OF SELBORNE. 321 



si <m last as a witness in the three deeds: he calls himself 



rt 



f rater, it is true, among many other brothers, but subscribes 

 with a kind of deference, as if, for the time being, his office 

 rendered him an inferior in the community. 9 



LETTER XII. 



THE ladies and daughter of Sir Adam Gurdon were not the 

 only benefactresses to the Priory of Selborne ; for, in the year 

 1281, Ela Lonnspee obtained masses to be performed for her 

 soul's health ; and the prior entered into an engagement that 

 one of the convent should every day say a special mass for 

 ever for the said benefactress, whether living or dead. She 

 also engaged within five years to pay to the said convent one 

 hundred marks of silver for the support of a chantry and 

 chantry-chaplain, who should perform his masses daily in the 

 parish church of Selborne.* In the east end of the south aisle 



i In two or three ancient records relating to St. OswaWs hospital in 

 the city of Worcester, printed by Dr. Nash, p. 227 and 228, of his collec- 

 tions for the history of Worcestershire, the words preceptorium and pre- 

 ceptoria signify the mastership of the said hospital : i( ad preceptorium 

 " sive magisterium presentavit preceptorii sive magisterii patronus. Va- 

 "cavit dicta prcccptoria sen magisterium ad preceptoriam et regimen 

 11 dicti hospitalis Te preceptorem sive magistrum prefecimus." 



Where preceptorium denotes a building or apartment it may probably 

 mean the master's lodgings, or at least the preceptor 's apartment, what- 

 soever may have been the office or employment of the said preceptor. 



A preceptor is mentioned in Thoresby's Ditcatus Leodinensis, or History 

 of Leeds j p. 225, and a deed witnessed by the preceptor and chaplain 

 before dates were inserted. Du Fresne's Supplement: " Preceptoria, 

 "prpcdia preceptor ibus assignata." Cowell, in his Law Dictionary, enu- 

 merates sixteen prcceptorice, or preceptories, in England; but Sudington 

 is not among them. It is remarkable that Gurtlcrus, in his Historin 

 Templariorum Amstel. 1691, never once mentions the words preceptor or 

 preceptorium. 



r A chantry was a chapel joined to some cathedral or parish church, 

 and endowed with annual revenues for the maintenance of one or more 

 priests to sing mass daily for the soul of the founder, and others. 



Y 



