THE CHURCH 191 



" St. Mary of Cormeilles holds the church of this manor (of 

 Linton), and the priest with all his land, and all the tithe, and one 

 villan with one virgate of land." 1 



" The Abbess of Lire has six churches in the Isle of Wight to 

 which pertain 2H 2jV . . . They have the tithe of all the King's 

 rents." 2 



" The tithe and church of this manor (Fecchenham, Herefds.) 

 and the priest with two virgates of land and one villan, Earl William 

 gave to the church of St. Mary." 3 



"The church of St'. Michael in the Mount holds one church with 

 one hide and the tithe of the manor of Basingstoke." 4 



We are all familiar with the system of appropriations, by 

 which a monastery became possessed of a village church and 

 its endowment, and, taking the latter for itself, paid thereout 

 a chaplain, or allowed him to take part of the tithes. Till 

 the foundation of perpetual vicarages towards the end of the 

 twelfth century, such chaplain was removable at the will of the 

 monastery. This system is frequently referred to or implied 

 in Domesday Book. All the four cases mentioned above 

 are cases of appropriations. St. Peter of Shrewsbury had 

 obtained many churches on the rural estates of Earl Roger ; 5 

 the church of St. Vandrille had the churches of Bridetone, 

 Bridport, Whitchurch, and Gillingham, and one of the churches 

 at Wareham ; 6 Westminster Abbey received 8 from the 

 King's tithe at Droitwich ; 7 and examples could be multiplied. 



One point more requires to be noticed in connection with 

 the tithes. Stori was at liberty " to send his tithes where he 

 would ; " 8 and it is not improbable that others had the same 

 liberty, for the " arbitrary consecration of tithes " was not for- 

 bidden till the Lateran Council of 1179-80; till then many 

 persons were at liberty to pay their tithes to what church they 

 pleased. The gifts to Lewes Priory during the century that 



1 D. B., I. 179 b i. * Id., I. 52 b i. 3 id., I. 180 b i. 



4 Id., 43 a i. 5 Id., I. 253 a I. 6 Id., I. 78 b I. 



' Id., I. 174 b I. 8 Id., I. 280 a 2. 



