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Injunctions of John Longland, Bishop of Lincoln, to Certain Monasteries in His Diocese

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Injunctions of John Longland, Bishop of Lincoln, to Certain Monasteries in His Diocese III.—Injunctions of John Longland, Bishop of Lincoln, to certain Monasteries in his Diocese. Communicated by EDWARD PEACOCK, Esq. F.S.A., in a Letter to C. KNIGHT WATSON, Esq. Secretary. Read February 13, 1879. Bottesford Manor, Brigg, 31 December, 1878. DEAR MR. WATSON, The accompanying documents, which have been transcribed from the register of John Longland, who was Bishop of Lincoln from 5 May 1521 until 7 May 1547," will not, I think, be without interest for some of our Fellows, throwing as they do a clear though but feeble light on the manner of life in certain monastic houses immediately before the Dissolution. In case you agree with me in this, I shall be obliged to you if you will read them at any meeting of the Society when it may be convenient for you to do so. I am indebted for the transcript from which my copy is taken to the Reverend A. H. Maddison, M.A., F.S.A. Believe me, dear Mr. Watson, most truly yours, EDWARD PEACOCK. To C. Knight Watson, Esq. Sec. Soc. Ant. Elstow, Elnstow, or Helenstow, was a Benedictine nunnery near Bedford, founded in the reign of William I. by Judith, wife of Waltheof, Earl of Huntingdon, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity, our Lady, and Saint Helen. A very imperfect list of the abbesses of this house may be seen in the JHonasticon.h a Le Xeve and Hard}-, Fasti Eccl. Angl. ii. 21. b iii. 411. VOL. XLVII. H 50 Injunctions of John Longland, Bishop of Lincoln. We find Elizabeth Starkey succeeding in 1529, and Elizabeth Boyvill in 1530. That Elizabeth Boyvill was the last head of this house seems certain from the fact that she was the person who surrendered it on the 27th August, 31 Henry VIII., 1539, and her name as abbess occurs in the list of pensions. " Dame Katheryne Wingate the ladye abbesse her chapleyn " was a nun in the house at the time of the Dissolution, and had a pension of 21. 13*. 4id. granted to her.a Stodely or Studley, a Benedictine nunnery in the parish of Beckley, Oxford- shire, was founded in the reign of Henry II. by Bernard de Saint Walery in honour of our Lady.b There are no means of identifying the prioress to whom these injunctions were directed. Alice Whygill was elected to that post on the 20th December 1529. It is not improbable that she may have been the person to whom they were addressed, and that Marten Whighill, who is described as not being a "prouffitable seruante," and putting the house in "many wayes to hinderaunce," may have been a kinsman of hers. Nun Cottam, Cottum, Cotton, or Cotham, in Lincolnshire, in the parish of Keel by, not far from Grimsby, was founded in the reign of Henry I. or Stephen by Alan de Munceaux. Johanna Tompson, the last prioress, relatives of whom are mentioned in these injunctions, was the person to whom they were addressed. She had a pension of 61. after the Dissolution.0 "We learn, by a letter from Dr. John London to Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, that he took the surrender of this nunnery at about the same time with those of the Lincolnshire monastic houses of Kyme, Irford, Posse, and Heynings. The custody of the house and records was given to a member of the Lincolnshire family of Skipwith.d Missenden Abbey was a house of Augustinian canons in Buckinghamshire, founded, as some say, by Sir William de Missenden in 1133, or, according to another authority, by one of the d'Oyley family. The former statement is in all probability the correct one.' The date of these injunctions shows that they were addressed to the last abbot, John Otewell or Westwick, who succeeded on the death of John Fox in 1528, and who was pensioned after the Dissolution. It is a strong evidence of the decay of monastic discipline that an important house of a learned order like that of the Au°;ustinians should have elected as its ruler a o a Mon. Ang. iii. 415. b Ibid. iv. 218. c Ibid. v. 675. d Tho. Wright, F.S.A. Suppression of the Monasteries (Camd. Hoc), 21-i. c Mon. Aug. vi. 547. Pro. Soc. Ant. 2nd Series, vi. 26G. Injunctions of John Longland, Bishop of Lincoln. 51 man with whom it was necessary for his bishop to communicate in " our vulgare Englishe" on account of his ignorance. Otewell was probably one of those whose views were in accord with the teaching of the Reformers, for we learn from his will, dated 1558, referred to in the Monasticon, that he made his wife Margaret sole executrix, and left legacies to his son Samuel and his daughter Lettice. [INJUNCTIONS TO VLNESTOWE.] John Longlond by the sufferaunce of god bishope of Lincoln to our wel- beloued susters in charite the abbesse and covent of Vlnestowe of our dioces of lincoln sendeth greting grace and our blessing and forasmoche as in our ordynarye visitation of late exercised within that monasterye diuerse thinges appered and were detected worthy reformacon we therefore, for the honour of god, and redresse off the same and mayntenaunce of good religion ther, send to you thies Inunctons folowing whiche we will and commande you to kepe undre the paynes ensewing. ffirste forasmoche as the very ordre off sainct benedicte his rules ar nott ther obserued in keping the ffratrye att meale tymes, where the susters shuld be aswell fedde spiritually with holy scripture as bodyly with meate, butt customably they resorte to certayn places within the monasterye called the householdes, where moche insolncy is use contrarye to the good rules of the said religion by reason of resorte of seculars both men women and children, and many other inconvenyents hath thereby ensewed, In consideracon whereof and for that we will the said religion to prospere according unto the foundacon of the house, and the rules of the same, we inioyne and straytely commaunde undre the payne of disobedyence that ye lady abbesse and your successours see that noo suche house- holdes be then kepte frome hensforth butt oonly oon place which shalbe called the mysericorde where shalbe oon sadde lady of the eldest sorte ouersear and maistres to all the residue that thidre shall resorte, whiche in nombre shall nott passe fyve att the uttermoost, besides ther said ladye ouersear or maistres and those fyve wekely to chaunge and soo all the covent have kepte the same, and they agen to begynne and the said gouernour and ouersear of them contynally to contynue in thatt roome by the space of oon quarter of a yere, and soo quarterly to chaunge att the nominacon and plesure of the ladye abbesse for the tyme being. H2 52 Injunctions of John Longland, Bishop of Lincoln. Ouer this itt is ordered undre the said payne and Iniunction that the ladye abbesse haue no moo susters from hensforth in hir householde butt oonly foure with hir chapleyn and likewise wekely to chaunge till they haue goon by course thrugh the hole nomber off susters, and soo a3en to begynne and contynue. And we will and chardge undre lik payne that all the sayd ladyes bothe off the abbesse side and of the misericorde doo obserue and kepe the quere att matens, masse, and all other dyvyne seruice, as those that be called the cloystrers without ther be any lawfull impedyment, and that noo ladye of the said twoo places remayne longer in eny of the same, then halff houre after seven of the clock att night and that noo man, preeste ne other, come into the said place called the misericorde without speciall lycence of the lady abbesse for the tyme being, and yett thes to make noo long aboode nether ther to be without honest testymonye of his or ther honeste conuersacon, and this the lydye abbesse to see obserued and kepte undre the payne off contemte, and all the residue of the ladyes daily to sitt in the ffratrye according unto ther rules att ther meales. And forasmoche as the more secrete religious persones be kepte from the sight and visage of the world and straungers the more close and entyer ther mynd and deuocon shalbe unto god, we ordeyn and Inioyne to the lady abbesse that before the natiuyte of our lorde next ensewing she cause a doore with twoo leves to be made and sett upp att the lower ende off the quere, and that doore to be fyve foote in hight att the ieaste, and contynually to stand sbitt the tymes off dyvyne seruice excepte itt be att comming in or out off eny off the ladyes and mynystres off the said churche. And under lik payne as is afore we chardge the said ladye abbesse that she cause the doore betwene the covent and the parishe churche contynually to be shitt unles itt be oonly the tymes of dyvyne service, and likewise she cause the cloistre door towardes the outtward court to be continually shitt unles itt be att suche tymes as eny necessaryes for the covent shalbe brought in or borne out att the same, and that she suffre noo other back doures to be opened butt upon necessarye grett and urgent causes by her approved. Also we Injoyne to the said ladye abbesse that suche reparacons as be neces- sarye in and upon the buildinges within the said monasterye, and other houses, tenements and fearmes thereto belonging, be suffycyently doon and made within the space of oon yere immedyately after the date of thies iniuncons.
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