THE MONKS OF MARMOUTIER. 
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felt their tenure anything hut secure, and, oppressed with debts 
as they were, it is no wonder that they grew tired of being tied 
to a foreign Abbey, paying to them yearly subsidies, and 
rendering themselves unpopular with the English among whom 
they lived. We are not surprised, therefore, that they made 
a petition to Parliament asking that they might be loosed from 
their union with Marmoutier, and be regarded as an indepen¬ 
dent English Priory. This was granted, and in 1426 the 
Monks of Marmoutier at York were naturalized, and their 
House was thenceforth practically an Abbey, the Heads being 
no longer appointed abroad, but elected by the monks them¬ 
selves, just as was the case at S. Mary’s Abbey. This deniza¬ 
tion was confirmed by Ed. IV. in 1466, and the monks were 
allowed to enjoy all such liberties, franchises, immunities, and 
privileges as the Abbot of S. Mary’s and the Dean and Chapter 
of the Minster had. To all intents and purposes Holy Trinity 
was, for the last century of its existence as a religious House, 
practically an Abbey, and that perhaps explains the fact that 
in many of the wills of the 15th century we find frequent 
reference to “ Trinity Abbey.” 
During this period the Priory had become more important 
through its connection with the Corpus Christi Guild. The 
annual procession of the Guild was a magnificent pageant, 
the great event of the year for the city and neighbourhood. 
The headquarters of the Guild were at S. Thomas’ Hospital, 
standing at the corner of Nunnery Lane, and the procession 
always started from the Priory Gateway, going on to the 
Minster, and thence to S. Leonard’s Hospital where the Host 
was left. 
Towards the end of the 15th century there was a Prior 
called Thomas Darnton, who was evidently a sort of ne’er-do- 
weel, and did the Priory a great deal of harm. He received 
on one occasion the royal pardon, for what crime we do not 
know ; at another time he was turned out of office at the 
Priory ; on another occasion he was arrested for rioting and 
brought before the King in Chancery to answer for the riots. 
This was in 1465 ; seven years later he had another turn, and 
simply played havoc at the Priory. He was charged with 
“ having gathered together certain evil-doers and gone to the 
