Geoffrey the sixteenth abbot

Abbot Geoffrey. He came from a famous family of Maine and Normandy. He was not only endowed with goodness of character but was also distinguished by a deep knowledge of theology. On the death of Abbot Richard he was elected abbot by all the brothers of this church and even with the consent of Henry I, king of England, and, although he was unwilling, he took onv the governance of the abbey. He had come from his birthplace of Maine while still a secular, when Abbot Richard had summoned him to direct the school at St Albans.

The school at Dunstable

But when he arrived, the school had been given to another master, because Geoffrey had not come in time. And so he taught at Dunstable, in hope of the school at St Albans, which had been promised to him again. At Dunstable he performed a play – of the kind we commonly call ‘miracle’ – about St Katherine. For costumes, he begged the sacristan of St Albans to loan him choir copes. He was given the copes and his play about St Katherine was performed.

The cope of St Katherine

Then, by chance, on the following night, Master Geoffrey's house caught fire. The house went up in flames, and so did his books and the copes I have mentioned. So not knowing how he could make good this loss to God and St Alban, Geoffrey gave himself up totally and wholly to God and took on the habit of a religious in the house of St Alban. And this is the reason why, when later promoted to abbot, he took so much trouble to make expensive choir copes for the church. As he always had an eye to the peace and quiet of his spiritual sons and brothers, and as he always assigned to them tasks with a calm countenance, he got them to live enjoyably and peaceably together.

The revenues of the kitchen

He even increased the revenues of the monks’ kitchen by the addition of five shillings a week, that is thirteen pounds a year. And although we know what our kitchen has newly acquired, all the same we should not be unaware of what was assigned to it in the past. So from our manors we have fifty-three rents. We call forty-six shillings a rent.