The most active champion of the King’s cause was also a Minorite, Dr. Nicholas de Burgo, a native of Italy, who enjoyed the patronage of Cardinal Wolsey[769]. The unpopularity of the divorce, among those who were guided by their sentiments rather than by their personal interests, is shown by the treatment he received at Oxford. He was pelted with stones in the street, and the good women of the town would have ‘foyled’ him ‘if their handys might have served their harts’[770]. In retaliation the friar caused about thirty women to be locked up in Bocardo for three days and nights[771]. As we shall see later on, his services did not go unrewarded[772]. The position of Friar Nicholas, however, was exceptional, and his action cannot be regarded as representative of the feelings of the Oxford Convent.
The causes which led to the dissolution of the monasteries do not concern us here. The friaries were not included in the Act of 1536 for the abolition of the lesser monasteries; they possessed as a rule no estates except the site on which they were built, and the gains to be derived from their disendowment were perhaps regarded as insufficient compensation for the odium which the measure would necessarily involve. The first blow had already fallen upon the Observant Friars, the fearless champions of the legality of the Queen Katharine’s marriage and of the Papal supremacy. The conventuals were left alone till Henry decided on the general suppression of the religious houses throughout England. The object of the royal party was then to obtain what was called a ‘voluntary’ surrender of their property from the members of each religious community; and among those who had the courage to offer opposition were many houses of Franciscans, ‘with hom,’ writes the Bishop of Dover, ‘in every place I have moche besynes’[773]. But among these we cannot reckon the convent at Oxford.
In 1535 Cromwell sent his agent, Layton, and others, to Oxford to reform the University. After abolishing the study of the schoolmen[774], the visitors proceeded to deal with the religious students[775]. For the reform of the monasteries, they were armed with a set of eighty-six articles of inquiry and twenty-five injunctions[776], the real though not avowed object of which was to make monastic life unbearable and so to prepare the way for ‘voluntary’ surrenders[777].
‘We have further,’ writes Dr. Layton to Cromwell on the 12th of September[778], ‘in visitynge the religiouse studenttes, emongyste all other injunctions, adjoyned that none of them for no manner of cause shall cum within any taverne, in, alhowse, or any other howse whatsoever hit be, within the towne and the suburbs of the same, upon payne onse so taken by day or by nyght, to be sent imediatly home to his cloister whereas he was professede. Withoute doubte we here say this acte to be gretly lamentede of all the duble honeste women of the towne, and specially of ther laundres that now may not onse entre within the gaittes, and muche lesse within ther chambers, wherunto they wer ryght well accustomede. I doubt not but for this thyng onely the honeste matrones will sew unto yowe for a redresse.’
It is probable, that, between this time and the summer and autumn of 1538, when the general dissolution of the friaries took place, many of the Oxford Franciscans had left their house[779]. The Friary, it will be seen, was wretchedly poor and in a ruinous condition; ‘and few do geve any almys to them’[780]. The commission to visit the Oxford friaries in 1538 consisted of Dr. John London, the mayor (Mr. Banaster) and ‘master aldermen’ (apparently Mr. Pye and Mr. Fryer). On the 8th of July[781], Dr. London writes to Cromwell that he and his fellow-commissioners have been ‘at all the places of the fryers in Oxforde,’ and wishing ‘to know your lordeships pleasur’ on certain doubtful points, he proceeds to give an account of his work.
‘At Mr. Pyei’s comyng home Mr. Maier and Mr. ffryer wer at London, and forasmoch as we dowbtyd of ther spedy comyng home, and Mr. Pye and I wer creadable informyd that it wasse time to be doing among the friers[782], we went to euery place of them and tok such a vew[783] and stay among them as the tyme wolde permytt.’
After visiting the Carmelites and Austin Friars, they came to the Grey Friars.
‘The Grey ffryers,’ continues London[784], ‘hathe prayty Ilondes behynde ther howse well woddyde, and the waters be thers also. They haue oon fayre orchard and sondry praty gardens and lodginges. It ys a great hoge howce conteynyng moche ruinose bylding. They haue impledged and solde most of ther plate and juellys forcyd by necessitie as they do saye, and that remaynyth ys in the bill. Ther ornamentes of ther church be olde and litill worthe. Ther other stuff of howsholde ys ybill worth x łi. They haue taken vppe the pypes of ther condytt lately and haue cast them in sowys to the nombre lxxij, wherof xij be sold for the costes in taking vppe of the pypes, as the warden saith. The residew we haue putt in safe garde. Butt we haue nott yet weyd them. And ther ys yet in the erthe remaynyng moch of the condytt nott taken vppe. In ther groves the wynde hathe blown down many great trees, wich do remayn upon the ground. Thees freers do receyve yerly owt of thexchequer of the Kinges almys l markes. Thys howse ys all coveryde wt slatte and no ledde.’
Before August the 14th the doctor had sent up the plate of the Oxford friaries to Cromwell’s servant in London, Mr. Thacker, and received from him ‘a bill indentyd conteynyng the parcels of the sayd plate wt the nombre of ownces.’[785] The following is the list of
| Juelles and plate in the grey ffryers[786]. | ||
| Imp’mis a crosse of sylu’ and gylt | liiij vnc’. | |
| A chales all gylt | xiiij vnc’. | |
| A nother all gylt | xv vnc’. | |
| A nother p̱cell gylt | xiij vnc’. | |
| A nother chales p̱cell gylt | xiiij vnc’ et di. | |
| A pyxe of sylu’ gyldyd wt owt a cou’ | xv vnc’. | |
| A sensar of sylu’ waynge | xxxij vnc’. | |
| A payer of small cruettes gylted | ij vnc’ iij qrt’. | |
| V masers olde wt bonds of sylu’ weyng wt the trees[787]. | lxxxxij vnc’. | |
| A black horne wt sylu’ bonde and fot weyng wt the horne | x vnc’ et di. | |
| iij dosyn sponys | xxxiij vnc’. | |
| A knappe[788] of the cou’ of a maser | ij vnc’. | |