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The general visitation of the monasteries, which led to the suppression of the smaller houses, began in the autumn of 1535, under the immediate direction of Cromwell. One of his most active agents was Dr. Legh, mentioned in the following paper. Stowe, speaking of this event, says that the visitors "put forth all religious persons that would goe, and all that were under the age of foure and twentie yeeres: and after closed up the residue that would remeine, so that they shuld not come out of their places, and took order that no man should come to the houses of women, nor women to the houses of men, but onely to heare their service in the churches: all religious men that departed, the abbot or prior to give them for their habite a priestes gowne, and forty shillings of money; the nuns to have such apparell as secular women weare, and to go wher thei wold." The "closing up" of the monks in their houses is a circumstance frequently alluded to in the letters which follow.

The abbey of Wardon, or De Sartis, in Bedfordshire, was founded by Walter de Espec in 1135, and was furnished with monks from the abbey of Rievaulx. Henry Emery, the writer of the following paper, was the last abbot: he does not appear to have resigned his office till the surrender of his house on the 4th of December, 1538. Abbot Henry's "cawses" for resigning present a curious picture of the ignorance and turbulence of the monks.

XXI.

THE ABBOT OF WARDON'S REASONS FOR RESIGNING.

[From MS. Cotton. Cleopat. E. iv. fol. 163.]

Theis be the cawses folowing whi that I, Henri abbot off Wardon, have made labor to diverse of my frendis to resigne my office.

Firste, immediatele affter the kinges graces visitacion was executidd bi his commissioners master doctor Leighe and master Jo. ap Rece, and certaigne injunctions bi them to me and mi bretherne deliveridd to be observidd, mi saide bretherne toke occasion agenste me therat, and said amongest them that I was the cawser whi that thei wer enclosidd within ther monasteri, to this entent (as thei didd imagine) that I might do owtwardeli what I wollde, and they sholld not knowe it. From that tyme to this presente daie thei have vexidd me with many uncharitable surmises and obprobrius wordes, to muche and longe to be wreten.

Item, that whereas wee bi the said injunctions be commandid to have earlie lecture of divinite, whe have none; and whan it is redd, few or non of the monkes cum to it.

Item, I ded assigne dampne Thomas Londone to rede the divinite lecture, and he undiscretele (unknowinge to me) did rede the bokes off Eccius Omelies, whiche bokes be all carnall and off a brutall understanding, and entret of many thinges clene anenst the determinacion of the churche of Endglonde. And so sone as I hadd knowledg off theis premisses, I toke from him his said bokes and sent to Londone to be deliverid to master doctor Leghe, and dischargid the said dan Thomas off his reding, and cawsid mi brother to rede the lecture; and then fewe or none of them wollde come at him.

Item, for as muche as I did perceave ignorance was a greate cawse whi that theis my bretherne wer thus farre owt of goode order and in continuall unquettnesse, to thentent that I wollde somwhat an inducedd them to understanding, I cawsid bokes of gramer to be bowghte for eche off them, and assignidd mi brother to enstructe theim, but ther wollde come non to him but one Richard Balldok and Thomas Clement.

Item, they be in nombre xv. brethern, and excepte iij. off them, non understand ne knowe ther rule nor the statutes off ther religione.

Item, in Lente I did sende forthe dampne Thomas Wardon in this housse besinesse, and he did sit at Shesforde all night at the ale howsse, and cam whom in the morning at matens tyme, for the wiche cawse I wollde a ministerid correccion to him, but he declaridd openle before the covent that I hadd no auctorite to correcte him, and steryd them sediciousli agenste me, in so muche that on dampne Cristofer thretenidd me and my servandes. Thus I was in suche fere that I did command my servandes to watche mi chambur iiij. nightis after, till ther furi was somwhat aswagidd.

Item, where above all other thinges I have often commandidd bothe the supprior and (as we call him) the custos ordinis that ther shulld no seculer bois be conversant with ony of the monkes, ne to lye in ther dortor; this notwithstanding ther is on Hewgh,

that was a yonge monke here, and he liethe in the dortor every night, but with whome I can not knowe; and the same Hewghe was here yester daie.

Item, the vth, daie of August Jhon Paxton and Henre Gibbeson did take the subprior in a hedge yn the vineyarde with a brethell woman, and he did promise viijs. to the saide Gibbeson to kepe his cowncell.

Item, William Caringtone, Thomas Bikkliswade, Thomas London, Jhon Clifftone, Cristofer Wardon, be common dronkerdes.

I have not ascertained of what nunnery Margaret Vernon, the writer of the next letter, was abbess. The visitors, by putting in force the injunctions already alluded to, seem to have nearly emptied the house, all the sisters but one having quitted it voluntarily or by force: and the abbess herself appears to have been not unwilling to follow their example.

XXII.

MARGARET VERNON TO CROMWELL.

[From MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. iv. fol. 55.]

After all dew commendacyons had unto yowre good maystershyp, with my most umble thankes for the greate coste mayd on me and my pore maydyn at my last beynge with yowre maystershyp, furthermore plesyth yt yow to understonde that yowre vysytors hath bene here of late, who hath dyscharged iij. of my systers, the one ys dame Catheryn, the other ij. ys the yonge women that were last professyd, whyche ys not a lyttyll to my dyscomforte; nevertheles I must be content with the kynges plesure. But now as towchynge my nowne parte, I most humbly beseche yow to be so specyall good mayster unto me yowre poore bedewoman, as to geve me yowre best advertysment and counseyle what waye shalbe best for me to take, seynge there shalbe none

left here but my selfe and thys pore madyn; and yf yt wyl please yowre goodnes to take thys pore howse into yowre owne hondes, ether for yowre selfe, or for my nowne [maister] yowre sonne, I woyld be glad with all my hart to geve yt into yowre mastershypes hondes, with that ye wyll commaunde me to do therin. Trustynge and nothynge dowptynge in yowre goodnes, that ye wyll so provyd for us, that we shall have syche onest lyvynge that we shall not be drevyn be necessyte nether to begge, nor to fall to no other unconvenyence. And thus I offer my sylfe and all myne unto yowre most hygh and prudent wysdome, as unto hym that ys my only refuge and comfort in thys world, besechynge God of hys goodnes to put in yow hys holy sprete, that ye maye do all thynge to hys lawde and glory.

By yowre owne assured bedewoman,

MARGARET VERNON.

The writer of the next letter was at the time visiting the abbey of Lacock, in Wiltshire.

XXIII.

DR. LEGH TO CROMWELL.

[From MS. Harl. No. 604, fol. 59.]

After my due and moste hartie commendacions, please it your mastership to be advertised, that whereas I have in all the places that I have ben at, according to myne instructions and to the kinges graces pleasure and yours, restrayned as well the heddes and masters of the same places as the brethern from going foorth of the precincte of the said places, which I adsure you greveth the said heddes not a litle, as ye shall well perceve by thinstant sutes that they shall make to the kinges grace and to you. It hathe ben reaported unto me sens my comyng to theis parties, that Mr. doctour Laitone hathe not doon the same in the places where he

hathe ben, but licenced the heddes and masters to goo abrode, which I suppose maketh the brethern to grudge the more, whan they see that they be worse entreated than their master, which hath professed the same rule that they have. Wherfor, to thintent that an uniformitie maye be observed amongest us in all our procedinges, it maye please your mastershipp other to commaunde Mr. doctour Laytone to geve the same injuncions where he goeth and hath ben that I have geven in the places aforesaid, in which case yf ye see reasonable causes wherfor ye shulde release the same injunctions in some places ye maye at all tymes; or els to advertise me of your pleasure therein, that I maye confourme myself to the same, and direct my proceding after one weye with you. Sir, yf ye go to Oxforde shortely, as ye ones intended, this bringer is a man of good experience and intelligence there and can declare you the state of the Universitie very well. Thus knoweth Allmightie God, who have your mastership in his blessed tuicion. From Laycok, the xxth of Auguste.

Yours ever assureyt,

THOMAS LEGH.

To the right honourable

Mr. Thomas Crumwell, principall secretarie to the kinges highnes.

The account of the relics at Maiden Bradley, in Wiltshire, and of the frailties of the prior, given in the following letter, is amusing. This small priory was founded in the latter part of the twelfth century. It was originally a house for leprous women, established by one of the Bisets. The last prior was Richard Jenyn, who, after the dissolution of his house, obtained the rectory of Shipton Moyne, in Gloucestershire.

The visitatorial injunctions were very severe against relics, and the worship of images: one of them, as given in the Cottonian MS. (Cleop. E. iv. fol. 21), runs as follows :"Item, that they shall not shewe no relyques or fayned myracles for encrease of lucre, but that they exhorte pylgrymes and strayngers to geve that to the poore that they thought to offere to ther images or reliquies." In the lists of relics in other monasteries, we find many which were pretended to be preservative of women in labour; they had previously been made an object of satire in Piers Ploughman's Creed.

CAMD. Soc.

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