{"id":3172,"date":"2026-09-13T13:10:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T12:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crimesofthecenturies.com\/?p=3172"},"modified":"2026-09-13T13:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T12:14:35","slug":"armed-clergy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crimesofthecenturies.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/13\/armed-clergy\/","title":{"rendered":"Armed clergy in 1610"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Armed clergy in 1610<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The old hymn \u2018Onward Christian soldiers,\u2019 written in 1865, may have been figurative. In earlier centuries, it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You only have to think of the stories about the Vikings to be reminded of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.english-heritage.org.uk\/visit\/places\/lindisfarne-priory\/History\/viking-raid\/\">English Heritage<\/a>\u00a0sums up one very infamous raid:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u2018The devastating Viking attack on the church of St Cuthbert in 793 sent a shockwave through Europe.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even after the British nations we know today became settled, and the risk of invasion became limited to other Christian nations, it was no guarantee that religious sites would be spared from fire and sword. Either because there was the prospect of \u2018rich pickings\u2019 in church plate etc. Or because those with the swords said their prayers differently and regarded those in \u2018the cloth\u2019 as heretics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being men of God was no protection against those who didn\u2019t respect you\/your religion. So while those attacked by the Vikings were men of peace, in a later age, it was realised pacifism wasn\u2019t an option: armed clergy was the solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Armed clergy on the border<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Particularly at risk were religious sites near (on both sides) of the Anglo-Scottish border. Arthuret Church needed rebuilding by 1609, as Scottish raiders had burned down previous versions. While Canonbie Priory was destroyed under the orders of English commander Lord Wharton as part of the reprisals after the Scots had invaded late in 1542, and \u2018justified\u2019 by it being a Catholic house \u2013 destroying it was a \u2018legitimate\u2019 continuation of Henry VIII\u2019s Dissolution of the (English) monasteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Carlisle Cathedral, for all that it was contained within the city walls, was no safe haven for its clergy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cathedral\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/carlislecathedral.org.uk\/history\/\">own website<\/a> includes how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u2018During the English Civil War, a portion of the nave of the cathedral was demolished by the Scottish Presbyterian Army in order to use the stone to reinforce Carlisle Castle.\u2019&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I covered, in a previous post:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-cumbrian-characters wp-block-embed-cumbrian-characters\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"YSCvLedLBU\"><a href=\"https:\/\/crimesofthecenturies.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/19\/hundreds-of-holes-in-carlisle-cathedral\/\">Hundreds of holes, in Carlisle Cathedral<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cHundreds of holes, in Carlisle Cathedral\u201d \u2014 Cumbrian Characters\" src=\"https:\/\/crimesofthecenturies.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/19\/hundreds-of-holes-in-carlisle-cathedral\/embed\/#?secret=w4gUmuA8NU#?secret=YSCvLedLBU\" data-secret=\"YSCvLedLBU\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">how a century later, it was used a prison for Jacobite soldiers (who had themselves taken the city a month or so before). And how you can see damage from musket balls in the cathedral walls to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Go back to 1610 \u2013 seven years after England and Scotland became united under a single monarch \u2013 and centuries of border turbulence were far from over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Records in Carlisle Archives include, in that year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u2018a note of the particular assessment of the clergy of this diocese for horse and armoury\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A corslet was (is) a full set of defensive armour covering the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018Patrouille\u2019 is French for \u2018patrol\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Armed clergy 1610: The list<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The bishop: two light horses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The dean and chapter: a light horse<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In the deanery of Carlisle:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The two tenants of the rectory of Aikton: a musket<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The parson of Orton, vicar of Brampton: a musket<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The parson and vicar of Arthuret: a patrouille<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The parson of Bewcastle: (I missed the rest of that entry, sorry).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In the deanery of Cumberland<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The parish of Greystoke: a light horse<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The vicar of Addingham, parson of Melmerby: a musket<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The parson of Skelton, vicar of Sowerby: a corslet<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The vicars of Lazonby, Penrith, parson of Croglin: a musket<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The vicars of Kirkland, Edenhall, Ainstable, parson of Hutton: a musket<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The parsons of Kirklinton and Bowness: a musket<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The vicar of Kirkbampton and parson of Castle Carrock: a musket<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The parson and vicars of Scaleby, Irthington, and Stanwix: a musket<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In the deanery of Allerdale<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The vicar of Crosthwaite, parson of Caldbeck and the parson of Bolton each had corslets. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The vicar of Torpenhow, parson of Uldale and the vicar of Bromfield\u00a0each had a musket.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The parson of Plumbland and vicar of Bridekirk had a musket between them.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The vicar of Holm Cultram, parson of Kirkbride and vicar of Aspatria likewise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <strong>Westmorland, <\/strong>the clergy between them had eight muskets and four corslets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pray we don\u2019t need them<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By now, you are no doubt thinking \u2018fat lot of good that would be\u2019. Those with horses lacked weapons or armour. Those with weapons lacked armour or horses. Those with armour lacked weapons or horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Single muskets wouldn\u2019t have provided much security against even a small band of raiders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And if someone had attacked the parsonage at Croglin, it wouldn\u2019t have been much use if the musket had been in Penrith or Lazonby at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Armed clergy in 1610 The old hymn \u2018Onward Christian soldiers,\u2019 written in 1865, may have been figurative. In earlier centuries, it wasn\u2019t. You only have to think of the stories about the Vikings to be reminded of that. As English Heritage\u00a0sums up one very infamous raid: \u2018The devastating Viking attack on the church of St [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[231,495],"tags":[490,492,41,494,493],"class_list":["post-3172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stuart-life","category-tudor-life","tag-allerdale","tag-canonbie","tag-carlisle","tag-jacobites","tag-vikings"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Armed clergy in 1610 - Cumbrian Characters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Armed clergy \u2013 in the 1500s\/1600s, being a vicar or priest was no guarantee of safety. 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