Urbanus episcopus, s. s. d. Veneiabili fratri Willelmo Epis-copo Sodorensi salutem, ete. Ex suscepto servitutis officio vigiliis assiduis angimur et medftationis assiduitate pulsamur ut vacantibus ecclesiis et mouasteriis universis de celeris et salubris provisionis remedio succurramus. Dudum siquidem in monasterio de Russyn Cisterciensis ordinis tuæ Sodorensis dieecesis tune apud sedemapostolicam vacante,licet ut asserebatur quondam Willelmus de Cokeiham qui se gerebat pro monacho monasterii de Fuinesio, dicti ordinis, Eboracensis dicecesis,a se in eo intrusisset illudque detineret indebite occupatum, Nos intellecto quod dilectus filins Rogerus de Boitoun monachus dicti monasterii de Fuinesio ordinem ipsum expresse professus et in sacerdotio constitutus utilis esset ad regimen monasterii supradicti, tibi per alias literas dedimus in mandatis, ut si, vocatis ditto Willelmo et aliis qui forent evocandi, tibi constaret eundem Willelmum vel alium in ditto monasterio canonicum titulum non habere, de persona dicti Rogeri ea vice. ditto monasterio auctoritate apostolica provideres ipsumque illi præficeres in abbatem prout in dictis literis plenius continetur. Cum autem postmodum, skut pro parte dicti Rogeri fuit propositum in consistorio toram nobis, dictus Willelmus præfatis literis tibi miniroe præsentatis, de Romana curia ad quanr pro quibusdam suis negotiis promovendis accesserat recedendo, in loco de Montili (sic) Ademarii Valentinæ dieecesis a civitate Avinionensi ubi tune cum dicta Curia residebamus skut adhrie residemus ultra duas diætas legales non remoto, viam fuerit universæ carnis ingressus, nos, qui din ante ipsius Willelmi obitum provisiones omnium monasteriorum per obitum quorumcunque pro quibuscunque negotiis ad dictam curiarn venientium seu receden-tiuro ab eadem, si in locis ultra duas diætas ^a præfata Curia non remotis jam forsatt obierant, vel eos inantea contingeret de medio summoveri, ordinationi et dispositioui nostræ duximus reservandas, decernendo extunc irritum et inane si secus super iis per quos-cunque quavis auctoritate scienter vel ignoranter contingerat attemptari, cupientes eidem monasterio ne prolixioris vacationis subjaceat detrimentis celeriter et salubriter providere, fraternitati tuæ, de qua in iis et aliis fiduciam gerimus in domino specialem, per apostolica scripta committimus et mandamus, quatenus etiam si præfatum monasterium per obitum dicti Willelmi vacare repereris de persona dicti Rogeri eidem monasterio auctoritate nostra providers, ipsumque illi præficias in ahbatem, curam et adminis-trationem ipsius monasterii de Russyn sibi in spiritttalibus et temporalibus plenarie committendo, ac faciendo sibi a sttis sub-ditis obedientiarn et roverentiam debitam et dovotam exhiberi, ac nihilontinus impendes vel per alium antistitem gratiam et communionem dictæ sedis habentem impendi facias munus benedictionis ; Contradictores per censuram apostolicam appellatione postposita compescendo. Volumus antent quod to vel idem antistes qui ditto Rogero præfatum munus impendes vel impendet post-quam illud sibi impenderis vel impenderit ab eodem Rogero nostro et ecelesiæ Romanæ nomine fidelitatis debitæ solitum recipias vel recipiat juramentum juxta, formant quam sub hulla nostra mittimus interclusam, ac formarv juramenti quod dictus Rogerus præstabit nobis de verbo ad verbum per patentos literas sno sigillo signatas per proprium nuntium procures sett procuret quamtocius destinare. Datum Avinione iv. Idus Januar. pon-tif. nostri anno secundo.

Urban Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to Our venerable brother, William, Bishop of the Sodor diocese, health, etc. Ever since We undertook Our office of service, We are oppressed by continued anxiety, and constantly engaged in reflecting about the means for succouring by the remedy of speedy and beneficial provision all vacant churches and monasteries. Now, some time since, in the case of the monastery of Rushen, of the Cistercian Order, in your Sodor diocese, which monastery had become vacant at the holy See (although, as was asserted, the late William of Cokerham, who represented himself as a monk of the monastery of Furness of the same Order, in the diocese of York, had intruded himself, and maintained his hold of what he had wrongfully seized upon), We having understood that Our beloved son Roger of Bolton, a monk of the said monastery of Furness, who had professed expressly the same rule, and was a member of the priesthood, would be a fit man for the government of the said monastery, issued a mandate to you through another Letter, to provide for that turn by Apostolical authority for the said monastery in the person of the said Roger, and to place him over it as abbot, as is more fully contained in the said Letter; provided that after having cited to appear before you the said William and others who ought to be cited, it should be evident to you that neither the said William nor any other person in the said monastery had any canonical claim to oppose. But whereas, afterwards, as has been laid before Us in consistory upon the part of the said Roger, the said William, before he had presented the aforesaid letter to you, on his way back from the Roman Court, to which he had come for the sake of expediting some affairs of his own, went the way of all flesh at Montelimart, in the diocese of Valence, a place distant not more than two legal days' journey from the city of Avignon, where We then resided, as We still do, with the said Court; We (who a long time before the death of the said William, had considered fit to reserve to Our ordinance and disposal the provision for all monasteries rendered vacant by the death of any persons coming to or going from Our Court for the transaction of any business whatsoever if they had perchance already died, or in future it should happen that they were carried off by death, in places not more than two days' journey distant from the aforesaid Court, decreeing that from that time all attempts made either knowingly or unknowingly regarding these matters contrary to Our decree, whosoever the persons might be who made them, and whatsoever the authority under which they acted, should be void and without effect), desiring speedily and advantageously to make provision for the said monastery lest it suffer from the evils of a still further prolonged vacancy, entrust and com-mit through these Apostolical Letters to you, Brother, regarding you both in this and other affairs with a special confidence in the Lord, the task of providing by Our authority for the said monastery, in the person of the said Roger, if you find it vacant, even if it be through the death of the above named William; of placing him over it as abbot, of fully committing to him both in spirituals and temporals the care and administration of the said monastery of Rushen, and of causing the proper and due obedience and reverence to be shown to him by his subjects ; and of confer-ring, or causing to be conferred upon him by some other bishop in favour and communion with the Apostolic See, the rite of the Blessing ; restraining opponents by Apostolical censure, without appeal. We desire, moreover, that you or the bishop who shall confer the aforesaid rite, after you or he have conferred it upon the said Roger, do receive in Our name and in that of the Roman Church, from the said Roger, the accustomed oath of due fidelity, in accordance with the form which under Our seal We send enclosed ; and do take care to send, as soon as possible, by a special mes-senger the form of oath which the said Roger shall take, word for word, through the medium of letters-patent signed with his seal.

Given at Avignon, the 10th day of January, in the second year of Our Pontificate.

a Originally written "monacho dicti monasterii," but afterwards corrected in the margin.

Any comments, errors or omissions gratefully received The Editor
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