Parsimony in the endowment of
religious buildings, was not a prevailing vice in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries. Least of all was it likely that it should be
practised in the case of establishments, thus founded in expiation of
the transgressions of wealthy and powerful sinners. Page after page, in
the charters, is filled with the list of those, who, with
"Lands and livings, many a rood,
Had gifted the shrine for their soul's repose."
The privileges and immunities enjoyed by these abbeys were very
extensive. Both of them were from their origin exempted by Pope
Alexander IInd, with the consent of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, from all
episcopal jurisdiction; and both had full power, as well spiritual as
ecclesiastical, over the members of their own communities, and over the
parishes dependent upon them; with no other appeal than to the
archbishop of Rouen, or to the Pope. Express permission was likewise
given to the abbot of St. Stephen's, by virtue of a bull from Pope
Clement VIIth, to wear a gold mitre studded with precious stones, and a
ring and sandals, and other episcopal ornaments.
Many of the monuments and deeds of the greater abbey are now in the
prefecture of the department. The original chartulary or register was
saved by the Abbe de la Rue, and is at this time preserved in his
valuable collection.
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