tive bishop of London. She states that she endows. it, with "the gate of Aldgate, with the soc* belonging to the same, which was my lordship, and two parts of the revenue of the city of Exeter; and I command that the said canons hold their lands, and all belonging to their church, well and peaceably, honourably and freely." This priory was exempted from all jurisdiction excepting "to the church of St. Paul and the bishop," and became in a few years so popular with the citizens, that gifts and endowments flowed abundantly into its treasury; while, in 1125, "certain burgesses gave unto the church and canons," says Stowe, "all the lands and soc belonging to Knighten Guild," now Portsoken. The result of this liberal endowment was, that the prior of Holy Trinity became alderman of that ward; and from that time to the reformation, he "sat in court, and wente with the mayor, clothed in scarlette;"‡ it is, however, added (for the cut of the habit was very important in these times), "saving that the habit was in shape of a spiritual person."

The example of the queen seems to have been willingly followed by many of the noble and wealthy, and numerous were the hospitals and religious establishments erected during her reign. Among these, in addition to those already mentioned, may be added. the names of Cirencester, Hyde, and subsequently Reading, all founded by the king, who, although never remarkable for devotional feeling, seems to have found himself obliged, in compliance with the + Vide Monasticon. ↑ Stowe.

* Stowe.

general taste of the times, to found and endow religious houses. Godstowe, also, afterwards a celebrated nunnery, was founded about this time.

But among those most distinguished for the splendor of their foundations, Jordein Brisset, and Muriel his wife, must not be passed over; for to their munificence the northern suburbs of London owed two of their noblest structures. These were the house of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and the priory, dedicated to "our Lady and St. James," of the nuns of Clerkenwell.

Of this nunnery, which, placed on a commanding eminence, looked over the north-west portion of London, while it was sheltered to the north-east by the wide forest of Middlesex, little need be said; save that it was not merely endowed by the founder and his wife, who took up their last abode in the church, but by their two daughters; nor was the patronage of monarchs wanting; for Malcolm, king of Scotland and brother to the queen, bestowed on it "seven-score acres of land, a grant of firewood, and pannage for ten hogs at Hangre, near Tottenham." But the other foundation claims more enlarged notice, since it became the principal establishment of this kingdom, of an order that ultimately, as knights of St. John, of Rhodes, and of Malta, "continued to be, for seven centuries, the sword and buckler of Christendom in the Paynim war."

Among the many and singular characteristics of the middle ages-characteristics which present so much that is picturesque-those institutions which combined the functions of the priest and the war

rior, and spread over the surcoat of the knight the scapular of the monk, seem most striking. Of these, three, from the celebrity of their members, and their widely spread influence, were pre-eminent-the Hospitallers, the Templars, and the Teutonic knights. To the earliest formed of these warrior confraternities, the largest date of political existence was allowed; and the knight of St. John could trace the history of his order, from the year 1050, (when the two small hospitals at Jerusalem, for the reception and succour of Christian pilgrims, were placed under the patronage of St. John the Almoner,) even to the close of the 18th century.

Up to the period of the first crusade, the idea of grasping the lance, and unfurling the banner of the White cross, seems never to have occurred to the humble and self-denying brethren of the hospital. In feeding the stranger, re-clothing the naked, tending the sick, consoling the dying, and burying with Christian rites those pilgrims who were to lay their bones in the far-off land of Palestine, their lives were past; nor, until Raymond du Puis "formed the chivalrous project of combining the duties of the monk with those of the soldier, by giving a martial constitution to the establishment," did a dream of power and glory arise to their minds. Previously to their recognition as a military order, Pope Paschal II. had taken the brethren of the hospital under his especial protection, exempting their property from tithes, and conferring on them the privilege of electing their superior, independently of all ecclesiastical or secular jurisdiction. It seems

to have been about this period, that delegates from that order arrived in England, where they were received with great respect; Jordein Brisset providing them a house, and adding a rich endowment of lands, and many others following his example. The name of the first master of the Commandery (for so the establishments of the Hospitallers were called) was Gerard de Neapoli; and it is probable that, in the first instance, the brethren as well as the master were all foreigners.

These warrior monks, for priests they never were, were divided into three classes, or bands, all differing in birth, rank, and profession. The first class consisted of men of Patrician ancestry and high military station; the second of priests; and the third of serving brothers. The first class, or knights of justice, were appointed to bear arms, and monopolized the dignities of the order. The priests or chaplains performed the offices of religion, both in church and camp, and ministered in the hospital to the sick and destitute. The serjens, or half knights, served either in the field or in the infirmary, as was required; and, in after-times, they contributed greatly to enhance the glory and power of the order. No_candidate could be received into the first class unless he were of noble extraction; but it was not required of the priests, or serving brothers, to produce proofs of gentilitial descent. The latter, however, enjoyed many honourable privileges in common with the knights; and when their utility became better known, a certain number of Commanderies were especially reserved for them.

At his profession each brother took the usual monkish vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty; and the knights farther solemnly engaged to advance the true faith, and defend with their swords the Christian name. Their peculiar dress was a black robe, worn above the mail, with a white cross of eight points fastened on the left breast, and their banner bore the same cross upon a red field. Although England never had the honour of seeing a grand master of the order elected from among her knight-hospitallers, yet they were for many centuries a powerful and influential body; their estates. were numerous, their establishment at Clerkenwell vied in extent and magnificence with the royal palaces, and the grand prior took his seat in the upper house of parliament.

Such were the principal religious foundations which had their origin in the reign of Maude, whose example not improbably stimulated many of her court to imitation, since, during the earlier half of this century, an almost incredible number of convents were founded.

Whatever objections have been raised against monastic establishments, their claim of having carefully preserved all the learning which the age possessed, is allowed even by their most bitter impugners; while the general benefit they conferred on their immediate neighbourhoods, by the acknowledged superiority of their agriculture, and by the extensive aid afforded to the lower classes, are proved, not merely by the testimony of contemporaries, but by the imperative establishment of a system of poor