document disclosing a passage in the history of the ... - 1872/008-0… · nium sigillum nostrum...

50

DOCUMENTS DISCLOSING A PASSAGE IN THE

HISTOET OF THE TWTSDEN FAMILY.

COMMUNICATED BY THE LATE REV. L. B. LARKING, AND ILLUS-

TRATED BY THE REV. R. C. JENKINS, RECTOR OF LYMINGE,

AND HON. CANON OE CANTERBURY.

I.

1588. Dispensation from Monastic Vows, and Licence to ThomasBede, etc., from Archbishop Oranmer.

THOMAS miseratione divina Cantuariensis Archiepiscopus,Totius Anglie primas, et metropolitanus, ad infrascripta auc-toritate parliament! Anglie fuloitus: Dilecto nobis in ChristoThome Bede, nuper monacno soluti nunc monasterii diviMartini de Bello, Cicestrensi diocesi, ordinis sancti Benedictipresbytero, regularem vitam professo, Salutem gratiam. etbenedictionem. Cupientes te, ob tuorum exigentiam meri-torum, favore prosequi gratioso^ Tecum, ut religione quamprofessus es exire, et ad seculum te conferre, ac ibidem, decetero, in veste secularis presbyteri vitam agere, necnonbeneficium ecclesiasticum, etiam si curam habeat animarum,obtinere, libere et licite valeas et possis, auctoritate predictadispensamus, contrariis religionis et oanonum institutis nonobstantibus quibuscunque.

Datum in manerio nostro de Lambehitli, sub nostro sigilload facultates, duodecimo die mensis Junii, anno domini mille-simo quingentesiino tricesimo octavo, et nostre consecrationisanno sexto.

BOGfflRUS TOTJNESHBND, CoiIISS.

To.. HUGHES.

Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 8 1872

http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Pub/ArchCant/008%20-%201872/page%20v%20+%20vi.htm

A PASSAGE IN THE HISTORY OF THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. 51

II.

1538. Confirmation of the above Dispensation by KingHenry VIII. under the Great Seal.

HENBICTJS oetavus, Dei gratia Anglie & Francie Rex, fideidefenses, Dominus Hibernie, & in terra supremum caputAnglicane ecclesie, Omnibus ad quos presentes litere per-venerint, salutem. Inspeximus quasdam literas dispensatoriaspresentibus annexas, quas, et singula in eis contenta, iuxtaquendam actura inde in Parliamento nostro editum, ratificamusapprobamus et oonfirmamus per presentes : Ita quod ThomasBede, in dictis literis nominates, omnibus & singulis in eisdemspecificatis uti valeat & possit, libere & quiete, licite & impune,secundum vim formam & effectum earundem, impedimentoquocumque in aliquo non obstante. In cuius rei testimoniumhas literas nostras fieri feoimus patentee. Teste me ipso apudWestmoriasteriam, duodecimo die Junii, anno regni nostritricesimo.

VAUGHAW.[Appended is the Great Seal.]

III.

1538. Grant of an Annual Pension to Thomas Bede.

HBNEIOTJS octavus, dei gratia Anglie & Francie Rex, fideidefensor, Dominus Hibernie, & in terra supremum caput Angli-cane ecclesie, Omnibus ad quos presentes litere pervenerint,salutem. Cum nuper monasterium de Bello, in comitatu nostroSussexie, iam dissolvatur, unde quidam Thomas Bede, temporedissolucionis illius, & diu antea, monachus ibidem fuit; Nos,volentes rationabilem annualem pencionem sive promocionemcondignam eidem Thome, ad victum exhibicionem & susten-tacionem suam melius sustinendam provideri: Sciatis igitur,quod nos, in consideracione premissorum de gratia nostraspeciali, ac ex cerfca sciencia & mero motu nostris, per advisa-mentum & consensum Cancellarii & Oonsilii 'Curie Augmenta-cionum revencionum Oorone nostre, dedimus & concessimus,ac per presentes damus & concedimus eidem Thome, quandamannuitatem sive 'annualem pencionem decem marcarum ster-lingorum, habendum gaudendum & annuatim percipiendumeasdem decem marcas, prefato Thome & assignatis suis, a festoAnnunciacionis beate Marie Yirginis ultimo preterito, ad ter-

E 2

52 DOCUMENTS DISCLOSING A PASSAGE IN

minum & pro termino vite ipsius Thome, vel quousque idemThomas ad unum vel plura beneficia ecclesiastica, sive aliampromocionem condignam, clari anmii valoris decem marcarumaut ultra, per nos promotus fuit, tarn per mantis Thesaurariirevencionum Augmentacionum Corone nostre pro temporeexistentis de thesauro nostro in manibus suis, de revencionibuspredictis, remanere contingent!, quam per manus Receptorisexituum & revencionum dicti nuper monasterii pro temporeexistentis, de eisdem exitibus & revencionibus, ad festa sanctiMichaelis Archangeli, & Annunoiacionis beate Marie virginis,per equales porciones solvendam. Bo quod expressa menciode vero valore annuo, aut de certitudine premissorum siveeorum alicuius, aut de aliis donis sive concessionibus per nosprefato Thome ante hec tempora factis, in presentibus minimefacta existit, aut aliquo statute, actu, ordinacione, provisione,sive restriccione in contrarium inde habito, facto, ordinato, seuproviso, aut aliqua alia re, causa, vel materia quacutnque inaliquo non obstante. In cuius rei testimonium, has literasnostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste Ricardo Riche milite,apud Westmonasteriam, sexto die Julii, anno regni nostritricesimo.

DUKE.Ter Cancellarium & Consilium Ourie Aug-

mentacionum revencionum Oorone Regis,virtute Warranti regis.

Irrotulatum n officio Joharmis Thomson auditoris &c. xvto

die Novembris anno dni. 1559.1

[Appended is a fragment of the Seal of the AugmentationOffice.]

Indorse:—"Allo^in Scco int Recorda de Tmio see Trin,anno primo Regine Marie, Ro Ex pte RememRegine."

T. SAUNDER.2

Also : " Irrotm in thesaur Reda dne regine Tmino pascheano Regni sui primo."

[Here some illegible initials.]

1 In a later hand and ink.* Sir Thomas Saunder, Kemembrancer of the Exchequer.

HISTOBY OF THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. 53

IV.

CARDINAL POLE TO THOMAS TWYSDBN.

1556. Dispensation and Licence to act as executor to hisBrother's Will

• REGINALDUS, miseracione divina, Tituli Sancte Marie in Cos-medin, Sacrosanote Eomane ecclesie Presbyter, OardinalisPolus nuncupatus, Cantuariensis Archiepiscopus, totius AngliePrimaSj et Apostolice sedis legatus natus, necnon ad illustris-simos in Christo Principes Philippum et Mariam, Francie etHibernie Reges', fidei defensores, et universa Anglie et Hibernieregna, sanctissime domini nostri Pape, et eiusdem apostolicesedis, etiam do latere legatus ^ Dilecto in Christo filio ThomeTwysden, diacono nostre Gantuariensis dioceseos, Salutem.Cum pro parte tua nobis fuerit humiliter expositum, quod tuolim ordine divi Benedicti Regularem professus, monasterio, inquo te dederas (vita tua eomite) sub habitui uegulari vitam trans-igere monastioam, et deo devote in> eodem^ famulari, deletopenitus et extincto, q,uod Beliquunn tibi1 •viie deus dederit, inseculo agere, auctoritate legitima fulcitus, proposuisti: Qnodque •ab Mnc septennio, Willelmus Twysden frater tims, antequamab humanis exemeretur, suum oondidit testamentum sive ulti-mam voluntatem, in qua te et dileotam filiam Elizabeth, tunoconsortem, nuno relictam suam, fecit et constituit executores,magnam et precipuatn educandorum liberorum suorum curam,et multorum priorum operum esecu,tionem,. tibi, de singular!fiducia et fraterna pietate, curam commisit et conGuedidit exe-quendam : Verum cum, sacrorum Canonum constitucionibushujusmodi institucionem et executionem retantibusj tu onustibi iniunctum libere, sine Juris offensa et conscientie' s«rupulo,absque nostri, superioris tui, licentia petita et obtemta, exequinon valeas; Nobis igitur supplicari fecisti,, ut im gratiam etbeneficium liberorum orphanorum eiusdem defuncti, ac aliorumpiorum operum executionem et gratiam, testamentum et ulti-mam voluntatem hujusmodi libere et licite exequi et perimplerivaleas. Nos, peticionibus tuis graciose inclinati, ac orphaniset aliis miserabilibus personis, de pastoralis officii solicitudineet dementia, consulere et perspicere in domino cupientes, expremissis et aliis nobis expositis causis rationabilibus sancteinclinati, tibi ut premissis eb aliis repugnantibus Juris impedi-

54 DOCUMENTS DISCLOSING A PASSAGE IN THE

mentis non obstantibus, testamentum et nltimam voluntatemdicti tui fratris defuncti, iuxta et secundum mentem Testatoris,pie, sincere, libere, et licite, exequi et perimplere in omnibus,et per omnia, valeas et possis, auctoritate nostra ordinaria(quantum de Jure poterimus) licentiam impartimur, et harumserie dispensamus pariter et indulgemus, In contrarium faci-entibus non obstantibus quibuscunque. In cuius rei testiino-nium sigillum nostrum presentibus affigi fecimus. Datum inmanerio nostro de Lambehith, xij° die Julii, anno domini,millesimo, quingentesimo, quinquagesimo sexto, et nostre con-secrationis anno primo.

ANTHONITTS HUSE, Eegrarius, R. iiij.

[Appended is the official seal of Cardinal Pole.1

. It represents, in the upper part, the Almighty holding across, on which is the crucified Saviour, surmounted with theDove. Over the Almighty's head appears in the clouds theVirgin crowned, with the infant Jesus in her arms; all underan arched canopy. On either side, each under an archedcanopy, is a bishop, with the pall, staff, etc.

In the lower compartment of the seal are the arms of Car-dinal Pole, viz.,—• Quarterly of 8:

1st, quarterly, France (3 lys) and England, over all a labelof three points;

2nd, per pale, a saltire engrailed for Pole;3rd, a saltire and a label of three points, for Nevil;4th, a fess between six cross crosslets, for Beauchamp;5th, chequy, a chevron ermine, for the old Earls of Warwick;6th, 8 fusils in fess, for Montacute;7th, an eagle displayed, for Monthermer;8th, quarterly,—1st and 4th, 3 chevronels, for Clare,—2nd

and 3rd, per cross, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters a fret, over alla bendlet, for Spencer.• The shield is surmounted with the Cardinal's cap, on the

1 This magnificent seal was engraved for the late Mr. Streatfeild's con-templated History of Kent, and may be seen in Vol. III. Arch. Cant,(p. 141), to which the block was mosb Idndly lent by Mrs. ChampionStreatfeild. It is hoped that the engraving may soon reappear, in theplace for which it was originally designed, the project for this History be-ing revived under new auspices, as most of our readers are aware.

HISTORY OE THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. 55

dexter of which, is a shield with the arms of the Priory ofChrist Church, and on the sinister a shield with the armsof the archiepiscopal see. The motto round the seal is " SIGJLI. ."REGINALDI . POLI . CARDINAL . C A T . ARCHIEPI , TOTIUS . ANGL ." PRIMATI . AHJCE . SED1S . LEGATI . NATI."]

V.

1557. Cardinal Pole to Ms Vicar-General David Poole, Grantof Pardon, and Dispensation to Thomas Twysden alias Bede, onhis recantation,

REGINALDIFS, miseratione divina, Tituli Sancte Marie in Cos-medin, Sancte Komane Ecclesie Presbyter, Cardinalis Polus,Archiepiscopus Cantuariensis, sanctissimi domini nostri pape, ets^dis apostolice, ad Serenissimos Philippum et Mariam AnglieReges, et universumi Anglie regnum, de latere legatus:—Discreto et riobis in Christo dilecto Davido Poole, in Archiepi-scopatu Oantuariensi nostro in spiritualibus Vicario generali,Salutem in domino sempiternam. Ex parts Thome Twysden,alias Bede, diaeoni nostre dioceseos, ordinis sancti Benedict!professoris, nobis expositum fait, quod ipse,—post dissolutio-nem Monasterii de Battell eiusdem ordinis, Cicestrensi diocesi,(quod ingressuS'fu.er.at,.et in quo, habitum per illius monachosgestari solitum. suscipiens, professionem que ibi consuevit emittiregulare emiseDatj et ad> sacrum diaconatus ordinem promotusfuerat,) introducto- hoc' im regno perniciosissimo schismatefactam,—absque apostolice sedis licentia, habitu. suo regular!dimisso, et qui est clerici secularis; assumpto,.extra loca regu-laria per devia seculi vagatus fuit, et deinde, schismati prefatoconsentiens, domos, fundos, aliaque bona immobilia, secundumleges provisa anctoritate Parlamenti turn de facto editas, acqui-sivit, et per aliquot annos retinuit, schismatis-et Apostasie reatu,necnon sententias, censuram, et penas contra tales latas dam-nabiliter incurrendo,—Cum autem, prout eadem subiungebat ex-positio, idem Thomas de premissis per eum commissis plurimumdolnerit, et doleat de presenti, cupiatque ab illis, et censura acpenis propterea incursis, absolvi, et ecclesie unitati restitui, acalias statui suo provider! j Nobis propterea humiliter supplicarifecit, quatenus sibi, de opportune, super premissis, absolutioniset dispensationis remedio de benignitate apostolica providere


dignaremur.— Nos igitur, considerantes quod ad se redeun-tibus gremium. non claudit ecclesia, ac propter preseiitemministrorum ecclesiasticorum hoc in regno defectum, aliasquerationabiles causas ad infrasoripta concedenda moti, Discretion!tue, de qua in his et aliis plurimum confidimus, auctoritateapostolica nobis hac in nostra legations concessa, et qua fun-gimur in. hac parte, tenore presentium committimus, quatenus,si est ita, eadem auctoritate apostolica, dictum Thomam, cog-nita in eo vera et non ficta aut simulata penitentia, a quibusvisexcommunicationis, suspensionis, et interdict-!, aliisque ecclesias-ticis sententiis, censuris, et penis, a Jure vel ab homine, quavispremissorum occasione, in eum latis et promulgatis, etiam sieas per plures annos sustinuisset, et in eis insorduisset, necnonschismatis et Apostasie reatu, et excessibus hujusmodi, iniunctainde sibi pro moda culpe p.enitentia salutari, in forma ecclesieconsueta, in utroqtte, conscientie> scilicet, et contentioso foro,plenarie absolvas et liberes; eumqu'e unitati ecclesie restituas,'[et] aliorum Ohristi fidelium consortio aggreges. Necnon cumeodem,—dummodo alioqui vite ac morum honestas, literarumscientia, aliaque laudabilia probitatis et virtutum merita, sibisufiragentur, super quo conscientiam tuam oneramus,—superirregularitate per eum, quavis premissorum occasione, con-tracta, quodque ilia et premissis nou obstantibus,—omnibus,tarn minoribus quam sacris su'bdiaconatus et diaconatus, ritetamen et recte per eum susceptis, ordinibus uti, et ad sacrumpresbyterat'us ordinem, alias tamen rite et recte, ascendere, etdonee regularia loca restaurata fuerint, seu alias ad sedisapostolice benepl'acitum, extra loca regularia hujusmodi inhonesta toga presbyteri secularis remanere, et alicui beneficioecclesiastico Curate, de fflud obtinentis' consensu, deservire, etbona predicta que fe presenti retinet, Hon tanquam propria,"sed tantum in usum1 ai eitts sustentationem concessa, adminis-trare libere et leite pwsBit et valeat, miseratione in dominodispenses; Ac' offiraem inhabilitatem et mfamie maculam sivenotam, ex premissis circa eum quomodolibet insurgentem,penitus aboleas, ipsuntque in pristinum, et eum in quo ante pre-missa quomodolibet erat, statum' plenarie restituas, reponas, etredintigres, Premissis, ac regula de irtsordescentibus, aliisqueconstitutionibus et ordinationibus apostolicis, ceterisque con-trariis, non obstantibus quibuscunque. Volumus autem quodidem Thomas de fructibus ex bonis hujusmodi provenientibus,

HISTORY OF THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. 57

.qui necessitatibus suis supererunt, eleemosynas, seu in piosusus erogationes facere teneatur; quodque bona prefata, postdicti Thome mortem, eius Monasterio prefato, vel religion!, velin aliquem usum pium, arbitrio eius ordinarii pro temporeexistentis, applicentur.—Datum GrenewioM, Eoffensi diocesianno a nativitate domini Millesimo, quingentesimo, quinquage-simo, septimo, Duodecimo Kal. Martii, Pontificatus sanctissimiin Christo patris et domini nostri, domini Pauli, divina provi-dentia Pape, Quarti, anno Secundo.

EEG. CABLIS POLUS, LEG.Bxposuit decem solidos pro

scriptura et expensis.M. ANTONITJS FAITA, cecr.Jo. JOBDANUS.

[Sealed with the Privy Seal of Cardinal Pole, bearing thesame arms as in the last, and surmounted by the Cardinal's capwith this inscription:—" B. POLTJS s. B. B. CAB. A LATBEBATUS "—in a tin box—fastened with silk cord.]1

"VI.

1557. David Pole's Execution of the preceding Warrant.

DAVIDUS POLE, legum doctor, Beverendissimi in Christo patriset domini, domini Reginald!, miseratione divina, tituli sancteMarie in Cosmedin, sancte Eomane ecclesie Presbyteri, Cardi-nalis Poli, Cantuariensis Archiepiscopi, totius Anglie Primatis,et apostolice sedis legati nati, necnon ad serenissimos in OhristoPrincipes Philippum et Mariam Angh'e Eeges, et universumAnglie Eegnum, sanctissimi domini nostri Pape, et eiusdemapostolice sedis, etiam de latere legati, Vicarius in spiritualibusgeneralis, et officialis Principalis, rite et legitime constitutus;—Dilecto nobis in Christo, Thome Twisden, aliasBede,diacono Can-tuariensis dioceseos, diornis sancti Benedict! professori, Salutemin auctore salutis. Literas commissionales dicti Eeverendissimipatris, sigillo suo ad facultates, in quadam capsa stannea, cerarubea, cum filis sericis coloris rubri, incluso sigillatas, ac per te

1 Both the seal and a facsimile of the autograph were engraved for Mr.Streatfeild, and are given, by the same favour as the former and largerseal, in our Third Volume, I. o.


nobis presentatas nuper, cum omni reverentia debita recepimus,sub eo qui sequitur verborum tenore.

[Here tlie Dispensation is cited verbatim as above.]Quantum quidem literarum commissionalium onus, ob tanti

reverendissimi patris committentis honorem et reverentiam, innos assumentes, ac iuxta eorum continentia rite procedentes,Quia comperimus te prenominatum Thomam Twysden omnia etsingula, pro parte tua, prefato reverendissimo patri exposita et

• suggesta, in dictis literis conrm issionalibus contenta et specifi-cata, perpetrasse et cotnmisisse, ac de eis ex ammo dolere, etapertis lacrimis ea deplorare, (cognita in te vera et non ficta autsimulata penitentia);—Igitur, te prefatum Thomam (primituSde peragendo penitentiam, a nobis, pro commissis et delictistuis in dictis literis commissionalibus expressatis, rite et salu-briter tibi iniurictam, ad sancta dei evangelia per te corporalitertacta rite iuratum) a quibusvis excommunicationis, suspencionis,et interdict!, aliisque ecclesiasticis sententiis, censuris, et penis,a Jure vel ab homine, quavis premissorum occasione, latis etpromulgates, etiamsi eas per plures annos sustinueris, et in eisinsordueris, Necnon scHsmatis et apostasie reatu, et excessibusper te premissorum occasione incursis, in utroque, conscientiescilicet, et contentioso, foro, auctoritate apostolica nobis in hacparte commissa, harum serie, plenarie absolvimus et libera-mus; teque unitati ecclesie restituimus-, et aliorum Ohristifidelium consortio aggregamus. Necnon tecum (de cuius viteac morum honestate, literarum scientia, aliisque laudabilibusprobitatis et virtutum meritis, ex fidedignorum testimonioinformamur)—super irregularitate per te quavis premissorumoccasione contracta, quodque ilia et premissis non obstantibus,—omnibus, tarn minoribus, quam sacris subdiaconatus et diaco-natus (rite tamen et recte) susceptis ordinibus uti, et ad sacrumpresbyteratus ordinem (alias tamen rite et recte) ascendere, et(donee regularia loca restaurata fuerint, et alias ad Sedisapostolice beneplacitum) extra loca regularia hujusmodi innonesta toga presbyteri secularis remanere, et alicui Beneficioecclesiastico curato (de illud obtinentis consensu) deservire,—ac domos, fandos, et alia bona immobilia, secundum legesprovisa auctoritate Parliament! nuius incliti Eegni Anglienuper de facto editas, per te acquisita, et que de presentiretines, non tanquam propria, sed tantum in Tim-mi ad tui sus-tentationem concessa, administrare,—libere et licite possis et

HISTORY 01 THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. 59

valeas, eadem auctoritate apostolica nobis in hac parte com-missa iuxta omnem vim, formam, et effectum literarum commis-sionalium hujusmodi, misericorditer in domino dispensamus; acomnem inhabilitatem, et infamie maculam sive notam, ex pre-missis circa te quomodolibet insurgentem, a te penitus abole-mus, Teque in pristinum, et in eum in quo ante premissaquomodolibet eras, statum plenarie restituimus, reponimus, etredintegramus, premissis, ac regula de insordescentibus, aliis-que constitutionibus et ordinationibus apostolicis, ceterisquecontrariis nori obstantibus quibuscunque.

Volumus autem quod tu de fructibus ex bonis hujusmodiprovenientibuSj qui necessitatibus tuis supererunt, pauperibuselemozinas facias, seu eos in alios pios usus convertas, superquibus conscientiam tuam coram altissimo oneramus,—Quod-que bona prefata post mortem tuam prefato monasterio deBattell, vel religioni, aut in aliquem pium usum, arbitrio Ordi-narii tui pro tempore existentis, applicentur. In cuius reitestimonium Sigillum ArcMepiscopale dicti Eeverendissimipatris presentibus est appensum. Datum vicesimo die mensisMaii, anno domini millesimo, quingentisimo, quinquagesimo,.septimo.

[Appended is the same official seal, as that to the licenceto act as executor to William Twysden's will, describedabove.]

VII.

1584. The Nuncupative Will of Thomas Twysden, of Wye.

THE wordes which Maister Thomas Twysden spake last in thehearinge of us whose names are underwritten, weare thes,—viz,—"I wooll my nephew Tuisden shoulde be my executor,"Uppon hearinge of which wordes by me Bycharde Deringe, Icalled Mr. Roger Twisden and Mr. Charles Scott, and toldethem what he had saide;—and, after some other wordes, IEycharde Dearinge spake unto the saide Thomas Twisden, inthis sorte,—viz,—" Then it is your will, that my brother" Twisden shoulde be your executour, and administer your" goodes ". ?—he answered, " Tea ":—And this is the effecte


(as farr as we remember) that then was spoken, abowte threedales before his deathe.1

RYCHARDE DERINGE.CHARLES SCOTT.

Probatum fuit piis suprascriptu testafa nnncupativum coramMagro Matheo Bourne cKco deputato nro in hac pte Itime con-stitute undecimo die mensis Aprilis anno dni MiUimo quin-gen° octogesimo quarto Juramentis Oharoli Scott armigeri etThome Chapman testiu in hinoi testa0 nominatoru.— Onuscjjexecutionis eiusdem commissum est Rogero Twisden executoriin suprascripto testamento nominate—pmitus in gsona magriJohannis Bdwardes no™ pubci eius procurator rite et Itime jurat,de bene et fideliter gimplend dcu testamentu.—In cuius reitestimoniu sigillu offitii nfi pntibus apponi fecimus. Datum,die mense et anno dni pdcis.

[Appended is the official seal, with this inscription '' Sigillumofficialitatis archiepiscopi Oantuan."—Under the central deviceis " 15. S L. 81."]

(Copied literatim from the original probate etc. at Boydon Hall—•January 27,1834.—L. B. L.)

THE above documents were placed in my hands by ourlamented friend Mr. Larking, that I might connect andillustrate them for our Annual Volume. They relate toa family which has to his friends a twofold and peculiarinterest; for he, whose portrait of the great Sir RogerTwysden is among the most precious of the works withwhich he enriched our pages, was also allied to thatfamily in the dearest relations of life.

1 Pedigraio matter to be collected from the above "Will and Probate.

Thomas Twysden, Probate to Will, Twysden11 April, 1584. 3 ~

Boger Twjsden, Executor, a daur=Bichard Bering.

HISTORY OF THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. • 61

Roger Twysden, of Wye, married in 1536 Jane,daughter of Christopher Cooper, and had two sons;William, whose marriage with Elizabeth, heiress ofThomas Roydon, of Roydon Hall in East Peckham,made him the possessor of that estate, which till thememory of our older readers was the principal seat ofthe family; and Thomas, the subject of these lines, whobecame a Benedictine monk in the Abbey of Battle.At this period the destination of a second son, in whomthe military propensity was not largely developed, was,naturally the Church, either in its regular or secularestablishment; and the great Abbey " De Bello " pre-sented not only the advantage of a near neighbourhoodbut of a close connection with the town of Wye, his re-sidence, the manor of which was among the earliestproperties of the Great Norman Monastery. Such afoundation offered a worthy retreat to the younger mem-bers even of the greatest families, while the depressedestate of the secular clergy, whose best endowmentswere absorbed by the Monastic Orders, presented butlittle attraction.1 Thomas Twysden does not appear tohave proceeded beyond the order of the deaconate, whenthe long-threatened blow fell upon the Monastic systemin England, and after the significant warning given bythe suppression first of the alien and then of the lesserpriories, the great Abbey of Battle was added to the" spolia opima " of the Augmentation Office.

In order fully to appreciate the documents whichrelate to our secularized Benedictine, who had withbecoming regard to his Saxon name, taken "in re-ligion " the designation of " Thomas Bede," we oughtto endeavour, if possible, to realize the position of amonk thus forcibly emancipated from the three great

1 The Synod of Mentz in 1261 complains that few churches in Germanycould support their parish priests, so completely had the monks absorbedtheir revenues.


vows which constitute the monastic obligation. Thegreat and paramount vow of Chastity might, of course,be obeyed under any circumstances, and without any ofthe restraints of conventual life. But the two remain-ing vows, those of Poverty and Obedience, would be-come impossible in a state in which the very efforts tosubsist must create the dreaded evil of " property," andthe absence of a monastic superior must render obe-dience impossible. In such a case the "forum conten-tiosum" would clearly assert the great principle of alllaw, " No one is bound to an impossibility," thoughthe conscience would hardly be able to acquiesce in itsdecision; and the only remedy of a conscience thusperplexed would be the Dispensing power. We areaccustomed to abuse the system of dispensations whichprevailed in the Mediaeval Church, and regarding themas the " step-mothers of law" and the " wounds of law,'as they are popularly termed by their adversaries, toforget that in the case of a bad law or an unlawful vowthey are rather the remedy than the disease,—that theywound in order .to heal. The more enlightened casuistryof the modern Roman Church would hardly affirm thenecessity of a dispensation to hold property in a case inwhich it had become impossible not to hold it. Thecivil law rules "Hei impossiUlis nulla est obligatio" andour own great Bishop Sanderson affirms accordingly," cessante voti materia, cessat simul ejusdem obligatio"1

And here, as the subject matter of the oath was gone,viz. the support stipulated by the community, and therule exercised by the superior, the obligation wouldnaturally fail also. A clear parallel is presented to us inthe case of a monk expelled from a convent, which hasbeen much discussed by later Roman casuists. PopeBenedict puts it thus:—"Theologians and canonistshave greatly disputed whether those cast out of a re-

' De Juramenti Obligatione,' Prsel. vii. •

HISTORY OF TflE TWYSDBN FAMILY. 63

ligious order are bound by the fundamental vows ofreligion,—namely, chastity, poverty, and obedience;" andhe concludes that " though they are bound by the vowof chastity, the two other vows must be greatly mode-rated in practice. For the vow of poverty which mightbe kept in the cloister could not be kept where the sup-port of daily life is to be obtained; nor yet obedienceto a superior when any one is expelled from the bodyand society of the order over which he rules."1 Itwas unlikely, however, that such considerations shouldpresent themselves at this earlier period, and we cannotwonder that the released monk had recourse to the dis-pensing power, even though it had now devolved toheretical hands.

The Act of Parliament (25 Hen. VIII., cap. 21,)which resumed the dispensing power for the Crown,from which it had never been legally detached, isframed in the following terms:—" That the Archbishopand his commissary shall not grant any other licence,dispensation, faculty, etc., in causes unwont and notaccustomed to be had at Rome until your Grace,etc. . . . shall first be advertised thereof and determinewhether such licences shall pass or no ;"—" and if it bedetermined by your Grace . . . that dispensations, etc. inany such case unwont shall pass, then the Archbishop orhis commissary having licence of your Highness . . . shalldispense with them accordingly." (§ 5.)

This law which forms the basis of Cranmer's dispen-sation to .Thomas Bede, enabling him to acquire andhold property, and to become a secular priest, suggestsone or two preliminary questions which we will herepresent to the reader:—I. Was this one of the casesunwont which the Act refers to ? II. What was the ex-tent of the dispensing power then asserted for thePopes'? III. What was the extent of that claimed bythe Crown as succeeding to the dispensing., power ?

1 Benedict. XIV.; de Synodo Dicsces. 1. xiii., c. xi., sec. 20.


I. It does not appear that this was a case in whichthe preliminary permission of the Crown was sought, thewords of Cranmer merely referring to the Act of Par-liament in general terms, " ad infrascripta auctoritateparliamenti Angliee fulcitus" It was not, therefore, acase unwont, and indeed must have had at this timevery numerous precedents.

II. This reply leads us on to, and partly enables usto answer, our second inquiry, " What was at this timethe extent of the dispensing power of the Popes V Thewords of the Act point to a Roman usage much moremoderate than that usually assigned to the Popes, andindicate that the dispensing power exercised in Eng-land was far more restricted than is generally alleged.The Postillator on the " Summa"'of St. Raymond laysdown the principle that a dispensation is either a jurisrelaxatio or a juris dedaratio; and after stating thethree views in regard to the dispensing powers then pre-vailing, concludes this to be the soundest view: " Papanon habet posse nee auctoritatem in votum relaxandojus; quia id non est ei subjectum; habet tamen po-testatem quantum jus sibi dat; et ideo dispensare potestsecundum quod dispensatio est juris declaratio." Theidea of a "juris declaratio" depends, however, ulti-mately on the meaning which the oath may receive bymeans of the Papal interpretation and of the power to(in a manner) commute it by what is called by the de-cretalists the " recompensatio majoris <boni" In the ulti-mate dispensation of Thomas Bede by Cardinal Pole,it will be seen that it is granted on this ground. Cran-mer's on the other hand proceeds only on the groundof favour and personal merit, " ob tuorum exigentiammeritorum " — not a very satisfactory reason; for theonly merit which Thomas Bede could have possessedmust have been his faithful observation of his triplevow, for which the reward given him was simply the

HISTORY OS! THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. 65

permission to break it; which rather resembles theschoolboy's reward of a whole holiday for working veryhard at his lessons, than the recompense of a monk whois supposed to find his reward in the duty itself.

III. The third question we proposed, " How far wasthe dispensing power claimed by the Crown ? " is onewhich was argued with much eagerness in the dayswhen James II. began his alleged toleration under thepretext of his dispensing power. Among the manytracts which were written at that period on this sub-ject two may be mentioned on the side of the dis-pensing power which have considerable interest, thatof the famous Independent, Philip Nye,1 whose "thanks-giving beard" is celebrated in 'Hudibras,' and onewritten by "an eminent Minister of State, lately de-ceased," printed in 1688, and entitled 'The King'sright of Indulgence in Spiritual matters asserted.' This-writer affirms that "the Pope granted indulgence towhomsoever he pleased, and in any spiritual matterwhatever " at this time, and that the King was by theAct of Parliament " possessed and reinvested in his an-cient right," and so succeeded to this unlimited power.Such an assertion might have been true of the periodof the great schism when dispensations were in theworst state of corruption, but it is not true of the dis-pensing power as exercised in Rome in the days of thePoles, the Contarinis, and the Sadolets. The verywords " causes unwont, and not accustomed to be hadat Rome," sufficiently indicate the greater degree of re-straint which was then exercised; while the limitationof the " postillator," quantum jus siU dot, points to alimit of positive law, like that of the quantum de jurepoterimuts" of Cardinal Pole's dispensation.

' " The King's authority in dispensing with Ecclesiastical Laws assertedand vindicated by the late Ileverend Philip Nye, a Congregational divine."(London, 1687.)

VOL. VIII. 1?


We now proceed to examine these Dispensations moreclosely in regard to their bearing upon Thomas Becle'spersonal history.- The merits to which Cranmer refers,and on the ground of which he dispenses, could clearlyhave been none other than the attachment he had shownto the doctrines of the Eeformation, and the assistancewhich, as an influential member of a great monasticfoundation, he must have been so well able to give toits work. Accordingly Cardinal Pole describes him asschismati preefato consentieKS, and as guilty sc/tismatiset apostasies reatu.1

Now the modes by which this " Apostasia" is esta-blished are either " dimittendo tonsuram—accipiendouxorem—abjiciendo religionis vestem," or " redeundoad sseculum." The two latter charges constitutedThomas Bede's irregularity, Cranmer's dispensationtransferring him "ad sseculum," and permitting hisuse of the " vesture of a secular priest." But besidesthe "Apostasia"heis charged with schism. And hereit is very remarkable that no act of abjuration of theschism (which the older canonists assume to .be neces-sary in such a case) is required by Cardinal Pole as thecondition of reconciliation. Whether this is to beassigned to the fact, that the regularity of the legal pro-ceedings in the case of the English reformation madeabjuration dangerous in the face of the principles ofRoyal Supremacy which Mary herself never fully sur-rendered, or to the necessity of exercising the greatestdegree of prudence in the case of those who were volun-tarily re-entering the Church of Rome,—the practice is

1 The latter guilt is not, however, to be understood in the proper andordinary sense of apostasy, but in that of a departure from and relinquish-ing of, monastic life. Apostasy according to the decretalists is a threefoldcrime, or rather has three branches—infidelity (perfidia), disobedience,and irregularity. The case of Thomas Bede was simply one of " irregu-larity," 'gu& 'quis a statu sumptce religionis recedit- ' Summa Eaymundide Schismate,' lib. i. tit. vii. sec. i.

HISTORY OF THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. 67

certainly different from that which prevailed elsewhereat this time, and which has generally prevailed at a laterperiod.

Still more notable is the fact, that though ThomasBede had acquired such merits in the eyes of Cranmerand of the King, and had even been admitted to priest'sorders (as appears by Cranmer's own words), he is notcharged with heresy or required to recant any doctrineor teaching he may have been betrayed into during theeighteen years of his Reformed life. According to theprecedent of Berengarius, abjuration is the necessarypreliminary to reconciliation; and the fact that none ishere required, and that no formula or declaration offaith is imposed, lead us to conclude that the contro-versies between the churches in regard to doctrine werenot so seriously regarded then as they are now. Wehave referred to the facts that Thomas Bede hadtaken priest's orders in the reformed church, and thatthese are disallowed by Cardinal Pole, who only recog-nizes him as deacon, and permits him to ascend in duetime to the order of the priesthood. And here weapproach the delicate and difficult question, whichbelongs as much to the province of archaeology as tothat of dogma. Did the Church of Rome recognize theEnglish orders at this early period1? Now, here thedecretalists speak plainly when they affirm that "aheretical bishop who receives Episcopal Orders in thechurch can confer orders, but not the executive powerconveyed in them,"1 (i,e. jurisdiction), so that Cranmer'sordination having been in the church, it would seem thatthe orders conveyed by him should have been admitted ;and possibly.Cardinal Pole's denial of the priesthood ofThomas Bede may have had rather respect to jurisdic-tion than to order. Yet the fact must not be dissem-bled that one of Pole's articles of Visitation, in regard

1 'RofFredus Canonista, ap. Eaymund do Pennaforfc'lib.i.tit. v. sec. vi.


to the ministers of the church was this " An rite etrecte sint ordinati ?"' and though this may refer spe-cially to the many who were ordained non-episcopallyabroad, we cannot doubt that it extended to all who hadnot the Papal confirmation. For the Council of Trentwas unanimous on this point Avhen the Bishop ofAghadoe brought before it the case of the Englishorders, which (he asserted) had every element of a per-fect ordination but this—and the fathers are said tohave agreed with him in admitting the facts he alleged,and the conclusion to which he arrived, that the Papalconfirmation was an integral part of ordination, and thatthe absence of it invalidated the sacrament. It may besaid, indeed, on the other hand, that Cranmer had re-ceived the Papal confirmation in the fullest degree, towhich the reply is obvious that as the condition ofobedience on which it was given had failed, the privilegehad become voided also. In any case it would appearthat the orders Thomas Bede had received in theEnglish Church were not recognized by the Legate.

We now come to consider the secularized monk asexecutor to his brother's will. William Twysden diedon November 26th, 1549, and Cardinal Pope's dispen-sation is dated seven years after. This executorshipinvolved the carrying out of the various charitableand pious dispositions of the testator, and the guardian-ship and management of the property of the orphanchildren. As the monastic vow of poverty precludesboth the making of a will and the administration to one,this executorship of Thomas Bede constituted an import-ant feature of his " irregularity,"—which had also pro-ceeded so far that he had acquired a not inconsiderableproperty for himself, in lands, farms, etc.—in what man-ner it does not here appear. His reconciliation to theChurch under these circumstances, and the terms of his

1 ' Reginald! Poli do Reformatione Anglise Decrefc. XII.'

HISTORY OF THE TWTSDEN FAMILY. 69

dispensation, have obviously a suspicions character, andindicate an anxiety to secure the " temporality " at theexpense of his spiritual consistency, not to say sincerity.The condition which the Legate imposes, while itmercifully spares his life-interest, secures the "recom-pensatio majoris boni," by giving the reversion to theChurch; in the fond hope that the monasteries wouldsoon revive in all their glory, and that the returning ofa genial Roman summer would bring back the monasticorders in all their varied plumage to their now dese-crated nests. Vain hope! but one in which archaeolo-gists might well have shared.

The sin of possessing property or making a will involvesthe peril in the case of a monk of confiscation and a denialof Christian burial: " Eeligiosi qui testamentum condi-derunt tanquam rei criminis proprietatis Ecclesiasticacareant sepultura, et bona de quibus testati sunt . . .arbitrio Episcopi subjaceant."1 This, I think, accounts forthe nuncupative will, which is the last of these interest-ing documents. Although the dispensation of CardinalPole enabled Thomas Bede to administer to his bro-ther's will and to cai-ry out its dispositions, it does notappear to enable him to take anything under it, whilethe mandate to David Pole in the following year, recit-ing the dispensation, merely allows a sufficient sum tothe secularized monk for his sustentation, the rest goingto pious uses, and the whole after his death to theChurch. It must have been to avoid this ultimate dis-position of his earnings that he appointed his nephewTwysden to be his executor,—not as I conceive that hemight carry out any charitable trust, and in order toavoid its falling under the bar of a superstitious use, aswas the practice in more recent times; but as a universallegatee, named to carry out wishes which he must have

1 Fabio Frangipani, Abp. of Nazareth, ap. Van Esper' De Vitio Simonies,p. ii., c. iv,


been fully instructed in beforehand, though to put themon record would have been at once a violation of thelaw of the country, and of the much more flexible lawof Thomas Bede's own conscience. At the time of hisdeath, it would seem from the known tendencies ofthose who were with him, that he had again (in ameasure at least) conformed to the doctrines of theChurch of England. His near relations of the Deringfamily, who were early attached to the reformed doc-trine and the Elizabethan rule, seem to have been at hisdeath-bed; his "nephew Twysden" had married intothe family of Sir Thomas Wyatt, whose devotion to theProtestant cause was so fatal to him, proving that theentourage of Thomas Bede in his later days ratherconsisted of the followers of Cranmer than of Pole; andthat he left the " domos, fundos, aliague lona immobilia"to increase the " Augmentation Office " of Koydon Hall,rather than to tempt the greater Augmentation Office,which had swallowed up his earlier home.

Turning from the Monk to the Cardinal, we observeseveral noteworthy points in his dispensation, and themandate arising out of it. Eoman writers have notedthe title which is here given to Pole as a rare and oneof the earliest instances of the Pope's assigning a titlebelonging only to the deaconate, " Sanota Maria inCosmedin," to a Presbyter Cardinal,—a confusion evennow unfrequent. The earliest Cardinals took theirtitles from the Rioni or divisions of the City of Kome,signing thus, " Diaconus septimce Regionis " or "primes,"or otherwise. And as the learned Marco Lupi, Arch-priest of Bergamo, shews in his treatise " De Parocliisante Annum Christi millesimum" that there were nodistinct parishes in Eome before 1000, the titles musthave grown up later, and the origin assigned popularlyto the Cardinalate as representing the "parochialclergy " is evidently erroneous. They were rather the

HISTOEY OE THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. 71

Chapter of the patriarchal church living in community—•as our own canons were, until " prcebendte" were annexedto them.

From the title' of Pole we pass to consider his lega-tine office, and the authority under which he gives thisdispensation. The'office of "legatus natus," held bythe Archbishops of Canterbury, was little more thana title of honour, as was proved when ArchbishopChicheley contended' in vain for precedence againstCardinal Beaufort," who merely from his Cardinalateinsisted successfully on keeping the higher place. Theletter of Pope Eugenius IV., written to Chicheley fromthe Council of Florence to take him down from his highplace is, perhaps, the most curious specimen of thesnubbing of Lambeth by the Vatican which is to befound anywhere. But although the twofold legatineoffice is mentioned,—-that "de latere" denoting, asEugenius tells us, his belonging to the very body of thePope,—Pole dispenses in the first document as ordinary,and "quantum dejurepotuit" He recognizes the valid-ity of the Acts of Parliament under which ThomasBede held his new civil rights and pension {leges turn defacto editas), and appears to tread anxiously and deli-cately the dangerous ground from which parliamentaryauthority had withdrawn only to watch for the oppor-tunity of a return. The second dispensation and man-date addressed to the Vicar-General, as it has a muchlarger scope, goes on the ground of his legatine office,and as it belongs to the following year, indicates a surerfooting than the previous one. The paucity of thesecular clergy then in England seems to contradict thegeneral assertion that so preponderating a body ofecclesiastics accepted the change under Mary. Pole, inhis " Decrees of Reformation," confirms this greatdearth of clergy, and exhorts the bishops to let theirlivings remain vacant as short a time as possible,—'


complains that " the harvest is great, but the la-bourers few,"—and is anxious to provide " at least oneclergyman" to say Mass in each church " in a decentsurplice," for " vestments" were then out of thequestion.

The conditions of the reconciliation of the penitentform the next point of interest in the commission ofCardinal Pole to his Vicar. Thomas Twysden wasunder the excommunication " lotas sententice," andhence no monition was required, and no preliminarydenunciation. He has in this case, (as in the case ofheresy) to petition for absolution, to " declare his beliefin what the Church believes," and to give satisfaction" ad arbitrium superioris sm." ; What was the penanceenjoined him does not here transpire, but the specialconditions annexed to the reconciliation indicate it tohave been rather pecuniary than personal. The abso-lution granted by the Legate was of that kind whichthe canonists call plena, which enabled the recipient ofit to be promoted to the order of the priesthood. St.Eaymond de Pennafort lays down a fourfold division ofdispensations in case of heresy; and schism stands hereon the same footing. He terms it " semiplena""plena" "'plenior"and " pleni-ssima;" the first, in whichthe penitent is received in the order he possesses already•without hope of further promotion ; the second, whenhe is allowed to proceed to the priesthood and nofurther; the third, when he can ascend to a bishopric,and the fourth, when he can attain to every dignitywhatever.2 The second was the degree achieved byThomas Bede, whose dispensation enabled him merelyto- turn his English priesthood into a Roman one.Whether he ever did this there is nothing to enable usto determine. Certainly the chances were greatly

1 ' Decisiones Roto Romance Antique,' Lugd. 1519, p. 250.2 'Summae,' lib. i., tit. v., sec. vii.

HISTO'RY OF THE TWYSDEN FAMILY. 7E

against it; and the influences around him lead us toconclude that he died at a good old age, in the Eliza-bethan dispensation, probably a member of that"mixed communion" which until the fulmination ofthe Bull " Eegnans in Excelsis," broke it up, waslikely a tone time to have left the English church upto the days of its greatest trial, one and undivided.

We have now briefly noted the most interestingfeatures in these • almost unique family documents,which we present to the reader as copied from theoriginals by our lamented friend himself, and occa-sionally illustrated by his marginal notes and correc-tions. The writer is not aware whether the originaldocuments, which were beautifully executed and per-fectly preserved, are still in the possession of the family;but the perilous chances which attend upon such relicsmake it important. that so authentic and interesting acopy of them should be preserved, as he desired, inthese pages.

Kent Archaeological Society is a registered charity number 223382© Kent Archaeological Society

document disclosing a passage in the history of the ... - 1872/008-0… · nium sigillum nostrum...

Documents