_St. Alban's.--Willigod.--Bones of St. Alban.--Eadmer.--Norman
Conquest.--Paul and the Scriptorium.--Geoffry de
Gorham.--Brekspere the "Poor Clerk".--Abbot Simon and his "multis
voluminibus".--Raymond the
Prior.--Wentmore.--Whethamstede.--Humphrey, Duke of
Gloucester.--Lydgate.--Guy, Earl of Warwick._
The efficacy of "Good Works" was a principle ever inculcated by the monks
of old. It is sad to reflect, that vile deeds and black intentions were
too readily forgiven and absolved by the Church on the performance of
some _good deed_; or that the monks should dare to shelter or to gloss
over those sins which their priestly duty bound them to condemn, because
forsooth some wealthy baron could spare a portion of his broad lands or
coffered gold to extenuate them. But this forms one of the dark stains of
the monastic system; and the monks, I am sorry to say, were more readily
inclined to overlook the blemish, because it proved so profitable to
their order. And thus it was, that the proud and noble monastery of St.
Alban's was endowed by a murderer's hand, and built to allay the fierce
tortures of an assassin's conscience. Ethelbert, king of the East Angles,
fell by the regal hand of Offa, king of Mercia; and from the era of that
black and guilty deed many a fine monastery dates its origin and owes its
birth.
St. Alban's was founded, as its name implies, in honor of the English
protomartyr, whose bones were said to have been discovered on that
interesting site, and afterwards preserved with veneration in the abbey.
In the ancient times, the building appears to have covered a considerable
space, and to have been of great magnitude and power; for ruins of its
former structure mark how far and wide the foundation spreads.
"The glorious king Offa," as the monks in their adulation style him,
richly endowed the monastery on its completion, as we learn from the old
chronicles of the abbey; and a succession of potent sovereigns are
emblazoned on the glittering parchment, whose liberalty augmented or
confirmed these privileges.[385]
Willigod, the first abbot, greatly enriched the monastery, and bestowed
especial care upon the relics of St. Alban. It is curious to mark how
many perils those shrivelled bones escaped, and with what anxious care
the monks preserved them. In the year 930, during the time of Abbot
Eadfrid, the Danes attacked the abbey, and after many destroying acts
broke open the repository, and carried away some of the bones of St.
Alban into their own country.[386] The monks took greater care than ever
of the remaining relics; and their anxiety for their safety, and the
veneration with which they regarded them, is curiously illustrated by an
anecdote of Abbot Leofric, elected in the year 1006. His abbacy was,
therefore, held in troubled times; and in the midst of fresh invasions
and Danish cruelties. Fearing lest they should a second time reach the
abbey, he determined to protect by stratagem what he could not effect by
force. After hiding the genuine bones of St. Alban in a place quite
secure from discovery, he sent an open message to the Abbot of Ely,
entreating permission to deposit the holy relics in his keeping; and
offering, as a plausible reason, that the monastery of Ely, being
surrounded by marshy and impenetrable bogs, was secure from the
approaches of the barbarians. He accompanied this message with some false
relics--the remains of an old monk belonging to the abbey enclosed in a
coffin--and sent with them a worn antiquated looking mantle, pretending
that it formerly belonged to Amphibalus, the master of St. Alban.[387]
The monks of Ely joyfully received these precious bones, and displayed
perhaps too much eagerness in doing so. Certain it is, that when the
danger was past and the quietude of the country was restored, Leofric,
on applying for the restitution of these "holy relics," found some
difficulty in obtaining them; for the Abbot of Ely attempted by
equivocation and duplicity to retain them. After several ineffectual
applications, Leofric was compelled, for the honor of his monastery, to
declare the "pious fraud" he had practised; which he proved by the
testimony of several monks of his fraternity, who were witnesses of the
transaction. It is said, that Edward the Confessor was highly incensed at
the conduct of the Abbot of Ely.
I have stated elsewhere, that the learned and pious Ælfric gave the
monastery many choice volumes. His successor, Ealdred, abbot, about the
year 955, was quite an antiquary in his way; and no spot in England
afforded so many opportunities to gratify his taste as the site of the
ancient city of Verulam. He commenced an extensive search among the
ruins, and rescued from the earth a vast quantity of interesting and
valuable remains. He stowed all the stone-work and other materials which
were serviceable in building away, intending to erect a new edifice for
the monks: but death prevented the consummation of these designs. Eadmer,
his successor, a man of great piety and learning, followed up the
pursuit, and made some important accessions to these stores. He found
also a great number of gold and silver ornaments, specimens of ancient
art, some of them of a most costly nature, but being idols or figures
connected with heathen mythology, he cared not to preserve them. Matthew
Paris is prolix in his account of the operations and discoveries of this
abbot; and one portion of it is so interesting, and seems so connected
with our subject, that I cannot refrain from giving it to the reader.
"The abbot," he writes, "whilst digging out the walls and searching for
the ruins which were buried in the earth in the midst of the ancient
city, discovered many vestiges of the foundation of a great palace. In a
recess in one of the walls he found the remains of a library, consisting
of a number of books and rolls; and among them a volume in an unknown
tongue, and which, although very ancient, had especially escaped
destruction. This nobody in the monastery could read, nor could they at
that time find any one who understood the writing or the idiom; it was
exceedingly ancient, and the letters evidently were most beautifully
formed; the inscriptions or titles were written in gold, and encircled
with ornaments; bound in oak with silken bands, which still retained
their strength and beauty; so perfectly was the volume preserved. But
they could not conceive what the book was about; at last, after much
search and diligent inquiry, they found a very feeble and aged priest,
named Unwon, who was very learned in writings _literis bene eruditum_,
and imbued with the knowledge of divers languages. He knew directly what
the volume was about, and clearly and fluently read the contents; he also
explained the other _Codices_ found in the same library _in eodem
Almariolo_ of the palace with the greatest ease, and showed them to be
written in the characters formerly in use among the inhabitants of
Verulam, and in the language of the ancient Britons. Some, however, were
in Latin; but the book before-mentioned was found to be the history of
Saint Alban, the English proto-martyr, according to that mentioned by
Bede, as having been daily used in the church. Among the other books were
discovered many contrivances for the invocation and idolatrous rites of
the people of Verulam, in which it was evident that Phoebus the god Sol
was especially invoked and worshipped; and after him Mercury, called in
English Woden, who was the god of the merchants. The books which
contained these diabolical inventions they cast away and burnt; but that
precious treasure, the history of Saint Alban, they preserved, and the
priest before-mentioned was appointed to translate the ancient English or
British into the vulgar tongue.[388] By the prudence of the Abbot Eadmer,
the brothers of the convent made a faithful copy, and diligently
explained it in their public teaching; they also translated it into
Latin, in which it is now known and read; the historian adds that the
ancient and original copy, which was so curiously written,
instantaneously crumbled into dust and was destroyed for ever."[389]
Although the attention of the Saxon abbots was especially directed to
literary matters, and to the affairs connected with the making of books,
we find no definite mention of a Scriptorium, or of manuscripts having
been transcribed as a regular and systematic duty, till after the Norman
conquest. That event happened during the abbacy of Frederic, and was one
which greatly influenced the learning of the monks. Indeed, I regard the
Norman conquest as a most propitious event for English literature, and
one which wrought a vast change in the aspect of monastic learning; the
student of those times cannot fail to perceive the revolution which then
took place in the cloisters; visibly accomplished by the installation of
Norman bishops and the importation of Norman monks, who in the well
regulated monasteries of France and Normandy had been initiated into a
more general course of study, and brought up in a better system of mental
training than was known here at that time.
But poor Frederic, a conscientious and worthy monk, suffered severely by
that event, and was ultimately obliged to seek refuge in the monastery of
Ely to evade the displeasure of the new sovereign; but his earthly course
was well nigh run, for three days after, death released him from his
worldly troubles, and deprived the conqueror of a victim. Paul, the first
of the Norman abbots, was appointed by the king in the year 1077. He was
zealous and industrious in the interest of the abbey, and obtained the
restitution of many lands and possessions of which it had been deprived;
he rebuilt the old and almost ruined church, and employed for that
purpose many of the materials which his predecessors had collected from
the ruins of Verulam; and even now, I believe, some remnants of these
Roman tiles, etc., may be discerned. He moreover obtained many important
grants and valuable donations; among others a layman named Robert, one
of the Norman leaders, gave him two parts of the tythes of his domain at
Hatfield, which he had received from the king at the distribution.
"This he assigned," says Matthew Paris, "to the disposal of Abbot Paul,
who was a lover of the Scriptures, for the transcription of the necessary
volumes for the monastery. He himself indeed was a learned soldier, and a
diligent hearer and lover of Scripture; to this he also added the tythes
of Redburn, appointing certain provisions to be given to the scribes;
this he did out of "charity to the brothers that they may not thereby
suffer, and that no impediment might be offered to the writers." The
abbot thereupon sought and obtained from afar many renowned scribes, to
write the necessary books for the monastery. And in return for these
abundant favors, he presented, as a suitable gift to the warlike Robert,
for the chapel in his palace at Hatfield, two pair of vestments, a silver
cup, a missal, and the other needful books (_missale cum aliis libris
necessariis_). Having thus presented to him the first volumes produced by
his liberality, he proceeded to construct a scriptorium, which was set
apart (_præelectos_) for the transcription of books; Lanfranc supplied
the copies. They thus procured for the monastery twenty-eight notable
volumes (_volumina notabilia_), also eight psalters, a book of collects,
a book of epistles, a volume containing the gospels for the year, two
copies of the gospels complete, bound in gold and silver, and ornamented
with gems; besides ordinals, constitutions, missals, troapries,
collects, and other books for the use of the library."[390]
Thus blessed, we find the monks of St. Albans for ages after constantly
acquiring fresh treasures, and multiplying their book stores by fruitful
transcripts. There is scarce an abbot, whose portrait garnishes the fair
manuscript before me, that is not represented with some goodly tomes
spread around him, or who is not mentioned as a choice "_amator
librorum_," in these monkish pages. It is a singular circumstance, when
we consider how bookless those ages are supposed to have been, that the
illuminated portraits of the monks are most frequently depicted with some
ponderous volume before them, as if the idea of a monk and the study of a
book were quite inseparable. During my search among the old manuscripts
quoted in this work, this fact has been so repeatedly forced upon my
attention that I am tempted to regard it as an important hint, and one
which speaks favorably for the love of books and learning among the
cowled devotees of the monasteries.
Passing Richard de Albani, who gave them a copy of the gospels, a missal
written in letters of gold, an other precious volumes whose titles are
unrecorded,[391] we come to Geoffry, a native of Gorham, who was elected
abbot in the year 1119. He had been invited over to England (before he
became a priest) by his predecessor, to superintend the school of St.
Albans; but he delayed the voyage so long, that on his arrival he found
the appointment already filled; on this he went to Dunstable, where he
read lectures, and obtained some pupils. It was during his stay there
that he wrote the piece which has obtained for him so much reputation.
_Ubi quendam ludum de Sancta Katarinæ quem miracula vulgariter appellamus
fecit_, says the Cotton manuscripts, on the vellum page of which he is
portrayed in the act of writing it.[392] Geoffry, from this passage, is
supposed to be the first author of dramatic literature in England;
although the title seems somewhat equivocal, from the casual manner in
which his famous play of St. Catherine is thus mentioned by Matthew
Paris. Of its merits we are still less able to form an opinion; for
nothing more than the name of that much talked of miracle play has been
preserved. We may conclude, however, that it was performed with all the
paraphernalia of scenery and characteristic costume; for he borrowed of
the sacrist of St. Albans some copes for this purpose. On the night
following the representation the house in which he resided was burnt;
and, says the historian, all his books, and the copes he had borrowed
were destroyed. Rendered poor indeed by this calamity, and somewhat
reflecting upon himself for the event, he assumed in sorrow and despair
the religious habit, and entered the monastery of St. Albans; where by
his deep study, his learning and his piety, he so gained the hearts of
his fraternity, that he ultimately became their abbot. He is said to have
been very industrious in the transcription of books; and he "made a
missal bound in gold, _auro ridimitum_, and another in two volumes; both
incomparably illuminated in gold, and written in a clear and legible
hand; also a precious Psalter similarly illuminated; a book containing
the Benedictions and the Sacraments; a book of Exorcisms, and a
Collectaria."[393]
Geoffry was succeeded by Ralph de Gobium in the year 1143: he was a monk
remarkable for his learning and his bibliomanical pursuits. He formerly
remained some time in the services of Alexander, bishop of Lincoln, and
gained the esteem of that prelate. His book-loving passion arose from
hearing one "Master Wodon, of Italy, expound the doctrines of the Holy
Scriptures." He from that time became a most enthusiastic _amator
librorum_; and collected, with great diligence, an abundant multitude of
books.[394]
The matters in which he was concerned, his donations to the monastery,
and the anecdotes of his life, are all unconnected with my subject; so
that I am obliged to pass from this interesting monk, an undoubted
bibliophile, from sheer want of information. I cannot but regret that the
historian does not inform us more fully of his book collecting pursuits;
but he is especially barren on that subject, although he highly esteems
him for prosecuting that pleasing avocation. He died in the year 1151, in
the fourteenth of King Stephen, and was followed by Robert de Gorham, who
is also commemorated as a bibliophile in the pages of the Cotton
manuscripts; and to judge from his portrait, and the intensity with which
he pores over his volume, he was a hard and devoted student. He ordered
the scribes to make a great many books; indeed, adds Paris the historian,
who was himself somewhat of an _amator librorum_, "more by far than can
be mentioned."[395] From another source we learn that these books were
most sumptuously bound.[396]
During the days of this learned abbot a devout and humble clerk asked
admission at the abbey gate. Aspiring to a holy life, he ardently hoped,
by thus spending his days in monastic seclusion, to render his heart more
acceptable to God. Hearing his prayer, the monks conducted him into the
presence of my Lord Abbot, who received him with compassionate
tenderness, and kindly questioned him as to his qualifications for the
duties and sacred responsibilities of the monkish priesthood; for even in
those dark ages they looked a little into the learning of the applicant
before he was admitted into their fraternity. But alas! the poor clerk
was found wofully deficient in this respect, and was incapable of
replying to the questions of my Lord Abbot, who thereupon gently
answered, "My son, tarry awhile, and still exercise thyself in study, and
so become more perfect for the holy office."
Abashed and disappointed, he retired with a kindling blush of shame; and
deeming this temporary repulse a positive refusal he left his fatherland,
and started on a pilgrimage to France.[397] And who was this poor,
humble, unlettered clerk? Who this simple layman, whose ignorance
rendered him an unfit _socius_ for the plodding monks of old St. Albans
Abbey? No less than the English born Nicholas Brekespere, afterwards his
Holiness Adrian IV., Pope of Rome, Vicar-apostolic and successor of St.
Peter!
Yes; still bearing in mind the kind yet keen reproof of the English
abbot, on his arrival in a foreign land he studied with all the depth and
intensity of despair, and soon surpassed his companions in the pursuit of
knowledge; and became so renowned for learning, and for his prudence,
that he was made Canon of St. Rufus. His sagacity, moreover, caused him
to be chosen, on three separate occasions, to undertake some important
embassies to the apostolic see; and at length he was elected a cardinal.
So step by step he finally became elevated to the high dignity of the
popedom. The first and last of England's sons who held the keys of Peter.
These shadows of the past--these shreds of a forgotten age--these echoes
of five hundred years, are full of interest and instruction. For where
shall we find a finer example--a more cheering instance of what
perseverance will accomplish--or a more satisfactory result of the
pursuit of knowledge under difficulties? Not only may these curious facts
cheer the dull student now, and inspire him with that energy so
essential to success, but these whisperings of old may serve as lessons
for ages yet to come. For if _we_ look back upon those dark days with
such feelings of superiority, may not the wiser generations of the future
regard _us_ with a still more contemptuous, yet curious eye? And when
they look back at our Franklins, and our Johnsons, in astonishment at
such fine instances of what perseverance could do, and what energy and
plodding industry could accomplish, even when surrounded with the
difficulties of _our_ ignorance; how much more will they praise this
bright example, in the dark background of the historical tableaux, who,
without even our means of obtaining knowledge--our libraries or our
talent--rose by patient, hard and devoted study, from Brekespere the
humble clerk--the rejected of St. Albans--to the proud title of
Vicar-apostolic of Christ and Pope of Rome!
Simon, an Englishman, a clerk and a "man of letters and good morals," was
elected abbot in the year 1167. All my authorities concur in bestowing
upon him the honor and praise appertaining to a bibliomaniac. He was,
says one, an especial lover of books, _librorum amator speciales_: and
another in panegyric terms still further dubs him an _amator
scripturarum_. All this he proved, and well earned the distinction, by
the great encouragement he gave to the collecting and transcribing of
books. The monkish pens he found moving too slow, and yielding less fruit
than formerly. He soon, however, set them hard at work again; and to
facilitate their labors, he added materially to the comforts of the
Scriptorium by repairing and enlarging it; "and always," says the monk
from whom I learn this, "kept two or three most choice scribes in the
Camera (Scriptorium,) who sustained its reputation, and from whence an
abundant supply of the most excellent books were continually
produced.[398] He framed some efficient laws for its management, and
ordered that, in subsequent times, every abbot should keep and support
one able scribe at least. Among the 'many choice books and authentic
volumes,' _volumina authentica_, which he by this care and industry added
to the abbey library, was included a splendid copy of the Old and New
Testament, transcribed with great accuracy and beautifully
written--indeed, says the manuscript history of that monastery, so noble
a copy was nowhere else to be seen.[399] But besides this, Abbot Simon
gave them all those precious books which he had been for a 'long time'
collecting himself at great cost and patient labor, and having bound them
in a sumptuous and marvellous manner,[400] he made a library for their
reception near the tomb of Roger the Hermit.[401] He also bestowed many
rich ornaments and much costly plate on the monastery; and by a long
catalogue of good deeds, too ample to be inserted here, he gained the
affections and gratitude of his fraternity, who loudly praised his
virtues and lamented his loss when they laid him in his costly tomb.
There is a curious illumination of this monkish bibliophile in the Cotton
manuscript. He is represented deeply engaged with his studies amidst a
number of massy volumes, and a huge trunk is there before him crammed
with rough old fashioned large clasped tomes, quite enticing to look
upon."[402]
After Simon came Garinus, who was soon succeeded by one John. Our
attention is arrested by the learned renown of this abbot, who had
studied in his youth at Paris, and obtained the unanimous praise of his
masters for his assiduous attention and studious industry. He returned
with these high honors, and was esteemed in grammar a Priscian, in poetry
an Ovid, and in physic equal to Galen.[403] With such literary
qualifications, it was to be expected the Scriptorium would flourish
under his government, and the library increase under his fostering care.
Our expectations are not disappointed; for many valuable additions were
made during his abbacy, and the monks over whom he presided gave many
manifestations of refinement and artistic talent, which incline us to
regard the ingenuity of the cloisters in a more favorable light. Raymond,
his prior, was a great help in all these undertakings. His industry seems
to have been unceasing in beautifying the church, and looking after the
transcription of books. With the assistance of Roger de Parco, the
cellarer, he made a large table very handsome, and partly fabricated of
metal. He wrote two copies of the Gospels, and bound them in silver and
gold adorned with various figures. Brother Walter of Colchester, with
Randulph, Gubium and others, produced some very handsome paintings
comprising the evangelists and many holy saints, and hung them up in the
church. "As we have before mentioned, by the care and industry of the
lord Raymond, many noble and useful books were transcribed and given to
the monastery. The most remarkable of these was a Historia Scholastica,
with allegorics, a most elegant book--_liber elegantissimus_ exclaims my
monkish authority."[404] This leads me to say something more of my lord
prior, for the troubles which the conscientious conduct of old Raymond
brought upon himself--
"Implores the passing tribute of a sigh."
Be it known then that William de Trompington succeeded to the abbacy on
the death of John; but he was a very different man, without much esteem
for learning; and thinking I am afraid far more of the world and heaven
or the _Domus Dei_. Alas! memoirs of bad monks and worldly abbots are
sometimes found blotting the holy pages of the monkish annals. _Domus Dei
est porta coeli_, said the monks; and when they closed the convent
gates they did not look back on the world again, but entered on that dull
and gloomy path with a full conviction that they were leaving all and
following Christ, and so acting in accordance with his admonitions; but
those who sought the convent to forget in its solitude their worldly
cares and worldly disappointments, too often found how futile and how
ineffectual was that dismal life to eradicate the grief of an
overburdened heart, or to subdue the violence of misguided temper. The
austerity of the monastic rules might tend to conquer passion or moderate
despair, but there was little within those walls to drive painful
recollections of the outward world away; for at every interval between
their holy meditations and their monkish duties, images of the earth
would crowd back upon their minds, and wring from their ascetic hearts
tributes of anguish and despair; and so we find the writings and letters
of the old monks full of vain regrets and misanthropic thoughts, but
sometimes overflowing with the most touching pathos of human misery. Yet
the monk knew full well what his duty was, and knew how sinful it was to
repine or rebel against the will of God. If he vowed obedience to his
abbot, he did not forget that obedience was doubly due to Him; and strove
with all the strength that weak humanity could muster, to forget the
darkness of the past by looking forward with a pious hope and a lively
faith to the brightness and glory of the future. By constant prayer the
monk thought more of his God, and gained help to strengthen the faith
within him; and by assiduous and devoted study he disciplined his heart
of flesh--tore from it what lingering affection for the world remained,
and deserting all love of earth and all love of kin, purged and purified
it for his holy calling, and closed its portals to render it inaccessible
to all sympathy of blood. If a thought of those shut out from him by the
monastic walls stole across his soul and mingled with his prayer, he
started and trembled as if he had offered up an unholy desire in the
supplication. To him it was a proof that his nature was not yet subdued;
and a day of study and meditation, with a fast unbroken till the rays of
the morrow's sun cast their light around his little cell, absolved the
sin, and broke the tie that bound him to the world without.
If this violence was experienced in subduing the tenderest of human
sympathy; how much more severe was the conflict of dark passions only
half subdued, or malignant depravity only partially reformed. These dark
lines of human nature were sometimes prominent, even when the monk was
clothed in sackcloth and ashes; and are markedly visible in the life of
William de Trompington. But let not the reader think that he was
appointed with the hearty suffrages of the fraternity, he was elected at
the recommendation of the "king," a very significant term in those days
of despotic rule, at which choice became a mere farce. "Out of the
fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh;" and the monks soon began to
perceive with regret and trembling the worldly ways of the new abbot,
which he could not hide even under his abbatical robes. In a place
dedicated to holy deeds and heavenly thoughts, worldly conduct or
unbridled passion strikes the mind as doubly criminal, and loads the
heart with dismay and suffering; at least so my lord Prior regarded it,
whose righteous indignation could no longer endure these manifestations
of a worldly mind. So he gently remonstrated with his superior, and
hinted at the impropriety of such conduct. This was received not in
Christian fellowship, but with haughty and passionate displeasure; and
from that day the fate of poor Raymond was irrevocably sealed. The abbot
thinking to suppress the dissatisfaction which was now becoming general
and particularly inconvenient, sent him a long distance off to the cell
of Tynmouth in Northumberland, where all were strangers to him. Nor could
the tears of the old man turn the heart of his cruel lord, nor the
rebellious murmurings of the brothers avail. Thank God such cases are not
very frequent; and the reader of monkish annals will not find many
instances of such cold and unfeeling cruelty to distress his studies or
to arouse his indignation. But obedience was a matter of course in the
monastery; it was one of the most imperative duties of the monk, and if
not cheerfully he was compelled to manifest alacrity in fulfilling even
the most unpleasant mandate. But I would have forgiven this transaction
on the score of _expediency_ perhaps, had not the abbot heaped additional
insults and cruelties upon the aged offender; but his books which he had
transcribed with great diligence and care, he forcibly deprived him of,
_violenter spoliatum_, and so robbed him, as his historian says, of all
those things which would have been a comfort and solace to his old
age.[405]
The books which the abbot thus became dishonestly possessed of--for I
cannot regard it in any other light--we are told he gave to the library
of the monastery; and he also presented some books to more than one
neighboring church.[406] But he was not bookworm himself, and dwelt I
suspect with greater fondness over his wealthy rent roll than on the
pages of the fine volumes in the monastic library. The monks, however,
amidst all these troubles retained their love of books; indeed it was
about this time that John de Basingstoke, who had studied at Athens,
brought a valuable collection of Greek books into England, and greatly
aided in diffusing a knowledge of that language into this country. He was
deacon of Saint Albans, and taught many of the monks Greek; Nicholas, a
chaplain there, became so proficient in it, that he was capable of
greatly assisting bishop Grostete in translating his Testament of the
twelve patriarchs into Latin.[407]
Roger de Northone, the twenty-fourth abbot of Saint Albans, gave "many
valuable and choice books to the monastery," and among them the
commentaries of Raymond, Godfrey, and Bernard, and a book containing the
works and discourses of Seneca. His bibliomaniacal propensities, and his
industry in transcribing books, is indicated by an illumination
representing this worthy abbot deeply engrossed with his ponderous
volumes.[408]
I have elsewhere related an anecdote of Wallingford, abbot of St. Albans,
and the sale of books effected between him and Richard de Bury. It
appears that rare and munificent collector gave many and various noble
books, _multos et varios libros nobiles_, to the monastery of St. Albans
whilst he was bishop of Durham.[409] Michael de Wentmore succeeded
Wallingford, and proved a very valuable benefactor to the monastery; and
by wise regulations and economy greatly increased the comforts and good
order of the abbey. He gave many books, _plures libros_, to the library,
besides two excellent Bibles,[410] one for the convent and one for the
abbot's study, and to be kept especially for his private reading; an
ordinal, very beautiful to look upon, being sumptuously bound.[411]
Indeed, so _multis voluminibus_ did he bestow, that he expended more than
100_l._ in this way, an immense sum in those old days, when a halfpenny a
day was deemed fair wages for a scribe.[412]
Wentmore was succeeded by Thomas de la Mare, a man of singular learning,
and remarkable as a patron of it in others; it was probably by his
direction that John of Tynmouth wrote his Sanctilogium Britannæ, for that
work was dedicated to him. A copy, presented by Thomas de la Mare to the
church of Redburn, is in the British Museum, much injured by fire, but
retaining at the end the following lines:
"Hunc librum dedet Dominus Thomas de la Mare, Albas monasterii S.
Albani Anglorum Proto martyris Deo et Ecclesiæ B. Amphibali de
Redburn, ut fratris indem in cursu existentus per ejus lecturam
poterint coelestibus instrui, et per Sanctorum exempla
virtutibus insignixi."[413]
But there are few who have obtained so much reputation as John de
Whethamstede, perhaps the most learned abbot of this monastery. He was
formerly monk of the cell at Tynmouth, and afterwards prior of Gloucester
College at Oxford, from whence he was appointed to the government of St.
Albans. Whethamstede was a passionate bibliomaniac, and when surrounded
with his books he cared little, or perhaps from the absence of mind so
often engendered by the delights of study, he too frequently forgot, the
important affairs of his monastery, and the responsible duties of an
abbot; but absorbed as he was with his studies, Whethamstede was not a
mere
..... "Bookful blockhead ignorantly read
With loads of learned lumber in his head."
It is true he was an inveterate reader, amorously inclined towards vellum
tomes and illuminated parchments; but he did not covet them like some
collectors for the mere pride of possessing them, but gloried in feasting
on their intellectual charms and delectable wisdom, and sought in their
attractive pages the means of becoming a better Christian and a wiser
man. But he was so excessively fond of books, and became so deeply
engrossed with his book-collecting pursuits, that it is said some of the
monks showed a little dissatisfaction at his consequent neglect of the
affairs of the monastery; but these are faults I cannot find the heart to
blame him for, but am inclined to consider his conduct fully redeemed by
the valuable encouragement he gave to literature and learning. Generous
to a fault, abundant in good deeds and costly expenditure, he became
involved in pecuniary difficulties, and found that the splendor and
wealth which he had scattered so lavishly around his monastery, and the
treasures with which he had adorned the library shelves, had not only
drained his ample coffers, but left a large balance unsatisfied.
Influenced by this circumstance, and the murmurings of the monks, and
perhaps too, hoping to obtain more time for study and book-collecting, he
determined to resign his abbacy, and again become a simple brother. The
proceedings relative to this affair are curiously related by a
contemporary, John of Amersham.[414] In Whethamstede's address to the
monks on this occasion, he thus explains his reasons for the step he was
about to take. After a touching address, wherein he intimates his
determination, he says,[415] "Ye have known moreover how, from the first
day of my appointment even until this day, assiduously and continually
without any intermission I have shown singular solicitude in four things,
to wit, in the erection of conventual buildings, _in the writing of
books_, in the renewal of vestments, and in the acquisition of property.
And perhaps, by reason of this solicitude of mine, ye conceive that I
have fallen into debt; yet that you may know, learn and understand what
is in this matter the certain and plain truth, and when ye know it ye may
report it unto others, know ye for certain, yea, for most certain, that
for all these things about which, and in which I have expended money, I
am not indebted to any one living more than 10,000 marks; but that I wish
freely to acknowledge this debt, and so to make satisfaction to every
creditor, that no survivor of any one in the world shall have to demand
anything from my successor."
The monks on hearing this declaration were sorely affected, and used
every persuasion to induce my lord abbot to alter his determination, but
without success; so that they were compelled to seek another in whom to
confide the government of their abbey. Their choice fell upon John
Stokes, who presided over them for many years; but at his death the love
and respect which the brothers entertained for Whethamstede, was
manifested by unanimously electing him again, an honor which he in return
could not find the heart to decline. But during all this time, and after
his restoration, he was constantly attending to the acquisition of books,
and numerous were the transcripts made under his direction by the scribes
and enriched by his munificence, for some of the most costly copies
produced in that century were the fruits of their labor; during his time
there were more volumes transcribed than in that of any other abbot since
the foundation of the abbey, says the manuscript from whence I am
gleaning these details, and adds that the number of them exceeded
eighty-seven. He commenced the transcription of the great commentary of
Nicholas de Lyra upon the whole Bible, which had then been published some
few years. "Det Deus, ut in nostris felicem habere valeat
consummacionem,"[416] exclaims the monk, nor will the reader be surprised
at the expression, if he for one moment contemplates the magnitude of the
undertaking.
But not only was Whethamstede remarkable as a bibliomaniac--he claims
considerable respect as an author. Some of his productions were more
esteemed in his own time than now; being compilations and commentaries
more adapted as a substitute for other books, than valuable as original
works. Under this class I am inclined to place his Granarium, a large
work in five volumes; full of miscellaneous extracts, etc., and somewhat
partaking of the encyclopediac form; his Propinarium, in two volumes,
also treating of general matters; his Pabularium and Palearium Poetarium,
and his Proverbiarium, or book of Proverbs; to which may be added the
many pieces relating to the affairs of the monastery. But far different
must we regard many of his other productions, which are more important in
a literary point of view, as calling for the exercise of a refined and
cultivated mind, and no small share of critical acumen. Among these I
must not forget to include his Chronicle,[417] which spreading over a
space of twenty years, forms a valuable historical document. The rest are
poetical narratives, embracing an account of Jack Cade's
insurrection--the battles of Ferrybridge, Wakefield, and St. Albans.[418]
A Cottonian manuscript contained a catalogue of the books which this
worthy abbot compiled, or which were transcribed under his direction:
unfortunately it was burnt, with many others forming part of that
inestimable collection.[419] From another source we learn the names of
some of them, and the cost incurred in their transcription.[420] Twenty
marks were paid for copying his Granarium, in four volumes; forty
shillings for his Palearium; the same for a Polycraticon of John of
Salisbury; five pounds for a Boethius, with a gloss; upwards of six
pounds for "a book of Cato," enriched with a gloss and table; and four
pounds for Gorham upon Luke. Whethamstede ordered a Grael to be written
so beautifully illuminated, and so superbly bound, as to be valued at the
enormous sum of twenty pounds: but let it be remembered that my Lord
Abbot was a very epicure in books, and thought a great deal of choice
bindings, tall copies, immaculate parchment, and brilliant illuminations,
and the high prices which he freely gave for these book treasures evince
how sensible he was to the joys of bibliomania; nor am I inclined to
regard the works thus attained as "mere monastic trash."[421]
The finest illumination in the Cotton manuscript is a portrait of Abbot
Whethamstede, which for artistic talent is far superior to any in the
volume. Eight folios are occupied with an enumeration of the "good
works" of this liberal monk: among the items we find the sum of forty
pounds having been expended on a reading desk, and four pounds for
writing four Antiphoners.[422] He displayed also great liberality of
spirit in his benefactions to Gloucester College, at Oxford, besides
great pecuniary aid. He built a library there, and gave many valuable
books for the use of the students, in which he wrote these verses:
Fratribus Oxonioe datur in minus liber iste,
Per patrem pecorem prothomartyris Angligenorum:
Quem si quis rapiat ad partem sive reponat,
Vel Judæ loqueum, vel furcas sentiat; Amen.
In others he wrote--
Discior ut docti fieret nova regia plebi
Culta magisque deæ datur hic liber ara Minerva,
Hic qui diis dictis libant holocausta ministrias.
Et cirre bibulam sitiunt præ nectare lympham,
Estque librique loci, idem datur, actor et unus.[423]
If we estimate worth by comparison, we must award a large proportion to
this learned abbot. Living in the most corrupt age of the monastic
system, when the evils attendant on luxurious ease began to be too
obvious in the cloister, and when complaints were heard at first in a
whispering murmur, but anon in a stern loud voice of wroth and indignant
remonstrance--when in fact the progressive, inquiring spirit of the
reformation was taking root in what had hitherto been regarded as a hard,
dry, stony soil. This coming tempest, only heard as yet like the lulling
of a whisper, was nevertheless sufficiently loud to spread terror and
dismay among the cowled habitants of the monasteries. That quietude and
mental ease so indispensable to study--so requisite for the growth of
thought and intellectuality, was disturbed by these distant sounds, or
dissipated by their own indolence. And yet in the midst of all this,
rendered still more anxious and perplexing by domestic troubles and signs
of discontent and insubordination among the monks. Whethamstede found
time, and what was better the spirit, for literary and bibliomanical
pursuits. Honor to the man, monk though he be, who oppressed with these
vicissitudes and cares could effect so much, and could appreciate both
literature and art.
Contemporary with him we are not surprised that he gained the patronage
and friendship of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, to whom he dedicated many
of his own performances, and greatly aided in collecting those treasures
which the duke regarded with such esteem. It is said that noble collector
frequently paid a friendly visit to the abbey to inspect the work of the
monkish scribes, and perhaps to negociate for some of those choice vellum
tomes for which the monks of that monastery were so renowned.
But we must not pass the "good duke" without some slight notice of his
"ryghte valiant deedes," his domestic troubles and his dark mysterious
end. Old Foxe thus speaks of him in his Actes and Monuments: "Of manners
he seemed meeke and gentle, louing the commonwealth, a supporter of the
poore commons, of wit and wisdom, discrete and studious, well affected to
religion and a friend to verity, and no lesse enemy to pride and
ambition, especially in haughtie prelates, which was his undoing in this
present evil world. And, which is seldom and rare in such princes of that
calling, he was both learned himselfe and no lesse given to studie, and
also a singular favourer and patron to those who were studious and
learned."[424] To which I cannot refrain from adding the testimony of
Hollingshed, who tells us that "The ornaments of his mind were both rare
and admirable; the feats of chiualrie by him commensed and atchiued
valiant and fortunate; his grauitie in counsell and soundnesse of policie
profound and singular; all which with a traine of other excellent
properties linked together, require a man of manifold gifts to aduance
them according to their dignitie. I refer the readers unto Maister Foxe's
booke of Actes and Monuments. Onelie this I ad, that in respect of his
noble indowments and his demeanor full of decencie, which he dailie used,
it seemeth he might wel haue giuen this prettie poesie:"
"Virtute duce non sanguine nitor."[425]
But with all these high qualities, our notions of propriety are somewhat
shocked at the open manner in which he kept his mistress Eleanor Cobham;
but we can scarcely agree in the condemnation of the generality of
historians for his marrying her afterwards, but regard it rather as the
action of an honorable man, desirous of making every reparation in his
power.[426] But the "pride of birth" was sorely wounded by the espousals;
and the enmity of the aristocracy already roused, now became deeply
rooted. Eleanor's disposition is represented as passionate and
unreasonable, and her mind sordid and oppressive. Be this how it may, we
must remember that it is from her enemies we learn it; and if so,
unrelenting persecution and inveterate malice were proceedings ill
calculated to soothe a temper prone to violence, or to elevate a mind
undoubtedly weak. But the vindictive and haughty cardinal Beaufort was
the open and secret enemy of the good duke Humphrey; for not only did he
thwart every public measure proposed by his rival, but employed spies to
insinuate themselves into his domestic circle, and to note and inform him
of every little circumstance which malice could distort into crime, or
party rage into treason. This detestable espionage met with a too speedy
success. The duke, who was especially fond of the society of learned men,
retained in his family many priests and clerks, and among them one Roger
Bolingbroke, "a famous necromancer and astronomer." This was a sufficient
ground for the enmity of the cardinal to feed upon, and he determined to
annihilate at one blow the domestic happiness of his rival. He arrested
the Duchess, Bolingbroke, and a witch called Margery Gourdimain, or
Jourdayn, on the charge of witchcraft and treason. He accused the priest
and Margery of making, and the duchess for having in her possession, a
waxen figure, which, as she melted it before a slow fire, so would the
body of the king waste and decay, and his marrow wither in his bones. Her
enemies tried her, and of course found her and her companions guilty,
though without a shred of evidence to the purpose. The duchess was
sentenced to do penance in St. Paul's and two other churches on three
separate days, and to be afterwards imprisoned in the Isle of Man for
life. Bolingbroke, who protested his innocence to the last, was hung and
quartered at Tyburn; and Margery, the witch of Eye, as she was called,
was burnt at Smithfield. But the black enmity of the cardinal was sorely
disappointed at the effect produced by this persecution. He reasonably
judged that no accusation was so likely to arouse a popular prejudice
against duke Humphrey as appealing to the superstition of the people who
in that age were ever prone to receive the most incredulous fabrications;
but far different was the impression made in the present case. The people
with more than their usual sagacity saw through the flimsy designs of the
cardinal and his faction; and while they pitied the victims of party
malice, loved and esteemed the good duke Humphrey more than ever.
But the intriguing heart of Beaufort soon resolved upon the most
desperate measures, and shrunk not from staining his priestly hands with
innocent and honorable blood. A parliament was summoned to meet at St.
Edmunds Bury, in Suffolk, on the 10th of February, 1447, at which all the
nobility were ordered to assemble. On the arrival of Duke Humphrey, the
cardinal arrested him on a groundless charge of high treason, and a few
days after he was found dead in his bed, his enemies gave out that he had
died of the palsy; but although his body was eagerly shown to the
sorrowing multitude, the people believed that their friend and favorite
had been foully murdered, and feared not to raise their voice in loud
accusations at the Suffolk party; "sum sayed that he was smouldered
betwixt two fetherbeddes,"[427] and others declared that he had suffered
a still more barbarous death. Deep was the murmuring and the grief of the
people, for the good duke had won the love and esteem of their hearts;
and we can fully believe a contemporary who writes--
"Compleyne al Yngland thys goode Lorde's deth."[428]
Perhaps none suffered more by his death than the author and the scholar;
for Duke Humphrey was a munificent patron of letters, and loved to
correspond with learned men, many of whom dedicated their works to him,
and received ample encouragement in return.[429] Lydgate, who knew him
well, composed some of his pieces at the duke's instigation. In his
Tragedies of Ihon Bochas he thus speaks of him:
"Duke of Glocester men this prynce call,
And not withstandyng his estate and dignitie,
His courage neuer dothe appall
To study in bokes of antiquitie;
Therein he hath so great felicitie,
Virtuously him selfe to occupye,
Of vycious slouthe, he hath the maistry.
And for these causes as in his entent
To shewe the untrust of all worldly thinge,
He gave to me in commandment
As him seemed it was ryghte well fittynge
That I shoulde, after my small cunning,
This boke translate, him to do pleasaunce,
To shew the chaung of worldly variaunce.
And with support of his magnificence
Under the wynges of his correction,
Though that I lacke of eloquence
I shall proceede in this translation.
Fro me auoydyng all presumption,
Louyly submittying every houre and space,
My rude language to my lorde's grace.
Anone after I of eutencion,
With penne in hande fast gan me spede,
As I coulde in my translation,
In this labour further to procede,
My Lorde came forth by and gan to take hede;
This mighty prince right manly and right wise
Gaue me charge in his prudent auyle.
That I should in euery tragedy,
After the processe made mencion,
At the ende set a remedy,
With a Lenuoy, conveyed by reason;
And after that, with humble affection,
To noble princes lowly it dyrect,
By others fallying them selues to correct.
And I obeyed his biddyng and pleasaunce
Under support of his magnificence,
As I coulde, I gan my penne aduaunce,
All be I was barrayne of eloquence,
Folowing mine auctor in substance and sétence,
For it sufficeth playnly unto me,
So that my lorde my makyng take in gre."[430]
Lydgate often received money whilst translating this work, from the good
duke Humphrey, and there is a manuscript letter in the British Museum in
which he writes--
"Righte myghty prynce, and it be youre wille,
Condescende leyser for to take,
To se the contents of thys litel bille,
Whiche whan I wrote my hand felt qquake."[431]
Duke Humphrey gave a noble instance of his great love of learning in the
year 1439, when he presented to the University of Oxford one hundred and
twenty-nine treatises, and shortly after, one hundred and twenty-six
_admirandi apparatus_; and in the same year, nine more. In 1443, he made
another important donation of one hundred and thirty volumes, to which he
added one hundred and thirty-five more,[432] making in all, a collection
of five hundred and thirty-eight volumes. These treasures, too, had been
collected with all the nice acumen of a bibliomaniac, and the utmost
attention was paid to their outward condition and internal purity. Never,
perhaps, were so many costly copies seen before, dazzling with the
splendor of their illuminations, and rendered inestimable by the many
faithful miniatures with which they were enriched. A superb copy of
Valerius Maximus is the only relic of that costly and noble gift, a
solitary but illustrious example of the membraneous treasures of that
ducal library.[433] But alas! those very indications of art, those
exquisite illuminations, were the fatal cause of their unfortunate end;
the portraits of kings and eminent men, with which the historical works
were adorned; the diagrams which pervaded the scientific treatises, were
viewed by the zealous reformers of Henry's reign, as damning evidence of
their Popish origin and use; and released from the chains with which they
were secured, they were hastily committed to the greedy flames. Thus
perished the library of Humphrey, duke of Gloucester! and posterity have
to mourn the loss of many an early gem of English literature.[434]
But in the fourteenth century many other honorable examples occur of lay
collectors. The magnificent volumes, nine hundred in number, collected
by Charles V. of France, a passionate bibliomaniac, were afterwards
brought by the duke of Bedford into England. The library then contained
eight hundred and fifty-three volumes, so sumptuously bound and
gorgeously illuminated as to be valued at 2,223 livres![435] This choice
importation diffused an eager spirit of inquiry among the more wealthy
laymen. Humphrey, the "good duke," received some of these volumes as
presents, and among others, a rich copy of Livy, in French.[436] Guy
Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, also collected some choice tomes, and
possessed an unusually interesting library of early romances. He left the
whole of them to the monks of Bordesley Abbey in Worcestershire, about
the year 1359.[437] As a specimen of a private library in the fourteenth
century, I am tempted to extract it.
"A tus iceux, qe ceste lettre verront, ou orrount, Gwy de Beauchamp,
Comte de Warr. Saluz en Deu. Saluz nous aveir baylé e en la garde le Abbé
e le Covent de Bordesleye, lessé à demorer a touz jours touz les
Romaunces de sonz nomes; ceo est assaveyr, un volum, qe est appelé
Tresor. Un volum, en le quel est le premer livere de Lancelot, e un volum
del Romaunce de Aygnes. Un Sauter de Romaunce. Un volum des Evangelies, e
de Vie des Seins. Un volum, qe p'le des quatre principals Gestes de
Charles, e de dooun, e de Meyace e de Girard de Vienne e de Emery de
Nerbonne. Un volum del Romaunce Emmond de Ageland, e deu Roy Charles
dooun de Nauntoyle. E le Romaunce de Gwyoun de Nauntoyl. E un volum del
Romaunce Titus et Vespasien. E un volum del Romaunce Josep ab Arimathie,
e deu Seint Grael. E un volum, qe p'le coment Adam fust eniesté hors de
paradys, e le Genesie. E un volum en le quel sount contenuz touns des
Romaunces, ceo este assaveir, Vitas patrum au comencement; e pus un Comte
de Auteypt; e la Vision Seint Pol; et pus les Vies des xii. Seins. E le
Romaunce de Willame de Loungespe. E Autorites des Seins humes. E le
Mirour de Alme. Un volum, en le quel sount contenuz la Vie Seint Pére e
Seint Pol, e des autres liv. E un volum qe est appelé l'Apocalips. E un
livere de Phisik, e de Surgie. Un volum del Romaunce de Gwy, e de la
Reygne tut enterement. Un volum del Romaunce de Troies. Un volum del
Romaunce de Willame de Orenges e de Teband de Arabie. Un volum del
Romaunce de Amase e de Idoine. Un volum del Romaunce de Girard de Viene.
Un volum del Romaunce deu Brut, e del Roy Costentine. Un volum de le
enseignemt Aristotle enveiez au Roy Alisaundre. Un volum de la mort ly
Roy Arthur, e de Mordret. Un volum en le quel sount contenuz les
Enfaunces de Nostre Seygneur, coment il fust mené en Egipt. E la Vie
Seint Edwd. E la Visioun Seint Pol. La Vengeaunce n're Seygneur par
Vespasien a Titus, e la Vie Seint Nicolas, qe fust nez en Patras. E la
Vie Seint Eustace. E la Vie Seint Cudlac. E la Passioun n're Seygneur. E
la Meditacioun Seint Bernard de n're Dame Seint Marie, e del Passioun
sour deuz fiz Jesu Creist n're Seignr. E la Vie Seint Eufrasie. E la Vie
Seint Radegounde. E la Vie Seint Juliane. Un volum, en le quel est aprise
de Enfants et lumière à Lays. Un volum del Romaunce d'a Alisaundre, ove
peintures. Un petit rouge livere, en le quel sount contenuz mons diverses
choses. Un volum del Romaunce des Mareschans, e de Ferebras e de
Alisaundre. Les queus livres nous grauntons par nos heyrs e par nos
assignes qil demorront en la dit Abbeye, etc."
FOOTNOTES:
[385] See a fine manuscript in the Cotton collection marked Nero D.
vii., and another marked Claudius E. iv., both of which I have
consulted.
[386] Matthew Paris' Edit. Wats, tom. i. p. 39.
[387] "Asserens ad cantelam, ipsum fuisse beati Amphibali, beate
Albini magistri, caracellam."--Mat. Paris, p. 44.
[388] Abjectis igitur et combustis libris, in quibus commenta
diaboli continabantur.
[389] MS. Cottonian, E. iv. fo. 101; Mat. Paris, Edit. Wat. i. p.
41.
[390] MS. Cottanian Claudius, E. iv. fo. 105 b., and MS. Cott. Nero,
D. vii. fo. 13, b.
[391] He was elected in 1093.--See MS. Cott. Claud. E. iv. fo. 107.
[392] Got. MS. Claud. E. iv. fo. 108.
[393] MS. Cot. Nero, D. vii. fo. 15, a; and MS. Cot. Claud. e. iv.
[394] Cot. MS. Claud. E. iv. fo. 113. "Ex tunc igitur amator
librorum et adquisiter sedulus multio voluminibus habundavit."
[395] Fecit etiam scribi libros plurimos; quos longum esset
enarrare.--_Mat. Paris Edit. Wat._ p. 89.
[396] Cot. MS. Nero D. vii. fo. 16, a.
[397] MS. Claud. E. iv. fo. 114, a.
[398] MS. Cot. Claud. E. iv. fo. 125 b.
[399] _Ibid._
[400] MS. Cot. Nero D. vii. fo. 16 a.
[401] MS. Cot. Claud. iv. fo. 124.
[402] Claud. E. iv. fo. 124.
[403] "In grammatica Priscianus, in metrico Ovidius, in physica
censori potuit Galenus." _MS. Cot. Claud._ E. iv. f. 129, b. _Matt.
Paris' Edit. Wat._ p. 103.
[404] MS. Cot. Claud. E. iv. fo. 131. b.
[405] MS. Cot. Claud. E. iv. fol. 135 b.
[406] Ibid. fol. 141.
[407] MS. Reg. Brit. Mus. 4 D. viii. 4. Wood's Hist. Oxon. 1-82, and
Matt. Paris. Turner's Hist. of Eng. vol. iv. p. 180.
[408] MS. Cot. Nero, D. vii. fol. 19 a.
[409] Ibid. fol. 86.
[410] Duos bonas biblias.
[411] MS. Cot. Claud. E. iv. fo. 229 b.
[412] MS. Cot. Nero D. vii. fo. 20 b.
[413] MS. Cot. Tiberius, E. i.
[414] MS. Cot. Claud. D. i. fo. 165, "Acta Johannis Abbatis per
Johannem Agmundishamensem monachum S. Albani."
[415] Gibson's Hist. Monast. Tynmouth, vol. ii. p. 62, whose
translation I use in giving the following extract. If the reader
refers to Mr. Gibson's handsome volumes, he will find much
interesting and curious matter from John of Amersham relative to
this matter.
[416] Otterb. cxvi.; see also MS. Cot. Nero. vii. fo. 32 a.
[417] Otterbourne Hist. a Hearne, _edit._ Oxon, 1732, tom. i. 2.
[418] Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. ii. pt. 11, p. 205. For a
list of his works see Bale; also Pits. p. 630, who enumerates more
than thirty.
[419] Marked Otho, b. iv.
[420] MS. Arundel. Brit. Mus. clxiii. c. A curious Register, "per
magistrum Johannem Whethamstede et dominum Thoman Ramryge," fo. 74,
75. Upwards of fifty volumes are specified, with the cost of each.
[421] Julius Cæsar was among them.--Cot. MS. Claud. d. i. fo. 156.
[422] MS. Cod. Nero, D. vii. fo. 28 a. He "enlarged the abbot's
study," fo. 29, which most monasteries possessed. Whethamstede had a
study also at his manor at Tittinhanger, and had inscribed on it
these lines:
"Ipse Johannis amor Whethamstede ubique proclamor
Ejus et alter honor hic lucis in auge reponer."
See also MS. Cot. Claud. D. i. fo. 157, for an account of his many
donations.
[423] Weever's Funerall Monuments, p. 562 to 567. I have forgotten
to mention before that Whethamstede built a new library for the
abbey books, and expended considerably more than £120 upon the
building.
[424] Foxe's Actes and Monuments, folio, Lond. 1576, p. 679.
[425] Holingshed Chronicle, fol. 1587, vol. ii. p. 627.
[426] See Stowe, p. 367.
[427] Leland Collect. vol. i. p. 494.
[428] MS. Harleian, No. 2251, fol. 7 b.
[429] Capgrave's Commentary on Genesis, in Oriel College, Cod. MSS.
32, is dedicated to him. Aretine's Trans. Aristotle's Politics, MS.
Bodl. D. i. 8-10. Pet. de Monte de Virt. de Vit. MS. Norvic. More,
257. Bibl. publi Cantab. Many others are given in Warton's Hist. of
Poetry, 4to. vol. ii. pp. 48-50.
[430] Tragedies of Ihon Bochas. Imp. at London, by John Wayland,
fol. 38 b.
[431] MS. Harleian, No. 2251, fol. 6. Lydgate received one hundred
shillings for translating the Life of St. Alban into English verse
for Whethamstede.
[432] See Wood's Hist. and Antiq. of Oxford, vol. ii. p. 914.
[433] MSS. Bodl. N. E. vii. ii. Warton, vol. ii. p. 45. I find in
the Arundel Register in the British Museum (MSS. Arund. clxiii. c.)
that a fine copy of Valerius, in two volumes, with a gloss, was
transcribed in the time of Whethamstede at St. Albans, at the cost
of £6 13 4, probably the identical copy.
[434] There are many volumes formerly belonging to duke Humphrey, in
the public libraries, a fine volume intitled "Tabulas Humfridi ducis
Glowcester in Judicus artis Geomantie," is in the Brit. Mus., MSS.
Arund. 66, fo. 277, beautifully written and illuminated with
excessive margins of the purest vellum. See also MSS. Harl. 1705.
Leland says, "Humfredus multaties scripsit in frontispiecis librorum
suorum, _Moun bien Mondain_," Script. vol. iii. 58.
[435] Bouvin, Mem. de l'Acad. des Inscrip., ii. 693.
[436] _Ibid._
[437] Printed in Todd's Illustrations to Gower and Chaucer, 8vo. p.
161, from a copy by Arch Sancroft, from Ashmole's Register of the
Earl of Ailesbury's Evidences, fol. 110. Lambeth, MSS., No. 577.
fol. 18 b.