By F. A. Carrington, Esq. 



7 



hermits, which is to hear Mass every day, and on Sundays and holy- 

 days twice, and say fifteen Paternoster and Aves. The hermit 

 was "enclosed" in his Hermitage, as it was called, with a religious 

 service ; that "in Usum Sarum," being contained in a MS. of the 

 reign of Edw. 4th, now in the British Museum. (Harl. MS. No. 

 873, fol. 18 b). 



Simon de Gandavo Bishop of Salisbury, who died May 31st, 

 1315, made a code of regulations for Hermits and Anchoresses, 

 which I went to the British Museum to consult. A beautifully 

 written manuscript volume was brought to me, and I was told 

 there were two other manuscripts of the same work, all three being 

 in the Cotton Library. Had the good Bishop written in Latin I 

 should have understood his ordinances ; had he written in the JNTorman 

 language I would have tried to have done so, but as he wrote in 

 what I suppose he considered to be English, I could not read a 

 sentence ; indeed I at first supposed that the language was German 

 but I have since ascertained that ladies well versed in German can 

 read no more of it than I can. I was about to give up the Bishop's 

 ordinances in despair, when I ascertained that the Camden Society 

 had come to the rescue, by bringing out a beautiful edition of the 

 work with the various readings, and an admirable translation by 

 the Rev. Prebendary Morton, B.D. 1 



and pretended to be a hermit at Fisherton, and that the Bishop in consequence 

 of this laid the Chapel in which he officiated under an interdict ; and he adds 

 that in 1348 a dispensation was granted to the hermit at Fisherton, to celebrate 

 Divine Worship in the Chapel there. Dr. Ingram in his "Memorials of Codford 

 St. Mary," (p. 48,) gives a copy of the profession of Richard Ludlow, and at 

 (p. 47,) gives a translation of the license granted by King Edward 2nd. to Oliver 

 De Ingham to endow a hermitage at East Codford, with two acres of land : this 

 is dated June 6th, 1317, and is extracted from the Patent Rolls, 10 Edward 2d. 

 p. 2. m. 8. 



1 The following is a specimen of the English of Simon de Gandavo : — Nu aski 

 ze hwat riwle ze ancren sohullen holden ? Ye schullen alleis weis, mid alle 

 mitite & mid alle strenege, wel witen J?e iure, & J?e uttre vor hire sale — J?e iure 

 is enere ilube : J?e uttre is misliebe. 



Which is thus translated : — "Do you now ask what rule you Anchoresses 

 should observe? Ye should by all means, with all your might and with all your 

 strength, keep well the inward rule and for its sake the outward. The inward rule 

 is always alike." 



