ANTIQUITIES OF SEABORNE. 225 



Thomas Makerel; and also all her goods and chattels in Selborne 

 for the consideration of two hundred pounds sterling. This last busi- 

 ness 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 deemed any disgrace, 

 though dastardy was esteemed the greatest. He was married to 

 Gunnorie Duncun ; and had a tenement and some land granted him in 

 Selborne by his sister Johanna. 



LETTEE XL 



THE Knights Templars,* who have been mentioned in a former 

 letter, had considerable property in Selborne ; and also a preceptory 



* 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 1100, 1 Hen. 1. 



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. 24, 10. 



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. 37 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 commandry ; see p. 243, 263, 276, 577, 

 678. But, to account for the first observed inaccuracy, it is probable the precep- 

 tories of the Templars, when given to the Hospitalars, were still vulgarly, however, 

 called by their old name of preceptories ; whereas in propriety societies of the 

 Hospitalars were indeed (as has been said) commandries. And such deviation 

 from the strictness of expression in this case might occasion those societies of 

 Hospitalars also to be indifferently called preceptories, which had originally been 

 vested in them, having never belonged to the Templars at all. See in ARCHER, 

 p. 609; TANNER, p. 300, col. 1, 720, n. e. 



It is observable that the very statute for the dissolution of the Hospitalars 

 holds the same language; for there, in the enumeration of particulars occur 

 "commandries, preceptories." CODEX, p. 1190. Now this intercommunity of 

 names, and that in an Act of Parliament too, made some of our ablest antiquaries 

 look upon a preceptory and commandry as strictly synonymous ; accordingly 

 we find Camden, in his "Britannia," explaining prseceptoria in the text by a 

 commandry in the margin, p. 356. 510. J. L. 



Commandry, a manor or chief messuage with lands, &c., belonging to the 

 priory of St. John of Jerusalem ; and he who had the government of such house 

 was called the commander, who could not dispose of it but to the use of the 

 priory, only taking thence his own sustenance, according to his degree, who was 

 usually a brother of the same priory. Co WELL. He adds (confounding these 

 with preceptories) they are in many places termed temples, as Temple Bruere 

 in Lincolnshire, &c. Preceptories were possessed by the more eminent sort of 

 Templars, whom the chief master created and called Prseceptores Templi. 

 COWELL, who refers to STEPHENS De Jurisd. lib. iv. c. 10, no. 27. 



Placita de juratis et assis coram Salom. de Roff et sociis suis justic. Itiner. 

 apud Wyuton, &c., anno regni R. Edwardi fil. Reg. -Hen. octavo. "et MagTi 

 Milicie Templi in Angl. ht emendasse partis, et suis [cerevisiae] in Sodington, et 

 nescint q. war. et et magist. Milicie Templi non ven io distr. " Cliapter House, 

 Westminster, 



