It is no surprise, but no little sadness to any
grown-up, that there are no trees without at least an occasional bad apple, and
the clerical trees of all religious persuasions are no exception. I came across
a new (to me) example of unholy behavior the other day, which I would like to
share with you, as it involves – of course - eating.
The story comes from Bacchus, an essay on intemperance (1839) Ralph Barnes Grindrod. The author says:
The manners of the clergy in the fourteenth and fifteenth century,
were extremely gross and discreditable to the cause of religion. The luxury and
intemperance of the high dignitaries of the church, afforded a pernicious
example to its inferior officers, whose conduct is thus described by a modern
historian.
"The secular clergy, were no enemies to the pleasures of the
table, and some of them contrived to convert gluttony and drunkenness into
religious ceremonies, by the celebration of 'glutton-masses,' as they very
properly called them. These glutton-masses were celebrated five times a year,
in honour of the Virgin Mary, in this manner: Early in the morning, the people
of the parish assembled in the church, loaded with ample stores of meats and
drinks of all kinds. As soon as mass ended, the feast began, in which the clergy
and laity engaged with equal ardour. The church was turned into a tavern, and
became a scene of excessive riot and intemperance. The priests and people of
different parishes entered into formal contests, which of them should have the greatest
gluttonmass, i.e. which of them should devour the greatest quantities of
meat and drink in honour of the Virgin Mary.
A specific example of this behavior is given in Curiosities of Literature (1833) by
Isaac Disraeli, under a chapter heading of “Ancient and Modern Saturnalia:”
We had in Leicester, in 1415, what was called a glutton mass; during
the five days of the festival of the Virgin Mary. The people rose early to
mass, during which they practised eating and drinking with the most zealous
velocity, and, as in France, drew from the corners of the altar the rich
puddings placed there.
I would be most interested in comments from those of
you with expertise in Church history, as to this practice. In the meanwhile,
what can I give you but a rich pudding?
A Rich Pudding.
Line your dish with rich puff-paste, cover the
bottom with preserved stoned cherries or any kind of dried fruit (or, as a
substitute. Sultana raisins), with the grated rind and juice of a lemon; cover
it with slices of roll buttered and cut thin, two or three more layers of
preserve and roll to nearly the top of the dish, sifting sugar between each
layer; just before baking pour over it seven eggs well beaten, a spoonful of
cream, and plenty of brandy.
The English
cookery book, receipts collected by a committee of ladies, and ed. by J. H.
Walsh (1859)
1 comment:
Hmm, well. I'm suspicious of any 19th-century protestant "historian" purporting to provide "facts" about the behavior of 14th- and 15th-century Catholics. What were their sources?
You'll notice that they disagree about timing: Grindrod says the glutton-masses were celebrated 5 times a year; Disraeli says the one in Leicester happened during "the five days of the festival of the Virgin Mary." I'm not aware of any 5-day festival honoring the Virgin; church authorities generally agree on 4 feast-days for her over the course of the year. And 19th-century protestants were well-known for attributing to Catholics whatever scurrilous stories they could find.
This is not to say that there was no corruption in the 14th- and 15th-century Church. The corrupt and luxurious practices of too many orders and Church dignitaries are a matter of record. But I never heard of any group of monks including the laity in general in their bad behavior.
My guess is that these stories originated in the memory or record of some harvest or Easter celebration, when there would certainly have been feasting, although not on the scale described by Grindrod and Disraeli. I would love to hear from anyone who can do more than guess.
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