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diff --git a/9197-8.txt b/9197-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..31dfa4d --- /dev/null +++ b/9197-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8462 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of English Villages, by P. H. Ditchfield + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: English Villages + +Author: P. H. Ditchfield + +Release Date: August 13, 2004 [EBook #9197] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH VILLAGES *** + + + + +Produced by Brendan Lane, Beth Trapaga and Distributed Proofreaders. +Illustrated HTML version by David Widger + + + + + +ENGLISH VILLAGES + +BY + +P.H. DITCHFIELD +M.A., F.S.A. + + +TO MY WIFE + + +PREFACE + +Eleven years ago my little book on the antiquities of English villages +was published. Its object was to interest our rustic neighbours in +their surroundings, to record the social life of the people at various +times--their feasts and fairs, sports and pastimes, faiths and +superstitions--and to describe the scenes which once took place in the +fields and lanes they know so well. A friendly reviewer remarked that +the wonder was that a book of that kind had never been written before, +and that that was the first attempt to give a popular and readable +sketch of the history and associations of our villages. In the present +work I have attempted to fill in the sketch with greater detail, and to +write not only for the villagers themselves, but for all those who by +education are able to take a more intelligent interest in the study of +the past. + +During the last decade many village histories have been written, and +if this book should be of service to anyone who is compiling the +chronicles of some rural world, or if it should induce some who have +the necessary leisure and ability to undertake such works, it will not +have been written in vain. + +One of the most distressing features of modern village life is the +continual decrease of the population. The rural exodus is an alarming +and very real danger to the welfare of social England. The country is +considered dull and life therein dreary both by squire and peasant +alike. Hence the attractions of towns or the delights of travel empty +our villages. The manor-house is closed and labourers are scarce. To +increase the attractions of our villages, to arouse an interest in +their past history and social life, is worth attempting; and perhaps +this Story may be of some use in fostering local patriotism, and in +reconciling those who spend their lives far from the busy hives of men +to their lot, when they find how much interest lies immediately around +them. + +The study of archaeology has been pursued with much vigour during +recent years, and increased knowledge has overthrown the many wild +theories and conjectures which were gravely pronounced to be +ascertained facts by the antiquaries of fifty years ago. Gildas, +Geoffrey of Monmouth, or Richard of Cirencester are no longer accepted +as safe and infallible guides. We know that there were such people as +the Druids, but we no longer attribute to them the great stone circles +nor imagine them sacrificing on "Druid's altars," as our forefathers +called the dolmens. The history of Britain no longer begins with the +advent of Julius Caesar, nor is his account of the Celtic tribes and +their manners accepted as a full and complete statement of all that +is known about them. The study of flint implements, of barrows and +earthworks, has considerably thrown back our historical horizon and +enabled us to understand the conditions of life in our island in the +early days of a remote past before the dawn of history. The systematic +excavation of Silchester, so ably conducted by the Society of +Antiquaries, and of other Roman sites of towns and villas, enables us +to realise more clearly the history of Britain under the rule of the +Empire; and the study of the etymology of place-names has overthrown +many of the absurd derivations which found a place in the old county +histories, and are often repeated by the writers of modern guide books. +Moreover patient labour amid old records, rolls, and charters, has +vastly increased our knowledge of the history of manors; and the +ancient parish registers and churchwardens' account books have been +made to yield their store of information for the benefit of industrious +students and scholars. There has been much destruction and much +construction; and this good work will doubtless continue, until at +length English archaeology may be dignified with the title of an exact +science. Destruction of another kind is much to be deplored, which has +left its mark on many an English village. The so-called "restoration" +of ancient parish churches, frequently conducted by men ignorant of the +best traditions of English architecture, the obliteration of the old +architectural features, the entire destruction of many interesting +buildings, have wrought deplorable ruin in our villages, and severed +the links with the past which now can never be repaired. The progress +of antiquarian knowledge will I trust arrest the destroyer's hand and +prevent any further spoliation of our diminished inheritance. If this +book should be found useful in stimulating an intelligent interest in +architectural studies, and in protecting our ancient buildings from +such acts of vandalism, its purpose will have been abundantly achieved. + +I am indebted to many friends and acquaintances for much information +which has been useful to me in writing this book; to Sir John Evans +whose works are invaluable to all students of ancient stone and bronze +implements; to Dr. Cox whose little book on _How to Write the History +of a Parish_ is a sure and certain guide to local historians; to Mr. +St. John Hope and Mr. Fallow for much information contained in their +valuable monograph on _Old Church Plate_; to the late Dr. Stevens, of +Reading; to Mr. Shrubsole of the same town; to Mr. Gibbins, the author +of _The Industrial History of England_, for the use of an illustration +from his book; to Mr. Melville, Mr. P.J. Colson, and the Rev. W. +Marshall for their photographic aid; and to many other authors who are +only known to me by their valuable works. To all of these gentlemen I +desire to express my thanks, and also to Mr. Mackintosh for his +artistic sketch of a typical English village, which forms the +frontispiece of my book. + +P.H.D. + +BARKHAM RECTORY +_May_, 1901 + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + +I. INTRODUCTION +II. PREHISTORIC REMAINS +III. TUMULI OR BARROWS +IV. PIT AND PILE DWELLINGS +V. CROMLECHS, CAMPS, AND EARTHWORKS +VI. ROMAN RELICS +VII. ANGLO-SAXON VILLAGES +VIII. SAXON RELICS +IX. ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE +X. NORMAN VILLAGES AND THE "DOMESDAY BOOK" +XI. NORMAN CASTLES +XII. MONASTERIES +XIII. THE MANOR-HOUSE +XIV. PARISH CHURCHES +XV. CHURCH PLATE +XVI. MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES AND BRASSES +XVII. THE PARISH CHEST +XVIII. STAINED GLASS, TILES, AND MURAL PAINTINGS +XIX. CHURCH BELLS +XX. THE MEDIAEVAL VILLAGE +XXI. VILLAGE SPORTS AND PASTIMES +XXII. THE VILLAGE INN +XXIII. VILLAGE SUPERSTITIONS AND FOLKLORE + + APPENDIX--BOOKS AND DOCUMENTS RELATING TO + PAROCHIAL HISTORY + + INDEX + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +FULL-PAGE + +An English village +Village street +Palaeolithic implements +Neolithic and bronze implements +Old market cross +Broughton Castle +Netley Abbey, south transept +Southcote Manor, showing moat and pigeon-house +Old Manor-house--Upton Court +Stone Tithe Barn, Bradford-on-Avon +Village church in the Vale +An ancient village +Anne Hathaway's cottage +Old stocks and whipping-post +Village inn, with old Tithe Barn of Reading Abbey +Old cottages + +IN THE TEXT + +Barbed and leaf-shaped arrow-heads +Plan of a tumulus +Plan of tumulus called Wayland Smith's Cave, Berkshire +Celtic cinerary urn +Articles found in pit dwellings +Iron spear-head found at Hedsor +Menhir +Rollright stones (from Camden's _Britannia_, 1607) +Dolmen +Plan and section of Chun Castle +The White Horse at Uffington +Plan of Silchester +Capital of column +Roman force-pump +Tesselated pavement +Beating acorns for swine (from the Cotton MS., _Nero_, c. 4) +House of Saxon thane +Wheel plough (from the Bayeux tapestry) +Smithy (from the Cotton MS., B 4) +Saxon relics +Consecration of a Saxon church +Tower of Barnack Church, Northamptonshire +Doorway, Earl's Barton Church +Tower window, Monkwearmouth Church +Sculptured head of doorway, Fordington Church, Dorset +Norman capitals +Norman ornamental mouldings +Croyland Abbey Church, Lincolnshire +Semi-Norman arch, Church of St. Cross +Early English piers and capitals +Dog-tooth ornament +Brownsover Chapel, Warwickshire +Ball-flower mouldings, Tewkesbury Abbey +Ogee arch +Decorated capitals, Hanwell and Chacombe +Decorated windows, Merton College Chapel; Sandiacre, Derbyshire +Decorated mouldings, Elton, Huntingdonshire; Austrey, Warwickshire +Perpendicular window, Merton College Chapel, Oxford +Tudor arch, vestry door, Adderbury Church, Oxon +Perpendicular parapet, St. Erasmus' Chapel, Westminster Abbey +Perpendicular moulding, window, Christchurch, Oxford +Diagram of a manor +Ancient plan of Old Sarum +A Norman castle +Tournament +A monk transcribing +Ockwells manor-house +Richmond Palace +Doorway and staircase, Ufton Court +The porch, Ufton Court +Window of south wing, Ufton Court +Ancient pew-work, Tysoe Church, Warwickshire +Early English screen, Thurcaston, Leicestershire +Norman piscina, Romsey Church, Hants +Lowside window, Dallington Church, Northamptonshire +Reading-pew, seventeenth century, Langley Chapel, Salop. +Chalice and paten, Sandford, Oxfordshire +Pre-Reformation plate +Censer or thurible +Mural paintings +Ancient sanctus bell found at Warwick + + + + +CHAPTER I + +INTRODUCTION + +Local histories--Ignorance and destruction--Advantages of the study +of village antiquities--Description of an English village--The church-- +The manor-house--Prehistoric people--Later inhabitants--Saxons--Village +inn--Village green--Legends. + + +To write a complete history of any village is one of the hardest literary +labours which anyone can undertake. The soil is hard, and the crop after +the expenditure of much toil is often very scanty. In many cases the +records are few and difficult to discover, buried amidst the mass of +papers at the Record Office, or entombed in some dusty corner of the +Diocesan Registry. Days may be spent in searching for these treasures +of knowledge with regard to the past history of a village without any +adequate result; but sometimes fortune favours the industrious toiler, +and he discovers a rich ore which rewards him for all his pains. Slowly +his store of facts grows, and he is at last able to piece together the +history of his little rural world, which time and the neglect of past +generations had consigned to dusty oblivion. + +In recent years several village histories have been written with varied +success by both competent and incompetent scribes; but such books are few +in number, and we still have to deplore the fact that so little is known +about the hamlets in which we live. All writers seem to join in the same +lament, and mourn over the ignorance that prevails in rural England with +regard to the treasures of antiquity, history, and folklore, which are to +be found almost everywhere. We may still echo the words of the learned +author of _Tom Brown's Schooldays_, the late Mr. Hughes, who said that +the present generation know nothing of their own birthplaces, or of the +lanes, woods, and fields through which they roam. Not one young man in +twenty knows where to find the wood-sorrel, or the bee-orchis; still +fewer can tell the country legends, the stories of the old gable-ended +farmhouses, or the place where the last skirmish was fought in the Civil +War, or where the parish butts stood. Nor is this ignorance confined to +the unlearned rustics; it is shared by many educated people, who have +travelled abroad and studied the history of Rome or Venice, Frankfort or +Bruges, and yet pass by unheeded the rich stores of antiquarian lore, +which they witness every day, and never think of examining closely and +carefully. There are very few villages in England which have no objects +of historical interest, no relics of the past which are worthy of +preservation. "Restoration," falsely so called, conducted by ignorant +or perverse architects, has destroyed and removed many features of our +parish churches; the devastating plough has well-nigh levelled many an +ancient barrow; railroads have changed the character of rustic life and +killed many an old custom and rural festival. Old legends and quaint +stories of the countryside have given place to talks about politics and +newspaper gossip. But still much remains if we learn to examine things +for ourselves, and endeavour to gather up the relics of the past and save +them from the destructive hand of Time. + +A great service may thus be rendered not only to the cause of history, +but also to the villagers of rural England, by those who have time, +leisure, and learning, sufficient to gain some knowledge of bygone times. +It adds greatly to the interest of their lives to know something of the +place where they live; and it has been well said that every man's concern +with his native place has something more in it than the amount of rates +and taxes that he has to pay. He may not be able to write a history of +his parish, but he can gather up the curious gossip of the neighbourhood, +the traditions and stories which have been handed down from former +generations. And if anyone is at the pains to acquire some knowledge of +local history, and will impart what he knows to his poorer neighbours, he +will add greatly to their interest in life. Life is a burden, labour mere +drudgery, when a man has nothing in which he can interest himself. When +we remember the long hours which an agricultural labourer spends alone, +without a creature to speak to, except his horses or the birds, we can +imagine how dull his life must be, if his mind be not occupied. But here, +on his own ground, he may find an endless supply of food for thought, +which will afford him much greater pleasure and satisfaction than +thinking and talking about his neighbours' faults, reflecting upon his +wrongs, or imitating the example of one of his class who, when asked +by the squire what he was thinking so deeply about, replied, "Mostly +naught." To remove the pall of ignorance that darkens the rustic mind, +to quicken his understanding and awaken his interest, are certainly +desirable objects; although his ignorance is very often shared by his +betters, who frequently hazard very strange theories and manifest many +curious ideas with regard to village antiquities. + +We will walk together through the main roads of the village, and observe +some of its many points of interest. Indeed, it is no small thing to live +in such a "city of memories" as every village is, when at every turn and +corner we meet with something that reminds us of the past, and recalls +the pleasing associations of old village life. To those who have lived +amid the din and turmoil of a large town, where everybody is in a hurry, +and there is nothing but noise, confusion, and bustle, the delicious +calm and quietude of an old English village, undisturbed by the world's +rude noise, is most grateful. But to live in memory of what has gone +before, of the lives and customs of our forefathers, of the strange +events that have happened on the very ground upon which we are standing, +all this will make us love our village homes and delight in them +exceedingly. In most of our large towns the old features are fast +disappearing; historical houses have been pulled down to make room +for buildings more adapted to present needs, and everything is being +modernised; but in the country everything remains the same, and it is +not so difficult to let one's thoughts wander into the past, and picture +to one's self the old features of village life in bygone times. + +Most of our villages have the usual common features, and it is not +difficult to describe a typical example, though the details vary very +much, and the histories of no two villages are identical. We see arising +above the trees the church, the centre of the old village life, both +religious, secular, and social. It stands upon a site which has been +consecrated to the service of God for many centuries. There is possibly +in or near the churchyard a tumulus, or burial mound, which shows that +the spot was set apart for some religious observances even before +Christianity reached our shores. Here the early Saxon missionary planted +his cross and preached in the open air to the gathered villagers. Here +a Saxon thane built a rude timber church which was supplanted by an +early Norman structure of stone with round arches and curiously carved +ornamentation. This building has been added to at various times, and now +shows, writ in stone, its strange and varied history. The old time-worn +registers, kept in the parish chest in the vestry, breathe the +atmosphere of bygone times, and tell the stories and romances of the +"rude forefathers of the hamlet." The tombs and monuments of knights and +ancient heroes tell many a tale of valour and old-world prowess, of +families that have entirely died out, of others that still happily +remain amongst us, and record the names and virtues of many an +illustrious house. The windows, brasses, bells, and inscriptions, have +all some interesting story to relate, which we hope presently to examine +more minutely. + +Nestling amid the trees we see the manor-house, standing probably on the +site of a much older edifice; and this building carries our thoughts back +to the Saxon and early Norman times, when the lord of the manor had +vassals and serfs under him, held his manorial court, and reigned as a +king in his own small domain. The history of the old English manor is a +very important one, concerning which much has been written, many +questions disputed, and some points still remain to be decided. + +Then we notice an old farmhouse which has doubtless seen better days, for +there are the remains of an ancient moat around it, as if some family of +importance once lived there, and wished to guard themselves and their +possessions from troublesome visitors. This moat tells of the times of +war and lawlessness, of wild and fierce animals roaming the countryside; +and if the walls of the old house could speak how many stories could they +tell of the strange customs of our ancestors, of bread riots, of civil +wars, and disturbances which once destroyed the tranquillity of our +peaceful villages! + +We shall endeavour to discover the earliest inhabitants of our villages +who left their traces behind in the curious stone and bronze weapons of +war or domestic implements, and who lived in far remote periods before +the dawn of history. The barrows, or tumuli, which contain their dead +bodies tell us much about them; and also the caves and lake dwellings +help us to form some very accurate notions of the conditions of life in +those distant days. We shall see that the Britons or Celts were far from +being the naked woad-dyed savages described by Caesar, whose account has +so long been deemed sufficient by the historians of our childhood. We +shall call to mind the many waves of invaders which rolled over our +country--the Celts, the Romans, Saxons, Danes, and Normans--all of whom +have left some traces behind them, and added sundry chapters to the story +of our villages. + +The fields too proclaim their story, and tell us of the Saxon folk who +were our first farmers, and made clearings in the forests, and tilled the +same soil we work to-day. They tell us too of the old monks who knew so +much about agriculture; and occasionally the plough turns up a rusty +sword or cannon ball, which reveals the story of battles and civil wars +which we trust have passed away from our land for ever. The very names of +the fields are not without signification, and tell us of animals which +are now extinct, of the manners of our forefathers, of the old methods of +farming, and the common lands which have passed away. + +The old village inn, with its curiously painted signboard, has its own +story to tell, of the old coaching days, and of the great people who used +to travel along the main roads, and were sometimes snowed up in a drift +just below "The Magpie," which had always good accommodation for +travellers, and stabling for fifty horses. All was activity in the stable +yard when the coach came in; the villagers crowded round the inn doors to +see the great folks from London who were regaling themselves with +well-cooked English joints; and if they stayed all night, could find +comfortable beds with lavender-scented sheets, and every attention. But +the railroads and iron steeds have changed all that; until yesterday the +roads were deserted, and the glory of the old inns departed. Bicyclists +now speed along in the track of the old coaches; but they are not quite +so picturesque, and the bicycle bell is less musical than the cheerful +posthorn. + +On the summit of a neighbouring hill we see a curious formation which is +probably an earthwork, constructed many centuries ago by the early +dwellers in this district for the purpose of defence in dangerous times, +when the approach of a neighbouring tribe, or the advance of a company of +free-booting invaders, threatened them with death or the destruction of +their flocks and herds. These earthworks we shall examine more closely. +An ivy-covered ruin near the church shows the remains of a monastic cell +or monastery; and in the distance perhaps we can see the outlines of an +old Norman keep or castle; all of these relate to the story of our +villages, and afford us subjects for investigation and research. + +Then there is the village green where so many generations of the +villagers have disported themselves, danced the old country dances +(now alas! forgotten), and reared the merry May-pole, and crowned +their queen. Here they held their rural sports, and fought their bouts +of quarter-staff and cudgel-play, grinned through horse-collars, and +played pipe and tabor at many a rustic feast, when life was young and +England merry. We shall try to picture to ourselves these happy scenes +of innocent diversion which cheered the hearts of our forefathers in +bygone times. + +[Illustration: A VILLAGE STREET] + +We will try to collect the curious legends and stories which were told to +us by our grandsires, and are almost forgotten by the present generation. +These we should treasure up, lest they should be for ever lost. Local +tradition has often led the way to important discoveries. + +In this brief circuit of an ordinary English village we have found many +objects which are calculated to excite our imagination and to stimulate +inquiry. A closer examination will well repay our study, and reward the +labour of the investigator. It is satisfactory to know that all possible +discoveries as to the antiquities of our villages have not yet been made. +We have still much to learn, and the earth has not yet disclosed all its +treasures. Roman villas still remain buried; the sepulchres of many a +Saxon chieftain or early nomad Celt are still unexplored; the pile +dwellings and cave domiciles of the early inhabitants of our country have +still to be discovered; and piles of records and historical documents +have still to be sought out, arranged, and examined. So there is much +work to be done by the antiquary for many a long year; and every little +discovery, and the results of every patient research, assist in +accumulating that store of knowledge which is gradually being compiled +by the hard labour of our English historians and antiquaries. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +PREHISTORIC REMAINS + +Pytheas of Marseilles--Discovery of flint implements--Geological +changes--Palaeolithic man--Eslithic--Palaeolithic implements-- +Drift men--Cave men--Neolithic man and his weapons--Dolichocephalic-- +Celtic or Brachycephalic race--The Iron Age. + + +It was customary some years ago to begin the history of any country with +the statement, "Of the early inhabitants nothing is known with any +certainty," and to commence the history of England with the landing of +Julius Caesar B.C. 55. If this book had been written forty or fifty +years ago it might have been stated that our first knowledge of Britain +dates from 330 B.C. when Pytheas of Marseilles visited it, and described +his impressions. He says that the climate was foggy, a characteristic +which it has not altogether lost, that the people cultivated the ground +and used beer and mead as beverages. Our villagers still follow the +example of their ancestors in their use of one at least of these drinks. + +Of the history of all the ages prior to the advent of this Pytheas all +written record is silent. Hence we have to play the part of scientific +detectives, examine the footprints of the early man who inhabited our +island, hunt for odds and ends which he has left behind, to rake over +his kitchen middens, pick up his old tools, and even open his burial +mound. + +About fifty years ago the attention of the scientific world was drawn to +the flint implements which were scattered over the surface of our fields +and in our gravel pits and mountain caves; and inquiring minds began +to speculate as to their origin. The collections made at Amiens and +Abbeville and other places began to convince men of the existence of an +unknown and unimagined race, and it gradually dawned on us that on our +moors and downs were the tombs of a race of men who fashioned their +weapons of war and implements of peace out of flint. These discoveries +have pushed back our knowledge of man to an antiquity formerly never +dreamed of, and enlarged considerably our historical horizon. So we will +endeavour to discover what kind of men they were, who roamed our fields +and woods before any historical records were written, and mark the very +considerable traces of their occupation which they have left behind. + +The condition of life and the character and climate of the country were +very different in early times from what they are in the present day; and +in endeavouring to discover the kind of people who dwelt here in +prehistoric times, we must hear what the geologists have to tell us +about the physical aspect of Britain in that period. There was a time +when this country was connected with the Continent of Europe, and the +English Channel and North Sea were mere valleys with rivers running +through them fed by many streams. Where the North Sea now rolls there +was the great valley of the Rhine; and as there were no ocean-waves to +cross, animals and primitive man wandered northwards and westwards from +the Continent, and made their abode here. It is curious to note that the +migratory birds when returning to France and Italy, and thence to the +sunny regions of Algiers and other parts of Northern Africa, always +cross the seas where in remote ages there was dry land. They always +traverse the same route; and it appears that the recollection of the +places where their ancestors crossed has been preserved by them through +all the centuries that have elapsed since "the silver streak" was formed +that severs England from her neighbours. + +In the times of which we are speaking the land was much higher than it +is now. Snowdon was 600 feet greater, and the climate was much colder +and more rigorous. Glaciers like those in Switzerland were in all the +higher valleys, and the marks of the action of the ice are still plainly +seen on the rocky cliffs that border many a ravine. Moreover we find in +the valleys many detached rocks, immense boulders, the nature of which +is quite different from the character of the stone in the neighbourhood. +These were carried down by the glaciers from higher elevations, and +deposited, when the ice melted, in the lower valleys. Hence in this +glacial period the condition of the country was very different from what +it is now. + +Then a remarkable change took place. The land began to sink, and its +elevation so much decreased that the central part of the country became +a huge lake, and the peak of Snowdon was an island surrounded by the sea +which washed with its waves the lofty shoulder of the mountain. This is +the reason why shells and shingle are found in high elevations. The Ice +Age passed away and the climate became warmer. The Gulf Stream found its +way to our shores, and the country was covered by a warm ocean having +islands raising their heads above the surface. Sharks swam around, whose +teeth we find now buried in beds of clay. The land continued to rise, +and attracted by the sunshine and the more genial clime animals from the +Continent wandered northwards, and with them came man. Caves, now high +amongst the hills, but then on a level with the rivers, were his first +abode, and contain many relics of his occupancy, together with the bones +of extinct animals. The land appears to have risen, and the climate +became colder. The sea worked its relentless way through the chalk hills +on the south and gradually met the waves of the North Sea which flowed +over the old Rhine valley. It widened also the narrow strait that +severed the country from Ireland, and the outline and contour of the +island began more nearly to resemble that with which we are now +familiar. + +A vast period of time was necessary to accomplish all these immense +changes; and it is impossible to speculate with any degree of certainty +how long that period was, which transformed the icebound surface of +our island to a land of verdure and wild forests. We must leave such +conjectures and the more detailed accounts of the glacial and +post-glacial periods to the geologists, as our present concern is +limited to the study of the habits and condition of the men who roamed +our fields and forests in prehistoric times. Although no page of history +gives us any information concerning them, we can find out from the +relics of arms and implements which the earth has preserved for us, what +manner of men lived in the old cave dwellings, or constructed their rude +huts, and lie buried beneath the vast barrows. + +The earliest race of men who inhabited our island was called the +Palaeolithic race, from the fact that they used the most ancient form +of stone implements. Traces of a still earlier race are said to have +been discovered a few years ago on the chalk plateau of the North Down, +near Sevenoaks. The flints have some slight hollows in them, as if +caused by scraping, and denote that the users must have been of a very +low condition of intelligence--able to use a tool but scarcely able to +make one. This race has been called the Eolithic; but some antiquaries +have thrown doubts upon their existence, and the discovery of these +flints is too recent to allow us to speak of them with any degree of +certainty. + +[Illustration: PALAEOLITHIC IMPLEMENTS] + +The traces of Palaeolithic man are very numerous, and he evidently +exercised great skill in bringing his implements to a symmetrical shape +by chipping. The use of metals for cutting purposes was entirely +unknown; and stone, wood, and bone were the only materials of which +these primitive beings availed themselves for the making of weapons or +domestic implements. Palaeolithic man lived here during that distant +period when this country was united with the Continent, and when the +huge mammoth roamed in the wild forests, and powerful and fierce animals +struggled for existence in the hills and vales of a cold and inclement +country. His weapons and tools were of the rudest description, and made +of chipped flint. Many of these have been found in the valley gravels, +which had probably been dropped from canoes into the lakes or rivers, or +washed down by floods from stations on the shore. Eighty or ninety feet +above the present level of the Thames in the higher gravels are these +relics found; and they are so abundant that the early inhabitants who +used them must have been fairly numerous. Their shape is usually oval, +and often pointed into a rude resemblance of the shape of a spear-head. +Some flint-flakes are of the knifelike character; others resemble awls, +or borers, with sharp points evidently for making holes in skins for the +purpose of constructing a garment. Hammer-stones for crushing bones, +tools with well-wrought flat edges, scrapers, and other implements, were +the stock-in-trade of the earliest inhabitant of our country, and are +distinguishable from those used by Neolithic man by their larger and +rougher work. The maker of the old stone tools never polished his +implements; nor did he fashion any of those finely wrought arrowheads +and javelin points, upon which his successor prided himself. The latter +discovered that the flints which were dug up were more easily fashioned +into various shapes; whereas Palaeolithic man picked up the flints that +lay about on the surface of the ground, and chipped them into the form +of his rude tools. However, the elder man was acquainted with the use +of fire, which he probably obtained by striking flints on blocks of +iron pyrites. Wandering about the country in families and tribes, he +contrived to exist by hunting the numerous animals that inhabited the +primeval forests, and has left us his weapons and tools to tell us what +kind of man he was. His implements are found in the drift gravels by +the riversides; and from this cause his race are known as drift men, +in order to distinguish them from the _cave men_, who seem to have +belonged to a little later period. + +The first dwellings of man were the caves on the hillsides, before he +found out the art of building pile huts. In Palaeolithic times these +caves were inhabited by a rude race of feral nomads who lived by the +chase, and fashioned the rude tools which we have already described. +They were, however, superior to the drift men, and had some notion of +art. The principal caves in the British islands containing the relics of +the cave folk are the following: Perthichoaren, Denbighshire, wherein +were found the remains of Platycnemic man--so named from his having +sharp shin-bones; Cefn, St. Asaph; Uphill, Somerset; King's Scar and the +Victoria Cave, Settle; Robin Hood's Cave and Pinhole Cave, Derbyshire; +Black Rock, Caldy Island, Coygan Caves, Pembrokeshire; King Arthur's +Cave, Monmouth; Durdham Downs, Bristol; and sundry others, near Oban, in +the valleys of the Trent, Dove, and Nore, and of the Irish Blackwater, +and in Caithness. + +In these abodes the bones of both men and animals have been found; but +these do not all belong to the same period, as the Neolithic people, +and those of the Bronze and Iron Ages, followed the occupation of the +earlier race. The remains of the different races, however, lie at +various depths, those of the earlier race naturally lying the lowest. An +examination of the Victoria Cave, Settle, clearly shows this. Outside +the entrance there was found a layer of charcoal and burnt bones, and +the burnt stones of fireplaces, pottery, coins of the Emperors Trajan +and Constantine, and ornaments in bone, ivory, bronze and enamel. The +animal remains were those of the _bos longifrons_ (Celtic ox), pig, +horse, roe, stag, fowl (wild), and grouse. This layer was evidently +composed of the relics of a Romano-British people. Below this were found +chipped flints, an adze of melaphyre, and a layer of boulders, sand, and +clay, brought down by the ice from the higher valley. + +Inside the cave in the upper cave earth were found the bones of fox, +badger, brown bear, grizzly bear, reindeer, red deer, horse, pig, and +goat, and some bones evidently hacked by man. In the lower cave earth +there were the remains of the hyena, fox, brown and grizzly bears, +elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, urus, bison, and red deer, the +hacked bones of a goat, and a small leg-bone of a man. + +Some idea of the time which has elapsed since primitive man inhabited +this rude dwelling may be formed from these excavations. Two feet below +the surface lay the Romano-British layer, and we know therefore that +about 1,600 years was required for the earth to accumulate to that +depth. The Neolithic layer was six feet below this; hence 4,800 years +would be necessary to form this depth of earth. So we may conclude that +at least 6,400 years ago Neolithic man used the cave. A long time +previous to this lived the creatures of the lower cave earth, the bison, +elephant, and the hyena with the solitary human bone, which belonged to +the sharp-shinned race (Platycnemic) of beings, the earliest dwellers in +our country. + +It is doubtful whether Palaeolithic man has left any descendants. The +Esquimaux appear to somewhat resemble them. Professor Boyd Dawkins, in +his remarkable book, _Cave Hunting_, traces this relationship in the +character of implements, methods of obtaining food and cooking it, modes +of preparing skins for clothing, and particularly in the remarkable +skill of depicting figures on bone which both races display. In carving +figures on bone and teeth early man in Britain was certainly more +skilful than his successor; but he was a very inferior type of the human +race, yet his intelligence and mode of life have been deemed not lower +than those of the Australian aborigines. + +The animals which roamed through the country in this Pleistocene period +were the elk and reindeer, which link us on to the older and colder +period when Arctic conditions prevailed; the Irish deer, a creature of +great size whose head weighed about eighty pounds; bison, elephant, +rhinoceros, hippopotamus, lion, wolf, otter, bear, horse, red deer, roe, +urus or gigantic ox, the short-horned ox (_bos longifrons_), boar, +badger and many others which survive to the present day, and have +therefore a very long line of ancestors. + +The successor of the old stone implement maker was Neolithic man, to +whom we have already had occasion to refer. Some lengthy period of +geological change separates him from his predecessor of the Old Stone +Age. Specimens of his handiwork show that he was a much more civilised +person than his predecessor, and presented a much higher type of +humanity. He had a peculiarly shaped head, the back part of the skull +being strangely prolonged; and from this feature he is called +_dolichocephalic_. He was small in stature, about 5 feet 6 inches in +height, having a dark complexion, and his descendants are the Iberian or +Basque races in the Western Pyrenees and may still be traced in parts of +Ireland and Wales. The long barrows or mounds, the length of which is +greater than the breadth, contain his remains, and we find traces of his +existence in all the western countries of Europe. + +He had made many discoveries which were unknown to his Old Stone +predecessor. Instead of always hunting for his food, like an animal, he +found out that the earth would give him corn with which he could make +bread, if only he took the trouble to cultivate it. Instead of always +slaying animals, he found that some were quite ready to be his servants, +and give him milk and wool and food. He brought with him to our shores +cows and sheep and goats, horses and dogs. Moreover he made pottery, +moulding the clay with his hand, and baking it in a fire. He had not +discovered the advantages of a kiln. He could spin thread, and weave +stuffs, though he usually wore garments of skins. + +His dwellings were no longer the caves and forests, for he made for +himself rude pit huts, and surrounded himself, his tribe, and cattle +with a circular camp. Traces of his agricultural operations may still be +found in the "terraces," or strips of ground on hillsides, which +preserve the marks of our early Neolithic farmers. + +[Illustration: BARBED AND LEAF-SHAPED ARROW-HEADS] + +Their implements are far superior to those of the Old Stone men, and are +found on the surface of our fields, or on hillsides, where they tended +their flocks, or dug their rude pit shelters. Their weapons and tools +are highly polished, and have evidently been ground on a grindstone. +They are adapted for an endless variety of uses, and are most skilfully +and beautifully fashioned. There are finely wrought arrowheads, of three +shapes--barbed, tanged and barbed, and leaf-shaped; axes, scrapers for +cleansing and preparing skins for clothing, hammer stones, wedges, +drills, borers, knives, and many other tools. In the Reading Museum may +be seen a heavy quartzite axe and chipped flint hatchet, which were +found with some charred timber on an island in the Thames, and were +evidently used for scooping out the interior of a boat from a tree with +the aid of fire. So this New Stone man knew how to make boats as well as +a vast number of other things of which we shall presently speak more +particularly. His descendants linger on in South Wales and Ireland, and +are short in stature, dark in complexion, and narrow-skulled, like their +forefathers a few thousand years ago. + +[Illustration: NEOLITHIC AND BRONZE IMPLEMENTS] + +Another wave of invaders swept over our land, and overcame the +long-headed Neolithic race. These were the Celtic people, taller and +stronger than their predecessors, and distinguished by their fair hair +and rounded skulls. From the shape of their heads they are called +Brachycephalic, and are believed to have belonged to the original Aryan +race, whose birthplace was Southern Asia. At some remote period this +wave of invaders poured over Europe and Asia, and has left traces behind +it in the languages of all Indo-European nations. + +Their weapons were made of bronze, although they still used polished +stone implements also. We find chisels, daggers, rings, buttons, and +spear-heads, all made of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, and +fashioned by the skilled hands of these early Celtic folk. As they +became more civilised, being of an inventive mind, they discovered the +use of iron and found it a more convenient metal for fashioning axes to +cut down trees. + +When Caesar came to Britain he found that the inhabitants knew the use +of iron, even the less civilised early Celtic settlers driven northwards +and westwards by the Belgae, had iron weapons, and the wild Caledonians +in the time of Severus, although they were naked, woad-dyed savages, +wore iron collars and girdles and were armed with metal weapons. + +Such are some of the relics of antiquity which the soil of our native +land retains, as a memorial of the primitive people who first trod upon +it. Concerning their lives and records history is silent, until the +Conqueror tells us something of our Celtic forefathers. From the scanty +remains of prehistoric races, their weapons and tools, we can gather +something of the earliest inhabitants of our island, and try to realise +their habits and mode of life. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +TUMULI OR BARROWS + +Barrows near churchyards--Their universality--Contents--Food in +barrows--Curious burial customs--Belief in future life--Long and +round barrows--Interior of barrow--Position of bodies--Cremation-- +Burial urns--Articles of dress and ornament--Artistic workmanship-- +Pottery--Remains of agriculture--Organised condition of society +among prehistoric people. + + +Throughout the country we find many artificial mounds which are called +_tumuli_ or barrows, or in the neighbourhood of Wales, "tumps." These +are the ancient burial-places of the early inhabitants of our island, +the word "barrow" being derived from the Anglo-Saxon _beorh_, a hill or +grave-mound. It is not unusual to see a barrow in the centre, or near, +an old churchyard, as at Taplow, Bucks. The church was built, of course, +much later than the erection of the mound; but doubtless the early +preachers of the gospel took advantage of the reverence which was paid +to these ancient tombs, proclaimed there the story of the cross, and on +the spots so consecrated churches were ultimately built. + +These mounds have much to tell us of the early inhabitants. To cover the +dead with a mound of earth was a custom common to all nations. All over +Europe, in Northern Asia, India, and in the new world of America, we +find burial-mounds. The pyramids of Egypt are only glorified mounds; and +our islands can boast of an endless variety, sometimes consisting of +cairns, or heaps of stones, sometimes of huge hills of earth, 130 feet +in height, as at Silbury, Wilts, and covering five acres; while others +are only small heaps of soil a few feet high. + +The contents of the tumuli differ also. Sometimes the bodies were burnt +and the ashes preserved in rude urns; sometimes they were not cremated. +Sometimes they were buried in stone cists, or in the hollowed trunk of +trees; sometimes without any covering save that of the earth. In nearly +all cases we find numerous articles buried with the dead, such as +personal ornaments, weapons, pottery, and food. + +The presence of food in the tumuli testifies to the natural instinct +implanted by the Creator in the human heart with regard to a future +existence. The idea that the soul of the departed is about to take a +long journey is constant and deeply rooted; the rainbow and the milky +way have often been supposed to be the paths trod by the departed, who +require sustenance for so long a journey. The Aztecs laid a water-bottle +beside the bodies to be used on the way to Mictlan, the land of the +dead. Bow and arrows, a pair of mocassins with a spare piece of deerskin +to patch them if they wear out, and sinews of deer to sew on the patches +with, together with a kettle and provisions, are still placed in the +graves by the North American Indians. The Laplanders lay beside the +corpse flint, steel, and tinder, to supply light for the dark journey. A +coin was placed in the mouth of the dead by the Greeks to pay Charon, +the ferryman of the Styx, and for a similar purpose in the hand of a +deceased Irishman. The Greenlanders bury with a child a dog, for they +say a dog will find his way anywhere. In the grave of the Viking warrior +were buried his horn and armour in order that he might enter the halls +of Valhalla fully equipped. + +These and many other examples might be quoted showing the universality +of the belief in a future life, a belief that was evidently shared with +other nations by the primeval races who inhabited our islands in +prehistoric times. + +The presence of food and drinking vessels in the tumuli clearly shows +this, and also the store of weapons and implements, adzes, hammers, +scrapers, and other tools which the barrows have preserved through so +many ages. + +These barrows are not confined to one period or one race, as their shape +denotes. Some are long, measuring 200 to 400 feet in length by 60 or 80 +feet wide; others are circular. The former were made by the long-headed +(dolichocephalic) race of whom we have already spoken; the latter by the +round-headed (brachycephalic), conquerors of their feebler long-skulled +forerunners. When we consider the poor tools used by these primitive +peoples, we may wonder at the amount of labour they must have expended +on the construction of these giant mounds. Picks made of deer's horns +and pointed staves enabled them to loosen the earth which was then +collected in baskets and thrown on the rising heap. Countless toilers +and many years must have been needed to produce such wonderful memorials +of their industry. + +[Illustration: PLAN OF A TUMULUS] + +With better tools we will proceed to dig into these mounds and discover +what they contain. First we notice an encircling trench and mound +surrounding the barrow, the purpose of which is supposed to have been to +keep the dead person in the tomb, and prevent it from injuring the +living. After much digging in the centre of the barrow we find a single +stone chamber, entered by a passage underneath the higher and wider end +of the mound. Sometimes the chamber is divided into three parts, the +centre one being covered by a dome, formed by the overlapping of the +stones in the upper parts of the walls. The passage leading to the +centre chamber is also built with large stones erected with much care +and skill. The contents of these long barrows are not so interesting, or +numerous, as those contained in the round barrows. The skeletons are +usually found in irregular positions, and few weapons or ornaments +accompany the buried bones. Derbyshire possesses many barrows; wherever +in a place-name the suffix _low_ occurs, derived from the Anglo-Saxon +_hlow_, signifying a small hill or mound, a barrow is generally to be +found. The long barrow is usually about 200 feet in length, 40 feet +wide, and 8 to 12 feet high. They run east and west, frequently +north-east by south-west, the principal interment being usually at the +eastern and higher end. The bodies are often found in a cist or box made +of large stones, and several were buried in one mound, generally on the +south and east sides, so that they might lie in the sun. This practice +may have been connected with sun-worship; and the same idea prevailed in +modern times, when the south side of the churchyard was considered the +favoured portion, and criminals and suicides were relegated to the +colder north side. + +[Illustration: PLAN OF TUMULUS CALLED WAYLAND SMITH'S CAVE, BERKSHIRE] + +The position of the bodies varied, but usually they were buried in a +crouching position, with knees bent and head drawn towards the knees. +This was probably the natural position which a man would assume when he +slept without a luxurious bed to lie upon, and with little to cover him, +in order to keep himself as warm as possible. Hence when he sank into +his last long sleep, his mourning relatives would place him in the same +posture. In the Channel Islands bodies were often placed in a kneeling +position. + +The custom of burning the body seems to have been adopted later by the +same long-headed race who used the long barrows, and prevailed more in +the north of England, in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Scotland, than in +the south. The cremation was sometimes not very thoroughly performed. +The bodies were placed together, wood being piled about them, and over +the heap the mound was raised. Then the fire was lighted, which +naturally only partly consumed the bodies. We find also, mingled with +bones of men and women, the bones of animals, which were probably the +remains of funeral feasts. + +As we have said the round-headed race introduced the circular barrow, +and cremation was their usual, though not exclusive, practice. These +people were much stronger and bigger men than their predecessors, their +powerful jaws and projecting chins showing much more power of will than +the softer narrow-faced dolichocephalic race. However, in the round +barrows we also find the bodies of the latter, and we gather that they +were not exterminated or driven out by their conquerors, but mingled +with them, intermarried, until at length the type of the long-skulled +race prevailed, and the Celt of later times possessed the features of +the race he had formerly subdued. At least such seems to be the teaching +of the barrows. + +The Celt became acquainted with the use of bronze, and his tomb was +enriched with a store of the relics of the life and art of the +workmanship of the time. As cremation was the usual practice, it was no +longer necessary to have a chamber which the dead might inhabit; the +size of the sleeping-place of the dead was reduced, and a cist was +constructed for the receptacle of the urn in which the remains were +placed. The mound also was reduced in size and looked much less imposing +than the huge barrows of the Stone Age; but its contents were much more +important. + +The ashes we find frequently contained in a rude urn of black pottery +with some ornamentation. Then we discover pins made of bones, which were +evidently used to fasten the dress. The people therefore were evidently +not naked, woad-dyed savages; moreover we find bits of woollen fabric +and charred cloth, and in Denmark people belonging to this same early +race were buried in a cap, shirt, leggings, and boots, a fairly complete +wardrobe. They also loved to adorn themselves, and had buttons of jet, +and stone and bone ornaments. Besides flint implements we find adzes and +hatchets and chisels, axe-hammers constructed with a hole in them for +the insertion of a handle, grain rubbers, wheat stones, and hammer +stones. The mounds also disclose a great variety of flint implements, +hatchets, scrapers, both round and long, knife-daggers, knives, saws, +drills, fabricators or flaking tools, sling stones, hammer stones, +polishers, arrow-points, either leaf-shaped, triangular, or barbed, and +heads of darts and javelins. A very curious object is sometimes found, a +stone wrist guard, for the purpose of protecting the wrist from the bow +string. + +These barrows and their contents bear evidences to the artistic +workmanship of the prehistoric dwellers in our villages. Their tombs +show that these people did not confine themselves to the fabrication of +objects of utility, but that they loved to adorn themselves with +personal ornaments, which required much art and skill in the +manufacture. Necklaces of beads pleased their fancy, and these they made +of jet, or shells, the teeth of deer, and the vertebrae of fish. +Moreover they loved ear-rings, which were sometimes made of the teeth of +pigs. Objects of gold, bronze, glass, ivory, amber, clay, and bone were +also used as ornaments. + +[Illustration: CELTIC CINERARY URN] + +If we examine the pottery in the barrows we find that a vessel of +earthenware was usually placed at the back of the head of the body when +it was not cremated. There were also cinerary urns, cups, usually called +incense cups, which were certainly not used for incense, whatever may +have been their purpose, food and drinking vessels. This pottery was not +sun-dried, but burnt in a fire, though not made in a kiln, and the form +of the vessels shows that the makers were ignorant of the use of a +potter's wheel. The ornamentation consisted of a series of straight +lines made by a sharp-pointed instrument and by impressions of the +finger nails or string, often revealing much skill and artistic +workmanship. + +From a study of the barrows we may learn much about the early inhabitants +of our island, who lived and worked and died on the same spots where we +now are spending our days. We can see them hunting in the wild woodlands, +rearing cows and sheep and goats, and cultivating their crops of corn. +We can still trace on the hillsides some curious terraces fashioned by +them for the growing of their grain, and discover querns, or hand +millstones, and stones for bruising the corn. The bones of young +oxen a few days old, discovered in the mounds, show that they knew the +use of milk, and how to get a good supply. A rude spindle-whorl shows +that they knew how to weave stuffs for their clothing, and the numerous +buttons, fasteners, and belts prove that the clothes were fitted to the +wearer, and not mere shapeless sacks. + +The barrows also bear evidence to the existence of some organised +condition of society. In the early savage state of human existence +the family is the only community; but as man progressed towards +civilisation, he learnt how to combine with his fellows for mutual +defence and support. We gather from our examination of the tombs of +these early races that they had attained to this degree of progress. +There were chiefs of tribes and families who were buried with more +honour than that bestowed upon the humbler folk. Many families were +buried in one mound, showing that the tribal state had been reached, +while the many humbler graves denote the condition of servitude and +dependence in which a large number of the race lived. All this, and +much more, may be learnt from a careful study of the tombs of these +prehistoric people. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +PIT AND PILE DWELLINGS + +Pit dwelling earliest form of house-building--Discoveries at +Bright-hampton, Worlebury--British oppida--Hurstbourne--Contents of +pit dwelling--Pot-boilers--Condition of civilisation--Pile dwellings-- +Switzerland--Glastonbury--Hedsor--Crannogs--Modern use of pile +dwellings--Description of a lake dwelling--Contents--Bronze Age-- +Recent discoveries at Glastonbury. + + +We have examined in our last chapter the abodes of the dead; we will +now investigate the abodes of the living which the earth has preserved +for us for so many centuries. The age of the cave dwellers had long +passed; and the prehistoric folk, having attained to some degree of +civilisation, began to devise for themselves some secure retreats from +inclement rains and cold winds. Perhaps the burrowing rabbit gave them +an idea for providing some dwelling-place. At any rate the earliest and +simplest notion for constructing a habitation was that of digging holes +in the ground and roofing them over with a light thatch. Hence we have +the pit dwellings of our rude forefathers. + +Many examples of pit dwellings have been found by industrious explorers. +Some labourers when digging gravel at Brighthampton, near Oxford, came +across several such excavations. They were simply pits dug in the earth, +large enough to hold one or two persons, and from the sides of these +pits a certain quantity of earth had been removed so as to form a seat. +At the bottom of these a few rude flint arrow-heads were found. In the +remarkable British oppidum at Worlebury, near Weston-super-Mare, several +circular, well-like pits may be seen, fairly preserved in shape owing to +the rocky nature of the ground in which they have been excavated. One in +particular is very perfect, and about two feet from the bottom is a seat +formed of the rock extending all round the pit. + +These ancient pit dwellings are usually surrounded by an earthen +rampart. Caesar says that "the Britons called that a town where they +used to assemble for the sake of avoiding an incursion of enemies, when +they had fortified the entangled woods with a rampart and ditch." The +remains of many of these oppida may still be seen in almost all parts of +the country; and in most of these hollows are plainly distinguishable, +which doubtless were pit dwellings; but owing to the sides having fallen +in, they have now the appearance of natural hollows in the earth. + +At Hurstbourne, Hants, nine of these early habitations were discovered +by the late Dr. Stevens, some of which were rudely pitched with flint +stones, and had passages leading into the pit. A few flints irregularly +placed together with wood ashes showed the position of the hearths, +where cooking operations had been carried on. The sloping +entrance-passages are peculiar and almost unique in England, though +several have been met with in France. A rude ladder was the usual mode +of entrance into these underground dwellings. Fragments of hand-made +British pottery and the commoner kinds of Romano-British ware were +found, and portions of mealing stones and also a saddle-quern, or +grain-crusher, which instruments for hand-mealing must have been in +common use among the pit dwellers. The grain was probably prepared by +parching it before crushing; the hollow understone prevented the grain +from escaping; and the muller was so shaped as to render it easily +grasped, while it was pushed backwards and forwards by the hands. +Similar stones are used at the present time by the African natives, as +travellers testify. + +[Illustration: ARTICLES FOUND IN PIT DWELLINGS +(1) Knife of deer-antler +(2) Bone needle +(3) Marrow scoop +(4, 5) Bone awls] + +One of the pits at Hurstbourne was evidently a cooking-hole, where the +pit dwellers prepared their feasts, and bones of the Celtic ox (_bos +longifrons_), pig, red deer, goat, dog, and hare or rabbit were found +near it. One of the bones had evidently been bitten by teeth. The pit +dwellers also practised some domestic industries, as Dr. Stevens found a +needle, an awl or bodkin, and fragments of pointed bone, probably used +for sewing skins together. A rude spindle-whorl shows that they knew +something of weaving, and two bored stones were evidently buttons or +dress-fasteners. A large supply of flint implements, scrapers, and +arrow-heads, proves that the dwellings were inhabited by the Neolithic +people before the Britons came to occupy them. I must not omit to notice +the heating stones, or "pot-boilers." These were heated in the fire, and +then placed among the meat intended to be cooked, in a hole in the +ground which served the purpose of a cooking pot. I have found many such +stones in Berkshire, notably from the neighbourhood of Wallingford and +Long Wittenham. The writer of the _Early History of Mankind_ states that +the Assineboins, or stone-boilers, dig a hole in the ground, take a +piece of raw hide, and press it down to the sides of the hole, and fill +it with water; this is called a "paunch-kettle"; then they make a number +of stones red-hot in a fire close by, the meat is put into the water, +and the hot stones dropped in until it is cooked. The South Sea +Islanders have similar primitive methods of cooking. The Highlanders +used to prepare the feasts of their clans in much the same way; and the +modern gipsies adopt a not very dissimilar mode of cooking their stolen +fowls and hedgehogs. + +We can now people these cheerless primitive pit dwellings with their +ancient inhabitants, and understand something of their manners of life +and customs. Their rude abodes had probably cone-shaped roofs made of +rafters lashed together at the centre, protected by an outside coat of +peat, sods of turf, or rushes. The spindle-whorl is evidence that they +could spin thread; the mealing stones show that they knew how to +cultivate corn; and the bones of the animals found in their dwellings +testify to the fact that they were not in the wild state of primitive +hunters, but possessed herds of cows and goats and other domestic +animals. + +Who were these people? Mr. Boyd Dawkins is of opinion that the early pit +dwellers belonged to the Neolithic folk of whom I have already told you, +as the flint implements testify. But these dwellings were evidently +occupied by a later people. The querns and spindle-whorl probably +belonged to the Celts, or Britons, before the advent of the Roman +legions; and that these people were the inhabitants of the Hampshire pit +dwellings is proved by the presence of a British gold coin which is +recognised by numismatists as an imitation of the Greek stater of Philip +II. of Macedon. According to Sir John Evans, the native British coinage +was in existence as early as 150 years before Christ. Hence to this +period we may assign the date of the existence of these Celtic primitive +habitations. + +Pit dwellings were not the only kind of habitations which the early +inhabitants of our country used, and some of our villages possess +constructions of remarkable interest, which recent industrious digging +has disclosed. These are none other than lake dwellings, similar to +those first discovered in Switzerland about fifty years ago. Few of our +villages can boast of such relics of antiquity. Near Glastonbury, in +1892, in a dried-up ancient mere a lake village was discovered, which I +will describe presently; and recently at Hedsor in Buckinghamshire a +pile dwelling has been found which some learned antiquaries are now +examining. In Ireland and Scotland there are found the remains of +fortified dwellings called Crannogs in some of the lakes, as in Dowalton +Loch, Wigtownshire, and Cloonfinlough in Connaught, but these belong to +later times and were used in the Middle Ages. + +[Illustration: IRON SPEAR-HEAD FOUND AT HEDSOR] + +In primitive times, when tribe warred with tribe, and every man's hand +was against his fellow-man, and when wild and savage beasts roamed o'er +moor and woodland, security was the one thing most desired by the early +inhabitants of Europe. Hence they conceived the brilliant notion of +constructing dwellings built on piles in the midst of lakes or rivers, +where they might live in peace and safety, and secure themselves from +the sudden attack of their enemies, or the ravages of beasts of prey. +Switzerland is famous for its numerous clusters, or villages, of ancient +lake dwellings, which were of considerable size. At Morges, on the Lake +of Geneva, the settlement of huts extends 1,200 feet long by 150 in +breadth; and that at Sutz on the Lake of Bienne covers six acres, and is +connected with the shore by a gangway 100 feet long and 40 feet wide. +Nor is the use of these habitations entirely abandoned at the present +time. Venezuela, which means "little Venice," derives its name from the +Indian village composed of pile dwellings on the shores of the Gulf of +Maracaibo, as its original explorer Alonzo de Ojeda in 1499 chose to +compare the sea-protected huts with the queen city of the Adriatic; and +in many parts of South America, in the estuaries of the Orinoco and +Amazon, such dwellings are still found, also among the Dyaks of Borneo, +in the Caroline Islands, and on the Gold Coast of Africa. Herodotus +describes similar dwellings on the Lake Prasias, existing in the fifth +century B.C., and Lord Avebury states that now the Roumelian fishermen +on the same lake "inhabit wooden cottages built over the water as in the +time of Herodotus." + +These habitations of primitive man were built on piles driven into the +bed of the lake or river. These piles were stems, or trunks of trees, +sharpened with stone or bronze tools. A rude platform was erected on +these piles, and on this a wooden hut constructed with walls of wattle +and daub, and thatched with reeds or rushes. A bridge built on piles +connected the lake village with the shore whither the dwellers used to +go to cultivate their wheat, barley, and flax, and feed their kine and +sheep and goats. They made canoes out of hollow trunks of trees. One of +these canoes which have been discovered is 43 feet in length and over 4 +feet wide. The beams supporting the platform, on which the huts were +erected, were fastened by wooden pins. Much ingenuity was exercised in +the making of these dwellings. Sometimes they found that the mud of the +lake was too soft to hold the piles; so they fashioned a framework of +trunks of trees, which they let down to the bottom of the lake, and +fastened the upright piles to it. Sometimes the rocky bed of the lake +prevented the piles from being driven into it; so they heaped stones +around the piles, and thus made them secure. The lake dwellers were very +sociable, and had only one common platform for all the huts, which were +clustered together. As all the actual dwellings have been destroyed by +time's rude action, it is impossible to describe them accurately; but +their usual size was about 20 feet by 12 feet. The floor was of clay, +and in the centre of the building there was a hearth made of slabs of +stone. + +The people who inhabited these structures belonged either to the later +Stone Age, or the Bronze Age, as we learn from the relics which their +huts disclose. In the earlier ones are found celts, flint flakes, +arrow-heads, harpoons of stag's horn with barbs, awls, needles, chisels, +and fish-hooks made of bone, and sometimes wooden combs, and skates made +out of the leg-bone of a horse. Besides the remains of the usual +domestic animals we find bones of the beaver, bear, elk, and bison. + +When the use of bronze was discovered the people still lived on in their +lake dwellings. Fire often played havoc with the wooden wattle walls; +hence we frequently find a succession of platforms. The first dwelling +having been destroyed by flames, a second one was subsequently +constructed; and this having shared the same fate, another platform with +improved huts was raised upon the ruins of its predecessors. The relics +of each habitation show that, as time went on, the pit dwellers advanced +in civilisation, and increased the comforts and conveniences of life. + +Some of the dwellings of these early peoples belong to the Bronze Age, +as do those of the Auvernier settlement in the Lake of Neuchatel; and +these huts are rich in the relics of their former inhabitants. At Marin +on the same lake the lake dwellers were evidently workers in iron; and +the relics, which contain large spear-heads, shields, horse furniture, +fibulas, and other ornaments, together with Roman coins, prove that they +belonged to the period of which history tells us. + +I have described at length these Swiss lake dwellings, although they do +not belong to the antiquities of our villages in England, because much +the same kind of habitations existed in our country, though few have +as yet been unearthed. Possibly under the peaty soil of some ancient +river-bed, or old mere, long ago drained, you may be fortunate enough +to meet with the remains of similar structures here in England. At +Glastonbury a few years ago a lake village was discovered, which has +created no small stir in the antiquarian world, and merits a brief +description. Nothing was known of its existence previously; and this is +an instance of the delightful surprises which explorers have in store +for them, when they ransack the buried treasure-house of the earth, +and reveal the relics which have been so long stored there. + +All that met the eyes of the diggers was a series of circular low +mounds, about sixty in number, extending over an area of three acres. +Imagine the delight of the gentlemen when they discovered that each of +these mounds contained the remains of a lake dwelling which was +constructed more than two thousand years ago. + +First they found above the soft peat, the remains of a lake long dried +up, a platform formed of timber and brushwood, somewhat similar to the +structures which we have seen in the Swiss lakes. Rows of small piles +support this platform, and on it a floor of clay, or rather several +floors. The clay is composed of several horizontal layers with +intervening thin layers of decayed wood and charcoal, each layer +representing a distinct floor of a dwelling. In the centre of each mound +are the remains of rude hearths. The dwellings, of which no walls +remain, were evidently built of timber, the crevices between the wood +being filled with wattle and daub. In one of the mounds were found +several small crucibles which show that the inhabitants knew how to work +in metals. Querns, whetstones, spindle whorls, fibulae, and finger-rings +of bronze, a horse's bit, a small saw, numerous implements of horn and +bone, combs, needles, a jet ring and amber bead, all tell the tale of +the degree of civilisation attained by these early folk. They worked in +metals, made pottery and cloth, tilled and farmed the adjoining lands, +and probably belonged to the late Celtic race before the advent of the +Romans. These lake dwellers used a canoe in order to reach the mainland, +and this primitive boat has been discovered. It is evidently cut out of +the stem of an oak, is flat-bottomed, and its dimensions are 17 feet +long, 2 feet wide, and 1 foot deep. The prow is pointed, and has a hole, +through which doubtless a rope was passed, in order to fasten it to the +little harbour of the lake village. + +It will be gathered that these people, whether dwelling in their pit or +lake villages, showed so much capacity, industry, and social +organisation, that even in the Neolithic Age they were far removed from +a savage state, and a low condition of culture and civilisation. They +showed great ingenuity in the making of their tools, their vessels of +pottery, their ornaments, and clothing. They were not naked, woad-dyed +savages. They could spin and weave, grow corn, and make bread, and had +brought into subjection for their use domestic animals, horses and +cattle, sheep and goats, and swine. They lived in security and comfort, +and were industrious and intelligent; and it is interesting to record, +from the relics which the earth has preserved of their civilisation, the +kind of life which they must have lived in the ages which existed before +the dawn of history. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +CROMLECHS, CAMPS, AND EARTHWORKS + +Stone monuments--Traditions relating to them--Menhirs or hoar-stones-- +_Alignements_--Cromlechs--Stonehenge--Avebury--Rollright stones--Origin +of stone circles--Dolmens--Earthworks--Chun Castle--Whittenham clumps-- +Uffington--Tribal boundaries--Roman rig--Grims-dike--Legends--Celtic +words. + + +Among the antiquities which some of our English villages possess, none +are more curious and remarkable than the grand megalithic monuments of +the ancient races which peopled our island. Marvellous memorials are +these of their skill and labour. How did they contrive to erect such +mighty monuments? How did they move such huge masses of stone? How did +they raise with the very slender appliances at their disposal such +gigantic stones? For what purpose did they erect them? The solution of +these and many such-like problems we can only guess, and no one has as +yet been bold enough to answer all the interesting questions which these +rude stone monuments raise. + +Superstition has attempted to account for their existence. Just as the +flint arrow-heads are supposed by the vulgar to be darts shot by fairies +or witches which cause sickness and death in cattle and men, and are +worn as amulets to ward off disease; just as the stone axes of early +man are regarded as thunder bolts, and when boiled are esteemed as a +sure cure for rheumatism, or a useful cattle medicine--so these stones +are said to be the work of the devil. A friend tells me that in his +childhood his nurse used to frighten him by saying that the devil lurked +in a dolmen which stands near his father's house in Oxfordshire; and +many weird traditions cluster round these old monuments. + +[Illustration: MENHIR] + +In addition to the subterranean sepulchral chambers and cairns which we +have already examined, there are four classes of megalithic structures. +The first consists of single stones, called in Wales, Cornwall, and +Brittany, _menhirs_, a name derived from the Celtic word _maen_ or +_men_ signifying a stone, and _hir_ meaning tall. In England they are +known as "hoar-stones," _hoar_ meaning a boundary, inasmuch as they +are frequently used in later times to mark the boundary of an estate, +parish, or manor. There is one at Enstone, Oxfordshire, and at +Wardington, Warwickshire. Possibly they were intended to mark the graves +of deceased chieftains. + +The second class consists of lines of stones, which the French call +_alignements_. Frequently they occur in groups of lines from two to +fourteen in number, Carnac, in Brittany, possesses the best specimen +in Europe of this curious arrangement of giant stones. + +The third class of megalithic monuments is the circular arrangement, +such as we find at Avebury and Stonehenge. These are now usually called +cromlechs, in accordance with the term used by French antiquaries, +though formerly this name was applied in England to the dolmens, or +chambered structures, of which we shall speak presently. According to +the notions of the old curator of Stonehenge the mighty stones stood +before the Deluge, and he used to point out (to his own satisfaction) +signs of the action of water upon the stones, even showing the direction +in which the Flood "came rushing in." The Welsh bards say that they were +erected by King Merlin, the successor of Vortigern; and Nennius states +that they were erected in memory of four hundred nobles, who were +treacherously slain by Hengist, when the savage Saxons came. There is +no need to describe these grand circles of huge stones which all +antiquaries have visited. + +The cromlech at Avebury covers a larger area than that of Stonehenge, +the circle being about 1,300 feet in diameter. There is a fine circle +at Rollright, in Oxfordshire, which is the third largest in England. +The diameter of the circle is about 107 feet, and the stones numbered +originally about sixty. Near the circle stand the Five Whispering +Knights, five large stones leaning together, probably the remains of +a dolmen, and a large solitary stone, or menhir. Popular tradition has +woven a strange legend about these curious relics of bygone ages. A +mighty chieftain once ruled over the surrounding country; but he was +ambitious, and wished to extend his sway, and become King of England. +So he mustered his army, and the oracle proclaimed that if he could +once see Long Compton, he would obtain his desire. Having proceeded +as far as Rollright, he was repeating the words of the oracle-- + + "If Long Compton I can see, + King of England I shall be"-- + +when Mother Shipton, who had doubtless ridden on her broomstick from +her Norfolk home, appeared and pronounced the fatal spell-- + + "Move no more; stand fast, stone; + King of England thou shall none." + +[Illustration: ROLLRIGHT STONES From Camden's _Britannia_] + +Immediately the king and his army were changed into stone, as if the +head of Medusa had gazed upon them. The solitary stone, still called the +King Stone, is the ambitious monarch; the circle is his army; and the +Five Whispering Knights are five of his chieftains, who were hatching a +plot against him when the magic spell was uttered. The farmers around +Rollright say that if the stones are removed from the spot, they will +never rest, but make mischief till they are restored. Stanton Drew, in +Somersetshire, has a cromlech, and there are several in Scotland, the +Channel Islands, and Brittany. Some sacrilegious persons transported a +cromlech bodily from the Channel Islands, and set it up at Park Place, +Henley-on-Thames. Such an act of antiquarian barbarism happily has few +imitators. + +For what purpose were these massive stones erected at the cost of such +infinite labour? Tradition and popular belief associate them with the +Druids. Some years ago all mysterious antiquarian problems were solved +by reference to the Druids. But these priests of ancient days are now +out of fashion, and it is certainly not very safe to attribute the +founding of the great stone circles to their agency. The Druidical +worship paid its homage to the powers of Nature, to the nymphs and genii +of the woods and streams, whereas the great stone circles were evidently +constructed by sun-worshippers. There is no doubt among antiquaries that +they are connected with the burial of the dead. Small barrows have been +found in the centre of them. Dr. Anderson is of opinion that the stone +circles were developed out of the hedge, or setting of stone, which +frequently surrounds the base of a barrow, and was intended to keep the +ghost in, and prevent it from injuring the living. By degrees the wall +was increased in size while the barrow or cairn decreased; until at last +a small mound of earth, or heap of stones, only marked the place of +burial, and the huge circle of stones surrounded it. Stonehenge, with +its well-wrought stones and gigantic trilitha, is much later than the +circles of Avebury and Rollright, and was doubtless constructed by the +people who used iron, about two hundred years before our era. The +earlier circles have been assigned to a period eight or ten centuries +before Christ. + +[Illustration: DOLMEN] + +Many conjectures have been made as to how the huge capstones of the +circle at Stonehenge were placed on the erect stones. Sir Henry Dryden +thought that when the upright stones were set on end, earth or small +stones were piled around them until a large inclined plane was formed, +on which "skids" or sliding-pieces were placed. Then the caps were +placed on rollers, and hauled up by gangs of men. Probably in some such +way these wonderful monuments were formed. + +The last class of rude stone monuments is composed of dolmens, or +chambered tombs, so named from the Welsh word _dol_, a table, and _maen_ +or _men_, a stone. They are in fact stone tables. Antiquaries of former +days, and the unlearned folk of to-day, call them "Druids' altars," and +say that sacrifices were offered upon them. The typical form is a +structure of four or more large upright stones, supporting a large flat +stone, as a roof. Sometimes they are covered with earth or stones, +sometimes entirely uncovered. Some antiquaries maintain that they were +always uncovered, as we see them now; others assert that they have been +stripped by the action of wind and rain, and snow, frost, and thaw, +until all the earth placed around them has been removed. Possibly +fashions changed then as now; and it may console some of us that there +was no uniformity of ritual even in prehistoric Britain. Dolmens contain +no bronze or iron implements, or carvings of the same, and evidently +belong to the time of the Neolithic folk. + +Among prehistoric remains none are more striking than the great camps +and earthworks, which hold commanding positions on our hills and downs, +and have survived during the countless years which have elapsed since +their construction. Caesar's camps abound throughout England; it is +needless to say that they had nothing to do with Caesar, but were made +long years before the Conqueror ever set foot on British land. These +early camps are usually circular in shape, or follow the natural curve +of the hill on which they stand. Roman camps are nearly always square +or rectangular. They consist of a high vallum, or rampart of earth, +surrounded by a deep ditch, and on the _counterscarp_, or outside edge +of the ditch, there is often another bank or rampart. The entrance to +these strongholds was often ingeniously contrived, in order that an +enemy endeavouring to attack the fortress might be effectually resisted. + +Chun Castle, in Cornwall, is an interesting specimen of ancient Celtic +fortress. It consists of two circular walls separated by a terrace. The +walls are built of rough masses of granite, some 5 or 6 feet long. The +outer wall is protected by a ditch. Part of the wall is still about 10 +feet high. Great skill and military knowledge are displayed in the plan +of the entrance, which is 6 feet wide in the narrowest part, and 16 in +the widest, where the walls diverge and are rounded off on either side. +The space within the fortress is about 175 feet in diameter. The +Herefordshire Beacon on the Malvern Hills is a fine example of a +triple-ramparted Celtic camp. + +[Illustration: PLAN AND SECTION OF CHUN CASTLE] + +In Berkshire we have the well-known Whittenham Clumps, the Sinodun +of the Celts, on the summit of which there is a famous camp, with a +triple line of entrenchment, the mound and ditch being complete. The +circumference of the fortress is over a mile. Berkshire and Oxfordshire +are very rich in these camps and earthworks, which guard the course of +the old British road called the Iknield Way. Hill-forts crown the tops +of the hills; and the camps of Blewberry, Scutchamore Knob (a corruption +of Cwichelm's law), Letcombe, Uffington, and Liddington, command the +ancient trackway and bid defiance to approaching foes. + +The object of these camps was to provide places of refuge, whither the +tribe could retire when threatened by the advent of its enemy. The Celts +were a pastoral people; and their flocks grazed on the downs and +hillsides. When their scouts brought news of the approach of a hostile +force, some signal would be given by the blowing of a horn, and the +people would at once flee to their fortress driving their cattle before +them, and awaiting there the advent of their foes. + +At Uffington there is a remarkable relic of British times called the +Blowing Stone, or King Alfred's Bugle-horn, which was doubtless used by +the Celtic tribes for signalling purposes; and when its deep low note +was heard on the hillside the tribe would rush to the protecting shelter +of Uffington Castle. There, armed with missiles, they were ready to hurl +them at the invading hosts, and protect their lives and cattle until all +danger was past. Those who are skilled at the art can still make the +Blowing Stone sound. The name, King Alfred's Bugle-horn, is a misnomer, +and arose from the association of the White Horse Hill with the battle +which Alfred fought against the Danes at Aescendune, which may, or may +not, have taken place near the old British camp at Uffington. There are +several White Horses cut out in the turf on the hillsides in Wiltshire, +besides the famous Berkshire one at Uffington, celebrated by Mr. Thomas +Hughes in his _Scouring of the White Horse_. We have also some turf-cut +crosses at White-leaf and Bledlow, in Buckinghamshire. The origin of +these turf monuments is still a matter of controversy. It is possible +that they may be Saxon, and may be the records of Alfred's victories; +but antiquaries are inclined to assign them to an earlier date, and +connect them with the builders of cromlechs and dolmens. It is certainly +improbable that, when he was busily engaged fighting the Danes, Alfred +and his men would have found time to construct this huge White Horse. + +[Illustration: THE WHITE HORSE AT UFFINGTON] + +In addition to the earthen mounds and deep ditch, which usually formed +the fortifications of these ancient strongholds, there were wicker-work +stockades, or palisading, arranged on the top of the vallum. Such +defences have been found at Uffington; and during the present year on +the ancient fortifications of the old Calleva Atrebatum, afterwards the +Roman Silchester, a friend of the writer has found the remains of +similar wattle-work stockades. Evidently tribal wars and jealousies were +not unknown in Celtic times, and the people knew how to protect +themselves from their foes. + +Another important class of earthen ramparts are the long lines of +fortifications, which extend for miles across the country, and must have +entailed vast labour in their construction. These ramparts were +doubtless tribal boundaries, or fortifications used by one tribe against +another. There is the Roman rig, which, as Mrs. Armitage tells us in her +_Key to English Antiquities_, coasts the face of the hills all the way +from Sheffield to Mexborough, a distance of eleven miles. A Grims-dike +(or Grims-bank, as it is popularly called) runs across the southern +extremity of Oxfordshire from Henley to Mongewell, ten miles in length; +and near it, and parallel to it, there is a Medlers-bank, another +earthen rampart, exceeding it in length by nearly a third. Near +Salisbury there is also a Grims-dike, and in Cambridgeshire and +Cheshire. Danes' Dike, near Flamborough Head, Wans-dike, and Brokerley +Dike are other famous lines of fortifications. + +There are twenty-two Grims-dikes in England. The name was probably +derived from Grim, the Saxon devil, or evil spirit; and was bestowed +upon these mysterious monuments of an ancient race which the Saxons +found in various parts of their conquered country. Unable to account for +the existence of these vast mounds and fortresses, they attributed them +to satanic agency. + +There is much work still to be done in exploring these relics of the +prehistoric races; and if there should be any such in your own +neighbourhood, some careful digging might produce valuable results. +Perhaps something which you may find may throw light upon some disputed +or unexplained question, which has perplexed the minds of antiquaries +for some time. I do not imagine that the following legend will deter you +from your search. It is gravely stated that years ago an avaricious +person dug into a tumulus for some treasure which it was supposed to +contain. At length after much labour he came to an immense chest, but +the lid was no sooner uncovered than it lifted itself up a little and +out sprang an enormous black cat, which seated itself upon the chest, +and glowed with eyes of passion upon the intruder. Nothing daunted, the +man proceeded to try to move the chest, but without avail; so he fixed a +strong chain to it and attached a powerful team of horses. But when the +horses began to pull, the chain broke in a hundred places, and the chest +of treasure disappeared for ever. + +Some rustics assert that if you run nine times round a tumulus, and then +put your ear against it, you will hear the fairies dancing and singing +in the interior. Indeed it is a common superstition that good fairies +lived in these old mounds, and a story is told of a ploughman who +unfortunately broke his ploughshare. However he left it at the foot of a +tumulus, and the next day, to his surprise, he found it perfectly whole. +Evidently the good fairies had mended it during the night. But these +bright little beings, who used to be much respected by our ancestors, +have quite deserted our shores. They found that English people did not +believe in them; so they left us in disgust, and have never been heard +of since. + +If you have no other Celtic remains in your neighbourhood, at least you +have the enduring possession of the words which they have bequeathed to +us, such as _coat, basket, crook, cart, kiln, pitcher, comb, ridge_, and +many others, which have all been handed down to us from our British +ancestors. Their language also lives in Wales and Brittany, in parts of +Ireland and Scotland, and in the Isle of Man, where dwell the modern +representatives of that ancient race, which was once so powerful, and +has left its trace in most of the countries of Europe. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +ROMAN RELICS + +Roman remains numerous--Chedworth villa--Roads--Names derived from +roads--_Itinerary_ of Antoninus--British roads--Watling Street--Iknield +Street--Ryknield Street--Ermyn Street--Akeman Street--Saltways-- +Milestones--Silchester--Its walls--Calleva--Its gardens and villas-- +Hypocausts--Pavements--Description of old city--Forum--Temple--Baths-- +Amphitheatre--Church--Roman villa. + + +"The world's a scene of change," sings Poet Cowley; but in spite of all +the changes that have transformed our England, the coming and going of +conquerors and invaders, the lapse of centuries, the ceaseless working +of the ploughshare on our fields and downs, traces of the old Roman life +in Britain have remained indelible. Our English villages are rich in the +relics of the old Romans; and each year adds to our knowledge of the +life they lived in the land of their adoption, and reveals the treasures +which the earth has tenderly preserved for so many years. + +If your village lies near the track of some Roman road, many pleasing +surprises may be in store for you. Oftentimes labourers unexpectedly +meet with the buried walls and beautiful tesselated pavements of an +ancient Roman dwelling-place. A few years ago at Chedworth, near +Cirencester, a ferret was lost, and had to be dug out of the rabbit +burrow. In doing this some Roman _tesserae_ were dug up; and when +further excavations were made a noble Roman villa with numerous rooms, +artistic pavements, hypocausts, baths, carvings, and many beautiful +relics of Roman art were brought to light. Possibly you may be equally +successful in your own village and neighbourhood. + +If you have the good fortune to live near a Roman station, you will +have the pleasing excitement of discovering Roman coins and other +treasures, when you watch your labourers draining the land or digging +wells. Everyone knows that the names of many of the Roman stations +are distinguished by the termination _Chester, caster_, or _caer_, +derived from the Latin _castra_, a camp; and whenever we are in the +neighbourhood of such places, imagination pictures to us the +well-drilled Roman legionaries who used to astonish the natives with +their strange language and customs; and we know that there are coins +and pottery, _tesserae_ and Roman ornaments galore, stored up beneath +our feet, awaiting the search of the persevering digger. Few are the +records relating to Roman Britain contained in the pages of the +historians, as compared with the evidences of roads and houses, gates +and walls and towns, which the earth has preserved for us. + +Near your village perhaps a Roman road runs. The Romans were famous for +their wonderful roads, which extended from camp to camp, from city to +city, all over the country. These roads remain, and are evidences of +the great engineering skill which their makers possessed. They liked +their roads well drained, and raised high above the marshes; they liked +them to go straight ahead, like their victorious legions, and never swerve +to right or left for any obstacle. They cut through the hills, and +filled up the valleys; and there were plenty of idle Britons about, +who could be forced to do the work. They called their roads _strata_ or +streets; and all names of places containing the word _street_, such as +_Streatley_, or _Stretford_, denote that they were situated on one of +these Roman roads. + +You may see these roads wending their way straight as a die, over hill +and dale, staying not for marsh or swamp. Along the ridge of hills they +go, as does the High Street on the Westmoreland hills, where a few +inches below the grass you can find the stony way; or on the moors +between Redmire and Stanedge, in Yorkshire, the large paving stones, of +which the road was made, in many parts still remain. In central places, +as at Blackrod, in Lancashire, the roads extend like spokes from the +centre of a wheel, although nearly eighteen hundred years have elapsed +since their construction. The name of Devizes, Wilts, is a corruption of +the Latin word _divisae_, which marks the spot where the old Roman road +from London to Bath was _divided_ by the boundary line between the Roman +and the Celtic districts. + +In order to acquire a knowledge of the great roads of the Romans we must +study the _Itinerary_ of Antoninus, written by an officer of the +imperial Court about 150 A.D. This valuable road-book tells us the names +of the towns and stations, the distances, halting-places, and other +particulars. Ptolemy's _Geographia_ also affords help in understanding +the details of the _Itinerary_, and many of the roads have been very +satisfactorily traced. The Romans made use of the ancient British ways, +whenever they found them suitable for their purpose. The British roads +resembled the trackways on Salisbury Plain, wide grass rides, neither +raised nor paved, and not always straight, but winding along the sides +of the hills which lie in their course. There were seven chief British +ways: Watling Street, which was the great north road, starting from +Richborough on the coast of Kent, passing through Canterbury and +Rochester it crossed the Thames near London, and went on through +Verulam, Dunstable, and Towcester, Wellington, and Wroxeter, and thence +into Wales to Tommen-y-Mawr, where it divided into two branches. One +ran by Beth Gellert to Caernarvon and Holy Head, and the other through +the mountains to the Manai banks and thence to Chester, Northwich, +Manchester, Ilkley, until it finally ended in Scotland. + +The second great British road was the way of the Iceni, or Iknield +Street, proceeding from Great Yarmouth, running through Cambridgeshire, +Bedfordshire, Bucks, and Oxon, to Old Sarum, and finishing its course at +Land's End. We have in Berkshire a branch of this road called the +Ridgeway. + +The Ryknield Street beginning at the mouth of the Tyne ran through +Chester-le-Street, followed the course of the Watling Street to +Catterick, thence through Birmingham, Tewkesbury, and Gloucester, to +Caermarthen and St. David's. + +The Ermyn Street led from the coast of Sussex to the south-east part of +Scotland. + +The Akeman Street ran between the Iknield and Ryknield Streets, and +led from what the Saxons called East Anglia, through Bedford, Newport +Pagnel, and Buckingham to Alcester and Cirencester, across the Severn, +and ending at St. David's. + +The Upper Saltway was the communication between the sea-coast of +Lincolnshire and the salt mines at Droitwich; and the Lower Saltway led +from Droitwich, then, as now, a great centre of the salt trade, to the +sea-coast of Hampshire. Traces of another great road to the north are +found, which seems to have run through the western parts of England +extending from Devon to Scotland. + +Such were the old British roads which existed when the Romans came. The +conquerors made use of these ways, wherever they found them useful, +trenching them, paving them, and making them fit for military purposes. +They constructed many new ones which would require a volume for their +full elucidation. Many of them are still in use, wonderful records of +the engineering skill of their makers, and oftentimes beneath the +surface of some grassy ride a few inches below the turf you may find +the hard concreted road laid down by the Romans nearly eighteen hundred +years ago. Roman milestones we sometimes find. There is one near +Silchester, commonly called the Imp Stone, probably from the first three +letters of the Latin word _Imperator_, carved upon it. Curious legends +often cluster round these relics of ancient times. Just as the +superstitious Saxons, when they saw the great Roman roads, made by a +people who had long vanished from the land, often attributed these great +works to evil spirits, and called parts of these well-made streets the +Devil's Highway, so they invented a strange legend to account for the +Imp Stone, and said that some giant had thrown it from the city, and +left on it the marks of his finger and thumb. + +Our English villages contain many examples of Roman buildings. Where +now rustics pursue their calling, and sow their crops and reap their +harvests, formerly stood the beautiful houses of the Roman nobles, or +the flourishing towns of Roman citizens. Upon the sites of most of these +old-world places new towns have been constructed; hence it is difficult +often to trace the foundations of Roman cities in the midst of the +masses of modern bricks and mortar. Hence we fly to the villages; and +sometimes, as at Silchester, near a little English village, we find the +remains of a large, important, and flourishing town, where the earth has +kept safely for us during many centuries the treasures and memories of a +bygone age. + +Every student of Roman Britain must visit Silchester, and examine the +collections preserved in the Reading Museum, which have been amassed by +the antiquaries who have for several years been excavating the ruins. +The city contained a forum, or marketplace, having on one side a +basilica, or municipal hall, in which prisoners were tried, business +transactions executed, and the general affairs of the city carried on. +On the other side of the square were the shops, where the butchers, +bakers, or fishmongers plied their trade. You can find plenty of oyster +shells, the contents of which furnished many a feast to the Romans who +lived there seventeen hundred years ago. The objects which have been +found tell us how the dwellers in the old city employed themselves, +and how skilful they were in craftsmanship. Amongst other things we +find axes, chisels, files for setting saws, hammers, a large plane, and +other carpenters' tools; an anvil, a pair of tongs, and blacksmiths' +implements; shoemakers' anvils, very similar to those used in our day, +a large gridiron, a standing lamp, safety-pins, such as ladies use now, +and many other useful and necessary objects. + +In order to protect the city it was surrounded by high walls, which seem +to defy all the attacks of time. They are nine feet in thickness, and +are still in many places twenty feet high. Outside the wall a wide ditch +added to the strength of the fortifications. Watch-towers were placed at +intervals along the walls; and on the north, south, east, and west sides +were strongly fortified gates, with guard chambers on each side, and +arched entrances through which the Roman chariots were driven. + +These walls inclose a space of irregular shape, and were built on the +site of old British fortifications. Silchester was originally a British +stronghold, and was called by them Calleva. The Celtic tribe which +inhabited the northern parts of Hampshire was the Atrebates, who after a +great many fights were subdued by the Romans about 78 A.D. Then within +the rude fortifications of Calleva arose the city of Silchester, with +its fine houses, temples, and baths, its strong walls, and gates, and +streets, the great centre of civilisation, and the chief city of that +part of the country. + +It is often possible to detect the course of Roman streets where now the +golden corn is growing. On the surface of the roads where the ground is +thin, the corn is scanty. Observation of this kind a few years ago led +to the discovery of a Romano-British village at Long Whittenham, in +Berks. In Silchester it is quite easy to trace the course of the streets +by the thinness of the corn, as Leland observed as long ago as 1536. One +is inclined to wonder where all the earth comes from, which buries old +buildings and hides them so carefully; but any student of natural +history, who has read Darwin's book on _Worms_, will cease to be +astonished. It is chiefly through the action of these useful creatures +that soil accumulates so greatly on the sites of ancient buildings. + +[Illustration: SILCHESTER. PLAN OF CITY] + +Within the walls of Silchester were gardens and villas replete with all +the contrivances of Roman luxury. The houses were built on three sides +of a square court. A cloister ran round the court, supported by pillars. +The open space was used as a garden. At the back of the house were the +kitchens and apartments for the slaves and domestics. The Romans adapted +their dwellings to the climate in which they lived. In the sunny south, +at Pompeii, the houses were more open, and would be little suited to our +more rigorous climate. They knew how to make themselves comfortable, +built rooms well protected from the weather, and heated with hypocausts. +These were furnaces made beneath the house, which generated hot air; and +this was admitted into the rooms by earthenware flue-tiles. The dwellers +had both summer and winter apartments; and when the cold weather arrived +the hypocaust furnaces were lighted, and the family adjourned to their +winter quarters. + +The floors were made of _tesserae_, or small cubes of different +materials and various colours, which were arranged in beautiful +patterns. Some of these pavements were of most elegant and elaborate +designs, having figures in them representing the seasons, or some +mythological characters. + +The walls were painted with decorations of very beautiful designs, +representing the cornfields, just as the Roman artists in Italy loved to +depict the vine in their mural paintings. The mortar used by the Romans +is very hard and tenacious, and their bricks were small and thin, +varying from 8 inches square to 18 inches by 12, and were about 2 inches +in thickness. Frequently we find the impression of an animal's foot on +these bricks and tiles, formed when they were in a soft state before +they were baked, and one tile recently found had the impression of a +Roman baby's foot. Roman bricks have often been used by subsequent +builders, and are found built up in the masonry of much later periods. + +[Illustration: CAPITAL OF COLUMN] + +It is quite possible to build up in imagination the old Roman city, and +to depict before our mind's eye the scenes that once took place where +now the rustics toil and till the ground. We enter the forum, the great +centre of the city, the common resort and lounging-place of the +citizens, who met together to discuss the latest news from Rome, to +transact their business, and exchange gossip. On the west side stood the +noble basilica, or hall of justice--a splendid building, its entrance +being adorned with fine Corinthian columns; and slabs of polished +Purbeck marble, and even of green and white marble from the Pyrenees, +covered the walls. It was a long rectangular hall, 233 feet in length by +58 feet in width, and at each side was a semicircular apse, which was +called the Tribune. Here the magistrate sat to administer justice, or an +orator stood to address the citizens. In the centre of the western wall +was another apse, where the _curia_ met for the government of the city. +Two rows of columns ran down the hall, dividing it into a nave with two +aisles, like many of our churches. Indeed the form of the construction +of our churches was taken from these Roman basilica. Several chambers +stood on the west of the hall, one of which was another fine hall, +probably used as a corn exchange. The height of this noble edifice, the +roof of which was probably hidden by a coffered ceiling, must have been +about fifty-seven feet. + +Passing along the main street towards the south gate we come to the +foundations of a nearly circular temple. Two square-shaped buildings +stood on the east of the city, which were probably temples for some +Gaulish form of religion, as similar sacred buildings have been +discovered in France. A quadrangle of buildings near the south gate, +having various chambers, contained the public baths, whither the Romans +daily resorted for gossip and discussion as well as for bathing. There +is an ingenious arrangement for using the waste water for the purpose of +flushing the drains and sewers. Nor were they ignorant of the invention +of a force-pump, as the accompanying illustration on the next page +shows. + +[Illustration: ROMAN FORCE-PUMP] + +The amphitheatre stands outside the gate, whither the citizens flocked +to see gladiatorial displays or contests between wild beasts. With the +exception of one at Dorchester, it is the largest in Britain. It is made +of lofty banks of earth, which surround the arena, and must have been an +imposing structure in the days of its glory, with its tiers of seats +rising above the level arena. It is difficult to imagine this +grass-covered slope occupied by a gay crowd of Romans and wondering +Britons, all eagerly witnessing some fierce fight of man with man, or +beast with beast, and enthusiastically revelling in the sanguinary +sport. The modern rustics, who have no knowledge of what was the +original purpose of "the Mount," as they name the amphitheatre, still +call the arena "the lions' den." + +Silchester was a very busy place. There were dye works there, as the +excavations show; hence there must have been some weaving, and therefore +a large resident population. Throngs of travellers used to pass through +it, and carts and baggage animals bore through its streets the +merchandise from London, which passed to the cities and villas so +plentifully scattered in western Britain. + +By far the most important of the discoveries made in Roman Britain is +the little church which stood just outside the forum. It is very similar +in form to the early churches in Italy and other parts of the Roman +Empire, and is of the basilican type. The orientation is different from +that used after the reign of Constantine, the altar being at the west +end. The churches of S. Peter and S. Paul at Rome had the same +arrangement; and the priest evidently stood behind the altar facing the +congregation and looking towards the east at the time of the celebration +of the Holy Communion. There is an apse at the west end, and the +building is divided by two rows of columns into a nave and two aisles. +The nave had probably an ambon, or reading-desk, and was mainly used by +the clergy, the aisles being for the use of the men and women +separately. A vestry stood at the western end of the north aisle. Across +the eastern end was the narthex, or porch, where the catechumens stood +and watched the service through the three open doors. Outside the +narthex was the atrium, an open court, having in the centre the remains +of the labrum, or laver, where the people washed their hands and faces +before entering the church. We are reminded of a sermon by S. +Chrysostom, who upbraided his congregation, asking them what was the use +of their washing their hands if they did not at the same time cleanse +their hearts by repentance. This interesting memorial of early +Christianity was probably erected soon after the Emperor Constantine's +Edict of Toleration issued in 313 A.D. + +But not only at Silchester and at other places, once the great centres +of the Roman population, do we find Roman remains. In addition to the +stations, camps, and towns, there were the villas of the rich Roman +citizens or Gaulish merchants on the sunny slopes of many a hillside. +Although hundreds of the remains of these noble houses have been +discovered, there are still many to be explored. + +The villa consisted of the house of the proprietor, which occupied the +centre of the little colony, together with the smaller houses of the +servants and slaves, stables, cowsheds, mills, and granaries, and all +the other usual outbuildings connected with a large estate. The main +house was built around a central court, like an Oxford college; and +resembled in architectural style the buildings which the excavations at +Pompeii have disclosed. A corridor ran round the court supported by +pillars, from which the rooms opened. In a well-defended town like +Silchester the houses were usually built on three sides of the court; +but the country villas, which had occasionally to be fortified against +the attacks of wandering bands of outlaws and wild Britons, and the +inroads of savage beasts, were usually built on all the four sides of +the square court. They were usually of one story, although the existence +of a force-pump in Silchester shows that water was laid on upstairs in +one house at least. As the wells were less than thirty feet deep, a +force-pump would not be needed to lift the water to the earth-level. +Hence in some houses there must have been some upper chambers, a +conclusion that is supported by the thickness of the foundations, which +are far more substantial than would be required for houses of one story. +The rooms were very numerous, often as many as sixty or seventy, and +very bright they must have looked decorated with beautiful marbles and +stuccoes of gorgeous hues, and magnificent pavements, statues and +shrines, baths and fountains, and the many other objects of Roman luxury +and comfort. The floors were made of _opus signinum_, such as the +Italians use at the present day, a material composed of cement in which +are embedded fragments of stone or brick, the whole being rubbed down to +a smooth surface, or paved with mosaic composed of _tesserae_. In +whatever land the Roman dwelt, there he made his beautiful tesselated +pavement, rich with graceful designs and ever-enduring colours, +representing the stories of the gods, the poetry of nature, and the +legends of the heroes of his beloved native land. Here we see Perseus +freeing Andromeda, Medusa's locks, Bacchus and his band of revellers, +Orpheus with his lyre, by which he is attracting a monkey, a fox, a +peacock, and other animals, Apollo singing to his lyre, Venus being +loved by Mars, Neptune with his trident, attended by hosts of seamen. +The seasons form an accustomed group, "Winter" being represented, as at +Brading, by a female figure, closely wrapped, holding a lifeless bough +and a dead bird. Satyrs and fauns, flowers, Graces and wood-nymphs, +horns of plenty, gladiators fighting, one with a trident, the other with +a net--all these and countless other fanciful representations look at us +from these old Roman pavements. The Roman villa at Brading is an +excellent type of such a dwelling, with its magnificent suites of rooms, +colonnades, halls, and splendid mosaic pavements. As at Silchester, we +see there fine examples of hypocausts. The floor of the room, called a +_suspensura_, is supported by fifty-four small pillars made of tiles. +Another good example of a similar floor exists at Cirencester, and many +more at Silchester. + +[Illustration: TESSELATED PAVEMENT] + +Here is a description of a Roman gentleman's house, as drawn by the +writer of _The History of Oxfordshire_:-- + +"His villa lay sheltered from wild winds partly by the rising brow of +the hill, and partly by belts of trees; it was turned towards the south, +and caught the full sun. In the spring the breath of his violet beds +would be as soft and sweet as in Oxfordshire woods to-day; in the summer +his quadrangle would be gay with calthae, and his colonnade festooned +with roses and helichryse. If we are to believe in the _triclinium +aestivum_ of Hakewill, it says much for the warmth of those far-away +summers that he was driven to build a summer dining-room with a north +aspect, and without heating flues. And when the long nights fell, and +winter cold set in, the slaves heaped higher the charcoal fires in the +_praefurnium_; the master sat in rooms far better warmed than Oxford +country houses now, or sunned himself at midday in the sheltered +quadrangle, taking his exercise in the warm side of the colonnade among +his gay stuccoes and fluted columns. Could we for a moment raise the +veil, we should probably find that the country life of 400 A.D. in +Oxfordshire was not so very dissimilar to that of to-day, ... and that +the well-to-do Roman of rustic Middle England was ... a useful, +peaceful, and a happy person." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +ANGLO-SAXON VILLAGES + +Departure of Romans--Coming of Saxons--Bede--Saxon names of places-- +Saxon village--Common-field system--_Eorl_ and _ceorl_--Thanes, +_geburs_, and _cottiers_--Description of village life--Thane's +house--_Socmen_--Ploughman's lament--Village tradesmen--Parish +council--Hundreds--Shires. + + +The scene changes. The Roman legions have left our shores, and are +trying to prop the tottering state of the falling empire. The groans +of the Britons have fallen on listless or distracted ears, and no one +has come to their succour. The rule of the all-swaying Roman power has +passed away, and the Saxon hordes have poured over the hills and vales +of rural Britain, and made it the Angles' land--our England. + +The coming of the Saxons was a very gradual movement. They did not +attack our shores in large armies on one or two occasions; they came +in clans or families. The head of the clan built a ship, and taking +with him his family and relations, founded a settlement in wild Britain, +or wherever the winds happened to carry them. They were very fierce +and relentless in war, and committed terrible ravages on the helpless +Britons, sparing neither men, women, nor children, burning buildings, +destroying and conquering wherever they went. + +Bede tells the story of doings of the ruthless Saxons:-- + +"The barbarous conquerors ... plundered all the neighbouring cities and +country, spread the conflagration from the eastern to the western sea +without any opposition, and covered almost every part of the devoted +island. Public as well as private structures were overturned; the +priests were everywhere slain before the altars; the prelates and +the people, without any respect of persons, were destroyed with fire +and sword; nor was there any to bury those who had been thus cruelly +slaughtered. Some of the miserable remainder, being taken in the +mountains, were butchered in heaps. Others, spent with hunger, came +forth and submitted themselves to the enemy for food, being destined +to undergo perpetual servitude, if they were not killed even upon the +spot. Some, with sorrowful hearts, fled beyond the seas; others, +continuing in their own country, led a miserable life among the woods, +rocks, and mountains, with scarcely enough food to support life, and +expecting every moment to be their last." + +Many antiquaries believe that the extirpation of the Britons was not so +complete as Bede asserts, and that a large number of them remained in +England in a condition of servitude. At any rate, the almost entire +extinction of the language, except as regards the names of a few rivers +and mountains, and of a few household words, seems to point to a fairly +complete expulsion of the Britons rather than to a mingling of them with +the conquering race. + +What remains have we in our English villages of our Saxon forefathers, +the makers of England? In the first place we notice that many of the +names of our villages retain the memory of their founders. When the +family, or group of families, formed their settlements, they avoided the +buildings and walled towns, relics of Roman civilisation, made clearings +for themselves in the primeval forests, and established themselves in +village communities. In the names of places the suffix _ing_, meaning +_sons of_, denotes that the village was first occupied by the clan of +some chief, whose name is compounded with this syllable _ing_. Thus the +Uffingas, the children of Offa, formed a settlement at Uffinggaston, or +Uffington; the Redingas, or sons of Rede, settled at Reading; the +Billings at Billinge and Billingham; the Wokings or Hocings, sons of +Hoc, at Woking and Wokingham. The Billings and Wokings first settled at +Billinge and Woking; and then like bees they swarmed, and started +another hive of industry at Billingham and Wokingham. + +These family settlements, revealed to us by the patronymic _ing_, are +very numerous. At Ardington, in Berkshire, the Ardings, the royal race +of the Vandals, settled; the Frankish Walsings at Wolsingham; the +Halsings at Helsington; the Brentings at Brentingley; the Danish +Scyldings at Skelding; the Thurings at Thorington; and many other +examples might be quoted. + +Many Saxon names of places end in _field_, which denotes a forest +clearing, or _feld_, made by the axes of the settlers in the primeval +woods, where the trees were _felled_. These villages were rudely +fortified, or inclosed by a hedge, wall, or palisade, denoted by the +suffix _ton_, derived from the Anglo-Saxon _tynan_, to hedge; and all +names ending with this syllable point to the existence of a Saxon +settlement hedged in and protected from all intruders. Thus we have +Barton, Preston, Bolton, and many others. The terminations _yard_, +_stoke_, or stockaded place, as in Basingstoke, _worth_ (Anglo-Saxon +_weorthig_), as in Kenilworth, Tamworth, Walworth, have much the same +meaning. + +Perhaps the most common of all the terminations of names denoting the +presence of Anglo-Saxon settlers is the suffix _ham_. When the _a_ is +pronounced short the syllable denotes an inclosure, like _stoke_ or +_ton_; but when the _a_ is long, it means home, and expresses the +reverence with which the Anglo-Saxon regarded his own dwelling. England +is the land of homes, and the natural affection with which we Englishmen +regard our homes is to a great extent peculiar to our race. The +Frenchman, the Spaniard, the Italian, do not have the same respect for +home. Our Saxon forefathers were a very home-loving people, and it is +from them doubtless that we inherit our love for our homes. + +We find, then, the Saxon holding the lands. The clan formed settlements; +sections of each clan formed branch settlements; and several members of +each section cut their way through the thick forests, felled the trees, +built homesteads, where they tilled the land and reared their cattle. + +In early Saxon times the settlement consisted of a number of families +holding a district, and the land was regularly divided into three +portions. There was the village itself, in which the people lived in +houses built of wood or rude stonework. Around the village were a few +small inclosures, or grass yards, for rearing calves and baiting farm +stock; this was the common farmstead. Around this was the arable land, +where the villagers grew their corn and other vegetables; and around +this lay the common meadows, or pasture land, held by the whole +community, so that each family could turn their cattle into it, subject +to the regulations of an officer elected by the people, whose duty it +was to see that no one trespassed on the rights of his neighbour, or +turned too many cattle into the common pasture. + +[Illustration: BEATING ACORNS FOR SWINE +Cotton MS., _Nero_, c. 4] + +Around the whole colony lay the woods and uncultivated land, which +was left in its natural wild state, where the people cut their timber +and fuel, and pastured their pigs in the glades of the forest. The +cultivated land was divided into three large fields, in which the +rotation of crops was strictly enforced, each field lying fallow once +in three years. To each freeman was assigned his own family lot, which +was cultivated by the members of his household. But he was obliged to +sow the same crop as his neighbour, and compelled by law to allow his +lot to lie fallow with the rest every third year. The remains of this +common-field system are still evident in many parts of the country, the +fields being termed "lot meadows," or "Lammas lands." Our commons, too, +many of which remain in spite of numerous inclosures, are evidences of +the communal life of our village forefathers. + +How long the Saxon villages remained free democratic institutions, we do +not know. Gradually a change came over them, and we find the manorial +system in vogue. Manors existed in England long before the Normans came, +although "manor" is a Norman word; and in the time of Canute the system +was in full force. The existence of a manor implies a lord of the manor, +who exercised authority over all the villagers, owned the home farm, and +had certain rights over the rest of the land. How all this came about, +we scarcely know. Owing to the Danish invasions, when the rude barbarous +warriors carried fire and sword into many a peaceful town and village, +the villagers found themselves at the mercy of these savage hordes. +Probably they sought the protection of some thane, or _eorl_, with his +band of warriors, who could save their lands from pillage. In return for +their services they acknowledged him as the lord of their village, and +gave him rent, which was paid either in the produce of these fields or +by the work of their hands. Thus the lords of the manor became the +masters of the villagers, although they too were governed by law, and +were obliged to respect the rights of their tenants and servants. + +Saxon society was divided into two main divisions, the _eorl_ and the +_ceorl_, the men of noble birth, and those of ignoble origin. The chief +man in the village was the manorial lord, a _thane_, who had his demesne +land, and his _gafol_ land, or _geneat_ land, which was land held in +villeinage, and cultivated by _geneats_, or persons holding by service. +These villein tenants were in two classes, the _geburs_, or villeins +proper, who held the yardlands, and the _cottiers_, who had smaller +holdings. Beneath these two classes there were the _theows_, or slaves, +made up partly of the conquered Britons, partly of captives taken in +war, and partly of freemen who had been condemned to this penalty for +their crimes, or had incurred it by poverty. + +There were degrees of rank among Saxon gentlemen, as among those of +to-day. The thanes were divided into three classes: (i.) those of royal +rank (_thani regis_), who served the king in Court or in the management +of State affairs; (ii.) _thani mediocres_, who held the title by +inheritance, and corresponded to the lords of the manor in the later +times; (iii.) _thani minores_, or inferior thanes, to which rank +_ceorls_ or merchants could attain by the acquisition of sufficient +landed property. + +We can picture to ourselves the ordinary village life which existed in +Saxon times. The thane's house stood in the centre of the village, not a +very lordly structure, and very unlike the stately Norman castles which +were erected in later times. It was commonly built of wood, which the +neighbouring forests supplied in plenty, and had stone or mud +foundations. The house consisted of an irregular group of low buildings, +almost all of one story. In the centre of the group was the hall, with +doors opening into the court. On one side stood the kitchen; on the +other the chapel when the thane became a Christian and required the +services of the Church for himself and his household. Numerous other +rooms with lean-to roofs were joined on to the hall, and a tower for +purposes of defence in case of an attack. Stables and barns were +scattered about outside the house, and with the cattle and horses lived +the grooms and herdsmen, while villeins and _cottiers_ dwelt in the +humble, low, shedlike buildings, which clustered round the Saxon thane's +dwelling-place. An illustration of such a house appears in an ancient +illumination preserved in the Harleian MSS., No. 603. The lord and lady +of the house are represented as engaged in almsgiving; the lady is thus +earning her true title, that of "loaf-giver," from which her name "lady" +is derived. + +[Illustration: HOUSE OF SAXON THANE] + +The interior of the hall was the common living-room for both men and +women, who slept on the reed-strewn floor, the ladies' sleeping-place +being separated from the men's by the arras. The walls were hung with +tapestry, woven by the skilled fingers of the ladies of the household. A +peat or log fire burned in the centre of the hall, and the smoke hid the +ceiling and finally found its way out through a hole in the roof. Arms +and armour hung on the walls, and the seats consisted of benches called +"mead-settles," arranged along the sides of the hall, where the Saxon +chiefs sat drinking their favourite beverage, mead, or sweetened beer, +out of the horns presented to them by the waiting damsels. When the hour +for dinner approached, rude tables were laid on trestles, and forthwith +groaned beneath the weight of joints of meat and fat capons which the +Saxon loved dearly. The door of the hall was usually open, and thither +came the bards and gleemen, who used to delight the company with their +songs and stories of the gallant deeds of their ancestors, the weird +legends of their gods Woden and Thor, their Viking lays and Norse sagas, +and the acrobats and dancers astonished them with their strange +postures. + +Next to the thane ranked the _geburs_, who held land granted to them by +the thane for their own use, sometimes as much as one hundred and twenty +acres, and were required to work for the lord on the home farm two or +three days a week, or pay rent for their holdings. This payment +consisted of the produce of the land. They were also obliged to provide +one or more oxen for the manorial plough team, which consisted of eight +oxen. + +There was also a strong independent body of men called _socmen_, who +were none other than our English yeomen. They were free tenants, who +have by their independence stamped with peculiar features both our +constitution and our national character. Their good name remains; +English yeomen have done good service to their country, and let us hope +that they will long continue to exist amongst us, in spite of the +changed condition of English agriculture and the prolonged depression in +farming affairs, which has tried them severely. + +[Illustration: WHEEL PLOUGH +From Bayeux Tapestry] + +Besides the _geburs_ and _socmen_ there were the _cottiers_, who had +small allotments of about five acres, kept no oxen, and were required to +work for the thane some days in each week. Below them were the _theows_, +serfs, or slaves, who could be bought and sold in the market, and were +compelled to work on the lord's farm. + +Listen to the sad lament of one of this class, recorded in a dialogue of +AElfric of the tenth century:-- + +"What sayest thou, ploughman? How dost thou do thy work?" + +"Oh, my lord, hard do I work. I go out at daybreak, driving the oxen to +field, and I yoke them to the plough. Nor is it ever so hard winter that +I dare loiter at home, for fear of my lord, but the oxen yoked, and the +ploughshare and the coulter fastened to the plough, every day must I +plough a full acre, or more." + +"Hast thou any comrade?" + +"I have a boy driving the oxen with an iron goad, who also is hoarse +with cold and shouting." + +"What more dost thou in the day?" + +"Verily then I do more. I must fill the bin of the oxen with hay, and +water them, and carry out the dung. Ha! Ha! hard work it is, hard work +it is! because _I am not free._" + +Evidently the ploughman's want of freedom was his great hardship; his +work in ploughing, feeding, and watering his cattle, and in cleansing +their stable, was not harder than that of an ordinary carter in the +present day; but servitude galled his spirit, and made the work +intolerable. Let us hope that his lord was a kind-hearted man, and gave +him some cattle for his own, as well as some land to cultivate, and then +he would not feel the work so hard, or the winter so cold. + +Frequently men were thus released from slavery; sometimes also freemen +sold themselves into slavery under the pressure of extreme want. A man +so reduced was required to lay aside his sword and lance, the symbols +of the free, and to take up the bill and the goad, the implements of +slavery, to fall on his knees and place his head, in token of submission, +under the hands of his master. + +[Illustration: SMITHY +From the Cotton MS., B 4] + +Each trade was represented in the village community. There were the +_faber_, or smith, and the carpenter, who repaired the ironwork and +woodwork of the ploughs and other agricultural implements, and in return +for their work had small holdings among the tenants free from ordinary +services. There was the _punder_, or pound-man, who looked after the +repair of the fences and impounded stray cattle; the _cementarius_, or +stonemason; the _custos apium_, or bee-keeper, an important person, as +much honey was needed to make the sweetened ale, or mead, which the +villagers and their chiefs loved to imbibe; and the steward, or +_prepositus_, who acted on behalf of the lord, looked after the +interests of the tenants, and took care that they rendered their legal +services. The surnames Smith, Baker, Butcher, Carter, and many others, +preserve the remembrance of the various trades which were carried on in +every village, and of the complete self-dependence of the community. + +We have inherited many customs and institutions from our Saxon +forefathers, which connect our own age with theirs. In recent years we +have established parish councils in our villages. Formerly the pet +theory of politicians was centralisation; everything had to be done at +one centre, at one central office, and London became the head and centre +of all government. But recently politicians thought that they had +discovered a new plan for carrying on the internal affairs of the +country, and the idea was to leave each district to manage its own +affairs. This is only a return to the original Saxon plan. In every +village there was a moot-hill, or sacred tree, where the freemen met to +make their own laws and arrange their agricultural affairs. Here +disputes were settled, plough lands and meadow lands shared in due lot +among the villagers, and everything arranged according to the custom of +the village. + +Our county maps show that the shires are divided into hundreds. This we +have inherited from our Saxon forefathers. In order to protect +themselves from their neighbours, the Saxon colonists arranged +themselves in hundreds of warriors. This little army was composed of +picked champions, the representatives of a hundred families; men who +were ready in case of war to uphold the honour of their house, and to +fight for their hearths and homes. These hundred families recognised a +bond of union with each other and a common inheritance, and ranged +themselves under one name for general purposes, whether for defence, +administration of justice, or other objects. + +On a fixed day, three times a year, in some place where they were +accustomed to assemble--under a particular tree,[1] or near some +river-bank--these hundred champions used to meet their chieftain, and +gather around him when he dismounted from his horse. He then placed his +spear in the ground, and each warrior touched it with his own spear in +token of their compact, and pledged himself to mutual support. At this +assembly criminals were tried, disputes settled, bargains of sale +concluded; and in later times many of these transactions were inserted +in the chartularies of abbeys or the registers of bishops, which thus +became a kind of register too sacred to be falsified. A large number of +the hundreds bear the name of some chieftain who once used to call +together his band of bearded, light-haired warriors and administer rude +justice beneath a broad oak's shade.[2] Others are named after some +particular spot, some tree, or ford, or stone, or tumulus, where the +hundred court met. + +Our counties or shires were not formed, as is popularly supposed, by +King Alfred or other royal person by the dividing up of the country into +portions, but were the areas occupied by the original Saxon tribes or +kingdoms. Most of our counties retain to this day the boundaries which +were originally formed by the early Saxon settlers. Some of our counties +were old Saxon kingdoms--such as Sussex, Essex, Middlesex--the kingdoms +of the South, East, and Middle Saxons. Surrey is the Sothe-reye, or +south realm; Kent is the land of the Cantii, a Belgic tribe; Devon is +the land of the Damnonii, a Celtic tribe; Cornwall, or Corn-wales, is +the land of the Welsh of the Horn; Worcestershire is the shire of the +Huiccii; Cumberland is the land of the Cymry; Northumberland is the land +north of the Humber, and therefore, as its name implies, used to extend +over all the North of England. Evidently the southern tribes and +kingdoms by conquest reduced the size of this large county and confined +it to its present smaller dimensions. In several cases the name of the +county is derived from that of its chief town, _e.g._ Oxfordshire, +Warwickshire; these were districts which were conquered by some powerful +earl or chieftain, who held his court in the town, and called his newly +acquired property after its name. + +We have seen the picture of an ordinary English village in early Saxon +times, the villeins and slaves working in the fields and driving their +oxen, and the thane dressed in his linen tunic and short cloak, his hose +bandaged to the knee with strips of cloth, superintending the farming +operations. We have seen the freemen and thanes taking an active part in +public life, attending the courts of the hundred and shire, as well as +the folk moot or parish council of those times, and the slave mourning +over his lack of freedom. But many other relics of Saxon times remain, +and these will require another chapter for their examination. + + +[1] Until the eighteenth century there stood a pollard oak in the parish +of Shelford, Berks, where the hundred court used to be held. + +[2] Other theories with regard to the origin of the hundred have been +suggested. Some writers maintain that the hundred was a district whence +the hundred warriors were derived, or a group of townships. But the +Bishop of Oxford in his _Constitutional History_ states: "It is very +probable that the colonists of Britain arranged themselves in hundreds +of warriors; it is not probable that the country was carved into equal +districts. The only conclusion that seems reasonable is that under the +name of geographical hundreds we have the variously sized _pagi_, or +districts, in which the hundred warriors settled, the boundaries of +these being determined by other causes." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +SAXON RELICS + +Peculiarities of Saxon barrows--Their contents--Weapons--Articles +of personal adornment--Cremation--Saxon Cemeteries--Jutes--Saxons-- +Angles--Religion of Saxons--British Church in Wales--Conversion +of Saxons--Saxon crosses--Whalley--St. Wilfrid--Ruthwell cross-- +Bewcastle cross--Eyam cross--Ilkley cross--Hexham cross--Cross at +St. Andrew's, Bishop Auckland--Cheeping crosses--Pilgrim crosses. + + +The earth has preserved a vast store of relics of the Saxons, and for +these we must search in the barrows which contain their dead. There are +certain peculiarities which characterise these memorials of the race. +The larger tumuli, whether belonging to Celt or Roman, usually stand +alone, or in groups of not more than two or three, and were the +monuments of distinguished people; whereas the Saxon barrows form a +regular cemetery, each group being the common burying-place of the +people in the district. Another characteristic is the large number of +articles which they contain. Moreover it was the practice of the other +races to lay the body on the ground, and build up the chamber and mound +above it. The Saxons on the other hand laid the body in a deep grave +before they began to construct the barrow. + +The body was usually stretched out on its back, but is sometimes found +in a sitting position, as in graves recently discovered on Lord +Wantage's estate, Berks. Coffins of hollowed trunks of trees were +occasionally used, but these were not common. If the dead man was a +warrior, his weapons were buried with him, and we find the head and +spike of his spear, heads of javelins, a long iron broad-sword, a long +knife, occasionally an axe, and over his breast the iron boss of his +shield, the wooden part of which has of course decayed away. + +[Illustration: SAXON RELICS +(1) Sword +(2) Top of Sword Handle +(3) Buckle +(4) Spear-head +(5) Plain Fibula] + +The articles of personal adornment are very numerous. Fibulae, or +brooches, and buckles, made of bronze, are very beautifully ornamented. +Gold fibulae of circular form are found in the Kentish barrows, +frequently ornamented with real or fictitious gems. Rings, bracelets, +necklaces of beads, pendants for the neck and ears, are very common. The +beads are of glass, or amber, or variegated clay. Hairpins with which +the Saxon ladies bound up their tresses, chatelaines with tweezers for +removing superfluous hairs, toothpicks, scissors, and small knives, are +very frequent, and combs made of bone. + +When cremation was used the ashes were deposited in an urn made of rude +earthenware without the help of a lathe. Drinking-vessels of glass of +fine and delicate workmanship, pointed or rounded at the bottom, are +common. From the construction of these cups it is evident that the Saxon +allowed no "heel-taps." Bronze bowls, dishes, and basins are found in +Saxon barrows, and occasionally buckets. + +A pair of dice was found in a grave at Kingston Down, which indicates a +favourite pastime of the Saxons. The presence of a large number of Roman +coins shows that they used Roman money long after the legions had left +our shores. Sceattas, or Saxon silver coins, are also frequently +discovered. + +Many Saxon cemeteries have been discovered in various parts of England, +but a vast number have never been examined; and the careful inspection +of the contents of barrows must throw much light upon Saxon settlements +in England. Bede tells us that there were three different branches of +this race. The Jutes settled in Kent and the Isle of Wight. The Saxons +settled in Essex, the country of the East Saxons, Sussex, that of the +South Saxons, and Wessex, of the West Saxons. The Angles settled in East +Anglia. Now an examination of barrows shows that the Angles practised +cremation and urn burial, which was not so common amongst the Jutes and +Saxons, and the fibulae found in the tombs of these tribes differ +considerably in shape and size. The contents of these graves throw much +light on the history of the people, their customs and habits. The action +of the plough has often obliterated the traces of ancient barrows. It is +advisable that the position of all such mounds should be carefully noted +and recorded, and where possible excavations made which may help in +settling many vexed questions, and enable us to understand more fully +the condition of the pagan Saxon, ere the light of Christianity had +dawned upon him. + +Our names for the days of the week tell us of the gods of our Saxon +forefathers, whom they worshipped in their pagan and unregenerate state. +Sun-day, Moon-day, Tuisco's-day, Woden's-day, Thor's-day, Frya's-day, +Saeter's-day, link us on to the times when these "whelps from the +kennels of barbarism," as the Britons loved to call their conquerors, +swept away the old British Church, and established their heathen rites +and customs. Their religion resembled that of their Scandinavian +neighbours. Each village had its sacred spot, some clearing in the +forest, a tree, or well, whither the people resorted to pray to their +gods, and practise superstitious rites and customs which lingered long +after the introduction of Christianity, and even still survive. They had +also a few temples whither the freemen came three times a year. + +Driven out of England the ancient British Church found a refuge in the +wilds of Wales and Cornwall, where it lived on and flourished +vigorously, allied to the Churches of Ireland and Scotland, sending out +missionaries to the Continent of Europe, having schools and colleges, +monasteries, and numerous churches. Llancarvan, in Glamorganshire, was a +celebrated seat of learning; and all places named Bangor, such as +Bangor-Iscaed, St. Asaph, and many others, possessed schools and +colleges. The village names of numerous places in Wales and Cornwall +record the labours of many earnest, saintly men, who brought +Christianity to the savage folk in these wild regions. There are nearly +five hundred names of these holy men in Wales alone, whose memory is +retained by this simple record; and Cornwall is dotted over with +churches dedicated to men and women whose names are strange, and of whom +we know nothing. History tells us of some of these early saints and +martyrs, of St. Alban, the first British martyr, who was slain 303 A.D. +during the Diocletian persecution in the city which bears his name; of +St. David, a Welsh prince, who followed the active life of John the +Baptist, and preached like him. The memory of early saints is enshrined +in the names, St. Ives, St. Neots, St. Bees, and in St. Edmund's Bury, +named after St. Edmund, who was taken prisoner by Ingvar the Viking, and +having been bound to a tree, was scourged, and served as a target for +the arrows of the Danes, being afterwards beheaded. All these record the +bravery and zeal of the holy men of old who loved their God, and for His +sake feared not to die. + +Nothing need be said of the conversion of the English. That is a story +which has been often told. The scene is again changed. The temples of +Woden and Thor at Canterbury and Godmundingham and elsewhere, with their +heathen altars and shrines and idols, have been changed into Christian +churches, and other houses of God have been raised in the various +kingdoms; while Paulinus, Berinus, Aidan, Winfrid, and other preachers, +travelled through the country, exhorting the people to accept the +Christian faith. + +Memorials of these early Christian missionaries remain in many a village +churchyard. Often there stands near the village church an old stone +cross, its steps worn away by the rains and frosts of thirteen +centuries; its head has doubtless gone, broken off by the force of the +gales, or by the wild rage of human passion and Puritanical iconoclastic +zeal; but it preserves the memory of the first conversion of the Saxon +villagers to Christianity, and was erected to mark the spot where the +people assembled to hear the new preacher, and to consecrate it for this +purpose. + +In the life of St. Willibald we read that it was the custom of the Saxon +nation, on the estates of some of their nobles or great men, to erect, +not a church, but the sign of the Holy Cross, dedicated to God, +beautifully and honourably adorned, and exalted on high for the common +use of daily prayer. It is recorded also that St. Kentigern used to +erect a cross in any place where he had converted the people, and where +he had been staying for some time. Very probably the Saxon preacher +would make use of the old open-air meeting-place, where the pagan +villagers used to worship Woden; and thus the spots still used for +public worship are in many cases the same which used to echo with the +songs of Thor and the prayers of pagan Saxons. + +These crosses were the rallying-points for Christian congregations +before churches arose, and the bells in their turrets summoned the +people to the service of God. In Somersetshire alone there are two +hundred relics of the piety of our forefathers; and the North of England +and Scotland are especially rich in crosses. No two are ever quite +similar. Some are of simple design or character; but many have such +beautiful carving and scrollwork that we are astonished at the skill of +the workmen who, with very simple and rude tools, could produce such +wonderful specimens of art. + +The pagan Saxons worshipped stone pillars; so in order to wean them from +their ignorant superstition, the Christian missionaries, such as St. +Wilfrid, erected these stone crosses, and carved upon them the figures +of the Saviour and His Apostles, displaying before the eyes of their +hearers the story of the cross written in stone. + +The North of England has very many examples of the zeal of these early +preachers of the faith, and probably most of them were fashioned by the +monks and followers of St. Wilfrid, who was Archbishop of York at the +beginning of the eighth century. + +When he travelled about his diocese a large body of monks and workmen +attended him; and amongst these were the cutters in stone who made the +crosses and erected them on the spots which Wilfrid consecrated to the +worship of God. + +The Whalley cross is earlier than the time of Wilfrid. It is one of the +crosses of Paulinus, who was one of the priests sent by Pope Gregory to +help Augustine in the work of converting the Saxons, and who became +Archbishop of York. Under the shadow of this very cross Paulinus, who +came to England in 601 A.D., preached nearly thirteen hundred years ago. +Indeed an old monkish writer wished to represent that Augustine himself +came to Whalley and erected the cross, which he calls "St. Augustine's +Cross"; but there is little doubt that Paulinus was the founder. In +Puritan times this and other relics of early faith suffered badly, and +was removed with two others from the churchyard, and used as a gatepost; +but the spoiler repented, and restored it once more to its old +resting-place. + +But how did the founders learn to make such beautiful patterns and +designs? St. Wilfrid had travelled much; he had been to Rome and seen +the wonderful examples of Roman skill in the great city. The Romans had +left behind them in England their beautiful pavements, rich in designs, +with splendid borders of fine workmanship. These, doubtless, the monks +copied on parchment in the writing-rooms of their monasteries, and gave +their drawings to the monks in the stone-shed, who reproduced them in +stone. The only tool they had to produce all this fine and delicate work +was the pick, and this increases our wonder at the marvels they were +able to accomplish. + +There is a famous cross at Ruthwell, in Dumfriesshire, which for a short +time formed part of the kingdom of Northumbria. Scenes from early +Christian history are portrayed, and these are surrounded by bands with +sentences in Latin describing them. The lowest panel is too defaced for +us to determine the subjects; on the second we see the flight into +Egypt; on the third figures of Paul, the first hermit, and Anthony, the +first monk, are carved; on the fourth is a representation of our Lord +treading under foot the heads of swine; and on the highest there is the +figure of John the Baptist with the Lamb. On the opposite side are the +Annunciation, the Salutation, and other scenes of gospel history. On the +side of the cross is some beautiful scrollwork, which shows a wonderful +development of skill and art. + +In addition to the Latin sentences there are five stanzas of an +Anglo-Saxon poem of singular beauty. It is the story of the crucifixion +told in touching words by the cross itself, which narrates its own sad +tale from the time when it was a growing tree by the woodside, until at +length, after the body of the Lord had been taken down-- + + "The warriors left me there, + Standing defiled with blood." + +On the head of the cross are inscribed the words, "Caedmon made me." +This Caedmon was the holy monk, on whom the gift of writing verses was +bestowed by Heaven, who in the year 680 A.D. began to pour forth his +songs in praise of Almighty God, and told in Anglo-Saxon poetry the +story of the creation and the life of our Lord. The Bewcastle cross is +somewhat similar to that at Ruthwell. We see again the figure of our +Lord standing on the heads of swine, but the lower figure is represented +with a hawk, the sign of nobility, and is probably that of a person to +whom the cross is a memorial. The ornamentation on this cross is very +perfect and beautifully executed. The very beautiful cross at Eyam, in +Derbyshire, differs both in style and workmanship from almost any other. +The shaft has evidently been broken. In the panels of the head of the +cross are figures of angels. + +Sometimes we find some very strange beasts carved on the old crosses. On +the cross at Ilkley we observe some of these curious animals with their +long tails interlacing. Sometimes the tail is wound round the creature's +body, and the idea of the artist was to represent the animal reduced to +a state of powerlessness. One forepaw is held up in sign of submission. +Above is a figure of our Lord triumphing over the powers of evil, and +these animals represent probably man's lower nature owning the supremacy +of the King of Heaven. On the other side of the cross are figures of the +four evangelists. The upper half of the figures alone appears dressed in +flowing garments; each is carrying a book; circles of glory surround +their heads, which are the symbols of the evangelists. St. Matthew has a +man's head; St. Mark a leopard's; St. Luke's a calf's; and St. John an +eagle's head. + +The crosses at Hexham, where Archbishop Wilfrid founded a monastery, are +very ancient. We are able to tell the date of these stones, for they +were placed at the head and feet of the grave of Bishop Acca, who was a +follower of St. Wilfrid, and accompanied him on his missionary journeys. +Acca succeeded Wilfrid as Bishop of Hexham, and according to the old +chronicler Bede, "being a most active man and great in the sight of God +and man, he much adorned and added to his church." Acca died in 738 +A.D., and as the monastery of Hexham was soon destroyed, these crosses +must have been erected eleven hundred and sixty-three years ago. + +The cross at St. Andrew's, Bishop Auckland, is of much later date, and +the workmanship is not nearly so fine and delicate as in the earlier +crosses. The Saxons had deteriorated as a race just before the Normans +came, and although the cross still appears on the flat stone, the design +on the shaft of the cross merely represents a hunting scene; and a Saxon +bowman is shown shooting at some animals. The religious conceptions of +an earlier and purer time have disappeared. The moustache of the +sportsman also shows that the stone belonged to a period very near the +Norman Conquest, when that fashion of wearing the hair was in vogue. + +England is remarkable for these specimens of ancient art. On the +Continent there are very few of these elaborately carved crosses; but +it is noteworthy that wherever the English or Irish missionaries went, +they erected these memorials of their faith. In Switzerland, where +they founded some monasteries, there are some very similar to those +in England. + +There are several other kinds of crosses besides those in churchyards. +There are market crosses, called "cheeping" crosses after the +Anglo-Saxon _cheap_, to buy, from which Cheapside, in London, Chippenham +and Chipping Norton derive their names. Some crosses are "pilgrim" +crosses, and were erected along the roads leading to shrines where +pilgrimages were wont to be made, such as the shrine of St. Thomas +a Becket at Canterbury, Glastonbury, Our Lady of Walsingham. Sometimes +they were erected at the places where the corpse rested on its way to +burial, as the Eleanor crosses at Waltham and Charing, in order that +people might pray for the soul of the deceased. Monks also erected +crosses to mark the boundaries of the property of their monastery. + +[Illustration: AN OLD MARKET CROSS] + +Time has dealt hardly with the old crosses of England. Many of them +were destroyed by the Puritans, who by the Parliamentary decree of +1643, ordered that all altars and tables of stones, all crucifixes, +images and pictures of God and the saints, with all superstitious +inscriptions, should be obliterated and destroyed. In London, St. +Paul's Cross, Charing Cross, and that in Cheapside, were levelled +with the ground, and throughout the country many a beautiful work +of art which had existed hundreds of years shared the same fate. +Place-names sometimes preserve their memory, such as Gerard's Cross, +in Buckinghamshire, Crosby, Crossens, Cross Inn, Croston; these and +many others record the existence in ancient times of a cross, and +probably beneath its shade the first preachers of the gospel stood, +when they turned the hearts of our heathen ancestors, and taught them +the holy lessons of the Cross. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE + +Saxon monasteries--Parish churches--Benedict Biscop--Aldhelm--St. +Andrew's, Hexham--Brixworth Church--Saxon architecture--Norman +architecture--Characteristics of the style--Transition Norman-- +Early English style--Decorated style--Perpendicular style. + + +The early Saxon clergy lived in monasteries, where they had a church +and a school for the education of the sons of thanes. Monastic houses, +centres of piety and evangelistic zeal, sprang up, the abodes of +religion, civilisation, peace, and learning. They were the schools of +culture, sacred and profane, of industry and agriculture; the monks were +the architects, the painters, the sculptors, the goldsmiths of their +time. They formed the first libraries; they taught the young; they +educated women in convents, and by degrees dispersed the shades of +ignorance, idolatry, and barbarism, and reformed England. + +To record the number of these monastic houses which were erected in the +seventh and eighth centuries would require much space; and as our chief +concern is with the vestiges that remain in our English villages, and +as most of these Saxon monasteries were plundered and destroyed by the +Danes, or rebuilt on a grander scale by the Normans, we will not now +enumerate them. + +After the country had been evangelised by the itinerant monks and +preachers, the next process was to establish a church in every village, +and to provide a pastor to minister therein. Archbishop Theodore +encouraged the thanes to build and endow churches on their estates, and +introduced to this country the parochial system, by means of which all +villages could have the services of a resident pastor. + +Then the thane's house was not considered complete without its chapel; +and in the scattered hamlets and village communities churches arose, +rudely built of wood and roofed with thatch, wherein the Saxon _ceorls_ +and _cottiers_ loved to worship. + +The great Churchmen of the day were not content with such humble +structures. They had travelled to Rome, and seen there some of the fine +buildings dedicated for divine service; so they determined to have the +like in their own country. One of these noble builders was Benedict +Biscop, founder of the twin monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow. When he +built the former, he imported foreign artists from Gaul, who constructed +the monastery after the Roman style, and amongst other things introduced +glazed windows, which had never been seen in England before. Nor was his +new house bare and unadorned. He brought from Rome vast stores of church +furniture, many books, and the "arch-chanter" John, to teach his monks +the music and ritual of Rome. + +Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury, and first Bishop of Sherborne, was one of +the foremost church-builders of the time, and the beautiful churches at +Malmesbury, Sherborne, Bradford-on-Avon, Frome, and Wareham, owe their +erection to his instrumentality. Wilfrid also was one of the saintly +architects of the period. Here is a description of the church of St. +Andrew, at Hexham, taken from the writings of Richard, prior of the +monastery there:-- + +"The foundations of this church St. Wilfrid laid deep in the earth for +the crypts and oratories, and the passages leading to them, which were +then with great exactness contrived and built under ground. The walls, +which were of great length, and raised to an immense height, and divided +into three several stones or tiers, he supported by square and other +kinds of well-polished columns. Also, the walls, the capitals of the +columns which supported them, and the arch of the sanctuary, he +decorated with historical representations, imagery, and various figures +of relief, carved in stone, and painted with a most agreeable variety of +colour. The body of the church he compassed about with pentices and +porticoes, which, both above and below, he divided with great and +inexpressible art, by partition walls and winding stairs. Within the +staircases, and above them, he caused flights of steps and galleries of +stone, and several passages leading from them both ascending and +descending, to be so artfully disposed, that multitudes of people might +be there, and go quite round the church, without being seen by anyone +below in the nave. Moreover in the several divisions of the porticoes or +aisles, he erected many most beautiful and private oratories of +exquisite workmanship; and in them he caused to be placed altars in +honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Michael, St. John the Baptist, +and the holy Apostles, martyrs, confessors, and virgins, with all decent +and proper furniture to each of them, some of which, remaining at this +day, appear like so many turrets and fortified places." + +[Illustration: CONSECRATION OF A SAXON CHURCH] + +The Danish wars had a disastrous effect on such noble structures raised +by these monastic architects, as well as on many a rustic village +church, which fell a prey to the ruthless invading bands of pagan +warriors. But frequently, as we study the history written in the +stonework of our churches, we find amid the massive Norman walls traces +of the work of Saxon builders, an arch here, a column there, which link +our own times with the distant past when England was divided into eight +kingdoms, or when Danegeld was levied to buy off the marauding +strangers. + +Roman buildings served as a model for our Saxon architects, and Roman +bricks were much used by them. Brixworth Church is perhaps the finest +specimen of our early Saxon churches. It has semicircular arches, made +of Roman bricks, springing from square massive piers with single abaci. + +[Illustration: TOWER OF BARNACK CHURCH, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE] + +We will try to point out the distinguishing features of Saxon work, in +order that you may be able to detect the evidence of its existence in +your own village and neighbourhood. The walls are chiefly formed of +rubble or rag stone, having "long and short work," _i.e._ long block of +cut stone laid alternately horizontally and vertically, at the corners +of the building and in the jambs of the doors. Often narrow ribs of +masonry run vertically up the walls, and a string-course runs +horizontally. The churches of Barnack and Wittering in Northamptonshire, +St. Michael's, Oxford, and the towers of Earl's Barton are good examples +of this. + +[Illustration: DOORWAY, EARL'S BARTON CHURCH] + +Saxon doorways have semicircular arches, and sometimes the head is +shaped in the form of a triangle. The jambs are square-edged, the stone +of the arch is plain, and a hood or arch of ribwork projecting from the +surface of the wall surrounds the doorway. Belfry windows have two +semicircular-headed lights divided by a _baluster_ shaft, _i.e._ a +column resembling a turned-wood pillar. This feature is quite peculiar +to Saxon architecture. + +Anglo-Saxon single-light windows have two splays, increasing in width +from the centre of the wall in which the window is placed. Norman +windows have only one splay on the internal side of the building. Saxon +arches separating the nave from the aisles and chancel are plain. There +is no sub-arch as in Norman buildings. They are often very small, +sometimes only five or six feet wide, and stand on square piers. + +[Illustration: TOWER WINDOW, MONKWEARMOUTH CHURCH +Built by Benedict Biscop, _circa_ A.D. 674] + +Some Saxon churches have crypts, but few of them remain. The crypt made +by St. Wilfrid at Hexham, mentioned above, still exists, and also one at +Ripon Cathedral, in which there is a small window called "Wilfrid's +needle." There is a legend about this which states that if a maid goes +through the "needle," she will be married within the year. Repton Church +has a very perfect specimen of Saxon crypt. + +The ground plan of Saxon churches differed. Many were cruciform, and +consisted of nave, transepts, and chancel. The east wall of the chancel +was often semicircular or polygonal, sometimes rectangular. The church +of St. Lawrence, at Bradford-on-Avon, mentioned by William of +Malmesbury, is a fine specimen of a Saxon church, and also the little +church at Escombe, Durham, and that of Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, +recently rescued from being used as a farmstead. + +After the close of the thousandth year after the birth of Christ a new +impulse was given to church-building. People imagined that with that +year the millennium would arrive and the Second Advent take place. It +would be vain to build beautiful churches, if they were so soon to +perish in the general destruction of the world, as vain as to heap up +treasure by means of trade. Hence people's minds were unsettled, and the +churches left in ruins. But when the millenary had safely passed away, +they began to restore the fallen shrines, and build new churches, and +the late Saxon or early Norman style came into vogue. Canute was a great +church-builder, and Edward the Confessor rebuilt Westminster Abbey after +the new fashion. Then came William the Conqueror with his Norman +builders, and soon nearly every village had its church, which was +constructed, according to William of Malmesbury, _novo aedificandi +genere_. + +We will now notice the characteristics of early Norman work, traces of +which you may be able to recognise in your own church. The doorways are +very remarkable, profusely adorned with richly carved ornamental +mouldings and sculpture. The archways are round, and are composed of a +succession of receding arches, all elaborately carved. The doorway of +Malmesbury Church has eight arches, recessed one within the other. These +arches are supported by one or more shafts, which are sometimes carved. +Above the door and below the arch is the tympanum, covered with +sculpture, representing scriptural subjects, such as the figure of the +Saviour in allusion to His saying, "I am the door," or the _Agnus Dei_, +or Adam and Eve, or such legendary or symbolical subjects as St. George +and the Dragon, or the Tree of Life. + +[Illustration: SCULPTURED HEAD OF DOORWAY, FORDINGTON CHURCH, DORSETSHIRE] + +Porches are not very common in early Norman structures, but several +still exist, notably at Malmesbury, Balderton, and Brixworth. The +windows are usually small and narrow, the jambs being splayed only on +the inside of the church. Three such windows placed together usually +give light over the altar. The walls of Norman buildings are thick and +massive, and are often faced with cut stone. String-courses or mouldings +projecting from the walls, run horizontally along them, and are often +adorned with the zigzag or other Norman patterns of ornament. The tower +often stands between the nave and the chancel, and is usually low and +massive. In the eastern counties are found many round towers made of +flint masonry. Flat buttresses are a sure sign of Norman work, as they +were not used in any of the subsequent styles of architecture. + +[Illustration: NORMAN CAPITALS +(1) Crypt, Worcester Cathedral +(2) Winchester Cathedral] + +The arches of the Norman builders are easily recognised. The piers in +country churches are nearly always cylindrical; but there are several +examples of massive square or octagonal piers, and also a number +of round columns attached, so as to form one pier. The _cushion_ +capital is the most common form used in the Norman style. It is easily +recognisable, but difficult to be described; and perhaps the +accompanying sketch will enable the reader to discover a cushion +capital when he sees it. The early Norman builders loved to bestow +much labour on their capitals; and while preserving the usual cushion +form, enriched them with much elaboration. The _scallop_ frequently +occurs, and also the _volute_, which was copied from the work of Roman +builders, who themselves imitated the Greek sculptures. Sometimes the +capitals are elaborately carved with figures of men, or animals, or +foliage. + +[Illustration: NORMAN ORNAMENTAL MOULDINGS. +(1) Indented. Stoneleigh, Warwickshire +(2) Zig-zag. Iffley, Oxfordshire +(3) Alternate Billet. Stoneleigh, Warwickshire +(4) Double Cone. Stoneleigh, Warwickshire +(5) Pellet. Stoneleigh, Warwickshire +(6) Lozenge. Essendine, Rutland +(7) Cable. Fritwell, Oxfordshire +(8) Star. Stringham, Norfolk +(9) Medallion. Iffley, Oxfordshire +(10) Beak-Head. Steetley, Derbyshire +(11) Nail-Head. St. Ethelred's, Norwich +(12) Embattled. Lincoln Cathedral] + +Norman arches resemble the doorways in having sub-arches recessed within +an outer arch, the intrados often being decorated with mouldings such as +the zigzag or the lozenge. The chancel arch is usually very elaborately +ornamented with various mouldings, which are very numerous and peculiar. +Those illustrated on the previous page are the most common. + +[Illustration: CROYLAND ABBEY CHURCH, LINCOLNSHIRE] + +The Normans were also much skilled in vaulting with stone, as the crypts +in our churches testify. Over the vaulted roof of the aisles was the +_triforium_, a kind of gallery between this roof and the external roof +of the church. Very few of the wooden roofs of Norman churches remain. +The fonts are large, square or cylindrical in shape, and are decorated +with mouldings or sculpture, often very elaborate but rudely executed. +At Winchester Cathedral the font is carved with a representation of the +baptism of King Cynigils at Dorchester. Other favourite subjects were +the creation of man, the formation of Eve, the expulsion from Paradise, +Christ upon the cross, the Four Evangelists, the baptism of our Lord, +and legendary or symbolical representations. + +[Illustration: SEMI-NORMAN ARCH, CHURCH OF ST. CROSS] + +This style of architecture prevailed until about the middle of the +twelfth century, when the _Transition Norman_ became in vogue. It is +characterised by the introduction of the pointed arch. Many conjectures +as regards its origin have been made. Some suppose that the idea of +making the arch pointed was suggested by the intersection of +semicircular arches in ornamental arcades. Others say that the Crusaders +introduced it on their return from the East, or that it was suggested by +the Norman vaulting, or from the form of the _vesica piscis_, the most +ancient of Christian symbols. The Cistercian monks were the first to +introduce it to this country, and the Cistercian abbeys of Fountains, +Kirkstall, Furness, and Tintern are noble specimens of Transition Norman +work. Religious zeal and enthusiasm are often reflected in the improved +condition of our churches, and the grand buildings of this period are +outward and visible signs of a great religious revival. Semicircular +arches, however, continued to be used for windows and for the triforium; +the capitals of the piers were decorated with foliage somewhat similar +to that used in a subsequent period. + +[Illustration: EARLY ENGLISH PIERS AND CAPITALS +(1) Salisbury Cathedral +(2) Lincoln Cathedral] + +Then arose the Early English style of architecture which flourished +from about the year 1175 to 1275, and is characterised by a gradual +abandonment of the heavy and massive features of the Norman style, and +the adoption of lighter and more elegant forms of construction and +decoration. Salisbury Cathedral, erected 1220-1260 A.D., is the most +perfect example of this period. The arches are pointed, and the piers +supporting them are often composed of an insulated cylindrical column +surrounded by slender detached shafts, all uniting together under one +capital, and divided into parts by horizontal bands. In small churches +plain octagonal or circular piers are frequently used, as in the +succeeding style, from which they can only be distinguished by the +mouldings. Mouldings are often the surest guides in helping us to +ascertain the date of a building. We have already studied the Norman +mouldings. In this style they are composed of bold rounds and deep +hollows, usually plain, or ornamented with the dog-tooth. + +[Illustration: TOOTH OR DOG-TOOTH ORNAMENT] + +The lancet window is now introduced, at first of only one light, very +narrow and long, and differing from the Norman window in having a +pointed arch. At the east end of the chancel there are often three +lancet windows, the centre one higher than the rest, with one dripstone +over them. The first idea of window-tracery was the introduction of a +plain lozenge-shaped opening over a double lancet window, the whole +being covered by a single dripstone. From this simple arrangement it +was not difficult to develop the beautiful bar-tracery which came into +vogue in the subsequent period of English architecture. The capitals +of the Early English style are bell-shaped, at first quite plain, but +subsequently these are often covered with beautifully sculptured foliage +of a very graceful character. Circular windows at this period came +into vogue in the gables of churches. They were either plain or +quatre-foiled. Norman towers were sometimes capped with spires in the +thirteenth century. The walls are not so thick or massive as in the +Norman period, and the buttresses are stouter and more numerous, and +project further from the wall. Flying buttresses were also introduced at +this period. We can generally distinguish Early English work from that +of the Norman style by its lightness and elegance, as compared with the +roughness and massiveness of the latter; and its plainness and +simplicity sufficiently distinguish it from that of the Decorated +period. + +[Illustration: BROWNSOVER CHAPEL, WARWICKSHIRE] + +The Decorated style (1275-1375) which prevailed during the reigns of +the three Edwards was ushered in by a period of Transition, during which +there was gradually developed the most perfect style which English +architectural skill has ever attained. In the thirteenth century our +builders were striving to attain the highest forms of graceful design +and artistic workmanship. In the fourteenth their work reached +perfection, while in the fifteenth there was a marked decline in their +art, which in spite of its elaborate details lacked the beauty of the +Decorated style. + +[Illustration: MOULDINGS, TEWKESBURY ABBEY] + +[Illustration: OGEE ARCH] + +The arches of this period are usually wider, and are distinguished from +those of the Early English by the character of the mouldings. The +ball-flower, consisting of a ball inclosed by three or four leaves, +somewhat resembling a rosebud, is the favourite ornament, and a +four-leaved flower is often used. Roll mouldings, quarter, half, or +three-quarters round, frequently occur, and produce a very pleasing +effect. The form of the arch is in many instances changed, and the +graceful _ogee_ arch is introduced. The piers are round or octagonal in +village churches, and in large churches are formed by a cluster of +cylindrical shafts, not detached as in the preceding period, but closely +united. The capitals are bell-shaped, and in large churches richly +sculptured. Few of the wooden roofs remain, as they have been superseded +in later times; but the marks of the old roofs may often be seen on the +eastern wall of the tower. The windows are larger than those of the +earlier style, and are filled with geometrical and flowing tracery of +great variety and beauty. Small windows have heads shaped in the ogee or +trefoil forms. Square-headed windows are not uncommon, especially in the +clerestory, and in monastic churches circular windows are frequently met +with. It is characteristic of this style that the carving is not so deep +as in the previous work. We find groups of shallow mouldings separated +by one cut deeper than the others. + +[Illustration: CAPITALS +(1) Hanwell +(2) Chacombe Church] + +[Illustration: DECORATED WINDOWS +(1) Merton College Chapel +(2) Sandiacre, Derbyshire] + +[Illustration: MOULDINGS +(1) Elton, Huntingdonshire +(2) Austrey, Warwickshire] + +At length the glories of the Decorated period pass away and are merged +and lost in the _Perpendicular_ which held sway from 1375 to 1540. The +work is now more elaborate and richer, but lacks the majestic beauty of +the Decorated style. It is easy to distinguish Perpendicular windows. +They are larger than any which we have seen before; the mullions are +carried straight up through the head of the window; smaller mullions +spring from the heads of the principal lights, and thus the windows +are broken up into panel-like compartments, very different from the +beautiful curves of the Decorated style. Simple pointed arches are still +in use, but gradually they become flattened; and the arch, commonly +known as the Tudor arch, is a peculiar feature of this style. In village +churches the mouldings of the arch are often continued down the piers +without any capital or shaft. + +[Illustration: MERTON COLLEGE CHAPEL, OXFORD] + +Piers are commonly formed from a square or parallelogram with the angles +fluted, having on the flat face of each side a semicyclindrical shaft. +The base mouldings are polygonal. The most common doorway is the Tudor +arch having a square head over it. The doors are often richly +ornamented. There are a large number of square-headed windows, and so +proud were these builders of their new style of window that they +frequently inserted Perpendicular windows in walls of a much earlier +date. Hence it is not always safe to determine the age of a church by an +examination of the windows alone. Panel-work tracery on the upper part +of the interior walls is a distinctive feature of this style. + +[Illustration: VESTRY DOOR, ADDERBURY CHURCH, OXON] + +[Illustration: ST. ERASMUS' CHAPEL, WESTMINSTER ABBEY] + +The slope of the roof is much lower than before, and often the former +high-pitched roofs were at this period replaced by the almost flat roofs +prevalent in the fifteenth century. The parapets are often embattled. + +The rose, the badge of the houses of York and Lancaster, is often used +as an ornamental detail, and also rows of the Tudor flower, composed of +four petals, frequently occur. One of the most distinctive mouldings is +the _cavetto_, a wide shallow hollow in the centre of a group of +mouldings. Also we find a peculiar wave, and a kind of double ogee +moulding which are characteristic of the style. + +[Illustration: WINDOW, CHRISTCHURCH, OXFORD] + +Spires of this period are not very common, and usually spring from +within the parapet. The interiors of our churches were enriched at this +time with much elaborate decoration. Richly carved woodwork in screens, +rood-lofts, pulpits, and pews, sculptured sedilia and a noble reredos, +and much exuberance of decorative imagery and panel-work, adorned our +churches at this time, much of which was obliterated or destroyed by +spoliators of the Reformation period, the iconoclastic Puritans of the +seventeenth century, or the "restorers" of the nineteenth. However, we +may be thankful that so much remains to the present day of the work of +our great English church-builders, while we endeavour to trace the +history of each church written in stone, and to appreciate these relics +of antiquity which most of our villages possess. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +NORMAN VILLAGES AND THE _DOMESDAY BOOK_ + +The coming of the Normans--_Domesday Book_--Its objects--Its contents-- +Barkham in _Domesday_--Saxon families--Saxons who retained their +estates--Despoiled landowners--Village officers and artisans-- +Villeins--_Bordarii_--_Cottarii_--_Servi_--Socmen--Presbyter--Names +of Normans--The teaching of _Domesday_. + + +There was a great stir in our English villages when the news was brought +to them that William of Normandy had landed in England, and intended to +fight for the English Crown. News travelled very slowly in those days. +First the villeins and the cottiers who were not fighting with their +lord heard that a great battle had been fought at Stamford Bridge, in +Yorkshire, in which their gallant King Harold had defeated his own +brother Tostig, aided by the King of Norway, Hardrada, and a large army. +Then the news reached them that William of Normandy had arrived, and +that Harold was marching night and day to meet him. Then they heard of +the fatal battle of Hastings; and when it was told them that their brave +King Harold was slain, and that William, the Norman, was the conqueror +of England and the acknowledged king of the country, all England groaned +to hear the fatal news. And then, after a few years, they found that +their old lord had been deprived of his estates, and a new, haughty, +proud Norman, who talked like a Frenchman, and laughed at their dear old +Saxon language, came and ruled over them. He brought Norman servants +with him, who took the best of the land, and made the Saxons do all the +hard work on the farm, treating them like slaves. + +And now we must examine a most valuable document which throws a +wonderfully clear light on the condition of England just before and +after the Conquest. I refer to the _Domesday Book_, or survey of the +country which William caused to be made. The Anglo-Saxon chronicler +tells us that after a great Council at Gloucester the king "sent his men +over all England, into every shire, and caused to be ascertained how +many hundred hides were in the shire, or what land the king himself had, +and cattle within the land, or what dues he ought to have in twelve +months from the shire. Also he caused to be written how much land his +archbishops had, and his suffragan bishops, and abbots, and earls; and +though I may narrate somewhat prolixly, what or how much each man had +who was a holder of land in England, in land, or in cattle, and how much +money it might be worth. So very narrowly he caused it to be traced out, +that there was not one single hide, nor one yard of land, nor even, it +is shame to tell, though it seemed to him no shame to do, an ox, nor a +cow, nor a swine was left that was not set down in his writ. And all the +writings were brought to him afterwards." + +The commissioners appointed by the king, among whom were Remigius, +Bishop of Lincoln, and Walter Giffard, Earl of Buckingham, were to +inquire the following details concerning each parish:-- + +Its name. Who held it in the time of King Edward the Confessor. The +present possessor. Number of hides in the manor, number of ploughs, of +homagers, villeins, cottars, free tenants, tenants in socage; how much +wood, meadow, and pasture; number of mills and fishponds; the value in +the time of the last king; and its present value. + +Such a survey was of immense value. Its object, according to the king, +was that every man might know and be satisfied with his rightful +possessions, and not with impunity usurp the property of others. But it +was also of great service to the king, so that he might know who were +his vassals, the amount of taxation which he could draw from them, and +the actual strength of his new kingdom. + +The commissioners performed their work with much care and exactness. The +survey is wonderfully complete, and was compiled in a very short time. +It is of great value to the historians of subsequent ages. The writing +of the book is very clear and beautiful, the abbreviations alone +presenting some difficulty to an unaccustomed reader. No illuminations +adorn the text. At the head of each page the name of the county is +written in red ink. The book is preserved in an ancient chest in the +Public Record Office, where it was removed from the Chapter House at +Westminster. + +As an example we may take the _Domesday_ description of the parish of +Barkham, which runs as follows:-- + +"IN CERLEDONE HD. + +"Rex ten in dnio Bercheha. AElmer Tenuit de rege. E. Te 7 m iii hid. +Tra e iii car. In dnio e una, 7 vi uilli 7 iiii bord cu iii car. Ibi +v. ac pti. Silua de XL pore. Valuit iiii lib. T.R.E. 7 m: iii. lib." + +TRANSLATION. + +"In the hundred of Charlton. + +"The king holds Barkham in demesne. AElmer held it of King Edward. Then, +as now, it was rated for three hides. The land is three ploughlands. In +demesne there is one ploughland. There are six villeins, four borderers +with three ploughs. There are five acres of pasture. Wood for the +pasturage of forty hogs. It was worth 4l. in the time of King Edward, +afterwards, and now, 3l." + +King Edward here mentioned was Edward the Confessor. A hide, when it is +used as a measure of land, may be taken at about one hundred and twenty +acres. A ploughland was as much land as one plough with oxen could +plough in a year. The villeins were men who tilled their lord's land, +and in return for certain services had holdings under him. The borderers +were cottagers who also worked for their lord and held smaller holdings, +from one to ten acres. In other entries we find the number of serfs +recorded, and also mention of the hall of the lord of the manor, where +the manorial courts were held, the church, the priest's house, the names +of landowners and tenants, the mill, and of the various officers and +artisans who made up the village community. + +_Domesday_ tells us of the old Saxon families, many of whom lost their +estates when the Conqueror came, and were supplanted by the favourites +of the new king. Some of them contrived to weather the storm and retain +their lands. Almer, or Almar, the lord of Barkham, who succeeded his +brother Stigand as Bishop of Elmham in 1047, when the latter became +archbishop, was among the number of the dispossessed, and probably found +shelter with many of his compatriots in the cloister. Several of +William's Norman adventurers married the heiresses of the old Saxon +gentry, and thus became possessed of great estates. Thus Robert D'Oili +married the daughter of Wigod, lord of Wallingford, and soon gained +possession of his father-in-law's property. + +However, the names of the fortunate Saxons who retained their estates +are few in comparison with those who were dispossessed. We find Edgar +Atheling, real heir to the throne, retaining a small estate; but he was +a feeble prince, and therefore not to be feared by William. His sister +Cristina had also land in Oxfordshire. Bishop Osbern, of Exeter, a +kinsman of the late king, also held his estates; and amongst the list we +find Seward the huntsman, of Oxfordshire; Theodric the goldsmith; Wlwi +the huntsman, of Surrey; Uluric the huntsman, of Hampshire, who were not +deprived of their lands, their occupations being useful to the king. + +The list of despoiled landowners is a long one, and need not here be +recorded. One Brictric was very unfortunate. When ambassador to Baldwin +of Flanders he refused to marry the count's daughter Maud. The slighted +lady became the Conqueror's consort, and in revenge for her despised +love caused Brictric to be imprisoned and his estates confiscated, some +of which were given to the queen. The luckless relations and connections +of the late royal house were consistently despoiled, amongst them +Editha, the beautiful queen of King Edward, and daughter of Earl Godwin, +of whom it was written: "_Sicut spina rosam genuit Godwynus Editham_"; +and Gida, the mother of Harold; Godric, his son; and Gwith, his brother. +Harold himself--the earl, as he is called, and not the king, who fought +and died at Senlac, if he did not, as the romance states, end his life +as a holy hermit at Chester--had vast estates all over England, which +went to enrich William's hungry followers. Hereward the Wake, the +English hero, also held in pre-Norman days many fat manors. Few of the +Saxon landowners were spared, and it is unnecessary here to record the +names of the Uchtreds, Turgots, Turchils, Siwards, Leurics, who held +lands "in the time of King Edward," but whose place after Domesday knows +them no more. + +_Domesday_ tells us also the names of the officers and artisans who +played important parts in the old village communities. The _villani_, or +villeins, corresponding to the Saxon _ceorls_, were the most important +class of tenants in villeinage, and each held about thirty acres in +scattered acre or half-acre strips, each a furlong in length and a perch +or two in breadth, separated by turf balks. The villein thus supported +himself and his family, and in return was bound to render certain +services to the lord of the manor, to work on the home farm, and provide +two or more oxen for the manorial plough-team. He was not a free tenant, +could acquire no property, and his lord's consent was needed for the +marriage of his daughters. But the law protected him from unjust usage; +his holdings were usually regranted to his son. He could obtain freedom +in several ways, and by degrees acquired the rights and privileges of a +free tenant. + +Next to the villeins were the _bordarii_, who lived in _bords_ or +cottages, _i.e._ boarded or wooden huts, and ranked as a lower grade of +villeins. They held about five acres, but provided no oxen for the +manorial plough-team. Below them were the _cottarii_, or cottiers, who +were bound to do domestic work and supply the lord's table. They +corresponded to the modern labourer, but lacked his freedom. The lowest +class of all were the _servi_, or serfs, who corresponded to the Saxon +_theows_. In Norman times their condition was greatly improved; they +mingled with the cottiers and household servants, and gradually were +merged with them. + +The _sochemanni_, or socmen, our yeomen, who abounded chiefly in the +Danish district of England, were inferior landowners who had special +privileges, and could not be turned out of their holdings, though they +rendered certain services to the lord of the manor, and in this respect +differed little from the villeins. _Domesday Book_ also mentions a class +of men called _burs_ or _geburs_, who were the same as _coliberti_; also +the _commendati_, who received privileges in return for services +rendered to the lord of the manor. + +Each village community was self-contained, and had its own officers. +Although _Domesday Book_ was not compiled in order to ascertain the +condition of the Church and its ministers, and frequently the mention of +a parish church is omitted where we know one existed, the _presbyter_, +or priest, is often recorded. Archbishop Egbert's _Excerptiones_ +ordained that "to every church shall be allotted one complete holding +(mansa), and that this shall be free from all but ecclesiastical +services." According to the Saxon laws every tenth strip of land was +set aside for the Church, and _Domesday_ shows that in many villages +there was a priest with his portion of land set apart for his support. + +Then there was a _prepositus_, bailiff or reeve, who collected the lord's +rents, assisted by a _bedellus_, beadle or under-bailiff. _Bovarii_, or +oxherds, looked after the plough-teams. The _carpentarius_, or carpenter; +the _cementarius_, or bricklayer; the _custos apium_, or beekeeper; the +_faber_, or smith; the _molinarius_, or miller--were all important +officers in the Norman village; and we have mention also of the +_piscatores_ (fishermen), _pistores_ (bakers), _porcarii_ (swineherds), +_viccarii_ (cowmen), who were all employed in the work of the village +community. + +_Domesday Book_ enables us to form a fairly complete picture of our +villages in Norman and late Saxon times. It tells us of the various +classes who peopled the village and farmed its fields. It gives us a +complete list of the old Saxon gentry and of the Norman nobles and +adventurers who seized the fair acres of the despoiled Englishmen. Many +of them gave their names to their new possessions. The Mandevilles +settled at Stoke, and called it Stoke-Mandeville; the Vernons at +Minshall, and called it Minshall-Vernon. Hurst-Pierpont, Neville-Holt, +Kingston-Lysle, Hampstead-Norris, and many other names of places +compounded of Saxon and Norman words, record the names of William's +followers, who received the reward of their services at the expense of +the former Saxon owners. _Domesday Book_ tells us how land was measured +in those days, the various tenures and services rendered by the tenants, +the condition of the towns, the numerous foreign monasteries which +thrived on our English lands, and throws much light on the manners and +customs of the people of this country at the time of its compilation. +_Domesday Book_ is a perfect storehouse of knowledge for the historian, +and requires a lifetime to be spent for its full investigation. + +[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF A MANOR] + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +NORMAN CASTLES + +Castle-building--Description of Norman castle--A Norman household-- +Edwardian castles--Border castles--Chepstow--Grosmont--Raglan--Central +feature of feudalism--Fourteenth-century castle--Homes of chivalry-- +Schools of arms--The making of a knight--Tournaments--Jousts--Tilting +at a ring--Pageants--"Apollo and Daphne"--Pageants at Sudeley Castle +and Kenilworth--Destruction of castles--Castles during Civil War period. + + +Many an English village can boast of the possession of the ruins of an +ancient castle, a gaunt rectangular or circular keep or donjon, looking +very stern and threatening even in decay, and mightily convincing of the +power of its first occupants. The new masters did not feel very safe in +the midst of a discontented and enraged people; so they built these huge +fortresses with strong walls and gates and moats. Indeed before the +Conquest the Norman knights, to whom the weak King Edward the Confessor +granted many an English estate, brought with them the fashion of +building castles, and many a strong square tower began to crown the +fortified mounds. Thence they could oppress the people in many ways, and +the writers of the time always speak of the building of castles with a +kind of shudder. After the Conquest, especially during the regency of +William's two lieutenants, Bishop Odo and Earl William Fitz-osbern, the +Norman adventurers who were rewarded for their services by the gift of +many an English manor, built castles everywhere. The wretched men of +the land were cruelly oppressed by forced labour in erecting these +strongholds, which were filled "with devils and evil men." Over a +thousand castles were built in nineteen years, and in his own castle +each earl or lord reigned as a small king, coining his own money, making +his own laws, having power of life and death over his dependants, and +often using his power most violently and oppressively. + +[Illustration: OLD SARUM] + +The original Norman castle consisted of a keep, "four-square to every +wind that blew," standing in a bailey court. It was a mighty place with +walls of great thickness about one hundred and fifty feet high. It +contained several rooms, one above the other. A deep well supplied the +inhabitants with water. Spiral stone steps laid in the thickness of the +wall led to the first floor where the soldiers of the garrison resided. +Above this was the hall, with a chimney and fireplace, where the lord +of the castle and his guests had their meals, and in the thickness of +the wall there were numerous chambers used as sleeping-apartments and +garderobes, and the existence of a piscina in one of these shows that it +was a small chapel or oratory. The upper story was divided by wooden +partitions into small sleeping-rooms; and unlike our modern houses, the +kitchen was at the top of the keep, and opened on the roof. + +Descending some stone steps which led from the ground floor in ancient +time we should visit the dungeons, dark, gloomy, and dreadful places, +where deep silence reigns, only broken by the groans of despairing +captives in the miserable cells. In one of these toads and adders were +the companions of the captive. Another poor wretch reposed on a bed of +sharp flints, while the torture-chamber echoed with the cries of the +victims of mediaeval cruelty, who were hanged by their feet and smoked +with foul smoke, or hung up by their thumbs, while burning rings were +placed on their feet. In Peak Castle, Derbyshire, a poor, simple squire, +one Godfrey Rowland, was confined for six days without either food or +drink, and then released from the dungeon with his right hand cut off. +In order to extract a heavy ransom, to obtain lands and estates, to +learn the secrets of hidden treasure, the most ingenious and devilish +tortures were inflicted in these terrible abodes. + +[Illustration: A NORMAN CASTLE +(1) The dungeon. +(2) Chapel. +(3) Stable. +(4) Inner bailey. +(5) Outer bailey. +(6) Barbican. +(7) Mount. +(8) Soldiers' lodgings.] + +The same style of castle-building continued for a century and a half +after the Norman Conquest. It is possible to distinguish the later keeps +by the improved and fine-jointed ashlar stonework, by the more frequent +use of the stone of the district, instead of that brought from Caen, by +the ribs upon the groins of the vaulting of the galleries and chambers +in the walls, and by the more extensive use of ornaments in the bosses, +windows, doors, and fireplaces. The style of the decoration approaches +the Early English character. + +The walls of the keep were not the only protection of the fortress. A +moat surrounds the whole castle, crossed by a drawbridge, protected +on the side remote from the castle by a barbican. High walls with an +embattled parapet surround the lower court, or ballium, which we enter +by a gate defended by strong towers. A portcullis has to be raised, and +a heavy door thrown back, before we can enter; while above in the stone +roof of the archway there are holes through which melted lead and pitch +can be poured upon our heads, if we attempt to enter the castle as +assailants. In the lower court are the stables, and the mound where the +lord dispenses justice, and where criminals and traitors are executed. +Another strong gateway flanked by towers protects the inner court, on +the edge of which stands the keep which frowns down upon us as we enter. + +An immense household was supported in every castle. Not only were there +men-at-arms, but also cooks and bakers, brewers and tailors, carpenters, +smiths, masons, and all kinds of craftsmen; and all the crowd of workers +had to be provided with accommodation by the lord of the castle. Hence +a building, in the form of a large hall, was erected sometimes of stone, +usually of wood, in the lower or upper court for these soldiers and +artisans, where they slept and had their meals. + +A new type of castle was introduced during the reigns of the three +Edwards. The stern, massive, and high-towering keep was abandoned, and +the fortifications arranged in a concentric fashion. A fine hall with +kitchens occupied the centre of the fortress; a large number of chambers +was added, and the inner and outer courts both defended by walls, as we +have already described, were introduced. The Edwardian castles of +Caernarvon and Beaumaris belong to this type of fortress. + +[Illustration: BROUGHTON CASTLE] + +The border counties of Wales are remarkable for the number and beauty +of their ancient castles. On the site of British earthworks the Romans +established their camps. The Saxons were obliged to erect their rude +earthen strongholds in order to keep back the rebellious Welsh, and +these were succeeded by Norman keeps. Monmouthshire is famous for its +castles; out of the eleven hundred erected in Norman times twenty-five +were built in that county. There is Chepstow Castle, with its early +Norman gateway spanned by a circular arch flanked by round towers. In +the inner court there are the gardens and ruins of a grand hall, and in +the outer the ruins of a chapel with evidences of beautifully groined +vaulting, and also a winding staircase leading to the battlements. In +the dungeon of the old keep at the south-east corner of the inner court +Roger de Britolio, Earl of Hereford, was imprisoned for rebellion +against the Conqueror, and in later times Henry Martin, the regicide, +lingered as a prisoner for thirty years, employing his enforced leisure +in writing a book in order to prove that it is not right for a man to be +governed by one wife. Then there is Grosmont Castle, the fortified +residence of the Earl of Lancaster; Skenfrith Castle; White Castle, the +_Album Castrum_ of the Latin records, the Landreilo of the Welsh, with +its six towers, portcullis, and drawbridge flanked by massive tower, +barbican, and other outworks; and Raglan Castle, with its splendid +gateway, its Elizabethan banqueting-hall ornamented with rich stone +tracery, its bowling-green, garden terraces, and spacious courts, an +ideal place for knightly tournaments in ancient days. Raglan is +associated with the gallant defence of the castle by the Marquis of +Worcester in the Civil War. + +The ancient castles of England were the central feature of feudal +society. They were the outward and visible sign of that system. M. +Guizot in his _History of Civilisation_ says, "It was feudalism which +constructed them; their elevation was, so to speak, the declaration of +its triumph." On the Continent they were very numerous long before +castle-building became the fashion in England, and every suzerain saw +with displeasure his vassal constructing his castle; for the vassal thus +insured for himself a powerful means of independence. The Norman barons +in the troublous times of Stephen lived a life of hunting and pillage; +they were forced to have a fortified retreat where they might shut +themselves up after an expedition, repel the vengeance of their foes, +and resist the authorities who attempted to maintain order in the +country. + +Others followed the example of the barons. The townsfolk fortified their +towns, monks their monasteries; and even within the town-walls many +houses had their towers and gates and barriers in order to keep back +troublesome visitors. + +Here is a description of a French castle in the fourteenth century:-- + +"First imagine to yourself a superb position, a steep mountain, +bristling with rocks, furrowed with ravines and precipices; upon the +declivity is the castle. The small houses which surround it set off its +grandeur; the river seems to turn aside with respect; it forms a large +semicircle at its feet. This castle must be seen when, at sunrise, the +outward galleries glimmer with the armour of the sentinels, and the +towers are shown all brilliant with their large new gratings. Those high +buildings must be seen, which fill those who defend them with courage, +and with fear those who should be tempted to attack them. + +"The door presents itself covered with heads of boars or wolves, flanked +with turrets and crowned with a high guard-house. Enter, there are three +inclosures, three moats, three drawbridges to pass. You find yourself in +a large square court, where are cisterns, and on the right and left the +stables, hen-houses, pigeon-houses, coach-houses; the cellars, vaults, +and prisons are below; above are the dwelling-apartments; above these +are the magazines, larders, or salting-rooms, and arsenals. All the +roofs are bordered with machicolations, parapets, guard-walks, and +sentry-boxes. In the middle of the court is the donjon, which contains +the archives and the treasure. It is deeply moated all round, and can +only be entered by a bridge, almost always raised. Although the walls, +like those of the castle, are six feet thick, it is surrounded up to +half its height with a chemise, or second wall, of large cut stones. +This castle has just been rebuilt. There is something light, fresh, +laughing about it, not possessed by the heavy massive castles of the +last century." + +One would scarcely expect to hear a castle described as "light, fresh, +laughing"; yet so a fourteenth-century castle seemed to eyes accustomed +to the gloomy, stern, and massive structures of the eleventh and twelfth +centuries. In these no beauty or display of art was attempted. Defence +and safety were the only objects sought after in the construction of our +ancient strongholds. + +Strange as it may seem, these castles were the birthplaces and homes of +chivalry. Women were raised to an exalted position, and honoured and +reverenced by knights and warriors. A prize won in a tournament was +esteemed of vastly greater value, if it were bestowed upon the +successful combatant by some lady's hand. "Queens of Beauty" presided at +these contests of knightly skill and daring. The statutes and ordinances +for jousts and tournaments made by John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, at +the command of Edward IV., conclude thus: "Reserving always to the +queenes highness and the ladyes there present, the attributing and gift +of the prize after the manner and forme accustomed." If a knight was +guilty of any impropriety of conduct, he was soundly beaten by the other +knights, in order to teach him to respect the honour of the ladies and +the rights of chivalry. + +In the days of chivalry a knight vowed in somewhat extravagant language +eternal love to his particular lady fair, wore her glove or her guerdon +on his helmet, and swore to protect it with his life. Family ties and +domestic joys were cultivated. The wife of a knight was often herself a +warrior. Fair ladies have donned armour and followed their lords to the +Crusades; and often during her lord's absence at the wars in France, or +Scotland, or the Holy Land, the wife would defend his fief and castle, +and sometimes was called upon to withstand a siege, when some +neighbouring lord coveted the fair estates of the absent warrior, and +sought to obtain them by force of arms. + +The castles also were schools, not of learning, but of arms and +chivalry, where the sons of vassals were trained in all the qualites +that become a knight. The sons of vassals were sent to the castle of the +suzerain to be brought up with his sons. Numerous reasons have been +assigned for the origin of this custom, which we need not now enumerate. +The practice, however, became general, and concerning it an ancient work +entitled _L'ordre de la Chevalerie_ records:-- + +"It is fitting that the son of the knight, while he is a squire, should +know how to take care of a horse; and it is fitting that he should serve +before and be subject to his lord; for otherwise he will not know the +nobleness of his lordship when he shall be a knight; and to this end +every knight shall put his son in the service of another knight, to the +end that he may learn to carve at table and to serve, and to arm and +apparel a knight in his youth. According as to the man who desires to +learn to be a tailor or a carpenter, it is desirable that he should have +for a master one who is a tailor or a carpenter; it is suitable that +every nobleman who loves the order of chivalry, and wishes to become and +be a good knight, should first have a knight for a master." + +When the young squire attained the age of manhood he was admitted to the +honour of knighthood, which was bestowed upon him with much ceremony and +dignity. First he was divested of his garments and put in a bath, a +symbol of purification; then they clothed him in a white tunic, a symbol +of purity, in a red robe, a symbol of the blood which he was bound to +shed in the service of the faith; and then in a close black coat, a +reminder of the death which awaited him. Then he was obliged to observe +a fast for twenty-four hours, and in the evening entered the church and +there passed the night in prayer. On the morrow after confession and the +receiving of Holy Communion, he heard a sermon upon the duties of +knighthood, and then advancing to the altar presented his sword to the +priest, who blessed it. Kneeling before his lord he was asked, "With +what design do you desire to enter into the order? If it is in order to +become rich, to repose yourself, and to be honoured without doing honour +to chivalry, you are unworthy of it, and would be to the order of +chivalry what the simoniacal priest is to the prelacy." + +His answers being satisfactory, knights, or ladies, advance and clothe +him with the equipments of his order, spurs, the hauberk or coat of +mail, the cuirass, the vambraces and gauntlets, and lastly his sword. +Then his lord gives him three blows of a sword on his shoulder, saying, +"In the name of God, of Saint Michael, and Saint George I dub thee +knight," adding, "Be brave, adventurous, and loyal." He then mounts his +horse, caracoles about, brandishing his lance, and afterwards in the +courtyard he repeats the performances before the people ever eager to +take part in the spectacle. + +[Illustration: TOURNAMENT] + +The young knight was now able to take part in the jousts, and all kinds +of chivalric displays, which were common and frequent. Many castles +have, like that at Carisbrooke, a tilting-ground within the walls; but +great and important tournaments were held outside the castle. Richard I. +appointed five special places for the holding of tournaments, namely +between Sarum and Wilton, between Stamford and Wallingford, between +Warwick and Kenilworth, between Brakely and Mixeberg, and between Blie +and Tykehill. There was much pomp and ceremony attached to these +knightly exercises. The lists, as the barriers were called which +inclosed the scene of combat, were superbly decorated, and surrounded by +pavilions belonging to the champions, ornamented with their arms and +banners. The seats reserved for the noble ladies and gentlemen who came +to see the fight were hung with tapestry embroidered with gold and +silver. Everyone was dressed in the most sumptuous manner; the minstrels +and heralds were clothed in the costliest garments; the knights who were +engaged in the sports and their horses were most gorgeously arrayed. The +whole scene was one of great splendour and magnificence, and, when the +fight began, the shouts of the heralds who directed the tournament, the +clashing of arms, the clang of trumpets, the charging of the combatants, +and the shouts of the spectators, must have produced a wonderfully +impressive and exciting effect upon all who witnessed the strange +spectacle. + +The regulations and laws of the tournament were very minute. When many +preliminary arrangements had been made with regard to the examination of +arms and helmets and the exhibition of banners, etc., at ten o'clock on +the morning of the appointed day, the champions and their adherents were +required to be in their places. Two cords divided the combatants, who +were armed with a pointless sword and a truncheon hanging from their +saddles. When the word was given by the lord of the tournament, the +cords were removed, and the champions charged and fought until the +heralds sounded the signal to retire. It was considered the greatest +disgrace to be unhorsed. A French earl once tried to unhorse our King +Edward I., when he was returning from Palestine, wearied by the journey. +The earl threw away his sword, cast his arms around the king's neck, and +tried to pull him from his horse. But Edward put spurs to his horse and +drew the earl from the saddle, and then shaking him violently, threw him +to the ground. + +The joust (or just) differed from the tournament, because in the former +only lances were used, and only two knights could fight at once. It was +not considered quite so important as the grand feat of arms which I have +just described, but was often practised when the more serious encounter +had finished. Lances, or spears without heads of iron, were commonly +used, and the object of the sport was to ride hard against one's +adversary and strike him with the spear upon the front of the helmet, so +as to beat him backwards from his horse, or break the spear. This kind +of sport was of course rather dangerous, and men sometimes lost their +lives at these encounters. In order to lessen the risk and danger of the +two horses running into each other when the knights charged, a boarded +railing was erected in the midst of the lists, about four or five feet +high. The combatants rode on separate sides of this barrier, and +therefore they could not encounter each other except with their lances. +Sometimes two knights would fight in mortal combat. If one knight +accused the other of crime or dishonour, the latter might challenge him +to fight with swords or lances; and, according to the superstition of +the times, the victor was considered to be the one who spoke the truth. +But this ordeal combat was far removed from the domain of sport. + +When jousts and tournaments were abandoned, tilting on horseback at a +ring became a favourite courtly amusement. A ring was suspended on a +level with the eye of the rider; and the sport consisted in riding +towards the ring, and sending the point of a lance through it, and so +bearing it away. Great skill was required to accomplish this surely and +gracefully. Ascham, a writer in the sixteenth century, tells us what +accomplishments were required from the complete English gentleman of the +period:-- + +"To ride comely, to run fair at the tilt or ring, to play at all +weapons, to shoot fair in bow, or surely in gun; to vault lustily, to +run, to leap, to wrestle, to swim, to dance comely, to sing, and play of +instruments cunningly; to hawk, to hunt, to play at tennis, and all +pastimes generally which be joined to labour, containing either some fit +exercises for war, or some pleasant pastime for peace--these be not only +comely and decent, but also very necessary for a courtly gentleman to +use." + +In the days of pageants and royal progresses these old castles were the +scenes of very lively exhibitions of rustic histrionic talent. The +stories of Greek and Roman mythology were ransacked to provide scenes +and subjects for the rural pageant. Shepherds and shepherdesses, gods +and goddesses, clowns and mummers, all took part in the rural drama +which kings and queens delighted to honour. When Queen Elizabeth visited +the ancient and historic castle of Sudeley, great preparations were made +for the event, and a fine classical pageant was performed in her +presence, a sketch of which may not be without interest. + +The play is founded on the old classical story of Apollo and Daphne. The +sun-god Apollo was charmed by the beauty of the fair Daphne, the +daughter of a river-god, and pursued her with base intent. Just as she +was about to be overtaken, she prayed for aid, and was immediately +changed into a laurel tree, which became the favourite tree of the +disappointed lover. The pageant founded on this old classical legend +commenced with a man who acted the part of Apollo, chasing a woman who +represented Daphne, followed by a young shepherd bewailing his hard +fate. He, too, loved the fair and beautiful Daphne, but Apollo wooed her +with fair words, and threatened him with diverse penalties, saying he +would change him into a wolf, or a cockatrice, or blind his eyes. The +shepherd in a long speech tells how Daphne was changed into a tree, and +then Apollo is seen at the foot of a laurel tree weeping, accompanied by +two minstrels. The repentant god repeats the verse:-- + + "Sing you, play you; but sing and play my truth; + This tree my lute, these sighs my note of ruth: + The laurel leaf for ever shall be green, + And chastity shall be Apollo's queen. + If gods may die, here shall my tomb be placed, + And this engraven, 'Fond Phoebus, Daphne chaste.'" + +A song follows, and then, wonderful to relate, the tree opens, and +Daphne comes forth. Apollo resigns her to the humble shepherd, and then +she runs to Her Majesty the Queen, and with a great deal of flattery +wishes her a long and prosperous reign. + +Such was the simple play which delighted the minds of our forefathers, +and helped to raise them from sordid cares and the dull monotony of +continual toil. In our popular amusements the village folk do not take +part, except as spectators, and therefore lose half the pleasure; +whereas in the time of the Virgin Queen the rehearsals, the learning the +speeches by heart, the dresses, the excitement, all contributed to give +them fresh ideas and new thoughts. The acting may not have been very +good; indeed Queen Elizabeth did not always think very highly of the +performances of her subjects at Coventry, and was heard to exclaim, +"What fools ye Coventry folk are!" But I think Her Majesty must have +been pleased at the concluding address of the players at Sudeley. After +the shepherds had acted a piece in which the election of the King and +Queen of the Bean formed a part, they knelt before the real queen, and +said-- + +"Pardon, dread Sovereign, poor shepherds' pastimes, and bold shepherds' +presumptions. We call ourselves kings and queens to make mirth; but when +we see a king or queen we stand amazed. At chess there are kings and +queens, and they of wood. Shepherds are no more, nor no less, wooden. +In theatres workmen have played emperors; yet the next day forgotten +neither their duties nor occupation. For our boldness in borrowing their +names, and in not seeing Your Majesty for our blindness, we offer these +shepherds' weeds; which, if Your Majesty vouchsafe at any time to wear, +it shall bring to our hearts comfort, and happiness to our labours." + +When the queen visited Kenilworth Castle, splendid pageants were +performed in her honour. As she entered the castle the gigantic porter +recited verses to greet Her Majesty, gods and goddesses offered gifts +and compliments on bended knee, and the Lady of the Lake, surrounded +by Tritons and Nereids, came on a floating island to do homage to the +peerless Elizabeth and to welcome her to all the sport the castle could +afford. For an account of the strange conduct of Orion and his dolphin +upon this occasion, we refer our readers to Sir Walter Scott's +_Kenilworth_; and the lover of pageants will find much to interest him +in Gascoigne's _Princely Progress_. + +The glories of our ancient castles have passed away; some indeed are +preserved, and serve as museums, or barracks, or the country house of +some noble lord; but most of them are in ruins. All traces of many a +Norman castle have completely vanished. There was once a castle at +Reading, but the only relics of it are the names Castle Hill and Castle +Street. The turbulent barons made such terrible use of their fortresses +during the troublous times of the civil war in Stephen's reign that in +the more settled reign of Henry II. they were deprived of this means of +oppression and their castles destroyed wholesale. The civil war in the +reign of Charles I. was also another great cause of the destruction of +these old fortresses. They were of great service during the progress of +the war to those who were fortunate enough to possess them, and many of +them in spite of Cromwell's cannon were most gallantly held and stoutly +defended. Donnington Castle, Berkshire, was bravely held in spite of a +prolonged siege during all the time that the war lasted by gallant +Colonel Boys, who beat off the flower of the Parliamentary army; and +when in obedience to the King's command he yielded up the castle, he and +his brave garrison marched out with all the honours of war, having +earned the respect of both friend and foe. Many other castles could tell +the story of similar sieges in the days when "the gallants of England +were up for the King." + +But these brave sieges were the cause of their destruction. Cromwell +when in power recognised their strength; they were too dangerous, these +castles, and must be destroyed. His cannon-balls had rattled against +their stone walls without much effect during the war; but their fate was +sealed with that of their King, and the gunpowder of Cromwell's soldiers +was soon employed in blowing up the walls that resisted him so long, and +left them battered and smoking ruins. + +Since then the ivy has grown over them to hide their nakedness. Forlorn +and lonely the ruined castle stands. Where once loud clarion rang, the +night owls hoot; vulgar crowds picnic where once knights fought in all +the pride and pomp of chivalry. Kine feed in the grass-grown bailey +court; its glory is departed. We need no castles now to protect us from +the foes of our own nation. Civil wars have passed away, we trust, for +ever; and we hope no foreign foeman's foot may ever tread our shores. +But if an enemy threatened to attack England her sons would fight as +valiantly as in the brave days of old, though earthen ramparts have +replaced the ancient castles and iron ships the old wooden walls of +England. + + + +CHAPTER XII + +MONASTERIES + +Beautiful surroundings--Benefits conferred by monasteries--Charity-- +Learning--Libraries--Monks not unhappy--Netley--Cluny--Alcuin-- +Monastic friendships--St. Bernard--Anselm--Monks shed happiness +around them--Desecration--Corruption of monasteries--Chaucer's +prior--Orders of monks--Plan of a monastery--_Piers Ploughman's_ +description of a monastery--A day in a monastery--Regulations as +regards blood-letting--The infirmary--Food--Hospitium--Chapter-house. + + +In the neighbourhood of many of our villages stand the ruins of an old +monastery. Who were the builders of these grand and stately edifices? +What kind of men lived within those walls? What life did they lead? We +will try to picture to ourselves the condition of these noble abbeys, as +they were in the days of their glory, before the ruthless hands of +spoilers and destroyers robbed them of their magnificence. + +It has often been remarked that the monks knew well how to choose the +most beautiful spots for their monastic houses, establishing them by the +banks of some charming river, surrounded by beautiful scenery and +fertile fields. + +They loved the beauties of nature, and had a keen sense for discovering +them. They had a delicate and profound appreciation of the delights of +the country, and loved to describe the beauties that surrounded their +habitations. Nature in its loveliness and wild picturesqueness was a +reflection of God's beauty, a temple of His light and goodness. Moreover +they built their monasteries amidst forests and wild scenery, far from +the haunts of men, seeking solitude, wherein they could renew their +souls by the sweetness of a life of contemplation, and consecrate their +energies to the service of God. In the days of war and bloodshed, of +oppression and lawlessness, holy men found it very difficult to be "in +the world and yet not of it." Within the monastic walls they found +peace, seclusion, solitude; they prayed, they worked, they wrote and +studied. They were never idle. To worship, to labour, to fight as the +_milites Christi_ with weapons that were not carnal, these were some of +the duties of the monks. + +The world owes much to these dwellers in monasteries. They rescued the +people from barbarism, and uplifted the standard of the cross. They +emerged from their cells to direct councils, to preach and teach at the +universities, to build churches and cathedrals, and astonish the world +by their skill and learning. Who can tell what services they rendered to +their nation and to all mankind by pouring forth that ceaseless stream +of intercession day and night for the averting of the judgments of +divine wrath which the crimes and follies of men so richly deserved? +"What the sword is to the huntsman, prayer is to the monk," says St. +Chrysostom; and well did they use this weapon for the spiritual and +material benefit of all. + +Another great benefit they conferred upon the world was that of charity. +They were the true nurses of the poor. There were no poor laws, and +union workhouses, and hospitals. The monks managed to supply all the +wants of all who suffered from poverty, privation, and sickness. "The +friendship of the poor constitutes us the friends of kings," says St. +Bernard; "but the love of poverty makes kings of us." They welcomed in +their ranks poor men, who were esteemed as highly as those of noble +birth on entering the cloister. All men were equal who wore the monk's +robe. + +Amongst other services the monks rendered was the cultivation of +learning and knowledge. With wonderful assiduity they poured forth +works of erudition, of history, of criticism, recorded the annals of +their own times, and stored these priceless records in their libraries, +which have done such good service to the historians of modern times. The +monasteries absorbed nearly all the social and intellectual movement of +the thirteenth century. Men fired with poetical imagination frequently +betook themselves to the cloister, and consecrated their lives to the +ornamentation of a single sacred book destined for the monastery which +gave them in exchange all the necessaries of life. Thus the libraries of +the monastic houses were rich in treasures of beautifully illuminated +manuscripts, which were bound by members of the community. The Abbot of +Spanheim in the fifteenth century gives the following directions to his +monks:-- + +"Let that one fasten the leaves together, and bind the book with boards. +You, prepare those boards; you, dress the leather; you, the metal +plates, which are to adorn the binding." + +[Illustration: NETLEY ABBEY, SOUTH TRANSEPT] + +Terrible is it to think of the dreadful destruction of these libraries +at the time of the spoliation of monasteries and of the priceless +treasures which they contained. + +We are apt to suppose that the lives of the monks were gloomy, hard, +severe, and that few rays of the sunshine of happiness could have +penetrated the stern walls of the cloister. But this does not appear to +have been the case. The very names of monasteries show that they +rejoiced in their solitude and labour. Netley Abbey was called the +Joyous Place, _loeto loco_; and on the Continent there are many names +which bear witness to the happiness that reigned in the cloister. +Moreover the writings of the monks proclaim the same truth. Cluny is +called by Peter Damien his _hortus deliciarum_ (garden of delights), and +it is recorded that when Peter de Blois left the Abbey of Croyland to +return to France he stopped seven times to look back and contemplate +again the place where he had been so happy. Hear how Alcuin laments on +leaving the cloister for the Court of Charlemagne:-- + +"O my cell! sweet and well-beloved home, adieu for ever! I shall see no +more the woods which surround thee with their interlacing branches and +aromatic herbs, nor thy streams of fish, nor thy orchards, nor thy +gardens where the lily mingles with the rose. I shall hear no more those +birds who, like ourselves, sing matins and celebrate their Creator, in +their fashion--nor those instructions of sweet and holy wisdom which +sound in the same breath as the praises of the Most High, from lips and +hearts always peaceful. Dear cell! I shall weep thee and regret thee +always." + +The life was very peaceful, entirely free from care, and moreover +lighted by the whole-hearted friendships which existed between the +brethren. A chapter might be written on the love of the cloister, which +like that of David for Jonathan, was "wonderful, passing the love of +women." Thus St. Bernard burst out in bitter grief at the loss of a +brother monk:-- + +"Flow, flow, my tears, so eager to flow! he who prevented your flowing +is here no more! It is not he who is dead, it is I who now live only to +die. Why, oh, why have we loved, and why have we lost each other?" + +The letters of Anselm to Lanfranc and Gondulph, his dearest friends, +abound in expressions of the most affectionate regard and deep true +friendship. He writes:-- + +"How can I forget thee? Can a man forget one who is placed like a seal +upon his heart? In thy silence I know that thou lovest me; and thou +also, when I say nothing, thou knowest that I love thee. What can my +letter tell thee that thou knowest not already, thou who art my second +soul?" + +The monks' lot was not sad and melancholy. They loved God and His +service, and rejoicing in their mutual regard and affection were happy +in their love and work. Orderic Vitalis writes, "I have borne for +forty-two years with happiness the sweet yoke of the Lord." Moreover +they shed happiness on those who dwelt around them, on the crowds of +masons and carpenters, traders and workmen, who dwelt under the shadow +of the monastery or farmed the fields of the monastic estates. No +institution was ever more popular; no masters more beloved. They took a +hearty interest in the welfare of all their tenants, and showed an +active sympathy for all. The extent of their charity was enormous. In a +French abbey, when food was scarce, they fed 1,500 to 2,000 poor in the +course of the year, gave monthly pensions to all the families who were +unable to work, entertained 4,000 guests, and maintained eighty monks--a +wonderful record truly. + +The influence of the monastery was felt in all the surrounding +neighbourhood--the daily services, the solemn and majestic chants, the +processions, must have created a deep impression on the minds of people. +Many of the great writers and thinkers of subsequent ages have +appreciated the wonderful labours of the monks. Dr. Johnson wrote:-- + +"I never read of a hermit, but in imagination I kiss his feet; never of +a monastery, but I fall on my knees and kiss the pavement." + +And now these noble buildings, hallowed by a thousand memories, exist +only as dishonoured ruins. Some have been pulled down entirely, and the +site used for gaols or barracks. Convicts labour where once monks +prayed. The renowned abbey of Cluny is a racing stable, and Le Bec, the +home of Anselm, has suffered a like profanation. Factories have invaded +some of these consecrated sites. Many have been used as quarries for +generations. All the carved and wrought stone has been cut off, and used +for making bridges and roads and private houses. Nature has covered the +remains with clinging ivy, and creeping plants, and wild flowers, and +legends cluster round the old stones and tell the story of their +greatness and their ruin. The country folk of western Ireland show the +marks on the stones furrowed by the burning tears of the monks when they +were driven out of their holy home. I am describing the condition of the +monasteries in the days of their glory, when the spirit of the religious +orders was bright and pure and enthusiastic. It cannot be denied that +often the immense wealth which kings and nobles poured into the treasury +of the monks begat luxury and idleness. Boccaccio in Italy, and even +Dante, and our own Chaucer, write vigorously against the corruption of +the monks, their luxury, love of sport, and neglect of their duty. Thus +Chaucer wrote of a fourteenth-century prior:-- + + "Therefore he was a prickasoure a right: + Greihounds he hadde as swift as foul of flight: + Of pricking and of hunting for the hare + Was all his lust, for no cost wolde he spare. + I saw his sleves purfiled at the hond + With gris, and that the finest in the loud. + And for to fasten his hood under his chinne, + He hadde of gold ywrought a curious pinne: + A love-knotte in the greter end ther was. + His head was balled, and shone as any glas, + And eke his face, as it had been anoint. + He was a lord full fat and in good point + His eye stepe, and rolling in his bed, + That stemed as a forneis of led. + His botes souple, his hors in gret estat, + Now certainly he was a fayre prelat. + He was not pale as a forpined gost. + A fat swan loved he best of any rost. + His palfrey was as broune as is a bery." + +Many were the efforts to reform the abuses which crept into the monastic +houses. Holy men grieved over the scandals of the times in which they +lived. Many monasteries remained until the end homes of zeal and +religion, and the unscrupulous tools of Henry VIII. could find naught +to report against them. The only charge they could fabricate against +one monastery was "that the monks would do evil, if they could." + +The foundation of the various orders of monks shows the efforts which +were from time to time made by earnest men to revive the zeal and +religious enthusiasm characteristic of the early dwellers in +monasteries. The followers of St. Benedict and St. Columba were the +first monks of the western Church who converted the peoples of England, +Germany, Belgium, and Scandinavia. The Benedictines had many houses in +England in Saxon times. In the tenth and eleventh centuries flourished +a branch of the Benedictines, the order of Cluny, who worked a great +religious revival, which was continued in the twelfth by the order of +the Cistercians, founded at Citeaux in Burgundy. Some of our most +beautiful English abbeys--Fountains, Kirkstall, Rievaulx, Tintern, +Furness, and Byland--all belonged to this order. In the thirteenth and +fourteenth centuries the new orders of preaching friars founded by St. +Francis and St. Dominic arose, and exercised an immense influence in +the world. They did not shut themselves up in the cloister, but went +everywhere, preaching in the market-places, and tending the sick, the +lepers, and the outcasts. At first they were immensely popular, but +the orders degenerated like their predecessors, and long before the +Reformation laid themselves open to the derision and the scoffs of the +more enlightened men of the age. Since the days of the Friars there +has been no building of monasteries in England. Wealth, luxury, and +corruption had destroyed the early piety of the monks, and rich men +preferred to give their wealth for the purpose of founding colleges +and hospitals, rather than in increasing the number of religious houses. + +[Illustration: A MONK TRANSCRIBING] + +We will now visit these monasteries, and try to picture them as they +stood in the days of their glory, and see the daily life which the monks +led. The rules of the orders differed somewhat, some being stricter than +others; and likewise the arrangements of the buildings were not all +based upon one plan. The Carthusian monasteries differ widely from those +of the other orders, owing to the rule that each monk should have his +separate cell, wherein he lived and had his food, and only met his +brethren in church and in the chapter-house. We will examine the usual +plan of a monastery, the main buildings of which clustered round the +cloister-court. This was called the paradise, around which was a covered +ambulatory. Here the monks read and wrote, and sometimes had little +spaces partitioned off for studies, with bookstands and cupboards. It +was the great centre of the monastic life. The earlier ambulatories were +open, but in the fourteenth century they had windows looking on to the +cloister-court, filled with stained glass. The monks must have found the +open cloister a somewhat chilly place for writing, and although their +fingers were endured to hardness, had sometimes to abandon their tasks. +Orderic Vitalis tells us that his fingers were so numbed by the cold in +a hard winter that he was obliged to leave his writing until a more +congenial season. + +On the north of the cloister-court stood the monastic church, the +grandest and noblest of the monastic buildings, adorned with shrines, +and tombs, and altars. Several of our cathedrals were monastic churches, +and afford us some idea of the splendour and magnificence of these +stately buildings. Many other churches built by the monks, quite as +large and noble as any of our cathedrals, are now in ruins, with only a +wall or a buttress remaining to mark the site of the once noble minster. +The church was usually cruciform, with nave and aisles. East of the +high altar in the choir stood the lady-chapel, and round the choir a +retro-choir, or presbytery. There was a door on the south side of the +church, opposite the eastern ambulatory, for the entrance of the monks. +The south transept formed part of the eastern side of the cloister. On +the same side stood the chapter-house, a large chamber richly ornamented +with much architectural detail, and adorned with mural paintings. +Between the chapter-house and the church there is a narrow room, which +was the sacristy, and on the south of the chapter-house a building in +two stories, the ground floor being the frater-house, where the monks +retired after meals to converse, the upper room being the dortor, or +dormitory, where they slept. A passage often separated the chapter-house +from this building. + +On the south side of the cloister-court stood the refectory, a long +room in which the monks took their meals; and on the west was a range +of buildings the use of which differed in various monasteries, in some +for cellars and larders, in others for dormitories. Sometimes this +western building was the _domus conversorum_, or house of the lay +brethren. The abbot's lodging was a fine house, consisting of hall, +chambers, kitchen, buttery, and cellars, capable of entertaining a +large number of guests, and frequently stood on the east side of the +chapter-house quite separate from the other buildings. In small monastic +houses governed by a prior his residence often formed the western side +of the cloister-court. The farmery, or infirmary, where sick monks were +nursed during illness, was a separate building, having its own kitchen, +refectory, and chapel. The hospitium was also a separate building near +the outer gate of the abbey, and consisted of a hall, dormitories, and a +chapel, in which each night a goodly company of guests were entertained +and courteously welcomed by the hospitaller. A high wall surrounded the +abbey precincts, in which was the outer gate, consisting of a porter's +lodge, a prison, and a large room in which the manorial court was held, +or the abbot met the representatives of the townsfolk in order to direct +their affairs and choose their chief magistrate or settle their +differences. + +The author of _Piers Ploughman_ gives a description of the appearance of +a monastery in the fourteenth century. As he approached the monastic +buildings he was so bewildered by their greatness and beauty that for a +long time he could distinguish nothing certainly but stately buildings +of stone, pillars carved and painted, and great windows well wrought. In +the centre quadrangle he notices the stone cross in the middle of grass +sward. He enters the minster, and describes the arches as carved and +gilded, the wide windows full of shields of arms and merchants' marks on +stained glass, the high tombs under canopies, with armed effigies in +alabaster, and lovely ladies lying by their sides in many gay garments. +He passes into the cloister, and sees it pillared and painted, and +covered with lead, and conduits of white metal pouring water into bronze +lavatories beautifully wrought. The chapter-house was like a great +church, carved and painted like a parliament-house. Then he went into +the refectory, and found it a hall fit for a knight and his household, +with broad tables and clean benches, and windows wrought as in a church. +And then he wandered and wondered at "the halls full high and houses +full noble, chambers with chimneys and chapels gay," and kitchens fit +for a king in his castle, and their dorter or dormitory with doors full +strong, their fermerye (infirmary) and frater, and many more houses, and +strong stone walls, enough to harbour the queen. The author was +evidently amazed at all the sights which he witnessed in the monastery. + +We will now see the monks at work, and spend a day with them in their +monastic home. It is not easy definitely to map out a monk's day. The +difficulty arises in a measure from the want of distinct marks of time. +A monastic day was divided into twelve hours of uncertain length, +varying according to the season; but the religious observances began at +midnight, when the brethren rose at the sound of a bell in the dortor +for the continuous service of Mattins and Lauds. They then retired to +sleep, until the bell again summoned them at sunrise, when Prime was +said, followed by the morning Mass, private masses and confessions, and +the meeting of the Chapter; after this, work; then Tierce; then High +Mass, followed by Sext. A short time was then devoted to reading, during +which the _ministri_ and the reader at table dined; and then the monks +sat down to dinner. This was the first food of the day, though the +weaker brethren were allowed to sustain themselves with wine and water, +or bread steeped in wine. Dinner was followed by a brief rest in the +dormitory. If the monks did not wish to sleep they could read in the +dorter; but they were to be careful not to disturb their resting +brethren by any noise, such as that caused by turning over the leaves of +their books. At one o'clock the bell rang for None, a short service +consisting of a hymn, two psalms, some collects, the Lord's Prayer, and +versicles. Then the brethren washed themselves, had a stoup of wine in +the frater, and worked until Evensong, which was followed by supper. +After supper they read in the cloister until the bell rang for +Collation, which consisted of a reading in the chapter-house, whence +they retired to the fratery for a draught of wine or beer. Then followed +Compline, and then the monks were ready for bed, and retired to the +dortor. Even there rules followed them, and directed them how they were +to take off their shoes, and "to behave with more quiet, self-restraint, +and devotion than elsewhere." + +I have not exhausted all the services which the monks attended. In +addition to the principal ones there were several minor functions, at +which devotion to the Blessed Virgin was the chief feature. The life was +hard and the discipline severe; and lest the animal spirits of the monks +should rise too high, the course of discipline was supplemented by +periodical blood-letting. The doctors of the day were firm believers in +the utility of this practice, and perhaps it had special advantages for +dwellers in monasteries. According to the mediaeval metrical treatise on +medicine, _Flos Medicinae_, or _Regimen Sanitatis Salerni_-- + + "Spiritus uberior exit per phlebotomaniam." + + "It maketh cleane your braine, releeves your eie, + It mends your appetite, restoreth sleep, + Correcting humours that do waking keep; + And inward parts and sences also clearing + It mends the voyce, touch, smell, taste, hearing." + +According to the _Observances_ of the Augustinian Priory at Barnwell, +Cambridge, each brother was compelled to be bled seven times a year. It +was probably a welcome duty, as the monks enjoyed a regular holiday, and +were solaced with unwonted good fare. + +Those who wished to be bled asked leave in Chapter, and having received +a formal licence, attended High Mass. After the gospel they left the +quire, and were bled in the farmery, where they remained three days. +During this period they were excused attendance at the daily services, +except on very special occasions; and minute directions are given for +their personal comfort. They were allowed fire and lights, with suitable +food, eggs and vegetables being specially mentioned; and they might take +exercise within the precincts, and even beyond them, should the prelate +give them leave. The infirmary seems to have been the most cheerful +place in the monastery. Its inmates were "to lead a life of joy and +freedom from care, in comfort and happiness." Conversation was freely +permitted, though sarcastic and abusive language was strictly forbidden. +"Games of dice and chess, and other games unsuitable to those who lead a +religious life, were forbidden"; "because beyond all doubt they are +offensive to God, and frequently give occasion to strife and contention +among those who play them." We notice that invalids were allowed to walk +in the "vineyards"; evidently the monks grew their own grapes, and made +their own wine. The infirmary must have been well frequented. The +complaints which are often specially mentioned as likely to compel the +monks to resort to it are "irksomeness of life in the cloister," "long +continuance of silence," "fatigue in the quire or extension of fasting," +and "sleeplessness and overwork." + +With regard to blood-letting the various orders had different customs. +The Benedictines and Cluniacs had no stated times or seasons for the +operation. The Cistercians prescribe bleeding four times in the year. +The Carthusians were bled five times, and the Dominicans four times in +the year. + +The food of the monastery was varied and plentiful. Fish and flesh were +brought to the table, the former being obtained from the monastic +stew-ponds. Fruit was supplied, both raw and cooked, and a good supply +of beer and wine. Wine seems to have been very commonly used, and some +relaxation was evidently permitted in the matter of drink. + +The hospitium, or guest-house, is worthy of a visit. Thither flocked a +mixed crowd of knights and dames, monks and clerks, palmers, friars, +traders with their wares, minstrels with their songs, and beggars, +enjoying to the full the hospitality of the monks, who recognised it as +one of their duties "to entertain strangers." The religious houses were, +to a great extent, the inns of the Middle Ages; and when they were +situated on the high roads, the guests were numerous and their +entertainment costly. We are reminded, however, by the _Observances_ of +Barnwell Priory that "by showing hospitality to guests the reputation of +the monastery is increased, friendships are multiplied, animosities are +blunted, God is honoured, charity is increased, and a plenteous reward +in heaven is promised." It was enjoined that the hosteller, or brother +in charge of the hospitium, should have "facility of expression, elegant +manners, and a respectable bringing up; and if he have no substance to +bestow he may at any rate exhibit a cheerful countenance and agreeable +conversation, for friends are multiplied by agreeable words." He had to +provide clean cloths and towels, cups without flaws, spoons of silver, +mattresses, blankets and untorn sheets, pillows, quilts, etc. His duties +are laid down with much minuteness; every morning he was required to go +through the inventory, lest anything should be missing. + +The meeting in the chapter-house we must not omit to describe. When all +the brethren had taken their seats, one monk went to the pulpit and read +aloud the martyrology for the day. Then some psalms and collects were +read, and a portion of the monastic rule, and briefs announcing the +deaths of persons in whom the brethren were interested. The _tabula_, or +notice-board, recording the names of those who were responsible for +certain duties, was read; and a sermon followed. After the precentor had +given minute instructions with regard to the reading and singing of the +services for the day, the abbot said: "Speak of your own order." This +was the call to confession; and any brother who was conscious that he +had transgressed any rule, or neglected his duty, came forward and asked +pardon for his fault. This was followed by the report of the _circator_, +whose duty was to play the spy, and discover the faults of the monks. +And after this the brethren accused each other. One brother started up +saying: "I accuse ---- a brother." The accused came forward and stood +before the abbot, waiting patiently for the charge. The accuser then +stated the charge, which was admitted, or denied, by the accused. If the +abbot judged him to be flogged, the culprit might not be flogged by his +accuser. He rose from his knees and modestly divested himself of his +garments, remaining covered from his girdle downwards; and he who +flogged him might not cease till the abbot bade him. Then he helped the +brother to put on his clothes, who bowed to the abbot and went back to +his place. The Chapter, after this exciting interlude, proceeded to +transact the temporal business of the house, and then adjourned. + +The chapter-house was often the scene of great events in the history of +England. At Reading Abbey in this noble chamber parliaments were held. +Here Heraclius, the patriarch of Jerusalem, presented to Henry II. the +keys of the Holy Sepulchre, and invoked his aid in the crusade against +the Saracens. Here the bishops assembled and excommunicated Longchamp, +Chancellor and Regent of the country. Here the marriage contract between +John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster was signed, when there were great +rejoicings in the ancient town, and tilts and tournaments took place +daily. These gay scenes must have greatly disturbed the tranquil life of +the monks, and contrasted strangely with their normal condition. + +The picture of monastic life, which a study of the records of a +monastery brings before us, is strange and alien to our present ideas; +but it is brightened by a spirit of sincere religion and true charity, +and helps us to understand the attraction of the convent walls in +turbulent and troublous times. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE MANOR-HOUSE + +Evolution of a country house--Saxon house--Addition of separate +sleeping-chambers--Castles--Tudor houses--Old manor-houses--Secret +chambers--Rectories and vicarages--Duty of hospitality--Kelvedon +Rectory--Allington--Tithe-barns--Alfriston clergy-house--Almshouses-- +Hermitages--Little Budworth--Knaresborough--Reclusorium or anchor-hold-- +Laindon--Rattenden--Female recluses--Whalley. + + +The two principal houses in an English village are the manor-house and +the rectory, wherein according to the theories of the modern political +Socialist and agitator "the two arch-tyrants" of the labourers dwell, +the squire and the parson. There is much of interest in the growth and +evolution of the country house, which resulted in the construction of +these old, pleasant, half-timbered granges and manor-houses, which form +such beautiful features of our English villages. + +[Illustration: SOUTHCOTE MANOR SHOWING MOAT AND PIGEON-HOUSE] + +[Illustration: OCKWELLS MANOR-HOUSE] + +In our description of the village in Anglo-Saxon times we gave a picture +of a house of a Saxon gentleman, which consisted mainly of one large +hall, wherein the members of the household lived and slept and had their +meals. There was a chapel, and a kitchen, and a ladies' bower, usually +separated from the great hall, and generally built of wood. In Norman +times the same plan and arrangements of a country house continued. The +fire still burnt in the centre of the hall, the smoke finding its way +out through a louvre in the roof. Meals were still served on tables laid +on trestles, which were removed when the meal was finished. The lord and +lady, their family and guests, dined at the high table placed on the +dais, as in a college hall, the floor of which was boarded. The +household and retainers dined in the space below, which was strewn with +rushes and called "the marsh," which, according to Turner's _History of +Domestic Architecture_, "was doubtless dirty and damp enough to deserve +that name." The timbers of the roof in the better houses were moulded, +the walls hung with tapestry, and at the lower end of the hall was a +screen, above which in later times was the minstrels' gallery. The +screen formed a passage which led into a separate building at right +angles to the hall, containing the cellar, buttery, and kitchen. +Parallel with this at the upper end of the hall was a building of two +stories, one used as a parlour, and the other was called the "great +chamber," where the lady and her guests retired after dining in the +hall. + +[Illustration: RICHMOND PALACE] + +Later on a greater refinement of domestic customs was introduced. In the +twelfth century a separate sleeping-chamber for the lord was added. The +next century saw him and his lady dining in a room apart from his +servants, a custom which was much satirised by the author of _Piers +Ploughman_, who wrote-- + + "Now hath each rich a rule + To eaten by themselve, + In a privy parlour + For poor man sake, + Or in a chamber with a chimney; + And leave the chief hall, + That was made for meals + Men to eaten in." + +Evidently the author did not approve of the new fashion. But the +advantages of the custom were much appreciated by the squires and ladies +of the day, and this process of development led to a multiplication of +rooms, and the diminution of the size of the great hall. The walls were +raised, and an upper room was formed under the roof for sleeping +accommodation. There are many old farmhouses throughout the country, +once manor-houses, which retain in spite of subsequent alterations the +distinguishing features of this mediaeval style of architecture. + +[Illustration: DOORWAY AND STAIRCASE, UFTON COURT] + +The nobles built their castles as late as the fourteenth century; but +under the Tudor monarchs, when the government of the country was strong +and more settled, fortified dwellings were deemed no longer necessary, +and the great landowners built splendid country houses. English domestic +architecture then reached the period of its highest perfection. Instead +of castles men built palaces, the noblest specimens of our English +style, before it became corrupted. Hatfield House and Hampton Court are +its best examples. + +During the fifteenth century the common hall had decreased in +importance; and now in smaller houses it disappeared altogether, and a +grand entrance hall usually took its place. The number of rooms was +increased enormously, and corridors were introduced. The principal +features of an Elizabethan house are the gallery and noble staircase. + +[Illustration: THE PORCH, UFTON COURT] + +Early in the seventeenth century Inigo Jones introduced the revived +classic style of architecture into England, and entirely altered the +appearance and arrangement of our manor-houses. Palladio was the +originator of this style. The old English model was declared obsolete, +and fashion dictated that Italian villas must supersede the old houses. +These new buildings were very grand with their porticos and colonnades; +but the architects cared little for comfort and convenience. Indeed a +witty nobleman suggested to the owner of one of these new houses that +he had better hire a lodging over the way and look at it. + +[Illustration: OLD MANOR HOUSE, UPTON COURT] + +The old manor-houses are often surrounded by a moat, and not unfrequently +contain secret rooms and underground passages, which were often used as +places of refuge in troublous times. Those held by recusants usually had +two or three hiding-places ingeniously contrived, which must have baffled +all pursuers, and were needed for the concealment of the Roman Catholic +priest, in the days when his services were proscribed. There are two +cleverly designed hiding-places at Ufton Court, Berkshire, which was held +by the Roman Catholic family of Perkins. In a subterranean vault under an +old house at Hurley, in which the bones of monks were discovered, the +supporters of William of Orange used to meet to plan his succession to +the English Crown. The walls of many of the manor-houses and halls in +Lancashire and Yorkshire could tell of many a plot for the restoration +of the Stuarts to the throne, and of many a deep health drunk to "Bonnie +Charlie," while the chorus rang-- + + "He's over the seas and far awa', + He's over the seas and far awa', + But of no man we'll stand in awe, + But drink his health that's far awa'." + +The rectories and vicarages scattered over the country have passed +through the same transformation as the manor-houses, which they much +resembled. The rectory was often surrounded by a moat, with an entrance +protected by a gatehouse. The duty of entertaining strangers and +travellers was always duly recognised by the clergy, and entailed a +heavy charge upon their income. Those who lived off the main roads used +to provide accommodation for an occasional guest, but the rectors in the +more frequented districts had frequently to entertain many travellers. +There _is_ a description of the rectory-house of Kelvedon, Essex, in a +deed dated 1356, which runs as follows:-- + +"One hall situate in the manor of the said abbot and convent +[Westminster] near the said church, with a soler and chamber at one end +of the hall, and with a buttery and cellar at the other. Also one other +house in three parts, namely a kitchen with a convenient chamber in the +end of the said house _for guests_, and a bakehouse. Also one other +house in two parts next the gate at the entrance of the manor for a +stable and cow-house. He [the vicar] shall also have a convenient +grange, to be built within a year at the expense of the prior and +convent. He shall also have the curtilage with the garden adjoining the +hall on the north side enclosed as it is with hedges and ditches." + +[Illustration: WINDOW OF SOUTH WING, UFTON COURT] + +Here the house for guests is an important feature of the clergyman's +house; and about the same date, in 1352, we find the Bishop of +Winchester ordering the prior and convent of Merton to provide "a +competent manse for the vicar, viz. a hall with two rooms, one at one +end of the hall, and the other at the other end, with a drain to each, +and a suitable kitchen with fireplace and oven, and a _stable for six +horses_, all covered with tiles, and completed within one year, such +place to remain to the use of the said vicar and his successors." Unless +the vicar was a very sporting parson he would not require a stable for +six horses, and this was doubtless intended for the accommodation of the +steeds of his guests. + +The descriptions of these old rectory-houses are interesting. The Rector +of Allington, Kent, possessed a house consisting of "a hall, parlour, +and chamber over the parlour, stairs-head, beside the parson's +bedchamber, parson's lodging-chamber, study, chamber behind the chimney, +chamber next adjoining westward, buttery, priest's chamber, servants' +chamber, kitchen, mill-house, boulting-house, larder, entries, women's +chamber; gatehouse, still beside the gate, barn next the gate; cartlage, +barn next the church, garden-house, court." The barn next the church was +probably the tithe-barn. Tithe was then paid in kind; hence a barn was +required to contain the dues of the parishioners. Sometimes these +tithe-barns are very large and long, especially when the tithe-owner was +the abbot of some monastery. Near Reading there is still standing the +barn of the abbey, and at Cholsey, in Berkshire, there is one of the +finest specimens of the kind in England. + +[Illustration: STONE TITHE BARN, BRADFORD-ON-AVON] + +There still remain several of these old pre-Reformation parsonages and +rectories. The most noted is the clergy-house at Alfriston, Sussex, +which has been carefully preserved. It follows the usual type of +fourteenth-century house, and consists of a fine hall, the lower part +divided off by a screen, a soler of two stories at one end, and a +kitchen at the other. It is built of oak framework, filled in with +"wattle and daub." There is a large chimney and grate in the hall, and +huge beams support the thatched roof. Parsonages of mediaeval times +remain at West Dean, Sussex; at King's Stanley and Notgrove, +Gloucestershire; Wonstone, Hants; Helmsley, Yorkshire; and at several +other places. The Rectory of Shellingford, Berks, though much disguised +by modern additions, is an original fourteenth-century house. + +In many villages there are old almshouses founded by pious benefactors +for "poor brethren and sisters." As we enter the quiet courtyard paved +with cobble stones, the spirit of olden days comes over us. The chapel +where daily prayer is said morning and evening; the panelled +dining-hall, with its dark oaken table; the comfortable rooms of the +brethren; the time-worn pump in the courtyard--all recall the memory of +old times, when life was more tranquil, and there was less hurry and +busy bustling. + +Sometimes we meet with a curious little house built of stone or timber, +erected along the great highways, near some bridge or ford, wherein a +"holy hermit" once dwelt, and served his generation by directing +travellers to the nearest monastery or rectory, and spent his days in +seclusion and prayer. Such indeed is the traditional idea of the +hermit's life; but the real hermit of the Middle Ages did not always +live a very lonely or ascetic life. He was supported by the alms of the +charitable and did no work, but lived an idle life, endured no +hardships, and escaped not the scoffs of the satirical. _Piers +Ploughman_ tells us of workmen--"webbers and tailors, and carters' +knaves, and clerks without grace, who liked not long labour and light +wages; and seeing that lazy fellows in friars' clothing had fat cheeks, +forsook their toil and turned hermits. They lived in boroughs among +brewers and begged in churches." They had a good house, with sometimes a +chaplain to say daily Mass for them, a servant or two to wait on them, +and plenty of food and drink provided by a regular endowment or the +donations of the charitable. They did not shut themselves up in their +cells and hold no intercourse with their fellow-men; and herein they +differed from the recluses who were not supposed to go outside the doors +of their anchorages. Both males and females were enrolled as recluses, +but only the latter seem to have taken upon themselves the vows of +complete seclusion. + +Several of these hermitages remain. There is one at Little Budworth, in +Cheshire, in the park of Sir Philip Egerton. Warkworth has a famous one, +consisting of a chapel hewn out of the rock, with an entrance porch, and +a long, narrow room with a small altar at the east end, wherein the +hermit lived. At Knaresborough, Yorkshire, there is a good example of a +hermitage, hewn out of the rock, consisting of a chapel, called St. +Robert's Chapel, with groined roof, which was used as the living-room of +the hermit. This chapel was the scene of Eugene Aram's murder. At +Wetheral, near Carlisle; Lenton, near Nottingham; on the banks of the +Severn, near Bewdley, Worcestershire, there are anchorages, and also at +Brandon, Downham, and Stow Bardolph, in Norfolk. Spenser in the _Faery +Queen_ gives the following description of a hermit's cell:-- + + "A little lowly hermitage it was, + Down by a dale, hard by a forest's side, + Far from resort of people that did pass + In traveill to and froe; a little wyde + There was an holy Chappell edifyde, + Wherein the hermite dewly wont to say + His holy things, each morne and eventyde; + Hereby a chrystall streame did gently play, + Which from a sacred fountaine welled forth alway." + +Within the churchyard of many a town or village church, and usually +attached to the church, stood a reclusorium, or anchor-hold, wherein a +recluse, male or female, once resided. At Laindon Church, Essex, there +is a fine specimen of a house of this kind attached to the west end. +Generally the anchor-hold was a small room, built of wood, connected +with the church. Frequently there is a room over the porch of a church +which may have been used for this purpose, the recluse living usually in +the church. At Rettenden, Essex, there is a room over the vestry which +has evidently been an anchor-hold. There was a window, now blocked up, +through which the recluse could see the high altar, and the celebration +of the holy mysteries, and another for him to look out, hold converse +with his friends, and receive their alms. The church of St. Patricio, +near Crickhowel, South Wales, has an anchor-hold; also Clifton Campville +Church, Staffordshire; Chipping Norton Church, Oxfordshire; Warmington +Church, Warwickshire; and many churches have rooms over the porch which +were formerly used by recluses. The church itself was frequently the +habitation of the anchorite. There is a notice of a hermit who lived in +St. Cuthbert's Church, Thetford, and performed divine service therein. + +Of female recluses we gather many details in the _Ancren Riewle_ of +Bishop Poore of Salisbury, who left very minute directions for the +regulation of their austere and solitary lives. The little cell had an +altar where the anchoress frequently prayed, and through a window saw +the elevation of the Host in the daily Mass. The walls were covered +with mural paintings. There was a table, a fire, and a cat lying before +it. An unglazed window with a shutter was covered by a black curtain, +through which she could converse with anyone outside without being seen. +She was not allowed to put her head out of the open window. "A peering +anchoress, who is always thrusting her head outward, is like an untamed +bird in a cage," says the good bishop. The long hours of solitude were +spent in devotion, working embroidery, reading her few books, talking to +her servant or to those who desired to speak with her through the +curtained window. + +The poor caged birds must often have wished to break the bars of their +cage, and occasionally they escaped from their solitary confinement. In +the churchyard of Whalley, Lancashire, there are two cottages which +stand upon the site of a reclusorium, founded by Henry, Duke of +Lancaster, in 1349. Here in the reign of Henry VI. lived one Isole de +Heton, who wearied of her lot, and left the anchor-hold, an example +which was followed by several of her successors. A scandal having +arisen, the hermitage was dissolved. + +Many a sad story of ruined hopes and broken hearts could these walls +tell, which were the living tombs of many a devout or erring sister, +who, wounded in the world's war, sought the calm seclusion of a cell, +and found there the peace which elsewhere they had failed to find. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +PARISH CHURCHES + +The Porch--Font--Stone benches--Pews--Pulpits--Rood-lofts--Destruction +of--Screens--Royal arms--Chancel--Stalls--_Misereres_--Lectern--High +altar and its furniture--Piscina--Credence--Aumbry--Sedilia--Easter +sepulchre--Reredos--Shrines--Numerous altars--Chantry chapels-- +Hagioscopes--Images--Low side windows--Vestries--Vestments--Churches +in olden times--Reading pews--Galleries--Destruction and profanation-- +Evils of "restoration." + + +In the centre of our village stands the church, always the most +important and interesting building in the place. We will suppose that +it has not suffered overmuch at the hands of the "restorers" of the +nineteenth, or the Puritans of the seventeenth, or the spoliators of +an earlier century, so that we may observe all those details which +characterise an ancient church. In spite of all the vandalism which has +taken place, in spite of the changes in ceremonial and forms of worship, +our beautiful old churches still retain relics of the past which time +has spared. + +We will enter the church and notice first the porch, often a large +structure with a chamber above. Why was it made so large? According to +the Sarum use several services took place in the porch. Parts of the +baptismal service and of the marriage service and the churching of women +were there performed; hence the porch was an important building, and +it was necessary to make it rather large. Above the door there is +frequently a niche for the image of the patron saint of the church, +which has not usually escaped the destructive hand of the Puritan. The +room over the porch was frequently inhabited by a recluse, as I have +already recorded in the previous chapter. Near the door always stands +the font, signifying that baptism is the entrance to the Church of +Christ. Ancient fonts are large enough to allow the infant to be totally +immersed, and are made of stone or lead. Childrey Church, in our county +of Berks, has a fine cylindrical, leaden font, of Norman date, carved +with figures of bishops. Norman fonts are frequently carved, the +favourite subjects being the Baptism of our Lord, the Twelve Apostles, +and the evangelistic symbols. Early English and Decorated fonts are not +usually carved, but in the Perpendicular style they are rich with +ornamentation, the Seven Sacraments being a not uncommon design. We have +sometimes noticed the symbols of Freemasonry carved on fonts, as at +Bray, in Berkshire. To the same period belong the splendid spire-shaped +font-covers, of immense weight, of which I am sometimes a little +fearful, lest the mechanism by which they are raised should become +damaged, and terrible disaster follow during the progress of a baptismal +service. At Sonning, Berks, there is a small stone desk attached to a +pillar for the service-book to rest on. + +The nave of the church is now filled with seats for the use of the +congregation. In early times they do not seem to have been considered +necessary, and until the fourteenth century the stone benches ranged +against the walls were the only seats provided. Even as late as the +fourteenth century it does not appear that many churches had pews, but +in the fifteenth they became general. The hideous monstrosities of +post-Reformation times did not then disfigure our churches. The pews +were low open seats made of oak, sometimes carved at the back, and +panelled, with the ends higher than the rest, and often richly carved. +Many rich men left money in their wills for the _puying_ of churches. + +[Illustration: ANCIENT PEW-WORK, TYSOE CHURCH, WARWICKSHIRE] + +It was not until the beginning of the seventeenth century that the +fashion of erecting high pews set in, which so disfigured our churches, +and were frequently censured by the authorities. Some of these (as at +Whalley) resemble four-posted beds; others are like cattle-pens, large +square boxes with seats all round, wherein the occupants sit and sleep, +screened from the rest of the congregation. The carving of the woodwork +of these erections is often very elaborate. Modern pews are happily +based upon the more primitive fashion. + +Preaching not being considered such an important part of the service in +pre-Reformation times, pulpits in churches of that period were not so +usual as in modern churches. Monastic refectories had pulpits, which the +reader occupied when he read to his brethren during meals. Beaulieu +Abbey has the most ancient pulpit in this country, which evidently +belongs to the thirteenth century. + +The churches of Devonshire and Norfolk have wooden pulpits of the +fifteenth century, which were painted and gilded, the figures of the +four doctors of the church--SS. Augustine, Ambrose, Gregory, and +Jerome--being the favourite subjects. In 1603 the churchwardens were +ordered to provide in every church "a comely and decent pulpit." Hence +most of our pulpits date from this period. The sides were panelled and +carved with scrollwork; and at the same time a sounding-board was +introduced. Occasionally the hour-glass which regulated the length of +the preacher's discourse remains, with its beautiful scroll-worked +stand. + +The most striking feature of the pre-Reformation Church was the +rood-loft, a narrow long gallery above the beautifully decorated screen, +which separated the chancel from the nave. In this loft was erected the +rood, or figure of our blessed Lord on the cross, together with figures +of the Virgin and St. John on each side. Both the screen and the loft +were richly panelled and ornamented with tracery and carvings, and +before them hung one or more lamps. Sometimes tall candlesticks stood on +pillars on each side of the figures. A staircase of stone, constructed +in the wall near the chancel-arch, led to the rood-loft, and the +blocked-up archway of this rood-stair frequently remains. The priest +stood in the rood-loft to read the gospel and epistle, and sometimes +preached there; official notices were read, and from it the bishop used +to give the Benediction. The rood-cloth, or veil, hid the rood during +Lent, and in some churches we have seen the roller which was used to +raise this veil. A special altar, called the rood-altar, used to stand +under the screen. + +[Illustration: EARLY ENGLISH SCREEN, THURCASTON, LEICESTERSHIRE] + +The Reformers played havoc with these old rood-lofts and screens, which +were regarded as monuments of idolatry and superstition. The +churchwardens' account-books of many churches bear witness to this +destruction. Those of St. Giles', Reading, tell of certain _items_ "for +pulling down the rood and carting away the rubbish." Instead of the +figure of our Lord they put up the royal arms; and one John Serjente, of +Hytchen, is licensed in 1614-- + +"to paynte in all the Churches and Chappells, within this Realme of +England, the Kinges Majesties armes in due forme with helme creste +mantell and supporters as they oughte to be--and to wright in fayre text +letters the tenn commandments, the beliefe, and the Lord's prayer, with +some other fruitefull and profitable sentences of holye scripture." + +In spite of this destruction of the ancient roods, several lofts still +remain, _e.g._ at Bradninch, Cullompton, Dartmouth, Hartland, Kenton, +Ugborough, and Plymtree, in Devonshire; in several places in +Somersetshire, and at Charlton-on-Otmoor (erected in 1485) and +Handborough, Oxfordshire. A very large number of the old screens remain, +ornamented with the arms of Elizabeth or James I. + +Proceeding eastward we enter the chancel, so called because it is +inclosed with _cancelli_, or the lattice-work of the screen. If the +church was formerly connected with some monastery we shall see some +beautifully carved wooden stalls with rich canopies over them. The seats +are curiously constructed. They can be turned up, and beneath the seats +is a projecting bracket of wood, commonly adorned with carved +work--animals, birds, leaves, and flowers, and often with grotesque, +satirical, and irreverent devices. They are called miserere-stalls, and +were used by the monks or canons to lean against during the portions of +the long mediaeval services, when they were not allowed to be seated. As +this practice was a concession to human weakness or infirmity, the seats +were called in France _misericordes_, and in England _misereres_. The +subjects of the sculptures are often extremely curious. Domestic scenes, +fables, such as the "Fox and the Grapes," demons carrying off monks, +"The Seven Deadly Sins," are some of these subjects. Miss Phipson has +published a learned work on _Choir Stalls and their Carvings_, which +contains reproductions of three hundred of her sketches of curiously +wrought _misereres_. + +[Illustration: VILLAGE CHURCH IN THE VALE] + +The lectern formerly stood in the chancel; and then, as now, was often +in the form of a large eagle, emblematic of St. John. Most of these +reading-desks belong to the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, and are +made of wood, latten, iron, or stone, as well as of brass. There is a +very curious wooden one at East Hendred, Berks, representing a foot +resting on the head of a dragon, emblematic of the word of God +conquering the powers of evil. Ancient wooden double reading-desks are +not uncommon. The ornamentation usually denotes the period when they +were constructed. + +And now we approach the high altar of the church, made of stone, covered +with a beautifully worked frontal and cloth, and inclosed at the sides +with curtains suspended on iron rods projecting from the wall. A +crucifix hangs above the altar, and two candlesticks stand, one on each +side. The furniture and accessories of the altar in pre-Reformation +times were numerous. There was the pyx, a box or vessel of precious +metal, in which the Host was reverently preserved for the purpose of +giving communion to the sick and infirm. There were two small cruets or +vessels for containing the wine and water used in Holy Communion, one +engraved with the letter "V" (_vinum_), and the other "A" (_aqua_). An +_osculatorium_, or pax tablet, of ivory or wood, overlaid with gold, was +used for giving the kiss of peace during the High Mass just before the +reception of the Host. Of church plate generally we shall write in a +subsequent chapter. + +[Illustration: NORMAN PISCINA, ROMSEY CHURCH, HANTS] + +On the south we see the piscina, which is contained in a beautifully +carved niche--a hollow basin with a stone drain, wherein the priest +washed his hands before consecrating the elements, and poured the water +from the rinsed chalice. Above it in the niche was the credence, a shelf +of stone, on which were placed the chalice and paten and all things +necessary for the celebration. In some churches there is a separate +credence table. On the north side was the aumbry, or locker, where the +sacred vessels, altar linen, and service books were kept, guarded by a +strong wooden door. The doors have usually disappeared, but a very large +number of churches have the hole in the wall which was formerly the +aumbry. + +On the south side are the sedilia, or stone seats, for the assistant +clergy, frequently with canopies richly carved, and usually three in +number. Opposite to the sedilia in the north wall is a large arch, +within which the holy sepulchre was set up at Easter. This was a wooden +structure made for the deposition of the consecrated elements of the +Eucharist from the evening of Good Friday until the morning of Easter +Day; during which time it was watched by a quasi-guard, after the manner +of our Lord's sepulchre. The books of St. Lawrence, Reading, record:-- + +"Anno 1498. In primis payed for Wakyng of the Sepulchre viii'd." + +"Anno 1510. It. payed to Walter Barton to the new Sepulchur iiii'li +xiii's x'd." + +As this sum of money was a considerable one at that period, the +sepulchre must have been an object of unusual magnificence. Sometimes +it was a permanent structure of stone, carved with figures of soldiers +watching the tomb of our Lord. Behind the altar was the reredos. In +village churches these screens were made up of recessed stone panels, +surrounded by sculptured wallflowers and other devices; but in large +churches they were very ornate, enriched with niches, statues, +tabernacle-work, and other adornments. Many of them were destroyed at +the Reformation, together with the stone altars. Some were covered up +and concealed by plaster, in order to preserve them from iconoclastic +violence. They were buried and forgotten, until by some happy accident +their existence was revealed in modern times. Nearly all large churches, +and some village churches, especially those connected with a monastery, +had shrines, or receptacles for the body or relics of a saint. Some +of them were fixed, and made of stone or wood, adorned with rich +tabernacle-work, such as the shrine of St. Cuthbert at Durham, or of St. +Frideswide at Oxford; and others were portable, shaped like coped boxes, +covered with precious metal, enamels, and engraving. Sculptured stones +in the walls of our churches often mark the spot in the building where +relics were stored. + +It is evident from the existence of niches and piscinas in other parts +of the church, besides in the south wall near the high altar, that there +formerly existed many altars in the sacred building. At the east end of +each aisle we usually find these indications of the existence of an +altar, which belonged to a chantry chapel, separated from the rest of +the church by a screen. Here a priest said Mass daily for the soul of +the founder of the chantry, his ancestors, and posterity. Ancient stone +altars still remain in some of our churches. Sometimes they have been +removed from their place, and used as tombstones, or in paving the floor +of the church. They can be recognised by the five crosses engraved on +them, one at each corner, and one in the centre of the stone. + +Hagioscopes, or squints, are openings in the thickness of the wall, +enabling worshippers in the chantry chapels to witness the elevation of +the Host at the high altar. They are usually plain; but in some churches +we find these curious apertures moulded and decorated with architectural +designs. + +Pre-Reformation churches had several wooden images of saints, most of +which were destroyed by the iconoclastic zeal of the Reformers or +Puritans. The brackets on which these figures stood often remain, though +the images have disappeared. + +[Illustration: LOW SIDE WINDOW, DALLINGTON CHURCH, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE] + +Low side windows, commonly called "Lepers' windows," are very frequently +found in our churches, and usually on the south wall of the chancel. +Their object has been, and is, much disputed among antiquaries. The +vulgar idea is that poor lepers used to come to this window to see the +celebration of the Mass; but unfortunately it is quite impossible in +many cases to see the high altar through this window, and moreover +lepers were not allowed to enter a churchyard. Another idea is that +they were used as confessionals, the priest in the church hearing the +confession of the penitent who knelt on the grass in the churchyard. +A more inconvenient arrangement could not have been devised; and this +idea might be at once dismissed, were it not that one of Henry's +commissioners for suppressing monasteries and chantries wrote: "We think +it best that the place where these friars have been wont to hear outward +confession of all-comers at certain times of the year, be walled up, and +that use to be done for ever." It appears that sometimes at any rate the +low side windows were used for this purpose. However, I am inclined to +think that they were intended for the use of the anchorites or recluses, +who dwelt in churches. The windows were not glazed, but had iron bars on +the outside, and a wooden shutter on the inside of the church. These +windows were probably their means of communication with the outside +world. + +Many village churches then, as now, had no vestry. Where a _vestiarium_ +existed it was usually on the north side of the chancel, and its +contents were more elaborate than the plain surplice stole and hood of +recent times. In the vestry press we should find an alb of fine white +linen, somewhat similar to a surplice, ornamented with "apparels," +_i.e._ embroidery, on the cuffs and skirts; a girdle made of white silk +embroidered with colours; an amice, or oblong piece of fine linen, worn +on the head or as a collar; a stole with embroidered ends; a maniple, or +strip of ornamented linen worn by the priest in his left hand during +celebrations; dalmatic, chasuble and other vestments which the ornate +ritual of the mediaeval church required. + +Before the Reformation the appearance of our churches was certainly +splendid, and differed much from the Puritan simplicity of later times. +The walls were covered with mural paintings. The windows, soon to be + +"Shorn of their glass of a thousand colourings, +Through which the deepened glories once could enter," + +were then resplendent with stained glass. Above, the rood looked down on +all the worshippers. Everywhere there was beautifully carved woodwork, +gilded and painted, tombs of knights and dames all painted and adorned, +altars with rich embroidered hangings. The floor was composed of +encaustic tiles, and had many memorial brasses. Armour, crests, and +banners hung upon the walls. Lights burned before numerous images, and +the whole appearance of our churches was gorgeous and magnificent. + +Many changes have taken place since. Coatings of whitewash hide the +mural paintings. Sacrilegious hands "have broken down all the carved +work with axes and hammers." The stone altars have disappeared, and +instead we have "an honest table decently covered." Reading-pews for the +clergy were set up, and in the last century the hideous "three decker," +which hid the altar and utterly disfigured the sacred building. Instead +of the low open seats great square high pews filled the nave. Hideous +galleries were erected which obstructed the windows and hid the +architectural beauties of former days. The old timber roofs were +covered, and low flat ceilings substituted. Brasses were torn up and +sold by dishonest churchwardens, and old monuments broken and defaced. +The old stained-glass windows were destroyed. The Communion table was +taken from the east end of the chancel, and seats erected round it. +Crosses were defaced everywhere, and crucifixes destroyed. Puritan +profanation and wanton destruction devastated our churches to a degree +which has never been equalled since the hordes of heathens and barbaric +Danish invaders carried fire and sword into the sanctuaries of God. + +[Illustration: READING-PEW, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, LANGLEY CHAPEL, SALOP] + +Much harm was done by the Goths and Vandals of the nineteenth century. +Many old churches, replete with a thousand memories of the past, were +pulled down entirely, and modern structures of "Victorian Gothic" style +erected in their place, which can have none of the precious associations +which the old churches had. Much harm was done to the old features of +many churches by so-called "restoration," carried out by men ignorant of +architecture and antiquities. But we are learning better now. The +Society of Antiquaries has done much to prevent injudicious restoration +and the destruction of our old churches, and if any incumbent and his +parishioners are thinking of restoring their church, they cannot do +better than to consult the secretaries of that learned body, who will +show how best to preserve the interesting memorials of the past which +time has spared. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +CHURCH PLATE + +Spoliation--Few remains of pre-Reformation plate--Testimony of +inventories--Plate found in graves of bishops--Characteristics of +chalices in different periods--Inscriptions--Devices on patens-- +Censers--Pyx--Monstrance--Chrismatory--Pax--Sacring bell--Elizabethan +chalice--Bridal cup--Post-Reformation plate--Hall marks. + + +We have already mourned over the wanton destruction of much that was of +intense interest and value in our churches; but the most systematic +robbery and spoliation of our church goods at the time of the +Reformation were carried out in the matter of church plate. Henry VIII. +stripped our cathedrals and conventual churches of almost all that was +valuable, and the unscrupulous commissioners of Edward VI. performed a +like office for our parish churches and chantries. A large number of +the old chalices were also melted down and converted into Communion +cupsduring the reigns of Edward VI. and Elizabeth. Hence of all the +vast store of church plate which our churches possessed before the +Reformation, at the present time throughout all England only thirty-four +chalices and seventy-three patens remain. It is true that not all the +ancient vessels fell into the hands of the commissioners of the king. In +the churchwardens' account books of the period we read of sundry sales +of church plate. Evidently the parishioners had some presentiment of the +coming spoliation; so they sold their valuables, and kept the proceeds +of the sale for "the paving of the streets," or other parochial +necessities. + +The ancient inventories of church goods show the deplorable loss of the +valuables of the church which has taken place. Thus at the church of St. +Lawrence, Reading, in the year 1517, the inventory tells us of the +following: a cross of silver and gilt; a censer of silver gilt; another +censer; a ship of silver for holding incense; another ship of silver; +two candlesticks of silver; two books bound in silver; two basins of +silver; a pyx of silver gilt, with a silver pin; a monstrance of silver +gilt; a silver gilt chrismatory for the holy oil; a pax; two cruets; a +bell; a chalice, with a crucifix enamelled on the foot and the Trinity +on the paten; another chalice, with a crucifix engraved on the foot +and a hand on the paten; another chalice similarly described; another +similar to first chalice; and two others, with a crucifix on the foot +and a vernicle, or _vera icon_ (a representation of our Lord's face +miraculously delineated on the napkin of St. Veronica). All these +vessels were made of silver or silver gilt. Nor were these all the +treasures. There were several reliquaries of silver gilt containing +parts of the holy cross; a gridiron, with a bone of St. Lawrence, and +other articles contained in silver boxes; and many books bound with +silver clasps. The total weight of silver in this church amounted to +seven hundred ounces. + +Village churches were, of course, less sumptuously furnished than this +important town church, which being situated under the shadow of one of +the largest and most important abbeys in the kingdom, would receive many +costly gifts and benefactors. But the inventories of village churches +show that there was no lack of plate, rich altar hangings, copes, and +vestments, which helped to swell the goodly heap of spoil. In country +churches in Oxfordshire there were silver chalices and patens, pyxes, +censers, candlesticks, chrismatories, crosses, sanctus bells, and other +articles of plate. + +It was the practice in mediaeval times to place in the coffin of a +bishop a chalice and paten; hence some of the earliest specimens of +church plate which we possess have been recovered from episcopal +graves.[3] The Rites of Durham enjoin that on the death of a bishop +he was to be buried "with a little chalice of silver, other metal, or +wax" aid upon his breast within the coffin.[4] Most of these were made +of pewter or lead, but some have been found of silver gilt, latten, +and tin. It is perhaps scarcely necessary for our present purposes to +describe these early specimens of sacred vessels, as the number of them +is so limited; and few of my readers will be able to discover any +mediaeval examples amongst the plate of their own church. However, I +will point out a few peculiarities of the plate of each period. + +The earliest chalice, used in the church of Berwick St. James, Wilts, +until a few years ago, and now in the British Museum, dates from the +beginning of the thirteenth century. Its bowl is broad and shallow, the +stem and knot (by which the vessel was held) and foot being plain and +circular. Then the makers (from 1250 to 1275) fashioned the stem and +knot separately from the bowl and foot, and shaped them polygonally. +During the remaining years of the century the foot was worked into +ornate lobes. Then the bowl is deepened and made more conical. About +1350 the custom arose of laying the chalice on its side on the paten to +drain at the ablutions at Mass; and as the round-footed chalices would +have a tendency to roll, the foot was made hexagonal for stability. +Henceforth all the mediaeval chalices were fashioned with a six-sided +foot. By degrees the bowl became broader and shallower, and instead of +the base having six points, its form is a sexfoil without any points. +Several old chalices are engraved with the inscription-- + +Calicem salutaris accipiam et nomen Domini inbocabo. + +[Illustration: CHALICE AND PATEN, SANDFORD, OXFORDSHIRE +_Circa_ A.D. 1301] + +In one of the compartments of the base there was a representation of a +crucifix, or the Virgin, or ihc, or xpc. + +The usual devices on ancient patens were the _Manus Dei_, or hand of +God, in the act of blessing; on later ones the vernicle, or face of our +Lord; the Holy Trinity; the Holy Lamb; the sacred monogram. The oldest +paten in existence is that found at Chichester Cathedral in a coffin, +and its date is about the year 1180. In the centre is a rude engraving +of the _Agnus Dei_, and it bears the inscription-- + +Agnus Dei qui tollis pecata mundi miserere nobis. + +[Illustration: PRE-REFORMATION PLATE +(1) 13th Century +(2) Early 16th Century +(3) Elizabethan +(4) Manus Dei +(5) Vernicle] + +The grave of Bishop Grostete at Lincoln yielded up an ancient paten +(1230-53), which has the figure of a bishop vested, the right hand +raised in the act of blessing, the left holding a crozier. The oldest +piece of church plate still in use is a remarkable paten at Wyke Church, +near Winchester, the date of which is about 1280. It bears an engraving +of the _Agnus Dei_ holding a banner, and around the rim is the legend-- + +CUNTA: CREO: VIRTUTE: REGO: PIETATE REFORMO. + +Another favourite inscription was _Benedicamus patrem et filium cum +spiritu sancto_; but on the paten in the church of Great Waltham, Essex, +the important word _spiritu_ is omitted for want of room. + +[Illustration: CENSER OR THURIBLE] + +We have already mentioned several of the important pieces of church +plate which were in use in mediaeval times. Censers, or thuribles, were +common in all our ancient parish churches, sometimes of gold or silver, +more usually of brass or latten, and were in the shape of a covered vase +or cup, perforated so as to allow the fumes of burning incense to +escape. Most of our English censers are now in museums, but several +ancient ones are still in use in the private chapels of Roman Catholic +families. + +Old inventories always mention a pyx, a box or vessel of gold or silver, +in which the Host was reserved for the sick and infirm. It often +resembles a chalice, except that instead of the bowl there is a covered +receptacle for the Host. A beautiful specimen was dug up a few years ago +in the churchyard of Yateley, Hants. Another vessel was the monstrance, +in which the Blessed Sacrament was carried in procession, and exposed +on the altar. The form varied. Sometimes monstrances were made in +the shape of a tower, or a covered chalice; sometimes in the form of +images carrying silver pyxes, elaborately ornamented with many jewels. +Processions were always a great feature of mediaeval worship; hence the +monstrance was frequently in use, especially on such occasions as the +celebrations of Corpus Christi Day. + +Holy oil was much used in the services, as in the Roman Catholic Church +at the present time. It was blessed by a bishop on Maundy Thursday, and +used in Baptism, Confirmation, and Extreme Unction, as well as at the +Consecration of Churches, Ordination, and the Coronation of Kings. The +vessel for holding the oil was an important piece of church plate, and +was called a chrismatory. Usually there were three distinct vessels, one +for holding the oil for the sick, a second for use at confirmations, and +a third for the baptismal oil. Sometimes these vessels are labelled with +the words EXT. UNC., CAT., and CHR., according to the recommendation of +St. Charles Borromeo, in order that each oil might be kept for its +proper use, and that no confusion might arise. + +The pax was a small tablet of silver or other precious metal, used for +giving the kiss of peace during High Mass. The celebrant kissed the +tablet, and held it aloft before all the people. It was usually adorned +with a representation of the _Agnus Dei_. Of the cruets containing wine +and water for the celebration we have already written. Then there was a +sacring bell, often made of silver, which was rung during the service at +the time of the elevation of the Host, and at the sound the congregation +knelt. + +We have now examined the aumbry, and noted its contents, upon which the +commissioners in the reign of Edward VI. made such shameful inroads. +Henceforth the plate was confined to a chalice and paten, alms-dish, and +usually a large silver flagon. The form of the chalice was entirely +changed. As we have noticed, the bowl of the pre-Reformation chalices +became smaller and shallower, on account of the gradually introduced +practice of refusing the wine to the laity. Now in the year 1562 the +size of the bowl was greatly enlarged, and the "Communion cup" took +the place of the "Massing chalice." Some poor parishes were obliged to +content themselves with pewter vessels. St. Lawrence's Church, Reading, +had a curious bridal cup, which was carried before all brides who +were married in that church. The custom of drinking wine in the church +at marriages is enjoined in the Hereford Missal, and the Sarum +Missal ordered that the bread immersed in the wine, and consumed by +the company, should first be blessed by the priest. Some of these +post-Reformation vessels are extremely interesting. They record the +thankofferings of pious donors on the occasion of some great event in +the national annals, such as the Restoration, or of some private mercy +vouchsafed to the individual. They record the connection of some family +with the parish, the arms they bore; and the Hall marks tell us of their +date, which is often anterior to the date of the inscription. + +Hall marks were first introduced in 1300 by Edward I. in order to keep +up the purity of silver, and consisted of the lion's or leopard's head +crowned. This was called the king's mark. The maker's mark was +introduced in 1363, and was some initial or badge chosen by the +silversmith. To these were added in 1438 the year letter or assayer's +mark, a different letter being chosen for each year. When the alphabet +was exhausted, another with differently shaped letters was begun. In +1545 the lion passant was introduced, and since 1784 the portrait of the +reigning sovereign has appeared. With the assistance of Mr. Cripps' _Old +English Plate_, which contains a list of the alphabets used in marking +plate, it is not very difficult to discover the date of any piece of +silver. Inventories of church plate are being made in many counties and +dioceses, and no more useful work can be undertaken by our local +antiquarian societies. + + +[3] _Mediaeval Chalices and Patens_, by W.H. St. John Hope and +T.M. Fallow. + +[4] Surtees Society, vol. xv. pp. 45, 49. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES AND BRASSES + +Reverence for the dead--Cists--Stone coffins--Devices--Introduction +of effigies--Cross-legged effigies--Wooden effigies--Incised +effigies--Brasses--Essentially English--Vast number of brasses-- +Palimpsests--Destruction--Costumes and fashions--Ecclesiastics-- +Lawyers--Soldiers--Canopies and inscriptions--Punning inscriptions-- +Contractions--Emblems--Heraldry. + + +The pious care which we all love to bestow on the mortal remains of our +nearest and dearest, and the respect and honour with which all men +regard the bodies of departed heroes, kings, saints, and warriors, have +produced a remarkable series of sepulchral monuments, examples of which +may be found everywhere. The cairns and tumuli of the primitive races +which inhabited our island were the results of the same feelings of +reverent regard which inspired the beautifully carved mediaeval +monuments, the memorial brass, or the cross-shaped tombstone of to-day. + +I have already mentioned the cromlechs and barrows and other memorials +of the early inhabitants of Britain. We have seen the cists of Saxon +times, the coffins formed of several stones placed together in the form +of a table. The Normans introduced stone coffins for the sepulchre of +their great men, many of which may be seen in our cathedrals and old +conventual churches. On the lids of their coffins they frequently cut a +single cross. When the style of architecture changed to that of the +Early English and Decorated periods, monumental slabs were ornamented +with much greater richness and elaboration, and inscriptions were added, +and also some device which showed the trade, rank, or profession of the +departed. Thus the chalice and paten denoted a priest; a sword showed +the knight; an axe, a forester; an ink-horn, a notary; shears, a wool +merchant. + +At the beginning of the thirteenth century it occurred to someone to +preserve the likeness of his departed friend as well as the symbols of +his rank and station. So effigies were introduced upon the surface of +the slabs, and were carved flat; but ere fifty years had passed away the +art of the sculptor produced magnificent monumental effigies. Knights +and nobles lie clad in armour with their ladies by their sides. Bishops +and abbots bless the spectators with their uplifted right hands. Judges +lie in their official garb, and merchants with the emblems of their +trade. At their feet lie animals, usually having some heraldic +connection with the deceased, or symbolical of his work--_e.g._ a dragon +is trodden down beneath the feet of a bishop, signifying the defeat of +sin as the result of his ministry. The heads of effigies usually rest on +cushions, which are sometimes supported by two angels. + +A peculiar characteristic of the military effigies in England is that +the knights are often represented with the legs crossed. Many +speculations have been made with regard to the meaning of this fashion +of cross-legged effigy. It is a popular superstition, in which for some +years the writer shared, that such effigies represented Crusaders. We +were told in our young days that when the knight had his legs crossed at +the feet he had gone to the Crusades once; when at the knees, that he +had been to two Crusades; and when crossed at the thighs, he had been +thrice to rescue the Holy City from the hands of the infidels. All this +seemed very plausible and interesting, but it is undoubtedly a myth. +Many known Crusaders have their effigies with uncrossed legs, and many +who never went to the Crusades have cross-legged effigies. Moreover, +there are no such monuments in any foreign country which swelled the +army of Crusaders. Hence we must abandon the pleasing superstition, and +reconcile ourselves to the fact that no particular signification can be +assigned to these cross-legged effigies, and that only fashion prompted +the mediaeval sculptors to adopt this attitude for their figures. This +mode prevailed until about the year 1320. + +At the close of the fifteenth century the art of making monumental +effigies degenerated together with the skill of the architects of that +period. We see the husband and wife kneeling facing each other, with a +faldstool before each figure. A company of small figures below the +effigies represent the children, the boys on one side, the girls on the +other. + +Early wooden effigies were also in use. There is one much battered by +the careless hands of former generations of villagers in the rural +church of my parish of Barkham. The artists often used much colour, +gilding, and enamel in making these effigies; and often rich canopies +were erected over them, containing fine tabernacle-work and figures of +saints in niches. + +Another form of effigy was commonly in use, in addition to the figures +just described. These are called incised effigies, which were cut +in outline upon flat slabs of stone, the lines being filled in with +enamelled metals. Thorton Abbey, Lincolnshire, and Brading, in the Isle +of Wight, have examples of this work. But the great expense of these +enamels, and also their frailty when exposed in the pavements of +churches, led to the use of brass; and hence arose the introduction of +memorial brasses for which our country is famous. + +We owe the application of brass to memorial tablets to the artists of +Flanders, and the date of their introduction is about the middle of the +thirteenth century. The execution of almost all of our English brasses +is due to native artists. Foreign brasses are usually of great size, +and consist of a quadrangular sheet of metal, on which is engraved +the figure, usually under a canopy, the background being ornamented +with rich diaper, foliage, or scrollwork, and the incisions filled +with colouring. Several brasses in England conform to this style of +workmanship, and are evidently the production of foreign artists. The +English brasses, on the contrary, consist of separate pieces, with an +irregular outline, corresponding with that of the figure. They have no +brass background; and for delicacy of engraving and general appearance +the English brasses are by far the best. + +The names of the makers of brasses have been almost entirely lost. Two +only bear marks which are supposed to be those of the engraver. No other +country can boast of so large a number of these memorials as England, in +spite of the hard usage they have received and their wanton destruction. +About four thousand remain; and constantly we find the matrices cut in +stone slabs, from which brasses have been torn; so that we may assume +that quite as many have been destroyed as those which survive. The +southern and eastern counties are most richly furnished with these +monuments, whereas the western and northern counties have but few +brasses. Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent are the most rich in this +respect. The earliest brass of which we have any record is that of +Simon de Beauchamp, who died before 1208. This is mentioned by Leland. +The earliest brass now in existence is that of Sir John D'Aubernown at +Stoke Dabernon, Surrey, which was fashioned in 1277. In the fourteenth +century a very large number of brasses, remarkable for their beauty of +form and execution, were made. The artistic workmanship began to decline +in the fifteenth century, and in the following became utterly degenerate. + +It was not an uncommon practice for subsequent generations to appropriate +the memorials of their predecessors. Such brasses are called palimpsests. +By the carelessness of churchwardens, by fraud, or spoliation, brasses +were taken from the churches, and acquired by some maker in the town. +When a new one was required, the tradesman would take from his stock, +and on the reverse engrave the figure of the individual whose memory he +was called upon to perpetuate. Hence when brasses are taken up from the +pavements, frequently the remains of a much earlier memorial are found on +the reverse side. There is an example of this curious method of procedure +at St. Lawrence's Church, Reading, where on the reverse of a brass to the +memory of Walter Barton was found the remains of the brass of Sir John +Popham, who was buried at the Charterhouse, London. This monastery was +dissolved in 1536, the monuments sold, Sir John Popham's brass among them, +which was evidently soon converted into a memorial of Walter Barton. + +Sometimes the original brass was appropriated as it lay, the figure +being slightly altered to suit the style of costume prevalent at the +later date. In other cases the engraver did not even trouble himself to +alter the figure, and simply added a new inscription and shield of arms. + +The wanton destruction and gross neglect of churchwardens, both before +and after the Reformation, were very great. At St. Mary's Church, +Reading, the accounts tell a sad tale of the disgraceful damage in the +year 1547:-- + +"Receyvid of John Saunders for iii cwt lacking ix'li of metall that was +taken upp of the graves, and of olde candlestycks at vi's the hundred +xlvj's ii'd." + +Evidently a clean sweep was made of most of the memorial brasses in the +church, and few escaped destruction. The tale is too familiar. Most +churches have suffered in the same way. + +The study of brasses throws much light upon the costumes and fashions of +the day when they were engraved. We see priests, who may be recognised +by the tonsure and vestments, amongst which we find the alb, amice, +stole, maniple, and chasuble. The pastoral staff, ring, mitre, sandals, +tunic, dalmatic, and gloves mark the graves of bishops and mitred +abbots. + +A close skull-cap, a long robe with narrow sleeves, a hood, tippet, and +mantle buttoned on the right shoulder, compose the dress of judges and +officers of the law, as depicted on brasses. The changes in the fashion +and style of armour, which took place between the fourteenth and the +seventeenth centuries, are all accurately represented in these +memorials; and also the picturesque costumes of ladies with their +curious headgear; and the no less various fashions of the male +civilian's dress. A study of brasses is an admirable guide to the +prevailing style of dress during the periods of their construction. + +The beautiful canopies over the heads of the figures are well worthy of +attention, and also the inscriptions. These usually take the form of +Latin verses; and although many were written by learned abbots and +scholars, the classical knowledge displayed is somewhat faulty. Here +are a few examples:-- + +Respice quid prodest precentis temporis aebum +Omne quod est, nichil est, preter amare deum. + +Sometimes the author of the inscription recorded his name, as did the +learned Dame Elizabeth Hobby on a brass at Shottesbrooke, which runs-- + +O multum dilecte senex, pater atqz bocate, + Del quia grandaebis, bel quia probus eras. +Annos bixisti nobies decem, atqz satelles + Fidus eras regum, fidus erasqz tuis. +Iam satis functus baleas, sed tu, deus alme, + Sic mihi concedas bibere siqz mori. + +Variety was added sometimes by jumbling together various languages, +Norman-French, Latin, and English being often oddly combined. + +People in the Middle Ages loved punning and playing upon the sound of +words. Thus a brass to the memory of Thomas Hylle (or Hill) has some +verses beginning "_Mons_ in valle jacet." John Day, the printer, had a +very extravagant and jocular epitaph beginning-- + +"Here lies the Daye that darkness could not blynd." + +"He set a Fox to wright how Martyrs runne +By death to lyfe"-- + +alluding to his publication of Foxe's _Book of Martyrs_. His widow +probably married a man named Stone. Hence we read-- + +"Als was the last encreaser of his store, +Who mourning long for being left alone, +Sett upp this tombe, her self turned to a Stone." + +"Orate pro anima," or "of your charite pray for the soul of ----" were +usual inscriptions. + +It is somewhat difficult for the unpractised eye to read inscriptions on +brasses, owing to the contractions and omissions of letters. Thus _m_ +and _n_ are often omitted, and a line is placed over the adjoining +letter to indicate the omission. Thus a=ia stands for _anima_, leg=u for +_legum_. The letter _r_ is also left out. Z stands for _que_, and there +are many other contractions, such as D=ns for _Dominus_, D=s for _Deus_, +E=ps for _Episcopus_, g=ia for _gratia_, m=ia for _misericordia_, and +many others. + +The study of the emblems and devices is full of interest. Of +ecclesiastical emblems we have the symbols of the Holy Trinity--God the +Father represented as an aged person, holding a crucifix on which the +dove, an emblem of the Holy Spirit, is alighting--representations of our +Lord, angels, saints,[5] evangelists, the fylfot cross, roses, and +figures of Death. Sometimes the figure on the brass holds a heart in his +hand, which indicates a response on the part of the deceased to the old +invitatory "Sursum corda." + +The armorial bearings of the deceased are usually represented on +brasses, and also personal or professional devices. The founders of +churches hold representations in miniature of the churches which they +founded. Bishops and abbots have a pastoral staff; priests, a chalice, +or a book; wool merchants have woolpacks beneath their feet, and other +tradesmen have similar devices denoting their special calling. +Merchants' marks also frequently appear; and the mediaeval taste for +punning is shown by frequent rebuses formed on the names of the +deceased, _e.g._ a peacock, for one named Pecok; a fox, for a Foxley; +four tuns and a cross, for Master Croston. + +England may well be proud of the brass memorials of her worthy sons and +daughters. It is, however, terribly sad to see the destruction which +fanatical and greedy folk have wrought on these beautiful monuments. +As we have already noticed, the spoliators of the Reformation period +accomplished much wanton destruction, and removed tombs "for greedinesse +of the brasse." Cromwell's soldiers and commissioners did a vast deal +more damage, violating sepulchres and monuments, and destroying brasses +everywhere. A third cause of the defacement and loss of these valuable +memorials has been the gross carelessness of churchwardens and +incumbents, who during any alterations or restoration of their churches +have allowed them to be sold, destroyed, or appropriated by the +builders. Truly we have entered upon a diminished inheritance. It +behoves us to preserve with the utmost vigilance and care the memorials +which fanaticism, greed, and carelessness have spared. + + +[5] The following are the principal emblems of the Apostles:-- +St. Andrew, a cross saltier; St. Bartholomew, a knife; St. James the +Great, a pilgrim's staff, wallet, escallop shell; St. James the Less, a +fuller's bat, or saw; St. John, a chalice and serpent; St. Jude, a boat +in his hand, or a club; St. Matthew, a club, carpenter's square, or +money-box; St. Matthias, a hatchet, battle-axe, or sword; St. Paul, a +sword; St. Peter, keys; St. Philip, a tau cross, or a spear; St. Simon, +fishes; St. Thomas, an arrow or spear. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE PARISH CHEST + +Contents of the parish chest--Parish registers--Effect of Civil War-- +Burials in woollen--"Not worth £600"--Care bestowed upon registers-- +Curious entries--Astrology--Gipsies--Jester--Heart-burial--Plagues--Royal +visits--Licences for eating flesh, for to be touched for king's evil-- +Carelessness of custody of registers--Churchwardens' account books--Their +value--Curious entries--Sports and pastimes--Paschall money--Brief +books--Strange entries in registers and account books--Dog-whippers-- +King's evil--Treating bishops and poor scholars of Oxford. + + +The parish chest in the vestry usually contains many documents, which +are of profound interest to the student of village antiquities. It +contains the old churchwardens' account books, the parish registers, +lists of briefs, and often many other papers and records which bear on +the history of the parish. The old register books record the names of +past generations of villagers, and many curious facts about the parish +and its people, which are not found in the dull dry columns of our +modern books. + +Parish registers were first ordered by Thomas Cromwell in the year 1538, +and from that date many of our registers begin.[6] But all vicars did +not obey the injunctions of Viceregent Cromwell; they were renewed by +Edward VI. in 1547 and by Queen Elizabeth in 1559, and most of our old +register books begin with this date. James I. ordered that the registers +should be written over again in a parchment book, the entries previously +having been recorded on paper. Hence many of our books, although they +begin with the year 1538, are really copies of the paper records made +previous to 1603. + +The disturbances of the Civil War period caused much neglect in the +keeping of the registers. The incumbent was often driven away from his +flock, and parish registrars were chosen by the parishioners and +approved and sworn before a justice of the peace. Here is a record of +this business taken from the books of this parish:-- + +"Whereas Robtr Williams of the prish of Barkham in the County of Berks +was elected and chosen by the inhabitants of the same prish to be there +prish Register, he therefore ye sd Ro: Wms was approved and sworne this +sixteenth day of November 1653. Ri: Bigg, J.P." + +Henceforth the children are registered as having been _born_, not +_baptised_, until the Restoration brought back the clergyman to his +flock again, and the entries are written in a scholarly hand, and the +disorder of the previous years ceases. + +In 1679 an Act was passed requiring that the dead should be buried in +woollen, the purpose being to lessen "the importation of linen from +beyond the seas, and the encouragement of the woollen and paper +manufacturers of this kingdom." A penalty of £5 was inflicted for a +violation of this Act; and as frequently people preferred to be buried +in linen, a record of the fine appears--_e.g._ at Gayton, +Northamptonshire, where we find in the register-- + +"1708. Mrs. Dorothy Bellingham was buryed April 5, in _Linnen_, and the +forfeiture of the Act payd fifty shillings to ye informer and fifty +shillings to ye poor of the parishe." + +Pope wrote the following lines on the burial of Mrs. Oldfield, the +actress, with reference to this custom:-- + + "Odious! in woollen! 'twould _a_ saint provoke + (Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke); + No, let a charming chintz and Brussels lace + Wrap my cold limbs, and shade my lifeless face." + +Sometimes after the name in the register is added the words, "Not worth +£600." This refers to the Act of William III. in 1694, which required +that all persons baptised, married, or buried, having an estate of that +value, should pay a tax of twenty shillings. The money was required for +carrying on the war with France, and the Act was in force for five +years. This description of the personal estate was not intended to be +invidious, but was of practical utility in enforcing the Act. + +The parish registers reflect with wonderful accuracy the life of the +people, and are most valuable to the student of history. Clergymen took +great pride in recording "the short and simple annals of the poor." A +Gloucestershire rector (1630 A.D.) wrote in his book the following good +advice which might with advantage be taken in many other villages:-- + +"If you will have this Book last, bee sure to aire it att the fier, or +in the Sunne, three or four times a yeare--els it will grow dankish and +rott, therefore look to it. It will not be amisse when you find it +dankish to wipe over the leaves with a dry wollen cloth. This Place +is very much subject to dankishness; therefore I say looke to it." + +A study of the curious entries which we occasionally find conveys much +remarkable information. Sometimes, in the days of astrology, in order +to assist in casting the nativity, it is recorded that at the time of +the child's birth "the sun was in Libra," or "in Taurus." Gipsies were +evidently numerous in the sixteenth century, as we constantly find +references to "the roguish AEgyptians." The domestic jester finds +his record in the entry: "1580. March 21, William, fool to my Lady +Jerningham." The suicide is "infamously buried." Heart-burial is often +recorded, as at Wooburn, Bucks: "1700. Cadaver Edi Thomas, equitis +aurati, hic inhumatum fuit vicessimo tertio die Junii." + +Records of the visitations of the plague are very numerous in all parts +of England, as at Egglescliffe, Durham: "1644. In this year there died +of the plague in this towne one and twenty people; they are not all +buried in the churchyard, and are not in the Register." Sometimes masses +of human bones are found buried in fields outside towns and villages, +memorials of this devastating plague. + +Parish clerks have not always had very musical voices when they shout +out the "Amens." The Rector of Buxted, Sussex (1666 A.D.), records with +a sigh of relief the death of his old clerk, "whose melody warbled forth +as if he had been thumped on the back with a stone." + +Sometimes royal visits to the neighbourhood are recorded, even a royal +hunt, as when James I. hunted the hare at Fordham, Cambridgeshire. The +register of Wolverton gives "a license for eating flesh on prohibited +days granted to Sir Tho. Temple, on paying 13s. 4d." Storms, +earthquakes, and floods are described; and records of certificates +granted to persons to go before the king to be touched for the disease +called the king's evil. + +The Civil War is frequently mentioned, and also caused the omission of +many entries. At Tarporley, Cheshire, there is a break from 1643 to +1648, for which the rector thus accounts:-- + +"This intermission hapned by reason of the great wars obliterating +memorials, wasting fortunes, and slaughtering persons of all sorts." + +Parish registers have fared ill and suffered much from the gross +carelessness of their custodians. We read of the early books of Christ +Church, Hants, being converted into kettle-holders by the curate's wife. +Many have been sold as waste paper, pages ruthlessly cut out, and +village schoolbooks covered with the leaves of old registers. The +historian of Leicestershire writes of the register of Scraptoft:-- + +"It has not been a plaything for young pointers--it has not occupied a +bacon scratch, or a bread and cheese cupboard--it has not been scribbled +on within and without; but it has been treasured ever since 1538, to the +honour of a succession of worthy clergymen."--_O si sic omnes_! + +The churchwardens' account books are even of greater value to the +student of history than the registers, priceless as the latter are +for genealogical purposes. The Bishop of Oxford states that "in the +old account books and minute books of the churchwardens in town and +country we possess a very large but very perishable and rapidly +perishing treasury of information on matters the very remembrance +of which is passing away, although their practical bearing on the +development of the system of local government is indisputable, and +is occasionally brought conspicuously before the eye of the people +by quaint survivals.... It is well that such materials for the +illustration of this economic history as have real value should be +preserved in print; and that the customs which they illustrate should +be reclaimed by History from the misty region of folklore, whilst they +can." Many of these account books date from pre-Reformation times, +and disclose the changes which took place in the fabric of our churches, +the removal of roods and other ecclesiastical furniture, during the +Reformation. They are usually kept with great exactness, and contain +an accurate record of the receipts and expenditure for each year. Some +of the entries are very curious, and relate to the sports and pastimes +of our ancestors, the mystery plays, and church ales, which were all +under the patronage of the churchwardens. The proceeds of these +entertainments were devoted to the maintenance of the church, and +were included in the accounts, as well as the necessary cost of the +merry diversions. Thus in the books of St. Lawrence's Church, Reading, +we find such items as the following:-- + + s. d. +"1499. Paid for a coat for Robin Hood 5 4 + " for a supper to Robin Hood and + his company 1 6 + " for making the church clean + against the day of drinking + in the said church 4" + +"1531. Paid for five ells of canvass for a coat + for Maid Marian 1 6-1/4" + +"Bells for the Morris dancers," "liveries and coats," "bread and ale," +"horse-meat of the horses for the kings of Colen on May Day," are some +of the items which appear in these books. + +Another book tells us about the "Gatherings" at Hock-tide, when on one +day the men stopped the women, and on the next the women the men, and +refused to let them go until they gave money. The women always succeeded +in collecting the most money. + + s. d. +"It'm. receyved of the men's gatherynge 7 3 + " " " women's gatherynge 37 5" + +Traces of this custom are still found in many country places. The +practice of "hocking" at Hungerford and "lifting" in Lancashire subsist +still, but the money collected is no longer devoted to any pious uses. + +The item "Paschall money at Easter" frequently occurs. This was +originally a collection for the Paschal taper, which burned before the +high altar at Eastertide. When, in the reign of Elizabeth, the taper was +no longer used, the money was devoted to buying the bread and the wine +for the Easter Communion. Another item which often appears is a payment +of "Smoke farthings" to the bishop of the diocese at his Visitation +Court. This is another name for Peter's pence, formerly given to the +Pope. In the accounts of Minchinhampton we find the entry under the year +1576: "For Pentecost money, otherwyse peter pence, sometyme payed to +Antecryst of Rome xvi'd." After the Reformation the tax was collected, +but given to the bishop. + +There are very many other points of interest which a study of the +churchwardens' books presents. In more recent times we find constant +payments for the slaughter of sparrows, and many other items which +scarcely come under the head of ecclesiastical charges.[7] But of course +the vestry was then the council chamber of the parish, which managed all +the temporal affairs of the village community. Possibly, in these days +of Poor Law Unions, District and County Councils, our affairs may be +managed better; but there is much to be said in favour of the older +system, and Parish Councils are not much of an improvement on the old +vestries. + +Another book which our parish chest contains is the Brief Book. Briefs +were royal letters which were sent to the clergy directing that +collections be made for certain objects. These were very numerous and +varied. The building of St. Paul's Cathedral after the Great Fire, a +fire at Drury Lane Theatre, rebuilding of churches, the redemption of +English slaves taken by pirates, the construction of harbours in +Scotland, losses by hail, floods, French refugees, Reformed Episcopal +churches in Great Poland and Polish Prussia, Protestants in Copenhagen, +loss by fire, colleges in Philadelphia--these and many other objects +were commended to the liberality of Churchmen. The sums collected were +usually very small, and Pepys wrote in his _Diary_, June 30th, 1661:-- + +"To church, when we observe the trade of briefs is come now up to so +constant a course every Sunday that we resolve to give no more to them." + +The granting of briefs gave rise to much abuse, and they were finally +abolished by the advice of Lord Palmerston. + +The contents of the parish chest afford an unlimited mass of material +for those who love to study the curious customs of our forefathers and +their strange usages. Here is a record of a much-married person:-- + +"Mary Blewitt, ye wife of nine husbands successively, buried eight of +ym, but last of all ye woman dy'd and was buried, May 7th 1681." + +In the margin of the register is written, "This was her funeral text." + +The register of Sparsholt, Berks, records an instance of the body of a +dead man being arrested for debt. The entry is:-- + +"The corpse of John Matthews, of Fawler, was stopt on the churchway for +debt, August 27, 1689. And having laine there fower days, was by +Justices warrant buryied in the place to prevent annoyances--but about +sixe weekes after it was by an order of Sessions taken up and buried in +the churchyard by the wife of the deceased." + +A dog-whipper was an ancient parish official, whose duty was to drive +out all dogs from the church. The Wakefield accounts contain the +items:-- + +"1616. Paid to Gorby Stork for whippinge s. d. + doggs 2 6" + +"1703. For hatts shoes and hoses for sexton + and dog-whipper 18 6" + +Another official was the person appointed to arouse members of the +congregation from their slumbers during divine service. The parish +accounts of Castleton record:-- + + s. d. +"1702. Paid to sluggard waker 10 0" + +Sometimes the cost of a journey to London was +defrayed by the parish in order to enable a sufferer +to be touched for the king's evil. The Ecclesfield +accounts contain the following entry relating to this +custom:-- + +"1641. Given to John Parkin wife towards her + travell to London to get cure of his Majestie + for the disease called the Evill, which her s. d. + Sonen Thorn is visited withall 6 8" + +The clergymen were required to keep a register of all who were so +touched, in order that they might not again go to the king and receive +the bounty which accompanied the touch. Hence we read in the register of +Hambleden, Bucks:-- + +"1685. May 17, Mary Wallington had a certificate to goe before the King +for a disease called the King's Evil." + +The treating of bishops and clergy is often noticed in the accounts. +Sometimes a sugar-loaf was presented, as at St. James', Bristol:-- + +"1629. Paid for a sugar loaf for the Lord Bishop 15's 10'd" + +Sometimes items relate to their refreshment:-- + +"1593. Pd for a galland of beer given to the + Beishopp of Hereford iiii'd" + +"1617. Pd for a quart of wine and sugar bestowed + upon two preachers x'd" + +The status of students at the Universities was not so high in former +days as at present, and poor scholars used to beg their way to Oxford +and Cambridge, and receive the assistance of the charitable. Hence we +read in the Leverton accounts:-- + +"1562. Gave to a pore scholar at Oxford. 2s. 0d." + +With this record of "a pore scholar" we must leave our study of the +contents of the parish chest, which afford such valuable and accurate +information about village and town life of ancient times. + + +[6] 812 registers begin in 1538, 40 of which contain entries prior to +that date. 1,822 registers date from 1538 to 1558, and 2,448 from +1558 to 1603. + +[7] In the Whitchurch books we find: "1671. Paide for a coate and +wastcoate for good wife Clarke 13s., also for linen and shoes; to the +Chiurgeons for looking at Ezechiell Huller's legg £3." And such-like +entries. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +STAINED GLASS, TILES, AND MURAL PAINTINGS + +Destruction of old windows--Wilfrid's glass-window makers--Glass, +stained and painted--Changes in style--Work of foreign artists--Inlaid +tiles--Ironwork on doors and screens--Norman hinges--Mediaeval +plumbing work--Mural decoration, frescoes, and wall-painting--Cause +of their destruction--St. Christopher--Consecration crosses--Norman +art--Favourite subjects--Yew trees in churchyards--Lich-gates--The +churchyard--Curious epitaphs. + + +No branch of archaeology is more interesting than the study of our +stained-glass windows, which illustrate so clearly the faith, history, +and customs of our ancestors. We have again to thank the fanatics of +the Reformation and Cromwellian periods for the shameful destruction +of so many beautiful windows. How great has been the loss to art and +history caused by their reckless demolition! And in addition to this +miserable violence our windows have suffered greatly from the ignorant +indifference of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which allowed +priceless examples of old glass to be removed and replaced by the +hideous specimens of the modern glass-painters. + +In Saxon times this art found a home in England, the _artifices +lapidearum et vitrearum fenestrarum_ having been invited to this country +by Wilfrid, Bishop of York, in 709. The earliest specimen of ancient +glass now in existence is in the choir-aisles of Canterbury Cathedral, +where it was probably fixed when the cathedral was rebuilt after the +fire in 1174. + +Coloured glass is of two kinds: (1) _Stained glass_, made by mixing +metallic oxides with the glass when in a state of fusion, the colours +thus going through the whole mass; (2) _Painted glass_, in which +colouring is laid upon the white or tinted glass, and fixed by the +action of fire. As the style of architecture changed, so the art of the +glass-painter changed with it. In the Early English period the colours +were very rich, and the designs consisted of medallions containing +subjects taken from Holy Scripture, or the lives of the saints, upon +grounds of ruby and blue. Mosaic patterns form the groundwork of the +medallions, and a border of scrolls and foliage incloses the whole +design. The outlines of the figures are formed by the lead. In the +Decorated period the medallions disappear, and in their place we find +single figures of large size under canopies. Instead of the mosaic +backgrounds diaper-work in whole colours is used. Lights and shades are +introduced in the dresses and canopies, and foliage is painted on the +panes. The artists of this period first introduced heraldic devices into +the windows. A border of white glass intervenes between the window and +the medallion. + +When the Perpendicular style was in vogue the art of the glass-painter +degenerated, as did that of the architect. Stained glass was little +used, and the artists painted with enamel colours their designs upon the +glass. The figures were larger than before, and the canopies of great +size and with much architectural detail, landscapes and buildings +appearing in the background. During this period inscriptions began to be +used. In the sixteenth century the progress of the art was in the same +direction. Large figures, and groups of figures, fill the whole window, +and the existence of mullions is disregarded in the execution of the +design. Glass-painting flourished until the Civil War period, and then +died out. + +English churches benefited much by the work of foreign artists. The +great Florentine Francesco di Lievi da Gambassi visited this country. +There is a letter dated 1434, written "to the master glass-painter +Gambassi, then in Scotland, and who made works in glass of various +kinds, and was held to be the best glass-painter in the world." How much +must we regret the destruction of the windows made by this excellent +artist in Holyrood chapel and elsewhere by fanatical mobs! The Fairford +windows are perhaps the finest and most interesting in England. The +story runs that they were made in Germany for a church in Rome, and that +the vessel conveying them was captured by an English ship; and as the +noble church at Fairford was then being built, the glass was sent there +and given to it. Shiplake Church, Oxfordshire, has some of the beautiful +glass which once adorned the ruined church of St. Bertin at St. Omer, +plundered during the French Revolution. + +Some good work was accomplished in the seventeenth century by English +artists, who practised enamel painting, notably by Jervais, who in 1717 +executed from designs by Sir Joshua Reynolds the beautiful west window +of New College Chapel, Oxford. + +The floors of our churches were enriched with inlaid tiles. Various +patterns and designs were impressed upon them when the clay was moist, a +metallic glaze covered the surface, and then the tiles were placed in +the furnace. Many designs are found on ancient tiles, such as heraldic +devices, monograms, sacred symbols with texts, architectural designs, +figures, and patterns. The age of the tiles may be determined by +comparing the designs imprinted upon them with the architectural +decorations belonging to particular periods. In the sixteenth century +many Flemish tiles were brought to England, and superseded those of +English manufacture. + +In the Middle Ages no branch of art was neglected. Even the smith, who +made the ironwork for the doors, locks, and screens, was an artist, and +took pains to adapt his art to the style of architecture prevailing in +his time. Norman doors are remarkable for their beautifully ornamented +hinges. They have curling scrollwork, and a large branch in the form of +the letter C issuing from the straight bar near the head. Early English +doors have much elaborate scrollwork, with foliage and animals' heads. +During the Decorated period the hinges are simpler, on account of the +carved panelling on the doors, and they continue to become plainer in +the subsequent period. The knockers on the doors often assume very +grotesque forms, as at Durham Cathedral. The mediaeval plumber was also +an artist, and introduced shields of arms, fleur-de-lis, and other +devices, for the enrichment of spires, and pipes for carrying off water +from the roof. + +[Illustration: THE ANNUNCIATION, ENBORNE CHURCH] + +No part of the ancient decoration of our churches has suffered more than +the paintings and frescoes which formerly adorned their walls. In the +whole of the country there are very few of the ancient edifices which +retain any traces of the numerous quaint designs and figures painted on +the inner surfaces of their walls during the Middle Ages. Our ancestors +used to make free use of colour for the purpose of architectural +decoration, and employed several means in order to produce the effect. +They sometimes used fresco, by means of which they produced pictures +upon the walls covered with plaster while the plaster was wet. Sometimes +they employed wall-painting, _i.e._ they covered the walls when the +plaster was dry with some pictorial representation. The distinction +between fresco and wall-painting is frequently forgotten. Most of the +early specimens of this art are monochromes, but subsequently the +painters used polychrome, which signifies surface colouring in which +various colours are employed. The vaulted ceilings, the timber roof, the +screens and canopies, the monuments with their effigies, as well as the +surface of the walls, were often coloured with diaper-work. Colour and +gilding were marked features in all mediaeval buildings, and even richly +carved fonts and sculptural monuments were embellished with this method +of decoration. The appearance of our churches in those times must have +been very different from what it is now. Then a blaze of colour met the +eye on entering the sacred building, the events of sacred history were +brought to mind by the representations upon the walls, and many an +unlearned rustic acquired some knowledge of biblical history from the +contemplation of the rude figures with which his village church was +adorned. + +"Even the very walls of this dread place, +And the tall windows, with their breathing lights, +Speak to the adoring heart." + +The practice of painting the walls of our churches dates as far back as +Saxon times; but very few fragments of pre-Norman art remain. Of Norman +work we have numerous examples, and sometimes it is found that the early +specimens of the art have been painted over in later Gothic times, and +ruder and larger figures have eclipsed the more careful work of previous +ages. An example of this was discovered in the church of St. Lawrence, +Reading, where no less than five distinct series of paintings were +discovered, painted one over another. + +[Illustration: THE CRUCIFIXION, HATFORD, BERKS] + +Several circumstances have combined to obliterate these specimens of the +art of former days. It was not the intention of the Reformers themselves +to destroy them. They distinguished carefully between "an embossed and +gilt image, and a process of a story painted with the gestures and +action of many persons; and commonly the sum of the story written withal +hath another use in it than one dumb idol or image standing by itself." +It was left to the Puritans, impelled by fanaticism and ignorance, to +make "a slanderous desolation of the places of prayer," and it is to +them we owe much of the destruction of the old mural paintings. At the +end of the eighteenth century there was a prejudice against these works +of art; for in 1773 we find the Bishop of London refusing to allow +Reynolds, West, and Barry to clothe the naked walls of St. Paul's +Cathedral with pictures painted by themselves. Coated over by layers of +plaster, or whitewashed until all traces were obliterated, these relics +of ancient art have remained for generations, and it is only when an old +church is being restored, and the coats of plaster and whitewash +removed, that their presence is revealed; and then too often the colours +fade away on exposure to the air. + +[Illustration: ST. PAUL, KINGSTON LISLE] + +One of the favourite subjects of mural decoration was a figure of St. +Christopher with the Infant Saviour on his shoulder.[8] He usually has a +staff, and strange-looking fish swim about his feet as he crosses the +river; on one side there is a hermitage, with the figure of a hermit +holding a lantern to guide the saint, and on the other a windmill. This +figure usually was painted on the wall opposite the principal entrance, +as it was deemed lucky to see St. Christopher on first entering a +church. Moreover the sight of the saint was a preservative against +violent death during the day, and also a preventive against drowsiness +during the service, as the following verses show:-- + + "Christophori sancti speciem quicunque tuetur + Illo namque die nullo languore tenetur." + +Churchwardens' accounts record the painting of these figures-- + +"1503-4. It. payd to mylys paynter for payntyng + of Seynt X'fer viii's iiii'd" + +"1521. It. payd to John Payne for payntyng + of Sent Leonard left by the wyffs + onpaynted xx'd" + +A curious order was issued by Edward III. for arresting painters to work +in St. Stephen's Chapel at Westminster, to which artists of every +description were liable to surrender as often as the king required their +services. + +[Illustration: ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, KINGSTON LISLE] + +In Saxon times Consecration crosses were painted on the interior walls, +twelve in number, on the spots where the bishop marked the cross with holy +oil; and sometimes twelve crosses were carved or painted on the exterior +walls. During Norman times the art made progress, and there are many +specimens of mural decoration of this period, which correspond with the +mouldings generally used then; but not many scenes and figures were +depicted. Representations of bishops, _Agnus Dei_, scenes from the life of +our Lord, the apostles, the Last Judgment, St. George, scenes from the +life of St. Nicholas, St. John writing the Apocalypse, were favourite +subjects. At Copford the painter evidently tried to make the chancel +figuratively to represent the glories of heaven. + +During the reign of Henry III. great progress was made, and travelling +monks roamed the country leaving behind them in many a village church +traces of their skill in artistic decoration. The murder of St. Thomas of +Canterbury now became a favourite subject, also the lives of St. Catherine +of Alexandria, St. Nicholas, St. Margaret, St. Edmund, the Seven Acts of +Mercy, and the wheel of fortune. In the fourteenth century the Doom was +the usual decoration of the space over the chancel arch, and scenes from +the New Testament, legends of saints, "moralities," etc., were depicted on +the walls. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the artists paid +little respect to the work of their predecessors, and frequently painted +new designs over the earlier mural decorations. They also adorned very +beautifully the roofs and screens. The arrival of the Flemings in the +eastern counties is shown by the portraying of subjects and saints not +usually worshipped in England. The figures of St. George become more +numerous and also of St. Christopher, who were regarded with much +superstitious reverence by all classes. + +The vanity of human greatness is taught by the morality, "Les Trois Rois +Morts et les Trois Rois Vifs," representing three kings going gaily +hunting meeting three skeletons, the remains of kings once as powerful +as they. "The Dance of Death," so popular abroad, also appears in some +English churches. The wholesale destruction of so many specimens of +mediaeval art cannot be too strongly condemned and deplored. If any of my +readers should be fortunate enough to discover any traces of colouring +hidden away beneath the coats of whitewash on the walls of their church, +I would venture to advise them to very carefully remove the covering, and +then to consult Mr. Keyser's book on _Mural Decorations_, where they will +find an account of the best methods for preserving these valuable +specimens of early art. + +[Illustration: ST. PETER, KINGSTON LISLE] + +In the churchyard stands the old weather-beaten yew tree, looking like a +sentinel keeping watch over the graves of our forefathers. Some of these +trees are remarkable for their age; the yews at Fountains Abbey, in +Yorkshire, were probably in a flourishing condition so long ago as the +year 1132, and some are older still. Why they were planted in churchyards +it is difficult to ascertain. It has been conjectured that they were +planted in so secure a spot in order that the men might provide themselves +with bows, as all the bows used by the English, with which they did such +execution against their enemies, were made of yew. Others contend that its +green boughs were used instead of palms on Palm Sunday, or for funerals. +But I think that they were regarded with veneration by our forefathers +when they were still heathen, and that some religious symbolism--such as +of immortality--attached to them; and that when the Christian teachers +came they made use of this religious sentiment of the people, planted the +Christian cross by the side of the yew, and under its shade preached +lessons of true immortality, of which the heathen ideals were only corrupt +legends and vain dreams. + +At the entrance of the churchyard there is often a lich-gate, _i.e._ a +corpse-gate, where the body may rest while the funeral procession is +formed. _Lych_ is the Saxon word for a dead body, from which Lich-field, +"the field of dead bodies," is derived. Bray, in Berkshire, famous for +its time-serving vicar, is also famous for its lich-gate, which has two +rooms over it. + +"God's acre" is full of holy associations, where sleep "the rude +forefathers of the hamlet." There stands the village cross where the +preachers stood in Saxon times and converted the people to Christianity, +and there the old sundial on a graceful stone pedestal. Sometimes amid +the memorials of the dead stood the parish stocks. Here in olden days +fairs were held, and often markets every Sunday and holiday, and minstrels +and jugglers thronged; and stringent laws were passed to prevent "improper +and prohibited sports within the churchyard, as, for example, wrestling, +football, handball under penalty of twopence forfeit." Here church ales +were kept with much festivity, dancing, and merry-making; and here +sometimes doles were distributed on the tombstones of parochial +benefactors, and even bread and cheese scrambled for, according to the +curious bequests of eccentric donors. + +And then there are the quaint epitaphs on the gravestones, of which many +have made collections. Here is one to the memory of the driver of a +coach that ran from Aylesbury to London:-- + + "Parker, farewell! thy journey now is ended, + Death has the whip-hand, and with dust is blended; + Thy way-bill is examined, and I trust + Thy last account may prove exact and just, + When He who drives the chariot of the day, + Where life is light, whose Word's the living way, + Where travellers, like yourself, of every age, + And every clime, have taken their last stage, + The God of mercy and the God of love, + Show you the road to Paradise above." + +Here is another to the memory of a once famous Yorkshire actor, buried +at Beverley:-- + +"In memory of Samuel Butler, a poor player that struts and frets his +hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. Obt. June 15th, 1812, +Aet. 62." + +Here is a strange one from Awliscombe, Devon:-- + +"Here lie the remains of James Pady, brickmaker, late of this parish, +in hopes that his clay will be remoulded in a workmanlike manner, far +superior to his former perishable materials. + + "Keep death and judgment always in your eye, + Or else the devil off with you will fly, + And in his kiln with brimstone ever fry; + If you neglect the narrow road to seek, + Christ will reject you like a half-burnt brick." + +Those interested in the brave mortals who go down to the sea in ships +will like to read the following verses which appear on the tomb of +William Harrison, mariner, buried in Hessle Road Cemetery, Hull:-- + + "Long time I ploughed the ocean wide, + A life of toil I spent; + But now in harbour safe arrived + From care and discontent. + + "My anchor's cast, my sails are furled, + And now I am at rest; + Of all the ports throughout the world, + Sailors, this is the best." + +The following original epitaph in a neighbouring churchyard compares very +favourably with the flattering and fulsome inscriptions prevalent at the +beginning of the nineteenth century, written in what has been called +"lapidary style ":-- + + "He was---- + But words are wanting to say what; + Say what is just and kind, + And he was that." + + +[8] At Sedgeford the Infant is portrayed with three heads, illustrating +the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +CHURCH BELLS + +Bell customs and village life--Antiquity of bells--Christening of +bells--"Ancients"--Inscriptions--Dedications--Inscriptions of +praise--Leonine verses--Curious inscriptions--Historical events +recorded--Uses of bells--Passing bell--Pancake bell--Curfew--Guiding +bells--Names of benefactors--Great bells--Sanctus bell--Sacring +bell--Frequent ringing of bell--Change-ringing--Care of bells. + + +Bells play an important part in village life, and there are few more +interesting branches of the study of village antiquities than bell-lore. +Ringing customs throw much light upon the manners and doings of our +ancestors. Bells rang to commemorate the great events in history, news +of which was conveyed to the quiet village; they sounded forth the joys +and sorrows of the parishioners in their generations, pealed merrily at +their weddings, and mourned for them at their funerals. As the bell +"Roland" of Ghent seemed endowed with a human voice, and was silenced +for ever by Charles V. lest it should again rouse the citizens to arms, +so these bells in our village steeples seem to speak with living tongues +and tell the story of our village life. + +Bells have great antiquity. Odoceus, Bishop of Llandaff, in 550 A.D., +is said to have taken the bells away from his cathedral during a time +of excommunication. Bede mentions them in the seventh century. In 680 +Benedict, Abbot of Wearmouth, imported some from Italy, and in the tenth +century St. Dunstan hung many. Ireland probably had bells in the time +of St. Patrick, who died in 493, and a bell that bears his name is +preserved at Belfast. The earliest Saxon bells were not cast, but were +made of plates of iron riveted together, and were probably used as +hand-bells. + +Bells were usually christened. Those of Crowland Abbey were named Pega, +Bega, Tatwin, Turketyl, Betelin, Bartholomew, and Guthlac. A fire in +1091 destroyed this peal. Those of the priory of Little Dunmow, Essex, +according to an old chartulary, were new cast and baptised in 1501. + +"Prima in honore Sancti Michaelis Archangeli." +"Secunda in honore Sancti Johannis Evangelisti." +"Tertia in honore S. Johannis Baptisti." +"Quarta in honore Assumptionis beatae Mariae." +"Quinta in honore Sanctae Trinitatis et omnium sanctorum." + +The tenor bell at Welford, Berks, has the inscription, "Missi de celis +habeo nomen Gabrielis 1596." + +Bells dating from before the year 1600 are called "ancients," and it is +a very pleasant discovery to find one of these in our church tower; and +still more so if it be a pre-Reformation bell. Unfortunately a large +number of "ancients" have been recast, owing chiefly to the craze for +change-ringing which flourished in England between 1750 and 1830. The +oldest bell in this country is said to be St. Chad's, Claughton, which +bears the date 1296. Pre-Reformation bells are very seldom dated. + +Mediaeval bells have many curious inscriptions on them, which record the +name of the donor, the bell-founder, together with heraldic and other +devices. The inscriptions are often written in the first person, the +bell being supposed to utter the sentiment, as it sends forth its sound. +A study of the inscriptions on bells is full of interest. The earliest +are simple dedications of the bell to our Lord, or to some saint. The +principal inscriptions of this class are: "Jesus," "Jesus Nazarenus Rex +Judeorum," "Sit nomen IHC benedictum," "Sum Rosa Pulsata Mundi Maria +Vocata," "Sum Virgo Sancta Maria." The invocation, "Ora pro nobis," very +frequently is inscribed on bells, followed by the name of some saint, +and almost every saint in the Calendar is duly honoured in some bell +inscription. + +Bells were always rung on joyful occasions; hence inscriptions +expressing thankfulness and praise were appropriate. Consequently we +find such words as "Laus et Gloria Deo," "Laus Deo Gratia +Benefactoribus," "Alleluja," "Praise God," and other similar +inscriptions of praise. + +Some old bells have Latin hexameter verses inscribed on them, composed +by monks, which are called Leonine verses, from one Leoninus, a monk of +Marseilles, who lived in the early part of the twelfth century. A few +examples of these will suffice:-- + + "Est michi collatum ihc illud nomen amaetum." + "Protege Virgo pia quos convoco Sancta Maria." + "Voce mea viva depello cunta nocina." + +This refers to the belief that the ringing of bells drives away all +demons and tempests, storms and thunders, and all other hurtful things. +One bell proudly asserts:-- + + "Me melior vere non est campana sub ere." + +Inscriptions in English are often quaint and curious. Here is one from +Somerset:-- + + "My treble voice + Makes hearts rejoice." + +Another self-complacent bell asserts-- + + "If you have a judicious ear, + You'll own my voice is sweet and clear." + +Loyal inscriptions are often found, such as-- + + "For Church and King + We always ring." + + "I was made in hope to ring + At the crownacion of our King." + + "Ye people all that hear me ring + Be faithful to your God and King." + +A bell that has been recast sometimes praises the merits of its new +founder at the expense of its first maker, as at Badgworth, +Gloucester:-- + + "Badgworth ringers they are mad, + Because Rigbe made me bad; + But Abel Rudhall you may see + Hath made me better than Rigbe." + +Sometimes all the bells which compose a peal tell their various uses. +Thus at Bakewell we find some verses on each bell:-- + +1. "When I begin our merry Din + This Band I lead from discord free; + And for the fame of human name, + May every Leader copy Me." + +2. "Mankind, like us, too oft are found + Possess'd of nought but empty sound." + +3. "When of departed Hours we toll the knell, + Instruction take and spend the future well." + +4. "When men in Hymen's Bands unite, + Our merry peals produce delight; + But when Death goes his dreary Rounds, + We send forth sad and solemn sounds." + +5. "Thro' grandsires and Tripples with pleasure men range, + Till Death calls the Bob and brings on the Last Change." + +6. "When Vict'ry crowns the Public Weal + With Glee we give the merry Peal." + +7. "Would men like us join and agree + They'd live in tuneful Harmony." + +8. "Possess'd of deep sonorous Tone + This Belfry King sits on his throne; + And when the merry Bells go round, + Adds to and mellows ev'ry Sound; + So in a just and well pois'd State, + Where all Degrees possess due Weight, + One greater Pow'r one greater Tone + Is ceded to improve their own." + +A Rutland bell has the following beautiful inscription:-- + + "Non clamor sed amor cantat in aure Dei." + ("Not noise but love sings in the ear of God.") + +Historical events are sometimes recorded, as at Ashover, Derbyshire, +where a recasted bell states:-- + + "This old bell rung the downfall of Buonaparte and broke, April 1814." + +The uses of bells are often shown by their inscriptions. People were +aroused by their sound each morning in many places, as at St. Ives, +where a bell is inscribed-- + + "Arise and go about your business." + +The villagers were summoned to extinguish fires by ringing of bells. +Thus Sherborne, Dorset, has a bell inscribed-- + + "Lord, quench this furious flame: + Arise, run, help put out the same." + +Bell-ringing customs are very numerous.[9] The passing bell has many +variants. In some places three times three strokes are sounded for a +man, three times two for a woman, and three times one for a child. Out +of the first-named of these practices probably arose the phrase, "Nine +tailors make a man," which is usually explained as more properly +signifying "nine tellers make a man." Then we have a pancake bell, +which formerly summoned people to confession, and not to eat pancakes; +a gleaning bell, an eight hours' bell rung at 4 a.m., noon, and 8 p.m. +The curfew bell survives in many places, which, as everyone knows, was +in use long before William the Conqueror issued his edict. Peals are +rung on "Oak Apple Day," and on Guy Fawkes' Day, "loud enough to call +up poor Guy." Church bells played a useful part in guiding the people +homewards on dark winter evenings in the days when lands were +uninclosed and forests and wild moors abounded, and charitable folk, +like Richard Palmer, of Wokingham, left bequests to pay the sexton for +his labour in ringing at suitable times when the sound of the bells +might be of service to belated travellers. Names of benefactors often +find a permanent memorial on the bells which they gave; as at Binstead, +Hants, where a bell has the inscription-- + + "Doctor Nicholas gave five pound + To help cast this peal tuneable and sound." + +And another bell in the same tower records the name of our famous +Berkshire bell-founders, the Knight family. The inscription runs:-- + + "Samuel Knight made this ring + In Binstead steeple for to ding." + +[Illustration: ANCIENT BELL FOUND AT WARWICK] + +The story of our great bells, of "Great Toms," "Big Bens," "Great +Peters," need not be told here. They wake the echoes of our great +cities, and are not heard among the hills and dales of rural England. +Outside the church at the apex of the gable over the chancel arch there +is sometimes a small bell-cote, wherein the sanctus or saunce bell once +hung. This was rung during the service of High Mass when the _Ter +Sanctus_ was sung, in order that those who were engaged at their work +might know when the canon of the Mass was about to begin, in order that +they might kneel at the sound and pray to God. At Bosham Harbour the +fishermen used to so join in the service of the sanctuary, and it is +said that when George Herbert's sanctus bell sounded for prayers, the +ploughmen stopped from their work for a few moments and prayed. The +sanctus bell differed from the sacring bell, which was a hand-bell rung +inside the church at the elevation of the Host. + +Old churchwardens' accounts record the very frequent ringing of bells. +In addition to the Great Festivals, Corpus Christi Day, Church feasts +and ales, the occasions of royal visits, of episcopal visitations, +victories, and many other great events, were always celebrated by the +ringing of the church bells. In fact by the fondness of English folk +for sounding their bells this country earned the title in the Middle +Ages of "the ringing island." Peal-ringing was indeed peculiar to +England. It was not until the seventeenth century that change-ringing +became general, and our old bells suffered much at the hands of the +followers of the new fashion. + +In recent years the study of our church bells has made great progress, +and many volumes have been written upon the bells of various counties. +Too long have our bells been left to the bats and birds, and the belfry +is often the only portion of a church which is left uncared for. We are +learning better now, and the bells which have sounded forth the joys +and sorrows of our villagers for so many generations are receiving the +attention they deserve. + + +[9] A collection of these will be found in my book on _Old English +Customs Extant at the Present Time_. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE MEDIAEVAL VILLAGE + +Local government--Changes in the condition of villeins and labourers-- +Famine and pestilence--Effects of the Great Plague--Spirit of +independence--Picture of village life--Church house--Church ales-- +Pilgrimages--Markets--Old English fair--Wars--Hastings--Hereward +the Wake--Great Civil War--Restoration--Beacons. + + +Let us try to imagine the ordinary life and appearance of a mediaeval +English village in the "piping times of peace." Of course, no two +villages are quite alike; each has many distinguishing features; but +a strong family likeness is observable. In the Middle Ages a village +was much more independent than it is now. Then there were no Acts of +Parliament to control its affairs, and it regulated its own conduct +much to its own satisfaction, without any outside interference. Of +course, sometimes things were managed badly; but the village knew +it had only itself to blame, and therefore could not grumble at the +Government, or the fickleness of members of Parliament, or the +unreasonable conduct of Local Government Boards. Was not the lord +of the manor quite capable of trying all criminals? and did not the +rector and the vestry settle everything to the satisfaction of everyone, +without any "foreigners" asking questions, or interfering? + +The position of the villeins and _cottiers_ has changed considerably +since the days of William the Norman. The former were now free tenants, +who paid rent for their land to the lord of the manor, and were not +bound to work for him, while the latter worked for wages like our +modern agricultural labourer. There was thus in the twelfth century a +gradual approximation to modern conditions on many estates; the home +farm was worked by hired labourers who received wages; while the +villeins had bought themselves off from the obligation of doing +customary work by paying a quit-rent. + +We should like to know something of the way in which our ancestors +farmed their land, and fortunately several bailiffs have left us +their account books very carefully kept, and one Walter de Henley +in 1250 wrote a book on the _Art of Husbandry_, which gives us much +information. The rent of land was about sixpence per acre. They +ploughed three times a year, in autumn, April, and at midsummer, and +used oxen for their plough-teams. Women helped their husbands in +ploughing and harvest work. An old writer describes the farmer's wife +"walking by him with a long goad, in a cutted cote cutted full high." +Pigs and poultry were numerous on a mediaeval farm, but sheep were the +source of the farmer's wealth. Large flocks of divers breeds roamed the +hills and vales of rural England, and their rich fleeces were sent to +Antwerp, Bruges, and Ghent for the manufacture of cloth by the Flemish +weavers. After the Black Death, a great plague which ravaged the +country in 1348, the labourers were fewer in number, and their wages +higher; hence the farmers paid increased attention to their sheep, +which yielded rich profits, and required few labourers to look after +them. + +Prior to the advent of this grim visitor, the Great Plague, the +prosperity of our villages had greatly increased. The people were +better fed and better clothed than any of their neighbours on the +Continent. Moreover they were free men, and enjoyed their freedom. +There was much happiness in our English villages in those days, and +"Merry England" was not a misnomer. There were, however, two causes of +suffering which for a time produced untold wretchedness--two unwelcome +visitors who came very frequently and were much dreaded--famine and +pestilence. There is necessarily a sameness in the records of these +pestilences. + +The chief famine years were 1315 and 1316, but there is hardly any +period of five years from the death of Edward I. to the coming of +Henry of Richmond without these ghastly records of the sufferings of +the people. Disease not only arrested the growth of the population, +but reduced it considerably. It was mostly of a typhoid nature. The +undrained soil, the shallow stagnant waters which lay upon the surface +of the ground, the narrow and unhealthy homes, the filthy and neglected +streets of the towns, the excessive use of salted provisions and +absence of vegetables, predisposed the people to typhoid diseases, and +left them little chance of recovery when stricken down with pestilence. + +The Great Plague arrived in England in 1348 from the shores of Italy, +whither it had been wafted from the East. It was probably carried to +the port of Bristol by travelling merchants, whence it spread with +alarming rapidity over the whole land. Whole villages were depopulated, +and about one-third of the people of England perished. It is difficult +for us to imagine the sorrow and universal suffering which the plague +caused. Its effects were, however, beneficial to the villagers who +survived. Naturally labourers became very scarce and were much sought +after. Wages rose enormously. The tenants and rustics discovered that +they were people of importance. Manor lords found it too expensive to +farm their lands, and were eager to hand them over to their tenants, +many of whom became much richer and more independent than formerly. The +spirit of independence pervaded all classes. There came to our village +many wandering friars, followers of Wiklif, who preached discontent to +the labouring rustics, told them that the gentry had no right to lord +it over them, that they were as good as their masters, who ought not to +live in fine houses in luxury supported by their toil and the sweat of +their brows. And when oppressive taxes were levied, the rustics +revolted, and gained much for which they strove. The golden age of the +English labourer set in, when food was cheap, wages high, and labour +abundant. A fat pig could be bought for fourpence, and three pounds of +beef for a penny; and in spite of occasional visits of the plague, the +villager's lot was by no means unhappy. + +Here is a picture of village life in those days. The village church +stood in the centre of the hamlet, with a carefully made fence around +it, in order that no swine or foul beast might desecrate the graves. +Surrounded by the churchyard, with its yew tree and lich-gate, the +church was very similar to the old building wherein the villagers still +worship. All the houses had thatched roofs, and chief among the other +dwellings stood the lord's hall. Near the church was a curious building +called the church house, which has almost entirely passed away, except +in the records of old churchwardens' accounts. It was a large building, +in which could be stored wool, lime, timber, sand, etc., and was often +let to pedlars, or wandering merchants, to deposit their goods during +the fair. + +In this building there was a long low room with a large fireplace and +hearth, around which a dozen or more could sit in comfort, except when +the wind blew the smoke down the wide, open chimney; but our ancestors +were accustomed to smoky chimneys, and did not mind them. In the centre +of the room was a large oak table. This was the scene of some very +festive gatherings. Aubrey thus describes the church house:-- + +"In every parish was a church house, to which belonged spits, crocks, +and other utensils for dressing provisions. Here the housekeepers met. +The young people were there too, and had dancing, bowling, shooting at +butts, etc., the ancients [_i.e._ old folks] sitting gravely by, and +looking on." + +The churchwardens bought, and received presents of, a large quantity of +malt, which they brewed into beer and sold to the company. Hence these +feasts were called "church ales," and were held on the feast of the +dedication of the church, the proceeds being devoted to the maintenance +of the poor. Sometimes they were held at Whitsuntide also, sometimes +four times a year, and sometimes as often as money was wanted or a +feast desired. An arbour of boughs was erected in the churchyard on +these occasions called Robin Hood's Bower, where the maidens collected +money for the "ales," and "all went merry as a marriage bell"--rather +too merry sometimes, for the ale was strong and the villagers liked it, +and the ballad-singer was so merry, and the company so hearty--and was +it not all for a good cause, the support of the poor? The character of +these festivals deteriorated so much, until at last "church ales" were +prohibited altogether, on account of the excess to which they gave +rise. + +[Illustration: AN ANCIENT VILLAGE] + +There was a large amount of gaiety in the old villages in those days. +Men were not in so great a hurry to grow rich as they are now. The +Church authorised many holidays in the course of the year; and what +with May Day festivities, Plough Mondays, Hocktide and Shrovetide +sports, harvest suppers, fairs, and "ales," the villagers had plenty of +amusement, and their lives certainly could not be described as dull. +Sometimes the village would be enlivened by the presence of a company +of pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury, or +to Holywell, blessed by St. Winifred, in order to be cured of some +disease. Although these pilgrims were deemed to be engaged on a +religious duty, they certainly were not generally very serious or sad. +Chaucer describes a very joyous pilgrimage in his _Canterbury Tales_, +how the company met at the Tabard Inn, in Southwark, including the +knight and the abbot, the prioress and the shipman, the squire and the +merchant, the ploughman and sompnour (or summoner, "of whose visage +children were sore afeard"), and rode forth gaily in the spring +sunshine-- + + "The holy blissful martyr for to seek, + That them hath holpen when that they were sick." + +Pilgrim crosses are numerous all over England, where the pilgrims +halted for their devotions by the way, and sometimes we find churches +planted on the roadside far from human habitations, with no +parishioners near them; and some people wonder why they were so built. +These were pilgrim churches, built for the convenience of the +travellers as they wended their way to Canterbury. The villages through +which they passed must have been much enlivened by the presence of +these not very austere companies. + +The ordinary lives of the farmers were diversified by the visits +to the weekly markets held in the neighbouring town, where they took +their fat capons, eggs, butter, and cheese. Here is a curious relic +of olden times, an ancient market proclamation, which breathes the +spirit of former days, and which was read a few years ago at +Broughton-in-Furness, by the steward of the lord of the manor, from +the steps of the old market cross. These are the words:-- + +"O yes, O yes, O yes![10] The lord of the manor of Broughton and of +this fair and market strictly chargeth and commandeth on Her Majesty's +behalf, that all manners of persons repairing to this fair and market +do keep Her Majesty's peace, upon pain of five pounds to be forfeited +to Her Majesty, and their bodies to be imprisoned during the lord's +pleasure. Also that no manner of person within this fair and market do +bear any bill, battle-axe, or other prohibited weapons, but such as be +appointed by the lord's officers to keep this fair or market, upon pain +of forfeiture of all such weapons and further imprisonment. Also, that +no manner of person do pick any quarrel, matter, or cause for any old +grudge or malice to make any perturbation or trouble, upon pain of five +pounds, to be forfeited to the lord, and their bodies to be imprisoned. +Also, that none buy or sell in corners, back sides, or hidden places, +but in open fair or market, upon pain of forfeiture of all such goods +and merchandise so bought and sold, and their bodies to imprisonment. +Also, that no manner of persons shall sell any goods with unlawful mete +or measures, yards or weights, but such as be lawful and keep the true +assize, upon pain of forfeiture of all such goods and further +imprisonment. Lastly, if any manner of persons do here find themselves +grieved, or have any injuries or wrong committed or done against them, +let them repair to the lord or his officers, and there they shall be +heard according to right, equity, and justice. God save the Queen and +the lord of the manor!" + +And besides the weekly markets there were the great annual fairs, which +lasted many days, and were frequented by all classes of the population. +These fairs were absolutely necessary for the trade of the country in +the days when few people travelled far from their own homesteads, and +even the towns with their small number of inhabitants did not afford a +sufficient market for the farmer's and trader's stock. + +The greatest of all English fairs was held in the little village of +Stourbridge, near Cambridge, now almost absorbed by the University +town. Hither flocked merchants and traders from all parts of Europe. +Flemish merchants brought their fine linen and cloths from the great +commercial cities of Belgium. Genoese and Venetian traders came with +their stores of Eastern goods. Spaniards and Frenchmen brought their +wines, and the merchants of the Hanse towns of Germany sold furs and +flax, ornaments and spices, while in return for all these treasures our +English farmers brought the rich fleeces of their sheep, their corn, +horses, and cattle. The booths were planted in a cornfield, and the +circuit of the fair, which was like a well-governed city, was over +three miles. The shops were built in streets or rows, some named after +the various nations that congregated there, and others after the kind +of goods offered for sale. There were Garlick Row, Bookseller's Row, +Cook Row; there were a cheese fair, a hop fair, a wool fair, and every +trade was represented, together with taverns, eating-houses, and in +later years playhouses of various descriptions. In the eighteenth +century one hundred thousand pounds' worth of woollen manufactures was +sold in a week in one row alone. A thousand pack-horses were used to +convey the goods of the Lancashire merchants to this famous fair. Now +railways have supplanted the pack-horses; fairs have had their day; the +trade of the country can now be carried on without them; and their +relics with their shows and shooting-galleries and steam roundabouts +have become a nuisance. + +The peaceful life of the villagers was sometimes disturbed by the +sounds and sights of conflict. The exciting tales of war are connected +with the history of many an English village, and many "little +Wilhelmines" and labouring "grandsires" have discovered "something +large and round," traces of these ancient conflicts and "famous +victories." + + "For often when they go to plough + The ploughshare turns them out, + 'And many thousand men,' quoth he, + 'Were slain in that great victory.'" + +Many a lance and sword, and gilt spur, beautifully enamelled, which +once decked the heel of a noble knight, have been found in our fields, +and remind us of those battles which were fought so long ago. + + "The knights are dust, + Their good swords rust, + Their souls are with the saints, we trust." + +Sometimes the spectres of armed knights and warriors are supposed to +haunt these scenes of ancient slaughter, and popular superstition has +handed down the memory of the battles which were fought so long ago. It +tells us of the mythical records of the fights of King Arthur and his +Knights of the Round Table by the banks of the River Douglas, which ran +with blood for three days, so terrible was the slaughter. It tells us +how stubbornly the Britons resisted the Roman armies, so that on one +occasion not one Briton was left to tell the tale of their defeat. + +When we visit the site of some battle with the history book in our hand, +it is possible to imagine the lonely hillside peopled again with the +dense ranks of English archers, or hear the clanging of the armour as +the men-at-arms charged for "St. George and merry England"; and the air +will be full again of the battle-cries, of the groans of the wounded and +the shouts of the victors. + +Visit the scene of the battle of Hastings. Here on the high ground, +flanked by a wood, stood the brave English, under the leadership of +Harold, with his banner, woven with gold and jewels, shining +conspicuously in the morning sunlight. Here they stood in the form of +a wedge; there they turned the Normans, and put them to flight. Then +the Normans rallied, pretended to fly, decoyed the brave English from +their position, and by stratagem succeeded in defeating them at last. +Or go to the Madingley Windmill, near Cambridge, and see the fifteen +miles of rich drained cornfields which intervene between "Ely's stately +fane" and the spot on which you are standing. Here read Kingsley's +well-known story of _Hereward; or, The Last of the English_, and instead +of the rich cornfields you will see that black abyss of mud and bottomless +slime into which sank the flower of Norman chivalry as they tried to +cross that treacherous bog to conquer the gallant Hereward and to +plunder the monastery of Ely, the last stronghold of the English. On +they came, thousands upon thousands, rushing along the floating bridge +which they had formed, until at last it gave way beneath the weight, and +the black slime swallowed up the miserable wretches. + +Or let us take our stand on the Round Tower, near the summit of the Edge +Hill, and see the site of the first battle between the troops of Charles +I. and the soldiers of the Parliament. The whole of that green lane was +lined with troops. In a cottage which stood at our feet the king +breakfasted before the battle; from that mound he surveyed the forces of +the enemy. Just as the bells in yonder church had ceased to ring for +service on Sunday afternoon the cannon began to roar, and the fight +commenced. There Prince Rupert charged with headlong fury, carrying all +before him. And so we can follow the fortunes of the fight until the +brave Cavaliers retired to rest-- + + "And thousands had sunk on the ground overpowered + The weary to sleep, and the wounded to die." + +The memory of many a fight is recorded in the names of the fields, +places, and hills on which the battle raged. Lichfield (_i.e._ the +field of the dead), Battlefield, Battle, Battleflats, Standard Hill, +Slaughterford, and many others, all tell the tale of war and slaughter. + +In some parts of the country, especially in Oxfordshire, there are fine +avenues of trees, which appear to lead to a large house; but when you +have walked to the end of the trees there is nothing to be seen. These +avenues tell the tale of war, of the destruction of the manor-house of +some old Royalist who fought for his king when the "Roundheads" and +Cromwell's "Ironsides" were more than a match for the gallant Cavaliers. +His house was destroyed, he and his sons killed, unless they were +fortunate enough to escape to France and wait the merry time "when the +king should enjoy his own again." How many of our uplands and gentle +vales have been stained with blood, and seen the terrible horrors of +war, of which we in these favoured days know nothing from our own +experience! We read about the sad battles and sieges which have taken +place in other countries, but can hardly imagine the time when hostile +soldiers were riding through our village lanes, and the noise of the +cannon was booming in the distance, as on that famous Sunday morning in +October, 1642, when Richard Baxter was disturbed in his preaching at +Alcester by that strange sound, and knew that the terrible conflict had +begun between the king and Parliament. Our English villages suffered +very much. All farming was stopped, manor-houses destroyed, some of the +best blood in England spilt, and many a home made desolate. Indeed, in +some parts of the country the people had literally no bread to eat, and +no clothing to cover their nakedness; and Cromwell ordered collections +to be made in London for the relief of the distressed people in +Lancashire. Then the old clergyman was driven from his flock, and some +commissioner appointed who wrote in the register-books of the parish the +names of the children who were born, but did not record their baptism as +the clergyman did. And then some black-gowned Puritan, with his hair cut +short, came and took possession of the living, and preached very long +sermons about Cromwell "girding his sword upon his thigh," and about +blinded Papists, and about Mahershalal-hash-baz, who made haste to +divide the spoil. + +But in the glorious year 1660 everyone began to throw up his cap and +welcome right royally the king from over the water; and the long-faced +Puritan disappeared, and the writing in the register-books changed into +that of a scholarly hand; and many of our churches were enriched by +thankofferings of plate and other gifts, because the good people of +England rejoiced exceedingly that their loved Church and her services +were restored to them; and "the king at last enjoyed his own again." The +memory of the adventures of King Charles II., when he was endeavouring +to escape from England after the last crushing defeat of the royal +troops at Worcester, called by Cromwell "the crowning mercy," still +lingers in many of the country villages through which the unfortunate +monarch passed. The king and a few faithful followers avoided the towns, +passed the ford of the Salwarp at Hemford Mill, and proceeded by Chester +Lane to Broadwaters and Kinfare Heath. Presently they reached Brewood +Forest, where there stood two old hunting-lodges, built by the Giffards +in troublous times as hiding-places for proscribed Papists. They were +called White Ladies and Boscobel, and were inhabited by staunch +Royalists named Penderel; so the king knew he would be safe there. He +was disguised as a forester with leathern jerkin and trunk hose, his +long hair cropped, and his hands blackened. All day he lay concealed in +a coppice, and in the evening, under the name of Will Jackson, he supped +with the Penderels, and then tried to cross the Severn, but all the +fords and bridges were guarded. The next day he and Colonel Carlos +remained concealed in a large oak near Boscobel, and the memory of Royal +Oak day is still preserved. He had other narrow escapes, and was saved +by Mistress Jane Lane, the beautiful daughter of Colonel Lane. A pass +had been obtained for her and her groom to go to Abbot's Leigh, near +Bristol. The plan was arranged that the king should act as groom; so +Charles mounted his horse, and Mistress Lane sat behind him on a +pillion, and together they rode through Warwickshire to Bristol. The +king was nearly captured at Long Marston, for some troopers of Cromwell +suspected the party, and came to examine the house where they rested. +The cook, however, set Charles to wind up the jack, and because he was +awkward struck him with the basting-ladle just as the soldiers entered +the kitchen. Their suspicions were thus removed; and in this old house +the remains of the jack are still preserved. The poor king was +disappointed of his ship; the skipper unfortunately told his wife that +he was going to take the king to France, and she was angry, and locked +him up in his room, so that he could not fulfil his engagement. At last +Lord Wilmot procured a ship for the fugitive king, who set sail joyfully +from Shoreham, near Brighton, and reached Paris in safety. There must +have been great excitement in the villages of England when the troopers +were scouring the country in all directions, and the unfortunate king +was known to be wandering about disguised as a servant. + +If there are any hills or high ground in your neighbourhood commanding +an extensive view of the country, it is probable that in olden days a +beacon was placed there, so that the country might be aroused in case of +an invasion, and frequently we find that the tower of a church was used +as a beacon, and occasionally the iron brazier remains, as at Little +Budworth, Cheshire. When the Spaniards determined to invade England in +the reign of "Good Queen Bess," and sent the Invincible Armada, +consisting of an enormous number of ships and men and guns, bonfires +were placed on every hill; and when a gallant merchant vessel brought +the news that the Spaniards were coming, the bonfires were lighted, and +everyone prepared to resist their attack. Macaulay has told us in very +stirring verse of how the news spread, as each fire was lighted, + + "From Eddystone to Berwick bounds, from Lynn to Milford Bay"; + +how Beachy Head caught the signal from St. Michael's Mount, and sent it +swiftly over the country from tower to hill-top, + + "Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burned on Gaunt's embattled pile, + And the red glare of Skiddaw roused the burghers of Carlisle." + +Again, within the memory of the old inhabitants of your village, the +hill beacons were brought into use when Napoleon I. threatened to invade +England; and on January 31, 1803, by some mistake, the fire on Hume +Castle, in Berwickshire, was lighted; other beacons responded, and ere +morning dawned thousands were marching ankle-deep through the dense mud +of the winter roads to their appointed stations. The mistake was not +without its uses, as Napoleon saw that England was ready, and did not +venture to attack our shores. A similar accident took place in the reign +of Henry VIII. There was a conspiracy against the king by the Roman +Catholics, who did not like their monasteries being destroyed, called +"The Pilgrimage of Grace." Beacons were erected on the heights of +Pendel, in Lancashire, and on the various hills of Yorkshire and +Derbyshire; but the beacon on Pendel was fired before the conspirators +were quite ready for action, and their plot came to nothing. + +Once again in the history of our country were these beacon fires +lighted; but it was not to announce the approach of an enemy, but to +reflect the gladness of the nation which for so many years had enjoyed +the reign of so good a ruler as Queen Victoria, who has now passed away +from us, and whom the whole nation mourns. And as we witnessed the +sudden blaze of the beacons we thought, perhaps, of other occasions when +they were used, and were thankful that rejoicings and thanksgivings were +the cause, and not invasions or conspiracies. + + +[10] This is a corruption of the old Norman-French word _oyez_, +"hear ye." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +VILLAGE SPORTS AND PASTIMES + +Decay of old sports--Twelfth Night--Shrovetide--Mothering Sunday-- +Hocktide--May Day--Miracle plays--St. John's Day--Rush-bearing--Beating +the bounds--Archery--Quintain--Football--Christmas games--Stocks-- +Cucking-stool. + + +It is the custom of some writers to represent the lot of an English +villager in past ages as having been particularly hard and disagreeable; +to enlarge upon the scanty wages which he received; and to compare his +position unfavourably with that of the agricultural labourer of the +present day. I have already pointed out that the small wages which he +received are no test of his poverty, because he received so much more in +lieu of wages; and certainly he had far more opportunities of enjoyment +and recreation than the present generation has. Now we have scarcely any +village games or sports, except when some energetic rector or curate +starts a cricket club. Old social customs, which added such diversity to +the lives of the rustics two centuries ago, have died out. The village +green, the source of so much innocent happiness, is no more; and a +recent writer has observed that the ordinary existence of agricultural +labourers is so dull that in East Anglia they have almost forgotten how +to laugh! + +We will now try to realise how our village forefathers used to enjoy +themselves, how they used to spend their holidays, and to picture to +ourselves the scenes of happy social intercourse which once took place +in our own hamlet. Every season of the year had its holiday customs and +quaint manner of observance, some of them confined to particular +counties, but many of them universally observed. + +On the eve of Twelfth Night, January 5th, we see the good farmer and his +labourers in Devonshire joining hands round his apple trees, and +singing-- + + "Here's to thee, old apple tree! + Hence thou mayst bud, and whence thou mayst blow! + And whence thou mayst bear apples enow! + Hats full! caps full! + Bushel, bushel, sacks full, + And my pockets full too! Huzza!" + +A hearty supper followed, and with laughter, songs, and good wishes to +the farmer and his wife, the company passed a very joyous evening. In +Herefordshire, Yorkshire, and other parts of England similar customs +prevailed. + +[Illustration: ANN HATHAWAY'S COTTAGE] + +Then followed Twelfth Night, which was celebrated by great rejoicings +and merry-makings, a game called the choosing of kings and queens being +played, and Twelfth Night cakes consumed in plenty. The next Monday was +called Plough Monday, when the labourers used to draw a plough round +the parish and receive presents of money, favouring the spectators with +sword-dancing and mumming, preparatory to beginning to plough after the +Christmas holidays. The men were decked out with gay ribbons, and were +accompanied by morris-dancers. The Christmas holidays lasted these +twelve days, and during them it was customary for the gentlemen to +feast the farmers, and for the farmers to feast their labourers. Then +came the Shrovetide festivities, on Shrove Tuesday, when pancakes, +football, and cock-fighting, and a still more barbarous custom of +throwing sticks at hens, were generally in vogue. On Mid-Lent Sunday, +commonly called "Mothering Sunday," it was the pleasing custom for +servants and apprentices to carry cakes or furmity as presents to their +mother, and to receive from her a cake with her blessing. This was +called "going a-mothering." The old poet Herrick alludes to the custom +in Gloucestershire in these words:-- + + "I'll to thee a simnell bring, + 'Gainst thou go'st a-mothering; + So that when she blesseth thee, + Half that blessing thou'lt give me." + +Then came the diversions of Hocktide, on the second Monday and Tuesday +after Easter, when the men and women intercepted the public on alternate +days with ropes, and boldly exacted money for pious purposes. There was +a Hocktide play, which was acted before Queen Elizabeth, and caused her +much amusement. She gave the players two bucks and five marks of money, +which delighted them exceedingly. + +Very shortly afterwards the great rural festival of our forefathers +took place, the glad May Day, when, in the early dawn, the lads and +lassies left their towns and villages, and going into the woods to the +sound of music, gathered the may or blossomed branches of the tree, +and bound them with wreaths of flowers. At sunrise they returned, and +decorated the lattices and doors with the sweet-smelling spoil of +their joyous journey, and spent the rest of the day in sports and +pastimes, and dancing round the Maypole. The setting-up of the +May-pole was a very joyous ceremony. A long string of oxen, gaily +decked with flowers, drew to the village green the time-honoured pole, +decked with streamers, flowers, and flags, where it was raised amidst +laughter and shouts; and the Queen of the May was enthroned in an +arbour and all danced round; and the morris-dancers, Robin Hood, Friar +Tuck, and Maid Marian performed wonderful antics as they led the +revels. Targets were set up at the other end of the green, and archery +formed an important part of the day's pleasures. The preachers at the +time of the Reformation thought the people made an idol of the +Maypole, and condemned the innocent amusements, which were revived +again when Charles II. came to the throne. After May Day our villagers +had not long to wait until the Whitsuntide holiday came round-- + + "A day of jubilee, + An ancient holiday; + When, lo! the rural revels are begun, + And gaily echoing to the laughing sky, + On the smooth-shaven green, + Resounds the voice of mirth." + +I have already given a description of these Whitsuntide rejoicings in +a preceding chapter. + +Then there were the miracle plays, or "mysteries," as they were called, +in June, on Corpus Christi Day, which were performed before the +Reformation, principally in the neighbourhood of large monasteries; +Coventry, Chester, London, York being specially renowned for these +performances. The subjects were taken from Holy Scripture, or from +the lives of saints, and were intended to teach the people religious +knowledge, but the scenes were disfigured by many absurdities and +grotesque perversions. Their history is a curious one, too long to +enter upon in this chapter; but often in the open fields, at the bottom +of natural amphitheatres, were these plays performed, very similar in +construction to the famous passion play performed by the peasants, at +Ober Ammergau, in Bavaria, the last surviving specimen of the ancient +religious drama. + +Then there were the bonfires to be lighted on St. John's Day upon the +hillsides, and the dance of the young people around them, the more +venturesome youths leaping through the flames, all carrying home the +firebrands and forming a glad procession. Afterwards followed the busy +harvest-time, when everyone was too hard at work, and too tired at the +end of the day's labours, to think of holiday-making; but at length +came the harvest home, when the last sheaf was gathered in, and the +harvest supper was a very joyous occasion. With light hearts, smiling +faces, and cheerful shouts, the harvest labourers and their wives and +children, carrying green boughs, a sheaf of wheat, and rude flags, +formed a glad procession to the farmer's house, where they found the +fuelled chimney blazing wide, and "the strong table groaning beneath +the smoking sirloin." The feast over, they retired to some near +hillock, and made the welkin ring with their shouts, "Holla, holla, +holla, largess!"--largess being the presents of money and good things +which the farmer had bestowed. Such was the harvest home in the good +old days, a joy and delight to both old and young. Shorn of much of its +merriment and quaint customs, it still lingers on; but modern habits +and notions have deprived it of much of its old spirit and +light-heartedness. + +The floors of the old churches were formerly unpaved and unbearded, +simply made of clay, and were covered over with rushes. Once a year +there was a great ceremony, called "rush-bearing." Rushes were cut in +the neighbouring marsh, and made up into long bundles, decked with +ribands and flowers. Then a procession was formed, everyone bearing a +bundle of rushes, or placing them in the rush-cart beautifully adorned; +and with music, drums, and ringing of bells, they marched to the church +and strewed the floor with their honoured burdens. Long after the +rushes ceased to be used in church the ceremony was continued, and I +have myself witnessed a rush-bearing procession such as I have +described. A village feast, followed by dancing round the May-pole, +generally formed the conclusion to the day's festivities. + +"Beating the bounds" of the parish was another annual ceremony, which +often took place on Ascension Day and is still in use at Oxford. +Boundaries of property were not so clearly defined in those days as +they are now; and hedgerows, walls, and railings were scarce. The +bounds of the parish were often marked by trees, called "gospel trees," +because the clergyman used to read the gospel for the day under their +shade. The people carried a processional cross and willow wands, and +boys were generally flogged at the boundaries, or ducked in the river, +if that constituted a boundary, in order to impress upon their memories +where the bounds were. The village feast afterwards made some amends to +them for their harsh treatment. + +The village sports were a great source of enjoyment, and were frequently +indulged in. The time-honoured archery developed the skill of our +English bowmen, and won for them many a battle before the days of +gunpowder and cannons. Then there was the very ancient game of the +quintain, which consisted of an upright post with a cross-post turning +upon a pin. At one end of the latter was a broad board, at the other a +heavy sand-bag. The play, which required skill and dexterity, was to +ride against the broad end with a lance, and pass by before the sandbag, +swinging round, could strike the player to the ground. This was a common +sport at wedding festivities. There were also the games of singlestick, +cudgelling, and wrestling, which had many votaries, and the famous game +of quarter-staff, so general in Berkshire, and so graphically described +in _The Scouring of the White Horse_, by Mr. Hughes. An old parishioner +of mine was the reputed champion of this game, which has now almost died +out. Football is an ancient sport, and the manner formerly in vogue most +nearly resembles the game authorised by the Rugby rules. The football +was thrown down in the churchyard, and the object was to carry it +perhaps two or three miles, every inch of ground being keenly contested. +"Touch-downs" were then unknown, but it is evident from old records that +"scrimmages" and "hacking" were much in vogue. Sack-racing, grinning +through horse-collars, running after pigs with greased tails, were some +of the lighter forms of amusement which pleased the villagers. + +Then in the winter evenings there were "carols" to be practised for +Christmas, and each village boasted of its own musicians, who played +violins, flutes, clarionets, and other instruments in church, before +the days of harmoniums and organs. Their music might not be of a very +first-rate order, but they delighted in it, took an interest in it; and +how pleased they were to take part in the service, and to play over +their favourite hymn tunes, with a great many twirls and variations, to +their children during the winter evenings! Christmas brought its +accustomed merry-makings. In the north every farmer gave two feasts, +one called "t' ould foaks' neet," and the other "t' young foaks' neet." +Here is Sir Walter Scott's description of an ancient Christmas:-- + + "And well our Christian sires of old + Loved when the year its course had roll'd + And brought blithe Christmas back again, + With all its hospitable train. + Domestic and religious rite + Gave honour to the holy night: + On Christmas Eve the bells were rung; + On Christmas Eve the Mass was sung; + That only night in all the year + Saw the staled priest the chalice rear. + The damsel donn'd her kirtle sheen; + The hall was dressed with holly green; + Forth to the wood did merry men go, + To gather in the mistletoe. + Then open wide the baron's hall, + To vassal, tenant, serf, and all; + Power laid his rod of rule aside, + And Ceremony doft'd his pride. + The heir with roses in his shoes, + That night might village partner choose; + The lord, underogating, share + The vulgar game of 'post and pair.' + All hailed with uncontrolled delight + The general voice, the happy night, + That to the cottage, as the crown, + Brought tidings of salvation down. + + "The fire, with well-dried logs supplied, + Went roaring up the chimney wide; + The huge hall-table's oaken face + Scrubb'd till it shone, the day of grace, + Bore then upon its massive board + No mark to part the squire and lord. + Then was brought in the lusty brawn, + By old blue-coated serving man; + Then the grim boar's head frowned on high + Crested with bays and rosemary. + Well can the green-garb'd ranger tell + How, when, and where the monster fell; + What dogs before his death he tore, + And all the baiting of the boar; + While round the merry wassail bowl, + Garnished with ribbons, blithe did trowl. + Then the huge sirloin reek'd: hard by + Plum-porridge stood, and Christmas pie; + Nor fail'd old Scotland to produce + At such high time her savoury goose. + Then came the merry maskers in, + And carols roared with blithesome din; + If unmelodious was the song, + It was a hearty note, and strong. + Who lists may in this mumming see + Traces of ancient mystery; + White shirts supply the masquerade, + And smutted cheeks the visor made; + But, oh! what masquers, richly dight, + Can boast of bosoms half so light! + England was merry England when + Old Christmas brought his sports again. + 'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale; + 'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale. + A Christmas gambol oft would cheer + A poor man's heart through half the year." + +Such was the manner of keeping Christmas in olden times; and if "the +mightiest ale" was sometimes too mighty, and although the intemperance +of our forefathers was a vice much to be deplored, at any rate their +hearty manner of keeping this annual feast was effectual in promoting +"goodwill amongst men," and in cheering the hearts of the poor. + +In this chapter I have attempted to show the varied amusements and +recreations in which our village ancestors took part. On the old village +green, which in too many of our villages has been inclosed and become a +thing of the past, many of these sports and pastimes once took place. +There stood the village stocks, in which the refractory paid the penalty +of their misdeeds; and sometimes, too, a pillory was added, which held +fast the head, arms, and legs of the culprit, while the villagers, rude +vindicators of the law, threw stones, rotten eggs, and other missiles at +the unhappy victim. At the edge of the pond you might have seen a long +plank which turned on a swivel, with a chair at the end overhanging the +water. This was called a "cucking-stool," and was used to duck scolds or +brawlers. The culprit was placed in the chair, and the other end of the +plank was raised several times, so that the ardour of the culprit was +effectually cooled by frequent immersions. These were rough methods of +administering justice, but often very effectual in checking vice. + +The social customs which formerly existed in each village, the sports +and pastimes associated with the village green, the May Day festivals, +and the Christmas carollings were of great value, inasmuch as they +tended to infuse some poetical feeling into the minds of the people, +softened the rudeness of rustic manners, and gave the villagers simple +pleasures which lightened their labours. They prevented them from +growing hard, grasping, and discontented with their lot. They promoted +good feeling between the farmers and their labourers. The customs of +the town were a poor exchange for the ancient country manners and +amusements; and it was a sad day for our country when the villagers +lost their simplicity and the power of appreciating the primitive +pleasures of rural England. + +[Illustration: OLD STOCKS AND WHIPPING POST] + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE VILLAGE INN + +Monastic inns--Village inns--Highwaymen--Inn signs--Famous inns-- +Man-traps. + + +In almost every village in England there is an inn. Before the +Reformation there were very few of these hostelries, as travellers +were always accommodated at the monasteries, each of which, as we have +seen, had a hospitium, or guest-house, where their wants were attended +to by special officers appointed for the purpose, and where they could +remain for several days. But the destruction of the monasteries +produced many changes in the condition of the country; it introduced +the necessity of a poor law, for the poor were always relieved by the +monasteries; it required the erection of schools and places for +education, as all the education of the country had been carried on in +these monastic buildings; and when the old guesthouses ceased to +exist, travellers, merchants, and pedlars required some place in which +to lodge when they moved about the country, and inns became plentiful +as time went on. Hence in almost every village in England there is an +inn, which is generally a landmark; and if you wish to direct a +stranger to some place where he desires to go, you doubtless tell him +to turn to the right by "The Bull," or to keep straight on until he +comes to "The Magpie." Indeed, a friend of mine, who is a strong +teetotaler, asserts that the only good use inns have is to help people +to find their road. But old inns have a great history. In former days +they used to be meeting-places of plotters and conspirators. All the +distinguished people in the country used to pass through the villages +and towns on the great roads through the country, and when the horses +were being changed they used to partake of the good fare which the +landlord provided. Those were busy times for the old inns, when there +was stabling for fifty or sixty horses, and the coaches used to rattle +through the village to the inn door long before the iron horses began +to drag their freight of passengers along the iron roads, and the +scream of the engines took the place of the cheerful notes of the +posthorn. + +Sometimes a gentleman would ride to an inn door on a beautiful, +fleet-looking steed, and receive a hearty welcome from the landlord; +but the pistols in his belt looked ominous, and presently some +soldiers would steal noiselessly into the inn where the gentleman was +refreshing himself, and there would be heard the sounds of vigorous +fighting; and often, in some wonderful way, Claude Duval or the noted +Dick would fight his way out, whistle to his steed, jump into the +saddle, and ride away before his less nimble pursuers had recovered +from their astonishment. Very many exciting scenes have taken place in +our old inns, but in these days railways have changed all things; and +in many streets where the coaches used to rattle along, and the place +was alive with merry sounds, the moss now grows, and all is silence +and desolation. We should certainly think it inconvenient to take +three days to travel from London to Bath, and it would not be pleasant +to have a visit from Dick Turpin on the way, and to have all one's +valuables appropriated by that notorious highwayman; but in these days +of worry and busy bustling it would be refreshing to catch a glimpse +of those quiet times when people were not so much in a hurry, and to +hear the sound of the posthorn once more instead of the whistle of the +steam-engine. + +The quaint-looking pictures and curious names which attract our notice +as we pass an inn door have some queer stories to tell. We notice a very +curious collection of animals sometimes, and a strange assortment of +things; and the reason why our ancestors put some of these curious +things together is somewhat difficult for us to find out. In olden days, +other houses of tradesmen besides inns had signs. Grocers, tailors, +candlestick-makers, all had signs; but most of these have disappeared, +except one belonging to a certain sweep of my acquaintance, whose house +is adorned with the figure of a man coming out of a globe, with the +motto, "Help me through the world." Over their doors barbers still have +their poles, which represented once the fact that the barber was +prepared to bandage up wounded arms and legs, and to perform the office +of blood-letting; the stripes on the pole were intended to represent the +bandages, and the barber was the surgeon of the town. We do not seem to +have so much blood to spare as our forefathers, as the barber always +bled his customers once or twice a year, especially in the springtime, +the operation being considered very beneficial. + +One reason for the curious mixture of animals and other things which we +see on signboards is that an apprentice, when he had finished his time +and begun to set up for himself, adopted some sign, and then joined with +it the sign of his old master. This will account for such curiosities as +"The Lamb and Dolphin," "The Goose and Gridiron," "The Fox and Seven +Stars," combinations of things for which it would otherwise be difficult +to account. Another reason is that signs were taken from the armorial +bearings, or crests, of some popular character, or of some great family +in the neighbourhood. For example, I may mention "The Bear with the +Ragged Staff," which was the crest of Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick, +commonly called "The Kingmaker," who was slain in the battle of Barnet, +1471 A.D. "The Blue Boar" was one of the badges of the House of York. +"The Bull" is a very common sign, because it was a very common crest, +and we have them in all colours--black, red, white; lions also rage in +blue, white, and red attire. Sometimes we meet with "The Cross Keys," +the keeper of which was probably an old servant or tenant of an abbey or +monastery, and chose his sign from that of the monastery with which he +was connected. Frequently, in olden times, a cross was erected at the +meeting of two or three roads, or where the pilgrims to Canterbury used +to pass; afterwards an inn was built near it, and was, in many cases, +called the Cross Inn. + +One very common cause of curious signs is the way in which the original +word has been corrupted by ignorant people frequently repeating words +which they did not understand, and thus changing their whole meaning. +You may have seen an inn described as "The Swan with Two Necks"--a very +rare bird indeed. But it was never intended to disfigure the bird by +giving it two necks; the original sign was "The Swan with Two _Nicks_" +and nicks were the marks which were cut on a swan's bill to distinguish +it from other swans, so that it might be known to whom the bird +belonged. But _nicks_ became _necks_ in course of conversation, until at +last a fabulous creature with two beautifully curved necks appeared on +the signboard. This same cause will account for the two strange signs, +"Bull and Gate" and "Bull and Mouth." The original signs were "Boulogne +Gate" and "Boulogne Mouth," _i.e._ the gate and harbour of the town of +Boulogne, in France, which was captured by the English under King Henry +VIII. in the year 1544. The English were very pleased to hear of the +defeat of the French, and of the taking of that important town, and +several inns were named in honour of the event; but the French +"Boulogne" was too much for our good English mouths to speak, so it +became "Bull and." + +Another name which puzzled our forefathers was "_La Belle Sauvage_" +("the Beautiful Savage"), which was named after a noted savage beauty +who was the rage at Paris. Others assert that the name of the landlady +was Isabella Savage, shortened into Bella Savage. However, in course of +time the name was altered into "Bell and Savage," and a picture +representing this odd combination stood over the door. In the same way +the original sign, "Whip and Nag," between which there is often a very +close connection, became "Whip and Egg"; and the reason why these two +articles should be placed together is not so evident. So also there does +not seem any reason for an inn to be called "Bag o' Nails"; but when we +are told that the original word was "Bacchanals," _i.e._ followers of +Bacchus, the old god of wine, we can understand how the corruption, "Bag +o' Nails," arose. Before the days of licensing, when everyone could sell +liquor who chose without obtaining any licence from the magistrates, it +was the custom to put a bush over the doorway, in order to inform the +passers-by that liquor could be purchased there. This is the origin of +the saying, "Good wine needs no bush." + +[Illustration: VILLAGE INN WITH OLD TITHE BARN OF READING ABBEY] + +"The Catherine Wheel" tells us the sad story of St. Catherine, who was +born at Alexandria, and for converting fifty heathen philosophers to +Christianity was sentenced by the Emperor Maxentius to death on a wheel, +devised by most ingenious cruelty, armed with knives, saws, and nails. +It is recorded that she was rescued from this fate, but was afterwards +beheaded (305 A.D.). It is curious that this instrument of torture and +the story of St. Catherine's heroism should be recorded on a signboard. +But it may have been brought before the public by a certain miracle +play, founded on the life of St. Catherine, which used to be performed +on festival days. However, the Catherine wheel appears frequently on the +coats-of-arms of several families, and it may be that the sign was taken +from these. + +"The George," also, is a very popular sign; and the "St. George of +merry England" is the patron saint of this country, and the battle-cry +of her knights and yeomen of ancient days. Who does not remember that +stirring scene on St. George's Mount during the Crusades, described in +Sir Walter Scott's _Talisman_, when King Richard tore down the Austrian +banner, which the Austrian monarch had dared to erect beside the Royal +Standard of England? St George is generally represented as slaying +a dragon. He was a soldier who served gallantly under the Emperor +Diocletian, and commanded a legion of soldiers; he was a Christian, +and by the dragon whom he slew is meant the devil, red with the blood +of the Christians. So popular a personage as St. George, whose name +inspired our ancestors with courage, and was often borne by them into +the heart of the foe, would soon be recorded in paintings and become a +general sign. "The Goat" is a common sign, and is taken from the crest +of the Duke of Bedford; but "The Goat and Compasses" has puzzled many +people as to its origin. It appears to be a corruption of a pious +expression, "God encompasseth us"; and this shows how strangely words +may be twisted and converted by ignorant and careless usage. + +There are some very noted inns where great events have taken place, +amongst which I may mention the Bull Inn at Coventry. Here Henry VII. +was entertained the night before the battle of Bosworth Field, when +he won for himself the English crown. Here Mary Queen of Scots was +detained by order of Elizabeth. Here the conspirators of the Gunpowder +Plot met to devise their scheme for blowing up the Houses of +Parliament. And when the citizens refused to open their gates to +Charles I. and his soldiers, no doubt there were great disputings +amongst the frequenters of "The Bull" as to what would be the result +of their disloyal refusal. + +Some of the inns in remote country places did not enjoy a very enviable +reputation, and were little better than man-traps, where the +unfortunate traveller was robbed and murdered. At Blewbury, in +Berkshire, there was an inn, the landlord of which was suspected of +murdering his guests with great secrecy and mystery, and no one could +tell what he did with the bodies of the victims he was supposed to have +murdered. A few years ago an old tree in the neighbourhood of the inn +was blown down, and on digging up the roots a skeleton was found among +them. People wondered how it could have been placed there, but at last +a very old inhabitant told the story of the mysterious disappearance of +the bodies of the late landlord's guests, and the mystery was at length +accounted for. Whenever he slew a man he planted a tree, placing the +body of the murdered victim beneath it. The constables never thought of +looking there; and probably under every tree which he planted (and +there were several), when their roots are dug up, the bones of his +numerous victims will be discovered. + +Another story is connected with the old "Hind's Head" at Bracknell, +which was another of these mantraps, where many travellers slept to +rise no more. One winter's night a stout-hearted farmer stayed there, +and joined several jovial companions round the kitchen fire. They ate +and drank merrily, and at last the serving-maid showed the traveller +to his chamber. She told him that he was surrounded by robbers and +murderers, showed him a trap-door at the side of the bed, on which if +he stepped he would tumble headlong into a deep well. She directed him +to tie the bed into a bundle, put it on the trap-door, and escape by +the window. He did so; down went the bundle, instead of the farmer, +into the well, and he managed to effect his escape. Rousing the +neighbourhood he captured the villains, who were all executed, and the +bones of many of their victims were found in the well. Happily such +inns were rare. + +To describe the conditions of the old inns for which England was +famous, of the good fare which awaited the travellers by the coach, of +the spacious corridors, of the comfortable beds hung with silk and +smelling of lavender; to tell of all the great folk who entered their +doors--kings, queens, poets, generals, highwaymen, statesmen, grooms, +conspirators, coachmen--all this would require much space to relate. +When railways came in, their ancient glory departed; the old stables +are destroyed; grass grows in the courtyard; and the object of their +existence has almost ceased to be. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +VILLAGE SUPERSTITIONS AND FOLKLORE + +Belief in witches--Survival of water ordeal--Witches turned into hares-- +Cruelties practised on witches--Bishop Jewel on the "evil eye"-- +Fairies--Berkshire popular superstitions--Field-names--Homes of famous +men--Washington Irving's description of an English village--Rural +exodus--Conclusion. + + +There is yet another class of subjects connected with old village life, +of absorbing interest and importance. I refer to the old superstitions +and folklore which still linger on in the recollections of the "oldest +inhabitant," and which ought to be at once treasured up, lest they +should be altogether lost. The generation of those who believed firmly +in the power of the "evil eye" of the witch, and who feared to disturb +the revels of the fairies on their rings and mounds, is only just +passing away. An old gipsy has told me some strange stories of the +superstitions of former days. He has told me of the witch at Farnham +who made the cows wild and prevented them from giving milk; of another +witch who lived at Henley-on-Thames, and who when thrown into the river +"floated like a cork." Here we have a survival of the old Saxon method +of trying culprits by the water ordeal, often used in examining +witches. This particular witch could turn herself into a hare, so my +venerable gipsy friend, aged one hundred and six years, informed me, +and the dogs hunted her. He told me of the Tadley witch, who "wished" +several people, and greatly injured them. It seems to have been a +common practice of the old witches to turn themselves into hares, in +order to vex the squires, justices, and country parsons, who were fond +of hunting, as the old dames could elude the speed of the swiftest +dogs. An old writer states "that never hunters nor their dogs may be +bewitched, they cleave an oaken branch, and both they and their dogs +pass over it." Mary Dore, a witch of Beaulieu, Hampshire, used to turn +herself into a hare in order to escape detection when caught in the act +of wood-stealing, to which she was somewhat addicted. + +Old women were rather harshly used in the days when people believed in +the power of witches. If any farmer's cattle died, it was immediately +concluded that the animals were bewitched; and some wretched old woman +was singled out, and summarily tried and burnt. If anyone fell ill, +some "witch" had evidently a waxen image of the sufferer, and stuck +needles into it; and such was the power of the witch that, wherever the +person was, he felt the stab of the cruel needle. Hence the witch had +to be found and burnt. If the corn crops failed, was not witchcraft the +cause? for had not old Mother Maggs been heard to threaten Farmer +Giles, and had not her black cat been seen running over his fields? +Even good Bishop Jewel did not disbelieve in the power of the evil eye. +In preaching before Queen Elizabeth he said: "It may please Your Grace +to understand that witches and sorcerers are marvellously increased +within Your Grace's realm. Your Grace's subjects pine away even unto +the death, their colour fadeth, their flesh rotteth, their speech is +benumbed, their senses are bereft. I pray God they never practise +further than on the subject." To so great an extent did faith in the +witches' fatal power prevail. Our forefathers used to believe in the +existence of other, and more pleasant little companions than the old +toothless witches--the bright little fairies who, on account of the +neglect which they have received from the present generation of +Englishmen, have, so it is reported, left our shores in disgust, never +to return. The previous inhabitants of our villages did not so treat +them; and did not the fairies always bring them luck? They nailed the +horseshoe to the stable door to keep out the witches, lest the old +beldams should ride their steeds by night to the witches' revels; but +no one wished to exclude the fairies. Did not the dairymaids find the +butter ready churned, and the cows milked by these kind assistants? Was +there not an old lady in Yorkshire who knew all about the fairies, had +often heard them making butter, and had seen the butter smeared all +over the gate by a little green man with a queer cap who had been seen +slipping under a culvert? Canon Atkinson told us of this lady who knew +all these strange things, and of the Hart Hall "Hob" who worked so hard +with his flail, and of many other curious folk who frequented the +Yorkshire moors in olden days. The last witch had just died before he +went to Danby, but he found the whole atmosphere of the folklore +firmament so surcharged with the being and work of the witch, that he +seemed able to trace her presence and her activity in almost every nook +and corner of the neighbourhood. + +The wells all over England were haunted by fairies, and is it not +confidently asserted that "the good people" (as the fairies are called) +live in wilds and forests, and shun great cities because of the +wickedness which exists therein? Have they never appeared to the lonely +traveller, clothed in green, with long hair floating over their +shoulders, and with faces more blooming than the blush of a summer +morning? Then there were the fairy rings formed by the dancing of their +merry feet. + + "Some say the screech-owl, at each midnight hour, + Awakes the fairies in yon ancient tower. + Their nightly dancing ring I always dread, + Nor let my sheep within that circle tread; + When round and round all night, in moonlight fair, + They dance to some strange music in the air." + +Then there were brownies; and knockers, who worked in mines, and showed +rich veins of silver; and elves--all of whom were included in old +village superstitions, and many were the tales told of the good deeds +they did, and the luck they brought. Nor must we forget the story of +the invisible smith who inhabited Wayland Smith's Cave, in Berkshire. +Whenever a farmer tied up his horse in the cave, and left the money on +a particular stone, on his return he found his horse shod by the kind +efforts of the invisible smith. There is also the old Berkshire story +of the old witch who lived in a cave by the roadside, and who, by the +power of her "evil eye," could stop the strongest team of horses, so +that, however much the carters lashed and swore at them, the animals +would not budge an inch until she permitted them to go. Here are a few +of the common superstitions current in Berkshire. If a corpse be kept +over a Sunday another death will occur before the week is out; should a +big bumble-bee enter the window, a guest may be expected; and when the +woodpecker, commonly called the yaffle, laughs, they say the rain is +coming. When the thick mist lies in the valley, the people say it is +the White Lady, a belief closely akin to the Dame Blanche, who is said +in Normandy to haunt streams. If one row of freshly sown seeds or +potatoes does not come up, it foretells a death in the family. If a +girl mends her clothes on her back, she risks having a drunken husband. +A screech-owl is unlucky, and so also is it if a bird fly against the +window. + +A woman came to the rectory a few years ago for a drop of sacramental +wine, which she wanted for an infant who had "the graspings." This +complaint I discovered to be a craving for something, accompanied by +restlessness; and it was supposed that a drop of sacramental wine would +cure an infant so troubled. If the mother before the child was born +craved for drink, this craving was communicated to the child, and could +only be remedied by a drop of wine used in Holy Communion. This +superstition, which I have met with elsewhere, probably is a relic of +pre-Reformation days, and of sacramental Reservation. + +A tramp was passing through a Hampshire village a short time ago, and +calling at a house, begged for a glass of water. The woman who lived +there said that she was sorry she could not give him water to drink, as +there was a child in the house unbaptised, and therefore it would be +unlucky. The origin of this superstition it is difficult to trace. + +These are some of the legends and superstitions which linger amongst +us. Every neighbourhood has its stories, its legends, and romantic +histories. It is a sad pity that these should pass away without any +record being made. Many curious customs and ceremonies relating to +christenings, marriages, and burials linger in remote hamlets; and +charms, curious remedies, and other relics of the quaint superstitions +of our forefathers, are full of interest to the lover of our English +villages. + +As we walk in the fields, or study the old map of the parish, the names +of the fields invite our attention. These are full of interest, and +often tell us about matters which would be entirely forgotten. Some +names tell us of the great forests which used to exist all over the +country, when kings and noblemen, outlaws and poachers, used to hunt +the deer and the wild boars in many a successful run. These forests +were large tracts of country in its natural state, partly wood, partly +heather and grass, which were owned by the king, and were especially +brought under the harsh forest laws of the Norman sovereigns. + +Some of our field-names remind us of the existence of these old forests +where corn now grows, and also of swamps and islands where everything +now is dry and far removed from water. Sometimes they tell us of the +old common lands which used to be farmed by the villeins and borderers, +and of the strange way in which they used to manage their farming. Each +man used to keep one or more oxen for the village plough until they +made up the team into eight; then they ploughed the land in strips of +an acre or half-acre each, divided by a bit of unploughed turf called +a balk. Each strip was a furlong, _i.e._ a "furrow long," _i.e._ the +length of the drive of a plough before it is turned. This was forty +rods, or poles, and four of these furrows made up the acre. These +pieces of land were called "shots," and there were "headlands," or +common field-ways, to each shot; and "gored acres," which were corners +of the fields which could not be cut up into strips, and odds and ends +of unused land, which were called "No Man's Land," or "Jack's Land." It +is curious, too, that all the strips belonging to one man did not lie +together, but were scattered all over the common land, which must have +been a very inconvenient arrangement for farming purposes. There were +also in each village community a blacksmith, whose duty it was to keep +in repair the ironwork of the village ploughs, a carpenter for the +woodwork, and a pound-keeper, or punder, who looked after the stray +cattle. Many of the "balks" still remain on the hillsides where these +old common lands existed, and the names of the fields bear witness to +the prevalence of this old field system. + +They tell us, too, of the way in which attempts were made to force the +growth of particular crops, and in many parishes you will find a "flax +piece," which reminds us of a foolish Act of Henry VIII. ordering the +cultivation of that plant. Metals, too, which have long ago been +worked out, and trades which no longer exist, have left their traces +behind in the names of our lanes and fields. Also they speak of the +early days when the wolf or the bear might be seen in our woods or +fields, or of the beaver which loved the quietude of our streams, of +the eagle which carried off the lambs undisturbed by sound of the +keeper's gun. Sometimes he was disturbed in his thefts by the flight +of a good strong English arrow, which came from a sturdy English bow +drawn by a good strong English arm. The English archers were famous +everywhere, and many a battle has been won by their valour and their +skill. A law was passed in the reign of Edward IV. that every +Englishman should have a bow of his own height, and that butts for the +practice of archery should be set up in every village; and every man +was obliged to shoot up and down on every feast-day, or be fined one +halfpenny. Consequently, in some villages we find a field called "The +Butts," where this old practice took place.[11] + +Many villages are associated with the lives of distinguished +men--authors, soldiers, and statesmen. Perhaps your village may have +bred other poets besides "the mute inglorious Milton" of Gray's +_Elegy_. Not far from where I am writing was Pope's early home, the +village of Binfield, which he calls-- + + "My paternal home, + A little house, with trees arow, + And, like its master, very low." + +On the other side lies the village of Three Mile Cross, where Miss +Mitford lived and wrote "Our Village"; and Arborfield, called in her +book Arborleigh, about which she tells some pleasant stories, is the +adjoining parish. Sometimes, as I ride down a grassy lane, a favourite +haunt of the distinguished authoress, I seem to see her seated on a +fallen tree weaving her pretty romances, while her favourite dog, which +she often describes, plays and barks around her. A few miles in another +direction lies Eversley, the loved abode of Charles Kingsley, about +whom many stories linger in the countryside. To visit the uncomfortable +brick-paved study where he wrote, the garden where he used to pace and +think out his great thoughts, is delightfully refreshing and +invigorating to a jaded writer. + +[Illustration: OLD COTTAGES] + +These are only instances of places which have become interesting on +account of the famous men who once lived in them; and England has many +heroes of the sword and pen whose lives each Englishman should study; +and when you visit their dwelling-places you will recall their +achievements, and perhaps endeavour to imitate their examples. Here is +an instance of how little the villagers know of the distinguished men +who once lived amongst them. The great Duke of Wellington did not live +a very long time ago, and yet some friends of mine who were staying at +Strathfieldsaye, near the Iron Duke's house, and made inquiries amongst +the villagers about their recollections of the hero of Waterloo, could +obtain no information. At last one venerable rustic vouchsafed the +extraordinary intelligence, "I believe as 'ow 'e were very good at +war"! What a thing it is to be famous! + +Much more remains to be said upon the various subjects which this +history of our village suggests. But the day is closing, and our walk +through its sequestered lanes and our thoughts about the various scenes +which yonder venerable oaks have witnessed, must cease. But enough has +been said to show what a wealth of interest lies beneath the calm +exterior of ordinary village life. An American truly observes that +everything in the rural life of England is associated with ideas of +order, of quiet, sober, well-established principles, of hoary usage, +and reverent custom--the growth of ages of regular and peaceful +existence. The impression which the appearance of an English village +left on his mind is beautifully described in the following passage:-- + +"The old church of remote architecture with its low, massive portal, +its gothic tower, its windows rich with tracery and painted glass, +its scrupulous preservation, its stately monuments of warriors and +worthies of olden times, ancestors of the present lords of the soil; +its tombstones, recording successive generations of sturdy yeomanry, +whose progeny still plough the same fields, and kneel at the same +altar; the parsonage, a quaint, irregular pile, partly antiquated, +but repaired and altered in the tastes of various eyes and occupants; +the stile and footpath leading from the churchyard, across pleasant +fields, and along shady hedgerows, according to an immemorial +right-of-way; the neighbouring village, with its venerable cottages, +its public green sheltered by trees, under which the forefathers of +the present race have sported; the antique family mansion, standing +apart in some little rural domain, but looking down with a protecting +air on the surrounding scene. All these common features of English +landscape evince a calm and settled security, and hereditary +transmission of homebred virtues and local attachments, that speak +deeply and touchingly for the moral character of the nation." + +One of the most distressing features of modern village life is the +continual decrease of its population. All our young men flock to the +towns, attracted by the greater excitement which town life offers, as +compared with the more homely pleasures of the country. The rural +exodus is an alarming and very real danger to the welfare of social +England. Agricultural machinery has greatly diminished the number of +labourers required on a farm. Agricultural depression and the decreased +value of land have caused many old country families to close their old +manor-houses, as they cannot afford to live on their estates. + +Let us hope that those whose happy lot it is to live in the quiet +hamlets of our native land, afar from the noise and din of busy towns, +will learn to love more deeply their village homes, and interest +themselves in their surroundings. To those who read the history of +their native place, each house and field, each stone and tree, will +tell its story, and recount the wonders it has witnessed. And as the +stories of wars and fights, of superstition and of crime, fall on our +ears, we shall be thankful that our lot is cast in more peaceful days, +when no persecutions, religious or political, disturb the tranquillity +of our village life. And when we read of the piety and simplicity of +our forefathers, their veneration of their church, their love of home, +their innocent joys and social customs, we should strive to imitate +their virtues which have materially helped to make England a great and +powerful nation. It is hoped that these chapters upon the old life of +our country, and the manners and customs of our forefathers, may induce +many of my readers to read and study history more deeply, may serve to +create an interest in the relics that remain to us of the past, and to +preserve the fleeting traditions that Time doth consecrate. + + +[11] In many cases the name "Butts" refers to the fact of the land, +under the common-field system, _abutting_ on meadows or roads, _e.g._ +"Butt-close," in the parish of St. Mary Bourne. + + + + +APPENDIX + +BOOKS AND DOCUMENTS RELATING TO PAROCHIAL HISTORY + +To anyone who sets himself the task of writing a history of his village, +the following notes may be useful. With regard to the etymology of the +name, concerning which absurd errors are made in most guide books and +old county histories, it would be well to consult Canon Taylor's _Words +and Places_, being careful to study the earliest form of the word in +_Domesday_ and old documents. Bede's _History_, the _Anglo-Saxon +Chronicles_, and other old English chronicles, published by Bohn, may +contain some allusions to the parish and neighbourhood, and also +Kemble's _Saxons in England_. The _Domesday Book_ is, of course, a mine +of wealth. The Public Record Office contains many documents which will +be of great service--the _Testa de Neville_ (Edward II.), _Marshall +Rolls, Nonarum Inquisitiones, Pipe Rolls, Patent Rolls, Close Rolls, +Hundred Rolls, Inquisitiones post-mortem_, and the _Feet of Fines_. The +_Manor Court Rolls_, if they still exist, in the custody of the lord of +the manor, should also be consulted. The journals of local antiquarian +societies and county histories will of course be examined. The history +of the families connected with the parish must be traced. The British +Museum and the College of Arms contain fine collections of _Heralds' +Visitations_, and Burke's _Landed Gentry_ and Dugdale's _Baronage_ +are the chief sources of information. Old _wills_ will yield much +information, many of which are in course of publication by the Index +Society, and county archaeolgical journals; and Somerset House and many +diocesan registries contain the original documents. The Historical +Manuscripts Commission has published many volumes of borough records +which are of great service, and the lives of any great men connected +with the parish may be studied in the _Dictionary of National +Biography_. As we have already pointed out, the parish chest contains +valuable sources of information upon the history of the village, and +its contents should be carefully examined. + +The registers of the diocese contain many documents relating to the +ecclesiastical history of the parish, and from them we can obtain a +list of the rectors or vicars. If the church was connected with any +monastery, Dugdale's _Monasticon_ will furnish some information. The +Public Record Office contains the documents _Taxatio Ecclesiastica P. +Nicholai IV._ and _Valor Ecclesiasticus_, which give an account of the +value of the first-fruits and tenths, and also some volumes on the sale +of chantries, and the inventories of church goods. The name of the saint +to whom the church is dedicated must not always be accepted, in spite of +years of usage, and should be confirmed by reference to some early will +of a chief person of the village buried in the church, which usually +gives the name of the patron saint. The story of the church writ in +stone should be traced by the various styles of architecture, with the +help of Rickman's _Gothic Architecture_ or Parker's _Glossary of Gothic +Architecture_. If there has ever been a monastery in the parish, +Dugdale's _Monasticon_ should be consulted; and if there are any remains +of a castle, Clark's _Mediaeval Military Architecture in England_ will +be useful. Prehistoric remains, such as barrows, earthworks, pit +dwellings, and caves should be described; also any Roman roads and +villas; the flora and fauna of the neighbourhood, geology, folklore, +and dialect. + +The following books are recommended:-- + +Evans' _Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain_. +Evans' _ Ancient Bronze Implements_. +Boyd Dawkins' _Cave Hunting_. +Boyd Dawkins' _Early Man in Britain_. +Greenwell's _British Barrows_. +Fergusson's _Rude Stone Monuments_. +Cox's _How to Write the History of a Parish_. +Wright's _Essays on Archaeological Subjects_. +Parker's _Mediaeval Domestic Architecture_. +Sims' _Manual for the Topographer and Genealogist_. +Burn's _History of Parish Registers_. +Seebohm's _English Village Community_. +Toulmin Smith's _English Gilds_. +Haine's _Manual of Monumental Brasses_. +Bloxam's _Principles of Gothic Architecture_. +Tanner's _Notitia Monastica_. +Cutts' _Middle Ages_. +Lee's _Glossary of Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Terms_. + + +INDEX + +Akeman Street, 60 +Aldhelm, church-builder, 103 +Alfriston clergy-house, 180 +_Alignements_, 46 +Allington rectory, 180 +Almshouses, 181 +Altars, 191 +Amphitheatre, Roman, 67 +Anchoresses, 183 +Anchor-hold, 183 +Anglo-Saxon villages, 74-89 +Archery, 277, 298 +Architecture, English, 102-24 +Arresting a dead body, 227 +Arrow-heads, 20 +_Art of Husbandry_, 255 +Astrology, belief in, 222 +Aumbry, 192 +Avebury cromlech, 46 + +B + +Ball-flower moulding, 118 +Barkham in _Domesday_, 128 +Barnack Church, 106 +Barrows or tumuli, 23-3 + " long and round, 25 + " near churchyards, 23 + " Saxon, 90-3 + " their contents, 24, 29 +Basilica, Roman, 66 +Beacons, 268 +Beating the bounds, 276 +Bede, 75 +Bell-ringing customs, 250 +Bells, 245-53 + " christening of, 246 + " inscription on, 247-50 +Benedict Biscop, 103 +Benedictine monks, 161 +Bewcastle cross, 98 +Bishops, treating of, 229 +Black Death, 255 +Blood-letting, 167-9 +Blowing Stone, 52 +_Bordarii_, 131 +Border castles, 140 +Brachycephalic race, 21 +Brasses, monumental, 212-18 +Bridal cup, 207 +Brief Book, 226 +Brighthampton, pit dwellings at, 33 +British Church, 93 + " oppida, 34 + " roads, 60, 61 + " saints and martyrs, 94 +Bronze Age, 21, 40 +Budworth hermitage, 182 +Burial urns, 29, 30 + " urns in woollen, 220 + +C + +Caesar's camps, 50 +Camps, 50-52 +Carthusian monks, 162 +Castles, 135-53 +Cave men, 16 +Celts, 21, 34, 37, 56 +Cemeteries, Saxon, 92 +Censers, 205 +Chancels, 190 +Charles II., adventures of, 267 +Chaucer's satire on monks, 160 +Chepstow Castle, 140 +Chest, parish, 218-29 +Chivalry, 143, 148 +Chrismatory, 206 +Christmas in olden time, 278 +Chun Castle, 51 +Church ales, 258 +Church bells, 245-53 + " house, 258 + " plate, 200-8 + " yard, 243 +Churches, parish, 184 99 +Churchwardens' account books, 223-6 +Cistercian monks, 114, 161 +Civil War, effects of, 153, 220, 265 +Cloister of monastery, 163 +Cluny, monks of, 161 +Consecration crosses, 239 +Conversion of Saxons, 94, 95 +Crannogs, 38 +Cremation, 28, 29, 92 +Cromlechs, 46-9 +Crosses, Saxon, 95-101 +Cross-legged effigies, 211 +Cucking-stool, 280 + +D + +Decay of old sports, 271 +Decorated architecture, 117 +Desecration of monasteries, 159 +Devil's Highway, 61 +Dog-tooth ornament, 116 +Dog-whipper, 228 +Dolichocephalic race, 19 +Dolmen, 49, 50 +_Domesday Book_, 125-34 +Donnington Castle, 152 +Druids, 48, 50 + +E + +Early English architecture, 115-17 +Earthworks, 50-6 +Easter sepulchre, 193 +Edge Hill, battle of, 264 +Edwardian castles, 140 +Emblems on brasses, 217 +Enstone, menhir at, 45 +Eslithic man, 14 +Epitaphs, curious, 243 +Ermyn Street, 60 +"Evil eye," 291-3 + +F + +Fairford windows, 232 +Fairies, 56, 293 +Fairs, 261 +Feudalism, 141 +Field-names, 296-8 +Flint implements, discovery of, 11 +Flint implements, 15, 20 +Fonts, 186 +Food in barrows, 24, 25 +Football, 277 +Force-pump, Roman, 68 +Frescoes, 234 +Friars, preaching, 161 +Future life, belief in, shown by barrows, 24 + +G + +Gambassi, glass-painter, 232 +_Geburs_, 82 +Gentleman, accomplishments of a, 149 +Geological changes, 11-13 +Glaciers in Britain, 12 +Glass, stained, 230-3 +Glastonbury, pit dwellings at, 37, 41, 42 +Green, village, 8, 280 +Grims-dike, 54, 55 +Grosmont Castle, 141 +Guizot on castles, 141 + +H + +Hagioscopes, 194 +Hall marks, 208 +Harvest homes, 275 +Hastings, battle of, 264 +Heart burial, 222 +Hedsor, pile dwellings at, 37, 38 +_Hereivard the Wake_, 264 +Hermits, 181 +Hexham church, 104 + " crosses, 99 +Highwaymen, 283 +Hocktide sports, 225, 273 +Homes of famous men, 298 +Hospitium of monastery, 169 +House, evolution of country, 172-7 +Hundreds, origin of, 87 +Hurstbourne, Hants, pit dwellings at, 34 + +I + +Ice Age, 12, 13 +Iknield Street, 60 +Ilkley cross, 99 +Inigo Jones, 176 +Inns, 7, 282-90 +Inventories, 201 +Iron Age, 21 + " work in churches, 233 +_Itinerary_ of Antoninus, 59 + +J + +Jervais, glass-painter, 232 +Johnson, Dr., on monasteries, 159 + +K + +Keep of Norman castle, 137 +Kelvedon rectory, 179 +Kenilworth Castle, 151 +King's evil, 228 +Knaresborough hermitage, 182 +Knighthood, admission to, 145 + +L + +Laindon reclusorium, 183 +Lammas lands, 79 +Lecterns, 191 +Legends, 44, 55, 263 +"Lepers' windows," 195 +Lich-gate, 242 +Local Government, 254 +Low side windows, 195 + +M + +Manor-house, 172-7 +Manors, 79, 133 +Man-traps, 289 +Markets, 260 +May Day, 225, 273 +Mediaeval village, 254-70 +Menhir, 45 +"Merry England," 256 +Milestones, Roman, 61 +Miracle plays, 274 +_Misereres_, 191 +Monasteries, Saxon, 102 + " 154-71 + " charity of, 159 +Monastic day, 166, 167 + " inns, 282 +Monks, benefits conferred by, 155 + " corruption of, 160 +Monstrances, 206 +Monumental effigies, 209-12 +Mothering Sunday, 273 +Mouldings, Decorated, 118, 120 + " Early English, 116 + " Norman, 112 + " Perpendicular, 123 +Mural paintings, 234-41 + +N + +Neolithic man, 15, 18, 20, 37 +Norman architecture, 109-15 + " castles, 135-53 + " place-names, 132 + " villages, 125-34 +Normans, coming of, 125 + +O + +Ockwells manor-house, 173 +Ogee arch, 118 +Organised condition of society among prehistoric races, 31 +Ornaments, Saxon, 91 +_Osculatorium_, 192 +Oxford, poor scholar of, 229 + +P + +Pageants, 149-52 +Paleolithic man, 14 +Palimpsests, 213 +Parish chest, 218-29 + " registers, 218-23 +Paschall money, 225 +Pastimes, 271-81 +Pavements, Roman, 71, 72 +Pax, 192, 206 +Perpendicular architecture, 120 +Pews, 187 +_Piers Ploughman_, 165, 174, 181 +Pile dwellings, 37-43 +Pilgrimages, 259 +Piscina, 192 +Pit dwellings, 33-7 +Place-names, 76, 101 +Plague, 255-7 +Plate, church, 200-8 + " " in bishop's coffin, 202 +Ploughman's lament, 84 +Plough Monday, 272 +Porch, 185 +"Pot-boilers," 36 +Pre-Reformation plate, 202-5 +Pulpits, 188 +Pytheas of Marseilles, 10 +Pyx, 191, 206 + +Q + +Quintain, 277 + +R + +Raglan Castle, 141 +Reading Abbey, 171 +Reading-pews, 197 +Reclusorium, 183 + " at Rettenden, 183 +Rectories, 177-81 +Registers, parish, 218-23 +Religion of Saxons, 93 +"Restoration," 199 +Rollright Stones, 46, 47 +Roman relics, 57-73 + " rig, 54 + " roads, 58-62 + " villas, 70-3 +Rood-loft, 188 +Royal arms in churches, 190 +Rural exodus, 300 +Rush-bearing, 276 +Ruthwell cross, 97 +Ryknield Street, 60 + +S + +Sacring bell, 252 +St. Christopher, 238 +Salisbury Cathedral, 115 +Saltways, 61 +Sanctus bell, 252 +Saxon architecture, 106-9 + " house, 172 + " monasteries, 102 + " place-names, 76, 77 + " relics, 90-101 +Saxons, coming of, 74, 75 +Screens, 189 +Secret chambers, 177 +Settle, Victoria Cave at, 17 +Shires, origin of, 88 +Shrovetide sports, 273 +Signs of inns, 284-8 +Silchester, 54, 62-70 +Slavery under Saxons, 84 +Sluggard waker, 228 +Smoke farthings, 226 +_Socmen_, 83, 131 +Spenser's description of hermitage, 182 +Sports and pastimes, 271-81 +Stocks, 280 +Stonehenge, 46 +Stone monuments, 44-50 +Stourbridge Fair, 261 +Sudeley Castle, pageant at, 149-51 +Sun-worship, relics of, 27 +Superstitions, 44, 295 +Switzerland, pile dwellings in, 38-41 + +T + +"Terraces," 19 +_Tesserae_, 65, 71 +Thanes, 80 +Thane's house, 81 +Thuribles, 205 +Tiles, 233 +Tournaments, 146-9 +Tudor arch, 121 + " houses, 175 +Tumuli, _see_ Barrows +Turf monuments, 53, 54 +Twelfth Night, 272 +Tympana, Norman, 110 + +U + +Uffington, 52-4 +Ufton Court, Berks, 176, 178 + +V + +Vernicle, 201 +Vestry, contents of, 196 +Vicarages, 177-81 +Villas, Roman, 70-3 +Villeins, 130, 255 + +W + +Wars, 262-70 +Watling Street, 60 +Wayland Smith's Cave, 27, 294 +Whalley cross, 96 + " reclusorium, 184 +White Castle, 141 +White Horse Hill, 53 +Whittenham Clumps, 52 +Wilfrid, St., 96, 104, 108, 230 +Witches, 291 + " turned into hares, 292 +Woollen, burials in, 220 +Worlebury, pit dwellings at, 34 + +Y + +Yeomen, 83, 131 +Yew tree in churchyard, 241 + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of English Villages, by P. 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