The custom to which has been assigned the post of honour is of remarkable4 and various interest. It takes us back to a remote past, when the English, actuated by new-born fervour, sent the torch of faith to their German kinsmen5, still plunged6 in the gloom of traditional paganism; and it was fated to end when the example of those same German kinsmen stimulated7 our countrymen to throw off a yoke8 which had long been irksome, and was then in sharp conflict with their patriotic9 ideals. It is foreign to the aim of these antiquarian studies to sound any note of controversy10, but it will be rather surprising if the beauty and pathos11 of the custom, which is to engage our attention, does not appeal to many who would not have desired its revival12 in our age and country.[1] Typical of the thoughts and habits of our ancestors, it is no less typical of their place and share of the general system of Western Christendom, and in the heritage of human sentiment, since reverence13 for the dead is common to all but the most degraded races of mankind. That mutual14 commemoration of departed, and also of living, worth was not exclusive to this country is brought home to us by the fact that the most learned and comprehensive work on the subject, in its Christian15 and medi?val aspects, is Ebner's "Die Klosterlichen Gebets-Verbrüderungen" (Regensburg and New York, 1890). This circumstance, however, by no means diminishes—it rather heightens-the interest of a custom for centuries embedded16 in the consciousness and culture of the English people.
First, it may be well to devote a paragraph to the phrases applied17 to the institution. The title of the chapter is "Leagues of Prayer," but it would have been simple to substitute for it any one of half a dozen others—less definite, it is true—sanctioned by the precedents18 of ecclesiastical writers. One term is "friendship"; and St. Boniface, in his letters referring to the topic, employs indifferently the cognate19 expressions "familiarity," "charity" (or "love"). Sometimes he speaks of the "bond of brotherhood20" and "fellowship." Venerable Bede favours the word "communion." Alcuin, in his epistles, alternates between the more precise description "pacts21 of charity" and the vaguer expressions "brotherhood" and "familiarity." The last he employs very commonly. The fame of Cluny as a spiritual centre led to the term "brotherhood" being preferred, and from the eleventh century onwards it became general.
The privilege of fraternal alliance with other religious communities was greatly valued, and admission was craved22 in language at once humble23, eloquent24, and touchingly25 sincere. Venerable Bede implores26 the monks27 of Lindisfarne to receive him as their "little household slave"—he desires that "my name also" may be inscribed29 in the register of the holy flock. Many a time does Alcuin avow30 his longing31 to "merit" being one of some congregation in communion of love; and, in writing to the Abbeys of Girwy and Wearmouth, he fails not to remind them of the "brotherhood" they have granted him.
The term "brother," in some contexts, bore the distinctive32 meaning of one to whom had been vouchsafed33 the prayers and spiritual boons34 of a convent other than that of which he was a member, if, as was not always or necessarily the case, he was incorporated in a religious order. The definition furnished by Ducange, who quotes from the diptych of the Abbey of Bath, proves how wide a field the term covers, even when restricted to confederated prayer:
"Fratres interdum inde vocantur qui in ejusmodi Fraternitatem sive participationem orationum aliorumque bonorum spiritualium sive monachorum sive aliarum Ecclesiarum et jam Cathedralium admissi errant, sive laici sive ecclesiastici."
Thus the secular36 clergy37 and the laity38 were recognized as fully39 eligible40 for all the benefits of this high privilege, but it is identified for the most part with the functions of the regular clergy, whose leisured and tranquil41 existence was more consonant42 with the punctual observance of the custom, and by whom it was handed down to successive generations as a laudable and edifying43 practice importing much comfort for the living, and, it might be hoped, true succour for the pious44 dead.
In so far as the custom was founded on any particular text of Scripture45, it may be considered to rest on the exhortation46 of St. James, which is cited by St. Boniface: "Pray for one another that ye may be saved, for the effectual fervent47 prayer of a righteous man availeth much." St. Boniface is remembered as the Apostle of Germany, and when, early in the eighth century, he embarked48 on his perilous49 mission, he and his company made a compact with the King of the East Angles, whereby the monarch50 engaged that prayers should be offered on their behalf in all the monasteries51 in his dominion52. On the death of members of the brotherhood, the tidings were to be conveyed to their fellows in England, as opportunity occurred. Not only did Boniface enter into leagues of prayer with Archbishops of Canterbury and the chapters and monks of Winchester, Worcester, York, etc., but he formed similar ties with the Church of Rome and the Abbey of Monte Cassino, binding55 himself to transmit the names of his defunct56 brethren for their remembrance and suffrage57, and promising58 prayers and masses for their brethren on receiving notice of their decease. Lullus, who followed St. Boniface as Archbishop of Mayence, and other Anglo-Saxon missionaries59 extended the scope of the confederacy, linking themselves with English and Continental60 monasteries—for instance, Salzburg. Wunibald, a nephew of St. Boniface, imitating his uncle's example, allied61 himself with Monte Cassino. We may add that in Alcuin's time York was in league with Ferrières; and in 849 the relations between the Abbey and Cathedral of the former city and their friends on the Continent were solemnly confirmed.
Having given some account of the infancy62 or adolescence63 of the custom, we may now turn to what may be termed, without disrespect, the machinery64 of the institution. The death of a dignitary, or of a clerk distinguished65 for virtue66 and learning, or of a simple monk28 has occurred. Forthwith his name is engrossed67 on a strip of parchment, which is wrapped round a stick or a wooden roll, at each end of the latter being a wooden or metal cap designed to prevent the parchment from slipping off. After the tenth century, at certain periods—say once a year—the names of dead brethren were carried to the scriptorium, where they were entered with the utmost precision, and with reverent68 art, on a mortuary roll.
The next step was to summon a messenger, and fasten the roll to his neck, after which the brethren, in a group at the gateway69, bade him God-speed. These officials were numerous enough to form a distinct class, and some hundreds of them might have been found wending their way simultaneously70 on the same devout71 errand through the Christian Kingdoms of the West, in which they were variously known as geruli, cursores, diplomates, and bajuli. We may picture them speeding from one church or one abbey to another, bearing their mournful missive, and when England had been traversed, crossing the narrow seas to resume their melancholy72 task on the Continent. At whatever place he halted, the messenger might count on a sympathetic reception; and in every monastery73 the roll, having been detached from his neck, was read to the assembled brethren, who proceeded to render the solemn chant and requiem74 for the dead in compliance75 with their engagements. On the following day the messenger took his leave, lavishly76 supplied with provisions for the next stage.
Monasteries often embraced the opportunity afforded by these visits to insert the name of some brother lately deceased, in order to avoid waiting for the dispatch of their own annual encyclical, and so to notify, sooner than would otherwise have been possible, the death of members for whom they desired the prayers of the association.
Mortuary rolls, many examples of which have been found in national collections—some of them as much as fifty or sixty feet in length—contain strict injunctions specifying77 that the house and day of arrival be inscribed on the roll in each monastery, together with the name of the superior, the purpose being to preclude78 any failure on the part of the messenger worn out with the fatigue79, or daunted80 by the hardships and perils81, of the journey. The circuit having been completed, the parchment returned to the monastery from which it had issued, whereupon a scrutiny82 was made to ascertain83, by means of the dates, whether the errand had been duly performed. "After many months' absence," says Dr. Rock, "the messenger would reach his own cloister84, carrying back with him the illuminated85 death-bill, now filled to its fullest length with dates and elegies86, for his abbot to see that the behest of the chapter had been duly done, and the library of the house enriched with another document."
One of the Durham rolls is thirteen yards in length and nine inches in breadth. Consisting of nineteen sheets of parchment, it was executed on the death of John Burnby, a Prior of Durham, in 1464. His successor, Richard Bell, who was afterwards Bishop53 of Durham, and the convent, caused this roll, commemorating87 the virtues88 of the late Prior and William of Ebchester, another predecessor89, to be circulated through the religious houses of the entire kingdom; and inscribed on it are the titles, orders, and dedications90 of no fewer than six hundred and twenty-three. Each had undertaken to pray for the souls of the two priors in return for the prayers of the monks at Durham. The roll opens with a superb illumination, three feet long, depicting91 the death and burial of one of the priors; and at the foot occurs the formula: Anima Magistri Willielmi Ebchestre et anima Johannis Burnby et anim? omnium defunctorum per Dei misericordiam in pace requiescant.
The monastery first visited makes the following entry: Titulus Monasterii Beat? Mari? de Gyseburn in Clyveland, ordinis S. Augustini Ebor. Dioc. Anima Magistri Willielmi Ebchestre et anima Johannis Burnby et anim? omnium defunctorum per misericordiam Dei in pace requiescant. Vestris nostra damus, pro35 nostris vestra rogamus. The other houses employ identical terms, with the exception of the monastery of St. Paul, Newenham, Lincolnshire, which substitutes for the concluding verse a hexameter of similar import. It is of some interest to remark that, apart from armorial or fanciful initials, the standing92 of a house may be gauged93 by the handwriting, the titles of the larger monasteries being given in bold letters, while those of the smaller form an almost illegible94 scrawl95. The greater houses would have been in a position to support a competent scribe—not so the lesser96; and this is believed to have been the reason of the difference.
Almost, if not quite, as important as the roll just noticed is that of Archbishop Islip of Westminster recently reproduced in Vetusta Monumenta.
After the tenth century it appears to have been the custom in some monasteries, on the death of a member, to record the fact; and at certain periods—probably once a year—the names of all the dead brethren were inscribed on an elaborate mortuary roll in the scriptorium, before being dispatched to the religious houses throughout the land.
The books of the confraternities are divisible into two classes—necrologies and libri vitae. The former are in the shape of a calendar, in which the names are arranged according to the days on which the deaths took place; the latter include the names of the living as well as the dead, and were laid on the altar to aid the memory of the priest during mass. Twice a day—at the chapter after prime and at mass—the monks assembled to listen to the recitation of the names, singly or collectively, from the sacramentary, diptych, or book of life. The most famous English liber vitae—that of Durham—embraces entries dating from the time of Edwin, King of Northumbria (616-633), and was compiled, apparently97, between the devastation98 of Lindisfarne in 793 and the withdrawal99 of the monks from the island in 875. In the first handwriting there are 3,100 names, a goodly proportion of them belonging to the seventh century. As has been already implied, various degrees are represented in the rolls of the living and the dead—notably, of course, benefactors100, but recorded in them are bishops54 and abbots, princes and nobles, monks and laymen101, and often enough this is their only footprint on the sands of time. The name of a pilgrim in the confraternity book of any abbey signifies that he was there on the day mentioned.
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purporting
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| v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的现在分词 ) | |
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pertaining
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| 与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to) | |
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culls
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| n.挑选，剔除( cull的名词复数 )v.挑选，剔除( cull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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kinsmen
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| n.家属，亲属( kinsman的名词复数 ) | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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precedents
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| 引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例 | |
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cognate
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| adj.同类的，同源的，同族的；n.同家族的人，同源词 | |
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brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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pacts
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| 条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约 | |
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craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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touchingly
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| adv.令人同情地，感人地，动人地 | |
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implores
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的第三人称单数 ) | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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avow
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| v.承认，公开宣称 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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distinctive
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| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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boons
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| n.恩惠( boon的名词复数 )；福利；非常有用的东西；益处 | |
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pro
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| n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者 | |
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secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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laity
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| n.俗人；门外汉 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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consonant
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| n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的 | |
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edifying
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| adj.有教训意味的，教训性的，有益的v.开导，启发( edify的现在分词 ) | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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45
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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46
exhortation
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| n.劝告，规劝 | |
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fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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48
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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defunct
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| adj.死亡的；已倒闭的 | |
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suffrage
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| n.投票，选举权，参政权 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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adolescence
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| n.青春期，青少年 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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requiem
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| n.安魂曲，安灵曲 | |
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compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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lavishly
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| adv.慷慨地，大方地 | |
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specifying
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| v.指定( specify的现在分词 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性 | |
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preclude
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| vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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83
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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cloister
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| n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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86
elegies
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| n.哀歌，挽歌( elegy的名词复数 ) | |
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87
commemorating
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| v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 ) | |
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88
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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89
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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90
dedications
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| 奉献( dedication的名词复数 )； 献身精神； 教堂的)献堂礼； （书等作品上的）题词 | |
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91
depicting
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| 描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述 | |
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92
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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gauged
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| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
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illegible
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| adj.难以辨认的，字迹模糊的 | |
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95
scrawl
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| vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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98
devastation
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| n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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100
benefactors
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| n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人 | |
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101
laymen
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| 门外汉，外行人( layman的名词复数 )； 普通教徒（有别于神职人员） | |
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