The Abbot was twice besieged in his Abbey by the
townspeople; they desired to be answerable to the King and not the
Abbot. They gained their point, though they were compelled to surrender
to the next Abbot the privileges they had obtained of Abbot Hugh. It was
during the rule of this Abbot that the piers in the main arcade of the
nave gave way while mass was being said on St. Paulinus' Day, 1323, and
he had to begin repairing this part of the church.
28. #Richard of Wallingford# (1326-1334). He was of humble birth; his
father was a blacksmith. After taking his degree at Oxford he became a
monk, and resided at St. Albans for three years, when he again went to
Oxford and studied philosophy and theology there for nine years. He was
on a visit to St. Albans at the time of the death of Abbot Hugh. He was
elected Abbot, but the election was found to be informal, so he resigned
his claim to the Pope, who thereupon appointed him Abbot. He wrote a
Register of things done in his time, compiled a book of Decretals and
Constitutions of Provincial Chapters, and sundry works on geometry and
astronomy. He constructed a clock showing the courses of the sun and
moon, the ebb and flow of the tides, etc.
Pages:
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143