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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 11

The Historical Manuscripts Commission

page 348

The Historical Manuscripts Commission.

The Commission appointed to I examine public and private collections for MSS. of historical interest continues its useful labours, and the report recently issued (consisting of 856 folio pp.) greatly exceeds its predecessors in bulk, and equals them in the interest of its contents. Since the Commissioners commenced their labours, in 1869, no less than three hundred and fifty collections have been examined; and we are glad to hear that they have been gratified by the importance of the documents brought to light, as well as the manner in which possessors of MSS. have made them available.

We propose first noticing the collections which contain documents relating to the Middle Ages, treating that period, for convenience, as extending to the end of the fifteenth century. Of these the 'miscellaneous' portion of the muniments of Westminster Abbey is the most interesting, and Mr. Burtt has made a careful inventory of the documents composing it, based on the catalogue of Widmore, compiled in the last century. One pacquet contains eleven warrants or letters from Henry III. to Masters John of Gloucester, Edward of Westminster, and Robert of Beverley, 'our masons and wardens of our works at Westminster,' directing that marble columns and blocks of freestone should be sent to St. Martin's. London, to make a pulpit; that the Friars Preachers should have 1,000 freestones for their works, and all the cinders of all the lead for the Church of Westminster, to make an aqueduct. Another paper states that the cost of the works at Westminster, from their commencement under Henry III. to his 45th year, was 29,345l. 19s. 8d. There is an Indulgence promulgated by Abbot William de Humez to all contributing towards the building of the Lady Chapel between 1220 and 1222.1 By a deed dated 15 Richard II. it appears that, instead of continuing a grant of 100l, annually to the 'new work,' the Crown gave the abbot the Priory of Stoke-nigh-Clare. A Letter Patent, 1413, grants to William Waldern and others the power of pressing workmen for the construction and repair of the nave of the Abbey.2 A paper, 20 Ed. I., witnesses the delivery of the heart of Henry III. to the Abbess of Font Evraud (Fontevrault) in the presence of many distinguished persons.3

Among the Indulgences are those by Reynard, Archb of Armagh, in 1248, of forty days to all bringing relics of the blood of our Lord from the Patriarch of Jerusalem to Henry III., which were carried by the king in solemn procession from St. Paul's to the Abbey; by Hugh Bishop of Ely, 1283, of twenty days to those visiting the Abbey and praying at the tomb of William de page 349 Hasele; by the Bishops of London, Hereford, and St. David's to those worshipping in the chapel of St. Nicholas, in 1311; and by the Bishop of Winchester, 1328, to those visiting relics in the Abbey and the tomb of Henry III.

A few documents refer to disputes between the Abbot and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of London and Winchester, respecting jurisdiction. The three latter protested that by coming into the Abbey at the royal request to say mass and do service at the burial of Avelina, wife of Edmund Earl of Lancaster, and at the coronation of Edward II., the privileges of the Abbey should not be affected.

The abbots were often obliged to borrow, and appear to have resorted to Italian merchants for the purpose. Richard de Berking (1222-46) obtained a loan of Agapitus de Vezosa, merchant, of Venice. Richard de Ware (1258-84), one of 1,000 marks in Rome, c. 1259, and Walter de Wenlock (1284-1308), various sums of Florentine merchants. Henry III. was often in difficulties likewise; and we find notice of a number of jewels and precious stones belonging to the shrine of Edward the Confessor which the king borrowed to raise money upon in 1267, and returned two years afterwards. A grant 12 Richard II. shows that he gave a ring with a precious ruby to the shrine of S. Edward, on condition that when in England he might use the ring, but when abroad it should be placed on the shrine. An indenture witnesses the delivery in 1483, by the king to the abbot, of the 'golden and jewelled eagle, containing the relic called "the ampulle," to be given up again when asked for.'4 Late in the thirteenth or early in the fourteenth century Maud de Clare, Countess of Gloucester, writes to the prior and convent that she hopes they will excuse the long stay their friar Dan Henry is making with her, for to let him leave with the relic which they had allowed her to have for so long before she was better than at present would be a great discomfort to her.5

An indenture (1407) between Henry IV. and his son Henry Prince of Wales shows that the latter agreed to serve his father in the wars in Wales with 600 men-at-arms and 1,800 archers for half a year, each man-at-arms to be paid 12d. per day, and each archer 6d. Some of the documents at Westminster are in the original turned wooden boxes called skippets.

Among the MSS. of Lord Fitzhardinge at Berkeley Castle is a cartulary6 of the monastery of S. Augustine, of Bristol, chiefly written at the end of the thirteenth century. It appears from it that the monastery was founded A.D. 1140, the church dedicated six years after, and that Alured Bishop of Worcester first introduced canons in 1148. Duke Henry of Normandy and various members of the Berkeley family were considerable benefactors. In one part of the volume a curious definition of apostasy appears:

It is a reckless (temerarius) departing from the state of faith, obedience, or re- page 350 ligio. It is threefold: I, perfidy; 2, disobedence; 3, irregularity:—I, departure from the faith, like Julian the Emperor; 2, [unclear: wilft] transgression of the commands of a [unclear: prelae], like Adam and Eve; 3, departure from his state of religion, as when a monk, clerk or conversus, or any in religion, [unclear: apositizes;]—this is in many ways, viz. Leavig off the tonsure, throwing off the religous habit, or a clerk returning to the work.

A deed among the family papers of Richard Pine Coffin, Esq., of Porledge, North Devon, is of a very remrkable character. It relates to a brgain with a champion for a due, and the following is a translation from the Latin:

Know all who the present writing shall see c hear that it is thus agreed between Richrd de Cokematone and Letice, his wife of the one part, and Richard do Poulsholte, of the other part, namely, that he aforesaid Richard de Cokematone and Letice, his wife, are bound unto the aforesaid Richard do Poulesholte in twenty mark sterling for the duel which the same Richrd de Poulesholte shall wage for the same Richard do Cokematone and Letice agaist William Fitz-Jordan for one messuag and one plough-land, with the appurtnances, in Cokematone; so that if the aforesaid Richard shall complete the aforesaid duel, the Lord so granting, then the aforesaid twenty marks, the day on which the aforesaid duel shall take place, shall be delivered unto Richard de la Will before the said duel shall be begun, to be paid to the said Richard de P. [unclear: When] the said duel is ended. And if the parties aforesaid, before the duel is stricen, shall agree as to the tenements aforesaid, then the said Richard de [unclear: Cokematae] and Letice, his wife, shall pay for the lows of our Lord the King to the aforesaid R. de P. forty shillings on the same day. And if it shall happen that the arties aforesaid, on the day for the duel being stricken, shall agree upon the field the duel being begun, then the said Richard de Cokematone and Letice, his wife are bound on the same day to pay to the said R. de P. ten marks without delay out of the moneys so being in the keeping of the aforesaid Richard de la Wille. And this covenant the aforesaid R. de C. and R. de P. have made corporal oath faithfully to observe. And the aforesaid Richard and Letice shall find mainpernors that the said covenant shall be fully observed, namely, Baldewyne do Belestone and Robert de Stolkeheye, who acknowledge themselves to be mainpernors, and by this present writing they have bound themselves to make payment of the aforesaid money, and to pay the same in form aforesaid, each of them for the whole. In witness whereof the aforesaid parties to these writings in chirograph have alternately set their seals. Given at Exeter, on the Wednesday next after the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the eighteenth year of the reign of King Edward (1290).

From another deed it appears that the duel did not take place; but it is probable that such a method of settling disputes was not uncommon at that period.

The muniments in St. Catherine's College, Cambridge, are not numerous; but from a book compiled by Robert Woodelarke, the founder of the college,7 the following list of the altar ornaments is worth quoting:

In the first place, a large super-altar, hallowed. Also a green set of vestments for week-days of bustian.8 Another set of green silk. A corporax (cloth for the consecrated elements in the Sacrament), of black silk on one side and green bustian on the other. Another corporax of chekere work of gold and silver cloth. Eleven towels to lie upon the altar, with black crosses in the middle, the same being two yards and three-quarters in length. Two steynd clothes, one of which contains two yards and a quarter in length, and the other two yards; having a crown in the middle and at the end of the cloth. A carpet containing two yards in length; also five linen cloths.

page 351
Among the gifts to the same college are the following:

Master Percy gave to us and the college one mazer cup. Master Symsom gave five marks for the souls of John Wayde and his wife; also forty shillings for the repair of the chapel. Doctor Myddelton, rector of Balsham, gave a tablecloth of dyaper, with twelve hand-napkins. Dame Alice Tayllur gave five nobles. Dame Claryvay gave a mazer of the value by estimation of four nobles. John Hosyer, mercer, gave to the college a set of vestments, value 6s. 8d Master Garnel gave a silver piece of the value of four nobles; the same Master gave in money forty shillings. Master William Wode gave twelve spoons and one silver saltcellar, 3li in value. Master Spycer gave a silverllar saltce parcel gilt, value 40s., with a cover.

Robert Woodelarke gave the college some books which he had chained in the library; among them Lincolniensis (Grosteste) de Oculo Morali, Franciscus Petrarcha de Remediis utriusque Fortunœ; Stephanus Cantuariensis (S. Langton) super Ecclesiastem; Distinctiones Holcoti (executor of R. de Bury) super Sapientia; Policronica, cum aliis; Johannes Salisburiensis de Pollicrotico; Bocasius (Boccaccio) in Anglicis de Viris Illustribus; Historiœ Cronicales Angliœ, Franciœ, et aliarum regionum. Some works of Aristotle are mentioned also. In the chapel, besides three missals, were:

One great breviary without notation; another breviary, chained; a Legend of the Saints, chained; a primer, with Placebo and Derige (sic), chained; a small gradal, with masses of S. Katharine, and of S. Mary, and of Requiem, bound in boards; another small gradal, bound in parchment, with the same masses; a sequence, with notation; a manual; a History of S. Katharine, with notation; a Legend of S. Katharine, with the History; a gradal, the gift of Master John Leche; a breviary, with notation, the gift of the same; a printed breviary, bound, the gift of Master Halle; a little book of Synodals, bound, the gift of Master Balderston (elected Master in 1506).9

It is carious that the library of the same college should have the register of the Corporation of New Romney in the reigns of Edward III. and Richard II. It contains such rules as this: If a person be found cutting wood within the franchise he is to have the pillory the first time, to have his ear cut off, and be taken to the other end of the town, and made to abjure it. On a second occasion he is to lose the other ear; and on the third offence be punished with death. A letter in Norman-French to Sir R. de Mortimer states that the bailiff and barons, in accordance with his wish, have searched all the cellars of the town for the six tuns of best Gascon wine he required, but can only find four tuns a nostre tast and they have purchased them for thirty-four marks.

It is much to be regretted that the records of the Cinque Ports have been greatly neglected and in part destroyed. Those in an iron chestat New Romney are evidently part of a much larger collection, while those in a chamber over the porch of the parish church at Hythe have been rendered almost illegible from damp. From very early times the ports had to provide seventy-two ships, each manned by twenty-one sailors, to serve the king freely for fifteen days, and after that period to receive page 352 payment. This was the germ of the Royal Navy. A great deal of interesting information respecting the ports and the curious customs connected with them will be found in Boys' History of Sandwich. Among the papers at Hythe quoted in the Report is a churchwardens' account for the year 1480. Some of the entries are curious:

Eleven pounds of wax for the Paschal taper and torches, 5s. 01/2d. For two men watching the Lord's Sepulchre, 8d. For a cloth of hayre for one of the altars, 10½d. Paid John London for mending the organs, 10s. 2d. Paid the parish clerk for keeping le chyme and le clok. 13s. 4d. Paid the same clerk for keeping the organs, 10s. Paid Sir Thomas Howlet, for praying for the soul of Master Drowis, 6d. Paid Sir Richard, the Priest of the Mass of Jesus, for his wages of the preceding year, 3s. 3d. Paid the same Sir Richard his wages in full for three-quarters of a year this year, 3s. 1d. Paid Thomas Bedeman, for cleaning the church this year, 2s. Paid the same Thomas for his gown, for lying in the church, 4s.

It is probable that mediæval churches were rarely left at night. This will explain the fact that many doors have ponderous bolts which could only be drawn from the inside.

From a jurats' book of the same town, c. 1412, it appears that the corporation were very anxious to keep in the good graces of their ecclesiastical and other superiors. They presented Robert Long, messenger from the Archbishop of Canterbury, with 20d., 'that he might speak to his lordship good words for this town.' On other occasions

Paid John Godescale for a porpeys10 for the Archbishop of Canterbury, 3s. 4d. Paid for fish bought, namely, whytyng, haddok, and salt makerel, for the Lieutenant of Dover Castle when he came through this town to Romene, 20d.

From a careful examination of thirty-two fourteenth-century fragments of court books of Hythe, consisting chiefly of declarations by married women relating to property, Mr. Riley gives some interesting conclusions respecting Christian names at that time:

The name Johanna or Joan seems here, as in London, at the same period, to have been the most favourite name for females in the fourteenth century; out of 130 names occurring it appears 32 times. It had, however, become less popular at the beginning of the fifteenth century. The name Alice occurs 19 times, Agnes 12. As in London at the same time, the Christian name Mary never occurs. Christina is met with 11 times, Margery 10, Isabel 8, Philippa 5, Lucy 4, Magota 4, Cecily 3, Juliana 3, Margaret 3, Matilda 2, Dionysia 2, and Avicya, Beatricia, Elena, Elianora, Elizabeth, Emma, Juliana, Letitia (or Lettice), Lore, Mabilia, Martha, and Yadilda, once each. As London in the fourteenth century, John was by far the most common Christian name for males, and it so continued for at least the first half of the fifteenth.

The Custumal, temp. Henry VI., among the archives of the Corporation of New Romney, is very different from the volume of that title printed in Lyons' History of Dover Castle. The same body has a diary of the bailiffs sent by their town on behalf of the Cinque Ports to the Michaelmas Free Fair11 held at Great Yarmouth in 35 Elizabeth (1593). Mr. Riley says it is in English, is full of quaint matter, and deserves publication. This fair, one of the largest in the Middle Ages, lasted for about forty days. Speed, in his Chronicle, 1611, says:

There is yearly in September the worthiest herring fishery in Europe, which page 353 drawith great concourse of people, which maketh the town much the richer all the year following, but very unsavoury for the time.

Manship,12 alluding to the bailiffs' visit, remarks:

The Cinque Ports exercised in turn the right of nominating the bailiffs, who, on the vigil of the feast-day of S. Michael, repaired to Yarmouth, to a house hired for the purpose, bringing with them their learned counsel, town clerk, two serjeants hearing white rods, a brazen horn-sounder, one carrying a banner of the arms of the ports, and a jailer. On being come thither the bailiffs of Yarmouth the same evening and some of their brethren attended at their lodging and courteously did entertain and welcome them. Next morning all repaired to church to hear divine service, they of Yarmouth inviting the others to take their places with them in their seats. . . . And here I may not overpass with a silent pen the exceeding bountiful fare, feasting and royal cheer and open house keeping wherewith the Cinque Ports bailiffs do give entertainment in their fair house, in, by, and during the one and twenty days of their abiding at Yarmouth.

Their jurisdiction ceased soon after.

We are glad to see that Mr. Riley has discovered among the records of Balliol College several references to Wycliff. The date of the commencement of his Mastership of Balliol has been up to this time given as 1361. It was in the previous year, for there is a memorandum which states :

At the Husting of Common Pleas holden on Monday next after the feast of our Lord's Ascension, in the thirty-fourth year of the reign of King Edward, after the Conquest, the Third (1360), John de "Wycliff, Master of the House of the Scholars of the Hall called '[unclear: LeBaillolhalle],' in Oxford, was attached to make answer to Nicholas Marchant in a plea of distresses taken.

There are no less than 13,000 old deeds in the muniment-room in the Cloister Tower of St. Mary Magdalene's College, Oxford. Their number is easily explained. Bishop "Waynflete founded the college in 1458, and afterwards obtained papal and royal permissions to annex some small religious houses, their muniments being naturally brought to the college. These have been well preserved, and actually remain in original oak boxes of the fifteenth century. Good reasons are assigned for the annexation of these houses. The Priory of Sele, in Sussex, had in 1474 only one monk beside the prior; ten years later no one resided in the Priory of Selborne, Hants. The other foundations were the Hospital of SS. Stephen and Thomas of Canterbury, at Romney; the chapel of St. Katherine, at Wan-borough, Wilts; and the Hospitals of Brackley and Aynho, Northamptonshire. About 1467 Sir John Fastolf by will intended to found a college at Castre, in Norfolk, for seven priests and seven poor men, and directed the sale of manors for the purpose to the extent of 4,000 marks. Waynflete, Sir John Paston, Sir William Yelverton, Thomas Howes, and W. Wircester were the executors. After his decease disputes arose which caused Sir John's property to be much wasted. In 1481 Waynflete got a dispensation from the Pope to change the Castre endowment in favour of Magdalen College; by this means a good deal of Norfolk property accrued to the college. Mr. Macray tells us in the Report that the numerous deeds among the records referring to this dispute contain papers of interest relating to Sir John Fastolf and the Pastons, so well known by the famous Letters.13

page 354

Amongst this mass of documents are several sales and manumissions of serfs. In the beginning of the thirteenth century a serf at Brackley, Northampton, was sold for three marks, and another later in the century for twenty shillings. Mr. Mac-ray remarks that to a deed dated 1252 respecting property in Oxford a seal is attached by a Jewess named Mildegoda, which has an indistinct animal upon it, such indistinctness being intentional, in accordance with rabbinical teaching. The seals attached to many of the deeds are generally in fine condition.

A confirmation by Richard II. (1378) to the Knights Hospitallers grants their liberties, 'cum sock et sack, et thol et theam et infangenthef et utfangenethef et hamsock et gridbrith et bodwyte et fichwyte et flitwyte et ferdwyte et hengwyte et leyrwyte et fflemmenefrithe et murdro et latrocino et forstal et ordel et oreste,' and exempts them from 'wardepeny et averpeny et hundredepeny et borghelpeny et thethyngepeny.' It appears that William of Wykeham took pains to reform the Priory of Selborne. By his Injunctions issued September 27, 1387, among other things ordered were:

The cloister not to be a thoroughfare for persons of both sexes. None to go to public hunts or keep hunting dogs. None to be absent from services on pretence of convent business without leave. Common seal to be kept under five keys. None to be godparents without the Bishop's leave. None to wear precious furs or gathered (nondulatis) sleeves, or silk girdles, with gold or silver ornaments.14 Vestments and vessels of the church to be kept clean; wine for the altar to be good, not corrupt and sour, as it is wont to be. Relies, vestments, vessels, and books not to be pawned, and those that are now in pawn to be recovered.

Among the relics in a chapel at Wanborough, c. 1484, 'zona sanctæ Katherinæ et ampulla de oleo ejus,' was chief.

The reasons assigned in the Report for the destruction of many monuments of the illustrious family of Argyllare the forfeitures of Archibald, eighth earl and first Marquis, in 1661, and his son in 1681. But the fact that no charters exist of a date previous to the beginning of the fourteenth century seems to us to point to another cause, viz. The destruction of the records of the great families of Scotland ordered by Edward I. From a warrant by the Marquis of Argyll, 1641, it appears that the charter-chests, or 'kists,' as they were called, were then kept at Carrick Castle, in the island of Roseneath. About seventy years later John, the second duke, had twelve new oak chests made, which are still preserved. The place where these were kept—probably in the last century—was so damp that many of the documents have been much injured.

By charter, dated 1315, King Robert Bruce granted to Sir Colin Campbell (Cambell in the early charters) the barony of Lochaw and Ardskeodnish, on condition that he furnished a ship of forty oars, properly manned, for the space of forty days, when required. This Sir Colin was son of Sir Neil, also a great favourite of that monarch, and contributed much to his success page 355 at Bannockburn.15 He married the king's sister, Lady Mary Bruce, of which union Sir Neil was eldest son. Sir Colin's great-grandson, Sir Duncan, was the first of the family who took the name of Argyll. In 1445 King James II. created him Lord Campbell. He was fortunate enough to marry Marjory Stewart, daughter of Robert Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland. This was the second royal marriage of this family. His son Colin, second Lord Campbell, was in 1457 created Earl of Argyll. Twenty-three years later the lordship of Lorne became the property of the earl by an agreement between himself and Walter Stewart, Lord Lorne. The latter agreed to resign the lordship into the hands of the king (who re-granted it to the earl and his heirs), in exchange for the lands of Kildonying and others, in the shires of Perth, Fife, Kinross, and Aberdeen. By this arrangement the Argyll family obtained lands in the neighbourhood of its ancient possessions. This took place in 1470, and four years after the king by charter erected the earl's village of Inverary, in the shire of Argyll,

into a free burgh of barony, with power to the tenants and inhabitants thereof of buying and selling within the same wine, wax, wool and linen cloth, and other merchandise, with liberty of having bakers, brewers, fleshers, and other craftsmen belonging to a burgh of barony, with a right also to elect bailies and officers. They were also to have within the said burgh a cross and market weekly, and also public fairs yearly, to wit, markets at the feast of Michaellmas, and another fair at the feast of St. Branden, in the month of May and through the whole octaves, with all other privileges, as freely as any other burgh of barony.

One document of the Middle Ages in this collection only claims our attention.

This is a verdict of an inquest held at Kandrochid, April 22, 1428, by the Baillie of Glendochart, by which it was found that the keeper of a relic called the Quigrich of St. Fillan had a right to certain payments of meal from the inhabitants of the district. St. Fillan founded a monastery at Glendochart in the eighth century, and the quigrich was his pastoral staff. It was the custom to cover the staves of the early Irish and Scotch missionary saints at a later period with elaborate metal-work, and in like manner their hand-bells were enshrined. Certain families became keepers of these relics, which were religiously handed down from father to son. There is a tradition that the bell of St. Fillan used to be laid on a gravestone in the churchyard of Killin, and when mad people were brought to be dipped in the Holy Well there, it was placed on their heads, after they had passed the night in the chapel.16

A similar relic is described by Mr. Gilbert as in the possession of Sir R. O'Donnell, Bart., of Newport, page 356 co. Mayo. This is the cathach,17 or metal casket, containing a portion of a Latin psalter on vellum, believed to be in the handwriting of St. Columba (521-96). A dispute respecting the ownership of the MS. is said to have led to the battle of Culdreimne, and caused the saint to leave the country. It is thus called cathach, from Irish cath, a battle. It must not be supposed that the casket is as old as its contents; the former was added by Cathbarr O'Donnell late in the eleventh century. An Irish inscription upon it has been thus translated:

Pray for Cathbarr O'Donnel, for whom this casket was made, and for Sitric, son of MacAedha, who made it; and for Donal MacRobartaigh, successor (of St. Columba as abbot), of Kells, at whose house it was made.

The O'Donnells believed that if it was carried on the breast of a 'sinless cleric' three times round their troops before a battle, victory would be certain.

We quote Mr. Gilbert's careful description of this casket:

It is 9¾ inches long, 7½ broad, and 2 in [unclear: depta]. The top—a gilt and chased plate of siver, riveted to one of brass—is divided into three compartments, supported and separated by columns. In the centre is a sitting figure, with hair flowing over the shoulders, holding up the right hand, of which the third and fourth fingers are folded down; the left hand holds a square resenbling a book. The arms of the seat terminate in fierce animal heads, with open mouths. At the feet of the figure is a now vacant square setting for a large gem. In the right compartment is a bishop or abbot, in vestments and mitre, the right hand held up, with third and fourth fingers folded; a pastoral staff in the other hand. In the left compartment is the Crucifixion, with a figure on each side. Over the arms of the cross are engraved two birds. In the upper right arch an angel swings a censer, under which is engraved a tonsured ecclesiastic; above is a grotesque bird. Over the left arch is a similar angel, with censor, above which is a bird with human face; below is engraved a griffin. Round the casket runs a chased border of about three-quarters of an inch wide, on the top and bottom of which are grotesque figures of birds and lions; on the sides oak-leaves and acorns. In each corner is set an oval crystal; in the centre at the top is a round crystal18 in a setting surrounded by gems. Affixed to the right side of the casket, at the top, is a small silver double-looped hollow ball, suspended to a flexible silver chain. On the ball, in which are round holes, is a defaced inscription in Gothic characters. The bottom of the casket is of brass, over which is a silver network plate divided into numerous small cruciform openings of nearly uniform size; on two sides and one end of the margin runs the Irish inscription.

From the period of the fabrication of the casket until 1814—more than seven hundred years—it had never been opened. The true character of its contents had been quite lost sight of, and it was supposed to contain the bones of St. Columba, In the year 1814 Lady O'Donnell lent the relic to Sir W. Betham, Ulster King-at-Arms, to have a drawing made of it. She heard that he had opened it, and filed a bill in Chancery at Dublin, April 30, in that year, complaining of the act. There was a tradition in the family that ill would come of such curiosity. In June following a sworn answer to the bill was put in, and in this document Sir William admitted that he had opened the casket. He understood through a third person that her ladyship had no objection to its being opened if it contained a MS., page 357 as Sir William had discovered. He found out that it contained a MS. by introducing, through a small opening, a slender wire and passing it along the edges of the vellum. He afterwards opened it, and declared that the box contained no jewels or precious stones, nor anything besides the MS. At a later period Mr. C. O'Donnell allowed him to open the casket and more carefully examine its contents.

The psalter appeared to have been originally stitched together, but the sewing had almost entirely disappeared. On one side was a thin piece of board covered with red leather, very like that with which Eastern MSS. are bound. It was so much injured by damp as to appear almost a solid mass. By steeping it in cold water I was enabled to separate the membranes from each oilier, and by pressing each separately between blotting-paper and frequently renewing the operation, at length succeeded in restoring what was not actually decayed to a legible state.19

This book does not appear to be illuminated, like other MSS. of the period,20 as the celebrated books of Kells and Durrow. St. Columba spent the greater part of his life either transcribing manuscripts or directing their transcription. He is said to have copied three hundred volumes with his own hand, and was engaged upon a psalter on the day of his death.

The Book of Kells is certainly the gem of the magnificent collection of MSS. at Trinity College, Dublin.21 It is more richly illuminated than any Irish MS. which has been preserved. Sir Digby Wyatt says he once attempted to copy some of the ornaments, but broke down in despair. In the space of a quarter of an inch Mr. Westwood counted one hundred and fifty-eight interlacements of a slender ribbon pattern. No wonder there is a tradition that it was executed by angels. It is said to have been the work of St. Columba himself, but it was more probably illuminated in his honour soon after his death. It came into the possession of Archbishop Ussher when he was Bishop of Meath (1621-4). This precious volume differs from others in having drawings of men, animals, &c. executed without reference to the text, and also in having at the end some curious charters relating to the clergy of the church of Kells, the only documents of a like character in existence of a date previous to the Norman invasion.22

The Book or Gospels of Durrow, in the same collection, is also said to have been written by St. Columba. It was preserved at that place until the Reformation, when it was given to Trinity College Library by Dr. Jones, Bishop of Meath.

The Cethar Leabhar, or Garland of Howth, is supposed to be older than either of the preceding volumes. It belonged to the church of Inis Meic Nessain, or Ireland's Eye. It is a New Testament, and came into page 358 the possession of Archbishop Ussher. The Book of Dimma Mac Nathi (d. 620), a small copy of the Latin Gospels in Irish characters, is another interesting Irish MS.23 in the Trinity College Library. It is preserved in its original cumdach, or casket of brass and silver. Until the Reformation it was preserved in the Abbey of Roscrea. The Royal Irish Academy purchased it of Sir W. Betham.

We must allude to one more MS. in the library, mentioned by Mr. Gilbert. This is an important Greek MS., the Codex Montfortianus—from a former owner, Montfort, a D.D. of Cambridge—which is one of the MSS. which contain the passage of 'the three that bear record in heaven' (I John v. 7). Montfort had it just before Ussher, and it had also belonged to Froy, a Franciscan friar. Erasmus is supposed to have known it under the name of Codex Britannicus.24

Turning to the Report for notable documents of the sixteenth century, we find in the account of the Westminster Abbey muniments some documents relating to disputes between the abbey authorities and the heralds as to who should have the hearse and its furniture used at great funerals. It appears to have been the custom to set up in the church a framework of timber, covered with silk and velvet hangings, and decorated with waxen images, banners of arms, and a great many lights.25 The wax for the hearse of Henry IV. cost 200/., and 66 cwt. of wax was used in that of Anne, Queen of Richard II.26 During the funeral rites the coffin was placed under the hearse. The latter had upon it a waxen effigy of the deceased, which, after the hearse had been exhibited for a month or so, was preserved in the abbey. These figures, placed in presses in the Islip Chapel, formed one of the chief sights of the abbey. One paper at Westminster is endorsed:

The names of the counsel in Qu. Mary's time that did take order that the latte abbot and convent of West', should have the herse, &c. at my L. Anne of Cleves funerall.

Another:

1568.—Funeral of Lady Anne of Cleves.27 How the abbot and convent take the herse, &c. The heralds complain to the Council. The abbot and the sexton appeared and shewed grants for the right of the church. Sentence given with the church against the Heralds p. Hugh Philip.

In the following year this decision seems to have been reversed, for there is an order made April 26, 1569, by the Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal, directing that the hearse of Lady 'Knowles' (Catherine Knollys, cousin of Queen Elizabeth) should be given to the heralds. These disputes do not seem to have been settled until 1758. A document, January 9 of that year, is the agreement between the Dean and Chapter and the heralds for dividing the perquisites at royal funerals; and another, February 6, same year, is an order for paying the heralds half the value of things used at Princess Caroline's funeral.

Professor Brewer continues his report of the unique collection of historical papers at Hatfield House, bringing the series down to 1587. We cannot help regretting that he has given us such a bare 'calendar' page 359 of these MSS.—generally one line states the writer and receiver of a letter. There are four letters he surely might have given in full—two written by Wolsey to Secretary Gardiner after his fall (which, he says, are of special arid unique interest), and the two casket letters of Mary Queen of Scots filling up the blanks in the collection at the State Paper Office.

The following lines are said to be by Robert Earl of Essex, and appear among the papers of Sir Hervey Bagot:

Happy were hee coold finish foorth his fate
In some unhaunted desert, where obscure
From all society, from loove and hate
Of worldly folk, there shoold he sleep secure,
Then wake again and yield God ever prayes;
Content with hipp with hawes and bramble-berry,
In contemplation passing still his dayes,
And chaunge of holy thoughts to make him merry;
Who, when he dyes his Toomb might be the bush
Where harmless Robin resteth with the Thrush;
Happy were hee.

Lord Fitzhardinge's MSS. comprise letters of Henry VIII., Queens Mary and Elizabeth, James I. and II., and William III. Mr. Horwood says it is well known that Henry VIII. frequently used a stamp for his signature during the latter years of his life, but two letters here show that he began that practice when a young man, probably to save time and trouble. A letter from Sir George Carey to his wife, April 22, 1595, mentions the Earl of Derby's death, and attributes it to poison:

The physicians say poison, and partly witchcraft. The witch is in prison. They have found his picture in wax with one of her hairs prict directly in the heart. Order is taken for the appointment of a Commission for the examination and trial of the Earl's death.

One of the most interesting results of the labours of the Commission, as given in this Report, is the discovery, in a manuscript in the possession of Col. Towneley, at Townley Hall, Burnley, of a hitherto unknown fact relating to Edmund Spenser. Mr. Knowles found this in a MS. containing the payments of the executors of Robert Nowell, Attorney-General of the Court of Wards, Reader of Gray's Inn, and Steward to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, who died February 6, 1569. In this volume there is an entry of

Gownes given to certeyn poor schollors of the scholls aboute London, in number 32, viz. St. Paul's, Merchant Taylor's, St. Anthony's Schole, St. Saviour's Grammer Schole, and Westminster School.

First on the list of scholars of Merchant Taylors who had a gown is Edmunde Spenser. It is well known that Spenser entered Pembroke Hall May 30, 1569, and fortunately the MS. settles the identity of the Edmund Spenser with the author of the Faerie Queene by three other entries:

Given to poor schollers of dyvers gramare scholles.

Apr. 28, 1569.—To Edmond Spensore, scholler of the M'chante Tayler schollers at his gowinge to Pembrocke Hall, in Chambridge, xs.

Nov. 7, 1570.—To Richard Langher and Edmond Spenser, two poore scholars of Pembrock haule, vjs. a peace, in the whole xijs. by the hands of Mr. Thomas Now, fellow of the same howse.

To Edmonde Spensere the xxiiij of Aprill, A° 1571, ijs. vjd.

So little is known of Spenser's early life that the discovery of the name of the school in which he was educated is of particular interest.28.

page 360

Some papers in the possession of the Countess of Rothes relate to the murder of Cardinal Beton (or Beaton), which took place May 30, 1546. John Leslie (brother of George, the third Earl of Rothes), rector of Kynnore, and Norman Leslie, Master of Rothes, were among those guilty of that horrible deed, and were forfeited on the following 14th of August. By a deed, dated July 3, 1575, David Earl of Crauford and others, 'as nearest and principals of the kin and allies of the late David, Cardinal, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, not only taking the burden upon them for themselves and friends before named, but also for the whole four branches of the father and mother's side of the said David, Cardinal, having consideration and respect to the repentance of John Leslie of Pukhill, declared unto them manifestly for the slaughter of the said David, Cardinal, their most tender friend, committed, and forgave to the said John Leslie the rancour of their wrath and deadly feud and malice conceived by them against him for the said slaughter, and received him into their hearty love, favour, and kindness, as lovingly as if he had never committed the said slaughter, or been partaker thereof.' It is perfectly clear from the State Papers (V. pt. 4) and the Sadler Papers that a negotiation for the murder of the Cardinal had been going on for some time between Scotch traitors and the Privy Council with the express sanction of Henry VIII. The cardinal was in the castle of St. Andrews, which was surprised by sixteen men, though it contained 150 workmen and 50 retainers of the archbishop. A dagger is shown at Leslie House with which it is believed the cardinal, at the hands of Norman Leslie, received his deathblow.

It was not likely that George Earl of Rothes would escape suspicion. Among the Rothes MSS. is a Commission by Mary Queen of Scots, July 12, 1547, stating that her Majesty's tutor and governor thought it expedient that the Earl 'should be put to the knowledge of an assize,' to answer reports which had been circulated relative to his connection with the murder; and that Mr. Alexander Strauchauchan should act as justiciar. A Testimonial, dated three days after, states that the earl had appeared before the court of justiciary, held 'in the fields near the Water of Yarrow,' and by a 'condign assize' was acquitted.

Papers among the MSS. of the Earl of Selkirk, at St. Mary's Isle, refer to the gold and silver mines of Scotland. James IV., in 1505, offered at the shrine of St. Ninian, at Whithorn, a 'relique maid of the Kingis awn silver.' Damian, abbot of Tungland, visited the Crawford mines March 28, 1513; he was the King's alchemist. James V. granted these and other mines, in 1526, for 43 years to these foreigners, Joachim Hochstetter, Quintein von Lanytes, Gerard Sterik, Erasmus Sohets, and Anthoni Niket.29 Charles I., in 1631, granted for seven years to James Marquis of Hamilton all the mines within the barony of Crawford-John.

We now turn to notices of papers of the seventeenth century.

Messrs. Monro and Thorns continue their report on the MSS. of the House of Lords. It occupies no less than 170 pp. of the Report, and comprises documents extending from the beginning of the reign of Charles I. to the end of the year page 361 1641. The most important discovery is that of the depositions taken before the committee appointed by the Parliament in Scotland to inquire into the alleged design against the Marquis of Hamilton and the Earls of Argyll and Lanark. Charles I. was in Scotland in October 1641, and it was thought countenanced a plot by which the noblemen named might be seized. This is known as the 'Incident.' The marquis and earls fled, and Charles marched, at the head of 500 men, to the Parliament House and demanded that the affair should be investigated, and the aspersions which had been cast upon him withdrawn. The debate lasted from the 12th to the 21st of October, and it was then resolved, greatly to the annoyance of the king, that the inquiry should be conducted by a committee of twelve. The depositions were taken on the 22nd, 23rd, 25th, and 27th of October, read before the king and Parliament on the 28th, and sent to England. In a letter sent to the House of Commons on the 14th it was stated that 'before this fell out the treaty and what remained of the writers' business seemed almost completed, but this affair has put a stop to everything, and may give rise to great troubles.' Hume says (under October 20):

The English Parliament which was now assembled, being willing to awaken the people's tenderness by exciting their fears, immediately took the alarm, as if the malignants, so they called the king's party, had laid a plot at once to murder them and all the godly in both kingdoms. They applied, therefore, to Essex, whom the king had left general in the South of England, and he ordered a guard to attend them.30

The depositions were read in both Houses on November 5, but do not appear in the Journals. Such an omission was most unfortunate, for the depositions disappeared, and Isaac Disraeli conjectured this was designed, for the honour of the king, to bury the transaction in impenetrable obscurity;'31 and Napier observes:

It would be of great consequence to the memory of Charles I. (since such historians as Mr. Hallam still persist in pointing the obscure calumny against him), if the depositions in question could yet be discovered in the State Paper Office.32

These documents have now been discovered, and, as Sir Edward Nicholas wrote to Charles I. (November 4, 1641), there is 'nothing in all these examinations that in any sort reflects upon his Majesty's honour.'33 They appear in the Report in extenso. We select, as a fair example of the whole, a portion of the deposition of Captain Stewart, and that of W. Murray, a favourite groom of the bedchamber to the king; the former showing the nature of the plot, the latter the king's connection with it.

Captain Stewart said that Lieu-tenant-Colonel Stewart entered into discourse with him,

schowing that the haill cuntrie was governed be two, the Marques of Hamiltonne and Earle of Argyll; bot now ther was ane factionne stronge aneugh to suppress thame, for ther was thrie or four hundreth men wponne that cours, and it was resolved that the Marques of Hamyltoune and Earle of Argyll sould be drawine into the withdrawing rowme in the abbay, whair the Lord Amound sould come vp the privie way from the privie gardine and sould enter in discours with tham, that they haid assumed to thameselffes the haill governament of the cuntrie and haid wrougit the same, and therfor was comandit to putt thame jn arreist, and theraponne it was resolved that hands sould be layed wponne thame, and becaus the castell was full of prisoners, thay sould be conveyed to the Kinges schipe. The said Stewart said that William Murray, of the bedchamber, sould have drawine the Marques and Earl of Argyll, wponne the pretence of some discourse unto the with- page 362 draweing rowmes; and that the Earl of Crawfurde was also wponne the pairtie, for about four hundreth men sould hawe met him at his hous, and hawe come from thence to the privie gardene, to hawe attendit the executionne of this plotte.

.
W. Murray:

Being callit before the comittee declairit that casualie being in the castell with the Earle of Montrose, and discoursing on the publict bussines, his Lo. was pleasit to bemoane the delayes that the publict did suffer, and protestit if he had the happines to speik with the king himselff, he wuld not only discover the caus of these difficulties hot also thnges of very hich nature concerning his Ma. and his state and honor. The deponer told him the propositione was of so hich ane nature that he durst not intrust it to his memorie, bot if his Lo. wuld be pleasit to sett it down in wreat he wuld cary it to the king and delyver it. And howsoever the deponer thocht himselff obligit to tell the King, it being a matter of so hich a straine and that samen nicht did impairt the samen to his Matle. The Kinges Ma. told the deponer that qn he receavit the Earl of Montrose his lre, he wuld then considder qt ansr his Ma. thocht fitt to returne. The nixt day in the efter-noone, a letter was brocht to the deponer inclosit within two lynes of ane directione, and directit to his Ma. The King did reid it, and told the deponer that the letter was not so home or so hich as the deponer had told by word of mouth; his Matle had considderit of the thing & wuld not interrupt his owne bissiness which were in so fair ane way, with any more project. The deponer did returne both the lre and this ansr, & within two or thrie dayes yr after the Earl of Montrose sent ane vyr lre directit to his Ma. And howbeit the secound lre wes more full, yet his Ma. gave th samen ansr to the deponer, and sd that becaus yr wes surmises that his Ma. wes come to mak divisione he wuld yr for lett his people see that he wuld not interteyne any motiones that micht seeme to mak interrup-tunes. And sicklyk his Ma. sd. that his purpose micht mak mentione of some by past busnes, and he would have all by gones, by gones, and fair play in tymes to come, as also his Ma. did say that he beleavit that ane man in the conditione of the E. of Montrose his restraint wuld say very much to have the libbertie to come to his Ma. pns. The deponer, as he rememberrs on Setterday the 9 oclo. returned the effect of this his Ma. ansr to the sd Earle of M. & hard no farder of it till Monday yreft in the efternoone at four ane clok, and then ane vyr leé was brocht directit to his Ma. which the deponer delyvrit. And qn His Ma. had red the thrid lre, he sd this is very hich and deserves some consideration. His Ma. did lett. the deponer reid the lre who thocht is very hich. His Ma. sd he wuld tak tyme to consider of it, for it wes ane mater not to be rashlie jugit of. And at nicht qn his Ma. went to bed he sd he thocht he wuld communicat the samen to some of his lords, bot that he wuld speik more of it the morrow morning. On the Tuysday morning so soone as his Ma. was awake, the deponer went in to him and then the King told him he had thocht vpon it, and that he wuld communicat the samen to the Lo. Chanr, the Dooke of Lennox, the E. of Argyll, the E. of Mortoun and Roxburgh, and to the Lord gnll. and commandit the deponer to send for the gnll becaus he thocht the rest would be yr. His Ma. owne opinion was thet they sould call ane certaine number of the noblemen, barrones and burrowes togidder before qm the E. Montros should be brocht in his Ma. pns with his keeper, and desyrit to explaine qt his meining of his lre wes, bot wald resolve nothing till he had consultit with these Lordis qm his Ma. had named. And as the deponor conceaves this his Ma. resolu°nn wes intruptit with the incident fell on the Mononday at nicht.

The papers relating to Archbishop Laud's visitations (1634-6), are printed in extenso in the Report, and afford interesting particulars respecting the state of the cathedrals at that period. The Archbishop knew the importance of the preservation of records, and accordingly one of the articles submitted to the cathedral authorities of Salisbury was:

Item, whether the munimcnts and evidences of your church be safely kept and preserued from the knawing of ratts, mice, and other such like vormine, and be kept drye from the iniury of rayne and other such like offensiue weather, and whether they be soe ftttly and orderly disposed in your muniment house or bee soe regist'red in your bookes and ledgeors as that when need shal be you may easily find out the same without much search?

The reply was favourable. The same Chapter wrote to Laud:

The body of our church is much pestered with diurs ranckes of moveablo seates not many yeeres since erected, and too much roome is taken vp, and the convenience of hearing thereby taken from many, and the preacher many times troubled wth noise in opening and coming into the seates; and page 363 other fixed seates34 there are in the body of our church built and set vp too far out into the body of the church and into the isles.

Dell, Laud's secretary, writes beside this:

His Mats com' and is for ye taking downe of all fixt seats within the Body of any Cathedrall. And such as are moueable are not to stand, but for ye use of Sermon tyme onely.

The Dean and Chapter of Bristol thus refer to the same subject:

There is in the opinion of many of sound judgment a graund enclosure in our church by reason of certaine seats set vp in our sermon place by the citezens by vertue of a long lease from the D. and C. (scilz. for ever) conteyning 29 foot and a half in length and II foote in breadth on the south side of the said church for the maior, aldermen, and comon councell wth 20 foot in length on the north side and 11 foot in breadth for their wives weh seates are appropriated to them, so that neither knight nor esquire, lady nor gentlewoman have any proper place where to heare the sermon. Thies seates for the manner of site, stand soe remote fro the pulpit that they betray the cheefest place of audience where the maior &c. were wont to sit on benches with backes, moveable, to the more vulgar and meaner auditory.

The Archbishop enjoined the cathedral authorities at Gloucester:

In regard it is his Mats express pleasure yt the bodyes of ye cathedrall churches should not be pestered wth standing seates contrary to ye course of cathedralls and ye dignity of these goodly piles of building, wee must & doe require you yt all standing and fixt seates, as well those where ye mayor and aldermen's wyues use to sitt as others between ye pillars be taken downe, and other moueable ones fitted into theyr roome according to such directions as wee gaue to ye deane by our late Lrs witten to him.

The growth of the Puritan party is shown in a passage in a reply from Salisbury:

Yu may please to take notice that in most parishes in Wiltshyre Dorcetshyre and the Westerne partes, there is still a puritane and an honest man chosin churchwardens together. The puritane alwayes crosses the other in ropayres and adorning the church, as also in the presentments of vnconformityes and in the issue putts some trick or other vpon the honest man, to putt him to sue for his charges hee hath been at for the church.

The designation of the Puritan's co-churchwarden, simply as 'an honest man,' is very amusing.

The same authorities say:

There are no coapes in or church most of them were sould away about 66 years since & the rest turned into pulpitt clothes and cushions, neither have any been provided since. There was an anncient ordinance that every dignitary, archdeacon and prebendary should at theyr installation pay a summe of mony according to theyr severall taxe, which was for the maintenance of coapes, but about the year 1562 there was a decree made by the bishop deane and chapter that this coape mony should be conuerted to the fabrique revenue, and so it hath been continued ever since, although the style of the taxe doth still runne pro capâ.

Laud's reply is very significant:35

I thinke the fabrick was repayred before yt and the coape money may returne to the proper use and supply them in tyme.

The Dean and Chapter of Wells state

that there are very few or noe auncyent vestmentes or ornaments belonging to this church. But there have been of late yeares dius bought, vizt, one greene vellvett pullpitt cloth and cushions to the same, one red vellvett cushion, one other of purple, one other faire pullpitt cloth for the Lord Bussopp and canons only when they preach, one faire carpett for the comunion table, one crimson vellvett cloth our the same, wth three crimson vellvett cushions.

Laud directed the Dean and Prebendaries of Rochester 'to have page 364 square cappes within your cathe-drall church at all tymes of dyvyne servyce and sermons.' These caps were enjoined by the canons of 1604.

At Bristol great respect seems to have been shown to the Mayor:

It hath long been a comon practice if Mr. Mairr come before our divine service is ended, abruptly to breake off service, if the service chaunce to be ended before his comyng, all the congregacon stay, and expect his comyng before the sermon begin.

Land very properly says, 'I like neyther of these two, and require yt both be remedyed.'

Among petitions presented to Parliament are many relating to the ritual controversy of the period. Clergymen are frequently complained of (c. 1640) for placing the Communion-table altar-wise, setting up rails, refusing to administer the sacrament unless communicants knelt in the chancel, using superstitious gestures, &c. There is a petition, February 6, 1641, of Peter Farren and Francis Riskworth, churchwardens of All Saints, Northampton, who were directed by Dr. Clark, one of the surrogates of the Ecclesiastical Court, to remove the table from the centre of the chancel and place it altar-wise under the east window. For refusing, they were excommunicated. In another, Mary Wheeler states that her husband, in 1635, being churchwarden of St. Botolph's, Colchester, was ordered by Dr. Aylet to rail in the table; he refused, was excommunicated, and obliged to fly the country. The following seems a hard case. December 30, 1640, John Turner says, that about fifteen years before he was summoned before the 'Comensarie' Court by the minister and churchwardens of Sutton Valence, Kent, for not coming to evening prayer till the service was begun for the space of six weeks, though he was prevented by his duties as constable. He was excommunicated, even to the millers refusing to grind his corn. After imprisonment in Maidstone gaol he was seized under warrant of the High Commission Court, and when he appeared before it, for refusing to take the oath ex officio, he was sent to prison, where he has been, says the petition, for thirteen years.

Here is a curious scene in a church. William Townsend says, June 24, 1641, that he hired a farm at Wormingford, Essex, of Lady Jeremiah Waldegrave. Two years ago, happening to be left unpaid about 4l, of half a .year's rent, Lady Waldegrave had a writ served upon petitioner during Divine service on Sunday in his seat in the church. Lady Waldegrave was present; and being patroness of the church, commanded the keys from the parish clerk after the service, and sent them by her servants to the bailiffs, keeping him prisoner in the church until twelve o'clock at night.

A petition of John Stanesby, Gent., February 24, 1641, shows how Parliament discouraged reports of its proceedings being made. He had collected, 'with much expense and labour, sundry manuscript journals and other passages of Parliament, with divers other notes and papers of several natures, to the number of about 300 quires of paper.' These one of the clerks of the Council took away from his room in his absence, afterwards stating that the Lords of the Council intended to suppress all such collections.

The Coventry Papers among the MSS. of the Marquis of Bath, at Longleat, are of considerable importance. In 1664 Henry Coventry was ambassador to Sweden, and Secretary of State from 1672 to 1680. From a paper dated February 10, 1673, relating to the first Earl of Shaftesbury, it appears that the House of Commons ordered that Mr. Thomas Meeres and Mr. Garroway attend Lord Shaftesbury to page 365 be informed whether he saw an altar and crucifix in the house of Mr. Pepys. His lordship denied that he ever saw an altar in that house, but has some imperfect memory of seeing something like a crucifix. An anonymous letter is in the same collection, temp. Eliz., in which the Queen is called a hare; Cecil, fox; Bacon, slow-worm; Knowles, knewt; Sussex, spider; Leicester, viper; Essex, snail; Shrewsbury, lobster; Bedford, toad; Sadler, moth; Clinton, otter, &c. There are five volumes of official letters and papers relating to the Treaty of Nimeguen.

Few collections examined by the Commissioners have yielded documents of so interesting a nature as that of the Earl of Denbigh, at Newnham Paddox. Four volumes of letters of the reigns of James I. and Charles I. supply Mr. Knowles with materials for a lengthy report, and we hope he will return to the collection at a subsequent period. Two of these volumes consist of Family Letters—235 in number—and though our space will only allow us to give a few extracts, we hope they will induce our readers to turn to the Report for the remainder.

Here is a letter from George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, to his mother (undated):

Dere mother, I humblie kiss those hands that guided your pen when you writt last, and with reverence thanke that holie speritt of union which put so harmonious a resolution into your hart not to part till the saints & angels in heven should rejoyce at our mutual affection, the contrarie whereof would sone a made me werie of this world. But now .that I see there can be no change of that more then ordinario naturall love of a mother which you have ever homo mo even from that infancie when I did nothinge els but unresonablie and frowardlie rangle—now I say, I dare take the bouldnes againe to tell you with my ould free and frolicke stile that the same naughtie boy, Georgo Villiers, who mett you att St. Albons on Tuesday, by the grace of God will caste himselfe at your feete with the same hart, without adition or diminution that then he mett you with; onelie there will be this alteration, that his joy will be greater, for that absence then was but personall, but this I did fore had bine loss and absence of affection which, if I should justlio deserve I should be ashamed to aske what now I crave, your blessing, and in dispare of pardon from Him who hath the onlie absolute power to pardon the offences of your one (own) collricke but humble and obedient sonne, G. Buckingham.

Lord Fielding (afterwards second Earl of Denbigh) was ambassador in Italy from 1634 to 1638. There are no less than sixty letters in this volume addressed to him by the Marquis of Hamilton.36 He frequently tells Lord Fielding to lose no opportunity of securing rare pictures and other works of art, chiefly for the king. 'I heave tould the King,' he says in a letter dated March 21, 1636, 'thatt ye wrytt to me of ane rare pictur thatt was att Venis. He is desyrous to knoe the storie & whatt figures itt is of and the pryse. Those ye boght for me is not as yeitt come.' Six months after, he says:

I reseved a letter of yours 8 or 10 monthes sines which med mentioun of ane other studio of pictures, but ye said ye woold not advyse me to by them, fering lest I might be too much bewiched with those intysing things.

In another (undated):

I informed the King of that amatyst (amethyst) cup which is to be soold. The pryse is so great as we dare not so much as think of itt, bot he inquyred of that rare pictur which ye wrytt of a yeir a gooe.

The following letter refers to the purchase of an important collection: page 366

July 7, 1637. His Mattie having seeine the the noot (note) of Delanave's collectioon, is so extremly takine ther with as he has persuaded me to by them all, and for thatt end hes furnished me with munnis. So, brother, I have undertakin that they shall all cume into Ingland, booth pictures and statues, out of which he is to make choyes of whatt he lykes, and to repay me whatt they coost if I heave a mynd to turne marchand, bot for thatt ue (we) shall agree. He hes desyred me to got you thies cansioones which he hes found by experiens to heave bein practised: First thatt sumo of the rarest peeises be not conseled; secondly that the originates be not retened and coppies given in ther place; Thirdly, thatt extraordinarie kayre be taking in the packing of them upe; Forthly, thatt the frames of such peeisis as is to bige to cume on the pictures, thatt they be putt up in casis and so sent a loong; fifly, thatt if itt be posabill, the shipe wher in they cume may heave no quicksilver nor coraanes in her, bot, if thatt can not be, then take kayre thatt they be so plased wher they may cach least hourt. Now I ame lykuys to lett you knoe thatt ther hes cume feu or no marbiles to England frome Italy bot they heave bein com'only brook. By yours I fyind they ar held att 20 m. ducketes, bot thatt itt is probabill the price may be broght doune to 12 m. duckets which make 2 m. pound (2,000l.) sterling. In my last to you I said I woold be content to give 1,500 pound bot now sines itt is his Matti plesoure, joyned to my ooune inclinatiooun, thatt I shall by them whatt sum ever they coost lett them not gooe by you for I ame resolved to heave them.

He goes on to counsel haste, for 'my Lord Marshall'—i.e. Lord Arundel—the greatest collector of the period, had heard of the collection, and would probably order his agent to secure it. That nobleman seems to have been a very clever buyer, for a subsequent letter informs us of his modus operandi:

The way thatt he takes to procure them is by his agent, Pettie, who doueth weikly give him advertisement of all pictures thatt ar to be sould, the prysis of them, the ouneres names and thoes thatt uoold by them. So, if he lyk anie of them, he gives directiunes to P. to make greatt & large offers a pourpos (to) rayes ther prysis by which meaines the buyarres ar forsed to loaive them and the pictures remain with ther oanners, he weill knoing thatt no Inglishman stayeth long in Italy nor you long to reseid wher you are.

The MSS. of Earl de la Warr, at Knole Park, form a collection of seventeenth century papers of great importance. They consist chiefly of correspondence and documents of Lionel Cranfield, first Earl of Middlesex,37 Lord High Treasurer, and throw a great deal of light upon the state of England in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. Many of the papers show the profuse expenditure in the court of the former monarch. From one document it appears that James had received from the Parliament from his accession to 1621, 1,133,663l. Prince Charles and the Duke of Buckingham, on their journey into Spain, expended 47,847l. In 1619 the Crown owed 829,484l. The natural result of such an expenditure is the arrear of official salaries, and those who could not recoup themselves by the grant of monopolies—a fruitful source of the oppression of the people—were in great distress. Sir Robert Lane, December 1623, complains that his salary as Equerry of his Majesty's Stables, 30l. per annum, has not been paid for twelve years, and his wages as Captain of Southsea Castle are in arrear a like period. About the same time Francis Ingleby, 88 years of age, keeper of the armoury at Greenwich, petitions that seven years' pay may be granted him. Such cases are frequent in these MSS.

A letter, March 18, 1622, from the Duke of Buckingham to the Earl of Middlesex, written from Madrid, mentions the Prince's safe arrival:38 page 367

He alighted at the house of Lord Bristol, remained there until Sunday last, when he made a solemn entry into the Town from a monastery (where we that day dined). He passed on horseback thro' all the town having the King on his left hand and a canopy carried over them both. The Prince desires him to speak to the King at once about building a chapel at St. James for the Infanta and her family.

Buckingham does not appear to have pleased the Spaniards, for the Marquis of Inijosa wrote to James especially to complain of his conduct.

A memorandum (c. 1623) of agreement states that Thomas Finch and his wife had agreed with Sir Arthur Ingram that if Lady Finch was made a viscountess they would give Copt Hall, in Essex, and Park and the Manor of Gladwins, to be redeemable on the payment of 13,000l, and 500l. a year. She was made Viscountess Maidstone, which cost her, says the Duchess of Richmond and Lenox, in a letter to the Earl, the surrender of Copt Hall, 7,000l., and a suite of tapestry hangings. The Duchess in another letter asks him to get money for her husband, by compelling some one to be a baron or a baron to be an earl, or forcing some one to lend. This was analogous to the practice of Edward VI. and Elizabeth, who compelled all persons possessed of lands yielding an income of 40l, to receive knighthood or pay a fine!

It is stated in a petition of W. Shipman to Sir John Ferne, March 22, 1613, that there was 200,000l. spent in this country on tobacco annually. It is probable he does not overstate it, for he offers 5,000l. a year as a present to a nobleman for an exclusive patent! James's Counterblaste to Tobacco was published nine years before.

In order to check its importation he imposed a duty of 6s. 8d. on every pound in addition to the twopence which had hitherto been charged.

The seventeenth century papers of the Duke of Argyll relate to Archibald, seventh Earl39 (d. 1638); Archibald, eighth Earl and Marquis, head of the Covenanters in the reign of Charles I., who joined the Parliament in the Civil War, and was beheaded at the Restoration; Archibald, ninth Earl, who in 1667 received from Charles II. a grant of his father's lands; and Archibald, tenth Earl, who 'came over' with William III. in 1688, and was in 1701 created first duke of the house. James VI. ordered the seventh earl to bring the lawless clans of the Western Isles—the McConnells, McLanes, McLeods, &c.—to reason. In the Act they are described as 'an infamous byke40 of lawless limmers.'41 He was to pursue them with fire and sword until peace and quietness were restored. Subsequently he was ordered to pursue the rebellious clan McGregor and likewise reduce it to obedience. His son, Lord Lorne (afterwards eighth Earl), was, in 1636, the apprehender of Patrick McGregor—or Gillie Roy, the Red Lad, as he was popularly called—and received the special thanks of the Privy Council.

Here we must close this notice of the fourth report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission.

Sketch of a plant

1 Fenry III.'s second coronation took place at 'Westminster. May 17, 1220. The day [unclear: before] that he laid the foundation of the Lady Chapel. About that period a great impeus was given by the preaching of S. Bernard to the worship of the B. Virgin, and we my trace this result in nearly all our cathedrals.

2 Little had been done to this nave since the death of Edward I. Under the direction of Whittington, Lord Mayor, it was continued, by command of Henry V., in the style of two [unclear: centuries] previously—a very unusual proceeding.

3 Iean Stanley calls this 'the last relic of the lingering Plantagenet affection for their foreign home.'—Historical Memorials, 132.

4 This golden ampulla, or eagle, said to have been brought from Sens Abbey by Thomas à Becket, is still among the regalia. It was used to contain the holy oil or balm for anointing our sovereigns at their coronation. The gold anointing-spoon is likewise preserved, and is an interesting example of twelfth century work. (Figured in Shaw's Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages.)

5 It was not an unusual circumstance for a monastery to lend its relics for the benefit of sick persons. The Abbey of St. Albans possessed a sardonyx with a representation of Jupiter holding a Victory in his hand, which was lent to women in labour. (Dugdale's Monasticon, ii. 185.)

6 Registrum seu potius historia fundationis hujus cœnobii a Joanne Newland, abbate contextum.—Tanner, Notitia Monastica.

7 The date of the foundation is generally given as 1475; according to this book it [unclear: shoud] be 1473. Dr. Woodelarke was Provost of King's College, and also, it appears from this volume, master of the works then in progress there. He complains that the [unclear: burcn] of payment was thrown upon him. It is well known how slow was the progress of the work since Henry VI., in 1446, laid the foundation of the celebrated chapel at Kins. S. Catherine's College, as founded by Woodelarke, was a timber structure, and in this book reference is made to the removal of two framed houses (domibus framatis) from Coton. The present College buildings are chiefly c. 1680.

8 [unclear: D]fustian. This material is often mentioned in inventories of church goods. It was superior fabric to that now called by the name.

9 The Breviary, or portous, contained whatever was to be said by all in holy orders, either in public or private, i.e. of the canonical hours; the Legend lessons out of Holy Writ and works of the Fathers, read at matins; Gradal, or graduale, portions of the service sung by the choir; Sequence, a companion to the gradal; Manual, the occasional offices, as baptism, matrimony, visitation of sick, &c. By the statute 3 and 4 Ed. VI. those were threatened with fine and imprisonment who had in their possession any 'antiphoners, myssales, scrayles, processionales, manuelles, legends, pyes, portuyses, prymars in Lattyn or Englishe, cowchers, iournales, ordinales, or other books or writings whatsoever, heretofore used for service of the churche.' In Springfield Church, Essex, an antiphoner was recently discovered in the roof, hidden by the priest, doubtless, who hoped for better times.

10 Porpoises (derived from French porc-poisson, hog-fish) appear to have been considered a delicacy in the middle ages. As they were conveniently considered fish, ecclesiastics could eat them on fast-days. In the reign of Edward I. the price was regulated at 6s. 8d.: a high price, when we know that turbot was sold at 6d., mackerel 1d., and haddock 2d,

11 By charter of Edward I., 1277, the Barons of the Cinque Ports had jurisdiction over Yarmouth, by no means relished by the inhabitants of that port. On one occasion, in the reign of that monarch, a Cinque Port bailiff was killed by a like officer of Yarmouth, who was hanged for the deed.

12 History of Great Yarmouth, 1619.

13 The history of the MSS. of these interesting letters is curious. Mr. (afterwards Sir) Richard Fenn, in 1787, published the two first volumes, and gave the MSS. to the King. These have never since been discovered. Sir R. Fenn published vols. iii. and iv. subsequently; the originals have disappeared likewise. Some years after Serjeant Frere edited vol. v., and the MS. of this was lost sight of. It is hardly to be wondered at that Mr. Hermann Merivale and others should have impugned the authenticity of the Letters. Happily this induced Mr. Philip Frere (Serjeant Frere's descendant) to institute a search, which ended in the discovery, in an old box in his house, in Norfolk, of the originals of vol. v., in November 1865. A careful examination of these set all doubts at rest, and sceptics were silenced.

14 Chaucer's Monk had—

——'His sleeves purfiled at the hond
with gris, and that the finest of the lond;
And for to fasten his hood under his chinne
He had of gold ywrought a curious pinne:
A love-knotte in the greter end ther was.'

15 This was not the first time that a Campbell had done good service for his king. Sir Colin, father of Sir Neill, in 1263, when Haco of Norway brought 160 ships into the Firth of Lorne, brought such aid to Alexander III. that the invader was routed. This Sir Colin died in 1294.

16 When arranging the charters of the Earl of Airlie, some years ago, Dr. Stuart found two deeds relating to another of these bells. 'By the first, dated June 27, 1447, Michael David, the hereditary keeper of the bell of S. Medan, appeared in the presence of Sir John Ogilvy, and resigned the bell into his hands, with all the pertinents thereof, after which Sir John made it over to his wife Margaret, Countess of Moray, for her liferent use.' By the other deed the Countess 'appeared July 18, 1447, in the presence of a notary, at the house or toft belonging to the bell of St. Medan, along with her husband's brother, James Ogilvy, and asked from the latter as baillie for his brother that she should have possession or saisin, to which he agreed; and then, having shut her into the said toft or house, he gave possession to her by the delivery of the feudal symbols of earth and stone.' (Archœological Journal, viii. 50.) The documents are printed in the Spalding Miscellany, iv. 117-8.

17 It is deposited in the Museum of the Royal Irish [unclear: Academy]. Exact copies have been made of several pages of the psalter for the series of 'Fac-similes of the National MSS. of Ireland.'

18 Dr. Rock thinks the custom of placing a circular piece of crystal in these ancient caskets and bindings is derived from the Druids. It is probably the æstel of the following extract from King Alfred's translation of Gregory's Liber Pastoralis: 'To every bishops see in my kingdom I will that one [copy of the book] be sent; and upon each there is a æstel, and I bid in God's name that nobody that æstel from these books shall undo.'

19 Sir W. Betham gives the above account in Irish Antiquarian Researches, 1862, 109-11.

20 Professor Westwood's magnificent volume, Fac-similes of Miniatures and Ornaments of Angle-Saxon and Irish MSS., may be consulted with advantage by those who wish to study the peculiarities of the marvellous examples of early Irish art which have been handed down to us. See also H. O'Neill's Fine Arts and Civilisation of Ireland, 1863.

21 This important library was commenced in 1591, and augmented by the addition of Primate Ussher's library in 1661. Sir Jerome Alexander, Justice of the Common Pleas, 1674; Robert Huntingdon, Provost (1683-92); and Stearne, Bishop of Clogher, 1741, were also liberal donors of MSS. No perfect catalogue of these MSS. exists, and we are glad that Mr. Gilbert has undertaken the task of supplying one, and gives in the Report a list of the contents of about one-third of the works.

22 Westwood's Fac-similes. These charters have been printed in the original Irish, with a translation and notes by Mr. O'Donovan, in Miscellany of Irish Archaeological Society, vol. i.

23 It is described in Sir W. Betham's Irish Antiquarian Researches, and also in West-wood's Polæographia Sacra.

24 Dr. Barrett, Vice-Provost of the College, printed in 1801 a collation of part of this Codex; and so did the Rev. O. T. Dobbin fifty-three years after.

25 A good idea of the appearance of the hearse may be obtained from the engraving of that of Abbot Islip, 1532, in Vetusta Monumenta, vol. iv.

26 Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. i.

27 "See description of this hearse in [unclear: Excerpta] Historica, p. 303. Hearses were generally square in form, but that of Anne of Cloves was hexagonal. (Parker's Glossary, 250.)

28 According to Oldy's MS. additions to Winstanley's Lives of the most Famous English Poets, copied by Isaac Rood, Spenser was born in East Smithfield, A.D. 1552, or the year following. Mr. Payne Collier, in his Works of Edmund Spenser (Aldine, edition i. 10), thought that he was educated at Kingsbury, because he found an E. Spenser named in the Muster Book of the Hundred of Kingsbury, in 1569, who might have been the poet's father.' Spenser published his first poem, 'The Shepherd's Calendar,' in 1579, and dedicated it to Sir Philip Sidney.

29 Pennant says that in the reigns of James IV. and V. great wealth was obtained in the Lead Hill district from the gold washed from the mountains, and estimates its value at 300,000l.

30 History, vi. 429.

31 Commentaries on the Life and Reign of Charles I., ed. 1851. ii. 246.

32 Montrose and the Covenanters, ii. 148.

33 Evelyn's Memoirs, II. pt. ii. p. 59, ed. 1819.

34 One of the earliest pews for the use of the congregation is in the north aisle of Geddington St. Mary, Northamptonshire, dated 1602.

35 Bishop Cosin, at Durham, used to wear a cope 'of plain white satin without any embroidery upon it.' The late Bishop of Winchester said, in Convocation, that the Eucharist was never celebrated at Durham without the vestments until the time of Bishop Warburton. Copes of rich materials were used at the funeral of George II., at Westminster Abbey. Such vestments are preserved at Carlisle, Ely, Lichfield, Salisbury, and Westminster Abbey.

36 In 1643 he was created a Duke, but soon after his loyalty was suspected, and he was sent to Pendennis Castle. He was liberated in 1646, but was accused of having betrayed the King in Scotland. To show his loyalty he raised some forces and entered England, but was defeated at Preston. In March 1649 he was tried and beheaded.

37 His daughter Frances married Richard Sackville, Earl of Dorset.

38

Carlos Estuardo soy
Que, siendo amor mi guia
A1 ciclo d'Espana voy
Per ver mi estrella Maria.

Lope de Vega.

39 It is interesting to note that Archibald, fifth earl, married Lady Joan Stuart, sister of Mary Queen of Scots, and daughter of James V. Playfair (Family Antiquity, vol. iii.) says that if he had had issue one would have succeeded to the English throne on the abdication of James II.

40 Wasp's nest.

41 Vagabonds.