Religious Institutions and Urban Society The Nature of Lay-Religious Gift Giving in Angevin York and London Andrew Richard Houghton-Foster MPhil University of York History April 2017 i Abstract This thesis explores the ways in which lay benefactors in the cities of London and York interacted with their local religious houses through ostensibly pious gifts and what this might indicate about their ideas of law, spiritual belief and practices, and personal piety and charity c.1150-c.1250. The focus is on the cartulary records of four religious institutions. These are the nunnery of St. Mary Clerkenwell and Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate, in London; and St. Mary’s Abbey, and St. Leonard’s Hospital in York. Using the charters copied into the cartularies, the thesis argues that through a close reading of the source material, with a focus on grants made for ostensibly pious purposes, it is possible to examine the relationship between lay and religious from a nuanced position. Furthermore, research into Angevin London and York, seeks to investigate an earlier time- period that has generally received less attention from historians. The body of the following work is divided informally into an introduction, four chapters and a conclusion. The first chapter is an examination of the purpose and function of the cartularies of religious houses, including a detailed description of the five main sources used. The second chapter discusses the cities of London and York, their citizens and the place (both physically and conceptually) of the religious institutions within them. These are followed by two chapters that seek to develop ideas about lay interaction with religious houses. The charter diplomatic and manipulation of legal patterns in charitable and pious benefactions is the focus of Chapter Three, while Chapter Four draws attention to the specific bequests and requests made by lay donors. What emerges is a visible connection between the donation patterns of the laity and developing legal structures, and ideas of personal piety and charity. ii This thesis is dedicated to my wife Helen, my mother Brenda, two little degu skeep-lings called Starbuck and Racetrack, and a certain scruffy little Bichon Frisé called Ragnar, without whose love and support I could not have managed to produce the work that you are about to read. iii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. i Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables.................................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. vi Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... vii Author’s Declaration .................................................................................................................. viii Introduction and Thesis Outline ................................................................................................. 1 Research Topic and Historiography .................................................................................. 1 Thesis Outline, Research Choices and Methodology ...................................................... 5 In Brief .................................................................................................................................. 10 Chapter One: Cartularies as Historical Sources ..................................................................... 11 The Cartularies of St. Mary Clerkenwell, Holy Trinity Aldgate, St. Mary’s Abbey and St. Leonard’s Hospital ................................................................................................ 11 Charters: The Material that Makes a Cartulary .............................................................. 23 Cartularies and Charters as Historical Sources and Their Use in this Thesis ............ 32 Chapter Two: London and York c.1150-1250, the Cities and their Inhabitants ................. 35 London and York: An Overview ...................................................................................... 38 The Religious Institutions .................................................................................................. 45 Violence and Rebellion: 1173, 1190 and 1196 .................................................................. 54 The Inhabitants and Social Structures of Angevin London and York ........................ 59 iv Chapter Three: Lay Charters with Spiritual Intent, The Diplomatic and Legal Patterns of Lay Donations to Religious Institutions .............................................................................. 68 References to Gifts in Alms and for Souls in the Charter Formulae ........................... 69 Developments in Christian Ideology and Expression of Piety .................................... 85 Frankalmoign and Land Tenure ........................................................................................ 93 The Pro Anima Clause ....................................................................................................... 111 Charter Diplomatic, External Developments and Donation Practices ...................... 121 Chapter Four: Piety and Charity .............................................................................................. 124 Almsgiving, Sociology and Gift Exchange.................................................................... 125 Content of Explicit Gifts and Observable Trends ........................................................ 133 Inexplicit Charity, Almsgiving and ‘Pious Work’........................................................ 142 Donations for Pittances and Food .................................................................................. 155 Explicit Requests and Expected Spiritual Services ...................................................... 163 Religious Institutions, Lay Gifts and Mutual Exchange ............................................. 174 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 177 List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. 185 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 186 Unpublished Primary Sources ........................................................................................ 186 Published and/or Printed Primary Sources in Latin and English .............................. 186 Published Secondary Literature ..................................................................................... 188 Unpublished Secondary Literature and Theses ........................................................... 209 v List of Tables 3.1: Number of Charters for Spiritual Purposes in the Cartularies ........................ 74 3.2: Division of Material in the Cartularies by Grant Type ..................................... 75 3.3: Number of Charters for Spiritual Purposes Relative to Number of Gifts ..... 76 3.4: Number of Ambiguous/Broadly Dated Charters in the Cartularies ............... 82 4.1: Material Gifts Provided for in the Charters of St. Mary Clerkenwell, Holy Trinity Aldgate, St. Mary’s Abbey and St. Leonard’s Hospital ........................... 135 4.2: Number of Charters Containing Specific Provisions or Requests Relative to Number of Charters Granted in Alms or for Spiritual Purposes Generally ...... 136 4.3: Amount of Money Granted to Provide Pittances in Each Charter ................ 158 4.4: Spiritual Services Requested in the Charters of St. Mary Clerkenwell, Holy Trinity Aldgate, St. Mary’s Abbey and St. Leonard’s Hospital ............................ 165 vi List of Figures 3.1: London Cartularies: Spiritual Grants by Decade ............................................... 82 3.2: York Cartularies: Spiritual Grants by Decade ..................................................... 83 3.3: Spiritual Grants to All Four Institutions by Thirty Year Intervals ................. 83 4.1: Number of Material Gifts Provided for in the Charters of St. Mary Clerkenwell, Holy Trinity Aldgate, St. Mary’s Abbey and St. Leonard’s Hospital, As Presented in Table 3.1 ............................................................................ 136 4.2: Occurrence of Charters Containing Material Gifts Over Time ...................... 139 4.3: Occurrence of Requests for Religious Services Over Time ............................ 139 4.4: Number of Spiritual Services Requested in the Charters of St. Mary Clerkenwell, Holy Trinity Aldgate, St. Mary’s Abbey and St. Leonard’s Hospital, As Presented in Table 4.4 ............................................................................ 165 vii Acknowledgements As everyone who knows me is already aware, the completion of this MPhil thesis has been a long-fought battle (when is research ever not!), and in the process, there are many people