The antiquities of Warwickshire illustrated from records, leiger-books, manuscripts, charters, evidences, tombes, and armes : beautified with maps, prospects and portraictures / by William Dugdale.

Peter-pens.

ALL Arch-deacons of England gathered Peter-pens of every Fyer-houshold within every parish one penye, which were granted eight hundred yeres past by K. Hyvo, and aftir confyr∣med by Inas, then by Offa Rex Marchiorum, by Arnulphus and other moe so following, and by K. Iohn for his time. Aftir some antique Authors they were granted for a yerely Prest, or a perpe∣tuall yerely subsidy. Episcopo Romano praestabantur in subsidium, saith divers Authors. Others say they were given to a Scole in Rome, to the mayn∣tenance of Inglish Scolars there, as Fabian and Guido, with other: but now th'Arch-deacons, af∣ter thes pens gathered, paid the same in part or all to the Collector of Rome, saving the Arch-deacon of Lincolne and Sarum; these payd the pens ga∣thered to the Bishop, the B. payd to the Collector, and had his acquittance by the name of Peter-pens. Th'Arch-decons had their acquittance of the B. by the name of Prestation-money; so the B. of Lincolne payd, but he gathered none: th'Arch-decon gathered and payd, not to the Collector, but only to the B. Soe finally, seing the B. never ga∣thered Peter-pens, and yet payd them to the Col∣lectors every yere, and th'Arch-decons gathered them yerely, and payd none to the Collector, but only to the B. what should the B. his demaunde other be then for Peter-pens.

To prove that this worde Prestation is very Peter-pens, hit is to manifestly declared in the B. of Rome his own lawe, in an Epistle-decretall send Episcopo Cantuar. & suffraganeis s••is. The B. of Lincolne is one of his Suffragans, and perchance

it was ment for him that was then B. of Lincolne, if he were as nigh scrapyng as the B. that now ys at this present time. Textus est in capitulo de Cen∣sibus, in the Decretals, ea quae de avaritia verba sunt haec. Ne gravetis parochias & ecclesias ve∣stras propter visitationem beati Petri, cum feceritis collectam denariorum. Glossator Bernardus, one of the B. of Rome his Secretaryes, expoundeth hoc verbum Collectum. Collecta, inquit, est praestatio quaedam, quam Anglici solvunt ecclesiae Romanae, & debet esse moderata, &c. Soe the Prestations is taken for Peter-pens in the B. of Rome his own law.