His departure was rendered somewhat less unpleasant by his being sent to Poitou on a mission, and from thence he went on to Rome. As there was now no longer any reason why he should delay his consecration to the See of Norwich, he was made bishop by Honorius III on 29th May, 1222. He remained attached to the interests of England, and especially to those of the king, till his death in 1226, when his body was brought from Rome to England and buried in the cathedral at Norwich.

CHAPTER IV

ECCLESIASTICAL REORGANISATION

THE promise of Pope Honorius on the departure of Pandulph, that during Langton's lifetime no further legate should be sent into England, was kept. The absence of any papal representative with unlimited legatine powers did not, however, in the least imply that the pope's power in England was in any way diminished, or that his personal interest in the country had at all slackened. Honorius III, during this period, merely acted directly through the archbishop of Canterbury and the English bishops, and the numerous letters written by him during the three years which followed the departure of Pandulph in 1222, in which he dealt with all manner of subjects, prove his continued hold over the English Church, and, as far as there was need or occasion, his watchful care, as supreme lord, also over the affairs of State.

In the early part of this period, the authorities of the English Church devoted much attention to ecclesiastical discipline. The pope, in several letters addressed to the bishops, urged them to put down abuses which had sprung up, or become more firmly established, during the long period of national disturbance. Amongst these, two in particular required immediate attention: the position of married clerics, and the practice, which had crept in, of the sons of clerics being allowed to succeed to benefices pre

viously held by their fathers.' At this time, several of the English bishops issued diocesan constitutions which manifest their strong desire for better discipline; and these regulations, which are still extant, enable us to form a fair notion of clerical life and practice. To take an example: the Synodical decrees of the diocese of Durham, issued by Bishop Richard Marsh, are embodied in a document of exceptional interest. The general tenor of this constitution, and in many parts its verbal expression, is copied by the bishop of Salisbury, Richard Poore, who was the friend, and afterwards the successor, of Bishop Marsh at Durham. The whole of this legislation, however, is, not improbably, attributed to Archbishop Langton.'

Some few of the provisions of this constitution may be here noticed as of exceptional interest. The duty of priests, for example, to instruct the people in their religion, is insisted upon. Every parish priest is reminded that by virtue of his office, he is bound "often to teach" the flock committed to him, the articles of the creed and the Christian practices "without which faith is dead." In order to secure that this duty be faithfully and truly observed, the archdeacons are enjoined to see that the clergy of their various districts know, and, if necessary, rehearse before them, the exposition of Catholic faith enjoined by the late Council of the Lateran in 1215. They are further to warn them to explain the various points of the faith frequently to their people in the vulgar tongue (domestico idiomate). Besides this, they are to exhort the faithful to recite the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Hail Mary, and they are constantly to collect the children of their parish together for instruction, and to see that there are one or two of the more advanced capable of teaching their companions these prayers. 1 Brit. Mus. Add. MS., 15,352, ff. 132, 136. 2 Wilkins, i. 572.

They are also to warn all parents and heads of families, whom they fear to be negligent in these matters, of their obligation to instruct their children and servants in their religion, or at least to see that they are so instructed by others.1

After affirming the strict obligation of the existing laws as to clerical celibacy, and pointing out that, by the legislation of the late general council, persistence in offences against continence would entail suspension and deprivation, the constitution passes on to treat of the duty of charity, imposed upon the clergy by their high calling. All priests and beneficed ecclesiastics are "bound, according to the measure of their revenues and resources, to dispense charity and not to manifest avarice where the poor are concerned." This law, Bishop Marsh reminds his clergy, is the more binding on monks and religious generally, in as much as by their profession they are bound to a stricter form of life, and this clause in the constitution concludes with a solemn warning about this duty. "Those who abuse the patrimony of the Crucified, either by living a life of luxury, or by not practising the virtue of charity," it says, " shall be punished according to the canons, when we shall have information of such people."

Then follow some minute instructions as to the sacraments; their number, meaning, effects and due administration, are treated of systematically. In regard to baptism, for instance, after a careful explanation of the effects and intention of the sacrament, etc., the clergy are prohibited from exacting or taking any fees for its administration. Out of reverence, too, the font is to be kept locked, and the holy oils, necessary for the due performance of the rites, are to be preserved in a safe place in a proper baptistery, 1 Wilkins, i. 573.

which is never to be used for any other purpose. When, in case of need, baptism has to be administered in a private house, the vessel made use of for the purpose is not again to serve for any profane purpose, but is either to be destroyed or given to the Church. The priest is charged to ask lay people constantly whether they are acquainted with the form of the Sacrament, in either Latin, French, or English, which they may have to use in case of need.

After baptism, children should be confirmed by the bishop, and if through the negligence of their parents they have not received that sacrament before the age of seven years, the father and mother are to be prohibited from coming into their parish church until the child has been taken to the bishop.'

If priests are negligent in this matter, they are to be punished with like severity, and if, when any adult comes in Lent to confession he is found to be unconfirmed-and upon this point the priest is warned to inquire-he is to be sent at once to the bishop to receive this sacrament at his hands. In the same thorough and careful way these Durham constitutions of 1222 treat of the other sacraments, and they together form a complete manual of teaching on the theology of the Church's sacramental system, and on the practical administration of the sacred rites.

At Easter, in the year 1222, which fell upon April 3rd, a few months after his return from Rome, Archbishop Langton held a provincial synod at Oxford. In this assembly the bishops published a joint constitution in fifty chapters or sections. As a preamble to this they proclaimed an excommunication against several classes of disturbers of the rights of the Church and of the king. Amongst these were included those, for example, who in1 Wilkins, i. 576.