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and carried in his bosom at the time of his being beheaded ; beseeching 

 him that he would order that after his death it should be chained near 

 the place where the body of Richard le Scrop had been buried, there 

 to remain. The Archbishop had been much beloved in his diocese, 

 and after his death the people of Yorkshire, who were hostile to the 

 House of Lancaster, resorted to his tomb and made large offerings 

 which were appropriated to the completion of the Choir. 



May 3. — The Rev. JohnKenrick read the conclusion of the late 

 Rev. C. Wellbeloved's paper on the Testamenta Eboracensia, relating 

 partly to the bequests of books and the illustrations which they afford 

 of the state of literature in the Middle Ages. The bequest of John 

 de Newton, treasurer of the Church in 1414, to the Minster Library 

 comprehends Bibles and portions of Bibles, with Concordances and 

 Glosses, works of St. Augustine, St. Gregory, St. Bernard, several 

 Tracts of Alcuin, works of St. Chysostom and St. Thomas Aquinas. 

 To these are joined several English Authors, as Beda de Gestis 

 Anglorum, Alfred of Beverley, John Hoveden, Richard the Hermit 

 of Hampole, Sir Walter de Hilton, and William Ryvington ; 

 William de Malmsbury, and Petrarca de Bemediis utriusque fortune . 

 These wills also contain numerous bequests of books to private 

 individuals. These comprehend a great variety of subjects. Theology 

 and law hold a chief place ; but history, poetry, and romance have 

 also their share. Books of science are the most rare. There does not 

 appear a single Greek classic, and only one Roman. Of the early 

 writers of our own country we find mentioned Piers Plowman, 

 Gower, Richard of Hampole, and the celebrated traveller Sir John 

 Mandeville. A copy of a miracle-play is bequeathed to the Fraternity 

 of Corpus Christi, and a book de S. Jacoho Apostolo to the Gild of 

 St. Christopher. 



The bequests to the Abbey of St. Mary are not numerous ; for it 

 did not stand in high favour with the citizens, and disputes, sometimes 

 accompanied with outrageous violence, frequently occurred. One 

 bequest deserves particular notice. John Carlele leaves in 1309 some 

 articles to the Abbot, 40s. to the Convent ad potum^ and 20s. to the 

 fabric of the bell tower, which was therefore probably still in course 

 of erection 120 years after the foundation stone of the church had 

 been laid by Simon de Warwick. The Hospital of St. Leonard is 

 also mentioned in the Testamenta, and in the will of Richard Russell, 

 an opulent merchant of York in 1435, there is a bequest for the relief 

 of the poor who nightly lodged in the infirmary. Other Hospitals in 



