Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ely Part 7

At the Battle of a.s.sendun, 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 were there 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.

Of #Leofwin#, 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 G.o.diva.

#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 n.o.bles, 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.[9] The Latin of them, as given in the "Liber Eliensis," runs thus:

"Dulce cantaverunt monachi in Ely Dum 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 Canute the Dane Was 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 peered Above the gla.s.sy way.

Anon, sweet music on his ear, Comes floating from the fane, And listening, as with all his soul Sat old Canute the Dane; And reverent did he doff his crown, To join the clerkly prayer, While swelled old lauds and litanies Upon 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 G.o.dly 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."[11] In 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 G.o.dwin, by whose orders he was deprived of his eyes and committed to the custody of the monks of Ely. He lived a very short time after this cruel treatment, and died and was buried at Ely.

Abbot #Wilfric# (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 p.r.o.nounced; 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 n.o.bleman 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.

Abbot #Thurstan# (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 a.s.suring 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 method of 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 praebentes, exlegati sunt."[12]

He was succeeded by a Norman, #Theodwin# (1072-1075), a monk of Jumieges. 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 Jumieges.

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 G.o.dfrey, 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 n.o.bility 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 such shields 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 a.s.sembly 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.

G.o.dfrey, the administrator, being made Abbot of Malmesbury, an abbot was at length given to Ely in the person of #Simeon# (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, Abbot Richard, with many others, was deposed. "Anselmus archiepiscopus, concilio convocato apud Londiniam, rege consentiente, plures deposuit abbates vel propter simoniam vel propter aliam vitae infamiam."[14] The 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 const.i.tuting 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 subst.i.tution 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 be a.s.sociated 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 a.s.signed specially to the prior who was the head of the house at the time.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BISHOP ALc.o.c.k'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 c.o.xe. The author was ultimately Bishop of Western New York.

[11] Bentham, p. 97.

[12] "Chronicon Angliae Petriburgense," p. 57, _sub anno_ 1072.

[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 Angliae Petriburgense," _sub anno_ 1102.

CHAPTER V.

HISTORY OF THE SEE.

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.[1] The 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, was #Hervey# (1109-1131), Bishop of Bangor.[2] He 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 company were 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 years #Nigel# (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 inst.i.tution 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 before #Geoffrey Riddell# (1174-1189) was consecrated. He was one of the king's chaplains, a Baron of the Exchequer, and Archdeacon of 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. Thomae 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 was #William 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.