New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-02-03
SIX CENTURIES AGO.
NEw L1GnT upoN OLD TrMEs.

book, Already" appeared IN The Nineteenth
Century, originally, and created widespread IN
terest bv reason of their freshness and the I'm
portant new light thrown by them upon hie,
manpers and customs in that old England Of
which despite the standard histories, few moderns
have more than g vague and dim idea DR..
Jessopp has been enabled to illuminate thus cloudy
region Of the past by means Of magnlhcenp
literary ffnds consisting in several chesius
OF ancient muniments Of every kind, extending
in an unbroken hne back 10 the thirteenth cent
ury These precious parchments had Deen pre-
served in an East Anglican manor house; at dl1-
ferent times some order had been taken WIN
them; and the entire collection was put at tine
disposal Of the author. The documents furnished
something like the framework or skeleton Oh
continuous local chronicle. Surmise and con-
lecture are often necessary in filling up gaps ana
supplying missing links. Stories are begun ana
never finished; or the end is found without the
beginning. People appear, do something, or suiier
something. and vanish All manner of puzzles
crop out OF course, these difficulties only add
70 the zest of the research. and Notwithstanding
them DIR. JeSsopp has been able to reconstruct
the archaic conditions in many respects with
hfelikeness and fulness which would not have
discredited the archaeological skill of Professor
Owen.
The titles of the essays indicate their scope.
These are The Coming OF the Friars,' Village
Life in Norfolk Six Hundred Years Ago. Daily
Life in a Mediaeval Monastery The Black Death
IN East ANGLIA The Building up Of Uni
versty," and The Prophet Of Walnut Tree Yard
In the first papcr we have o clear and striking
picture of the advent in England of the Preaching
Friars. those enthusiastic religious who for
time redeemed their incredibly corrupt church by
reverting to the principles OF primitive Christi
anity, and winning the confidence Of the masses
by sharing all their poverty and privanons
St Francis of Assist Yves their founder. They
were sincere and minded men, willing 10
give up the world absolutely, bent upon self-sacr
fee and modification, and exhibiting their reso-
luton not by isolation after the monasuc man
ner but by ministering to the most ablect, help
less and despised classes. Thus the friars served
by choice among lepers in pauper hospitals ana
wherever such service while needed most, was
hardest and most repellant Nor was there any
lack of opportunity for the manifestation OF the
Christlke spirit for the state of the poor through
out Europe six hEndred years ago, was most
miserable In England, outside the chartered
cities the old feudal customs prevailed The
villein or peasant was tied to the land, and went
with it, He could do little or nothing without
the consent Of his overload. He was a serf in
the strictest sense Of the term. He could not
buy his own freedom, though another might
purchase it for him. His only hope of acquir-
ing ID was by escaping to one of the chartered
towns II be could do that, and remain in the
town a year and day, his lord lost all hold
upon him.
Between the mobiles, who ruled with high
hand, and the villeins who barely existed, were
the merchants and traders and the clergy. To
belong to the ranks of the latter conferred many
privileges and exemptions, and it was the aim OF
nearly all who had received some education TO
be admitted clerics Practically, as DR.. Jessopp
shows, most professional men in those days were
clerics, and thus it may be said that tho Church
absorbed the intelligence OF the age. But 10 did
not necessarily benefit directly from this ABSORB
ton The mel who became clerics acquired the
protection of the Church, but they did not need
to serve the Church, or to lead The religious life
They, of course, were allies and friends Of the
power that sheltered them, and so they were
useful. The frars were not loved by the Church,
however. They rebuked ccclesiasticism TOO open
", Their lives contrssted TOO sharply with those
of the bishops and abbotts and fat monks whose
conventual establishments were really more like
the modern club than anything else The friars,
too, preached while the parsons had ceased to
do So and as the common people focked eagerly
to hear this preaching, the parish churches were
often deserted. So there was no love lost be-
tween friars and parsons and bishops and monks.
Nor indeed was there any anity between the
monks and the bishops and the parsons The
monks were greedy Of land and revenues, and
were continually trying to acquire church posses
sicns by hook or by crook They were jealous
Of episcopal jurisdiction, too and resisted wish
tations and inquests obstinately They were per-
petuaIly at war in the courts, and being wealthy
they enjoyed litigation, and frequently their
long purses proved too heavy odds for the bishops
who joined issue with them.
Dr. Jessopp in Daily Life in Medieval
Monastery gives most interesting detailed de
scription Of the conduct Of OF these establish
ments Its system was elaborate, its secular
discipline rigid. The duties and functions were
distributed among many monks, and each Office
was obliged TO keep account Of everything pune
tiliously. monastery, in fact was managed like
large business house. 1t administered often
an immense estate. 1t had hundreds OF
thousands of tenants, villeins, servitors. II
maintained gransries and cellars on large scale
1t entertained travellers with profuse hospitality
1t was, as is here shown, gregarious and in nc
sense an isolated community. The monastery as
a rule had no cells in it. The monks really
lived in open sight of one another. working to
gether in tile cloisters, eating and drinking
together in the refectory, worshpping together
in tire church, and sleeping together in the
dormitorg. The monks appeared to have lived
well on the whole, and certainly much better
than tie people at large did or could, In fact
"village Life Six Hundred Years Ago. as recon
structed by Dr.. Jessopp, must have been almost
immeasurably below plantation life at the Soutl
during the slavery period 1t is true that every
man held and TILED some small segment Of land
for land in England then was plentiful and mos
OF il was stu wild, and the population wal
small. But all tine wheat or barley grown mus
20 TO the mill owned by the lord of the mano
to be ground-and to be tolled heavily. Th,
people lived mostly in wooden clay plasteret
huts They had no chimneys, but built tlei