RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



In 1358 the crown seized a house called 

 ' La Garyt,' a messuage, and two shops, which 

 had been acquired for enlargement, on the ground 

 that the friars, contrary to their rule and to the 

 licence in mortmain, had let them to tenants 

 for yearly rents. But the king ordered their 

 restoration, on condition that they should be no 

 longer let, but used for enlargement.! 



This friary seems to have attracted the special 

 benefactions of royalty. In addition to the oaks 

 for building purposes, both Henry III. and 

 Edward I. were constant in their gifts of oaks 

 for fuel. On 26 May, 1284, Edward gave 

 twelve leafless oaks in the nearest woods outside 

 Northampton, to be used for fuel by the friars 

 preachers, as the provincial chapter was about 

 to be held there. In December, 1295, he gave 

 them half the twigs cut down in winter in 

 Moulton Park. When Edward was passing 

 through Northampton or sojourning at the castle, 

 it was usually his custom to send the Dominicans 

 alms for one day's food, their joint board being 

 estimated at about a mark a day. In December, 

 1300, he gave Henry de Odiham, the prior, 

 £^|. I2s. for food on Christmas Day and the five 

 following days, on behalf of himself, his queen, 

 and Thomas of Brotherton, their son. On 

 13 August, Prince Edward, being at North- 

 ampton, gave 13J. 4.d. to the friars for celebra- 

 ting mass for his good estate on St. Dominic's 

 Day, that feast being also his birthday. The 

 princes Thomas and Edward, in the following 

 month, gave 13*. 4.d. for one day's food to 

 the friars in acknowledgement of their having 

 celebrated mass for the king during his sick- 

 ness. 



Edward II. continued this custom when visit- 

 ing Northampton, and Edward III. when he 

 arrived in this town on 14 January, 1329, gave a 

 groat to each of the thirty-six friars for a day's 

 food. A groat, or four pence, was evidently 

 the customary reckoning for food for a single 

 friar, which seems a liberal allowance, but 

 probably they had extra fare on the days of this 

 royal benevolence. In 1335, on 27 March, the 

 king gave an alms of lis., there being then 

 thirty-three friars in the house. 



Royalty was specially generous at the time 

 when the provincial chapters of the Dominican 

 Order were held at Northampton. In 1239 

 Henry III. ordered the sheriff to pay lO marks 

 to provide food for the assembly on 14 Septem- 

 ber and following days, and in addition he was 

 to find three courses and good wine for the 

 dinner on the first day the provincial chapter met 

 here both in 1271 and 1272 ; on the first occa- 

 sion the king gave two casks of wine, and on 

 the second j^5 gs. gd. towards the expenses. 

 The donation of Edward I. in 1284 of the leaf- 

 less oaks has already been named. In 13 13 

 there was again a provincial chapter, when 



1 Close, 32 Edw. III. m. 8. 



Edward II. gave ^^15 for three days' food. If 

 the rations for such an assembly were calcu- 

 lated at a groat a day per head, this would yield 

 an attendance of 300 ; but probably on such an 

 occasion, with wine included, it may be taken at 

 double the amount, which would leave a gather- 

 ing of 150. There was also a provincial 

 chapter here in 136 1, when Edward III. paid a 

 like sum towards the expenses. Several fifteenth- 

 century provincial chapters of the Premonstra- 

 tensian Canons were held at this friary, as stated 

 in the account of Sulby Abbey. 



The most celebrated man connected with the 

 Northampton Dominicans was Robert Holcot, 

 one of the first divines of the fourteenth century ; 

 he was born at Northampton, of good family, 

 and in his early days was on the commission of 

 the peace for the county. Joining the Friars 

 Preachers he took the degree of D.D. both at 

 Oxford and Cambridge, and for a long time was 

 professor of scripture and morals at the former 

 university. He was known as ' the firm and un- 

 wearied doctor,' and wrote twenty-six treatises 

 on various branches of theology and philosophy. 

 His reputation so far outlasted his own days 

 that the greater proportion of his works were 

 issued in repeated editions from the chief conti- 

 nental presses so soon as the art of printing 

 had been discovered. He fell a victim to the 

 Black Death when it was raging in Northamp- 

 ton in 1349, and was buried in the Dominican 

 Church. His memory was much venerated, 

 especially as he caught the fatal illness while 

 assiduously ministering to the sufferers. Mary 

 Myddleton, by her will of 1536, 'desired to be 

 buryed within the blacke friers church next to 

 Holcott.' * The same testator bequeathed a 

 goblet of silver to the prior of the Black Friars. 

 Sir Everard Fielding, by will of 19 April, 1515, 

 directed his body to be buried before the altar of 

 our blessed Lady in the Black Friars at North- 

 ampton, to which he bequeathed a cope of blue 

 velvet with garters, a pax of silver and gilt, 

 and two cruets of silver.8 Dame Gyllys Fieldyng, 

 by her will of 1529, desired 'to be buried in 

 the Churche of the blake Frears byfor the ymage 

 of our lady in the tombe of my husband. I 

 bequeath for my mortuarie to the prior and his 

 bretheren a cowe.' * 



When Jane Brafeld, of St. Giles's parish, 

 made her will in 1522, she desired ' to have y* 

 pall of y« blacke frears upon my herse, and y" to 

 have XX* for it.' ' The Northamptonshire wills 

 of the sixteenth century frequently contain small 

 bequests to each of the four orders of friars at 

 Northampton from various parts of the county. 

 The light that burnt before the altar of our 



2 Northampton Wills, F. 172. 

 8 Nicolas, Tsst. Fet. Garters in this instance mean 

 fastenings. 



^ Northamptonshire Wills, D. 68. 

 5 Ibid. B. 128. 



145 



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