The Parish Clerk Part 3

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CLERK BEARING HOLY WATER AND ASPERGING THE LORD AND LADY]

At Faversham a set of parish clerk's duties of the years 1506, 1548, and 1593 is preserved. In the rules ordained for his guidance in the first-mentioned year he with his a.s.sistant clerk is ordered to bear holy water to every man's house, as of old time hath been accustomed; in case of default he shall forfeit 8 d.; but if he shall be very much occupied on account of a princ.i.p.al feast falling on a Sunday or with any pressing parochial business, he is to be excused.

A mighty dissension disturbed the equanimity of the little parish of Morebath in the year 1531 and continued for several years. The quarrel arose concerning the dues to be paid to the parish clerk, a small number of persons refusing to pay the just demands. After much disputing they finally came to an agreement, and one of the items was that the clerk should go about the parish with his holy water once a year, when men had shorn their sheep to gather some wool to make him a coat to go in the parish in his livery. There are many other items in the agreement to which we shall have occasion again to refer. Let us hope that the good people of Morebath settled down amicably after this great "storm in a tea-cup"; but this G.o.dly union and concord could not have lasted very long, as mighty changes were in progress, and much upsetting of old-established custom and practice.

The clerk continued in many parishes to make his accustomed round of the houses, and collected money which was used for the defraying of the expenses of public worship; but he left behind him his sprinkler and holy-water vat, which accorded not with the principles and tenets, the practice and ceremonies of the reformed Church of England.

This was, however, one of the minor duties of the mediaeval clerk, and the custom of giving offerings to him seems to have started with a charitable intent. The const.i.tutions of Archbishop Boniface of Canterbury issued in 1260 state:

"We have often heard from our elders that the benefices of holy water were originally inst.i.tuted from a motive of charity, in order that one of their proper poor clerks might have exhibitions to the schools, and so advance in learning, that they might be fit for higher preferment."

He had many other and more important duties to perform, duties requiring a degree of education far superior to that which we are accustomed to a.s.sociate with the holders of his office. We will endeavour to obtain a truer sketch of him than even that drawn by Chaucer, and to realise the mult.i.tudinous duties which fell to his lot, and the great services he rendered to G.o.d and to his Church.

CHAPTER III

THE MEDIaeVAL CLERK

At the present time loud complaints are frequently heard of a lack of clergy. Rectors and vicars are sighing for a.s.sistant curates, the vast populations of our great cities require additional ministration, and the mission field is crying out for more labourers to reap the harvests of the world. It might be well in this emergency to inquire into the methods of the mediaeval Church, and observe how the clergy in those days faced the problem, and gained for themselves tried and trusty helpers.

One method of great utility was to appoint poor scholars to the office of parish clerk, by a due discharge of the duties of which they were trained to serve in church and in the parish, and might ultimately hope to attain to the ministry. This is borne out by the evidence of wills wherein some good inc.u.mbent, grateful for the faithful services of his clerk, bequeaths either books or money to him, in order to enable him to prepare himself for higher preferment. Thus in 1389 the rector of Marum, one Robert de Weston, bequeaths to "John Penne, my clerk, a missal of the New Use of Sarum, if he wishes to be a priest, otherwise I give him 20 s." In 1337 Giles de Gadlesmere leaves "to William Ockam, clerk, two shillings, unless he be promoted before my death." Evidently it was no unusual practice in early times for the clerk to be raised to Holy Orders, his office being regarded as a stepping-stone to higher preferment. The status of the clerk was then of no servile character.

A canon of Newburgh asked for Sir William Plumpton's influence that his brother might have a clerkship[21]. Even the sons of kings and lords did not consider it beneath the dignity of their position to perform the duties of a clerk, and John of Athon considered the office of so much importance that he gave the following advice to any one who held it:

[Footnote 21: _Plumpton Correspondence_, Camden Society, 1839, P. 66, _temp_. Henry VII.]

"Whoever you may be, although the son of king, do not blush to go up to the book in church, and read and sing; but if you know nothing of yourself, follow those who do know."

It is recorded in the chronicle of Ralph de Coggeshall that Richard I used to take great delight in divine service on the princ.i.p.al festivals; going hither and thither in the choir, encouraging the singers by voice and hand to sing louder. In the _Life of Sir Thomas More_, written by William Roper, we find an account of that charming incident in the career of the great and worthy Lord Chancellor, when he was discovered by the Duke of Norfolk, who had come to Chelsea to dine with him, singing in the choir and wearing a surplice during the service of the Ma.s.s. After the conclusion of the service host and guest walked arm in arm to the house of Sir Thomas More.

"G.o.d's body, my Lord Chancellor, what turned Parish Clerk? You dishonour the King and his office very much," said the Duke.

"Nay," replied Sir Thomas, smiling, "your grace may not think that the King, your master and mine, will be offended with me for serving his Master, or thereby account his service any way dishonoured."

We will endeavour to sketch the daily and Sunday duties of a parish clerk, follow in his footsteps, and observe his manners and customs, as they are set forth in mediaeval doc.u.ments.

He lived in a house near the church which was specially a.s.signed to him, and often called the clerk's house. He had a garden and glebe. In the churchwardens' accounts of St. Giles's Church, Reading, there is an item in 1542-3:--"Paid for a latice to the clerkes hous ii s. x d." There was a clerk's house in St. Mary's parish, in the same town, which is frequently mentioned in the accounts (A.D. 1558-9).

"RESOLUTES for the guyet Rent of the Clerkes Howse xii d. 1559-60.

"RENTES to farme and at will. Of the tenement at Cornyshe Crosse called the clerkes howse by the yere vi s. viii d."

It appears that the house was let, and the sum received for rent was part of the clerk's stipend. This is borne out by the following entry:--

"Md' that yt ys aggreed that the clerke most have for the office of the s.e.xten But xx s. That ys for Ringing of the Bell vs for the quarter and the clerkes wayges by the howse[22]."

[Footnote 22: _Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Mary's, Reading_, by F.N.A. and A.G. Garry, p. 42.]

Doubtless there still remain many such houses attached to the clerkship, as in the Act of 7 & 8 Victoria, c. 59, sect. 6, it is expressly stated that any clerk dismissed from his office shall give up any house, building, land, or premises held or occupied by virtue or in respect of such office, and that if he fail to do so the bishop can take steps for his ejection therefrom. Mr. Wickham Legg has collected several other instances of the existence of clerks' houses. At St. Michael's Worcester, there was one, as in 1590 a sum was paid for mending it. At St. Edmund's, Salisbury, the clerk had a house and garden in 1653. At Barton Turf, Norfolk, three acres are known as "dog-whipper's land," the task of whipping dogs out of churches being part of the clerk's duties, as we shall notice more particularly later on. The rent of this land was given to the clerk. At Saltwood, Kent, the clerk had a house and garden, which have recently been sold[23].

[Footnote 23: _The Clerk's Book of 1549_, edited by J. Wickham Legg, lvi.]

Archbishop Sancroft, at Fressingfield, caused a comfortable cottage to be built for the parish clerk, and also a kind of hostelry for the shelter and accommodation of persons who came from a distant part of that large scattered parish to attend the church, so that they might bring their cold provisions there, and take their luncheon in the interval between the morning and the afternoon service.

There was a clerk's house at Ringmer. In the account of the beating of the bounds of the parish in Rogation week, 1683, it is recorded that at the close of the third day the procession arrived at the Crab Tree, when the people sang a psalm, and "our minister read the epistle and gospel, to request and supplicate the blessing of G.o.d upon the fruits of the earth. Then did Mr. Richard Gunn invite all the company to _the clerk's house_, where he expended at his own charge a barrell of beer, besides a plentiful supply of provisions: and so ended our third and last day's perambulation[24]."

[Footnote 24: _Social Life as told by Parish Registers_, by T.F.

Thiselton-Dyer, p. 197.]

In his little house the clerk lived and tended his garden when he was not engaged upon his ecclesiastical duties. He was often a married man, although those who were intending to proceed to the higher orders in the Church would naturally be celibate. Pope Gregory, in writing to St.

Augustine of Canterbury, offered no objections to the marriage of clerks. Lyndewoode shows a preference for the unmarried clerk, but if such could not be found, a married clerk might perform his duties.

Numerous wills are in existence which show that very frequently the clerk was blest with a wife, inasmuch as he left his goods to her; and in one instance, at Hull, John Huyk, in 1514, expresses his wish to be buried beside his wife in the wedding porch of the church[25].

[Footnote 25: Injunction by John Bishop of Norwich (1561), B. i b., quoted by Mr. Legg in _The Parish Clerk's Book_, p. xlii.]

One courageous clerk's wife did good service to her husband, who had dared to speak insultingly of the high and mighty John of Gaunt. He held office in the church of St. Peter-the-Less, in the City of London, in 1378. His wife was so persevering in her behests and so constant in her appeals for justice, that she won her suit and obtained her husband's release[26].

[Footnote 26: Riley's _Memorials of London_, 1868, p. 425.]

We have the picture, then, of the mediaeval clerk in his little house nigh the church surrounded by his wife and children, or as a bachelor intent upon preferment poring over his Missal, if he did not sometimes emulate the frivolous feats of Chaucer's "Jolly Absolon."

At early dawn he sallied forth to perform his earliest duty of opening the church doors and ringing the day-bell. The ringing of bells seems to have been a fairly constant employment of the clerk, though in some churches this duty was mainly performed by the s.e.xton, but the aid of the clerk was demanded whenever it was needed. According to the const.i.tution of the parish clerks at Trinity Church, Coventry, made in 1462, he was ordered every day to open the church doors at 6 a.m., and deliver to the priest who sang the Trinity Ma.s.s a book and a chalice and vestment, and when Ma.s.s was finished to see that these goods of the church be deposited in safety in the vestry. He had to ring all the people in to Matins, together with his fellow-clerk, at every commemoration and feast of IX lessons, and see that the books were ready for the priest. Again for High Ma.s.s he rang and sang in the choir. At 3 p.m. he rang for Evensong, and sang the service in the south side of the choir, his a.s.sistant occupying the north side. On weekdays they sang the Psalms and responses antiphonally, and on Sundays and holy-days acted as _rectores chori_, each one beginning the verses of the Psalms for his own side. He had to be very careful that the books were all securely locked up in the vestry, and the church locked at a convenient hour, having searched the building to see lest any one was lying in any seat or corner. On Sundays and holidays he had to provide a clerk or "dekyn"

to read the gospel at High Ma.s.s. The sweeping of the floor of the church, the cleaning of the leaden roofs, and sweeping away the snow from the gutters "leste they be stoppyd," also came under his care. The bells he also kept in order, examining the clappers and bawdricks and ropes, and reporting to the churchwardens if they required mending. His a.s.sistant had to grease the bells when necessary, and find the materials. He had to tend the lamp and to fetch oil and rychys (rushes), and fix banners on holidays, fold up the albs and vestments.

On Sat.u.r.days and on the eve of saints' days he had to ring the noon-tide bell, and to ring the sanctus bell every Sunday and holy-day, and during processions.

Special seasons brought their special duties, and directions are minutely given with regard to every point to be observed. On Palm Sunday he was ordered to set a form at the priory door for the stations of the Cross, so that a crucifix or rood should be set there for the priest to sing _Ave rex_. He had to provide palms for that Sunday, watch the Easter sepulchre "till the resurrecion be don," and then take down the "lenten clothys" about the altar and the rood. In Easter week, when a procession was made, he bore the chrismatory. At the beginning of Lent he was ordered to help the churchwardens to cover the altar and rood with "lentyn clothys" and to hang the vail in the choir. The pulley which worked this vail is still to be seen in some churches, as at Uffington, Berks. For this labour the churchwardens were to give money to the clerk for drink. The great bell had to be rung for compline every Sat.u.r.day in Lent. At Easter and Whit-Sunday the clerk was required to hang a towel about the font, and see that three "copys" (copes) be brought down to the font for the priests to sing _Rex sanctorum_.

It was evidently considered the duty of the churchwardens to deck the high altar for great festivals, but they were to have the a.s.sistance of the clerk at the third peel of the first Evensong "to aray the hye awter with clothys necessary for it." Perhaps this duty of the churchwardens might with advantage be revived.

Sheer Thursday or Maundy Thursday was a special day for cleansing the altars and font, which was done by a priest; but the clerk was required to provide a birch broom and also a barrel in order that water might be placed in it for this purpose. On Easter Eve and the eve of Whit-Sunday the ceremony of cleaning the altar and font was repeated. Flagellation was not obsolete as a penance, and the clerk was expected to find three discipline rods.

In mediaeval times it was a common practice for rich men to leave money or property to a church with the condition that Ma.s.ses should be said for the repose of their souls on certain days. The first Latin word of a verse in the funeral psalm was _dirige_ ("direct my steps," etc.), and this verse was used as an antiphon to those psalms in the old English service for the dead. Hence the service was called a _dirige_, and we find mention of "Master Meynley's dirige," or as it is spelt often "derege," the origin of the word "dirge." Those who attended were often regaled with refreshments--bread and ale--and the clerk's duty was to serve them with these things.

We have already referred to his obligations as regards his bearing of holy water to the parishioners, a duty which brought him into close relationship with them. Another custom which has long since pa.s.sed away was that of blessing a loaf of bread by the priest, and distributing portions of it to the parishioners. Sometimes this distribution took place in church, as at Coventry, where one of the clerks, having seen the loaf duly cut, gave portions of it to the a.s.sembled worshippers in the south aisle, and the other clerk performed a like duty in the north aisle. The clerk received some small fee for this service, usually a halfpenny. Berkshire has several evidences of the existence of the holy loaf.

In the accounts of St. Lawrence's Church, Reading, in 1551, occurs the following notice:

"At this day it was concluded and agreed that from henceforth every inhabitant of the parish shall bear and pay every Sunday in the year 5 d. for every tenement as of old time the Holy Loaf was used to be paid and be received by the parish clerk weekly, the said clerk to have every Sunday for his pains 1 d. And 4 d. residue to be paid and delivered every Sunday to the churchwardens to be employed for bread and wine for the communion. And if any overplus thereof shall be of such money so received, to be to the use of the church; and if any shall lack, to be borne and paid by the said churchwardens: provided always, that all such persons as are poor and not able to pay the whole, be to have aid of such others as shall be thought good by the discretion of the churchwardens."

With the advent of Queen Mary the old custom was reverted to, as the following item for the year 1555 plainly shows:

"Rec. of money gathered for the holy lofe ix s. iiij d."

At St. Mary's Church there is a constant allusion to this practice from the year 1566-7 to 1617-18, after which date the payment for the "holilofe" seems to have been merged in the charge for seats. In 1567-8 the following resolution was pa.s.sed:

"It is agreed that the clerk shall hereafter gather the Holy Loaf money, or else to have nothing of that money, and to gather all, or else to inform the parish of them that will not pay."