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144 YORK.
the quatuor persona majores of the Minster—that is
to say, the Dean, Precentor, Chancellor, and Treasurer
of the church, to be in occasional attendance upon
him in consiliis. The papal sanction was obtained
for the purpose of dispensing with the continual residence
which their duties in the church involved.
That they were often with him, as well as representatives
from the chapters of Ripon, Beverley, and
Southwell, is evidenced by the frequent occurrence
of their names as witnesses to the Archbishop's official
acts.
The matter of clerical celibacy comes prominently
forward in Gray's episcopate. It was no new subject.
The marriage of the clergy had been denounced, as
Ave all know, by Hildebrand, and at the national
council, held in London in 1102, it was strenuously
condemned by Anselm and Gerard of York, as also
at other councils in 1126 and 1127 by William of
Canterbury and Thurstan. But in the Northern
Province the marriage of the clergy held its ground
for a long time. It was clearly a common practice
in Gray's time, and it perpetuated an absolute abuse.
Benefices became hereditary. The endowments of
the church were treated as family property, to be
dealt with as their occupants chose. Apart, therefore,
from the religious or ascetic view of the question,
this was a matter which required repression by a
strong hand. And it was vigorously dealt with. " In
1 22 1 Honorius III. wrote to Archbishop Gray desiring
him to remove from their livings the married
clergy and all who had succeeded their fathers in their
preferments, a similar order being directed to the