Parish Life in Mediaeval England (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 Excerpt: ...a stranger in the great churchyard, I2d.; for the buryall of a priest in the pardon churchyard, 2s.; for the buryall of Robert Hikman in St. Ann's Chapel, 13. 4d." This same year a regular table of "fees to be paid" to the parish for burials in the church, churchyard, or pardonchurchyard attached to the church of St. Mary's was drawn up. From this we learn that for every grave opened, in either of the two chapels of St. Stephen and St. Katherine, 13J. 4/. was to be paid: for every man, woman, and child buried "without the choir door of any of the said chapels... unto the west door of the aisle going south or north," 10s. was to be paid; and for any burial "from the cross aisle to the west end of the church," 6s. 8d. The price of the ground thus varied according to the position, and similarly the clerk's fee varied for breaking the ground: it was $s. 8d. in the first case, 2s. 6d. in the second, and 1s. 8d. in the third. These payments, of course, had nothing to do with the fee of the clergyman: this was fixed at 1d. as a minimum, but generally more was given according to the means of the family. The smallness of the fee may perhaps be explained by the English custom of "mortuaries," that is, the gift of the best or second best possession of the deceased to the church. "In some places (says Bracton) the church has the best beast, or the second or the third best, and in some places nothing; and therefore the custom of the place is to be considered... and although no one is bound to give anything to the church for burial nevertheless, where the laudable custom exists the Lord the Pope does not wish to break through it." Immediately connected with the subject of burials were two practices, which brought som...