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 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY to be served by one of the canons, being a priest, or another suitable secular priest removable at will, ' who shall reside continually in that church and undertake the cure of souls and serve the church as is due.' ^'* Before 1437 a vicarage was ordained.'''* The church of St. Botolph Alders- gate had been from time immemorial served by a vicar appointed by St. Martin le Grand, but in 1399 the rectory of the church was united and appropriated to the office of dean of that house. The dean was to appoint a suitable secular parish priest ""' removable at will, with a fit provision so that he could pay the episcopal and other dues. An interesting account of the taking possession of the church by the dean has been preserved. He went with witnesses to the church, and before the north door of the church a commissary publicly showed in the presence of the dean before some of the parishioners his commission and the royal letters and declared in English the reason of the appropriation. Immediately after the dean went into the church and crossed the high altar and touched the cloths placed on the altar with his hands and afterwards went to the belfry of the church and took the cords of the bells and rang them. Thence he went to the rectory and remained there for a time, thus talcing possession of the church and the rectory.^"' One of the most important and characteristic features of religious life in London during the 14th century was the chantry movement. ^"^ This form of devotion was far more common in London than in the country. An analysis of the wills in Dr. Sharpe's Calendar, with some additional matter from other sources,'"^ shows that from 1300 to 1402 there were founded in London on an average twenty-eight permanent chantries every ten vears.'*"* After the 14th century the movement rapidly declined;'"^ from 1403 to 1502 the foundations averaged twelve every ten years, and from 1503 to 1548 only thirteen were founded. Probably, however, to the numbers for this last i 50 years are to be added about sixty- eight chantries which appear in the chantry certificates or Valor and the date of the foundation of which at present is not known. '°° In addition to these chantries very many were founded by citizens at St. Paul's,'"^ and a few in other religious houses in London. These numbers exclude chantries for a limited number of years, of which the proportion to permanent chantries in the 14th century was about one to four, and one to five later, and also exclude chantries maintained by fraternities as far as it is possible to dis- tinguish them.^°* It was obviously unlikely, if not impossible, that so many chantries could be successfully maintained, and even before the end of the 14th century signs of this are shown. One difficulty in connexion with them was the fact that the property left by the original founder for the "' D. and C. St. Paul's, A. box 8, no. 95 ; Lond. Epis. Reg. Braybrook, fol. 197. "' Newcourt, Repert. i. ^*"' ' Parochialis capellanus.' '°' D. and C. Westm. Lond. B. parcel ii, pt. i ; Lond. Epis. Reg. Braybrooic, fol. 176 ; D. and C. St. Paul's, A. box 6, no. 829, 831. '"* For beginning of this movement see above. '»' Principally Pat. R., Ep:s. Reg., MSS. at St. Paul's, and Inq. a.q.d. '°* Excluding the years affected by plague, 1349-50, i 361-2. "" This was probably partly due to the increased strictness in the administration of the mortmain law. See Sharpe, Introd. to Cal. of Wills in Court of H us ting, i, Introd. p. xxxvii ; Cat. Pat. passim. '»' Chant. Cert. R. 34 ; Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 378 et seq. "" See under St. Paul's in ' Religious Houses.' '"' Contingent remainder bequests have been entirely disregarded unless other records show that they fell in. 205