ABB 
Coke tells us, that feveral lords, at their creation, had a 
elaufe in their grant, that the donor might give or fell his 
land to whom he would (exceptis viris religiojis & JudceisJ, 
excepting monks and Jews. 
Thefe places were wholly abolifhed in England at the 
time of the reformation; Henry VIII. having firrt ap¬ 
pointed vifitors to infpeil into the lives of the monks and 
nuns, which were found in fome places very diforderly : 
upon which, the abbots, perceiving their dilfolution una¬ 
voidable, were induced to refign their houfes to the king, 
who by that means became inverted with the abbey-lands: 
thefe were afterwards granted to different perfons, whofe 
defendants enjoy them at this day: they were then valued 
at 2,853,000k per annum,—animmenfe fum in thofe days. 
Though the fuppreffion of religious houfes, even con- 
fidered in a political light only, was of a very great na¬ 
tional benefit, it muff be owned that, at the time they 
flouriflied, they were not entirely ufelefs. Abbeys or 
monafteries were then the repolitories, as well as the ierni- 
naries of learning; many valuable books and national re¬ 
cords, as well as private evidences, have been preferved 
in their libraries; the only places wherein they could have 
been fafely lodged in thofe turbulent times. Many of 
thofe which had efcaped the ravages of the Danes, were 
deffroyed with more than Gothic barbarity at the diffolu- 
tion of the abbeys. Thefe ravages are pathetically la¬ 
mented by John Bale, in his declaration upon Leland’s 
Journal, 1549. “ Covetoufnefs (fays he) was at that time 
fo bufy about private commodity, that public wealth, in 
that mod necelfary and of refpedt, was not any where re¬ 
garded. A number of them which purchafed thefe fu- 
perftitious manfions, referved of the library-books, fome 
to ferve their jacks, fome to fcour the candlefficks, and 
fome to rub their boots; fome they fold to the grocer 
and foap-feller; and fome they fent over the fea to the 
book-binders, not in fmall numbers, but in whole (hips 
full; yea, the univerfities of this realm are not clear of 
fo deteftable a faff. I know a merchant that bought the 
contents of two noble libraries for forty lhillings price; a 
fhame it is to be fpoken! This ftuff hath he occupied in- 
ftead of grey paper, by the fpace of more than thefe ten 
years, and yet he hath Itore enough for as many years to 
come. I fhall judge this to be true, and utter it with hea- 
vinefs, that neither the Britons under the Romans and 
Saxons, nor yet the Engliffi people under the Danes and 
Normans, had ever fuch damage of their learned monu¬ 
ments as we have feen in our time.” 
In thofe days every abbey had at lead one perfon whofe 
office it was to inrtruft youth; and tire hirtorians of this 
country are chiefly beholden to the monks for the know¬ 
ledge they have of former national events. In thefe 
houfes alfo the arts of painting, architeffure, and printing, 
were cultivated. The religious houfes alfo were hofpitals 
for the fick and poor; affording likewife entertainment to 
travellers at a time when there were no inns. In them 
the nobility and gentry who were heirs to their founders 
could provide for a certain number of ancient and faithful 
fervants, by procuring them corodies, or dated allow¬ 
ances of meat, drink, and clothes. They were likewife 
an afylum for aged and indigent perfons of good family. 
The neighbouring places were alfo greatly benefited by 
the fairs procured for them, and by their exemption from 
fored-laws; add to which, that the monadic ertates were 
generally let at very eafy rents, the fines given at renewals 
included. 
The abbots who prefided over thefe monarteries, were 
many of them called to parliament, and had fe^ts and 
votes in the houfe of lords. Of abbots and priors who 
rtatedly and condantly enjoyed this privilege, there were 
twenty-nine in all, viz. the Abbot of Tewkelbury, the 
Prior of Coventry, the Abbots of Waltham, Cirencef- 
ter, St, John’s at Colcheder, Croyland, Shrewlbury, Sel¬ 
by, Bardney, St. Bennet’s of Hulme, Thorney, Hyde at 
Wincherter, Winchelcomb, Battel, Reading, St. Mary’s 
jn York, Ramfey, Peterborough, St. Peter’s in Glouceder, 
Vol. 1. Ne. t. 
ABB 9 
Gladonbury, St. Edmundlbury, St. Aurtin in Canterbu¬ 
ry, St. Alban’s, Wedminder, Abingdon, Eveffiam, 
Malmfbury, and Tavidock, and the prior of St. John’s 
of Jerufalem, who was rtyled. the firft baron of England, 
but it was in refpeft to the lay barons only, for he was the 
lad of the fpiritual barons. 
The abbey-lands, before the diflolution of the monaf¬ 
teries, were many of them difcharged from the payment 
of tithes; either by the pope’s bulls; or by real compod- 
tion with the parfon, patron, and ordinary; or by their 
order, as Cirtertians, Templars, Kofpitalars, and Prse- 
mondratenfes. But this was only fo long as the lands re¬ 
mained in the hands of the feveral religious focieties, and 
were cultivated by them, and not in the hands of their te¬ 
nants or lellees. Thefe exemptions by the dilfolution had 
been abolifhed, if they had not been continued by the aft 
of parliament 31 Henry VIII. c. 13. with refpeft to fuch 
of the monarteries as were diffolved by that aft; which 
enafts, that they who rtiall have any lands belonging to the 
faid religious houfes, (hall enjoy them difcharged of the 
payment of tythes, in like manner as the abbots and others 
enjoyed the fame at the time of their dilfolution. Which 
aft alfo created a new difcharge, which was not before at 
the common law, that is, unity of the pojfejjion of the par- 
fonage-and land tithable in the fame hand; for if the mo¬ 
nartery, at the time of the dilfolution, was feifed of the 
lands and reftory, and had paid no tithes within the me¬ 
mory of man for the lands; thofe lands fhall now be ex¬ 
empted from payment of tythe, by a fuppofed perpetual 
unity of poffellion; becaufe the fame perfons that had the 
lands, having alfo the parfonage, could not pay tithes to 
themfelves. And now, though the titles of difcharge 
under 31 Henry VIII. are many of them lod, and cannot 
be made out at this day; yet if the lands of a religious 
houfe have been held lince the dilfolution freed from the 
payment of tythes, it fliall be intended that they were held 
l'o before. Wood , b. 2. c. 2. 
ABBEYBOYLE, a town of Ireland, in the county 
of Rofcommon, and province of Connaught, fituate on 
the river Buelle, over which there are two done bridges. 
It is eighty-four miles from Dublin, and is remarkable for 
an old abbey. W. long. 8.32. lat. 56. 54. 
ABBEYHOLM, a town in Cumberland, fo called from 
an abbey built there by David king of Scots. It rtands on 
an arm of the fea, 16 miles from Carlille. W. long. 2. 
38. Lat. 54. 45. 
ABBEY-LUBBER, f. A flothful loiterer in areligious 
houfe, under pretence of retirement and auderity. 
ABBOT, f. [in the lower Latin abbas , from as* father, 
which fenfe was dill implied; fo that the abbots were 
called patres, and abbelfes matres mcnaferii.'] The chief of 
a convent, or fellowfhip of canons. Of thefe, fome in 
England were mitred, fome not: thofe that were mitred, 
were exempted from the jurifdidtion of the diocefan, hav¬ 
ing in themfelves epifcopal authority within their precindts, 
and being alfo lords of parliament. Tire other fort were 
fubjebt to the diocefan in all fpiritual government. Some 
were called crofiered abbots, from their bearing the crolier 
or partoral rtaff. Others were ililed oecumenical or univer- 
fal abbots, in imitation of the patriarch of Conrtantinople : 
while others were termed cardinal abbots, from the if 
fuperiority over all other abbots. At prefent, in the 
Roman-catholic countries, the principal didinttions ob- 
ferved between abbots are thofe of regular and commen¬ 
datory. The former take the vow and wear the habit of 
their order ; whereas the latter are feculars, though they 
are obliged by their bulls to take orders when ot proper 
age. Anciently, the ceremony of creating an abbot com- 
firted in clothing him with the habit called ntcutus, or 
cowl; putting the partoral rtaff' into his hand, and the 
fltoes called pcdalcs on his feet; but at prefent, it is only a 
fimple benediftion, improperly called, by fome, confe- 
cration. 
Abbot (George), archbiQmp of Canterbury, was born 
Odt. 29, 1562, at Guildford in Surrey. He went through 
D his 
