John, Lord Scrope, 1451—“To the altar, in the chapel of St. Mary, at York, a jewel, with a bone of St. Margaret, and XLs. for ringing their bells, at my funeral.”
Ann, Duchess of Exeter, 1457—“I forbid my executors to make any great feast, or to have a solemn hearse, or any costly lights, or largess of liveries according to the glory or vain pomp of the world, at my funeral, but only to the worship of God, after the discretion of Mr. John Pynchebeke, Doctor of Divinity.”
Edmund Brudenell, 1457—“To Agmondesham Church; to the Provosts of the Church for the maintenance of the great light before the cross XXs. To the maintenance of the light before St. Katherine’s Cross, IIIs. IVd.”
John Younge, 1458—“To the fabrick of the Church of Herne, viz., to make seats, called puyinge, X. marks.”
John Sprot, Clerk, 1461—“To each of my parishioners XLd.”
The passion for books, merely because of their antique rarity, and not for their intrinsic value, is not less dangerous, for the pursuer, than that, for collecting rare animals, and forming a private menagerie, at vast expense. Even the entomologist has been known to diminish the comforts of his family, by investing his ready money in rare and valuable bugs. It has been pleasantly said of him,
“He leaves his children, when he dies,
The richest cabinet of flies.”
There is no doubt, that, in those superstitious days, the traffic in relics must have been a source of very great profit to the priests; equal, at least, to the traffic in ancient terra cottas, in the days of Nollekens. The sleeves of those crafty friars could not have been large enough, to hold their laughter, at the expense of the faithful. The heir apparent, whose grief, for the death of his ancestor, was sufficiently subdued, by his refreshing anticipations of some thousands of marks in ready money, must have been somewhat startled, upon the reading of the will, to find himself residuary legatee, for life, of the testator’s “reliques, remainder over to the Carthusian Friars!”
Such, and similar, things were of actual occurrence. William Haute, Esquire, made his will, May 9, 1462, of course, in the reign of Edward the Fourth. This worthy gentleman ordains—“My body to be buried, in the Church of the Augustine Friars, before the image of St. Catherine, between my wives. * * * * I bequeath one piece of that stone, on which the Archangel Gabriel descended, when he saluted the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Church of Bourne, the same to stand under the foot of the said image. I bequeath one piece of the bone of St. Bartholomew to the Church of Waltham. One piece of the hair cloth of St. Catherine, the Virgin, and a piece of the bone of St. Nicholas, to the Church of the Augustine Friars aforesaid. I bequeath all the remainder of my relicks to my son William, for life, with remainder to the Augustine Friars forever.”
Humphrey, Earl of Devon, 1463—“I will, that Mr. Nicholas Goss and Mr. Watts, Warden of the Grey Friars, at Exeter, shall, for the salvation of my soul, go to every Parish Church, in the Counties of Dorset, Somerset, Wilts, Devon, and Cornwall, and say a sermon, in every Church, town, or other; and as I cannot recompense such as I have offended, I desire them to forgive my poor soul, that it be not endangered.”