The Story of London

by Henry B. Wheatley

Common hutch.—‘There shall be a common hutch of the company of the Pui, in which the remembrances and the revised provisions of the company shall be placed in safe keeping; of which hutch, in the first place, the new Prince, each year after he is chosen, shall have one key; and two companions, by assent of the companions, for such custody chosen, each one key. And that this hutch shall stand in such safe place as the companions shall ordain within the city of London.’

Clerk and Chaplain.—‘There shall be a clerk, intelligent, and residing in London, chosen by the companions, to serve the company, and that he be willing and able to be attendant upon, and obedient unto the Prince, and to the twelve companions, in all matters that concern the company.’

‘That there be a chaplain, at all times singing [Mass] for the living and the dead of the company, [and] a chapel, founded in honour of God and our Lady, so soon as the improved means of the company, by the aid of God and good folks, may thereunto suffice. And if the companions of the Pui who are of sufficient means, be pressed by illness, so much as to wish to make their testaments, the Prince is to go, with two of the twelve companions with him, to visit the sick persons; and is to remind them of their faith which they have pledged unto the company, and to admonish them to devise somewhat of their property towards supplying the chapel and chaplain aforesaid, and supporting the same.’

The Grand Feast.—‘Whereas the royal feast of the Pui is maintained and established principally for crowning a royal song, inasmuch as it is by song that it is honoured and enhanced, all the gentle companions of the Pui by right reason are bound to exalt royal songs to the utmost of their power, and especially the one that is crowned by assent of the companions upon the day of the great feast of the Pui. Wherefore it is here provided, as concerning such songs, that each new Prince, the day that he shall wear the crown, and shall govern the feast of the Pui, and so soon as he shall have had the blazon of his arms hung in the room where the feast of the Pui shall be held, shall forthwith cause to be set up beneath his blazon the song that was crowned on the day that he was chosen as the new Prince, plainly and correctly written, without default.’

‘As to the serving up the feast, it is also ordained that all the companions shall be served amply, as well the poorest as the richest, in this form; that is to say, they shall be served with good bread, good ale, and good wine; and then they shall be served with pottage, and with one course of solid meat; and then after that with double roast in a dish, and cheese, without more.’

No ladies present.—‘Although the becoming pleasance of virtuous ladies is a rightful theme and principal occasion for royal singing, and for composing and furnishing royal songs, nevertheless it is hereby provided that no lady or other woman ought to be at the great [sitting] of the Pui, for the reason that the [members] ought hereby to take example, and rightful warning, to honour, cherish and commend all ladies, at all times, in all places, as much in their absence as in their presence.’

Costume and Procession.—‘The Prince ought, at his own cost, to be costumed with coat and surcoat, without sleeves, and mantle of one suit, with whatever arms he may please, at his own free will; so that at the election of a new Prince, at the great feast of the Pui, he give his mantle and his crown to the new Prince, so soon as he shall be chosen.’

‘He who shall be crowned for his song upon that day may ride between the old Prince and the new one in the procession on horseback which they shall make throughout the city, after the feast, that they may have knowledge of the one Prince and of the other by the suit of the costumes.’

‘Forthwith, after they have given the crown to him who shall sing the best, they shall mount their horses and make their procession through the city, and shall then escort their new Prince to his house; and there they shall all alight, and shall have a dance there, by way of hearty good-bye; and they shall then take one drink and depart, each to his own house, all on foot.’

The fraternity took its name from Le Puy en Velay, in Auvergne, the celebrated statue of the Virgin Mary in the Cathedral of which place was long a popular object of pilgrimage and devotion during the Middle Ages.