A History of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, 1182-1256: Samson of Tottington to Edmund of Walpole

by Gransden, Antonia

• ISBN13: 9781843833246
• ISBN10: 1843833247
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-12-06
• Publisher: Boydell Pr

Summary

St Edmund's Abbey was one of the most highly privileged and wealthiest religious houses in medieval England, one closely involved with the central government; its history is an integral part of English history. This book (the first of two volumes) offers a magisterial and comprehensive account of the Abbey during the thirteenth century, based primarily on evidence in the abbey's records (over 40 registers survive). The careers of the abbots, beginning with the great Samson, provide the chronological structure; separate chapters study various aspects of their rule, such as their relations with the convent, the abbey's internal and external administration and its relations with its tenants and neighbours, with the king and the central government. Chapters are also devoted to the monks' religious, cultural and intellectual life, to their writings, book collection and archives. Appendices focus on the mid-thirteenth century accounts which give a unique and detailed picture of the organisation and economy of St Edmunds' estates in West Suffolk, and on the abbey's watermills and windmills. Professor ANTONIA GRANSDEN is former Reader at the University of Nottingham.

Table of Contents

List of plates	p. x
List of figures	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Editorial note	p. xvii
Acknowledgements	p. xix
Maps and plans (figures 1-9)	p. xxi
Samson of Tottington, Abbot 1182-1211
Introductory	p. 1
Samson's biographer, Jocelin of Brackland (de Brakelond), and his work	p. 5
Samson's early life and career	p. 12
Samson's election to the abbacy	p. 17
The early years of Samson's abbacy and reform of estate management	p. 23
Conflict with the convent	p. 32
Relations with the town of Bury St Edmunds	p. 44
Samson and secular law	p. 51
Samson and the knights of St Edmund	p. 56
Relations with the Angevin kings	p. 60
Samson and the papacy	p. 68
Samson as a builder	p. 83
Religious and intellectual life under Samson	p. 94
The shrine and cult of St Edmund	p. 94
Secondary cults at St Edmunds	p. 106
Hagiographical writing at St Edmunds: the De Miraculis Sancti Edmundi and other works	p. 121
Learned monks and the book collection	p. 135
Samson's death and burial	p. 145
The Abbey 1212-1256
Introductory	p. 149
The vacancy, 1211-1215, and election of Hugh of Northwold	p. 151
The Abbots 1215-1256	p. 165
Hugh of Northwold (Hugh II), 1215-1229	p. 165
Richard of the Isle (de Insula, de l'Isle), 1229-1233	p. 177
Henry of Rushbrooke (alias Henry Wodard), 1234-1248	p. 179
Edmund of Walpole, 1248-1256	p. 185
Observance of the Rule of St Benedict	p. 196
Relaxations of the Rule	p. 196
The reform movement
General
Papal initiatives
the legatine visitation of St Edmunds in 1234
St Edmunds' Customary of c. 1234
Observance and reform under Edmund of Walpole
Postscript	p. 198
Learning	p. 218
Books	p. 221
Buildings	p. 229
St Edmunds' liberties and the crown	p. 236
Jurisdictional liberties	p. 236
The mint	p. 238
Henry III and the cult of St Edmund	p. 245
Appendices
An inventory of Edmund de Walpole's table-linen and table-ware	p. 249
The story of Edward the Confessor's gift of Mildenhall	p. 250
The abbey's economy in the mid-thirteenth century: the accounts in BL MS Harley 645 and related documents	p. 252
Introductory	p. 252
The contents of the accounts	p. 257
General	p. 257
The treasurer/treasurers	p. 264
The obedientiaries, their servants and officials	p. 269
The chamberlain's accounts	p. 275
The food farms	p. 281
St Edmunds' watermills and windmills	p. 288
Introductory	p. 288
St Edmunds' watermills	p. 293
Two early examples of windmill-building	p. 297
St Edmunds' windmills in the thirteenth century	p. 300
The profitability of mills	p. 302
Examples where both receipts and expenses are recorded	p. 305
Examples where receipts only are recorded	p. 306
Miscellaneous examples	p. 306
Icklingham and its mills	p. 307
Disadvantages of demesne management of mills	p. 312
Abbot Samson's leases of St Edmunds' mills	p. 314
Abbreviations and Select Bibliography	p. 317
Index	p. 333
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