Abbot's Abbot's Abbey

“ The gigantic skeleton walls, as they stand out gaunt and ragged against the sky, resemble rather rocks than the remains of the work of puny human hands. The style was in the massive and lofty Norman Gothic of the period, as may be seen from the few bold arches that have withstood alike the ravages of time, the artillery of Cromwell, and modern depredations. The abbey was one of the wealthiest in the kingdom, and the mitred abbot was counted among the notable authorities of the land. ”

“ The old Abbot of Glastonbury—infirm and broken—hangs on the gallows erected on the Tor overlooking his once famous Abbey on a bleak November morning in 1539, strong in his courage, firm in his faith. We call to mind pathetic scenes in connection with the Carthusians of the Charterhouse, men still earnest in their high ideals, their piety and devotion. ”

“ William the Conqueror had planned the erection of the abbey on a vast scale, intending to endow it with{80} sufficient land to maintain seven score monks. Several Benedictine monks were transported from Marmontier in Normandy, and one of their number, Gausbertus, elected abbot. Many privileges were granted to the abbey by its royal founder, including sanctuary; freedom from the Bishop’s jurisdiction, treasure trove, and to the abbot, the right to forgive any condemned thief he might meet going to execution. ”

“ Although the Abbot was a lay magnate as well as a spiritual peer, it is remarkable how seldom the Monastery was involved in political and party strife. The current of life in the cloister but rarely mingled with the stream of national life. Occasionally a great noble, like Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Lincoln, might be the Abbot’s enemy, and try to do him hurt; more often the Abbey enjoyed the favour of nobles of all parties, of Yorkist as of Lancastrian kings, and in return offered indiscriminate hospitality. Such an attitude tended to deprive the Abbey of all political or party value. ”

“ The Abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and belonged to a community of Cistercian monks, an order founded in France in the year 1098. The remains of the Abbey Church are the most entire and picturesque part; but adjoining the southern side are the remains of the Abbot’s lodgings, consisting of the chapter house and dormitories above. ”

“ The view of the massive structure of the abbey church is from all points impressive. The great length of the nave with its magnificent western front, the pinnacled transepts, the choir and Lady chapel, all crowned by the lofty castellated tower, make up a truly marvellous whole. The greater part of the church was built after the Norman Conquest by the Abbot Paul, whose uncle, Lanfranc, was first appointed abbot of St Stephen’s at Caen by William I. and afterwards made Archbishop of Canterbury. ”

“ The immediate precincts of the Abbey were encircled by a stone wall, the remains of which are richly mantled with ivy. An edifice, nearly square, now called the palace, but originally built for the Abbot's lodging, was converted into a family seat after the Dissolution. Over the entrance is a canopied niche, in which stood the image of the Virgin Mary. The hall is a well proportioned room, handsomely vaulted, the ribs springing from pilasters, and spreading over the roof in beautiful ramifications. ”

“ I gather that it is a small place, with a large church despoiled of its ancient fittings; a number of rather ruinous great buildings, mostly of the seventeenth century, surround this church; for the abbey, in common with most of those on the Continent, was rebuilt in a luxurious fashion by its inhabitants at that period. It has not seemed to me worth while to lavish money on a visit to the place, for though it is probably far more attractive than either Mr. Somerton or Mr. ”

“ The abbey rose to great importance and wealth. It held manors innumerable, and its abbot was a person to reckon with. Even at the date of Domesday Book the abbey held no less than thirty manors. But its power did not save it, and it suffered the common fate at the Dissolution. A gateway of about the fourteenth century and some ruins, which show where the dwellings of the monks stood, are all that remain, beside the guest-chamber—a large, barn-like building—and the almoner's residence. ”

“ From its large size, and the buildings attached to it on either side, it appears probable that this gatehouse was the residence of the abbot.
Some of the other domestic buildings of the abbey remain in a more or less ruinous state; they are of the thirteenth century, and retain their groined vaults with arch ribs only, which spring from the walls without shafts or capitals, or even moulded imposts, the arch merely dying into the wall. ”

“ That abbey has stood wellnigh four hundred years, they tell me; and it was never touched by lightning until now,—doubtless because they have given it to a lay abbot, and he turns all the revenues to the works of man which were devoted to the works of God. Well, we cannot help the poor souls." And, without further thought of the burning edifice, he plied his oars again, and the boat cut her way smoothly through the glassy waters, leaving long, fiery ripples behind her. ”

“ So closely are the ruins surrounded by houses that there is some difficulty in defining the original site of the abbey. The approach to the ruins is through a gateway of Perpendicular work, built probably about the end of the 14th century. The parapet is battlemented, and over the centre arch may be seen a canopied niche containing the figure of the Blessed Virgin, the patronal saint of the abbey. A few yards further on after turning slightly to the right one reaches the rest of the monastical remains, which consist only of the guest house, with its adjoining abbot’s or prior’s house. ”

“ Founded in Saxon times, it was re-established after{107} the Norman invasion and subsequently became a mitred abbey. The original church and monastery suffered greatly at the hands of the Danes in the 9th century, the “Abbot being slain at the altar where he was celebrating the Holy Communion and many of the monks being tortured and killed in the most cruel manner.” Shrines and monuments were specially singled out by the Danes for destruction, the sacred contents being irreverently scattered in all directions, and the costly memorials rifled. ”

“ The nunneries of Prez and Sopwell—cells of the Abbey—are stated to be little better than brothels. ‘The brethren of the Abbey, some of whom, as it is reported, are given over to all the evil things of the world, neglect the service of God altogether. They live with harlots and mistresses publicly and continuously within the precincts of the monastery and without.’
The Archbishop adds that he had warned the Abbot to cure these abuses before securing the papal commission. ”

“ The great church which had been the cathedral—the mother church of the diocese—had been partially rebuilt in the Norman style, [10] and around stood the buildings of the Abbey, west and north of the church.
In the scriptorium, overlooking the Tame, sat Abbot Alured. The Chapter Mass, which followed Terce (9 A.M.) , had been said, and he was busy with the librarian, arranging his books. Of middle stature, with dark features, he wore an air of asceticism, tempered by an almost feminine suavity, and his voice was soft and winning. ”

“ While abbot he appears frequently in the state papers as presenting Christmas gifts to the king, providing hawks, &c., negotiating concerning advowsons, and engaging lay clerks and organists. The property of the abbey was very large, and the abbot kept great state, bringing up nearly three hundred sons of the nobility and gentry besides other meaner folk; he entertained sometimes five hundred persons of quality at once, and every Wednesday and Friday fed the poor of the neighbourhood. ”

“ In every way the new Abbey was far larger than the old, though a limit was set on its length by the Lady Chapel of Abbot Humez, which is now known to you as the Chapel of Henry VII. The old form of the Cross was kept, but a ring of chapels encircled the east end, while transepts, aisles, and cloisters were all made longer and far loftier. But the central point of magnificence was the shrine of Edward the Confessor, which lay immediately behind the high altar, made to stand even higher than the altar by a mound of earth said to have been brought all the way from the Holy Land. ”

“ The beautiful Mosaic pavement that lies before the altar in the choir, was brought from Rome by the good old Abbot Ware, about the close of the reign of the third Henry—a king to whose liberality we are indebted for a great portion of the erection of the Abbey: for the completion of the whole was the work of many eventful years; and before its towers rose, as they do now, pointing to the sky, many a crowned head sunk in succession into the dark quietude of the tomb. Suns rose and set, and the mighty work grew up ”

“ For this we must indeed be grateful to those men who were compelled to obey the dread mandates of Henry VIII., and who deserve all honour for their evident heartfelt appreciation of the beauty that they were forced to destroy.
From the times of the Normans until the Dissolution of the monasteries, York Abbey was held in high esteem both for its learning and its munificence. The revenues were great, and its abbot had a seat in Parliament. It is quite evident that whatever was planned and executed for the erection of the sacred building was accomplished in the best possible way. ”

“ Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet, Bishop Asser, tutor to Alfred the Great, more than one of the Saxon kings, and Abbot Clement (1163) (of whose tomb but a fragment remains in the north choir aisle) are interred in the cathedral church. The cloisters were on the north side of the church—the former dormitory is now used as a schoolroom. A portion of the refectory still remains, also the abbey barn and the abbey house—the latter being rebuilt after the Dissolution. ”

“ The history of the abbey in its early days tells of the usual vicissitudes, although early in the 12th century the community there prospered greatly under the government of Abbot William de Percy, nephew of the founder. Henry I. granted Whitby the same ecclesiastical privileges as those attached to the minsters of Ripon and Beverley. When in 1540 the last abbot, Henry Davell, surrendered to the king’s commissioners, there were eighteen monks in residence.
Turning from the historical to the legendary interest one finds a perfect wealth of story. ”

“ He himself supported many more students than the number of his monks required. Edward III’s commission to the Abbot to visit all the monasteries in the King’s presentation is a striking tribute to his thoroughness. A visitation of Abbot Thomas was far from being a mere formality, and shed a valuable sidelight on the condition of many a great abbey.15 ‘In them,’ says the chronicler, ‘religion had well-nigh disappeared.’ The proper conduct of the monastic rule had been forgotten, and serious abuses were rife. At the Abbeys of Eynsham, Abingdon and Battle, De la Mare worked wonders of reform ”

“ TINTERN. TINTERN (Cistercian)
1131, Founded by Richard de Bienfaite—Colonised by monks from L’Anmone—In the reign of Henry III., William, Marshal of England and Earl of Pembroke, “Confirmed to God and the Blessed Mary of Tyntern and to the abbot and monks there all the lands and revenues given to them by his ancestors” (Dugdale’s Monasticon) —1287, The building of the abbey church begun—153—, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £193, 1s. 4d. ”

“ In taking down a wall in the ruins of the abbey, a human skeleton was found, with a table, a book, and a candle-stick. It is supposed to have been the remains of the fourteenth abbot, who, it is stated, was for some crime sentenced to be immured—a mode of capital punishment not uncommon in monasteries. Four views of the abbey are given in Allen's History of Lincolnshire, vol ii., and some farther notices of its ancient state will be found in Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. ”

“ The Abbey had scarcely escaped the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Lincoln4 (1163) when it fell under stricter subjection to Pope Innocent III. For the future each abbot was to go in person to Rome to secure confirmation of his election, that is to say to be mulcted in a vast sum of money.5 In6 a lesser degree the monastery was menaced by the Crown. Every vacancy put the convent at the mercy of the King’s escheator, who in practice could, and often did, exact far more than the sums to which he was entitled. ”

“ In the abbey church the cloisters were the consecrated ground. The navis ecclesiæ was the nave or body of the church. The presbyterium was the raised choir on which the monks chanted. The vestiarium or vestry where the copes and clothes were deposited. The century or sanctuary was the place where debtors took refuge. The farm or grange was so called a grana gerendo—the overseer whereof was called the prior of the grange. The abbot was a baron in the English Parliament, and was summoned during and after the reign of Henry III. ”

“ But now upon the old foundations rose the Abbey we all know and love. In every smallest detail the new church was to be incomparable in beauty. Foreign painters and sculptors expended on it all their cunning. Peter of Rome set to work on the Confessor's Shrine, where you may still read his name, and made it glow with gold, mosaics and enamels, the like of which could not be found in England. ”

“ But it was in the centre of this tract of ruins, occupying a space of not less than two acres, that, with a strength that had defied time, and with a beauty that had at last turned away the wrath of man, still rose if not in perfect, yet admirable, form and state, one of the noblest achievements of Christian art,—the Abbey church. ”