OF SELBORNE 269 



If the stout and unsubmitting spirit of Gurdon could be so 

 much influenced by the belief and superstition of the times, 

 much more might the hearts of his ladies and daughter. And 

 accordingly we find that Ameria, by the consent and advice of 

 her sons, though said to be all under age, makes a grant for ever 

 of some lands down by the stream at Durton ; and also of her 

 right of the common of Durton itself. 1 Johanna, the daughter 

 and heiress of Sir Adam, was married, I find, to Richard Achard ; 

 she also grants to the prior and convent lands and tenements in 

 the village of Selborne, which her father obtained from Thomas 

 Makerel; and also all her goods and chattels in Selborne for the 

 consideration of two hundred pounds sterling. This last business 

 was transacted in the first year of Edward II. viz. 1307. It has 

 been observed before that Gurdon had a natural son : this person 

 was called by the name of John Dastard, alias Wastard, but more 

 probably Bastard ; since bastardy in those days was not esteemed 

 any disgrace, though dastardy was deemed the greatest. He 

 was married to Gunnorie Duncun ; and had a tenement and some 

 land granted him in Selborne by his sister Johanna. 



LETTER XL 



THE Knights Templars,' 1 who have been mentioned in a former 

 letter, had considerable property in Selborne ; and also a precep- 



1 Durton, now called Dorton, is still a common for the copyholders of Selbornt 

 manor. 



2 The MILITARY ORDERS of the RELIGIOUS. 



The Knights Hospitalars of St. John of Jerusalem, afterwards called Knights 

 of Rhodes, now of Malta, came into England about the year uoo. i Hen. I. 



The Knights Templars came into England pretty early in Stephen's reign, which 

 commenced 1135. The order was dissolved in 1312, and their estates given by act 

 of Parliament to the Hospitalars, in 1323 (all in Edw. II. ) though many of their 

 estates were never actually enjoyed by the said Hospitalars. 



Vid. Tanner, p. xxiv. x. 



The commandries of the Hospitalars, and preceptories of Templars, were each 

 subordinate to the principal house of their respective religion in London. Although 

 these are the different denominations, which Tanner at p. xxviii. assigns to the cells 

 of these different orders, yet throughout the work very frequent instances occur of 

 preceptories attributed to the Hospitalars ; and if in some passages of Notitia 

 Monast. commandries are attributed to the Templars, it is only where the place 

 afterwards became the property of the Hospitalars, and so is there indifferently 

 styled preceptory or command ry ; see p. 243, 263, 276, 577, 678. But, to account 

 for the first observed inaccuracy, it is probable the preceptories of the Templars, 

 when given to the Hospitalars, were still vulgarly, however, called by their old 



