the beginning of the year 1375, he likewise constituted him his attorney, together with the Earl of Arundel, to appear and act for him in any of the courts of England, during his absence at the Congress of Bruges.

cese.

SECTION III.

Ecclesiastical affairs during the same time.

Though Wykeham was so deeply engaged in affairs of state, and so much taken up in his personal attendance upon the King, yet he was not in the mean time wanting to his episcopal function, or remiss in the care of his dioWhile he was administrator of the See, he acted only by his commissary-general, John de Wormenhale. When he was in full possession of the bishopric, one of the first things that required his attention, was the care of the episcopal houses and buildings of all sorts, which his predecessor had left very much out of repair in general, and many of them in a ruinous condition. The buildings belonging to the Bishops of Winchester, were at this time very large and numerous: besides a great many granges, parks, warrens, and the like, they had ten or twelve different castles, manor-houses, or palaces of residence, properly accommodated for the reception of themselves and their retinue; to all which, in their turns, they usually resorted, living according to the custom of those times, chiefly upon the produce of their own estates. So great a demand as the Bishop had upon his predecessor's executors for delapidations, could not very soon or very easily be brought to an accommodation: however, the account was at last settled between them without proceding on either side to law. In the first place, they delivered to him the standing stock of the Bishpric, due to him by right and custom: namely, 127 draught-horses, 1556 head of black cattle, 3876 wethers, 4777 ewes, 3521 lambs: and afterwards for delapidations, in cattle, corn, and other goods, to the value of £1662. 10s. sterling. The Bishop made a further demand of 700 marks, as still due to him, and allowed upon account; which Edyngdon's executors acknowledged and promised to pay. This matter was finally settled Feb. 6, 1371-2. The Bishop immediately set about this great work of repairing all the episcopal buildings, in such a manner as might have been expected

from one of his generous spirit, and of his skill and experience in architecture. To supply himself with the best stone in sufficient quantity, he purchased the use of the stone quarries of Quarrer Abbey in the isle of Wight, which were formerly much in repute, though now, for many ages, disused and neglected. The Abbot engaged to assist him as general director aud surveyor of these preparations; and the Bishop wrote circular letters to all the ecclesiastics of the island, both regular and secular, to desire them to send in as many workmen, carriages, and other necessaries for the work, as they could supply him with, at the demand and according to the direction of the Abbot; all to be defrayed at his own expence. In these repairs of the episcopal houses, together with several new buildings raised by him upon the estates of the Bishopric, he expended in the whole above 20,000 marks. În the year 1373, the Bishop held a visitation of his whole diocese ; not only of the secular clergy through the several deaneries, but also of the monasteries and religious houses of all sorts, all which he visited in person. The next year he sent his commissioners, with powers to correct and reform the several irregularities and abuses which he had discovered in the course of his visitation. Some years afterward, the Bishop having visited three several times all the religious houses throughout his diocese, and being well informed of the state and condition of each, and of the particular abuses which required correction and reformation, beside the orders which he had already given, and the remedies which he had occasionally applied by his commissioners, now issued his injunctions to each of them. They were accommodated to their several exigencies, and intended to correct the abuses introduced, and to recal them all to a strict observation of the rules of their respective orders. Many of these injunctions are still extant, and are evident monuments of the care and attention with which he discharged this part of his episcopal duty.* The Bishop was warned by the great abuses which he

[Lowth here gives a long and very minute account of the foundation and constitution of the Hospital of St. Cross, near Winchester; but as this does not come within the scope of the present work, and is a total digression from Lowth's subject, though valuable in itself, I have been obliged to omit it. The curious reader may refer to Lowth, p. 72, or to the Regist. Wykeham and MS. in New Coll. whence the account is compiled.-EDIT.J

had seen at St. Cross, to keep a more watchful eye upon other charities of the same nature. While he had that affair upon his hands, he held a visitation of the hospital of St. Thomas, Southwark; still proceeding upon the constitution of Clement V. Afterwards he visited the hospital of Sandon in the county of Surry. Whatever irregularities he might find there, he met with no resistance to his authority. At the same time that Wykeham was thus engaged in the reformation of these charitable institutions, he was forming the plan of a much more noble and extensive foundation of his own, and taking his measures for putting it in execution. He had long resolved to dispose of the wealth which the Divine Providence had so abundantly bestowed upon him, to some charitable use and for the public good; but was greatly embarrassed when he came to fix his choice upon some design that was like to prove most beneficial, and least liable to abuse. He tells us himself, that upon this occasion he diligently examined and considered the various rules of the religious orders, and compared with them the lives of their several professors: but was obliged with grief to declare, that he could not any where find that the ordinances of their founders, according to their true design and intention, were at present observed by any of them. This reflection affected him greatly, and inclined him to take the resolution of distributing his riches to the poor with his own hands, rather than to employ them in establishing an institution, which might become a snare and an occasion of guilt to those for whose benefit it should be designed. After much deliberation, and devout invocation of the Divine assistance, considering how greatly the number of the clergy had been of late reduced by continual wars and frequent pestilences, he determined at last to endeavour to remedy, as far as he was able, this desolation of the Church, by relieving poor scholars in their clerical education; and to establish two colleges of students for the honour of God, and increase of his worship, for the support and exaltation of the Christian faith, and for the improvement of the liberal arts and sciences; hoping and trusting that men of letters and various knowledge, and bred up in the fear of God, would see more clearly, and attend more strictly to the obligation lying upon them, to observe the rules and directions which he should give them. Wykeham seems to have come to this resolution, and in some measure to havé

A

This general plan, as early as his becomchester: for we find, that in little more ater, he had made purchases of several in the city of Oxford, which make the he site of his college there. His college of intended as a nursery for that of Oxford, was ginal plan: for as early as 1373, before he any further in his design for the latter, he estabschool at Winchester, of the same kind with the and for the same purpose. He agreed with Rich. OD, that for ten years, beginning from Michaelmas year above-mentioned, he should diligently ct in grammatical learning, as many poor scholars Bishop should send to him, and no others without cave; that the Bishop should provide and allow him proper assistant; and that Herton, in case of his own uess, or necessary absence, should substitute a proper Wykeham's munificence proceeded always from 4 oustant generous principle, a true spirit of liberality. It was not owing to a casual impulse, or a sudden emoou, but was the effect of mature deliberation and prudent choice. His enjoyment of riches consisted in employing them in acts of beneficence; and while they were increasing upon him, he was continually devising proper means of disposing of them for the good of the public: not delaying it till the time of his death, when he could keep them no longer, nor leaving to the care of others what he could better execute himself; but forming his good designs early, and as soon as he had the ability, putting them in execution, that he might have the satisfaction of seeing the beneficial effects of them; and that, by constant observation and due experience, he might from time to time improve and perfect them, so as to render them yet more beneficial.

SECTION IV.

His troubles in the last year of Edward III.

WHILE Wykeham was pursuing these generous designs, and was now prepared to carry them into execution, he was on a sudden attacked by a party formed against him at court, in such a manner, as not only obliged him to

lay them aside for the present, but might have reduced him to an inability of ever resuming them.*

Upon the return of the Duke of Lancaster to power, after the death of the Prince of Wales, he procured articles of accusation to be brought against the Bishop, by certain persons whose names are not transmitted down to us, for divers crimes committed by him during his administration of affairs: these were exhibited against him about the beginning of the next Michaelmas term; and are in substance as follows. I. That after the peace was made with France, the Bishop had the disposal and management of all the King's revenues, both at home and beyond sea, with all the subsidies granted by Parliament, and the sums received for the ransoms of the King of France, of the country of Burgundy, and of the King of Scotland: which receipts, reckoning for 8 years, during the whole time that Simon Langham, late Archbishop of Canterbury, and John Barnard, Bishop of Ely, were treasurers of England, (namely, from Nov. 26, 1361, to the year 1369,) amouut to £1,109,600. sterling; besides 100,000 francs received from Galeazzo, Duke of Milan, and all the King's goods; which for the most part have not been applied to the profit of the King and kingdom. And when the peace had lasted 10 years, and the second war began, the King's treasury was found almost empty, and the King in great straits, was forced to burthen then his subjects with subsidies and loans and all this was owing to the bad management of the Bishop. II. That the said Bishop, without regard to God, or equity, or the laws of the realm, caused Matthew de Gourney, Thomas Fog, John Seyntlowe, Degory Lees, Robert D'Eues, and many others, who in the King's wars had behaved well against the enemy, to be fined and ransomed, to the inestimable damage of the King and kingdom, in that all the soldiers, when they heard of this misprision, entered into companies, and

[* Here Lowth has indulged in a long historial and political narrative, wholly unnecessary, except in reference to the art of book-making.-The object of his narrative, seems to be to connect Wykeham with the history of the period. But as every reader of English history is already conversant with the events of that period, I have with the less reluctance omitted the digression, and have passed on from p. 96 to p. 109, as it ought to be numbered, for there is a typographical error here in the paging of Lowth-what should be p. 109 purports to be 93.—EDIT.]