It is now known that many infants die without baptism because the parish churches have no fonts, and divers abbeys have licence and custom that everyone of certain parishes should baptise in their monasteries, and yet they cannot come conveniently by night, or at other times to the font there.
Proud Prelates [pp. 22, 23].
Bishops were wont, as is manifest in the Life of St. Cuthbert, to talk humbly and familiarly with their inferiors and every day to give everyone of their flock an audience if he sought to speak with his bishop. Recently a poor man came to the servant of a certain archbishop, the son of a lord, and said "I marvel that the archbishop does not give audience in his own person to his flock as his predecessor was wont to do." The servant replied "My lord the present archbishop was not bred in the same way as his predecessor" (meaning by this that his lord the archbishop, who was so strange and distant to his flock, was the son of a lord, and his predecessor was the son of a poor man); the poor man answered the said servant, "Truly the present archbishop and his predecessor were bred in different fashions, but it is manifest that the predecessor was the better man and more useful to his flock and to their souls and to the whole diocese."
THE EVILS OF MISGOVERNMENT (1459).
Source.—An English Chronicle, edited by Davies, pp. 79, 80. (Camden Society, 1846.)
In this same time the realm of England was out of all good governance, as it had been many days before, for the King was simple and led by covetous counsel, and owed more than he was worth. His debts increased daily, but payment there was none; all the possessions and lordships that pertained to the Crown the King had given away, some to lords and some to other simple persons, so that he had almost nought to live on. And such impositions as were put to the people, as taxes, tallages and quinzimes (fifteenths), all that came from them were spent in vain, for he held no household nor maintained no wars. For these misgovernances, and for many other, the hearts of the people were turned away from them that had the land in governance, and their blessing was turned into cursing. The queen with such as were of her affinity ruled the realm as they liked, gathering riches innumerable. The officers of the realm, and especially the earl of Wiltshire, treasurer of England, for to enrich himself, peeled the poor people and disinherited rightful heirs and did many wrongs. The queen was defamed and slandered, that he that was called Prince was not her son.... Wherefore she, dreading that he should not succeed his father in the crown of England, allied unto her all the knights and squires of Cheshire, for to have their benevolence, and held open household among them ... trusting through them to make her son King.
YORK'S POPULARITY (1460).
Source.—An English Chronicle, edited by Davies, p. 93. (Camden Society, 1846.)
Ballad set upon the Gates of Canterbury.