Baptism pre-Reformation

     The sacrament of baptism[1] in medieval times was believed to be a way of purifying or giving rebirth of the individual and uniting them with the church. It was another way God showed grace, sometimes called christening, and was second in importance to the mass. A ritual that was both a symbolic and a supernatural transformation. Baptism, mostly for adults, became common by the 2nd-century and up to the 12th-century was customary to enact on Easter Eve[2] or Pentecost Eve.[3] During this time the ritual was variable, location could be outside of a church, if near or in a church it necessitated a baptistry or very large font and age was not defined. After this time[4] baptism was considered essential to be held either on the day of birth, or if good reason delayed no more than two days. This immediacy was in order to save the child’s soul, to enable eternal salvation in case of early death.[5] Baptism was obligatory, though some avoided it, and the church had a prescribed liturgy. Immediate baptism also served to give the baby a name; invariably one name in medieval times. The church required three godparents to be present,[6] two to be the gender of the baby. The name was pronounced by the senior godparent and was repeated at least 16 times in the service. Some historians think it was the godparent who chose the name and so might have ignored the wishes of the parents. Latin was used in the service, but the vernacular was spoken in parts. Normally baptisms occurred in the church, but with extenuating circumstances it could be undertaken elsewhere by the midwife and, if the infant lived, validated later in the church. The midwife presented the infant, together with godparents, whilst the mother stayed at home for 6 weeks being considered unclean to visit the church. The father generally stayed away from the ceremony.

Early depiction of baptism from the catacomb of San Callisto, 3rd century. The baptised was usually naked. It appears water is being poured over the young person.

 

            Detail of the baptismal procedure was first recorded in the second half of the 13th-century.[7] The liturgy began at the cathedral door symbolising the transition from the sinful outside and moving into God’s house.[8] At this time many churches gained a porch for such a celebration and Lichfield Cathedral was probably no exception with an outward projecting atrium around the Great West door.[9] The priest asked the midwife for the gender of the infant and checked whether it had already received a name and any form of baptism.[10] A male baby was held by the priest to the right, a female to the left. He then gave a sign of the cross on the baby’s forehead and said some words to emphasise this and then repeated it on the baby’s breast. The senior godparent then announced the name as well as handing over a small amount of salt. The priest placed this in the baby’s mouth and said a series of prayers.[11] The salt was given to represent wisdom and the prayers exorcised the devil. Three verses from Matthew’s Gospel now described how children were brought for blessing. The priest now spat into his hand and placed saliva on the ears and nose of the baby simulating how Christ healed the blind man. Remember, a new born baby would have their eyes closed. Finally, the Pater noster (Lord’s prayer in Latin) and creed was said. A sign of the cross was given to the baby’s right hand. As the group moved into the church, the priest said, ‘Go into the temple of God, so that you may have eternal life and live world without end. Amen.’ Wealthy families would have decorated the church with fine cloth of silk and gold and arranged for many candles to be brought into the church. For some it was an event emphasising their status.

            The baptismal party stood by the font at the west end of the nave and not far from the entrance door. In later times, the priest asked in the vernacular the party to say the Pater noster, Ave Maria and Creed. He then charged the godparents to protect the infant from fire, water and other perils up to the age of seven (considered to be the age of reason)[12]. They should teach the child, especially the three prayers, and ensure they were confirmed when older. The priest now in Latin blessed the baby in the name of the Trinity and the cathedral saints (Chad and the Virgin Mary).

            Now followed an ordeal for godparents to give vows in Latin and for the naked baby to be immersed in the font three times.[13] The vows were, “Do you renounce Satan? Do you renounce all his works? Do you renounce all his pomps? Do you believe in God the father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth? Do you believe in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord, (who was) born and suffered? Do you also believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life after death everlasting?” Finally, he asked what the party were seeking and they had to reply ‘baptism.’ Then ‘Do you wish to be baptised?’ would be responded with ‘I do.’

            The priest immersed the baby in the font water and said, ‘I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ He repeated the immersion twice more symbolically recalling the Trinity.[14] There are later accounts when affusion, pouring water over the head of the baby, occurred; it is unclear which way was used at Lichfield. Single dipping became the custom from the instruction in the 1552 Prayer Book. If the font was the stonework uncovered in the 1850s in the presbytery area and now lost, it was large enough for total immersion. The senior godparent then held the baby whilst the priest said a prayer and then anointed the baby with chrism[15] on the top of the head. The baby was wrapped in a white cloth known as a ‘chrisom,’ with some words being spoken. Finally, a candle was held in the baby’s hand and some more words spoken. Sometimes, two gospel readings were now given, but this would require an assistant for the priest.

Anointing with chrism from France, possibly Amiens, between 1300 and 1310. MS M.751 fol. 48r. The Morgan Library and Museum, New York. The background of the image has been removed. The anguish on all the faces is obvious.

 

            Normally the party would leave the church, but there are records of refreshment being consumed, sometimes to excess. If many servants helped in the ceremony there could be a distribution of money. It was forbidden to pay the priest,[16] but money was often offered later.   

  The current cathedral font was installed in 1860 and is made of alabaster, Caen stone with marble pillars. Originally close to the north-west door of the nave, it was moved to the North Transept in 1982. The front of the font shows Christ being baptised. John the Baptist holds a scallop shell holding water from the river Jordan over the head of Jesus. A scallop shell symbolises pilgrimage and baptism was seen as a similar journey in faith.

 

            Jewish Law forbade a new mother to return to the church for 33 days for a boy and 66 for a girl. In the medieval church this time changed to 40 days irrespective of the sex of the baby. She could then have a ‘churching’ in which she (her blood) was purified. She visited the priest wearing a head veil, usually accompanied by her midwife and assistant matrons, then made an offering and was pronounced clean. She also returned the chrisom cloth, to be used for further baptisms. Then followed a mass. There might have been in the cathedral a ‘child-wife’s seat.’ The general custom was she could only after churching resume to have sexual intercourse. This church procedure, never made canon law but was in later manuals. It was possibly flouted and indeed if the mother had a real need to pray in church after childbirth it was seen as acceptable. Wealthy parishioners turned the service into a special occasion with the woman wearing a new dress and entertaining a feast afterwards. 

             It is mostly Thomas Cranmer’s[17] baptismal service of 1552 that passed into the 1662 Book of Common Prayer which with minor change is used today.   

[1] Baptisma is Greek for washing or dipping. It originated from Jewish ritualistic practices during the Second Temple Period, c.530 BC–70 AD. It is unknown whether Jesus was baptised by standing in the river Jordan or by total submersion in the water.

[2] Jesus returned to new life at Easter.

[3] John 20, v.22 described the disciples being born again before the Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost.

[4] Infant baptism was accepted at an earlier time in Europe. There are records as early as the 9th-century. During the ninth century in England, both civil and religious regulations required baptism for Christian infants before they reached one month of age. No date can be placed on when it became the norm for England for immediate baptism, which is odd.

[5] Estimates of up to 100 deaths per 1000 live births.

[6] The godparents were held to uphold the spiritual development of the child and were therefore equal in importance to the parents. Finding a godparent with higher status than the parents was frequently sought. After Reformation the role of godparents was reduced.

[7] Described by N. Orme, Going to church in Medieval England, (New Haven and London: 2022), 302–314. The historical record was called ‘proofs of age.’ See also P. Cramer, Baptism and Change in the Early Middle Ages, c.200-c.1150 (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought), (Cambridge: 2003), Fourth Series, Series Number 20.

[8] The medieval church held that babies were inherently tainted by the doctrine of Original Sin, a state of separation from God. All people were born into this separation as a result of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. 

[9] See the post King Richard II of Bordeaux and Lichfield. The other two doors on the west front might have had some porch, but this is unrecorded.

[10] Only Royalty were allowed baptism outside a mainstream church. They used a private chapel. Very early medieval baptism was sometimes undertaken at wells and springs.

[11] Boys received 5 or 6 prayers, girls three or five prayers.

[12] The Fourth Lateran Council, 1215, decreed that all children past the age of seven should confess their sins and receive communion at least once a year.

[13] The font water would have previously been consecrated with prayers, a cross made in the water, the priest breathing three times on the water in the shape of the cross and dropping wax from a burning candle and adding holy oil to the water.

[14] How a new born baby responded to this is unclear, but it must have been an unpleasant experience. Usually the water was church cold, though sometimes it was warmed. In later years the baby was firstly immersed on the side facing north, then facing south and finally immersed face down.

[15] a mixture of oil and balsam, consecrated and used for anointing at baptism and used in other rites 

[16] Third Lateran Council, 1179.

[17] Archbishop of Canterbury, 1532–1556.

Death and burial pre-Reformation

     In 1276, the average length of life from birth was around 31–5 years (those born with wealth could expect at least another 10 years). Infant mortality was high with one third not reaching their 5th birthday. As much as 20% of women died from childbirth and complications that followed. Death was common and a constant threat. Between 1348 and 1351 and periodically afterwards, plague accentuated this deep concern. Images in church of hell and judgement, such as on rood screens, must have been a consistent reminder of needing to approach death with a pure heart.

 

Cadaver tomb said to be Dean Thomas Haywode (Haywood) who died in 1492. The dried skeleton sculpture would be a reminder of death. If it had an upper part this would show the individual in life.

 

For a church dying, death and burial involved a series of rituals intended to give salvation and ultimately eternal life.[1] Priests were obliged to visit the sick and give a blessing. This could be a challenge to large, rural parishes. The priest would vest himself, ring a passing-bell and be accompanied by a clerk when travelling by horse or foot to the dying. Seriously ill parishioners would receive an anointing and a mass. A crucifix would be placed in the house for the gravely ill to see. After aspersing water and saying prayers, the priest asked, presumably in the vernacular, for the individual to profess their faith by responding ‘I believe.’ Then followed questions to assess the depth of sins committed. If the individual died without completing their penance, then the family and friends had to undertake the penance, which often meant giving alms. The priest offered the crucifix to be kissed and then prayers to remit the sins confessed.[2] The dying were anointed with holy oil on each eye, ears, lips, nostrils, hands, feet and back (or navel for a woman).

  

Anointing. 1445–50. Painting by Roger van der Weyden. Wikipedia Commons

 

After washing his hands with saltwater, the priest gave a blessing and prayers for healing. Finally, he questioned whether the individual believed in the transubstantiation of the bread and wine and, if so, gave a shortened mass with a wafer given to the mouth.[3]

Last rite, Dutch school of painting, c. 1600. Wikipedia Commons.

 

            If the priest could not reach the dying, then psalms were read and prayers given, especially invoking the Trinity and saints (Chad and Mary for Lichfield), in the cathedral. A passing bell might have been rung.[4]

            After death, prayers and psalms were said around the body. The body was washed and given a white shroud (white only if in faith). The coffin was surrounded by a black cloth to show death. Sometimes, the body was then placed in the church with mourners ‘watching’ overnight. There was an ancient custom for close ones to drink, sing and dance, but this was discouraged by the church. If available, a priest might sing the psalms. If the deceased had been kept at home, it was taken for burial in a borrowed community-coffin accompanied by loved ones carrying candles. This could be a long journey and out of the parish. The cortege would normally have to arrive early morning, but occasionally a service would be held after the mid-morning mass.

            At the cathedral the coffin was taken to the chancel, whilst mourners stayed in the nave. A service of matins for the dead was given. High status deceased might have a sermon with the clergy robed in black or blue vestments.[5] Clergy and wealthy could be buried within the cathedral. Burial around Chad’s gravesite was generally favoured by deans whereas bishops were usually interred close to the high altar. Sometimes canons were buried in the aisles. They were usually buried in a stone coffin or in a stone-lined grave topped with a ledger stone becoming part of the floor. The stone recorded the death date as the most important time for the life remembered. Ordinary folk were buried in the cemetery in shallow (0.4–0.7 m deep) earth graves[6] wrapped in a shroud. The grave might be aspersed with water, censed and blessed. The priest scattered earth to the grave in a configuration of a cross before it was closed.[7] Sprigs of rosemary were often carried by people in the funeral procession and cast onto the grave, much as wreaths are today.

            Christians were buried with their head to the west and feet to the east. At Lichfield the east-west alignment of the cathedral is poor and graves in the Close have shown variable alignments which might be due to lack of space at the time of burial. Often a cross was added to the grave. A priest’s coffin found in the nave excavations, 2003, was covered with a white cloth on which was painted a Greek cross (+) and alongside were two broken sticks arranged in the same way. In some graves a broken measuring rod has been found.[8] Sometimes a wax cross was placed on their chest. The priest’s coffin had a pewter chalice on the lid with a veil covering it and a wafer stuck to the veil; a reminder to have mass when reaching paradise. Bishops were buried with religious and secular artefacts and sometimes bullae from the pope.[9] Parliamentarian soldiers, 1643, removed from the tomb of Bishop Scrope a silver chalice and a crozier of considerable value. The idea that Christians, unlike pagans, were buried simply without grave goods is not true.

14th-century oak coffin covered with a cloth showing a red cross. On top is a pewter chalice and paten covered with a linen corporal concealing a wafer. Note also two broken sticks.

The burial service used for children is unclear, but some were buried close to adults. Money was left by the wealthy for candles and prayers to be said in the following days, or every month (month’s mind) for a year, or on anniversaries (year’s mind). Often alms were given for the poor and sometimes money bequeathed to pay for their burial or for them to say prayers for the deceased. The wealthy would request mourning for 30 days. 

              There has been a modern interpretation of medieval burial as being superstition and ritual intended to keep the dead from reappearing in some form to harass the living. This is an exaggeration from a few cases recorded in isolated churches. From very early times there is much evidence to show the dead were invariably respected and given a sympathetic burial. There is also the charge that the church used burial to make money. Payment was necessary,[10] but there were reduced charges for the poor and disadvantaged.

            Orme concluded ‘a medieval church was almost as much a place of the dead as it was of the living.’[11] The 1552 Cranmer’s Prayer Book signalled the end of the church assuming prayer would affect life after death.[12] The church from now on prayed for Christ’s work in life and for his grace in death.   

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[1] Information is mostly from N. Orme, Going to church in Medieval England, (New Haven and London: 2022), 337–47. See also M. Gray, ‘Deathbed and Burial Rituals in Late Medieval Catholic Europe.’ In  A companion to death, burial and remembrance in late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, c. 1300-1700, Chapter 3. (Leiden, Netherlands: 2020), 106–131.

[2] For many, the soul lay in purgatory waiting for all sins to be pardoned by God. Purgatory became accepted in the Catholic church at the Council of Lyon, 1274. The concept predates Christianity because it was a belief of Orthodox Jews. It is not mentioned in the Bible.

[3] Mass was not offered to children, the insane and anyone likely to vomit the elements. It could be offered again to adults if ever they recovered.

[4] Two rings for a woman and three for a man.

[5] Lichfield Cathedral was stated to have a large wardrobe of vestments in the time of Walter Langton.

[6] Archaeology found Chad’s grave to be recessed 0.8 m into the sandstone bedrock of the cathedral.

[7] Cremation in this time was strongly forbidden. Criminals, suicides, and the unbaptised could not be buried in consecrated ground. This was relaxed in 1547; clergy had to bury whoever was brought to the church.

[8] A reminder we have no defence after death. Monarchs have been buried with a broken staff of office.

[9] At Lichfield these valuables were removed by Parliamentarian soldiers in the Civil War, 1643.

[10] A London church charged 8 pence for an adult burial and 4 pence for a child. The sexton digging the grave and ringing the bell might charge 6 pence. A member of a Guild could expect to receive help with their payment. There are many records of poor people paying 1 penny, and the paupers being buried on the north side of a churchyard without ceremony. Those buried in the cathedral would have had to pay much.

[11] Note 1. Orme, (2022), 348.

[12] Diarmaid Maculloch expressed it as ‘the church surrendered its power over death.'

7th-century medicine

        he common view of early medicine is it consisted of herbal potions, magical practices, superstitious beliefs, invocations and charms based on strange ideas of how the body worked. The Lacnunga, British Library Harley MS 585 early-11th century, described remedies requiring chants of particular words and actions that had to be repeated. A carbuncle required a chant sung 9 times that started with the Lord’s prayer. An illustrated Old English herbal, British Library Cotton MS Vitellius C III early-11th century, advised parsley for a snakebite,

 The central concept was a doctrine of four humours[1] which when in balance and harmony gave a healthy body, but any disruption led to disease. Disease was primarily caused by internal disequilibrium, but also affected by the seasons of the year and natural rhythms of the universe[2]. Blood circulated like the tides. Added to this was the view of the body being invaded by ‘alien matter,’ evil spirits and sometimes the wrath of God.[3] Medical care was available in monasteries and often prayer and pilgrimage were seen to be all that was offered. Primitive medicine was always irrational and limited. However, that is not the whole picture; there was much that helped and sometimes the unwell were cured. Consider the following:

 

1.     There was a body of lay practitioners, mostly in monasteries, available to treat the general population. They were called in Old English, laece, translated as a leech or physician. A doctor was also a medicus[4]. They were expected to deal with all kinds of illness and injury and a host of symptoms with causes beyond anyone’s comprehension. [5] St John of Beverley attended several unwell people and Bede described their treatment.[6]

 

Page from Bald’s Leech book, written c. 900–950, British Library Royal MS 12 D XVII. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. The Leech book contains innumerable prescriptions for a bewildering variety of illnesses, injuries and mental states.

 

     2.     The monastic practitioner, according to Bede,[7] had a centre, hospitale, for their practice where sick people were taken. This centre also provided accommodation for travellers, pilgrims and those requiring hospitality. Presumably, one was located at Lindisfarne, and perhaps also at Licetfelda.

 

     3.     Medicine was a subject for study. St Aldhelm mentioned medicine as one of the subjects taken at the school founded at Canterbury by Archbishop Theodore in c .670.[8] According to Bald’s Leechbook, mid-10th century, remedies were drawn from early Latin and Greek texts such as by Alexander of Tralles, died c. 605, and Anglo-Saxon physicians known as Oxa and Dun.

 

4.     The leech charged fees for their services known as a laece-feoh, leech fee.[9] he usual outcome was the making of certain compounds with the hope of relieving symptoms.[10] There is evidence of making a thoughtful prognosis. Bede described a young man who developed a swelling on his eyelid which progressively grew bigger. Poultices had been applied without success and some leeches advised lancing the swelling, but others disagreed fearing complications.[11] A recipe for an eye salve in Bald’s Leechbook, mid-10th century, has been shown to be effective against antibiotic resistant bacteria.  

5.     Treatment of fractures occurred. Bede described several people sustaining fractures and their treatment. In the Life of Wilfred, a young mason named Bothelm fell from the top of Hexham church and broke various bones and dislocated some joints. Physicians were called in who immobilized the fractured limbs with bandages.[12] Bede tells the story of Herebald who was riding in the company of John of Beverley when he fell off his horse and fractured his thumb and skull. John called for a surgeon who bound up the injured man's skull.[13]

 

6.     There was a rudimentary understanding of disease spread by contagion. Archbishop Theodore at the Council of Hertford, 672, eight years after the death of Cedd at Lastingham, forbade monks from travelling from one monastery to another.[14] This was possibly a response to stop the spread of plague, though there could have been other reasons. When Chad became ill, he told his brothers he had been visited by ‘the beloved guest who has been in the habit of visiting our brothers.’[15] The guest could have been a rodent carrying fleas as a vector for bubonic plague (blefed).

 

7.     Skin diseases due to malnutrition, vitamin deficiency and lowered vitality were common. It is doubtful whether the remedies prescribed would have had much effect although in one case, at least, a recipe for scabs on the skin which contained tar might well have proved beneficial.[16]

 

8.     Early histories of plague in Europe usually remarked on the dirtiness of Anglo-Saxon life. Accumulation of waste in the dwelling and street, poor disposal of human and animal waste, overcrowding and poor ventilation are cited as reasons for the easy spread of disease.[17] This poor state has not been substantiated and is probably another example of maligning the Anglo-Saxon, especially by comparison with earlier Roman times. It does not account for pestilences being highly contagious.

 

9.     Palaeopathology has given some indication to the sort of ailments the leech might be called upon to treat. Osteoarthritis was a common joint condition and has been found in much skeletal material from Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. Dental, alveolar disease and fracture of the ankle have been frequently encountered. Less common conditions include osteochondritis dissecans, congenital dislocation of the hip, pyogenic arthritis of the humerus and even leprosy.[18]

 

The conclusion is many desperately searched for a miracle cure and whilst most remedies were useless the leeches provided some measure of comfort for the sick. Indeed, the practitioners carried out their work with at least some regard to the ethics and morality of their calling.[19] Few doubted their worth.

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[1] The four humours affect temperament: Blood makes a man of goodwill, simple, moderate, reposeful and sturdy. Red bile makes a man of even temper, just, lean of figure, a good masticator of his food, and of strong digestion. Black bile makes a man irascible, greedy, avaricious, sad, envious and often lame. Phlegm makes a composite type, watchful, introspective and growing early grey headed.

[2] H. M. Cayton, ‘Anglo-Saxon Medicine within its Social Context.’, Durham theses, Durham University. (1977) Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1311/

[3] Apostasy and immorality, usually of a sexual kind, were often given as reasons.

[4] J. McClure and R. Collins, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. (Oxford: 2008), Book IV, Chapter 19, 204.

[5] S. Rubin, ‘The medical practitioner in Anglo-Saxon England’. Journal Royal College General Practitioners, (1970), 20, 63.

[6] Ibid, Book IV, Chapters 2–5, 237–241.

[7] McClure and Collins (2008), Book IV, Chapter 24, 217.

[8] J. G. Payne, English Medicine in Anglo-Saxon Times, (Oxford: 1904), 15.

[9] A 12th-century comment of William of Malmesbury in ‘Life of St Wulfstan’

[10] S. Rubin (1970), 65.

[11]  McClure and Collins (2008), Book 4, Chapter 32, 232.

[12] B. Colgrave, The Life of Bishop Wilfrid by Eddius Stephanus. (Cambridge: 1927), Chapter 23, 47.

[13] J. McClure and Collins (2008), Book 6, Chapter 6, 243.

[14] Ibid, Book IV, Chapter 5, 181.

[15] Ibid, Book IV, Chapter 3, 176.

[16] W. Bonser, The medical background of Anglo-Saxon England. A study in history, psychology and folklore. (London: 1963), 375.

[17] A. Hirsch, Handbook of geographical and historical pathology. (London: 1883), 1, 522.

[18] For detailed descriptions of diseases in Anglo-Saxon populations, see the work of Calvin Wells, e.g. Bones, Bodies and Diseases, London 1964; and D. Brothwell, e.g. "Palaeopathology of Early British man", J. Roy. Anthrop. Inst. 1961, 91. 318-44 and Digging up Bones, London 1963.

[19] S. Rubin (1970), 70.