“Pauper.—Absit! God forbid! He speaks not to the image that the carpenter hath made and the painter painted, unless the priest be a fool; for the stock and stone was never King; but he speaketh to Him that died upon the cross for us all—to Him that is King of all things.”
For this and the other ceremonies of Holy Week in many parishes additional help was, if possible, obtained by the clergy and people, and the churchwardens’ accounts frequently show items of expense under this head. In one case we have the sum of 8d. charged for “the old friar who came to sing for the parish.” At St. Michael’s, Cornhill, the wardens paid for “two clerks for singing” at this time; and at St. Peter Cheap, in 1447, there is an entry: “Item—payde on Palme Sundaye for bread and wine to the readers of the Passion, 3d.” This refers, of course, to the chanting of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, which took place during the Mass, that on this day followed the unveiling of the Rood. Before evensong on Palm Sunday the great crucifix was again covered with the veil, and it so remained hidden until the morning service of Good Friday.
Tenebræ.—“On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday you shall come,” says a fourteenth-century writer, “to Matins, which we call tenebræ.” At this service a triangular candlestick with twenty-five candles was placed in the choir. This candle-stand was called in England the “tenebræ,” or Lenten “herse,” and it is so named in many church accounts. It was one of the ornaments which had to be paid for by the parish, and it was sometimes known as the “Judas” candle.
In a sermon intended to explain the meaning of the peculiar ceremonies of “tenebræ,” the preacher says—
“God men and wymine, as ye see theise thre days for to service ye go in ye evontyde in darknesse. Wherfore hit is callyd with you ‘tenabulles;’ but holy churche calleth hit tenebras, that is to say, ‘derknesse.’ Than why this service is done in darkness holy fathers wrytuth to us thre skylles.” Then, after giving these reasons, he continues, “Wherefore to this service is no bell irongon, bot a sownde makuth of tre, whereby uche criston man and woman is enformede for to comon to this service withowtyn noyse makyng, and alle that thei spek on going, shall sown of ye tree that Cryste was done onne. Also at this service is sette on herce with candulles brennyng aftur as ye use is, yn some place more, yn some place lesse, the which bene quenchyt uch one after othur in showing how Christes discipules stolne from hym. Yet when all be quenched one levyth leight, the which is borne away a wyle yt the clerkes syngone hymis and ye versus, ye which betokeneth ye whymmen yt made lamentation at Crystus Sepulcur.... Then aftur this, ye candul is brougt agayne and all othur at that ben lygte; ye which betokeneth that Christus yt was for a gwile dede and hid in hys sepulchre, but soon aftur he was from dethe to lyfe and gave the lyghte of lyfe to all them that weren quenchud....
“The strokys that ye prestes geveth on the boke betokynneth the clappus of thunder yt Christ brake helle gattys wyth when he com thedur and spoylud helle.”
Maundy, or Sheer Thursday.—On Thursday in Holy Week was commemorated the Institution of the Blessed Eucharist by our Lord in His last Supper. The Liber Festivalis makes the following explanation of the feast, for the benefit of those who ask for the reason of such things—
“First if men aske why Schere Thursday is so called, say yt in holy churche it is called Our Lord’s Soper day. For that day he soupud with hys disciple oponly.... Hit is also in English tong ‘Schere Thursday,’ for in owr elde fadur days men wold on yt day makon scheron hem honest, and dode here hedes ond clypon here berdes and poll here hedes, ond so makon hem honest agen Estur day; for on ye moro (Good Friday) yei woldon done here bodies non ease, but suffur penaunce, in mynde of Hym yt suffrud so harte for hem. On Saturday they myghte mote whyle, whate for longe service, what for other occupacion that they haddon for the wake comynge and after mote was no tyme for haly daye.... Therefore as John Belette telluth and techuth, on ‘Schere Thursday’ a man shall dodun his heres and clypponde his berde, and a prest schal schave his crowne so that there schall no thynge bene betwene God Almythy and hym.”
The Maundy.—On this day in all cathedral churches, in the greater parish churches, and even in some of the smaller ones, the feet of thirteen poor people were washed with great solemnity, and they were fed and served at their meal by the dignitaries of the place, in memory of our Lord’s act of humility in washing the feet of His disciples. This “Maundy” was kept also in England by kings and nobles, and even by private individuals, who on this day entertained Christ’s poor in their houses.
The Absolution.—Thursday in Holy Week was also known to our forefathers as “absolution day,” because, after tenebræ, in the evening, in larger churches, the people knelt before the penitentiary in acknowledgment of their repentance of sin, and received from him a token of God’s acceptance by a rod being placed on their heads. Sometimes this voluntary humiliation and discipline was performed on Good Friday, and the rods touched the hands of the penitent. It was to this rite Sir Thomas More refers in his book against Tyndall, where he says—