he is represented on his monument in two characters. In the upper part of 

 the structure he is seated in his royal robes, and below he lies in effigy upon a 

 tomb, clothed in the garb of a Franciscan, and holding his crown. 



Clement V., Pope 1305-1314, remitted to those buried in the habit of a 

 friar the fourth part of all their sins. In a letter from Latimer, he says — " I 

 have thought in time past that if I had been a friar, and in a cowl, I could 

 not have been damned, nor afraid of death." Gilpin, in "The Beehive of. 

 the Roman Church " (translated by him from the Dutch), says in his 

 pretended reproof of the heretics, "They do not greatly glorie to bee buried 

 in a monke's greasie hood." Many other quotations might be given illustrative 

 of the practice. 



But to return to the effigy at Ashby. Here we have a full-sized alabaster 

 effigy of a man in the full garb of a pilgrim. Now, what is a pilgrim ? 



A pilgrim is a person who travels for the purpose of visiting ihe shrines or 

 tombs of holy men. He was in no way bound by his religion to go ; indeed, 

 St. Gregory says that pilgrimages are not enjoined by the Scriptures ; and 

 St. Augustine says that our Lord did not command us to go to the East 

 to seek justification, or to sail to the furthest West to obtain forgiveness. 



The earliest pilgrimages were made in the time of Constantine, to the 

 Holy Land. The Empress Helena proceeded to Palestine, according to 

 Eusebius, and built the church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the course of 

 time the practice increased and expanded to other places, — to the shrine 

 of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome, to that of St. James of Compostella, to 

 that of St. Gregory at Tours, to that of Our La'iy of Loreto, to the tomb of 

 Thomas a Becket at Canterbury, and to several other places. 



Those men who journeyed to Palestine came to bear a palm leaf in their 

 hats, hence called " Palmers," and such as went that ancient and renowned 

 pilgrimage to Compostella wore the scallop shell. 



Why did a man go on a pilgrimage ? 



In the early days the main reason was to obtain forgiveness ; in later times, 

 in order for a pleasant trip in sunny lands in fine weather with some definite 

 and harmless object at the end of it. Thus Chaucer : — 



" Whanne that April with his shoures sote 

 The droughte of March hath perced to the rote. 



And small foules maken melodie, 

 That slepen alle night with open eye, 

 So priketh hem nature in his courages, 

 Than longen folk to gon on pilgrimages." 



What sign or proof did he bring back with him to show his friends that he 

 had actually made the journey to the great shrine at Compostella ? 



He there obtained, if he was wealthy and of rank, a jet Signaculum of the 

 saint, duly blessed, or, if of humble condition, a leaden or pewier sign. The 

 former are objects of high rarity, the latter have been commonly found in 



