ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY had to carry an image of St. Katherine in his hand, and do public reverence to it, both in the church and in the market ; he had to recite also an antiphon and collect of St. Katherine. 10 * About the same time the anchoress of St. Peter's, Leicester, was found to be guilty of holding heretical doctrines, and after an examination at St. James's, Northampton, was sent back to her cell with a penance. 105 But Knighton owns that these measures were not very effective ; the Lollards were silenced ' more from fear of the archbishop than from the love of God,' and their teachings were still cherished in secret. It seems, however, that in spite of their number, they were all of the lower classes, and had no favour among the county gentry. Among the clergy only a few stipendiary priests like Swynderby and Waytestathe were accused of heresy. It was the same in 1414 ; among the names of those pardoned for their share in the proceedings in St. Giles's Fields we find only such names as John Scryvener, Simon Carter, William Ward, ploughman ; Nicholas Selby, ironmonger ; with John Parlibien, chaplain of Mountsorrel ; and John Colson of Goadby, clerk. The places from which they came Kibworth Harcourt, Belton, Shangton show, however, that they were scattered all over the county. 108 In the same year one Thomas Novery of Illston purged himself of the accusation of Lollardy in St. Martin's, Leicester. 107 The Parliament which met at Leicester in 1414 issued a special statute against the Lollards, 108 and the bishop of Winchester voiced the general opinion of the church and state at that time when he said, ' No kingdom can exist in safety without due reverence for God and the law of the land, and both of these are endangered by the Lollards.' During the episcopate of Bishop Chadworth (1452-72), when strong measures were taken against heretics in the Thames Valley, there is no record of any prosecutions in Leicestershire. John Poultney of Misterton, a member of a family usually conspicuous for loyalty to church and state, was accused before the bishop in 1455 for refusing to pay tithes, withdrawing from confession and divine service, inciting others to do the like, and uttering divers speeches against the Christian faith. This, however, is a solitary case ; and it may have been only an episode in John Poultney 's life, for he died apparently at peace with the Church. 109 A proclamation was issued by Bishop Repingdon early in the century against a somewhat curious abuse, called the ' Glutton Mass,' in the arch- deaconry of Leicester. On the five feasts of our Lady, which were days of merry-making, parishioners of many churches had been wont to pay a priest 104 Here again the evidence of Courtney's Register (Wilkins, Concifia, iii, 211) corroborates Knighton's account in every detail. It is pleasant to note a touch of real humanity in the orders given by the archbishop for the carrying out of this humiliating sentence. The penitents were to appear clad only in a single linen garment ; but since the penance was to be done in November, and they might take hurt from the cold, their ordinary garments were to be put over them while they stood under the crucifix in the church, provided only that their heads and feet remained bare all the time. 105 Wilkins, Concilia, iii, 209 ; and Knighton. The position of an anchoress in a churchyard laid her specially open to the temptation of idle gossip. In 1346 an anchoress of Huntingdon was accused of introducing doctrines contrary to the catholic faith (Line. Epis. Reg. Memo. Bek, 84) j and an anchoress by St. Julian's Church, Norwich, was convicted of heresy, taught her by Latimer's friend, ' little Bilney,' under Henry VIII (Blomfield, Hist. ofNorf). 108 Rymer, Foedera, ix, 194 ; and Pat. 2 Henry V, pt. 2, m. I. Richard Monk, a chaplain convicted of heresy in 1428, said that he was born and bred at Melton Mowbray. Wilkins, Concilia, iii, 503. 107 Line. Epis. Reg. Memo. Repingdon, 117. loe Par!. R. iv, 24. >c * Line. Epis. Reg. Memo. Chadworth, I o. -His will at Somerset House directs that his body should be buried in the Carmelite church at Coventry, and he bequeathed small legacies to other friars. 367
