Such was the condition of the convent and cells in the first years of the century. Abbot Maryns, though willing and anxious to carry out the necessary reformation, was not strong enough to enforce his will upon the monks. Moreover, the penalties prescribed for offences in his regulations were wholly inadequate, and to this must be attributed the persistence of the evils which they were intended to cure.
The decline of discipline during the last years of the thirteenth century had been accompanied by a loosening of the authority of the mother abbey over its cells. It appears that some of them were not prepared to admit even a nominal dependence on the abbot. Making as its pretext the huge exactions of Hugh of Eversdon (Maryns’ successor), the cell of Binham,[10] led by its Prior, William Somerton, and supported by the local gentry, broke into open revolt. A long contest followed, with appeals to both King and Pope, but in the end the abbot was successful. The rebellious priory was brought back to its allegiance, and Hugh of Eversdon proceeded systematically to extract formal submissions from the several cells. A grave feature of the quarrel with Binham was the influence exerted by Thomas of Lancaster, Sir Hugh Despenser, and various notables who contrived more than once to force the hand of the abbot. The interference of laymen in the affairs of the monastery is a sure sign of its weakness.
Abbot Hugh was a poor creature to govern so great a House. Avaricious, vain, extortionate, a pampered favourite of Edward II, he oppressed the cells and exasperated the townsmen. On his death in 1327 the latter broke into revolt. The whole of England was at this time in a state of anarchy and wretchedness only too clearly reflected in the condition of St. Albans. The House was desperately poor and burdened with debt, and the moral condition of the monks is admitted by the chronicler to have been very low. Degeneracy, in fact, had gone to greater lengths than at the beginning of the century. The Constitutions of Abbot Wallingford[11] deal with the most elementary rules of conduct and morality, the frequent breach of which could be the only reason for their publication. The Abbot, however, was a saintly man, and made persistent efforts to correct abuses. In a formal visitation of the cells he punished severely all cases of incontinence, and having compiled two books of statutes, did his best to enforce them. The monks, unused to so strict a master, grumbled at Wallingford’s severity, but before his death matters had begun definitely to mend. In his later years he even had leisure to turn his attention to the cells. The Priory of Redburn was completely re-organised, and the government of the dependent house of St. Mary de Prez systematised for the first time.
Michael de Mentmore (1335–1349), who succeeded Richard Wallingford as abbot, continued the work of reform on the lines laid down by his predecessor, devoting much attention to the cells. He did what he could to make the life of the leper brethren of St. Julian more tolerable, and drew up a new rule for the nuns of Sopwell. A peculiar interest attaches to the rule of this Michael Mentmore. His local effort towards reform came into contact with the wider attempt of Pope Benedict XII to improve the Benedictine Order. With the increasing lethargy of the Black Monks, the intervals between General Chapters had grown greater and greater. Benedict XII abolished the two provinces into which hitherto the English Benedictines had been divided and revived triennial General Chapters meeting at Northampton. To Abbot Michael, significantly enough, the Pope entrusted the execution of these measures. The abbot entered heartily into the work, exhorting and encouraging individuals and actively helping in the restoration of religion in places where it had altogether decayed.
The Abbacy of Thomas de la Mare.
Thus when Abbot Michael, having been struck down by the Black Death, was succeeded by Thomas de la Mare, the foundations of reform had been laid. It fell to the lot of the new abbot to complete and adorn the work begun by his predecessors.
Thomas de la Mare, who ruled the Abbey for almost fifty years, has perhaps left a deeper mark on the history of St. Albans than any other abbot. He was no mere political prelate. For his age he was what would be called a good man; but before all things he was an able administrator and a stern though just ruler. Indefatigable in upholding the convent’s rights against every outside power, he knew no compromise in his exaction of full obedience from all within the House. To his biographer, credulity, the employment of unworthy officers and his lavish outlay as President of General Chapters were the only flaws in an otherwise perfect character. No censure is passed upon his craftiness in evading the Statute of Mortmain, nor are certain acts of crude revenge adversely commented upon. Besides supreme ability, he certainly possessed an exceptional personality, and towards the close of his life was regarded almost as a saint by the brethren.[12] The greatest of the later abbots, he has perhaps suffered unduly at the hands of his editor, who conceived of him only ‘as that most litigious of abbots ... Thomas de la Mare.’[13] His tenants do not appear to have looked upon him as a tyrant. The orderly character of the revolt of 1381 at St. Albans was in marked contrast with the scenes of pillage and murder at Bury St. Edmunds. The St. Albans tenants rose to assert their rights—the men of Bury to avenge their wrongs.
Abbot Thomas displayed an astonishing activity in every department of monastic life. The church services were entirely revised, and particular care was bestowed upon the singing, for the regulation of which the Abbot drew up a new ordinal. A series of practical reforms followed; in monastery and cells the discipline was more strictly enforced. The general raising of the monastic standard was exemplified by his refusal to admit illiterate nuns into the house of St. Mary de Prez, and by his careful provisions regulating the duties of the Benedictine students at Oxford. At first, indeed, the rigidness of his discipline caused many of the monks to grumble, and some even to secede. But his method was effective. Before long the Abbey grew famous, not only in England, but on the Continent, and monks were often sent to St. Albans to be trained in monastic discipline for the benefit of their own houses.
The position of St. Albans as the premier Benedictine house was recognised by the election of the Abbot as president of the successive General Chapters at Northampton. In these assemblies De la Mare issued a comprehensive series of constitutions on the discipline of the Order. Looking to the future of learning, he directed every abbot and prior to maintain at Gloucester Hall[14] (Oxford) a number of students proportionate to the size of his house. He himself supported many more students than the number of his monks required. Edward III’s commission to the Abbot to visit all the monasteries in the King’s presentation is a striking tribute to his thoroughness. A visitation of Abbot Thomas was far from being a mere formality, and shed a valuable sidelight on the condition of many a great abbey.[15] ‘In them,’ says the chronicler, ‘religion had well-nigh disappeared.’ The proper conduct of the monastic rule had been forgotten, and serious abuses were rife. At the Abbeys of Eynsham, Abingdon and Battle, De la Mare worked wonders of reform; at Reading he composed differences between the Abbot and the monks who had practically risen in rebellion; at Chester he took the extreme step of deposing the Abbot. For these services he was made a Privy Councillor, and henceforth stood in high favour with Edward III. St. Albans, in fact, was at the height of its reputation. The story seriously told in the chronicle of De la Mare, in a moment of despondency, only being dissuaded from resigning his abbacy by the repeated supplications of King John of France[16] and the Black Prince sufficiently illustrates his social eminence. As for the Abbey, it even eclipsed its old rival, the Abbey of Westminster. It was in vain the Abbot of Westminster claimed the first seat among the abbots in Parliament. So long as de la Mare lived, that seat was occupied by the more important, more brilliant figure of the Abbot of St. Albans.
Reform of the Finances.