RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



Jciiown of its internal affairs or history. One 

 incident of interest is recorded in 1279. William 

 ■de Aketon, a monk of Rievaulx, evidently wish- 

 ing to abandon monastic life, came to the prior, 

 Nicholas of York, and said that he was a leper 

 and could no longer dwell with the brethren, 

 and therefore begged leave to depart. Another 

 monk, Jordan de Normanton, came up and 

 wished to examine William to see if he really 

 was leprous, whereupon the malingerer drew his 

 knife and stabbed him in the hand and fled into 

 ^he woods. Abbot William de Daneby was at 

 once told, and he immediately sent two of the 

 monks to pursue him. The fugitive was caught 

 in the woods and so severely beaten that he died 

 a few days after he had been brought back to 

 the monastery.'* William de Daneby seems to 

 have succeeded another Abbot William, who had 

 apparently been deposed and banished, as in 1279 

 it was reported that certain lay brethren of 

 Rievaulx who had been concerned in the 

 murder of John de Slarebrond had been sheltered 

 by ' William, then Abbot of Rievaulx, now a 

 monk of Byland.'" In 1380-1" besides the 

 abbot and prior, John de Lay ton (or Lanton), 

 there were thirteen other monks and three 

 ronveni. 



In 1406'' a glimpse of the inside life of the 

 abbey is afforded, with one of those little touches 

 which give life to a picture, by a mandate of 

 Pope Innocent VII, which states that each monk 

 in priest's orders was bound in turn for a week 

 at a time to sing mass solemnly [a/ta voce ad 

 notam) at the high altar, and to say the invitatory, 

 such monks being called ebdomadarii, but that 

 Thomas Beverley had an impediment of tongue, 

 on account of which he could not do this be- 

 comingly, so he was granted a dispensation from 

 performing the oflSce. 



What is generally known as the battle of 

 Byland took place in October 1322, and must 

 have greatly affected the two abbeys of Rievaulx 

 and Byland, but nothing certainly is known as to 

 what happened to Rievaulx in consequence of it. 

 The encounter between the English and the 

 Scots took place on the high ground between the 



" Assize R. 1064, m. 27. " Ibid. m. 28. 



"Subs. R. 63, no. 12. In 1 3 18, the king, on 

 petition of the Abbots of Rievaulx and Byland, had 

 directed the archbishop to make a new taxation of 

 those abbeys and other benefices wasted by the incur- 

 sions of the Scots. That was of course before what 

 is known as the Battle of Byland, when still further 

 destruction was made. Rievaulx Chartul. (Surt. Soc), 

 426. 



" Cal. of Papal Letters, y\, 176. In 1402 BonifacelX 

 granted a faculty to John de Firthby, Monk of 

 Rievaulx and papal chaplain, to dispose of his books 

 and certain other movables for the expenses of his 

 funeral, and the remuneration of his servants or kins- 

 men and others, and after deducting his debts, to 

 convert them to other pious and lawful uses. He 

 was to be liberal to his monastery. Ibid, v, 546. 



two houses and near Byland, but according to 

 the most trustworthy accounts the English king 

 was at Rievaulx and not Byland Abbey when 

 he received news of the defeat of his army." 

 He fled at once to York for safety, leaving, 

 according to the chronicler of Lanercost, his 

 silver plate and a great treasure behind him at 

 Rievaulx. This fell into the hands of the Scots, 

 and we are left to realize the sinister significance 

 of the words et monasterium spoliaverunt without 

 being told any details of the spoliation. 



The concluding years of Rievaulx were stormy, 

 and it is clear that the abbot, Edward Kirkby, 

 was ill affected towards the impending religious 

 charges. It was desirable, therefore, to get him 

 out of the way. On i September 1533^" the 

 king's commissioners complained that Abbot 

 Kirkby had written a letter ' to the slaundare 

 of the kinges heygnes, and after the kynges 

 lettars receivyed, dyd imprison and otharways 

 punyche divers of hys brethren whyche ware 

 ayenst him and hys dissolute liwing ; also dyd 

 take from one of the same, being a very agyd 

 man, all hys money.' Further they complained 

 that ' all the cuntre makythe exclamations of 

 this Abbot of Rywax, uppon hys abhomynable 

 liwing and extortions by hym commyttyd, also 

 many wronges to divers myserable persens don, 

 whyche evidently duthe apere by bylles corro- 

 boratt to be trwe with ther othes corporal, in the 

 presens of the commissionars and the said abbott 

 takyn, and opon the same xvi witnessys exa- 

 mynyd, affermyng ther exclamations to be trwe.' 

 The commissioners concluded by stating that 

 they had ' remowyed hym from the rewlle of 

 hys abbacie and admynistration of the same.' 



The convent refused to accept the deprivation 

 as canonical, and did not proceed to elect a 

 successor. On 13 September ^"^ another com- 

 mission was issued, addressed to the Abbots of 

 Fountains and Byland, recounting that the 

 abbacy of Rievaulx was vacant owing to the 

 deposition of the late abbot by four of the royal 

 commissioners, and that the licence of the Earl 

 of Rutland, the patron, had been given for the 

 election of a new abbot. The commissioners 

 were ordered ' to repaire unto the sayd monas- 

 terie to procure, by all the lawfull means and 

 ways ye can, the convent of the same to proceed 

 with the licence of our sayd cousin, theyr patron, 

 to the election of a new abbote, and to certifie 

 unto us all that ye and the sayd convent shall 

 have doon therein, for that we moche desyre 

 the goode establishement of the sayd monasterye 

 as we doo of all others.' 



The Abbot of Fountains being engaged on a 

 mission to Cockersand Abbey, the Abbot of 

 Byland reported that on 15 October,^^ accom- 



" Rievaulx Chartul. (Surt. Soc), Introd. p. Ixxxi. 

 '° Ibid. Introd. pp. ciii-ix. 



" Torks. Star Chamb. Proc. (Yorks. Rec. Ser.), 48. 

 " Ibid. 49. 



151 



