RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



Full use seems to have been made of the 

 scriptorium, rebuilt at his cost through the 

 energy of Thomas de Walsingham, the pre- 

 centor.'* The beautiful ' Book of Benefactors 

 of St. Albans,' now at Cambridge, witnesses to 

 the great appreciation of artistic merit at this 

 period.'^ Literary activity then was probably 

 greater than since the days of Matthew Paris. 

 'The Chronicle of England, 1328-88,' 'The 

 Chronicle by a Monk of St. Albans,' «» ' The 

 Annals of Richard II,' " and ' The EngHsh 

 History ' called Thomas Walsingham's were all 

 largely due to his monks, whose work was at 

 least equal in quality and surpassed in quantity 

 that of their predecessors in the 14th century, 

 Rishanger,*® Trokelowe and Blaneforde. Of the 

 brothers living at the abbey in 1380,'' Thomas 

 Walsingham was the author of the Gesta 

 Abbatum from the abbacy of Hugh de 

 Eversden.'* Nicholas Radchf wrote against the 

 Wychffite doctrines," and Simon de Southerey 

 was noted in his day for his verse and know- 

 ledge of astronomy.'^ But scope was found for 

 talent in other directions besides compiling 

 or writing books. '^ John de Bokedene and 

 William Stubard, a lay brother and stonemason, 

 carried out various building operations,'* 

 Robert de Trunche was apparently a painter,'^ 



" Gesta Abbat. iii, 393. 



^* For description see James, Cat. ofMSS. in Corpus 

 Christ: Coll. Camb. i, 19. The illuminations of the 

 other and artistically inferior ' Book of Benefactors,' 

 Cott. MS. Nero, D vii, were due in part to a secular, 

 Alan Straylere (fol. 108), but in the Corpus Christi 

 MS. he is mentioned only as contributing money 

 to the cost of the book (Trokelowe and Blaneforde, 

 Chron. App. p. 464). 



^^ The two are printed together in a volume of 

 the Rolls Series. 



^^ Included in the volume of the Rolls Series con- 

 taining Trokelowe and Blaneforde's Chron. 



*^ And the author of the chronicle that bears his 

 name, see Rishanger, Chron. et Annates (Rolls Ser.), 

 Introd. pp. xxxii— iv. 



69 Cott. MS. Nero, D vii, fol. 81 d.-83 d. 



'" See Gesta Abbat. ii, Introd. p. xix. The portion 

 between Matthew Paris's work and Walsingham's was 

 probably written by Rishanger (ibid. pp. ix-xix). 



'1 Cott. MS. Claud. E iv, fol. 33 l d. seq. printed in 

 Amundesham, Annales, ii, 305, App. E. 



'^ Ibid. He was evidently well known outside 

 the monastery, for on 8 Nov. 1395 the king granted 

 him an annual pension of ^^lo for life {Cal. Pat. 

 I 391-6, p. 662). 



'3 Three in 1380 copied or bound books. John 

 de Rikemaresworthe wrote the great graduals for the 

 precentor and sub-centor in the quire and two great 

 bocks assigned to the abbot at matins, and made at 

 his expense two books to be used at the mass of the 

 Virgin (Cott. MS. Nero, D vii, fol. 82). 

 '< Ibid. fol. 83. 



'' Ibid. fol. 84 d. He is said to have painted 

 the figure of St. Thomas of Canterbury in the 

 church. 



and a monk, William Walsham, helped to repair 

 Abbot Richard's clock." Several made hand- 

 some gifts of vestments and ornaments to the 

 church " in emulation of their abbot, who was 

 lavish in offerings." Though these were the 

 outcome of his own religious fervour, he was 

 doubtless aware of the aid that splendour and 

 beauty of ritual might render in that revival 

 of devotion which he tried to promote" by 

 preaching ^ and organizing solemn processions 

 of intercession on special occasions.*^ Thomas 

 de la Mare resembled John de Hertford in his 

 open-handedness. Unsparing of money on the 

 affairs of the abbey, in upholding its rights, 

 extending its privileges, in acquiring property *^ 



" Gesta Abbat. iii, 385. 



'' The great organs for the chapel of St. Mary 

 were provided through the industry of John of Yar- 

 mouth ; Thomas Goldsmith acquired for the house 

 a chasuble, cope and alb of cloth of gold and another 

 alb of green tartarin embroidered with gold goblets ; 

 Robert de Trunche gave a cope of cloth of gold 

 elaborately worked, a sapphire ring to the chapel of 

 St. Mary and a cloth of gold for the great altar ; 

 three others presented albs ; Richard Savage had 

 two silver-gilt suns made for St. Alban's shrine, 

 and gave, besides various copes and albs, a set of 

 vestments of green cloth of gold sprinkled with gold 

 birds, the red orphreys decorated with images of 

 St. John Baptist in gold ; and William Westwik, 

 the chamberlain, gave a beautiful jewel to contain a 

 relic of St. Amphibalus (Cott. MS. Nero, D vii, fol. 

 8id.-85). 



'* Among his gifts were a Lombard picture costing 

 over X45> white and gold vestments priced at j^l86, 

 a vestment of black velvet striped with gold, price 

 j^io; vestments to complete the set given by the 

 Black Prince, j^/o ; three mitres, ^^100 ; a pair of 

 pontifical gloves set with pearls, j^io ; cloth for chairs 

 and stools, over ^^148 ; the bell called ' Christus,' 

 a silver-gilt tabernacle, censers, candelabra, &c. 

 {Gesta Abbat. iii, 380-5). 



" The fraternity in honour of St. Alban formed by 

 the townsmen in 1377 to take part in processions in 

 which the shrine figured shows that his efforts were 

 to some purpose {Chron. Angl. 1328-88, p. 146). 



*" He made a careful study of preaching (Gesta 

 Abbat. ii, 379), and apparently made a point of 

 sermons to the people delivered by himself and his 

 monks or others whom he appointed (ibid, iii, 

 408). 



81 Ibid, iii, 408. These went to Sopwell and Pri, 

 the chapels of St. Mary Magdalene and St. German, 

 &c. There were also processions barefoot round the 

 cloister or the church on Wednesdays and Fridays, and 

 in them he took part in the coldest weather when 

 very old and ill. 



82 The church of Appleton in Ryedale (Yorks.) was 

 appropriated in 1349 (Cal. Papal Petitions, 171) at a 

 cost of j^200 ; for the manor of Gotham he paid Soo 

 marks ; for that of ' Wrobbele Myrenden ' (Meriden 

 in Watford) X^^° ; Snelleshall in Rickmansworth, 

 CO. Herts., j^8o, and for half the manor of 

 Norton-le-Clay (co. York), acquired in 1 3 54 (Cal. 

 Pat. 1354-8, p. 89), j^5o (Gesta Abbat. iii, 375-6). 



395 



