Almighty, and to implore his blessing on the future harvest (24). 2. At the feast of St Martin, a certain quantity of wheat, sometimes of other grain, was offered on the altar as a substitute for the oblations of bread and wine which were formerly made by the faithful, as often as they assisted at the sacred mysteries. It was distinguished by the name of kirk-shot, and was assessed according to the rate of the house inhabited by each individual at the preceding Christmas. By the laws of Ina, whoever refused to pay it, was amerced forty shillings to the king, and twelve times the value of the tax to the church and during the next three centuries, though the latter of these penalties remained stationary, that which was paid into the royal treasury, progressively increased, till it amounted to three times the original sum (25). 3. Thrice in the year, at Candlemas, the vigil of Easter, and All-Saints, was paid the leot-shot, or a certain quantity of wax, of the value of one silver penny for each hide of land. The object of this institution was to supply the altar with lights during the celebration of the divine service (26). 4. The only fee, which the parochial clergy were permitted to demand for, the exercise of their functions, was the soul-shot, a retribution in money for the prayers said in behalf of the dead. By different laws it was ordered to be paid while the grave remained open, and to the clergy of that church to which the de

(24) `Id. p. 203, 288, 295, 302.

(25) Id. p. 59, 302. It was sometimes paid in fowls at Christmas. Spel. glos. p. 135.

(26) Wil. p. 203, 288, 302. The wax-shot, which according to Inett, (vol. i. p. 121,) is still paid in some parts of England, is probably a relic of this ancient custom.

ceased had formerly belonged (27). The aggregate amount of all these perquisites composed in each parish a fund, which was called the patrimony of the minster, and which was devoted to nearly the same purposes as the revenues of the cathedral churches. After two thirds had been deducted for the support of the clergy and the repairs of the building, the remainder was assigned for the relief of the poor and of strangers. In a country which offered no convenience for the accommodation of travellers, frequent recourse was had to the hospitality of the curate and in the vicinity of his residence a house was always open for their reception, in which during three days they were provided with board and lodging at the expence of the church (28).

(27) Id. 288, 302.

(28) Id. 102, 103, 253. We are frequently told that at this period the clergy were so intent on their own interest, that they seemed to have "comprised all the practical parts of christianity " in the exact and faithful payment of tithes," and the other dues of the church. Hume hist. c. 2. p. 57. Mosheim hist. sac. vii. par. 2, c. iii. To misrepresent is often a more easy task than to collect information. The Saxon clergy appear both to have known and taught the pure morality of the gospel. Their preachers sedulously inculcated that the first of duties was the love of God, the second the love of our neighbour. Loorpellice bebodu ur læɲaþ. 7 mýngaþ. þæt pe eallum mode eallum mægene. ærest God lupian purðıan. I sýððan uɲe nextan lurian healdan ɲpa rpa ur rylfe. Reg. Can. apud Wanl. p. 49. transcribe the original passages, but whoever is conversant with the works of Bede, Boniface, and Alcuin, with the Saxon homilies, and the liber legum ecclesiasticarum, (Wilk. p. 270,) must acknowledge, that the ingenuity of the most learned professor of the present day would find it difficult to improve the moral doctrines which were taught to our forefathers. See note B.

It were too long to

The Saxon princes, as they endowed the church with a plentiful revenue, were also careful to dignify it with the privileges which it enjoyed in all other christian countries. Of these the principal was the right of sanctuary; an institution, which however prejudicial it may prove under a more perfect system of legislation, was highly useful in the ages of anarchy and barbarism. Its origin is lost in the gloom of the most remote antiquity. The man who fled from the resentment of a more powerful adversary, was taught by his fears to seek protection at the altars of the Gods; and the Jewish legislator selected by the divine appointment six cities of refuge, in which the involuntary homicide might screen himself from the vengeance of his pursuers. As soon as Constantine the Great had enrolled himself among the professors of the gospel, the right of asylum was transferred by the practice of the people from the pagan to the christian temples: the silence of the emperors gradually sanctioned the innovation; and by the Theodosian code, the privilege was extended to every building designed for the habitation, or the use of the clergy (29). To this decision of the imperial law the Saxon converts listened with respect, and their obedience was rewarded by the numerous advantages which it procured. Though religion had softened, it had not extirpated the ancient ferocity of their character. They continued to cherish that barbarous prejudice, which places the sword of justice in the

(29) The motive of this extension was the indecency of permitting the fugitive to remain for several days and nights in the church. Hanc autem spatii latitudinem ideo indulgemus, ne in ipso Dei templo et sacrosanctis altaribus confugientium quenquam mane vel vespere cubare vel pernoctare liceat. Cod. Theod.

1. ix. tit. 45.

hand of each individual, and exhorts him to punish his enemy without waiting for the more tardy vengeance of the law (30). As their passions frequently urged them to deeds of violence, this system of retaliation was productive of the most fatal consequences. The friends of each party associated in his defence; family was leagued against family; and in the prosecution of these bitter and hereditary feuds, innocence too often suffered the fate which was due to guilt. On such occasions, the church offered her protection to the weak and the unfortunate. Within her precincts they were secure from the resentment of their enemies, till their friends had assembled, and either proved their innocence, or paid the legal compensation for their offence (31). It should however be observed, that the right of asylum, though it retarded, did not prevent the punishment of the guilty (32). After a certain time the privilege expired. The three days allotted by the laws of Alfred were successively extended to a week, to nine days, and lastly to an indefinite period, which might be shortened or protracted at the discretion of the sovereign: but when it was elapsed, the fugitive, unless he had previously satisfied the legal demands of his adversaries, was delivered to the officers of justice (33). Neither were the churches open to criminals of

(30) This prejudice was so inveterate among some of the northern nations, that by the Salic law, every member of a family who refused to join his brethren in the pursuit of vengeance, was deprived of his right of inheritance. Henault, Abreg. Chron. vol. i. p. 118.

(31) Wilk. leg. Sax. p. 15, v. 35, ii. iii.

(32) Templorum cautela, says Justinian, non nocentibus sed læsis datur a lege. Novel. 17, c. 7.

(33) Wilk. leg. Sax. p. 35, ii. 36, v. 110.

every description. The chance of protection was wisely diminished in proportion to the enormity of the offence. The thief who had repeatedly abused, at last forfeited the benefit of the sanctuary: and the man who had endangered the safety of the state, or violated the sanctity of religion, might legally be dragged from the foot of the altar to receive the punishment of his crime (34). There were, however, a few churches which claimed a proud pre-eminence above the others. To them their benefactors had accorded the extraordinary privilege of securing the life of every fugitive, how enormous soever might be his guilt, and of compelling his prosecutor to accept in lieu of his head a pecuniary compensation. Among these may be numbered the churches of York, Beverley, Ramsey, and Westminster (35); but none could boast of equal immunities with the abbey of Croyland. The monastery, the island, and the waters which surrounded it, enjoyed the right of sanctuary; and a line of demarcation, drawn at the distance of twenty feet from the opposite margin of the lake, arrested the pursuit of the officers, and ensured the safety of the fugitive. Immediately he took the oath of fealty to the abbot, and the man of St Guthlake might laugh in security at the impotent rage of his enemies. But if, without a written permission, he presumed to wander beyond the magic boundary, the charm was dissolved; justice resumed her rights; and his life was forfeited to the severity of the laws. When the monastery was rebuilt, after its destruction by the Danes, Edred offered to revive the an

(34) Ibid. p. 198, vi.

(35) Spelman's gloss. voce Fridstol. Monast. Ang. vol. i. p. 60, 236.