" He wore a surplice; he was an accomplished scrivener,
and therefore a man of some education; he could perform the offices of
the barber-surgeon, and one of his duties was to cense the people in
their houses. He was an actor of no mean repute, and took a leading part
in the mysteries or miracle-plays, concerning which we shall have more
to tell. He even could undertake the prominent part of Herod, which
doubtless was an object of competition among the amateurs of the period.
Such is the picture which Chaucer draws of the frivolous clerk, a sketch
which is accurate enough as far as it goes, and one that we will
endeavour to fill in with sundry details culled from medieval sources.
Chaucer tells us that Jolly Absolon used to go to the houses of the
parishioners on holy days with his censer. His more usual duty was to
bear to them the holy water, and hence he acquired the title of
_aquaebajalus_. This holy water consisted of water into which, after
exorcism, blest salt had been placed, and then duly sanctified with the
sign of the cross and sacerdotal benediction. We can see the clerk clad
in his surplice setting out in the morning of Sunday on his rounds. He
is carrying a holy-water vat, made of brass or wood, containing the
blest water, and in his hand is an _aspergillum_ or sprinkler. This
consists of a round brush of horse-hair with a short handle.
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