YORK CLERGY ORDINATIONS 1500-1509 compiled by Claire Cross Borthwick List and Index 30 2001 0 University of York, 2001 ISBN 0-90385783-9 CON IENTS Introduction iii Abbreviations v Alphabetical Register of Ordinands 1500-1509 Table of York Clergy Ordinations 1500-1509 292 Index 302 111 INTRODUCTION An extraordinary number of men presented themselves for ordination at York in the first ten years of the sixteenth century, most probably more than had ever done so before, certainly more than were ever to do so again.' The flood reached its peak in 1508 when a total of 446, 83 regulars and 363 seculars, were admitted to the priesthood, which in its turn contributed to a figure in excess of 2,700 for the decade as a whole. Since alongside these priests similar numbers were entering the three preceding orders of acolyte, subdeacon and deacon, there were nearly always well over a hundred and usually approaching 200 candidates at every ceremony, with the number rising to 250 on 21 September 1504, 302 on 18 March 1507/8,333 on 8 April 1508 and 353 on 23 September in the same year. The average number of secular priests being ordained annually at York for the nine years of this decade for which the full figures are available is 224. Historians have noted similar, though not quite so remarkable, numbers in other dioceses. At Coventry and Lichfield, during the twenty-seven year episcopate of Geoffrey Blythe, 1503-1531, an average of 167 secular priests were ordained each year; at Lincoln, the see most nearly comparable to York, during Atwater's episcopate, 1514-21, the average number of secular priests ordained was 172.2 It had long been customary at York to hold ordinations not only on the four chief Ember Days, that is on the first Saturday in Lent, on the Saturday before Trinity Sunday, on the Saturday after the exaltation of the Holy Cross on 14 September, and on the Saturday after the feast of St Lucy on 13 December, but also on two other dates in Lent, the Saturday before Passion Sunday and that before Easter day. The archbishops of York during this decade never performed ordinations in person, delegating their responsibilities to deputies, usually suffi-agan bishops, to William Egremond, bishop of Dromore between 1500 and 1501, briefly to William Senhouse, bishop of Carlisle in 1502, and late in 1502 until the end of 1509 to John Hatton, bishop of Negropont. The ceremonies rotated around the York churches capable of accommodating the very large numbers involved, the Minster itself, the four friary churches and more occasionally Holy Trinity priory. One ceremony was held in the chapel by St Mary's abbey, one at Bishopthorpe, and only one, at Tadcaster, at any distance from the city. Records for the period seem pretty well complete. There may perhaps be a gap in 1502, as only one Lent ordination has been entered in the registers instead of the customary three, and the subsequent removal of the lower part of folios 104 and 105 in Abp. Reg. 26 means that significant numbers of names are certainly missing for the two ordination ceremonies which took place in September and December 1509. The registrar on a candidate's first appearance for ordination as an acolyte set down his place of origin, but if he proceeded at a later date to the orders of subdeacon, deacon and priest Jo Ann Hoeppner Moran, 'Clerical Recruitment in the Diocese of York, 1340-1530: Data and Commentary', Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 34 (1984), pp. 19-54 2 T. Cooper, The last Generation of English Catholic Clergy: Parish Priests in the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield in the Early Sixteenth Century (Woodbridge, 1999), esp. chpt. 1; M. Bowker, The Henrician Reformation: the Diocese ofLincoln under John Longland 1521-1547 (Cambridge, 1981), p. 40; V. Davis, 'Rivals for Ministry? Ordinations of Secular and Regular Clergy in Southern England c. 1300-1500', Studies in Church History, 26 (1989), pp. 99-109; R. N. Swanson, Church and Society in late Medieval England (Oxford, 1989). iv usually only gave his title, which by the early sixteenth century was almost invariably a monastic one. As has proved to be the case in other dioceses, small and obscure nunneries, such as Marrick, Nun Monkton, Moxby, Arthington and Esholt, were providing a quite disproportionate number of titles and the great and well endowed abbeys of St Mary's, York, and Whitby or Guisborough priory relatively few which lends weight to the theory that revenue derived from granting a formal assurance of future maintenance may well have contributed an additional source of revenue for inadequately endowed houses. It is rather less likely, however, that these tiny Yorkshire nunneries possessed the resources to carry out a preliminary scrutiny of the moral, educational and financial credentials of prospective ordinands as has also sometimes been suggested. The relatively small pool of male Christian names current at this time, and the fact that so many surnames were either patronymics or toponymics, produced a considerable number of individuals with identical names and this has increased the difficulty of linking acolytes to subdeacons, deacons, and priests. Wills when they survive point to the essential localism of clergy in this period, a man taking his title from the monastery near where he had been born, and then often going on to minister in this same area until he died. Consequently, when choices have had to be made, an ordinand has been allocated the title of a monastic house nearest to where he previously lived. The spelling of both Christian names and place names has been modernised, and errors may well also have occurred in this respect, especially over locations. Particularly dubious identifications have been indicated by a question mark. The diocese or county in which a location is situated only appears in the text if given in the registers. Claire Cross Centre for Medieval Studies The King's Manor York April 2001 ABBREVIATIONS a. abbey Abp.Reg. Archbishop's Register (at the Borthwick Institute) acol. acolyte adcn. archdeaconry Aug. Augustinian bp bishop Br. brother (frater) C. curate of Cann. Carmelite cath. cathedral ch. church chant. chantry chart. charterhouse coll, collegiate en canon d. diocese dcn deacon Dom. Dominican f. fellow fr. friar Fran. Franciscan fshp fellowship hosp. hospital if. junior let. dim. letters dimissory mk monk Mr magister minister n. mumery Obs. Observant p. priory par. parson; parish pat. patrimony pr. priest preb. prebend; prebendary R. rector of schrnr schoolmaster scol. scolar sede vac. sede vacante Sede Vac. Reg. Sede Vacante Register (at the Borthwick Institute) Sr. senior St. student subd. subdeacon tie title Trin. Trimtarian V. Vicar of v. chor. vicar choral YORK CLERGY ORDINATIONS 1500-1509 ABBOT, ABBOTT ABBOT, ABBOT, Henry of Pontefract acol. York 29 May 1507, subd. York 8 Ap. 1508, dcn York 22 Ap. 1508, pr. York 17 June 1508; tie Wilberfoss n. (Abp.Reg. 25 f 140r, Sede Vac.Reg. 5A ff.590v,595r,600r) ABBOT, ABBOTT, Nicholas of Howden acol. York 1 Ap. 1503, subd. York 23 Sept. 1503, dcn York 23 Sept. 1503, pr. York 1504; tie Nun Cotham n. (Abp. Reg 25 ff.116v,120r,121r,124r) ABBOTT, Thomas of Howden acol. York 19 Dec. 1500, dcn York 10 June 1503, pr. York 23 Dec. 1503; tie Drax p. (Sede Vac.Reg. 5A f 529v, Abp.Reg. 25 ff.119r,121v) ABDE, Edmund of Campsall subd. York 23 Sept. 1508, dcn York 23 Dec. 1508, pr. York 3 Mar. 1508/9; tie Holy Trinity p., York (Sede Vac.Reg. 5A f602r, Abp.Reg. 26 ff.99v,101r) ACCLAME, ACLAM, William of Bridlington acol. York 23 Sept. 1508, subd. York 16 Mar 1509/10, dcn York 31 Mar 1510, pr. York 18 Dec. 1512; tle Arthington n. (Sede Vac.Reg. 5A f601v, Abp.Reg. 26 ff106v,107v,121v) ACLAM, see ACCLAME ACREG, ACRIG, AKRIG, ASKERIG AKRIG, ASKERIG, Br. Robert canon of Easby a., subd. York 28 Mar. 1506, den York 6 June 1506, pr. York 29 May 1507 (Abp.Reg. 25 fE132v,134v,141r) ACREG, ACRIG, Thomas of Ripon acol. York 20 Mar. 1506/7, subd. York 8 Ap. 1508, dcn York 22 Ap. 1508, pr. York 23 Sept. 1508; tie Healaugh p. (Abp.Reg. 25 f 138v, Sede Vac.Reg. 5A ff.590v, 595r, 604v) ACRES, AICERS, AKYRS, John BA, of Yarm acol. York 18 Mar. 1507/8, subd. York 8 Ap. 1508, pr. York 17 June 1508; tle Greatham hosp. (Sede Vac.Reg. 5A fr585v, 590v, 600r) ACRIG, see ACREG ADAM ADAM, Christopher of Pontefract acol. York 7 Mar. 1505/6, subd. York 28 Mar. 1506, dcn York 6 June 1506, pr. Tadcaster 19 Sept. 1506; tle Pontefract p. (Abp.Reg. 25 ff.131v,132v,134v, 136r) ADAM, John of Lincoln d. by let.dim. subd. York 13 June 1500, dcn York 19 Sept. 1500, pr. York 19 Dec. 1500; tie Newbo a. (Sede Vac.Reg. 5A ff.527v, 528v, 530v) ADAM, Thomas of York acol. York 10 June 1503 (Abp.Reg. 25 f 118v) ADAMSON ADAMSON, John of York acol. York 15 Ap. 1503 (Abp.Reg. 25 f 118r) ADAMSON, John of Melbourne subd. York 22 Ap. 1508, den York 17 June 1508, pr. York 23 Sept. 1508; tle Kirkham p. (Sede Vac.Reg. 5A ff.594v, 599v, 605r) ADAMSON, Nicholas of Wentworth acol. York 1 June 1504, subd. York 21 Dec. 1504, den York 15 Feb. 1504/5, pr. York 17 May 1505; tie Monk Bretton p. (Abp.Reg. 25 ff.124r,126v, 127v,129v) ADCOK, ATCOK ADCOK, Henry of Carlisle d. by let.dim.