The head of the Cistercian college, he took the place
of prior and was responsible for guiding and instructing the students; he
was a moral overseer. In 1464 the provisor of St Bernard’s was John
King, the prior of Buckfast. John, however, had been spending most of his
time at Buckfast, neglecting his duties as provisor. The abbot of Fountains was ordered to visit him and urge him to tend his post.
[Stevenson and Salter, The Early History of St John ’s
College, p. 40.]