ABSTRACT
A priest in England at the end of the Middle Ages who wanted to know more about his vocation was not without guidance, provided he was tolerably literate and within reach of books. In response to the Fourth Lateran Council's insistence on annual confession and the consequent need for adequate instruction of the clergy as well as of the parishioners, there began to appear shrewd and learned tracts dispensing the law, theology and practical advice necessary for the parochial cure of souls. 1 The Oculus Sacerdotis by William of Pagula, probably the best known now, was among the most comprehensive, providing a manual for confessors in its first part and a guide to the sacraments in its third; in the second part it expatiated on the duties of the layman in baptism, mass, confession and tithe paying, and then outlined the doctrinal instruction required. There were several variations on this during the fourteenth century: the anonymous Cilium Oculi, which supplemented Pagula's work on several matters, in particular on tithes and preaching; the Regimen Animarum, which enlarges on the duties of parish priests, the instruction of the laity, and the seven sacraments, all in 140 chapters; and the Pupilla Oculi, probably by John de Burgh, a methodical and personal rewriting of Pagula's work, so popular that it was printed at Rouen in 1510. 2 For those with less stamina and less 2Latin, however, another volume had appeared in the early fifteenth century, the Manuale Sacerdotis, written by an Austin canon of Lilleshall, John Myrc, and running to some 320 pages of clear and convenient script. 1
