540 
PEN 
ligious at Seville in Spain, confiding of women who had 
led a licentious life, founded in 1550. This monaftery 
is divided into three quarters: one for profeffed reli¬ 
gious-, another for noyices; a third for thofe who are 
under correction. When thefe lad give figns of a real 
repentance, they are removed into the quarter of the no¬ 
vices, where, if they do not behave themfelves well, they 
are remanded to their correftion. They obferve the rule 
of St. Auguftine. 
Penitents of Oivieto. are an order of nuns, inftituted 
by Antony Simoncelli, a gentleman of Orvieto, in Italy. 
The monaftery he built was at firft defigned for the re¬ 
ception of poor girls abandoned by their parents, and in 
danger of lofing their virtue. In 1662 it was eredted 
into a monaftery, for the reception of fuch as, having 
abandoned themfelves to impurity, were willing to re¬ 
form, and confecrate themfelves to God by folemn vows. 
Their rule is that of the Carmelites. Thefe religious 
have this in peculiar, that they undergo no noviciate. 
Ail required is, that they continue a few months in the 
monaftery in a fecular habit ; after which they are ad¬ 
mitted to the vows. 
PENITEN'TIAL, adj. Exprefling penitence; en¬ 
joined as penance.—Is it not ftrange, that a rational 
man (hould adore leeks and garlick, and filed penitential 
tears at the fmell of a deified onion. South. 
I have done penance for contemning love, 
Wiiofe high imperious thoughts have punifli’d me 
With bitter fafts and penitential groans. ShaheJ'peare. 
PENITEN'TIAL, [ [ penitenciel , Fr. paenitentiale, 
low Lat.] A book direfling the degrees of penance.— 
The penitential, or book of penance, contained fuch mat¬ 
ters as related to the impofing cf penance, and the re¬ 
conciliation of the perfon that fuffered penance. Ayliffe. 
—There are various penilentials, as the Roman peniten¬ 
tial, that of the venerable Bede, that of pope Gregory III. 
See. Chambers. 
PENITEN'TIARY, adj. Relating to the rules and 
meafures of penance.—There needed 110 other penitentiary 
tax. Bp. Bramhall's SchiJ'm Guarded. 
PEN ITEN'TIARY, J\ [penitencier, Fr. pcenitentiarius, 
low Lat.] In the ancient Chriftian church, a name given 
to certain prefbytersor priefts, appointed in every church 
to receive the private confeflions of the people, in order 
to facilitate public difcipline, by acquainting them what 
fins were to be expiated by public penance, and to appoint 
private penance for fuch private crimes as were not pro¬ 
per to be publicly cenfured.—Upon thelofsof Urbin, the 
duke’s undoubted right, no penitentiary, though he had 
enjoined him never fo ftraight penance to expiate his firft 
offence, would have counfeiled him to have given over 
purfuit of his right, which he profperoufly re-obtained. 
Bacon. —At the court of Rome, an office in which are 
examined and delivered out the fecret bulls, graces, or 
difpenfations relating to cafes of confidence, confeflions, 
See .—An officer, in fome of their cathedrals, veiled with 
power from the bifiiop toabfolve in certain cafes. The 
pope has at prefent his grand penitentiary, who is a cardi¬ 
nal, and the chief of the other penitentiary priefts efta- 
blidied in the church of Rome, who confult him in all 
difficult cafes. He prefides in the penitentiary, difpatch.es 
difpenfations, absolutions, See. and has under him a re¬ 
gent and twenty-four proftors.—The great penitentiary 
with his counfellors preferibes the meafure of penance, 
Ayliffe — A penitent; one who does penance.—A prifon 
reftrained John Northampton’s liberty, who, for abufing 
the fame in his unruly' mayoralty of London, was con¬ 
demned hither as a perpetual penitentiary. Carew. —To 
maintain a painful fight againft the law of fin is the work 
of the penitentiary. Hammond. —One kind of Francifcan. 
—Many other reformations have been from time to time 
of the Francil’cans, as by the Minims, Recollefts, Peni¬ 
tentiaries, Capuchins, See. Weever. —A place where pe¬ 
nance is enjoined 5 as the Penitentiary at Milbank. 
PEN 
PENITENTLY, adv. With repentance; with forrow 
for fin ; with contrition. 
PEN'ITENTNESS, f. The ftate of being penitent. 
PENK, a river of Engla_nd, in the county of Stafford, 
which runs into the Sow about a mile below Stafford. 
PENKE'MAS POI'NT, acape or headland on the weft 
coaft of Wales, and north point of the county of Pem¬ 
broke, at the mouth of the Tivy, four miles below Car¬ 
digan. 
PEN'KNIFE, f. A knife ufed to cut pens.—Some 
fchoolmen, fitter to guide penknives than fwords, precifely 
ftand upon it. Bacon .—We might as foon fell an oak 
with a penknife. Holyday. 
PENK'RIDGE, a market-town in Staffordftiire, feated 
on the river Penk, whence its name is luppofed to have 
been derived, at the diftance of fix miles to the fouth of 
Stafford. It is of very great antiquity, and, according to 
Camden, was the feite of the Roman ftation Pennocrucium, 
mentioned in the Itinerary of Antoninus; but Plot, 
Stukeley, and Horfley, place that ftation at the neigh¬ 
bouring village of Stretton; and Salmon transfers it to 
Oldbury in Warwickfliire. However, though thus en¬ 
tertaining different opinions refpefting the aftual pofition 
of Pennocrucium, all thefe authors agree in coniidering 
the prefent town of Penkridge as the immediate offspring 
of the deferted ftation. Some Roman remains were difeo- 
vered here about the middle of the laft century ; and, 
among other linaller articles, a brafs head of the bolt of 
a catapulta. 
Penkridge is but a fmall mean-looking town. The in¬ 
habitants are principally engaged in different depart¬ 
ments of the iron-trade. The market-day is Tuefday; 
and there are, befides, two fairs annually ; one on the 
30th of April ; and the other, on Oftober 10, forhorfes; 
and to this fair is brought a prodigious number of the 
fined and mod beautiful horfes that can any where be feen, 
from Yorkfhire, the bifhoprick of Durham, and all the 
horfe-breeding counties in England. It may be marked 
for the greatell horfe-fair in the world for horfes of value, 
efpecially faddle-horfes; though there are great numbers 
of fine large ftone-horfes for coach and draft fold like- 
wife. 
The church of Penkridge, olim Pencriz, is mentioned 
in the charter of king Stephen and the bull of pope Lu¬ 
cius, as given to the bifhop and churches of Coventry and 
Lichfield, in the fame manner with Wolverhampton and 
Stafford, which were notorioufly royal free chapels, or 
colleges, and which makes it probable that this of Pencriz 
might be of the fame nature. The advowfon of the 
church and the manor were granted by one Hugh Houfe 
to the archbifhop of Dublin and his fucceffors, which gift 
was confirmed by king John, anno regni 17 ; and in pro- 
eefs of time that archbifhop was always dean ofthis church, 
and had the collation of all the prebendaries, who were 
thirteen in number about 26th Henry VIII. when they were 
valued at 106I. 15s. The grant of king John to the arch¬ 
bifhop of Dublin bears date 13th Sept. 1216, and is done 
away by the ift Edward VI. 1547, by which aft colleges 
and chantries were veiled in the crown. King John’s 
charter makes no mention how this church came to be 
endowed and became collegiate. Here was fome foun¬ 
dation before the conqueft; and it feems to have been 
collegiate temp. Hen. II. and it undoubtedly was fo 20 
Edw. I. In the time of Edw. III. that king gave to 
John de St. Paul the prebend of St. Michael in the free cha¬ 
pel of Pencrich, Dec. 6, 1337; and he protefted Wm.de 
Killefley in the prebend of Cauk (perhaps rather Cank) 
in the chapel of Pencrich. 
The church (a view of which was drawn and engraved 
by T. Donaldfon for Shaw’s Hiftory of Staffordftiire, but 
never publifhed) is dedicated to St. Michael; and at the 
diffolution was granted, 2 Edw. VI. to John earl of War¬ 
wick ; and, 5 Phil, and Mary, to Win, Riggs and Win. 
Buckbird. Penkridge church is a large handfome fabric 
of ftone, in the gothic ftyle of architefture 5 the general 
exterior 
