RELIGIOUS HOUSES The priory was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and the name most commonly given to it was ' Holy Trinity in the Wood.' It seems to have been destroyed by fire almost as soon as built ; for Matthew Paris asserts that Abbot Geoffrey built the house twice from the foundation. 1 The later story says that Christine had great influence with the abbot, and often gave him good advice ; which may well have been, without the in- tervention of any ghosts. 3 There is happily no doubt of her real existence, as her name appears on the foundation charter and other documents ; 3 and an entry on the Pipe Roll of 1 1 56* gives some evidence of the fame to which she attained. During her lifetime the priory acquired some property outside the county ; 6 there were certainly four churches belonging to it in the thirteenth century, and possibly more. But it was never a wealthy house. In 1259, 8 wnen the Friars Preachers came to Dunstable, the prioress of Markyate, Agnes Gobion, sent them a certain number of loaves every day for their dinner — • out of pure charity,' says the chronicler, because they were then building their church. But her kindness was ill requited, for when the im- mediate necessity was past, the friars would not allow her to withdraw the dole ; they sent to Rome and had it confirmed to them for ever. 7 This grant would not probably be in itself a heavy burden to the priory; but there is no doubt that the nuns had some difficulty in maintaining themselves during the second half of the thirteenth century. Debts began to press heavily ; and in 1290 they sent a petition to Parliament 8 to say 1 Matth. Paris, Gesta Abbatum (Rolls Series), i. 95. This is not part of the later story. a Geoffrey's name appears as a witness on the foundation charter. He had been master of the school at Dunstable before he was abbot (ibid. p. 73), and the neighbourhood of Markyate must have been quite familiar to him before Roger went there. 3 Cott. Ch. xi. 36.
- ' In blado quod rex dedit domino Cristinx
de Bosco l sol.' Robert, the eighteenth abbot of St. Alban's, on a visit to Rome, presented to the English pope, Adrian IV., some of the workman- ship of Christine — three mitres and a pair of sandals embroidered by her (Matth. Paris, Gesta Abbatum [Rolls Series], i. 127). 6 Cott. Ch. xi. 36. Deddington, Oxon. 8 Matth. Paris, Gesta Abbatum (Rolls Series), i. 387. 7 ' Let this be a warning to others,' adds the chronicler, ' to take more care, and to cast forth the serpent from their bosom, before it can do them any further harm.' It seems strange that there is no allusion to this in the Annals of Dunstable. 8 Dugdale, Mon. iii. 368. that if they were to pay all that they owed (more than two hundred marks) they could not possibly live. The relief they asked was not granted, but perhaps they found some other way out of their troubles, for the priory continued to exist. But its poverty was noticed by the bishop in 1 332. 9 The number of nuns in 1406 was twelve, 10 and in 1 43 3 there were a prioress, sub- prioress and nine nuns 11 ; it is probable that the revenue would never have supported more. The priory had a warden or master in 1323, 12 like many other nunneries at that time. There are records of several visitations of this house in the episcopal registers. In 1297 13 it came under the notice of Bishop Sutton. He had heard that the apparitor of Dunstable had cited 'certain persons of both sexes living in the priory of Markyate ' for immorality, whereby these persons had been defamed, and the house had incurred scandal. Evidently the bishop thought the evidence against them insufficient, for he ordered the archdeacon to see that they were not further molested. It seems improbable from the description that the persons alluded to were religious : they were perhaps boarders taken in during the great necessity of the house. At about the same time the prioress and convent were ordered to repair the chan- cel of one of their appropriate churches. 14 In 1300 Bishop Dalderby 15 visited the mon- astery in person to explain the statute of Boni- face VIII., De Claustura Monialium, and found the nuns at first ready to accept it ; but when he had concluded his visit, and turned to go, four of them broke away from the rest and followed him to the outer gate, declaring that they would not observe it. Like a wise man, he did not stop then to argue the matter, and went on his way to Dunstable ; but the next day he returned to Markyate, inquired the names of the four refractory nuns, and put the whole convent under penance on their ac- count, threatening to excommunicate them if the statute were not observed. But this was not the only house where the bishop had difficulties in enforcing this statute. In 1323 18 a visitation by the warden and the vicar of Kensworth was ordered by Bishop 9 Line. Epis. Reg., Memo. Burghersh, 242d. 10 Ibid. Inst. Repingdon, 288 (1406) : twelve nuns present at an election. 11 Ibid. Memo. Grey, 149. u Ibid. Memo. Burghersh, 118. 13 Ibid. Memo. Sutton, 173. 14 Ibid. 125 (1296). 16 Ibid. Memo. Dalderby, iod. la Ibid. Memo. Burghersh, 118.
