On the express ground that these doctrines are as needful for the laity as for the clergy, certain distinguished laymen ("illustres ac magnifici viri") were invited to sign these canons.
Sam wants badly not to have to feel needful of the urban and modern world, however after he sees a falcon flying overhead he wants to learn more about falconry.
His pragmatism is a method for fruitfully sorting out conceptual confusions caused, for example, by distinctions that make (sometimes needful) formal yet not practical differences.