MICHAEL DE NORTHBURGH.

19

the Earl of Derby against the Flemings; and in 1339, when war was declared against the King of France, he was the first in the field. He is said to have outstripped all his fellow knights at Sluys; and all fought bravely on that memorable day. He also distinguished himself on several other occasions."

In 1347 Sir Walter was summoned to Parliament as a baron of the realm; and eight years after, he was admitted to the order of the Garter.

His wife, Margaret de Brotherton, granddaughter of Edward I., bore him a son and a daughter. Thomas, the former, was drowned in a well at Deptford; and the latter, whose name was Anne, became the wife of Lord Hastings, Earl of Pembroke."

Sir Walter de Manny continued to enjoy the royal favour, and was justly honoured and respected by all who knew him, until his death, which took place in 1372. His funeral and his will, forming a part of the history of the London Charterhouse, will be spoken of in another chapter.

Less is known of our other founder, Bishop Michael de Northburgh. He was a Dominican friar, and became chaplain to King Edward III. He appears to have accompanied his royal master in his foreign wars, and it is probable that he and Sir Walter de Manny were on terms of 1 Froissart, 70, 71, 79; Lingard, vol. iii. p. 64; Beltz' Memorials of the Order of the Garter, p. 110.

2

He became a benefactor of the Charterhouse. Infra,

intimacy. together. Be that as it may, the good Dominican was certainly aware of Sir Walter's affection for our Order; for his will with regard to the foundation could not have taken effect without the knight's co-operation. In 1355 De Northburgh became Bishop of London, and in 1361 he died.

Perhaps they visited a Charterhouse

The first mention of the Charterhouse was in the Bishop's will, by which he bequeathed the sum of two thousand pounds for the founding, building, and furnishing of a Carthusian monastery. Two thousand pounds was a large sum in those days. He also left some sacred vessels, a silver holy-water stoop, and a silver bell to the future monastery.

Our founders were doubtless fully aware of the assiduity of the Carthusians in praying for the faithful departed, which made the Charterhouse a foundation particularly well suited to the spot where so many thousands lay buried-so many thousands who had been hurried into eternity with hardly a moment to prepare themselves, and deprived of the last rites of the Church.

In 1370 the Carthusian Order took possession of the monastery and appointed a Rector,' who, when the buildings were completed, became the first Prior. We shall speak of him hereafter. The royal licence for the foundation was not granted until

1 Report of General Chapter, 1370.

2 Infra, Appendix i.

the 6th of February, 1371, and in it are mentioned the new monastery and twenty acres of land, including, no doubt, Hervey's Croft, which Sir Walter de Manny purchased in that year from the adjoining Priory of St. John of Jerusalem.1

We must now endeavour to describe the buildings of the new monastery. "St. Bede or St. Cuthbert," says Mr. Froude," "might have found himself in the house of the London Carthusians and he would have had few questions to ask and no duties to learn or to unlearn. The form of the buildings would have seemed more elaborate; the notes of the organ would have added richer solemnity to the services; but the salient features of the scene would have been all familiar. He would have lived in a cell of the same shape; he would have thought the same thoughts, spoken the same words in the same language." But an accurate notion of the Charterhouse cannot be gathered from these lines of Mr. Froude's. St. Bede or St. Cuthbert would indeed have known that he was in a monastery; but to become a Carthusian, he would have found a good many questions to ask, and plenty to learn and to unlearn; for every religious order has its special rules and customs, its proper way of building and furnishing its houses, and a spirit of its own. The length of the Great Cloister would have bewildered

1 Register of St. John's, preserved in the British Museum. 2 History of England, vol. ii.

him, and his cell would have differed considerably from that to which he had been accustomed. But he would not have found an organ, as Mr. Froude supposed, to add richer solemnity to the services; for instrumental music has always been forbidden. within the enclosure of a Carthusian monastery.

Where, then, shall we look for a description of the London Charterhouse? From the buildings which are still standing, the desired information could not be gathered, for the alterations have been too considerable. Even an old plan, still extant, drawn to show the position of the water-pipes, would hardly convey an adequate idea of the salient features of our monastery. We must turn, then, to another Charterhouse, and by analogy we shall be able to learn at least the chief characteristics of that of London; for all the houses of the Order resemble one another pretty closely.

The modern Charterhouse of St. Hugh's, in Sussex, will answer the purpose; for it is, like the London foundation, a “double monastery.' " I Let us take up our position in the centre of the quadrangle formed by the Great Cloister. On one side we see a mass of buildings, of which the Church with its lofty tower is the most conspicuous. Close by

1 The author of Charterhouse Past and Present is mistaken in supposing that the Charterhouse was called a double monastery because it was the work of two founders. The meaning is that it contained a double number of cells, i.e. twenty-four or upwards.

A CELL AND ITS FURNITURE.

23

stands the Chapter House, and over it is the Library. Beyond are the Refectory, the Guest House, and the lay brothers' quarters; but these are less distinguishable from our present stand-point. Though the old plan of the London Charterhouse is very imperfect, it shows that from a corresponding position. the general aspect would have been similar.

Glancing around the remaining three sides of the quadrangle of St. Hugh's, we see the slanting roofs of the monks' cells above the pentice of the cloister. A closer inspection of one of these cells will furnish us with an accurate notion of those which once stood round the Great Cloister in London. The letter painted over the door to distinguish this cell from the others, the "hatch " through which the inmate receives his food, and even the door latch, remind us of the monastery with whose history we are occupied.' The interior of the cell does not at all resemble what is generally understood by the word "cell"; for the characteristics of Carthusian life require a special kind of dwelling for the monks. An ambulatory; a little garden walled in; a cottage consisting of four small rooms; below, the workshops; above, the anteroom with statue of Our Lady, and the cell proper with prie-Dieu, small refectory, bed, study table, and

1 The letters are indicated on the old plan, remains of the "hatches" or cupboards may be seen at the Charterhouse, and a letter which is printed in another portion of this work alludes to the latch-keys.