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 of tfie jWtoule ages bp 
 
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 (Holume tlje jftrft 
 
 Honfion 
 
 WILLIAM PICKERING 
 
 1843 
 
PRINTED BY C. WHITTIKCHAM, CHISWICK. 
 
 Ins 
 
3fntnifcuctton. 
 
 ERHAPS* no part of the history of civilization is more 
 interesting than the varying changes in dress and fashion. 
 | The different tribes who settled in the provinces of the Roman 
 ll Empire, after its final dislocation, appear in general to have 
 H adopted the civil costume of the conquered Romans, whilst they 
 probably retained with tenacity the arms and military customs 
 of their forefathers. There was thus a general resemblance 
 between the dress of the Anglo-Saxons, the Franks, and other 
 f nations of the west. Among the Anglo-Saxons this dress was preserved, 
 | £ with very little alteration, till the latest period of their sovereignty. 
 
 The dress of the Anglo-Saxons was simple and uniform in its character. 
 ^ It consisted, as far as we can gather from the allusions of old writers, and 
 U from the illuminations of manuscripts, of a shirt (called in Anglo-Saxon 
 syrce, the origin of the more modern word sark), which was generally of 
 'linen ; of breeches (in Anglo-Saxon broc, pi. brec, the origin of the modern 
 name) which appear also to have been commonly of linen ; and of a tunic of 
 woollen or linen (called rooc, or roc), which descended to the knee, and was 
 bound round the body with a girdle. Over this was thrown a mantle (mentel), a 
 short cloak which was fastened at the breast or on the shoulders with brooches. 
 On the legs were worn hose (hos) which joined the breeches a little below the 
 knee, which were frequently bound round with fillets, called hose-bendas (hose- 
 bands), scanc-beagas (leg-encirclers), scanc-bendas (leg-bands), scanc-gegirelan 
 (leg-clothings). The form of the shoes, as represented in the manuscripts, is 
 nearly uniform ; they cover the foot to the ancle, are tied with a thong, having 
 an opening down the instep, and are generally painted black, except in the 
 case of princes and great persons, who have them frequently gilt or covered 
 with gold. That gloves were not unknown to the Anglo-Saxons, is proved 
 by the circumstance that the name {glof) occurs in the earliest Anglo-Saxon 
 poetry. 
 
 The form of the articles of dress was the same for all classes of society, dif- 
 fering only by the richness of the material or by the greater profusion of 
 ornament. The leg-bands were used chiefly when the wearer was engaged in 
 the more active pursuits of life, and particularly in travelling and in war. Rich 
 
 * The initial letter is from the remarkable manuscript in the British Museum (MS. Cotton. Nero 
 D. IV.), commonly known by the title of the Durham Book, written and illuminated in the latter years 
 of the seventh century in the isle of Lindisfarne. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 people, when in full dress, or on ceremonial occasions, wore a more ample 
 tunic, descending to the feet. The sleeve of the tunic, between the elbow and 
 the wrist, appears to be puckered up, and confined above the hand by a bracelet. 
 Labourers and peasants appear frequently without hose, and sometimes without 
 shoes. In the Illustrations of Prudentius, and in the twelve pictures of The 
 Seasons, we see all these articles of Anglo-Saxon costume in most of the dif- 
 ferent ranks of society. Among the latter, in the illustrations of the month 
 of April, the persons seated at the festival wear the large ceremonial tunic. In 
 the second subject from Prudentius the soldier's mantle appears to be orna- 
 mented by jagging at the border, somewhat like the fashion which became so 
 prevalent in the time of Richard II. In the illuminations, the Anglo-Saxons 
 appear generally without hat, except when full armed for war or travelling. 
 They also contradict the assertion which has been made that the Anglo-Saxons 
 universally wore long flowing hair, for it is there generally cut short. 
 
 The dress of the Anglo-Saxon ladies cannot be described with the same 
 precision as that of the men. The outer vest was a large flowing tunic, which 
 among persons of high rank was made of richly ornamented stuffs ; the Anglo- 
 Saxon eyrtel is supposed to have been a shorter tunic, under this, and next to 
 the skin was probably the syrce. The mantle of the ladies was also much 
 larger than that of the men, and hung down before and behind. The head 
 is generally covered with a long piece of silk or linen, which is also wrapped 
 round the neck. The shoes appear to have been the same for both sexes. 
 
 During the Anglo-Saxon period the common dress of the ecclesiastics does 
 not appear to have differed much from that of the laity. The ceremonial 
 robes resembled those of a later period, except that the mitre was not yet in 
 use. The tonsure was received among the Anglo-Saxon clergy early, though 
 not without considerable opposition. 
 
 In the illuminations, the only addition to the dress of the warrior is his cap 
 or hat, a kind of Phrygian bonnet, generally crested at the top. Perhaps the 
 military tunic was made of thicker and less penetrable materials than that of 
 the civil costume. Mail was probably only used by chieftains. The arms 
 were an oval or round convex shield, made of wood, covered with leather, with 
 the umbo and rim of iron ; a sword ; and a spear, or an axe. The heads of the 
 Saxon battle-axes are frequently found in England, and have received from 
 antiquaries the inaccurate name of celts. The Danes brought into more 
 general use a double-bladed axe, which was long afterwards known by the 
 name of the Danish axe. The bow does not appear to have been used with 
 much effect among the Anglo-Saxons. It may also be observed that the Anglo- 
 Saxons always fought on foot. 
 
 The art of jewellery appears to have been extensively encouraged among 
 the Anglo-Saxons. People of rank and wealth covered their persons with 
 bracelets, rings, brooches, and other ornaments, in precious metals and stones. 
 Their ornaments were in general richer in the materials than in the design. The 
 Anglo-Saxons appear to have been devoid of taste in the arts ; their drawings 
 are, with a few exceptions, exceedingly rude and incorrect. The specimens 
 given in the present work are much superior to those which are found in the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 greater number of contemporary manuscripts. The general style of Anglo- 
 Saxon ornament resembles that which is commonly named Byzantine : borders 
 and initials in books are not dissimilar from those found in the earlier Greek 
 Ecclesiastical manuscripts. The borders of leaves in books are sometimes 
 painted in a sort of mosaic work, and executed with considerable beauty. 
 
 ansIo=J12orman perioD. a. ID. 1066-1200. 
 
 While costume and the arts of life had remained uniform among the Anglo- 
 Saxons, they had on the contrary undergone a great change on the Continent. 
 Numerous and great political revolutions, and an extensive intercourse with 
 the Arabs and other foreign nations, had brought many modifications even 
 into the dress of the people, particularly of the higher classes. The Normans, 
 when they had settled in Neustria, adopted the costume and language of the 
 Franks. 
 
 The costume of the Anglo-Normans and Anglo-Saxons differed most widely 
 (at the time of the Conquest) in the military dress. The Anglo-Norman 
 soldiers were covered with the hauberc or halberc, a tunic of mail, either 
 ringed, or net-work, or quilted. This article of dress was probably borrowed 
 from the Arabs. It appears in our plate of Spanish Warriors of the eleventh 
 century, who (with the exception of the round shield) are dressed exactly like 
 the Normans in the Bayeux Tapestry. To the neck of this tunic was attached 
 a cowl, which covered the head, and over which was placed the conical helm, 
 with the long nasal guard descending in front. The shield of the Normans 
 was long and kite-shaped, and often bore the figure of a dragon, lion, or some 
 other device. The Norman lance had a fla£ attached to it, and was called a 
 gonfanon. The bow and the sling were also formidable instruments in the 
 hands of the Norman soldiers. Before the end of the eleventh century, several 
 changes had been made in the form and construction of defensive armour, and 
 it sustained continual alterations during the twelfth century. The cowl of 
 mail was preserved, but the helmet underwent a series of changes ; the nasal 
 defence was thrown away at the beginning of the twelfth century, and a pointed 
 iron cap was adopted ; and towards the latter part of the same century the 
 helmet took first the form of a high cone, which afterwards subsided into a 
 flat-topped cap of steel, fastened under the chin with an iron hoop. A long 
 tunic was frequently worn under the hauberc, and the latter was partly covered 
 with a surcoat, an article of dress supposed to have been borrowed from the 
 Saracens during the crusades. The kite-shaped shield continued in use till 
 after the middle of the twelfth century, after which it became shortened in form 
 till it took nearly the form of a triangle, being semicylindrical instead of flat, 
 as the kite-shaped shield had been. Under Richard I. the shield was charged 
 with the armorial bearings of its owner. To offensive weapons, was added, 
 in the latter half of the twelfth century, the arbaleste or cross-bow. 
 
 1$ 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 At first the civil costume of the Anglo-Normans differed not widely from 
 that of the Anglo-Saxons. They wore the same tunic and mantle, and nearly 
 the same shoes and leg-bands, but the mantle was attached with cords and 
 tassels. The Anglo-Normans wore long pantaloons with feet to them, which 
 they called chausses. The head is sometimes covered with a flat round cap. 
 Towards the end of the century, the tunic was made fuller and longer, so that 
 it sometimes trailed on the ground. The shoes were also constructed dif- 
 ferently, and were profusely ornamented, as was every part of the dress. 
 Knights and people of fashion wore long pointed shoes, which were sometimes 
 turned up at the points. In travelling a cape, which covered the head, was 
 added to the dress. The mantle, throughout the twelfth century, was very 
 richly decorated. Under Henry II, a shorter mantle was introduced, from 
 which it is said that that monarch took the name of Court-manteau. The 
 pointed Phrygian cap was the most usual covering of the head in all classes 
 of society, except when the cape was worn. The middle and lower classes of 
 society wore a short tunic with sleeves, and chausses, with shoes, or sometimes 
 short boots. 
 
 Under the Anglo-Normans the costume of the ladies was far more splendid 
 and varied than under the Anglo-Saxons. Instead of the flowing tunic of the 
 latter, the Norman dames wore a robe which was laced close, so as to show 
 the form of the body. The head-covering was arranged more gracefully, and 
 was thrown partly over the shoulders and back : it was called a couvre-chef. 
 The hair of the ladies appears to have been frequently platted in two or more 
 divisions, which hung down behind or before. Our information relating to 
 the changes of fashion among the ladies during the twelfth century is defective. 
 Towards the middle of the century, singular long hanging sleeves were in 
 fashion, examples of which will be seen in our plate of Female Costumes. 
 This fashion appears to have been soon laid aside. The religious satirists, 
 throughout the twelfth century, inveigh bitterly against the vanity, extrava- 
 gance, and coquetry of the female sex. At the end of the century, Alexander 
 Neckam, one of the best of the early Anglo-Latin poets, has the following 
 lines on the ladies of his time, in which he accuses them of covering themselves 
 with gold and gems, of painting their eyes (as is still done in the east), of 
 perforating their ears in order to hang them with jewels, of fasting and bleeding 
 themselves in order to look pale, of tightening their waists and breasts in order 
 to mend their shape, and of colouring their hair to give it a yellow tint : 
 
 " Femina, fax Sathanae, gemmis radiantibus, auro, 
 
 Vestibus, ut possit perdere, compta venit. 
 Quod natura sibi sapiens dedit, ilia reformat, 
 
 Quicquid et accepit dedecuisse putat. 
 Pingit acu et fuco liventes reddit ocellos, 
 
 Sic oculorum inquit gratia major erit. 
 Est etiam teneras aures quae perforat, ut sic 
 
 Aut aurum aut cams pendeat inde lapis. 
 Altera jejunat mense minuitque cruorem, 
 
 Et prorsus quare palleat ipsa facit ; 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Nam quae non pallet sibi rustica quasque videtur, 
 
 ' Hie decet, hie color est verus amantis,' ait. 
 Hasc quoque diversis sua sordibus inficit ora, 
 
 Sed quare melior quaeritur arte color ? 
 Arte supercilium rarescit, rursus et arte 
 
 In minimum mammas colligit ipsa suas. 
 Arte quidem videas nigros flavescere crines, 
 
 Nititur ipsa suo membra movere loco. 
 Sic fragili pingit totas in corpore partes, 
 
 Ut quicquid nota est displicuisse putes." 
 
 \_Neckam, de laude Monachorum, MS. Reg. 8. A. xxi, fol. 11, v .] 
 
 The most remarkable article in the dress of ecclesiastics during this period, 
 is the newly introduced mitre. At first it was very low, resembling a stunted 
 cap, as is shown in our plate of Ecclesiastics of the Twelfth Century, where 
 the bishops carry a very plain pastoral staff. In the Figures of Ecclesiastics 
 from Chartres, the archbishop has a mitre which represents a plain peaked 
 cap. Becket's mitre, although approaching more nearly the modern form, is 
 still low. That of the Archbishop of the latter end of the twelfth century, and 
 the one worn by bishop Hedda in the wood cut, appear to be of the same form 
 as that of Becket. In the latter half of the twelfth century, the English eccle- 
 siastics were remarkable for the costliness of their apparel, and for their 
 expensive and magnificent style of living. 
 
 We cannot perceive that the Normans, immediately after they settled in 
 England, excelled the Anglo-Saxons in skill in drawing or in taste for orna- 
 ment ; but after that event they progressed very rapidly towards perfection, 
 and the twelfth century may be considered as the most brilliant period of the 
 arts in England during the Middle Ages. The drawings in manuscripts are 
 generally spirited, and the outline tolerably correct, but they are much less 
 highly coloured than at a subsequent period. The favourite kind of ornament 
 during the twelfth century was scroll-work with foliage, which, in the initials, 
 &c. of manuscripts, as well as in enamelled articles, vests, church-windows, 
 &c. is often extremely elegant. 
 
 Cfje Cfrirteentf) Century 
 
 The year 1200 is not a striking division in the history of costume or art, for 
 the first years of the thirteenth century must be considered as a continuation 
 of the last years of the twelfth. The armour of the reign of King John was 
 nearly the same as that of the reign of Richard I. In the course of the 
 thirteenth century the quilted armour, then prevalent, began to be superseded 
 by chain mail, which also had been borrowed from the Saracens. A new 
 weapon came also into use, called the martel-de-fer, a pointed hammer, used 
 for breaking the links of the armour. The helmet took the form of a barrel, 
 and towards the end of the century it was surmounted by a heraldic crest. In 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the time of Edward I the aillettes, for the shoulders, are said to have been 
 introduced ; although in one of our illustrations in the present volume, of a 
 much earlier period, a cross appears in the situation occupied by the aiUette. 
 Our plate of Knights Fighting is taken from a foreign MS., which may 
 account for some apparent anomalies, particularly the kite-shaped shields, 
 which were not used in England at this period. 
 
 Several new and rich stuffs were introduced early in the thirteenth century, 
 brought generally from the east. The siclaton, which preserved its Arabic 
 name, is supposed to have been a sort of fine silky woollen ; the baudequin, a 
 rich silk woven with gold, is said to have taken its name from Baldak, or 
 Bagdad. Siclaton, or Siglaton, was chiefly employed in a super-tunic, or 
 outward gown, which was known by the name of the stuff, and is frequently 
 mentioned in the earlier poets : it was worn indiscriminately by persons of 
 both sexes. Besides these, there were a great variety of costly furs, silks, &c. 
 and we now find mention of velvet. Among the stuffs mentioned in the reign 
 of Edward I. are sendel (which appears to have come from India or Persia), 
 sarcenet (which is said to have derived its name from the Saracens), tiretain, 
 or tartan, a woollen cloth of a scarlet colour (its name derived by some writers 
 from Tyre), gauze (said to have been manufactured at Gaza in Palestine), 
 and burnet. 
 
 The ladies of the time of Henry III. are most strongly distinguished from 
 those of the previous reigns by their head-dresses. The hair was now gathered 
 up, and confined in a caul or net of gold thread. The arrangement and shape 
 of this caul appear, during the thirteenth century, to have been varied in 
 almost every possible manner. From the satirists of the reign of Edward I, 
 it would appear that it was then sometimes bound up in the shape of horns, a 
 fashion which became more famous at a later period : these horns are alluded 
 to by the writer of the Roman de la Rose ; and a Latin song of the reign of 
 Edward I speaks of — 
 
 " — quaedam nobilis, 
 Pulcra vel amabilis, 
 
 cum capite cornuto, 
 
 auro circumvoluto." 
 
 The head was still covered with the head-cloth, or kerchief (couvre-chef ) ; 
 and the neck was enveloped with a wimple. In the Anglo-Norman romance 
 of Tristan, composed probably in the reign of Henry III, the following des- 
 cription is given of the dress of Iseult : 
 
 " La roine out de soie dras, 
 Aporte furent de Baudas ; 
 Forre furent de blanc hermine : 
 Mantel, bliault, tot li traine. 
 Sor ses espaules sont si crin 
 Bende a ligne sor or fin. 
 Un cercle d'or out sor son chief." 
 
 " The queen had clothes of silk, 
 
 They were brought from Baldak ; 
 
 They were furred with white ermine. 
 
 The mantle, the bliault, all train after her. 
 
 Her locks on her shoulders are 
 
 Banded in line on fine gold. 
 
 She had a circle of gold on her head. 
 
 The bliault was a robe which fitted close about the body. One innovation 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 during this century, which appears to have prevailed most in the reign of 
 Edward I., was the long- train of the ladies' robes, which dragged on the ground 
 behind them, and failed not to excite the remarks of contemporary satirists. 
 A song of the reign of Edward I. compares the women of his time to pies, and 
 among other points of resemblance, says, 
 
 " La pie ad longe cowe 
 Que pend en la bovve, 
 
 pur la pesauncie ; 
 E femme fet la sowe 
 Plus long que nule cowe 
 
 de poun ou de pye." 
 
 " The pie has a long tail 
 Which hangs in the mud, 
 
 on account of its weight ; 
 And a woman makes hers 
 Longer than any tail 
 
 of peacock or of pie." 
 
 The male attire appears not to have undergone so many changes during 
 this century as the costume of the ladies, although it was composed of equally 
 rich materials. Under Henry III. the men in general wore breeches and 
 hose, and over them a long tunic, open in front, sometimes as high as the 
 waist. Over these they wore the siclaton. Writers of the time speak of a 
 fanciful, apparently jagged, mantle, named a cointise, which was used perhaps 
 in place of the siclaton. The shoes were long-toed, and among the rich they 
 were very richly embroidered in fret-work. On the head people sometimes 
 wore cowls, at other times round caps and hats, and, when on horseback, a coif 
 attached under the chin. Under Edward I, we find no change in the general 
 character of the dress : but the fret-work is transferred to the hose, which are 
 richly ornamented. The chief alteration in the dress of the lower orders 
 (which had remained nearly the same since the time of the Conquest), was the 
 addition of a coarse outer garment resembling the modern smock-frock. 
 
 The only remarkable change in the ecclesiastical costume was the introduc- 
 tion of the different dresses of the many newly established orders of monks. 
 
 In artistical skill, the earlier years of the thirteenth century partake of the 
 character of the twelfth. The illuminations of the middle and latter part of 
 the century are less correct in outline, and deficient in spirit, but more ela- 
 borately and richly coloured. Ornamental design was becoming gradually 
 so varied and fantastic, that it is not easy to describe its characteristics in 
 limited phraseology. 
 
 Cfje jfourteentf) Ccnturg. 
 
 The reign of Edward II. has nothing very decided in the character of its cos- 
 tume — it may be considered as a period of transition between the reign of 
 Edward I. and that of Edward III. The male dress continued much the same 
 as in the preceding reign, except that towards the end of this reign it began 
 to be distinguished by the accumulation of finery which became so obnoxious 
 to the reforming lollards in the latter part of this century. At the end of the 
 reign, of Edward II. and more universally in the beginning of that of Edward 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 III. the long - garments of nobles and knights were changed for a shorter and 
 closer vest which was distinguished by the name of a cotte-hardie, from the 
 sleeves of which hung long slips of cloth ; and over the whole was worn a 
 large flowing mantle, buttoned over the shoulder, the edges frequently jagged, 
 or, as it was then termed, (lagged, and cut into the form of leaves, &c. This 
 mantle was in general thrown over the back so as to leave the front of the 
 body uncovered. The cotte-hardie was richly embroidered, and the whole 
 costume was composed of the most costly materials and of the gayest colours : 
 the " paynted hoodes" and " gay cotes" were the subject of many a popular 
 rhyme. To the richness of the dress was added a profusion of jewellery ; and 
 to increase the variety of colour, party-coloured dresses were now brought into 
 use. The shape of the cap or hat, which was sometimes made of beaver, 
 was frequently changed ; one of its peculiarities, now first observed, was the 
 addition of a feather. 
 
 The middle classes of society soon began to vie with the courtiers in the 
 extravagance of their apparel, and sumptuary laws were first enacted in the 
 reign of the third Edward, and were frequently repeated in succeeding times. 
 The reign of Richard II. was that in which the extravagance, which these 
 laws were intended to repress, was carried to the greatest excess. A host of 
 contemporary writers inveigh bitterly against the vain foppery of the times. 
 The writer of the remarkable alliterative poem on the Deposition of Richard 
 II. describes these costly fashions as the immediate causes of most of the mis- 
 fortunes of his reign. He says of the great people, — 
 
 — " They keep no coin that cometh to their hands, 
 
 But change it for chains that in Chepe hangeth, 
 
 And set all their silver in seimtes (? girdles) and horns." * 
 
 The satirist goes on to say, — 
 
 " That lewd lad ought evil to thrive, 
 
 That hangeth on his hips more than he earneth, 
 
 And feareth no debt, so that dukes praise them, 
 
 But beg and borrow of burgesses in towns 
 
 Furs of ffoyne and many other wares, 
 
 And are not a bean the better though they borrow ever. 
 
 And unless the sleeves slide on the earth, 
 
 They will be as wroth as the wind, and worry those that made it ; 
 And if the elbows were only down to the heels, 
 Or passing the knee, it was not accounted." 
 
 ***** 
 But now there is a guise, the quaintest of all, 
 A wondrous curious craft, lately arrived, 
 That men call carving the cloth all to pieces, 
 That seven good sewers, in the course of six weeks after, 
 May not set the seams, or sew them again. 
 
 * The language of these extracts is modernised. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 He says that the clergy ought to, — 
 
 — " blame the burnes (fellows) that brought new guises, 
 And drive out the dagges and all the Dutch cotes, 
 And set them aside, and turn them all to scorn." 
 
 Some idea of the costume of this time will be given by our plate of Courtiers 
 of the time of Richard II, especially of the dagging of the edges of the 
 mantle, or rather of the gown, for that was the name by which this part of the 
 dress was now designated. Many of the fashions of this reign appear to have 
 been brought from Germany, which is probably the meaning of the term Dutch 
 coats given to them in the foregoing lines. 
 
 * The rest of the dress is thus described by a contemporary writer : — " Their 
 hoods are small, tied under the chin, and buttoned like those of the women, 
 but set with gold, silver, and precious stones. Their lirripipes or tippets pass 
 round the neck, and hang down before to the feet, all jagged. They have 
 another garment of silk which they call a paltock. Their hose are of two 
 colours (party-coloured), or pied with more, which they tie to the paltocks, 
 with white latchets called herlots, without any breeches. Their girdles are 
 of gold and silver, and some of them worth twenty marks. Their shoes and 
 pattens are snouted and piked more than a finger long, bending upwards, which 
 they call crakowes, resembling the claws of devils, and fastened to the knees 
 with chains of gold and silver." 
 
 Several articles of dress at this period were common to both sexes. Another 
 contemporary moralist (printed in the Reliquiae Antiquse, vol. i. p. 41.) gives 
 the following account of the dress of the men and women of the reign of Richard 
 II. — " Thus the devil farith with men and women : first he stirreth them to 
 pappe and pamper their flesh, desiring delicious meats and drinks, and so to 
 hop on the pilar (of the devil's temptation) with their horns, locks, garlands 
 of gold and of rich pearls, cauls, filets, and wimples, and riddled gowns, and 
 rockets, colors, laces, jackes, paltokes, with their long crakowes, and thus the 
 devil beareth them up upon the pillar, to teach them to fly above other simple 
 folk, and saith that they shall not hurt themselves, but he lieth falsely, for 
 unless they are as sorry therefor as ever they were glad, they shall leap down 
 from the pillar into the pit of hell." 
 
 The female costume in the first half of the fourteenth century differed little 
 from that of the preceding age ; the ladies still wore the same style of coiffure, 
 the kerchef, and the gorget about the neck. The gorget and kerchef are seen 
 in the figures on our plate of A Royal Repast. In the reign of Edward III. 
 the dress of the ladies made the same advances as that of the other sex. The 
 cotte-hardie, sometimes with and sometimes without the long slips at the elbows, 
 was worn by the women as well as by the men. Sometimes, instead of this vest, 
 the ladies wore a tight gown or kirtle, very long, with long or short sleeves, 
 and not unfrequently with the same long slips at the elbows. At a later 
 period a kind of spencer or waist-coat came into fashion, worn over the gown, 
 reaching to the hips, and bordered with rich furs. This waist-coat came into 
 more general use towards the latter part of the century. The hair was still 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 bound up in a caul of fret or net- work. Chaucer's account of the Wife of Bath 
 is a good picture of a well-dressed dame of the reign of Richard II. — 
 
 " Of cloth making she hadde swiche an haunt, 
 She passed hem of Ipres and of Gaunt. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Hire coverchiefs weren ful fine of ground ; 
 
 I dorste swere they weyeden a pound, 
 
 That on the Sonday were upon hire hede. 
 
 Hire hosen weren of fine scarlet rede, 
 
 Ful streite y-teyed, and shoon ful moist and newe. 
 
 * # * * 
 Upon an ambler esily she sat, 
 Y-wimpled wel, and on hire hede an hat 
 As brode as is a bokeler or a targe. 
 
 A fote-mantel about hire hippes large, 
 And on hire fete a pair of sporres sharpe." 
 
 Many of the gay female fashions of the reign of Richard II. are said to have 
 been introduced by Queen Anne of Bohemia. A similar revolution was in the 
 same age effected in France by the love of splendour and gaiety which was 
 the characteristic of Queen Anne of Austria. 
 
 Ecclesiastics appear to have rivalled the laity in their love of finery. The 
 splendour of the sacerdotal garments of ceremony was perhaps at its greatest 
 height in the latter part of the twelfth and earlier part of the thirteenth cen- 
 turies : but we can hardly imagine a dress much more rich than that repre- 
 sented in our plate of An incised Slab of the date 1353. Chaucer has touched 
 with great effect the worldly vanity of the monkish orders. His monk had — 
 
 — " his sieves purfiled at the hond 
 With gris, and that the finest of the lond. 
 And for to fasten his hood under his chinne, 
 He hadde of gold y-wrought a curious pinne : 
 A love-knotte in the greter end ther was. 
 
 * # * * 
 
 His botes souple, his hors in gret estat, 
 Now certainly he was a fayre prelat." 
 
 And of the nun, the same poet says — 
 
 " Ful semely hire wimple y-pinched was ; 
 Hire nose tretis ; hire eyen grey as glas ; 
 Hire mouth ful smale, and therto soft and red ; 
 
 ^ W ^ #r 
 
 Ful fetise was hire cloke, as I was ware. 
 Of smale corah aboute hire arm she bare 
 A pair of bedes, gauded all with grene ; 
 And theron heng a broche of gold ful shene." 
 
 Chaucer's description of his pilgrims is our best authority for the costumes of 
 the different orders of society in the time of Richard II. His own portrait, 
 given in one of our plates, may be considered a good example of the ordinary 
 costume of the time. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It would require a volume to give a minute account of all the changes in the 
 military costume of our forefathers during the fourteenth century. One of the 
 most remarkable innovations was the introduction of plate armour, which began 
 to be used extensively in the reign of Edward II. The construction of the 
 whole armour becomes more complicated. The helmet, in the reign of Edward 
 
 II. takes the form of an egg, more or less pointed at the top. The neck was 
 covered by a guard of chain, called a cam-ail. Crested helmets were used chiefly 
 in tournaments. Aillettes are more universally worn. The shield takes the 
 shape most commonly represented in our coats-of-arms, and is sometimes flat 
 and at others semi-cylindrical. To offensive weapons were added the Turkish 
 scimitar, and a new kind of pole-axe. As we advance in the reign of Edward 
 
 III. we find the body of the warrior completely cased in steel plate. Many 
 improvements at the same period were made in the helmet and the camail. 
 A light jupon, embroidered with the arms of the wearer, and a rich girdle, was 
 first worn over the hauberk, then over it with the plastron, then over the cuirass 
 or " pair of plates," with an apron only, of mail. In the time of Richard II. 
 many fantastical alterations were made in the form of defensive armour, in 
 accordance with the general taste of that period ; particularly in the helmet 
 and visor, the latter being frequently shaped like a beak. 
 
 Ornamental design, during this century, was so varied that it would be 
 scarcely possible to give a comprehensive account of it. The styles of draw- 
 ings in illuminated manuscripts are extremely unequal, some beautiful specimens 
 being found among much that is very inferior. The writings of manuscripts is 
 less handsome, but more flowing, than in the preceding centuries. The initial 
 letters frequently possess great elegance. The ornamental works we have 
 given in our plates are not of English workmanship. 
 
 Cfje jTxfteentt) Centura 
 
 After the accession of Henry IV., various attempts were made to reform the 
 extravagant fashions and expensive apparel of the preceding reign, and new 
 and severe sumptuary laws were repeatedly enacted, but with very partial 
 success. The dagged and slashed garments were especially forbidden, and all 
 garments " cut in the form of letters, rose-leaves, and posies of various kinds, 
 or any such like devices." Among the new names of articles of apparel which 
 became common during the reigns of Henry IV. and V. was a long tunic called a 
 houp-pelande, which appears to have been most commonly of scarlet ; a cloak of 
 scarlet cloth and camlet called a heuke ; and an outer garment of fur named 
 a pilche. The general character of the dress appears however to have partaken 
 largely of the fashions of the reign of Richard II., and the satirists continue to 
 speak of the long pokes or sleeves, sweeping on the ground, and best fitted, as 
 they said, for thieves who wanted a convenient receptacle for stolen goods. 
 One of the " abusions" condemned by the poet Occleve was, — 
 
 c 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 — "a robe of scarlet 
 Twelve yards wide, with pendant sleeves down 
 On the ground, and the furrure thereon set 
 Amounting unto twenty pounds or bet.'' 
 
 For which, as he said, if the wearer paid, he would have " no good" left, 
 " wherewith to buy himself a hood." And he adds quaintly, — 
 
 " Now have these lords little need of brooms 
 To sweep away the filth out of the street, 
 Since side sleeves of pennyless grooms 
 Will it up lick, be it dry or wet." 
 
 With the reign of Henry VI., we come to a new period of the history of cos- 
 tume. The male dresses of this reign are again distinguished by every species 
 of extravagance, and are almost infinitely varied. Among the principal charac- 
 teristics were long tight hose, with feet, and sometimes short boots or buskins, 
 sometimes boots reaching to the middle of the thigh, called galoches ; or very 
 long toed shoes, with high fronts and backs that turn over each way ; with a 
 jacket, or doublet cut short at the shoulders, and apparently an under vest of 
 which the sleeves pass through the arm-holes of the jacket. The mantle 
 appears in every fantastic variety of form, as well as the hat or cap, which is 
 now frequently surmounted by a feather. Our plates contain numerous illus- 
 trations of the state dresses of this period. 
 
 The long toed shoes, the hose buskins, and galoches, with other articles of 
 male attire, continued under Edward IV. and Richard III. with little variation ; 
 but the jacket was cut shorter, and was much stuffed and padded, and the 
 sleeves cut open in slits, so as to show the rich shirts. The cap was sometimes 
 made in a form nearly resembling that of the modern hat. The mantle appears 
 now to have been less frequently worn. 
 
 The extravagance in dress of the fifteenth century appears at no period more 
 remarkable than during the reign of Henry VII. Men of fashion wore very 
 broad-brimmed hats or caps, with a profusion of large feathers. The sleeve of 
 the jacket or purpoint is formed of two or more slips, attached to each other 
 by points or laces, leaving openings through which the embroidered shirt is 
 seen protruding. The upper part of the hose is sometimes slashed and puffed. 
 The mantle is sometimes elegantly bordered, or dagged ; sometimes it is made 
 of a square form, reaching hardly to the thighs, but with long square sleeves 
 which nearly touch the ground, and holes through which the arms pass. But 
 the most remarkable characteristic of the latter part of the fifteenth century is 
 the ridiculous broadness of the toes of the shoes, which suddenly usurps the 
 place of the long pointed toes of the preceding reigns. An old French writer, 
 Paradin, describing the manners of this century, says that at first " the men 
 wore shoes with a point before, half a foot long ; the richer and more eminent 
 personages wore them a foot, and princes two feet long, which was the most 
 ridiculous thing that ever was seen ; and when men became tired of these 
 pointed shoes, which were called poulaines, they adopted others in their place 
 which were named duck-bills, having a bill or beak before, of four or five fingers 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in length. Afterwards, assuming a contrary fashion, they wore shoes so very 
 broad in front as to exceed the measure of a good foot." Our plates from the 
 Roman de la Rose will give the best idea of the male costume of the reign of 
 Henry VII. 
 
 The female costume also went through many changes during the fifteenth 
 century. In the earlier years of the century the dress of the ladies differs little 
 from that of the reign of Richard II., except in the head-dress. The hair is 
 still gathered into a gold caul, but is stretched out laterally like two barrel- 
 ends, and is flattened at the top, and appears sometimes to be crowned with a 
 garland, or covered with a kerchief or veil. This fashion seems not to have 
 lasted very long, and we soon meet with the horn-shaped head-dresses, a fashion 
 which, in some form or other, had certainly existed more than a century 
 before* The horned head-dresses of the fifteenth century appear first in the 
 shape of a heart, or of a broad mitre placed sideways on the head. This fashion 
 appears to have been brought from France ; at first it was very flat, as in the 
 figures in our plates of the Birth of St. Edmund and Christine de Pisan. In 
 the latter plate we see another kind of horned head-dress, which appeared in 
 England a little later, resembling in some degree two butterflies' wings ; it 
 will be seen more strongly developed in the plate of the Lady of the Tourna- 
 ment. It was succeeded about the middle of the century by the high tower or 
 steeple-shaped head-dress, which had generally a long veil or kerchief hanging 
 down behind. The cotte-hardie continued to be worn, and was laced very 
 tight, in order to give a small waist to the wearer. The common dress of the 
 ladies through the reigns of Henry V. and VI. was a very long gown trailing 
 on the ground, with hanging sleeves like those of the men. Under Henry VI. 
 the train of the gown was first made of an extravagant length, and soon pro- 
 voked the criticisms of the satirists, who also accuse the ladies of this time of 
 having their dress open so low before and behind as to expose to view the naked 
 back and breast to an indecent extent. Towards the end of Henry's reign, 
 and in that of his successor, the steeple head-dresses were worn of an extraor- 
 dinary height. A French moralist, who wrote soon after the middle of the 
 century, gives us some curious traits of contemporary manners : entering upon 
 the subject of clothes, he says, " One manner of spoiling and abusing one's 
 vestments is, as to the form, which as regards women I consider in four parts. 
 The first is in the head, which used to be horned, but is now mitred in these 
 parts of France .... And now these mitres are in the shape of chimneys, . . . 
 and the more beautiful and younger the wearers are, the higher chimneys they 
 carry. . . . The battlements to combat God above are the fine works of silk, the 
 beautiful figures, the gold, the silver, the pearles, sometimes precious stones, 
 and rich embroidery. . . . The lances are the great forked pins ; the arrows are 
 
 * In addition to other allusions to the early use of the horned head-dress, which has been too hastily 
 stated not to have existed before the period to which we are now treating, we may point out an early 
 French satirical poem, probably of the end of the thirteenth century, on the subject entitled Des Cor- 
 netes, printed in M. Jubinal's Jongleurs et Trouveres, p. 87. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the little pins. The shield is the large forehead stripped of hair.* The second 
 evil is the great standard which they carry, this great loose kerchief which 
 hangs down jusques d leur derriere ; it is a sign that the devil has gained the 
 castle against God ; for when the men at arms gain a place, they hoist their 
 flag upon it. Another evil is in the body. By detestable vanity ladies of 
 rank now cause their robes to be made so low in the breast and so open on 
 the shoulders, that we may see nearly the whole bosom and all their shoulders, 
 and much below down their back ; and so tight in the waist that they can 
 scarcely respire in them, and often suffer great pain by it, in order to make 
 their body small. . . . And if it is said in defence, that, though they do not 
 cover their breast and neck with their robes, they cover it with something 
 else, I answer that the covering is only vanity, for they cover it with a stuff so 
 loose that one may see the flesh completely through it. The third evil is in 
 the tail. They make them such long tails, that I see in them four great evils. 
 The first is useless waste. What is the use of that great heap of cloth and fur 
 and of silk which drags on the ground, and is often the cause of the loss of 
 the robe, and of the time which must be employed to clean these long tails, 
 as well as of the patience of the servants ? . . . The fourth evil is when they 
 cause to be made for their feet shoes which are so small that they can scarcely 
 walk in them, whereby they have frequently their feet lamed, sore, and full of 
 corns." 
 
 Under Richard III. a new head-dress came into fashion, the hair being- 
 confined in a lower cap of gold net, projecting horizontally from the back of 
 the head, and covered with a kerchief. In the reign of Henry VII., the gown 
 appears fuller, and less tightly laced ; the sleeves full, sometimes slashed, and 
 otherwise ornamented. The hair is now suffered to escape from under the 
 cap or caul, and to hang loosely over the back. There appears, however, 
 towards the end of the century, and in the beginning of the next, to have been 
 no exclusive form of head-dress among the fair sex, for we meet with an infinite 
 variety in the pictures of the time. 
 
 The most prominent alterations in defensive armour in the first half of the 
 fifteenth century, are the introduction of the panache or upright plume on the 
 helmet, some changes in the form of the helmet itself ; the absence of the jupon 
 and surcoat, and the addition of a skirt of horizontal bands of steel to the 
 globular breast-plate. Large hanging sleeves of cloth are also sometimes worn 
 with the armour. Under Henry VI. the armour was highly ornamented, 
 frequently remarkable for the fantastic forms given to the different parts of 
 the suit, of which several additional ones were now introduced. Hand-guns 
 were added to the offensive arms of soldiers towards the middle of the century. 
 From this time forward, the armour of the nobility was made more and more 
 splendid and costly. Elbow and knee pieces, in particular, take very fantastic 
 forms. 
 
 The love of splendour naturally carried with it a taste for ornamental work 
 
 * It was the fashion in this century to pluck out the hair round the forehead, so as to make it 
 appear larger. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and the fine arts. The latter were cultivated after the middle of the century 
 with greater success than at any former period. Artists of first rate talent 
 were employed in adorning manuscripts with delicate miniatures ; and many 
 of those now preserved are gems of art. The best school of miniatures was 
 that of Flanders. The most elegant initial letters during this period are found 
 in manuscripts executed in Italy. Cups, and similar articles, were also at this 
 time ornamented in exquisite taste by excellent artificers. Several remarkable 
 examples will be found in the present volume. 
 
 €&e ^ixtttnti) Century 
 
 With the reign of Henry VIII. we enter upon an entirely new period of 
 costume and of art, differing in every possible respect from the ages which 
 preceded. The splendour and extravagance of the feudal baronage was 
 expiring, and the gorgeous pageantry of the Romish Church was on the point 
 of disappearing from our island. Wolsey was the last representative of the 
 proud Romish prelacy. The common male costume of the higher orders and 
 gentry during this reign, may be best conceived by a reference to our plate 
 of the Earl of Surrey. It consisted of a full skirted jacket or doublet, with 
 large sleeves to the wrist, with a short full coat over it, having frequently 
 loose hanging sleeves. To this was often added a broad collar of fur. A 
 brimmed cap, with an ostrich feather, close hose, and square-toed shoes, an 
 embroidered shirt, showing itself at the breast, and in ruffles at the wrists, 
 complete the dress. The upper part of the hose, were now slashed, puffed 
 and embroidered, and appear as distinct from the lower part, or stockings. 
 The gowns of the higher orders were very costly in material and ornament : 
 merchants and others wore them of the same form as those of our masters of 
 arts in the universities at the present day. Under Edward VI. and Mary 
 the cap was often replaced by a small round bonnet, worn on one side of the 
 head ; the shoes took nearly their present form ; the puffed hose (called trunk- 
 hose) continued in use ; but the doublet was lengthened considerably in the 
 skirts. This costume continued in use, with different changes in the details, 
 till the time of Charles I. ; the principal difference was in the enormous 
 breeches, stuffed with hair like wool-sacks, which remained in fashion during 
 nearly the whole of the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. 
 
 The different articles of female costume were the same in the reign of 
 Henry VIII. as in the latter part of the preceding century, but from this time 
 forward they went through so many changes of form and material, that we 
 could give no satisfactory description of them within moderate limits. The 
 dresses of ladies of rank were rendered costly by the addition of a great 
 quantity of jewels. Most readers will be familiar with the dress of Queen 
 Elizabeth, and the ladies of her court. One of its most remarkable charac- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tcristics was the large ruff about the neck, which was common to all classes of 
 society. 
 
 Early in this century complete suits of defensive armour began to be less in 
 use, except at tournaments and for ceremonious occasions, and then it was 
 embossed and engraved in the most splendid and expensive manner. A fine 
 example of embossed armour is given in our plate of Francis the First. 
 Puffed and ribbed armour came into fashion in the reign of Henry VIII. 
 Pistols (or dags), pikes, and long musquets, were among the weapons in com- 
 mon use. In Elizabeth's reign, the armour was confined to the body and head, 
 with the arms partly or wholly covered, but seldom descended below the hips. 
 Among offensive weapons, we now find a considerable variety of different 
 fire-arms. The increased use of fire-arms rendered defensive armour more 
 and more unfashionable, till at last it was reduced to a simple breast-plate and 
 helmet. 
 
 The first half of the sixteenth century, the age of the Renaissance, and of 
 the great masters in painting and carving, was a splendid period for every 
 species of ornament and embellishment, distinguished by an infinite variety in 
 style and character, and by beauty of execution. In the plates and cuts at 
 the end of our work, we have given a few specimens of ornamented articles of 
 this age, which will form the best illustration. 
 
 In bringing my work to a conclusion, I beg to return thanks to the following 
 Gentlemen for their kindness and assistance during its progress : 
 
 To Albert Way, Esq. Director of the Antiquarian Society, for contributing 
 several very beautiful Drawings, together with their learned and accurate 
 descriptions, and for many valuable suggestions. 
 
 To Sir Frederick Madden, K. H. Keeper of the MSS. ; Antonio Panizzi, 
 Esq. Keeper of the Printed Books ; and Henry Josi, Esq. Keeper of the Prints, 
 in the British Museum, for facilities afforded me in their different departments. 
 
 To Mr. Willement, F. S. A. for valuable information connected with the 
 Heraldic Illustrations. And to the owners of the various objects taken from 
 private collections, for their liberality in allowing me the use of them. 
 
 37, Southampton Row, 
 June 1, 1843. 
 
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 1. Title. 
 
 2. King Alfred's Jewel, and the Ring of King Athelwulf. 
 
 3. Illustrations of Prudentius. 
 
 4. Cross from Mount Athos. 
 
 Cut. Side of a Cross. 
 
 5. The Seasons, from January to June. 
 
 Cut. Chair or Throne, from a MS. at Paris. 
 
 6. The Seasons, from July to December. 
 
 Cut. Table, Chair, and Candlestick, from a MS. in the British Museum. 
 
 janglo^onnan ^erfoti (106G— 1200). 
 
 7. Spanish Warriors. 
 
 Cuts. Jongleurs, and a Shield and Sword. 
 
 8. Clovis I. 
 
 Cuts. Ornamental Pavement, from the Musee des Monumens Francais. Musical Instruments, from 
 the Cathedral at Chartres. 
 
 9. Clotilda. 
 
 «> Cut. Chess-men of the twelfth century, from the British Museum, and the Museum at Paris. 
 
 10. Female Costumes. 
 
 Cuts. Figures, Utensils, &c, and a Devil in female attire. 
 
 11. Ecclesiastics of the Twelfth Century. 
 
 Cut. A Pastoral Staff, from the collection of Monsieur Dugue, at Paris. 
 
 12. Figures of Ecclesiastics, in stone. 
 
 Cuts. Part of a Dalmatic, a Shoe, &c. 
 
 13. Mitre of Becket. 
 
 Cuts. Plan of Mitre, and Infulae. 
 
 14. Apparel of the Amice. 
 
 Cuts. Apparels of the Amice, and a Book Cover. 
 
 15. Ornament on Chasuble. 
 
 Cuts. A Reliquary, and Chasuble. 
 
 16. An Archbishop. 
 
 Cuts. A Pix of the twelfth century. The consecration of St. Guthlac, from an Illuminated Roll. 
 
 17. King and Knight. 
 
 Cuts. Shields, from a MS. at Paris and the Cathedral at Chartres. 
 
 18. The Coronation Spoon. 
 
 Cut. A Sceptre. 
 
 19. Candlesticks. 
 
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 Wqz ^iraentlj Ceitturp. 
 
 20. William Longuespee. 
 
 Cut. Cimabue the Painter, and a Man on horseback. 
 
 21. Knights fighting. 
 
 Cuts. Various modes of attacking Towns, from MSS. in the same collection. 
 
 22. Burial of Edward the Confessor. 
 
 Cuts. An Altar, Shrine, and a Portrait of Margaret of Provence. 
 
 23. Pastoral Staff of the Abbey of Lys. 
 
 Cut. End of Pastoral Staff. 
 
 24. A Chalice. 
 
 Cut. A Font of Pisjoia. 
 
 Wqz fourteenth Century. 
 
 25. Ladies playing on the Harp. 
 
 26. A Royal Repast. 
 
 Cut. A Candlestick, from the original, at Paris. 
 
 27. Effigy of Charles d'Etampes. 
 
 28. Gilbert de Clare. 
 
 29. Incised Slab. 
 
 30. Edward III. 
 
 Cuts. Specimen of Diaper Ornament, from a MS. in the British Museum. A Cup, from the origi- 
 nal, at Pembroke College, Cambridge. 
 
 31. The Black Prince. 
 
 Cuts. Specimens of Hose and Shoes, from the same painting. A Throne from a MS. at Oxford. 
 
 32. Richard II. 
 
 Cut. A Bishop preaching. 
 
 33. Courtiers of the Time of Richard II. 
 
 Cut. A Pavilion from a MS. in the same collection. 
 
 34. Head Dresses. 
 
 Cut. A Cibory, from a MS. at Paris. 
 
 35. Processional Cross. 
 
 Cut. Figures in Armour. 
 
 36. Reverse of Processional Cross. 
 
 Cuts. Ploughing, and Male and Female Figures. 
 
 37. Chair of Silver. 
 
 Cuts. A Monk Writing, and a King in Bed, from a MS. in the British Museum. A Knocker, from 
 a house at Barcelona. 
 
 38. Geoffry Chaucer. 
 
Th.e Enamel. 
 
 ALFRED § JEWJEI.. 
 
 EJLKLWI 
 
 The Inscription. 
 
 ^c+Eii-ELyvlFPi: 
 
 ' r X T- ~. t. t t —T-T -TTT-T?- 
 
 mra<& of ra& atieiwif. 
 
 H.Skaw. 
 
KING ALFRED'S JEWEL. 
 
 EW relics of antiquity are connected 
 with more interesting historical associ- 
 ations than the jewel represented in 
 our engraving. The inscription on the 
 face, 
 
 XELFRED MEE HEHT DEVVYREXN, 
 
 i.e. " Alfred commanded me to be made," 
 and the circumstance of its having been 
 found (about the close of the seventeenth 
 century) in the isle of Athelney in 
 Somersetshire, leave no room for doubt- 
 » ing that it was lost by King Alfred in 
 I^^E^SfcS^ the lowest ebb of his changeful for- 
 Pi^J i "!!!l5%^S5^ > tunes, when he took shelter in that spot 
 
 from the pursuits of the Danes. It 
 w r as on this Occasion that the circum- 
 stance is pretended to have occurred 
 which has been ever since so closely 
 attached to Alfred's memory, and of 
 which the following account is given in 
 an early Anglo-Saxon homily. " The 
 King then went lurking through hedges and ways, through 
 woods and fields, so that he through God's guidance arrived 
 safe at Athelney, and begged shelter in the house of a certain 
 swain, and even diligently served him and his evil wife. It hap- 
 pened one day that this swain's wife heated her oven, and the King- 
 sat thereby, warming himself by the fire, the family not knowing 
 that he was the King. Then was the evil woman suddenly stirred 
 up, and said to the King in angry mood, ' Turn thou the loaves, 
 that they burn not ; for I see daily that thou art a great eater.' He 
 was quickly obedient to the evil woman, because he needs must." 
 The Jewel which is connected so remarkably with this story, is now pre- 
 served in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. It is two inches and five 
 eighths long, of gold, and containing within the inscription given above, a 
 coloured vitreous paste representing, apparently, a male figure, holding in each 
 hand what appears to be a sceptre (though probably only intended as orna- 
 ments), and covered with a crystal. Much unimportant discussion has arisen 
 concerning the person thus represented. Round the outer edge is a purfled 
 border of filligree work. 
 
This remarkable ornament has been generally accounted to be an enamelled 
 work, but it must be admitted that the rarity of existing specimens of so early 
 a date is such, and our acquaintance with the processes of art employed at 
 that period so limited, that the assertion can scarcely be made with confidence. 
 The most ancient specimen of what to all appearance is a true enamelled 
 work is the ring of Athelwulf, the father of Alfred, preserved in the British 
 Museum, and engraved on the accompanying plate. It exhibits the more 
 ordinary process of the early enamellers, who chiselled out cavities on the face 
 of the plate, to be filled by the fused pigment, leaving at intervals thin lines of 
 metal, which, when the work was perfected, served as outlines to detach the 
 variously coloured parts of the design. In Alfred's Jewel, and a very few 
 other instances, this result is produced by thin disconnected fillets of metal, 
 merely attached to the surface of the plate on which the colour is laid ; and 
 the coloured substance with which the lodgements thus formed are filled, 
 seems to be rather a vitreous paste, than a true enamel. The comparison 
 of a remarkable specimen recently discovered in London, and represented 
 in Archseologia, vol. xxix. pi. x. is in no small degree interesting ; both are 
 possibly productions of the artificers, whom Alfred is said to have brought 
 to England. The reverse of Alfred's Jewel presents, on a matted ground, 
 a kind of flower, with three branches ; it is flat, and from that circumstance it 
 has been concluded that the ornament was destined to be worn attached to a 
 collar ; but as the design would in that case have been seen reversed, some 
 other intention must be sought, which, from our slender acquaintance with the 
 personal ornaments of the Anglo-Saxon times, is not obvious. 
 
 Our initial letter is taken from a magnificent manuscript bible in Latin, 
 and now preserved in the British Museum, MS. Additional. No. 10,546. It 
 is a very large folio volume, consisting of four hundred and forty-nine leaves 
 of extremely fine vellum, written in a beautiful and distinct minuscule letter, 
 in double columns. It is embellished with four large paintings, and numerous 
 richly ornamented initial letters. On the reverse of the last leaf are some 
 Latin verses, stating that this noble volume was made under the superintend- 
 ence of Alcuin, to be presented by him to Charlemagne : — 
 
 " Codicis istius quot sint in corpore sancto 
 
 Depictae formis litterulae variis 
 Mercedes habeat, Christo donante, per aevum 
 
 Is Carolus qui jam scribere jussit eum ! 
 Haec dator aeternus cunctorum, Christe, bonorum 
 
 Munera de donis accipe sancta tuis, 
 Qua? pater Albinus, devoto pectore supplex, 
 
 Nominis ad laudem obtulit ecce tui, 
 Quam tua perpetuis conservet dextra diebus, 
 
 Ut felix tecum vivat in arce poli. 
 Pro me, quisque legas versus, orare memento, 
 
 Alchuine dicor ego ; tu sine fine vale ! 
 
 This Bible was bought by the British Museum in 1836 for the sum of 
 seven hundred and fifty pounds. A full description and history of it by Sir 
 Frederick Madden, will be found in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1836. 
 
T \ 
 
Date, about the 9th Century. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF PRUDENTIUS. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS OF PRUDENTIUS. 
 
 MILARLY illuminated manuscripts of 
 the Psychomachia of Prudentius occur 
 in several collections. The British Mu- 
 seum possesses one : another is found 
 in the library of archbishop Tenison, in 
 the parish of St. Martin in the Fields ; 
 and we believe that there is one in each 
 of the Universities. They are all of 
 about the same date. The accompany- 
 ing plate represents three of the draw- 
 ings which illustrate the copy in the 
 British Museum (MS. Cotton. Cleopat. 
 C. VIII.), which appears to be a manu- 
 script of about the ninth century. They 
 are good illustrations of the civil and 
 military costume of that period. It 
 may be observed that, as far as we can 
 judge by the illuminations which have 
 come down to us, the dress of our an- 
 cestors did not vary much during the Anglo-Saxon period. 
 
 Prudentius (a Christian poet who wrote at the beginning of the fifth cen- 
 tury) was a favourite author among the Anglo-Saxons, and their love of alle- 
 gorical writing made them prefer, above the rest of the poems, his Psychoma- 
 chia, in which is described an imaginary battle between the Virtues and the 
 Vices, the combatants being all clothed in human attributes. In the course 
 of the engagement, Patience is attacked by Anger, whom she defeats by the 
 resistance of her impenetrable armour, — 
 
 " Provida nam Virtus conserto adamante trilicem 
 Induerat thoraca humeris, squamosaque ferri 
 Texta per intortos commiserat undique nervos. 
 Inde quieta manet Patientia, fortis ad omnes 
 Telorum nimbos, et non penetrabile durans." 
 
 After the defeat of Anger, Patience marches unhurt through the hostile 
 
ranks, accompanied by Job, who is represented by the bearded man in the 
 picture, which belongs to the 162nd line of the poem, — 
 
 " Haec effata sccat medias inpune cohortes 
 Egregio comitata viro : nam proximus lob 
 Haeserat invictae dura inter bella magistrae, 
 Fronte severus adhuc, et multo vulnere anhelus." 
 
 The second drawing refers to line 631 of the poem. The Virtues having 
 obtained the victory, Peace makes her appearance, and drives away Fear, 
 and Labour, and Force. This is the subject of the illumination in the 
 middle of our plate, — 
 
 " His dictis curse emotae ; metus, et labor, et vis, 
 Et scelus, el placitae Fidci fraus inficiatrix, 
 Depulsae vertere solum." 
 
 Peace is described as being clad in a flowing vest, descending to her feet, — 
 
 " Vestis ad usque pedes deseendens defluit imos : 
 Temperat et rapidum privata modestia gressum." 
 
 The Virtues now approach, triumphantly, the citadel, where another deadly 
 contest ensues between Concord and Discord. The approach to the city is 
 the subject of the third drawing on our plate, — 
 
 " Sic expugnata Vitiorum gente, resultant 
 Mystica dulcimodis Virtutum carmina psalmis. 
 Ventum erat ad fauces portae castrensis, ubi artum 
 Liminis introitum bifori dant cardine claustra." 
 
 {Prudent. Psychom. v. 665.) 
 
 Our initial (or rather our two initials, for it represents two letters, S and I, 
 a common occurrence in the earlier manuscripts) is taken from a fragment 
 of a Latin Bible, preserved with some other fragments in the British Museum. 
 The manuscript, from which it was stolen at the begining of the last century, 
 is in the Royal Library at Paris, and was written for Charles le Chauve. It 
 is to be lamented that the fragment, which is in the Harleian Library, has not 
 been restored to the manuscript. 
 
i 
 
CROSS FROM MOUNT ATHOS. 
 
 E F O R E the 
 Christian era, 
 Mount Athos 
 was celebrated 
 for the length 
 of its shadow 
 (ingenti tellu- 
 rem proximus 
 umbra vestit. 
 Stat.), which 
 was said to 
 reach as far as 
 the isle of Lem- 
 nos, for the 
 multitude of its 
 hares (quot le- 
 pores in Atho. 
 Ovid.), and for 
 havingbeenthe 
 scene of one of 
 the most won- 
 derful exploits 
 of Xerxes, who 
 in his invasion 
 of Greece is 
 said to have cut 
 a passage for 
 
 his ships through the lower part of this vast mass of mountains. 
 Since the time of the later Christian Emperors of Constantinople, 
 it has been celebrated chiefly for the number of its monasteries, 
 on which account it received the name of the Holy Mountain 
 ("A-yiov opoQ, or, as it w r as called by the Italians, Monte Santo). 
 These monasteries are singularly interesting to the antiquary, 
 because in them are preserved the manners and the arts which 
 characterized the monasteries of the west of Europe, previously 
 to the general introduction of the Benedictine Rule. One of these, 
 the monastery of Caracalla, possessed for centuries the beautiful 
 cross represented in our plate, which was used by the bishops of 
 the Greek Church at the feast of the Epiphany, for the purpose 
 of blessing the water. It is connected with the name of one of 
 
the bravest princes of the Lower Greek Empire, having been given to the 
 monastery of Caracalla by the Emperor John Zimisces. John Zimisces was 
 an Armenian soldier in the Greek army, and was raised into power and 
 influence by becoming one of the numerous lovers of the Empress Theophano. 
 Although he ascended the imperial throne by the murder of her second husband, 
 the usurper Nicephorus, yet as Emperor he obtained the love of the people by 
 his rigorous execution of justice, by his respect for the church, and by his 
 splendid victories over the Russians and Saracens. After a short reign, John 
 Zimisces is supposed to have died by poison, in the year 969- 
 
 This Cross was recently presented to the Honourable Robert Curzon, junior, 
 in whose possession it still remains, and is an interesting specimen of Byzantine 
 art in the tenth century. It is generally known that previous to that time the 
 Byzantine style was employed universally in the buildings and ornamented 
 articles of western Europe. Many of the latter were doubtlessly brought from 
 the East. This Byzantine Cross has thus a double interest for the English 
 Antiquary. 
 
 In no remains of past ages can we trace so distinctly the prevalence of the 
 Byzantine style in the West, as in our earlier illuminated manuscripts. We 
 have a splendid example in the Durham Book (Nero D. IV.), of the end of 
 the seventh century ; and we find numerous others down to a comparatively 
 late period. Our initial letter is taken from a fine manuscript of the tenth 
 century, containing the Latin Gospels, with the canons and other articles 
 which generally accompany them (MS. Harl. No. 2821.). Its illuminations 
 are richly gilt on purple vellum, and consist chiefly of figures of the Evangelists, 
 with one or two similar subjects, and ornamental initials. Some blank leaves 
 (as far as regards writing) are covered with elegant mosaics, which remind us 
 sometimes of the patterns found in Roman tesselated pavements. The canons 
 at the commencement of the volume are written between columns supporting 
 semi-circular arches, which we may be justified in considering as authentic 
 specimens of the architectural ideas of the age. The capitals of the columns 
 are especially curious ; and the columns themselves probably show us the 
 manner in which at this early period the architectural ornaments of churches 
 were painted and gilt. In some instances there are evident representations 
 of marble columns. These early manuscripts of the Latin Gospels, more or 
 less illuminated, are by no means uncommon ; and in some instances, appear 
 to have been copied from one another, or from the same original. One of 
 these stands next to the volume just mentioned on the shelves of the Harleian 
 Library, where it is marked as MS. Harl. No. 2820. It is nearly of the same 
 date, and is equally curious, containing similar illuminations and mosaics, 
 though somewhat ruder in their style of execution. On the outside of this 
 volume is a relic of its ancient binding, an early carving in ivory in high 
 relief, representing the crucifixion, surrounded by four compartments, containing 
 the angel, eagle, and two animals, emblematical of the four evangelists, and 
 thus alluding to the contents of the book. We may point out as another 
 example, the manuscript of the Gospels preserved in the Cottonian Library, 
 Tiberius A. II., said to have belonged to King Athelstan. 
 
THE SEAS GITS. 
 
 I.rom .January to June. 
 
THE SEASONS — JANUARY TO JUNE. 
 
 IFFERENT ancient manuscript calendars furnish many 
 curious illuminations illustrating country life among our an- 
 cestors. To the tables of the different months were frequently 
 added pictures representing the agricultural labours, sports, or 
 ceremonies which characterized each. The series which we 
 give here are taken from an Anglo-Saxon calendar, written (as it appears) a 
 few years before the Norman Conquest, and now preserved in the Cottonian 
 Library, Julius, A. VI. The drawings occupy the foot of the page in each 
 month, and are remarkable for their spirited style of execution. An Anglo- 
 Saxon calendar of the tenth century in the same collection, Tiberius, B. V., 
 contains a similar set of designs, but larger and ill drawn. These drawings 
 are very valuable illustrations of the costume and manners of our Saxon 
 forefathers, and some of them are also curious from their connexion with the 
 original Anglo-Saxon names of the months. 
 
 1. January appears here as the month of ploughing and sowing. Among 
 the Anglo-Saxons, and indeed long afterwards, horses were not much used in 
 farming : it was only indeed at a very late period that the custom of using 
 them to draw the plough became prevalent. In some parts, even at the present 
 day, oxen are employed for this purpose. The name given to this month by 
 the unconverted Saxons was aeftera geola, or giula, the second yule or month 
 which follows Christmas. It then began on what is now Christmas-day, but 
 which, according to Bede, was called moedre-nacht, or the night of mothers, pro- 
 bably from some superstitious ceremonies which were performed on that night. 
 
 2. In February the husbandmen are employed in pruning trees, apparently 
 vines. The Anglo-Saxon name of this month was Sol-monaS, which Bede 
 interprets the month of cakes, which he says were in this month offered 
 to their gods. Perhaps the making of pan- 
 cakes on Shrove Tuesday is a remnant of this 
 ancient superstition. 
 
 3. The month of March was dedicated 
 by the pagan Saxons to their goddess Hrseda, 
 and was on that account named Hrffid-monaB. 
 It was also called Hlyd-mona'S, or the stormy 
 month, on account of the rough weather which 
 generally characterises it. In the picture, 
 the Anglo-Saxon husbandmen are employed 
 in digging, sowing, raking, &c. 
 
 4. April was called by the Saxons Eoster- 
 monaS, or the month of Eostra, one of their 
 ancient goddesses, whose name is still pre- 
 served in our Easter, the Christian festival 
 
having now effaced the memory of the old pagan ceremonies. There can 
 be little doubt that the drinking party in our engraving was intended to 
 represent the festivities which according to Bede were held in this month in 
 honour of the goddess just mentioned ( cui in illo festa celebrabant, Beda de 
 Temp., p. 68). The feasting was probably continued long after the worship 
 of the goddess had been forgotten. This picture is a remarkable illustration 
 of the manners of the Anglo-Saxons. On the left an attendant is filling 
 the drinking-horn. In the corresponding design in the other Cottonian MS., 
 another servant, standing to the right of the warrior, is occupied in blowing 
 a horn, the signal for drinking. The three persons in front, the lords of the 
 feast, are drinking from cups of different forms. They are seated on what 
 was called the medu-benc {mead-bench) or ealo-benc (ale-bench), because it 
 was the kind of seats with which their halls were furnished, and which they 
 occupied in their drinking bouts. Benches were the ordinary seats in old 
 times. There does not appear to be in Anglo-Saxon a word to express our 
 domestic chair. The name stool (scamel) and seat (setl) were applied to seats 
 of ceremony, such as we frequently find in early illuminated manuscripts occu- 
 pied by kings or bishops. The seats of the Icelandic chess-men of the twelfth 
 century bear a near resemblance in form to our chairs. The cut given at the 
 foot of the preceding page also represents a throne of state, and is taken from 
 a MS. in the Royal Library at Paris, said to be of the ninth century. 
 
 5. The month of May, when pasture was richest, is represented by 
 shepherds with sheep grazing. The Anglo-Saxons marked the fertility and 
 productions of this month, by giving it the name of pry-milchi, or thrice- 
 milk-producing : Bede says this name was given with a literal meaning, 
 because in May they milked their cattle three times a day. 
 
 6. The month of June had several names among our Saxon forefathers, all 
 descriptive of the season. It was called sometimes sear-monaS, or the dry 
 month. It was also named Midsumer-monaS, or midsummer-month, and serra 
 lifta, which meant either the first mild month, or the f irst navigation month, 
 because it was at this period of the year that the Anglo-Saxons began to set 
 out on their longer voyages. In our picture this month is indicated as the 
 season for cutting down timber. The cart is not unlike those which are still 
 used by the peasantry in some parts of France. On the right-hand side are 
 two oxen, yoked, ready to be attached to the cart ; for, as we have before 
 observed, draught-horses were not used by our early ancestry in the labours 
 of agriculture. 
 
 The initial letter on the preceding page is taken from a manuscript in the 
 British Museum, written in the tenth century. 
 
Date about 1050. 
 
 THE SEASOIS, 
 
THE SEASONS— JULY TO DECEMBER. 
 
 N the month of July the Anglo-Saxon husbandmen 
 are represented as employed in mowing and making 
 hay. It was for this reason called by the Anglo- 
 Saxons maed-mona'S, or mede-mona^, the meadow-month. 
 It was also known by the name of aeftera-lteSa, the second 
 mild or navigation month. 
 
 8. August was named weod-monaft, the month of weeds, 
 which are at this period most luxuriant. In the picture, 
 the husbandmen are represented reaping ; for it was the 
 month in which the harvest began. The curious Menology, 
 or calendar of months and saints' days, in Anglo-Saxon 
 verse, written in the tenth century, and published in a 
 separate form by the Rev. S. Fox, speaks of the harvest 
 as beginning early in this month. 
 
 Swa jjres harfest cymp, 
 
 * * * * 
 
 wlitig Beestmum hladen ; 
 wela byS ge-yped, 
 faegrere on foldan. 
 
 So then harvest comes, 
 
 * * # * 
 
 beautiful, laden with fruits : 
 wealth is produced, 
 fair in the land. 
 
 9. Nevertheless, the name of harfest-monaS, or harvest month, 
 was more generally applied to the month of September. In the 
 picture this month is represented as the season of hunting, the 
 Anglo-Saxon huntsmen being engaged in the chase of the boar. 
 Like many of the other months, that of September was consecrated 
 by our unconverted forefathers to superstitious observances, of which perhaps 
 the ' harvest-home' of our peasantry still presents a remnant. The most com- 
 mon name given to this month by the Anglo Saxons was halig-monaS, or the 
 holy month, because, as an Anglo-Saxon writer observes, "our elders whilst 
 they were heathens paid in this month their tribute to the devil." 
 
 10. The name halig-monaS, or holy month, was sometimes continued to the 
 month of October. But the name more generally given to October was 
 winter-fylleS, or winter -full-moon, because the Anglo-Saxons reckoned the 
 beginning of winter from the full-moon in this month. October in ancient 
 times, as at present, seems to have been devoted to the pleasures of the chase. 
 From the earliest period of Anglo-Saxon history to the seventeenth century, 
 the favourite diversion of our forefathers was hawking. 
 
 11. With the month of November the winter season had set in. The 
 
shortness of the day and the severity of the weather put a stop to the labours 
 of agriculture ; and the annual crops having now been gathered in, and the 
 season of warlike or commercial expeditions past, people gave themselves up 
 to feasting and rejoicing. It was also the month of sacrificing a portion of the 
 live stock to the gods, as an offering of gratitude for the produce of the year, 
 and was on that account named blot-monaS, blood or sacrifice month. In the 
 poetical Anglo-Saxon calendar above mentioned, October is described as one 
 of the happiest months of the year : — 
 
 And fees ofstum bring)} 
 
 embe feower niht, 
 
 folee ge-nihtsum, 
 
 BlotmonaS on tun 
 
 beornum to wiste, 
 
 Novembris, 
 
 nrSa bearnum 
 
 eaddignesse, 
 
 swa nan o'Ser na de^S 
 
 nionaS maran, 
 
 miltse Drihtnes. 
 
 Then speedily brings in 
 
 after four nights, 
 
 (plentiful to people) 
 
 Blood-month 
 
 good cheer to men, 
 
 in November, 
 
 to the children of mortals 
 
 blessedness, 
 
 as no other month 
 
 does more, 
 
 by the mercy of the Lord. 
 
 In these festivities, the peasantry and lower orders crowded about large fires 
 made in the open air, as shown in the picture, the ancient representatives of 
 the bonfires which are still lighted in the earlier part of the month. Acci- 
 dental circumstances alone have identified these fires with the rejoicing in 
 remembrance of an historical event (the famous gun-powder plot) ; for there 
 can be little doubt that the ceremony was one of much more remote antiquity. 
 The increasing rigour of the season is indicated in the picture by the men 
 who hasten to the bonfire to warm their hands. 
 
 12. December was generally termed midwynter-monaS, or the month in 
 which was celebrated the pagan festival of mid-winter or Yule (iula, geola), 
 which held the place of the modern Christmas. In ancient times, yule or 
 Christmas-day was the point of division of the year, and the month of Decem- 
 ber was frequently called serra geola, or the first yule month, or before yule, 
 as January was named the second or after yule month, on account of their 
 respective position with regard to 
 the ceremony. The name yule is 
 still preserved in the north of Eng- 
 land. Our illumination represents 
 the Saxon farmer, as occupied this 
 month in thrashing and winnowing 
 his corn. 
 
 Our initial is taken from a MS. 
 of the tenth century. The table, 
 chair, and candlestick, on this page, 
 are from a Psalter of the same date 
 (MS. Harl. No. 603). 
 
Date, end of the Eleventh Century. 
 
 SPANISH WARRIORS. 
 
SPANISH WARRIORS. 
 
 FROM A MS. OF THE END OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 
 
 VERY step which we trace back in the history of 
 the nations of Europe brings us nearer to a uniformity 
 of costume. Fashions in dress did not begin to go 
 through that quick vicissitude of change which cha- 
 racterizes modern times, till towards the thirteenth 
 century. We can trace little variation in the dress 
 of the Anglo-Saxons during the whole period of their 
 history, and not much between that of the Anglo- 
 Saxons and the Franks. As people became more 
 distinctly separated from each other by national 
 jealousies, and long and obstinate wars, the new fashions adopted in one 
 country were more slowly communicated to another, and thus the similarity of 
 costume becomes separated by distance of date ; while some countries became 
 so entirely estranged from each other during a long period, that the resem- 
 blance of costume and the simultaneous variation was altogether lost. 
 
 The figures which form our plate represent Spanish warriors of the latter part 
 
 of the eleventh 
 
 century, and are 
 interesting on ac- 
 count of their re- 
 markable resem- 
 blance to the 
 Anglo - Norman 
 soldiers on the 
 celebrated Bay- 
 eaux Tapestry. 
 This resemblance 
 is observable in 
 the style of draw- 
 
 as well as in 
 
 the costume. It is 
 probable that the 
 military habits of 
 this period were 
 in part borrowed 
 from the Sara- 
 cens : and this 
 supposition is 
 
strengthened by the fact that Arabic inscriptions in Cufic characters are 
 found among the ornaments of several robes still preserved, which belonged to 
 German and Frankish barons of the tenth and eleventh centuries. One 
 peculiarity of the armour of our Spanish warriors is the round shield, with the 
 elegant ornaments on the disc. We give in the margin a specimen of one of 
 these shields on a larger scale, from another part of the manuscript from which 
 these figures are taken. 
 
 The manuscript which has furnished these figures (MS. Additional, No. 
 11,695) is one of the most valuable of the treasures of that kind recently 
 acquired by the British Museum. It is a large folio on vellum, in a beautiful 
 state of preservation, containing a comment upon and interpretation of the 
 Apocalypse, that fruitful source of design to the medieval artists. It was 
 executed in the monastery of Silos in the diocese of Burgos (Old Castile), 
 having been begun under the abbot Fortunius, carried on after his death 
 during the abbacy of Nunnus (Nunez), and completed in the time of abbot 
 John, in the year 1109- This information we obtain from the manuscript 
 itself ; and as it thus appears to have occupied not less than twenty years in 
 writing and illuminating, we may with propriety consider it as representing 
 the costume of the latter part of the eleventh century. This manuscript was 
 purchased in 1840 by the trustees of the British Museum of the Comte de 
 Survilliers (Joseph Buonaparte.) 
 
 The style of the drawings in this manuscript is itself half Saracenic. The 
 elegance of the ornaments contrasts strongly with the unskilful rudeness in the j 
 designs of men and animals, a circumstance which reminds us of the repugnance 
 among the Arabs to drawing men and living beings. It is in many respects a 
 valuable monument of art, and proves clearly the intercourse which existed 
 between the Moors and the Christians in Spain. Throughout the volume the 
 architecture of the buildings is altogether Moorish — the walls covered with 
 arabesque ornaments, and the remarkable horse-shoe arches, appear on almost 
 every page, and show the accuracy of the term Saracenic adopted by archi- 
 tectural writings. The character of the ornamented initial letters, of which an 
 example is given at the beginning of the present article, bears a close resem- 
 blance to that observed in many of our Anglo-Saxon manuscripts of the tenth 
 century. 
 
 One of the most interesting groups in this volume, is that representing two 
 minstrels, or jongleurs, given at the foot of the preceding page. They appear 
 to be dancing on a kind of wooden stilts. There are many reasons for sup- 
 posing that the character of the minstrel, as it existed in Christian Europe 
 during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, was of Arabian origin, as are 
 without doubt many of the tales and stories which they were in the habit of 
 rehearsing ; and these figures of Spanish jongleurs, so completely oriental in 
 their appearance, are a valuable addition to our materials for the history of 
 that singular class of medieval society. 
 
 Our plate is taken from folio 223 of the manuscript just described ; the 
 shield and sword belong to a large ill-drawn figure on folio 194 ; the minstrels 
 are from folio 86 ; and the initial letter from folio 25. 
 
Date about 11 
 
 fl.Shaw. 
 
 CL©VIS I s ? 
 Prom the Cixirch. of Notre Dame de Corbeil. 
 
I 
 
CLOVIS I. KING OF THE FRANKS. 
 
 OR the preservation of this statue, and the one 
 supposed to represent Clotilda the queen of Clovis, 
 we are indebted to the zeal of Alexandre Lenoir, 
 who placed them in his museum of national anti- 
 quities. They formerly stood, with four others, 
 at the portal of the ancient church of Notre Dame 
 at Corbeil, a town about twenty miles to the 
 south-east of Paris. But their companions pe- 
 rished with the church they embellished, and 
 these figures, the only remains of its former magnificence, have 
 been transferred from the museum to be placed at the entrance to 
 the vaults of the magnificent church of St. Denis, the resting place 
 of the long line of sovereigns of whose power Clovis laid the foun- 
 dation. 
 
 It is, however, a mere conjecture which has given to these two 
 names of Clovis and Clotilda ; a conjecture, too, 
 which seems to have been made without any grounds to support 
 it. Some antiquaries even went so far as to believe them to have 
 been executed in the remote ages of the Merovingian princes : an 
 evident absurdity. The church of Corbeil is said to have been 
 founded in the latter part of the eleventh century ; and the statues have 
 every appearance of having been sculptured either then or early in the twelfth 
 century. We have no information as to the character of the four statues 
 which are destroyed. 
 
The initial at the commencement of the present article is taken from a 
 large MS. Bible of the twelfth century, now in the possession of Messrs. 
 Payne and Fosse, and represents a favourite subject in the illuminations of 
 that period, the combat between David and the giant Golias. The pavement 
 at the foot of the same page, from the Musee des Monumens Francais, is also 
 of the twelfth century. 
 
 The two musical instruments represented below are copied from the 
 sculptures on the portal of the cathedral of Notre Dame at Chartres, and are 
 of the twelfth century. 
 
QUEEN CLOTILDA. 
 
 AVING already given the history of this statue 
 along with that of its companion, little remains 
 to be said about it. The costume of the Frank- 
 ish queen is simple ; and the girdle with the 
 pendent band before, is common in the regal 
 monumental effigies of the twelfth century. 
 The manner of binding up the long hair is 
 remarkable, and may be intended for a tradi- 
 tional memorial of this distinguishing mark of 
 royalty in the early ages. 
 
 The figures at the end of the present article 
 represent chessmen of the twelfth century, 
 carved in bone, and illustrate one of the favourite games of the princes 
 of that remote period. One of the pieces here given represents a king. 
 We meet with various early allusions to the game of chess, which seems 
 to show that it was a favourite amusement of the Northmen, and that 
 it was introduced by them into France and England. Our king forms 
 one of the large collection of chessmen discovered in 1831, in digging in 
 a sandbank, in the parish of Uig in the Isle of Lewis (North of Scotland). 
 It consisted of sixty-seven pieces, comprising six kings, five queens, 
 thirteen bishops, fourteen knights, and ten rooks (or, as Sir Frederick 
 Madden terms them, warders), forming the materials of six or more 
 sets. The costume of these figures is very clearly defined. The kings are 
 represented with large spade-shaped beards and with moustaches ; their hair 
 falling in plaits over the shoulders. They have low trefoil crowns on their 
 heads ; and their dress consists of an upper and an under robe, the former of 
 which (the mantle, clamys) is thrown in folds over the left arm, and left open 
 on the right side as high as the shoulder, where it is fastened by a clasp. 
 Each of the figures holds a sword with both hands across his knee. They 
 sit on chairs of a square form, with high backs, which are very elegantly 
 carved. The queens are similarly seated in chairs, and crowned : one of 
 them holds in her hand a drinking horn, a peculiar attribute of the queens 
 among the northmen, it being her office to serve the ale to the warriors of her 
 husband's court. Of the bishops, some are seated, and others in a standing 
 posture. The knights are on horseback ; while the rooks represent warriors 
 on foot, with the singular kite-shape shield which was used in the twelfth 
 century : one of them is cut out of a whale's tooth. Sir Frederick Madden, 
 who has given a detailed and learned account of them, with many figures, 
 in one of the volumes of the Archseologia, believes that they were made in 
 Iceland. The originals are now in the British Museum. 
 The other figure is taken from a chess-man of the same material preserved 
 
in the Cabinet of Antiquities at the Bibliotheque du Roi in Paris. By 
 comparison with those in the British Museum it would appear to be a rook. 
 It represents a foot soldier, resting his kite-shaped shield before him on the 
 ground. In the Cabinet d' Antiques there are with it four mounted knights, 
 evidently belonging to the same set, with others which are different. They 
 were, we believe, formerly in the Tresor at the abbey of St. Denis, and were 
 represented as the remains of the " jeu d'echecs du Roi Charlemagne." But 
 one only of that original set now remains, which is undoubtedly authentic, 
 and bears a Cufic inscription. The monks seem to have added from time 
 to time other ancient pieces which fell into their hands, to supply the defects 
 of the set which had belonged to Charlemagne. 
 
 The initial letter at the beginning of the preceding page is taken from an 
 illuminated Bible of the twelfth century, preserved in the Public Library 
 at Rouen. 
 
i 
 
LADIES OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY. 
 
 HE figures on the present plate are 
 taken from different illuminations in 
 the Cottonian Manuscript Nero C. 
 IV. executed, probably, before the 
 middle of the twelfth century. They 
 occur severally on the 7th, 11th, and 
 12th leaves of the manuscript. The 
 subjects of the original drawings are 
 taken from the New Testament — the 
 lady riding on an ass represents the 
 Virgin Mary on her way to Egypt. 
 These figures present interesting ex- 
 amples of the female costume among 
 our ancestors in the first half of the 
 twelfth century. The most remarkable characteristic was the long hanging 
 sleeves of the tunic, which, in some instances, were obliged to be tied up in 
 knots when the bearers were moving about. This fashion is turned into 
 ridicule in a droll figure of a devil given in the same MS. and represented 
 in the cut at the end of our present article. It has been observed, that the 
 dresses of the ladies at this time were unusually oriental in their character ; this 
 style was probably introduced by the crusaders, who, among the spoils of the 
 
Saracens, must have brought home for their families many of the rich dresses 
 of the Eastern ladies. The long plaited hair resembles, in some degree, 
 that of the statue of Queen Clotilda from the church of Corbeil, in France, 
 represented in one of the plates to the present work. 
 
 The cut at the foot of the preceding page is taken from the same manu- 
 script. The subject of the whole illuminated page, of which this forms the 
 lower compartment, is the Saviour changing the water into wine at the mar- 
 riage at Cana. The upper compartment represents the wedding dinner, 
 with Christ and the other guests at table. Christ is blessing the water, which 
 he holds in his hand in a large drinking horn, the only vessel for liquids which 
 appears on the table. In the lower compartment, represented in our cut, the 
 servants appear taking the water vessels from the cupboard, drawing the 
 water from the well, and carrying it up stairs into the chamber where the 
 guests are assembled at dinner. In the band separating the upper compart- 
 ment from the lower we read in Anglo-Norman the words, — 
 
 lei fist Dtl tbe bin. 
 
 The stair-case has a very primitive form — it appears to be made of a solid 
 piece of timber, with grooves cut in the wood in which to place the feet in 
 ascending or descending. A platted rope attached to the side serves the 
 purpose of a rail. 
 
 Our initial letter is taken from a splendidly illuminated manuscript Bible of 
 the twelfth century, preserved in the British Museum, MS. Harl. No. 2800. 
 
ECCLESIASTICS OF THE 
 TWELFTH CENTURY. 
 
 O class of figures occurs 
 so frequently in the illu- 
 minations of our earlier 
 manuscripts, as those of 
 ecclesiastics of different 
 grades ; and as the older 
 illuminators were al- 
 most exclusively monks, 
 we are justified in con- 
 cluding that none are 
 represented more accu- 
 rately with regard to 
 their costume and other 
 characteristics. Our 
 plate contains some 
 very good figures of 
 prelates of the earlier 
 half of the twelfth century. They are taken from a series of 
 curious scriptural illustrations accompanying a copy of the 
 early Anglo-Norman version of the Psalter, in MS. Cotton. 
 Nero C. IV., in the British Museum. This manuscript was 
 probably written about the middle of the twelfth century, possibly a little 
 earlier. The bishops, who are in their full dress, are remarkable as represent- 
 ing specimens of the low formed mitre which was characteristic of the earlier 
 pontifical costume. 
 
 These figures, besides affording good specimens of costume, are remarkable 
 as embodying a little caustic satire on some of the ecclesiastics of the day. 
 The particular illuminations from which they are taken compose a represent- 
 ation of the last judgment, in four large pages. The two inner pages 
 represent the Deity with his apostles sitting in doom. The first page of the 
 four contains in the upper part a numerous group of heads of the different 
 classes of mankind, from kings and queens to the lowest orders of the people, 
 and beneath a separate group of whole-length figures of bishops and monks. 
 
Above is inscribed in Anglo-Norman, " These shall be at the right hand of 
 God at the judgment," — 
 
 jlctst serunt a la lustre Beu al jutst. 
 
 The three bishops on the right hand of our plate are taken from this page. 
 On the fourth page is another group of heads, with whole-length figures of 
 churchmen below, and the inscription, " These shall be at the left hand of the 
 Lord God at the judgment," — 
 
 3lrist serunt a la sencstre Bam=lc=Btu al jutse. 
 
 This page furnished the two figures on the left hand side of our plate. 
 
 In drawing all these figures, the illuminator has shewn considerable skill in 
 depicting the physiognomical characteristics. On the right hand of God, the 
 faces of the kings, queens, and higher orders, are dignified and benign ; and 
 all have an air of conscious virtue. The bishops below are unshaven, with 
 serious countenance, and bearing all the insignia of office, as being entirely 
 absorbed in the discharge of their pontifical duties. The monks in like 
 manner are thin and sedate, shewing by their outward appearance that they 
 kept rigidly the rules of their order. On the other page, at the left hand of 
 the judgment-seat, the physiognomical character of the faces is entirely changed. 
 The male heads, especially those which appear to belong to the lower orders, 
 have features of a diabolical character ; the faces of the kings and rulers are 
 dark and gloomy ; those of the queens are particularly effective, exhibiting a 
 singular mixture of pride and voluptuousness. The clergy below are fat and 
 sleek, with voluptuous and gluttonous looks ; and some of the ecclesiastical 
 dignitaries, as in the two given in our plate, while they bear their rich garments 
 as objects of pride and ostentation, are without the principal insignia of their 
 office, because they neglected their duties, and are very fat, with their faces 
 closely shaven. From what we know from history of the manners of the 
 clergy of the age to which these drawings belong, we can hardly avoid 
 believing that the illuminator intended to depict some of the sleek worldly 
 ecclesiastics of his time. 
 
 The handsome pastoral staff, of the twelfth century, of which the upper 
 part is given on the preceding page, is preserved in the collection of Monsieur 
 Duguay, at Paris. It is of copper gilt, and elegantly enamelled. 
 
 Our initial letter, which affords a curious illustration of early armour, is 
 taken from a foreign manuscript in the possession of the Hon. Robert Curzou, 
 Junior. The Manuscript appears to have been written also about the twelfth 
 century, or perhaps a little earlier. 
 
FIGURES OF ECCLESIASTICS. 
 
 FROM THE SCULPTURES OF THE CATHEDRAL OF CHARTRES. 
 
 IIARTRES is one of the most ancient and 
 interesting towns in France. Popular tradi- 
 tions carry the date of the foundation of the 
 city back to the times of the deluge ; and it 
 has been pretended by some of the old anti- 
 quaries that its splendid cathedral stands on 
 the site of an ancient Druidical temple. The 
 Cathedral of Chartres, founded in the earliest 
 times of Christianity in the west, is remarkable 
 for the many misfortunes it has sustained. M. 
 Lejeune, the enlightened librarian of the city, 
 has recently published a curious essay on this 
 subject under the title, Ties Sinistres de la Cathidrale de Chartres. It appears, 
 that in 770 the town and cathedral were entirely burnt to the ground. In 
 858, the Norman invaders, having made themselves masters of the place, 
 massacred the inhabitants, and again reduced to ashes the town and cathedral. 
 In 962 or 963, this town again suffered the miseries of war, having been taken 
 by surprise by Richard Duke of Normandy, who equally burnt the church 
 and city. On the 7th of September, 1020, the church was burnt a fourth 
 time, having been struck, as it is supposed, by lightning. 
 
 Up to this time, the Cathedral of Chartres had been built principally of 
 wood, which had rendered the effects of the fire more fatal. In 1028, Bishop 
 Fulbert laid the foundation of the present edifice, but it required a large 
 portion of three centuries to complete his design. The vast mass of statuary 
 and sculpture with which it is adorned appears to be the work of the twelfth 
 and thirteenth centuries. The portals appear to have been executed in the 
 earlier part of the twelfth century. After a period of nearly five centuries 
 had passed since the disaster of 1020, in the July of 1506, the tower of the 
 cathedral was struck by lightning, and the fire committed great ravages, but 
 the most important and interesting parts of the building were happily saved. 
 In 1539, the tower was again fired by lightning. Another fire was caused in 
 1674 by the imprudence of one of the watchmen. The last, and one of the 
 most deplorable of the modern disasters of the Cathedral of Chartres, was the 
 great fire which was caused by accident, on the 4th of June, 1836, when some 
 workmen were employed in the tower. This calamity destroyed many impor- 
 tant portions of the cathedral, but it spared some of the more ancient and 
 ornamental parts. Among these not the least important are the interesting- 
 sculptures of the portals, which, beside their excellence as works of art, are 
 
extremely valuable as specimens of the costume, &c. of the period. It is from 
 among these statues that we have taken the three figures of ecclesiastics repre- 
 sented on our plate ; and the woodcuts below represent a portion of the Alb 
 and of the Episcopal Shoes. 
 
 The first of these figures represents an archbishop, and is singular on 
 account of the form given to the mitre, which bears a close resemblance to the 
 tiara seen on the head of the pope in an illumination given by Gerbertus (De 
 Cantu et Musica Sacra, torn. i. last plate). The archbishop is giving his 
 blessing with his right hand, whilst in his other hand he holds the crosier, the 
 greater part of which is destroyed. The second figure is dressed as a deacon. 
 He wears the dalmatic, with its large sleeves, which are not cut up the sides, 
 but continuous. On his left arm he wears the maniple, sometimes called /ffwow. 
 As it is his ministry to chaunt the gospel, he carries a beautifully bound evan- 
 gelisterium in his hands. The two ends of the stole are seen under the dal- 
 matic, and just over the alb. The third figure is a mere priest, holding the 
 book of the Gospels on his breast : he wears the chasuble, stole, and alb. 
 
I 
 
THE MITRE OF THOMAS BECKET. 
 
 URING 
 the twelfth 
 century, 
 the bish- 
 ops and 
 higher ec- 
 clesiastics 
 combined 
 in them- 
 selves the 
 double 
 character 
 of tempo- 
 ral barons 
 and minis- 
 ters of the 
 church. 
 What was 
 
 then called the church, was a vast political power which 
 claimed a feudal superiority over all the kings and princes of 
 the earth ; and its bishops had their castles garrisoned by their 
 armed dependants, and they led their armies into the field in 
 the various contentions between the different orders of the state. 
 The civil power was frequently at war with that of the church 
 — it was, in fact, utterly impossible that the two could live at 
 peace together, and, according to the circumstances of the time, 
 the church defended itself openly by the sword, or by the no 
 less (perhaps more) effective warfare of passive resistance. 
 The direct war between church and state in England lasted more than 
 two centuries ; it began with William Rufus, who refused to acknowledge the 
 
 temporal pretensions of the pope put forth in 
 the person of Anselm, and continued with little 
 interruption till the first Edward forced the 
 clergy to pay taxes. During this long period, 
 the most extraordinary person amongst the 
 great champions of the church, in its claims to 
 civil power, was Thomas Becket, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, of whom a remarkable memo- 
 rial is preserved in the series of Vestments 
 which are represented in this and the following 
 plates. 
 
Henry the Second was one of the greatest monarchs who have occupied the 
 English throne. Cast upon a period of extreme difficulty, among a powerful 
 aristocracy which was breathing war and injustice on every side, he placed a 
 strong hand upon the helm, and did what lay in him to calm the storm. At 
 the first beginning of his reign he destroyed some hundreds of the castles which 
 during the reign of Stephen had been so many dens of robbers. Many of these 
 castles, and some of those which had been most mischievous, belonged to 
 ecclesiastics ; and thus in his laudable efforts to weaken the oppressors of his 
 country, and to clear away the greatest obstacle to peace, he found the church 
 opposed to him. Becket, the man whom Henry had raised almost from the 
 dust, and whom he had loaded with favours, became the instrument of the 
 church in thwarting his measures, and in destroying the work which the king 
 had been so long labouring at. 
 
 Becket was undoubtedly a very great man ; we can only now see his 
 character through the interested eulogies of his most zealous admirers and 
 fellow ecclesiastics, but from all we can learn his private life was dignified and 
 amiable. But we can hardly excuse him in public for being singularly proud 
 and overbearing, from being intractable, unconciliating, and even vengeful. 
 
 Thomas Becket was born at London, about the year 1117, on the feast of 
 St. Thomas, from which circumstance he received his christian name. He 
 inherited from his parents a mixture of English and Saracenic blood, his 
 father being a London citizen who had been in Palestine and had there 
 married a converted Arabian maiden. The son, after being educated in 
 Merton College, Oxford, was received into the household of Theobald Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, and owed to him his first advancement. After being 
 introduced by him to King Henry in the earlier part of his reign, he became 
 a great favourite with that monarch, who gave him all his confidence. He 
 was with that king in his wars in France, and distinguished himself by 
 his military skill, and personal strength and courage. His attachment to his 
 royal master continued unbroken until after he had obtained the archbishopric 
 of Canterbury, the highest object of his ambition. He then found that he 
 must choose between two masters, for church and state were not only different 
 but opposite services, and he determined in the favour of the one in the ranks 
 of which he had now obtained so high a place. This step was soon followed 
 by an open breach with the king, and from that time we find the one con- 
 tinually opposing himself to the plans of the other, until, at the end of 1164, 
 the prelate was obliged to fly from England and take refuge in France, where 
 he remained till 1170, when his temporary reconcilement with the king 
 enabled him to return to his native country, where he soon afterwards sealed 
 the cause in which he had fought so obstinately by his death. 
 
 While in France, Becket resided first at Sens, where he attended for a short 
 time on the pope, and afterward at the abbey of Pontigny. It is at the former 
 place that the ceremonial vestments of this celebrated martyr are preserved. 
 
o 
 
ROBES OF THOMAS BECKET. 
 
 ONG after the death of Becket, he continued to be 
 commemorated in a particular manner in all the 
 places where he was believed to have resided, or which 
 he was known to have visited, and every 
 article which had belonged to him was 
 preserved with extreme veneration. The 
 error, or the zeal, of his admirers, no 
 doubt led them frequently to add to the 
 number of these relics many things which 
 had no claim to the honour, and such 
 may be the case with some of the vest- 
 ments which are shown at Sens as the 
 
 robes of 
 
 St. Tho- 
 mas of 
 Canter- 
 bury. 
 With re- 
 gard to 
 many of 
 them, 
 however, 
 it is pro- 
 bable 
 that the 
 tradition 
 is correct. 
 
 The portion of the robes represented in our plate is what was 
 called the Apparel of the Amice. The Amice was a piece of 
 fine linen, in form of an oblong square, suspended over the 
 shoulders. It was introduced in the eighth century, to cover the 
 neck, which was previously bare. The Apparel is the embroidered 
 part of the amice, which is usually fastened to it in such a manner 
 
as to serve as a kind of collar. The Apparel is now disused in most catholic 
 countries. By the strings attached to the Apparel of Thomas Becket, it would 
 appear that it was tied round the neck after all the other vestments had been 
 put on ; though it is supposed by a person deeply acquainted with the subject 
 that the strings are comparatively modern. In the margin of the preceding 
 page the two examples of the Apparel of the Amice preserved at Sens are 
 represented complete ; a portion of each is given on our plate on a scale one 
 fifth less than the dimensions of the originals. 
 
 Our initial letter is taken from a manuscript at Rouen, said to be of the 
 twelfth century. It appears to represent St. Michael vanquishing the dragon. 
 The mode in which the long hair of the archangel is plaited, or bound up, is 
 remarkable. The shield also is of a very primitive form. 
 
 The other wood-cut represents a very elegant cover of a book, taken from 
 one of the sculptures of the Cathedral of Chartres. These early designs of 
 book-covers are interesting, for few of the covers themselves have been pre- 
 served. They were frequently adorned with rich metals and valuable stones, 
 which excited the rapacity of plunderers and iconoclasts. 
 
Date about 1165. 
 
 ORNAMENT ON CHASUBLE. 
 
ORNAMENT OF THE CHASUBLE, 
 
 AT SENS. 
 
 HE subject 
 of the pre- 
 sent engrav- 
 ing is ano- 
 ther of the 
 vestments preserved in the 
 Cathedral of Sens, and said 
 to have been worn by Thomas 
 Becket, archbishop of Canter- 
 bury : it is represented as 
 Becket's Chasuble, and the 
 character of the design with 
 which it was adorned can 
 leave no doubt of its having 
 been made in the twelfth cen- 
 tury. The part exhibited on the plate is all that 
 now remains of the elegant scroll work on the back 
 of this chasuble. The gold-lace borders, edged with 
 green, which formed the boundaries to the different 
 patterns on the other parts is left, but the ornaments 
 themselves have disappeared, leaving only the brown 
 lining on which they had been worked. A few of 
 the smaller scrolls on the front still remain, as shown 
 in the wood-cut on the other side of the leaf. The 
 opening between these small scrolls was the place 
 through which the officiating ecclesiastic passed his 
 head, when he dressed himself in his full robes. In 
 another plate in the present work, representing " An 
 Archbishop " in his full dress, may be seen the 
 manner in which the chasuble was worn. It may be 
 observed that in the twelfth century the dresses 
 of the higher ecclesiastics were exceedingly 
 sumptuous ; and that the magnificence and 
 ostentation of Thomas Becket were proverbial. 
 
 The wood-cut on the present page represents a beautiful Reliquary of 
 the twelfth century, still preserved in the Cathedral of Neroli, near Casa 
 Mare, in Italy. It is made of brass, gilt, and ornamented with a repetition 
 of what appears to be the letter R enamelled, the top enclosing the relic 
 being of glass. It is said to contain the blood of one of the Romish Saints. 
 
Our initial letter is taken from the collection of Latin legends of Saints in 
 the Arundel Library in the British Museum (No. 91)> and is interesting as 
 furnishing us with early forms of musical instruments. The instrument in the 
 mouth of the larger figure (which holds the two harps) appears to be a kind 
 of flute. The great variety of musical instruments represented in the illumi- 
 nations of ancient manuscripts, and mentioned in the old Romances and other 
 writings, is very remarkable. Unfortunately, we have very little to assist us 
 in identifying the forms delineated in the manuscripts with the names given in 
 the books : and the difficulty in doing so is increased by the circumstance that 
 the fantastic forms of some of these instruments appear to be the mere inven- 
 tions of the illuminator, while others are perhaps altogether imaginary repre- 
 sentations of the musical instruments mentioned in the Bible. As we go 
 back to the infancy of nations, we naturally expect to find their instruments of 
 music few and simple, rather than complicated. 
 
I 
 
AN ARCHBISHOP. 
 
 FTER the entry of the Normans, some modifications 
 are visible in the costume of the clergy, but in general 
 they are by no means so great as in the other classes 
 of the community, the religious and ecclesiastical forms 
 retaining a certain permanence which was not shared 
 by those of the temporal power. The Pontifical dress 
 of an archbishop is exhibited in the accompanying 
 plate taken from a MS. of the latter end of the twelfth 
 century (MS. Reg. 2. A. XXII.) Above his ancles 
 we see the lower part of the long garment which was 
 called the albe (alba). Over this is the tunic (tunica), fringed at the 
 extremity. Then the dalmatic, richly ornamented, descending to the 
 knees. Above all, is the chasuble (casula), thrown over the body and 
 raised on the arms like a mantle, with a standing collar. Hanging on 
 the left arm, is the maniple, fringed at the end. The stole, stola, which 
 hung from the shoulders, and descended nearly to the feet over the albe 
 is not seen in this effigy. On the hands are the episcopal gloves ; but 
 the ring, which was properly placed on the middle, appears here on the 
 second finger. He wears boots, caligcr, highly embroidered, which reached 
 to the knees. Behind the mitre we perceive distinctly the two vittce or infulcp, 
 hanging down one on each side. The two marks which generally distinguish 
 the archbishop from the bishop, are the pall ( pallium ), or narrow label, run- 
 ning round the shoulders and hanging down before and behind, made of 
 white wool, spotted with purple crosses ; and the crosier, or staff headed 
 with a cross, which he held instead of the hooked pastoral staff of the inferior 
 prelate. 
 
The subject below is taken from a roll on vellum of the latter end of the 
 twelfth century, containing drawings illustrative of the life of St. Guthlac 
 (Harl. Charters, Y. 6.) ; it represents the consecration of the saint by Hedda 
 of Winchester, attended by his clergy. We have here the bishop in his 
 sacerdotal dress, consisting of the albe, tunic, dalmatic, and chasuble; but 
 neither stole nor maniple are visible, the vittaB do not appear behind attached 
 to the mitre ; he carries in his hand the pastoral staff. 
 
 The sacred vessel figured at the foot of the preceding page is a very elegant 
 pix of the twelfth century, now in the possession of S. P. Cox, Esq. ; it is 
 made of copper, gilt, and the ornaments relieved in with blue and green 
 Limoge enamel. 
 
 The initial letter is taken from a MS. in the British Museum, also of the 
 twelfth century. 
 
I 
 
KING AND KNIGHT. 
 
 RESSES of ceremony for 
 solemn occasions, particu- 
 larly with persons in exalted 
 stations, suffer fewer changes 
 in the course of time, than 
 those in common use. Our 
 plate represents a king- of 
 the latter end of the twelfth 
 century, dressed in his robes 
 of state ; but we may probably take it as a good example 
 of the regal costume during the twelfth and thirteenth cen- 
 turies. Both the figures on the plate are taken from MS. 
 Reg. 2 A. XX. The dress of the king in this drawing 
 bears a close resemblance to that presented in the monu- 
 mental effigies of this period. He is clad in the long 
 dalmatica (or tunic), and the royal mantle ; the latter 
 thrown back loosely on the shoulders to exhibit the richness of the under- 
 garment, with its jewelled collar and girdle. The dalmatica is here ornamented 
 with fleurs-de-lis. 
 
 The dress and armour of the knight underwent much more frequent va- 
 riations than those of the king. The one before us exhibits all the character- 
 istics of a warrior of the age of Richard I. ; and the crosses seem to show that 
 he was a crusader. He is dressed in a coat and hood of mail; and wears 
 over it a surcoat, probably of silk, ornamented with crosses. This latter 
 article of dress first makes its appearance about this time, and is supposed to 
 have been brought from the east, its primary use having been to hinder the 
 armour from being too much heated by the sun's rays in a hot climate. His 
 legs are clad in the chausses, and the spur, a simple spike, is attached by a 
 single strap of leather, and a buckle. Beneath the coat of mail, we see, over 
 the chausses, the chausson, or breeches, an article of the knight's dress which 
 is less frequently represented in the old pictures. Even the ailkt on the 
 knight's shoulder has here the form of a cross. The helmet, which appears to 
 be held by his armour-bearer, is also of that flat-topped cylindrical form which 
 came into fashion in the reign of Richard I. The vcntail, or aventaille, a 
 moveable grating which protected the face in the hour of combat, is here 
 represented as closed. At the period to which this figure belongs, the ventail 
 was fixed by a hinge on one side and a pin on the other, and opened exactly 
 in the same manner as a wicket ; and as the hinge was moveable, it might be 
 taken off at pleasure. 
 
The shield of the knight is not given in the picture, but on this and the 
 preceding page we give two shields from other sources. The first shield is 
 taken from a MS. of the twelfth century, in the Royal Library at Paris ; and 
 is of that narrow kite-like form which prevailed from the time of the Norman 
 conquest till at least the reign of Henry II. of England. The form of the 
 shield then underwent a gradual change very similar to that experienced by 
 the gothic window at a later period ; the bow became wider and wider, and 
 the arch flatter, until at last it took the form which is still given to it in coats 
 of arms. The shield at the bottom of the present page is copied from a sculp- 
 ture on the portal of the cathedral of Notre Dame at Chartres, executed in 
 the twelfth century, and is much broader in shape, than the example given 
 above. 
 
 The Initial Letter is taken from MS. Arundel, No. 91 (in the British 
 Museum), and belongs to the same period as the King and Knight. 
 
Date the 12 . Centiny. 
 
 Side. 
 
 HSIiaiv. 
 
 Back 
 
 TME C0.R.0KAT1OI 
 
CORONATION SPOON. 
 
 HE present engraving repre- 
 sents the Spoon which has 
 most probably been used in 
 the coronation of our mo- 
 narchs since the twelfth 
 
 century, and which is preserved 
 among the regalia in the Tower 
 of London. Its style of orna- 
 ment seems to prove that it 
 was made at that period. It 
 is of pure gold, with four pearls 
 in the broadest part of the 
 handle. The bowl, which is 
 thin, has an elegant arabesque 
 pattern engraved on its sur- 
 face. Unfortunately the enamel 
 has been destroyed, either 
 accidentally or wilfully, 
 but as the rough surface 
 between the filagree work 
 proves its former existence, 
 it has been considered ad- 
 visable to represent it in 
 its original state. It is used to hold the oil for anoint- 
 ing the monarch at his coronation, and the bowl is divided, 
 by a ridge down the middle, into two hollow parts, in 
 which the archbishop, when officiating, dips his two fingers. 
 The ampulla, or vessel which contains the oil, is also of 
 gold, in the form of an eagle, its head being loose and 
 serving as a lid. 
 
 The figure in the margin represents a small sceptre, 
 supposed to be of the latter end of the thirteenth century, 
 which formerly belonged to the imperial abbey of Werden, 
 but is now in the possession of Professor Miiller of Wiirz- 
 burg. It is made of bronze, gilt ; the handle is surround- 
 ed by two spiral threads of silver, the space between them 
 being also gilt. The knob at the bottom, as well as the 
 dog's head at the top, are plated with silver, and orna- 
 mented with squares of black nielli. It has been observed 
 that the dog's head is frequently found as the heads of 
 staffs, &c. belonging to ecclesiastics of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury, in Germany ; it is said to be emblematical of the 
 spiritual order. 
 
£, Shaw. 
 
CANDLESTICKS OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY. 
 
 epithets, rodores 
 del (the candle 
 ven), wyn-candel 
 liana is termed 
 restricted sense 
 
 ARIOUS allusions in old 
 writers show that the use 
 of candles, such as we now 
 understand by that name, 
 is of considerable antiquity. 
 They are exhibited in An- 
 glo-Saxon illuminations, at 
 least as far back as the tenth 
 century. At an earlier 
 period the Anglo - Saxon 
 word candel had probably a 
 more general signification, 
 and meant any thing used 
 to give light : in Anglo- 
 Saxon poetry the sun is 
 indicated sometimes by the 
 candel (the candle of the firmament), woruld-can- 
 of the world), keofon-candel (the candle of hea- 
 (the candle of joy), and the virgin saint Ju- 
 wuldres candel, the candle of glory. In the more 
 
 of the word we have candel-bora, the candle- 
 bearer in the church, candel-twist, a pair of snuffers, candcl-snytels, snuffers, 
 candel weoc, a wick of a candle, candel-stcef, candel-sticca, candel-treow, names 
 for a candlestick. These words, particularly the last, would lead us to 
 conclude that the earlier candlesticks were made of wood, probably little 
 more than a stick tapering at the upper end to a point, and this would 
 explain the origin of the older form of candlesticks, in which, instead of 
 being placed in a socket, the candle was fixed on a long spike (as in the 
 examples given in our plate), more naturally than the supposition that it 
 originated from the adaptation of the older Roman candelabra, by fixing a 
 spike on the place which had been originally intended to support a lamp. 
 
 It is difficult to say at what period the candlesticks with sockets first came 
 into use. The oldest examples known are of the time of Edward III. But 
 
the spiked candlesticks continued to be used, particularly in churches, long 
 after this period. They are still used in Catholic countries. 
 
 In the twenty-third volume of the Archseologia, Sir Samuel Meyrick has 
 described a pair of curious candlesticks, of enamelled copper, of the twelfth 
 century, preserved in the collection at Goodrich Court. They are ornamented 
 with figures. The two candlesticks represented in our plate, of which the 
 shorter one is in the collection of Colonel Bourgeoir du Catelet, and the other 
 in the Louvre at Paris, are of the same date, and bear a considerable re- 
 semblance to them. They are also of copper, enamelled. The taller 
 candlestick was the one in general use ; the shorter one is the small candle- 
 stick used for the altar. 
 
 In earlier times servants were employed as candle-bearers, and held the 
 light whilst their royal or noble masters dined. The candle-bearer in the 
 royal household, in barbarous ages, was allowed, among his perquisites, all the 
 broken meat which the king spilt from his plate. These living supporters 
 were the original models of the inanimate ones of a later period. In more 
 cultivated times, the care of the candles was considered an important part of 
 the economy of a noble household. A " Boke of Curtasye," in English 
 verse, of the fifteenth century, preserved among the manuscripts in the 
 British Museum (MS. Sloane, No. 1986, fol. 16, v°.), gives the following direc- 
 tions under this head : — 
 
 " Now speke I wylle a lytulle whyle 
 
 Of tho cliandeler, withouten gyle, 
 
 That torches and tortes and preketes con make, 
 
 Perchours, smale condel I undertake ; 
 
 Of wax these candels alle that brennen, 
 
 And morter of wax, that I vvele kenne. 
 
 Tho snof of horn dose away 
 
 With close sesours, as I yow say ; 
 
 The sesours ben schort and rownde y-close 
 
 With plate of irne upon bose. 
 
 In cliambur no lyght ther shade be brent, 
 
 Bot of wax, therto yf ye take tent. 
 
 In halle at soper schalle caldells brenne 
 
 Of Parys, therin that alle men kenne; 
 
 Iche messe a candelle fro Alhalawghe day 
 
 To Candelmesse, as I yow say." 
 
 Our Initial Letter is taken from a very magnificent Latin Bible of the 
 twelfth century, MS. Harl. No. 2803, which formerly belonged to the church 
 of St. Mary in the suburbs of the city of Worms : it there forms the first letter 
 of the first chapter of Isaiah. The inscription on the label is taken from the 
 same chapter, v. 10, 11 : — Audite verbum Domini, principes Sodomorum, auribus 
 percipite legem Dei Jiostri, populus Gomorrce. Quo mihi multitudinem victima- 
 rum vestrarum, dicit Dominus ? plenus sum, §c. 
 
Dale, atout 1 2 2 6. 
 
 WILLIAM KOireraSMJliJIlST EAM ©F SAM SBTETRY'. 
 
WILLIAM LONGUESPEE, FIRST EARL OF SALISBURY. 
 
 UCH of romantic interest is attached to the 
 name of Longuespee. The first of the name, 
 who is represented in our plate, was the son 
 of King Henry II. by his celebrated mistress, 
 Fair Rosamond. His wife Ela, was also a 
 heroine of romance. She was the sole heiress 
 of the powerful family of the D'Evereux, 
 earls of Salisbury ; and it is said that, having 
 been concealed in Normandy, she was dis- 
 covered by a valiant English knight named 
 Talbot, who found access to her in the guise 
 of a minstrel, and, succeeding in carrying 
 her away, presented her to King Richard at 
 London. The English monarch gave her in marriage to his chivalrous 
 kinsman, William Longuespee, on whom he also conferred in her right the 
 estates and title of Earl of Salisbury. William Longuespee was actively 
 engaged in the baronial wars in the reign of King John, of whom he was a 
 devoted partizan. Early in the reign of Henry III. this 
 nobleman accompanied the Earl of Chester to the Holy 
 Land, and was present at the battle of Damietta, in 
 which the Christians were defeated by the Saracens. 
 He afterwards was engaged in the Gascon wars. In 
 his return to his native land an incident is said to have 
 occurred which affords a remarkable illustration of the 
 manners of that superstitious age. " There arose so 
 great a tempest at sea, that, despairing of life, he threw 
 his money and rich apparel overboard. But when all 
 hopes were passed, they discerned a mighty taper of 
 wax, burning bright at the prow of the ship, and a 
 beautiful woman standing by it, who preserved it from 
 wind and rain, so that it gave a clear and bright lustre. 
 Upon sight of which heavenly vision, both himself and 
 the mariners concluded of their future security : but 
 every one there being ignorant what this vision might 
 portend, except the earl : he, however, attributed it 
 to the benignity of the Blessed Virgin, by ~ 
 reason that upon the day when he was 
 honoured with the girdle of knighthood, he 
 
brought a taper to her altar, to be lighted every day at mass, when the 
 canonical hours used to be sung, and to the intent that for this terrestrial light 
 he might enjoy that which is eternal." 
 
 William Longuespee died in 1226, not long after his return from the Gascon 
 wars. During his wanderings, the Countess Ela, like another Penelope, was 
 persecuted by the advances of a suitor — no less a person than Hugh de Burgh, 
 who was afterwards accused by some of having poisoned her husband. After 
 the Earl's death, Ela retired to the abbey of Lacock, which she had founded, 
 and became abbess of that house, in which one of her daughters also was a nun. 
 
 The first William Longuespee was buried in the Lady Chapel in Salisbury 
 Cathedral, whence his tomb with his remains was removed about the year 
 1790, to the place they now occupy in the nave of the church. His effigy is a 
 remarkably fine specimen of early sculpture. The colouring is very much 
 obliterated on the more prominent parts, but a sufficient quantity of each 
 pattern, or device, may still be traced to serve as authorities for a represen- 
 tation of it in its original state. 
 
 The cut at the foot of the preceding page represents Cimabue the painter, 
 and is taken from a painting by himself. Cimabue is regarded as the reviver 
 of painting among the moderns. He was a Florentine, born of a noble family 
 in 1240, and died in 1310. He is said to have learnt his art of two Greek 
 painters, invited to Florence by the senate to paint one of the chapels of the 
 church of Santa Maria Novella. 
 
 Our initial letter is from MS. Arundel, No. 91. The cut below is from an 
 illuminated MS. of the Apocalypse (13th cent.) in the Bibl. du Roi at Paris. 
 
Date about 1260. 
 
KNIGHTS FIGHTING. 
 
 UIETNESS and peace were not among the 
 most prominent characteristics of those ages, 
 in which, unfettered by the sage power of 
 judicious and efficient laws, people were 
 taught to seek justice rather by their own 
 strength, than by the intermediation of others. 
 At that period, the songs which sounded most 
 musical to the ears of the iron-cased barons 
 were the romances that told of hard blows 
 and doughty adventures, and the pictures 
 their eyes were such as those which we here give 
 olume from which they are taken, a fine manu- 
 or latter half of the thirteenth century (MS. 
 ell fitted for knightly eyes as well as knightly 
 ears ; for it contains a large mass of the romantic history, adorned 
 with a profusion of warlike pictures. In the margin, no less than in the text, 
 the heroes of Thebes and Troy, and other worthies of ancient story, are 
 represented combating with all the arms and attributes of medieval knights. 
 
 Our wood-cuts represent some of the instruments used, during the middle 
 ages, in carrying on sieges. In the one at the head of the next page, taken 
 from the manuscript just described, whilst a party are preparing to attempt 
 the breach which has been made in the tower, others are raised by means of a 
 wooden machine to fight on an equality with the soldiers on the walls. On the 
 other side of the picture, similar expedients are adopted to raise the men in 
 the ships. The other two cuts are taken from MS. Reg. 16 G, VI. a chro- 
 nicle of France written at the end of the fourteenth century. One of them 
 represents a machine used for throwing great stones at the walls, or into the 
 castle ; while in the other we see the assailants, under cover of a kind of shed 
 which has been moved by wheels up to the walls, and which the besieged are 
 attempting to destroy with stones and Greek fire, undermining the tower. 
 This instrument was called, perhaps under different forms, by the different 
 names of, a sow, a vine, or a cat. The latter name was also given sometimes 
 to a machine for throwing stones. 
 
 The warlike machines used during the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth 
 centuries, seem to have been extremely numerous and complicated, and the 
 knowledge of them was probably brought from the east. Many descriptions 
 of these machines are found in the old chronicles. Their names were gene- 
 rally in the feminine gender ; and William of Tudela, in his account of the 
 war against the Albigenses, mentions, among others used by Simon de Mont- 
 fort, the ill neighbour (la mechante voisine), the lady, and the queen, — 
 
" E dressa sos calabres, et fai mala vezina, 
 E sas autras peireiras, e dona, e reina ; 
 Pessia los autz murs e la sala peirina." 
 
 He prepared his calabres, and the ill neighbour, 
 
 And his other machines for throwing stones, and the lady, and the queen ; 
 He breaks the lofty walls and the hall of stone. 
 
 The machine called calabra, or carabaga, was also used for throwing large 
 stones. According to William de Rishanger, it was the second Simon de 
 Montfort, son of the preceding, and so famous in our barons' wars of the 
 thirteenth century, who introduced most of these machines into England. At 
 the siege of Rochester, garrisoned by the partisans of the king (Hen. III.), 
 he used against the castle a machine which threw stones of the weight of 
 upwards of a hundred pounds. 
 
 The initial letter at the beginning of the present article is taken from a 
 MS. in the Royal Library at Paris, of the thirteenth century. 
 
Date, about lie middle of the 13* Cent my. 
 
 BUMIAIL ©F B1WAJRB THE (C ©STIPE SSOS. 
 
 H.Shaw. 
 
BURIAL OF EDWARD THE 
 CONFESSOR. 
 
 MONG the numerous valu- 
 able manuscripts in the pub- 
 lic library of the University 
 of Cambridge, there is no 
 one more curious and inte- 
 resting than the elegantly 
 illuminated volume which furnished the 
 subject of our plate. It contains a life of 
 King Edward the Confessor, written in An- 
 glo-Norman verse, probably a translation from the Latin life 
 by Ailred of Rievaux, and has a miniature at the top of each 
 page, representing some scene in the history. The press mark 
 of this volume (which appears to have been written about the 
 middle of the thirteenth century) is Ee, 3, 59. The miniature 
 which we have here selected represents the ceremony of depositing the body 
 of the Saint King in his tomb at Westminster. It is a good picture of the 
 clerical costume of the period, and an interesting illustration of the ceremonies 
 attendant on the burial of princes. Edward the Confessor died on the fifth of 
 
 January, 1066, after having first left his kingdom 
 by will to William the Norman, and afterwards in 
 dying named as his successor Harold the Anglo- 
 Saxon, — a double testament which led in the course 
 of a few months to the Norman conquest. King- 
 Edward was buried in the church of the abbey of 
 Westminster, which he had founded, and where his 
 tomb still remains, though there is no reason for 
 believing that it ever resembled the one represented 
 in our engraving. 
 
 The two wood-cuts, 
 representing an altar 
 and the end of a shrine, 
 are taken from one of 
 the miniatures in the 
 same volume which fur- 
 nished our plate. Our 
 initial letter is taken 
 from a manuscript of 
 the thirteenth century 
 preserved in the Li- 
 brary of Trinity College, Cambridge. 
 
The figure at the foot of the preceding page, is a portrait of Margaret of 
 Provence, the beautiful and accomplished wife of St. Louis, king of France. 
 Margaret was the eldest daughter of Raymond Berenger IV. count of Pro- 
 vence, whose court was in the earlier half of the thirteenth century the resort 
 of all that was beautiful and accomplished in the south of Europe, the head 
 quarters of the most skilful troubadours. Margaret was married to King 
 Louis on the 27th of May, 1234, and carried with her to the court of her 
 husband the tastes and fashions which had flourished in that of her father. 
 In 1250, she accompanied her husband to Egypt, and partook in all his 
 anxieties and dangers during that disastrous expedition. When the army of 
 the Crusaders was destroyed, and the king made prisoner by the infidels at 
 the fatal battle of Mansourah, Margaret was left in command of the town of 
 Damietta, where, amid the alarm and terror which that event occasioned, and 
 while the ramparts of the town itself were attacked by the Saracens, she gave 
 birth to a child. During the life of St. Louis, the piety and charity of 
 Margaret shone no less than his own ; and after his death, she retired from 
 public life to end her days in the tranquillity of a monastery. She died in 
 1295, in the convent of the nuns of St. Clair, which she had herself founded 
 in the faubourg Saint-Marcel. 
 
 The old historians relate several anecdotes of Margaret's courage and con- 
 stancy under the severe trials to which she was exposed in the expedition to 
 the East. When she was shut up in Damietta, closely besieged by the 
 Saracens, and intelligence arrived that the king had been defeated and made 
 prisoner by his enemies, the queen sent all her attendants out of the room except 
 one aged knight to whose guard she was intrusted (she was near her time 
 of giving birth to her child) : she fell on her knees before him and begged 
 he would give his word to perform a request she had to make ; and, as soon 
 as he had promised to do this, she said, " Sir, what I have to request, on the 
 faith which you have pledged, is, that if Damietta should be taken by the 
 Saracens, you will immediately cut off my head, that I may not fall alive into 
 the hands of the infidels." The knight answered with great sang-froid, " You 
 shall be obeyed — I had already thought of doing so." 
 
MLIS ABBEY" OH? LTS. 
 
PASTORAL STAFF OF THE ABBEY OF LYS. 
 
 VERY time we examine a 
 collection of Medieval an- 
 tiquities, we are struck by 
 the superior beauty of the 
 ornamental articles used 
 by the clergy (compared 
 with those in use anions 
 
 o 
 
 the laity), especially du- 
 ring the twelfth and thir- 
 teenth centuries. The 
 churches and shrines, the 
 holy vessels, the crosses 
 and croziers, the ceremo- 
 nial robes, are all excel- 
 lent specimens of orna- 
 ment. The beautiful Pas- 
 toral Staff represented in 
 our plate, which is now 
 preserved in the library 
 at Versailles, is of the earlier part of the thirteenth century. It belonged 
 formerly to the abbey de Lys, near Melun, in France (called in Latin Lilium 
 Beatce Maria;, or Beata Maria Regalis), founded in 1230, by queen Blanche 
 of Castile, and her son St. Louis ; and tradition says that it was the Staff of 
 the countess de Moeurs, abbess of that religious house, and the intimate friend 
 of the illustrious princess who founded it. Another, very similar to the one 
 in our plate, is also preserved at Versailles, and is said to have been carried 
 by an abbess at the funeral of queen Blanche, in 1253. 
 
 The original is double the size in which it is represented on our 
 plate. The head is cut out of a solid block of rock crystal. The 
 staff is blue, seme with fleurs-de-lys, emblematical of the name of 
 the abbey and of its royal foundation, being the armorial bearings of 
 France. It is covered in its whole length by a thick tube of rock 
 crystal, divided into eight pieces by knobs of red jasper. The staff 
 diminishes towards the bottom, where it terminates in a spike of 
 silver gilt, as represented by the cut in the margin of our page. The 
 name and arms of Blanche de Castile are expressed by the castle 
 with six turrets, which surmounts the royal crown formed by nine 
 fleurs-de-lys alternately with nine parsley leaves. 
 
 The other pastoral staff, to which we have alluded, has also a head of rock 
 
crystal, resembling that of the abbess of Lys in design, but the crockets are of 
 silver, and the staff is of the same material, seme with thistles. The archi- 
 tectural decoration beneath the head is remarkably rich ; and the staff on 
 its thickness is adorned with very elegant niellos. It was, perhaps, the 
 pastoral staff of the abbess of Maubuisson, in which abbey queen Blanche was 
 buried. 
 
 The crozier or pastoral staff (the latter is the term properly applied to the 
 staff of an abbot, abbess, or bishop, in contradistinction to an archbishop) was 
 carried only in particular and solemn processions. Fosbrook (British Mon- 
 achism, p. 145.) observes that there were established rules indicating on what 
 occasions and at what moment it was to be carried or laid aside. The 
 regulations composed for the abbey of Abingdon (one of the first in England 
 where the Benedictine rule was introduced) orders that the abbot should not 
 carry the staff (baculum ) when celebrating mass for the dead, or at matins in 
 going to the altar, or in reading the Gospel. " He shall enter the choir with 
 the convent in processions, but by no means carry his staff through the midst 
 of the choir ; his chaplain on the left hand shall take it upon entering the 
 choir, and carry it to its usual place." 
 
 Our initial letter is taken from a manuscript in the Arundel Collection in 
 the British Museum (No. 157), containing a richly illuminated calendar, 
 psalter, Hours of the Virgin, and other similar works, and said to be of the 
 earlier part of the thirteenth century. It furnishes us with some interesting 
 examples of ancient musical instruments. In the manuscript it forms the 
 initial to the Psalm Exultate Deo ; the musicians are performing on instru- 
 ments intended to represent those mentioned in the opening lines, — 
 
 Exultate Deo, adjutori nostro, jubilate Deo Jacob ; 
 
 Sumite psalmum et date tympanum, psalterium jocun- 
 dum cum cytbara ; 
 
 Buccinate in neomenia tuba, insigni die solempnitatis 
 nostra?. 
 
Date about J2 90. 
 
 -A CBEAXJCE . 
 
 aw. from a Sketch by J.Johnson, Arch 1 
 
A CHALICE. 
 
 MONG the most beautiful speci- 
 mens of ornamented Chalices must 
 be placed the subject of our pre- 
 sent plate, which is preserved at 
 Asesi, in Italy. It is of silver gilt, 
 and the stand is richly adorned 
 with enamel and niello work, re- 
 presenting figures of saints, &c. 
 The date of its fabrication, and 
 the name of the artist, are pre- 
 served in two inscriptions in Gothic capital letters, round 
 the stand, the letters being inlaid in gold on a blue ground. 
 The first inscription is, — ■ 
 
 The second is as follows : 
 
 csaeDccDjas . jiwaj&sacE — bge . . jfcbo® . 
 
 Nicholas IV. was pope from 1288 to 1292 ; so that the 
 Chalice before us is an authentic monument of Italian art 
 in the latter half of the thirteenth century. We are not 
 aware that there is any other account of an artist of Sienna 
 of the name of Guccio. The last letter of the second name 
 is nearly destroyed, and it is not clear what it originally 
 was. It appears not improbable, from the circumstance of 
 his name being inscribed upon this Chalice, that it was 
 given to the church by Pope Nicholas. 
 
 The font, which forms the subject of the wood-cut at the 
 end of the present article, is of about the same date as the 
 preceding chalice, and still remains at Pisjoia. 
 
 Our initial letter brings us back from Italian to English 
 art. It is taken from MS. Sloane, No. 2435, a handsomely 
 illuminated manuscript of the beginning of the fourteenth 
 century, which has afforded us several other cuts for the 
 present work ; and forms the initial to one of the chapters 
 of an old French medical treatise, the subject of which 
 chapter is the diseases of women subsequent to child-birth. 
 
The doctor is examining the breast of the patient. In the humorous figure 
 above, the illuminator has amused himself with a little satire against the 
 monkish orders, as he has again done in another initial which is given in 
 the present work, where a monk is indulging in solitary and large potations 
 in the cellar of the monastery. 
 
Date tke "begj-nning of the 14-V 1 Century. 
 
 LADIES ELAYIH© QIT THE BAJLP & ORGAN. 
 
 Shaw 
 
LADIES PLAYING ON THE HARP AND ORGAN. 
 
 OSTUME, in the west of Europe, during 
 the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, was 
 not strikingly characteristic of difference 
 of countries ; its changes were frequent, 
 and often remarkable, but the intercourse 
 between England and France, and in some 
 measure with the neighbouring states, was 
 so constant, that these changes were nearly 
 simultaneous in them all. When, however, 
 we pass to the south, and enter the warm 
 clime and free states of Italy, we find the 
 dresses of all classes have an entirely dif- 
 ferent character. The costume of the ladies, in particular, was there extremely 
 light and graceful. Our plate represents two ladies of Siena, in the costume 
 of the beginning of the fourteenth century. They are both playing upon 
 musical instruments. Music and dancing were the constant and favourite 
 amusements of the Italians at that period. 
 
 The lady playing on the harp is taken from a picture representing the 
 Triumph of Petrarch, preserved in the Academy of Fine Arts at Siena. It 
 is the work of A. Vanni, a painter of that city who flourished at the period 
 just mentioned. The young lady with the portable organ, is also taken from 
 a painting at Siena, by Domenico Bartoli, who lived at the beginning of the 
 fourteenth century at that place, and who was one of the first distinguished 
 members of a family in which artistical talent descended through several 
 generations. This girl, whose dress is remarkably graceful, is one of those 
 damsels who attended festivals and parties of pleasure to amuse the guests by 
 their performances. She has on her head a characteristic crown or garland 
 of flowers. The instrument on which she is playing with one hand, while 
 she moves the bellows with the other, was very common in Italy at this period. 
 A similar organ is represented in the celebrated picture of St. Cecilia by 
 Raphael. 
 
 In our initial letter, we come again to the costume and mode of thinking of 
 the west. It is taken from a fine manuscript of the beginning of the fourteenth 
 century (MS. Sloane, No. 2435), containing the once popular poem by 
 Gautier de Metz, entitled the Image du Monde; and represents the three 
 classes or castes of society acknowledged by the Middle Ages in England, 
 France, and Germany, — the knight or soldier, the clerk or scholar, and the 
 
husbandman or labourer. The costume of each class is exhibited with great 
 nicety. The following passage of the Image du Monde (a poetical treatise on 
 general science) is that to which our initial forms the illustration, and sets 
 forth the doctrine of our forefathers on this subject. 
 
 " Et philosophe qui done furent, 
 Qui les autres ensegnier durent, 
 Ne poserent selonc lor sens 
 Fors que .iij. manieres de gens, 
 Clerc, chevalier, ouvrier de tere. 
 Li gaagnour doivent aquere 
 As autres .ij. lor estouvoir, 
 Chou que il leur convient avoir 
 Pour vivre au mont honestement ; 
 Et chevalier come serjant 
 Les doivent garder et deffendre ; 
 Et li clerc doivent aprendre 
 Et de leur euvres ensegnier 
 Pour leur ame a Diu adrechier, 
 Si que cascuns oevre ne fache 
 Dont il perde point de sa grasse. 
 Ensi peussent .iij. maniere 
 Li sage de gent cha ariere." 
 
 And the philosophers who lived then, 
 
 Whose business it was to teach the others, 
 
 Established as they thought it right 
 
 Only three kinds of people, 
 
 Clerks, knights, and labourers of the ground. 
 
 The labourers ought to acquire 
 
 For the other two classes their necessaries, 
 
 That which they ought to have 
 
 To live in the world honestly ; 
 
 And knights as Serjeants 
 
 Ought to guard and defend them ; 
 
 And the clerks ought to learn 
 
 And teach them by their workes, 
 
 In order to turn their soul to God, 
 
 So that each may do no work 
 
 By which he loses his grace. 
 
 Thus the sages established three classes 
 
 Of men there after them. 
 
A ROYAL REPAST. 
 
 FROM " QUEEN MARY'S PSALTER.' 
 
 NDER the title just mentioned is known a 
 very tastefully illuminated manuscript of the 
 beginning of the fourteenth century, preserved 
 in the British Museum (MS. Reg. 2 B. VII). 
 It is a remarkable and interesting volume, 
 embellished with an extraordinary number of 
 pictures ; and as the old embroidered cover is 
 preserved with the brass corners and part of 
 the clasps, it is kept in a case. The contents 
 of this manuscript are, 1, a series of pictorial 
 illustrations of the Bible, described in the French 
 language as it was then written and spoken in England ; 2, a calendar, with 
 illuminations at the heads of the pages ; 3, the Psalter and Litany, in Latin, 
 which occupy the greater part of the book, and each page of which has a 
 drawing in the margin at the foot. These last mentioned drawings form two 
 distinct series, the first consisting chiefly of burlesque designs and illustrations 
 of natural history, fables, sports and pastimes, &c, and the second series 
 formed of pictures illustrative of the lives of the saints. 
 
 The history of this manuscript is somewhat curious. In the unsettled times 
 of the Reformation, it was on the point of being carried over to the continent, 
 but it was seized at the Custom House, and presented to Queen Mary, who 
 had then (1553) newly come to the throne. A contemporary inscription at 
 the end of the volume states this circumstance : — 
 
 Hunc librum nautis ad exteros transvehendum datum, spectatus et honestus 
 vir Baldwinus Smithus, Londini a portoriis et vectigalibus, retraxit, atque 
 Marise illustrissimae Anglise, Francise, et Hibernise reginse donavit, mense 
 Octobri, anno Domini millesimo quingentesimo quinquagesimo tertio, regni sui 
 primo. 
 
 Pictures of feasts are not uncommon in ancient manuscripts, and form very 
 interesting illustrations of domestic life in former days. The subject on our 
 plate is made up from two drawings in the series of pictures of sacred history 
 in the earlier part of the volume of which we have just been speaking, the 
 party at table being furnished by one, while the minstrel on one side, and the 
 attendant bringing in the cup on the opposite side, are taken from the other. 
 
The figures in the group below are taken from the burlesque series of 
 drawings at the feet of the pages of the Psalter. One of the most important 
 parts of a rich entertainment was the minstrels and " jogelours" who attended 
 to amuse the guests. Sometimes the minstrel chanted to the harp the ancient 
 romances of chivalry, the national stories, or the exploits of the master of the 
 feast or of his family. The harper beside the table seems to be occupied 
 n this manner. When the guests were merry at their drinking, the minstrels 
 sang laughable stories, called fabliaux, which were frequently of the grossest 
 description. Great numbers of these fabliaux are still preserved. The 
 jogelours (joculatores ) at the same time, or at intervals, excited the mirth 
 of the company by mimicry of every description ; and often by indecent 
 gestures, and by dancing, tumbling, standing on their heads, and performing 
 feats of skill with balls, knives, &c, such as are still exhibited by our 
 modern mountebanks and jugglers. Some of the performers were not unfre- 
 quently females. This, however, was by no means inconsistent with the 
 grossness of manners among our forefathers in the twelfth, thirteenth, and 
 fourteenth centuries : the ladies remained at table, and they witnessed actions 
 and applauded stories of a very 
 equivocal character. The minstrels 
 and jogelours were also called to 
 perform in the monasteries and in 
 the halls of ecclesiastics ; but we 
 may be allowed to suppose that in 
 the monasteries, at least, the former 
 sang pious subjects, the religious 
 fabliaux or contes devots, which are 
 also common in old manuscripts. 
 
 The first of the four figures in 
 our engraving is playing on a kind 
 of dulcimer ; the second has a trum- 
 pet, the third a tambourine, and the 
 fourth an instrument of the lute or 
 gitterne kind. 
 
 The initial letter on the preceding 
 page is taken from a fine MS. of 
 the beginning of the fourteenth cen- 
 tury, MS. Sloane, No. 2435. The 
 cut on the present page represents a 
 candlestick of bronze, probably of 
 the end of the 13th, or beednninof of 
 the fourteenth century, now pre- ' 
 served in the collection of M. Du- 
 guay at Paris. 
 
EFFIGY OF CHARLES, COMTE D'ETAMPES, IN THE ROYAL 
 CATACOMBS AT ST. DENIS. 
 
 F the series of monumental effiVies 
 that were rescued by Lenoir from 
 popular fury at the period of the 
 Revolution in France, and pre- 
 served at the Musee des Petits 
 Augustins, in Paris, until the Res- 
 toration, the subject of the present 
 plate is one of the most interesting 
 specimens. It had been originally 
 placed in the Conventual Church 
 of the Cordeliers, at Paris, which 
 was destroyed ; and it has now 
 been removed to the Catacombs 
 at St. Denis, with other memorials 
 of princes of the blood royal, 
 brought together in that place from the different desecrated monasteries, where, 
 until the Reign of Terror, their remains had peaceably reposed. Of the entire 
 tomb, as it originally existed, the only memorial that appears to have been 
 preserved is the illuminated drawing which may be seen in the curious col- 
 lection of sketches of monuments in France, made about 1700, by the direction 
 of M. de Gaignieres, and bequeathed by Gough to the Bodleian library. The 
 tomb consisted of a lofty canopy, richly painted with armorial decoration, and 
 beneath reclined the effigy of white marble : this, with the inscription, alone 
 escaped the desolating fury of the Revolution. 
 
 Charles, Comte d'Etampes, born about the commencement of the fourteenth 
 century, was the second son of Louis, son of Philippe le Hardi, upon whom, 
 in 1307, the comte of Evreux, the lordship of Etampes, and other territories 
 had been bestowed by his brother, Philippe le Bel, in lieu of the patrimony 
 bequeathed to him by his father. Louis, Comte d'Evreux, died in 1319, and 
 was interred in the Church of the Dominicans at Paris ; his effigy, now at St. 
 Denis, was described and represented by the late Mr. Kerrich, in Archseo- 
 logia, vol. xviii. plate xvi. ; having been selected on account of the interest 
 which attached itself to that personage, as brother of Margaret, the second 
 queen of Edward I. On his father's demise, Etampes became the portion of 
 Charles, the second son, and in 1327 the barony was elevated by Charles le 
 Bel, who had espoused Jeanne, the elder sister of the Comte d'Etampes, to a 
 county. Another of his sisters married the Duke of Brabant, who being, in 
 1333, at variance with the Earl of Flanders, Charles took the field to aid the 
 cause of his brother-in-law. Three years after he joined the expedition on 
 the side of Jean II. Comte d'Auxerre, against Eudes IV. Duke of Burgundy ; 
 and fell in that campaign at the siege of Pimorain, Sept. 5, 1336, being about 
 thirty years of age ; by his wife Marie, daughter of Ferdinand, lord of Lara, 
 and grand-daughter of Alphonso X. King of Castile, he left issue. 
 
 : JBftKT.MIU. mAUI.mn U.MW.nHKIIf.UKiaWI.IJbUJMaj&IUknZ'AMinbMIS 
 
The effigy of this distinguished personage is at once identified by the 
 bearing of Evreux, which is seen upon his shield : " Seme de fleurs de lys 
 d'or sans nombre, au baston componne d'argent et de gueules, pery en bande." 
 The costume is particularly interesting, but presents the characteristic features 
 of a somewhat earlier period than the date of his demise ; and a comparison 
 with English as well as foreign effigies will at once show a more marked analogy 
 with those of the reign of Edward II. than with the memorials of that of Edward 
 III. ; no indication, indeed, is perceptible of plate armour, which during the 
 latter reign became in general use ; the only exception may be the genouil- 
 leres, which in the sculpture are but imperfectly defined. His head, which is 
 of striking character, is encircled by a coronal of roses, possibly appropriate to 
 his rank as a count and peer of France ; but the positive assertion that such 
 is the fact is but insufficiently warranted by the knowledge that has been 
 attained in regard to such usages at the period. The helm, as usually the 
 case with monumental effigies in France, is not exhibited, the mail is dropped 
 on the neck, and the undivided gloves of mail slipped back from the hands, 
 so as to allow the quilted gamboison to be seen, which served as a protection 
 against the weight of the hauberk, or prevented the rings of which that de- 
 fence was composed, being by a blow forced into the flesh. The gamboison 
 appears also just below the skirt of the hauberk, over which is worn a loose 
 sleeveless surcoat, reaching to the knees. In several effigies of earlier date 
 the adoption of plate armour is indicated by the occurrence of greaves ; but 
 here the legs are protected only by chausses de mailles. One peculiarity 
 must not be overlooked, as throwing some light on the nature of the defences, 
 which it was the intention to represent by parallel rows of rings placed edge-: 
 wise. It has been conjectured that these were formed by sewing upon cloth 
 or leather rows of disunited rings, without interlacement ; but it may be 
 noticed here that the inner surface of the hauberk, where it is perceptible at 
 the neck and hands, presents exactly the same appearance as the exterior. 
 It is therefore obvious that whether a conventional mode of representing 
 interlaced mail were or were not here intended, some other mode of explaining 
 the formation of such defences must be sought, for had there existed a ground- 
 work of cloth or leather, it must have been visible on the inner surface. This 
 peculiarity is uniformly the same in French and other continental effigies of 
 the earlier period. 
 
 The chased ornaments, which form the minor decorations of the costume, are 
 finished with a care and taste, that has rarely been surpassed. The pomel of 
 the sword is composed of a scutcheon embraced by two little figures of boys, 
 elegantly designed : the ornaments of the guige, and sword belt and buckle, 
 are finely chiselled ; the tongue of the last passes through the mouth of a lion's 
 head, quaintly adapted to the purpose ; the transverse ornaments of the belt, 
 called bars, terminate at either end in two tonsured heads of ecclesiastics ; and 
 the spurs are formed with the short prick issuing from a plain round ball. It 
 is remarkable that with the exception of the armorial bearing, no indication of 
 colour has been found on this, or several contemporary French effigies, con- 
 trary to the usual practice of giving to the sepulchral memorial, as nearly as 
 possible, the effect of life and personal reality, not of a sculptured image. 
 
j 
 
I 
 
Date about 13.40. 
 
GILBERT DE CLARE, EARL OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 UR Engraving is taken from a series of 
 figures in the painted glass of the windows 
 of the abbey church of Tewkesbury, re- 
 presenting different members of the noble 
 family of Clare, who were patrons of that 
 monastic establishment. 
 
 All the Earls of Gloucester of this family 
 were more or less eminent for the parts 
 which they acted in the troubled events of 
 the times in which they lived. The earlier 
 members of the house were distinguished by 
 their activity in the border wars against the 
 Welsh. Gilbert de Clare, the first Earl of 
 Gloucester of the name, was one of the principal barons who took up arms 
 against King John, and was one of the twenty -five appointed to enforce the 
 observance of the Great Charter. After John's death, he remained staunch 
 to the cause, till he was taken prisoner at Lincoln, while fighting under the 
 baronial banner. His son Richard de Clare was also a firm supporter of the 
 Magna Charta, and a staunch adherent to the cause of the barons. He died 
 by poison in 1262, and was succeeded by his son Gilbert de Clare, the most 
 celebrated personage of the family. He was at first an extremely zealous 
 partizan of Simon de Montfort, and acted a very distinguished part at the 
 battle of Lewes, where the king and prince Edward fell into the power of 
 the victorious barons. After that battle, he became jealous of the power and 
 influence of Simon de Montfort, and went over to the party of the king. 
 His desertion of the cause, and his activity among the royalists, mainly 
 brought on the disaster at Evesham, in which battle he commanded a 
 division of the King's army. The curious old song, in Anglo-Norman, on 
 that battle, points him out as the principal cause of the barons' defeat on this 
 occasion : — 
 
 " Sire Hue le fer, ly Despencer, 
 tresnoble justice, 
 Ore est a tort lyvre a mort, 
 
 a trop male guise. 
 Sire Henri, pur veir le dy, 
 
 fitz le cuens de Leycestre, 
 Autres assez, come vus orrez, 
 
 par le cuens de Gloucestre." 
 
 Wright's Political Songs, p. 126. 
 
He afterwards returned during a short time to the cause of his old confederates, 
 but he remained unshaken in his fidelity to the crown through the reign of 
 Edward I. 
 
 The son of this Gilbert, also named Gilbert de Clare, was the last male 
 heir of the family, and is the person represented in our engraving. He com- 
 manded the front of the English army at the disastrous battle of Bannockburn, 
 in 1313, and was slain on the field. In the Political Songs, p. 262, is printed 
 a curious Latin song on this nobleman's death, in which he is said to have 
 perished by the treason or cowardice of his household retainers, who ran 
 away when they saw him in danger : it represents him as engaged almost 
 alone against the overwhelming forces of the enemy : — 
 
 " Inauditus ingruit inter hos conflictus ; 
 Primitus prosiliit Acteus invictus, 
 Comes heu ! Glovernise dans funestos ictus ; 
 Assistens in acie qui fit derelictus. 
 
 Hie phalangus hostium disrupi coegit, 
 Et virorum fortium corpora subegit ; 
 Sed fautor domesticus sibi quem elegit, 
 Hie non erat putitus quando factum fregit." 
 
 The few knights who were with him fell by his side : — 
 
 " Hii fraude multiplica virum prodiderunt, 
 Impia gens Scotica quem circumdederunt ; 
 Ipsum a dextrario suo prostraverunt, 
 Et prostrati vario modo ceciderunt 
 
 Fideles armigeri qui secum fuerunt ; 
 Milites et caeteri secum corruerunt ; 
 Cum sui succurrere sibi voluerunt, 
 Hostibus resistere tot non valuerunt." 
 
 This Gilbert, as it has been just observed, was the last of the male line of the 
 Clares Earls of Gloucester ; but he had three sisters, the descendents of one 
 of whom intermarried with the royal line of the Plantagenets, and through 
 them was derived the claims of the house of York to the throne of England. 
 The windows were probably executed not many years after the death of 
 Gilbert de Clare on the field of Bannockburn, and our engraving may be 
 considered as a good and authentic example of the armour of that period, or 
 of the beginning of the reign of Edward III. 
 
 The Initial Letter on the preceding page is taken from a fine Manuscript 
 in the British Museum (MS. Burney, No. 275), written and illuminated in 
 the fourteenth century, and further described in our account of the Triumphal 
 Chair of Don Martin of Arragon. It represents a school, and is curious as a 
 specimen of the costume of children in the fourteenth century. 
 
Date 1380. 
 
INCISED SLAB. 
 
 PALAIS DES BEAUX ARTS, PARIS. 
 
 of the most richly decorated sepulchral memo- 
 rials of France, are incised slabs ; which present the 
 same general character of design as sepulchral brasses, 
 and were probably executed by the same artists. Both 
 were alike enriched with colour introduced into the 
 lines of the design, and the lodgments which form 
 the field ; every portion of incised work being filled up with a 
 resinous composition, either black or of various brilliant colours. 
 Brass plate was perhaps exclusively manufactured in Germany, 
 and the frequent occurrence in France from the thirteenth to the 
 seventeenth century, of these incised slabs of stone, a material 
 less costly and more readily procured than metal, is sufficiently 
 explained. There was one at St. Yved de Braine representing 
 Robert III. Comte de Dreux, who died 1233, on which was 
 recorded the name of the artist LETAROVS, a curious evidence 
 of the estimation this kind of art had even at that early period 
 attained. In England, incised slabs, usually of Derbyshire alabaster, occur 
 but rarely, and are little worthy of notice before the fifteenth century. 
 
 The fine specimen here given was brought from the Abbey of St. Genevieve, 
 where Millin, who was struck with its beauty, found it neglected and thrown 
 out into a court adjoining the cloister (Antiqu. Nationales, t. V.) It has for- 
 tunately suffered little material damage, and is now affixed to the wall in the 
 exterior court of the Palais des Beaux Arts at Paris. The person commemo- 
 
rated was canon of Poitiers, and chancellor of Noyon. He is represented 
 vested in the Alb, which has a rich parure of fleurs de lys and roses, and the 
 Chasuble, probably of cloth of Baudekyn " embroudez avec mermyns de mier" 
 or sirenes, a very prevailing ornament in the fourteenth century, cocks, and 
 lions. The Maniple and Stole are rich in decorations, among which occurs 
 one of Etruscan character, termed anciently, as appears by Lansd. MS. 874, 
 fol. 197 b. a "fylfot." On his head is the canonical vestment called the 
 Amyse, the furred lining of which is to be distinguished ; between his hands 
 he holds the chalice and paten, and his feet rest on a dragon, from whose 
 mouth and tail proceed a rose tree and a vine, forming an elegant diapering 
 in the field of the central compartment. These Christian symbols thus intro- 
 duced are evidently allusive to the triumph of Christianity over Paganism and 
 Infidelity. Over the principal figure, is seen the usual symbolical represen- 
 tation of the spirit of the deceased received into heaven ; on either side is a 
 patron saint, whose name he bore ; St. John the Evangelist, and the Baptist, 
 holding the Holy Lamb : adjoining these are representations of the resurrec- 
 tion, to which a quotation from Job xix. 25 refers in the inscription. 
 
 Hie jacet magister iohannes dictus D diocesis Pictauensis 
 
 quondam canonicus et Cancellarius ecclesie beate Marie Noviomensis 
 qui obiit anno Domini M.CCC. quinquasimo tercia die Junii. Credo 
 quod redemptor meus vivit et in nouissimo die de terra surecturus sum 
 et in carne mea videbo Deum salvatorem meum. 
 
 On either side are introduced, in tabernacle work, small figures of saints. 
 St. Jullien appears with his Oliphant. St. Eloy, Bishop of Noyon, where his 
 relics were preserved, is represented with a hammer ; he was celebrated for 
 his skill in working the precious metals. St. Michael, and a sainted abbot, 
 whose name is illegible, appear on the opposite side. 
 
 Beneath there are seen two relatives of the deceased, Jaquet and Isabeau : 
 the curious horned head-dress of the latter, apparently the same which is 
 satirized by Jean de Meun, occurs in some contemporary instances in France. 
 On a scutcheon introduced in the margin on either side is the bearing, quar- 
 terly, 1st and 4th, a human head couped, 2nd and 3rd, seme of fleurs de lys; 
 by the heraldic usage of France, ecclesiastical dignitaries quartered the bear- 
 ing of the see, instead of impaling it, as was usual in England. 
 
 The wood-cut at the bottom of the preceding page is a specimen of diaper 
 ornament, from the mantle on the effigy of Lady Elizabeth de Montacute, in 
 the cathedral of Christ-Church, Oxford. Lady de Montacute died in 1354. 
 
H. Six aw. 
 
 EDWilD 3>V 
 Prom. St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster. 
 
EDWARD III. 
 
 MONG the most interesting discoveries connected with 
 the ancient palace of Westminster, were those of the paint- 
 ings on the walls of St. Stephen's chapel and of the room 
 which from this characteristic has always been known by 
 the name of the Painted Chamber. Frequent discoveries 
 made of late years combine to show how much painting 
 was used in the Middle Ages for architectural decoration, particu- 
 larly in churches : and numerous pictures in our illuminated manu- 
 scripts exhibit the magnificence which appeared in the decorations 
 of the interiors of palaces. The painting from which our plate is 
 taken formerly appeared at the east end of St. Stephen's Chapel. 
 On the north side of the altar, the wall was painted with two ranges 
 of figures : above were represented the three kings making their 
 offering to the Saviour, who was in the arms of the Virgin Mary ; 
 while the lower range was divided into seven compartments, or 
 arched canopies like the one in this plate, containing the figures of 
 St. George, Edward III., and his five sons. St. George is repre- 
 sented as leading the king, to present him to the virgin. On the 
 other side of the altar a similar series represented the female part of 
 the royal family. A set of engravings in outline, of these paintings, 
 diminished in size, was published by the Society of Antiquaries. 
 
 In this picture we have, in all probability, a tolerably accurate 
 portrait of the king, taken soon after the year 1355, the date of the 
 birth of his fifth son. The figures, if erect, would be in the original 
 about eighteen inches high. Edward is represented in full 
 armour. His crown is embossed and 
 gilt ; the helmet silvered, with its rim 
 gilt. The mail also was embossed and 
 gilt. The surcoat is quartered with the 
 arms of England and France ; the 
 lions being embossed and gilt on a red 
 field. 
 
 The wood cut at the foot of the next 
 page, represents a cup of silver gilt, 
 still preserved at Pembroke College, 
 Cambridge, where it is used on festival 
 days. This cup was presented to the 
 
college by its foundress, Mary de Valentia, countess of Pembroke ; the 
 date of the foundation was 1347. Round the bowl of the cup runs the 
 following inscription : 
 
 Sayn Denes y' es me dere, 
 
 For lies lof drenk and mak gud cher. 
 
 And below is inscribed 
 
 M. V. God help at ned. 
 
 M. V. are the initials of the donor's name, Mary de Valencia. 
 
 The initial on the foregoing page, with the cut at the bottom, are taken 
 from a MS. of the reign of Edward III., preserved in the British Museum, 
 MS. Reg. 6. E. IX. The latter is a specimen of diapered ornament from a 
 piece of drapery in one of the illuminations. 
 
THE BLACK PRINCE. 
 
 UR countrymen have long been used to point out, as 
 the representative of the English chivalry of former 
 days, the gallant son of the third Edward, the prince 
 whom his father rejoiced to salute as the victor of 
 Crecy. At the period of this great and decisive 
 battle (26th August, 1346), Prince Edward was only 
 sixteen years of age ; he there first adopted the crest (ever 
 since held by the Prince of Wales) of the ostrich feathers, 
 with the motto ich dim (I serve), the spoils of a king (John, 
 of Bohemia) who was slain in the action. In 1356, Edward 
 gained another great victory, the memorable battle of Poitiers, in 
 which the king of France was made prisoner, and was brought 
 by the prince to England. A few years after, the chivalrous prince entered 
 Castile for the purpose of replacing Pedro IV. on his lost throne : and added 
 to the number of his exploits another victorious campaign. In the war in 1372, 
 Edward was compelled by sickness to return to England. During the peace 
 (which lasted through the remainder of his father's reign) he increased the 
 love which the English people had ever borne towards him, by advocating 
 popular measures of state. The sorrow was great and universal, when their 
 favourite prince died on the 8th of June, 1376, at the age of forty-six. He 
 was buried with great pomp in Canterbury Cathedral, where his monument 
 and effigy still remain. He is there represented in armour which differs but 
 little from that in which he is clad in the accompanying plate. The king 
 followed his son to the grave in the following year. 
 
 This latter portrait of the Black Prince is taken from the same painting, 
 
found on the walls of St. Stephen's Chapel at Westminster, which has 
 furnished us with the portrait of his royal father, Edward III., already given. 
 Prince Edward occupies the compartment of the picture immediately behind 
 that of his father, and is, like him, represented kneeling in adoration of the 
 Virgin, who in the original is seated in a larger compartment above. Part of 
 the figure of the prince, as well as of those behind him, was cut off in the 
 painting by a square place, apparently subsequent to the original design, and 
 which seems to have been intended for the insertion of a table or shelf. The 
 portrait was probably made about the time of the battle of Poitiers, when the 
 prince was twenty-six years of age : and he is, accordingly, represented as a 
 beardless youth, bearing strong traits of resemblance to his father. His 
 helmet, surrounded by a coronet resembles that on the effigy at Canterbury. 
 In other respects his armour varies but little from that of King Edward. 
 He is said to have gained his name of the Black Prince by the colour of the 
 armour which he wore in battle. In our painting he is not so distinguished : 
 but he perhaps did not introduce this peculiarity in the armour which he wore 
 on pompous occasions, and in which he is no doubt here represented. Three 
 letters only of the end of his name are preserved at the foot of the picture, 
 which are a convincing proof that the mutilations were made after its com- 
 pletion. 
 
 The two figures which we have given from these curious paintings are both 
 represented in armour. Other figures in them are represented in robes of 
 state ; and we have given at the foot of the preceding page the legs from one 
 group, as offering an excellent specimen of the hose and shoes worn by princes 
 at the court of Edward III. 
 
 The initial letter on the foregoing page is taken from a manuscript of the 
 fourteenth century, preserved in the British Museum, Bibl. Reg. 6, E. IX. 
 The throne represented on the present page is taken from the well-known 
 illuminated manuscript of the Romance of Alexander, in the Bodleian Library 
 at Oxford. 
 
D"ate abc 
 
longing 
 
 KING RICHARD II. 
 
 ERHAPS no monarch under the same cir- 
 cumstances ever enjoyed so great a share 
 of the sympathy of posterity, as the ill-fated, 
 though at the same time (it must be con- 
 fessed) ill-deserving Richard II. This is 
 perhaps to be attributed in a great measure 
 to the mystery which involved his last 
 moments. Brought to a throne almost in 
 his infancy, this weak prince had been 
 led away by the vanities and luxuries 
 which were thus placed in his grasp, before 
 he had learnt to estimate the duties be- 
 to a crown. During his reign, the kingdom was 
 governed by favourites of the most unworthy character ; on 
 the eve of a mighty revolution in the minds of his country- 
 men, the king was urged by his own inclination and by the 
 evil counsels of his favourites, to increase the number of 
 abuses ; while the kingdom was ruled in a disgraceful and 
 inglorious manner, the people were loaded with new taxes to 
 support the extravagance of the royal household ; 
 and, as a finishing stroke to the general dis- 
 satisfaction, the favourites alienated from the king 
 ^. — . -JRJ-^ the hearts of the nobility. Such were the causes 
 iImP^bB^B/ which led to the tragical termination of Richard's 
 
 JfikVSv' $ reign, a period which is popularly famous as the 
 
 v^f^fcMliKi /O a £ e °^ J ac k Straw and Wat Tyler ; in religious 
 
 ^^^^^^ff^C history, it is connected with the name of the re- 
 
 V former Wycliffe ; and in literature it boasts of the 
 
 name of Geoffrey Chaucer ; it also furnished to the ballad-singers of after 
 ages the subject of the never-to-be-forgotten rhymes of Chevy Chase. 
 
 There are preserved two original paintings of King Richard II. of which 
 the most curious is the one represented in our plate, and preserved at Wilton 
 House, the seat of the Earl of Pembroke. It is a small piece, consisting of 
 two tablets, on which are represented the king kneeling, accompanied by his 
 patron saints, John the Baptist, St. Edmund the King, and Edward the Con- 
 fessor, before the Virgin and Child, attended by angels. The date of this 
 painting (which is protected by a glass covering it), is stated to be 1377, and 
 it has been cited as a specimen of painting in oil previous to the supposed 
 
invention of that art, in 1410, by John ab Eyck. On closely examining it, 
 however, it appears to be merely executed in distemper, and washed with 
 some kind of varnish which has given it somewhat the appearance of oil. 
 It is painted on a bright golden ground, and the colours are extremely fresh. 
 An engraving was made from it by Hollar. 
 
 Our Initial Letter is taken from a handsome manuscript in the British 
 Museum, MS. Sloane, No. 2435, written early in the fourteenth century, or 
 perhaps at the end of the thirteenth. In the original it begins the chapter of 
 an old medical book which treats on the diet and dress proper to each of the 
 four seasons of the year. The four compartments of the letter represent the 
 manner of dressing in each season. The first compartment shows the cos- 
 tume proper for spring, where a light robe is thrown over the tunic, of such 
 make and materials as to be neither too hot nor too cold, according to the 
 prescription of the writer, " En printens doit-on ester bien vestu de robes ki 
 ne soient ne trop caudes ne trop froides, si con de tyretaines de dras de coton. 
 forre d'aigniaus." In the second compartment, or summer, the outer robe is 
 thrown oft , and the tunic alone is left : the substances which the author recom- 
 mends for this season are of a lighter kind, — " En este se doit-on viestir de 
 robes froides, si con de dras de lin, qui sor tos les autres est plus frois, et de 
 dras de soie, si con de cendal, de samit, d'estamines." In autumn the same 
 dress is recommended as in spring, but the outer garment is here left loose 
 and open, and the cloth is recommended to be a little colder ; — " A la 
 Septembresce doit-on estre vestus a le maniere dou printens, mais que li drap 
 soient un po plus caut." The figure in the fourth compartment, closely 
 muffled up, represents the winter dress : " En yver se doit-on vestir de robe 
 de laine bien espese et velue a bone penne de gorpil, car c'est li plus caude 
 penne c'on puisse trover, u de cas, u de conins, u de lievres, et n'entendes 
 pas ke ces pennes soient plus caudes l'une de l'autre, mais quant eles sunt 
 escaufees cele ki a plus grant poil et plus espes, si tient plus le calor." 
 
 The cut below is taken from MS. Harl. No. 2897, of the latter half of the 
 fourteenth century. 
 
1 
 
COURTIERS OF THE 
 
 TIME OF RICHARD II. 
 
 •:• v.* 
 
 BOVE all other periods in our 
 history, that of the weak Ri- 
 chard II. was remarkable for 
 the variety and gaiety of its 
 fashions. The satirists and 
 reformers of the day were zea- 
 lous and loud in their outcries 
 against the extravagance of 
 the higher classes. Chaucer, 
 who wrote at this period, in 
 declaiming against the "super- 
 fluitee of clothing" which pre- 
 vailed around him, blames "the 
 coste of the enbrouding, the 
 disguising, endenting, or bar- 
 
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ring, ounding, paling, winding, or bending, and semblable wast of cloth in 
 vanitee ; but ther is also the costlewe furring in hir gounes, so moche poun- 
 soning of chesel to maken holes, so moche dagging of sheres, with the super- 
 fluitee in length of the foresaide gounes, trailing in the dong and in the myre, 
 on hors and eke a foot, as wel of man as of woman, that all thilke trailing 
 is veraily (as in effect) wasted, consumed, thred-bare, and rotten with dong, 
 rather than it is yeven to the poure, to gret damage of the foresayd poure 
 folk, and that in sondry wise." 
 
 The " gowns" alluded to in this passage of Chaucer, as worn both by men 
 and by women, are exhibited in the figures given, in the accompanying plate, 
 from two MSS. of the period (MS. Reg. 15 D. Ill, and MS. Harl. No. 1319). 
 
 The rich gown of the knight at the lower part of the plate, as well as that 
 of the person who is making obeisance to him, will explain what Chaucer 
 means by pounsoning and dagging. The edges of the sleeves, hoods, &c. were 
 punched and dagged (or cut in shreds) into the form of leaves, &c, and some- 
 times gave the dress a very grotesque appearance. Among the nobility, the 
 gown was often enriched with a profusion of jewellery. The man above has, 
 apparently, a collar of small bells about his neck. 
 
 The two first figures, in the MS. from which they are taken, form the illus- 
 tration of the Song of Solomon. The Harleian MS. (1319), is well known as 
 containing an interesting contemporary narrative of the expedition to Ireland, 
 and of the deposition of King Richard II., written in French verse, by a 
 French gentleman, who accompanied a Gascon knight in the expedition, and 
 was therefore present at most of the circumstances which he relates. This 
 poem, with a translation, and a long introduction, was printed in one of the 
 volumes of the Archseologia. The figures here given are portraits of the 
 Gascon knight and the author, neither of whose names are known ; the latter 
 is paying his respects to the knight, who had sent for him to accompany him to 
 England. We quote the passage mentioning this interview, both as a specimen 
 of the poem, and because in the printed edition it is wrongly stopped, and 
 therefore not quite accurately translated. 
 
 " Cinque jours devant le premier jour de May, 
 Que chascun doit laissier dueil et esmais, 
 Un chevaler, que de bon cuer amais, 
 
 moult doulcement 
 Me dit, ' amy, je vous pri chierement, 
 Qu'en Albion vueilliez joyeusement 
 Avecques moy venir ; prochainnement 
 
 y vueil aler." 
 
 " Five days before the first day of May," he says, " when every one ought 
 to quit sorrow and trouble, a knight whom I love cordially, said to me with 
 much gentleness, ' Friend, I pray you affectionately, that you will come with 
 me joyously into Albion ; I intend to go thither shortly.'" 
 
 The pavilion which encloses the foregoing page is taken from a MS. of the 
 reign of Richard II., in the Cottonian collection, Nero, E. II. 
 
I'a.te. the I 
 
HEAD-DRESSES. 
 
 LEGANCE and gracefulness, which had seldom 
 exhibited themselves in the horned and peaked 
 head-dresses of the ladies of the fifteenth century, 
 began again to show themselves in the various head- 
 dresses of the beginning of the sixteenth. This was 
 more especially visible in France, which country, 
 then as now, took the lead in the fashions of dress. 
 But even in England, in the reign of Henry VIII., 
 many of the forms of female costume bore a close 
 resemblance to those which are continually re-producing themselves in the 
 modes of the present day. 
 
 The two first heads, and the fourth, in our plate, are taken from a manu- 
 script on vellum, now preserved in the Royal Library at Paris (fonds Laval- 
 liere, No. 44, olim No. 431 G). This book, written at the beginning of the 
 sixteenth century, consists chiefly of proverbs, adages, and similar matter, 
 among which are a series of imaginary portraits of celebrated ladies of ancient 
 history or fable, drawn in sepia, and represented in the costume of that age, 
 under the names " Hypponne, Penelope, Lucrece, Claudie, Semiramis, Ceres, 
 Porcie Romaine." With each of these heads is a brief character in French 
 prose of the personage represented. The three here given are distinguished by 
 the names of Lucretia, Penelope, Hipponne. The inscription over the head 
 of the latter personage will serve as a specimen of the rest. — 
 
 Hypponne, la chaste Grecque, fut si vertueuse et constante, que pour garder sa virginite, 
 ainsi qu'elle fut prinse sur mer et illec enclose dedens ungne navire de ses ennemis, voyant 
 qu'ils vouloient faire effort de la violler, elle soubdainement, pour esviter leur dampnable 
 entreprise, se lanca et gesta en la mer, et ainsi mourut. Le semblable fit Britonne de Crete, 
 pour se que Mina roy de la province la vouloit violer et prandre par force. 
 
 Beneath the figure is the following distich, — 
 
 " Hippo se gesta en la mer, 
 Pour sa virginite garder." 
 
 The caul, under which the hair is gathered in the two first of these figures, 
 is frequently mentioned as an article of attire in England in the reign of 
 Henry VII. ; whose queen, Elizabeth of York, according to the authority in 
 Leland, at her coronation, wore her hair hanging down her back with " a 
 calle of pipes over it." The band on the fourth head, running round the 
 temples, and ornamented with jewellery, appears to be the ' templette,' spoke 
 of by Olivier de la Marche, in his Parement ou Triomphe des Dames. 
 
 The third figure on this plate, is said to be a portrait of Anne of Bretagne, 
 
the wife of Francis I. of France, who reigned from 1515 to 1547. Willemin, 
 however, thinks it more probable that it was intended for Francis's first wife, 
 the beautiful Claude de France. 
 
 The initial letter is taken from the early edition of Pliny, which has 
 furnished us with one or two others. 
 
 The wood-cut below, taken from an illuminated MS. written in the fifteenth 
 century and now preserved in the valuable and extensive library of the 
 Arsenal, at Paris, represents some kind of religious or household vessel. It 
 has been supposed to be a cibory or reliquary, in which were placed the sacred 
 relics, and which sometimes was used for the same purpose as the pLr. The 
 ornamental mounting is gilt, while the cup itself appears to be of glass. 
 
PROCESSIONAL CROSS. 
 
 T the town of Lianciano, on the borders of the Adriatic 
 Sea, is still preserved the beautiful cross represented in 
 the accompanying plate. It escaped the rapacity of the 
 French, when they had possession of the town in the time 
 of Napoleon, by the care of the monks, who built it up in 
 a recess in the tower of the church to which it belongs : 
 
 c* 7 
 
 or it would doubtlessly have suffered the fate of so many other church 
 ornaments which perished during that melancholy period. 
 
 This cross stands about three feet high, independent of the stem, 
 and is made of wood plated all over with silver, embossed or chased 
 and gilt. The figures are in very high relief, and silvered, to con- 
 trast more strongly with the gilt ground of the cross. Its date is 
 about 1360. The stem of the cross is of brass gilt, and is much 
 inferior to the cross itself in design and execution. It has more of 
 the Venetian forms in its design, particularly in the niches and in 
 the gables and foliage of the under part of it. 
 
 Our present plate exhibits the front of the cross. The ornament 
 at the head represents the Resurrection : the right arm represents 
 the Virgin with the other two Maries ; on the other side are three 
 of the disciples as mourners ; and at the foot is the representation of 
 the disciples committing the body of Christ to the tomb. In the 
 centre the body of the Saviour is extended on the cross. 
 
 After the fall of Bonaparte, and the subsequent restoration of 
 peace to Europe, this cross was taken from its hiding place, and it 
 still continues to be carried in the ceremonious processions of the 
 popish clergy. There was formerly another rich cross belonging 
 to the same church, larger than the one described above ; but it had 
 not the same good fortune as the other, for being intrusted to the 
 keeping of the sacristan and a priest, their cupidity was excited 
 by the value of the silver with which it was covered, and which they 
 stripped off and sold, and then destroyed the cross. 
 
 The figures at the end of the present article, which afford good 
 specimens of the armour of the middle part of the fourteenth century, 
 are taken from MS. Sloane, No. 346, written about the reign of Edward 
 III. They form part of a very curious series of illustrations of Scripture history, 
 as set forth in a Latin metrical paraphrase of the bible composed in the twelfth 
 century by Peter de Riga, which is of frequent occurrence in old manuscripts. 
 
 J 
 
Peter de Riga is said to have been an Englishman by birth, though he was a 
 clerk of the church of Rheims in France. In his poem, to which he gave the 
 title of Aurora, and which has not yet been printed entire, he dilates on the 
 stories of Sacred writ, and frequently indulges in typical and allegorical 
 interpretations. 
 
Date about 1360 
 
 P1.0CESSIOFH CROSS. 
 Reverse. 
 
PROCESSIONAL CROSS. REVERSE. 
 
 ONTINUING our account of the splen- 
 did Processional Cross of Lianciano, we 
 give on the accompanying plate a repre- 
 sentation of the figures on the reverse 
 side, which are by no means inferior in 
 beauty to those which adorn the front. 
 The figure in the centre appears to be 
 intended to represent Christ teaching. 
 Around him are four raised enamels of 
 the four Evangelists. At the top is 
 represented the crowning of the Virgin ; 
 the two Maries appear again at the extremities of the arms of the cross ; and 
 at the bottom is a representation of the administering of the extreme unction. 
 
 The figures at the foot of the present page are taken from a fine manuscript 
 of the celebrated poem of Piers Ploughman, preserved in the Library of 
 Trinity College, Cambridge, and written about the end of the reign of Edward 
 III. or at the beginning of that of Richard II. It gives us a very good idea 
 of the mode of ploughing with oxen, as well as of the kind of instrument then 
 used, and of the costume of the husbandman. In one of the 
 / beams of the plough is inserted the plough-mell, or mallet, 
 
 frequently mentioned in old writings. The drawing is accom- 
 panied by the old popular distich. 
 
 s$tW ye flotfef smile m hptt-}w% 
 
In the poem entitled The Creed of Piers Ploughman, written about the reign 
 of Richard II., we have the following description, which may serve to illustrate 
 this cut : 
 
 " His cote was of a cloute 
 
 That cary was y-called ; 
 
 His hod was ful of holes, 
 
 And his heare out ; 
 
 With his knoppede shon 
 
 Clouted ful thykke ; 
 
 His ton toteden out, 
 
 As he the lond tredede : 
 
 His hosen over-hongen his hok-shynes 
 
 On everich a syde, 
 
 Al heslomered in fen, 
 
 As he the plow folwede. 
 
 Tweye myteynes as meter 
 
 Maad al of cloutes, 
 
 The fyngres weren for-werd, 
 
 And ful of fen honged. 
 
 This wit waselede in the feen 
 
 Almost to the ancle ; 
 
 Foure rotheren hym byforne, 
 
 That feble were worthi ; 
 
 Men myghte reknen ich a ryb, 
 
 So rentful they weren." 
 
 The initial letter at the beginning of this article is taken from MS. Reg. 2 
 B. VII. so well known by the title of Queen Mary's Psalter. The figures 
 at the foot of the present page are taken from a no less splendid as well as 
 celebrated manuscript preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, containing 
 the French Romance of Alexander the Great. Its shelf mark is Bodley, No. 
 264, and it was written in the year 1338, as we learn from the following entry 
 at the end, Romans da boin roi AlLrandre, quifu perescript le xviij.jor de De- 
 cembre, Van m. ccc. xxxviij. The margins of this volume are filled with 
 grotesque figures and other popular subjects. It was from this manuscript 
 that Joseph Strutt obtained his most valuable illustrations of ancient English 
 games and pastimes. 
 
i 
 
 j 
 
Da-te 1397. 
 
 C BE A I B. , 
 Of Silver in the CiXj of Barcelona. 
 
 Dia.7m "bj E.Slaw from a Sketch "by P.Hawke. 
 
TRIUMPHAL CHAIR OF DON MARTIN OF ARAGON 
 
 UR plate represents a very richly ornamented chair 
 or throne, made of solid silver, still preserved 
 in the ancient city of Barcelona, in Spain. 
 Tradition points it out as the chair of Martin 
 king of Aragon. When that prince succeeded 
 to the throne of Aragon, in 1395, he was absent 
 in Sicily, occupied in suppressing the rebellion 
 against his son and daughter-in-law, sovereigns 
 of that island. After having reduced the Sici- 
 lians to obedience, and established the power 
 of his son, he returned to take possession of his own dominions, and 
 landed at Barcelona in 1397. He made a triumphal entry into that city, 
 and was received with great festivities. On that occasion he is said to have 
 used the chair of silver, depicted in our engraving. 
 
 The wood cut at the foot of the next page represents a curious knocker of 
 the end of the fourteenth century, from the door of the archdeacon's house of 
 the cathedral of Barcelona. 
 
 The two cuts on the present page are taken from a manuscript service book 
 and lectionary, of the latter half of the fourteenth century, ornamented with 
 beautiful miniatures, and now preserved in the British Museum, MS. Harl. 
 No. 2897- The figure on the left hand side of the page represents St. Jude 
 the apostle writing his epistle, and is curious as exhibiting the tools, &c. of a 
 
scribe of the fourteenth century. The professed scribes wrote on the vellum while 
 in quires, and it was bound into volumes after being finished. The quire is 
 here represented as held in its place by a piece of lead suspended to a string ; 
 one page is already written, the other is prepared to receive the writing. In 
 one hand the writer holds his pen, in the other a scraper, to erase from the 
 vellum wrong words or letters. On one side of his seat are three ink-horns, 
 to hold the different coloured inks. The box within the chair contains his 
 writing implements. The other cut represents king Ahaziah sick in bed, and 
 waiting the return of his messengers whom he had sent to consult Baalzebub 
 the god of Ekron, and to know if he were destined to recover (2 Kings, ch. i.) 
 At the end of the fourteenth century, people had not yet laid aside the custom 
 of going to bed quite naked. 
 
 Our initial letter is taken from a very fine large manuscript volume of the 
 fourteenth century, in the British Museum (MS. Burney, No. 275), containing 
 some of the principal scientific treatises of Priscian, Boethius, Euclid, and 
 Ptolemy. It is full of handsome and interesting illuminated initials. The 
 one we now give, represents a party of musicians. One is playing on bells, 
 which appear formerly to have been favourite instruments of ecclesiastical 
 music. The use of them still remains in our church ' chimes.' In old manu- 
 scripts king David is not unfrequently represented playing upon bells. 
 
fi.Shaw. 
 
GEOFFREY CHAUCER. 
 
 AN Chaucer, as he is termed by some of our older 
 writers, is the popular representative of the earlier 
 period of English poetry ; indeed he may be 
 considered The Poet, par excellence, of the English 
 Middle Ages. In spite of the antiquated charac- 
 ter of his language, the Canterbury Tales will 
 never cease to be generally read. Yet, as has 
 been the case w T ith many other great literary 
 characters in ages when society was but half formed, in spite of his great 
 fame, which was already established during his life time, many of the most 
 important parts of his life are covered with mystery. We have no memorials 
 left of his birth or of his parents, and the rank or condition of the latter has 
 been a subject almost as much disputed as the celebrated question of the birth- 
 place of Homer. The date of Chaucer's birth has been placed in the year 
 1328 ; we have his own authority for stating that it took place in London. 
 The place of his education has also been a matter of controversy, but from 
 some expressions in his works it seems probable that he studied in Cambridge. 
 It is said that he afterwards entered at the Temple ; and his old biographer 
 and editor Speght, informs us that there was there a record of his having 
 been "fined two shillings for beating a Franciscane frier in Fleet Street." In 
 the records of the reigns of Edward III. and Richard II., we find evidences 
 of his having held various employments under the government, and entries of 
 many payments to him from the exchequer. In the forty-eighth year of the 
 reign of the first of these monarchs, he had a grant of a pitcher of wine daily 
 during his life. Two years before this he had been sent by the king as envoy 
 to Genoa. He returned to England imbued with a taste for the beauties of 
 the Italian poets — for poetry then flourished in Italy. He died on the twenty- 
 fifth of October, 1400. 
 
 We are informed by Speght that the epitaph originally inscribed on 
 Chaucer's monument at Westminster, was as follows : — 
 
 " Galfridus Chaucer, vates et fama poesis, 
 Maternae hac sacra sum tumulatus humo." 
 
 Although the poet was certainly wrong who called Geoffrey Chaucer a 
 " well of English undefiled," for he wrote at the period when our language 
 was most corrupted by the introduction of Gallicisms, yet he was certainly the 
 first writer, since the breaking up of the Anglo-Saxon language, who gave 
 absolute elegance and smoothness to the English tongue. His ear and taste 
 had, indeed, been improved by an acquaintance with the poetry of a softer 
 
clime. In this respect he fully merited the encomium awarded to him by 
 Lydgate : — 
 
 " The notable rhetor, poet of Britaine, 
 
 That worthie was the laurell to have 
 
 Of poetry, and the palme attaine; 
 
 That made first to distill and raine 
 
 The golde dew-drops of speech and eloquence 
 
 Into our tongue, thorough his excellence. 
 
 " And found the floures first of rhethoricke, 
 
 Our rude speech only to enlumine, 
 
 That in our tongue was never none him like. 
 
 For as the sunne doth in heaven shine 
 
 In mid-day sphere downe to us by line, 
 
 In whose presence no sterre may appere, 
 
 Right so his ditties, withouten any pere." 
 
 It is certainly remarkable that he not only stepped into a place infinitely 
 above the flight of those who had gone before him, but that for nearly two 
 centuries after nobody came that could put in a claim to rival him. His 
 contemporary Gower, and his followers Occleve and Lydgate, with their 
 heavy and spiritless versification, stand like pigmies beside the giant. He 
 was, indeed, the sun of the firmament, whose light overwhelmed the twinkling 
 of the small stars around. 
 
 There are preserved several different portraits of Chaucer. His disciple 
 Occleve caused a picture of him to be painted at the beginning of a manu- 
 script of his book De Regimine Principis, which he presented to Henry V. 
 Under the drawing he inscribed the following stanza : 
 
 " Although his life be queint, the resemblance 
 
 Of him that hath in me so fresh livelines, 
 
 That to put other men in remembraunce 
 
 Of his person, I have here the likenes 
 
 Doe make, to the end, in soothefastnes, 
 
 That they that of him have lost thought and mind 
 
 By this peiuture may againe him find." 
 
 Copies of this portrait are found in one or two MSS. of Occleve's book ; 
 and one of them was engraved to illustrate Tyrwhitt's edition of the Canter- 
 bury Tales. A different picture, representing the poet on horseback, is 
 given in Todd's Illustrations of Gower and Chaucer, from a MS. now in 
 the library of Lord Francis Egerton. In this portrait, the face is good, but 
 the body is remarkably ill proportioned. The one we now give is preserved 
 on a single leaf of vellum in the British Museum, MS. Additional No. 
 The resemblance which these different portraits bear to each other leaves no 
 room to doubt that the likeness is correct. 
 
 The initial letter on the preceding page is taken from a vellum manuscript 
 of the fifteenth century. 
 
4