scandal

LEFT The medieval canons of Exeter Cathedral produced numerous forged charters in the 1060s, including this one, which claimed that King Æthelstan of England (r. 924 939) had given them land in the Exe valley.

Clerical sinners and forgeries

Quarreling was commonplace, especially over who was entitled to sit in ‘the best’ pews. Clergy complained about being assaulted: one Kentish aristocrat took his hawk to church in 1514 and punched the vicar in the face when chastised for doing so.