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(2/7)
Where were the bodies buried?
Whilst the Ecclesiastica Officia,
the official customary of the Order, assumed that all burials would
take place in the cemetery,
members of the community and outsiders might be buried in the
church, in the cloister
walks or in the chapter-house - the latter was largely reserved
for former abbots and dignitaries.
…in the chapel of the Blessed
Mary, before her image, situated in the southern part of
the church
of the said monastery
Read
Matilda’s will. |
During the Interdict the monks
of Meaux Abbey
in Yorkshire were buried in the monks’ garden, whereas the abbey
servants were buried outside the precinct.(7) From
the thirteenth century laity were often buried near the west
façade
of the church or in side chapels: Matilda,
of York, countess of Cambridge, was a generous benefactor of Roche and
in her will of 1446 left explicit instructions as to how she
should be buried in the abbey church and how her soul should
be provided for thereafter. In return the monks of Roche received
payment, gifts and presumably secured
the goodwill and
future benefaction of her successors at nearby Conisbrough Castle.
From the late twelfth century the burial
of laity in the cloister walks was
common but could be hazardous, since the monks might trip over
tombstones that were uneven and jutted above the surface. To
combat any such accidents
the General Chapter ruled
in 1191 that the slabs of these graves should be level with
the ground.(8)
Nineteen abbots were buried in the chapter-house
at Fountains. |
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