ANTIQUITIES OF SELBORNE. 379 



Berne, Thomas London, William Wyndesor, and William Pay- 

 nell, alias Stretford, canons regular of the priory, " capitulum, et 

 conventum ejusdem ecclesie facientes ; ac jus et voces in electione 

 futura prioris dicti prioratus solum et in solidum, ut asseruerunt, 

 habentes ;" and after the bishop had notified to them the vacancy 

 of a prior, with his free license to elect, deliberated awhile, and 

 then, by way of compromise, as they affirmed, unanimously 

 transferred their right of election to the bishop before witnesses. 

 In consequence of this the bishop, after full deliberation, pro- 

 ceeded, April 7th, "in capella manerii sui de Waltham," to the 

 election of a prior ; " et fratrem Johannem Morton, priorem 

 ecclesie conventualis de Reygate dicti ordinis S li Augustini 

 Wynton. dioc. in priorem vice et nomine omnium et singulorum 

 canonicorum predictorum elegit, in ordine sacerdotali, et etate 

 licita constitutum, &c." And on the same day, in the same place, 

 and before the same witnesses, John Morton resigned to the 

 bishop the priorship of Reygate viva voce. The bishop then re- 

 quired his consent to his own election; " qui licet in parte 

 renitens tanti reverendi patris se confirmans," obeyed, and signi- 

 fied his consent oraculo vive vocis. Then was there a mandate 

 citing any one who would gainsay the said election to appear 

 before the bishop or his commissary in his chapel at Farnham on 

 the second day of May next. The dean of the deanery of Aulton 

 then appeared before the chancellor, his commissary, and re- 

 turned the citation or mandate dated April 22d, 1468, with signi- 

 fication, in writing, of his having published it as required, dated 

 Newton Valence, May 1st, 1468. This certificate being read, the 

 four canons of Selborne appeared and required the election to be 

 confirmed ; et ex super abundant! appointed William Long their 

 proctor to solicit in their name that he might be canonically con- 

 firmed. John Morton also appeared, and proclamation was made; 

 and no one appearing against him, the commissary pronounced 

 all absentees contumacious, and precluded them from objecting 

 at any other time ; and, at the instance of John Morton and the 

 proctor, confirmed the election by his decree, and directed his 

 mandate to the rector of Hedley and the vicar of Newton Valence 

 to install him in the usual form. 



Thus, for the first time, was a person, a stranger to the con- 

 vent of Selborne, and never canon of that monastery, elected 

 prior ; though the style of the petitions in former elections used 

 to run thus, " Vos - - - - rogamus quatinus eligendum ex 



