labour of the Cistercian availed to bring barren and previously useless land into cultivation, there is something to be said in favour of these exemptions from ecclesiastical and state burdens, which the Popes were so zealous to confer upon him. It seems that the parson, who was unable to levy dues upon the original possessions of an exempt abbey, sometimes endeavoured to establish a claim for tithes, when the uncultivated land had been broken up, and had assumed the character of a novale, or newly tilled field. But the Popes met him here, and extended their protection over novalia, present and future, as well as over the other property of the abbey. We have heard,' writes Pope Alexander IV., and hearing, have been astonished, that though 'it has been conceded by our predecessors to the brethren of 'Rievaulx, and all others of the Cistercian Order, and confirmed 'by us, that they should not pay any tithes of that which they work with their own hands; nevertheless, some presume to extort tithes from them. We therefore command 'you, and all who are under your authority, that you do not 'presume to demand tithes from the said brethren of Rievaulx, 'or from any others of the Cistercian Order in your dioceses, 'neither for the newly cultivated lands, nor for any other lands 'which they work with their own toil, nor from the animals 'which they nourish.' Powerful and zealous protectors, indeed, were the Popes to these their favoured children. Another rescript given to Rievaulx exempted them from the force of Interdicts, and allowed them, when an Interdict was upon the land, to celebrate the divine offices with closed gates; protected from external interference, not only the monks, but also all their servants and dependents in distant granges, so that the laws of the land became powerless in the case of any who could plead employment by a Cistercian ; and even the greatest crimes could be committed with impunity if done under the ægis of this puissant name.1 The next year, after the foundation of Rievaulx, witnessed the commencement of the magnificent Abbey of Fountains. The circumstances under which this abbey, so glorious even in its decay, first took its rise, are extremely interesting, and introduce us to a curious chapter of monastic history in the twelfth century. Among the monasteries of the north none was more famous than the great Benedictine Abbey of S. Mary's, at York. Enriched by numerous benefactors, and reposing under the shadow of the metropolitan church, the members of this house might well be objects of envy to their less favoured brethren in other places. But prosperity and affluence had produced their usual effects on the brethren of 1 Dugdale, vol. v. pp. 283, 284. S. Mary's. They had become negligent and careless. They passed their time in amusement and recreation, gossiping together, instead of religiously carrying out the requirements of their rule, and addicted themselves to 'luxurious dishes, a great variety of pleasing drinks, and a costly fineness of apparel.' This state, however, which well satisfied the majority, did not approve itself to all in the monastery as the most perfect carrying out of the rule of S. Benedict. When the monks of the new Order came to Rievaulx, and accounts reached York of their austere interpretation of the same obligations, the consciences of some at S. Mary's were touched. Thirteen monks, with the prior at their head, agreed to endeavour to imitate the good example set them by the Cistercians, and not seeing how they could carry out their proposed austerities at S. Mary's, they decided upon quitting their pleasant abode, and seeking out a retired spot to commence a Cistercian house. The abbot, however, an aged man, and not very learned,' could not see the force of their scruples. When he heard of their intention he violently opposed it. The reforming monks applied to Archbishop Thurstan, and he at once espoused their cause. He came to the monastery with his train of secular dignitaries, to remonstrate with the abbot, but was met in a way he did not expect. The abbot violently opposed his entrance, and with his monks behind him did not scruple to apply actual force to the Archbishop's train. In fact there was a regular battle within the gates of the abbey, and the Archbishop was obliged to retreat, carrying with him, however, the thirteen malcontents whom their brethren were trying to seize, and incarcerate in the dungeons of the abbey. These monks were now thrown upon the Archbishop's hands, and he was obliged to provide for their maintenance. At length he bethought him of a suitable spot for the zealous brethren to commence their new life, and conferred upon them a place never inhabited in former times,―a 'place overgrown with thorns, among steep mountains and 'jutting rocks, more fitted for the lairs of beasts than for the use ' of man.' Some might find a difficulty in reconciling this description with the fair meadows which surround Fountains, but here, at any rate, the monks were placed, without a building to shelter them, or any of the conveniences of life. They lodged under a spreading elm tree, until they had erected their first rude dwellings, and at once solemnly joined the Cistercian Order, sending messengers to S. Bernard at Clairvaux, to ask him to receive them as his children. Their request was gladly granted by the saint, who directed to their abbot, Richard, his letters of encouragement, while he also praised the Archbishop for his efficient protection of the brethren, and censured the abbot of York for his carnal opposition to the zeal of his children. A monk, named Walter, was despatched from Clairvaux to Fountains, to teach the brethren how to live according to the Cistercian use. But great were the difficulties of the new monastery. The brethren almost perished from famine, and were obliged to cook herbs and the leaves of trees for their support. But they persevered heroically, and soon gifts began to be heaped upon them by the faithful. In five years time the Abbey of Fountains was sending forth its off-shoots, of which it soon was able to count up a goodly number. But how long did this Cistercian house, begun in so much zeal, preserve its character for self-denial and asceticism? In the time of King John, we find that Fountains could contribute (unwillingly enough, no doubt), 1,200 marks to the king's Exchequer; and towards the end of the thirteenth century, we find the Archbishop of York writing to the visitors of the Čistercian Order, to denounce the misconduct and extravagance of the monks of Fountains, who, it seems, were in difficulties from over building, a result which we can hardly wonder at when we gaze upon the majestic ruins of the abbey. At the dissolution, the estates of Fountains were valued only at £1173 of yearly value, but when we glance over the lists of their hundreds of manors, the catalogue of their plate, valued even at that day at £708; the account of their animals, which exhibits 2,356 horned cattle, 1,326 sheep, 86 horses, their vast stores of corn and hay ; or think of their buildings, extending over no less than twelve acres of ground, we may well imagine that the original poverty of the Cistercian was not long persevered in by the dwellers in this noble establishment.1 Among the earliest off-shoots from Fountains was the Abbey of Melsa, or Meaux, the chronicles of which have been edited by Mr. Bond. From the Waverley Annals we find that the date of the foundation of Meaux was 1136.2 So that the date given in Dugdale is erroneous. The account of the foundation of this abbey introduces us to yet another cause of origin of those great religious houses which once covered our land in such rich abundance. Rievaulx was due to the grief and penitence. of a bereaved father. Fountains sprang from the goodly zeal and earnestness of certain monks, who could not reconcile their lax practice with the strict requirements of their rule. Meaux was one of those instances of composition or bargaining for salvation, which are among the most grotesque features of mediæval religionism. William the Fat, Count of Albemarle and Lord of Holderness, 1 Dugdale, Monasticon, vol. v. pp. 286-314. had lived probably much as other Norman barons of his day, and could not point to any very great amount of good deeds as a set off against his sins. He determined, therefore, to make all straight by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. But he had put off the proposed expedition year after year, until at length old age had crept upon him, and the rotundity of body, which gave him his name, had become more and more troublesome. He did not see his way to the fulfilment of his vow, and doubtless those about him heard a good deal of this annoyance; and among others it came to the ears of brother Adam, a monk of Fountains. Adam had been one of the seceders from S. Mary's, York, but his original monastery was Whitby, from whence he had gone to York. We may gather from these frequent changes that he was somewhat of a restless spirit, and now he saw an opportunity for another change, and for gaining a more influential and important position. Accordingly brother Adam went to the Count of Albemarle, and suggested to him that, instead of endeavouring to perform his vow of pilgrimage, he should compound for it by founding an abbey of the Cistercian order. In that case he undertook to procure for him a complete absolution from his vow from the Pope. This, Adam knew would be no difficult matter, as S. Bernard was all powerful with Pope Eugenius, his pupil, and willing and able to procure any concession for the Cistercians. The Count readily consented to the arrangements, and bade brother Adam choose from his broad domains in Yorkshire, a spot for the abbey. Accordingly the monk started on his quest, and after careful search pitched upon the spot called Melsa, where was a pleasant hill, and abundance of wood and water, and a soil of great fertility. The Count was in despair when he heard of the selection. He had taken a great fancy to this spot, and was just preparing to make it a park for preserving game. Adam, however, would not abandon his choice, and the Count, mindful of his awkward vow, had to yield. Here then he built a large plain structure for the brethren, and Adam and his companions from Fountains established themselves, working diligently with their hands, and astonishing the country people, 'For the stolid population 'wondered at these folks in cowls, at one time busied in the 'divine offices, and at another occupied in rustic works." The Cistercians were doing in fact the same work that the modern colonist has to do, only with this difference—the monks, if they failed in their cultivation, had only to fall back on another monastery or on the offerings of the faithful-the colonist, if he fails, has no friendly order to support him, but must, in reality, not in word, stand or fall by his own exertions. This consider 1 Dugdale, Monasticon, vol. v. p. 391. ation may help us to set at their true value the constantly recurring laudations of the toil, privations, and heroism of the Cistercians, because they preferred the active labours of the field to the tedious monotony of the cloister. That the brethren did not always care to continue the struggle with nature in the barren and wild spots which they chose for their settlements, is shown by the early history of Ford Abbey in Devonshire, founded in the same year as Meaux (1136). Twelve monks and an abbot had gone forth from the monastery of Waverley, at the invitation of Richard, Lord of Oakhampton, and had settled themselves on his domain at Brightley. Here buildings had been erected for them, but they found the place barren and unimprovable, and after five years they abandoned it. In the mean time the Lord Richard had died, and his sister Adelicia had succeeded him in his property. This lady beheld, one day, with astonishment, the monks of Brightley walking in solemn procession with a cross borne before them, on their way back to their old abode of Waverley. Having questioned them, and been told of their purpose, struck with contrition, the lady instantly offered them her rich manor of Ford, through which they were at that moment passing, with her manor-house and its offices, in exchange for the barren lands of Brightley. The Cistercians were not too self-denying to accept the offer. They established themselves comfortably in the mansion of their pious patroness, until, after a period of six years, suitable buildings had been erected for them on their new property. At this period the Cistercian order was by a long interval the leading and most popular order in Europe. S. Bernard reached the summit of his enormous influence, when, as preacher of the crusade, he beheld first a King of France, and then an Emperor of Germany, prostrate before his feet, and all S. Bernard's influence was readily used for the advancement of his beloved order. Thus it was doubtless owing to his representation to the Pope, that the grey brothers of the order of Savigny became in 1146, at the Council of Rheims, formally incorporated into the Cistercians, and adopted their use. order had already one great abbey in England-Furness in Lancashire; founded at that spot by Stephen, Count of Mortaigne, in the year 1127. When Serlo, the fourth abbot of Savigny, formally surrendered his abbey to the Cistercians and S. Bernard, he also surrendered with it all its affiliated houses. But the abbot of Furness was by no means satisfied with this arrangement. Probably it seemed to him more dignified and more respectable to be the chief representative 1 Annales de Waverlçiâ, p. 232, This |