CHAPTER IX.

OF Y^E ABBEYS, PRIORYS, AND OTHER RELIGIOUS HOUSES ( BEFORE YE SUPPRESSION) IN THE ISLE OF MAN.

THERE were divers religious houses in this Island of Man, w^ch had continued long there, uiitill there came a great earthquake in ye reigne of o^r King Henry y^e Eight, w^ch did cast downe all ye religious houses in England, and soe shaked these in y^e Isle of Man that it demolished them alsoe.

These religious houses in Man were all doted w^ch lands w^thin ye Island, y^e revenue thereof y^e Manksmen at this day doe estimate to amount to 300 pounds p. annum, where-as y^e revenues of y^e Crown lands in y^t Island did not yⁿ exceed y^t summe, w^ch a man may thinke scarce credible or possible to be digged out of soe poor and little a clod of earth. Notwithstanding, there were besides these, in y^e island, divers other abbotts and priors, w^ch were aliens, y^t had some small possessions wthin y^e Island, given unto ym by y^e piety of some of y^e k^s of Man.

Now to save myself the labour of repetition and probation, I will here, for y^e reader’s better satisfaction, set downe y^e coppy of a record w^ch was shewed me in y^e Island ( wherein almost all ye religious houses are named, and upon what occasion), verbatim, thus

At y^e Court at Kirke Michael, upon y^e hill Reneurling, before Sir John Stanley, knight,’ King of Man and of ye Isles, y^e Tuesday next after y^e feast of St. Bartholomew, anno 1422 : In w^ch Court y^e byshope of Man was called to doe his faith and fealty to his lord. The abbott of Russin, and y^e prior of Douglass, y^e prior of Whithorn in Galloway, y^e abbott of Furness, ye abbott of Bangor, y^e abbott of Sabball, and y^e prior of Bede in Copeland, were called in, and came not ; wherefore they were deemed by y^e deemsters, y^t they should come in their proper psons w^thin 40 dayes, and if they failed to come then, to loose all their temporal-lityes, to bee seized into the lord’s hands in y^e same Court.

These are not all, for y^e house of St. Trinions, and y^e friers of Minors Brimaken are not here mentioned. Mr. Broughton, in his Eccles. History of Great Brittain, maketh mention of a nunery builded in this Island by St. Bridget for herselfe and her three companions, virgins, who togeather were vailed and professed by St. Maughald or Macaldus, then byshop of Man ; and, as y^e same history ² saith, St. Bridget there died, and was buried in y^t monastery in Man, and after was translated to Dune in Ireland. Marianus Scotus saith she died anno 521, but John Capgrave saith she died in y^e year 518 ; and though I much confide in Cogitosus ( who was her nephew, and lived in her time, and saith shee was vayled wth her three companions, virgins, by St. Maughald), yet y^t shee should build a monastery there, in w^ch shee died, I cannot assent, for her legend saith shee died in her owne monastery in Kildare, in Ireland ; howsoever, now there is in Man no memory left thereof, and if any such had been there it is doubtless demolished long since.

Concerning y^e abbey of Russin.³ By some writers it is called ye daughter of Furness, because it was built by Jno. y^e Abbott of Furness, in y^e year 1134, to whome Olave,⁴ y^e sonne of Gocired, y~ was surnamed Orovan, King of Man, had y^t year given a plott of land in Man to build a monaster in a place called Russin ; this abbey was y^e chiefest in estimation, above all y^e rest in y^e island. It is seated in a village called Balasaly, ~ is wt4n y^e roadway from Douglass to Castletowne. ye very ruins, as yet remaining, of this monastery demonstrate yt it had been a goodly structure, not inferior to many of our monasteries in England, being built all of a hard blewish free- stone. At y^e dissolution of y^e religious houses in this island, divers chambers in this house were not pulled downe with ye rest, but were reserved for a place to keep a Court in ; but whether of the spirituallty or temporalty my memory retaineth not. I doe suppose y^e monks of this house observed y^e rules and were of y^e order of St. Bennett ; but none of y^e clergy there could informe mee of w^ch order or rule they were—no, nor any of the other religious houses in y^e island. Mr. Cambden saith they should bee Cistertain monks. This monastery was the cothon sepulture of y^e kings of Man ; and in Monast Anglicanum is called Filia de Furness, because, as Cambden saith, Furness abbey was accompted y^e mother of many monasteryes in Man. Silvam y^e abbott married King Godred (ye sonne of Olave) to his wife Phingola, y^e daughter of Mac-Lotlen, sonne to Murcartac, King of Ireland. This King ~ at yC marriage gave to y^e said Silvam the abbott a piece of land at a place called Miciscage, where he built a monastery ; but at length y^e ground, togeather wth ye monks, was granted to y^e Abbey of Russin. See in y^e priory of Douglass, here following, something more.

The Abbey of Furness. This is one of y^e monasteries yt are aliens and not wt4n y^e Island of Man. This abbey is in y^e north-west part of Lancashire (comonly called Furness Feuds). The monastery of Cistertian monks, called Furness Abbey, WC’~ Stephen, Earl of Bullen, afterward King of Eng

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yt it is not in y^e Isle of Man, and therefore to bee mentioned amongst those of y^e aliens, for I finde it seated in y^e province of Ulster in Ireland, and y^t St. Nicholas, Byshop of Man, going thither to vissit y^t monastery, there died anno 1217.

Concerning y^e abbott of Sahall I know nothing of sub-stance, but what concerneth y^e other abbotts of Benchor, etc., y^t they have ye same civill respect w~’ y^e lords of y^e Island gave to y^e byshop (wa’ j nientioned before). y^e abbott’s steward may demand ye abbott’s tenant, and bring him from y^e barr of y^e Court of gaol delivery, and he shall bee tried at y^e lord baron’s Court ; but, nevertheless, y^e lord of y^e Island’s deemsters are to sit alsoe as judges ; y^e forfeture of y^e lands holden ~ of y^e baron are y^e baron’s, but y^e lord of y^e Island hath the forfeture of y^e goods, and is y^e disposer of y^e body of ye delinquent.

But to mee it seemeth a strange (but yet it sheweth a very civil respect), y^t those courts and customes are still put in practice concerning any of their criminall tenant having comitted fellony, even at this day, w^ch as there is neither byshop nor abbott w in ye Island.

Of y^e friers minors at Brimaken, mentioned by Mr. Chaloner, I have not anything to say.

Concerning St. Trinions, w0~~ some (but corruptly) doe call St. Tronions, where any religious house soe called was seated I could not learne ; but I read of a church dedicated to y^e holy trinity, near unto w~’ Reynold (bro’~ to Harrold), King . of Man, was killed by y^t unworthy knight Ivar and his comphices, anno 1249 ; wt place soever it was, I c,onjecture y^e name of St. Trinions ~ is but a corrupt contraction of y^e trinity in unity, and therefore it was called St. Trinnian’s, instead of the holy trinity.

The priory of Whitt-thorne is seated in y^e south part of Galloway, and hath had divers names, as St. Ninians, Pictaminia, and Candida Casa, etc., whereof I have discoursed more at large before.

The priory of St. Bede is much mis-named here before (and soe doth John Speed misname it, calling it St. Bees), for y^e name of the saint (yt builded this monastery) was Bega; she was daughter to a nobleman in Ireland. This monastery is said to bee seated in Copland (w~’ is in y^e south part of Cumberland), and was soe called of a mine of copper w^ch had been there. This St. Bega is held by some to bee the foundress of y^e Order of Beguines, but Ribaldeneira is not assured thereof (who wrote her life). These are they w~’ were obliged to give their attendance as barons (as some will have them), at ye t~h~,t of y^e kings and lords of Man, whensoever they should require it, soe at y^e least upon every new succession in y^e government, upon penalty of forfeting their respective interests.

1 ~ Bega, see Camden, Brit. Isles, p. 366.

1 This was Sir John, y^e sonn of Sir John Stanley, who was y^e first king of Man of y^t name, in y^e first year of our King Edward ye Sixth.

1 Cogitosus (nephew to St. Bridget), c. 2.

2 y^e Abbey of Russin, Monast. Angli., p. 711 ; Cron. of Man.

3 Cambd. Brit. Isles, p. 205.

1 Cron. of Man. Monast. Angi., pp. 1176 and 711.

1 ~ TrInian is a corruption of St. Ninian, to ~Ch monastery this belonged, concerning ~Ch see backward, lib. 3, oh. iv. The comon pronuntiacon of Ninian, in Scotland at this day, is Ringan ; under Saint Ringan, as it is express’d in our language.