Even where the benefice had not been appropriated to a religious house, it often happened that some “portion” of the profits of the benefice—e.g. of the tithe or of some part of the land—had been appropriated; or that a definite annual payment, “pension,” had been assigned out of the benefice. Thus, under “Ecclesia de Oresith,” the rectory of Orsett, appears quite a list of “portions,” viz. of the Chancellor of St. Paul’s, of Mr. John of St. Clair, of the Prior of Prittlewell, of the Abbot of Westminster, of the Dean of St. Martin, London; the Abbot of Bileigh had a “pension” out of the rectory of Stanford, the Prior of Oakburn out of Dunton, the Abbot of Battle out of Hutton. There are two ways of explaining this. One is the way of the enemy of the religious houses, whose cynical explanation is that the monks had their spoon in everybody’s porridge—the Rector of Orsett had half a dozen spoons clattering together in his dish. The other explanation is that of the friend of the religious houses: that they were held in such general admiration, that lords of manors and patrons of parochial benefices who could not do more, at least made small appropriations to them out of their patronage, in token of good will, and in order to secure a permanent interest in the friendship and prayers of the Religious. With these explanations of the list of benefices of the deanery of Barstaple, we leave it for the present, proposing to make it the text of further exposition hereafter.[419]
In studying this mediæval clergy-list, the first thought which occurs to every one is to count the parishes and ascertain the total. Allowing for difficulties which tend to a few omissions, or the counting of a few names over again, it may be depended upon that the number of parishes was about 8085; that out of those which had been appropriated to religious bodies vicarages had been endowed in about 1487, the 457 chapels had probably some endowment, besides the chapels-of-ease, dependent on the incumbent of the parish. Adding the parish churches and chapels together, we get a total of 8542 endowed places of public worship and centres of pastoral care.[420]
| Ecclesiæ. | Vicarages founded in them. | Chapels. | Ecclesiæ not exceeding 10 marks. | Vicarages ditto. | ||||||
| Canterbury | 221 | 58 | 15 | 47 | 28 | |||||
| Rochester | 108 | 31 | 0 | 50 | 39 | |||||
| London | 459 | 86 | 13 | 150 | 33 | |||||
| Lincoln | 1738 | 353 | 76 | 467 | 279 | |||||
| Norwich | 1165 | 80 | 17 | 354 | 35 | |||||
| Chichester | 286 | 112 | 3 | 91 | 81 | |||||
| Exeter | 529 | 139 | 49 | 344 | 158 | |||||
| Hereford | 291 | 94 | 48 | 155 | 82 | |||||
| Sarum | 493 | 104 | 50 | 222 | 80 | |||||
| Bath and Wells | 262 | 42 | 19 | 113 | 29 | |||||
| Winton | 338 | 53 | 41 | 84 | 34 | |||||
| Worcester | 335 | 34 | 60 | 136 | 26 | |||||
| Coventry and Lichfield | 382 | 28 | 27 | 154 | 27 | |||||
| Ely | 135 | 37 | 3 | 15 | 35 | |||||
| St. David’s | 223 | 0 | 4 | 124 | 0 | |||||
| Llandaff | 131 | 9 | 9 | 72 | 6 | |||||
| St. Asaph’s | 109 | 63 | 13 | 47 | 55 | |||||
| Bangor | 34 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 1 | |||||
| York | 625 | 113 | 4 | 93 | 61 | |||||
| Durham | 117 | 43 | 4 | 15 | 25 | |||||
| Carlisle | 94 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 14 | |||||
| 8085 | 1487 | 457 | 2711 | 1125 | ||||||
| 457 | 1125 | |||||||||
| 8542 | 3836 | |||||||||
The next question which naturally excites interest is the incomes of the benefices, by which the services of the mediæval parish clergy were remunerated. The general idea is that the mediæval clergy were richly endowed. The truth which is revealed by the figures of this official document is that, when we take away the livings assigned by their patrons as the prebends of cathedrals, and those appropriated to religious houses, the benefices of the “working clergy,” the rectors and vicars, were mostly of small value.
Before we go into a detailed examination of them, it is desirable to make two preliminary remarks. The first is as to the value of money at that period. The question will be more fully considered in the next chapter in connection with the new valuation which was made in the time of Henry VIII., but it will be convenient to anticipate here the estimate there accepted that the purchasing power of money at the end of the thirteenth century was about twenty-four times as great as now, so that a pound was then equivalent to about £24 now. The other remark is in reply to the question which will naturally arise in every reader’s mind: were not the benefices much undervalued? On the contrary, it was the object of pope and king to estimate them as highly as possible, so as to increase the amount of the tenth to be demanded from them. Every source of income was taken into the account; and the general complaint at the time was that they were overestimated.
Turning now to a little study of the value of the ordinary parochial benefices, the writer has shrunk from the laborious task of anything like a complete analysis; for a few general facts are sufficient for the present purpose. First of all, many of the benefices were so small that both pope and king[421] were ashamed to demand a tenth of their poor income; a limit of ten marks (= £6 13s. 4d.) was fixed, and all livings not over that sum were exempted. No wonder, when we reckon that the present value of a benefice of ten marks would be about £160 a year. But there were 2711 rectories and 1129 vicarages, making a total of 3840, nearly half the number of parochial benefices under the limit of ten marks.
Looking at the better-endowed benefices: Canterbury was an exceptionally rich diocese; out of its 279 benefices, there are 82 of ten marks and under, only 80 above £20, and the richest living, a rare exception, is £133. In Rochester, with 139 benefices, 46 are less than ten marks, only 34 of £20 and upwards, and there are two “golden livings” of £60 each. In Exeter diocese, out of 668 benefices, there are 189 of ten marks and under, 15 of £20 and over, only one so large as £50. In Bath and Wells, out of 304 parishes, there are 124 under ten marks; three of £50 and over, and the highest is one of £60. In Carlisle, out of 24 parishes, there are 18 of ten marks and under; 42 of £20 and over; one of £90, and one of £120. The usual income of a vicarage was £5, a little more or less; there are very few of greater value, up to £8 and £10.
The conclusion is forced upon us by these official figures, that the mediæval parish clergy were scantily endowed; one would wonder how, in many cases, with such endowments, they could live, and maintain hospitality to travellers, and help their poor, if one did not call to mind that the majority of the clergy had not a wife and family to maintain; that the rectors were mostly of the families of the gentry, and many of the vicars probably of the middle class, and that—then, as now—the majority of the beneficed clergy probably had some resources of their own, and perhaps—then, as now—brought as much into the church of their own as they took out of it in their annual profits.
A contemporary copy of the taxation of the Diocese of Exeter gives on the end page a summary of the tenths for the whole kingdom—