RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



the control of the song-school ; while the chan- 

 cellor was ex officio master of the grammar- 

 school.^* The chief duty of the sacrist was the 

 care of the church and the shrine of St. John.^' 



More difficult to explain is the position of the 

 seven clerks known as Berefellarii, who received 

 corrodies from the Bedern, and evidently were 

 attached to the church from an early date.^^ 

 Their nickname has been interpreted to mean 

 'bear-skins,' from some distinctive feature of 

 their dress, or ' bare-skins,' which may imply 

 that they were originally poor clerks subsisting 

 on alms derived from the seven canons. It 

 seems that seven bedesmen, attached to the 

 foundation, were superseded by seven poor clerks, 

 who took their part in the services of the church.*^ 

 Their position improved by degrees. Although 

 bound to continual residence, they were fre- 

 quently allowed licences of non-residence to 

 study at universities'"; and in 1324 one of 

 them is called magister.^^ Archbishop Thoresby 

 raised them to an equality with the parsons of 

 York Minster; and the statutes of 1391 pre- 

 scribed that they should no longer be called by 

 the turpe nomen of berefellarii, but should be 

 known as parsons.'^ In 1422 their status is 

 described as a parsonage, office, or benefice '' ; 

 and in 147 1—2 they were incorporated as the 

 seven parsons in the quire of the collegiate 

 church.'^ Like the dignitaries, who were also 

 bound to continual residence, they were appointed 

 by the provost.'* 



Arundel's statutes '* enumerate, in addition, 

 nine vicars or deputies of the archbishop and 

 canons, seven chantry priests, nine canons' 

 clerks, one clerk of the precentor, a clerk of 

 the charnel, seven clerks of the parsons or bere- 

 fellarii, two incense-bearers, eight choristers, two 

 sacrist's clerks, and two vergers or bell-ringers. 

 The vicars choral, as at York and elsewhere, 



'^ See Leach, ibid, i, pp. lix-lxvi. 



" Ibid. pp. Ivi, Ivii. At Southvi'ell the sacrist or 

 sexton had a prebendal stall attached to his office. 



^ Their position is fully discussed by Leach, ibid, 

 pp. Ixvii-Ixxiv. 



" This appears from the undated Ordinance of the 

 Refectory, printed by A. F. Leach, in Jrch. \v, 19, 20, 

 from Lansd. MS. 895, fol. 132. See Chapter Act 

 Bk. (Surt. Soc), i, p. Ixx. 



^° See ibid, i, 73-4, 176. 



"Ibid, ii, 46. "Ibid. 269. 



" Cal. Pat. 1422-9, p. 17. 



" Ibid. 1467-77, p. 309. The date of the grant 

 is 21 Feb. In Chapter Act Bk. (Surt. Soc), i, 

 p. Ixxiv, the reference to Pat. 1 1 Edw. IV is mis- 

 printed 2 Edw. IV. 



'' Chapter Act Bk. (Surt. Soc), i, 336 ; ii, 168-9. 



" Printed at length from inspeximus and confirma- 

 tion in Pat. 21 Ric II [Cal. Pat. 1396-9, p. 348) 

 in Chapter Act Bk. (Surt. Soc), ii, 265 etseq. There 

 is an inaccurately printed copy in Dugdale's Monasti- 

 con, vi, 1308. The original of the statutes does not 

 appear to exist. 



were permanent institutions ; and one of them 

 represented the archbishop in right of his corrody. 

 One peculiar feature of their office was that each 

 of the prebendal altars carried with it a cure of 

 souls. Archbishop Melton in 1325 ascribed 

 this to the original status of the minster as a 

 parish church, served by the canons in common, 

 and to the subsequent division of the parish 

 among the canons, to whom fixed cures of souls 

 were assigned by virtue of their prebends." 

 The fact, however, was that the cures of souls 

 annexed to the altars had no parochial boun- 

 daries. To Melton's complaint that suitable vicars 

 had been instituted in none of the prebendal 

 parishes, save in that of St. Martin's altar,'' the 

 chapter answered that the ' parishioners ' of each 

 prebend came to their own altar in the church, 

 and were there duly served by the vicar of the 

 stall, and that, in case of sickness, the vicars 

 choral were ready to minister to those within 

 their cure. The existence of an additional clerk 

 in the payment of each canon was held by them 

 to supply an answer to any charge of neglect by 

 the vicars of their choral duties.'' 



The clerks of the canons, precentor, sacrist, 

 and herefellarii were known as ' clerks of the 

 second form,' and after a year of probation in 

 quire were admitted to minor orders.^" Their 

 duty was to assist at the quire offices and serve 

 at the altars. They were under the correction 

 of the precentor, who examined them in song ; 

 but their qualification for admission was an exa- 

 mination in letters by the chapter.*^ The 

 choristers received a free education at the gram- 

 mar school *^ ; they were admitted to the quire 

 by the sub-chanter,*' who was one of the vicars 

 choral.** The number of chantry priests, seven 

 in 1 39 1, was fifteen at the time of the suppres- 

 sion of the college.** The chantry priests were 

 never incorporated. 



Little is known of the internal history of the 

 chapter of Beverley until the later part of the 



" Chapter Act Bk. (Surt. Soc), ii, 57. Melton 

 objected that some of these parishioners lived ' in 

 remotis et locis valde distantibus ab ecclesia Bever- 

 lacensj predicta.' 



'* The ordination of the vicarage bears date 23 Dec. 

 1269. Printed ibid, i, 194-7. 



" Ibid, ii, 59. A jury of men of Beverley in 

 1425 defined the parochial rights of each prebend, 

 with the result that the town of Beverley was dis- 

 charged from its contribution to two subsidies levied 

 in 1424, because there was no parish church in it 

 but that of St. Nicholas or Holmekirk. (Ibid. 339 

 et seq.) « Ibid, i, 212. 



" Ibid. 53. The four clerks of St. Mary's were 

 also examined by the chapter, and counted as clerks 

 of the minster (ibid. 189). 



"Ibid. 292-3. "Ibid. 293. 



" See e.g. ibid. 221. 



*^ Torks. Chant. Sa/T. (Surt. Soc), 521-6. Count- 

 ing the chantry of Corpus Christi in the charnel, 

 there were sixteen. 



355 



