The Historians of Scottish Monasticism Have Not Been Able to Throw Much Light on the History of the Hospital of St Germains in E
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TH1 E37 HOSPITA GEEMAINST S F LO . I. HOSPITAE TH GERMAINT S P LO EASN SI T LOTHIAE TH D NAN BETHLBHEMITES. BY EGEBTON BECK, F.S.A. SCOT. The historian Scottisf o s h monasticism hav t beeeno n abl throo et w much light on the history of the hospital of St Germains in East Lothian. Spottiswood could only1 giv referenca e e Ragmath o t e n Rolls showin existencn i s g thawa 1296,t n i tei Walcotd 2an t contents himself 3 with a quotation from Chalmers to the effect that it was founde twelfte th n di h century 4—a statement waye whicr th y fo , b , h no authority is given. There are, however, some fifteenth-century document e Vaticath n i sn archives 5 whic d somewhar ad h ou o t t knowledge, showing thes a , tha, hospitae ydo th t connecte s wa l d with f Bethlehemo e se s serve ordee n d thawa a th an canon,t f y i drto b s regular whose presenc Scotlann ei hitherts dha o escaped notice. The earliest of these documents is a petition of Robert, duke of Albany, addressed in 1410 to the antipope Benedict XIII.,6 " on behalf of Richar Maritone dd , cano f Sconehospitane o th t Germar S fo f , o l n diocese th t Andrews S n i f eo sterlingd , valuol 0 e£5 , givewone b o nt bishoe byth Bethlehef o p mclerko t s crossd bearinre e , th gvoi y db reason that Roge Edinburge d r notorioua h s 7i s schismatic, notwith- 1 Account of all the Rdigious Houses that were in Scotland, at p. 290 (printed in Keith's Catalogue of the Bishops, Edinburgh, 1755). e Instrumentsth 2f o Thi 4 s13 wil . foune p b PiiJblica,l n o d publishee th y db Bannatyne Club (1834). 3 Walcott, Scoti-Monasticon (London, 1874) . 390p , . 4 Chalmers, Caledonia, ii. 510 (new edition, iv. 510). x havSi 5 e been entere e Calendarth n i d of Papal Documents relating Greato t Britain, published by the Record Office: two of these are in the Calendar of Petitions Pope,e th othere o e Calendart th th n si of Papal Letters. 6 Petitions, vol. xcix. (13-16 Benedict XIII., antipope), f. 208d; in Calendar of Petitions, . 639i . 7entrie o Calendare Thertw th e n si e ar of Petitions relatin Rogea o g t Edin e rd - burgh, presumably the same. In a roll of petitions presented in 1394, " on the 2 37 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , APEI , 191110 L . standing that Henr e Ramsad y y unlawfully holds it." This wa s granted ; but in the following year Benedict was asked to reverse his decisio Ramsayy n b describes i o ,wh noblf "s do a e birth, masted an r rector of the Augustinian hospital of St German of the Star of Bethle- hem.' ' His statement of facts sets out that " whereas the said hospital, then void by the death of John Rollok, papal chaplain, was given to firs m authority b hi t ordinare th f y o thed papay an n b l authorityn o , e deprivatioth f Rogeo n e Edinburgd r a schismatic, d whereaan , s Roger de Mariton, by virtue of a surreptitious grant, obtained by false statement, is maliciously litigating about the same before Thomas de Karnis, officia t AndrewsS f o l pope th , prayes ei commio dt cause th t e to John Garsie, papal auditor, so that the hospital, whose value is £54, may be given to the said Henry."1 This petition also was granted ; but as to the result of the litigation I know nothing. A quarter of a century later there was another dispute in regard to the hospital. This time the litigants were Dominic, bishop of Bethle- hem, on the one hand, and, on the other, two clerks of the diocese of St Andrews, Patrick Rode and Archibald Laurencii by name. The bishop had obtained a decision in his favour ; but fearing that, while the cause had been pending, others might have intruded themselves, in 143 petitionee 5h pope d th enforco et petitios rightss hi ehi n I n. he set out the facts which, in the Calendar,2 are summarised as follows : (1) A dispute had arisen between him and the two clerks about the hospital. The bishop claimed that it belonged to his episcopal mensa ; the others that it belonged to them ; Patrick alleging that it was wont eare parCaithnessf th o l f o t , lor Breohif do brothed kine nan th Scotland,f gf o ro " entre ith s y: " Roge Edynburche d r , priest noblf o , e birth kin,e akif th go o nt Scotland for a canonry of Rouen with expectation of a prebend. Granted 3 Id. Oct. an. 1. Ad vacatura post 10 Kal. Jul. an. 9 " (Col. Pet., i. 620). And in 1403 he is found petitioning for a benefice in the gift of the bishop and chapter of Aberdeen. grantes wa Thi o dsto (Col. Pet., . 629)i . Petitions,1 vol. Ixxxviii. (13-25 Benedict XIII., antipope) 167d-; Cat. Petitions, i. 599. 2 Lat. Beg., cccxxiii . 132df . ; Gal. Papal Lett., viii. 488, 489. THE HOSPITAL OP ST GEEMAINS. 373 to be assigned as a perpetual benefice, and that it had been collated to him by the ordinary on its voidance by the death of Richard Langland. presene (2Th ) t pope [Eugenius IV.] committe cause dth e (althougt hi devolvew la Romae y th b o dt hat n dno court Joho t ) n [bishop] elect of Leon, then papal auditor. Whil cause pendings eth ewa , Patrick, the possessionn ni , resigne pope Th pope e ) l righ theth dal (3 o .t tn ordere e auditoth d o surrogatt r e saio makt th ed d bishoean , to p collation and provision to him of, Patrick's said right, to admit him same th eo t possessio Patricks na hadmoreoved an , n i grano t r m hi t commendam the hospital itself to hold as long as he should be bishop of Bethlehem. (4) Archibald had prevented the said mandate from taking saieffecte dTh audito. definitiva y b r e sentence declaree dth said mandate to be canonical, granting the said hospital in commendam to the said bishop, Archibald to have no right in or to it; inducted the said bishop ; and imposed perpetual silence on Archibald, condemning hi costsmn i , whic afterwarde hh s assesse t twenty-twda o gold florins, of the camera. The pope issued his mandate to the officials of Mirepoix and Brechi Joho t e Messaned nd nan , cano f Glasgowo n , ordering them " to induct the said bishop or his proctor, removing unlawful detainer d causinan , g satisfactio n respec i e mad b m f o o hi et tn the fruits and the costs, and to execute these presents against any intruders, as regards possession only of the said hospital, as e saith ifd sentenc d beeha e n delivered against them, invoking seculae th f o r d tharmai e , etc." l This mandate was issued on 15th January 1435 ; on 23rd May, next following bishope proctos th , hi y b , r Henry Rynde, cano Caithnessf no , resigned his claim to the hospital, the sentence given in his favour not having been executed. The pope thereupon issued two mandates to the official of Brechin in favour of Patrick Piote [? Rode]. By one he ordered tha shoule h t receivee db dcanoa brothe"s d a nan e th r f "o 1 Lai. Reg., ccoxxiii. f. 132d; Col. Papal Lett., viii. 488, 489. 374 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, APRIL 10, 1911. hospita thad officiae an lth t l should receiv regulas ehi r profession ;l othee byth r that, after Patric beed kha n receive d brothea s ha d a d ran mad s professionhi e , the hospital shoul collatee b d t o him.t d Bu 2 Archibald Laurencii woul t abandono d s claim hi e nprevente H . d collation, and once more the cause was taken to Rome,3 to be again decided in Patrick's favour. On 5th November 1437 Eugenius IV. issue dmandata bishoe th o Morayf et p o abboe th ,e Cuparf th o t d an , archdeaco f Hainaulto n 4 ordering the mo induct t Patrico t d an k cause satisfactio made b o net him.5 Wer furtheo en r evidence forthcoming, these documents woult dno leave much doubt as to there having been some connexion between St Germains and the church of Bethlehem. There is more evidence; but that it may be properly appreciated something must first be said of the bishops of Bethlehem and their chapter. The cardinal Jame Vitry,f so thirteenth-centur6a y prelate, tell 7s su that the see of Bethlehem was, with the consent of the pope, Paschal II., erected by Baldwin, the first Latin king of Jerusalem. The bishop was a suffragan of the patriarch of Jerusalem ; but in later times, when the patriarchate had become a titular dignity, he was immedi- ately subjece Romath o t tn e Latinsee.Th 8 s were expelled from Bethlehe e Saracenth y e mbishopb th n 1266i s t bu s, maintaineda Lat.1 Beg., cccxxxiv . 156f . ; Col. Pa-pal Lett., viii. 567. 2 Lat. Reg., cccxxxiv . 154df . ; Gal. Papal Lett., viii.