• ■ • • ■ .•■-■.... ■ • ■ ■ ;'V> >prnmnui from illuminate fllanuarnpts in tljr British HI us mm . - 1 CHRISTINE DE P I S A !^l . FROM A VOLUME OF HER POEMS .MS 443', . 2 BORDER FROM THE POEMS OF THE DUKE OF -'IS ROYAL M .5 56 F 2 3 EDWARDffl.CRANTiNC THE DUCHY OF AQLMTAINE TO EDWARD THE BLACK PRINCE ROYAL M S .20 D 10 ' London PcVusaed. bv Chapi raiuL $*■ ^f* : MXJCJfaxfam Cfuvmo iuk T O^J archaeological SOtoum; OR, MUSEUM OF NATIONAL ANTIQUITIES. EDITED BY THOMAS WEIGHT, ESQ. M.A. F.S.A. Ac. CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE. THE ILLUSTRATIONS BY F. W. FAIRHOLT, ESQ. F.S.A. LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL, \U STRAND. 1845. LONDON: PRINTED BY GEORGE BARCLAY, CASTLE STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE. TO THE LORD ALBERT DENISON CONYNGHAM, K.C.H. F.S.A. PRESIDENT OF THE BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, rum ^©lp COMPILED WITH THE HOPE OF MAKING MORE POPULAR A SCIENCE WHICH HIS LORDSHIP HAS ENCOURAGED NO LESS BY HIS OWN ANTIQUARIAN RESEARCHES THAN BY HIS ZEALOUS AND ENLIGHTENED PATRONAGE, IS VERY RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. CONTENTS. MEETING OF THE BRITISH ARCHAEO- LOGICAL ASSOCIATION AT CAN- TERBURY . . . Page 1 Objects of the meeting. Arrangements of the sections, and subjects treated. — Results. The town-hall. Excursion to Breach Downs and Bourne . 6 Opening of Anglo-Saxon barrows. Articles found in them. Bourne Park. Patricksbourne Church. Dr. Faussett's collection of antiquities. Excursion to Richborough . . .10 Ash. Old house at Wingham. The Roman Rutupiae. Saxon boundary stones, with Runic inscrip- tions. Description of Richborough Castle. Mr. Rolfe's excavations and discoveries. Sandwich. — Barfreston . Visits to the Antiquities of Canterbury . .18 Old street architecture. The Chequer inn. Visit of Chaucer's pilgrims. Canterbury signs. Description of Chaucer's inn. The cathedral. The painted chapel in the crypt. St. Martin's church. Arrival of St. Augustine. Necklace of Merovingian gold coins discovered in the churchyard. Monastic buildings of Canterbury. The Grey Friars. The Three Archiepiscopal Hospitals . .31 Foundations of Lanfranc and Becket. Visit of Henry II. to Harbledown. Anecdotes of the ancient state and usages of the Hospitals. Remains of St. Thomas's Hospital. St. John's Hospital. Westgate and St. George's gate. Relics at Harbledown. Articles in cuir-bouilh. Bowl with legend of Guy of Warwick. Harbledown. The Black Prince's well- Concluding observations on the Association. ANCIENT BEDSTEAD . . . Page 43 Account of Turton Tower. Description of the bedstead. Rude articles of this description in use among our forefathers. Poetical descriptions. Large bedsteads of the sixteenth century. Truckle-beds. OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS . . .49 The cucking-stool. — Meaning of the word. Different offences for which it was used, and modes of application. Wooden mortar at Sandwich. Cucking-stools at Sandwich, Cambridge, Ips- wich, Warwick, Canterbury, Banbury. Prevalence of this punishment in the seven- teenth century. Riding the stang. OLD MANSION IN HOUNDSDITCH . 57 Conservation of monuments recommended. Description of the mansion ; its history. Anecdotes of the progressive enlargement of the metropolis. HISTORY OF ART IN THE MIDDLE AGES 61 Illuminated MSS. Meaning of the word illumination. Varieties of works illuminated. Division' of the subject. Anglo-Saxon period . . • .62 The Durham Book. Alfric's Bible. Noah and his vineyard. Conventional forms of trees, &c. Illuminated calendars. Poetical personifications of rivers, hills, cities, &c. Personification of the four elements. Twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries 68 Anglo-Norman illuminations. New style introduced in the thirteenth cen- tury. Legends of Noah and his wife. Queen Mary's Psalter. VI CONTENTS. Illuminations of the romances. Burlesques in the margins of manuscripts. Historical associations of particular manu- scripts. Autographs of queen Elizabeth Wydevylle and her daughter. Varieties of style. Ornamental initials. Anachronisms of the old painters and writers. The fifteenth century . . . Page 81 The Romance of the Rose : Zeu\i~. Antiquity of mirrors and of spectacles. The romance of the Comte d'Artois. Minute details of the early artists. Illuminated borders and initials. Illuminations of scientific treatises : Bartho- lomew de Glanville. The death of Guendolena, and legend of Sabren. Burial scene. Illuminated breviaries. ON SYMBOLISM IN ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE . . .91 Grotesques, &c. St. Bernard and the councils. BURGH CASTLE, AND THE ECCLESI- ASTICAL ROUND TOWERS OF SUF- FOLK AND NORFOLK . . 93 History of Burgh Castle. — Its present state. Antiquities discovered there. Arrival of Furseus. Burgh church and the round towers. OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS . . .100 The stocks. — Hudibras. The Lollard's Tower and the Bishop's Cole- house. Different methods of applying the stocks. The whipping-post. The pillory. — Its different forms. Pillory of the fifteenth century, from Froissart. Pillory at Dublin. History of the pillory. — De Foe. It becomes a political instrument, and goes out of fashion. Finger-pillory at Ashby-de-la-Zouch. SKETCHES OF ANCIENT STREET AR- CHITECTURE . . . .112 The remains of old street architecture rapidly disappearing. Ipswich: Mr. Sparrowe's house, the Tan- kard, &c. Saffron Walden : the Sun Inn. Norwich. Spitalfields : the weavers. TATINE IN CLIFF CHURCH . .119 Account of Cliff church. Early monuments. The patine. — Shakespeare. Old canon relating to the service eucharist. of the ON THE EARLY USE OF FIRE-ARMS, Page 121 Wheel-lock in the possession of Lord Albert Conyngham. Invention of gunpowder. Cannons of different periods. The hand-cannon. — Guns. Mode of firing them ; the lock. Invention of bomb-shells. THE ROMANS IN LONDON . . 129 Position and extent of the ancient city ; Lon- don wall. Gravel-pit found on the site of the Exchange. Presumed arrangement of the Roman town, and situation of the public buildings. London Bridge. Roman suburb south of the Thames. Tessellated pavements. Roman houses ; frescoes from the walls. Mr. Roach Smith's museum of the antiquities of Roman London. Various articles of household economy. Roman shoes and sandals. Bronzes. Terra-cotta lamps. Lamp made from an elegant bronze cup. Earthenware. Roman potteries in England ; specimens of pottery made at Durobriva: (Castor in Northamptonshire) . British dogs figured on this ware. Samian ware. Various subjects represented on the vessels of Samian ware. Vase of superior workmanship found in Corn- hill. Other examples. Terra-cottas. Coins found in London. SILCHESTER . . . . .150 The ancient Segontiacum ; its history. Description of the walls. Baths. Amphitheatre. Articles of antiquity found at Silchester. Votive inscriptions to Hercules and to Julia Domna. Onion's Hole. Silchester Church. THE BURLESQUE FESTIVALS OF THE MIDDLE AGES . . . .155 Gradual conversion of the Romans to Christ- CONTENTS. Vll ianity ; many of their popular ceremonies retained. Description of the Roman Saturnalia. Traces of their preservation in the fall of the empire. Comparison of the ancient Saturnalia with the more modern burlesque festivals. I. The Feast of the Ass . . . Page 158 The ass honoured by the Christians. Acted a part in festivals at Beauvais, Autun, Rouen, &c. in France. The feast of the ass at Sens. — Song of the ass. II. The Feast of Fools . . . .161 Ceremonies generally observed at this festival. Particular instances in different towns in France. The society of mother-fool at Dijon. III. The Feast of Innocents . . .164 Observation of this festival at Amiens and other places. Money of the fools and innocents. Pilgrims' signs. Coin of the pope of fools. Traces of these feasts in England ; the child- bishop. IV. The Fete-Dieu at Aix in Provence . .168 Modern account of this festival. Herod and his daughter tormented by the demons. — The queen of Sheba. V. The Abbot of Misrule . . .169 Traces of this burlesque dignitary in England and Scotland. Stubbs' account of his office and attributes. MONUMENT OF JOANE PRINCESS OF NORTH WALES . . .171 Present state of this monument. Early tombs at Silchester. Monumental slabs with crosses at Bowes in Yorkshire, and Taplow in Berkshire. The story of the princess Joane and William de Braose. THE FABULOUS NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES . . .174 The bestiaries. The unicorn and its legends. Notions relating to the elephant. The mandrake ; the mode of gathering it, and its remarkable properties. The attercop. The caladrius. The serre, the whale, and the syren. Allegorical interpretations. THE MOAT HOUSE, IGHTHAM, KENT . 187 History of the manor. Description of the house ; the farm, the knocker, the court, corridor, kitchen, chimneys, chapel, &c. ON THE EARLY USE OF CARRIAGES IN ENGLAND . . . Page 191 Anglo-Saxon carriage. The chares of the later Norman period, used chiefly for ladies. Descriptions in the earlier poets. Illuminations : chares of Emergard and of dame Venus. Coaches. Taylor the Water-Poet's satirical observations on the increasing use of coaches. THE SAXON BARROWS . . .196 General remarks on barrows. The barrows of the ancient Scythians. Scythian barrow opened by the Russians. Barrows mentioned in Homer. Homer's description of the mode of interment in the Grecian heroic age. Similar description of the mode of burial in use among the early Saxons, from the Anglo-Saxon romance of Beowulf. Barrow near Folkstone. Contents of the Saxon barrows. Arms. — Runic inscription on a sword-hilt. Jewellery, and ornaments of the person. Household utensils, &c. — Coins. Barrow in Bourne Park. MISCELLANEOUS ILLUSTRATIONS OF MEDIEVAL ANTIQUITIES, FROM ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS . 211 Domestic scenes : the bedchamber. The kitchen. Robert the cook and his wife Helena. The table : the nef or ship. Group of boats. Burlesques : Reynard the Fox. The woman with her distaff. Portrait of Richard IIL Musical instruments. WINCHESTER AND SOUTHAMPTON . 219 Second congress of the British Archaeological Association. Winchester Cathedral. Hospital of St. Cross. Opening of barrows. Story of king Ceadwalla. Bittern, the Roman Clausen turn. Netley Abbey. Antiquities of Southampton. Romsey, and its abbesses. LIST OF PLATES. PAGE THE ILLUMINATED TITLE, TAKEN FROM A MS. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM OF THE FIFTEENTH < I NT IKY. INTERIOR OF THE TOWN-HALL, CANTERBURY to pace 1 PATRICKSROURNE CHURCH. — OLD HOUSE, WING HAM 9 RICHBOROUGII CASTLE (View and Plan) 14 CHAUCER'S INN, EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR 19 PAINTING FROM ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL, CRYPT (Coloured) 25 ST. JOHN'S HOSPITAL, CANTERBURY.— HARBLEDOWN CnURCH 31 ANCIENT BEDSTEAD IN TURTON TOWER 43 OLD MANSION IN LONDON (Fireplace and Doob) 57 ILLUMINATIONS (Coloured). — NOAH'S VINEYARD — LEGEND OF NOAH AND HIS WIFE . . . G3 ILLUMINATIONS— HENRY II. BANISHING BECKET'S RELATIONS— SCENE FROM THE ROMANCE OF 1. \NCELOT — A PARTY AT CARDS — A ROYAL PARTY AT CHESS .... 71 ILLUMINATIONS.— THE COUNT OF ARTOIS VISITING THE COUNTESS OF BOULOGNE . . .84 ILLUMINATIONS. — CHRISTINE DE PISAN.— PORTION OF A BORDER.— EDWARD AND THE BLACK PRINCE (CllROMO-LlTnOGRAPHIC) ........... 80 BURGn CASTLE, SUFFOLK.— BURGH CHURCH 93 OLD BOUSE AT SAFFRON WALDEN. — MR. SPARROWE'S HOUSE, IPSWICH 113 ROSEMARY LANE, NORWICH.— WHITES ROW, SPITALFIELDS 116 PATINE IN CLIFF CHURCH, KENT (Coloured) lis ORNAMENTAL GUN-LOCK IN THE POSSESSION OF LORD ALBERT CONYNGHAM ... 121 ROMAN ANTIQUITIES FOUND IN LONDON : TESSELLATED PAVEMENT, COLUMN, AND SPECIMENS OF FRESCOES 131 SILCHESTER CHURCH, WITH THE ROMAN WALL.— AMPHITHEATRE AT SILCHESTER . . 150 BURLESQUE COINS, &c. STRUCK BY THE BISHOPS OF FOOLS AND INNOCENTS . . .165 MONUMENT OF JOANE PRINCESS OF WALES 171 MOAT HOUSE, IGHTHAM : PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE, AND BACK VIEW 187 MOAT HOUSE, IGHTHAM : COURT-YARD, AND INTERIOR OF THE CHAPEL .... 189 ANGLO-SAXON ANTIQUITIES, PLATE 1 202 ANGLO-SAXON JEWELS DISCOVERED IN BARROWS IN KENT AND DERBYSHIRE (Coloured) . 205 ANGLO-SAXON ANTIQUITIES, PLATE III. 200 ST. CROSS, NEAR WINCHESTER. — BROOK STREET IN WINCHESTER 222 THE m©\&/m©\L©©m/&L M^mum MEETING OF THE BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION AT CANTERBURY. DEVIOUS to the establishment of the British Archaeological Association in the last days of the year 1843, the study of our national antiquities had been continually increasing in popularity, and it was evident that some great movement was necessary. The object of the Association is to unite and con- centrate the whole antiquarian force of the kingdom, and thus to increase its efficiency and consequent utility. Railways and other public works are now daily laying open and destroying the remains of the earlier inhabitants of our islands, while the monu- ments of the middle ages are too frequently sacrificed unnecessarily to the supposed exigence of public convenience ; and it is most desirable that we should secure some power of directing a more systematic and intelligent observation to the points which are threatened, which could only be done by organising extensive means of intercourse between the antiquaries of different parts of our islands. No measure seemed more calculated to pro- mote this end than that of holding an annual meeting, choosing successively for its locality a city or town which will be itself attractive by its archaeolo- gical monuments and its historical associations. Canterbury was well selected as the first place of meeting, and, in spite of the fears and misgivings of many, and the various difficulties which always attend the commencement of a plan embracing so much novelty, the success far exceeded the expectations of its most sanguine supporters. It has been rarely seen that so large a number of persons have passed a week with B I11K Altrii.F.Ol.lHllt \l. \ I.IU \l. such entire satisfaction, or have separated in such general feelings of unanimity and mutual good-will, as the members of the British Archaeological Association who met at Canterbury in 1811. The husincss was opened on Monday, the 9th of September, with a judicious Speech by the zealous and active president of the meeting, Lord Albert Conyngham ; and during the week which followed, the Town- hall (which had more frequently been the scene of municipal or political contention) was occupied almost daily with the peaceful discussion of suhjects in which, for once, all differences of station and party were softened down before the humanising influence of science. The assembly of persons of both sexes was numerous, as well in the sec- tional meetings in the Hall, as in the evening conversaziones in Barnes's Rooms ; many interesting papers were read and discussed ; drawings and antiquities of various kinds were exhibited in great abundance ; and on the whole, an impression was made both on the visitors and the visited, which it will take years to wear off. The business of the meeting was arranged under four distinct heads, each managed by its owti sectional committee. The first section, with Mr. W. R. Hamilton for its president, and the Dean of Hereford and Sir James Annesley as vice-presidents, was devoted to the primeval antiquities of our island, under which title were included all monuments (British, Roman, or Saxon) of a date anterior to the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity,, and therefore varying in its limit in different parts of the island, from the beginning to the middle of the seventh century. This section had three meetings, on the evenings of Monday and Tuesday, the 9th and 10th of Sep- tember, and on the afternoon of Friday, the 13th. A number of valuable papers were read: on barrows in general, by the Rev. John Bathurst Deanc; on barrows near Bakewell, in Derbyshire, opened by Mr. T. Bateman, jun.; by the Rev. Stephen Isaacson, on Uomau remains discovered at Dymchurch in 1814; by Mr. John Syden- ham, on the so-called Kimmeridge coal-money; by the Rev. Beale Post, on the place of Cresar's landing in Britain ; by Mr. E. Tyrrell Artis, on a recent discovery, near Castor, in Northamptonshire, of Roman statues, and of a kiln for pottery of the Roman era, with numerous specimens of native manufacture ; by Mr. Pettigrcw, on a bilingual inscription discovered by Sir Gardner Wilkinson, on a vase in Egyptian hieroglyphics and cuneiform characters, which gives an important aid towards the interpretation of the latter ; by Mr. Birch, on a gold Saxon fibula dug up in Hampshire ; 8zc. In more immediate connexion with this section, on the Friday evening after the last meeting, and previous to the opening of an Egyptian mummy in the theatre, Mr. Pettigrcwv read a very able and interesting paper on the subject of the embalmment of the dead among the ancient Egyptians, which elicited much applause. The medieval sec/ion, which included the general antiquities of the long period MEETING AT CANTERBURY. extending from the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to the restoration of learning, had for its president Archdeacon Burney, and for vice-presidents the Rev. Dr. Spry and Sir Richard Westmacott. It met on the forenoon of Wednesday, the 11th of September, and among the papers read were a description of Old Sarum, by Mr. W. H. Hatcher; an account of a painting on the wall of Lenham Church, communicated by Dr. Spry ; an essay on ecclesiastical embroidery, by the Rev. C. H. Hartshorne; an account of frescoes on the walls of East Wickham Church, by Mr. G. Wollaston ; and a disquisition on the succession of William of Arques, by Mr. Stapleton. The architectural section, presided over by Professor Willis, with Messrs. Barry and Blore for vice-presidents, met on Wednesday evening. Its chief attraction was an admir- able lecture by Professor Willis on Gervase's description of Canterbury Cathedral soon after its restoration in the latter part of the twelfth century, compared with the present appearance of that noble edifice. Papers were also read on the chronological progression of Gothic capitals, by Mr. Repton; on a Norman tomb at Coningsborough, by Mr. Haigh, of Leeds; on mason's marks observed on the stonework of different buildings, by Mr. G. Godwin ; &c. ; and Mr. Hartshorne gave a description of the keep of Dover Castle. Lord Albert Conyngham presided over the historical section, which met on Friday morning, the vice-presidents being Mr. Amyot and Dr. Bosworth. The subjects read before this section were, a dissertation on the character of Richard Boyle, first carl of Cork, by Mr. Crofton Croker ; a report on the archives of Canterbury, by Mr. T. Wright ; a series of extracts from a book of accounts of expenses relating to the shipping in the river Thames in the reign of Henry VIII., by Mr. John Barrow; extracts from the bursar's accounts of Merton College, Oxford, by Mr. J. H. Parker; curious notes on the coronation of Henry VI., and on the manuscripts in the library of Canterbury Cathedral, by Mr. Halliwell ; and an interesting notice relating to a chapel at Reculver, in Kent, by Miss Halstead. Independent of the pleasure and instruction they afforded in the course of reading, these papers and exhibitions, with the discussions arising out of them, led to several very important results. The exact dates of the commencement of two styles of archi- tecture, differing considerably from those hitherto received, were now discovered; the early English having been proved to have begun in 1184, by Professor Willis's com- parison of the parts of Canterbury Cathedral with the description of them by the monk Gervase, and the commencement of the decorated style being fixed to as early a date as 1277, by Mr. Parker's extracts from the records of Merton College. In history, by Mr. Crofton Croker's judicious comparison of documents relating to the first earl of Cork, the character of a historical person of some celebrity was placed in a light con- ■ I I'lli: \ RCHJEOLOGICAL AHUM. trarv to that in which it has generally been viewed. In the same section, the paper on the Canterbury archives was calculated to call public attention to the value of this important class of national records. The tendency of the proceedings in the medieval section was to secure a greater attention than has hitherto been paid to the preservation of the curious paintings now so frequently discovered under the whitewash of the walls of our older churches, and of monumental brasses and other relies of the fine arts among our ancestors. In the primeval section, Mr. Sydenham, in a very excellent paper, established the fact that articles which had been taken for money, were in reality nothing more than the waste pieces thrown out of the lathe in the construction of armilhe and other orna- ments by the Romanised Britons in the district of Purbeck. This discovery, with that by Mr. Artis, of pottery and statuary executed in Northamptonshire, are valuable contributions towards the history of native art in our island under the Romans. The interesting discoveries by Mr. Isaacson are also important in a historical point of view : they shew that a very extensive portion of the land round Dyinchurch was inhabited in the time of the Romans, which is a fact rather new and unexpected ; for, close to the tract where the pottery, tiles, &c. are found, an immense bank is now required to keep the sea from inundating the levels, and it had been supposed that in the time of the Romans the whole district was under water. The remains discovered by .Mr. Isaacson seem to shew the existence in those early times of extensive potteries m the Dyinchurch marshes. Me has collected a hundred and fifty different kinds of urns, and the whole surface of the ground, at intervals, for three-quarters of a mile, is strewed with fragments and with bits of clay partly worked by the hand. It may be observed, that remains of Roman potteries have also been discovered on the other side of Kent, near Upchurch. Among other interesting discoveries was that of the remains of a Roman town and temple near Weymouth, announced by Dr. Buckland. The advantages which will arise from varying the place of meeting every year, are manifest ; for it will not only have the effect of encouraging local research and dis- covery, but, the subjects which fall under the consideration of antiquaries being visible .and tangible objects, in a great measure incapable of removal, every locality will present a new series of attractions, and new subjects for observation. A very large proportion of the interest of the meeting at Canterbury consisted in excursions and visits to the antiquities in the neighbourhood, and certainly, in this respect, no better place could have been chosen. The city and the country surrounding it arc full of monuments of every period of our national annals. Richborough, the Reculvcrs, and Dover, present some of the most interesting monuments of the Romans that are to be found in this kingdom. The downs in the more immediate vicinity of Canterbury (the head-quarters MEETING AT CANTERBURY of the Kentish Saxons) are covered with Saxon barrows. The Cathedral and the little church of St. Martin are associated with the name of St. Augustine, to whom, in this place, we owe the first introduction of Christianity among our forefathers. The whole city is filled with memorials of the middle ages. Even the Hall in which the meetings were held offered objects of historical association on every side to the eyes of the archaeologist. The city archives are deposited in a room in the upper part of the building. The hall itself, which is internally a handsome old building, bristles with matchlocks, pikes, and bills, distributed over its walls, part of which are said, tra- ditionally, to have been seized in the civil war of the seventeenth century, in the house of a Lady Wootton, who shut her residence at St. Augustine's, in this city, against the parliamentarian municipal authorities. On the western wall, in the corner, near the north end, is still suspended the ancient horn which was formerly sounded at the doors of the common-council-men, to summon them to the meeting of the burghmote. Beneath the Hall, and almost closed from the light of day, is an object of still greater antiquarian interest, the relic, perhaps, of the building in which the townsmen held their public meetings at a period not long subsequent to the Norman conquest. The floor of this Norman building, which is now only a few feet below the surface of the ground without, stood once evidently on a level with the street. A double arched roof, sup- ported by a row of pillars at each side and down the centre, still exists, sufficiently perfect to enable us to judge of its original appearance. The larger of the two capitals represented in the margin is one of the cen- tral supporters ; the other belongs to one of the corner pillars. These pillars are now more or less fragmentary, and imbedded in the more modern wall, the open space between the cen- tral colonnade being entirely bricked up, as a support for the building above. The middle pillars in the side walls have a group of three capitals, supporting the imposts, which may perhaps have been originally octagonal, but, if so, the greater part is now concealed in the masonry of the wall, and the shafts are broken awav, and the capitals themselves so much injured, that we can only guess at their original appearance. Until very recently, these vaults were used as wine-cellars. THE ARCHjEOLOGICAL ALBUM. EXCURSION TO HREACH DOWN AND BOURNE. All the excursions of the archaeologists were interesting in the highest degree. Their attention was first called to the graves of the early Anglo-Saxon settlers in this district. The site of Canterbury was occupied by a Roman town, named Dwobemiim, which was chosen as the metropolis of the followers of Ilengst and llorsa, and from them received the appellation of Cantwara-buruh (or the town of the Kentish-men), which has been softened down into its modern name. The high grounds, or downs, to the south, within a distance of a few miles, in a sweep from the south-west to the south-east of the city, are covered with groups of barrows, which are proved by their contents to have been the graves of the Kentish Saxons, from their arrival in this island to the beginning of the seventh century. They are most numerous over the hills towards the south- west, which may fairly be termed the Saxon Necropolis of East Kent, and may possibly have had some reference to a religious establishment at Wodnesborough, or the citadel or hill of "Woden. The largest of these groups in the immediate vicinity of Canterbury are found on the hill to the north of Bourne Park (some of them in what is termed Bourne Paddock), and on the Breach Down, in the parish of Barham, both on the line of the Dover road, many of which have been opened by Lord Albert Conyngham. Under his lordship's superintendence, a number of these barrows (both at Breach Down and in Bourne Paddock) were excavated to within about a foot of the bottom, before the arrival of the visitors, in order that the deposits might be uncovered in their presence. It must be observed that the Saxon barrows differ from others in the circumstance that the body is not placed on the ground, but in a regular grave dug into it, over which is raised a very low circular mound, which sometimes can now be with difficulty dis- tinguished from the ground around it. They were, in fact, the prototypes of our common churchyard graves, except that in the latter the slight mound or barrow is made to take the form of the grave. However, the Saxon barrows were probably at first higher and more definitely marked, and perhaps they were adorned with some outward marks of respect. The archaeologists assembled at Breach Down, on Tuesday, the 10th of September, between nine and ten o'clock, conveyances having been engaged at Canterbury for the occasion by the local committee, and eight barrows were successively opened for their inspection. The only interruption arose from a heavy shower of rain, which was so far from clamping the zeal of the visitors, that many, both laches and gentlemen, raised their umbrellas (if they had any), and stood patiently looking at the operations of the excavators, whilst others sought a temporary covering in a windmill which stood in the MKKTING AT CANTERBURY. middle of the scene. The barrows on this spot had fur- nished the richest portion of Lord Albert Conyngham's collection of Anglo-Saxon antiquities ; yet on the present occasion, those opened were less productive than was anticipated. All, however, contained human remains, and in some were found different articles, which appeared to indicate the character of the person interred in them. Thus, as Dr. Pettigrew remarked at the meeting in the even- ing, in a grave which contained the skeleton of a child were noticed beads, necklaces, and toys, evidently the offerings of parental affection, while the grave of the hunter con- tained his knife, spear, and shield. Indeed, the graves of male adults always contain these latter articles, accompanied frequently with pails, bowls, urns, and other relics, which probably, for some reason or other, the deceased had held in particular esteem. In the graves of females are generally found beads, necklaces, beautiful gems and brooches, and other ornaments of the person, and sometimes articles connected with, their domestic occupations. Remains of purses have been found, but only in one case, in a barrow on the Breach Down, did they contain money. It is a remarkable circumstance, that in many (perhaps we may say most) of the Anglo-Saxon barrows, human bones are found carelessly thrown in the mound above the grave, independent of the deposit in the grave itself. This singular fact can only be explained by the supposition that they are the remains of slaves sacrificed to the memory of their masters. Dr. Pettigrew found bones in the mound of one of the barrows on Breach Down, which he believed could not have been deposited there at a more remote period than fifty years ago, arid stated reasons for this opinion, which were far from satisfactorily answered by Dr. Buckland. It appears that the Breach Down had, at about that distance of time, been frequented by a noted highwayman, who 8 I II I \ aCH 1 Ol(tl. H A 1. VI.IU W. bore the name of "Black Robin," and who still figures as the sign of an inn in the adjoining village, and Dr. Pettigrew suggested that these bones might be the remains of one of his victims, whom he had cunningly interred in one of what were then generally understood to be the graves of ancient warriors. Dr. Pettigrew also stated that the condition of the teeth in most of the skulls he had observed in the course of these excavations, indicated that the food of the people to whom they belonged, was chiefly peas and beans, and other vegetables. From Breach Down the party proceeded to Bourne Park (the seat of their president, Lord Albert Conynghani), where two barrows were excavated, which proved much richer than those at Breach Down. The nature of the soil on the hill above Bourne seems, in most instances, to have destroyed the articles deposited in it; but the magnitude of the graves here would seem to prove that these barrows, the nearest to the metropolis of the tribe, belonged to people of a higher rank than those at a greater distance. In one of the barrows now opened in Bourne Paddock, were found an earthenware urn and a glass cup, the latter an article of rare occurrence, but both broken to fragments. These fragments w r ere, how r ever, joined to- gether, and the urn and cup restored, by the ingenuity of Mr. T. Bateman, jun., of Bakewcll, in Derbyshire, and Mr. Clarke, of Saffron Walden, in a manner so remarkable, as to excite the marked admiration of the members who met in the primeval section in the evening. Both were good specimens of Saxon workmanship. In the urn was found a brass rim, apparently belonging to a leathern bag or purse, from the colour and condition of the earth around it. It is remarkable that the hill above Bourne (called, from the neighbouring village, Bridge Hill), where the Saxon barrows are found, appears to have been previously a Roman cemetery ; for about twelve years ago, when the new Dover road was cut through it, a number of Romano-British urns and earthen vessels w r ere discovered, with skeletons and fragments of weapons, at a greater depth than the Saxon graves. Some of these urns, now r in the possession of Mr. W. H. Rolfe of Sandwich, w r ere exhibited by that intelligent anticjuary, at the meeting of the primeval section, on Friday afternoon, September 13. At Bourne Park, the archaeologists partook of the hospitality of their noble and learned president, who had prepared a plentiful repast in his fine old mansion. Here they inspected his lordship's valuable collection of antiquities, Roman, Saxon, Irish, and medieval. Some of the party visited the neighbouring church of Patrixbourne, or I'atricksbourne, an interesting Norman structure, remarkable for the beauty of its LCKSB0UR1TE CRUFU . MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 9 ornamental work, which is most profusely exhibited on the south exterior, represented in our engraving. The principal door on this side, seen beneath the tower, has a double recess; the ornaments of the first arch being divided into compartments, containina; various figures in low relief. At the head of the inner arch, which is decorated with the ordinary chev- ron, is a tympanum, with a sculptured representation of the Saviour seated within an aureole. Above the door is an arched recess, adorned with the chevron moulding; o and containing figure in high relief of the Agnus Dei. The chancel door is composed also of double recessed arches, with the chev- ron ornament. At the east end is a wheel window, very similar to that at Barfreston. The two doors on the Fireplace in the Hall, Bourne Park. other side of the church are of the same size and character as the chancel door on this side, but vary a little in detail. In the interior, the chancel is divided from the choir by a large semicircular arch. The most striking object in the church is a monument erected to the memory of the late Marquis of Conyngham. The church has been recently repaired, and the windows are now richly decorated with stained glass brought from the Continent by the dowager marchioness, to whose taste the adjoining village is indebted for a number of picturesque Gothic cottages. On Wednesday afternoon, after the sitting of the medieval section, the archaeologists visited Dr. Godfrey Faussett's rich museum of Saxon antiquities at Heppington, in the family mansion-house of the Godfreys and the Faussetts, situated itself within what appear to be ancient intrenchments, and not far distant from the remains of the Roman road leading from Canterbury to Lymne. This most magnificent collection was gathered almost entirely from the Saxon barrows of Kent ; it contains specimens in great variety of almost every article that could be preserved, from the warrior's weapons to the needle of the industrious housewife, the toy of the playful child, or the tools of the workman, with household utensils, ornaments of the person (many of them of great beauty), coins, &c. It is in collections like this that we see the importance of the labours of the " barrow-digger," and the value of even the most minute researches of the indus- c 10 TIIK A IU II .KOl.Oi; U \ I. ALHl'.M. trioufl antiquary. The ordinary page of history gives us a very indefinite notion of the manners of our pagan forefathers j we arc accustomed to regard them as half savages, without refinement, rude in their manners, and skilful only in the use of their weapons. lint in running our eyes over the museum of Dr. Faussett, the followers of Ilengst and Horsa seem to rise up before us; the warrior is brought from his grave in his panoply, and we see beside him his fair consort, here in her domestic costume, occupied in the cares of her household, and there again in her robes of ceremony, glittering with gold and jewels of exquisite design and workmanship. All our previous notions vanish before the mass of evidence before us; w r e see at once the refinements of Saxon life, even in its primeval stages, and the skill and taste of Saxon workmen. This fine collection of antiquities, which contains also some interesting Roman remains, was made in the last century by the Rev. Bryan Faussett (the grandfather of the present possessor), and increased by the acquisitions of his son. Some of them have been badly engraved in Douglas's Nenia Britannica. On the present occasion, Dr. Faussett received his visitors with the greatest politeness, and a room adjoining to the hall was abundantly stored with refreshments. EXCURSION TO RICHBOROUGH. The whole of the day on Thursday, September 12, was devoted by a large party to a visit to the Roman remains at Richborough, the ancient Rutnpia. They proceeded through the villages of Ash and Wingham, situated nearly on the line of the Roman road from Durovernum (Canterbury) to Rutupia. Some years ago a Roman burial- place was discovered in the immediate vicinity of Ash. At Wingham, the archaeologists stopped to examine the ^^oQ^vX church, which appeared to be in a lamentable state of dilapidation, arising from the neglect of a lay impro- priator, and to admire a fine old house by the roadside, remarkable for the boldness of its woodwork, and the elegance of the barge-board of its gable roof. After an agreeable ride through a rich and beautiful country, the archaeologists arrived at Richborough soon after mid-day. Rutupise (called by Ptolemy ' Povrovviai) is interesting to the antiquary for many reasons, independent of the circumstance of its being one of the most imposing Roman monuments in our island. The portus Rutupinus was the spot at which the Romans generally landed in their passage from Gaul to Britain, and was the MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 11 frequent station of the Roman fleet. Lucan quotes its stormy shore as being almost proverbial : — ' ' Prima quidem surgens operum structure fefellit Pompeium : veluti mediae qui tutus in arvis Sicaniae rabidum nescit latrare Pelorum : Aut vaga cum Thetys Rutupinaque Mora fervent, Unda Caledonios fallit turbata Britannos." Pharsal. lib. vi. 1. 64. In the latter part of the fourth century, the usurper Maximus is said to have taken the title of emperor in this place, from whence he passed over with his soldiers into Gaul. Ausonius calls him the "Rutupine robber/' and congratulates the city of Aquileia on being the place of that tyrant's final defeat and death: — " sed magis illud Eminet, extremo quod te sub tempore legit, Solveret exacto cui sera piacula lustro Maximus, armigeri quondam sub nomine lixae. Felix, quae tanti spectatrix laeta triumpbi, Punisti Ausonio Rutupinum mavte latronem." Auson. Clara Urb. vii. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, when Theodosius, the father of the emperor of that name, came to Britain to repress the invasions of the Picts, he landed at Rutupise. It is doubly connected with the name of one of the best poets of the lower empire, Ausonius, whose uncle, Claudius Contentus, was buried here: — " Contentum, fellus quern Rutupina tegit. Magna cui et variae quaesita pecunia sortis, Haeredis nullo nomine tuta perit. Raptus enim laetis et adhuc fiorentibus annis, Trans mare et ignaris fratribus oppetiit." Ausonii Parent alia, vii. And Flavius Sanctus, whose wife was the sister of Sabina, the wife of Ausonius, was for a time commander of the garrison : — " Militiam nullo qui turbine sedulus egit : Praside laetatus quo Rutupinus ayer. lb. xviii. At a later period, St. Augustine is said to have landed at Rutupisc when he came to this island to convert the Saxons. Bede is so far from speaking of it as deserted or in ruins, that his words would lead us to suppose it was still, under the Saxons, the place of resort to ships sailing from the opposite port of Gessoriacum (now Boulogne) ; but he tells us that the name had been corrupted by his couutrymen into Reptacestir, which is doubtlessly connected with the modern name. It was probably deserted when the port became choked by the accumulating alluvium deposited by the 12 TIIK ARCHiEOLOGIC VI. Alia M. sea. We have no information as to the manner in which it was occupied during the Saxon era ; a few Saxon antiquities have been discovered in the neighbourhood, and two curious Saxon monuments, supposed to be boundary stones, said to have been found at Richborough, arc now preserved in the Museum at Canterbury, to which they were presented by Mr.Rolfe. They are respectively two feet and a foot and a half in height, and one of them bears a llunic inscription, much defaced, but represented in our cut as nearly as it could be distinguished by the eye. The ruins of Richborough occupy the brow of a bold elevation, which, in the time of the Romans, formed an island, rising out of the arm of the sea which separated the Isle of Thanet from the mainland of Kent, and divided from the rest of Thanet by a smaller channel. The sea is now somewhat more than a mile from the foot of this hill, but the intervening low grounds are kept by embankment from being overflowed at high tides. There can be no doubt that the sea once flowed up to the foot of Richborough bill. Boys, the historian of Sandwich, writing in 1792, tells us, that "in digging, a few years ago, to lay the foundation of Richborough sluice, the workmen, after penetrating through what was once the muddy bed of the river that runs close by in a more con- tracted channel than formerly, came to a regular sandy sea-shore, that had been suddenly covered with silt, on which lay broken and entire shells, oysters, sea-weeds, the purse of the thornback, a small shoe with a metal fibula in it, and some small human bones ; all of them, except the last article, with the same appearance of freshness as such things have on the shore at this day." More recent excavations in various parts of this line of coast have laid bare, at a depth of a few feet, in different places, the ancient beach, covered with large boulders, and here and there strewed with Roman coins and other articles. Immense quantities of Roman coins were found in digging a sand-pit at Sandown, near Deal. Rutupire was celebrated under the Romans for supplying Italy with one of the choicest articles of the table, its oysters being considered as more delicate than those furnished by any other spot. Juvenal says of a bon vivant of the imperial days, — " Circeis nata forent, an Lucrinum ad saxum, Ruiupinooe edita /undo Ostrea, callebat primo deprenderc morsu." A^ e know from Pliny in how r great repute the British oysters were held at Rome. No oysters arc now found on the Richborough coast; but in digging sluices for draining MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 13 in the marshes behind Richborough (which were formerly covered by the sea), at a depth of about six feet, the remains of extensive beds of oysters have been found, which appear to have been of a diminutive size, and were probably of a very excellent quality. This, therefore, was the Rutupinum fundum from which Rome was supplied. It may be added, that from the great quantity of oyster-shells which are every where turned up in stirring the soil on the Richborough hill, it would appear that the local consumption was very considerable. Oyster-shells are frequently found among Roman remains in different parts of our island. Richborough castle appears to have been the citadel of the town of Rutupise, which probably lay on the slope of the hill to the north and west, on which sides were the entrances to the fortress. It appears that, in Camden's time, the ground on the site of the town still presented marks of the lines of streets ; for, he says of it, " Time has devoured every trace of it ; and, to teach us that cities are as perishable as men, it is now a cornfield, where, when the corn is grown up, one may see the traces of the streets intersecting each other. For, wherever the streets have run, the corn grows thin, which the common people call St. Austin's Cross." It is the old story, jam seges uhi Troja fuit. But Time itself has been almost powerless before the mighty mass of the walls above. In the last century, some workmen found at the foot of the northern declivity of the hill (supposed to have been occupied by the town) what was con- jectured to have been part of the masonry of a wharf or landing-place, built of bricks, which were all taken up and carried away.* On an elevated spot, about four hundred and sixty yards to the S.W. by S. of the south-west angle of the castle walls, are the remains of an amphiteatre, now much worn down from its original shape. It is two hundred and twenty yards in circumference, and completely overlooks the castle, so that a signal from the latter in case of danger would instantly recal the soldiers who might be here occupied with the amusements which it was designed to exhibit. Leland tells us that, in his time, this amphitheatre was known by the name of Lytleborough. Gough, in his edition of Camden's Britannia, says that, when he wrote, it was commonly called the South Mount. Leland tells us, that there were found upon * " A building was discovered some years ago in the materials. Two sorts of bricks were used in this build- plain at the foot of the bank about forty rods to the northward of the castle, which had the appearance of a wharf or landing-place. The surface was a little way under ground. It was four feet high, of a triangular form, the sides nearly equal, of about ten feet each, one of them parallel with the bank and its opposite angle projecting towards the sea. It was a shell of brick- work, two bricks thick, filled with earth, the two projecting sides tied together with a brace of the same ing ; one was eighteen inches by twelve, and three and a half inches thick ; the other seventeen inches by eleven and one and a quarter thick. Mr. Ebenezer Mussel, of Bethnal Green, London, purchased all the bricks or tiles, and employed them in paving a court-yard and part of his house there." — Boys's Collections for a History of Sandwich, p. 868. It would now probably be a difficult task to trace the dwelling of Mr. Ebenezer Mussel. 1 1 TIIK AUCII.EOLOGICAL A LIU M . Richborough lull "mo antiquitcs of Romayne money then yn any ])lacc els of England ;" and we know that it lias been from that period to the present day a plentiful source of antiquarian treasures. Archdeacon Battely, whose Antiquitates Rutupince was published posthumously in 1711, had gathered together a rich collection, some of the most interesting of which arc engraved in the plates to that work. They consisted of coins, patera?, and other vessels of earthenware, bronzes, chains, rings, bracelets, fibulae, bronze figures, and various articles and utensils of domestic life. Mr. Hoys, the historian of Sandwich, has also engraved some curious articles which came into his possession in the course of his researches; and his grandson, Mr. Rolfe, the worthy inheritor of his antiquarian zeal, has an interesting cabinet of Rutupinc antiquities. In digging somewhat deeper than usual in the churchyard of St. Clement's, the highest ground in Sandwich, a Roman urn, with a gold coin, and a cowry shell, were recently discovered; and Mr. Rolfe is of opinion that the top of the hill on which Sandwich now stands was a burial-ground of the city of Rutupise. A pleasant walk of little more than a mile from Sandwich brings us to these majestic ruins, which have a very imposing effect from whatever side they are viewed ; but, perhaps, no side exhibits them at first sight to greater advantage than the one which wc thus approach. Our view is taken from the south-western corner, representing the exterior of the northern or more perfect wall, with a distant view of Pegwcll Bay and Ramsgate town and pier. The castle forms a regular parallelogram, placed nearly (though not exactly) north and south, and east and west. The walls are composed of a mass of stones of different kinds, embedded in very hard mortar, and faced outside with regular courses of stones and tiles, the latter being arranged in double rows from three feet three inches to four feet three inches apart, the first row of tiles being about five feet from the foot of the wall. These walls are at the bottom between eleven and twelve feet thick, diminishing slightly towards the top, and are, where most perfect, about thirty feet high. Yet this immense mass of masonry has no foundation, the first layer of stones and mortar having been simply laid on the plain surface of the ground. Among the stones in the walls* arc some pieces of oolite and travertine which must have been brought over from the Continent ; and the ground * Mr. W. Francis Ainsworth made, during the visit of the archaeologists, the following observations on the materials of the walls of Richborough castle, which he has kindly communicated to us. "In the N.E. wall, brides the customary courses of limestone rock and bricks, there are other courses, more particularly in one spot at the base of the wall, of travertino or limestone deposited by a spring or running waters. Also, on the same side, near some ivy, and half-way up the wall, masses of petrified Teredo nasalis. Again, at the south- west side, where the wall is broken down, there is a con- siderable mass of oolite, more like the Norman stone than any of our oolites. It would be a curious question to know whence all these materials, foreign to the locality, came ; and to ascertain if there are any springs or rivulets depositing travertino or calcareous tuiTa in this neighbourhood." The geologist is always a valuable ally to the antiquary. >? RICHBOitOITGH. CASTLE-. KENT. , i s^m^ — -^hm #f^ t^'-a Scale of feet . 1SL 243 PLAN OF 'iO ROUGH CA ■J-Mr- £ W0& MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 15 within the area is thickly strewed with pieces of foreign oolite, of different sizes, which nrast be the remains of buildings that have been destroyed. This foreign oolite forms a considerable portion of the materials of the cross-shaped building of which we shall have to speak further on. The walls remain on three sides of the area ; they appear to have been regularly flanked with square towers, solid at the lower part, with a round tower at the external corners of the parallelogram. Of the wall on the south side, the portion extending from d to d in our plan has totally disappeared, and other parts of the wall are in a very dilapidated condition. The principal entrance was in the middle of the west wall, but the masonry has been there so much broken away, that its form cannot be now distinguished. In excavating here, Mr. Boys found a regular pavement of large hewn stones in the opening of the gateway, which extended inwards nearly twenty-five feet. Some of these stones were taken up for the use of the neighbouring cottagers, and one (with the lewis by which it was raised remaining) now forms the pavement before the door of a cottage near the north-east corner of the castle. The north-west corner of the wall has also been broken down, and a large mass of the masonry lies at a little distance from the wall, in the spot where it had stopped in its fall. The north wall is the most perfect ; about the middle of it is the decuman gate, the masonry of which is still sharp and entire ; the entrance into the area being covered by an advance wall, which formed a side-way entrance, as represented in our plan. It does not seem to be well ascertained that there was a wall on the east side. Mr. Boys, in his plan, has carried the north wall to the point marked g in our plan, where he has placed a round tower forming the corner, and continues the wall on the east side to h, as far as indicated by the fragments remaining. Others have supposed that the parallelogram was originally complete, but that the east wall and part of the south wall have fallen by the sinking of the hill. If this, however, were the case, it is remarkable that there are not traces of any fallen masonry towards the south-east corner, while, to the north-east, there is a regular line of massy fragments ; and there does not appear to be any good reason for believing that much of the hill has fallen away. The present appearances would almost lead us to believe that Boys was right in the form he had given to the north-east corner, and that the piece of wall there was merely a defence to the landing-place, which led up the sloping ground by the spot marked /into the fort, while the bank from /to d was only rather steeper and more regular than at present. In some parts there appear evident marks of unsuccessful attempts to demolish the walls. Dr. Buckland pointed out to the archaeologists the corrosive effects of the common snail, and succeeded in spoiling the riband of a lady's bonnet in illustration. But the grand destroyer of these time-beaten walls is the ivy, which formerly overrun them in much greater abundance than at present. A hundred and 16 THE ARCHjEOLOGICAL A.LBTJM. fifty years ago. Archdeacon Battely pointed out the destructive effects of this intruder; and \vr believe that the present improved condition of the walls is owing, in a great measure, to the efforts of Mr. Boys to cut it down. In some places, where the wall is hollowed or fractured, we perceive the old roots of the ivy penetrating to the very heart of the masonry, through masses of mortar which the force of man's hand can hardly break ; and large cracks in the more perfect parts of the walls are to be attributed to the same agency. Of the north wall there arc about 441 feet standing. It extended to about .")()() feet; and the length of the wall below the bank, which now lies in fragments from S. to N. is 190 feet. There arc about 264 feet of the south Avail standing, originally 358 feet, viz. to the S.E. corner of the castle; where, on the bank, is a considerable fragment, probably the base of a round tower, such as were standing at the S.W. and N.W. corners, the basements of which are distinctly traceable. The west wall was, when perfect, about 160 feet in extent. Lcland says quaintly of the interior, " Withyn the castel is a lytic parochc chirch of S. Augustine, and an heremitage. I had anticpiites of the heremite, the which is an industrius man. Not far fro the heremitage is a cave, wher men have sowt and digged for treasure. I saw yt by candel withyn, and ther were conys [rabbits]. Yt was so straite that I had no mynd to crepe far yn. In the north side of the castel ys a hedde yn the wallc, now sore defaced with wether. They cawle yt queue Bertha heddc. Nere to that place, hard by the wal, was a pot of Romaync mony fownd." The area is now entirely cleared of the brambles and brushwood which covered a part of it in Camden's time, and is ploughed as a corn-field. When covered with corn, and in dry weather, the outline of the floor of the prctorium is distinctly visible ; in the middle of which a.ve the foundations of a cross-shaped building, on the character of which many conjectures have been hazarded. It was perhaps an elevated beacon, or sea-mark ; but we think it cannot have been a chapel : walls even of a moderate thickness would have left hardly room for a man to turn himself within, and it does not lay east and west, but almost north and south. In excavating near the great western entrance (marked c in the plan), Mr. Boys found great quantities of the exuviae of animals (particularly of those generally sacrificed to Diana), which seemed to indicate that a temple once stood near the spot. At a more recent period, large quantities of human bones, thrown into the earth without order, were found in excavating on the spot marked eeee, and where the edge of the hill is broken down, nearly opposite this place, the bones are seen projecting out of the bank. They may be the remains of men slain in some civil tumult, or sacrificed to the fury of a successful enemy. Fragments of pottery (plain and ornamental), mixed with pieces of stagVhorn and oyster-shells, have been found in great abundance in the north-west corner. In the course of his recent excavations at the edge ' MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 17 of the platform of the pretorium, Mr. Rolfe discovered quantities of fragments of marble, evidently remains of buildings which had formerly occupied the surface of the platform. The platform, or floor, just alluded to, which, as will be seen by the plan, is not exactly in the middle of the area, is 144 feet in length by 104 in breadth, and is covered by the earth to a depth of from three to six feet, the surface of the ground being not perfectly level. We were informed by Mr. Rolfe that in excavating under the platform, which is about five feet and a half thick, some gentlemen in 1822, for the first time on record, discovered an extensive square subterranean building, down the side of the wall of which they sunk a well or shaft to the depth of about twenty-six feet from the under part of the platform, in the hope of finding an entrance at the bottom, but meeting with springs they were compelled to abandon then* operations, without succeeding in the object of their research, and on the following day the excavations were closed up. The platform extends beyond the walls of this subterranean building, on the longer sides twelve, and on the shorter sides ten feet. The extent of the subterranean building is shewn by the dotted line in the plan, and a section across it (taken about the middle of the cross) is given in the corner of the plate, in order to convey a more distinct idea of its form. To discover the nature and purpose of this building was the object of a series of incessant excavations carried on under the directions of Mr. Rolfe during more than forty days, from the 5th of September, 1843, to the 25th of October following. He began at the spot marked a in our plan, at the edge of the platform, and proceeded under the ledge formed by the excess of the width of the latter over the building below, and there, only eight feet northward of the above excavations, fell in with one made at some unknown period, presenting the appearance of a chamber cut in the soil, extending from the edge of the platform to the substructure twelve feet, and about eight or nine feet in width. He then worked a gallery under this edge, along the whole of the east and north sides, and to an extent of eighty-six feet along the western side, in the hopes of finding some traces of a side entrance into the supposed chamber or chambers within. This gallery was five feet and a half high, and three feet wide. Meeting, however, with nothing but a uniform and compact mass of masonry, Mr. Rolfe discontinued the gallery, and began to break an opening in the masonry at the point marked b in the plan ; but after, by the most incessant exertions of the workmen employed in this operation, he had made a hole extending inwards seven yards, without finding any traces of a chamber, he was obliged by different circumstances to discontinue his undertaking for that season, with the hope that better success will attend another attempt. As the opening in the wall was made near the top, it is to be feared that the workmen may have fallen upon a very thick vault, for it can hardly be supposed that the building beneath is a solid mass of masonry. Since the walls of the castle are built without any foundation at all, D IS TIIK ARCHiEOLOGICAL ALBUM. we can imagine no necessity for an immense work like this to support the lighter and more fragile structures raised on the platform above. The most reasonable supposition appears to be, that it incloses strong subterranean storehouses. During the progress of these interesting operations, a tent was raised within the castle area, and Mr. Rolfe received a number of distinguished visitors, among whom were the Duke of Wellington and a large party of his friends. All traces of the " lytic paroche chirch" and the hermitage, mentioned by Lcland, have long disappeared; but at the beginning of his excavations, Mr. llolfe discovered an old opening and portion of a narrow gallery at the cast side of the platform, which bore marks of having been formerly occupied by man, and which he thinks was the cave alluded to by Lcland. Among other articles he discovered in it were some frag- ments of Roman pottery, with a rough kind of enamel glued on them, which the " industrious" hermit probably sold as amulets to the ignorant and superstitions, while he reserved the better " antiquities" for the learned. At the spot marked /, on the descent of the bank at the north-east corner, we observe a cave of more recent formation, the entrance to which lies under a mass of fallen masonry ; this w:as some years ago occupied as a store-room by smugglers, until discovered by the revenue officers. Alter having explored, with the most excited feelings of curiosity and interest, the venerable ruins of Richborough, the archaeological visitors proceeded to the residence of John Godfrey, Esq. at Brook House, in the parish of Ash, where a hospitable enter- tainment had been prepared for them. Some of them made a short stay at Sandwich, where they inspected Mr. Rolfe's museum. They then took the way to Barfreston church, so well known as a fine and almost unaltered example of a Norman ecclesiastical building, rich in sculptured ornament. It was late in the evening when the party reached Canterbury on their return. On the same day a smaller party had proceeded, under the guidance of Lord Albert Conyngham, to visit the castle and other objects of antiquarian interest at Dover. On the last day of the meeting, another small party visited the interesting church of Chartham, and partook of lunch at the house of the rector, the Rev. H. R. Moody. VISITS TO THE ANTIQUITIES OF CANTERBURY. Canterbury itself abounds in interesting monuments of the middle ages, which occupied a considerable share of the attention of the assembled archaeologists. Of the ancient military works of the city, the chief (and almost only) remains are considerable portions of the city walls, with the lofty mound, or "Dane John" (as it is now called), one of the old gates (West Gate), and the dilapidated skeleton of the keep of the castle. CHAUCER'S FROM THE Y ' INN MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 19 The streets of Canterbury still present many interesting specimens of old domestic architecture, but their chief riches in this class of monuments have perished within the last half century. We might point out as worthy of attention several houses in North- gate Street, a good corner house in Palace Street, a house in Burgate Street, with some interesting wood carving, and the picturesque stack of buildings in St. Dunstan's Street, near Westgate, formerly known as the Star Inn. The most interesting house in the town is, however, the famous Chequer Inn, the supposed place of lodging of Chaucer's motley troop of pilgrims, now subdivided into tenements, and sadly altered and defaced, but bearing many marks of its ancient character. It forms the corner of High Street and Mercery Lane. In the early municipal documents, this inn is sometimes mentioned as being used on public occasions, and among the extracts read before the historical section it was stated that in 1546 the prince's players acted in it before the mayor and corporation. Its proximity to the cathedral naturally made it the resort of such pilgrims as were able to pay for good lodgings. The description of the arrival of Chaucer's party, given by the author of the supplement to the " Canterbury Tales," printed by Urry (written apparently not long after Chaucer's death), is too good a picture of " Canterbury in the olden time" to be passed over in silence. The writer of this rather unpolished performance tells us how the pilgrims arrived in Canterbury at " mid-morowe " (in the middle of the forenoon), and took up their lodgings at the Chequer : — " They toke their in and loggit them at mydmorowe I trowe Atte Cheker of the hope, that many a man doth knowe :" and how, mine host of Southwark having given the necessary orders for their dinner, they all proceeded to the cathedral to make their offerings at the shrine of St. Thomas. At the church door they were sprinkled with holy water : — " Then at chirch dore the curtesy gan to ryse, Tyl the knyght, of gentilnes that knewe right wele the guyse, Put forth the prelatis, the parson and his fere. A monk, that took the spryngill with a manly chere, And did as the manere is, moilid [ycef\ al their patis, Everich aftir othir, righte as they were of statis. The frere feynyd fetously the spryngill for to hold To spryng oppon the remnaunt, that for his cope he nold Have laft that occupacioune in that holy plase, So longid his holy conscience to se the nonnis fase." We are left to conjecture how far the monk was successful in the object he desired. The knight and better part of the company went direct to their devotions; but some of the pilgrims of a less educated class began to wander about the nave of the 20 Till. \l<( II.EOLOGICAL ALBUM. church, curiously admiring all the objects around them. The miller and his com- panions entered into a warm discussion concerning the arms in the painted glass u inflows : — " The pardoner and the miller and othir lewdc sotes Sought hem M'lf in the chirch right as lewd gotes, Pyrid last and pourid high upon the plase, Counterfetyng gentilmen the armys for to blase, Diskyvering last the peyntnr, and for the story mournid, \iiil ared [interpreted] al so right as rammys hornyd. ■ He berith a balstaff,' quod the toon, ' and els a rakid end.' ' Thow failest,' quod the miller, ' thow hast nat wel thy mynd : It is a spere, yf thow canst se, with a prik to-fore, To bush adown his enmy and through the shoulder bore.' " At length the host of Southwark, whose business it was to preserve order among the company, called them together and reproved them for their negligence; whereupon they hastened to make their offerings: — " Then passid they forth boystly goglinp with their hedis, Knelid adown to-fore the shrine, and hertlich their bedis They preyd to scint Thomas, in such wyse as they couth ; And sith the holy relikes eeh man with his mowith Kissid, as a goodly monk the names told and taught. And sith to othir places of holynes they raught, And were in their devocioune tyl service were al doon." As noon approached, they gathered together and went to their dinner, for it was tin dinner- hour for all classes at this period. Before they left the church, however, they bought signs, "as the manner was," in order that they might have something to shew as a memorial and evidence of the saint they had visited. The miller bought and pinned on his bosom signs of Canterbury brooches. The distribution of these signs appears to have led to some confusion: — " Then, as manere and custom is, signes there they bought ; For men of contre shuld know whome they had sought. Eche man set his silver in such thing as they likid. And in the meen while the miller had y-pikid His bosom ful of signys of Cauntcrbury bruchis ; Though the pardoner and he pryvely in hir pouchis They put them afterwards, that noon of them it wist. Save the sompner scid somewhat, and seyd to he list, ' Halff part !' quod he, prively rownyng on their ere. ' Husht, pees !' quod the miller, ' seist thow nat the frere, How he lowrith undir his hood with a doggish eye ? Hit shuld be a privy thing that he coud nat aspy.' " This passage affords a curious illustration of one of the superstitious practices of papal times. Figures and devices of various kinds, stamped in thin sheet lead, most MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 21 of them having traces of a pin at the back intended to fix them to the garments, have been frequently found, and antiquaries were very doubtful as to the object for which they were designed, until Mr. Roach Smith, who exhibited at one of the evening con- versaziones at Canterbury a number of these leaden brooches, which had been dragged out of the rivers at Canterbury, London, and Abbeville in France, shewed that they were nothing more than the signs bought by pilgrims, and worn about their persons, to shew that they had visited the particular places indicated by the devices they bore. Mr. Smith quoted a passage of Giraldus Cambrensis, a contemporary (in his youth) with Becket himself, who describes himself and his companions as coming from Canterbury to London " with the signs of St. Thomas hung about their necks,"* which shews how early the custom prevailed in this city. Among the signs exhibited by Mr. Smith, only one bore a distinct reference to Canterbury; it was a little round brooch, with a head in the middle, and an inscription stating the latter to be CAPUT THOME— the head of Thomas.f This sign was found in the Thames, at London, and had no doubt been brought thither by some devotee from St. Thomas's shrine at Canterbury. Our cut represents this relic the size of the original. Among those found in the river at Canterbury, where there was probably an extensive manufactory of such articles, one of the most curious is that given in the margin, representing St. John the Baptist carrying the holy lamb.;}. One found in the river at Abbeville represents a head of St. John the Baptist, and appears to have been borne by a pilgrim from Amiens, where, among other precious relics, was shewn the pretended real head of the forerunner of Christ. To return to our pilgrims, when they had satisfied their feelings of curiosity and devotion, — " They set their siynys upon their hedes, and som oppon their capp, And sith to the dyner-ward they gan for to stapp." After dinner they determined to go forth " to sport and pley " them, " eche man as hym list/' until supper time : — " The knyght arose therwithal, and cast on a fresher gown, And his sone anothir, to walk in the town ; And so did all the remnaunt that were of that aray, That had their chaungis with them, they made them fresh and gay." * " Episcopus autem videns ipsum intrantem, cujus notitiam satis habuerat, et socios suos cum signacuUs I?. Thomae a collo suspensis," &c. — Girald. Camb. De rebus a se yestis, up. Angl. Sacr. vol. ii. p. 481. f Now in the possession of Mr. T. Welton, of Upper Clapton, Middlesex. X In the collection of Mr. Rolfe. 22 THE ARCH/F.OLOGICAL ALBUM. The knight took his son to examine the fortifications : — " The knyght with his meyne went to se the walle And the wardes of the town, as to a knyght befalle ; Devising cntentiflich the strengthis al about, And apointid to his sone the perell and the dout For shot of arblast and of bowe, and eke for shot of gonne, Unto the wardis of the town, and how it might be wonne ; And al defence ther-ajreyn, aftir his intent He declarid compendiously, and al that evir he ment." The monk, with the parson and a friar, went to pay a visit to a friend, and caroused together over his good wines. The ladies remained at home, and visited the garden of their hostess of the " Cheker" : — " The wyfe of Bath was so wery she had no wyl to walk, She toke the priores by the honde, ' Madame, wol ye stalk Pryvely into the garden to se the herbis growe, And aftir with our hostis wife in hir parlour rowe ? I wol gyve yewe the wyne, and ye shul me also, For tyl we go to soper we have naught ellis to do.' The priores, as woman taught of gentil blood and hend, Assentid to hir counsel, and forth gon they wend, Passyng forth sofftly into the berbery. For many a herb grewe for sewe and surgery, And all the aleys fcir and parid, and raylid, and y-makid, The savige and the isope y-frethid and y-stakid, And othir beddis by and by fresh y-dight, For comers to the hooste righte a sportful sight." The other pilgrims amused themselves in different ways, according to their tastes and inclinations. The supper ended in mirth and jollity, which lasted " tyl the tyme that it was well within eve." The more sober of the party went to their beds betimes ; but others continued to drink and "jangle," until those who were in their beds were angry at the disturbance, and urged them to go to rest : — " But yet they preyd them curteysly to rest for to wend ; And so they did all the rout, they dronk, and made an end, And eche man droughe to cusky [his couch ?] to slepe and take his rest, Save the pardoner, that drew apart, and weytid by a cheste, For to hide hymself tyl the candill wer out." As soon as the rest of the pilgrims were gone to bed, and the "candill" out, the pardoner stole out of the room, to pursue a low amour. It is quite evident that the whole party slept in one room. The inn now offers externally few features which would be recognised by Chaucer's pilgrims. The most remarkable part is the row of stone arches on the ground floor, which now form the windows and door of the corner shop, and which appear to have been a MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 23 kind of open portico, serving as the grand entrance to the inn. Gostling tells us, that m his time people remembered more of these arches running along the street, which had been demolished to make new fronts to the houses. This pro- bably is the oldest part of the building. Beneath it is a cellar, with a very flat-arched stone roof, represented in the cut in the mar- gin. Proceeding through an arched passage from High Street, we see from the yard many interesting remnants of the woodwork of the old building. In Gostling's time, a staircase led to a wooden gallery, which ran round the building to the right in the view in our engraving (which looks from the yard towards the street), and old men still remember its existence. The large room at the top, which occupied the whole upper part of the building, until cut up into small rooms and lofts, is supposed to have been the one which the poet had in his mind as that occupied by his pilgrims, and it is still called the hall of the hundred beds. We might cite many passages from old writers, shewing the general prevalence of the custom of lodging a number of guests indiscriminately in one room filled with beds. One end of the great room of the Chequer, of which the exterior is seen in our view from the yard, and an interior view is given below in the same plate, still retains its original appearance, and is occupied as a cabinet-maker's workshop, but many of its features are concealed by the tools and lumber of the workmen. The description of a visit to Canterbury given in the poem quoted above, contrasts singularly with the modern meeting. There is something grotesque in the idea of the savants of the nineteenth century carrying back to exhibit there as curiosities the identical signs which the pilgrims of other days had brought away from this very spot with such widely different feelings. Our modern pilgrims also separated each day into parties to view the objects in the town. Some followed the steps of the knight, and lamented over the small remnants now visible of the walls and wards of which he had admired the strength and fairness. Some may, like the monk and his companions, have gone forth to seek old acquaintances, and perhaps quaff the cup of remembrance. The well-stored garden of the Chequer was no longer there to invite the attention of the ladies, although, instead of it, the superb nursery-ground of Alderman Masters was opened to the visitors. But many wandered through the church, and "peered" about 21 Til K AHCIl.l'.OI.Or.K'AL AlHI'M. as curiously and irreverently ;is the miller and the pardoner. On the day after his lecture, Professor Willis continued his remarks to a few who relinquished Richborough and Dover to accompany him over the cathedral. It would take a volume to describe all the objects there presented to the view. The scene of Meckel's death, the tomb of the victor of Crecy and Poitiers, and a host of other spots, interesting; by some historical association, or by their beauty of ornament, attracted successively the attention of the visitors. Even the fine extensive crypts were on this occasion thrown open to the members of the Archaeological Association. One of the most interesting objects in the crypt, or under-croft, is a little painted semicircular chapel, supposed by Dart to have been dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It is si- tuated under St. Ansel m^s tower, and was an object of considerable attraction to the members of the Archaeological As- sociation. It ap- pears to have been walled up at ra- ther an early pe- riod, to make a stronger support for the superstruc- ture, and can now be entered only through a small square hole, re- presented on the left-hand side of the accompanying view of the inte- rior of this chapel. To this circum- stance we owe the preservation of the curious paintings which cover the interior surface of the walls. The painting in the best state of preservation, of which we have given an • - St • j ;•' ' [■ I - ;- 9 g I 3 oo a CO oo 3 °2 si I « -5 J MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 25 (Bffiiiaiiiini exact copy in our plate, is on the north side, and represents the nativity of St. John the Baptist, as related in the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke. Elizabeth appears in bed, with the child in her arms, and her answer to the words on the small label in the man's hand (now defaced), but which were probably, Nomen ejus Zacharias, " His name is Zacharias," is inscribed on the longer label — Nequaquam, sed vocabitur Johannes, "Not so, but he shall be called John." On the ris;ht we see Zacharias, seated, with the mitre of the priesthood on his head, writing the words, Johannes est nomen ejus, " His name is John." Above is the inscription, — " ISTE PUER MAGNUS CORAM DOMINO, ET SP1RITU SANCTO REPLEBITCR." Above this picture there is a second compartment, with another painting, much in- jured; and beneath them the inscription, legible in Dart's time, Hoc altare dedication est in honor em sancti Gabrielis archangeli, which intimates that an altar dedicated to the archangel Gabriel formerly stood there. There was also an altar on the other side, but the words Hoc altare were all that remained of the corresponding inscription when Dart wrote. A compartment in the centre of the roof contains a figure of the Creator, seated in an aureole, with a book in one hand, on which are still legible the words Ego sum qui sum. The aureole is sup- ported by four angels, who occupy the corners of the vaulting. On the soffit of the arch to the left of our cut, are paintings of cherubims with eyes -in their wings and bodies, which Dart mistook for figures of St. Catherine. The arch on the opposite side is painted in com- partments, the lowest representing St. John the Evangelist writing the Apocalypse, and the others containing the seven angels, seven can- dlesticks, and seven churches. At the head of the arch are painted seven stars in a circle. Our cut represents the compartment containing St. John, and one of those of the angels, can- dlesticks, and churches. The style of these paintings is that of the first half of the twelfth century. They so closely resemble, in design and in colouring, the illuminations in a manuscript in the British 1 H (81 I) ill 1 «i 111 ll I ffl 26 THE ARCH E0L0GIC LL ALBUM. .Museum (MS. Cotton. Nero C. IV.), of which a specimen is given in Mr. Shaw's beautiful work on the " Dresses and Den nations of the Middle Ages," that we might be led to look upon them as a work of the same artist. Dart supposes this chapel to occupy the place of a much earlier chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist, in which were interred the bodies of Cuthbert, Bregwiri, and others of the Saxon archbishops. During the last century the vaulted room through which we pass to this painted chapel was allotted as a place of meeting to a congregation of French Protestant refugees. At present it is kept locked up, and does not appear to be used for any especial purpose. It is much to be desired that care should be taken to ensure the preservation of so precious a monument of early art. Alter the cathedra], the most interesting ecclesiastical building in Canterbury is the little church of St. Martin, picturesquely situated on a hill among the fields, without the walls on the east side of the city. Its site was once occupied by a Roman building, which was given by Ethelbert, king of Kent, to his Christian queen, Bertha, as a place of devotion for herself and her Frankish bishop, Luidhard, and was afterwards given to St. Augustine. The notion that the Roman building had been a church, is probably incorrect. The present church is comparatively modern, and perhaps there are no remains of the original walls, but the materials of which they arc built (stone and Roman bricks) have evidently been taken from some Roman building. A curious Norman font, preserved in the church, has been at times described very absurdly as the one in which king Ethelbert was baptised. No visitor can tread, without feelings of emotion, a spot hallowed by such recol- lections as crowd about the green hill occupied by this little church ; and we are carried involuntarily back to the scene so beautifully described by the historian Rede, when the first missionary and his companions came to this spot from the isle of Thanet. " In this island," says Bede, " landed the servant of our Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being, as is reported, nearly forty men. They had, by order of the blessed pope Gregory, taken interpreters of the nation of the Franks, and sending to Ethelbert, signified that they were come from Rome, and had brought a joyful message, which most undoubtedly assured to all that took advantage of it, everlasting joys in heaven, and a kingdom that would never end, with the living and true God. The king, having heard this, ordered them to stay in that island where they had landed, and that they should be furnished with all necessaries, till he should consider what to do with them. For he had before heard of the Christian religion, having a Christian wife of the royal family of the Franks, called Bertha ; whom he had received from her parents, upon condition that she should be permitted to practise her religion with the bishop Luidhard, who was sent with her to preserve her faith. Some days after, the king MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 27 Game into the island, and sitting in the open air, ordered Augustine and his companions to be brought into his presence. For he had taken precaution that they should not come to him in any house, lest, according to an ancient superstition, if they practised any magical arts, they might impose upon him, and so get the better of him. But they came furnished with divine, not with magic virtue, bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the image of our Lord and Saviour painted on a board ; and singing the litany, they offered up their prayers to the Lord for the eternal salvation both of them- selves and of those to whom they were come. When he had sat down, pursuant to the king's commands, and preached to him and his attendants there present the word of life, the king answered thus : — ' Your words and promises are very fair, but as they are new to us, and of uncertain import, I cannot approve of them so far as to forsake that which I have so long followed with the whole English nation. But because you are come from far into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, you are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true, and most beneficial, we will not molest you, but give you favourable entertainment, and take care to supply you with your necessary sustenance; nor do we forbid you to preach and gain as many as you can to your religion/ Accordingly he permitted them to reside in the city of Canterbury, which was the metropolis of all his dominions, and pursuant to his promise, besides allowing them sustenance, did not refuse them liberty to preach. It is reported that, as they drew near to the city, after their manner, with the holy cross and the image of our sovereign Lord and King, Jesus Christ, they in concert sung this litany : — ' We beseech thee, Lord, in all thy mercy, that thine anger and wrath be turned away from this city, and from thy holy house, because we have sinned. Hallelujah/ " As soon as they entered the dwelling-place assigned them, they began to imitate the course of life practised in the primitive church ; applying themselves to frequent prayer, watching, and fasting ; preaching the word of life to as many as they could ; despising all worldly things, as not belonging to them ; receiving only their necessary food from those they taught; living themselves in all respects conformably to what they prescribed to others, and being always disposed to suffer any adversity, and even to die for that truth which they preached. In short, several believed and were baptised, admiring the simplicity of their innocent life, and the sweetness of their heavenly doctrine. There was on the east side of the city a church dedicated to the honour of St. Martin, built whilst the Romans were still in the island, wherein the queen, who, as has been said before, was a Christian, used to pray. In this they first began to meet, to sing, to pray, to say mass, to preach, and to baptise, till the king, being converted to the faith, allowed them to preach openly, and build or repair churches in all places." 28 THE 1KCHJEOLOGICAL A I. HI \l . A recent discovery in the churchyard of St. Martin's adds to the interest of the foregoing narrative. Some workmen, digging near the church, found a number of gold ornaments, formed of coins of the fifth and six centuries, by the simple addition of a loop to each, and, in one instance, of a rim. A gold circular ornament, set with pieces of stone or glass, was also found with them. It appears most probable that these coins were arranged as a necklace for some lady of distinction, who was interred at this spot on account of the supposed sanctity of the locality ; and the dates will fairly allow us to suppose that she may have been one of the attendants on the Prankish queen of Ethelbert. It was the custom of the Romans to mount their gold coins in frames of elegant filigree work, to be worn as pendent ornaments. Battely has engraved in his Antiquitates Rutupina a gold coin of the emperor Magnentius, with a simple loop attached, as in these found in the precincts of St. Martin's. Three Frankish gold coins, with similar loops, found in Kent, have been more recently engraved in Mr. Roach Smith's Collectanea Antigua. In the earlier Saxon times, only the Roman, Byzantine, and Merovingian gold coins were used in England, the money struck by the Saxons being only of silver. The coins found at St. Martin's are extremely curious, apart from their local interest. One is of Justin; another is a rude imitation of the very common small brass coins of the younger Constantius ; but the most remarkable among them all is that of Eupardus, a bishop of Autun, who lived about the middle of the sixth century, concerning whom history is almost silent. He wears upon the coin the imperial diadem of the lower empire, the costume of the bust being also copied from the Roman model. The coins of the age which followed the overthrow of the empire were generally copied from Roman types, the devices on the originals being frequently so rudely imitated that it is almost impossible to guess what the figures are intended to represent. The ornaments we have just described are now in the possession of Mr. Rolfe, who exhibited them at the meeting of the primeval section on Friday, September 13, when they drew forth some interesting remarks by Mr. Roach Smith. The other churches of Canterbury have few attractions for a visitor, being, in general, devoid of architectural beauty or of historical interest. One of the best, that of St. Dunstan in the western suburb, is remarkable as containing the family vault of the Ropers, in which is still preserved the skull of Sir Thomas More, his head having been brought from London Bridge, and deposited there secretly by his daughter, Margaret Roper. It is contained in a leaden box, placed in a niche in the wall of the vault. The site of this church appears to have been one of the burial-places of the Roman inhabitants of Canterbury. Roman glass vessels and urns were discovered a few years since in the vicinity, and are now in the possession of Mr. Ralph Royle, who MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 29 exhibited them at the meeting of the primeval section on Friday, September 13. One of the earthen vessels found here, presented the unusual form of a hooped barrel. Remains of the various religious houses for which Canterbury was once remarkable, are scattered over the different parts of the town. The ruins of the great abbey of St. Augustine, consisting chiefly of two gateways, were an object of attention to the archaeologists. These ruins had recently been purchased by A. J. Beresford Hope, Esq., member of parliament for Maidstone, and, at the time of the Archaeological Meeting, the workmen were occupied in clearing the finest gateway tower from the barbarous adjuncts which had turned it and the buildings adjoining into a brewery and alehouse. The thanks of the archaeological visitors were voted to Mr. Hope for his zeal in purchasing this ruin, as it is understood, with the sole object of preserving it from further dilapidation and desecration. There are now little or no remains of the nunnery of St. Sepulchre, famous at the time of the Reformation as the sisterhood to which belonged Elizabeth Barton, the " maid of Kent," a weak tool in the hands of a political party, for which she was sacrificed to the resentment of the remorseless monarch, Henry VIII. The inventory of the "stuff" or personal effects of this miserable woman, seized on her attainder and execution, gives us a curious idea of the mode in which a nun's cell was furnished at this period : it is preserved in the British Museum, and runs as follows : — " Stoffe receyvyd the xvj. day of Februare, of dame Elysabeth Barton, by the handes of the priores of Sayent Sepulcres withowt Canterbury, into the handes of John Antony of Canterbury, as herafter foloeth. " ffyrst, a coschyn blade, and one old coschyn. " ij. carpettes, whereof one ys cut into pecys. " A old matteres, vij. corsse schettes, a kyverlet and a peyer of blanckettes, with ij. pyllos, and a bolster. "ij. platers, iiij. dysches, ij. sausers, and a lyttell basen, wayyng xij"" at iiij' 1 a lb., wych my laydy priores hath, and payed iiij s . " A whyet corter, wych my lady priores hath, and payed xij' 1 . " A lyttell old dyaper towell. " iij pylloberes. " ij. canstyckes. " A coet, wyche dame Kateren Wyttsam hath, payed v s . " A pece of a plancke for a tabyll. " A lyttell chyst. " Stoffe wyche remayneth in the nonnere pertaynyng unto dame Elysabeth Berton, at the request of my lady priores. :$o 111 i: ARCHAEOLOGICAL Al.lil'M. " ffyrst, ij. nyew coschyns, gyven unto the churche. " A old mantell, and a kyrtrll, unto the yongest nonne. " A Yrysche mantell, a colt-re, with ij. grett chystcs, and ij. stolys, and a can- styckr, to my lady priores. •• A kyverletj and a old kyrtell, to dame Alys Colmau, at the requesl of my lady priores." 41 - A ■ There are still some remains of the houses of the three orders of friars, who all established themselves in Canterbury during- the thirteenth century. The Grey Friars, or begging friars, who settled here in ]273, had their conventual buildings in the west part of the town, on the branch of the river Stour which runs under East Bridge. The remains of these buildings consist of a house, under which the river runs, as represented in the cut, with the ruined walls surrounding a court or yard behind the railings here seen on the left-hand side. With the confused assemblage of buildings of later date, these ruins form a picturesque group. But, alas ! the instability of human affairs ! The house of the begging friars is turned into a workhouse for paupers; and the court-yard' in which the friars were wont to disport themselves, is now used for the fattening of pigs for the purpose of making brawn, an article for which Canterbury is celebrated. The fair dame of the latter establishment, in perfect innocence as to the attractions which old walls might have in the eyes of an archaeologist, supposed that our visit had reference to the mysteries of her vocation, and very obligingly shewed us into the court in which the poor quadrupeds were confined singly in small frames, to hinder them from turning round, lest even that little share of exercise might have the effect of diminishing their obesity. ST JOh ' AL, CANTERBURY. - _ ■ MEETING AT CANTERBURY 31 THE THREE ARCHIEPISCOPAL HOSPITALS. The last objects of antiquarian interest in Canterbury which we have to mention, are three early charitable foundations.* About the year 108-1, Archbishop Lanfranc built two hospitals, one within the town at North Gate, dedicated to St. John ; the other, about a mile from the town, on the hill of Herebaldown (i.e. Herebald's hill), now called Har- bledown, in the ancient forest of Blean, dedicated to St. Nicholas. The first of these was designed for the support of maimed, weak, and sick persons of both sexes ; the foundation at Harbledown was a lazar-house for lepers, and was for that reason placed, like all similar institutions in the middle ages, by the side of the highway at a little distance outside the town. The origin of the third of the hospitals to which we allude, which was designed to receive poor pilgrims, is very doubtful ; but it appears most probable that it was founded by Thomas Becket, for it certainly bore the name of St. Thomas's Hospital at the East Bridge as early as the beginning of the thirteenth century. All these founda- tions were in course of time enriched by numerous donations of lands and rents. That of Haibledown stood at the side of the " pilgrims' road" from London. Guernes du Pont de St. Maxence, an Anglo-Norman poet who wrote a metrical life of Becket immediately after the primate's death, has preserved an interesting anecdote connected with this place. When, in 1174, king Henry II. went in pilgrimage to Canterbury to do penance at Becket's shrine, he stopped at Harbledown, entered the same little church which is now standing to confess and be absolved, and "for the love of St. Thomas he gave in grant twenty marks of rent to the poor house." He walked from hence barefoot to the cathedral. The original deserves to be cited, from the nearly contemporary manuscript in the British Museum, as a pure specimen of the language spoken by the educated classes in England in the days of Thomas Becket : — " Juste Cantorbire uut lepros un hospital, U mult ad malades de gent plein de mal ; Pres une liwe i ad del mustier principal, La u li cors saint gist del mire espirital Ki maint doleut ad mis en joie e en estal. " Dune descendi iluec li reis a Herebaldun, E entra el mustier, e a fet sa orcison, De trestuz ses mesfez ad requis Deu pardun ; Pur amur saint Thomas a otrie en dun Vint marchies de rentes a la povre maison." The hamlet of Harbledown is situated at the summit of a steep hill, and answers * A long history of these foundations, with very copious extracts from charters, compiled by J. Duncombe and N. Battely, was printed in the Bibliothcca Topo- graphica Britannica. 32 I 11 1: \K( U.IOI.OCK Al. ALBUM. remarkably well to the name given by Chaucer to the " litel toun" to which his pilgrims came, "under the Blee," or Blean forest: — " Wete ye not wiier stondeth a litel toun, Which that y-eleped is Bob-up-ancl-iloun, ruder the Blee, in Canterbury way?" Cunt. T. 1. 16,950. It derives some additional interest from the circumstance that the celebrated Erasmus has left us an account of his passage by it on his way from Canterbury to London, with Dean Colet (lure named Gratian) and others, on the eve of the Reformation. A part of the dialogue in one of his Colloquies (the Peregrinatiu rcligionis eryo) is as follows : — "Or/. — In the road to London, not far from Canterbury, is a way extremely hollow, as well as narrow, and also steep, the bank being on each side so craggy that there is no escaping ; nor can it by any means be avoided. On the left-hand side of the road is an almshouse of some old men, one of whom runs out as soon as they perceive a horseman approaching, and after sprinkling him with holy water, offers him the upper leather of a shoe bound with brass, in which a piece of glass is set like a gem. This is kissed, and money given him. " Me. — I had rather have an almshouse of old men on such a road than a troop of sturdy robbers. " Og. — As Gratian rode on my left hand, nearer to the almshouse, he was sprinkled with water, to which he submitted, but when the shoe was held out, he asked what it meant. And being told it was the shoe of St. Thomas, he was so provoked that, turning to me, he said, ' What ! would this clown have us kiss the shoes of all good men ? They may just as well offer their spittle to be kissed, and other disgusting things.' I took compassion on the old man, and gave him some money by way of consolation." We believe that the shoe is still preserved. St. Thomas's Hospital also stands in the street by which the pilgrims entered the town, and was intended to harbour such of them as were not sufficiently rich to take up their lodgings at the Chequer. It had the right of burial for those who died there in the place in the cathedral churchyard set apart for the interment of pilgrims. It is provided by the statutes given to this hospital by Archbishop Stratford in 1312, "That poor pilgrims in good health shall be entertained only for one night ; and poor, sick, and well pilgrims shall have daily fourpence expended for their sustenance, out of the revenues and profits of the hospital ; greater regard to be had to sick than to well pilgrims. That if there should be not a sufficient resort of pilgrims in any one day to MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 33 require the whole fourpence for their sustenance, what is so spared in one day shall be laid out freely in another day when the number of pilgrims shall be larger ; so that for every day of the whole year the entire sum of fourpence be carefully and faithfully expended. That there shall be twelve beds convenient to lodge the pilgrims in the said hospital ; and a woman, of honest report, aged above forty years, who shall take care of the beds, and provide necessaries for the poor pilgrims, and who shall be maintained out of the revenues of the hospital." From the entries in some of the earlier registers (of the beginning of the sixteenth century) we find that there was then expended sixpence a-week for beer bought and given to the poor guests; twenty shil- lings a-year to the woman attending upon them; 10/. 6s. M. for a chantry priest at the hospital; and five pounds to a chantry priest at Harbledown; so that the greater portion of the income was spent in prayers for the poor. At a later period, we find the payments to the two priests unchanged, while the other payments are somewhat increased : — " Item, for wood, ale, and other necessaries for the relief of poor men in arms (? alms), vj 1 ' j s iiij d . " Item, to the keeper and his wife to attend about the poor men, besides his ( sallery/ ij' 1 vj' viij d ." The rents arising from lands in the forest of Blean was chiefly paid in " cocks and hens ;" and the sum total amounted to a very inconvenient quantity — " Sum total of the cocks and hens, a hundred and nineteen, and a third part of a hen, and a half of a hen." Soon after the beginning of the sixteenth century, we find these cocks and hens compounded for in money, the cock being estimated at twopence halfpenny, and the hen at threepence. The old registers and other records of the institutions of the middle ages are inter- esting for the light they throw on a state of society which has long passed away, and it is much to be lamented that so few of them have been preserved. The chests of the three hospitals of which we are speaking are still well stored with ancient charters ; but most of their books, and even some which were extant in the last century, have perished. A few extracts from these documents are given in the work cited in a note on a preceding page. The hospital of St. John and that at Harbledown were designed to receive persons of both sexes, but from the original foundation it was especially ordered that the parts of the building occupied by each sex should be so separated from the other that they could have no intercommunication. The statutes provided very severe punishments for the different offences which were likely to occur in such institutions, some of which would have belonged more properly to the courts of public F .'} I THE \K< II EOl OGIC \r. ALBUM. justice, had not the ecclesiastical body claimed exemption from the civil power. Even as late us the reign of Elizabeth, the statutes given to the hospital of Harbledown by Archbishop Parker, inflict punishments which would not now be legal. The eleventh of these statutes is as follows: — "Also we will and ordain, That if any brother shall, by the testimony of sis of the brethren, or any sister, by the testimony of six of the sisters, be convict before the prior to be a common drunkard, a quarrcller, a brawler, a scold, or a blasphemous swearer; every such offender, so convict, shall for the first time sit in the stocks one day and a night with bread and water ; and offending in that, fault again, shall the second time be punished in the stocks two days and two nights; and for the third offence in the same crime, three days and three nights with bread and water only ; but if, after the third punishment, he or she do eftsoones offend in the like offence, then to be expulsed and driven out of the house for ever." The inmates of St. John's Hospital had a great feast every year at Midsummer, and another at Christmas. The register for the year 1G38 gives the following bill of expenses for the Midsummer feast of that year: — " Payd to the woman that helped in the kitchen, vj d . " Payd to the two turnspcts, viij' 1 . " Payd for beere at diner, iiij d . " Payd for beere to make the scrveing men drinke that brought meat to our feast, ij rt . " Payd for lxxx. pound of beefc at v s the score, j'\ " Payd for a calfe, xviij s . " Payd for two lambs, xviij\ " Payd to the cooke for drissing of diner, iiij s . " Payd for beere for the kitchen, iiij d . " Payd for putter wee borrowed, vj d . " Payd for a gallon of sackc, iiij s iiij' 1 . " Payd for a pottle of claritt and a pottle of white wine, ij s viij d . " Payd for a bushell and a pecke of meale, v\ " Payd for halfe a barrel of beere, iiij s ij d . " Payd for three coople of chicken, ij 3 vj d . " Summa, iij li vj s x d ." In the register of the same house for the year 1615 we have the following items for painting coats of arms, which are curious as relating perhaps to some of those which arc still seen in the hall : — " Payd unto the payntors for Lanfranckes amies, iij s iiij' 1 . MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 35 " Item, payd unto Wickel for the dennes amies, planing of the bourd, and making the verse, viij 1 '. " Item, payd unto master Drury for his paines in helping us to Lanfranckes amies, xij d . At the period of the dissolution of monasteries, the charitable objects of gilds and hospitals were so mixed up with what were defined by the law as " superstitious uses," that their existence became exceedingly precarious. The brethren and sisters of Lanfranc's hospitals are, even at the present day, ruled by priors and prioresses. We have seen how much of the revenues of St. Thomas's Hospital went to the performance of Romish ceremonies, and even its charity was appropriated to pilgrims who now no longer visited the holy shrine. It is not therefore to be wondered at, if they were soon drawn from their original purposes. From a visitation of St. Thomas's Hospital made by directions from Cardinal Pole in 1557, it appears that the funds of that institution were then expended on " travellers in general :" — " They are bound to receive wayfaring and hurt men, and to have eight beds for men, and four for women, to remain for a night or more, if they be not able to depart ; and the master of the hospital is charged with the burial, and they hade twenty loads of wood yearly allowed, xxvj s for drink/' In the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, the estates of the hospital were seized, and had passed into private hands, but they were recovered by Archbishop Parker, who refounded the hospital for the reception of " poor and maimed soldiers that should pass forward and backward through Canterbury," in the same manner as the pilgrims had been formerly received, and for the support of a school. In the seventeenth year of Elizabeth's reign, the hospital was stated to be in great decay, and, as having ceased to serve for any useful purposes, the lands were again seized and suffered to pass into the hands of private individuals ; but, after an obstinate lawsuit, they were restored to their charitable purposes by Archbishop Whitgift, and they have since continued to be administered according to the design of Archbishop Parker. Lanfranc's hospitals have passed through similar vicissitudes. The hospital of St. Thomas stands in the High Street, near East or King's Bridge, which it was obliged to keep in repair. A stone arched doorway, generally open, leads into a vaulted apartment, from the far corner of which a flight of stone steps takes us to the upper floor. This passage has the appearance of having been broken through the masonry of the original building. The apartment to which this staircase conducts us, appears to have been the ancient hall or refectory. The old fireplace has been turned into a cupboard, and the adjoining chamber has undergone still greater changes, to convert it into a school-room. A row of columns and arches remain in 36 THE A1UII.EOLOG1CAL ALBUM. the partition-wall between the refectory and the head of the staircase, which appear to have been originally an open arcade. This and the vaulted room below appear to be early specimens of the style of architecture generally denominated Early English, and may be part of an original structure of the end of the twelfth or the beginning of the thirteenth century. The buildings of the hospital run over the river on one side of the bridge. The hospital of St. John is situated on the west side of Northgate Street, and is entered by a fine wooden arch, under an interesting house. Eadmer, the disciple of Lanfranc and the writer of his life, dignities the original building of this house with the name of a palace (paUitium), and the ancient walls still remaining inclose a considerable area of ground to the north-west of the present chapel. They are very massive, of rude early Norman masonry, with round-headed doors and windows, only slightly ornamented with the common chevron moulding, coarsely cut. The entrance to the chapel is a doorway of the same style. This chapel, which is only a part of the original chapel, has been much altered and modernised. The most remarkable object in the interior is a singularly-shaped early font. In the last century the east window was tilled with rich painted glass, representing figures of the twelve apostles, but this has entirely disappeared. The pulpit, and some other wood-work, are good examples of the ornamental carving of the Tudor age. Gostling, our venerable and safe guide to the anticpiities of Canterbury, complains bitterly of the unnecessary demolition of the old buildings of this establishment perpetrated about the middle of the last century: — "the bells having been sold, the steeple and north isle taken down, as were many of the old houses, and smaller and less convenient ones erected in their room; a stone wall was also taken away, which sheltered the whole from the cold north-west wind blowing over the river and the meadow-land, and being pentised over-head, was called by the poor people their cloisters, under which they used to walk, or sit and converse with each other on the benches. All this was done by way of improvement, about thirty years ago." There are still some good specimens of old domestic architecture in the yard, particularly the picturesque group towards the entrance gateway, represented in our engraving. The kitchen and hall are situated in a building at the south-west comer of the yard or court just mentioned, and appear to be of the end of the sixteenth century. In the kitchen, which is on the ground floor, they shew the ancient spits, from eight to MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 37 ten feet long. The hall is up stairs, and contains some old furniture, among which the most remarkable is a carved chest and a large sword. A curious old embroidered covering for the table is also shewn. The hall itself is ornamented with the arms of the founders. On the other side of Northgate Street, immediately opposite the entrance to St. John's Hospital, is another old gateway, which leads to the ruins of the priory of St. Gregory, also a foundation of Archbishop Lanfranc, intended for secular canons, whose duty it was to administer spiritual comfort to the poor of the hospital, and to officiate at the burial of their dead. These ruins have been converted into private houses, which are occupied by labouring people. The road to Harbledown, as we have already observed, leads through the High Street, and quits the ancient city by Westgate, the only gate of Canterbury now standing, and one of the finest examples of an old town gateway in England. All the gates of Canterbury were in good preservation in the last century, but they have gradually fallen sacrifices to the wants or wishes of the citizens. Burgate, erected in 1475, remained until 1822. Another gate, that of St. George, formerly called Newingate (as being the most modern of them all), which was a copy on a smaller scale of Westgate, was built in 1470, and was pulled down in 1801. It had been used first as a prison, next as a storehouse for the corporation, and finally as a reservoir of water for the use of the city. When this gate was condemned to destruction, a carefully executed model in wood was made, with the object of pre- serving some memorial of it ; this is now in the possession of Charles Sandys, Esq. of Canterbury, who has very kindly permitted us to make the sketch of it which we give at the end of the present article. The chief reason of its demolition appears to have been the want of materials for the formation of a cattle-market. Westgate was the ancient entrance to Canterbury from London. It was built in the reign of Richard II., by Archbishop Sudbury, and has been used as a prison from time immemorial, which is probably the chief cause of its preservation. Gostling, our guide " about the city of Canterbury," tells us " this gate is now the city prison, both for debtors and criminals, with a large and high pitched room over the gateway, and others in the towers. The way up to ttem is through a grated cage in the gate, level with the street, where the prisoners, who are not more closely confined, may discourse with passengers, receive their alms, and warn them (by their distress) to manage their liberty and property to the best advantage, as well as to thank God for whatever share of those blessings he has bestowed on them." A note in the third edition of this book (the one we happened to have in our hands) adds — "This comfort (!) the poor prisoners arc now deprived of, the cage having been taken down in 1775." The accommodations for the prisoners 38 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. have in later times been made more extensive by the erection of new buildings to tbe north of the gateway. One of Alderman Bunco's extracts from the municipal records i.i- we learn from another useful and amusing, and a more modern, guide-book, " Felix Suinmerlev's Handbook for the City of Canterbury") informs us, that in 1191 "a certain hermit, named Bluebeard, who headed an insurrection, was taken by the mayor and citizens of Canterbury, and sent to the king at Westminster, and there adjudged to be hanged and decapitated, and that his head was placed over the Westgate of this city." This gateway, with its two massive round towers, and its curtain machicolated above, is a line and perfect specimen of medieval military architecture. The shortest road to Harbledown is by the foot-path, which turns to the left after passing the bridge beneath Westgate, and leads over the fields. The site of Harble- down appears also to have been one of the Roman burial-places of Durovernum, for fragments of urns and bones were picked out of the side of the bank (where cut through by the road) by some of the archaeological visitors. We have in fact traced the burial-places of the Roman inhabitants, without the gates, and along the sides of the principal roads, of the city, as they arc still found in Italy, about Herculaneum and Pompeii. We have the cemetery of St. Martin's, on the road to Rutupise (Richborough) ; that at Bridge Hill, on the road to Dubris (Dover) ; and those at St. Dunstan's and Harbledown, on the line of road leading towards London. In all these places we find t races also of Saxon interments, or else we find Christian churchyards. These repeated instances of the successive occupation of the burial-places around the ancient city by Romans, and Saxons, and by churches, seemed to shew that there had been a peaceful succession of inhabitants ; that the Saxon settlers had mixed with the Romano-British population, and had buried their dead in the same burial-places ; and that, when con- verted to Christianity, they had formed religious establishments on the spots already hallowed in their minds. Many other circumstances, noticed by the early historians, or surmised from the discoveries of modern days, combine in strengthening this opinion. The church or chapel of St. Nicholas is a small and plain Norman building, and is supposed to be the one erected by Lanfranc. Within is a Norman font. This church stands at the top of the hill, on the south side of the road. The gardens and houses allotted to the poor people are below. The entrance to the latter is by a vt tv picturesque old gateway, approached from the road by a flight of steps. The houses are modern, and offer no feature of interest. The hall is a building of the seventeenth century, and its most remarkable features arc an old chest, containing the deeds of the hospitals, and one or two antiquated articles of furniture and kitchen utensils. They also shew to visitors a few relics of much greater antiquity, presented MEETING AT CANTERBUHY. 39 in former days by devout pilgrims who have stopped here on their way to the shrine of St. Thomas. Among these is the curiously ornamented case in cuir-bouiUi, repre- sented in our cut. The substance formerly known by this name was a preparation of leather, softened by boiling or heat so as to receive forms and impres- sions, and then hardened till it took almost the con- sistency of iron. It was brought to great perfection in the middle ages, and was used for a variety of purposes. Chaucer, describing the armour of " Sire Thopas," tells us his jambeux, or leg-pieces, were of this material : — " His jambeux were of cuirbouly, His swerdes sheth of ivory, His helme of latoun bright, His sadel was of rewel bone, His bridel as the sonne shone, Or as the mone light." Perhaps the invention was brought from the East, for Froissart, who makes frequent mention of articles made of cuir-bouilli, describes the Saracens as covering their shields with cuir-bouilli of Cappadocia, which, " if the leather were not too much heated, was proof against iron" (oil nul fer ne peut prendre n' attacker si le cuir n'est trop echaufe. — Frois. iv. 19.) It was frequently used for defensive armotxr in all parts of Europe. In Walter Mapes's romance of Lancelot, written in the latter half of the twelfth cen- tury, a party of robbers are described as being " armed like clowns, with leather jackets and with caps of cuir-bouilli (et il estoient arme comme vilain de quiries et de capiaus de guir-bouli. — MS. Addit. No. 10,293, fol. 160.) An illumination in the MS. gives us a representation of these caps, which appear to have been in common use among the lower classes of soldiers, to occupy the place of helmets. Mr. Shaw has engraved, in his Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages, a pen-case of this material, formerly belonging to King Henry VI. This is also printed in the third number of the Archceological Journal of the British Archaeological Association, which we hope is in the hands of all our readers, and therefore we will do no more than refer to Mr. Way's remarks on the subject in his review of Mr. Shaw's publication. The case at Harble- down, the lid of which is attached in exactly the same manner as that of King Henry's pen-case, is in form a very much flattened sphere, the lid having an opening down one edge; but it is difficult to imagine what article it was intended to contain. It is probably as old as the fourteenth century. The most remarkable, among the other antiquities shewn here, is a bowl of maple, 10 THE ARCH 1 ni OC.IC \ I. U.lil'M. witli a rim of silver gilt, which was, according to Buncombe, "used on their feast- days." At the bottom, in the inside, is inserted a medallion, with a figure of Guy of Warwick on horseback, surrounded by trees, a dragon extended under his horse's feet, and a lion Lying near. It is a curious illustration of one of the most popular romances of the middle ages. Guy, on his return from Constantinople, is said to have entered a forest, where he found a dragon and a lion fighting; he stood aloof until he saw the lion vanquished, and then he attacked and slew the dragon. Around the medallion is an inscription, which, according to the fac-simile given by Duncombe, is as follows : — G V DEWARWYC : ADANOVN . NCCIOCCIS : LEDRAGOVN. This inscription has very much (and rather unnecessarily) puzzled every one who has written upon it. Some, from ignorance of the phraseology of the language in which it is written, have read a Danoun, and have interpreted it variously at a place named Danouu, or with his sword named Danoun, or on his horse named Danoun. The word which follows this has given still more trouble, and in fact is not intelligible as it stands here. The first c is described as doubtful, and has no doubt been an E. We omitted examining the original, but if Buncombe's fac-simile be correct, the N is probably an error for v, made by the artist who engraved the medallion, and who mistook the u, in the copy given him to engrave from, for a n. The inscription would then read, — Gy de Warwyc ad a noun ; Veci occis le dragoun. which would be literally translated by, — Guy of Warwick is his name ; See here the dragon slain. In the original, the middle mark of two dots shews the division of the rhyming couplet, and the others, according to a very common practice in old manuscripts, mark the cresura in each line. Every person conversant with ancient manuscripts and inscrip- tions, is aware how the letters of words are all confused together, three or four words being often joined in one, while at other times one word is separated into several parts. This bowl is of considerable antiquity, and merits to be preserved carefully as a work of art. The buildings of the hospital stand on the slope of the hill, to the west of the church. The bank below them is full of springs, and is therefore very wet, and the grass and herbage pai-ticularly luxuriant. The water at one spot bubbles out in a well, which is slightly built in, and has received traditionally the name of T7ie Black Prince's Well. From this place, we have a picturesque view of the MEETING AT CANTERBURY. 11 buildings of the hospital, rising from a wreath of verdant foliage, with the tower of the church peering above them. A footpath leads into the highroad which passes through the hamlet to Canterbury. On our re- turn over the hill of Harbledown, we see the city lying below in a fine sweep be- fore us, with the cathedral towering ma- jestically over it. This is perhaps the best general view of Canterbury; it is jjf^ the one which in former days first offered "v~i5L itself to the eyes of the pious pilgrim as he approached, on his way from London, the object of his vows. The visit of the archaeologists to Can- terbury closed on Saturday with a general meeting in the Town-hall, in which votes of thanks were passed, and a number of speeches were made, all of them charac- terised by good sense and moderation. A general feeling of satisfaction prevailed among the persons who were present. The president had passed a week of exertions to insure the success of the meeting, — the local committee, consisting of the leading members of the corporation, had left nothing undone to insure a good reception in the town, — the ecclesiastical authorities had come forward most zealously, in laying open the cathedral, and giving every facility to those visiting it, — the writers of papers and possessors of antiquities had done every thing in their power to furnish amusement, — and the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood had vied with each other in their friendly attentions to their visitors. In fact, every individual had contributed as far as he could to give pleasure to others, and there were none who felt otherwise than gratified at the result. Men of kindred feelings and pursuits were now for the first time brought together, who had previously been known to each other only by name, and friendships were formed which will long hence cause the Archaeological Meeting at Canterbury to be remembered with pleasure. Such should ever be the spirit in which literature and science are cultivated. The statements made at the closing meeting in the Town-hall gave an encouraging view of the condition and prospects of the British Archaeological Association, even at this early period of its existence. It was found that it had stirred up an active spirit of inquiry throughout the kingdom. Much had already been done for the better i. 42 TlIK ARCH.-EOLOGICAL ALBUM. conservation of existing monuments. Many important antiquarian discoveries have been lost to science during the progress of railways and other great public works; these, it is hoped, will be watched more attentively in future. Railroads are now on the eve of being made through many of the districts of our island most interesting to the historian and antiquary — such as Kent, Herefordshire, Suffolk, &c. — and there can be little doubt that they will bring to light many curious remains, which will establish historical facts, while they enrich our local museums. The necessity of watching the progress of these excavations cannot be too strongly impressed on the attention of the members of the Association. One of its most useful effects at present is the bringing into friendly correspondence the local inquirers in distant parts of the country, the knowledge of whose discoveries has hitherto been too often circumscribed within narrow limits, which rendered them useless. Mutual communication is the only way to make available individual exertion. It is impossible to calculate all the benefits to which the exertions of the Archaeological Association may eventually lead. It has been raised to the degree of power and usefulness which it has now attained by the mutual good feeling and the undisturbed unanimity of purpose which has guided the counsels of the individuals who have founded and hitherto conducted it ; and it is most sincerely to be hoped that this unanimity may long continue, undisturbed by the jealousies and dissensions which have too often paralysed the efforts of similar institutions. Old St. George's Gate, Canterbury. See p. 37. .; r 13 ANCIENT BEDSTEAD, IN TURTON TOWER, LANCASHIRE. Many of our old manorial residences contain articles of ancient furniture, that have remained as heir-looms in the family, or have been brought together by the taste of more recent possessors, which merit to be better known, and we hope from time to time to be able to make our readers acquainted with some of the most beautiful specimens. We devote a plate in the present instance to some remarkable articles of this kind in Lancashire. Turton Tower is situated about four miles from Bolton. " The tower," which is the oldest part of the building, is square, of stone, and evidently constructed for defence. It contains a hall, of small dimensions, but richly decorated with wood carvings. A quaint staircase leads to the upper apartments, of which the largest is the drawing-room, occupying the entire length and breadth of the building. This fine room is panelled with oak, and the ceiling is enriched with pendants and other ornaments. In the reign of king John the township of Turton was held by Roger Fitz Robert (de Holland). It subsequently became the property of Henry, "the good duke of Lancaster," from whom the manor passed into the knightly family of the Orrels ; and from them it was purchased by Humphrey Chetham, Esq. a manufacturer of fustians, and founder of the celebrated college and library at Manchester. It continued in the family of the Chethams until it was conveyed by a coheiress to a gentleman of the name of Bland, whose sole heiress married Mordecai Green, Esq. in whose family the estate still remains. That portion of it which contains Turton Tower is in the occupa- tion of James Kay, Esq. who has expended large sums in furnishing his interesting residence in a style in accordance with its antique character. Some of these articles of furniture are represented in our plate, engraved from a sketch, for the communication of which we are indebted to the kindness of S. C. Hall, Esq. F.S.A. who has recently given an account of Turton Tower in his work on "The Baronial Halls, &c. of England." The principal object in the picture, and the one which possesses most interest, is the beautifully carved bedstead, which, from the date upon the footboard, appears to have been made in the year 1593. On the cornice above appear the arms of the earls of Devon, to one of whom it is said to have been presented by a king of France, so that it is probably of foreign manufacture. The cornice is enriched with elaborate flower and scroll-work, as well as with syrens, dragons, and fanciful II rHE A 1<( IDEOLOGICAL ALBUM. monsters, whose extremities end in interlaced flower-work. The canopy or roof of the bed is carved in regular compartments, and adorned with pendants. The head of the bed presents a scries of ornaments of a very varied character, in accordance with the taste of the age, consisting of a complicated mass of pillars, panels, caryatides, flowers, birds, and geometrical figures, so completely thrown together for general effect, that no "rule of art" can be applied to them. The footboard is also rilled with panels, richly carved; and the posts are remarkable for more than the usual amount of elegance observed in state beds of this date. They rest on square bases, covered with carved scroll-work, and hollow within, having doors that open on each side. The chair near the bed, in our plate, is of the same age and style as the bedstead. The table, chair, and glass under the window, are probably not older than the reign of William III. or that of Queen Anne. The history of furniture is an interesting subject. In carrying our researches back a few centuries, we are surprised at the few articles which were considered necessary to furnish the rooms of our forefathers, and those articles were often of the plainest description. The hall seems to have seldom contained more than a table and a bench, sometimes with a cupboard or buffet. The table itself appears in many instances to have been only a board placed on temporary supports. A bed (a mere couch), with (not always) a chair or seat of some kind, furnished the sleeping-chamber. Harrison, in the description of England written in Essex during the reign of Elizabeth, and inserted in Uolinshed's " Chronicles," informs us that "our fathers (yea, and we our selves also) have lien full oft upon straw pallets, on rough mats, covered onelie with a sheet, under coverlets made of dagswain,* or hopharlots (I use their owne termes), and a good round log under their heads insteed of a bolster. If it were so that our fathers, or the good-man of the house, had, within seven yeares after his mariage, purchased a mattercs, or flocke bed, and thereto a sacke of chaffe to rest his heade upon, he thought himselfe to be as well lodged as the lord of the towne, so well were they contented. Pillowes, said they, were thought meete onelie for women in child-bed. As for servants, if they had anie sheet above them it was well, for seldome had they anie under their bodies to keepe them from the pricking straws that ran oft through the canvas of the pallet, and rased their hardened hides." This description was of course intended to apply to the middle and lower classes of society; but we know from various sources that, in the earlier part of the middle ages, beds could scarcely be called objects of luxury, and that they were certainly not articles of ornament. The Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts represent persons of * Daggesweynt was the old term for the material used for the coverlets of beds. ANCIENT BEDSTEADS. 15 the highest distinction sleeping on rude wooden couches, in a very uncomfortable position. The Anglo-Normans appear to have been not much better furnished in this respect ; for in illuminations of manuscripts they are exhibited sleeping on very low wooden frames, with a mere board to support the pillow. Even kings and nobles are sometimes represented in beds of this description as late as the fifteenth century. The first ornament we find represented in the pictures in manuscripts is a canopy, adorned with richly embroidered drapery, attached to the wall ; under this the head of the bed was placed. These canopies are found in English manuscripts 0&Mim^r^\ <\ early in the fourteenth century. The cut annexed (taken from an illumination of the fifteenth cen- tury, in a manuscript of the ro- mance of the Comte d'Artois, in the collection of M. Barrois, of Paris), represents the bed of a countess, whose husband was lord over princely domains. Nothing could be more simple than the bedstead in this picture. The ca- nopy is evidently of rich materials, which we learn was the case, from the descriptions in old writers ; and the bed itself was sometimes of softer materials than the artist appears here to have intended to represent. Chaucer speaks of a very rich bed — ' ' Of downe of pure dovis white I wol yeve him a fethir bed, Rayid with gold, and right wel cled In fine blacke sattin d'outremere, And many a pilowe, and every here Of clothe of Raines to slepe on softe ; Him thare [need] not to turnin ofte." Chaucer's Dreme, 1. 250. The last line would seem to intimate that an easy bed, on which the sleeper " need not turn oft," was no common thing in the days of Chaucer. In the metrical romance of " The Squier of Low Degree," which is probably of the fifteenth century, we have the following description of a very rich bed for a lady of high birth : — " Your blankettes shal be of fustyane ; Your shetes shal be of cloths of Rayne ; Your head-shete shal be of pery pyght, With dyamondes set and rubys brypht. I'i Till: \K( II.KOLOGICAL ALBUM. Whan you arc layd in bed so softc, A cage of golde shal hungc aloft, Wythe longe peper fayre burning, And cloves that be swete smellyng, Frankinsense and olibanum, That whan ye slepe the taste may come." It would appear, from these extracts, that cloth of Raynes (made at Rennes in Brittany) was the ordinary material among the rich for sheets. The "head-sheet," which was pyght, or arrayed, with pearls, and set with diamonds and rubies, was probably to cover the pillow. The descriptions in the early romances are generally a little overcharged, and therefore we must take with some allowance the account of the materials in the following gorgeous description of a lady's bed, extracted from the curious romance of " Sir Degrcvant," recently published by Mr. Halliwell : — " Hur bede was off aszure, With testur and celure, With a bryght bordure Compasyd ful clene ; And all a storyc, as hit was, Of Ydoyne and Amadas, Perreye in ylke a plas, And papageyes of grene. The scochenus of many knyght Of gold and Cyprus was i-dyght, Brode besauntus and bryght, And trewe-lovus bytwene. Ther was at hur testere The kyngus owne banere. Was nevere bede richere Of empryce nc qwene ! " Fayre sahctus of sylk Chalk-whygth as the mylk ; Quyltus poyned of that ylk, Touseled they ware. Coddys of sendall, Kuoppus of crystal, That was mad in Westfal With women of lare. Hyt was a mervelous thing To se the rydalus hyng, With mony a rede gold ryng That horn up bare ; The cordes that thei one ran, The duk Betyse hom wan, Mayd Medyore hom span Of inere-maydenus hare." This description applies to a bed like that in the wood-cut given above. The testur, or testere, appears to have been the name given to the canopy, its flat roof or ANCIENT BEDSTEADS. 47 ceiling being the celure; the border of the testere had pictures taken from the romance of " Idoyne and Amadas," separated with pearls and figures of green parrots. On it were also figured escutcheons, besaunts, and true-loves. The curtains hung upon gold rings, which " run on" cords " spun of the hair of mermaids." Most of these terms occur in a letter of the King of England, dated in 1388, relating to " a bed of gold cloth," and " a covering [the canopy] with an entire celure and a testere of the same suit, and three curtains of red tartaine."* It is somewhat more difficult to explain the "cods" of sendal and knobs of crystal made in Westphalia " by well-taught women." Many illuminations exhibit the curtains, as here described, suspended by rings to rods or cords attached generally to the roof of the apartment. In some instances the couch, or low bed, is placed within a square compartment of the room, inclosed by such curtains. This seems to have been the first step towards the more modern square tester-beds. In one of the plates of D'Agincourt's " Histoire de FArt" (Peinture, pi. 109), taken from a Greek fresco of the twelfth or thirteenth century in a church at Florence, we have the curtains arranged thus in a square tent in the room, where the cords are not suspended from the roof, but supported by four corner posts. The bed is placed within, totally detached from the surrounding posts and curtains. In one of the later subjects given in the paper on illuminations in the present volume, taken from a manuscript of the fifteenth century, we have a high bed, with the tester extending over its whole extent, but still without posts. The large square post bedsteads, like that in Turton Tower, appear to have come into fashion in England late in the fifteenth century, and from that time to the beginning of the seventeenth century they were amongst the most costly articles of household furniture. In an inventory of furniture belonging to King Henry VIII. printed in Strutt (vol. iii. p. 68), several beds are mentioned, one of which is described as — "the posts and heade curiously wroughte, painted, and guilte, having as well foure bullyeons of timbre gilte, as foure vanes of yron painted." They were often made of very large dimensions. Hentzner, the German traveller, who visited England in the reign of Elizabeth, speaks of beds at Windsor Castle which were eleven feet square, covered with quilts shining with gold and silver. These were the state-beds of Henry VII., Henry VIII., and Edward VI. But the fashion of large beds seems to have been on the decline at that period, since the queen's bed, " with curious coverings and embroidery," is stated to have been not quite so large as the others. The cele- brated " great bed of Ware," immortalised by Shakespeare, and still in existence,t was * " Unum tectum de panno aureo . . . unum co- opertorium cum celura integra et testerio de eadem secta ac tribus curtinis de rubeo tartarino." — Litter

<) THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. publicly exposed, Beated upon such an article, during a certain period of time, the process of ducking being a subsequent addition. Borlase, in his "Natural History of Cornwall," describes the cucking-stool used in that part of the country as "a scat of infamy, when' strumpets and scolds, with bare foot and head, were condemned to abide the derision of those that passed by, for such time as the bailiffs of manors, which had the privilege of such jurisdiction, did approve." According to the Scottish "Burrow Lawes," as declared in the "Regiam Majestatem," an ale-wife, "gif she makes evill ail, contrair to the use and consuetude of the burgh, and is convict therof, shce sail pay ane unlaw of audit shillingcs, or sal suffer the justice of the burgh, that is, shec sail be put upon the cock-stule." In 1555 it was enacted by the queen-regent of Scotland, that itinerant singing-women should be put on the cuck-stoles of every burgh or town ; and the first " Homily against Contention," part 3, published in 1562, sets forth that " in all well-ordred cities, common brawlers and scolders be punished with a notable kind of paine, as to be set on the cucking-stole, pillory, or such like." By the statute of 3 Hen. VIII. carders and spinners of wool, who were convicted of fraudulent practices, were to be "sett upon the pillorie or the cukkyng-stole, man or woman, as the case shall require." The manner in which these passages are worded would lead us to suppose that the offenders were not ducked ; and in some instances the cucking- stool appears to have been stationary in a part of the town removed from the water. It also appears that in earlier times the cucking-stool was a punishment for women for various offences. At Sandwich, as we learn from Boys' s " History," a punishment coexisting with the cucking-stool, and, like it, intended to expose the offender to public disgrace, was that of the "wooden mortar." In 1518, a woman, for speaking abusively of the mayor of Sandwich, was sentenced to go about the town with the mortar carried before her. In 1534, two women were banished from Sandwich for immoral behaviour; it was ordered by the court that, " if they return, one of them is to suffer the pain of sitting over the f coqueen '-stool, and the other is to be set three days in the stocks, witli an allowance of only bread and water, and afterwards to be placed in the 'coquecn '-stool and dipped to the chin." There appears to be here a distinction made, which would shew that the dipping was not the usual punishment of the cucking-stool. Two other incidents from the annals of Sandwich will explain the p unishm ent of the mortar. In 15G1, a woman, for scolding, was sentenced to sit in the stocks, and to bear the mortar round the town ; and in 1G37, a woman, for speaking abusively of the mayoress, was condemned to carry the wooden mortar "throughout the town, hanging on the handle of an old broom upon her shoulder, one going before her tinkling a small bell." The wooden mortar and the cucking-stool were preserved at Sandwich in the OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. 51 middle of the last century, and are both engraved in one of Boys's plates. The cucking-stool is a very singular specimen ; a hole through the seat distinctly points to the original meaning of the word, and on the arms and back were caiwed or painted figures of men and women scolding. A woman is made to call the man "knave/' while the man applies to his fair antagonist a still more indecorous term. On the cross-rib at the back of the chair is the following inscription : — " ©f members £ £ tonge is foorst or best ; Sin gll tonge ofte fcoetft. breebe unreste." Cole, as quoted in Brand's " Popular Antiquities/' has left us a curious account of the cucking-stools (which he calls ducking-stools) formerly existing at Cambridge, orna- mented in a similar manner. Writing in 1780, he says, " In my time, when I was a boy, I remember to have seen a woman ducked for scolding. The chair hung by a pulley fastened to a beam about the middle of the bridge, in which the woman was confined, and let down under the water three times, and then taken out. The bridge was then of timber, before the present stone bridge of one arch was builded. The ducking-stool was constantly hanging in its place, and on the back panel of it were engraved devils laying hold of scolds, &c. Some time after a new chair was erected in the place of the old one, having the same devils carved on it, and well painted and ornamented. When the new bridge of stone was erected, about 1754, this was taken away, and 1 lately saw the carved and gilt back of it nailed up by the shop of one Mr. Jackson, a whitesmith. In October, 1776, I saw in the old town-hall a third ducking-stool, of plain oak, with an iron bar before it to confine the person in the seat." None of the cucking-stools preserved to our times, as far as we know, are ornamented in the manner of those at Sandwich and Cambridge. The cut in the margin represents one which is probably still preserved at Ipswich, and which, when our drawing was made, was kept in the old Custom-house. It is of rude, solid construction. A cut in a history of Ipswich printed in 1830 (and reproduced in "The Gentleman's Magazine" of January 1831) gives a spirited sketch of the manner in which this chair is supposed to have been used, by attaching it to a crane which let it down into the water. Another cucking-stool, recently sold in London, is engraved in Cruden's "History of Gravesend;" it is a mere square box, in which the offender was placed, and let down by a cord. An original cucking-stool, of ancient 52 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. Mini rude construction, is preserved in the crypt of St. Mary's Church, in Warwick, with a three-wheeled carriage, on which it is supposed to have been suspended by a long balancing-pole, and so lowered into the water. In the old accounts of the town of Gravesend we find charges for wheels for the cucking-stool, and for bringing it into the market-place. From the thirteenth to the fourteenth century, scarcely any English town was without its cucking-stools, and the municipal accounts contain many entries relating to them. Some of the earliest and most curious notices of this kind are found in the archives of Canterbury. We have the following entry on this subject in 1520 : — " Item, paied for a pece of tymbcr for the ladder of the cuckyng-stole, and staves to the same, xx d . " Item, for slyttyng of the seid pece of tymber in iij. calves, with the ij. shelle calves, viij d . " Item, for a pece of tymber for the fote of the ladder, cont. xij. fote, xv d . " Item, paied for the plank and stanchons for the stole, iiij d . " Item, paied for a pynne of yren waying xij. li., and ij. plates waying vij. li., price li. j' 1 . ob. summa, ij' iiij' 1 . " Item, paied to Harry Shepard and hys mate, carpenters, for iij. dayes and di. hew- ing and makyng of the cucking-stole, takyng by the day xij d . summa, iij s vj d . " Item, paied to Cristofer Wedy for caryage of the scid tymber to the saw-stage, and from thense to the place where the seid cucking-stole stondeth, etc. iiij d . " Item, for di. c. of iij. peny nailes, j d ob. " Item, for a grete spykyn, to ij. staples, and a haspe for the seid stole, iij d . " Summa, x s v d ob." This ' stole' seems to have been of large dimensions, and to have been stationary, and it is not improbable that it stood, not by the river, but in some public place in the city. In 1547, when this large structure can hardly have been in decay, we have an entry of charges for making another ; and as the sum is much smaller, although the value of labour and materials had risen considerably, it is probable that this was a BmaU portable machine, intended to be carried about the town and to the river for (lucking. " Costes for makyng of the Cokyng-stole. " Item, paid to Dodd, carpenter, for makyng of the cokyng-stole, and sawyng the tymber, by grete, V s vij''. " Item, a pairc of cholls, iij 5 iiij d . ' Item, paid for ij. iren pynnes for the same, waying v. li. at ij d ob. the li. xij d ob/' OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. 53 Lysons has given us an extract from the accounts of Kingston-upon-Thatnes, in the year 1572, relating to the cucking-stool there, which had wheels : — " The making of the cucking-stool 8s. Iron-work for the same Ss. Timber for the same 7s. 6d. Three brasses for the same, and three wheels, 4s. lOd." At Banbury, the cucking-stool and the pillory stood near each other, at the lower part of the market-place, where was also a horse-pool, and there are several entries in the town accounts of the middle of the sixteenth century relating to them. In fact, nearly all town accounts during the sixteenth century and the commence- ment of the seventeenth contain entries relating to these implements of punishment. The practice of ducking continued through the whole of the seventeenth century, and the name, now no longer understood in its original form, began to be changed to ducking-stool. Instances of this punishment being put in practice occur as late as the middle of the last century. In Brand's " Popular Antiquities" an extract is given from a London newspaper of the year 1745, stating that " Last week a woman that keeps the Queen's Head alehouse at Kingston, in Surrey, was ordered by the court to be ducked for scolding, and was accordingly placed in the chair, and ducked in the river Thames, under Kingston Bridge, in the presence of two or three thousand people." The guilty individual appears to have been often carried to the place of punishment in procession by the mob. Our readers will remember the description of such a procession in " Hudibras," which makes the subject of one of Hogarth's illustrations of that poem. After the publication of Hogarth's plate, this procession was acted on the stage, and appears to have formed the principal attraction of a silly dramatic entertainment, entitled, " The Wedding : a Tragi-Comi-Pastoral Opera. As it is acted at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. With an Hudibrastick Skimington. Written by Mr. Hawker."* More than one edition of this opera was printed in 1734, with a plate slightly altered from Hogarth. It may be added, that one of Rowlandson's caricatures represents the process of ducking a scold. The coarse satirical writers of the sixteenth century, to whose envenomed shafts the female sex was a frequent butt, often allude to the cucking-stool. One or two * In Brand's " Popular Antiquities," edit, of 1841, vol. ii. pp. 119, 120, will be found some observations on the origin of the term, riding u Skimmington. This satirical procession appears to have prevailed at an earlier period in Spain, and we have representations of it in Houfnagle's Views in that country (1593), and in Colmenar's " Delices de l'Espagne et du Portugal'' (1/07). Although introduced with so much effect in " Hudibras," it does not appear to have been a custom of frequent occurrence in our island. 54 Tilt: AKCH.EOLOGICAL ALU I'M. extracts arc given by Sir Henry Ellis, in his notes to Brand's " Popular Antiquities." We may add the following. In a rare tract by M. P[arkcr], printed soon after the year 1G00, under the title of "Harry "White his Humour/' it is observed, — "Item, having lately read the rare history of patient Grizell, out of it he hath drawne this philosophical! position, that if all women were of that womans condition, we should have no imployment for cuckin-stooles." A satirical ballad of the same period, in a manuscript in private hands, says of an abandoned female, — " Coach hir no more, but cart hir now, Provide the cookinge-stvvle, And if she scold better then I, Let me be thoughte a foole." A prose satire, published in 1678, and entitled " Poor Robin's True Character of a Scold," contains the following passage: — "A burr about the moon is not half so certain a presage of a tempest at sea, as her brow is of a storm on land. And though laurel, hawthorn, and seal-skin, are held preservatives against thunder, magick has not yet been able to nnde any amulet so sovereign as to still her ravings; for, like oyl pour'd on flames, good words do but make her rage the faster : and when once her flag of defiance, the tippet, is unfurl' d, she cares not a straw for constable nor cucking-stool." [As a parallel to this species of legalised punishment, we are indebted to a friend for the following notice of a similar but unauthorised infliction.] " Whilst the cucking-stool of our ancestors was held in terrorem, if not over the head, at any rate as the seat of scolds, on which to undergo immersion, even-handed Justice so far took the part of the weaker sex as not to allow the stronger to wrong or oppress them without avenging it. Lawless custom became a Lynch-law in defence of helpless woman; and when a brutal husband w r as known, according to the Scotch phrase, hy fa ma clamosa, to beat his wife, the people in town or village of that country were in the habit of awarding him his punishment, by causing him to Ride the Stang.* Though not yet very old, I have myself witnessed this disagreeable ceremony, which I will describe to you as well as I may from the recollection. " About noon, when labour daily and usually refreshes itself, an uncommon stir was observable among the lower classes of the town population — something like what * The popular punishment of riding the stang was common through Scotland and the north of England, but its subject was most frequently, not the man who had beaten his wife, but he who had allowed himself to be beaten by her. A plate in " The Costume of York- shire," 4to. published in 1814, gives a representation of this custom. A considerable number of allusions to it are collected together in Brand's " Popular Antiquities." OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. 55 precedes the swarming of a beehive. By and by appearances took a more definite form, and a number of women and children were seen crowding together, shouting and clamouring, and rattling with sticks and pans, and, in short, raising a most intolerable din ; in the midst of which, the name of one obnoxious individual was ominously heard. The characteristics of a Scotch mob are pretty generally known, before and since the fate of Captain Porteous. They are furious and formidable ; and when once the passions of a generally calm and prudent race are excited, be it to lower the price of meal, or to carry any other popular purpose, it requires no small force to resist or modify the impulse. On the present occasion, rough-looking men began to mix with the screeching multitude, and soon were visible a stout posse of them, armed with a pitchfork. The idea that murder was about to be committed thrilled the blood of the uninformed spec- tators, and their terror increased when they witnessed a fierce assault made on a low tenement inhabited by the person (a shoemaker) so dreadfully denounced, who had barely time to lock and barricade himself from the threatened vengeance. In vain. The windows and doors were smashed and battered in, and a violent tumult took place in the interior. Within two minutes the culprit was dragged out, pale and trembling, and supplicating for mercy. But he had shewn little to his wretched partner, who, with a blackened eye, weeping bitterly, and also begging them to spare her unworthy spouse, who she was sure would never strike her again, joined her pitiful entreaties to his. The ministers of public justice were inexorable — his sentence was pronounced, his doom sealed. The portentous pitchfork was immediately laid horizontally from the shoulder of one to the shoulder of another of the ablest of the executioners, who thus stood, front and rear, with the stang (the shaft) between them. Upon this narrow- backed horse the offender was lifted by others, and held on by supporters on either side, so that dismounting was completely out of the question ; and there he sat elevated above the rest, in his most uncomfortable and unenviable wooden saddle. The air rung with yells of triumph and vituperation. "Very slight arrangements were necessary, and the procession moved on. The wife, surrounded by a party of her gossips, was compelled to accompany it ; and it bent its course toward the river-side. The unmanly fellow who had provoked this fate shewed by his terrors that he was just one of those cowards who could ill-treat the creature who had a right to his protection, and had not fortitude to endure an evil himself. He howled for compassion, appealed by name to his indignant escort, and prayed and promised ; but they got to the brink of that clear and deep pool which mirrored the glittering sun above the mill-wear (or cauld, Scottice), and there the bearers marched boldly in before they tumbled their burthen from his uneasy seat. Into the water he went over head and ears, and rose again, by no means ' like a giant 5G THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. refreshed;' and no sooner did he reappear, than a powerful grasp was laid upon him, and down again he was plunged, and replunged, with unrelenting perseverance. The screams of his distracted wife fortunately attracted the attention of a magistrate (my revered father) whose garden shelved to the edge of the stream where this scene was enacting, and he hastened to interfere. Had he not done so, life might probably have been lost; for the ruffian was execrated by his fellow-men for his continued abuse of late a pretty, sweet, and healthful maiden, now a pale-faced, bruised, and sickly matron, and one, too, of meek and unresisting temper, suffering cruelly without offence. As it was, the populace listened to the magistrate's voice, for he was much beloved by them ; and giving the rascal one dash more, allowed him to crawl to the bank of the silver, now polluted, Tweed. From thence he was hooted the whole way to his home; and so salutary was the effect of the day's proceedings on the half-drowned rat, that he never more misbehaved in such a manner as to render himself liable to Ride the Stang. " W. J." e 5 o > < 2 < OLD MANSION, LATELY STANDING IN GRAVEL LANE, HOUNDSDITCH. The house represented in the cut above, an interesting relic of ancient London, was demolished in 1844, much to the regret of every lover of national antiquities. It is to be lamented that a monument of this kind could not have been preserved, and appropriated to some object of public utility.* The house to which we allude stood on * There are still in existence a few interesting speci- mens of the domestic architecture of ancient London, which will probably in a few years disappear, unless rescued from the hands of the destroyer for some public object. Might they not be bought by the government, or by the city authorities, for museums, or for the meet- ings of learned societies ? The French government has on several occasions acted on this suggestion, which is applicable more especially to provincial towns than to London, and we are glad to see that a good spirit is spreading itself through the country. Our attention is called to this subject by receiving a printed circular from the vicar (the Rev. Jemson Davies) and some of the most respectable inhabitants of the parish of St. Nicholas in Leicester, soliciting subscriptions to defray the ex- penses necessary for the preservation of the Roman remains in that town, known by the name of the Old Jewry Wall (one of the most remarkable Roman monu- ments in our islands), and the removal of certain build- ings by which it has been much disfigured and injured. This application cannot be too strongly recommended to public attention ; and it must be carried in mind that it is necessary not only to preserve national antiquities, but to make them accessible to the eye of the public. The circular alluded to states that, "in accomplishing this object, much expense has been incurred, in parti- cular by the erection of a building appurtenant to the church, rendered necessary by the removal of the build- ings which encumbered the wall. Towards defraying these expenses, they have had recourse to a private sub- scription ; but as the parish is very small, and its inha- bitants in general very far from wealthy, the amount thus raised has been found very inadequate : they there- fore have ventured to appeal to their fellow-townsmen and the public for assistance." Many of our readers will remember that only a few months have passed since the last relic of any importance of the ancient Roman wall of the city of Loudon very narrowly escaped destruction. 58 the archjsological album. one side of Gravel Lane, Iloundsditch. Its exterior presented few features of attraction, and would not have led us to expect that it contained so much elaborate decoration as the original artist had bestowed upon it. In front it had a large court-yard, seventy- two feet square, entered by a richly decorated gateway in Seven-step Alley, which took its name from the steps leading to this gate. There was another door into Elliston Street and Gravel Lane. The- house itself had outwardly a look of great solidity, and consisted of three stories, the upper row of windows preserving their original form, while those in the lower stories had been entirely modernised. Between the windows were flat pilasters, very slightly enriched. The two parlours, on each side of the passage of entrance, were panelled with oak, which remained in its original sounduess and purity, having never been disfigured by paint, as is too often seen in churches and old buildings, where the painter and grainer are employed to colour real oak stalls and carved panels in imitation of oak. The fireplaces in both parlours were highly enriched with orna- mental carving. The ceilings were of plaster; in the parlour to the left on entering, the beams of the compartments of the ceiling only were ornamented, but in the other the ceiling was more elaborately and curiously decorated, being divided into four compartments by beams ornamented with scroll-work, each partition filled with a rich framework of Elizabethan decoration, enclosing four emblematical designs, with Latin mottoes, in the style of the engravings to the Emblemata of Alciatus and other works of the same description, which enjoyed great popularity at that time. The ceiling of the great chamber on the first floor was most elaborate in design, having in the centre the arms of the builder (Robert Shaw), and at each end those of the city company (the Vintners), of which he was master; and amid the interlacing tracery were four emblematical subjects, of a character similar to those in the ceiling of the parlour, like them also accompanied with Latin mottoes. An engraving of this ceiling has been published by C. J. Richardson, Esq. F.S.A. The fireplace in this room was the most beautiful of the series which decorated the mansion, and was an excellent specimen of the peculiar style of ornamental work of the period. The sides were composed of coloured marbles, the upper part of carved wood. This fireplace forms one of the subjects of our plate ; the other being the door which led into the opposite room on the same floor, remarkable for its quaint but simple elegance. This room v, as also panelled with oak, and had a fireplace of different design, but equally elaborate, though not so beautiful. It exhibited, in four rich compartments, the four seasons : Spring, crowned with flowers, and holding a crook ; Summer, crowned with fruit, and carrying fruit in a basket, with a sickle and a sheaf of corn ; Autumn had a wine-cup in her hand, and on her brow a wreath of grapes; while Winter, represented OLD MANSION. 59 in the form of an old man, was warming his hands at a portable fire, his brows heavily laden with the fruit and flowers of the past year. It is perhaps right to observe, that in the fireplace given in our engraving, the fire-dogs, equally with their animated namesakes, are the work of the artist's imagination. The rooms above these had no other decoration than a band of flowers along each rafter. This mansion was built by Robert Shaw of Southwark, alderman of London and master of the Vintners' Company in the reign of James I., who was subsequently made a baronet. He appears to have been a descendant of Edward Shaw, goldsmith, mayor in 1483, who, according to Stowe, left money to rebuild Cripplegate, which was done in 1491, after his death, and of John Shaw, also a goldsmith, mayor in 1501, of whom it is related in Dekker's very rare pageant for the mayoralty of the Right Hon. James Campbell, in 1629, that " in the reigne of Henry VII. Sir John Shaw, goldsmith, being then lord mayor, caused the aldermen to ride from the Guildhall to the water- side, when he went to take his oath at Westminster (where before they rode by land thether), and at his returne to ride againe to the Guildhall, there to dine ; all the kitchens and other offices there being built by him ; since which time the feast has there bin kept, for before it was either at Grocers Hall, or the Merchant Taylors." This family was related to the Shaws of Kent. The house, soon after it was erected, is said to have been occupied by the famous Spanish ambassador to the court of James I. count Gondomar, who was the instigator of the execution of Sir Walter Raleigh. Tradition also says that this mansion (or one near it) was occupied by a party of Cromwell's soldiers, probably to communicate with the garrisons in Houndsditch and the Tower.* It then stood on comparatively open ground; but its site is now surrounded by a labyrinth of courts and alleys between Houndsditch, Whitechapel, and Petticoat Lane, inhabited by the lowest class of the population (partly Jews), and where strangers are seldom seen, there being no large street or direct road through any portion of it. The notices of this spot (now so densely covered with buildings) by the old his- torians of London, afford a curious picture of the continual encroachments of the town upon the surrounding country, which, after a lapse of more than two centuries, is going on with infinitely increased rapidity around the present metropolis, although at so great a distance from what was then the site of trees and green fields. The spot of which we are speaking was called, in the time of Stowe, Hog Lane. " This Hog Lane/' he says, " stretcheth north toward St. Mary Spitle without Bishopsgate, and within these forty years [this was written in 1603] had on both sides fair hedge-rows of elm- * See " The Beauties of England and Wales," London and Middlesex, vol. iii. p. 152. 60 THE ARCH/EOLOGICAL ALBUM. tiers, with bridges and easy stiles to pass over into the pleasant fields, very commodious for citizens therein to walk, shoot, and otherwise to recreate and refresh their dull spirits in the sweet and wholesome air, which is now within a few years made a con- tinual building throughout of garden-houses and small cottages; and the fields on either sides be turned into garden-plots, tenter-yards, bowling-alleys, and such like, from Houndaditch in the west, as far as White Chappell, and further towards the east. On the south side of the highway from Aldgate were some few tenements, thinly scattered here and there, with many void spaces between them, up to the Bars; but now that street is not only fully replenished with buildings outward, and also pestered with divers alleys, on either side to the Bars, but to White Chappell and beyond." Strypc, writing-in 1720, says, "Petticoat Lane, formerly called Hog Lane, is near Whitechapel Bars, and runs northward towards St. Mary's Spittle. In antient times, on both sides this lane were hedge-rows and elm-trees, with pleasant fields to walk in. Insomuch that some gentlemen of the court and city built them houses here for air. There was a house on the west side, a good way in the lane, which, when I was a boy, was commonly called the Spanish Ambassadors house, who in king James I.'s reign dwelt here. And he, I think, w f as the famous count Gondomar. And a little way off this, on the cast side of the w r ay, down a paved alley (now called Stripe's Court,* from my father, who inhabited here) was a fair large house with a good garden before it, built and inhabited by Hans Jacobson, a Dutchman, the said king James's jeweller, wherein I was born." * This name has since been corrupted into Tripe Yard. HISTORY OF ART IN THE MIDDLE AGES, AS EXHIBITED IN ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS. the present age there is a general taste for medieval art, which shews itself in an increasing activity of research into all its different depart- ments. Of these none is more deserving of attention than that of illuminated manuscripts, because they are not only important as monuments of art, but they convey to us more information than any other documents on the manners and customs of our forefathers. These illuminations are, fortunately, very numerous, although they are chiefly to be met with in large public collections. They differ much in style and character, according to the period at which they were executed, and the skill of the artists. These artists were fre- quently monks, especially in the earlier times ; but at a later period, from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, they formed a separate profession, and it was then that the art advanced gradually to per- fection, until it produced the splendid schools of the latter part of the fifteenth century. The names of several English artists in this branch of painting have been preserved in the manuscripts which they adorned, but of the greater number we have no record what- ever. These artists were termed illuminators (Lat. illuminator es, Fr. enlumineurs), whence the name given to the paintings executed by them (Lat. illuminatio, Fr. enluminure). Ordericus Vitalis, who lived early in the twelfth century, makes use of this word, and speaks of a monk of his mo- nastery (in the middle of the eleventh century) who was pracipuus scriptor et librorum illumi- nator.* A French document of the end of the * Ord. Vital. Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. p. 77, ed. Le Prevost. G2 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. fourteenth century speaks of an enhmiineur who was employed in painting the chapel of the (Ylestins at Paris,* which would seem to shew that the same persons who executed the illuminations in manuscripts were employed on the paintings on the walls of churches. Books illustrated with such illuminations, representing the circumstances narrated in the text, were said to be histories {Hbri historiati). From notes which occur sometimes in old records, we conclude that these illuminated books were extremely expensive. The most numerous class of these artistical works are missals and hooks of hours, which are still found in abundance in all large collections, and they may often be purchased in curiosity-shops in London, where they are generally estimated very much above their value. Romances, chronicles, and other works embellished in this manner, are of much greater rarity and interest, but they are found in abundance in the great public libraries in England and on the Continent. It is evident that the illuminators of the middle ages were a numerous class, and that they found extensive employment. In our rapid sketch of the history of these illuminations, we may conveniently arrange the subject in three divisions, taking first the Anglo-Saxon period, embracing the history of English art from the seventh century to the middle of the eleventh; secondly, the period extending from the entrance of the Normans to the end of the fourteenth century; and, third, the fifteenth century, or the period in which the art of illuminating manuscripts was carried to the highest degree of perfection. THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. The Anglo-Saxon illuminators were almost exclusively ecclesiastics, and the books they ornamented are, with very few exceptions, of a theological character. The finest specimen of Anglo-Saxon ornamental work, and at the same time the earliest known example of illuminating executed in this island, is the well-known Durham Book (now MS. Cotton. Nero D. IV.), painted by a monk of Lindisfarne, towards the close of the seventh century, the colours of which appear still almost as fresh as when they came out of his hands. An entirely new impulse seems to have been given to this art by Athelwold and Dunstan, and the Benedictine monks of their time, subsequent to which most of our Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts were executed. It w r as noted of Dunstan that he was a most skilful painter, and a manuscript in the Bodleian Library at Oxford contains a drawing representing Dunstan worshipping the Saviour, which is stated to have been the work of his own pencil. It is not discreditable to him as an * Catalogue des Archives Joursanvault, vol. i. p. 139. NOAH'S -.RD HISTORY OF ART IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 63 artist, if compared with other productions of this period. The first picture on our plates of illuminations, taken from a manuscript of Alfric's Anglo-Saxon version of part of the Bible (MS. Cotton. Claudius B. IV. fol. 17, v°), executed towards the end of the tenth century, is a fair specimen of Anglo-Saxon drawing and colouring. It repre- sents Noah and his family gathering grapes from the vine, and pressing them in the wine-press. The names of Noah and his two sons, and one of their wives, are written over the figures of the persons to whom they belonged. The lady, who is here called Sphiarphara, is probably intended for the wife of Cham, or Ham. In the old legendary lore prevalent under the Saxons, as we find in the curious "Dialogue between Saturn and Solomon," printed in Thorpe's " Analecta," Noah's wife was named Dalila, Cham's Jaitarecta, and Japheth's Catafluvia, or, u according to others, the three were named Olla, Ollina, and Ollibana." In a similar set of questions of the fifteenth century (printed in the " Reliquiae Antiquse," i. 230) we find the following passage: — "What hicht [was named] Noes wyf?" "Dalida; and the wif of Sem, Cateslinna ; and the wif of Cam, Laterecta ; and the wif of Japheth, Aurca. And other iij. names, Ollia, Olina, and Olybana." On the lower part of the wine-press are seen the Anglo-Saxon words, "hser (for car) ^a flode nas na wingeard;" "before the flood there was no vineyard." The Anglo-Saxons appear to have remembered with no little gratitude that it was Noah who discovered the use of the vine. In the Anglo- Saxon dialogue above alluded to, and in another similar tract in the same language, the answer to the question, "Who first planted vineyards and drank wine?" is, "The patriarch Noah." Another question is, "Tell me, what tree is the best of all trees?" To which the reply is, "The vine" (Jrset ys win-treow). The wine-press is the most curious part of our picture ; for up to a much later period the illuminations represent the process of pressing out the juice of the grapes as being performed by treading them with the feet. Noah's wine-press is of a simple construction : a heavy block, like a mill-stone, turns on a vertical screw, and the patriarch and his son "Cham" appear to be pushing it round. The colour of the hair of the figures in this manuscript is remarkable. The early illuminators had no notion of giving correct representations of landscapes or natural productions. Previous to the fifteenth century, the artists employed certain conventional forms to represent trees, which varied according to the fashion of the day. In the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, a tree was represented most commonly by a parcel of tracery, like the vines in Noah's vineyard. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the most common method of denoting a tree was by a round bundle of leaves (closely resembling cabbage-leaves), fixed on the top of a straight pole. In some of the ruder drawings the names of the persons and objects are introduced to distinguish them, somewhat in the same way as wc are told that in the primeval days 64 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. uf Grecian art, the draughtsman was obliged to write the names on the different objects he wished to represent, as, ovrog 'hcrog' roZro bzvhgov — "This is a horse; this, a tree." Some of the Saxon drawings, such as those in the manuscript of Crcdmon (engraved in the twenty-fourth volume of the "Archrcologia"), are barbarously rude. Others, par- ticularly some of the earlier examples, are spirited and clever. Among these may be instanced several illustrated manuscripts of the Psychomachia of Prude ntius, some of them as old as the ninth century, and the illustrations of a calendar of the first half of the eleventh century. Some of these are engraved in Shaw's " Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages." Another instance of considerable skill, particularly in grouping, will be found in the illustrations (though rather sketchy and indistinct) of the Ilarleian MS. No. 603. The illustrations of the calendar represent the occupations peculiar to each month of the year in Anglo-Saxon times, which are drawn in outline by the pen. The following is a Saxon reaping scene, taken from the month of August. The activity of the reapers is well represented. The corn appears at this period not to have been sheaved in the field, but to have been carried directly away. The warrior with his spear and horn, to the left, appears to be the guardian of the field, whose duty it was to watch against sudden attacks on the harvest in those unsettled times. These illuminated calendars are very numerous during the middle ages, and form a continued and interesting series of illustrations of manners. The subjects of the Anglo-Saxon series are, — in January, ploughing with oxen ; February, pruning trees ; March, digging and sowing; April, feasting; May, shepherds attending their flocks; June, cutting down timber and carting it ; July, mowing; August, reaping; September, hunting, and leading the pigs to the woods to feed; October, hawking; November, bonfires ; December, winnowing. This series of subjects, with a few variations, was continued to a late period, and even appears in the printed calendars and almanacs of the sixteenth century, in England, Germany, and the Low Countries. In France, a new series of designs was invented for the printed calendars : the life of man was divided HISTORY OF ART IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 65 into twelve ages instead of seven : in January he is an infant, in February he is sent to school, in March he becomes a hunter, in April a lover, and so on, until he falls into decrepitude in the month of December. The Anglo-Saxon calendar of which we have been speaking is found in a manuscript in the British Museum (MS. Cotton. Julius A. VI.) ; it is evidently copied from a somewhat older illuminated calendar in the same collection (MS. Cotton. Tiberius B. V.), executed very much in the same style as the illuminations of Alfric's translation of parts of the Bible. This is not the only instance in which the illuminations of one Anglo-Saxon manuscript appear to be copies of those of an older treatise on the same subject, and we may sometimes trace back to a very ancient original. In fact, some of the earlier Anglo-Saxon drawings appear to be derived from models brought from Rome, and certain allusions in the older writers, particularly in the Letters of Boniface, would lead us to believe that such was the case. The illustrations of Prudentius have a certain classic style about them which is not found in the biblical manuscripts. A curious instance of this occurs in the illuminations to the astronomical tracts of Aratus (translated by Cicero) and Hyginus. In the Harleian MS. No. 617, are preserved a few leaves of an illustrated manuscript of these works, probably of the seventh century, apparently executed by a foreign artist, and evidently the prototype of the copies of the same work in MS. Harl. No. 2506, which seems to be of the beginning of the ninth century, and of MS. Cotton. Tiberius B. V. of the latter end of the tenth century. The manuscript first mentioned was probably the original model, brought from Italy into this country by some of the earlier Anglo-Saxon pilgrims. At a later period the Anglo-Saxon illuminations have more of the character of Byzantine art. In some instances they seem to have preserved those bold poetical personi- fications, derived from profane antiquity, which appear in the medieval Greek illuminations. In the fine illuminated Benedictional of St. Athelwold (of about the middle of the twelfth century), from which a series of plates were engraved for the twenty-fourth volume of the "Archseologia," we have a large painting of the baptism of the Saviour, where the river Jordan is represented emblematically by an old man with horns, pouring the water of the river out of an urn, while the end of an oar appears above his left shoulder. We are necessarily reminded of such classic examples as the following (cited by GG THE AKCII.EOLOGICAL ALBUM. J. II. Langlois, in a very interesting Essai sur la Calligraphic des Manuscrits du Moyen Aye, from which we have derived some of our observations) : — And— " Corniger Hespcridumy?! over * ne child, oodoog (the dawn). A Greek Bible of the fourteenth century contains, among many others, a picture of the passage of the Israelites, pursued by the Egyptians, over the Red Sea, engraved in D'Agincourt' s Histoire de I' Art (Peinture, pi. G2) ; the sea is personified by a naked woman, plunging Pharaoh with her hand into the water. In another of D'Agincourt's plates (Peint. pi. 56), taken from an exultet, or pictorial hymn, executed in the south of Italy, we find the earth represented under the form of a woman, who gives suck to a quadruped and to a reptile, her lower members being HISTORY OF ART IN THE MIDDLE AGES. G7 lost in the ground, covered with plants and trees. Such personifications are less common in England after the Conquest ; but perhaps few of them can bear comparison in point of singularity with that represented in our next cut, taken from an illuminated manuscript of the fifteenth century, in the British Museum (MS. Reg. 15 E. II. fol. 60, r°), of a French translation of the scientific treatise "On the Nature of Things," by Bartholomew de Glanville. The four elements are here personi- fied in a very remarkable man- ner. Earth is an old man, sluggish and heavy, supporting himself upon a staff. Water is a middle-aged person, with the serious air of a philosopher, a scroll in his hand. Fire is a fierce, destructive-looking man, with a sword by his side, and a dagger in his hand. Air is represented by a youth, light and gay, bearing on his right hand a bird, and leading a greyhound by a string with the other. Each figure has under his feet the element he represents. The background of this picture is a good example of the superior skill in drawing landscapes which appeared in the fifteenth century. The Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts are in general much less attractive by their beauty than those of subsequent periods. The only part in which there is any freedom of drawing is the drapery. Nothing can be more barbarous than the attempts to represent naked figures. Trees, as we have already observed, are mere conventional forms; and buildings have the appearance of wooden toys. Yet they are still interesting in different points of view; and the illuminations to Alfric's Bible, in especial, form a treasury of Anglo-Saxon domestic history. <>S THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. TWELFTH, THIRTEENTH, AND FOURTEENTH CENTURIES. We have scarcely any illuminated manuscripts which can be ascribed with certainty to the latter half of the eleventh century; and during the twelfth century manuscripts with pictures are not numerous, though ornamental initials, often of elaborate work- manship and great beauty, are very common. The drawings of the twelfth century are generally more correct in outline than those of the period which preceded or those of that which immediately followed. Among the eaidiest and most interesting specimens are the series of scriptural subjects in the Cottonian MS. Nero C. IV. which have been already quoted in the present volume as resembling in style and colouring the paintings of the chapel in the crypt of Canterbury cathedral. If the illuminators of books were also employed on the paintings on the walls (which a fact cited at the beginning of the present article would lead us to suspect), the artist to whom we owe this series of Scripture pictures may have been the author of those in the crypt. At all events, we may refer to our coloured plate of the latter as a good specimen of the style of the period. The illuminations of the twelfth century are, however, seldom so highly coloured, being in most instances mere outlines. The books illuminated during this period were generally scriptural or legendary subjects; the chief exceptions being the Bestiaries, or treatises on natural history, which often contain very good specimens of the skill of the Anglo-Norman artists. The romances became numerous in the thirteenth century, and with them came a new style of illuminations, consisting of little square miniatures in frames, the figures being very highly coloured, generally ill drawn, and placed upon a diapered ground, without any attempt at landscape, which was not introduced with any effect till the fifteenth century. This diapered ground gives a very confused appearance to the picture. There is generally an absurd degree of stiffness about the design ; but, the subjects being more varied, the illuminations become now more interesting as illustrations of manners and customs than in the previous century. Some books of this period, however, contain very clever drawings in outline, or very lightly coloured, such as the legend of king Offa, in the Cottonian Library (Nero D. I.), with a spirited series of outline drawings by the hand of the author of the legend, the w r ell-known historian, Matthew Paris, and a very profusely illustrated manuscript of the beginning of the fourteenth century, in the Old King's Library in the British Museum (MS. Reg. 2 B. VII.), popularly known as queen Mary's Psalter, from the circumstance of its having once belonged to Mary queen of England. A fac-simile in colours of one of the illuminations of this manuscript is given at the bottom of our first plate of illuminations. It represents one of those numerous legends which, during the middle HISTORY OF ART IN THE MIDDLE ACfE^ 69 ages, were built upon or added to the text of the Scriptures. According to this legend (of which we have not been able to find any further account than what is furnished by the drawing and the inscription in Anglo-Norman underneath*), it appears that Noah, when occupied in building the ark, kept his occupation secret from his wife. One day, however, the Evil One appeared to her in the form of a man, and asked her where her husband was. Her answer was, that she did not know. The tempter then placed in her hand some grains, and said, " He is gone to betray thee and all the world : take these grains, and make a potion, and give it him to drink, and he will tell thee all." The legend adds, " And so she did." The picture, after a manner which was common down to a much later period, represents three portions of the story at one view. On the left, the Evil One appears in conversation with Noah's wife ; in the middle, the lady is receiving her husband with an affectionate greeting ; and to the right she is giving him the drink, and obtaining from him the avowal of his secret by her alluring caresses. We are left in the dark as to the sequel of the legend. In the old popular mysteries, or religious dramas, the wife of Noah appears as the pattern of scolding wives. In the Towneley Mysteries (published by the Surtees Society), Noah does not attempt to conceal the news of the flood from his wife, but she receives the intelligence in a scornful manner. On his arrival he greets his dame affectionately m— " NOE. God specie, dere wife, how fare ye ? UXOR. Now, as ever myght I thryfe, the wars [worse] I thee see ! Do telle me belife [immediately] where has thou thus long be ? To dede [death] may we dryfe or lif for the For want. When we swete or swynk, [labour] Thou dos what thou thynk, Yet of mete and of drynk Have we veray skant. NOE. Wife, we are hard sted with tydynges new. UXOR. Bot thou were worthi be clad in Stafford blew ! For thou art alway adred, be it fals or trew." She continues to treat his news with derision, until at length Noah's patience is at an end : — " We ! hold thi tong, Ram-skyt, or I shalle the stille 1" Upon which they are made to fight on the stage. Noah then proceeds to his work, * " Coment le diable viint en forme de homme a. la femme Noe, e demanda u son mari estoit. E ele disoit qe ele ne sout ou. ' II est ale pour toi trayr et tote le mund: preyne ces greynes e fetez un aboycion, e le donetz a boyre, e il te dirra tote.' E issint fist-ele." — MS. Reg. 2 B. VII. fol. 6, r». 70 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. and when it is done he calls together his family, and urges them to enter the ark speedily, with their goods. Noah's wife now speaks as scornfully of the ark as she had before done of the news of the threatened flood, and refuses to enter until she has spun a while on the hill : — '• IVOR. I was never bard ere, as ever myght I the, [thrice] In sich an oistre as this ! In fayth, I can not fynd Which is before, which is behynd. Bot shalle we here be pynd, Noe, as have thou blis ? NOE. Dame, as it is skille [reason] , here must us abide grace ; Therfore, wife, with pood wille com into this place. UXOR. Sir, for Jak nor for Gille wille I turne my face, Tille I have on this hille spon a space On my rok. Welle were he myght get me ! Now wille I downe set me. Yet reede I [/ advise] no man let [hinder] me, For drede of a knok." This leads to another altercation, and the patriarch exclaims bitterly against all evil wives: — " Ye men that has wifes, whyles they are yong, If ye luf youre lifes, chastice thare tong. Me thynk my hert ryves, both levyr and long, [liver and lungs] To se sich stryfes wed men emong." At length she is forced by the flood into the ark, where they fight again, until they are separated by their children. In the Chester Plays, which, in their present form, are more modern than the Towneley scries, Noah's wife is similarly introduced, speaking with derision of the ark ; and the patriarch is made to complain bitterly of his domestic lot : — ' ' Lorde ! that wemen be crabbed aye 1 And non are meke, I dare well saye ; That is well seene by me to daye, In witnesse of you ichone." In this version of the story, Noah's wife refuses to go into the ark unless she be per- mitted to take her "gossips" with her; her sons are sent to her in vain, until the flood begins to rise, and then she stays to drink a parting cup with her gossips : — " Let us drinkc or [ere] we departe, For ofte tymes we have done soe ; For att a draughte thou drinkes a quarte, And soe will I doe or I goe. o S u — fc. - I Z co eg en CO a' § HISTORY OF ART IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 71 Heare is a pottill full of Malmsine good and stronge ; Itt will rejoyce bouth hart and tonge ; Though Noye thinke us never so longe, Heare we will drinke alike." The water at length drives her in, and, in reward for the patience with which her husband has waited for her, she salutes him with a blow. " JEFFATTE [jAPHET] . Mother, we praye you all togeither, For we are heare, youer owne children, Come into the shippe for feare of the weither, For his love that you boughte ! NOYES WIFFE. That will I not, for all youer call, But I have my gossippes all. SEM. In faith, mother, yett you shalle, Weither thou wylte or not. [He pulls her in. NOYE. Welckome, wiffe, into this bote ! NOYES WIFFE. Have thou that for thy note ! [She strikes him. NOYE. Ha, ha ! marye, this is hotte, It is good for to be still." The performance of Noah's flood must have been an edifying spectacle ! The readers of Chaucer will remember his allusion in the following lines : — " ' Hast thou not herd,' quod Nicholas, ' also, The sorwe of Noe with his felowship, Or that he mighte get his wif to ship ? Him had be lever, I dare wel undertake, At thilke time, than all his wethers blake, That she had had a ship hireself alone.'" The volume from which our picture of Noah and his wife is taken contains a very considerable number of illustrations. They consist of — 1, a series of scriptural subjects, in frames, two on each page, with a short explanation underneath, written in the dialect of the French language then spoken in England; 2, a calendar, with illuminations at the heads of the pages ; 3, a great multitude of drawings at the foot of the pages throughout the remainder of the volume. These latter are sometimes grotesque and playful subjects, at others, illustrations of fables, romances, and saints' legends, among which occurs a series of subjects from the life of Thomas Becket. We give an outline copy of one of these on our second plate, as a further specimen of this interesting manuscript; it represents Henry II. expelling from the island Becket's relations, after the exile of the primate.* * In the manuscript this design occupies the foot of fol. 293, v°. THE AKfll.EOLOi.U \ I. ALlil'.M. The second subject on our second engraving of illuminations is taken from a fine manuscript of the French prose romances of the St. Graal and Lancelot, executed in the year 131G, now in the British Museum (MS. Addit. No. 10,293, fol. 83, r°), and will serve as an example of the small framed designs which are found in the books of this class. The subject is of course taken from the text of the romance. Gawain, in line of his adventures, comes to a pleasant prairie, in the midst of which he discovers a rich pavilion. Under the pavilion was a couch, on which reposed a beautiful damsel, her hair spread over her shoulders, and a maid standing by, "combing it with a comb of ivory set in gold" (?) — (qui la piynoit aj. pigne d'ivoire sor orei). The damsel holds before her a mirror, which appears by the colour of the original to be of polished metal. This manuscript also furnishes an example of the practice which had then come into fashion of drawing burlesque, sometimes satirical, often very gross figures, in the margins of manuscripts. These are found even in church-service books and religious treatises. The accompanying figures arc taken from among a number of others on the margin of the first page of the third volume of the manuscript just described (MS. Addit. No. 10,294), and represent a countrywoman in the act of churning, and a blind beggar and his dog, with his child on his back. The good dame is a nice specimen of costume; she has the -bottom of her gown neatly pinned up, as a proof of being a careful and attentive house- wife. These marginal illustrations arc often the most valuable of all, for the light they throw on medieval manners. Another manuscript of the St. Graal and Lancelot, in the British Museum (MS. Reg. 14? E. III.), of a date not much posterior to the one last described, will furnish us with one or two examples of the style of grouping of these illustrations of the romances. The first (fol. 9, v°) represents a man preaching from a very rude portable pulpit, no doubt a usual custom in the fourteenth century. His con- gregation are seated on the ground before him. The preacher is Joseph of Arimathea, one of the personages of the Gospel history, who became in the middle ages the subject of so HISTORY OF ART IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 73 many legends ; but the artist appears to have drawn him in the character of a preaching friar. The second cut (from fol. 11, r°) represents a king with his wise men arguing with Joseph on the articles of his belief. The costume of these figures, and more especially the shoes, seem to prove the manu- script to be of the reign of Edward III. The king's chair (or throne) is a good example of this article of furniture, which appears to have been strictly reserved for the use of per- sons of distinction. Even in the houses of the great, people commonly sat on benches, which in the halls were often placed against the wall round the room. We also meet with moveable benches; and sometimes they have a high back, like similar articles of furni- ture which we still find from time to time in old country public-houses. It appears, by the instances which are found in illuminated manuscripts, that benches with backs of this description were used to place before the fire in winter, while in summer they were turned with the back to the fireplace, so as almost to conceal the open space behind. The third group is taken from a later part of the ma- nuscript. The illuminated manuscripts were certainly held in great estimation by their possessors, whose names are sometimes written in them, and enable us to trace their history. They are not unfrequently connected, by some accident or other, with the great historical events of former days. The superb manu- script from which our dinner-scene, given on an ensuing page, is taken (MS. Reg. 15 E. VI.), a collection of French metrical romances of chivalry, was executed for the celebrated warrior, John Talbot, first earl of Shrewsbury, who presented it to the no less celebrated Margaret of Anjou, queen of Henry VI. An illumination on the first page represents the king and queen seated in a room hung with tapestry bearing the arms of France and England, in front of which Talbot appears, kneeling and presenting the book.* The figures are probably portraits. Beneath is a dedication in French verse, * A good fac-simile of this illumination is given in Shaw's " Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages." L 74 THK AKCH.liOlAHilCAL ALBUM. stating that the earl presents this book, "in which book is many a fair tale of the heroes who strove with great labour to acquire honour in France, in England, and in many other lands -." — •' Princesse tree excellente, Cc livre-cy voua presente De Schrosbery le conte ; Oiujiiel livre a maint beau conte Des preux qui par grant labeur Vouklreut acquerir honueur En France, en Angleterre, Et en aultre uiaiute terre." " lie caused it to be made, as you understand, in order to afford you pastime; and that, while you are learning to talk English, you may not forget French :" — " II l'a fait faire, ainsi que entens, Afin que vous y passez temps ; Et lorsque parlerez Anglois Que vous n'oubliez le Francois." Another illuminated manuscript in the Royal Library in the British Museum (MS. Reg. 19 D. II.) is an interesting memorial of the French wars of Edward III. It contains the French paraphrase of the biblical history, commonly known by the title of "The Bible Historial;" on one of the first leaves a hand of the fourteenth century has written an entry stating that it was taken with the king of France at the battle of Poitiers ; and that the " good earl of Salisbury," William Montague, bought it for a hundred marks, and presented it to his wife Elizabeth, " the good countess, whom God assoil ! " and she directed her executors to sell it for forty pounds, a very large sum of money at that time.* Among confused entries on the fly-leaves at the end of the manuscript of the St. Graal last described (MS. Reg. 14 E. III.) are two interesting royal autographs, which shew that it was once in the household of Edward IV. The first is that of his queen, Elizabeth Wydevylle — The second is that of their eldest daughter Cecile — "Cecyl the kyngys dowther" — * "Cest livre fust pris oue le roy de Fraunce a la bataille de Peyters ; et le boun counte de Saresbirs, William Montague, la achata pur cent marsz, et le dona a sa compaitrne Elizabeth, la bone countesse, qe Dieux assoile ! Et est continus dedeins le Bible enter oue tixte et glose, le Mestre de histoires et incident, tout en memes le volyme ; laquele lyvre ladite countesse assigna a ces executours de le vcndrc pur xl. livers." HISTORY OF ART IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 75 then a girl, but afterwards married first to John viscount Welles, and, after her first husband's death, to Sir John Kyme of Lincolnshire — These are the oldest autographs known of English ladies of so elevated a rank, and appear to have been hitherto overlooked. The two subjects at the bottom of our second plate of illuminations are taken from a large folio manuscript in the British Museum (MS. Addit. 12,228), written between the years 1330 and 1350, containing the romance in French prose of Meliadus. The character of the writing seems to prove that this volume was executed in the south of France. The illuminations are found chiefly at the feet of the pages. The larger of those given on our plate (taken from fol. 23, r°) represents a royal party engaged at chess (the favourite game of the middle ages), interrupted by the arrival of a messenger. The latter is distinguished by his badge attached to his girdle, with the armorial bearings of his lord. The portion of the picture on which the messenger is seen exhibits the diapered ground which we have already mentioned as being common in illuminations of this period. Sometimes the ground, instead of being diapered, is painted of a uniform colour; and in our first manuscript of the St. Graal (MS. Addit. No. 10,292-4), as well as in various other books, it is of plain gold. Our other engraving from the manuscript of Meliadus (fol. 313, v°) represents a royal party at cards, and is curious as being by many years the earliest picture known representing this game. It was engraved from this manuscript, then in the possession of Sir Egerton Brydges, and inserted in Singer's "Researches into the History of Playing Cards," p. 68. Cards appear to have been of Eastern origin ; and they may be traced from Italy and the south in their gradual progress towards our clime. They are mentioned in the French poem of " Renard le Contrefait," believed to have been composed between the years 1328 and 1341, and therefore contemporary with the manuscript of the romance of Meliadus ; but we have no allusion to them in English writers until a much later period. In this group, which exhibits much less skill in drawing than the party at chess, the king is distinguished by being seated in a chair, while the rest of the party are standing, or sitting on benches. But the rudest article of furniture is the table, which is only to be compared with the furniture of a modern country brevvhouse, or back- 76 THE AK( Il.i:oi.()(ilCAL ALBUM. kitchen. Numerous examples might be adduced from illuminations of various periods, in which the tables of the higher classes appear to be of equally rough workmanship. Sometimes we have a table which evidently consists of a board placed upon two tem- porary supports, so that the preparations for dinner consisted in literally "spreading the board." The accompany- ing wood-cut, from a manu- script of so late a period as the fifteenth century (MS. Vwf Burgh, a little distance to the north of the castle, is interesting, as having one of those curious hound towers which occur so frequently in this part of the kingdom. These round towers are most numerous in Norfolk and Suffolk, but a few also are found in the adjoining counties of Cambridge and Essex, as well as in Sussex and Berkshire. Mr. Gage Rokewodc, who communicated a paper on the subject of these ecclesiastical round towers to the Society of Antiquaries (printed, with numerous plates, in the twenty-third volume of the " Archa?ologia,") observes that they are not scattered indiscriminately over the counties in which they occur, but that they arc generally found in clusters. Many of them are seen bordering on the Roman Ikenild Street, and some are found along the line of the coast. They are, in some instances, met with in towns; thus we find three in Norwich, one in Bungay, and one at Lewes in Sussex. From the circumstance of these towers being found almost entirely within the limits of the ancient kingdom of East Anglia, they have been frequently ascribed to the Danes ; but this is certainly an erroneous assumption, as the style of their archi- tecture shews that they were nearly all built during the Norman period. It has also been suggested that these towers, always built of flint boulders, owe their form to the necessity arising from the want of freestone in the districts where they occur most frequently ; but this does not appear to be satisfactorily proved, and square towers arc found mixed with them in the same counties. The circumstance of their appearing in clusters would lead us to suppose that the round tower had been a style preserved- by the builders (perhaps from father to son) in certain localities. Historical documents seem to shew that, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Norfolk and Suffolk were districts looked upon as far behind other parts of the island in the march of improvement and fashion. As it has just been observed, these towers are almost always built of rough flints. The flints are generally laid in regular courses, as at Hadiscoe in Norfolk, and at Little Saxham and Hcringflcet in Suffolk. Sometimes, however, as at Norton in Norfolk, they are not in courses. In the churches in Norwich, and in some other instances, the towers have been recased with cut flints. In some instances, the church to which the tower is attached has the semicircular apsis at the east end, as at Heckingham and ECCLESIASTICAL ROUND TOWERS. 97 Fritton in Norfolk. The loftiest towers of this description are those of Little Saxham and Blundeston in Suffolk, each of which is fifty-six feet high. The upper parts of the towers seem generally to have undergone alterations subsequently to the period at which they were built, and sometimes they have evidently been raised a story higher : in some this upper story is octangular, instead of being round like the rest of the tower. In some instances the diameter of the tower exceeds fourteen feet ; in a few instances it is not more than eight : the general average, however, is from ten to twelve. The walls are in general very massive, being, in most cases, from four to five feet thick. In Sussex they are sometimes not more than two feet and a half thick. By much the greater number of these round towers were evidently built in the twelfth century : many of them exhibit rather late Norman work. The towers of Little Saxham in Suffolk, and Great Leighs in Essex, contain elegant Norman arches; the latter in the doorway, the former in the upper story of the tower, which is surrounded by an arcade, as shewn in our first cut, the windows being placed under larger arches, which are connected by smaller ones. The tower of Hadiscoe Thorpe has windows resembling those of Little Saxham. Mr. Gage Rokewode considered the tower of Taseburgh church, in Norfolk, to be by much the most ancient of any of those which he had examined. In its original condition, the tower was ornamented with a double tier of recessed round arches, with semicircular-headed loops instead of windows. When the upper part of the tower was rebuilt, the heads of the second tier of recessed arches were cut off, so that the building- has at present a very singular appearance. The modern upper story of the tower has pointed windows. The tower of Hadiscoe Thorpe, in Norfolk, presents a somewhat similar appearance to that of Taseburgh, though probably more modern ; the second story is surrounded by a row of shallow buttresses, resembling pilasters. The upper story of the tower of Heringneet church, in Suffolk, represented in our second cut, has windows consisting of two triangular -headed arches, separated by a small supporting column, within a round arch, not unlike those which are supposed to be peculiar to Anglo-Saxon buildings. It is somewhat curious that 98 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. churches with round towers are found in early Anglo- Saxon illuminated manuscripts : there is one in an illustrated Prudentius in the British Museum (MS. Cotton. Cleopatra, C. VIII. fol. 7). It is not impossible, after all, that, although such of these towers as now remain appear to have been erected in the age of Norman rule, they may have been built after an older Saxon style, which still lived in the memory of the native builders of these districts. Another instance of the triangular-headed window, in this case blunted at the top, is found in the tower of Hadiscoe in Norfolk, as shewn in the accompanying woodcut. The last cut also furnishes an example of the style of the more modern termina- tions of some of these towers. In a few instances, as at Great Leighs in Essex, and Piddinghoe in Sussex, the round tower terminates in a spire. We have no means of ascertaining the original characters of the terminations of these towers, on account of the modern alterations. In drawings in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, church-steeples are sometimes represented with spires and with a weathercock. It may be observed, that very few instances of church-steeples with spires are said to be found in Ireland. Some of the later round towers, built, probably, about the end of the twelfth century, or beginning of the thirteenth, have windows with arches of the early pointed style, often mixed with round-headed windows : as at Little Piushmere in Suffolk, Bartlow in Cambridgeshire, Norton in Norfolk, and West Shefford in Berkshire. In Norton church, pointed arches are found in the windows in the lower part of the tower, and semicircular arches at the top. In many instances, however, the pointed arches appear to be more recent additions to the original building. Internally these towers have sometimes been divided into stories, and sometimes (par- ticularly the smaller ones) they were open from the ground to the top. In one instance, at Thorpe Abbots, in Norfolk, there is a fireplace on the north side of the basement of the tower, with a flue nine inches square, coeval with the rest of the building, which runs up the wall, and gives vent to the smoke through a small loophole. From their massive constructions and from other peculiarities, these towers appear to have been built as places of refuge and defence in sudden hostile incursions. It will be observed that, in almost all instances, the windows within reach of the ground are mere loop- holes, and that the large windows are in the upper story, as in the towers of a Norman castle. This explains why they are found along the coast and rivers running imme- ECCLESIASTICAL ROUND TOWERS. 99 diately into the sea, and on the Roman road, which was in early times the chief line of communication, as these were the situations most exposed to predatory invasions. The earlier chronicles, and other documents, furnish instances of people seeking shelter in churches and defending themselves in the steeple ; and the village church appears always to have been regarded as a place of security for depositing treasures and articles of value. It has been supposed that the round form, used in these early towers, was laid aside on account of its inconvenience for the reception of bells. The round tower of the church of Burgh, in Suffolk, the subject of our plate, is not distinguished from the others by any very remarkable characteristic of style. It is a plain building, with simple loop-holes for windows, the heads of the lowest of these windows being surrounded with an arch of Roman bricks or tiles; taken, no doubt, from the ruins of Burgh Castle, or from some Roman building dependent upon it, which has now disajipeared. The upper part of the tower is modern brickwork. The church is a small building, possessing no very remarkable features ; but in the interior an interesting Norman font is still preserved. OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. THE STOCKS AND THE PILLORY. One of the most common modes of punishment for lighter offences in the middle ages was by exposing the offender, in a disgraceful posture, to the gaze of the public during a certain length of time. He was attached by the neck, or by the feet, or by the hands. In the first instance, the instrument of punishment was a pillory; in the others, the stocks. The time is not long past when every parish was furnished with a pair of stocks, and they still remain in some of our country villages. They generally contained merely a row of holes for confining the legs, but sometimes they had a second row of smaller holes for imprisoning the hands. They were generally placed in the churchyard or market-place, or on the village-green : the persons confined in them were chiefly drunkards, idlers, turbulent vagrants, &c. In more ancient times there were stocks in the prisons, particularly in those of private establishments, such as monastic houses, hospitals, and the like. We have already seen that, by the old laws of the hospital of St. Nicholas at Harbledown, the inmates of either sex were, for certain offences, liable to be confined in the stocks for as long a period of time as three days and three nights.* Sometimes the stocks were placed beside or within the pound, as was the case with those in which Iludibras and his squire were confined : — " And 'twas not long before she found Him and the stout squire in the pound, Both coupled in enchanted tether By farther leg behind together." In an earlier part of the poem these stocks are described in burlesque phraseology : — " Thus grave and solemn they marched on, Until quite through the town th' had gone ; At further end of which there stands An ancient castle, that commands * See page 34 of the present volume. OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. 101 Th' adjacent parts : in all the fabric You shall not see one stone nor a brick ; But all of wood ; by powerful spell Of magic made impregnable. There's neither iron-bar nor gate, Portcullis, chain, nor bolt, nor grate ; And yet men durance there abide In dungeon scarce three inches wide ; With roof so low, that under it They never stand, but lie or sit ; And yet so foul, that whoso is in Is to the middle leg in prison, In circle magical confin'd, With walls of subtle air and wind, Which none are able to break thorough, Until they're freed by head of borough." In Foxe's " Acts and Monuments " we find two or three cuts of interiors of prisons, with very massive stocks within, having a row of larger holes for the feet, and above them a row of smaller ones for the hands. One of these prisons was " within the Lolardes Tower at Paules." We learn the position of this tower from old Stow : — "At either corner of this west end" [of St. Paul's church], he says, "is, also of ancient building, a strong tower of stone, made for bell-towers : the one of them, to wit, next to the palace, is at this present to the use of the same palace ; the other, towards the south, is called the Lowlardes Tower, and hath been used as the bishop's prison for such as were detected for opinions in religion contrary to the faith of the church." Another similar prison, with stocks within, was also in the vicinity of St. Paul's, and was called " The Bishop's Colehouse." Foxe (p. 1690) gives the per- sonal narrative of John Philpots, a sufferer for his religious opinions, of which the following is an extract. The persons who had arrested Philpots are introduced conversing about him : — " Cooke. He saith he is a gentleman. " Story. A gentleman, quoth he ? He is a vile heretike knave : for an heretike is no gentleman. Let the keeper of Lollardes Tower come in, and have him away. " The keeper. Here, sir ! " Story. Take this man with you to the Lollards Tower, or els to the Bishops Colehouse. *]^ yp- ?j> sp 5jc " After this, I with four others moe were brought to the keepers house, in Pater- noster Piowe, where we supped And with that we were brought through Pater- noster Bow, to my lorde of Londons Colehouse : unto the whiche is joyned a litle blind house, with a great payre of stocks appoynted both for hand and foot, and there we found a minister of Essex." 102 THE AllClI.EOLOGICAL ALBUM. The punishment of the stocks, in these cases, must have been very painful. The manner in which offenders were confined in them seems to have varied considerably. In the woodcul accompanying the narrative just quoted, the "minister of Essex " is Mated, with his right foot and his left hand confined. On a previous page (p. 1G08), in " the picture describing the strayt handlyug of the close prisoners in Lollardes Tower/' we have four men in the stocks together, two on one side and two on the other. Of these, two have all their hands and feet confined; one has his right foot and left hand only confined ; and the other is held by his two feet. The latter is laid on his back with some straw under him ; of course, without the possibility of rising or changing his position. The other three are seated on stools. The oldest representation of stocks that we have yet met with is engraved by Strutt (vol. ii. plate 1), from an illumination in a very early manuscript of the Psalter (apparently of the earlier half of the twelfth century) in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. The cut we give in the margin is copied from Camille Bonnard's work on the Costume of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries (Paris, 1830), who took it from a miniature in a manuscript of Livy, sup- posed to have been executed about the year 1380, now in the Ambrosian Library at Milan. The offender is here confined only by the right leg, and, although a chair is placed behind him, it does not appear that he could possibly sit down. The other figure is evidently a spectator mocking and insulting him. In the year 1472, Sir William Hampton was lord-mayor of London : he appears to have been a strict reformer of the morals of the citizens, and it is recorded of him, among various other benefits which he conferred upon the city, that he " caused stocks to be set in every ward to punish vagabonds." This punishment is frequently alluded to in the satirical writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centimes. Thomas Nashe, in his "Strange Newes " (published in 1592), speaking of one whom he wished to represent as holding a very low position in the town of Saffron Walden, says of him, " He hath borne office in Walden above twenty yere since ; hoc est, had the keeping of the towne stocke, alias the stocks." Stocks for the hands were placed at a greater elevation, so that the sufferer, with his legs at liberty, was held in an upright position : the delinquent, in this case, was OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. 103 often subjected to the lash during his confinement, and the machine to which he was attached received the name of a whipping-post. This is another popular punishment now entirely obsolete. One stood beside the stocks in which Hudibras was confined, and is thus described : — " At th' outward wall, near which there stands A bastile, built to imprison hands ; By strange enchantment made to fetter The lesser parts, and free the greater ; For though the body may creep through, The hands in grate are fast enough : And when a circle 'bout the wrist Is made by beadle exorcist, The body feels the spur and switch, As if 'twere ridden post by witch At twenty-miles-an-hour pace, And yet ne'er stirs out of the place. On top of this there is a spire." The punishment of the pillory appears to have been in use among the Germanic tribes from a very early period. In the Anglo-Saxon laws of Wihtraed (of the end of the seventh century) a punishment is mentioned called Healsfang, a word which signifies literally a catch-neck, and which is supposed to have been a kind of pillory ; although, even at that early period, it seems to have been regularly compensated for a fine. Strutt (vol. i. plate 15) gives a figure, from an Anglo-Saxon MS., representing a man fixed by the middle in a kind of forked post, the two branches of the fork being .fastened together over his back ; and he considers this to have been the Saxon pillory, and supposes that, while in this posture, the offender was flogged. In the early Byzantine illuminated history of Joshua (mentioned at p. 66 of the present volume) a number of spies are represented as being hanged by the neck in similar forked posts, without any cord : so it is, perhaps, only the earlier form of the gallows — the real furca, or fourche, as it was called in Latin and French. The shape of the pillory was extremely varied : sometimes it consisted of a mere pair of stocks, with holes for the head or hands instead of the feet, placed upon an upright post, at an elevation to allow the offender to stand upright. This was the form retained longest in modern times : an example of it is given by Strutt (vol. ii. pi. 1), from a manuscript of the thirteenth century, with two sets of holes for two persons. Douce, in his " Illustrations of Shakespeare," gives a cut from Foxe's " Acts and Monuments," in which Robert Ockam, convicted of perjury, is placed in a pillory of this description, with a paper over his head, on which his name is written. Douce has given several examples of pillories of different forms. In one, taken from the Orbis Pictus of Comenius (published in the first half of the seventeenth century), woman is 101 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. confined with her back to a post by a ring, which passes round her neck. In another, taken from the margin of a table of the standards of weights and measures in the time of Henry VII., preserved in the Exchequer and engraved in the " Vetusta Monumenta" of the Society of Antiquaries, a forest aller, or regrator, is placed in a pillory consisting of an upright column, with a slit in the middle, through which the head of the offender protrudes, which seems to bear some resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon pillory engraved by Strutt. Douce gives another pillory, from a manuscript of the French Chronicle of St. Denis, preserved in the British Museum (MS. Reg. 16 G. VI.), of the fourteenth century; it consists of a round hoop or ring, supported by posts, on a circular substructure of stone : the hoop is pierced with holes for heads and hands, and four persons are represented as undergoing the punishment. The same writer has also given an engraving of an ancient pillory formerly standing in the village of Faulmy, in Touraine, consisting of two such hoops, the upper one containing the holes for the heads, and the lower one those for the hands. It is raised, like the former, on a circular substructure, and is covered by a roof terminating in a spire. The accompanying woodcut is copied from an illuminated MS. of Froissart, of the fifteenth century (pre- served in the British Mu- seum, MS. Harl- No. 4379), and represents the execution ofAymerigot Mancel, in the fourteenth century. The lo- cality is a market-place in the French capital ; and we see there a large and curi- ously formed pillory, on a rather lofty substructure, co- vered by a roof, with a spire. The substructure in this pil- lory was, probably, as in many other instances, a small prison, often called the cage. The frame within this pillory ap- pears to revolve on a pivot. x\ymcrigot Mancel was one of the leaders of bands in the great companies which devastated France during the OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. 105 English wars in the fourteenth century, and, falling into the hands of his enemies, he was carried to Paris, and condemned as a traitor. We learn from the text of Froissart that " he was first carried in a cart to the pillory in the market-place, and turned round within it several times. The different crimes for which he was to receive death were then read aloud, after which his head was cut off/' A large pillory of this description appears to have been of frequent occurrence in towns, where it was formerly in constant use, and where it was often necessary to " accommodate " several persons at the same time. In London there was a pillory of this kind on Cornhill, of which we shall have occasion to speak further on in the present article. Douce informs us that, towards the end of the last century, there was still re- maining in the Section des Halles, at Paris, an old triangular building of stone, with open Gothic windows, through which appeared an iron circle, with holes for receiving the necks and hands of several persons at the same time. A square building, of a similar character, once stood in the Cornmarket of Dublin, of which we give a representation, copied from a drawing in a manuscript of the beginning of the seventeenth century, preserved in the Herald's Office, Dublin Castle. The old books of accounts, of nearly all our corporate towns, contain items relating to the building or repairing of the pillory. In those of Banbury we have the following scattered en- tries, under the year 1556, when the cage and pillory belonging to that town appear to have been moved from the spot where they had pre- viously stood, and to have been rebuilt near the town-hall: — " Item, received of Huge Sly, for olde tymbre of the pyllore, vj d . " The charge. " Imprimus, for takynge downe of the pellyry, ij d . Payde to the carpendar for workenge of the pyllrye and att ower hall for vj . daycs and nyghtts, vj 3 viij' 1 . Payd to the massones for taykynge downe 'of the pyllrye and workenge downe of the particcion of ower halle, ij s ij' 1 . 106 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. Pavel for caryuge partt of the cage fro the castell, vj d . Payd to Northan Jhon for caryge of tymbar of the cage from the castell, vj' 1 . Payd for v. dayes worke of ij. mencs for to make the kockcstoll, viij s iiij' 1 . Payd to Jhon Awod for makinge of Barton stapulls and liokes for the kockestoll, Payd for settynge up of the caggc, to Nycolas Sturgon and Jhon Carpendre, VJ VUJ . Payd to Thomas Yoyke for carryge of the tymbre of the cage to the court hall from the castell, vj d . Payd for a peace of ashe to Nycolas Sturgon for the kockstoll, vj d . Payd for makynge the castell walle agayne that was brokon doune in havyng out the cage, iiij' 1 . Payd for ij. horsse lokes for the cagge dore, and the stokes, xx d ." This would appear as if the cage, pillory, cucking-stool, and stocks, had all the same locality, and were connected with each other ; and accordingly, in a later account- book of the same town (for 1593), we have combined in one entry of expenses, " Item, stocks, pillory, cooking-stoole, and tumbrell." * The punishment by pillory was one of the manorial rights of feudal times, and it appears, with the stocks, to have been one of the instruments for tyrannising over the peasantry or servial class of the population. Similar modes of punishment were for- merly practised against the slaves in America and the West Indian islands. In the medieval towns the pillory was used chiefly against dishonest traders. A satirical poet of the reign of Edward II. (in the " Political Songs " published by the Camden Society, p. 345), complaining of the remissness with which justice was then executed against offenders of this kind, exclaims : — " But bi seint Jame of Galice, that many man hath souht ! The pilory and cucking-stol beth i-made for noht." It appears from the statutes of the church of Anjou, promulgated in 1423 (quoted in Ducange, v. instalare), that blasphemers and irreligious men were at that period placed in the pillory. It was in very common use on the continent, and is frequently mentioned in old documents. From one of these, dated in 1336 (quoted by Ducange in x . pilorium) , we learn that it was ordered by a council that a pillory should be erected in cemeteries and holy places (in ccemeteriis et locis sacris). In 1407, as we learn * See Beesley's " History of Banbury," pp. 224-226, and p. 248. OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. 107 from Monstrelet, during the quarrel between the rival popes, Gregory XII. (Angelo Corrario) and Benedict XIII. (della Luna), the latter excommunicated the king of France : — " Master Sausein, and the messenger from Pietro della Luna, who had brought the letter and bull of excommunication to the king, with mitres on their heads and having surcoats emblazoned with the arms of Pietro della Luna reversed, were carried most disgracefully in a dung-cart from the Louvre to the court of the palace ; and shortly after, near the marble tables, at the end of the steps, were set on a pillory. They were thus exhibited for a very long time, having labels on their mitres, on which was written, ' Disloyal traitors to the church and king/ They were then carried back in the aforesaid cart to the Louvre." Stow, in his " Survey of London," gives the following quaint account of the pillory on Cornhill : — "By the west side of the foresaid prison, then called the Tun, was a fair well of spring water, curbed round with hard stone; but in the year 1401, the said prison-house, called the Tun, was made a cistern for sweet water, conveyed by pipes of lead from Tiborne, and was from thenceforth called the Conduit upon Cornhill. Then was the well planked over, and a strong prison made of timber, called a cage, with a pair of stocks therein, set upon it ; and this was for night-walkers. On the top of which cage was placed a pillory, for the punishment of bakers offending in the assize of bread; for millers stealing of corn at the mill ; for bawds, scolds, and other offenders. As in the year 1468, the 7th of Edward IV., divers persons being common jurors, such as at assizes were forsworn for rewards, or favour of parties, were judged to ride from Newgate to the pillory in Cornhill, with mitres of paper on their heads, there to stand, and from thence again to Newgate; and this judgment was given by the mayor of London. In the year 1509, the 1st of Henry VIII., Darby, Smith, and Simson, ringleaders of false inquests in London, rode about the city with their faces to the horse tails, and papers on their heads, and were set on the pillory in Cornhill, and after brought again to Newgate, where they died for very shame, saith Robert Fabian. A ringleader of inquests, as I take it, is he that, making a gainful occupation thereof, will appear on Nisi-priuses, or he be warned, or procure himself to be warned, to come on by a tales. He will also procure himself to be a foreman when he can, and take upon him to over- rule the rest to his opinion : such a one shall be laboured by plaintiffs and defendants, not without promise of rewards, and therefore to be suspected of a bad conscience. I would wish a more careful choice of jurors to be had ; for I have known a man carted, rung with basons, and banished out of Bishopsgate ward, and afterward in Aldgate ward admitted to be a constable, a grand juryman, and foreman of the wardmote inquest : what I know of the like, or worse men, proffered to the like offices, I forbear to write, but wish to be reformed." " In the year 1510," Stow adds, "Sir Martin 108 THE ARCH.EOLOGICAL ALBUM. Bowes, mayor, dwelling in Lombard Street, and having his back-gate opening into Cornehill against the said conduit, minded to have enlarged the cistern thereof with a west end, like as Robert Drope before had done towards the east: view and measure of the plot was taken for this work ; but the pillory and cage being removed they found the ground planched, and the well aforesaid worn out of memory, which well they revived and restored to use : it is since made a pump. They set the pillory somewhat west from the well, and so this work ceased." After the accession of the Stuart dynasty to the English throne the pillory was used as a punishment for political offences, more especially for the publication of books and pamphlets that were considered objectionable by the ruling powers. From this period it obtained greater celebrity, and its history is connected with the names of Prynne, and Bastwick, and De Foe, and a host of other names which occupy a place, in one way or other, in the annals of our country. It was now frequently exercised with great cruelty, and was often accompanied by the amputation or mutilation of the ears of the offender, who was sometimes attached by the ear instead of the neck. The satirical writers of the time make frequent allusion to this punishment. Thus, in Hudibras : — " Each window like a pillory appears, With heads thrust through, nail'd by the ears." And again, the same writer speaks of — " Witches simpling, and on gibbets Cutting from malefactors snippets, Or from the pillory tips of ears Of rebel saints and perjurers." "We have seen a very curious pack of playing cards, apparently of the reign of Charles II., now in the possession of Mrs. Fitch of Ipswich, in which every card has a picture relating to some one of the conspiracies and other events of that period : one of these pictures — on the knave of clubs — represents " Reddin standing in y e Pillory." The pillory, in this picture, is of the common simple form, resembling that of Robert Oekam already described. "When the pillory became notorious as a political punishment, it was looked upon as an instrument of martyrdom, and soon lost most of its terrors. De Foe, as a political partisan who had experienced its effects, published an "Ode to the Pillory" in 1703, which he apostrophises thus : — " Hail, hieroglyphic state machine ! Contrived to punish fancy in : Men that are men in thee can feel no pain, And all thy insignificance disdain." OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. 109 He describes it as serving political purposes, and punishing party and not crime, and therefore no longer attended with shame : — " Thou art the state -trap of the law, But neither canst keep knaves nor honest men in awe ; These are too hardened in offence, And those upheld by innocence." He goes on to enumerate some of the men who had suffered unjustly : — " How have thy opening vacances received, In every age, the criminals of state ? And how has mankind been deceived, When they distinguish crimes by fate ? Tell us, great engine, how to understand, Or reconcile the justice of the land ; ; How Bastwick, Pryn, Hunt, Hollingsby, and Pye, Men of unspotted honesty — Men that had learning, wit, and sense, And more than most men have had since, Could equal title to thee claim With Oates and Fuller, men of later fame. Even the learned Selden saw A prospect of thee through the law : He had thy lofty pinnacles in view, But so much honour never was thy due. Had the great Selden triumph'd on thy stage, Selden, the honour of his age, No man could ever shun thee more, Or grudge to stand where Selden stood before." The pinnacles have been mentioned more than once in our foregoing descriptions of pillories. De Foe adds: — " Thou art no shame to truth and honesty, Nor is the character of such defaced by thee, Who suffer by oppressive injury. Shame, like the exhalations of the sun, Falls back where first the motion was begun : And he who for no crime shall on thy brows appear, Bears less reproach than they who placed him there." From those who had suffered, the satirist turns to the classes of offenders who ought to be subjected to this punishment, and he goes on to enumerate the principal vices of his age, averring that — " Justice is inverted, when Those engines of the law, Instead of pinching vicious men, Keep honest ones in awe." 110 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. Accordingly, we find that the pillory had very little effect in stopping the months of the crowd of libellous writers who fed upon the vicious manners and taste of the last century. It was looked upon as little more than a sure means of acquiring notoriety — a public advertisement. Foote alludes, more than once, to the benefits an author or publisher derives from this source; and, in his farce of "The Patron," Puff the publisher advises Dactyl the poet to forsake the Muses and write " a good sousing satire:" to which the cautious author replies, "Yes, and so get cropped for a libel!" The publisher indignantly exclaims, " Cropped ! ay, and the luckiest thing that can happen to you ! Why, I would not give twopence for an author that is afraid of his cars ! Writing, writing is, as I may say, Mr. Dactyl, a sort of warfare, where none can be victor that is the least afraid of a scar. Why, zooks, sir ! I never got salt to my porridge till I mounted at the Royal Exchange : that was the making of me. Then my name made a noise in the world. Talk of forked hills and of Helicon ! Romantic and fabulous stuff ! The true Castalian stream is a shower of eggs, and a pillory the poet's Parnassus." As might be expected in this state of things, in moments of political excitement, the pillory was sometimes a triumph rather than a punishment. We learn from the "Gentleman's Magazine" for 1765, that "Mr. Williams, bookseller in Fleet Street, stood on the pillory in New Palace Yard, Westminster, pursuant to his sentence, for republishing the ' North Briton/ No. 45, in volumes. The coach that carried him from the King's Bench prison to the pillory was No. 45. He was received by the acclamations of a prodigious concourse of people. Opposite to the pillory were erected four ladders, with cords running from each other, on which were hung a jack-boot, an axe, and a Scotch bonnet.* The latter, after remaining some time, was burnt, and the top of the boot chopped off. During his standing, also, a purple purse ornamented with ribands of an orange colour was produced by a gentleman, who began a collection in favour of the culprit by putting a guinea into it himself; after which, the purse being carried round, many contributed, to the amount on the whole, as supposed, of about two hundred guineas. Mr. Williams, on getting into the pillory and getting out, was cheered by the spectators : he held a sprig of laurel in his hand all the time." At a much more recent period, in March 1812, a bookseller of Ave Maria Lane, named Eaton, an aged man, was convicted of having published the third part of Paine's " Age of Reason," a work equally repugnant to morality with the writings of Wilkes, and he was condemned to eighteen months' imprisonment and to be exposed once on the pillory. He stood in the pillory on the 25th of May, and was received with de- * All these articles bore allusion to Lord Bute, then minister. OBSOLETE PUNISHMENTS. Ill monstrations of sympathy and respect, the mob taking off their hats and cheering him, while some individuals offered him wine and refreshments. In later times, however, the pillory has been chiefly used as a punishment for the crime of perjury. The mutilation of the offender's ears was no longer practised; but another practice, hardly less disagreeable, was persisted in to the last — the throwing of rotten eggs, mud, and other articles, at the offender while in the pillory. When the culprit had rendered himself or herself (for it was not confined to one sex) particularly obnoxious, harder substances, and even stones, were used as missiles by the mob ; and the results were often very painful, and in some instances fatal. This circumstance caused so degrading and barbarous a punishment to be gradually laid aside, and it is now many years since it was put in practice, although it was not formally abolished until the year 1837, by the statute of 1 Vict. c. xxiii. It had previously gone out of use in France and in Germany. In the latter country the pillory was called a pranyer; in France it bore the medieval names of carcan and pillori. The annexed cut represents a finger pillory, still preserved in the church of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in Leicestershire. It is three feet high, and has, as here shewn, holes for holding at once four fingers of the hand, or only two fingers. The diagram under- neath shews the manner in which the finger was confined, and it will easily be seen that it could not be withdrawn until the pillory is opened. If the offender were held long in this posture, the punishment must have been extremely painful. SKETCHES OF ANCIENT STREET ARCHITECTURE. i No monuments of past ages arc now disappearing so rapidly before the innovations of modern improvements, as those masses of picturesque buildings which adorned the streets of the medieval towns. How many plain monotonous lines of modern brick- work have, within our own time, usurped the place of the varied outlines of the old timber-houses, with their peaked gables and their elegant carvings ! The street architecture of Old England appears never to have equalled in richness that of the continental cities ; but some of our country towns still furnish occasional examples which possess no ordinary degree of beauty, which, it is hoped, may be long preserved, and regarded in their true light — as national monuments. The specimens given in the plates which illustrate the present article have been chosen as combining, in some degree, historical associations with architectural features. They will give us an oppor- tunity of saying a few words about the localities to which they belong. Few towns are more interesting to the antiquary than Ipswich. Situated in an advantageous position for carrying on the trade with Flanders, it became from an early period a rich mercantile emporium ; and some of the most profitable manufactures of the continent were brought to it, at a subsequent period, by the Protestants who fled from the bitter religious persecution with which they were visited at home. From its intercourse with the Low Countries, where a considerable degree of freedom of religious and political opinion had prevailed during the middle ages, Ipswich, with some of the other towns on the same coast, was in advance of other parts of the island in these matters ; and it was distinguished at the time of the reformation for the zeal of the townsmen in the cause of protestantism, several of whom suffered martyrdom in the reign of queen Mary. Commerce and manufactures are the certain sources of riches ; and Ipswich once contained many fine mansions of its wealthy inhabitants, of which there are still some remains. The two most remarkable buildings of this description now existing are known by the names of Mr. Sparrowes House and The Tankard. The former is a remarkably fine specimen of early Elizabethan architecture. The subject at the foot of our first plate of Street Architecture is a view of the southern end of St. Lawrence's Lane in Ipswich, with the corner of Mr. Sparrowe's SATCT ESSEX. SKETCHES OF ANCIENT STREET ARCHITECTURE. 113 House opposite. The lane in the foreground is formed of old timber-houses, and has on the left-hand side the church of St. Lawrence, an uninteresting building of the earlier part of the fifteenth century. Within this church is the vault of the Sparrowe family, which is entitled, in a brief but singularly quaint inscription over the entrance, nidus passerum — a nest of sparrows ! This family has been in possession of the old house of which we are speaking during many generations, it being at present occu- pied by John Eddowes Sparrowe, Esq., town-clerk of the borough. The Sparrowes bought it of G. Copping in 1573. Mr. Sparrowe' s House stands in the Butter Market. From a document mentioned by Mr. Wodderspodn,* and from the initials G. C. which occur in the interior, with the date 1567, it appears that this house was built in that year by George Copping, who is mentioned in the document as occupying it in 1570. According to a tradition in the family, but which is corroborated by no historical evidence, this house afforded a shelter to Charles the Second in his wanderings after the disastrous battle of Wor- cester, before he made his escape to the continent. The story has, perhaps, originated in the circumstance that portraits of Charles and of one of those individuals who aided in his escape (Mrs. Lane of Staffordshire) have been preserved in the family ; but it was believed to have been confirmed in the year 1801 by the accidental discovery of a secret chamber, which was immediately fixed upon as the place of the monarch's con- cealment. This room is supposed to have been part of a chapel belonging to an older building, which was closed up in Elizabeth's reign. It was brought to light by the falling away of a part of the plaster of the partition, and, when first discovered, " the floor was strewed with wooden angels and such figures as usually serve to decorate a catholic oratory." Within this chamber are the arched timbers of a slightly orna- mented roof. The appearance of the external front of the house, extending in breadth about seventy feet, is very striking, from the profusion of ornamental carving with which it is covered. The windows of the basement story are separated by carved pilasters and panels, and crowned with strings of pendent fruit. The second story has four bay- windows in front, and one at the end looking into St. Stephen's Lane, which is seen opposite St. Lawrence's Lane. Under the front windows are carved panels, repre- senting respectively emblematical figures of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, accom- panied with their several attributes; which have been supposed to intimate that the trade of Ipswich was carried through the four quarters of the globe. The spaces between these windows are covered with sculpture, representing animals, fruit, and flowers, * In a carefully compiled " Guide to Ipswich," pub- lished in 1S42, and in his " Historic Sites of Suffolk." A cut of the front of Mr. Sparrowe's House is given in the former work. Q I I I THE AUCIIjEOLOGICAL ALBUM with wreaths of roses and various other devices. Among the ornaments on the corre- sponding part of the house looking towards St. Stephen's Lane, is a representation of Atlas supporting the globe j and below this a group, supposed to represent the first Eclogue of Virgil — a shepherd, surrounded by his flock, sitting under a spreading tree (the pattda fagus of the poet); while another shepherd, leading a flock of sheep, approaches him, with his hat in one hand and his crook in the other. It is suggested that this pastoral scene was designed in part as an emblem of the extensive wool trade then carried on in Ipswich. The whole extent of the front and end of the house is (ion mil by a very wide projecting platform, above which rise from the roof four attic windows, corresponding with the windows below, with sculptured figures of cupids in liferent attitudes under their gables. Extensive gardens and other premises were ormerly attached to the back of the house. The rooms in the interior of Mr. Sparrowe's House are no less richly ornamented han the exterior walls. On the first floor a fine room, forty-six feet long by twenty- one feet wide, extends over the whole front part of the building, and is lighted by the five bay-windows already mentioned. The ceiling is traversed by heavy beams of oak, and divided into compartments ornamented with wreaths of fruit, the corners containing shields bearing the crests of the family. The dining-room is panelled with dark oak, beautifully carved. The fireplace is ornamented with wreaths of vine and fruits, with the arms and crest of the Sparrowe family in the centre, and on each side fanciful designs in wood of a lighter colour than the panels on which they are placed. The beams of the ceiling, as well as the wainscot and door, are richly carved. This room measures twenty-two feet by twenty-one. A bed-chamber on the first floor also exhibits some good specimens of carving, the ceiling being ornamented with fleurs-de-lys and the family badges of the Sparrowes. Several old portraits of members of the Sparrowe family and others are contained in this house, most of them connected with tradi- tions preserved in the family. Among them are original portraits of James I., of his favourite Villiers duke of Buckingham, of queen Henrietta Maria, and of Charles II. The Tankard, to which we have alluded above, and which was for some time occu- pied as a public-house, is chiefly remarkable for a fine wainscotted room on the ground-floor. This house was the residence of Sir Anthony Wingficld in the reign of Henry VIII., whose arms are still visible among the ornaments of the ceiling of the room alluded to, which is twenty-seven feet long, sixteen feet nine inches wide, and nine feet five inches high. The ceiling, intersected in its length by one large beam and in its breadth by two smaller transverse ones, is divided into ninety-six panels, each panel bordered with a band, and alternately emblazoned with a coat of arms, or occupied by a carved pendent, projecting six inches from the ceiling, and SKETCHES OF ANCIENT STREET ARCHITECTURE. 115 terminating in a point tipped with a leaf or rose. The oak wainscot of the walls is beautifully carved in festoons of flowers and various devices, formerly gilt, but now painted blue and white. Over the fireplace is a remarkable carved bas-relief, which, like the other ornaments of this apartment, has suffered much from mutilation. The old tradition of the place made this, very absurdly, to be a representation of the battle of Bosworth Field; but it has been supposed, with more probability, to represent the judgment of Paris, carved by some workman who was acquainted with the outline of the story, but who was not sufficiently well informed to avoid some singular anachron- isms in costume, &c. This explanation is certainly more in bearing with the taste for classical subjects which prevailed in the sixteenth century.* Many other houses in Ipswich contain, externally or internally, fragments of carving of considerable antiquity and interest ; and there are a number of curious ornamental corner-posts. On one of these is seen the effigy of queen Elizabeth, with a figure equipped as Mars, and a cupid. On an inn called the Half-Moon appears a somewhat grotesque carving of the old fable of the fox preaching to the geese, one of the never- failing shafts of satire against the monks and the medieval clergy. The town is full of remains of Tudor and Elizabethan architecture. The range of buildings represented in the first sketch on the same plate may be reckoned among the most interesting remains of the old street architecture of Saffron Walden in Essex, and appear to be of the end of the reign of James I. or beginning of that of his successor, Charles. Saffron Walden was formerly a town of much more importance than at present; it received its name from, and owed its prosperity to, the cultivation of saffron — a plant used extensively as a medicinal ingredient in the olden time, when it was believed to possess very great healing virtues. A few years ago this town was full of interesting old timber-houses, but many of them have disappeared, and others are gradually disappearing, to make way for a more convenient style of building. But while the houses are improving in internal comforts, the picturesque character of the streets is entirely destroyed. Over one of the chamber-windows of the house represented in our plate is the date 1625, with the letters I. W. These initials are found on other houses in the town known to have belonged to a family of the name of Wale, once of great respectability in Saffron Walden, but now extinct. On one of the gables, as shewn in the plate, appears the date 1676 ; when, probably, the house underwent extensive repairs. It appears to have been used as a public-house from a period very near approaching to that in which it was built, and as early as 1646 it was * An engraving, somewhat rudely executed, of this carving, is given in the sixty-sixth volume of the " Gentleman's Magazine," drawn, apparently, when it was less mutilated than at present. A view of the in- terior of the apartment is given in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for 1831. Ufi THE AHCILEOEOGICAL ALBUM. the principal inn in the town, and known by the same name which it bears at present — The Sun. In that year Oliver Cromwell, who was occupied in this district, made it his head-quarters. The external character of this house differs considerably from the older Elizabethan buildings. The ornaments are no longer carved in wood, but they are moulded in plaster-work : they arc more grotesque than elegant. It is impossible, at the present day, to say what the builder intended to represent by the two armed figures over the gateway leading into the stable-yard; but they arc of rather gigantic proportions, and the popular tradition of the place has designated them by the titles of Gog and Magog. The first subject on our second plate of Street Architecture is taken from the ancient city of Norwich. It represents a picturesque group of buildings, apparently of the seventeenth century, known by the name of Rosemary Lane, and opening towards the church of St. Mary. This church is remarkable as possessing one of the curious round towers which have been described in a former article in the present volume. Our last sketch of Street Architecture is taken from a district of the metropolis which has been long known to fame by the name of Spitalfields, and presents a style, not unpicturesquc in some instances, which is peculiar to this locality. Spital- fields owes its population, in a great measure, to the horrible persecutions of the Protestants in France at the period of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. In early times this district appears to have been one of the burial-places of Roman London, if we may judge from the extensive discoveries of Roman sepulchral deposits, discovered there in the time of the historian Stow.* At the end of the twelfth century, a small priory and hospital was founded near the spot now occupied by Spital Square. In the churchyard of this priory (the present Square) was subsequently erected a pulpit cross, in which the famous Spital Sermons were originally preached. In 1534< the priory was dissolved, and the site was given to a gentleman of the name of Vaughan. The sermons, however, continued to be preached in the pulpit; a house was built for the * " On the east side of this churchyard," says Stow, " lieth a large field, of old time called Lolesworth, now Spittle field, which about the year 1576 was broken up for clay to make brick; in the digging whereof many earthen pots, called urntv, were found full of ashes and burnt bones of men, to wit, of the Romans that in- habited here : for it was the custom of the Romans to burn their dead, to put their ashes in an urn, and then bury the same, with certain ceremonies, in some field appointed for that purpose near unto their city. Every of these pots had in them, with the ashes of the dead. one piece of copper money, with the inscription of the emperor then reigning: some of them were of Claudius, some of Vespasian, some of Nero, of Anthoninus Pius, of Trajanus, and others. Besides those urns, many other pots were there found, made of a white earth, with long necks and handles, like to our stone jugs : these were empty, but seemed to be buried full of some liquid matter long since consumed and soaked through ; for there were found divers phials and other fashioned glasses, some most cunningly wrought, such as I have not seen the like, and some of crystal ; all which had c p c — — 5 SKETCHES OF ANCIENT STREET ARCHITECTURE. 117 accommodation of the city authorities who came as auditors, and other houses were gradually erected around the spot. The pulpit was subsequently destroyed in the time of the civil wars ; and the sermons were preached at St. Bride's church from the restoration to the year 1797, and since that time at Christ Church in Newgate Street. Even in Stow's time, and long after, the whole of the ground to the east, which was properly called Spital Fields, and which originally bore the name of Lolesworth Fields, was literally open ground covered with grass; part of it was granted by Henry VIII. on a lease to the Artillery Company, and was known as the " Old Artillery Ground " as late as the time of Charles II. It would appear that, at the end of the sixteenth century, the buildings which occupied the site of the Spital were places of no very good report. The satirist Nashe, in his tract entitled " Have with you to Saffron Walden," published in 1596, says, " The third brother (John) had almost as ill a name as the Spittle in Shorditch." Some remains of the old priory appear to have been standing so late as the beginning of the last century. It would appear that, about the middle of the seventeenth century, the district of Spitalfields was the residence of astrologers and fortune-tellers, and that fairs were held there. A satirical tract against the almanack-makers was published in 1652, under the title of " A Faire in Spittle Fields, where all the Knick-knacks of Astrology arc exposed to open sale." It appears, also, by the map of London at the time of the great fire of 1666, that the field properly so called was then nearly surrounded by a boundary of houses. Shortly after this latter period the French Protestants began to fly from the persecutions which threatened them in their own country, and a large portion of them being weavers, they brought that manufacture into England, and esta- blished themselves in great numbers in the Spital field. In 1687, two years after the breaking out of the great persecution consequent on the repeal of the Edict of Nantes, there are said to have been between thirteen and fourteen thousand of the refugees in London alone. Strype, in his additions to Stow, says : — " Spittlcfields and parts ad- jacent, of later times, became a great harbour for poor Protestant strangers, Walloons water in them, nothing differing in clearness, taste, or savour from common spring water, whatsoever it was at the first. Some of these glasses had oil in them, very thick and earthy in savour ; some were supposed to have balm in them, but had lost the virtue. Many of these pots and glasses were broken in cutting of the clay, so that few were taken up whole. There were also found divers dishes and cups of a fine red-coloured earth, which shewed outwardly such a shining smooth- ness as if they had been of coral ; those had in the bottoms Roman letters printed : there were also lamps of white earth and red, artificially wrought with divers antiques upon them, some three or four images made of white earth, about a span long each of them : one, I remember, was of Pallas ; the rest I have forgotten. I myself have reserved, among divers of those antiquities there, one urn, with the ashes and bones, and one pot of white earth very small, not exceeding the quantity of a quarter of a wine pint, made in shape of a hare squatted upon her legs, and between her ears is the mouth of the pot. There hath also been found in the same field divers coffins of stone," &c. 1J8 THE ARC IDEOLOGICAL ALBUM. and Frinch ; who, as in former days, so of late, have been found to become exiles from their own country for their religion, and for the avoiding cruel persecution. Here they have found quiet and security, and settled themselves in their several trades and occupations — weavers especially \ whereby God's blessing is surely not only brought upon the parish, by receiving poor strangers, but also a great advantage hath accrued to the whole nation, by the rich manufacture of weaving silks, stuffs, and camlets, which art they brought along with them." A considerable portion of the present population is descended from the French emigrant families. Our sketch represents what must have been some of the original buildings which received the first Protestant refugees : they form the northern end 6f a street called White's Row. The houses on the right-hand side form one side of a square mass of buildings lying between White's Row and another small street, called Dorset Street. One house in Dorset Street bears the date 1675, which was probably the year when the whole pile of buildings was erected. They arc of bricks and wood, and differ from those of the other streets in having fewer of the broad lines of windows in the upper Btories, which serve to throw light on the work of the weavers. A considerable body of Jews is now intermixed with the population of this neighbourhood, and the small and crowded streets have little to invite the visitor, except their historical associations and the important branch of national industry which has so long flourished there. FW.FairhoLt.F S A.. .AMCIElfT Pi 'WIS NT PATINE IN CLIFF CHURCH, KENT. The fine old church of Cliff, at a short distance from Rochester, stands in a bold situation on the brow of the chalk cliffs which overlook the extensive marshes known as the Cliff Marshes, and commands a view of the wide estuary of the Thames. The parish formerly belonged to the priory of Canterbury, and it was on that account named Bishop's Cliff or Clive. It is situated in the hundred of Hoo, and is sometimes called Cliff at Hoo. Many antiquaries have supposed it to be the place called by the Anglo-Saxons Clofesho, or Cleofesho, at which so many councils were held in the earlier ages of the Anglo-Saxon church. The church of Cliff is a massive building, in the form of a cross ; its windows were formerly adorned with a profusion of stained glass, much of which has now dis- appeared; but there are still many interesting remains in the windows of the chancel. On one of the walls are some fragments of a painting representing the Day of Judgment. There are several old monuments in the church, among which is an early coffin-shaped slab, with the inscription, — " 3)one la femme 31oI)an IRam gijst pci IBcu Be sa alme tit mcrct." *j« There remain also six wooden stalls, which were formerly appropriated to monks of Christ Church, Canterbury, who visited or resided at their manor of Cliff. The elegant patine represented in our engraving is preserved with the communion plate. It is six inches in diameter, of silver gilt, with the following inscription round the margin, in characters apparently of the latter part of the fourteenth century, or possibly of the fifteenth : — " 33cnct({cambs ^pattern ct JFtltbm ctom sptritb sancto." In the centre a medallion, in bine and green enamel, represents the Father seated 120 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. on a throne, with his arms extended, and supporting a cross on which is affixed the Son. This patinc has, in recent times, been used for collecting money at the offering, or at the church-door j by which the enamel has been destroyed, leaving only enough to indicate the colour and material of which it was composed. .Most of our readers will remember the beautiful passage in Shakespeare: — " How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank ! Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music Creep in our cars ; soft stillness and the night Hecome the touches of sweet harmony. Sit, Jessica : look how the floor of heaven Is thick inlaid with patines of bright golds There's not the smallest orb, which thou behold'st, But in his motion like an angel sings, Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins : Such harmony is in immortal souls." Merchant of Venice, act v. sc. 1 . The patine and the chalice were the two vessels used in Roman Catholic times to administer the consecrated bread and wine in the holy sacrament, and were always of gold or of silver gilt, which explains the poet's simile. They were often richly orna- mented. In the " Provincial " of Lyndwood, a compendium of the Canons and Constitutions of the Romish Church in England, it is particularly ordered that the eucharist shall not be consecrated in any other metal except gold or silver; and it is interdicted to any bishop to consecrate tin.* * " Precipimus ne consecrctur cukaristia nisi calice de aturo vel argento ; et ne stanncum calicem aliquis episcopus ammodo benedicat intcrdicimus." — Lynd- wood, " Provinciale," lib. iii. tit. 23, De celebratione missarum. The patine is, of course, included as be- longing to the chalice. ON THE EARLY USE OF FIRE-ARMS. By the kindness of Lord Albert Conyngharn we are enabled to give an engraving of an early and beautifully ornamented gun-lock, recently purchased by his lordship at Warwick. It is of the kind called wheel-locks, and was placed temporarily in a socket or groove, in the stock of the gun, at the moment of firing. There can be little doubt that it is of Italian workmanship ; and the device of the dragon swallowing a child, which is repeated in different parts of the ornaments, seems to prove that it was made for some member of the Italian family of Visconti, of whom this was the badge. The same device is found on the monument of Bernabo Visconti at Milan, engraved in the eighteenth volume of the " Archseologia." The histoiy of the introduction of fire-arms into Europe is a subject by no means devoid of interest, and, at the same time, one which has been thrown into great con- fusion by some writers who have blindly followed old prejudices, and by others who have argued upon passages of writers who were not strictly contemporary with the events they relate. Historians like Froissart, describing events which happened some years previously, were (in that age particularly) too apt to apply to them the manners and usages of the time in which they were writing. A very learned and careful French antiquary, M. Lacabane, has recently collected together some most important contemporary documents relating to the early use of gunpowder in France,* of which we shall make free use in the following observations. There can be no doubt that the use of gunpowder in Europe was derived from the Arabs, but it is not so easy to determine the exact source from whence they borrowed the invention. Even among the Arabs it appears to have been long used as an ex- plosive agent, before its projectile force was understood. Recent researches seem to leave little room for doubt that the celebrated Greek fire was a composition closely re- sembling, if not identical with, gunpowder. M. Reinaud has discovered, among the manuscripts of the Royal Library at Paris, a treatise in Arabic, written at the end of * In an essay published in a recent number of that very interesting and valuable antiquarian periodical, the " Bibliotheque de l'Ecole des Chartes," the publication of which has now been successfully continued through several years : it is supported by the literary contri- butions of some of the best antiquaries in France. L22 I'll 1 : Ua its of the area of the ancient city ; but the attempt which has been made to draw a plan of the ancient streets from these uncertain and indistinct indica- tions can be viewed as no more than a vain exercise of the ingenuity. Fragments of large columns lay in the immediate vicinity of the farm-house, and seem to indicate that there also stood an important public building. Without the walls, on the north side, arc the remains of an amphitheatre, of con- siderable extent, but neither so large nor so perfect as the one at Dorchester. The embankment surrounding the arena is thickly set with trees, which have probably con- tributed much to its decay. A view of the interior of this amphitheatre is given in our plate. Fragments of pottery, tiles, &c., are scattered over the surface of the ground in the whole area enclosed by the walls; and many articles of various kinds, with a great number of coins, have been dug up at different times. In the last century, a brass eagle found here was exhibited before the Society of Antiquaries, and supposed to belong to a Roman military standard. A gold ring, with an inscription, and an intaglio representing Venus Urania, was also found at Silchester sonic years ago. SILCHESTER. 153 Several bronze figures have likewise been dug up at different times. Mr. Barton, the present occupier of the farm, possesses an interesting collection of Roman antiquities found in Silchester, consisting of a number of curious and elegant fibulas, two of which are beautifully ornamented with blue and red enamel, a few stili and other implements, the weight of a steelyard representing the bust of a man, several weapons, and a large collection of coins, ranging through the whole period of the Roman occupation of the island, but those of Severus and his family are by much the most numerous. Two mutilated stones, bearing very important votive inscriptions, have also been found at this place. The first, dug up in the year 1732, is a dedication to the Hercules of the Segontiaci, which proves the identity of Silchester with what the pretended Nennius calls Caer Segeint. This inscription ran as follows : — deo • HER SAEGON T ■ TAMMON SAEN • TAMMON VITALIS HONO Which has been read, Deo Herculi Sagontiacorum Titus Tammonius Scenii Tammonii Vitalis filius ob honorem, i.e. Titus Tammonius, the son of Ssenius Tammonius Vitalis, dedicated this in honour of the God Hercules of the Ssegontiaci. The other, found about the year 1741, is dedicated to Julia Domna, the second wife of the emperor Severus, and the mother of Caracalla and Geta, and, as she died about a.d. 217, it proves that this city existed long before the time of its pretended founder, Constantius. Two of the titles here given to the empress, Mater Senatus and Mater Castrorum, are found on medals. ivliae • AVG MATRI • SE NATVS • ET CASTROR" M. SABINVS VICTOR ' OB Which may be read, Julia Augusta matri senatus et castrorum M. Sabinus Victorinus ob honorem posuit, i.e. Marcus Sabinu Victorinus placed this in honour of Julia the empress, the mother of the senate and of the army. We have already alluded to one local tradition relating to Silchester; there is another which deserves notice. The peasantry of the neighbourhood call (or at least they did so in Camden's time) the Roman coins found here Onion's pennies. In the eastern wall, some distance to the south of the church, there is a cavern or arch called popularly Onions Hole, because, according to the legend, a great giant, who dwelt in ancient times in this city, had made a dwelling in this spot. x I5t THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. The church of Silchester, which appears in our first view, possesses outwardly few attractions, having Urn altered and partially rebuilt at a period when good taste was nut predominant. The ancient door, which, with the original portion of the church, belongs to the style generally termed early English, is ornamented with a simple dog-tooth moulding. The arches of the chancel spring from ponderous oc- tagonal pillars, very slightly ornamented, and which appear to have been based upon the heavy foundation-stones removed from the adjoining walls. The font, placed on similar stones, is octagonal, and quite plain. The windows contain remains of fine painted glass, upon one fragment of which may be distinguished the head of a bishop, behind which appear the towers of a city. It seems to have been a work of the fifteenth century. The wooden screen of the chancel, apparently executed about the same time, is richly carved with figures of angels bearing scrolls, interspersed with the pomegranate. The pulpit is of carved oak, and bears the inscription — THE GUIFTE OF JAMES HORE, GENT. 1639. The church contains some memorials of this family. In the south wall is a very interesting monument to a lady, apparently of the reign of Edward I. or of his suc- cessor. She lies beneath a low pointed arch, her head supported by angels, and a dog at her feet. The figure is much mutilated, and, with the whole tomb, has been covered with whitewash ; but upon the wall at the back of the recess are fragments of a painting in distemper, representing the lady whose effigy is below, in an attitude of prayer, borne up by angels. In the churchyard are two monuments of an earlier and still more interesting character, of which we intend to give an engraving and description in a subsequent paper. They are in a great state of decay, but deserve a more honourable resting-place within the walls of the church. A court fool, from MS. Reg. 15 e. IV. (loth century). THE BURLESQUE FESTIVALS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. In the first ages of Christianity, when — a persecuted sect — it trusted to the force of individual conviction for its converts, these latter, in joining the religion of the Saviour, gave up at once all their old superstitions and prejudices. But when, in course of time, it became established as the religion of the state, the mass of the people soon disbe- lieved in the power of their old gods, and accepted the faith of the emperor. Churches took the place of temples, and the statues of their idols were thrown down and broken without much repugnance. But there was a host of old superstitions, customs, and observances, intimately connected with the old idolatry of the people, which were so deeply rooted in their habits and social life, that it was not an easy thing to persuade converts made under such circumstances to consent to their abolition. In fact, the Christian teachers found an advantage in shewing forbearance in the great religious revolution in which they were engaged, and they were wise in not shocking by a too abrupt change the deeply rooted prejudices of so many ages. It was their policy to substitute gradually Christian festivals in the place of pagan ceremonies ; and thus, amid the most riotous feasts and processions of the ancient ceremonial, new names and new objects kept the popular mind fixed to a better faith. In course of time, however, as the church itself became corrupt and its ministers venal, these popular excesses, 15G THE ARCH/EOLOGICAL ALBUM. which had at first been tolerated from necessity, were encouraged by the very persons whose duty it was to discountenance them; and, during the middle ages, at certain periods of the year, even the holiest places became the scene of riotous festivals, which recalled in many of their characteristics the most licentious of the feasts of antiquity. It is true that these pseudo-Christian ceremonies were condemned by the better and wiser of the ecclesiastics, and that they were repeatedly proscribed by the councils of the church ; but these condemnations were either merely formal, or they were rendered ineffectual by the supineness and backwardness of those who ought to have put them in force. Too congenial with the general laxity of manners which characterised the feudal period, these ceremonies increased in force and intensity during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, until they became so great an object of public scandal that they could no longer be tolerated. Yet in Catholic countries, such as France, and Italy, and Spain, they continued to be observed in a suppressed form until the great dislocation of society produced by the French revolution at the close of the eighteenth century. Among the Romans the latter part of the month of December was devoted to the noisy and licentious festivities of the Saturnalia. In the earliest times of Rome this festival had been restricted to one day in the middle of the month ; but the period of celebration was afterwards extended to seven days, and it was followed by a multitude of other festivals of the same character, called, from the circumstance of their com- mencing in the Calends of January, the ferice Kalendarum, which were continued during the month of January,* and were but just closed at the time of the somewhat analogous festival of the Lupercals in February. t This answers precisely to the period extending from the festivities of Christmas to the time of the carnival of modern times, of wdiich the Roman festivities were undoubtedly the prototype. The resemblance between the old and the modern observances is too strongly marked to be easily mistaken. During the seven days of the Saturnalia masters were placed on an equality with their slaves, and all classes and ranks and even sexes were confounded together by disguises and masks, under cover of which were enacted a thousand different follies and extravagances. These were precisely the characteristics of the joyous festivals of the middle ages. J * " Assunt feriae quas indulget magna pars mensis Jano dicati." — Macrobius, Saturnul. lib. i. c. 2. f A curious coincidence is perhaps worth pointing out. It is well known that at the Lupercalia the Luper- cals ran about the streets in a state of nudity : a similar practice characterised the Saturnalia. A writer of the sixteenth century, speaking of the festive practices of the Franconians at the period of the carnival, says, — " Atque ne pudor obset, qui se ludicro illi committunt, facies lams obducunt, sexum et setatem mentientes viri nudierum vestimenta mulieres virorum induunt. Qui- dam satyras, aut malos dsemones potius, repraesentare volentes, minio se aut atramento tingunt, habituque nefando deturpant : alii nudi disrurrentcs Lupercos agunt, a quibus ego annuum suum delirandi morem ad nos de- fluxisse existimo." — Jo. Boemus Auban., Mores, Le- ges, et Ritus omnium Gentium. 12mo. 1570. P. 277- % Lucian, Saturnal. p. 608, gives the following sum- THE BURLESQUE FESTIVALS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 157 A theological writer who lived in 1182, Beleth, informs us that, in his time, in the archbishopric of Rheims and in other dioceses in France, at the festival of Christmas the archbishops and bishops and other high ecclesiastics went to play at various games with the inferior clergy in the religious houses.* We trace this custom among the clergy, called by Beleth Decembrian liberty, in other writers. In the Saturnalia a mock king was elected by lot, who ruled at the festival. The practice of choosing mock officers, under the names in different places of kings, popes, abbots, &c, was retained in all the burlesque festivals of the middle ages : in some parts a king is still chosen on the twelfth night. Public gambling was allowed at the Saturnalia. It is probable from the extract from Beleth that it was practised even by ecclesiastics at Christmas in former days, and from this custom we seem to have derived that of playing at cards at that period of the year. It is not necessary to point out the libertinism of speech and action which characterised the old as well as the modern Saturnalia. These latter were chiefly prevalent in the countries which have derived their language and customs from the Romans, such as the French, Italians, and Spaniards, and are not found to have prevailed so generally among the purer Germanic tribes. The English festival of Christmas is of Saxon origin, and consisted chiefly in eating and drinking ; the mummery and masquerading, as well as the few burlesque festivals we shall have to notice as belonging to England in the middle ages, having been apparently imported from France. On the Continent we may trace the Saturnalian observances and ceremonies almost without interruption from the Roman era. Tertullian, in his treatise De Idololatria, accuses the Christians of his time of participating in these pagan festivals. From the sixth to the twelfth century, and even later, we find the eccle- siastics and the canons of the church perpetually denouncing the pagan ceremonies observed at "the Calends of January ;" and the words they use shew us that, during this long period, the Saturnalia of the ancients were observed with all their extravagance and licentiousness by the Christians. It will be sufficient to quote an instance or two. St. Eligius, who died in 659, forbade the exercise of " wicked or ridiculous practices on mary of the practices at the Saturnalia : — ~2.novha.lov ph, ohVi ayogouov oioix-nffacSon p.oi n , L ^-i ROLA.O bi_Li^ THE BURLESQUE FESTIVALS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 165 Paris in 1837, entitled "Monnaies inconnues des Eveques des Innocens," &c, to which we are indebted for some of the materials of the present article. At the abbey of Corbie the expenses of the feast were paid by the prince of the Innocents, as he was called there (festi Innocentium, cujus confraternitatis eodem anno (1516) eram princeps). These expenses were so great, that the monk who is here speaking was obliged to sell a house to pay for them. In 1479 the chapter of Rheims agreed to pay the expenses of the feast of the bishop of Innocents, only on condition that they should not carry masks, that trumpets should not be sounded, and that they should not ride on horseback about the town. There was a point of resemblance between the medieval and the classic Saturnalia which, until recently, has escaped observation : in the Roman festivals a sort of money, supposed to have been of thin copper or lead, was circulated under the name o£ sigilla; and these sigilla, during the festival, formed an extensive article of commerce. According to Macrobius, the sale of the sigilla {sigillariorum celebritas) lasted during seven days; the bishops of the Innocents and of fools had in like manner a sort of money struck in lead, a great quantity of which has been of late years discovered in France. The author of the work on this subject just quoted (Monnaies inconnues des Eveques des Innocens, des Fous) has given engravings of upwards of a hundred specimens, bearing appropriate types and legends, from which we give a selection in the accompanying plate. Some of them bear on the reverse crosses of a very elegant design. The first of these, fig. 1 of our plate, has, on the obverse, a grotesque personage, wearing a capuchon, and mounted on an ass, with the legend monoie . de levesq inoct ►£< ; on the reverse, a cross, with the same inscription in Latin, moneta . epi . INNOCENTVM^. Fig. 2, found at Amiens, is curious for its early date. On one side is a king, with his left hand extended over the letters A and and what appears like a musical note ; with the inscription av : gre : dediev : & : abo'droit, i.e. au gre de Dieu et a bon droit. On the reverse is the inscription mon . nova . epi . inoc . a . 1499, i.e. moneta nova episcopi Innocentium anno 1499. Fig. 3, also found at Amiens, appears to be of a date anterior to the sixteenth century. On one side a soldier is represented slaying a child, one of the ' Innocents/ with the legend moneta : epi : innocent; on the reverse is a plain cross, with two mitres and two fleurs-de-lis, and the inscription in French, monoie : dv : vesq. : des : in. Fig. 4 is the money of the archbishop of the Innocents of the parish of St. Firmin at Amiens. On one side appears a bishop in the act of giving his benediction, moneta . archiepi : sen : firmini ; on the other are two personages, one of 1GG THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALHU.M. whom is dressed as a fool, with the inscription, NICOLAVS . gavdram . arciiiepvs . 1 520. Pig. 5 relates to a man of the name of Turpin, who was archbishop of the Innocents at Amiens (where most of these pieces are found), apparently in the parish of St. l'liniin. On one side we have a bishop, as before, with the inscription, moneta . A.RCHIEPI . TVRPIN1 . a" . 1518. On the reverse the inscription, faisons : ces : gros : par : tovt : covin r, surrounding a rebus (a thing much in vogue in France in the sixteenth century), consisting of the words po' nos, with three pots of the kind called marmites, between the letters te and nir, which makes the second line of the couplet, — " Faisons ces gros partout courir, Pour nos marmites entretenir." A gros was a kind of coin. Fig. G bears on the obverse two figures of fools, with the inscription, maistre . IACOB1 . hode . epi . scti . o ►£< , the last letters apparently designating the parish of St. Germain ; and, on the reverse, the inscription, sit : nomen : dni : bene- dictvm : 1515.* Fig. 9 has again a bishop on one side, with the inscription, sire . gvillamme . gervois. ; on the other three fools dancing, perhaps an allusion to one of the most essential acts of the feast of fools, with the inscription, prvdence . a . les . bons . i (insole, i.e. prudence has good counsels. Fig. 10 has on one side a shield with a chevron, and the inscription, moneta . nova . ste . moe . . . 1542. On the reverse is a fool, with a bishop on a scaffold, surrounded by the inscription, anthonnivs . talmar . FR. . . The last letters are rather indistinct, and should probably be ep. Fig. 11 has on one side a figure representing St. Jerome, with the inscription, saint ierome; on the other the inscription, moneta . episcopi . inocek|-<. Fig. 12 has on the obverse a bishop, with a nimbus and double cross, and the date 1549, surrounded by the inscription, mo . anselmi . catrovllard . arcepi. On the * It may be observed, en passant, that some of these burlesque coins bear a striking resemblance to the pil- L'riin-' ml'ii- described in a former page of the present volume (p. 21), and of which a more detailed account will be found in Mr. Roach Smith's "Collectanea Anti- qna." The pretended head of St. John the Baptist was a great object of pilgrimage in the cathedral of Amiens. Two of the signs of this relic, apparently as old as the thirteenth or fourteenth century, are engraved on our plate ( 1 1 tr - . 7 and R) ; the first, in which the priest ap- pears shewing the face of St. John, lias the inscription, HIC EST SIGNUM : FACIEI BEATI IOHAVNIS BAV- tiste ; the other represents the face itself, and has the inscription, sain : ieiian : baddiden : damies. Figs. 13 and 14 on our plate are similar signs of St. Eloi of Noion, who was also the object of pilgrimage. They represent St. Eloi (or Eligius) receiving an offering of a serpent, or a cierge in the form of one ; in one the saint is working at his anvil. -The inscription on the first is SIGILLVM . SANCTI . ELIGII . NOVIOM KNSIS episcopi ; that on the other, s . be . . ti . ELIGII . noviomensis . episcopi. THE BURLESQUE FESTIVALS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 167 reverse is represented Truth, as a female seated and looking into a mirror, with a figure of a fool standing and holding some object which looks somewhat like a harp. The inscription is svper . oia . vincit . Veritas. Since the publication of the work above-mentioned, Dr. Rigollot has discovered a considerable number of new types, among which one of the most curious is a leaden coin of the pope of fools, communicated by this scholar to the " Revue Numisma- tique" for 1842, p. 55, a representation of which we give in our margin. It is of the fifteenth or of the earlier part of the sixteenth century. On one side is the legend, moneta . nova . adri- ani . stvltorv . pape, the last e being in the field of the piece, on which is represented the pope, with his double cross and tiara, with a fool in full costume approaching his bauble to the pontifical cross, and two persons behind, who form part of his escort. On the reverse is a " mother-fool," with her bauble, attended by a grotesque person with a cardinal's hat, with the oft-recurring legend, stvltorv . infinitvs . est . nvmervs. We have some traces of the feast of Innocents and of that of fools in England, but they are rare and not very definite. The rex stultorum in the church of Beverley was prohibited as early as 1391. There was a child-bishop at St. Paul's church in London, who went in procession with songs, &c. about the city, and visited the houses of the citizens. These ceremonies are thus described in a royal proclamation issued in 1542 : — " Whereas heretofore dyvers and many superstitious and chyldysh observances have been used, and yet to this day are observed and kept in many and sundry places of this realm upon St. Nicholas, St. Catherines, St. Clements, and Holy Innocents, and such like holydaies ; children be strangelie decked and apparayled to counterfeit priests, bishops, and women, and so ledde with songs and dances from house to house, blessing the people, and gathering of money ; and boyes do singe masse, and preache in the pulpits, with such other unfitinge and inconvenient usages, which tend rather to derysyon than enie true glorie to God, or honor of his sayntes." Entries relating to boy-bishops are found in some early church inventories ; and a sculptured figure on a tomb in Salisbury Cathedral is supposed to represent such a bishop, but this appears to admit of considerable doubt. 1(58 Till: ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALNUM. IV. THE FETE-DIEU AT AIX IN TROVENCE. These festivals appeared in other places under a variety of different forms and names, which we will not undertake to enumerate. They w r erc often accompanied with processions, in which different individuals were disguised to represent the persons of the Old and New Testament. One of the most remarkable of these was the Fetc-Dieu at Ail in Provence, said to have been established by king Rene of Anjou in the fifteenth century, which was continued in the last century. In the ceremonies on this occa- sion there was a strange mixture of profane w r ith sacred personages, and the coarse ami ludicrous manner in which the latter were represented caused no little scandal to pious individuals in former days. The ceremonies were under the jurisdiction of a prince iV Amour, a roi de Bazoche, an abbe de la ville, &c, titles which seem to have had some allusion to the days of chivalry. The ceremonies consisted in mock -fights, dances, diableries, processions, &c, which are all described with engravings in a little volume entitled " Explication des Ceremonies de la Fete-Dieu d'Aix en Provence," printed at Aix in 1777. Our first woodcut, taken from one of the plates in this book, represents Lou grand jure deu didbles (the great play of the de- vils). The two figures in the middle represent king Herod and his daughter, who are fallen into the power of the evil demons, armed with long tormenting -forks, for their treatment of John the Baptist. The different personages are disguised with masks, which seem sometimes to have represented the heads of animals, and which appear in several instances raised above the face. One holds his mask in his hand. Others, among whom must be reckoned Herod's daughter, hold their masks in their proper places with their left hands. According to the description of the play given in the book, " Herod THE BURLESQUE FESTIVALS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 169 leaps sometimes to one side, sometimes to the other, shielding himself as well as he can with his sceptre against the forks ; he finishes his play by a great leap, and the devils quit him and wait for fresh orders ! " Another " play " is entitled La reino Sabo (the queen of Sheba). Her Arabian majesty is represented on her way to visit Solomon. We cannot resist the temptation to transfer to our margin the 111^ ^fl^^)^/" 5 figure of the queen of Sheba, as an admirable example of burlesquing royalty. V. THE ABBOT OF MISRULE. The processions and ceremonies which we have just mentioned appear to be the remains of the Saturnalia of the middle ages in a degraded form. They appear also to have been preserved in England under the superintendence of an abbot of misrule, or (as he was termed in Scotland) of unreason, or, as he was often called, the lord of misrule. Nearly all that we know of the ceremonies performed under the auspices of this dignitary is found in that oft-quoted passage of the puritan Stubbs, who published his "Anatomie of Abuses" in 1583. The lord or abbot of misrule was also an office of frequent occurrence in the households of princes and nobles ; he was little more than a master of the Christmas revels, private Saturnals which it is not our object to describe on the present occasion. Stubbs tells us that, — "Firste, all the wilde heades of the parishe conventyng together, chuse them a graund capitaine (of all mischeef ), whom thei innoble with the title of my lorde of misserule ; and hym thei croune with great so- lemnitie, and adopt for their kyng. This kyng anointed chuseth forthe twentie, fourtie, three score, or a hundred lustie guttes, like to hymself, to waite uppon his lordely majestie, and to guarde his noble persone. Then every one of these his menne he investeth with his liveries of greene, yellowe, or some other light wanton colour ; and as though that were not gaudie enough, thei bedecke themselves with scarffes, ribons, and laces, hanged all over with golde rynges, precious stones, and other jewelles. This doen, thei tye about either legge twentie or fourtie belles, with riche hanclekercheefes in their handes, and sometymes laied acrosse over their shoulders and neckes, borrowed, for the moste parte, of their pretie mopsies and loovyng Bessies, for bussyng them in the darcke. Thus all thinges sette in order, then have they their hobbie horses, their dragons, and other antiques, together with their gaudie pipers and thunderyng drom- mers, to strike up the devilles daunce withall. Then marchc these heathen companie 170 nil IRCHJEOLOGICAL ALBUM. towardes the churche and churcheyarde, their pipers pipyng, their drommers thondcryng, their stumppea dauncyng, their belles jynglyng, their handkerchefes swyngyng about their headea like madmen, their hoibbie horses and other monsters skirmishyng anion gest the throng: and in this sortc thci goe to the churche (though the minister bee at praier or preachyng), dauncyng and swingyng their handkercheefes over their heades in the ehnrehe, like devilles incarnate, with suche a confused noise that no nianne can beare his own voice. Then the foolishc people thei looke, thei stare, thei laugh, thei fleere, and mountc upon formes and pcwes to see these goodly pagcauntcs so- lemnized in this sorte. Then, after this, aboute the churche thei goe againe and againe, and so tort he into the churche yarde, where thei have commonly their sommer-haules, their bowers, arbours, and banquettyng-houses set up, wherein thei feaste, banquet, and daunce all that dale, and (peradventure) all that night too; and thus these terrestrial furies spend the Sabbaoth daic. Then, for the further innoblyng of this honorable lindane (lorde, I should saie), thei have also certaine papers wherein is painted some babblerie or other of imageric worke, and these thei call my lorde of misrules badges. These thei give to every one that will give money for them, to maintaine them in this their heathenrie, dcvilrie ; and who will not shewe hymself buxome to them and give them money for these the devilles cognizaunces, thei shall bee mocked and flouted at shamefully — (yea, and many times carried upon a cowlstaffe, and dived over heade and eares in water, or otherwise most horribly abused). And so assotted are some, that thei not onely give them money, but also weare their badges and cognizances in their hattes or cappes openly Another sorte of fantastical fooles bryng to these helhoundes (the lorde of misrule and his complices), some bread, some good ale, some newe cheese, some olde cheese, some custardes, some cracknels, some cakes, some flaunes, some tartes, some creame, some meate, some one thing, some another." to to o O MONUMENT OF JOANE PRINCESS OF NORTH WALES, DAUGHTER OF KING JOHN. The very elegant slab, of which, by the kindness of the Rev. H. Longueville Jones, we are enabled to give the accompanying engraving, is now carefully preserved in the park of Baron Hill, Beaumarais, the residence of Sir E. Bnlkeley, by whom it was saved from probable destruction. It was originally placed at Llanvaes, in the monastery founded by Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, prince of AYales, whose consort Joane, a natural daughter of king John, it commemorates. After the dissolution of the monastery it was removed, and, at the beginning of the present century, it was lying, face downwards, in a ditch near Llanvaes, the stone coffin it covered being used as a trough for watering horses. To this circumstance of inversion its good state of preservation is chiefly to be attributed. It is six feet long and three inches thick, and lies on a stone coffin of the same dimensions and about eighteen inches deep. It is composed of a fine hard gritstone or sandstone, and the carvings on its surface are still sharp and perfect, though part of one side has been sawn off. The face of the princess, which was probably intended for a portrait, looks out somewhat sentimentally from the tracery which surrounds it. This kind of low half- effigy appears to have been the intro- ductory step towards the more perfect sculptured figures which were common at a somewhat later period. In the churchyard of Silchester, as mentioned on a former occasion (p. 154), lie, in a very neglected state, the two tombs represented in the accompanying wood- cut. In one of them the head of a lady is placed in a cross, in a similar manner to that on the tomb of the princess Joane, but it is much de- faced. On the other we have two busts, apparently those of a man and his wife, 1 72 Till: ARCH I'.oi.OGICAL ALIU'M. Biirmounting a cross. Neither of these monuments bear any inscription, and there is not even a tradition to point out the persons in memory of whom they were placed here ; but they appear to be of the thirteenth century. Monumental Blabs, ornamented with the cross and no effigy, are common from the twelfth to at least the beginning of the fifteenth century ; but it is difficult to fix their exact date, except as far as we can conjecture by the general appearance of the monument itself. A considerable number of examples are given in the plates to the first volume of Gough's " Sepulchral Monuments." Sometimes they have an inscription, but the greater number are without ; 7V it yet m many of them the cross is accompanied by the arms of the / \ person whom it commemorates, or with the insignia of his trade. A sword is not unfrerpiently carved beside the cross. On that given in our margin, taken from one of Gough's plates, a sword is represented on one side of the cross, and two bows on the other, with a horn sus- pended beneath, and what appears to be a plain or defaced coat of arms at the foot of the cross. This monument is in Bowes church, York- shire, and is supposed to mark the grave of a member of the family of Bowes, on which name the two bows form a pun. Its date is uncertain. In a somewhat similar slab in the church of Kirkby- in-Ashfield, in the county of Nottingham, a pair of shears accompanies the cross, perhaps indicating that the person it commemorates was a clothier. Our next cut, a slab with a brass, is the tomb of Nicholas de Aumberdme (a fishmonger of London), in the chancel of Taplow church in Berkshire. The full-length figure of the deceased is here placed within the cross, and the trade is indicated by a fish at the foot. An inscription round the edge makes us acquainted with the name and trade, but it has no date, though it is supposed to be of about the reign of Richard II. The tomb of the princess Joane is a fine example of a class of monuments that are not common. It was this princess who, according to tradition, was engaged in a romantic but tragical intrigue with one of her husband's captives, the youthful "William de Braose, in the year 1229. Wjlliam de Braose was a member of a powerful English family on the border, and had been taken prisoner and confined in Llewelyn's castle of Aber. His winning manners gained the confidence of the prince, and he was admitted to a great degree of familiarity, until at length he was ransomed. It is said that after he was set at liberty Llewelyn discovered proofs of the infidelity of MONUMENT OF JOANE PRINCESS OF NORTH WALES. 173 his wife, and resolved to take a ferocious revenge. He invited the unsuspecting lover to a feast, and there seized him, and immediately caused him to be hanged on a small eminence in the dell adjacent to the castle. The tradition says that the angry prince led his wife, who was ignorant of what had taken place, to a window which commanded a view of the gallows, and there, with a sarcastic smile, asked her how much she would give to see her paramour. A fragment of what appears to have been a Welsh ballad, containing the question of the prince and the lady's answer, was obtained by Pennant from the oral recitation of the peasantry of the neighbourhood, and is thus by him given in English : — " ' Lovely princess,' said Llewelyn, ' What will you give to see your Willim ? ' ' Wales, and England, and Llewelyn, I'd freely give to see my Willim.' " The princess lived eight years after this event, and appears to have regained the affections of her husband, who erected the monastery of Llanvaes over her grave, " whose pleasure it was," as Caradoc of Llancarvan expresses it, " to be here buried." The monastery was consecrated in 1240 by Howel bishop of Bangor ; but, in a few years afterwards, it was burnt in an insurrection of the Welsh. Edward II., in pity for the sufferings of the brotherhood, remitted them the taxes they owed him. In the war with Owen Glyndowr, the friars having shown a disposition to take part with that chief- tain, Henry IV. plundered their house, killed some of them, and imprisoned the rest ; but he soon afterwards liberated them and made restitution. After the dissolution Henry VIII. sold the property, and it came into private hands. In the sequel the monastic buildings were destroyed, and the tomb of the princess, in memory of whom they had been erected, was desecrated in the manner above described. THE FABULOUS NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. The history of science in the middle ages contains much that is rational and new, but it is mixed with strange and extravagant notions. This is peculiarly the case in the natural sciences, where, beyond the dim outline of positive observation, men's imagina- tion ran wild, and the natural love of the marvellous gave being to a host of monsters which have gradually disappeared before the light of modern research. The vague notions of the ancients relating to the animals of the interior of Asia and Africa, formed the groundwork of many a strange and romantic medieval fiction, and these latter were intermixed with monstrous stories of Saracenic origin. From these materials were compiled a great number of medieval treatises on natural history, which most commonly passed under the title of Bestiaries. Natural history in the middle ages, especially subsequent to the eleventh century, was treated with two objects — the cure of diseases, or the moral doctrines which were supposed to be mystically typified in the qualities and habits of the different tribes of animated nature. The last was the peculiar object of the popular Bestiaries, where the description of each animal is followed immediately by its moralisation, as in iEsop's fables : medicine was the more peculiar object of the herbals. Bestiaries and herbals are of frequent occurrence in early manuscripts, and are often accompanied with drawings which picture to us more exactly than the text the notions of different people in different ages of the animals of far-distant climes. One of the favourite animals of the medieval naturalists was the unicorn, or, as it was named by the ancients, the monoceros. Pliny (Hist. Nat. viii. 21) sums up in a few words the notions of the ancients relating to this animal : it had the body of a horse, the head of a stag, the feet of an elephant, the tail of a boar, with one black horn two cubits long in the middle of its forehead. According to the ancients, it was impossible to take this fierce animal alive. The medieval legends differed in this point : this animal, the symbol of chivalry, became tame in the presence of a pure virgin. One of the THE FABULOUS NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 175 earliest bestiaries, the Anglo-Norman poem of Philip cle Thaun, written in the reign of Henry I. gives the following account of the mode in which it was caught : — " Monosceros est beste, un corn ad en la teste, Pur ceo ad si a nun, de buc ad facun ; Par pucele est prise, or oez en quel guise. Quant hem le volt cacer e prendre e enginner, Si vent hom al forest u sis repairs est ; La met une pucele liors de sein sa maniele, E par odurement monosceros la sent ; Dune vent a la pucele, e si baiset sa mamele, En sun devant se dort, issi vent a sa mort ; Li hom survent atant, ki l'ocit en dormant, U trestut vif le prent, si fait puis sun talent." " Monosceros is an animal which has one horn on its head, Therefore it is so named, it has the form of a goat ; It is caught by means of a virgin : now hear in what manner. When a man intends to hunt it, and to take and ensnare it, He goes to the forest where is its repair ; There he places a virgin, with her breast uncovered, And by its smell the monosceros perceives her ; Then it comes to the virgin, and kisses her breast, Falls asleep on her lap, and so comes to its death ; The man arrives immediately, and kills it in its sleep, Or takes it alive, and does as he likes with it." If a damsel ventured on this undertaking who was not a pure virgin, she was in danger of being torn to pieces. Our woodcut, representing the capture of the unicorn io the manner described above, is taken from an illumi- nation in a very good manuscript of the com- mon Latin bestiary, of about the end of the twelfth century (MS. Harl. No. 4751, fol. 6, v .). The horn of the unicorn was a terrible weapon, so hard and so sharp that nothing could resist it. The wonders of this horn, as related 170 Till: AIU II.KOLOGICAL AL1HM. by European and Arabian writers, arc too numerous to repeat. It was supposed to be an absolute preventive against the effects of poison. When used as the handle of a knife it would give notice, by a sudden sweating, of the presence of poison in the meats that were served on the table; and any liquid drunk from a cup made of this material was a certain cure against the poison when taken. Even in the writings of the naturalists of the Elizabethan age, the unicorn occupies a prominent place. Al- though the question of its existence had then begun to be debated, the wonderful virtues of the horn were still recounted at full. The great enemy of the unicorn was the elephant. When the former went in search of its gigantic foe, it is said that it sharpened its horn by rubbing it on a stone, and then slew the elephant by piercing it in the belly. The people of the West, in their frequent intercourse with the Saracens, must often have had opportunities of making themselves well acquainted with the form and habits of the elephant ; yet even this animal is the subject of many fables. As early as the year S07, the khalif Haroun al llaschid sent an elephant as a present to Charlemagne, which was an object of wonder and admiration to the Franks. In 1255 the king of France, St. Louis, sent an elephant to Henry III. of England, of which there is a drawing by Matthew Paris in MS. Cotton. Nero D. I., made, according to the statement of that writer, from nature, yet evidently inaccurate. Another drawing of the same elephant is found in a manuscript of the time, also in the Cottonian Library (Julius D. VII.), at the end of the chronicle of John of Wallingford. Both these chronicles give an account of the elephant and his habits, containing some truth mixed with a good deal of fable. It is described as ten feet high. The drawings of the elephant in old manuscripts differ essentially from one another. This ani- mal is described by medieval naturalists as having no joints, yet in both the ex- am pics we give the joints are made very visible. The first is taken from a MS. of the fifteenth century (MS. Reg. 15 E. VI.), where it forms one of the illus- trations of the romance of Alexander, which is interspersed with descriptions of the strange animals and monsters of the East. The elephant is here repre- sented with hoofs like those of a cow, and its trunk is made in the form of a trumpet. The romance of Alexander, just mentioned, contains frequent allusions to THE FABULOUS NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 177 elephants and to their use in war among the Easterns, which must have made them familiar to the innumerable readers of that work. The English version of this romance, composed in the fourteenth century, pretends that there were forty thousand elephants in the army of Darius : — " Fourty thousand, alle astore, Olifauntes let go to-fore. Apon everiche olifaunt a castel, Theryn xii. knyghtis y-armed wel. They scholle holde the skirmyng, Ageyns Alisaundre the kyng." In our next cut (taken from MS. Harl. No. 4751, fol. 8, v°., of the end of the twelfth century) we have an elephant, with its castle and armed men, engaged in battle. The bestiaries relate many strange things of the elephant. They say that, though so large and powerful, and so courageous against larger animals, it is afraid of a mouse; and they inform us that it is of nature so cold, that it will never seek the company of A A 17S THE ARC'H/EOI.OGICAL \11U\I. the female until, wandering in the direction of Paradise, it meets with the plant called the mandrake, and eats of it,* and that each female bears but one young one in her life. The mandrake (mandragora) was one of the most remarkable objects of medieval superstition. At the end of the sixteenth century, when the credit of this plant was on the decline, Gerard, in his Herbal, gives the following description of it : — "The male mandrake hath great, broad, long, smooth leaves, of a dcepe grcenc colour, flat spred upon tlic ground, among which come up the flowers of a pale whitish colour, standing (\iiy one upon a single smal and weak footstalk, of a whitish green colour: in their places grow round apples of a yellowish colour, smooth, soft, and glittering, of a strong Bmel, in which are contained Hat and smooth seedes, in fashion of a little kidney like those of the thorne apple. The roote is long, thick, whitish, divided many times into two or three parts, resembling the legs of a man, with other parts of his bodie ad- joining thereto, as it hath beene reported; whereas, in truth, it is no otherwise than in the rootes of carrots, parsneps, and such like, forked or divided into two or more parts, . which nature taketh no account of. There have been many ridiculous tales brought up of this plant, whether of olde wives, or some runnagate surgeons or phisickmongcrs, I know not (a title bad inough for them) ; but sure some one or moe that sought to make themselves famous in skillfullnes above others were the first brochcrs of that errour I spake of. They adde further, that it is never or verie seldome to be found growing naturally but under a gallows, where the matter that hath fallen from the dead bodie hath given it the shape of a man, and the matter of a woman the substaunce of a female plant ; with many other such doltish dreames. They fable further and affirm, that he who woulde take up a plant thereof must tie a doggc thereunto to pull it up, which will give a great shrike at the digging up ; otherwise, if a man should do it, he should certainly die in short space after ; besides many fables of loving matters, too full of scur- rilitie to set foorth in print, which I forbeare to speake of; all which dreames and olde wives tales you shall from henceforth cast out of your bookes and memorie, knowing this that they are all and every part of them false and most untrue. For I myselfe and my scrvaunts also have digged up, planted, and replanted verie many, and yet never could cither perceive shape of man or woman, but sometimes one straight roote, some- * Si autem voluerit facere filios, vadit ad orieinem prope paradisum, et est ibi arbor qua; vocatur maiidra- gora, et vadit cum femina sua, quse prius accipit de arbore, et dat masculo suo, et seducit eum donee man- dueet, statimque in utero eoncipit. MS. Harl. No. 4751, fol. 8. \°. The English metrical bestiary, printed, from a manuscript of the thirteenth century in the British Museum, in the Reliqnia Antiquiv, i. 222, says : — " Oc he am so koldc of kinde, Sat no golsipe is hem minde, til he neten of a gres, <5e name is mandragores, sifcen he bigeton on, &c." THE FABULOUS NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 179 times two, and often sixe or seaven braunches comming from the maine great roote, even as nature list to bcstowe upon it as to other plants. But the idle drones that have little or nothing to do but to eate and drinke, have bestowed some of their time in carving the rootes of brionie, forming them to the shape of men and women, which falsifying practice hath confirmed the errour amongst the simple and unlearned people, who have taken them, upon their report, to be the true mandrakes." The extraordinary virtues of the mandrake were celebrated even in the classic ages, and Pliny (Hist. Nat. xxv. 13) describes the caution with which it was gathered. Those who are going to dig it up, he says, avoid a contrary wind, and first circumscribe it with three circles with a sword ; afterwards they dig, looking towards the west. It was said by some to have been the ingredient used by Circe, — " whose charm' d cup Whoever tasted, lost his upright shape, And downward fell into a grovelling swine." And hence it was by some named Circeum. Pliny says nothing of the close resemblance which, in the middle ages, the root of the mandrake was said to bear to the human form, even to the distinction of the sexes in the male and female plant. The woodcut in the margin gives two representations of the mandrake : one from MS. Cot- \\A\llv- ton. Vitel. C. III. of the tenth century, where it is illustrative of the Anglo- Saxon translation of the pseudo-Apu- leius de herbis ; the other, of the female plant, from drawings by an Italian ar- tist, in MS. Addit. No. 5281 (in the Brit. Mus.), of the earlier part of the sixteenth century. The Saxon treatise says of it : — " This plant, which is called mandragora, is great and large in appearance, and it is very efficacious. When thou shalt gather it, when thou comest to it, thou wilt perceive it by its shining by night like a lamp. When thou first seest its head, bind it quickly with iron, lest it escape thee. Its virtue is so great that when an impure man comes to it it quickly escapes him. Therefore do thou bind it with iron, as we said before, and so thou shalt dig around it, so as not to touch it with the iron j but it would be better to dig the earth with an ivory staff : and when thou seest its hands and feet, bind them. Then take the other end, and bind it to a dog's neck, so that the dog be hungry ; afterwards throw meat before the dog, where he cannot 180 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. reach it without tearing up the plant. It is said of this plant that it has so great power, that whatever thing draws it up, that thing will instantly perish." Philip de Thaun, in his bestiary, adds some particulars to this descriptive account. He says : — " Horn ki la deit cuillir, entur la deit fuir, Suavet belement qu'il nc l'atuchet ncnt ; Puis prenge un chen lied, a li sait atachet, Ki ben seit afermee, treis jurs ait junee, E pain li seit mnstrez, de luinz seit apelez ; Li chens a sai trarat, la racinc rumperat, E un cri geterat, li chens mort encharat Pur le cri qu'il orat ; tel vertu eel herbe ad, Que nuls ne la pot oir, sempres n'estoce murrir. E se li hom le oait, enes le pas murreit : Pur i;eo deit estuper ses orailes, e guarder Que il ne oi le cri, qu'il morge altresi, Cum li chens ferat ki le cri en orat." " The man who is to gather it must dig round about it, Must take great care that he does not touch it ; Then let him take a dog bound, let it be tied to it, Which has been close shut up, and has fasted three days, And let it be shewn bread, and called from afar ; The dog will draw it to him, the root will break, And will send forth a cry, the dog will fall down dead At the cry which he will hear ; such virtue this plant has, That no one can hear it, but he must always die. And if the man heard it, he would immediately die : Therefore he must stop his ears, and take care That he hear not the cry, lest he die, As the dog will do which shall hear the cry." This superstitious legend was an article of belief down to a late period, and is alluded to more than once in Shakespeare. Thus, in the " Second Part of Henry VI." act iii. scene 2, — " Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake's groan." And in " Romeo and Juliet," act iv. sc. 3, — " And shrieks like mandrakes, torn out of the earth, That living mortals, hearing them, run mad." Figures of the male and female mandrake, with its roots representing a clearly defined human body, are found in nearly all the illustrated herbals from the tenth century to the sixteenth. It may be sufficient to refer to the Herbarius zii Teiitsck, printed at Augsburg in 1488 ; the Hortus Sanitatis, printed in 1 491 ; the " Grete Herball," printed in England early in the sixteenth century, and the somewhat earlier French work from which it was compiled. The fabulous accounts of this plant had, THE FABULOUS NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 181 however, begun to be controverted at the beginning of the sixteenth centuiy ; and in a few illustrated books, such as the collection of woodcuts of plants published at Franck- fort-am-Mayn, in 1536, under the title of Herbarum imagines viva, the mandrake is represented with a carrot-shaped root, which presents no extraordinary characteristics. Still, at a much later period, the old legend is frequently referred to, as in Sir William Davenant's comedy of " The Wits " (Dodsley's " Old Plays," vol. viii. p. 397),— " He stands as if his legs had taken root, A very mandrake." The delusion was long supported by the tricks of people who made artificial man- drakes, which were carried about and sold " unto ignorant people." Sir Thomas Browne (" Vulgar Errors," lib. ii. c. 6), speaking of the common belief relating to the mandrake, says: — "But this is vain and fabulous, which ignorant people and simple women believe ; for the roots which are carried about by impostors to deceive unfruitful women, are made of the roots of canes, briony, and other plants ; for in these, yet fresh and virent, they carve out the figures of men and women, first sticking therein the grains of barley or millet where they intend the hair should grow ; then bury them in sand, until the grains shoot forth their roots, which, at the longest, will happen in twenty days : they afterward clip and trim those tender strings in the fashion of beards and other hairy integuments. All which, like other impostures once discovered, is easily effected, and the root of white briony may be practised every spring." In Lupton's third book of " Notable Things," and in Hill's " Natural and Artificial Conclusions," other methods of making artificial mandrakes are described. The medieval naturalists speak of the mandrake as being a remedy for all diseases " except death." It was most celebrated for its aphrodisiac virtues, for its supposed efficacy in removing barrenness, and for its power as a soporific. The juice or decoction of the root taken as a drink, the apples eaten, or even if only placed under the ear in bed, were said to produce deep sleep. This quality is frequently alluded to in the old writers, such as Shakespeare ("Antony and Cleopatra," act i. scene 5) : — " Cleo — Ha! ha! Give me to drink mandragore ! Char. — Why, madame ? Cleo. — That I might sleep out this great gap of time." And Massinger ("The Unnatural Combat") : — " Here's music In this bag shall wake her, though she had drunk opium, Or eaten mandrakes." L82 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. As a specimen of other still more extraordinary virtues ascribed to this plant, we may quote a story told by the writer of an English herbal of the fifteenth century, in MS. Arundel (Brit. Mus.), No. 42, fol. 31, v"., who says : — " Whanne y was yongere, y knew a man of age passyng 80 yer : opynyon of hym fleyh that wonder he was in gold, and that a niandragc rote he hadde in shap of man, and that every day he fond a fayr peny thcrby. This opynyon was rif of hym. Thre yonge men and y, only for the opynyon, on a nyght hym absent, privyly that non wiste but we, brosten the lok of a strong litel cheste of his, and mo suche vessels had he noght, and we fonde ryght noght ther-yn but a clene lyncn clowt, and thcr-yn wondyn an ymage nerhand fot long, havyng alio lyneamentys and here in alle placis and privy membris and al that verre man hath, saf flessh, bon, and lif, and a faire peny therby ; more other thyng founde we non. Wei we assay den and provedyn and foundyn and knewyn that it was a rote : wcl we sette oure marke on the ageyn another tyme, but myghtwe nevere after sen the cheste ne no swuchc thyng of that man mor." The Saxon Herbal in the Cottonian Manuscript to which we have alluded above, is ii arresting as the earliest treatise of this kind in our language. It is full of drawings of plants, which, considering the age, are not ill-executed ; and these are intermixed with drawings of venemous insects and reptiles, against the bites of which the different plants were believed to be efficacious remedies. The great number of cases of this kind would seem to shew that in those early times our island abounded more in noxious insects and reptiles than at present. Among the former our older writers mention not uni'requcntly the attercop, or spider, as it is generally interpreted. The Saxon Herbal furnishes us with the figure of an attercop, which we give in the margin. It can hardly be considered as an attempt to represent a common spider ; and as our native spiders are not of the dangerous character under which the attercop is represented, we cannot help supposing that the latter name belonged to some species of the insect now unknown. A collection of miracles of St. \Vinefred, printed by Hearne from a manuscript apparently of the end of the four- teenth century, tells us how " In the towne of Schrowysbury setan iij e men togedur, and as they seton talkyng, an attureoppe cum owte of the wowz (walls), and bote hem by the nekkus alle thre, and thowgh hit grcvyd hem at that tyme but lytulle, sone aftur hit roncoled and so swalle her throtus and forset her breythe, that ij. of hem weron deed, and the thrydde was so nygh deed that he made his testament, and made hym redy in alle wyse, for he hoped nowghte but only dethe." He was, however, cured by the application of water in which the bones of St. Winefred had been washed ! THE FABULOUS NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 183 Our next cut, taken from MS. Egerton (in the British Museum), No. 613, fol. 34, v°., represents an imaginary bird, called by the medieval natu- turalists the caladrius. Ac- cording to the Latin bestiary of the Harleian manuscript already quoted, the caladrius was a bird entirely white, which loved to frequent the halls of kings and princes. If it were brought to any one labouring under a dangerous illness, it would turn its head from the patient in case there was no hope of recovery ; but if the man were not fated to die, then the bird " looked him in the face, and, by so doing, took his infirmity upon itself, and flew into the air towards the sun, and burnt his infirmity and dispersed it ; and so the sick man would be cured."* The manuscript from which our woodcut is taken contains the Anglo-Norman metrical bestiary of William the clerk, composed at the beginning of the thirteenth century, which gives the following account of this bird : — " Kaladrius est uns oiseals Sor toz autres curteis e beals, Altresi blanc com est la neifs. Mut par est cist oiseals curteis. Aucone feiz le trove l'em El pays de Jerusalem. Quant home est en grant maladie, Ke l'em desespeire de sa vie, Done est cist oiseals aportez ; Se cil deit estre confortez E repasser de eel malage, L'oisel li tome le visage, E tret a sei l'enfermete. E s'il ne deit aver sante, L' oiseals se torne autre part, Ja ne fra vers li regart." " Caladrius is a bird Courteous and beautiful above all others, As white as is the snow. Very courteous this bird this. Sometimes one finds it In the country of Jerusalem. When a man is in great sickness, That one despairs of his life, Then this bird is brought ; If this man is to be solaced And to recover from his disease, The bird turns to him its face, And draws to itself the infirmity. And if he is not to recover his health, The bird turns the other way, It will not give a look towards him." Among the monsters of the deep one of the most remarkable was the serra or serre. It is described as having the head of a lion and the tail of a fish, with wings to fly. * Et assumit omnem negritudinem hominis intra se, et volat in aera contra solem, et comburit infirmitatem ejus, et dispergit earn, et sanetur infirmus. No. 4751, fol. 40, r°. -MS. Hail. IS! THE A KCH.F.O LOGICAL ALBUM. When the serre sees a ship, the bestiaries tell us, it rlics up, and as long as it can keep above water near the ship it holds off the wind, so that the ship cannot move. When it can support itself no longer in the air it dives into the water, and the ship is then freed from the unnatural calm. Our cut is taken from MS. Egerton, No. 613, fol. 33, v°. " The whale," says Philip de Thaun, " is a very great beast. It lives always in the sea ; it takes the sand of the sea, spreads it on its back, raises itself up in the sea, and lies still on the surface. The sea-farer sees it, and thinks that it is an island, and lands upon it to prepare his meal. The whale feels the fire, and the ship, and the people, and will dive and drown them all if it can." It is added, as another "nature" of the whale, that " when it wants to cat it begins to gape, and, at the gaping of its mouth, it sends forth a smell, so sweet and so good that the little fish, who like the smell, will enter into its mouth, and then it will kill them and swallow them." Our cut is taken from MS. llarl. No. 4751, fol. 69, v°. It is further illustrated by an incident in the curious legend of St. Brandan. " And than they sayled forth, and came soone after to that lond ; but bycause of lytell depthe in some THE FABULOUS NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 185 place, and in some place were grete roclces ; but at the laste they wente upon an ylonde, wenynge to them they had ben safe, and made thereon a fyre for to dresse theyr dyner ; but Saynt Brandon abode styll in the shyppe. And whan the fyre was ryght hote, and the meet nygh soden, than this ylonde began to move ; vvherof the monks were aferde, and rledde anone to the shippe, and left the fyre and meet behynde them, and mervayled sore of the movyng. And Saynt Brandon comforted them, and sayd that it was a grete fysshe named Jasconye, whiche laboureth nyght and daye to put his tayle in his mouth, but for gretness he may not." A year afterwards the adventurers return to the same spot, " and anone they sawe theyr caudron upon the fysshes backe, whiche they had left there xii. monethes to-fore." This story appears to have come from the East. Every reader will recollect the similar incident in the history of Sinbad in the "Arabian Nights." The syren of the middle ages was a mere copy of the poetical being of the ancients, and had little in common with the nixes and mermaids of northern popular mytho- logy. The representation of this creature given in our margin is taken from one of the illustrations to a Latin bestiary in MS. Sloane, No. 3544. According to the le- gend, when the weather was stormy the mermaid began her song, the sweetness of which lulled the sailor who heard it to sleep, and thus he perished in the tempest. We have given but a few specimens of the fables relating to animals which are scattered over the bestiaries and other writings of the middle ages, but we have not space to continue the list. The subject is worthy of attention, not only because it forms a curious chapter of the history of the developement of knowledge and intelli- gence, but because, if the strange beasts which are sculptured with so much profusion among the architectural ornaments of the middle ages have, as some suppose, a symbo- lical meaning, it is in these bestiaries that we must look for their interpretation, for, as we have observed at the beginning of this article, in these each animal is made the subject of a moralisation. Thus the unicorn is said to represent the Saviour, and the maiden the Virgin Mary ; the male and female elephants signify Adam and Eve ; the caladrius is -typical of Christ, who took upon himself the sins of those who are to be saved ; the serre and the whale both represent the devil ; and the syren is symbolica B B 186 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. (it tin richea of this world, which allure men to their destruction. In this manner the whole range of animal nature was made to be full of spiritual instruction. The popularity of these wonderful stories had a powerful and injurious influence in retarding the advancement of science. Fable was more acceptable to the general reader than truth, and it was long before even scholars themselves could emancipate their minds from this intellectual thraldom. Even serious and (in general) accurate writers, like William de Bubruquis, were led astray. The earliest medieval account of such monsters is contained in a supposititious letter from Alexander the Great, during his Indian expedition,, to his master Aristotle, which appears to be derived from some Eastern original, and of which there is an Anglo-Saxon translation. It was from this circumstance that the fabulous accounts of monsters supposed to have been seen and overcome by this great hero found their way into the Romance. The belief in them was in the fourteenth century riveted on people's minds by the no less extraordinary adventures of Sir John Maundcvile. m U ■ . ■■ THE MOAT HOUSE, IGHTHAM, KENT. The village of Ightham is situated in a secluded part of the county of Kent, in a deep ravine in the ancient forest or weald, about seven miles from Tonbridge and five from Sevenoaks. It bears in its external features an air of great antiquity, and contains some fine half-timbered houses of an exceedingly picturesque character. The church also is interesting, and contains a sepulchral monument engraved by Stothard in his " Monumental Effigies of Great Britain," which is believed to commemorate Sir Thomas Cawne, who resided in the reign of Edward III. at Nulcomb, a manor in the adjoining parish of Seale. This effigy is placed in the north wall of the chancel, and presents a rich example of the armour of the time. But the most interesting object in the parish of Ightham is the ancient manorial dwelling called the Moat, which is i*epresented in the accompanying plates. As early as the reign of Henry II. this manor was the property of Ivo de Haut, and it remained in that family with interruption until the reign of Edward IV., when Richard Haut joined the duke of Buckingham in an abortive attempt to raise an insurrection in favour of the exiled earl of Richmond, and his estates were seized by the crown. The Moat estate was given to Sir Robert Brakenbury, the lieutenant of the Tower, who is cele- brated in history for his refusal to be the instrument of Richard III. in his designs against the lives of his infant nephews. Both the new possessor and the old possessor of the Moat were present at the battle of Bosworth Field on different sides. Braken- bury was slain ; and one of the first acts of Henry VII., after his accession to the throne, was to restore Richard Haut to his patrimony. It afterwards passed through female heirs until it came into the possession of Sir William Selby, who died in 1611. There are monuments of him and his wife in the church. The Moat House is perhaps one of the best examples we have now remaining of the fortified manor-house of feudal times : a large portion of it is probably the work of some one of the Hauts in the fourteenth century ; but considerable additions and alter- ations appear to have been made by Richard Haut after his restoration to his family ISS THE ARCH/F.OLOGICAL ALBUM. estates, or by one of his immediate successors. It stands in a woody dell, at some distance from the village, and is surrounded by hills and elevated ground, from whence the springs descend and form the moat which surrounds the house, which is singularly clear and free from impurities. The building forms a square, with an entrance tower in the middle of the north side, approached by a bridge, as represented in our first plate. On the south side, which is the most picturesque, and is represented in our second view, another bridge leads by a smaller gateway to the kitchen, servants' rooms, and domestic offices. To the north, on the outside of the moat, is the farmyard and stable, represented in the accompanying cut, — a timber building, probably of the Elizabethan period, with wood-work of a very picturesque character, and a small bell-turret in the centre. This encloses a square of some extent opposite the principal gate, which is now approached by a stone bridge of two circular arches, occupying, in all probability, an older drawbridge. On the tower over the arched gateway are sculptured the arms of the old possessors. The principal apartments are on this side of the building. The bridge leading to the kitchen is of one arch, and of very solid construction, but probably of the same date as the other. Every feature of this side of the house bespeaks great antiquity. The gateway has a pointed arch, and the door is of solid oak, with a spw -knocker (represented in the cut in the margin), a name derived from its resemblance to that article. The kitchen has a most primitive appearance, and some parts of it appear to be at least as old as the reign of Edward III. Many pointed arches surround the walls, and the windows are divided by mullions into two lights, which are trefoil-headed. The woodwork of this side of the house, and of the back of the great hall, is also ancient, and the stone windows preserve their original features un- touched by the spirit of modernisation. THE MOAT HOUSE, IGHTHAM, KENT. 189 The principal gateway leads into a square court, represented in the upper view on our second plate. The principal apartments, as we have before stated, occupy the side by which we enter. They are generally small, and are panelled with oak, carved in what has been termed the " napkin pattern," an ornament which appears to have been brought from Flanders, and which was very generally adopted in this country in the reign of Henry VIII. These apartments contain some good fire-places of the Eliza- bethan era, and a very fine example entirely covers one side of the largest room on this side of the house. The ground-floor here, as well as throughout the building, is devoted to staircases, servants' rooms, or domestic offices. The upper, or state rooms, communicate by means of the corridor, of which a view is given in our cut. The windows of this corridor are ornamented with the arms of the family. The south side (to the left hand on entering the court) contains the chapel, which occupies the upper floor of the entire side, and has towards the court a bell-turret above a wooden gable. Facing the principal gate is the great hall, the finest part of the building and the most ancient. It has in- ternally a roof of stone, springing from grotesque corbel-heads. The kitchen and bedrooms occupy the fourth or east side. The kitchen, which has been already described, is connected with the hall by an arched passage. A multitude of passages run in labyrinthine confusion through the lower part of the building, and access to many of the upper rooms is only effected by staircases of a most inconvenient form, which can be accounted for in no other way than by supposing that one of the chief objects of the builders was to furnish the means of concealment. One large and im- portant room is only to be reached by a steep, ladder- like stair, and a turn through another and smaller room. The group of red brick chimneys on this side are mas- sive, and of so peculiar a form that we have deemed them worthy of a cut. The chapel, of which we give an interior view on our second plate, is panelled with oak, and the windows filled with fine stained glass of the fifteenth or sixteenth [90 THE ARCHvEOLOOICAL ALBUM. century, representing whole-length figure* of saints. The roof is painted with the Tudor colours and badges, among which are the portcullis, rose, castle, and sheaf of arrows, the two ItkBt being the badges of Catherine of Arragon, the first queen of Henry VI II. The screen is of elegant carved work of the same date, and the stalls are also enriched with carved panelling. The pulpit is likewise elaborately ornamented. In fact, a greater amount of ornament is lavished in this place than in any other part of the building ; and it is a most interesting example of an unaltered private chapel of the beginning of the sixteenth century. The grandeur of the olden time has long departed 'from this ancient dwelling. " Beards " no longer " wag " merrily in its massive hall, nor is its court now filled, as in former times, with its crowd of feudal retainers. Some parts of it are neglected, and allow i-d to run into decay. Yet it is to be hoped that it will be long preserved un modernised as one of the few genuine relics of old England. Too many of such monuments have disappeared from the soil previous to the improved antiquarian taste which is now spreading itself through the land ; and too few have there been who — " Passing by some monument that stoops With age, whose ruins plead for a repair, Pity the fall of such a goodly pile." ON THE EARLY USE OF CARRIAGES IN ENGLAND. We can hardly imagine a people in any thing like an advanced state of civilisation ignorant of the nse of carriages for transporting persons from one place to another ; yet it is certain that they were of rare occurrence in this country during the middle ages, and of a very cumbrous and inconvenient form. Strutt has engraved two examples from an Anglo-Saxon manuscript (MS. Cotton. Claudius B. IV.), in one of which a Saxon chief is represented riding in a very rude cart mounted on two wheels, and the other consists of a kind of hammock suspended on four wheels. From this time we scarcely meet with an allusion to such vehicles until the fourteenth century. The Norman knights took pride in their horsemanship, and, for many ages, any other mode of conveyance was looked upon as a disgraceful effeminacy, even among the ladies, for which sex alone chariots, called, in the English of former days, chares, were used. In the curious Latin poem by Richard of Maidstone on the reconciliation between king Richard II. and the citizens of London, the queen, in her ceremonious entrance with her husband into the capital, is represented as having two carriages with ladies in her train ; and the writer tells us, rather exultingly, how one of them was overturned, whereby the persons of the ladies, in their fall, were exposed in a very unbecoming manner to the gaze of the multitude, which he looks upon as a punishment for their adopting this article of luxury : — " Namque sequuntur earn currus duo cum dominabus ; Rexerat hos Phaeton, unus enim cecidit. Femina feminea sua dum sic femina nudat, Vix poterat risum plebs retinere suum. Casus et iste placet, veniat, rogo, quod mihi signat, Corruat ut luxus et malus omnis amor." This would seem to shew that the use of such chariots was then looked upon as a new or extravagant fashion in our island. On the Continent we find them in apparently common use at an earlier period. The treatise on the miracles of St. Liudgar, quoted by Ducange, speaks of a lady and her daughter as going to the church in a chariot (" In una carra mate?' simul et filia posita . ... ad nostram ccclesiam adductce sunt "). In 1294, by an ordonnance of Philip le Bel, it was forbidden to the wives of citizens to 192 Till: ARCII.liOLOr.ICAL ALBUM. use a chariot. A picture of a chariot, as used by ladies in England, is given by Mr. Gage Rokewode in the Vetusta Monument a, from the Louterel Psalter, executed in the reign of Edward II. A similar chariot, with a king in it, is found in an illumina- tion in the manuscript romance of " Meliadus," executed on the Continent about the middle of the fourteenth century, described in a former article in the present volume (j). 75). The inedited old English metrical version of the Scripture history, entitled ( ktrsor Miniili, as quoted in Mr. Halliwell's " Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words," describes Joseph as sending a chare to fetch his father into Egypt : — " Nay, sir, but ye mot to him fare, He hath sent aftir the his chare; We shul you make therynne a bed, Into Egipte ye shul be led." It appears that these carriages were fitted up with cushions and couches, for which, chiefly, they were cried down as effeminate and luxurious. They were also gorgeously adorned with embroidered curtains, &c. In the metrical romance of the " Squier of Low Degre," the chariot which the king of Hungary promises to his daughter is thus described : — " To morow ye shall in huntyng fare ; And yede, my doughter, yn a chare, It shal be coverd wyth velvette reede, And clothes of fine golde al about your heede, With damaske whyte and asure blewe, Well dyaperd with lyllyes newe. Your pomelles shalbe ended with golde, Your chaynes enameled many a folde. Your mantell of ryche degre, Purple palle and armyne fre. Jennets of Spayne that ben so wyght, Trapped to the ground with velvet bryght." In the fifteenth century the chares appear to have been used more generally, and they are more frequently repre- sented in illuminated manu- scripts. Our first cut is taken from a manuscript of this century in the British Museum (MS. Reg. 16 F. III. fol. 11, r°.), which contains a chronicle of Flanders writ- ten in French. It represents Emergardc, wife of Salvard lord of Roussillon, travelling in a chare : she is accompanied by a female attendant, and ON THE EARLY USE OF CARRIAGES IN ENGLAND. 193 her fool is placed in front of the vehicle, no doubt to beguile the tediousness of the way with his jokes. The second cut is taken from the celebrated Harleian Ma- nuscript of the " Romance of the Rose" (MS. Harl. No. 4425, fol. 132, v°.), which has been described on a former occasion in the pre- sent volume (p. 81) : it repre- sents the lady Venus, drawn in a chare by her doves. The chap- ter to which it forms an illustration states, — " Comment six jeunes colombeaux, En ung char qui fut riche et beaux, Mainent Venus en l'ost d'Amours, Pour lui faire hastif secours. The chare of Venus is a beautiful structure, with four wheels, and is adorned with gold and pearls. Six of her most beautiful doves are harnessed to the shaft, instead of horses. " Lors fit la mesgnie appeller, Son char commande a asteller ; Car ne veult pas marcher les boes. Beau fut le char, a quatre roes, D'or et de perles estellez. En lieu de chevaux attellez Eust en limon six colombeaux, Pris en son colombier mult beaux." » v This last-mentioned manuscript is believed to have been written and illuminated in the reign of Henry VII., at which period Skelton, speaking of the representations of classical personages on the tapestries of the dwellings of the clergy in his time, says : — " Nowe all the worlde stares, How they ryde in goodly chares." — Colin Clout, 1. 963. The reader is referred for the subsequent history of carriages to a very interesting paper by Mr. Markland, in the twentieth volume of the " Archaeologia." As c c 194 i hi: aiu ideologic a l album. the use of these articles became more general, they underwent improvements, and appeared in different shapes under the names of chariots or charrettes, waggons, carocheSj whirlicotes, coaches, &c. In the following passage of the " Faerie Quene," Spencer uses the terms charett, irai/on, and coche, as synonymous : — " Tho up him taking in their tender hands, They easily unto her eharett beare : Her teme at her commaundement quiet stands, Whiles they the corse into her wagon reare, And strowe with flowers the lamentable beare : Then all the rest into their coches clim." It may be observed, that, even up to the end of the sixteenth century, riding in coaches continued to be looked upon by our forefathers as an effeminate custom, and only fitted for women. Taylor, the water-poet, published in 1623 a curious satire on coaches under tin' title of "The World runnes on Wheeles, or Oddes betwixt Carts and ( !< aches," in which he declaims with great vehemence against their then increasing variety. " Oh," he exclaims, " beware of a coach as you would doc of a tygcr, a w r oolfe, or a leviathan. I'll assure you it eates more (though it drinkes lesse) then the coachman and his whole teeme ; it hath a mouth gaping on each side like a monster, with which they have swallowed all the good housekeeping in England. It lately (like a most insatiable devouring beast) did eate up of a knight, a neighbour of mine in the county of N., a wood of above 400 akers as it had beene but a bunch of radish : of another, it devoured a whole castle, as it had beene a marchpane, scarcely allowing the knight and his lady halfe a colde shoulder of mutton to their suppers on a Thursday night, out of which reversion the coachman and the footeman could picke but hungry vailes There was a knight (an acquaintance of mine) whose whole meanes in the world was but threescore pounds a-yeare, and above twenty of the same went for his wives coach- hire." A little further on, speaking of the coach of his day, which preserved much of the cumbrous character of the old chares, Taylor says : — " It is never unfurnished of a bed and curtaines, with shop windowes of leather." — " The superfluous use of coaches hath been the occasions of many vile and odious crimes, as murther, theft, cheating, hangings, whippings, pillories, stockes, and cages ; for housekeeping never decaied till coaches came into England, till which time those were accounted the best men who had most followers and retainers; then land about or neerc London was thought deere enough at a noble the aker yearely, and a ten-pound house-rent now was scarce twenty shillings ; but the witchcraft of the coach quickly mounted the price of all things, except poore mens labour." Our facetious writer tells us in another place that " in the yeare 1564, one "William Boonen, a Dutchman, brought first the use of coaches ON THE EARLY USE OF CARRIAGES IN ENGLAND. 195 hither, and the said Boonen was queene Elizabeths coachman ; for indeede a coach was a strange monster in those dayes, and the sight of them put both horse and man into amazement. Some said it was a great crab-shell brought out of China, and some imagined it to be one of the pagan temples in which the canibals adored the devill ; but at last all those doubts were cleared, and coach-making became a substantiall trade. .... The cart is an open, transparent engine, that any man may perceive the plaine honesty of it : there is no part of it, within or without, but it is in the continuall view of all men. On the contrary, the coach is a close hipocrite, for it hath a cover for any knavery, and curtaines to vaile or shadow any wickednesse ; besides, like a perpetuall cheater, it weares two bootes, and no spurres, sometimes having two paire of legges in one boote, and oftentimes (against nature) most preposterously it makes faire ladies weare the boote. And, if you note, they are carried backe to backe, like people sur- prized by pyrates, to be tied in that miserable manner, and throwne over boord into the sea. Moreover, it makes people imitate sea-crabs, in being drawne side-wayes, as they are when they sit in the boote of the coach : and it is a dangerous kinde of carriage for the commonwealth, if it be rightly considered ; for when a man shall be a justice of the peace, a serjeant, or a counsellour-at-law, what hope is it that all or many of them should use upright dealing, that have beene so often in their youth, and daily in their maturer or riper age, drawne aside continually in a coach, some to the right hand, and some to the left ; for use makes perfectnesse, and often going aside willingly makes men forget to goe upright naturally." THE SAXON BARROWS. The most durable monuments of the primeval ages of society were those erected in memory of the dead ; and it seems that the farther we go back into the history of mankind, the deeper we rind man's veneration for his departed brethren. The most simple, and also the most durable, method of preserving the memory of the departed \\;is by raising a barrow or mound of earth or stones over his remains; and, accordingly, we find instances of this mode of interment in almost all countries of the globe. The mode in which the barrow was constructed differed considerably : the interment was frequently made in a large chamber, or chambers, built of stone, and over this chamber the earth was piled up. Sometimes the body was laid in a cist, or square coffin, just large enough to receive it, over which the mound was raised ; and this kist was either built on the level of the ground with stones, or was a trench cut below the natural level. At other times the interment, either a body or an urn containing the bones, appears to have been simply placed on the level ground and the earth thrown upon it. A very good paper on barrows in general, was read at the meeting of the British Archaeological Association at Canterbury, by the Rev. J. Bathurst Deane, who appears to think that barrows are characteristic only of one of the great branches of the human race, and that the mere fact of burying in this manner proves the affinity of the different people among whom it is found. We are not prepared to go so far as this; nor do we think that Sir Richard Colt Hoarc's theory deserves much attention, who attempted to classify the barrows according to their particular forms, and who thought that in this manner he could distinguish even the caste of society to which they belonged. The barrows are of no historical utility until opened, for it is by their contents only that we can tell the tribe or rank of those who have so long reposed under them ; and by the comparison of these contents with those of other barrows, we gain information relating to the history of periods on which written documents throw no light. The interest of the barrow in the present day consists, in a great measure, in the numerous articles of almost every description which the ancients were in the habit of burying with their dead. Herodotus has left us a remarkable description of the mode THE SAXON BARROWS. 197 of interment of the dead which prevailed among the ancient Scythians, whose barrows still cover the plains of southern Siberia, immense cones of earth sometimes between two and three hundred feet high. The historian tells us that, on the death of one of their chiefs, they embalmed his corpse and carried it to this district : — " There they lay him in a sepulchre, upon a bed encompassed on all sides with spears fixed in the ground. These they cover with timber, and spread a canopy over the whole monument. In the spaces which remain vacant they placed one of the king's wives, strangled, a cook, a cupbearer, a groom, a waiter, a messenger, certain horses, and the first fruits of all things. To these they add cups of gold, for silver and brass are not used among them. This done, they throw up the earth with great care, and endeavour to raise a mound as high as they can." Many of these mounds have been opened at different periods, and abundance of such articles as those here described by the father of history have been found in them. Mr. Deane described the opening of one of these large barrows from the second volume of the " Archseologia :" — " After removing a very deep covering of earth and stones, the workmen came to three vaults, constructed of unhewn stones of rude workmanship. That wherein the corpse of the khan was deposited was in the middle, and the largest of the three. In it were laid by the side of the corpse a sword, spear, bow, quiver, and arrows. In a vault or cave at his feet lay the skeleton of his horse, with a bridle, saddle, and stirrups. In a vault at his head was laid a female skeleton, supposed to be the wife of the chief. The body of the male corpse lay reclining against the head of the vault upon a sheet of pure gold, extending the whole length from head to foot ; another sheet of gold, of the like dimensions, lay over the body, which was wrapped in a rich mantle bordered with gold, and studded with rubies and emeralds. The head was naked, and without any ornament, as were the neck, breast, and arms. The female corpse lay, in like manner, reclining against the walls of the cave ; was, in like manner, laid upon a sheet of gold, and covered with another : a golden chain of many links, set with rubies, went round her neck ; on her arms were bracelets of gold. The body was covered with a rich robe, but without any border of gold or jewels. The vestments of both these bodies looked, at the first opening, fair and complete ; but, upon the touch, crumbled into dust. The four sheets of gold weighed forty pounds." The richness of these Scythian barrows is extraordinary, and we know of nothing to equal it in other countries. However, it is only two or three years ago that a body was found in a barrow in England, with a thin breastplate of pure gold, which is now preserved in the British Museum. Homer speaks frequently of the barrows of the heroic age of ancient Greece, and gives us some curious details relating to the ceremonies at the interment. The poet describes the supposed tomb of yEpytus, on the summit of Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, in a manner 198 THE A KC IDEOLOGICAL ALBUM. which drew the following remark from Pausanias: — "I contemplated the tomb of .Knvtus with peculiar interest, because, in his mention of the Arcadians, Homer takes notice of it as the monument of that chief. It is a mound of earth, not very large, surrounded ;it its base by a circle of stones. To Homer, indeed (who had never seen a barrow more remarkable), it perhaps appeared a very great wonder." Mr. Deane justly observes that this is an exact picture of the primeval sepulchres of our islands, the circle of stones being a usual adjunct. The Homeric heroes were burnt before interment. Thus, in the Iliad, Achilles causes an immense funeral pile to be reared for the body of his friend Patroclus : — " They, still abiding, heap'd the pile. An hundred feet of breadth from side to side They gave to it, and on the summit placed With sorrowing hearts the body of the dead. Many a fat sheep, with many an ox full-hom'd, They fiay'd before the pile, busy their task Administring, and Peleus' son the fat Taking from every victim, overspread Complete the body with it of his friend Patroclus, and the flay'd beasts heap'd around. Then, placing flagons on the pile, replete With oil and honey, he inclined their mouths Toward the bier, and slew and added, next, Deep-groaning and in haste, four martial steeds. Nine dogs the hero at his table fed, Of which beheading two, their carcases He added also. Last, twelve gallant sons Of noble Trojans slaying (for his heart Teem'd with great vengeance), he applied the force Of hungry flames that should devour the whole." II. xxiii. Cowper's Version. When the pile was consumed, they quenched the ashes with "dark wine," and then sorrowfully gathered the " white bones " of the departed hero into a golden vase and a rich embroidered cloth ; and placed them with honour in the tent, while they traced the circle of the mound, and "laid the foundations about the pile." They finally placed the deposit within, and raised the mound of earth. W^tumi f/.\v xara vugxairiv ff[$ito$ iirria Xivy.k "AXXtyav is ;££i/vu St %uThv \-ri -yaTav 'ip^ivav. \tua\ri; St r« cxfia, t«A/v «/»». //. xxiii. 250. THE SAXON BARROWS. 199 The ceremonies were completed with races and funeral games celebrated at the tomb. The Trojans are made to inter the body of Hector in the same manner : — during nine days they collect the wood and raise the pile, and when the fire has completed its part of the work, they, like the Greeks, quench the embers with the " dark wine," and collect the bones of the hero into a golden urn, which is covered over with a rich cloth, and placed in "a hollow trench;" this they cover with a mass of large stones, over which they raise the mound : — 'E» Ss vrvpn ototji vix.gov 0iiv is Xu.gyu.xa. Qyixuv iXovri;, TlogQugiois TiTXoitri xuXu^J/uvtis /xaXaxoio-iv' AJ^a. 2' up l; xoiXfjv xutitov 6'urav' alrug uTigfa TIuxvoTtriv Xuictrt xurivrogitruv //.lyuXoitri. 'Vifiipa Tt anp £.£S«v Hiuavrts 2s to artf-u., tuXiv x'tov. II. xxiv. 987. In the early Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowrdf, the interment of the hero is accompanied by circumstances and sentiments bearing a close resemblance to those of the Homeric poetry. Beowulf's dying request was that his people should raise a barrow over him proportionate in size to the respect they entertained for his memory : — worn eall ge-sprsec " He spake a whole multitude of words, gomol on ge-li<5o, old of life, and eowic gretan het, and commanded me to greet you ; bsed f ge ge-worhton he bad that ye should make, sefter wines daedum according to the deeds of your friend, in bael-stede on the place of the funeral pile, beorh bone hean, the lofty barrow micelne and maerne, large and famous, swa he manna wses even as he was of men wigend weorfc-fullost the most worthy warrior." Beowulf, 1. G183. Beowulf's people cany into effect his desire, and the poem ends with a remarkable description of the interment of the hero : — Him <5a ge-giredan " For him there prepared Geata leode the people of the Geats ad on eorSan, a funeral pile upon the earth, un-wac-licne, strong, 200 Till) AKCH/EOLOGICAL ALBUM. helm-be-hongen, hilde-bordum, beorhtam byrnum, ewi he bena wees. A-legdon tSii t6-middea maarne be6den htelei hi6fende, hl&ford le6fioe. On-gnnnon ba on beorge lwl-fyra ma-st wigend weccan : wu[du-r]cc a-stah Bweart of swic-$ole, swogende let [wope] be-wundea. Mind-blond ge-lseg, o$ •£ he <5a ban-hiis ge-brocen hsefd[e], hat on hrefcre. Higum un-rote mod-ceare maardon, mon-dryhtnes [cwealm]. Swyice geomor-gyd lat . . . . meowle wunden heorde sorg-cearig saelde ge-neahhe •£ hio byre gas heorde . . ode wa . . sella worm hi Ides egesan hea^o-helm mid heofon rece s . . . . Ge-worhton <5a Wedra leode. hlffiw on li'de, se wees heah and brad, et-li<5endum wide to-s^ne. And be-timbredon on tyn-dagum beadu-rofis been, bronda Wealle be-worhton swa" hyt weor<5-licost fore-snotre men findan mihton. Hi on beorg dydon beg and b[eorht] siglu, eall swyice hyrsta, swyice on horde aV ni'S-hydige men hung round with helmets, with boards of war, and with bright byrnies, as he had requested. Then laid down in the midst the heroes, weeping, the famous chieftain, their dear lord. Then began on the hill the mightiest of funeral fires the warriors to awake : the wood-smoke rose aloft, dark from the fire ; noisily it went, mingled with weeping. The mixture of the wind lay on till it the bone-house (the body) had broken, hot in his breast. Sad in mind, sorry of mood, they mourned the death of their lord. * * * [Some parts are here unfortunately so much muti- lated, that it is impossible to make sense of them .] * * * Made then the people of the westerns a mound over the sea, it was high and broad, by the sailors over the waves to be seen afar. And they built up during ten days the beacon of the war-renowned, the . . . . , of swords (?). They surrounded it with a wall in the most honourable manner that wise men could desire. They put into the mound rings and bright gems, all such ornaments as from the hoard before the fierce-minded men THE SAXON BARROWS. 201 ge-numen hsefdon ; for-leton eorla ge-streon eorfcan healdan, gold on greote, bser hit mi gen lifaS eldum swa un-nyt swa hit [aeror] wses. Da ymbe hlaew riodan hilde-deore, sef>elinges . . cann, ealra twelfa ; woldon .... cwi<5an kyning maenan, word-gyd wrecen, sylfe sprecan ; eahtodan eorl-scipe, and his ellen-weorc dugufcum demdon, swa hit ge-d[efe biiS] ■$ mon his wine- dry ht wordum herge, ferhSum freo[ge], [Jjonne] he for<5 scile of lic-haman, [lame] weorSan. Swa be-gnornodon Geata leode hlaford [leof]ne, heor<5-ge-neatas ; cwaedon -p he waere wyrold-cyning [a] manna mildust and m[on-f>wae]rust, leodum liSost and lof-geornost. had taken ; they suffered the earth to hold the treasure of warriors, gold on the sand, where it yet remains as useless to men as it was of old. Then round the mound rode of beasts of war, of nobles, a troop, twelve in all ; they would speak about the king, they would call him to mind, relate the song of words, speak themselves ; they praised his valour, and his deeds of bravery they judged with honour, as it is fitting that a man his friendly lord should extol, should love him in his soul, when he must depart from his body to become valueless. Thus mourned the people of the Geats, his domestic comrades, their dear lord ; they said that he was of the kings of the world the mildest of men and the most gentle, the most gracious to his people, and the most jealous of glory." Beowulf, 1. 6268. The raising of the barrow on an eminence over the sea, reminds us of a sentiment in an early Greek poet, who speaks of the tomb of Themistocles as overlooking the Piraeus : it would seem, like that of Beowulf, to have been a large barrow. 'O aoi oi rv//.lio$ Iv nocXu xi^ufffi'ivo; To7s IftTogois tfgoeovtri; '{(rrai •jra.ira.y^oZ, Tov; t ixirXiovrcts iltrirXiovrd.; Tora.)i ay-iXXa riav vsaiv fccia"m wses 6r-writen t'vni ge-winnea ; syj>$an flud of-sloh, gifen geotende, giganta cyn ; fivene ge-ferdon ; •£ wss fremde \>e6d ecean Drihtne, him ^ses ende lean frnrh waeteres wylm waldend sealde. Swa wees on J?aem scenne sciran goldes burh riin-stafas rihte ge-mearcod, ge-seted and ge-saed, hwam -p sweord ge-worht, irenna cyst, serest wsere, wreof>en-hylt and wyrm-fah. on which was written the origin of the ancient contest ; after the flood slew, the pouring ocean, the race of giants ; daringly they behaved ; that was a race strange to the eternal Lord, therefore to them their last reward through floods of water the ruler gave. So was on the surface of the bright gold with runic letters rightly marked, set and said, for whom that sword, the costliest of irons, was first made, with twisted hilt and variegated like a snake. Beowulf, 1. 3373. A curious illustration of this passage is furnished by the extremity of a sword-hilt, of silver, found some time ago in the parish of Ash, in Kent, and now in the possession of Mr. Rolfe. The accompanying cuts represent the two sides and the edge, the full size of the original. On one side, the uppermost figure in our cut, is a runic inscription, rudely engraved in the silver, of which this is an exact facsimile, and which some scholar more learned in runes than our- selves will probably be able to decipher. Fig. 11 of our plate, taken from Douglas's " Nenia," is the more usual form of the knives found with the male skeletons in the Kentish barrows. Fig. 10 is a knife of a somewhat different shape, found in a barrow in Derby- shire by Mr. Bateman. In almost every instance of male inter- ments, the shield appears to have been laid over the body. All that remains at the present time, is the umbo or boss, with a few nails and buckles, in a greater or less state of decay. The shield itself was of wood, generally linden, which was of a yellow colour. i s , THE SAXON BARROWS. 205 The poem of Beowulf speaks of " the broad shield, yellow-rirnmed" (sidne scyld, geolo- rand — Beowulf, 1. 869): it is sometimes called a "war-board" (hilde-bord — Beo- wulf, 1. 789) ; and in another instance we are told — hond-rond ge-feng, geolwe linde. he seized his shield, the yellow linden-wood. 'Beowulf, 1. 5215. Figs. 13, 14, and 15, are three umbos of shields, of the less ordinary shapes. Fig. 14 was found at Sittingbourne in Kent, and is in the possession of Mr. Vallance. The other two were found in barrows on the Breach Downs by Lord Albert Conyngham. The most common form of the umbo resembles No. 14, but is much less convex and less elongated, with a knob or button at the apex, as in No. 13. A spear was frequently laid beside the body of its owner. The one represented in fig. 5 of our plate of Saxon antiquities, is in the possession of Mr. Rolfe, and was discovered in digging the Ramsgate and Canterbury railway : it is twelve inches and a half long, and an inch and a half wide. No. 4 is taken from Douglas. Arrow-heads are of more rare occurrence : figs. 6, 7, and 8, are taken from Douglas's " Nenia." Fig. 9 is a curious axe, found in a barrow cut through by the Ramsgate railway, and now in the possession of Mr. Rolfe. Fig. 12 is taken from the " Nenia" of Douglas, who considers it to be a dagger. The Saxon appears to have been buried in full dress, and the J^mains of jewellery form the most valuable relics of the barrow. The most beautil.il articles of this description are the circular fibulas, which were probably used to fasten the cloak or mantle over the breast. They are of common occurrence, and are often made of rich materials. Our plates furnish several examples of these fibulse, which appear in general to have been found on the breasts of female skeletons. No. 1 on our coloured plate of Anglo-Saxon jewels, represents a very handsome fibula, with a gold rim, in the posses- sion of the Rev. W. Vallance of Maidstone ; it was found a few years ago at Sittingbourne in Kent. The form of the ornament is " that of a double star, and it is set with garnets, or coloured glass, upon chequered foils of gold. The rays of the inner star are of a blue-stone. Between the rays of the larger star are four studs, with a ruby in each, surrounded with garnets, the spaces between being filled up with gold filagree work." * Figs. 2 and 3 of the same plate were also found in barrows in Kent ; the first is taken from Douglas's "Nenia," the other from Mr. Wrench's "Description of Stowting." Three similar fibulas, uncoloured, are given in our third plate of Anglo-Saxon Antiqui- * See Mr. Roach Smith's "Collectanea Antiqua," No. VII., where will be found an account of the dis- coveries made by Mr. Vallance at Sittingbourne from 1825 to 1828. 20G THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. ties, figs. 1, 2, 3. The first of these was discovered in a barrow at Wingham, in Kent, by Lord Albert Conyngham : the outer rim is bronze, but all the rest is of gold, set with garnets and blue stones over thin gold foil, which is indented with cross lines to give greater brilliancy, as is shown in one of the outer circles where the garnet has fallen out. The spaces between the limbs of the cross or flower, as is so common in Saxon jewellery, are filled up with twists of gold filagree. In the barrow from whence this fibula was obtained, which was evidently that of a female, were found the pin {jig. 6), the bulla {fig. 4), the cross-shaped ornament {fig. 8), the urn {fig. 20), and the bowl {fig. 18), together with two bracelets of single bronze wire, twelve beads of various forms and colours, three small clasps, five twisted rings of various sizes in bronze, and the fragment of an ivory box ornamented with indented circles and zigzags. The fibula, fig. 3, also in the possession of Lord Albert Conyngham, was found in a barrow on the Breach Downs. It is of bronze ; the centre stone is lost, the triangular ones surrounding it are filled with red stones, and the circular ones with white stones, or with glass (?). Fig. 2 is of gold, and is ornamented with blue and red stones, with a garnet in the centre ; it was found in a barrow in the isle of Wight, and is in the possession of Mr. Dennet. The woodcut in our margin repre- sents the gold shell of a very magnificent Saxon fibulae, in the possession of Mr. Fitch, of Ipswich, who informs us that " it was found about ten years since at Sutton near Woodbridge, in Suffolk, by a labourer whilst ploughing. I have heard that, when first discovered, it was studded either with stones or some glass composition, the centre of a red colour, the four large circles blue, and the smaller places filled with green and various colours. Unfortunately, the man who found it regarded it as valuable only on account of the metal, and, previous to selling it, deprived it of all the ornaments, which he threw away as useless." Among other articles of ladies' jewellery, which are found in great abundance, we may point out the two golden bullas, fig. 4, found at Wingham, and fig. 5, found on the Breach Downs ; a pin of bronze, fig. 6, with a gold head, ornamented with red and blue stones, found at Wingham ; a bronze ornament in the form of a cross, fig. 8, found at Wingham ; and a silver ear-ring, fig. 9, found on the Breach Downs. All these are in the cabinet of Lord Albert Conyngham ; and all are engraved the same size as the originals, except the ear-ring, which is only one half the size. Fig. 7 is a very curious pin of bronze, recently discovered by Mr. J. P. Bartlett, in a barrow on the Breach Drcxr. t y.rqmti. bf AKGLO-3AXON ANTIQUITIES 3 London. "PiibKaheltw Chaomaji & H.aU186. Strand. NovF 1845. THE SAXON BARROWS. 207 Downs. The bronze pins and chain, fig. 13, were found in a barrow in the Breach Downs by Lord Albert Conyngham. Fig. 15, taken from Douglas's " Nenia," repre- sents one of a number of ornaments found in the barrow of a young female on Chatham lines ; it consists of a crystal ball, enclosed in a lap of silver, pendent to two silver rings. In our coloured plate of jewels, fig. 4 is another cross-shaped ornament, and fig. 5, a necklace, found in barrows in Derbyshire by Mr. Bateman, and exhibited by him at the meeting of the British Archaeological Association at Canterbury. Beads are found in these barrows in great variety. Fig. 10, taken from Douglas, and found with the remains of a female in a barrow on Chatham lines, is a fibula of another shape, which also is not uncommon, and was perhaps used to fasten the girdle. Fig. 1 1 is a buckle of bronze gilt, perhaps for fastening the sword-belt, discovered by Lord Albert Conyngham in a barrow on the Breach Downs ; it is here engraved one half its natural size. Fig. 12 is another fibula, in the possession of Mr. Rolfe, who obtained it in the parish of Ash near Sandwich. A very large and handsome Saxon fibula of the same form as these latter examples, which is very common, is engraved in the " Journal of the British Archaeological Association," No. I. p. 61; it was found at Badby in Northamptonshire . A great variety of household utensils of different kinds are also found in the Saxon barrows. The earthenware is in general of rather a rude make. Fig. 20, a vase of red earth with indented ornaments, found at Wingham by Lord Albert Conyngham — fig. 21, a ribbed urn of black earth, found by the same nobleman in a barrow on the Breach Downs — and the urn found in Bourne Park, represented in a cut on p. 8 of the present volume — may serve as examples. Glass vessels are not very uncommon, and in some instances have been found unbroken. They appear to be of better workmanship than the earthenware, but are of a design peculiar to the people. A few examples are given in the annexed cut. Figs. 1, 3, and 4, are taken from Douglas's " Nenia ;" fig. 2, which is nine inches high, was obtained by Mr. Rolfe from the Ramsgate railway exca- vations; and fig. 5, which is six inches high, was found by Lord Albert Conyngham in one of the Breach Down tumuli. All these, as well as the one found in Bourne 1 2 3 4 5 Park, and figured at the beginning of our volume, p. 8, appear to be drinking-cups : the forms of figs. 1, 2, 3, and 5, are very 208 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. peculiar ; and none of them are capable of standing without support,* so that they must have been held in the hand until emptied entirely of their contents. Indeed it was a disgrace to a Saxon or Northern not to empty his cup at one draught. The epithet " twisted/' given to such articles in the early Saxon poetry, seems not inapplicable to the kind of ornament found on these glass vessels : — pegn nytte be-heold, The thane observed his office, so be on handa bser he that in his hand bare hroden ealo-wa?ge. the twisted ale-cup. Beowulf, 1. 983. A pail or bucket, generally elegant in its proportions and ornaments, is sometimes found in a Saxon grave." Fig. 19, in our third plate, represents one of brass and iron, found in the parish of Ash, and engraved in Douglas's " Nenia;" it was of small dimensions, being only eight inches in diameter and seven and a half inches high. The hoops and handle of another bucket were found in a barrow in Bourne Park, and are engraved in the " Archaeological Journal," vol. I. p. 255. In this latter instance the grave was certainly that of a man ; and it is not improbable, when we consider that the articles buried in the grave were generally some favourite utensils of their possessor, that the use of these buckets may have been to cany the ale, mead, or wine, into the hall, and pour it into the cups. In Beowulf we are told that byrelas sealdon cup-bearers gave win of wunder-fatum. the wine from wondrous vats. Beowulf, 1; 2316. A term which would apply very well to buckets like those alluded to. Sometimes we find bowls of very elegant workmanship, which prove clearly that our early Saxon ancestors were skilful workers in metal. Most of these bowls are of metal gilt. One was found in the barrow in Bourne Park, which contained the bucket just mentioned. Fig. 18, of our plate, represents one found at "Wingham by Lord Albert Conyngham. Figs. 16 and 17 are taken from Douglas's "Nenia," both found in barrows on Barham Downs ; the first was of brass or bronze, gilt, measuring five inches and a half in diameter and between two and three inches deep. Under each handle, of which there were three, was an ornamented circular piece of white metal, which appeared to be silver. The other, Jig. 17, was of larger dimensions, being thirteen inches wide, and four inches and a half deep. \Ve have not room to enumerate every different article found in the Anglo-Saxon * Fig. 5 is placed in an upright position to shew its I to allow it to remain so without support. The glasses form to more advantage ; but the bottom is too convex I of the Saxons were literally tumblers. THE SAXON BARROWS. 209 barrows. One or two miscellaneous articles are given in our plate, chiefly on account of their singularity. Fig. 14, taken from Douglas, and found in a barrow on the Chatham lines, is a silver spoon, richly ornamented with garnets, the bowl perforated, and washed with gold; it was found with a female skeleton, and appeared to have been suspended to the dress. Fig. 22 is a pair of tweezers, found in the barrow of a young man on the Chatham lines. Figs. 23 and 24 are bone pins, here given on a scale two-thirds of their size, found by Lord Albert Conyngham in the barrows on the Breach Downs. Figs. 25 and 26, from Douglas, are two shears, found, with orna- ments belonging to the female sex, on Chartham Downs. One of the most recent discoveries by Mr. Rolfe, among the barrows cut through by the Ramsgate railway, is that of a pair of Saxon scales, with their weights, the latter being made out of Roman coins. Roman coins, as well as fragments of Samian ware, and other articles decidedly of Roman manufacture, are not unfrequently found in Saxon barrows. There seems, indeed, to be little room for doubt that the Roman coinage was in circulation during the earlier Saxon period. In one instance a bowl of apparently Roman workmanship was found to have been mended with Saxon materials. This is in the possession of Mr. Rolfe. Coins of Clovis and of the earliest Frankish monarchs have also been found ; and in one instance, in a barrow on the Breach Downs, Mr. J. P. Bartlett found the mouldering remains of what appeared to have been a small purse, with four of the very early silver Saxon coins which are known by the name of sceattas. There seems little room for doubt that all these barrows belong to the period between the settlement of the Saxons in this island in the fifth century and their conversion to Christianity in the seventh. It is probable that the cross-shaped ornaments had no reference to the Christian sym- bols ; yet it is not unlikely that before the entire conversion of the people to the gospel, many who had accepted its faith still felt a longing to seek their final resting-place among the barrows of their forefathers ; and this perhaps gave rise to the canon of the Anglo-Saxon church promulgated in 642, ordering that Christians should be buried in the immediate vicinity of churches. This reverence for the graves of their forefathers would lead the early Saxon Christians to select the vicinity of their ancient burial-places for the site of their churches, which they appear frequently to have done. In one or two instances, a grave has been found beneath the barrow, with various articles deposited, but no traces of a body. One of the most remarkable instances of this was furnished by a barrow in Bourne Park, to which we have already made allusion. At the foot of the grave, in the right-hand corner, had stood a bucket, of which the hoops (in perfect preservation) occupied their position one above another as if the wood had been there to support them. This bucket appeared to have been about £ £ 210 TIIE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. a foot high ; the lower hoop was a foot iu diameter, and the upper hoop exactly ten inches. A little higher up in the grave, in the position generally occupied by the right leg of the person buried, was a considerable heap of fragments of iron, among which were a boss of a shield of the usual Saxon form, a horse's bit (which appears to be an article of very unusual occurrence), a buckle, and other things which appear to haw belonged to the shield, a number of nails with large ornamental heads, with smaller nails, the latter mostly of brass. From the position of the boss, it appeared that the shield had been placed with the convex (or outer) surface downwards. Not far from these articles, at the side of the grave, was a fragment of iron, consisting of a larger ring, with two smaller ones attached to it, which was either part of the horse's bridle, or of a belt. On the left-hand side of the grave was found a small piece of iron which resembled the point of some weapon. At the head of the grave, on the right-hand side, was an elegantly shaped bowl, about a foot in diameter, and two inches and a half deep, of very thin copper, which had been thickly gilt, and with handles of iron. It had been placed on its edge leaning against the wall of the grave, and was much broken by the weight of the superincumbent earth. The only other articles found in this grave were two small round discs resembling counters, about seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, flat on one side, and convex on the other, the use of which it is impossible to conjecture, unless they were employed in some game. One was made of bone, the other had been cut out of a piece of Samian ware. The most singular circumstance connected with this grave was, that there were not the slightest traces of any body having been deposited in it ; in fact, the appearances were decisive to the contrary. This may be explained by supposing that the person to whom the grave was dedicated had been a chief killed in battle in some distant expe- dition, and that his friends had not been able to obtain his body. This view of the case seems to be supported by the fact that, although so many valuable articles were found in the grave, there were no traces of the long sword and the knife always found with the bodies of male adults in the Saxon barrows. The sword and knife would, in fact, have been attached to the body, as a part of the dress. MISCELLANEOUS ILLUSTRATIONS OF MEDIEVAL ANTIQUITIES, FROM ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS. We have had several occasions to remark how much light is thrown upon the manners of our forefathers, in the middle ages, by the illuminations with which so many manuscripts of different dates are profusely illustrated ; and we will continue our observations on this subject by adducing a few miscellaneous examples. They are taken, without much selection, from various sources, and may be considered in some degree as supplementary to our article on the History of Art in the Middle Ages. In the article just alluded to several curious illustrations of the common incidents of domestic life are given from this source, and they might be multiplied to an inde- finite degree ; for the illuminated manuscripts are full of scenes in the hall and in the chamber, which not only exhibit the furniture and various utensils peculiar to each, but they represent them in actual use. Dinner scenes, from the most magnificent feast to the more homely meal, are of frequent occurrence. We have already given an example of a party at table, at p. 76 of the present volume. In many instances these scenes represent the minstrels and jougleurs performing before the guests. We have frequent views of interiors, sometimes exhibiting formal pomp and courtly ceremonies, and at others the familiarity and abandon of private life. In other examples, the interior of the bedchamber is exhibited to us in almost every scene of which it is a witness, from the birth to the death of its owner, whether in sickness or in health. Indeed, these often beautiful pictures represent to us the various acts of human life, not only in almost every rank and station, but under the change of manners and customs which characterise the different periods of history. 212 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. Most of the examples we give on this occa- sion are taken from manuscripts of the fifteenth century. The first is from a copy of John Lydgate's English metrical life of St. Edmund the Martyr, king of the East Angles (MS. Harl. No. 2278). Our woodcut only contains one half of the original picture, in which, to the right, the mother of the king is represented in bed, with three ladies serving her out of different vessels of gold. The vessels placed on the table, in our cut, are of the same material. There are no chairs in the room, except a cushioned seat by the bed-head ; and the lady, who here holds the infant in her arms before the fire, is seated on a rude sort of bench. The fire and fire-place, with the niches in the wall above for the recep- tion of candlesticks and other articles, illustrate the domestic economy of former days. It must not be forgotten that this is supposed to be a chamber of state in a princely mansion. The next cut exhibits a scene of a different description — the interior of a medieval kitchen. It is taken from a copy of the French translation, or rather paraphrase, of Valerius Maximus, by Simon de Hesdin and Nicholas de Gonesse, a very popular work in the fifteenth century (MS. Harl. No. 4375) ; and, like the former, gives only one division of the original illumination. In a department to the left of this division we see a man seated at dinner in the hall, and attended by servants. The communication between the hall and the kitchen is by the door represented on one side of our cut. This immediate juxtaposition of the kitchen and dining-hall was constant in the medieval edifices, whether baronial or monastic, and is still preserved in our colleges. In some instances among the illuminations, as in a dinner-scene in MS. Reg. 14, E. IV., the dishes are passed from the kitchen into the hall through a square opening like a window, at which the "valets" who served at table took them from the hands of the cook. A similar contrivance is found in the ruins of Netley Abbey. The furniture of the kitchen here represented is very rude and simple. The pot is hung over the fire by a hook which, by means of a ring and notches, may be lengthened and shortened at pleasure. One of these hooks, closely resembling the one in our picture, which had been preserved in some old farm-house, was lately exhibited before the MISCELLANEOUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 2] 3 committee of the British Archseological Asso- ciation. A frying-pan, hung against the wall, and two smaller implements of a similar de- scription placed against the wall by loops, constitute the remainder of the cooking uten- sils. However, we have documentary proof that a medieval kitchen was not always so ill furnished as this. A cook, in the middle ages, was a person of some importance in the household ; and persons holding this title frequently occur in early records moving in a very respectable sphere in life. Cookery was one of the " fine arts" of the olden time, and the numerous manuscript collections of receipts still remain- ing shew that one of its professors in the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries could have offered as full, and perhaps as attractive, a " carte" as any Verey of the present day. In the monastic establishments, especially, the table was an object of considerable attention. Amongst the manuscripts in the British Museum is preserved a book once belonging to the great abbey of St. Albans, which contains a long list of the benefactors of that house, with marginal illuminations representing the givers, and in most cases the gift which they had made ; a grant of lands being represented by a charter with pendent seal, and a gift of money by a bag. Amongst these worthies of the age of monastic endowments appear the figures of " master Robert, once the cook of the abbot Thomas," and of Helena his wife. This Robert, it is there stated, having been faithful and obedient to the monastery all the days of his life, it was in reward for his diligence granted that he should be " a partaker of the benefits conceded to the benefactors of this place," that is, that he should have his share of the prayers said for their souls in general. We are, however, further informed that his wife Helena, who outlived him, gave three shillings 214 THE ARCH/EOLOGICAL ALBUM. and fourpence " ad opus hujus Ubri" which perhaps means that she gave so much to have her own and her husband's pictures painted in the book,* in further consideration of which we take the liberty of transferring them to our margin. The profession of "master Robert" is sufficiently indicated by his knife. This part of the book appears to have been written in the latter part of the fourteenth century, perhaps during the lifetime of the lady who paid for the drawing. We have just hinted at the care with which the table was served with great pro- fusion and varieties of dishes. It was no less amply furnished with rich ornaments and utensils ; and the process of dining was attended with the greatest ceremony and numerous formalities. Various treatises were published in Latin, and French, and English, in prose and in verse, setting forth in detail how the table was to be arranged, how the attendants were to serve, and how each person ought to behave himself. The " Stans puer ad mensam" was one of the first books put into the hands of the school-boy. In fact, two of the most essential parts of the education of a gentleman were how to behave himself at table and how to carry himself in the field. It is not our intention here to give a list of the various articles of ornament appendant to the medieval tables, but we give an illustration of one of the most singular of them. This was the nef, or ship, which is mentioned, though not very frequently, by old writers, and which is supposed to have been a vessel for holding spices or some other article used at table, made in the form of a ship. In a manuscript in the British Museum (MS. Reg. 14 E. IV. fol. 265, v .), which contains a copy of the French Chroniques d'Engleterre, we have a large illumination of a "grand feast" given by king Richard II. at London [(•y parte d'une grant feste que le roy Richard d'Engleterre fist a Londres) ; it contains the accompanying figure of a person carrying the ship to the table. The mention of the ornamental ships leads us rather naturally to speak of real ships, and we cannot wonder at the little use that has hitherto been made of the numerous materials furnished by these illuminated manuscripts for the history of the navy during the middle ages. There is scarcely a manuscript of any magnitude which does not contain some pictures in which shipping is introduced ; and, whilst in many * Magister Robertus quondam cocus domini Thoma? i concessorum benefactoribus hujus loci. Cujus relicta abbatis fidelis etobsequens erat monasterio in omni vita Helena contulit ad opus hujus libri iij*. iiij d . — MS. Cot- sua, et ideo concessum est ut sit particeps beneficiorum | (on. Nero D. VII. fol. 109, r°. MISCELLANEOUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 215 ^%0=G=J-l>W instances the drawing of these objects is too rude and obscure to give us much infor- mation, in some they are carefully and minutely designed by artists who evidently knew every part of the objects they were representing. Sometimes the different kinds of ships mentioned in the text are evidently distinguished in the drawing. In other examples we have ships undergoing the process of repair, and in a few the process of building is represented in different stages. The same manuscript of the fifteenth century in the British Museum furnishes us with the accompanying interesting little group ; one of the figures appears to be intended to represent a ship which is either in process of building, or has been put into dock to undergo repairs. It is on the whole remarkable, to judge from the drawings, how little essential improvement had been made in naval matters during several centuries. On a former occasion it has been observed that the marginal borders of illuminated manuscripts frequently contain amusing traits of comic satire and burlesque, as well as pictures of common life. A finely illuminated copy of Froissart, in the British Museum, contains numerous burlesques of the kind alluded to. One of these represents the fox, in the garb of a monk, confessing and giving penance to the cock. This is a common subject, not only of drawings in manuscripts, but of sculpture in churches and other buildings. The great popularity of the romance of Reynard had made the fox a favourite animal in such representations. It is probable that sometimes these pictures were intended to represent incidents of the romance itself, whilst sometimes they were mere satires on the monks and clergy, which originated in the imagination of the artist. In the different branches of the romance, Reynard more than once appears under a clerical disguise. In one instance he is introduced repenting of his sins, and making his confession to a holy hermit, who enjoins him for a penance to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. Reynard immediately takes his staff, and puts a scarf over his shoulders, and proceeds on his journey. Escrepe et bordon prent, si muet, Si est entrez en son chemin, Moult resemble bien pelerin, Et bien li sist l'escrepe an col. 216 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. In the accompanying cut, from the same manuscript as the last, Reynard has his staff and his scarf, as described in the romance, but he is carried on the shoulders of an ape, and he appears to be in the act of preaching. In another branch of the romance, Reynard presents himself at court in the disguise of a friar (eiyisi comme renart vint devant le roi en abit de frere meneur), and takes the confession, not of the cock, but of his own son and his companions. The monkey is also a favourite animal in these burlesque drolleries. In our next cut from the borders of the Froissart manuscript, we have a monkey playing with a pair of bellows. Another drawing in the same manuscript, of which we have given a cut at page 186 of the present volume, represents the timid rabbit turned into a valiant knight, and seated on the back of his old enemy the levrier, or greyhound; he carries his shield as a knight should do, but, instead of a spear, he is armed with a child's plaything. Children's games and the popular amusements of all ranks fre- quently make their appearance in these pictorial margins, which are indeed our main authority for their history, as well as for many of the occupations of private life. Some of these manu- scripts were made use of by Strutt in his work on the games and pastimes of our ancestors during the middle ages. The accompanying cut of a woman occupied with her distaff is taken from the border of a fine manuscript of the reign of Edward IV. in the British Museum (MS. Reg. 15 E. IV.) In the original, the figure rises out of the bowl of a flower. Another interesting part of the illuminated manuscripts of the fifteenth century is the dedication picture, which is frequently attached to a book that has been executed as a present to any great personage. It generally represents the author or writer presenting his book, and it is more than probable that the persons introduced in such pictures are, in many cases at least, intended to be por- traits. In the manuscript last alluded to, which forms one volume of the history of England in French, written and illuminated in the reign of our king Edward IV., the first page is occupied by a large and richly executed picture of that monarch in his court. The figures are few, but well executed. On the left side of the picture are the two figures represented in our cut on the next page. One of them, in the fashionable dress of the time, with the garter round his knee, is said to have been intended for a portrait of the duke of Gloucester, afterwards king Richard III. It presents none of the features which MISCELLANEOUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 217 popular tradition has given to the humpbacked tyrant. We certainly do not recognise here the personage who, in the words of the bard, describes himself ironically — " But I, that am not shap'd for sportive tricks, Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass ; I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty, To strut before a wanton, ambling nymph ; I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deform'd, unfinish'd, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up, And that so lamely and unfashionable, The dogs bark at me as I halt by them ; Why I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time ; Unless to spy my shadow in the sun, And descant on mine own deformity." The history of music, and more especially of musical instruments, is a subject which is now attracting considerable attention, and on which illuminated manuscripts throw great light. The first of what promises to be a very valuable series of papers on this subject, illus- trated from the sources alluded to, is given in the second number of the third volume of M. Didron's "Annales Archeologiques," recently published. taken from a manuscript of Lydgate's poem entitled The Pilgrim, an allegorical work translated from the French of William de Deguilleville (IMS. Cotton. Tiberius A. VII.) It represents a lady blowing on the horn and playing " on or- gonys and in sawtrye." The organ, on which she is playing with her left hand, is somewhat singular in its form. The saw- try (Lat. psalterium), a favourite stringed instrument in the mid- dle ages, lies on the table. This instrument, the body of which F F The following cut is 218 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. w;is of wood, is differently shaped in manuscripts of various periods, being, in earlier times, either square or triangular ; but the one here represented is the form most common in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It was generally played with the fingers. The cut below, taken from MS. Reg. 15 E. IV., represents a man playing the more rustic music of the pipe and tabor, the latter instrument having the shape of a little drum. This was the especial music of the village festival, and appears to have been looked upon with great contempt by the regular minstrels. M. Jubinal has printed, in his curious volume entitled " Jongleurs et Trouvercs," a French poem of the thirteenth or fourteenth century entitled "Des Taboureurs," in which the minstrel gives vent to his jealousy, and declares that the encouragement given to this inelegant music marked a decadence of public taste and manners which could only portend either the end of the world or the coming of Antichrist ! WINCHESTER AND SOUTHAMPTON. 'URING the progress of our volume, the British Archaeolo- gical Association has passed through the second year of its existence, and has held its second congress. We took it up at the beginning of our work at Canterbury, and we shall here leave it at Winchester. This city, a settlement of the Romans, and the regal city of Saxon England, deserved the honour of being chosen second among the cities of our island ; and, both in itself and in its neighbourhood, it possessed many objects of great attraction to the antiquarian visitor. The business of the meeting was opened on Monday, the 4th of August, with a short speech by the president, lord Albert Conyngham, distinguished by its good sense and kindly feeling ; and with a most encouraging account of the past year's labours by Mr. Pettigrew, who gave a very interesting sketch of the history of archaeology in this country, and of the present state of the Association : and it was closed on Saturday, the 9th, with the same unanimity and good feeling which had distinguished the congress at Canterbury. Two days of the week, Wednesday and Friday, were devoted entirely to the reading and discussing of the numerous valuable papers which had been prepared for the occasion ; and evening meetings for the same purpose were held on the alternate days. Conver- saziones were given by the Association on the evenings of Monday and Friday, and the president held a soiree on Wednesday evening, which was veiy numerously attended by the respectable inhabitants of the town. On these occasions the walls and tables were covered with various articles of antiquity and with drawings of antiquarian subjects. At the president's soiree, among an immense number of objects of this kind, we may particularise the ancient Winchester measures and other old municipal relics of the city, brought by Mr. Charles Bailey, the town-clerk, and an interesting series of 220 THE ARCH/EOLOGICAL ALBUM. medieval manuscripts of different ages, exhibited by Dr. Lee. One of these, a fine Bible of the thirteenth century, has furnished us with the initial at the beginning of the present article. Wednesday and Thursday were especially set apart for visits to monuments in the city and for antiquarian excursions in the neighbourhood. A.B at Canterbury, the work of the Association was distributed into four sections, each of which was abundantly supplied with zealous labourers ; but it was thought advisable on this occasion not to have sectional committees or merely sectional meetings. The general daily meetings were rendered more agreeable by the varied character of the subjects treated in each. There were also at this meeting a greater number of papers on local subjects than at Canterbury. In primeval antiquities, the Roman remains found at Winchester were descanted upon by Mr. Bradfield, of that city; the Roman roads in Hampshire were treated upon by Messrs. Hatcher and Puttock; the tessellated pavements found in different parts of the county, and the antiquities of Bittern, by Mr. Roach Smith j and the Saxon barrows of the Isle of Wight, by Mr. Dennet, of that island. The most attractive paper in the medieval section was that on the interesting series of paintings of the miracles of the Virgin in the beautiful Lady Chapel in Winchester Cathedral, by Mr. John Green Waller; there were other papers on the mints and mintages of Winchester, by Mr. Akerman ; on the table at Winchester called Arthur's Round Table, by Mr. Kcmpe ; on a richly ornamented incised slab in Brading Church in the Isle of Wight, by Mr. Rosser; on the arms of Saer de Quincy, first earl of Winchester, by Mr. Planche ; and some others of less importance, which it is not necessary to particularise. The architectural section was especially rich in its subjects ; Winchester Cathedral and the beautiful church of St. Cross were admirably described and explained by Mr. Cresy and the Rev. Stephen Jackson ; and the obser- vations of Mr. Haigh of Leeds on Saxon churches in the neighbourhood were received with warm approbation. In the historical division, Mr. Wright contributed two papers on the municipal archives of Winchester and Southampton j Mr. Halliwell gave an account of an early and long-forgotten philosopher and alchemist of Winchester named John Claptone ; and Mr. Barton, of the Isle of Wight, a historical account of the late com cut or oratory of Barton in that island, which has recently become the residence of her majesty the Queen. There were other papers of a local character, and a great number of able essays on archaeological subjects connected with other parts of the island, and on general subjects, which we have not space to enumerate. The meetings were held in the Town Hall, County Hall, and St. John's Rooms. The latter place formed part of the buildings of the ancient hospital of St. John the Baptist, but it has been much modernised, and is now formed into a spacious assem- bly-room. The County Hall, which is a fine specimen of the Early English style of WINCHESTER AND SOUTHAMPTON. 221 architecture, perhaps as old as the end of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth century, appears to have been the hall of the ancient regal palace. The Town Hall is a very insignificant building. The most interesting architectural features of Winchester and its immediate neigh- bourhood are the cathedral and the hospital of St. Cross. Winchester Cathedral is a noble building, distinguished chiefly by a severe simplicity of architectural character. The greater part of the exterior is very plain. Within, a variety of styles" is displayed, commencing with work of a very early date. Mr. Cresy, who explained all the archi- tectural peculiarities of the cathedral to several parties who visited it under his direction believes that part of the crypts, and much of the substance of the walls of the transepts and nave, are a portion of the Saxon cathedral built by bishop Athelwold in 980. The tower and the transepts exhibit the Early Norman work of bishop Walkelin, who rebuilt this part of the edifice towards the end of the eleventh century, after the fall of the Saxon tower. A great portion of the Lady Chapel, and the two smaller chapels beside it, are beautiful specimens of the Early English style, and were built by bishop Godfrey de Lucy at the commencement of the thirteenth century. The fine nave and aisles are the work of William of Wykeham, so celebrated for his love of architecture, and were completed towards the end of the fourteenth century. The side aisles of the presbytery, remarkable for richness of ornament, were built by bishop Fox at the commencement of the sixteenth century. The other objects of greatest interest to the archaeological visitors, in the city, were the College, built also by bishop Wyke- ham, and the massive and picturesque ruins of Wolvesey Castle. The latter, when entire, must have been a strong and important fortress. A traditional story, more amusing than authentic, derives its name from the alleged circumstance that in Saxon times the Welsh chieTs came hither to offer their tribute of slaughtered wolves to the English monarch. The architecture of what remains of the castle is Norman. Within the precincts of the cathedral are some fine old half-timber buildings, with elegantly carved bargeboards. The hospital of St. Cross is embosomed in trees, on the banks of the here small but pellucid stream of the Itchen, at a short distance to the south of Winchester. It was founded, in 1132, by Henry de Blois, bishop of Winchester, since whose time it has passed through many changes and revolutions, until, as a charitable institution, it is the mere wreck of what it once was. Thirteen poor brethren are supported within, and the portion of bread and ale is still doled out, though very sparingly, to the passing traveller who chooses to apply for it. St. Cross is interesting chiefly for its beautiful church, which is one of the most perfect specimens now remaining of the period of transition from the Norman to the Early English style. Semicircular and early pointed arches ooo THK ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. arc mixed together in great profusion, and some of the foliated capitals of columns arc singularly beautiful. The two here represented are taken from a curious and ! ~~ rather celebrated triple arch, on the external wall of the building, in the corner formed by the junction of the southern transept with the nave. The view of St. Cross given in our plate is taken from the brink of the river, and shews the east end and northern transept. Modern Winchester is a less interesting city than its history would lead a stranger to expect. There is comparatively little left to remind us of the great events of which it was the scene, or with which it was connected, in past ages. Its street ai'chitecture is far from attractive or imposing; few of the old houses which adorned a medieval city re- main ; and the streets themselves are mostly narrow and ill arranged. One of the most picturesque is that represented at the foot of our plate ; it is called Brook Street, from the stream which runs along one side. In the distance, the Norman tower of the cathedral raises its head above the trees. The morning of Tuesday, the second day of the meeting, was devoted to the opening of barrows on the downs which extend to the south of the city towards Southampton. These barrows were few and scattered, and perhaps cover the bones of some of the British inhabitants of this district. Their contents appeared to have been disturbed at some former period, as little was found to repay the labours of the archaeologists — a few bones, and one or two trifling articles, shewed that these mounds had been the habitations of the dead. The summit of St. Catherine's hill, looking over the city, is encircled with stupendous earth-works, in the centre of which is a large barrow enclosed in a clump of trees. A small chapel had been erected at this spot in the middle ages, and the labourers who made an attempt to excavate the mound met with the remains of its walls. The day was especially favourable for a visit to ■ - - S? CROSS, NEAR WINCHESTER.. MIDDLE BROOK STREET, V/ WINCHESTER AND SOUTHAMPTON. 223 these lofty downs, and the disappointment at finding empty barrows was forgotten amid the magnificence of the scene around. In the valley below, lay Winchester spread before the eyes as in a map, with the windings of its river, and the beautiful village and hospital of St. Cross ; whilst in the opposite direction the eye wandered over hill and wood, embracing within its view the town of Southampton, the spacious estuary of the Southampton Water, into which the river Itchen empties itself, and the distant shores of the Isle of Wight. Provisions had in the meanwhile been procured from Winchester, and lunch was served round upon the green sod; after which the party proceeded under the guidance of the Rev. Stephen Jackson to visit the church of St. Cross. During the visit to the downs, a few gentlemen made excursions in different directions, to visit the neighbouring churches and other objects of antiquarian interest. A report on the barrow-digging operations, by Mr. Dunkin, was read at the evening meeting, and was followed by several papers on barrows excavated in different parts of the island, which gave rise to some interesting discussion. The grand excursion on Thursday was that to Bittern, Netley, and Southampton, under the guidance of the president, lord Albert Conyngham. The railway company had very liberally set apart special carnages for the archseologists, who were put down before they reached Southampton, and proceeded to Bittern on foot. Bittern [Clausen- turn) was one of the Roman stations joined to Winchester ( Venta Belgarum) by a military road. Somewhat more than midway from Winchester, at Stoneham, was an inter- mediate station or post, or, perhaps, merely a place rendered remarkable for a miliary stone set up at a junction of roads, called, in the Itinerary of Richard of Cirencester, Ad Lapidem. By this name it was still known in the time of Bede, who has preserved a tragic story connected with this spot. The Isle of Wight was one of the last of the Anglo-Saxon states which was converted to the Gospel. It was governed by independent kings until 686, when the West-Saxon king, Ceadwalla, invaded it, and put a great part of the inhabitants to the sword. The two younger brothers of the king of the Isle of Wight, mere boys, escaped the slaughter, and passed over into Wessex, and were carried to the "place" called Ad Lapidem [in locum qui vocatur Ad Lapidem) , and hidden there. But their place of concealment was betrayed to Ceadwalla, and he ordered them to be put to death. Ceadwalla was himself in the immediate neighbourhood, suffering from the wounds he had received in his expedition against the people of the Isle of Wight ; and an abbot, named Cynebert, who had a small monastery at a place then called Reodford (supposed to be the modern Redbridgc), repaired to him, and obtained permission to baptise the royal youths before the savage decree was put into execution. Bittern manor-house and its lawns and gardens occupy almost the entire area of the Roman station of Clausentum, which was of considerable extent, protected by a wall 22 1 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. and the waters of the Itchen on one side, and, on the land side, by a deep foss, which may still be traced. A fragment of the original wall is still left, but the wall itself, with other remains, were nearly all destroyed when the house was built, before the property came into the possession of the present enlightened proprietor, Mrs. Stuart Hall. Although unavoidably absent from home, Mrs. Hall, with characteristic liberal- ity, ordered her house and collections to be thrown open to the members of the Archaeological Association, who were received with the greatest hospitality. The visitors were numerous, and examined with much interest the various objects of antiquity found on the spot, such as remains of Roman sculpture, Roman inscriptions, &c. Among the former was a fragment of a large ornamented stone, which appeared to have been used for the upper part of the entrance to a temple : it had been hollowed to the depth of a few inches to receive an inscribed slab. Among the more remarkable of the inscriptions were one to the goddess Ancasta (decs Ancastce), a local divinity, and several to the emperor Tetricus, one of which had been recently discovered. At former times stones have been found inscribed to Gordian, Volusian, Aurelian, and other emperors. Those to Tetricus are the rarest, and have been found in no other part of England. The company next examined Mrs. Hall's collection of coins, pottery, and other remains, discovered on the grounds ; and then, after partaking of the refresh- ments, proceeded to visit the picturesque spot, " Where Netley's ruins, bordering on the flood, Forlorn in solitary greatness stand." Mr. Hunt, the present lessee of Netley, looks upon the ruined abbey with affection- ate care, and has already rescued it from many profanations to which it was subjected under less intelligent proprietors. We understand that it is his intention to clear the rooms of the masses of fallen stone and rubbish which now bury the floors, and to take all the measures in his power to prevent future dilapidations. We hope that he will also clear away the mounds of rubbish which now cover the floor of the church, which would perhaps bring to light ancient monuments and brasses. Netley Abbey is deservedly celebrated as one of the most interesting monastic ruins in the kingdom, from the comparatively perfect state in which its grand entrance-court and the surrounding offices have been preserved ; and the archaeologists spent an agreeable hour in wandering amid its ivy-clad walls, and indulging in visions of the past. " Scenes such as these, with salutary change, O'er flattering life their melancholy cast ; Teach the free thoughts on wings of air to range, O'erlook the present, and recall the past ! WINCHESTER AND SOUTHAMPTON. 225 Mute is the matin-bell, whose early call Warn'd the grey fathers from their humble beds ; No midnight taper gleams along the wall, Or round the sculptured saint its radiance sheds ! No martyr's shrine its high-wrought gold displays, To bid the wondering zealot hither roam ; No relic here the pilgrim's toil o'erpays, And cheers his footsteps to a distant home. ***** Yon parted roofs that nod aloft in air, The threatening battlement, the rifted tower, The choir's loose fragments, scattered round, declare, Insulting Time, the triumphs of thy power ! " Mr. Hunt received the visitors at his house, and had prepared for them an excellent lunch. The return to Southampton, along the shores of the Southampton Water, is an agreeable and picturesque walk, almost every step presenting to the eye some new feature to admire. Southampton is a handsome town, and is not only associated with many important events in our national history, but it figures in medieval romance, of which Bevis of Hampton was one of the most celebrated heroes. The name of Bevis's Mound is still given to a large tumulus at a little distance from the town ; and among the peasantry the town still bears its simple Saxon name of Hampton. The exact age at which it was founded seems to be very uncertain, but it perhaps arose out of the ruins of Clausen- turn. In Norman times it was one of the chief commercial ports in England, and during the French wars of the Edwards and Henries it was the place at which the English army was generally assembled to be transported over to the opposite coast. It has itself frequently suffered from the attacks of our foreign enemies. Within the last seventy or eighty years some of the most interesting antiquities of the town of Southampton, and most of its picturesque old timber-houses, have been swept away, sometimes unnecessarily, in the course of modern improvements. The High Street is remarkably fine, and at several points of view presents a very picturesque effect. The more ancient parts of the town lay to the west of the High Street. The small open area called St. Michael's Square, formerly the fishmarket, is surrounded with old houses, which have undergone more or less alteration, but which still preserve many traces of their former character. The most remarkable of these is a large house on the west side of the square, which, tradition says, was once occupied by Jane Shore. It is now internally so much subdivided that it is almost impossible to trace the original plan. Sir Henry Englefield gives the following description of this house in 1801, when it was in a somewhat more perfect condition : — "It consists of two floors, besides the G G 226 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. garrets in its gables. Each story overhangs considerably, and the projections are ornamented with handsome cornices. Little pillars supporting light, semi-arched ribs, run up the front of each story, forming the whole into regular compartments. There are four gables of different breadths, and corresponding to each is a large window, three of them with curved heads, and the fourth flat. The lower point of union of these gables has a long and handsome pendent ornament, and very flat arches run from pendent to pendent, in the spandrils of which broom-pods seem to be carved, the favourite badge of the Plantagenets : the gables above have been modernised. At the north end of this front is a large wooden porch, with a singular projection of the next story over the door, supported by a very fiat semi-arch. In this porch there is some rude carving. The interior of this house is modernised, but there remains in one of the great windows some curious and very old painted glass. Many of the panes have each a bird performing different offices and functions of human life, as soldiers, handicrafts, musicians, &c. On the ground-floor behind the house is a large room, now quite modern, but which, tradition says, was a chapel. As it stands north and south, it was more probably a great-hall." The present occupier of this house points out to the admiration of his visitors the ponderous wooden door, which still holds its place within the porch. The church of St. Michael, on the east side of this square, is the most ancient now remaining in the town, a great portion of it being of plain, massive Norman masonry, having a very Romanesque appearance, which has made some of the older antiquaries of the town assign it to a more remote date than modern architects will be inclined to allow. In the interior is an interesting Norman font, resembling in form the font in Winchester Cathedral; but on the sides, instead of the historical designs of the ^'inchester font, it is sculptured in circular compartments, each containing a winged monster like a gryphon, except one, in which is represented a winged figure with a nimbus. The north chapel of this church contains a monument long supposed to be that of the lord-chancellor "Wriothesley. The other churches of Southampton present few objects of interest. The chapel of Godshousc, which belonged to the ancient hospital of St. Julian, and is now used by a congregation of French Protestants, contains a monument to the memory of the earl of Cambridge, lord Scrope, and sir Thomas Grey, who were executed here in 1415, for a plot against Henry the Fifth, when he was departing for the war in France. This was one of the first indications of the political rivalry which afterwards broke out with so much fury in the wars of the Roses. Outside the town, to the east, was a chapel of the " Holy Trinity and Blessed Virgin Mary," the memory of which is still preserved in the name Chapel Mill. It is to this chapel probably that a writer who visited Southampton in 1635 alludes, when he tells us that " without the walls, eastward, is a chapel which formerly was their chief WINCHESTER AND SOUTHAMPTON. 227 church, which, although it hath lost her precedent dignity, yet still it retains a pretty annual revenue, which is no less than 600/. per annum, the which a lord (the lord Lambert) got by lease, and enjoyed for some time, and now a knight (sir Garret Fleet- wood) holds the same for years. A fair house is built near thereunto with the ruins of that fair church, wherein the inhabitants (as the report goes) cannot rest quiet a nights. The razing down of churches to rear up mansions with that stuff (say they) is not right. Hereupon I heard many pretty old tales which I have neither time nor list to insert. Between that and the town walls are many pleasant gardens, orchards, cherry-grounds, and walks, and a fine bowling-ground, where many gentlemen, with the gentle merchants of this town, take their recreations." Southampton still possesses more extensive remains of its ancient walls and forti- fications than English towns in general, although much has been destroyed in recent times, and the site of the castle has been entirely cleared. As in Winchester, the prin- cipal gate of the town, here called the Bar-gate, remains standing. The interior of the passage-way has bold Norman arches, so that it is probably contemporary with the first walling of the town. From this gateway the town-wall runs westwardly to the edge of the water, and there forms an angle with the great western wall, of which a view is given in our cut. The foot of this wall is bathed by the tide, and the consequent unfit- ness of the ground without for building, and the circumstance that the ground within is elevated nearly to the summit and requires the wall for support, have led to its preservation. An extent of about a hundred yards is given in our view; it is here very perfect, and, with its towers and buttresses, reminds us strongly of the walls of towns represented in pictures in old illuminated manuscripts. The wall, where most 228 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. perfect, is about thirty feet high, and the tower forty feet. From the extreme point of the wall in this view, it is continued among the houses and lanes, flanked with several towers and buttresses, along the south-east and part of the south sides of the town, but, towards the principal quay, a great portion of the old fortifications has been destroyed to make way for the conveniences of trade. One or two of the smaller gateways leading to the water remain. The wall may be traced among the houses round the east side of the ancient town, till it joins the Bar-gate on the north. The exterior front of this fine gateway-tower is disfigured with two coarse paintings, appa- rently executed as they now appear by a " dauber " of the last century, representing Bevis of Hampton and Ascopart, a giant, according to the legend, " ful thyrty fote longe," conquered by Bevis, who, when he became Bevis's servant, used to carry the hero, with his wife and horse, under his arm ! Attached to the town-wall, between St. Michael's square and the west quay, are remains of an extensive Norman building of a very remarkable character, which pro- bably formed part of a royal palace that appears, by old documents, to have stood in this part of the town, and to have been altogether distinct from the castle. Externally they present the singular appearance of a double wall, the outer one being rather an arcade of lofty and spacious semicircular arches, separated by strong piers of masonry, with a considerable height of wall above. The upper parts of the two walls are connected together by stones at intervals, leaving spaces open to the sky, something like machico- lations. The whole range consists of nineteen such arches. In the inner wall are numerous Norman windows, mostly of two lights, and some doorways. In the inside are transverse walls and distinct marks of rooms, but they are here much clogged up with buildings. The whole of these remains deserve a closer examination. It was late in the day when the archaeologists returned to Winchester. Other parties had in the meantime made different excursions. Some persons wandered as far as Silchester, and others extended their excursion to Salisbury ; these, of course, returned the following day. Another party visited the interesting church of Romsey, a very good and attractive guide to which had recently been published by Mr. Charles Spence, and appropriately dedicated to the British Archaeological Association. The nunnery at Romsey, to which this church belonged, was founded by Edward the Elder, at the beginning of the tenth century, and was subsequently enlarged by king Edgar, who placed over it Merwenna, the first known abbess. It suffered much in the Danish wars of the end of the tenth and beginning of the eleventh centuries, and it appears to have been found necessary to rebuild it in the twelfth century, for to that period the architecture of the present church belongs. The abbesses before the Norman Conquest are all represented to have been saints ; those who followed, if we may believe WINCHESTER AND SOUTHAMPTON. 229 the voice of history, appear to have been — we may almost venture to say — sinners. Their history is more remarkable and eventful than that of most other similar establish- ments. The first abbess, Merwenna, appeared to the sisters after her death, and she consequently obtained a place in the Romish calendar of saints. Her successor, Elwina, received intimation in a miraculous manner of the intended invasion by the Danes, and, with the assistance of her nuns, she carried the relics and more valuable objects belonging to her church to Winchester. The next Saxon abbess, Elfieda, also found a place in the Romish calendar ; king Edgar, we are told in her legend, " put her to the monasterye of Romseye, under the abbesse Merwenne ; and she lovyd her as her own daughter, and brought her uppe in alle vertue. And on a tyme her candell fell oute, and the fyngers of her ryghte honde gave lyghte to all that were rounde aboute her." The legend adds, — " And after that she was made abbesse, no man can tell the almes that she gave, nor the prayers and wepyngs that she used, as well for herselfe as for the peple. And on a tyme, when she was with the quene, she wente in the nyghtys into the water, and was there in prayer. And on a nyghte, the quene seynge her goo furthe, suspected it had been for incontynence, and followyd ; and when she saw her go into the water, sodenly she was astonyd, and went in a manner out of her mynde, and turnyd in agayne cryenge, and colde take no reste till Seynt Elfled prayed for her, seyinge, ' Lord, forgyve her this offence, for she wyst not what she dyd ! ' and so she was made hool. And when she was reprovyd as a waster of the goodys of the monasterye, certyn money that she had given in almys, by her prayer, was put into the baggys agayne." We are not even acquainted with the names of the abbesses during the eleventh century, and it is probable that the house had fallen into decay. About the middle of the twelfth century, Mary, youngest daughter of king Stephen, was made abbess. The subsequent renunciation of the monastic life by this lady, and her marriage with William count of Boulogne, was the cause of great scandal at the time, and of much discord between church and state. She ended her days in a nunnery in France. During the abbacy of Amicia, in the latter part of the thirteenth century, a mandate was issued by the archbishop of Canterbury, directing the abbess to forbid all inter- course between her nuns and a prebend of Romsey, called William Schyrlock, on account of his notoriously dissolute character (vitam inhonestam et dissolutam trahentem), from which it would appear that this nunnery had been the scene of irregularities, the scandal of which had reached the ears of the archbishop, otherwise the abbess might have inhibited her nuns from intercourse with the disorderly prebend without the primate's interference. In 1310, in the abbacy of Alicia de Wyntreshul, an episcopal visitation was found necessary, and the nuns were forbidden to sleep with boys or girls 230 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ALBUM. (tie eubeni in dormitorio pueri masculi cum monidlibus vel famellce nee per moniales ducantur in chorion). This abbess met her death by poison, but it does not appear whether the offenders were her own nuns or other persons. In 1506, the abbey was subjected to a visitation by the bishop of Winchester (Fox), and the abbess was then accused of habits of frequent and immoderate intemperance and drinking, especially at late hours of the night, and inducing the nuns, by her bad example and exhortations, to revel in her chamber every evening. Among the privileges claimed by the abbesses of Romsey was the ordinary one, but which appears singular enough in the hands of ladies who are supposed to have retired from the world, of setting up a gallows and hanging within the liberties of their monastery. During some years previous to the abbacy of Amicia, who has been already mentioned, either from the negligence or from the humane feelings of the nuns, this right had been lost ; and this abbess took some pains to get it restored by a new grant. The abbey-church of Romsey has long been known as a remarkably fine specimen of Norman architecture, with some additions in the early English style, and for its profusion of sculptured ornaments. It is now in the course of restoration, under the care of Mr. Ferrey, which has led to several discoveries of an interesting description. Within a few weeks, on moving a large stone slab in the floor of the church, a stone coffin, five feet ten inches long by two feet wide in the broadest part, was found imme- diately under it, containing the skeleton of a priest, measuring five feet 'four inches long, in good preservation, the head elevated and resting in a hollow cavity in the stone. lie had been buried in the alb and tunic, the vestments peculiar to his office : over his left arm was the maniple, and in his hand the chalice, covered with the patine, both of which were of pewter. The marks of the corpse might be traced on the sides of the coffin, from which the priest appeared to have been stout, as well as short of stature. Although he is supposed to have been buried early in the fourteenth century, a great part of the linen alb remained, as well as portions of the stockings, and all the parts of the boots, which had fallen to pieces from the decay of the sewing. The maniple was of brown velvet, lined with silk, and fringed at the extremity. At former periods the remains of several of the nuns had been similarly brought to light ; but the most curious discovery of all was that made in 1839, the description of which may be best given in the words of the churchwarden, who was present, which we extract from Mr. Spence's book. They were preparing a grave in the south aisle, near the second pier of the nave on entering from the south transept : — " We came, about five feet below the pavement, in contact with a leaden coffin, deposited in the earth, but without inscription of any kind. It was not of the shape now in use, but eighteen inches wide at the WINCHESTER AND SOUTHAMPTON. 231 head, and tapered gradually down towards the foot, the width of which was thirteen inches only. The extreme length was five feet, and the depth one foot three inches. It was made of very thick lead, and might possibly weigh nearly two hundredweight, the metal being about ten pounds to the square foot. The coffin was put together in a very substantial manner, the seams being folded over each other and welded : it was probably constructed before the use of solder was known. From lying so long in the ground the lid was much decayed, and bore a strong resemblance to the original lead ore. No bones, whatever, either entire or broken, were found within ; but there had been an oak shell, which was quite decayed, and mouldered into dust when exposed to the air. On removing the lid, a beautiful head of hair, with a tail plaited about eighteen inches long, evidently that of a young female, was discovered. The hair was lying on a block of oak, cut out hollow on purpose to receive the head of the corpse when deposited within its narrow abode. The hair was in perfect form, and appeared as though the skull had only been recently removed from it. The coffin is preserved in a safe and con- spicuous place in the church, and the hair is in a portable glass-case, and lies on the same block of oak which has been its pillow for centuries." Several circumstances con- nected with this interment leave no doubt that it must have belonged to a very remote period. MS. Harl. No. 4350. LONDON : PRINTED BV GEORGE BARCLAY, 28 CASTLE STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE.