Records of purchases made by Fountains, and
of income and rents received by the abbey, might seem rather dry
and uninteresting sources for daily life at the monastery in the
later Middle Ages. However, the fifteenth-century Bursar’s
Book provides a wealth of fascinating information about the Fountains
community at this time, from the food that was eaten and the clothing
worn, to medicines purchased, repair work undertaken and the administration
of hospitality and charity. It also records gifts that the community
received; one rather curious entry shows that the prior of Newminster,
one of Fountains’ daughter-houses,
gave ‘sealfish’ to
the abbey.(100) Purchases of the
essential and the indulgent, the mundane and the bizarre are all
scrupulously recorded, and include
references
to ink and liquorice, clavichords and carts, soap, gloves and a
paper map of the world.(101) This
provides a vivid insight to the administration of Fountains at
this time and the goings on both within and without
the abbey. Furthermore, it underlines the great attention paid
to record-keeping and the considerable amount of organisation required
to keep the monastery and its estates up and running.
What kinds
of purchases were made?
Foods served to the community or enjoyed by those who dined at
the abbot’s table, include and figs, walnuts and
partridges, oysters, oats, barley and corn. A salt-dried fish called
stockfish was bought; this was sometimes known as Icelandic fish,
since it was imported from Iceland or Norway, and purchased at
Hull, Scarborough, or York.(102) When
the earl of Northumberland visited Fountains in 1457-8 he was served
swans and other birds costing
twenty-seven shillings.(103) Lord
William Scrope had previously dined on fresh fish which was purchased
at Bury for nine-pence.(104) A
deerskin was purchased for the abbot’s boots, as well as
a felt hat which cost ten pence - this was three pence more expensive
than
the hat bought for Thomas Swinton, an important monastic official
at Fountains.(105) Cloth was bought
for copes and for hoods for the
novices; silk and black
fur were purchased for the abbot.(106) Whereas
oat straw was strewn on the floor of the abbot’s chamber,
rye straw was used in the church and rushes strewn elsewhere.(107) The
purchase of every nail, bolt and lock is noted, as well as payments
for repairing windows, doors and the clock, cleaning ditches, erecting
hedges and fences.
