WESTMINSTER
598
WESTMINSTER
manuscripts stop sliDit :it 1300. From 1259, where
Matthew l^aris ends, it i)ossesses considerable his-
torical value. The compilation for 1259-65 was made
at St. Albans; from 1265-1325 it bears evident signs
that the various writers who contributed to it lived
at Westminster. The chronicle was printed for the
first time by Archbishop Parker in 1567 and was at-
tributed by him, following Bale and Joscelin, to
"Matthewof Westminster". It was re-edited by
Luard for the Rolls Series in 1890 with an introduc-
tion containing the fullest investigation of the genesis
of the work.
Madden. Historia Anglorum of Matthew Paris in R. S.. Ill (London. IS66-9); H.\rdy, Catalogue of Materials for British His- tory in R. S., Ill (London. 1862-71); Hunt in Diet. Nat. Biog., 8. v., Westminster, Matthew, based upon Luard, whose explana- tions are now generally recognized.
Herbert Thurston.
Westminster Abbey. — This most famous of all Enghsh abbeys is situated within the precincts of the Royal Palace of ^\ est minster, like HoljTood in Scot- land and the Escurial in Spain. Its site, on the north- ern side of the River Thames, a mile or two above the ancient City of London, was formerly known as Thorney or tlie Isle of Thorns. The date of the foundation of the abbey is quite uncertain. The Venerable Bede (d. 736) does not mention it, but an early and long-received tradition ascribes it to Sebert, King of the East Saxons, who likewise founded St. Paul's, London. The date given is 610 and the church is said to have been miraculously consecrated by St . Peter himself. But though this is mere legend, invented probably in the thirteenth century, it is tolerablv certain that the monastery existed as early as the eighth century, for it is in a charter of King Offa, dated 7S5, that it is first called ^yestminster, to distinguish it apparently from the minster of St. Paul's to the east. There is also extant a tenth cen- tury charter of King Edgar in which the boundaries of the abbey property are defined, and according to William of >Ialmesbury, St. Dunstan brought twelve Benedictine monks from Glastonburj' to Westminster about 960, though the authenticity of this statement has been doubted.
At any rate, whatever the beginnings may have been, it is quite certain that there was an important church standing, and a community of Benedictines in existence at Westminster, when Edward the Confessor began to build in 1055. Of this first Saxon church and monastery no traces remain, and even its plan and site are for the mo,st part conjectural. During his exile in Normandy Edward had vowed to make a pil- grimage to Rome if he should regain his throne. The pope absolved him from this vow on condition that he built or restored an abbey in honour of St. Peter, and this condition Edward fulfilled at Westminster, his friend Edwin being abbot at the time. The earlier buildings were demolished to make way for the new choir and tran.septs, which were finished and con.se- cratedin 1065, afewdaysbefore the king'sdeath. The monastery was planned for seventy monks, but the actual number seems never to liave been more than aboutfifty. Thenaveof the cluirch was begun in 1110 and completed about 1163 when the Confessor's relics were translated, on his canonization, to a stately shrine in the middle of I he choir. Early in the thirteenth cen- tury a large eastern lady-chapel was substituted for the small semi-circul.ar one behind Edward's high altar, and this was consecrated in 1220. The growing needs of the community and the constant stream of pilgrims to the tomb of the miracle-working Confessor soon necessitated further changes, and, aided by the munificence of Henry III, a period of great building activity set in. The demohtion of the Norman church began in 1245, and during the next thirty years the whole of the eastern part of the church, to- gether with about half the nave, was rebuilt, and the
shrine of St. Edward was moved to its present posi-
tion in the apse behind the high altar. The abbots
during this period were Richard Crokesley and Rich-
ard Ware. The death, however, of Henrj' in 1272, a
disastrous fire in 1298 which consumed the whole of
the monastic buildings, and the "Black Death" in
1349, which carried off Abbot BjTcheston and twenty-
six of his monks, so drained the resources of the abbey
that all building operations ceased for nearly a cen-
tury. Under Abbot Litlyngton (1362-86) the con-
ventual parts were rebuilt, after which the western
bays of the nave were taken in hand. Progress was
slow, however, and the nave was not finally completed
until 1517, whilst the western towers were not added
until the eighteenth century. In 1.502 Henry VH
commenced the beautiful eastern lady-chapel which
bears his name and was intended by him to enshrine
the remains of his uncle Henry \T. Robert Vertue
was the architect and his work is far in advance of any
other contemporary building. Its wonderful fan-
vault has never been surpassed either in beauty of
design or in the daring skill displayed in its actual
construction. In this chapel stands the tomb of its
pious founder who died in 1.509.
As regards the internal history of Westminster, it must have been much like any other large and im- portant monasterj' of the same period and apparently full of life and vigour. The "Customary", drawn up by Abbot Ware (1258-84), supplies us with the details of the daily life of the monks, but, apart from this, the clo.se proximity of the abbey to the royal palace, the fact of its being under direct royal patronage, as well as its possessing a noted shrine much visited by pil- grims, combined to bring it prominently into the re- hgious and civil life of the nation. The abbots were important personages with seats in the House of Lords. Their position enabled them to foster learning and the arts. The first printing-press in England was set up within the monastic precincts by Cax-tqn in 1477 under the patronage of Abbot Esteney. Simon Langham (1349-62) deserves mention because of his being the only Abbot of Westminster to become a cardinal. He was successively Bishoji of Ely, Arch- bishop of Canterbury, Lord High Treasurer, and Lord Chancellor, and finally Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina. For many years he devoted large annual sums of money towards the building expenses of his old abbey, and, at his death in 1376, he bequeathed the greater part of his fortune for the same purpose. He was buried at Westminster, in St. Benedict's Chapel, where his tomb may still be seen.
In 1539 the monastery was suppressed and the monks, then less than thirty in number, were dis- persed, being rejjlaced by a dean and twelve preb- endaries, who acknowledged the royal supremacy. William Boston, or Benson, the last .ibbot, became the first dean. In 1.540 the abbey was made the cathedral church of a new see, Thomas Thirlby being the first and only Protestant Bishop of Westminster. ■Ten years later" this bishopric was suppressed. In 15.56 Queen Mary restored Westminster to the Bene- dictines and Dr. ,Tohn Feckenham (q. v.">, who had been professed at Evesham before the dissolution, was made abbot. He was the last mitred abbot to sit in the House of Lords. On the accession of Queen Eliz- abeth in 1.5.59, the monks were again ejected from Westminster and superseded by a Protestant dean and chapter, which arrangement has continued down to the present day. Westminster Abbey is desig- nated a "Roval peculiar", its officials are appointed by the Crown, and the abbey itself is extra-diocesan, that is, exempt from the jurisdiction of tlie Bishop of l/ondon in whose diocese it is situated. This exi-mp- tion from episcopal jurisdiction was first obtained by Abbot Crokesley (1246-58) and has been perpetuated under the Protestant ri'^gime. The riglit of sanctuary was enjoyed by Westminster from Norman times, and
