Studies in Church Life in England under Edward III [Paperback]

A detailed study of royal financial documents to reveal new understanding of the workings of the medieval English church.This 1934 work is an outstanding example of the mining of medieval administrative sources to reveal new aspects of social and ecclesiastical history. Wood-Legh discovers significant insights on the relationship of the English church with royal government at the time of the Black Death.This 1934 work is an outstanding example of the mining of medieval administrative sources to reveal new aspects of social and ecclesiastical history. Wood-Legh discovers significant insights on the relationship of the English church with royal government at the time of the Black Death.Studies in Church Life in England under Edward III was first published in 1934 as part of the Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought series. Wood-Legh has chosen five topics of church history which frequently occur in the Patent Rolls of Edward III. Chancery documents were valuable sources of information on aspects of the medieval church, but had seldom been systematically studied by church historians before this. The five essays cover royal administration of religious houses, the visitation of hospitals, the application of the Statute of Mortmain, chantry chapels, and the appropriation of parish churches by religious houses. All of these topics are then related to three themes, public opinion of the church, the effects of the Black Death on the church, and the relationship between the church and central government. The book is a splendid example of how administrative sources can shed light on all aspects of history.Preface; Introduction; 1. Royal administration of religious houses; 2. Royal visitations of hospitals and free chapels; 3. Alienations in mortmain; 4. Chantries; 5. Appropriation of parish churches; 6. Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.