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130 GENERAL HISTORY 



conduct ; which were universally received. From 

 the east, this gloomy institution passed into the 

 west ; and first into Italy, and its neighbouring 

 Islands. St. Martin, the celebrated bishop of Tours, 

 erected the first religious houses,* or monasteries, 



* Under the appellation of religious houses, there are 

 establishments of different descriptions ; amongst which 

 abbies, hold the first rank. 



An abbey is a society of religious people, having an 

 abbot, or abbess, to preside over them. Some, abbies in 

 this country were so considerable, that the abbots of them 

 were called to parliament, and had seats and votes in the 

 house of Lords. A priory, was a society of religious 

 persons, the chief of which was termed a prjor, or prioress, 

 and of these there were two sorts, first, where the prior 

 was governor, as full as any abbot, and was chosen by 

 the convent ; as were the cathedral priors, and most of 

 them of the order of Saint Austin: secondly, where the 

 priory was a cell, subordinate to some great abbey, and 

 their prior was placed and displaced at the will of the 

 abbot : but there was a considerable difference between 

 these cells. Some were altogether subject to their re- 

 spective abbeys, who sent them such officers and Monks 

 as they pleased, and took their revenues in the common 

 stock of the abbies. Others consisted of a stated num- 

 ber of Monks who had a Prior sent them from the abbey, 

 and paid a yearly pension, as an acknowledgment of 

 their subjection, but acted in other matters as an inde- 

 pendent body, and had the rest of their revenues for their 

 own use. These priories or cells were always of the 

 same order with the abbies on which they depended ; 

 though sometimes of a different sex : it being usual, after 

 the conquest, for the great abbies to build nunneries on 

 their manors, which should be priories to them, and subject 

 to their visitation. Some of these priories were changed 

 into abbies, as was the case of Whitby. Priories alien, 

 were cells to foreign monasteries ; for when manors or 

 tithes were given to foreign monasteries, the monks built 

 in England convenient houses, for the reception of a 

 small convent, and sent over such a number as they 

 thought proper j constituting priors over them. 



