A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



or beans, and two commons of flesh or fish.'^ 

 In the early fifteenth century 666 red herrings 

 were purchased every week for the convent, 

 besides white herrings, salmon, ' dog-draves,' "" 

 eels, turbot, and many other kinds of fish, some 

 from Iceland, then the great emporium of stock- 

 fish."^ The prior and the more distinguished 

 guests of the house drank wine of various kinds, 

 while a liquor called ' ptisan,' probably equiva- 

 lent to single ale, was brewed in great quanti- 

 ties at festivals for the use of the tenants and 

 populace.^^ 



Dinner over, the monks went out to the 

 cemetery and stood bareheaded amongst the 

 graves of their brethren for a long time, praying 

 for the departed ; they then adjourned to the 

 cloister for study. 



The windows of the north cloister were glazed, 

 and in each window were three narrow pews or 

 carrells. These carrells, each of which only 

 extended from one stanchion to another, were 

 separated by woodwork screens, and each con- 

 tained a desk. Opposite, against the church 

 wall, were cupboards full of books.^' Each of 

 the elder monks had a carrell to himself, and the 

 library also was used for purposes of study. A 

 porter kept the door of the cloister that none 

 might enter to disturb the workers, who were 

 occupied chiefly in writing or copying the Holy 

 Scriptures, lives of the saints, classical works, the 

 acts of the bishops and priors of Durham, and 

 more general histories. 



Meanwhile in the west cloister the master of 

 the novices, one of the oldest of the monks, 

 taught his scholars. There were six of them, 

 and they sat in 'a fair stall of wainscot,' while 

 he had 'a pretty seat of wainscot' opposite. 

 Besides teaching them, it was the master's duty 

 to see that they had a sufficient supply of cowls, 

 frocks, linsey-woolsey [stammyne) for under- 

 clothing, and socks, boots, and bedding. Specially 

 clever and promising pupils he reported to the 

 prior, who sent them to Oxford to study divinity. 

 At the end of their seven years of training the 

 no\ices were expected * to understand their 

 Service and the Scriptures.' Then they sang 



" Surt. Hist. Dur. i (2), ziln. 



'" Probably large salted codfish from the Dogger 

 Bank. The word is peculiar to Durham monastic 

 accounts, where it occurs with great frequency. 



" Gent. Mag. 1857 (2), p. 77 ; Dur. Household Bk. 

 (Surt. Soc), passim. 



'' Ibid. 



" Some of the books belonging to the convent were 

 kept in the spendiment or chancery, and some in the 

 refectory ; Cat. Libror. Eccles. Cath. Dun. (Surt. 

 Soc), v. At the beginning of some of these volumes 

 may still be seen some such inscription as the follow- 

 ing : — ' This book belongs to the ninth armariolo in 

 the cloister ;' or, ' From the common library of the 

 Durham monks '; (MSS. Eccles. Dun. B. i, 7, 24, &c.), 

 followed by anathemas on any who should steal the 

 books. 



their first mass, receiving on the occasion a small 

 sum of money — perhaps to enable them to feast 

 their brethren ; "^ and thenceforward they were 

 paid 'wages' of 20j. per annum in lieu of cloth- 

 ing. No monk received more than this unless 

 he held some office in the house. 



At three o'clock came evensong, followed by 

 supper, which ended at five, when a bell rang to 

 give warning for grace. Then all departed to 

 the chapter-house, where the prior met them, 

 and they remained in prayer and devotion till 

 six. At that hour all the doors were locked and 

 the sub-prior took charge of the keys till seven 

 o'clock on the following morning. A bell now 

 summoned all to the Salve. 



Every night as darkness fell one of the twelve ■ 

 cressets near the choir-door of the lantern was 

 lighted in preparation for the midnight service. 



The long dormitory was divided by wooden 

 partitions into a double row of narrow cubicles, 

 each lighted by a separate window. Every monk 

 had a cubicle to himself, containing a bed and a 

 desk for books. The novices slept in a row of 

 cubicles at the south end of the dormitory ; these 

 were not so warm as the other chambers, and 

 were boarded in on either side and above, having 

 no light but what came in at the doorway. At 

 each end of the dormitory was a square stone 

 with twelve cressets which served to give light. 



The sub-prior, whose chamber was close to 

 the entrance, was responsible for the behaviour 

 of the brethren at night. Twice during the 

 night he called to the sleepers, going to every 

 cubicle to make sure that no one was missing ; ■* 

 and when the three bells chimed out from the 

 lantern-tower at midnight he roused them to go 

 down to the church for mattins. 



The discipline of the monastery does not seem 

 to have been unusually severe, though good order 

 was maintained, and complaints of evil conduct 

 on the part of the Durham monks are itvf and 

 far between. Offenders, however, there were 

 no doubt from time to time ; and for those who 

 needed more severe punishment than that imposed 

 on Robert Stichill"" there were two prisons in the 

 convent — one a cell above ground for less guilty 

 persons near the chapter-house, and the other a 

 strong dungeon called the lying-house, beneath 

 the room of the master of the farmery. Monks 

 convicted of felony, immorality, &c., were impri- 

 soned there for a year, in chains, alone except 



" Dur. Household Bk. (Surt. Soc), 340. 



" This precaution was not unnecessary. Robert 

 Stichill (afterwards bishop of Durham), when a 

 young monk, tried to escape from the church in the 

 night, and was only stopped by a heavenly voice which 

 he heard as he passed the cross on the north side of 

 the choir ; Jrck. AeRana (New Ser.), xx, 73. 



'* For some minor offence he was sentenced to sit 

 on a stool by himself in the middle of the choir during 

 service ; but losing his temper he seized the stool and 

 flung it full at the startled congregation. 



ss 



