The catalogue of disasters that dogged the community
in the second half of the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries
culminated in the Black Death,
the plague that swept through Europe and ravaged England
in 1348-9. This had a devastating effect on numbers which in turn
affected the balance of personnel within the community, for it
hastened the demise
of the lay-brethren; this
loss of manpower altered the economic organisation of the abbey.
Political developments at this time also had
a considerable
impact on the community and, more particularly, on the nature of
the abbot’s
role. The turning-point was in 1265 when Simon
de Montfort summoned
over one hundred prelates to attend his parliament at Westminster.
This was a
momentous occasion for previously only eleven prelates and twenty-three
magnates had attended parliament. The abbot of Fountains was amongst
those invited to Westminster - at least six of the Yorkshire Cistercian
abbots
were summoned. From now on he, like other heads of religious houses,
would be considered a political figure who was expected to lend
counsel and aid
in these turbulent times.(83) This could
be costly and time-consuming, involving payments and travel – for
example, the abbot was summoned to parliament at Westminster in
1295, at Bury St Edmunds in 1296,
at London in 1299 and
at Lincoln in 1301.(84)
Divided loyalties
On account of the grave situation in the North of England, the abbot of
Fountains and thirteen other Cistercian abbots were forbidden, by the
king, to attend the General Chapter in France. They were to remain
at home and guard the abbey.
[Memorials of Fountains I, pp. 143-144.]
This was a changed and changing world. The
abbot of Fountains was not simply the shepherd of his flock, but
was embroiled in litigation relating
to his own abbey and its daughter-houses, and engaged in local,
national and international affairs. In 1287, the abbot of Fountains
was one of three
prelates appointed by the pope (Honorius IV), to investigate a
dispute between the archbishop of York, John Romeyn, and the chapter
of Durham, regarding
the nature of the archbishop’s authority during a vacancy at the cathedral
priory. In September 1294 he was summoned to Westminster to attend
a council of the clergy regarding the recovery of Gascony.(85) In
1296 Fountains was one
of the communities approached by the king, Edward I, to pray for
his brother’s
soul,(86) and in 1311 the abbot of Fountains
was amongst those whom the archbishop of York summoned to St Peter’s,
York, to attend the trial of the Knights Templar. This was attended
by a number of
prelates and, with the exception
of the abbot of Sawley, every Yorkshire
Cistercian abbot was present.(87) The commission
eventually agreed that the twenty-four Templars should be
absolved
and dispersed amongst the various religious houses, where each
would be received as a guest. Whilst Rievaulx refused
to receive a Templar and Kirkstall admitted
one whom they then allowed to escape, Fountains retained its Templar,
a Thomas of Staunford, who was said to be unruly and insolent.(88)