Section IV.
Account of the Gilds continued.
After St. Gyles and St. Julian’s Gild, the next, in the Catalogue, is that of St. Ethelered, or Ethelred. Of this Gild we have met with no particular account; and but little more of the next to it, that of St. Margaret: Parkin just mentions that it was founded in the 8th of Henry IV. a patent being granted by that monarch for that purpose. [439a] Of St. Anne’s Gild, the 7th in the Catalogue, Parkin only says, that there was here such a Gild, as appears by the inquisition taken in the 3rd of Elizabeth. He also queres, if there was not a chapel dedicated to St. Anne, somewhere near the Fort which still bears her name? [439b] which seems very reasonable to suppose. Of the next, the Gild of the 12 Apostles, we have met with no further account; nor yet of that which immediately succeeds it, the Gild of St. Christopher.
Of the 10th Gild, that of our Lady, the following mention is made by Parkin—
“These are the brethren and sisters of the Guild Tigulat. founded to the honour and purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ao. 3 Edward III.—Thomas de Langham, and Christian his wife; Charles de Secheford, and Alice his wife; Robert de Derby, and Margery his wife; William, son of the said Robert, &c. [The names of the rest are not given.] Robert seems to be alderman of the Guild.—These are the four Morwespeches of the said Guild: the first morwespeche is on the Sunday [le Dymeynge prochein] after the purification of the Blessed Virgin, the second on the day of the annunication of our Lady, the third on the day of the assumption of our Lady, the fourth on the conception of our Lady.—It is ordained that if any of the brethren be summoned on any of the four morwespeches, and are in the said town, and make default, they shall pay 1d. to the honour of our Lady.” [440a]
This Gild, as the above writer hints, had its Alderman, [440b] and likewise, probably, all the other kind of officers mentioned in the account of St. Gyles and St. Julian’s Gild; with laws also somewhat alike those of that fraternity; but its records relating to those matters having all perished, nothing more can be said on those heads.—The chapel of our Lady, which belonged to this Gild, or to which the gild belonged, was not that by the bridge, to which it gave name, but that on the mount, which was formerly a very noted place in this town, both for its curious architecture and its reputed sanctity—the offerings there sometimes exceeding those of all our other holy places. But more of these matters when we come to treat of the religious houses.
Of the five Gilds, mentioned in the Catalogue next after that of our Lady, namely those of St. Michael the Archangel, St. Nicholas, St. Audrey, St. Michael and King Henry, and St. Cyprian, no particular information has been obtained. We therefore know not how they were constituted, or what were the particular objects of their respective confederations. That the members of all or of any of them were as useful and respectable in their generation as those of St. Gyles and Julian can neither be affirmed nor denied. They might be all very good sort of people, in their way, for aught we know. But we may without any breach of charity suppose they had their full share of childish credulity and stupid superstition. These were the predominant failings of their time, of which, however, even our own time, and with all its boasted advantages and improvements, is not yet quite clear. We must therefore suppose, that they readily and implicity believed all the marvellous monkish tales which were then propagated; especially those that particularly related to their respective tutelar or patron saints. The members of St. Audrey’s Gild, for instance, would all readily believe the extraordinary and miraculous virtues ascribed to her wonderful Smock at Thetford: and those of our Lady’s Gild would no less readily believe the wonderful accounts of her appearances to divers persons in the very same town. Thetford being so nigh to Lynn, and in the same county, the miracles pretended to have been worked there would soon be reported and credited here; and those, especially, that were ascribed to St. Audrey and Our Lady, would be so among the members of those Lynn Gilds which bore their names. [441]
The sixteenth Gild in the above Catalogue is that of St. Fabian and St. Sabestian, or Sebastian, of which the following account is given by Parkin—
“At a colloquium, or general meeting (in the reign of Henry VII.) of this Guild, held in St. George’s Hall, on Sunday next after the feast of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian, September 2, John Nicholl was chosen alderman; John Johnson, William Manning, Robert Bachelor, William Whithed, scabins; clerk of the guild, Thomas Haw,—dean, John Gyles. The chattels of the guild in the scabins keeping—It was then ordained, That the skevinths shal bere all as they have done before tyme;—Also that the said skevens shall have of every brother, on the general day, as many as dine there 2d. and the morspect ld.—Also ordained, that Thomas Rudwell and John Lowyn shall bere the ded money: and Thomas Rudwell received 9s. the said John Lowyn received 9s. Also that the said Thomas and John, shall give for occupying of the ded money, by yere, 11s. 8d.—Also ordained the electioners [444] shall find to the encresse or the company and in the worchep of God and the seynt, the furst morspech; the alderman shall find the second with the help of the feloshep, that he may have to the profits of the seynt.—Also, that the skevens shall bere the 3 morspechs, beside the general day, accordyng to the beforeseid.”
The above seems to be taken from some old record relating to this gild; Parkin then adds—