FOOTNOTES:[1]Quite recently further security has been attained by a system of iron bracing, not visible from beneath.[2]"Ely Gossip," p. 39.[3]When Murray's "Eastern Cathedrals" was published, Mr. Gambier Parry's work had not been begun; and by comparing the above list with the list there given as the proposed series of sacred subjects for the last six bays of the ceiling, it will be seen that the last three subjects are not the same as at first intended.[4]From the key to the ceiling by Dean Stubbs, in "Handbook," 20th ed., pp. 60, 61.[5]Admirable and exhaustive descriptions of these pieces of sculpture, with sketches of six of them, are given in Dean Stubbs' "Historical Memorials of Ely Cathedral," pp. 71-84. The account in the text of the miracle on the seventh corbel is condensed from this description.[6]Canon Stewart, inThe Builder, April 2nd, 1892.[7]Introduction to Farren's "Cathedral Cities of Ely and Norwich."[8]For a full account and list of all the subjects as far as is known, see Dean Stubbs' catalogue of them, abridged from Dr. Montagu James' work on the iconography of the lady-chapel, given in the "Handbook," 20th ed., pp. 127-132.[9]In the inventory of plate, etc., "belonging to the late priory at Ely," made 31 Hen. VIII., printed in Bentham's "History" from the MS. in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, the only altars mentioned are the high altar, those in the lady-chapel, in the chapels of Bishops Alcock and West, and in "Byslope Redmannes Chaple."
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Quite recently further security has been attained by a system of iron bracing, not visible from beneath.
[2]"Ely Gossip," p. 39.
[3]When Murray's "Eastern Cathedrals" was published, Mr. Gambier Parry's work had not been begun; and by comparing the above list with the list there given as the proposed series of sacred subjects for the last six bays of the ceiling, it will be seen that the last three subjects are not the same as at first intended.
[4]From the key to the ceiling by Dean Stubbs, in "Handbook," 20th ed., pp. 60, 61.
[5]Admirable and exhaustive descriptions of these pieces of sculpture, with sketches of six of them, are given in Dean Stubbs' "Historical Memorials of Ely Cathedral," pp. 71-84. The account in the text of the miracle on the seventh corbel is condensed from this description.
[6]Canon Stewart, inThe Builder, April 2nd, 1892.
[7]Introduction to Farren's "Cathedral Cities of Ely and Norwich."
[8]For a full account and list of all the subjects as far as is known, see Dean Stubbs' catalogue of them, abridged from Dr. Montagu James' work on the iconography of the lady-chapel, given in the "Handbook," 20th ed., pp. 127-132.
[9]In the inventory of plate, etc., "belonging to the late priory at Ely," made 31 Hen. VIII., printed in Bentham's "History" from the MS. in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, the only altars mentioned are the high altar, those in the lady-chapel, in the chapels of Bishops Alcock and West, and in "Byslope Redmannes Chaple."
THE CHOIR LOOKING EAST.THE CHOIR LOOKING EAST.
THE CHAPTER SEAL. From Bentham.THE CHAPTER SEAL.From Bentham.
All that need be said of the original establishment at Ely has already been told in the account of the foundress. There is no doubt that in the monastery there were religious persons of both sexes. Dean Stubbs says "the mixed community was the fashion of the time"1and he gives Coldingham, Kildare, and three in Normandy—Chelles, Autun Brie, and Fontevrault—as examples of similar foundations. In this instance the abbess was the head of all; and this accounts for Bede's calling the house a nunnery. What name was given to the superior of the men's part does not appear.
Of all the abbesses who ruled over this "twin monastery" we know only the names of the first four; and all these were in due time canonised. These were S. Etheldreda (673-679), S. Sexburga (679-699), S. Ermenilda (699-?), and S. Werburga (dates unknown). If we allow ten years for the duration of the rule of the last two, we still have the names of the abbesses for only thirty-six years out of the one hundred and ninety-seven years that the institution lasted. It is said to have been in a very flourishing condition whenthe Danes came to destroy it; and there is no hint anywhere that there was not a continuous succession of abbesses during the whole period.
S. Sexburga, the elder sister of the foundress, succeeded her as abbess. She was the widowed queen of Ercombert, King of Kent, and had herself founded the monastery of Sheppey, at the place now known as Minster, and set over it her daughter Ermenilda, another widowed queen. S. Sexburga joined the house at Ely, and had resided there some time before her sister's death. The body of S. Etheldreda was in her time removed into the church, under the superintendence of Archbishop Wilfrid. Bede gives a full account of the translation. The monks who had the charge of providing a stone coffin suitable for the reception of the remains of the foundress are said to have "found" one of marble among the ruins of Grantchester, the name of the old town of Cambridge. When disinterred, the body was reported free from all corruption. The account would not be complete without the customary miracles—marvellous cures effected by touching the clothes and coffin, and by the healing efficacy of a spring that flowed from the place of the first interment. This translation took place on October 17th, 695. This is the day assigned to the commemoration of S. Etheldreda. The importance of this festival is sometimes held to account for the fact that the Feast of S. Luke, on October 18th, is not preceded by a fast. But as no fast is assigned to the vigils of the Conversion of S. Paul, S. Mark, or Saints Philip and James, it is questionable if this opinion is sound. Upon the death of S. Sexburga, in 699, her body was laid in the church next to that of her sister.
The next abbess was her daughter, S. Ermenilda. Her husband had been Wulphere, King of Mercia, who died in 675. She had been professed at Ely, and left to become the head of her mother's foundation at Sheppey. The date of her death is not known. She was succeeded, both at Sheppey and at Ely, by her daughter, S. Werburga. How long she ruled at Ely is not recorded. She was buried by her own desire at Hanbury, in Staffordshire. When the Danes reached Derbyshire in their incursions, this was deemed no longer a safe place, and her body was removed to Chester, where the cathedral was afterwards placed under the joint invocationof S. Werburga and S. Oswald.2The reason why it is suggested above that ten years may be taken as the limit of time to be assigned to the rules of S. Ermenilda and S. Werburga is that the author of her Life3says that her body was taken up "9 years after her decease, to translate it to a more eminent part" of Hanbury Church, by order of Ceolred, King of Mercia. As this king died at latest in 1027, it would follow that S. Werburga must have died not later than 708.
Probably in the Isle of Ely more special respect was paid to the festivals of these four sainted abbesses than elsewhere. But we find no churches dedicated to any of the four in the isle except those previously named as dedicated to S. Etheldreda, the cathedral, Histon, and a chapel at Swaffham Prior. Minster Church, in Kent, is dedicated to Saints Mary and Sexburga. In a tenth-century will of the widowed queen of Edmund I. we read: "I give to S. Peter's, and to S. Ætheldryth, and to S. Wihtburh, and to S. Sexburh, and to S. Eormenhild at Ely where my lord's body rests, the three lands which we both promised to God and His saint."4There were no doubt side-altars erected in honour of one or more of the four. At Wisbech, for instance, there was a "light" of S. Etheldreda, to which we find persons bequeathing small sums.
Of the monastery of S. Etheldreda and that of Bishop Ethelwold, Professor Freeman writes that there is "no continuity between the two."5By this we must probably understand that he considered the original monastery absolutely at an end after its destruction by the Danes; and that the monastery founded in its place a century later was something quite new, that had no claim to be regarded as the continuation of the former one. But the history of the place during the interval was not an absolute blank.
The Danish destruction took place in 870. The reconstruction by King Edgar and Bishop Ethelwold took place in970. In the monastery so founded, or, as most would prefer to say, resuscitated, there were no nuns. It has been pointed out that at Ely, unlike other religious houses in the district, there was not complete desolation during the century intervening between the destruction of the former and the construction of the latter house. Some clergy banded themselves together and formed a religious community, of what precise character is not known, but apparently it was something in the nature of a college of secular priests. When the second monastery arose, these clergy were either absorbed or evicted.
Brithnoth(970-981) was the first abbot. He had been Prior of Winchester. He devoted his energies to the consolidation of the new house, securing many fresh endowments, settling the boundaries of the Isle of Ely, and laying out the grounds of the abbey in beautiful order. The church possessed only the bodies of three of the four saints connected with the original foundation. There being no hope of recovering the fourth, Bishop Ethelwold and the abbot resolved to find a substitute in the body of S. Withburga, the youngest sister of S. Etheldreda. Her youth had been spent at Holkham, in Norfolk, where the church is now said to be dedicated to her, and afterwards founded a nunnery at Dereham, in the same county, where she died and was buried. A long account is given by Bentham6of the trickery by which her body was purloined and brought to Ely, where it was interred near the bodies of the three abbesses.7Brithnoth is said to have been murdered at the instigation of Queen Elfrida, having grievously offended her in many ways, especially by reproving her infamous and abandonedlife. This is the same Elfrida who, two years before, had caused her stepson, King Edward (thence called the Martyr), to be assassinated in order that her own son, Ethelred (the Unready), might have the crown. Edward only reigned four years; but during that time much that his father, King Edgar, had done towards establishing the monastic rule in England was set aside. In some instances "the monastic rule was quashed, and minsters dissolved, and monks driven out, and God's servants put down, whom King Edgar had ordered the holy bishop Ethelwold to establish."8The queen confessed before her death to having compassed the death of Abbot Brithnoth. His body was conveyed to Ely for interment.
He was succeeded byElsin(981-1016), "of a noble family." In his time very considerable donations and bequests were made to the monastery. In some cases members of the house who rose to eminence and obtained lucrative appointments became benefactors; sometimes the parents of young men who joined the society testified their confidence by munificent gifts; sometimes widows gave manors and lands in their lifetimes or in their wills. In one case at least much wealth was acquired by way of penance. Leofwin, a man of large possessions, in a violent fit of anger had occasioned the death of his own father. In his remorse he betook himself to Rome to obtain absolution, undertaking to perform any penance that might be enjoined. The pope required him to dedicate his eldest son to the religious life in some monastery which he was liberally to endow, and to bestow largely of his substance to the relief of the poor. His son Edelmor was accordingly devoted to the service of God at Ely, and very large estates were assigned by Leofwin to the monastery. He further improved the church, rebuilding and enlarging the south aisle, and joining it to the rest of the building; and in one of its porches, or side-chapels (in uno porticu), he built an altar to the Virgin Mary, erecting over it a stately image of gold and silver, adorned with valuable jewels. It is probably to this altar that reference is made when we find some speak as if there were a lady-chapel in existence before the present one. At Leofwin's death his body was buried in the church, and to it he bequeathed his entire property.
Alderman Brithnoth, a man of great rank and eminence, andof great reputation as a soldier, was another considerable benefactor. On one occasion he was marching with his forces from the north to encounter the Danes, who had been plundering in Suffolk and had reached Essex. Passing Ramsey Abbey, he sent word to the abbot that he proposed to stop there with his men for refreshment. But the abbot, though willing to entertain the alderman and a few select friends, declined the honour of providing for his troops. This did not suit Brithnoth, and he went on to Ely. There the whole company was hospitably entertained; and Brithnoth was so pleased that he on the next day made over to the monastery a number of manors into their immediate possession, and also assigned certain others, on condition that if he should be slain in battle his body should be buried at Ely. In the battle the English forces were outnumbered, and Brithnoth fell, the Danes taking his head away with them in their triumph. On hearing of his death, the abbot and some of the monks went to the scene of the engagement, recovered the body, and interred it with all honour in their church.
A great accession of dignity was granted by King Ethelred. While his brother, King Edward, was on the throne, Ethelred, with his mother, had visited the tomb of S. Etheldreda, and professed great admiration for her character and work. When Ethelred became king he granted to the churches of Ely, Canterbury, and Glastonbury the office of Chancellor of the King's Court, putting, as it were, the office in commission; so the abbot of each place, or his deputy, officiated as chancellor for periods of four months each. This privilege was only retained till the time of the Normans.
Elsin died in a good old age, "after a life of great sanctity and observance of the commandments of God, and after the acquisition of much honour and great possessions to the church." His death took place, according to the "Liber Eliensis," in King Ethelred's time—that is, not later than 1016. Wharton gives 1019 as the date. Possibly the unsettled state of the kingdom may have caused the abbey to be vacant for three years.
At the Battle of Assendun, 1016, some of the monks of Ely, as well as Ednod, Bishop of Dorchester, and the Abbot of Ramsey, were slain. The Ely monks took with them to the camp the relics of S. Wendreda, which werethere lost and never recovered. Canute is thought to have acquired them, and to have bestowed them upon the Church of Canterbury. The body of Bishop Ednod was brought to Ely, with the intention of taking it on to Ramsey, where he had been abbot, for interment. But when the body arrived at Ely it was buried privately by night in the church.
OfLeofwin, called also Oschitel (1019?-1022), who is given in the lists as the third abbot, nothing whatever is known, except that he was deposed by the monks, and reinstated, after a journey to Rome, by the pope.
His successor,Leofric(1022-1029), who had been prior, is remembered only as being abbot when Archbishop Wulstan of York and Bishop Alfwin of Elmham were buried at Ely, and when divers possessions were acquired by gift or bequest of a certain Countess Godiva.
Leofsin(1029-1045), like his predecessor, was appointed by King Canute. Canute was much in the eastern counties; and he is said to have made a point, when possible, of keeping the Feast of the Purification at Ely, that being the date on which the abbot's turn as chancellor commenced. It was on one of these occasions, while coming by water with his queen and nobles, that the remarkable incident occurred of his hearing the monks singing in the distance, and breaking out himself into verse. Four lines of his song have been preserved.9The Latin of them, as given in the "Liber Eliensis," runs thus:
"Dulce cantaverunt monachi in ElyDum Canutus rex navigaret prope ibi,Nunc milites navigate propius ad terram,Et simul audiamus monachorum harmoniam."
The incident has attracted many writers, and not a few poems have been written upon it. Wordsworth's sonnet on the subject commences:
"A pleasant music floats along the mere.From monks in Ely chanting service high,While as Canute the king is rowing by:'My oarsmen,' quoth the mighty king, 'draw near,That we the sweet song of the monks may hear.'"
And in a ballad upon Chelsea, a quarter of New York where the General Theological Seminary of the American church is situated, a poet of that communion has these verses:
"When old Canúte the DaneWas merry England's king,A thousand years agone, and more,As ancient rymours sing,His boat was rowing down the Ouse,At eve, one summer day,Where Ely's tall cathedral peeredAbove the glassy way.Anon, sweet music on his ear,Comes floating from the fane,And listening, as with all his soulSat old Canúte the Dane;And reverent did he doff his crown,To join the clerkly prayer,While swelled old lauds and litaniesUpon the stilly air."10
Ely minster was, however, not a cathedral in Canute's time; and it is a strange poetical licence that can describe an evening just before the Feast of the Purification as a "summer day."
Perhaps the greatest distinction belonging to the monastery at this period was the honour of having educated King Edward the Confessor. He had been brought here in his infancy and offered by his parents on the altar; "and it was a constant tradition with the Monks that he used to take great delight in learning to sing Psalms and godly Hymns, among the children of his own age, in the Cloister, on which account he always retained a favourable regard to the place, after he became King."11In 1036, the year after Canute's death, Edward and his brother Alfred came over from Normandy to England, ostensibly to visit their mother, Queen Emma, who lived at Winchester, but really to ascertain the feeling of the nation with regard to the succession to the throne. Alfred fell into the hands of Earl Godwin, by whose orders he was deprived of his eyes and committed to the custody of themonks of Ely. He lived a very short time after this cruel treatment, and died and was buried at Ely.
AbbotWilfric(1045-1065) came from Winchester. He was a kinsman of Edward the Confessor. Through this relationship, as well as from personal connection with the place, the king greatly favoured the abbey. He granted a confirmatory charter himself, and obtained a bull from the pope confirming all the rights and privileges of the church. But several of the possessions of the abbey were lost in Wilfric's time. In one instance the High Constable of England seized a village belonging to the monks. Proceedings were taken against him and sentence pronounced; but he evaded even the king's orders, and at last actually secured the possession of the village for his own life, after which it was to revert to the true owners. After the Conquest, however, all the lands of this nobleman were seized by the Conqueror, this village among the rest; nor could the Church of Ely ever regain it. In another instance Abbot Wilfric himself was the cause of the loss of much landed property. In order to advance his brother he conveyed to him, without the consent of the monastery, several estates. Upon discovery, the abbot withdrew from Ely in sorrow and disgrace, and soon fell sick and died. As in the previous case, a composition was effected between Guthmund, the late abbot's brother, and the monks, whereby he was to retain the lands for his life. But, as before, these lands were alienated after the Conquest, and never recovered.
AbbotThurstan(1066-1072) was appointed by King Harold, and was the last Saxon abbot. He was a native of the Isle of Ely, having been born at Witchford. He naturally took the part of Edgar Atheling—whom he regarded as the rightful heir after Harold was killed—against William the Conqueror. He gave every support to the many who gathered together in the isle as to a fastness, and encouraged the plans of Hereward. When the cause of the English seemed hopeless, the monks endeavoured to persuade the soldiers to surrender; not being successful, they sent messengers to the king assuring him of their sorrow at having taken part against him, and promising to behave better in future. Afterwards the abbot himself went, and gave the king much information about the place, and the best methodof subduing it. But when the isle was finally subdued, the king signified his great displeasure at the behaviour of the monks, and exacted a heavy fine. He is said to have gone in person to the minster, after his victory, and to have made an offering at the altar; but the monks were under such strict surveillance, and the king's visit was so secret, that no one knew of his coming till after he was gone. Thurstan escaped deprivation by his complete submission and prudent conduct, and remained abbot till his death in 1072. But it appears that the monks had not thoroughly made their peace with the Conqueror by the time of Abbot Thurstan's death, for we read, "Eodem anno monachi Elienses, quibusdam Anglorum magnatibus contra regem Willelmum rebellantibus succursum præbentes, exlegati sunt."12
He was succeeded by a Norman,Theodwin(1072-1075), a monk of Jumièges. This was a Benedictine abbey of great repute in the diocese of Rouen. Its church had been built during the abbacy of Robert, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury; and he died and was buried at Jumièges. Theodwin was present at the Council of London in 1075. He died the same year.
For upwards of six years the affairs of the monastery were administered by Godfrey, one of the monks. He was an able and efficient administrator. In his time the king sent a number of knights and gentlemen to live at Ely, and he supported them out of the revenues of the house. The names and armorial bearings of these pensioners are preserved in a curious painting called the "Tabula Eliensis," now in the palace. This is a copy, as it is said, of one formerly in the refectory. It cannot be earlier than the fifteenth century. There are in it forty compartments, in each of which is represented a knight and a monk, the names of both being given above, and the arms of the knights being placed beside their heads. Some of the names are still to be found among the nobility and gentry of England, and in some instances the very same armorial bearings are used. This is the case in the families of Lacy, St. Leger, Montfort, Clare, Touchet, Furnival, Fulke, Newbury, Lucy, Talbot, Fitzallen, Longchamp. It need hardly be pointed out that no contemporary Norman painting could have given suchshields of arms to the different knights, heraldry having only established itself as a science in England in the thirteenth century.
The affairs of the abbey had been in a very unsettled state since the time when the Camp of Refuge was attacked, so many of the estates of the church having been granted to Norman followers of the Conqueror. But the king's resentment at last gave way, and he was induced to sanction an inquiry into the rights and liberties of the monastery. He appointed his brother Odo, then Bishop of Bayeux, to summon an assembly of barons, sheriffs, and others interested in the matter, to consider and determine the claims of the monks. The meeting was held at Kentford, in Suffolk; and the report was so favourable that the king directed the church to be put into possession of all the rights, customs, and privileges which it enjoyed at the time of King Edward's death.
Godfrey, the administrator, being made Abbot of Malmesbury, an abbot was at length given to Ely in the person ofSimeon(1081-1093). He was prior of Winchester, and brother to Walkelin, Bishop of Winchester. He was very old when he came to Ely; but though upwards of eighty-six years of age at the time, he remained abbot for more than twelve years. He laid the foundations of the present church, and completed some part of the building, as has been previously told. He died in 1093.13
King William II. immediately took possession of the abbey estates, let them to various tenants, and appointed a receiver to pay the rents into his treasury. This arrangement lasted during the remainder of his reign.
King Henry I., upon coming to the throne, at once "restored the liberties" of the church, and made Richard (1100-1107) abbot. He was a Norman and a kinsman of the king, as his grandfather, Earl Gilbert, was descended from Robert, Duke of Normandy. He successfully resisted the claim of the Bishop of Lincoln to give him benediction, though Simeon had received benediction from Bishop Remigius. In the Council of London, in 1102, AbbotRichard, with many others, was deposed. "Anselmus archiepiscopus, concilio convocato apud Londiniam, rege consentiente, plures deposuit abbates vel propter simoniam vel propter aliam vitæ infamiam."14The abbots of Burgh, Ramsey, and Ely were three of nine so deposed. The "Liber Eliensis" attributes Richard's deposition to the intrigues of the Court. The pope annulled the sentence in the following year. This abbot proceeded with the building of the church, and seems to have finished the Norman transepts and choir, and perhaps the whole of the Norman tower. He is, however, most worthy of note from having been the first to suggest the creation of the See of Ely. He submitted the idea to the king, who was quite favourable; and he then sent messengers to the pope to obtain his approval. Before this could be secured the abbot died, but in little more than two years after his death the proposal was carried into effect.
Richard was the last of the ten abbots. Hervey, Bishop of Bangor, had the management of the affairs of the abbey for the next two years. His rigorous discipline at Bangor had aroused very violent opposition, which came at last to armed insurrection, and the bishop had withdrawn to the king's court for safety. When appointed administrator of the abbey at Ely, he exerted himself to bring to a successful conclusion the creation of the bishopric. The consent of the Bishop of Lincoln to the subdivision of his diocese was secured by a grant of the Manor of Spaldwick. At a Council of London in 1108 the enormous size of the Lincoln diocese was under consideration; and Ely seemed on every account to be the best place for the cathedral of a new diocese to be taken from it. The pope was entirely favourable to the design. Though the letters announcing the pope's consent were dated November 21st, 1108, it was not till October, 1109, that the king granted his charter for constituting the bishopric. In this he nominated Hervey to be the first bishop, in accordance with the recommendation of the pope himself.
The monastery did not come to an end by the substitution of a bishop for an abbot. But for the purposes of this handbook, concerned as it is mainly with the fabric of the cathedral, the remainder of the historical portion will beassociated with the names of the bishops—not that, by any means, the most important works connected with the church were due to the initiation of the bishops, nor was the cost always, or indeed generally, defrayed by them. The monastic body spent large sums upon the building, as has been seen in the case of the octagon: but these works are mostly to be credited to the whole body, and, except in a few cases, which are duly noticed, are not assigned specially to the prior who was the head of the house at the time.
BISHOP ALCOCKS CHANTRY FROM THE RETRO-CHOIRBISHOP ALCOCK'S CHANTRY FROM THE RETRO-CHOIR
FOOTNOTES:[1]"Memorials of Ely," p. 18. Gloucester is another example.[2]"The Cathedral Church of Chester," in Bell's "Cathedral Series," p. 3.[3]In MS., Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Referred to by Bentham, p. 63.[4]Quoted in "Fenland Notes and Queries," i., p. 163. The writer has found a will in the Probate Registry at Peterborough in which the testator, John Mobbe, of March, dates his will on the day of S. Ermenilda (February 13th), 1457.[5]Introduction to Farren's "Cathedral Cities of Ely and Norwich."[6]Pages 76-78.[7]The success of this attempt may have encouraged the monks to make a similar effort some fifty years later. The body of S. Felix, the first of the East Anglian bishops, had been interred at Soham, where he is said to have founded a monastery. Soham was also at first, before the removal of the seat of the bishopric to Dunwich, the headquarters of his diocese. Felix had indeed first been buried at Dunwich, but (probably from fear of the Danes) the body had been removed to Soham. But Soham itself, in its turn, was utterly destroyed by the Danes, and the remains of the bishop became neglected. In 1020 the Abbot of Ramsey obtained permission to move them to his abbey; and while he was doing this, the monks of Ely set out with the intention of intercepting the convoy and securing the body for their own church. A dense fog prevented the Ely men from reaching the monks of Ramsey.[8]"Annals of England," i., p. 115.[9]The Saxon version, together with some valuable notes by Professor Skeat, including a literal transcript, a corrected transcript in the true spelling of the period, and a discussion of the grammatical forms, is given in Dean Stubbs' "Memorials of Ely," pp. 49-52.[10]"Christian Ballads and Poems," by Rev. Arthur Cleveland Coxe. The author was ultimately Bishop of Western New York.[11]Bentham, p. 97.[12]"Chronicon Angliæ Petriburgense," p. 57,sub anno1072.[13]Bentham says, "after he had lived too years complete." The "Liber Eliensis" says he was in his eighty-seventh year when appointed abbot; if so, he was nearly, but not quite, one hundred years old at his death.[14]"Chronicon Angliæ Petriburgense,"sub anno1102.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]"Memorials of Ely," p. 18. Gloucester is another example.
[2]"The Cathedral Church of Chester," in Bell's "Cathedral Series," p. 3.
[3]In MS., Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Referred to by Bentham, p. 63.
[4]Quoted in "Fenland Notes and Queries," i., p. 163. The writer has found a will in the Probate Registry at Peterborough in which the testator, John Mobbe, of March, dates his will on the day of S. Ermenilda (February 13th), 1457.
[5]Introduction to Farren's "Cathedral Cities of Ely and Norwich."
[6]Pages 76-78.
[7]The success of this attempt may have encouraged the monks to make a similar effort some fifty years later. The body of S. Felix, the first of the East Anglian bishops, had been interred at Soham, where he is said to have founded a monastery. Soham was also at first, before the removal of the seat of the bishopric to Dunwich, the headquarters of his diocese. Felix had indeed first been buried at Dunwich, but (probably from fear of the Danes) the body had been removed to Soham. But Soham itself, in its turn, was utterly destroyed by the Danes, and the remains of the bishop became neglected. In 1020 the Abbot of Ramsey obtained permission to move them to his abbey; and while he was doing this, the monks of Ely set out with the intention of intercepting the convoy and securing the body for their own church. A dense fog prevented the Ely men from reaching the monks of Ramsey.
[8]"Annals of England," i., p. 115.
[9]The Saxon version, together with some valuable notes by Professor Skeat, including a literal transcript, a corrected transcript in the true spelling of the period, and a discussion of the grammatical forms, is given in Dean Stubbs' "Memorials of Ely," pp. 49-52.
[10]"Christian Ballads and Poems," by Rev. Arthur Cleveland Coxe. The author was ultimately Bishop of Western New York.
[11]Bentham, p. 97.
[12]"Chronicon Angliæ Petriburgense," p. 57,sub anno1072.
[13]Bentham says, "after he had lived too years complete." The "Liber Eliensis" says he was in his eighty-seventh year when appointed abbot; if so, he was nearly, but not quite, one hundred years old at his death.
[14]"Chronicon Angliæ Petriburgense,"sub anno1102.
Ely thus became a cathedral—of the kind that was called conventual cathedrals. No such cathedral had a dean and canons till the time of Henry VIII. The prior and convent were the custodians of the fabric, and perhaps to a certain extent they acted as the bishop's council; and the bishop, as representing the abbot, had the right to preside in the chapter-house whenever he chose.1The bishop also had the power of appointing several of the officers of the monastery, and of displacing them. At Ely the priors were appointed by the bishop until 1198. In 1197 the offices of bishop and prior were vacant at the same time, and the convent was unable to elect a bishop without having a prior: so the Archbishop of Canterbury authorised the monks to proceed to the election of a prior; and it is believed that subsequent priors were all elected by the monks, and not appointed by the bishop.
The first bishop, as has been seen, wasHervey(1109-1131), Bishop of Bangor.2He had been consecrated in 1102. His ecclesiastical discipline in Wales was very strict, and he made many enemies; and he thought to carry out his spiritual censures with the help of armed forces, but insurrections arose, in one of which his own brother and several of his companywere slain. Upon this Bishop Hervey made his way to the English court, where he remained until he was sent to take charge of Ely monastery at the death of Abbot Richard. He was bishop here for nearly twenty-two years, and was most active and painstaking in managing the very difficult business of settling the affairs of the bishopric and monastery in such a way that justice was done to both. He died in 1131.
After two yearsNigel(1133-1169) was made bishop. He was Prebendary of S. Paul's and also Treasurer to King Henry I. This latter office necessitated his continuous absence from his diocese, and may also serve to explain the very active part he took in the civil wars. He espoused the cause of the Empress Matilda, and built a castle at Ely as a military position where a good stand could be made against the partisans of Stephen. More than once he narrowly escaped being taken; and when at first Stephen's cause prospered, all Bishop Nigel's estates and property were seized. When the chances of war favoured Matilda he recovered the Isle of Ely and was fully restored to his bishopric. By this time he had had enough of fighting, and made his peace with Stephen. But his troubles were not at an end. As he was going to consult some friends who were with the Empress upon a matter unconnected with politics, he was nearly taken prisoner by a party of the king's forces, losing all his baggage and everything he had with him. Being summoned to Rome, he was, in his absence, suspected of favouring the king's enemies, and his possessions were again seized. Only with great difficulty, and after paying a large fine, did he obtain Stephen's pardon. At one time he was suspended by the Pope "pro bonis Ecclesise suse dispersis"; but the suspension was removed on condition that he restored the goods. When King Henry II. came to the throne, Nigel was made Baron of the Exchequer. Some have attributed to him the foundation of the hospital for canons regular dedicated to S. John at Cambridge, an institution afterwards absorbed in Lady Margaret's College of S. John the Evangelist. He died in 1169.
There was an interval of four years before a new bishop was appointed, and it was more than five beforeGeoffrey Riddell(1174-1189) was consecrated. He was one of the king's chaplains, a Baron of the Exchequer, and Archdeaconof Canterbury. The delay in his consecration was due to a disagreement between King Henry II. and his son Henry, who had actually been crowned, the latter considering that he ought to have a voice in the appointment. The dispute was not settled without an appeal to Rome. Bishop Riddell furthered the building of the church, and embellished it in various ways. He also recovered some property that had been taken away. Before consecration he had been compelled to profess publicly that he had had nothing to do with the murder of Archbishop Becket: "Mortem S. Thomæ Archiepiscopi neque verbo neque facto neque scripto scienter procuravit." He became very wealthy. He died in 1189 at Winchester, whither he had gone to welcome King Richard. Not long after his death his tomb was violated, and the episcopal ring on his finger purloined. The violators were anathematised from the pulpit.
The fourth bishop wasWilliam Longchamp(1189-1197), Chancellor of England and subsequently Papal Legate. When the king went abroad he was appointed to govern England south of the Trent. He behaved in this office "with great insolence, pride, and oppression," and having particularly offended John, the king's brother, he made an attempt to escape from the country in the disguise of a woman; but he was detected at Dover and thrown into prison. Being allowed, after a time, to go to Normandy, he there waited until the king's return, by whom he was restored to favour. He died in 1197 at Poictiers, and was buried there in a Cistercian abbey, his heart being brought to Ely.
He was succeeded byEustace(1198-1215), Archdeacon of Richmond, Treasurer of York, Dean of Salisbury, and Keeper of the Great Seal. He was one of the bishops to whom was entrusted the invidious employment of publishing the excommunication of King John and putting the kingdom under an interdict. For this, in 1209, he was outlawed, and had to leave the country. Upon the king's submission in 1213, he (with Archbishop Stephen Langton and three other bishops) returned to England. He built the galilee at the west end of the church. He died in 1215 at Reading.
Robert of York was chosen by the monks to succeed him. They had at first selected Geoffrey de Burgh, but for some reason that does not appear they altered their minds beforemaking their selection known. Robert got possession of the temporalities, and even gave away preferments that were in the bishop's gift, for five years; but the king never consented to his appointment, nor was he ever consecrated. He took the part of the French against the king, who at last applied to the pope to nominate some one else to the See of Ely. Accordingly, upon the recommendation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Legate Pandulph, and the Bishop of Salisbury, who had been authorised by the pope to make the selection,John Pherd(1220-1225), Abbot of Fountains, hence called De Fontibus, was made bishop. He was also Treasurer of England. He died at Downham in 1225, and was succeeded by the sameGeoffrey De Burgh(1225-1228) who had at first been elected by the convent upon the death of Eustace. He was Archdeacon of Norwich, and brother to Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent. He gave much costly plate to the monastery, as well as three hundred acres of land.
Upon his death,Hugh Norwoldor Northwold (1229-1254), Abbot of Bury S. Edmunds, became bishop. He had been a justice itinerant. He was one of the embassy sent to conduct to England the king's bride, Eleanor of Provençe. "He was one of the most eminent examples of piety and virtue in his time." He is especially commended for his hospitality and liberality to the poor; and he was a great benefactor to the monastery. He spent more than £5000 on the fabric of the church, and built the palace. The six eastern bays of the presbytery are his work. After removing to this new part of the church the remains of the three sainted abbesses and S. Withburga and also the so-called relics of S. Alban, he dedicated the whole church on September 17th, 1252, in the presence of King Henry III. and his son, Prince Edward. Bishop Norwold died at Downham in 1254, and was buried at the feet of S. Etheldreda, where a splendid monument was erected over his body, now removed to the north side of the presbytery, beneath the third arch from the east.
The next bishop wasWilliam De Kilkenny(1255-1256), Archdeacon of Coventry and chancellor of the king. After his consecration, which took place ten months after his election, he only lived thirteen months. He was consecrated by Archbishop Boniface at Belley, in Savoy, a placenear the Rhone, about forty miles east of Lyons. He died in Spain while negotiating a treaty, and was there buried, at Sugho. His heart was brought to Ely.
Hugh Belsham(1257-1286) the sub-prior, came next. He founded Peterhouse (now S. Peter's College) at Cambridge. He had been elected in defiance of the king's recommendation, and the king tried to annul his election; but he proceeded to Rome, and was actually consecrated there by the pope. It is in connection with his election that we learn that the custom of the monks was to depute the election of a bishop to a committee of seven chosen from among themselves. Bishop Hugh died at Doddington in 1286.
The next bishop,John Kirkby(1286-1290), although at the time of his appointment Dean of Wimborne, Archdeacon of York, and Canon both of Wells and York, was only in deacon's orders. He was accordingly ordained priest one day and consecrated bishop the next. Three years previously he had been elected to the See of Rochester, but had declined it. He had also been Chancellor and Treasurer of England. He gave to his successors a house in Holborn, which formed the nucleus of the grand palace afterwards erected, adjacent property being subsequently acquired. He died in 1290.
His successor,William De Louth(1290-1298) was not even in holy orders at all when elected; yet he held prebends at S. Paul's, York, and Lincoln, the Archdeaconry of Durham, and the Deanery of S. Martin's-le-Grand. He is the only Bishop of Ely who was consecrated at Ely (it was in S. Mary's Church, not the cathedral), a provincial council of bishops happening to meet there at the time.
Ralph Walpole(1299-1302), Bishop of Norwich, was, on the death of Bishop Louth in 1298, translated to Ely; the prior, John Salmon, who had been elected by the monks, being made instead Bishop of Norwich. Walpole had been formerly Archdeacon of Ely. He revised the statutes of the monastery during the short time that he held the see, which was less than three years.
The next bishop,Robert Orford(1302-1310), like his predecessor, Hugh Belsham, was consecrated at Rome, though not, as he had been, by the pope himself. The Archbishop of Canterbury had refused his consent to the appointment onthe ground that the elect was illiterate, but the pope overruled the objection. He died at Downham in 1310.
A monk of the house,John Keeton(1310-1316), succeeded. King Edward II. visited Ely in his time, and while there settled the controversy between Ely and S. Albans as to the true place where the body of the proto-martyr of England was deposited. The remains of S. Alban had been carried off to Denmark by the Danes, after plundering the abbey raised to his honour, and recovered by a trick. At a later time, fearing again an attack from the Danes, the Abbot of S. Albans sent to Ely a chest containing (so he said) the relics of the martyr for safe custody. When the troubles were over, the monks of Ely sent back the chest, but with other bones in it, supposing that they had thereby secured the true relics for their own church. So the Abbot of S. Albans declared that they were not the true relics that he had sent to Ely, but that he had buried them in a fresh place in his own church. The king, in 1314, decided the matter in favour of S. Albans.
At the death of Bishop Keeton in 1316 the bishopric was conferred uponJohn Hotham(1316-1337), Chancellor of the Exchequer. Bentham calls him Prebendary of York and Rector of Collingham; Browne Willis calls him Provost of Queen's College, Oxford, and Chancellor of the University, and S.T.P., being the first bishop in his list who is credited with any university degree. He was a man of great eminence both as a bishop and as a statesman. In his political capacity he was Lord Chancellor. He was employed more than once on foreign embassies. He was one of the commissioners to arrange a truce between England and Scotland after the Battle of Myton in 1319, at which he had been present. He was made special commissioner to settle the troubles in Gascony. In his ecclesiastical capacity he added much landed property both to the see and the monastery. He erected the choir, providing for the building of the western bays after the fall of the tower. He obtained confirmatory charters from the king, and also a grant giving to the prior and convent the custody of the temporalities of the see during a vacancy, upon paying to the king, as long as their custody lasted, at the rate of £2000 a year. He died, "vir prudens, Justus, et munificus," in 1337.
The monks desired that their prior, John Crauden, shouldbecome bishop; but the king translated hitherSimon Montacute(1337-1345), Bishop of Worcester. In a letter to the pope about him, in 1318, King Edward II. calls him his cousin (consanguineus). He materially assisted the buildings at the church, particularly the lady-chapel. He died in 1345.
Again the nomination of the monks, in favour of their prior, Alan de Walsingham, was set aside, andThomas De Lisle(1345-1361) became bishop. He was prior of the Dominican Friars at Winchester. For nearly the whole of his episcopate he was engaged in a prolonged controversy with Lady Blanche Wake, a daughter of the Earl of Lancaster—the same lady who afterwards married John of Gaunt and became mother of King Henry IV. Her estates were contiguous to the bishop's manors in Huntingdonshire, and frequent disputes arose about their boundaries. The tenants took violent measures to assert the claims of their respective landlords, and much litigation ensued. The bishop, by his haughty behaviour, offended both the courts and the king, to whom he appealed; and at last he was constrained to escape to Avignon, then the seat of the pope. Here he had been consecrated; and here, while negotiations were proceeding for settling the dispute, in 1361 he died; and here he was buried.
This time the monks elected, not one of their own body, but the Dean of Lichfield. But once again their nomination was disregarded, and #Simon Langham# (1362-1366) was appointed bishop. He was Abbot of Westminster and Treasurer of England. He had lately declined the See of London. He was afterwards Lord Chancellor, and in 1366 he was translated to Canterbury; but he only remained archbishop till he was created a cardinal in 1368. In 1374 he was appointed Bishop of Præneste. Like his predecessor, he died and was buried at Avignon. This was in 1376. After three years his body was removed to Westminster Abbey, where his handsome monument is well known. The inscription implies that all the world sorrowed at his death: "Orbe dolente Pater ... ruit."
On his removal to Canterbury, the Bishop of Bath and Wells,John Barnet(1366-1373), was translated to Ely. He had been previously Bishop of Worcester, and for a time Treasurer of England. He "beautified" five of the windowsin the presbytery. He died at Hatfield in 1373, but was buried at Ely.
His successor wasThomas Fitz-Alan(1374-1388), son of the Earl of Arundel, Archdeacon of Taunton. He is said at the time not to have been in holy orders and under twenty-three years of age. The convent had in vain elected the Archdeacon of Northampton. Bishop Arundel (so he is generally called) was Chancellor of England in 1386, but resigned that office in 1389, the year after he was made Archbishop of York. He ultimately became Archbishop of Canterbury, and died in 1414. He almost rebuilt the Bishop of Ely's palace in London. He fell into disfavour with King Richard II., and was banished; but he returned to England on the accession of King Henry IV. He was buried at Canterbury.
John Fordham(1388-1425), who succeeded Bishop Arundel at Ely, was Bishop of Durham. He had been Keeper of the Privy Seal. He died at Downham in 1425, and was followed byPhilip Morgan(1426-1435), Bishop of Worcester. The king had given licence to the monks to elect, and had recommended his confessor. They elected instead their prior; but neither obtained the see. In Bishop Morgan's time the University of Cambridge secured entire freedom from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishops of Ely: in the time of the previous bishop the University had got rid of the necessity of presenting their chancellor to the Bishop of Ely for confirmation. Bishop Morgan died at Hatfield in 1435, and was buried at the Charterhouse in London.
There was much dispute about the next bishop. The monks chose Fitz-Hugh, Bishop of London; but he died. The king then recommended the Bishop of S. David's; but the monks preferred Thomas Bouchier, Bishop of Worcester, whom the king refused. Bouchier appealed to the pope, who at first confirmed his election; but the bishop-elect was afraid to present the papal bull. This was an opportunity for the king (Henry VI.) "to gratify one of his numerous adherents of the French nation, who had lost their all in that kingdom, and followed his fortunes in this." He accordingly obtained the pope's consent to appoint #Lewis De Luxemburg# (1438-1443), Archbishop of Rouen, to beadministrator of the Diocese of Ely, at the same time assigning him the £2000 a year due from the prior and convent to the king during a vacancy. The bulls for Bishop Bouchier's translation from Worcester were revoked. This was in 1438, which is held to be the beginning of Bishop Luxemburg's tenure of the see; but the spiritualities were not legally surrendered to him till the next year, and even then it seems to have been only under the title of "Perpetual Administrator of the See of Ely"; and in formal documents some time later he still has the same title, and even in the pope's bull appointing a new Bishop of Ely after his death. He had been Bishop of Terouanne, Chancellor of Normandy, and Governor of Paris, and was a great upholder in France of the cause of the King of England. He was afterwards cardinal. He was hardly ever in his diocese of Ely. He died at Hatfield in 1443, and was buried at Ely, his heart being taken to Normandy to be interred at Rouen.
There was now no opposition to the appointment ofThomas Bouchier(1444-1454), Bishop of Worcester. He was of the blood royal, being grandson of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, son of King Edward III. He was not liked at Ely, where, after his installation, he would never take part in any solemn service. He became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1454, Lord Chancellor in 1455, and cardinal in 1464. He crowned three kings. He died in 1486 at his palace at Knole, and was buried at Canterbury.
He was succeeded byWilliam Gray(1454-1478), Archdeacon of Northampton. He was for a time Treasurer of England and employed as Commissioner and Ambassador. He gave material assistance to the cost of the works at the west tower of the cathedral, and in various ways improved the presbytery. He was a great benefactor to Balliol College, Oxford. He died at Downham in 1478.
The next bishop wasJohn Morton(1479-1486). He had held very numerous preferments, including no less than five archdeaconries, and was Master of the Rolls. He was made Lord Chancellor in the same year that he was appointed to Ely. While bishop he executed some important works to improve the navigation and drainage of the fens. The great artificial cut between Peterborough and Wisbech which he constructed is still called Morton's Learn. He becameArchbishop of Canterbury in 1486, and cardinal in 1493. He died at Knole in 1500, and was buried at Canterbury.