Provisioning the
community
According to the foundation history of Byland, the community was wont
to receive a tenth of the goods from the household of its patron, Roger
de Mowbray. This was collected by a lay-brother of the abbey, Lingulf,
who followed the household and brought the provisions to his community,
unless the party was too far away from Byland, in which case he sold
the food and sent the money to the abbot. This arrangement did not always
work, for on account of the number of guests, ‘never lacking to
a great lord’, the seneschal and provisioner of Roger’s household
were often obliged to borrow the tenth earmarked for Byland, to avoid
a failure of his own supplies. However, when this reached the ears of
the provisor of guests, he was so angry that he advised Roger, his lord,
to make a gift of land to that value to the community in recompense.
[Fundatio Domus Bellelandae, in Dugdale, Monasticon,
V, p. 350. For a translation, see Stenton, First Century,
p. 72-3.]
As founder of Byland, Roger
de Mowbray was obliged
to make provision for his new community. He therefore granted the
monks a tenth of his own household’s food. This arrangement
soon proved a rather unreliable source of maintenance, and in 1140
Roger gave instead lands in Airyholme, Cam, Scackleton and Wildon.(2) The
community may also at this time have received pasture at Rose Hill
and Hovingham.(3) The monks received
subsequent grants from Roger de Mowbray’s household and family,
including the vill of Murton, in Bilsdale, from Roger’s steward,
Hugh Malebisse. Several of Roger’s men joined the community
as recruits, bringing with them resources. For example, when Serlo
entered as
a cook the monks acquired his lands in Ellington.(4) In
this way Byland was able to establish a solid economic basis for
future expansion.
Such was the community’s success that Abbot Gerold feared
their founding abbey, Furness, might stake a claim to their resources.
Thus, Gerold travelled to Savigny to place his monastery under
the direct subjugation of the mother-house of the order. By 1142
the community had relocated to Old Byland, and had sufficient resources
to create its first grange at Wildon.(5) This
was the first of several granges established. A number of these
agricultural centres were
created in the Nidderdale region; three were created further afield
in Westmorland.