IGNORANCE OF THE CLERGY IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 33, 14 November 1871, Page 3

IGNORANCE OF THE CLERGY IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

The tenth century, which presents one of the darkest periods of the Christian era, was an age of the profomulest ignorance, and of the most degrading superstition. Some who filled the highest situations in the church could not so mufch as read ; while others, who pretended to bo better scholars, and attempted to perform the public offices, committed the most egregious blunders. In Spain, books were become so scarce that one and the same, copy of the Bible, St. Jerome’s Epistles, and some volumes of ecclesiastical offices and martyrologies, served several monasteries ; and in the famous monastery of lona there seems to have been in the ninth century no other work, even of the fathers, than one of the writings of Chrysostom. Gennadius, a Spanish bishop, by his will, bearing date A.D. 953, bequeathed about 16 volumes of books to certain religious houses, with the express condition that no abbot should be permitted to transfer them to any other place, but that they should be kept for the monks of the monasteries specified in the will, who should accommodate each other as much as possible in the use of them. The will is subscribed by the king and queen, as well as by the bishops and other persons of rank. Wicliff says, that in his time there “ were many unable curates and kunnen not the Ten Commandments, ne read their Sauter, ne understood a verse of itand Edward lII’ complained to the Pope that “ the encouragements of religion were bestowed upon unqualified mercenary foreigners, who neither resided in the country nor understood its language.” Louis Beaumont, Bishop of Durham, was one instance among many of the necessity of Edward’s remonstrance. He was a very lame and illiterate French nobleman, so incapable of reading and spelling, that he could not, although he had studied them, read over the bulls announced to the people at his consecration. At the word “ Metropoliticfu,” he paused, tried in vain to repeat it, and at last said “ Soit pour dit,” (supposed that said). Then he came to “ In HSnigmate,” this puzzled him again. “ Par St. Lewis,” said lie, “il n’est pas courtois qui a escrit cette parole ici,” (by St. Louis it could be no gentleman who wrote this stuff), In the middle of the fifteenth century the study of the Scriptures was far from being general, and the most profound ignorance reigned amongst the major part of the clergy. Few of them, comparatively, were acquainted with the Latin, though constantly used in the offices of the church, whilst feasting and debauchery are declared to have becii their ordinary occupations. In 1448, Waynfiete, Bishop of Winchester, on the presentation of Merton Priory, in Surrey, instituted a rector to the parish of Sherfield, in Hampshire. The rector, however, previously took an oath before the bishop, that on account of his insufficiency in letters, and default of knowledge in the superintendence of souls, he would learn Latin for the two following years ; and that at the end of the first year he would submit himself to be exanmined by the bishop concerning his progress in grammar, and that if on a second examination he should be found deficient, lie would resign his benifice. Prior to the publication of the Greek Testament, by Erasmus, not a copy could be procured in all Germany ; and the original languages of the Scriptures were not only generally neglected, but the study of them was despised. Even Latin, the common language of their religious services, was so little understood by the monkish clergy that the most ridiculous mistakes were made by them, both in the performance of their offices and in their writings. An instance is related of one, who, instead of the usual form in ba2)tism, was accustomed to say, “ Baptizo te in nomine Patria et Filia, et Spiritus Sanctiof another, who, when he had received letters of recommendation for orders couched in these terms, “ Otto Dei gratia, rogat vestram clementiam, ut velitis istum clericum, conducere ad Yestrum Diaconum,” and was ordered to read the epistle, which was considerably abbreviated in the writing, was so totally ignorant of the Latin as to form the abbreviations into the following unmeaning words ; —“ Otto Dei gram, rogat vestram clam, ut velit istum clincmn clancum, converterc in vivum Diabolumand of a third, who, for “ Famulus Dei,” constantly repeated “ mulus Dei.” The grossest ignorance of the Scriptures prevailed, not only among the laity, but also among many of the clergy. Degrees in divinity were conferred upon those who had scarcely ever read the Bible ; and numbers of divines were far advanced in life before they had ever seen one. In the year 1510, the University of Wittenberg registered in its acts, Audrew Carolstad, afterwards one of the reformers, as being suflicientissiniu s, fully qualified for the degree of doctor, which he then received ; though he afterwards acknowledged that he never began to read the Bible until eight yeais after he had received academical honours. Albert, Archbishop and Elector of Mentz, having accidentally found a biblc lying on the table in 1540, opened it, and having read some passages, exclaimed, “ Indeed, I know not what book this is ; but this I see, that everything in it is against us.” Gerard Listrius, in his note on theMorne Encomium of Erasmus, says, “ I have known many doctors in divinity, as they were called, who have candidly acknowledged, that they were fifty years of age before they had read the Epistles of St. Paul and Musculus affirms, that prior to the Reformation, “ many priests and pastors had not so much as seen a bible.” Andrew Forman, Bishop of Murray, and papal legate for Scotland, being obliged to say grace at an entertainment which he gave to the Pope and Cardinals in Rome, blundered so in his Latinity, that his holiness and their eminences lost their gravity, which so disconcerted the bishop, that he concluded the blessing by giving, “ all the false carles to the devil, in nomine putris, fiilii, et sancti spiritus," to which the company, not understanding his Scottish Latin, said Amen.