Olv'IGINAL DOCUMENTS. 83

England, the King's justices, and even, in one instance, llic Archbishop of Canterbury himself, deigned to accept gifts offered to secure their good offices. It may be observed that these gifts are certainly not mere fees of office, for they are generally not sums of money, but gloves, wine, fruit, fisli, or other delicacies ; and they are always entered as given to such and such a person " ut favorabilis esset," or " pro aniicitia suahabenda." The Admiral accepted vi ^ viii as his douceur. The undersheriff of Berkshire on one occasion seems to have been very hard to buy. In the G and 7 Henry IV., in a matter concerning the Manor of Shawe, then the property of the College, he received first a pair of gloves, i)ricc viii, " ut favorabilis esset;" a little after, vi'* viii was paid him, " pro amicitia sua habenda ; " again he received the same sum, " ut favorabilior esset;" then another pair of gloves and wine, which cost xii , " pro amicitia sua ; " and yet again vi^ viii '^ for the same object. The favour and friendship of this officer had to be purchased at the cost of a mark and a half in money, a large sum for those days. But the friendship and favour of the Archbishop of Canterbury was rated at a much higher value. 1 will quote the item, which is as follows : — In (juodam dono dat. Duo Archiepiscopo Cantuariensi pro bonaadjuvatione sua habenda de exoneratione decimal concessai Dno Regi per cleruni in convocationc celebrata London' dec' oct' die Nov. una cum x ^ dat' cuidam clcrico die' Dni Archiepiscopi pro sollicitationc sua habenda ad praidictum Dfim Archiep'm, cx^. (4 Henry V.) This was Archbishop Chichele, himself a son of Wykeham, and an imitator of his munificent example. We can scarcely suppose that it was necessary to secure by a bribe the friendship and influence of one who had been himself a recipient of Wykeham's bounty, in a matter att'ecting the interests of one of his colleges. We must rather believe that it would have been thought discourteous to refuse, what was ottered as a compliment. Nor, indeed, ought we to judge of these gifts in general, according to our modern notions of what is becoming to the character of public officers. It is well, indeed, that such practices have been done away ; but it is probable tliat, when they were in vogue, they did not much interfere with the due course of justice. Gifts, no doubt, were offered by both sides in a suit, and were considered rather as matters of courtesy and compliment, than as likely to bias the minds of public officers ; though, at t1ie same time, it would probably have been very impolitic in either party to withhold them. The gifts charged under the various items of this head are of a very miscellaneous character. There are frequent payments made to minstrels, dancers, and players, for entertaining (solaciaTitibus) the members of the col- lege on some of the great festivals of the Church. Sometimes these persons are described as the minstrels, or players of the city of Winchester, and other places; sometimes they appear as attached to the suite of some great person visiting Winchester, for instance, 4 Henry V., occurs the following : — In dato iiii ministrallis Dni Ilumfredi ducis Gloucestrie vcn' ad Col- legium xiiii'° die Feb., iii^ iiii*^ The minstrels of the Lord Cardinal Beaufort, and of his sister, the Countess of Westmoreland, were hired in the same manner. The feast of the holy Innocents was usually enlivened in this way; on which occasion the boys of the school took part in the entertainment, under their Boy Bishop. As an instance of this, the following item occurs, in the time of Henry V. : — In dato diversis hominibus do Roplcy, in festo Sc'or' Innocentium tri- pidiantibus, et cantantibus cantilenas in Aula coram Episcopo Scolarium xx.