A HISTORY OF YORKSHIRE 



sisters. The door used to be diligently kept by a 

 faithful and active conversus. The household of 

 Robert de Hiltun, kt., wandered dissolutely about 

 the cloister and parlour, and in a very suspicious 

 manner conversed with the nuns and sisters, 

 whence danger was suspected. Robert himself 

 was very troublesome, and for fear of his oppres- 

 sion the canons of the house lately, without the 

 consent of the convent, gave him a barn full of 

 corn, which should have been for the main- 

 tenance of the convent. The canons and con- 

 versi, under pretence of taking care of the external 

 property of the house, wasted it, which, if it were 

 carefully looked after, would suffice for the main- 

 tenance of all. The nuns were only receiving 

 bread, cheese and ale, and on two days in the 

 week they only had water. The canons, how- 

 ever, and their accomplices were having plenty, 

 and were daintily provided for. It was found 

 that the house of Swine could not maintain more 

 nuns or sisters than were then there. Moreover, 

 the house was in debt to the amount of 140 

 marks at least, and on that account the archbishop 

 decreed that no one was to be received as nun or 

 sister without his consent. The correction of 

 these matters, if not carried out by the canons 

 and convent within a short time, the archbishop 

 specially reserved to himself to effect, as soon as 

 he had leisure. 



It is not improbable that the disclosures made 

 at this visitation had as their ultimate re- 

 sult the removal of the canons not many years 

 later. 



On 15 March 1267-8 " the archbishop wrote 

 'religiosis mulieribus et fil' in Deo dilectis 

 priorisse et canonicis de Swyne ' a letter which 

 dealt generally with the conduct of the nuns and 

 sisters. Nothing is said about the canons, but a 

 custos of the house is alluded to, and for the 

 better providing of the convent, 40 marks was 

 to be entrusted to one of the brothers. '* 



That the separation of the canons and nuns of 

 Swine was being effected about this time seems 

 also clear from a letter addressed by Archbishop 

 Romanus on 3 September 1287" to the abbots 

 of the Premonstratensian order, then assembled in 

 their general chapter, asking that Brother Robert 

 de Spalding, canon of Croxton, of their order, 

 whom with special consent of the abbot he had 

 appointed master of the house of the poor women 

 of Swine, might be allowed to hold that office, 

 so that he could assist by his circumspect indus- 

 try in relieving the poverty and downfall which 

 threatened. Here Swine is alluded to as a house 

 of women, as if it were intended to lay special 

 stress on the fact that it was no longer a double 

 monaster}'. 



" JrM/:. Giffard's Rig. 249. 



' The word ' frater ' was commonly applied to a 

 cenzc-suj. The anversi continued at Swine after the 

 removal of the canons. 



" Vork Archiepis. Reg. Romanus, fol. 6ib. 



In 1289*' another member of the St. Quintin 

 family is met with as a nun, and on 10 May 

 the archbishop directed the prioress to restore the 

 black veil to her, which on account of her de- 

 merits had been taken from her for a year. On 

 4 January 1289-90,^' the archbishop wrote to 

 the Abbot of Croxton, asking that Brother R. de 

 Spalding might be allowed to continue his work 

 at Swine till Easter. The abbot had recalled him 

 just at a time when his labours were bearing fruit, 

 and the archbishop asked that he might remain 

 till he had been able to render a complete state- 

 ment of affairs, which would be, God willing, 

 before Easter. Less than a month later (30 Jan- 

 uary),*^ the archbishop addressed a general letter 

 univenis, &c., saying that R. de Spalding, whom 

 his abbot had recently permitted to be appointed 

 master of the nuns of Swine, had laboured most 

 industriously and commendably in regard to the 

 affairs of the house. On 28 September," Josiana 

 de Anlaghby was appointed prioress, Cecilia de 

 Walkingham having resigned, and on the 

 following day the archbishop commissioned the 

 Master ^* and Prioress of Swine to inquire the 

 names of the nuns who acted disobediently to- 

 wards them, and did evil to the house on the 

 occasion of the creation of the new prioress, that 

 they might be sent to Rosedale vestr't ardinis,^^ 

 there to dwell in penance.''* The master and 

 prioress were also ordered to send Elizabeth de 

 Rue to Nunburnholme " under the charge of a 

 brother of the house and a horseman. The 

 archbishop further directed by a letter to the 

 Master and Prioress of Swine that they were to 

 restore to Elizabeth de Arranis,^' their nun, the 

 veil of consecration {consecracionis velum) which she 

 had laid aside on account of her transgression, but 

 she was the more firmly to persevere with the 

 rest of her penance. On 3 April following^' the 

 archbishop appointed Robert Bustard, canon of the 

 house of St. Robert of Knaresborough, Master of 

 Swine in place of Robert de Spalding, but next'" 

 year he wrote to the Master of St. Robert's that 

 he had not administered the affairs of Swine cir- 

 cumspectly, and the archbishop asked that he 

 might be recalled to Knaresborough. In another 

 letter,'^ to the prioress and convent, the archbishop 

 stated that for reasons which he did not care to 

 give at the time, Helewyse Darains, one of their 

 nuns, was to be sent to Wykeham for a time, 

 while a nun of that house, of good and praise- 

 worthy conversation, was to come to them. 



Archbishop Newark notified the convent of a 

 proposed visitation on Tuesday after the feast of 



91 

 Ibid 



Ibid. fol. 62. " Ibid. fol. 6ib. 



Ibid. fol. 63. " Ibid. fol. 633. 



'Commissio Magistro et Priorisse de Swyna. 



Rosedale was a Cistercian house. 

 York Archiepis. Reg. Romanus, fol. 63^. 

 Ibid. » Ibid. » Ibid. fol. 64 



Ibid. fol. 645. " Ibid. fol. 66. 



180 



