Note 310 — Appendix B Reforms Instituted at S. Michele in the year 1478 (See p. 105)

“Item, ordinaverunt quod fiant mandata seu ellemosinæ consuetæ quæ sint valloris quatuor prebendarum religiosorum omni die ut moris est.” (Claretta, Storia diplomatica, p. 325.) The mandatum generally refers to “the washing of one another’s feet,” according to the mandate of Christ during the last supper. In the Benedictine order, however, with which we are now concerned, alms, in lieu of the actual washing of feet, are alone intended by the word.