ABBEY, a religious house, governed by an abbot, or abbess. In Britain, religious houses were of various denominations, such as abbeys, priories, and hospitals ; and differed chiefly in the extent of their possessions, powers and privileges. At first, the endowments of abbeys were probably but of limited extent ; but they afterwards acquired immense tracts of territory, pur chased either by means of their own treasures, or ob tained by pious donations front others ; given under the ondition of burning• a taper on the tomb of the donor, or of celebrating solemn masses for the repose of his soul. The property, thus bestowed, could not return to the laity ; as many canons prohibited the alienation of the property of the church. Certain statutes arc therefore said to have been enacted against these gifts in mortmain; and, in several grants to laymen, the grantees were prohibited from selling to monks, and particularly to Jews. From simple places of retirement, where the devout withdrew to the exercise of religious meditation, abbeys, by the gradual accession of riches, were at length converted into palaces ; luxury was in / roduced, and, along with it, dissipation and vice. The progress of the Protestant religion gradually under mined the Catholic superstition. The populace beheld their possessions with a jealous eye, while they could discover no indications of any charitable purpose to which they were applied. The Catholics in England were nearly rooted out in the reign of Henry VIII., and those in Scotland a few years afterwards ; and their possessions were siezed upon by the crown, or by those subjects who had influence to obtain a share fur them selves. At this clay, their property is either in the hands of the crown, or held by private individuals.
Certain abbeys enjoyed extraordinary privileges. They were allowed to coin money ; and an extensive jurisdiction was conferred upon them, in virtue of which, the abbot, by his deputy, could even try offen ders for capital crimes committed within the territories of the abbey. Some could export every thing pro duced within their bounds, free of duty ; while others were exempted from the power of the bishop of the diocese. Several abbeys obtained bulls irons the pope, declaring, that they should he liable for no debts, unless it were proved, that the money borrowed was expressly converted to the use of the community. The abbots, who ruled many of the abbeys in Britain, had the privi leges of lords of parliament. Twenty-nine are enume
rated, who, in England, had a scat in the House of Lords; but this honour was taken from the order in 1540. In nunneries, subservient to abbeys, the abbot could elect the superior.
There were many offices in abbeys, besides that held by the abbot; such as that of prior, sub-prior, chamber lain, treasurer, almoner, &c.; and the duties of these persons were all regulated with the greatest punctuali ty. There was likewise a master of toe novices, whose province it was to instruct them in the rules of their order ; and, by the Benedictine constitutions, a master was to be provided for teaching grammar, logic, and philosophy. There were also lay teachers; and monks themselves sometimes travelled from house to house, giving instructions in music and singing Monasteries were the sole abode of the sciences cul tivated in ancient times. We are indebted to monks alone, for the histories of our forefathers, which have been transmitted to the present day ; and we cannot sufficiently regret the destruction of their libraries, which fell a sacrifice to the religious zeal of the reform ers, as there were no other places that, for succes sive ages, had been a secure deposit for historical re cords, and the learning of antiquity. Hence, though we may hail the overthrow of popery in these king doms, as an event which cannot be too highly prized, we must lament the losses which literature has sustained in the general devastation. Besides the library, there was in the abbey a writing-room; and it is well known, that the most beautiful manuscripts now existing were writ ten by monks ; some of which, of immense extent, are adorned with such splendid illuminations, and written with so much care, that it would seem to have required almost a lifetime for their execution.
Monasteries afforded a welcome asylum to those who wished to forsake the active toils of life, and a tranquil retreat to persons of dignified birth, in indigence or old age. They supported the poor, received pilgrims, and afforded entertainment to travellers. Perhaps it may be the subject of just regret, that there are at this clay no institutions of a similar nature in Britain, which might afford a secure retreat to persons, parti cularly females, whom fortuitous events have prevented from holding their proper place in society. See Mo NAsTEnv. (c)