Table Of Contentcover
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title : Living and Dying in England, 1100-1540 : The Monastic
Experience Ford Lectures ; 1989
author : Harvey, Barbara F.
publisher : Oxford University Press
isbn10 | asin : 0198204310
print isbn13 : 9780198204312
ebook isbn13 : 9780585182629
language : English
subject Westminster Abbey--History, Monasticism and religious orders--
England--History--Middle Ages, 600-1500.
publication date : 1993
lcc : BX2595.W47H37 1993eb
ddc : 271/.1042132
subject : Westminster Abbey--History, Monasticism and religious orders--
England--History--Middle Ages, 600-1500.
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Page iii
Living and Dying in England 11001540
The Monastic Experience
by
Barbara Harvey
The Ford Lectures
Delivered in the University of Oxford
in Hilary Term 1989
CLARENDON PRESS OXFORD
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Page iv
Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP
Oxford New York
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and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan
Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press
Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York
© Barbara Harvey 1993
First published 1993
Reprinted 1994
Paperback first published 1995
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press. Within the UK, exceptions
are allowed in respect of any fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study, or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in
accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction
outside these terms and in other countries should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or
otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is
published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Harvey, Barbara F.
Living and dying in England, 11001540 : the monastic experience /
by Barbara Harvey.
p. cm.
"The Ford lectures delivered in the University of Oxford in Hilary
Term 1989."
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Westminster AbbeyHistory.
2. Monasticism and religious
ordersEnglandHistoryMiddle Ages, 6001500. I. Title.
BX2595.W47H37 1993
271'.1042132-dc20 9221141
ISBN 0-19-820431-0 (Pbk)
5 7 9 10 8 6 4
Printed in Great Britain
on acid-free paper by
J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd., Bristol
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Preface
The first version of this book was given as the Ford Lectures in the University of Oxford in Hilary Term 1989. I owe a
debt of a special kind to Jennifer Loach and Joanna Innes, my colleagues in the History School at Somerville, who
ensured in unobtrusive ways, but not without cost to themselves, that I had sufficient time in which to prepare. In
revising the lectures, I have added substantially to each. Nevertheless, much of the original text survives, unchanged,
and in consequence the sound of the human voice can sometimes be heard in the book. I hope that readers will not find
this a difficulty.
The book will, I hope, shed light, as its tide implies, on monastic life in England. But its purpose is quite as much to
illumine the life of secular society to which monastic, and particularly Benedictine, life was, at many points, closely
assimilated. I have tried to bring as large a number of monasteries as possible under contribution. Yet in each chapter
the monks of Westminster have provided the principal case-study. I gratefully acknowledge the permission of the Dean
and Chapter of Westminster to use, and cite, their muniments, and I am also indebted to Dr Richard Mortimer, Keeper
of the Muniments, who has facilitated my work in this exceptionally rich archive in every possible way. Dr Mortimer,
Mrs Enid Nixon, and Miss Christine Reynolds have ensured that my visits to the Muniment Room at the Abbey have
been not only useful in scholarly terms, but also exceedingly enjoyable. I think also with gratitude of the welcome
which I received from the late Mr Howard Nixon, formerly Librarian of Westminster Abbey, and the late Mr Nicholas
MacMichael, formerly Keeper of the Muniments.
In writing the book, I have needed many different kinds of help and at every juncture have been fortunate enough to
enjoy exactly the kind that I most needed. Dr Paul Slack has assisted at many points, but particularly as Chapter I, on
charity, took shape. He has also read a substantial part of the final draft of the book. Professor David Conning, Director-
General of the British Nutrition Foundation, spared time to discuss various aspects of nutrition with me. Miss Anne
Halliday, also of this Foundation, made the first analysis of the data relating to the diet of the monks of Westminster that
are summarized below, in Table 11.4, and has readily answered many questions from me about nutrition. I have
benefited from Professor Christopher Dyer's unrivalled knowledge of medieval diet and of the archaeological evidence
that is now essential for an understanding of this subject. Mr Jim Oeppen, of the Cambridge Group for the History of
Population and Social Structure, and Miss Ros Walley analysed the mortality data relating to the monks of Westminster
which are indispensable to Chapter
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Page vi
IV. Mr Oeppen also prepared the figures for this chapter and for Chapter III and has written one of the appendices to the
book. He has been unfailingly helpful with advice on demographic and statistical problems as these chapters took shape.
I have drawn frequently on Mrs Susan Hall's knowledge of medieval medical and surgical texts. Dr Alan Loach and Dr
John Walker have helped me with medical problems in general.
I owe a great deal to Dr John Blair's expert knowledge of ecclesiastical and secular buildings of the medieval period,
and their uses, and of much else in the history of that period. He and Mrs Sarah Blair have drawn the maps for the book
and undertaken time-consuming research as a preliminary to this task. Books come and go. Maps sometimes have
greater staying-power, and I am confident that these maps, if not destined to be quite as long-lasting as some of the
buildings they serve to locate, will be found useful by anyone interested in Westminster Abbey and its medieval
environs for many years to come.
I have benefited greatly from Dr Gervase Rosser's profound knowledge of the medieval town of Westminster and its
inhabitants; and Dr Rosser has provided some essential information for the maps. Professor Marjorie McIntosh has been
kind enough to comment on several chapters of the book, and I have tried to take full advantage of her suggestions.
From Mrs Loach and Dr Richard Smith I have received unstinted help at every stage: it is hardindeed, impossiblefor me
to express adequately my debt to each.
Dr Roger Schofield, Director of the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, has
generously permitted the use of the period estimates relating to the population of England that are illustrated in Figure
IV.3. I am grateful to Dr John Hatcher and the Editors of the Economic History Review for permission to use the
estimates relating to the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury, in the same figure.
To Dr Anthony Morris, Miss Sophie MacCallum, and Miss Anne Gelling, of Oxford University Press, I owe timely
encouragement to finish the book and invaluable help when it was finally on its way. At the copy-editing stage Mrs
Dorothy McCarthy eliminated many errors and inconsistencies and made other suggestions for the improvement of the
book for which I am extremely grateful.
I wish also to thank Dr Susan Brigden, Dr David Carpenter, Dr Clive Burgess, Dr Pierre Chaplais, Dr Brian Golding, Dr
Joan Greatrex, Dr Diana Greenway, Mr John Henderson, Dr Margaret Howell, Dr Richard Hoyle, Dr. Trevor Hughes,
Dr. Colin Michie, Dr. Margaret Pelling, Dr Jocelyn Russell, Mrs Dale Serjeantson, Dr. Larry Usilton, Dr Nancy Waugh,
Professor Michael Winterbottom, and Professor Joyce Youings: each has helped in general or specific ways.
BARBARA HARVEY
SOMERVILLE COLLEGE, OXFORD
AUGUST 1992
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Page vii
Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Maps ix
List of Tables x
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
I. Charity 7
7
1. Perceptions of Monastic Almsgiving
9
2. Monastic Almsgiving from Ordinary Income
23
3. Monastic Almsgiving from Special Funds
33
4. Conclusions
II. Diet 34
34
1. The Problems
36
2. The Sample
38
3. Benedictine Diet, Regular and Irregular
41
4. Arrangements at Westminster Abbey
70
5. Conclusions
III. Sickness and its Treatment 72
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72
1. The Empirical Approach
73
2. The Monastic Community at Westminster Abbey
81
3. The Treatment of Sickness at the Abbey
99
4. Morbidity in the Monastic Community at Westminster Abbey
108
5. The Diseases
IV. Mortality 112
112
1. The Problems
114
2. Mortality at Christ Church, Canterbury, 13951505
115
3. Mortality at Westminster Abbey, 13901529
129
4. The Fatal Diseases
142
5. The Population Trend in Late Medieval England
V. Servants 146
146
1. Perspectives
148
2. Monastic Households
154
3. Servant Life
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163
4. Earnings at Westminster Abbey
177
5. Conclusions
VI. Corrodies 179
179
1. Perceptions Old and New
181
2. The Main Kinds of Corrody
184
3. Grants in General
192
4. Grants in Exchange for Real Property
198
5. Grants in Exchange for Money
207
6. The Age and Marital Status of Corrodians
209
7. Conclusions
Epilogue 210
Appendix I. Charitable Giving at Westminster Abbey, c.1510c.1530 214
Appendix II. Catering in the Refectory and Misericord at Westminster Abbey c.1495c.1525: Numbers and 216
Messes
Appendix III. Apothecaries, Physicians, and Surgeons Employed by the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, 231
c.13001540
Appendix IV. Estimating the Life-Expectancy of the Monks of Westminster. By Jim Oeppen 236
Appendix V. Corrodians of Westminster Abbey, 11001540 239
Bibliography 252
Index 269
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