1

Clerical Warriors

From a contemporary poem on the battle of Durham (Neville's Cross). Printed in Illustrations of Scottish History (Maitland Club, 1834), PP- 63 ff.

Then, as it is reported, David said to his nobles: “There are no men of war left in England; there are none but clerics and water-bearers, therefore these confessors shall become martyrs”… Then the Archbishop [of York], Zouch by name, came with great strictness to confer Holy Orders [upon the Scots]; all those whom he ordained felt his strokes: “Be thou henceforward blessed, brother, to all eternity!” For there was a deacon, Mowbray, an urbane man, and subdeacon Okyll, that white-haired man, who was so profane in conferring such Orders that, after this, he cannot be made a chaplain. For those clerics, called confessors, whom [King] David had called [in contempt] “waterbearers”, gave absolution with cudgels to those who had derided them; and thus they lie in death like sinners. And Mury of Moray, that inordinate man, who is called Earl in contradiction to Church law, because he wedded a wife without licence, now was he degraded to those Orders.

2

The Saint in Disgrace

Lord Hailes quotes a more recent example (Ed. 1797,11, 303).

At this day, the Portuguese sailors address their favourite St Antonio in a like form.

There is a curious passage concerning the Portuguese at Goa, in the travels of a zealous Roman Catholic, de la Boulaye le Gouz, c. 25, p. 204. …

That is, “The Portuguese are extremely fond of St Anthony of Lisbon; they pray to him, in particular, whenever a drought happens. They take his image, fix a rope to its feet, and sink it headlong into a well.