LETTER XIV 



" IN the year 1373 Wykeham, bishop of Winchester, held 

 a visitation of his whole diocese ; not only of the secular 

 clergy through the several deaneries, but also of the 

 monasteries, and religious houses of all sorts, which he 

 visited in person. The next year he sent his commissioners 

 with power to correct and reform the several irregularities 

 and abuses which he had discovered in the course of his 

 visitation. 



"Some years afterward, the bishop having visited three 

 several times all the religious houses throughout his diocese, 

 and being well informed of the state and condition of each, 

 and of the particular abuses which required correction and 

 reformation, besides the orders which he had already given, 

 and the remedies which he had occasionally applied by his 

 commissioners, now issued his injunctions to each of them. 

 They were accommodated to their several exigencies, and 

 intended to correct the abuses introduced, and to recall 

 them all to a strict observation of the rules of their respec- 

 tive orders. Many of these injunctions are still extant, and 

 are evident monuments of the care and attention with 

 which he discharged this part of his episcopal duty." 1 



Some of these injunctions I shall here produce ; and 

 they are such as will not fail, I think, to give satisfaction to 

 the antiquary, both as never having been published before, 

 and as they are a curious picture of monastic irregularities 

 at that time. 



The documents that I allude to are contained in the 



1 See LawtKs Life of Wykeham. [G. W.] 

 260 



