litigation, the appropriation of the churches of Easington and Kayingham.

At the beginning of Hugh's rule, a chantry, founded in the church of Winestead by Robert de Hilton, was assigned to the monks, and a few years later another chantry in the church of Fowlstowe, Lincolnshire, was similarly vested in the abbey.

A peculiarly interesting episode shall be given in Mr. Bond's words:

"There are few other incidents deserving special notice; but an anecdote of unusual interest to the history of art is recorded, which comes unexpectedly upon us in the prosiac narrative of the chronicler. Abbot Hugh desired to have a new crucifix placed in the choir of the converts, and it is stated that the sculptor employed in carving it reverentially worked on the finer parts of the image on Fridays only, while fasting on bread and water; and that, in order to guide him in designing the figure, and to enable him to give a greater beauty to the form, he had a naked model always before him.

"It was to some purpose that so much reverence and conscientious study was exercised in the execution of the work. When the crucifix was completed and erected in its place, it was found to be endowed with miraculous powers. The monks were doubtless benefited by the reputation it acquired; and they reflected that, if women could be allowed access to it, that double advantage would accrue, that general devotion would be promoted, and much additional profits secured to the monastery. They therefore procured authority from the abbot of Meaux to allow access to the crucifix of both men and women of honest character, with the cautious proviso that the latter were not to enter the cloister, or dormitory, or other offices. The chronicler thinks, however, that the admission of females proved itself an evil, and a cause of loss to the monastery; for many came

without feeling of devotion,—that is to say, without making any offering, but merely to look over the church, and put the convent to expense in entertaining them."

Hugh died in the terrible Black Death of 1349. Its ravages among the monks of Meaux are a further confirmation of the truth of the old chroniclers, that in many parts of the kingdom two-thirds of the population succumbed to its fury. The abbot and five of his monks all died on August 12th. Seventeen other monks and six of the converts died during the same month. In all, out of a total of fifty monks and converts within the monastic precincts, only ten survived. It is needless to state that this awful visitation, which carried off the abbot, prior, cellarer, bursar, and other of the old officials, paralysed the finances of the monastery, which became further involved through the sudden death of so large a number of their tenants. According to the chronicle, warning of the coming scourge had been given by an earthquake shock. On the Friday before Passion Sunday, on March 27th, when the choir of Meaux were at vespers, and chanting the verse deposuit potentes in the gospel hymn, the sudden earthquake flung the monks with violence from their stalls prostrate on the ground.

He

To this impoverished and disordered condition of things, William Dringhoe (one of the ten surviving monks) succeeded as fifteenth abbot, 1349-1353. obtained some temporary relief by obtaining from Thomas Fishlake, a burgess of Kingston-upon-Hull, a sum of £60, in exchange for the grant of a liberal corrody to him and his servant for the term of his life, and for the ordination of a daily mass for the souls of himself and his brother. Two other corrodies he sold for £50. Far more questionable were his engagements pledging the revenues of the abbey, in both wool and corn, for some years in exchange for ready money.

These measures brought about much dissension in the convent, a state of affairs which gave an opportunity to John Rigsby, the cellarer, an intriguing and unworthy monk, to attempt to supplant abbot William in his dignity. He accused the abbot of receiving a horse stolen by a bondman of the abbey. On this charge the abbot was arrested, and imprisoned in York Castle until bail could be procured. He was arraigned for the alleged offence at the assizes, but was discharged on payment of heavy costs. Bribing the abbots of Fountains and Louth with costly presents, the cellarer induced them to hold

visitation at Meaux, and there John Rigsby preferred various grave charges against the abbot, with the result that the visitors deposed him, and appointed the cellarer in his place. This nomination was not acquiesced in by the monks. An election was held in the chapter house, with the result that Thomas Shirborne obtained the majority of votes. The abbot of Fountains, however, ingeniously disqualified Thomas on the ground of having only one eye, and as the monks disagreed in their second choice, he, as Father-Abbot, re-appointed John Rigsby. To the ex-abbot had been assigned a chamber and various allowances, including a pension of five marks. The cellarer had not been long in the abbot's chair when he raised an objection to the continuation of these allowances, invited another visitation by the three abbots of Fountains, Louth Park, and Holmcoltram, and demanded Dringhoe's imprisonment. Dringhoe fled from the monastery, and eventually reached Rome, followed by three of the monks who were his adherents, and obtained the issue of a citation to the abbot of Fountains and John Rigsby to appear there to answer a series of twenty-eight charges. Thereupon Rigsby lost heart, and resigned the dignity which he had held for three

years.

The convent then elected as their sixteenth abbot Robert of Beverley, 1356-1367, and the action at Rome was stayed by the concession to ex-abbot Dringhoe of a most liberal pension, and almost luxurious allowances. During his rule came about the final destruction of the most important of the fishing towns on the coast, Ravenserodd, connected by a pebbly causeway with the old town of Ravenser. The chronicler assumes that the waves swallowed it up as a judgment from God on the predatory habits of the townsmen. The interesting story has been well told by Mr. Boyle, F.S.A., in his Lost Towns of the Humber.

Another important event during the rule of the sixteenth abbot was the struggle of the convent's bondmen or villeins (nativi) to escape from thraldom. Various like risings took place in different parts of the kingdom soon after the Black Death, and the general insurrection in the time of Richard II., though suppressed, practically secured the liberty of the serfs of the soil. The monks dealt summarily with two recalcitrant bondmen of Beeforth, confining them in fetters at Wawne Grange until they submitted and declared on oath their condition of serfdom. The serfs of Wawne soon followed with a more general rebellion, some of the ringleaders were seized, and imprisoned at the abbey. One of them, Richard Cellarer, escaped, and appealed to the King's escheator in Holderness, alleging that he and his fellows were the king's bondmen pertaining to the manor of Easington. An inquisition was held by the escheator, when the assertions of the serfs were substantiated, and they were kept for some time in the king's service. A more formal inquisition, however, held at Hedon, in 1358, on the appeal of the monastery, reversed the first inquest, and re-assigned the men, their chattels, and their families, to the monks. A variety of cross suits followed. But

eventually judgment was given in favour of the abbot of Meaux, but he was exhorted to treat the men well, and not to punish them for their proceedings.

In 1362, Meaux was visited by the Commissioners appointed by the general Cistercian chapter to visit and reform the English houses. John Rigsby, alarmed at their approach, made his peace by surrendering the farm of Skipsea church and other allowances whích had been given him on his retirement, and four years later made profession at the abbey of Roche. William Dringhoe, the other exabbot, also gave up half of the pension of 100s. that had been assigned to him.

On the death of abbot Robert, the convent was much divided as to a successor, but eventually concurred in unanimously re-inviting William Dringhoe to again rule over them, which office he held for a little over four years, 1367-1372. During his second tenure of the abbot's chair, a chantry was founded in the conventual church by Lady Ydonea, widow of Sir Henry Percy, for herself and her husband.

The eighteenth abbot was William of Scarborough, who had been cellarer for sixteen years; he retained the office for twenty-five years, 1372-1396. Soon after his election, Archbishop Neville revived the claim to the manor of Wawne. The convent's right depended upon a deed of agreement executed by Archbishop Walter Gray. To the dismay of the monks the deed was not forthcoming, though anxious search was made in the registry, and in every other possible place throughout the monastery. At last a yet more diligent scrutiny brought the missing document, with its fourteen attesting seals, to light from out of a hole between the roof and ceiling of the charter-house, where it had been concealed, together with an original charter of Henry II.

Another dispute about this time arose with the tilemakers of Beverley, who were helping themselves