A HISTORY OF LONDON and reference has been found to eleven in religious houses in the City and Westminster/* The character of all these gilds was much the same ; that of St. Stephen in the church of St. Sepulchre is fairly typical. It maintained a chaplain to celebrate continually, and a light burning before the image of St. Stephen, and paid i^d. a week, to any member in poverty not through his own fault. Every brother had to be present at mass on St. Stephen's Day and offer at least a farthing. On the Sunday following they ate together, each at his own expense, wearing ' cowls of a suit.' When a brother died tapers were provided for his requiem mass, and three trentals of masses were sung ; every brother was bound to be present at the Dirige on pain of a fine." Out of twenty such fraternities attached to parish churches or religious houses sixteen were of this social and religious character, the remaining four appear to have been purely religious. That of St. Dunstan's in the East, one of the latter class, besides providing certain tapers, maintained, ' out of devotion to Our Lady and for the relief of the common people,' a priest to celebrate very early in the morning.^' This institution of a ' morrow mass,' as it was called, for the benefit of those who must begin work early, had become almost universal in London churches by the end of the 1 5th century, the priest who said it being sometimes supported, as in this case, by a gild, sometimes by a special endow- ment, sometimes by the parish." A few of the returns give inventories of goods belonging to the gilds, that of St. Giles including two vestments — festal and ferial — a missal, one pair of silver cruets, altar cloths, towels, and curtains for the altar." Probably the real reason for the foundation of all these gilds was that given by one at St. James Garlickhithe : ' For amendment of their lives and of their souls and to nourish more love between the brothers and sisters ; ' " but this end was attained by various means. One marked aspect of the fraternities was that of composite chantries, nearly every one of them having, or intending to have as soon as possible, a priest celebrating con- tinually for the good estate of the brethren in life and their welfare after death. Some which began by maintaining lights as they got richer went on to assist in providing services.*" The fraternity of Sa/ve Regina at St. Magnus, one of the largest in London, arose about 1354, when some of 'the better of the parishioners ' caused an anthem of Our Lady to be sung every evening, with five tapers burning, in honour of the five principal joys of Our Lady and to encourage people to devotion at that hour. Others soon wished to share this good work — a fraternity was formed with which was united that formerlv existing in St. Thomas's Chapel on London Bridge, and they together rebuilt the church of St. Magnus ' because it was too small to receive all the people and old and ruinous.'" " The references have been collected from the Gild Cert. ; Cal. of Wills enrolled in the Ct. of Husfin^ ,- Cal. Pal. and Parochial Records. A history of each fraternity will be given in the topographicnl section under the church to which it belongs. For those in St. Paul's see the account of that church. " Guildh.ill MS. 14.2, fol. 80. This MS. is a transcript of the Gild Certificates for London sent in reply to the royal writ of 1388, except those which are mutilated.
- ' Guildhall MS. 142, fol. 144. " Parochial Records and London Chronicles, Sic. passim.
'* Guildhall MS. 142, fol. 226. This list is not quite complete, as the MS. is torn. Cf. the longer list of goods delivered to the priest of the Grocers' chantry in St. Antholin's in 1398 ; Kingdon, Grocers^ Rec. "ji^. Toulmin Smith, Engl. Gilds, 3. " Cal. Pat. I 391-6, p. 392 ; I 399-1401, p. 284. " Guildhall MS. 142, fol. 18. 214
