of its rapid growth and success. And this was undoubtedly due more than anything else to the presence of the Franciscan school, which was attracting good teachers and was proving a popular and important element in the life of the University. The first lector to the Franciscans in Cambridge was Vincent de Coventry, who laid the foundations of the school and probably taught in it for some years. He was followed by William of Poitou (Pictavensis), who appears to have held office for a good many years until he was succeeded, about 1253, by Eustace de Normanville. According to Eccleston, the latter had been a rich nobleman and a master of arts and Chancellor of Oxford before he joined the Franciscans, probably at Oxford about 1250.2 About this time the friars of Norwich were founding their school of theology3 and they invited Eustace to be their lector. No doubt they thought that his academic distinction and obvious ability would give them a good start. But Eustace declined the invitation on grounds of ill-health and 'unprepared aptitude of mind' and remained at Oxford, where he became the third in the succession of Franciscan lecturers. A year or two later he was invited to come to Cambridge in a similar capacity and accepted. It is thus possible to date his tenure of the Cambridge lectureship as about 1

J. W. Clark, Ecclesie de Bernewelle Liber Memorandorum, pp. 71, 94-5. Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 64. It is, however, very doubtful whether Eustace de Normanville were ever Chancellor of Oxford; cf. Snappe's Formulary (Oxf. Hist. Soc), p. 323. 3 It is not mentioned by Eccleston in his account of the lectors appointed by Albert of Pisa in 1236: Eccleston, de Adventu, pp. 62-3. But the school existed by 1250, as the letter of Adam Marsh (Monumenta Franciscana, i, p. 319) shows. For the date of this letter see Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 139, n. 8. The school at Norwich afterwards became quite famous and is mentioned in the constitutions of Benedict XII in 1336: Bullarium Franciscanum, vi, pp. 30-1. It has the distinction of having trained a future pope, Peter Philargi de Candia who became Pope Alexander V: Little, op. cit., p. 249. 2

30

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1253-4.1 Eustace was the first of a number of Oxford Franciscans who were sent to Cambridge, no doubt to strengthen the school in its early days. The fourth Cambridge lector was John de Weston, who appears to have had no previous connection with any other University. He was a good scholar and is mentioned by the Franciscan chronicler, Luke Wadding, under the year 1256 together with Vincent de Coventry and William of Poitou.2 His successor, W. de Milton, is probably to be identified with Melitone (or de Mideltoun) who was a scholar at Paris in 1248 and who was later entrusted with the task of completing the summa of Alexander of Hales.3 This offer was made to him in 1256, so that, if the identification is correct, he cannot have remained much longer in Paris, for he must have been at Cambridge about 1257.4 He, in turn, was succeeded by Thomas of York, who, like Eustace de Normanville, came on here from Oxford, where he had been lecturing since 1253. This first group of names shows that the Cambridge Franciscans were obviously anxious to get good men as their lecturers and were attracting some of the most prominent scholars of the day. Of the next five lectors—Humphry de Hautboys, W. de Wynbourne, Robert de Roston, Walter de Ravingham and W. de Assewelle—little is known.5 They must have lectured between 1260 and 1275, possibly each holding office for three years. None of them seems to have come from Oxford or Paris, so that it is possible that by now the Cambridge friars were hoping to stand on their own feet. If that is so, then the attempt seems to have failed, for about 1275 they applied again for a distinguished theologian, this time probably from Paris, and were sent Roger Marston.6 Marston appears to have held the chair at Cambridge 1 Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 139-40. He was succeeded at Oxford by Thomas of York, who appears to have taken office there in 1253 (ibid., pp. 140-1). 2 Wadding, Annales Minorum, iv, p. 57. 3 Eccleston, de Advcntu, p. 71; Glorieux, 'Repertoire des Maitres en Theologie de Paris', in Etudes de Philosophie Medievale, xviii, pp. 34-6. 4 He died before the Chapter of Narbonne in 1260; Arch. Franc. Hist., iii, p. 504. 5 Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 72, and see Biographical Notes below, pp. 146-226. 6 There is considerable doubt about the chronology of the life of Roger

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: I225-I306

from about 1275 to 1279 and was followed by an Oxford friar, Henry de Brisingham, who had been eighth lector there. He does not appear to have stayed very long at Cambridge as in 1280 we find him at Salisbury.1 His place at Cambridge was taken by J. de Lereringfot (or Letheringsett), who was succeeded a few years later by one of the most distinguished men in the Order, Thomas de Bungay, who had been tenth lector at Oxford and Provincial Minister, c. 1272-5. He must have come to Cambridge about 1282 as fifteenth in the series of masters. He has been traditionally associated with Roger Bacon2 though no evidence has yet come to light to show any connection between the two friars. The only reasons for thinking that they may have known one another are that they were more or less contemporaries and were both interested in mathematics and natural science.3 Bungay was lector at Cambridge about 1282-3 and was followed by a series of seven men of whom very little is known—Robert de Worstede, Henry de Apeltre, Bartholomew de Stalham, Richard de Southwark, Richard de Burton, Geoffrey de Tudington and John Russell.4 These seven probably held office from about 1283 to 1293, when once again the Cambridge friars were sent a Marston. In 1891 Little assumed that Marston had lectured at Oxford before going to Cambridge {Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 157). But in 1926 he was not satisfied with this and suggested that the words in Eccleston, incepit Oxonie, after Marston's name were a mistake for incepit Cantabrigie {Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, p. 856). This was disputed by Father Pelster in 1928 (Scholastik, iii, pp. 542-3). In 1933 Little returned to the problem and pointed out that whereas Eccleston normally says of those who came to Cambridge from Oxford sed incepit Oxonie, in the case of Marston he says simply incepit Oxonie without the sed, suggesting that he may have incepted at Oxford after his regency at Cambridge. Little would therefore give the dates of Marston's career as follows: at Paris c. 1270-4; at Cambridge c. 1275-80; at Oxford 1280-82; Provincial Minister of England 1292-98; died at Norwich 1303 (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 93-5). 1 See below, p. 156. 2 E.g. in Robert Greene's play The Honourable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, c. 1590. 3 Bungay's only extant work is a treatise De celo et mundo in a MS at Caius College, Cambridge, No. 509,ff.209-252^ see Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 153-4. But he is also known to have written on the Sentences: Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, p. 7;. 4 For what is known of these friars see Biographical Notes below, pp. 146-226.

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: 1225-1306

lecturer from Oxford. This was Walter de Knolle, who incepted at Oxford probably about 1287.1 For a time after this he was in the West with Richard Swinfield, Bishop of Hereford,2 but he appears to have come to Cambridge about 1293. He, again, was followed by a group of five men of whom very little is known— J. de Kymberley, W. de Fingringho, J. de Limpenho, Richard de Temple and Geoffrey Heyroun.3 It is probably safe to say that these men held office from about 1293 to 1303. During this time the Cambridge friary was for a time the home of one of the wandering stars of the scholastic firmament, John Duns Scotus. He was never lector to the Cambridge friars but he seems to have studied with them for a few years, c. 1297 to 1300.4 In the year 1303 we reach a fixed date and the arrival of another Oxford man, Adam de Hoveden, who was certainly regent master in this year. We have, then, here a list of twenty-nine friars who in turn presided over the Franciscan school at Cambridge. Of them, six came to Cambridge after having lectured at Oxford, while two came from Paris; and there can be little doubt that these were sent in order to strengthen the school and, with it, the faculty of theology. As A. G. Little says: It looks as if the position of the Faculty of Theology at Cambridge were not firmly established, and the rulers of the Franciscan Province of England were strengthening it by sending a succession of their most experienced and distinguished members, who already had they're ubique docendi, as teachers. The practice continued down to about 1300; to that time about one-third of the Cambridge Masters of the Friars Minor were already graduates in theology of other universities. From about 1300 the practice entirely ceases.5 If this was the policy of the authorities in the Order there seems no doubt that it was successful, for at the close of the thirteenth century the faculty of theology at Cambridge seems to have 1 Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 76-7. He appears in the Assisi MS as 'Cnol'. 2 Regist. R. Swinfield, p. 249. 3 Eccleston, de Adventu, pp. 72-3, and cf. Biographical Notes below, pp. 146 ff. Limpenho is the only one who has left any record behind him. 4 Arch. Franc. Hist. 1928, pp. 608-11, and cf. Little, 'Chronological Notes on the Life of Duns Scotus' in Eng. Hist. Review, 1932, pp. 568-82. 6 Little, Franciscan Papers, &c, p. 135; cf. Melanges Mandonnet, ii, p. 400.

D

33

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: 1225-1306

been in a flourishing condition. This has recently been revealed by a study of a manuscript in the municipal library at Assisi (No. 158) which contains, among other things, a list of the questions disputed at Cambridge and Oxford in the latter part of the thirteenth century with the names of the disputants and responders.1 The earliest quire (ff. 76-83) contains fourteen questions disputed at Cambridge in the customary fashion by a group of men including the Franciscan J. Letheringsett, the Dominican John Trussebut, the then Archdeacon of Ely (Ralph de Walpole, afterwards Bishop of Norwich) and several others. The questions are of the usual sort: 'Whether angels can read the thoughts of men', 'Whether the resurrection body can be so sublimated that it can fit into a smaller space than its natural bulk would demand' and so on.2 There is also a later Cambridge period of two years in length, falling at least a year later than the earlier period. For the first year of this second period no name is mentioned but that of Thomas de Bungay, fourteen of whose quaestiones are given.3 Several of these are also concerned with the activities of the angels but some deal with questions concerning the Incarnation: e.g. 'Whether the separation of the flesh of Christ from the flesh of the blessed Virgin came about instantaneously'.4 In the second year of this period (probably 1283) four names appear: the Franciscans Thomas de Bungay and Robert de Worsted, a man called Grenesby who has not been identified, and one called 'So' who may have been the Franciscan Richard de Southwark.5 The questions here show more variety. One, for example, is concerned with the Sacrament ('Whether in the sacrament of the altar the Body of Christ is truly and substantially present'), another with a moral problem: 'Whether 1 Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, c. 1282-1302, Oxford Historical Society, vol. xcvi. The title is misleading, as a good deal of the book is concerned with the theology and theologians of Cambridge. "-Ibid., pp. 65, 113-4. 3 If Bungay came to Cambridge in 1282 this would probably be the year in which these questions were disputed. His name does not occur in thefirstperiod, which probably fell in 1281 when John Letheringsett was regent master. 4 Ibid., pp. 105-6. 5 Ibid., pp. 106-9, 112-3. Worstede succeeded Bungay as lector, probably in this year, 12S3, and Southwark became lector about 1288.

34

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: I225-I306

every sin however trivial, such as a lie spoken in fun, a humorous remark and so forth, committed with full deliberation, is a mortal sin', another with a theological question: 'Whether the Holy Spirit is love proceeding from the Father and the Son'. The picture which all this gives is of a very vigorous society, conducting itself according to the customary methods of the schools; and it shows that by the latter part of the thirteenth century the faculty of theology at Cambridge was fully alive. Moreover, according to the evidence of these disputations, Franciscans, Dominicans and seculars seem to have been working quite amicably together. There is here no sign of tension, still less of the open hostility such as existed at Paris. Yet the constitutional question of the place of the mendicants in the University was bound, sooner or later, to arise. It had arisen at Paris with unhappy results; it had arisen at Oxford and had been peacefully shelved; the time was coming when it would have to be faced at Cambridge. The trouble began in 1303. In this year the University, under the leadership of its Chancellor, Stephen de Haslingfield, passed certain statutes or amendments to existing statutes to which the friars took exception. Part of their complaint was that the University authorities had taken advantage of the absence from the country of the Provincial Minister of the Franciscans1 and the Provincial Prior of the Dominicans to attack the liberties and rights of the mendicants. The offending statutes were as follows. The first was that 'in matters touching the common utility of the University only that shall be held as statute which is ordained by the greater and saner part of the regent and non-regent masters, the carrying out of the statutes and dispensations being reserved to the regent masters'.2 The effect of this decree was to put all legislative power into the hands of the masters, thus taking it away from the faculties. This seriously affected the mendicants, who had hitherto exercised considerable power in the faculty of 1

The Provincial Minister of the Franciscans in this year was Adam of Lincoln, who had left England to attend the Chapter General held at Assisi in 1304. 2 Little, 'The Friars v. the University of Cambridge' in English Hist. Review, 1935, p. 687.

35

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: 1225-I306

theology owing to their numbers. The second statute laid it down that three times a year, on Advent Sunday, Septuagesima and Ash Wednesday, sermons were to be preached in Great S. Mary's by the Chancellor or by regent masters appointed by the Chancellor, while the third declared that every Bachelor of Divinity before his inception as doctor must preach publicly in S. Mary's on a day assigned by the Chancellor, and shall not preach elsewhere. To this the friars took great exception, and it was mainly on this issue that the struggle took place. The statutes were agreed to in November 1303, and the leaders of the friars, Nicholas de Dale the Dominican and Adam de Hoveden the Franciscan, first protested and then appealed to Rome. Early in March 1304 two friars, one of each Order, were dispatched to Rome as proctors of their respective convents.1 On April 25 th they laid their case before the Curia and a week later a congregation was held at Cambridge to which Dale and Hoveden were cited to explain their behaviour. They refused to withdraw their appeal and were both excluded from the society of the masters and deprived of all position in the University.2 Meanwhile the proctors at Rome were pressing their claims, and on July 1 st they appealed against the Chancellor, the regent masters and a certain Augustinian friar, John de Clare, who was particularly obnoxious to the mendicants in that he had taken the side of the University and had been awarded special privileges as a result. In their appeal the friars plead among other things that they are now required to preach their examinatory sermons outside their own churches, which has never been done elsewhere,3 1 Both were called John, but no surname is given. The Franciscan was probably either John of Ipswich (de Gypeswico) or John de Ringstede, both of whom were concerned with the appeal. See Cambridge University Registry, Hare MSS, Liber Privilegiorum et Libertatum Univ. Cantab, ff. 28b, 29a. 2 The whole dispute is described at length in a roll now in the library of the Dean and Chapter of Durham (Locellus 1, No. 20); see below, pp. 227-38. 3 'Quod nunquam fuit factum nee auditum, nee Parisius nee Bononie, ubi sunt sollempniora studia, nee alibi.' This is interesting partly in that it does not mention Oxford, and partly in the suggestion of a theological faculty at Bologna since it has generally been held that no such faculty existed there before 1360 (Rashdall, Universities of Europe, new ed. i, pp. 252-3; Arch. Franc. Hist, xxvii, p. 3). There is, however, some evidence for such a faculty at Bologna in the twelfth

36

THE FRIARS AND THE UNIVERSITY: I225-I306

and ask what was to happen if the rector of S. Mary's refused to have a friar preaching in his church, as some of the masters who were beneficed had done. Such was the appeal laid before the Curia on July ist, but on July 7th the Dominican Pope Benedict XI died; and the whole matter had to be postponed until a new pope was elected. During this interregnum a more conciliatory spirit seems to have arisen, and by the time the question could be taken up again the parties had agreed to a compromise. The final award was made at Bordeaux on July 17th, 1306. There were present at this meeting John de Westerfield and Peter de Ruda, proctors for the Cambridge Dominicans, Richard de Insula and John de Ipswich, proctors for the Franciscans, together with Stephen Segrave, Chancellor of the University, and Thomas de Kyningham. The University authorities refused to withdraw the three offending statutes but 'riders and explanations were added by which the rights and privileges of the friars were maintained'.1 So far as preaching in Great S. Mary's was concerned, the University agreed that mendicants might preach their examinatory sermons in their own churches.2 The expulsion of Dale and Hoveden was now withdrawn, and peace seems to have been restored. Thus ended the first brush between the friars and the University at Cambridge. Compared with the dispute and bitterness at Paris it was a trivial affair, and one which could probably have been settled more quickly had each side shown a little more patience. But it was a symptom of a real malaise, the malaise which each of the three Universities with theological faculties was having to face and which was brought about by the presence, in the midst of a secular University, of a number of theological schools which appeared to claim all the advantages of membership in the society and early thirteenth centuries which died out and was reconstituted in 1360 (A. Sorbelli, Storia delta Universitd di Bologna, cap. v). 1 Little in English Hist. Review, 1935, p. 688. 2 'Concordatum est per istud statutum quod non intendebat universitas nee intendit impedire nee inperpetuum impediet fratres predicatores vel minores quin possint eisdem diebus et horis in lods suis libere predicare' (Hare MS). Cf. Eng. Hist. Rev. 1935, p. 693; Documents relating to University and Colleges of Cambridge, i, p. 397.

37

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without accepting the authority of the regents. In the following century, as the University became more sure of itself, the strain became greater; but the mendicants were still in a strong enough position to maintain their rights, and the problem was never finally se ttled until the dissolution of the religious houses in the sixteenth century.1

1 There is a brief account of the dispute of 1303-6 in Fuller, History of the University of Cambridge, ed. Nichols, pp. 53-4, which is more or less copied by Cooper {Annals of Cambridge, i, pp. 70-1) without adding anything to it. Fr. Gumbley gives a short sketch of it in The Cambridge Dominicans, pp. 12-14; but the best account is by Dr Little in Eng. Hist. Review, 1935, pp. 688ff, 'The Friars v. the University of Cambridge'. It is not mentioned at all by Mullinger in The University of Cambridge from the Earliest Times to the Royal Injunctions of i5j5. So far as I know, the Durham MS, which describes the earlier stages of the dispute, has not been noticed.

38

CHAPTER III

THE NEW HOUSE F O R about forty years the friars had been but poorly accommodated in the old house of Benjamin the Jew; but about 1265 plans were set on foot for a new building, and by 1267 operations seem to have been well advanced. In making this move to more commodious surroundings the Cambridge friars were doing what most of their colleagues in other houses were doing. By 1260 the policy of the order as a whole was towards larger and better friaries, though simplicity was still urged.1 But the days of mudand-daub huts had gone. In future the friars were to be housed much like the older religious orders in monastic buildings designed very much on the same plan as the existing abbeys and priories, though generally on a smaller scale. By 1270 there was much new building going on among the English Franciscans. Three explanations of this have been suggested. One is the generosity of devout citizens among whom the friars were popular and who wanted to give them decent buildings. Secondly, open-air preaching being more or less impracticable in the climate of England, the friars needed spacious churches in which to bring together their congregations, the existing parish churches being often too small. Thirdly, the custom of people desiring to be buried in the friars' churches was growing.2 Whatever the reasons, practically all the earlier foundations were engaged in some form of expansion or rebuilding in the latter part of the thirteenth century. Dr Little says: 'I have noted evidence of enlargement or rebuilding of churches or houses in 34 of the English friaries between 1270 and 1320'.3 As there were, 1 Decrees of the Chapter of Narbonne, 1260, in Archiv fur Litt. und Kirch., vi, pp. 94-5. Bonaventura was in favour of large and well-built houses which he defended at some length; Opera Omnia, ed. Quaracchi, viii, pp. 341, 367. 2 A. R. Martin, Franciscan Architecture in England, pp. 11-12. 3 Little, Studies in English Franc. History, p. 73.

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THE NEW HOUSE

in 1270, probably 49 Franciscan houses in England this means that nearly all of them were active in this way. Cambridge was, therefore, very much in line with other houses. The site chosen for the new house contained, according to the Hundred Rolls, rather more than six acres.1 This was rather larger

Part of J. Essex's plan of Old Cambridge than London, which had four acres, and rather less than Oxford, which had eight or nine.2 It was bounded on the north by what is now Jesus Lane but which was previously known as Nuns' Lane since it led to the Nunnery of S. Radegund. On the west side the friary was bounded by the main road leading to the bridge,3 on the south by what is now Sussex Street, and on the 1 It is difficult to account for this according to our reckoning as the site actually measures not much more than half of this. But one cannot be sure of medieval methods of mensuration. In an Act of Parliament of 1592-3 'for the late scite of the dissolved House of the Gray Friars in or nere Cambridge' the space is described as 'one parcell of lande conteyninge by estymacion thre acres be it more or lesse': see Enactments in Parliament specially concerning the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (Oxford Hist. Soc), i, pp. 212-4. 2 Martin, Franciscan Architecture in England, p. 9. 3 It was later known as Conduit Street and is now Bridge Street,

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east by a wall which ran behind the houses which now stand in Malcolm Street. Through the middle of this plot of land ran the King's Ditch, an open gutter which was probably first made about 1200 or earlier, but which was enlarged and deepened by Henry III in 1268.1 To this original plot a few small additions were made by the friars in later years. In 1328 they obtained a licence in mortmain to extend their boundary to the east by the acquisition of a narrow strip of land for which they paid sixpence a year to the commonalty of Cambridge.2 Four years later they bought a small parcel of land from John Pittok 'for the enlargement of their house'. This piece of land had previously been held of the Prioress of S. Radegund's, to whom John Pittok had paid a yearly rent of eight shillings. This rent was now cancelled. The jurors, however, who investigated the matter said that the land was worth no more than two shillings a year since it was not built on.3 In 1353 the 1

A. Gray, The Town of Cambridge, p. 51. Cal. Patent Rolls, Edward III, 132J-30, p. 260. The deed is in the Public Record Office, Inquisitions ad Quod Damnum, C. 143, File 202, No. 20. The jurors say that the King may, without loss or prejudice to himself or to anyone else, concede 'dilectis sibi in Christo Gardiano et Fratribus Ordinis Minorum de Cantebr' quandam venellam in Cantebr' aree ipsorum Gardiani et Fratrum in eadem villa ex parte orientali contiguam, continentem in se viginti et sex perticas in longitudine, et unam perticam et sex pedes ad utrumque caput, et quindecim pedes et dimidium in medio eiusdem venelle in latitudine, habendam et tenendam sibi et successoribus suis ad elargacionem aree supradicte imperpetuum. Item dicunt quod non est ad nocumentum communitatis ville Cantebr' eo quod eadem communitas percipiet annuatim de eisdem Gardiano et Fratribus pro predicta venella includenda sex denarios, et quod dicta venella nichil valet per annum ultra predictos sex denarios in forma predicta solvendos.' A perch is now 5£ yards but varied considerably in the Middle Ages. If, however, we take it as j£ yards the plot of land would be 143 yards long and 7J yards wide at each end, and 5 yards wide in the middle. In 1500-1 the friars were still paying their sixpence to the town 'for a lane enclosed near their orchard' (Cambridge Borough Documents, i, p. 39) and the payment seems to have gone on for some years. From 1515 onwards the accounts of the treasurers of the town of Cambridge record a regular annual receipt: 'Item of the Wardeyn and Covent of the Grey Fryers for a common lane enclosed byhynde theire place next unto theire Garden called the orcheyerd . . . vi^'. This continues for some years. (Treasurer's Accounts, Town of Cambridge, Bowtell MSS, Downing College). 2

3 Cal. Patent Rolls, Edward III, 1330-34, p. 261. P.R.O. Inquis. ad Quod Damnum, C. 143, File 218, No. 14. The deed does not anywhere state the area of this land nor where it stood. Since it had belonged to the Prioress of S,

41

THE NEW HOUSE

friars again enlarged their property by the acquisition of two messuages in Cambridge given to them by William Horewode and John de Berneye. One of these had been held of the Prioress of S. Radegund's for a yearly rent of four shillings and the other of the borough authorities for two pence. The jurors swear that the annual value of these two plots of ground was no more than sixpence, which, together with the previous document, makes it look as if the Prioress had been doing very well with her property.1 From this date onwards for 150 years there is no evidence of any attempt on the part of the friars to add to their property, nor do we know of any gifts of land made to them. But by the end of the fifteenth century they appear to have possessed a house near Parker's Piece, called Chadenhall, for which, in 1491, they paid two pence in hagable rent to the King.2 The house was presumably let to a tenant, the rent being paid into the common fund of the friary. But how this house came into the possession of the friars is not known. Of the general lay-out of the buildings which the friars erected at the close of the thirteenth century we know very little. After the Dissolution in 1538 the buildings passed into the hands of Trinity College and everything was pulled down except the refectory, which, in due course, became the chapel of Sidney Sussex College, until this also was destroyed in the eighteenth century. Consequently Lyne's plan of Cambridge drawn up in 1574 and Hamond's map of 1592 give us little help. Both show the frater (though Lyne puts it too near the wall) and Hamond includes a number of buildings some of which had no doubt been put up since the departure of the friars, though one appears to be the north walk of the cloister.3 There is an earlier plan of part of the town of Cambridge, known as Essex's plan, which is supposed Radegund's it is probable that it lay to the east of the friars' land, though there can be no certainty about this. 1 Cal. Patent Rolls, Edward III, zjSo-55, p. 436. P.R.O. Inquis. ad Quod Damnum, C. 143, File 311, No. 5. The deed gives no indication of the size or position of these two messuages. 2 Cambridge Borough Documents, i, pp. 62, 135. 3 See below, p. 47.

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THE NEW HOUSE

to represent what Cambridge was in the time of Henry III. 1 This shows the frater in its right position with a larger building to the north which clearly represents the church. There is also a smaller building against the south wall which may possibly have been the schoolhouse.

Part of Lyne's map of Cambridge (1574) The Church Although there is no trace of the church now existing there is no doubt that it stood on the northern part of the site not far from what is now Jesus Lane. Until the building of the new wing at Sidney Sussex this part of the land was the Fellows' Garden. Thomas Fuller, writing in 1655, says: The area of this church is easily visible in Sidney College garden, where the depression and subsidency of their bowling-green east and west present the dimensions thereof, and I have oft found dead men's bones thereabouts.2 With the exception of London, the Franciscan churches in England were not very large when compared with the average building of the older monastic orders. The church of the Grey 1 The plan appears in the MSS of William Cole and is reproduced in Stokes, Medieval Hostels in the Univ. of Cambridge, facing p. 58. See above, p. 40. 2 Fuller, History of the University of Cambridge, ed. Nichols, p. 46,

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THE NEW HOUSE

Friars at Coventry was 236 feet long and 30 feet wide, that at Lichfield 181 feet by 58 feet in the nave and 25 feet in the choir. The church at London was about 300 feet in length and 85 feet wide.1 The Cambridge friars would probably have liked to build a fairly large church since theirs was an important house and always had a large number of friars. But the presence of the King's Ditch cutting their land into two parts limited the space available, and the church cannot have been more than about 180-200 feet in length. Yet it was a spacious building, so spacious that it was regularly borrowed by the University early in the sixteenth century for the ceremonies of 'Commencement'.2 The first time when the friars' church was used in this way seems to have been in 1507-8, when the University paid a considerable sum of money for putting up platforms in the church. Three carpenters appear to have been employed, and a labourer; and the proctors also spent 40s. in repairing the windows of the church.3 In the following year the Franciscan church was used again, and on another occasion the pulpit was borrowed for use in the church of S. Mary.4 From this time onwards it looks as if the church of the friars were used regularly for University functions,5 and a 1

Martin, Franciscan Architecture in England, pp. 77, 168, 192. A similar arrangement seems to have obtained at Caen in the latter part of the fifteenth century, where the University took the Franciscan convent under its protection and guardianship: Rashdall, Universities of Europe, new ed. ii, pp. 198-9. 3 The Proctors' Accounts for this year include the following: 'Item M. bedforth pro Roberto carpentario componente fabricam commensationis in ecclesia Minorum cum servitore suo per quinque dies . . . iiijs ij d . 'Item eidem Roberto pro signatione partium stagiorum quomodo coniungerentur . . . iiijd. 'Item alteri carpentario laboranti per quatuor dies et medium cum predicto Roberto . . . ij s iij d . 'Bruno Cornelio pro reparatione vitri fenestrarum in ecclesia Minorum per M. vicecancellarium doctorem Robson . . . xls. 'Thome Robynson carpentario operanti per quinque dies apud Minores in componendis stagiis erga commensationem . . . ij s .' Grace Book B, i, p. 231. 4 Grace Book B, i, p. 237. 5 In 1509-10 the Proctors' Accounts record the payment of iSs. 'pro vectione et revectione stagiorum erga commensationem' without saying where they were 2

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THE NEW HOUSE

payment by the University to the Warden of forty shillings in 1518 suggests that some damage had been done to the structure or to the windows either by the crowds attending the ceremony or by the workmen putting up the platforms.1 A few years after this, in 1523, the University was finding the friars' church so convenient that a grace was passed that in future the ceremony of Commencement should always be held in the church of the Friars Minor and that the Warden and convent should be paid an annual fee of ten shillings for looking after the wood which was sent across for the necessary structures.2 The church was certainly so used up to the academic year 1536-7, but after that time there is a short break. By the year 1540 the place was, of course, deserted, for the friars had all been turned out in 1538. But the church was still standing, and the University authorities saw no reason why it should not still be used for their functions. So once again the planks and timbers were carted there, the church was cleaned down, and the congregation assembled for the ceremony of Commencement.3 The church was probably built on the model of most Franciscan churches, without transepts but with a long and spacious choir and nave. The nave had at least one aisle and almost certainly had two. There is no record of when it was built, but in 1267 an incident took place which makes it appear that the church, or at any rate a part of it, was then in use. In that year a chaplain of Barnwell had been expelled and excommunicated by the Prior. taken, and the same applies to the following year (Grace Book B, i, pp. 244, 250). In 1511-12 the setting up of the pltaforms was 'in domo fratrum' {ibid., ii, p. 2), but for the next three years there is no indication as to where the Commencement ceremonies were held. In 1515-16 four shillings was spent in the carriage of stuff 'ad fratres minores' (ibid., p. 47) and in the two following years masses were said 'apud fratres' (ibid., pp. 53, 62). 1 Ibid., p. 69. In 1527 the University paid 3-r. <\d. to the friars 'pro depositione fenestrarum in generali inceptione' (p. 146). This was cheaper than having to pay 40^. for mending the windows after the students had broken them! 2 University Accounts quoted by Willis and Clark, Architectural Hist, of the Univ. of Cambridge, ii, p. 724. The payment of the fee 'pro tuta custodia fabrice nostre' appears every year in the Proctors' Accounts from 1523 to 1536 inclusive (Grace Book B, ii, pp. 117, 118, etc.). • In this year the Proctors' Accounts include 'Pro theatro rursum erigendo in edibus franciscanorum et pro vectura eiusdem ac mundacione ecclesie earundem edium, xvs ixd>; Grace Book B, ii, p. 227, and cf. pp. 231-2.

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THE NEW HOUSE

He fled into the town of Cambridge, whither two canons were sent to apprehend him. They found him walking in Jews' Lane (in vico Judaeorum), which must have been somewhere near S. Sepulchre's church. On seeing his captors the man fled into the church of the Friars Minor, whence he was eventually dragged out by the feet.1 But if the church was built as early as 1267 it was not until 1349 that it was consecrated. The deed of consecration was drawn up on January 30th of that year by Bishop Lisle of Ely and is contained in his Register.2 It does not tell us much about the church, and we are left to find out what we can about it from other sources. That it contained at least two other altars besides the high altar is clear from certain bequests. A will of John Hermer, made in 1508, includes a request that the testator should be buried 'in the church of the grey freeres in Cambrigge before our lady in the south yle' 3 ; while a will of Nicholas Symond, who died in 1533, states that he wishes to be buried in the same church before the altar of S. Barbara.4 As there were normally two or three altars in a Franciscan church apart from the high altar it appears that, at Cambridge, the altar in the south aisle was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and that in the north aisle to S. Barbara. That part of the floor of the church was tiled is suggested by the fact that a few years ago, when the foundations of some new buildings were being dug at Sidney Sussex College, a few medieval tiles were discovered.5 The constitutions of the General Chapter at Narbonne in 1260 forbade the friars to adorn their churches with campanili,6 yet 1

J. W. Clark, Ecclesie de Bernewelle Liber Memorandorum, pp. 125-6. There was a later case of a fugitive seeking sanctuary in the Franciscan church. This occurred in 1286 when a woman called Agnes Mackerell fled to the church of the Friars Minor but afterwards escaped and was outlawed (Cooper, Annals of Cambridge, i, p. 61). 2 Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 17b. 3 Prerog. Court of Canterbury, Bennett, 14. 4 W. M. Palmer, Cambridge Borough Documents, i, p. 156. 'St. Barbara seems to have been particularly venerated in Franciscan churches. There were chapels dedicated to her at Lewes, Winchelsea and elsewhere': Martin, Franc. Architecture, p. 26n. 5 One of these was given to me by the Revd. K. Riches, who was chaplain of the College at the time when this discovery was made. 6 Archivfur Litt. undKirch., vi, pp. 36n., 95.

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THE NEW HOUSE

many of the Franciscan churches in England had bell-towers, some of which are standing to this day.1 The friars' church at Cambridge certainly had such a feature, for the draft petition of the University in 1540 mentions, besides the church, 'the bell towers

Part of Hamond's map of Cambridge (1592) and the bells', while an inventory of 1547 refers to 'ye cloyster next to ye steple'.3 The Cloister

The Cloister undoubtedly stood on the south side of the nave of the church and occupied the space between the wall of the church and the door of the frater. There is no knowing whether 1

E.g. at King's Lynn, Coventry and Richmond (Yorks). Willis and Clark, Architectural History of Cambridge, ii, pp. 726, 752. There were three bells left when the King's officers visited the friary in November 1538 (see below, p. 259). 2

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or not, as in some places, there was a passage between the south wall of the church and the cloister, nor can we trace two cloisters as at London, Walsingham and Lichfield.1 In many Franciscan houses where space was limited some of the domestic buildings were placed over the cloister, and it is probable that some such arrangement obtained at Cambridge, for a 'particular survaye' made on the 20th of May, 1546, speaks of'the Church and Cloysters with all other the Houses thereupon bilded'.2 Of the dimensions of the cloister it is impossible to give any details. In Essex's account of the old frater he says that the distance from this to where the church originally stood was about fifty yards.3 This would just fit in with the dimensions of the site if the church were built fairly close to the north wall, as seems probable. Since the frater is not directly north and south it looks as if the cloister were not perfectly rectangular. The Frater The Frater was the only building which was not destroyed in the sixteenth century. It appears in Lyne's map of 1574 and in Hamond's map of 1592 and was subsequently incorporated into the new foundation of Sidney Sussex, where it was converted into a chapel. It therefore appears in Loggan's print of about 1688 as the eastern side of the court next to the first court. It is shown as a building of two storeys, the upper being the library, which is lit by seven or eight dormer windows. These were no doubt put in later; but the lower part of the building, which was used as a chapel in Loggan's time, preserves sosething of the appearance of a medieval building. It was pulled down in August 1776 but there exists a description of the building made by James Essex at the time of its demolition.4 From this it appears that the old refectory of the friars was a room 69^ feet long, 23^ feet wide and 25 feet high. The floor was made of some kind of rubble ('plaister or 1

Martin, Franc. Architecture, pp. 29-30. The conjectural plan on p. 50 does suggest that there may have been a second cloister in the S.W. corner. 2 Willis and Clark, Architectural History of University of Cambridge, ii, p. 725. 3 See below, Appendix D., pp. 239-41. 4 British Museum, Add. MSS 6761, and see below Appendix D. 48

THE NEW HOUSE

common mortar mixt with clay') and there were three windows on each side. At the south end were two doors leading through to the kitchens and there must originally have been a door at the north end giving access to the cloister. There were also doors leading out of the room on each side at the southern end. Essex also found traces of a pulpit and of a lavatorium with a drain to carry off the water into the King's Ditch. He also records the discovery, under the floor, of a quantity of'small bones of fowls, rabbits and other animals, with pieces of spoons'. The Schoolhouse

It is impossible now to trace the position of the schoolhouse, the existence of which we only know of from sixteenth-century documents. Since it was used to some extent by seculars as well as by the friars it is possible that it was built so as to have direct access to the street, either the main road or what is now Sussex Street. Essex's plan1 marks a building at the extreme south of the friars' land abutting on to the street, but there is nothing to show what this represents. The only thing which can be said with certainty about the schoolhouse is that it was a building of two storeys, the lower being a kind of undercroft.2 It was not pulled down until 1553-4, in which year the accounts of the Senior Bursar at Trinity mention a certain sum expended 'for taking downe of the scholehouses at the freres'.3 Other Buildings In addition to the church, the cloister, the refectory and the schoolhouse the friars had a number of other buildings. Some of these have disappeared completely without leaving any trace or record behind them. We have no evidence, for example, as to where the dormitory stood, nor the chapter house, infirmary, guest house, warden's lodgings, or library. That most if not all of these buildings were at one time to be found here may be x

Stokes, Medieval Hostels of Cambridge, p. 58.

2

The inventory of 1547 mentions 'ye turrett under ye scole howse', Willis and Clark, op. cit., ii, p. 726. » Ibid. E

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0

CONDUIT ST.

Now

20 40 60 80 100

S I D N E Y ST-

Suggested reconstruction of the site

160 Ft.

THE NEW HOUSE

taken for granted, but the wholesale destruction of the buildings in the sixteenth century leaves us completely ignorant as to their position in the lay-out of the friary. There were, however, a few out-buildings of which something is known. For example, the survey made in 1546 mentions 'the Orchard, Brewhouse, Malthouse, Millhouse and Garner',1 and the inventory of the following year speaks of the lime-kiln, which was clearly at or near the north-east corner of the cloister.2 In the same year part of the site was let to a man called William Laing, the portion so let being described as the hole orchard wch belonged of late to ye house called the gray friers . . . wth also certaine houses, that is to say a malthouse, kilnehouse, old brewhouse, being situate within the procincte of ye said friers; with also a certaine garden plot lieng on the east side of the said kilnehouse and joining on the southside on Walls Lane3 with also a conteined little house standing at the orchard gate on the west entring of the saide orcharde . . . with also much voyd ground lieng on the north side from ye said houses . . . that is to say xxtie taylors yerdes from the northe ende of the old Brewhouse and so discending eastward by a right line toward the orchard aforesaid. This suggests that the brewhouse and malthouse were east of the kilnhouse but probably still on the same side of the King's Ditch. Another lease granted to Ralph Bickerdike in 1549 mentions a 'Storehouse'. This would appear from the description to be not one of the out-buildings of the friars, but none other than the north walk of the cloister, which had been converted into a barn. It is mentioned again in a lease of 1562, where it marks the dividing line between the land let to Bickerdike and that now leased to William Hedley,4 and appears in Hamond's map of 1592. 1

Willis and Clark, Arch. History of Univ. of Cambridge, ii, p. 725. Ibid. The inventory speaks of some lead being stored 'in ye corner of ye cloyster next to ye steple and lyme kylne'. 3 Willis and Clark print this as 'one Wall's land', but 'on Walls Lane' is a better reading. 4 Willis and Clark, Arch. History of University of Cambridge, ii, p. 727 and n. A later lease of the same land in 1570 speaks of 'a storehouse on the east parte' and 'one house or Bearne standing at the sowthe end'. The latter would appear to be the 'great storehouse' of the two previous deeds. The 'storehouse on the east part' may be a later building. 2

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The Conduit The water supply in most medieval towns was notoriously bad, and one of the ways in which the friars showed a markedly progressive spirit was in providing themselves, whenever possible, with supplies of good, clean water.1 At London an aqueduct was built about 12552 and it seems that the Cambridge friars lost no time in bringing a good water supply to their convent as soon as the buildings were ready to receive it. The usual date given for the making of the friars' conduit is 1325,3 based upon the record of the negotiations for the purchase of a strip of land for this purpose. But this seems to have been the second conduit which they built, the first having been made some fifty years earlier. The first piece of evidence is a letter from Robert de Cruce to Edward I about 1280,4 pointing out to him the need for a good water supply for the friars at Oxford. The latter part of the letter is defective but refers to something which the King's brother, Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, together with a certain good woman, had done for the friars of Cambridge.5 This is all so conjectural that it does not take us very far. But the Rent Roll of Barnwell Priory in the year 1295 mentions a plot of land lying 'not far from the conduit of the Friars Minor and alongside it next to the green road going towards the fen'.6 This proves that the friars had a conduit as early as 1295 and thus supports the supposition that the good work which the Earl of Lancaster had done for the friars was in helping them to lay on a water supply. There is also some reason for supposing that when the friars had made their new conduit in 1325 they sold the old one to the town, for some time 1 One of the reasons which the friars gave for this was the need of pure water for the chalice; Little, Studies in English Franciscan History, p. 14. 2 C. L. Kingsford, The Grey Friars of London, pp. 48-51. 3 E.g. A. Gray, Cambridge, an Episodical History, p. 91. 4 P.R.O. Ancient Correspondence, XVI, 90; cf. Little, Studies in English Franciscan History, pp. 14, 223-4. 5 'Existimo quod dominus E. frater vester communica (?) . . . sicut facit fratribus Cantebrig' sui gracia quando circa (?) . . . occupati. Quedam autem bona matrona assignauit. . . r' c' (?) retribuat ei deus.' • 'Non longe a conducta Fratrum Minorum in longum iuxta viridem viam versus moram.' J. W. Clark, Ecclesie de Bernewelle Liber Memorandorum, pp. 282-3.

THE NEW HOUSE

afterwards, in 1424, we find a record in the accounts of John Willymot and Thomas Fullere, treasurers of the town, that they had received the sum of 6s. 8c/. for stone sold from the watercourse called 'Freresconditt'.1 This must refer to the old conduit which the friars had abandoned about a century before. It was in 1325 that the friars, finding their existing aqueduct unsatisfactory, carried through a series of complicated negotiations for the purchase of a long strip of land in which to lay the pipes of a new conduit. The source of the water supply was a spring in a field then known as 'Bradrusshe', on the right-hand side of the road leading to Madingley, where the conduit house stands.2 The course of the pipe then runs across the fields until it reaches the north-west corner of the grounds of Trinity College. It then crosses the river, passes under the place where the present Master's Lodge stands, runs across the Great Court under what was then King's Childer's Lane, and so across the modern Whewell's Court to the Franciscan house.3 In order to secure the land for the conduit the friars had to buy seventeen strips of land, each two feet wide and making altogether 5,510 feet in length.4 About a century later the Master and Scholars of King's Hall, having enlarged their site on both sides of the line of the conduit, addressed a petition to the Warden and Convent of the Friars Minor for permission to draw off a 'qwil' of water from the conduit for their own use, but the friars refused to allow this. However, in 1441 the authorities at King's Hall obtained Letters Patent empowering them to draw off a certain amount of water from the friars' conduit. Against this the friars protested vigorously and there was some dispute; but the King's Hall men got their way, though they showed some willingness to help in the expense of upkeep. In 1466-7 they gave a sum of 20?. 'in pure alms' to the friars for the repair of the aqueduct together with a further two 1

Cooper, Annals, i, p. 172. There is now a house built close to the spring and appropriately called 'Conduit Head'. 3 Willis and Clark, Architectural History of University of Cambridge, ii, p. 428. 4 Ibid., ii, p. 678. The vendors include the Hospital of S. John, the Prior of Barnwell, the Abbess of Waterbeach, the Prior and Convent of Huntingdon and a number of laymen. 2

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shillings for the refreshment of three friars and four labourers engaged in work on the conduit for two days.1 The conduit eventually passed, together with the rest of the property, into the hands of Trinity College and now serves the fountain 'whose splash at midnight has been grateful to the ears of so many generations of dwellers in the Great Court'.2 The Library It is unlikely that the friars had any room set apart as a library. Few of the Franciscan houses had any such room at any rate until later years, and then only if their collection of books was too big to be comfortably housed elsewhere.3 The buying of books, or even the possession of those given by others, was strictly forbidden by S. Francis.4 Nevertheless, as soon as learning was adopted as one of the natural and important activities of the Order the accumulation of libraries inevitably began. Thus by 1260 the General Chapter found itself forced to legislate about books and the amount of money which might reasonably be spent on them,5 and in the fourteenth century many friaries undoubtedly had good libraries. In 1344 Richard de Bury complained that the friars were getting all the best books. Whenever it happened [he writes] that we turned aside to the cities and places where the mendicants we have mentioned had their convents, we did not disdain to visit their libraries and any other repositories of books; nay, there we found heaped up amid the utmost poverty the utmost riches of wisdom. We discovered in their fardels and baskets not only crumbs falling from the master's table for the dogs, but the shewbread without leaven and the bread of angels having in it all that is delicious; and indeed the garners of Joseph full of corn, and all the 1 Architectural History of University of Cambridge, ii, pp. 429-30. At the same time the friars were accused of digging wells and carrying out other operations detrimental to the water supply of others in the town {ibid., p. 680). 2 G. M. Trevelyan, Trinity College, p. 14. 3 Martin, Franciscan Architecture, p. 35. 4 He once remarked to one of the friars: 'Know for certain, little brother, that there is not one brother in the order possessing books who will not be sorry, at the hour of death, that he ever had them': 'Una Nuova Compilazione di Testi intorno alia Vita di S. Francesco' in Arch. Franc. Hist., xx, p. 540. 6 Archiv fur Litt. undKirch., vi, p. i n ; cf. J. W. Clark, The Care of Books, p. 72.

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spoil of the Egyptians, and the very precious gifts which the Queen of Sheba brought to Solomon.1 A few years later Richard Fitzralph, Archbishop of Armagh, launched his attacks on the friars, one of the charges which he brought against them being that they bought so many books. The friars have grown so numerous and so wealthy [he wrote] that in the Faculties of Arts, Theology, Canon Law and, as some assert, Medicine and Civil Law, scarcely a useful book is to be found on the market, but all are bought up by the friars, so that in every convent is a great and noble library, and every one of them who has a recognised position in the universities (and such are now innumerable) has also a noble library.2 How far these criticisms and statements were justified it is hard to say, for only one complete catalogue of the library of a house of friars has been preserved. This is the list of books belonging to the Austin Friars of York, and it certainly gives an imposing array of books worthy to be compared with the libraries of most of the possessionate orders.3 But there is no such catalogue of an English Franciscan library, and we are bound to piece together such information as we can get from various sources. The Papal Constitutions for the Order of Friars Minor in 1336 ordered that a book-list should be drawn up by each convent each year4; but it is most unlikely that anything much was done to see that this injunction was carried out. Quite recently, however, a book-list of this kind was discovered, though a good deal earlier than the Constitutions. A copy of the Sophismata of Albert of Saxony was found to contain, on some leaves bound into it, a list of books acquired by some Franciscan house at the close of the thirteenth century.5 It begins with a Psalter, Epistles of S. Paul 1

R. de Bury, Philobiblon, ed. E. C. Thomas, p. 203. Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 61. 3 M. R. James, 'The Catalogue of the Library of the Augustinian Friars at York' in Fasciculus J. W. Clark dicatus, pp. 2-96. The list contains 646 volumes, of which only 6 are known to exist (N. R. Ker, Medieval Libraries of Great Britain, pp. 119-20). This gives some idea of the destruction of MSS and valuable books at the Reformation and after. * Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, vi, p. 33. 5 The leaves were transcribed in E. P. Goldschmidt's Catalogue, No. 30, 1938, pp. 1-3, and cf. Ipswich Library Journal, 1939, pp. 14-17. Goldschmidt's catalogue suggested that the books belonged to the Carmelites of Ipswich, but 2

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and a Bible given by William sometime Rector of Heacham. Then we are told that Brother Geoffrey de Necotone 'procured' for the convent a large Bible in two volumes for the frater (to be read during meals) and six service-books for the quire. After this there is a note that Lady Joanna de Berkele gave a number of books 'per fratrem J. de Berkam' and the same friar 'procured' (i.e. in this case 'bought') certain books with money given by the Rector of Lavenham and the Countess of Oxford. Various friars gave books, including Richard de Ickworth and Oliver de Stanway, both of whom were at one time connected with the Cambridge house.1 Other donors were the Rector of Cambes and the Rector of Tivetshall and a few laymen. The number of books added to the library during the year is about 45 and they include liturgical books, patristics, mathematics, law books and a few classical texts. This interesting document gives us some idea of the growth of a friars' library at the end of the thirteenth century, and shows us how the books were acquired. Most were given by supporters, clerical and lay, but a few were bought out of money which had been given to the friars. At Cambridge the Franciscans probably had a good library, though little is known of it now. As a centre of learning, with its own theological school to which students were attracted from all over Europe, it would certainly need a good collection of books, for the University Library hardly existed before the fifteenth century.2 It is probable that the Cambridge house did, in fact, contain three separate libraries—the 'convent library' such as any friary would have, the 'students' library' for the use of pupils, and the 'library of the custody' which, presumably, could be used by members of other houses in East Anglia. The libraria studentium is mentioned in a manuscript now at the Vatican (Ottoboni, 325), further investigation makes it clear that it was a house of Franciscans, several of the friars who are mentioned being certainly of this Order. There is no indication as to which convent it belonged to, but the prevalence of East Anglian placenames makes it almost certain that it was in the custody of Cambridge. 1 See below, pp. 186, 212. 2 During the first quarter of the fifteenth century was formed 'the little library of 52 volumes' and by 1473 there were only 330; J. B. Mullinger, The Univ. of Cambridge, i, p. 323.

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a copy of the Scholastic History of Peter Comestor which was given to this library by Brother Nicholas de Ramesey.1 The library of the Custody is mentioned in a fourteenth-century copy of Thomas Aquinas now in the Bodleian (MS Bodley, 355, ff. 159223) which is marked as belonging to the custody of Cambridge but also to the friary of Walsingham.2 If the Austin Friars of York had a library of over six hundred volumes it is reasonable to suppose that the Grey Friars of Cambridge had at least as many, though evidence of the size and nature of their collection is entirely lacking until the very end of their time, when Leland visited them. He mentions three volumes of the works of Grosseteste (two containing his letters and one a couple of sermons), a letter of William of Nottingham, and a volume by Ambrosius Ausbertus.3 He must, of course, have found many other books though possibly, as at Oxford, in a bad state of preservation.4 None of the books which Leland saw at Cambridge is known to exist now, but a number of volumes from the library have been traced. The most interesting group is that which eventually found its way into the Vatican Library in the middle of the eighteenth century. Most of these can be traced back to Cardinal Sirleto (who died in 1575) and some of them even further back to Cardinal Marcello Cervini (afterwards Pope Marcellus II), who bequeathed them to Sirleto in 1555. How the volumes found their way from the presses of the Cambridge friars to the libraries of Rome no one can say, though they must have gone very soon after the Dissolution, if not before it. Mr Bannister makes two suggestions : one that Cervini was on the look-out for books and had a buyer in England who acquired these books at the Dissolution, 1 'Istum librum contulit frater Nicholaus Ramesey librarie studencium fratrum minorum Cantebrigg': H. M. Bannister, 'Manuscripts of the Cambridge Friars now in the Vatican' in Collectanea Franciscana, i, p. 131. 2 Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 8vo series, No. 51, p. 4. It may be noted here that in the Papal Constitutions of 1336 there is an order that books not needed by the friars may be distributed throughout the custody {Bull. Franc, vi, p. 33). 3 Leland, Collectanea, iv, p. 16. 4 At Oxford he found 'cobwebs in the library and moths and bookworms' and, apparently, nothing but rubbish among the books: Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 62.

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the other that the friars had sent them to Rome for safe custody.1 A third possibility—and really the most likely one—is that the friars had sold a large part of their library in order to pay some of their debts, a theory which would account for the poverty of the library when Leland visited it. The books from the Vatican Library which quite certainly came from the Cambridge Franciscans are the following: two volumes of Hugh de S. Cher, a copy of Eusebius' Church History, given to the friars by Oliver Stanway in 1342, a copy of the Historia Scholastica of Peter Comestor given by Brother Nicholas de Ramesey, and a volume containing works by Bede and others given by Dr Thomas Trumpington, a volume of the Works of S. Bonaventura, a book of Aristotle, and two books containing works by English friars—William of Ockham, Richard Connington and others. In addition there are some books in this collection which bear the names of individual friars, but which almost certainly passed from them into the library of the community. Two of these belonged to Brother William Morris,2 one to Brother John Mendham,3 and four to Brother John de Clare.4 Other books which once belonged to the Cambridge Franciscans have been found in other libraries. Perhaps the most interesting of these is the Greek New Testament, now known as the 'Leicester Codex' which was borrowed from the friars by Erasmus when he was working at Cambridge in 151 i. s Then there are two manuscripts at Caius College—a Greek Psalter (No. 348) which once belonged to that interesting Cambridge Franciscan scholar, Richard Brinkley, and which contains the fragment of the account-book of the convent in 1363 and 1366,6 and a Greek New Testament 1

Collectanea Franciscana, i, p. 125. He is known to have been a Cambridge Franciscan, being so described when he was licensed in the diocese of Ely in 1407 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 206). The books were a volume of Ockham and one of Gregorius Ariminensis. 3 Known as a Cambridge Franciscan in 1470 {Grace Book A, p. 86 and see below, p. 195). 4 There were several friars of this name (cf. Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 218), one of whom was at Cambridge in 1351 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 97b). 5 P. S. Allen, The Age of Erasmus, p. 144, and see the full acccount in J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex. 6 M. R. James, Catalogue of MSS at Gonville and Caius Coll., i, pp. 392-3; J. R. Harris, op. cit., pp. 16-33. 2

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(No. 403) which originally belonged to the Franciscans of Oxford but was borrowed by Brinkley, who wrote his name in it and failed to return it to its owners.1 In the British Museum are two manuscripts which originally belonged to the Cambridge friars. One is a work called Lamentationes Matheoluli which had previously been in the possession of two Cambridge Franciscans, Thomas of Trumpington and Richard Brinkley,2 and the other is a volume of Petrus de Riga.3 Finally there are four manuscripts at Oxford, a volume of the works of Aquinas in the Bodleian,4 a copy of S. Bonaventura on the Sentences which Brother Thomas of Trumpington bought for eight marks and which is now at Balliol (No. 133), a copy of Henry of Ghent's Quodlibeta also at Balliol (No. 214),5 and a volume containing works by a number of Franciscan writers, including John Pecham and Roger Conway, now at Corpus Christi College.6 From the above it is fairly easy to see how the library in a Franciscan house was built up. In the first place some books, though not very many, were bought. Fitzralph speaks of the friars buying up all the good books, but this is clearly an exaggeration. Secondly, a good many were given by sympathetic friends. A number of the books which were added to the library of the East Anglian convent came from this source, and we have further evidence from Oxford7 and from Hereford, where a copy of the works of S. Bernard which had belonged to a certain John Phelippus, and which had been left as a pledge when another book was borrowed, was finally given by his heirs to the convent for the good of his soul.8 But by far the most valuable source of books for the convent library seems to have been the friars themselves. At Ipswich, Hereford, Oxford, Cambridge and elsewhere the libraries grew because the friars themselves managed, by various 1

M. R. James, op. cit., ii, pp. 469-70; J. R. Harris, op. cit., pp. 18-19. Now B. M. Cotton, Cleop. C. ix, ff. 63 et seq. 3 Now B. M. Sloane, 1726. 4 Bodl. 355, ff. 159-223. 5 H. O. Coxe, Cat. Codicum MSS in Collegiis Oxon., i, pp. 40, 67. • Ibid., ii, p. 72. ' Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 55-62. 8 M. R. James, 'The Library of the Grey Friars of Hereford' in Collectanea 2

Franciscana, i, p. 119.

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means, to acquire their own books and generally left them to the community when they died. At Cambridge we have no evidence of books having been bought by the community, nor of any gifts by outsiders, but a number of volumes were left to the conventual library by the friars. Of the 25 or 26 books of which we have traces today about half bear the names of individual friars who were at some time or other members of the Cambridge house. For example, the copy of Eusebius now in the Vatican Library has a note to say that 'I, Brother Oliver de Stanway, having obtained licence of the minister to dispose of my books within the order, do give this book . . . (line erased) A.D. 1342'.1 It is clear from this that many of the friars had their own books, as Fitzralph also complained. Some of these were, no doubt, books which they possessed before joining the Order. 'If novices bring books with them' said the General Chapter of 1260, 'they must be left with the Warden.'2 Some also were bought with money given by friends, the same statutes enjoining that 'students are not to spend on other things alms given them with which to buy books'.3 Of this we have an interesting piece of evidence from Cambridge. A manuscript now at Peterhouse (No. 49), which contains part of the works of Thomas Aquinas and which was written about 1300, has this note: 'scripturam huius libri procuravit frater Ricardus de Ykewrth ab amicis suis dum steterat de conventu Gipewic'. This means that Brother Richard of Ickworth, while studying at Cambridge as a representative of the convent of Ipswich, was given money by his friends to enable him to have books copied for him.4 1

Collectanea Franciscana, i, p. 127, but Bannister misread the name as 'Oliverus de (?) ista Nellzeye (?)'. Stanway's name also occurs on the East Anglian booklist, Goldschmidt's Catalogue, No. 30, p.2. 2 Archivfiir Lift, und Kirch., vi, p. 89. 3 Ibid., p. 109. 4 Arch. Franc. Hist., 1926, p. 817. This 'Frater Ricardus de Ykewrth' is probably to be identified with the 'Frater Ricardus de Hekeworth' of the other book-list; Goldschmidt's Catalogue, No. 30, p. 2. Cf. a MS in the University Library of Cambridge (Mm. 18) which is also of Franciscan origin and has the note: 'Iste liber est Fratris Galfridi de Wyghtone quern fecit scribi de eleemosinis amicorum suorum'.

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But though most of the books were given, and some bought, there is no doubt that some were made by the friars themselves. Writing and studying were laid down in 1260 as an essential part of a friar's life,1 and the transcription of books probably occupied a good deal of their time.2 The Cambridge Franciscans are known to have been transcribers and illuminators of books, for the accounts of Lady Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare, contain the following entry under the year 1351: Item, paid to a Friar Minor of Cambridge for illuminating a book for Madame, 12th of March, 15J. 4
1

Archiv filr Litt. und Kirch., vi, p. 104. Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 55-7, where mention is made of a number of MSS transcribed by William of Nottingham at Oxford, c. 1312. 3 Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 142. Lady Elizabeth left 140.?. to the Cambridge Friars in her will in 1360: J. Nichols, Collection of all the wills . . . of the Kings and Queens of England, p. 33. 2

6l

CHAPTER IV

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS Saint Francis first drew up a Rule for his brethren he declared that they were to live 'without possessions' (sine proprio). No doubt he meant these words to be taken quite literally. The Friars Minor were to have nothing that they could call their own •—not even the clothes in which they stood—but were to be entirely dependent upon the goodwill of the world. But when the Order grew and attracted to itself men who had not come under the direct inspiration of the saint it was inevitable that difficulties should arise over this sine proprio clause and that explanations and interpretations should be demanded. During S. Francis' lifetime it was impossible for much to be done towards meeting this demand. On this point he was adamant, maintaining to the very end that the Lord had revealed to him this way of life.1 But after his death changes began to take place; and, by means of papal bulls and more or less official expositions of the Rule, various relaxations crept in, bringing the friars more and more into line with the existing possessionate orders of monks and canons. There was, of course, much opposition to this, and the story of the struggle between those who wanted to maintain the primitive ideal of an Order of vagrant evangelists and those who were prepared to allow certain relaxations in the cause of greater stability and efficiency is perhaps the most important aspect of Franciscan history during the thirteenth century.2 In the end the controversy turned very largely on the question of money. 'For their labour' wrote S. Francis in the First Rule, WHEN

1

See, for example, the Testamentum in Opuscula S. Francisci (Quaracchi), p. 79. Probably the best account of it is in Gratien, Histoire de la Fondation et de VEvolution de I'Ordre des Freres Mineurs au XIJIe Slide (Paris, 1928). See also Vida Scudder, Franciscan Adventure (London, 1931) and Moorman, Sources for the Life ofS. Francis (Manchester, 1940). 2

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'the brothers may receive all things necessary, except money.'1 Money, to him, meant security; and the desire for security was a sign of lack of faith. So all money was to be regarded as untouchable, and wayward friars who transgressed this rule were liable to find themselves obliged to crawl about with the offending coins in their mouths looking for a heap of asses' dung upon which to deposit them.2 But this sort of thing could not go on. Once the authorities had decided that the Order was not to be confined to a small band of wandering preachers it was inevitable that some method of circumventing this regulation should be found. So, first by the creation of amici spirituales who could hold property on behalf of the friars, and then by the interpositae personae and the theory of 'use' without 'possession' of money, the whole economic structure of the Order was entirely changed and the way laid open for a regular system of receipts and expenditure. The struggle which was being fought out in the Order as a whole had its counterpart in England. The first Franciscans to reach these shores came as paupers. The expense of their passage from France had been paid by the kindly monks of Fecamp3 and they appear to have landed in England with no possessions at all and entirely dependent upon the charity of the faithful. The first few years of their life here were hard and austere enough, and great were the privations which they endured as servants of the Poverello. But, gradually, relaxations were made; and by the end of the thirteenth century the Order presented many of the features of the older monastic orders which S. Francis himself had been so anxious to avoid. When the friars first settled in Cambridge they appear to have been the guests of the municipality. It was the burgesses who gave them a house, and presumably it was they also who looked after them and provided them with the necessities of life. No doubt the friars spent a good deal of time in begging; but, since the people respected them and valued their ministry, they probably had little difficulty in supplying themselves with what they needed 1

Opuscula S. Francisci (Quaracchi), p. 33. • Speculum Perfectionis, cap. 14 (ed. Sabatier, pp. 31-2). 3 Eccleston, de Adventu, pp. 7-8.

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for a simple life. But as the character of the house changed, and their school began to attract friars from outside, the problem of maintenance became acute. By the year 1300 the Cambridge friars numbered about fifty, and the task of feeding and clothing such a community—apart from the upkeep of the buildings, the provision of books, and the expenses of the church—must have caused considerable anxiety. Except for the few acres of their enclosure they had no land; they drew no income from appropriated churches; they had no rents or tithes. Their one source of revenue was what would nowadays be called 'voluntary contributions' which had to be solicited and collected by the friars themselves. It was perhaps with the intention of relieving the friars in the University towns from some of the labour of raising their funds that Edward I in 1304 decided to make an annual grant to each of these houses. To the Franciscans of Oxford he gave fifty marks (£33 6s. 8^0 a year, and to those of Cambridge half this amount.1 Henry III had made earlier grants in kind—oaks for firewood in 1256 and 1257 and timber for building in 1267—but these were casual gifts. Edward's annual grant was intended to be a regular contribution from the Exchequer to the friars and was continued right down to the reign of Henry VIII.2 Meanwhile the friars were beginning to benefit from legacies either in money or in kind. When Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury, died in 1270 he left five marks (£3 6s. $d.) to each house of Dominicans and Franciscans in the Province of Canterbury.3 This, so far as is known, was the first legacy from which the Cambridge friars benefited. But from that date right down to 1

Cal. Pat. Rolls, Edward I, 1301-y, p. 239. Cf. the Acts of Resumption, 1464, etc., which reserve to the friars their right to this annual gift: 'Provided alwey, that this acte, nor eny other acte made or to be made in this present parlement extend not nor in noowise be prejudiciall to . . . the Wardeyn and Covent of the Hous of the Freres Minores in oure Universite of Cambrigge of a graunte made by us to theym of xxv marc to be taken yerely in manner and fourme above said' {Enactments in Parliament specially concerning the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (Oxford Historical Society), vol. 1, pp. 48-51). 2 The last recorded gift seems to have been in 1520 {Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. Ill, p. 365). 3 Wadding, Annales Minorum, iv, p. 240. 64

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the eve of the Dissolution the friars received a number of legacies from all kinds of people.1 Some of the testators were members of the greatest families in the land, men and women such as Humphry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, or Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady Clare, the foundress of Clare College, or Walter Lord Fitzwalter. Other were knights—Sir Giles de Gaddlesmere, Sir John Ingoldsthorpe and Sir Robert Throckmorton.2 Others were citizens of Cambridge such as Alderman Hugh Rankyn, Henry Veesey, apothecary, John Hermer, freemason, and Roger Mason of the parish of S. Radegund. Others again were local clergy, men such as the Rector of Doddington, the Vicar of Swaffham Bulbeck, and the Rector of S. Benedict's, Cambridge. Some came from further afield, showing that the fame of the Cambridge house had spread outside the district—Margaret Odeham of Bury St. Edmunds and Robert Belamy from as far away as York, where he was Master of S. Leonard's Hospital. The legacies vary from the £10 left by Humphry de Bohun in 1361 to the id. bequeathed by John Wright of Bottisham in 15 27. Some left legacies in kind—a quarter of barley,3 five quarters of wheat and six yards of russet cloth, one or more combs of barley or of malt, a 'rood of saffron ground'. Several testators, in recording their legacies, willed that they themselves should be buried in the friars' church and that masses should be said for their souls. This was a very common form of legacy, and most friaries benefited by it. Right down to the Dissolution the privilege of burial in a friary church was one which was much sought after and which was often acquired by the promise of a legacy. The first known burial of this kind at Cambridge was that of Roger Mason, a citizen of Cambridge, of the parish of S. Radegund, who, 1

See Appendix F below, pp. 246-58. The Throckmorton family had several connections with the Franciscans. There was a friar Nicholas de Throgmorton who was ordained in the diocese of Coventry and Lichfield in 1361-4 (Registrum R. Stretton, pp. 169, 177, 190), and the last abbess of the Franciscan nuns at Denny was Elizabeth Throckmorton (A. F. C. Bourdillon, The Order of Minoresses in England, p. 52), a sister of the Sir Robert Throckmorton who left money to the Grey Friars of Worcester, Oxford and Cambridge in 1518 (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 108). * This was the commonest form of legacy in kind (Little, Studies in English 2

Franciscan History, p. 40).

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in 1392, expressed his desire to be buried among the Friars Minor and left them a legacy of ten shillings. Another Cambridge man, John Hermer, who died in 1508, left instructions that his body should be buried 'in the church of the grey freeres in Cambrigge before our lady in the south yle ther', at the same time leaving the friars a legacy of iy. ^d. Thomas Fyneham, who died in 1518, directs that his body should be buried in the chancel of the Grey Friars' church and bequeathes 40s. to the friars. Hugh Rankyn, alderman of Cambridge, who died in 15 21, wished to be buried in the church of the Friars Minor under the same stone where his father and grandfather had been buried before him, and Nicholas Symond, in 1533, wished to be buried in the same church before the altar of S. Barbara. Several testators also gave directions for private masses or left instructions about their burial. Sir Robert Throckmorton, for example, who died in 1518, willed that there be said for my soule in as shorte a space as it may be doon after my deceas . . . ii trentalles in the grey ffreris of Cambrygge . . . and for euery of thes trentalles I will there be gyven Xs apiece. Catherine of Borough Green, who died in 1409, left money to the Friars Minor of Cambridge and expressed a wish that six yards of russet be placed on her body for burial, to be given afterwards to a poor brother of the community to pray for her soul. Thomas Fyneham, who died in 1518, put the following clause in his will: I will that the Warden and Vice-warden of the Grey Freres in Cambrige and iiii other Freres with them of the same place shall bere my body to the buriall within the same place, and they to have for ther labours everych of them xiid. Item I will that one of the Freres Minors in Cambrige shall sey masse daily betwene x and xi of the clok at the awter whereas I am buried by the space of one hole yere next folowyng after my decesse, and he to have for his stipende every day iiiid. Nicholas Symond in 1533, after expressing a wish to be buried in the church of the Friars Minor, desired that the funeral service should be held in S. Benedict's church, after which three friars from each of the four orders were to carry his body to the church of the Grey Friars for burial. Each friar who took part in this was to have one shilling and each house ten shillings. 66

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

At first gifts of money were made to the Order as a whole or to some friary in which the testator had some special interest, and the money so given was used for the common fund;1 but in the fourteenth century we find gifts made to individual friars. This was a much more serious deviation from the Rule, for whereas some justification of a common fund might be made on the grounds of expediency, the idea of a friar himself owning money was entirely opposed not only to the Rule of the Order but to the whole principle of the religious life. Thus when we read in the will of William Menville in 1371 that he has left to Brother Robert de Derlington, O.F.M., the sum of 40J.,2 or that two friars of York, Simon Brampton and William Norton, received 20s. and 3^. 4*/. respectively in the will of Richard Bridesall in 1392,3 we know that we have departed a long way from the original intentions of S. Francis. Such gifts were not unknown at Cambridge. In the will of Hugh de Hastings, Kt, who died in 1347, we find a legacy of 20s. to Brother Thomas Canynge.4 This friar had been lecturer at Cambridge some years before this, though it is not certain where he was making his home when this gift was made.5 A few years later Catherine of Borough Green left 40s. to John Bradfield, a friar minor of Cambridge. It is possible that he may have acted as her confessor and that she was anxious to reward him for his services. Or, of course, he may have been a relative.8 John de Mablethorpe, who was probably at some time a friar at Cambridge and who was confessor to Queen Philippa of Hainault, wife of Edward III, was, in 1370, granted a pension of forty marks a year for life from the Exchequer;7 and in the following year Sir William 1 E.g. Henry III gave the friars of Winchester £10 in 1241, £ 5 in 1244, £13 6s. 8d. in 1246 (for church building), £20 in 1259 for clothes and debts, and £ 3 6s. %d. for building and £10 for clothes in 1261: Little, Studies in English 2 Franciscan History, p. 39. Surtees Society, Wills and Inventories, i, p. 32. 3 Yorks. Arch. Journal, vol. xxxii, p. 283. 4 Surtees Society, Testamenta Eboracensia, i, p. 38. 3 For Thomas Canynge see below, p. 161. 6 W. M. Palmer, History of the Parish of Borough Green, p. 87. 7 Little, Studies in English Franciscan History, p. 78. This was a good deal more than the income of the average parish priest and must have made this friar a comparatively rich man.

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Maunay left five marks to his confessor William Tythemarshe, who had been sixtieth lector at Cambridge and was afterwards Provincial Minister.1 Early in the sixteenth century Thomas Fyneham left the large sum of £20 a year 'to Robert White a Frere Mynor in Cambryge towardes his exhibicion in Oxford or Cambryge to synge for my soule satisfactory by the space of iiii yeres' and in a codicil he left him another ten shillings to buy 'an abyte' and gave him 'the warste fetherbed of two that I doo lye upon and also a bolster and coverying of bleue lying uponn the same bed'.2 But the friars could not depend entirely upon legacies or upon royal or other gifts, and most of their income must have come from begging. At first this was, no doubt, done by the community as a whole, even student friars being told that they must be prepared to play their part and go out in search of food from door to door.3 But as time went on it was found more convenient to assign this task to certain friars who acted as procurators for the rest of the convent and who were responsible for the maintenance of the community. This was a thankless task; and the procurators, or 'limitors' as they came to be called, soon acquired for themselves a bad reputation. Chaucer's friar-limitor of Holderness who, in return for the gifts which people gave him, wrote their names on a tablet with promises to pray for them, and as soon as he was out of sight 'planed out the names everychoon', is a familiar figure in the literature of satire.4 The author of Pierce the Ploughman's Crede complains of the coming of the limitors after harvest determined to make every house contribute some1

Regist. S. Sudbury, i, p. 3. P. C. C. Wills, Ayloffe, 5. See below, pp. 251-2. 3 Archivfiir Litt. und Kirch, vi, p. 50. 4 Canterbury Tales: The Sompnoures Tale, I.50. Chaucer was certainly no lover of the friars. Parkinson tells a story which may in some way account for this animosity. Under the year 1399 he writes: 'I cannot here forbear giving the Reader an Account of an odd Rencounter, which Dr Fuller, in his usual style, tells thus, "I find our famous Poet Chaucerfined,in the Temple, two Shillings, for striking a Franciscan Frier, in Fleet Street; And it seems his Hands ever after itch'd to be reveng'd, and to have his Penny-Worths out of them; as appears in some of his Writings". So that merry man, Fuller'. (Parkinson, Collectanea Anglo-Minoritica, p. 184). 2

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thing towards the maintenance of their friars: 'When bernes ben full. and holly tyme passed Thanne comen cursed freres. and croucheth full lowe; A losel,1 a lymitour . ouer all the lond lepeth, And loke, that he leue non house, that somwhat he ne lacche; And ther thei gilen hem-self. and godes worde turne'.2 By this time the whole business of begging had been fully organised and the country divided up into areas so that the limitors of one friary should not 'poach' upon the preserves of another. But even these restrictions were not always observed. Only about thirty miles from Cambridge was the friary of Ware, founded about the middle of the fourteenth century. In 1395 the Cambridge friars found that their territory was being invaded by the friars of Ware and applied to the Pope for protection. Boniface IX replied in the following terms: A petition has been recently brought to our notice, on the part of the Custos, Warden and friars [of Cambridge] saying that in former times, on account of the studium generate whichflourishesin Cambridge, they have been in the habit of receiving large numbers of friars into their house from many regions and provinces, and to provide them with victuals and other necessities out of the alms begged within the limits of their house, according to the custom of the order. And that near their boundary, in or near the town of Ware, there has now been founded a small friary of the same order whose members, with their agents, have presumed to extend the limits of their procuration to such a distance that the large numbers of friars and students in the said house of Cambridge suffer great loss, and in future will be greatly impeded unless some immediate remedy is found. . . Wherefore we strictly forbid the friars of the said house of Ware to seek alms or preach sermons in any of those places which the Cambridge friars were wont to frequent before the foundation of the house at Ware or to extend their boundaries more than five miles according to the measurements of the realm, except to the town of Puckeridge. . . 3 It is clear from this that the Cambridge friars were jealous of their rights and that they objected strongly to any interference on the part of another house. But it is also clear that the task of 1

Worthless fellow. Pierce the Ploughman's Crede, ed. Skeat, E.E.T.S., pp. 22-3. 3 The letter is printed in Wadding, Annales Minorum, ix, pp. 437-8, and an abstract is given in Cal. Papal Registers, iv, pp. 516-7. 2

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maintaining the large numbers of'friars and students' at Cambridge was one of considerable difficulty. These friaries in the University towns presented special problems since they were obliged to take a good many members of other convents who were sent there for purposes of study. The heads of the Cambridge house had, therefore, to be very much on their guard, for they could not afford to lose the support of any of their friends or subscribers, and they must have regarded the foundation of the new house at Ware with considerable misgiving. For there is no doubt that the regular subscriptions collected by the friars, whether in money or in kind, represented the main part of the income of each friary. So much was this so that the keeping of regular accounts had been ordered by the Chapter General as early as 1260. In that year a decree was passed ordering that accounts should be presented to each convent fortnightly by the Warden and Procurator.1 There can be little doubt that this decree was widely neglected, for practically no trace of any such accounts has been found. There is, in fact, only one fragment of such a document known to exist, and that was discovered some years ago in the binding of a Greek Psalter at Caius College, Cambridge. This appears to be an account of certain money and other gifts received by the Cambridge Franciscans in the years 1363 and 1366.2 These scraps of parchment are so fragmentary that we cannot draw from them any very clear picture of the economy of a Franciscan house in the fourteenth century. But, bearing in mind their limitations, it is worth seeing what they have to tell us. The earlier leaf appears to belong to the year 1363. It begins in the middle of a period which ends on Friday, August 4th. There is no knowing how long this first period lasted, but it was probably about the fortnight suggested in the decree of 1260. The only date mentioned in the period is the Feast of S. Anne (July 26). 1

Archivfur Lift, und Kirch., vi, p. 94. A description of the MS (Caius College MS 348) will be found in J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, where there is also a photograph of two of the leaves and a transcription of part of the document. See below, pp. 242-5, for a full transcription of all that is legible. Cf. also Little, Studies in English Franciscan History, pp. 42-4. 2

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The account begins with the statement: 'Hardessol for the soul of Lady Amice de Sealers one mark for a pittance'. This means that somebody, presumably a member of the Sealers family, gave 13s. 4c/. for food for the friars on condition that they prayed for the soul of Lady Amice. But what is the meaning of'Hardessol'? Clearly it is the name of the friar who collected this sum; and when we look in the Register of Hamo of Hethe, Bishop of Rochester 1319- 5 2, wefindout who he was; for, on December 21 st, 1331, the bishop ordained a group of Cambridge Franciscans including Thomas de Hardeselle.1 This first sentence of our account-book, therefore, means that Brother Thomas de Hardessol or Hardeselle either gave or collected this money and paid it into the common account of the convent. The next sentence records a payment of 1 7 ^ . made by Brother John on the Feast of S. Anne for a pittance, possibly some extra food or wine to mark the festival. In the fifth line we read: 'By Brother John Weting for the soul of William Flitcham for a pittance, lid.' This clearly means that Brother John Weting had collected this amount, much as Thomas de Hardeselle had collected his 13s. 4J. a few days before. Once more the friar in question is known to us, for a Cambridge Franciscan of the name of John de Wetyng was ordained acolyte, deacon and priest in the years 1351-2 in the diocese of Ely.2 Altogether in this first period eight friars are mentioned by name—Hardeselle, Brother John, Thomas Ely, John de Wetyng, John de Ely, Roger Walsham, William of S. Ive's and Martin Leverington; and the total sum which they collected was just over 40s. The second period is headed: 'The first account after the final account on Saturday in the feast of S. Dominic, Confessor', and must therefore be presumed to have begun on August 5 th. It ended on Friday, August 25 th. Once again Hardessol is at work, this time collecting one mark from John Lywins. Two other friars are mentioned—Brother William Blibur and a man called 'Badbur' or 'Barburwm', which seems to be an attempt to write the name Babraham, for this was John Babraham who was licensed by the Bishop of Ely to hear the confessions of the nuns of 1

2

Registrum H. Hethe, p. m o . 71

Ely Registers: Lisle, ff. 97b, 98.

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S. Radegund's, Cambridge, on May 31st, 1346.1 The total sum received during these three weeks was £ 3 zs. iod., so that the previous average of about £ 1 a week was being maintained. The third period begins 'on the Saturday in the Octave of S. Louis, Bishop and Confessor', that is, Saturday, August 26th; but it is incomplete. The only name of interest is that of 'our Brother Geoffrey de Massingham' for whose soul prayers were said and two sums given, one of js. 6d. and one of 4s.2 The right-hand leaf again begins in the middle of a period which ends on June 25th, 1336. Again Thomas de Hardeselle appears (this time as Hardesle), having collected the sum of 24s. 4^. from a certain 'Lord John' who gave it for the repose of the souls of the Lord de Seschalers and his lady, and for certain children who had died.3 Another sum is given 'for the soul of Brother Roger de Albi', who had probably been at one time a member of the community. Another friar appears in this period, Brother John Marbilzor, who 'has sent the convent some baskets of figs and a barrel of herrings'. What connection John Marbilzor had with the Cambridge house is not clear. He appears to have come from the North, was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Lincoln in 1346 and became Warden of the London Grey Friars in 1368. He may have been at Cambridge for a time between 1346 and 1368 and was perhaps a member of the community when he sent this gift of fruit and fish in 1366.4 The other interesting entry in this account is a gift of a pig sent to the friars by the Abbess of the Minoresses of Denny.5 In addition to the pig and the food sent by John Marbilzor the sum of £ 3 iSs. i\d. was collected during this period. The second period begins on June 26th and ends on the 30th of July. Only two gifts are recorded—10s. for Margaret Boteler and for the soul of her husband, William,6 and 20s. from Lord 1

2 Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 87b. For a note on this friar see below, p. 194. The Lord John is possibly a son of Lord de Sealers (or Seschalers) and the Lady Amice, from whom Hardeselle had already collected. 4 See below, p. 193. 5 The gift occurs twice in this section and twice again on the verso. • Dr Rendel Harris quotes from Dugdale's Baronage, i, p. 595, a reference to a William Butler who died in 1362: 'This William took to wife Margaret the wife 3

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John Josphef for the soul of the Lady de Sealers whom we encountered earlier on. The next period is one of twelve and a half weeks from July 3 ist to October 26th. Three friars are mentioned in this period—Nicholas Ramisseya, John Weting and Robert Plumstead. John Weting's name occurs in the earlier leaf; of Robert Plumstead nothing definite can be said; but Nicholas Ramsey is known as a benefactor to the students' library in the house of the Cambridge Franciscans.1 Another most important entry in this section is the gift of 40s. from the citizens of Lynn. Why the men of Lynn should send money for the support of the friars at Cambridge when they had a house of their own to look after is hard to say. Possibly the money was sent towards the support of some friars of Lynn who were studying at Cambridge. The next period, from the end of October to the beginning of December, contains only one entry and that not of a receipt but of expenditure: 'the Father Warden spent on a pittance on the fifth day before the Feast of All Saints one mark'. The last period is again only fragmentary and records money collected by Hardeselle and Weting and per magistrum, which probably means by the lector. The verso is so much injured by damp and by the fact that it was pasted downwards on to a board that it is almost illegible; but it contains one or two entries of interest. We notice the same limitors at work—Nicholas de Ramsey, John Babraham, Thomas Hardeselle, Roger Walsham and Robert Plumstead. The money for the soul of lady Amice de Sealers is still being paid, and the Abbess of Denny continues her gifts of pork. Other contributions in kind are several gifts of beer, one being from one of the nuns of S. Radegund's. These scraps of an old account-book, so unexpectedly retrieved, are so fragmentary that we cannot hope to extract from them much information about the economy of the house. But there are certain suggestions which can be made from a close study of this of Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, and died on Saturday next preceding Christmas Day in 35 th Edward III . . . leaving his son and heir xxx years of age' (Origin of Leicester Codex, p. 27). 1 Collectanea Franciscana, i, p. 131.

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document. It will be noted, in the first place, that a number of friars took part in the collection of money, probably including the lector himself. At the same time, the frequent appearance of certain names—notably those of Weting, Hardeselle, Plumstead and Babraham—suggests that these were in fact the 'limitors' whose special duty it was to go round the 'limitation' collecting donations and subscriptions. Where the accounts seem reasonably full it looks as if the average income was about jQi a week from this source. This would support about fifteen friars; but as there were probably some seventy men in the house at this time there must have been other sources of income. A glance at these accounts will show that only the larger gifts are here recorded. Except for what appear to be private gifts made by the friars themselves there is no amount less than nd. recorded. Most of the contributions which are noted are quite substantial gifts, some of them amounting to more than £1. For example, the three sums given by the Sealers family make a total of jjs. Sd., which, if multiplied by thirty to make a rough comparison with modern values, would amount to about £86. It is clear, then, that only the more important contributions are here set down. Doubtless the limitors received a large number of smaller offerings—odd pennies and halfpennies and sums up to one shilling—which were not thought worthy of record. If these smaller sums were added to the larger, the income from this source would probably be a great deal more than appears from these records. Another thing which strikes us is that certain families seem to have contributed regularly, such as the Butlers and the family of Sealers. Such regular gifts were generally made in order that masses might be said for the souls of former members of these families, and there can be no doubt that the prayers of the friars were held in good estimation. It will be noted also that many of the families which contributed appear to have belonged to the neighbourhood: de Sawston, de Audley, Baldock. This corresponds with the plan that each house of friars should have its own territory or 'limitation' beyond which the friars could not go without trespassing on the preserves of some other house. 74

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For purposes of accountancy the year appears to have been divided into a number of unequal portions, but no attempt is made to add up totals or even to distinguish clearly between receipts and expenditure. The very first entry is of the receipt of one mark, while the second line records an expenditure of 17^/. In fact the document must be regarded not as part of an account-book but of a note-book in which were jotted down the more important financial transactions conducted by the friars. The whole appearance of the sheets themselves, so careless, so untidy, so obviously written by various hands, suggests that the items were entered up as and when they occurred, and there is little similarity between them and the careful compod of the monasteries where sums were properly entered in separate columns and balances estimated. However, in spite of the obvious limitations of this battered sheet of parchment it has a very special interest for all students of Franciscan history, and especially for the history of the friars in Cambridge. The conditions of privation and hardship in which the friars lived in the early days have now given place to a more stable economy; and though the friary can never be said to have been rich it seems to have had a steady income regularly collected from a number of well-wishers. If we add to the income derived in this way the royal grant of twenty-five marks a year, and the large number of legacies, we get a picture not, by any means, of luxury, but of a certain degree of security. Great changes had taken place in the Franciscan Order since the days of its founder, and the friars were undoubtedly living a life very different from what S. Francis had intended, but though there is a measure of security there is no sign of opulence, and the friars continued to avoid that sense of landed security which was so striking a feature of the monastic orders in their latter years.

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CHAPTER V

SOME A C T I V I T I E S O F T H E F R I A R S T H E coming of the friars introduced an entirely new element into the religious and social life of England. Hitherto the religiosus had been essentially a man cut off from the life of the world. Whether monk or canon regular, he lived his own life in the cloister and came into very little contact with the world outside. It is true that to some extent the original idea of strict claustration had broken down, and some monks were in the habit of spending more time out of their cloister than the Rule would allow. But the principle remained the same. The type of religious house which the Rule of S. Benedict envisages had 'no function in the life of the Church save to provide an ordered way of life based on the teaching of the Gospel, according to which its inmates may serve God and sanctify their souls apart from the life of the world.... It is the home of a spiritual family whose life and work begins and ends in the family circle'.1 The friar, on the other hand, went everywhere. Unlike the monk, who was bound by the rule of stabilitas, he was constantly on the move and properly belonged to no particular friary. A study of the ordination lists in the bishops' registers shows how restless some friars were. Brother Peter Merker, for example, was a friar of Colchester when he was ordained acolyte in 1365. In 1366 he was at Ipswich, and in 1370, when he proceeded to the diaconate and the priesthood, he was at Babwell near Bury St. Edmunds.2 Or again, Brother John Lake was at Beverley when he was made acolyte in 1455. In 1457-8, when he became subdeacon and deacon, he was at York, and later in 1458 we find him at Scarborough at the time of his ordination to the priesthood.3 1

D. Knowles, The Monastic Order in England, p. 4. Regist. S. Sudbury, ii, pp. 34, 42, 80, 91. 3 York Registers: Bothe. 2

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A great many of the younger friars seem to have wandered about in this way, being ordained at different times by different bishops, and one can only wonder how the authorities of the Order kept track of them. On the other hand, though many of the friars were constantly on the move, some appear to have settled in one friary for most of their lives. Thomas de Hardeselle, for example, whose name appears in the account-book of the Cambridge house, was certainly a member of the Cambridge community at the time of his ordination in 1331 and he was there in 1363 and 1366. Unless he had been elsewhere in the intervening years it looks as if he had made Cambridge his home for the greater part of his life. Most of the friars were, therefore, part of the wayfaring life of the country, that restless crowd of merchants and pedlars, minstrels and jugglers, outlaws and fugitives, friars and preachers, pilgrims and messengers who were constantly moving up and down the roads of this island, meeting in the inns and ale-houses, arguing, joking, gossiping, and, incidentally, acting as the main channel through which news was spread about the country. If the monk of Chaucer ridiculed as 'not worth an oyster' the saying that 'a monk out of his cloister is as a fish out of water', the fact remained that the monk's true place was within the walls of his monastery. On the other hand, a friar might be said to be more truly a friar when he was on the move than when he was in his friary. When the friars go about the world [wrote S. Francis in the Rule], let them carry nothing with them, neither scrip, nor purse, nor bread, nor money, nor staff. And into whatsoever house they shall enter let them first say 'Peace be to this house'. And in the same house let them remain eating and drinking such things as they give. They shall not resist evil, but unto him that smiteth them upon the one cheek let them offer also the other, and him that taketh away their cloak let them not forbid to take their coat also. Let them give to every man that asketh of them, and of him that taketh away their goods let them not ask them again.1 As they journeyed about the country the friars were brought into touch with all kinds of people. They were found in royal 1

Regula Prima cap. xiv; Opuscula S. Francisci (Quaracchi), pp. 42-3.

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palaces and in the houses of the great; they were adopted into the familiae of bishops and acted as their chaplains; they went from parish to parish, preaching either in the churches or, if that were denied to them, in the open air; they heard confessions and gave absolution to men and women of all ranks. One has only to look at the popular literature of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to see how large a part the friars played in the life of the country. And, in addition to all this, there was the regular coming and going between different houses of the same Order, so that whereas a monk was always a member of some particular monastery a friar was merely a member of his Order with no permanent attachment to any one house. This roving life makes it difficult to estimate the numbers in any house, since they varied so much. A monastery had normally a 'statutory number' of monks or canons which visiting bishops expected to be kept up; but a friary might at one time be grossly overcrowded while at other times numbers were low. Dr Little remarked on 'the great variation in the numbers of friars in the same house even in the same year' and he gave examples to show how great these variations might be. What the explanation of these changes is is not clear [he adds]; probably there were many causes; thus the absence of friars on preaching tours may account for some of the sudden decreases in the number of inmates of a house. In some cases it may merely imply a temporary transfer from one house to another. . . At any rate the fact illustrates the mobility of the friars.1 The first figure which we have for the number of Franciscans at Cambridge belongs to the year 1277, when there appear to have been thirty friars.2 By 1290 the number had risen to seventy3 probably in consequence of the completion of the new buildings and the increasing prestige of the friars' school. In 1297 there were 59* and in the early part of the fourteenth century the number varied between 55 and 70, so that the house was comparable in numbers with some of the largest of the Benedictine monas1 3

a Little, Studies in English Franciscan History, p. 70. See above, p. 14. Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 138. * V. C. H. Cambs. ii, p. 277.

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teries. With some sixty or seventy members the Franciscan house at Cambridge might be said to be in a very flourishing condition, but in the middle of the fourteenth century the Black Death struck the country and hit the friars very hard. Living in the towns, often in unhealthy districts—and the fact that the London Franciscans lived in 'Stynkynglane' is suggestive—the friars suffered perhaps more than the members of other religious orders, most of whom lived in the country. Dr J. C. Russell has calculated that in the years before the plague there were in England about two thousand Franciscans, but that after 13 50 there were only about 1,15c2 Certainly the plague affected Cambridge very badly. Low-lying, in damp, fenny country, it was no doubt the sort of place where disease would flourish; and casualties were high. At the newly-founded King's Hall, for example, sixteen out of the forty scholars died between April 10th and April 20th, 1349.3 What the losses were at the house of the Grey Friars we do not know, but it is significant that, in the diocese of Ely, whereas from 1344 to 1348 the average number of friars licensed to hear confessions was less than five, in 1349 there were fifteen. This suggests that there were a good many places to fill after the plague had done its work, and those whose task it was to hear the confessions of the dying must have laid themselves open to special danger. It is probable, therefore, that up to 1350 the number of Franciscans at Cambridge at any given moment was about sixty, and that there was then a drop for a few years until the ravages of the Black Death could be restored. In the fifteenth century the numbers were probably fairly high, for at this time Cambridge was making rapid progress while Oxford suffered something of an eclipse. Then, towards the end, the numbers fell again as the religious orders ceased to attract new recruits. Twenty-four friars signed the deed of surrender in 1538.4 1

See the figures in Moorman, Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century, pp. 402-12. 2 Traditio, 1944, p. 209. Yet at Oxford the numbers seem actually to have gone up. In 1317 there were 84 friars; in 1377 there were 103 (Little, Studies in English Franciscan History, p. 72). 3 A. Gray, Cambridge University: an Episodical History, pp. 51-2. 4 The list is in J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, p. 32. But are

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The Cambridge friars seem to have come from various parts of the country and were by no means all local men. As long ago as 1888 Augustus Jessopp claimed that 'of the first eighteen masters of Franciscan schools at Cambridge at least ten were Norfolk men'.1 Jessopp was, of course, relying solely upon the evidence of surnames—Raveningham, Limpenhoe, Letheringsett, Worstead, etc. By the fourteenth century surnames were becoming more fixed and therefore give less indication of a man's origin. It is likely enough that a good many of the Cambridge friars continued to be drawn from East Anglia; but there was a good school of theology at Norwich, at which a future pope was a student,2 and most Norfolk men would either be attracted there or were sent there by authority.3 But though Cambridge attracted a good many men from the vicinity, it is certain that many of its members came from further afield. Thomas de Elmeden, who was lector at Cambridge about 1330, came from Carlisle, where he had been ordained subdeacon in 1306 and deacon in 1307,4 and one of his successors, Richard de Kellaw, was also a Carlisle friar, having been ordained acolyte and subdeacon there in 1317.5 Richard's namesake, John Kellaw,6 was a Durham man, having been ordained subdeacon and deacon in 1345 and priest in 1347. In the latter year he was a member of the friary at Hartlepool.7 John Mablethorpe (whose residence at Cambridge must be regarded as only doubtful) was also a north-country man, for he was ordained in the diocese of Durham in 1344.8 these surrender lists complete? A study of the ordinations in the bishops' registers in the years before the Dissolution show that there were a good many men ordained whose names do not occur in the deeds of surrender; cf. W. Gumbley, The Cambridge Dominicans, p. 39, and see below, p. 129. 1 The Coming of the Friars (1922 edition), p. 43. 2 Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 139. The Pope was Peter Philargi de Candia, who, having studied at Norwich, Oxford and Paris, became Pope as Alexander V in 1409 but held office for only one year: Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 249. 3 l See below, pp. 89-90. Regist. J. Halton, i, pp. 269, 280. 5 Ibid., ii, p. 140. • These men came presumably from Kelloe in County Durham. The spelling 'Kellaw' faithfully represents the local pronunciation of the name. 7 Durham Registers: Hatfield, ff, 92, 93, 206. 8 Regist. Palat. Dunelm. iii, p. 142.

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Henry de Hychinton, the fifty-second master at Cambridge, came from the diocese of Worcester, where he was ordained priest in 1313,1 as did also William Dermynton, or Dorminton, who received deacon's orders there in 1319 and priest's in 1320.2 An earlier master, Walter de Knolle, was also a west-country man, having came from the diocese of Hereford.3 Another master, Simon de Hussebourne, had been at Canterbury,4 as had also John Aquinton.5 It is clear, therefore, that the Cambridge Franciscans were by no means all local men, and that many were either attracted to the University town by the excellence of its schools or were sent there by their superiors. In later years there is evidence that the fame of Cambridge as a theological school had spread all over Europe with the result that a number of foreign friars found their way there either as lecturers or as scholars. The first came as lecturers. In the year 1336 Pope Benedict XII issued a set of decrees for the order of Friars Minor, several of which were concerned with the education of the friars and with the appointment of lectors at the Universities. One of these statutes declares that in future of the friars who shall be appointed to read the Sentences at Oxford and Cambridge, two shall be taken for two years from the Province of England, to be elected by the English Provincial Chapter; the third, for the third year, shall be taken from other parts of the order, to be elected by the Chapter General in turn from the cismontane and ultramontane parts.6 If this decree were carried out it would mean that every third year, both at Oxford and Cambridge, a foreign friar would hold the position of lector. So far as Oxford is concerned there is little evidence to show whether this decree were carried out or not. Several men were duly elected, but not all of them came. The only friar whom we 1

Regist. W. Reynolds, p. 147. Regist. T. Cobham, pp. 55, 63, 87. He is described as of the custody of Bristol. 3 Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 76-7. 1 V. C. H. Kent, ii, p. 191. 5 Cotton, Grey Friars of Canterbury, p. 80. e Sbaralea, Bullarium Franciscanum, vi, p. 30. 2

G

8l

SOME ACTIVITIES OF THE FRIARS

know to have lectured at Oxford in accordance with this decree was William de Prato, a native of Paris.1 But at Cambridge there was a succession of foreign friars who came at regular intervals and held office for a year or so.2 In the fifteenth century there is little trace of any foreign friar lecturing at Cambridge;3 but there is some evidence that the friars' school was attracting students from abroad. One of the remarkable things about the English Franciscans in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries is the presence among them of a fairly large contingent of foreign friars, mainly from Germany and the Netherlands, who came over to work in England and were ordained by English bishops while they were here.4 Cambridge, with its theological faculty and well-known Franciscan school, naturally drew a good many of these men, and in the episcopal registers we find mention of a number of obviously foreign friars such as Bretardus de Argentina (Strasburg) in 1457, Nicholas Heinrici in 1462, Tilmannus de Bunna (Bonn) and Nicholas de Confluencia (Coblenz) in 1467, and Otto Enghelen and Radulfus Wagas in 1476.5 There were also one or two Italians such as John of Cremona in 1496.6 The roving life of the friars took them far afield into the parishes of England, and their preaching in early days was forceful and popular. At a time when sermons in parish churches were but rare events and when the average parish priest had little or no training or practice in the art of public speaking, the welltrained friars, with their knowledge of the world and their stock of illustrations and exempla, soon captured the ears of the public. 1

Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 244. See below, pp. 99-102. 3 The only exception is Laurentius Gulielmi de Savona, who, having been for some years at Oxford, lectured at Cambridge about 1478 (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 265-6). 4 See Moorman, 'The Foreign Element among the English Franciscans' in Eng. Hist. Review, 1947, pp. 289-303; and Fr. Conrad Walmsley, 'Some Dutch Franciscans in England during the Later Middle Ages' in Tijdschrift voor Taal 2

en Letteren. 5 Ely Registers: Gray, ff, 204, 209b, 211b, 216b. • Ibid: Alcock, f. 40b.

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Some of their preaching was done in their own churches, which, like the eighteenth-century auditory churches, were built more for preaching than for worship. That the Cambridge Franciscans were proud of their church and enjoyed preaching in it is clear from the fact that they so strongly objected to an attempt on the part of the University to make them preach their examinatory sermons in Great S. Mary's instead of in their own church. It is probable that the church of the Friars Minor in Conduit Street attracted quite large crowds, though direct evidence of this is lacking. The church was also used for other occasions such as the taking of vows, for we read that on June 20th, 1385, Catherine, the widow of William Bernard, took the veil in the church of the Friars Minor, where mass was celebrated by Thomas Arundel, Bishop of Ely, who afterwards gave her the mantle and ring and received from her the vow of chastity.1 But it was in the parish churches that the main work of the friars was done, and it was here that they came into conflict with the parochial clergy, who not unnaturally resented the invasion of their domains by these outsiders. S. Francis had been most particular that the friars should not try to intrude on the preserves of the secular clergy, and had himself often refrained from preaching if he saw that he was not welcome.2 But not all of those who regarded themselves as his spiritual sons shared his humility and forbearance, and many friars of later generations would have felt a sense of frustration and restriction if they had been prevented from delivering their message to the people. It was natural, therefore, that the friars should seek powers to enable them to go about as preachers; and it was equally natural that bishops, conscious of 1

Cooper, Annals of Cambridge, i, p. 129. Cooper gives as his reference Nichols, Literary Anecdotes, ii, p. 688, but the original account will be found in Ely Registers: Arundel, f. 53. The form of vow was as follows: 'En la nomm du piere du fitz et de seint expirit Jeo Katerine Bernard femme nadgairs William Bernard face mon avowe a dieu a sa douce miere seinte marie et seinte ffraunceys et a toux les seintz de paradys en vos mayns mon reverent piere en dieu Thomas par la grace de dieu Evesque de Ely que desore en avant serrai chaste de mon corps et seynte chastite garderay loialment et devoutement toux les jours de ma vie'. 2 But see the story in Celano, Vita Secunda, § 147, of how the saint overcame the opposition of the Bishop of Imola.

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the inadequacy of many of their clergy, should regard these friars as instruments in the hand of God to bring new life and vigour into the parishes. The quarrel between the friars and the parish priests turned on three things: the friars' right to preach, to hear confessions and to bury the dead. It was perhaps the last of these which was the greatest source of trouble, for burials were often highly profitable; and the parish clergy who were indifferent to the presence of outside preachers and confessors were often most sensitive of their rights when it came to matters of pounds, shillings and pence. Until the coming of the friars the parish priests could safely regard burial fees and the legacies which accompanied them as their own perquisites, since the right of sepulture in monastic ground was rarely granted to the laity. But with the advent of the friars all this was changed. Friary churches and cemeteries, as we have seen,1 became popular burial grounds, and the parish clergy were faced with the prospect of a considerable portion of their slender incomes being diverted into the pockets of the mendicants. The friction between the secular clergy and the friars became more and more serious during the latter part of the thirteenth century; nor was it eased by unwise discrimination against the seculars on the part of the popes and bishops who favoured the friars.2 By the end of the century it was clear that some settlement must be made, and in 1300 Boniface VIII published the bull, Super Cathedram, which gave the friars certain preaching rights but insisted that the hearing of confessions should be limited to those duly licensed for this purpose by the bishop.3 The bull attempted also to settle the problem of burial fees. The Bishop of Lincoln took action immediately, and on the fourth of July in this same year licensed a number of friars belonging to the custody of Oxford.4 The first sign of any such 1

See above, p. 39. E.g. the bull granted by Innocent IV in 1250, Cum a nobis petitur, and the even more disastrous Adfructus uberes of Martin IV in 1281: Sbaralea, Bullarium Franciscanum, i, p. 537; iii, p. 480. 3 The bull is in Sbaralea, op. cit., iv, pp. 498-500, and a summary in Little, Studies in English Franciscan History, pp. 114-6. 'Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., pp. 231-2. 2

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licensing in the diocese of Ely was on Christmas Day 1338, when Bishop Montacute licensed a number of friars including four Cambridge Franciscans—William of Dorminton, John Russell, Richard Kellaw and John Weting.1 Two years later he licensed three more—John de Casale, the lector, Richard de Halton, and John de Kellaw, while Richard Kellaw's licence was renewed in so far as it applied to hearing the confessions of scholars of Cambridge.2 In February 1346, at Downham, the bishop licensed a group of friars including John de Alby, custos of Cambridge, and Adam de Folsham, Warden of the convent.3 Gradually, therefore, a fairly large body of confessors was built up, drawn from the various orders of mendicants. But in September 1348 the bishop revoked all his appointments on hearing that some of the men were 'unfit for their work, being mercenary, remiss, negligent, and abusing the power entrusted to them'. Five men only were exempted from this inhibition, including the Warden of the Cambridge Franciscans.4 This was, perhaps, unfortunate, for within a few months the plague had made its appearance and the need for confessors became more urgent, not only to deal with the large numbers of the dying, but also to replace men who themselves had succumbed to the pestilence.5 Meanwhile the bishop appointed a group of six men, including the Warden of the Cambridge Franciscans, to administer the diocese during the plague.6 In the years following the plague it was necessary to fill up some of the gaps, and we are therefore not surprised to find a fairly large number of licences granted in 1351, including one to the Cambridge friar, John de Kellaw.7 Meanwhile a number of Franciscans at some time or other connected with Cambridge were acting as confessors in other dioceses. As early as 1300, within a few months of the promulgation of the bull Super Cathedram, Adam de Hoveden, who later became twenty-ninth master at Cambridge, was licensed for the 1

Ely Registers: Montacute, f. 95. John Russell is marked 'et habet officium penitentiarii'. 3 >Ibid. Ibid., f. 89. « Ibid., f. 88. 6 In the diocese of York there were 17 friars of all orders licensed in 1347, 13 in 1348, 16 in 1349 and 68 in 1350. 6 Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 19b. ' Ibid., ff. 89-90.

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diocese of Lincoln. Bishop Dalderby appears to have been at first unwilling to admit him, but gave way when it was pointed out that the man was a distinguished scholar and a D.D. 1 Later in the year John Russell was licensed for the diocese of Lincoln and in 1305 for the archdeaconry of Leicester only.2 In 1318 the name of Geoffrey Heyroun, who had been lector at Cambridge about 1301-3, appears among those who were licensed in the diocese of Winchester,3 and in 1326 Simon de Hussebourne was admitted as confessor in the diocese of Canterbury by Archbishop Reynolds.4 In the years before the plague several friars who had held office at Cambridge as lector were appointed as confessors in various parts of the country—W. de Lilleford at Durham in 1340,5 William Stanton at Lincoln in 1347,6 and Robert Alifax at York in 1349.7 In the years after the Black Death we find Gilbert Peckham licensed at Canterbury in 1355 and three other Cambridge friars in 1358.8 This system of licences was intended to protect the parochial clergy from the intrusion of unauthorised mendicants into their churches. Hitherto any wandering friar could claim the right to hear confessions, and most parish clergy resented this as an infringement of their rights. The bull Super Cathedram did at least limit the number of authorised confessors, and an incumbent could now demand to see a friar's warrant before giving him the use of his church. Yet the coming of the friars was still bitterly resented by the parochial clergy, who complained that the friars abused their privileges and deluded the people. Early in the fourteenth century a group of London rectors drew up a manifesto in which they complain that 1

Lincoln Registers: Dalderby, iii, f. 13; Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 235. Lincoln Registers: Dalderby, iii,ff.15, 87b. 3 RegistJ. Sandale, pp. 84-5. 4 Canterbury Registers: Reynolds, f. 249b. In 1331 he was confessor to Queen Philippa: Rylands Library, MS No. 235, f. 10b. 5 6 Regist. Palat. Dunelm., iii, p. 281. Lincoln Registers: Bek, f. 100. 7 York Registers: Zouche, f. 278b. His licence was renewed in 1350 (ibid. f. 279b). 8 Canterbury Registers: Islip, ff. 103b, 144b; cf. Cotton, Grey Friars of Canterbury, p. 38. They were Roger de Snoring, Robert Sutton and John de Walsham, the 72nd master. 2

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the said friars in their public preachings maliciously slander the rectors of the churches in the aforesaid city with evil reports of their vice and folly; and frequently in hateful manner they preach foul and scandalous things about them, to their prejudice, no little hurt and annoyance. They complain also that the friars are in the habit of giving general absolutions, which they are not entitled to do, and of failing to warn the people that it is their duty to confess at least once a year to their own parish priest.1 It is clear from this that the friars were doing a considerable amount of preaching besides hearing confessions. The bull Super Cathedram made no demand that a friar should hold a licence to preach as well as to hear confessions, but from about 1318 onwards some bishops tried to control the activity of the friars by giving some of them permission to preach as well as to hear confessions.2 The only Cambridge Franciscan who is known to have had such a licence was of a much later date, a certain William DufReld, D.D., who was licensed to preach in the diocese of Hereford in 1525, while an indulgence of forty days was promised to those who attended his sermons.3 In addition to the general licences the bishops were in the habit of granting penitentiary commissions to certain friars to act as confessors to certain individuals, families or communities. Three Franciscans of Cambridge are known to have served in this capacity—J. de Wately, who was commissioned to act as confessor to the nuns of Polsloe in 1320,4 William de Folvil, who was confessor to Blanche de Wake in 1366 and 1373,5 and William Tythemarsh, who was confessor to Sir William Maunay.6 By this licensing scheme the activity of the friars was considerably limited; but even so they continued to be unpopular with 1

Owst, Preaching in Medieval England, p. 76. The MS is in the Cambridge University Library (Gg. iv. 32). Cf. the letter of the clergy of Carlisle to Bishop Wei ton in 1352 complaining that the friars appeared in their churches during services and were accustomed to offer excessive indulgences (Carlisle Registers: Welton, f. 22b; cf. Hist. MSS Commission, IXth Report, App. p. 190a). 3 Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 241. 3 Regist. C. Bothe, p. 175. 1 Regist. W. Stapeldon, p. 317. 5 Lincoln Registers: Buckingham, ff. 28, 115. 6 Regist. S. Sudbury, i, p. 3. 87

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the secular clergy. Where a quarrel arose it was usually confined to an individual incumbent and a friar who might appear to be going beyond his rights and violating the privileges of the parish priest. But occasionally we find traces of a more general dispute in which a whole convent or a whole group of parishes was involved. One of these concerns the Cambridge Franciscans and occurred in 1322 or thereabouts. In 1317 Thomas de Cobham, Bishop of Worcester, had become one of the 'conservators' of the Friars Minor in England,1 and in the following year he visited Cambridge, where, no doubt, he made himself familiar with the affairs of the friars.2 In 1322 news reached him that the Franciscans of Cambridge were suffering from a grievance against certain local clergy, and Cobham immediately summoned John of Norwich, Vicar of Ickleton, Henry of Cambridge, Vicar of Bottisham, and William of Brinkley, chaplain of Ickleton, to appear before him at Worcester 'for certain notable and proved injuries committed against the Friars Minor of Cambridge'.3 Nothing further is said, so that the nature of the injury is not known; but it was not the kind of incident which was likely to promote amicable relations between the friars and the parochial clergy. The Franciscan community at Cambridge was thus implicated in the various problems of the day much like any other mendicant community. In addition, the Cambridge house had a part to play both as the head of a custody and also as a place of learning to which friars from all over the world came as students. According to Eccleston the first division of the province into custodies took place at the first Provincial Chapter held at London about 1228.4 The eastern part of the country was put into the custody of Cambridge although at this time there were probably only two convents in this area, Cambridge and Norwich. Gradually, however, new foundations appeared, so that by the end of 1 Apparently he became this ex officio as Bishop of Worcester, for a bull of Benedict XI in 1304 appointed the Bishops of Winchester, London and Worcester guardians of the privileges of the Friars Minor and Friars Preacher in England;

Pearce,T/iomas de Cobham, p. 242. 2 s Regist. T. Cobham, pp. 7, 13-4. Ibid., pp. 131-2. 4 Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 42, and cf. Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p . 209.

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the thirteenth century there were eight houses, with Walsingham added in 1347. Lynn was founded about 1230 and three years later the friars attempted to establish themselves at Bury St Edmunds. Their coming, however, was much resented by the monks, and it was only after the friars had appealed to the King that an agreement was made and a friary built at Babwell, a few miles out of the town.1 Ipswich was founded soon after 1230,2 and Colchester before 1237. After this, there appears to have been a gap, for Yarmouth cannot be traced back earlier than 1271 and Dunwich to 1277.3 Over these seven or eight houses Cambridge presided, though it is difficult to know exactly what part the head of the custody played in the management of the affairs of the friars.4 The 'custody school', to which friars could be sent for their intermediate course of study, appears to have been at Norwich,5 but, apart from the fact that John of Walsham, after lecturing at Cambridge about 1353, went on to continue his lectures at Norwich,6 nothing is known of any connection between the two schools. There is, however, some evidence that the custos did in fact have some power in assigning friars to particular houses within his custody. In 1415 the Warden of Norwich sent a petition to the Pope claiming the right every year of choosing from among their 'nativi, sons and brethren' (that is, those born within their bounds 1 See the full account of the struggle in 'Processus contra Fratres Minores qualiter expulsi erant de villa S. Edmundi' in Arnold's Memorials ofSt Edmund's Abbey, ii, pp. 263-85. 2 In an undated deed of this period Richard, Dean of Cottenham, gave to the Prior and Convent of S. Peter at Ipswich certain land on trust for the enlargement of the house of the Friars Minor there: Martin, Franciscan Architecture in England, p. 239. This suggests that the friars had established themselves in the town before this date since the deed speaks of an 'enlargement' of their property. 3 Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 220. 4 It would be interesting, for example, to know whether the head of the custody was consulted about the foundation of the friary at Walsingham in 1347. All we know is that when, in spite of the strong opposition of the Augustinian canons there, the Pope finally gave a licence for the foundation of a house of 12 Friars Minor, the letter is addressed to the Provincial Minister, not to the custos.

{Cal. Papal Registers, iii, p. 252). 6 Sbaralea, Bullarium Franciscanum, vi, p. 30. 6 See Eng. Hist. Review, 1940, pp. 624-30.

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or clothed with their habit) those whom he may wish to dwell among them. The Pope appears to have granted their petition, adding that the custos of the custody of Cambridge shall in future, upon the choice of such brethren being made known to him, send them to Norwich without delay.1 In addition to the nine houses of friars in the custody of Cambridge there were two houses of Minoresses, both within a few miles of Cambridge itself. The house at Waterbeach was founded in 1294,2 and in 1336 the nuns acquired, from Marie de S. Pol, the manor of Denny. By 1342 the Abbess and most of the sisters had moved to Denny, and Waterbeach was closed down.3 It was shortly after this that the Minoresses acquired the privilege of having a Franciscan as their confessor,4 and it is natural that the nuns of Denny should have applied to Cambridge for their chaplain. The first friar whom we know to have been connected with the sisters was Thomas de Trumpington, who served them faithfully for at least fourteen years from 1466 to 1480. He held the title of'President of the Poor Clares of Denny'5 and appears to have acted in various capacities besides that of confessor, for in 1480 he was fined 3s. 4J. when, acting on behalf of the sisters, he caused a wall to be put up to the detriment of the tenants of the manor.6 Some years later the presidency was held by another Cambridge friar, Richard Brinkley, who acted as proctor for the nuns in 1512 in the complicated negotiations connected with the appropriation of the churches of Eltisley and Bydeham.7 1

Cal. Papal Registers, vi, pp. 484-5. I have taken the liberty here of printing 'custos' and 'custody' where the calendar prints 'warden' and 'wardenship'. It seems to me that only thus does the Pope's letter make sense. It may be noted that the editor speaks of the 'guardian' of Norwich and the 'warden' of Cambridge, which suggests that he may be translating two different words, probably gardianus and custos. 2 J. W. Clark, Liber Memorandorum, p. 214. 3 The whole story is told in A. F. C. Bourdillon, The Order of Minoresses in England, pp. 19-20. See also below, p. 104. 4 Ibid., pp. 56-7. 5 Ely Registers: Gray, f. 56. 6 Clay, History of Waterbeach, p. 114. 7 Ibid., p. 108. There is no evidence of any connection between the Cambridge friars and the house of Minoresses at Bruisyard in Suffolk.

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In the educational organisation of the friars the schools at Oxford and Cambridge were regarded as places where men could be trained to act as lecturers in other convents, and we should therefore expect to find evidence of friars who had been at Cambridge going on in later years to work elsewhere. In the thirteenth century there is some record of men going off in this way. The first was Vincent de Coventry, the founder of the Franciscan school at Cambridge. Having lectured here for about five years (1230-5) he went to London as lector.1 The next was Roger de Marston, who taught at Paris c. 1270-4 and then spent some five years at Cambridge before going to Oxford as regent master in 1280.2 Henry de Brisingham, having lectured at Cambridge about 1278, went to Salisbury, probably as lector,3 and Robert de Alifax went to Doncaster, where he almost certainly was acting as lector in 1349.4 In the fourteenth century, however, there is some indication that the Cambridge school was not altogether fulfilling its function of providing teachers for other schools, and that some of its members were showing a certain reluctance to leave the University. In 1377 Gregory XI wrote to the Provincial Minister in England reminding him that the school at Cambridge had been designed to provide men 'suitable, apt and sufficient in uprightness of life and manners, in religion, knowledge and doctrine, to study and to lecture elsewhere', and drawing attention to the fact that men were not being sent out from Cambridge as they ought to have been, and as, in fact, was done at Oxford. The Pope therefore orders the Provincial Minister to choose the most suitable men from the Cambridge school and to send them off to lecture 'in philosophy, theology and the Sentences' not only in other Franciscan schools but also in 'cathedral churches'.5 1

Eccleston, de Adventu, p. 62. Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, pp. 855-7. 3 Eng. Hist. Review, 1934, pp. 673-6. 4 York Registers: Zouche, ff. 278b, 279b. 5 Vatican Library, Registrum Avinion, vol. 201, f. 263. It appears that the request for this came partly from the proctor of the University, and it may, therefore, have been part of the official policy of the University to keep down the numbers in the friars' school. 2

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What effect this letter had on the Franciscans of Cambridge it is impossible to say. John Mardisley was Provincial Minister at the time, but there is no evidence of his having taken any action. The only Cambridge Franciscan during the next hundred years who is known to have gone as lector to another convent is John David, who in 1416 became lecturer to the friars of Hereford.1 Our records, however, are very scanty, and there must have been others who served in this way. Otherwise the whole system would have broken down, whereas, in fact, the schools of the English Franciscans had a high reputation all over Europe in the fifteenth century. In the last fifty years or so of the friars' life and work at Cambridge a number of men left the convent to lecture in other schools. Among them were William Toly, who was teaching at London in 1500, Robert Burton, D.D. of both Universities, who also became regent master at London, and John Pereson, who was cursor theologiae to the London friars in 1527.2 No doubt there were many others whose names have not been preserved, but the above will show that the school at Cambridge was, in its later years, to some extent fulfilling its responsibility of sending out men to act as theologians in other convents of the province.

1 2

Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 313-4. Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 22.

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CHAPTER VI

T H E F R A N C I S C A N S C H O O L AT CAMBRIDGE IN T H E F O U R T E E N T H C E N T U R Y I N the quarrel between the University and the friars in 1303-6 the friars were in a strong enough position to defend themselves against the attacks of a body which not unnaturally resented the presence of theological schools which owed no allegiance to the Chancellor of the University and the corporation of regent masters. But though that dispute was settled, there remained material for further disagreements, for the fundamental question of the status of the friars in the University was left unanswered, and it was clear that there would be trials and troubles until this matter was cleared up. The fourteenth century saw this struggle, and in its latter half there was considerable tension between the two bodies, but in the century or so before the Reformation the University was making such strides forward, and increasing so greatly in power and prestige, that it was able more and more to enforce its will on the friars. But it was not until the Dissolution of the religious houses in 1536-9 that the problem was finally solved. The settlement reached at Bordeaux on July 17th, 1306, seems to have been regarded by both sides as a reasonable compromise, for there is no sign of any further dispute for about fifty years, although Oxford was shaken by the bitter dispute between the University and the Dominicans which lasted from 1311 to 1320.1 During this period the Franciscan school at Cambridge seems to have made considerable progress. The policy in the Order of sending a number of distinguished scholars from the convent at Oxford seems to have had the desired effect of putting the Cambridge school well on its feet. Between the coming of Thomas of 1

See Rashdall's essay 'The Friars Preachers v. the University' in Oxford Hist. Soc. Collectanea, ii, pp. 193-273, and 'Liber Epistolaris R. de Bury' in Formularies which bear on the History of Oxford, Oxf. Hist. Soc. New Series, i, pp. 1-79.

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York about 1259 and the arrival of Richard de Conington some fifty years later seven friars were sent from Oxford to Cambridge, among them some of the most distinguished theologians of their day. But from the time of Conington onwards this practice seems to have been discontinued.1 The Cambridge school was now able to look after itself. Meanwhile the University was also making considerable progress. In 1318 it received formal recognition as a studium generate in a bull issued by John XXII, 2 though even Rashdall, who writes of the 'insignificance' of Cambridge as a 'third-rate university' up to the end of the fourteenth century, admits that before the granting of this bull the University 'possessed all the characteristics which were included in the vague conception of a studium generate then prevalent—a considerable number of masters both in arts and in at least one of the superior faculties, students from distant regions, regular licences and inceptions, royal recognition and privilege'.3 But from 1318 onwards Cambridge took its place among the recognised centres of higher education, while its faculty of theology made it of especial interest to all students of divinity. It is this which raises Cambridge to the same rank as Paris and Oxford in the Constitutions which Benedict XII issued for the Franciscan Order in 1336.4 In all matters concerned with the study of theology Benedict is careful to mention these three Universities, presumably because they and they alone had faculties of theology. The same is true of the decrees passed by the General Chapter of Venice in 1346,5 and those of the Chapter of Assisi in 1 Dr Little says {Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 135) that 'from about 1300 the practice entirely ceases', but Robert Alifax, the 56th master at Cambridge, had probably taught at Oxford previously (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 238). 2 Fuller, Hist, of Univ. of Cambridge, pp. 54-5; Denifle, Die Entstehung der Universitaten des Mittelalters, p. 375. 3 Rashdall, Universities of Europe, new ed., iii, pp. 283-4. 4 Sbaralea, Bullarium Franciscanum, vi, pp. 25-40. 5 Arch. Franc. Hist., v, pp. 698-709; e.g. 'ordinat generalis minister, cum generali capitulo universo, quod fratres qui ad generalia studia theologie transmittuntur de debito, eligantur per viam scrutinii, sicut de bachalariis lecturis Sententias Parisius, Oxonie et Cantabrigie in generali capitulo observatur' (p. 703).

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1354. Cambridge was now recognised by the authorities in the Order as one of the three most important places of study in the world. Of the friars who were chosen to be lectors at Cambridge in the early years of the fourteenth century the most interesting is Richard de Conington, who succeeded Adam de Hoveden about the year 1308. The known facts of his life are soon told. One of a group of distinguished men at Oxford in 1300, he was in due course chosen as lector there about 1305. A few years later he came to Cambridge as lector, but left in 1310 to become Provincial Minister, an office which he held for six years. After this he seems to have retired to Cambridge, where he died and was buried in 1330.2

Conington was a man who played a considerable part in the controversies which disturbed the Church in his day. In the early part of the fourteenth century there was something in the nature of a pamphlet war being waged over the question of Franciscan poverty, and Conington contributed two essays—the first a long treatise defending the Franciscan ideal, and the second a shorter work composed mainly of a restatement of the conclusions reached in his former work.3 These pamphlets were probably written either while he was at Oxford or Cambridge or during his years of office as Provincial Minister. After his resignation in 1316 he retired to Cambridge and it was during these latter years of his life that controversy broke out afresh—not, this time, between the various parties in the Order, but between the Order and the Church as a whole.4 Towards the end of 13 21 a sermon was preached by a certain Beguin in France in which the preacher declared that Christ and His apostles had 1

Sbaralca, Bull. Franc, vi, pp. 639-55. Cf. the decree of the General Chapter of Florence in 1467: 'Ad provinciam Anglie possunt mittere omnes provincie Ordinis, scilicet ad studium Oxoniarum, Cantabrigie, et ad alia studia eiusdem provincie (Wadding, Supplementum ad Scrlptores, p. 717). 2 See Biographical Note, below, p. 165. 3 These are transcribed and edited by Miss Decima Douie in Arch. Franc. Hist., xxiii, pp. 57-105, 340-60. 4 There is a good account of the dispute in Miss Douie's Nature and Effect of the Heresy of the Fraticelli, pp. 153-208.

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been entirely without possessions either individual or corporate. For this statement the preacher was brought before the Inquisition at Narbonne and charged as a heretic. Immediately a group of scholars and ecclesiastics rushed to the defence of the man so charged, the Franciscans among them claiming that to condemn such a doctrine as heretical would be to cut at the root of the ideals on which the Order of S. Francis had been founded. Appeal was made to the Pope, John XXII, who, after some time for deliberation, issued the bull Ad conditorem canonum in December 1322. This bull1 was, in effect, an attack upon the Friars Minor, for not only did it declare their principles to be theologically untenable but it also accused them of being worldly-minded. The Franciscans, led by Bonagrazia of Bergamo, protested against this, but the Pope followed up his previous attack with the decretal Cum inter nonnullos in November 1323,2 in which he declared it to be heretical to hold that Christ and His apostles were without possessions. Into the later history of the controversy we need not enter, but there is no doubt that the problem was earnestly discussed by the Franciscans of Cambridge. Richard de Conington, who had now retired from active life and was able to devote himself to scholarship, set himself to compose a reply to the bull Ad conditorem canonum? There is nothing very original in this essay, but the case for the ideal of poverty is ably set forth, without bitterness and with deep respect for authority.4 But though Conington was a peaceable and loyal churchman he appears to have stirred up some of the younger members of the Cambridge convent to less guarded statements. 1

It is printed in Bull. Franc., v, pp. 233-6. Ibid., v, p. 256. 3 This work of Conington's has been published by Miss Douie from a MS in Bishop Cosin's Library at Durham (MS V. iii, 8) in Arch. Franc. Hist., xxiv. 4 For example, he begins his tract with the words: 'Flecto genua mea ad dominum patrem meum, pontificem summum et vicarium domini Iesu Christi': quoted by D. Douie, The Heresy of the Fraticelli, p. 2O4n. At the very end of his life Conington was much distressed at the attitude of William of Ockham towards John XXII and actually wrote a defence of the Pope. Cf. Wadding, Annales Minorum, vii, pp. 168-9: 'Acriter contra Occhamum Johanni XXII refragantem scripsit'. 2

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Probably under the influence of Conington, though presumably without his approval, a small group of Cambridge friars began preaching openly against the policy of the Pope. Tidings of this eventually reached the Curia, and the Pope wrote on August 24th, 1329, to Itherio de Concoreto, the papal nuncio in England, congratulating him upon having arrested certain friars and telling him to send them to Avignon. At the same time he wrote a letter to Edward III giving the names of two of the friars—Peter of Saxlingham and John of Aquinton—and informing him that these two men had 'burst forth into such madness as to have publicly preached certain damnable and wicked errors and heresies' but that they were now under arrest in the convent of the Friars Minor at Cambridge. He informs the King that he has summoned these two friars to Avignon and expresses a hope that the King will assist him in seeing that the summons was executed.1 Twelve days later the Pope wrote again to the nuncio. This time two other friars were involved—Henry of Costesy and Thomas of Elmeden —though their offence seems to have been less grievous than that of Saxlingham and Aquinton. The nuncio is now instructed to make further enquiry.2 Itherio probably interviewed Costesy and Elmeden and decided that the charge against them was serious enough to demand their being sent to France for trial, for on March 22nd, 1330, the Pope wrote to the Provincial Minister, William of Nottingham, mentioning the four friars as preachers of heretical opinions and demanding that they be sent to stand their trial at Avignon. He mentions the fact that the four friars are now under some kind of confinement at Cambridge in the charge of Richard de Fakaham, the Vice-warden, and Brother Thomas Canynges.3 Whether or not they actually went to Avignon and, if so, what befel them there is not recorded. Both Thomas de Elmeden and Henry de Costesy had held office as lector when this trouble arose. Elmeden had come to 1

The letter is in Bull. Franc, v, pp. 401-2, and an abstract will be found in

Cal. Papal Registers, ii, p. 492. 1 Bull. Franc., v, p. 402. 3 Ibid., v, pp. 464-5; Cal. Papal Registers, ii, p. 493. The Pope also wrote to the Bishop of Lincoln instructing him to see that his orders were carried out.

H

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Cambridge from Carlisle and it is possible that he was attracted to what were regarded as somewhat heretical views through his friendship in the North with Walter de Chatton.1 Chatton proceeded from Carlisle to Oxford, where in due course he became lector at about the same time as his friend Elmeden held the same position at Cambridge. About the year 1322 he composed a very able defence of the Franciscan position in reply to the bull Ad conditorem canonum.2 Elmeden and Chatton had, therefore, a good deal in common, and it is likely enough that they had discussed these problems in the early days when they were both members of the same cloister at Carlisle.3 Henry de Costesy had succeeded Elmeden as lector about 1326. Of the four friars who were arrested in 1329 he was the ablest and the most original. Dr Little described him as 'a biblical commentator of remarkable learning and independence' and spoke of his knowledge of Hebrew and of his interest in the literal and historical meaning of the Scriptures rather than in the allegorical interpretation so beloved of the schoolmen.4 On this subject he had probably learned something from Nicholas de Lyra, the Franciscan at Paris who has been called 'the greatest exponent of the literal sense of Scripture whom the medieval world can show'.5 Costesy, it is true, frequently expresses his disagreement with the conclusions of de Lyra; but in their attitude towards the Bible they were in agreement. At that time knowledge of Hebrew was comparatively rare and was sometimes regarded with suspicion,6 but Costesy boldly set himself to master the language in order the better to understand the thought and intentions of the writers of the Old Testament. He possessed a Hebrew Psalter with the Superscriptio Lincolniensis which had certainly been the property, 1 Elmeden was ordained deacon and Chatton subdeacon at an ordination held in Dalston Parish Church on May 20th, 1307 (Regist.J. Hakon, i, pp. 279-80). 2 On this see Douie, Heresy of the Fraticelli, pp. 204-6. The MS is bound up with that of Conington at Durham. 3 Moorman, 'Some Franciscans of Carlisle' in Transactions of the Cumb. and Westtn. Arch. Soc. 1950, pp. 81-4. 1 Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 140. 5 M. R. James, in Camb. Mod. Hist., i, p. 591. 6 Cf. Stevenson, Robert Grosseteste, pp. 22-3.

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if not the actual work, of Grosseteste; and he himself wrote a commentary on the Apocalypse1 and another on the Psalms, a copy of which was found by Leland in the library of the Franciscans at London,2 while another copy is now at Christ's College, Cambridge.3 Apart from Conington, Elmeden and Costesy, little is known of the lectors at Cambridge in the earlier part of the fourteenth century. Edmund Marchal, who taught at Cambridge about 1323, was probably the most distinguished of them. He left England a few years after this, and was at the papal court at Avignon in 1333, when he served on a commission of theologians to investigate the question of the Beatific Vision.4 In 1336, or thereabouts, the chair was held by Robert Alifax, a friar who had already made a considerable reputation at Paris and Oxford, and was one of the few Englishmen mentioned by Bartholomew of Pisa in his Liber de Conformitate in 1399.5

Shortly after this, probably in the year 1340, came the first of the foreign lecturers appointed by the Chapter General in accordance with the Constitutions which Benedict XII had issued for the Order of Friars Minor in 1336.6 The plan which Benedict wished to see carried out was that once in every three years a friar either from Italy or from some other part of the continent should be sent to Cambridge to lecture for twelve months on the Sentences. The list of the Cambridge lectors in Eccleston's Chronicle shows that considerable trouble was taken to see that this decree was carried out. In the Cottonian version the list ends with the following names: 1

Now in the Bodleian, Laud Misc. 85. Leland, Collectanea, iv, p. 50. There was also another copy at the Norwich Dominicans (ibid., p. 28). 3 M. R. James, Descriptive Catalogue of the Western MSS in the Library of Christ's College, Cambridge, pp. 28-36. There is also a fragment in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, MS lat. 20, entitled 'De utilitate psalmorum daviticorum'. 4 Denifle et Chatelain, Chart. Univ. Paris, ii, pp. 421, 425, 453. Marchal died at Avignon, c. 1334 (Collect. Franc, i, pp. 143, 151). 6 Anal. Franc, iv, p. 339; cf. Wadding, Annales, vii, p. 170. 6 See above, p. 81. 2

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Fr. Johannes de Casale de prouincia Ianue. Fr. Willelmus Tithemers de custodia Oxon'. Fr. Willelmus Dermyntone de custodia BristolP. Fr. Ricardus de Haltone. Fr. Johannes Kellaw. Fr. Jacobus de Pennis postea episcopus. Fr. Adam de Hely. Fr. Petrus de Arragonia. Fr. Walterus de Bykertone. Fr. Johannes de Antingham. Fr. Walterus de Stowe. Fr. Rogerius de Cicilia. Fr. Willelmus de Harlestone. Fr. Johannes de Walsham. Fr. Willelmus Foleuile. Of these fifteen lectors four were certainly visitors from overseas—John de Casale, James de Pennis, Peter de Arragonia and Roger de Cicilia. The first of these, John de Casale, was a learned friar of the province of Genoa who is described by Bartholomew of Pisa as 'a master of theology, an able man who produced several Questwnes in philosophy and theology'.1 The Chapter General seems to have lost no time in carrying out the papal decrees, for Casale was certainly at Cambridge in the early part of 1341, since on June 6th of that year he was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely.2 After his year of office at Cambridge he returned to Italy and was later used by the Pope as one of his emissaries in Sicily in 1375.3 Of James de Pennis very little is known. He probably came to Cambridge as a fairly young man about the year 1346 and it has been suggested4 that he is to be identified with James de Tolemeis who was appointed Bishop of Narni in 1378. A few years later came Peter de Arragonia, who must have been at Cambridge soon after 1350. In 1366 we find him deputed by the Pope to be the bearer of a relic of the Franciscan, S. Louis of Toulouse, to Montpellier, and in later years he is known to have been in Cyprus.5 1

Liber de Conformitate, in Anal. Franc, iv, p. 527. Ely Registers: Montacute, f. 95. 3 Wadding, Annales, viii, pp. 323-4. 4 Little in Arch. Franc. Hist., 1926, p. 822 n. 5 Bull. Franc, vi, pp. 398, 456, 469, 498, 558-9. 2

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Of Roger de Cicilia, the last of the foreign lectors mentioned in Eccleston's list, nothing further is known. So far there seems to have been a more or less regular succession of these foreign lectors at Cambridge. The intention of sending one every three years does not seem to have been strictly observed but at least an attempt was made, from 1340 onwards, to see that Benedict's plan was put into operation. The last name in Eccleston's list of lectors is that of William de Folvil, who was certainly at Cambridge in 1358 and was probably lector about that time. If the three-year plan was not to break down completely it was time for another visiting lector to be sent by the Chapter General, and there is some evidence that this was done some time between 1360 and 1370. In 1373 there was elected as Minister General of the Order Brother Leonardo Rossi de Giffono of the province of Terra di Lavoro. He is described in one list of the Ministers as 'magister chantabriggiensis'.1 This does not state definitely that he had been lector at Cambridge, but there can be little doubt that he came to the University in that capacity in accordance with the Benedictine decrees. After Giffono the Chapter General had some difficulty in finding a suitable man for the post. Meeting at Strasburg in 1332 they chose a friar called Gabriel de Volterra who had lectured on the Sentences in the friars' schools at Florence, Siena, Bologna and Milan; but his health was not good and the doctors thought that it would be unwise to send him to England.2 As the Chapter had now dispersed, the Minister General, Mark of Viterbo, tried to find a suitable friar to send in his stead, and his choice fell upon Antonius de Foxano, who had lectured in many places of the Order. Antonious, however, had just been elected Minister of the Province of Genoa and was unable to accept the invitation.3 After this the attempt to find a friar who could be sent to Cambridge seems to have been abandoned for some years. It was not until 1371 that the matter was taken up again, and this time a Portugese friar was elected. Writing of certain friars appointed to various offices in that year Wadding says: I II

Arch. Franc. Hist., 1922, p. 346. Bull. Franc, vi, p. 375.

3

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Ibid., p. 396.

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Brother Thomas of Portugal, who had studied at Oxford and Paris and had lectured in Portugal and at Salamanca, was chosen by the Chapter General of the Order to expound the books of the Sentences at Cambridge.1 Two years later, in 1373, the Chapter General elected an Italian friar, Bartholomew da Rinonico da Pisa, the celebrated author of that strange book the Liber de Conformitate Vitae Bead Francisci ad Vitam Domini lesu, but owing to the wars he was never able to come to England.2 His place, however, was taken a few years later by Nicholas da Costa, who spent two years at Cambridge as lector about 1376-8, and then returned to Paris, where he took his doctorate in 1380 and later became Provincial Minister of the province of Aragon and confessor to Queen Iolanda.3 Finally, in 1383, the Chapter General sent to Cambridge another friar of Aragon, Ludovicus de Fontibus, 'ad legendum Sententias'.4 It is clear, therefore, that up to the end of the fourteenth century the Franciscan school at Cambridge was ruled, at more or less regular intervals, by distinguished friars from abroad. Eleven friars are known to have been elected to this office, and eight of these certainly came to Cambridge and served their time there. There may, of course, have been others whose names are not known to us, and the practice may have been continued into the fifteenth century though we have no evidence of this. But that the Cambridge school gained from such contacts with the Order overseas can hardly be doubted, while the fact that it was included with Oxford in this plan, and that so much trouble was taken to put the scheme into operation, shows that the Franciscan school of theology at Cambridge was regarded as one of the leading places of study in the world. 1 'Frater Thomas Portugallen. qui Oxoniae et Parisiis studuit, Portugalliae et Salamanticae legit, et in comitiis generalibus Ordinis electus est ut Cantabrigiae libros Sententiarum interpretaretur' (Annales, viii, pp. 239, 249). 8 Cf. Anal. Franc, iv, Intro., p. xi. 3 Denifle et Chatelain, Chart. Univ. Paris., iii, pp. 286-7. This is a letter from the Pope to the Chancellor of Paris written on December 27th, 1379, about Nicholas Coste, B.D., formerly of Cambridge, where he had been sent by the Chapter General to read the Sentences. He had been there about two years. He was now to go to Paris to lecture on the Sentences there, and, if he passed his examinations, was to receive the 'licentiam docendi' and be made D.D. Cf. Arch. Franc. Hist., 1924, pp. 153-4. * Arch. Franc. Hist., 1924, p. 16;.

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All our evidence, therefore, points to the fact that the Cambridge house of Friars Minor in the fourteenth century was a very flourishing institution. Through the munificence of the citizens the friars were provided with fine buildings, they had produced or attracted some of the leading theologians of the day, they had grown rapidly in numbers, and they had built up for themselves a fine reputation. The fourteenth century also saw a great advance in the life of the University. After the foundation of Peterhouse in 1284 there was a long gap of forty years before any other colleges were founded; but in the next twenty years new foundations appeared with great rapidity. Michaelhouse was founded in 1324, King's Hall in 1337, Clare in 1338, Pembroke in 1347, Gonville Hall in 1348, Trinity Hall in 1350 and Corpus Christi in 1352. Thus by the middle of the century the whole appearance of the University of Cambridge had fundamentally changed. Hitherto, except for Bishop Balsham's foundation of Peterhouse there had been little in the way of buildings. Most of the masters and their pupils lived in hostels and lodgings; lectures were given either in the hostels or in churches; there was no library, no building where University functions could be held, no place where University treasures could be kept.1 Gradually, however, the University was becoming more self-conscious, more aware of its needs and of its future, and consequently more doubtful of the desirability of having in its midst independent and flourishing bodies such as the Friars Minor with their attractive and successful theological school.2 1

The churches of either the Austin or the Franciscan friars were used for the ceremony of 'Commencement'. In 1348 one of the common chests was kept at the Carmelites (Cooper, Annals of Cambridge, i, p. ioo) and in 1381 another was at S. Mary's church (A. Gray, Cambridge University, an episodic history, PP- 54-5)2 W. W. Rouse Ball {Cambridge Papers, p. 185) writes of the friars: 'I believe that the presence in Cambridge of these great establishments, always having a certain number of students, gave stability to the nascent University, and tended to prevent its dissipation in times of stress: this is a point in our early history which is sometimes overlooked'. This may be true of the very early days, but there came a time when, in the eyes of the University, the friars represented not a stabilising influence but an obstacle to progress. IO3

THE FRANCISCAN SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE

But not only were the friars well and firmly established in Cambridge; they even had some influence on at least one of the colleges. The foundress of Pembroke, Marie de S. Pol, had long taken an interest in the Franciscan Order. She had chosen a Friar Minor, John Peverel, as her confessor, had given land in 1336 to the Minoresses of Waterbeach and in 1339 had founded the Abbey of Denny,1 and was finally buried in the Franciscan habit.2 When she decided to found a college at Cambridge she was anxious to forge some kind of link between it and the Franciscan Order. So in the first statutes which were drawn up for the college it was made part of the constitution that there should be elected each year two Rectors, one a secular and the other a Franciscan. They were to be graduates of the University, and their functions included the admission of men elected to fellowships and certain visitorial jurisdiction.3 When the statutes were put into operation it was soon discovered that this proposal would not do. The feeling in the University between the seculars and the friars was too tense to make any such arrangement workable. The idea of a friar exercising 'visitorial jurisdiction' over a college of seculars was scarcely feasible, and, within a few years, the scheme had to be abandoned. In the revision of the statutes which was made in 1366 the 'Rectors' are not mentioned at all, and the rights and duties which had been assigned to them were transferred either to the Master alone or to the Master acting in conjunction with two or more of the fellows.4 So ended the experiment of linking up a new and secular foundation with one of the old and regular houses. It was bound to fail; the friars were by this time becoming too unpopular in the University for such a proposal to work, and it is not surprising that it was so soon abandoned. For there can be no doubt that the relations between the friars and the University were very much strained throughout the four1 A. L. Attwater, Pembroke College, Cambridge, pp. 6-7; A. F. C. Bourdillon, The Order of Minoresses in England, pp. 18-22. 2 Cal. of Wills in Court of Hustings, ii, p. 194. 3 Mullinger, Hist, of the University of Cambridge, i, p. 23711. Attwater (pp. cit., p. 9) gives the names of two friars, Rayner d'Ambonnay and Robert de Stanton, as possibly the first Franciscan Rectors of the college. 4 Mullinger, op. cit., i, p. 237n.

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teenth century, and as the University grew in power and prestige it was inevitable that it should view the schools of the mendicants with some misgiving. In the thirteenth century the quarrel between the friars and the University had been mainly on a purely academic question: What was to be the position of the friar lectors? Were they to submit to University statutes or not? In the following century the attack on the friars was more general. The University authorities were jealous of the prosperity of the friars' schools and alarmed at the increase in the number of the friars. Moreover, by this time there was a more general criticism of the mendicants going on, and the regent masters of the University found it easy to ally themselves with the reformers and satirists who were aiming their shafts at the friars. In order to understand the hostility of the University authorities to the friars in the fourteenth century it is necessary to remember the conditions under which life was lived at a medieval University. It was normal for boys to come up to the University at the age of fourteen or thereabouts, but they were left very largely to fend for themselves. The number of colleges was small and most of them catered only for graduates, so that the undergraduate either found accommodation in a hostel or had to find his own lodgings in the town. In either case he was subject to very little discipline and was liable to run wild. Chaucer's tale of the two boys from their home 'fer in the north, I can nat telle where' who spent so catastrophic a night at Trumpington is probably typical; and when one remembers that Alan and John in the story were probably no more than fifteen or sixteen years of age it is easy to understand that cautious and respectable parents were a little nervous of sending their sons into a community where there was so little discipline and so many temptations. Moreover, studious youths who wanted to pursue their studies in peace and quiet must have found the turmoil of University life most uncongenial. In face of these problems the friaries seemed, in some ways, to supply the answer. Here were places where boys could be looked after, where their studies could be directed by older scholars, and where they would find all the necessities for a studious life. The difficulty was that the friaries could not be run as hostels for 105

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seculars; any who wished to live and work there must first become friars. In the eyes of the parents this was the great disadvantage. The friars were not always popular with the laity and a good many parents had no wish that their sons should join one of the mendicant orders. On the other hand the boys were far from home and therefore far also from parental influence, the friars often went out of their way to make themselves attractive to the boys, with the result that a good many joined the Orders and so were lost to the University. The Order of Friars Minor had always had a number of very young members. Thomas of Chantimpre, the Dominican, tells of a boy in Flanders who joined the Franciscans at the age of five and died two years later;1 Jean Pierre Olivi, the leader of the Spirituals, became a friar at the age of twelve,2 and Salimbene mentions an English friar called Stephen who had joined the Order while a little boy.3 These, however, must be regarded as exceptions, for the Order as a whole was anxious to discourage the profession of boys before they had reached years of discretion. Thus the Chapter of Narbonne in 1260 passed a decree that none should be admitted under the age of eighteen except those of particular merit who might join at any time after the age of fifteen.4 This was undoubtedly putting the age-limit rather high, especially in view of the growing schools at the Universities. Had the minimum age remained at eighteen it would have made recruitment among young students at the Universities impossible. It is not, therefore, surprising that at the General Chapter of Assisi in 1316 the age was lowered to fourteen.5 Nine years later, at Lyons, a rider was added to the effect that oblates might be received at an earlier age but were not to be professed under the age of fifteen.6 From early in the fourteenth century, therefore, it was permissible, according to the statutes of the Order, for boys to be 1

Arch. Franc. Hist., viii, pp. 396-7. Arch, fiir Liu. undKirch., iii, p. 411. He was born in 1248 or 1249 and joined the Order in 1260. 3 Chronica, ed. Holder-Egger, p. 296. 'Puerulus intraverat ordinem'. 4 Arch, fiir Litt. und Kirch., vi, p. 88. 6 Arch. Franc. Hist., iv, p. 277. 6 Ibid., p. 527. 2

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received from the age of fourteen upwards. This exactly suited the friars at Cambridge, for it was at about this age that boys usually came up to the University, and the friars were able at once to begin their proselytising. Undoubtedly they had considerable success, and at the expense of the University, for the main burden of the complaint of the academic world against the friars was that they were enticing young boys into their Orders and so taking them away from the schools. With summer fruits [writes Richard de Bury in the Philobiblori\, ye attract boys to religion, whom, when they have taken the vows, ye do not instruct by fear or force, as their age requires, but allow them to devote themselves to begging expeditions, and suffer them to spend the time, in which they might be learning, in procuring the favour of friends, to the annoyance of their parents, the danger of the boys, and the detriment of the Order.1 This was written in 1344 before the ravages of the Black Death, which certainly reduced the number of the friars and necessitated a more vigorous recruiting campaign. In the years which followed the plague the friars had to deal with a much more formidable opponent than the benign Bishop of Durham. This was Richard Fitzralph, Archbishop of Armagh, who attacked the friars on many points including that of their method of getting hold of young boys especially in the University towns. Enticed by the wiles of the friars [he declared] and by little presents, these boys (for the friars cannot circumvent men of mature age) enter the Orders, nor are they afterwards allowed, according to report, to get their liberty by leaving the Order, but they are kept with them against their will until they make profession; further, they are not permitted, as it is said, to speak with their father or mother, except under the supervision and fear of a friar. An instance came to my notice only this morning.2 As I came out of my inn an honest man from England, who has come to this court to obtain a remedy, told me that immediately after last Easter the friars at the University of Oxford abducted in this manner his son who was not yet thirteen 1 Philobiblon, ed. E. C. Thomas, pp. 188-9. Richard de Bury had his own special grievance against the friars, namely that they bought up all the best books and so prevented him from getting them for his own library. 2 This is part of a speech delivered before the Pope at Avignon.

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years old, and when he went there he could not speak with him except under the supervision of a friar.1 This attack on the mendicants was made on November 8th, 1357, and there is no doubt that Fitzralph was giving expression to a very general feeling of hostility at the Universities towards the methods adopted by the friars to make up their numbers after the plague. At a time when the Universities themselves were feeling very much the shortage of students they could only regard with dismay the large number of boys who were enticed into the religious orders. It was clear that action must be taken, and in 1358 the University of Oxford passed a statute forbidding the admission of boys under eighteen into any of the religious orders. The preamble states that nobles of this realm, those of good birth, and very many of the common people are afraid, and therefore cease, to send their sons and relatives and others dear to them in tender youth, when they would make most advance in primitive sciences, to the University to be instructed lest any friars of the order of mendicants should entice or induce such children, before they have reached years of discretion, to enter the order of the same mendicants.2 Subsequent events leave no room for doubt that the University of Cambridge passed a similar statute at the same time, though no record of it has been preserved. Meanwhile the regent masters at Cambridge made a further effort to limit the number of the friars by passing a statute to say that in future it shall be unlawful for two friars of the same cloister to incept in the same year,3 and followed this up by a further decree that there shall never be two doctors or bachelors of the same religious house lecturing concurrently.4 1 From E. Brown, Fasc. Rerum Expetendarum, quoted by Little in Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 79. See also Gwynn, The English Austin Friars in the Time of Wyclif, pp. 80-9, for a further account of Fitzralph and the friars. 2 Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 80; Strickland Gibson, Statuta, pp. 164-5. 3 'Statutum est quod duo de eodem claustro mendicantium non incipiant uno anno'': Documents relating to the University and Colleges of Cambridge, i, pp. 395-6. The date is July 4th, 1359. 4 'De nullo ordine mendicantium possunt duo magistri vel duo baccalaurei in lectura ordinaria vel Sententiarum in eadem universitate concurrere'. ibid., p. 396.

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Such decrees were undoubtedly meant to act as a check on the growing numbers of the mendicants, and it was therefore only to be expected that the friars should make some protest. After the passing of these new statutes the friars appealed to Rome, and in November 1364 the Pope sent a mandate to the Archbishop of Canterbury to summon the Chancellor of Cambridge and others concerned, and, if the facts are as stated, to compel them to annul the statutes and penalties made against the admission into the mendicant orders of scholars under the age of eighteen.1 Whether Archbishop Islip ever held this meeting is not known,2 but in the following July Urban V sent a further mandate to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of Llandaff and Bangor to cite the Chancellors, Masters, regents and others concerned of both Universities, to appear and give their reasons why certain statutes recently passed by the Universities should not be perpetually revoked. The statutes concerned were all aimed at the mendicants, and included the following: that no one should proceed to a doctorate in divinity unless he had previously graduated in arts; that there shall never be two regent masters lecturing concurrently in any one cloister; that at Cambridge no one shall be admitted to lecture on the Sentences until he has offered to answer publicly in the schools all the regents in the faculty of theology, or that at Cambridge if any prelate or prince ask for a grace for a member of any mendicant order, and the grace be refused, and the University be put to expense by reason thereof, no member of that order shall be promoted to any degree until the said expense be refunded or guaranteed by the said order or by the person promoted.3 Much was here at stake. If the University were compelled to annul all these statutes, then the battle which it was fighting against the mendicants would be lost. On the other hand, if the University were able to uphold its claim to restrict the number of regent masters in the mendicant orders and to prevent the orders from admitting boys under the age of eighteen, then the friars themselves would be put in a most difficult position and their hope of 1 2 3

Cal. Papal Registers, iv, p. 91. There is no mention of it in his Register. Cal. Papal Registers, iv, pp. 52-3. IO9

THE FRANCISCAN SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE

getting hold of the boys when they first came up to Cambridge would be taken from them. If the meeting demanded by Urban V were held it seems to have reached no conclusion, for in 1366 the matter came up before the King in Parliament. Cooper gives the following account of the proceedings: In the Parliament at Westminster on Tuesday after the Invention of the Holy Cross in this year (May 5 th) the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the four orders of Friars Mendicant complained by their petitions of divers outrages, disputes, damages and mischiefs done and attempted on the one part by the other. The Chancellor and Proctors of the Universities and the Provincials and Ministers of the four orders were present and submitted themselves altogether to the ordinance of the King, who thereupon, with the assent of the Prelates, Dukes, Earls and Barons, ordained to the following effect: (i) that the Chancellors, Masters regent and non-regent of the Universities and the Friars of the four orders dwelling therein should in all graces and school-exercises use each other in a courteous and friendly manner; (ii) that the statutes lately made by the Universities that the Friars should not receive into their orders scholars under the age of eighteen years should be repealed and held for nought; (iii) that the Universities should not make any new statute of the like nature nor any ordinance which should be prejudicial to the Friars, without good and mature deliberation; (iv) that the Friars should suspend the execution of all bulls and processes from the court of Rome in their favour against the Universities and should renounce all advantages therefrom; and (v) that the King should have power to redress all future controversies between the parties, and that he and his Council might punish at their pleasure all offenders against the present ordinance.1 Of the statutes directed against the friars the only one which is here specifically mentioned is that which concerned the minimum age for the admission of boys into the Order. O n this fundamental issue Parliament came down on the side of the friars, no doubt to their satisfaction and the disgust of the University authorities. But that the public as a whole was not satisfied with this decision is shown by the fact that the question was brought up again in Parliament in 1402, when the Commons petitioned that no one should be allowed to enter any of the four orders of friars under the age of twenty-one. Again the King refused to agree to any 1

Cooper, Annals of Cambridge, i, pp. 108-9. IIO

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such suggestion, contenting himself with issuing an order that no friar should admit to an Order a child under fourteen years of age without the consent of his father, mother or guardians.1 Thus the battle was won by the friars, and the admission of quite young children continued. For example, early in the fifteenth century we hear of a boy called Henry Wytbery who 'when a child under eleven years was handed over against his will to the Friars Minor of Exeter by his father, in order (as was supposed) to exclude him from succeeding to his inheritance',2 and on the eve of the Dissolution there was a novice at Grantham who was only thirteen years of age.3 Shortly after this Reginald Pole is said to have remarked: 'You shall see some friars whom you would judge to be born in the habit, they are so little and young admitted thereto'.4 The question of the age at which boys might be admitted to the Order affected the Cambridge Franciscans very closely. If they lost the battle against the University and were forced to desist from the admission of lads under the age of eighteen one of their main functions at Cambridge would have gone. Originally they had come there knowing that a University town gave a promise of 'a good catch of men', and hitherto they had undoubtedly been successful. Boys coming up to the University at the age of fourteen or fifteen had been attracted into the Order, and were there for life. The Cambridge Franciscans therefore exerted themselves to the utmost to see that their rights and customs were not interfered with. Fuller describes the contest thus: The University now began to be sensible of a great grievance, caused by the Minors or Franciscan Friars. For they surprised many when children into their order, before they could well distinguish between a cap and a cowl, whose time in the University ran on from their admission therein, and so they became Masters of Arts before they were masters of themselves.6 The University boys (for men they were not) wanting wit to manage their degrees, insolently domineered over 1

Rotuli Parliamentorum, iii, p. 502. Little and Easterling, Franciscans and Dominicans of Exeter, p. 24. 3 V. C. H. Lines., ii, p. 217. 4 Quoted in Maynard Smith, Pre-Reformation England, p. 40. 5 A good epigram, but inaccurate. Friars did not become Masters of Arts. 2

Ill

THE FRANCISCAN SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE

such who were their juniors, yet their elders. To prevent future inconveniences of this kind, the Chancellor and the University made an order that hereafter none should be admitted gremials under eighteen years of age. The Minors or Franciscans were much nettled thereat, who traded much in tender youth (minors and children agree well together); and William Folvil a Franciscan wrote an invective against the act of the University as injurious to the privileges of this order, it being against monastical liberty to be stinted to any age for the entrance therein.1 The William Folvil whom Fuller mentions in this passage was a native of Lincoln and a D.D. of Cambridge, where he became 73rd lector to the friars about 1354.3 He appears to have been closely concerned with the controversy over the age of admission of friars, and wrote a tract, Pro pueris induendis, defending the practice of his Order.3 Meanwhile a more formidable opponent of the friars was rising to fame. The story of the relations between John Wyclif and the friars, which began with mutual respect and ended in bitter hostility, belongs to general history rather than to that of Cambridge. But the Wyclifite controversy did, in fact, have one indirect effect upon the University of Cambridge and therefore also upon the Franciscan school there. Wyclif spent much of his life at Oxford and attracted a number of disciples there. The result of this was that, in the eyes of the orthodox, Oxford was suspected of becoming a home of heresy, and Cambridge began to prosper at Oxford's expense. Tt was not until Oxford had become impregnated with the Wyclifite heresy', said Rashdall, 'that Cambridge came into fashion with cautious parents and attracted the patronage of royal champions of orthodoxy and their ecclesiastical advisers. The numbers grew rapidly during the latter half of the 1

Fuller, Hist, of the Univ. of Cambridge, p. 118. He gives the date as 1384. See Biographical Notes, below, pp. 176-7. 3 Tanner describes him as 'Minorita, patria Lincolniensis et S. theol. doctor Cantabrigiensis. Cantabrigienses statutum edidere ne fratres minores infra academiae limites pueros ante annum aetatis 18 in suum ordinem acciperent. Hoc aegre tulerunt Franciscani quasi contra privilegia sua factum. Igitur Gul. Folvile contra dictum statutum scripsit, Pro pueris induendis, lib. i 'Haec est sententia fratrum Minorum' (Bibliotheca, p. 292). I have not been able to trace any copy of this work. 2

112

IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY

fifteenth century and towards the close must have nearly equalled the much diminished population of Oxford'.1 So, as we enter the fifteenth century, we find the University of Cambridge entering upon a period of progress and expansion; while the Franciscans, with nearly two centuries of useful and distinguished work behind them, were still holding their own and playing, in the life of the University, a part which was by no means negligible.

1

Rashdall, Universities of Europe, new ed., iii, p. 285. 113

CHAPTER VII

THE LATTER YEARS was perhaps the chief problem with which the Church in England had to deal in the fifteenth century. Up till then England had been practically free from heresy. When the returning Crusaders brought back with them from the East ideas which were not in line with the orthodox teaching of the Church, or when social unrest gave birth to bitter criticism of the clergy and the demand for a religion without priest or sacrament, England seems to have been strangely unaffected. Consequently the movement initiated by John Wyclif towards the end of the fourteenth century put both Church and State very much on their guard. In 1401 Parliament passed the savage statute De haeretico comburendo, and in the same year that 'malleus haereticorum', Archbishop Arundel, visited the University of Cambridge and demanded 'whether any were suspected of Lollardism or any other heretical pravity'.1 The answer must have been a negative one, for Cambridge at this time appears to have preserved a blameless orthodoxy, so that in later years the poet Lydgate could write: 'By recorde all clarkes seyne the same Of heresie Cambridge bare never blame.'2 In this 'blameless' atmosphere the school of the Franciscans at Cambridge continued to produce able men who could take their part in the religious controversies of the time. It was natural that the mendicants, being so closely in touch with the Apostolic See, should have been regarded as the champions of orthodoxy, and it was no doubt this which made them more than ever unpopular at Oxford, where a number of the secular masters had taken the side of Wyclif. In 1382 there was a move at Oxford to drive the friars out of the University altogether, and one Nicholas Hereford LOLLARDY

1 2

Cooper, Annals of Cambridge, i, p. 147. Mullinger, The University of Cambridge, i, p. 637. 114

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preached a fighting sermon in which he argued that in future no member of any religious order should be allowed to proceed to any degree in the University.1 With feelings running high, it was only natural that the friars should become partisans, and we are not surprised to find them putting up a stiff resistance to the Wyclifite movement. At the 'Council of the Earthquake', which met at Blackfriars in London in May 1382, ten of Wyclif's conclusions were judged to be heretical and fourteen erroneous, and among the doctors of divinity who took part were four Franciscans, two from each University. Cambridge was represented by two interesting men—William Folvil, champion of the friars in their dispute with the University over the admission of young boys, and Roger Frisby, who ended his life on the gallows.2 At the fifth session a further Cambridge Franciscan was added to the tribunal, John Ryddene.3 The opposition of the friars to Wyclif led some of them to attack John of Gaunt for his interest in the Wyclifite cause. Among the 'Ancient Correspondence' in the Public Record Office is a letter written to the Duke by Maud, formerly nurse to his daughter, Lady Philippa. In her letter she begins by asking after his health, and then goes on to refer to two Grey Friars of Cambridge, Hugh Bandon and John Drynkestor, and three Black Friars 'qu'ont malveisement et traitouresement parle de vouz, mon tres redoubte, come je le oiay a grand deshertement de mon cuer'. She ends with a wish that God will defend her lord from all his enemies: 'Tres redoubte et tres puissant siegnur la Beneite Trinyte maynteyngne longement vostre tres haut seignurie et vouz doigne victorie de touz voz enemvs'.1 The letter gives no details of the 'treacherous' language of the Cambridge friars, but it may well have been concerned with the spread of Lollardism. But the friars did not confine themselves to religious issues. In the political troubles which attended the deposition of Richard II and the accession of Henry IV a number of the Franciscans played 1

Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 84. Fasciculus Ziianiorum, pp. 287, 499. For Roger Frisby see below, pp. 177-8. 3 Ibid., p. 291. 4 John ofGaunt's Registers, 13J2-6, ii, p. 355.

2

"5

THE LATTER YEARS

a prominent part, among them some of those connected with the Cambridge house. In 1401, two years after the death of Richard II in Pontefract Castle., a rumour went round that he was not really dead but was living in Scotland, whence he would in due course march south and depose the usurper, Henry IV. One Cambridge Franciscan, whose name is not known, appears to have supported this tale, for we read that a woman acusid a grey frere of Cambrigge, an old man, of certayn wordes that he sholde haue said ayens the kyng, and his iugement was that he sholde fizte with the womman, and his on hand bounde behynde him: but the Archebisshop of Cantirbury was the freris frend and cesid the mater.1 The judgment here delivered cannot have been much more than an example of rough medieval justice, and the King may have thought that there was little to be feared from these friars. But soon afterwards he became conscious of real danger, and the next group of friars was handled with much greater severity. The Chronicler speaks first of a 'frere menour of the couent of Aylesbury' who accused a priest friar of his house of having said that he was glad that King Richard was still alive. The friar was summoned before the King, interrogated, and finally hanged. Further reports of disaffection among the Franciscans continued to reach the court, and although a number of friars escaped, some were caught and brought to London. The centres of resistance to Henry seem to have been a group of friaries in the Midlands—Leicester, Stamford, Nottingham and Northampton—and the leader Roger Frisby, a D.D. of Cambridge and now Warden of the convent at Leicester. Frisby and some other friars were brought before the King in Council at Westminster on June 29th,2 where thair acuser stood by and stedfastly acusid thayme, and thay ansuerde vnwarly. Thanne saide the king to the maister Roger Frisby. 'Thise 1

An English Chronicle of the Reigns of Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI, Camden Soc, p. 23. 2 On May 27th, 1402, four friars had been committed to the Tower, and another seven, including Frisby, on June 1st. On June 29th Frisby and five other friars were summoned before the King, and the incidents here recorded took place that day. See P.R.O. Controlment Roll, 3 Henry IV, No. 43, m. 32.

THE LATTER YEARS

bith lewde men, and not vnderstondyng; thou sholdist be a wise man, saist thou that King Richard livith?' The maister ansuered, 'I say not that he livith, but I say yf he live, he is veray King of Engelonde'. The King saide, 'He resigned'. The maister ansurede, 'He resigned ayens his wil in prison, the whiche is nought in the lawe'. The kyng ansuerde, 'He resigned with his good wille'. 'He wolde not haue resigned' saide the maister, 'yf he hadde be at his fredoum; and a resignacion maad in prison is not fre'. Thanne saide the kyng, 'He was deposid'. The maister ansuerede, 'Whanne he was kyng he was take be force, and put into prisoun, and spoyled of his reme, and ye haue vsurpid the croune'. The kyng saide, 'I haue not vsurpid the croune, but I was chosen therto be elecioun'. The maister ansuerde, 'The eleccion is noughte, livyng the trewe and lawful possessour; and yf he be ded, he is ded by you, and yf he be ded be you, ye haue loste alle the righte and title that ye myzte haue to the croune'. Thanne saide the kyng to him, 'Be myn hed thou shall lese thyne hed'. The maister saide to the king, 'Ye loued nevir the chirche, but alwey desclaundrid it er ye were kyng, and now ye shall destroie it'. 'Thou liest' saide the king; and bad him voide, and he and his felowes were lad ayen vnto the tour. Thanne axed the kyng counsel what he sholde do with thaym; and a knyzt that loued nevir the chirche saide, 'We shal nevir cece this clamour of Kyng Richard til thise freris be destroid'. So they were brought again before the justices at Westminster and the justice saide unto thaym, 'Ye bith enditid that ye in ipocrisie and flateryng and fals lif, haue prechid fals sermons; wherynne ye saide falsli that King Richard livith and haue excited the peple to sech him in Scotland—Also, ye in your ypocrisie and fals lif, haue herd false confessions, wherynne ye haue enioyned to the peple in wey of penaunce, to seche King Richard in Walis—Also ye with your fals flateryng and ypocrisie haue gadrid a gret summe of money with begging, and sent it to oweyne of Glendore, a traitour, that he sholde come and destroy Englond—Also, ye haue sent in to Scotland for vc men to be redy upon the playn of Oxenford on midsomer eve to seche kyng Richard'. In answer to this the friars threw themselves upon the country, but neither men of London ne of Holborne wolde dampne thaym; and thanne thay hadd an enquest of Yseldon, and thay saide 'Gilti'. Thanne the justice yaf jugement and saide, 'Ye shul be drawe fro the tour of Londoun vnto Tiburne, and there ye shalle be hanged, and hange an hool day, and aftirward be take doun, and your heddis smyte of and set on London brigge.' And so it was don. 117

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Frisby preached, on behalf of his fellows, on the text In mantis tuas, Domine, and swore that he had never wished evil to King Henry. Then the execution took place, and on the morou aboute evesong tyme, on cam to the wardeyn of the freris1 and saide that he myzte fette away the bodiez and burye thaym; and whanne thay came thay founden thaym caste in to dichis and heggis, and the heddis smyten of, and thay baar thaym hoom to thair couent with gret lamentacioun.2 The fifteenth century was, for the University of Cambridge, a time of steady advance. The erection of the Divinity Schools had been completed by 1398, and the building of the rest of the quadrangle (which subsequently became the University Library) went on during the following years.3 Then in 1430 the settlement was reached, known as the 'Barnwell Process', in which the University substantiated its claim to independence from episcopal control.4 This was followed by the foundation of two new colleges, King's in 1440 and Queens' in 1448. The result of all this was to make the University much more self-conscious. The lack of proper lecture-rooms had, from the first, been a grave handicap to the authorities as well as a cause of estrangement between them and the mendicants, who all had their own schools to which students were attracted. Now 'with the building of the new schools the tendency was to drift away from the houses of the mendicants and leave them to their own devices'.5 In the thirteenth century the friars had played a very important part in the building up of the University. Dr Little's remark that it was the Franciscans who gave the University its faculty of 1 Presumably this means the Warden of the Grey Friars of London, at that time probably Robert Chamberlain (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 57). 2 An English Chronicle . . . Camden Soc, pp. 24-6. The Chronicle of Adam of Usk (ed. E. M. Thompson, pp. 84, 255) mentions the hanging of the friars, who are described as 'undecim de ordine fratrum minorum, doctores in theologia', but there is no other evidence of any doctor of divinity apart from Frisby. Cf. also Euloglum Historlarum, iii, pp. 391-3. 3 Willis and Clark, Architectural Hist, of the Univ. of Cambridge, iii, pp. 9-11. 4 Cooper, Annals of Cambridge, i, pp. 182-3. 5 Mullinger, Hist, of the Univ. of Cambridge, i, pp. 300-1; cf. also A. Gray, Cambridge University: an Episodical History, pp. 54-5.

THE LATTER YEARS

theology is no overstatement,1 for not only did their school reach a high standard of work, but the Order was able to send to it some of the most distinguished scholars in the world. This high standard was maintained well into the fourteenth century, though at the cost of considerable friction between the University and the friars. As time went on, this friction became more serious, though at first the friars were in a strong enough position to fight for their claims. But in the fifteenth century the battle had really been won by the University. The Franciscan school was becoming a far less important element in the life of Cambridge, and the University was discovering that, with its increased prestige and its grand new buildings, it could outbid the friars. The impression, therefore, which we get of this period is of the University going its own way and either leaving the friars to go theirs or allowing them to be absorbed into the general life of the schools. So sharp had been the dispute between the friars and the University in the fourteenth century that various steps were taken to try to limit the number of the friars. In the lean years after the Black Death the academic authorities had taken alarm at the successful recruiting methods of the friars and had done their best to prevent them from making good the ravages of the plague. Statutes had been passed to keep down the number of the friars and to prevent two bachelors or doctors of the same convent from lecturing concurrently. Such statutes were, no doubt, meant to be kept. The University was struggling for its independence and could give no quarter. But in the fifteenth century we find ourselves in an atmosphere of greater toleration. The University has little need now to fear the rivalry of the friars and can afford to be more gracious. Thus we find concessions made to the friars which would have been almost unthinkable in earlier days. For example, in 1471 a grace was passed in the following terms: 'Grace is given to Master Peter, a Friar Minor, that he may lecture concurrently, and that he shall not be obliged to act as regent or to lecture unless he wishes to do so.2 Moreover, in spite of the statutes, we find 1

Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 143. Such was also claimed by the friars themselves, see below, p. 235. 2 Grace Book A, p. 88; cf. pp. 16, 96, 101. 119

THE LATTER YEARS

several instances of two friars of the same Order taking their degrees in the same year—such as Dr Talbot and Dr Brigote, both Franciscans, who incepted in theology in 1502, and two Dominicans, Dr Dudyngton and Dr Codnam, who did the same twelve years later.1 Another concession often made to the friars was their exemption from the payment of'commons' (a charge made on all students at certain points in their career), though this concession was afterwards withdrawn.2 Another was that they were absolved from the very expensive business of having to feast the regent masters at the time of their inception, being allowed instead to pay a fixed fee of 8 marks.3 Among other concessions made to the friars we find Friar Bedford being granted the privilege of counting his time in the cloister of some other convent as part of his 'residence' at Cambridge.4 Cambridge in the fifteenth century included a large number of regulars among its students. In the thirty-three years covered by Grace Book A from 145 5 to 1488 not only are there over a hundred friars recorded, but also just over eighty monks and canons, including twelve abbots and eleven priors.5 The regulars, therefore, were still playing an important part in the life of the University. Every year their names appear in the lists of those admitted to degrees and they seem to have constituted about five per cent, of the whole University. But, unlike the earlier days, they were now accepted as part of the ordinary life of the schools. The old days of rivalry between the regulars and seculars seem to have passed away, both monks and friars now fulfilling their acts like 1

Grace Book B, i, p . 182; ii, p. 36. Grace Book A, p. xxxi; B, i, pp. xix-xx, 83, 145, 238, etc. In the early years of the sixteenth century the friars seem always to have paid their communa like other students. 3 Grace Book A, pp. viii-ix. Monks paid 10 marks (£6 13*. 4J.); cf. Documents relating to the Univ. and Colls, oj Cambridge, i, p. 434. 4 Grace Book A, pp. xxxi, 97. s The Abbots of Shrewsbury, S. Benet-at-Holme, Colchester, Walden, Westminster, Ramsey, Faversham, Bury, Peterborough, S. Osyth, Waltham and Croxton, and the Priors of Norwich, York (S. Mary's), S. Albans, Coventry, Walsingham, Stonely, Gloucester (S. Oswald's), Lewes, Lenton, Watton and Canterbury College, Oxford. 2

I2O

THE LATTER YEARS

other students. They hand over their 'cautions'; many of them pay their commons; they pay their fees 'de non convivando'. The fifteenth century also saw changes in the methods of study at the University. The course in theology was still based upon the old syllabus,1 but the approach to the subject was undergoing certain modifications. The old scholastic method of disputation was being slowly abandoned by the more progressive spirits in favour of more modern methods of study. Men were becoming more interested in facts and less in authority, and the two inventions of paper-making and printing, which put much cheaper books on the market, gave the death-blow to the old scholastic system.2 Perhaps there was no way in which the new learning showed itself more clearly than in the study of the Bible. One of the pioneers in the scientific approach to the text of the Bible had been Robert Grosseteste. After his death, and as a result of his lectures to the Franciscans at Oxford, his work had been taken up by the friars in England, both Roger Bacon at Oxford and Henry Costesy at Cambridge having made important contributions. In this matter the Order was divided, for, at a time when it was producing some of the leaders in the new learning, it was also producing some of the most prominent schoolmen who were more or less committed to the old allegorical approach. In Cambridge in the fifteenth century there were, no doubt, in the Franciscan convent friars of conservative instincts who viewed with dismay the growth of a critical attitude towards the sacred text, but there were certainly some who turned eagerly to the study of Hebrew and Greek in order that they might understand more clearly the literal meaning of the Bible. Prominent among these was Richard Brinkley, who came to Cambridge about 1480 and took his doctorate in 1492.3 He is not known to have written anything, but he had a habit of making notes in the books which he read (including some which were not his!), and from these notes we can learn something of his tastes 1 a 3

Grace Book A, pp. xxvi-xxvii. See Peacock, Observations on the Statutes, p. 31. Grace Book B, i, pp. 21, 48, 49. 121

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and interests. He was certainly a student of Greek, for a Greek Psalter and a Greek New Testament, now both in the library of Caius College, bear his name. The former1 has his name—'ffr. Ric. Brynkley'—on f. 113,2 and in the latter, which he borrowed from the Grey Friars of Oxford, he wrote his name three times, the last time in Greek characters—p |3pr|VKEAei SIBCCCTKOACOS.3 These two books, which may represent only a small part of his library, show that this friar was studying both the Old and New Testaments in Greek. Another manuscript, now in the Bodleian,4 shows that Brinkley was also a student of Hebrew, for this is a Hebrew Psalter which he borrowed from the monks of Bury St Edmunds.5 Brinkley was at Cambridge in 1492, when he took his degree, and there is every reason to suppose that he remained in Cambridge until 1518, when he became Provincial Minister, a position which he held until shortly before his death in 1526.6 If this is so, then he must have made friends with Erasmus, who was in Cambridge in 1506 and again from 1511 to 1514. Erasmus may have disliked the physical climate of Cambridge, but the intellectual climate suited him well. Comparing Cambridge with Paris he wrote: 'These two universities are adapting themselves to the tendencies of the age, and receive the new learning—which is ready, if need be, to storm an entrance—not as an enemy but courteously as a guest.'7 Erasmus almost certainly paid one or two visits to the house of the Grey Friars, where he would find a number of kindred spirits, especially Richard Brinkley. He would also find there, either in the possession of the convent or in the private libraries of the friars, a number of Greek manuscripts which he would be glad to consult in connection with his work 1

MS 348, which contains the Franciscan account-sheets of 1363-6. Unfortunately in the recent rebinding of this MS this note was cut off, but it is reproduced in facsimile in J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, plate 2. 3 J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, p. 19. 4 Bodl. Laud, Orient. 174. 5 M. R. James, The Abbey ofS. Edmund at Bury, Camb. Ant. Soc, vol. xxviii, pp. 87-8. 6 Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., pp. 205-6. 7 Mullinger, A Hist, of the Univ. of Cambridge, i, p. 507. 2

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on the text of the New Testament. Among these was the manuscript now known as the 'Leicester Codex', which appears to have been written by Emmanuel of Constantinople about 1470.1 This was either in the possession of Richard Brinkley or it belonged to the Cambridge Franciscans, and there is no doubt that Erasmus was familiar with it. Brinkley left Cambridge in 1518. By this year a small group of 'reformers' was beginning to form itself in Cambridge. Thomas Bilney became a Bachelor of Canon Law in 1521, and Robert Barnes, the Austin friar, proceeded D.D. in 1523.2 Both must have been at Cambridge for some years, eagerly absorbing the new ideas which were beginning to come from Germany. The first meetings at the White Horse Tavern appear to have been held early in the 1520s,3 and although no Franciscan is known to have attended them there were friars in the convent whose minds were beginning to be affected by the new ideas. At this time the University as a body remained strictly orthodox. In 1520 Luther's works had been introduced into England and an examination of them was immediately held in London, to which Cambridge sent four of its theologians.4 The works were adjudged heretical, and public burnings of them took place in various parts of the country. One was held in Cambridge, for the proctors' accounts for the year 1520-1 include, among payments: 'For drink and other expenses connected with the burning of the books of Martin Luther, 2s.'5 But while the University thus publicly advertised its orthodoxy a party was being formed among some of its more ardent spirits which was destined to change the whole face of the country. The Franciscans appear to have been divided. The Order as a 1

Allen, The Age ofErasmus, pp. 121-2, 144. It derives its modern name from the fact that it is now in the Old Town Hall Library at Leicester. 2 Grace Book B, ii, pp. 94, 104. Cranmer took his B.D. in 1521 and his D.D. in 1526 {ibid., pp. 95, 130), Latimer his B.D. in 1524 (p. 114) and Ridley his B.D. in 1537 and his D.D. in 1541 (pp. 203, 230). 3 E. G. Rupp, The English Protestant Tradition, pp. 15-46. 4 These were Henry Bullock of Queens', Dr Humphrey, John Watson of Christ's and Robert Ridley, uncle of Nicholas (Grace Book B, ii, p. 92). 5 'Pro potu et aliis expensis circa combustionem librorum Martini lutheri . . . s> ij ; Grace Book B, ii, p. 93. 123

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whole would instinctively tend towards orthodoxy. The friars were the special agents of the Pope, they were closely associated with the schoolmen, they belonged essentially to the past, and they were among those who had most to lose. We shall not, therefore, be surprised to find, among those who lived at the house of the Grey Friars at Cambridge in the early part of the sixteenth century, a group of men who set their faces firmly against the disruptive forces which were stirring in Europe. Henry Standish is typical of this school. He came to Cambridge from Hereford in the latter years of the fifteenth century, and became, in due course, Warden of the London house and Provincial Minister (1505-18) before being made Bishop of S. Asaph in 1518. There was never any doubt where his sympathies lay, for in 1525 he was made one of Wolsey's examiners of heretics and was among those who tried 'little Bilney' in 1527.1 The same might be said of Stephen Baron, who became an Observant and confessor to Henry VIII.2 William Call, who was related to the Pastons, came to Cambridge from Norfolk and took his D.D. in 1510.3 There seems no doubt that he remained orthodox in his opinions; but he was a man of wide sympathy and his friendship with Thomas Bilney, whom he visited in prison in 1531, had some influence upon him, so that, in Foxe's words, 'through the means of Bilney's doctrine and good life, whereof he had good experience, he was somewhat reclaimed to the gospel's side'.4 What Foxe means by this is not altogether clear, for William Call certainly remained orthodox, holding office as Provincial Minister from 1526 to 1538, the last to hold this position.5 Another friar who was, for a time, attracted by the new ideas was Gregory Bassett, who came to Cambridge in 1523 and took his B.D. ten years later.6 Soon after graduating he went to Bristol, where he was arrested and thrown into prison for having been in possession of a book by Martin Luther and for having taught the children a catechism which was heretical. While in prison Bassett 1 3 5

2 Foxe, Acts and Monuments, iv, p. 621. See below, p. 151. 4 Grace Book B, i, p. 247. Foxe, Acts and Monuments, iv, p. 642. 6 Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 206. Grace Book B, ii, p. 178.

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was threatened with having both his hands burned off, upon which he recanted and became afterwards a bitter opponent of the new thought. He was charged with the examination of Thomas Benet, who was condemned to death at Exeter in 1533, and is described by Foxe in the following terms: 'There was one bachelor of divinity, a grey friar named Gregory Bassett, more learned indeed than they all, but as blind and superstitious as he which was most'.1 Bassett certainly had an adventurous career, for, having held a living in Devon in Mary's reign, he was deprived of it on the accession of Elizabeth and had to flee for his life. The last we hear of him is as a fugitive in Herefordshire while once again a warrant was out for his arrest, this time not as a reformer but as a recusant.2 If the house of Franciscan friars at Cambridge produced some who were orthodox and some who were waverers, it also produced some who threw themselves heart and soul into the Reform movement. Perhaps the most distinguished of these was Bartholomew Traheron, who came to Cambridge from Oxford in 1527 and took his B.D. in 1533. He must have been a disturbing element in the convent, for he was already a convinced reformer. Left an orphan at an early age he had been brought up by Richard Tracy, a member of a Gloucestershire family which had thrown in its lot with the reformers. Traheron wrote to his guardian: Whan I was destitute of father and mother, you conceaued a very fatherly affection towarde me and not onely brought me up in the universities of this and forayne realmes with your great costes and charges, but also most earnestly exhorted me to forsake the puddels of sophisters.3 At Oxford Traheron had suffered some persecution for his beliefs, being already regarded as 'an olde disciple' in the reformers' party,4 and it was probably this which led to his transference to Cambridge. At what stage in his career he became a Friar Minor, and for what reasons, is most obscure. Having been brought up 1

Foxe, Acts and Monuments, v, pp. 20-24. See below, pp. 151-2. 8 See D. N. B., vol. xix, pp. 1067-8, 1075. 4 Nichols, Narratives of the Reformation, p. 32. 2

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from an early age by a convinced Protestant it seems strange that he should have entered one of the religious orders. Possibly he had some idea that the friars might become the 'shock troops' of the Reformation. At any rate, it was as a Friar Minor that he came to Cambridge, finding himself in the same house with a number of men who were becoming interested in the ideas which were being so eagerly discussed in the country. If any member of the Franciscan convent attended the meetings at the White Horse Tavern, one would have expected to find Traheron among them, for all his life had been spent among reformers, and some of those who met there may have been his personal friends. William Roy was a friar who took an interest in the study of the text of the Bible while he was at Cambridge, and was the scribe of the Montfort Codex of the Greek New Testament. He then became interested in the translation of the Scriptures into English and in 1524 joined Tyndale at Hamburg and worked with him for a few years. But Tyndale found him far from satisfactory, and they never got on very well together. Tyndale described Roy as a man somewhat craftye. . . As long as he had no money, somewhat I could rule hym; but as soon as he had gotten hym money he became lyke himselfe agayne... His tunge is able not only to make fools sterke mad but also to deceyve the wisest that is, at the first acquayntance.1 With men like this in the house living side by side with staid, orthodox friars of the old school, life at the Grey Friars at Cambridge in the early years of the sixteenth century must have been stimulating if, perhaps, sometimes stormy. But the days of the community were numbered. In spite of the fact that the friars were still making some contribution to scholarship,2 and in spite of the fact that, unlike the older religious houses, they had no great estates or rich treasures to spoil, nevertheless the King thought that they had outlived their day; and when the blow fell upon the smaller monasteries in 1536 the friars knew that it would not be long before they too were sent about their business. 1

Cooper, Athenae Cantabr., i, p. 44; and see below, p. 205. Cranmer bore witness that the friars still had a large number of learned men at Cambridge: Baskerville, English Monks and the Suppression, p. 229. 2

126

CHAPTER VIII

THE DISSOLUTION AND AFTER few of the Franciscan houses in 1536 could have boasted of an income of more than £200 a year, they were not affected by the first act for the suppression of the monasteries, which was designed to close down all religious houses whose incomes were less than this figure. There are probably two reasons why the friars were excluded in 1536. One is that the first act was not designed to destroy the religious life, but to reduce the number of religious houses. There were at the time several hundred small monastic communities, often comprising only a handful of men or women, and it was thought advisable to close these houses and to give their inmates the choice between 'taking their capacities' (which meant seeking secular occupation) or going to swell the depleted numbers in the larger monasteries.1 As the numbers in the friaries were much more even than in the older monasteries, there was no clear distinction to be drawn between the 'greater' and the 'lesser' houses, nor was the number of friaries great enough to demand a reduction. Moreover, although the act of 1536 laid stress on the decay of the smaller houses and on their redundancy, there is no doubt that the King had an eye on their estates, which were often out of proportion to the number of men whom they were intended to support. This also would not apply to the friars, whose estates were negligible. In the first attack on the monasteries, therefore, the friars were left alone. It is always difficult to assess popular opinion, but on the whole the friars seem to have been accepted as a part of the religious life of the country.2 If the evidence of wills is a good guide to the feelings and tastes of the more prosperous sections of the community, then the friars were by no means out of favour, ALTHOUGH

1 2

Gee and Hardy, Documents of English Church History, p. 258. Baskerville, English Monks and the Suppression, pp. 227-9. 127

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for every friary was in receipt of legacies right up to the eve of the Dissolution. This was so at Cambridge, where many legacies were left to the Grey Friars during the early years of the sixteenth century, many of the testators being local tradesmen. Such gifts were normally made not to support the work of the friars as scholars or as preachers, but to gain their prayers, for men still believed that the prayers of the 'poor religious' would be of value to them in the next world.1 But if the religious who were spared in the attack on the monasteries in 1536 thought that they were going to be left in peace, it was not long before they discovered their mistake. If in the first act the King had really intended merely to reduce the number of religious houses rather than to abolish the monastic life, his mind soon changed; and by 1538 it was clear that a total dissolution was intended. In this the friars were to suffer like all other regulars. Early in 1538 Richard of Ingworth, an ex-Dominican (who, curiously enough, had the same name as one of the first Franciscans at Cambridge), visited a number of friaries up and down the country. There is no evidence of his having visited Cambridge— a task which he may have delegated to one of his assistants—but on March 10th he wrote from Lincoln to Thomas Cromwell saying that he had visited Boston and Huntingdon, and it is probable that the friaries at Cambridge were visited about this time. Ingworth has often been severely criticised, but he was not altogether unsympathetic towards the friars. In this letter to Cromwell he asks for consideration to be paid to the friars on the grounds that they were not very popular with the secular clergy and might find it hard to obtain livings when their livelihood was taken away from them. He writes, therefore, to Cromwell 'besecheyng yower lordschyp to be good lorde for the pore ffreyrs capacytes. The byschoyppys and curettes be very hard to them withowtt they have ther capacytes'.2 Some time in 1538 the visitors arrived at the gates of the Franciscan friary at Cambridge to inspect the place and make their 1 2

See Appendix F below. Wright, Suppression of the Monasteries, p. 193. 128

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report to Cromwell. They would find, first of all, about twentyfive or thirty friars living there. The deed of surrender gives the names of twenty-four friars, but there is some evidence that these lists are not always complete. We know, for example, from the episcopal registers, of fourteen friars from Cambridge ordained between 1520 and 1538. Of these only one occurs among those who surrendered, four had moved to other houses—Bedford, Lynn, Beverley and Newcastle, leaving nine unaccounted for. Even if some of these had gone elsewhere (for not all the Dissolution lists have survived) it would still leave more than twenty-four at Cambridge.1 Of the twenty-four who signed the deed of surrender the Warden, William White, was probably about fifty years of age and had spent most of his life at Cambridge, for he was there when ordained deacon in 1510.2 The Vice-warden, John Fakum, aged about forty, a B.D. and a student of poetry, had been at Cambridge for about twenty years.3 Thomas Diss, ordained deacon in 1515 and priest in 1517, was also in middle life. He had started serious study at Cambridge about 1521 and had taken his B.D. in 1533. In 1534 he was Warden of the friary and appears to have found his duties so overwhelming as almost to cause a nervous breakdown. The morow after the Saturday in clensynge weeke [writes a contemporary diarist] the warden of the grey fryars, bachelar dysse, preched & after the prayers he was so abasshed & astouned that he cowde nether say hyt by harte nor rede hytt on hys paper & so he was fayne to cum downe ye pulpett with thys protestatyon, that he was neuer yn that takynge before but as now he was yntangled with worldly busynes concernynge ye howse & for that he gave not so great dylygens as became hym for to doo.4 Robert Whight had studied both at Oxford and Cambridge, mainly on the income of an exhibition provided by his benefactor, 1

At Stamford 17 were ordained in 1520-38. Of these 2 occur in the list of friars there at the Dissolution, 4 are known to have gone elsewhere, leaving 11 unaccounted for. On this point cf. also W. Gumbley, The Cambridge Dominicans, p. 39. Baskerville's estimate of 550 Franciscans in 1538 {English Monks and the Suppression, p. 227 n.) should probably be increased by about 20 per cent. a 3 4 Below, pp. 222-3. Below, pp. 175-6. Grace Book A, p. 229. K

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Thomas Fyneham. He had taken his D.D. in 1522, so was now a man in middle life.1 William Cateryke was the only other graduate, having taken his B.D. in the actual year of the Dissolution.2 Two other middle-aged men were John Yonge and John Arnold, who had been ordained subdeacon in 1515 and 1520 respectively. Thomas Scott and John Vincent had come to Cambridge from Norwich, where they had both been recently ordained.3 Of the previous history of the other fifteen friars who signed the deed of surrender nothing is known. As far as the buildings were concerned, the church was in fairly good repair, partly through the help which the University had provided.4 It was now being used regularly once or twice a year for academic functions, and had been so used for the last thirty years. Dr Caius described the ceremony in the Franciscan church as follows: A temporary wooden stage was erected on which were various tiers so that strangers could observe by themselves. The doctors disputed among themselves while the rest of the University sat quietly in the midst as in an arena or lower portion. In these assemblies the bachelors wore triumphal garlands made of laurel in winter, as a sign that they had conquered and surmounted the hardships and difficulties of their profession: and that is why they are called 'bachelors' (bacchalaurei.') For the rest, some, in summer time, wore on their heads roses, others crowns made of variousflowers.This used to be the custom when we were young, and it was not thought proper (nor is it today) to uncover the head or to take off and lay aside either the garland or cap for salutations and making of reverences even of the most honourable men. Then he complains that nowadays (i.e. in 1574) laurel, roses and other flowers are despised and men insist on wearing on their heads the most ostentatious things—gold chains and coronets and the like.5 It was to the advantage of the University that the Franciscan church should be kept in good repair, but the remainder of the conventual buildings had undoubtedly fallen into decay. In the report of the commissioners 'the grey freres in Cambrige' is 1 2 3 5

Below, p. 222. See below, p. 162. 4 See below, pp. 148, 208-9, 22O> 2 2 5 See above, pp. 44-5. Caius, Historia Cantabrigiensis Academiae (1574), pp. 122-3. 130

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mentioned among 'the howses of freres that have no substance of leade, save only som of them have smale gutters'.1 The library had been recently visited by the antiquarian, John Leland, but he found little worthy of note. He does not describe any such state of affairs as he found at Oxford, where the books were covered with cobwebs, moths and bookworms;2 but he mentions only five books as being of significance: In bibliotheca Franciscanorum. Epistolae Roberti Grostest numero 127. Ex quibus apparet ilium fuisse archidiaconum Leycestrensem. Novit sanctitas. Epistola fratris Gulielmi Notingham de obedientia. Epistola Lincolniensis, instar libelluli, ad Adamam Rufum, quod deus prima forma & forma omnium. Duo sermones Lincolniensis habiti coram Papa. Ambrosius Ausbertus.3 There must have been other books which Leland did not think worthy of note, but it is probable that the library had already been to some extent dispersed, and some of the books may well have found their way into other libraries either at home or overseas.4 Although we have no report from those who visited the friary before the Dissolution, the evidence which we have from other sources suggests that the house had lost a good deal of its former glory. Its great days were, in fact, done; and in the new spirit which was at work in the land the house of the friars must have appeared as a relic of the past, which, as such, could hardly hope to survive the pending destruction of all the religious houses. The exact date of the surrender of the house of Friars Minor at Cambridge is not known, though it probably took place in September 1538. Officially the friaries were not legally suppressed, for no Act of Parliament had as yet been passed to order their destruction; but in each case the friars were told that it was idle to suppose that they would be spared and were asked to surrender 1

P.R.O. Court of Augmentations, Misc. Henry VIII, E. 36/153, f. 9. Cf. Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, xiii, pt. 2, p. 191. But cf. the Certificate of the King's officers in November 1538, below, p. 259. 2 Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 62. 3 Leland, Collectanea, iv, p. 16. 4 See above, pp. 57-8. 131

THE DISSOLUTION AND AFTER

voluntarily into the King's hands. A common form of surrender was used in which the friars were obliged to acknowledge that many of their religious practices were based upon superstition and that their customs were meaningless. We doo profoundly consider [ran the document] that the perfeccion of Christian liuyng dothe not conciste in dome ceremonies, weryng of a grey cootte, disgeasing our selffe aftyr straunge fassions, dokynge, nodyngs and bekynge, in gurdyng our selffes wythe a gurdle full of knots, and other like Papisticall ceremonies, wherin we haue byn moost pryncipally practysed and misselyd in tymes past: but the very tru waye to please God, and to Hue a tru Christian man, wythe oute all ypocrasie and fayned dissimulacion, is sincerly declaryd vnto vs by oure Master Christe, his Euangelists and Apostles.1 There was something intentionally undignified in this, and some of the friars must have felt the insult to their habit; but what could they do? The spirit of the age was against them; they must accept their fate and turn their thoughts to the future. Men who had been twenty or thirty years in the cloister had now to find some means of livelihood: would 'the byschoyppys and curettes be very hard to them' now that they were cast out into the world? On the whole the answer seems to be a negative one. The friars, because their surrenders preceded by some months the surrenders of the older religious houses, were first in the field in the scramble for livings, and seem to have done reasonably well. Of those who were at Cambridge at the time of the surrender at least four obtained work as secular clergy in the district—Laurence Draper as Vicar of Hatley (Cambs), Luke Taylor first as stipendiary priest and later as Rector of Castle Camps, Thomas Scott as Vicar of Mildenhall, and Damascene Daly as stipendiary priest of S. Giles', Cambridge.2 Thomas Diss, the ex-Warden, held various livings in East Anglia until his death in 1559, while William Thurbane became Rector of Wrotham in Kent, William Caterick Rector of S. Alban's, Wood Street, in London, and John Brack Rector of Hawkeden in Suffolk.3 John Baker, who came to Cambridge from Canterbury and went afterwards to London, survived well into the reign of Queen 1 2

See the form in Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, pp. 217-18. 3 See below, pp. 168, 171, 208-9, 215. See below, pp. 154, 162, 170, 215.

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Elizabeth and turns up finally as an old priest living in the parish of S. Bartholomew, where he died in 1572. In his will he asks to be buried 'in the Gray ffreres Cloyster in the parishe of Christ Churche over against the Scholehouse dore ther', which shows that after thirty-four years his heart was still with the friars, and, in spite of all that had happened, one would like to think that his will was carried out and that he slept with his brethren in the end.1 Thomas Wood, who had graduated B.D. only two years before the Dissolution, lived until 1579. He was loyal to the old faith and held the living of Harlington for a year in Queen Mary's reign, but was deprived by Elizabeth and died a prisoner in the Marshalsea.2 On the other hand, John Crayford, who left Cambridge for Newcastle shortly before the Dissolution, was presented by Henry VIII to a canonry at Durham which he held until 1561.3 Many of the friars were thus quite well provided for, though there must have been others who fell by the wayside and were hard put to it to make a living. None appears to have received any pension, not even William White, the Warden.4 The friars left their old home in or about the month of September 1538, and the dust soon began to settle in church and cloister and refectory. But no attempt was made at first to demolish the buildings, which continued to stand for some years. The large and open church which had been used so often for academic functions was now all shut up, but the University authorities soon began to realise that it might still be used again for their ceremonies. So, perhaps in the autumn of 1540 and certainly in the spring of 1541, the old church was cleaned out and once more the staging was erected and the disputations held.5 But this was the last time. 1

2 See below, p. 150. See below, p. 224. See below, p. 167. The future career of some other friars has already been mentioned; see above, pp. 124-6. 4 In fact, very few of the friars received pensions; cf. Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 119. 6 The proctors' accounts, 1539-40, record: 'Pro purgationely formes in templo franciscanorum, iiijd. Pro vectura eorundem a predicto templo ad ecclesiam beate marie, viijd' (Grace Book B, ii, p. 231). In the Easter term of 1541 wefind:'Pro mundatione templi franciscanorum tribus vicibus, iis viijd. For carying and 3

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Whether through the gradual decay of the building or because of some prohibition from outside, the friars' church was not used again and the University was obliged in future to hold its ceremonies in the schools. Yet so suitable had the Franciscan church proved for these functions that attempts were made by the University to acquire this building as a permanent hall for its own use. In 1540 the Vice-Chancellor, Mr Ainsworth of Peterhouse, was directed by the Senate to intercede with the King and Cromwell, who was then Chancellor of Cambridge, and a draft petition was drawn up asking for possession not only of the church but of the whole site including church, conventual buildings, out-houses, orchards, gardens, dovecotes and watercourses.1 But though application was made on various occasions it met with no success, and a note has been added to the petition in a later hand: 'This graunt dyverse tymes sued for but cold never be opteyned'. Shortly afterwards Roger Ascham approached the Bishop of Westminster, Thomas Thirlby, with a similar request, asking him to use his influence towards the acquisition of the site. 'Our great toil' he writes 'makes little progress. Their house [i.e. the house of the Friars Minor] is not only a grace and ornament to the University, but presents great convenience for holding congregation and transacting all kinds of university business.'2 But the King was still undecided as to what the future of the University was to be, and these appeals were of no avail. Almost as soon as the friars had gone, the place was inspected by the King's officers of the Court of Augmentations. They report that the house was held by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Buckmaster, for the King's use, that there is a quantity of lead amounting to 180 'fodders' on the roofs, that there are three bells, but that all the moveable goods have already been taken away by the King's visitors, presumably on the day of the surrender. All debts Recarying of ii lodys of hordes from saynt mares to freers, xvid. For carying of a layd of bord from freers to scoles, iiijd> (ibid., p. 233). 1 Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, xiii, pt. 2, pp. 194, 294. The draft petition is printed in Willis and Clark, Architectural History of the Univ. of Cambridge, ii, p. 752. 2 R, Ascham Epist. Lib. 7/^(1703), p. 332. Willis and Clark, op.cit., pp. 724-5.

THE DISSOLUTION AND AFTER

had already been paid, and the church and other buildings are as yet undefaced.1 A month or two later John Erlech made a further examination of the house and reported as follows: as to the site, the garden was now let for 40s. to William Buckmaster, Vice-Chancellor of the University; the brewhouse had been let to Henry Heyne for 26s. Sd.; the other buildings remained in the custody of the ViceChancellor for the use of the King.2 In 1545-6 the officers reported that a further room had been let for the sum of yd. a year.3 Meanwhile the King had been trying to make up his mind what to do with the site and buildings which had fallen into his hands in 1538. No doubt it would have been a princely gesture to present them to the University to be turned into schools and halls, but Henry was very doubtful whether he wished the Universities to continue at all. The Dissolution of the monasteries had passed off so quietly, and had brought such material gain to the royal exchequer, that Henry was contemplating a similar step with the Universities and colleges, which were also in possession of considerable wealth. But Katherine Parr knew how to handle her lord and dissuaded him from his purpose. The result was that the King decided not only to spare the Universities but to found, at Cambridge, a 'royal college of unprecedented size and magnificence'.4 But this would need large quantities of stone and timber, and the King turned naturally towards the deserted buildings of the Grey Friars as a convenient quarry. In May 1546 a survey was made of the site and buildings which shows that already considerable dismantling had taken place. The text is as follows: The University of Cambridge. A particular Survaye made the 20th of May, Anno Regni Regis Henrici Octavi 350 of the late dissolved House of the Grey Freers, within the University of Cambridge, as hereafter followeth, that is to saye: 1

P.R.O. Exch. Accts., K.R. Church Goods 12, No. 37. See below, p. 259. P.R.O. Ministers' Accounts, Henry VIII, 7286. See below, pp. 259-60. 3 Hid., 7292, m. 16. See below, p. 260. 4 G. M. Trevelyan, Trinity College, p. 10. 2

THE DISSOLUTION AND AFTER

The site of the said Howse of Freers with the Precincts of the same.

The Church and Cloysters with all other the Houses thereupon bilded, bine defaced and taken towards the bilding nothing of the King's Majesties New College, < in Cambridge, and therefore valued The Soyle wherof, with the Orchard, Brewhouse, Malthouse, Millhouse and Garner, within the Wallis thereof bine [ 4. <5. 8. yerelye worth to be leten fowre Pounds six Shillings and eight Pence Sterling.

Vis. et Examinat: per me, Ro. Chester, Supervis. Domini Regis ibidem.1 Many thousands of cartloads of stone were taken away during these years2 to be used in the building of the Chapel and the Great Court of Trinity.3 The church was probably thefirstbuilding to be demolished since it would provide the best type of stone. Then three sides of the cloister were pulled down, leaving the north walk to be subsequently converted into a barn.4 The out-houses and the other buildings were the next to go, but the schoolhouse was not taken down until 1553-4,5 and the refectory was left standing until the eighteenth century.6 The site had been surveyed in May 1546, when dismantling was already in process. In December 'the site, inclosure, circuit, ambit and precinct of the said late House, and all Messuages, Houses, Buildings, Stables, Dovehouses, Pools, Waters, Orchards, Gardens, Land and soil thereto pertaining, and all the Walls, ditches and enclosures' were formally handed over to the Master and Fellows of Trinity College.7 In the following year, 1547, a survey was taken of the site and buildings with the following result: 1

Willis and Clark, op. cit., ii, p. 725. The Bursars' accounts at Trinity record the removal of 2950 loads of stone from the Grey Friars to Trinity in the course of one year, 1556-7 (ibid., p. 562). 3 Cf. Cambs. and Hunts. Arch. Soc, i, p. 320. * See above, p. 42. 5 Willis and Clark, op. cit., ii, p. 726. 6 See Appendix D below, pp. 239-41. ' Le Keux and Cooper, Memorials of Cambridge, iii. 2

136

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At y freres. In primis eight stooles for masons to heue stone of. Item a roofe of tymbre wch was ouer y e hall at the freres lying in a store house next to Laignes, and an old whele barrowe. Item hewen stone for wyndows and for y e turrett vnder y e scole howse, with old slate and an old hand barroue. A morter tubbe. Item a stock lock and a key of y e lyme kylne doore. Item a locke and a key of y e owter gate. Item two morter tubbes. A whele barrow. Item thre sowes of lede of which one lieth where y e churche stode being v c di' qa xxjli in weight; and two in y e corner of ye cloyster next to y e steple and lyme kylne, tone xiijc xiiijli tother vij c vijl'.1

It seems fairly clear that by the end of 1547 the place was more or less in ruins even though there still remained many tons of stone to be carried away to Trinity. Shortly before the above inventory was made the first portion of the land had been let to William Laing, labourer, who had taken the whole of the orchard, most of the garden lying between the orchard fence and the King's Ditch, and some of the land to the west of the ditch including the malthouse, kilnhouse and old brewhouse which stood there.2 This was not only the largest section to be leased but also contained the best land, including the orchard and garden. It was let for £ 4 6s. %d. a year. The second lease, which was granted to Ralph Bicardyke on Christmas Eve, 1549, comprised the south-west corner of the site and included the old refectory and the schoolhouse. The land would not be much good, as the foundations of the cloister and other buildings must have made it difficult to cultivate. It was therefore let at the modest rent of 5^. a year. The third lease was in 1562, when the site of the church together with 'a greet store house', which appears to have been made out of the north walk of the cloister, was let to William Hedley, yeoman, for zos. a year. This left a triangular piece of ground between the King's Ditch and the orchard still unlet.3 1

Willis and Clark, op. clt. ii, p. 726. Ibid., p. 727. 3 See plan on p. 138. The leases are printed in Willis and Clark, op. cit., ii, p. 727. 2

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Leases granted at the Dissolution

THE DISSOLUTION AND AFTER

For some years the ground remained in the hands of these tenants, but in 1578 the Corporation of Cambridge made application for the site in order to build a hospital for the poor; but nothing came of this project.1 Then about 1589 the executors of Frances, Countess of Sussex, opened negotiations with the Master and Fellows of Trinity for the purchase of the land, on which they hoped to build a new college. On this occasion Trinity seemed more ready to part with the site, but unfortunately their statutes did not allow any sale of land, and an Act of Parliament had to be passed to allow them to do so. In asking for this act the petitioners request permission for the Master and Fellows of Trinity College to 'gyve graunte bargayne sell or alyene or to lett in fee farme or otherwise' to the executors of Frances, Countess of Sussex, 'one parcell of lande conteyninge by estymacion thre acres be it more or lesse called or knowen by the name of the late scite of the house of the Graye Fryers within or nere the Town of Cambridge in the Countye of Cambridge nowe inclosed with one stone wall with thappurtenances'.2 The negotiations were long drawn out, and the Earl of Kent on behalf of the executors had to write to Dr Neville, Master of Trinity, on October 10th, 1595, saying that 'the Tyrnehath bynne longe, the Charges and Troubles very great to the Executors'.3 This seems to have accelerated matters, and the land must have been sold shortly after this, for the foundation-stone of Sidney Sussex College was laid on May 20th, 1596. Thus out of the ruins of the Franciscan convent there arose two new foundations, the colleges of Trinity and Sidney Sussex. In many ways it was appropriate that a religious house which had been renowned for its high standard of scholarship should in the end have helped towards the creation of other educational institutions; for the history of the Grey Friars at Cambridge was, almost from the very beginning, closely concerned with the growth and development of the University. 1

Willis and Clark, op. cit., ii, pp. 730-1. Enactments in Parliament specially concerning the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, i, pp. 212-4. 3 B.M. Add. MSS 5842, f. 214. Cf. Willis and Clark, op. cit., ii, pp. 735-6. 3

139

THE DISSOLUTION AND AFTER

The Franciscans had come to Cambridge as mendicants to work among the poor and to share in their hardships and privations. This they had done in the early days; and, to some extent, they continued to do so until the end. But their chief and most notable activity was to be not in the realm of preaching and pastoral ministry, but in teaching and in the promotion of sound learning. It had not been part of S. Francis' ideal that his friars should take part in academic work. Indeed, he had been staunchly opposed to any such thing. But out of the collapse of the original Franciscan vision there arose a new ideal, an alliance of poverty and learning which was to give a fresh vigour to the Order and to have a deep influence on the intellectual movements of the day. At each of the University towns the friars were able to make their influence felt, both by their learning and by the quality of their lives; and nowhere was this more true than at Cambridge, for the Franciscans arrived here just at the time when the University was struggling to its feet and they were able, by their contacts with the academic life of Europe, to give it just the help and encouragement which it needed. Indeed it is doubtful whether, without their help, the University would have developed a faculty of theology at all. Thus the friars played a very important part in the life of the University as well as in the religious and educational life of the country as a whole. Their school at Cambridge attracted students from all over the world, and many of their teachers were scholars of international reputation. So long as the University was in its infancy the friars could hold their own; but as the power and reputation of the seculars grew it became inevitable that the friars must either be absorbed or driven out. For a time, in the fifteenth century, they were more or less absorbed into the general life of the University, and this might have continued indefinitely had there not arisen a King who set his face against the religious life and determined on the abolition of all religious houses. It was, therefore, not by the University that the friars were driven away from Cambridge, but by the State. In its great days the house of the Grey Friars at Cambridge had been a notable and flourishing foundation, with its great 140

THE DISSOLUTION AND AFTER

church, its schoolhouse, its library. Today there is nothing left except an old wall in the garden of Sidney Sussex College, a large number of stones built into the walls of Trinity, a few manuscripts scattered about in various libraries of Europe, and a conduit which still brings water into the town. But the world has its debt to pay to the Grey Friars of Cambridge. As has been said: 'The Franciscans deserved well of Cambridge. To the town they gave a water supply: to the University they gave its Faculty of Theology: and Pembroke College owes its foundation to their initiative'.1 This was no mean achievement for an institution which began with a handful of men living in the direst poverty in the comfortless house of Benjamin the Jew.

1

Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 143. 141

APPENDICES A. CUSTODES, WARDENS, VICE-WARDENS AND LECTORS

(For further particulars and references see the Biographical Notes in Appendix B.) (i) Custodes Only five custodes of the Cambridge: Custody are known by name: c. 1230. Richard de Ingworth c. 1232. Robert de Thornham John de Alby 1347c. 1408. Stephen Bulingham John Lent (date unknown). Dr Vergraunt was possibly custos in the fifteenth century. (ii) Wardens Thomas de Hispania Robert Fraunceys (?) Richard de Kellaw Adam de Folsham William de Pecham John Bartholomew Friar Swynborne Thomas Diss William White (iii) Vice-wardens Richard de Fakaham Ralph de Durham John Fakum

c. 1225. 1331. 1338. 13471349. 1479. i486. 1527. 1534, 1536. 1538.

1329. 1341. 1538.

(iv) Lectors (In most cases the dates are: only approximate). 1230-1235. Vincent de Coventry 1235-1253. William Pictavensis 1253-1254. Eustace de Normanville 1254-1257. John de Weston 143

APPENDIX A W. de Milton Thomas de York Humphry de Hautboys W. de Wynbourne Robert Roston Walter de Ravigham W. de Assewelle Roger Marston Henry de Brisingham John de Lereringfot Thomas de Bungay Robert de Worsted Henry de Apeltre Bartholomew de Stalham Richard de Southwark Richard de Burton Geoffrey de Tudington John Russell Walter de Knolle J. de Kymberley W. de Fingrinho J. de Limpenho Richard de Temple Geoffrey Heyroun Adam de Hoveden Richard de Trillek Richard de Conington Simon de Saxlingham Richard de Grymeston J. de Wateley W. deDuffeld Roger Dunemede Walter Beafou Richard de Slolee Robert de Cave Ralph de Grenton Thomas de Hyndringham Simon de Hussebourne Edmund Marchal Walter de Blokesworth Thomas de Elmedene Henry de Costesy Robert de Yrton 144

1257-1259. 1259-1260. 1260-1263. 1263-1266. 1266-1269. 1269-1272. 1272-127 5. 1275-1279. 1279-1280. 1280-1282. 1282-1283. 1283-1285. 1285-1286. 1286-1288. 1288-1289. 1289-1290. 1290-1292. 1292-1293. 1293-1295. 1295-1297. 1297-1298. 1298-1300. 1300-1301. 1301-1303. 1303-1306. 1306-1308. 1308-1310. 1310-1312. 1312-1313. 1313-1314. 1314-1316. 1316-1317. 1317-1318. 1318-1319. 1319-1320. 1320-1321. 1321-1322. 1322-1323. 1323-1324. 1324-1325. 1325-1326. 13 26-13 27. 1327-1328.

CUSTODES, WARDENS, VICE-WARDENS AND LECTORS

Thomas de Canynge Ralph Pigaz W. de Lilleford R. Bevercote Bartholomew de Rippes Henry de Hychintone William de Chitterne William Staunton Robert Alifax Richard Kellaw John Russell Gilbert Peckam John de Casale William Tythemarsh William Dormynton Richard de Halton John Kellaw James de Pennis Adam de Ely Walter de Bykerton Peter de Aragonia John de Antingham Walter de Stowe Roger de Cicilia William de Harlestone John de Walsham William de Folvil

1328-1329. 1329-1330. 1330-1331. 1331-1332. 1332-1333. 1333-1334. I 334-i3351335-1336. 1336-1337. 1337-1338. 1338-1339. 1339-1340. 1340-1341. 1341-1342. 1342-1343. I343-I344I344-I3451345-1346. 1346-1347. 1347-1348. 1348-1349. 1349-1350. 1350-1351. 1351-1352. 1352-1353. I

353- I 354>

1354-1355

The following foreign lecturers came to Cambridge in the fourteenth century: Leonardo Rossi de Giffono c. 1360. Thomas of Portugal 1371Nicholas da Costa 1376-1378. Ludovicus de Fontibus 1383.

Cornelius O'Molony lectured to the friars in 1441.

B. B I O G R A P H I C A L N O T E S ON CAMBRIDGE

FRANCISCANS

ACTON, Thomas A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained acolyte in September, 1456 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 203).

ALBAN, John A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in June 1517 (Ely Registers: West, f. 84b). ALBY, John de Custos of the Cambridge custody and licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely on February 23rd, 1347 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 89). It is not actually stated that he was a member of the Cambridge house, but the fact that he was licensed for the Ely diocese strongly suggests it. ALBY, Roger de A friar of Cambridge some time before 1366 (J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). ALIFAX, Robert de Fifty-sixth master at Cambridge, c. 1336 (Eccleston, p. 74). He was a scholar of considerable importance who achieved distinction at Paris and Oxford as well as at Cambridge. He was one of the few English scholars known to Bartholomew of Pisa (see Analecta Franciscana, iv, p. 339) and is mentioned by Wadding under the year 1334 (Annales Minorum, vii, p. 170). For his writings on the Sentences and other works see Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 222 n, 238. He was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of York for one year on February 22nd, 1349, and again for one year on October 2nd, 1350 (York Registers: Zouche, ff. 278b, 279b) being, on both occasions, a friar of Doncaster and a D.D. His name is sometimes given as Eliphat. 146

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

ALLEN, John A friar of the name John Alien, B.D. of Cambridge, was incorporated as B.D. of Oxford on December ist, 1459 (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 265). He is generally identified with John Allen who was Warden of the Grey Friars in London about 1475 (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 59). This John Allen is referred to in his father's will in 1463 as 'in sacra theologia inceptor' and by John Baldewyne in 1469 as 'magister doctor Johannes Aleyn' {Collect. Franciscana, ii, p. 72). He was at London when ordained acolyte and subdeacon in December 1442 (London Registers: Gilbert, ff. 146b, 147). AMBONNAY, Rayner d' It is thought that this friar was one of the first Franciscan rectors of Pembroke College, Cambridge, about 1347 (A. L. Attwater, Pembroke College, Cambridge, p. 9).

ANNIVERS, N. de This young friar, a man of great ability, is mentioned in a letter written by Adam Marsh about 1248 to William of Nottingham, pleading that Annivers might be allowed to study at Oxford, Cambridge or London {Monumenta Franciscana, i, pp. 316-7, 178-9). It is not known where he went. ANLOYNA (?), Jacobus A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in December 1512 (Lincoln Registers: Smith, f. 90b). ANTINGHAM, John de Sixty-ninth master at Cambridge, c. 1349 {Eccleston, p. 74). He was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely on February 13th, 1350 (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 5824, f. 120). ANTONIUS A Franciscan at Cambridge who incepted in 1477-8 {Grace Book A, pp. 120, 122).

APELTRE, Henry de Twelfth master at Oxford and afterwards seventeenth master at Cambridge, c. 1285 (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 156). 147

APPENDIX B

AQUINTON, John Or Hequinton. He was ordained deacon at Canterbury in March 1328 by the Bishop of Corbava (Cotton, Grey Friars of Canterbury, p. 80). The following year he was at Cambridge, where he was arrested together with Peter de Saxlingham (q.v.) as a heretic (See above, pp. 97-8, and Cal. Papal Registers, ii, pp. 492, 493, 496, and Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, v, pp. 401-2, 464-5). ARAGONIA, Peter de Sixty-eighth master at Cambridge, c. 1348 {Eccleston, p. 74). He was afterwards employed by the Pope on various diplomatic missions. In 1366 wefindhim carrying an arm of S. Louis of Toulouse to Montpellier, in 1371 on a mission to Cyprus, and in 1375 organising a collection of alms in Aragon (Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, vi, pp. 398, 456, 469, 498, 558-9). According to Wadding {Annales Minorum, viii, p. 137) he was a son of James II of Aragon and became a Friar Minor at Barcelona in 1358. ARGENTINA, Bretardus de A Franciscan of Cambridge who was ordained subdeacon in March 1457 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 204). He was probably a native of Strasburg.

ARNOLD, John He was at Cambridge in June 1520, when he was ordained subdeacon (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, f. 133). He was one of the friars here at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). ASHWELL, P. A Franciscan of Cambridge who was ordained subdeacon in September 1491 and deacon in March 1492 (Ely Registers: Alcock, ff. 230, 230b). ASSEWELLE, W. de Eleventh master at Cambridge c. 1270-5 {Eccleston, p. 72). He is not to be confused with a Friar W. de Assewelle who was made Warden of the Grey Friars of Reading in 1327 {Collect. 148

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

Franc, i, p. 147) but may be the same as Garinus de Erwelle (cf. Eccleston, p. 12211.) A friar called Warm de Haswell is mentioned in a letter of Adam Marsh {Mon. Franc, i, pp. 407-8). ASSHER, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in March 1492 and subdeacon in June 1495 (Ely Registers: Alcock, ff. 230, 239). AUDLEY, Robert A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in June 1528 (Lincoln Registers: Longland, f. 22). He was at Lynn at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, App. ii, p. 30). AULA, Herman de A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in December 1484 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, f. 16b). AUNGER, Hugh A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in December 1420 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 108). BABRAHAM, John He is mentioned in the account-sheets of 1363 and 1366 as Barburwm, Badbur, Badburw, etc. (J. R. Harris, Origin ofthe Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5, 26). He was licensed to hear the confessions of the nuns of S. Radegund, Cambridge, on May 31st, 1346 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 87b). BACON, John In a list of chaplains and chantry-priests in the diocese of Ely made on June 21st, 1406, occurs the name of John Bacon, O.F.M., of the deanery of Cambridge {Ely Diocesan Remembrancer, 1899, p. 174). A Friar John Bacon was among those whose arrest was ordered by the King in 1406 for 'roaming from country to country to the peril of their souls and the scandal of the Order' (Cal. Close Rolls, Henry IV, vol. iii, p. 63). He came from Hereford, where he was ordained acolyte and subdeacon in 1385 and priest in 1388 {Regist.J. Gilbert, pp. 169-70, 181). 149

APPENDIX B

BAKER, John A Friar Baker was entrant in theology in 1516-7 {Grace Book B, ii, p. 54). He is possibly to be identified with John Baker, O.F.M., who was ordained priest at Canterbury in 1484 (Cotton, Grey Friars of Canterbury, p. 82). He appears later among the London friars at the Dissolution (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 222). Kingsford identifies him with 'J°nn Baker, an old priest who died in S. Bartholomew's' and was buried at Christ Church, Newgate Street, on August 14th, 1572. On August 10th, 1570, John Bartilmewe or Baker, clerk and B.D., made a will directing that he should be buried 'in the Gray ffreres Cloyster in the parishe of Christ Churche over against the Scholehouse dore ther' {Collect. Franc, ii, p. 76). Another John Baker, O.F.M., was ordained priest at York in September 1496 (York Registers: Rotherham). BAKETON, Clement de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in June 1389 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 230b). BALDISWELL, Roger de His name occurs in the Cambridge Franciscan account-sheets in Caius Coll. MS 348 (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). BALLYNGES, Andrew de A priest friar, professed at Cambridge, who died about 1334 {Collect. Franc, i, p. 152).

BANDON, Hugh In a letter, written by Maud, nurse to the daughter of John of Gaunt, she refers to the fact that certain friars at Cambridge have spoken evilly and treacherously of him. She mentions by name Hugh Bandon and John Drynkestor, Friars Minor, and three Dominicans (Camden Society, John of Gaunt's Register, 1332-6, ii, p. 355). Hugh Bandon, O.F.M., was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in May 1386 (Ely Registers: Arundel, f. 56b). He appears to have come to Cambridge from York, where he was ordained priest in December 150

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

1374 (York Registers: Neville, f. 118b), having previously been at Colchester, where he was ordained subdeacon and deacon in 1371 (Regist. S. Sudbury, ii, pp. 97, 105). BARBUR, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in 1519 (Lincoln Registers: Attwater). BARON, Stephen He studied at Cambridge and then joined the Observants, of which he became Provincial Minister. He was confessor to Henry VIII and a noted preacher (Cooper, Athenae Cantabrigienses, i, p. 23). His writings include De Officio et Caritate Principum, dedicated to Henry VIII, and a collection of fifteen sermons preached at Cambridge (Tanner, Bibliotheca, p. 77). In 1508 he was Vicar Provincial of the Observants (Cal. Patent Rolls, Henry VII, i5s)4~i5o9, pp. 567-8; cf. Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 206). BARSHAM, William de A Cambridge Franciscan licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in November 1343 (Ely Registers: Montacute, f. 121b).

BARTER, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in 1521 (London Registers: Stokesley). BARTHOLOMEW Warden of the Cambridge Franciscans on November 15th, i486, when Henry VII paid the annuity of 25 marks {Materials for the History of the Reign of Henry VII, ii, p. 100). BARWE, John de A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained subdeacon in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1058). BASSETT, Gregory This friar is first heard of at Bridgwater, where he was ordained priest in March, 1521 (Bath and Wells Registers: Wolsey, f.28). He came to Cambridge in the following year and took his B.D. 151

APPENDIX B

in 1532-3 after ten years study in theology {Grace Book B, ii, p. 178; r , p. 272). He was then for a time suspected of heretical opinions and was subjected to persecution and imprisonment (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 286). In 1538 he was Warden of the Grey Friars at Exeter {Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. xiii, pt. 2, p. 3 54). In Mary's reign he became Rector of Sowton in the diocese of Exeter (Gee, Elizabethan Clergy, p. 253) but was deprived in 1560 {ibid., p. 278). In 1561 a warrant was out for his arrest as a 'common mass-sayer' but he was said to be lying hid in Herefordshire (Little, op. cit., p. 286). BATTERSBY, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in 1522 (Lincoln Registers: Attwater). BAVARD, Andrew Bavard's connection with Cambridge has not been definitely proved. A MS. in the Vatican Library (Ottoboni 1565) bears the note: 'Istum librum fecit ligari frater Andreas Bavard custos librarie A.D. 1468 de communibus eleemosinis prefate librariecollatis'. {CollectaneaFranciscana,i,p. 135). Kingsford thought that the MS belonged to the Cambridge Grey Friars {Grey Friars of London, p. 60), though Ker assigns it to London {Medieval Libraries of Great Britain, p. 68). Bavard was D.D., which would help to connect him with Cambridge, but he was at London in 1460 {Collectanea Franciscana, ii, p. 73) and was Warden there 1497-1508 whenhe died (Kingsford, op. cit., p. 60). BEATON, Walter Or Beafou. Thirty-seventh master at Cambridge, c. 1340 {Eccleston, p. 73).

BEDFORD Dr Bedford, O.F.M., paid 40s. in 1455-6 'pro non convivando' {Grace Book A, p. 4). Note: The Friar Bedford mentioned on pp. 97 and 105 of Grace Book A is probably not a Franciscan, since there is a reference to the Prior General of his Order, a title not found among the Friars Minor. 152

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

BELAWE, John de A friar of Cambridge licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in November 1344 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 90). BERI, Thomas A Franciscan of Cambridge whose name occurs in the accountsheet of 1366 (J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, p. 26). BERME, John A friar described as 'sac' et prof Cantebrig' who died after the Chapter held at Cambridge in 1304 {Collectanea Franciscana, i, p. 152). BERNARD A Friar Bernard is mentioned as entering on the Sentences at Cambridge in 1467-8, and on the Bible in 1468-9 (Grace Book A, pp. 62, 72). He was probably the Friar Bernard who was Warden of Norwich about this time (V.C.H. Norfolk, ii, p. 431).

BEUTEN, John This friar while studying at Cambridge in 1480 wrote Fr. Antonii Andreae Expositionem in Praed. Aristotelis (L. Meier in Antonianum, v, p. 173). BEVERCOTE, R. Fifty-first master at Cambridge, c. 1331 (Eccleston, p. 73). BLIBUR, William A friar of Cambridge c. 1363 whose name occurs on the account-sheet of that date (J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). BLOCKESWORTH, Walter de Forty-fourth master at Cambridge, c. 1324 (Eccleston, p. 73). BOCKING, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in the diocese of London in 1372 (Regist. S. Sudbury, ii, p. 114). BOLTON, Thomas A friar of this name of York was ordained acolyte in 1428, 153

APPENDIX B

subdeacon in 1430 and priest in 1435 (York Registers: Kempe, ff. 232, 236b, 249b). He next appears in a list of Franciscans at London in 1460 {Collectanea Franciscana, ii, p. 74). This is probably an older man than the friar Thomas Bolton who came to Cambridge in 1460 and paid £5 6s. Sd. for his cautio {Grace Book A, p. 22). By the year 1471 he had taken his D.D. and had gone to Yorkshire to become Warden of Beverley {Forks. Archaeological Journal, xxxii, p. 294).

BOTLESHAM, William This friar was at London when ordained deacon in February 1407 (London Registers: Bubwith). He moved afterwards to Cambridge and was there when ordained priest in March 1407 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 235b). On November 19th, 1419, he was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely {ElyDiocesan Remembrancer 1902, p. 60).

BRACK, John He was among the Cambridge friars at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, App. ii, p. 14). Later he became Rector of Hawkedon (Suffolk) c. 1543 {Eng. Hist. Rev. 1933, P- 63).

BRADFIELD, John He was at Colchester in 1373, in which year he was ordained subdeacon {Regist. S. Sudbury, ii, p. 128). Later we find him at Cambridge, where he received 40s. in the will of Catherine de Burgh in 1409 (W. M. Palmer, History of the Parish of Borough Green, p. 87). BRANDISTON, Robert de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 {Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1067). BRIGOTE, Edmund There appear to have been two friars of this name early in the sixteenth century. One of them (who is said to have been born about 1495) after ten years' study at Paris and Oxford took his B.D. at Oxford in 1526 and his D.D. in 1530. Dr Little states that he then became Warden of Lynn and, after the Dissolution, M4

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

held various livings until his death in 1562 (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 283-4). The Cambridge friar of this name was an older man who took his degree at the University in 1500 after eight years' study there {Grace Book B, i, pp. 160, 168). He may have been at Norwich before coming to Cambridge, for Blomefield mentions a friar of this name in 1485 (Blomefield, History of Norfolk, iv, pp. 114-5). It is not unlikely that the Edmund Brigote who was Warden of Lynn at the Dissolution was the Cambridge friar, since he already had connections with Norfolk {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, App. ii, p. 30). He preached before the King on various occasions between 1511 and 1514, receiving each time a fee of 2OJ. and in 1512a reward of £fi 13J. A,d. {Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, ii, pp. 1450, 1455, 1459, 1460, 1463). BRINKLEY, Peter The Cambridge Grace Books mention two Franciscans of the name of Brinkley. One is the famous Richard Brinkley (see below) and the other is referred to as 'Frater Brynklay'. This friar, after twelve years at Cambridge and Oxford, took his B.D. in 1523-4 and his D.D. two years later {Grace Book B, ii, pp. 114, 134, 137; F, pp. 213, 230). There can be no doubt that this was Friar Peter Brinkley of Babwell who became Rector of Great Moulton, 1540-3, and Vicar of Shottesham S. Martin in 1558. Mr Baskerville quotes the following description of him: 'Peter Brinkley D.D. dwelling in Hardwick in Norfolk, lately married, now divorced from his wife and suspended from celebration of divines—he was a friar at Babwell and hath an annual pension of 5 pounds by reason of the dissolution of the late college of Wingfield within the county of Suffolk, paid to him at Bury, and hath also a tenement with a rood and a half of land worth to be let by the year 9.?. and hath no other patrimony nor living' {Eng. Hist. Rev. 1933, p. 215; cf. English Monks and the Suppression of the Monasteries, p. 240). BRINKLEY, Richard This friar was entrant at Cambridge in 1489 and took his D.D. in 1492 {Grace Book B, i, pp. 21, 48, 49). Some years later he 155

APPENDIX B

took his D.D. at Oxford at the time when he held the position of Provincial Minister (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 283; Franciscan Papers, etc. pp. 141-2). He was a student of Greek and Hebrew and owned or borrowed various books, of which a few remain—e.g. a Greek Psalter and a Greek New Testament at Caius College both bear his name (M. R. James, Cat. ofMSS, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, i, pp. 392-3; ii, pp. 469-

70). The latter was lent to him by the Franciscans at Oxford, but he failed to return it to them (J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 18-19). He also borrowed a Hebrew Psalter from the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, now MS Bodl. Laud. Orient. 174, which bears a note: 'Hoc Psalterium Ebraycum est de bibliotheca Venerabilis Monasterii Sancti Eadmundi Acomodatum fratri Ricardobrynkelei ordinis minorum sacreque theologie humillimo professori, 1502' (M. R. James, On the Abbey oj'S. Edmundat Bury, pp. 87-8). Another of his books is now Brit. Mus. MSS Cotton, Cleop. C.9, containing Lamentationes Matheoluli and other works, given to Brinkley by Friar Thomas de Trumpington (J. R. Harris, op. cit., p. 18). While at Cambridge Brinkley was President of the Minoresses at Denny and acted as their proctor in 1512 when they were allowed to appropriate the churches of Eltisley and Bydenham (Clay, History of Waterbeach, p. 108. The Denny Abbey MS describing this transaction is now in the Ely Diocesan Registry). Brinkley was Provincial Minister, possibly of the Observants as well as of the Conventuals, from 1518 to 1526 (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 205). He was buried at Cambridge {Monumenta Franciscana, i, p. 539).

BRISINGHAM, Henry de Thirteenth master at Cambridge, c. 1278-80, being one of those sent there from Oxford {Eccleston, p. 72). Although his initial is given as 'T' there is little doubt that he was the Henry Brisingham who was at Salisbury when he wrote to Robert Burnell in 1280 (Eng. Hist. Rev. 1934, pp. 673-6; Wilts. Arch, and Natural History Magazine 1937, pp. 39-40). Little identifies him with 'Frater Henricus lector Oxoniensis Fratrum 156

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

Minorum' who composed a Summa de Sacramentis in 1261 {Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 143, 151, 152, and Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, p. 850). BROWN, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in December 1497 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 244b). He was at London when ordained priest in September 1499 (London Registers: Savage). A friar of this name was among those at Cardiff at the Dissolution {Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, xiii, pt. 2, p. 117). BUGETON, Hugh de Eccleston informs us that at one time there were only three 'fratres clerici' at Cambridge, of whom one was Hugh de Bugeton {Eccleston, p. 28). BUKLEY, Robert A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in September 1479 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, f. 168). BULINGHAM, Stephen Custos of Cambridge c. 1408 (Bodleian Arch. Selden, B. 23, f.56. BUMSTEAD, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in June 1454 (Ely Registers: Bourchier, f. 48). BUNGAY, Thomas de This friar was traditionally associated with Roger Bacon though no contemporary evidence of this is available. He was tenth lector at Oxford, c. 1270, Provincial Minister, c. 1272-5, and fifteenth master at Cambridge some time after 1280 (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 74-5; Eccleston, p. 72). It is possible that he originally entered the Order at Norwich (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 153-4; Wadding, Annales Minorum, v, p. 240). Only one MS of his work seems to be extant (now Caius College MS 509, ff. 209-252^ a treatise 'De Celo et Mundo' (Little, op. cit., pp. 153-4). There are, however, some Questiones disputed by him in MS Assisi

APPENDIX B

158 (Little and Pelster, op. cit., pp. 74-5, 104-8), and extracts from his works in Ravenna, Bibl. Class. MS 472 and in MS Todi 59 {Arch. Franc. Hist., xxvii, p. 277). A MS at Pembroke College, Cambridge (No. 87), has a note on Bungay {Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, p. 852). A copy of his Commentary on the Sentences, in two volumes, was once at S. Augustine's, Canterbury (M. R. James, Ancient Libraries of Canterbury and Dover, p. 262). He is buried at Northampton, though the year of his death is not known (Monumenta Franciscana, i, p. 537). Long after his death his reputation as a worker of miracles lingered on. In an account of the Battle of Barnet in 1471 the writer says: 'Of the mystes and other impedimentes which fell upon the lordes partye by reason of the incantacyons wrought by Fryer Bungey, as the fame went, me lyst nat to wryte' (Fabyans Chronicle, ed. H. Ellis, p. 661). BUNNA, Tilmann de One of a group of German friars at Cambridge in the fifteenth century. He was ordained deacon in March 1467 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 211b). He then went to York, where he was ordained priest in December of the same year (York Registers: G. Neville, f. 189b). He must not be confused with another friar of this name who was lecturing at Cologne in the early years of that century (Cf. W. Lampen, 'Fratres Minores in Universitate Coloniensi' in Arch. Franc. Hist. 1930, p. 472). BURNE, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in December 1479 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, f. 169). He was afterwards at Oxford, where he was ordained priest in the following December (ibid.: Russell, f. 2). BURSTON, William A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in September i486 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, f. 22b) and deacon in September 1487 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 224). BURTON, Richard de Twentieth master at Cambridge, c. 1289-90 {Eccleston, p. 72). 158

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

A Richard de Burton of the Grey Friars convent at Northampton appeared before the Bishop of Lincoln on August 9th, 1300, bringing a letter from Friar Hugh asking that certain friars should receive licence to hear confessions. Richard de Burton was among those licensed (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 237). A Friar Minor of this name was ordained deacon in September 1290 and priest in June 1291 (Lincoln Registers: Sutton, ff. 368b, 372b), but this was probably a younger man. BURTON, Robert de A friar of Winchester when ordained priest in June 1492 (Winchester Registers: Courteney, f. 19). He took his D.D. at Oxford in 1507 and was Warden there in 1508 (Wood, Athenae Oxon., i, pp. 637, 646). In 1511-12 he came to Cambridge and incepted there {Grace Book B, ii, p. 3; F, pp. 95-6). He then became regent of the Franciscan schools at London. He died on Janurary 8th, 15 22, and was buried in the Franciscan church at London (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 79). BURTON, Thomas After four years at Oxford he came to Cambridge as B.D. in 1511 {Grace Book F, p. 95). A Thomas Burton was appointed Vicar of Hauxton in 1543, but there is no proof that it was the same man (Ely Registers: Goodrich, f. 175). BURY A Franciscan who took his D.D. at Cambridge in 1498-9 {Grace Book B, i, pp. 115, 118, 122, 126, 136). BUTLER, Nicholas Caius College MS 414 (a copy of Albertus Magnus) has this note on the flyleaf: 'Mem. quod ffrater Nicholaus butler senior emit istum librum a quodam fire. Teutonico pro ii bus marcis tempore quo ambo erant studentes assignati Cantabrig. a. dni. MCCCCVT. Little, in an unpublished note (now in the Bodleian) included this under 'Franciscan MSS'. BYKERTON, Walter de Sixty-seventh master at Cambridge, c. 1347 {Eccleston, p. 74). He received 6s. &d. in June and in August 13 51 from Elizabeth 159

APPENDIX B

de Burgh, Lady of Clare, probably for preaching (P.R.O. Chanc. Misc. 93/12). BYNDERK, Ideocus A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in June 1454 (Ely Registers: Bourchier, f. 48). CADYNGTON, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in June 1357 (Lincoln Registers: Gynwell, v, f. 84b). CADYNGTON, Thomas de A Franciscan of Cambridge licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely on February 23rd, 1347 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 89). CALL, William He was a son of Richard Call of Bacton, Norfolk, and Margaret Paston (Venn, Alumni Cantab., i, p. 282). He joined the order of Friars Minor and first appears as an ordination candidate in the diocese of Ely in March 1492, when he was made an acolyte (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 230). He was at Cambridge in 1494-5 and remained there until 1510, when he took his D.D. {Grace Book B, i, pp. 246-7; F, p. 56). He was Warden of the Norwich Grey Friars in 1524 and Provincial Minister of England in 1531, 1535 and 1538 (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc. p. 206). He came under the influence of Bilney, by means of whose preaching and example he was 'somewhat reclaimed to the Gospel's side' (Foxe, Acts and Monuments, iv, p. 642). After the Dissolution he was instituted to the rectory of Heydon in Norfolk and died in 1539 (Blomefield, History of Norfolk, vi, p. 249). CAMBRYG, Robert A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in December 1479. He was at Stamford when ordained deacon in the following March (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, ff. 168b, 170). CANON, William He was at Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 (Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). 160

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

CANVAS, William He was a member of the Norwich convent when ordained subdeacon in September 1534 and deacon in December of the same year (Norwich Registers). He appears to have come to Cambridge shortly after this and eventually became Rector of Bawdeswell, of which living he was deprived in 1553. Later he was Rector of Lyng (1555-6), curate in charge of S. Andrew's, Norwich (15 59-61), Rector of Thorpe (15 59-69). He was buried at S. James', Norwich, on April 22nd, 1572 (Eng. Hist. Rev. 1933. P- 52)CANYNGE, Thomas de This friar was ordained priest by the Bishop of Worcester in Fulham Church on January 21st, 1308 (Regist. W. Reynolds, p. 102). In 1329 he was at Cambridge, where he became fortyeighth master {Eccleston, p. 73). In this year two recalcitrant friars were handed over to his custody there (Sbaralea, Bull. Franc., v, pp. 464-5). In 1347 he received a legacy of zos. in the will of Hugh de Hastyngs, Kt (Testamenta Eboracensia, i, p. 38). He was buried at London, where he is described as 'magister sacre theologie' (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, pp. 101, 136).

CARDMAKER, John Alias Taylor. He was born at Exeter, entered the Order under age, was at Bridgwater when ordained deacon in September 1512 (Bath and Wells Registers: Wolsey, f.25) and studied for sixteen years at Oxford and Cambridge. He took his B.D. at Oxford in 1532, and in 1534 was Warden of the Grey Friars at Exeter. He was much influenced by the reformers, and in his preaching at S. Paul's Cross was abused by some of the crowd, who cut and hacked his gown. After the Dissolution he became Vicar of S. Bride's, Fleet Street, and, in 1547, Chancellor of Wells. Under the Marian reaction he tried to escape but was caught and imprisoned in 1554. He was convicted of heresy on May 25 th, 1555, and burnt at Smithfield on May 30th (Cooper, Athenae Cantab., i, pp. 126-7; Diet, of Nat. Biog.; M

161

APPENDIX B

Foxe, Acts and Monuments, vii, pp. 77-82; Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 291). CARLETON, Roger de The royal grant to the Cambridge friars was paid to this friar in 1308 (P.R.O. Issue Rolls, E.403/143). CASALE, John de A learned friar of Casale in the province of Geneo about 30 miles east of Turin. Bartholomew of Pisa describes him as 'magister in theologia, vir sufficiens, qui plures questiones edidit in philosophia et theologia' {Liber de Conformitate in Anal. Franc, iv, p. 527). He came to Cambridge about 1340 and was fifty-ninth master there {Eccleston, p. 74). On January 6th, 1341, he was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely (B.M. Add. MSS 5824, f. 43). He later returned to Italy and was sent by Gregory XI as an envoy to Frederick, King of Sicily, in 1375 (Wadding, Annales Minorum, viii, pp. 323-4; Sharalea, Bull. Franc, vi, p. 562). CATERYKE, William He took his B.D. at Cambridge in 1537-8 {Grace Book B, ii, pp. 212, 213), and was there at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, App. ii, p. 14). On leaving Cambridge he went to London, which surrendered about six weeks later (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 222). He afterwards became Rector of S. Alban's, Wood Street, in 1545 and died there in 1548 (Newcourt, Repertorium, i, p. 238). CATTON, William A Franciscan and D.D. of Cambridge who flourished about 1530. He was the author of two works: (i) on the Sentences, (ii) Questiones (Cooper, Athenae Cantab., i, p. 42). CAVE, Robert de This friar was ordained subdeacon by the Bishop of Lincoln in May 1296 (Lincoln Registers: Sutton, f. 396). He became thirty-ninth master of the Franciscans at Cambridge, c. 1319 {Eccleston, p. 73). 162

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

CAYL, Stephen A priest friar of Cambridge who died about 1334 {Collect. Francisc, i, p. 151). CAYSE, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in March 1512 (Lincoln Registers: Smith, f. 87). CELER, John In the University Registry at Cambridge is an undated fifteenth-century document entitled: 'Litera Fratrum Minorum intercedens pro fratre Joh. Celer S.T.P. quem Universitas denuntiaverat perjurum atque suspensum ab actibus scolasticis ob defectum sermonis doctoralis' ( Transactions of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, iii, p. 403). It is probable that this was the Dr John Celer, O.F.M., who assisted with other doctors at the trial for heresy of Ralph Mungyer and Richard Monk in London in 1428 (Wilkins, Concilia, iii, pp. 497, 500), though if so he must have changed his views. There was a John Seller, S.T.P., at some time Warden of London (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 62). A friar called John Celler, of Chichester, was ordained deacon in June 1400 (Canterbury Registers: Arundell, i, f. 327). CHAMBERLEYN, John A Cambridge Franciscan presented to the Bishop of Ely by the Warden of Cambridge and ordained subdeacon in March 1342 (Ely Registers: Montacute, f. nob). CHITTERNE, William de Lector of Winchester Grey Friars in February 1326, when he was licensed as a confessor (Winchester Registers: Stratford, f. 15). He became fifty-third lector at Cambridge, c. 1330 (Eccleston, p. 74). CICILIA, Roger de Seventy-first lector at Cambridge, c. 1351, and one of those sent from overseas (Eccleston, p. 74). 163

APPENDIX B

CLARE, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in June 1351 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 97b). CLERK, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in March 1414 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 263b). CLEY, John A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in September 1456 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 203b). CLYMYS, Arnaldus A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained subdeacon in April 1455 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 202). COCKE, Robert This friar came to Cambridge not later than 1504. In 1517-18 he entered in theology and took his D.D. in 1520-1 {Grace Book B, ii, pp. 63,95; J1, pp. 161,195). He was afterwards Rector of S. Ethelburga, London, 1542-3, in which year he died. His will is preserved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (Venn, Alumni Cantab., i, p. 386). COLBY, Richard He was Warden of the Grey Friars of Norwich in 1465 (Blomefield, History of Norfolk, iv, p. 114) and shortly afterwards came to Cambridge, where he is known to have been in 1469-70 {Grace Book A, p. 81). He was once the owner of a MS now at S. John's College, Cambridge (No. 147) {Collect. Francisc, i, p. 128 n). COLTHORP, William de In 1333 the royal gift to the Cambridge Franciscans was paid to this friar (P.R.O. Issue Rolls, E.403/260). COMBERTON, Walter A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained acolyte in May 1391 and deacon in March 1395 (Ely Registers: Fordham, ff. 234, 236). He was a friar of London when ordained priest in June 1395 (London Registers: Braybrook). 164

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

CONFLUENTIA, Nicholas de A friar from Coblenz who came to Cambridge and was ordained deacon there in March 1467 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 21 ib).

CONINGTON, Richard This friar was at Oxford in 1300, when he was presented for a licence to hear confessions (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 260-1). He then spent some time abroad as a pupil of Henry of Ghent, returned for a time to Oxford, but soon afterwards came to Cambridge, where he joined the Gild of S. Mary in 1303, paying one mark for so doing (B.M. Add. MSS 5813, f. 215). About five years later he became thirty-first master at Cambridge, c. 1308-10 {Eccleston, p. 73; V. Doucet in Arch. Franc. Hist. 1936, p. 397). From 1310 to 1316 he was Provincial Minister in England (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 195), but he was abroad for a time in 1310 (Wadding, Annales Minorum, vi, p. 171) and again in 1311 {Archiv fur Litteratur- und Kirchengeschichte, iii, p. 39). In 1322 he was growing old, for he wrote to John XXII describing himself as 'senescens' {Arch. Franc. Hist. 1930, p. 58). He spent the last few years of his life at Cambridge, where he died in 1330 (R. L. Poole in Diet, of Nat. Biog.). For a discussion of his writings see V. Doucet 'L'Oeuvre Scholastique de Richard de Conington' in Arch. Franc. Hist. 1936, pp. 396-442; Decima Douie 'Three Treatises on Evangelical Poverty by Fr R. Conyngton, etc' {ibid., 1931, pp. 340-69); A. Heysse, 'Fr Ricardi de Coninton Tractatus de Paupertate' {ibid., 1930, pp. 57-62).

COOKE, John One of those who surrendered at Cambridge in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). He is perhaps to be identified with a John Cooke of Newcastle Grey Friars who was ordained subdeacon in 1497 {Regist. R. Fox, p. 63). COSTA, Nicholas de He was sent by the Chapter General to lecture at Cambridge 165

APPENDIX B

and was there about two years, c. 1376-8. On December 27th, 1379, the Pope wrote to the Chancellor of Paris about this friar, who was now to go to Paris and lecture there. If he acquitted himself well he was to be made D.D. He later became Provincial Minister of Aragon (Denifle et Chatelain, Chart. Univ. Paris, iii, pp. 286-7; Arch. Franc. Hist. 1924, pp. 153-4). COSTESY, Henry de Forty-sixth master at Cambridge, c. 1326 (Eccleston, p. 73). In 1329 he was arrested on a charge of heresy together with three other Cambridge Franciscans (see above, pp. 97-8). He was a learned man and 'a biblical commentator of remarkable learning and independence' (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 140). His writings include commentaries on the Psalter and the Apocalypse (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 234), a copy of the former having been seen in the friars' library at London by Leland (Collectanea, iv, p. 50). There is a copy of this now at Christ's College, Cambridge (MS 11), and a fragment in the John Rylands Library, Manchester (MS lat. 201). He died in 1336 and was buried at Bab well (Wadding, Annales Minorum, vii, p. 169). COTTON, Thomas A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained priest in September 1391 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 233b). COVENTRY, Vincent de Eccleston informs us that this friar, who was already a master, entered the Order in 1225 and shortly afterwards induced his brother Henry to join (Eccleston, p. 21). In 1236 he was appointed lector at London (ibid., p. 62) but had probably lectured at Cambridge before this. He was really the founder of the Franciscan school at Cambridge (see above, pp. 30-1). According to Bale he wrote an Expositio eorum quae fiunt in missa (Index of British Writers, ed. Poole and Bateson, p. 462). CRAYE, John About the year 1394 a correspondence took place between the Abbot of Glastonbury and the Prior of Rochester concerning 166

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

an apostate monk of Rochester who, after various adventures, had asked for permission to become a friar 'saying that he could without difficulty gain admission to the house of Grey Friars at Cambridge'. This monk was probably a man called John Craye who joined the Carthusians in 1388, returned to Rochester the same year, was licensed to join the Franciscans in 1393 and migrated again in 1401. There is no certainty that he was ever at Cambridge (Pantin, Chapters of the English Black Monks, iii, pp. 84-7).

CRAYFORD, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in September 1524 (Lincoln Registers: Longland, f. 10). In 1537 he supplicated for the degree of B.D. at Oxford, having studied there and at Cambridge for fourteen years. He was Warden of the Grey Friars at Newcastle at the time of the Dissolution. In 1543 he was presented by the King to a canonry at Durham and in 1546 became Vicar of Mitford, Northumberland. He resigned in 1561 and died during the next year, leaving his books to Durham Cathedral (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 291-2). He is not to be confused with John Crayford, D.D., who was Master of Clare College in 1539 (Stokes, Medieval Hostels of the Univ. of Cambridge, p. 13). CREMONIENSIS, John A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained priest in April 1496 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 240b). CRESSEN, Walter A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in March 1341 (Ely Registers: Montacute, f. 108). CRESSY, William At Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report ofthe Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). CROXTON, John A friar of Grantham when ordained acolyte in March 1451, and of Lincoln when ordained subdeacon in the following 167

APPENDIX B

September (Lincoln Registers: Lumley, ff. 29b, 32b). He came to Cambridge shortly after this and incepted in 1467-8 after preaching five sermons to the clergy together with one examinatory sermon and three responsions. He paid £5 6s. Sd. towards the new buildings of the University {Grace Book A, pp. 68,70). There was a John Croxton who was Vicar of Walton-onThames 1467-1509 (Venn, Alumni Cantabr., i, p. 429), but it would be rash to identify him with this friar. CUDNER, Thomas This friar came to Cambridge from London, where he was ordained priest in September 1499 (London Registers: Savage). After fourteen years at Oxford and Cambridge he took his B.D. at Cambridge in 1511-12 and his D.D. two years later (Grace BookB, ii, pp. 3,5; F, pp. 95,120). About 1521 he became Warden of the Grey Friars in London. He died there before 1538 and is buried in the church, the last burial before the surrender (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, pp. 24, 176, 212). DAINTON, Alexander de He was a witness on behalf of the friars to the final concord made with the University in 1306 (Cambridge University Registry, Hare MSS, Liber Privilegiorum et Libertatum, ff. DALY, Damascenus A friar of Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). In 1543 and 1544 he was stipendiary priest at the church of S. Giles in Cambridge (Ely Registers: Goodrich, ff. 161, 166). DAVID A 'Friar David' paid £ 5 6s. 8d. for his cautio at Cambridge in 1459 {Grace Book A, p. 23). He is possibly to be identified with John David, O.F.M., of Oxford who took his B.D. there c. 1453 and his D.D. shortly afterwards (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 261). DAVID, John He was D.D. of Cambridge {Monumenta Franciscana, i, p. 539) 168

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

and in 1416 became lector to the friars of Hereford (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 313-4). In 1421 he became Provincial Minister and held the position for six or seven years (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 200). In 1430 he appeared with two other D.D.s in a case against William Taylor, charged with heresy {Regist. H. Chichele, iii, p. 167). He is buried at Cardiff. DAWNET, Roger This friar first appears as a member of the Franciscan house at Hereford, where he was ordained acolyte in 1463, subdeacon in 1465 and deacon in 1466 (Regist. J. Stanbury, pp. 153, 155, 157). Later on he was sent to Cambridge, where he took his D.D. in 1486-7 {Grace Book A, pp. 200, 202, 205). He then went to Exeter, where we find him in 1516 and where he died and was buried (Little and Easterling, The Franciscans and Dominicans of Exeter, p. 86). DELHAWE, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 {Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1089). DENEHAM, (?) Thomas This friar, after twelve years' study at Oxford and Cambridge, took his B.D. at Cambridge in 1519-20 and his D.D. two years later {Grace Book B, ii, pp. 78,98; F, pp. 183,203). He is probably the Thomas Denham of London who was ordained subdeacon in September 1498 and deacon in May 1499 (London Registers: Savage). DENEMED, Roger de A D.D. of Cambridge and eighteenth Provincial Minister c. 1330-6 {Monumenta Franciscana, i, p. 538; Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 196). He was also thirty-sixth master at Cambridge, c. 1316 {Eccleston, p. 73). According to Monumenta Franciscana he was buried at Salisbury, but Parkinson says that he was buried at Cambridge {Collectanea Anglo-Minoritica, p. 150). 169

APPENDIX B

DISHYN, Henry A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in September 151 o (Lincoln Registers: Smith, f. 81). He was at London when ordained deacon in September 1513 (London Registers: Fitzjames). DISS, Gilbert de The annual gift of 25 marks to the Cambridge friars was paid to this friar in 1327, 1328, 1329, 1330 and 1331 (P.R.O. Issue Rolls, E.403/228, 236, 240, 246, 249, 253, 256).

DISS,John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in September 1456 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 203b). Perhaps to be identified with Friar Dys who took his D.D. in 1470 {Grace Book A, pp. 72,83). DISS, Thomas This Cambridge Franciscan was ordained subdeacon in June 1515 (Canterbury Registers: Warham, f. 279), deacon in September 1515 (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, f. 115b) and priest in March 1517 (Ely Registers: West, f. 83b). He started reading at Cambridge c. 1521 and took his B.D. in 1532-3 and his D.D. three years later. By this time he was Warden of the Cambridge Franciscans {Grace Book B, ii, pp. 178, 195; F, pp. 272, 309). In 15 34 he preached in Cambridge but broke down in the middle of the prayers. There is one account of this in Hist. MSS Commission, Fourth Report, p. 417, and another in Grace Book A, p. 229. He ceased to be Warden c. 1537, but lived on at Cambridge and was among those who surrendered in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). In 1546 he became Vicar of Necton, Norfolk, and in 1554 Vicar of Swaffham. From 1554-7 he was Rector of Bradwall, Suffolk, and from 1557-9 Rector of Southery, Norfolk. He died in 1559 (Venn, Alumni Cantabr., ii, p. 45). DITTON, Nicholas de It is doubtful if Nicholas de Ditton (or Dighton) were ever a friar at Cambridge, but when the Provincial Chapter was held at Cambridge on September 8th, 1334, the King paid £15 170

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

towards their expenses 'per manus fr. Nic. de Dytton' (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc. p. 214). Nicholas may have been a Cambridge friar, or simply the treasurer of the Order, or possibly both. He was at Doncaster in 1332 (Yorks. Arch. Journal, xxxii, p. 299), and was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Lincoln in the same year (Lincoln Registers: Burghersh, f. 456) and was also appointed confessor to the anchoress of Stockfold in August 1338 (ibid., f. 151b). DONNE, John A friar of Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 (Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). DORMINTON, William de Probably to be identified with William de Dermynton who was ordained deacon at Worcester in 1329 and priest in 1320 (Regist. T. Cobham, pp. 55, 63, 87). He came to Cambridge from the custody of Bristol and was sixty-second lector to the friars (Eccleston, p. 74). On December 25th, 1338, he was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely (Ely Registers: Montacute, f. 95) and on April 3rd, 1345, he interceded for Gilbert Rous, Rector of Wimpole, who had applied for permission to have mass said in his own rectory (Ely Diocesan Remembrancer 1890, p. 404). DRAPER, Laurence A friar at Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 (Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). On February 26th, 1546, he was presented by the King to the living of Hatley in Cambridgeshire (Ely Registers: Goodrich, f. 176) and in November 1556 was collated to the vicarage of Gamlingay. He died before September 1557 (ibid., Thirlby, ff. 32, 35b). DRAPER, Richard A D.D. who was custos of Bristol and Warden of Dorchester in 1510 (V.C.H. Dorset, ii, p. 95). There was a man called Draper reading theology at Cambridge in 1498 who may be the same man though he is not styled 'frater' (Grace Book B, i, p. 123). 171

APPENDIX B

DRYNKESTON, Thomas In a list of chaplains and chantry priests in the diocese of Ely on June 21st, 1406, occurs the name of Thomas Drynkeston, O.F.M., of the deanery of Cambridge (Ely Diocesan Remembrancer 1899, p. 174). DRYNKESTOR, John One of the two Cambridge Franciscans who criticised John of Gaunt c. 1375 (see note on Hugh Bandon, above, p. 150). DUCKET, Andrew He was Rector of S. Botolph's, Cambridge, and became the first President of Queens' College in 1448. He was certainly very friendly towards the Franciscans (W. G. Searle, History of Queens' College, pp. 54-5) but it is doubtful if he were ever a friar. Parkinson quotes Parker's description of him as 'antea frater minorita', but the evidence is very scant (Parkinson, Collectanea Anglo-Minorinca, p. 205). DUDLINGTON, Thomas de Sloane MS 1726 in the British Museum has a note to say that it was given to Friar Thomas de Dudelingtone by Thomas, Rector of Colveston; and that after his death it was to remain in the convent of the Cambridge Franciscans. There was a friar of this name at Lynn in c. 1304 (Collectanea Franciscana, i, p. 152). DUFFELD, W. de Thirty-fifth master at Cambridge, c. 1314 (Eccleston, p. 73). DUFFELD, William There was a Franciscan of Newcastle of this name who was ordained deacon in 1499 (Regist. R. Fox, p. 85) and another of York and Hartlepool ordained subdeacon and deacon in 1501-2 (York Registers: Savage). Early in the sixteenth century one of these two came to Cambridge, where he proceeded D.D. in 15 21 -2 (Grace Book B, ii, p. 98; f, p. 203). In 15 2 5 he had licence to preach in the diocese of Hereford, a promise of forty days' indulgence being given to those who came to hear him (Regist. 172

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

C. Botke, p. 175). About this time he became Warden of Shrewsbury and received a gallon of wine from the bailiffs of Shrewsbury after he had preached to them {Shrewsbury Bailiffs' Accounts, 1525-6). In 1533 he became Bishop of Ascalon and suffragan to the Bishop of S. Asaph (Stubbs, Reg. Sac. Angl., p. 203). DUNS SCOTUS, John A MS at Merton College (No. 66) has this colophon on f. 120b: 'Hec de ordinatione venerabilis fratris S. Duns de Ordine fratrum Minorum qui floruit Cant. Oxon et Parisius et obiit in Colon.'. This suggests that Duns Scotus was at Cambridge, the most likely years being 1297-1300 (A. Callebaut in Arch. Franc. Hist. 1928, pp. 608-11). For the known facts of the life of Duns Scotus see A. G. Little, 'Chronological Notes on the Life of Duns Scotus' in Eng. Hist. Rev. 1932, pp. 568-82. DUNWICH, Thomas de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in September 1353 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 99). DURHAM, Ralph de He was licensed in the diocese of Ely in 1338, and in 1341 was made a penitentiary 'super casibus consciencie'. At that time he was Vice-warden of Cambridge (Ely Registers: Montacute, f. 95). DYREM, Francis A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in June 1520 and priest in the following December (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, ff. 133, 134). EGERDEN, William A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in September 1497 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 242b). He died as a deacon on S. Margaret's Day (July 20th) 1500 and was buried at London (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 130). ELIAS A novice at Cambridge in the very early days {Eccleston, p. 28). 173

APPENDIX B

ELINGHAM, John A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained subdeacon in December 1520 (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, £ 134). ELIPHAT, see ALIFAX ELMEDEN, Thomas de He was ordained subdeacon in the diocese of Carlisle in September 1306 and deacon in May 1307 (Regist. J. Halton, i, pp. 269, 280). Later he came to Cambridge, where he was forty-fifth master, c. 1325 (Eccleston, p. 73). In 1330 he was accused, together with three other Cambridge Franciscans, of heretical preaching (see above, pp. 97-9 and Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, v, pp. 402, 465). ELY, Adam de Sixty-sixth lector at Cambridge, c. 1346 (Eccleston, p. 74). ELY, Henry In a list of chaplains and chantry priests in the diocese of Ely made on June 21 st, 1406, occurs the name of Henry Ely, O.F.M., of the deanery of Cambridge (Ely Diocesan Remembrancer 1899, p. 174). ELY, John de A friar of Cambridge whose name occurs on the accountsheet of c. 1363 (J. R.Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). ELY, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in September 1355 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 100b). He was at Cambridge c. 1363, when his name occurs on the account-sheet (J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). ENEMETH, John A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in September 1399 and priest in June 1400 (Ely Registers: Fordham,ff.239b, 240). He must not be confused with John Enmede, O.F.M., who was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in 1386 but must have been an older man (ibid.: Arundel, f. 56b). 174

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

ENGHELEN, Otto He appears to have been one of a group of German friars sent over to Cambridge in the fifteenth century. He was ordained priest in April 1476 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 216b). ESEBY, John This friar was at York when ordained subdeacon in 1498 and deacon in 1499, but was a member of the Cambridge house when ordained priest in 1500 (York Registers: Rotherham). ESSEBY, William de He was one of those who came over to England with Agnellus of Pisa in 1224, having originally joined the Order in France. He was the first Warden of Oxford and was sent to found the Cambridge convent, c. 1225. In 1238 he went to Ireland, but returned to England for a time and then made his way to Cologne. Hefinallycame back to England and died at London (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 125-6). ESTOWE, Robert He was at Cambridge when ordained subdeacon in March 1484, but almost immediately after this we find him at Grantham, when he was ordained deacon in the following month. He returned to Cambridge and was ordained priest there in December 1484 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, ff. 13, 14, 16b). EYN, Simon A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in September 1465 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 203). FAKAHAM, Richard de Vice-warden of Cambridge in 1329 (Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, v, pp. 401-2, 464-5). FAKUM, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in March 1517 (Ely Registers: West, f. 83). He was at Cambridge at the time of the Dissolution, being then Vice-warden {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). MS Bodley 4109 (Hatton 18), J

75

APPENDIX B

which belonged to the Minoresses of Denny, was at one time the property of this friar. Cf. John Fawen or Fawcon, below. FAVERSHAM, Haymo de Parkinson {Collectanea Anglo-Minoritica, p. 62) quotes Davenport as saying that Haymo taught for a time at Cambridge in the thirteenth century, but there is no other evidence for this. FAWEN, John Or Fawcon. He spent ten years at Cambridge and took his B.D. in 1535-6 {Grace Book B, ii, p. 195; F, p. 307). FERRYNG, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 {Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1089). FINGRINGHO, W. de Twenty-fifth master at Cambridge, c. 1297 {Eccleston, p. 72). FLYKHAM, William A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained subdeacon in 1373 and priest the same year, both in the diocese of London {Regist. S. Sudbury, ii, pp. 123, 129). FOLBOURN, John de A Cambridge Franciscan licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in July 1342 and November 1343 (Ely Registers: Montacute, f. 121). FOLSHAM, Adam de Was Warden of the Cambridge Franciscans in February 1347, when he was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 89). FOLVIL, William de A native of Lincoln but ordained priest in the diocese of Winchester in March 1343 (Winchester Registers: Edington, i, f. 4). He was a D.D. of Cambridge, where he became seventyfourth lector c. 1354 {Eccleston, p. 74; Wadding, Annales Minorum, ix, p. 61; Scriptores, p. 104). When the University tried to prevent the friars from accepting boys under the age 176

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

of eighteen in 1358 Folvil wrote a reply: 'Pro pueris induendis' (Tanner, Bibliotheca, p. 292). He was licensed to hear the confessions of Blanche de Wake on March 5th, 1336, and again on January 22nd, 1373 (Lincoln Registers: Buckingham, ff. 28, 115). In August 1367 the Pope wrote to him about William Morgan who had lectured on the Sentences in various schools. Folvil is directed to give him the 'licenciam docendi' (Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, vi, p. 412). In 1382 he was among those who condemned Wyclif at the 'Council of the Earthquake' {Fasc. Zi^an., p. 287). He died in 1384 and was buried at Stamford (Tanner, Bibliotheca, p. 292). FONTIBUS, Ludovicus de In 1383 this friar was recommended to the Duke of Lancaster to help him while at Cambridge. He was sent over by the Chapter General to lecture on the Sentences {Arch. Franc. Hist. 1924, p. 165). FRANSONUS A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in the diocese of London in 1369 {Regist. S. Sudbury, ii, p. 70). FRAUNCEYS, Robert He was probably Warden of the Cambridge Franciscans in 1331, when he presented several friars for ordination at Isleham in the diocese of Rochester {Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1100). FRAUNCYS, William A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in June 1522 (Lincoln Registers: Longland, f. 4b). FREYWILL, William A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in March 1489 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, f. 30b). FRISBY, Roger We first meet this friar as a member of the Boston convent when he was ordained subdeacon in June 1354. He was at Stamford when ordained deacon in March 1356, and at Grantham when ordained priest in March 1357 (Lincoln Registers: N

177

APPENDIX B

Gynwell, v, ff. 71b, 79b, 83b). Some time after this he came to Cambridge, where he took his D.D. and was among those who condemned Wyclif in 1382 (Fascic. Zii
PLATE III

3m Mfeff n Brass of Friar William Gernemuth

APPENDIX B

appropbentur (Arch. Franc. Hist. 1922, p. 346; cf. Opuscules de Critique Historique, i, pp. 286-7).

He was probably at Cambridge about 1360. GILES, William A Cambridge Franciscan who took his B.D. in 1523 and his D.D. in 1528. He became Warden of the Grey Friars at Leicester and was there at the surrender in 1538 (Cooper, Athenae Cantabr., i, p. 69). GOLDYNG, James A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in March 1512 (Lincoln Registers: Smith, f. 87). GORGE, Richard The royal grant to the Cambridge friars was paid to this friar in 1308 (P.R.O. Issue Rolls, E.403/144). He was licensed to hear the confessions of Hugh de Neville and his wife and household in March 1320 (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 203). GOTTE, William In 1420 the Pope issued a dispensation to William Gotte, O.F.M. of Cambridge, B.D., to hold office in the Order though of illegitimate birth (Cat. Papal Registers, vii, p. 179). GRATHE, Richard A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained priest in March 1530 (London Registers: Stokesley). GRENTON, Ralph de Fortieth master at Cambridge, c. 1320 {Eccleston, p. 73). GRETHENHAM, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in September 1377 (Ely Registers: Arundel, f. 122). GRYMSTONE, Richard de Thirty-third lector to the friars at Cambridge, c. 1312 (Eccleston, p. 73). 180

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

GRYMSTON, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in December 1519 (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, f. 131). GUDFELD, Walter He was ordained deacon in December 1490, and was a member of the London house when ordained priest in December 1493 (London Registers: Hill). He then went to Oxford, where he took his B.D., and then proceeded to Cambridge, where he was allowed to hold the same position as he had held in his own University, 1507-8 {Grace Book F, p. 66). He went back to Oxford and took his D.D. there in 1510 (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 131). Later he became Warden of the Franciscan house in London, where he died on May 6th, 1521 (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 61). GUDMAN, Ralph On May 23rd, 1515, he obtained a grace to oppose at Oxford after studying for twelve years at Oxford, Cambridge and overseas (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 276).

GULDYN, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in September 1491 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 230). GYLDART, Thomas A friar of Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). HADISCO, Geoffrey de A Cambridge Franciscan licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely on February 23rd, 1347 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 89). HALESWORTH, Thomas A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained priest in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1109). HALSTEDE, John de A Cambridge Franciscan licensed to hear confessions in the 181

APPENDIX B

diocese of Ely on February 23rd, 1347 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 89). HALTON, Richard de Sixty-third master at Cambridge, c. 1343 (Eccleston, p. 74). He was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely on January 6th, 1341 (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 5824, f. 43). HALVESNAHEN, Hubert de In 1376 the Pope ordered Philip Toryton (q.v.) to confer the degree of D.D. on Hubert de Halvesnahen (or Kalvesnaken), O.F.M., B.D., who has studied at Paris, Oxford and Cambridge (Fitzmaurice and Little, Franciscan Province of Ireland, pp. 15960).

HAMPTON, Robert A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained priest in February 1480 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, f. 169b). HARDESELLE, Thomas de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe,-p. n 10). His name occurs several times in the account-sheets of the Cambridge convent in 1363 and 1366 (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). He came originally from the diocese of Winchester, where he was ordained deacon in March 1331 (Winchester Registers: Stratford, f. 155b). HARINGTON, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in September 1510 (Lincoln Registers: Smith, f. 81b). HARLESTON, William de Seventy-second lector at Cambridge, c. 1352 {Eccleston, p. 74). He appears to have come from the diocese of York, where he was licensed to hear confessions on October 16th, 1347 (York Registers: Zouche, f. 278). He was licensed for the diocese of Ely on February 24th, 1352 (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 5824, f. 120). HAUTBOYS, Humphrey de Seventh master at Cambridge, c. 1260-3 (Eccleston, p. 72). The following story is told of him: 182

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

When he was once ill at Cambridge, as he himself related to me, he heard a voice saying to him: 'Feel that thou art a stone'. Wherefore he lay motionless like a stone. And there came two demons and sat on his left hand, and a good angel stood on his right. The demons began to anger him with slanders, but the good angel for a long space was silent. At length the demons said: 'When the brethren sit on drinking and chattering in the hour of Compline, then we observe them; when they depart, then we have things to do elsewhere'. And the good angel said: 'See how great is the malice of the demons. They wish to slay thee with this tedious talk that thou mayest not hereafter praise the name of thy Creator'. Then, strengthened by this, he began to sweat and recovered. (Eccleston, pp. 71-2; E. G.

Salter, The Coming of the Friars Minor to England and Germany, pp. 72-2). HEINRICI, Nicholas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in March 1462 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 209b). HELISAUN His name occurs in the Cambridge Franciscan account-rolls in Caius College MS 348 (See below, p. 244). HEMYNGTON, Simon A friar who was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in 1419 {Ely Diocesan Remembrancer 1902, p. 60). The register does not say that he was a member of the Cambridge convent, but the fact that in 1450 he was confessor to the nuns of S. Radegund's, next door to the Franciscan house, makes it probable that he was (A. Gray, History of the Priory of S. Radegund, pp. 158, 174). HENGHAM, John de, (Senior) A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1115). HENGHAM, John de, (Junior) A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in September 1384 (Ely Registers: Arundel, f. 132). HERBERT, William A certain'Herb'was respondent in a disputation of the Dominican Friar Trussebut at Cambridge, c. 1280. It is probable that 183

APPENDIX B

this was William Herbert, forty-third lector at Oxford, c. 1317. If so, he was probably living with the Cambridge Franciscans for a time in his younger days (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 87-8).

HERVY, Robert A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in March 1476 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, £ 152b) and priest in December 1478 at York (York Registers: Booth, f. 375). HEYROUN, Geoffrey Twenty-eighth master at Cambridge, c. 1301-3 {Eccleston, p. 73). He was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Winchester on March 8th, 1318 (Regist.J. Sandale, pp. 84-5) and was lector to the friars of Winchester when licensed again in February 1326 (Winchester Registers: Stratford, f. 15). HISPANIA, Thomas de The first Warden at Cambridge, c. 1225 {Eccleston, pp. 13, 24). HOVEDEN, Adam de Twenty-ninth master at Cambridge, c. 1303-7, having been sent there from Oxford {Eccleston, p. 73). He had been licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Lincoln on July 26th, 1300, though the Bishop had admitted him only on the strength of his D.D. (Lincoln Registers: Dalderby, iii, f. 13). He had preached at Oxford at Martinmas, 1290, the Circumcision, 1291, and on the Epiphany and Annunciation, 1293 (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, p. 183). Some of these sermons have survived: e.g. New College MS 92, f. 82b. While at Cambridge he was involved in the quarrel with the University, 1303-6 (see above, pp. 36-8, and below, pp. 227-38). HUFFINGTON This Cambridge friar took his D.D. in 1478-9 {Grace Book A} p. 129).

HUGH In the Liber Exemplorum is a story about a Cambridge scholar told in a sermon by Brother Hugh, who was then himself at 184

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

Cambridge (Little, Liber Exemplorum adUsum Praedicantium, p. 41). This same friar seems later to have been Warden of the house at London (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, pp. 17, 54). HUNSTANTON, Thomas de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in March 1341 (Ely Registers: Montacute, f. 108). Like a good many of those who were ordained at Cambridge he returned afterwards to his own diocese, in this case the diocese of Winchester, where he was ordained priest in September 1346 (Winchester Registers: Edington, ii, f. D). HURDE, Richard A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained acolyte in September 1475 and subdeacon in March 1476 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, ff. 150b, 152b). HUSSEBOURNE, Simon de Forty-second lector at Cambridge, c. 1322 (Eccleston, p. 74). As early as 1310 he was a man of some importance, as he is mentioned in the account of the trial of the Templars (Wilkins, Concilia, ii, p. 362). He had close associations with Canterbury, where he was licensed to hear confessions in 1323 (Canterbury Registers: Reynolds, f. 249b), and in 1328, when visiting his convent at Canterbury, he had ten marks of the King's gift for his expenses (P.R.O. Exchequer Accounts, bundle 383, No. 14, quoted by Little in V.C.H. Kent, ii, p. 191). He was confessor to Queen Philippa in 1331 (John Rylands Library, MS 235, f. 10).

HYCHINTON, Henry de Fifty-third master at Cambridge, c. 1333 {Eccleston, p. 74). He had been ordained priest in the diocese of Worcester in 1313 (Regist. W. Reynolds, p. 147). HYNDRINGHAM, Thomas de Forty-first lector to the Cambridge friars, c. 1321 {Eccleston, P- 73)185

APPENDIX B

ICKWORTH, Richard A MS at Peterhouse (No. 49), written c.1300, has the note: "Scripturam huius libri procuravit frater Ricardus a Ykewrth ab amicis suis dum steterat de conventu Gipewic'. A note on f. 361b shows that the volume was deposited as a pledge in one of the University chests in 1440. Thus Richard of Ickworth, while studying at Cambridge as a student from the house of Grey Friars at Ipswich, induced his friends to provide him with books (Little, 'The Franciscan School at Oxford' in Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, p. 817). The book in question is a volume of Thomas Aquinas (N. R. Ker, Medieval Libraries of Great Britain, p. 57). There was a Frater Richardus de Hekeworth who gave the friars of Ipswich a book (fioldschmidt s Catalogue No. 30, 1938, p. 2). INGWORTH, Richard de One of the friars who came over with Agnellus of Pisa in 1224, a priest well advanced in years. He established the London house and then went on to Oxford and Northampton. Shortly afterwards he came to Cambridge as custos, c.1230. After this he was sent to Ireland as Provincial Minister, but in 1239 he set out as a missionary to Palestine and died there {Eccleston, pp. 4-5; Fitzmaurice and Little, The Franciscan Province of Ireland, p. 1; Golubovich, Biblioteca Bio-bibliografica della Terra Santa, i, p. 181). IPSWICH, John de, (Senior) One of the proctors for the Cambridge Franciscans in their dispute with the University in 1303-6 (Cambridge University Registry, Hare MSS, Liber Privilegiorum et Libertatum, fF. 28b-29). A friar of this name at Babwell and another at Yarmouth are both known to have died early in the fourteenth century {Collect. Franc., i, pp. 149, 152). IPSWICH, John de, (Junior) A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained subdeacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1120). 186

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

IPSWICH, Robert de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1120). IRITH, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in December 1354 (Lincoln Registers: Gynwell, v, f. 74b).

ISGRYM, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in March 1484 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, f. 13b). JAKELEY, Robert A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in June 1520 (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, f. 133).

JOHN A D.D. and Warden of the Cambridge house in 1479, when letters of confraternity were sent to Andrew Ducket, President of Queens' College (q.v.) (Searle, History of Queens' College, P- 54)KELL, Ambrose Kell was a student of theology who, in March 1507, obtained at Oxford the right of free entry into the University Library on taking an oath not to injure the books (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 270). This indicates that he was a scholar of some other University. It is most probable that the University was Cambridge. A MS at Corpus Christi, Oxford (No. 182) contains a number of questions disputed at Cambridge and Norwich. This volume later belonged to Ambrose Kell 'ordinis minorum custodie Cantabrigie' (Little, 'Theological Schools in Medieval England' in Eng. Hist. Rev. 1940, p. 628). This suggests, though it does not finally prove, that Kell was at Cambridge, for Norwich was in the custody of Cambridge. At least three books belonging to this friar are known today (N. R. Ker, Medieval Libraries, p. 68 n). KELLAW, John This northern friar came to Cambridge as a layman and did so 187

APPENDIX B

well that he was chosen as sixty-fourth lector to the friars c. 1344 (Eccleston, p. 74). In the following year he returned north and was ordained subdeacon in September 1345, and deacon in the following December. In March 1347 he was a member of the convent at Hartlepool and was there ordained priest (Durham Registers: Hatfield, ff. 92, 93, 95b). He appears to have remained in the north for a few years and was licensed to hear confessions in the deaneries of Richmond and Catterick on January 27th, 1349 (York Registers: Zouche, f. 278b). After this he returned to Cambridge, where he obtained a licence to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in February 13 51 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 90.) Shortly after this he went north again and was presented to the Archbishop of York by John de Yrby, custos of Newcastle, and was given 'potestatem penitentiarii' for the diocese of York on August 7th, 1351 (York Registers: Zouche, f. 280). KELLAW, Richard This friar came from the friary at Carlisle, where he was ordained acolyte and subdeacon in March 1317 (Regist. J. Halton, ii. p. 140). He then came to Cambridge, where he became fifty-seventh master, c. 1337 (Eccleston, p. 74). He became Warden of the Cambridge Franciscans in the same year and was then licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely (Ely Registers: Montacute, f.95). In April 1341 the Bishop of Ely commissioned Richard de Kellowe, S.T.P., commissary of the Chancellor of Cambridge to absolve scholars of Cambridge who had laid violent hands on clerks 'et hoc quoadusque cancellarius redeat Cantabrigie duraturum' (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 5824, f. 143). KEMPE, Roger A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in September i486, deacon in March 1487, and priest in March 1489 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, ff. 22b, 23b, 30b). KNOLLE, Walter de He was probably a native of Herefordshire and incepted at 188

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

Oxford in 1287, where he became nineteenth master to the friars (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 15 8). He was afterwards twenty-third master at Cambridge, c.1293-5 (Eccleston, p. 72). Shortly before this, in 1291, he was with Bishop Swinfield of Hereford, and he appears later in the diocese of Worcester. He was one of the witnesses at the canonisation of Thomas Cantilupe in July 1307. While a member of the Franciscan community at Hereford he wrote De elemosina amatorum, which is now in Hereford Cathedral Library (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 363-4). KNOLLYS, Robert A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in December 1516 and priest in March 1517 (Ely Registers: West, ff. 82b, 83b). KYLBURN, Peter A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in March and priest in June 1522 (Lincoln Registers: Longland, ff. 2b, 4b). KYMBERLEY, J. de Twenty-fourth master at Cambridge, c.1295-7 (Eccleston, p. 72).

LAINSON, Matthew A friar at Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). LAKYNGSHAM, Robert A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in September 1487 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 223b). LAMBE, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in September 1515 (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, f. 115). LAMME, John The name of this friar occurs in the account-sheet of 1363 (see below, p. 242). LAMMES, Nicholas On March 18th, 1430, the King wrote to Galeasius de Baromeis 189

APPENDIX B

and Anthony Fraunceys, Lombards, about a sum of 20 marks payable to 'Nicholas Lammes, O.F.M. Cantebr' and Geoffrey Yoxford, O.F.M.' (Cal. Close Rolls, Henry VI, 1429-35, p. 380). LANGHAM, Friar Apparently a Franciscan who took his B.D. at Cambridge in 1473-4 and his D.D. nine years later (Grace Book A, pp. 101, 173)LANGHAM, Reginald Parkinson describes him as a very learned Man, a Professor of Divinity and a Doctor of Cambridge; a Man of sharp Wit; but he seems to have been of a Temper somewhat Litigious. He had the Character of an excellent Schoolman, being most expert in all Scholastic Disputations, and accustomed to argue smartly and learnedly, to distinguish subtilely, to explicate clearly, and to conclude solidly. But I know not (says Dr Pitts) whether it proceeded from the Envy of others, which often attends the greatest Wit, or from his own Fault, that he had many learned Adversaries of almost all Religious Orders that writ against; to whom he return'd the Courtesy by writing likewise against them (Parkinson, Collectanea Anglo-Minoritica, pp. 190-1).

This character sketch seems to be based entirely upon the titles of his writings. These are: Contra Edmunium monachum Buriensem, Contra Andream Binham Dominicanum, and Contra Johannem Heidonum Carmelitam. He also wrote four books on the Sentences, one on the Bible, and a volume of Questiones (Tanner, Bibliotheca, p. 465). He died in 1410.

LAUND, John A member 'of the Order of Friars Minor in the University of Cambridge' who was ordained subdeacon in March 1517 (Ely Registers: West, f. 83b).

LAVENE, John Ordained subdeacon in 1518, being then a Franciscan of Cambridge recommended by the 'president' (Ely Registers: West, f. 84b). 190

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

LEGAR, Walter He was at London when ordained subdeacon in May 1516 (London Registers: Fitzjames), but came to Cambridge immediately afterwards and is described as a member of 'the Order of Friars Minor in the University of Cambridge' when he was ordained priest in March 1517 (Ely Registers: West, f. 84). He was at Chichester at the Dissolution in 1538 {Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. xiii, pt. 2, p. 219). LEGAT, Robert A friar of Norwich when ordained subdeacon in September 1532 and deacon in the following September (Norwich Registers). When he was ordained priest in the diocese of London in April 1533 he is described as 'of the University of Cambridge' (London Registers: Stokesley).

LENT, John Custos of Cambridge, though this does not prove that he was actually a member of the Cambridge house. He was for a time at London, where he is buried (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, pp. 67, 87). LERERINGFOT, J. de Fourteenth master at Cambridge, c. 1280-2 {Eccleston, p. 72). He was respondent at the vesperies of John Trussebut, O. P. at Cambridge (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians,^. 92, 113). LEVERINGTON, Martin A Franciscan of Cambridge whose name appears in the accountbook of c. 1363 (J. R. Harris, The Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). LILLEFORD, W. de His name does not occur in the list of Cambridge masters in the oldest MS of Eccleston (Cotton, Nero, A. ix, f. 78) but in other documents he appears as fiftieth master, c. 1330 (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 133). He was S.T.P. and was appointed a penitentiary in the diocese of Durham in January 1340 (Regist. Palat. Dunelm., iii, p. 281). 191

APPENDIX B

LIMPENHO, J. de He was twenty-sixth lector at Cambridge, c. 1298-1300 (Eccleston, pp. 72-3). A MS at Assisi (No. 196) contains some questions disputed by this friar: on f.46 'Limp(enho) qo: Utrum conscientia erronea precipiens vel prehibens obliget' and on f. 57: 'Limp(enho) meth(aphysica): Utrum ad negationes huius principii: de quolibet affirmatio et negatio sequatur eius positio' {Arch. Franc. Hist. 1934, p. 279)- Limpenho is cited in a Commentary on the Sentences by William of Ware (J. Lechner in Fran\ukanische Studien 1932, pp. 124-5). LISLE, Richard One of the proctors for the Cambridge Franciscans in their dispute with the University in 1303-6 (Fuller, History of the University of Cambridge, pp. 53-4). According to Little he was born about 1270 and studied law at Orleans and Oxford. He entered the Order late and became a priest. He was one of the witnesses at the canonisation of Thomas Cantilupe. In 1313 he was custos of the custody of Newcastle (Eng. Hist. Rev. 1935, p. 69on). LUCAS, Nicholas This friar was at Norwich in i486 (Blomefield, History of Norfolk, iv, p. 115). He came to Cambridge in 1487-8 and deposited a 'caution' which was afterwards lost {Grace Book A, p. 218; B, i, pp. 81, 83, 103). LUDOVICUS A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in December 1414 (London Registers: Clifford). LUSITANUS, Antonius After spending six years at Salamanca he came to Cambridge and spent five years at the University here. He graduated B.D. in 1525-6 (Grace Book B, ii, p. 130; -T, p. 224). LYNDESEY, Richard A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in September 1475 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, f. 151) and priest in the following December (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 216). 192

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

LYNN, Eustace de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in September 1391 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 233b). LYNN, Reginald de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in April 1406 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 245). LYNN, William de A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1132). MABLETHORPE, John In the account-book of 1366 Friar John Marbilzor is recorded as having sent the convent some baskets of figs and a barrel of herrings (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). There is no doubt that this is John Mablethorpe who was Warden of the London Grey Friars in 1368 (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 56). He may have been at Cambridge in 1366 or have sent his gift from elsewhere. He came from the diocese of Durham, where he was ordained subdeacon in Lent, 1345 (Kellawe, Regist. Palat. Dunelm., iii, p. 142), and was ordained priest in the diocese of York in September 1348 (York Registers: Zouche, Ordinations, f. 25b). MARCH, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in March 1378 (Ely Registers: Arundel, f. 122b). MARCHAL, Edmund Forty-third master at Cambridge c.1323 {Eccleston, p. 73). He was ordained subdeacon in March 1294, deacon in December 1295 and priest in September 1297 in the diocese of Lincoln (Lincoln Registers: Sutton,ff.394b, 403b). In 1333 he was at Avignon, being one of the Masters of Theology deputed to investigate the question of the Beatific Vision (Denifle, Chart. Univ. Paris., ii, pp. 421, 425, 453). He died at Avignon c.1334 {Collect. Franc, i, p. 151). o

193

APPENDIX B

MARKWELL D.D. of Cambridge in 1466-7 (Grace Book A, pp. 61, 63, 69). MARSTON, Roger de He was born at Marston in Norfolk and probably took his D.D at Cambridge (Little in Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, p.856) having previously taught at Paris c. 1270-4. He then became twelfth master at Cambridge c. 1275-79 {Eccleston, p. 72) and went on to become regent at Oxford c. 1280-4. He became Provincial Minister in 1292 and held office for about six years. His extant works are: Questiones de emanatione aeterna, Questiones de statu naturae lapsae, Questiones de anima, and Quodlibeta quatuor.

The Questiones were edited by the Quaracchi fathers in Biblioteca Franciscana Scholastica, vol. vii. For the known facts of his life see Little in Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, pp. 855-7; Pelster, 'Roger Marston' in Scholastik 1928, pp. 526-56; R. Marston Questiones Disputatae (Quaracchi, 1932) and Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 93-5. MASSINGHAM, Geoffrey de A friar of Cambridge some time before 1366, a pittance being founded in his memory (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). A William de Massingham, O.F.M., was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in October 1352 (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 5 824, f. 120) and a Gilbert de Massingham is mentioned in a MS at Gray's Inn (No. 15, f. 5b; cf. Owst Preaching in Medieval England, p. 60 n). It is possible that there is here some confusion between Galfridus, Gulielmus and Gilbertus. MASSINGHAM, William A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained subdeacon in June, 1495, deacon in April 1496, and priest in May 1497 (Ely Registers: Alcock, ff. 239, 240b, 242b). MATHEW, William He was a member of the Franciscan house at Reading when ordained acolyte in 1388 (Regist. W. Wykeham, i, p. 317). Shortly afterwards he came to Cambridge and was there when 194

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

ordained subdeacon in May 1390, and deacon in September 1391 (Ely Registers: Fordham, ff. 231b, 233b). MENDHAM, John Among the MSS in the Vatican is a volume of Aquinas' De veritate catholicaefidei,on f. 185b of which is written: 'Frater Johannes Mendham fratrum minorum'. Bannister thought that this book may have belonged to the Cambridge Franciscans (Collectanea Franciscana, i, p. 129). The connection of this friar with Cambridge is strengthened by the appearance of a 'frater Mendam' at the University in 1470-1 (Grace Book A, p. 86). MENE, William A friar at Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 (Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). MERSEY, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in December 1497 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 244). MERYE, James A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in September 1456 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 203b). METER, Apollus A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained priest in 1500 in the diocese of York (York Registers: Sede Vacante). MILTON, W. de Fifth master at Cambridge, c.1257-9 (Eccleston, p. 71). He is probably to be identified with William de Meliton, D.D. of Paris, who in 1256 completed the Summa of Alexander Hales, and who died in 1261 (Wadding, Annales Minorum, iv, p. 57; Chronicon de Lanercost, pp. 70-1; Glorieux, 'Repertoire des Maitres' in Etudes de Philosophic Medievale, xviii, pp. 34-6). MONTE, Sefrid de A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in March 1467 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 211b).

APPENDIX. B

MORE, J. de la One of the Franciscan proctors in the dispute with the University of Cambridge in 1303-6. He was a friar of some importance in the London house in 1324 (A. G. Little in Eng. Hist. Rev. 1935, p. 692, n.4.). Earlier, in 1299-1300, Edward I had sent money to the Friars Minor of London by the hand of this friar {Liber Quotid. Contrarot. Garderobae, Soc. of Antiquaries, p. 31). He was still at London in 1324, when Edward II gave a similar grant to the friars there (P.R.O. Exch. Accts. K.R. 379/19, f. n b ) . MORRIS, William A Cambridge Franciscan licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in December 1407 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 206). Perhaps to be identified with a friar of this name at Colchester who was ordained deacon in 1372 {Regist. S. Sudbury, ii, p. 118). He was the owner of two books now in the Vatican Library. No. 69 of the Ottoboni MSS {Gregorii Ariminensis Questiones) has a note on f. 1, 'Liber Fratris wilh. morys'; and No. 2088 (a volume of Ockham) has, on f. 156b, the note: 'Iste liber est fratris W. Morys de ordine fratrum minorum' {Collect. Franc, i, pp. 126, 136). MOWTE, John Warden of Norwich in 1469 (Blomfield, Hist, of Norfolk, iv. p. 114) and confessor to Friar John Brackle {Paston Letters, ed. Gairdner, i, p. 235; iv, pp. 219-20, 275-6). He was at Cambridge in 1473-4 {Grace Book A, p. 113). MYLBOURNE, Gilbert A Cambridge friar when ordained subdeacon in June 1515 (Canterbury Registers: Warham, f. 279) and when ordained deacon in September 1515 (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, f. 115b). He was at London when ordained priest in December 1516 (London Registers: Tunstall). He was still at London in December 1523, when he presented a friar for ordination. He was then described as 'custos (or cursor) philosophiae' {ibid). 196

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

MYSTON, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in September 1456 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 203). NAILLESTON, Stephen de In 1325 the royal gift to the Cambridge Franciscans was paid to this friar (P.R.O. Issue Rolls, 210). NORMANVILLE, Eustace de Third master at Cambridge, c. 1253-4 (Eccleston, p. 71). He was a rich nobleman who probably joined the Order at Oxford, c. 1250. Anthony a Wood says that he was Chancellor of Oxford c. 1276, but there is no evidence for this (Snappe's Formulary, p. 323). Soon after he joined the Order the friars of Norwich invited him to be their lector, but he refused on the grounds of ill-health and 'unprepared aptitude of mind' (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 139-40; Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, p. 838). The good effects of his conversion were stressed by the Provincial Minister {Eccleston, p. 64). Adam Marsh writes of him in two of his letters {Monumenta Franciscana, h PP- 3i9 5 32i)NORTON, William A Franciscan of Worcester who was ordained subdeacon in 1383 and deacon in 1385 {Regist.J. Gilbert, pp. 158, 165). In 1392 he was at York, where he received a legacy of y. 4^. in the will of Richard Bridesall {Forks. Arch. Journal, xxxii, p. 283). He also had some connection with Coventry (Martin, Franc. Architecture in England, p. 64), but most of his life was spent at Oxford and Cambridge. He edited the works of Nicholas de Lyra (Tanner, Bibliotheca, p. 550). In 1403 he was the scribe of a MS now in Eton College Library (No. 108). NORWICH, Thomas de A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1143).

NOTTINGHAM, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in March 1418 and priest in April 1419 (Ely Registers: Fordham, ff. 271, 271b). 197

APPENDIX B

NOTTINGHAM, John A friar of Oxford when ordained acolyte in September 1510, but he was at Cambridge when ordained deacon in March 1512, and at Grantham when ordained priest in the following September (Lincoln Registers: Smith, ff. 82, 87, 89b). There was a friar of this name at Bedford at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 9). O'MOLONY, Cornelius This Irish friar was sent to Cambridge in 1441 'ut pro cursu magisterii legeret magistrum Sententiarum' (Wadding, Annales Minorum, xi, p. 144). On May 22nd, 1447, he was provided to the see of Clonfert, whence he was translated to Emly on August 30th, 1448 {Cat. Papal Registers, x, pp. 295, 388). ORKENEY, John A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained priest in September 1456 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 203b). OSMONDE, John A Franciscan ordained acolyte in December 1475, though the name of his convent is not given (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 216). He was, however, definitely a member of the Cambridge friary when ordained subdeacon in December 1478, deacon in February 1480, and priest in February 1483 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, ff. 164b, 169b; Russell, f. 10). OVERWARTHONE, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 {Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1145). PALMER, Robert In 1449 a sum of 6s. Sd. was paid by the nuns of S. Radegund's in Cambridge to Friar Robert Palmer their confessor (A. Gray, History of the Priory of S. Radegund, pp. 158, 174). It does not say to what Order or house this friar belonged, but the fact that the Cambridge Franciscans were close to the nunnery suggests that he may have been a Grey Friar, and this is borne out by the fact that his successor, Simon Hemyngton (q.v.), was definitely of this Order. 198

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

PALMER, William A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in December 1441 (London Registers: Gilbert, f. 144b). PARYS, Thomas A 'frater Parysse' took his B.D. at Cambridge in 1524-5 {Grace Book B, ii, p. 122). No Order is mentioned, but he may be the Thomas Parys who was at Winchester at the Dissolution and desired to change his habit {Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, xiii, pt. ii, p. 549). PAULL, Robert A Franciscan buried at London but designated 'de custodia Cantabrigiae'. This does not necessarily connect him with the house at Cambridge though it was the head of the custody (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 131). PECHAM, Gilbert Fifty-eighth master at Cambridge, c.1339 {Eccleston, p. 74). Perhaps a Fellow at Merton in 1324 and in 1339 (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 238). He was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Canterbury in September 1355, being then S.T.P. (Canterbury Registers: Islip, f. 103b). PECHAM, William de The letter of the Bishop of Ely concerning the consecration of the church of the Grey Friars at Cambridge in 1349 is addressed to William de Pecham, Warden (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 17b). PENNIS, James de Sixty-fourth master at Cambridge, c. 1345 {Eccleston, p. 74), being described as 'postea episcopus'. Little suggests that he may have been Jacobus de Tolomeis, Bishop of Narni, 1378-83 {Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, p. 822 n). PERCYVAL, John A friar of Lichfield when ordained acolyte in December 1463, subdeacon in February 1464, and deacon in June 1465 (Lichfield Registers: Hales, ff. 192, 193,196). He was at Cambridge when ordained priest in March 1467 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 199

APPENDIX B

212). There can be little doubt that this is the John Persevalle who became D.D. of Oxford in 1482-3 (Salter, Medieval Archives of the Univ. of Oxford, ii, p. 336). He was Provincial Minister of England from about 1490 to 1500 (Little, FranciscanPapers, etc., p. 205). He died on December 5th, 1505 (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 73).

PERESON, John This friar was ordained priest in April 1515 in the diocese of Ely, being then probably at Cambridge (Canterbury Registers: Warham, f. 279). In 1524-5 he obtained permission to enter the common library of the University (Grace Book B, ii. p. 118). He went to London, where he was 'cursor theologiae' in 1526. He died and was buried there in 1527 (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, pp. 22, 60, 67, 103). PETER A Cambridge Franciscan who obtained a grace excusing him from the responsibility of regency in 1470-1 (Grace Book A, p. 88). PEYTO, William A native of Warwickshire, son of Edward Peyto of Chesterton, who graduated at Oxford and then came to Cambridge, 1502-3. He was probably never a member of the Franciscan community while at Cambridge, but joined the Observants at Greenwich and soon became a man of some importance in the Order. He was 'vicar' of the Observant convent of Richmond (Surrey) in December 1520, when he presented two friars for ordination in the diocese of London (London Registers: Fitzjames), and became Warden in 1522 (Canterbury Registers: Warham, ff. 297b, 298). In 1532 he was Provincial Minister of his Order in England (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc. p. 207). Preaching before Henry VIII on May 1st, 1533, he denounced his marriage with Anne Boleyn and had to flee the country, going first to Antwerp and then to Venice. He remained abroad until the death of Edward VI, when he returned to England and became confessor to the Queen in 1554- In 15 57 he was made a Cardinal and was offered the bishopric of Salisbury, but he died the 200

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

following year. He is described as a 'very godly and devout person, yet simple and unknowing of matters of state or of the world' (Cooper, Athenae Cantab., i, pp. 182-3). On his return to England in Mary's reign he made great efforts to re-establish the house of Grey Friars in London, which had become an orphanage, but a Spanish friar called John was so overcome with grief at the thought of the poor children being turned out that he burst into tears, at which Peyto was so much affected that 'he never durst open his mouth against that house' (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London,^. 26-7; cf. also D.N.B.). PICTAVENSIS, William Second master at Cambridge, c. 1235-53 (Eccleston, p. 71). He is mentioned by Wadding in connection with Vincent of Coventry and John Weston (Wadding, Annales Minorum, iv, P- 57). PIGAZ, Ralph Forty-ninth master at Cambridge, c. 1329 {Eccleston, p. 73). PISTORIS, Jasper A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in September i486 and priest in March 1487 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, ff. 22b, 23b). PISTORIS, Ludovicus A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in December 1482 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, f. 9b). PLUMSTEDE, Robert A friar of Cambridge mentioned in the account-book of 1363-6 (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). A Richard de Plumstead, O.F.M., was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Hereford in November 1353 (Regist. J. Trillek, p. 21). It is possible that this may be the same man and that the Christian names have become confused. POMAERDE, Philip A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in 1445 (Ely Registers: Bourchier). 201

APPENDIX B

PORRYTT, George A friar at Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). PORTUGAL, Thomas de In accordance with the Papal Constitutions of Benedict XII that every third year the lecturer at Cambridge should be chosen by the General Chapter and not by the Provincial Chapter, this friar was so selected in 1371, having previously studied at Oxford and Paris and having lectured at Lisbon and Salamanca (Wadding, Annales Minorum, viii, pp. 239, 249).

PRESTON, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in September 1456 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 203). He appears to have gone afterwards to York, where he was ordained subdeacon in September 1457 and deacon in March 1458 (York Registers: Bothe). PYKENHAM, John de A tombstone in Jesus College Chapel has the following inscription: 'Hie jacet Frater Johannes de Pykenham, magister sacrae theologiae, prior huius loci, cujus animae propitietur Deus'. Le Keux {Memorials of Cambridge (says: 'We can only account for its being found here by the supposition that it was transferred hither from the ruins of the neighbouring priory of the Franciscans'. This is possible, though the title of 'prior' was not officially used by the Friars Minor. No friar of this name is known. There was a Friar John Pickering, D.D., Prior of the Dominicans in Cambridge, 1523-31 (W. Gumbley, The Cambridge Dominicans, p. 42). RAMSEY, Nicholas A friar of Cambridge in 1366 who gave 2s. 6d. to the convent (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). He also gave to the 'students' library' a copy of Peter Comestor's Historia, now MS Ottoboni 325. On the last leaf is written 'Iste est liber fratris Nicholai de Ramesey'. This is erased, and in its place is written: 'Istum librum contulit frater Nicholaus 202

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

Ramesey librarie studentium fratrum minorum cantebrigg' {Collect. Franc, i, p. 131). RAVINGHAM, Walter de Tenth master at Cambridge, c. 1269-72 (Eccleston, p. 72). A letter in praise of him was written by Adam Marsh to the Warden of Hereford (Monumenta Franciscana, i, pp. 391-2). Ravingham appears to have been for a time lector at Hereford (Collect. Franc, i, p. 114). In Gray's Inn MS. 15, f. 10b, is a story told by Friar Walter de Raveningham how once he was interrupted while preaching by a certain cleric who contradicted him, only to repent later when driven to his bed by sickness (G. R. Owst, 'Some Franciscan Memorials at Gray's Inn' in Dublin Review 1925, p. 279). RENDELISHAM, John A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained acolyte in December 1397 and priest in September 1399 (Ely Registers: Fordham, ff. 238b, 239b). RENNINGHAM, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in September 1384 (Ely Registers: Arundel, f. 131b). In November 1404 he received a plenary indulgence (Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, vii, p. 177). REPPIS, Richard de A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1154). In January 1341 he was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 5824, f.43) and in 1353 he had a papal licence to choose his own confessor (Cal. Papal Registers, iii, p. 506). He must by then have been ill, for in May of this year he received a plenary indulgence being then 'in articulo mortis' (Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, vi, p. 276). He must not be confused with another friar of this name, of the community at Norwich, who died about 1334 (Collect. Franc, i, p. 151). RINGSTEDE, John de A witness for the friars to the final award made with the 203

APPENDIX B

University in 1306 (Camb. Univ. Registry, Hare MSS, Liber Privikgiorum, ff. 28b-2C)). He is probably the Friar John who acted as proctor for the friars in the dispute of 1303-4 (Durham MS, see below, p. 227). RINGSTEDE, Robert de A Cambridge Franciscan licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely on February 23rd, 1347 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 89). RIPPES, Bartholomew de Fifty-second master at Cambridge, c. 1332 (Eccleston, pp. 73-4). ROBENGEREN(P), Otto A Cambridge Franciscan, possibly of German origin, who was ordained deacon in May 1497 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 242). ROBY He took his D.D. at Cambridge in 1461-2 (Grace Book A, p. 32), having previously been at Oxford, where he quarrelled with Richard Rodnore in 1461 and obtained from the Archbishop of Canterbury an inhibition to prevent Rodnore from being admitted D.D. At the inception in June 1461 the commissary refused to recognise the inhibition and Rodnore took his degree. The three persons who had procured the inhibition were imprisoned as disturbers of the peace and suspended from their office in the University (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 265). A Friar Walter Robys, who may be the same as this man, was ordained deacon in March 1456 and priest in April 1457 (Canterbury Registers: Bourchier, ff. 135b, 136). RODNOR, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in June 1498 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 247b). ROSTON, Robert de Ninth master at Cambridge, c. 1266-9 (Eccleston, p. 72). He accompanied Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury, on his metropolitical visitation of the diocese of London in 1250 (Monumenta Franciscana, i, pp. 327-8). 204

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

ROY, William He was an Observant friar of Greenwich when ordained exorcist and acolyte in December 1516, and deacon in September 1518 (London Registers: Fitzjames). It is not known when he came to Cambridge, but while there he wrote what is now known as the Montfort Codex of the Greek text of the New Testament, probably at the instigation of Henry Standish (q.v.) and to help him in his controversy with Erasmus (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 47-8). Shortly afterwards he forsook his convent and joined Tyndale at Hamburg in 1524, acting as his amanuensis. He went later to Strasburg, and finally to Portugal, where he is said to have been burnt as a heretic in 1531. His works are: Rede me and be nott wrothe (a satire on Wolsey and the clergy), A Christian dialogue between a Father and a Disobedient Son, and A Book against the Seven Sacraments. (Cooper, Athenae Cantab., i, p. 44). A 'Frater de roy' was admitted at Cambridge in 1472-3, but this must have been an older man {Grace Book A, p. 94). RUSHBROOK, John A D.D. living in the Babwell house when he was presented by the custos of Cambridge to the Abbot of Bury for a licence to hear confessions in the town of Bury in February 1420 (Brit. Mus. Cott. MSS Tib. B. ix., f. 141). He was one of the doctors who pronounced various articles of William Taylor heretical in London in February 1423 (Wilkins, Concilia, iii, pp. 404-10). RUSSELL, John Twenty-second master at Cambridge, c. 1292 (Ecclestonp. 72). He was private chaplain to Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, in 1293 and a Franciscan of Oxford. His works are: Postilla in Cantica Canticorum, Lectura super Apocalypsim, and De Potestate Imperatoris et Papae (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 218). He was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Lincoln in August 1300, being then a friar of Leicester, and as penitentiary for the archdeaconry of Leicester in September 1305, being then at Lincoln (Lincoln Registers: Dalderby, iii, 205

APPENDIX B

ff. 15, 87b). Dr Little possessed a MS (now in the Bodleian) containing Collationes of Friar John Russell. They are for various subjects and occasions—e.g. 'de cruce' (a crusading sermon), 'de militibus' (on knighthood), 'de visitatione', 'de ordinibus' (on ordination), 'de virginibus' (for consecration of nuns), and on virtues and vices. The MS is mutilated: few if any of the sermons are complete. RUSSELL, John Fifty-seventh master at Cambridge, c. 1338 (Eccleston, p. 74). Probably the John Russel ordained subdeacon at Easter, 1317 (Lichfield Registers: Langton etc. f. 129b). He was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely on Christmas Day, 1338 (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 5824, f. 43). He must not be confused with the earlier friar of this name nor with the John Russell, O.F.M., of Stamford who was a preacher of strange doctrines in the fifteenth century (Regist. H. Chichele, iii, pp. 91, 98-100).

RYCKS, John Fellow of Corpus Christi College in 1509 and, according to Cooper, 'probably the person mentioned by Wood as having been a Franciscan friar at Oxford' {Athenae Cantabr., i, p. 61). The identification is, however, improbable (See Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 286-7).

RYDDENE, John Ordained subdeacon in March 1343, and deacon in May 1347, in the diocese of Winchester (Winchester Registers: Edington, i, f. 3b; ii, f. G). He became a D.D. of Cambridge and was among those who condemned Wyclif at the fifth session of the Council at Canterbury in July 1382 (Fasctc. Zi{an., p. 291). S. EDMUNDS, William de A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained priest in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 {Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1158). S. IVES, William de A Cambridge friar mentioned in the account-book of 1363 (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). 206

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

SANDERSON, Robert This friar is first known to us as a member of the Cambridge convent at the time of his ordination as subdeacon and deacon in 1497 (Ely Registers: Alcock, ff. 242b, 244b). He was ordained priest in September 1498, in the diocese of London (London Registers: Savage). He then proceeded immediately to Oxford, where he took his B.D. in 1511 after twelve years' study there, and proceeded to his D.D. in 1513 (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 274). Later he went to Bristol, of which house he was for a time Warden (A. R. Martin, Franc. Architecture in England, p. 220), but he left there shortly before the Dissolution to become Warden of Richmond in Yorkshire {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 38). A Dr Saunderson was Warden of Carlisle in 1523 (V. C. H. Cumberland, ii, p. 198). SAVAY, Robert A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in December 1478 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, f. 164b). SAVONA, Laurentius Gulielmi de A friar of the province of Genoa who, after studying in Italy, came to Oxford and Cambridge. He died in 1495 at the age of eighty-one (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, pp. 265-6). In 1478, while he was at Cambridge, he compiled his Nova Rhetorica, which was printed by Caxton c. 1479 and at St. Albans in 1480 (C. Sayle, Annals of the Cambridge University Library, P- 34)SAWNDFORD, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in December 1497 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 244b). SAWKYNS, Thomas He was at London when ordained priest in September 1514 (London Registers: Fitzjames). In 1522 he came to Cambridge, where, after ten years' study, he took his B.D. in 1532-3 (Grace Book B, ii, p. 178; P, p. 272.) 207

APPENDIX B

SAXLINGHAM, Peter de In 1329 he was at Cambridge when he was arrested, together with John Aquinton (q.v.) and imprisoned. (See above, pp. 97-9; and Cat. Papal Registers, ii, pp. 492, 493, 496, and Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, v, pp. 401-2, 464-5). SAXLINGHAM, Simon de Twenty-second master at Cambridge, c. 1310-12 {Eccleston, P- 73)SCHAFFE, Richard A friar of Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). SCHERWYN, Henry A friar of York when ordained acolyte in March 1458, and deacon in February 1461 (York Registers: Bothe). He came to Cambridge after this and in 1473-4 received a grace to incept in theology {Grace Book A, pp. 101, 103). Later he returned to York, where Master Henry Schyrwyn, D.D. became a member of the Gild of Corpus Christi in 1481 and in 1488 had 20J. as a legacy from John Carre {Yorks. Arch. Journal, xxxii, pp. 280, 286). SCLATER, Thomas A friar of York who was ordained subdeacon in September 1503 (York Registers: Savage). He then went to Oxford and, while there, was ordained deacon in March 1505 and priest in February 1508 (Lincoln Registers: Smith, ff. 49b, 69b). He then came on to Cambridge, where he took his B.D. in 1519-20 {Grace BookB, ii, p. 78; T, p. 183), and is probably to be identified with a Thomas Slater, O.F.M., of York who received a legacy of \os. in 1527 {Yorks. Arch. Journal, xxxii, p. 289). Later he became Warden of Scarborough, where he engaged in a lively dispute with Henry Diconson, chaplain of Barton in Ryedale (York Dioc. Registers, R. VII. G. 222). SCOTT, Thomas A friar of Norwich when ordained subdeacon in September 208

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

1532, and deacon in December 1533 (Norwich Registers). He then came to Cambridge, where he remained until the Dissolution (Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). He is probably not to be identified with a 'ffrater Scott' who took his B.D. in 1524-5 (Grace Book B, ii, p. 122). One of the two was probably Vicar of Mildenhall in later years (Eng. Hist. Rev. 1933, P- 6 4)SCRYNER, Nicholas A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in February 1483 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, f. 10). SEGGEFORD, Thomas de A Cambridge Franciscan presented by the Warden and ordained deacon in March 1342 (Ely Registers: Montacute, f. i n ) . SEND, Thomas A Cambridge Franciscan presented by the Warden and ordained subdeacon in March 1342 (Ely Registers: Montacute, f. nob).

SENNOW This friar took his B.D. in 1511-12 after fourteen years at Cambridge. He proceeded D.D. two years later. His cautio was twelve spoons with 'ly knoppis' and six with 'ly mayden heddes' with his name written above (Grace Book B, ii, pp. 3> 5, 22> 2 3 , 2 4, 2 7 ; r, pp. 95, 120). SEYER A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained acolyte in December 1331, in the diocese of Rochester (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1162). SEYNIO, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in September 1391 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 233b). SIDBRIGHT, George A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained priest in September 1480 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, f. ib). p

209

APPENDIX B

SILIDEN, Richard A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in September 1456 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 203). SIMONIS, Ludovicus A Franciscan almost certainly of Cambridge ordained priest at Cambridge in September 1388 (Canterbury Registers: Courtenay, f. 311). SLOLER, Richard de Or Slolee. Thirty-eighth master at Cambridge, c. 1318 (Eccleston, p. 73). SMYTH, Richard This friar was ordained acolyte while at Cambridge in September 1524, subdeacon while at Stamford in April 1525, and deacon and priest at Bedford in June and September 1525 (Lincoln Registers: Longland, ff. 10,10b, 12,12b). He remained at Bedford until 1538 and was there at the Dissolution {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 9). SNORING, Roger de A Franciscan of Cambridge who in 1358 was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Canterbury (Canterbury Registers: Islip f. 144b). In July 1362 he received a plenary indulgence, presumably on his deathbed (Sbaralea, Bull. Franc, vi, p. 328). SOUTHWARK, Richard de Nineteenth master at Cambridge, c. 1288 {Eccleston, p. 72). In MS Assisi 158 there is a reference to a friar as 'So' which is the abbreviated name of a doctor at Cambridge contemporary with Bungay. It has been suggested that 'So' may be intended to refer to this friar (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, p. 100). SPRINGWELL, John A friar of Norwich in 1497 (Blomefield, History of Norfolk, iv, p. 116). He afterwards came to Cambridge, where he took 210

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

his B.D. in 1505-6 and his D.D. in 1507-8 (Grace Book B, ii, pp. 209, 216, 229, 232, 234; r, p. 47). STALHAM, Bartholomew de Eighteenth lector at Cambridge, c. 1286-8 (Eccleston, p. 72). Possibly the 'Bartol minor' of MS Assisi 158 who responded to Bungay in his vesperies (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, pp. 73-4). STANDISH, Henry This friar first appears as a member of the Franciscan house at Hereford, where he was ordained deacon in 1489 (Regist. T. Myllyng, p. 178). He studied at Oxford and Cambridge and became Warden of the London Grey Friars, and, in 1505, Provincial Minister. He held this office until 1418, when he was made Bishop of S. Asaph (Little, Franciscan Papers, p. 205). He received certain legacies in the will of Margaret, Countess of Suffolk, in 1515 and was an executor of the will (North Country Wills, i, pp. 85-6). He was a staunch opponent of the Reformation, being made one of Wolsey's examiners of heretics in 1525 and being among those who tried 'Little Bilney' in 1527. He was buried in the Franciscan church in London, leaving various legacies (See D.N.B.; Cooper, Athenae Cantabr., i, p. 55; Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, pp. 60-1). William Roy, another Cambridge Franciscan (q.v.), who joined the Reformers, wrote of Standish: 'For whoredom and fornicacions He maketh many visitacions, His diocese to pill and polle, Though he be a stowte devigne, Yett a prest to keep a concubyne He then admitteth wittingly: So they pay their yearly tributes, Unto his devylishe substitutes, Official or Commissary'. (Harleian Misc., ix, p. 79). STANLE, John de The royal gifts to the friars of both Oxford and Cambridge were paid to this friar in 1325 (P.R.O. Issue Rolls, E. 403/213,218). 211

APPENDIX B

STANTON, Robert de It is possible that this friar was one of the first Franciscan rectors of Pembroke College in 1347 or thereabouts (A. L. Attwater, Pembroke College, Cambridge, p. 9). He was licensed to hear confessions for the family of Thomas de Wake in December 1338 (Lincoln Registers: Burghersh, f. 152) and for the diocese of Ely in 1341 (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 5824, f. 45). In 1349 he carried a petition on behalf of Queen Philippa (Cal. Papal Registers, Petitions, i, p. 160). In 1357 he went to Avignon, where he died (Attwater, op. cit., p. 9). STANWAY, Oliver In a list of famous men who entered the Franciscan Order occurs: 'Frater Oliverus Stanwey, doctor utriusque iuris et cancellarius Cantabrigie' (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 200). Parkinson says that he joined the Order late in life, but he gives no date {Collect. Anglo-Min., p. 163, quoting Stevens, Add. to Monasticon, i. pp. 124-5). There seems no doubt that he was a Franciscan and it looks as if, having joined the Order, he gave away some of his books to various convents. A copy of Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History (now Ottoboni 101) has this note: 'Memorandum quod ego frater Oliverus de Staneweye, prehabita licentia ministri ad ordinandum de libris meiis infra ordinem, concedo istum librum . . . (line erased) . . . Actum a.d. m° cccrao xlii°'. On another leaf are the words: 'De communitate fratrumminorum Canteb' {Collect. Franc, i, p. 127, where for 'O. de ista(?) Nellzeye' read 'O. de Staneweye'). He also gave a Summa Hostiensis to the friars of Ipswich {Goldschmidt's Catalogue 1938, p. 2). STAUNTON, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in March 1341 and subdeacon in March 1342 (Ely Registers: Montacute, ff. 108, nob). STAUNTON, William Fifty-fourth lector at Cambridge, c. 1335 {Eccleston, p. 74). He was a D.D. (presumably of Cambridge) and a friar of 212

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

Leicester when he was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Lincoln for one year in March 1347, having been previously licensed in the same diocese in December 1338 (Lincoln Registers: Bek, ii, f. 100; Burghersh, f. 152). Gray's Inn Library, MS 15, contains 'Staunton de decem preceptis' (G. R. Owst in Dublin Review 1925, pp. 267-84, and Preaching in Medieval England, pp. 60, 67). STAYNESAM, Henry A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in March 1530 (London Registers: Stokesley).

STEPHEN In 1472-3 he obtained a grace allowing him to preach two sermons only and to 'concur', i.e. to lecture at the same time as some other member of the same Order {Grace Book A, p. 96). STOUEMERCHET, Stephen de A priest friar of Cambridge who died some time after 1334 {Collect. Franc, i, p. 152).

STOWE, Walter de Seventieth master at Cambridge, c. 1350 {Eccleston, p.74). He was at Coventry when ordained priest in February 1336 (Coventry and Lichfield Registers: Langton, etc., f. 177 b). STRALEN, John A friar at Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). STRATTON, Robert A Franciscan of Cambridge who received the 'first tonsure' in March 1407, was ordained subdeacon in May 1415, deacon in September 1416, and priest in April 1419 (Ely Registers: Fordham, ff. 245b, 265, 266b, 271b). STRETSHAM, Henry This friar supplicated for a B.D. at Oxford in 1538, having studied for twelve years at Oxford and Cambridge (Little, Grey 213

APPENDIX B

Friars in Oxford, p. 293). He was afterwards Rector of St. George's, Botolph Lane, London, 1541-4, when he resigned (Newcourt, Repertorium, i, p. 353). STUNSTEDE, Simon A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained deacon in the diocese of Rochester in December 1331 (Regist. H. Hethe, p. 1170). SUDDON, Adam de The royal grant to the Cambridge Franciscans was paid to this friar in 1309 (P.R.O. Issue Rolls, E.403/146). SUTTON, Henry de The royal grant to the friars of both Oxford and Cambridge was paid to this friar in 1309 and 1311 (P.R.O. Issue Rolls, E.403/146, 155, 157). SUTTON, Robert A Cambridge Franciscan who in 1358 was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Canterbury (Canterbury Registers: Islip, f. 144b; cf. Cotton, Grey Friars of Canterbury,^. 38). SUTTON, William de Ordained subdeacon by the Bishop of Winchester in December 1309 (Regist. H. Woodlock, p. 827) and was Warden of Winchester when licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Winchester in 1325 (Winchester Registers: Strafford, f. 15; V.C.H. Hants., ii, pp. 16-17). In 1326 he was at Cambridge when Edward II sent 23^. 4^. to the friars there 'per manus fratris Willelmi Sutton ibidem' (P.R.O. Wardrobe Accounts, E.381/14). SWYNBORNE, William A friar of York when ordained acolyte in February 1497, subdeacon in December 1500, deacon in March 1501, and priest in June 1501 (York Registers: Rotherham, Savage, and Sede Vacante). He then came to Cambridge, where he took his B.D. in 1514-15 and his D.D. two years later. He was Warden of the Cambridge Franciscans in 1527-8 {Grace Book B, ii, PP- 36> 5i, 54, M3; r> PP- I 2 214

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

TALBOT He took his B.D. in 1500 and his D.D. in 1503-4 {Grace Book B, ii, pp. 180, 181, 182, 186). He is perhaps to be identified with Robert Talbot, son of Myles, who was later a priest in Norwich (Venn, Alumni Cantabr., iv, p. 198). TAYLOR, Luke A friar of Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). In 1546 we find him acting as stipendiary curate of Castle Camps, and in April 1547 he became Rector of that parish (Ely Registers: Goodrich, ff. 182, 186). TEMPLE, Richard de Twenty-seventh master at Cambridge, c. 1300 {Eccleston, p. 73). THORNHAM, Robert de Having been Warden of the Grey Friars of Lynn he became 'for many years' custos of the Cambridge custody. He probably held that office from about 1232 to 1250, when he went to teach at London for a short time before going, as a very old man, as a missionary to the Holy Land {Eccleston, pp. I I O - I I ; MonumentaFranciscana, i, pp. 313, 321, 343, 551;

Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 67 n; Golubovich, Biblioteca Bio-bibliografica della Terra Santa, i, pp. 280-1).

THURBANE, William A friar of Cambridge at the Dissolution in 15 38 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). He became rector of Wrotham in Kent in 1558 but was deprived in the following year (Gee, Elizabethan Clergy, p. 265). THYXTILL After fourteen years at Cambridge and Oxford he took his B.D. in 1517-18 and his D.D. three years later {Grace Book B, ii, pp. 63, 95; F, p. 161). He is not to be confused with John Thixtill of Pembroke College who was one of those invited by the King in 1529 to say whether or not it was lawful to marry a deceased brother's wife. 215

APPENDIX B

TINMOUTH, John A Franciscan of Lynn educated at Oxford and Cambridge. In 1493 he became Warden of the Grey Friars at Colchester (Dugdale-Caley, Monasticon, vi, p. 1511). In 1510 he was made a suffragan bishop in the diocese of Lincoln with the title of Bishop of Argos. He was Rector of Ludgershall (Bucks) before 1511, and Vicar of Boston (Lines) in 1518. He died in 1524, leaving £5 to each of the Franciscan houses at Lynn, Oxford and Cambridge. He was buried at Boston (Little, GreyFriars in Oxford, p. 271; Cooper, Athenae Cantabr., i, p. 31; Parkinson, Collect. Anglo-Min., p. 223). He is sometimes known as Maynelin. (cf. Venn, Alumni Cantabr., iv, p. 244). TOLY, William He appears to have started as a friar of Winchester, where he was ordained acolyte in September 1455 (Winchester Registers: Waynflete, i. f, K b ). He then went to Canterbury and was there when ordained subdeacon in March 1456 and deacon in April 1457 (Canterbury Registers: Bourchier, ff. 135, 136). He incepted at Cambridge as 'Frater Tooly' in 1479-80 and paid his cautio {Grace Book A, pp. 141, 150). He became regent at London in 1500, in which year he died and was buried in the Grey Friars' church there (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, pp. 22, 79, 243). TOMSUN, Thomas This friar was at Cambridge in December 1525, when he was ordained priest (London Registers: Tunstall). In 1534 he supplicated for his B.D. at Oxford, having studied philosophy and theology for fifteen years at Oxford and Cambridge (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 290). A friar of this name was Warden of Beverley in 1538 (Yorks. Arch. Journal, xxxii, p. 320). TORRINGTON, John A Franciscan, almost certainly of Cambridge, ordained priest at Cambridge in September 1388 (Canterbury Registers: Courtenay, f. 311). 216

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

TORYTON, Philip In 1364 the Pope sent a mandate to bestow upon this friar, who had laboured at Oxford and Cambridge, and had long been a lecturer at other convents, the degree of master and the licence to teach {Cal. Papal Registers, iv, p. 40; Denifle et Chatelain, Chart. Univ. Paris, iii, p. 61). Wadding describes him as 'professor' in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (Annales Minorum, viii, p. 178). In 1373 he became Archbishop of Cashel and died in 1380 (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 243). TRAHERON, Bartholomew He was at Oxford in 1527, after which he came to Cambridge, where he took his B.D. in 1533, being then a Franciscan {Grace Book B, ii, p. 178). He afterwards joined the reformers and travelled in Germany, Italy and Switzerland. In 1542 he returned to England, married, and for a time kept a village school. In 1549 he was appointed keeper of the King's library at Westminster and became a Member of Parliament. In 1552 he was elected Dean of Chichester, but he resigned this at the accession of Mary and went into exile (D.N.B.). TRANTO, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in September 1496 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 241). Fr. Walmsley identifies him with John Trorette (q.v.) and suggests that he came either from Utrecht or from Maastricht {Festnummer aangeboden aan Prof. Dr A. Pompen, May 1939, p. 259). TRESSELL, James A Cambridge Franciscan ordained deacon in February 1508 (Lincoln Registers: Smith, f. 69). TRILLEK, Richard de Thirtieth master at Cambridge, c. 1306-8 (Eccleston, p. 73; cf. Little in Eng. Hist. Rev. 1935, pp. 686-90). TRILLY, Denis A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in 1445 {Ely Diocesan Remembrancer 1903, p. 244). 217

APPENDIX B

TRORETTE, John A Cambridge Franciscan ordained subdeacon in September 1497 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 242b). See note above on John de Tranto. TRUMPINGTON, Thomas There can be no doubt that this friar was one of the community at Cambridge. He was a D.D. and owner of several books, of which the following are known: Vatican, Ottoboni 352, which has a note on f. 1: 'fratris Thome trumpyton sacre theologie doctoris' {Collect. Franc., i, p. 132), and Balliol MS 133 with the note 'Iste liber constat Fratri Thomae Trumpynton precii viii marcarum, ordinis minorum, S.T.P. '(H. O. Coxe, Cat. Codicum MSS in Collegiis Oxon., i, p. 140). He was probably at Cambridge in 1460, when he pleaded for the manumission of John Frost, son of Richard Frost, nativus of the Bishop of Ely (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 45). He was also President of the Poor Clares at Denny in 1466 when he received a licence to marry two of their servants in the nunnery church {ibid., f. 56). He held this office until 1480, when, acting for the Poor Clares, he was fined y. 4d. for putting a wall beyond the common path and excluding the tenants of the manor (Clay, History of Waterbeach, p. 114). TRUMPINGTON, Thomas A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained acolyte in September i486 and subdeacon in March 1487 (Lincoln Registers: Russell, ff. 22b, 23b). He is obviously a much younger man than the other friar of this name. TUDINGTON, Geoffrey de Twenty-first master at Cambridge, c. 1290-2 {Eccleston, p. 72). TULKYNGTON, Thomas de In May 1332 Queen Philippa sent 10s. to the Franciscans of Cambridge 'per manus fratris Thome de Tulkynton apud Bernewell'. This probably means that Tulkyngton was a canon of Barnwell, but it is possible that he was a friar and that he 218

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

was to collect the money from Barnwell (John Rylands Library, MS lat. 235, f. 8). TYTHEMARSH, William This friar incepted at Cambridge but belonged for a time to Oxford (Monumenta Franciscana, i, pp. 557, 560). He was sixtieth master at Cambridge, c. 1341 (Eccleston, p. 74) and became twenty-first Provincial Minister, c. 1348-56 (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., p. 196). In 1371 he is mentioned in the will of Sir William Maunay: 'je devise a frere William Tithemerch mon confessor cynt marcz' (Regist. S. Sudbury, i, p. 3). He is buried at Bedford (Mon. Franc, i, p. 538). UFFORD, Thomas A friar of Cambridge in c. 1245, when he heard a sermon by Brother Hugh (q.v.) (Little, Liber Exemplorum, p. 41). UNDERWOOD, John A native of Norfolk, a son of William Underwood of Norwich, he became a member of the Franciscan house at Cambridge, where he took his D.D. in 1500-1. In 1505 he was collated to the rectory of North Creek, which he held in plurality with the rectory of Eccles-by-the-sea until 1525, when he resigned North Creek for an annual pension of £17 for life. He later held the united rectories of SS. Simon and Jude, S. Swithun and Crostweyt, to all of which he was collated by the bishop. He finally became Bishop of Chalcedon and died in 1541. There is a monument to him in Norwich Cathedral (Cooper, Athenae Cantabr., i, pp. 78-9; Venn, Alumni Cantabr.,iv, p. 298). VELASCUS He was penitentiary of the Friars Minor and Papal Nuncio in England in 1259. Henry III issued a safe-conduct for him at that time when he paid a visit to Cambridge (Cal. Pat. Rolls, Henry III, 1258-66, p. 43). Is he to be identified with Alfonzo, son of Velasco Gomez of Portugal, O.F.M., on whose behalf Pope Nicholas IV wrote to Edward I in 1288 (Rymer, Foedera, ii, p. 366)? 219

APPENDIX B

VERGRAUNT Dr Vergraunt or Vergeant is mentioned three times in the Paston Letters. He may have been lector at Norwich and possibly custos of the Cambridge custody {Paston Letters, ed. Gairdner, iii, pp. 209, 228; iv, p. 271). VIA, Otto de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained priest in June 1498 (Ely Registers: Alcock, f. 247b).

VINCENT, John A friar of Norwich who was ordained acolyte in May 1535 (Norwich Registers). He came to Cambridge after this and was there at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). WAGAS, Radulphus He appears to have been one of a group of German friars sent over to Cambridge in the fifteenth century. He was ordained acolyte in September 1475, subdeacon in March 1476 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, ff. 150b, 152b) and priest in April 1476 (Ely Registers: Gray, f. 216b). WALSHAM, Geoffrey A Cambridge Franciscan who was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely on December 14th, 1407 (Ely Registers: Fordham, f. 206). WALSHAM, John de Seventy-third lector at Cambridge, c. 1353 (Eccleston, p. 74). In 1358 he was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Canterbury being still a friar of Cambridge (Canterbury Registers: Islip, f. 144b). MS 182 of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, ff. 65-82, contains a number of Questions disputed at Cambridge and Norwich some of which are entitled: 'Questiones disputate a J. Walsham sacre theologie doctore in Cant(abrigia)' (Little, 'Theological Schools in Medieval England' in Eng. Hist. Rev. 1940, p. 627). 220

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

WALSHAM, Roger A friar mentioned in the account-book of 1363-6 (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). WARNER, John He was a friar of Bedford when ordained acolyte in May 1472 (Lincoln Registers: Rotherham, f. 134b). He came to Cambridge and supplicated for his D.D. in 1498-9 (Grace Book B, i, pp. 107, 124). He was Warden of Bedford in 1506, when he paid a visit to Rome (J. G. Nichols, Collect. Topog. et Genealog., v, p. 72); and was the owner of the Gospel Harmony of Clement of Llanthony, now Bodley MS 334. WATELY, J. de Thirty-fourth master at Cambridge, c. 1313 (Eccleston, p. 73). In 1320 he was appointed confessor to the nuns of Polsloe (Regist. W. Stapeldon, p. 317). WATTYS, William A friar who spent eight years in study at Oxford and Cambridge. He was certainly at Oxford in December 1518, when he was ordained subdeacon (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, f. 127.) He afterwards came to Cambridge, where he took his B.D. in 1532-3 (Grace Book B, ii, p. 178; F, p. 273). He went afterwards to London, where William Wattes, B.D., is among those who signed the deed of surrender in 1538. Kingsford says that his signature is that of an old man (Grey Friars of London, pp. 219, 222). WELL, Robert A friar called Robert Welles was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Winchester in 1368 (Regist. W. W'ykeham, i, p. 253). This may be the same as Robert Well, O.F.M. of Cambridge (or possibly Canterbury), who was ordained priest in the diocese of London in 1372 (Regist. S. Sudbury, ii, p. 115). He was D.D. of Oxford and was elected Provincial Minister in 1420 but died in France before he had assumed the duties of his office (Mon. Franc., i, pp. 538, 561; Wadding, Annales Minorum, x, p. 53). 221

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WESENHAM, Henry de Probably a member of the Norfolk family of this name (see Jessopp, The Coming of the Friars, p. 108). He was a priest friar professed at Cambridge, and died soon after the Chapter held there in 1304 {Collect. Franc, i, p. 153).

WESTON, John de Fourth master at Cambridge, c. 1254-7 {Eccleston, pp. 63,71). Adam Marsh wrote about him to William of Nottingham advising him to keep him and another friar called W. de Maddele in England and to send other friars to Paris in conformity with the demands of the Minister General {Mon. Franc, i, pp. 353-4). He is mentioned by Wadding sub anno 1256, when he says that there were not wanting illustrious men in the Order, among whom he mentions John de Weston, Vincent of Coventry and W. Pictavensis (Annales Minorum, iv, p. 57).

WETING, John de A Cambridge Franciscan ordained acolyte in June 1351, deacon in March 1352, and priest in September 1352 (Ely Registers: Lisle, ff. 97b, 98, 98b). He is mentioned in the account-book as having given zs. to the house and having procured other gifts for the friars (J. R. Harris, Origin of the Leicester Codex, pp. 23-5). WHIGHT, Robert In 1518 this friar was at Cambridge when he received a legacy of £20 a year for four years from Thomas Fyneham 'towards his exhibicion in Oxford or Cambryge to synge for my soule satisfactory' (P. C. C. Wills: Ayloffe, 5; and see below, pp. 251-2). He spent these four years partly at Oxford and partly at Cambridge, where in 1522 he obtained a grace to incept and take his D.D. (Grace Book B, ii, pp. 98, 100; T, p. 202). He was at Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). WHITE, William This friar was at Cambridge in September 1510 when he was ordained deacon (Lincoln Registers: Smith, f. 81b). He was 222

NOTES ON CAMBRIDGE FRANCISCANS

Warden of Cambridge at the time of the Dissolution {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). WHYTCOPS, Richard This friar was at Oxford when ordained acolyte in September 1497 (Lincoln Registers: Smith, f. 9), and at London when ordained deacon in May 1499 and priest in December 1500 (London Registers: Savage). After seven years at Oxford and Cambridge he took his B.D. at Cambridge in 1516-17. Two years later he proceeded D.D., obtaining permission to postpone the sermon which he should preach before his admission owing to certain work for the Order on which he was engaged. He preached before the University on Septuagesima, 1520 {Grace Book B, ii, pp. 68, 70, 77; F, pp. 147, 162, 172). Friar Richard Qwykhope, D.D., was among the London Franciscans at the Dissolution (Kingsford, Grey Friars of London, p. 222). WICET, Nicholas He was at Cambridge when ordained acolyte in December 1482 and subdeacon in March 1484. In April 1484, when ordained deacon, he was at Stamford, but he returned to Cambridge later in the year and was there when ordained priest in December (Lincoln Registers: Russell, ff. 9b, 13, 14, 16b). He went afterwards to Dunwich and was there in 1514 when he received a legacy of 3.1. 4c/. {V. C. H. Suffolk, ii, pp. 125-6). WICFORD, Thomas The inscription 'per Fratrem Thomam Wicford' appears at the end of MS Pembroke Coll., Cambridge, 265. The volume contains several Franciscan items and perhaps belonged to the Cambridge Franciscans. WICHINGHAM, John According to Parkinson he entered the Order of S. Francis very young in the convent of Norwich and was sent afterwards to Cambridge. 'He betook himself to the sublime Study of the Holy Scriptures and preach'd frequently to the People with great Fervour and Zeal, teaching them to avoid Vice and embrace Virtue' {Collect. Anglo-Min., p. 173). His writings 223

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include a volume of sermons and one of Disputations (Tanner, Bibliotheca, p. 765; Bale, Index of British Writers, ed. Poole and Bateson, p. 264). He was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely on February 24th, 1352 (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 5824, f. 120), and died in 1362 (Parkinson, op. cit., p. 173). WOOD, Thomas After ten years' study of theology he took his B.D. at Cambridge in 1535-6 (Grace Book B, ii, p. 195; F, p. 308). It is possible that he may have spent part of his time at Oxford, for a friar of this name was there from 1527 to 1529 (Lincoln Registers: Longland, ff. 20, 22b, 25). He was probably the Thomas Wood, B.D., who was instituted Rector of Harlington in January 1558 and deprived the following year (Newcourt, Repertorium, i, p. 632). It is possible that he was nominated Bishop of S. Asaph just before the death of Mary in 1558. In 1579 he was living as a prisoner in the Marshalsea at the age of 80 (Venn, Alumni Cantabr., iv, p. 454). WORSTEDE, Robert de Sixteenth lector at Cambridge, c. 1283-5 (Eccleston, p. 72). He is mentioned in MS Assisi 158, questio 95 (Little and Pelster, Oxford Theology and Theologians, p. 113). WYKEN, John A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained acolyte in December 1397, subdeacon in September 1410, deacon in May 1415, and priest in December 1420 (Ely Registers: Fordham, ff. 108, 238b, 249, 265). WYMBOTSHAM, Thomas de A Cambridge Franciscan licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Ely in February 1347 (Ely Registers: Lisle, f. 89). MS Bodley 355 has these notes on f. 159: 'Ista 6 quaterna sunt de ordine fratrum minorum et cu(sto)dia Cantebr.' and 'Istos 6 quaternos contulit fr. Thomas Totyngam fratri Thome de Wynbotisham qui eos contulit postea fri. Jni. de Wynbotsham.' 224

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WYNBOURNE, W. de Eighth master at Cambridge, c. 1263-6 (Eccleston, p. 72). He probably came from Salisbury (Wilts. Arch. Magazine, xlvii, p. 39). He must not be confused with Walter Wiburn or Wimburn, O.F.M., who wrote poems about a century later (Raby, History of Christian Latin Poetry, p. 455). YONGE, John A Franciscan of Cambridge ordained subdeacon in September 1515 (Lincoln Registers: Attwater, f. 115b). He was at Cambridge at the Dissolution in 1538 {Eighth Report of the Deputy Keeper, Ap. ii, p. 14). YORK, Thomas de The first mention of this friar is in a letter of Adam Marsh written early in 1245 (Mon. Franc, i, p. 378). He was shortly afterwards 'assigned' as lector to the Oxford Franciscans and took his D.D. in March 1253. About 1256 he became sixth master at Cambridge. His extant works are: (1) Sapientiale, or Liber Metaphysicae (Cf. D. Sharp, Franciscan Philosophy at Oxford, pp. 49-112, and Arch. Franc. Hist., xix, pp. 878-930); (2) Comparatio Sensibilium (cf. Arch. Franc. Hist., xix, pp. 891-3); (3) a tract against William de S. Amour called Manus que contra omnipotentem (cf. M. Bierbaum, Bettelorden und Weltgeistlichkeit, pp. 37-168; Arch. Franc. Hist., xv, pp. 3-22; xix, pp. 881-6; xxi, pp. 276-329); (4) a Sermon on the Passion, now Trinity College, Cambridge, MS B. 15. 38 (No. 373 in M. R. James' Catalogue}. For details of Thomas' life and discussions of his philosophy see Little in Arch. Franc. Hist. 1926, pp. 839-41; E. Longpre, 'Fr. Thomas de York' (ibid., pp. 875-930) and Pelster, 'Thomas von York' (ibid., xv, pp. 3-22).

YOTON, John This friar was admitted to read the Sentences at Cambridge in 1463 (Grace Book A, pp. 41, 63-4). YRTONE, Robert de Forty-seventh master at Cambridge, c. 1327 (Eccleston, p. 73). Q

225

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He was licensed to hear confessions in the diocese of Lincoln in June 1334 (Lincoln Registers: Burghersh, f. 487b). ZOUCH, John la A D.D. of Cambridge who became twenty-ninth Provincial Minister in 1402. He held office until 1407, and during this time he swore to observe the statutes (see above, p. 106) against boys under the age of fourteen being admitted into the Order. His reforming zeal aroused much opposition, which led to his being deposed by the Chapter of Oxford in 1405. The Minister General quashed the verdict, and Zouch continued for two years in office. He died about April 1423 and was buried at Cardiff (Little, Franciscan Papers, etc., pp. 198-9). A copy of Duns Scotus' Quodlibeta which once belonged to this friar is now in the library of Caius College, Cambridge—No. 371 {Franciscan Leeends in English Art, ed. Brit. Soc. of Franciscan Studies, p. 68).

226

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This account is written on a roll, on paper, now in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Durham. Three hands are discernible, but all are more or less of the same period. The roll is defective at the beginning. . . . lauda . . . [Canta]brigie pro tota provin[cia]... ordine. Et minister provincialis anglie una cum aliis de maioribus suorum ordinum et provinciarum iverunt ad dicta generalia capitula celebranda. Quidam etiam superiores et maiores ipsorum ordinum propter contingentia ordines suos et provincias iter arripuerunt versus romanam curiam. Post absentiam predictorum, magistri Cantebrigie commorantes ceperunt intendere circa editionem et promulgationem quorundam statutorum et super eis pluribus diebus tractare. Et quum ilia statuta, de quibus edendis et publicandis tractabatur, tendebant in maximum preiudicium et derogationem multiplicem fratrum ordinum predictorum Cantebrigie commorantium, fratres qui ibidem remanserant non audebant huiusmodi statutorum editionibus sic preiudicialibus consentire nee ea dissimulare poterant superioribus suis, de quorum reditu sperabatur et in brevi sic agentibus in remotis. Sed fratres predicti metuentes ilia statuta fieri subito et repente et solum in confusione dictorum conventuum redundare, et videntes ex tadturnitate et dissimulatione eis imminere pericula et gravamina intolerabilia, provocaverunt et appellarunt debitis loco et tempore ad sedem apostolicam ante editionem et publicationem ipsorum statutorum in modum qui sequitur in effectu. MCCCIII, die tertio martii, fratres Johannes et Johannes, procuratores fratrum predicatorum Cantebrigie conventus et guardiani ordinis minorum conventus loci predicti, et conventuum etc. asserentes predictis fratribus, sicut et fratribus aliorum studiorum, competere ex privilegio, sedis apostolice consuetudine, et ex constitutione domini Bofnifacii] viii, in ecclesiis domuum suarum per dies dominicos et festivos, quumque eis placet et moris est, clero et populo verbum dei libere et publice predicare, ac timentes ex comminationibus eis factis per dominum Stephanum et procuratores dictorum scolarium et complices eorum, et ex verissimilibus et coniecturis fratribus et ordinibus predictis grande periculum imminere ex editione huiusmodi 227

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statutorum componendorum, appellaverunt et provocaverunt ad sedem apostolicam ne idem Stephanus vel magistri etc. contra dictos fratres et ordines infringendo seu violando indulgentias et privilegia eorum seu etiam ab aliis actibus scolasticis impediendo quoquomodo aliquid attemptent in premissis, dies eorum predicabiles in mutando, diminuendo vel aliis assignando; seu etiam potestatem qualemcumque super dispositionibus et ordinationibus sermonum reservando, fratres predictos vel eorum aliquem excommunicando, loca eorum interdicendo, scolares clericos vel laycos seu etiam quascumque personas retrahendo, etc. Hec appellatio facta fuit in ecclesia beate Marie, presentibus dicto magistro Stephano et quibusdam doctoribus, non tamen fuerunt petiti apostoli, etc. Dicta tamen appellatio postea fuit innovata per fratres cum apostolorum petitione eisdem anno et mense die septimo proximo subsequenti. Facta vero dicta provocatione et appellatione ante editionem et publicationem statutorum, dicti fratres ibidem commorantes anno Domini M°CCCiiii, xvii die aprilis, procuraverunt absentiam predictam notificari dictis cancellario et magistris per1 dominum . . . Eliensem, loci diocesanum; a quo studium Cantebrigie recepisse dicitur primarium fundamentum, et eiusdem loci archidiaconum, et alios quamplures, et eosdem magistros specialiter requiri ut in premissis supersederent in totum vel saltim usque ad reditum predictorum absentium. Et tamen dicti fratres tune presentes cum multa humilitate requisiverunt pluries eos super hoc. Dicti vero magistri dicte requisitioni nullo modo volebant annuere, ut de predictis requisitionibus et responsionibus constat per publica instrumenta, sed ad editionem suorum statutorum et publicationem procedere preparabant. Et quidem primum statutum est quod in rebus et negotiis statuendis que utilitatem communem universitatis eiusdem tangere dignoscuntur id tamen pro statuto habeatur quod de consensu maioris et sanioris partis regentium et non-regentium fuerit ordinatum et statutum per decretum, salvo regentibus exercitio statutorum cum dispensatione eorumdem. Datum M°CCCiii,xvkal. aprilis. Sed secundum veritatem ista data fuit in MCCCiiii, secunda die maii, quo die non-regentes primo consenserunt. Quod statutum voluerunt servari et in contravenientes seu resistentes quoquomodo sententiam excommunicationis promulgari. Etmagister Stephanus cancellarius ex consensu unanimi ceterorum magistrorum, terna monitione premissa, ne aliqui quos statutum predictum tangit vel tangere dignoscitur, venirent2 contra illud et omnes contravenientes excommunicari in scriptis. 1

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Secundum statutum quod singulis annis, dicta universitate durante, ter in anno, videlicet prima dominica adventus Domini et dominica septuagesima ac in die cinerum proximo sequenti, in ecclesia beate virginis gloriose statim post pulsationem prime et magne campane riant sermones dumtaxat ad clerum per cancellarium aut per aliquos vel aliquem magistros vel magistrum tune actu regentes, diebus ad predicandum per cancellarium assignandis. Datum MCCCiii, x Kal. decembris. Tertium statutum quod quicumque bachularius in Theologia de cetero fuerit incepturus, antequam ad incipiendum in dicta universitate licentiam consequatur, publice predicet in ecclesia beate Marie, et ad clerum, ubi alii actus scholastici solempniores fieri consueverunt, die predicandi per cancellarium primitus assignanda, nee ad predicationem alibi faciendam ulterius teneatur dum tamen cetera adimpleverit que in antiquo statuto universitatis predicte plenius continentur. Datum xv kal. maii, MCCCiiii. Et dictus magister Stephanus contravenientes secundo et tertio in forma qua prius excommunicavit prime excommunicationi verba que sequuntur addendo: Et quoad alia statuta sub eadem forma omnes contravenientes excommunicamus in hiis scriptis. Deinde sequuntur alie appellationes. M°CCCiiii, xxv die aprilis, dicti fratres Johannes et Johannes procuratores, facta narratione de dictis privilegiis consuetudine et constitutione, et asserentes dictos Stephanum et magistros tarn regentes quam non-regentes edidisse et promulgasse statuta ordinibus et fratribus predictis preiudicialia et iuribus et privilegiis et consuetudinibus eorum contraria, et absentibus et non vocatis dictis fratribus, immo verius contemptis et aliquibus in romana curia existentibus, interpretationes et adiectiones malitiosas et venenosas constitutionibus papalibus directe contrarias in suis ordinationibus adiciendo et inserendo, pluribus tarn

regentibus quam non-regentibus reclamantibus in hac parte, fratres a fratribus eiusdem ordinis et conventus contra regulam et instituta ordinis quantum in eis est dividendo et separando, ut fratres extra loca sua1 certis locis et temporibus pro sermonibus literalibus faciendis extra loca sua advocare possent, contra usus, libertates et consuetudines eorum; et ut extrinsecus ad predicandum exire compellerentur in actibus scolasticis fratres molestando, possessionem et quasi possessionem eorum inquietando multipliciter, etc.; et asserentes de dicto nomine et fratres magistros plures ob dicta gravamina appellasse ante editionem dictorum statutorum non recedendo a dictis appellationibus sed eis insistendo, iterum appellarunt ad sedem apostolicam et apostolos petierunt contra dictos Stephanum et magistros specialiter nominibus magistrorum expressis. 1

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Ex quibus appellationibus magistri Cantebrigie indignationem concipientes, facta congregatione magistrorum regentium et nonregentium sub anno Domini M°CCCiiii, secundo die maii, quesierunt a magistris fratribus si dictis appellationibus prebuerant consensurn et si dictis statutis volebant consentire cum aliis, et quum ipsi fratres magistri videlicet frater Nicholaus de Dale, ordinis predicatorum, et frater Adam de Haudene, ordinis minorum, dicebant quod ob reverentiam sedi apostolice ad quam fuerat appellatum eos non decebat super hiis respondere, ipsosque fratres magistros dicti magistri ad certam responsionem omnino volebant compellere, comminata eis sententia excommunicationis et suspensionis et perjurii nota pluries ipsi fratres magistri appellarunt. Et sic appellantes ab aliis recesserunt. Et postmodum eodem die revocati ad congregationem cum aliis, et finita congregatione tertia die post, cancelarius et magistri regentes dixerunt eisdem quod ipsos regentes nullatenus reputabant, eosque a beneficio societatis in magistralibus totaliter privaverunt. Et cum congregationibus et aliis actibus magistralibus se ipsos optulerunt manuali potentia et temeraria depuisi fuerant pluries et exclusi [on dorso in later hand] et enormiter pertractati inhumaniter et inciviliter repulsi pluribus vicibus iteratis per bedellos et servientes communes dictorum cancellarii et magistrorum necnon per alios ipsorum nomine in presentia ipsorum cancellarii et magistrorum ipsis huiusmodi violentias ratas habentibus de quibus malefactoribus idem cancellarius iustitiam facere denegavit ipsis fratribus in forma iuris earn instanter petentibus, sed expresse fatebatur et dixit quod dictos malefactores ut pacis perturbatores non habebat. Postque omnia predicti cancellarius et magistri excludentes eosdem fratres de facto a consortio et beneficiis universitatis, eis spretis et contemptis et commune non admissis personas minus sufficientes ad magisterium facultatis et ad licentiam Sententiarum contra statuta sua et laudabiles consuetudines fratres utriusque ordinis repellendo, admiserunt, propter que et multa alia fuit sepe ad sedem apostolicam legitime appellatum. [Continued from recto] Propter quod et alia gravamina appellatum fuit ut sequitur in effectu. MCCCiiii, decimo die maii, dicti procuratores, nomine dictorum fratrum et conventuum, et nomine dicti fratris Nicholay de Dale, ordinis predicatorum et fratris Adam (sic) de Haudene, ordinis minorum, sacre theologie doctorum, narrato prius de predictis appellationibus et asserentes quod dicti Stephanus et magistri multa alia inferebant gravamina fratribus sententias generales tam publice quam clandestine fulminando, clerum et populum contra fratres concitando in scandalum eorumdem, in actibus scolasticis magistros ordinis utriusque actualiter regentes videlicet dictos fratres Nicholaum et Adam multipliciter contempnendo ac etiam perturbando, 230

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iuris remedia eisdem denegando tarn in determinationibus quam in responsionibus in articulis gravibus et difficilibus statum sacrosancte sedis romane contingentibus et etiam personas ordinum predictorum executiones actuum scolasticorum quos per personas publicas consueverunt publicari prefatis fratribus et eorum magistris subtrahendo, statuta sua propria, ordinationes et consuetudines hactenus approbatas Cantebrigie violando, eosdem magistros et fratres prefatos a congregationibus suis in quibus iure regentium interesse debent excludendo, et eosdem sic de facto exclusos per bedellos suos et servientes alios inhumaniter et inciviliter repellendo, et aliter eos multipliciter molestando, appellarunt contra dictos Stephanum et magistros non recedendo sed inherendo aliis appellationibus et petierunt apostolos et notificaverunt, etc. M°CCCiiii, die xi iunii, died procuratores appellarunt contra fratrem Johannem de Clare, ordinis heremitarum, pro eo quod post dictas appellationes procedebat et processerat ad executionem dictorum statutorum vel saltern alicuius eorum, sed non dicitur cuius statuti nee qualiter procederet, etc. MCCCiiii, prima die iulii, dicti procuratores appellarunt contra dictum Stephanum et fratrem Johannem de Clare et magistros predictos pro eo quod, contemptis et exclusis magistris et fratribus ordinis utriusque actualiter regentibus, processerant ad faciendas congregationes et gratiarum concessiones contra antiquas et approbatas loci consuetudines et appellationes predictas, et precipue ad licentiandum in theologica facultate fratrem Johannem de Clare, ordinis heremitarum, contra quern, propter hoc at alia, appellarunt, et ad habilitandum alios pro lectura1 Sententiarum in anno sequenti, fratres utriusque ordinis repellendo. MCCCiiii, tertio die iulii, dicti procuratores appellarunt contra dictum fratrem Johannem de Clare et alios magistros pro eo quod, subito et repente, absque debita depositione magistrorum, pretermissis et contemptis statutis et consuetudinibus inter magistros Cantebrigie actenus observatis postpositisque gradibus, illis non vocatis ad quos iure regentium interfuisse in hac parte pertinebat, sed reiectis et reclamantibus supradicto fratrem J. etc. idem frater Johannes ad magisterium Theologie promotus publice per dictos magistros post et contra appellationes, cui fratri Johanni, reputatione plurimorum tarn secularium quam religiosorum studentium et agentium in facultate predicta non suppetebat debita regendi experientia nee requisita sententia. Fratres impugnant dicta statuta per causas insertas in appellationibus et innovata post eorum appellationes petunt revocari. Item impugnant quod cancelarius et magistri perniciose intelligunt 1

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et exequuntur primum statutum et specialiter contra fratres, quod quantumcumque rationabilem causam minor pars pretendat et ostendat nisi assentiat maiori reputatur inscidisse in sententiam excommunimunicationis. [Added on dorso in later hand] Cum tamen dicti ordo et fratres sint, tarn ipsi in personis eorum quam eorum loca, liberi et exempti ab omni interdictione ordinaria et sedi apostolice immediate subiecta, adeo quod nee ratione delicti vel quasi contractus vel quasi. . .* possunt coram dictis ordinariis aliquo modo conveniri vel per eos etiam coherceri sicut patet evidenter per privilegia dicte sedis utrique ordini indulta. [Continuedfrom recto]

Item, auctoritate dicti statuti iam fecerunt per scolas publice proclamari quod certis diebus et temporibus quibus apud eos predicari decreverunt, aliis Cantebrigie commorantibus nullatenus liceret predicare, per quam viam omnes dies predicabiles per constitutionem novam concessos fratribus, immo verius in totum predicandi officium, eis abstulerunt et auferunt. Item, auctoritate dicti statuti reputant pro constanti quod fratres scolares de quibuscumque partibus inibi causa studii conveniant privilegiis et exemptionibus ordinum suorum non gaudeant sed iurisdictioni et chohertioni presiderent ibidem et magistrorum subponantur [added in later hand: cum tamen ab omnium iurisdictione totaliter sint exempti, ut supra est expressum] subiaceant. Item, auctoritate dicti statuti fecerunt et publicaverunt secundum statutum per quod acceperunt, quantum in eis est, fratribus predicatoribus predictos tres sollempniores dies predicabiles de quibus fit intentio in statuto secundo qui dies ab antiquo predicatoribus competere dignoscuntur. Item, auctoritate dicti statuti fecerunt et publicaverunt tertium statutum per quod illi sermones per quos alii inceptores examinari consueverant, a fratribus auferuntur contra statuta et antiquas consuetudines inter fratres et magistros hactenus observatas. Item, per hoc fratres compelluntur subire in sermonibus et predicationibus examinationem extra loca sua, quod nunquam fuit factum nee auditum nee Parisius nee Bononie ubi sunt sollempniora studia, nee alibi. Item, cum in statuto dicatur quod dies est assignanda per cancelarium per hoc possunt excludi in totum ab actu incipiendi cum verissimiliter timeant fratres quod cancelarius nunquam sit assignaturus diem nee in statuto dicitur quod teneatur assignare. Item, ratione loci possunt in totum excludi cum ecclesia sancte Marie pro loco assignata in statuto sit parhochialis in qua constat 1

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fratres nee cancelarium predicare posse, rectore ipsius ecclesie reclamante, et iam quidam magistrorum beneficia habentium totaliter excluserunt fratres ne in eorum ecclesiis predicarent. [Addfrom dorso] Intendunt dicti fratres per viam gratie seu provisionis impetrare a domino papa ut fratres utriusque ordinis ibidem commorantes ad scolarum suarum exercitium et fratres magistros ibidem legentes ad magistrorum consortium magistrosque suos eorumque auditores ad universitatis collegium de potestatis plenitudine restituat omnino et decernat eos ad eadem consortium et collegium fore admittendos, omnes sententias privationis seu separationis a dictis consortio seu collegio vel similibus ac penas alias in eosdem fratres vel scolares eorum premissorum occasione prolatas penitus revocare. Non obstante, etc. Vel hoc deficiente in via gratie per viam iuris petatur ut sequitur. Petunt dicti fratres provinciarum nulla esse et fuisse predicta statuta ordinationes et sententias et quatenus de facto processerunt revocari et retractari, et si aliqua essent tanquam iniqua cassari et infringi remedio appellationum interpositarum et provinciarum bene et legitime appellatum et male et perperam per dictos magistros processum statutum et sententiatum et de dampnis et iniuriis predictis fratribus et ordinibus illatis satisfied, et se in eum statum reponi et reintegrari in quo erant ante tempus appellationum predictarum. [Added in later hand] Memorandum quod in ista conclusione non fit mentio de sermonibus faciendis more consueto absque aliorum impedimentis pariter et concursui(?) The first account ends here and a second begins in a rather later hand on a fresh piece of paper. SUMMARIA INFORMATIO IN FACTO F R A T R U M P R E D I C A T O R U M ET M I N O R U M C O M M O R A N T I U M KANTEBRIG', ELIEN. DIOCESIS. Pro electione magistri generalis ordinis fratrum predicatorum apud Tolosam facienda anno Domini M°CCC tertio, et ministri generalis ordinis fratrum minorum apud Assisium in festo pentecostes anno eiusdem M°CCCiiii generalibus capitulis celebrandis inter ceteros priores, ministros et alios maiores dictorum ordinum, prout ex unaquaque provincia secundum instituta sua tenebantur, prior conventus predicatorum Cantebrig' et minister provincialis fratrum minorum pro ordinibus suis et pro provincia Anglie ad dicta capitula aliique maiores utriusque ordinis in Anglia pro ceteris negotiis ordines suos contingentibus, ad sedem apostolicam accesserunt, iter sic arreptum agentes in remotis. 233

APPENDIX C

Interim cancellarius et magistri regentes Cantebrig' spretis et contemptis iniuste magistris non-regentibus, inceperunt tractare super editione et promulgatione quorundam statutorum, quorum editionem et promulgationem fratres utriusque ordinis supradicti ibidem commorantes consentire non poterant, sicut nee audebant in dictorum superiorum suorum absentia nee dissimulare penitus metuentes probabiliter et ex verisimilibus coniecturis ex hiis statutis si edita essent tanquam captiosis, non equis, et derogatoriis multipliciter sibi et suis ordinibus parari posse preiudicium non modicum in futurum, ante editionem ipsorum statutorum ad sedem apostolicam provocarunt et appellarunt ne dicti magistri quam privilegia et indulta ipsis fratribus quoad personas et loca sua concessa notorie optenta hactenus et usitata pacifke, tam in predicationibus quam scolasticis actibus ac scolarum exercitiis libere infra loca sua, seu in preiudicium dictorum ordinum in aliquo, quicumque statuerunt vel etiam attemptarent in absentia saltim suorum superiorum ex causis necessariis supradictis agentium in remotis. Istam absentiam notificarunt dictis cancellario et magistris et eos requiri fecerunt et procurarunt per . . . episcopum Eliensem a quo omnimodam iurisdictionem et potestatem, si quidem habent, habere dicuntur, et per archidiaconum eiusdem loci quod in editione huiusmodi statutorum penitus supersederent vel usque ad reditum superiorum suorum. Hoc idem dicti fratres per se humiliter et frequenter postularunt a dictis magistris. Quibus requisitionibus et postulationibus dicti cancelarius et magistri nolentes acquiescere, assumptis secum et admissis magistris non-regentibus, ediderunt et promulgarunt talia statuta in formis que secuntur inferius. A dictis magistris et cancellario propter editionem et publicationem huiusmodi statutorum ex parte fratrum utriusque ordinis fuit ad dictam sedem appellatum. Ex predictis provocatione et appellatione provocati, dicti cancellarius et magistri, facta congregatione omnium magistrorum tam regentium quam non-regentium, quesiverunt a fratribus . . . et . . . ordinum predictorum, magistris in Theologia, actualiter tune ibidem regentibus, si dictis provocationibus et appellationibus consentirent et an statutis suis consentire et ea observare. Dicti . . . et . . . fratres et magistri, tam propter reverentiam sedis apostolice ad quam fuit appellatum tam propter absentiam dictorum superiorum suorum in hoc non potuerunt nee voluerunt certum dare responsum. Et quia dicti cancelarius et magistri sub comminationibus sententiarum suspensionis et excommunicationis ac nota periurii quod fratribus imponere voluerunt pretextu cuiusdam statuti sui quo quilibet magister ut dicunt requisitus, statim sine deliberatione aliqua cuilibet 234

THE DISPUTE: 1303-6 interrogationi sibi facte sub debito prestiti iuramenti debet respondere, ipsos fratres et magistros ad certum in hiis responsum compellere nitebantur, ex parte ipsorum fratrum fuit ad sedem appellatum eamdem, et sic ab aliis magistris appellando recesserunt. Quos quidem fratres . . . et . . ., magistros, predicti cancelarius et magistri statim et eodem die ad congregationem suam fecerunt revocari, in qua dicto die et duobus sequentibus ipsi fratres et magistri, iure regentium, ut prius tractaverunt cum aliis. Tertio die, congregatione finita, prefati cancellarius et magistri quasi finaliter dixerunt quod ipsos fratres . . . e t . . . magistros ex tune non habebant ut regentes et ipsos statim a beneficio societatis magistrorum et magistralium privaverunt, et privatos . . . propter quod ex parte ipsorum iterato . . . ad sedem apostolicam appellaverunt.1 Ipsos fratres . . . et . . . , magistros, offerentes se post modum congregationibus et aliis actibus magistralibus admittere in hiis penitus denegabant, expelli eos facientes manu violenta et temeraria, ac inhumaniter et inviviliter pertractari. In ipsis congregationibus suis multa statuentes ac concedentes inique ipsis magistris et fratribus eiectis et exclusis insufficientes notorie ad magisterium theologice facultatis [Add from dorso: alios etiam ad lecturam Sententiarum fratres utriusque ordinis omnium reputatione sufficientes repellendo] admiserunt, clericos scolares et alios contra fratres et ordines supradictos adeo excitare curaverunt quod fratribus utriusque ordinis predicantibus in locis suis cum conviciis et opprobriis se opponere presumpserunt. Appellationem supradictam de manibus fratrum dum ipsam legeret magistris conspicientibus quidam violenter extraxerunt et sub pedibus in terram conculcabant in sedis apostolice contemptum et fratrum vituperium eorundem. Fratres supradicti. . . e t . . . , magistri, terrores et iniurias cancellarii et magistrorum ac instantia pericula verisimiliter metuentes etiam in personis ipsorum in suis conventibus non audebant ulterius commorari. Propter que scole dictorum fratrum utriusque ordinis sine magistris et bakelariis et omni actu legendi per annum et amplius vacaverunt [added in later hand: et adhuc vacant] ad detrimentum studii et precipue theologice facultatis que a fratribus ibidem initium sumpsit pariter et incrementum. Ex predictis est multipliciter ad sedem apostolicam appellatum et etiam contra quendam fratrem heremitarum qui minus legitime et etiam insufficiens fuit licentiatus in theologica facultate. Tenor Primi Statuti. Statutum est quod in rebus et negotiis statuendis que utilitatem communem universitatis eiusdem tangere dinoscuntur id tantum pro statuto habeatur quod de consensu maioris et sanioris 1

A new sheet of paper sewn on at this point. 235

APPENDIX C

partis regentium et non-regentium fuerit ordinatum et statutum per decretum, salvo regentibus exercitio statutorum cum dispensatione eorumdem. Datum M°CCC° tertio, xv. kal. aprilis. Sed super veritatem datum fuit in MCCCiiii secundo die maii, quo die non regentes primo consenserunt. Quod quidem statutum voluerunt servari et non convenientes seu resistentes quoquomodo sententiam excommunicationis promulgari. Et magister Stephanus cancellarius ex consensu unanimi ceterorum magistrorum, terna monitione premissa, ne aliqui quos statutum predictum contingit vel tangere dinoscitur veniret contra illud et omnes contravenientes excommunicavit in scriptis. Istud statutum impugnatur ex parte fratrum ex causis huiusmodi insertis appellationibus eorum. Item, ex eo quod cancellarius et magistri perniciose intelligunt et execuntur ipsum statutum et specialiter contra fratres quum quantumcumque rationabilem causam minor pars pretendat et ostendat nisi assentiat maiori reputatur incidisse in sententiam excommunicationis et notam periurii. Item, auctoritate dicti statuti iam fecerunt per scolas publice proclamari quod certis diebus et temporibus quibus apud eos predicari decreverunt aliis Kantebrig' commorantibus nullatenus liceret predicare, per quam viam omnes dies predicabiles per constitutionem novam concessos fratibus immo verius in totum predicandi officium eis abstulerunt et auferunt. \Add from dorso: et legendi facultates tarn in resumptionibus magistrorum qui ibidem vel Oxonie rexisse dinoscuntur quam in inceptionibus magistralibus aliorum fratrum et ad lecturam Sententiarum deputandorum per suos superiores ordinis utriusque more consueto, et ipsis in locis suis ibidem absque impedimento cuiuslibet liberam tribuens predicandi facultatem]. Item, auctoritate dicti statuti reputant pro constanti quod fratres scolares de quibuscumque partibus inibi causa studii conveniant privilegiis et exemptionibus ordinum suorum non gaudeant sed iurisdictioni et cohercitioni presidentis ibidem et magistrorum supponantur et subiaceant. Item, auctoritate dicti statuti fecerunt et publicaverunt secundum statutum quod tale est. Secundum Statutum. Quod singulis annis, dicta universitate durante, ter in anno, videlicet prima dominica adventus Domini et dominica septuagesima ac in die cinerum proximo sequenti in ecclesia beate virginis gloriose statim post pulsationem prime et magne campane riant sermones dumtaxat ad clerum per cancellarium aut per aliquos vel aliquem magistros vel magistrum tune actum regentem diebus ad predicandum per cancellarium assignandis. Datum MCCCiiii x. kal. decembris. 236

THE DISPUTE: 1303-6 [On the dorso are the following In facto Parisiensi. In Narratione. Et quod super hiis dilecti filii . . . et . . . predicti ordinis scolas parisius regentes in theologica facultate ex certis causis se ordinationibus et obligationibus hiis subicere noluerunt ad sedem apostolicam appellando eos beneficio societatis in magistralibus privavistis ipsosque privatos publice nuntiantes iniunxistis districte ut scolares lectiones eorum de decetero non auderent ne ipsorum auditores a pena quam universitas infligere talibus consuevit se possent per ignorantiam excusare. Conclusio Pape. Predictos insuper predicatorum ordinum fratres theologice facultatis magistros ad magistrorum consortium ipsosque ac auditores eorum ad universitatis collegium de nostre potestatis plenitudine restituentes omnino et decernentes ad eadem consortium et collegium a vobis in dulcedinis ubere sine difficultate qualibet admittendos, omnes sententias privationis seu separationis a consortio universitatis vel similibus penas alias in eosdem fratres vel scolares eorum premissorum occasione prolatas penitus revocamus. Non obstante, etc.

Impugnatur secundum statutum per dictos fratres quod cancellarius et magistri acceperunt quam in eis est fratribus predicatoribus predictos tres sollempniores dies predicabiles de quibus fit mentio in hoc statuto secundo. Qui dies ab antiquo predicatoribus competere dinoscuntur. Item, auctoritate dicti primi statuti fecerunt et publicarunt statutum tertium quod tale est. Tertium Statutum. Quod quicumque bakelarius in theologia decetero fuerit incepturus antequam ad incipiendum in dicta universitate licentiam consequatur publice predicet in ecclesia beate Marie et ad clerum ubi alii actus scolastici sollempniores fieri consueverunt die predicandi per cancellarium primitus assignanda, nee ad predicationem alibi faciendam ulterius teneatur dum tamen cetera adimpleverint que in antiquo statuto universitatis predicte plenius continentur. Datum xv. kal. maii, anno MCCCiiii. Et dictus magister Stephanus contravenientes secundo et tertio in forma qua prius excommunicavit. Impugnant fratres hoc statutum tertium pro eo quod illi sermones per quos alii inceptores examinari consueverant a fratribus auferuntur contra statuta et antiquas consuetudines inter fratres et magistros hactenus observatas. 237

APPENDIX C

Item, per hoc fratres subire compelluntur in predicationibus et sermonibus examinationi extra loca sua quod nunquam fuit factum nee auditum nee Parisius nee Bononie ubi sunt sollempniora studia nee alibi. Item, cum in statuta dicatur quod dies est assignanda per cancelarium per hoc possunt excludi totum ab actu incipiendi cum verisimiliter timeant fratres quod cancellarius nunquam sit assignaturus diem nee in statuto dicitur quod teneatur assignare. Item, ratione loci possunt in totum excludi et cum ecclesia sancte Marie pro loco assignata in statuto sit parochialis in qua constat fratres vel cancellarium predicare [non] posse rectore ipsius ecclesie reclamante. Et iam quidam magistrorum beneficia habentium totaliter excluserunt fratres ne in eorum ecclesiis predicarent.

238

D.

JAMES E S S E X ' S OBSERVATIONS

C H A P E L OF S I D N E Y

COLLEGE

IN

ON THE

OLD

CAMBRIDGE

(British Museum, Add. MSS 6761, ff. 1-7.) After a few introductory remarks about the history of the house the writer goes on as follows: This building consisted of one room 6$ 6 in long 23^ 6 in wide between the walls and 25^ high to the setting on of the roof, which formed a Cieling with arches principals and the intermediate spaces flat in the midle, and sloped on the sides, as represented in the section. There were three windows and a door on the west side: on the east there were the same number of windows and a door, with a Chimney (at a) seven feet wide, placed near the midle, on the west side nearly opposite the chimney (at b) two holes appear in the wall, which being too low for a Table or side board, and too high for a seat, might receive timbers to support the floor of a pulpit or desk, where the Lecturer read the Scriptures to the Friars while they were at meals: about ten feet from the south west angle near the side of the south door (at d) are some marks in the wall by which it appears that a Cistern or Laver had been fix'd there; under this, about a foot lower than the floor of the room, was a neat stone Drain, about one foot square in the form of figr A which runing obliquely in the direction d e, under the south end of the room, conveyed the water from this place into the Kings ditch and served likewise to convey other waste water from some part of the monastery, or from the Conduit belonging to it, which was served from the spring in the fields near Madingley road before it was given to Trinity College who cut off the pipe and retain'd the spring for their own use, when they sold the site of the Monastery. At the south end of the room there were two doors 4? wide leading into an adjoining building, the foundations of which may be partly traced as at f & f. The floor of this room was made of plaister, or common mortar mixt with clay (not unlike those used in Malt houses) and lay'd four feet below the level of the Chapel floor, at the upper end (which was to the north) ten feet above the floor there was a moulding or cornice (g g) which run across that end, but not round the room; there were neither doors nor windows at that end, unless the entrance into the 239

APPENDIX D

Chapel had been a door enlarged (which is not improbable for the principal appartments were on that side, but did not joine to this building). From these particulars in the plan, and from the quantity of small bones of fowls, rabbits and other animals, with pieces of spoons &c which were found among the rubbish when this building was pulled down, we must conclude that it was originaly the Refectory of the Franciscans, and not the ancient Dormitory, as Mr Fuller would prove from the concavities in the walls, which being no other than the windows and doors, could not serve as places for their several reposure, and as there is no appearance of any Timber floor within the height of this building except that of the Library which was made when it was converted into a Chapel, it is probable that the Dormitory was not over the Refectory, but in some other part of the monastery. The buildings which adjoined to the south end of this, I suppose were the Buttriss, into which the doors at that end open'd. [Note on opposite page: the floor of the Buttries was higher than the floor of the Refectory two steps, which being made of Clunch were much worn.] The other offices were ranged on the South, next walls lane. Where the Warden & Friars appartments were situate cannot be traced; but as the Church stood about fifty yards north of this building it is probable they were ranged somewhere between them; in an old plan of Cambridge other buildings appear to have Joined this, runing from it towards the Street where now the south wing of the College stands. According to Mr Fullers account this Building was not converted into a Chapel until some years after the first founding of the College, the first stone of which was laid the 20th of May 1596, but it certainly was intended to be so when the plan of the College was made, tho' it might not be in their power to do it at the same time for want of money, which according to his account was rais'd by subscription some years after. The situation of this Chapel is nearly North & South, and the same as the old Chapel of Emmanuel College now their Library, they were both built by the same Architect Rodolph Simons who injeniously contrived to convert the Chapel of the Dominican Friars into a Refectory, and the Refectory of the Franciscans into a Chapel. This building being greatly decayed was taken down in the month of August 1776 and on the first day of October at noon, the first stone of a new Chapel was laid in the south east angle of the foundation, about five feet below the surface of the ground; the head of the stone which is eleven inches square, lieth towards the east and projects two inches before the range of the wall: the date of the year 1776 is cut deep in figures two inches long, & on the lower surface this is cut with a chissel. The Master and Fellows being at that time engaged at the 240

JAMES ESSEX S OBSERVATIONS College audit, none was present but the Master Bricklayer and a Labourer who assisted me in Laying it. The Situation of the new Chapel is little different from the old, but not upon the old Foundations the dotted lines in the plan shew the variation. The Buttresses h.h.h. represented with dotted lines were not part of the original building but added afterwards. James Essex.

241

E. F R A G M E N T OF AN A C C O U N T - B O O K BELONGING TO THE C A M B R I D G E

FRANCISCANS

Caius College MS 348 is a Greek Psalter which belonged at one time to Friar Richard Brinkley of the Cambridge Franciscans. In the binding was discovered a fragment of an account-book of the fourteenth century. This is a single sheet of parchment, one side of which was reproduced in facsimile by J. Rendel Harris in The Origin of the Leicester Codex (1887) together with a transcription. There is also a brief account of it in Little, Studies in English Franciscan History, pp. 41-4. See also above, pp. 70-5. The entries appear to be as follows: Recto {left hand) : Hardissol pro anima domine Amisie de Sealers, i marcam in pitancia. In festo sancte Anne frater Johannes Lamme expendidit in pitancia, xvii d. ob. Willelmus Scherwid, xvi d. Item Radulphus Child, xii d. Item per fratrem Thomam Ely ob honorem sancte Anne, xvii d. . . . quinta propria per fratrem Johannem Weting pro anima Willelmi Flicham ad unam pitanciam, xii d. Item per fratrem Johannem de Ely, vi d. In dominica post festum sancte Anne pro anima Johannis Baldoc in pitancia, xl d. et ultra Weting solvit v d. Feria secunda post in pitancia per fratrem Rogerum Walsham, xxv d. Item sequenti feria tercia per fratrem Willelmum de Sancto Yvone, xxx d. Item feria quinta pro pitancia per fratrem Martinum Leuerington, xlii d. Primus compotus post finalem compotum sabbato in festo sancti Dominici confessoris. Dominica post festum sancti Dominici in pitancia pro anima . . . Sauston i marcham per Baburwam. In pitancia per Johannem Lywins i marcam per Hardissell. In pitancia per dominum Bawdewyn de sancto Jorgio i marcam. Pro statu Agnetis et pro animabus Willelmi et Rogeri, in pitancia, xxx d. Pro statu domini Johannis Godewyk, viii s. viii d. 242

FRAGMENT OF AN ACCOUNT-BOOK

Pro anima Vienne in pitancia, xl d. In pitancia per fratrem Willelmum Blibur, xl d. . . .* Nic' Martyn in pitancia pro anima patris sui, v s. per Badbur. Secundus compotus sabbato in octava sancti Ludowyc episcopi et confessoris. In pitancia pro anima Galfridi de Massingham, vii s. vi d. In pitancia pro anima fratris nostri Galfridi de Massingham, iiii s. In pitancia per procuratorem, xl d. Margeria Buteler pro anima Willelmi expendit viii s. viii d. per Plumstede. . . . Johannis Morle pro statu Rogeri Madekok Katerbagg . . . xxi s. iiii d.

Recto {right hand) : Dominus Johannes pro animabus domini de Seschalers et domine et mortuis quibusdam teneris, xxiiii sol. et iiii d. per Hardesle. Pro anima fratris Rogeri de Alby, xii sol. et i d. Dominus Johannes Cortyn, vi s. et viii d. Maria de Plumstede, xv s. viii d. ob. Domina abbatissa de Deney misit conventui unum porcum. De dono domine de Audele pro anima viri sui dimidiam marcam per Mar. . . Domina abatissa de Deneye unum porcum. In una pitancia . . . xi s. viii d. per gardianum. Frater Johannes Marbilzor per . . . 2 misit conventui ceplas ficuum et unum cade allecium. Quartus compotus et finalis vi kal. Julii in crastino sancti Johannis Baptiste anno Domini M°CCClxvi. Pro statu Margarete Boteler et anima Willelmi viri sui, x sol. Dominus Johannes Josphef pro anima domine de Sealers, xx s. Primus compotus post finalem pridie kal. Augusti. Margareta [erased] Margeria de Saustone pro anima Johannis viri sui, xv. sol. vi d. Burgenses de Lenia, xl d. Frater Nicholaus Ramisseya, ii sol. vi d. Frater Johannes Wetinge, ii sol. Frater Robertus Plumstede, xvi s. Margareta Boteler pro statu suo et pro anima viri sui et pluribus teneris, ix sol. ix d. ob. per Plumstede. Tertius compotus factus in vigilia Symonis et Jude. Pater gardianus expendit in pitancia feriarum v ante festum omnium sanctorum i marcam. 1 The letters 'bur' appear in the margin, perhaps all that is left of 'per Badbur' 2 or 'per Blibur'. A word has been left out here. 243

APPENDIX E

Quartus compotus in vigilia sancte Barbare. [One line erased].

Per magistrum in pitancia, x d. Margareta Bussel, v s. x d. per Hardesl. Blaunpayn, xxx d. per Wetinge. The Verso is much injured by damp and by having been pasted on to the binding of the Psalter. But a few portions are faintly legible. Verso {left hand) : Pro statu domini Johannis Chreyra(?). . . vi s. viii d. pro pitancia. Pro statu domine . . . domini Adamarc, viii s. Per dominam abbatissam de Deneye unum porcum. . . . unam marcam. . . In pitancia pro anima fratris Rogeris de Baldiswell v s. per fratrem Helisaun. Item per fratrem Nicholaum de Ramisseya in pitancia quinque fagotta... Item . . . patrem nostrum cv s dedit conventui vi lagenas servisie. Pro anima domine Amisie de Schalers, xvi sol. . . . de Sauston expendit in pitancia i marcam per fratrem J. Bradburhaham. . . . dederunt fratribus iiii s. pro pitancia. Pater gardianus expendit in pitancia in festo sancti . . . x s. Per dominam Warter monialem sancte Radegundis in die dicte sancte lagenam servisie. . . . in pitancia pro anima patris sui, vi sol. . . . lagenis servisie per fratrem Johannem Badburwam. . . . in vigilia assumptionis Virginis gloriose. . . . . . in vigilia sancti Matthei apostoli. . . Verso {right hand): . . . per fratrem . . . et per fratrem Thomam de. . . In festo sancti Thome apostoli in pitancia per fratrem Thomam Hardessell. In pitancia in Epiphania Christi per diversos fratres. . . Compotus VII . . . fratris gardiani in . . . Compotus VIII, frater . . . Compotus IX, frater . . . Pro animabus . . . Frater Rogerus Walsham expendit pro pitancia . . . . . . expendit in pitancia . . . Henricus Charte (?) expendit in pitancia fratri Thome Elye seniori et solvit pro . . . Stokys. 244

FRAGMENT OF AN ACCOUNT-BOOK

Margeria . . . Frater Robertus Plumsted pro pitancia . . . s. Abatissa de Deneye unum porcum. Compotus X. In pitancia . . . x s. Compotus XI. Item pro anima . . . de . . . xx s.

245

F.

LEGACIES

1. Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1264. He left gifts to many houses of friars including 'Fratribus Minoribus Cantuariensis, xl marchas . . . fratribus minoribus de Romenal (Romney) v marchas:... fratribus minoribus Oxoniensibus xv marchas. Singulis conventibus Predicatorum et Minorum Provincie Cantuariensis quibus specialiter nihil reliqui v marchas'. (Wadding, Annales Minorum, iv, p. 240). 2. Margery de Creke, Widow of Sir John de Creke, 1282. 'Item fratribus Norwic, Gypewic', Colcestr' et Cantebrig per equales portiones duas marcas' (Brit. Mus. Campbell MSS, iii, 1). 3. Alan of Wells, 1315. To the Franciscans of Cambridge, 60s. (M. Bateson, Cambridge Gild Records, p. 133). 4. Giles de Gadlesmere, Kt. 133J. He desired to be buried in the church of the Friars Minor of 'Cant' (Cantabrigia or Cantuaria). (A. Gibbons, Early Lincoln Wills, p. 6). 5. William de Trumpeton of London, ij5o. His will includes 'Divers sums of money to religious orders in London and Cambridge for the benefit of his soul'. This must almost certainly have included a gift to the Franciscans of Cambridge. (R. R. Sharpe, Calendar of Wills proved and enrolled in the Court ofHusting,London, i258-i688,\,p. 639). 6. Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady Clare, 1360. 'As freres menours de Canterbrugg' xl s. It'm a mesmes les freres pur lour overaigne, C s.' (J. Nichols, A Collection of all the Wills now known to be extant of the Kings and Queens of England, p. 33). 246

LEGACIES

7. Humphry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, 1361. 'Nos devisoms auxint a les estudinanz de q'tre ordres des mendinanz en Oxenford et Cantebrigg', cest assavoir freres prechours, menours, carmes et de seint Augustyn, a chescun maison x li. a prier pur nous'. (J. Nichols, op. cit., pp. 47-8). 8. Roger Barbour, 1371. He bequeathed to the Friars Minor of Cambridge a quarter of barley. (M. Bateson, Cambridge Gild Records, p. 148). 9. John de Ellerton, the King's Sergeant-at-arms, 1373. He left money to 'various orders of friars at Cambridge'. (R. R. Sharpe, op. cit., p. 152). 10. Walter de Berney, 1377. 'Item fratribus minoribus Oxon' et Cantebrig' equaliter x li.' {Norfolk Antiquarian Miscellany, i, p. 400). 11. Roger Mason ofS. Radegund'sparish, Cambridge, 1392. He wished to be buried among the Friars Minor and leaves to the said friars the sum of ten shillings. (A. Gray, The Priory of S. Radegund's, p. 81). 12. Catherine de Burgh {Borough Green), 1409. She left five quarters of wheat to each house of friars at Cambridge, 5 marks to the Friars Minor of Cambridge, and she willed that six yards of russet be placed on her body for burial and afterwards be given to a poor brother of the Friars Minor to pray for her soul. She also left 40J. to John Bradfeld, O.F.M. of Cambridge. (W. M. Palmer, History of the Parish of Borough Green, Cambs., p. 87). xyjohn Harryes, Mayor of Cambridge, 1418. He left 5 marks to each order of mendicants in Cambridge. (W. M. Palmer, Cambridge Borough Documents, i, p. 152). 14. Sir John Ingoldesthorpe, Kt. 1420. He left to each house of friars at Cambridge 3s. ^d. (W. M. Palmer, Hist, of the Parish of Borough Green, p. 89). 247

APPENDIX F

15. John Fordham, Bishop of Ely, 1426. 'Fratribus predicatoribus Cantabr' Cs, et cuilibet conventui aliorum trium ordinum in Cantabrigg' lxvis viiid'. {Regist. H. Chichele, ii, p. 327). 16. John Grenelane, 1431. He left to each house of mendicants in Cambridge iar. (A. Gray, The Priory of S. Radegund's, p. 81). 17. John Daynes of Tykyncote, 1432. This will includes gifts to the friars of Cambridge. (A. Gibbons, Early Lincoln Wills, p. 159). 18. Walter, Lord Fitiwalter, 1432. 'Item fratribus minoribus Cantebrigg' quinque marcas'. {Regist. H. Chichele, ii, p. 469). 19. John Hale, Rector ofDoddington, 1458. He leaves to the Friars Minor of Cambridge IOJ. for a trental. (Camb. Univ. Library MSS Mm. i. 40, f. 30). 20. Thomas Fyssher, S.T.P. 14(34. 'Item volo quod fratres minores Canta [brig] habeant sanctum Thomam secumto (sic) secunde et communem glosam super Evangelia si solvant executoribus meis xlvis viiid'. (P.C.C. Cant. Godyn, 7). 21. William Keryche, 1479. He bequeathes to the four orders of friars in Cambridge 8s. (W. K. Clay, History of Landbeach, p. 85). 22. Walter Smith, Rector ofS. Bene't's, Cambridge, 1488. He left 5-f. %d. to the Friars Minor of Cambridge. (Blomefield, Collectanea Cantabrigiensia, p. 51). 23. Margaret Odeham of Bury, 1492. 'Itm I bequethe to euery hows of ffryeris in Cambredge, Lynne, Norwiche, Thetford, Clare, Sudbury, to eche of thes howses vis viiid'. (S. Tymms, Wills and Inventories from the Registers of the Commissary of Bury S. Edmunds and the Archdeaconry of Sudbury, P- 73)248

LEGACIES

24. Robert Bellamy, Master ofS. Leonard's Hospital, York, 1492. 'Item lego cuilibet ordini Fratrum Predicatorum, Minorum, Augustinensium, Carmelitarum Cantebrigie xxs ut omnes illi fratres devote orent pro anima mea in illo die quo diem clausi extremum'. (Surtees Soc. Testamenta Eboracensia, iv, p. 75). i1). John Wighton, Mayor of Cambridge, 1498. To each order of friars in Cambridge io.r. (Palmer, Camb. Borough Documents, i, p. 158). 26. Robert Bolton, Mayor of Cambridge, i5oj. To each order of friars in Cambridge half a mark. (Palmer, Cambridge Borough Documents, i, p. 147). 27. Henry Veesy, apothecary, iSoj. To each order of friars in Cambridge, 10s. (Catalogue of MSS in the University Library, Cambridge, v, P- 537). 28. Peter Breynans, c. 1504. To each of the four orders in Cambridge: Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites and Augustinians, 3s. &,d. (G. J. Gray and W. M. Palmer, Abstracts from the Wills and Testamentary Documents of Printers, Binders and Stationers of Cambridge from 1604 to 1699, p. 1). 29. Laurence Gospeller, or Copferler, i5o4. To the Friars Minor, Austins and Carmelites of Cambridge is. 6d. each. (Palmer, Cambridge Borough Documents, i, p. 149). 30. John Hermer, freemason, i5o8. Among other directions he wills 'my body to be buried in the Church of the grey freeres in Cambrigge before our lady in the South yle ther. Item I bequeth to the same church of the freeres aforeseid xiiis iiiid'. (P.C.C. Bennett, 14). 31. John Raynolde de Stapilferde, i5i5. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge, 40J. (Add. MSS 5861, f. 116). 249

APPENDIX F

32. Dionysia Coke de Fen Ditton, To the four orders of friars in Cambridge, 2od. each. (Ibid.). 33. Joane Collyns de Girton, widow, zSiS. To the Prior and Convent of the Grey Friars in Cambridge, (Ibid.J. 117). 34. John Busche de Madyngley, i5i6. To the four orders of Friars in Cambridge, y. i,d. each. (Ibid., f. 118). 35. William Gyne de Brynkley, i5i6. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 13s. ^d. by equal portions. (Ibid., f. 119). 36. John Seyntwary, B.D., i5i6. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge y. ^d. (W. K. Clay, History of Landbeach, p. 108). 37. Thomas Kersey of March, iSiy. 'To the iiii orders of ffryers in Cambryg xl s'. (A. Gibbons, Ely Episcopal Records, p. 213). 38. John Bury, Mayor of Cambridge, i5ij. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 10s. each to sing a trental. (W. M. Palmer, Cambridge Borough Documents, i, p. 148). 39. Robert Throkmorton, Kt., i5i8. He wills 'that ther be said for my soule in as shorte a space as it may be doon after my deceas . . . ii trentalles in the grey ffreris of Cambrygge . . . and for euery of thes trentalles I will ther be gyven xs apiece'. (Little, Grey Friars in Oxford, p. 108). 40. John Lane of Landbeach, i5i8. To the four orders of friars at Cambridge 'to say a trigintall for me' icw. (Add. MSS 5861, f. 120). 250

LEGACIES

41. Thomas Fisher, Vicar ofGilden Morden, i5i8. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 10s. each. To Mr Swynborne i-$s. ^d. {Ibid., f. 124). 42. John Elys of Rampton, i5i8. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 26s. 2>d. {Ibid.). 43. Thomas Fyneham, i5i8. He directs 'my body to be buried in the chauncell of the grey Freres in Cambrige, and I bequeth to the same place for my buriall xl s.' His cousin Monford owed him 415 marks to be repaid at the rate of 40 marks a year; this was to 'be disposed in werkes of mercy and dedes of charitee by the discrecion of myn executours, that is to sey to preestes to synge for my soule, in reparacion and makyng of high wayes, in distribucion to pouer folkes where nede requireth, to prysoners beyng in pryson, and in ornaments and juelles to be gevyn to Churches, and for exhibicion of poure scolar students'. Another cousin, John Jenor, owed him 560 marks payable at 80 marks a year; this was to be distributed 'First to the iiii orders of Freres in Cambridge everyche of the said places xl s. to pray for my soule. Item to Robert White a Frere Mynor of Cambryge towardes his exhibicion in Oxford or Cambryge to synge for my soule satisfactory by the space of iiii yeres xx li. every yere, v li. commyng of the said money. . . . I will that the Warden and Vicewarden of the Grey Freres in Cambrige and iiii other Freres with them of the same place shall bere my body to the burial within the same place, and they to have for ther labours everych of them xii d. Item I will that one of the Freres Minors in Cambrige shall sey masse daily betwene x and xi of the clok at the awter wheras I am buried by the space of one hole yere next folowyng after my decesse, and he to have for his stipende every day iiii d.' A codicil dated nine days later adds: 'Item to Frere White for an abyte x s. Item I will that Maister William Barle, clerk, have iii yeres service to synge for my soule and my frendes soules in Alhalowe church in Cambrige and in the chappell of Kynges Hall 251

APPENDIX F

and sumtyme in the Grey Freres soo that he do not lett noo Frere there takyng yerely for his stypende viii markes. Item I will that he [the testator's cousin, John Fyneham of Wells] provide three vestments for the Grey Freres in Cambrige with other ornamentes for the service of God there as I have shewed unto him my mynde putting it to his discrecion. . . . Item I give unto Frere White the warste fetherbed of two that I doo lye upon, and also a bolster and coveryng of bleue lying uponn the same bed'. (P.C.C. Ayloffe, 5). 44. Thomas Lane, i5ig. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge y. i,d. (W. K. Clay, History of Landbeach, p. 87). 45. Thomas Heynes of Cottenham, i5ig. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 10s. (Add. MSS 5861, f. 131). 46. Master Richard Cressy, alias Deane, Vicar of Arrington, i5ig. To every order of Friers in Cambridge to have a dirige with note y. j\d. {Ibid.). 47. Nicholas Thirlowe of Thriplow, i5ig. 'To the four orders of friars at Cambridge 20.J. for trentals to be sungen for my soul on the day of my burial'. {Ibid., f. 132). 48. Thomas Fuller of' Shelf ord Magna, i5i£>. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 4 combs of barley. {Ibid., f. 133). 49. Thomas Howlyn of Shelford Magna, iSig. To the four orders of friars 20.J. {Ibid.). jo. John Turtyll of Ickelyngton, i520. <js. to the Grey Friars of Cambridge to say 15 masses. {Ibid.). 51. John Covyle of Abingdon Parva, i520. To the four orders of friars at Cambridge 10s. each. {Ibid., f. 137). 252

LEGACIES

52. John Cooke, senior, of Over, i5zo. To each house of friars in Cambridge iad. {Ibid., f. 138). 53. Joan Lorkyn de Bodekysham, i5zi. To each of the four orders of friars at Cambridge \os. (E. Hailstone, History of the Parish of Bottisham, p. 143). 54. Hugh Rankyn, Alderman of Cambridge, i5zi. 'My body to be buried within the chirch of the Graye friers in Cambrige under that same stone the which my grandfather and myn own father be buried. Item I bequeath to the Reparacion of the said Gray friers chirch xl. s. Item to the Warden of the same friers viii d. And to every frier of that same place iiii d. to bringe my body to the yerthe'. (P.C.C. Maynwaryng, 18). 55. John Powell de Cotenham, i5zi. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge, to each is. 6d. (Add. MSS 5861, f. 141). 56. Thomas Roger of Cotenham, i5zi. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge, to each 3J. 4*/. {Ibid., f. 143). 57. Edward Colwell de Cottenham, i5zi. To each order of friars in Cambridge tod. {Ibid, f. 145). 58. John Be ton de Over, i5zi. To each order of friars in Cambridge 6s. Sd. {Ibid, f. 147). 59. William Algode of Balsham, i5zi. To each of the four orders of friars in Cambridge a comb of wheat. {Ibid., f. 149). 60. William Lenton de Madyngley, i5zi. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 6s. Sd. {Ibid.,L 156). 253

APPENDIX F

61. Richard Willesmere ofHarston, i5zi. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 4 combs of malt. {Ibid., f. 157). 62. William Raynold of Harston, i52i. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 40J. {Ibid., ff. 157-8). 63. William Colyns of Gyrton, i5zi. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge iar. {Ibid., f. 160). 64. William Marshe de Balsham, i5zi. To the Grey Friars of Cambridge a comb of barley. {Ibid., f. 163). 65. Margaret, wife of John Warden de Stapylford, i5zi. To the Friars Minor of Cambridge y. 4^. {Ibid.). 66. Thomas Scotte de Shelford Magna, iSzi. 'To the Grey Friars in Cambridge \os. they to sing a Trental for me 2 days after my death'. {Ibid., f. 164). 67. William Goldsmith, alias Barbour, of Waterbeach, i5zi. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge, y. ^d. each. {Ibid., f. 165). 68. Richard Revyll de Balsham, i5zi. 'To the Grey Friars of Cambridge 3 bushels of Barley to be payd in 3 years'. {Ibid.). 69. Robert Reson and his wife, i5zi. Each leaves 40^. to the four orders of friars in Cambridge. {Cat. ofMSS in the Univ. Library, Cambridge, v, p. 538). 70. John Ellys de Gransden parva, i5zz. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge, to each zod. (Add. MSS 5861, f. 166). 71. Agnes Covell de Abyngton parva, widow, i5zz. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge, to each 10s. {Ibid., f. 168). 254

LEGACIES

72. Alice Stakyn de Cotenham, widow, 1622. To the four cloisters of friars in Cambridge, each 20^ {Ibid.). 73. William Lackett de Westwicke, 1523. To each of the four orders of friars in Cambridge a bushel of barley. {Ibid., f. 172). 74. Dame Anne St. George de Foxton, i$2j. 'To each of the four orders of friars in Cambridge 20s. so that each sing a trigintal for my soul and my Husband's soul'. {Ibid., f. 173). 75. Sir John Thorney, chantry priest o/Clopton, 1524. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge £ 4 . {Ibid., f. 179). 76. Agnes Thresher of Girton, 1524. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge, to be prayed for, 6s. &d.

{Ibid., f. 182). 77. William Stevyson, i525. He left money to all orders of friars in Cambridge. {Cat. of MSS in the Univ. Library, Cambridge, v, p. 538). 78. William Swayn de Chesterton, i525. To the four orders of friars at Cambridge 26s. &d., Robert Barnes, D.D. of the Order of S. Augustine being a witness. (Add. MSS 5861, f. 184). 79. Thomas Brige ofShudy Camps, i52j. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 40^. {Ibid., ff. 192-3). 80. Thomas Tailour de Wibraham parva, z 52j. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge \os. each 'to sing a Trentall for my soul'. {Ibid., f. 194). 81. Agnes Mayler, widow of John Mayler of Ickleton, i52j. 'To the four orders of Friers in Cambridge x6d. equally to be divided and to them for a Trental to be sung all in one day for

APPENDIX F

the souls of William Alane, John Mayler, my husband, and me, IOJ.'.

{Ibid.). 82. Thomas Steward de Hyston, 15zy. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 5$. to each. {Ibid., f. 198). 83. Thomas Carnell de Hildesham, i5zy. To the Grey Friars of Cambridge, IOJ. {Ibid., f. 199). %4.John Wright de Bottisham, i5zy. To the Grey Friars of Cambridge id. {Ibid., f. 202). Also a comb of barley. (E. Hailstone, Hist, of Parish of Bottisham, p. 145). 85. Agnes Bolnest de Bassingborne, widow, i5z8. 'To the four orders of friers in Cambridge \os. for the health of my soul'. {Ibid., f. 200). 86. Thomas Cowper de Hardwick, i528. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 4s. {Ibid., f. 201). 87. Robert Bate de Kingston, 15z8. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 40s. {Ibid., f. 202). 88. Isabel! Annabel! de Cotenham, i528. To each of the four orders of friars in Cambridge zs. 6d. {Ibid., f. 203). 89. Henry Orynell de WylUngham, i5z8. To each of the four orders of friars in Cambridge xs. 6d. {Ibid., f. 205). 90. John Flemyng de Stow cum Quy, i5z8. He leaves all to his wife 'except 3 roods of saffron ground which shall be divided to my 3 daurs, Johan, Agnes and Margaret when they are 16 yr, and if the 3 daurs die, my wife to give their parts 256

LEGACIES

to 2 places of Friars in Cambridge, the Grey Friers and White Friers equally, to pray for me day y \ {Ibid.). 91. Robert Britton de IVyllngham, i5z8. 'If my goods will extend, to the four orders of Friers in Cambridge half a Trental each'. {Ibid., f. 207). 92. Joane Cotton of Wilbraham parva, i528. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge each a comb of barley. {Ibid., f. 210). 93. Robert ThreshurofGirton, i52g. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 6s. Sd., to each order 2od. {Ibid.). 94. Margery Bell de Gransden parva, i52g. To each of the four orders of friars in Cambridge y. ^d. {Ibid., f. 212). 95. Edward Lane of Landbeach, i52g. To every order of friars in Cambridge izd. {Ibid., f. 213). 96. Margaret Pepis ofCottenham, i52c>. To each of the four orders of friars in Cambridge 6s. Sd. {Ibid., ff. 216-7). 97. Edmund Boyer de Wilbraham parva, 1529. 'For a Grey Friar \os. to sing a Trentall for me in this church at Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide.' {Ibid., f. 219). 98. Richard Goodwyne de Hawkeston, zSjo. 'To the four orders of friars at Cambridge 20s., and 20J. for a priest to sing for me at Hawkeston'. {Ibid., f. 222). 99. Richard Lambe of' Trumping ton, z5jo. 'To the four orders of friars in Cambridge to each IOJ. SO that s

2.57

APPENDIX F

2 of each house be present at my burial day, 7th day and month's day, to pray for my soul'. {Ibid., f. 224). 100. John Smith, vicar of Swaffham Bulbeck, zSj2. To each of the four orders of friars in Cambridge 10s. 'to sing a Trental'. {Transactions of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, xxxi, p. 47). 101. Nicholas Colyn de Stecheworth,

i5j2.

To the Grey Friars (?of Cambridge) xid. (Add. MSS 5861, f. 225). 102. William Kyng de Duxforthe Petir, iSj2. To the four orders of friars in Cambridge 10s. {Ibid., ff. 226-7). 103. William Hawkyn de Over, z5j2. To each of the four orders of friars at Cambridge 12d. {Ibid., f. 228). 104. Nicholas Symond, ZSJJ. He was to be buried in the church of the Grey Friars before the altar of S. Barbara. The funeral service was to be held in S. Bene't's and six priests were to sing mass. After the service three friars from each of the four orders were to bear his body to the Grey Friars' Church, each friar to have one shilling and each order ten shillings. (Ely Consistory Court Wills, ii, 120, quoted in W. M. Palmer, Cambridge Borough Documents, i, p. 156).

258

G.

DOCUMENTS

CONNECTED W I T H THE

DISSOLUTION

(I). The Certificate of the King's officers of the Court of Augmentations, November 1538. (P.R.O. Exch. K.R. Church Goods 12, No. 37). The late Howsse of Greye ffryers within the Towne of Cambrydge dissolved by the King's visitors of the clere yerly value in landes and possessions iiii li. xiii s. iiii d. The possessions of which howsse remanyneth in thandes of doctor Buckmaster Vicechancellor of Cambrydege to the Kynge use. The Religious persons and servants at our comynge we founde dyspersed and gone. The leade remayning upon the Churche and other edificationes ther by estimat amounteth to the nomber of C ilf; fodders. Belles in the stepell yet remayning to the Kynge use iii weyinge by est. viii. The moveable Goodes, Ornamentes, Juelles and plate ben taken away by the visitors to the Kynges use before our comyng. The yorne(?) glasse and stone dous yet remayne unsold and the housse undefaced untyll the Kynge pleasure be further knowan. The dettes owynge by the howsse ben payed by the visitors as we ben enformyd. Woodes, null. (II). Ministers' Accounts from Michaelmas, 1538, to Michaelmas, 1539. (P.R.O. Ministers' Accts., 7286, m.16). IIII° r Ordines Fratrum in Villa Cantebrigie. Nuper domus sive nuper prioratus Fratrum Minorum ibidem. Compotus Johannis Erlech ballivi et collectoris Reddituum ibidem per tempus predictum. Arreragia: Nulla quia prius compotus ipsius Computentis ad usum domini Regis. Summa: Nullus. Scitus nuper Prioratus: Set ceddit Compotum de xl s. de firma cuiusdam Orti scituati infra scitum dicti nuper prioratus sic occupati perWillelmum Buckmaster vice-cancellarium Universitatis Cantabrigie hoc anno. Et 259

APPENDIX G s

de xxiii viiid de Firma cuiusdam domus brasarie scituate infra eundem prednctum in tenura Henrici Heyne hoc anno. De aliquo proficuo proveniente de cameris et aliis edifidis infra sdtum predictum nuper prioratus predicti non reddit eo quod Custodia eiusdem domus commissa fuit vice-cancellario Universitatis predicte ad usum domini Regis per commissionarium eiusdem domini Regis tempore dissolutionis inde Custodia et nullus proficuus, inde proveniens etc. in compoto Receptoris. Summa lxvis viiid. Et oneratur in Compoto Willelmi Leigh armigeri Receptoris particularitum Curie Augmentationis Reventionis Corone domini Regis infra comitatibus Cant' et Hunt' ut in compoto dicti Receptoris huius anni patet.

(III). Ministers' Accounts Henry VIII, 7292, m.13 (1545-6). Quatuor Ordines Fratrum in Villa Cantabrigie. Nuper domus sive nuper prioratus Fratrum Minorum ibidem. Compotus Johannis Erlech ballivi domini Regis per tempus predictum. Arreragia: Nullaprout inpedeultimi Compoti anni proximi precedentis plenius liquet et apparet. Summa: nulla. (The document continues as before and adds the following): Et de ix d. de Firma unius camere scituate infra Scitum predictum in tenura (blank in MS) hoc anno. Summa: lxviis vd. Summa totalis Receptoris predicti lxvii^ W de quibus allocator ei ixd pro decaso unius camere in tenura Henrici Heyne superius onerat infra Scitum dicti nuper Prioratus eo quod dictum tenementum sive Masuagium stetit vacuum et inoccupatum per totum tempus huius Compoti ex Sacramento Computoris super hunc Compotum . . Et debet Ixvis v'mJ. Qui oneratur in Compoto Roberti Chuter armigeri Receptoris domini Regis Curie Augmentationis Reventionum Corone in Comitatibus Cant' et Hunt' et prout in Compoto dicti Receptoris huius anni plenius patet.

260

H. SEALS of

THE CAMBRIDGE

FRANCISCANS

I . Vicar of the Custos of the Cambridge Custody. The description is as follows: Pointed oval, if" X i". Under a canopy a shield of the fabulous arms of our Lord, i.e. the implements of the Passion. On either side of the shield a sprig of oak. Below under an arch the vicar in his habit kneeling to right. Legend in Lomb. cap.: .s'. VICARII: CVSTODIS: CANTABRIGGE:

B.M. Cat. 2827; 'about A.D. 1244 from the matrix'. The matrix was found in Cambridge in 1819. Its present whereabouts is not known. {Franciscan History and Legend in English Medieval Art, ed. A. G. Little, Brit. Soc. of Franc. Studies, p. 85). 2. Guardian (?) of the Cambridge Friary. Pointed oval, if" X " The eagle of S. John nimbed and displayed. Beneath it on a scroll IOHNIS. . . ; below the scroll the guardian(?) half length in prayer to left. Legend in Lomb. caps: NIS:

SVSPEDE: P'C

P.R.O. E43/117 dated c. 1330. {Ibid., p. 88\

261

INDEX Accounts, keeping of, 70-5 Acton, Br. Thomas, 146 Adamark, lord, 244 Ainsworth, Mr, 134 Alane, William, 256 Alban, Br. John, 146 Alby, Br. John, 85, 143, 146 , Br. Roger, 72, 146, 243 Alexander IV, Pope, 178 V, Pope, 3on, 8on. Algode, William, 253 Alifax, Br. Robert, de 86, 91, 94n., 99, M5, M<5 Allen, Br. John, 147 Ambonnay, Br. Rayner d', 147 Annabel], Isabell, 256 Annivers, Br. N. de, 147 Anloyna, Br. Jacobus, 147 Antingham, Br. John de, 100, 145, 147 Antonius, Br., 147 Antwerp, 200 Apeltre, Br. Henry de, 32, 144, 147 Aquinas, S. Thomas, 57, 60 Aquinton, Br. John, 81, 97, 148, 208 Aragon, 148 , province of, 102, 166 Aragonia, Br. Peter de, 100, 145, 148 Argentina, Br. Bretardus de, 82, 148 Argos, Bishop of, 216 Armagh, Archbishop of; see: Fitzralph, Richard Arnold, Br. John, 130, 148 Arundel, Thomas, 83, 114 Ascalon, Bishop of, 173 Ascham, Roger, 134 Ashwell, Br. P. 184 Assewelle, Br. W. de, 31, 144, 148-9

Assher, Br. John, 149 Assisi, 34, 192 , General Chapters at, 35n., 94-5, 106, 233 Asti, friars at, 22 Audley, 74 , Br. Robert, 149 , Lady de, 243 Augmentations, Court of, 134, 259 Aula, Br. Herman de, 149 Aunger, Br. Hugh, 149 Auvere, John, 29 Avignon, 97, 99, iO7n., 193, 212 Aylesbury, friar of, 116

263

Babraham, Br. John, 71, 73-4,149, 242, 244 Babwell, Grey Friars at, 13, 76, 89, 15 5, 166, 186, 205 Bacon, Br. John, 149 , Br. Roger, 32, 121, 157 Bacton, 160 Baker, Br. John, 132-3, 150 Baketon, Br. Clement de, 150 Baldewyne, John, 147 Baldiswell, Br. Roger de, 150, 244 Baldock, 74 , John, 242 Ballynges, Br. Andrew de, 150 Balsham, Hugh, 103 Bandon, Br. Hugh, 115, 150-1 Bangor, Bishop of, 109 Barbour, Roger, 247 Barbur, Br. John, 151 Barcelona, 148 Barle, William, 251 Barnes, Br. Robert, O. P. 123, 255

INDEX Barnet, Battle of, 158 Barn well, 218-19 , Prior and Convent of, 30, 53ns chaplain of, 45-6; rent roll of, 52 Process, 118 Baromeis, Galeasius de, 189-90 Baron, Br. Stephen, 124, 151 Barsham, Br. William de, 151 Barter, Br. John, 151 Bartholomew, Br., 143, 151 Bartilmew, Br. John; see Baker, Br. John Barton-in-Ryedale, 208 Barwe, Br. John de, 151 Basset, Br. Gregory, 124-5, 151-2 Bate, Robert, 256 Battersby, Br. Thomas, 152 Bavard, Br. Andrew, 152 Bawdeswell, 161 Beatific Vision, the, 99, 193 Beaton, Br. Walter, 144, 152 Beauvais, Br. Laurence of, ;n. Bedford, Grey Friars at, 129, 198, 210, 219, 221; warden of, 221 , Br., 120, 152

Belamy, Robert, 65, 249 Belawe, Br. John de, 153 Bell, Margery, 257 Benedict, S., Rule of, 76 XI, Pope, 37, 88n. XII, Pope, 22, 23, 3on, 81, 94, 99, 101, 202

Benet, Thomas, 125 Benjamin the Jew, the house of, 8-10, 25- 6 , 39, J 4i Bergamo, Bonagrazia of, 96 Beri, Br. Thomas, 153 Berkham, Br. J. de, 56 Berkele, Lady Joanna de, 56 Berme, Br. John, 153 Bernard, Br., 153 , Catherine, 83 Berney, Walter de, 247 Beton, John, 254 Beuten, Br. John, 153 Bevercote, Br. R., 145, 153 Beverley, Grey Friars at, 76, 129; Warden of, 154, 216

Bickerdike, Ralph, 51, 137-8 Bilney, Thomas, 123, 124, 160, 211 Binham, Br. Andrew, O. P. 190 Black Death, the, 79, 107, 119 Blaunpayn, 244 Blibur, Br. William, 71, 153, 243 Blockesworth, Br. Walter de, 144, 153 Bocking, Br. Thomas, 153 Bodmin, lector to friars at, 2in. Bohun, Humphry de, 65, 247 Boleyn, Anne, 200 Bolnest, Agnes, 256 Bologna, friars at, 4, 101; University of, 3 6 n -, 2 3 2 , 2 3 8 Bolton, Robert, 249 , Br. Thomas, 153-4 Bonaventura, S., 39n., 58, 59 Boniface VIII, Pope, 84, 227 IX, Pope, 69 of Savoy, 204

Bonn, 82 Bordeaux, 37, 93; friars at, 22 Borough Green, Catherine of, 66, 67, 154, 247 Boston, 128, 216, friars at, 177; lectoi to, 2in. Botlesham, Br. William, 154 Bottisham, 65, 88 Boyer, Edmund, 257 Brack, Br. John, 132, 154 Brackle, Br. John, 196 Bradfield, Br. John, 67, 154, 247 Bradwall, 170 Brampton, Br. Simon, 67 Brandiston, Br. Robert de, 154 Breynans, Peter, 249 Bridesall, Richard, 67, 197 Bridgwater, Grey Friars at, 151, 161; lectors to, 2in. Brige, Thomas, 255 Brigote, Br. Edmund, 120, 154-5 Brinkley, Br. Peter, 155 , Br. Richard, 58-9, 90, 121-3, 155-6, 242 — , William of, 88 Brisingham, Br. Henry de, 32, 91, 144, 156-7

264

INDEX Bristol, Grey Friars at, 124; lectors to, 21 and n; custody of, 81, 100,171; Custos of, 171; Warden of, 207 Britton, Robert, 257 Brown, Br. John, 157 Bruges, friars at, 22 Bruisyard, Minoresses of, 5>on. Buckmaster, Dr William, 134, 135, 259 Bugeton, Br. Hugh de, 9, 157 Bukley, Br. Robert, 157 Bulingham, Br. Stephen, 143, 157 Bullock, Henry, I23n. Bumstead, Br. Thomas, 157 Bungay, Br. Thomas de, 32, 34, 144,

Call, Richard, 160 , Br. William, 124, 160 Cambes, Rector of, 56 Cambridge, All Hallows' Church, 251; bailiffs of, 8, 15; Butcher's Row, 8; Corporation of, 139; Gild of S. Mary at, 165; Guildhall, 8; Hospital of S. John, 53n; Jews in, 8; Jews Lane, 46; King's Ditch, 41, 44, 49, 5i, 137, 239; Round Church, 8,46; S. Bene't's Church, 65, 66, 248, 258; S. Botolph's Church, 172; S. Giles' Church, 168; S. Mary the Great, 36, 44,

157-8, 211

88, iO3n., i33n., 227, 229, 232,

Bunna, Br. Tilmann de, 82, 158 Burgh, Lady Elizabeth de, 61 and n., 65, 159-60, 246 , Catherine de; see: Borough Green Burne, Br. John, 158 Burnell, Robert, 156 Burston, Br. William, 158 Burton, Br. Richard de, 32, 144, 158-9 , Br. Robert de, 92, 159 • , Br. Thomas, 159 Bury, Br., 159 , John, 250 , Richard de, Bishop of Durham, 54, 107 and n. Bury St Edmunds, 13, 65, 122, 155; abbey of, 156; Abbot of, i2on., 205

Busche, John, 250 Bussel, Margaret, 244 Butler (Boteler), family of, 74 , Margaret, 72, 243 , Marjorie, 243 , Br. Nicholas, 159 Bydenham, 90, 156 Bykerton, Br. Walter de, ioo, 145, 159-60 Bynderk, Br. Ideocus, 160 Cadyngton, Br. John de, 160 , Br. Thomas de, 160 Caen, friars at, 44n. Caius, Dr., 130

265

236-7; S. Radegund's parish, 65; S. Radegund's Nunnery, 40,41-2, 72, 73, '49, 183, I9 8 , 2 44; Synagogue, 8, 9, 14; White Horse Tavern, 123, 126 , University of, 7, 19-38, 83, n o ; origins of, 1, 7-8; as Stadium Generate, 94; Chancellor of, 8, 24, 29, 35-8, 109, 134, 188, 212,

227-38; Vice-chancellor of, 134, 135; masters of, 11,24-5, 29, 35-8, 109,120,227-38; proctors of, 123; bedells of, 230, 231; students of, 10-11, 85; statutes of, 108-10, 119, 227-38; visitation of, 114; monks at, 120 and n; Commencement Ceremony at, 44-5; Library of, 56 and n, 118, 200; Divinity Schools of, 118; Faculty of Theology at, 12, 24-5, 29-30, 33-8, 94, 118-9, 140-1, 235; Austin Friars at, I7n, io3n, 247-58; Carmelite Friars at, 17, iO3n, 247-58; Dominican Friars at, 17, 29, 35-8, 227-38, 240, 247-58 , University of, Caius College, 58, 70,122,156,226; Christ's College, 99, 166; Clare College, 65, 103, 167; Corpus Christi College, 103, 206; Emmanuel College, 17, 240; Gonville Hall, 103; Jesus College, 202; King's College, 118; King's Hall, 53, 79, 103, 251;

INDEX Cambridge, Michael-house, 103; Pembroke College, 103, 104, 141, 147, 158, 212, 215; Peterhouse, 60, 103, 134, 186; Queens' College, 118, 172, 187; S. John's College, 164; Sidney Sussex College, 9, 42, 43, 4<5, 48, 139. Mi; Trinity College, 42, 49, 53, 54, i3 6 -7, 139, Mi. 2 39; Trinity Hall, 103 , Grey Friars at, arrival of, (5-8, 25, 63; numbers of, 14 and n, 15, 64, 78-9; poverty of, 9-10; chapel of, 14 and n, t5n; church of, 43-6, 83, 10311, 130, 133-4, 136, 141, 259; new buildings of, 39-54; refectory of, 48-9, 239-41; library of, 49. 54-6i, 73, 131, 141, 202-3; conduit of, 52-4, 141, 239; Provincial Chapter at, 15-16, 153, 170-1; surrender of, 131-2; Custody of, 6 and n, 12, 57, 88-90, 261; Custos of, 69, 85, 143, 261; Wardens of, 66, 69, 73, 85, 129, 143, 163, 227, 243-4, 251, 253; vice-wardens of, 66, 143, 251; lectors of, 12 and n., 21, 30-3, 73-4, 81, 97-IO2, 105, 112, 143-5 , Henry of, 88 Cambridgeshire, 260; Sheriff of, 11 Cambryg, Br. Robert, 160 Candia, Peter Philargi de; see Alexander V Canon, Br. William, 160 Canterbury, 206; Archbishop of, 109, 116, 204; diocese of, 86, 199, 210, 214, 220; Grey Friars at, 5, 9, 81, 132,148,150,185,216,246; lectors to, 21 and n; S. Augustine's, 158 Cantilupe, Thomas, 189, 192 Canvas, Br. William, 161 Canynge,Br.Thomasde,67,97,145,161 Cardiff, friars at, 157, 169, 226 Cardmaker, Br. John, 161-2 Carleton, Br. Roger de, 102 Carlisle, clergy of, 87n; Grey Friars at, 21 and n, 80, 98, 174, 188; Warden of, 207

Carneld, Thomas, 256 Carre, John, 208 Carthusians, 167 Casale, Br. John de, 85, 100, 145, 162 Cashel, Archbishop of, 217 Castle Camps, 132, 215 Cateryke, Br. William, 130, 132, 162 Catterick, deanery of, 188 Catton, Br. William, 162 Cave, Br. Robert de, 144, 162 Caxton, William, 207 Cayl, Br. Stephen, 163 Cayse, Br. John, 163 Celer, Br. John, 163 Cervini, Marcello; see: Marcellus II Chadenhall, 42 Chalcedon, Bishop of, 219 Chamberlain, Br. Robert, n8n. Chamberleyn, Br. John, 163 Chantimpr£, Br. Thomas of, O. P., 106 Charte, Henry, 244 Chatton, Br. Walter de, 98 and n. Chaucer, Goeffrey, 68 and n., 77, 105 Chester, Robert, 136 Chesterton (Cambs), 17 , (Warwicks), 200 Chichester, Dean of, 217; Grey Friars at, 15, 191; lectors to, 2in. Child, Ralph, 242 Chitterne, Br. William de, 145, 163 Chreyra, John, 244 Chuter, Robert, 260 Cicilia, Br. Roger de, 100-1, 145, 163 Clare, Br. John de, 58 164 , John de, Austin friar, 36-7, 231 , Lady of; see: Burgh, Elizabeth de , Order of S., 65n. See also: Bruisyard, Denny, Waterbeach Clerk, Br. Thomas, 164 Cley, Br. John, 164 Clonfert, see of, 198 Clymys, Br. Arnaldus, 164 Cobham, Thomas de, Bishop of Worcester, 88 Coblenz, 82, 165 Cocke, Br. Robert, 164 Codnam, Dr, O. P., 120

266

INDEX Coke, Dionysia, 250 Colby, Br. Richard, 164 Colchester, Abbot of, I2on. , Grey Friars at, 13, 76, 89, 151, 154, 195, 246; Warden of, 207 Collyns, Joan, 250 Cologne, friars at, 158, 175 Colthorp, Br. William de, 164 Colveston, Thomas, rector of, 172 Colwell, Edward, 253 Colyn, Nicholas, 258 Colyns, William, 254 Comberton, Br. Walter, 164 Comestor, Peter, 57, 58, 202 Concoreto, Itherio de, 97 Confessors, friars as, 84-7 Confluentia, Br. Nicholas de, 82, 165 Constantinople, Emmanuel of, 123 Conway, Br. Roger, 59 Conington, Br. Richard, 58, 94, 95-7, 144, 165 Cooke, Br. John, 165 , John 253 Copferler; see: Gospeller Corbava, Bishop of, 148 Cornwall, Edmund, Earl of, 205 Cortyn, John, 243 Costa, Br. Nicholas de, 102, 145, 165-6 Costesy, Br. Henry de, 97-9, 121, 144, 166 Cottenham, dean of, Sgn. Cotton, Bartholomew of, 6 , Joan, 257 , Br. Thomas, 166 Covell, Agnes, 254 Coventry, Grey Friars at, 22, 197, 213; church of, 44, I47n.; lectors to,

Creke, Margery de, 246 Cremoniensis, Br. John, 82, 167 Cressen, Br. Walter, 167 Cressy, Richard, 252 , Br. William, 167 Cromwell, Thomas, 128-9, *34 Croxton, Br. John, 167-8 Cruce, Robert de, 52 Cudner, Br. Thomas, 168 Cyprus, 100, 148

Dacre, Br. William de, 21 Dainton, Br. Alexander de, 168 Dalderby, John, Bishop of Lincoln, 86 Dale, Nicholas de, O.P., 36-8, 230 Daly, Br. Damascenus, 132, 168 David, Br., 168 , Br. John, 92, 168-9 Dawnet, Br. Roger, 169 Daynes, John, 248 Delhawe, Br. John de, 169 Deneham, Br. Thomas, 169 Denemed, Br. Roger de, 144, 169 Denham, 178 Denny, Minoresses of, 6jn., 72, 90, 104,156,176,218; Abbess of, 243, 244, 245 Derlington, Br. Robert de, 67 Derminton; see Dorminton Devon, Br. Richard of, 5 Diconson, Henry, 208 Dishyn, Br. Henry, 170 Diss, Br. Gilbert de, 170 , Br. John, 170 , Br. Thomas ,129, 132, 143, 170 Ditton, Br. Nicholas de, 170-1 Doddington, rector of, 65, 248 Dominic, S., 2 2in. Dominicans; see Preachers, Order of ——, Br. Henry de, 166 , Br. Vincent de, 12 and n., 30, 31, Doncaster, friars at, 91, 146, 171 Donne, Br. John, 171 91, 143, 166, 201, 222 Dorchester, Warden of, 171 , Prior of, I2on. Dormington, Br. William de, 81, 85, • —, and Lichfield, diocese of, 6;n. Covyle, John, 252 100, 145, 171 Cowper, Thomas, 256 Dover, friars land at, 5 Cranmer, Thomas, I23n., i26n. Downham, 85 Craye, Br. John, 166-7 Draper, Br. Laurence, 132, 171 Crayford, Br. John, 133, 167 , Br. Richard, 171 267

INDEX Drynkeston, Br. Thomas, 172 Drynkestor, Br. John, 115, 150, 172 Ducket, Br. Andrew, 172, 187 Dudlington, Br. Thomas de, 172 Dudyngton, Dr., O.P., 120 Duffeld, Br. W. de, 144, 172 , Br. William, 87, 172-3 Dunemed; see Denemed Duns Scotus, Br. John, 33, 173 Dunwich, Grey Friars at, 89, 223 , Br. Thomas de, 173 Durham, canonry at, 133, 167; dean and chapter of, 36n., 227; diocese of, 80, 86, 191, 193 -——, Br. Ralph de, 143, 173 Dyrem, Br. Francis, 173 Eccles-by-the-Sea, 219 Eccleston, Br. Thomas of, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, «4, 21, 30, 88, 157, 166 Edmund, monk of Bury, 190 Education, friars and, 19-24, 81, 91-2, 99-102. Edward I, 52, 64, 195, 219 II, 195, 214 Ill, 67, 97 VI, 200 Egerden, Br. William, 173 Elias, Br., Minister General, 4, 20 , Br., 9, 173 Elingham, Br. John, 174 Eliphat; see Alifax. Elizabeth, Queen, 133 Ellerton, John de, 247 Ellys, John, 254 Elmeden, Br. Thomas de, 80,97-9, 144, 174 Eltisley, 90, 156 Ely, Archdeacon of, 228, 234;Bishopof, 11, I3n., 71, 163, 217, 228, 234; diocese of, 79, 85, 100, 146, 147, 149-51, 153-4, 160, 162, 171-4, 176,178,181-2,183,188,194,196, 203-4, 206, 212, 220, 224; prior and convent of, 1311. , Br. Adam de, 100, 145, 174 , Br. Henry, 174 , Br. John de, 71, 174, 242

, Br. Thomas, 71, 174, 242, 244 Elys, John, 251 Emly, see of, 198 Enemeth, Br. John, 174 Enghelen, Br. Otto, 82, 175 Enmede, Br. John, 174 Erasmus, Desiderius, 58, 122-3, 205 Erfurt, friars at, 22 Erlech, John, 135, 259, 260 Erwelle, Br. Garinus de, 149 Eseby, Br. John, 175 Esseby, Br. William de, 6, 9, 175 Essex, James, 42-3, 48, 49, 239-41 Estowe, Br. Robert, 175 Exeter, diocese of, 152; Grey Friars at, 22, i n , 169; Wardens of, 152, 161 Eyn, Br. Simon, 175 Fakaham, Br. Richard de, 97, 143, 175 Fakum, Br. John, 129, 143, 175-6 Faversham, Abbot of, non. , Br. Haymo of, 16, 176 Fawen, Br. John, 176 Fecamp, monks of, 63 Ferryng, Br. John de, 176 Fingringho, Br. W. de, 33, 144, 176 Fisher, Thomas, 251 Fitzalan, Richard, Earl of Arundel, 73n. Fitzralph, Richard, Archbishop of Armagh, 55, 59, 6o, 107-8 Fitzwalter, Walter lord, 65, 248 Flanders, 106 Flemyng, John, 256-7 Flitcham, William, 71, 242 Florence, Franciscan school at, 101; Chapters General of, 23, 95n. Flykham, Br. William, 176 Folbourn, Br. John de, 176 Folsham, Br. Adam de, 85, 143, 176 Folvil, Br. William de, 87, 100-1, 112, " 5 , M5> 176-7 Fontibus, Br. Ludovicus de, 102, 145, 177 Fordham, John, Bishop of Ely, 248 Foxano, Br. Antonius de, 101 Foxe, John, 124-5 Francis, S., 1-5, 11, 14, 16, 54, 62-3, 6 7, 75> 77, 83, '4O

268

INDEX Fransonus, Br., 177 Fraunceys, Anthony, 190 , Br. Robert, 143, 177 Frauncys, Br. William, 177 Frederick, King of Sicily, 162 Freywill, Br. William, 177 Frisby, Br. Roger, 115-18, 177-8 Frost, John, son of Richard, 218 Frysell, Br. William, 178 Fuller, Thomas, 53, m-12, 240 , Thomas (of Shelford), 252 Fyllyngham, Br. William, 178 Fyneham, Thomas, 66, 68, 130, 222, 251-2 Fyssher, Thomas, 248 Gaddlesmere, Sir Giles de, 65, 246 Gamlingay, 171 Garmyndelyn, Br. Thomas, 178 Gaunt, John of, 115, 150, 172 Gedeneye, R. de, 29 Genoa, province of, 100, 101, 162, 207 Germany, 82, 217; friars in, 4 Gernemuth, Br. William, 178-9 Ghent, Henry of, 165 Giffono, Br. Leonardo Rossi de, 101, 145, 178, 180 Giles, Br., 5 , Br. William, 180 Glastonbury, Abbot of, 166 Gloucester, Grey Friars at, 21; prior of S. Oswald's, I2on. Godewyk, John, 242 Goldsmith, William, 254 Goldyng, Br. James, 180 Gomez, Velasco, 219 Goodwyne, Richard, 257 Gorge, Br. Richard, 180 Gospeller, Laurence, 249 Gotte, Br. William, 180 Grantham, Grey Friars at, i n , 167, I75> 177, I9 8 Grathe, Br. Richard, 180 Greenwich, Grey Friars at, 200, 205 Gregory IX, 4 XI, 91, 162 Grenelane, John, 248 Grenesby, 34

Grenton, Br. Ralph de, 144, 180 Grethenham, Br. John de, 180 Grosseteste, Robert, Bishop of Lincoln, lectures at Oxford, 4, n , 12, 28; writings of, 57, 98-9, 131 Grymston, Br. Richard de, 144, 180 , Br. Thomas, 181 Gudfeld, Br. Walter, 181 Gudman, Br. Ralph, 181 Guldyn, Br. John, 181 Gyldart, Br. Thomas, 181 Gyne, William, 250 Hadisco, Br. Geoffrey de, 181 Hale, John, 248 Hales, Br. Alexander of, 27, 31, 178, 195 Halesworth, Br. Thomas, 181 Halstede, Br. John de, 181-2 Halton, Br. Richard de, 85, 100, 145, 182

Halvergate, 178 Halvesnahen, Br. Hubert de, 182 Hamburg, 126, 205 Hamond, John, 42, 47, 48, 51 Hampton, Br. Robert, 182 Hardeselle, Br. Thomas de, 71-4, 77, 182, 242-5 Hardwick, 155 Harington, Br. Thomas, 182 Harleston, Br. William de, 100, 145, 182 Harlington, 133, 224 Harryes, John, 247 Hartlepool, Grey Friars at, 80,172,188 Haslingfield, Stephen de, 35, 227-38 Hastings, Hugh de, 67, 161 Haswell, Warin de, 149 Hatley, 132, 171 Hautboys, Br. Humphrey de, 31, 144, 182-3 Hauxton, 159 Hawkeden, 132, 154 Hawkyn, William, 258 Heacham, Rector of, 56 Hebrew, study of, 98, 121, 156 Hedley, William, 51, 137-8 Heidonus, John, Carmelite, 190

269

INDEX Heinrici, Br. Nicholas, 82, 183 Hekeworth; see: Ickworth Helisaun, Br., 183, 244 Hemyngton, Br. Simon, 183, 198 Hengham, Br. John de (senior), 183 Br. John de (junior), 183 Henry III, 8-10, 15, 16, 29, 41, 43, 64, 6jn. 219 —— IV, 115-18, 178 VII, 151 VIII, 64, 124, 133, 134, 135, 151, 155, 200

Herbert, Br. William, 183-4 Hereford, cathedral of, 189; diocese of, 81, 87, 172, 20t; Grey Friars at, 124, 149, 169, 189, 210, lectors to 21 and n., 92, 169, 203; Warden of, 203 , Nicholas, 114-15 Herefordshire, 125, 152, 188 Herraer, John, 46, 65, 66, 249 Hervy, Br. Robert, 184 Hethe, Haymo of, Bishop of Rochester, 71 Heydon, 160 Heyne, Henry, 135, 260 Heynes, Thomas, 252 Heyroun, Br. Geoffrey, 33, 86, 144, 184 Hispania, Br. Thomas de, 6, 10, 143, 184 Hispanus, Br. Peter, 6 Holderness, 68 Holy Land, 186, 215 Horewode, William, 42 Hoveden, Br. Adam de, 33, 36-8, 8;, 95, 144, 184, 23° Howlyn, Thomas, 252 Huffington, Br., 184 Hugh, Br., 184-5, 219 Humphrey, Dr, i23n. Hunstanton, Br. Thomas de, 185 Huntingdon, 128; prior and convent of, 53n. Huntingdonshire, 260 Hurde, Br. Richard, 185 Hussebourne, Br. Simon de, 81, 86, 144, 185 Hychinton, Br. Henry de, 81, 145, 185

Hyndringham, Br. Thomas de, 144 185 Ickleton, 88 Ickworth, Br. Richard, 56, 60, 186 Imola, Bishop of, 83n. Ingoldsthorpe, Sir John, 65, 247 Ingworth, Br. Richard de, 5, 6n., 12, 143, 186 , Richard of, Bishop of Dover, 128 Innocent III, Pope, 1 IV, Pope, 84n. Insula, Richard de; see: Lisle Iolanda, Queen, 102 Ipswich, Prior and Convent of S. Peter at, 89n.; Grey Friars at, 13, 60, 76, 89, 186, 246; library of, 59, 212; Carmelites at, 55n. Br. John de (senior), 36n., 37, 186 , Br. John de (junior), 186 , Br. Robert de, 187 Ireland, Province of, 12, 175, 186 Irith, Br. Thomas, 187 Isgrym, Br. John, 187 Isleham, 177 Italy, 217

270

Jakeley, Br. Robert, 187 James II, King of Aragon, 148 John XXII, Pope, 94, 96 and n., 165 , Br., 143, 187 , a Spanish friar, 201 Josphef, lord John, 73, 243 Katerbagg, Roger Madekok, 243 Kell, Br. Ambrose, 187 Kellaw, Br. John, 80, 85, 100, 145, 187-8 , Br. Richard, 80, 85, 143,145,188 Kempe, Br. Roger, 188 Kent, Earl of, 139 Kersey, Thomas, 250 Keryche, William, 248 Kilkenny, William of, Bishop of Ely, 29-30 Knolle, Br. Walter de, 33, 81, 144, 188-9

INDEX Knollys, Br. Robert, 189 Kylburn, Br. Peter, 189 Kymberley, Br. J. de, 33, 144, 189 Kyng, William, 258 Kyningham, Thomas de, 37 Lackett, William, 255 Laing, William, 51, 137-8 Lainson, Br. Matthew, 189 Lake, Br. John, 76 Lakyngsham, Br. Robert, 189 Lambe, Br. John, 189 -, Richard, 257 Lamme, Br. John, 189, 242 Lammes, Br. Nicholas, 189-90 Lancaster, Duke of, 177 , Edmund Earl of, 52 Lane, Edward, 257

, J o n n . 2 5°

, Thomas, 252 Langham, Br., 190 , Br. Reginald, 190 Latimer, Hugh, I23n. Laund, Br. John, 190 Lavene, Br. John, 190 Lavenham, rector of, 56 Lavoro, Terra di, 101, 178 Legacies, friars and, 64-8,127-8, 246-58 Legar, Br. Walter, 191 Legat, Br. Robert, 191 Leicester, archdeaconry of, 86, 205; Grey Friars at, 116, 205, 213; Warden of, 116, 178, 180; lectors to, 21 and n. Codex, 58, 123, 242-; Leigh, William, 260 Leland, John, 57-8, 99, 131, 166 Lent, Br. John, 143, 191 Lenton, prior of, I2on. , William, 253 Lereringfot, Br. J.de,32,34,8o, 144,191 Letheringsett; see Lereringfot Leverington, Br. Martin, 71, 191, 242 Lewes, Grey Friars at, 15; church of, 46n.; lector to, 2in. , Prior of, I2on. Lichfield, Grey Friars at, 199; church of 44; cloister of, 48

Lilleford, Br. W. de, 86, 145, 191 Limitors, 68-70 Limpenho, Br. J. de, 33, 80, 144, 192 Lincoln, diocese of, 72, 86, 171, 184, 193, 205, 213, 216, 226; Bishop of, 84, 159, 162 , Grey Friars at, 6, 167 , Br. Adam of, 35n. Lisbon, friars at, 202 Lisle, Br. Richard, 37, 192 , Thomas de, Bishop of Ely, 46 Llandaff, Bishop of, 109 Loggan, David, 48 Lollards, 114-15 Lombard, Peter, 24 London, Bishop of, 88n.; diocese of, 200,204; rectors of, 86-7; churches of: Christ Church, 133, 150; S. Alban's, Wood St., 132, 162; S. Bartholomew's, 133, 150, S. Bride's, Fleet St., 161; S. Ethelburga's, 164; S. George, Botolph Lane, 214; S. Paul's Cross, 161; The Marshalsea, 133, 224; the Tower, 178 , Grey Friars at, 5, 22, 23, 40, 79, 132, 150, 153-4, 157, 161-2, 164, 168-9, 170, 173, 175-7, 181, 186, 191, 196, 199, 201, 207, 215, 221, 223; poverty of, 9; church of, 44; cloister of, 48; aqueduct of, 52; library of, 99, 152, 166; Warden of, 72, 48n., 124, 147, 152, 163, 181, 185, 193, 211; lector of, i2n., 21 and n., 91, 92, 159, 166, 200, 216 Lorkyn, Joan, 253 Lucas, Br, Nicholas, 192 Lucy, Countess of Oxford, 13 , Prioress of Hedingham, 13 Ludgershall, 216 Ludovicus, Br., 192 Lusitanus, Br. Antonius, 192 Luther, Martin, writings of, 123 and n., 124 Lydgate, John, 114 Lyndesey, Br. Richard, 192 Lyne, Richard, 42, 43, 48

271

INDEX Lyng, :6i Lynn, King's, citizens of, 73, 243; Grey Friars at, 13, 89, 129, 149, 172, 216, 248; church of, 47n.; Warden of, 154-5, 215 , Br. Eustace de, 193 -, Br. Reginald de, 193 -, Br. William de, 193 Lyons, General Chapter of, 106 Lyra, Nicholas de, 98, 197 Lywins, John, 71, 242 Maastricht, 217 Mablethorpe, Br. John, 67, 72, 80, 193, 2 43 Mackerell, Agnes, 46n. Maddele, Br. William de, 222 Madingley, 53 Manchester, John Rylands Library at, 99n., 166 Marcellus II, Pope, 57 March, Br. John de, 193 Marchal, Br. Edmund, 99, 144, 193 Mardisley, Br. John, 92 Markwell, Br., 194 Marseilles, friars at, 22 Marsh, Br. Adam, I3n., 29 and n., 147, M9. '97, 2°3. 2 2 2 , 22 5 Marshe, William, 254 Marston, 194 , Br. Roger de, 31-2, 91, 144, 194 Martin IV, Pope, 84n. , Nicholas, 243 Mary, Queen, 125, 133, 152, 200-1, 217 Mason, Roger, 65, 247 Massingham, Br. Geoffrey de, 72, 194, 243 , Br. Gilbert de, 194 , Br. William de (senior), 194 , Br. William de (junior), 194 Mathew, Br. William, 194-5 Maud, a nurse, 115, 150 Maunay, Sir William, 67-8, 87, 219 Mayler, Agnes, 255 , John, 256 Maynelin; see: Tinmouth, Br. John Mendham, Br. John, 58, 195 Mene, Br. William, 195

Menville, William, 67 Merker, Br. Peter, 76 Mersey, Br. John, 195 Merye, Br. James, 195 Meter, Br. Apollus, 195 Metz, friars at, 22 Milan, Franciscan school at, 101 Mildenhall, 132, 209 Milton, Br. W. de, 31, 144, 195 Minoresses; see: Clare, S., Order of Misericorde, Br. Henry, 6 Mitford, 167 Monk, Richard, 163 Montacute, Simon, Bishop of Ely, 85 Monte, Br. Sefrid de, 195 Montfort Codex, 126, 205 Montpellier, 100, 148 More, Br. J. de la, 196 Morgan, William, 177 Morle, John, 243 Morris, Br. William, 58, 196 Moulton, Great, 155 Mowte, Br. John, 196 Mungyer, Ralph, 163 Mylbourne, Br. Gilbert, 196 Myston, Br. John, 197 Nagy-Varad, friars at, 22 Nailleston, Br. Stephen de, 197 Narbonne, 96; friars at, 22; General Chapter at, 19 and n., 46, 54, 60, 70, 106 Narni, Bishop of, 100, 199 Necotone, Br. Geoffrey de, 56 Necton, 170 Netherlands, 82 Neville, Dr., Master of Trinity, 139 , Hugh de, 180 Newcastle-on-Tyne, Grey Friars at, 22, 129, 133,165,172; Custos of, 188, 192; Warden of, 167; lector to, 22n. Newnham, 17 Nicholas IV, Pope, 219 Normanville, Br. Eustace de, 30 and n., 3J> J 43. J 97 Northampton, Grey Friars at, 6, 21, 116, 158, 159, 186

272

INDEX North Creek, 219 Norton, Br. William, 67, 197 Norwich, 215; cathedral of, 219; Prior of, I2on.; S. Andrew's church at, 161; S. James' church at, 161; Dominican Friars at, 99m —. Grey Friars at, 6, 13, 21, 22, 88, 90, 130, 155, 157, 161, 191, 203, 208-9, 2I0 > 2 2 ° , 223> 24<>> 248; Warden of,8 9, 153, 160, 164, 196, 197; school of, 80, 89, 187; lectors at, 22n., 30 and n., 220 , John of, 88 , Br. Thomas de, 197 Nottingham, Grey Friars at, 116 , Br. John (senior), 197 ——, Br. John (junior), 198 , Br. William (senior), i3n., 16,

221-4, 24<5-7; grant to, 64; numbers at, 79; custody of, 84, 100; Wardens of, 159, 168, 175; lectors to, 11, 12,21, 30,31, 32,33, 81-2, 95, 102, 147, 157, 184, 194, 225; library of, 57 and n., 59, 122, 131 , Chapter of, 226 , Countess of, 13, 56 Palmer, Br. Robert, 198 , Br. William, 199 Parenti, Br. John, 4 Paris, 82, Dominicans at, 26-8 , University of, in., 4,10,22, 26-8, 35, 3 6 n -, 94, 1 2 2 , 2 3 2 , 237-8; Chancellor of, io2n., 166 , Grey Friars at, 4, 19, 25, 26-8,

222

98, 146, 154, 182, 195, 202, 222;

Custos of, 5; schools of, 23-4, 31, 35,91, 99, 102, 194 , Chapter of, 23 Observants, Friars, 151, 156, 200, 205 Parish Clergy, friars and the, 83-8 Ockham, Br. William of, 58, 96n. Parr, Katherine, 135 Odeham, Margaret, 65, 248 Parys, Br. Thomas, 199 Olivi, Jean Pierre, 106 Paston, family of, 124 O'Molony, Br. Cornelius, 145, 198 , Margaret, 160 Orkeney, Br. John, 198 Paston Letters, 220 Orleans, 192 Paull, Br. Robert, 199 Orynell, Henry, 256 Pecham, Br. John, Archbishop of Canterbury, 59 Osmonde, Br. John, 198 Overwarthone, Br. John de, 198 , Br. Gilbert, 86, 145, 199 Oxford, 1, 7, 251 , Br. William de, 143, 199 , University of, 1 and n, 22, 94, Pennis, Br. James de, 100, 145, 199 107-8,110,112-13,236; Chancellor Pepis, Margaret, 257 of, 11, 30,109,197; regent masters Percyval, Br. John, 199-200 of, 28, 109; faculty of theology, Peresch, Br. John, 92, 200 11-12,28-9, 35; library of, 57, 59, Peter, Br., 119, 200 122,187; and the Dominicans, 93; , Master, 28 and the Lollards, 114-15; Balliol Peterborough, Abbot of, I2on. College, 59; Canterbury College, Peverel, Br. John, 104 prior of, I2on; Corpus Christi Peyto, Edward, 200 College, 59, 187; Merton College, , Br. William, 200-1 Phelipus, Br. John, 59 173, X99 , Grey Friars at, 4, 5, 6, 19, 23, 25, Philippa, Queen, 67, 86n., 185, 212, 218 28-9, 40, 52, 91, 93, 99, 121, 129, 146, 154, 156, 158, 161-5, 167-9, Pickering, Br. John, O.P., 202 181-2, 186, 189, 192, 198, 202, Pictavensis, Br. William, 30, 31, 143, 21, 57, 147,

, Br. William (junior), 6m., 97

204-8, 211, 213-14, 216-17, 219,

273

INDEX Pigaz, Br. Ralph, 145, 201 Pisa, friars at, 22 , Br. Agnellus of, 4, 5, 10, 20, 28, 175, 186 , Br. Albert of, 10, 20-1, 3011. — , Br. Bartholomew of, 99, 100, 102, 146, 162

Pistoris, Br. Jasper, 201 , Br. Ludovicus, 201 Pittok, John, 41 Plumstede, Mary de, 243 , Br. Richard de, 201 , Br. Robert, 73-4, 201, 243, 245 Poitu; see: Pictavensis Pole, Reginald, H I Polsloe, nuns of, 87, 221 Pomaerde, Br. Philip, 201 Pontefract, 116 Porrytt, Br. George, 202 Portugal, Br. Thomas de, 102, 145, 202 Powell, John, 253 Prague, friars at, 22 Prato, Br. William de, 82 Preachers, Order of, 17, 25, 26-8, 29, 35-8, 64, 93, 99n., 227-38, 240, 247-58 Preaching, friars and, 86-7 Preston, Br. John, 202 Puckeridge, 69 Pykenham, Br. John de, 202 Qwykhope; see: Whytcops Ramsey, Abbot of, 12on. -—-, Br. Nicholas, 57, 58, 73, 202-3, 243, 244 Rankyn, Hugh, 65, 66, 253 Ravenna, 158 Ravingham, Br. Walter de, 31, 80, 144, 203

Raynold, John, 249 , William, 254 Reading, 1, 711. Reims, friars at, 22 Rendelisham, Br. John, 203 Renningham, Br. John de, 203 Reppis, Br. Richard de, 203 Reson, Robert, 254

Revyll, Richard, 254 Reynolds, Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, 86 Richard II, 115-16, 178 Richmond (Surrey), 200 Richmond (Yorks), deanery of, 188 (Yorks), Grey Friars at, Warden of, 207, church of, 47n; lectors to, 22n.

Ridley, Nicholas, i23n. , Robert, i23n. Rimini, friars at, 22 Ringstede, Br. John de, 36n., 203-4 , Br. Robert de, 204 Rippes, Br. Bartholomew de, 145, 204 Robegeren, Br. Otto, 204 Roby, Br., 204 Rochester, diocese of, 154,176-7,181-3, 186-7,193,197-8,203,206,209,214 214

, Prior of, 166 Rodnor, Br. Richard, 204 , Br. Thomas, 204 Roger, Thomas, 253 Rome, 1, 36, 57-8, 221 Romney, Grey Friars at, 246 Roston, Br. Robert de, 31, 144, 204 Rouen, friars at, 22 Rous, Gilbert, 171 Roy, Br. de 205 , Br. William, 126, 205, 211 Ruda, Peter de, 37 Rushbrook, Br. John, 205 Russell, Br. John (senior), 32, 144, 205-6 , Br. John (junior), 85 and n., 86 145, 206 , Br. John, of Stamford, 206 Rycks, Br. John, 206 Ryddene, Br. John, 115, 206 S. Alban's, Prior of, i2on. S. Amour, William of, 27m S. Asaph, Bishop of, 124, 173, 211, 224 S. Benet-at-Holme, Abbot of, I2on. S. Donnino, Gerard of, 27n. S. Edmund's, Br. William de, 206 S. George, Dame Anne, 255

274

INDEX S. George, Baldwin de, 242 S. Giles, John of, 26-7 S. Ives, Br. William de, 71, 206, 242 S. Osyth, Abbot of, i2on. S. Paul, John of, in. S. Pol, Marie de, 90, 104 Salamanca, friars at, 102, 192, 202 Salimbene of Parma, Br., 106 Salisbury, bishopric of, 200; Grey Friars at, 15, 32, 91, 156, 169, 225 Sanderson, Br. Robert, 207 Savay, Br. Robert, 207 Savona, Br. Laurentius Gulielmi de, 82n., 207

Savoy, Boniface of, Archbishop of Canterbury, 64, 246 Sawndford, Br. John, 207 Sawston, 74 , Marjorie de, 243 Sawkyns, Br. Thomas, 207 Saxlingham, Br. Peter de, 97, 148, 208 , Br. Simon de, 144, 208 Sealers, family of, 74, 243 , Lady Amice de, 71, 72n., 73, 242, 244 Scarborough, Grey Friars at, 76; Warden of, 208 Schaffe, Br. Richard, 208 Scherwid, William, 242 Scherwyn, Br. Henry, 208 Sclater, Br. Thomas, 208 Scott, Thomas, 254 , Br. Thomas, 130, 132, 208-9 Scotus; see: Duns Scotus, Br. John Scryner, Br. Nicholas, 209 Seggeford, Br. Thomas de, 209 Segrave, Stephen, 37 Seller, Br. John, 163 Send, Br. Thomas, 209 Sennow, Br., 209 Seschalers; see: Sealers Seyer, Br., 209 Seynio, Br. John, 209 Seyntwary, John, 250 Shottesham S. Martin, 155 Shrewsbury, Abbot of, I2on; bailiffs of, 173; Warden of Grey Friars at, '73

Sicily, 100. See also: Cicilia. Sidbright, Br. George, 209 Siena, Franciscan school at, 101 Siliden, Br. Richard, 210 Simonis, Br. Ludovicus, 210 Simons, Rodolph, 240 Sirleto, Cardinal, 57 Sloler, Br. Richard de, 144, 210 Smith, John, 258 , Walter, 248 Smithfield, 161 Smyth, Br. Richard, 210 Snoring, Br. Roger de, 86n., 210 Southampton, Grey Friars at, 15; lectors to, 22n. Southery, 170 Southwark, Br. Richard de, 32, 34 and n., 144, 210

Sowton, 152 Springwell, Br. John, 210-11 Stakyn, Alice, 255 Stalham, Br. Bartholomew de, 32, 144, 211

Stamford, Grey Friars at, 22, 116, I29n., 160, 177, 210. 223 Standish Br. Henry, 124, 205, 211 Stanle, Br. John de, 211 Stanton, Br. Robert de, 212 Stanway, Br. Oliver, 56, 58, 60 and n., 212

Staunton, Br. John de, 212 , Br. William, 86, 145, 212-13 Staynesam, Br. Henry, 213 Stephen, an English friar, 106 , Br., 213 Stevyson, William, 255 Steward, Thomas, 258 Stockfold, anchoress of, 171 Stoneley, Prior of, I2on. Stouemerchet, Br. Stephen de, 213 Stowe, Br. Walter de, 100, 145, 213 Stralen, Br. John, 213 Strasburg, 82, 101, 148, 205 Stratton, Br. Robert, 213 Stretsham, Br. Henry, 213-14 Studentes de debito, 20 Studentes de gracia, 20 Stunstede, Br. Simon, 214

275

INDEX Tranto, Br. John de, 217, 218 Tressell, Br. James, 217 Trillek, Br. Richard de, 144, 217 Trilly, Br. Denis, 217 Trorette, Br. John, 217, 218 Trumpeton, William de, 246 Trumpington, 105 . Br. Thomas (senior), 58, 59, 90, 156, 218 , Br. Thomas (junior), 218 Trussebot, Br. John, O.P., 34, 183, 191 Tudington, Br. Geoffrey de, 32, 144,

Suddon, Br. Adam de, 214 Suffolk, Margaret, Countess of, 211 Sussex, Frances, Countess of, 139 Sutton, Br. Henry de, 214 , Br. Robert, 86n., 214 , Br. William de, 214 Swaffham, 170 Swaffham Bulbeck, vicar of, 65 Swayn, William, 255 Swinfield, Richard, Bishop of Hereford, 33> l 8 9 Switzerland, 217 Swynborne, Br. William, 143, 214 Symond, Nicholas, 46, 66, 258

218

Tailour, Thomas, 255 Talbot, Br., 120, 215 Taylor, Br. John; see: Cardmaker , Br. Luke, 132, 215 , William, 169, 205 Templars, 185 Temple, Br. Richard de, 33, 144, 215 Thirlby, Thomas, Bishop of Westminster, 134 Thirlowe, Nicholas, 252 Thixtill, Joan, 215 Thorney, Sir John, 25 5 Thornham, Br. Robert de, 13, 143, 215 Thorpe, 161 Thresher, Agnes, 255 , Robert, 257 Throckmorton, Elizabeth, 6jn. , Sir Robert, 65 and n., 66, 250 Throgmorton, Br. Nicholas de, 65 n. Thurbane, Br. William, 132, 215 Thyxtill, Br., 215 Tinmouth, Br. John, 216 Tivetshall, rector of, 56 Todi, friars at, 22 Tolomeis, James de, 100, 199 Toly, Br. William, 92, 216 Tomson, Br. Thomas, 216 Torrington, Br. John, 216 Toryton, Br. Philip, 182, 217 Totyngam, Br. Thomas de, 224 Toulouse, 233 Tracy, Richard, 125 Traheron Br. Bartholomew, 125-6, 217

Tulkyngton, Br. Thomas de, 218-9 Turin, 162 Turtyll, John, 252 Tyburn, 117 Tyndale, William, 126, 205 Tythemarsh, Br. William, 68, 87, 100, 145, 219 Ufford, Br. Thomas, 219 Ugolino; see: Gregory IX Underwood, Br. John, 219 , William, 219 Universities; see: Bologna, Cambridge, Oxford, Paris Urban V, Pope, 109-10 Utrecht, 217 Vatican Library, 57-8, 195, 196 Veesey, Henry, 65, 249 Velascus, Br., 219 Venice, 200; Chapter General of, 94 Vergraunt, Br., 143, 220 Via, Br. Otto de, 220 Vincent, Br. John, 130, 220 Viterbo, Mark of, 101 Volterra, Gabriel de, 101 Wagas, Br. Radulphus, 82, 220 Wake, Blanche de, 87, 177 , Thomas de, 212 Walden, Abbot of, I2on. Wales, Thomas of, 28 Walpole, Ralph de, 34 , rector of, 171

276

INDEX Walsham, Br. Geoffrey, 220 ——, Br. John de, 86n., 89, 100 145, 220

, Br. Roger, 71, 221, 242, 244 Walsingham, Prior of, I2on.; Austin Canons of, 8<}n. , Grey Friars at, 89 and n; cloister of, 48; library of, 57 Waltham, Abbot of, i2on. Walton-on-Thames, 168 Warden, Margaret, 254 Ware, Grey Friars at, 69 , Br. William of, 192 Warner, Br. John, 221 Warter, Lady, 244 Warwickshire, 200 Wately, Br. J. de, 87, 144, 221 Waterbeach, Minoresses of, 90, 104; Abbess of, 53n. Watson, John, i23n. Watton, Prior of, I2on. Wattys, Br. William, 221 Well, Br. Robert, 221 Wells, Chancellor of, 161 , Alan of, 246 Welton, Gilbert, Bishop of Carlisle, 87n. Wesenham, Br. Henry de, 222 Wesham, Roger de, 28 Westerfield, John de, 37 Westminster, 217; Abbot of, I2on; Bishop of, 134 Weston, Br. John de, i2n., 31, 143, 201, 222

Weting, Br. John de, 71, 73-4, 85, 222, 242-4 Whight, Br. Robert, 68, 129-30, 222,

Wighton, John, 249 Wileford, William de, I2n. Willesmere, Richard, 254 Willymot, John, 53 Winchelsea, Grey Friars at, 15 Winchester, diocese of, 86, 182, 184-5, 206, 214; Bishop of, 88n., 214, 221

, Grey Friars of, 67n., 159, 176, 199, 216; church of, 46n; Warden of, 214; lectors to, 22n. Wingfield, 155 Wolsey, Cardinal, 124, 205, 211 Wood, Br. Thomas, 133, 224 Worcester, 88; diocese of, 81, 185, 189; Bishop of, 88n., 161 , Grey Friars at, 65n., 171, 197; lectors to, 22n. Worstede, Br. Robert de, 32, 34 and n., 80, 144, 224 Wright, John, 256 Wrotham, 215 Wyclif, John, 112-13, 114-15, 177, 178, 206

Wyghtone, Br. Geoffrey de, 6on. Wyken, Br. John, 224 Wymbotsham, Br. John de, 224 , Br. Thomas de, 224 Wynbourne, Br. W. de, 31, 144, 225 Yarmouth, friars at, 89, 186 York, 65; Archbishop of, 188; diocese of, 85n., 86, 146, 182, 188, 193, 195; S. Mary's Abbey, prior of, i2on; Gild of Corpus Christi at, 208; Austin Friars of, 55, 57 , Grey Friars at, 67, 76, 150, 153, 158, 172, 175, 197, 202, 208, 214;

251-2

White, Br. William, 129, 133, 143, 222-3

Whytcops, Br. Richard, 223 Wiburn, Br. Walter, 225 Wicet, Br. Nicholas, 223 Wicford, Br. Thomas, 223 Wichingham, Br. John, 223-4

lectors to, 22n. Yoton, Br. John, 225 Yoxford, Br. Geoffrey, 190 Yrby, Br. John de, 188 Yrtone, Br. Robert de, 144, 225-6 Zouch, Br. John la, 226

277