A HISTORY OF YORKSHIRE 



GcofiFrey de Pykering, occurs 1397,*^ 1400*' 



William (Helperby)," occurs 1435-69" 



Thomas Kylburn, occurs 1479" 



John Ferlington, elected 1499*' 



John Ledes ali-as Alanbridge, elected 1525*' 



The little circular 1 3th-century seal,*' \ in. in 

 diameter, has a half-length figure of our Lady 

 with the Child, and the legend : — 



<f^ AVE [maRIA] 



An abbot sealed c. 1 186 with a little vesica,'" 

 i-^in. by i in., showing the standing figure of 

 himself, holding staff and book. Abbot Walter (?) 

 in or about 1 2 10 used a seal ^'^ of similar design. 

 Both of these have the legend : — 



SIGILLUM ABBATIS DE BELLELANDA 



Another abbot's seal,'^ used in ii86, has a 

 design of an arm and hand holding a crozier, 

 with the legend : — 



^ SIGILLVM ABBATIS BELLELANDE 



22. FOUNTAINS ABBEY 



At the time that the work of St. Bernard had 

 begun to make itself felt in England, when the 

 abbey of Rievaulx had just been founded,^ the 

 great Benedictine house of St. Mary in York, 

 under the rule of its third abbot, Geoffrey, was 

 somewhat lax as to its internal discipline,^ and as 

 the reports reached the brethren of the more 

 rigorous form of monasticism being observed in 

 such places as Rievaulx, the monks of St. Mary 

 began to long for a stricter rule. The one first 

 influenced seems to have been the sacrist, Richard, 

 and others soon joined him. The prior of the 

 house, also named Richard, shared their views, and 

 before long became the leader of the dissatisfied 

 group of thirteen brethren.' The abbot remon- 

 strated, but the thirteen, led by the prior, made their 

 wishes known to Archbishop Thurstan, who 

 at once sympathized with them. The archbishop 



" York Archiepls. Reg. Waldby, fol. 6. 



" Cal. of Papal Letters, v, 7. 



" The surname Helperby occurs on a. fragment of 

 an antiphoner shown to Mr. W. H. St. John Hope on 

 I July 1905, and then belonging to Mr. F. C. Eales. 



" Baildon, Mon. Notes, i, 27. 



*' Occurs on the fragment of the antiphoner above 

 mentioned as abbot on feast of Assumption 1479, when 

 John Ferlington, afterwards abbot, entered the cell of 

 the novices. 



" Dugdale, Mon. Angl. v, 345. " Ibid. 



" Cat. of Seals, B.M., 2818 ; Add. Chart. 20546. 



'^ Ibid. 2819 ; Cott. Chart, v, 13. 



" Ibid. 2821 ; xlix, 14. 



" Ibid. 2822 ; Ixxiv, 27. 



'In 1 1 3 1 {Surt. Soc. Publ. Ixvii, 116). ' Ibid. 



° Surt. Soc. Publ. xlii, p. xxvi. 



paid a visit to the abbey on 9 October 1 132. 

 accompanied by Dean Hugh * and many others. 

 On their arrival at the chapter-house they were 

 ref^ed admission and a tumultuous scene toUowed, 

 the archbishop placing the abbey under an 

 interdict and himself and friends havmg to seek 

 refuge in the church. When they left they 

 were accompanied by the thirteen malcontent 

 monks ; Richard the prior,'' Gervase the sub- 

 prior,« Richard the sacrist,' Walter* the almoner,* 

 Robert the precentor,!" Ranulph," Alexan- 

 der (?),!^ Geoffrey," Gregory, Thomas, Hamo, 

 Gamel and Ralph,'* and they were joined by 

 Robert, a monk of Whitby.'' 



For nearly three months these brethren were 

 the guests of the archbishop. But during that 

 time the abbot did his utmost by force, threat, 

 entreaty and other means to persuade them to 

 return. Two of them yielded, Gervase and 

 Ralph, but the former rejoined the group, whilst 

 the latter ' made terms with his flesh, and his 

 belly clave to the ground.' These thirteen 

 brethren — the twelve and Robert of Whitby — 

 spent Christmas Day with the archbishop at 

 Ripon, and the following day he led them along 

 the valley of the Skell to a spot 3 miles from 

 Ripon, which with land adjacent he gave to 

 them as the site of their future monastery. 

 Richard the prior was elected the first abbot of 

 the abbey of Fountains,'' on the morrow of the 

 Feast of the Nativity, 11 32." 



They formally decided to adopt the Cistercian 

 rule, and put themselves in communication with 

 St. Bernard,"* explaining their circumstances and 

 origin and asking that they might be admitted to 

 the order. St. Bernard replied expressing his 

 delight at their decision, and wrote also to the 

 archbishop, extolling him for his goodness to the 

 suffering monks." He dispatched one of his 

 monks, Geoffrey, to initiate them into the new 

 rule, who, on his return to Clairvaux, gave so 

 glowing a report ^ of all he had witnessed in the 

 valley of the Skell that the little society was at 



* He afterwards retired to Fountains, where he 

 died. 



' First Abbot of Fountains. 



° Afterwards Abbot of Louth Park. 



' Second Abbot of Fountains. 



° Waltheof is given in Surt. Soc. Publ. xlii, p. xxv. 



° Abbot of Kirkstcad. 



'" Surt. Soc. Publ. xlii, p. xxix. 



" Abbot of Lisa (ibid. p. xlvii). 



" First Abbot of Kirkstall. 



" Abbot of Haverholme {Surt. Soc. Publ., xlii, p. xli). 



" Ibid. p. xxxiii. 



'' Saint Robert of Newminster, of which he was 

 abbot. 



'° The dedication was St. Mary, the ordinary 

 appellation being Fountains. 



" Surt. Soc. Publ. xlii, p. xxxiv. 



" Raine, St. Mary's Abbey, 5 1 . 



" Surt. Soc. Publ. xlii, p. xxxv. 



" Raine, St. Mary's Abbey, 52. 



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