§ 17.
Bodies of canons regular, however, came
into existence, distinct from the chapters of canons
secular, living in monasteries, reciting the canonical
hours, and leading the common life of monks. Their
rule was modelled on an adaptation of a letter from
St Augustine of Hippo to a congregation of religious
women. It was shorter and couched in more general
terms than the rule of St Benedict; but its aim
was similar. Its followers became known as Augustinian
or Austin canons. From their hooded black
cloaks with white surplices and black cassocks
beneath, they were often called black canons. The
order did not appear in England until about 1106,
when the priory of St Botolph at Colchester was
founded by a Benedictine monk named Ernulf;
nor did the papacy definitely recognise the order
until 1139, when its houses were already numerous.
The number of English Augustinian houses at
its highest point reached 218, and of these 138
were founded before 1175. At the suppression of
the monasteries there were about 170 Augustinian
houses, while of Benedictine houses there were from
130 to 140. Augustinian houses varied greatly in
size and wealth, and at no time did their wealthier
abbeys approach the immense revenues of the greater
Benedictine houses; while their average income was
very moderate. Each house was governed by a 'prelate,'
generally known as the prior, but in some 24
cases as the abbot. Most of their abbeys were in
the midland districts: in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire
and Norfolk, where their houses were numerous,
the title of prior was universal. In 1133 one of
their convents, Carlisle, was raised to the dignity
of a cathedral priory. Their growth was analogous
to that of the Benedictines: each house with its
cells was an independent community: their visitor
was the diocesan bishop, and very few of their
houses became permanently exempt from visitation.
The order also held its general chapters, at which
two visitors were appointed yearly for each of the
provinces into which its houses were divided.
